San Francisco Museum of Modern Art buys Edward Hopper valued at over $25 million

Monday, March 26, 2012

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has purchased the painting Intermission, by American artist Edward Hopper. The piece, created in 1963, is one of the last paintings created by Hopper.

SFMOMA Image: WolfmanSF.

Hopper’s realist style, which visually examined American urban and rural life in the first half of the 20th century, made him one of the most influential and important American artists of the modern era. The painting, which was sold by a private collector, is believed to be valued at over $25 million.

Intermission shows a woman sitting alone in the front row of a theater. The theater is empty, and is described, by San Francisco Chronicle art critic Kenneth Baker as expressing emotion and social isolation, a standard theme in Hopper’s works. The inspiration for the painting came to Hopper while he was watching a film.

Hopper’s wife, Josephine, had scheduled Hopper to create the painting in a theater, however Hopper would complete the painting at his studio in New York City. Original sketches of Intermission show a second person sitting in the third row — a figure that never made it into the final painting. Baker calls Intermission a “prime example of Hopper’s austere realist vision”.

[This is] a necessary practice in an art market where prices for historically important art continue to rise steeply.

SFMOMA will not disclose how much they paid for Intermission. When the painting Hotel Window, which is of similar size and from the same period, sold at auction in 2006, it sold for $26.9 million. It is believed that “Inspiration” is worth just as much, if not more. Intermission was purchased with the help of donor funds, and acquired through the San Francisco-based Fraenkel Gallery, which sold if on behalf of a private collector.

In exchange for the acquisition of Intermission, SFMOMA is selling another Hopper painting: Bridal Path, from 1939. A lesser known work of Hopper’s, Bridal Path shows a horseback riding path in Central Park. By selling Bridal Path, SFMOMA is able to help fund the acquisition of the more well known Intermission. This practice is slowly gaining popularity within a museum and art market that previously disapproved of the sale of lesser known works for more popular acquisitions. Baker acknowledges the past practices, but believes that this is “a necessary practice in an art market where prices for historically important art continue to rise steeply.”

Intermission goes on display for the public on Friday, at SFMOMA.

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Several episodes of ‘Orange is the New Black’ released prematurely by hacker

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

A hacker, or group of hackers, operating under the alias of The Dark Overlord uploaded ten episodes of Netflix’s web TV series Orange is the New Black on Friday and Saturday on The Pirate Bay after they said the online streaming service failed to meet their demands. Netflix had planned to release the season on June 9.

According to The New York Times, the unreleased content from the upcoming fifth season of Orange is the New Black was likely stolen from a postproduction company Larson Studios, based in Los Angeles. Netflix in a statement said, “A production vendor used by several major TV studios had its security compromised and the appropriate law enforcement authorities are involved.” In a tweet on Saturday, the hacker said, “Who is next on the list? FOX, IFC, NAT GEO, and ABC. Oh, what fun we’re all going to have. We’re not playing any games anymore.”

The hacker tweeted about uploading the first episode on The Pirate Bay on Saturday saying, “Let’s try to be a bit more direct, Netflix”. The hacker allegedly demanded an amount of money which they publicly described as “modest”, from Netflix for not releasing the episodes prematurely. The New York Times reported that the final three episodes were not pirated since the security breach occurred before the postproduction studio was handed those episodes. In January, the hacker erased the data from the servers of a Muncie-based charity called Little Red Door Cancer Services of East Central Indiana demanding 50 bitcoins to restore their data, which was estimated to be about US$43,000.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reportedly investigating this cyber crime. Netflix has more than 100 million subscribers, CEO Reed Hastings announced recently. Variety noted that Netfilx’s shares experienced a 0.57% loss on the day the first episode was uploaded by the hacker.

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Categories
Electrician

How To Look For A Skilled Mesquite Electrician

How To Look For a Skilled Mesquite Electrician

by

Sami Jack

Whether you are renovating your home or office, or building a new home, you will definitely need the services of a skilled Mesquite electrician. The electrical system is the lifeblood of any modern habitat. It doesn’t matter if it’s your home or office, you will need your lights to come off and on, the TV, blow drier, washing machine, refrigerator and computer to work when you ask it of them.

Electricity is inherent to modern life and this means that when the electrical system fails for some reason or another, our normal rate of life is disturbed to a larger or smaller degree.

This is why making sure that you are working with an experienced Mesquite electrician professional is so important, and the way you do that is by properly researching several companies till you find the one that works best for you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TaBTyoCDmQ[/youtube]

When you’re looking for an electrician to work on your electrical system the first thing that you will have to check is their license. This ensures that the person or firm that you are hiring is indeed capable of doing the things that you are hiring them to do.

Another thing that you need to look and ask for, are references from previous jobs that they have undertaken in the last couple of months. A good private electrician or company will usually have a few references ready for this purpose. It’s a great way of making sure that the company that you are dealing with is actually genuine and that they do good work.

Now considering they have all of the above, the next thing on your list should be to check if they are properly insured. This is a step that you’d take when hiring any type of craftsman to work in your home, and especially so considering that working with electricity is rather dangerous.

The number of services that a Mesquite electrician provides should also be an important factor in your final decision. You have to consider that once you choose a certain firm or person and if you’re satisfied with their services you’ll want to hire them for other things as well, whether it’s upgrading your electrical system, replacing it, re-wiring it, you should check through the list of services that each potential candidate offers.

There can be other advantages to working with the same firm for a longer period of time, such as fidelity discounts for various jobs, as well as having easier and in some times cheaper access to various parts that you might need because some firms get their parts cheaper than the average retail price that you see. So as you can see there are quite a few things that you should consider when looking for a Mesquite electrician but doing all of them will net you the best possible results.

Sami Jack has been writing about and working in

MESQUITE ELECTRICIAN

field for several years, giving him access to a lot of first hand experiences and knowledge which he now shares please visit

MESQUITE ELECTRICIAN

for more details related to this article.

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ArticleRich.com

Ballarat candidates debate climate at election forum

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Four local candidates standing for the Division of Ballarat discussed climate policy today at the Ballarat Tech School.From left to right — John Barnes (Greens), Alex Graham (independent), Catherine King (Labor), and Kerryn Sedgman (Australian Federation Party).Image: Alison Newman.

Ballarat, Australia — In the lead-up to the upcoming Australian federal election, four candidates for the Division of Ballarat met last Sunday at the Ballarat Tech School in a climate-centred forum organised by local group Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions (BREAZE).

In attendance were sitting Labor member Catherine King, Greens candidate and former mayor John Barnes, Australian Federation Party candidate Kerryn Sedgman, and independent candidate Alex Graham. Local Liberal and Liberal Democrats candidates gave apologies in place of attendance.

The event was preceded by a climate action rally outside the Ballarat Civics Hall and the Ballarat Town Hall, which featured speeches from both representatives of BREAZE, the Ballarat branch of Extinction Rebellion, Environment Victoria, the Public Transport Users Association, and the Ballarat Trades Hall.

The forum began with each candidate being given three minutes to summarise their policies on climate before questions were taken from members of the public. John Barnes, the Greens candidate, began by claiming “the Greens have the most ambitious program of any of the parties on addressing climate change”, and said if the Greens were in the balance of power in the coming election, they would work to push Labor towards the “reforming zeal of past generations”, invoking former Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Barnes stated the Greens have a target of 75% emissions reduction by 2030, by which time they would also end the mining, burning, and export of coal in Australia.

Independent candidate Alex Graham began his speech by saying he was “passionate about our environment” and claimed to have “absolutely, without question, the best policy”, explaining the focus of his candidacy was to introduce a referendum that would allow the Australian government to “write its own money supply into existence”. Graham said this policy would deliver “money beyond the pale to totally restore our environment”.

Incumbent MP Catherine King said that in her twenty years as an MP, the Australian Parliament had been unable to deal with the climate issue. She referenced previous attempts by the last Labor government to legislate policies to tackle climate change, such as the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), but stated these efforts were “completely and utterly dismantled” after the 2013 election.

King referred to the Powering Australia policy announced in December 2021 by Labor energy and climate spokesperson Chris Bowen, stating the policy had been supported by the Business Council of Australia (BCA), National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and “some” environmental groups. King stated the policy included a commitment to 43% emissions reduction by 2030, net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and it would overall “grow jobs, increase renewable energy, and bring emissions down”.

Kerryn Sedgman of the Australian Federation Party promised to centre the opinions of views of the community, and read from the Federation policy on climate directly, saying “carbon is not the enemy. Toxic pesticides are the true enemy.” Sedgman claimed pesticides were the primary source of nitrous oxide (N?O) released, and that N?O was “300 times worse than carbon”.

After the candidates concluded with their opening summaries, members of the public were open to ask questions. The first question asked candidates what their first two priorities were for climate action. Barnes said the Greens’ top priority was “prompt action”, and they would also focus on transforming the nation’s economy to “a new way — a new sustainable way — of making our living in the world”. Graham stated if Australia had a limitless supply of money, there would not be a climate change issue and Australia would become a model for the world. He said his two priorities would be creating more money and introducing newer technologies.

Barnaby Joyce (pictured) is the current Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development.Image: Australian Government.

King said her first priority would be getting more renewables into the grid and generally increasing the amount of renewables, and also added a third priority, saying that as Minister for Transport and Infrastructure in a Labor government, she would add a climate section to the department and work to create a network of electric vehicle charging stations. Sedgman stated “there’s more than two top priorities”, but remarked that soil regeneration was a key part of carbon sequestration, and called for a more immediate approach to deal with climate through education and community hubs.

The event was then disturbed slightly by a person asking about a supposed “ninety-year suppression order suppressing the names of twenty-eight VIP alleged paedophiles”, who was asked to leave by organisers for disrupting the event. King labeled the belief a “QAnon conspiracy theory”.

After this, the topic shifted to the proposed Western Victorian Transmission Network, a proposed overhead transmission line from Bulgana to Sydenham. Graham said his proposed referendum, if successful, could lead to the federal government subsidising a plan to put the transmission line underground beneath the Western Highway, emphasising we shouldn’t “let money interfere with saving this planet”. King noted the location of a proposed transfer station was “really problematic”, but stated the issue lay more with the regulatory process, and Labor would work with state and territory governments to reform this process.

Sedgman admitted she was not fully aware of some of the background King had bought up, and she would like to speak to those affected personally. Barnes said the consultation of AusNet, who propose building the transmission line, had not been good, and hopes an extended time granted for the environmental impact statement will allow all people affected to be properly heard. Barnes also stated AusNet had claimed diverting the line underground would cost thirteen times more than the overhead alternative, while a Shire of Moorabool study showed it would only cost five times more.

One questioner asked about what the candidates would do to investigate the possibility of direct air capture. Barnes remarked “the best way to sequester carbon is not to release it in the first place”, and said the mechanical removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere was “probably a pipe dream”. Graham quipped he was “prepared to ask my friend if he could do it, and I’m sure he could.” King argued the technology was “a fair way off yet”, but noted A$3 billion was reserved in Labor’s Powering Australia plan for new technologies to reduce emissions. Sedgman stressed the importance of reducing the “extraordinary rate” at which deforestation occurs.

Protesters holding a sign in support of ending new fossil fuel projects earlier in the day at the Ballarat Rally for Climate Action.Image: Alison Newman.

Candidates were then asked if they would commit to no new coal and gas infrastructure. King confirmed a moratorium on new coal and gas was not part of Labor policy, but they were not interested in investing taxpayer funds towards them, contrasting it with what she said was the current government’s approach to projects such as the Collinsville Power Station. Graham said, as someone who had previously worked in the industry, he would “close down every coal-fired power station as soon as it was possible” and disallow the construction of new coal-fired power stations. Graham also pledged to close down coal mines and ban fracking.

Barnes stated the Greens take the advice of the International Energy Agency seriously, and would not allow any new coal, gas, or oil projects, as well as closing down coal-fired power stations by 2030, to be replaced by renewable energy. Barnes emphasised the need to lower emissions before 1.5 °C of global warming was reached.

One questioner asked candidates what they would do in the event of two scenarios after the coming election — one being that Labor had a clear majority, the other that the Greens held the balance of power. King stated the “beauty of power in Australia” was it didn’t require any legislation. However, she said Labor would still attempt to legislate targets of 43% emissions reduction and net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Barnes reiterated the Greens in the balance of power would push Labor to be more ambitious, and that while compromise would be needed in a hung parliament, the Greens would “play hardball” on addressing the climate.

Candidates were then asked about a proposal from Beyond Zero Emissions to turn northern Australia into the “battery of Asia”. Barnes stated Australia could become a “energy superpower”, and good government policy could have the market “with us” on this issue. King declared over 600,000 jobs could be realised under Labor’s Powering Australia plan, and concurred in saying Australia should be a renewable energy superpower and exporting technology to the world. She highlighted the need for a government that “believes in climate change, believes that we have to do something about it”, and restated that Labor’s plan was endorsed by the BCA and NFF.

The Eraring coal-fired power station in the Hunter Valley.Image: Nick Pitsas, CSIRO.

The final question asked how those in coal communities such as the Hunter Valley could be helped to deal with the potential loss of jobs with a transition to renewable energy. Graham responded by calling for a “basic, living universal wage to all people”, while Sedgman asked who was eligible to have these jobs in the first place “due to the current mandate conditions”. King said the demand for fossil fuels was running out, with trading partners setting targets of net zero emissions by 2050. She underlined the “really good jobs in renewables”, and emphasised the need to start now in training people for new, good-paying renewable jobs, as otherwise these workers wouldn’t get jobs again.

Barnes stated the Greens had announced A$19 billion over ten years with the aim of transitioning communities affected by a move away from fossil fuels, they would aim for renewables running the power system by 2030, and they would run retraining programs and maintain existing incomes for “up to a decade” if workers cannot find “equally lucrative” jobs. Barnes emphasised the need to not vilify those working in mining communities, and a plan must be in place for these communities to maintain their dignity.

The forum concluded with representatives from Environment Victoria in the local area invited to present copies of an open letter calling for “faster and fairer climate action”, and which was signed by 125 people. Among other things, the letter called for a replacement of “coal, oil and gas with clean energy”, “a national plan to slash climate pollution this decade with strong targets that, at a minimum, match our trading partners”, and an accelerated rollout of renewable energy projects with the aim of creating “a healthy, prosperous economy while ceasing new energy generating projects from fossil fuel sources”.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Ballarat_candidates_debate_climate_at_election_forum&oldid=4683671”

Seattle shooting leaves seven dead

Monday, March 27, 2006Seven young people are dead with two more hospitalized in Seattle, Washington, after a murder-suicide shooting Saturday morning in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The gunman, identified by police and witnesses as Kyle Huff, 28, left a party briefly to retrieve a pistol-grip shotgun and a handgun from his nearby truck. When he returned, he started firing. He turned his shotgun on himself when apprehended by a police officer on the porch of the house where the shootings took place. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the dead as Jeremy Martin, 26, Christopher Williamson, 21, Jason Travers, 32, Justin Schwartz, 22, Suzanne Thorne, 15, and Melissa Moore, 14.

No altercation was reported at the party, and no motive has been identified for the killings. Before returning to the party, Huff spray-painted the word, “now,” on the sidewalk, and on the steps approaching the house. Seattle police officer Steve Leonard heard the shots, and arrived on the scene to find Huff emerging from the house. Huff was warned to drop his weapon, at which point he aimed his shotgun at his own head and fired.

Three of the victims were killed in the living room, and another two were found dead on the porch and steps of the house. Another died at the hospital. One of the hospitalized victims was initially reported in critical condition, but was upgraded Monday morning to satisfactory condition.

Huff, originally from Whitefish, Montana, had been charged in 2000 with felony criminal mischief for firing on a sculpture with a shotgun, according to Flathead County, Montana Sherriff Jim Dupont. Police found an assault rifle, a machete and ammunition in Huff’s truck, and a search of his North Seattle apartment turned up three more rifles.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Seattle_shooting_leaves_seven_dead&oldid=565142”
Categories
Shipping

Ice Cream Pint Containers: Obtainable In Batches At Reasonable Costs

Ice Cream Pint Containers: Obtainable in batches at reasonable costs

by

largebusiness

Ice Cream at social gatherings

On you having noticed Ice creams have turned out to be an integral element of today\’s get-togethers and functions also. All that you re required doing for serving up the ice cream happens to be to obtain some Ice Cream Containers Wholesale and a number of fancy Wooden Ice-Cream Spoons and you re ready to welcome your visitor with a magnificent tasty dessert that everybody likes.

Ice Cream for children

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfBnW-EEhIs[/youtube]

But none are fond of Ice Cream additional to the kids. It s the most wanted of almost all the children you are able to see. It s a delight watching the children being seated inside an Ice Cream shop having their much loved Ice Cream. The children factually do yell out for ice creams. It s a frequent sight watching the children moving about holding Paper Ice Cream containers having Lids and having it with all their glee. If you desire, you are able to provide your children with the bliss of having ice cream inside a store right there in your residence. Put together an ice cream at residence and get a few Ice Cream Containers Wholesale as well as Wooden Ice Cream Spoons that are available without difficulty in the marketplace. Subsequently serve up your small ones the home-based ice cream inside the container with the spoon. They ll have that ice cream with similar enjoyment, with which they have inside an ice cream shop. And furthermore it is going to be easy on your purse as well!

Also, get a number of Wholesale Ice Cream Containers for storing ice creams at residence for a lengthier time under refrigeration for providing your small ones with dessert the additional time they wish to have while not having to take the trouble of making it once more. An Ice Cream Container Wholesale is quite a practical device for its storage.

Except for you being fortunate enough to come across small amounts of cardboard Ice Cream Pint Containers at an eatery supply store, they happen to generally be only obtainable commercially in amounts of hundreds or additional, and we do not feel like having to spend $250 on Ice Cream Pint Containers!

However if you would like plain Ice Cream Pint Containers for offering presents of ice cream storing your personal fresh-churned flavors, there happens to be a new, low-priced alternative.

Many companies have a straightforward business: They just sell simple white ice cream containers. Their bunch of pints as well as quarts happens to be sold in lesser amounts, with twenty five containers to a sleeve. Their costs are exceptionally reasonable as well; they have packs of 25 of quarts for $12.95 as well as packs of 25 of pints for $8.95. Every one of the containers consists of lids.

These are able to be so helpful; we would be keen on keeping a sleeve of pints about for packing up ice cream for further people more than ever while we have scraps following a dinner gathering. The containers are also able to be decorated labeled.

Put together an ice cream at residence and get a few

Disposable Ice Cream Cups andFrozen Yogurt Cup

as well as Wooden Ice Cream Spoons that are available without difficulty in the marketplace

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

U.S. warns of al Qaeda threat to stock trading and banking websites

Friday, December 1, 2006

The U.S. government warned private financial services that al Qaeda is planning a cyber attack on the U.S. stock and bank accounts, officials said on Thursday.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke says: “There is no information to corroborate this aspirational threat. As a routine matter and out of an abundance of caution, US-CERT issued the situational awareness report to industry stakeholders.”

The officials said that the attacks are aimed at destroying the databases of U.S. banking and stock market web sites. The Homeland Security group claims that the threat was for all of December.

A U.S. official said that the threat was posted on an website and called for the attack to avenge the imprisonment of Muslims in the Guantanamo detention camp.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=U.S._warns_of_al_Qaeda_threat_to_stock_trading_and_banking_websites&oldid=440892”

Getting even with the law: Wikinews interviews New York City’s ‘Jimmy Justice’

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

“What bothers me is watching an officer write someone a summons and then commit the exact same violation with their official vehicle.

A civilian known as ‘Jimmy Justice’ who resides in New York City (NYC), New York, the largest city in the United States, has been videotaping NYC police officers and city workers, breaking the law while on the job.

Since 2007, he claims to have caught “hundreds of officers and other city employees violating the law,” and says he has them all on camera. He has posted his best confrontations with them to the video sharing website YouTube. As a result, Justice states that he has been asked to do a United States television show and Wikinews got an exclusive interview with him. For protection, Justice wished not to be called by his real name in fear of police retaliation.

Last year, Justice videotaped a police officer parking in front of a fire hydrant, but has only recently gained attention on social networking news sites such as Digg and reddit.com. So Wikinews contacted Mr. Justice, known as JimmyJustice4753 on YouTube, for an exclusive interview to find out what caused him to get revenge on the law.

On June 30, 2007, Justice caught officer E. Anderson of the NYPD, traffic division, parking directly in front of a fire hydrant while she went inside a restaurant to take a 15 minute lunch break.

A NYC police car, parked next to a fire hydrant Image: Cezary Piwowarski.

“Do you think there is something wrong with parking a vehicle, blocking a fire hydrant,?” says Justice while following Anderson to her car after her meal.

“Mrs. Anderson I’m talking to you,” says Justice as Anderson ignores him. “You parked your vehicle blocking a fire hydrant. You are not allowed to do that. Somebody else would get a ticket for that. Why are you allowed to do it? You should be ashamed of yourself Mrs. Anderson.”

By this time, the incident has gained the interest of people nearby the scene and passing it. One unidentified woman, who claims to be a retired NYC police officer decides to intervene stating that people “are not supposed to film any police, [or] anybody employed with the police department because of the terrorism.” A short time later the woman walked off camera.

Since 2007 Justice says he has caught “hundreds of law enforcement officers and city officials” on “over 30 hours of video” violating laws from illegal U-turns in business districts to blocking bus stops and fire hydrants. Justice has only uploaded the “most colorful ones to YouTube” and recently, on April 8, 2008, Justice videotaped a NYPD tow truck officer blocking a hydrant while he also ate lunch inside a restaurant. According to NYC law, it is illegal for any vehicle to park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant and to park in front of a bus stop. It is also illegal for any person to make a U-turn in a business district. Fines for these violations can cost a driver up to US$115.00 for each violation occurred.

A parking violation sticker.

When Wikinews asked Justice why he decided to start filming the violations made by officials he answered, “what bothers me is watching an officer write someone a summons and then commit the exact same violation with their official vehicle. I started making these videos to remind the officers (and complacent civilians) that City employees have to abide by the same laws that they are paid to enforce. I plan on doing this and inspiring others to do this as well as a means of leveling the playing field against discourteous officers.”

“In NYC, the traffic cops are notorious for their draconian indiscretion in handing out summonses to civilians for petty violations. Obviously the laws are not enforced as a matter of public safety, but rather to raise revenue,” added Justice.

Justice makes little effort to get the violations on videotape saying “all I have to do to catch them is open my eyes.”

“The problem with abuse of authority is rampant in New York City. I take my video camera with me on the way to work and on the way to social events and band rehearsals and when I see action it takes me less than 4 seconds to have the camera out and in record mode,” states Justice.

His videos have drawn the attention of media and he has been featured on ABC’s ‘I-caught videos’ and Inside Edition. Justice also states that the popularity of his videos have gotten the attention producers in Hollywood, California and as a result, there are plans for a television show.

Since Justice began getting even with officials and their violations, he states that there has been a positive change in the communities.

“The publicity my videos have received has effected positive change in the community, but we still have a long road ahead of us,” added Justice.

As a result of his videos, at the time the NYPD launched an investigation into the violations, but it is not known if any officers were charged or punished. Justice himself has never been arrested, but has been assaulted.

“I have never been arrested for this yet but they have threatened me with arrest. I have been spit on, cursed at, assaulted, and I had 2 cameras broken already,” added Justice.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Getting_even_with_the_law:_Wikinews_interviews_New_York_City%27s_%27Jimmy_Justice%27&oldid=1407729”

New denunciations of Brazilian deputy and evidence make things difficult for Lula

Sunday, July 3, 2005

São Paulo, Brazil —On June 30, in Brazil, deputy Roberto Jefferson testified to deputies and senators of a Commission that is investigating the alleged Post Office Service scandal. Jefferson’s testimony along with new evidence supporting his testimony are putting the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a difficult situation.

Roberto Jefferson’s testimony ran from 4 p.m. to close to 2 a.m. (local time). The deputy further explained the alleged corruption scheme involving the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT).

The testimony of Jefferson was at times very tense, and sometimes discussions between Jefferson and deputies of the Workers Party become heated. In one instance, a Workers’ Party deputy attacked Jefferson’s credibility, calling him a liar on the basis that he supported the former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello, who suffered impeachment for corruption related to Treasurer Paulo Cesar Farias, who worked on Collor’s campaign. Jefferson answered: “PC Farias is a chick when you see the corruption in PT”, and accused the former governor of Rio Grande do Sul Olivio Dutra (Olivio Dutra is the minister of Lula at the present time) of involvement with the “Jogo do Bicho” (illegal gambling).

According to Jefferson, the President of the Worker’s Party José Genuino, former Minister José Dirceu, Secretary-General Sílvio Pereira, and Treasurer Delúbio Soares, head a widespread national corruption scheme which involves the Workers Party, members of the Government, the Brazilian Agency of Intelligence, and both government and private enterprises. Jefferson said the President was unaware of this scheme. Some members of parliament from the opposition see this claim as strange.

During his last testimony, Jefferson said that entrepreneur Marcos Valério was responsible for finacing the payment of deputies of the alleged Votes-for-cash scandal. This week, investigations by the police showed that Marcos Valério withdrew, in cash, large sums of money from Rural Bank. According to Jefferson, this money was used to pay deputies. Valério said that he used the money to buy cattle and that farmers don’t like to receive cheques, just “real money”. His explanation was considered suspect and his former secretary said she does not know of any farms owned by Valerio.

Marcos Valério is part-owner of SMPB and DNA. Documents from the Agrarian Reform Institute (INCRA) showed that Valério’s enterprises owned 10 big farms. According to an article published by the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo on July 1, at least two of these farms do not exist. The Brazilian Federal Police said that there is evidence sufficient to indict Valério. The accusations against Valério are tax evasion and money laundering.

According to Internal Revenue Service, Marcos Valério’s fortune was R$ 230,000 (97,676.27 USD – Live mid-market rates as of July 3, 2005, 12:47:43 UTC.) in 1997 and R$ 14,000,000 (5,945,511.97 USD) in 2004, a growth of 6086%. The enterprises of Valério, SMPB and DNA, have contracts with five Ministeries and eight big public enterprises, including the Post Office Service.

Before his testimony to the Commission, Jefferson said that Furnas, an energy company in Brazil, was involved in a corruption scheme. According to Jefferson, money from the enterprise was moved to the Workers’ Party of Minas Gerais, to the treasurer Delúbio Soares, to be used to buy deputies. Furnas denied this. Presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the allegations should be investigated. Under pressure the Furnas’ directors resigned.

On July 2, newspapers reported that according to Brazilian Central Bank’s documents, in February 17, 2004, the Workers’ Party borrowed R$ 2.4 millions (1,019,230.62 USD) from Marcos Valério. In addition, the documents named José Genoíno (the President of the Workers’ Party) and Delúbio Soares (the treasurer). After initially denying that the magazine had taken out this loan, the President of the Workers’ Party acknowledged it to journalists on Saturday, July 2.

Delúbio Soares cried during his speech last week and said that the accusations are not true and that the “right” is trying to impeach President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on false charges.

The testimony of Jefferson is at the center of discussions in Brazil. According to the PMDB leader, Senator Ney Suassuna, the denunciations are “nitroglycerine which are thrown into the arteries of the Republic every minute”. Leader of the PSDB, Arthur Virgílio Neto, said that the government lives in darkness. Senator Peter Simon (PMDB-RS) appealed to President Lula to do an ethical turn-around, and respect the imperatives of morality and seriousness in government. According to Simon: “Today society is still saying that president Lula is a man of good. However, shortly, nobody is going to say that anymore”.

On July 1, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened the celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the Foro de São Paulo, in São Paulo. At 7:30 p.m. the forum was opened and, according to the Workers’ Party, the participants expressed support for the government of President Lula. Lula spoke during the encounter with the semblance of a tired and worried man affected by the crisis.

It is expected that the government will began a Ministerial reformulation next week.

Wikinews
This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.
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Australian refugee contractor accused of breaching its duty of care

Friday, December 30, 2005

The Australian Centre for Languages, a company which has a multi-million dollar contract with the Australian government to provide refugee services, has been accused of breaching its duty of care following the death of a chronically ill child and allegations of failing to provide three women in their care with food.

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