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Talk:US Senator Ted Kennedy collapses during inaugural luncheon

This is what I have so far.

senator byrd was so distraught by senator kennedy's seizure that he was removed from the luncheon in wheechair senator kennedy suffered a seizure while at the inaugural luncheon the seizure lasted for several minutes a moment of silence was offered in his honour before benediction of luncheon

"he looked better when they put him in the ambulance" - sen orrin hatch "we're all praying for him" they moved rather quickly to take care of senator kennedy NBC

"he was conscious and he was speaking" Hatch told him, "just hang in there teddy you're going to be alright" orrin hatch ABC interview

senator dodd clearly talking to him: Stephanopolous watching replay of footage of loading him into the ambulance

mondale: we spent 20 minutes talking. we were telling old war stories when he [had this episode] ABC 209.206.216.41 20:26, 20 January 2009 (UTC)Pink (sorry, I have no idea what happened to my login)

Reuters has an article; AP, too
Ted Kennedy collapses at inaugural lunch Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:01pm EST http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-BarackObama/idUSTRE50J6W920090120 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ailing U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy collapsed at an inaugural luncheon for new Democratic President Barack Obama on Tuesday and was evacuated by medical staff, apparently suffering from convulsions, a congressional aide said.

Obama, who just hours before had been sworn in as the new U.S. president, said his prayers were with Kennedy and his family. Kennedy, 76, is battling a life-threatening brain tumor.

Kennedy is the brother of the late President John F. Kennedy and one of the Senate's most respected Democrats. -

Sen. Kennedy becomes ill at inauguration luncheon http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/inauguration_byrd_kennedy;_ylt=Ai1JD5Z0.GqaMPPj2AFmfcqs0NUE 20 Jan 2009 WASHINGTON – Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., battling a brain tumor, became ill at a post-inauguration luncheon for President Barack Obama on Tuesday and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. There was no immediate word from medical personnel on his condition.

"It looked like a seizure," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who said he was with Kennedy until they reached the ambulance.

Kennedy, 76, had appeared in good health and spirits hours earlier when he stepped out of the Capitol and onto the inauguration platform where Obama took the oath of office.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, 91, also was taken from the luncheon but it was not clear whether his departure was prompted by his health.

editing what I previously entered
just revising material that I posted initially before making an account with Wikinews (sorry)

I have no idea at all how to source material that I heard on broadcast television. My apologies again.

Senator Ted Kennedy has suffered an apparent seizure while taking part in the inaugural luncheon of President Barack Obama. [as per all three major broadcast netwroks] He suffered the seizure for several minutes [ABC]. Walter Mondale later remarked, "We spent 20 minutes talking. We were telling old war stories when he [had this episode]." Senator John Kerry and Vicky Kennedy, the wife of Senator Ted Kennedy, both held him while he suffered convusions. [ABC] First responders were reported to have moved quickly to care for Senator Kennedy. [NBC]

Senator Byrd was so distraught at the attack that he was removed in a wheelchair. [ABC] A moment of silence was observed in Senator Kennedy's honour before the benediction of the luincheon. [ABC]

Senator Orrin Hatch spoke regarding Senator Kennedy after exiting the luncheon, saying, "He looked better when they put him in the ambulance" [NBC] Senator Hatch specified, "He was conscious and he was speaking" as they loaded him into the ambulance. [ABC during interview with Hatch outside luncheon] Senator Hatch managed to tell Senator Kennedy, "Just hang in there, Teddy. You're going to be alright." [Senator Orrin Hatch in ABC interview] Senator Hatch added, "We're all praying for him." [NBC]

Reviewing footage of Senator Kennedy being loaded into the mabulance, George Stephanolous remarked, "Senator Dodd was clearly talking to him." [ABC]

ABC later reported that Senator Kennedy was said to be "awake" and that "he is going to be fine" [ABC - possibly family statement?]

"he has good people taking care of him" [ABC - possibly family statement?] PinkWorld (talk) 20:46, 20 January 2009 (UTC)Pink

Aide: Byrd did not have a medical issue
Is it appropriate to use the correction template for this? Apparently other sources hadn't picked this up by the time Wikinews published this.

--InfantGorilla (talk) 10:02, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


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User talk:81.110.66.234

Welcome
Thanks for experimenting with Wikinews. Your test worked, and has now been reverted or removed. Please use Sandbox for any other tests you want to do, since testing in articles may disrupt the site's working and will be reverted quickly. , welcome to Wikinews! Please refrain from using content pages for testing. Here are a few good links for newcomers on how to edit Wikinews:

Our key policies - if you read anything, read these! Here a few pointers to help you get to know Wikinews: There are always things to do on Wikinews: By the way, you can sign your name on Talk pages using four tildes ( ~~~~ ), which produces your name and the current date. If you have any questions, you can ask them at the water cooler or to anyone on the Welcommittee, or ask me on my Talk page. Again, welcome! DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 20:34, 20 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Neutral point of view - tell every side to a story in a fair and balanced way
 * Cite sources - everything in a Wikinews article must be sourced
 * Introduction - overview of the site
 * Writing an article - how to write and publish a complete article
 * Content guide - what's suitable for Wikinews
 * Style guide - how an article should look before publishing
 * Contents - the contents page.
 * Existing articles need expanding and checking for spelling and mistakes
 * The front page lead articles often need updating
 * Developing stories need finishing and publishing
 * Discussions need your input
 * And of course, stories need writing!

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:81.110.66.234


text:
Comments:Irish businessman found dead, suicide suspected

With that much money I guess theres only one thing left to experience


text:
User talk:170.158.251.125

Welcome
Thanks for experimenting with Wikinews. Your test worked, and has now been reverted or removed. Please use Sandbox for any other tests you want to do, since testing in articles may disrupt the site's working and will be reverted quickly. , welcome to Wikinews! Please refrain from using content pages for testing. Here are a few good links for newcomers on how to edit Wikinews:

Our key policies - if you read anything, read these! Here a few pointers to help you get to know Wikinews: There are always things to do on Wikinews: By the way, you can sign your name on Talk pages using four tildes ( ~~~~ ), which produces your name and the current date. If you have any questions, you can ask them at the water cooler or to anyone on the Welcommittee, or ask me on my Talk page. Again, welcome! DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 21:01, 20 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Neutral point of view - tell every side to a story in a fair and balanced way
 * Cite sources - everything in a Wikinews article must be sourced
 * Introduction - overview of the site
 * Writing an article - how to write and publish a complete article
 * Content guide - what's suitable for Wikinews
 * Style guide - how an article should look before publishing
 * Contents - the contents page.
 * Existing articles need expanding and checking for spelling and mistakes
 * The front page lead articles often need updating
 * Developing stories need finishing and publishing
 * Discussions need your input
 * And of course, stories need writing!

title: User talk:170.158.251.125


text:
User:Flaming

Hey! This isn't my home wiki, but I have an account here because of my SUL. See me on other sites: w:User:Flaming (Main) • meta:User:Flaming • b:User:Flaming • commons:User:Flaming • species:User:Flaming • q:User:Flaming • wikt:User:Flaming • testwiki:User:Flaming • s:User:Flaming • v:User:Flaming • incubator:User:Flaming

title: User:Flaming


text:
ASEAN basketball league moves closer to reality

January 21, 2009 The formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Basketball League this week almost certainly ensures that a professional basketball league will be run across southern Asia. In planning for almost two years a US$5 million backing from Malaysian business tycoons Tony Fernandes of AirAsia and Indonesian media mogul Erick Thoir should see the league commence in September this year. The goal is to boost the mainstream popularity of basketball which, according to organizers of the new league, is already the second most popular team sport behind football.

Fernandes believes using overseas professional players will help increase the competitiveness and skills of the local ASEAN players. Fernandes said, "The aim is to develop local talent. Foreign players from outside ASEAN will be role models. Maybe one day our players will play in the NBA." Singapore's The Straits Times quoted secretary general of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Patrick Baumann, as saying "Asia was ready for a professional league but warned organizers will have to ensure it doesn't fade away after a few years. The time is right but it is not going to be simple to sustain the league". He further added that "there has to be good entertainment. The clubs need to be managed professionally and well funded. You cannot have the league for one or two years and then stop."

Addressing concerns over the current financial crisis and its possible impact on the launch of the league Fernandes said, "Yes, there will be a lot of obstacles and road blocks. But no mountain will stop us. During an economic downturn like now, this new league will create jobs."

The composition of the league is still under discussion however it is expected that at least eight teams will part of the series this year. Each nation will be permitted a maximum of two privately owned teams. Other details including prize money, sponsorship and number of games is still in planning. The league will be organised by the South-east Asian Basketball Association which governs basketball across the region.

Singapore Slingers are expected to be one of the first confirmed teams in the new competition. Bob Turner, CEO of the Slingers, said "We are definitely very interested. We believe that this will take the sport to the next level and we hope to confirm our entry as soon as possible."

The league is tentatively scheduled to start in September 2009 and continue until February 2010. It will initially consist of eight teams that will play on a home-and-away basis. The champion will be the last team standing after a knock-out playoff round.


text:
Photo source for Barack Obama presidential campaign "HOPE" poster discovered

January 22, 2009 have discovered the photograph that was used to create the iconic, which became a national symbol during his 2008 presidential campaign in the United States.

, California street artist 's poster design is an almost exact match to an photo from October 2006 or earlier. Prior reports beginning on January 14, 2009 claimed that the poster was based on a different photo, a shot by photographer Jim Young from January 2007. However, on January 20, 2009 Flickr user stevesimula and blog commenters identified the Associated Press photo that appears to be a much closer match.

Fairey had revealed that he found the photographic basis for his four-color screen-printed design using, but could not or would not identify which photo he used. News broke of a supposed source only days ago. According to an earlier attempted analysis by Michael Cramer, it was a photo from TIME magazine which was reversed and stretched slightly. That photo was credited to "Jonathan Daniel" of, but this turned out to be a misattribution. Reporter James Danziger of The Daily Beast tracked down the actual photographer for the TIME shot, Jim Young, and in his words "solved the biggest photographic mystery of the 2008 election". Reuters also celebrated their photo as the basis for such a phenomenon as Fairey's poster, and a print of the photo was sold to the in. But it took only a few days for internet sleuths to show that, while similar, the Jim Young photo was not the one Fairey used.

The most convincing evidence that a different photo is indeed the one comes from Flickr: stevesimula produced a graphic comparing the two purported sources. The side lighting in the alternative photo creates highlight and shadow areas closely matching those Fairey used in his high-contrast stencil-like image, and the overlaid images line up precisely from Obama's eyes to the shadow on his collar to his tie. Jim Young's photo would have required manipulation to simply match the profile of Fairey's design, even without considering details like the highlights and shadows.

The actual photo came from the Associated Press, as Wikimedians discovered using the "reverse image search engine" TinEye.com. That tip led photographer Tom Gralish of The Philadelphia Inquirer to the original photo through a Google image search for both "Obama" and "associated press". The original contained metadata identifying the creator as Mannie Garcia, which Gralish quickly confirmed. The shot came from an April 2006 event where George Clooney, not then-Senator Obama, was the main attraction: Clooney was addressing the about his trip to Darfur.

Fairey's appropriation raises questions of intellectual property, as apparently no attempt was made to secure reproduction rights from the Associated Press. Sales of the image (on posters, clothing, and other paraphernalia) were used to fund the production of more posters in support of the Obama campaign, and raised Fairey's public image considerably. A large hand-finished collage version was recently acquired by the Smithsonian Institution's. The purchase price is not known.


text:
Talk:Photo source for Barack Obama presidential campaign "HOPE" poster discovered

Original reporting
The original reporting for this piece consists of synthesizing the evidence to show that the wrong photograph has been been widely reported as the basis of the Obama posters, as well as some of the image analysis. The detail about AP not giving out the names of photographers comes from my phone call to the Associated Press inquiring about the image. User:Dforest and I both conducted searches on TinEye.com to determine that the actual source photo came from the Associated Press.--ragesoss (talk) 04:15, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Good work. Has anyone approached stevesimula (or indeed Fairey or Young) for a quote? --InfantGorilla (talk) 14:31, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Young has been quoted in a couple stories, I think, and Fairey is all over the place. But this morning the photographer Tom Gralish of The Philadephia Inquirere let me know that he tracked down the actual photographer, a DC freelancer named Mannie Garcia.  The answer was waiting on the web, I just wasn't clueful enough to find it.--ragesoss (talk) 15:32, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Cool. As a matter of style, it would have been good to see a couple of quotes.  All the same, it is an interesting piece of investigation, and an interesting article.  --InfantGorilla (talk) 09:54, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Comment
This article assumes that the reader knows what the Barack Obama "Hope" poster is. I didn't, until I read this. Also, it probably ought to consider the international audience. As it is, it is like a domestic US article. --SVTCobra 00:00, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Copyright on face and pose?
Let's consider these "questions of intellectual property" a bit further. Suppose Barack Obama made an effort to pose in the same position for a new photograph, and the original artist painted a new version based on that photo, using his original color scheme. Suppose this new painting was essentially indistinguishable from the first, or at least, not more different from the AP photo. Would someone question whether that too had to be licensed from the photographer? If so, would that mean that AP held the copyright on Obama's face, at least when it is in a certain thoughtful pose? If not, would that mean that the first of two very similar drawings by an artist can be a copyright violation, while the second is not, based not on what they look like but only based on his assumed thought process? Mike Serfas (talk) 04:07, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Category and links
edit protected Please add this article to Category:George Clooney and localize the links for George Clooney, Los Angeles, Associated Press, Reuters (x2) and Darfur. Thank you. Green Giant (talk) 12:36, 7 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Added cat, w-ized. --Pi zero (talk) 12:49, 7 October 2015 (UTC)


text:
Talk:ASEAN basketball league moves closer to reality

i read your comments on NPOV and pardon me but im confused .....i cant see any view point being taken in this....simply a record of some facts, comments from several involved people and thats about it...let me know where you think the issues are and i will look and we can discuss. Bjornengelhardt (talk) 00:45, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I cleaned a couple of problems that I saw, though I did not apply the original tag. --SVTCobra 02:01, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I dont agree one of the changes makes sense......"Air Asia beleives" is not right since its not sponsored officially by them rather by Fernandes who owns the airlineBjornengelhardt (talk) 04:49, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * You're right. it is not a venture of AirAsia, but Fernandes personally. The statement did need to be attributed, though. Cheers, --SVTCobra 23:38, 21 January 2009 (UTC)


text: Talk:UN chief visits Gaza, demands investigation into attacks on UN facilities


title: User:Koman90


text:
User talk:Koman90

Ambox warning pn.svgtant Information about my User Talk PageAmbox warning pn.svg
Your free to leave messages for me here but just be sure to sign them Please look at my WikiStress Status Prior to sending me a message to dertermine how to prase it so that I don't get "pissed off" because i misinterpreted your message. Wikipedia system administrators and bots do not need to sign messages, or view my wikistress but any other members wishing to comment or ask about my contributions must sign their comment as a registered user, and not as an ip address, if you are commenting on a contribution I have made please type the Full name of the contribution as a link. Please make sure you place your comment under it's own heading, archives will be closed at a capacity or 20 entries or around the 1st of every month, whichever comes first. thank you. Koman90 (talk) 18:07, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Koman90


text:
User talk:Wickedgrace

 Gears  of War 2 02:32, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Wickedgrace


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Comments:UN chief visits Gaza, demands investigation into attacks on UN facilities

Investigation
I imagine this will turn out as convoluted as most things like this do, with blame reduced to the lowest levels and letting the higher officials get away with everything. Things will go from finding it was all a targeting error, to explaining the initial cover-up, followed by the retraction of the cover-up and issuing of new statements by Israel. All that until finally it is found to have been caused by a few low-level officers who made some mistakes. People who shouldn't have been killed were killed but no one really responsible will be punished for their involvement. Maybe things will be different and there will be some justice done but I doubt it. 72.154.55.98 03:30, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Imagine if hamas had done this, our press would demand them to be tried for war crimes, where is the condemnation of these attacks?Soapy (talk) 03:55, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Like shooting a mosquito with a bazooka
Israel is committing crimes against humanity and no one can stop them. No matter the arguments 1300 vs. ~20 is not a war its a slaughter.


title: File:21January2009.pdf


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Template talk:Deletion request

Well this has gone full circle. We started out with a red icon, then it was changed to a yellow caution symbol, as the red stop-hand type icon was considered too intimidating to new users, and now we're back to the red icon. Interesting how stuff like that happens. Guess everything is cyclic. Bawolff ☺☻ 06:17, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

title: Template talk:Deletion request


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User talk:Shellyr335

hiya up2 ????

title: User talk:Shellyr335


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Internet group Anonymous hacks No Cussing Club's website, owner's e-mail account

January 23, 2009 Wikinews has learned that the internet group known only as "Anonymous" has hacked the website of the No Cussing Club (NCC), nocussing.com, for at least two days in a row. On day one, the group hacked into the website, replacing the content with links to images of alleged e-mail conversations. The e-mails appear to be from the founder's e-mail account, accusing organization members of forgery and using the site for their own personal financial gains. The website was also replaced with Anonymous's logo and a message. On January 22, they again attacked the website, by means of a Distributed Denial-of-service attack (DDoS), bringing it offline periodically throughout the day. Anonymous attacked the Scientology website in 2008 with a DDoS attack, taking it off-line for at least two days.

"It has come to our attention that the creators of the no cussing club, McKay and Brent Hatch have done so at great personal gain. Their material promotes the organization as the brainchild of their 14-year-old son, when actually the material is written by his parents, who also manage his profitable career while using his speaking events to plug their own material," said Anonymous on the hacked website. On Encyclopedia Dramatica, a satire Wiki, they claim further responsibility for the hack and exposition saying they managed to break into McKay and Brent Hatch's email accounts. "[the accounts got] haxx0rd and via this astonishing development passwords were got and a certain website got its shit ruined."

According to the NCC's website, it has 20,000 members worldwide, was founded in 2007 by McKay Hatch, a 14-year-old boy, and aims at discouraging swearing in public places such as schools. In 2008, McKay even succeeded in making cussing illegal in his hometown of South Pasadena, California and has appeared on various talk shows such as that of Doctor Phil. However, according to e-mails leaked to Wikinews, allegedly written by the boy's father Brent, a motivational speaker also owning Dawson Publishing, the parents are allegedly using the site and their son's material for their own personal financial gain. Anonymous also claims that the parents have forged some of their son's writings and claim it to be his.

The e-mails allege that Brent along with his publishing company, the name which "nocussing.com" is also registered under, were trying to set up assemblies in the No Cussing Club's name at schools across the United States for US$1,500.00 per show and would then pocket the money, doing the same for postcards they created for churches and schools.

"McKay spoke last night to a group of 40 people, and at the end of his presentation, there wasn't a dry eye in the crowd. I know this is going to work because the message is so important. Thanks for all you do and I hope we can work together for a long time, and of course make money in the process," said Brent in an alleged e-mail conversation on November 25, 2008. Earlier in August 2008, Brent spoke about hoping to reach a "goal" of "2.5 million dollars" by selling thousands of postcards to "schools and churches".

On January 19, 2009, ABC News.com reported that McKay claimed Anonymous was sending him and his family hate e-mail and death threats, nearly 50,000 per day, "almost all of them filled with obscenities" and spam. On the NCC's website, McKay calls himself the "most cyberbullied kid on the planet" because of Anonymous's attacks. "A lot of people were saying I was taking away their freedom of speech," said McKay to ABC News on January 16. "All I was trying to do was raise awareness." He says he formed the club because his schoolmates were sick of hearing people swear in public. Wikinews contacted the NCC to confirm or deny the reports, but would only say that "the FBI is [working] on it [the case]" including "our attorney and we will press charges" against those who are responsible for the crimes.

Anonymous is known to prank and hack websites and e-mail accounts. In September 2008, the group hacked into BillOreilly.com, the official website of Fox News Channel commentator Bill O'Reilly, exposing personal information of the site's users in a document posted on the internet.

The NCC is located in South Pasadena. According to the California Penal Code §502 part C of the computer hacking laws, depending on the offense if caught, punishments could be a "fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment".

On October 20, 2008, Dmitriy Guzner, aged 18 from New Jersey, admitted to the charges related to carrying out the DDoS attack on Scientology's website. He was subsequently charged with computer hacking crimes and faces a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment.


text: File:Anonymous hacked nocussing.com January 21-2009.gif


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Talk:Internet group Anonymous hacks No Cussing Club's website, owner's e-mail account

Spam list
I need to know how to remove Encyclopedia Dramatica from the spam blacklist. I have to use a link to them as a source in the article. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 15:35, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Added to spam whitelist. Should work now. Bawolff ☺☻ 03:28, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * How can Encyclopedia Dramatica be considered a source for anything? --SVTCobra 03:52, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * That is considered, at least in my knowledge 'Anons' hang out. And the screenshot clearly states they are responsible, and are clearly admitting it. So it would only be logical, and within policy to include the statement they make in the link provided. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 03:57, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Consider me confused. Anons hanging out? What? But besides that confusion, didn't you list that exact same Encyclopedia Dramatica source as inappropriate on this very same collaboration page? (look down) --SVTCobra 04:07, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Forgot to remove it. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 04:26, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

NPOV
Why is Anonymous being written about as if they are heroes when in fact they have committed a crime? Just because they became popular with their Scientology protests, doesn't mean they should be worshiped as heroes. --SVTCobra 17:36, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I never mention once that they are heroes. I mention nothing but the facts of their background. If you can find a better way to re-word it, please do so. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 17:44, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * If you don't think this article glorifies Anonymous then, in my opinion, you have lost objectivity. --SVTCobra 17:50, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Please do show me exactly what you speak of. I again do not at any time "glorify" anyone. And in case you have not noticed the tag at the top of the article that says develop? DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 18:00, 21 January 2009 (UTC) DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 18:00, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I also find no hero worship here. Blood Red Sandman  (Talk)   (Contribs) 18:07, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * The new title helps, as does the mention that the hacking is a crime. Much better now. --SVTCobra 22:16, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Fraud
What fraud? I didn't find anywhere on nocussing.com any claims that they are a non-profit organization. So of course the founder and his publisher are 'pocketing' the profits. --SVTCobra 17:48, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * The founder and the publisher are one in the same. See this site: http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/nocussing.com. This sight also shows the location of the site/publishing company in California. Using this as a source for location to reference computer hacking laws in that state. I just don't think it belongs in the sources. Add if you think it does please. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 18:12, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

 * Also do you not define fraud as allegedly forging a 15 y/o's material, then claiming he wrote it? DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 18:02, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I see no coherent explanation of forgery to back up the title. --Brian McNeil / talk 19:20, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

 * People use ghost writers all the time in books, so why would it be a problem on a website? Brent Hatch didn't seem to do it against his son's wishes. McKay Hatch was doing interviews etc in support of the website. --SVTCobra 22:14, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

 * Umm, I'm not sure a whois entry saying tech & admin contacts are a publishing company necceasirily mean the publisher and the founder are the same entities. Bawolff ☺☻ 03:38, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Well, in one of the e-mails he allegedly signs it 'Dawson Publishing'. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 03:50, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Links not appropriate for sources

 * But used as in article for information.

 * Brent Hatch's website DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 20:54, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * No Cussing Club DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 21:10, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't really see why they're not appropriate for sources. If we got info from them, then they're a source of information (If not, we could put them in external links section maybe). Bawolff ☺☻ 04:01, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Added to external. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 20:16, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Accidental sighting
I accidentally sighted the article. Is there any way to unsight? JoshuaZ (talk) 20:56, 21 January 2009 (UTC)
 * kinda through special:stabilization - but its not really worth it to do anything. Bawolff ☺☻ 03:20, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Only the combination of publish and sighting will put the article "out there" for public consumption. So I think you are ok, Joshua.--SVTCobra 03:47, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

OR
I added what little statement I could get out of the NCC. I forwarded the e-mail through scoop for accredited reporters to see. They are afraid I am not who I say I am, so I am not sure they will write back. I did write to them with my telephone number and accreditation page link. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 20:13, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I have been visiting the NCC website throughout the day. It would appear that at some points you get a site not found error. I would only assume, based on the attack and experience I had on reporting about Scientology's website, that it appears they are DDoS'ing the NCC. Not sure how anyone else can prove this, as it is only sometimes. I added it to the article, if you disagree, please remove. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 20:31, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't think a DOS attack would cause a 404 error. Bawolff ☺☻ 02:50, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


text:
User talk:71.112.130.129

Can you please complete template peer review on the talk page about the article on the Australian writer being jailed in Thailand. publish is no longer sufficient to get an article on the main page and it must be sighted once it is verified that some fact-checking and editorial control has been performed. --Brian McNeil / talk 18:06, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

It's magic of Wikinews collaboration

 * Thanks for your comment on my cursory perusal of world reports to dig into this - making this article a real SYNTHESIS - such that non-neutral, cheap, noisy and 'small thinking' news reports, even comming from top world news sites, miserably failed to pain a real picture of the lawsuit. Of more than 30 news that I opened and put into this, I just found ONE NEWS ARTICLE which really put the REAL THING-paragraph of INSULT. Talk:Australian writer Harry Nicolaides jailed for three years for insulting Thai Royal Family
 * Note however, that, USA and Philippines laws on marriages are different from Thai laws. Here in the Philippines, our laws and courts recognize the Philippine Muslim Personal law amid our Shariah courts in Mindanao. A Muslim is allowed to marry at 4 wives on conditions. We have to respect their culture and religion. One more thing: the King of Thailand is not just a symbolic head of state. He is revered as semi-divine and a reincarnation (I myself do not believe in these since I am Catholic, but I respect these). The Thai Royal Family cannot under the law sue to protect itself, hence, like many insulting laws, the Thai law is good and even if harsh and draconian it must stay as culture and religion should stay as OPIUM of the people, just sayin.
 * BTW, I am here in the Philippines and with all due respect, I notice that you are posting on the opposite side of the planet - Bothell, Washington - Verizon Internet Services (here in Malolos, and in Manila, Philippines, when it is 1 pm, here, it is 1 am in New York; my cousin Maria Floro is economics professor of your American University. Best of Luck!--Florentino Floro (talk) 07:07, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:71.112.130.129


text:
Comments:Steelers, Cardinals win championship games to advance to Super Bowl XLIII

Craig morton was the first nfl QB to lead 2 different teams to the supewrbowl


text:
Portland, Oregon mayor admits to sexual relationship he previously denied

January 21, 2009 After an investigation by the Portland, Oregon weekly newspaper Willamette Week, mayor Sam Adams admitted he did have a sexual relationship with Beau Breedlove in 2005. The openly gay mayor said Breedlove was 18 years of age when the sexual relationship began, however the two met when Breedlove was still a minor. Adams also admitted he previously lied about the relationship and asked Breedlove to also lie about the relationship during the time Adams was running for mayor. The Oregon Attorney General's office is investigating the matter.

"In the past, I have characterized my relationship with Beau Breedlove as purely nonsexual. That is not true. Beau Breedlove and I had a sexual relationship for a few months in the summer of 2005 after he turned 18 years of age. I want to apologize to the people of Portland for my dishonesty and for embarrassing them. My job now is to come clean — I mucked it up — and to press forward," said Adams in a statement to the media.

Newspapers such as The Oregonian, Just Out, the Portland Tribune, and the Portland Business Journal, as well as the Portland Police Union have called for Adams to resign. Others such as city commissioner Randy Leonard and Multnomah County district attorney Michael Schrunk want an investigation to be launched into Adams' actions. Portland commissioner Randy Leonard expressed distraught when he heard Adams had lied about the relationship. Leonard previously defended Adams when the allegations first came to light. There are also allegations that Breedlove was only 17 when the sexual relationship started, bringing up memories of the sex scandal that tainted former mayor Neil Goldschmidt's legacy after he admitted to sex with his 14-year-old babysitter.

"The part I'm having trouble with is the thing he did was to ask the young man to lie. That I'm having a hard time understanding," said Leonard in a statement. Adams has no plans to resign as mayor.

Breedlove met Adams in April 2005 at the Oregon State Capitol when Breedlove was an intern for then Oregon House of Representatives member Kim Thatcher. Breedlove sought Adams out for advice on coming out of the closet. Later, the two spent time together and Adams attended Breedlove's 18th birthday party.

Rumors of a sexual relationship surfaced in the fall of 2007, but Adams denied any sexual relationship at that time. Adams is currently in a relationship with reporter Peter Zuckerman.


text:
Talk:Portland, Oregon mayor admits to sexual relationship he previously denied

Issues
Regarding the removal of some, I think this meets the exception. The Oregonian, Just Out, the Portland Tribune, and even the rather irrelevant to politics paper Portland Business Journal is as well. Or would you prefer overkill and mentions of each? Aboutmovies (talk) 09:15, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Also the Portland Police Union. But not Leonard as the article was changed to. Aboutmovies (talk) 09:17, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * And note the wat it had been changed before was also inaccurate, no city officials have called for his resignation at this time. Aboutmovies (talk) 09:20, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Another accuracy problem
Sorry, but I just noticed this: Adams has stated that the relationship was never one of mentorship, that was part of the lie. So the second-to-last sentence is false. I will seek out a citation for that if necessary…not sure what the protocol is for correcting an existing story? -Peteforsyth (talk) 06:13, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
 * If he stated after this article's date, then it is not available for inclusion. Our articles strive to be what was known at the time, thus a snap-shot in time if you will. But a source would definitely be needed. Cheers, --SVTCobra 23:49, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Okay, that makes sense, thanks for explaining. I don't remember when that detail came out, or know a source. But more than that, I'm not even sure which sentence I was originally objecting to -- on a fresh read, it all looks pretty accurate to me now. -Peteforsyth (talk) 16:11, 23 May 2009 (UTC)


text:
Comments:Australian writer Harry Nicolaides jailed for three years for insulting Thai Royal Family

What a screwed up country, and I say that from the bottom of my heart. That passage is NOTHING. Come to America you insecure "king", you will get ripped apart. Freedom of speech is amazing innit?

Nicolaies knew full well that he was breaking Thai law when he diseresected Thai royalty. I have no sympathy for the man. None.

 * Would you feel that way if he had broken a law that prevented that prevented him from practicing religious beliefs? What if the law prevented him from criticizing an elected official? Moreover, whether or not you have sympathy is really besides the point; I don't need to like what someone has to say to defend their right to say it. JoshuaZ (talk) 03:08, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

I hope he does get pardoned.


text: File:ObamaHopePoster.jpg

title: File:ObamaHopePoster.jpg


text:
US Senate confirms Clinton as Secretary of State

January 22, 2009

The United States Senate has, in a 94–2 vote yesterday, approved Hillary Clinton as the next United States Secretary of State. She is now the 67th person to hold that position and succeeds Condoleezza Rice.

During the Senate debate, the issue of the foundation of Hillary's husband, former President Bill Clinton, was again raised, as it was during the hearing held by the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Some politicians have expressed concern that foreign donations to the foundation may create conflicts of interest for Hillary, as the Secretary of State is the country's top diplomat. The foundation employs Bill Clinton as its head.

"I intend to vote for her confirmation. But I also think it's important to flesh out the concerns raised," Senator John Cornyn said. "If we are going to restore trust between the American people and their government, we need to be sure the reality matches the rhetoric."

The William J. Clinton Foundation has received over US$500 million in donations and was forced to make public a list of past and current donors. This was formalized in a memorandum of understanding with the Obama transition team. According to this document, the foundation agrees to submit future foreign donations to a State Department ethics review.

"I trust Hillary Clinton's good judgement," Senator Arlen Specter said. "I think she will work through these issues."

"The message that the American people are sending us now is they want us to work together and get to work," Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain said.

"This is not the moment to delay American engagement in ongoing crises," Senator John Kerry, another former presidential candidate, said. "While we might wish for a stronger review and disclosure process, the simple truth is that we need a secretary of state in place to implement the president’s agenda."

After the vote, Hillary Clinton was sworn into office at 5:29 pm local time (2229 UTC). Shortly thereafter, she resigned her seat as Senator. New York Governor David Paterson will appoint her replacement.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee made further progress on the new administration's diplomatic nominees yesterday: it recommended Susan Rice as the Ambassador to the United Nations.


text:
Caroline Kennedy drops bid for New York Senate seat

January 22, 2009

Caroline Kennedy, considered to be among the front-runners for the United States Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, yesterday withdrew her name from consideration for the seat. New York state Governor David Paterson had been reported as intending to name her as Clinton's replacement this Saturday. Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, issued a statement at midnight saying she had quit her bid because of "personal reasons".

A close associate of Kennedy, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said that the decision was not related to the recent health issues of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Caroline Kennedy's uncle. The senator suffered a seizure Tuesday while attending a luncheon with the newly inaugurated U.S. President Barack Obama in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.. He was rushed out of the event in a wheelchair and taken for treatment to Washington Hospital, where he remains. In May 2008 he was diagnosed with brain cancer, which required an operation.

The New York Post has reported that Kennedy withdrew her bid because Paterson was not going to choose her for the position. Citing the anonymous source, the Post said that "her poor performances in media interviews and in private sessions with various officials" is Paterson's reason for not appointing her to the position. Paterson will reportedly make his decision by Saturday, January 26.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is the highest-profile candidate still up for consideration for the last two years of Clinton's term. Cuomo, who has not commented on this recent turn of events, was the housing secretary during former President Bill Clinton's time in office, and in his current role as attorney general has overseen nation-wide reforms for student loans and participated in limiting Wall Street corporate spending.


text:
Talk:Caroline Kennedy drops bid for New York Senate seat

Doesn't jive
First paragraph says Paterson was going to appoint her. Third paragraph says he was not going to choose her for the position. --SVTCobra 03:22, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Apology for undiscussed move
I removed "Report: " from the headline, as (by my reading of the sources) Kennedy issued a statement on Wednesday morning.

I apologize for not checking the logs first: DragonFire1024 had added that word because he thought it was not confirmed. If I had noticed I would have discussed it first.

Would you like me to revert it?

--InfantGorilla (talk) 13:54, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

 * I wrote: Kennedy issued a statement on Wednesday morning which is probably not true. Goodness knows when she issued the statement.  The dateline at Fox News seems to be wrong.  At least all agree on the wording of the single sentence, and I am pretty confident to write that she withdrew "yesterday". --InfantGorilla (talk) 14:13, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't have a web source, but she released a statement at 12 midnight, Thursday morning (today). Very brief though. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 15:02, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


text:
MediaWiki talk:Spam-whitelist

To me, entries like: Don't look like host names. Bawolff ☺☻ 03:31, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * safc.com/news/
 * ogpaper.com/news/

title: MediaWiki talk:Spam-whitelist


text:
Comments:Photo source for Barack Obama presidential campaign "HOPE" poster discovered

National symbol
I really must have been out-of-touch. I consider myself to be politically aware, though not active. I have never heard of "the iconic Barack Obama "HOPE" poster, that became a national symbol during his 2008 presidential campaign". A "national symbol"? Really? Am I the only one who didn't see this? --SVTCobra 03:39, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I wouldn't say "national symbol" (that got added by someone else in the editing process), but it definitely became a widely-recognized icon of the Obama campaign and it's themes. To get a feel for how widely it spread, just look at how widely it's been imitated.  There's a web application for giving the "Obamicon" treatment to any image.--ragesoss (talk) 06:44, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Original Print Version
I just wanted to point out that the original photo is this version: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/style/features/2008/obama-poster-051808/graphic.html?sid=ST2008051602005. This version is slightly different than the Hope version. It says Progress instead of Hope and has Fairey's signature OBEY star. --71.72.186.199 17:52, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

What?
Why is this a huge deal? Are there claims of plagiarism or something I'm missing? I could care less about this. This isn't notable. Great picture, but not news.
 * You did read the article after all by the sounds of it, and took time to make a comment, so it had to have interested you enough. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 03:17, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * The fact that such an effort was put into identification by so many people is newsworthy. Blood Red Sandman  (Talk)   (Contribs) 07:37, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

sweet
Nice many tasty information about the photo. --Kai Burghardt (talk) 09:15, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

This is not news.
This is not news, but rather inane babbling with no true importance in general. Wikinews should push itself to stay above the level of such unimportant fluff to avoid risking a steady decline into the vacuous condition of official media outlets. —68.108.144.241 01:20, 25 January 2009 (UTC)Brent
 * Wikinews is written by anyone and everyone. So our stories are whatever people happen to feel like writing. If you feel that there aren't enough important stories, then there is any easy way to fix that: write them;). More users are always appreciated. Gopher65talk 16:23, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Comments from feedback form - "you can keep the "change.""
you can keep the "change." —71.239.45.159 (talk) 00:53, 25 August 2010 (UTC)


text:
Comments:Internet group Anonymous hacks No Cussing Club's website, owner's e-mail account

http://nocussingclub.com made me want to swear—!@@#@#$ my eyes. Seriously that site is really ugly. Might as well wrap it in a blink tag. Not surprising someone hacked it. Bawolff ☺☻ 03:43, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * My eyes they hurt!--KDP3 (talk) 04:49, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Such a terrible website. I wanted to swear so bad after seeing this website...

OK, so right after I mention a favorite song of mine in a swearing-on-comments-pages thread, we get this. I'm sorry. I just have to say it:

I Fuck Like a Beast!

Thank you. Unsubtle hint on my profanity views over. Blood Red Sandman (Talk)   (Contribs) 22:00, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

We Are ANONYMOUS
haha... that story is great... We had a lot of fun doing it too... its really easy after you do a little research.. haha

This is just advertising
There are 1000s of websites that get defaced daily, just because they call themselves "Anonymous" doesnt mean it should be news or they are so great. Zone-H keeps records of attacks and they have special ways of keeping track of them. Also, ive never even heard of nocussing.com. --Ub3rst4r (talk) 02:51, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

 * Agree. How is this news-worthy? Is WikiNews getting desperate for new content? 70.153.124.125 07:13, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

 * There are thousands of towers that get knocked down daily, but America concentrated on one complex. The point is that htese sites are against ammendments 1, 2 and 3, and therefore need some thought policin' of their own. Good day to you.--Cymbelmineer (talk) 11:40, 12 October 2010 (UTC)

Streisand Effect
I had never heard of nocussing.com before this article... Has the person who hacked it ever heard of the Streisand Effect? Defacing sites just isn't a good way to point out their flaws. Wtachi (talk) 04:44, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

fucckkkkk

Wow...some hacking group. I bet its so fun to hack the website of a 16 year old kid. I'm in awe, these guys are amazing. They're such amazing hackers, I bet it was so worth their time too. The bastard nerds probably threw a counterstrike Lan party in celebration of this fine achievement. Their life long goals are complete. I just have one question for them though, do they actually feel human? I find it difficult to understand just how this accomplished anything to anyone, anywhere on this entire planet.
 * despite its uselessness, vandalism is an activity enjoyed by very many people (and I'm don't necessarily mean online vandalism. Look at your local bridge in your town. it probably has been vandalized). Not everyone's goal in life is to be useful to society. (if it was, we wouldn't need courts). Bawolff ☺☻ 06:50, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * In addition to Bawolff's comments, I'd like to add that many of the people that do this kind of thing are young. Young people are silly. It's true of puppies and it's true of humans. That's just life;). Gopher65talk 01:02, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Front page?
Seriously? This is front page stuff? I know Wikinews often will feature stories that most people would consider of marginal importance, but this is really pushing triviality to new limits. 98.98.24.38 01:37, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Uh... everything on Wikinews goes onto the front page. That's just how it works. This IS NOT WIKIPEDIA! Gopher65talk 16:19, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

It was Ebaumsworld's evil deeds, as anyone should know

Good for McKay!
And I hope Dmitry never sees the light of day again, that bastard. 65.94.182.62 17:29, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

fuck off, you scilon scum.

Lulzworthy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 116.240.244.241 (talk) 13:37, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

lol
you cannot imprison anon they are legion

Got what they deserved
Ok I have been with anon since I was young. and sure not everything we do is completly legal. However sometimes there are people doing unethical or otherwise faggy shit and there isnt always a legal way to expose them. This occurance is another pefect example of how although anon breaks laws they break it with a satirical yet benevolent purpose. They don't just do it to be bad but rather to expose truths that otherwise would have remained hidden. There will always be secrets that the world needs to know and anonymouse will always be there to find then and bring "great justice".

I just thaught of a better way to explain this.

If a guy with a guy fawkes mask trespasses on private property and breaks an entering to a highly secure facility and then takes picturs of a massive underground drug ring/ gun sale/ human trafficing and then the cops come and he presents the images. Who should really be arrested? The people doing the dirty that the anon obtained evidence of through less then legal means or the anon? Or even both.. a sacrifice can be made on the part of the anon. He can go to jail because that is the price to expose a bigger crime that the cops and legal officials cannot.

Why the hell is this included in the story?
"The NCC is located in South Pasadena. According to the California Penal Code §502 part C of the computer hacking laws, depending on the offense if caught, punishments could be a "fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment"."

That has nothing to do with anything. Is this some retarded threat from whomever threw together this sorry excuse for a story?

No Cussing
Alright, This kid dont want me (speaking for nonsupporters) to cuss. That's just like him tyrannizing us cause there is the freedom of speech But i do think that the account shouldnt have been hacked cause if you can dish it you can take it. Meteorman7228 (talk) 01:51, 13 July 2009 (UTC) Also i retract that statement but he still takes away the freedom of speech Meteorman7228 (talk) 01:55, 13 July 2009 (UTC) But,kid Let us swear i wanted to so bad after hearing that he started it, you suck bad and i dont retract it Meteorman7228 (talk) 02:32, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

Bull shit. Ncc diserved to be hacked... The kid is really asking for a fuckin slap across the face. You can really tell he was a failed abortion.

~A "cusser"

I agree, ncc deserved it, like i said the kid sucks. Dont people see that hes a tyrant thats just trying to limit what we say, i agree with your statement --Meteorman7228 (talk) 00:44, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Comments from feedback form - "shit"
shit —79.119.99.52 (talk) 07:30, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

True
I live in South Pas. and this whole no cussing thing is stupid, everyone thinks its just a joke! My friend was added to the 'No Cussing Club', just because she's their neighbor. She also has to wake up to creepy Hatch heads on their van every day. Just to let everyone know, most of the neighbors don't like them. They would most likely SELL their kids to get PROFIT off them.

Comments from feedback form - "Fake and gay"
Fake and gay —194.83.68.194 (talk) 10:34, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

Comments from feedback form - "PERFECT!"
PERFECT! —206.246.13.169 (talk) 02:36, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Swearing illegalized..
What the hell do they think they're doing? What a stupid, pointless little club. They even made swearing illegal in his town. Great job, kid. Now everybody has to swear in code. *Bangs head against wall*

—65.95.102.243 (talk) 13:10, 16 August 2011 (UTC) Piss'd off

oh wow.... he tries to limit our freedom of speech. FUCK YOU MCKAY

WHAT THE FUCK
MCKAY, Y U LIMIT FREEDOM OF SPEECH


text:
Talk:US Senate confirms Clinton as Secretary of State

Explanations
(note: this is not an actual review, i just read through the article once) Hmm, I think this article is pretty good, but could do a better job at explaining why the Clinton foundation needs to make donations public (it makes sense the third read through, but the first two time I read it, i got confused). Also could be better with explaining what UN ambassador nomination has to do with anything. Cheers. Bawolff ☺☻ 04:13, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

 * I edited to address these. Unfortunately my prose in the 2nd paragraph is very stilted.  Anyone is welcome to fix it.  --InfantGorilla (talk) 10:41, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

 * Thanks Wikidsoup --InfantGorilla (talk) 19:58, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Time
Is it just me or is the UTC time off 12 hours, I would think that it should have been 00:29 UTC

 * Oops - my fault - thanks! Actually 10 hours off.  I just fixed it. --InfantGorilla (talk) 15:00, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


text:
User talk:Crat89

Welcome
DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 04:24, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Your article
Couple things. First off, Wikinews doesn't allow self-publishing of articles. When your article is ready to be published, please place a review template at the very top of your article, and another reviewer will be along (eventually;)) to review and publish it.

I've pointed out a couple things that need to be fixed in your recent article before it can be published. It needs one more paragraph (three paragraphs is the minimum article length allowed). In addition, please make sure that it answers the 5 W's (and 1 H): Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Thanks for making the effort to write an article on Wikinews:). I hope we can get this one published. Gopher65talk 16:35, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Crat89


text:
User talk:68.4.24.184

Welcome
Thanks for experimenting with Wikinews. Your test worked, and has now been reverted or removed. Please use Sandbox for any other tests you want to do, since testing in articles may disrupt the site's working and will be reverted quickly. , welcome to Wikinews! Please refrain from using content pages for testing. Here are a few good links for newcomers on how to edit Wikinews:

Our key policies - if you read anything, read these! Here a few pointers to help you get to know Wikinews: There are always things to do on Wikinews: By the way, you can sign your name on Talk pages using four tildes ( ~~~~ ), which produces your name and the current date. If you have any questions, you can ask them at the water cooler or to anyone on the Welcommittee, or ask me on my Talk page. Again, welcome! Bawolff ☺☻
 * Neutral point of view - tell every side to a story in a fair and balanced way
 * Cite sources - everything in a Wikinews article must be sourced
 * Introduction - overview of the site
 * Writing an article - how to write and publish a complete article
 * Content guide - what's suitable for Wikinews
 * Style guide - how an article should look before publishing
 * Contents - the contents page.
 * Existing articles need expanding and checking for spelling and mistakes
 * The front page lead articles often need updating
 * Developing stories need finishing and publishing
 * Discussions need your input
 * And of course, stories need writing!

title: User talk:68.4.24.184


text:
User:Sigma 7

Toolkit
Special:Contributions/newbies

title: User:Sigma 7


text:
Death sentences in 2008 Chinese tainted milk scandal

January 26, 2009 On Thursday, the municipal intermediate people's court in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China pronounced sentences for 21 defendants implicated in the 2008 Chinese milk scandal which killed at least six infants and sickened nearly 300,000 others.

In the local court's decision, 17 accused were indicted for the crimes of "producing, adding melamine-laced 'protein powder' to infant milk or selling tainted, fake and substandard milk to Sanlu Group or 21 other dairy companies, including six who were charged with the crime of endangering public security by dangerous means." Four other courts in Wuji County, in Hebei, China had also tried cases on the milk scandal.

Zhang Yujun, age 40, of Quzhou County (Hebei), who produced and sold melamine-laced "protein powder" in the milk scandal, was convicted of endangering public security and sentenced to death by the Shijiazhuang intermediate people's court.

The court also imposed the penalty of death upon Geng Jinping, who added 434 kg of melamine-laced powder to about 900 tons of fresh milk to artificially increase the protein content. He sold the tainted milk to Sanlu and some other dairy companies. His brother Geng Jinzhu was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for assisting in adding the melamine.

A suspended capital punishment sentence, pending a review, with two years probation, was handed down to Gao Junjie. Under the law, a suspended death sentence is equivalent to life imprisonment with good behavior. The court ruled that Gao designed more than 70 tons of melamine-tainted "protein powder" in a Zhengding County underground factory near Shijiazhuang. His wife Xiao Yu who assisted him, was also sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Sanlu Group General Manager Tian Wenhua, 66, a native of Nangang Village in Zhengding County, who was charged under Articles 144 and 150 of the criminal code, was sentenced to life imprisonment for producing and selling fake or substandard products. She was also fined 20 million yuan (US$2.92 million) while Sanlu, which has been declared bankrupt, was fined 49.37 million yuan ($7.3 million).

Tian Wenhua plans to appeal the guilty verdict on grounds of lack of evidence, said her lawyer Liang Zikai on Saturday. Tian testified last month during her trial that she decided not to stop production of the tainted milk products because a Fonterra designated board member handed her a document which states that a maximum of 20 mg of melamine was allowed in every kg of milk in the European Union. Liang opined that Tian should instead be charged with "liability in a major accident," which is punishable by up to seven years imprisonment, instead of manufacturing and selling fake or substandard products.

According to Zhang Deli, chief procurator of the Hebei Provincial People's Procuratorate, Chinese police have arrested another 39 people in connection with the scandal. Authorities last year also arrested 12 milk dealers and suppliers who allegedly sold contaminated milk to Sanlu, and six people were charged with selling melamine.

In late December, 17 people involved in producing, selling, buying and adding melamine to raw milk went on trial. Tian Wenhua and three other Sanlu executives appeared in court in Shijiazhuang, charged with producing and selling fake or substandard milk contaminated with melamine. Tian pleaded guilty, and told the court during her 14-hour December 31 trial that she learned about the tainted milk complaints and problems with her company's BeiBei milk powder from consumer complaints in mid-May.

She then apparently led a working team to handle the case, but her company did not stop producing and selling formula until about September 11. She also did not report to the Shijiazhuang city government until August 2.

The court also sentenced Zhang Yanzhang, 20, to the lesser penalty of life imprisonment. Yanzhang worked with Zhang Yujun, buying and reselling the protein powder. The convicts were deprived of their political rights for life.

Xue Jianzhong, owner of an industrial chemical shop, and Zhang Yanjun were punished with life imprisonment and 15 years jail sentence respectively. The court found them responsible for employment of workers to produce about 200 tons of the tainted infant milk formula, and selling supplies to Sanlu, earning more than one million yuan.

"From October 2007 to August 2008, Zhang Yujun produced 775.6 tons of 'protein powder' that contained the toxic chemical of melamine, and sold more than 600 tons of it with a total value of 6.83 million yuan [$998,000]. He sold 230 tons of the "protein powder" to Zhang Yanzhang, who will stay behind bars for the rest of his life under the same charge. Both Zhangs were 'fully aware of the harm of melamine' while they produced and sold the chemical, and should be charged for endangering the public security," the Court ruled.

The local court also imposed jail sentences of between five years and 15 years upon three top Sanlu executives. Wang Yuliang and Hang Zhiqi, both former deputy general managers, and Wu Jusheng, a former raw milk department manager, were respectively sentenced to 15 years, eight years and five years imprisonment. In addition, the court directed Wang to pay multi-million dollar fines. In December, Wang Yuliang had appeared at the Shijiazhuang local court in a wheelchair, after what the Chinese state-controlled media said was a failed suicide attempt.

The judgment also states "the infant milk powder was then resold to private milk collectors in Shijiazhuang, Tangsan, Xingtai and Zhangjiakou in Hebei." Some collectors added it to raw milk to elevate apparent protein levels, and the milk was then resold to Sanlu Group.

"The Chinese government authorities have been paying great attention to food safety and product quality," Yu Jiang Yu, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said. "After the case broke out, the Chinese government strengthened rules and regulations and took a lot of other measures to strengthen regulations and monitor food safety," she added.

In the People's Republic of China, the intermediate people's court is the second lowest local people's court. Under the Organic Law of the People's Courts of the People's Republic of China, it has jurisdiction over important local cases in the first instance and hear appeal cases from the basic people's court.

The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a food safety incident in China involving milk and infant formula, and other food materials and components, which had been adulterated with melamine. In November 2008, the Chinese government reported an estimated 300,000 victims have suffered; six infants have died from kidney stones and other acute renal infections, while 860 babies were hospitalized.

Melamine is normally used to make plastics, fertilizer, coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. It was added by the accused to infant milk powder, making it appear to have a higher protein content. In 2004, a watered-down milk resulted in 13 Chinese infant deaths from malnutrition.

The tainted milk scandal hit the headlines on 16 July, after sixteen babies in Gansu Province who had been fed on milk powder produced by Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group were diagnosed with kidney stones. Sanlu is 43% owned by New Zealand's Fonterra. After the initial probe on Sanlu, government authorities confirmed the health problem existed to a lesser degree in products from 21 other companies, including Mengniu, Yili, and Yashili.

From August 2 to September 12 last year Sanlu produced 904 tonnes of melamine-tainted infant milk powder. It sold 813 tonnes of the fake or substandard products, making 47.5 million yuan ($13.25 million). In December, Xinhua reported that the Ministry of Health confirmed 290,000 victims, including 51,900 hospitalized. It further acknowledged reports of "11 suspected deaths from melamine contaminated milk powder from provinces, but officially confirmed 3 deaths."

Sanlu Group which filed a bankruptcy petition, that was accepted by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court last month, and the other 21 dairy companies, have proposed a 1.1 billion yuan ($160 million) compensation plan for court settlement. The court appointed receiver was granted six months to conclude the sale of Sanlu's assets for distribution to creditors. The 22 dairy companies offered "families whose children died would receive 200,000 yuan ($29,000), while others would receive 30,000 yuan ($4,380) for serious cases of kidney stones and 2,000 yuan ($290) for less severe cases."

Sanlu stopped production on September 12 amid huge debts estimated at 1.1 billion yuan. On December 19, the company borrowed 902 million yuan for medical and compensation payment to victims of the scandal. On January 16, Sanlu paid compensation of 200,000 yuan (29,247 U.S. dollars) to Yi Yongsheng and Jiao Hongfang, Gangu County villagers, the parents of the first baby who died.

"Children under three years old, who had drunk tainted milk and had disease symptoms could still come to local hospitals for check-ups, and would receive free treatment if diagnosed with stones in the urinary system," said Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the Ministry of Health on Thursday, adding that "the nationwide screening for sickened children has basically come to an end."

"As of Thursday, about 90% of families of 262,662 children who were sickened after drinking the melamine-contaminated milk products had signed compensation agreements with involved enterprises and accepted compensation," the China Dairy Industry Association said Friday, without revealing, however, the amount of damages paid. The Association (CDIA) also created a fund for payment of the medical bills for the sickened babies until they reach the age of 18.

Chinese data shows that those parents who signed the state-backed compensation deal include the families of six children officially confirmed dead, and all but two of 891 made seriously ill, the report said. Families of 23,651 children made ill by melamine tainted milk, however, have not received the compensation offer, because of "wrong or untrue" registration details, said Xinhua.

Several Chinese parents, however, demanded higher levels of damages from the government. Zhao Lianhai announced Friday that he and three other parents were filing a petition to the Ministry of Health. The letter calls for "free medical care and follow-up services for all victims, reimbursement for treatment already paid for, and further research into the long-term health effects of melamine among other demands," the petition duly signed by some 550 aggrieved parents and Zhao states.

"Children are the future of every family, and moreover, they are the future of this country. As consumers, we have been greatly damaged," the petition alleged. Chinese investigators also confirmed the presence of melamine in nearly 70 milk products from more than 20 companies, quality control official Li Changjiang admitted.

In addition, a group of Chinese lawyers, led by administrator Lin Zheng, filed Tuesday a $5.2 million lawsuit with the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (under Chief Grand Justice Wang Shengjunin), in Beijing, on behalf of the families of 213 children's families. The class-action product liability case against 22 dairy companies, include the largest case seeking $73,000 compensation for a dead child. According to a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Market Friday, China's Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Company, which has a domestic market share of milk powder at 8 percent, reported a net loss in 2008 because of the milk scandal. A Morgan Stanley report states the expected company's 2008 loss at 2.3 billion yuan. The scandal also affected Yili's domestic rivals China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited and the Bright Group. Mengniu suffered an expected net loss of 900 million yuan despite earnings in the first half of 2008, while the Bright Group posted a third quarter loss at 271 million yuan last year.

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, said Saturday it accepted the Chinese court's guilty verdicts but alleged it had no knowledge of the criminal actions taken by those involved. "We accept the court's findings but Fonterra supports the New Zealand Government's position on the death penalty. We have been shocked and disturbed by the information that has come to hand as a result of the judicial process," said Fonterra Chief Executive Andrew Ferrier.

"Fonterra deeply regrets the harm and pain this tragedy has caused so many Chinese families," he added. "We certainly would never have approved of these actions. I am appalled that the four individuals deliberately released product containing melamine. These actions were never reported to the Sanlu Board and fundamentally go against the ethics and values of Fonterra," Ferrier noted.

Fonterra, which controls more than 95 percent of New Zealand's milk supply, is the nation' biggest multinational business, its second-biggest foreign currency earner and accounts for more than 24 percent of the nation's exports. Fonterra was legally responsible for informing Chinese health authorities of the tainted milk scandal in August, and by December it had written off its $200 million investment in Sanlu Group.

Amnesty International also strongly voiced its opposition to the imposition of capital punishment by the Chinese local court and raised concerns about New Zealand's implication in the milk scandal. "The death penalty will not put right the immense suffering caused by these men. The death penalty is the ultimate, cruel and inhumane punishment and New Zealand must take a stand to prevent further abuses of human rights." AI New Zealand chief executive Patrick Holmes said on Saturday.

"The New Zealand government does not condone the death sentence but we respect their right to take a very serious attitude to what was extremely serious offending," said John Phillip Key, the 38th and current Prime Minister of New Zealand and leader of the National Party. He criticized Fonterra's response Monday, saying, "Fonterra did not have control of the vertical production chain, in other words they were making the milk powder not the supply of the milk, so it was a difficult position and they did not know until quite late in the piece. Nevertheless they probably could front more for this sort of thing."

Keith Locke, current New Zealand MP, and the opposition Green Party foreign affairs spokesman, who was first elected to parliament in 1999 called on the government and Fonterra to respond strongly against the Chinese verdict. "They show the harshness of the regime towards anyone who embarrasses it, whether they are real criminals, whistleblowers or dissenters," he said. "Many Chinese knew the milk was being contaminated but said nothing for fear of repercussions from those in authority. Fonterra could not get any action from local officials when it first discovered the contamination. There was only movement, some time later, when the matter became public," he noted.

Green Party explained "it is time Fonterra drops its overly cautious act." The party, however, stressed the death penalty is not a answer to the problems which created the Chinese milk scandal. "The Green Party is totally opposed to the death penalty. We would like to see the government and, indeed, Fonterra, speaking out and urging the Chinese government to stop the death penalty," said Green Party MP Sue Kedgley.


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Talk:Death sentences in 2008 Chinese tainted milk scandal

I CREATED this Chinese death sentence article. Death sentence shocks the conscience of the civilized world. When I was studying law in 1978, we had the famous case of Furman v. Georgia. Please help in publishing it. Cheers.--Florentino Floro (talk) 07:55, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Linking
Links to Wikipedia should not be repeated throughout the article. For example, melamine should be linked once to melamine, not each time the term is used. --SVTCobra 00:09, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

 * Thanks, for the message. I knew it was a mistake, and I noticed this, when I was developing the article. However, when a news article is difficult, complicated, - and when places, persons or technical terms like melamine are repeated all over, and not many times, the problem for the reader is to search the blue link on top or somewhere. So, I opted to blue link the China local court and places including melamine (since I myself had earlier thought that the true spelling is melaNine).

 * Off-tangent remark: in Chinese news articles, you will notice that even tons of news sources are just copy pasting Xinhua and China Daily. Reporters are gagged and fear being outcast in China. So, for us, it is so difficult to create a more detailed picture of Chinese news. ALSO, in Nicolaides, Australian jailed lecturere, reporters are deeply afraid and could be called coward to report in Thailand, the many critical facts on the Thai Royal Family. For this reason, when I develop and put REVIEW, I leave the 100% discretion to editors and especially accredited reporters to re-write the STYLE of my creation or to trim down and fix the whole thing even with more than 20 corrections. Please deeply understand that even in TIME, I could not possibly match the style of journalists and reporters amid my ZERO subject in journalism from 1971-1982, Ateneo de Manila. Even with reading the highly complex Wikinews rules on style guide, and even if I read books on styles, EACH news article, especially the very complicated ones, would require ORIGINAL style writing. Hence, since this is COLLABORATION, unlike in Wikipedia Eng. ency., then, please bear with my difficulties in writing a very good STYLE of news. But rest assured, that, even if I trim down the sources, with all honest and integrity, what I write is fully backed up with verifiable references, which I do often do not include due to so many of them.
 * A final note, perhaps. If only I had had sit more than 6 months as judge here in Philippines, I could have written here better in style: since in decision writing, judges follow the same manual of decision writing akin to journalists' manuals of style. I sat on my first session in court in January 25, 1999 and suspended on July 20, 1999, could'nt practice, and had been separated due to alleged dwarf consultation on April 7, 2006 and jobless in pretend world until now. But I had read tons of news amid 140 forums I joined since May 2006. I found that many reporters do write silly contents - lies, lies and lies. More often than not, many news articles are plain lies and wacky. Just sayin. Cheers.--Florentino Floro (talk) 06:20, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Off-tangent remark: in Chinese news articles, you will notice that even tons of news sources are just copy pasting Xinhua and China Daily. — The same thing is true here. Almost all English language news stories you read come from either AP or Reuters. It's sad. Many news organizations have completely eliminated their investigative journalism departments; they now get their news prepackaged from centralized sources:(. Often it's just copy/paste, but even when they bother to rewrite the articles they just copy from Reuters and AP. I've read stories from multiple news agencies that were not identical, but had the same typos in them. IE, spelling the US coastguard ship "Mellon" as "Melon" (or maybe it was the other way around, I don't remember). Gopher65talk 01:13, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Fonterra board of directors off the hook, Kung Hei Fat Choy?

 * FOR SURE, that is why, I take pains in reading all news sources including NYT or NYP blog news. There are neutral and objective stuffs hidden there. This will MAKE Wikinews different. We search for something different that they hide. News journalists are oftentimes gagged or they sing the same tone before publishing. It is a conspiracy. I had faced Filipino and UK journalists. They do not just publish, they had their news approved by the desk (editor-in-chief). More often than not, the Supreme Court and politicians ENVELOPEmentally censor the news.

 * As a lawyer/judge, I am just amazed how death and life imprisonment can cover-up a pyramid milk scam. "Alibi is the weakest defense in law." Who will believe that Fonterra who owns 43% of Sanlu and is the biggest in NZ in dairy, as dairy giant, would not be criminally and civilly liable for this mess? In USA and Philippine jurisprudence, we just file criminal cases (with life imprisonment tag since we have no death penalty here since 1986 on and off) against the board of directors, detain them pending trial then let the judges sentence them for life. So, PM Key was gagged but now MONDAY spoke forcibly since the Green Party is speaking amid AI opposition to death penalty. Will Fonterra directors go off this Chinese hook. Well, it is now the year of the OX. Kung hei Fat Choy.--Florentino Floro (talk) 06:28, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Publishing?
This is a nice comprehensive article, will someone review it soon so it can be published? 65.1.171.163 07:04, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Some sources, only 14 sources left in article, have some patience please
I transferred here some sources from article - seems they quite duplicate the others.
 * --Florentino Floro (talk) 09:54, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * --Florentino Floro (talk) 09:54, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * --Florentino Floro (talk) 09:54, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * --Florentino Floro (talk) 09:54, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Dire tragedy, but Fonterra, how? PM Key, why?

 * I deeply understand that It is so terrifying to REVIEW a very comprehensive articles. But, but, but, this Milk Scandal is the worst and first in history of milk, it has no duplicate. REMEMBER, Fonterra is the BIGGEST in NZ, and TODAY, PM Key who was so slow on this due to politics, was pressured to TALK on Fonterra's NEGLIGENCE at the very least, and lawyer do know that the board of directors are more liable than TIAN and the 2 who get death, since they know and know and know this. But of course, the fraud covers the whole thing. Wikinews is this: Neutral and comprehensive. IF I just write a news copying 2 to 5 news, then Wikinews will not be different. So, please bear with this difficulty, anyway, as day passes, the TRUTH NEWS comes in balancing the death and life imprisonment things. Please help in painfully publishing this hard news. Cheers.--Florentino Floro (talk) 06:17, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for all your patience, I will try my best to trim sources amid difficulties
Yes, I know your pains in reviewing some of my articles which are so complex and comprehensive - and amid our stress in reviewing long/tons of sources. I want to be sure that each of my critical facts put in there in the article are backed up; there are editors here that do have a fundamental view that each paragraph that has a fact must be backed up by reliable source. MORE OFTEN than not, when I read for developing about 20 to 30 sources, some facts are only inside one news source. So, if there are 10 different facts, and are available in 10 different non-duplicate sources, then, what can I do? Like here, daily, there are inputs from Xinhua and others from NZ news.
 * So, I had earlier suggested that, since the main articles' sources should really have an average of 5-7 sources (for the news readers would not bother to read all those sources, except, if they are involved in court or expert presentation of this Wiki news article), those in excess should rather be put in the talk page.
 * Anyway, a talk page is still part of the article - I think as far as reliability is concerned. An editor in the history tab had long wanted to review this, but, due to tons of sources - and it is not my fault - it is really too difficult to check and review each - especially among those of you who work or study with limited times. REMEMBER this is a Chinese article. And ONLY Xinhua and Chinese daily are the sole sources, the others are just copy pasting, with FEAR of Chinese blocking reporters' IDs. Of course we have the New Zealand thing, on Fonterra, but that is just a part of the whole thing. THANKS for your having trusted my development. And I will try my best not to put duplicate sources for easy review. Cheers.--Florentino Floro (talk) 06:31, 27 January 2009 (UTC)


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Comments:Portland, Oregon mayor admits to sexual relationship he previously denied

Resign?
Much as I dislike politicians lying, people are entitled to privacy about lawful activities in their private lives.

His strategy of lying, and asking his ex-boyfriend to lie, didn't work: it seems to have attracted the attack dogs of the press.

Leave off him. It should never have become public, so he should never have felt he needed to lie.

--InfantGorilla (talk) 11:04, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

WHy Should I Care Who Sleeps with Who?
So....a mayor had an affair. Why do we care...why do we care if Clinton sleeps with an intern? That is between him and his wife and the intern. If this mayor didn't sleep with a minor, there is no problem other than the public's own nosiness. Stay out of people's beds!!!! Is he passing bad laws...is he stealing money from the city...is he lying about the government position he is elected to? Did he knock over a liquor store or rape a 2 year old???? Who cares if he likes younger guys....and why wouldn't he tell the kid to lie? Maybe he didn't want to smear the poor kid's reputation. Who cares? This is a stupid piece of news. In fact it isn't news...it is GOSSIP. Get over it folks. This type of thing has happened since the beginning of time. This sounds like a simple case of sex between two concenting adults and my nose has no business in it!!!!


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User talk:Sigma 7

Welcome
--InfantGorilla (talk) 10:35, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

WN POTY
To verify that you're eligable to vote, please either Special:MergeAccount or otherwise prove that your wikipedia and wikinews account are owned by the same person. Thanks. Bawolff ☺☻ 09:07, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Sigma 7


text:
User talk:Cherrymaid

Welcome
--InfantGorilla (talk) 11:42, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Blackpool parking
I have tagged your article for speedy deletion tomorrow, as it seems to be a copyright infringement.

Instructions for contributing a suitable article are on the page: Blackpool Council offers free parking

--InfantGorilla (talk) 11:42, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Cherrymaid


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Israeli military confirms the use of white phosphorus bombs in the Gaza Strip

January 23, 2009

The Israeli military announced in a report on Thursday that it has used at least 20 white phosphorus bombs inside civilian areas during the IDF's offensive in the Gaza Strip to try and stop rockets being fired by Hamas, from going into southern Israel. The report comes as Israeli naval gunships went silent for the first time since Israel announced their ceasefire on January 18, with Hamas following a few days later.

The report states that the military used white phosphorous bombs in civilian areas, with at least twenty phosphorous shells fired by a reserve paratroops brigade into a densely packed area of Beit Lahiya. The United Nations head quarters and a hospital in Gaza City were also bombed with white phosphorus.

"We saw streets and alleyways littered with evidence of the use of white phosphorus, including still burning wedges and the remnants of the shells and canisters fired by the Israeli army," said Christopher Cobb-Smith, with Amnesty International who is also an expert in the field of weapons.

An official for the IDF said that two types of phosphorus weapons were used in the offensive. One contained little phosphorous and was primarily used as a smoke bomb and is fired from 155mm shells. The other type of bomb, made in 81mm and 120mm shells, are fired from mortar guns. These shells used a computer guidance system and Israel says that the system failed when the UN and hospital were hit. Phosphorus burns when it comes in contact with oxygen, and can cause serious injuries to humans if they are hit with it. Doctors in Gaza say that dozens of civilians have been treated for burns related to the use of the weapons.

The Israeli military had claimed that they had never used the bomb during the offensive, despite the existence of photographic and video evidence. The use of the white phosphorous bombs against civilian buildings is illegal under Protocol 3 of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, agreed in 1980. However, Israel, which signed the treaty in 1995, is not party to Protocol 3. Israel claims they were following international law when using the weapons. 200 of the bombs were used, 180 of which were used on farmland and orchards, where militants were launching rockets into southern Israel. The other 20 were used in residential areas, but the IDF says they were fired in areas that rockets were being fired from.

Nearly 1,300 Palestinians, the majority being civilians, died and nearly 5,450 were injured during the three-week offensive. Thirteen Israeli soldiers were also killed.


text:
User talk:209.66.200.45

Welcome
Thanks for experimenting with Wikinews. Your test worked, and has now been reverted or removed. Please use Sandbox for any other tests you want to do, since testing in articles may disrupt the site's working and will be reverted quickly. , welcome to Wikinews! Please refrain from using content pages for testing. Here are a few good links for newcomers on how to edit Wikinews:

Our key policies - if you read anything, read these! Here a few pointers to help you get to know Wikinews: There are always things to do on Wikinews: By the way, you can sign your name on Talk pages using four tildes ( ~~~~ ), which produces your name and the current date. If you have any questions, you can ask them at the water cooler or to anyone on the Welcommittee, or ask me on my Talk page. Again, welcome! DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 19:51, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
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title: User talk:209.66.200.45


text:
User talk:165.138.140.248

Welcome
Thanks for experimenting with Wikinews. Your test worked, and has now been reverted or removed. Please use Sandbox for any other tests you want to do, since testing in articles may disrupt the site's working and will be reverted quickly. , welcome to Wikinews! Please refrain from using content pages for testing. Here are a few good links for newcomers on how to edit Wikinews:

Our key policies - if you read anything, read these! Here a few pointers to help you get to know Wikinews: There are always things to do on Wikinews: By the way, you can sign your name on Talk pages using four tildes ( ~~~~ ), which produces your name and the current date. If you have any questions, you can ask them at the water cooler or to anyone on the Welcommittee, or ask me on my Talk page. Again, welcome! DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 20:06, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Neutral point of view - tell every side to a story in a fair and balanced way
 * Cite sources - everything in a Wikinews article must be sourced
 * Introduction - overview of the site
 * Writing an article - how to write and publish a complete article
 * Content guide - what's suitable for Wikinews
 * Style guide - how an article should look before publishing
 * Contents - the contents page.
 * Existing articles need expanding and checking for spelling and mistakes
 * The front page lead articles often need updating
 * Developing stories need finishing and publishing
 * Discussions need your input
 * And of course, stories need writing!

title: User talk:165.138.140.248


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Talk:Israeli military confirms the use of white phosphorus bombs in the Gaza Strip

There has not been any copyright infragment. If there is show me were I can fix it but like I said I compared the 2 articles and there completely different. ~andimahony
 * Changing around a few words or replacing a few here and there with others is still copyvio. The first sentence is about 90% the same as the first sentence on Press TV, as the template says. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 20:47, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

There seems to be more detail on this in an article from haaretz yesterday. It describes the two types of phosphorous weapons used in Gaza, and refers to a reserve paratrooper brigade as the responsible party. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1057361.html

Overly excited troops makes it a little better than crazed officers but the IDF has to revise their training methods for greater discipline. I think that could be a good angle for this. 65.1.171.163 22:48, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Source re 10,000 rockets
A recent edit was made changing "Nearly 10,000 rockets have been fired into Northern Israel grom the Strip between 2001 and January of 2009" so that it says "Southern Israel" instead. I looked into the sources to find out what's what, but couldn't find any reference to this fact, regardless of whether its 'southern' or 'northern'. Where is this from? Wikidsoup (talk) 20:17, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

 * "southern" is in the AP article "Israel insists on guarantees that Hamas stop smuggling weapons into Gaza and stop firing rockets at southern Israel, while Hamas wants Gaza's borders open."

 * The number seems to be a typo - see the Wikipedia article, which seems to get its figures from Israeli sources. See w:File:Number_of_Morter_and_Rocket_Attacks_2001_to_Late_2008V4.jpg for the source.  Also File:Qasam_graph2002-2007.svg and File:MonthlyRocketHits.svg.

 * I don't think "nearly 1000" is disputed so I'll change it.

 * --InfantGorilla (talk) 20:37, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

 * Thanks IG! Wikidsoup (talk) 21:13, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Isn't going that far back for a high number absurd? The context of the article is the most recent Israeli assault on Gaza. If it is to become a historical article only then would that sentence be appropriate, and would be required to be accompanied by a total count of the numbers killed by the IDF over the same span. 65.1.171.163 00:49, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Please confirm that the number of injured was 500 as stated at the bottom of the article.

 * Good catch. 5,450 were wounded according to Press TV, with at least 5,300 confirmed by multiple sources in the wikipedia article on Op. Cast Lead. 65.1.171.163 02:53, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

"...to try and stop rockets being fired into Israel."
That part is poorly written and barely neutral. Abbreviating the term "IDF" is purely colloquial. Is there no main article on these actions? Even in the "more articles" link on the template, I can only find "Conflict: Day 20" and even in that article I find no link to "Day 1". RTG (talk) 10:22, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

I don't believe this story is accurate. It cites "a report" but doesn't identify it. To my knowledge (considerable on the subject), Israel has only confirmed the use of white phosphorus for smoke screens--and has emphatically denied using it as a weapon at all. You might want to check (and identify) your source of this report.


text: File:No cussing club logo.jpg

title: File:No cussing club logo.jpg


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Explosion in Bay Area, California suburb damages cigarette store

January 22, 2009

A small explosion blew out the windows of a local cigarette store in Pleasant Hill, California this morning. A police officer was driving by the area at approximately 5:00 a.m., when the explosion occurred. Due to the early morning hour, no one was injured in the blast. Firefighters responded quickly and the fire was brought under control shortly. There appears to be fairly little damage to the neighboring store fronts.

This is the fourth time in the last year that the store has had arson related troubles. The owner, Joe Banga, has decided to sell off the store because of this latest attack.

"I'm done," said Banga, who has owned the store for almost five years. "I'm going to sell it."

"The damage is pretty bad," he added. "I have no choice. It's a loss, loss, loss."

Police do not know why the store has been repeatedly targeted. According to the owner, there have three other attempts to burn down the store since August 2008.

"Obviously with these attempts, somebody's trying to get this business burned down. But we haven't found specific reasons," said police lieutenant Jose Delatorre.


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User talk:Msx123

Welcome
DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 21:13, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Self publishing
We have a review process that each article goes through before they get published. Please see the above welcome message on how Wikinews works. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 21:46, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Msx123


text:
Talk:Explosion in Bay Area, California suburb damages cigarette store

OR Notes
I wandered up there and took pictures. -- Shakata Ga Nai ^_^ 21:42, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Review

 * Thanks BRS. That is kinda funny.  All that time I spend doing reviews, giving people hell about not remembering cats.... and I do the exact same thing.  -- Shakata Ga Nai  ^_^ 23:33, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


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Comments:Explosion in Bay Area, California suburb damages cigarette store

There is no way the owner of a shop hit by an explosion is called "Banga"... Blood Red Sandman (Talk)   (Contribs) 22:01, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Wasn't exactly a big explosion... or noisy... because it didn't wake me up. Then again, I live RIGHT next to the fire station and they didn't wake me up. So either they left without their sirens on... or... uh... I slept through all the fun. -- Shakata Ga Nai ^_^ 23:34, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

 * Or, you're lying about being asleep (but telling the truth about the other stuff) because YOU set off the bomb! :P (j/k) --199.190.223.190 14:56, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

His name is Joe Banga, and His Shop explodes? I present him the "Dusty Lens Award" for most Ironic Name. 164.116.47.180 (talk) 16:15, 22 January 2010 (UTC)


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Wikinews:Dynamic quiz/quiz/2009/04

Welcome to the Wikinews World News Quiz, giving you a chance to test your knowledge on this week's news.

Last Updated: January 22, 2009

title: Wikinews:Dynamic quiz/quiz/2009/04


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Oldest ex-Major League Baseball player, Billy Werber dies at age 100

January 22, 2009

Billy Werber, third baseman in Major League Baseball, has died at the age of 100. Werber died of natural causes on Thursday, January 22, 2009 at an assisted living center in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was moved there after his health deteriorated a month ago.

His son said that when admitted, Werber refused to eat solid foods and would only drink liquids. "He just refused to eat and that was his plan," Bill Werber Jr. told the Associated Press. He added that his father was "sharp up until four weeks ago".

Born William Murray Werber on June 20, 1908 in Berwyn Heights, Maryland, he played for the New York Yankees from (1930, 1933), the Boston Red Sox from (1933-1936), the Philadelphia Athletics from (1937-1938), Cincinnati Reds from (1939-1941) and the New York Giants from (1942).

In 1934, Werber became the starting third baseman of the Red Sox. He responded with a career-high .321 batting average, including 200 hits; led the American League with 40 stolen bases, and posted double digits in doubles (41), triples (10) and home runs (11). He led the league in stolen bases in 1935 (29) and 1937 (35). Boston traded him to the Philadelphia Athletics for the 1937 season, and he joined the Cincinnati Reds in 1939.

In an 11-season career, Werber was a .271 hitter with 78 home runs and 539 RBI in 1,295 games. One of the most aggressive baserunners of the 1930s, probably the most aggressive next to Ben Chapman, he stole 215 bases. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1961.

His wife Kathryn 'Tat' Werber died in 2000, after she and Werber had been married 70 years. Bill Werber Jr. says that his father is to be cremated and services, which will be open to the public, will be held on the weekend of January 31 through February 1.


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Talk:Oldest ex-Major League Baseball player, Billy Werber dies at age 100

Wikipedia
This is by-and-large copied from Wikipedia. It ought to rely on the sources. --SVTCobra 00:33, 23 January 2009 (UTC)