Friday, November 13, 2009
Wikinews interviewed author Marc Headley about his new book Blown for Good, and asked him about life inside the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base“, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California. Headley joined the organization at age seven when his mother became a member, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Bicycle sales in Australia have recorded record sales of 1,273,781 units for 2006, exceeding car sales by 32 percent. It is the fifth year in a row that the bicycle industry has sold more than one million units, a figure yet to be realised by car manufacturers.
The Cycling Promotion Fund (CPF) spokesman Ian Christie said Australians were increasingly using bicycles as an alternative to cars. Sales rose nine percent in 2006 while the car market stalled. Mr Christie said people were looking to cut their fuel costs and improve their fitness.
Mr Christie said organisations were beginning to supply bicycles as a company vehicle. “There is an emerging trend towards people using bikes as their official company-supplied vehicle in place of the traditional company car,” he said.
“Some of Australia’s biggest corporations now have bicycle fleets, and when you add in government organisations, we now know of at least 50 organisations which operate fleets of bikes.”
“Although the company bicycle is a long way from taking over from the company car, it’s an important trend when you consider that nearly half of all cars sold are to company fleets.”
The CPF claims most commutes to work are less than 5 kilometres (3 miles) making bicycle travel a viable alternative.
Monday, March 12, 2007
24 of 26 Swiss Cantons rejected the proposal for a single health insurance system, in which premiums would be based on income and wealth. The vote on Sunday was the latest in a series of attempts to cut rising costs and ease the financial burden on citizens.
Around 71% of voters rejected the reform. Turnout was at about 46%, slightly above the Swiss average.
As expected, voters in the main German-speaking part of the country turned down the planned reform, which was supported by the centre-left but opposed by the centre-right as well as the business community, parliament and the government.
Opposition in the French and Italian speaking regions was less pronounced. The cantons Jura and Neuchâtel in the French speaking regions voted in favor of the proposed reforms.
Health insurance premiums are higher in southern and western Swiss cantons than in German-speaking areas.
The Swiss Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin said an important part of the Swiss Population appeared to be opposed to “a revolution” in health insurance but he said that he wanted current reforms currently under discussion in the Swiss Parliament to go ahead. He called on all sides, especially health insurers and the cantonal authorities, to make efforts to reduce spending on health insurance and aim for a greater cost efficiency. Currently Switzerland has 87 private insurers providing mandatory basic health care coverage for Swiss residents under a 1996 law. But costs have sky-rocketed. Over 100,000 people are not covered by health insurance due to non payment.
| To win the battle of the cost of health care, everyone must place his or her private interests behind the interests of the general public. -Pascal Couchepin at a news conference |
Opponents to the initiative argued that a single insurance system would lead to complacency and create a two-tier system, in which the wealthy would be the only ones available to afford to have additional private insurance coverage.
Supporters of the initiative said a single health insurer would increase the system’s efficiency and allow for annual savings of at least 300 million Swiss Francs (about $245 million) in administrative costs. Currently, the funding system is unbalanced, since many clients on low incomes use state subsidies to pay their premiums, according to the Green Party and the Social Democrats.
The initiative to unite all the insurance companies and introduce premiums based on wealth and income was the most recent in a series of attempts over the past ten years to reduce the public spending on health care. A proposal, similar to this recent proposal, to modify the funding system of the health insurance companies was rejected by 73% of voters in 2003.
Switzerland has the most expensive health system in Europe. Switzerland’s expenditure on health care was 11.6% in 2005, in front of Germany and France but behind the United States.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
New York –”Buy cheap Viagra through us – no prescription required!” Anyone with an active email account will recognize lines like this one. According to some reports, unsolicited advertisements (spam) for Viagra and similar drugs account for one in four spam messages.
BACKGROUND
Spamming remains one of the biggest problems facing email users today. While users and systems administrators have improved their defenses against unsolicited email, many spammers now insert random words or characters into their letters in order to bypass filters. The Wikipedia article Stopping email abuse provides an overview of the various strategies employed by companies, Internet users and systems administrators to deal with the issue.
Ever since pharmaceutical giant Pfizer promised to cure erectile dysfunction once and for all with its blue pills containing the drug sildenafil citrate, spammers have tried to tap into male anxiety by offering prescription-free sales of unapproved “generic” Viagra and clones such as Cialis soft tabs. Legislation like the U.S. CAN-SPAM act has done little to stem the tide of email advertising the products.
Now Pfizer has entered a pledge with Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest software company, to address the problem. The joint effort will focus on lawsuits against spammers as well as the companies they advertise. “Pfizer is joining with Microsoft on these actions as part of our shared pledge to reduce the sale of these products and to fight the senders of unsolicited e-mail that overwhelms people’s inboxes,” said Jeff Kindler, executive vice president at Pfizer.
Microsoft has filed civil actions against spammers advertising the websites CanadianPharmacy and E-Pharmacy Direct. Pfizer has filed lawsuits against the two companies, and has taken actions against websites which use the word “Viagra” in their domain names. Sales of controlled drugs from Canadian pharmacies to the United States are illegal, but most drugs sold in Canada have nevertheless undergone testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This is not the case for many of the Viagra clones sold by Internet companies and manufactured in countries like China and India. While it was not clear that CanadianPharmacy was actually shipping drugs from Canada, Pfizer’s general counsel, Beth Levine, claimed that the company filled orders using a call center in Montreal, reported the Toronto Star.
For Microsoft’s part, they allege that the joint effort with Pfizer is part of their “multi-pronged attack on the barrage of spam.” As the creator of the popular email program Outlook, Microsoft has been criticized in the past for the product’s spam filtering process. Recently, Microsoft added anti-spam measures to its popular Exchange server. Exchange 2003 now includes support for accessing so-called real-time block lists, or RTBLs. An RTBL is a list of the IP addresses maintained by a third party; the addresses on the list are those of mailservers thought to have sent spam recently. Exchange 2003 can query the list for each message it receives.
Click Here For More Specific Information On:
Cloud PBX Benefits of Menu System
by
davidclarkson8
With tons of features at its disposal a cloud PBX system had become a mainstay in business telecommunication, however there are quite a few features that really stand out from the pack because of the benefits and convenience that it brings both for the business and customer and one of it is the menu system.
A cloud PBX menu system is pretty much like the standard options that you get from a premise based PBX however the difference would be the cost, in conventional phones there are associated monthly fees to upkeep the feature however with a cloud PBX all you need to pay for is the set up fee and there are no recurring fees. You can even have sub menu levels for better call screening which will all depend on your business.
Benefits of Menu System
The number one benefit of such feature would be of course the convenience, before if a call comes through the receptionist needs to find out what the concern of the caller is, is a support related issue? A sales call? And so on. With a menu system the will track down those questions for you and if the sales department rings then most likely it is a sales call. This will also save your staff s valuable time of having to transfer call here and there.
Another benefit of a menu system the process work flow, it helps speeds up your processes and tendering of services, for an instance a sub menu level for support can track down the specific issue, for example you have multiple car services, engine repair, transmission, electrical and so on a call can select from hose choices and you can have the right person pick up the call. So your customers are directed to the right person and the right department instantly.
You will also find that the menu system creates a professional like feeling to the callers; it makes them feel that they are calling the biggest corporation in the industry that will help in creating your brand name. Furthermore referrals via word of mouth can be initiated if you have managed to capture the attention of your caller and service him very well.
Lastly is proper delegation and specialization of tasks, since calls will be filtered accordingly your staff can then specialize on a certain area and concentrate on that instead of having to familiarize all departments and just have general knowledge and skills.
David Clarkson is a well versed telecommunication engineer with years of background in the industry, In his experience the demand of structuring internal and external communications for small to large scale businesses was perfectly solved by
Cloud PBX
technology and has recommended it since then.
Article Source:
ArticleRich.com
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Saturday, December 10, 2005
The Mozilla Foundation announced today a plan to patch vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox 1.5 in late January or early February 2006.
Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering of the Mozilla Foundation, states “it’s a low-severity issue, but we will address it anyway.”
Packetstorm Security posted that Firefox 1.5, released on November 30, has vulnerability in its history.dat file, such that Firefox becomes very slow after restarting from a visit to a website exploiting the vulnerability. A URL of a few million characters takes advantage of the vulnerability. History.dat stores the user’s recently visited sites. Initially Packetstorm posted that a tailored URL could crash Firefox. When attempting to recreate the problem, Mozilla engineers found that the browser works slowly and takes an extremely long time to load a website, but does not crash.
If one does encounter the problem after visiting an exploiting website, clearing out the history will fix it.
A compilation of brief news reports for Saturday, May 5, 2012.
A cattle market in the Nigerian city of Potiskum was attacked by gunmen Wednesday evening, according to an unnamed government official. The official said the attack occurred after would-be robber was subdued by market traders who then set him on fire.
Allies of the burned man retaliated by throwing grenades and shooting randomly into the crowd, the official said. The exact death toll is uncertain but is reported by various groups as being between 30 and 60. The anonymous official — who said he was not authorized to speak with journalists — said the gunmen used a strategy that mirrored those of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
Sources
One of the most recognized paintings in the world, The Scream, sold for US$120 million at auction at Sotheby’s in New York City on Wednesday, making it the most expensive piece of art in the world.
The iconic painting was projected by experts to sell at auction for US$80 million, but an unknown buyer purchased the painting at US$119,922,500. Before the auction, Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust was the most expensive artwork sold after it went for US$106.5 million two years ago at auction.
Sources
The Saturn V on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center was damaged by gunfire on Thursday. Nobody was injured. The shooter was suspected to be driving on Interstate 565.
Sources
Thursday, October 26, 2006
New Zealand Internet service provider (ISP) Xtra, owned by telecommunication giant Telecom New Zealand, has today “unleashed” the downstream lines as fast as the line will allow. The speed could reach up to 7 megabits per second. All new plans will allow maximum downstream bandwidth, although upstream bandwidth will still be constrained. The maximum downstream bandwidth previously available was 3.5 megabits per second.
Neither Xtra nor ihug responded to questions sent via e-mail.
Along with the improved bandwidth, two new plans have been introduced. These include the Go Large which has no data cap and the Go Express which offers “fast upstream connection.”
On September 26, 2006 Telecom announced the speed changes and Kevin Bowler, Telecom’s general manager of Consumer Marketing, said: “With maximum speeds customers may find it easier to do things online that are bandwidth-intensive. Some customers will notice a difference in the time it takes to do things like download music… watch video or send and receive large email attachments.”
Xtra says existing customers will be transferred onto the new plans progressively from October 26, 2006.
Monday, May 21, 2012
The placement for first and second place at the 2012 Preakness Stakes could have been a replay of the Kentucky Derby earlier this month as I’ll Have Another came in first with Bodemeister behind in second. In this race, Creative Cause finished third.
By winning the Kentucky Derby and the 137th Preakness Stakes, I’ll Have Another has a chance at winning the US Triple Crown of thoroughbred horse racing. The final race I’ll Have Another would have to win is the Belmont Stakes, which will be held on June 9.
I’ll Have Another was not favored to win the Preakness Stakes and his odds were set at 3-1. Bodemeister, who was the favorite at 2-1 odds, was the speed horse again as he led the field for most of the race just as he did at the Kentucky Derby. This time, Creative Cause was following close behind in second by the time the field of horses reached the far turn. Just as in the Kentucky Derby, I’ll Have Another pushed faster in the final leg of the race. However, the Preakness Stakes finish was closer with I’ll Have Another squeezing by the pacesetter at the very end to win the race in 1:56.9.
Mexican jockey Mario Gutierrez has won his last four races with I’ll Have Another. He gave I’ll Have Another the credit for the finish, “No one put him in this race. He put himself into the race,” he said. Gutierrez said all he had to do was signal to the horse that it was time to challenge Bodemeister and the horse did the rest.
The winning horse is owned by financier J. Paul Reddam and trained by Doug O’Neill.
The Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland was filled with a crowd of 121,309 to watch the Triple Crown hopeful. The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978.
THE HORSES
According to the official Pimlico website, the horses that competed this year in the Preakness Stakes by starting position include:
1. Tiger Walk is owned by Sagamore Farm, trained by Ignacio Correas IV, and was ridden by Ramon A. Dominguez.
2. Teeth of the Dog is owned by J.W. Singer. The thoroughbred is trained by Michael Matz and the jockey was Joe Bravo.
3. Pretension was the winner of the 2012 Canonero II Stakes. The horse is owned by Kidwells Petite Stable, trained by Christopher W. Grove, and was raced by Javier Santiago.
4. Zetterholm is owned by Winter Park Partners, trained by Richard E. Dutrow, Jr., and ridden by Junior Alvarado.
5. Went The Day Well is owned by Team Valor International and is trained by H. Graham Motion. His jockey was John Velazquez. This team won last year’s Kentucky Derby race with Animal Kingdom, and they took Went The Day Well to the 2012 Kentucky Derby.
6. Creative Cause is owned by Heinz Steinmann and trained by Mike Harrington. His jockey was be Joel Rosario. Creative Cause was part of the field at the Kentucky Derby, too.
7. Bodemeister, winner of the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, is trained by Bob Baffert. He is owned by Zayat Stables and his jockey was Mike Smith.
8. Daddy Nose Best was the winner of the Sunland Derby at Sunland Park and the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate and raced in the 2012 Kentucky Derby. He is owned by Cathy and Bob Zollars, trained by Steve Asmussen. His jockey was Julien Leparoux.
9. I’ll Have Another was the winner of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. He is owned by financier J. Paul Reddam, trained by Doug O’Neill and ridden by jockey Mario Gutierrez.
10. Optimizer is trained by D. Wayne Lukas, owned by tobacconist Brad Kelley of Bluegrass Hall LLC and ridden by Corey Nakatani. This horse raced also raced in the Kentucky Derby.
11. Cozzetti is trained by Dale Romans and was raced by Jose Lezcano The horse is owned by Albaugh Family Stables.