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Taiwan to violate Tamiflu patent due to shortage A shortage of the avian flu vaccine prompts health agency to plan domestic production without patent rights out of concerns to protect public health. Hurricane Wilma becomes stronger on its path toward Florida Evacuation of the Florida Keys has begun as Hurricane Wilma intensifies.

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Hundreds of SUNY New Paltz students demonstrate, storm administration building Student university leaders rally hundreds and march into campus building to protest renovation project.

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Tropical Storm Alpha forms in the Carribean, threatening the island of Hispaniola and becoming the record-breaking 22nd named storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The first case of avian influenza (bird flu) has been discovered in the United Kingdom from a South American parrot. Tests are being carried out on the parrot, which died in quarantine, to determine whether it had the H5N1 strain of the virus.

Taiwan to violate Tamiflu patent due to shortage
The shortage of the avian flu vaccine, Tamiflu, has prompted Taiwan to begin work on copying the vaccine without the consent of its manufacturer and patent holder, the Swiss pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche. Though officials have requested permission from Roche, they are not waiting on a response to begin work, citing the need to protect the public.

In an interview with Reuters, the head of the clinical division of the National Health Institute, Su Ih-jen said “We have tried our best to negotiate with Roche …. we have shown our good will to Roche and we appreciate their patent. But to protect our people is the utmost important thing.”

The National Health Institute will produce the generic version of the vaccine. Taiwan will not market the drug commercially, planning to manufacture one to two million doses, only enough to have adequate stock in country. Officials say they can manufacture the vaccine more quickly and at less cost than Roche. One million courses of locally made Tamiflu cost about T$200 million (US$5.9 million), compared with T$1 billion if purchased from Roche. It will take approximately 3 months to manufacture one million doses.

Several other countries have also petitioned Roche for the right to make copies of Tamiflu.

Tropical Storm Alpha forms, shattering record
Tropical Storm Alpha formed in the Caribbean breaking the record for most named tropical storms in a Atlantic hurricane season ever, making it 22. It is also the first hurricane to be named with a letter of the Greek alphabet since Wilma was the name on the 21 name list, letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are skipped.

Currently, the storm is has sustained winds of 40mph, which is only 1mph over the threshold for a tropical storm. It is centered about 70 miles south of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. A tropical storm warning has been put out for Haiti and portions of the Dominican Republic.

Since 1995, there has been increase in hurricane activity, due to, according to scientists, a rise in ocean tempatures and decrease of wind shear that rip apart hurricanes.

The prior record has stood since the 1933 Atlantic hurricane season. However the season does not end till November 30th, leaving room for more storms to form to shatter the record.

Hundreds of SUNY New Paltz students demonstrate, storm administration building
More than 350 U.S. students took part in a demonstration Friday outside the SUNY New Paltz Student Union Building where student leaders used a bullhorn from the rooftop to rally the gathering on the concourse below. University police dispersed student leaders from the roof which was followed by more than 100 students storming the Haggerty Administration Building (HAB).

Students gather at Student Union Building west concourse.

During the 2004-2005 academic year, students lobbied for a $10 million renovation project for their Student Union Building, which has not been renovated since its construction more than 30 years ago.

College spokesman Eric Gullickson said that the supplemental appropriation for the project is the largest in the history of the college and that the six-member advisory committee includes three students but that; "the Student Association, which was offered the first seat on this committee, declined the opportunity," Gullickson said.

Student leaders, including Student Body President R.J. Partington III and Student Senate Chair Justin Holmes, who played a role in organizing this demonstration, testified during the Spring 2005 semester before the New York State Assembly Committee on Higher Education, eventually winning the renovation project. Holmes says that Gullickson's assertions are; "an out-and-out lie. The SA was never offered such a seat. We were offered 1 seat on a seven seat committee, with the administration selecting the other six members."

The major arguments for a capital project on the Student Union Building were that it:

did not accommodate organizations and organization office needs

lacked crucial technology for student mobilization

was built for a student population less than half the size of 2005, and

was one of the longest standing Student Unions in the SUNY system which had not undergone a renovation

During the Fall 2005 semester, the HAB, or state-appointed and funded Administration, claimed that it would oversee the renovation project, citing the need for a larger lobby and bookstore.

The Kingston Daily Freeman reported:

The crystallizing issue for the demonstration was the upcoming $10 million renovation of the Student Union building. The renovation, scheduled to begin in about two years, will be the first major change to the building since it was built 34 years ago, according to college spokesman Eric Gullickson, who said the supplemental appropriation for the project in the state budget is the largest in the college's history.

Gullickson also said that a six-member committee had been formed to guide the design process, but student leaders, including Partington, were told that the proposed committee would be seven members, including four non-students and two students who were appointed by the HAB.

"No matter the size and makeup of the HAB's so-called renovation committee, it has nothing to do with the actual renovation process, which will be administered by a student committee, with input from other parties of course considered," responded Holmes.

During the Fall 2005 semester, Student Body President R.J. Partington III attempted to negotiate with Administrators, including HAB President Steven G. Poskanzer, over the project.

The HAB refused to concede to student demands.

At this point, the Student Senate passed legislation proclaiming that the project would be overseen by a committee where students constitute a majority, and Partington announced that he “did not recognize and would not sit on” any committee that did not meet the needs of students.

The event itself was organized by a loose coalition of elected student leaders, organization activists, and other students.

Fahari President "Q", Executive Vice President Safiya Warner, Vice President of Finance Lee Riley, Council of Organizations Chair Yoni Levin, President R.J. Partington III, Student Senator Jenny Loeb, and Student Senate Chair Justin Holmes on the roof of the Student Union Building

More than 350 students converged on the Student Union Building at about 3:10PM. Student leaders took to the roof to address the mass, including:

Student Body President R.J. Partington III

Vice President of Finance Lee Riley

Council of Organizations Chair Yoni Levin

Student Senate Chair Justin Holmes

Student Senator Jenny Loeb

Students had been frustrated by a number of issues, including the campus drug policy, the state of the Women’s Studies department, a Black Solidarity Event called “Black Solidarity Day,” which the HAB had not fully recognized, the police on campus, and the lack of competition in food service.

“The reason we will oversee the Student Union Building renovation is that we need a place whose primary purpose is to facilitate the organization and mobilization of students around the many issues we have with campus policies,” said Holmes.

"They try to keep us from going to that event," Lee Riley said of Black Solidarity Day, an annual event that Riley said some professors try to discourage students from attending by scheduling tests or mandatory labs on that day. "We're here to combat that. It's a day when we can promote unity. It's a day when we can promote pride."

Following the rally, the group marched around the Student Union Building, chanting and singing.

Upon arriving back on the concourse, Partington, Holmes, and others lead a variety of chants and speeches for about 15 minutes, and even more students gathered.

Partington, amid growing intensity, told the crowd, "Students are going to continue to speak up and make change on our campus to insure that studens shape the future of SUNY New Paltz."

President R.J. Partington III addresses the crowd after the march

At some point, some students spontaneously decided to enter the Haggerty Administration Building, and well over 100 students followed.

The Kingston Daily Freeman reported:

About 100 students flooded into the Haggerty Administration Building toward the end of the demonstration, hoping to meet as a group with college President Steven Poskanzer. And when campus security blocked access to the building's elevators, the group climbed nine flights of stairs and filled the hall way outside of Poskanzer's office. They chanted and drummed on the wood-paneled walls until Student Association President R.J. Partington and Student Senate Chairman Justin Holmes were admitted to Poskanzer's outer office.

Partington and Holmes emerged to a very hot hallway, still filled with more than one hundred students. Most were covered in sweat, and there was concern about oxygen depravation as some students were beginning to feel faint. Several volunteers, including staff of the HAB, held stairwell doors open to allow fresh air in to the crowd.

Upon emerging, President Partington addressed the students, saying, "If Poskanzer does not meet with all of you here, then we are going to do this whole thing over again, except next time we will have twice as many people."

Southern end of the hall

Northern end of the hall

The HAB office of Public Affairs responded to inquires by the Mid-Hudson News, saying,

But, college spokesman Eric Gullickson said the committee is in place only to provide advice to the administration. “It’s an advisory committee that the vice president of student affairs put together himself, seeing an opportunity to get students’ input, of which 50 percent of the people on the committee are students, seeking to get input from them on the planning and development of the Student Union Building,” he said. The committee has no voting power and will not be making any decisions, said Gullickson.

As students drifted off the concourse, organizers took the time to comment to local press and assess their performance.

Organizers celebrate at the end of the event: Student Senator Claudia De La Cruz, Vice President of Student Affairs Stephanie Adika, President R.J. Partington III, Student Senator Jenny Loeb, Senate Chair Justin Holmes (front), Vice President of Finance Lee Riley (rear), former New Paltz NAACP President Chris Kearse, Council of Organizations Chair Yoni Levin, Student Senator Colin Mills

Former Irish politician Liam Lawlor dies in car crash
Former Irish politician Liam Lawlor died Saturday in a car crash outside Moscow, Russia. The Mercedes car Lawlor was travelling in crashed into a lamp post at approximately 1:00 AM local time.

Lawlor was on a trip in the Russian capital and was making his way to the Airport with a Ukrainian woman. The woman sustained serious injuries, however survived the crash. The driver of the automobile was also killed.

Lawlor resigned from poltics and his position as a Teachta Dála in the Irish house of parliament (the Dáil) after he admitted receiving sums of money from the lobbyist Frank Dunlop. After Fianna Fáil conducted its own internal investigation, Lawlor resigned from the Party, however he continued to support the government in the Dáil. Lawlor appeared at the Tribunal on several occasions and was imprisoned in Mountjoy Prison for non-compliance with the investigation.

All sides of political debate were uniform in their expressions of sympathy for family of the deceased.

Today in History
4004 BC - The universe was created, according to the Ussher-Lightfoot Calendar.

1911 - First use of aircraft in war: an Italian pilot flew from Libya to survey Turkish lines during the Italo-Turkish War.

1956 - The Hungarian Uprising began in Budapest.

1958 - Belgian cartoonist Peyo introduced a new set of comic strip characters, The Smurfs.

1983 - Lebanese Civil War: Suicide bombers destroyed two barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French paratroopers of the international peacekeeping force.

2002 - Chechen rebels seized a crowded theater in Moscow, taking approximately 700 theatergoers and performers hostage in the Moscow theater hostage crisis

October 23 is National Day in Hungary (1956); Mole Day

Quote of the Day

"Reality is always greater — much greater — than what we know, than whatever we can say about it." ~ Michael Crichton

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