Sunday, June 1, 2008

A couple from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada has been arrested on charges of public mischief after listing their seven day old baby girl on the popular Internet classified ads website Craigslist.

The listing claimed that the baby was unexpected, “healthy and very cute”. It asked CAN 10 000 for the baby. It also listed a phone number belonging to a stolen cellphone, which was used to find the couple.

It was first noticed by a 62-year old grandmother browsing the website for furniture, who said “I was shaking, and I thought, ‘Come on, how did this even get through?'” The couple claimed that the listing, which has since been removed, was a hoax.

The father, Jeremy Pete, had a history of car thefts and evasion of police, while the mother, 23-year-old Bethany Granholm, had convictions of property theft, fraud and impersonation. The parents have now been released, but charges are still being considered. The baby has been placed in provincial care.

A suspected copycat incident occurred just four days later, also offering a seven-day-old baby girl for CAN 10 000 on Craigslist. This incident turned out to be a hoax, and no child was in danger.

Last week saw a similar incident in Germany, where a couple listed a seven month old baby on eBay. In this case the police have launched a child trafficking investigation, despite the parents’ assertion that the listing was a joke.

Monday, August 7, 2006

Television New Zealand (TVNZ) has today won a legal battle in which they will now be able to broadcast footage of two French spies pleading guilty to manslaughter in relation to the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.

The two French spies, Alan Mafart and Dominique Prieur, have been fighting TVNZ to keep it from broadcasting footage where they are shown pleading guilty of manslaughter for the killing of freelance photographer Fernando Pereira during the 1985 bombing of Rainbow Warrior.

Three Court of Appeal judges decided unanimously to uphold a 2005 High Court judgement. They ruled that “The privacy interests of the two spies did not outweigh the public interest in the the [sic] case, given its historic significance.” The Appeal Court also added that the reason they dismissed the appeal was because the two spies “Have published books about their actions, saying they have effectively courted publicity and diminished their privacy interests.”

TVNZ had originally wanted to broadcast the footage on its Sunday 20-year anniversary special on the July 10, 1985 bombing of the Rainbow Warrior. Damien Comerford, executive producer of TVNZ’s Sunday programme, said “The footage is hugely significant.”

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, will become the first southeastern European city to host CowParade.

Between June 1 and the end of August this year, the city will be flooded by herds of decorated cow sculptures, exhibited at well-known landmarks, such as The Palace of the Parliament, Europe’s largest building, as well as on the streets and outside metro stations. Over 3000 local and international artists will participate in the event, decorating more than 100 life-sized fibreglass cows. The decorated cows will feature Romanian and Bucharestean themes, as well as issues related to international city life.

After the event ends, all the cows will be auctioned off, with the proceeds donated to the Special Olympics Romania, a charity helping athletes with mental disabilities. The Bucharest CowParade is organised by Event Horizon, a Romanian marketing consultancy.

CowParade, which was first held in Zurich in 1998, has been held in 22 cities in 5 continents and is today the world’s largest public art event.

Bucharest was chosen from over 500 other candidate cities and has waited for the event for a couple of years. The new local government in Bucharest wants to relaunch the city’s image as a creative and colourful metropolis and have therefore enthusiastically supported the exhibition. The high-profile event is expected to boost the image of Bucharest worldwide, especially in the artistic scene.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

This year’s Leisure Taiwan trade show (a.k.a Taiwan Sport Recreation and Leisure Show) started yesterday, with 131 companies participating including sports media companies such as ESPN and VideoLand Television, businesses selling sports equipment and fitness clubs.

There were also a variety of sports being played in the arena built for the trade show. The events included a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, free style shooting, and bicycle test-riding. In addition, conferences discussed issues related to sports and physical education.

A major topic in the trade show was energy-efficiency and, as a result, bicycles and similar sports equipment were being heavily promoted.

Next Tuesday, companies from the electronics industry plan to promote their industry at “2008 Digital E-Park.” In previous years, organizations from the electronics industry have showcased their products at Leisure Taiwan instead of at the Digital E-Park, so this move has reduced the number of markets covered by Leisure Taiwan.

Monday, February 21, 2005

Los Angeles, California –A simple saliva test can predict whether children will get cavities, how many cavities they will get and which teeth are most vulnerable.

Developed by researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the test quantifies the genetic component of tooth decay, spotting the risk when something can be done about it.

“When we apply this to young children, it allows us to predict what might be their future caries history—the number of cavities that they’ll get by, say, their late 20s or early 30s,” says researcher Paul Denny.

Called the Caries Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) test, the test measures the relative proportions in saliva of different types of sugar chains called oligosaccharides. The same sugar chains are present on tooth surfaces.

The effect of sugar chains on teeth’s resistance to disease is analogous to the effect of “good” and “bad” cholesterol on blood vessels. “Good” sugar chains tend to repel bacteria that cause cavities while “bad” allow bacteria to bond to teeth and start the decay process. Unlike cholesterol, however, sugar chain makeup in humans is 100% genetically determined.

Denny and colleagues have found that the sugar chain makeup in saliva can predict a child’s future cavity history to plus or minus one cavity with greater than 98% confidence.

The findings suggest that in developed areas of the modern era genes play a more significant role in tooth decay than in former times or third world nations where gross malnutrition and negligent oral hygiene held the greatest impact on dental health.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The Bathurst Regional Council has begun preparing the Mount Panorama motor racing circuit for the inaugural Bathurst International Motorsport Festival (BIMF) to be held between April 13 and 16, 2006. The Mount Panorama motor racing circuit is considered to be the home of motorsport in Australia.

Council’s staff have been busy cleaning the facilities, erecting signage, checking pedestrian bridges and inspecting the track surface for the past few days.

The BIMF will be the first event to be held at the 6.2 kilometre circuit over Easter since 2000. In 2000, Event Management Specialists held the first motorcycle racing event since 1990, but due to EMS going bankrupt a short time after their 2000 event was ran and the inability of the then Bathurst City Council to find another promoter, the Easter event was canned.

The BIMF is inspired by the Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival in the United Kingdom. The Bathurst Regional Council and event promoter Global Entertainment Team promise that the event “will cater for all motoring enthusiasts, collectors and historians”.

According to the BIMF website, the on-track program consists of:

• Manufacturers showcasing their vehicles and track times
• Historic touring car races
• Aussie racing car races
• Australian GT sports car
• Parade laps by car clubs
• Parade laps and races by “Legends of Motorsport”
• Stunt car and bike events
• Rally cars
• Displays of cars from all eras of Mount Panorama’s history
• The chance for patrons to purchase a ride around the circuit in a race car.

Off the track, the organisers have promised manufacturer displays, merchandise stands, music, joyflights, Off-road demonstrations and joyrides, autograph sessions and interviews with influential people in the Australian motor industry.