Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Over the weekend, Rowing Australia announced their 2012 national squad in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in London. Australia has earned qualification for ten boats at the Games but have the opportunity to add three additional boats at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland in late May.

One boat attempting to earn qualification at Lucerne is the women’s coxed-eight, who had a time at the Sydney Regatta of 2000m time of six minutes 10.03 seconds, about 96% as fast as the predicted time of the gold medal time at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Selection for a team is considered a major boon for women’s rowing as Australia had not been competing internationally in the event after a disappointing performance at the 2008 Games in Beijing, where Australia finished well out of medal range in last, and has yet to live down the “Lay Down Sally” situation at the 2004 Games. Ten rowers, Phoebe Stanley, Hannah Vermeersch, Alexandra Hagan, Sally Kehoe, Tess Gerrand, Renee Chatterton, Emma McCarthy, Sarah Cook, Amy Clay and Robyn Selby-Smith, were named with only eight spots available. The women’s coxed-eight team will spend the next three weeks training before cuts will be made for the Qualifiers.

The men’s lightweight double scull will be competing for Olympic qualification in Switzerland, with Tom Gibson of Tasmania and Rod Chisholm of New South Wales needing a top two finish to make the Games. Queensland Jared Bidwell in the men’s heavyweight single scull is the third boat trying to qualify for London at the Switzerland event, needing a top-three finish to qualify.

The men’s coxless pair boat also faces competition for which rowers will be going to the Games, with five rowers having been named to fill the two spots. These rowers include Brodie Buckland, James Marburg, Fergus Pragnell, Duncan Free and Tom Larkins. The 2008 Olympic pairs gold medalist Free’s selection comes after a ten-month period where he suffered a rib-cartilage injury and broken leg that resulted in missing selection in the four man scull event. Other rows competing for one of these two spots have impressive resumes: Buckland has previously represented the United States in rowing and Marburg won a silver medal in rowing at the 2008 Games.

Toby Lister, who qualified in the men’s coxed eight boat as the coxswain, is ready for the Games in more ways than one. He became the boat leader in 2008, following the retirement of Marty Rabjohns after the Olympics. He is renowned amongst other rowers for his willingness and ability to play mind games with competitors.

Last Thursday, the uniforms for Australia’s Olympic team were revealed, including the uniform for rowing. It has been custom designed by Adidas to mirror muscle movement.

A new director was named at the Australian Institute of Sport on Sunday. New director Matthew Favier, who comes from the United Kingdom, has the ability to determine funding for high performance sport, and is scene as a potential positive for rowing as he could increase funding to the sport because it provides multiple Olympic medal potential for one sport.

The national team will have a Sydney training camp from May 8 to 12, before departing for Switzerland on May 15th.

Thursday, December 8, 2005

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 skidded off the runway at the Chicago Midway Airport on Thursday evening. The Southwest Airlines flight 1248 was en route to Midway from Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The aircraft attempted the landing at approximately 7:15 p.m. local time under heavy snow, and skidded off the runway, crashing through a steel barrier surrounding the airport and on to a residential street.

There were 98 passengers on the flight, two of them were reportedly injured and taken to a local hospital and the rest were bussed to the airport terminal.

Reports indicate that two vehicles were damaged. One of the vehicles was still lodged under the aircraft when police and fire officials arrived on the scene. Taken to the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oaklawn were two adults and three children who were extracted from one of the vehicles the aircraft hit. One of the children, a 6-year-old boy from Indiana named Joshua Woods, has died from injuries suffered from the crash. The conditions of the other victims are still unknown.

The accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and a final report is expected in about a year.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

For the first time a video showing the interrogation process at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp has been released. According to reports broadcast by Canadian media, the video shows Omar Khadr, one of the prisoners, being questioned by Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) officials. The video was filmed with a hidden camera through an air vent. It shows an interrogation from late February 2003 and it is being released now under a court order obtained by Khadr’s lawyers.

In the video, Khadr can be seen repeatedly crying and telling officials that “you don’t care about me.”

Dennis Edney, lawyer for Omar Khadr, responded by saying Dennis Edney “I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth.” He also said that “Canadians should demand to know why they’ve been lied to.”

Omar claimed in the video that he was receiving poor medical care. When an official said “I’m not a doctor, but I think you’re getting good medical care,” he responded by saying “No I’m not. You’re not here… I lost my eyes. I lost my feet. Everything!” The official’s response to this was “No, you still have your eyes. Your feet are still at the end of your legs.” CBC News has reported that that Khadr’s comments about his eyes and feet are in reference to effects from the firefight in Afghanistan.

When the crying continued the questioner called for a break and said “Look, I want to take a few minutes. I want you to get yourself together. Relax a bit. Have a bite to eat and we’ll start again.”

Khadr, who is currently aged 21, faces life imprisonment for charges as serious as murder if he is found guilty. He also says that he has faced torture in Bagram air base, Afghanistan.

Prime minister Stephen Harper has repeatedly rejected calls for him to ask the United States for Khadr’s return to Canada.

“Mr. Khadr faces serious charges. There is a judicial process underway to determine Mr. Khadr’s fate. This should continue,” Kory Teneycke, Communication Director at the Office of the Prime Minister, told CBC News.

“We might also add in terms of background that the Government of Canada’s position is consistent with the previous government’s,” Teneycke further said. “This is a judicial process as opposed to a political one.”

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued proposed calorie labeling rules requiring most retail food vendors to display the calorie counts in items on their menus and menu boards. The proposed rules, issued Friday and expected to be finalized in 2012, would apply to most restaurants, snack bars, vending machines, coffee shops, drive-through restaurants, and convenience and grocery stores.

The US Congress required the rules in the health-care reform law passed in 2010. The rules proposed by the FDA must undergo a public comment period before they are finalized and take effect, said Michael R. Taylor, Deputy Director for Foods at the FDA.

The proposed regulations pertain to businesses devoting more than 50 percent of their floor space to the sale of food or that consider themselves restaurants, specifically food-selling chains with at least 20 stores nationally. Included are candy stores, bakeries, and ice-cream parlors.

The FDA’s proposed guidelines specify that chains post the calorie counts of foods and drinks on menus and menu boards or next to the food item, such as at a salad bar. The menu is to prominently exhibit the calorie content of each item in a way customers can see easily, giving them the same information packaged foods prepared at home currently provide. The information must be displayed in “clear and conspicuous” print and colors.

Many cities and states have passed laws requiring calorie labeling on menus, beginning with New York City in 2008. California implemented a similar law in January, although many counties are waiting for the release of the federal guidelines before they begin enforcement. Some fast-food chains there, such as McDonald’s and Starbucks, are displaying calorie counts on menus in some of their stores.

The rules are intended to curb the national obesity epidemic since, according to FDA estimates, one third of the calories people consume yearly come from food eaten out. In a statement issued yesterday, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services said, “Giving consumers clear nutritional information makes it easier for them to choose healthier options that can help fight obesity and make us all healthier.”

Excluded from the rules are businesses whose primary product is not food sales but that sell it, such as bowling alleys, airports and airplanes, amusement parks, hotels and movie theaters. Alcohol is also excluded.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Ben Shephard has announced his departure from GMTV, the current television breakfast programme on ITV in the United Kingdom, having been a presenter on the programme for ten years. His current contract ends in April 2010, but he is expected to leave by the end of the Summer of 2010, according to the Press Association.

Initially, Shephard only presented an entertainment section of the television programme before being given a promotion to the sofa in 2005. He is the third presenter to leave GMTV within the last year, after the departures of Fiona Phillips and Penny Smith.

According to a statement released from Ben Shephard’s agent: “Ben’s two-year contract with GMTV is up at the end of April. Earlier this year, his management made it clear that he would not be renewing it, but would be happy to stay on temporarily during this transitional period. Ben is excited about moving on after 10 incredible years and will be focusing on a number of new projects with ITV and other channels.”

Adrian Chiles, who recently announced his departure from the BBC after modifications were made to The One Show — a show that he presented with Christine Bleakley — was recently reported to be appearing as a presenter on GMTV in the future.

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