The mystery of who at the Defence Department has been vandalizing information on a Wikipedia website critical of the Conservative government’s decision to spend billions on a new stealth jet is now centred on the busiest fighter base in the country.
Defence Department information technology specialists haven’t yet been able to determine where the computers being used to alter the Wikipedia site are located, according to department officials in Ottawa.
But using a readily available search engine on the Internet, the Citizen has tracked the locations of the three computers to CFB Cold Lake, Alta. The base is expected to be a major centre for the Joint Strike Fighter (or JSF) the Harper government wants to buy.
Nine attempts were made July 20 and 21 to alter the online encyclopedia’s entry on the Joint Strike Fighter, including the removal of any information critical of the Conservative government’s plan to spend at least $16 billion on the new fighter aircraft.
Defence Department computers were also used to insert insults, aimed at Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, into the Wikipedia Joint Strike Fighter page. Ignatieff has questioned the proposed purchase.
Quotes from news articles outlining opposition to the arms deal by University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers, a former NDP candidate, were also removed.
Wikipedia recorded the alterations as having come from three computers registered to Defence Research and Development Canada’s Ottawa offices and has labelled the alterations as vandalism.
Defence Research and Development Canada spokesman Martin Champoux confirmed the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for computers used to access the Wikipedia site were registered to DRDC. But he added that other Defence Department computers are associated with those addresses as well.
Software that provides the locations of particular computers based on their IP addresses showed that the three computers in question are at CFB Cold Lake.
The attempts to change the web page, made during government work hours, stopped when Wikipedia administrators temporarily locked down the entry on the new plane. That allowed only recognized editors to work on the page. That particular Wikipedia site is popular, with more than 78,000 page views in the first three weeks of July.
On Friday night, a Defence Department spokeswoman said DND is still investigating the incident and, at this point, does not have any further details.
A DRDC spokeswoman said Friday that the organization does not have staff or computers at Cold Lake.
Meanwhile, after the Wikipedia JSF site was re-opened for editing by the wider public, new attempts were made to remove information critical of the Harper government’s decision on the fighters. Those are linked to a downtown Calgary location.
The Harper government wants to purchase 65 Joint Strike Fighters. But opposition members of Parliament point out that the military just months ago received the last of its modernized CF-18 fighters, which are supposed to keep flying until at least 2017. They question why the Harper government is rushing now to spend billions on new fighters.
The Bloc Québécois, NDP and Liberals have all voiced their concerns, noting that there was no competition for the most expensive military procurement in Canadian history.
Ignatieff has said a Liberal government would review the deal, for which a contract has yet to be signed.
On Friday, the Conservatives circulated talking points criticizing Ignatieff for his stance on the JSF.
Cold Lake expects to receive some of the new fighters, also known as the F-35.
“Alberta and Cold Lake will certainly figure prominently in the life of the F-35,” Edmonton Centre MP Laurie Hawn said shortly after Defence Minister Peter MacKay made the announcement about the proposed fighter deal.
“When we get the new fighters delivered in 2016, the first ones will probably end up going to Cold Lake, as happened with the CF-18 program. We’ll wind up with airplanes at Cold Lake — probably a couple of squadrons. All that is to be determined.”
Hawn said the aircraft will operate in the Arctic and intercept Russian airplanes.
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Wikipedia+edits+traced+Cold+Lake/3344252/story.html#ixzz0vEPiCAbG
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
No charges for man arrested under G20 fence law! : Good.
TORONTO — The only person believed to have been charged under the controversial G20 five-metre rule showed up for his first court appearance Wednesday only to find that no charges existed.
Dave Vasey, a 31-year-old environmental justice organizer, was arrested on June 24 near the security perimeter downtown Toronto during the G20 summit.
Howard Morton, Vasey’s lawyer, said his case wasn’t on the court list and there was no charge provided.
“I’m wondering whether there was even a charge in the first place,” he said. Police have reportedly described the lack of a charge as an administrative error.
The summit fence rule was passed as part of the Public Works Protection Act by the provincial Liberals shortly before the G20 began and was interpreted by police to mean anyone who came within five metres of the fence was subject to arrest.
Toronto police Chief Bill Blair later admitted that police had no such special powers.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/charges+arrested+under+fence/3334524/story.html#ixzz0v2pIaxwD
Dave Vasey, a 31-year-old environmental justice organizer, was arrested on June 24 near the security perimeter downtown Toronto during the G20 summit.
Howard Morton, Vasey’s lawyer, said his case wasn’t on the court list and there was no charge provided.
“I’m wondering whether there was even a charge in the first place,” he said. Police have reportedly described the lack of a charge as an administrative error.
The summit fence rule was passed as part of the Public Works Protection Act by the provincial Liberals shortly before the G20 began and was interpreted by police to mean anyone who came within five metres of the fence was subject to arrest.
Toronto police Chief Bill Blair later admitted that police had no such special powers.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/charges+arrested+under+fence/3334524/story.html#ixzz0v2pIaxwD
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Rubber bullets were fired at the crowd at G20.
Rubber bullets were fired at the crowd outside the Eastern Ave. set up during the G20 Summit, a Toronto Police spokesman said Tuesday — one day after releasing erroneous information.
Mark Pugash corrected a statement he made Monday to the Toronto Sun saying no rubber bullets were fired outside the temporary prisoner processing centre, saying he had received the wrong information.
The person who provided the mistaken information called him Tuesday and said that rubber bullets were fired outside the centre, Pugash said.
He originally said rubber bullets were only used during a heated protest at Queen’s Park.
The correction comes as a B.C. woman who claims she was injured by rubber bullets on Eastern Ave. intends to file suit against Toronto Police.
Natalie Gray, 20, of Maple Ridge, alleges she was hit twice by rubber bullets.
Her lawyer Clayton Ruby told the Sun that one of wounds became infected, but has since improved.
No legal documents have yet been filed.
Gray told the Sun outside the 1000 Finch Ave. W. court on the Monday after the summit she had been hit in the chest and arm by rubber bullets.
She was one of hundreds of people arrested during the summit.
“Canadians rightly get upset when civilians get shot,” Ruby said Monday. “It’s an abuse of police power of the worst sort.”
The Toronto Community Mobilization Network said last week some women are considering launching a class-action suit over allegations of sexual assault, including alleged strip searches and sexually charged comments by
officers at the detention centre.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Meanwhile, there will be two reviews into police procedure and activities during the summit.
One will be launched by the Toronto Police Services Board and the other by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, which received about 275 complaints.
Mark Pugash corrected a statement he made Monday to the Toronto Sun saying no rubber bullets were fired outside the temporary prisoner processing centre, saying he had received the wrong information.
The person who provided the mistaken information called him Tuesday and said that rubber bullets were fired outside the centre, Pugash said.
He originally said rubber bullets were only used during a heated protest at Queen’s Park.
The correction comes as a B.C. woman who claims she was injured by rubber bullets on Eastern Ave. intends to file suit against Toronto Police.
Natalie Gray, 20, of Maple Ridge, alleges she was hit twice by rubber bullets.
Her lawyer Clayton Ruby told the Sun that one of wounds became infected, but has since improved.
No legal documents have yet been filed.
Gray told the Sun outside the 1000 Finch Ave. W. court on the Monday after the summit she had been hit in the chest and arm by rubber bullets.
She was one of hundreds of people arrested during the summit.
“Canadians rightly get upset when civilians get shot,” Ruby said Monday. “It’s an abuse of police power of the worst sort.”
The Toronto Community Mobilization Network said last week some women are considering launching a class-action suit over allegations of sexual assault, including alleged strip searches and sexually charged comments by
officers at the detention centre.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Meanwhile, there will be two reviews into police procedure and activities during the summit.
One will be launched by the Toronto Police Services Board and the other by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, which received about 275 complaints.
A pox on both your houses is the message Canadians are sending to both the ruling Conservatives and the opposition Harris Decima.
OTTAWA — A pox on both your houses is the message Canadians are sending to both the ruling Conservatives and the opposition Liberals, a new poll suggests.
The Tories' national lead over the Liberals slipped to five points from eight, a new Canadian Press Harris Decima survey found.
The Conservatives stand at 31 per cent, the Liberals 26 per cent, the NDP 18 per cent, the Greens 12 per cent and the BQ 10 per cent.
The biggest drop for the Tories was in the vote-rich province of Ontario, where they've lost a seven-point lead to tie with the Liberals at 34 per cent.
But both parties have lost ground to the NDP in British Columbia, while all three are far behind the Bloc Quebecois in Quebec.
The pollsters surveyed 2,030 people between July 15 and 25, as criticism over the Conservatives' move on the census hit its zenith with the resignation of Canada's top statistician.
Harris Decima said the results are accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
In the two weeks before the latest poll, support for the Tories was at 35 per cent, while the Liberals were at 27 per cent.
It's hard to attribute the drop to the census controversy because the issue is not engaging most Canadians, said Allan Gregg, chairman of Harris Decima.
But the decline in B.C. and Quebec suggests any talk of a fall election is moot.
"That's a prescription for even a reduced minority compared to the one they have right now, so I would think if this holds over the next little while the prospect of a fall election would virtually disappear," Gregg said.
The Liberals currently have their leader, Michael Ignatieff, on a bus tour to get to know Canadians but it's not driving poll numbers, said Gregg.
"I think what you're kind of seeing is that given the extent that the Liberals aren't uniformly being advantaged by what is a slippage on the party of the Conservatives, you have voters basically saying a pox on both your houses," he said.
Another noticeable feature of the survey is that female voters appear to again be moving away from the Tories.
The gender gap had more of less disappeared over the course of the last two months, said Gregg.
"One of the reasons right of centre parties suffer from a gender gap is that right of centre parties are seen as risky, that is, that they are seen as more extremist, more likely to do something that is destabilizing or unseemly.
"Does the census fit into that? A little bit."
The Tories' national lead over the Liberals slipped to five points from eight, a new Canadian Press Harris Decima survey found.
The Conservatives stand at 31 per cent, the Liberals 26 per cent, the NDP 18 per cent, the Greens 12 per cent and the BQ 10 per cent.
The biggest drop for the Tories was in the vote-rich province of Ontario, where they've lost a seven-point lead to tie with the Liberals at 34 per cent.
But both parties have lost ground to the NDP in British Columbia, while all three are far behind the Bloc Quebecois in Quebec.
The pollsters surveyed 2,030 people between July 15 and 25, as criticism over the Conservatives' move on the census hit its zenith with the resignation of Canada's top statistician.
Harris Decima said the results are accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
In the two weeks before the latest poll, support for the Tories was at 35 per cent, while the Liberals were at 27 per cent.
It's hard to attribute the drop to the census controversy because the issue is not engaging most Canadians, said Allan Gregg, chairman of Harris Decima.
But the decline in B.C. and Quebec suggests any talk of a fall election is moot.
"That's a prescription for even a reduced minority compared to the one they have right now, so I would think if this holds over the next little while the prospect of a fall election would virtually disappear," Gregg said.
The Liberals currently have their leader, Michael Ignatieff, on a bus tour to get to know Canadians but it's not driving poll numbers, said Gregg.
"I think what you're kind of seeing is that given the extent that the Liberals aren't uniformly being advantaged by what is a slippage on the party of the Conservatives, you have voters basically saying a pox on both your houses," he said.
Another noticeable feature of the survey is that female voters appear to again be moving away from the Tories.
The gender gap had more of less disappeared over the course of the last two months, said Gregg.
"One of the reasons right of centre parties suffer from a gender gap is that right of centre parties are seen as risky, that is, that they are seen as more extremist, more likely to do something that is destabilizing or unseemly.
"Does the census fit into that? A little bit."
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Mount Sinai Hospital scientists uncover important clues in the biology of stem cellsDiscovery will advance stem cell technologies worldwide and promote the development of new regenerative medicines
Mount Sinai Hospital scientists uncover important clues in the biology of stem cells
Discovery will advance stem cell technologies worldwide and promote the development of new regenerative medicines
July 2, 2010 - Mount Sinai Hospital researchers including Drs. Andras Nagy and Jeff Wrana have discovered new insights into the genesis of stem cells, which will improve the efficiency of stem cell creation for use in tissue regeneration and in the development of new drugs.
The study was published today in the leading biomedical journal Cell Stem Cell.
The goal of the study was to explore the process of changing fully mature cells of the body (known as somatic cells) into a pluripotent state (i.e., cells that can develop into most other cell types), and understand the molecular and genetic changes that occur during the cells’ reprogramming. Understanding this process will help researchers identify limitations in making induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are a source of great hope for use in regenerative medicine, as well as in the development of new drugs to prevent and treat various diseases.
“Using genomic technologies, we pried open the black box of reprogramming, gaining new insight into how to make induced pluripotent stem cells faster and more efficiently,” said Payman Samavarchi-Tehrani, a PhD candidate student in Dr. Wrana’s lab.
The study represents the first research project worldwide aimed at systematically mapping the molecular events underlying a cell’s transition from a somatic state to one with pluripotent ability.
Previous attempts to understand cellular reprogramming have been typically hindered by inefficient methods of analyzing the process. In the present study, the Lunenfeld team assessed the expression pattern of thousands of genes within the genome of mice (a model system that can be applied to studies of human illnesses), and looked at how these patterns changed during the reprogramming of fibroblast cells (i.e., connective tissue cells) generated in Dr. Nagy’s lab. Using this approach, the researchers uncovered a number of genes and cellular signaling (communication) pathways that change over time, which led to the hypothesis that, through manipulation of these genes, they could improve the efficiency and speed of reprogramming.
The Lunenfeld team also conducted RNA interference screening (or RNAi, a relatively new technique that helps researchers assess the function of proteins and genes) by utilizing the Institute’s leading-edge robotics facility pioneered by Dr. Wrana. The robotics technology enables researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital and others in Ontario’s biomedical community to analyze the function of thousands of genes at a time, and rapidly identify the properties and processes important in human diseases.
“Through the use of high-throughput screening and gene expression profiling, we can gain significant insight into the underlying mechanisms of stem cell biology,” said Samavarchi-Tehrani.
The researchers found that the reprogramming process is comprised of three pivotal phases termed initiation, maturation, and stabilization. They also discovered a cellular signaling pathway that plays a critical role in the initiation phase. The pathway— mediated by a protein called BMP—enhances the reprogramming process and kick-starts the initiation phase.
“This is the first time it’s been shown that activating the BMP pathway enhances reprogramming through induction of molecular and morphological changes,” said Azadeh Golipour, a graduate student in Dr. Wrana’s lab. “Increasing the efficiency of the reprogramming process gives us new insights into the biology of iPS cells, and brings us one step closer to developing new methods in regenerative medicine.”
The findings are the first step in a new stem cell project begun earlier this year by Drs. Nagy and Wrana. In March 2009, Dr. Nagy discovered a new method to create pluripotent stem cells without disrupting healthy genes. Dr. Nagy’s method uses a novel wrapping procedure to deliver specific genes to reprogram cells into stem cells. Previous approaches required the use of viruses to deliver the required genes, a method that may damage the DNA. Dr. Nagy’s method does not require viruses, and so overcomes a major hurdle for the future of safe, personalized stem cell therapies in humans.
The present study received support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Stem Cell Network.
Discovery will advance stem cell technologies worldwide and promote the development of new regenerative medicines
July 2, 2010 - Mount Sinai Hospital researchers including Drs. Andras Nagy and Jeff Wrana have discovered new insights into the genesis of stem cells, which will improve the efficiency of stem cell creation for use in tissue regeneration and in the development of new drugs.
The study was published today in the leading biomedical journal Cell Stem Cell.
The goal of the study was to explore the process of changing fully mature cells of the body (known as somatic cells) into a pluripotent state (i.e., cells that can develop into most other cell types), and understand the molecular and genetic changes that occur during the cells’ reprogramming. Understanding this process will help researchers identify limitations in making induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are a source of great hope for use in regenerative medicine, as well as in the development of new drugs to prevent and treat various diseases.
“Using genomic technologies, we pried open the black box of reprogramming, gaining new insight into how to make induced pluripotent stem cells faster and more efficiently,” said Payman Samavarchi-Tehrani, a PhD candidate student in Dr. Wrana’s lab.
The study represents the first research project worldwide aimed at systematically mapping the molecular events underlying a cell’s transition from a somatic state to one with pluripotent ability.
Previous attempts to understand cellular reprogramming have been typically hindered by inefficient methods of analyzing the process. In the present study, the Lunenfeld team assessed the expression pattern of thousands of genes within the genome of mice (a model system that can be applied to studies of human illnesses), and looked at how these patterns changed during the reprogramming of fibroblast cells (i.e., connective tissue cells) generated in Dr. Nagy’s lab. Using this approach, the researchers uncovered a number of genes and cellular signaling (communication) pathways that change over time, which led to the hypothesis that, through manipulation of these genes, they could improve the efficiency and speed of reprogramming.
The Lunenfeld team also conducted RNA interference screening (or RNAi, a relatively new technique that helps researchers assess the function of proteins and genes) by utilizing the Institute’s leading-edge robotics facility pioneered by Dr. Wrana. The robotics technology enables researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital and others in Ontario’s biomedical community to analyze the function of thousands of genes at a time, and rapidly identify the properties and processes important in human diseases.
“Through the use of high-throughput screening and gene expression profiling, we can gain significant insight into the underlying mechanisms of stem cell biology,” said Samavarchi-Tehrani.
The researchers found that the reprogramming process is comprised of three pivotal phases termed initiation, maturation, and stabilization. They also discovered a cellular signaling pathway that plays a critical role in the initiation phase. The pathway— mediated by a protein called BMP—enhances the reprogramming process and kick-starts the initiation phase.
“This is the first time it’s been shown that activating the BMP pathway enhances reprogramming through induction of molecular and morphological changes,” said Azadeh Golipour, a graduate student in Dr. Wrana’s lab. “Increasing the efficiency of the reprogramming process gives us new insights into the biology of iPS cells, and brings us one step closer to developing new methods in regenerative medicine.”
The findings are the first step in a new stem cell project begun earlier this year by Drs. Nagy and Wrana. In March 2009, Dr. Nagy discovered a new method to create pluripotent stem cells without disrupting healthy genes. Dr. Nagy’s method uses a novel wrapping procedure to deliver specific genes to reprogram cells into stem cells. Previous approaches required the use of viruses to deliver the required genes, a method that may damage the DNA. Dr. Nagy’s method does not require viruses, and so overcomes a major hurdle for the future of safe, personalized stem cell therapies in humans.
The present study received support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Stem Cell Network.
Monday, July 26, 2010
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