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Supreme Court of the United States contemplates same-sex marriage

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:05:50 GMT

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Supreme Court on Capitol Hill
Image: Ken Hammond.

This week, the United States Supreme Court is scheduled to address two cases before them on the issue of same-sex marriage. The federal Defense of Marriage Act case is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday. The other case involves California's Proposition 8. A ruling is unlikely to be made until June.

The federal case involves the denial of privileges afforded to heterosexual married couples on the federal level, and the legality of states to opt out of recognizing legal marriages performed in other states in the union and to deny state benefits for those couples.

Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, potential swing vote on the Supreme Court
Image: Steve Petteway.

John Eastman, law professor at Chapman University and chairman of National Organization for Marriage, a group that opposes same-sex marriage, believes the eventual ruling will be a close one, with Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy likely to be the key swing vote. Eastman is quoted by U.S. News and World Report as saying of Kennedy, "All eyes are on Justice Kennedy and he's obviously written the two major gay rights decisions in the past decade and a half and that means that people rightly think that he's kind of open to taking this step, but he has studiously avoided taking that step in prior cases." Other court watchers agree with this sentiment.

In the lead up to the hearings, a number of high profile politicians have expressed their support for same-sex marriage including Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. Earlier this month, 40 United States senators signed a legal brief arguing against the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that was submitted to the Supreme Court.

High visibility companies have also indicated support for legalized same-sex marriage in the United States, including Starbucks where CEO Howard Schultz gave company support at a share-holder meeting last week. After share-holder Tom Strobhar implied at the meeting that Starbuck's historical position of supporting same-sex marriage, which included open support of the same-sex marriage legalization efforts in the state of Washington last year, hurt the company's bottom line, Schultz responded by saying, "If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38% you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company." The company's position is predicated on respecting diversity, even if it potentially impacts Starbucks earnings.

Goldman Sachs has also supported the push for same-sex marriage arguing that the lack of equality hurts businesses. Goldman Sachs, Marriott International and Thomson Reuters have all signed a legal brief condemning the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Protesters gathered inside the state capitol building in St. Paul, Minnesota, to protest against the upcoming vote by the Minnesota House of Representatives to put an anti-same-sex marriage amendment on the 2012 election ballot.
Image: Fibonacci Blue.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll published last week showed support for same-sex marriage in the United States was at an all time high at 58%, an increase of 21% since 2003. A recent Gallup poll showed similar results, with 54% of Americans supporting federal benefits for gay and lesbian couples, an increase of 27% since 1996 when the federal Defense of Marriage Act became law. Last week, a poll published by Reuters/Ipso found 63% of Americans supported same-sex marriage or civil unions. Despite this, social conservatives argue that this support may be over-stated by as much as 7% when voters are asked to voice their opinion on the issue at the ballot box. They cite a 2010 study by New York University political science professor Patrick J. Egan. Social conservatives also argue that people lie to pollsters to avoid appearing intolerant. 2000 Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer said on Fox News Sunday, "I’m not worried about [same-sex marriage], because the polls are skewed. Just this past November, four states, very liberal states, voted on this issue and my side lost all four of those votes. But my side had 45, 46 percent of the vote in all four of those liberal states." Brian S. Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, also argues that misleading polling questions over-count support for same-sex marriage in the United States.

Despite the potential for skewed polling, the four most recent ballot initiatives regarding same-sex marriage in the United States on a state level resulted in citizens voting to support same-sex marriage in Minnesota, Maryland, Washington and Maine. It also comes at a time when the most recent election cycle in the United States saw opponents of same-sex marriage outspent 3 to 1.

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Sources [edit]

Catalina Camia. "Sen. Mark Warner announces gay marriage support" — USA Today, March 25, 2013
Aaron Blake and Scott Clement. "Is support for gay marriage over-sold?" — The Washington Post, March 25, 2013
Rebekah Metzler. "Supreme Court Readies for Gay Marriage Cases" — U.S. News and World Report, March 25, 2013
Kristene Quan. "Support, Telling Shareholder to Sell Stake If He Doesn’t Like Views" — Time Magazine, March 25, 2013
Peter Henderson. "Insight: Silent or supportive, conservatives give gay marriage momentum" — Reuters, March 25, 2013

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Reports of at least fourteen dead this week due to gun-related suicides in the United States

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:53:18 GMT

Correction — February 6, 2013

This article does not conform to our neutrality policy, due to its manner of presentation of an out-of-context selection of facts. The lapse appears to have been unintentional by all parties involved. We apologize for the error.

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Sunday, February 3, 2013

A number of suicides as a result of self-inflicted gunshot wounds took place around the United States this week with reports of deaths in Arizona, California, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina and Washington.

Last Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alston Badger died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 51 years old.

On Monday in Clark County, Nevada, Jody Sherman, the Ecomom founder and CEO, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Another suicide occurred Monday in New Jersey. Chester and Rosaria Andraka died after Chester allegedly shot Rosaria before killing himself. Chester was a former police officer and there were few signs of trouble in the relationship prior to their deaths.

Another murder-suicide shooting took place on Monday. This one occurred in Elmont, New York, where 58-year-old Audley Dennis is believed to have shot his 46-year-old wife, Karen Rodgers-Dennis, before he shot himself. The couple allegedly had a history of fighting, with a family friend telling the New York Post, “They had their altercations. They would argue and yell, have outbursts."

Greensburg, Indiana, where one of this week's gun-related suicides took place
Image: Dopey9928.

In Greensburg, Indiana on Tuesday, local police Lieutenant Larry G. Dance committed suicide, dying from a self-inflicted gunshot. He had joined the police force on January 1, 1995. He left behind by a wife and two daughters.

On Tuesday in Waldorf, Maryland, local police reported an attempted murder-suicide with sixty-four year old Linda Lindsey believed to have shot her husband before fatally shooting herself. Her husband was reported to have survived and be in critical condition.

Devin Peterson, a twenty-two year old, allegedly committed suicide with a state trooper's shotgun following his alleged theft of a police cruiser, another car and a police chase on Interstate 80 in Nevada on Wednesday.

A seventy-year-old man from Renton, Washington died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound on Wednesday shortly after he called 911 to tell the dispatcher he was planning to take his own life.

On Wednesday, three people died in a murder-suicide in Oxnard, California that involved at least one gun. The deceased included two women and the suspected male shooter.

On Thursday, Lee Vining Fire Chief Tom Strazdims reported an Oregon man likely commited suicide by shooting himself in the parking lot of the town's visitor center.

Also on Thursday, the body of a suspected gunman accused of killing a call center CEO and injuring a lawyer was found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound in Mesa, Arizona. Police had been searching for the man since Wednesday following the shooting at a mediation session over a lawsuit.

In another reported suicide on Thursday, this one in the Baltimore area, a man was found dead in the parking lot of the Timonium gun range of a self-inflicted gun shot wound.

In Radcliff, Kentucky on Thursday, alleged burglar Michael Strand exchanged gunfire with police after they attempted to bring him in for questioning. Following a lull of approximately an hour, police entered the apartment and found the man dead from an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In Medina, Ohio on Thursday, United States Marine Andrew Baumgartner, who served in Afghanistan and had been discharged several months ago, got into an altercation with Sgt. Scott Schmoll after Schmoll felt a gun on Baumgartner's person. Following this, Baumgartner hid in nearby woodlands, emerged to knock on the door of a local home to tell the resident he had been hit by a car, only to disappear into the woods again. He subsequently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police discovered his body alongside items they believed he had stolen.

The problem of suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound is recognized by some gun groups. The Royal Oak shooting range in Michigan stopped renting guns this week following after twelve people having attempted to kill themselves with guns rented from the range since 2001 (five of them were successful). Three of the incidents occurred in the past four months, with two of them fatal.

These suicides take place against a backdrop of gun control discussion in the United States Congress, where former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and an NRA spokesperson appeared before the body this week to discuss the possible need for stricter gun control laws.

According to the Maine Center of Disease Control and Prevention, guns are used in 85% of male suicides in the state. Debate has continued this week in the state about gun control as it relates to suicide. Iran's PressTV published an opinion piece claiming that for every gun owner who uses their weapon in their home for self-defense, there are eleven suicide attempts involving a weapon. In the United States, veterans are more likely to use guns in acts of suicide than acts of homicide. The number of daily suicides by veterans is currently 22.

Guns are often used in suicide attempts, with PolitiFact reporting on Wednesday that there were 4,643 non-fatal gun involved suicide attempts in 2010. This number contradicts testimony by Wayne LaPierre of NRA to the United States Congress regarding unintentional deaths cause by firearms as LaPierre cited 600 deaths. Australia instituted tougher gun control regulations in 1996, including gun buy back programs. According to a study by Andrew Leigh of Australian National University and Christine Neill of Wilfrid Laurier University, these programs correlate to an 80% drop in suicides involving guns at a time when other methods of suicide remained consistent.

Similar research done in the United States has similar results. A 1991 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found stricter gun control in the District of Columbia was a likely cause of a reduction in the number of suicides by gun shot in D.C. compared to surrounding areas.

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Sources [edit]

"Radcliff man who died after exchanging gunfire with police killed himself, police say" — The Courier-Journal, February 1, 2013
Carrie Wells and Jessica Anderson. "Man committed suicide at Timonium gun range, police say" — Baltimore Sun, February 1, 2013
Bob Jones. "Surveillance video shows Marine, burglary suspect trying to get into Granger Twp home before suicide" — ABC 5, February 1, 2013
Robert Long. "Why isn’t suicide prevention part of Maine’s public safety debate?" — Bangor Daily News, February 1, 2013
Dave Gilson. "10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down" — PressTV, February 1, 2013
Andrea Chang. "After Jody Sherman death, tech community seeks dialogue on suicide" — Los Angeles Times, February 1, 2013
"Greensburg Police Lt.'s Death Ruled Suicide" — Eagle Country 99.3 FM, January 31, 2013
Greg Jaffe,. "VA study finds more veterans committing suicide" — Washington Post, January 31, 2013
Benett Kessler. "Report of attempted suicide in visitors center parking lot in Lee Vining" — Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News, January 31, 2013
Associated Press. "Suspected Phoenix gunman found dead of apparent suicide" — Oregon Live, January 31, 2013
Patrick Clark. "After Suicide of Jody Sherman, A Call to Talk About the Emotional Strain of Life at Startups" — BeatBeat, January 31, 2013
Times staff writer. "Neighbors heard shots during apparent murder-suicide in Oxnard" — Los Angeles Times, January 31, 2013
Catherine Kavanaugh. "Royal Oak gun range changes policy to stop walk-in suicides" — Daily Tribune, January 31, 2013
Associated Press. "100 lbs. of pot worth $495k in Nevada suicide case" — Watertown Daily Times, January 31, 2013
Eric Anderson. "Elmont Couple Found Dead After Murder-Suicide" — Long Island Media, Inc., January 30, 2013
Charles County Sheriff's Office. "Attempt Murder/Suicide In Waldorf" — thebaynet, January 30, 2013
"As a result of National Rifle Association and other private-sector (safety-education) programs, fatal firearms accidents are at the lowest level in 100 years." — PolitiFact, January 30, 2013
Jenny Manning. "Renton Man Found Dead At Heritage Park Of Apparent Self-Inflicted Gun Shot" — Renton Patch, January 30, 2013
Mike Frassinelli and Brendan Kuty. "18 days before apparent murder-suicide, Facebook post portrayed Parsippany lovers" — Star-Ledger, January 29, 2013
"Assistant U.S. Attorney Alston Badger’s death ruled suicide" — The Post and Courier, January 29, 2013
"Stephen King says since Australia passed tough gun laws, "homicides by firearm have declined almost 60 percent."" — PolitiFact, January 25, 2013
"Washington, D.C., had some of the strictest gun laws in the country. And when they passed them, violence skyrocketed." — PolitiFact, January 17, 2013

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Voters in Maine and Maryland vote for marriage equality

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:22:16 GMT

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Gay rights supporters in Minnesota earlier in the year protesting against the vote by the Minnesota House to put marriage to the popular vote.
Image: Fibonacci Blue.

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In Maine and Maryland, voters have approved ballot measures yesterday to allow marriage between same-sex partners. Votes for a similar measure in Washington are still being counted. Reports from Minnesota suggest a ballot measure that would amend the constitution to ban gay marriage has been rejected by voters.

In Maryland, voters supported the law passed earlier this year by Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley 52% to 48%. Josh Levin from Marylanders for Marriage Equality said that voters would "feel the ripples of this monumental victory across the country for years to come."

Supporters of marriage equality in Maine stated they had 250,000 one-on-one conversations with voters. Matt McTighe from Mainers United for Marriage celebrated the passage of the Maine ballot initiative saying: "A lot of families in Maine just became more stable and secure."

Chad Griffin from the gay rights group the Human Rights Campaign said: "When the history books are written, 2012 will be remembered as the year when LGBT Americans won decisively at the ballot box."

Frank Schubert, an opponent of gay marriage, downplayed the results. "The fact that an uber-liberal state like Maine or Washington might go for same sex marriage, it doesn't mean that the country has changed."

Six other states — Vermont, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Iowa, Massachusetts — as well as the District of Columbia already recognise same-sex marriage. In May, Barack Obama announced that he supports legalisation of same-sex marriage.

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Sources [edit]

Erik Eckholm. "In Maine, a Historic Victory at the Ballot Box for Same-Sex Marriage" — New York Times, November 7, 2012
Alana Semuels. "Voters OK gay marriage in Maine, Maryland" — Los Angeles Times, November 7, 2012
Alana Semuels. "Same-sex marriage measures passing in Maryland and Maine" — Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2012

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Green Party of the United States nominates Jill Stein for president

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 16:00:44 GMT

Sunday, July 15, 2012

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5 November 2012: On the campaign trail, October 2012

2012 Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein.
Image: ArdeeSN.

Jill Stein, a Massachusetts physician, won the 2012 presidential nomination of the Green Party of the United States yesterday at the party's national convention in Baltimore. Per her request, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign national coordinator Cheri Honkala of Minnesota was selected as her running mate.

Stein, who previously ran as the Green Party's nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002, when she lost to current Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, had secured the party's presidential nomination last month with a victory in the California primary. With 193.5 votes in the final delegate tally, she edged comedienne Roseanne Barr, who finished second with 72, and air quality inspector Kent Mesplay.

Since announcing her campaign in 2011, Stein has run on a platform referred to as the Green New Deal. It consists of the institution of the right to a job, the adoption of green technologies and production for a shift to a green economy, reform of the financial sector, and the "strengthening" of democratic government. During her acceptance speech, she mentioned the Green New Deal, saying that it "ends unemployment in America." In addition, she attacked President Barack Obama, accusing him of continuing the policies of former president George W. Bush.

The vice presidential nominee, Honkala, previously ran as the Green Party nominee for Sheriff of Philadelphia. She is a poverty and homelessness activist, who was once homeless herself. Because of that, she believes she can run as a representative of the poverty-stricken, arguing that neither Obama nor Romney have addressed the issue.

The Green Party is a left-leaning political establishment founded around 1996. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader had best showing as the party's presidential nominee, winning 2.74 percent in the close 2000 election. Some believe Nader took enough votes from then-Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore to cost him election to Republican George W. Bush.

For 2012, the party is already on the ballot in 21 states, and hopes to ultimately attain access to 45 by Election Day. In 2008, the party appeared on 32 state ballots, and the presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney, a former Representative from Georgia, received 0.12 percent of the total.

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Sources [edit]

"A Brief History of the Green Party" — Green Party of the United States, July 15, 2012 (date of access)
Allison Keyes. "Green Party Pick Gives Democrats Brunt Of Criticism" — National Public Radio, July 15, 2012
AP. "Green Party candidate facing Romney again" — San Francisco Chronicle, July 14, 2012
Richard Winger. "Cheri Honkala is Jill Stein’s Choice for Vice-President" — Ballot Access News, July 11, 2012
Jill Stein. "People's State of the Union" — Jill Stein for President, January 2012
"2008 Presidential General Election Results" — Federal Election Commission, January 22, 2009
"2000 Presidential General Election Results" — Federal Election Commission, December 2001

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Winning horse I'll Have Another loses shot at US Triple Crown

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 20:00:49 GMT

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Wikinews Sports

Sister links [edit]

2012 Belmont Stakes

Sources [edit]

Darren Rovell. "Breaking News: I'll Have Another retires (Video)" — MSNBC, June 8, 2012
AP. "I'll Have Another pulled from Belmont" — ESPN, June 8, 2012
Pia Catton. "A Leg Trips Up the Triple Crown" — The Wall St. Journal, June 8, 2012
AP. "I'll Have Another Scratched from Belmont" — KMOX, June 8, 2012
Matt Gardner. "The Triple Crown Winners: From Sir Barton to Affirmed" — SB Nation, June 6, 2012
Bob Velin. "I'll Have Another captures Preakness Stakes" — USA Today, May 20, 2012

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I'll Have Another wins 2012 Preakness Stakes

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:24:03 GMT

Monday, May 21, 2012

Wikinews Sports

Sister links [edit]

2012 Preakness Stakes

Sources [edit]

"Preakness 137: The Contenders" — Pimlico Race Course, May 21, 2012 (date accessed)
Bob Velin. "I'll Have Another captures Preakness Stakes" — USA Today, May 20, 2012
Joe Drape. "Another Thriller, and More Believers" — The New York Times, May 19, 2012

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Tropical Storm Irene passes over New York

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 15:30:57 GMT

Sunday, August 28, 2011

United States

Sources [edit]

"Irene batters New York, raising fears of flooding" — BBC News Online, August 28, 2011
"Flooding begins as Tropical Storm Irene lashes New York City" — CNN, August 28, 2011

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Wikinews interviews US National Archives Wikipedian in Residence

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:29:36 GMT

Thursday, June 30, 2011

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Dominic McDevitt-Parks speaks during a January 2011 Wikipedia Campus Ambassador training event.
Image: Sage Ross.

The National Archives at College Park, Maryland, known informally as Archives II, was built due to space constraints at the main building in Washington, D.C..
Image: National Archives and Records Administration.

Dominic McDevitt-Parks, a prolific contributor to Wikipedia and a graduate student in history and archives management, agreed to answer a few questions about his new role as "Wikipedian in Residence" at the US National Archives and Records Administration.

"Wikipedians in Residence" are volunteers placed with institutions, such as museums and libraries, to facilitate use of those institutions' resources on Wikipedia.

According to a Pew Internet report, 42 percent of Americans use Wikipedia as an online source of information. The online, collaborative encyclopedia boasts more than 3.5 million articles in English and versions in over 250 languages. Given the website's vast readership, the Archivist of the United States has proclaimed himself "a big fan of Wikipedia" and emphasizes the need for the National Archives to work with the project. The Archives posted the internship listing in March, expressing its desire for an employee who "will work as a community coordinator and strengthen the relationship between the Archives and the Wikipedian community through a range of activities".

McDevitt-Parks, who describes himself as a "history buff, a word nerd, a news junkie and an occasional pedant," is a 24-year-old graduate student at Simmons College in Boston. On Wikipedia, he has contributed for more than seven years under the username "Dominic", his work focusing mostly on Latin American history.

He began his work at the Archives in late May, and since then he has undertaken numerous projects, including uploading onto Wikipedia 200 photos taken by Ansel Adams for the National Park Service. Although those photos have always remained in the public domain, accessing their high-definition versions could be problematic. Researchers who wanted to view the files had to visit the Archives facilities in College Park, Maryland.

McDevitt-Parks is also preparing a "Today's Document challenge" on Wikipedia, where works featured as "Today's Document" on the Archives' website are also the main focus of newly written or expanded encyclopedia articles displayed on Wikipedia's home page. The first — and so far only — winner of the challenge was the Wikipedia article "Desegregation in the United States Marine Corps", which incorporated an Archives-held photo of the first African-American recruit to the US Marine Corps. Before the challenge, according to McDevitt-Parks, "a thorough history of desegregation in the U.S. Marines didn't exist in Wikipedia's knowledge ecosystem. The topic wasn't totally ignored, but simply split among related entries; a devoted, focused article never existed solely in its own right."

The "Wikipedian in Residence" position falls within the Archives' social media staff within the Open Government division of Information Services, since the institution's goal is to distribute as much content to the widest audience possible. The internship is 40 hours per week from mid-May to late August.

Interview [edit]

The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, has been very supportive of Wikipedia. He is shown here welcoming Wikipedians to the Archives to celebrate the project's tenth birthday.
Image: Sarah Stierch.

Wikinews Before you started your internship, how close of a relationship did the National Archives have with Wikipedia?

Dominic McDevitt-ParksThere was no official relationship, however the National Archives has long been supportive of Wikipedia. Earlier this year, for instance, the National Archives hosted a meetup in the main DC location in honor of Wikipedia's tenth anniversary. The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, is incredibly friendly to Wikipedia, as are many of the National Archives' staff. As he wrote after WikiXDC, "As an agency, I look forward to our staff learning more about the fabric and culture of Wikipedia and how to get involved." He also penned a letter to the Wikimedia Foundation offering support from the National Archives for the successful Washington D.C. bid for Wikimania 2012. In all likelihood, this is not a relationship that will end after this summer, either.

WN Why is it important that institutions like the National Archives foster this sort of relationship with Wikipedia?

DMPArchives and other such institutions preserve our cultural heritage not just for the sake of keeping them, but so that we may access and use them. In the 21st century, accessibility is about more than just having exhibitions or a public research room; it is about having a digital presence and proactively delivering content to people with an information need, whether or not they were looking for a particular document from an institution's holding. Wikipedia and its sister projects are perfectly suited for this purpose in a number of ways. The most obvious is visibility. There is no institutional web site in the world that is more popular among general web users than Wikipedia, which is one of the top 10 ranked web sites according to volume of traffic. Its article on a given topic will nearly always rank higher in search engine results than any institution's page, even one about a document actually held by that institution. In general, Wikipedia is the first and often only place online searchers will go to learn about the issues and items in which an institution might specialize. This means that there is no better way to reach the public than Wikipedia, and there is no better way to make one's holdings accessible and—just as important—discoverable than by making it directly available on Wikipedia. The pervasiveness of Wikipedia also means that work to improve it will have much more impact than many other education and outreach programs.

Wikimedia's projects can do more than just reach people, though. It's not merely a content host or a forum, like YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Wikimedia is a community with an intellectual mission. It will not only make holdings findable, but it will add value to them. They write encyclopedia articles related to the holdings of cultural institutions, or to subjects for which holdings are valuable source material or illustrations; they organize, categorize, and even sometimes digitally restore images; they transcribe and proofread textual documents. They are doing this for their personal fulfillment, nearly always without the knowledge and cooperation of associated cultural institutions. Indeed, thousands of Wikimedians are already engaged in their own little projects which donated content or expertise can help along; both parties are interested in adding value to their work by partnering with the other.

Finally, Wikimedia is unique among the major online fora and hosts for cultural content in that it shares cultural institutions' commitment to open access and public education. Wikipedia is a non-profit, and creating free public knowledge is its sole purpose. All original content is released under a free copyright license so that it can be widely disseminated without permission or fee. In fact, its commitment to freedom of information is so strong that it often cannot even accept works from some cultural institutions which restrict their use in some way (such as by disallowing derivative works or requiring non-commercial use), and making institutions truly free and compatible with Wikipedia is one of the jobs of Wikipedans in Residence. Wikipedia is not just a venue for presenting our cultural heritage, it is an active ally for all institutions that seek to do so.

WN What aspect of having a Wikipedian in Residence is seen as most valuable to the National Archives? What would you, personally, say is the greatest benefit to any cultural institution from engaging with the Wikimedia community?

DMPFor the National Archives, all of the above apply. This is about public outreach and increasing access and use. NARA wants to find users where they are, not just wait for them to visit, and the people are on Wikipedia. According to David Ferriero, the National Archives would like this collaboration with Wikipedia to exemplify their "commitment to the Open Government principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration." Wikimedia partnerships are so promising because they can be extensions of any institution's mission in a number of conceivable ways.

WN You have already told The Washington Post that other institutions have hired Wikipedians in residence, including the British Museum, the Museu Picasso, and the Archives of American Art. Do you know of any other institutions that may develop similar relationships with Wikipedia in the near future?

DMPYou can see a listing of other Wikipedian residencies here. There have been several, but still less than ten, and each situation has been unique. I can't really speak to any specific future collaborations being worked on, as I am not privy to those negotiations. However, I will say more generally that these relationships are only going to become more common. Wikimedians and chapters around the world have been in touch with various institutions interested in working with us. I saw and met many of these people firsthand at GLAMcamp NYC, which was attended by dozens of excited representatives from cultural institutions attracted by the prospect of a relationship with Wikipedia and just as many incredibly motivated Wikimedians who are involved in reaching out to these institutions.

The National Archives is reaching out to other crowdsourced projects for scanning and transcription. During a program on citizen archivists, Jessica Zelt (North American Bird Phenology Program), Matthew Knutzen (New York Public Library), and Darla Adams (Ancestry.com) are shown with moderator Meredith Stewart (National Archives).
Image: National Archives and Records Administration.

WN Are there other — non-Wikimedia — opportunities online you feel the National Archives should look for?

DMPThe goal of cataloging, describing, digitizing, and transcribing the entire holdings of the National Archives is an impossible one using traditional methods and within traditional budget constraints. Cultural institutions need to engage the interested public to become active partners in preserving cultural heritage, rather than simply consumers. The work with Wikimedia is an important aspect of that new thinking, but there are all sorts of allied projects out there that would also make good partners. This includes similar crowdsourced projects for scanning and transcription, which the National Archives is already seeking out, as well as other specialized groups interested in digital history or particular topic areas.

WN How have your experiences — both in school and in Wikipedia — prepared you for this job?

DMPI am a history geek and an archivist-in-training. In my life off of Wikipedia, I have an undergraduate history degree, have worked in library/archive settings before, and am currently pursuing master's degrees in both history and library science (archives management). I think these real-life experiences in their field are one of the main reasons that the National Archives was comfortable letting me on to their staff. I hope to be able to relate to the people and the practices here on a higher level than the average Wikimedian. I believe strongly in the work and the mission of the National Archives completely apart from how it syncs up with Wikipedia.

As a Wikimedian, I have been deeply immersed in various aspects of the project for many years now. I first started back in 2004, and have been an administrator since 2005. Along the way, I served as arbitrator, CheckUser, oversighter, and OTRSer, gaining a useful perspective on some of the project's inner workings and (for lack of a better word) governance. I've also done outreach to real people as a Wikipedia Campus Ambassador for university students in Boston. I am cross-project Wikimedian, having also been very involved in Wiktionary over the years, where I am also an administrator. I have written content ranging from dictionary definitions of modern colloquialisms to articles on Chilean revolutionaries. But, most importantly, I hope that my familiarity with the culture and practices of Wikimedians will help facilitate this National Archives collaboration.

This photo, taken by Ansel Adams at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, was provided by the National Archives as part of its partnership with Wikipedia
Image: Ansel Adams.

WN Having worked in the National Archives for a few weeks now, has your approach to or perception of your work in Wikipedia or the National Archives changed in any way?

DMPI really wasn't sure what to expect when I got here. The staff have all been exceedingly welcoming and cooperative which is a major relief. The real work has been figuring out what I can do and where best to spend my time. Most of the National Archives' documents are not digitized, and possibly not even cataloged on the item-level. Those certainly include some items that Wikimedians would like to use for their projects, but it remains to be seen how much I can realistically do in one summer with those documents. I do want to get as much digital content as possible on Commons, but aside from the technological challenges we face at Commons in trying to figure out how to do mass uploads, the situation with the National Archives' scan files is just as much of a barrier. They are often confusingly named, difficult to locate, or incomplete. I hit the ground running with the upload of an important batch of Ansel Adams photographs, but it turns out that that was actually the lowest-possible hanging fruit.

WN What challenges do you foresee having to face in your work?

DMPThe real challenges are about organization, both of documents—as I mentioned—and of people.

One of the biggest challenges is that we need Wikimedians to get on board with the project in a big way. This is an incredible opportunity for us as a project, but it requires a special community effort to take full advantage of it. We need volunteers to tag articles, to categorize media, to help with templates and coding tools, to write related article content, to transcribe and proofread texts, to add new images to articles, to digitally restore images, and so on. I can personally serve as the point of contact between the National Archives and Wikimedia, but it needs to be much more than that to be a successful project. At this point, the project spaces I am creating on-wiki are my attempt to create an inviting and useful infrastructure to serve as a hub for this effort, but they are not organically grown like most Wikimedia projects. I, and various helpers with templates and coding, have magicked them into existence in the last few weeks. They need participants to sign up and adopt them as their own so we can really get the ball rolling.

WN The New York Times reported in January that less than fifteen percent of Wikipedia's contributors are women. The article raised concerns that this gender gap has affected the relative emphasis of topics covered on the encyclopedia. In what ways would this problem affect your own efforts to organize the Wikipedia community, and how do you plan to address it?

DMPThis is an issue that I care strongly about. (And somewhat relatedly, I served, and will continue to serve, as Campus Ambassador at a women's college, and it was a wonderful experience.) The problem is really about more than gender imbalance; it's about having a community that represents a diversity of backgrounds, viewpoints, and personalities. Those of us who work in the humanities can also sometimes feel like a minority on Wikipedia, as one would expect from a male-dominated culture. There is a lot of room for improvement on Wikipedia of articles related to women's history—as well as the history of minority and non-Western peoples—and the National Archives has some incredible resources for these topics. One of the things that I would like to be able to do at the National Archives is to tap their existing pool of volunteers and funnel them towards NARA-related volunteerism on Wikimedia projects. As a national organization with various facilities and presidential libraries throughout the country, there is a lot of potential for various local volunteer communities to get involved. Institutions like the National Archives have volunteers eager to help their cause, but who would otherwise not get involved in Wikipedia, and this group of people likely has a very different demographic makeup than Wikipedia as a whole. I can attest that the library/archives community is certainly not male-dominated. The National Archives is interested in collaborating with Wikipedia not because it wants to lay work at the feet of the Wikipedia community specifically, but because it wants Wikipedia to be a platform for the public at large to be able to become active participants in preserving and interpreting their cultural heritage. This plan also means organizing a corresponding corps of Wikipedian volunteers to welcome and mentor such new editors.

WN Which aspects of this particular internship attracted you more than any other job opportunity you could have obtained?

DMPI am a longtime, obsessive Wikimedian with a passion for history who is studying to become an archivist. Every aspect of the opportunity attracted me as soon as I learned about it. :-)

Sources [edit]

This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details.

This article is a featured article. It is considered one of the best works of the Wikinews community. See Wikinews:Featured articles for more information.

Jared Keller. "How Wikipedians-in-Residence Are Opening Up Cultural Institutions" — The Atlantic, June 16, 2011
Lisa Rein. "Conversations: Dominic McDevitt-Parks, National Archives connects with Wikipedia" — The Washington Post, June 2, 2011
Brett Zongker. "National Archives hires 'Wikipedian in Residence'" — Boston.com, June 1, 2011
Mary. "Meet Our Wikipedian in Residence: Dominic McDevitt-Parks" — NARAtions, June 1, 2011
Tony1, HaeB, and Jean-Frédéric. "ArbCom referendum goes live; US National Archives residency; financial planning; brief news" — Wikipedia Signpost, May 30, 2011
Sarah Stierch. "Ansel Adams comes to Wikimedia" — Sarah - Your Favorite Museum Intern, May 28, 2011
"Call for Applicants: Wikipedian in Residence" — US National Archives, March 15, 2011
David S. Ferriero. "Celebrating 10 Years of Wikipedia" — AOTUS: Collector in Chief, March 15, 2011
Noam Cohen. "Define Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia’s Contributor List" — New York Times, January 30, 2011

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US politician and activist Sargent Shriver dies aged 95

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:04:37 GMT

Thursday, January 20, 2011

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Sargent Shriver: 1915-2011

Sargent Shriver, the 21st US Ambassador to France, died Tuesday at the age of 95 in Maryland, of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He served as the ambassador to France under US Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. Shriver was born Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. on November 9, 1915 in Westminster, Maryland. He also served in the US Navy during World War II.

Shriver was a candidate for Vice President of the United States with former US Senator George McGovern in 1972 when McGovern's first pick, Thomas Eagleton resigned from the Democratic ticket. He and McGovern lost the election to Nixon and Agnew.

Shriver's wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver died in August 2009 and two weeks later, brother-in-law Senator Ted Kennedy died on August 25, 2009.

Shriver is survived by his children, Robert III, Maria, Timothy, Mark, and Anthony.

Sources [edit]

"Kennedy brother-in-law Sargent Shriver dies" — BBC News Online, January 18, 2011
Richard Wolf. "Sargent Shriver, JFK aide and Peace Corps founder, dies" — USA Today, January 18, 2011

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'Suspicious' package closes half of Washington Dulles Airport terminal

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 02:10:13 GMT

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Friday, January 7, 2011

The airport seen from a view of an airplane.
Image: Dick107.

At approximately 1600 EST (2100 UTC) a suspicious package was found near the baggage claim at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, United States, leading to the closure of around half of the terminal. Police later determined that the package was harmless and reopened the affected areas of the airport. Parts of the airport had been closed for two hours before being reopened.

Officials from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said a canine unit was attracted to an unattended piece of baggage near the baggage claim. They did not disclose what the package contained, but an official said the package did not look similar to other suspicious packages sent to Maryland state government buildings earlier today.

Due to the package, four baggage claims and a United Airlines ticket counter were temporarily vacated. Flights continued to operate at the airport during the investigation.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

Associated Press. "Police close half of Dulles Airport's main terminal in Va. to investigate suspicious package" — WGHP, January 6, 2011
Kafia A. Hosh. "Suspicious package at Dulles" — The Washington Post, January 6, 2011

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December blizzard slams Northeastern United States

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:59:51 GMT

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Disasters and accidents

More articles about disasters and accidents on Wikinews:

An infrared satellite image of the storm
Image: NOAA.

Snow covered Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Image: Rajkumarth.

The United States' first major blizzard of the winter season has left much of the New England region covered in snow. Stretching from Virginia to Maine, the storm, packing winds of over 50 miles per hour (80.5 kilometres per hour), dropped more than two feet of snow in some areas.

Residents prepared for what would be one of the worst nor'easters in quite some time. The storm contained similar conditions to a category 2 hurricane. Wellfleet, Massachusetts saw an 80 miles per hour wind gust, the strongest recorded throughout the storm. Connecticut, New York and Maine all recorded wind gusts of over 60 miles per hour and gusts of over 70 miles per hour blasted Cape Cod.

A total of 32 inches (81.3 centimetres) fell in Rahway, part of the hardest-hit state in the storm's path. Most New Jersey cities received over a foot of snow, while Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and Maryland all had snow totals topping out at around 1 foot (30.48 centimetres) with Massachusetts topping out at a foot and a half.

On Monday, travel proved difficult, with flights from Philadelphia, Newark, New York City, Hartford, Boston, Portland, and Washington, D.C. canceled. Drivers also ran into problems on major highways as accidents were unavoidable on the slick roads.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

Wikipedia has more about this subject:

December 2010 North American blizzard

Associated Press. "Along Coast, Storm's Stranded Tell Their Stories" — Weather.com, 27 December 2010
Andrew Freedman. "Blizzard blasts coastal cities from Va. to Mass." — Washington Post, 27 December 2010
"Storm Summary Message" — NOAA, 27 December 2010
"Passengers stranded at OIA as Northeast blizzard cripples air travel" — Orlando Sentinel, 27 December 2010

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Fire kills six in Baltimore, United States

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:11:55 GMT

Disasters and accidents

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Map showing Baltimore
Image: Faigl.ladislav.

A fire in a two-story house killed six people — three children and three adults — in Baltimore, Maryland early this morning. The fire also spread to three adjacent houses.

According to a Baltimore Fire Department official, Kevin Cartwright, the fire was reported just before 5 am local time (1000 UTC). Firefighters arrived on the scene and entered the building to extinguish the flames, however gusty winds of 30–40 miles per hour fueled the fire and forced them to exit.

Cartwright said that once the fire was extinguished, firefighters reentered the building and found five bodies. Further searches revealed a sixth body. Cartwright was unsure of the victims' ages or identities, but neighbors revealed that the occupants were an elderly husband and wife, their granddaughter and their three great-grandchildren. A neighbor, Karen Lane, identified the couple as Richard and Eleanor Satterfield and the granddaughter as Tiara.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused the fire. The cause of death is suspected to be smoke inhalation, however the Coroner's Office has not disclosed the official cause of death. It is also unclear whether the house had smoke detectors.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

Samuel Gardner III. "Baltimore fire kills 6" — CNN, December 14, 2010
"Baltimore rowhouse fire kills 3 kids, 3 adults" — Associated Press, December 14, 2010

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Gunman shoots doctor, then kills mother and self at Maryland hospital

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:45:05 GMT

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Crime and law

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More information at Wikipedia:

A man shot a faculty physician as well as his own mother before killing himself at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The shooting occurred on the eighth floor of the Nelson Building, the hospital's main building. Baltimore police found the suspected shooter, who had been barricaded inside his mother's hospital room for several hours before killing himself and his mother.

At around 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 UTC), an unnamed doctor was shot in the chest at a patient area of the Nelson Building's thoracic center. All major hospital facilities were placed under a lockdown, and some medical personnel were evacuated from the Nelson Building. The doctor was sent to surgery at the hospital, and police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said that the doctor will likely survive the incident. He was not aware of any connections between the suspect and the doctor, who was in critical condition.

A nurse at the hospital told The Baltimore Sun that the shooter was dissatisfied with how his mother had been treated and even said that he was going to jump out of a window. The nurse said that, upon hearing gunshots, she ran.

Earlier, Baltimore area police said that they were "in the process of a tactical operation" to capture the gunman, who was holed up on the eighth floor. A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that it had been assisting local police in the incident. A Johns Hopkins spokesperson had previously said that authorities had taken the shooter into custody, but police said that the report was incorrect.

The suspect, who had not taken any hostages, was described as a black man in his thirties. After a standoff lasting for three hours, law enforcement officers moved into his mother's hospital room, and found both him and his mother dead from gunshot wounds to their heads. The suspect was first identified as 50-year-old Warren Davis, and his mother as Jean Davis. Police later said that "Warren Davis" was an alias and that his real name was not known.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld, who said that the department is "treating this case as a murder-suicide," said that no officers reported hearing the shots that killed the two. Police had previously said that the gunman had been shot and killed by police, but police later said that that report was incorrect.

Sources [edit]

Liz Robbins. "Shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital" — The New York Times, September 16, 2010
Carlin DeGuerin Miller. "Johns Hopkins Hospital Shooting: Doctor Wounded, Gunman Barricaded, Say Reports" — CBS News, September 16, 2010
Alex Dominguez. "Baltimore police: Gunman at Johns Hopkins is dead" — Associated Press, September 16, 2010
Helen Kennedy. "SWAT team kills suspect in Johns Hopkins doctor shooting" — New York Daily News, September 16, 2010
CNN Wire Staff. "Police: Man kills his mother, then himself after wounding doctor" — CNN, September 16, 2010

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Gunman holds hostage in U.S. television station offices

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:45:28 GMT

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

A gunman with something strapped to his chest—believed to be an "explosive device"—has taken at least one person hostage inside the Discovery Communications headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The man is reported to be named James Lee, who has posted an angry rant on a website demanding that Discovery take action over climate change, and was pictured in 2008 protesting against the company.

"Police are on high alert, positioning themselves behind columns, cars, anything that gives cover. All have their weapons drawn. From what we're seeing, everyone seems to be calm," said an eyewitness who was across from the building at the time. In a press conference at 2:30 P.M. (EST), a spokesman for police told the media that police were on scene and talking to the gunman, who has been described as an Asian male.

The Discovery Communications headquarters in Silver Spring, where it is reported a gunman is holding "at least" one person hostage.

Employees were sent to the building's upper floors and then evacuated from the building after the gunman entered. A day care center located inside the building, which had over 100 people inside of it at the time, was also evacuated. Roads surrounding the building have been closed to traffic, and witnesses state that SWAT teams and law enforcement from several areas were at the scene, along with three bomb technicians.

Lee posted a manifesto on his website, according to sources, which criticized the Discovery Channel. It read "The Discovery Channel and it's affiliate channels MUST have daily television programs at prime time slots...where solutions to save the planet would be done in the same way as the Industrial Revolution was done...The world needs TV shows that develop solutions to the problems that humans are causing, not stupefy the people into destroying the world. Not encouraging them to breed more environmentally harmful humans." The manifesto also included a list of Lee's demands to the Discovery Channel.

It has been reported that police were initially called to the scene upon receiving a report of a suspicious package. CNN has reported the man could be a former employee of the network, and a police officer at the scene said that the suspect has "concerns" with Discovery.

Standoff ends [edit]

The standoff ended when Lee was shot to death by the police.

Sources [edit]

"Cops: At least one hostage taken at Discovery Channel headquarters" — CNN, September 1, 2010
"Hostage taken at U.S. Discovery Channel headquarters" — National Post, 1 September 2010
"Gunman at Discovery Channel headquarters" — USA Today, 1 September 2010
"Gunman Holds Hostage at Discovery Channel HQ" — CBS, 1 September 2010
"Gunman holds hostage at Discovery Channel HQ" — The Independent, 1 September 2010
Corky Siemaszko. "Gunman James Jay Lee holds hostages at Discovery Channel's HQ, may have bomb: cops" — NY Daily News, 1 September 2010

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Magnitude 3.6 earthquake shakes Washington, D.C.

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:10:25 GMT

Friday, July 16, 2010

United States

Sources [edit]

Wikipedia has more about this subject:

2010 Potomac-Shenandoah earthquake

"Magnitude 3.6 - POTOMAC-SHENANDOAH REGION" — United States Geological Survey, July 16, 2010
"3.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Maryland" — Los Angeles Times, July 16, 2010
Lee Ferran. "D.C. Tremor Shakes White House Windows" — ABC News, July 16, 2010
"A freight train? Thunder? 'Holy cow ... earthquake!'" — MSNBC, July 16, 2010

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Standoff ends [edit]

Sources [edit]

Magnitude 3.6 earthquake shakes Washington, D.C.

Sources [edit]