Saturday, January 14, 2017

At 1:30 a.m. on Thursday morning the United States Senate voted to include the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, as part of a budget blueprint. This procedural measure allows most of Obamacare to be repealed by a simple majority rather than the usual requirement of 60 out of the senate’s 100 votes and effectively prevents the use of filibuster.

“We’re working with legislative leaders at this very moment to begin to craft legislation that will repeal the most corrosive elements of Obamacare — the individual mandate, the taxes, the penalties — but at the same time, moving separate legislation that will allow us to introduce the kind of reforms in American health care that’ll lower the cost of health insurance without growing the size of government,” said Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington had a different view, going so far as to call this “stealing health care from Americans.”

The filibuster is a last-ditch tactic in which parties opposed to a certain motion refuse to relinquish the floor until their opponents give in or compromise.

Although the 51-48 vote was mostly along party lines, some Republicans have expressed uncertainty about repealing Obamacare before a replacement system is worked out. Although president-elect Donald Trump has called for a “repeal and replace” plan, saying that a new health care system would be enacted “almost simultaneously,” many in government and the press have expressed doubts about whether this would actually happen.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she would like to at least see a well-constructed plan before voting and Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia said repealing Obamacare without replacing it was “unacceptable.” These concerns were shared by members of the House of Representatives. “We need to be voting for a replacement plan at the same time that we vote for repeal,” added Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina. Representative Tom MacArthur of New Jersey agreed, saying, “We’re loading a gun here. I want to know where it’s pointed before we start the process.”

Anna Merlan of Jezebel and Anthony Taylor of the Associated Press dismiss Trump’s timeline as “impossible” given the complicated nature of U.S. congressional workings. Senator Collins agreed, saying “I don’t see any possibility of our being able to come up with a comprehensive reform bill that would replace Obamacare by the end of this month. I just don’t see that as being feasible.”

The Affordable Care Act, which is often cited as a key accomplishment of the Obama administration, has had a mixed reputation, and many conservatives believe a market-based health care system would be more flexible and efficient and less costly, and many believe that the Affordable Care Act only passed because of Obama’s later discredited pledge that no one who liked their current health plan would have to switch. Matt O’Brien of The Washington Post claims a large tax cut that would result for the wealthiest 1% of citizens if Obamacare funds were not converted to other purposes, estimated at about $32,820 annually per person by the Tax Policy Center, is also a significant motive.

Republican Senators set a date of January 27 to repeal Obamacare, according to NBC News. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California says legislation repealing Obamacare and replacing it could ready by late February. According to Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, as many as 30 million people could lose their health insurance if the ACA is repealed.

Friday, May 26, 2006

The human rights watchdog NGO Amnesty International described 2005 as a year of contradictions with signs of hope for human rights being undermined through “deception and failed promises” of “arrogant” governments. Amnesty International issues annual reports on the development of human rights issues, with detailed reports on the situation in every individual country.

At the launch of its 2006 International Report, the Secretary General for Amnesty International (AI), Irene Khan, said that a number of governments have “paralyzed international institutions and squandered public resources in pursuit of narrow security interests, sacrificed principles in the name of the ‘war on terror’ and turned a blind eye to massive human rights violations. As a result, the world has paid a heavy price, in terms of erosion of fundamental principles and in the enormous damage done to the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people”.

According to the release report, Iraq sank into a “vortex of sectarian violence in 2005.” Secretary General Khan warned: “When the powerful are too arrogant to review and reassess their strategies, the heaviest price is paid by the poor and powerless – in this case, ordinary Iraqi women, men and children.” A 2004 Lancet study estimates that 100,000 excess deaths have occurred with roughly three times as many injured since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Continuing her criticism of international bodies, Ms Khan stated that “Intermittent attention and feeble action by the United Nations and the African Union fell pathetically short of what was needed in Darfur,” referring to the conflict that a number of reports estimate has killed over 300,000 people.

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, February 26, 2011

An elderly Brooklyn, New York woman was found dead yesterday after a fire triggered by a voodoo ceremony caused a blaze in an apartment that left dozens homeless. The details of the ceremony were not clear, but sources say it led to sex.

An unidentified woman hired a Voodoo priest for $300, identified as Nelson (Pepe) Pierre, to perform a mystic ceremony meant to bring her good luck. The woman went to Pierre’s apartment, where she ended up in bed surrounded by lit candles which were mistakenly knocked over, setting the bedsheets on fire. In an effort to suppress the flames, Pierre splashed water from the bathroom sink on the sheets while his roommate, who was ironing at the time, opened a window for air. However, according to the New York Fire Department, wind gusting through the open window created a “blowtorch effect” which caused the fire to spread to the 4th floor hallway and into the 5th and 6th floors. The blaze killed one woman, three others were severely injured, and at least 20 firefighters were left with burn wounds.

In an NYFD statement, Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano said, “Time and time again we respond to tragedies that could have been so easily prevented. This fire had so many of those elements … hopefully others will learn from this tragedy.” It took hours for hundreds of firemen from dozens of companies to bring the raging fire under control.

Pierre, a man in his 60s, did not call 911 right away, but attempted to quell the fire using water from the bathroom sink. A source in law enforcement said, “Nobody sees a crime right now. It was an accident. Maybe they weren’t careful, but they did try to put it out.”

Mary Feagin, a 64-year old retired teacher, died in the blaze.

The New York Police Department is currently investigating the incident.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

A virtual orchestra opened in London on August 19th 2006 outside the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank. But unlike a normal orchestra, this one features 58 specially designed cube-shaped seats which activate a musicical note. As more people sit down on the seats, more of the score is revealed.

The music will be added to an online sample library. Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of South Bank Centre, said: “This is exactly the way we are looking at developing our site by fusing the community with the artistic world of ideas and technology in our many versatile spaces.”

Alistair Mackie, chairman of the Philharmonia Orchestra, said: “Central to the Philharmonia Orchestra’s vision is exploiting new media to take music out to the widest possible audience, breaking down the barriers which have stood in the way of their access and enjoyment.”

Bethany, aged 10, went to the orchestra launch and she said: “It is a good experience. You get to see what it’s like to be in a real orchestra.” One of the main aims of the virtual orchestra is to get more people interested in classical music.

Every Saturday, a musician from the Philharmonic Orchestra will be visiting and they will bring their sound recording equipment.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

< 2005 crosswords

Quick crosswords for January (solutions are on following days):

• 27 January 2005
• 28 January 2005
• 29 January 2005
• 30 January 2005
• 31 January 2005

> February crosswords

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Extreme heat alerts have been issued in Hamilton and in Toronto.

Temperatures are expected to go into the mid 30s C (80-90s F) with the humidex expected to reach into the high 40s C (117-120 F).

Smoggy air is expected to move into the Toronto-area on Tuesday from the Windsor to London corridor, where a smog alert was also in place on Monday.

The heat has been compounded by severe storms over the weekend in southwestern Ontario and the Peterborough area.

Almost 31,000 residences were without power for a couple of hours in Peterborough County after a storm was in the area, uprooting trees and knocking down hydro poles. It also tore a roof off a house.

The City of Toronto opens public cooling stations at the East York Civic Centre, Etobicoke Civic Centre, North York Civic Centre and Metro Hall.

Toronto set a new record for any date when the overnight temperature did not go lower than 27 C (aprox. 84 F) overnight, besting the record of 26.5 set in 1999. The daytime humidex hit 47 C (aprox. 117 F) by mid-day and was expected to go slightly higher in the afternoon.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

UK media regulator Ofcom has stated that remarks made on Channel 5 programme The Wright Stuff on December 6 last year in relation to the murder of Liam Aitchison were “clearly capable of causing offence”. However, the issue has been “resolved”, the regulator concluded in its latest broadcast bulletin.

Ofcom launched an investigation in relation to a potential breach of rule 2.3 of its Broadcasting Code, which reads: “In applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context”. Presenter Matthew Wright employed a false Scottish accent and remarked: “There’s been another murder,” in reference to the UK crime drama Taggart, as the murder was being discussed as part of a newspaper review. At this point, audience laughter could be heard. Charlie Baker, who was sat on the panel, responded by saying it would be “[t]he longest episode of Taggart of all time” with “lots of down-time in between”, citing the time period of approximately forty years since the last murder investigation on the Western Isles.

No apology was broadcast at any point during the programme. Ofcom subsequently received at least 2,220 complaints about the incident. The regulator stated that, with his comments, Wright “made light of the murder” and “went on to laugh loudly with the audience as the conversation continued”, appearing to illustrate “no regard to the unfortunate circumstances of this murder case concerning the killing of a 16 year old well known to many within the local community in which he lived.” Channel 5 would later acknowledge that these remarks were “unfortunate, misjudged and entirely inappropriate”. A page on the social networking website Facebook, entitled ‘Report The Wright Stuff to Ofcom’, accumulated in excess of 2,500 likes.

In the next edition of the show the following day, Wright apologised, saying it was “certainly no intention on my part to belittle the seriousness or tragedy of the story, or to offend anyone who knew Liam” but remarked that he was “[n]ot helped though by people running campaigns – ‘report Matthew Wright to Ofcom’. I mean, grow up, folks”. Ofcom said these comments would have “potentially caused further offence to viewers”. Channel 5 went on to retract access to this edition and the edition from the day before from Demand 5, its Internet catch up service.

On the December 8 programme, Wright apologised again. “I deeply, deeply regret my thoughtless comments,” Wright said, “and very sincerely apologise to Liam’s family and his community. I truly apologise OK, from the bottom of my heart if I have made their suffering worse. I should add that Charlie Baker also wishes to apologise unreservedly”. The Aitchison family subsequently accepted a direct apology issued to them by Wright.

As a result of this incident, Channel 5 decided to re-examine the compliance and editorial rules set between Channel 5 and The Wright Stuff’s production company. Channel 5 also committed the major production team members of The Wright Stuff to learning about compliance in greater detail.

Ofcom was of the opinion that “these comments were clearly capable of causing offence to viewers given the sensitivity surrounding the very recent murder of a 16 year old teenager in an isolated Scottish community.” However, “[o]n balance, and in light of the steps taken by Channel 5 to mitigate this offence, Ofcom considered the matter resolved.” The regulator does not intend to take any further action over this incident. A recent status update from ‘Report The Wright Stuff to Ofcom’ clarified its administrator’s intention to remove the page on Thursday.

Monday, April 18, 2005

Sir Richard Branson, successful British entrepreneur, better known as the founder of the Virgin brand, has made a suggestion to the next British chancellor to both save MG Rover, the largest independent manufacturer of cars in England until it collapsed this spring, and help with rapidly rising oil demand. He wants the British government to give subsidies to the fallen car-maker so that it can be the first European producer of hybrid cars.