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Wednesday, March 7, 2007

A full crowd showed up at the Guiseppe Meazza in Italy today to watch AC Milan take on Scottish side Celtic. The first leg of the matches ended in a goalless draw, as both teams were spirited in defense. Kaka and Inzaghi played as frontmen for AC, while Vennegoor of Hesselink and Jiri Jarosik were the strike pair for Celtic.Milan had the first chance of the game early when Kaka found room and flashed a shot towards the bottom corner, but keeper Artur Boruc got down well to make the stop. Celtic then had a valid penalty claim after only 6 minutes when Jarosik’s volley looked to be blocked by the hand of Maldini, but referee Konrad Plautz waved away the appeals. Celtic’s defense continued to play well, and they limited Milan’s chances to long ranged shots. Lee Naylor then performed defensive heroics for Celtic as he took the ball away from the open Inzaghi, who was waiting to tap the ball in at the back post. Kaka had two more shots from range at the net, but neither were on target. Naylor again saved Celtic by clearing the ball off the line from a Kaka attempt.Over an hour had passed when Gord Strachan sent Thomas Graveson on for Celtic in place of Jarosik, and the Dane almost scored right away. He struck a fine shot at the net, but Massimo Oddo did well to block the attempt. Milan counter attacked quickly, and Kaka saw his attempt also blocked by a defender. McManus and Naylor were forced to clear headers off the line from Ambrosini and Inzaghi, both occurring after corners. Maldini then had a header at the Celtic net, but Boruc was again in the right place to make the stop. Celtic had another claim for a penalty when Nakamura was brought down in the area, but the Austrian referee again waved away all appeals. Boruc was again forced into action from a Seedorf free kick, which he was able to deflect out with a hand. Kaka then shot towards the goal, but the crossbar saved Celtic from going a goal down. As 90 minutes approached, Celtic had two well positioned free-kicks, but could take advantage of neither, and the game entered extra time.It took Milan little time to go ahead in the extra period, and the scorer would be no other than the Brazilian Kaka. The youthful striker put on a burst of speed to beat out the tired Celtic defenders and blasted the ball through Borucs legs to give the homeside the lead. The game continued however, as the Champions League works on full extra time, and Celtic still had 27 minutes to equalize. It was Milan who pushed however, and Andrea Pirlo twice forced Boruc to make saves. Then Kaka, in search of a brace, sent a volley over the net after being left alone during a corner kick. Gravesen’s long effort for Celtic was easy pickings for Dida, and Craig Beattie headed a good chance over the bar. Celtic vainly tried to tie the game, bringing on Kenny Miller, but AC finished the game comfortably, and advanced to the next round of the tournament.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Daniele Bennati of Italy has won stage 17 of the 2007 Tour de France in a time of 4h 14′ 04″.

Alberto Contador of Spain, who finished with the peleton gets the yellow jersey since Rabobank pulled the previous leader, Michael Rasmussen from the Tour.

The 188.5 km road stage, from Pau to Castelsarrasin, leaves the mountains behind and turns north towards Paris. This stage has a series of small climbs, but should give those sprinters who have survived the chance to earn some points.

The time is 17:00 (UTC) on May 21st, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

Monday, February 18, 2008

The family of Amy Fitzpatrick, an Irish expat who disappeared from Mijas, Spain on New Year’s Night, has announced a reward for reliable information which could lead to finding the missing teenager. The news came in a statement from Dave Mahon, the partner of Amy’s mother, Audrey, who said all information would be treated in the strictest confidence, and calling on anyone who may have a possible lead to contact either the family or the Civil Guard. In the statement Mahon said that “a substantial reward is on offer to anyone who can provide reliable information on Amy’s whereabouts. Any information received will be treated within the strictest confidence.”

There has been no news on whether detectives have managed to locate a vehicle which they believe Amy may have taken, a British-registered white Ford Fiesta, with the registration number C955 SLK. Anyone who may see the vehicle is asked not to touch it to avoid destroying any evidence, and to call 062 urgently.

Amy disappeared when she was walking home to the Riviera del Sol Urbanisation from the Calypso area at around 10 p.m. on New Year’s Night, and was wearing black track suit bottoms and a T-shirt with the word ‘Diesel’ when she was last seen. She has black hair, and is 1.65 m tall. The contact telephone numbers for any information on her whereabouts are 112, 952 487 036, 062, 686 044 181 and 952 474 030.

This article is based on Fitzpatrick family offers reward in search for missing Mijas teenager by TypicallySpanish.com which has a copyright policy compatible with our CC-BY 2.5. Specifically “CC-BY-3.0“

The European Union has announced that a French goat has become the first animal other than a cow to ever have tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The results were announced after over two years testing of the goat’s remains. Scientists originally thought that the goat was suffering from scrapie, another degenerative disease that can be found in goats and sheep.

This discovery proves correct the theory that BSE, or mad cow disease as it is commonly know, can exist in ruminants other than cattle.

The EU has stated that eating goat products is still safe due to precautionary measures which have been put in place. “I want to reassure consumers that existing safety measures in the EU offer a very high level of protection.” The EU Commissioner responsible for Health and Consumer Protection, Markos Kyprianou said regarding the findings.

“This case was discovered thanks to the EU testing system in place in France.”

“The testing programme has shown us that there is a very low incidence rate of TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies) in goats and allowed us to detect suspect animals so that they can be taken out of the food chain, as was done with this goat and its entire herd.”

The EU intends to test 200,000 goats in the 25 member states over the next six months.

Monday, February 8, 2010

A man from the Naperville, Illinois, United States area has been accused of allegedly threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend via messages posted on her Facebook account. 

Nineteen-year-old Christopher J. Bensfield was arrested Jan. 28 at his home in unincorporated DuPage County near the far west-central part of Naperville. He is being held on a $12,500 bond at the DuPage County Jail in Wheaton. He is scheduled to appear at the DuPage County Circuit Court on a felony charge of harassment via electronic communication. Police Sergeant Gregg Bell said the ex-girlfriend, a Naperville-resident, asked Bensfield to stop sending the messages many times before she submitted printed copies of the threatening messages to Naperville police.

Court records indicate Bensfield is already on probation after pleading guilty last September to possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested in August 2008 after disobeying a stop sign in Naperville. Police searched his car and found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. This was the third time Benfield had been arrested for having marijuana since April 2007, when drugs were found in his possession at Naperville Central High School. Last October, a judge issued a fine and required him to join the DuPage County Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program. He has also received five tickets within three months in 2008 for driving violations, including speeding, driving without insurance, transportation of an open alcohol container, and driving too fast for conditions.

Bensfield’s mother also has an order of protection against him. Ms. Bensfield stated that he asked her for money in late December; he then broke into her home in Naperville’s far southeast-side, punching holes in the walls and breaking various items before leaving. Christopher was arrested Dec. 29 and faced a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property. He “suffers from bipolar disorder and has not been taking his medication,” according to information the Naperville Daily Herald has received from Ms. Bensfield.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

A civilian known as ‘Jimmy Justice’ who resides in New York City (NYC), New York, the largest city in the United States, has been videotaping NYC police officers and city workers, breaking the law while on the job.

Since 2007, he claims to have caught “hundreds of officers and other city employees violating the law,” and says he has them all on camera. He has posted his best confrontations with them to the video sharing website YouTube. As a result, Justice states that he has been asked to do a United States television show and Wikinews got an exclusive interview with him. For protection, Justice wished not to be called by his real name in fear of police retaliation.

Last year, Justice videotaped a police officer parking in front of a fire hydrant, but has only recently gained attention on social networking news sites such as Digg and reddit.com. So Wikinews contacted Mr. Justice, known as JimmyJustice4753 on YouTube, for an exclusive interview to find out what caused him to get revenge on the law.

On June 30, 2007, Justice caught officer E. Anderson of the NYPD, traffic division, parking directly in front of a fire hydrant while she went inside a restaurant to take a 15 minute lunch break.

“Do you think there is something wrong with parking a vehicle, blocking a fire hydrant,?” says Justice while following Anderson to her car after her meal.

“Mrs. Anderson I’m talking to you,” says Justice as Anderson ignores him. “You parked your vehicle blocking a fire hydrant. You are not allowed to do that. Somebody else would get a ticket for that. Why are you allowed to do it? You should be ashamed of yourself Mrs. Anderson.”

By this time, the incident has gained the interest of people nearby the scene and passing it. One unidentified woman, who claims to be a retired NYC police officer decides to intervene stating that people “are not supposed to film any police, [or] anybody employed with the police department because of the terrorism.” A short time later the woman walked off camera.

Since 2007 Justice says he has caught “hundreds of law enforcement officers and city officials” on “over 30 hours of video” violating laws from illegal U-turns in business districts to blocking bus stops and fire hydrants. Justice has only uploaded the “most colorful ones to YouTube” and recently, on April 8, 2008, Justice videotaped a NYPD tow truck officer blocking a hydrant while he also ate lunch inside a restaurant. According to NYC law, it is illegal for any vehicle to park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant and to park in front of a bus stop. It is also illegal for any person to make a U-turn in a business district. Fines for these violations can cost a driver up to US$115.00 for each violation occurred.

When Wikinews asked Justice why he decided to start filming the violations made by officials he answered, “what bothers me is watching an officer write someone a summons and then commit the exact same violation with their official vehicle. I started making these videos to remind the officers (and complacent civilians) that City employees have to abide by the same laws that they are paid to enforce. I plan on doing this and inspiring others to do this as well as a means of leveling the playing field against discourteous officers.”

“In NYC, the traffic cops are notorious for their draconian indiscretion in handing out summonses to civilians for petty violations. Obviously the laws are not enforced as a matter of public safety, but rather to raise revenue,” added Justice.

Justice makes little effort to get the violations on videotape saying “all I have to do to catch them is open my eyes.”

“The problem with abuse of authority is rampant in New York City. I take my video camera with me on the way to work and on the way to social events and band rehearsals and when I see action it takes me less than 4 seconds to have the camera out and in record mode,” states Justice.

His videos have drawn the attention of media and he has been featured on ABC’s ‘I-caught videos’ and Inside Edition. Justice also states that the popularity of his videos have gotten the attention producers in Hollywood, California and as a result, there are plans for a television show.

Since Justice began getting even with officials and their violations, he states that there has been a positive change in the communities.

“The publicity my videos have received has effected positive change in the community, but we still have a long road ahead of us,” added Justice.

As a result of his videos, at the time the NYPD launched an investigation into the violations, but it is not known if any officers were charged or punished. Justice himself has never been arrested, but has been assaulted.

“I have never been arrested for this yet but they have threatened me with arrest. I have been spit on, cursed at, assaulted, and I had 2 cameras broken already,” added Justice.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Studies done on germs and bacteria performed by researchers at the University of Florida show that a dirty kitchen sponge can be cleaned and “sterilized” by microwaving it for 2 minutes, but researchers warn to wet the sponge first.

“People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave,” said the professor who was in charge of the study that discovered the results, Gabriel Bitton.

“Basically what we find is that we could knock out most bacteria in two minutes. The microwave is a very powerful and an inexpensive tool for sterilization,” added Bitton.

The sponges that researchers studied, were placed in “raw wastewater” and then put into a microwave to be “zapped,” according to Bitton. The wastewater was a “witch’s brew of fecal bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores, including Bacillus cereus spores,” said Bitton.

Researchers say that at least 99% of the bacteria, viruses, spores and parasites in kitchen spongees can be destroyed or “inactivated” by simply microwaving the wet sponge, on the highest power, for two minutes.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The San Diego, California suburb of Chula Vista has responded to the recent housing crisis with an aggressive blight control ordinance that compels lenders to maintain the appearance of vacant homes. As foreclosures increase both locally and throughout the United States, the one year old ordinance has become a model for other cities overwhelmed by the problem of abandoned homes that decay into neighborhood eyesores.

Chula Vista city code enforcement manager Doug Leeper told the San Diego Union Tribune that over 300 jurisdictions have contacted his office during the past year with inquiries about the city’s tough local ordinance. Coral Springs, Florida, and California towns Stockton, Santee, Riverside County, and Murietta have all modeled recently enacted anti-blight measures after Chula Vista’s. On Wednesday, 8 October, the Escondido City Council also voted to tighten local measures making lenders more accountable for maintenance of empty homes.

Under the Chula Vista ordinance lenders become legally responsible for upkeep as soon as a notice of mortgage default gets filed on a vacant dwelling, before actual ownership of the dwelling returns to the lender. Leeper regards that as “the cutting-edge part of our ordinance”. Chula Vista also requires prompt registration of vacant homes and applies stiff fines as high as US$1000 per day for failure to maintain a property. Since foreclosed properties are subject to frequent resale between mortgage brokers, city officials enforce the fines by sending notices to every name on title documents and placing a lien on the property, which prevents further resale until outstanding fines have been paid. In the year since the ordinance went into effect the city has applied $850,000 in fines and penalties, of which it has collected $200,000 to date. The city has collected an additional $77,000 in registration fees on vacant homes.

Jolie Houston, an attorney in San Jose, believes “Lenders will respond when it costs them less to maintain the property than to ignore local agency requirements.” Traditionally, local governments have resorted to addressing blight problems on abandoned properties with public funds, mowing overgrown lawns and performing other vital functions, then seeking repayment afterward. Chula Vista has moved that responsibility to an upfront obligation upon lenders.

As one of the fastest growing cities in the United States during recent years, Chula Vista saw 22.6% growth between 2000 and 2006, which brought the city’s population from 173,556 in the 2000 census to an estimated 212,756, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Chula Vista placed among the nation’s 20 fastest growing cities in 2004. A large proportion of local homes were purchased during the recent housing boom using creative financing options that purchasers did not understand were beyond their means. Average home prices in San Diego County declined by 25% in the last year, which is the steepest drop on record. Many homeowners in the region currently owe more than their homes are worth and confront rising balloon payment mortgages that they had expected to afford by refinancing new equity that either vanished or never materialized. In August 2008, Chula Vista’s eastern 91913 zip code had the highest home mortgage default rate in the county with 154 filings and 94 foreclosures, an increase of 154% over one year previously. Regionally, the county saw 1,979 foreclosures in August.

Professionals from the real estate and mortgage industries object to Chula Vista’s response to the crisis for the additional burdens it places on their struggling finances. Said San Diego real estate agent Marc Carpenter, “that kind of measure will add additional costs to banks that have been hit really hard already and ultimately the cost will be transferred down to consumers and investors.” Yet city councils in many communities have been under pressure to do something about increasing numbers of vacant properties. Concentrations of abandoned and neglected homes can attract vandals who hasten the decline of struggling neighborhoods. Jolie Houston explained that city officials “can’t fix the lending problem, but they can try to prevent neighborhoods from becoming blighted.”

CEO Robert Klein of Safeguard, a property management firm, told the Union Tribune that his industry is having difficulty adapting to the rapidly changing local ordinances. “Every day we discover a new ordinance coming out of somewhere”, he complained. Dustin Hobbs, a spokesman from the California Association of Mortgage Bankers agreed that uneven local ordinances are likely to increase the costs of lending. Hobbs advised that local legislation is unnecessary due to California State Senate Bill 1137, which was recently approved to address blight. Yet according to Houston, the statewide measure falls short because it fails to address upkeep needs during the months between the time when foreclosure begins and when the lender takes title.