Sunday, September 5, 2021

Since June 2019, the people of South Gippsland Shire, located at the southernmost tip of Australia, have been without a local council, after a state government inquiry found “high levels of tension” within the council. Administrators were appointed by the Victorian state government in July 2019, who have governed the shire since then. However, South Gippsland’s council is scheduled to be restored with an election to be held via post from October 5-22, 2021.

Wikinews interviewed one of the candidates standing in this election, Mat Morgan. He is running as a candidate in the Coastal-Promontory Ward, and is endorsed by the Australian Greens. The Coastal-Promontory ward covers towns such as Venus Bay, Waratah Bay, Yanakie, Foster, Port Welshpool, and Toora, and elects three councillors to the South Gippsland Shire Council.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Larry Robinson resigned as coach of the New Jersey Devils on Monday afternoon because of stress-related health issues. Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello will take over the coach position temporarily until the new coach would be brought “as soon as possible”.

“Stress is a killer,” Mr. Robinson said during the announcement. “I lost a dear brother last year and that changed my thoughts about life a lot. My parents are no longer around. I want to be able to enjoy my kids. I worked and I played for 20 years so I could give everything I wasn’t able to have for myself to my children, and they suffered for my absence.”

Robinson, who coached Devils to 2000 Stanley Cup championship and 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, returned to coach the Devils last July after Pat Burns was diagnosed with cancer.

“A lot of things were getting to me. I want this team to be successful, but if I can’t be at my best and it’s bothering me healthwise, I can’t do that,” Robinson said.

Robinson’s resignation is the second NHL coaching change this season, following Eddie Olczyk’s dismissal by the Pittsburgh Penguins last week.

54-year-old Robinson missed 2 games this month with flu and sinus problems, he said that he already underwent tests, including an CAT test because of continuing “horrible headaches”.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007File:Nadine Strossen 5 by David Shankbone.jpg

There are few organizations in the United States that elicit a stronger emotional response than the American Civil Liberties Union, whose stated goal is “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States”. Those people include gays, Nazis, women seeking abortion, gun owners, SPAM mailers and drug users. People who are often not popular with various segments of the public. The ACLU’s philosophy is not that it agrees or disagrees with any of these people and the choices that they make, but that they have personal liberties that must not be trampled upon.

In Wikinews reporter David Shankbone’s interview with the President of the ACLU, Nadine Strossen, he wanted to cover some basic ground on the ACLU’s beliefs. Perhaps the area where they are most misunderstood or have their beliefs most misrepresented is their feelings about religion in the public sphere. The ACLU categorically does not want to see religion disappear from schools or in the public forum; but they do not want to see government advocacy of any particular religion. Thus, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s placement of a ten ton monument to the Ten Commandments outside the courthouse is strenuously opposed; but “Lone Ranger of the Manger” Rita Warren’s placement of nativity scenes in public parks is vigorously defended. In the interview, Strossen talks about how certain politicians and televangelists purposefully misstate the law and the ACLU’s work in order to raise funds for their campaigns.

David Shankbone’s discussion with Strossen touches upon many of the ACLU’s hot button issues: religion, Second Amendment rights, drug liberalization, “partial-birth abortion” and whether or not George W. Bush should be impeached. It may surprise the reader that many ideas people have about the most visible of America’s civil libertarian organizations are not factually correct and that the ACLU often works closely with many of the organizations people think despise its existence.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that Toyota is poised to recall 270 thousand gas-and-electric Prius vehicles (model ZVW30) sold in the US and Japan between May and December 2009, due to a flaw in the car’s anti-lock braking system.

Takayuki Fujimoto, a transport ministry official, said the government has yet to receive a recall notice from Toyota. “Nothing has been decided on whether we will recall or not”, he stated. Toyota cannot announce a recall in Japan until it notifies the ministry, but said it was currently discussing how to deal with the issue with Japan’s transport ministry and U.S. safety authorities.

Toyota has faced a US lawsuit alleging it covered up safety problems. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a formal investigation into the braking problems on Thursday after 124 complaints from consumers.

Since May 2009, two hundred thousand new Prius cars (model ZVW30) have been sold in Japan and another 103,200 in the United States.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

At least ten attackers with knives, dressed in black, attacked a train station in Kunming, China yesterday. At least 28 victims were killed, with 113 more wounded by knives, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. The local municipal government accuses “Xinjiang separatist forces” for the attack. Xinhua called the attack “an organized, premeditated violent terrorist attack”. One suspect was arrested, while four or five suspects were shot dead.

Yang Haifei, a local resident, told Xinhua the attackers rushed in and began attacking people while he was buying a ticket. “I saw a person come straight at me with a long knife and I ran away with everyone,” he said, while people who were slower were attacked and “fell on the ground”.

Preparations are underway for an annual legislature meeting, at which president Xi Jinping as well as his government are to deliver their first one-year work report on Wednesday. Xi Jinping states there should be “all out efforts” to apprehend the attackers, while the Ministry of Public Security’s Security Management Bureau stated law enforcement will “crack down the crimes in accordance with the law without any tolerance.” He calls for severe punishments “in accordance with the law”, as well as to “crack down on those who have been swollen with arrogance”.

China has also blamed a suicide attack in Tiananmen Square late last year, in Beijing, on the separatists.

Sunday, November 5, 2006

Figures released by Simon Power, law and order spokesman for the National party, show that the New Zealand Labour led government lets 81% of all prisoners not do any work while in prison. Newspaper, Sunday News says that some Christchurch prisoners have been given a barbecue for good behavior.

Simon Power’s figures show that of the 7,612 prisoners only 19% (1,470) of them took part in Corrections Inmate Employment during 2006. But in 2005 it was at 23% and in 2004 it was at 26%. He says that the prisons with the least amount of inmates working are: Rolleston with 8.6%, Mount Eden with 8.7%, Rimutaka with 11%, Christchurch Women’s with 13.5% and Dunedin with 13.8%. Mr Power said: “These figures are an appalling indictment on this Government’s approach to prisoner rehabilitation and preparing them for release.”

“In May, Corrections Minister Damien O’Connor announced a strategy that he said would help in ‘significantly increasing the number of prisoners in work and training. But a week later this was shown to be nothing more than window dressing when the Budget increased funding for prisoner employment by a measly $336,000 – up 1%.”

“They have cut funding [on the Corrections Department] by 27% since 2001/02, from $46.5 million to $34 million.”

Mr Power blames the low work rate on the big prison construction budget of $490 million. “There would have been more than a miserable $336,000 extra to spend on effective rehabilitation and work schemes,” he said.

“[Mr O’Conner] seems happier to spend $11 million on landscaping four new prisons and allow prisoners to sit around playing Playstations and Xboxes on their flat-screen TVs than he is about helping them get better prepared for when they are released.”

“Prisoners should be doing meaningful work, training or study while they are in prisons, and I imagine the public would agree,” Mr Power added.

Mr Power, commenting on the barbecue, said: “These people are in prison because they were found to be in serious breach of the law. The victims of their crimes will be grossly offended by the idea that they are being rewarded for anything. This is the just the latest in a long line of incredibly bad decisions made by the Corrections Department over the past year and taxpayers have had enough.”

Bevan Hanlon, president for the Corrections Officers Association, said: “The Mobsters getting a BBQ was a “joke”. (Christchurch Prison) staff are reporting the smell of dope every day. Mobsters are threatening staff on a daily basis and there appears to be high cellphone use (mobile phones are banned in jail). So what happens? They are given a BBQ.”

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Mount Stromlo, Canberra — This Easter weekend, elite mountain bike riders competed in the Australian 24-hour solo championships at Canberra’s Stromlo Forest Park. Jason English from Port MacQuarie rode 33 laps and won the men’s race. Liz Smith from Wollongong rode 25 laps and won the women’s race.

Races are won by riding the most laps. If two riders complete the same number of laps in 24-hours, the winner is the one who has ridden them in the shortest time.

Riders wear lights on their helmets and bicycles during night laps. Due to the time of year, there is roughly twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness each day.

The event is a curtain raiser for the WEMBO World Solo 24 hour Mountain Bike Championships, which will be held at Stromlo Forest Park on 12 and 13 October 2013. The race was for solo riders only.

The weekend before, the teams of riders took to the track at the Mont 24 hour race at Canberra’s Kowen forest. With over 3,000 riders participating, it is now Australia’s largest cycling race.

The team version of the race was favoured by the weekend warriors, but also attracted more than a few elite athletes. Laps were ridden in relay fashion: each rider handed over the baton (which looked like a credit card) to another member of the team after riding one or more laps.

The track was in excellent condition, running through the trees. Without steep climbs or overly difficult technical sections, it permitted fast lap times.

No injuries were reported.