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A compilation of brief news reports for Monday, April 9, 2007.

The New Zealand Police has reported that a three-year-old boy choked to death on Saturday afternoon, due to what they believe was a piece of candy at his birthday party.

The parents did call New Zealand’s emergency number, 1-1-1, after their son alerted his parents to the fact that he was choking. The paramedics were unable to revive the Napier boy when they arrived at the scene.

The case has been referred to a coroner.

Sources

• Nzpa. “Three year old dies after choking on candy” — Fairfax New Zealand, April 9, 2007
• “Three-year-old birthday boy chokes to death” — New Zealand Herald, April 9, 2007

Relatively unknown golfer Zach Johnson won the 71st Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Johnson shot 3-under-par 69 in Sunday’s fourth round, to win by 2 strokes over Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, and Rory Sabbattini.

Johnson won a purse worth US$1,305,000 and a lifetime qualification to the Masters Tournament, held annually at the Augusta National Golf Club.

Sources

• Press Release: Vartan Kupelian. “Johnson Proves His Mettle In Masters Victory” — The Masters Tournament, April 9, 2007
• Gene Wojciechowski. “Johnson beats Tiger at his own game” — ESPN.com, April 9, 2007
• “A strange week ends with a green jacket for Johnson” — CBS Sportsline, April 8, 2007

A couple living in New York City have decided to take a taxi all the way to Arizona. Betty and Bob Matas are retiring and leaving the city for good. What started as joke, has become reality, in part to spare their cats from traveling in a jetliner cargo-hold. They have negotiated a US$3,000 flat fee instead of the metered rate, which was estimated at US$5,000.

Sources

• “New York couple taking cab to Arizona retirement” — CNN, April 8, 2007
• “New York City Couple Hails Cab to Arizona” — Fox News, April 8, 2007

A vocational nurse working for Dr. John Capriotti, a plastic surgeon, was accused of setting the fire that wounded several and killed three people in Houston, Texas on March 28. She was allegedly trying to cover up the fact that she hadn’t completed the paperwork for an upcoming audit.

The fire began in Dr. Capriotti’s office on the fifth floor and quickly spread to the sixth. Arson investigators from the Houston Fire Department, the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had been working to determine the source of the fire.

Sources

• Anne Marie Kilday. “Bond set at $330,000 for nurse in fatal fire” — Houston Chronicle, April 8, 2007
• Associated Press. “Woman afraid of losing job confesses to fatal fire” — The Dallas Morning News, April 8, 2007
• Kimberly Pina. “Area fire departments evaluate high-rise strategy” — Houston Chronicle, April 6, 2007
• Joe Stinebaker. “3 dead in Houston office building fire” — Lexington Herald-Leader, March 29, 2007

Iran announced that it has started industrial scale production of nuclear fuel involving hundreds of centrifuges. The announcement comes as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reasserts his nation’s nuclear rights in the face of two rounds of sanctions by the UN Security Council, which is seeking a halt to such work.

The United States denounced the declaration, saying it showed Iran was defying the international community.

Sources

• Parisa Hafezi. “Iran announces “industrial” nuclear fuel work” — Reuters, April 9, 2007
• Marc Wolfensberger and Patrick Donahue. “Iran Says Nuclear Enrichment Reaches Industrial Scale” — Bloomberg L.P., April 9, 2007
• “President: Iran to generate nuclear power on schedule” — Islamic Republic News Agency, April 9, 2007

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

The Columbia University campus in New York City erupted today in protest over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad‘s debate with Columbia President Lee Bollinger. Ahmadinejad’s presence on one of the United States’ most prestigious universities brought out protesters from many causes to make their opinions known: whether Ahmadinejad should speak or not, the war in Iraq, Israel,George W. Bush, American imperialism‘, God and morality, all of which created a powder keg of opinions which made the air feel as if at any moment it would explode into fisticuffs.

Ahmadinejad has been widely criticized for his anti-semitic remarks and as a holocaust denier, as well as Iran’s support for terrorism. He also believes that 9/11 was an “inside job”, involving Israel’s Mossad or American ‘intelligence and security services.’ 9/11 family members have been loudly critical of Ahmadinejad, since last week when he requested a visit to Ground Zero to lay a wreath — what has been widely viewed as a photo op.

The New York tabloid press splashed their covers with antagonizing headlines. The Daily News ran the headline “The evil has landed” and The New York Post labeled Ahmadinejad the “Madman Iran Prez”. Since New York hosts the headquarters of the United Nations, whose charter requires that all member nations have access to the governing body, delegations of governments identified as enemies of the United States –North Korea, Cuba, Iran– live and work in the city. At times, their governments come to address the governing body, as the Iranian President did on Monday.

Ahmadinejad’s presence tore apart the usually close-knit community of students and academics that inhabit Columbia’s enclave in Morningside Heights. “A high-quality academic discussion depends on intellectual honesty,” wrote Columbia Law Dean David M. Schizer, “but, unfortunately, Mr. Ahmadinejad has proven himself, time and again, to be uninterested in whether his words are true. Therefore, my personal opinion is that he should not be invited to speak.” The Columbia Conservative Alumni Association said “the university is extending not a courtesy, but continuing a policy of anti-Israeli and anti-American leftist nihilism under the guise of academic freedom.”

Richard Bulliet, an Iranian expert at Columbia who was instrumental in arranging the visit, defended the notion that it is imperative to listen to one’s enemies. “If there is any likelihood of war between the U.S. and Iran, it is important for Americans to have some access to the direct words of the president of the other country. At least they are getting Ahmadinejad’s views directly from him and not a reporter who has an ax to grind.”

Sunsara Taylor, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party and a student, had a mixed view. Although in theory Taylor did not have an issue with the Iranian President’s presence on campus, she had a problem with “The event without any intervention or debate from the students…is reinforcing a bad dynamic where people feel they need to choose between Islamic Fundamentalism and U.S. Imperialism. I think it’s fine for him to speak, but I think it’s a responsibility of people in this country not to be bamboozled into going along with a war against a country’s people just because that country’s leader is a reactionary.”

Sunday, January 20, 2008

The Standard Chartered Marathon, nicknamed “The Greatest Race on Earth“, held its third stage in Mumbai, India today. Because of the scorching hot weather in India, marathon runners had to adapt to the weather to overcome the challenge.

More than 30,000 runners participated in this race, joined by local NGOs and disabled who participated in a special charity short-distance running including 6km dream run, 4.3 km senior, and 2.5km wheel-chair classes. Gabriela Szabo, former Romanian Olympic Gold Medalist, named as charity ambassador of the race, was pleased by the participation from experts and NGOs.

An hour into the race, former champion Daniel Rono and Joseph Kimisi took the lead, but then Tariku Jifar from Ethiopia and defending champion John Ekiru Kelai took over Rono and Kimisi. After 40 kilometres, Kelai took a decisive lead and finally retained his champion title in 2 hours 12 minutes 22 seconds.

In the Women’s Group, Mulu Seboka from Ethiopia won the champion with 2H30m03s. Local runners Surendra Singh & Kavita Raut won the Men’s and Women’s Champions in the half-marathon class.

Friday, May 30, 2008

In May 2008, the candidates of the United States presidential election campaigned and faced questions on as wide ranging issues as assassination, Hitler and the death of one’s political career. The month more clearly showed who the Democratic Party candidate would be, and potentially narrowed the field for the Vice-Presidential race in the Republican Party. A third-party candidate also emerged who could potentially change the outcome of the election.

Democrats

• Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky and West Virginia Primaries by a wide margin and narrowly won in Indiana despite calls from prominent Democrats for her to drop out of the race after heavy losses in the North Carolina and Oregon primaries.
• Barack Obama’s victories in North Carolina and Oregon propelled him to large leads in the delegate count, and he picked up new superdelegates at a higher rate than Hillary Clinton, including the endorsement of former candidate John Edwards. Members of the press including George Stephanopoulos and Tim Russert declared Obama as the Democratic candidate with Russert asserting “We now know who the Democratic nominee’s going to be, and no one’s going to dispute it.”
• Hillary Clinton continued her push to count the delegates from Florida and Michigan where she won, but whose votes were not being counted because of the state’s breach of DNC rules by holding the primaries too early. Barack Obama was not on the ballots when these states held their primaries.
• A series of gaffes by the candidates included Barack Obama stating that he had visited 57 states, and Hillary Clinton declaring that anything could happen in the election in June stating “We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California”. The former, persuaded columnist Michelle Malkin to publish an article “Gaffe machine” that chronicled campaign gaffes made by Obama as a candidate. The latter, was perceived by some as alluding to the possibility that Obama could be assassinated as Robert Kennedy in 1968.

Republicans

• Presumptive nominee John McCain attacked Barack Obama over his comments that compared the Soviet Union to the threat of Iran, describing the latter as a “tiny” threat. McCain stated that Obama had exhibited “inexperience and reckless judgment” in his assessment. Obama responded by stating “that the Soviet Union had the ability to destroy the world several times over, had satellites spanning the globe, had huge masses of conventional military power, all directed at destroying us.” The back and forth followed a debate between President Bush and Obama over Bush’s assessment that Obama’s position to talk to Iran was representative of appeasement.
• Media reports surfaced of McCain supporter and preacher John Hagee‘s comments from 2007 that “the force and fear of Hitler’s Nazis drove the Jewish people back to the only home God ever intended for the Jews to have: Israel.” McCain immediately rejected the endorsement of Hagee after hearing reports of the comments.
• John McCain’s search for a running mate continued as the senator invited three candidates to his ranch in Arizona. McCain invited former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Florida governor Charlie Crist, and the youngest governor in the nation, Indian-American Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. The invitations led to speculation that the McCain campaign had narrowed the vice-presidential nomination search to the three.

Third Parties

• At the Libertarian Party convention, former GOP Congressman Bob Barr was nominated as the party’s presidential nominee on its sixth ballot. Wayne Allyn Root was named his running mate. Barr had entered the race two weeks prior to the nomination and was considered to be a possible spoiler for the Republicans in November because of Barr’s conservative positions.
• Also at the Libertarian Party convention, former Democratic Senator Mike Gravel ended his political career after losing on the fourth ballot. He stated, “From 15 years old to now, my political career is over, and it’s no big deal. I’m a writer, I’m a lecturer, I’m going to push the issues of freedom and liberty. I’m going to push those issues until the day I die.”

Monday, January 7, 2008

Christopher Lee McCuin, 25, from Tyler, Texas in the United States has been arrested after police found him possibly preparing to eat the body parts of his dead girlfriend, Jana Shearer aged 21. He was also charged with stabbing his ex-wife’s boyfriend, William Veasley, 42.

According to reports, Shearer’s mother was told by McCuin to “look in the garage” where she discovered the mutilated body of her daughter. She then flagged down a police officer on the road.

McCuin called 911 after the mother left the house. According to reports, he told the dispatcher that he was boiling Shearer’s body parts and preparing to eat them. When police got to his home, they discovered one of Shearer’s ears boiling in a pot, and an unnamed piece of her flesh on the kitchen table, with silverware placed beside it. The rest of her body had several “chunks” missing from it, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph quoting Sheriff J.B. Smith of the Smith County Sheriff’s Department.

Police later found out that McCuin had stabbed his ex-wife’s boyfriend, and also broke into Tyler Custom Openings, a local business, sometime on Friday or Saturday. He started by going to Shearer’s home on Friday January 4 to have a discussion with her, but she was never seen alive again. Before stabbing Veasley, he beat Shearer “with a blunt object, multiple times” to death. On Saturday morning, he arrived at his ex-wife’s home and fought with Veasley, stabbing him. He is currently in critical condition at a local hospital.

McCuin then broke into the Tyler Custom Openings and then went to his mother’s house where he took her to his home to show her what he had done. Although McCuin was inside the house when police arrived, he was able to escape and was chased for a short distance before being caught again.

McCuin is currently being held on a US$2,000,000 bail at Smith County jail.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Microsoft announced on Thursday they are partnering with KIND Financial to help governments track the production and distribution of legal marijuana. Kind Financial, a California-based start-up company, began selling its Agrisoft Seed to Sale software three years ago. Microsoft is admitting Kind’s software on the Government portion of its Azure cloud service.

Although Kind Financial CEO David Dinenberg stressed to The Guardian they “absolutely do not touch the plant”, his company does business with growers and distributors of marijuana, as well as the governments that regulate it. State law in twenty-five US states — but not US federal law — has legalized marijuana, whether medicinally or for recreational use. Kimberly Nelson, Microsoft executive director of state and local government solutions, said they expect significant demand for technology to help states make sure cannabis distribution within their state is done according to their laws.

Kind also provides kiosks similar to automated tellers (ATMs) to facilitate marijuana transactions in dispensaries. The distribution of marijuana is often done only with cash or through machines like the ones Kind offers since many banks in the United States shy away from the marijuana industry entirely. Microsoft is not interacting with this part of Kind’s operations, however.

Microsoft and Kind will apply for contracts with state governments for their software. Currently, they have applied to Puerto Rico, a US territory, where medical marijuana has recently been made legal. BioTrackTHC, a company similar to Kind Financial, already has contracts with Washington, New Mexico, and Illinois.

Dinenberg said his company’s partnership with Microsoft is a major step in advancing the legitimacy of cannabis-related businesses.