Wikinews:Audio Wikinews/News Briefs/Workspace/archive/June1-5

June 1, 2010
This is the heading for the June 1 show. All files and conversations for this show will take place here. Today's cut-off time is 22:30 UTC. If you wish to contribute to today's show, I need to know before 21:00 UTC. I will be logged in around 19:00 UTC. If you want to add links to the stories you wish to read / write, please do so.


 * Rockerball, I just saw you are on the schedule, but for May 31 - do you mean June 1st instead? I didn't see you on the schedule for the 31st show otherwise I would have been in contact with you. If you did actually mean the 1st show, then no worries - just remember we are on opposite sides of the planet so our schedules may be a litle tough to coordinate lol. Oh, btw, I already have the This Day In History pretty much done for the June 1st and 2nd shows but we can add a second type of feature if you want as well. I'm off to bed right now (it's 11:00pm here in Colorado) but I'll be on later tomorrow. Turtlestack (talk) 04:58, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

This is kind of a slow news day, so I'll wait a little longer to see if the other 2 stories that are ready for publishing drop. Turtlestack (talk) 23:00, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

Egypt to open Gaza Strip crossing for humanitarian and medical aid
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Relics found behind The Ruins of St. Paul, Macau
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Ice hockey: Blackhawks score two goals in 28 seconds to gain 2-0 series lead in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals
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Australian rules football: Maffra go a game clear ahead of Traralgon clash
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 * Rockerball, I'm so sorry I forgot this for Monday's show. I meant to check the site for a new stories dropping before I finished the show, but I forgot so I'll make sure to add it to the Tuesday show. Turtlestack (talk) 02:49, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

On This Day In History

 * Music Credit Eastern Thought

In 719, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China is born; her name is Consort Yang Yuhuan.

She was born early in the reign of her future husband Emperor Xuanzong, the seventh and longest reigning emperor of the Tang dynasty in China. Her father Yang Xuanyan served as a census official at Shu Prefecture and appeared to be sonless, but he had four daughters, all known to history and who were also beautiful. Yet her father died when she was still young and so she was raised by her uncle Yang Xuanjiao who was a low-level official at Henan Municipality.

In 733, Yang Yuhuan married the son of Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Wu, Li Mao the Prince of Shou when she was 16. She thus carried the title of Princess of Shou but after Consort Wu died in 737, Emperor Xuanzong was greatly saddened by the death of his then-favorite concubine. Though it is unkown how, Princess Yang somehow came into the Emperor's favor and he decided to take her as his own consort. However, since Princess Yang was already the wife of his son, Emperor Xuanzong steathily arranged her to become a Taoist nun in order to prevent criticisms that would affect his plan of making her his concubine. Yang then stayed, for a brief moment, as a Taoist nun in the palace before Emperor Xuanzong made her an imperial consort after bestowing his son Li Mao a new wife, the daughter of a general. Yang hence became the favorite consort of the emperor like Consort Wu was before.

Yang Yuhuan was held in such high esteem as consort by the emperor that he created a new rank of Guifei, which was even greater than the previously highest rank of Huifei, held by Consort Wu. He also bestowed posthumous honors on her father and gave high offices to the uncle who had raised her. Her three sisters were each made Ladies of Han and it was said that whenever the noble women were summoned to imperial gatherings, even Emperor Xuanzong's highly honored sister, the Princess Yuzhen, did not dare to take a seat more honorable than theirs.

Consort Yang became so favored that whenever she rode a horse, the powerful eunuch Gao Lishi, believed to have been richer than many of the nobility of the era, would personally attend to her. 700 laborers were conscripted to sew fabrics for her and officials and generals flattered her by offering her exquisite tributes.

In 746, there was an occasion when she angered the Emperor by being jealous and rude to him, and he had her sent to her cousin's mansion. However, later that day, his mood was such that he could not eat, and the servants were battered by him for minor offenses. Gao Lishi knew that he missed Consort Yang, and Gao requested that the treasures in Consort Yang's palace be sent to her. The Emperor agreed and even added that imperial meals be sent to her. That night, Gao requested that the Emperor welcome Consort Yang back to the palace, a request he easily agreed to. Thereafter, she was even more favored, and no other imperial consort drew the favor of Emperor Xuanzong.

4 years later, she once again offended the Emperor, who at first sent her away, then regretted the decision, sent her imperial meals once more and as she ate, she cried to the eunuchs delivering the meal, stating:

"My offense deserves death, and it is fortunate that His Imperial Majesty did not kill me, but instead returned me to my household. I will forever leave the palace. My gold, jade, and treasures were all given me by His Imperial Majesty, and it would be inappropriate for me to offer them back to him. Only what my parents gave me I would dare to offer."

She cut off some of her hair and had the hair taken back to Emperor Xuanzong. Emperor Xuanzong had Gao escort her back to the palace, and thereafter loved her even greater.

Her influence and cunning had become so great that in 752, when her powerful cousin Yang Guozhong was requested to defend against an attack in what is now modern day Chengdu, Sichuan, she interceded on his behalf, and the requesting chancellor soon died, allowing Yang Guozhong to become the new chancellor. Yet her cousin and another powerful military commander, An Lushan, were soon were in conflict with each other and when Yang Guozhong provoked his rival into rebelling, the situation became so dire in the region that the Emperor considered abdicating the throne to an enemy of Yang Guozhong but Consort Yang intervened again and the emperor relented.

But the situation grew worse and soon An Lushan had the upper hand militarily forcing the emperor to personally escort Yang Guozhong as he fled towards Chengdu. On 15 July, 756, the emperors imperial guards became angry that they had not been fed, and, fearing Yang Guozhong was planning treason, attacked and killed him. The soldiers then surrounded Emperor Xuanzong's pavilion and demanded that Consort Yang also be put to death believing her enormous influence with the emperor had created the situation in the first place. The the emperor initially declined, Gao Lishi, the powerful eunuch, changed the emperor's mind and so Gao Lishi took her to a Buddhist shrine and strangled her.

Consort Yang was buried without a coffin, but instead with masses of fragrances and was wrapped in purple blankets. A year later, the emperor wanted to locate her body and rebury her with honor but was advised against doing so. Yet secretly he sent eunuchs to rebury her with a coffin. When they found the body, it had decomposed, but the fragrance bag buried with her was still fresh. When the eunuchs returned with the fragrance bag and presented it to the emperor, he wept bitterly.

In the following generation, a long poem, "Song of the Everlasting Sorrow" was written by the poet Bai Juyi describing the Emperor's love for her and perpetual grief at her loss. It became an instant classic, known to and memorized by Chinese schoolchildren far into posterity. The poem also became highly popular in Japan and served as sources of inspiration for the classical novel The Tale of Genji which begins with the doomed love between an emperor and a consort who is likened to Consort Yang.

A Japanese rumour states that Lady Yang may have even been rescued, escaping to Japan and lived her remaining life there.

June 2, 2010
This is the heading for the June 2 show. All files and conversations for this show will take place here. Today's cut-off time is 23:30 UTC. If you wish to contribute to today's show, I need to know before 21:00 UTC. I will be logged in around 19:00 UTC. If you want to add links to the stories you wish to read / write, please do so.


 * Ugh, I had a loooooong day at work today and am tired. I'll have to be getting a late start on today's show (probably around 01:00 UTC). Turtlestack (talk) 20:30, 2 June 2010 (UTC)

Israel to release activists arrested in flotilla raid, Israel may free all Gaza flotilla detainees
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 * Will combine these into 1 story. Odd that these got published so close together (less than 1/2 an hour) - these really should have been combined before being published IMO. Turtlestack (talk) 23:14, 2 June 2010 (UTC)

Manhunt in Cumbria, United Kingdom, after series of shootings
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Hewlett-Packard to cut 9,000 jobs in a $1 billion restructuring plan
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 * Music Credit "Too Quiet, -Not Enough Noise- (soundprank's bitmix)" by s o u n d p r a n k

US Supreme Court relaxes strict interpretation of self incrimination ruling
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Poker's all about luck, says Swiss Supreme Court
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Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to resign
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Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore and longtime wife Tipper separating
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 * Music Credit "beeKoo mix" by Lasswell

Jetstar to offer iPads as an in-flight entertainment option
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Chile announces official list of players for South Africa Football World Cup
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On This Day In History

 * I was going to do Edward Elgar today, but it was too long - so I'll have to do it next year :) Turtlestack (talk) 00:50, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

In 455, the second of three barbarian sacks of Rome, the sack of 455, came at the hands of the Vandals, then at war with the usurping Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus.

In 440s, the Vandal king Genseric and the Roman Emperor Valentinian III, had betrothed their children, Huneric and Eudocia, to strengthen their alliance, reached in 442 with a peace treaty. The marriage had to be delaye, however, as Eudocia was too young at the time.

In 455 Valentinian was killed, and Petronius Maximus rose to the throne. Petronius married Valentinian's widow, Licinia Eudoxia, and had his son Palladius marry Eudocia; in this way Petronius was hoping to strengthen his bond with the Theodosian dynasty, a Roman family that rose to eminence in the waning days of the Roman Empire.

This move, however, damaged Genseric's ambitions. The king of the Vandals claimed that the broken betrothal between Huneric and Eudocia was an invalidation of his peace treaty with Valentinian, and set sail to attack Rome.

Upon the Vandal arrival, according to the chronicler Prosper of Aquitaine, Pope Leo I requested that Genseric not destroy the ancient city or murder its inhabitants. Genseric agreed and the gates of Rome were thrown open to him and his men. Maximus, who fled rather than fight the Vandal warlord, was killed by a Roman mob outside the city, possibly together with his son Palladius.

There is, however, some debate over the severity of the Vandal sack. The sack of 455 is generally seen by historians as being more thorough than the Visigothic sack of 410, because the Vandals plundered Rome for fourteen days whereas the Visigoths spent only three days in the city.

The cause of most controversy, however, is the claim that the sack was relatively "clean", in that there was little murder and violence, and the Vandals did not burn the buildings of the city. This interpretation seems to stem from Prosper's claim that Leo managed to persuade Genseric to refrain from violence. However, Victor of Vita, an African bishop of the Province of Byzacena, records how many shiploads of captives arrived in Africa from Rome, with the purpose of being sold into slavery. Similarly, the Byzantine historian Procopius reports how at least one church was burnt down.

It would be nearly 100 years before Rome was once again sacked, this time in 546 by the Gothic king Totila, but Rome's influence and glory had faded and Europe began to splinter into various feudal states with only the Byzantine's in Constantinople left to carry on the tradition and wealth of knowledge of the empire.

June 3, 2010
This is the heading for the June 2 show. All files and conversations for this show will take place here. Today's cut-off time is 22:30 UTC. If you wish to contribute to today's show, I need to know before 21:00 UTC. I will be logged in around 19:00 UTC. If you want to add links to the stories you wish to read / write, please do so.


 * Recording now, any new stories will go on tomorrow's show. Turtlestack (talk) 22:32, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

Apple sells two million iPads in two months
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Second round of Bonn UN Climate Change negotiations continue

 * Rewriting this entire article for the show for clarity: (all sources from Wikipedia and another wikipedia article)

The second of four preparatory rounds of negotiations leading up to this years United Nations Climate Change Conference continued in Bonn, Germany today. The 4,500 attendees include government delegates from 182 governments, representatives from business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions.

Among the discussions were a focus on emissions reduction commitments for the 37 industrialized countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol for the period beyond 2012.

The talks were designed to discuss issues that were not resolved at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference which were held in Copenhagen amid mass protests. Between 40,000 and 100,000 people attended the protests in Copenhagen and activists claimed that the police had used wire-taps, undercover officers and pepper spray on people who had been detained. In all, 968 protesters were arrested but only 13 were finally charged. Protests had also been held in London, England and Melbourne, Australia.

This year, the United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Cancún, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December

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British soap opera Coronation Street postponed after Cumbria shooting
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 * Added "a comedy program which takes a satirical look at the week in television." wikipedia

Ice Hockey: Claude Giroux scores overtime goal to lift Flyers to victory in Game 3 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals
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On this day in history
To honor Detroit Tigers pitcher, Armando Galarraga, who pitched a perfect game yesterday only to have it taken away on a blown call in the ninth inning from umpire Jim Joyce: in 1888, the poem "Casey At The Bat" was published for the first time by Ernest Thayer, a humor columnist for the San Francisco Examiner.

The poem is about an American baseball team from the fictional town of Mudville (implied to be the home team) who are losing by two runs with two outs in their last inning. Both the team and its fans believe they can win "if only" they could somehow get "Mighty Casey" (Mudville's star player) up to bat. However, Casey was scheduled to be the fifth batter of the inning – the first two batters (Cooney and Barrows) did not reach base, while the next two batters (Flynn and Jimmy Blake) were perceived to be weak hitters with little chance of reaching base to allow Casey an at bat.

Surprisingly, Flynn hits a single, and Jimmy Blake follows with a double (Flynn reaching third on the play). Both runners were now in scoring position and Casey represented the potential winning run. However, Casey is so confident in his abilities that he doesn't swing at the first two pitches, both strikes. On the last pitch, the overconfident Casey strikes out, ending the game and sending the crowd home unhappy.

Here is DeWolf Hopper's famous recording of the poem which was relased in October 1906.


 * Audio credit Casey At The Bat

June 4, 2010
This is the heading for the June 4 show. All files and conversations for this show will take place here. Today's cut-off time is 22:30 UTC. If you wish to contribute to today's show, I need to know before 21:00 UTC. I will be logged in around 20:00 UTC. If you want to add links to the stories you wish to read / write, please do so.

Turkey mourns flotilla dead
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Large fires kill many in Dhaka, Bangladesh
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WHO: H1N1 influenza virus still a pandemic
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Irish 1901 census goes online
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SpaceX launches first Falcon 9 rocket
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=== Basketball: Lakers score 102 to defeat the Celtics in Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals, Manager Benitez parts company with Liverpool Football Club, French Open: Stosur and Schiavone to compete in women's final; Nadal to meet Soderling in men's final === ✅ : will be combined into the outro for listeners to visit the site for a complete rundown of the latest news in sports as per Rockerball's idea.

On This Day In History
We first need to begin in the year 1777 where in southeastern France, in Avignon, Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, the son of a paper manufacturer was contemplating a particularay vexing military problem of the day. 65 years previously, Spain had ceded Gibraltar to the Britian under the Treaty of Utrecht thus ending the War of the Spanish Succession. Spain was keen to retake the peninsula but an assault on the fortress of Gibraltar had been impossible as the garrison had proved impregnable by both sea and land.

Why Joseph as contemplating this matter is unknown, but as the 12th child in the family, he possessed a typical inventor's temperament. Joseph was a maverick and dreamer, and was impractical in terms of business and personal affairs, quite unlike his younger brother, Jacques-Étienne who had a much more even and businesslike temperament and had been chosen to the family business after the death of their father in 1772.

So, while his younger brother, who was commonly refferred to as Étienne, was toiling away incorporating the latest Dutch innovations of the day into the family paper mills, Joseph sat before a fire one evening watching laundry dry over a fire and observed how the cloth billowed upwards with the embers from the fire. Joseph then began to muse on the possibility of an air assault at Gibraltar using troops lifted by the same force that was billowing the cloth over the fire. He believed that contained within the smoke was a special gas, which he called 'Montgolfier Gas', with a special property he called levity.

As a result of these musings, Joseph set about building a box-like chamber 1 meter cubed out of very thin wood and covering the sides and top with lightweight taffeta cloth, a crisp, smooth woven fabric made from silk. He then crumpled and lit some paper under the bottom of the box and the contraption quickly lifted off its stand and collided with the ceiling.

Amazed, he recruired his brother Étienne saying "Get in a supply of taffeta and of cordage, quickly, and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the world". One can only imagine what crazy scheme Étienne must have assumed his brother was getting into, but he agreed and the two brothers set about building a contraption 3 times larger in scale, however, the lifting force was so great that they lost control of their craft on its very first test flight on 14 December 1782 as the device floated nearly 2 kilometres and was then destroyed after landing by the "indiscretion" of passersby.

Even with the accident, the brothers saw this as a major success and they decided to make a public demonstration of a balloon in order to establish their claim to its invention. They constructed a globe-shaped balloon made of sackcloth with three thin layers of paper inside. The envelope could contain nearly 28,000 cubic feet of air, weighed 500 lbs and was constructed of four pieces (a dome and three lateral bands), and was all held together with 1,800 buttons. A reinforcing "fish net" of cord covered the outside of the envelope.

On 4 June 1783, they flew the craft as their first public demonstration at Annonay, France in front of a group of dignitaries who were amazed as the flight covered 2 km, lasted 10 minutes, and had an estimated altitude of 5,200 - 6,600 ft. Word of the success quickly reached Paris and Etienne, the epitome of sober virtues; always modest in clothes and manner, went to the capital to make further demonstrations and to solidify the brothers' claim to the invention of flight. Joseph, given his unkempt appearance and shyness (he never married), remained with the family.

Étienne was already well connected as he had already been awarded by the government of France a grant to establish the Montgolfier factory as a model for other French papermakers due to his penchant for technical innovation. This, combined with the widespread acclaim of the demonstration, allowed him to collaborate with a successful wallpaper manufacturer and they constructed a 37,500-cubic-foot envelope of taffeta coated with a varnish of alum, which has fireproofing properties. The balloon was sky blue and decorated with golden flourishes, signs of the zodiac and suns.

However, there was some concern about the effects of flight into the upper atmosphere on living creatures. King Louis XVI himself suggested to launch two criminals to test the effects, but it is most likely that the inventors decided to send a sheep, duck, and rooster aloft first. The sheep was believed to have a reasonable approximation of human physiology. The duck was expected to be unharmed by being lifted aloft and was included as a control for effects created by the aircraft rather than the altitude. The rooster was included as a further control as it was a bird that did not fly at high altitudes.

The demonstration was performed before a crowd at the royal palace in Versailles, before King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. The flight lasted approximately eight minutes, covered two miles and obtained an altitude of about 1,500 feet and landed safely after flying.

On October 15th, 1783, Étienne became the first human to lift off the earth, making at least one tethered flight from the yard of their workshop.

These early flights made a sensation and numerous engravings commemorated the events. Chairs were designed with balloon backs, and mantel clocks were produced in enamel and gilt-bronze replicas set with a dial in the balloon. One could even buy crockery decorated with naive pictures of balloons.

In December of 1783 in recognition of their achievement, their father Pierre was elevated to the nobility and the hereditary appellation of de Montgolfier by King Louis XVI of France.

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June 5 & 6th weekend note
I'm gonna try and clean up a few pages here on the AW project (including the archives on this workspace) this weekend as Patrick (thank you, by the way) has the producer responsibilities for the next 2 shows. Turtlestack (talk) 03:42, 5 June 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm doing one big week end show as the fifth only had three articles published. (interesting note - I'd actually recorded the stories but felt that the show would be a bit light on)--RockerballAustralia c 08:07, 6 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I would have done the same with only 3 stories for the show - or I would have done a 20 min day in histlory lol :) Turtlestack (talk) 15:58, 7 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't particularly like doing the Day in History bit unless it's on some thing I can get excited about. You make them sound good --RockerballAustralia c 07:26, 8 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Don't worry about doing a TDiH, but it is important to find something you can stamp your shows with. Most people listening to these already know what's in the news and are really looking for the few stories they have not heard and also any interesting bits we add to the show. The purpose of AW is to attract new users to the site to write articles so really, it's the extras we add that will drive an audience. This is the entertainment aspect of this project that we can't neglect - it's not just about reading the news, it's using all of the wikiverse to put together a show to get people interested in the project. Turtlestack (talk) 18:32, 8 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Hmmm...it seems that a crisis in the community can affect all aspects of Wikinews. :( Benny the mascot (talk) 04:17, 7 June 2010 (UTC)
 * What exactly is going on? Turtlestack (talk) 15:58, 7 June 2010 (UTC)
 * True. I think we're all forgetting why we're here - to provide news content --RockerballAustralia c 04:54, 7 June 2010 (UTC)