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Saturday, April 21, 2007

The contaminated pet food that was recalled after it was found to contain a harmful industrial chemical called melamine, has been used as pig feed at a hog farm in Ceres, California, located in the United States.

At least seven urine samples taken from pigs at the American Hog Farm, were tested and the results came back positive for the chemical melamine. At least three samples from the feed used to feed the pigs were tested and those results also came back positive for melamine.

Reports say that at least 100 pigs from the farm were slaughtered and sold from the “custom slaughterhouse” that is operated on the farms site. The meat is then sold to different places as “individual orders” and is not sold commercially for supermarkets. The affected meat goes as far back as April 3 and the company is asking anyone who bought it to return the product or throw it out.

Despite the sale, California State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Breitmeyer says that no evidence has turned up to suggest that the meat that was sold entered the human consumption chain.

“There is no evidence that any products from this farm have entered the food supply. The risk to people right now is minimal,” said Breitmeyer who also said that pet food from bags or boxes that have been torn or ripped, is sometimes reused as feed for small farms.

California’s Department of Food and Agriculture investigated the company and found that it had received the contaminated pet food from Diamond Pet Foods, which supplies retailers with the pet food Natural Balance, one of the over 100 recalled brands of pet food. Authorities then quarantined the farm to further investigate the situation.

At least 1,500 pigs are on the farm.

As of the moment, no other farms are being investigated, but officials say that other farms may also be affected.

“In the course of our investigation, we may find similar situations in other parts of the country,” said head of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Sundlof.

The FDA is continuing to investigate and Sundlof says that there is a possibility that the contamination of the pet food may be intentional.

“It would certainly lend credibility to the theory that it may be intentional. That will be one of the theories we will pursue when we get into the plants in China,” said Sundlof.

Last month, Menu Foods was the first to recall all of its 60 million products of dry and wet dog and cat food after pets began to fall ill and in some cases died of kidney failure. The FDA found melamine in samples of Menu Foods pet food and in samples of wheat gluten, imported from China, which was used as an ingredient.

Thursday, September 1, 2005

The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, has ordered most of the local police force to stop rescue efforts and shift their efforts to prevent looting [1]. At the same time, FEMA has reportedly been blocking aid shipments into the city on the grounds that it is too dangerous.

A rescue helicopter attempting to retrieve stranded people from New Orleans’ Superdome stadium was reportedly shot at; but this has not yet been confirmed. A member of the National Guard was reportedly shot, but was not seriously injured. Official reports say that one New Orleans police officer was shot in the head, but was expected to survive. Other reports say that police stranded on the roof of a hotel were being fired upon by looters in the streets. Meanwhile, reports from many blogs and grassroots journalists about police officers looting cars and stores have started to filter up to the mainstream media [2].

Food, diapers, and other supplies are the target of most looters. Some are reportedly taking non-essential and luxury items, such as TVs and computers. Reportedly, gun and pawn shops are also a popular target for looting.

Earlier today, buses were taking the most vulnerable away to the state capital of Louisiana, Baton Rouge. Evacuees in the Superdome are also being moved by bus to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

US President George W. Bush, in an interview on ABC television, condemned the looting, saying “I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this.”

A hospital in Gretna was evacuated after a supply truck carrying food, water and medical supplies was stopped at gunpoint. Spokesman Stephen Campanini estimated there to be approximately 350 employees in the hospital, along with between 125 and 150 patients. Campanini said, “There are physical threats to safety from roving bands of armed individuals with weapons who are threatening the safety of the hospital.”

Despite this, some of the other rumors of looting have proven to be false. One of the most prevalent was the story that armed looters laid siege to the Children’s Hospital. The Times-Picayune reported that this story was false.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

A woman attacked Pope Benedict XVI during Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, causing a disruption to the ceremonies. The pope was unharmed and got to his feet and completed the Mass, although afterwards he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray also fell down and broke a leg. The accused assailant, Susanna Maiolo, is a 25-year-old Swiss national from the Ticino region, is reported to have psychiatric problems.

Susanna Maiolo also attempted to attack the pope during last years Midnight Mass, although she was stopped by security. During both assaults it appears that she was wearing the same red sweater. Vatican spokesman, Rev Federico Lombardi said that “She is known to the Vatican but she was never thought to have been of any serious danger to the Holy Father.”

Despite the attack the pontiff decided to continue the midnight mass services. Although noticeably shaken, he still delivered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” speech. In this years speech he mentioned the current financial crisis, conflicts in Africa and Israel, and the state of the Christian minority in Iraq.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Welsh footballer Ryan Giggs was named as the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year in a ceremony Sunday night. The 36-year-old Manchester United and Welsh international player has won a record eleven Premier League titles in his career, and made over 800 appearances for his club.

The award is given in December each year to a British sportsman or woman, and is voted for by the public. Giggs is only the fifth footballer to win since the award started in 1954, the most recent being David Beckham in 2001.

Formula One driver Jenson Button was runner-up, and heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis came in third.

Giggs said that winning came as a shock. “I grew up watching this programme. To see the people that have won it and to be here is unbelievable,” he said in his acceptance speech.

“I am playing for the greatest manager that has ever lived and I’m playing for the greatest club,” Giggs said. “Perhaps I’ve become more appreciated as I have got older. It’s unusual for a 36-year-old to be playing with a team like Manchester United for 20 years but I am enjoying it and long may it continue.”

Through his career United is the only club Giggs has played at. This year he made his 800th appearance and scored his 150th goal, and in April he also won the PFA Player Of The Year award.

Seve Ballesteros won the event’s Lifetime Achievement award. The Spanish golfer, who is suffering from a brain tumour, was unable to attend the event, but received a standing ovation. His award was presented at his home in Padrena by fellow golfer José María Olazábal.

“It’s a pity I’m not there. I’m very sorry, I know I’m missing a good show, thank you very much to everyone,” Ballasteros said.

15-year-old diver Tom Daley won Young Sports Personality of the Year for the second time, as well as being one of the ten contenders for the main award. “It’s been a good year for me and I would just like to thank everyone who has helped me,” Daley said.

Comedian Eddie Izzard received a special award for his contributions to the charity event Sport Relief. Earlier this year he completed 43 marathons across the United Kingdom in 51 days, running a total of 1,100 miles. Izzard said that he decided on the challenge as “a health idea”. He trained for only five weeks before setting out.

“Everything was painful. People asked me if I enjoyed the running, but I enjoyed the stopping! I staggered, I ran and I crawled,” he admitted when accepting the award. His efforts netted over £200,000 for charity.

The awards were presented at the Sheffield Arena, in front of 11,000 people.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

The Romanian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has discussed its objectives for the future in a seminar about informational services development. Romanian Prime Minister C?lin Popescu-T?riceanu, as well as the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Zsolt Nagy, presented the government’s major targets for the expansion and development of information services.

These include the sale of the government’s remaining shares in telecommunication corporations Romtelecom and Postelecom, the relaunching of mobile phone operator Cosmorom and the maintaining of tax breaks for programmers. Another important objective was the awarding of more 3G licenses to mobile phone operators and more comprehensive online tax payment services. Connex, Romania’s second largest mobile phone operator, launched a comprehensive 3G service this month, and more companies are expected to follow in the future.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Member states of the eurozone have offered to give Greece thirty billion euro in emergency loans for the debt-stricken country, should the latter want it.

The loans’ price will be determined using formulas by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and will be set at around five percent.

The Luxembourgish prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, speaking on behalf of eurozone finance ministers, commented that “[t]he total amount put up by the eurozone member states for the first year will reach 30bn euros.” He added that “[t]his is certainly no subsidy” to Greece.

The prime minister also noted that financing would be “completed and co-financed” by the IMF. European Union monetary affairs chief Olli Rehn remarked that the IMF would make a “substantial contribution” to the loan package as well, perhaps around ten billion euros.

The Greek economy has spent more than it has earned for several years now, and currently faces a budget deficit equal to 12.9% of its economic output, or a total debt of 300 billion euros. The country intends to try and reduce the deficit to 8.7% this year.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

English actress Rachel Weisz thinks that Botox injections should be banned for all actors.

The 39-year-old actress, best known for her roles in the Mummy movie franchise and for her Academy Award-winning portrayal in The Constant Gardener, feels facial Botox injections leave actors less able to convey emotion and that it harms the acting industry as much as steroids harm athletes.

In an interview with UK’s Harper’s Bazaar, coming out next month, Weisz says, “It should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen,” she claims. “Acting is all about expression; why would you want to iron out a frown?”

Currently living in New York, she also mentions that English women are much less worried about their physical appearance than in the United States. “I love the way girls in London dress,” she claimed. “It’s so different to the American ‘blow-dry and immaculate grooming’ thing.”

Thursday, November 8, 2007

What you are about to read is an American life as lived by renowned author Edmund White. His life has been a crossroads, the fulcrum of high-brow Classicism and low-brow Brett Easton Ellisism. It is not for the faint. He has been the toast of the literary elite in New York, London and Paris, befriending artistic luminaries such as Salman Rushdie and Sir Ian McKellen while writing about a family where he was jealous his sister was having sex with his father as he fought off his mother’s amorous pursuit.

The fact is, Edmund White exists. His life exists. To the casual reader, they may find it disquieting that someone like his father existed in 1950’s America and that White’s work is the progeny of his intimate effort to understand his own experience.

Wikinews reporter David Shankbone understood that an interview with Edmund White, who is professor of creative writing at Princeton University, who wrote the seminal biography of Jean Genet, and who no longer can keep track of how many sex partners he has encountered, meant nothing would be off limits. Nothing was. Late in the interview they were joined by his partner Michael Caroll, who discussed White’s enduring feud with influential writer and activist Larry Kramer.