La flamme olympique des Jeux de Pékin a pris la route, sous haute surveillance

Après les incidents qui ont émaillé la cérémonie d'allumage de la flamme olympique des Jeux Olympiques d'été 2008 lundi à Olympie, c'est au tour de la pluie de troubler les premiers kilomètres du parcours de la torche qui doit arriver le 31 mars à Pékin.

Trois militants de l'association Reporters sans Frontières dont son président Robert Ménard ont en effet réussi à s'introduire sur le site d'Olympie où la flamme avait été allumée, comme le veut la tradition, grâce à un miroir convexe tenu par l'actrice Maria Nafpliotou, et cela malgré une forte présence policière.

Au moment où le responsable chinois du Comité d'organisation des jeux et secrétaire du Parti communiste de Pékin Liu Qi commençait son discours, ils ont pu déployer une banderole qui montrait les anneaux olympiques sous forme de menottes et portait le slogan « Boycottez le pays qui piétine les droits de l’homme » et interrompre le discours aux cris de « liberté, liberté ». Les trois manifestants, interpelés au bout de quelques minutes par la police de Pyrgos, seront jugés en Grèce le 29 mai.

Si le ministère chinois des Affaires étrangères a qualifié cet incident de « honteux », la quasi-totalité de la presse chinoise a ignoré l'incident, préférant se féliciter du succès de la cérémonie. De même, la télévision grecque, qui retransmettait la cérémonie, a passé sous silence l'incident, préférant diffuser des vues de la région d'Olympie pendant ce temps.

Le premier relayeur de la flamme, le Grec Alexandros Nikolaidis, médaillé de taekwondo aux Jeux Olympiques d'été de 2004, a passé la torche à la nageuse chinoise Luo Xuejuan, médaille d’or la même année. C'est alors qu'une dizaine de militants, certains barbouillés de peinture rouge et d'autres brandissant des drapeaux tibétains, se sont couchés sur la route.

La route promet d'être longue pour les autorités grecques qui vont devoir rester vigilantes jusqu'au 30 mars où la flamme sera remise à Athènes aux autorités chinoises pour s'envoler vers Pékin, et y entamer un voyage de 137 000 kilomètres sur les cinq continents jusqu'à son retour le 8 août pour l'ouverture des Jeux.


Olympic torch extinguished three times in Paris

Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games

Today, the Olympic torch went out three times while traveling through Paris, France. Olympic officials claim that this came as a result of actions by Pro-Tibetan protesters. It has been reported that the torch was extinguished, then put on a bus to keep it safe. The torch was extinguished one time by a Chinese official when the torch was in the hands of David Douillet, and one time due to technical problems.

Sylvain Garel, of the Green Party and member of the Paris City Council tried to catch the torch from bearer Stephane Diagana's hands.

A ceremony on City Hall Plaza was canceled, "by Chinese officials" according to Paris' mayor Bertrand Delanoë. A banner with "Paris defends human rights around the world" was installed on the City Hall.
Reporters without Borders, head of the protest in France, put a banner on the Eiffel Tower and on Notre-Dame de Paris by its Secretary-General Robert Ménard.

This action comes soon after the official news agency of China described the actions by the protesters as "vile misdeeds". A spokesman for Beijing 2008 said “the torch represents the Olympic spirit and people welcome the torch.”

A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee said that the IOC is concerned about the situation in Tibet, although they do not encourage people to disrupt the ceremonies. The spokesperson said "The International Olympic Committee has expressed its serious concern and calls for a rapid peaceful resolution in Tibet." He did, however, say that the style of protesting was "not compatible with the values of the torch relay or the Olympic Games".

The BBC has reported that 500 protesters were present in Paris today. Yesterday, protesters tried to grab and extinguish the torch in London, without success.
The events were not broadcast live, as a Chinese Committee demanded to screen the footage prior to broadcast.


Olympischer Fackellauf in Paris endet im Chaos

Paris (Frankreich), 08.04.2008 – Beim olympischen Fackellauf in Paris hat es am Montag trotz massiver Präsenz der Polizei – 3.000 Beamte waren aufgeboten – schwere Ausschreitungen gegeben. Dabei handelte es sich um Protestaktionen gegen China, das für sein Vorgehen in Tibet und gegen die Tibeter kritisiert wird. Geplant war eine 28 Kilometer lange Fackellauf-Route durch Paris. Der Lauf entlang des geplanten Weges musste aber aufgrund der Demonstrationen dreimal abgebrochen werden. Die Flamme wurde gelöscht, so dass die Fackel durch das so genannte „Mutterfeuer“, das parallel im Bus mitgefahren wurde, wieder entzündet werden musste. Am Rande kam es zu heftigen Rangeleien und darüber hinaus zu 37 Festnahmen. Ein Mitglied der Grünen Partei hatte versucht, dem ersten Fackelträger das Gerät zu entreißen. Andere Formen des Protestes: Zuschauer standen am Rand der Straße und forderten auf Spruchbändern unter anderem dazu auf, chinesische Waren zu boykottieren. Andere legten sich auf die Straße, so dass sie durch Polizisten weggetragen werden mussten.

Auch eine feierliche Zeremonie wurde vom Pariser Bürgermeister Bertrand Delanoe abgesagt, nachdem die chinesischen Veranstalter ihrerseits einen Empfang ausschlugen. Auslöser war ein großes Plakat, das der Pariser Bürgermeister hatte anbringen lassen. Darauf waren die Worte zu lesen: „Paris unterstützt die Menschenrechte auf der ganzen Welt.“

Die Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen hisste am Pariser Rathaus die tibetische Flagge; außerdem zeigte sie eine schwarze Flagge mit olympischen Ringen, die die Form von Handschellen hatten.


Store protester mot OL-fakkelstafetten i Paris

Målform: Bokmål - Dato: 7. april 2008 - Oppdater siden - Rediger artikkelen - Flere nyheter

Paris: Også i Paris ble det store protester når OL-fakkelen til sommer-OL i Beijing i august ble forsøkt ført gjennom byen. Fakkelen måtte slukkes flere ganger, og til slutt ga arrangøren opp.

Det var også store protester da fakkelen ble ført gjennom London i forrige uke. Det var allerede før flammen ankom Frankrike 7. april, samlet hundrevis av demonstranter ved Eiffeltårnet, der statskuddet for løpet i den franske hovedstaden skulle være. Det var ca. 3000 franske poltifolk, og disse aresterte mange av demonstrantene før stafetten startet. Planen var at rundt 80 personer skulle springe med fakkelen på den vel 28 kilometer lange ruten gjennom Paris. Men etterhvert tvang det store antallet demonstranter OL-tjenestemennene til å slukke OL-fakkelen flere ganger, og plassere den i sikkerhet i en følgebuss.

Urolighetene førte etterhvert til at den siste delen av fakkelstafetten ble avlyst, etter press også fra kinesiske myndigheter. Flere demonstranter klarte også å henge opp en svart versjon av OL-flagget, der de fargede ringene var erstattet med håndhjern som er låst i hverandre, både på Eiffeltårnet og Notre Dame. Det samme flagget vaiet også fra rådhuset i Paris, og borgermensteren i Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, valgte å avlyse sitt møte med fakkelstafetten.


Franska poliser släcker OS-facklan

Publiceringar 7 april • april 2008 • kvartal 2 • vecka 15


Olympic torch faces protests in San Francisco

The Olympic torch relay in San Francisco, California, began today at 1:00 p.m. PDT (UTC-7). It was the only stop for the torch in the United States, as it makes its way around the world to Beijing, China, for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The route for the torch was materially altered as protesters filled the streets along the planned route. The route, which was originally 10 kilometres long, was shortened by nearly half, according to the San Francisco Police Department. In hopes that all eighty of the scheduled torch carriers would get a chance to carry the torch, the carriers ran in pairs.

The first torch carrier ran as scheduled, but then carried it into a warehouse, from which a motorcycle was observed leaving. The torch was then spotted again on a major street nearly two miles off course.

The rerouting was carefully planned, according to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who told Associated Press, that it was because of "a disproportionate concentration of people in and around the start of the relay."

The closing ceremonies were held at San Francisco International Airport instead of the planned waterfront location at AT&T Park.

Matt Helmenstine, 30, a California high school teacher carrying a Tibetan flag told Reuters: "I think it's cowardly. If they can't run the torch through the city, it means that no one is supporting the games."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us to see the torch," said Nancy Chan, a local resident, to the San Francisco Chronicle. "There is a lot of politics around it, but that is the great thing about America - the free speech." She and her 4-year-old son ran to the new route when it was announced.

At least one protester was arrested, Xiao Tan, 32, of Chinese origin, who tried to unfurl a Tibetan flag. "I'm proud to be Chinese, but I don't like what's happening in Tibet," he told AFP. The Vancouver Sun reported a number of arrests, but says that violence is limited.

Peter Ueberroth, the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee, said that the right balance had been reached, between preserving freedom of speech for protesters, while still providing an exhilarating experience for torchbearers, as well as preventing a repeat of the chaotic demonstrations that accompanied the torch in London and Paris.

Already Tuesday evening, hundreds paraded with Tibetan flags while chanting "Shame on China". On Monday, protesters hung banners from the Golden Gate Bridge. As the torch went to London and Paris, the torch relay was subject to large scale protests in both cities.

Tight security was planned in advance. Airspace restrictions have been put in place and over 700 security personnel are expected to be deployed including FBI agents. Police leave was cancelled. The United States Coast Guard patrolled the part of the route that was to take the torch along the waterfront at Fisherman's Wharf.

"We are trying to accomplish two goals here. One is to protect the right to free speech and the other is to ensure public safety, and here in San Francisco we are good at both of those things," said Nathan Ballard about the security. Ballard is a spokesperson for San Francisco Mayor's office.

"I am saddened that such a beautiful symbol of the torch, which unites people of different religions, different ethnic origin, different political systems, cultures and languages, has been attacked," said Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, to the Wall Street Journal.

The Beijing Organizing Committee said in a statement on Monday: "We strongly condemn the actions of the few 'pro-Tibet independence' activists who have attempted to sabotage the Olympic Torch Relay. The Olympic flame belongs to the world and these actions are a serious violation of the Olympic spirit. They are bound to fail and will surely arouse the resentment of peace-loving people who support the Olympic Games."


Olympischer Fackellauf: Proteste in San Francisco

San Francisco (Vereinigte Staaten), 08.04.2008 – Nach den Protestaktionen in Paris und London finden nun auch in San Francisco anlässlich des olympischen Fackellaufs Aktionen von Demonstranten gegen die chinesische Tibet-Politik statt. So erklommen Studenten die Golden-Gate-Brücke, um ein Plakat mit der Aufschrift „Eine Welt, ein Traum, Freies Tibet“, ein Plakat mit der Aufschrift „Free Tibet 08“ und die tibetanische Flagge auszubreiten. Organisiert wurde der Protest von der Gruppe „Studenten für ein Freies Tibet“. Die Polizei nahm sieben Personen fest.

Allgemein erwarten die Organisatoren massive Störungen beim Lauf in San Francisco. Untermauert wird die Erwartung durch Tenzin Dasang. Er ist der Sprecher der Gruppe, die die Protestaktion auf der Brücke durchgeführt hat. Dieser berichtete einem Journalisten telefonisch, dass es seiner Kenntnis nach eine Reihe von Protestaktionen geben werde. „Wir wollen es friedlich machen, aber der Protest wird sehr groß sein“, sagte er. Vor allem Tibeter, die überall in den Vereinigten Staaten leben würden, würden nach San Francisco kommen.

Der Bürgermeister der Stadt hat angekündigt, die Route der Fackelläufer kurzfristig zu ändern, damit keine Störungen vorkommen. Für den geplanten Lauf über sechs US-amerikanische Meilen in San Franciso wurden 80 Menschen ausgewählt, die von den Nationalen Olympischen Komitees der Vereinigten Staaten und Chinas bestimmt wurden. Aus Sicherheitsgründen wurde einer der Läufer von der Teilnahme ausgeschlossen.

Die olympische Flagge kam um kurz vor vier Uhr morgens in San Francisco an. Direkt danach wurde sie mit einem Auto an einen geheimen Ort gebracht. Am Platz der Vereinten Nationen sind darüber hinaus abends weitere Protestaktionen geplant. Diese werden vom Schauspieler Ricard Gere und Desmond Tutu angeführt.


Open Source "TV Browser" project drops 16 channel listings in face of usage fees

The electronic programme guide, TV-Browser, announced their intention to remove 16 private tv-channels on January 1st, 2008. These include the German channels ProSieben, RTL Television and Sat.1.

According to a press release by the TV-Browser team, the collecting society VG Media plans to collect a usage fee for channel-program-data in EPGs beginning next year. Users will be charged between 0.02 and 0.04 € cents per page-view with a minimum fixed fee of at least 2000€.

The Open-Source-project can not and does not wish to pay this fee; developers are considering showing certain programme highlights from the channels in question.

A petition has been started to convince VG Media to abandon this charge fee.


Nutzungsgebühren für Programmdaten: Open-Source-Projekt TV-Browser entfernt Privatsender

Münster (Deutschland), 20.12.2007 – Der elektronische Programmführer (EPG) TV-Browser entfernt ab dem 1. Januar 2008 16 Privatsender aus seinem Programm, darunter ProSieben, RTL Television und Sat.1.

In einer Mitteilung des TV-Browser-Teams wird angegeben, dass die Verwertungsgesellschaft VG Media ab nächstem Jahr eine Gebühr für die Nutzung von Programmdaten in EPGs erhebt. Hierbei fällt eine Gebühr zwischen 0,02 und 0,04 Cent pro Seitenabruf an, mindestens aber 2000 Euro pro Jahr. Diese Gebühr kann und will das Open-Source-Projekt nicht aufbringen. Die Entwickler überlegen, künftig jedoch noch Programm-Highlights der betroffenen Sender anzugeben. Zudem wurde eine Unterschriftensammlung gestartet, die VG Media überzeugen soll, doch auf die Gebühr zu verzichten.


מיזם הקוד הפתוח "TV Browser" יסיר 16 ערוצים מרשימותיו בשל תביעתם לתשלום

מדריך התוכניות האלקטרוני, TV-Browser, הודיע היום על הכוונה להסיר מן הרשמיות 16 ערוצי טלוויזיה פרטיים למן האחד בינואר, 2008. עם ערוצים אלה נמנים הערוצים הגרמניים ProSieben, RTL ו-Sat.1.

על-פי מסיבת העיתונאים  שפרסם היום צוות TV-Browser, חברת VG מדיה מתכננת לגבות דמי שימוש בנתוני תוכניות הטלוויזיה ב-EPG החל בשנה הבאה. המשתמשים יאלצו לשלם סכום שינוע בין 2 ל-4 יורוסנט לכול צפייה, וסך התשלומים המזערי של כל ספק שירותים שכזה יעמוד על 2000 יורו.

מיזם הקוד הפתוח אינו יכול ואינו מעוניין לשלם סכום זה; המפתחים שוקלים להציג פרטי מידע חשובים מסוימים בנוגע לערוצים דנן.

הוחל ביזימת עצומה לשכנוע חברת VG מדיה לנטוש את תוכניתה לגביית דמי-שימוש ממדריכי הטלוויזיה.

22 בדצמבר 2007


Open source game developer Perttu Ahola talks about Minetest with Wikinews

Recently, Finnish open-source video game developer Perttu Ahola discussed Minetest, his "longest ever project", with Wikinews.

Started in October 2010, Minetest was an attempt by Ahola to create a sandbox game similar to Minecraft.  Minecraft is a multi-platform commercial game, which was in alpha version when Ahola challenged himself to create something similar to it from scratch, he told Wikinews.

Minetest is an open-source game, which is free for anyone to download and play. It is written in the C++ programming language, and the source code is available on code-hosting site GitHub.  According to Ahola, Minetest attempts to run on older hardware, with limited graphics, but to be accessible to more people: those who have outdated technology, and making it available for no cost.  Minecraft, on the other hand, is a paid game, currently costing USD 26.95 for its computer version.  Minecraft is currently owned by Microsoft, and performs poorly on older hardware.

A correspondent from French Wikinews contacted Perttu Ahola via Internet Relay Chat a few weeks ago, discussing Minecraft.  This interview is built on top of the previous interview, as we take a deeper dive into knowing more about this free game which is about to turn ten years old in a few months.

Can you introduce yourself?

((Perttu Ahola))   Hi.  Although I'm usually called "celeron55" on the Internet, my real name is Perttu Ahola.  I'm a programmer and electronics geek from Finland.

((WN))  How did you find out about programming?

((Perttu Ahola))  I've had programming as a hobby my entire life.  When I was a kid I programmed using BASIC on my dad's computers and at school and university I attended programming courses and learned more languages.

((WN))  What made you want to create Minetest?

((Perttu Ahola))  Initially I took it as a challenge, but after a year of working on it, it turned into this weird quest of trying to figure out what can be done with it that Mojang (now Microsoft) won't do.  But initially it was the challenge, and the mystery of how a game world like this works under the hood.

((WN))  When did you start working on Minetest initially?

((Perttu Ahola))  At the beginning of October 2010.

((WN))  How many core-developers were working on the development at that time?

((Perttu Ahola))  Myself only.  Back then it was exactly what the name implies.  The first contributor appeared six months after.

((WN))  When was Minetest first available to public?

((Perttu Ahola))  It was first published to a private IRC channel for testing, and after about a week I published it on a public programming channel on IRCnet called #ohjelmointiputka.  I created the website sometime during January 2011.

((WN))  How were the initial few months for the game?  How did the userbase respond?  How was it received?

((Perttu Ahola))  The initial userbase was mostly a bunch of hobbyist programmers from that Finnish IRC channel.  Everyone liked messing around in the quirky little multiplayer sandbox that it was.

((WN))  How many core-developers are working on Minetest right now?

((Perttu Ahola))  I need to look this up as much as you do...  Looks like we have 13 at the moment.  It doesn't really correlate with how many people are working on Minetest though, as core developer is primarily a position of trust — they decide what is merged into the upstream repositories.  Some contributors do a lot but aren't core developers.  This goes both ways: Some core developers are quite inactive a lot of the time.

((WN))  Do these trusted core-developers have specific roles?

((Perttu Ahola))  They used to have, but [it] didn't work very well.  Nowadays everyone is simply responsible of only touching things they know about.

((WN))  What are you learning from them and what are they learning from you?

((Perttu Ahola))  During the first years I learned a lot about programming.  Some of it came from others but mostly it was just because I did it so much myself.  Later I've learned some things about management as I had to move from programming more into a leadership role.  Many young people have come and gone from the project as their life has moved on — I'm sure they've learned something from it.

((WN))  Tell us more about your workflow.

((Perttu Ahola))  Historically when making most of my development contribution in Minetest, or currently?

((WN))  Tell me about both the times, please.

((Perttu Ahola))  Well there's not much to talk about my current workflow, as I'm mainly doing web-hosting and administration, being an encyclopædia about the code and design of the project, assigning core developer, moderator and other roles to people, and just managing the odd weird things that sometimes happen that contributors and core developers can't handle.

When I was programming Minetest in the first many years, and these days in other development projects, my workflow is just to allocate as much continuous time that I possibly can for a task that I want to do, then just begin designing and writing a prototype and iteratively forming it into a final implementation.  The only distinct step in between starting and finishing is the first time it runs and does the bare minimum.

I don't want to boast about it, but people have commented about my ability to solo develop things really fast from nothing into usable state.  There's no method to it.  I just make sure I have the time, I know what the bare minimum is and then I just get to it.

((WN))  Have there been any significant changes in the game or source code in the history of Minetest?

((Perttu Ahola))  It was developed in a very iterative manner.  We've never had to throw away any big parts.  Maybe iterative isn't the best word, I mean it was always developed by building on what was previously created.  Actually we've had one big change, although it too was an addition: When we went from version 0.3 to 0.4, Minetest gained its Lua-based modding API.  It was a really big change in how people thought about and used Minetest.

((WN))  What are the different ways to participate?

((Perttu Ahola))  Many of our users like to write mods, big and small, and publish them on our forum and content database.  If you're more of a C++ person, our GitHub and IRC channels are good places to check out.  If you feel like a server administrator, you could set up a Minetest server with an interesting world for people to join in.

If you find something interesting in the game world while playing or experimenting, we have a popular screenshot thread on our forums that you can post to.  It shows almost the entire history of the project and I still like browsing it.  But I think the best part of Minetest is that it sets people free to do their own thing.  You don't need to ask us or anyone to use Minetest for anything you would like.  Use it to learn programming, use it as a teacher, use it to model an environment, geographical formations, a mathematical formula or an electronic principle, use it to prototype a multiplayer game.  Use it as a way to host a party when in quarantine? I think of it more of as a tool than a game project.

But you're welcome to contribute something that makes it better.  It is a project at multiple levels, so pick a level that you're comfortable in.

((WN))  Can you give us some figures on Minetest?

((Perttu Ahola))  We don't really keep track of our userbase in any centralized manner, so I don't have any numbers to give unless I go about digging for them.  It's difficult to figure out how many installs of Minetest there are when it's packaged in so many Linux distributions that I can't even count those reliably.  There are also endless forks to be found, especially on mobile platforms, even though we do publish an official Android version.

((WN))  What are the tools you use for the development of Minetest?

((Perttu Ahola))  Vim, bash and some common command-line utilities like grep, sed, screen.  Git of course.  Sometimes python scripts.  Minetest uses the CMake build system which is simple to use from the command-line.  All in all just the bread and butter Linux command-line environment, with my personal customization of course.

I don't really like complex slow IDEs [Integrated Development Environments], they get in the way and create new problems that you shouldn't have to deal with.

((WN))  How do you track the progress of the development?

((Perttu Ahola))  Currently, or when I started the project?  In any case the answer pretty much is I don't.  Things develop as they do and nobody likes being pushed when they're doing it as a hobby for free.  We use a release process where when enough new features have been added, there is a feature-freeze where only bugfixes are allowed, and then a release.  It's the bare minimum to keep things rolling smoothly in a large project like this.  We have long wishlists and roadmaps, but in the end what features get developed gets chosen by whoever's putting in the work, as long as whatever they want to do fits the project.

Well, we of course have an issue list and PR [pull request] list on GitHub.  I tend to take that for granted these days.

There are multiple levels you can track development in — issues and pull requests are at the bottom just above commits.  You could be tracking roadmaps or minimum viable products or such, but we use a relatively chaotic model if you compare it to a company developing a product for a market.

((WN))  How rigorously is the software tested?

((Perttu Ahola))  There are unit tests for some easily testable portions, and there's a CI [Continuous Integration] server that checks whether the project builds on a couple of platforms and whether the tests pass.  In addition to developers many of our users are using the development version which helps us catch bugs before they end up in a release, making releases reasonably stable.  How rigorously?  Well, you could do more or less, but this seems to balance the effort and the end result.

((WN))  Have there ever been critical bugs in the releases, or severe security breaches?

((Perttu Ahola))  That depends on your criteria.  Nothing that would've made the news.  And nothing that I would really remember.  Something allowing in-game cheating on a multiplayer server, sure.  Something that would have irreversibly corrupted a player's game world, not in a stable release.  Something that would have prevented the game from starting on some platform, sure of course.  Something worthy of a remote code execution CVE [Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures]?  Well not really, but that can be just because not enough resources are put into finding out if there are any.  Not that we have any resources for that.  Contributions welcome!

((WN))  What are the key selling points of Minetest?  As I understand, Minetest is not just a game, and you can do more with it.  What are some of the fascinating use cases you have seen people use Minetest for?

((Perttu Ahola))  It's so many things to so many people.  The basic premise is, it implements a cubic voxel world which is played in the first or third person perspective, either locally or on a multiplayer server.  In the default game there's a sandbox or a survival-ish scenario where you can build stuff from familiar materials, and a world generator that creates a natural landscape.

But hooks have been added to it where you can add or remove content to your liking (these pluggable modifications are called "mods" by the engine), and the community has used these over the years to create different kinds of above- and underground landscapes that can either be just explored or used as the backdrop for whatever you're doing, logical systems resembling electronics or mechanics, programmable blocks, sets of animals with different design goals, some vehicles (although the engine isn't quite up to snuff for those), trains, multiplayer economics, some RPG [role-playing game] elements, weapons, things designed for education, and whatnot.  Those are combined in multiplayer worlds on servers to something much more than the sums of their parts.

And often the enjoyment is as much in the making of a mod as it is in using the end result.  It's an outdated idea that you implement a feature to use it.  Minetest can be enjoyed as much inside a text editor as it can be enjoyed by controlling the player character in the game.  It's actually interesting also that the fact that it is a multiplayer sandbox environment makes it fun in itself due to human nature.  I proved it with the initial versions that had like 3 block types and zero game elements or limits other than basic gravity.  You get these layers of creativity: There's creativity in the making of Minetest, there's creativity in making a mod, there's creativity in making a world, there's creativity in the playing itself.

If you like messing around in open-ended development and gameplay, Minetest is for you.  If you need an end goal and a set path, some specific mods or servers could give you those.  I mean, one could write a book about this.  It's the question Minetest asked that Minetest has been answering.

((WN))  What are the main features that differentiate Minetest from Minecraft?

((Perttu Ahola))  Minetest has a simple base game that might seem like the exact same thing.  However, under the hood Minetest is open source, has a modding API, runs on older hardware, supports more platforms and is free to download.  The community has released many kinds of games that run on Minetest and in fact the project is very much based on the community.

((WN))  Tell us more about Minetest's modding API.

((Perttu Ahola))  Technically the modding API is a Lua interpreter integrated into the Minetest engine, which runs Lua in an environment to which most of the game content and engine features are provided by the engine.  There is a simple format for bundling code, textures, sounds and other data to form a thing called "mod".  Users can install them and enable them for the game worlds they create.

Mods also create their own APIs that other mods can interface to, and the engine implements a dependency model to facilitate this.  Some game content is grouped into groups so that handling similar items by mods that don't know about the specifics can handle them in reasonable ways.  Say, if you add a new kind of tree formed from its special blocks, they can be marked as being wood or so, and then you can use them as fuel in most cooking or such devices no matter who created them.

There is a mechanism for bundling mods into modpacks to easily bundle related mods together, and there is a concept called "game" which is kind of a stand-alone modpack.  The game Minetest comes with is just one of those, and if you install more, you can choose between them in the menu.

((WN))  Why was Lua chosen for the API?  What are some of the advantages of using Lua?

((Perttu Ahola))  Lua is simple but effective, and designed for embedding.  It's also easy to sandbox.  Not many languages actually are designed for embedding, and some of those aren't simple.  For example, [Google Chrome's] V8 is complex and its API is changing all the time, and Python isn't really designed for embedding, it's more of a host language and messes with your locale settings and whatnot, and is quite slow.

There's also LuaJIT, which is a JIT [Just-in-time] compiled version of Lua.  Minetest is able to use it and as such usually Minetest is built with it, as it's faster.  Lua also has a track record in games, although that doesn't matter much in practice.

((WN))  What are some of the Minetest features that are extremely popular among the users?

((Perttu Ahola))  How do I know?  Well, I mean, placing blocks probably, I'm pretty sure everyone does that.  More seriously what Minetest does that Minecraft don't is that for the vast majority of servers you don't have to modify your client at all, regardless of mods used on the server.  The client downloads what it needs from the server and custom code runs on the server.  The user of course doesn't need to do anything to make this happen so everyone is automatically using it and it is quite a defining feature.

Modding, of course, is an extremely popular feature — Minetest wouldn't be what it is without mods.  I'd say extremely popular is also the fact that Minetest's mobile versions use the same protocol and code as the desktop version.  I don't think most users appreciate it, but some do.  It brings you all the power regardless of the device.

Well, one Minetest feature is definitely also the license, being LGPL [GNU Lesser General Public License] 2.1.  It has allowed many more and less appreciated developers to publish their own versions of it.  This has happened on all the mobile app stores, those are full of Minetest forks with awful advertising and in-app purchase schemes.  To me it's funny and definitely something that those shady developers appreciate, to users who have fallen for them it's probably quite painful.

((WN))  When was the last time you played Minecraft?

((Perttu Ahola))  I don't remember, certainly not once after 2014 as I don't have it on this computer.  It quickly grew too slow on the previous computer on which I started developing Minetest.  In the alpha days [of Minecraft] it was capable of running on it, these days not a chance.

((WN))  What are some of the features in Minecraft that you hear about, which aren't currently in Minetest?

((Perttu Ahola))  I rarely hear about Minecraft and even then it's about some server and not about features.  At one point every place was full of all kinds of Minecraft mods, but nowadays you have to go look for them to find them.

((WN))  Actually, what position do you hold in the Minetest development?

((Perttu Ahola))  For the past years I've been doing the positions that are the most difficult to fill for contributors: Being the "CEO" [Chief Executive Officer] of the project, and doing part of the web hosting, mostly the message board and overseeing the use of *.minetest.net subdomains.  Basically just overseeing things and making sure things that people don't like to do don't turn into disasters.  Sometimes I help with technical details of the engine that people don't always fully understand.

((WN))  What are some of the things you really like about your work?

((Perttu Ahola))  I like how robust Minetest is.  It's based on proven technology that are kind of outdated, but that makes it easily compile and run almost anywhere, and as it's also free, it spreads and sticks like some goo.  It's also small and low maintenance, which I like in anything I do.

I also like that it explores what can be done in the game or application category it's in, in an unusual way (like outside the box of gameplay itself).

((WN))  Do you do this full-time?  Or do you have any other job?

((Perttu Ahola))  Even though the first year or two things were quite hectic I've never done this full time.  It doesn't really make any money.

((WN))  Ah, so you do have other job, too, right?

((Perttu Ahola))  Yeah, I've had a number of jobs during this time.

((WN))  How does the game development receive financial support?

((Perttu Ahola))  I get some donations or "tips" as I like to call them, which generally cover the hosting costs of the website and not much more.  Other than that, there has never been any money involved.  In addition to myself some modders and developers also collect some miniscule amounts of donations.

I guess development is mostly supported by being able to slap it onto your CV [Curriculum Vitæ] and get a better job that way.  I guess it's a bit sad.  Or résume for Americans, of course.

"Hi, my hobby is taking over the world from Microsoft.  What's yours?"  Well it's a bit of a joke of me introducing myself and Minetest.  And the absolute craziness of doing it for no monetary gain at all.

((WN))  Yeah; but some sort of donation is needed for running the servers, hosting the wiki, and the domain names, right?

((Perttu Ahola))  It's not required, but I'm fortunate enough to get enough donations to not [have] to pay them out of my own pocket.

((WN))  How does a typical day as the core-developer look like?

((Perttu Ahola))  The core-developer?

((WN))  Since you are one of the core-developers of the game, how does your typical day as the core-developer of this open-source game look like?

((Perttu Ahola))  Currently, as I'm focusing on some other programming projects outside of Minetest, when I have some free time I still check the Minetest IRC channels and GitHub to see what's going on, and if I have something to say I'll make a comment about it.  Of course I check my emails to see if any automated system has sent me a warning about something and needs fixing, or maybe there's a private message on the forum about some administrative task that needs doing.  I might check some system statistics on the VPS [Virtual Private Server] running the forum to make sure it's running smoothly and make sure backups look ok.

The average core developer of course doesn't have much of these administrative things to do and can focus on some programming task or just check through pull requests to see if a new contribution needs attention.  For most core developers the typical day is probably a day off, though, as we work on Minetest when we have free time and feel like it.

((WN))  Tell me, what are some of the design decisions that you are not happy about?

((Perttu Ahola))  There are none, all of them were required to get where we are now.  I think you should never blame a design decision that got you somewhere.

((WN))  Okay.  How does the developer team decide on the design-decisions and feature requests for the game?

((Perttu Ahola))  I have written some blog posts and roadmaps about my vision, and the team is free to either pick from there or simply do anything they think is important.  The core team mostly deals with engine things, and feature requests often come from modders.  Dealing with game design feature requests is really difficult so we've tried to move them out of the engine and into the independent game content.  Most features are accepted as long as they're simply and nicely done and it's obvious players or modders will find use for them.

The team will ask from me if they're unsure about something.  It doesn't often happen, but they're free to do it and I take the responsibility in that case.

This also applies if there's a conflict between team members.

((WN))  Conflict between the team members?  How often is there a conflict between team members?  And how do you resolve it?

((Perttu Ahola))  I'm not sure it has ever really happened.  It's not as exciting as it sounds.  But in that case I get to be the dictator.  :-)

((WN))  What accomplishment are you most proud of?

((Perttu Ahola))  I think it's the initial decision to start the project.  Everything is based on that, after all.  Maybe also the fact that probably like 50% of Minecraft clones on Google Play are Minetest forks, many of which are at least slightly illegal.

((WN))  Looking back at the 9–10 years of this project, what are some of the excellent moments/milestones that stand out?

((Perttu Ahola))  The initial 0.4 development in late 2011 and early 2012 was an exciting time.  One of the contributors at the time helped me a lot in getting it done, he was quite capable and enjoyable to work with.  It felt a bit like a "dream team".  Some persons in the Minetest team are quite anonymous, including this one — I never learned their real life identity.

There was a take over attempt of the project in 2017 by an individual who until then seemed like a contributor with good intentions.  It was quite the time too.  I don't want to give any publicity to him though, as he's still trying to do it.  I don't know if I'd call it excellent, but it definitely comes to mind as something that happened.

During the past few years Minetest has had some physical presence in Europe.  A couple of core developers and community members organized a stall at the Freenode #live event in 2017 and 2018.

I guess I have to say I'm not that good at remembering milestones though.  I'm sure many people have their own memories about Minetest's history.  Many remember their first server that they played on, for example — my perspective on the other hand is in development.  In development, it's a good thing I don't remember much because that means everything has gone rather smoothly.

((WN))  Have you been to Freenode #live events?

((Perttu Ahola))  I haven't been to Freenode #live.  I don't tend to travel that far, I feel international travel is too much hassle and I'm not a very social person at all.

((WN))  Do you or any of the Minetest developers attend LibrePlanet, FOSDEM or other conferences too?

((Perttu Ahola))  I haven't been following too closely, but as they're open source developers and many live in central Europe, you might stumble upon them in events around there.  They might be in a disguise, though, as they are involved in other projects in addition to Minetest.

Rubenwardy (one of the core developers) has said he wants a Minetest convention and I have to go.  We'll see if that happens, and where if so.

((WN))  Ah, that would be interesting.  Does Rubenwardy have any places in mind?  What do you think of organising it in Helsinki?

((Perttu Ahola))  As most core developers and contributors come from Germany, France, UK and such, I think Helsinki wouldn't make that much sense.

During Minetest's history, there haven't been almost any Finnish developers other than me.  And, given that I live half a thousand kilometers away from Helsinki, it's not exactly my home town either.

It's a very international project.

((WN))  How do you and Minetest benefit from the presence at freenode? Apart from the platform features, do you also benefit from links with members of other channels at Freenode?

((Perttu Ahola))  Freenode doesn't really link projects together, it mostly works as a private platform for discussions for each project.  Of course it's easy to join if you're already on some other Freenode channels, as many open source developers are.

((WN))  Apart from freenode, how do the developers meet with other developers? Do they use online text or video chat, or do they also have meet-ups in-person?

((Perttu Ahola))  I hear people using mostly IRC, Github and the forum.  There's some development talk on the unofficial discord server too.  I rarely hear about IRL meet-ups.  I've only ever met one Minetest contributor who was visiting Oulu with a group to see the midnight sun which happens this time of the year here in the north.

((WN))  What is planned for the next versions?

((Perttu Ahola))  I and many of our core developers have big plans but we're a bit lazy and have many projects going on so it's really up to who has a spare week here and there and what kind of new contributions are coming in.  We have a history of not ending up even close to what the roadmap was telling us to do.  On a weekly basis we do have a continuous flow of fixes and new modding API features going into the engine, so there's always something around the corner.  In addition to that, an interesting place to be on the lookout is the modding sections of our forum.  Those guys get to use much more imagination than the core engine developers.  It's been long in the plans to get more imaginative content into the main Minetest release, but currently it's still kind of boring, so make sure [to] check out the forum and content database.

((WN))  What are some of the upcoming milestones for Minetest?

((Perttu Ahola))  We're moving release by release and including stuff on a when-it's-ready basis.  [Version] 5.3 will be coming out very soon as there are just some bugs left.  It's ended up with 50 commits.  That's mostly bugfixes, but to pick a feature, the "minimal development test" game that comes with engine for mod and engine developing purposes has been rethought and overhauled.  What'll end up in 5.4 is still completely open.

In my experience setting any milestones you're not doing yourself is never a good idea in a hobby project — it'll just intimidate people and nothing gets done.  Some developers have big plans, including myself, but they may or may not happen. :-)

((WN))  How is the i18n [internationalisation] support for Minetest?  Do you plan on supporting more languages?

((Perttu Ahola))  There are some challenges due to the fact that Minetest supports multiplayer servers with each client using their own language settings, but if you choose your mods carefully, you can get a single player experience in many, many languages.  You can check out the translation status for different languages at Weblate.  You can also contribute translations right there on that website.  We occasionally update the English versions and occasionally copy the translated texts over to the project to be included in releases.

Many open source projects do it like this, we're no different.  Currently it looks like 11 languages have 90% of texts translated.  More than 90%, I mean.

Of course with game content, especially that which you find separately, your mileage will vary — but the engine translations are enough to configure Minetest and get you into a game world.  It's an ongoing process to try to make everything we can translatable by the community.

((WN))  Okay.  Do you also plan on providing more biomes, or making the current ones more interesting?

((Perttu Ahola))  We've long been in the process of moving the game content out of the engine and away from the core team more to individual game-focused developers, so the default game content has been a bit boring.  However, you don't need to live with it, as it's easily solved: just download some biomes you like into your game.  At this point it's not really even intended to be used as-is.

It's the core idea of Minetest 0.4, and from there on all subsequent versions.  Content is so easy to add and modify that it doesn't really even matter what content you start from.

If you want a fleshed out product with everything in there out of the box, Minetest doesn't really do that.  But you can search on our forums or content database if there's something that would do it for you — some game packages are quite complete.

((WN))  What are some of the reasons people choose Minecraft over Minetest?  What are some of the common complaints you hear about the game?

((Perttu Ahola))  I think most of the time people don't like Minetest because they want a full game that they can just play.  On the other hand other people choose Minetest because they don't want that, they want something they can easily customize.

Some don't like how Minetest looks, to the experienced eye the graphics aren't as polished.  However it does run on older hardware.  People using older hardware often choose Minetest because it works much better.  On the other hand, Minetest can't utilize high end gaming PCs as well, it's not optimized for those.

Of course also the price differentiates the two.  Minecraft costs a lot, especially if you're a kid in a poor country, or you want to install it on every computer in the classroom, or even an entire school.  But for the money you're getting a fleshed out product.  For some use cases you can't beat that.

((WN))  Will the improvement in the graphics of the game compromise with the advantage of the game running on older hardware?  Is it possible to achieve both without any compromises?

((Perttu Ahola))  Improvement in graphics will compromise the advantage of being able to run on old hardware, or it will result in basically two separate rendering engines.  To take advantage of new hardware you have to switch to newer versions of OpenGL, heavily use shaders and such, and as a result old hardware simply grinds to a halt or simply doesn't support those.

Of course some improvement can be done without compromise, but it's relatively minor if you look at what gamers are expecting these days.  On the other hand for use by kids or education or such, looks don't really matter.  What matters is that it's able to run on the hardware they happen to have.

((WN))  Would you want to create two different engines for those players who have new hardware and want to enjoy the open-source game?

((Perttu Ahola))  Maybe, but I'm not the one to do it.  High-end graphics is quite a specialized field and it's especially specialized when you want to render a voxel world like this, with voxel-based lighting and whatnot.  For more common types of game environments you could use more easy-to-use solutions.

((WN))  What contributors are the most wanted at the moment? What activities are in dire need of more eyeballs and helping hands?

((Perttu Ahola))  Any kind of contribution is always welcome.  I don't think I'm in a position to pick and choose what people spend their time on.  If you contribute something because it's important to you, it's going to be important to some others too.  I also can't pick and choose what skills people have.  If you are a capable programmer and for some crazy reason have lots of free time that you don't know what to do with, you can absolutely trust me and other core developers to give you things to do for the rest of your life.  But that's not how it works, nobody is like that.  You do what you like and what you feel is important.  You will be thanked by the users.

On the off chance that I can get a programmer inspired to do something for us: We've been long thinking of Voxel Area Entities — basically objects that are built from the same blocks that the world is, but that can move within the world based on some kind of moddable logic, like physics.  Every year I'm asked by a different person when I'm going to do it, and every year I've had some other project I'm focusing on.  Most core developers don't feel they have what it takes to even try doing that.

Other massive ideas floating in the air in the Minetest developer community, core developers and contributors alike, is abstracting away and switching the rendering engine to something more modern, probably something made by us to fit the needs of Minetest instead of some generic game graphics engine.

((WN))  For how long do you see yourself continuing to work as the CEO of the project?

((Perttu Ahola))  Until I'm dead, probably.  Not because I really want to, but because it's not something anyone else wants to do.

What would you choose, going on the beach, pub or golf field to take it easy, or staying in your basement looking through issues and pull requests, thinking when you're going to upgrade the forum software, trying to figure out why something was implemented in some way in the code, writing about some idea you have that hasn't still been implemented in seven years?

See, I'm absolutely crazy.  Most people aren't.

It's actually an interesting question: Is there any way I could be replaced?

((WN))  Is there a way to?

((Perttu Ahola))  I do think some parts of Minetest have been made as student projects.  Such extra motivation helps getting things done.  Maybe a tech leadership school could take Minetest CEO as a student project position?  Like, do it for a year and get lots of points.  Just an idea I guess.

Also, I kind of hate the subject.  In that way I'm more of a CTO [Chief Technical Officer] than a CEO.

((WN))  Do you think Minetest can benefit from programmes such as Google Summer of Code?

((Perttu Ahola))  Maybe, but it's difficult to compete with other projects there and the person doing it has to already be a contributor with a task in mind.  Otherwise it takes way too much prepping work to get somebody going in anything larger.  Self motivation is key in getting something done in a project like this.

Nobody will make you do anything or guide you.  You have to want to do it, and ask for help.  We also don't have any centralized official organization in any country, so we can't really collect funds and pay people to do things.

Money, official forms, agreements — No thanks.  Throw it in the trash.  Our agreement is the LGPL license of the code and CC BY-SA of other assets — it's the bare minimum and works.

Enrolling Minetest into GSoC could be the contribution of someone.  I don't think there's anything stopping that.  It could be quite beneficial to the project.

((WN))  How can the community ensure that the Minetest project succeeds for the foreseeable future?

((Perttu Ahola))  Use it, teach other people how to use it, share your in-game and mod creations with other people.  Of course reporting and fixing bugs and contributing engine features helps, but the main reason it exists is because it has users that enjoy playing it.

Whether something is a "thing" really only depends on whether it's popular.

((WN))  When did you actually think Minetest was getting significant attention and it was getting popular?'

((Perttu Ahola))  When I started posting about it on the Irrlicht forums and other places on the 'net, it immediately became obvious there was interest for such a thing.  I mean, compared to Minecraft, it has always been tiny.  But it was something completely different to anything else I had published until then in terms of public interest.  It wasn't just one person saying they checked it out.  It easily created a thread with people arguing whether it was even legal to make one like it.

((WN))  The legal aspect is something even I wondered about.  But you haven't received any legal notices, right?

((Perttu Ahola))  Well, it might have not been obvious then that it is legal, but nowadays there are so many Minecraft-like games everywhere people don't even think about it any more.  Nothing at all, ever.

And why would I [get a legal notice?] — it's completely made from scratch and I've never seen any Minecraft source code.  That wouldn't be the reason I'd change the name.  But changing the name isn't really doable.  You could of course publish it in addition under a second name and leave the engine called Minetest.  But what's the point?

Minetest is such a bad name it works as a trademark in itself.  Nobody wants to copy it.  It doesn't sell, but we don't need to sell.  If it was a serious commercial endeavour I would never had named it that in the first place.  [A trademark lawsuit would] only make Minetest grossly more popular, and we could simply change the name.  Really nothing is stopping us, if we need to, but there's not really any need.

((WN))  What are some of your other hobbies?

((Perttu Ahola))  In addition to programming I also do electronics as a hobby.  I'm very interested in electric vehicle [EV] conversions and have done some reverse engineering for re-using parts from crashed EVs.  Some of that has been released as open source.  Well, in addition to having them as hobbies, I also work in programming and electronics.  But anyway — whether money is involved or not, that's what I do.

I've also tried to do some other game development.  That was more of a learning experience than something that would have resulted in an end product.

((WN))  What sport activities do you normally undertake to stay strong and healthy? How has the pandemic affected them?

((Perttu Ahola))  I'm not a very sporty person.  If I feel so, I'll go for a walk or ride to town and back with my bicycle.  I do try to eat quite healthy though.  The pandemic hasn't had much effect on my life overall.  I've just shifted from less remote work to more remote work.

((WN))  What are some of the important things your have learned as an open-source game developer?

((Perttu Ahola))  Well, most game ideas suck, and the programming doesn't really matter.  Game development isn't something I'd recommend for anyone, it's such a saturated field.

((WN))  Saturated field?

((Perttu Ahola))  I mean, too many people are making games already.  It's such a popular hobby.

((WN))  Well those were all the questions I had for you.

((Perttu Ahola))  (That was quite a lot of questions, I think that'd make a small book so far. :-))

((WN))  Anything you would like to add?

((Perttu Ahola))  I don't think so.

((WN))  Thank you so much, being so generous with your time, celeron55.  It was wonderful discussing about Minetest with you!

((Perttu Ahola))  No problem, it's not too often I answer so much things about my longest ever project.


Interview de Perttu Ahola, créateur du jeu Minetest

Minetest, clone libre de Minecraft, qui a vu se différencier de ce dernier, fêtera ses 10 ans en octobre prochain. Wikinews a interviewé Perttu Ahola, alias celeron55, le créateur du jeu.


Opening day of the 56th Bad Hersfeld Festival

Bad Hersfeld, Germany — During a ceremonial act the 56th Bad Hersfeld Festival opened  in Stiftsruine Bad Hersfeld, yesterday afternoon.

Manager of the festival Elke Hesse and mayor Hartmut H. Boehmer presented the welcoming speech. The Viennese Elke Hesse is the first woman who runs the festival. The Hessian minister of state delivered the greeting of the provincial government and chairman of Federal Dr. Norbert Lammert spoke to the audience. They characterised the cultural importance of the festival.

First premiere was the classic of Goethes „Faust“ on the very same evening. Further premieres are „Dreigroschenoper“ from Bertolt Brecht, The Taming of the Shrew from William Shakespeare, „Das Spiel von Liebe und Zufall“ from Pierre de Marivaux an the childrens act Town Musicians of Bremen from Brothers Grimm. Supplemented by classical music concerts in the afternoon, the theater performances take place in the evening until August 6, 2006.


56. Saison der Hersfelder Festspiele eröffnet

Bad Hersfeld (Deutschland), 15.06.2006 – In einem Festakt in der Stiftsruine in Bad Hersfeld wurden am Nachmittag des 10. Juni die 56. Bad Hersfelder Festspiele eröffnet.

Die Begrüßung erfolgte durch die neue Intendantin Elke Hesse und Bürgermeister Hartmut H. Boehmer. Die 41-jährige Wienerin Elke Hesse, vorher am Theater in der Josefstadt tätig, leitet als erste Frau die Festpiele. Sie sagte: „Wir wollen nicht einfach ein ‚weiter so‘, damit wir nicht eines Tages von allen guten Theatergeistern verlassen sind.“

Das Grußwort der Hessischen Landesregierung sprach der Staatsminister Udo Corts. Er würdigte die Festspiele als nationales Ereignis, das als „kultureller Leuchtturm“ jedes Jahr wieder entzündet werde. Eröffnet wurden die Festspiele schließlich durch Bundestagspräsident Dr. Norbert Lammert. In seiner Rede freute er sich, an zwei aufeinander folgenden Tagen bei den beiden bedeutendsten Ereignissen in Deutschland anwesend sein zu können. Am Vortag hatte Lammert das Eröffnungsspiel der Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft in München besucht.

Der Burgschauspieler Rainer Hauer hielt den Festvortrag. Den Rahmen dazu bildeten Faustmonologe, ein „Faust“-Rap und das Blechbläserquintett mit klassischen Klängen unter anderem aus Rossinis „William Tell“.

Die erste Premiere erfolgte am gleichen Abend um 21 Uhr mit Goethes Klassiker „Faust I“. Die folgenden Premieren folgen am 14. Juni mit Bertolt Brechts „Dreigroschenoper“ und am 21. Juni William Shakespeares „Der Wiederspenstigen Zähmung“. Weiter zur Aufführung kommen „Das Spiel von Liebe und Zufall“ von Pierre Carlet de Marivaux und das Kinderstück „Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten“ der Brüder Grimm. Ergänzt durch klassische Konzerte am Nachmittag, finden die abendlichen Theateraufführungen bis zum 06.08.2006 statt.

In dieser Saison spielt der Schauspieler Rufus Beck den Mephisto im „Faust“, für den Konstantin Wecker die musikalische Leitung übernommen hat. Dominique Horwitz führt die Regie bei der „Dreigroschenoper“, und Axel Prahl spielt in der „Dreigroschenoper“ den Mackie Messer.


Opera singer Luciano Pavarotti dies at age 71

World-famous opera singer Luciano Pavarotti died early Thursday morning, according to a statement by his manager. On August 10th, Pavarotti, 71, was admitted to Modena University Polyclinic in Modena, Italy with a high fever. The cause of the fever was unknown, though some reports stated that he was being treated for pneumonia.

"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," said Terri Robson, Pavarotti's manager in a statement to the press.

Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, and in July of 2006 he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous mass. According to Nicoletta Mantovani, Pavarotti's wife, he had also been receiving radiation treatments.

Pavarotti's death came only one day after becoming the first recipient of the new "Excellence in Italian Culture Award" from the Italian government, the Italian Culture Ministry reported on Tuesday evening. The tenor received the award for promoting Italian culture abroad and within Italy itself. The opera house where he performed for the first time 40 years ago, La Scala opera house in Milan, stated it will organize a singing contest in honor of the Italian tenor.


Startenor Pavarotti tot

Modena (Italien), 07.09.2007 – Gestern morgen starb der italienische Sänger Luciano Pavarotti in seiner Heimatstadt Modena. Er litt an Krebs und wurde 71 Jahre alt.

Vor etwa einem Jahr war der Tenor in New York wegen eines Krebstumors an der Bauchspeicheldrüse operiert worden. Insgesamt unterzog er sich fünf Chemotherapien. Sein letzter größerer Auftritt fand im Rahmen der Eröffnung der Olympischen Winterspiele im Februar 2006 in Turin statt. Dort sang er die Arie „Nessun Dorma“ aus Giacamo Puccinis Oper Turandot.

Zu Weltruhm gelangte Pavarotti unter anderem mit seinen Auftritten der „Drei Tenöre“ zusammen mit Plácido Domingo und José Carreras. 1990 traten die drei bei der Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft in Italien auf, was in alle Welt ausgestrahlt wurde.


El cantante Luciano Pavarotti muere a los 71 años

6 de septiembre de 2007Módena, Italia — De acuerdo a un mensaje de su representante Terri Robson, el famoso cantante de ópera Luciano Pavarotti falleció el jueves 6 de septiembre a las 05.00 hora local (03.00 UTC). El 9 de agosto pasado Pavarotti, de 71 años, fue internado en el Policlínico de la Universidad de Módena debido a altas fiebres y desde el 25 de ese mes se encontraba en su casa bajo cuidado médico. La causa de su fiebre era desconocida, sin embargo algunos reportes informaron que se trataba de una neumonía.

"El maestro libró una prolongada y ardua lucha contra el cáncer de páncreas que finalmente le quitó la vida", afirmó Robson en declaraciones a la prensa. El año pasado se le diagnosticó un cáncer de páncreas y en el mes de julio de 2006 se le practicó una cirugía para retirarle un tumor maligno, en una intervención quirúrgica que tuvo lugar en Nueva York. De acuerdo con su esposa, Nicoletta Mantovai, también habría recibido tratamiento con radiación.

Luciano Pavarotti, de 71 años, ha sido con toda probabilidad el tenor más famoso de la actualidad, que ha dado a conocer la ópera a los públicos más populares y generalmente alejados de la música clásica. Sus actuaciones conjuntas con los tenores José Carreras y Plácido Domingo fueron siempre un espectáculo de masas, que les hizo famosos con el apelativo de "los tres tenores". El único tenor que hizo una labor divulgativa semejante fue el italiano Mario Lanza, cuando protagonizó, en la década de 1950, la película El gran Caruso, inspirada en la vida del cantante Enrico Caruso, que tuvo un éxito mundial. Luciano Pavarotti valoraba que esa labor divulgativa había alcanzado a unos 1.500 millones de personas en todo el mundo.

Pavarotti se hizo famoso a partir de una aparición en el Covent Garden londinense en 1963, y su última aparición en público tuvo lugar en la ceremonia de inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos de Turín en febrero de 2006. Había nacido en una familia modesta; su padre era panadero y su madre trabajaba en una fábrica de cigarros. A los nueve años empezó a cantar en el coro de la iglesia pero quería ser futbolista profesional. Su madre le convenció de que estudiara magisterio, y fue docente durante dos años hasta que empezó a tomar lecciones de canto.

Su muerte se produce un día antes de convertirse en el primer galardonado con el nuevo "Premio de Excelencia en la Cultura Italiana" otorgado por el gobierno italiano, según el reporte del Ministerio de Cultura de Italia. El tenor recibió el premio por promover la cultura italiana dentro y fuera del país. La ópera en donde se presentó por primera vez hace 40 años, La Scala de Milán informó que organizará un concierto en honor al tenor italiano. El artista no pudo realizar una gira mundial de despedida, como tenía previsto. Los funerales de Pavarotti se celebrarán el sábado 8 de septiembre en la catedral de Módena.


Décès du ténor italien Luciano Pavarotti

Le monde de la musique a appris ce matin la mort du ténor italien, Luciano Pavarotti décédé tôt ce matin dans sa ville natale de Modène, à l'âge de 71 ans. Né le 12 octobre 1935, il était chanteur d'opéra. Atteint d'un cancer du pancréas, il a lutté jusqu'au bout contre la maladie qui devait finalement l'emporter.
Il avait commencé sa carrière de ténor en 1961. Mais c'est en 1963 qu'il se fait connaître du grand public lorsqu'on lui propose de remplacer, au pied levé le ténor Giuseppe Di Stefano au Covent Garden de Londres.
Il était de ceux qui ont contribué à faire connaître l'opéra au grand public, tout particulièrement en élargissant ses champs musicaux en participant à plusieurs reprises à des prestations avec des artistes de variétés internationaux, comme Elton John, Sting, Bono ...

La ministre française de la Culture, Christine Albanel, a rendu hommage à l'artiste disparu. « Avec Luciano Pavarotti disparaît l'un des plus grands ténors de notre temps et, certainement le plus célèbre de ces trente ou quarante dernières années, sa voix unique, son jeu, son lyrisme attirant des milliers de fidèles à chacune de ses représentations, sur les principales scènes du monde entier », a-t-elle déclaré.

Le chef de l'État français, Nicolas Sarkozy, a ajouté que « le souvenir de ses grands rôles verdiens autant que celui de ses tournées de “ star ” en plein air et dans les stades, aux côtés de Placido Domingo et de José Carreras, mais aussi accompagné par des artistes de variété, Elton John, Sting, Bono… Certains puristes pourront juger hasardeuses ces incursions en dehors de l'univers feutré de la musique classique, mais je retiens que les ponts lancés entre les esthétiques et le mariage des styles auront permis au grand ténor de conduire des publics toujours plus importants à la musique classique, en les initiant au plaisir du grand répertoire. Luciano Pavarotti nous a quitté cette nuit : je souhaite lui rendre un dernier hommage au nom de la République française ».

De son côté, Placido Domingo, son alter ego espagnol a ajouté : « J'ai toujours admiré la gloire divine de sa voix — ce timbre spécial reconnaissable entre tous dans tout le registre du ténor (…) J'adorais aussi son merveilleux sens de l'humour et en plusieurs occasions lors de nos concerts avec José Carreras — les fameux concerts des trois ténors — nous avions eu du mal à nous souvenir nous nous produisions devant une audience payante, parce que nous nous amusions tellement entre nous ».


È morto Luciano Pavarotti

La musica mondiale piange Luciano Pavarotti, il grande tenore italiano, spentosi all'età di 71 anni. Le sue condizioni di salute si erano aggravate da oltre un anno, dopo l'asportazione di un tumore. Ricoverato di nuovo alcune settimane fa a seguito di una polmonite, sembrava fosse tornato in condizioni soddisfacenti, tali da prospettare un piccolo ritorno sulle scene, ma l'improvviso peggioramento lo ha solo accompagnato verso la morte.

Nella serata di ieri aveva invece perso conoscenza, e le condizioni si erano ulteriormente aggravate nella notte. La morte è sopraggiunta poco dopo le 5 ora italiana.

Nato a Modena, il 12 ottobre 1935, aveva già da giovane manifestato un fortissimo interesse per la musica classica e l'opera, passione questa trasmessa dal padre, che lavorava nell'esercito ed era cantante dilettante. La coronazione italiana arriva nel 1961, mentre quella internazionale, in una esibizione a Miami, risale a quattro anni dopo.

Una carriera straordinaria, e la consacrazione nell'olimpo dei tenori con i Tre tenori, ovvero Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo e José Carreras. In questi quarantaquattro anni di carriera aveva inciso oltre 110 dischi e 23 raccolte.

Pavarotti fu sposato due volte, prima con Adua Veroni, e più recentemente con Nicoletta Mantovani. Era stato anche insignito del titolo di Cavaliere di Gran Croce.

L'ultimo riconoscimento ricevuto, il Premio "Eccellenza nella Cultura" conferitogli dal Ministro dei beni culturali Francesco Rutelli, risale ad appena 24 ore dalla morte. Ultimo biglietto da visita del tenore.

Tutti i leader del mondo hanno espresso il loro profondo cordoglio per la scomparsa del grande tenore italiano. Il presidente francese Nicolas Sarkozy, con molto anticipo rispetto ai leader italiani, ha espresso a nome di tutti i francesi il cordoglio per un uomo che rappresentò la «migliore incarnazione del grande tenore popolare dopo Enrico Caruso». Messaggi di partecipazione al lutto della famiglia sono arrivati anche da George W. Bush, Gordon Brown, e naturalmente anche da tutti i politici italiani, di maggioranza ed opposizione, incluso il Presidente della Repubblica Giorgio Napolitano.


Zmarł Luciano Pavarotti

O godzinie 5 nad ranem, w swoim w domu w Modenie, w otoczeniu rodziny, zmarł Luciano Pavarotti, powszechnie uznawany za największego śpiewaka operowego na świecie. Pavarotti zmarł po długiej i ciężkiej chorobie - raku trzustki, którego operację przeszedł w zeszłym roku. Menadżerka śpiewaka informując o jego śmierci dodała, że do samego końca zachował charakterystyczną dla niego pogodę ducha.

Od czasu operacji nie występował publicznie. Ostatnio rząd włoski nagrodził go za zasługi dla włoskiej kultury i promocję ojczyzny za granicą.

Luciano Pavarotti urodził się w 1935 r. w Modenie, a debiutował w 1961 r. jako Rudolf w operze „Cyganeria” Pucciniego. Dwa lata później występował już na najsłynniejszych scenach operowych świata, brał udział w koncertach i nagraniach. Pavarotti specjalizował się w repertuarze bel canto, szczególnie w operach Belliniego, Donizettiego, Rossiniego i Verdiego. Nagrał wiele płyt oraz sfilmowanych oper. W ciągu swojej kariery sprzedał ponad 100 milionów płyt. W 1964 i w 1995 r. wystąpił w Polsce.


Morre Luciano Pavarotti

Morre o tenor italiano Luciano Pavarotti aos 71 anos um dos ícones mundiais da ópera de câncer de pâncreas.

O cantor de ópera morreu por volta das 1h50 (horário de Brasília) do dia 06 de setembro de 2007.

No meio do ano de 2006, o tenor foi operado de câncer no pâncreas, e precisou se ausentar da vida pública. Em 8 de agosto teve que ser reinternado devido à febre alta que sofreu enquanto se recuperava em sua casa das colinas de Pesaro.

Ficou internado até 25 de agosto.

Ao morrer deixa sua mulher Nicoletta Mantovan, a filha mais nova, Alice. três filhas do seu primeiro casamento, com Adua Veroni.


Opera singer Luciano Pavarotti hospitalized

Luciano Pavarotti, 71, a world-famous opera singer has been admitted to the hospital due to a high fever. The cause of the fever is currently unknown, however some reports say that he is being treated for pneumonia. His condition is being reported as stable.

"He [Pavarotti] is currently under observation and his condition is satisfactory," said a spokesman at the Modena University Polyclinic in Modena, Italy. He is reportedly being treated in the hospital's cancer ward and hallways have been blocked off and are being protected by private guards.

Pavarotti was admitted on Wednesday for observation, and the hospital states that he could be released "in the next few days." He was on vacation in Pesaro, staying at one of his homes when he fell ill.

Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and in 2006 underwent surgery to remove a cancerous mass. According to Nicoletta Mantovani, Pavarotti's wife, he has also been receiving radiation treatments.

"I can now say he is doing well. He's reacting well to a fifth cycle of radiotherapy. He's fighting like a lion and he has never lost his heart, also because a family he adores is by his side," said Mantovani.


Luciano Pavarotti es internado de urgencia en Modena

El tenor Luciano Pavarotti fue internado en el hospital de Módena, Italia para ser sometido a estudios clínicos tras sufrir un principio de neumonía.

El cantante de 71 años fue internado en horas de la noche de Italia, cuando los médicos realizaron estudios y mantuvieron en observación al artista mientras su estado de salud mejora con el paso de las horas, y así descartando problemas más graves de su salud. Las fuentes hospitalarias indicaron que su alta médica podría estar lista dentro de los próximos días.

Pavarotti fue trasladado desde Pesaro, en las costas del mar Adriático a 200 kilómetros al sureste de Modena, donde es tratado por los médicos, quienes descartaron que fuese una complicación derivada de su tumor descubierto a mediados del 2006, que ha producido el alejamiento del cantante desde el mundo del espectáculo.


Osama bin Laden warns European Union in new audio tape

A video released by as-Sahab features an audio track that is reputedly of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, entitled "The Response Will Be What You See, Not What You Hear".

In it, bin Laden warns that the recent republication of the controversial Muhammad cartoons is more offensive than the killing of women and children and says that a "reckoning for it will be more severe."

"If there is no check in the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions," bin Laden said. In the audio, he sought to reason with the "intelligent ones" in the European Union.

In 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a series of cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This eventually touched off a series of international protests and boycotts.

In February, tensions flared up again after Danish police arrested three men in an alleged plot to murder cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Newspapers in Denmark and elsewhere in the EU republished the cartoons in a display of free speech. This was met by protests and boycotts in Muslim nations.


Osama bin Laden amenaza a Europa por caricaturas de Mahoma

El líder de la organización Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, advirtió en un nuevo video que fue publicado en un sitio web islamista que habría consecuencias por las caricaturas de Mahoma que fueron publicadas en 2006 y reimpresas el mes anterior en periódicos daneses.

Bin Laden calificó estos dibujos como parte de una "cruzada" en la cual estaría involucrado el Papa Benedicto XVI, asegurando que las "consecuencias serán mucho más graves", al tiempo que afirmó que esta es una ofensa más grave que el "bombardeo de modestas poblaciones que colapsaron sobre nuestras mujeres y niños".

El video, publicado en la página web de As-Sahab, principal foro mediático de Al Qaeda, se titula "Que nuestras madres queden despojadas de nosotros si fallamos a nuestro Profeta", tiene 5 minutos de duración y en él aparece Bin Laden portando un rifle automático AK-47 dirigiéndose a "quienes son sabios en la Unión Europea". En este momento se investiga la autenticidad de la grabación.


Oussama Ben Laden s'en prend au pape et menace l'Europe

Publié le 20 mars 2008  Oussama Ben Laden a diffusé aujourd'hui sur Internet un message audio d'un peu plus de cinq minutes dans lequel il s'en prend à l'Union européenne et au pape Benoît XVI à propos des caricatures du prophète Mahomet parues dans la presse.

Le message, officiellement attribué au chef d'Al-Qaida par le SITE Intelligence Group, un centre spécialisé dans la surveillance des sites Internet islamistes, a été diffusé sur le site As-Sahab cinq ans exactement après le déclenchement de l'invasion de l'Irak par les États-Unis d'Amérique.

Selon ce message, la publication dans différents quotidiens européens des caricatures du prophète Mahomet parues originellement dans le quotidien danois Jyllands-Posten en 2006, participe d'une « croisade » à laquelle participe activement le pape Benoît XVI dont un discours donné à Ratisbonne, le 12 septembre 2006, avait suscité été vivement critiqué dans le monde musulman car assimilant islam et violence. L'Arabie saoudite est également visée dans ce message, et en particulier le roi Abdallah d'Arabie saoudite qui est qualifié de « roi sans couronne » et qui est mis en cause pour s'être rendu en visite au Vatican en novembre 2007.

Le message, sous-titré en anglais, intitulé « Que nos mères soient privées de nous, si nous échouons à aider notre prophète » et accompagné d'une vidéo montrant Ben Laden armé d'une mitraillette, se termine par ces mots « La riposte sera ce que vous verrez, pas ce que vous entendrez » ce qui, selon plusieurs experts, peut être interprété comme une menace directe contre plusieurs pays européens.

Parmi les réactions, le Vatican a affirmé que le programme du pape pour les célébrations de Pâques ne devrait subir aucune modification tout en jugeant les accusations de Ben Laden, de « totalement dénuées de fondement » mais « peu surprenantes ». Les autorités des Pays-Bas, pour leur part, ont renouvelé leur mise en garde contre un risque élevé d'attentat dans le pays, à la suite de la sortie prochaine d'un film, réalisé par l'élu d'extrême-droite Geert Wilders et hostile au Coran.


Bin Laden lancia minacce per l'UE e per il Papa

L'introvabile sceicco del terrore, il capo di Al-Qaida Osama bin Laden, alla vigilia del quinto anniversario della guerra in Iraq fa sentire nuovamente la sua voce.

Della durata di circa cinque minuti, apparso su un sito internet che già in passato aveva pubblicato materiale di Al-Qaida, sotto il titolo di «La risposta sarà ciò che vedete, non quello che sentite»,
il messaggio contiene una minaccia di  «grave punizione» per l'Unione Europea, colpevole di aver ripubblicato le vignette satiriche su Maometto.

Le invettive di Bin Laden non risparmiano neppure papa Benedetto XVI, complice a suo avviso, di essere a capo di una crociata anti-islamica.

L'ultimo suo messaggio risaliva al 29 novembre scorso quando aveva sollecitato i paesi europei a ritirare le loro truppe dall'Afghanistan.


Бін Ладен зробив нову заяву стосовно Європи та Палестини

Нове звернення лідера міжнародної терористичної оргранізації Аль-Каїда Осама бін Ладена було росповсюджене 20 березня 2008 р. Це вже друге звернення Бін Ладена за останні два дні. У першому зверненні, у роковину початку війни в Іраку у своїй промові Бін Ладен звернувся до мусульман з посланням стосовно карикатур на пророка Мухамеда, які розповсюджувалися в деяких країнах Європи. Лідер Аль-Каїди піддав критиці авторів карикатури і Папу Римського Бенедикта XVI, якого він звинуватив у організації нового Хрестового походу проти мусульман.

Невдоволення Бін Ладена та багатьох мусульман викликали карикатури на пророка Мухамеда опубліковані у данських газетах. Проти автора карикатури та редакторів газет, які опублікували її були спрямовані числені акції протесту та маніфестації у багатьох країнах Європи та Азії. Після того, як стало відомо про замах на життя автора карикатур, у знак протесту низка європейских газет передрукували карикатуру, що викликало нову хвилю протестів у мусульманському світі.

У другому зверненні Бін Ладен також піддав критиці окупацію Ізраїлем Палестини та блокаду Сектора Ґаза. На думку Бін Ладена єдиний шлях повернути Палестину — "вогнем та металом". У зверненні він також закликав мусульман не припиняти боротьби проти американських військ в Іраку та Афганістані. У обох випадках, на його думку, переговори недоцільні — "тільки рішучі дії, війна проти окупантів". Бін Ладен також піддав критиці лідерів мусульманських держав за зраду, на його думку, палестинців та підтримку блокади Ізраїлем Сектора Ґаза.

20 березня 2008


Over 100 people die in stampede at Hindu temple near Jodhpur, India

Over 100 people died in a massive stampede at the Chamunda Devi temple Jodhpur, in the western state of Rajasthan, India. 168 people were killed, with just as many injured. A temple wall collapsed, causing panic among ten of thousands of gathered Hindu worshippers who then began to run for safety, causing the stampede. Several are still believed to be trapped under the rubble.

According to  Malini Agarwal, a Jodhpur police officer, over 10,000 Hindus had gathered at a temple to perform their religious rites. Most of the injured have been transported to the nearest hospital and appeals were being made for the remaining pilgrims to be calm and peaceful.

In August another deadly incident resulting from a stampede occurred in the second day of a nine-day religious festival at the Naina Devi Temple in Himachal Pradesh state; more than 130 people were killed due to panic in Northern India.

Another incident in January 2005 saw more then 250 Hindu worshippers killed in a stampede near a remote temple in the state of Maharashtra.


Nejméně 125 lidí ušlapáno v indickém hinduistickém chrámu

Nejméně 125 lidí zemřelo při nehodě u hinduistickém chrámu v indickém státě Rádžastán. Zřítila se tam zeď podél cesty k chrámu a mezi několikatisícovým davem hinduistických věřících zavládla rychle panika.

Podle policejních zdrojů se na místě shromáždilo až 10 000 lidí, kteří chtěli přivítat nadcházející svátek Navaráta. Většina zraněných byla převezena do nejbližší nemocnice, ostatní poutníci byli vyzváni, aby zachovali klid a pořádek, neboť situace byla nesmírně dramatická. Záchranné složky začaly vyprošťovat zasypané, zraněno bylo nejméně 150 lidí. Chrám Čamunda Dévi pochází patnáctého století a je významným poutním místem.

Podobný incident se stal zhruba před měsícem; v srpnu bylo na náboženské pouti v Himáčalpradéši, státě na severu Indie, ušlapáno více než 140 lidí. Příčinou byla opět panika, která zasáhla velkou skupinu lidí.

Tato zpráva byla založena zčásti nebo zcela překladem zprávy Hundreds of People died in stampede at Hindu temple near Jodhpur na anglických Wikizprávách.


Un centenar de muertos en una estampida humana en la India

30 de septiembre de 2008Jodhpur, India —

Más de un centenar de personas han muerto en los alrededores del templo de Chamunda, en la ciudad india de Jodhpur, estado de Rajastán, durante un festival hindú.

La rotura de un muro del edificio junto al templo provocó una avalancha de peregrinos en estampida movidos por el pánico que causó las muertes por aplastamiento.

Chamunda está ubicada en lo alto de una colina y, según fuentes de la policía, se encontraban en el momento de la catástrofe entre 12.000 y 25.000 personas, que se han precipitado en el descenso. Todos los fallecidos eran varones al ser la zona de acceso de éstos la que sufrió la avalancha. Las autoridades sanitarias informaron de la muerte de 113 personas, y otros 150 heridos graves.

En esta época la India celebra los preparativos de la gran fiesta hindú de las luces, Diwali, que tiene lugar el 28 de octubre y marca el inicio del nuevo año religioso hindú.

Durante este tiempo son frecuentes los accidentes por avalanchas humanas. El más grave se produjo en 2005, cerca de Satara, cuando murieron 257 personas.


Oxford elects poetry professor by email vote

Geoffrey Hill was announced yesterday to have won the election for the post of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford. Hill, who won by a large majority, is the 44th man to hold the post, but the first one to have been elected by an email-based voting system.

Hill, a graduate of Keble College, has won many awards for his poems and other writing.  He was described by The Daily Telegraph as "one of the most distinguished contemporary English language poets" and by the former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion as "one of the two or three best poets writing in English". He obtained 1,156 votes with his nearest rival, Michael Horovitz, receiving 353. In all, 2,500 votes were cast for the ten candidates.

Speaking after the result was announced, Dr Seamus Perry from the university's English Faculty Board said that he was "simply delighted that a poet of Geoffrey Hill's eminence has emerged victorious." He added that Hill was "pleased" with the result, particularly as it came on his 78th birthday. Motion applauded Hill's success, saying that Oxford was "lucky to have him." Horovitz said that Hill would "probably give great lectures but they won't be anything different", and suggested that Hill, "like his poetry, won't be that accessible."

The 2010 election follows the controversy of 2009, which saw candidate Derek Walcott withdraw before the contest after anonymous letters were sent to more than 100 Oxford academics giving details of an allegation of sexual harassment made against him in 1982.  The eventual winner, Ruth Padel, resigned after a few days when it emerged that she had briefed student journalists about the allegations. Perry said yesterday that Hill's election showed that "the chair did emerge intact from the scuffle."

This year's election was not without incident either.  An eleventh candidate, Paula Clare, withdrew from the process complaining about pro-Hill coverage in the Oxford Gazette, the official journal of the university. She said that the process was "seriously flawed" and favoured Hill. The 2010 election was the first to allow voting by email: previously, voters had to visit Oxford and cast their votes in person.  The 2,500 votes in this election compares to less than 500 cast in the 2009 contest, as against a total potential electorate (all the graduates and academics of the university) in the region of 300,000.

The post of Professor of Poetry dates from 1708, and former holders include Seamus Heaney and W. H. Auden. It is said to be "the most prestigious" job in poetry after the poet laureate. The professor has to give three lectures during the year and to deliver every other year a speech giving thanks to benefactors during the ceremony for the presentation of honorary degrees.  There is no obligation to write poetry for the university during the five-year tenure of the post, although past holders have taken steps to encourage student poetry.  Hill will be paid £6,901 per year.


Megválasztották a költészet 44. oxfordi professzorát

Geoffry Hill többszörösen kitüntetett angol költőt választották az Oxfordi Egyetem költészet professzorának; az eredményt pénteken jelentették be. Sorrendben ő a negyvennegyedik, aki a tisztet viselheti annak 1708-as megalapítása óta. A cím presztízsértéke igen magas, hagyományosan csak az úgynevezett poet laureate[1] (udvari költő) előzi meg rangban. Hill nagy többséggel nyerte a választást, amelyet egyébként most először bonyolítottak le az interneten keresztül.

Az eddigi szokásokkal ellentétben – amikoris minden szavazónak személyesen kellett az urnák elé járulnia az egyetemvárosban – a szavazatokat elektronikus levélben fogadták. A leadott voksok mennyisége így a tavalyi választások 500 alatti számáról idén 2500-ra emelkedett. Összesen 1156-an támogatták Hillt – messze lemaradva tőle a második helyen Michael Horovitz végzett, 353 szavazattal. A részvételi arány viszont továbbra is alacsonynak mondható: a teljes tanári kar és az egyetem végzettjei, azaz az összes szavazásra jogosultak száma mintegy 300 000-re rúg.

A megbízatás normál esetben öt évre szól, azonban a tavalyi választások után a poszt betöltetlen maradt: a múlt évi – és egyébként az első női – győztes Ruth Padel ugyanis kilenc nappal az eredményhirdetés után lemondott. A dolog előzménye, hogy az egyik jelölt (Derek Walcott) akkor azért lépett vissza, mert az oxfordi tanári kar névtelen leveleket kapott egy 1982-es jogi ügyéről, amikoris az egyik diákja szexuális zaklatással vádolta meg. Később azonban kiderült, hogy a levelek mögött olyan diákújságírók álltak, akiket Padel bízott meg.

A mostani választás sem volt minden negatív visszhangtól mentes: Paula Clare például arra hivatkozva lépett vissza az indulástól, hogy az Oxford Gazette (a helyi egyetemi lap) túl sokat foglalkozott Hillel, amivel a többi jelöltnél kedvezőbb helyzetbe hozta őt.

Hill megválasztását mindazonáltal sokan üdvözölték, így például Dr. Seamus Perry, az egyetem angol tanszékének vezetője, Andrew Motion korábbi poet laureate, és a második helyen végzett Horovitz is. Az eredmény 78. születésnapján érte a költőt. Hill a The Daily Telegraph című napilapot idézve az „egyik legkiemelkedőbb kortárs angol költő”; Andrew Motion hasonló szavai szerint „egyike a két vagy három legjobb költőnek, aki angolul ír”. Horovitz megjegyezte, hogy oktatóként „minden valószínűség szerint nagyszerű előadásokat fog majd tartani, de ahogy a költészete sem egyszerűen emészthető, úgy valószínűleg majd az előadásai sem lesznek azok.”[2] Perry kiemelte, hogy úgy tűnik, hogy a tavalyi fiaskó nem tépázta meg a cím hírnevét.[3]

A költészet professzora legalább három előadást kell tartson egy tanévben, illetve a díszdoktorok avatása alkalmával évente ad köszöntőbeszédet az egyetem támogatóinak. Az ötéves megbízatás alatt azonban – ellentétben a poet laureate intézményének szellemével – nem köteles az egyetemet támogatni költői munkájával; a cím korábbi viselői ugyanakkor aktívan támogatták a diákköltészetet. Hill éves egyetemi javadalma 6901 font lesz.


Pamplona's famous "running of the bulls" in pictures

The nine day San Fermín festival, commonly known as the running of the bulls (or "el encierro" in Spanish) in Pamplona, Spain, is the most famous of all such events.

Like every year, several revelers are gored, both locals and tourists. Some 800 000 tourists were estimated to have come to Pamplona last weekend. On Thursday, 13 people were admitted to the hospital, seven of whom were gored. Three of the latter had to have surgery.

A 48-year-old man from Pamplona was in a critical condition after being gored in the chest. Other serious incidents involved a Mexican and a German man in their twenties. Runners from Poland, Norway, Spain and the United States also sustained injuries.

Thursday's run lasted six minutes, where a normal run is only two minutes long. Normally, the pack of bulls stays together, but in this run they separated, which is more dangerous for the runners. Since 1924, there have been 13 fatalities, the last of whom was an American in 1995.

The 825 metre run garnered international fame after Ernest Hemingway described the running in his 1926 book The Sun Also Rises. The end of the run is the bullring where the matadors will deal with the bulls.

Animal rights activists protest the bull-running because they believe the tradition is cruel to the animals. Tomorrow, the eighth and final run will be held, at 8:00 a.m. CEST (UTC+2).


Siete heridos por las Corridas de Toros de Pamplona

13 de julio de 2007Pamplona, España —

El encierro o la corrida de toros en Pamplona, España es un evento muy famoso entre todos los encierros.

Como cada año, varios de los más de 800.000 turistas y otros habitantes fueron dañados por los toros
el jueves. Trece personas, siete de ellas corneadas por los toros, fueron llevadas a hospitales y tres tuvieron que someterse a operaciones.

Un hombre de 48 años de Pamplona estaba en una condición seria luego de que fuera lastimado en el pecho. Otros incidentes serios involucran a un mexicano y un alemán que tenían cerca de 20 años. Corredores de Polonia, Noruega, España y de Estados Unidos también resultaron dañados.

La corrida del jueves duró seis minutos, mientras que una corrida normal sólo dura dos minutos. Generalmente, los toros corren cerca uno de los otros, pero esta vez se separaron, que resultó más peligroso para los corredores. Desde 1924, al menos 13 personas han muerto en corridas de toro de Pamplona.

La corrida de 825 metros es parte de la Fiesta de San Fermín, que dura nueve días y se hizo famosa luego de que Ernest Hemingway describiera la corrida en The Sun Also Rises, su libro de 1926. La corrida termina en la plaza, donde los matadores se encargan de los toros.

Activistas a favor de los animales protestaron a la corrida de toros ya que creen que la tradición es cruel. Mañana se realizarán la octava y última corrida, a 8:00 a.m. (hora local).


Paris Hilton mocks John McCain presidential ad

2008 United States presidential election

American celebutante and businesswoman Paris Hilton has bashed a recent presidential campaign ad by 2008 U.S. presidential hopeful John McCain in which he compared his rival Barack Obama to celebrities such as Hilton and Britney Spears. In McCain's TV ad, it was stated that Obama was "the biggest celebrity in the world."

Hilton recorded and uploaded a video to comedy website Funny or Die, in which she mocked McCain by calling him a "wrinkly white-haired guy."

"Hey America. I am Paris Hilton, and I am a celebrity too," she states at the beginning of the video, but not before images of the Star Wars character Yoda and the cast of The Golden Girls are paraded across the screen apparently comparing the characters to McCain.

"Only I am not from the olden days, and I am not promising change like 'that other guy'. I'm just hot," remarked Hilton, adding, "I guess I am running for president," since McCain's TV ad showed her.

McCain's advertisement, released early this week, states, "Is the biggest celebrity in the world ready to help your family?" According to the Boston Globe and video displayed on its website, the narrator then points out that "the real Obama promises higher taxes, more government spending. So, fewer jobs."

Bill Burton, a spokesman for Obama, responded to the ad: "Is the biggest proponent of George Bush’s tired, failed policies ready to bring about change? Another day brings another dishonest attack from John McCain. While Senator McCain knows that Senator Obama has proposed cutting taxes for 95% of American families, what he’s not telling us is that he wants to give $4 billion in tax breaks to the oil companies, continue giving tax breaks to corporations that ship our job overseas, and provide no direct tax relief for more than 100 million middle-class families."

Hilton appears in good spirits in her video and even thanks McCain for endorsing her. "So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude. And I want America to know, that I am like totally ready to lead."

"McCain ad questions Obama's benefit to families" — Wikinews, August 06,2008


Paris Hilton 宣傳片揶揄麥凱恩

上周美國共和黨總統候選人麥凱恩推出宣傳短片，片中把競選對手奧巴馬和Paris、Britney等明星相題並論，指奧巴馬和這些明星一樣，表面好看，內裡不中用。

麥凱恩宣傳片中所涉及的希爾頓酒店集團太子女 Paris Hilton 於是拍攝短片反擊，她和惡搞網站 FunnyOrDie.com 合作，拍了一套模仿總統競選廣告的片段。

片段一開始，是麥凱恩的畫面，旁白說他是超老名人，老得以為跳舞還是有罪、啤酒還是用桶載的時代，又問他準備好領導國家嗎？

然後是穿著性感泳衣的 Paris，她躺在泳池旁，並發表參選宣言。她說：「美國你好，我是 Paris Hilton！我也是名人，但我不老，也不像那個常說會帶來改變的人（指奧巴馬），不過我是辣妹。」她又以“滿面皺紋的白髮老頭（That wrinkly white-haired guy）”來形容麥凱恩，指自己在麥凱恩的競選廣告中聽到自己的名字，還以為自己也有份參選總統。不過她又感謝麥凱恩的支持，並表示自己已準備好領導國家。她提出自己的能源政策，其實只是將奧巴馬和麥凱恩的政綱混合，並說這就能解決能源危機，她又說打算邀請 Rihanna 當競選拍檔。最後她還說：「我們在白宮見，啊，我會把它髹成粉紅色。」然後模仿麥凱恩的宣傳短片說：「本人是 Paris Hilton 並且本人確認本信息完全是新鮮 / 火辡辡的（語帶雙關，原文為 "... the message is totally hot."）。」。

當然短片的內容都是惡搞。據悉 Paris 的父母也是麥凱恩的支持者，而 Paris 稱拍攝這短片純粹是開玩笑，在麥凱恩推出有關競選宣傳片後，惡搞網站 FunnyOrDie.com 主動向她聯絡並提出建議，Paris 認為好玩，於是就合作拍了這片段，Paris 稱從中並沒有收過分文。

【2008年8月7日讯】