Sewing Contractors For Your Industrial Sewing Needs

bytimothyharvard

The process of industrial sewing requires careful execution and perhaps the most exacting of skills. This is not a job for just any provider. Rather, you need sewing contractors dedicated to providing you with exceptional products delivered to you on time and with precision workmanship. Nothing else is going to help you to get your project wrapped up properly and in the hands of your customers.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtWITFQ0fXU[/youtube]

Custom Sewing Is a Critical Skill

One of the mistakes some companies make is not hiring the right team to handle their sewing needs. They see this as a simple component of their product design process. It is anything but that. Sewing contractors must have several things to do well.

They must be able to create custom work that is designed to fit the very specifics of your project. This means having the required equipment and materials on hand to do so. They also must have an international manufacturing supply chain. This helps ensure they have access to the materials needed. They should be willing to work with you from the design process to ensure you have the best solutions for your needs. And, experience matters. Never hire a company that does not have years of experience in the industry when precision detailing is so important to your project.

The best sewing contractors work closely with you to ensure the project is handled in the most effective manner possible. No matter if your needs are in medical products, industrial products, or even government products, you need to know the company you are working with has the tools and resources to ensure precision, effectiveness, but also efficiencies from start to finish. Turn to a company you know you can trust with your industrial sewing needs from design through project completion.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing 298

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile on Thursday according to US officials, over disputed eastern Ukraine by an unidentified party.

The flight, which departed Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in The Netherlands at 10:15 UTC en route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, disappeared from radar at 13:15 UTC near Hrabove, a village in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. 283 passengers and 15 crew were aboard the aircraft, all 298 in total perished. The area the plane was flying over is a conflict zone currently between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatist forces.

United States officials confirmed the aircraft has been shot down, according to data from a surveillance satellite which showed the last trajectory and impact of the missile. The missile is believed to be a Buk M1 surface-to-air missile which are believed to be in the hands of rebels according to reports from the area.

So far no party has claimed responsibility for the attack. Ukrainian officials denied the missile which shot down the airliner belonged to Ukraine. Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said to The Guardian, “We are absolutely sure and we checked yesterday that no missiles have been taken from the Ukrainian army”. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) published on YouTube an alleged wiretap of separatist commanders and Russian intelligence officers discussing the shoot-down and acknowledging the aircraft shot down was civilian.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry has denied involvement, posting a statement on their website which read, “In view of various types of speculation concerning operations of the Russian armed forces in the areas bordering Ukraine, we affirm that the anti-aircraft means of the Russian armed forces did not operate in that region July 17”.

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said, “This was not an ‘incident’, this was not a ‘catastrophe’, this was a terrorist act”. Malyasian prime minister Najib Razak, said, “If it transpires that the flight was shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice.”

All civilian aircraft have been barred from flying over eastern Ukraine. The US’s Federal Aviation Adminstration issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) prohibiting flight operations by United States carriers over eastern Ukraine. However, questions remain as to why the aircraft was flying over the contested area. Eurocontrol noted airspace was closed up to 32,000 feet. Flight 17 was flying at 33,000 feet just above the restricted airspace. Malaysia Airlines issued a statement saying “The usual flight route was earlier declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). [The] International Air Transportation Association (IATA) has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_17_shot_down_over_eastern_Ukraine,_killing_298&oldid=4582445”

Canada’s Beaches—East York (Ward 32) city council candidates speak

This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details.

Friday, November 3, 2006

On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Beaches—East York (Ward 32). Four candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Donna Braniff, Alan Burke, Sandra Bussin (incumbent), William Gallos, John Greer, John Lewis, Erica Maier, Luca Mele, and Matt Williams.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Canada%27s_Beaches—East_York_(Ward_32)_city_council_candidates_speak&oldid=2584822”

Glasgow cannabis enthusiasts celebrate ‘green’ on city green

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.

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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.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Glasgow_cannabis_enthusiasts_celebrate_%27green%27_on_city_green&oldid=3759078”

The Most Popular Asbestos Related Lawsuits In Australia

By Simon Summer

Since asbestos was totally banned in more than 60 countries, with the rest of the world’s government still hanging on whether to impose partial or total bans – there have been numerous cases filed against employers due to diseases that resulted from asbestos exposure. The following article will expose you on some of the most popular asbestos-related lawsuits that influenced other people in Australia on how they would fight for their future lawsuits.

The Most Popular Asbestos-related Lawsuits in Australia

Australia has only one third of United Kingdom’s population, but its asbestos-related deaths reach to approximately 3000 annually. This figure nearly compares to the UK’s annual asbestos-related fatalities. This shocking truth was revealed in an article published in ‘The Observer’.

According to the same article, Australia imposed a total ban on the importation and use of asbestos since December 31, 2003. But despite the ban being in effect, the number of asbestos-related diseases is expected to reach another peak by the year 2030.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_-2K9q3ztE[/youtube]

One of the largest asbestos-related cases in Australian history was that filed against James Hardie Industries. Through court rulings, the company was forced to establish the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation. It would assist the victims of asbestos exposure as a result of the performance of their usual job duties for the company. In 2007, the company added $184.3 million to its initial fund of $293 million. Despite this amount, there are speculations that it will not suffice to cover all future claims especially with the surfacing of recent studies showing that by 2012 there will be more than 12000 cases filed against James Hardie for asbestos-related claims.

Another celebrated asbestos-related case in Australia was that filed by Antonino Lo Presti against Ford Motor Company in 2002. The case was settled in 2008 when Ford dropped its appeal against Lo Presti’s $840,000 payout. Lo Presti worked as a mechanic for the motor company where he serviced asbestos brakes from 1970 to 1987. When the case was ruled in favor of him, he was already in bed at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth where he was required to use bottled oxygen 24/7 due to difficulty breathing secondary to inhalation of asbestos fibres. Lo Presti’s case was regarded as the first successful asbestos-related claim by a mechanic against a motor company.

At present, there are many pending asbestos-related lawsuits filed in different courts in Australia. But the recent studies show that more and more asbestos-related diseases are becoming non-occupational in nature. The same studies revealed that home renovators and even those that are in the academe are chased by the ill-effects of asbestos.

Studies conducted by health research groups also showed that the recent cases of asbestos-related diseases have shorter latency periods of 30 years than the typical cases that normally have 40-50 years of latency. The age brackets of those being affected by asbestos-related diseases are becoming younger and younger. In an article published in the Australian News Magazine, a 29-year old woman was diagnosed with mesothelioma. The shocking truth was she was only exposed to asbestos in a rubble area where she used to play as a child.

In summary, the most popular asbestos-related cases in Australia have become inspirations for other individuals who have same predicaments over occupational asbestos exposure. However, there are also cases of asbestos-related diseases in which the origins are difficult to trace making the battle of health and lawsuit more complicated.

If you are suspecting that you or someone in your family has been affected by asbestos exposure, it is very important to consult a doctor for rightful diagnosis of your condition. If your house is being suspected of containing asbestos materials, it is an imperative to contact builders that offer asbestos removal services.

This article was first published at http://www.qhiasbestos.net.au.

About the Author: Simon Summer fights against the ill effects of asbestos to human health. He does this by writing and blogging about it. He pursues this efforts in collaboration with

builders

with asbestos removal services.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=1136795&ca=Home+Management

Haiti rescue efforts continue, but survivors face increasing insecurity

Friday, January 29, 2010

The survivors from the recent 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti are now facing increasing insecurity from human traffickers and convicts escaped from collapsed prisons, officials have cautioned, even as aid is flowing into the country. The acting head of the UN’s Haitian mission, meanwhile, says that that full reconstruction could take several decades. As many as 200,000 people were killed by the tremors, which struck on January 12, and 1.5 million people have been left without homes.

Anthony Banbury, the deputy head of the UN mission in the earthquake-ravaged country, commented to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency that survivors queuing for aid sometimes turned violent. He commented that while the aid is vital for the country, “it can be a source of insecurity because it attracts big crowds and there can be disorder around food distribution.”

“[It is] absolutely necessary that we get enough food, enough water, enough shelter for the people, and enough security. I don’t think any of us are anywhere near being close to being satisfied, because so much more needs to be done,” he added. “[We must] do things smart, as well as fast, and that’s a big challenge for us now.”

The Haitian national police chief, Mario Andresol, remarked that electricity blackouts resulted in “bandits […] taking advantage to harass and rape women and young girls under the tents,” adding that 7,000 inmates of prisons escaped after the quake. “It took us five years to apprehend them. Today they are running wild.”

Further exacerbating the security situation was that the Haitian police force was largely crippled by the disaster, with hundreds of policemen either killed or missing.

“At night, people take things. But I don’t have a problem. I don’t have anything to steal.” said one local resident, Omen Cola, to AFP.

At night, people take things. But I don’t have a problem. I don’t have anything to steal.

Child trafficking, meanwhile, is also an issue; it had been a chronic problem even before the earthquake. The Red Cross has started to register orphaned children, and temporarily sending some to orphanages for shelter, according to a senior advisor for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bo Viktor Nylund.

UNICEF press official Roshan Khadivi told the Xinhua news agency on Wednesday that “we are taking photos and filling in forms to get the children’s full details on file. Experience has shown us that there is at least one family member left usually. UNICEF does not believe in institutionalization in orphanages. Children need to be connected with their communities.” Khadivi noted that considering adoption would only be done if the child’s parents are not found after several months.

Sixty orphaned children, meanwhile, were transported earlier by plane to Germany, where they are to be adopted; six of them were hospitalised for fatigue and dehydration.

Edmond Mulet, the acting head of the UN mission for Haiti, told the BBC that it could take decades to fully reconstruct the country, and any recent development had been negated by the quake. “I think this is going to take many more decades than only ten years, and this is an enormous backwards step in Haiti’s development. We will not have to start from zero but from below zero,” he said.

[…] This is an enormous backwards step in Haiti’s development. We will not have to start from zero but from below zero.

Mulet, who is also the UN’s assistant peacekeeping operations secretary-general, said that the aid logistics were a “nightmare”. However, he said he believed the capacity to provide help was improving, saying: “All this is coming together right now. Every day you can see more and more Haitian national police on the ground, working with our troops and more and more water being distributed, so it’s a matter of time and putting all these elements together,” as quoted by the BBC.

According to the head, 200,000 heavy-duty tents had been ordered, to help people cope with the rainy season, which generally starts in May. “Of course, 200,000 family-sized tents – solid ones that can withstand a hurricane season – are not available in the market just like that, so they have to be made. It’s going to take a few days and weeks before they can arrive, but all this is coming,” Mulet noted.

The Haitian president, Rene Preval, earlier this week asked for 200,000 tents and 26 million ready-to-eat meals to be airdropped.

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Ewing, commander of Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Team, meanwhile, was concerned whether there was enough management in relief operations. “Everyone is trying to help, but it’s not as coordinated as it should be. We’re not getting aid to where it needs to go as effectively as it should be,” he told AFP.

Earlier this week, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, described the reconstruction process as being a “colossal work of reconstruction.”

“In 30 seconds, we lost nearly 60 percent of our gross domestic product, because all of Haiti’s resources were concentrated in a small area around our seat of government,” he said. “We have to decentralise. It’s the only way to be efficient. It’s also the only way to avoid the same problems happening in Haiti again.”

The UN, meanwhile, reports that international funding and aid pledges for the country have now surpassed US$2 billion worth.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Haiti_rescue_efforts_continue,_but_survivors_face_increasing_insecurity&oldid=3130941”

‘Bright’ idea lights its way to win NASA contest

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

NASA Tech Briefs INSIDER newsletter 02/05/08 reports that the winner of the $20,000 first prize in the agency’s “Create the Future” contest is an invention called “Litroenergy”, the luminous output of micro particle “Litrospheres.” Their self-luminance reportedly endures for over 12 years. The spheres are inexpensive, making them useful in many ways. The emitted light is said to be equivalent to a 40 watt bulb, sufficient for reading.

The invention is reported to safely encapsulate a small quantity of electron-emitting tritium with light emitting phosphors inside a robust microscopic sphere. Mixed into paints, plastic films or adhesive tape the spheres can be applied to surfaces for under a dollar per square foot. The maker suggests they will find first use in safety applications such as exit signage and aircraft corridor marking.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=%27Bright%27_idea_lights_its_way_to_win_NASA_contest&oldid=1985301”

Haunted attractions in Texas prepare for 2013 Halloween season

Thursday, September 12, 2013

With Halloween approaching, numerous haunted attractions all over Texas are preparing for the big “haunt” season. Directors and staff of such attractions must invest significant time preparing their buildings; such efforts gear up significantly during September. Wikinews caught up with some owners of these attractions to learn more about the hard work it takes to prepare for opening night.

Terror Nights, an attraction in Tyler, opens for the season on September 27. Ryan Laepple, owner and director of the haunt, states he’s currently involved in “a blur of safety inspections, auditions, actor training, and last but not least event advertising.” Laepple went on to say he stays “pretty busy until the show opens on the 27th and then things calm down some. As long as not too many things in the haunt break at once.” Dean Jarnig, the director of Zombie Manor in Arlington, said he and staff have recently been spraying flame-retardant chemicals and installing new lights. Jarnig also stated he and staff are working on a promotional video for their attraction, which opens on Friday September 13.

Hangman’s House of Horrors in Fort Worth is celebrating both its twenty fifth anniversary and final operational year. Some individuals who act in these attractions refer to their fellow actors as extended family. This year, some sources have even encouraged holiday job seekers to consider working at a haunted attraction to earn money. One whimsically listed the job’s benefits as “[…] free uniforms, a complimentary hair and makeup consultation and make-over, inspirational background music, plenty of on-the-job exercise opportunities and more.” Long a staple in American culture, “Haunted Houses”, as they’re commonly called, range in size from small garage-sized projects, up to multi floor buildings outfitted with the most elaborate of lighting and special effects.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Haunted_attractions_in_Texas_prepare_for_2013_Halloween_season&oldid=3512799”

Encyclopædia Britannica fights back against Wikipedia, soon to let users edit contents

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

This article mentions the Wikimedia Foundation, one of its projects, or people related to it. Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Encyclopædia Britannica (EB), the authoritative reference book first published in 1768, is planning to let readers edit its entries, Jorge Cauz, its president said Friday, as it battles to keep pace with online Internet encyclopedia projects like Wikipedia.

Starting next week, readers, visitors and contributing experts to EB’s free, online version, Britannica.com, will be allowed to submit proposed changes and contributions to Britannica editors, who will then review the edits and make the necessary alterations. This move is meant to let readers help keep the reference work up-to-date by collaboration.

In expanding and maintaining entries online, users whose editorial suggestions are accepted and published entirely or in part will be credited by name in the section of the article that lists contributors.

The new website features will be available on the site within the next twenty-four hours. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “Cauz is promising a 20-minute turnover on these edits, but that number could go up dramatically if the company cannot anticipate a large influx of edits at once.”

Britannica, however, explained that it would not allow a Wikipedia form of editing which allows a wide range of users to make contributions. EB’s novel user choice will include enrollment of experts in a reward scheme and invitation of selected readers to contribute. Several readers will also be allowed to use Britannica materials to contribute their own articles that will be featured on the site.

“We are not abdicating our responsibility as publishers or burying it under the now-fashionable ‘wisdom of the crowds’,” wrote Jorge Cauz in his blog. “We believe that the creation and documentation of knowledge is a collaborative process but not a democratic one,” Cauz noted, explaining further that “these experts would sit alongside the encyclopaedia entries and the official material would carry a ‘Britannica Checked’ stamp, to distinguish it from the user-generated content.”

Cauz also announced the unveiling by Britannica of a beta (trial) version of what will become the finished Britannica Online website, which will include a re-design and the addition of web-based tools for readers and users to upload their own reference materials. The new features that Britannica will roll out over the next six months also include an article rating system and a comprehensive list of contributors by subject area.

Articles developed by Britannica’s own editors also appear in the printed volumes, which are published every two years, though material created by what Cauz called their “community of scholars” will only appear online.

“Wikipedia contributes to the spread of information and many people are happy with it as their only source of reference, as are many people happy to eat McDonald’s every day,” said Cauz, who discussed differences between Britannica and Wikipedia features of online editing. “That’s the last thing we want to be. We are a different type of animal, catering to a different type of crowd,” he added.

Cauz said the company will retain its staff of about 100 full-time editors and over 4,000 expert contributors. “I think the future is likely going to be that in every media segment there has to be a symbiotic relationship between editor and reader,” said Cauz, adding that each article will have a detailed history showing changes and who made them, as in Wikipedia. In 1933, Britannica became the first encyclopaedia to introduce a “continuous revision” policy, with continuous reprinting such that every article is updated on a regular schedule.

Unlike Wikipedia, which allows anonymous edits through a user’s IP address being logged, Britannica’s new features strictly require contributors or users to register, revealing their real names and addresses, prior to modifying or creating their own articles. Contributions from non-academic users will sit in a separate section.

A new or changed feature called “Suggest Edit” button will allow readers of a particular article to suggest information clarification, post questions to contributors or add to the existing text, subject to Britannica editors’ approval. “What we are trying to do is shifting … to a much more proactive role for the user and reader where the reader is not only going to learn from reading the article but by modifying the article and – importantly – by maybe creating his own content or her own content,” wrote Cauz.

Cauz faulted Google for setting Wikipedia higher in pagerank than Britannica. He explained that, in EB, new efforts to participate in online collaboration of encyclopedic content are deemed by recognizing experts as a requirement in order to achieve objectivity and high quality. During his tenure, officials from Britannica have become outspoken in their criticism of Wikipedia articles’ contents.

Britannica already has an established reputation for accurate content. Wikipedia is merely a starting point, with research to be taken with a pinch of salt.

In July 2006, Cauz personally entered the fray in an interview in New Yorker Magazine, in which he stated that Wikipedia had “decline(d) into a hulking, mediocre mass of uneven, unreliable, and, many times, unreadable articles” and that “Wikipedia is to Britannica as American Idol is to the Juilliard School.”

The 241-year-old publication, Encyclopædia Britannica, is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by a privately held company, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., and is the oldest English-language encyclopaedia still in print. The Britannica articles are directed at educated adult readers. First published between 1768 and 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland, it quickly grew in popularity and size, with its third edition in 1801 reaching over 21 volumes.

Britannica’s latest 15th edition has a unique three-part structure: a 12-volume Micropædia of short articles (generally having fewer than 750 words), a 17-volume Macropædia of long articles (having from two to 310 pages) and a single Propædia volume created to give a hierarchical outline of human knowledge. The Micropædia is devised for quick fact-checking and as a door to the Macropædia.

At present, Britannica offers optical disc, online and mobile versions. The Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2006 DVD has over 55 million words and just over 100,000 articles, including 73,645 regular Britannica articles. The Encyclopædia Britannica Online website has more than 120,000 articles and is updated regularly. EB’s virtual space was founded in 1994 and contains articles comprised of over 46 million words.

In February 2007, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. said that it was working with AskMeNow to launch a mobile encyclopedia, to enable users to send questions via text messages. Replies would then be forwarded by AskMenow based on Britannicas’ articles.

As Britannica is a business, the company needed to charge, and Web access to the archives cost $70 a year. In April 2008, “Britannica Webshare,” a version of the online Encyclopaedia Britannica has been available for free, but only for Web publishers. The simple process requires signing up, giving a site URL, a description, and approval by the company. “This program is intended for people who publish with some regularity on the Internet, be they bloggers, webmasters, or writers. We reserve the right to deny participation to anyone who in our judgment doesn’t qualify,” said TechCrunch.

In June 2008, Britannica announced an initiative to facilitate collaboration between online expert and amateur scholarly contributors for Britannica’s on-line content (in the spirit of a wiki), with editorial oversight from Britannica staff. According to its statement titled “Britannica’s New Site: More Participation, Collaboration from Experts and Readers,” approved contributions would be credited, though contributing automatically grants Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. perpetual, irrevocable license to those contributions.

PC World has, however, reported that it became clear how steep of a climb Britannica faces. “Wikipedia received a massive 97 percent share of the online encyclopedia market or visits U.S. Web surfers made to online encyclopedias last week,” Web monitoring company Hitwise said Friday. “MSN Encarta was second with 1.27 percent of visits, followed by Encyclopedia.com (0.76 percent), Fact Monster (0.72 percent) and, in fifth place, Britannica.com (0.57 percent). Britannica.com’s share of U.S. visits dropped 53 percent last month compared with December 2007,” Hitwise added.

While Britannica.com has 1.5 million visitors per day, Wikipedia attracts about six million, The Times reported. Hitwise also said that as of last week, Wikipedia ranked the 13th-most-visited site on the Web overall, while Britannica.com was 2,349th. The essential difference is Wikipedia does not charge any fee, while Britannica.com requires a paid subscription for access of some contents. Britannica, however, is issuing a “Encyclopaedia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Edition” – the £40 2009 DVD edition of its famous print encyclopaedia.

“One of the big questions still on the table is whether Britannica will open its content or maintain its premium membership paid wall. In order to compete with Wikipedia in the Google [search results], Britannica needs to build up inbound links. If content is locked up behind the paid content walls, people will be much more likely to link to other websites with free content — such as that available on Wikipedia,” Hitwise analyst Heather Hopkins noted.

Wikipedia, a not-for-profit collaborative online encyclopedia, in its Wikipedia Foundation’s recent drive for public donations, had aimed to raise $US6 million over the course of six months. On January 1, “it had met the target, from more than 125,000 donors,” said Wikipedia head honcho and co-founder Jimmy Wales. He has invoked Wikipedia’s “free-culture movement”, and its mission “to bring free knowledge to the planet, free of charge and free of advertising”.

“Wikipedia is the new frontier of human knowledge,” wrote Anonymous, donating $US100. American Patrick Culligan left another comment, saying, “Accurate information is what enables society to act in the appropriate way in which we can change the world. History cannot be left for the winners to write.” Another said: “Wikipedia is one of those ‘big ideas’ which will change our world for the better.”

After Encyclopedia Britannica’s announcement that it is introducing a more open editing system, web 2.0 giant Wikipedia has considered attempts to move away from its free and open editing system. Academics, scholars and others have long criticized the writing principles fostered by Wikipedia amid vandals having often changed Wikipedia entries resulting to erroneous reports.

Now, for the first time, the online encyclopedia has considered restricting the edits that users can make. The system known internally as “Flagged Revisions,” has been sparked off by inaccurate changes after a Wikipedia user “Gfdjklsdgiojksdkf” and an anonymous editor respectively edited articles to say that both U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and Robert Carlyle Byrd had died. The errors were caught and duly corrected after about five minutes, but they were up long enough for the Washington Post, among other media outlets, to notice.

In just the latest incidents in a long and rich history of vandalism since its 2001 launch, Vernon Kay and Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs, among others, have also been falsely reported as dead on Wikipedia. Wiki means “fast” in Hawaiian and it certainly is, even amid subtle vandalism, since anyone can amend its 2.7m entries. Wikipedia has long struggled with such prankery, and has ever since worked closely with its community to overcome it without adopting harsh protections.

We want people to be able to participate, but we have a tool available now that is consistent with higher quality.

As Wikipedia itself acknowledges, “Allowing anyone to edit Wikipedia means that it is more easily vandalized or susceptible to unchecked information, which requires removal.” In the proposed process, only registered or reliable users could have their material or edits immediately appear to the general public visiting Wikipedia. Other contributors’ edits or changes will first be reviewed, signed off, or “flagged” by reliable users.

“This nonsense would have been 100 percent prevented by Flagged Revisions,” said Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales under the header “Why I Am Asking Flagged Revisions Be Turned On Now,” on his user page. “[Instances of misinformation] could […] have been prevented by protection or semi-protection, but [..] [many are] breaking news [stories] and we want people to be able to participate (so protection is out) and even to participate in good faith for the first time ever (so semi-protection is out),” explained Wales who calls for monitoring to prevent false entries.

Wales said that a poll revealed 60 percent of Wikipedians favored the new proposal and that it would be a “time limited test.” He noted that the delay should be less than the German Wikipedia allowed: “less than 1 week, hopefully a lot less, because we will only be using it on a subset of articles, the boundaries of which can be adjusted over time to manage the backlog.”

Wales issued a statement requesting implementation of the extension: “To the Wikimedia Foundation: per the poll of the English Wikipedia community and upon my personal recommendation, please turn on the flagged revisions feature as approved in the poll.” But the community response was further debate.

As of February 2, his request hasn’t been implemented.

Apparently the Wikipedia German edition has been using a form of the Flagged Revisions system since May as a test case. It has, however, led to a delay of up to three weeks in getting some new articles and edits published, for critics have said that the system is very labor intensive and comments can take weeks to appear. Wales, however, pointed out that the system he was proposing was only for biographies of living people. Wikipedia has provided comprehensive and up-to-minute entries on the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007 and the Mumbai terrorist attacks this past November as the events were still taking place.

While some participants in the debate have argued that the rule change is unnecessary, some have described it in terms of an ethical imperative. As one administrator wrote: “In the vast majority of cases, a Wikipedia article on an individual will be the very highest-ranking search engine result when a search is conducted on the name of that person. This affects the lives of the people we write about on a daily basis. To suggest that Wikipedia does not have profound obligations to do its best to keep these articles free of defamatory, gossipy and privacy-invading material is to suggest that we are without obligation to consider the real-world impacts of our actions and the work we are doing.”

Anything that makes Wikipedia more accurate can only be advantageous

Others have argued that practical considerations should prevent a change that could result in a large backlog of unreviewed edits. “Flagged revisions will suffocate under its own weight,” claimed administrator DragonflySixtyseven. Still other Wikipedian editors further argue that the current system works just fine.

Some consider the split could ultimately threaten the future of the dominant online encyclopedia. “The big issue is that while we have majority support, we don’t have consensus, and that’s the way we have always made our decisions,” Jake Wartenberg user and member of RC patrol chimed in. “A lot of editors are becoming disenchanted with the project; we are losing them all the time,” he added. By way of reply, amidst the embarrassing debacle, Mr. Wales has reached out to help and offered a compromise, inviting the opposition to submit alternative suggestions until the 29th of January.

“Implementing this functionality is really a volunteer community decision. We know the discussion about flagged revs is still taking place on English Wikipedia, but at this stage, it appears the majority of the community are behind this decision. As that discussion unfolds, we’ll have a better sense of the timing,” Jay Walsh, a spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation, in a rejoinder, wrote in his e-mail message, explaining the status of the proposed restriction.

“Now seems an excellent time for Wikipedia to pause and take stock. It has proved the surprising wisdom of crowds as well as their utter idiocy. Its challenge now is to harness the enthusiasm of those volunteers while becoming a more reliable, better written source. And at some point, surely, its founders might want to turn it into a commercial venture. As Samuel Johnson almost said: “No one but a blockhead ever edited, excepted for money,” said Iain Hollingshead, a British freelance journalist and novelist.

“The suggestion of increased moderation on Wikipedia would divide the community. The site has built its reputation on being ‘the encyclopedia that anyone can edit’. It’s less radical to be ‘the encyclopedia that anyone can edit as long as their edits are approved by a trusted Wikipedian’ but that’s what co-founder Jimmy Wales has suggested. Wikipedia’s openness is its strength,” said Shane Richmond of The Daily Telegraph, asking, “is it most valuable feature its openness or its accuracy?”

Wales’ position is that “I consider our BLP issue to be so important that I think it is actually unethical to not use a tool which holds great promise for helping with the problem, now that it has been successfully tested elsewhere. Anyone who would like to see this tool not go into practice needs to start by convincing people that either (a) it is OK for the BLP vandalism problem to continue or (b) there is a better way to solve it.”

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Carbon Market Opportunities Will Come Back

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By Himfr Tian

Rough climate negotiation process, failed to bring the global carbon trading market, a bright future.

However, the carbon trading market has been committed to the development of the United Kingdom, is still maintained in this market optimism and confidence.

Copenhagen, the world does not develop a strong carbon reduction targets, which the UK institutions involved in carbon trading is what effect? For investors, particularly in 2009. One is because the financial crisis, not only makes the lack of liquidity, but also reduced the global production capacity, reduced emissions along with it, so some countries the demand for carbon credits also reduced; there is the post-2012 there is no obvious clear political framework.

But now these companies have survived, because that is the beginning they know this is a long-term cause, they do a lot of work before, so now they put emphasis on the contract has been signed.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb6xDrTYxU0[/youtube]

In fact we all know the ultimate investment opportunity will be back, just be patient points on the line, because there are no political agreement on the framework and not relationships, not this, then there will be another one, just not the same as the original investment model only, but the opportunity will come back. In fact the present economic recovery, carbon emissions is rising, the demand for emissions began to rise up. You know, during the financial crisis, due to the relative lack of liquidity, loans more difficult, many companies have already sold a line of credit, but now began to buy back.

The spot market for emission credits, even at the beginning of the financial crisis, a period of time so the price movements of emission credits, but the European market prices have been stable at 13 euros, which explains the carbon market in which the situation as we imagine that bad. The long term, the price of emission credits is indeed rising.

So far China’s CDM mechanism is successful. Britain believe China should start their own internal operations. As we discussed at the Copenhagen Conference, China should establish its own domestic market mechanism. The new market mechanism should be established for the industry, that is to propose a trade emission reduction targets.

Chinese companies should realize that this is a chance, because the long term, the decline in fuel costs mean savings. Given the value and price of carbon means opportunity. In fact means that, as early as the beginning of the company means a better chance.

In fact this market particularly complex and has been changing. Such as rules of the game have been changed, such as CDM framework of some legislative and some are changing. So you want to have a good market performance, must have professional knowledge of the risks of these projects should be well aware of. If you do not understand the risks, the investment may not being paid, the registration of your project will be delayed for several months.

Britain has started early in the CDM context, and the formation of a very sub-structure of the carbon trading market, such as our carbon consulting and carbon assessments have carbon trading, are some very front rank of the company. Now the world certified emission reduction credits (CER), 39% was bought by British institutions, so we have more advantages in this regard. These professionals have been the UK market is changing according to the carbon, so they are very experienced, able to understand where the market risk.

On competitors, yes, many other different countries, different companies are doing the same thing. But we must realize that the market itself is expanding, so the opportunity is also growing. Competition is more intense, but the census drawn to find new areas of investment, will always find a delivery of some new projects.

Of course, since the financial crisis and the lack of a number of years after 2012, a clear political framework, so now there are new problems. We are looking for new projects, looking for a new project not dare to do, the conditions are not ripe. But the good thing is that we start these companies early, in the past have done a lot of work, they can now put their energy investment projects in the past, to focus on delivery on.

Expected to be formed as a regional financial center of carbon, such as New York, Singapore and Shanghai. But we hope to see a global market, a global standard, so we VER (voluntary reduction) is not supported, we do not want to see a different standard, which is detrimental to long-term development.

About the Author: I am a professional editor from China Products, and my work is to promote a free online trade platform. http://www.himfr.com/ contain a great deal of information about tie dye background,houseware market,brushed twill fabric, welcome to visit!

Source: isnare.com

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