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Uncategorized | July 19, 2018 | 
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Saturday, June 18, 2005
On Thursday night, California State Senator Joe Dunn held the second town hall meeting regarding a recent outbreak of leukemia in schoolchildren, at Franklin Elementary in Santa Ana, California. Representatives from the City of Santa Ana, the Santa Ana Unified School District, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) were available to answer the community’s questions.
Senator Dunn started off the meeting by thanking the panelists and parents for showing their support by attending. “We are trying to address a very, very important issue. What’s the issue? We have high rates of cancer, leukemia, and respiratory problems in our children. Why are our kids sick? This is a very difficult question,” he said. “What’s causing the sickness in our children, and how can we avoid it? We can all agree that no one wants to see another sick child in Santa Ana.” The audience applauded. “Three weeks ago, we heard from two parents and a teacher, they told us about some deaths.”
The previous town hall meeting was held to address concerns of the community about a steel plating manufacturing plant that applied to the AQMD for a permit to expand its facilities to increase pollution emissions. Parents and teachers were concerned over the facts that the plant was located directly adjacent to Kennedy Elementary School, and that their children were experiencing high levels of lead, respiratory problems, excessive nose-bleeding, and leukemia.
“How many businesses in Santa Ana are required to obtain permits for [emissions] of hazardous pollutants?” This question Dunn posed at the last meeting was answered by the AQMD and the Orange County Sanitation District, who provided maps of Santa Ana with green flags indicating where businesses with emissions permits were located. “I can tell you one thing, at the end of the meeting, we won’t have all of the answers… but we’ll certainly have another Town Hall meeting.
Initial concerns were raised when five boys attending Franklin Elementary were diagnosed with the same type of leukemia in Spring 2002. Attempts to gain an investigation from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) into possible causes were not successful as the Center told parents that the cases “were in an acceptable range”. Parents, teachers, public officials, and doctors remain unconvinced. In the past three years, 19 mothers living in an apartment building a block away from Franklin were also diagnosed with leukemia.
Dunn then introduced a teacher at Franklin, Tammy Sanchez. Tammy said, “In December 2002, we received some very disturbing news. One of my students was diagnosed with leukemia. Then, more children at Franklin were diagnosed with leukemia. I later found out that three kids at a nearby apartment building were diagnosed with leukemia. Sanchez then explained about more cancer-related deaths near Franklin, including 19 mothers all living in he same apartment building who were diagnosed with leukemia, which took over three minutes. “To me, this is way too much,” said Sanchez.
Socorro Molina, whose son Diego, a student at Franklin, is undergoing treatment for his leukemia, had this to say: “My son has leukemia. I’m worried, because there are many kids. Children who played with my son died from leukemia. They should do some investigations of these companies.” Senator Dunn responded, “Thank you, Socorro. I know it’s difficult to share that privately, and you have shared this with us publicly on two occasions.”
Senator Dunn then said, “at the end of that [previous] meeting, we were requested by a parent for a map of all businesses releasing toxic materials. We asked the AQMD for a map that showed every single business [in Santa Ana] that releases harmful materials into our air. This is that map. The heaviest concentration of these businesses are, guess where? Near Franklin. This map is striking. The OCSD gave us a map showing all businesses that release toxic materials into our sewers. The largest concentration of these businesses are, guess where? Near Franklin and Kennedy [Elementary Schools].” Senator Dunn promised that at the next town hall meeting, he will have a panel of scientists present to determine if the substances released by these business pose a health risk to residents of the area. “We are going to keep at this until we find out what is making our kids sick,” he said.
Santa Ana City Council member Jose Solorio said that “the city has been following the media’s attention. I got to tell you, this is a very complex issue. The city has jurisdiction over land use; they can issue restrictions. We, as elected officials, need to know more.” Solorio then introduced the city’s planning director and other city officials. Solorio added, “the mayor of Santa Ana, Miguel Pulido, is a board-member for AQMD.” Miguel Pulido has not attended any of the town hall meetings, and has not spoken about this issue at any time.
Dunn then introduced the next panelist, Santa Ana Unified School District board member Rosemary Avila. She said, “the school board is looking into this. I’ve talked to some teachers on the phone I believe the federal disease organization has been contacted about this.” The Center for Disease Control was notified by parents of the leukemia cases in Santa Ana, but stated that they were “within the acceptable range”. Avila then introduced some school board officials, and said, “there has been some concern in the past, and we have looked into that. As a school district, we really have to act not out of fear, but with facts.”
Jill Whynot of the AQMD noted that “there are 515 facilities [in Santa Ana] that we issue permits to”. Barry Wallerstein, Executive Officer of the AQMD said, “we appreciate the forum. There appears to be a need for closer air quality monitoring. So, I propose that we make Santa Ana a high priority and closely monitor air quality in your community.” That statement was met with much applause from the audience.
Senator Dunn responded, “we thank the AQMD for being here and answering our questions. We will be sure to let everybody know about any updates. When I looked at the map, I was struck. There are 515 permitted businesses in Santa Ana. We will bring some scientists in at the next town hall meeting to determine which businesses are releasing carcinogenic pollutants,” he said. “When I look at the maps, there are two pockets of permitted facilities in Santa Ana. Do you [AQMD] look at the cumulative impact of facilities grouped together [when considering issuing a permit]?” Dunn posed.
Dr. Wallerstein responded, “the short answer is ‘partially'”.
Senator Dunn, responding to Dr. Wallerstein’s comments, said “if we need to give AQMD more power in terms of cumulative impact of permitted facilities, then we will introduce legislation to give them that power.” The Senator then asked City Councilman Solorio, “does the city in any way look at what type of business it is, or its cumulative impact [when approving a business]?”
Solorio responded, “one of the main things the city does is make a General Plan, and unlike Irvine or Newport Beach, we are an older city.” Solorio went on to talk about how in the future, the city could pass litigation limit permits, and said that “we all need to do our part”. Referring to concerns about the steel plating plant next to a school, he said, “Markland came into an industrial area, so they have a legal right to set up shop”.
Dunn asked Solorio if the city is now looking at regulation to limit this, and Solorio responded, “We always have opportunities to look at our General Plan, and we need to have solid facts to make those decisions”. Dunn asked Dr. Wallerstein, “what about this pocket of businesses in south Santa Ana, is that unusual?” Wallerstein responded, “Senator, I don’t think that’s an issue”.
Dunn then opened up the floor to public questions and comments. One mother of three asked, “when are we going to have answers?”, while a younger woman said, directed toward the AQMD, “your job is to know if this is going to give kids leukemia. I’m very disappointed”. One woman said, “I live in Heninger Park, where all of the kids are getting Leukemia. I’ve been trying to tell the city and Code Enforcement about illegal underground painters and mechanics who leave paint and fumes behind; which is causing residents to leave”.
There was intense debate over the public officials’ efforts to investigate health quality at the location in question. Parents expressed their concerns about water quality and illegal activities in the community; and spoke about their children’s various health problems, from high copper and lead levels in the bloodstream, to respiratory and lung problems, and cancer.
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Tuesday, March 8, 2005
The British national airline, British Airways has announce that the former CEO of Aer Lingus, Willie Walsh is to be their new CEO. Mr Walsh is to replace the current CEO, Australian-born Rod Eddington in September after his retirement.
Willie Walsh started as a cadet for Aer Lingus at the age of 17, later becoming a captain of the airline. In 1998, he became the chief-executive of the airline’s charter subsidiary Furtura, and later in 2000 chief finance officer. In the wake of 11th September 2001, he became the chief-executive of Aer Lingus, itself. Worried about what happen to Swissair and Sabena, he looked at the rival Irish airline Ryanair for inspiration and made Aer Lingus in effect a no-frills airline, such as replacing the infamous turquoise uniforms with polo shirts and promoting via the Internet.
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Saturday, April 11, 2009
Twenty percent of the American public believes that socialism is superior to capitalism, says a poll by Rasmussen Reports released on Thursday, April 9.
Asked the question “Which is a better system – capitalism or socialism?”, 53% of those polled found capitalism the better system, 20% preferred socialism, and 27% were unsure. The survey did not define either capitalism or socialism, but Rasmussen also cites a December 2008 result saying that 15% of Americans prefer a government-managed economy.
Analysis of the poll’s data by website FiveThirtyEight.com furthermore found that support for capitalism was closely correlated with income; respondents earning under $20,000 a year having an eight percentage point preference for capitalism, while those earning more than $100,000 a year expressed a fifty-seven percentage point preference for capitalism. Rasmussen noted that socialism had much broader support among people under 30, where 33% support socialism and 37% support capitalism, than among any other age group.
Socialism has found support in several countries, with member parties of the Socialist International in government in over 50 countries around the world and with several other regimes describing themselves as socialist or communist; the 20% result Rasmussen finds is comparable to the electoral support for the New Democratic Party in Canada. Support for an independent socialist movement in the United States, however, has historically been limited. Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs won 6.1% of the popular vote in 1912, and two members of the Socialist Party, Victor L. Berger and Meyer London, were elected to the United States Congress before the Great Depression. This brief flirtation with socialism is contrasted against the times during and following the First World War and Second World War, which were marked by “Red scares” — periods of pronounced anti-communism — in the United States.
Currently, only a single member of the United States Congress describes himself as a socialist: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The Social Democrats USA (SD USA), one of the successors of the Socialist Party of America, has expressed solidarity with the 76-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, which Sanders founded in 1991. It supports positions such as a living wage, universal health care, and the right of workers to form trade unions and engage in collective bargaining.
SD USA executive director Gabriel McClosky-Ross offered Wikinews an exclusive statement on the Rasmussen poll result:
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I joined the Socialist Party, USA in 1972, when I was 16. That was seven months before the name change to Social Democrats, USA. I was a subscriber to the Party’s publication, New America for four years by that point. I grew up in a Catholic working class neighborhood. Many of my neighbors read the Catholic Worker. However, I would not meet another self described social democrat or democratic socialist who was close to my age until I completed college and entered the seminary when I was 21. That was not for a lack of my attempts at persuasion. Now when I speak on behalf of the Social Democrats, I meet many people who call themselves socialists or they are considering doing so. Two things have changed. First, Stalinism in the Soviet Union finally and thankfully collapsed and The Peoples’ Republic of China is a transparently “state capitalist” regime. Second, the propaganda machine that equated private ownership of productive property with democracy is spurting under onslaught of facts that indicate just the opposite. There were two presidential elections in a row were[sic] the count look[sic] fishy and the money trail lead to the top of Republican Party. Then the banks collapsed and it was apparent that the largest financial institutions in the world were involved in sub-prime mortgage ponzi schemes. I am not sure whether to celebrate or lament becoming an economist and union organizer instead of a priest given the current crisis. As my mentor, Michael Harrington, was fond of saying there are many kinds of socialism. Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, history’s three greatest mass murderers, all called themselves socialists. Hopefully, America is ready for a broad social democratic movement that works with trade unions and community organizations for national health care, re-industrialization, ecologically friendly mass transit, infrastructure repair, and eventually a democratization of our economy. Building such a movement will be very hard work. The cyber-world has many benefits, but people seemed to be convinced that social change can occur by email. It is great shame, that it takes 8.2% unemployment and massive economic dislocation to push people back to real time organizing and protest. Simply that people are angry is not enough. The Bolsheviks, Fascists, and Nazis all road[sic] waves of mass discontent to power. A peoples’ movement must be militantly democratic and refuse to make common cause with even the ‘mildest and friendliest totalitarians.’ A truly democratic movement for social democracy must transcend the narrow special interest group politics that has made up most of political discourse since the protests against the Vietnam War. To transcend the current economic crisis we need a full employment economy and that means a movement concentrated on ‘red letter’ social democratic issues of democratic worker and community control of industry. |
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While support for socialism in the United States may be growing, Rasmussen’s polling finds that absolute majorities of the American public support both capitalism and free markets. Meanwhile, anti-communist sentiment remains strong in many segments of the US population, with opposition to socialism being a defining feature of Conservatism in the United States.
In an exclusive statement to Wikinews, John F. McManus, President of the anti-socialist John Birch Society, offered the John Birch Society’s position on the poll result:
| If 20 percent of the American people prefer socialism, it is likely that half believe it has more to do with sociability that it has to do with an economic system that places government in control of their lives. Ask these 20 percent what socialism truly is and the response will rarely point to the great hero of all socialists, Karl Marx.
The John Birch Society believes that everyone is a capitalist. If one starts out defining capital as the means of production (which is its definition), then everyone — from the primitive fisherman to the corporate executive — uses capital and is a capitalist. The distinction that most don’t make is who owns and controls the capital. Does each individual have the right to own his means of production — even a fishing pole? Or does the government own and/or control all the means of production? When each individual has the right to own capital (property), there is freedom — up to the point where no one is permitted to impede someone else’s similar right. Where socialism reigns, the government dominates, either completely a la communism or essentially a la fascism (Nazi-style or Mussolini-style). Most Americans are victims of an absolutely horrible educational system. Too many have been persuaded that government should take care of them. We tell such fools that, if that’s what they want, they should turn themselves in at the local prison where they will be cared for 24 hours a day. We ask them to stop advocating converting our entire nation into what effectively will be a coast-to-coast prison. The proper role of government can never be more than the protection of the lives, liberty and property of the people who pay for it. The improper role of government is to take care of the people — which it always does poorly and does so almost always as a grab for power rather than a supposedly noble concern for the downtrodden. |
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Americans currently most often cite the economy as their number one concern in polls, ahead of terrorism. In December 2008, workers at the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago staged a union-backed factory occupation in a fight against company management — a return to tactics of direct action from the historically more subdued American organized labor movement.
On April 10 2009, Alabama representative Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) told the Birmingham News that seventeen members of the US House of Representatives are socialists. He did not specify which members.
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Friday, September 29, 2017
On Tuesday, Russian government internet watchdog Roskomnadzor “insisted” US-based social networking website Facebook comply with law #242 on personal data of users in order to continue operating in the country. Per law #242, user data of Russian citizens should be hosted on local servers — the rule which business-oriented networking site LinkedIn did not agree to, for which LinkedIn was eventually blocked in the country.
Roskomnadzor’s head, Aleksandr Zharov, said, “The law is mandatory for everyone. In any case, we will make sure the law is carried out, or else the company will stop working in Russia, as regretfully happened to Linkedin. There are no exceptions here” ((ru))Russian language: ?????? ?????????? ??? ????. ? ????? ?????? ?? ??? ???????? ????, ????? ????? ??? ????????, ??? ???????? ????????? ???????? ?? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????, ???, ? ?????????, ????????? ? LinkedIn. ??? ?????????? ???. Nikolay Nikiforov, the communication minister, in remarks to RIA Novosti said Facebook would be blocked by the authorities in the country if they did not comply with the rules. On Tuesday, Russian president Vladmir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said, “this is a business company that is making money and that must do this in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. There are laws that must be observed”.
However, the watchdog said Facebook would not be blocked until next year. Zharov said, “We don’t have Facebook in our 2017 inspections schedule in this direction. In 2018 we will think about it and maybe we will launch an inspection.” ((ru))Russian language: ?? ??? ? ????? ???????? ?? ????? ??????????? ?? ????? 2017 ???? Facebook’a ???, ? 2018 ???? ?? ????????, ????? ????, ????????
Law #242 came into effect on September 1, 2015. Russian websites like LiveJournal, Mail.ru, VK.com, Yandex, and Rambler had already fulfilled this requirement. In April, Twitter announced moving personal data to Russian servers by mid-2018.
Facebook estimated it had some six million daily users from Russia last year, and more than fourteen million monthly users. Considering these statistics, and other companies already complying with the law, Zharov said, “We are well aware that Facebook has a significant number of users in Russia; we also understand that this service is not one of a kind, and there are other social networks available” ((ru))Russian language: ??? ????????? ????????, ??? Facebook ????? ???????????? ?????????? ????????????? ?? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????, ? ?????? ???????, ?? ????????, ??? ??? ?? ?????????? ??????, ???? ? ?????? ?????????? ????.
Within the preceding week, Facebook, Inc.’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the company’s intention to reveal information about Russian companies who bought commercials on the platform, which are speculated to have interfered with and affected last year’s presidential election in the US.
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Saturday, April 29, 2006
Veteran anti-nuclear activist and journalist Praful Bidwai claims that while Iranian authorities “will not sacrifice [Iran’s] rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to engage in peaceful activities, including uranium enrichment for power generation”, they are also “keen to reach a deal or compromise on the nuclear issue” and “are also working diplomatic channels to let it be known that Tehran wants talks which will lead to a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue.”
The alternative news website Raw Story published a story on April 20 that alleged United States vice-president Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have obstructed the progress of diplomatic discussions which could help solve the conflict between the United States and Iran. The conflict involves the alleged plan of attack on Iran led by the United States, and Iran’s alleged intention to develop nuclear weapons. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran have remained suspended since 1980, following the Iranian hostage crisis.
The website alleges that information from several different unnamed sources claim that expatriate arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar, a key figure in the Iran-Contra Affair, has been ordered by US authorities to monitor and report on “any interaction and attempts at negotiations between Iranian officials and US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.” Raw Story also claims that sources “close to the UN Security Council“, a “high ranking intelligence official” and another “intelligence source” attributed the failure of the recent attempts at direct contacts between Khalilzad and Iranian officials as “part of an ongoing attempt by Cheney and Rumsfeld to squash diplomatic activities”. The claims of the Internet publication’s allegations have not yet been independently verified.
In addition, the Raw Story also claims that US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) “approved using Ghorbanifar as an intermediary” and “attended at least one meeting in Paris with Curt Weldon (R-PA) and Harold Rhode to meet with Ghorbanifar.”
Bidwai states that Dr. Hasan Rowhani, a member of the Supreme National Security Council chosen by Iranian head of state Ayatollah Khamenei, as saying that Iran is prepared to suspend its uranium enrichment for a short time.
On April 18, when asked whether US action against Iran could include a strike using nuclear weapons, U.S. President George W. Bush answered “All options are on the table. We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we’re working hard to do so.”
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Friday, August 24, 2007
A police station of the Spanish Guardia Civil was attacked today Friday by a car bomb in the Basque city of Durango, injuring two policemen. It is believed to be the first serious attack of the separatist group ETA since it unilaterally ended a cease-fire in June. The blast caused serious damage to the police barracks in Durango, shattering windows and damaging police cars parked outside. Several nearby apartment buildings were also damaged. Police sources believe the bomb, estimated to contain between 80 and 100 kilograms of explosives, was detonated remotely by one of the two attackers who fled in another vehicle. Another car exploded about one hour later in the town of Amorebieta, possibly the one used by the activists to flee.
ETA detonated two small explosive devices on July 25 along the route that the Tour of France used when the race dipped into northern Spain for a few hours.
ETA called the cease-fire in March 2006, but grew frustrated with a lack of government concessions in ensuing peace talks, and set off a huge bomb in a parking area at Madrid’s airport on December 30, killing two people. It insisted then that the truce was still in effect, but finally declared it formally over in June, and Spanish security forces have been on alert ever since.
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Saturday, April 23, 2011
Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad periodically send location information back to the company, according to new reports. The data is transmitted to a secure database that only it can access, Apple claims.
Bruce Sewell, an attorney for Apple, sent a letter to two US Representatives last year, discussing the company’s data collection techniques and policies. The thirteen-page letter states that location information is recorded and sent to Apple every twelve hours, but only if the user enables the device’s location settings.
Apple began building a location database of its own when it decided to stop using similar services offered by Google & SkyHook Wireless. Location data is used in social networking applications and call routing.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Democratic Massachusetts Representative Edward Markey said, “Apple needs to safeguard the personal location information of its users to ensure that an iPhone doesn’t become an iTrack.”
Such data collection is not unique to Apple. Google’s Android operating system uses similar technology to provide location-based services to its users. Google has said that it also uses the data collected to provide accurate traffic data through its “Maps” applications on both Apple and Android devices. However, the company declined to comment on the latest findings regarding its data collection.
Apple was also recently in the spotlight after it was discovered that the iPhone and iPad were retaining location data on the device itself. This information is collected in an unencrypted file and is not transmitted elsewhere. The data file reportedly contains a variety of information, including longitude and latitude, cell phone tower identification data, wireless hotspot identification, and timestamps.
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