Monday, August 30, 2021

Twitter is working on some new features for its audio rooms, Twitter Spaces. The developer and app researcher Nima Owji has reported that Twitter is working on some new features like “Replay”, “Rules”, “Locked Spaces” for Twitter’s audio rooms. Nima Owji has found these features in Twitter’s codes and reported that these new features are still under development.

Nima Owji, a leaker who has leaked other Twitter’s features including “Reactions”, “Twitter Spaces Web version”, and… before the official release, saidin a tweet published on August 21, 2021, that Twitter has been working on some new features for its Clubhouse clone, Twitter Spaces.

1. Twitter may let its users record their spaces, other people would be able to share those records or listen to them as many times as they want even when the original Space is finished.

2. Twitter may let users set some rules for their Spaces. Other speakers have to obey those rules, remember that the host can remove a person whenever they want!

3. Twitter is working to let users lock their Spaces. Currently, Spaces are public and everybody can join. But as Nima Owji has reported, locked Spaces are coming. We don’t exactly know how they’ll work, but it’s clear that Twitter wants to let the hosts control their Spaces.

Last but not the least, on August 29, 2021, 9to5Mac reported that Nima Owji has published a new screenshot about Twitter’s brand new feature called “Communities”. Communities are going to be exactly like Facebook groups. People can share their tweets in a community and only the members of that community will be able to reply or read those tweets. Also, some Communities may be public, so everybody will be able to read the tweets but again, only the members will be able to reply.

At the end of the day, Twitter has updated itself more than ever only in 2021, and Spaces have become an important part of Twitter.

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Thursday, June 21, 2007

A recall issued last week for Thomas the Tank Engine toys made in China and containing lead-based paint, is the latest scare for consumers, and follows recent scandals involving Chinese-made pet food, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste and other toys, The New York Times has reported in a series of articles.

Last week, RC2, a U.S. toy company based in Oak Brook, Illinois, issued a recall for its popular wooden “Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends” train sets. The recall involved 1.5 million “Thomas Wooden Railway” vehicles and train sets sold at toy stores and various retailers across the U.S. from January 2005 through June 2007.

A subsequent recall has been issued in the United Kingdom, where Thomas the Tank Engine was originated in the 1940s as a character in a children’s story by the Reverend W.V. Awdry. Around 70,000 toys are involved in the U.K. recall, according to The Guardian.

“RC2 has determined that the surface paints on the recalled products contain lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects,” the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a press release dated June 13. “Consumers should take the recalled toys away from young children immediately and contact RC2 Corp. for a replacement toy,” the commission said.

Those “adverse health effects” could include brain and nerve damage, especially in young children, as well as blood and brain disorders. Severe lead poisoning causes vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, anemia, loss of appetite, headaches and in particularly high doses, coma and death.

In an article on Monday, The New York Times reported that recalls have been issued for 24 different toys in the U.S. in the past year, and every one of them was made in China. According to the Toy Industry Association, toys made in China account for around 70 percent to 80 percent of all the toys sold in the U.S., The Times said.

“These are items that children are supposed to be playing with,” Prescott Carlson was quoted as saying by The Times. Carlson is a co-founder of a child-safety website called Imperfect Parent, which tracks recalls of toys and other baby products. “It should be at a point where companies in the United States that are importing these items are held liable,” Carlson said.

RC2 would not comment to The Times, and a Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman would not say how long ago the problem with the lead paint was discovered.

For a follow-up article on Tuesday, The Times visited a factory in Dongguan, in China’s Guangdong province, where the “Thomas and Friends” toys are made. The paper interviewed workers and took photos on the factory floor.

“You’re intruding,” a factory manager identified only as Zhong was quoted as telling the reporters. “Tell me, why exactly are you here?”

During the visit, a reporter, translator and a photographer were detained by factory officials, and released a day later after local police and government officials intervened.

The factory also produces other toys for RC2, including toy John Deere trucks, NASCAR racing models and M&M’s cars, The Times said. RC2 makes the toys under licenses from various companies. The “Thomas and Friends” toys are made under license from Hit Entertainment, which owns the “Thomas” brand.

According to RC2, items in the “Thomas and Friends” recall are:

• Red James Engine & Red James’ # 5 Coal Tender
• Red Lights & Sounds James Engine & Red James’ #5
• Lights & Sounds Coal Tender
• James with Team Colors Engine & James with Team Colors *#5 Coal Tender
• Red Skarloey Engine
• Brown & Yellow Old Slow Coach
• Red Hook & Ladder Truck & Red Water Tanker Truck
• Red Musical Caboose
• Red Sodor Line Caboose
• Red Coal Car labeled “2006 Day Out With Thomas” on the Side
• Red Baggage Car
• Red Holiday Caboose
• Red “Sodor Mail” Car
• Red Fire Brigade Truck
• Red Fire Brigade Train
• Deluxe Sodor Fire Station
• Red Coal Car
• Yellow Box Car
• Red Stop Sign
• Yellow Railroad Crossing Sign
• Yellow “Sodor Cargo Company” Cargo Piece
• Smelting Yard
• Ice Cream Factory

Toys listed that are marked with codes containing “WJ” or “AZ” are not included in the recall.

Earlier, RC2 said that customers would have to cover shipping costs to return the toys to the company. It later agreed to cover postage after angry complaints by parents, The Times said in an article yesterday. Refunds will take about two months.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

On December 22, 2006 Microsoft has announced that it has extended its warranty for all Xbox 360 video game consoles to one year in the United States. While this one year warranty applies to all Xbox 360 software as well, Xbox 360 accessories will still carry their original 90 day warranty.

According to a statement by Microsoft:

“Customers that experience hardware issues with their Xbox 360 within one year of purchase will have their consoles repaired at no cost. Moreover, the new warranty policy is retroactive, so consumers that may have already paid for out-of-warranty Xbox 360 repair within one year of the console’s purchase will be eligible for reimbursement of their console repair charges.”

This extension should help ease customers’ minds who have been concerned with the Xbox 360’s reputation for hardware failures. A partial list of hardware issues can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_technical_problems

People who have paid for Xbox 360 repair will be automatically distributed a reimbursement check in about 10 weeks from the present date.

Previously in September, 2006, Microsoft had waived the cost for repairs on all Xbox 360 consoles made before January 1, 2006, and refunded any fees already paid.

A full description of the updated warranty can be found here: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemsetup/xbox360/resources/warranty.htm

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

In a videotape recorded prior to his murder on Sunday, Guatemalan lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg accused President of Guatemala Álvaro Colom and his wife Sandra Torres of complicity in his violent death.

“If you are watching this message,” Rosenberg told the camera, “it is because I was assassinated by President Álvaro Colom with help from [private secretary to the president] Gustavo Alejos.”

In the video, distributed at his funeral, Rosenberg attributed the motive of the incipient murder to his representation of businessman Khalil Musa. Musa and his daughter Marjorie were murdered in April. Rosenberg alleged that Musa was killed because he was unwilling to enter into corrupt dealings at the behest of president Colom.

Presidential spokesperson Fernando Barrillas categorically rejected the accusations. “This reveals the intention of creating a political crisis around a case that should be investigated and processed by the courts,” he said in a statement posted on the official web site of the Guatemalan government. Barrillas also announced the intention to seek international help in the investigation of Rosenberg’s murder.

Rosenberg was shot on Sunday while riding his bicycle in Zone 14 of Guatemala City. His video statement has been posted to the YouTube web site.

Helen Mack of the Myrna Mack Foundation, a Guatemalan Human Rights organization, called for the video to be authenticated by experts, describing the investigation of the accusations as “rather difficult at a political level.” ^{((Translated from Spanish))Spanish: ?bastante difícil a nivel político.}

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

In early May, Wikinews extended an invitation to Vitaly Filipchenko, an independent candidate in the 2021 New York City mayoral election, set to take place November 2nd, alongside other candidates. Filipchenko answered some questions about his policies and campaign during a phone interview.

Filipchenko, registered on the New York City Campaign Finance Board as Vitaly A. Filipchenko, is the first Russian candidate for New York City mayor, being born in Tomsk, Siberia in 1973, according to news agency Sputnik. He has since naturalised as a United States citizen. According to the web site, Filipchenko has been educated in road construction and maintenance and owns a moving services company; he describes himself on his web site as a “small business owner”. On his web site’s platform page, he says that “[m]y English may not be perfect – but my platform is.”

Incumbent Democrat mayor Bill de Blasio, who won re-election in the 2017 New York City mayoral election by 66.5%, cannot run for a third term under term limits. As of April 28, 22 candidates are currently running, the majority of whom are also Democrats. Ahead of the June Democratic primary for New York City mayor, a poll conducted May 23 and 24 by WPIX and Emerson College of 12 Democratic candidates with a margin of error of 3.2 per cent has former commissioner for the New York City Department of Sanitation Kathryn Garcia and Borough President of Brooklyn Eric Adams leading with 21.1% and 20.1%, respectively.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Funerals and prayers for nine activists, who died in Israel’s Gaza flotilla raid, were held in Istanbul on Thursday.

Tens of thousands attended the funeral of the nine Turkish nationals, including one teen of dual U.S.-Turkish citizenship. The coffins were draped in Turkish and Palestinian flags. There was widespread anger from those attending. Released activists arrived to their home countries yesterday and today.

The Turkish President Abdullah Gül said that Turkey would act calmly and said;

The youngest of the nine activists killed, a 19-year-old high school student Furkan Dogan, was shot in the head and chest. He was born in Troy New York, but moved to Turkey when he was two. He will be buried in his family’s hometown of Kayseri in central Turkey on Friday. A United States State Department spokesman said it would probe the death of the Turkish-American killed, but said the FBI were not involved “at this point.”

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that soldiers were acting in self-defence. He said the activists were not peace activists but “violent supporters of terrorism”. Israel has stated that of the 7 soldiers wounded during the assault, 2 were shot with weapons wrestled from Israeli forces. But Swedish activist Mattias Gardell scoffed at such statements, replying, “the Israelis started shooting first. We had no weapons, the Israelis had weapons”.

Abdullah Gül said Israel committed “one of the biggest mistakes ever in its history,” and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an called Israel’s actions “a historic mistake.” The leader of the Islamic charity IHH spoke to the crowd, saying, “The whole world supports us. We will shake the foundations of Zionism”.

The activists had attempted to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The Irish ship MV Rachel Corrie arriving some time this weekend, will be the next ship to challenge the blockade.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Academy Award-winning film director Paul Haggis declared to Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis that he had decided to leave the Church of Scientology after being a member for 35 years. His letter to Davis was posted Saturday on the blog of former high-ranking Scientology official Marty Rathbun. Haggis received Academy Awards for writing and producing the 2004 film Crash, which he also directed.

Rathbun confirmed the authenticity of the letter by Haggis, and The Hollywood Reporter also confirmed it with a friend of the director. At his blog, Rathbun has been critical of Scientology’s current leader David Miscavige. In the June article “Former Scientology executives say leader David Miscavige abused staff”, Wikinews reported on criticism by Rathbun and other high-ranking officials that was published in a series of investigative articles in the St. Petersburg Times. In his letter to Davis, Haggis wrote that he read the series in the St. Petersburg Times, where these former Scientology officials accused David Miscavige of physically abusing Scientologists. He criticized the manner in which the Church of Scientology attempted to smear the former officials after they spoke out against the organization.

Well-known celebrity Scientologists include actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Haggis had not been known to be a vocal public supporter of Scientology prior to his declaration to Davis that he was leaving the organization.

He expressed his disappointment to Davis, son of actress Anne Archer, that the San Diego, California branch of the Church of Scientology supported Proposition 8. Proposition 8 removed the rights of same-sex couples to marry in California. The San Diego Church of Scientology was listed along with other groups on a Proposition 8 supporters website, but it was later removed. Haggis said that Davis initially told him he would do something about the San Diego Church of Scientology’s support for Proposition 8, but in the end Davis did not take action about this. Haggis called the inaction by Davis with regard to the San Diego Church of Scientology’s stance on homosexuality “cowardly”. Scientology views of homosexuality are controversial, and the introductory work to the topic Dianetics by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard describes homosexuality as a form of sexual perversion. Haggis wrote to Davis that he did not wish to stay a member “of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated”, and called such behavior “indefensible”.

Actress Deborah Rennard, wife of Haggis, was introduced to Scientology by her parents. According to Haggis, the Scientology practice of “disconnection” was imposed on Rennard and her husband, and they were ordered to disconnect from her parents because Rennard’s parents had violated a rule of the organization. Due to having undergone a personal experience with regard to Scientology’s practice of disconnection, Haggis was surprised to hear Davis deny the policy existed in an interview with CNN journalist John Roberts.

He concluded his letter to Davis by noting that his Scientologist friends might disassociate from him due to his words, writing, “…I am fully aware that some of my friends may choose to no longer associate with me, or in some cases work with me. I will always take their calls, as I always took yours. However, I have finally come to the conclusion that I can no longer be a part of this group. Frankly, I had to look no further than your refusal to denounce the church’s anti-gay stance, and the indefensible actions, and inactions, of those who condone this behavior within the organization. I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act. I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.”

Roger Friedman of The Hollywood Reporter described the film director’s decision to leave the Church of Scientology as “a stunning move”. Friedman wrote that “Haggis has taken an enormous step here, and one that should resonate among all celebrity Scientologists.” Tony Ortega of The Village Voice called Haggis’s declaration to Davis “a remarkable letter”, and Gina Serpe of E! Online wrote “True, he was nowhere near the religion’s most famous celebrity practitioner, but he will no doubt now go down as one of its most infamous, thanks to the inevitably viral publication of his resignation letter”. Writing for Movieline, Kyle Buchanan characterized the letter by Haggis as “a candid, confrontational letter to Scientology top brass”, and said “It’s a must-read.” Radar Online observed “In a shock heard-round-the-Scientology world, Paul Haggis has very publicly quit the organization.” Foster Kamer wrote for Gawker that the letter by Haggis was “incredibly damning” to Scientology, and Adam McDowell of National Post called it “a scathing letter about church policy”. Vicki Hyman of The Star-Ledger called Haggis “the most famous name (if not face) to renounce the Church of Scientology”, and Xan Brooks wrote in The Guardian that “the Church of Scientology lost one of its most high-profile members”. According to The Guardian, the Church of Scientology has not yet responded publicly to the statements made by Haggis in his letter to Davis.

Haggis has multiple credits in film, including work as writer-director for Crash, and writer for Million Dollar Baby (directed by Clint Eastwood), Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Letters From Iwo Jima. Both Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Crash (2005) won Academy Awards for Best Picture, making Haggis the first film writer since 1950 to pen movies which won Best Picture Oscars in consecutive years. He is highly-regarded for his work as a humanitarian and for his civil liberties work, and his letter includes a list of awards he has received related to his dedication to civil rights. He is currently working on the film The Next Three Days, which includes actors Liam Neeson, Russell Crowe, and former Scientologist Jason Beghe. Beghe previously went public with his own criticism after leaving the Church of Scientology, and described how members must pay large amounts of money to advance in Scientology levels.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

A robotic system at Stanford Medical Center was used to perform a laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery successfully with a theoretically similar rate of complications to that seen in standard operations. However, as there were only 10 people in the experimental group (and another 10 in the control group), this is not a statistically significant sample.

If this surgical procedure is as successful in large-scale studies, it may lead the way for the use of robotic surgery in even more delicate procedures, such as heart surgery. Note that this is not a fully automated system, as a human doctor controls the operation via remote control. Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is a treatment for obesity.

There were concerns that doctors, in the future, might only be trained in the remote control procedure. Ronald G. Latimer, M.D., of Santa Barbara, CA, warned “The fact that surgeons may have to open the patient or might actually need to revert to standard laparoscopic techniques demands that this basic training be a requirement before a robot is purchased. Robots do malfunction, so a backup system is imperative. We should not be seduced to buy this instrument to train surgeons if they are not able to do the primary operations themselves.”

There are precedents for just such a problem occurring. A previous “new technology”, the electrocardiogram (ECG), has lead to a lack of basic education on the older technology, the stethoscope. As a result, many heart conditions now go undiagnosed, especially in children and others who rarely undergo an ECG procedure.