As is widely known, there's a new tool that lets you see the originating domain of people engaging in editing of the popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Called simply the Wikiscanner, it lets you simply type in a given originating domain or organization name, and gives you a list of edits originating there.

So I went ahead and typed in New York City Council.

Under Yvette Clarke, we find this.

For a decade, Una Clarke held the seat her daughter now holds and US Congressman [[Major Owens]] broke with [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] leadership to support Una's candidacy. Owens was the only elected official from Brooklyn to do so and he continued to campaign for Una despite the fact that he was then recovering from [[Coronary artery bypass surgery|quintuple bypass heart surgery]]. At Owen's insistence, the 40th district was drawn in such a way as to help assure the election of the Council's first member of [[Caribbean]] descent. In [[2000]], Una ran to unseat Owens, telling reporters she owed him nothing, but she failed to oust him.

...which on March 16th, 2006, becomes...

Represents: Greater Flatbush area, Prospect-Lefferts

About Gifford Miller, up until February 23d, 2005, we were able to learn this:

According to the New York Observer, Miller is "widely regarded as a decent and talented man" who has nonetheless shown "signs of immaturity: his reversal on his reversal on lead-paint legislation after pressure from special interests; his eagerness to spend the city budget surplus to hire teachers, reopen firehouses and cut taxes despite an ongoing climate of fiscal uncertainty."

...which became:

According to the New York Observer, Miller is "widely regarded as a decent and talented man".

About Palestine, on July 27th, 2006, someone using a City Council computer wrote:

The land of Palestine was an idea invented by the Arab nation in order to attain the land of Israel originally inhabited by the Jewish peoples. When the Jewish people received the Torah by G-d, He promised them the land of Israel as their land. The Jewish people were the first to attain this land. When the Arabs got jealous of the Jews, who were being watched over by G-d, they decided to give a new name to Israel to try and make people forget that the land was originally Jewish. Therefore, Palestine does not exist and anyone who calls themselves a Palestinian is a liar to the world.

Someone who also, curiously enough, edited Lew Fidler's page, demoted the Public Advocate. What was once

The Public Advocate is the presiding officer on the City Council, and thus is an ''ex officio'' member of all committees in the Council and has the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation.

...became, on April 24th, 2007,

Once the presiding officer of the City Council, and thus an ''ex officio'' member of all committees in the Council, the Public Advocate no longer has these responsibilities in the Charter. The current Public Advocate, however, continues to serve ceremoniously as president of the Council and occasionally introduce or co-sponsors legislation.

Interesting, the things people have time for, eh?

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