Gastric bypass surgery performed by remote control
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…
Secret Downing Street Memo leaked
Saturday, May 14, 2005 Documents leaked from the U.K. government revealed an apparent secret agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom to attack Iraq in 2002. The Times, a British national newspaper, reported that newly-discovered documents reveal British and U.S. intentions to invade Iraq and leaders of the two countries had “discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so”. The documents go on to say that Tony Blair decided the U.S. would need to “create” conditions to justify the war. The leaked document has not received much coverage in the United States. The document, known popularly as the “Downing Street memo“, is a document purporting to contain the minutes taken during a meeting among United Kingdom government and political figures on July 23, 2002 discussing the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Its authenticity has not been officially confirmed nor denied by the government, though Downing Street has…
Nokia appoints Microsoft Business Division Head as chief executive
Sunday, September 12, 2010 The Finnish communications corporation Nokia announced that its Head will change on September 21. The previous chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo will continue to chair in non-executive capacity. The head of Microsoft Business division Stephen Elop will take the position. It is the first time a non-Finn becomes Nokia president and chief executive. The change follows Nokia’s fall in world markets. It includes a decrease in Nokia’s American market share to less than ten percent after failed negotiations with a number of leading American phone providers. An analyst at a market analyst company Canalys, Pete Cunningham, said, “Despite holding 38 percent market share of the smartphone market, Nokia’s failure to compete with the iPhone and high-tier Android devices, combined with its lack of progress in gaining significant traction in the United States, has led to press and investor dissatisfaction.” Some commenters suggested that Nokia chose Mr. Elop…
Alaskan Governor and Republican U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s email account hacked
Saturday, September 20, 2008 A hacker who has claimed to be loosely associated with internet group Anonymous managed to hack into the email account of Alaskan Governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin in the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 16. Partial contents of her email account – including two family photos, email messages and contact lists – were subsequently hosted online at Wikileaks.org, a website that anonymously hosts leaked government and corporate documents. Anonymous, who were responsible for attacks on Scientology in the past, have claimed credit for the intrusion. The email account has been used by Palin for conducting government business and communication, circumventing transparency laws. The hacker gained access to Palin’s account by answering Yahoo!’s security questions, finding the answers on websites like Wikipedia.org. The hacker was apparently careless and frightened, and posted the new password on 4chan.org as well as a few hasty screenshots. In…
Free Software Foundation announces release of gNewSense version 1.0
Thursday, November 2, 2006 The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has announced today the release of the first version of gNewSense, a new GNU/Linux distribution based on both Ubuntu and Debian. The goal of the newly created distribution is to offer an operating system which is 100% proprietary software free. Generally, GNU/Linux distributions comes with proprietary software such as kernel drivers (eg. NVIDIA and ATI card drivers), the Opera web browser or the VoIP Skype software among others. According to its developers: “From a philosophical perspective we wanted to create a GNU/Linux distribution where the user has access to all the sources for all software on the system. This includes everything from the heart of the kernel through to the everyday desktop applications.” Ted Teah, FSF’s free software directory maintainer explained, “With all the kernel firmware and restricted repositories removed, and the reliance on Ubuntu’s proprietary distribution management tool gone, this…
North Korean funds released
Friday, June 15, 2007 The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has received US$25,000,000 frozen in 2005 as part of the general crackdown on the communist state. The funds had been frozen in a Macau bank after the United States earlier alleged that the money was gained from activities including money laundering and counterfeiting. The DPRK had demanded return of the money as a precondition to engaging in the six-party talks. In February, the U.S. agreed to allow North Korea to retrieve their funds. Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=North_Korean_funds_released&oldid=1671434”
Massachusetts lawmakers enact plan for universal health coverage
Friday, April 7, 2006Legislators in the Massachusetts General Court, their name for the state legislature, approved legislation on Tuesday, April 4, that would make it the first state in the United States to require all residents to have health insurance and impose penalties for non-compliance. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican who is expected to run for U.S. President in 2008, is expected to sign the bill. The bill passed the lower house, the Massachusetts House of Representatives by a vote of 155-2, and unanimously by the state senate. The Democratic Party holds supermajorities in both houses of the legislature. Among the bill’s provisions are these: Businesses that employ more than 10 people are required to provide health insurance for all staff or face fines of $295 per year per uninsured worker. Individuals will be required to enroll in a health plan by July 1, 2007, or face tax penalties.…
California employees owe state US$13.3 million in unpaid loans
Sunday, April 24, 2011 The California Controller’s office reports that eleven state agencies have given US$13.3 million in pay and travel advances that have not been collected. Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order to recover uncollected loans by the agencies. A press release from the governor’s office states, “The Governor’s Executive Order seeks to recover taxpayer dollars by directing state agencies and departments to clear salary and travel advances within 30 days through an expense claim.” Any outstanding balance will be deducted from employees’ paychecks under the governor’s order after the 30 days. Under California state law, state employees are permitted to receive advances for hardship, travel, and other circumstances. These advances cannot be collected by agencies after three years without the employee’s consent. State Controller John Chiang said in a statement, “The state’s poor debt collection and accounting practices are fleecing public coffers at a time when vital…
Russia cuts off gas supplies to Ukraine
Sunday, January 1, 2006 Russia has ended exports of natural gas to neighbouring Ukraine following a failure to reach a compromise over prices. Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas behemoth, began cutting off supplies at 7:00 a.m. UTC Sunday, January 1. Gazprom claims to have taken this action because Ukraine refuses to pay the market rate for natural gas which is approximately four times higher than the price previously agreed upon by the two. Ukraine has stated that they are not averse to higher prices but believe they ought to be introduced sequentially. Additionally, Russia does not want to honor its contract to supply gas at $50 per 1000 cubic meters until 2008. By comparison, gas produced by OPEC costs $11.4 per 1000 cubic feet (December 28, 2005)[1], equivalent to $402.6 per 1000 cubic meters, an 8-fold rebate. Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said enough gas was still being piped via Ukraine to…
Metropolitan Police to sell New Scotland Yard
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 The Metropolitan Police — the police force for the Greater London area — has announced they may sell their headquarters, New Scotland Yard, in order to cut costs. They are trying to reduce their £3.6 billion annual budget by £500 million, following cuts by the coalition government. If the sale of New Scotland Yard goes ahead, the Metropolitan Police would move to a new location on the Embankment in the Curtis Green building, formerly the site of Cannon Row Police Station. Other proposals have been raised including selling off other property assets and closing police counters during off-peak hours, but officer numbers are to be maintained. New Scotland Yard famously has a three-sided rotating sign that turns 14,000 times per day. John Tully, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents the interests of police officers, said it is “regrettable” that an “iconic building like New…