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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

An internal Wikimedia communiqué was leaked over the weekend. Like many e-mails, the document is a chain of forwards, replies, and attachments. The attached Portable Document Format (PDF) file was from a PowerPoint presentation, entitled “Wikimedia Foundation: Past, Present, and Future”. The presentation is watermarked confidential, do not distribute, and details the Foundation’s recent financial, technical, and traffic history, outlines near-term forecasts for all three, and makes suggestions for slightly longer horizons as well. By itself the document led to several inter-connected news stories.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Frenzied destruction of empty Jewish settlements in Gaza by Palestinian looters have marred plans for exploiting those facilities to create much needed jobs for the area.

Greenhouses in Gaza have been partly destroyed as crucial equipment was stripped by the Palestinians. Looters took everything from water pumps, plastic sheets, tubing and equipment. This makes at least one third of the hothouses at least temporarily unusable to feed the families of Gaza and for potential export to Israel.

The facilities were purchased by a group of Jewish-American donors and given to the Palestinian government to encourage economic development. It was initially anticipated over four thousand Palestinians could be given work at the greenhouses, however all offers have been suspended prior to the damage being assessed and repairs arranged.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Wikipedia blocked editing by a proxy IP address [1] belonging to Internet users in the Middle Eastern kingdom of Qatar for a period of twelve hours due to persistent vandalism originating from the IP.

Only one provider of high-speed Internet access operates in Qatar, and this provider has configured its network such that all its users share the same single IP address. In most cases, a single IP address corresponds to one user or a small group of users in one building or school. Because of this single-address configuration, Wikipedia was not able to implement its usual countervandalism solution, the blocking of individual IPs or user accounts. Wikipedia said that the action was taken after 200 repeated vandalism edits of the articles on sex, the United States, and the birthday of the prophet Muhammad.

A spokesperson for Wikipedia, said: “Qatar has not been banned from Wikipedia. Apparently Qatar basically has only one ISP, and nearly all of its traffic shows as coming from a single IP address.”

Jimmy Wales, the Wikipedia founder, emphasized the temporary nature of the block, saying, “This IP number was temporarily blocked for less than 12 hours, and a block of an entire nation would go absolutely against Wikipedia policy.”

At 21:26 UTC (5:26 p.m. ET) a Wikipedia admin unblocked the IP address with the reason given as: “This IP is the address for the entire nation of Qatar; it should not be blocked.”

Qatar only has around 219,000 Internet users, and much less of that number would actually be affected by the block.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

In findings published on Wednesday in Science Advances, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) and University of South Carolina Beaufort, both in the United States, reported warming seas appear to decrease the efficacy of the chemical compounds that corals release into the water to defend themselves from bacteria and encroaching seaweed, but these losses may be mitigated if there are large numbers of hungry fish around.

The research was led by Mark Hay, a marine ecologist and Regents Professor at GT, who said “There is a lot of argument now about whether local management can help in the face of global stresses — whether what a Fijian village does matters when people in London and Los Angeles burn fossil fuels to drive to work”. Hay added, “Our work indicates that local management provides a degree of insurance against global stresses, but there are likely higher temperatures that render the insurance ineffective.”

The researchers examined three types of coral in reefs off the coast of Fiji, Acropora millepora, Porites cylindrica, and Pocillopora damicornis. Some of these reefs were in areas where fishing was prohibited and some were not. The researchers found when fish were plentiful, they would eat algae and seaweed off the corals, which appeared to leave them more resistant to the bacterium Vibrio coralliilyticus, a bacterium associated with bleaching.

The researchers suggested the algae, like warming temperatures, might render the corals’ chemical defenses less effective, and the fish were protecting the coral by removing the algae. They reported, “Macroalgae are suggested to disrupt coral microbiomes via transfer of allelochemicals or microbes or release of dissolved organic carbon that affects microbial growth”.

P. cyclindrica and P. damicornis are known to be function under conditions that damage other corals and A. millepora is not.

Each reef-building coral unit is a collection of polyps living in symbiotic partnership with zooxanthellae algae. The polyp, a cnidarian as are jellyfish, provides stinging protection and secretes a calcium shell, and the algae performs photosynthesis, produces oxygen and gives the coral its color. Changing ocean environments have led to a phenomenon called coral bleaching when warmer waters cause the cnidarian to expel the algae from its body, which turns the coral reefs white. This does not kill the cnidarian partner but does leave it badly weakened and vulnerable to disease.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

A small plane, piloted by sixteen-year-old Ryan McCall, crashed near Orange County Airport in Virginia, at about 9:45 a.m. local time Sunday morning, police said. He was killed in the accident.

The boy, Ryan McCall, a sophomore at Riverbend High School in Spotsylvania County, was alone on the plane. The plane, a 1974 Piper, model PA28140, crashed in a field just east of the airport. The plane belonged to Springfield, Virginia resident William Rushing III.

Flying instructors suggested birds might have contributed to the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are continuing their investigation as to what actually happened. Sixteen-year-old pilots are common, according to Virginia Aviation Board President Johnny Meza. He said a sixteen-year-old flying either alone or with a certified pilot is allowed. The NTSB predicted five to ten business days for a preliminary report.

The Spotsylvania County school district sent out a memorandum saying the school’s administration is working with counsellors to help students cope with the loss of their classmate. The statement said in part, “We were very saddened to hear the news about the death of Riverbend High Sophomore Ryan McCall.” Grief counsellors were available at the school to provide support to students.

The boy’s remains were sent to a medical examiner’s office for autopsy.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

The United Kingdom Department of Health and Social Care on Friday postponed restrictions on multibuy promotional deals and online and TV advertising for junk food products by one year.

The deferral affects a ban on deals incentivising multiple purchases of foods high in fat, salt or sugar, including buy one, get one free and complimentary refills for soft drinks, and on paid TV advertisements before 9pm and online.

A Department press release attributes the delay to the “unprecedented global economic situation”, and states that it is hoped postponing restrictions will give businesses “more time to prepare for the restrictions on advertising”, and allow the government to “review and monitor the impact” of the multibuy ban. It said: “Economies across the world have been affected by higher than expected global energy and goods prices, leading to increased costs across supply chains which are affecting both businesses and consumers.”

The delay of the ban on multibuy deals would last until October 2023. Due to delays in implementing the Health and Care Bill 2021, the advertising ban is postponed until January 2024. Restrictions on the placement of such products in stores, at checkouts and on supermarket websites and apps will enter into force from October 2022, as planned.

Campaigner and chef Jamie Oliver called it “a wasted opportunity” that “starts to erode the whole obesity strategy”. He urged “real leadership” from Prime Minister Boris Johnson “to give young people a healthier and fairer future”.

Oliver was joined by Barbara Crowther of the Children’s Food Campaign and Graham MacGregor, cardiologist and campaigner at Queen Mary University of London.

Whilst Public Health Minister Maggie Throup said “we’re committed to doing everything we can to help people live healthier lives”, her Labour counterpart Andrew Gwynne called it a reversal.

The press release read: “Addressing obesity remains a priority for government, and will reduce the strain put on the NHS as it works to tackle the COVID-19 backlogs.” Media, Data and Digital Minister Julia Lopez cited spending £550 million “to level up access to sport and physical activity right across the country” as evidence of determination “to tackle childhood obesity”.

Gwynne argued: “Johnson’s desperation to cling onto his job means the ideology of Conservative MPs is being placed above children’s health […] Instead of cutting childhood obesity, preventing ill-health and easing pressure on the NHS, this chaotic government is performing another U-turn.”

The Independent wrote of backbench Conservative MPs having reportedly criticised the deal as evidence of a “nanny state”.

Johnson is reported to have made the decision after leading a ministerial meeting on the cost of living Wednesday. The Times reported ministers told him of the cost the bans would have on the food and advertisement agencies. Further, The Guardian and The Independent wrote of rumours the government could simply axe the restrictions, some of the toughest in the world. MacGregor said “Johnson could have left a legacy of being the first prime minister to address obesity in a meaningful way”, but “he has given in to his own MPs, and an aggressive food industry, who, ironically, were starting to comply”.

When first announced in November 2020, 800 food and drink manufacturers, including Britvic and Kellogg’s, called the ban on junk food advertising “disproportionate”, adding “the evidence base underpinning these proposals is lacking in both detail and efficacy”. Kellogg’s last month sued the government over the restrictions on product placement in prime locations in stores.

The Food and Drink Federation said the delay “makes sense” in response to “high inflation”, though the Children’s Food Campaign argues multibuy deals do not save consumers money, but instead increase junk food purchases. Figures published on Friday indicate two in five Britons are buying less food as the Bank of England warns inflation could top 10% this year.

The press release promised a public consultation on TV and paid-for online adverts in the next weeks.

Broadcasters could lose over £200 million in annual revenue if the ban on junk food advertising past watershed hours goes ahead.

The government touted its calorie labelling laws passed last month, and measures taken to help alleviate the cost of living. The Department also promised the publication of a Health Disparities white paper and launch of a Better Health: Rewards scheme to address obesity.

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