Filter failure: Too much information?

"Thousands of TV channels. Millions of web pages. We're drowning in the stream of data that surrounds us. We shouldn't try to stem the flood – just to filter it, argues Rhodri Marsden."

Nice idea, but even "filtering" information is becoming a full-time job . . .

Air France crash inquiry details pilots' battle for survival

Sound's like a fair question:

"The question for me is why did the instruments that are triple redundant, which means that there are three back-ups, all fail together?"

MP admits eyes on massage parlour

In media circles it's said that a good headline should draw the reader in and sum up the story.

While I didn't have a clue what this story was about from the headline, it definitely made me want to read the story.  Great work from the sub-editor!

HSBC faces investor anger on pay

Hmmm . . . so are these investors angry about excessive executive pay or because their shares aren't performing to their liking.

Would they be jumping up and down if the share price was a few percent higher?

Rare All-White Kiwi Born in New Zealand Breeding Program

Great news that the Kiwi population is on the up.

Excellent work by the staff at the Pukaha sanctuary and the Department of Conservation in New Zealand.

Fifa opens ethics proceedings against Sepp Blatter

Everything involving FIFA at the moment seems to be an ugly, murky mess.

I've lost track of the number of FIFA executives due to appear at this ethics committee.

Usain Bolt: 'I haven't run for so long. For the first time, I'm nervous'

The main man is back.

Surely Bold is one of the most gifted athletes ever.  Even though he has suffered from scoliosis since he was a child, he still blows away the opposition with effortless ease.  Truly amazing.

Can't wait for the London Olympics - keeping everything crossed for tickets to the 100m final!

Egyptian pyramids found by infra-red satellite images

This is very cool.  

Pope ousts 'loose living' monks of Rome's Santa Croce monastery

"The monks living there now had opened a shop selling organic produce from their kitchen garden, but this was shut down in 2009 amid accusations of their having secretly stocked the shelves from a neighbourhood grocery."

You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.

"When Irish Eyes Are Crying" - the Irish economic crisis as told by Michael Lewis

For anyone that hasn't seen it, this is Michael Lewis' (surely famous by now) article about the causes and effects of the Irish economic crisis.

Air France Flight 447 Crash: Recording Indicates Pilot Wasn't In Cockpit During Critical Phase

It's very hard to believe that the plane crashed just because the captain wasn't in the cockpit.

Fan ohrfeigt Manuel Neuer während DFB-Pokalfeier [Fan smacks Manuel Neuer during German Cup celebration]

You don't often see this in the Premier League.

A angry Schalke fan that's obviously not too happy with his keeper's courting of big Bayern bucks gives him a piece of his mind - with a solid slap in the face. 

Passion.

Explosion in Shipquay area of Derry

Here we go again...

April ist teuerster Lebensmittel-Monat seit 2008 (April was most expensive month for food prices since 2008)

A report from the German Federal Statistics office shows that food prices in the state for April 2011 were on average 7.2% higher than the previous year.  Largely to blame, it says, are higher agricultural commodity prices.

Some highlights: Meat (excluding poultry) +10.6%, Coffee +17%; Potatoes +20.4%; Butter +28.7%, white cabbage +33.1%.

Prices of some goods, however, have reduced - iceberg lettuce is now half the price it was this time last year.

Still, not very good news for consumers when staples such as meat, butter and potatoes are rising in price.

Schon alte Ägypter litten an Arterienverkaltung [Even the ancient Egyptians suffered from Atherosclerosis]

Here's an article (German only, I’m afraid) about a U.S. study that identified “definite” or “probable” atherosclerosis in 20 out of 44 Egyptian mummies they examined.

Amongst them was a princess, with the article suggesting that her diet – specifically her high-calorie, high-meat diet – combined with low amounts of physical exercise, was the likely cause of her heart disease.

Sounds to me like more of the standard "meat causes heart disease" theory, although in fairness it doesn't state that this was the conclusion of the scientists.

Either way, how about an alternative hypothesis?

Firstly, while meat was consumed by the affluent in greater amounts, it is widely accepted that the staple foods of both rich and poor were beer and bread.

The beer had a far lower alcoholic content than the ones seen today, and was consumed mainly for its nutritional value and because it was far safer than the Nile water.

In fact, beer and bread were so revered that workers were largely paid in beer and bread.

Not only that, but many types of fruits and vegetables were consumed, with honey being the favourite – albeit expensive – sweetener at the time; carob and dates were a cheaper alternative.  There is also evidence that beer was further sweetened using different types of fruits, and that meat was often preserved using honey.

Dates, figs and grapes were widely available and the Egyptians baked sweet cakes and deserts with dates and honey.

In summary, what this looks like to me is a diet very high in carbohydrates – good old-fashioned sugar that significantly raises your insulin levels and damages your arteries.  Damaged arteries that the body then has to use cholesterol to repair, eventually leading to arterial blockages.

If one had the opportunity to closely examine the macronutrient breakdown of this diet, I’m sure it would come out looking very much like that consumed in the obesity and heart disease-ravage western world today.

Just an idea.

In Book, Sugar Ray Leonard Says Coach Sexually Abused Him

Shocking news about Sugar Ray Leonard being abused as a 15-year-old.

And on the second page, a link to a story from 2010 about 36 USA Swimming coaches being banned for life over the last 10 due to sexual misconduct.

Very sad indeed, and surely a prompt for more thorough background checking in athletics.

Mystery jet crash data recovered, investigators say

The flight recorders of the Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic on 1 June 2009 have been recovered.  It will take several weeks to analyze the data, French air accident experts said.

Link

BCFE Bulletin, March 2011: “College facilities improving”

My story about the library and resource room facilities at Ballyfermot College.  It was written in a neutral style and appears on page 4 (not available online).

Frustrated BCFE students will be delighted to hear that they can now loan out reference books.

Library Assistant Michael Wright has great news for students that have suffered the inconvenience of not being able to loan out books for home study.

“People can [now] take books out, and they can keep them for up to a week,” he confirmed.

“We’ve also been ordering a lot of new books – and we’ve received quite a few already – that cover various areas including business, social care, music, and economics.”

Mr Wright went on to explain that books can be taken out for up to a full week.

Deputy Principal Diarmuid O’Brien explained that there was a good reason for not widely publicising the loan facility at the time.

He explained that due to the “limited number” of books available, the college decided to not formally announce the policy changes – primarily to ensure that all students have access to the maximum number of books.

However, Mr O’Brien pointed out that the Ballyfermot Library is “on schedule to re-open in September” and that students will then be able to avail of the much greater number of books, as well as benefitting from long-term loans.

Additionally, within the next month the resource room is due to set up four “research and study” computers that can be booked for up to an hour, and it will also be adding a DVD/Video player and a Vinyl record player that allows the audio to be converted into MP3 files.

On the subject of technological improvements, Deputy Principal Kevin Devine explained that the college had recently received a grant from the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE).

This money was part of an NCTE “pilot project” and it allowed the college to begin upgrading the IT network in the Arts building, as well as allowing for the installation of ceiling-mounted projectors in many classrooms.

Mr Devine said that the college is expecting further NCTE funding once this pilot transitions into a full national project, and that this money will most likely be put towards upgrading the IT infrastructure in the main building.

According to Mr Devine, the end result of this work should be “dramatically improved” internet speeds and network robustness, as well as additional projectors.

And finally, a reminder to all VTOS students that the college crèche still has eight places available and is completely free.

For details, please contact the crèche on 01 620 7145.

"City footpaths still hazardous"

Unpublished story about the condition of Dublin’s footpaths following the December 2010 snowfall; written in broadsheet style.

ONE full month after the start of the great thaw and many Dublin footpaths are still covered in an unsightly and potentially hazardous material.

As the unprecedented snowfall forced Dublin City Council to utilise the majority of its salt reserves to treat the capital’s roads, many footpaths had to be treated with a coarse grit in order to make them safe for pedestrians.

While this substance served an important purpose during the icy conditions, in many parts of Dublin its stony remains still cover the footpaths – posing an entirely new health and safety risk.

Michele O’Brien, National Health Promotion Manager at the Irish Osteoporosis Society offered her assessment of the situation.

“Any uneven surface would place a person at risk of a fracture, especially those with osteopenia and/or osteoporosis, as the majority of fractures happen in the osteopenia range.

“The debris needs to be cleared ASAP as there have already been multiple fractures due to the snow and ice.”

O’Brien also highlighted that for every fractured hip “the total cost is approximately €31,000” and that “only 30% of people aged 60+ who fracture a hip will regain their independence”.

O’Brien also illustrated just how dangerous uneven surfaces can be when she recounted seeing a woman in Dun Laoghaire fracture her hip after tripping over cobblestones that had only been laid the week before.

Ireland’s National Disability Authority (NDA) – as outlined in their guidelines – states in relation to pavement surfaces: “Uneven surfaces such as cobbles and bare earth and surfaces such as loose gravel and sand should be avoided.

“These are difficult and uncomfortable for many people to cross and may present a tripping hazard.”

At the time of writing both Labour’s Mary Upton TD, and Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD were able to confirm that they had not received any complaints from constituents about the condition of the Dublin South Central footpaths.

Mr Ó Snodaigh, however, has asked his colleague Cllr Críona Ní Dhálaigh to table a question on the matter to City Manager John Tierney.

Dublin City Council responded to events during the December period by stating:

“We do not recommend the spreading of grit on footways, however, if there was a particular problem with the clearing of ice or snow from a footway, grit may have been spread in certain limited areas of the City.

“We will examine the progress of clearing away any grit that may have been used on footways . . .”

The council spokesperson did confirm that as long as sufficient reserves of salt are available, that salt is the recommended substance for treating footpaths that cannot be cleared of snow manually.

When asked if there is a Council strategy for gritting footpaths during snowy periods, the spokesperson replied:

“During the severe weather events of 2010, work was carried out by Dublin City Council, with the resources available, on the clearance of snow and ice from footways, with priority being given to footways with higher volumes of pedestrians and footways with particular needs.

“Dublin City Council is currently carrying out a review on the response to the recent severe weather event.”

A Dublin City street cleaner working in the Thomas Street area suggested that the continuing cold overnight temperatures might also be holding up the clearing of the footpaths.

“I’m here every day cleaning the paths, but look,” he says as he turns his broom onto its edge and attempts to dislodge a thick clump of compacted debris from the path, “it’s still frozen.”

“We’ve got a whole team down on Marrowbone Lane today.  By next week it [the grit] should be gone.”

“Gilmore jockeying for position in Kenny’s revolution”

This is an unpublished comment/opinion piece about the implications of the 2011 Irish general election and the coalition talks between Fine Gael and Labour.  It is written in broadsheet style as part of an in-class exercise.

FINE Gael may have scored a dramatic victory, but it remains to be seen whether this election really proves to be the start of the “fundamental change” that Enda Kenny is proclaiming it to be.

It may well be, but perhaps not for Fine Gael.  In fact, it may transpire that the Labour party holds the real key to transforming Irish politics.

To do so, Eamon Gilmore needs to decide quickly how far he is prepared to steer his party from its traditional centre-left ideology in order to pave the way for a solid and functioning coalition with Fine Gael.

While doing so he will be acutely aware that any failings of a Fine Gael/Labour government are very likely to be laid at his party’s doorstep, and he will be bargaining hard for enough influence in the new cabinet to limit any likelihood of a Green Party-like meltdown.

The best way to keep the dissenting voices quiet will be for Labour to deliver on some of his pre-election promises, and surely nothing would cheer its supporters more than stopping further cuts to social welfare.

If Labour were able to block Fine Gael’s proposed €10 per week cut to welfare, and if it could at least reduce the suggested €250m cuts to child benefit, then it would be firmly on the front foot with the party faithful.

Then, if it could push through its plan for a €500m job fund to boost the economy, or as a compromise, convince Fine Gael to increase taxes for higher earners, then even the most uncompromising traditionalists within the Labour party would have little ammunition with which to mount an attack.

Of course, the monumental debt that the State has amassed will require serious attention and hard decisions will need to be made, but the difference between €85bn and €65bn is meaningless to the average person on the street in their day-to-day lives.

An unemployed couple struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table for their children doesn’t really care much whether the budget deficit is reduced by a certain percentage in three or in five years.

But this family certainly does care if their limited money is reduced yet further to pay off debts that they had no hand in creating, just as they’ll care when they are unable to pay their children’s increasing student registration fees.

"The Irish court system"

This is a very brief feature-type overview of the Irish court structure.  It is written in broadsheet style as part of an in-class exercise.

THE Irish court system is based on a hierarchical structure that features several distinct types of courts, each of which deal with slightly different types of offences across various areas of the State.

At the bottom of the hierarchy sits the District Court, which operates on a local basis and deals mostly with low-level cases of a mostly civil, family law and licensing nature.

In civil business, the court’s jurisdiction extends only to cases where the claim or award does not exceed €6,349.

It also deals with issues such as amendments to birth and marriage certificates; applications for citizenship; and it has jurisdiction over issues such as the non-payment of rent and orders relating to noise reduction.  The District Court does not have a sitting jury.

The next level features the Circuit Court which operates within a structure comprised of eight distinct regions, within which the court “rotates” and moves from venue to venue over a period of time to hear cases.

This court deals with civil and criminal cases of a more serious matter than those heard in the District Court, although it still does not deal with serious criminal offences such a murder, rape or sexual assault.

In civil cases, the court only hears cases in which the claim does not exceed €38,092.  The Circuit Court hears appeals from the District Court.  The Circuit Court sits with a judge and a 12-person jury.

The High Court sits at the next level and deals with serious cases such as murder, as well as civil cases that fall outside of the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court – such as defamation cases.

Whereas the maximum financial level of damages in civil cases heard at the District and Circuit level are capped, the damages awarded at the High Court level are unlimited.

The High Court has the power to determine whether any particular law conforms to the Irish Constitution.

Next in the hierarchy comes the Central Criminal Court, which is the criminal arm of High Court and hears only these types of cases.  The court normally sits with a judge and a 12-person jury.

The Special Criminal Court is a special type of court that hears cases in which the details of the case are such that there is a possibility of jury intimidation, and therefore the possibility of justice not being adequately administered.  In order to address this issue, the court sits not with a jury but simply with three judges.  This court also hears any case that due to its content, and/or the personality or reputation of its defendants, has the potential to result in possible breakdown of public peace and order.

The Criminal Appeals Court hears appeals from the Circuit-, High-, and Central Criminal Courts.  The court sits without a jury and instead consists of a judge from the Supreme Court, alongside two judges from the High Court.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and its main business is to hear appeals to decisions originating from High Court cases; in exceptional circumstances, the Supreme Court also acts as an appeals court for cases referred from the Criminal Appeals Court.

Rather than hearing standard cases, the court is used in an advisory capacity by the lower courts where a question of the law arises.  The Supreme Court can also be used by the Irish President, where the President can consult it to verify whether proposed legislation conforms to the Irish Constitution.

“Taoiseach under pressure to resign ahead of election”

This is a short, unpublished story about attempts from within Fianna Fail to force Brian Cowan to step down before the last election.  It is written in broadsheet style for a foreign readership as part of an in-class exercise.

THE Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowan is coming under increasing pressure from within his own party to resign prior to the expected March general election.

Some Ministers and TDs (deputies) within the majority Fianna Fail party have in recent weeks expressed concern that it would be unwise for Brian Cowan to remain in office if the party has any genuine aspirations of retaining power.

Many party insiders are of the opinion that a change of leadership is the only way of convincing the disillusioned Irish electorate that Fianna Fail is still a viable choice to lead the country.

So far, however, the Prime Minister has resisted any attempts for him to resign of his own volition and has instead challenged any dissenters to raise the issue an official motion of no confidence that can then be voted on accordingly.

The latest indications are that Mr Cowan has agreed for such a confidence vote to take place, but that it will be conducted in secret.

At a press conference in Dublin yesterday afternoon, Mr Cowan confirmed that he intended to lead his party into the next election, as he is confident that he still has the support of the majority of his peers.

However, at a separate press conference later in the evening, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin confirmed that he would be voting against Mr Cowan in the vote of confidence in tomorrow’s parliamentary party meeting.

Mr Martin also immediately offered his resignation, which it is understood was rejected by the Prime Minister.

Following another development last Friday night, it has been suggested that the Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin advised Mr Cowan to resign for the good of the party.

"Government cuts could signal the end for community development initiatives"

This is a short, unpublished story about the impact which the December 2010 Irish budget is likely to have on community-based services and activities in the State.  It is written in broadsheet style and would have been suitable for publication just before the budget was announced.

CHRISTMAS meals for Bluebell pensioners could be a thing of the past if government budget cuts force redundancies in local Community Development Projects (CDPs).

“Funding is a major challenge for us,” confirmed Tommy Coombes, Co-ordinator at the Bluebell CDP, “any more cuts to CDP budgets will mean redundancies.”

Even before the 7 December announcement that the Developing Communities budget would be cut by a further 6%, the Bluebell CDP had been forced into fundraising to find the €800 needed to lay on the annual 24 December event.

Such fundraising efforts, however, could be made even more difficult if key administrative staff is sacrificed and the remaining team members are unable to cover the work.

The CDPs are involved in many vital initiatives designed to help residents in disadvantaged communities, with free computer training, chair aerobics and advice about paying bills representing just a small sample of the services the Bluebell team offers.

Barra Ó Nualláin from the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, which has responsibility for the country’s CDPs, clarified their position on the cuts today.

Ó Nualláin confirmed that from January 2011, the Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP), which the CDPs are a part of, “. . . will be delivered through an integrated delivery structure in each area resulting in a reduced number of structures [local offices] nationally.

“The new structural arrangements will continue to ensure that key front-line services and supports, including worthwhile community development activity, are maintained, through reduced administration and ancillary costs and the elimination of duplication and overlap.”

Tommy Coombes, however, is not convinced that the already-stretched CDP teams will be able maintain their existing service delivery in the face of the proposed efficiency savings.

 “They are insistent that ‘front-line services’ don’t get affected by it, so it would be the likes of the administrators – the backup staff – that would be cut,” said Coombes.

“For us [the administrators are important] because if we haven’t got good administrators backing us up then it will be very difficult for us [to provide an effective service].”

"Irish tiger kidnapping crisis"

This is an unpublished story which I wrote for an in-class exercise about tiger kidnappings in Ireland.  This is written in tabloid style.

IRELAND’S ordinary, hard-working citizens are being increasingly terrorised by crazed tiger kidnappers.

Today’s career criminals are now preying more and more on the humble shop and pub owner by abducting their families in return for cash.

This horrific activity started in the 1970s with the abduction of a bank manager and his family that resulted in the crooks clearing out a local Nat West vault.

Since then this dreadful crime has exploded on the promise of easy money and the perpetrators have found a new and vulnerable target.

Nowadays anyone with access to readily available cash is a potential target for these monstrous criminals that think nothing of traumatising women and young children.

With the lure of potentially great rewards, these cowards to go to extraordinary lengths to stalk out their prey and then strike by abducting and imprisoning the victim and their family.

The terrified victims are usually held overnight under the threat of violence, and the following morning the main target is forced to their place of work and asked to empty the premises of valuables.

At this time, the countries suffering most from the scourge of Tiger kidnappings are Ireland, the United Kingdom and Belgium.

Charlie Flanagan, a member of the Irish Parliament recently said that Tiger kidnappings are occurring “at a rate of almost one per week.”

Some experts are saying have described Ireland as a perfect place for tiger kidnappings because it is “a close-knit society where criminals can closely track their targets.”

Only last week the terrified wife of a security firm director was abducted from her home at gunpoint.

The gang of masked men threatened to murder the woman, and she was only released from her 12-hour ordeal after her husband was forced to hand over €170,000.

Gardai investigating the case later described the gang as “experienced and ruthless”.

"Sudan human rights atrocities"

This is an unpublished story which I wrote for an in-class exercise about human rights violations in Sudan.  This is written in tabloid style.

THE International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president following serious accusations of genocide.

The Human Rights Watch is today applauding moves to crack down on Sudan’s government-backed “Janjaweed” militias that have terrorised the black African population.

“Charging President al-Bashir for the hideous crimes in Darfur shows that no one is above the law,” said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program.

Since 2003, the Sudanese government has reportedly engaged in numerous acts of humanitarian- and war crimes against civilians - including executions, rape, torture, and pillaging of property.

“It is hardly news that senior leaders in Khartoum are implicated in the devastation in Darfur, but it is noteworthy that the request for criminal charges has been brought against the person at the top,” said Dicker.

The developments will undoubtedly have implications for the Irish forces stationed in neighbouring Chad.

It is highly likely that tensions in the area are likely to increase as a result of the arrest warrant, and that many non-Arab Sudanese will attempt to flee the country and avoid possible repercussions.

The Security Council’s original referral to the ICC stemmed from a 2005 UN International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur report to the UN secretary-general.

The commission created a sealed list of 51 suspects bearing further investigation, including a number of senior government officials and military commanders. The list was handed over to the UN secretary-general with the recommendation that it be disclosed to the ICC prosecutor.

Following this, in 2008 the ICC prosecutor Moreno Ocampo, announced in a briefing to the Security Council that he had collected damning evidence of planned human rights violations.

Moreno described a “criminal plan based on the mobilisation of the whole state apparatus, including the armed forces, the intelligence services, the diplomatic and public information bureaucracies, and the justice system.”

“Sex trade victims treated like criminals says TD”

This is a short, unpublished story which I wrote for an in-class exercise about human trafficking and the sex trade in Ireland.  This is written in tabloid style.

VICTIMS of the sex trade are modern-day slaves but are treated like criminals in Ireland, says Fine Gael TD Denis Naughten.

The Immigration & Integration spokesman is appalled that human trafficking victims do not receive adequate legal protection or support from the State.

“The statutory rights of these victims are almost zero.  There is a very real danger that that in some circumstances the victims themselves will be treated as criminals,” Naughten said on Wednesday.

And while Naughten welcomes a recent Gardai crackdown on brothels, he is appalled that support services for people trapped in the net of prostitution are entirely inadequate.

He is hopeful, though, that a new Human Trafficking law will finally help to put a stop to the needless suffering.

“The new Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act which was passed in the Dail earlier this year will make it easier for Gardai to prosecute criminals engaged in trafficking people to and from Ireland,” said Naughten

“Included in this new law is a provision to criminalise a person who knowingly avails of sexual services from a person who has been trafficked into the country.”

“Unless victims feel confident enough to talk to the authorities, it will be very hard to secure convictions against those directly involved in this modern-day slave-trade” he says.

The recent disgraceful imprisoning of two Latvian women for refusing to marry two Asian men in a passport scam will be exactly the sort of repulsive crime this new law is designed to discourage.

Unfortunately, some of the available statistics highlight what an enormous problem the authorities are battling.

On 28 October the Irish Central Statistics Office published figures showing a 235% increase in prostitution offences over the same time last year.

The US Department of State reported in 2005 that between 600,000-800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year – of which approximately 80% are women and girls.

“Government seeks Dáil sign-offs for all future EU military operations”

This is a short, unpublished story which I wrote for an in-class exercise about Irish involvement in EU military operations.  This is written in broadsheet style.

AFTER six months of intense pressure from the Green Party, the Government is working on a new law designed to ensure that Ireland will not be involved in European Union military operations without these actions first being approved in the Dáil by a majority vote.

According to Green Party sources, the new law is will also mean that Ireland will only take part in military operations that have been authorised by the United Nations.

The Green Party is greatly concerned that it is currently possible for Ireland to become involved in European Defence Agency (EDA) operations without needing Dáil approval, and that the country’s traditional military neutrality is therefore under threat.

Although the Green Party’s initial preference was for a complete Irish withdrawal from the EDA, months of negotiations led to Green Party leader John Gormley, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, to reach an acceptable compromise at the end of April.

Additionally, the Green Party will be pushing for separate law to ensure that Irish companies are prevented from promoting a weapons industry in Ireland.

The EDA was set up in 2004 to help countries in the European Union to develop their defence capabilities.

It is based in Brussels and decisions are made by a board consisting of defence ministers from the 26 participating countries.