Friday, November 11, 2005

The new Australian industrial relations legislation, dubbed “WorkChoices” by the Government, passed the House of Representatives November 10. It is to be considered next by the Senate.

The House session became tumultuous, with the Leader of the House Tony Abbott moving a motion to permit an hour to the consideration in detail stage of the bill, comparing the amount of debate on other bills to this one, stating “we have had very, very extensive debate” and that “members opposite are not interested in debating this bill, they are not interested in trying to improve this bill; they simply want to reject this bill”. The Manager of Opposition Business in the House, Julia Gillard (Abbott’s opposition counterpart), had noted that “more than 20 Labor members are going to be silenced by this motion which is gagging debate”, and when Abbott moved to put the question, “and, here we go, we are going to have a gag on a gag. You’re proud of that, are you? You’re proud of that?”

As Annette Ellis amongst others was one of the aforementioned speakers who had not the time to speak in the debate, she asked whether she could incorporate her speech into Hansard — the Government granted leave for all speakers who intended to speak but could not to incorporate their speeches into Hansard.

In the consideration in detail stage, the Federal Opposition had moved a number of amendments to the legislation, one which would effectively — as Stephen Smith had put it — “kill the bill”, another which would rename the bill to the “Workplace Relations Amendment (Cut Wages, Cut Conditions and Entitlements, No Fairness, No Work Choices) Bill 2005”, but this amendment was ruled out of order by the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, David Hawker.

These amendments failed due to the Government majority in the house, and subsequently the bill was successfully read a third time.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

On Thursday local time, the government of Samoa began a planned two-day shutdown to make way for a nationwide vaccination campaign to combat the measles outbreak that had, by reports, infected over 4,200 of the island nation’s roughly 200,0000 residents since October and killed at least 62, including, according to government reports, 54 small children. Residents were told to stay off the roads and businesses and ferries were closed to make way for vaccination teams.

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi noted on Monday, the fatalities were all unvaccinated.

The only civil servants not assigned to assist in the vaccination effort were those working on water and electricity.

In remarks to the Agence France-Presse news service, Sheldon Yett of UNICEF observed, “I’ve seen mass mobilisation campaigns before, but not over an entire country like this[.]”

Households with at least one unvaccinated person were asked to place a red flag somewhere visible. This included the home of Prime Minister Tuilaepa, who told the press his nephew needed a dose.

The vaccination drive itself started November 20. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccination before the outbreak began covered only about 31 percent of Samoans. Al Jazeera reported on Thursday, coverage had risen to 55 percent. According to Yett, the goal for the two-day shut down was to exceed 90 percent.

Earlier this week, an official government Twitter account made the following announcement: “Latest update: 3,728 measles cases have been reported since the outbreak with 198 recorded in the last 24 hours. To date, 53 measles related deaths have been recorded. Since the Mass Vaccination Campaign on 20 Nov 2019, the Ministry has successfully vaccinated 58,150 individuals.” Since then, the government has reported more cases of measles, including 165 in the single day before the shutdown began.

When announcing the shutdown on Monday, Prime Minister Tuilaepa called on “village councils, faith-based organizations, and church leaders, village mayors and government women representatives” to instill confidence in vaccines in the public.

Samoan vaccination rates dropped in 2018 after two small children died from a faulty vaccine. According to Samoa Observer editor Keni Lesa, the anti-vaccine movement was able to tap into the resulting public mistrust and “really hammer home their message.”

The Samoan government declared a state of emergency on November 15, shut down all schools as of November 17, and later banned children from public gatherings in an effort to curb the spread of the disease.

According to the WHO, the number of cases of measles globally in the first half of this year exceeded those of any other whole year since 2006. Various countries, including the United States, have seen marked increases in measles cases in recent years.

Measles affects the respiratory system. It often involves rashes and fever but it can be much more serious. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, one out of every thousand children who contract measles develop encephalitis, which can cause deafness or brain damage.

Measles is one of several diseases that drastically reduced the indigenous population of Pacific island nations and the Americas after first contact with Europeans. The first measles vaccine was introduced in the 1960s, and the incidence dropped, in some cases to almost zero, in parts of the world in which its use became widespread. It has since seen a resurgence partly due to vaccine hesitancy and vaccine inaccessibility.

Friday, January 29, 2010

According to official data, the US economy grew by an annualised rate of 5.7% in the last quarter of last year.

The figure is still an initial estimate, but was higher than the 2.2% annualised growth recorded in the third quarter of the year. Economic analysts polled by the Reuters news agency had predicted a 4.6% rise.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis, which releases the economy growth reports, noted that the figures were based on estimates and incomplete data, and might be revised later.

Christina Romer, an economist for the White House, described the growth as being “the most positive news to date on the economy”, saying: “It is important not to read too much into a single report, positive or negative. There will surely be bumps in the road ahead. Nonetheless, today’s report is a welcome piece of encouraging news.”

Jack Ablin, chief investment officer for Harris Private Bank in Chicago, Illinois, remarked that “it’s [the number] very solid and gives us a running start into the second half of the year when we can’t rely on government stimulus. That’s part of the plan, to get us moving as fast as possible so when life support is removed we’ll have a pulse.”

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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

What would you tell your grandchildren about 2008 if they asked you about it in, let’s say, 20 years’ time? If the answer to a quiz question was 2008, what would the question be? The year that markets collapsed, or perhaps the year that Obama became US president? Or the year Heath Ledger died?

Let’s take a look at some of the important stories of 2008. Links to the original Wikinews articles are in all the titles.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

US Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has been confirmed by the US Senate by a vote of 63–37 and will be sworn in Saturday by Chief Justice John Roberts as a Supreme Court Associate Justice.

Shortly after the Senate vote, Justice Roberts offered the 50-year-old Kagan “warm congratulations,” according to Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg. 56 Democrats, five Republicans, and two Independents voted to confirm Kagan. 35 Republicans and one Democrat voted against her. The Republicans that voted for Kagan were Richard Lugar of Indiana, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine. Democrat Ben Nelson, of Nebraska, voted against Kagan.

“I am confident that Elena Kagan will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice,” said US president Barack Obama after Kagan was confirmed. Obama also said that Kagan would have a positive impact on the conservative-majority court because she “understands that the law isn’t just an abstraction or an intellectual exercise” and that “she knows that the Supreme Court’s decisions shape not just the character of our democracy, but the circumstances of our daily lives.” Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (Democrat-Vermont) also said that Kagan’s confirmation was “long, long overdue.”

Kagan is a former dean of the Harvard Law School, a legal adviser during the Clinton administration, and the US Solicitor General in the current Obama administration. She becomes the fourth woman ever to serve on the court and will become the third current female justice, joining Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor was also appointed by Obama and confirmed by the Senate by a 68–31 vote. Kagan replaces retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, who is the leading liberal on the court.

Thursday, November 2, 2006

Winter Haven, Florida police chief Paul Goward was tired of seeing fat hanging out over the belts of some of his officers. So he posted a memo to encourage the so-called ‘jelly bellies’ to get in shape.

The memo, entitled ‘Are You A Jelly Belly?’ didn’t single anyone out, and, apart from the title, didn’t call anyone names.

Goward, a former deputy police chief in Wichita, wrote “If you are unfit, do yourself and everyone else a favor. See a professional about a proper diet and a fitness training program, quit smoking, limit alcohol intake…Don’t mean to offend, this is just straight talk. I owe it to you.”

It provided a list of 10 reasons cops should get fit. Goward said that overweight cops poorly represent the profession, are liable to ‘poop out’ when chasing suspects, and may have to use a higher degree of force.

In the end, Goward resigned from his position as police chief.