I’ve been predicting for years that Wi-Fi would get freer and freer until almost nobody could muster the gall to charge for it. Now, with the economy down and competition for scarce customers up, the trickle of free Wi-Fi hotspots is becoming a flood.
The airlines lately have been rolling out Wi-Fi that is the opposite of free: They charge way too much for it (there are few monopolies as perfect as the provision of wireless networking at 35,000 feet). However, Delta plans to start offering Wi-Fi on its puddle-jumper shuttle flights tomorrow. To promote the new service, they’ll offer the Wi-Fi free for the next two weeks.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a free hotspot. Somebody’s got to pay for it. Increasingly, however, companies are folding in the costs of supporting a Wi-Fi network into the operations budget, and spreading the costs across all customers. I think this is a good thing.
My belief is that the demand for free Wi-Fi is driven at least as much by the hassle factor as it is the cost factor. People just want to fire up their laptops or iPhone and be online. As Wi-Fi devices, including the iPhone, BlackBerry Bold and ubiquitous netbooks go mainstream, the provision of free Wi-Fi just makes sense for business of all stripes.
In November 2008, International Rescue Committee health teams undertook a week-long campaign to conduct vital eye surgeries for 89 people in Sherkole camp, a safe haven for southern Sudanese refugees in western Ethiopia. Doctors targeted people suffering from cataracts, a clouding of the lens, and trachoma, an inward rotation of the eyelashes which rubs the cornea (and is most commonly found in rural areas without good water supply). Both diseases can cause blindness if left untreated.
“This was an important intervention that helped to bring much-needed services to hundreds of people in a remote part of Ethiopia,” said Bayleyegn Birhanu, the IRC’s “Vision 20/20” program coordinator.
IRC teams collaborated with government staff and an external consultant to examine 318 patients during the clinic. The services were made available to members of the neighboring Ethiopian communities as well as camp refugees. Indeed, of the 318 patients examined, approximately 82 percent were Ethiopian.
Before surgery, patients underwent preliminary screenings. Those with minor cases of vision impairment were treated with antibiotics. The teams then carried out 73 major and 16 minor surgeries. All patients were booked into the camp’s general health clinic for follow-up appointments conducted by government nurses and IRC staff trained by an ophthalmologic consultant.
The IRC offered similar surgeries in other refugee camps earlier this year. In Shimelba, we treated 54-year-old Lemlem Baheta who had been virtually blind for 10 years due to cataracts. The day after her surgery, while the examiner was checking her eyes, Lemlem could not restrain a cry of joy: “Stop it, I can see everything!”
The IRC now runs a permanent vision center in Shimelba’s health clinic. Since its inception in June 2008, technicians have examined well over 300 patients. Another 150 have been treated with antibiotics and given vitamin A supplements, while 37 people have received minor surgery. Additionally, 144 patients have received free eyeglasses following thorough consultations with IRC staff.
The IRC has made special efforts to reach children, according to Mengistu Scundado, an IRC Vision 20/20 officer in Shimelba. Children under 10 years are particularly vulnerable to trachoma—they often don’t wash their faces properly and have difficulty keeping flies, transmitters of the disease, away from their eyes. The IRC has treated 1,678 refugee children and 387 local Ethiopian children with antibiotics while also providing them with vitamin A supplements in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines.
To help parents protect their children from trachoma, IRC experts have trained 24 social workers to talk to families about personal hygiene and provide options for treatment of eyesight problems. They also trained teachers to recognize vision problems in children and to refer them to the local health center.
The call to Fairfax police about a bank robbery in progress at a McLean bank came at 11:21 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
Ten minutes later, just across the Arlington line, three Fairfax police officers fatally shot a 19-year-old bank robbery suspect, at 11:32 a.m.
The suspect, Hailu Brook, also known as Hailu Brook Hailu, was a senior at Yorktown High School in Arlington County. He lived on the 7400 block of Eldorado Street in McLean, according to Fairfax Police, but had been recently living with relatives in Arlington and enrolled at Yorktown in September, according to Arlington County Public School Spokesperson Frank Bellavia.
Hailu turned 19 years old on Nov. 4, according to search warrants filed by Fairfax officers.
Arlington County and Fairfax County detectives are coordinating an ongoing investigation, according to an Arlington County Police press release.
FAIRFAX OFFICERS were initially called to a reported bank robbery at 11:21 am, Dec. 10, at Branch Banking & Trust Bank at 6220 Old Dominion Drive in McLean.
“In that robbery, the suspect entered the bank, brandished a semi-automatic handgun and robbed the teller,” according to a search warrant filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The suspect was wearing “a black-hooded sweat shirt with the hood over his head” as well as a mask, blue jeans, and white and black running shoes.
Two witnesses helped police locate the suspect, including one citizen who was at a drive-thru window when he observed the suspect enter the bank with the handgun, and then flee in a champagne-colored Honda, according to the court documents.
“The witness followed the suspect in his vehicle until the suspect crashed into a light pole,” according to the search warrants. That crash occurred at Old Dominion Drive and Valley Wood Road, according to both Arlington and Fairfax police.
Another witness then observed the suspect exit the vehicle with a white bag, later found to contain money.
“The second witness called 911 and stayed on the phone with the dispatcher as he followed the suspect,” according to the warrants.
Officers confronted Hailu Brook in the 5300 block of North 36th Street, just over the Arlington County border.
“The suspect produced a handgun and failed to obey the officers’ commands. Three officers fired at the suspect, striking him in the upper body,” according to both departments.
“The officers challenged the suspect, who matched the description of the bank robbery suspect, and then ended the encounter by utilizing deadly force,” according to the warrants written by a Fairfax officer.
THE THREE OFFICERS, all assigned to the McLean District Station, were veterans on the force, who had worked for 21 years, nine and three years, according to Fairfax Police.
Fairfax County Public Information Officer Shelley Broderick could not comment on how many shots were fired, how many times Hailu was shot, or whether he spoke English.
“Anytime there’s a shooting, we’re going to have an internal investigation,” she said. “There is no estimate as to when the investigation will be completed.”
Arlington Police were alerted to the incident from a Fairfax Police helicopter, according to Arlington County information officer Crystal Nosal. “They were alerting us because they had sightings of the suspect near a school.”
Williamsburg Middle School, Yorktown High School and Nottingham Elementary School were all locked down during the incident, she said.
Nosal added that she was once involved in a police shooting in the past, and that the investigation takes a significant amount of time.
“[That shooting] took place in October, and we didn’t send the [information] to the Commonwealth Attorney until spring. They want to go through the whole investigation and they like to be very meticulous.”
Hailu Brook was the son of an Ethiopian diplomat, Brook Hailu Beshah of McLean, who formerly served as Ethiopia’s deputy ambassador to the United States and is currently a part-time professor at George Washington University.
OFFICER DON GOTTHARDT, another Fairfax County Police Department spokesperson, said Fairfax Police could not answer questions Friday because Arlington County is now in charge of the investigation.
When asked if police have guidelines when to pursue a suspect and when not to, Gotthardt answered, “there are general orders, when we will … and when we shall not.”
Gotthardt refused on Friday to answer questions about the specific guidelines.
MCLEAN, Virginia (WUSA) — The suspect in a bank robbery who was shot to death by police during a chase Wednesday morning has been identified as Brook Hailu, 19, of McLean. He is the son of one of Ethiopia’s former top diplomats in the U.S.
Brook Hailu Beshah served as Ethiopia’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington from 2001-2004, and served as Acting Ambassador in 2004. After that he served as Permanent Deputy Delegate to UNSECO. Currently Beshah is a professor of Security Policy Studies at George Washington University.
Several grief-stricken relatives and community members went to the McLean townhouse where the former Ambassador’s son had been living on Thursday. None was willing to speak with reporters concerning the death of the young Hailu.
Wednesday morning’s armed robbery of a McLean bank led to the police vehicle and foot chase which in turn led to the fatal shooting of Hailu in a quiet North Arlington neighborhood.
Fairfax County Police say the BB&T branch in the Chesterbrook Shopping Center on Old Dominion Drive was held up by one armed suspect at 11:21 Wednesday morning. The suspect fled from the bank with a bag of money in a car. As he departed the first police unit responding to the bank spotted the car. A chase ensued on Old Dominion Drive.
At the corner of Old Dominion and Valley Wood Road, the suspect’s Honda struck a utility poll and he fled on foot carrying the money bag.
In North Arlington, near Williamsburg Middle School, several neighbors reported seeing a suspicious man running with a bag. Fairfax County officers intercepted him and began foot pursuit.
Police say the suspect “displayed” his gun at police. Several shots were fired just down the block from Williamsburg Middle School. Hailu was struck and killed.
Williamsburg Middle was placed on lockdown for more than an hour until the situation clarified.
Fairfax County Police will conduct the investigation of the bank hold up as well as an internal affairs investigation of the shooting to determine whether it complied with police department policy. Arlington County Police will conduct the criminal investigation of the Fairfax County police shooting to determine if any charges are warranted.
SAN DIEGO – From the moment Solomon Haile’s plane began its descent into this city, he knew it would agree with him. His eyes widened as he looked down on California for the first time from 15,000 feet. After he emerged from San Diego International Airport, the palm trees seemed to be waving hello to him as they swayed in the breeze. The sun was warm against the Ethiopian’s skin.
“I might not go back,” Haile joked Thursday.
Haile will return home to Silver Spring and to Sherwood High School for the rest of his senior year, and he’ll do so as the winner of the Foot Locker Nationals. The 19-year-old phenom, who deftly established himself as the nation’s most dominant scholastic distance runner, became the first boy from the Washington area to capture the national crown since the meet began in 1979.
Haile worked his way to the front of the pack after a cannon shot signaled the start of the five-kilometer race. He traded the lead with Trevor Dunbar of Kodiak High (Alaska) and Jakub Zivec of Grand Rapids (Minn.) for the first two miles, but shook free in the final mile and broke the tape in 15 minutes 15 seconds, seven seconds ahead of Dunbar.
The quiet, unassuming Haile was put in a tough spot for the first time Saturday when race officials whisked him to the winner’s circle and he was mobbed by camera crews and reporters. After Reuben Reina, the course record holder and 1985 Foot Locker champion, placed a garland atop his head, Haile held an embarrassed smile for more than a minute as he posed next to Jordan Hasay, the repeat girls’ champion from Mission College Prep in Arroyo Grande, Calif., and bulbs flashed from every direction.
“I really thought he had a chance of winning this whole thing,” Reina said of Haile. “Of everybody, I thought he could be the one to break the course record.”
The record time — 14:36 on Balboa Park’s hilly course — is still intact. In fact, Saturday’s race was the first time this fall that Haile didn’t break one. Entering the Foot Locker Nationals, he had run eight masterful races — including two at historic Van Cortlandt Park in New York — and collected eight course records.
“I don’t know, today the weather or something was a little bit hard,” Haile said of the nippy morning air. “I took first place, and that’s all I can do.
“No question I’m so excited,” added Haile, who qualified for this race by winning the Northeast region meet. “This is one of my big, big goals for this season.”
Two other Washington area runners also thrived. Mountain View senior Thomas Porter, just the area’s second three-time Foot Locker finalist, was third in 15:26. Edison senior Leoule Degfae also earned all-American honors, placing 12th in 15:46.
Haile had coveted this meet since August, but in some ways he began his preparation nearly two years ago. He flew through four time zones in January 2007, from Ethiopia to Thailand, to win the Khon Kean half marathon. Nine months later, he went from Ethiopia to Austria and placed 10th in another half marathon.
The experience he gained from those races came to bear today.
“It’s greater than that of many kids who travel five hours by plane and then need a day to acclimate and train,” Sherwood Coach Dan Reeks said last week. “He probably has a slight advantage.”
After completing the first mile in a blistering 4:47, Haile opened up more than just a slight advantage. With about 800 meters to go, after powering up the course’s steepest hill, Haile took a peek over his shoulder and discovered what most of the spectators watching on the Jumbotron had known for some time: There was no one there.
“We’ve got a great race for second,” the public-address announcer declared.
After a full year of nonstop running — he set meet records in the 5K at Nike Indoor Nationals in March and Nike Outdoor Nationals in June and has now put together a perfect cross-country season — Haile hinted at feeling exhausted and said he plans to run just a few races this indoor season. But he glowed while talking about becoming the 30th Foot Locker champion and being the first boy to bring the D.C. area a national championship.
“I came here just to put my region and my state in the top,” Haile said. “I’m so happy for that.”
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations has been unable to put together a multinational military force to stabilize Somalia, which diplomats said means the lawless Horn of Africa country might be left to fend for itself.
In a report to the U.N. Security Council last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made clear that the kind of force that would be needed for Somalia was beyond the capabilities of blue helmet peacekeepers, who are typically deployed to monitor an existing peace agreement and not to crush an insurgency.
Ban said the initial stabilization force would need around two brigades — roughly 10,000 troops — and would have to be a “highly capable, self-sustaining, expeditionary force with full capability to defend itself against hostile threats.”
Council diplomats told Reuters that U.N. officials had been lobbying countries to lead or join an international “coalition of the willing.” But so far none is willing to supply troops.
They said Ban had hoped to persuade Turkey, a NATO member with a strong military and a predominantly Muslim country like Somalia, to lead the force. But Ankara turned him down.
“One country has offered to provide airlifts, logistical support and funding,” a diplomat told Reuters. He declined to name the country but others said it was the United States.
“No one wants to go to Somalia, it’s too risky,” he said.
For months members of Somalia’s transitional government and the African Union have pleaded with the Security Council to authorize a U.N. peacekeeping force that could take over from AU troops, who say they are incapable of stabilizing Somalia.
The country has been in virtual anarchy since the collapse of a dictatorship 17 years ago. Islamists now control most of the south. Feuding heavily-armed clan militias hold sway in many other areas and a weak, Western-backed interim government has little authority outside the capital of Mogadishu.
Ethiopian Woyanne troops have supported the government but Addis Ababa the Woyanne regime says it will withdraw its troops at the end of the year. The AU says it also will withdraw its 3,200 soldiers.
PIRACY: “JUST A SYMPTOM”
Outside intervention in Somalia has a checkered history. The killing of U.S. troops in Somalia in late 1993, which inspired the film “Black Hawk Down,” marked the beginning of the end for a U.S.-U.N. peacekeeping force that left in 1995.
Several council diplomats and U.N. officials told Reuters that Western countries want to combat the scourge of piracy off the coast of Somalia but are unwilling to deal with the root problem — the lawlessness that allows piracy to flourish.
A surge in piracy this year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia has driven up insurance costs, brought the gangs tens of millions of dollars in ransoms and prompted foreign navies to rush to the area to protect shipping.
The U.S. delegation has circulated to the 15-nation council a draft resolution that would give countries the right to pursue pirates on land as well as at sea. Council members including Indonesia and South Africa said they were not impressed.
“They need to deal with the problem of piracy in a holistic manner,” Indonesia’s U.N. Ambassador Marty Natalegawa told Reuters, adding that he could not support the text in its present form. “Piracy is a symptom of a larger problem.”
The Security Council’s Monitoring Group on Somalia reported Thursday that the transitional government was disintegrating and the vast majority of its soldiers and police had deserted.
