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Sunday, August 20, 2006

Melbourne man Jack Thomas has been acquitted of terrorism offences in Victoria’s Court of Appeal. His convictions for receiving funds from a terror group and using a false passport were quashed on Friday. Mr Thomas was earlier sentenced to five years in jail.

Jack Thomas, 33, known as “Jihad Jack” was convicted under new Australian anti-terror laws. He was found guilty in February of accepting cash and a plane ticket from an al-Qaeda agent in Pakistan. But was cleared of ‘intentionally providing resources for al-Qaeda’. The former taxi driver was sentenced to five years in prison in March.

The Court of Appeal ruled Thomas’s interview with Australian Federal Police (AFP) in Pakistan was inadmissible. Thomas appealed his conviction on the grounds that interviews conducted in Pakistan after his arrest in 2003 breached Australian law and should not have been allowed as evidence at his trial.

He was interviewed without access to a lawyer, having already been interrogated during two months in custody in Pakistan. Mr Thomas’ lawyers argued that he was earlier threatened with torture from foreign security agencies.

His lawyer said Mr Thomas, who is married and has three children, accepted the money and plane ticket because he wanted to return home. Mr Thomas said he never had any intention of becoming an al-Qaeda operative.

Lawyer Rob Stary said Thomas wanted to thank his legal team and staff at a hospital he had spent the past several months in psychiatric care. “He’s in a debilitated condition as a result of what’s transpired,” Mr Stary said.

Liberty Victoria president Brian Walters, SC, welcomed the decision, saying: “We believe that the Court of Appeal has righted a great injustice.”

Prosecutor Nick Robinson is calling for a retrial based on a television interview with the ABC. The defence counsel has labelled the submission “bloody-minded.” Rob Stary said the defence team would counter with arguments that prosecutors withheld a statement from a prisoner now held overseas. “The AFP has withheld important information that would have contradicted other evidence,” he said.

Thomas’ brother, Les, who took part in a protest rally outside Barwon Prison this weekend in support of 13 detainees facing charges of “terrorism”, said the 13 Melbourne men faced a similar predicament to his brother.

Les Thomas said the 13 were victims of a government “scare campaign” and “media demonisation” and were being held in solitary confinement in Barwon’s high security Acacia Unit, despite not being convicted of any crime. He said the men faced greater “persecution” than he claimed his brother had faced because most were of Middle Eastern background. “These people have not been convicted of any crime, but they’re already being punished in extremely punitive circumstances,” said Les Thomas.

Ten of the 13 were arrested in pre-dawn police raids in Melbourne and Sydney last November, and another three were arrested in March this year.

Jack Thomas was the first person to be convicted under the controversial new Australian anti-terror legislation.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

California, the most populous state in the United States, is offering rebates of up to US$5000 to residents who purchase alternative fuel vehicles. $1.62 million in rebates are scheduled to be granted statewide by California Center for Sustainable Energy, an independent nonprofit organization based in San Diego.

Owners of Vectrix electric motorcycles may qualify for up to $1,500 and Global Electric Motorcars owners may receive $950 and $1,300. The largest rebates will go to owners of full-sized zero-emission cars, which have not yet been approved by the state. Compressed-gas vehicles also qualify, but the agency has already awarded its budgeted allotment for this type of vehicle.

The eligible period for purchases and leases is May 24, 2007 to March 31, 2009. Applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. A complete list of qualifying vehicles can be seen at the California Center for Sustainable Energy’s website.

The program is part of $25 million authorized in 2007 by California Assembly Bill 1811 to promote alternative fuel infrastructure and vehicles. According to the California Air Resources Board, about 25,000 dedicated alternative fuel vehicles are in use in California.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Times Square was shut down today due to a suspicious vehicle parked on 42nd Street and Broadway in New York. Police cordoned the area surrounding the white 1992 Dodge van to investigate the auto. The van has temporary license plates and tinted windows with tarps covering them.

The nearby NASDAQ building was evacuated, and reports from CBS said the Conde Nast building had been partially evacuated.

The investigation disrupted preparations for the New Year’s eve ball drop atop One Times Square, although it still appears that the celebration will continue unaffected.

The investigation comes a day after police commissioner Raymond Kelly was interviewed by local TV outlet, WNBC, about how the city is after recent terrorist activity. “Reality is that New York is the number one target in this country […] But it has been doing more than any other city in America and probably the world,” he said on the topic that New York had adequate counter-terrorism procedure. Wikinews contacted the New York City Police Department, but they had no comment about the specific issue at this time.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Saint Paul, Minnesota Mayor Chris Coleman had a close encounter with a drunk driver Thursday evening when he was rear-ended. The car wasn’t traveling much faster than 10 miles per hour, but the driver registered with a 0.26 blood alcohol level, over twice the legal limit.

Mayor Coleman was traveling in a city vehicle and accompanied by a police escort when they stopped at a red light at Victoria and Summit Avenues. At approximately 8:40pm, it was struck by the vehicle of Abbie Raymond, a 22-year-old St. Paul student, who was arrested at the scene. She was booked into the Ramsey County Jail under gross misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated. Raymond is a student at the William Mitchell School of Law. She was traveling with a passenger, another woman in her early 20s who may have also been intoxicated. They had been coming from a nearby bar or restaurant.

“The mayor is pleased there were no injuries,” said Bob Hume, a spokesman for the mayor. Both vehicles suffered only minor damage.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Since the AutoTronics Taipei was held from 2006, companies from electronic and automobile-related industries steadily made their stages and a good complementary in this trade show.

Before the first holding in 2006, because of the establishment of Car Electronics Pavilion in 2005 TAITRONICS Autumn (Taipei International Electronic Autumn Show), it (the pavilion) ever became a hot topic in these 2 industries. And eventually, Yulon Group recruited their sub-companies grouping their own pavilion to showcase automobile parts, accessories, and applications.

Currently, automobile navigation, mobile entertainment, and road safety, were included in modern automotive devices. But in a keynote speech of TARC Pavilion, Jamie Hsu (Consultant of Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Republic of the China) pointed out several threats and opportunities on the automotive industry, his words also echoed a notable quote by Yi-cheng Liu (Chairman of Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association): “The automobile industry shouldn’t be monopolized by a company or its own industry. If this industry want to be grown up, it [the industry] should do more optimizations and transformations with the other related industries like IT and electronic.”

Although some participants like Renesas, Fujitsu, MiTAC, TomTom NV, and Agilent ever participated in Taipei IT Month, CeBIT, or Computex Taipei, but there were varied comments for participation on Computex 2008.

Renesas Technology, a participant of Computex 2007, won’t showcase in Computex 2008, but Fujitsu and TomTom both declared to participate in the 2008 Taipei IT Month.

Generally in the automobile industry, progressively conformed by the other industries, its success should depend on collaborations between different and similar industries because “not any company can do any monopoly in any industry” even though the automobile industry will become a “trillion industry” not only in Taiwan.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

A Norwegian University of Science and Technology study released Thursday found electric vehicles have a potential for higher eco-toxicity and greenhouse impact than conventional cars. The study includes an examination of the electric car’s life cycle as a whole rather than a study of the electric car’s environmental impact during the use phase.

The researchers conducted a comparison of the environmental impact of electric cars in view of different ratios of green-to-fuel electricity energy sources. In the case of mostly coal- or oil-based electricity supply, electric cars are disadvantageous compared to classic diesel cars with the greenhouse effect impact being up to two times larger.

The researchers found that in Europe, electric cars pose a “10% to 24% decrease in global warming potential (GWP) relative to conventional diesel or gasoline vehicles”.

The researchers suggest to improve eco-friendliness of electric vehicles by “reducing vehicle production supply chain impacts and promoting clean electricity sources in decision making regarding electricity infrastructure” and using the electric cars for a longer time, so that the use phase plays a more important role in the electric vehicle life cycle.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Coinciding with Easter Sunday, Glasgow Cannabis Social Club’s annual 420 event was held on Glasgow Green, under sunny blue skies, and overlooking the river Clyde. Despite the city’s council attempting to revoke permission for the gathering at the last minute, police were happy for it to go-ahead with approximately a dozen officers attending in high-visibility vests.

The Daily Record reported five arrests were made for minor offences, likely smoking and possession of small quantities of cannabis. Taking a less-sensational — and more accurate — line of reporting, the Monday edition of Glasgow’s Evening News stated five were referred to the Procurator Fiscal who is responsible for deciding if charges should be brought.

Official figures provided by the police were that 150 attended. With people coming and going, Wikinews reporters estimated upwards of 200 attended, compared to nearly 700 who had signed up for the event on Facebook. Hemp goods were advertised and on sale at the event, and some attendees were seen drinking cannabis-themed energy drinks.

“I was searched and charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act (which is a lot of bollocks)” one attendee noted online, adding “not fair to happen on a brilliant day like it was, other than that I had a great day!” A second said they were openly smoking and ignored by police, who “were only really focusing on people who looked particularly young”.

Cannabis seeds were openly and legally sold at the event and a hydroponics supplier brought a motortrike towing an advertising trailer. Actually growing cannabis is, however, illegal in the UK.

With the event openly advocating the legalisation of cannabis, speakers put their arguments for this to a receptive crowd. Retired police officer James Duffy, of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, spoke of the failed United States alcohol prohibition policy; stressing such policies needlessly bring people into contact with criminal elements. Highlighting other countries where legalisation has been implemented, he pointed out such led to lower crime, and lower drug use overall.

One speaker, who produced a bottle of cannabis oil he had received through the post, asserted this cured his prostate cancer. Others highlighted the current use of Sativex by the National Health Service, with a cost in-excess of £150 for a single bottle of GW Pharmaceuticals patented spray — as-compared to the oil shown to the crowd, with a manufacturing cost of approximately £10.

Similar ‘420’ pro-cannabis events were held globally.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Toyota announced on Friday that it will recall around 17,000 Lexus vehicles in response to risks of the fuel tank in the cars leaking after a collision.

The Lexus HS 250h model was subjected to the recall following a US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation. Despite previously passing Toyota safety inspections, the conclusions of an NHTSA sub-contracted investigator were that; when the vehicles in question collided with an object at more than fifty-miles-per hour, more than 142 grams of fuel, the maximum allowed by US law, leaked from the crashed car.

According to Toyota, further tests did not show any additional failure of the fuel tank.

In response to the findings, Toyota issued a recall of all affected vehicles, since the company had no solution immediately available. The recall includes 13,000 cars already sold, as well as another 4,000 still at dealerships.

Toyota says it plans to conduct further tests to determine the cause of the leak. A Toyota spokesman, Brian Lyons, said that the company was “still working to determine what the root cause of the condition is.” It’s still unclear when exactly the recall will take place, or when dealerships will be allowed to sell this model again. Lyons said that Toyota is “working feverishly to get this resolved as soon as possible.”

Toyota isn’t aware of any accidents stemming from the leaking fuel tank in the affected vehicles, first introduced in the summer of 2009.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

A 19-year-old Oregon, U.S. resident has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction after a sting operation; authorities say Mohamed Osman Mohamud, born in Somalia, tried to detonate a van bomb using a mobile phone at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland.

The device, police stated, was fake; he reportedly obtained it from undercover agents during a sting operation. Reports say Mohamud, a US citizen, had been in regular contact with somebody in north-west Pakistan.

Authorities intercepted e-mails they say were between Mohamud and this contact in August 2009. Holton reassured Oregon residents, adding that there was “no reason to believe there is any continuing threat arising from this case”. Mohamud allegededly told an FBI agent “I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or injured.” Dwight Holton, a U.S. attorney, described Mohamud’s “chilling determination” as a “stark reminder that there are people—even here in Oregon—who are determined to kill Americans.”

An FBI agent told reporters “[t]he threat was very real. Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale. I want to reassure the people of this community that, at every turn, we denied him the ability to actually carry out the attack.” On the day of the tree lighting ceremony, he drove a vehicle to the area where the event was to be held, and was arrested, prosecutors said, twenty minutes before the tree was to be lit. He kicked at agents as they tried to apprehend him and shouted “Allahu Akbar!” (God is great!).

Court papers indicated that an undercover agent told Mohamud that he was an associate of the Pakistani contact. When the agent and Mohamud discussed the plan, Mohamud said that he wanted a “huge mass that will be attacked in their own element with their families celebrating the holidays”. Mohamud told the agent that he had wanted to carry out a jihad (holy war) against the U.S. since he was fifteen years old.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

7,810 Jeep SUVs are to be recalled in order to address a software vulnerability in the vehicles’ entertainment systems which allows the vehicles to be “hacked” — allows vehicle software security to be compromised — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US (FCA US) said on Friday. This recall affects some 2015 model Jeep Renegades.

FCA US said exploiting the vulnerability would take “unique and extensive technical knowledge, prolonged physical access to a subject vehicle and extended periods of time to write code.” They said there are no known instances where the software vulnerability has caused injury to anyone.

They said owners of affected cars can fix the software vulnerability by inserting a device containing a software patch into a USB port inside the car.

Another 1.4 million vehicles manufactured by the company have also been recalled last month, when white hat hackers discovered they were able to hack and disable the engines of the affected vehicles remotely.