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Little Rock Nine member Jefferson Thomas dies aged 67Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Jefferson Thomas, one of the members of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957, has died at the age of 67. His death was confirmed by fellow Little Rock Nine member’s Carlotta Walls LaNier and Minnijean Brown. The cause of death was announced as pancreatic cancer.
As a student at Dunbar Junior High School, Thomas volunteered to integrate into all-white Little Rock Central High School. Along with eight other African-American students Thomas attempted to enter the high school on September 4, 1957 but they were stopped by the National Guard. It would not be until September 23 the students would enter the school for the first time.
After leaving high school Thomas joined the U.S Army and served in Vietnam as a staff sergeant. When he returned to the United States he worked in the family business and later for the Department of Defense.
Little Rock Nine member Melba Beals commented on Thomas’s death. She said “No matter what we were talking about or no matter how awful the day had been, he could always make a funny joke about it,” she said, recalling their days at Central. “We are in deep pain thinking of him. We are all a family in a way. This is a great loss.”
EPA block massive West Australian energy projectWednesday, June 7, 2006
The Western Australian (WA) Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has advised against the massive Greater Gorgon liquefied natural gas project off WA’s Pilbara coast. Proponents of the projects say Gorgon is one of Australia’s biggest export ventures, scheduled to provide up to 6,000 jobs and exports of up to $1.2 billion.
EPA chairman Dr Wally Cox said the Gorgon project operators (Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell), had made an effort on flora and fauna issues but in its present state, the Gorgon proposal was “unacceptable.” Gorgon LNG general manager Colin Beckett said that Gorgon was a world-class gas field and that the joint venture partners were confident that the decision would be reversed.
Environment Minister Mark McGowan said there was a definite process to be followed. The Minister says he will make a final decision on the Gorgon proposal after considering the EPA report – and any subsequent report from the Appeals Convenor. The EPA recommendations on the Gorgon proposal are subject to a two-week appeals period.
The EPA’s Dr Cox said that joint venture had “not been able to demonstrate that impacts from dredging, the introduction of non-indigenous species and the potential loss of fauna could be reduced to acceptable levels.”
In September 2003 the WA government provided “in-principle agreement” to the Gorgon joint venturers subject to a number of conditions. Dr Cox said that the Environmental Review and Management Programme had further highlighted the terrestrial and marine conservation values of Barrow Island and the adjacent waters.
“Flatback turtles in particular would be put at risk from the proposal with two of the most important nesting beaches located adjacent to the proposed LNG processing plant site and the materials off-loading facility,” Dr Cox said. “There is very little science available on the life-cycle, behaviour and feeding habits of Flatback turtles and as a consequence it is not possible at this time to identify management measures that would ensure ongoing survival of this Pilbara Flatback turtle population.”
Dr Cox also said that the Proponent had not been able to demonstrate that risk could be reduced to satisfactory levels in the areas of: Impacts on the marine ecosystem from dredging; The introduction of non-indigenous species; Potential loss of subterranean and short range endemic invertebrate fauna species. “As a result, the proposal in its present form cannot meet the EPA’s environmental objectives and is considered environmentally unacceptable,” Dr Cox said.
Google to discontinue social networking application Google WaveThursday, August 5, 2010
File:Google Wave.jpg
Google has decided to retire the Google Wave social-networking service after one year, citing lack of user adoption.
Urs Hölzle, Google senior vice president for operations, said in a blog post that “Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked. We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a stand-alone product.” Hölzle also said that as a “web app for real time communication and collaboration, it set a high bar for what was possible in a Web browser. We weren’t quite sure how users would respond to this radically different kind of communication.” Google says that it will continue the service until the end of the year.
In May 2009, Google launched Wave as a private beta. A year later, it became open to the public. Wave is an email service that integrates social media features and capabilities into emailing. It integrates IM-like features into its service. The company released components of Google Wave as open source for those to create a similar service. “The central parts of the code, as well as the protocols that have driven many of Wave’s innovations, like drag-and-drop and character-by-character live typing, are already available as open source, so customers and partners can continue the innovation we began. In addition, we will work on tools so that users easily “liberate” their content from Wave,” Google said.
Australia/2006
Here’s An Opinion On:
Submitted by: Jeff Stevens
Kitchen islands can often look as simple as a kitchen table. That being said, they offer more than a table can. The most basic kitchen island can make your time in the kitchen easier. You can use the islands for keeping your kitchen organized with the extra cupboards and drawers. Some of the islands can also hold pots and pans so they are readily available when you are preparing food.
Frequently people design their kitchen around the island. Adding an island to your kitchen can amazingly make your design more attractive. There are things to think about before purchasing one, though. Kitchen islands come in different sizes. You have to find the right size for your kitchen. If you do not know for sure what size you should get, take a few cardboard boxes and stack them in the area. Walk around them and imagine it were the island.
There are a few things to think about when determining what would be right in your kitchen.
* Would there be enough space to walk around the island?
* Is it comfortable for you to move around the island?
* Can you open cupboards and drawers in the area the island is located?
Once you have a good feel of where the island will be going, measure the boxes to get the right size you will want to purchase.
The fun part is finding the right kitchen island design. There are many designs to choose from. When searching for the perfect island, remember the kitchen items you commonly use. If you like to spice up your foods, perhaps an island with a built-in spice rack will be convenient for you. Instead of using all of the kitchens counter space you can find the right island that will store many different items.
Many islands offer spaces such as caddies to store knives and other cooking tools. Drawers and cupboards are common and vary in size and quantity. If you have guests over for brunch, there are islands available that include a breakfast bar. Just add stools and serve your pancakes. When not using the bar, it easily folds down. If someone spills some syrup on themselves they will not be sticky for long because a lot of islands have paper towel bars so you have easy access with your need it. Some kitchen islands even offer wine storage for your convenience.
Many kitchen islands come with a hardwood top. They have a food-safe oil finish.
Other islands have a stainless steel surface which is ideal for food preparation because it is easy to clean and sanitize.
There are many kitchen island designs to choose from. There is something to please anyone. Before searching, make a list of what you are looking for in an island. Do you want room for your mixing bowls? Do you want an open shelf to have quick access to your pans? Once you know what you are looking for, it will make it easier to find. Adding a kitchen island will add design to your kitchen and make your life easier.
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Dog owner to face felony chargeThursday, March 17, 2005
Two dog attacks in a week puts Spotsylania County authorities in the spotlight to take action on pet owners for their dog’s behavior. In unrelated incidences, an elderly woman was killed and another woman was bitten. Three dogs have been shot dead by police.
An 82 year old woman was walking her Shih Tzu breed of dog in her front yard last week when she came under attack by three Pit Bulls. She died being transported to the hospital after police responded and shot two of the attacking dogs. They later captured the third dog and euthanized it.
More recently, a 31 year old woman was bitten on her hand during a fight that ensued between two Pit Bulls in her back yard. The responding police officer shot the aggressor dog.
Public outcry over the death of the elderly woman stirred procecutors to charge the dogs’ owner, Deeana Large, with involuntary manslaughter. This is a first for the Commonwealth of Virginia where charges that carry a maximum penalty of 10 years are leveled in a case involving a pet’s owner. In order to gain an indictment, prosecuters will have to prove the dogs’ owner was criminally negligent. In the biting incident, the attacking dog’s owner faces a misdemeanor charge of letting the dog run at large.
Deeana Large, who initially said she owned only 1 of the 3 dogs involved in the mauling case, has not yet been formally charged and awaits indictment. Investigators in the case say there were earlier reports of her dogs allegedly killing a German Shepard and a kittten in her neighborhood. Complaints by neighbors spurred an animal control officer to be looking for the dogs at the time the woman was killed.
Author Amy Scobee recounts abuse as Scientology executiveMonday, October 11, 2010
Wikinews interviewed author Amy Scobee about her book Scientology – Abuse at the Top, and asked her about her experiences working as an executive within the organization. Scobee joined the organization at age 14, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005. She served as a Scientology executive in multiple high-ranking positions, working out of the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base”, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California.
Wikinews interviews Spain’s most decorated Paralympian, Teresa PeralesSaturday, January 19, 2013
Zaragoza, Spain — On Thursday, Wikinews traveled to Zaragoza, Spain to interview the nation’s most decorated Paralympian and IPC Athlete Council representative Teresa Perales. A wide range of topics about the Paralympics and sport in Spain were discussed including the evolution of Paralympic sport, disability sport classification, funding support across all levels of elite sport including the Paralympics and Olympics, the role of sportspeople in politics, sponsorship issues, and issues of gender in Spanish sport.
On the campaign trail, March 2012Wednesday, April 4, 2012
The following is the fifth in a monthly series chronicling the U.S. 2012 presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after a brief mention of some of the month’s biggest stories.
In this month’s edition on the campaign trail, a politician from outside the fifty states receives significant mention as a potential Republican Party vice presidential nominee, Wikinews gets the reaction of three Democratic Party candidates after the party strips delegates from two of their fellow challengers, and a minor third party removes its presidential nominee for fraud.