lakecountrybeer.com

Monday, June 7, 2010

Access to search engine Google has been limited and most of Google’s online services cannot be accessed in Turkey. The access limitation happened due to the blocking of an IP set that belongs to Google. These IP addresses were shared between YouTube and other Google services.

The Turkish news site Hürriyet Daily News reports that Turkey’s Telecommunications Communication Presidency (TCP) (a government agency that manages Turkish ISPs) indefinitely shut off access to several Google services. The shut-off came after the banning of YouTube for alleged insults against Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. TCP released an official statement Friday, saying it had blocked access to some Google IP addresses “because of legal reasons”. Under Turkish law, it is an offence to “insult Turkishness.”

Softpedia states that the limited access to Google could be a result of the government trying to block specific DNS addresses that relate to Google, as part of its ongoing attempts to block YouTube. Since Google services share common software and IP addresses, the search engine itself suffers from access restrictions. Turkish citizens are concerned that this move of the governmental agency was another step towards a complete ban on Google, as exists in China.

Several Internet sites have been banned in Turkey in recent years, and although some of them were subsequently unbanned, most of them remain inaccessible. Engelli Web, a website listing banned sites reports that currently YouTube (since May 2008), Last.fm (since June 26, 2009), and Spanish newspaper El Mundo (since May 14, 2010) are among the banned sites in Turkey. MySpace and WordPress were also among banned sites for a period of time. Websites will be blocked following a court decision or if TCP decides to block on its behalf.

RetweetToday reports that Turkish citizens on Twitter have also reported access problems. Comments about the blockage are being shared using hashtags such as TurkeyCensorGoogle and TurkeyGoogleBan, as well as NoGoogleNoWeb.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

A bomb positioned below the car of a police officer in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom has exploded, killing him. The unidentified 25-year-old officer, recently employed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland after graduating from a college of police training three weeks prior, was directly involved in the incident as he sat inside the vehicle outside his residence in Omagh, County Tyrone, which occurred at a time immediately before 1600 BST (1500 UTC) today. The man, who died at this location, has now been identified as Constable Ronan Kerr.

It is currently uncertain as to whether or not any other individuals were killed or injured as a result of the incident. It is also unclear who was responsible for committing the act. It is thought that dissident republicans were responsible for the bomb blowing up today, due to numerous similar prior incidents involving them.

Gerry Adams, the current president of Sinn Féin, has stated: “I want to send my condolences to his family at this hugely traumatic time. Sinn Féin is determined that those responsible will not set back the progress of the peace and political process.”

Shaun Woodward, the present Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has claimed that “[t]his evil and cowardly attack will sicken everyone across Northern Ireland. These crimes are targeted on those who protect the community. We all deeply mourn the brave young man whose life was taken by this savage crime. We all have a duty to stop those behind it from succeeding.”

Over the course of the past one-and-a-half years, numerous incidents of a similar nature have taken place with Police Service of Northern Ireland employees being targeted. Despite various devices being unsuccessful in detonating, a police officer suffered an explosion in January 2010. As a consequence, both of his legs were lost. In a separate incident in May 2008, another police officer lost their legs as the result of a bomb attack. In March 2009, a group of dissident republicans were responsible for fatally shooting a policeman in Craigavon, County Armagh.

David Cameron, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, said of today’s incident: “Those who carried out this wicked and cowardly crime will never succeed in dragging Northern Ireland back to a dark and bloody past. Their actions are rejected by the overwhelming majority of people right from all parts of the community.” Meanwhile, Peter Robinson, the current First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive, commented that “[i]t was a young man who was bravely entering the police service, recognising that he was putting his life on the line. I have absolutely no doubt the overwhelming number of people in NI want to move on. It’s only a few Neanderthal who want to go back. They will not drag us back to the past.”

Monday, December 28, 2015

According to witness reports, Boko Haram gunmen and suicide bombers killed at least fifteen people in an attack in the city of Maiduguri, Nigeria yesterday, before the military drove them off.

Locals reported hearing gunfire as evening prayers ended at local mosques. The military pushed back the militants, who were on trucks and firing at civilians with guns and grenade launchers, with heavy weapons fire. Amidst the fighting, suicide bombings were carried out.

A local resident Sheshu Mala said that during the attack, “all the residents in the area fled their homes to other parts of the city.” As people fled, two female suicide bombers reportedly detonated themselves in groups of people.

Government sources say ten other suicide bombers have been killed.

The militant group Boko Haram started in the city of Maidugari, where the attacks took place; they lost the territory three years ago as the military retook the city.

The news came after another Boko Haram attack on the village of Kimba killed at least fourteen people on Friday.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Marion Schaffer is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Oakville riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed her regarding her values, her experience, and her campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Wikinews spoke to several residents of the US state of Texas finding varying opinions, and responses, to the threat from the West Nile virus; this, in contrast to the troubling media reports released recently. The state as a whole has seen more than 400 confirmed instances of the illness so-far this year.

A Longview woman, said, “[…] It’s terrifying. I’m so scared.” The woman was quick to point out a virus-related death occured in her city the same day. When asked about her daily routines, in light of the virus, she said, “I don’t go outside. I stay indoors. West Nile [virus] is bad.” The Director of Nursing for a large encampment located near Tyler said their operation had seen no cases of the illness, despite serving over 19,000 campers this summer. Her staff took no special precautions during August.

Although having some worries, Jimmy Philmont, 39, of Fairfield told Wikinews, “[…] I don’t let it keep me up at night. Overall, I’m not too scared.” Asked if he was aware of recent virus-related deaths in Texas, Philmont said, “Yeah, I am. That’s kind of scary. But, you have to live your life, you know? The world is hot now. You can’t go hide in a hole somewhere.” Earlier in the month, Tim Whitley, a city official in Malakoff, told Wikinews his city had began using a pesticide specialist to spray twice-weekly. Whitley explained two treatments per week is more often than usual for the city, “With the concerns in Dallas, we’re taking it seriously”, he said.

A nurse at a senior activity center in Austin told media she’d taken time to educate their facility’s clients about the virus and proper precautions; Adding, “They feel less alarmed and we try to protect our folks here […]”. Mark Kitsmore, 54, of Tyler said, “Honestly, I’m not too worried about it.” He jokingly commented, “I’ve probably used a little more bug spray over the past few weeks, though.”

Twenty-six people have died so-far this year as result of having contracted the virus, approximately half occurring in Texas. The mayor and county judge in Dallas have declared a state of emergency in response to the virus.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Tournament favourites and debutants Australia have drawn 1-1 with a skillful Oman in the second match in Group A of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

Oman shocked the Socceroos when they scored on thirty-two minutes, after some enterprising play on their left-hand flank. A ball cut back made its’ way through the Australian defence to Omani striker Badar Mubarak, who slotted the ball low into the left-hand corner of the goal.

Oman very nearly had a second goal on three separate occasions in the second half. They were only denied by three world-class saves by Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, including a low save from a driving volley by Ahmed Mubarak, a reflex save to stop a point-blank header in the seventieth minute, and then another low-down save minutes later from Fawi Bashir’s driving shot.

A heavy downpour began ten minutes prior to the final whistle, and it appeared to reinvigorate Australia. They pressed forward in numbers, and were rewarded in injury time with a goal to Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, after a low volley by Marco Bresciano was well-saved by Omani keeper Suleiman Al Mazroui.

Cahill achieved the remarkable double of scoring both Australia’s first Asian Cup and World Cup goals, after he scored in the eighty-third minute of their match against Japan at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He and John Aloisi capped off the comeback by scoring twice late to defeat Japan 3-1.

The Australian players were visibly frustrated by Oman’s play-acting tactics, which saw the stretcher used four times in the first half alone. British match commentator Simon Hill described the tactics as “a blight to the game” and “absolutely rubbish”, the latter in relation to one incident where no contact was made whatsoever. When queried about it after the game, Arnold said cynically “welcome to Asia”.

The Australians were flat and their defending was poor, said coach Graham Arnold at the post-match media conference. He also commented on goalkeeper Schwarzer’s three fantastic saves, saying “Mark Schwarzer’s got us out of jail. Schwarzer’s made two unbelievable saves, otherwise it’s 2-0 and all over”.

The draw leaves all four Group A teams equal on the table on one point, with one goal for and one against, following Iraq 1-1 draw with hosts Thailand yesterday.

In the other game played yesterday (UTC), co-hosts Vietnam caused a major shock by defeating United Arab Emirates in their Group B fixture.

The Emirates are the current Gulf Cup champions, and the hosts were expected to struggle to win this match, or progress from Group B which includes two-time Asian champions Japan and Asian Games gold medallists Qatar. Vietnam is playing at Asian Cup level for the first time in nearly half a century.

UAE had the better of the chances in an otherwise-even first half, with the best Faisal Khalil‘s shot in the thirtieth minute, which was well-saved by Vietnamese goalkeeper Duong Hong Son who managed to turn the ball around the post for a corner.

However, they scored two second half goals to take the three points from the My Dinh National Stadium. On sixty-three minutes, a counter-attack from the half-way line involving three Vietnamese players resulted in defender Huynh Quang Thanh putting the ball in the back of the net.

Vietnamese player of the year Le Cong Vinh made it 2-0 nine minutes later when he chased down a long ball and calmly lobbed it over Emirates goalkeeper Majed Nasser, who had come off his line to try and avert the danger.

Bruno Metsu, coach of the United Arab Emirates, substituted players and launched an all-out attack to try and salvage something, but failed to find the goals he needed.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Celia Franca, founder of the National Ballet of Canada and its training ground, the National Ballet School of Canada, died at age 85 Monday in Ottawa, Ontario.

She is reported to have died in an Ottawa Hospital and her cause of death is not known. She went to the hospital last week and stayed there until she had died.

“Celia was more than the National Ballet’s founder. She was its presiding spirit, its most stalwart supporter and the embodiment of its ideals and values,” said Karen Kain, the National Ballet of Canada’s current artistic director. “She inspired generations of dancers by her example and her devotion to the art of ballet. And most importantly, she made us believe in ourselves and that no goal was ever out of reach.”

Franca, born 1921 in London, England, came to Canada in 1951 to found the National Ballet of Canada. Franca choreographed ballets in Canada such as the famous “Cinderella” and “The Nutcracker.” She was artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada for 24 years.

In 1967, Franca was named an officer of the Order of Canada, then named a Companion of the order in 1985.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

On Friday, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ratified the next generation of Wi-Fi Alliance certification known as 802.11n. The path to ratification began on September 11, 2003 with 11 major drafts of the specification over the course of six years. Even though just approved, wireless devices have been available on the the market for over two years, running on what is known as “draft n” or “pre-N”.

The 802.11n standard operates on both the 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz frequencies. This will allow it to be backwards compatible with 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g, provided that the base station has dual radios. The speeds of 802.11n are substantially faster than that of its predecessors with a maximum theoretical throughput of 600Mbit/s.

Very few additions were made to the 802.11n draft standard over the last two years, so most if not all “draft n” hardware available on the market today is expected to be compatible with n-standard devices available in the future. In a similar process of the upgrade from “pre-G” to 802.11g, it is expected that most manufacturers of wireless hardware will release new firmware to bring all draft devices up to full standard compliance.