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Former 'Top Model' contestant Whitney Cunningham defends plus size models, celebrates the "regular woman"

December 5, 2007

Once you get a chance to talk to West Palm Beach, Florida native Whitney Cunningham, who placed seventh on the eighth cycle of the popular reality TV series America's Next Top Model, you begin to understand what host Tyra Banks meant when she described her as the "full package."

First of all, she is confident and headstrong, which is a must on these kinds of shows, almost as much as it is to take a beautiful modelesque picture. Second, she turns that confidence into drive. She has been receiving steady work as a model since leaving the show, and still believes that her goal of being the first woman to wear a size ten dress on the cover of Vogue is in reach. Third, and probably most important to television viewers, she obliterates the age-old model stereotype that to be pretty and photograph well, one must also be vapid and without a thought. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Cunningham also dreams of becoming a writer, and is working toward dual goals: a model who can express herself like no other model before her.

Cunningham recently sat down with Wikinews reporter Mike Halterman in an impassioned interview, taking hours to field questions from the reporter as well as from fans of America's Next Top Model. Always in high spirits, Cunningham shows that she is a distinct personality who has carved her own niche in the Top Model history books. At the same time, she exhibits a joie de vivre that is oddly reminiscent of earlier Top Model fan favorite Toccara Jones, who showed America just how to be "big, black, beautiful and loving it." However, Cunningham is quick to remind everyone that she isn't big at all; she is simply a regular woman.

This is the first in a series of interviews with America's Next Top Model contestants. Interviews will be published sporadically.

Whitney's beginnings, and looking back

 * Whitney was going to be interviewed with fellow Top Model contestant Keenyah Hill, but the interviews were ultimately done separately. Whitney and Keenyah, both based in New York City, chitchat before the interview about the restaurant where Keenyah works. Keenyah wonders if Whitney has ever eaten there, and to Keenyah's surprise, Whitney has. They make plans to keep in touch after the interview. Whitney's interview followed later.

Mike Halterman: So, who were the people you looked up to and inspired you to pursue modeling?

 * Whitney Cunningham: You know modeling was something that I was always interested in, but I would have to say that modeling was not an interest of mine that took a priority over my other interests. I've always been a basketball player and someone who was serious about academic achievement so I looked up to people who were eminent in those areas—i.e., Cheryl Miller and Maya Angelou. I would have to say that Tyra Banks was probably someone I always revered because she has always been such a trailblazer and that is a huge quality and characteristic I strive for in myself.

MH: Did you follow America's Next Top Model before appearing on the show, and if so, who did you like?

 * WC: Who didn't [follow Top Model]! I was a Top Model fiend in the first couple of cycles it was on the air. I loved Yaya because she was the educated chocolate "sista" [who was] much like myself.

MH: If you could quickly summarize your experience on the show, how would you describe it?

 * WC: It was an absolutely memorable experience that I wouldn't change for anything in the world. Not too many people can they say that they've been a participant on a television series that has literally changed the face of popular culture in America and in countries worldwide.

MH: What do your friends and family think of your stint on reality TV?

 * WC: I think everyone was really excited for me. I think their general sentiments are that it's cool to see someone that you know inside and out be put on display for the whole world to see. I know there were times where I would make certain faces or have certain reactions and they would always say, "I know exactly what you were thinking."

MH: What were some of your specific pros and cons as a result of entering this contest?

 * WC: On the pro side, I would have to say that the exposure is incredible. I couldn't imagine how I would have been propelled into the industry so quickly if I hadn't been on the show. On the con side, I'm not exactly sure what the show's impression is on the fashion industry. I try to always remain positive, though. I, personally, have definitely used the show to my advantage as best I know how.

Impact Top Model has on society
MH: Do you ever fear what negative effect the show will have on girls?

 * WC: I said before that ANTM has changed the face of popular culture in America and beyond and I'll say it again. We're living in a "Top Model Era." Every girl, woman, boy and man wants to be a model now. But everyone cannot be a model. Modeling is not just an "easy" way to bring in the big bucks. It takes hard work, dedication, some hustle, and it's not meant for everyone. I kind of feel like ANTM is selling a false dream for a lot of folks out there.

MH: Do you think that in some way the show can lead to girls developing an obsession with how they look, their weight, etc?

 * WC: I have to say no on this one. I applaud the show for their consistent efforts to try to show their viewers that beauty comes in all shapes, forms, sizes, colors, and creeds. I think that it has actually had a profoundly positive effect on the folks who watch. I can't tell you how many people stop me on the street or e-mail me just to thank me for being a role model and showing the world that very thing.

MH: Did Tyra encourage a certain standard among the girls (weight or otherwise) that was unhealthy?

 * WC: Not at all. I think that viewers think that we have a whole lot more interaction with Tyra than we actually do. We only really saw her during panel and during our "interventions." [laughs]

MH: Do you think Tyra still believes her show is about finding "the next top model" even though none of the show's winners have had that success?

 * WC: [laughs] That is a phenomenal question. I don't think that the show gives its winners enough time to reign. The show puts out two cycles a year. While one cycle is airing, they are taping another and apparently the show is scheduled to continue until 2010! I think it was about finding a "Top Model" during the show's beginnings, but I think that über-success of the show has turned it into a profit-driven production. I just wish that the show would put more time and cultivation into their winners even after their cycle's conclusions. And I truly think that the show would see a return on cultivating their winners, because the show's credibility would increase.

MH: A fan wrote in to ask, "What struggles did you face on the show as a plus sized model?"

 * WC: I think that my biggest struggle was realizing that plus sized models and straight sized models are apples and oranges...I couldn't study magazines and try to develop my poses, because a woman who weighs 110 pounds and is 5'10" looks completely different when she shapes and curves her body than a woman who is 5'10" and weighs 175 pounds. I, therefore, had to figure things out as I went along. The other girls had a reference/vantage point to learn from. I'm still figuring things out.

MH: Do you think it was unfair for Tyra to ask that [studying magazines and developing your poses] of you and Diana, considering that even though she's fuller-figured now, she has a lot more experience under her belt than you two did?

 * WC: Well, you know, I would say that it would have been fair if there were magazines for us to study! But there were none. That's why I think that it's so important that publications like Plus Model Magazine continue to blossom and flourish. I've learned more reading that magazine and getting to know the folks who write for that magazine than I ever learned about being a plus-sized model on ANTM. P.S. I'll be gracing the cover of that magazine in January of '08. Look out for me.

MH: It sounds like you're doing just fine for yourself. Which one fan also asked, "Have you faced adversity about your weight since being on the show?"

 * WC: Adversity?! Absolutely not. I don't think people understand that I am a regular woman. I wear a [size] ten for God's sake. It's so funny because people come up to me and they say, "Wow, you're not fat at all? You must have lost a lot of weight." I think I just came off looking heavier on TV...that, or people just had a distorted perception of what I should look like in person. As a matter of fact I'm about 10 pounds heavier than I was on the show now and people can't believe how "normal" I look. But that was my aim in going on the show, that a normal woman can actually have a place in the industry. She doesn't have to be a size 2 nor does she have to be a size 18.

MH: Another fan writes: Do you feel like "plus size" models are treated fairly? (I put "plus size" in quotes because I don't believe you are "plus size"!)

 * WC: No, I don't. I don't think that plus-sized models are given enough respect and I don't think that folks value the plus-sized industry the way it should be valued. But I think it's because people don't know how much the plus-sized industry varies. Hell, Kim Kardashian could be considered a plus-sized model! But people automatically assume that plus-sized means obese and that no one who is obese could possibly be attractive, or sexy, or a model. But that's not the case.

Whitney's views on production and editing
MH: Do you believe the producers for shows such as Top Model intentionally pick people who are perhaps unstable, for better television?

 * WC: Absolutely. I understand it, though. When I have my own production/entertainment company and I'm brainstorming ideas for a show, or a book, or a commercial, etc., I'll think of what sort of concepts will accrue me the largest profit. The producers of Top Model think along the same lines. Mass consumers want to see stuff that's juicy! They don't want to watch boring characters every Wednesday night. They want someone who's fun and out of the ordinary.

MH: Can you explain what types of things the producers allow you to say or not say following your departure from the show?

 * WC: Well, the show is not taped live, so of course you're sworn to secrecy about what's happened during taping until the show actually airs.

MH: Who selects your best photo for each panel and do you think there are ulterior motives involved?

 * WC: Tyra says she selects the photos, but who knows. I don't know about ulterior motives, but there were numerous times where I knew that I had taken a better photo than the one that appeared on the screen during panel. Every season girls say the same thing as well. It's interesting because in the last photo shoot I had before I was eliminated, Mr. Jay told me that I had finally figured out the art of modeling and I have successfully pulled off my shoot. Needless to say, I was eliminated and never saw it coming. I figured it was smooth sailing since the director of the photo shoot told me I looked like I knew what I was doing. It is what it is though. What can I say?

MH: How did they decide who was going to read the Tyra Mail for the episode? Was it random, planned, or was it really who 'discovered' the note each morning?

 * WC: It's definitely whoever discovered the note. Contrary to popular belief, the show isn't really scripted, planned, etc.

MH: Were you forced to fake your excitement over Tyra Mail?

 * WC: We weren't forced to do anything, but I think that we all knew what our "expected" reactions were to the Tyra Mail readings. We had all seen the show, we all knew what the girls acted like when Tyra Mail was read, so we basically just kind of did the same thing. It's supposed to be an exciting moment, you know?

Whitney takes more fan questions
MH: Do you still keep in touch with girls from your cycle? If so, who?

 * WC: Most definitely. I probably have hung out with Jaslene the most since we both live in New York together and that was my girl from the beginning. Diana and I still keep in touch. I still speak to Felicia every now and then, and Kathleen and I have been out on the town (she doesn't know it yet, but she's my new hairdresser too. That girl has got a fierce weave game.)

MH: What were the pressures like in the house?

 * WC: I actually felt like the house was my refuge. It was home! It was where I could go and let my hair down, go to sleep, read a book, call my friends and family, etc. Some of the girls might say they hated it in the house, but I was really cool with mostly all of the girls so the house was somewhere I knew I could be and just be Whitney.

MH: Is it common for agencies or clients to contact you after seeing the show?

 * WC: No way. Models come a dime a dozen. Established modeling agencies have no reason to go out and chase girls. I'd say it's more common for companies to contact girls about making special appearances, but not modeling agencies. It's up to you to go out and find a modeling agency.

MH: And do you get contacted from the guest designers that appeared on your cycle?

 * WC: I, personally, never have.

MH: A fan really wanted to know, "Was Dionne as funny as she was on the show?"

 * WC: Dionne was really quiet and reserved. I was actually surprised to see how comedic she came off during her interviews.

MH: How did you feel when Dionne and Renee only got T-shirts as a prize for winning the acting challenge?

 * WC: Like I was the luckiest person in the world for winning the laser beam challenge. [laughs]

MH: There were a lot of negative reactions from fans when Jaslene won. Do you think she was the best choice? If so, why? If not, who would have been the better choice and why?

 * WC: Oh, my God, negative reactions? Are you kidding? Jaslene was, without a doubt, the best model at the time on the show. The only possible negative reaction I could think of is that she's so thin. And what people don't know is that Jaslene could give me a run for my money in eating. [laughs] She's just naturally built the way she is.

MH: Some negative fan reactions were "How could Jaslene sell a product when she can't speak English well?" and "Model? She's not even pretty! She looks like a man!" Which, I wish I was making it up, but it's a rather loud fan voice on those points. What do you say to them about that? And following on that, do you think fans can be excessively cruel toward the contestants?

 * WC: Those "fans" can kiss my ___. She is from Puerto Rico and represents all that America is—a large nation made up of a multitude of people from different backgrounds and places. And Jaslene is beautiful as are we all. And yes, I do believe that the fans can be excessively cruel. I don't even consider those folks fans though. They're people who have nothing else better to do with themselves than sit around and bash reality TV contestants on anonymous blog sites.

MH: You and Diana were some of the only models in this cycle who were working toward a college degree. Did you feel that you were smarter than the other girls? Did people at your college watch Top Model to see you and root for you?

 * WC: Smarter? [laughs] I don't like that term because I'm an honest believer in the fact that people are all relatively smart, just in different things. I would say that I was well versed in certain areas that others were not, but that doesn't mean I'm smarter per se. And yes, folks at my school definitely watched the show. I got really positive feedback! They said I represented well.

Where Whitney is today
MH: And on that note, a fan wanted to know if you finished your degree at Dartmouth.

 * WC: Yes.

MH: This past May, right?

 * WC: I walked in June.

MH: Do you plan on moving back to Florida, or are you going to continue living in New York City?

 * WC: I'm definitely going to continue to live in New York for a while. I need to be where the industry is.

MH: Apart from your spread in Plus Model Magazine, what else are you doing now?

 * WC: I'm modeling, working on my motivational speaking tour entitled "Embrace Yourself" (look out for me coming to a college near you in the Spring of '08), acting, and writing for a couple of magazines.

MH: What is your message to the girls of America who have big dreams of their own? What would you tell them?

 * WC: My life's motto...If someone tells you that you can't, prove them wrong and show the world that you can.


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

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Russian opposition presents alleged evidence of election fraud

December 3, 2007

Russian opposition movement "Smena" has published a clandestine video of what it claims is falsification during the Russian elections. The video allegedly shows the election zone no. 730 in Moscow. "Smena" claims a woman is illegally voting on behalf of soldiers as she feeds their voting bulletins into the electronic voting machine, while a man watches. "Smena" presumes both are members of the local electoral commission.

Other allegations include a disproportionate share of absentee ballots used in polling places, voting numerous times by visiting different polling stations, ballot stuffing and machinations involving electronic ballot counting machines, campaigning at polling centers, voter bribery, and ballots in the ballot box before voting began.


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Calls for "critical breakthrough" in the opening speeches of Climate Conference in Bali

December 3, 2007

The freshly elected president of the World Climate Change Conference Rachmat Witoelar, Indonesian Minister of the environment, as well as his predecessor, Nabiel Makarim, and Yvo de Boer of the UNFCCC, called for a breakthrough in negotiations on the first day of the 13th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Bali today. All three speakers agreed that by the end of the conference, which lasts till the 14th of December, an agenda must be set for negotiations on a post-2012 agreement on climate change mitigation. In founding this demand, they each drew on the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, which establishes that the window for mitigating dangerous climate change closes in year 2030.

The outgoing President of the last session, David Mwiraria, Kenyan minister for environment and natural recources, held the first speech making some statements on his term of office. He went on to remind that the least developed, many of which are African nations and the small island states, are the ones that will be hit hardest by global warming, now and in the future.

The new president of the conference, Mr Witoelar, Indonesian minister of the environment agreed with that statement, saying that the "most severe impacts [...] will be felt by poor nations, and the poorest within them" and drew the conclusion that it is "critical that we act, and act now." Looking at the chances for the so-called Bali roadmap being agreed on, he noted that from consultations he had "heard that there was widespread support from governments" for making this happen. He went on to say that "Many have also expressed support for a target date of 2009".

As the two speakers before him, Yvo de Boer of the UNFCCC noted that 2007 had been a exceptional year regarding climate change, with multiple political high level meetings being held. He went on to say that the delegates should reach agreement on a multitude of issues that had only been in discussion up until now. Amongst others, these included the organizational questions regarding the Adaptation Fund, which is aimed at funding measures that will increase the adaptive capacity of nations with developing industries. Reaching agreement on these issues would allow their substance to be implemented, and at the same time "free up the negotiation capacity needed for the post-2012 process".

Finally, he addressed the matter of whether the targets that are to be set by 2009 are to be internationally legally binding or not, an issue that the United States is particularly sensitive about. He stated that in his opinion form follows function, making an allegory to the targets needing to be set before agreement being reached on how they are to be mandated.


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User:Privatemusings

A private muse - g'day!

title: User:Privatemusings


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User talk:Privatemusings

happy to talk......

Welcome
, welcome to Wikinews! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

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 ☺☻ 05:18, 3 December 2007 (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 articles 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
 * Audio Wikinews could always use more contributors
 * And of course, stories need writing!

and thank you for your welcome! Privatemusings 06:38, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

Data for 3 million UK driving candidates lost
Thanks for you edits to this article. Wikinews needs you! I hope to see more edits from you in the future. --SVTCobra 02:39, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Privatemusings


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Wikinews talk:Audio Wikinews/Spoken Wikinews

hello all - I'm new to wiki news and thought I might be able to help - just dropping a note here, and then continuing to take a look around. Privatemusings 03:36, 3 December 2007 (UTC)


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Talk:Hostage taker surrenders peacefully at Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire campaign office

CNN
I am watching CNN live, and the bits about the mans name, is from a live broadcast happening now. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 22:55, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Breaking News?
Is is really still breaking news. In the UK no new information is being mentioned but I don't want to remove the breaking news bar as new information may be coming out that UK news services do not cover. When I covered this story yesterday at 10-pm UTC, it appeared to be drawing to a close. --Anonymous101 08:57, 1 December 2007 (UTC)


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Talk:Russian opposition presents alleged evidence of election fraud

I see a woman feeding papers into a machine but aside from that I don't know what to make of that video. Also, we need to get all those in-line links out of the article and get some other sources.--SVTCobra 04:06, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

I have found no references to what Smena is, besides the website itself. Most hits are for a camera. --SVTCobra 04:08, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

 * There are a few:, , and in Russian , . It's legit, as far as I can tell. -- IlyaHaykinson 04:21, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

OK, so maybe Smena exists. I still object to this being published in its current form. --SVTCobra 04:25, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

 * I agree that the allegation is strong and the evidence is weak. However, I think that the news is valid, and the best we can do if we keep it up on the site is cover it with attribution to this Smena group.  Worst case they are proven to be wrong; best case, we helped break the news. -- IlyaHaykinson 04:31, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * By that logic we should publish every allegation made by any group that produces a YouTube video. --SVTCobra 04:57, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I guess it's a subjective call, but I would rather err on the side of cautious inclusion than exclusion. You can't be a citizen journalism site without taking some risks: if people can't use an alternative venue like WN to report their happenings then what could they use?  I am not saying that we need to rush out and support them, but unless there's something clearly wrong here, and as long as we make it clear that this is an allegation and the only source is the organization itself, then I think we're OK.  If we wanted to be better, we could go out and get an expert on Russian elections to comment on this.  -- IlyaHaykinson 05:02, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * To publish this and not the more substantiated claims of fraud by more legitimate opposition groups does seem "exclusionary". --SVTCobra 06:31, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

I still say this should not be published and is a violation NPOV.--SVTCobra 13:28, 3 December 2007 (UTC)


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Talk:Former 'Top Model' contestant Whitney Cunningham defends plus size models, celebrates the "regular woman"

Original reporting notes
Interview done in parts online and via phone between Whitney Cunningham (in New York City) and Mike Halterman (in Tampa, Florida). Interview took place on December 2, 2007. TheCustomOfLife 04:07, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Yay, great job, Mike! She sounds like a great person to interview. Riana 10:16, 6 December 2007 (UTC)


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Chinese officials say man dies of H5N1 Avian Flu virus

December 3, 2007 Chinese officials have confirmed that a man admitted to a hospital on November 27, died on Sunday from the H5N1 Avian Flu virus.

The man, only being identified as 24-year-old Lu, is from the Jiangsu Province of eastern China and was admitted to the hospital after having severe flu-like symptoms. Lu was originally diagnosed with pneumonia. Tests done on blood samples from Lu confirmed the presence of H5N1.

Officials say that Mr. Lu was never in close contact with dead poultry and there are no reports of any birds being infected in the area and no other reports of human infection.

At least 69 other individuals are being kept at hospitals for observation, after having come in close contact with Mr. Lu, but officials say that none of those individuals are showing any signs of infection.

Lu's death brings the total number of those infected in China by the H5N1 virus to 26, with 17 dying from the virus in China since 2003. This is the first human infection since June of 2007.


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Talk:Uranium smugglers arrested in Slovakia and Hungary

geez - I promise i'm not as dull as I sound! (that may be a lie!) I'm not sure I like the look of the audio template much - but I'll take further discussion on that to the template space.. Privatemusings 04:17, 3 December 2007 (UTC)


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Kevin Rudd sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia

December 3, 2007

Kevin Rudd, current Australian Labor Party leader, was sworn in today as Prime Minister of Australia by Governor-General Michael Jeffrey. Rudd has become the 26th Prime Minister since Australia's federation in 1901.

Former Prime Minister John Howard and the Liberal Party and Coalition were beaten in the 2007 election which took place last month, by the Australian Labor Party who managed to gain the extra 16 seats they needed to have a majority in the House of Representatives. Mr Howard lost his seat that he held for 33 years, 11 as Prime Minister, to Labor candidate Maxine McKew.

Mr Rudd was sworn in at a small ceremony at Government House by Mr Jeffrey, alongside Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was also sworn in today. Mr Rudd's wife, Therese Rein and his three children were also present at the ceremony.

Later that afternoon, Mr Rudd plans to hold a full meeting which all of his newly-sworn-in ministers will attend. In late November, Mr Rudd requested that all his ministers attend a visit at two schools in their local electorate before meeting for a caucus meeting on November 30.


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MediaWiki talk:Deletereason-dropdown

Office
Should we really have office here? none of us can do an office action, so its unlikely to be used. Bawolff ☺☻ 05:15, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Read my mind. Was just thinking that. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 05:19, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * If copyvio should be immediate, why do we have the template?--SVTCobra 05:35, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Technically copyvios should be one day after being tagged copyvio (according to WN:PROD). Depending on situation they can be speedied (user makes a lot, copyright owner complains, you feel like it). Things that are only partially copyvioed should always be tagged (WN:SD point 11). Users should always recieve some note about article so and so is a copyvio has/will be deleted. Or at least thats how i've always thought of it. Bawolff ☺☻ 09:29, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

WN:NOT
Isn't the recently added ** Wikinews is not Wikipedia - See What Wikinews is not #6 the same as "Not news, no context"? It seems to me the drop-down list is gettng too long and redundant in places. --SVTCobra 00:19, 16 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I tend to agree, but don't feel overly strong either way. Bawolff ☺☻ 01:17, 16 September 2009 (UTC)
 * It's a repeatedly needed specific reason. Similar, but not quite clear enough. --Brian McNeil / talk 08:23, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Rearranged SD reasons
Within the list of SD reasons, I've moved 'Advertising or spam' to the top — in my recent experience it's the single most common reason for deletion — followed by what used to be the last four on the list: 'Disassociated talk or comments page', 'Comments page of unpublished article', 'Redirect to a non-existent page', and 'Wikinews is not Wikipedia'. Those four seem to me very commonly used. --Pi zero (talk) 12:41, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

Reordering
editprotected The "formal delete reasons" are at the top of the dropdown, but we rarely use them (with the notable exception of abandoned). As I'm tired of scrolling down those pixels, I propose that we rearrange the delete reasons to put the ones that are used often at the very top, followed by an exhaustive list of all the delete reasons (with repetitions when necessary).

If there are no objections, I'll replace it in a few days with the contents of User:Microchip08/csd, which does the following:
 * Copies the spam, short article, and aband reasons (and a few others) to the top of the dropdown
 * Moves the proposed reasons to the very bottom
 * Adds a few deletion reasons that were on WN:SD (and removes some that weren't explicitly stated)
 * Rephrases a few (the probably pejorative "patent nonsense" to the more catalyst-like "no meaningful content")
 * Adds some behavior switches in the "common reasons" dropdown (so you aren't prompted to delete a disassociated talk page on a normal page at the top, but can scroll down if you wish). Promotes the reasons that are relevant (e.g. you hardly ever delete an image because it's nonsense, so the image reasons are at the top when you try to delete an image).

Thoughts? Microchip08 (talk) 19:17, 23 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I've made the change; please consider sticking with it for a few days instead of reflexively undoing. Microchip08 (talk) 02:58, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

 * Some remarks.
 * I never even saw the proposal. This page seems, in practice, a good place to hide a proposal where it'll never be noticed; a note on the proposals water cooler might have helped.  But, meh.
 * Really couldn't tell clearly what was changed; all in one edit, a diff was uninformative.
 * I could see that some stuff I find highly valuable had gone away.
 * I do agree, right off the bat, with moving the formal reasons section down. So I backed off from the big edit, and then moved the formal reasons section.  Also made the section headings a bit more mutually consistent.  The lone "other" reason I put at the very bottom, not because I think it belongs there logically — it's sort-of a speedy delete — but because you can't really have a heading "other" that has other headings after it.  A different name would be called for.  I considered just adding it to the end of the speedy deletes, but it kind of got lost there.
 * --Pi zero (talk) 16:18, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

Please don't take my revert in bad kind; over the years I've been very hesitant and cautious about making changes here myself, and I'd welcome the opportunity to consider specifically what you think could be improved. As an indicator of the sort of concerns I have in mind, here are remarks re the latest edit. --Pi zero (talk) 22:01, 1 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Your edit summary said "bring back in line with WN:CSD; make phrasing more neutral; rm reasons that aren't policy".
 * It looks as if you may have changed some of the ordering; perhaps that was done for consistency with WN:CSD? The ordering of CSD is mostly random, and imho not at all suitable for imitation here (which is btw why I deeply regret that we ever adopted those internal numbers for identifying the CSD reasons, and have tried to slowly introduce mnemonic alternatives).  The ordering here has been at least somewhat shifted around in favor of what seemed most useful; certainly my own edits were for that purpose, though I tried to minimize the disruption consistent with, mainly, having the most commonly wanted/important stuff not need scrolling to find it.  I'd be interested to discuss improvements of the ordering, though I'd think moving the formal-deletions section down would have brought even more of the common ones within non-scrolling range. (I don't yet have enough experience with that change to the menu to know how it affects the scrolling.)
 * I've no idea what this "more neutral" phrasing is, though I'm curious; perhaps you could explain specifically what you have in mind?
 * I'm not aware of anything here that's inconsistent with policy; I do know that one of the most commonly used items on the menu, which I suspect your edit removed, doesn't have a wikilink to a specific policy item on it, but that one was discussed on this talk page, long ago. Even the party who questioned it perceived it was in line with policy, brianmc evidently prevailed, and it was before I was involved in such things or I'd have agreed with brianmc.

title: MediaWiki talk:Deletereason-dropdown


text:
Venezuela's constitutional reform referendum fails to pass

December 3, 2007

Venezuelan voters rejected a referendum on changes to the constitution. The chief of the National Electoral Council said it was rejected by a margin of 51% to 49%.

The referendum vote on sweeping reforms to the constitution would have allowed Hugo Chávez to run for reelection indefinitely, control Venezuela's foreign currency reserves, appoint loyalists over regional elected officials and expand presidential powers in the case of an emergency. It would also have established a maximum six-hour working day and 36-hour working week, cut the voting age from 18 to 16, and expand social security benefits to workers in the informal economy.

Chávez called the vote a "photo finish," but swiftly conceded defeat. He vowed to "continue in the battle to build socialism" and though the reforms had failed "for now," they were "still alive." The vote marks the first setback at the ballot box for Chávez, since he came to power in 1999.

Raul Baduel, a former defense minister in Venezuela, now an emerging critic of the leader, said Chávez had manipulated the public's feelings in an effort to pass the reforms, which would also have limited citizens' rights were a state of emergency to be declared.


text:
Comments:Venezuela's constitutional reform referendum fails to pass

 * Well, the Centro Nacional Electoral says the difference was 2%, but it's probably more—200.26.166.190 06:17, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

 * I remember reading in another news source that Chavez has accused the US government of interfering. On its own, a statement like that would sound rather pathetic, but looking back on the history of his government I'd say there's more than a grain of truth to it. More to the point, does socialism really require a lack of democracy? Perhaps Chavez should be looking more at the modern leaders of Norway and Sweden, rather than Stalin or Lenin. Black-Velvet 10:48, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Road to Serfdom, Socialism will eventually lead to tyrrany and totalitarianism. If it hasn't already.  Fephisto 22:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Road to Serfdom, Socialism will eventually lead to tyrrany and totalitarianism. If it hasn't already.  Fephisto 22:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Voting results are incomplete
The 51% vs 49% results are were given with only 80% of the votes audited, and there was aprox. 40% abstention from the referendum. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Charliepapa2 (talk • contribs) 01:09, 4 December 2007 (UTC)


text:
Wikinews:CommonsTicker/20071203

3 December

title: Wikinews:CommonsTicker/20071203


text:
User:Carlocatozzi

Hello to everyone. This is the user page of Italian lawyer Carlo Catozzi. My personal website: To contact me, my email is: carlocatozzi (at) tiscali (dot) it (i wrote it so to avoid spam). Feel free to contact me. I will answer to You in Italian or English, as You wish.

title: User:Carlocatozzi


text:
Teacher jailed over teddy bear given pardon

December 3, 2007

The Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir has issued a full pardon to British school teacher Gillian Gibbons who was sentenced to 15 days in jail after allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear "Muhammad".

The decision came after a meeting with two members of a British Muslim group, Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi who travelled to the Sudan after her imprisonment around a week ago. The imprisonment of the 54 year-old teacher from Liverpool caused international outcry with Muslims in Sudan protesting for her death, and British Muslims protesting for her release.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "delighted and relieved" at the decision and Mrs Gibbons said "I am sorry if I caused any distress" in a released statement. Mrs Gibbons is expected to be released into the custody of the British embassy in the Sudan.


text:
User talk:124.182.200.138

Welcome
Welcome!

124.182.200.138, welcome to Wikinews! Thank you for your contributions I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

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:
 * 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 articles 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!

Here are some other hints and tips:

 * I would recommend that you get a username. You don't have to log in to read or edit articles on Wikinews, but creating an account is quick, free and non-intrusive, requires no personal information, and there are many benefits of having a username.  (If you edit without a username, your IP address is used to identify you instead.)

 * When using talk pages (the "collaboration" tab at the top of the page), or the comments pages (tab "opinions"), please sign your name at the end of your messages by typing four tildes (~~). This will automatically produce your username (or IP address) and the 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!--Mark Talk to me 10:25, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:124.182.200.138


text:
User talk:Carlocatozzi

Your user page
Please do not use this to place links across wikis as you have done or your website will be blocked and so will you I'm afraid, thanks -- Herby talk thyme 10:49, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Carlocatozzi


text:
User:SVTCobra/MySandbox

AAA: https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews%3AAdmin_action_alerts&type=revision&diff=4659675&oldid=4659586

 * Gazprom
 * Mikheil Saakashvili
 * Mikhail Gorbachev
 * Ramzan Kadyrov

File:Explosion near Palais des Nations 0001.jpeg to 0014

en:Wikinews:Credential verification

The Walt Disney Company

41.03053, -73.77212  {   "type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{ "type": "Feature", "properties": { "shape": "Marker", "name": "Unnamed Layer", "category": "default" },       "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [-73.772147, 41.030539] },       "id": "ac2004c2-6f57-45f7-8147-a68496a02432" }] }

---

41.03053, -73.77212

{ "type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [ {     "type": "Feature", "properties": {}, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [ 69.169167,         34.526944        ]      }    }  ] }

Articles:

Links

Socks

Suspected sockpuppets related to NF Ravi/Sillentze

 * Noahmoretz
 * Tlenory

IUM

 * User:IUM PART-TIME NEWS
 * User:Vekee kazapua
 * User:Lukrensia
 * User:Katuuo
 * User:DishenaJos
 * User:Vekendisa
 * User:Ashipalaar
 * User:Intergratededucation2
 * User:Penaatjiposa
 * User:Fransina Akuunda
 * User:Wilhelmina Nehoya
 * User:Mezeri3
 * User:Nkinoo135
 * User:Amwele Titus A
 * User:Paulina Amoomo
 * User:Uitiapatie
 * User:Munolish
 * User:Ester Ndinelago
 * User:Alma Iileka
 * User:Eembula Julia
 * User:She is loydeh
 * User:Ashipalaar
 * :
 * :
 * :
 * :
 * :
 * :

title: User:SVTCobra/MySandbox


text:
User:Ckatz

Hello... I'm the Wikipedia editor known as Ckatz. I have only just begun to explore Wikinews, so if you wish to get in touch with me, your best bet is to leave a message on my Wikipedia talk page. Thanks!

title: User:Ckatz


text:
A battle between AMD and Intel takes place at 2007 Taipei IT Month

December 4, 2007

On the third day of the 2007 Taipei IT Month in Taiwan yesterday, notebook computers and desktop computers built with AMD's Phenom processor and Intel Penryn processor openly battled for the consumer-market after each company launched their quad core processors.

Intel with partners like Acer, Genuine, ASUS, and Lenovo promoted their desktops with Core 2 Quad and notebooks with Centrino Duo, even though Intel didn't plan to exhibit in IT Month. Intel's Taiwan division is holding two road shows for DIY experts. One was on December 1 while the second will be on December 8.

AMD, on the other hand, put on a showcase for IT Month with a "Bee Movie" booth-style exhibit at halls 1 and 3 of the Taipei World Trade Center. AMD's subsidiary company ATI showcased HDMI and Full HD with a demonstration of a new graphic card named "Radeon HD2000".

As the two rivals postured over factors like performance and high-definition, Wikinews reporter Rico Shen interviewed some of their partners. BenQ and Micro-Star International both said: "No matter whether the consumer chooses a computer with AMD or Intel, the consumer should consider it based on functionality and practically before purchasing. For example, some low-price notebook computers (EeePC, OLPC) were launched before the show because notebook computer manufacturers had considered and evaluated what a consumer really want. Sincerely, I recommend a consumer not be fooled by a its price but to consider its functionality first!"


text: User talk:69.143.226.129

title: User talk:69.143.226.129


text:
New Australian Prime Minister signs Kyoto

December 3, 2007

Kevin Rudd has been sworn in as Australia's new Prime Minister with an agenda of action on climate change and the repeal of unpopular industrial laws. The new Labor government has signed ratification document to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and also plans to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq by the middle of 2008.

The agreement, which will come into force in 90 days, means Australia's greenhouse gas emissions should not be higher than 8 percent above 1990 levels. Environmental groups believe the Australian economy could easily manage even more ambitious targets. John Connor, chief executive of the Climate Institute, says Australia could cut its emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

"What this concludes is that we can actually have a strong leadership position with barely a ripple on economic growth. We'd still see a tripling of the economy through to 2050 and strong employment and quality of life growth," Connor said.

Mr. Rudd's decision to sign the Kyoto climate accord isolates the United States, which will now be the only developed nation not to ratify the agreement. Australia's former conservative government refused to ratify Kyoto, saying it would damage the economy with its heavy reliance on coal exports, while countries like India and China were not bound by emissions targets.

Mr. Rudd's cabinet creates a new portfolio of Minister for Climate Change and Water, held by Penny Wong, an ethnic Chinese immigrant from Malaysia. She is one of seven women in cabinet, including deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Former rock singer Peter Garrett was sworn in as Environment Minister. Responsibility for running a strong Australian economy now falls to Treasurer Wayne Swan, one of Prime Minister Rudd's most trusted lieutenants. The recently appointed foreign minister Stephen Smith, a lawyer from Western Australia, is expected to visit the United States early next year to discuss Australia's plans to pull its troops out of Iraq.

Mr. Rudd's decision to sign the Kyoto Protocol clears the way for his government to play a stronger role when he leads a delegation of four Australian ministers to the U.N. climate talks in Bali.

They began Monday and will search for a new carbon emissions scheme to be introduced when the Kyoto treaty expires in 2012.


text:
Comments:Teacher jailed over teddy bear given pardon

Anybody else notice the misplaced modifier? Confused the heck out of me for a few seconds - I thought the teddy bear had been jailed, and, as a result, the teacher was pardoned.


text:
Talk:Calls for "critical breakthrough" in the opening speeches of Climate Conference in Bali

General
Yes I was there :). I can´t give you scans of the transcripts as of now, I´m afraid (no scanner), but I´ll happily type of any bits you might be interested in (like the full sentences of the quotes I use). The transcripts were made available here at the media center sometime afernoon. Sean Heron 16:38, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

Notes taken live at the opening session in Bali
By me Sean Heron 16:14, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

The outgoing president:
 * adaptation
 * "kick starting CDM" the needs for financing and something was recognized as a key priority. However progress was slow, more to do
 * technology, " stage is set for meaningful progress in Bali
 * space for creative and constructive ideas. The AWG under 3.9 (kyoto) significant progress. I cannot overemphasise the importancet of sending price signals for the carbon markets.

Various meetings held. IPCCC report. LDCs and Small island states bear the brunt. Although some progress has been made, it is (has been) insuficient. "The negotiations have to move faster, and with ??? here in Bali" I therefore call on all parties to move with urgency. We need to We have to opportunity, with the incoming president sos ands o to save the enviroment and the future of our planten

"I consider it an honour to be elected at this critical moment?" It has become clear that the effects will be felt strongest by the poor nations and the poorest in them... it is critical that we act, and that we act now. Many meetings this year. We need to use this session to send a strong signal that we can act at the urgency required. ... has heard widespread support for ... and agreeing on a agenda for negotiations ... till 2009. It is also important that we send a signal to the markets, who can bring cheap reductions, but require clear signals.

The Nairobi programm on adaptation mentioned beforehand has done good work on this and that. Miss a bit on adaptation and technology.

Issue, reducing emmisions from deforestation. Considerable emmision. Needs to be part of

One of the stumbeling blocks has been the fear of stalling... althought the cost for mitigation may be considerable... should be little compared to the damage prevented. Advances?? in climate science... market has been in effect for a while. We have found the measures necessary, we now need the political will to see them through. The world is wathcing closely, ...

Do everything possible... so that we reach the breakthrough the world is waiting for.

Yvo de Boer: Introductory statements, thank you for preperations etc. The outcome of this conference will decide whether Bali will be a lost paradise or not. Exceptional year: counts all the meetings. It was especially the year of the IPCC, cheered at every stage, crowned by Nobel.

It has become clear that cc will effect everyone, especially the poorest of the poor. Explains the UNFCCC. Kyoto protocol: ... JI and CDM delivering results. Quote IPCC: High lik The world now expects a quantum leap forwards, and that can only be done from firm ground. Agreeing on '*
 * technology ...
 * initial stage of actions on deforestation
 * technology ...
 * initial stage of actions on deforestation
 * capacity and adaptation building

First leadership by Ind nat must continue. Second, bold action north, clear growth south. Without incenteves etc, do same erross in south Fossil fuels will stay: use with out destruying fourth: adaptation must be a comprehensive thing.

All beginings are difucult. focus on oppurtionitys. Form follow function, what can be done. ... Legal form can be answered last. After all a marriage contract is last, not discussed at first date. I do thourughly hoep that you will... The task you face is huge. But.

Comments
Great work so far. Take a look at my copy-edit to make sure I didn't mess stuff up. I am still not sure about the "window" aspect of 4th IPCC report. Check it. Are you able to take pictures? That would be really sweet if you could. --SVTCobra 00:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I'd like to have done more, but I am doing a bit of contact building and such, which tends to take its time as well. I must admit I'm still slightly adrift regarding what I want to place my focus on (just the thing I didn't want to be...), but I know I want to generally have the negotiations for post 2012 in my view, the mitigatory aspects (GHG reduction) in specific. I guess I should start aranging interviews...
 * Your copy edits seemed to be OK (and 2030 could well be right, its not much more than 20 years either, thanks for checking for me!).
 * I would be allowed to take photos, but I'm afraid that as I don't do any photography otherwise, it is a bit cumbersome for me, and my experience in Heiligendamm was that if you want to do everything and spread yourself to thin, you get nothing at all done. Regards Sean Heron 10:13, 4 December 2007 (UTC)


text:
Bali climate change conference begins

December 3, 2007 Representatives of more than 180 nations gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali today to kick off a United Nations-sponsored conference on global climate change. The U.N. hopes the meeting will conclude with a road map toward a new agreement on reducing the types of air pollution many scientists believe are driving changes in the earth's climate.

The Bali meeting aims to get countries to commit to working out a new agreement on emissions cuts to extend or replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Conference president Rachmat Witoelar of Indonesia told reporters that a detailed proposal is not necessary at this stage, but participation by all nations is vital.

"We will be happy if this Bali road map is general so we will not push for a very detailed in this short time," he said. "The introduction, the process is important."

As the conference opened, Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, signed the Kyoto Protocol, limiting his country's greenhouse gas emissions. That act earned a standing ovation in Bali, and focused attention on the failure of the United States to sign the protocol - the only developed nation not to have done so.

"While the current U.S. delegation will not join in serious negotiations over mandatory limits on global warming pollution, they won't be around when the final deal is made in 2009. A new team will be on the field with a very different game plan," he said. "The other nations must not allow the U.S. to derail, delay or water down the Bali mandate." Senior U.S. negotiator Harlan Watson denied his country was blocking progress, saying the U.S. had merely chosen a different course.

"It's up to each country to do the analysis and analyze for themselves if the target is do-able. Obviously the U.S. came to a different conclusion," he said. "We respect the decisions other countries have made and of course ask them to respect the decision that we've made."

President Bush says that the Kyoto Protocol threatened U.S. economic growth, and believes that any future climate-change agreement will be ineffective unless it includes rapidly developing nations such as China and India, which are among the world's largest producers of greenhouse gases.

Other subjects on the agenda in Bali include saving the world's remaining forests, and sharing technologies to help developing nations grow in less-polluting ways. The U.N. also hopes to finalize a fund to help countries affected by global warming to cope with the impacts. The money could go toward flood-proof houses, better water management, and crop diversification.

The Bali conference will continue until December 14. Thousands of government representatives, scientists and activists are attending.

title: Bali climate change conference begins


text:
File:Bali Conference Inside.jpg

from http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop13/photoindex.htm. says

These photos are available for use free of charge in non-commercial publications with appropriate citation. Please contact diego@iisd.org for permission

Photo courtesy of IISD/ ENB-Leila Mead

Back to ENB's coverage of COP-13 and COP/MOP-3

If the photos will be used on the World Wide Web, please create a link to the website for the International Institute for Sustainable Development, as is done above. The link is http://iisd.ca

not sure what license this is though??

title: File:Bali Conference Inside.jpg


text:
Talk:Bali climate change conference begins

What do you guys say ? merge, or rename mine and leave it as a focus article on the opening speaches ?
 * hmm this was meant to be just a general thing - i reckon make yours in depth on the opening speaches and a re-name accordingly --Mark Talk to me 16:45, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah thats fine. I´ll leave "mine" seperate. Sean Heron 17:03, 3 December 2007 (UTC)


text:
User:Sean Heron/UNFCCC/Recources

General

 * Climate action network international (CAN) resource list

Schedule of the Conference

 * UNFCCC overview Schedule
 * NGO/IGO invitation with schedule overview at the bottom
 * Side events, graphic overview
 * Side events, ordered list

Political Situation and Framework

 * Official Website of the UNFCCC (The climate conference), a good place to start.
 * The official two page press briefing document
 * Background paper of the NGO Germanwatch (in German)
 * What is the COP/CMP ? (UNFCCC document)
 * Interview with Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
 * UNFCCC Press Release
 * EU stance
 * UK stance
 * US stance
 * German stance

Prior meetings held this year

 * Summary of informal minister level meeting on climate change (in June), called "The Midnight Sun Dialogue on Climate Change"
 * UN high level event on climate change Webcasts and pdf transcripts of session
 * US held Major economies meeting on climate change

Non govermental organizations (NGOs)

 * WWF page on climate change
 * Climate action network international (CAN) Group of NGOs working for stringent action on climate change
 * Greenpeace international
 * (looong) List of NGOs attending

Scientific information on the climate situation

 * IPCC Synthesis report 2007, summary for policymakers
 * Short presentation by the IPCC Chairman, held in simple terms
 * IPCC Website
 * US Greenhouse gas emmissions and sinks report
 * Other Nations reports can be found here, most unfortunately don´t have a website presenting them
 * Annex I Nations emmissions over time, UNFCCC data
 * Same as above, in a summarizing file

Of personal interest

 * Indonesian Ministry of Forestry workshop
 * Mexican stance ?
 * ongoing reports ?
 * "Bali diary", by UK enviroment dep. staff seems interesting

title: User:Sean Heron/UNFCCC/Recources


text:
User:Sean Heron/UNFCCC/Whats it about

Text dump from email to BrianMc:

[ (you don´t need bother reading this paragraph, just check the wikipedia link below) OK, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (wait thats UNFCCC, so am I going to the UNFCCC conference...?) is, as far as I understand, the set of rules that the Kyoto treaty has been worked out under (so the Kyoto treaty is a sub-treaty). For about as long as the Framework convention has been in place I think there have been annual (there was usually one a year) meetings taking place, in which the implementation of the treaty (Kyoto protocol, etc.) have been discussed. Last year this Conference of the Parties (to the UNFCCC) and Members of the Protocol), that is the COP/MOP, met in Nairobi to chat, and (I think)there were some hopes that they´d get talk started on a post-Kyoto protocol, but, to put it bluntly, they did fuck all. This years COP (not sure on MOP) is in Bali.] hmm, maybe this explains the exterior better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change

OK. So you may have heard that climate change was relativly high on the Agenda in Heiligendamm at the G8 meeting. The upcoming problem (which is also an opportunity) is that the Kyoto protocol is set to run only till 2012 (don´t ask me if early or late '12). So as more or less everybody is now aware of the threat climate change poses, people in principal agree that a follow up agreement has to be made. And apparently (I`ve read this in a good many comments, and been told so by a fellow I met at the G8 from Germanwatch), concrete talks on this agreement (and a timetable) need to be started and set now, because it´s going to take a while till an agreement is reached and then implemented. Of course the crunch is that really, they don´t need to just start talking, but start working towards an agreement. And I personally (and the Germanwatch guy was of the same opinion) don´t see any agreement other than one with every nation on the planet setting enforced caps on Greenhouse gases (GHG) as making much sense. And thats where the big bartering session starts... In my opinion, the big questions that are going to have to be answered before an agreement can be reached are:
 * What is the global cap going to be (as in how fast and how much is current GHG output to be reduced); Big polluters and fossil fuel exporters (say the Saudis) are going to push for less reduction I´m guessing.
 * Who´s going to get what share of the allowed amount (the USA and China/ India will presumably be in strong disagreement on this)
 * Are and if so how are Forests going to be counted towards emmisions. (Indonesia and Russia have, I think, pushed this issue previously)

I don´t think any of these questions are even nearly going to be agreed on (this December), but I reckon there must be a basic consensus for talks to begin.

title: User:Sean Heron/UNFCCC/Whats it about


text:
Talk:Al Sharpton speaks out on race, rights and what bothers him about his critics

OR notes
In person interview conducted November 24, 2007. Taped and transcribed. --David Shankbone 17:10, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

This interview references "Blacks see growing value gap", Pew Research Center, November 13, 2007. --SVTCobra 20:01, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

Ping
Ping (even though it doesn't work) --David Shankbone 17:10, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

I'd never heard of this man before, but I found reading what he had to say very interesting. Thanks! One question, though- was this dramatic repetition or a transcription error: "Imus only went on my show thinking if he did he would get past it; I used it for the basis to get him fired. He got everything BUT absolution. Why do they come? Because of my visibility. Right now National Action Network is the only civil rights organization in the country that can put tens of thousands of people in the street. I think we proved that if nothing else this year from Sean Bell to Jena to Washington. He thought if he did he would get past it; I used it for the basis to get him fired. He got everything BUT absolution. Why do they come? Because of my visibility. Right now National Action Network is the only civil rights organization in the country that can put tens of thousands of people in the street. I think we proved that if nothing else this year from Sean Bell to Jena to Washington." r 222.154.161.32 13:19, 4 December 2007 (UTC) ('Furius' on wikipedia)
 * Good catch! Must of been a hiccup.  --David Shankbone 14:40, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Nominated for FA
I've nominated this on the F.A. candidates. --Brian McNeil / talk 16:02, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Great interview
Another great interview, David. And a great "get" for Wikinews. My criticisms are but two:
 * 1) This question: DS: One sees this problem with history with the Christian Zionists in the right wing. They have an entirely different perspective on history. They don’t view Thomas Jefferson and George Washington—who were secular—as our founding fathers. When they talk about America’s founding fathers they mean Cotton Mather and the Puritans. This question betrays your own convictions and is in the strictest sense a violation of NPOV.
 * 2) This question: DS: Recently a poll came out that showed sixty-one percent of the black Americans surveyed said values between poor and middle-class blacks are moving too far apart to be viewed as a common black experience. Only 41 percent expressed that view in a similar 1986 poll. Do you think the black experience is no longer defined by race, but by socio-economic status? When citing such specific data, I think it is appropriate to link to the survey (on Wikipedia, if they have it) or provide a link to it in a sources or external links section below the interview itself.
 * Cheers and thanks again. --SVTCobra 02:59, 8 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the note. Regarding the criticims:
 * 1. This actually came up in the Craig Unger interview, and is essentially true.  You may not know it's true, but I knew it before Unger, and Unger researched it.  It's also pretty true that Washington and Jefferson were secular.
 * You are missing the point. You are interjecting and levying criticism against a group and identifying it as a problem, it matters not if it is factual. Also, you are not even asking a question. Thankfully, Sharpton more or less glances over it and continues to to talk about Dr. King.--SVTCobra 19:47, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
 * 2. I have no issue with such a link being provided, but this raises an issue that I have on here: this site is meant to be about collaboration.  These interviews take a lot of my time and I will soon be wrapping them up and they will essentially only show up in a trickle.  Why?  Because I feel like I don't receive a lot of help with them.  As you have seen with Baucus, it is time-consuming and a challenge to 1. "Get" the interview; 2. prepare for the interview; 3. conduct the interview; 4. transcribe the interview; 5. copy edit the interview; 6. take, Photoshop and upload the images; and 7. wikify the finished product.  In other words, if Wiki is about collaboration, and there is something that you would like added, then you should add it yourself instead of ask me to do more.  Getting people like Sharpton, or my soon-to-be-published Presidential candidate interview with Duncan Hunter, helps all of us in that it raises the profile of this site.  Sometimes I leave off a template, sometimes I don't link something, sometimes I don't use the proper image source, sometimes I don't update the interview page, etc.  In the end, these are areas where collaboration can come in as opposed to asking me to assume more responsibility and work.  In other words: I'm getting burned out.  I don't want e-mails beseeching me to take a break; I just would prefer other people pitch in instead of asking me to do more, especially on something as pedestrian as adding a link to a highly-publicized Pew poll.

--David Shankbone 06:05, 8 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I know how much time it takes, just the work I did on punctuation and links here took me two hours. But if you had just mentioned it was a Pew study, someone else could have found it for you. I think it is important to provide a source for it, no matter how widely publicized you say it was, I'd never heard of it ... and further, how many international readers do you think are aware of this study on American social trends? Anyway, it it is Pew social trends. And upon reading it I think you got it wrong. The Pew study does not say "too far apart to be a common experience" simply that "values of poor and middle-class blacks have become more different." see page 4. I think that is an important distinction. --SVTCobra 19:46, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
 * No, I didn't get it wrong. Perhaps you should do some research on how that poll has been interpreted.  Regardless, I can ask any question I want.  Questions are questions.  --David Shankbone 21:47, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

James Brown 2001.jpg
Please replace the JB-5 image with 'James Brown 2001.jpg'. Thanks. Siebrand - (talk) 13:07, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
 * ✅ --SVTCobra 17:29, 25 April 2008 (UTC)


text:
Comments:Al Sharpton speaks out on race, rights and what bothers him about his critics

Great interview
This is a great interview and worth the time it takes to read it. --Brian McNeil / talk 18:01, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Winding Woods Drug,shooting,youth racing from 12mid to 7am Mayor
I am a black woman who have vitilago and heart problems. I have been fighting my complex for three years for the security. The Mayor and the police department have been give notes and things that could stop the problems in Winding Woods and they have gotten mad at me. I was sitting in my car waiting for another set of children to come off the bus and office 134 gave me and ticket and said if I did not move he would tow my car. I have ask for my protection in this complex not for him to come and target me. I am a black woman turing white and I have threaton and they have allow the youth to paint ball my car,egg my apartment and my car and have done nothing to they youth that is running around breaking into people cars and stilling there GPS system. I have gone to City Hall and spoke in front of the Mayor Several time and he is still not help me clean Winding Wood up. I have ask him to ride in Sayreville many time and he is afraid to come into our complex. We live in Middlesex county and I have been in the Starledger and the Suburban several times and the City is not trying to back me up. They are trying to get even with me and when I call in to report things to LT Brenner, all they do is let it go to voice mail and then they might send some police out. When they need to come out at 12mid night and 2am they will not come in here. This complex have had a killing and someone is still shooting in here and they have done nothing about it. I need you to help me get jesse Jackson and come and take with the Chief of police and the Mayor. They have called me in there office and I have meet with the owner of Winding Woods I even got a pettition sign by over 200 people. I have pictures of a van been shot in with bullets, we found bullets and the same cars speed ever night ever night and they want to pick on a handicape lady with vitilago and other illness. I am fighting them if it takes my las breath. I really need your help! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.197.25.124 (talk) 18:23, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Whatever!
Al is nothing more than a political opportunist. It's so easy for him to sit back and blame everything on the white man. Al doesn't ever want to see the blacks succeed; if they do then he doesn't have a job. Al wants to keep the blacks in the ghetto, so he he can use them to his advantage. Blacks always complain about how whitey has exploited them for his needs- now uncle Al's doing the very same thing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.187.179.119 (talk) 02:42, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Ground zero answer for Rec.Sharpton
Tolerance I am truly perplexed that so many of my friends are against a mosque being built near Ground Zero. I think it should be the goal of every American to be tolerant. The mosque should be allowed, in an effort to promote tolerance. That is why I also propose, that two nightclubs be opened next door to the mosque thereby promoting tolerance within the mosque. We could call one of the clubs (which would be gay) "The Turban Cowboy" and the other being a topless bar "You Mecca Me Hot". Next door should be a butcher shop that specializes in pork and adjacent to that have an open barbeque pork rib restaurant, called something like “ Iraq o’ Ribs”? Across the street there could be a very daring lingerie store called Victoria Keeps Nothing Secret with sexy mannequins in the window modelling the goods. Next door to the lingerie shop, there would be room for an Adult Toy Shop (Koranal Knowledge), its name in flashing neon lights, and on the other side a liquor store, maybe call it "Morehammered"? Then the Muslims could be allowed to show their tolerance. Problem solved. If you agree in promoting tolerance and you think this is a good plan, pass it on. Brian Chapuisat

Comments from feedback form - "good job i fount ever thing i ..."
good job i fount ever thing i needed to find —98.172.49.4 (talk) 20:19, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

on BLACK FEMALE THAT HELD THIS POSITION I LOST MY JOB BECAUSE OF MY RACE MY CULTURE
I have not yet join I am an African American female I held a position as a customer services manage the place of work was Safeway INC in Moses lake Washington. I was the first African American female that held that position in that store 03/ 28/2012 around the hour of 10:00a.m. Or before 11:a.m. I was call into the office. I was talk to very aggressive and put down as I was poor black women on welfare by two of the loss prevention guys. I was accused by a co-worker of waived my late fees on my video account the problem with her she felt that she did not have to do what I ask of her. I have complained about her several times to the store manager of her disrespecting me as her manager .The manager would just end up insulting my culture and the way I talk or express myself. My union let me down as well, the so call evidences that they say that they had were not evidence of me violating any policy. This employee went into my video account without my knowledge and though that she had something on me and went to report it to the store manager, and I guess they got together and plan a way to get rid of me and there were several other employee look at my video account as well again without my knowledge. I was fired before they suspended mean according to the paper work 03/24/2012 like I stated earlier they approach me on 03/28/2012, and some of the days I was accuse of doing this I was not working those day. The Safeway INC violated the collecting bargain agreement act. Six months later I was call by my union rep Peggy to come to this meeting that I had no knowledge of at the Best western Hotel here in Moses lake Washington, I was accuse of waived my late fees I was not brief by my union rep before this meeting don't you know the rep for the company and the store manager and the loss prevention guy and the labor relation rep for the company and another rep for the company and the union reps did not know  how to do the procedure a late fee that I was accuse of  this is just a  brief of what happen to me now I cannot get a job in this town because this company has mar my name  and my work ethic and discriminated against me. My accuser get this she did what they accuse me of doing, now I was told by an attorney here that I better be careful because there is a thin bloodline here that have tides with the company I said sir it not ok to falsely accuse someone something of like theft and attack their culture because this company allow people like that to keep their job and discriminate against a person because of the color of their skin and sex and their culture. I notice in this little small town at some of the business here they will not hire an African American person but they can shop at that establishment.


text:
File talk:Bali Conference Inside.jpg

Sounds like CC-BY-NC-ND to me, but I am not an expert. --SVTCobra 17:23, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * yeah im not too sure - its def NC but we cant put it under cc i dont think. maybe its one of the horrid yellow ones but hey ive got no idea.  whats there atm seems good enough to spare it from a speedy. --Mark Talk to me 17:25, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

title: File talk:Bali Conference Inside.jpg


text:
Sefton, UK ex-mayor jailed

December 3, 2007

The former Mayor of Sefton in the United Kingdom has been jailed for fraudulantly obtaining state benefits.

John Walker and his wife Catie, were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud at Liverpool Crown Court and of exaggerating ill health to obtain disability living allowance.

The Judge Brian Lewis described the fraud as "a disgraceful breach of trust".

He was jailed for 15 months for conspiring to defraud £32,871.85 in Disability Living Allowance together with a six months concurrently sentence for conspiracy to defraud £4,000.25 in Income Support.

His wife, Catie Walker, was jailed for eight months for the DLA offence and a concurrent four months for the Income Support swindle.

title: Sefton, UK ex-mayor jailed


text:
Talk:Sefton, UK ex-mayor jailed

It's always fun to see some use Early Modern English from the 17th century. --SVTCobra 18:06, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * You may find that in the UK it is only early 20th Century use.--Irate 18:27, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:Sefton, UK ex-mayor jailed


text:
Belgian formation talks: King consults incumbent PM

December 3, 2007 The caretaker prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, reappeared on the political stage today as he accepted the royal request to suggest solutions to the ongoing federal government formation talks.

Recollecting his statement to the press on June 10, 2007, when he recognised his electoral loss and the victory of his opponent Yves Leterme, he told reporters today that he "hadn't thought nor hoped to face you once more, but the King has asked me to inform him on a short term about possible strategies to deal with the political stalemate in which we have ended up over the last few months."

Indeed, after 177 days, the country's political parties have still found no compromise on the roles of the French- and Dutch-language community. Two days ago, Leterme returned to King Albert II to tender his resignation as leader of the formation talks.

The incumbent PM said he would discretely contact the leaders of all democratic parties during the next few days. He said his starting point would be dual: the country needs a considerable reform of its federal status, and there are certain urgent problems that outrange the capacities of the caretaker government dealing with the ongoing affairs.

Verhofstadt called for all involved to take responsibility, in the interest of the country and its citizens.


text:
User talk:Pilotguy/Archive1

Welcome
, welcome to Wikinews! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

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 13:57, 5 April 2007 (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
 * 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
 * If you're interested in audio recordings, Audio Wikinews could always use more contributers
 * And of course, stories need writing!

ComProj
Heya pilotguy!

I started the wikinews video project and am for a fact interested in the idea you put forward. Just a few questions - why would the production company be interested? Can we arrange a time to meet on the irc?

Symode09 16:29, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

IRC cloak request
I am Pilotguy on freenode and I would like the cloak wikinews/pilotguy. Thanks. --Pilotguy radar contact  22:51, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

hi
how is it hanging? 22:52, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Explosion reported near New York City train station
Would you care to explain this edit? --SVTCobra 23:01, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

ArbCom elections
Is there anyway I could possibly gain a vote from you? Answer me back, I want to prove myself to the Wikinews community? --TUFKAAP 19:47, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

spam warning
the IP address posted adverts using a name identical to the username just registered, it appeared pretty evident to me that it was the same user. –Doldrums(talk) 17:10, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

title: User talk:Pilotguy/Archive1


text:
Neste Oil to build world's largest biodiesel plant in Singapore

December 3, 2007

Finnish company Neste Oil have announced that they intend to construct the world's largest biodiesel plant in Singapore at a cost of €440 million. The NExBTL facility will be Neste's third such project, and is intended to have a maximum capacity of 800,000 tonnes a year.

Demand for biofuels is expected to rise greatly over the next few years, as they are often cited as a good way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and are viewed as a renewable alternative to crude oil which has been at record high prices in recent months.

The site has been strategically selected to be close to Malaysia and Indonesia, both of whom are leading world suppliers of palm oil, which is intended to be the main fuel for the plant. Between them they account for 80% of global production. However, the use of palm oil is controversial, as some environmental scientists and campaigners believe using it will have a negative effect as increased demand in turn causes higher food prices and greater levels of deforestation.

Earlier this year, Greenpeace attempted to stop a palm oil tanker ship destined to Neste's existing biodiesel plant in Porvoo, Finland, but failed to stop the delivery. In addition to the Porvoo plant, which began operations earlier this year and is at its capacity production of 170,000 tonnes, Neste plan a second plant to open in 2009.

The new plant will increase demand for palm oil, as it will require 200,000 hectares of palm oil plantations to supply the million tonnes of oil it requires per annum. "The new plantations are to be set up mainly in Indonesia, and increasingly in swamp rain forests," said Greenpeace's Lauri Myllyvirta. When such terrain is cleared of trees, the peaty soil begins to dry out. "In the years that follow, it releases all of the carbon that had been stored in it", Myllyvirta continues. He concludes that he believes palm oil cultivated in such conditions produces ten times the carbon dioxide emissions of fossil fuels. Jarmo Honkamaa, director of Neste's biofuel sector, countered these claims with his belief that the gas balance remains positive and points to Neste statistics which say biodiesel diesel produces 40-60% less greenhouse gas emissions than standard diesel.

Another potential problem has been highlighted by Citigroup, who voiced concerns that Neste may not be able to complete the project on time and within the intended budget. Recently, Neste added a standard diesel production line at their Porvoo refinery. This was finished this year, approximately one year late and at an actual cost of €750 million, versus a budget of €500 million. Neste CEO Risto Rinne said in response, "we have learned our lesson," regarding the miscalculations on the new facility, and said that this knowledge, coupled with that obtained during construction of the Porvoo biodiesel plant, had been factored into calculations regarding the Singapore plant.

Construction on the third facility will start early next year, and is scheduled to end in 2010. Neste said in a statement that the investment was "part of Neste Oil's strategic goal of becoming the world's leading renewable diesel producer."


text:
US: Iran nuclear weapons initiative ended in 2003

December 3, 2007 A senior United States intelligence official said today that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003 under international pressure. The official cautioned that Iran is still continuing to enrich uranium and could have a nuclear weapon available between 2009 and 2015, but the report states that intelligence shows that Iran has not restarted their nuclear weapons program. The finding, published in a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, is a major deviation from the intelligence the U.S. suggested two years ago. The United States believed that Tehran was determined to develop a nuclear capability and was continuing its weapons development program.

"This is good news is that the US policy coupled with the policies and actions of those who have been our partners appear to have had some success. Iran seems to have been pressured. Given that good news, we don't want to relax. We want to keep those pressures up," said an unnamed official.

Iran claims that it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes. The United States has insisted it will not back down until Iran rids of all possibilities to get a weapon of mass destruction, but is determined to solve the differences with diplomacy.

"We should be having a surge of diplomacy with Iran. And based upon this [estimate], I think it would be a pretty good idea," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Iran would not be capable of technically producing and reprocessing enough plutonium for a weapon before about 2015, the report states. But ultimately it has the technical and industrial capacity to build a bomb, "if it decides to do so," the intelligence agencies found.

The same agency in 2005 stated that Iran was "determined" to build a nuclear bomb.

US president George Bush urged Iran to "come clean with the international community about the scope of their nuclear activities."


text:
Standard Operating Procedure changes at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay

December 4, 2007 In an investigation reported on first by Wikinews, Wikileaks today revealed another chapter in the story of the Standard Operations Procedure (SOP) manual for the facility at Guantanamo Bay. The latest documents they have received are the details of the 2004 copy of the manual signed off by Major General Geoffrey D. Miller of the U.S.. This is following on from the earlier leaking of the 2003 version. Wikileaks passed this document to people they consider experts in the field to carry out an analysis trying to validate it. Following this, they set out to assess what had changed between 2003 and 2004; including attempts to link publicly known incidents with changes to the manual.

Wikinews obtained the document and did an in-depth analysis. The American Civil Liberties Union had previously made a request to view and obtain copies of the same document, but was denied access to them.

One of the first notable changes to the document relates to the detainees themselves. Previously they read the camp rules during admission processing. Rules are now posted around the camp in detainees' languages. The English version of the rules is as follows:
 * 1) Comply with all rules and regulations. You are subject to disciplinary action if you disobey any rule or commit any act, disorder, or neglect that is prejudicial to good order and discipline.
 * 2) You must immediately obey all orders of U.S. personnel. Deliberate disobedience, resistance, or conduct of a mutinous or riotous nature will be dealt with by force. Be respectful of others. Derogatory comments toward camp personnel will not be tolerated.
 * 3) You may not have any articles that can be used as a weapon in your possession at any time. If a weapon is found in your possession, you will be severely punished. Gambling is strictly forbidden.
 * 4) Being truthful and compliance will be rewarded. Failure to comply will result in loss of privileges.
 * 5) All trash will be returned immediately to U.S. personnel when you are finished eating. All eating utensils must be returned after meals.
 * 6) No detainee may conduct or participate in any form of military drill, organized physical fitness, hand-to-hand combat, or martial arts style training.
 * 7) The camp commander will ensure adequate protection for all personnel. Any detainee who mistreats another detainee will be punished. Any detainee that fears his life is in danger, or fears physical injury at the hands of another person can report this to U.S. personnel at any time.
 * 8) Medical emergencies should be brought to the guards' attention immediately.

Your decision whether or not to be truthful and comply will directly affect your quality of life while in this camp. Of concern to groups such as Amnesty International who campaign for the camp's closure, or Human Rights Watch concerned about prisoner handling under the prisoner of war aspects of the, is the fact that policy for newly admitted detainees still allows for up to 4 weeks where access to the detainee by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) may be denied. In addition, guards are not to allow ICRC staff to pass mail to detainees.

A new process has been formed which allows guards to determine whether or not a detainee receives awards, or is punished. The form is called a GTMO Form 508-1 ([[media:Gitmo-sop-2004-page-221.jpg|pictured]] to the right). According to the manual, the form "is used to determine which rewards the detainee will lose or gain," but "special rewards" can also be earned, outside of the process. One special reward is time allowed outside. Another special reward is a roll of toilet paper, but the detainee cannot share it with others. Doing so will result in "punishment" and confiscation of the roll. If the detainee already has a roll of toilet paper, he is not allowed to have another.

"Guards need to ensure that the detainee doesn't receive additional toilet paper when the detainee already has it. The amount given to the detainee will be the same amount as normally distributed to the detainee," states the manual.

No matter how bad a detainee may act, "haircuts will never be used as punitive action" against them, but they can have hair removed for health reasons. They can, however, be segregated from other detainees.

"If a detainee has committed an offense that requires segregation time, even if a segregation cell is not available, the detainee will receive a shave and a haircut for hygiene and medical reasons. If the detainee is IRFed, the haircut and shave will follow the decontamination process," adds the manual. Barbers are also part of cell searches.

Despite these changes, a great deal of effort has gone into ensuring the furore over detainee abuse does not recur. Rules governing the use of pepper spray (Oleoresin Capsicum, or OC) appear at an earlier point in the manual with considerable expansion. Infractions such as spitting, throwing water at, or attempting to urinate on guards appear as explicitly listed cases where pepper spray may not be used. Extensive decontamination procedures are included in the document, including immediately calling for a medical check on any detainee exposed to pepper spray. This was not previously present.

As a counter to the clearer instructions on use of pepper spray, Wikileaks asserts that many of the stricter rules for guards (referred to as Military Police or MPs in the 2003 manual) aim to reduce fraternisation that may improve detainee morale and adversely influence any interrogation process. Guards are informed in the manual not to take personal mail and parcels within the detention blocks or at any other duty stations. All electronic devices except issued materiel are prohibited, and guards may face disciplinary action should they keep detainees apprised of current affairs or discuss issues in their personal lives.

Additional restrictions on the detainees' chaplain are included in the revised document. Wikileaks speculated that many of these changes might have stemmed from the widely publicised case of. Captain Yee, a graduate, served at the Guantanamo Bay base as a  chaplain to the detainees and received two Distinguished Service medals for his work. Following discovery of a list of detainees and interrogators by U.S. Customs in Florida Yee was charged with, aiding the enemy, spying, espionage, and failure to obey a general order. Eventually all charges were dropped with national security concerns being raised should evidence be released. The most notable changes surrounding the role of the chaplain include its removal as a permanent position on the facility's Library Working group and its exclusion from the decision process on appropriate detainee reading material. Wikileaks contacted lawyers representing detainees in the camp to perform their own analysis. Their opinion of the changes were that the library operation had been considerably tightened up. Duplicate books are required for the individual four camps to prevent covert use of books to communicate between camps. Periodicals, dictionaries, language instruction books, technology or medical update information, and geography were additions to the prohibited material. Instructions indicate such books must be returned to the source or donor.

The revised SOP manual makes considerable progress on documenting procedures, even those that are remote possibilities. A lengthy addition details rules to follow in the event of an escape or escape attempt. Laced throughout this procedure is an emphasis on having any such incident fully documented and - wherever possible - filmed. The procedure is explicit in how to recapture an escaped detainee with minimal use of force. One additional procedure covers the admission of ambulances to the main base area. A detailed security protocol to ensure only expected and authorised traffic gains access is included, as is a procedure streamlined to ensure the ambulance arrives on the scene as quickly as possible. Unchanged from the 2003 manual is the set menu of four ready-to-eat meals ( or MRE) issued to detainees. However, additional steps are to be taken for "MRE Sanitization"; supply personnel must remove anything that can damage waste disposal systems— presumably a military term for toilets. Under normal camp conditions, detainees should be fed hot meals as opposed to MREs, but no details on the variety of menu are included.

Wikinews attempted to get feedback on this. US Southern Command passed a query on to Rick Haupt (Commander, U.S. Navy Director of Public Affairs, Joint Task Force at Guantanamo) who responded that "questions were forwarded along with a request to authenticate the leaked document; a response is pending." At this time no response to emails has been received from the ICRC or Human Rights Watch.

has requested that the document be removed from Wikileaks because "information with the FOUO (For Official Use Only) label is not approved for release to the public." They then state that the document can be "made available through a Freedom Of Information Act request through official channels."


text:
Talk:Standard Operating Procedure changes at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay

OR
Developed off-wiki by DragonFire1024, brianmc, and others.

http://www.wikinewsie.org/wikileaks_gitmo.html details notes and draft.

Translations into other languages underway. --Brian McNeil / talk 23:22, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I must say, I like the stylistic choices the wikileaks site has made. Bawolff ☺☻ 02:48, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Comment
There are many reference to what Wikileaks did as far as analysis, contacting lawyers and passing on documents. Is there a source for this? An interview perhaps? It should be explained in the notes. Or if Wikileaks has a page about this, list it as a source. Also there are references to the case of James Yee. This needs to be sourced as well. "Off-wiki" development just doesn't cut it, in my opinion. --SVTCobra 23:44, 3 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I am getting a 404 not found on the link listed above. --SVTCobra 23:53, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

"Of concern to groups who campaign for the camp's closure, or for handling under the prisoner of war aspects ..." You'll need to provide a source for what these groups concerns' are. --SVTCobra 00:07, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Of concern... not sure...needs reworded, but not sure about how to do so. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 00:19, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * It needs a source more than rewording. Alternatively, you could drop that paragraph. --SVTCobra 00:29, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, for fixing the URL on the "off-wiki" notes. --SVTCobra 01:37, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I also added 2 sources for HRW in Geneva Convention and Amnesty International for closure of guantanamo. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 01:40, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I added a source for information on James Yee. --SVTCobra 02:31, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

 * The frequent thinking that wikileaks is a reliable source ruins wikinews's credibility. It is NOT. I am not going to use this site any more because it has no credibility. Wikileaks are no more relyable than blogs. And all the news on this site is easily covered more in google news. Bye. Contralya 03:14, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Sorry you feel that way...but we have the first report of what will be many tomorrow. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 03:24, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Actually, brianmc e-mailed the US military, who e-mailed and talked to US SOCOM in Guantanamo Bay. We are awaiting reply. We also talked to Yee, who is answering questions for a follow-up. Not to mention we also contacted the lawyers for gitmo detainees who examined the document. So before you discredit Wikinews, realize the trouble we went through. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 03:34, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Contralaya, if you want to leave - so be it. I did due diligence on this and personally take it as an insult to question the site's credibility on the basis of this story. --Brian McNeil / talk 14:14, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Other coverage and sites mirroring Wikinews
Tidied this a bit, please add as you find. --Brian McNeil / talk 14:19, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Mirrors

 * Wikinews Reports (Our blog, summary)
 * Afrique en ligne (full copy, missing (c) but has linkback)

Washington Post
And look who just published an article about the leak: *

-- DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 04:07, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Where's the source?
Why isn't the SOC itself listed under the sources? :-) Will the full document be available (or is it already)? Cormaggio 09:46, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
 * The SOP is listed under external links. It is a Word document, but if you check the link offsite at the top to wikinewsie I believe that is a link to the 2004 PDF. Original reporting is a little different from our more common articles which rely on reputable sources for a synthesised NPOV article. For example, OR could have zero source provided extensive notes have been taken and seen by someone else trusted. A synopsis on the talk page would be required, and the main reporter(s) would have to share documents for verification purposes. However, there needs to be a balance between publishing everything and holding back things like emails and just paraphrasing them. --Brian McNeil / talk 13:42, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

"Hygienic" shaving
Perhaps it's unnecessary after all the news coverage from the wars, but should the article explain that Talibans and other Muslim fundamentalists object to shaving? And of course what sense is there in shaving as "hygiene" for time in segregation - the old excuses were all based on lice, etc. that are shared by contact? I feel like this "not for punishment" stuff is a comic-legal explanation only, though it might violate style guidelines to point it out. 70.15.116.59 14:06, 6 December 2007 (UTC)


text:
Comments:Standard Operating Procedure changes at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay

So if they had a SOP for 2003 and 2004, they probably had a 2005, 2006 and 2007 SOP. With 2008 approaching this is just under 4 years behind. Sweet! --SVTCobra 23:59, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

 * That was my first thought as well. Is the excitement because it relates to Gitmo and the fact that someone obtained the document? Because the contents of the SOP aren't that alarming. Perhaps someone should just request the 2007-2008 version of the SOP through Freedom of Information as the Pentagon suggests. Jcart1534 00:33, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
 * A previous request for this document by the ACLU was denied.
 * The contents contradict a number of public statements made to the press in 2003-04, this was not included to avoid the piece becoming a U.S. DoD bashing fest. --Brian McNeil / talk 08:05, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

 * I don't blame them for denying the release of current versions of this or any other military procedure manuals. --SVTCobra 19:44, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

JTF Guantanamo http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil/ --Legends

Visit the Joint Task Force website
A good source of information on Joint Task Force Guantanamo is their website: http://www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil. They have stories and photos about the command. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Joenavy (talk • contribs) 20:15, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

As someone who instructed service members deploying to serve here I had to know the SOP inside and out. There are many fallacies mentioned in this that I can not and will not correct, as most of it is through interpretation of someone unfamiliar with how the procedures were used. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.114.50.48 (talk) 06:30, 1 February 2008 (UTC)