Saskatchewan places moratorium on boar farming, says escaped boars should be killed

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Saskatchewan places moratorium on boar farming, says escaped boars should be killed

Saturday, March 14, 2009

At the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) conference, a resolution was passed that encourages the Government of Saskatchewan, Canada to place a moratorium on specialty livestock farms raising wild boar. All wild boars that have escaped to roam wild should be killed, according to the resolution.

Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud endorses a ban on wild boar farming. The wild boar population is expanding exponentially. There are over 2,000 feral Sus scrofa swine roaming the prairies. Two litters of approximately 12 piglets are sired by each wild boar sow every year. The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) likewise passed a similar resolution at their 79th annual convention to urge the Saskatchewan Government to declare the wild boar as a nuisance species which can be killed on sight.

3% of farmed “wild” boars escape. Cells of wild boars are ravenous creatures killing and eating everything in their path. Horses, cows, and other livestock run from wild boars, breaking through fences in the process.

Ostriches, emus, llamas, alpacas, reindeer, wild boar, and fallow deer were amongst the animals introduced to farms in Saskatchewan during the agricultural diversification program in the late 1970s. Production of wild boars was promoted throughout the 1980s.

According to the Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food 2001 statistics, there were 150 wild boar producers raising approximately 15,000 and 20,000 head. Of these there were about 2,700 sows. On the 2006 Census of Agriculture, 401 farms reported 4,926 boars.

The boar’s red meat is an export commodity to Europe and Asia. The live breeding stock are also sold to trophy hunt ranches. Full blooded wild boar and hybrid crosses are raised.

Bangladesh security tightened following Pilkhana massacre and Bashundhara City fire

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Bangladesh security tightened following Pilkhana massacre and Bashundhara City fire

Friday, March 20, 2009

Following the Pilkhana massacre which occurred February 25 and 26 leaving 74 dead and the inferno at the Bashundhara City shopping mall complex March 13 leaving seven dead, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said security measures are being tightened countrywide across Bangladesh.

Fire drills will be enacted at all key-point installations (KPI). Fire fighting systems will be examined by the fire brigade and the public works department (PWD) to ensure functionality. Security measures will be enhanced supplementing areas under private security such as at the Bashundhara City Complex.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence Department requires modernization and needs new equipment to fight fires past the sixth floor of buildings. The Fire Brigade says it needs turntable ladders, snorkels, foam-tenders, lighting units, emergency tenders, fireproof uniforms, and rescue ropes for fire fighting and rescue operations. Transportation to fires is also an issue due to narrow roads, low electrical wires and congestion.

The Bangladesh National Building Code requires fire fighting equipment installed in buildings over seven floors. This code is to be monitored by authorities to ensure compliance with the new guidelines and to make sure buildings are being maintained.

The Bashundhara City Complex opened Monday for shoppers two days after Friday’s blaze. A probe is underway to determine the cause of the fire and to assess structural damage.

Loss of life was minimized as the blaze broke out on a Friday, the beginning of the weekend in Bangladesh, so offices in the upper floors were empty. The lower eight floors are used for shopping and the upper floors are all Bashundhara Group offices.

The mall is valued at Tk 7.0 billion (US$100 million). It is not known if the complex is covered by fire insurance.

It is estimated that it will take over two years to rebuild the area damaged by flames which were burned down to a skeleton. Bashundhara City’s technical advisor, Latifur Rahman, estimated damages at Tk 2.0 billion (US$29m).

Only one television cameraman has been allowed in to film the burnt area. None of the 2,500 shops, cinemas or cafes were burnt by the inferno. The seventh and eighth floors still experience smoke damage, and there was water damage to merchandise.

A three member committee is currently investigating the cause of the fire which will consist of Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary of the ministry, representatives of the police, IGP Noor Muhammad, and fire brigade, Director General Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah. The committee is required to report within the week with their findings. The forensics department is also sifting through the burnt remains.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries has also formed a committee which has begun interviewing witnesses and recording their testimony alongside the government committee.

It has been discovered that 150 closed circuit cameras were not being used when the fire started. Another mystery is why the mall fire fighting system has been found unused.

Why the fire burnt so fiercely is a matter to think….These matters seem to be mysterious

“In the shopping mall there is an ultra-technology elevator which runs even without electricity but we have found that locked,” Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary (Police) of the home ministry, said. “Why the fire burnt so fiercely is a matter to think. We have to see if there was any incendiary substance there. These matters seem to be mysterious.”

Mall management has been asked to submit substances and items which would have been in the upper floors when the fire started. The fire erupted on the 17th floor and spread quickly to the two floors above and engulfed the three floors below. The aerial ladders belonging to the Fire Service and Civil Defence reached as high as the 13th floor of the 21-storey building.

Videos have been sent to the United States (US) for examination to assist in determining the cause of the fire and to help in the damage assessment. Experts from the US are expected to arrive soon.

Firefighters were brought to the rooftop of the 20-storey tower by helicopter. The only fatality in this operation was Baki Billa, a firefighter of Bashundhara City firefighting department, who fell when climbing down a rope from a helicopter to the roof of the building. Three other firefighters made the transition safely. At this same time, the chief security officer was safely rescued by the Bangladesh Air Force helicopter, a Bell 212. Six security officers of the complex also lost their lives.

Lib Dems launch manifesto

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Lib Dems launch manifesto

Thursday, April 14, 2005

An exhausted Charles Kennedy returned to the election campaign to launch a twenty page Liberal Democrat manifesto targeted at disaffected Labour voters, promising a fairer tax system and withdrawal from Iraq.

Entitled The Real Alternative the manifesto pledges to reduce the lowest rate of income tax, but increase the rate on those earning over £100,000 to 50%. The party would also scrap the unpopular local council tax in favour of a new local income tax. The manifesto also promises to remove hidden “stealth taxes”.

Under this system the party claims the poorest 15 million (25%) of people in Britain would be better off, and the middle 50% would be paying no extra tax.

The manifesto promised to scrap the controversial university tuition fees, increase services for pensioners and add £100 a month to the state pension, and train 21,000 new primary school teachers and 10,000 new police. A Lib Dem government would make eye and dental checks free, and reduce the cost of prescription medicine.

The Liberal Democrats were the only one of the three largest parliamentary parties to have consistently voted against the Iraq war, and the manifesto has promised an exit strategy with a phased withdrawal of Britain’s 8,000 troops still in the country.

“We reject a foreign policy based on ‘my ally right or wrong’,” Kennedy said. “And we say that war should always be a last resort.”

Kennedy, who became a father on Tuesday, admitted he’d had little sleep before the manifesto launch, and stumbled while answering questions on the proposed tax system.

Toothpaste fills cavities without drilling

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Toothpaste fills cavities without drilling
August 2nd, 2020 in Uncategorized | No Comments

Thursday, February 24, 2005

A paste containing synthetic tooth enamel can seal small cavities without drilling. Kazue Yamagishi and colleagues at the FAP Dental Institute in Tokyo say that the paste can repair small cavities in 15 minutes.

Currently, fillers don’t stick to such small cavities so dentists must drill bigger holes. Hydroxyapatite crystals, of which natural enamel is made, bond with teeth to repair tiny areas of damage.

Yamagishi and colleagues have tested their paste on a lower premolar tooth that showed early signs of decay. They found that the synthetic enamel merged with the natural enamel. The synthetic enamel also appears to make teeth stronger which will improve resistance to future decay. As with drilling, however, there is still the potential for pain: The paste is strongly acidic to encourage crystal growth and causes inflammation if it touches the gums.

The paste is reported in the journal Nature.

Open source game developer Perttu Ahola talks about Minetest with Wikinews

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Open source game developer Perttu Ahola talks about Minetest with Wikinews
August 2nd, 2020 in Uncategorized | No Comments

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Recently, Finnish open-source video game developer Perttu Ahola discussed Minetest, his “longest ever project”, with Wikinews.

Started in October 2010, Minetest was an attempt by Ahola to create a sandbox game similar to Minecraft. Minecraft is a multi-platform commercial game, which was in alpha version when Ahola challenged himself to create something similar to it from scratch, he told Wikinews.

Minetest is an open-source game, which is free for anyone to download and play. It is written in the C++ programming language, and the source code is available on code-hosting site GitHub. According to Ahola, Minetest attempts to run on older hardware, with limited graphics, but to be accessible to more people: those who have outdated technology, and making it available for no cost. Minecraft, on the other hand, is a paid game, currently costing USD 26.95 for its computer version. Minecraft is currently owned by Microsoft, and performs poorly on older hardware.

A correspondent from French Wikinews contacted Perttu Ahola via Internet Relay Chat a few weeks ago, discussing Minecraft. This interview is built on top of the previous interview, as we take a deeper dive into knowing more about this free game which is about to turn ten years old in a few months.

Fresh And Authentic Hispanic Food Distribution In Pennsylvania

August 2nd, 2020 in Salt Therapy Solutions | No Comments

byAlma Abell

Best Mexican Foods is a wholesale operation with over 40 years of experience in Hispanic Food Distribution. The business has been family owned and operated since they opened their doors in 1968. They have developed their company from a single humble taco stand in New York City to the largest Mexican Supply retailer in the Northeast United States. Their commitment to delicious and authentic cuisine has made it possible for them to now a fleet of ten delivery trucks operating out of a 40,000 square foot facility.Best Mexican Foods provides retailers and restaurants in New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with top quality, authentic Hispanic food, beverages and restaurant supplies. Their inventory is filled with difficult to find products that will help any restaurant develop a genuine Mexican appeal. Their inventory includes some of the most popular ingredients in Mexican cuisine, both in Mexico and the United States.The food selection offered by Best Mexican Foods includes their very own handmade corn and flour tortillas. These tortillas have been one of their best selling products for decades. Made daily, they are the freshest tortillas available on the market.They also have fresh produce like avocados, jalapenos and plantains. They have a delicious pre-cooked pork carnita and a pre-cooked and seasoned ground beef. There is a wide selection of dried beans and cheese, available in bars, crumbled and shredded. Their spice selection includes all of the most popular Mexican seasonings needed to complete any dish. There are also sauces, salsas and rice. Best Mexican Foods specializes in stocking the hard to find items, rarely found anywhere else locally, like sliced cactus and calamari ink.Their beverage options include popular Mexican sodas, rice milk and concentrated liquids for mixed drinks. No Mexican restaurant is complete without tequila and margarita mixes and Best Mexican Foods has both. It also has margarita salt and many other flavorings and mixers.As the largest company offering Hispanic Food Distribution in Pennsylvania, they make it easy for their customers to get everything they need in one convenient place. That is why you will also find take-out packaging, restaurant equipment and plates and glasses. As experts in the business you can be assured any products you order will be fresh, delicious and authentic.Click to find out more.

Funding gap forces library closures in Jackson County, Oregon

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Funding gap forces library closures in Jackson County, Oregon
August 2nd, 2020 in Uncategorized | No Comments

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Due to a US$23 million budget shortfall, all public libraries in Jackson County, Oregon are scheduled to close April 6. The U.S. Congress did not renew the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act, which replaces property tax revenues with revenue sharing from timber harvests. Jackson County used the revenue to pay for libraries and sherriff’s patrols. Voters rejected a property tax increase last November. A similar increase will appear on the May ballot; such increases must pass a double-majority vote: a majority of county voters must turn out for the election, and a majority of those must support the increase.

Supporters hope the measure will pass this time. “Many people didn’t believe we were going to close libraries.” said County Commissioner C.W. Smith. The Ashland City Council has said it would find a funding solution to keep their branch of the library open; other cities have not made similar statements. Some alternative funding solutions, such as charging subscription fees, have been considered. However, charging fees for access to libraries is illegal in Oregon.

Jackson County is located in Southern Oregon, and has a population of 181,000. The Jackson County Library System consists of 15 branches.

Many infertile American women want sex selection

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Many infertile American women want sex selection
August 2nd, 2020 in Uncategorized | No Comments

Friday, March 11, 2005Many infertile American women would choose the sex of their next child if given the option.

A survey of 561 women being treated for infertility has found that 41% would use sex selection if it were offered at no cost.

Contradicting fears that such sex selection would cause gender imbalance, the survey found that women with no children would choose baby girls and boys in approximately equal numbers.

Furthermore, women with only daughters wanted to select a male child while women with only sons wanted to select a female child.

“Sex selection is a topic that’s almost taboo for physicians to talk about,” says study lead author Tarun Jain of the University of Illinois at Chicago. “Prior to this study, there has been no data to indicate what the demand might be.”

Of 561 survey respondents, 229 would want to select the sex of their future child.

Among these, 45% had no children and 48% had children of all the same sex.

Half would choose to select the sex of their next child even if they had to bear the cost.

About 55% would choose sperm separation, 41% would choose preimplantation genetic diagnosis and 4% would choose neither.

Sex selection is controversial. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists opposes it for nonmedical reasons and so does the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine supports it for nonmedical reasons for family gender balancing provided methods used are safe and effective.

“As the techniques gain more popularity, physicians will have to decide if they will offer the procedure to patients with and without children,” says Jain.

The research is reported in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Unarmed man killed by narcotics officer in The Bronx

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Unarmed man killed by narcotics officer in The Bronx
August 2nd, 2020 in Uncategorized | No Comments

Saturday, February 4, 2012

An unarmed man was killed by a New York City Police Department Narcotics Enforcement officer at his home in the Williamsbridge neighborhood of The Bronx, New York on Thursday, according to police. 18-year-old Ramarley Graham was pronounced dead at nearby Montefiore Medical Center. He was shot by a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol. The incident is currently being investigated by Internal Affairs, and a grand jury investigation is expected into whether criminal charges should be filed against the officers involved.

The incident began with Mr. Graham walking on the street near his East 229th Street home, police say. He was approached by plain cloths officers in NYPD marked raid jackets. The officers were investigating suspected drug sales at a bodega. As they were approaching, Graham fled on foot towards his home and was followed by the officers. After officers followed him into the building, he entered the bathroom. An officer ordered Graham to “Show me your hands! Show me your hands!” After he failed to comply, the officer shot Graham once in the chest.

There were no weapons found on Graham’s person or at the scene. There was a small bag of cannabis in the toilet.

Police said the officer who shot Graham and his supervising sergeant have been placed on modified duty in light of the incident. The names of the officers were not released, but the officer who shot Graham is said to be 30 years old and joined the NYPD in 2008.

Police commissioner Raymond Kelly said “We’re obviously trying to get the facts. A young man’s life was taken. … It’s the worst thing that can happen to a parent — to lose a child.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said “We obviously have some real concerns [about the incident].”

This was the third time within a week a young man had died in a police-involved shooting in New York City. 22-year-old Christopher Kissane was killed in an alleged carjacking in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn and 17-year-old Antwain White was killed in an alleged mugging in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Effects Of Grandfathering California Health Plans?

August 2nd, 2020 in Forex Broker | No Comments

By Dennis Jarvis

There have been many changes in the California individual health insurance market resulting from health reform and none has been more confusing than that of Grandfathering. Being in the insurance market for decades, I can usually give pretty good guidance to a shopper or client regarding directions of various plan options. Grandfathering unfortunately bucks this trend. Let’s try to understand what it is and at least provide a good grounding of the pros and cons to grandfathering.

The first big ramp up of Health Reform drew a line in the sand on October 23rd, 2010. This was the deadline after which certain mandated benefits would kick in for new plans. Any plan with an effective date before the deadline would be grandfathered providing the plan was not changed aside from a few exclusions such as adding family members. To be safe, it’s fair to say that you would not be able to change your coverage if you wanted to retain your grandfathered status. So what was the benefit to having grandfathered status?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ5lTO8A6-4[/youtube]

By avoiding the mandates on coverage (such as 100% preventative, etc), the rates for these older plans should be lower or more importantly, future rates should grow at a slower pace. With costs exploding, this is a huge advantage and many people chose to keep their grandfathered plans and status. This was after all, the “keep your plan if you like it” option discussed during the Health Reform debates. We personally discussed this decision with 1000’s of clients back in the heady days of late 2010 and the vast majority retained their grandfathered status. So, are there an drawbacks to keeping your grandfathered plan?

Part of the ambivalence back then had to do with historical knowledge of what happens to “closed plans”. Closed plans are plans which will not accept new enrollees which is what the grandfathered plans became. Usually, closed plans will enter a death spiral due to the fact that during the inevitable future rate increase, healthy people enrolled on the plan will shop the market and find cheaper alternatives or downgrades to offset rate increases. Enrolled people with health issues are unable to consider these changes and therefore the risk profile of the plan gets worse. The next rate increase reflects this with even higher increases which accelerates the whole process. Eventually, the plan is priced right out of the market and essentially dead. That’s what usually happens so why would we expect the grandfathered plans to be any different?

I brought this question to one of the carrier’s managers and his response was pretty convincing. That whole death spiral mentioned above only works if there’s actually a cheaper plan to move to! If all the new non-grandfathered plans are more expensive, the healthy people above will not move. We expect the new plans to be more expensive since they have more mandated benefits tied to them. So how did this actually play out since then?

According to plan. Apples to apples (similar benefits), the grandfathered plans are less expensive than newer plans since then and this trend will likely continue as new mandated benefits come online. You would think this would be a discussion past due since all new plans available are non-grandfathered but with every rate increase, current members need to decide if they should jump to a higher deductible to offset premiums. Every time the rates go up, we’re forced to consider the grandfathered decision all over again. First, run your instant California health insurance quote. Look at the available plans and their rates versus what you’re currently paying. We listed a “Key Factors to Comparing Health Plans” article to help you quickly break down the options. Every time we have checked, the rates have been higher unless you’re on one of the old and much richer plans. Of course, we’re happy to walk through these options with you since grandfathering makes the process of shopping California health insurance rates all the more complicated.

About the Author: Dennis Jarvis is a licensed

California health insurance quote

agent with extensive knowledge of the Individual California health market.

shop California health plans

Source:

isnare.com

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