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Wednesday, March 7, 2007

There are at least two big winners in Tuesday night’s US$370 million Mega Millions lottery drawing which is held in 12 U.S. states. The two winning tickets were sold in Georgia and New Jersey, but lottery officials say that no one has come forward to claim their millions.

One ticket was sold at a store called Campark Liquors, which is located in Woodbine, New Jersey. The other ticket was sold at what is called the Favorite Market, located in Dalton, Georgia.

The drawing, the biggest in Mega Millions history, was moved from its usual location in Atlanta, Georgia to Times Square, New York because at one point, according to New York’s lottery commissioner, Robert McLaughlin, at least 1,000,000 tickets an hour were being sold in the state of New York.

Some people in Ohio were not so lucky. In fact, the state’s lottery system, for reasons still not known, went off-line at 10:25 p.m., just over a half hour before the drawing was to be held.

At least one person was one number away from winning the jackpot, matching five of the six numbers. That ticket is worth $250,000 and was bought at Burtonsville Crown Beer & Wine in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The previous record for the highest multi-state lottery was set back in 2006 when the Power Ball jackpot paid out at least $365 million dollars to eight people in Nebraska. Another multi-state lottery, The Big Game (which was later named Mega Millions) has the third highest jackpot of $363 million dollars which was paid out in 2000.

The lottery numbers were, 16-22-29-39-42 and the Mega Ball was, 20. The odds of actually winning the jackpot, by yourself, was at least one in 176 million. Each group of numbers costs only one dollar.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Copies of The Profit, a 2001 film blocked from distribution in the United States due to a court injunction won by the Church of Scientology, appeared on the Internet Friday on peer-to-peer file-sharing websites and on the video sharing site YouTube.

Directed by former film executive Peter N. Alexander, the movie has been characterized by critics as a parody of Scientology and of its founder L. Ron Hubbard. Alexander was a Scientologist for twenty years, and left the organization in 1997. The film was funded by Bob Minton, a former critic of Scientology who later signed an agreement with the Church of Scientology and has attempted to stop distribution of the film. Alexander has stated that the movie is based on his research into cults, and when asked by the St. Petersburg Times about parallels to Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard said: “I’ll let you draw that conclusion … I say it’s entirely fictional.”

The film was released in August 2001, and was shown at a movie theatre in Clearwater, Florida and at a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France. A Scientology spokesman gave a statement at the time saying “the movie is fiction and has nothing to do with Scientology”. The Church of Scientology later took legal action in an attempt to stop further distribution of the film. The Church of Scientology claimed that the film was intended to influence the jury pool in the wrongful death case of Scientologist Lisa McPherson, who died under Scientology care in Clearwater, Florida.

In April 2002, a Pinellas County, Florida judge issued a court order enjoining The Profit from worldwide distribution for an indefinite period. According to the original court injunction received by Wikinews, the movie was originally banned because the court found that it could be seen as a parody of Scientology. In his April 20, 2002 ruling on the injunction, Judge Robert E. Beach of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in Pinellas County, Florida wrote: “…an average person viewing the film entitled The Profit could perceive that it is a parody of the Church of Scientology”.

“To the extent that any person considered as a potential juror in evaluating any issues involving the Church of Scientology, the process of voir dire provides a fair and complete remedy to eliminate any potential juror that may possibly have been influenced to be less than fair and impartial,” added Beach.

Luke Lirot, the attorney for the film’s production company, announced on the film’s website on April 7, 2007 that “We have absolutely no exposure for any repercussions from the court order,” but that the film was still blocked from distribution due to an ongoing legal battle. Lirot wrote: “all that’s stopping the release of the movie is the legal battle with the partner who was compromised by Scientology (Robert Minton) and is currently using his power as partner to stop the release of the film.”

In an October 2007 article, The Times described the film as “banned in the US because of a lawsuit taken out against it by The Church of Scientology,” and Russ Kick’s The Disinformation Book of Lists included the film in his “List of 16 Movies Banned in the U.S.”. An 8-minute teaser segment from The Profit appeared on the film’s website and on the video sharing site YouTube in February 2008, and an attorney representing Bob Minton sent a letter to Luke Lirot requesting that the film clip be taken down. In a response letter, Lirot wrote that “Rather than damage any asset of the LLC, the short clip merely keeps the film in the public eye, and in a positive way.”

On Friday, copies of the film began to circulate on peer-to-peer file-sharing websites and on YouTube. A link related to the film’s appearance on the Internet on the community-based link aggregator website Digg.com had 3,638 “Diggs” – and hit the front page of the site’s Entertainment section on Saturday.

On Saturday, Scientology critic and Emmy award-winning journalist Mark Bunker put a streaming version of the film on his website, www.xenutv.com, and encouraged others to watch and discuss the film on a real-time chat channel. In a video posting to YouTube Saturday, Bunker said “I did not do it. I had nothing to do with it … I had nothing to do with this release at all. But I’m happy it’s out there … people are finally having a chance to see it. A lot of people have been curious over the years and there’s been a lot of interest in seeing the film, so finally you can.”

On the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology, a poster by the username “Alexia Death” commented on the film’s appearance on the Internet in the context of censorship: “It is out! And so it is a WIN if many people review it even if they say it SUCKS! … Being bad is no cause to allow censorship … And being censored is no cause to assume its good”. A post to the blog Blogsreel commented: “We have all wanted to see this movie that scientology kept hidden away from us. We have all wondered just how damning could this story be that we were banned from watching it.”

In a post on Sunday to the message board attached to the official website for the film, attorney Luke Lirot asked that individuals stop distributing copies of The Profit over the Internet. Lirot wrote: “It has been brought to my attention that several unauthorized transmissions and downloads of this protected work have taken place over the last 72 hours. Such actions are copyright violations and are unlawful. I request that any further distribution and/or dissemination of this important work cease immediately and any copies of the work that have been downloaded please be deleted.” In his statement, Lirot recognized the rights of individuals under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, but also said that unauthorized distribution of the film “will only serve to harm the goal of vast distribution”.

Blog postings have attributed the film’s appearance on the Internet as part of the anti-Scientology movement Project Chanology organized by the Internet-based group Anonymous, but this has not been confirmed. Wikinews previously reported on international protests against Scientology which took place as part of Project Chanology on February 10 and March 15. A third international protest by Anonymous is scheduled for April 12. Titled “Operation Reconnect”, the third international protest will focus on highlighting Scientology’s practice of disconnection.

Monday, November 28, 2005

SpaceX called off the much-delayed inaugural launch of their new Falcon 1 rocket on Saturday from Kwajalein’s Omelek Island launch site. The intent was to launch the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 2 satellite, which will monitor plasma interactions with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere.

The launch was delayed, then finally cancelled after an oxygen boil-off vent had accidentally been left open. The oxygen was unable to cool the helium pressurant, which then proceeded to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. A main computer issue, probably serious enough to cause a scrub on its own, was also discovered.

This long-anticipated flight was originally expected to be launched in January 2005, however a series of setbacks forced a series of delays, with the flight most recently scheduled to be in early 2006. It was intended to be launched from the Kwajalein atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The maiden voyage was originally intended to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a Naval Research Laboratory satellite and a Space Services Incorporated space burial payload.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Commemoration of the Srebrenica massacre will be held on July 11, when newly identified bodies will be buried. In 1995, Serbian forces, according to International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), massacred around 7500 Bosnian Muslims.

A controversy arose after mothers of murdered Muslims in Srebrenica made a statement saying that the Serbian President, Boris Tadi?, is not welcome in Srebrenica: “Tadi? coming to Srebrenica is a planned provocation of the ones who will bury their families on July 11.” The Serbian President will still attend the ceremony.

Abdurahman Malki?, the president of the Srebrenica municipality, guaranteed safety to Tadi? and all other officials. Other attendees include Theodor Meron, the president of ICTY.

So far, 2,032 bodies have been identified. It is expected that by July 11 another 550 bodies will be identified and ready for burial.

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Group of Twenty (G20) finance chiefs failed to agree to a joint statement Saturday as they ended a two-day meeting in the Indian city of Bengaluru. Russia and China were the lone dissenters from a condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

India, the host, was reluctant to discuss the war, reiterating its neutrality and desire for a diplomatic solution, but Western nations indicated they would not sign an agreement not including a condemnation of Russia’s actions.

In the absence of a joint statement, India issued a “chair’s summary and outcome document” summarising the talks: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risk.

“There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. Recognising that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy”.

A footnote acknowledged the description of the war was “agreed to by all member countries except Russia and China”.

Ajay Seth, a senior Indian official, stated during a press conference the representatives from Russia and China felt “their mandate is to deal with economic and financial issues” and opposed including the situation in Ukraine in any statement. Seth added: “On the other hand, all the other 18 countries felt that the war has got implications for the global economy”.

The summit also included discussions of debt relief for poorer countries and regulation of cryptocurrency assets.

According to Reuters, nations including China, the largest bilateral creditor in the world, are coming under more pressure to reduce the value of debts owed by struggling countries.

Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun reiterated Beijing’s position that multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, should also accept reductions in the value of debts in order to help alleviate issues experienced by those struggling.

India’s drive for stricter restrictions on cryptocurrency gained widespread support.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had co-hosted a meeting on Saturday to discuss debt restructuring. The conference was attended by the World Bank, China, India, Saudi Arabia and members of the G7.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described it as an organisational meeting, with no “deliverables” produced. Georgieva told reporters: “We just finished a session in which it was clear that there is a commitment to bridge differences for the benefit of countries”.

Georgieva argued policymakers “should not take off the table” the option of outright bans if regulation proved ineffective, while Yellen expressed support for a strong regulatory framework instead.

Sitharaman said of difficulties faced by Ethiopia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Zambia: “Strengthening multilateral coordination by official bilateral and private creditors is needed to address the deteriorating debt situation and facilitate coordinated debt treatment for debt-distressed countries.”

At the G20’s November meeting in Bali, host Indonesia issued a Leaders’ Declaration in place of a communiqué after similar disagreement over the invasion of Ukraine.

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Thursday, August 31, 2006

Irish-American dance and fiddle band Celtic Spring was recently a finalist in America’s Got Talent. Talent was an NBC television series search for America’s next big talent, featuring singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and other talents of all ages. The series was hosted by Regis Philbin, and judged by former tabloid editor Piers Morgan, singer Brandy, and actor/singer David Hasselhoff.

The mother of the family, Mary McCauley Wood, talked to Wikinews about their group’s performances and the America’s Got Talent experience.