Tuesday, July 7, 2009

English actress Rachel Weisz thinks that Botox injections should be banned for all actors.

The 39-year-old actress, best known for her roles in the Mummy movie franchise and for her Academy Award-winning portrayal in The Constant Gardener, feels facial Botox injections leave actors less able to convey emotion and that it harms the acting industry as much as steroids harm athletes.

In an interview with UK’s Harper’s Bazaar, coming out next month, Weisz says, “It should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen,” she claims. “Acting is all about expression; why would you want to iron out a frown?”

Currently living in New York, she also mentions that English women are much less worried about their physical appearance than in the United States. “I love the way girls in London dress,” she claimed. “It’s so different to the American ‘blow-dry and immaculate grooming’ thing.”

Friday, September 26, 2008

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. New Democratic Party candidate Pastor Ryan Dolby is standing for election in the riding of Elgin—Middlesex—London.

Born in Chatham, he moved to St. Thomas in 1994, and recently to the Village of Shedden. An employee of Lear Corporation, Dolby is a CAW Local 2168 member, who serves as Union Benefits Representative, and Local Trustee and Chair of the Union in Politics Committee. A CAW Council Delegate representative, he was appointed to the CAW National Employment Insurance Committee in 2006. He is involved in community organizations ranging from the St. Thomas Action Centre, United Way, the St. Thomas Women’s Shelter and the St. Thomas Fanshawe College Campus Advisory Committee. Having studied at the University of Windsor, he is currently completing the Labour Studies Certificate Program at McMaster University, aiming towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Labour Studies

Wikinews contacted Ryan, to talk about the issues facing Canadians, and what they and their party would do to address them. Wikinews is in the process of contacting every candidate, in every riding across the country, no matter their political stripe. All interviews are conducted over e-mail, and interviews are published unedited, allowing candidates to impart their full message to our readers, uninterrupted.

In 1996, the riding was created through the amalgamation of the Elgin—Norfolk, Lambton—Middlesex, and London—Middlesex ridings. While it was a Liberal riding for many years, through Jean Chretien’s Parliamentary Secretary Gar Knutson, in 2004, the riding became Conservative, with Joe Preston taking its reigns. Besides Dolby and Preston, the riding’s candidates include Liberal Suzanne van Bommel, Green Will Arlow, CAP Noel Burgon, CHP Carl Hiemstra, and independent Michael van Holst.

For more information, visit the campaign’s official website, listed below.

Monday, February 8, 2010

The black box cockpit voice recorder from an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed into the Mediterranean several weeks ago, killing all on board, has been found by search crews. The flight data recorder had been recovered earlier in the day. The bodies of eight victims were recovered from what is believed to be fuselage.

“We found it and retrieved it about an hour ago today,” Lebanese army Brigadier Saleh Haj Suleiman said, as quoted by BusinessWeek. According to reports, the plane made a sharp turn and disappeared from the radar upon departure; Lebanese officials, however, say it’s too early to conclude the crash was due to pilot error.

The black box records communication data, technical information such as speed, altitude, etc., as well as conversation in the airplane cockpit, which could help investigators determine why the jet crashed.

The boxes will be transported to France to be analysed, according to officials.

Flight ET409, which had departed from Beirut, Lebanon, was bound for Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on January 25 when it crashed into the waters of the Mediterranean Sea several minutes after takeoff, in inclement weather. All ninety people aboard were killed.

Minister of Public Works and Transport Ghazi Aridi told Reuters, “The priority now is searching for the rest of the bodies of victims.” So far, the bodies of 23 victims have been recovered.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Alain Jaubert, director of the famous art program “Palettes“ by Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne (ARTE) was invited by Taiwan Public Television Service (PTS Taiwan) and the French Institute in Taipei to talk about productions on his art program on January 19 in Taipei City. He also talked about some experiences and functionalities on art programs with the Chairman of National Culture and Arts Foundation Mingchuan Huang.

According to PTS Taiwan, Jaubert failed at his first attempt to produce “Palettes” in 1984, but finally succeeded in 1987 after his proposal was recalled and Jaubery tried another production style to introduce history and background on establishments of notable pictures to Europe. This program was finally recognized and encouraged by administration centers from three ancient monuments (Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and Pompidou Centre). This also echoed Jaubert’s words in his speech: “Without support by art comrades and those administrations centers, ‘Palettes’ would not exist; I wouldn’t have become notable in Europe.”

Before the Executive Panel, the PTS Taiwan screened highlights from some art programs including “Pelettes” by ARTE and “Avant Guard Liberation” by Mingchuan Huang. After the screening, executives talked about specifications on art programs and forecasted the future of directions on art programs world-wide.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Tony Benn, British Labour Party politician and left-wing campaigner, died this morning at his home in west London at age 88. Benn’s health had been declining since a stroke left him hospitalized in 2012.

Benn’s father and both grandfathers were MPs (Members of Parliament) in the Liberal party; his father defected to Labour and became a Cabinet Minister. Benn grew up in London and was a pupil at Westminster School before studying politics, philosophy and economics at New College, Oxford. During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force for two years, then went back to Oxford to finish his studies. He worked as a BBC radio producer.

Tony Benn became an MP in November of 1950 and was a member of the cabinets of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In 1981, Benn ran for deputy leadership of the Labour Party but lost. He also had a role in shaping the 1983 Labour manifesto. He went on to become a diarist and speaker, as well as joining in the anti-war movement and speaking out strongly against the Iraq war. The Sun newspaper once referred to him as “the most dangerous man in Britain” because of his strong left-wing political views.

Benn’s son Hilary also joined Labour and is an MP for Leeds Central. He distanced himself from his father’s views by saying he was “a Benn, not a Bennite”.

Benn’s children released a statement following his passing: “We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the NHS [National Health Service] staff and carers who have looked after him with such kindness in hospital and at home. We will miss above all his love which has sustained us throughout our lives. But we are comforted by the memory of his long, full and inspiring life and so proud of his devotion to helping others as he sought to change the world for the better.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband said Benn was an “iconic figure of our age”, “a champion of the powerless, a great parliamentarian and a conviction politician”. David Cameron said on Twitter: “Tony Benn was a magnificent writer, speaker and campaigner. There was never a dull moment listening to him, even if you disagreed with him.”