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ROME (Reuters) - An Italian politician has used the "work
makes you free" slogan that topped the gates at Auschwitz in a
brochure to promote local job centres, saying he could not
remember the source but was impressed by the quote.
News agency Ansa reported the vice-president of the Jewish
community in Rome had sharply criticised Tommaso Coletti,
president of Italy's southern Chieti province and member of the
centre-left "Daisy" party, for using the quote.
Countless photographs have focussed on the "Arbeit macht
Frei" sign at Auschwitz to encapsulate the horror of the Nazi
death camps.
"Work makes you free. I don't remember where I read this
phrase but it was one of those quotes that have an instant
impact on you because they tell an immense truth," Coletti
wrote in the pamphlet, Ansa reported.
Coletti could not be reached for comment and the regional
job centres were also unavailable. Ansa said the governor of
the Abruzzo region, which includes Coletti's province, had
apologised to Italy's Jewish community.
taken from
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006-08-30T171011Z_01_L30526908_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-ITALY-NAZI.XML&src=rss
By Griffin Wright
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Also by this reporter
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California -- Google launched its citywide Wi-Fi service here
this week, and Wired News decided to put it to the test.
the coverage was not bad. Logging on within sight of one of the 380
Wi-Fi nodes placed on utility poles around the city, the connection
speed fluctuated between 855 kbps and 1113 kbps for downloads and 144
kbps to 986 kbps on the upload side -- good enough to call up Google
Maps and find directions to our next destination.
Rengstorff Park, closer to the heart of the city, seems a likely
location for web surfing on lazy Sundays. Here the network produced
download speeds of 899 kbps and uploads of 142 kbps under the shady
trees. But there was a slight problem staying connected.
At a local Starbucks, which offers a competing T-Mobile Wi-Fi
service for a fee, Google connection speeds came in low, at 131 kbps
for downloading and 99 kbps for uploading.
Next up: The Mountain View Public Library, one of the few locations
where Google installed an in-door Wi-Fi access point. A test of the
coverage showed a download speed of 598 kbps and a 920 kbps upload
speed -- the closest we got to Google's advertised 1 Mbps rate.
"People are really delighted that it’s working, and they are
especially pleased with the signal," said Karen Burnett, the library's
services director.
Google's new service is among dozens of proposed plans to blanket
metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. with free wireless internet
access. Some, like the one here, have been underwritten by
corporations, while others are being financed by local governments. The
projects have touched a raw nerve with communications companies like
Verizon, AT&T and Qwest, all building out expensive upgrades to the
old telephone networks, who see a potential impact on their profits.
Lobbyists are working nationwide, seeking legislation that would impose
regulatory and legal barriers for taxpayer-funded initiatives.
was involved in the negotiations with Google and has high hopes for the
WiFi network. "This is a very technology-oriented community that’s
looking forward to using it in a million ways," he said.
Residents interviewed Thursday offered mixed reactions.
Significantly, the range of the network is restricted to the borders of
Mountain View, and wireless internet users interviewed for this article
said that as a result they are unlikely to use the service.
"I need ubiquity," said Davis Fields, a resident and independent
marketing consultant. He said he needs internet access on the road
because works throughout the Bay Area, so he will hold on to his
T-Mobile account. Google’s service works best outdoors, but if indoor
access improves, Fields said he might make more use of the network.
"Eventually we might eliminate our line in our home," he said.
Bill Le Vesque was online at the downtown Starbucks, and had notheard of the program, but he had a similar reaction. "The problem is I
can’t rely on it because I do a lot of business travel around the Bay
Area," said Le Vesque, who also uses T-Mobile.
At The Posh Bagel downtown, the WiFi signal was weak, coming in at
131 kbps for downloading and 99 kbps for uploading. Businessman Gabriel
Manjarrez and his colleagues here showed little enthusiasm for the
whole concept of free Google WiFi.
"It promotes their service," Manjarrez said. "There is no such thing as a free lunch."
[taken from: http://wired.com/news/technology/wireless/0,71616-0.html?tw=wn_index_4]
By Sara Ledwith
LONDON (Reuters) - Have you seen the king?
As the 29th anniversary of his death passes, a $3 million reward is
being offered for anyone who finds Elvis Presley alive.
U.S. writer, actor and filmmaker Adam Muskiewicz says he and a producer
friend set up the website www.elviswanted.com mostly for publicity and
to get the public involved in an independent documentary exploring the
myth that Elvis is still alive.
"The hoaxing of Elvis Presley's death is the biggest myth in the history
of pop culture. Does it have any merit? What are the facts behind it?" the site asks.
The film and site aim to explore persistently popular rumors that Elvis did not die
on August 16 1977, but may have gone into hiding.
Muskiewicz says he has interviewed countless fans and up to 175
people who either knew Elvis or had insight into his music or lifestyle
for the documentary, planned for release next year on the 30th
anniversary of the American singer and actor's death.
"Right now, about 75 percent (of those interviewed) definitely think he's dead,"
Muskiewicz said by telephone. "About 25 percent think he's alive."
The website, linked to www.truthaboutelvis.com, offers pictures of possible
Elvis sightings and opportunities for people to share their
Elvis-related experiences and conspiracy theories.
Muskiewicz, 28, says he currently installs indoor advertising in Lakewood, Ohio, to
get by. He has not decided what he believes but the main reasons for
some fans' suspicions are the strange behavior of Memphis medical staff
at the time, and inconsistencies in events surrounding Elvis's funeral.
was the funeral so fast? Things were sealed and people went quiet," he
said.
Another question always on people's minds is the spelling of his
middle name: Aaron on his tombstone, this was Aron in his life,
according to the site.
Whatever the search for Elvis reveals, the website's $3 million reward
is genuine. Backed by a bet with UK bookmakers William Hill Plc, it is
a particularly pricey version of one of the company's longest-standing
novelty bets, said Graham Sharpe, the company's media relations director.
"The odds we're giving to the rest of the world on this are 1,000 to 1,"
he added, noting that if Elvis were found alive today he would be an
elderly figure, not the rocker we remember.
[taken from: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-08-17T180716Z_01_L17786195_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-ELVIS1.xml&archived=False]
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Three Mexicans who survived for nine months as
their small fishing boat drifted across the Pacific Ocean tossed two
other men overboard after they died of starvation during the journey,
officials said on Thursday. The three were rescued last week by a trawler more than 5,000 miles from
Mexico's Pacific Coast fishing village of San Blas, where they left for
what was supposed to be a routine shark fishing trip last November. Stranded
on the high seas for nine months, they stayed alive by eating raw birds
and fish and drinking rain water, but the government said on Thursday
that two other men perished during the ordeal and were thrown overboard.
"At the start of this fishing trip, there were five people on board the boat. Two of them would have died shortly afterward," Miguel Gutierrez, a senior official at Mexico's foreign ministry, told reporters.
"They refused to eat, and that's why they died," he said, and rejected suggestions that the survivors may have eaten the bodies of their dead companions. The story has captivated Mexico but the survivors did not mention their dead companions when they were interviewed on Wednesday by radio and television stations from the boat that rescued them near the Marshall Islands. Gutierrez said a survivor told a government official that one man died in January and the other in early February.
"It is natural that people who have spent nine months on the high seas, in the conditions they survived, would not have their complete story straight away," said Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez. A local government official in San Blas said on Thursday that no one there knew two other men were on board the very basic 25-foot (8-meter) fiberglass boat. The survivors' families had given them up for dead, and were astonished to learn from news reports that they survived. "Now you see that miracles exist," said Marina Estrada, the aunt of one of the fishermen. The three men were skinny and sunburned after their ordeal but are otherwise in good health.
The Taiwanese fishing trawler that found them is expected to return to port in the Marshall Islands next Monday. The survivors will then be given medical checks and flown home.
[taken from: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-08-18T130919Z_01_N17306187_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEXICO-FISHERMEN.xml&archived=False]
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