среда, 29 февраля 2012 г.
Fed: Greens will continue to push govt on CEO pay caps
AAP General News (Australia)
02-05-2009
Fed: Greens will continue to push govt on CEO pay caps
CANBERRA, Feb 5 AAP - The Australian Greens want the federal government to follow US
President Barack Obama's lead and limit the salaries of corporate bosses.
But the party is getting little support for its move, with both Labor and the coalition
blocking another attempt to tackle the issue in parliament.
President Obama has set a salary cap of $US500,000 on the chief executives of companies
his administration is bailing out in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The Greens' fourth attempt at raising the salary packages of …
Xfone Extends Fiber Network to Littlefield, Texas
Wireless News
06-06-2011
Xfone Extends Fiber Network to Littlefield, Texas
Type: News
Xfone, Inc. connected its first triple play customer in Littlefield, Texas as part of the Company's new "Pride" fiber-to- the-premise Network.
According to a release, Xfone began laying fiber for its current build out in October 2010 and is expected to reach 19 new communities bringing the total FTTP passings to approximately 50,000 when construction is completed. The Company is funding the expansion of the fiber network using approximately $100 million in federal stimulus funding.
To date, Xfone has established its FTTP network in Lubbock, Levelland, Smyer, and Wolfforth, Texas, providing customers in those communities access to voice, video and internet services using high speed broadband.
Guy Nissenson, Xfone's President and CEO, said, "Our fiber network provides some of the highest speed bandwith available and has gained great acceptance from customers in Lubbock, Levelland and Smyer. We're very pleased to have the opportunity to establish our state of the art fiber network to bring voice, video, and internet services to new communities like Littlefield that did not previously have access to high speed broadband. With consumers' increasing reliance on the internet, both in residential and business applications, speed and accessibility are very important and our network offers both. Construction of the Pride Network is progressing and we look forward to bringing advanced broadband to more customers in the coming weeks."
Xfone is a provider of high speed broadband services, including Internet access, digital cable TV programming and local and long distance telephone service to residential and business customers in northern Texas and southeastern Louisiana.
More information:
www.xfone.com
((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))
Copyright 2011 Close-Up Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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VIC:Wave energy to power 300 Victorian homes
AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2011
VIC:Wave energy to power 300 Victorian homes
MELBOURNE, Dec 2 AAP - A world-first wave energy project which mimics the movement
of seaweed and kelp through the water will power hundreds of homes in Victoria's southwest.
The $14 million BioWAVE project is a single wave energy unit that will be anchored
to the sea floor 30 metres underwater and about 800 metres from the shore at a site four
kilometres west of Port Fairy.
The 450kW unit will be connected to the energy grid and power 300 homes by early 2013.
The project is an example of biomimicry, in which biological traits are used in engineered
systems.
The Victorian government has put $5 million towards the project and other partners
include AGL Energy Bluescope Steel, Lend Lease, Swinburne University, the University of
Melbourne and the University of Sydney.
Energy and Resources Minister Michael O'Brien said the project would also support the
local economy and jobs.
AAP mok/ce/it
KEYWORD: WAVE
� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
FBI probes computers at Chelsea town office ; Selectman Carole Swan is under investigation on charges of soliciting a kickback from a contractor.
MECHELE COOPER--
Portland Press Herald (Maine)
03-18-2011
FBI probes computers at Chelsea town office ; Selectman Carole Swan is under investigation on charges of soliciting a kickback from a contractor.
Byline: MECHELE COOPER--
Edition: FINAL
Section: Local & State
Type: News
CHELSEA --
A team of FBI forensic computer specialists searched the town office on Thursday and copied information stored on the hard drives of the town's seven computers as part of an investigation into selectman Carole Swan.
Kennebec County Sheriff's Detective Dave Bucknam, who is leading the investigation, accompanied the FBI investigators on Thursday. He said authorities decided to copy the hard drives rather than seize the computers. "That way, the town can continue to function."
Swan, 52, was arrested Feb. 10, charged with soliciting a $10,000 kickback from a town plowing contractor. She is free on bail.
Stephen Langsdorf, the attorney for the town, said the FBI specialists arrived in Maine on Thursday afternoon, but he could not comment on the purpose of their visit.
"When you have forensic computer experts like that, they can tell when documents were changed and when things were deleted," Langsdorf said.
Also Thursday, Chelsea Selectmen Michael Pushard was at the Town Office early to distribute keys for new locks on the building.
At the urging of residents and the town's attorney, Pushard changed the locks after Justice Robert Murray amended Swan's bail order Tuesday to allow Swan to conduct personal business at the Town Office once every three months and to attend "official noticed meetings."
Swan has not resigned as chair of the Board of Selectmen. Some residents took shifts guarding the Town Office overnight Tuesday to prevent her from entering the building.
Pushard had the locks changed on Wednesday.
"I handed out keys to staff," Pushard said. "And we're in the process of changing the panel on the security system so we'll know who's coming and going. We want to see if there's money available to spend on modifying the old system."
Kennebec County District Attorney Evert Fowle said Thursday the criminal investigation continues.
Swan's case is the third in recent history in which Chelsea has come under investigation by law enforcement.
Doris Reed, a former assistant town manager and assistant tax collector, was arrested and charged with stealing more than $142,000 in auto excise taxes from the town from 1990 to 1992.
In April 1998, the town's computers were seized for a child pornography case.
Town Manager Paul Beattie was arrested by federal agents on charges of possessing and receiving child pornography over the Internet.
Beattie committed suicide four months after his arrest, on the day he was to appear in court to enter a plea.
Copyright 2009 Blethen Maine Newspapers
VIC:Main stories on Nine News
AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2010
VIC:Main stories on Nine News
MELBOURNE, Dec 7 AAP - Main stories in Nine News:
- Bomber Thompson has fronted a media conference at Windy Hill saying it is time to
hang up his hat as a senior coach at Geelong.
- England cricket great Sir Ian Botham is threatening legal action after allegedly
following reports he was involved in a physical "dust-up" with long-time foe Ian Chappell
in the Adelaide Oval car park.
- England have moved a step closer to retaining the Ashes after winning the first round
of the 2010 contest in Adelaide.
- Police have released footage of an injured man who was assaulted during a home invasion
in Melbourne's southeast on Tuesday.
- The parents of a baby who mysteriously died have described their daughter's death
as tragic as police continue investigations.
- A faulty speed camera has been detected by the Nine Network on the Nepean Highway
in the bayside suburb of Highett.
- A former senior police officer has avoided jail after tipping off a friend who managed
a strip bar about unidentified licence inspectors.
- Security is being boosted at Geelong Magistrates Court ahead of a hearing on Wednesday
into the jailhouse murder of gangland killer Carl Williams.
- Online sales are booming in the lead-up to Christmas while retailers are struggling
to attract shoppers into stores.
- American-born former boxer, chiropractor and actor Gus Mercurio has died.
- The Oprah roadshow has officially begun in Sydney with a private dinner party in
Toorak expected to host the talk show queen on Friday evening.
AAP ees/apm
KEYWORD: MONITOR 1800 NINE
� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
Tribune Media Group and Village Profile Collaborate with Chicagoland Area Chambers of Commerce
Wireless News
05-20-2010
Tribune Media Group and Village Profile Collaborate with Chicagoland Area Chambers of Commerce
Type: News
VillageProfile.com, Inc., a provider of Chamber of Commerce publishing, announced it will work with the Tribune Media Group (TMG) to provide Chicagoland area Chambers of Commerce with marketing and communications opportunities via locally targeted Chamber of Commerce multi-media products.
"This collaboration allows TMG to combine the strength of our advertising sales force and newspaper demographics with Village Profile's marketing, production and distribution services to better serve Chicagoland area Chambers of Commerce publishing needs," said Bob Fleck, senior vice president of advertising.
The Companies said Village Profile and TMG will leverage their respective resources and capabilities to deepen advertiser reach, and provide added promotional value via Tribune local newspapers and TribLocal community Websites to promote local Chambers in conjunction with their publication programs. In addition, Village Profile's exclusive Convergence Publishing Program multi-platform advertising bundle, encompassing traditional Chamber of Commerce publications along with Websites, eBooks and mobile business directories, offers Chambers and participating advertisers access to a global audience.
President and CEO of Village Profile Dan Nugara said, "What an opportunity TMG brings to Chambers of Commerce to promote their Chamber agenda and membership with multi-media newspaper and Internet support at the local community level, plus the dynamics of the Village Profile Convergence Publishing Program provides a win- win for the local Chamber, as well as TMG and Village Profile."
Tribune Media Group represents Chicagoland's media brands through publishing, broadcasting and online outlets, which together give advertisers one destination for cross-channel solutions. The focus is driving business with custom solutions. TMG includes: WGN TV, WGN Radio, CLTV, Chicago Tribune, RedEye, TribLocal, ChicagoTribune.com and ChicagoNow.com.
Village Profile introduced its multi-platform Convergence Publishing Program to the Chamber industry, launching traditional print into the digital world with online publication Websites in 1995, free New View eBook downloads, CDs and mobile business directories.
The Village Profile:
villageprofile.com
Tribune Media Group:
tribunemediagroup.com
((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))
Copyright 2010 Close-Up Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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FED: "Confronting" campaign on bowel cancer launched
AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2009
FED: "Confronting" campaign on bowel cancer launched
A confronting campaign's being launched today .. saying it'd be front-page news if
a dozen Australians were killed in a terrorist attack .. but there's little reaction to
this many lives lost to bowel cancer every day.
TV ads depicting a terrorist attack on Australian soil will soon be screening across the country.
The Gut Foundation says it's justified by the lack of understanding of a cancer ..
which is usually curable if it's detected early.
Bowel cancer is Australia's most common cause of cancer death in non smokers .. with
13 thousand 500 cases diagnosed in 2006 .. and more than three thousand 800 deaths.
AAP RTV dr/srp/af
KEYWORD: BOWEL (SYDNEY)
2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
FED: Police may be close to finding mysterious McCann case woman
AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-2009
FED: Police may be close to finding mysterious McCann case woman
An Australian woman believed to hold vital clues to the disappearance of missing British
child MADELEINE MCCANN may have been found.
New South Wales police say they have received information about a woman who's similar
in description to a Australian being sought by private investigators examining the disappearance
of MADELEINE.
The woman reportedly spoke to a British man outside a bar in Barcelona in Spain three
days after the four-year-old girl disappeared in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz
in May 2007.
Police say a Sydney woman gave a formal statement to detectives on Friday .. and claims
to know the identity of the woman being sought by the private investigators working for
the MCCANN family.
New South Wales police say they're forwarding the information to the Federal Police.
AAP RTV bc/cdh/srp/wz/rt
KEYWORD: MCCANN (SYDNEY)
2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
Vic: Melbourne affected by bushfire smoke
AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2009
Vic: Melbourne affected by bushfire smoke
MELBOURNE, Feb 14 AAP - Melbourne will continue to be affected by smoke this weekend
as bushfires burn across Victoria, the state's environment authority says.
EPA Victoria issued a smoke advisory for Melbourne on Saturday, advising residents
to take sensible precautions.
EPA director of environmental services Bruce Dawson said that with predicted northeasterly
winds, Melbourne would continue to be affected by smoke.
"We expect these conditions will continue into Sunday," Mr Dawson said.
"We would advise residents to take sensible precautions.
"As always, those closest to the seat of the fires will continue to have reduced visibility
and high smoke levels as firefighters work to bring the fires under control."
Department of Human Services chief health officer Dr John Carnie advised those with
respiratory or heart conditions, the elderly and children to limit prolonged or heavy
exertion.
"Where possible this sector of the community should also limit the time they spend
outdoors," he said.
"Those with asthma should follow their asthma management plan, taking their medication
as prescribed and paying attention to any symptoms."
Dr Carnie said anyone concerned about their symptoms should seek medical advice.
AAP mi/jpm/apm
KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC SMOKE
2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
FED: One in three older Aussies have sex "a lot": study
AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2008
FED: One in three older Aussies have sex "a lot": study
By Tamara McLean, Medical Writer
SYDNEY, Aug 26 AAP - Older Australians are getting more sex than researchers suspected,
according to a survey showing about a third of men and women are doing it more than once
a week.
Australian statistics from a global sex study have given a rare scientific glimpse
of the sexual habits of people aged 40 to 80.
It shows 83 per cent of men and 74 per cent of women in the age group have had sex
in the past year.
But the lead Australian researcher, renowned sex therapist Dr Rosie King, says that
it's even more significant how many are having a lot of sex.
"We found 38 per cent of mature men and 29 per cent of mature women were having sex
more than once a week," Dr King said.
"That's a significant amount of older men and women having a lot of sex, perhaps more
than many of us suspected."
Dr King said the results, published in the CSIRO journal Sexual Health, were "exciting"
because most of the 1,500 participants were in long-term relationships.
"These people are not frothy young singles out at the clubs having hot casual sex," she said.
"They're more likely to be at home with their loved one in front of the fire. So, in
that respect it's quite impressive."
But there were problems in the bedroom too, with a quarter of the men admitting they
regularly suffered from premature ejaculation and erectile difficulties.
Dr King said issues with sexual function increased with age, as more men developed
diabetes and obesity, and started taking medication known to affect performance.
Problems were also common among women, with a quarter saying they have trouble reaching
orgasm and a third admitting to a lack of sexual interest.
"For a lot of these women, their sex drive isn't like what they see on Sex and the
City or read about in romance novels so they think there's something wrong with them,
when it's totally normal," she said.
The study also showed women were less likely to be having sex than men their own age.
This was because they tended to be with older men, who have erection difficulties, or
were more likely to be widowed or divorced from partners who have remarried younger women.
"So the pickings are particularly slim for women over the age of 40 compared with men,"
said Dr King, a consultant for the drug company Pfizer, which funded the study.
She said it was most concerning to see less than 20 per cent of participants had spoken
to a doctor about their problem, and just six per cent said they had been asked about
their sexual health by a doctor in the last three years.
AAP tam/jpm/cdh
KEYWORD: SEX
2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
1700 ABC 2BL Headlines
AAP General News (Australia)
04-21-2008
1700 ABC 2BL Headlines
- Swimmer Nick D'Arcy makes first court appearance.
- More lanes on Sydney's Victoria Road .. but more narrow.
- Iemma wants other states to follow NSW in laser ban.
- Former NSW policemen sentenced in Brisbane for drugs offences
- Man involved in Nassour stabbing death jailed.
- Alexander Downer says 2020 summit was a left wing talk fest.
- ACT olympic torch security doubles cost.
- OLy torch relay underway in Kuala Lumpur.
- Pope ends visit to United States.
- SKorea signals warmer ties with Japan.
- Share market higher today.
- Sport
AAP RTV wz/sw
KEYWORD: 1700 ABC 2BL SYDNEY
2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
Fed: Swan says spending cuts to start at government level
AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2007
Fed: Swan says spending cuts to start at government level
By Colin Brinsden, Economics Correspondent
CANBERRA, Dec 17 AAP - Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said spending cuts should start
at government level to dampen inflation, as a leading economist warned of further interest
rate rises next year.
Mr Swan said this Thursday's meeting with states and territories at the Council of
Australian Governments (COAG) will also be looking at ways to build the productive capacity
of the economy.
"The inflation pressure has been building for a long period of time, it will take some
time to deal with," Mr Swan told journalists in Canberra.
"I think the most important thing we can do is to have a new era of fiscal discipline
and the commonwealth ought to start with itself.
"We do need additional savings, we do need to work with the states to expand the productive
capacity of the economy."
Independent forecaster Access Economics says Labor's promised razor-gang should take
the hatchet to family benefits and national security to help stem the tide of rising interest
rates.
Access director Chris Richardson says the tax cuts of recent years have pushed up interest
rates, and Labor's planned tax cuts does risk a further increase in rates.
"Australia is increasingly choking on its own prosperity," Mr Richardson told journalists
in Canberra.
"Times are too good, and that's the problem, it means tax cuts of recent years have
pushed up interest rates and that's what the new government has inherited."
He said the Labor government needs to break the nexus between tax cuts and interest rate rises.
"I'm pretty sure there is nothing it can do to avoid an interest rate rise in February, he said.
"The question is whether it can avoid one in the middle of 2008, and that comes down
to the quality of its first budget."
He said politically Labor's promised $31 billion of tax cuts from July next will have
to stay, but need to be countered by severe spending cuts.
Mr Richardson said the two biggest areas of increased spending in recent years have
been in family benefits - much not means-tested - and national security.
"That might have been necessary but it's not completely clear that it has been successful,
that it's either making Australia that much safer, fairer or more prosperous," he said.
The forecaster described the Howard government's spending decisions in recent years
as "positively Whitlamnesque" - handing back more than half of the China-driven revenue
windfall in a series of personal income tax cuts and directing the rest to increased spending.
Mr Richardson said that it take two parties to manage the economy - the federal government
with the budget and the Reserve Bank with interest rates.
"Canberra gave up," he said.
"It took its hands off the wheel in recent years and just acted as a post box between
the prosperity being fed us by China and the punters it handed it all over to in personal
income tax cuts and more and more spending."
"The Reserve Bank has hinted it would like the government to be doing more to take
some of the strain and its got to do that to avoid more interest rate rises."
AAP cb/sb/it
KEYWORD: ECONOMY NIGHTLEAD
2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
NSW: Ceremony to be held for Japanese submariners
AAP General News (Australia)
08-06-2007
NSW: Ceremony to be held for Japanese submariners
A memorial ceremony for two Japanese sailors .. who died when their M24 midget submarine
was lost off Sydney during World War II .. will be held today.
The submarine disappeared after an attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 .. and was found
late last year by a group of amateur divers .. about five km off Sydney's northern beaches.
Relatives of the two submariners and dignitaries from Australia and Japan will attend
the service .. at the HMAS Kuttabul naval base at Garden Island.
An at-sea ceremony will then be held at the site of the largely-intact wreck .. believed
to still contain the remains of the commander and navigator .. Sub-Lieutenant KATSUHISA
BAN .. and Petty Officer MEMORU ASHIBE.
AAP RTV kd/hn/af
KEYWORD: SUB (SYDNEY)
2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45, Feb 12=2
AAP General News (Australia)
02-12-2007
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:45, Feb 12=2
HONIARA - The Solomons government wants the Pacific Islands Forum to initiate talks
on an exit strategy for the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.
(Solomons RAMSI, to come)
AUCKLAND - Hardline anti-whaling activists are threatening to sacrifice their ship
in Antarctic waters by ramming a Japanese whaler. (Whaling Showdown)
NORFOLK ISLAND - Two tourists have told a Norfolk Island court how they came across
the body of Janelle Patton while visiting a waterfall in 2002. (McNeill)
SYDNEY - Kylie Minogue has urged fans to ease up on her former actor lover Olivier
Martinez, who has been labelled a love rat in the wake of the glamour couple's split.
(Kylie)
SYDNEY - A forgettable end to the Australian cricket team's summer handed the Nine
Network a dream start to the 2007 official TV ratings season. (Ratings)
SYDNEY - The first contestant to be kicked off The Biggest Loser hits out at critics
of the show. (Loser, to come, embargoed to 2000 AEDT)
SYDNEY - Almost half of women continue drinking alcohol through pregnancy, and older,
wealthier, well-educated women are the worst culprits, new research shows. (Pregnant)
SYDNEY - Electronics group Panasonic will launch its next generation of armour-plated
notebook computers, which have been built to withstand rough outdoor use and constant
vehicle motion. (Toughbook)
CANBERRA - It may not get any worse for homebuyers after the reserve bank indicated
that last year's interest rate rises had been enough to dampen inflation. (Economy Lead.
N/L to come)
CANBERRA - Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says Australian terror suspect David Hicks
will not return home until he faces trial by the United States. (Hicks Downer. Hicks N/L
to come)
CANBERRA - Skilled migrants are coming to Australia in ever increasing numbers for
temporary work, a parliamentary committee has been told. (Visas)
CANBERRA - International aid is in crisis and a better way to help third world countries
would be to help their businesses, rather than their governments, says a new study. (Aid)
SYDNEY - NSW Premier Morris Iemma says he won't introduce recycled sewage into Sydney's
water supply, despite a new opinion poll showing most Australians would be willing to
drink it. (Water Iemma Lead. PollNSW N/L to come)
SYDNEY - A NSW coalition government will offer rebates to householders who install
solar hot water systems if elected next month, Opposition Leader Peter Debnam says. (PollNSW
Solar. See also PollNSW Property)
SYDNEY - While a downpour drenches Sydney, much of drought plagued NSW is missing out
on the rain, the NSW government says. (Weather NSW Drought. N/L to come)
SYDNEY - A truck driver has survived a 60-metre drop down an embankment beside the
F3 after his vehicle left the road near the Mooney Mooney Bridge north of Sydney. (Truck.
N/L to come)
SYDNEY - A Sydney mother who allegedly murdered her elderly father using a roll of
Gladwrap and a pillow is to face a Sydney court this afternoon. (Beltrame, to come)
SYDNEY - Newspaper articles accusing a NSW prison chaplain of having links with terrorists
were "highly inflammatory", a Sydney court has heard. (Al Barq)
MELBOURNE - Victoria's two most powerful police figures are in conflict again, with
Police Association secretary Paul Mullett accusing Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon
of colluding to undermine his union. (Police Vic Daylead. N/L to come)
MELBOURNE - The Victorian opposition has accused Premier Steve Bracks of disrespect
for parliament by refusing to appear at an upper house gaming inquiry. (Gaming Vic. N/L
to come)
MELBOURNE - Victoria's County Court chief judge today said journalists who refuse to
reveal their sources wear contempt convictions almost as a "badge of honour". (Contempt,
to come)
MELBOURNE - Police divers have found the body of a man who went missing in the Murray
River after two speedboats crashed near Moama on the NSW-Victoria border over the weekend.
(Boat)
BRISBANE - A man who has been charged with being a public nuisance after sparking a
massive search in a Sunshine Coast national park should have to pay back rescue costs
if he is found guilty, Queensland's opposition says. (Jump Lead. N/L to come)
BRISBANE - The Queensland government wants to change the law after a court upheld a
prisoner's discrimination complaint because he wasn't given meat prepared in the Muslim
way. (Diet. N/L to come)
BRISBANE - Two British men have been charged after 6kg of ecstasy tablets were found
inside a DVD player in luggage at Brisbane Airport. (DVD. N/L to come)
BRISBANE - Male cyclists taking part in a nude environmental protest ride in Brisbane
next month will be urged to equip themselves with one vital item - a sock. (Nude)
BRISBANE - Queensland coroner releases findings of an inquest into a man who died after
being sprayed with capsicum spray by police (Eddy, to come)
ADELAIDE - A driver has died after being hit by a stolen car as it was being chased
by police in Adelaide's northern suburbs early today. (Toll SA. N/L to come)
ADELAIDE - HIV-positive man continues his appeal against conviction for endangering
life by having sex with three women. (Parenzee, to come)
PERTH - Disgraced former West Australian premier Brian Burke's political lobbying activities
are expected to come under further scrutiny at fresh corruption hearings that begin today.
(Burke, to come)
PERTH - A farmer has suffered third degree burns after trying to flee a bushfire near
Albany, in Western Australia's south, early today. (Bushfires WA. N/L to come)
PERTH - West Australian police are searching for a man missing in the Ord River in
a crocodile-infested area of the state's far north. (Ord. N/L to come)
HOBART - The search for a fisherman missing off Tasmania's south-east coast has been
scaled down and could be called off by police tonight. (Fisherman)
AAP nf
KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY
2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
Vic: Woman dies after car hits horse
AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2006
Vic: Woman dies after car hits horse
MELBOURNE, Aug 26 AAP - A 32-year-old woman died and her eight-year-old daughter was
critically injured when the car in which they were passengers hit a horse crossing a highway
west of Melbourne.
The woman was the front seat passenger in a Subaru station wagon when it ran into the
horse, which was killed instantly when it crashed through the windscreen about 7pm (AEST)
yesterday.
The driver, a 39-year-old man, escaped with minor injuries.
The woman was airlifted to The Alfred hospital but died a short time later.
The girl, who was sitting directly behind her mother in the back seat of the car, remains
in a stable condition in the Royal Children's Hospital.
Police are continuing to investigate the freak crash which occurred as the horse crossed
the Northern Highway about 3km south of Kilmore.
In a separate accident, a 28-year-old Metung man died after the motorcycle he was riding
smashed into a light pole.
Police believe the man was not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred on Kingscote
Drive, Metung about 8.45pm (AEST).
He died from head injuries at the scene.
The two deaths bring Victoria's road toll to 201 for the year compared to 231 for the
same period lst year.
AAP jmw/jt
KEYWORD: TOLL VIC
) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
NSW: NSW Safety House program to be audited
AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2006
NSW: NSW Safety House program to be audited
EDS: Takes in keyword Grabbed
By Peter Jean and Katherine Danks
SYDNEY, April 19 AAP - The NSW Safety House program will be audited after new figures
revealed a drastic fall in participation in the child protection initiative.
The NSW Opposition says it obtained figures through freedom of information showing
the number of homes participating in the scheme declined from 12,260 in 2002 to 8,547
in 2004.
Children are encouraged to go to Safety Houses, marked with distinctive yellow stickers,
if they are frightened, become lost, or are harassed on the way to or from school.
Following opposition claims that the falling numbers of safety houses showed the system
was badly underfunded, the NSW government today announced an audit of the program.
The opposition's release of the figures came after an attack on a 10-year-old girl
in Wilson Street, in inner-Sydney Newtown, just before 1.30pm (AEST) yesterday.
The attacker indecently assaulted the girl and tried to drag her away, but fled when
she screamed, police said.
He was described as being in his 30s, with dark skin and dark, greasy, ear-length hair.
NSW Opposition Leader Peter Debnam today said the Safety House scheme was an important
child protection program and urged the government to boost funding.
"What we need to do is make sure that the government promotes the program and gets
behind police to provide the funding for the background checks," Mr Debnam told reporters.
Police Minister Carl Scully today said he had asked police to ensure participants in
the Safety House scheme had not moved away, leaving their stickers in place at the old
address.
"We want to make sure that the people in those homes go through the appropriate approvals
and accreditation (by) police," he told reporters.
Mr Scully said the Safety House scheme was becoming less relevant, with only 10 children
using the houses in 2004.
The need for the homes had also declined because more parents were driving their children
to and from school, or placing them in before and after-school care.
"It is not as relevant as it was in the face of mums and dads taking their kids to
school, in the face of a lot of these homes being unoccupied ... ," Mr Scully said.
Another factor running against the scheme was the unknown background of many people
in the designated houses, Mr Scully said.
The government was willing to boost Safety House funding in communities that still
wanted the program, but Mr Scully said he believed the popularity of the scheme would
continue to decline.
AAP kjd/pj/was/hn/jt/de
KEYWORD: HOUSES NIGHTLEAD (PIX AVAILABLE)
2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
понедельник, 27 февраля 2012 г.
Privacy and security.(electronic government)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Privacy and security. Privacy and security are two issues that are of concern to Internet users, and rightfully so. They are also two edges of a very sharp sword. On the one hand, all of us should be concerned about the privacy and confidentiality of the information that we provide to other parties, whether it is something simple and relatively harmless like birth dates; something more vital and potentially harmful like credit card and Social Security numbers; or exceptionally important personal data like medical records. We don't want private information falling into the wrong hands.
Not only are average citizens concerned about privacy, a survey in late 2000 of over 3,700 local governments in the U.S. by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and Public Technology, Inc. (PTI) found that 28 percent of the cities and counties responding felt that concerns about security posed barriers to their adoption of electronic government.
Security is the other side of the sword. Here, organizations with information systems need to take proper precautions that the data on their systems are properly secured so that unauthorized users cannot access them.
This is easier said than done, especially in an era when teenagers with high speed modems, decent PCs, and too much time on their hands can hack into the Pentagon's computer system. As far as I know, the only absolutely foolproof way to ensure data security from hackers is never to go online. Since this restriction is not practical for most of us, other means, like passwords, callbacks, firewalls, encryption, and other techniques are employed.
According to the ICMA/PTI survey, 42 percent of local governments feel that security concerns have presented barriers to their engaging in electronic government.
Dr. Norris, Director of the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, conducts research and consults about information technology in the public sector.
















