Author: Admin

Monday, May 6, 2019

The second International Student Olympiad in Neurosurgery for the prize of the Governor of Tyumen Oblast, Russia took place in the first week of April at the Federal Center for Neurosurgery in Tyumen. The competition was attended by 46 people from cities within Russia as well as from Aktobe, Kazakhstan. Wikinews attended the event, and talked to some of those involved.

This was the second consecutive student Olympiad in neurosurgery. Six of the country’s eight federal district capitals were reportedly scheduled to send contestants. The winners are awarded free tuition at the academic department of Neurosurgery at First Moscow State Medical University (First MSMU), also called Sechenov University.

Madina Bizheva, in her fourth year at Kabardino-Balkarian State University, won this second Olympiad. The other two places at Sechenov University were awarded to Oleg Titov, fifth year at the First MSMU, and Irina Borovikova, fifth year at Ural State Medical University. Bizheva said: “I give my victory to my mother, who inspired me to study at a neurosurgeon. After she had a stroke, the dream of becoming a doctor began to turn into reality. I was seriously preparing for the Olympiad. One hand rocked the child, the other held a book on neurosurgery. If a person strives for and desires something, then everything will work out.” ^{((ru))Russian: ????? ?????? ? ???? ????, ??????? ?????????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????????????. ????? ????, ??? ? ??? ???????? ???????, ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???????????? ? ??????????. ? ???????? ?????????? ? ?????????. ????? ????? ?????????? ???????, ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????????????. ???? ??????? ? ???? ?????????? ? ????-?? ????? ??????, — ??? ?????????.}

• Contestants came from many parts of Russia and from Kazakhstan. Image: ??????? ???????.

• Participants waiting for the start of the test. Image: ??????? ???????.

• Olympiad participants complete a theory test. Image: ??????? ???????.

The chairman of the organizing committee of the Olympiad and the head physician of the center, Albert Sufianov, is also the head of the academic department of neurosurgery in the First MSMU. The three best performers in this contest are awarded the opportunity to study for free in his department in the residency of the Sechenov University.

The event was supported financially by Tyumen Oblast. The new governor of the region, Alexander Moor, during his message to the regional parliamentarians read out on November 22, just offered to diversify the economy, reducing the focus on oil and gas from the third Baku and cultivating medical tourism: “Now the annual volume of our exports — non-row materials and non-energy — has come close to a billion dollars. In the next year, this must be given priority. And here, too, non-standard approaches will be required, in which trends of various origins will organically merge across the traditional industry nomenclature. For example, it is time to perceive Tyumen medicine as a full-fledged export-oriented industry, while closely associated with the tourism business. Medical tourism is growing rapidly all over the world, and in terms of price and quality, Tyumen is more than competitive — if not on a global scale, then on a scale of the whole continent Eurasia exactly. Here the themes of several national projects intersect at once!” ^{((ru))Russian: ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? – ??????????? ? ????????????????? – ???????? ??????????? ? ????????? ????????. ? ????????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????. ? ??? ???? ??????????? ????????????? ???????, ? ??????? ?????? ???????????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ?????????????. ??????, ????????? ???????? ??? ???? ???????????? ??? ??????????? ?????????-??????????????? ???????, ??? ???? ????? ????????? ? ????????????? ????????. ??????????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????, ? ?? ?????????? ???? ? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????????????????? – ???? ?? ? ?????????? ????????, ?? ? ???????? ????? ???????????? ?????????? ?????. ????? ???????????? ???????? ????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????!}

According to Professor Sergey Dydykin, who is both co-chairman of the organizing committee and head of the academic department of operative surgery and topographic anatomy of the First MSMU, in the United States and Europe it is not customary to teach manual skills, such as manual surgical techniques, to undergraduates; conducting surgical competitions for students is a Russian practice.

During the Olympiad, students had to perform simulated practical tasks. For example, in the final part of the competition, the contestants had to mill away the shell of a raw egg without damaging the membranes beneath. This exercise simulates endoscopic drilling.

According to Sufianov, the Olympiad shows young people the “social elevators” available to them. He suggesnted student Ibrahim Salamov as an illustration of his words. A year ago, this native of the Dagestan village took first prize, and he is now one of the organizers of the Olympiad.

Regarding which part of the competition was most difficult for aspiring neurosurgeons, Sufianov said it was English language. From his view, this is a nationwide problem in Russia — there are many skilled surgeons in the country, but their knowledge of foreign languages is not very strong. In his opinion, a specialist has almost no chance to become a very high level professional without knowledge of English.

Alexander Gagay of Yekaterinburg, who took third place last year, is currently a fourth year student at Ural State Medical University. This year, he said, he came to support his fellow Yekaterinburgers. In his opinion, the most difficult part was the theoretical tasks, and not English. In his view, the federal neurosurgery centers like Tyumen created within the framework of the national health project are on the same level with their foreign counterparts. In his view, there are strong opportunities to become a very good specialist without leaving Russia.

Several people returned to the Olympiad after attending last year. One is Denis Kovalchuk, a sixth year student at Buryat State University. He said he was interested in neurosurgery from the first year, but in his home region there are no suitably equipped facilities as there are in Tyumen. Kovalchuk also said that, after the first Olympiad, a community of young neurosurgeons emerged on social networks, numbering about 400 people. Students exchange professional literature in it and give each other tips for use in practical situations.

• Ibrahim Salamov, last year’s winner. Image: ??????? ???????.

• Alexander Gagay, who took third place in 2018. Image: ??????? ???????.

• Denis Kovalchuk, a 2-year participant. Image: ??????? ???????.

This year, the jury decided two participants in addition to the official winners performed at such a high level and Albert Sufianov provided them with his personal grant for residency training at First MSMU. These were Ivan Shelyagin and Valentina Sidorenko from Tyumen State Medical University.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview.

Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public policy papers exploring solutions to American issues.

Wikinews reporter William Saturn? talks with Schriner and discusses his campaign.

Friday, March 3, 2006

The possibility of large-scale protests in the face of the 3,000 journalists covering the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, has event organisers and the Government worried.

The group “Black GST” – which represents Indigenous Genocide, Sovereignty and Treaty – are planning demonstrations at prominent Games events unless the Government agrees to a range of demands including an end to Aboriginal genocide, Aboriginal Sovereignty and the signing of a treaty.

The Black GST say they hope the focus of the world’s media will draw attention to the plight of indigenous Australians during the Games. Organisers say supporters are converging from across Australia and from overseas. Organisers say up to 20,000 people may take part in talks, rallies, colourful protests and many cultural festivities designed to pressure the Federal Government on Indigeneous rights issues. They want the Government to provide a temporary campsite for the supporters, saying “organised chaos was better than disorganised chaos.”

The 2006 Stolenwealth Games convergence, described by organisers as the “cultural festival of the 2006 Commonwealth Games,” was virtually opened on March 2nd with the launch of the official “Stolenwealth Games” website. Scoop Independent News and Perth Indymedia reported that the launch was held at Federation Square in Melbourne. The site contents were projected via wireless laptop by the Stolenwealth Games General Manager, and a tour of the website was given on the big screen. He said “overwhelming amusement was the response from the audience.” The group say permanent access points to the website are being set up at public internet facilities across Victoria during the coming weeks.

“Interest in the Stolenwealth Games is building all over the world and this fresh, exciting and contemporary site will draw in people from Stolenwealth Nations around the globe to find out about the latest news and events,” said a Stolenwealth Games spokesperson. “We have been getting many requests from around the world wanting to know about the Stolenwealth Games. We have provided many ways that individuals and organisations can support the campaign by spreading the word.”

The Victorian Traditional Owner Land Justice Group (VTOLJG) which represents the first nation groups of Victoria, has announced its support to boycott the 2006 Commonwealth Games until the Government “recognises Traditional Owner rights.” The group asserts that culture has been misappropriated in preparation for the Games.

Organisers of the campaign say they welcome the formal support from the Traditional Owners. “While some seek to divide and discredit Indigenous Australia, this support is further evidence that the Aboriginal people are united in opposition to the ongoing criminal genocide that is being perpetrated against the Aboriginal people” said Black GST supporter and Aboriginal Elder, Robbie Thorpe.

“We now have endorsement from the VTOLJG and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy for the aims and objectives of the Campaign and we are looking forward to hosting all indigenous and non-indigenous supporters from across Australia in March,” he said. The Black GST group have said “the convergence will be held as a peaceful, family-focussed demonstration against genocide, and for the restoration of sovereignty and the negotiations towards a Treaty.”

But the campaign has received flak in mainstream media, such as Melbourne’s Herald Sun, who wrote: “the proposal to allow BlackGST to set up an Aboriginal tent embassy at a site well away from the Commonwealth Games will be interpreted by some as the State Government caving in to a radical protest group. A major concern for the Government… is to protect the event from disruption… no chances should be taken…”

The Black GST has been planning the convergence for months, calling for Aboriginal people and their supporters to converge on Melbourne. The Melbourne-based Indigenous rights group have called on thousands of people concerned about the plight of indigenous Australians to converge on Melbourne during the Games, which they have dubbed “the Stolenwealth Games”. But the choice of Kings Domain has made conflict almost inevitable, as the area is one of the areas gazetted by the State Government as a “Games management zone”.

Under the Commonwealth Games Arrangements Act, any area gazetted as a management zone is subject to a range of specific laws – including bans on protesting, creating a disturbance and other activities. The protest bans will be in effect at different times and places, and offenders can be arrested. A spokeswoman for the Black GST, which advocates peaceful protest, said the site had been chosen because it was close to where the Queen will stay on March 15. “We figured that she is only in Melbourne for 27 hours or something like that so we thought we would make it easy for her to come next door and see us,” she said. “We are a very open, welcoming group, so she will be welcome to come and join us.”

Kings Domain is the burial site for 38 indigenous forefathers of Victoria. Black GST elder, Targan, said trade union groups have offered to install infrastructure at the site. The group initially worked with the State Government to find a suitable camp site, but the relationship broke down when the Government failed to meet a deadline imposed by the protesters. “While we are disappointed the ministers were not able to meet deadline on our request, we thank them for their constructive approach towards negotiations and the open-door policy exercised,” said Targan.

A spokesman for Games Minister Justin Madden said the Government was still investigating other sites. Victoria Police Games security commander Brendan Bannan said he was not convinced the Black GST represented the views of most indigenous people. “We are dealing with the Aboriginal community and they don’t seem to support it at all … the wider Aboriginal community don’t support disruption to the Games at all,” he said.

The Government was told that Black GST supporters would camp in Fitzroy Gardens and other city parks should it fail to nominate a site. A spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavan Jennings said the Government was taking the issue seriously, but had not been able to finalise a campsite before the deadline.

Under special Games laws, people protesting or causing a disturbance in “Games management zones” can be arrested and fined. While prominent public spaces such as Federation Square, Birrarung Marr, Albert Park and the Alexandra Gardens fall under the legislation, such tough anti-protest laws cannot be enforced in the nearby Fitzroy Gardens.

Games chairman Ron Walker has urged the group to choose another date for its protest march through the city, which is currently planned to coincide with the opening ceremony on March 15. The group believes that an opportunity to gain attention for indigenous issues was lost at the Sydney Olympics and has vowed to make a highly visible presence at the Games.

The Black GST said the Australian Aboriginal Tent Embassy’s sacred flame, burning over many years at the Canberra site will be carried to Melbourne before the Games, and its arrival would mark the opening of the protest camp from where a march will proceed to the MCG before the Opening Ceremony.

Black GST claims supporters from all over Australia, including three busloads from the West Australian Land Council, will gather in Melbourne during the Games for peaceful protests.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavin Jennings had offered Victoria Park to the protesters. Victoria Park, former home of Collingwood Football Club, where one of the strongest statements of Aboriginal pride, when St Kilda star Nicky Winmar in 1993 raised his jumper and pointed to his bare chest after racial taunts from the Collingwood crowd.

Black GST, which has labelled the Games the Stolenwealth Games, said the State Government had failed to find a suitable venue. Black GST may encourage protesters to camp in prominent parks such as Fitzroy Gardens and Treasury Gardens. Graffiti supporting the action has also appeared in central Melbourne.

Melbourne City councillor Fraser Brindley has offered his home to the Black GST organisers. “I offered my home up to people who are organising visitors to come to the Games,” he said. Cr Brindley will be overseas when the Commonwealth Games are held and has offered the free accommodation at his flat at Parkville. He said he agreed with the protesters’ view that treaties needed to be signed with indigenous Australians. “I’m offering it up to the indigenous people who are coming to remind Her Majesty that her Empire took this land from them,” said Cr Brindlley. Nationals leader Peter Ryan said: “This extremist group has no part in the Australian community.” Melbourne councillor Peter Clarke said the actions were embarrassing and that he would try to discourage him. “It’s not in the spirit of the Games,” he said.

Aboriginal elder, Targan, said the possibility of securing Victoria Park was delightfully ironic. “There’s a lot of irony going on,” Targan, 53, a PhD student at Melbourne University, said. “GST stands for Genocide, Sovereignty and Treaty. We want the genocide of our people to stop; we want some sovereignty over traditional land, certainly how it is used, and we want a treaty with the government,” Targan said.

Monday, March 13, 2006

If you thought Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Moon was enough, then meet Google Mars.

Google officially launched the new Google Mars yesterday as another add-on to Google Maps. The service offers three different ways to view Mars: elevation, visible landscape, and infrared view. The images come from two different NASA missions, Mars Global Surveyor and 2001 Mars Odyssey, and the data was prepared in collaboration with NASA researchers at Arizona State University.

The color-coded elevation data is a shaded-relief map taken by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The visible data is made from black and white images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), which is also located onboard the Mars Global Surveyor, and the infrared images were produced by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The THEMIS data is the sharpest map of Mars made so far, as it shows colder areas in darker colors and warmer regions in brighter colors, and as they are infrared images dust and clouds are transparent.

Google has added various bookmarks showing points of interest such as landings of spacecraft, locations of mountains, and craters.

The data is not currently available through Google’s Google Earth client.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Wikinews interviewed author Amy Scobee about her book Scientology – Abuse at the Top, and asked her about her experiences working as an executive within the organization. Scobee joined the organization at age 14, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005. She served as a Scientology executive in multiple high-ranking positions, working out of the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base”, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California.

Friday, December 14, 2007

The Register, a British technology news and opinion website, reports that a former Wikimedia Foundation Chief Operating Officer (COO) has a criminal record in at least four U.S. states: Texas, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.

Carolyn Doran, born Carolyn Sue Bothwell, was the WMF COO for six months from January to July 2007. The Register reported Doran’s criminal record includes four convictions for driving under the influence, two of check fraud and petty larceny, one hit and run with fatality, and one charge of unlawful wounding for shooting former boyfriend Philip L. Brown in the chest in 1990. He later asked that no charges be made against her and they resumed dating each other. Two of the arrests for driving under the influence occurred this year, once in May while she was working for the Foundation and once a month after she resigned.

“He asked me to marry him after I shot him,” Doran told The Washington Post on February 22, 1990.

Wikinews has confirmed, through Pinellas County police reports, that she was convicted in four DUI’s and also the hit and run. It is also confirmed, she faced an additional charge of driving while a license is suspended or revoked (DWLSR).

In 1994, Doran was implicated in the murder of a man who was the lover of her friend, Cassondra Sue Betancourt. Betancourt was later convicted of the man’s first degree murder in 1995 after a jury trial. According to court documents, Betancourt, “brought some cocaine to a hotel room that had been rented by the victim, her lover. The next morning, after defendant left the room, the victim was discovered dead.”

Doran, who had prior knowledge that Betancourt would deliver the drugs, made a plea deal with prosecutors that if she testified against Betancourt, she would get a lesser sentence for her previous charges of credit card fraud and petty larceny. Although Doran assisted the prosecution in attempting to gain incriminating evidence by wearing a wire while with Betancourt, Doran never received her lesser sentence.

Despite the attempt, Betancourt’s conviction was later overturned in 1998 because “there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction. The court held that there had only been circumstantial evidence linking defendant to the crime, and that proof by circumstantial evidence was not sufficient to prove first degree murder,” added the court papers.

Wikinews can also confirm that Doran’s husband, Sean H. Doran, a former intelligence officer and major for the U.S. Air Force, to whom she was married for only five days, drowned on their honeymoon on Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands in 1999. According to The Washington Post, the cause of the drowning which led to his death was not known. It was later acknowledged in private records given to the Library of Virginia that his death was deemed accidental.

Six months later she remarried after meeting a man named Christopher Dale Confer in Arapahoe County, Colorado. It was earlier thought she used Confer as an alias, because according to PACER, she filed for bankruptcy in 2001 where she is listed as having “aliases,” one being Carolyn S. King and the other as Carolyn Confer.

The Register quotes Mike Godwin, the Wikimedia Foundation’s general counsel, as saying that the Foundation had no knowledge of Doran’s prior or current criminal record. “We’ve never had any documentation of any criminal record on Carolyn Doran’s part at all. As far as I’m concerned, I have no direct knowledge of [her criminal record] yet…We have, in our records, no evidence of any such thing.”

Wikinews attempted to contact Mr. Godwin via e-mail but no response has yet been received.

Doran was voted into her COO position by the Wikimedia Board of Trustees at the time. Of the seven board members, six supported her position and one did not. The vote was made and agreed upon on January 22, 2007. She was in charge of “all office/administrative issues” and “overall administration and business operations. Areas of responsibility included administration, personnel and fiscal management. In the future, [she will be in charge of] any new employee working in the administrative area,” according to public e-mails on Wikimedia’s main mailing list foundation-l.

According to Florence Devouard, the Chair of the WMF Board of Trustees, background checks were not performed on anyone until at least 2007, but that recently, the Foundation began to perform them. During that time, Brad Patrick was acting Executive Director and he did all the hiring.

“In fall 2006, we did not perform criminal background checks. From what I understood, Mike took care of this and this is now being done. It is fairly recent, the board did not get any report on this,” said Devouard on foundation-l.

Doran was searched and questioned by U.S. Customs agents in Florida after returning from a Foundation board meeting in the Netherlands around June. According to The Register, it was because she violated the terms of her parole by attending the meeting. She was not arrested, but according to police reports, on October 31, 2007, Doran was arrested under a warrant valid for a “nationwide extradition”. Doran was then extradited back to Virginia, where she is currently being held in a prison in Staunton.

Doran resigned from her position in July 2007, and the Foundation is currently without a Chief Operating Officer.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Eight people are dead and two more are missing and presumed dead after an explosion and fire on a cargo ship undergoing repairs at a naval dockyard in Kaliningrad, Russia.

The container ship MV Yenisey was the scene of an explosion while in drydock at about 3:00 p.m. Moscow time (11:00 GMT). Ten people were missing after the explosion. It was confirmed today that the eighth body has been recovered, and the remaining two are thought to be dead as well. Three more were injured.

Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo, acting as a navy spokesperson, said “Each family of the victims of the fire on the Yenisey civilian vessel will be paid more than a million rubles.” This makes their compensation roughly equivalent to US$43,000.

Dygolo said that the dockyard, in the closed military town of Baltiysk, near Kaliningrad, had been leased to the Yenisey’s St Petersburg owner, a private company, who were conducting the work themselves. He said an investigation has been launched by the navy led by top admiral Vladimir Vysotsky.

Vysotski himself has indicated that serious safety legislation breaches concerning welding regulations by both the vessel’s owner and the naval dockyard’s bosses. He did not go into details, but RIA Novosti claimed that a source at the dockyard said a gas burner applied to the roof of a fuel tank to heat and therefore loosen its bolts had triggered the disaster.

Today is an official day of mourning for Kaliningrad Region to mark the deaths.