Thursday, August 16, 2007

Stead Mashushire, a 28-year-old Zimbabwean, has admitted today to stealing a Takaz commuter bus in Harare, Zimbabwe on August 7. He told the court he stole it because he needed transport to the Vehicle Inspection Department to collect his driving licence.

The man waited at the Charge Office Bus Terminus in central Harare until the driver exited the bus, destined for the nearby town of Chitungwiza, and proceeded to a nearby supermarket to buy food, leaving the engine running. Mashushire then entered the vehicle and told all the passengers and the conductor inside to exit it; when they did this, he drove away in the vehicle. He informed those on board that the police had impounded the bus, which fitted with events in the area at the time, when police were impounding numerous buses after ordering fares to be drastically cut.

The bus driver then returned to his bus, in time to see it being driven away without the passengers. He then attempted to chase the bus, and managed to receive help from a passing motorist, who pursued the stolen vehicle, leading to Mashushire being caught 7km from the scene of the theft.

Mashushire today told the court “I admit that I stole the bus but the engine was running. I did not use my own keys to start the bus,”.

The court convicted Mashushire of theft of a motor vehicle based on his own guilty plea, and ordered him to undergo a psychiatric test due to questions about his sanity, per the Mental Health Act. He has been remanded in custody until August 29, when he will be sentenced.

Tuesday, June 6, 2006

Google has launched an online spreadsheet site, in a private beta.

The site will allow spreadsheets to be shared between up to 10 users, which is aimed to be useful to teams and small businesses. “Many people already organise information into spreadsheets. Where they are struggling is to share it” said the product manager, Jonathan Rochelle.

Google recently bought the online word-processor Writely, launched a calendar product, as well as a desktop search tool. Many see this as them straying into Microsoft‘s markets.

Google Spreadsheets uses very advanced AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript And Xml) and Client Side Scripting to mimic very effectively it’s desktop counterparts’ functions.

It is surprisingly fast, has very good formatting and advanced formula support, but best of all it has complete support for Microsoft Excel .xls files, and very good collaboration: just enter the e-mail address and you can share easily.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

With Bay Street in turmoil in sympathy with Wall Street, Canadian party leaders traded slurs over the slowing economy and measures to secure it against the slump happening south of the border.

“We have the worst economy in the G8, our labour productivity has fallen for nine months straight and over the summer in July we saw the largest single month of jobs losses in 17 years,” Stéphane Dion said as the Liberal leader worked through St. John’s, N.L. Dion is hoping to sweep Newfoundland and Labrador’s 7 seats, capitalizing on N.L. Premier Danny Williams’s feud with the federal Conservatives over broken promises made by Stephen Harper in the Atlantic Accord.

Campaigning in Nova Scotia, New Democratic Party‘s Jack Layton lashed the Conservatives for failing to protect consumers. “Of course with Mr. Harper, we don’t see any willingness to really address the need to stand on behalf of Canadian consumers. He won’t even support the notion of the monitoring of gas prices, let alone the kinds of initiatives that really should be taken here in Canada to make sure that the consumers of investment products are being protected.”

Harper was working the Liberal-held riding of Ottawa-Vanier, where he announced a program to allow entrepreneur’s to extend their maternal leave up to 6 months using the Employment Insurance program with an estimated cost of $147 million. He said the country wasn’t ready for “wild experiments”, but should adopt a cautious approach to the economy in uncertain times.

“Canada has been brought to the brink of a deficit for the first time in over a decade,” Elizabeth May of the Greens said in a press release on their website on Monday. “Stephen Harper’s leadership deficit is driving us into economic deficit and his failure to manage the economy in uncertain times must not be allowed to continue.”

The parties also threw out economic planks for their platforms: to support the fishermen of N.L as well as the environment, Dion announced a $250 million dollar fund to help fishermen upgrade their equipment with “green” technology as well as $70 million to retire licenses. The Greens suggested their financial plan, which includes embracing a low-carbon economy, would improve Canada’s economic outlook. The NDP promised $1 billion over 5 years for more nurses and doctors.

The backdrop to all these economic statements was a 515 point drop on the TSX as markets reacted to the bankruptcy filing of 158 year old financial firm Lehman Brothers, as well as a surprising drop in the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar which itself lost ground against the Euro and other world currencies. Even as the dollar dropped, so did the price of oil futures and gold, partially explaining the Canadian dollar’s weakness.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

A tornado, spawned from a large storm, has hit the United States city of Atlanta, Georgia, causing extensive damage throughout the city.

The National Weather Service confirmed Saturday morning that it was a tornado that struck the city. After reviewing the aftermath of the storm, they classified it as an EF2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin says she is beginning to apply for federal disaster aid.

There have been no confirmed deaths, but the mayor’s spokeswoman says there may be dead victims trapped within the ruins of a collapsed loft complex. The Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts are located in the historic Cabbagetown neighborhood, where at least 20 homes were destroyed. “It looks like a bomb went off, it looks like World War III,” said Mahsud Olufani, who has an art studio in the neighbourhood. “It’s a disaster area.”

At least 27 people suffered injuries, mostly cuts and bruises. One person is reported to be in critical condition. Grady Memorial Hospital, where many of the injured were taken, had suffered some window damage but was still operating. Around 50 people have been taken to a local Red Cross shelter for displaced residents.

The tornado struck during the semifinal game of the SEC Basktetball Tournament between Mississippi State and Alabama. Play was stopped with around 2 minutes to go in overtime when heavy wind could be heard outside with rippling of the roof. Damage was done to the roof as debris fell to the floor. No injuries were reported in the Dome. “I thought it was a tornado or a terrorist attack,” said Mississippi State guard Ben Hansbrough.

The storm arrived with little forewarning. A tornado warning was issued for the downtown area a few minutes before the storm hit. “Ironically, the guy behind me got a phone call saying there was a tornado warning,” said Lisa Lynn, who was attending the game at the Georgia Dome. “And in two seconds, we heard the noise and things started to shake. It was creepy.”

The CNN Center in downtown Atlanta was severely damaged, especially in the atrium, where the ravaged ceiling allowed water to pour in. Police closed several streets near the CNN Center because of the debris, which included power lines, billboards, and even office chairs.

The Omni Hotel, which is attached to the CNN Center, also sustained damage, with many of its windows shattered. Visitors at the hotel were evacuated to the exhibition hall at street level. “It was crazy. There was a lot of windows breaking and stuff falling,” said Terrence Evans, a valet at the hotel.

At Centennial Olympic Park, located near CNN and the Omni Hotel, two Olympic torch sculptures had fallen over, and a performance pavilion was destroyed. A high-rise dorm at Georgia State University was damaged by the tornado, as evidenced by a large hole in the building’s 14th floor. University students were evacuated on buses.

According to Georgia Power, more than 13,000 of their customers are currently without electricity. Crews are working to fix downed power lines, but they said it would be difficult with all the debris.

Another large storm, currently in Mississippi, is heading towards Atlanta, and is forecast to arrive around 3 p.m. National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Leary said Friday’s storm could be “nothing to compare with what’s coming in tomorrow”.

All downtown events scheduled to occur Saturday have been cancelled. This includes the city’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade. The remaining SEC tournament games are to be played at Georgia Tech‘s Alexander Memorial Coliseum, located in the undamaged midtown.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued proposed calorie labeling rules requiring most retail food vendors to display the calorie counts in items on their menus and menu boards. The proposed rules, issued Friday and expected to be finalized in 2012, would apply to most restaurants, snack bars, vending machines, coffee shops, drive-through restaurants, and convenience and grocery stores.

The US Congress required the rules in the health-care reform law passed in 2010. The rules proposed by the FDA must undergo a public comment period before they are finalized and take effect, said Michael R. Taylor, Deputy Director for Foods at the FDA.

The proposed regulations pertain to businesses devoting more than 50 percent of their floor space to the sale of food or that consider themselves restaurants, specifically food-selling chains with at least 20 stores nationally. Included are candy stores, bakeries, and ice-cream parlors.

The FDA’s proposed guidelines specify that chains post the calorie counts of foods and drinks on menus and menu boards or next to the food item, such as at a salad bar. The menu is to prominently exhibit the calorie content of each item in a way customers can see easily, giving them the same information packaged foods prepared at home currently provide. The information must be displayed in “clear and conspicuous” print and colors.

Many cities and states have passed laws requiring calorie labeling on menus, beginning with New York City in 2008. California implemented a similar law in January, although many counties are waiting for the release of the federal guidelines before they begin enforcement. Some fast-food chains there, such as McDonald’s and Starbucks, are displaying calorie counts on menus in some of their stores.

The rules are intended to curb the national obesity epidemic since, according to FDA estimates, one third of the calories people consume yearly come from food eaten out. In a statement issued yesterday, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services said, “Giving consumers clear nutritional information makes it easier for them to choose healthier options that can help fight obesity and make us all healthier.”

Excluded from the rules are businesses whose primary product is not food sales but that sell it, such as bowling alleys, airports and airplanes, amusement parks, hotels and movie theaters. Alcohol is also excluded.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The mystery of the location of a viewpoint used by English painter John Constable has been solved, after nearly 200 years. The Stour Valley and Dedham Church was painted in Suffolk, England, between 1814 and 1815, but changes to the landscape meant that the spot he chose was not known, despite the best efforts of historians and art experts.

Now the puzzle has been answered. Martin Atkinson, who works for the National Trust as property manager for East Suffolk, used clues from the painting and looked at old maps to track down the viewpoint. Trees had grown, a hedgerow had been planted and boundaries had moved or disappeared, but Atkinson eventually worked out where Constable had stood. He said, “When I discovered that I had worked out the location where Constable painted this particular masterpiece, I couldn’t believe it. All the pieces of the jigsaw finally fitted together.”

Atkinson used an 1817 map of East Bergholt, where Constable grew up, as a reference point, but found that the view would have changed not long after the painting was completed. “The foreground didn’t fit at all, it was quite unusual as we know Constable painted it in the open air so he would have been standing in the scene. The hedgerow in his work no longer exists and there’s another hedgerow that runs across the scene today which wasn’t there. When you stand on the road on which he would have stood, and use the oak tree as a reference point, you see the same view. It’s great to see where an old master stood – and be inspired by the same view,” he said.

Suffolk, where Constable painted many of his finest paintings, is often called “Constable country”. Most, but not all, of the locations that Constable depicted are known. The picture is now housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts.

Friday, January 29, 2010

The survivors from the recent 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti are now facing increasing insecurity from human traffickers and convicts escaped from collapsed prisons, officials have cautioned, even as aid is flowing into the country. The acting head of the UN’s Haitian mission, meanwhile, says that that full reconstruction could take several decades. As many as 200,000 people were killed by the tremors, which struck on January 12, and 1.5 million people have been left without homes.

Anthony Banbury, the deputy head of the UN mission in the earthquake-ravaged country, commented to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency that survivors queuing for aid sometimes turned violent. He commented that while the aid is vital for the country, “it can be a source of insecurity because it attracts big crowds and there can be disorder around food distribution.”

“[It is] absolutely necessary that we get enough food, enough water, enough shelter for the people, and enough security. I don’t think any of us are anywhere near being close to being satisfied, because so much more needs to be done,” he added. “[We must] do things smart, as well as fast, and that’s a big challenge for us now.”

The Haitian national police chief, Mario Andresol, remarked that electricity blackouts resulted in “bandits […] taking advantage to harass and rape women and young girls under the tents,” adding that 7,000 inmates of prisons escaped after the quake. “It took us five years to apprehend them. Today they are running wild.”

Further exacerbating the security situation was that the Haitian police force was largely crippled by the disaster, with hundreds of policemen either killed or missing.

“At night, people take things. But I don’t have a problem. I don’t have anything to steal.” said one local resident, Omen Cola, to AFP.

Child trafficking, meanwhile, is also an issue; it had been a chronic problem even before the earthquake. The Red Cross has started to register orphaned children, and temporarily sending some to orphanages for shelter, according to a senior advisor for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bo Viktor Nylund.

UNICEF press official Roshan Khadivi told the Xinhua news agency on Wednesday that “we are taking photos and filling in forms to get the children’s full details on file. Experience has shown us that there is at least one family member left usually. UNICEF does not believe in institutionalization in orphanages. Children need to be connected with their communities.” Khadivi noted that considering adoption would only be done if the child’s parents are not found after several months.

Sixty orphaned children, meanwhile, were transported earlier by plane to Germany, where they are to be adopted; six of them were hospitalised for fatigue and dehydration.

Edmond Mulet, the acting head of the UN mission for Haiti, told the BBC that it could take decades to fully reconstruct the country, and any recent development had been negated by the quake. “I think this is going to take many more decades than only ten years, and this is an enormous backwards step in Haiti’s development. We will not have to start from zero but from below zero,” he said.

Mulet, who is also the UN’s assistant peacekeeping operations secretary-general, said that the aid logistics were a “nightmare”. However, he said he believed the capacity to provide help was improving, saying: “All this is coming together right now. Every day you can see more and more Haitian national police on the ground, working with our troops and more and more water being distributed, so it’s a matter of time and putting all these elements together,” as quoted by the BBC.

According to the head, 200,000 heavy-duty tents had been ordered, to help people cope with the rainy season, which generally starts in May. “Of course, 200,000 family-sized tents – solid ones that can withstand a hurricane season – are not available in the market just like that, so they have to be made. It’s going to take a few days and weeks before they can arrive, but all this is coming,” Mulet noted.

The Haitian president, Rene Preval, earlier this week asked for 200,000 tents and 26 million ready-to-eat meals to be airdropped.

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Ewing, commander of Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Team, meanwhile, was concerned whether there was enough management in relief operations. “Everyone is trying to help, but it’s not as coordinated as it should be. We’re not getting aid to where it needs to go as effectively as it should be,” he told AFP.

Earlier this week, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, described the reconstruction process as being a “colossal work of reconstruction.”

“In 30 seconds, we lost nearly 60 percent of our gross domestic product, because all of Haiti’s resources were concentrated in a small area around our seat of government,” he said. “We have to decentralise. It’s the only way to be efficient. It’s also the only way to avoid the same problems happening in Haiti again.”

The UN, meanwhile, reports that international funding and aid pledges for the country have now surpassed US$2 billion worth.

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