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Wikinews interviews Jonathan Stanley, Scottish Unionist candidate for 2021 Airdrie and Shotts by-election in Scotland

Monday, May 10, 2021

Voters in the Scottish constituency of Airdrie and Shotts are to go to the polls on May 13 to elect a replacement member of parliament (MP) to the United Kingdom House of Commons.

The outgoing MP for the seat is Neil Gray — a representative of the pro-independence Scottish National Party — was resigning to run in the Scottish Parliament election, which was to occur on May 6. Gray won the seat with 45.1% of the vote at the 2019 general election, winning 13.1% more than the second placed candidate Helen McFarlane of the Scottish Labour party, who received 32.0% of the votes.

One of the eight candidates running in this constituency is Jonathan Stanley of the Scottish Unionist Party. Stanley was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for this seat in September, after it was announced Gray would be seeking nomination in the Scottish Parliament. Stanley is also running in the Scottish Parliament election, running as a list candidate in the Lothian region for the Alliance 4 Unity party.

Wikinews spoke to Stanley about important issues issues both nationwide and in Airdrie and Shotts.

Stanley provided two links each alongside the answers to the first two questions. For the first question, these were opinion pieces written by him, and for the second, these were press releases from a think tank Stanley is involved in. Those four links are cited in the external links section.

The first opinion piece addresses housing, calling for, among other things, social housing to be restricted to those who have resided in the UK for ten years or more, a 20% stamp duty on houses sold to foreigners, and abolishing income tax relief for “buy to let” mortgages. The second opinion piece addressed a hate speech law passed by the Scottish Parliament, and said it threatened freedoms and “families[‘] privacy and security of their homes”.

The two press releases concerned COVID-19. The first, published in late January 2020, called for mass flu and pneumococcal vaccination for high risk groups and the banning of flights to and from China, except medical relief flights. The second, published on 15 March 2020, called for a number of things, including the closure of the UK border, a national lockdown, Universal Credit for all during the crisis, a guarantee of essential utilities, and national procurement of ventilators.

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Agency: New York City taxi cab drivers overcharged riders by $8.3 million

Saturday, March 13, 2010

According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), the city’s taxi cab drivers overcharged their riders by more than US$8.3 million over the past two years, by setting their meters to illegally high settings.

The agency reported that some taxi drivers set their meters so they would charge at the suburban fare, which is twice as high as the urban fare — within city limits, fare is 40 cents per 1/5 mile, outside city limits, 80 cents. 48,300 licensed cab drivers work in the city; according to data, 35,558 of them charged a rider inappropriately at least once, the city noted. The statistics also say that 3,000 of drivers had doubled the rates 100 times or more.

Riders who overpaid spent about $4.45 more per trip than they were supposed to, the commission said. 0.5% of all 361 million taxi trips taken in the past 26 were affected by inappropriate charging, the TLC reported.

New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, commented about the findings in his radio show, saying: “Some of these people could face serious charges. Now, how we would ever recoup the money and get it back to the individual payers, no, but we can stop the practice and we can make sure there’s penalties.”

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a taxi driver advocacy group, however, commented that the overcharging could have been due to technology problems, and not because drivers were intentionally raising fare. Bhairavi Desai, who is with the group, noted that “[t]here should be a thorough investigation before judgment is cast on an entire work force.”

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Home Foundation Repair Services In Gainesville

byadmin

The foundation of the home is extremely important. The firmness of the foundation gives the support that the entire structure needs. When foundation is weak, it can have costly implications that compromise personal safety and the general stability of the home. Home foundation repair in Gainesville helps to establish what kind of foundation problem exists.

Homeowners need to make an effort to check their foundation to identify any signs of cracking or problems. Timely solutions will not only save on time, but money as well. Whenever there are concerns about the foundation, it’s advisable to contact experts for home foundation repair in Gainesville. A trained professional needs to verify whether or not the foundation requires repair.

Locating a reputable foundation company is a critical step towards acquiring professional and reliable repair services. Although some homeowners may not be aware of the importance of foundation repair, the reality is that factors such as soil texture can adversely affect foundation stability. It’s important to hire local companies that are aware of existing conditions and can offer the experience that is required for the job.

Proper foundation repair requires skill and knowledge that has been acquired over the years. Professionalism and experience are essential for ensuring that problems are identified quickly and precisely solved. Foundation repair experts provide the assurance that quality work is carried out, and that the desired results are produced.

Foundation repair is an extensive activity, and it needs to be performed without damaging one’s landscape or property. A good foundation repair service provider will ensure that the property is cleaned up after the repair is completed. There are various signs that can be used to detect a foundation problem. These signs include slanting floors, cracked walls, water puddles in basement, and uneven poles.

Foundation problems are generally caused by soil that lacks stability and is beneath the structure. The uneven sinking or rising of the soil will cause the structure to shift in an uneven manner. Leaks beneath the slab can also cause foundation problems by creating gaps between the foundation and soil.

If the soil was not compressed properly during construction, a foundation problem can arise. These problems can be seen in various parts of the structure. They are visible both within and outside the home. When homeowners notice certain signs, they need to consider home foundation repair in Gainesville. Visit Ramjacksf.com to learn more about foundation repair services.

Vancouver will run out of office space in 5 years

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

In Vancouver, a 20-year urban success story may yet have a sad ending. The city’s downtown population has doubled to 80,000 in the last 20 years thanks to Vancouver’s “Living First” policy – a planning strategy that favors residential development over commercial. And planners are expecting the population to reach more than 120,000 by 2030. But while downtown booms with people, business is busting. The International Herald Tribune reports that the city’s recently-released jobs and land-use study is estimating that downtown Vancouver may run out of commercial and office space within 5 years.

The ‘Vancouver problem’ is one that many cities in the United States could only hope to have. On the contrary, much effort has been put into bringing residential life back into the city centres. In Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, and Washington, D.C. there has been a condominium boom in recent years, but these cities are far from the situation Vancouver faces now.

To counter the trend in Vancouver, planners are proposing changes to the city’s zoning regulations, including the passage of more lenient building height restrictions. But because residential developments are so much more profitable than commercial and office space, some public officials are proposing offering better incentives to the developers willing to build commercial. Another option is to expand the moratorium that was placed on new housing development in the central business district two years ago.

Translink is currently involved in a major expansion of the 49.5 km (30.8 mi) Skytrain system centred on downtown Vancouver. Construction of the Canada and Evergreen lines is underway. The former will be complete in 2009, and the latter in 2011.

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SBC teams with Scientific-Atlanta for cable TV rollout in 13 US states

Saturday, April 2, 2005

Regional U.S. telephone giant SBC Communications is one step closer to offering cable television to the 18 million households in its 13 state coverage area. The company announced a $195 million contract with Scientific-Atlanta Thursday to provide a video operations center and regional hubs for the new service. Under the brand name, U-verse, the SBC’s television rollout is set to launch in 2006 after field trials begin later this year.

The company is seeking the so-called “triple play,” where a telecommunications company offers voice, data and video in one bundled package. Local telephone companies like SBC have been losing business to cable TV companies, which have added telephone and Internet services in recent years.

In a slew of recent deals, SBC is looking to stop that trend. Within the past six months it has signed alliances with various technology firms to build out a fiber network to the home strategy. For instance, SBC has a $1.7 billion deal with Alcatel to build out its fiber optic network and a 10-year, $400 million, pact with Microsoft to license its IPTV technology to allow multi-channel television to stream over its Internet backbone.

In most of the U.S. only cable TV companies like Comcast have been able to offer the “triple play” of voice, video and data services. But traditional phone companies like SBC and Verizon have been upgrading their copper wire telephone networks to fiber optic. SBC says it plans to spend billions of dollars to overhaul its telecommunications network, saying the aging and brittle copper wires which were originally laid in the early 1900s do not have enough bandwidth to allow television capability.

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40 million credit cards compromised

Saturday, June 18, 2005

MasterCard International announced Friday that multiple instances of fraud have been tracked back to CardSystems Solutions, Inc., a company that processes credit card transactions and other payments. Customer names, banks, and account numbers of up to 40 million cardholders have been exposed, of which about 13.9 million are MasterCard-branded cards, the company said. Visa and American Express cards were also affected.

“The breach appears to be the largest yet involving financial data,” said David Sobel, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

CardSystems issued a statement late on Friday that said it learned of the potential breach 26 days ago, but that the FBI told the company not to advise the cardholders nor the public at large. CardSystems also said their statement had been vetted by the FBI.

A spokesperson for the FBI said that the agency had asked CardSystems not to disclose information that could compromise the investigation, but that it had not asked CardSystems to fail to disclose the breach at all.

Michael A. Brady, C.F.O. of CardSystems, told the Associated Press that “we’re absolutely blindsided by a press release by the association,” when speaking of MasterCard’s release. A MasterCard spokesperson said that the company was obligated to inform its customers of the breach.

MasterCard spokesperson Sharon Gamsin said that CardSystems was hit by a virus-like computer script that stole customer data for the purpose of fraud. She said MasterCard does not know how the script got into the CardSystem network.

Sobel said this theft “indicates that this is a shadowy industry where the consumer never really knows who is going to be handling and using their personal information. Presumably, the affected consumers thought they were dealing with MasterCard.” Having a third-party process credit card transactions is common practice in the industry.

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Problems Associated With Frac Water Disposal

byAlma Abell

Fracking, also referred to as hydraulic fracking is the process of drilling into subterranean shale and blasting it open to release gas that is found underneath. The biggest problem that has actually been facing fracking is the disposal of millions of gallons of water that have been contaminated with frac chemicals, salts and other leached minerals. The effects of these chemicals to the environment are a greater concern to the environment and now many organizations are pushing for the closure of companies that are responsible for frac water disposal in the US.

The most commonly used method in frac water disposal, which is basically pumping the water underground, has been associated with earthquakes. This is so because when the water is pumped, there is a rise in the sub-surface pressure thereby leading to an earthquake.

The frac water has been associated with pollution of the environment with many cases being reported where the waste water has flown to rivers, cities and lakes and caused contamination as well as other hazardous effects.

The use of water for hydraulic fracturing also leads to the diversion of water from water supplies, stream, flows, and municipalities. The frac waste water also contains oils spills and methane gas which have a severe effect on the marine environment. Surface runoffs end up in ground water systems, and in some cases, tracks involved in the transportation and disposal of the millions of gallons of water frac water cause spillages.

The treatment and disposal of frac water has been taken by sewage treatment plants that do not have enough equipment to treat the millions of gallons of frac water. Therefore the disposal of frac water has been a great problem to the environment.

Many companies prefer shifting frac waste disposal role to specialized treatment plants, which leads to spillages on the way and it`s also expensive for the company. The process of diluting the contaminated also consumes billions of gallons of water which at times end up leaking in to the soil and in to rivers. A new technology has been improvised that does not require the use of water to dilute the waste water.

It is based on desalinization technology known as membrane distillation. The procedure combines heat and gallons of water per day, which cuts cost of frac water treatment in half.

HED Environmental System is dedicated to ensuring that frac water is disposed in the most effective way. Please visit the company`s website www.hedenvironmentalsystems.com for more information on how it`s done.

HED-Environmental-System

U.S. February budget deficit is largest on record

Saturday, March 12, 2011

The U.S. Treasury Department reported the government posted a monthly budget deficit of US$222.5 billion in February, the largest monthly deficit ever recorded. The February deficit, announced on Thursday, outstripped the February revenue gain of $110 billion.

The report comes at a time when the White House and both national political parties are under extreme pressure to reduce the deficit as well as the total U.S. debt. There is no agreement on how to reduce spending and increase government revenue, and both Democratic and Republican measures have been voted down.

Factors contributing to the February 2011 deficit compared to that of February 2010 included a 69% reduction in corporate tax receipts, and an increase of 29% in interest payments due on the U.S. debt. The government also spent more than in the previous February on entitlement programs, including an increase of 11% on Medicare. Government measures, such as an extension of unemployment insurance benefits, cuts in the payroll tax and some business tax reductions also contributed to the deficit.

The White House has predicted that the U.S. budget deficit will reach $1.6 trillion this year and then fall to $1.1 trillion in 2012. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, has warned that by April 15 of this year, the U.S. is likely to reach its $14.3 trillion borrowing limit.

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Black vulture population targeted for reduction at Virginia boat launch

Monday, December 19, 2005

A Virginia recreation and fishing boat launch on the James River near the Dominion Virginia Power plant at Dutch Gap is the scene of too many Black Vultures, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Virginia Department of Inland Game and Fisheries.

In 2002, more than 350 Black vultures were killed at Dutch Gap in an effort to reduce their numbers to a level of a couple dozen birds. But they made a quick come back in the area, and during this past week a hundred of the birds have been disposed of by a shot to their head with a pellet gun.

The USDA reports that both Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus), along with their close relatives called the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), are experiencing population increases stretching well over the last 10 years.

The species is increasingly a problem by growing into being a nuisance, as well as a threat to health and safety concerns. The presence of the birds in large numbers, at places they roost, can cause damage to property as they peck and claw at construction surfaces, and cause unsanitary human health conditions from the defecation and regurgitation of the birds. Their presense at landfills, often in near proximity to airports, is a problem for airplanes during take-off and landing.

At the entrance to the Dutch Gap boat launch parking lot, a large yellow warning sign is posted that reads: “Please be aware of possible damage to vehicles and trailers due to the large Black Vulture population currently inhabiting this parking area. Because the Black Vulture is a federally protected species, Chesterfield County is working with the U.S. Deptartment of Agriculture and the Virginia Department of Inland Games and Fisheries to resolve the problem. You can help by disposing of all litter (even non-food items such as cigarette butts) in trash barrels. Thank you for your cooperation.” The vultures reportedly perch on vehicles and scratch the paint, and for some reason are going after windshield wiper blades.

Vultures have shown an ability to adapt to residential and business settings. The bird, with a 4-foot adult wing span, can be seen gliding through the air at virtually any time of day in Chesterfield and Prince George counties in central Virginia.

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130 dead after torrential rains in India

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Officials in southern India have said that flash floods killed more than 130 people in the southern part of the country, following four days of heavy rain.

The Indian army dispatched troops and helicopters to the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to rescue people stranded by the flooding. They also delivered emergency medical supplies and food provisions. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been evacuated out of the vicinity.

The rains damaged or destroyed thousands of homes, the authorities have said. The waters have also ruined crops, blocked roads, and disrupted communication links. The death toll is expected to rise as search teams reach areas previously rendered inaccessible.

The Chief Minister of Karnataka, B. S. Yeddyurappa, said that the current situation was “serious”. “We have asked for more helicopters from the Indian Air Force to help us,” he told media.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said that army personnel had dispatched to assist with rescue efforts. “Six chopper [sic] have been pressed into service to immediately rescue people. While four helicopters are being used to airlift the flood-hit people in Kurnool district, two choppers were deployed in Mahabubnagar district. A helicopter rescued 15 people in the pilgrim town of Mantralayam,” he said.

Weather analysts have said that the intense rains come from a storm in the Bay of Bengal. “India’s monsoon season usually brings rains from June and withdraws by the end of September. But, this year some parts of the country were actually drought affected due to inadequate and untimely rainfall. Moreover, the cyclone in the Bay of Bengal did the damage in south India which is battling floods after rivers breached their banks. This is a calamity. The central government is also closely monitoring the situation,” said Professor D.K. George, a weather specialist.

The Indian Meterological Department has said it expects more heavy rains over the next day in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

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