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User talk:Van der Hoorn/Archives/2009/April

Manawan Police Training School Lahore attack
Thanks for editing it. Should I remove the clean-up tag now. Yousaf465 (talk)
 * Great work in cleaning it up; I fixed some more stuff. You could remove the clean-up tag and add review at the top of the article. Then someone will review the article and considers it OK to be published, or will provide some more advice. I'm not sure whether the article is OK to be published now, but the reviewer will check. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 09:20, 2 April 2009 (UTC)

✅ Asked for a review thanks for the assistance. Yousaf465 (talk)

Wow, just, wow
I would award you a barnstar but things get a bit cluttered - just know that I am seriously impressed with the work you are doing here on Wikinews! Keep it up, but don't burn out! -- Sken   my talk 22:23, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
 * That's why I try to vary in the things I do on Wikinews. :) I'm currently doing a lot of copy-editing and category/template-cleanup, but eventually those things will be done, or largely done. I participated in the latest writing contest, but writing news stories based on articles by other news agencies isn't really satisfying in my opinion; neither is reviewing articles by the way. I'm going to focus more on doing interviews or other original reporting. The latter is not always easy, mostly only press releases give original information. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 23:05, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Are you sure you don't want me to nominate you for an administrator? I think you would make an excellent candidate, and the bits should make things much easier for you (especially with the speedy delete and editprotected requests you're working on). ♪ Tempo di valse ♪  23:10, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't have the 2 month activity requirement covered yet, but if I you think I'll pass, you may nominate me. :) Currently I'm not always mentioning things that need to get fixed (often takes too much time going to the talk page and then mentioning the issue, while often other issues are there as well, so it may be useful). Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 23:18, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Nominated: see WN:RFA. Please indicate that you accept the nom there. Thanks. ♪ Tempo di valse ♪  23:34, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Done. Thanks! Van der Hoorn (talk) 23:47, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
 * By the way, just wanted to let you know someone (Bawolff) asked a question at WN:RFA for you a few days ago. I recommend you respond to it, as some people don't like it when their questions aren't answered and might oppose/abstain from voting because of that. Anyways, good luck, it looks like things are going your way. [[Image:Smile.png]] Happy editing. tempo di valse  17:26, 8 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I overlooked it, thanks! Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 17:41, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

Response to coverage
Original discussion can be found here: Water cooler/policy#Coverage section

Hello Van Der Horn,

Thank you for your response on the question of coverage on the policy watercooler. I was wondering whether I might in turn respond to your point, which is easier to do so directly here.

You note that it is a waste of resources to do so presently. Perhaps, though it is not only quite the inverse, but almost all newspapers have editorial oversight to choose the articles to focus on and deadlines precisely in order to best allocate resources.

The example that I gave in explaining this was precisely meant to illustrate this. Say there are 30 journalists seriously working for Wikinews (or 20, or 10, whichever you choose). If everyone is just 'doing their own thing', then we might have 24 or so articles in a week. But of those, we have to assume that only half will come to standard. So then we end up with 12. Then from these 12, there are only half which are of general interest, the rest being on obscure topics, such as a photographer finds bird thought to be extinct in Philippines (a recent story on Wikinews). So now we have six articles in a week of general interest. But since the journalists have very limited time on their hands, these are very short and contain barely the facts. This seems to roughly what happens on Wikinews, in fact, as far as I can tell.

Let's take the converse situation. Instead, there is a simple process of coming to a collective agreement as to what articles should be covered on any given day and deadlines set. This is what happens in any newspaper and it is the most basic set of actions that allows a newspaper to function. Let's say 12 articles are picked with deadlines. Now we have 30 journalists, collaborating on 12 articles. These 12 articles will be written to a much better standard, because there are many more people focusing on these. As the stories to focus on will have been decided collectively, there will be less journalists working on random articles that they hope might be accepted, but likely will not because they would not have met the standards anyway.

Also, once you have a core of articles, most probably more people would be more inclined to write, because it would actually come half-way to what could be called a newspaper, (which now unfortunately is not the case) and it will be very easy to branch out on to whichever other subjects. However, without the core set of articles every day, the coverage is simply unreliable, so there is less of a reason for visitors to come to the site for the latest news and analysis.

Do you see how this would actually save resources?

This is, as mentioned, the normal way that most newspapers operate. So I am quite surprised, in fact, that Wikinews does not take any collective decisions on coverage. The result though is obvious, because I am sure that you notice, as do I, that the project is more aimless than it should be. But that need not be the case, as I am sure that there are lot of people, myself certainly included who would like to this as a success.

Please feel free to respond to this on my talk page. Regards,

Cicero79 (talk) 20:31, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure if responding here is better, in fact I think it's not, as other people will not read this page. Again, I understand your reasoning, but I think some of your assumptions are incorrect (e.g. how many articles really don't get published?). Let me state the problems I have with a collective decision making process on Wikinews:

 * Not everyone has the same interest. Many people are interested in topics that cover "World News" (with "World News" I mean the war in Afghanistan, the next elections in the UK, a NASA space launch, etc.), but not everyone is. Some people write articles about the elections in Queensland. Not everyone can write those articles, as you need information on the local setting. You need to know what is "hot" in Queensland on political level and what not. (Maybe this is not the best example, but I think people's interests decide what they like to write). Of course newspapers are in a different street here, because they pay their employees. Thus as an employee of a newspaper you cannot follow your own interest, because there is someone that pays you to do what the boss says. On Wikinews that won't work. A journalist on Wikinews can write whatever he likes; this is kind of the same on Wikipedia, you can write on whatever topic you like as long as it is encyclopedic. It also has to do with the actual readers not being the actual writers. Maybe readers would like different topics, but if the writers want to write about different topics, then that's their choice. Also, you cannot enforce people to write something they don't want to, because there is no reward system that says they should.
 * It takes time to decide what topics to run. Who decides this? Journalists? They are not online at the same time and thus the decision making process will at least take a day or two. That's two days in which a lot can happen, in which other topics may get interesting. Newspapers have the advantage that they have a deadline when they should have a new newspaper ready. On Wikinews there is no deadline, because if the story is a bit late it may still get published. You can only have a deadline system with some kind of reward (or punishment) system, otherwise there is no incentive to reach the deadline.
 * What will happen when a journalist decides to write an other article? Is that okay? If so, it will undermine the decision making process (which becomes useless if journalists do their own thing). If not, you will lose journalists who feel not supported by the decisions (i.e. their topics are not chosen); thus you will lose some journalists here.
 * The decision making process will cost time. Who's time? Journalist's time? This will mean less time for writing articles. If not journalists, then other people (who don't write articles). Thus either way, you create more overhead.
 * Also, I think that if a journalist tends to write articles that are not of high enough quality and those articles get rejected often, he will adjust the topics he covers, so that others will help him with the article reaching high enough quality. If he doesn't adjust the topics, his articles won't get accepted, thus (like in a regular market) he will.

 * I do think Wikinews loses potential contributors due to its unstructuredness, so maybe you're right. However, I think by improving the Newsroom, i.e. showing more clearly what needs to be done on new articles (and recently published ones), this loss may not be so large.
 * Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 21:15, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

 * The above are very good and detailed points, so I would like to respond to these, because it seems like it is at least an important matter to consider with respect to the structure of Wikinews. The only reason that I am responding here to you is because it does seem a certain amount of detail is required to consider this properly and I wouldn't wish to take up the whole Policy page with one issue.
 * That being said:

 * First, before adressing your own points, I should note that a basic point of depature here is that almost all newspapers decide upon coverage and set deadlines. Wikinews does not and this is an exception from what is a general norm. Now the reason why newspapers generally do this is so that they can ensure certain standards of decency and coherency in their coverage, so that readers of the newspaper can know what to expect. If the coverage of Wikinews was excellent and reliable, I suppose this wouldn't be an issue. However, since that it has not yet attained that level, it seems that adopting the basic  mechanism that most newspapers have anyway, deciding on coverage and setting deadlines, is a a very reasonable step and also may help the development of  the site very much. There should at least be some very good justification why such a core and basic process for running a newspaper would not be adopted.

 * In response to your objections:

 * 1) Your first objection seems to concern whether it is possible to arrive at a consensus, given the broad range of interests with respect to which journalists may choose to write articles.

 * Let's note as an important first point that wikimedia, especially wikipedia of course, is generally run on the basis of consensus.
 * We could, for example, say the same thing about a Wikipedia article. Somebody could say, how is it possible to arrive at a consensus on a Wikipedia article when so many people have different opinions and interests? However, we all know that it does happen and somehow most Wikipedia articles, even those that are quite contentious do arrive at a level of consensus. So it is possible.

 * But to consider this a bit more closely, how is it possible to arrive at consensus where there are so many interests? Here we could note a few points:

 * (a) The consensus on priority articles for coverage is only concerned with priority articles and so does not exclude any additional articles that people may wish to write out of interest. In fact, those would be likely welcomed as has generally been the case. So it is not as though the consensus would be in any sense exclusive.

 * (b) Even though people do have many personal interests, the consensus with respect to priority coverage concerns events that are happening in the world. These events are likely to be quite noticeable where there is attention given to this and there will be certain events that objectively will be considered important enough to merit coverage. The decision then is really a judgement about what is important to merit coverage and - only for the priority articles - is not primarily about personal interest although certainly these would often coincide, that is many journalists will also take an interest in events that are important. We should consider here, how do most newspapers make decisions about what to choose for core coverage? Probably they check on what is being considered top news by Reuters. So there are general tests that can be applied as to what merits coverage, then whether a journalist chooses to devote themselves to this depends on their personal  interests of course.

 * (c)In terms of regional coverage, that was discussed in the last post. There simply should be prioritization by topic and by region, so that if a journalist considers an election in Queensland to be top priority, this should be a priority within the Australasia section.

 * In short, journalists will still be able to write on whatever they like, they will just be a core set of articles that would be decided by consensus, which would have no effect on any articles beyond this journalists would be interested in writing. It is possible to come to consensus on a core set of articles, in a similar way to it being possible to come to consensus on the content of a Wikipedia article.

 * 2) Your second objection concerns how would consensus take place, whether this will take too much time to be worthwhile (on a time sensitive site) and what the point in having deadlines would be with no incentive system.

 * A consensus on topics to be covered could function in a somewhat similar way as a consensus on an encyclopaedia article in Wikipedia. What would have to be different to Wikipedia is that this should be divided by date, for the day and the week, with each time segment starting the consensus freshly. (This has to be like that because yesterday's news priorities are obviously different than today's priorities). There would also be divisions by topic and by  region, including top news, for the front page and breaking news.

 * Then in a method similar to Wikipedia, journalists would just place on to the relevant section the article topics that they think are most important and a reasonable deadline for an initial and second draft, within a universally accepted time zone. This would be adjusted by other journalists should they disagree with reference to the discussion site. On any given day there are a certain core number of articles which it is not difficult to realize that these are priority articles that should be selected. (This is clearly the case because if you go to several newspapers on any given day, there are many topics which they share as top stories, for example today the reinstatement of the judge in Pakistan). So if a journalist thinks a news article should be priority they simply add it to the list  together with a short justification and if a second journalist disagrees, they simply remove it from the list, again with a justification.

 * You might say, how could this possibly work? But it would, in fact, be very similar to the consensus process of any Wikipedia article and we know from experience that this actually works generally very well.

 * In terms of time then, as you can see this would take no time at all, since it would just be a matter of journalists adding on whichever stories they think deserve 'core coverage' at any given point at a moments notice and any other journalists are of course free to disagree. This would be a fast way to arrive at consensus.

 * What would be the point in a deadline? Probably what would be best if there were certain agreed stages in the write up of a newspaper as you seemed to suggest in an earlier post. The first stage could be a 'stub', which would be a short article outlining the key facts. The second stage would provide perhaps an interview and the third stage would add analysis. The deadlines could be set so that the articles reach each of the stages within a timely manner. It is true that there would be no rewards and punishment system. However - and very importantly - the deadlines would serve as benchmarks to measure the progress in the development of an article, so that it could be certain to reach a standard of decency (and hopefully excellence) within a certain allocated time. So the deadline would serve as a target that all the journalists can see and try to reach for the purpose of putting together a well put together article in time for it to be relevant and newsworthy.

 * 3) Regarding whether a journalist could write a news article that is not part of the 'core coverage', this was addressed above. There is absolutely no reason why a consensus on the core coverage should in any way detract from additional articles that are beyond the core coverage. Again, this is clear from the way that a good newspaper runs. There are core stories which any reader would expect to find in a newspaper and there are always additional interesting stories that are peripheral, but nevertheless essential to what a newspaper is. So of course additional articles beyond core coverage should be welcomed as always.

 * 4) Time - again this is addressed above. The process of arriving at consensus should cost virtually no time at all, just as in a Wikipedia article. See number 2 above.

 * 5) You could be right that there may be an implicit free market at work by which if an article that they submit is not of high enough quality then they will eventually learn what is in demand. But such a process could take a very long time and Wikinews has already been operating for a number of years. In the meantime, by collectively deciding upon what is the core coverage gives journalists a guide as to what to focus upon and many opportunities for collaboration (or if they wish they can still write an article on a subject matter of their own choosing). Again, almost all newspapers decide upon  coverage in this way and would not risk relying on a that sort of approach only because they have to make sure that they have a handle on all the stories a reader would expect within a short time. A magazine, of course, is quite different since they do not have these same pressure. However, Wikinews is more a newspaper than a magazine of course.

 * I am glad there is a lot of server space on Wikinews, because this was a lot longer than I expected. Having said that, I would be happy to continue the conversation which seems to me to be a quite healthy one and of course also it would be interesting other opinions from journalists in Wikinews as well.

 * Cicero79 (talk) 00:57, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

 * Cicero, you have some interesting ideas that might improve Wikinews (such as your What would be the point in a deadline? paragraph), but may I suggest providing a summary of your last post so others interested (Van der Hoorn linked here) but with less time could get the core ideas. -- Wikignome GeorgeII (talk) 16:42, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

 * Sorry for the late response, but here are some remarks:
 * The consensus for Wikinews that you describe is far different from the consensus from Wikipedia. Consensus on Wikipedia is on article level, not above article level. Wikipedia doesn't require consensus on what article to write or improve; only what parts of the article should stay or not, should be rewritten, etc. The consensus you are describing for Wikinews is above article level, i.e. which article to give priority. This is something entirely different, in my opinion. People want to write something on a subject they like, whether that is important or not doesn't matter. Restricting people on what subjects to write first will lead to a net loss of articles. Also the amount of articles that doesn't get published or gets deleted is not that high.
 * The number of articles that we know enough about beforehand (to make a proper deadline and to reach consensus on) is very low. For example the recent earthquake in Italy can't be planned. This is actually what happens with most news stories. Also we don't have the manpower to cover all "world news" articles. Especially if you look at w:Portal:Current events you see a lot of articles of other publishers that we don't cover here. That is not because we focus on the wrong articles; it is mainly because we lack manpower. I think that if we would have a lot more people writing articles, the consensus model you described would be more useful than it is now.
 * I have no additional comments here.
 * The consensus model does require time. Look at the talk pages on Wikipedia. They are covered with people trying to reach consensus and it definitely takes time. Also I don't think the lack of interesting subjects to write on is something we should consider. I think most article writers will hear something on the radio or television, or reach something online and will write an article on that subject. So the problem is not that people on Wikinews have trouble finding interesting enough subjects to write about, on the contrary I think.
 * I'm not saying there is an implicit free market on writing qualitative articles, but there may be. :) However, I do think there is a free market on the topics that should be covered. If a certain news event is interesting enough to a lot of people, than those people will definitely write an article about it.
 * Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 20:31, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Template:Water cooler/fromsitenotice
At one point, the sitenotice contained a rotation of 7 messages that changed on every page load. One of the messages was:
 * Have a question about Wikinews?
 * Ask at the Water Cooler

Which used to substitute Water cooler/fromsitenotice into the edit box. As such, the template couldn't be categorized as that would substitute the category into the edit box. (similar to Template:Australia new page, although the talk page could potentially be categorized. perhaps with a shiny template explaining exactly what thoose pages are.) However, that seems to be a moot point, as that message is no longer displayed in the sitenotice, so its probably ok for that template to be deleted. Bawolff ☺☻ 05:20, 6 April 2009 (UTC)
 * You can categorize the template by adding tags around the category right? I thought that worked as well when substituting a template. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 10:56, 6 April 2009 (UTC)
 * There used to a bug where that didn't work. Perhaps it has been fixed since last time i tried that (which was a while back). Bawolff ☺☻ 22:35, 7 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Nope, noinclude still doesn't work. See . Bawolff ☺☻ 22:36, 7 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Hmm, that's unfortunate. Nothing much we can do about this I guess. Only solution would be to include the category, if the pagename equals a variable set to the name of the template. But that's maybe to difficult. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 22:43, 7 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I created a proof-of-concept where the category is only shown when the pagename equals the name of the page where the category is supposed to be on. User:Van der Hoorn/Sandbox/Noinclude subst fix is the template and User:Van der Hoorn/Sandbox/Noinclude subst fix test is the page that got preloaded. As you can see the category is only shown in the former and not in the latter. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 16:24, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Thanks
Hi. Just wanted to take a moment and thank you for the great edits you make on improving the articles here at WikiNews, especially my articles. I really do appreciate it. Herb (talk) 22:39, 11 April 2009 (UTC)
 * You're welcome! :) Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 11:01, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes, merge
I agree, the two Cuba-U.S. restrictions-lifting articles (April 13) are about the same thing and could be merged. Ong saluri (talk) 21:14, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Admin status granted
Congratulations, you have just been made a sysop! You have volunteered for boring housekeeping activities which normal users sadly cannot participate in. Sysops basically can't do anything: They cannot delete pages arbitarily (only obvious junk like "jklasdfl,öasdf JOSH IS GAY"), they cannot protect pages in an edit war they are involved in, they cannot ban users except in cases of obvious vandalism or excessive edit warring (24-hour "cool down" ban). What they can do is delete junk as it appears, ban vandals, remove pages that have been listed on Deletion requests for more than a week, protect pages when asked to by other members, and help keep the few protected pages there are up to date.

Note that almost everything you can do can be undone, so don't be too worried about making mistakes. You will find more information on Administrators, please take a look before experimenting with your new powers. Drop me a message if there are any questions or if you want to stop being a sysop (could it be?). Have fun! Brian | (Talk) | New Zealand Portal 23:36, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

 * Congratulations. [[Image:Smile.png]] tempo di valse  23:37, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

 * Thanks! I can finally fix my own editprotected requests. :) Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 23:38, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
 * congrats. Brian forgot to mention that you are also now allowed to make lame cabal jokes! :P. Bawolff ☺☻ 02:32, 17 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I thought you had to be a bureaucrat to be allowed to make lame cabal jokes? No? :) Van der Hoorn (talk) 10:39, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

 * Congratulations! Sorry I doubted ya, I'm sure you'll do fine. :P Cirt (talk) 10:31, 17 April 2009 (UTC)
 * No problem, Cirt. It's always good to express your concerns in a vote. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 10:39, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

21 polo ponies die at US Open
Thanks for your improvements to 21 polo ponies die at US Open; this is my first try at a Wikinews article and I am learning as I go. I have expanded the article but still have a ways to go. More help would be most welcome. --Una Smith (talk) 22:04, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

AR
brianmc deals with the AR e-mail addresses and filing the names of the people who succeed. Please talk to him about that and not me. Mike Halterman (talk) 08:29, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I put in the bare essentials of a listing, please feel free to tidy it up. --Brian McNeil / talk 08:45, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I understand that Mike, but _you_ moved the AR to the archive. Moving things to the archive results in other steps that need to be done to 'finish the AR' being skipped, which was exactly the case. Thanks Brian, I added some more information for consistency. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 09:53, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I understand that Mike, but _you_ moved the AR to the archive. Moving things to the archive results in other steps that need to be done to 'finish the AR' being skipped, which was exactly the case. I usually work in tandem with brianmc on those things. It was my understanding that he would have done it immediately. He didn't. The issue would be with him and not with me. Mike Halterman (talk) 19:23, 24 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I added some information to the page regarding the moving of requests to the archive. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 10:08, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Animal!
Have you been told your an animal recently?! It boggles my mind to see the amount of archiving (or god knows what) work you do on the older articles (and that's not to say you don't do anything with the new ones!). Regards Sean Heron (talk) 23:01, 25 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks! I'm trying to create some consistency among (older) articles. I also think it is important to fix broken URLs, if possible. :)

A penny for your thoughts
Okay, not really, but I am requesting your participation in the following Water Cooler Discussion: OR and Broadcast report. The discussion involves the need for specific policy concerning how Original Reporting relates to information recieved from a broadcast report of an event. This can include both news-style reports and non-news reports, such as a sporting event. Thanks and again, please share your thoughts on this so we can get as many people involved as possible, especially since this relates to an important topic such as OR. —Calebrw (talk) 05:17, 27 April 2009 (UTC)


text: Talk:Recession hits Australian asbestos victims fund

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


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Category:June 2009

ar:تصنيف:يونيو 2009 bg:Категория:Юни 2009 bs:Kategorija:Juni 2009 ca:Categoria:Juny del 2009 cs:Kategorie:Červen 2009 de:Kategorie:Juni 2009 es:Categoría:Junio de 2009 fr:Catégorie:Juin 2009 he:קטגוריה:יוני 2009 ko:분류:2009년 6월 it:Categoria:Giugno 2009 ja:カテゴリ:2009年6月 no:Kategori:Juni 2009 pl:Kategoria:Czerwiec 2009 pt:Categoria:Junho de 2009 ro:Categorie:Iunie 2009 ru:Категория:Июнь 2009 sr:Категорија:Јун 2009. fi:Luokka:Kesäkuu 2009 ta:பகுப்பு:ஜூன் 2009 tr:Kategori:2009/06 uk:Категорія:Червень 2009 zh:Category:2009年6月

title: Category:June 2009


text: File:Eurovision Song Contest 2009 logo.png


text: User talk:123.211.217.244

title: User talk:123.211.217.244


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Mothers around the world on Mother's Day

May 10, 2009

Mother's Day was established on the second Sunday in May by Anna Jarvis after her mother passed away. Former United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the inaugural Mother's Day in 1914. "Miss Jarvis thought Mother's Day should be a day you spend with your mother, or a day when you do something special for her like fix her dinner or repair her broken stairs," said an archivist at Mary Baldwin College. "Mother's Day has nothing to do with candy," said Jarvis, "It's really a shame to waste flowers for Mother's Day."

This year again, the American congress approved the observance and requested the president to call upon citizens to partake in the time honoured recognition of this tradition. "I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 10, 2009, as Mother's Day. I urge all Americans to express their love, respect, and gratitude to mothers everywhere, and I call upon all citizens to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities."

Tara McDonald, the mother of abducted Woodstock, Ontario eight year old, Victoria (Tori) Stafford, said "I would really hope to have my child home for Mother's Day." McDonald said that dealing with Tori's absence since April 8 has resulted in "times when I sit in my house and bawl my eyes out and I curl up into a ball and I sob."

61 year old Lynda McDade graduated Saturday from the University of Detroit along with her two daughters.

A mother under court order forbidding her access to her three children for three years was thrown in jail for approaching her child and telling him she loved him. The mother has been accused of turning the children against the father, a rich City financier who now has custody of the family's children. Gloria Steele, Acting Assistant Administrator for Global Health honours the 20th anniversary of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), "Women make extraordinary contributions as caregivers and caretakers, as well as breadwinners and bread-makers. By averting maternal death and disability that cost families and communities so much, we can improve the productive capacity of women in their own nations"

Nadya Suleman, known as Octomom is spending this mother's day weekend in a California hospital undergoing uterine surgery. This operation will also make Suleman's family complete with fourteen children as she will no longer be able to physcially conceive a child following the surgery.

Mary Ann Wright, known as "Mother Wright", died Thursday in Oakland, California, but not before achieving renown as advocate for the poor, and feeding the hungry. She founded the Mother May Ann Wright Foundation from her modest beginnings sparing meals to others while subsisting herself on Social Security checks.

Maree Vaile is a mother of three who was humbled by New Zealand's Mother of the Year award. Her husband and children recognised the adversity the family has overcome and wanted to show their appreciation by nominating her in the "Mums on Top" online competition.

In Taiwan, students from South Taiwan who attend University in North Taiwan could board a special train provided by the Taiwan Railway Adminsitration so they could visit their mothers on Mother's Day. "Give your mother a hug, a big and strong hug, because love is not only a noun, it is also a verb," President Ma Ying-jeou said, "The older mothers grow, the greater is their need to feel needed. So we should show our love for our mother."


text:
Guatemalan government may suspend liberties under state of emergency

Sunday, May 10, 2009

As part of a declared on Thursday when the first case of H1N1 flu virus was confirmed in Guatemala, President  proposed the suspension of rights guaranteed by the constitution of that country. The state of emergency, which must be ratified or rejected by the by Wednesday, would limit the effect of the articles of the Constitution of Guatemala which provide for the liberties of expression and movement.

Representatives of have criticized the measure, asking whether it is necessary to impose limits on freedom of expression in the country, where the third case of H1N1 was confirmed yesterday. Rosa María de Frade of Bancada Guatemala said,

Roxana Baldetti of  compared President Colom's plan with the calamitous 1993 decision of former President to suspend the constitution in the name of fighting corruption. Bereft of support, President Serrano Elías resigned a week later, taking up exile in Panama.

In a Friday press conference, President Colom insisted on the necessity of the measures:

The state of emergency, if ratified, would dilute the legal force of the rights recognized in Articles 5 and 26 of the Constitution of Guatemala. Article 5 provides that no person may be "persecuted or harassed for their opinions." Article 26 refers to the liberty of movement.


text: Talk:Guatemalan government may suspend liberties under state of emergency


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Rugby Union: Queensland's Ballymore Cup quarter finals

July 23, 2009

The Ballymore Cup Quarter Finals were played Wednesday. The Ballymore Cup is a state wide Rugby Union competition in the Australian state of Queensland. Schools participating in the Greater Public Schools (GPS) competition do not compete in the Ballymore Cup.

The North Queensland quarter finals are played as a round robin competition between four teams in Makay while the three other quarter finals are played at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane.

Below are reports off each match in division 1.

Siena Catholic College v Marsden State High School
Siena Catholic College from the Sunshine Coast managed to slip past Marsden State High School 11 points to 5. Both sides crossed the oppositions line but penalties committed by Marsden gifted Siena the victory.

Siena defeated reigning champions Mountain Creek State High School in the Sunshine Coast division 1 competition final. They will play the winner of this weekends North Queensland Carnival in the semis.

Corinda State High School v All Saints Anglican School
Brisbane West’s Corinda State High School never seemed to be in the match as All Saints Anglican School from the Gold Coast eased pass them 44 point to zero. All Saints ran rings around the Corinda defence.

All Saints will play John Paul College in the semi final.

Northside Christian College v John Paul College
John Paul college will meet All Saints Anglican School in the semis after they defeated North Side Christian College forty-seven points to zero.

Nort Queensland carnival
Rockhampton Grammar School, Whitsundays Anglican School (Mackay), Townsville Grammar School and St Augustine's College (Cairns) will play the North Queensland Carnival as part of the Ballymore Cup quarter finals this weekend.


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Moscow gas pipeline catches fire

May 10, 2009

A fire broke out in southeast Moscow stemming from a gas pipeline. According to local officials, flames reached up to 200 meters (600 feet) above the city.

According to the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, at least five people were injured by the fire, one of them suffering 35 percent burns on his body. There are no reports of deaths. The mayor added that the probable cause of the fire is "an upsurge of pressure in the pipeline, as a result of which an explosion took place underground." Deputy mayor Pyotr Birukov says he doesn't remember a fire of such proportions happening in Moscow.

The fire broke out at 00:30 local time (20:30 on Saturday, GMT), sending flames into the sky. By the morning the fire was brought under control, reducing the flames to 20 meters (60 feet) of height. The Russian Ministry of Emergencies reported the fire being ranked as Category 5, the most serious category on the ministry's incident assessment scale. 35 fire brigade units were dispatched to fight the blaze. The fire is believed to have been caused by "technical" problems, according to Agence France-Presse as reported by breitbart.com.

"All of our efforts are directed towards reducing the temperature around the centre of the fire", said the deputy emergency situations minister Alexander Chupriyan. He also predicted that the fire will be put out by midday. Deputy mayor Birukov added that the city's energy system won't be affected by the fire. However, municipal telecommunications company reported that 80,000 people lost their phone connections, as the fire burnt nearby underground cables.

The transportation authorities closed the traffic in the area near the fire, including the Michurinsky Avenue, an important arterial street connecting the outskirts with the Moscow River in the city center. About 25 parked cars with no occupants inside were damaged by the fire, while dozens of residents appeared to record the blaze with camcorders.

The fire did not threaten the nearby apartment blocks. The building nearest to the fire is an administrative building 200 meters away and the nearest residential building is a 19-story apartment block 500 meters (1600 feet) away.

Fires like this one are becoming increasingly frequent in the area of the former Soviet Union due to the aging structure of transporting energents, which has not been refit in decades. Officials are saying that the preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest finals due next weekend won't be affected.

title: Moscow gas pipeline catches fire


text:
User talk:Admiral Norton

I know you don't use Wikinews often, but you may want to look at this piece we're prepping for publication. The final interview is with Tajci. :) Mike Halterman (talk) 10:36, 10 May 2009 (UTC)
 * It's looking good. I would suggest copy-editing it yourself and chopping it up into smaller paragraphs. For example, quotes should go in their own paragraph. A lot of the sentences can be split up into smaller ones too. That's probably just because you wrote it really fast. I would help you more but I've been working night and day on that HUGE piece for a week and I am just SO tired. Mike Halterman (talk) 11:05, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Admiral Norton


text: User:Admiral Norton

title: User:Admiral Norton


text:
User talk:Ransu~enwikinews

Welcome
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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 and Comment 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!Cirt (talk) 13:01, 10 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Neutral point of view - tell every side to a story in a fair and balanced way
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Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Ransu. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Ransu~enwikinews that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name.

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Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 23:23, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 06:36, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Ransu~enwikinews


text:
Portal talk:Australia/Temp

Dynamic Page List in code for section: Articles in Development should have the setting notcategory=No_publish to exclude pages in the Main namespace that are not articles in development --Miropolitan (talk) 13:36, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

title: Portal talk:Australia/Temp


text:
User talk:Railhk0512

Tempodivalse [talk]  14:11, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Railhk0512


text:
User talk:Noorse

Tempodivalse [talk]  14:12, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Translations
I got two Norwegian speakers to translate three more sections. The only sections that are left are the Niels Olsen and Tajci sections. I asked Kagee and he was willing to do the Olsen section sometime today, so all that's left for you is the Tajci section. :) Mike Halterman (talk) 14:54, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

 * Great! I've done the questions all over, but I haven't had the time to go into the rest - yet ;) Cheers Mike! Noorse (talk) 14:58, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * I got someone to do the Niels Olsen section. Tajci is all yours. :) When you get the chance, can you get on IRC? Mike Halterman (talk) 18:38, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Never mind, we pushed ahead and published it! Good work! no:Europas Melodi Grand Prix 2009: Hvem vinner i Moskva? Mike Halterman (talk) 21:14, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:Noorse


text:
Jenson Button wins 2009 Spanish Grand Prix

May 12, 2009

On Sunday, Brawn-Mercedes driver Jenson Button won the FIA Formula One 2009 Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain. This marks his fourth win this season.

His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second, who used a more efficient three-stop fuel strategy than Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull, who finished fourth. Australian Mark Webber also benefited from an earlier pit-stop to overtake his teammate Vettel.

Sebastien Vettel too chased down the Ferrari car of Felipe Massa, who unsuccessfully defended his position using his optional KERS regenerative brake. Massa was short on fuel and needed to slow on the dying laps of the race. Both of Red Bull's cars finished after the two Ross Brawn team cars. Renault driver Fernando Alonso also slipped passed Massa on the last lap to secure 5th.

The top eight were closed out by two Germans: Nick Heidfeld racing for BMW Sauber and Nico Rosberg, representing Williams.

The drivers' championship leader is Jenson Button, who is 14 points ahead of his teammate and 18 ahead of Vettel. The constructors' standings are dominated by BrawnGP drivers with nearly 30 points lead over Red Bull.


text:
Comments:Five biggest US banks told to raise $74.6 billion; fail "stress tests"

Its all part of evolution, this is no different than watching the dinosaurs die. By 2012 our way of living is going to change drastically wether we want it to or not so i dont understand why we dont just scrap the whole monetary system before someone loses their mind and destroys our world.

That seems a little harsh i think. We need to keep a bit of perspective. The human race has come a long way through centuries of misery, disease, war, and hunger. It would be a shame if we gave up simply because our monetary system was shoddy. Globalization does hold some promise, and as you say we seem to be evolving towards a more cohesive unit, whether we like it or not. We should expect trauma do our best to be prepared, and not lose hope so quickly. We should respect the toil of our ancestors and work towards our ideals. I believe them to be universal, despite what our shallow differences may imply.

Yamaha893 (talk)Matt.b

ression
i love this


text:
Talk:Moscow gas pipeline catches fire

review

 * This article has a portuguese version: pt:Chamas na Capital da Rússia por explosão de gasoduto, please add it. Thanks, ×α£đ~es 14:40, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

 * ✅ For future reference, please use editprotected so it shows up on WN:ALERT. --Brian McNeil / talk 14:43, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Moscow gas pipeline catches fire


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Comments:Switzerland lifts ban on motor racing

This article is wrong, the ban has not been lifted. More precicely, one chamber of the parliament (the Nationalrat) did (as described with 97 to 77 votes), but the other chamber (the Ständerat) declined to do so. Currently (May 2009) it's still in the process of being shifted back and forth between the two chambers. --84.73.125.23 (talk) 17:20, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


text:
User talk:Milens~enwikinews

  нова порука / new message / mesaj nou / nuevo mensaje

Tempodivalse [talk]  19:33, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Milens. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Milens~enwikinews that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name.

Your account will still work as before, and you will be credited for all your edits made so far, but you will have to use the new account name when you log in.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 23:18, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 06:34, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Milens~enwikinews


text:
Comments:Recession hits Australian asbestos victims fund

Though a serious piece, the title reads like an Onion article :)24.30.16.34 (talk) 19:58, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


text:
Former U.S. soldier convicted of raping Iraq teen, four murders

May 12, 2009

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has convicted former soldier Pfc. Steven D. Green of raping 14-year-old local girl Abeer Oassim al-Janabi in Iraq, before murdering her and her family. He is the fifth person convicted of the crimes.

Green, who was described in court as the ringleader, took it in turns with at least three other soldiers to hold the girl down and rape her in 2006. The group then murdered Abeer as well as her younger sister and both parents. The gang then burnt down the family house in Mahmudiya to try to cover up their crimes.

The other four men were court martialed as they were still soldiers when they were charged. Most are now serving multiple life sentences after three confessed and the fourth was convicted. Green was honorably discharged from the US Army after medics diagnosed him with a psychiatric disorder and described as having "homicidal tendencies" before authorities learned of his involvement in the rape and murders.

Spc. James P. Barker and Sgt. Paul E. Cortez are serving 90 and 100 year sentences respectively after confessing, while Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman received a 110 year sentence after his conviction. Pfc. Bryan L. Howard, who did not know of the planned crimes before their commission and remained at a checkpoint while the offenses were committed, received a 27-month sentence. Charges were dropped against Sgt. Anthony Yribe, who was honorably discharged.

Green, who set the teen's body alight and bragged about his crimes, is facing a possible death sentence. His lawyer had argued that extreme stress from combat had rendered Green unable to distinguish enemies from friends.


text:
User talk:Peter.C

Tempodivalse [talk]  21:04, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Interview with Diego Grez, Chilean earthquake survivor
Methinks the formatting is better now, but you are allowed to replace Wikinews as the interview with your own name. -- Mike moral  ♪♫  02:48, 4 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I think I might do that, might land me some English extra credit :P Irunongames  •  play  02:51, 4 March 2010 (UTC)
 * We wish, and try, but it doesn't happen, especially with my cheerleader honors teacher. :p Speaking of English, it seems I massacred it... -- Mike moral  ♪♫  02:54, 4 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Btw, I'm not sure if you did so, but you need to send a copy of the IRC log from the article to scoop@wikinewsie.org. -- Mike moral  ♪♫  03:38, 4 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for reminding me :D Irunongames  •  play  11:34, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

The headline for WHO: Drug resistant tuberculosis on the rise is substantively wrong
The article title given here is inaccurate and misleading. The WHO specifically did NOT say that. According to their report, ""The country data reported to WHO make it impossible at this time to conclude whether the (drug-resistant TB) epidemic worldwide is growing or shrinking". This misrepresentation should be correct immediately, in my opinion. (This note is left as a community member and not within the respect of my role as a staff member at the Wikimedia Foundation.  This does not represent an OFFICE action).   Philippe (WMF) (talk) 22:03, 21 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I've taken the liberty of moving the article; I hope neither of you mind. C628 (talk) 22:33, 21 March 2010 (UTC)

Rollback
What was this revert for? – Juliancolton  | Talk 23:29, 22 March 2010 (UTC)
 * File Photo was better because it was not taken during the volcanic eruption and as a wikipedia user with rollback rights I clicked rollback instead of undo which is a habit I have to work on Irunongames  •  play  00:06, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Hey Peter...
I just wrote an article and I was hoping you can review it for me, its my first :D Obama_to_suspend_arctic_oil_drilling ☠ Travis "TeamColtra" McCrea  ☠ - (T)(C) 08:14, 27 May 2010 (UTC)

Gaza aid convoy vs Israel
Did you really read every single one of those sources? I simply can't do so to verify the unreviewed quote just chucked into it. --Brian McNeil / talk 13:11, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Favicon
Here it is:

Diego Grez return fire 23:14, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Public domain images go to Commons not Wikinews
There are several benefits to that, which is why 'free use media upload' (to commons) is the sixth link on the left hand side bar. --InfantGorilla (talk) 16:42, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Every time I upload to commons I get yelled at for random reasons, now I get yelled at here....I think I'm done with uploading images :P Irunongames  •  play  16:51, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Oh sorry mate. I didn't mean to yell.  I am not used to your name in recent changes, so I thought you were relatively new to uploading images, and it is years since I have been yelled at in Commons, so I was blissfully unaware of it happening to others. Just keep doing it - one of the rest of us can move it to Commons. --InfantGorilla (talk) 17:07, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

copyvio
copyvio Learn to use it. It is your friend. It is also what you should be doing to copy/pasta's instead of "reviewing" them. -- Shakata Ga Nai ^_^ 16:59, 31 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Hehe, sorry about that, I was going to out but that didn't sound right so I just stalled, I was about to put that template up but by then it was already gone  Irunongames  •  play  17:01, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

Edit to another user's page?
Hi, could you please explain this edit? I assume it is some kind of misunderstanding, but would like to make sure. red  - thunder  .  01:16, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Hehe sorry about that. Netalarm said to edit his "COI" page on wikipedia but I accidentify must have done it here. Sorry! Irunongames  •  play  10:11, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

Pirate party interview
Hi, I enjoyed your interview with Britanny Phelps. It was well done. I would like to point out that from a practical viewpoint, and assuming this was an oral interview, it's not possible to differentiate between someone saying "effective" and "affective". I don't know Brittany Phelps, but it's unfair to her and makes her look ignorant to include the "[sic]" next to the word "affective" (unless of course it was a written interview, in which case it's entirely appropriate). So if this was in fact an oral interview, I would encourage you to remove the "[sic]" and just assume that she meant to say "effective". Thanks!
 * Hey, just wanna point out, it was not an oral interview, it was an interview conducted via email.. Thanks for your concern! Peter.C  •  play  00:28, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

South Sudan gains independence
I hope I didn't step on your toes, here. Mattisse had proposed an edit to the date, restoring some earlier wording, which I'd failed to realize was actually inaccurate (due to the publication date being different from the date when the article was written), and it was pending; then an interwiki was added, and you sighted that. I wasn't sure if that was a goof on your part, accidentally sighting the other edit along with the interwiki. My deepest apologies if I misread the situation. --Pi zero (talk) 18:19, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Request for reviewing and other assistance
Hi. Next week is the start of the and two Wikinewies will be attending to cover the para-alpine skiing ahead of the 2014 Winter Paralympics. This is part of an effort outlined at IPC Alpine Ski World Championships. Immediately following this event, there will be a Meetup in Barcelona where Wikinews, the Paralympics and efforts to similar sport coverage will be discussed. At the moment, there are only two active reviewers on a daily basis. Demonstrating an ability to get reviews for these types of events done quickly is important for Wikinews credibility and gaining access to these types of events. I would really appreciate it if you could sign up on the IPC World Championship page to review, promote articles published during this period, assist in translating these articles into another language or attend the meetup in Barcelona. Thanks. --LauraHale (talk) 09:31, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

Wikinews Writing contest 2013 is here. :) Please sign up to participate?
We've created the Writing contest 2013, which will start on April 1 and end on June 1. It is modeled on the successful 2010 contest. Unlike the previous version, points are available for people who conduct reviews. (With a University of Wollongong class currently contributing articles, extra assistance is appreciated at this time.) It presents a great incentive for you to renew your reviewing chops, contribute some original reporting not being done by the main stream media, and write some synthesis articles on topics that could use more attention. People should be around to review to prevent a backlog if you just want to write, and several reviewers have access to scoop to make it easier to review any original reporting you do. If you are interested in signing up, please do so on Writing contest 2013/entrants. There is at least one prize on offer for the winner along with the opportunity to earn some barn stars as a way of thanking you for your participation. :D --LauraHale (talk) 10:36, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

Inactive Policy
Per the proposed inactive policy, yopur account has been nominated to have its privileges reduced. --

Privileges
'''Note! Your privileges on English Wikinews have been reduced.'''
 * Under the Privilege expiry policy (enacted October 13, 2012) the rights held by your user account have been reduced due to inactivity, or lack of privilege use.

 * Point 4 of the Privilege expiry policy provides for fast-tracking reacquisition of privileges. We all understand that real-life commitments can severely curtail the level of commitment you can give to Wikinews; the privilege reduction is in no way intended as a reflection on your past work, or to imply you are unwelcome. The aim in curtailing privileges is to address security risks, and concern that a long period of inactivity means you may not be up-to-date with current policy and practices.

 * Per this version of WN:RfP, you may review the public announcement of this change. --Brian McNeil / talk 09:58, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

title: User talk:Peter.C


text:
Moscow celebrates Victory Day with military parade

May 11, 2009

On May 9, Moscow heralded its celebrations of Victory Day with one of the largest military parades seen since the fall of the Soviet Union through the Red Square and the streets of Moscow. Signifying the defeat over Nazi Germany in 1945 in World War 2, Victory Day continues to be one of the most poignant and emotional celebrations and national holidays in Russia. Estimates of more than 27 million lost lives during the war continues to leave a vein of sadness in Russia.

Victory day began early in Moscow with inner city streets being closed from 6am and the major entrance of Tverskaya Ulitsa completely locked down with all access to non-military blocked until the end of the parade. Tens of thousands of people lined the upper parts of Tverskaya to see the exit of the military as well as the air force fly-over on their entrance to Red Square. In total more than 9,000 troops, 69 planes and a huge collection of armored vehicles, tanks, and massive anti-aircraft missile defense systems ensured that Moscovites and the rest of Russia will remember Victory Day 2009.

In scenes reminiscent of the end of the war military bands played around the city until all hours of the night. At Leningradsky station departing veterans and widows danced and celebrated with younger generations whilst loudly singing the national anthem. As trains departed, staff handed out flowers in recognition of the contributions made and loud cheers were heard across the many platforms. In a touching event it seemed to bond the generations of yesterday and today.

Preparations for the military parade began months ago with regular rehearsals in Alabino including the erection of a mock Red Square and Kremlin to ensure authenticity. Final dress rehearsals took place in Moscow on May 7 including a full practice of the air show. On display for the first time was the S-400 air defense system which is capable of intercepting airborne targets at ranges up to.

Following the official parades and ceremonies, Red Square and the the inner city was opened to the public, albeit under extreme security and an ever watching eye from Interior Ministry troops. During the afternoon there was an estimated crowed of over 100,000 which entered Red Square to admire the parade ground and decorations, including the official stand for the dignitaries.

Closing the festivities was a series of fireworks in fourteen different locations throughout Moscow including the grand display over the Kremlin and Red Square.


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High school orders shot glasses as prom favors

May 11, 2009

Several Lancaster County, Pennsylvania high schools held their junior-senior proms this past weekend, and per tradition, they received gifts from the prom committee. Instead of traditional prom favors, however, Warwick High School in Lititz ordered more than 450 shot glasses and distributed them to students, in a move the administration now says it regrets. In 2008, the Prom Committee gave out picture frames to the girls and money clips to the boys. However, the junior class did not have as much money this year, and so the school made a decision to buy an inexpensive prom favor. The school's principal signed off on the decision to order the shot glasses, but assistant principal Scott Galen states that the paperwork identified the shot glasses as merely "prom souvenir[s]".

While the school administration took responsibility for the decision to order the glasses, Galen called it a simple oversight. Senior Class President Phoebe Baum, who had helped plan the prom the previous year, remarked that it was likely a decision made in a time crunch and was not fully thought through. Galen said that the administration did not wish to send a message that condoned underage drinking.


text:
Talk:Moscow celebrates Victory Day with military parade

OR Notes
for reference i spent victory day in Moscow including lining up for 4 hours to watch the parade only to be turned away as security forces cleared certain parts of the city. Managed to catch some glimpses as can be seen from the photo's and spent the afternoon walking through red square talking (as much as language would allow) with locals.

Took train at night from Moscow (leningradsky station) to St Petersburg and saw the festivities first hand.


text:
Wikinews:Dynamic quiz/quiz/2009/20

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

Last Updated: May 10, 2009

title: Wikinews:Dynamic quiz/quiz/2009/20


text:
User talk:92.236.23.25

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. Thank you. Tempodivalse [talk]  23:01, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:92.236.23.25


text: Talk:Mothers around the world on Mother's Day


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44 dead and over 300,000 homeless after flooding in Brazil

May 12, 2009

Floods affecting five states in northeastern Brazil have left hundreds of thousands homeless and have taken 44 lives. Heavy rainfall which began in early April has caused overland flooding that has destroyed homes in the region and landslides that have blocked roads, including 6 major highways, and a railway. The Associated Press reports that over 300,000 are homeless in north eastern Brazil, and CNN states 270 communities have been affected by overland water from flooded rivers. This flood has been the worst to strike the area since the 1950s and officials estimate damages at one billion (about US$482 million).

Civil defence authorities placed the homeless figure at about 185,000 as of Saturday. Emergency shelters have taken in some of the homeless, and friends and relatives have opened their doors to others who have been forced from their homes. has been hit the hardest, and has lost nine residents, two due to electrocution. The state has declared a state of emergency as over 40,000 are homeless and without water. A canoe with seven people aboard capsized. Police and firefighting officials are searching for two who are still missing.

Twelve deaths have been reported in the state of. on the Atlantic coast has suffered seven fatalities.

The state of has lost eight people so far. The, the largest tributary of the , has been rising.

is suffering from two swollen rivers, no electricity due to power failures, and no potable water.

The Brazilian government began to send food via military cargo planes on Friday. The government has also sent out rice and beans by boat and helicopter to a few places. Officials verify that they are sending out as much aid as possible. Land slides combined with overland waters have washed out roads are making deliveries challenging.

Emergency flood crews are struggling to open roads and pathways for food, supplies and aid.

"We have to go out and find food because almost nothing's arrived here," said a victim helping out in an emergency shelter. Homeless people huddled together by the thousands in tents and cow pens are fishing and leaving by canoe to find food.

Besides drowning, electrocution is also taking victims. and, and are also displaced and are swimming through partially submerged communities in the swollen waters.

This northeastern region of Brazil typically endures conditions. are baffled by the deluge of rain which hit the area for the past fourteen days. Precipitation is estimated to continue for another week and half.


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Rights group in Afghanistan investigating claim of US use of phosphorus bombs

May 11, 2009 The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission is investigating claims that the United States used white phosphorus bombs in an attack against Taliban militants on May 4. The attack is reported to have killed over 100 civilians.

The claim that the US used phosphorus bombs come from a doctor at a burn hospital in Herat that treated victims of the attack. Dr. Mohammad Aref Jalali says that many of the injured people from the Bala Baluk village in Farah Province, had "unusual" burns on their bodies.

"We cannot be 100% sure what type of chemical it was and we do not have the equipment here to find out. One of the women who came here told us that 22 members of her family were totally burned. She said a bomb distributed white powder that caught fire and then set people's clothes alight," said Jalali. His claims prompted the rights group to launch an investigation.

U.S. officials denied having used any chemical weapons and also deny the reports that 147 civilians had been killed in the raid. General James L. Jones, a U.S. security adviser for the military in Afghanistan apologized for the loss of civilians, but also said that the Taliban is using them as "human shields." The U.S. also said that the Taliban had, in the past, used or possessed white phosphorus in at least 44 previous incidents. At least 11 of the incidents involved the use of white phosphorus shells.

"The insurgents possess and use white phosphorus as a weapon against people. It's a law of war that we adhere to but the insurgents blatantly violate," said Colonel Greg Julian, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. The U.S. military admits they use white phosphorus for illumination and smokescreens, but not as a weapon.

Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai criticized last weeks attack saying the U.S. is losing the "moral" battle with Afghanistan in terms of civilian deaths. The U.S. military said it would work to correct any errors they make when fighting with Taliban militants.

"We’re going to take a look at trying to make sure we correct those things we can correct, but certainly to tie the hands of our commanders and say we’re not going to conduct airstrikes would be imprudent," Jones said in an interview with ABC News, as quoted by the New York Times.

The reports of the possible use of phosphorus bombs comes just months after Israel confirmed they used at least 20 white phosphorus bombs inside civilian areas during the IDF's offensive in the Gaza Strip in December of 2008 through January of this year. It is reported that the bombs were 155mm, M825E1 which were made in the U.S.. 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.


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Talk:Rights group in Afghanistan investigating claim of US use of phosphorus bombs

From what I gather after reading the article is that the rights group is investigating claims by a doctor that the US used white phosphorus. If that's the case, then the article title is misleading since the rights group isn't making the claim, but rather investigating it. 198.209.225.230 (talk) 14:48, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Agreed and changed accordingly. Thanks for your comment! Sean Heron (talk) 19:31, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

referring to same event ?
As many as 100 civilians die in Afghan raid. Both were start of next week, both in the Bala Baluk district - not that that means anything. But I was wondering if both articles are referring to the same event - as I think then linking the other article would make sense, (and I'd just like to know!). Sean Heron (talk) 19:47, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * To be honest, I don't have a clue. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 19:50, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Check this out: http://digitaljournal.com/article/272460 looks like the same issue, but claiming the Taliban is responsible. --206.126.170.20 (talk) 22:10, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * That would be the only link i see claiming this. In fact it contradicts everything all the sources here say, only switching the blame on the Taliban. I am not defending them by any means, but the Taliban simply do not have access to such weapons. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 22:14, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

US alleges militants used the white phosphorus
This contradictory claim seems important enough to include in the article and perhaps the title should be changed. See [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090511/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan Yahoo! News]. --SVTCobra 22:23, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree. Here's another link to a relevant article. http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=105&sid=1479035 --206.126.170.20 (talk) 23:05, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * All stem form a single report by an AP article to which, IMO, is utter crap. I am not saying the AP is not reliable, but its like they are forcing others to pick which propaganda to believe. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 23:21, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Feel free to add an adjustment. I am not against it. I just find it odd that all day the reports were the US was being investigated and suddenly, as of one single AP report, they just switch the blame literally. But I do warn that its nearly May 12 UTC so if the update is to be made, it should be soon...or at least a new article maybe? Anyways I am late and must get going. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 23:24, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * I think the HRC is just as likely to be crap. But here is The Washington Post (via Reuters) and the BBC News Online saying the exact same thing. I think the Wiknews article should adhere to WN:NPOV and not just represent one side. --SVTCobra 00:33, 12 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Of course I agree, but also realize that both of those links still yet make no mention of the Taliban being responsible in this incident. It still goes back to the doctor at the hospital who reported the event to the rights group. Although the US, according to BBC, says the Taliban does use WP in IEDs, it still does not say this was the case in this incident. Just want to make that clear. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 00:45, 12 May 2009 (UTC)
 * I added as much as I could to balance out the sides. I still think its all finger pointing. I left the title as is based on what the sources were at the time of publish. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 00:59, 12 May 2009 (UTC)
 * I think you've done a good job with the changes - I'll admit I've not looked at the further sources, but it reads well altogether, and what you've added seems a fair portrayal of the US militaries take on things. Sean Heron (talk) 11:45, 12 May 2009 (UTC)


text: Talk:Wikinews Shorts: May 11, 2009

title: Talk:Wikinews Shorts: May 11, 2009


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Comments:High school orders shot glasses as prom favors

These are traditional prom favors.
I went to high school in Alpena, MI. I received a beer mug my freshman year in 2003 and by 2007 for my senior prom we'd been brainwashed into picture frames. We need to stop being so puritanical. It's bad for America.
 * Agreed entirely. Everyone is so scared of everything it's amazing that the roads even have cars or people even speak because they might offend.--64.90.84.103 (talk) 08:37, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I think this is retarded

I want my shot glass

Is this news?
Seriously, this would barely make local papers. This is NOT news.

==Well, one of the sources is WGAL, which happens to be a LOCAL NEWS WEBSITE.

Well, having been the advisor of a senior class, I wondered why alcoholic vessels were part of the favor list that you could chose from. Of course the kids are going to pick them as the potential gift. And they are very affordable. I feel it is the right thing for the administration to accept responsibility, but this is definitely a comedy of errors that I totally understand. I would offer this as proof that the educators of today are overworked. But you still can't make mistakes like this one unless you are trying to get you principal fired!!!
 * I agree that this isn't international news. As far as I know, giving shot glasses as prom favors was once common practice and they only recently phased the process out at my high school (probably within the last five years, or the five years previous to my graduation in 2007). I certainly do not support the practice, but that doesn't mean it warrants my reading it on WikiNews. GPHemsley (talk) 21:44, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I went to a highschool prom in 2000 as a sophmore, and again in 2003 at a different school as a senior. At the first the favor was shot glasses, and the second we got champagne flutes. Neither one got any media coverage or any reaction from anyone. I would wager this is a common occurrance accross the US. Voting "Not News" 131.107.0.86 (talk)

Prom
QUEERS

yes thats insane, and it does send a message condoning underage drinking... i can beleive i just read that

I don't like it a bit. Jesus needs more angels.

shot glasses
in all reallity giving away shot glasses at a prom is a very acceptable thing and the class should be proud of their history and dare i say ground breaking desicions. Also the banning of the confederate flag is basic discriminating against the white students where are their rights. If they want to express their southern heritage they should be allowed to. Otherwise any black students who wear baggy clothes should be suspended for their acts of black supremacy!

=
==========================

While that may be true why bring that up?

Too Much'?
As a prom gift from any education level shouldn´t be a problem as of promote underage drinkig, but as something funny to remember and tell as a story to your family.

Also as a personal experience I had from my elementary prom a red wine glass with my generation and I never went into alcohol pior being legal.

Shot Glasses OK as prom favors
What's the difference in a champagne flute or a beer stein and a shot glass? I am this year's prom sponsor, and our class has voted to order shot glasses this year, with full understanding and approval of the school administration. Traditionally, prom favors have been the former alcoholic beverage containers. Is condoning underage consumption of wine and beer ok? Where does the line get drawn?


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User:RockerballAustralia/Ballymore Cup semi finals

The Ballymore Cup Semi Finals were completed over the weekend. The Ballymore Cup is a state wide Rugby Union competition in the Australian state of Queensland. Schools participating in the Greater Public Schools (GPS) competition do not compete in the Ballymore Cup.

Below are reports off each match.


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User talk:87.41.22.82

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) 10:50, 11 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Neutral point of view - tell every side to a story in a fair and balanced way
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title: User talk:87.41.22.82


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American journalist in Iran freed from prison

May 12, 2009 On Monday, Iran released Roxana Saberi, an American journalist with Iranian and Japanese parentage, from prison. Saberi was arrested in April and accused of spying.

"[Saberi will be] released today," said one of Saberi's defense attorneys, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi. He added that after being released, Saberi "is entitled to leave Iran immediately." She is, however, forbidden from practicing journalism for at least five years in Iran.

Her freedom comes after an Iranian court met in a private session for five hours then ruled that her eight year prison sentence was suspended. She was convicted on April 18 and her trial lasted only one day.

Saberi was originally arrested in April and sentenced to eight years after being charged with purchasing alcoholic beverages and reporting without the proper media credentials. During her trial, Iranian officials accused her of spying and sending information to U.S. intelligence agencies overseas. At the time, according to Iran's national media, Saberi admitted to spying.


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Comments:Rights group in Afghanistan investigating claim of US use of phosphorus bombs

Change we can believe in! 206.74.5.136 (talk) 16:00, 11 May 2009 (UTC)


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User talk:Plaicy

Tempodivalse [talk]  17:44, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

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