Thursday, October 4, 2007

Larry Stevens is running for the Libertarian Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the Kitchener-Conestoga 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.

Friday, January 16, 2009

American politician Roland Burris of the United States Democratic Party was sworn in Thursday as US president-elect Barack Obama’s replacement in the United States Senate.

Burris was initially not admitted into the Senate, even though Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich appointed him to the position, due to allegations that the governor tried to sell the seat. Blagojevich was arrested and has been impeached for the alleged crime. Burris was denied his position on January 6 by other Democratic members of the Congress because his appointment papers were not signed by Jesse White, the Illinois Secretary of State, who had refused to sign his name due to the charges faced by Blagojevich.

Burris was officially sworn in by United States Vice President Dick Cheney with no objections from other members of the Congress. Harry Reid, the senior Democratic senator from Nevada and majority leader, who had led the opposition to Burris being appointed, welcomed him into the Senate.

“On behalf of all senators, Democrats and Republicans, we welcome you as a colleague and a friend,” Reid said.

“No one’s ever had anything against Sen. Burris. Like any other senator, he’ll have to learn the ropes and not get lost getting to committee hearings, like I have. I think he’ll come in with people open to meeting with him and getting to know him. I think it will be just fine,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota on the matter. Most other comments by senators stated that they were not against Burris as a person, but were against his appointment by Rod Blagojevich.

With the appointment, Burris becomes the only African-American member of the United States Senate. This makes the count of Democrats to Republicans in the Senate 58 Democrats and 41 Republicans, with the final seat waiting on a vote recount ordered by Norm Coleman in his loss to Al Franken of Minnesota.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

The fourth day of New York Fashion Week debuted few daring designs even from designers known for such work. With few exceptions, the overwhelming theme was “old is new” and that the ’70s were even more in fashion than the shows on Sunday suggested. Among the designers to unveil their Fall 2008 lines on Monday were Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Betsey Johnson, Proenza Schouler and a rejuvenated Halston line, under the direction of designer Marco Zanini.

Both global warming and the slowing economy have been cited as reasons for the overwhelming use of lighter fabrics over heavier attire. Also, retro designs and continuing trends have been used in effort to save money, like the tights that were expected to go out of fashion this year. Even in the glamorous world of high-end fashion, money has been tight, and with the world economies in a collective downturn, major designers have been more wary of continuing to churn out the stream of couture designs that past Fashion Weeks have seen.

Proenza Schouler’s show took the ’70s retro theme to a fever pitch, liberally using bows on designs and debuting more retro-era wide-legged pants that were first seen in Sunday’s shows. Zanini’s Halston label also brought back the ’70s, resurrecting old designs that the founder of the line made famous. Since the designer Halston’s death in 1990, many designers have tried to take the label in different directions. Zanini’s unveiling on Monday brought the line back to its Studio 54 roots, while using trenchcoats, sheer fabrics, and cardigans to finish the ensembles with a modern twist.

Betsey Johnson also debuted old and new styles on Monday, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her fashion label. Copies of her original 1978 one-piece bathing suit as well as some early 1980s fashions started off the show. Her new pieces, such as animal print leggings coupled with a short twill jacket, were perceived as very skintight and criticized for not representing more fuller figures. Johnson brushed off the criticism, noting, “It’s tighter and sexier, but I still believe the girl brings the sex to the clothes…You won’t look sexy in a tight, below-the-knee skirt if you don’t feel good in it.”

The lone daring designer for the day was Carolina Herrera, who discarded the furs she promoted in the Fall 2007 show to focus on a Peter Pan theme, with earth tones and bird feathers. To further the “flying Peter Pan” motif, models donned such designs as a chiffon dress with ostrich feathers and a taffeta gown with a feather waistband.

Oscar de la Renta opted for more traditional blacks, golds and grays, debuting lines for men and women in fabrics he is familiar with. Men were outfitted in tweed while women were fitted in dresses that experimented with embroidery and tulle, both shades of past collections.

New York Fashion Week runs until Friday. Among others, labels Badgley Mischka, Diesel, and Vivienne Tam unveil their newest collections on Tuesday.

Friday, November 24, 2006

According to a report released by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) for United Nation’s Development Plan, the per capita GNP in Eastern Turkey, an area predominantly inhabited by Kurdish people, is as low as seven percent of that of the European Union on average. The report analyzed a region of 21 cities in Eastern Turkey*. One of the cities included in the report, ??rnak, was reported to be as poor as Botswana, Southern Africa.

Other points highlighted in the report included:

• 60% of the population in the region was under the poverty line. If this situation persists, people may start to migrate to Northern Iraq.
• If 1% of the national income is spent on Eastern Turkey’s infrastructure and social investment for 7 years, the region will be enabled to finance itself. If the economic and social conditions in the region are fixed, the fragile relationship between the Turkish government and the Kurdish people of the region may improve.
• Access to health services is a primary human right. Without access to health services, one cannot expect that people of this region can live in confidence. Health institutions should employ nurses who speak Kurdish so the patients can communicate with the health services staff.
• The use of the private sector is not reliable as a solution. The government should act to remedy the lack of infrastructure in the region.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Jack Diesing Sr., former chairman of the College World Series has died at the age of 92. His son announced the cause of death as complications from Parkinson’s disease. Diesing was chairman of the series from 1963 until 2002.

Diesing helped the tournament become one of the most successful college events in the United States. He became chairman in 1963 after his boss at Brandies department store died and passed on his duties to Diesing, one of which was the chairman role.

Before taking the role the series had only made a profit in five of its fourteen years. Under Diesing’s leadership the series never made a loss. During his time as chairman he also negotiated a long term contract with the NCAA and lengthened the series from 5 to 10 games.

Diesing’s son, Jack Diesing Jr., released a statement on his fathers death saying “My dad will be missed by a lot of people, but he won’t be forgotten”. He continued to say that his goals were to make “Omaha a better community” and to secure the “CWS to mantain its legacy”.

At the time of his death Diesing was still chairman emeritus of College World Series of Omaha Inc., a non-profit organization that helped with the coordination of the series.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Protestors in Greece, rallying against austerity measures, have clashed with police in the capital of Athens.

Some people participating in the rally — attended by thousands of teachers and students — threw stones at riot police, who responded by employing pepper spray, although the BBC described the protests as being generally peaceful. Demonstrators say that a recent austerity proposal, which is to include pension cuts and an increase in taxes, will adversely affect the education sector.

Teachers, along with hospital workers and public servants, have started a two-day strike over the measures. Also present were 150 members of the armed forces, who protested having their bonuses lowered.

Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, approximately a hundred demonstrators with the Communist Party broke through locks at the Acropolis and hung up banners saying: “Peoples of Europe — Rise Up”.

Communist Member of Parliament Nikos Papaconstantinou commented: “We want to send a message to the farthest reaches of Greece and Europe. Similar measures that eliminate social security are taken across Europe. But popular anger will rattle imperialist organisations.”

The austerity plan comes shortly after the Greek government said it would introduce spending cuts to obtain a loan package by the EU and International Monetary Fund, aimed at helping Greece recover from a financial crisis.

Thursday, October 5, 2006

The upcoming 2006 Brampton municipal election, to be held November 13, features an array of candidates looking to represent their wards in city council or the council of the Peel Region.

Wikinews contributor Nick Moreau contacted many of the candidates, including Mathew Njenga, asking them to answer common questions sent in an email. This ward’s incumbent is John A. Hutton; also challenging Hutton is Derrick Coke, Navdeep Gill, Jim Howell, Joyce Rodriguez, and Doug Whillans.