Tuesday, August 6, 2013 

This past Sunday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a bill known as “Rocky’s Law” that requires Illinois high schools, through the local school district, to buy catastrophic injury insurance up to US$3 million or medical costs for up to five years, whichever one comes first, that covers student athletes. The insurance must cover student athletes while they are competing.

The legislation was named after Rasul “Rocky” Clark. In 2000, the Eisenhower High School football player became paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a tackle during a game. His school based health insurance covered the costs of his medical treatment. A legislator sponsoring the bill noted that the need for this type of insurance is rare. Clark’s mother attended the legislation signing. Her son died last year.

Before parents can claim money from school insurance, they first must pay out US$50,000. Schools have until January 1, 2014 to comply with the law. Schools cannot charge students more than US$5 to defray the cost of insurance. If a school district already requires student to be covered through private health insurance, they are exempted from this law.

Thursday, October 4, 2007 

Glenn Crowe is running for the NDP in the Ontario provincial election, in the Bramalea-Gore-Malton riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Crowe did not reply to various questions asked.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Why have you chosen to involve yourself in the political process? Why did you choose to run in this constituency?

What do you feel are the three most important issues to voters in your riding? Are these the same top three issues that are most important to you? What would you do to address these issues?

What should be the first order of business in the 39th Legislative Assembly?

Are the property taxes in your riding at a fair level for the amount of services received in the municipality?

How can the province lead the way in stimulating job creation?

What are your views on the mixed member proportional representation (MMP) referendum?

What role, if any, does “new media” play in your campaign, and the campaign of your party? (websites, blogs, Facebook, YouTube videos, etc) Do you view it as beneficial, or a challenge?

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I’m not quite understanding why liberals think that this is such a good thing, except the liberals that own stock in insurance companies. One thing I know is that car insurance, which anyone who drives is required to have, is too expensive, especially if you’re young because they automatically assume that young people are going to be reckless. Now, with the individual mandate, I expect that health insurance companies will jack prices up knowing that people have to have it, and they’ll probably do the same thing the car insurance companies do; they’ll charge more for young people because they’re supposedly reckless, they’ll charge more for people with preexisting conditions, they’ll jack your premiums up if you ever go to the hospital, etc. How is this supposed to help the poor? Also consider the fact that there are a lot of people that will not take government aide, look at all the homeless people that are homeless because they refuse to go on welfare. How will taxing them for not having insurance help them?

No opinions yet?

I find it sad and funny that Obama spoke of how this is a lovely plan to help people and make sure noone is uninsured in times of need and yet the part that was cut was the one that would’ve extended Medicaid benefits to the people at the bottom of the income scale.

And my bet is that was Robert’s attempt to throw a bone to the right-wing to make them somewhat.

Monday, August 27, 2012 

London, England — As Paralympians ready for the Games which are set to open later this week, they have access to a world class fitness center inside the Paralympic Village which is designed to maximise their pre-Game preparations.

According to volunteers staffing the center, instead of being a single large room, as in Beijing, the building has numerous rooms. It, along with the adjacent Village Services Centre, is designed to be converted into a school after the games conclude. Rooms have been structured as a gym, an auditorium, and science laboratories.

Gym equipment is supplied by Technogym, an Italian firm that has supplied gym equipment for the Olympics since 2000. Equipment has been provided not just for for the Fitness Centre, but for gyms at all the Olympic venues. The newest equipment is oriented toward maximum flexibility, allowing athletes to exercise the particular muscles that they most require for their sport.

In addition to the equipment, the Fitness Centre also provides instructors trained in the use of the equipment, the likes of which athletes from many countries have never seen before. There are also a number of instructors available to provide motivational training.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 

Environmentalists in Brazil are urging the country’s residents to urinate in the shower while washing themselves, to help conserve water and save the rainforest. Television ads being aired in the country claim that by doing so, the nation could save over 1,000 gallons of water per household each year.

SOS Mata Atlantica ran the ad campaign in an attempt to use comedy to get people to reduce the amount of water they use. “[The ad is] a way to be playful about a serious subject,” said Adriana Kfouri, a spokesperson for Atlantica.

The animated ad narrated by children shows people, including a trapeze artist, an alien and dancers, all taking a shower while at the same time, urinating in it. The ending of the ad then states, “Pee in the shower! Save the Atlantic rainforest!”

Ken Livingstone, former mayor of London, England, proposed a similar campaign in 2006. He said urine should be classified as a “green waste” and that “there is no earthly reason that you need to flush the loo if you have merely urinated. That’s a huge saving of water.”

Friday, December 18, 2009 

International media attention has been a harsh mistress for 32-year-old Heather Richard of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who gave birth on Sunday while sitting on the toilet. Richard, who believed she was barren and thus assumed she could not be pregnant, thought she was suffering from cramps and a bad bowel movement.

“I kept getting the urge to push and just thought it was a real bad bowel movement,” Richard told the Winnipeg Sun, whose interview was picked up by the Canadian wire service. “It just fell out. I thought it was my intestines, so I’m freaking out…but then it’s a little boy.” Richard realized that the product was a baby and not her insides when its leg twitched.

Relatives of Richard’s found her hysterically crying and pointing at the toilet. “She was crying and saying, ‘Help me, get my baby out of the toilet, he’s drowning,” Keith Richard, her cousin, told the Sun. While the rest of the family was immobile by the revelation, police officers knocked on her front door; she was to be arrested due to outstanding warrants that Richard says have since been cleared.

One officer performed CPR on the baby and it was rushed to the hospital. The baby, since named Isaiah, weighed five pounds, nine ounces, and suffered a skull fracture, presumably as a result of his head hitting the toilet bowl. The baby is in stable condition and Richard is recovering from her birth at home.

The incident spread like wildfire in the Canadian and international press on Tuesday and Wednesday. When asked about the coverage, Richard told the website canoe.ca that she was embarrassed at all the fuss the story generated.

Sunday, September 6, 2009 

24-year-old Aman Kassaye, of no fixed abode, is to face a charge of attempted murder for his alleged role in an armed robbery that netted £40 million ($65 million) worth of jewelry from a London store.

Kassaye is the seventh man to be charged, and is also facing prosecution for conspiracy to rob the Graff store in New Bond Street, false imprisonment, and using a handgun to resist arrest. He will appear at Wimbledon magistrates court on Monday.

The other six men have already been remanded in custody until October 23, when they will appear at Kingston Crown Court. All are facing charges of conspiracy to rob, and two of them are also charged with a firearms offense.

43 diamond rings, watches, and bracelets were taken from the store. The theft occurred when two armed and suited men walked in and took an employee hostage. It has been reported they used prosthetic masks made from liquid latex but police have not confirmed this. Amateur footage also shows a shot was fired. No-one was injured.

The robbery is one of the biggest the United Kingdom has seen. After the crime a string of getaway vehicles was used, with police believing several more offenders assisted with this stage of the plan. Although The Telegraph claims no stolen property has yet been recovered, this is also unconfirmed by police.