Wikinews:Briefs/September 24, 2008

Wikinews News in Brief for September 24, 2008

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Audio Wikinews
Audio Wikinews News Brief for September 24, 2008
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Transcript

Good day, this is the Audio Wikinews Brief for Wednesday, September 24, 2008. I'm Kevin Fields, and here are today's current stories.

Eleven people have died in what is said to be the deadliest school shooting incident in over a decade in Finland. Tuesday morning a 22 year-old student entered a vocational school in Kauhajoki, Finland opened fire in the school's cellar, where nearly 150 students were taking exams. Police apprehended the student and transported him to a local hospital, where he died of a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke at the 2008 Labour Party conference on Tuesday. In his speech he described his determination to lead his party and country, in addition to claiming that the current financial situation meant that this was no time for a novice to claim the country, saying that he is the right man to lead. Brown also stated that he planned to set policies in place to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by the year 2050. Party leaders reacted favorably to the speech, while critics claimed that Brown neither spoke of anything new nor outlined any clear policies for the future.

Google and mobile telecoms provider T-Mobile unveiled the new T-Mobile G1 handheld phone on Tuesday morning during a media event sponsored by T-Mobile. The handset runs Google's new Android software, integrates with all of Google's online software applications and also features WiFi connectivity and a three megapixel camera. The phones will be available in the United Stated by the end of October, and will be available for the Christmas shopping season in the Europe.

Voters in swing states across the United States began receiving a one-hour DVD called Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West over the weekend. The video was produced and distributed by Clarion Fund, a non-profit organization connected with Zionist and pro-Israeli organizations. The DVDs were delivered with leading newspapers mostly in swing states such as Ohio, Florida, and Michigan. The film focuses on drawing parallels between "Islamo-fascists" and Nazis, and opens with a series of videos of terrorist acts. It features interviews with counter-terrorist analysts, footage from Arabic TV, and interviews with former terrorists. Outraged Muslims have objected to the film and its distribution. The film has been criticized for misquoting sources, poor fact checking, and including biased witnesses and testimony. Several of the analysts featured in the film have been criticized as being racist and anti-Islamic. Clarion Fund, which also sells a DVD titled The Third Jihad, states copies are being distributed to 28 million homes but there is no intent to sway voters. The organization's focus, however, is only on radical Islamic threats to national security. The group also runs a website, RadicalIslam.org, which recently endorsed Republican party nominee John McCain for President of the United States.

Conclusion

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