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Friday, October 5, 2007

You may not know Joseph Merlino, but he knows about you and what makes you function. He knows what turns you on and he knows whether it is a problem for you. Merlino, who is the psychiatry adviser to the New York Daily News, is one of the more accomplished psychiatrists in his field and he is the Senior Editor of the forthcoming book, Freud at 150: 21st Century Essays on a Man of Genius. The battle over interpreting Freud’s legacy still rages, a testament to the father of psychoanalysis and his continuing impact today.

On the eve of the book’s publication, Wikinews reporter David Shankbone went to the Upper East Side of Manhattan to discuss the past and future of Freud and psychoanalysis with Dr. Merlino, one of the preeminent modern psychoanalysts. Shankbone took the opportunity to ask about what insanity is, discuss aberrant urges, reflect upon sadomasochism (“I’m not considered an expert in that field,” laughed Dr. Merlino), and the hegemony of heterosexuality.

Dr. Merlino posits that absent structural, biochemical or physiological defects, insanity and pathology are relative and in flux with the changing culture of which you are a part. So it is possible to be sane and insane all in one day if, for instance, you are gay and fly from the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia.

Friday, September 1, 2006

Mario López is favored to win the third season of American television series Dancing with the Stars, with 3:1 odds of winning, but close on his heels is actress Vivica Fox, with four-to-one odds. López is perhaps best known for his role on Saved by the Bell, and currently stars on soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Gambling site BetBet released odds on its website recently.

Monique Coleman (High School Musical), Joey Lawrence (Blossom), and Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans), each with six-to-one odds. Hamlin’s wife, Lisa Rinna, was a contestant in the second season of the series. Singers Willa Ford and Sara Evans each rank 8:1.

It is unknown how the firm decided the competitor’s odds; none of this year’s dancing has been previewed publicly, let alone for the press.

Dancing with the Stars enters its third season on September 12, at 8pm, with a two-hour season premiere. The series was a surprise hit for ABC, who added the program as a summer filler, with no large hopes for its success. Based on the British series Strictly Come Dancing, the series has been produced in 20 countries.

ODDS

• 7:2 – Mario Lopez
• 4:1 – Vivica Fox
• 6:1 – Monique Coleman
• 6:1 – Joey Lawrence
• 6:1 – Harry Hamlin
• 8:1 – Willa Ford
• 8:1 – Sara Evans
• 15:1 – Shanna Moakler
• 15:1 – Tucker Carlson
• 15:1 – Emmitt Smith
• 30:1 – Jerry Springer

Sunday, November 6, 2005

Authorities are looking for USD$75,000 in frozen bull semen stolen Sunday from liquid nitrogen tanks at a farm in Frederick County, Maryland. Eric Fleming, the owner, says the semen took 4 to 5 years to collect from 40 to 50 bulls. He had planned to sell the semen at an upcoming Denver cattle show.

The collection and storage of semen can be a very profitable business—the ease of transportation reduces the costs normally associated with insemination, namely the transport of bull and cow to one another. Collection can be tricky, however, as bulls do not always produce as expected and the process is not particularly easy.

“I will give a nice fat reward for any information on semen that was stolen from my tank today,” Fleming posted to a livestock breeder’s message board. “It was a mother load of semen.”

Friday, October 7, 2016

Following an accidental death at the closed Underwater World Singapore (UWS) aquarium in Sentosa on Tuesday, operations to relocate the facility’s animals have been suspended.

Phillip Chan, 62, the head diver of the defunct facility, was moving stingrays in preparation for transfer to another aquarium when one of them stung him in the chest. Singapore newspaper The New Paper reported no prior such stingray incident was known to have occurred in Singapore. Australian conservationist Steve Irwin died in a similar manner in 2006.

Following a call to the Singapore Civil Defense Force at 2:20 pm, Chan was found near the entrance of UWS, where attempts were made to resuscitate him via CPR. He was taken to Singapore General Hospital, where he died from his injuries. While Chan’s colleagues declined to comment to The New Paper, a staff member at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa, who witnessed Chan being taken away by ambulance, stated, “It all happened very quickly. The ambulance came and quickly left the premises. I’ve never seen such an incident happening here before.”

UWS operator Haw Par Corporation described Chan as a “veteran diver, aquarist and animal caregiver who had been caring for the aquatic animals at UWS since its opening in 1991”. Ten staff, including Chan, remained at UWS after its closure on June 27 to facilitate care for its animals until they could be suitably relocated. In addition to assisting the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate with their investigations, Haw Par has pledged Chan’s family “all possible support and assistance”. Due to Chan’s death, MOM has ordered the cessation of animal transfers from UWS while investigations are pending.

In an interview with The New Paper, Dr. Tan Heok Hui, an ichthyologist and Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum operations officer, stated, “Stingrays attack when they feel threatened, cornered or alarmed. Sometimes, a stingray might feel threatened when someone accidentally steps on it. Stingrays have backward pointing barbs on the spine that have serrated edges. They don’t just cause physical pain, the toxins in the spine can also cause extreme discomfort. When a spine pierces human flesh, it breaks and releases toxins into the flesh.”

Stingray venom contains serotonin, a neurotransmitter that can induce severe muscle contractions. According to Dr Tan, “If a victim is hit in vital organs like the chest area, it may trigger a cardiac arrest, which could subsequently be fatal”. “Stingrays are not usually aggressive, and choose defensive methods to protect themselves. However, stingrays are still wild animals, and when provoked and left with no choice, they will defend themselves using their sting.”

In an interview with The New Paper at the time of UWS’ closure in June, Chan said of the animals he worked with, whom he described as his “band of friends”, “They are so quietly tame. […] We intend to find them the best homes and environment. The next time I see them, I might not recognise them any more but if I dive, they might recognise me.”

Chan’s work at UWS entailed diving into the tanks and feeding the animals whilst visitors took photos. In an interview at the time with The Straits Times, Chan stated, “I treat [the animals] like my babies.” Chan also related anecdotes where he was bitten by sharks who mistook him for fish, releasing him when they recognised their mistake, describing the animals as “gentle”. “Whenever I get in danger,” said Chan, “I just keep calm. I can overcome any danger by just being calm”.

MOM stated of Chan’s death, “The Ministry of Manpower was informed about an incident that took place at Underwater World Singapore Pte Ltd’s premises at Siloso Road on 4 October 2016. Officers from MOM’s Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate responded to the scene immediately and commenced investigations. Preliminary findings indicate that a worker was pierced in his chest by the barb of a stingray while he was in the midst of transferring the stingray from its tank. He was conveyed to hospital where he subsequently succumbed to this injuries.^[sic] MOM has instructed the occupier to stop all activities associated with the transferring of sea animals. Investigations are ongoing.”

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Queen Elizabeth II, the British monarch, has today withdrawn and annulled a knighthood given to Fred Goodwin in 2004, heeding the advice given to her by a forfeiture committee. Goodwin is the former chief executive at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) and was awarded his knighthood by the British government of the time for services to banking. The committee concluded “that widespread concerns about Fred Goodwin’s decision meant that the retention of a knighthood for services to banking could not be sustained.”

Goodwin was chief executive of RBS when they purchased ABN AMRO, a Netherlands bank, in 2007. The British government subsequently bailed out RBS for £45 billion, amidst the late-2000s financial crisis.

British prime minister David Cameron stated about the annulment: “The proper process has been followed and I think we’ve ended up with the right decision.” Cameron and Ed Miliband, UK Leader of the Opposition, both believed Goodwin’s knighthood should be removed. Miliband called it “the start of the change we need in our boardrooms.”

Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy PM Nick Clegg considered it to be the “right decision”. “[A]ppropriate” was the word George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer used to describe it. “RBS came to symbolise everything that went wrong in the British economy in the last decade,” Osborne stated. Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland stated the title was given “for services to banking which could not therefore be sustained”, calling the decision “correct”.

Goodwin does not have the right to appeal against the decision, nor had the right to provide the forfeiture committee with any representations. The monarch holds sole responsibility for withdrawing all knighthoods; on this occasion Elizabeth II followed the advice of the committee, who decided to recommend the withdrawal to her. The Cabinet Office announced the advice had been given to the queen on the understanding that “Goodwin had brought the honours system in to disrepute”.

Speaking of the “exceptional case”, the committee explained: “In 2008, the government had to provide £20 billion of new equity to recapitalise RBS and ensure its survival and prevent the collapse of confidence in the British banking system. Subsequent increases in government capital have brought the total necessary injection of taxpayers’ money in RBS to £45.5 billion.” The committee understood that “Fred Goodwin was the dominant decision maker at RBS at the time.”

Until this announcement, criminal conviction and professional expulsion were the only causes for which individuals had their knighthoods revoked.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A massive earthquake, registering 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale, struck Haiti yesterday, destroying many buildings, disrupting communications, and burying an unknown number of people underneath rubble. Thousands of people are feared to have been killed by the tremors, which were felt as far away as Venezuela.

Witnesses say bodies were lining the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, after the quake struck on Tuesday afternoon, sending a cloud of dust from falling buildings into the sky. The quake was centered about sixteen kilometers from the capital, and struck at a depth of just ten kilometers, exacerbating the damage. At least 27 aftershocks were also recorded, the strongest of which came in at 5.5 and 5.9 magnitude. A tsunami alert was initially issued following the tremor, but it was retracted shortly afterwards.

Buildings across the capital have collapsed, including the presidential palace and the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti. However, the president, René Préval, and his wife reportedly survived the collapse of the building. The country’s envoy to the United States believed damage costs could reach billions of dollars.

UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said many people were in the UN building when it went down and they remain unaccounted for. A Brazilian military official later said four Brazilian soldiers who were part of the UN mission were killed.

UN Peacekeeping Chief Alain LeRoy said the organisation is working to learn the fate of its personnel. “As we speak there are still over 100 people unaccounted for under the rubble. We do not know about their fate […] some people have been extracted out of the building – but only less than 10 for the time being. Some dead, some alive. So we do not know for the time being the fate of the others. But of course, we are extremely, extremely concerned.”

The Notre Dame of the Assumption Cathedral in Port-au-Prince was also destroyed, killing Joseph Serge Miot, the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince.

“[…] It would appear that all those who were in the building, including my friend [UN mission head] Hedi Annabi […] and all those who were with him and around him are dead,” said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. In a statement released yesterday, the UN remarked that “[f]or the moment, a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for.”

Hospitals in Port-au-Prince were reported to have collapsed, raising fears that the injured would not be able to receive treatment easily. “We have reports of some of the most important hospitals in Port-au-Prince have been severely impacted by the earthquake,” said Paul Conneally, the Head of Media for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“I saw dead bodies, people are screaming, they are on the street panicking, people are hurt. There are a lot of wounded, broken heads, broken arms,” recounted Raphaelle Chenet, the administrator of the Mercy and Sharing charity, in a telephone interview with the Wall Street Journal from the Haitian capital.

UN officials reported that communications and power are out across the city, making it difficult to get accurate details regarding the full extent of casualties and damage.

The UN also noted that the main prison in Port-au-Prince collapsed, and there were reports of inmates escaping. Spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs, however, said she had no further details about that.

Efstathios Daras, the Greek ambassador to Venezuela who also represents Greece in Haiti, described the situation. “We fear major loss of life, maybe in the thousands or tens of thousands. Survivors are using their hands to help get trapped people out. There are fears of big aftershocks which could make the situation even worse. There is huge damage to the infrastructure. We can’t get through anymore. All phone lines are down.”

Joseph Guyler Delva, a reporter for Reuters, was in the area when the tremors struck. “Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing. It’s total chaos.”

Rachmani Domersant, an employee for Food for the Poor charity described the conditions on Port-au-Prince’s streets. “The whole city is in darkness, you have thousands of people sitting in the streets, with nowhere to go. I’ve seen seven to eight buildings, from office buildings to hotels and shopping stores, collapsed […] I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement.”

President Rene Preval told the Miami Herald today that the aftermath of the disaster was “unimaginable”. “Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed […] There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them,” he said, adding that he believes thousands of people died.

The Red Cross in Geneva says that up to 3 million people have been affected. The international aid agency added that there is an urgent need for search and rescue volunteers as well as field hospitals, emergency health, water purification and telecommunications.

The World Food Program (WFP), which has a large staff on the ground, says the level of destruction indicates many of these people have been affected and will require help. The Director of the WFP office in Geneva, Charles Vincent, remarked that the first priority is to save lives. “To rescue people that are buried, that are trapped, etc. […] followed very rapidly by a big problem of water, sanitation, epidemic-problems of diseases that might be bred in that kind of situation,” he noted.

The Haitian ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, told CNN the Caribbean nation is seeking US assistance, and called the quake a catastrophe of major proportions. “I’m quite sure we’re going to face a disaster of major proportion,” he said.

Separately, the Inter-American Development Bank said it will immediately approve a $200,000 grant for emergency assistance to Haiti. The funds will be used to provide food, water, medicine and temporary shelter for victims of the massive quake.

The US Agency for International Development is dispatching a disaster assistance response team to Haiti and commented that it will continue to provide additional support as needed.

The UN, meanwhile, dispatched approximately 37 search and rescue teams to assist Haitians from a global network. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon said that US$10 million worth of emergency funds would be used. “I have spoken with Mr. Clinton and we have agreed to mobilize our best assistance and rescue teams and try to reconstruct the Haitian economy. The UN will do whatever possible to help the Haitian people to overcome these difficulties,” Ban stated.

Ban noted that 3,000 UN peacekeepers were in Haiti, and that they secured the seaport and airport. They are trying to rescue people buried underneath rubble, he said, but were severely hampered by lack of heavy equipment. “Brazilian forces have been working through the night to rescue but because of the darkness and destruction of infrastructure not much progress has been made. We hope it will be better this morning,” Ban said.

The aid group Oxfam added that its emergency response team for Latin America is based in Haiti and is well prepared, with a public health, water and sanitation team in Port-au-Prince. Oxfam says it is preparing to send in emergency supplies as soon as possible from Panama.

The American Red Cross pledged US$500,000 to help the country, and would send out people to assess damage. “As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support,” it said yesterday evening in a statement.

A number of other nations, including the UK and Venezuela, are also planning to send aid.

A reporter for the Al Jazeera news agency, however, said there might be difficulties delivering aid. “We are about 300km from the epicentre of the earthquake, and we know that the UN agencies and the humanitarian groups here are trying to get together some kind of strategy to get aid over to Haiti. We know that there are trucks loaded with supplies ready to go but the difficulty is that no-one really knows how to get that aid to the people [effectively].”

This quake is said to have been the strongest in Haiti in over two hundred years; the last time an earthquake of comparable magnitude was recorded was in 1770.

Haiti is the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. Recent development efforts have suffered severe setbacks because of political violence, crime, corruption and natural disasters. Seventy percent of the population lives on the equivalent of less than US$2 per day.

Thursday, July 7, 2005

U.S. President George W. Bush crashed his mountain bike into an unfortunate police officer in Scotland.

Mr. Bush, who celebrated his 59th birthday last night was cycling on a bike around the Gleneagles Hotel, where he is staying for the 31st G8 summit, when he, perhaps partially due to the bad weather, crashed into one of the police officers responsible for his and the other leaders’ safety.

The officer had to be taken to the hospital having suffered a twisted ankle whilst Mr. Bush, who was wearing a helmet, only suffered minor bruises despite landing on asphalt. The president had to return to the hotel by van because the bike was too badly damaged.

Bush has been involved in two similar accidents during his presidency. In 2003, he fell off a Segway personal transporter, and in 2004, he fell off a mountain bike.

Friday, July 13, 2007

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has apologised to Queen Elizabeth II and photographer, Annie Leibovitz, after a trailer for a documentary suggested she had walked out of a portrait sitting when the photographer asked her to remove her crown.

The trailer shows a clip of the photographer telling the Queen, “I think it will look better without the crown because the garter robe is so…” The Queen responded with “Less dressy! What do you think this is?” The following clip shows the Queen walking down a corridor saying, “I’m not changing anything. I’ve had enough dressing like this, thank you very much.”

It has since been clarified that this second clip shows the Queen arriving at the sitting, not departing.

In a statement the BBC said, “In this trailer there is a sequence that implies that the Queen left a sitting prematurely. This was not the case and the actual sequence of events was mis-represented. The BBC would like to apologise to both the Queen and Annie Leibovitz for any upset this may have caused.”

The BBC blamed a production error for the mistake, saying, “This assembly was never intended to be seen by the public or the press. Unfortunately, this assembly was given in error to the BBC personnel who were preparing the BBC One autumn launch tape.”

The company responsible for the editing of the documentary, RDF Media, also apologized to the Queen. Michael Grade, previous controller of BBC One, blamed the mistake on “young, untrained” workers who “don’t understand that the basic ethic of broadcasting in this country is trust.”

Photographer, Leibowitz, commenting about the session in Vanity Fair even before the release of the trailer, said, “She doesn’t really want to get dressed up any more. She just couldn’t be bothered and I admired her for that.”