Saturday, February 4, 2006

On Friday the 3rd, the Portuguese Air Force started to operate eight EH101 Merlin helicopters, replacing the old French made Puma helicopters; which have had more than 30 years of service, first used during the Portuguese Colonial War.

After the war, the Puma were used in missions of search and rescue,transport of patients and evacuation missions, and also assisted the USAF in recovery of NASA‘s Space Shuttles.

Twelve Merlin have been purchased; in three different models: six SAR (for use with Search & Rescue), four in CSAR (for deployment of troops to zones out of the country) and two in SIFICAP (for Fisheries Control).

The Merlin is capable of carrying more than 3 tons, its maximum speed is 309 km/h and it has a range of 1390 km. The Merlin is the helicopter used for the transportation of the president of the United States George W. Bush and other VIP’s.

Four Puma operating in the Azores and in Madeira will continue in service, for the next few months, until the last four Merlin CSAR helicopters are delivered. The air force is currently considering using these four onboard a future logistic support ship. (LPD)

A ceremony was held at the Air Base of Montijo, attending was Portuguese minister of National Defence, Luís Amado. He said during the ceremony that the old Puma might be converted for civilian protection missions, such as fire fighting.

“The Government will decide the future of the Puma helicopters on the board of appreciation that is being done with other sectors of the Government, namely the Ministry of Internal Administration, in the possibility of the Puma being adapted for other missions, for example on the scope of the civilian protection”.

The Merlin, was purchased in 2001 by the Government of António Guterres. The two first helicopters arrived in February 11 of last year, being held in February 24 an official ceremony in the Montijo Air Base, attending both the president of the Portuguese Republic, Jorge Sampaio, and the then minister of National Defense, Paulo Portas.

They have cost the Portuguese Government €446 million, (approximately US$536 million). This deal has given €60 million in counterparts, relatively in orders of production in the workshops of OGMA. It’s expected that this sum will grow to almost a total of €315 million.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

A man in Boynton Beach, Florida located in the United States, was arrested for misusing the city’s 911 emergency phone service. Jean Fortune, 66, called 911 to complain about a fast food order from Burger King he had not yet placed.

On Monday Fortune called 911 to complain that the Burger King he was going to eat at did not sell lemonade. He also complained to 911 operators that the food he had yet to order, was going to take 15 minutes to complete.

“You cannot dial 911 because you are unhappy with your burger, ok. I know you don’t seriously think that the police need to make Burger King give you food faster,” says the operator as Fortune continued to complain. “If it takes 15 minutes to cook, it takes 15 minutes to cook, ok. You don’t need to call 911.”

It turns out, after nearly three minutes of arguing with the operator, Fortune never even placed an order.

“Have you given them any money?,” asks the operator. Fortune replies “no.” The operator then asks Fortune, “have they given you any food?” Again Fortune replies “no.” The operator then tells Fortune that he is able to “just drive away” from the situation, but he disagrees and tells her he will “just move [his] car”. The operator warns Fortune that the police are on their way and then tells him to not block the drive-thru.

When police arrived, they arrested him for misusing the emergency line, which is a criminal offense in Florida. He was formally charged with the crime, issued a notice to appear in court and then released.

Friday, June 22, 2007

The United States amusement park operator Six Flags has shut down nine thrill rides at four parks after a 13-year-old girl’s feet were cut off on a tower-drop ride yesterday at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville.

Kentucky state officials said a loose cable on a ride called the Superman Tower of Power severed the girl’s feet above the ankles, but they had not determined how the cable broke free, or at what point in the ride the accident happened. The ride lifts passengers 177 feet (54 metres) straight up, then drops them nearly the same distance at speeds reaching 54 mph (86 km/h).

The girl, whose identity has not been released, was taken to a hospital. Details of her condition were not immediately available.

Six Flags spokeswoman Carolyn McLean told The Courier-Journal that there has never been a major incident on the Tower of Power. Formerly known as the Hellavator, the ride was built in 1995.

In addition to Kentucky Kingdom, rides have been shut down at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois; Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka, Missouri; and Six Flags America, Prince George’s County, Maryland.

A Superman Tower of Power Ride at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington has not been shut down because it is not the same as the ones in Kentucky and the other locations that have been shut, Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg told the Associated Press.

The rides that have been shut down are made by a Swiss-owned company called Intamin.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company said it was shutting down similar thrill rides at its theme parks at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio; Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario; Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; and Great America in Santa Clara, California.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

The ex-leader of New Zealand’s National Party, Dr Don Brash, has announced today that he has left his five year career in politics. Dr Brash had announced last week today that he was stepping down from leader of the National Party.

Dr. Brash was to stay on in politics as long as the new leader, John Key, gave him a senior portfolio and front bench position, where it was thought there would be no room for Dr Brash. However Dr Brash did not comment on whether he had sought that kind of position. The front bench positions and a possible portfolio reorganising will not be announced until tomorrow, Friday.

Over the past few days Dr Brash had been pondering his political career and he said that it is clear that he should leave politics after consulting with friends, colleagues and family including his wife, Je Lan. Dr Brash said: “I’ve come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to leave Parliament and I informed John Key of that earlier today.”

At the press conference where he announced his intention to leave, few journalists were there compared to his resignation from leader conference.

Dr Brash will stay in Parliament until next year when he will not return. He said that he wanted to tie up loose knots.

Mr Key, last Thursday, said that he had only a few talks with Dr Brash, one on Tuesday and one this morning, but would not comment on Brash’s future. Dr Brash described those meetings as “constructive.”

When Dr Brash first entered politics in 2002 from being head of the Reserve Bank, he had wanted to make a difference and he said that he leaves with the belief that he had accomplished that. He also believes that National could take out the next election to be held in 2008 as it is in great shape. Dr Brash said: “I entered Parliament in 2002 with the intention of making a difference and I leave believing that I’ve done that. The National Party is in great shape to win the next election and I believe that debate about economic policy and about the Treaty is more mature and more realistic than it was five years ago.”

Dr Brash still claims that the book based around his leaked political emails by Nicky Hager, titled The Hollow Men: A Study in the Politics of Deception, played no part in his decision to leave.

Next year Katrina Shanks, accountant, will enter politics again to fill in the empty seat made by Dr Brash, she is currently at number 46 on the list. She had been in politics last year but was forced out after the special votes were counted. Ms Shanks said that she feels positive about changing her career but she said that she would have preferred entering politics on election night and not because Dr Brash had left.

Dr Brash announced that he will look into becoming a director at a company but would not be a director at a state owned enterprise, “not with this Government.” He told TV3’s Campbell Live programme that he will now look after his kiwifruit orchard.

Dr Brash said his colleagues reaction was mixed, Dr Brash said some said: “you’ve done a fantastic job for the National Party. Your work on that has finished.”

Friday, May 1, 2009

At approximately 06:00 a.m. (00:30 GMT) Wednesday, between four and seven people were killed when an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) passenger train crashed into a stationary freight train at Vyasarpadi Jeeva station, in Chennai, India. Between eleven and twenty persons were injured, and rushed to General Hospital in Chennai.

Officials are unsure of the number of persons aboard the passenger train, which was operated by an unknown person. “It is not clear who operated (it),” said S. Jayanth, acting general manager of Southern Railway. The operator of the EMU train was not in the train when it left 15 minutes to half an hour before the scheduled departure time. It is said some passengers did board the passenger train.

The EMU train ignored all signals, and drove about 7 kilometers (4 mi) at high speed, jumping tracks, before colliding with the goods train.

The driver of the goods train, Arumugam, has been confirmed as one of those who has died. The goods train was traveling between Arakkonam to Chennai. The motorman, guard and assistant jumped from the goods train sustaining fractures.

“We heard a loud noise and saw several compartments in flames. The smell emanating from bodies from the mangled coaches was nauseating,” said M.N. Selvi, a nearby resident.

The platforms at the Vyasarpadi Jeeva station were destroyed, and electrical cables were torn down. The EMU train caught fire in the collision destroying two compartments completely. The other compartments were thrown from the tracks. The freight train was loaded with oil tanks, however reports indicate that only the EMU train was set ablaze.

All train services were canceled for a time on one of the busiest rail lines of India. “Train services are disrupted due to the mishap but we hope to restore the services in two to three hours time,” an Indian Railways spokesperson.

Railways Minister Lalu Prasad announced that an inquiry will be held.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

A tanker truck travelling Northbound on Route 30 with 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel hit a guardrail, veered off the road and overturned into the West River near Newfane, Vermont. The West River is a tributary of the Connecticut River. The driver was ejected and killed, while the truck’s tank ruptured.

The truck came to rest partially submerged in the river on its right side and immediately began leaking its payload. The driver has been identified as 30-year-old Eduard Lashway of Guilford. The vehicle was owned by local company Barrows & Fisher Oil Co. of Brattleboro.

HazMat crews and Brattleboro Fire Department divers worked with booms to try to contain the oil leaking into the river. Route 30 was also closed in both directions, and the river closed to water traffic. A total of 100 gallons of fuel leaked into the river but was ultimately contained by HazMat teams.

WMUR reached an unidentified person at Barrows & Fisher, who refused to identify the then-unknown driver and said he had no comment on the accident.

The accident is under investigation.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Sutter, CA –An elementary school in northern California has been testing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag-based identification program on its 7th and 8th grade students since January 18th, 2005. According to the ACLU, this is the first time that public school students in the United States have been required to wear devices that enable automatic identification. RFIDs have previously been used to track students in Japan.

RFID tags contain antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver, enabling identification of pupils when they are in the vicinity of the detectors.

Each student is required to wear an ID card on a lanyard around their neck. An RFID tag, manufactured by local Sutter corporation Incom, is attached to the card. The school has installed RFID detectors at the doors of seven classrooms as well as the bathrooms, though they claim that the bathroom units were not turned on, and subsequently been removed after complaints from parents.

While some parents have complained about the system, local high school teacher Tim Crabtree told the San Francisco Chronicle, “It’s baffling why so many people are bothered by the district being able to tell them where their kids are at,”

On the other side, the San Francisco Chronicle quotes the 13-year-old daughter of Michelle and Jeff Tatro as saying:”Look at this. I’m a grocery item. I’m a piece of meat. I’m an orange.” Another couple in Sutter, Michael and Dawn Cantrall, filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU. The complaint centered on the violation of privacy and concerns about safety.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

New Zealand Associate Minister of Health Damien O’Connor has proposed that warnings, both images and text, should cover 60% of the packaging of cigarettes sold in the country. New Zealand is required to do so under obligations to the World Health Organisation.

The new images would depict throat cancer, rotting teeth/gums and gangrenous feet. Ashley Bloomfield, Chief Advisor on Public Health, says written warnings aren’t as effective as pictures, and that many smokers do not know most of the diseases that smoking can cause.

If the proposal were adopted, the Ministry would dictate the size and placement of the images to the tobacco companies, but would not subsidise the cost of the changes.