World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2013 and Big Gator,

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2013 - The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. 17 May marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union.

World Telecommunication Day - World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969, marking the founding of ITU and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.

World Information Society Day - In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly to declare 17 May as World Information Society Day to focus on the importance of ICT and the wide range of issues related to the Information Society raised by WSIS. The General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/252) in March 2006 stipulating that World Information Society Day shall be celebrated every year on 17 May.

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day - In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on 17 May as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The updated Resolution 68 invites Member States and Sector Members to celebrate the day annually by organizing appropriate national programs with a view to:
- stimulating reflection and exchanges of ideas on the theme adopted by the Council
- debating the various aspects of the theme with all partners in society
- formulating a report reflecting national discussions on the issues underlying the theme, to be fed back to ITU and the rest of its membership

Big Gator - 800-Pound Alligator: Braxton Bielski Sets Texas Record With Gator Catch - Braxton Bielski, from the Houston area in Texas, will spend his final high school days basking in the glory of his record-setting, 14-foot-3-inch, 800-pound alligator.

The 18-year-old hooked what is now the heaviest gator ever bagged in Texas -- on a line with raw chicken as bait -- and then shot it.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) officials certified the teen as the official state record holder last week, according to Fox News.

"He's wanted to hunt alligators for years," Troy Bielski said of his son, according to a statement from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Braxton, a high school senior, went on his first alligator hunt at Choke Canyon Reservoir in the James E. Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area. The Bielskis were among 481 applicants vying for 10 alligator permits for the public hunt. After undergoing an orientation, father and son placed their baited lines near a large gator they spied in a cove.

"When the two hunters returned the next morning, they realized they had their work cut out as both lines were down indicating they had two alligators hooked," the wildlife department said. "A hook and line set baited with raw meat is used to catch the alligator; only after it has been hooked can a gator be dispatched at close range with a firearm." Braxton caught the gator on May 7. His father is a Houston police officer. Some may wonder whether there is something in the water at Choke Canyon Reservoir that makes for such a behemoth. Actually, the area is relatively new to gator hunting and most are left alone to live to old age. Braxton's catch may have been as old as 50, officials said.