Thursday, March 13, 2008

Family First Senator Steve Fielding arrived at Parliament today, dressed as a beer bottle to raise awareness of a bill he intends to move in the Senate today. Senator Fielding will introduce a bill to establish a nationwide refund scheme for bottles and cans.

A similar scheme has operated in South Australia since 1977.

Family First wants a rebate of 10 cents per container, while the Australian Greens want 20 cents.

Speaking to reporters outside parliament dressed as a beer bottle, the Senator said the legislation would reduce litter by 25 per cent. “There’s a message in this bottle.”

“I am no longer trash, I’m cash.”

“We should get the litter off the streets and off the creeks and into recycling – that’s good for the environment and good for the community”

“It’s a win-win and I can’t understand why nationally we don’t have a scheme,” said Senator Fielding.

Senator Fielding said that recycling not only reduced litter, but also consumes less energy than making new containers from scratch. “Recycling a plastic bottle saves more than 80 per cent of the energy used to make a bottle from scratch and recycling aluminium cans uses just five per cent of the energy used making a can from scratch,” said the Senator.

Senator Bob Brown, leader of the Greens said while there were environmental benefits from recycling, it would also create thousands of new jobs.

“This is a very good way of recycling and reducing energy because a lot of energy goes into making cans and bottles,” Senator Brown told reporters.

“It will employ tens of thousands of people across Australia.”

Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Pacaya Volcano erupted on Friday. It is located 50 kilometers south of the capital of Guatemala, Guatemala City. Throughout the evening and night, volcanic ash fell in the municipalities of Amatitlán, Villa Nueva, and Guatemala City.

President Álvaro Colom’s government has decreed a State of Public Calamity in the Escuintla, Sacatepéquez and Guatemala departments, for 15 days or more, so the authorities can do their job correctly. The emergency response is being coordinated by the National Coordination for Disaster Reduction (CONRED).

The eruption was followed by several tremors. All flights in and out of Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport, have been suspended. The eruption has caused many casualties, among them the death of Aníbal Archila, NOTI7’s reporter, who was one of the first reporting the event.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

The Brazilian football referee Edílson Pereira de Carvalho was detained by the Brazilian Federal Police on Saturday in Jacareí, a city 78 kilometers from São Paulo. According to the Public Prosecution Service, he refereed games in a partial manner so that only predetermined teams could win.

The businessman Nagib Fayad was also detained in São Paulo. Both are suspected of being part of a group suspected of manipulating games in order to profit through million dollar bets on sport bettings websites.

Brazilian prosecutor Roberto Porto said that investigators have 20 thousand hours of taped phone conversations back to October 2004 and that they have no doubt that Carvalho was fraudulently refereeing football games.

According to the spokeman of the Federal Police, Victor Hugo Rodrigues Alves, a referee would be contacted by phone by Fayad who would inform the referee which team should win the game. Fayad would then place the bets on Internet websites. Part of the profit would be given to the referee. Rodrigues claimed that additional people were involved.

On Saturday the referee told Federal Police that he favored various football teams while he administered games during the Liberators of the Americas Cup, Paulista Championship, and the Brazilian championship.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Ma Ying-jeou, former Mayor of Taipei, has been elected as the new President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the fourth contested election of the independent state with a landslide victory of 58.45% of the popular vote (7,658,724 votes). He defeated his opponent, Frank Hsieh, who received 41.55% of the popular vote (5,445,239 votes). The results of the election has been confirmed by the Central Election Commission of the ROC.

Ma represented the Pan-Blue Coalition, which consists of the Kuomintang, the People First Party, and the New Party and generally supports maintaining the current status quo. The coalition is in direct opposition to the Pan-Green Coalition, which consists of the Democratic Progressive Party, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, and the Taiwan Independence Party and generally supports Taiwanese independence. Hsieh, former Premier of the ROC, was the candidate for the Pan-Green Coalition.

Born in Hong Kong, Ma studied at New York University and Harvard Law School and once held an American permanent resident “green card”. Hsieh implied during the election that Ma might flee the country during a time of crisis. Hsieh also argued that the photogenic Ma was more style than substance. Despite these accusations, Ma won handily on a platform advocating closer ties with the Chinese mainland.

Ma Ying-jeou will be inaugurated as the new President in May 2008, with Vincent Shew being the new Vice President, replacing the current president Chen Shui-bian and ending the DPP’s 8-year rule of Taiwan. Ma has promised to increase economic ties with Mainland China by increasing tourism, air flights and relaxing rules that govern Taiwanese investments in the mainland. Ma, however, does not argue for political union. He called Chinese Premier Weng Jiabao’s recent call for “one China” talks “rude, unreasonable, arrogant, absurd, and self-righteous.”

George W. Bush, President of the United States, has issued a statement congratulating Ma on his success and reasserting that the U.S. will continue to maintain unofficial ties with Taiwan.

Two referendums regarding Taiwan’s involvement in the United Nations and other international organizations were also held along with the presidential election. The ROC Central Election Commission also confirmed that both referendums have failed due to low turnout.

Wednesday, March 9, 2005File:Plastic bag stock sized.jpg

They are cheap, useful, and very plentiful, and that is exactly the problem, according to researchers. A report issued on Feb. 23 by a cadre of environment and economics researchers suggested that Kenya should ban the common plastic bag that one gets at the checkout counter of grocery stores, and place a levy on other plastic bags, all to combat the country’s environmental problems stemming from the bags’ popularity.

Monday, May 9, 2005

At the Sellafield reprocessing plant, a leak in the process was spotted on April 19. The leak did not cause danger to people or the environment but it disturbed the normal operation of the plant.

Workers at the plant noticed a discrepancy in the amount of material being reprocessed that enters pipes that lead to a set of centrifuges and the amount of material actually arriving at the centrifuges. They used remote cameras to find the crack where the material was escaping; over twenty tonnes have leaked into a steel lined chamber.

The material, consisting of mostly uranium and some plutonium dissolved in nitric acid, would have been reprocessed in the centrifuges. The large stainless steel chamber that now contains the spilled material is too dangerous to enter due to radioactivity, though it poses no danger to those inside or outside the plant.

The plant has been shut down pending repairs.

Friday, November 3, 2006

The upcoming 2006 Brampton municipal election, to be held November 13, features an array of candidates looking to represent their wards in city council or the council of the Peel Region. The candidates for this region are John Sanderson, Susan DiMarco (this wards incumbent), Tibor Bankuti, Theo Goary and Sukhwant Thethi.

John Sanderson spoke exclusively to Wikinews via questions sent in an email. Mr Sanderson’s answers to some of the questions asked are below.

Q: List the three most important issues in your campaign.

A: Safer communities through effective enforcement;

Reduced traffic congestion through effective planning; and

Managed growth through effective plan development.

Q: What one election issue do you feel is most relevant to your ward in this election?

A: My motivation for pursuing pubic office is to ensure that our city has adequate infrastructure to support its rapid growth. Wards 3 and 4 include Highway 410, Steeles Avenue, Kennedy Rd., Highway 10, McLaughlin Rd. and Chinguacousy Rd, some of the most congested roads in Brampton. As a life-long resident of Brampton, the severe traffic congestion that we are experiencing today is unprecedented in our history – and is costly to our economy and quality of life. While canvassing, the common message received from residents in the ward is that we need to better manage traffic and transportation. As a Regional Councillor, I will be a strong advocate for smart and long-term transportation planning of the City of Brampton and Region of Peel and I will take immediate measures to help alleviate transportation congestion in our city. This includes the provision of an effective and efficient public transit system that is responsive to users’ needs, as well as implementing and promoting carpooling, to help reduce single occupancy vehicles on roadways. I am also not afraid to speak up about the issues of Brampton. As Past President of The Brampton Board of Trade, I can be a strong voice to the Provincial Government about their need to make transportation infrastructure a priority, particularly as it relates to expanding Highway 410 and better planning and coordination of transportation region wide.

Q: What qualities or experiences do you possess, that make you more desirable than the incumbent?

A:

Q: Why do you want to represent your ward on council?

A:

Q: How are you currently involved in the community?

A: John has been a volunteer his entire life. John understands that “Community” is about service.

From 2001-2002, John Sanderson served as President of The Brampton Board of Trade. He was first elected as a member of The Brampton Board of Trade Governing Council in 1992, and continued as an active member when he started his own company, J.W.S. Waste Systems Inc., in 1998. Through his many years as a member of the Board, John served on every Board committee, including 11 years on Governing Council.

As a model corporate citizen, John Sanderson and his former company, J.W.S. Waste Systems Inc. contributed extensively to various community initiatives through sponsorship and participation, including: Salvation Army; St. John Ambulance; YMCA Fundraising Committee; Brampton Clean City; Santa Claus Parade; Brampton Excelsiors Major Lacrosse Club (including 14 years on the Executive and two years as President); Rotary Club of Brampton; Brampton Scouts Leader; and coaching and managing various minor hockey and lacrosse teams. As a member of the Ontario Waste Management Association, John served as President from 1996-98, in addition to four years on the Executive.

Outside of his business, Sanderson is very well known through his active volunteerism with the Rotary Club of Brampton, where he has been a member for 15 years and on the Board of Directors for six years. With the Rotary Club, John has participated on: the Easter Seals Fundraising Committee; volunteer at the Rotary owned and operated bingo hall; Membership Committee, where he was recognized with an Membership Award in 2002; and Chair of the Gage Park Enhancement Committee, Brampton’s historic park and skating trail, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Brampton. John’s dedicated service to the Rotary Club was honoured in December 2001, when he was presented the prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship Award, the highest award given by Rotary International to recognize community service.

John Sanderson, more important than being a prominent businessperson is a true community leader. Through his active involvement in The Brampton Board of Trade and Rotary Club of Brampton, along with his many other community initiatives and activities, he has dedicated himself to improving the quality of life in Brampton. In 2002, The Brampton Salvation Army asked John to be its Kettle Campaign Chair. John’s goal was to surpass the 2001 total. He dedicated himself so heavily to the campaign, that through his business and community connections, helped raise $233,000 – $118,000 more than the previous year. This is typical of John Sanderson when he makes a commitment to help. John, being a modest man, is always quick to thank his dedicated staff at J.W.S. Waste Systems Inc. and caring wife and family, for supporting him as he dedicates, on average, over 50 volunteer hours a month to his various community activities.

Adding to his long list of accolades, in 2002, John was one of two individuals recognized nationally by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as Volunteer of the Year. Later that year, he was also the recipient of the prestigious Queen’s Jubilee.

Q: The Rose Theatre recently launched. What are your thoughts on this facility? Have you had a chance to tour it yet?

A:

Q: The province has strongly encouraged the development of high-density residences near the downtown. Do these buildings fit in with your vision of the downtown? How much say should other levels of government have in urban planning?

A:

Q: How do you feel about Brampton’s rate of expansion? Council recently capped the annual amount of new development; do you agree completely with this decision, would you have slowed development even further, or not have imposed a cap at all?

A:

Q: What are your opinions on Brampton’s congestion and the level of public transit funding?

A:

Q: Why should businesses be attracted to locating in Brampton?

A:

Q: How could Brampton further itself in attracting corporate investment?

A:

Q: Why have you chosen to involve yourself in the political process?

A: John Sanderson knows that Brampton can truly become a great city with the right vision, drive and management. John Sanderson will bring his business savvy and a strong sense of community to the role of Regional Councillor, and will contribute a common sense approach to the management of this city.

As Brampton grows to 635,000 people over the next 15 years, we need strong leaders on City and Regional Council. We need people with vision. But most of all, we need people determined to make change happen, people who will listen and speak out on issues.

Q: What does Brampton mean to you?

A: