Thursday, November 8, 2007

What you are about to read is an American life as lived by renowned author Edmund White. His life has been a crossroads, the fulcrum of high-brow Classicism and low-brow Brett Easton Ellisism. It is not for the faint. He has been the toast of the literary elite in New York, London and Paris, befriending artistic luminaries such as Salman Rushdie and Sir Ian McKellen while writing about a family where he was jealous his sister was having sex with his father as he fought off his mother’s amorous pursuit.

The fact is, Edmund White exists. His life exists. To the casual reader, they may find it disquieting that someone like his father existed in 1950’s America and that White’s work is the progeny of his intimate effort to understand his own experience.

Wikinews reporter David Shankbone understood that an interview with Edmund White, who is professor of creative writing at Princeton University, who wrote the seminal biography of Jean Genet, and who no longer can keep track of how many sex partners he has encountered, meant nothing would be off limits. Nothing was. Late in the interview they were joined by his partner Michael Caroll, who discussed White’s enduring feud with influential writer and activist Larry Kramer.

Saturday, May 28, 2005

California State Senator Joseph Dunn, school officials, and environmental professionals met with Kennedy Elementary School parents in a town-hall style meeting in Santa Ana Thursday evening. The parents aired their concerns over health issues at schools and workplaces, including a rash of leukemia cases in the student population, and began a dialogue they have been working toward for years.

Representatives of Markland Manufacturing and of AQMD also spoke at the meeting, explaining their positions. The outcome of the meeting was that Senator Dunn and members of the community will tour the Markland facility and meet with county officials, and another public meeting will be held in a couple of weeks.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Fifteen people were killed and twelve were injured after an eight hour hotel fire in Tuguegarao City, Northern Philippines, however police and firefighters managed to save many guests. Reports suggest the deceased sought cover in bathrooms where they were burnt beyond recognition.

After entering the building firefighters were left in tears after finding the charred bodies of guests on the upper floors. “It’s so close to Christmas, we wept when we saw their bodies,” said fire investigator Daniel Abana. Nine of the deaths were confirmed to be nursing students from a nearby university. The students were in the city to take nursing exams. Nursing college instructor, Romeo Opido, told authorities that 36 nursing students from nearby provinces were at the hotel. Tuguegarao City counselor said, “It is very unfortunate that this happened just when they were about to take their exams.”

The other deaths were the hotel owner’s and their family, including three children. The cause of the fire is still undetermined although it is known that the fire started on the ground floor and was energized by car tires and other combustible materials. It is also believed that paint cans were still in the building following a recent make over.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Tournament favourites and debutants Australia have drawn 1-1 with a skillful Oman in the second match in Group A of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

Oman shocked the Socceroos when they scored on thirty-two minutes, after some enterprising play on their left-hand flank. A ball cut back made its’ way through the Australian defence to Omani striker Badar Mubarak, who slotted the ball low into the left-hand corner of the goal.

Oman very nearly had a second goal on three separate occasions in the second half. They were only denied by three world-class saves by Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, including a low save from a driving volley by Ahmed Mubarak, a reflex save to stop a point-blank header in the seventieth minute, and then another low-down save minutes later from Fawi Bashir’s driving shot.

A heavy downpour began ten minutes prior to the final whistle, and it appeared to reinvigorate Australia. They pressed forward in numbers, and were rewarded in injury time with a goal to Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, after a low volley by Marco Bresciano was well-saved by Omani keeper Suleiman Al Mazroui.

Cahill achieved the remarkable double of scoring both Australia’s first Asian Cup and World Cup goals, after he scored in the eighty-third minute of their match against Japan at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He and John Aloisi capped off the comeback by scoring twice late to defeat Japan 3-1.

The Australian players were visibly frustrated by Oman’s play-acting tactics, which saw the stretcher used four times in the first half alone. British match commentator Simon Hill described the tactics as “a blight to the game” and “absolutely rubbish”, the latter in relation to one incident where no contact was made whatsoever. When queried about it after the game, Arnold said cynically “welcome to Asia”.

The Australians were flat and their defending was poor, said coach Graham Arnold at the post-match media conference. He also commented on goalkeeper Schwarzer’s three fantastic saves, saying “Mark Schwarzer’s got us out of jail. Schwarzer’s made two unbelievable saves, otherwise it’s 2-0 and all over”.

The draw leaves all four Group A teams equal on the table on one point, with one goal for and one against, following Iraq 1-1 draw with hosts Thailand yesterday.

In the other game played yesterday (UTC), co-hosts Vietnam caused a major shock by defeating United Arab Emirates in their Group B fixture.

The Emirates are the current Gulf Cup champions, and the hosts were expected to struggle to win this match, or progress from Group B which includes two-time Asian champions Japan and Asian Games gold medallists Qatar. Vietnam is playing at Asian Cup level for the first time in nearly half a century.

UAE had the better of the chances in an otherwise-even first half, with the best Faisal Khalil‘s shot in the thirtieth minute, which was well-saved by Vietnamese goalkeeper Duong Hong Son who managed to turn the ball around the post for a corner.

However, they scored two second half goals to take the three points from the My Dinh National Stadium. On sixty-three minutes, a counter-attack from the half-way line involving three Vietnamese players resulted in defender Huynh Quang Thanh putting the ball in the back of the net.

Vietnamese player of the year Le Cong Vinh made it 2-0 nine minutes later when he chased down a long ball and calmly lobbed it over Emirates goalkeeper Majed Nasser, who had come off his line to try and avert the danger.

Bruno Metsu, coach of the United Arab Emirates, substituted players and launched an all-out attack to try and salvage something, but failed to find the goals he needed.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Prison officers in England and Wales are on strike today as part of a continuing dispute over pay rates with employers, the Ministry of Justice.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) announced the strike, the first in its history, at 0600 (BST) on the morning of the 29th of August, just an hour before it was due to start. As the morning progressed, officers at most public prisons across the two countries locked prisoners in their cells (a “lockdown”) and walked out, aiming to remain on strike until 0700 on the 30th.

The strike has been condemned by the Ministry of Justice, as a breach of the Industrial Relations Act, with Justice Secretary Jack Straw calling it “deeply regrettable and wholly unjustifiable”. Immediately following the announcement of the action, the Ministry commenced proceedings to gain a High Court injunction against the POA. Such an injunction was granted by Mr Justice Ramsey, who said that there was “overwhelming case” for it, after the court heard evidence that a Joint Industrial Relations Procedural Agreement, agreed to prevent industrial action, had been broken.

Despite the court proceedings, the strike continued largely unabated, and was expected to run its full course.

Inmates were at one point reported to have been seen on the roof of Liverpool Prison, however the situation was brought under control without any escapees.

In Wormwood Scrubs Prison, London, all 1,300 prisoners were being looked after by just eight governors, while atCardiff, as prisoners, locked in their cells, shouted “You’re breaking the law” to the officers standing in the car park. As a result of the lack of staff, prisoners could not be transported to court, were fed in their cells, could not be visited and could not take part in any rehabilitation or community service courses. In addition, 900 prisoners had to be accommodated elsewhere, unable to be admitted to public prisons.

This evening, this strike was called off by the POA, who issued an order to all of its members to return to work, with further pay discussions expected to come on Friday.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Ian Narev, the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, this morning “unreservedly” apologised to clients who lost money in a scandal involving the bank’s financial planning services arm.

Last week, a Senate enquiry found financial advisers from the Commonwealth Bank had made high-risk investments of clients’ money without the clients’ permission, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars lost. The Senate enquiry called for a Royal Commission into the bank, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Mr Narev stated the bank’s performance in providing financial advice was “unacceptable”, and the bank was launching a scheme to compensate clients who lost money due to the planners’ actions.

In a statement Mr Narev said, “Poor advice provided by some of our advisers between 2003 and 2012 caused financial loss and distress and I am truly sorry for that. […] There have been changes in management, structure and culture. We have also invested in new systems, implemented new processes, enhanced adviser supervision and improved training.”

An investigation by Fairfax Media instigated the Senate inquiry into the Commonwealth Bank’s financial planning division and ASIC.

Whistleblower Jeff Morris, who reported the misconduct of the bank to ASIC six years ago, said in an article for The Sydney Morning Herald that neither the bank nor ASIC should be in control of the compensation program.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Yesterday, Australia’s Prime Minister proposed his government might strip individuals of their Australian citizenship if authorities consider them involved in terrorist activity.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated, “As flagged by me in my national security statement in February, we will be legislating within a few weeks to strip dual citizens involved in terrorism of their Australian citizenship”.

The Coalition government’s bill aims to empower the immigration minister to revoke Australian citizenship of dual nationals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.

Speaking of procedural for stripping individual citizenship, immigration minister Peter Dutton said he would take advice from intelligence agencies, such as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

Dutton said, “We would gather as much evidence as was possible and we would make a decision whether or not we thought somebody was captured by what is a tight definition in relation to somebody committing an act of terrorism, an act preparatory to, fundraising or supporting a terrorist organisation or providing financial support or indoctrinating young people into the ways of one of these cults.”

This news comes as the Australian wife of Islamic State fighter Khaled Sharrouf, Tara Nettleton, attempts to re-enter the country with her children. Khaled’s seven-year-old son appeared in an internet image Khaled posted last year — in which the boy was holding a severed human head.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Nine firefighters were killed on Monday while battling a massive fire at a furniture warehouse in Charleston, South Carolina.

Firefighters were called to the scene of a massive blaze at the Sofa Super Store in Charleston, S.C. at around 6:30 p.m. EST. At around 7 p.m., nine firefighters were sent inside the inferno to rescue people who were trapped inside the building. They rescued two before the ceiling collapsed on top of them. All nine firefighters who were inside the warehouse died. They are:

• Capt. William Hutchinson, 48
• Capt. Mike Benke, 49
• Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34
• FF Mark Kelsey, 40
• FF Bradford Baity, 37
• FF Michael French, 27
• FF James “Earl” Drayton, 56
• FF Brandon Thompson, 27
• FF Melven Champaign, 46

The disaster recalls Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire that killed six firefighters on Dec. 3, 1999, in Worcester, Massachusetts. The chief of the Worcester Fire Department flew down to South Carolina for the memorial service.