Ontario Votes 2007: Interview with Liberal candidate Brian Jackson, Oxford

Monday, October 1, 2007

Brian Jackson is running for the Ontario Liberal Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the Oxford riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Zimbabwe submits to popular pressure: foreign currencies now legal tender

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Zimbabwe has decided to abandon its currency, the Zimbabwean dollar, in favour of other currencies.

Acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced today that Zimbabweans will be allowed to make transactions in other currencies along with the local currency. “In line with the prevailing practices by the general public, [the] government is therefore allowing the use of multiple foreign currencies for business transactions alongside the Zimbabwean dollar,” he said, adding that the Zimbabwean dollar will not be removed from circulation and would be used alongside other currencies.

This decision comes during the current period of hyperinflation, which has massively devalued the Zimbabwean dollar. Banknotes up to $100 trillion have been printed, despite the removal of ten zeroes from the currency last summer to try to make transactions easier. The official inflation rate, last updated in July 2008, was 231,000,000% a year, although independent estimates place the number as high as 6.5×10108, or 6.5 quindecillion novemdecillion, percent.

Up to now, only vendors with licenses were legally able to accept foreign currencies, although the practice was widespread — private businesses altogether refuse to accept the unstable Zimbabwean dollar.

Large sections of the workforce, including teachers and doctors, have gone on strike because hyperinflation rapidly renders their wages worthless. Representative groups said salaries, now measured in trillions of dollars, are insufficient to pay for even the bus fare to work.

Zimbabwe also faces other crises, including a cholera epidemic that has claimed the lives of over 3,000 people, according to statistics from the World Health Organisation.

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News briefs:June 20, 2006

The time is 18:00 (UTC) on June 20th, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

Contents

  • 1 Headlines
    • 1.1 New Zealand PM faults Japan over Whaling Commission vote
    • 1.2 Australian House of Representatives moves to affirm support for heterosexuality of marriage
    • 1.3 Italy seeks indictment of U.S. marine
    • 1.4 Tony Blair orders two government jets
    • 1.5 Twin babies in NZ foster home die of head injuries
    • 1.6 BBC’s famous ‘Top of the Pops’ programme to be axed
    • 1.7 “Avast ye scurvy file sharers!”: Interview with Swedish Pirate Party leader Rickard Falkvinge
    • 1.8 Apple plans to sell movies on iTunes
    • 1.9 Germany too hot for Ecuador in Group A
    • 1.10 Poland win 2-1 against Costa Rica in Group A
  • 2 Closing statements

George Bush meets with US governors

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

George W. Bush has met today with the United States’ National Governors Association. Speaking in the White House after the meeting on Saturday, President Bush said, “I like to tell people I’m going to finish strong, and I want to work with you [governors] as I do so.”

He continued, “We share a responsibility to protect our country. I get briefed every morning about threats we face, and they’re real.”

There has been debate recently about the Protect America Act, which was discussed in the meeting. Referring to the Act in a recent radio address, the President said, “The Senate passed a good bill that would have given our intelligence professionals the tools they need to keep us safe. But leaders in the House of Representatives blocked a House vote on the Senate bill, and then left on a 10-day recess.”

On Saturday, in the State Dining Room after the meeting, Bush alluded to the challenges facing the U.S. “This is a different kind of struggle than we’ve ever faced before. It’s essential that we understand the mentality of these killers. And so therefore we worked with Congress to protect — pass the Protect America Act, which everybody knows has expired.”

Deer and other animals found dead at Ball State University

Sunday, November 20, 2005

The carcasses of two deer, a coyote, and a possum were dumped in the Delta Gamma Iota fraternity house on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana on November 10. The dead animals were apparently placed in the house while members slept. A repairman discovered the prank while working in the house’s kitchen.

Members left the house for at least a day while the animals were removed and the house was disinfected by the Delaware County Health Department.

The fraternity house is located off-campus and is recognized by Ball State — the DGI house is unaffiliated with the intra-fraternity council, however.

The animals were apparently “roadkill” (struck and killed by automobiles on the road). The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident due to the use of deceased animals in vandalism.

Fence Companies In Louisville, Ky And Protecting Your Business From Criminals

byAlma Abell

How did you feel when you received the call that your warehouse had been burglarized? You may have drove to the warehouse and saw first-hand all the products that were taken from you. You may also have seen that some of your property was left. However, a great deal of it could have been destroyed. This type of loss could be the reason that you are looking into Fence Companies in Louisville KY.

Criminals look for opportunities. Opportunities to steal can happen when a warehouse is not secure. Though you may have locked the doors and installed a camera, it was not enough. The criminals could have came in through a window or busted down the door. They may have even picked the locked. They did not feel as if they had anything to worry about. Perhaps, this is because they did not have to deal with climbing over a fence and trying to figure out how to get your products over it.

In most cases, criminals are in and out fast. They do not want to raise red flags and have the neighbors calling the police because they think they see something unusual. In fact, they may have their faces covered and dress in black so that they are hard to see and near impossible to recognize if they are seen on camera. They will take what they want and destroy property along the wall. They leave business owners in a bad place finically, and they could care less.

Because you care about your business, it is wise to look into Fence Companies in Louisville KY. A fence will help to deter criminal activity. A tall chain link fence is ideal. It should surround your warehouse. With this in mind, there has never been a better time to talk to the consultant about your loss and how you can better protect your business with fencing in the future. You will find the best professionals and excellent customer service at Metro Fence Industries Inc.

Once the fence is installed, you will be thrilled. Your property will no longer be appealing to criminals. As a result, it will not be seen as an easy target. Talk to the consultant now.

British TV presenter Rico Daniels tells Wikinews about being ‘The Salvager’

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Rico Daniels is a British TV presenter living in France who is known for his two television series — The Salvager — whilst he still lived in the UK and then Le Salvager after he moved to France. Rico has been in a variety of jobs but his passion is now his profession – he turns unwanted ‘junk’ into unusual pieces of furniture. Rico’s creations and the methods used to fabricate them are the subject of the Salvager shows.

Rico spoke to Wikinews in January about his inspiration and early life, future plans, other hobbies and more. Read on for the full exclusive interview, published for the first time:

Medal-seeking Spanish men arrive at 2014 Goalball World Championships

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Spain’s men’s national goalball team arrived in Espoo, Finland Friday for the start of the 2014 IBSA Goalball World Championships. The team comes into the tournament with the goal of securing a medal, which would qualify them for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. The team missed the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

Head coach Francisco Monreal said, “The objective is to reach the medal round, and qualify directly for the 2016 Games, but we need to be realistic and not think game by game, we can get a surprise. […] The competition will be decided in one game, head or tails, where it doesn’t matter what happened before.((es))Spanish language: el objetivo previsto es alcanzar las medallas y clasificarnos directamente para los Juegos de 2016, pero hay que ser realistas y como no vayamos pensando partido a partido, nos podemos llevar una sorpresa. […] La competición se decidirá en un partido a cara o cruz, como son los cruces de cuartos, y donde no sirve de nada lo realizado en la primera fase“

Coming into the competition, the team was ranked eleventh in the world based on the IBSA Unofficial rankings published late last month, down one spot from the April rankings. The team is scheduled to play their first game against the ninth ranked United States men’s team on Monday morning, before playing twenty-first ranked Germany later in the afternoon. Their other scheduled competitors in pool play are top ranked Iran, third ranked Algeria, seventh ranked Finland, twelfth ranked Czech Republic and twentieth ranked Ukraine. The team needs to finish in the top four in their group to advance to the second round.

The team’s roster includes Jose Daniel Fernández, Cristian Santamaria, Félix Vargas, Roman Martínez, Jesús Santana, and Javier Serrato. They are led by head coach Monreal, with assistant coach Carles Estrany and physiotherapist José Bravo. The team is drawn from around the country, with Santana playing for a club in the Canary Islands, Serrato playing for Valencia, Fernández for Madrid area Chamartín, Santamaría for Cantabria, Vargas coming from Barcelona and Martínez from Aragón.

Absent from the 2012 Summer Paralympics, the last major international competition the team competed in was the 2010 Goalball World Championships in Sheffield, England where the team finished fifth. In last year’s IBSA European Goalball Championships in Turkey, the team finished second, behind World Championship hosts and Paralympic gold medalists Finland.

Goalball was created in 1946, exclusively for people with a visual disability and designed to help with the rehabilitation of veterans returning from World War II. Play in the Paralympics consists of two twelve-minute periods, with a three minute break between halves. Players are blindfolded to ensure all are equally visually handicapped on-court, and the game can be stopped to ensure goggles are properly fitted. Standing in front of a long goal, they throw the ball at the opposition team’s net who in turn try to block it by listening to the ball, which contains a bell, and using their bodies to prevent the ball from going in. The audience is asked to remain silent during play.

Andrea Muizelaar on fashion, anorexia, and life after ‘Top Model’

Monday, November 26, 2007

In the 18 months since Andrea Muizelaar was crowned winner of the reality TV series Canada’s Next Top Model, her life has been a complete whirlwind. From working in a dollar store in her hometown of Whitby, Ontario, to modeling haute couture in Toronto, she had reached her dream of becoming a true Top Model.

But at what cost? Unknown to casual television viewers, Muizelaar had been enveloped in the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, which inevitably became too much for her to bear. She gave up modeling and moved back to Whitby, where she sought treatment for her disorder, re-entered college, and now works at a bank. Where is she now? Happy and healthy, she says.

Recently Andrea Muizelaar sat down with Wikinews reporter Mike Halterman in a candid interview that stretched to nearly two hours, as she told all about her hopes and aspirations, her battle with anorexia, and just what really happened on Canada’s Next Top Model.

Contents

  • 1 Andrea’s beginnings
  • 2 Andrea on her road to modeling, and America’s Next Top Model
  • 3 Experience on Canada’s Next Top Model
  • 4 The message she wrote to her fans on her facebook group
  • 5 Her brief modeling career
  • 6 “Happy and healthy”
  • 7 Source

Gym Wipes For Improved Gym Sanitation

byAlma Abell

People normally consider a number of factors when looking for a gym to join. Other than the cost and the equipment available in the gym, no one would wish to have their fitness sessions held in places that pose risks to their health and so sanitation is one of the other factors that is considered. It is imperative that every gym have high standards of sanitation since it is a social place where people gather to do their work outs and, if there is no proper sanitation, there is a likelihood that diseases will easily spread among the members. Gym wipes are one of the effective ways of maintaining sanitation in the gym.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o79SpLuxUJ0[/youtube]

Maintaining the sanitation of the gym is an ongoing process. This is because most gyms operate in sessions during the day. It is important that the gym be clean at the onset of each and every session. Even though you may hire a full time cleaning crew, there are some instances when getting the crew to clean can be of great inconvenience and can cost a lot of time and money. For instance, it would be time consuming and expensive to call the cleaning crew to clean up the equipment every time a customer is through with it. This can irritate the other customers who are waiting to use the equipment because it will take some time.

Gym wipes therefore present a great alternative from constant cleaning of the equipment after every use by a customer. With such wipes readily available, it’s far easier for a customer to pick up the wipes and wipe the equipment either before or after us. This is a win for both the customer and the gym manager because there won’t be any time wasted by cleaners in cleaning the equipment and also the patron will enhance the hygiene inside the gym with the use of the wipes.

The importance of having wipes in a gym can’t be ignored. Their use lowers the risks of the members contracting some common diseases that are spread through contact. They have the ability to kill a number of viruses and bacteria that are commonly found in surfaces of shared equipment such as weights, treadmill handles, weight benches, elliptical machines, etc. These are the surfaces that are responsible for the spread of common skin infections such as MRSA, ring worms, athlete’s foot etc. Therefore, the use of gym wipes is an inexpensive method to improve the hygiene of the gym and its users while at the same time reducing the cost of hiring cleaners.