China and Indonesia hail deal of Copenhagen summit

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China and Indonesia, two of the giants of Asia, have welcomed the UN Climate Change Conference outcome.

The Chinese foreign minister and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the 6th President of Indonesia, appreciated the result of the UN Climate Change Conference. Obama defended the Copenhagen Accord and was the medium between the main new powers. The consensus didn’t adopt the accord in the Copenhagen summit.

The 193-nation conference ended last Friday in Denmark. Richard Black, who is a journalist of BBC environment says the tipping point is the 2 degrees Celsius. The UN scientists says to avert the climate crisis we have to stay under 3.6F (2C).

Yang Jiechi, who is the 10th Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China said: “Developing and developed countries are very different in their historical emissions responsibilities and current emissions levels, and in their basic national characteristics and development stages. […] Therefore, they should shoulder different responsibilities and obligations in fighting climate.”

Yang Jiechi thinks the summit was the beginning of a new chapter fight against of global warming. IPCC’s leader, who shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore Rajendra Pachauri said “We will have to make sure it moves quickly”.

The UN Climate Change Conference will be organized in Bonn, Germany. There will be other Climate and Atmosphere conferences in the future, for example the Fortaleza conference in Brazil, which start 16 August 2010.

The Copenhagen Accord is based on a proposal tabled by US, China, India, Brazil and Sou … Read More

Fußball-Bundesliga 2007–08: Stuttgart vs. Bayer Leverkusen

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Stuttgart beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 on a 2^nd half goal by Andreas Beck which moved the defending champions up to 12^th in the table.

Stuttgart 16 shots of which four hit the target while Bayer Leverkusen had 23 shots while four hit the target. However, Beck’s goal proved to be the difference.

Next week, Stuttgart is away to FC Nürnberg while Bayer Leverkusen are home to Arminia … Read More

Irish unemployment rate steady at 4.2%

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According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the unemployment rate in the Republic of Ireland was steady at 4.2% for February. The total number on the live register was 155,900 a fall of 1,300 from January.

All counties bar Waterford, Cavan, Kildare and Longford experienced a fall in unemployment, with Tipperary North having the largest individual drop with a fall of 6% in the unemployment rate.

A similier report by Eurostat – the Statistical Office of the European Union – for the month of January put Irish unemploment at 4.3%, confirming beliefs that Ireland now has the lowest rate of unemployment in Europe. Ireland is followed closely by Luxembourg with a rate of 4.4% and Austria at 4.5%. The EU average is 8.8% with Poland having the highest rate … Read More

RU486 debate complicates with amendments posed in Australian House of Representatives

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The ongoing debate over whether the Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott, or the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) regulate the abortifacient mifepristone (RU486) has complicated with a number of members proposing amendments to the Senate bill, now in the House of Representatives.

Jackie Kelly (Australian Liberal Party, Lindsay) has said that “There should be a transparent process in which the minister is accountable for his or her decision” on so-called restricted goods (of which RU486 is such a good) as listed in the TGA legislation. Kelly has proposed an amendment with points stating that “the Minister for Health and Ageing continuing to have the decision making role in relation to the approval of restricted goods…”, “the Minister being required to obtain written advice from the Therapeutic Goods Administration prior to giving written approval or refusal to approve”, “the Minister’s decision being subject to disallowance”.

In the debate on February 14, Andrew Laming (Liberal, Bowman) noted his intent to propose an amendment in the later consideration in detail stage, noting his views that the TGA process is “so far removed…from the concerns and the beliefs of the community” and that he is “unable to convince [himself] that completely leaving these decisions to the TGA is the right thing to do”. His amendment loosely aims to propose a “disallowable instrument in Parliament where there is a disagreement with the findings of the TGA.”

The introduction of amendments has caused confusion on procedural matters February 15 in the Questions to the Speaker period (that follows Question Time), where members can ask questions of the Speaker on procedural and other technical matters. In the following vote on the proposed legislation, if one of the votes on the amendments succeeds, this has the effect of discontinuing the other amendment proposals, as each of the amendments proposed has the effect of being a complete alternative bill.

The RU486 debate will have precedence over all other matters in the House until it is dealt with. Voting is expected on … Read More

Palestinian security chief quits, says too little is being done to curb lawlessness

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Tawfik Tirawi, head of Palestinian Intelligence in the West Bank, resigned Thursday. Fatah officials said he told President Mahmoud Abbas that too little was being done to curb lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza.

“I cannot work under these conditions,” he wrote in a letter of resignation given to Abbas.

He reportedly claims other heads of Palestinian security organizations had not done enough to impose the rule of law Abbas has promised. Abbas himself said some senior Palestinian officials are blocking his reform efforts.

Tirawi is the most senior security official to resign since Abbas’ election i … Read More

Mothers around the world on Mother’s Day

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Sunday, May 10, 2009 

Mother’s Day was established on the second Sunday in May by Anna Jarvis after her mother passed away. Former United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the inaugural Mother’s Day in 1914.

Mother with son and daughter

“Miss Jarvis thought Mother’s Day should be a day you spend with your mother, or a day when you do something special for her like fix her dinner or repair her broken stairs,” said an archivist at Mary Baldwin College. “Mother’s Day has nothing to do with candy,” said Jarvis, “It’s really a shame to waste flowers for Mother’s Day.”

This year again, the American congress approved the observance and requested the president to call upon citizens to partake in the time honoured recognition of this tradition. “I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 10, 2009, as Mother’s Day. I urge all Americans to express their love, respect, and gratitude to mothers everywhere, and I call upon all citizens to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.”

Tara McDonald, the mother of abducted Woodstock, Ontario eight year old, Victoria (Tori) Stafford, said “I would really hope to have my child home for Mother’s Day.” McDonald said that dealing with Tori’s absence since April 8 has resulted in “times when I sit in my house and bawl my eyes out and I curl up into a ball and I sob.”

61 year old Lynda McDade graduated Saturday from the University of Detroit along with her two daughters.

A mother under court order forbidding her access to her three children for three years was thrown in jail for approaching her child and telling him she loved him. The mother has been accused of turning the children against the father, a rich City financier who now has custody of the family’s children.

Sleepy Baby painting by Mary Cassatt

Gloria Steele, Acting Assistant Administrator for Global Health honours the 20th anniversary of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), “Women make extraordinary contributions as caregivers and caretakers, as well as breadwinners and bread-makers. By averting maternal death and disability that cost families and communities so much, we can improve the productive capacity of women in their own nations”

Nadya Suleman, known as Octomom is spending this mother’s day weekend in a California hospital undergoing uterine surgery. This operation will also make Suleman’s family complete with fourteen children as she will no longer be able to physcially conceive a child following the surgery.

Mary Ann Wright, known as “Mother Wright”, died Thursday in Oakland, California, but not before achieving renown as advocate for the poor, and feeding the hungry. She founded the Mother May Ann Wright Foundation from her modest beginnings sparing meals to others while subsisting herself on Social Security checks.

Maree Vaile is a mother of three who was humbled by New Zealand’s Mother of the Year award. Her husband and children recognised the adversity the family has overcome and wanted to show their appreciation by nominating her in the “Mums on Top” online competition.

In Taiwan, students from South Taiwan who attend University in North Taiwan could board a special train provided by the Taiwan Railway Adminsitration so they could visit their mothers on Mother’s Day. “Give your mother a hug, a big and strong hug, because love is not only a noun, it is also a verb,” President Ma Ying-jeou said, “The older mothers grow, the greater is their need to feel needed. So we should show our love for our mother.”<br style="clear … Read More

Jackson family seeking second autopsy

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Citing a lack of results from the primary autopsy by the Los Angeles (LA) Coroner’s Office of Michael Jackson’s body, the Jackson family has requested that an independent coroner examine the body in hopes of finding the cause of death.

Michael Jackson in 1988
Image: Alan Light.

The LA Coroner’s have ruled out foul play, but the toxicological tests could take as long as 6 weeks, and as of now have not specified the reason for Jackson’s death. The Coroner’s officer has stated though the decision for an independent autopsy was surprising, they didn’t have any issues with allowing it.

The Jackson family has been unable to contact Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was with the star during his final hours. Police have stated that Dr. Murray is not a suspect, but they are attempting to set up an interview.

Reverend Jesse Jackson, an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, has been in contact with the family and has been providing counseling. He stated “they [the Jacksons] didn’t know the doctor…He should have met with the family, given them comfort on the last hours of their son.” An associate of Ed Chernoff, Dr. Murray’s lawyer, stated that “contrary to what has been out there, Dr. Murray has been co-operating with authorities from the outset and will continue … Read More

Roadside bomb kills NATO soldier in Afghanistan

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According to NATO, one of its service members has died from a bomb attack at an army base in southern Afghanistan. In addition, an Afghan soldier reportedly died and the blast left three others injured.

The International Security Assistance Force released a statement yesterday, saying that “[the soldier] died today following an explosion at an Afghan National Army facility in Kabul.” An anonymous official said that the blast occurred when a mortar fuse exploded while a training exercise was underway. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the incident, saying that an infiltrator had caused the explosion.

This latest death brings the total death toll of foreign soldiers in 2010 to 166 in Afghanistan.

The last deaths reported by NATO were of two Dutch soldiers killed Saturday by a roadside bomb in the Uruzgan province. The Netherlands’ Defense Ministry said a third Dutch soldier had been seriously wounded in th … Read More

Pre-election call in Canada, Conservatives start ads, including during kids TV

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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper may not have dropped the writ for an election yet, but his party is airing advertisements on both television and radio.

Canadian Federal Elections 2008

Day

Stories from the 2008 Canadian Federal Elections

• 13 October 2008: CanadaVOTES: Libertarian John Kittridge in St. Paul’s
• 13 October 2008: Canadian scientists protest Harper’s attacks on science
• 10 October 2008: CanadaVOTES: NDP candidate Paul Arbour in Carleton—Mississippi Mills
• 10 October 2008: CanadaVOTES: NDP candidate Jo-Anne Boulding in Parry Sound—Muskoka
• 10 October 2008: CanadaVOTES: NDP candidate David Sparrow in Don Valley West

National Parties

Because the election is not yet official — though it is scheduled for October 19, 2009 and could be held as soon as October of this year — the ads do not count against the Conservative Party’s campaign spending limit. They have been airing since Thursday.

The advertisement includes various Canadians making statements about Harper, as opposed to the Conservative platform. One woman shown in a parking lot says that she likes “the idea that he’s a family man with young children.”

The Canadian Press notes that all four major party leaders are married and have children.

Other statements include “[h]e’s doing a good job,” “I’ve never been so proud to be Canadian,” “[h]e’s on the right track” and “I like him.”

Political communication expert Jonathan Rose of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario told the Canadian Press: “By relying on typical Canadians in the ads, the Conservatives are hoping that the voter will find the connection powerful. Unfortunately, these kind of ads are based on assertions, not arguments. There is no evidence given to support the claims made in them.”

A writer for The Montreal Gazette comments that, “at the end, it’s hard to tell whether Stephen Harper is trying to smile or grimacing with the effort to conve … Read More

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince released

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Saturday, July 16, 2005 

Crowds line up outside a Borders bookstore in Delaware, USA

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling was released today to hundreds of special midnight parties at bookstores. The book is expected to sell tens of thousands of copies in the first hour, and the waves of fans just keep on coming. As midnight spreads across the Atlantic and the North American continent, more and more stores will start selling.

The Royal Mail UK postal service delivered four hundred tons of the pre-ordered books this morning.

In British Columbia, fourteen copies of the book were accidentally sold at a supermarket on the 7th of July, eight days before the book’s official release date. This led publishers to obtain a court order from the British Columbia Supreme Court stating that people who had received the books were forbidden from copying, selling, discussing, or reading the book.

In protest at the ruling, Richard Stallman, an advocate of less-restrictive copyright law, called for a boycott of the books after the controversial Supreme Court ruling. He called anybody who “participated in requesting, issuing, enforcing, or trying to excuse” the injunction an “enemy of human rights i … Read More