Author: Admin

It’s 19:50 UTC on Saturday, May 5, 2007. Hello, I’m David Jacobson with Audio Wikinews, News briefs and en.wikinews.org .

Sunday, August 21, 2005

A robotic system at Stanford Medical Center was used to perform a laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery successfully with a theoretically similar rate of complications to that seen in standard operations. However, as there were only 10 people in the experimental group (and another 10 in the control group), this is not a statistically significant sample.

If this surgical procedure is as successful in large-scale studies, it may lead the way for the use of robotic surgery in even more delicate procedures, such as heart surgery. Note that this is not a fully automated system, as a human doctor controls the operation via remote control. Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is a treatment for obesity.

There were concerns that doctors, in the future, might only be trained in the remote control procedure. Ronald G. Latimer, M.D., of Santa Barbara, CA, warned “The fact that surgeons may have to open the patient or might actually need to revert to standard laparoscopic techniques demands that this basic training be a requirement before a robot is purchased. Robots do malfunction, so a backup system is imperative. We should not be seduced to buy this instrument to train surgeons if they are not able to do the primary operations themselves.”

There are precedents for just such a problem occurring. A previous “new technology”, the electrocardiogram (ECG), has lead to a lack of basic education on the older technology, the stethoscope. As a result, many heart conditions now go undiagnosed, especially in children and others who rarely undergo an ECG procedure.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Citing a lack of results from the primary autopsy by the Los Angeles (LA) Coroner’s Office of Michael Jackson’s body, the Jackson family has requested that an independent coroner examine the body in hopes of finding the cause of death.

The LA Coroner’s have ruled out foul play, but the toxicological tests could take as long as 6 weeks, and as of now have not specified the reason for Jackson’s death. The Coroner’s officer has stated though the decision for an independent autopsy was surprising, they didn’t have any issues with allowing it.

The Jackson family has been unable to contact Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was with the star during his final hours. Police have stated that Dr. Murray is not a suspect, but they are attempting to set up an interview.

Reverend Jesse Jackson, an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, has been in contact with the family and has been providing counseling. He stated “they [the Jacksons] didn’t know the doctor…He should have met with the family, given them comfort on the last hours of their son.” An associate of Ed Chernoff, Dr. Murray’s lawyer, stated that “contrary to what has been out there, Dr. Murray has been co-operating with authorities from the outset and will continue to do so.”

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.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

At the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) conference, a resolution was passed that encourages the Government of Saskatchewan, Canada to place a moratorium on specialty livestock farms raising wild boar. All wild boars that have escaped to roam wild should be killed, according to the resolution.

Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud endorses a ban on wild boar farming. The wild boar population is expanding exponentially. There are over 2,000 feral Sus scrofa swine roaming the prairies. Two litters of approximately 12 piglets are sired by each wild boar sow every year. The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) likewise passed a similar resolution at their 79th annual convention to urge the Saskatchewan Government to declare the wild boar as a nuisance species which can be killed on sight.

3% of farmed “wild” boars escape. Cells of wild boars are ravenous creatures killing and eating everything in their path. Horses, cows, and other livestock run from wild boars, breaking through fences in the process.

Ostriches, emus, llamas, alpacas, reindeer, wild boar, and fallow deer were amongst the animals introduced to farms in Saskatchewan during the agricultural diversification program in the late 1970s. Production of wild boars was promoted throughout the 1980s.

According to the Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food 2001 statistics, there were 150 wild boar producers raising approximately 15,000 and 20,000 head. Of these there were about 2,700 sows. On the 2006 Census of Agriculture, 401 farms reported 4,926 boars.

The boar’s red meat is an export commodity to Europe and Asia. The live breeding stock are also sold to trophy hunt ranches. Full blooded wild boar and hybrid crosses are raised.

Friday, October 30, 2020

Retired teacher Brian T. Carroll, the presidential nominee of the American Solidarity Party, answered some questions about his campaign from Wikinews accredited reporter William S. Saturn.

Carroll is an Evangelical Christian. During a 44 year career in education, he mainly taught history to middle school children in California. He spent nine years in Colombia teaching children whose missionary parents were stationed there. Carroll joined the Solidarity Party and ran for Congress in 2018 for California’s 22nd congressional seat.  He finished the nonpartisan blanket primary in fifth with 1.3 percent of the vote. Carroll received the Solidarity Party’s 2020 presidential nomination in September 2019 over two other contenders: candidate Joshua Perkins and past Wikinews interviewee Joe Schriner. Carroll selected fellow teacher Amar Patel as his running mate. Patel spoke to Wikinews in August.

The Solidarity Party was founded in 2011 as the Christian Democratic Party. It is based on Roman Catholic social teachings, advocating for social justice, environmentalism, and “a consistent life ethic” including opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment. The party changed to its current name ahead of the 2016 presidential election, when its first ticket of Mike Maturen for president and Juan Muñoz for vice president appeared on the ballot only in Colorado, receiving reportedly a total of 6,777 votes, largely from write-ins elsewhere. It has grown ahead of the 2020 presidential election, securing ballot access for the Carroll–Patel ticket in a total of eight states, with write-in access in 23 others.

With Wikinews, Carroll discusses his background, COVID-19 and campaigning, presidential nominations, and his views on such issues as climate change, foreign policy, internet speech, and race relations in the United States.