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.

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Authorities in Belgium raid Church of Scientology

Saturday, April 12, 2008

According to reports, authorities in Belgium have seized documents, financial records and computer equipment from the local branch of the Church of Scientology (Church) and then sealed off the building.

The reports state that the Church in Belgium is being investigated for extortion and fraud for allegedly posting false job openings in newspapers and then attempting to get those who applied to join the Church. Several ex-members of the Church have also reportedly approached authorities with accusations of intimidation and extortion.

Police in Belgium have been investigating the Church for nearly ten years which resulted in the raid on Thursday.

In a statement to the press, the Church says that the police “violated their fundamental rights” as a religious organization and accused the police of “malicious justice operations.” The Church plans to contest any charges filed against it. They also state that the postings were requests for volunteers and not employees.

So far no arrests have been made, but some employees of the Church were detained and questioned by police.

The building remains closed as of publication.

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Natural death confirmed for man who died on Disney World roller coaster

Thursday, December 20, 2007

The man who died while riding the Expedition Everest roller coaster at Walt Disney World‘s Animal Kingdom indeed had prior medical conditions, Orlando, Florida officials say.

The Orange County medical examiner determined in a Tuesday autopsy that 44-year-old Navarre, Florida man Jeffery Reed had an existing heart condition.

The Walt Disney World website for the ride says:

WARNING! For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.

Similar signs exist at the entrance to the ride.

The man was given CPR after being pulled off the ride unconscious, and was taken in an ambulance to Celebration Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Reed was believed to have been conscious at least 50 seconds before the ride ended, when a camera took a picture of him. Cameras are sometimes placed on roller coasters so that riders can buy a photo of themselves as they go down a hill.

Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Thomas commented, that “when millions of people walk through your parks every year, it is a statistical certainty that some of them will die. When that happens on a ride, we often tell you about it under a banner headline. It becomes a worldwide story. But if you did the math, you would find that per capita no more people die in Disney than in any other large gathering place.”

There was no defibrillator available to Disney employees when the man collapsed, and paramedics took five minutes to arrive with such equipment. Disney has 500 defibrillators at its resort, however only two are at the Animal Kingdom park. Neither are stored at rides.

Disney has said it will order 200 more defibrillators, which for the most part will be placed at public restrooms, ensuring they are easily identifiable. Restrooms are also statistically one of the most likely places for seniors to die; these deaths are referred to by paramedics as a “commode code”.

Police originally identified the man as “Jeffery Reed”, where his name was actually “Jeffery Chalmers Reeb”; the name on police reports was correct, however.

Since 1989, 15 people have died while riding on rides at the park; many who have died on park rides have had prior aliments.

A four-year-old who died on the Body Wars ride in 1995 had a cardiac conduction defect, which is a congenital heart condition; the mother insisted the girl had no history of health problems, but relatives told officials that the girl was being treated at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston for undisclosed reasons.

Autopsy of a boy who died on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in 2006 found he too had a congenital heart problem. In 2006, a 49-year-old German tourist died in a hospital after she fell ill on the Mission: Space ride, from bleeding brain caused by high blood pressure, not provoked by the ride.

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The Importance Of Warehouse Pallet Racking

By Adrianna Notton

The necessity of warehouse pallet racking becomes obvious when a business realizes how much room they can actually save not to mention the added safety it brings. Stacking goods on the warehouse floor and in tall piles can be a very dangerous practice. Using shelving systems makes the stacking process safer and much more accessible.

First impressions are that racking or shelving is a waste of space but the practicalities show this not to be true. Single groups of different items can be stacked individually on the shelving giving quick easy access. Stacking individual stacks of boxes on the floor with the additional room required for access uses a lot of costly square footage and also removes the possibility of stacking to any height.

When storing multiple boxes of one item type if access is required to individual items it is always necessary to keep one open pallet on the floor. This is very wasteful of space as the boxes are uneven and cannot be stacked in any way. With racking the full containers can go above and the open packages can be at ground level.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fI-0a02jAE[/youtube]

With shelving that is properly secured to the floor it is possible to stack heavy items high up. This is not always possible when stacking loose pallets one on top of the other as the weight causes the bottom boxes to sag and bow, breaking cartons and often their contents. This in turn causes the top boxes to lean and possibly even fall given time.

Even light pallets are hard to stack on top of each other. The boxes may not fill the wooden base leaving empty spaces at the edges where the next base needs to sit. Whatever the weight of the containers the goods at the bottom of the pile will be susceptible to damage with the weight of containers on top and fragile goods such as glass or pottery can not be stacked at all.

Racking gives much more freedom of access to the goods. This system allows pallets with three different content types to be stacked above each other allowing access to all three sets of products. Boxes can be open and uneven without any consequence to the other packaging. This could not be achieved with the containers stacked on the floor.

It is also much safer for staff and other people in the area if shelving is secured and used properly as each pallet is individually supported. When pallets sit on top of each other the chance of movement due to the weight compression is greatly increased. Any such movement could lead to a container falling damaging both its contents and anyone passing by at the time.

This clearly explains the necessity of warehouse pallet racking for practical, financial and safety reasons. It is both cost effective in accessibility and floor space making the most of the available square footage. Finally the chance to reduce the possibility of someone being badly injured by falling goods has to be a large consideration in any decision making process.

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Iranian International Master Dorsa Derakhshani discusses her chess career with Wikinews

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

In February 2017, the Iranian Chess Federation announced two teenage chess players, Dorsa Derakhshani and her younger brother Borna Derakhshani, were banned from representing the national team. The federation announced their decision although Dorsa Derakhshani had previously decided and informed the chess federation she did not wish to play for Iran.

Dorsa Derakhshani is currently 21 years old and holds the International Master (IM) as well as Woman Grand Master (WGM) titles. Her brother, Borna, plays for the English Federation and holds the FIDE Master title.

Dorsa Derakhshani was banned since she did not wear a hijab, an Islamic headscarf, while competing at the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival in January 2017. Under the laws of Islamic Republic of Iran, hijab is a mandatory dress code. Her brother Borna Deraskhsani was banned for playing against Israeli Grand Master (GM) Alexander Huzman at the same tournament. Iran does not recognise the existence of Israel, and previously, Irani athletes have avoided playing against Israeli athletes.

Mehrdad Pahlavanzadeh, the president of the country’s chess federation, explained the decision to ban the players saying, “As a first step, these two will be denied entry to all tournaments taking place in Iran and in the name of Iran, they will no longer be allowed the opportunity to be present on the national team.” ((fa))Farsi language: ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ????? ? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????. He further stated, “Unfortunately, something that should not have happened has happened and our national interest is paramount and we have reported this position to the Ministry of Sports.” ((fa))Farsi language: ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????.

IM Dorsa Derakhshani, who currently studies at Saint Louis University in the United States and plays for the United States Chess Federation, discussed her chess career, time in Iran and the 2017 controversy, and her life in Saint Louis with a Wikinews correspondent.

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Studies find radioactive material at Israel bomb site in Lebanon

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Studies carried out by researchers near the village of Khiam found radio active material at the site of bombing by Israel during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. The UN says that it has found no evidence of urianum-based munitions.

Two previously unknown Lebanese professors of physics, Mohammad Ali Kubaissi and Ibrahim Rachidi claim that the levels of radiation, about 700 nanosieverts per hour, twenty times the average levels, are consistent with the use of a depleted uranium bomb casing. Military use of depleted uranium is quite controversial due to its toxicity and low level radioactivity. Depleted uranium features in the list of weapons capable of causing mass destruction, superflous injury and unnecessary suffering, passed by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the UNHRC in 1996 and 1997.

This analysis has been partially coroborated by an independent consultant specialising in career, organisation and community psychology issues, Dai Williams, affiliated with the environmentalist organisation Green Audit, with testing done by Chris Busby, a member of the Defence Depleted Uranium Oversight Board of the British Ministry of Defence and a director and co-founder of Green Audit. Williams believes that these anomalies may have been caused by Israel’s use of uranium based weapons involving some secret physical techniques, not nuclear fission; however, there are no known such physical processes.

The U.S. is currently the only nation known to use depleted uranium bomb casings and munitions. Some observers have claimed that Israel used depleted uranium muntions during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war; however, U.N. observers have never found Israel using depleted uranium.

This level of radiation is also consistent with Israel having destroyed some form of storage facility for nuclear material. Such facilities are speculated to exist in the Middle East, often controlled by Islamic extremist groups who (allegedly) hope to construct a dirty bomb.

Dirty bombs are not considered to be as effective militarily as merely using more explosives. Post September 11th news reports about the dangers of dirty bombs have been criticized as fear mongering for fallaciously assuming years of continued exposure by victims without acounting for clean up procedures, or even rain fall.

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Thomas Cecil Gray, pioneer in anesthesiology, dead at 94

Friday, January 25, 2008

Pioneer modern Anaesthetic techniques Thomas Cecil Gray, born 11 March 1913 in Liverpool, died peacefully 5 January 2008 at home in Formby. A requiem mass was held at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on 26 January 2008.

Born in Liverpool in 1913, educated at Ampleforth College, he qualified in medicine at The University of Liverpool in 1937. He began his career as a General Practitioner before joining the Royal Army Medical Corps.

He later returned to the University to become Head of the Department of Anaesthesia and was made Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in 1970, retiring in 1976. As Senior Lecturer he established the Department of Anaesthesia at Liverpool University, the ‘Liverpool technique’, based on the triad of unconsciousness, analgesia and muscle relaxation, was developed as a result.

Professor Gray was the editor of the British Journal of Anaesthesia from 1948 to 1964. Until recently Professor Gray continued to give occasional lectures at the university.

Professor Gray was presented with a CBE by Queen Elizabeth and in 1982 was honoured by Pope John Paul II who made him a Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. In 2007 the Liverpool Echo included him in its list of the 800 greatest Liverpudlians, as part of Liverpools 800th anniversary.

Married twice. He married his first wife Marjorie Kathleen Hely in 1937 they had 2 children, she died in 1978; He married Pamela Mary Corning in 1979, they had 1 son. He had four grandchildren.

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The Trouble About International Advice

Executives need to realize that they cannot afford to undertake international expansion without seeking external advice. In the post-Enron corporate world, buyers need to be more educated about where to obtain advice. In turn advisors, need to face up to the increasing barrage of scrutiny from firms and answer one fundamental question. Do I have realistic knowledge, resources, experience and commitment to be able to provide good international advice?There is no better way to raise the collective blood pressure of an organization than to encounter all sorts of unexpected problems associated with international expansion. If the world is becoming a smaller place, then how is it that many firms still continue to experience unexpected jolts and bumps along the way? Like the proverbial pedestrian who walks straight into a lamppost that is plain for all to see, executives then ask themselves why they didnt see this coming. Perhaps we should have taken advice after all they tell themselves, but then again, we sought counsel, and take the view that no advice is better than bad advice!In the post-Enron world this dilemma is a perfectly natural response for a firm that is finding its way on the international stage. Executives realize on the one hand that they cannot afford to go it alone, but on the other hand remain ambivalent about the quality of advice they receive. The recent scandals of Big Business in corporate North America have filtered their way down to the realm of small to mid size companies the world over, stoking the engine of client skepticism and rage. Consultants continue to bear the image and reputation of borrowing your watch to tell you the time and then walking away with it. Lawyers, accountants and tax advisors are called to account on the high fees that are charged, and of trying to be all things to all men. Economic and international trade advisors are called to question, either because they are perceived as failed businessmen, or because they simply dont have the relevant and necessary experience.Shortsightedness can occur easily when a company decides that it can go it alone, and that it knows best. This will in turn create a problem that will give executives really something to worry about on the international stage the prospect of failure. Neither will you have all the facts and options at your disposal, nor will you have an external sounding board that can tell you how things look from the other side of the fence.Ultimately then, the success of a company going international is best served by a strong culture that openly welcomes external counsel at the outset, and follows basic principles regarding how to go about obtaining that advice:1.Trust: Good advice starts with those you know and trust. Work your network and spot the international talent that can help you.2.Focus on ROI: Expensive international advice is not necessarily the best international advice. Pay by results if you can, rather than time. 3.Challenge: If you are seeking international advice, then by default, the person in front of you will have the right credentials. Even if you are taking on the services of a consultancy or trade advisor, you have a right to challenge the background, experience and qualifications of the person in front of you. If in doubt, move on and spend your investment money elsewhere.4.Segment: Be wary of the hallowed oracle! Break down the advice and guidance you need into its lowest element and closely match the type of advisor to your problem. There is a tendency to expect all the answers from one single advisor, such as an accountants, lawyers and consultants they are not able to do that, even if they say they can, at least not on the international level.5.Work around the problem: Public organizations are often slammed hard with the phrase pay peanuts and you get monkeys. This is a weak excuse for not using these organizations. They have been established with public money to help you, and generally provide a good infrastructure. Throw caution to the wind and find out from your OWN experience. If you then have an issue with either an individual or the quality of advice you have received, voice the issue at a higher level there will be somebody within the organization tasked with putting solving the problem.With the rising pressure on firms worldwide to look beyond their domestic borders, buyers will become increasingly relentless in their quest for top quality counsel and information. That means that advisors in every field of expertise will need to continuously demonstrate their own knowledge, resources, experience and commitment to providing good international advice.As all in the advisory fraternity agree in the aftermath of the Enron scandal, it unfortunately only takes a small element to sour the reputation of the rest of the community who have worked hard to earn that trust. Moving forward, advisors in whatever capacity may wish to consider the following:1.Know your limits: There is no better way to build credibility than by saying: I cant help you, but I know somebody who can. If you really dont think you have the expertise, dont do it. Refer the business.2.Form alliances: If you are building an international capability into your existing advisory or consulting practice, then start by forming alliances, so that areas of expertise can be cross-referred, even on a finders commission basis.3.Recruit experienced individuals: Advisors increasingly need to show their strong international and commercial background. That means having in place budgets for attracting, motivating and retaining top quality individuals into organizations who are uniquely familiar with the international challenges and issues of the area they are advising. 4.Performance and measurement: Ensure that you have a quantitative, results-based infrastructure in place. This infrastructure should not only recognize the efforts of your best advisors, but will also weed out those few mediocre unresponsive individuals intent on riding on the back of the rest.5.Avoid complacency: The world changes rapidly. So does information. Stay on top of your field of expertise.6.Give it to them in a language they can understand: Advice needs to be delivered in a way that is easily translatable into everyday, practical situations. Dont give clients an excuse to see your hard-earned work end up on a bookshelf collecting dust.7.Consider your options: Finally, to those very few who enter the field without the proper background and experience, or who are not taking their role that seriously, you are not only doing yourself a disservice, but also those of your advisory fraternity. Frankly, you should consider a career in landscape design.In summary, an indication of the strength of an executives commitment to international success is his ongoing determination to continue seeking external counsel, realizing that not all advisors can be tarred with the same brush.The mountaineering and sports clothing manufacturer Berghaus sums it all up in a recent advertising campaign. A photo showing world famous climber Chris Bonnington reaching the summit carries a great strap-line Trust is earned! International advisors in pretty much every capacity face a steep climb as it is. If we are to encourage firms to continue relying on external advice, lets not allow the a few misfits to spoil it for the rest of us who have worked so hard to earn that trust.

Somali pirates seize Greek freighter, 25 crew in the Gulf of Aden

Thursday, September 18, 2008

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), pirates have seized a Greek bulk carrier en route to Kenya with 25 crew on board in the Gulf of Aden some 370 kilometers from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

Noel Choong, who represents the International Maritime Bureau, advised ships traveling through the gulf to take extra precautions. “It appears that the pirates are now attacking ships in two areas, the eastern part of Somalia and northern parts of the Horn of Africa nation,” he said. “Ships are warned to take extra measures and stay 200 nautical miles away from the coast. They must maintain a strict watch.

The Gulf of Aden is a dangerous place for ships, with many incidents of piracy occurring regularly in the Gulf.

Four hours earlier pirates had attacked another vessel, a chemical tanker from Hong Kong, which was at the time carrying 22 crew members. Following that attack, the gulf was described by the managing director of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association as an “incredibly dangerous place.”

In response to this, several large shipping organisations have called for countries to deploy forces from their Navies in the Gulf of Aden.

“The shipping industry’s plea is in response to a situation which it describes as in danger of spiralling completely and irretrievably out of control,” said the group which consisted of the International Chamber of Shipping, Intercargo, Bimco and Intertanko. “Continued inaction against these violent acts could prompt shipowners to redirect their ships via the Cape of Good Hope, with severe consequences for international trade, including increased prices for delivered goods.”

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The group also said that there have been 40 hijackings in the gulf, resulting in 133 crew members being kidnapped and 10 ships being held. According to the IMB six gangs totalling approximately 1,200 people have carried out these attacks.

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Surgeons reattach boy’s three severed limbs

Tuesday, March 29, 2005A team of Australian surgeons yesterday reattached both hands and one foot to 10-year-old Perth boy, Terry Vo, after a brick wall which collapsed during a game of basketball fell on him, severing the limbs. The wall gave way while Terry performed a slam-dunk, during a game at a friend’s birthday party.

The boy was today awake and smiling, still in some pain but in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery, according to plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love.

“What we have is parts that are very much alive so the reattached limbs are certainly pink, well perfused and are indeed moving,” Mr Love told reporters today.

“The fact that he is moving his fingers, and of course when he wakes up he will move both fingers and toes, is not a surprise,” Mr Love had said yesterday.

“The question is more the sensory return that he will get in the hand itself and the fine movements he will have in the fingers and the toes, and that will come with time, hopefully. We will assess that over the next 18 months to two years.

“I’m sure that he’ll enjoy a game of basketball in the future.”

The weight and force of the collapse, and the sharp brick edges, resulted in the three limbs being cut through about 7cm above the wrists and ankle.

Terry’s father Tan said of his only child, the injuries were terrible, “I was scared to look at him, a horrible thing.”

The hands and foot were placed in an ice-filled Esky and rushed to hospital with the boy, where three teams of medical experts were assembled, and he was given a blood transfusion after experiencing massive blood loss. Eight hours of complex micro-surgery on Saturday night were followed by a further two hours of skin grafts yesterday.

“What he will lose because it was such a large zone of traumatised skin and muscle and so on, he will lose some of the skin so he’ll certainly require lots of further surgery regardless of whether the skin survives,” said Mr Love said today.

The boy was kept unconscious under anaesthetic between the two procedures. In an interview yesterday, Mr Love explained why:

“He could have actually been woken up the next day. Because we were intending to take him back to theatre for a second look, to look at the traumatised skin flaps, to close more of his wounds and to do split skin grafting, it was felt the best thing to do would be to keep him stable and to keep him anaesthetised.”

Professor Wayne Morrison, director of the respected Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery and head of plastic and hand surgery at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, said he believed the operation to be a world first.

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