Pakistani general election likely to be postponed
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Monday, December 31, 2007
The electoral commission of Pakistan held a meeting today to decide whether the general election of the country will go ahead as planned next week on Saturday January 8, 2008. A firm decision is expected on Tuesday; however, according to CNN, Election Commission Secretary Kanwar Dilashad told The Associated Press that a recommendation has been made to the Government to delay the election. It has not been stated how long this electoral delay will be, as no new projected date for the election has yet been proposed.
Violent civil unrest has occurred across Pakistan following the assassination of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto; although this is now drawing to a close, its impact threatens to jeopardize the general election, combined with the aftermath of the state of emergency only recently lifted by President Pervez Musharraf.
Prior to her death Bhutto had accused Musharraf of attempting to rig the balloting and had called for a boycott. However, leaders of the PPP and other parties sympathizing with Bhutto’s view have now indicated that they will not boycott the election when it is held. It was announced yesterday that nominal control of the PPP will be held by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Mrs. Bhutto’s son; however his father, Asif Ali Zardari, has declared an intention to handle party affairs on behalf of his son, on the grounds that he is still “of a tender age” at 19 years old. Mr. Zardari has stated that the PPP will contest the poll.
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Is Your Church Social? Part 20 Podcasts Planning A Studio Podcast
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- Click Here For More Specific Information On:
- Piccolo Podcasts
In my last article we talked about some of the different kinds ofpodcasts your church may want to consider. The sermon and Bible classpodcasts are pretty straight forward in terms of content and how to dothem (though Ill give some tips in a future post Podcasts TechyStuff for Geeks), but studio podcasts are a little less obvious. So, Ithought Id give some tips for how to plan and produce a good studiopodcast. In this article Ill focus on the planning and next articleIll look at some production tips.As I start to discuss theplanning, producing and technical aspects of podcasting, I wanted togive some credit to Rob and Matt from the former Geeks and God podcast.I got a lot of useful info from them about podcasting at theInteractive Church Conference. Thanks guys!Despite the factthat studio podcast sounds somewhat professional, they actually tendto be quite casual. The idea of studio podcast is to create a podcastthat is similar to a radio show, not the highly produced radio shows ofthe 1940s and 50s, but rather the talk radio shows of today. Thetarget audio is usually a casual audience usually listing to thepodcast in the car during their commute.Planning:Planningis very important for a studio podcast. Just as you would prepare asermon, you must prepare your podcast; however, studio podcasts have afew additional variables to address.Why are you podcasting?Are you trying to inform people, evangelize, teach, or just createsomething fun (and clean)? It is important to decide your purpose forthe podcast as it will determine many of the other decisions about thepodcast.Who is your audience? Are you targeting men,women, or both? Do you want to reach the youth, college kids, youngmarried couples, or older folks? Are you targeting the inner city,country folks, or suburbanites?Is the point of the podcast in-reach or outreach?In other words is the podcast intended primarily for church members orprimarily for non-church members? Is it internal or church marketing?What is the topic or style of the podcast?Some podcasts may have the same topic each week (church doctrine, popculture, etc.) and others may have different topics each week. Even ifyou have different topics each week, there should probably be a generaloverriding topic and a style that you have decided on. People want newcontent each week, but they also tend to want to get the same formatand general topic.Who will do the podcast? In most cases Iwould suggest the pastor not do the podcast, they have enough to do andif youre already podcasting their sermon, it might be good to haveanother voice out there. The one exception is if youre doing somethinglike an Ask the Pastor podcast. In most cases, Id also recommendhaving more than one person involved to allow a conversation in thepodcast. Even solo talk radio hosts have guests and calls.How long with the show be?The podcast doesnt have to be very long. In fact, its probably a goodidea to keep it between 15-30 minutes. This is good both for keepingpeoples attention and making the podcast fit within the typicalcommute time.How often will you do the podcast? You donthave to do a podcast everyday, but I recommend doing one at least oncea week. Regardless of the how often you do it, be consistent. Peoplelike to know that every Monday (or Tues, or Wed, etc.) morning they canknow that the church podcast will be waiting for them.Focus, Focus, Focus:Itsimportant to choose a specific focus for a studio podcast. You canttarget everyone, you cant discuss every topic, and you cant have adifferent format every week. You may think that being broader willallow you to reach a much bigger audience, but what you really end updoing is creating a product that doesnt really appeal to anyone. Ilike political talk radio. My wife, a third grade teacher, couldprobably listen to someone talking about teaching methods. If youcreate a good podcast about politics, I may become an avid listener. Ifyou create a podcast about teaching and education, my wife may becomean avid listener. If you create a show that sometimes talks aboutpolitics and sometimes talks about education, neither of us wouldlisten. Im not that interested in methods of education and my wifealways falls asleep 5 minutes after I turn on talk radio.If youhave a couple of topics you want to discuss or a couple of audiencesyou want to target, do more than one podcast. Its more work, but amore focused podcast has a much better chance of getting andmaintaining an audience. Its better to have 10 different podcasts,than one podcast that tries to be ten different podcasts.
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Asbestos controversy aboard Scientology ship Freewinds
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Friday, May 16, 2008
Controversy has arisen over the reported presence of blue asbestos on the MV Freewinds, a cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology. According to the Saint Martin newspaper The Daily Herald and the shipping news journal Lloyd’s List, the Freewinds was sealed in April and local public health officials on the Caribbean island of Curaçao where the ship is docked began an investigation into the presence of asbestos dust on the ship. Former Scientologist Lawrence Woodcraft supervised work on the ship in 1987, and attested to the presence of blue asbestos on the Freewinds in an affidavit posted to the Internet in 2001. Woodcraft, a licensed architect by profession, gave a statement to Wikinews and commented on the recent events.
According to The Daily Herald, the Freewinds was in the process of being renovated by the Curaçao Drydock Company. The article states that samples taken from paneling in the ship were sent to the Netherlands, where an analysis revealed that they “contained significant levels of blue asbestos”. An employee of the Curaçao Drydock Company told Radar Online in an April 30 article that the Freewinds has been docked and sealed, and confirmed that an article about asbestos ran in the local paper.
Lloyd’s List reported that work on the interior of the Freewinds was suspended on April 27 after health inspectors found traces of blue asbestos on the ship. According to Lloyd’s List, Frank Esser, Curaçao Drydock Company’s interim director, joined Curaçao’s head of the department of labor affairs Christiene van der Biezen along with the head of the local health department Tico Ras and two inspectors in an April 25 inspection of the ship. “We are sending someone so that they can tell us what happened, where it came from, since when it has been there,” said Panama Maritime Authority’s director of merchant marine Alfonso Castillero in a statement to Lloyd’s List.
The Church of Scientology purchased the ship, then known as the Bohème, in 1987, through an organization called Flag Ship Trust. After being renovated and refitted, it was put into service in June 1988. The ship is used by the Church of Scientology for advanced Scientology training in “Operating Thetan” levels, as well as for spiritual retreats for its members. Curaçao has been the ship’s homeport since it was purchased by the Church of Scientology.
According to his 2001 statement, Lawrence Woodcraft had been an architect in London, England since 1975, and joined Scientology’s elite “Sea Organization” (Sea Org) in 1986. He wrote that he was asked by the Sea Org to work on the Freewinds in 1987, and during his work on the ship “noticed a powdery blue fibrous substance approximately 1 ½” thick between the paint and the steel wall,” which he believed to be asbestos. He also discovered what he thought was blue asbestos in other parts of the ship, and reported his findings to Church of Scientology executives. Woodcraft discussed his experiences in a 2001 interview published online by the Lisa McPherson Trust, a now-defunct organization which was critical of the Church of Scientology.
| The Freewinds regularly inspects the air quality on board and always meets or exceeds US standards. | ||
Church of Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw responded to Radar Online about the asbestos reports, in an email published in an article in Radar on May 1. “The Freewinds regularly inspects the air quality on board and always meets or exceeds US standards,” said Pouw. She stated that two inspections performed in April “confirmed that the air quality is safe,” and asserted that the inspections revealed the Freewinds satisfies standards set by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Clean Air Act.
Pouw told Radar that “The Freewinds will be completing its refit on schedule.” The Church of Scientology-affiliated organization Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) had been planning a cruise aboard the Freewinds scheduled for May 8, but according to Radar an individual who called the booking number for the cruise received a message that the cruise had been delayed due to ongoing work on the ship. Citing an article in the Netherlands Antilles newspaper Amigoe, Radar reported on May 6 that a team from the United States and supervised by an independent bureau from the Netherlands traveled to Curaçao in order to remove asbestos from the Freewinds.
| …if the Church of Scientology claims to have removed the blue asbestos, I just don’t see how, it’s everywhere. You would first have to remove all the pipes, plumbing, a/c ducts, electrical wiring etc. etc. just a maze of stuff. | ||
“I stand by everything I wrote in my 2001 affidavit,” said Lawrence Woodcraft in an exclusive statement given to Wikinews. Woodcraft went on to state: “I would also comment that if the Church of Scientology claims to have removed the blue asbestos, I just don’t see how, it’s everywhere. You would first have to remove all the pipes, plumbing, a/c ducts, electrical wiring etc. etc. just a maze of stuff. Also panelling as well, basically strip the ship back to a steel hull. Also blue asbestos is sprayed onto the outer walls and then covered in paint. It’s in every nook and cranny.”
Many Scientologist celebrities have spent time aboard the Freewinds, including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Chick Corea, Lisa Marie Presley, Catherine Bell, Kate Ceberano, and Juliette Lewis. Now magazine reported that Tom Cruise has been urged to seek medical attention regarding potential asbestos exposure, however a representative for Cruise stated he has “absolutely no knowledge” of the recent asbestos controversy. Cruise, Holmes, Travolta and Preston have celebrated birthdays and other events on the Freewinds.
| There is not now and never has been a situation of asbestos exposure on the Freewinds. | ||
In a May 15 statement to the United Kingdom daily newspaper Metro, a representative for the Church of Scientology said that “There is not now and never has been a situation of asbestos exposure on the Freewinds.” The Asbestos and Mesothelioma Center notes that agencies have recommended anyone who has spent time on the Freewinds consult with their physician to determine if possible asbestos exposure may have affected their health.
Raw blue asbestos is the most hazardous form of asbestos, and has been banned in the United Kingdom since 1970. Blue asbestos fibers are very narrow and thus easily inhaled, and are a major cause of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which can develop in the lining of the lungs and chest cavity, the lining of the abdominal cavity, or the pericardium sac surrounding the heart. The cancer is incurable, and can manifest over 40 years after the initial exposure to asbestos.
“This is the most dangerous type of asbestos because the fibres are smaller than the white asbestos and can penetrate the lung more easily,” said toxicologist Dr. Chris Coggins in a statement published in OK! Magazine. Dr. Coggins went on to note that “Once diagnosed with mesothelioma, the victim has six months to a year to live. It gradually reduces lung function until the victim is no longer able to breathe and dies.”
