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Monday, August 11, 2008 In November 2007, a twin-engine 30-year-old Piper aircraft lost all electrical power on board shortly after departing from Kerry airport in Ireland for a flight to Jersey. Without any electrical power, the pilot was unable to use his radio to contact air traffic control. He was briefly able to re-establish contact with the tower using his cell phone, but that was also disrupted. The report into the incident published on August 6 revealed how a quick-thinking air traffic controller in Cork started sending directions to the pilot by text message. With this assistance, the plane, with five people on board, landed safely after the undercarriage was lowered manually and air traffic control visually confirmed that it was down. Prior to lowering the undercarriage, the first officer noticed that the nose wheel had failed to retract fully and was actually at half its travel. “In this incident…

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Here’s An Opinion On: Used Excavator Price Construction Equipment byAlma Abell We all know that drinking or doing drugs before driving is dangerous, but there are other times where intoxication may be illegal. There are ways to commit DUI without being behind the wheel and being aware of some of the odd laws can keep a night on the town from turning into a legal hassle. Other Forms of DUI One of the biggest intoxication-related crimes is DUI. For a DUI to occur, a defendant must operate a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. However, the term “vehicle” is open to interpretation. Motorcycles immediately come to mind, but in some places, a non-motorized vehicle may be a part of a DUI case. Some jurisdictions treat bicycles the same as motor vehicles and riding while intoxicated would be the same as any other DUI. In some areas, large…

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Saturday, October 21, 2006 Evangelist Kent Hovind and his wife, Jo, are trying to convince a federal jury that their money from video and amusement park admission sales belong to God and cannot be taxed. The trial began at United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida on Tuesday October 18, 2006 after twelve jury members and two alternates were selected to decide on the 58 federal courts against Hovind and his wife. The trial was expected to take at least two weeks to complete with the prosecution hoping to rest its case Tuesday, but a defense attorney became ill and the Judge delayed the trial until October 30th. Hovind is a Young Earth creationist who does many speaking engagements and debates. He also sells videos giving a pro-creationism perspective, which he receives income for. Hovind, who calls himself “Dr. Dino”, received a Ph.D in “Christian education” from…

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Sunday, August 21, 2005 A robotic system at Stanford Medical Center was used to perform a laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery successfully with a theoretically similar rate of complications to that seen in standard operations. However, as there were only 10 people in the experimental group (and another 10 in the control group), this is not a statistically significant sample. If this surgical procedure is as successful in large-scale studies, it may lead the way for the use of robotic surgery in even more delicate procedures, such as heart surgery. Note that this is not a fully automated system, as a human doctor controls the operation via remote control. Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is a treatment for obesity. There were concerns that doctors, in the future, might only be trained in the remote control procedure. Ronald G. Latimer, M.D., of Santa Barbara, CA, warned “The fact that surgeons may have to…

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Here’s An Opinion On: Music School Sydney Brisbane Music School Submitted by: Rihan Gregor We live in a modern world where the human race is undergoing population explosion; and where the development of technology is racing against the tick of the clock and continuously advancing. This advancement is usually only in regards to the benefit of the human race and forgets the needs of other species. Mans effect on the environment is now obviously coming back to haunt us global warming, calamities, natural disasters, and a growing number of endangered species that affect the ecosystem all these contribute to a possible global destruction. We need to be alarmed. We need to make a change. Environmental Science Online Courses makes this mission and vision possible. Environmental Science Courses work on the understanding of earth processes, evaluating alternative energy system, pollution control, natural resource management, and the effects of global climate change.…

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Monday, November 28, 2005 SpaceX called off the much-delayed inaugural launch of their new Falcon 1 rocket on Saturday from Kwajalein’s Omelek Island launch site. The intent was to launch the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 2 satellite, which will monitor plasma interactions with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere. The launch was delayed, then finally cancelled after an oxygen boil-off vent had accidentally been left open. The oxygen was unable to cool the helium pressurant, which then proceeded to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. A main computer issue, probably serious enough to cause a scrub on its own, was also discovered. This long-anticipated flight was originally expected to be launched in January 2005, however a series of setbacks forced a series of delays, with the flight most recently scheduled to be in early 2006. It was intended to be launched from the Kwajalein atoll in the middle…

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Thursday, December 13, 2007 Victoria Wyndham was one of the most seasoned and accomplished actresses in daytime soap opera television. She played Rachel Cory, the maven of Another World‘s fictional town, Bay City, from 1972 to 1999 when the show went off the air. Wyndham talks about how she was seen as the anchor of a show, and the political infighting to keep it on the air as NBC wanted to wrest control of the long-running soap from Procter & Gamble. Wyndham fought to keep it on the air, but eventually succumbed to the inevitable. She discusses life on the soap opera, and the seven years she spent wandering “in the woods” of Los Angeles seeking direction, now divorced from a character who had come to define her professional career. Happy, healthy and with a family she is proud of, Wyndham has found life after the death of Another World…

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Thursday, June 25, 2015 Live music venues in Edinburgh, Scotland are awaiting a review later this year on the 2005 licensing policy, which places limitations on the volume of amplified music in the city. Investigating into how the policy is affecting the Edinburgh music scene, a group of Wikinews writers interviewed venue owners, academics, the City of Edinburgh Council, and local band The Mean Reds to get different perspectives on the issue. Since the clause was introduced by the government of the city of Edinburgh, licensed venues have been prohibited from allowing music to be amplified to the extent it is audible to nearby residential properties. This has affected the live music scene, with several venues discontinuing regular events such as open mic nights, and hosting bands and artists. Currently, the licensing policy allows licensing standards officers to order a venue to cease live music on any particular night, based…

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Here’s An Opinion On: Financial Planning Services Best Financial Advice By Richard Armen In today’s world, the danger that a stalker presents is serious business. Although there are various steps that you can take to help limit the possibility that you may acquire a stalker, it is sometimes inevitable. There are a number of tell-tale signs that you may have a stalker. If you think someone may be stalking or following you, can consult the authorities and take action to limit the amount of danger presented by your stalker. 1) Understand the potential for stalking. Stalking is a type of intimidation and harassment that usually stems from a stalker not understanding the nature of a relationship. For example, if you’ve recently turned someone down for a date and they don’t seem to fully grasp the situation, you may be in danger. Stalking does not just include following you; often, these…

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Thursday, July 3, 2014 Ian Narev, the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, this morning “unreservedly” apologised to clients who lost money in a scandal involving the bank’s financial planning services arm. Last week, a Senate enquiry found financial advisers from the Commonwealth Bank had made high-risk investments of clients’ money without the clients’ permission, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars lost. The Senate enquiry called for a Royal Commission into the bank, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Mr Narev stated the bank’s performance in providing financial advice was “unacceptable”, and the bank was launching a scheme to compensate clients who lost money due to the planners’ actions. In a statement Mr Narev said, “Poor advice provided by some of our advisers between 2003 and 2012 caused financial loss and distress and I am truly sorry for that. […] There have been changes in management,…

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