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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Sophie Lavers, a 24-year-old woman from Canberra, has been crowned Miss World Australia in Sydney. She defeated nineteen other finalists to take the prize and will represent Australia at the Miss World event in South Africa.

The entrants were judged based on several categories including best talent, healthy body image, sports and fitness and beauty with a purpose. An aspiring actress, she is completing an acting course and hopes to build a career in film and television. She is also a qualified fitness instructor and has worked as a Kings Cross waitress.

She has been described in the media as having an “amazing figure” and it has been rumoured that she has used this for modelling work. However, Lavers has said that her body has only been modelled for a good cause: “Some do think that, but I have only ever modelled for charity.”

She also doubts much will change for her, at least in the near future. “I’ll still get up and probably have peanut butter on toast for breakfast but after that I’m not sure what’s happening. I guess I won’t be going to work tomorrow.”

She explained that all the girls who entered were dedicated to making a difference. “I just think it’s like having little angels out there through the country helping in all different areas whether it’s with children, or blind people, or the homeless.” Lavers also complained that non-stop smiling for the event has left here mouth sore. “I’m not used to smiling for hours on end.”

Lavers is now set to head to Johannesburg for the December 12 global competition. “I’ve got to get a month of outfits ready and get a talent and another speech and everything. Oh goodness.”

See the discussion page for instructions on adding schools to this list and for an alphabetically arranged listing of schools.

Due to the damage by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding, a number of colleges and universities in the New Orleans metropolitan area will not be able to hold classes for the fall 2005 semester. It is estimated that 75,000 to 100,000 students have been displaced. [1]. In response, institutions across the United States and Canada are offering late registration for displaced students so that their academic progress is not unduly delayed. Some are offering free or reduced admission to displaced students. At some universities, especially state universities, this offer is limited to residents of the area.

See the discussion page for instructions on adding schools to this list.Tuesday, September 13, 2005

NAICU has created a list of colleges and universities accepting and/or offering assistance to displace faculty members. [1]Wednesday, September 7, 2005

This list is taken from Colleges offering admission to displaced New Orleans students, and is intended to make searching easier for faculty, graduate, and professional students.

In addition to the list below, the Association of American Law Schools has compiled a list of law schools offering assistance to displaced students. [2] As conditions vary by college, interested parties should contact the Office of Admissions at the school in question for specific requirements and up-to-date details.

The Association of American Medical Colleges is coordinating alternatives for medical students and residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. [3]

ResCross.net is acting as a central interactive hub for establishing research support in times of emergency. With so many scientists affected by Hurricane Katrina, ResCross is currently focused on providing information to identify sources of emergency support as quickly as possible. [4]

With so many scientists affected by Hurricane Katrina, ResCross is currently focused on providing information to identify sources of emergency support as quickly as possible.

Physics undergraduates, grad students, faculty and high school teachers can be matched up with housing and jobs at universities, schools and industry. [5] From the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Society of Physics Students, the American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society.

If you are seeking or providing assistance, please use this site to find information on research support, available lab space/supplies, resources, guidelines and most importantly to communicate with fellow researchers.

The following is a partial list, sorted by location.

Alabama |Alaska |Arizona |Arkansas |California |Colorado |Connecticut |Delaware |District of Columbia |Florida |Georgia |Hawaii |Idaho |Illinois |Indiana |Iowa |Kansas |Kentucky |Louisiana |Maine |Maryland |Massachusetts |Michigan |Minnesota |Mississippi |Missouri |Montana |Nebraska |Nevada |New Hampshire |New Jersey |New Mexico |New York |North Carolina |North Dakota |Ohio |Oklahoma |Oregon |Pennsylvania |Rhode Island |South Carolina |South Dakota |Tennessee |Texas |Utah |Vermont |Virginia |Washington |West Virginia |Wisconsin |Wyoming |Canada

Tuesday, March 29, 2005A team of Australian surgeons yesterday reattached both hands and one foot to 10-year-old Perth boy, Terry Vo, after a brick wall which collapsed during a game of basketball fell on him, severing the limbs. The wall gave way while Terry performed a slam-dunk, during a game at a friend’s birthday party.

The boy was today awake and smiling, still in some pain but in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery, according to plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love.

“What we have is parts that are very much alive so the reattached limbs are certainly pink, well perfused and are indeed moving,” Mr Love told reporters today.

“The fact that he is moving his fingers, and of course when he wakes up he will move both fingers and toes, is not a surprise,” Mr Love had said yesterday.

“The question is more the sensory return that he will get in the hand itself and the fine movements he will have in the fingers and the toes, and that will come with time, hopefully. We will assess that over the next 18 months to two years.

“I’m sure that he’ll enjoy a game of basketball in the future.”

The weight and force of the collapse, and the sharp brick edges, resulted in the three limbs being cut through about 7cm above the wrists and ankle.

Terry’s father Tan said of his only child, the injuries were terrible, “I was scared to look at him, a horrible thing.”

The hands and foot were placed in an ice-filled Esky and rushed to hospital with the boy, where three teams of medical experts were assembled, and he was given a blood transfusion after experiencing massive blood loss. Eight hours of complex micro-surgery on Saturday night were followed by a further two hours of skin grafts yesterday.

“What he will lose because it was such a large zone of traumatised skin and muscle and so on, he will lose some of the skin so he’ll certainly require lots of further surgery regardless of whether the skin survives,” said Mr Love said today.

The boy was kept unconscious under anaesthetic between the two procedures. In an interview yesterday, Mr Love explained why:

“He could have actually been woken up the next day. Because we were intending to take him back to theatre for a second look, to look at the traumatised skin flaps, to close more of his wounds and to do split skin grafting, it was felt the best thing to do would be to keep him stable and to keep him anaesthetised.”

Professor Wayne Morrison, director of the respected Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery and head of plastic and hand surgery at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, said he believed the operation to be a world first.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Kasey Keller made three crucial saves as nine-man USA drew 1-1 with ten-man Italy in an heart-pounding Group E match.

The match was played in Kaiserslautern and there were many American fans present. Those who had seen the Czech Republic crush the USA 3-0 might have been surprised at the way the underdogs played against the Azzuri.

Bruce Arena’s side began with a 4-5-1 formation and started the game with great energy, attacking from the first whistle.

However; arguably against the play Italy scored first. A set piece 45 yards out was driven low and Alberto Gilardino got in front of his defender and glanced a header to the far post.

USA got an equaliser on 26 minutes. Christian Zaccardo tried to clear a corner one way but skewed the ball the other. Own goal, Gianluigi Buffon did not move.

Then there was a crucial turning point in the character of the game. Daniele De Rossi rose for a midfield challenge and hit Brian McBride under the left eye with what looked like an elbow.

Blood streamed from McBride’s face. Uruguay referee Jorge Larrionda gave De Rossi a straight red.

Larrionda went on to show two more red cards in the match which equalled a tournament record. There had only been three other Fifa World Cup games with three red cards: 1938 Brazil v Czechoslovakia; 1954, Brazil v Hungary; and 1998, Denmark v South Africa.

For a few minutes McBride remained shirtless on the touchline while he received boxer treatment and three stiches for his cut. Italian manager Marcello Lippi replaced Francesco Totti with midfield tackler Gennaro Gattuso.

With half an hour gone the own goal and De Rossi’s mistake had given the USA a massive advantage. But it appears they did not keep their heads.

Ten minutes after Pablo Mastroeni had grazed the crossbar with a shot he made a horrible lunge at the ankles of Andrea Pirlo. Jorge Larrionda flashed the red again.

Just before half-time the USA had neutralised their advantage. In less than one minute after the restart they were to hand the Italians the advantage.

Eddie Pope was sent off after he received his second caution: two yellow cards equal one red card and now it was ten men versus nine.

Lippi almost immediately got substitute Alexandro Del Piero on for one of his defenders to take advantage of their extra player. Arena brought on another defender and lined up 3-3-2. By 80 minutes this had become 8-0-0.

For a game with so few players and so much drama there were very few chances. Only three shots were on target; all for Italy. USA had 8 shots; none on target.

A statistic that suggests the draw was a tactical victory for the USA coach. Italy’s forward line was guilty of getting caught offside 11 times.

Pirlo went close with a freekick and almost forced Carlos Bocanegra to head another dangerous dipping cross into his net; fortunately for Keller it clipped the bar.

As the Americans were stretched further Kasey Keller made a couple of crucial saves from Lippi’s extra attacker. On 73 minutes he got one hand to a Del Piero header and then palmed away two-handed his long range drive.

In the last 10 minutes Italy passed well and created a few chances to score. Vincenzo Iaquinta broke the offside trap, but failed to control the ball with only Keller to beat.

On 90 minutes Gilardino headed wide under pressure from Steve Cherundolo.

USA, despite playing the entire second half with 9 men might say they were unlucky not to get a second goal. A DaMarcus Beasley shot beat Buffon but was over-ruled because McBride was standing offside in the keeper’s line of sight.

On USA attacks Landon Donovan kept the ball well which allowed respite from Italian attacks and spurred his team on to play further up the pitch, until their stamina cracked with ten-minutes left.

The referee arguably was fair if not consistent. In the second half as both sets of players tired decisions appeared more based on necessity to be more lenient.

Lunges were not whistled and there was an aggressive shirt pull in the USA penalty area that was ignored. In an earlier World Cup match, a Ukraine player had conceded a penalty and was sent off for doing this.

The shared point meant either one of Italy or Czech Republic would qualify from Group E for the knock-out stage of the Fifa World Cup. USA next play Ghana: a win for Ghana would mean qualification while the USA would qualify if they won and Italy beat the Czech Republic.

Monday, March 25, 2019

From March 15 to 17, the Canadian city of Toronto played host to the tenth Furnal Equinox, an annual event dedicated to the “furry fandom.” Wikinews attended. Programming ranged from music to gender, science to art, covering dozens of aspects of the varied subculture. The event’s featured guests were visual artists Moth Monarch and Cat-Monk Shiro, as well as the co-owners of US fursuit costume builders Don’t Hug Cacti.

The event raised nearly CDN$11,000 for Pet Patrol, a non-profit rescue organization in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, run by volunteers. This exceeded their goal of $10,000, the funds needed to finish a rural sanctuary. The furry community is well-known for their charitable efforts. Along with direct donations, the funds were raised through a charity auction offering original artwork, and a fursuit design by guests of honour “Don’t Hug Cacti.” Last year, Furnal Equinox raised funds for a farm animal sanctuary.

While only 10–15% of people within the fandom own a fursuit according to a 2011 study, event organizers reported this year 908 of the 2240 attendees at Furnal Equinox brought at least one elaborate outfit to the event. The outfits are usually based on original characters, known as “fursonas”.

Guests of Honour Cherie and Sean O’Donnell, known within the community as “Lucky and Skuff Coyote”, held a session on fursuit construction on Saturday afternoon. The married couple are among the most prominent builders in the fandom, under the name Don’t Hug Cacti. The scale of their business was evident, as Sean had made over a thousand pairs of “handpaws”, costume gloves.

The couple encouraged attendees to continue developing their technique, sharing that all professional fursuit makers had developed different techniques. They felt that they learned more from failed projects than successful ones, citing the Chuck Jones quote that “every artist has thousands of bad drawings,” and that you have to work through them to achieve. Cherie, known as Lucky, recalled receiving a Sylvester the Cat plush toy from a Six Flags theme park at age 10. She promptly hollowed the toy out, turning it into a costume. Creating a costume isn’t without its hazards: the company uses 450°F (232°C) glue guns. They’re “like sticking your hand in an oven.”

Other programming included improv comedy, dances, life drawing of fursuiters, a review of scientific research by a research group at four universities called FurScience, a pin collector’s social, and workshops in writing.

The “Dealer’s Den” hall was expanded this year, with even more retailers and artists. While many offered “furry” versions of traditional products, at least one business focused on “pushing the boundaries of fursuit technology.” Along with 3D printing a bone-shaped name tag when Wikinews visited, Grivik was demonstrating miniature computer screens that could be used as “eyes” for a fursuit. The electronic displays projected an animation of eyes looking around, blinking occasionally. The maker has also developed “a way to install a camera inside suit heads, to improve fursuiter visibility.” He hopes the tech would reduce suiting risks and accidents. Without the need for eyeholes, fursuit makers would have “more options for building different eyestyles.”

• Image: Nicholas Moreau.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. Liberal candidate Andrew Lang is standing for election in the riding of Toronto—Danforth.

Raised with Liberal values, Andrew attended his first Liberal rally at age 6. He has worked 18 elections since that introduction to the political sphere, but this is his first time as a candidate. A University of Toronto graduate (and player for the Varsity Blues), his career highlights include managing Bill Graham’s constituency office. (A now-retired MP, Graham’s career included serving as Minister of National Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as interim Leader of the Liberals and Leader of the Opposition.) He is currently with the Ontario Chiropractic Association.

Wikinews contacted Andrew, 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.

The incumbent in this riding is National Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton. Other than Lang, trying for the riding are Sharon Howarth (Green), and Christina Perreault (Conservative). Minor party candidates Marie Crawford (Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada), Marcell Rodden (Marxist-Leninist), and Bahman Yazdanfar (Canadian Action Party) are also running, as is independent John Richardson. The riding has existed federally since 1979, and has the seat has been occupied by Bob Rae (NDP, 1979–1982), Lynn McDonald (NDP, 1982–1988), Dennis Mills (Liberal, 1988–2004), and Layton (NDP, 2004 to present).

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

Saturday, November 4, 2006

On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley East (Ward 33). One candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Zane Caplan, Shelley Carroll (incumbent), Jim Conlon, Sarah Tsang-Fahey, and Anderson Tung.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Featured articles are selected by the community to represent the best of Wikinews. See the Featured Article Candidates page for nominations and discussions of candidate articles for this page. Or, subscribe to the RSS feed!

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Internet TV came one step closer to reality as startup web broadcaster Joost recently announced that it signed a deal with Warner Brothers to host some of its WBTV-branded content. This deal, along with content deals with other television providers, lately Time Warner and Sony Pictures Television, makes Joost (pronounced “juiced”) the sweetheart aggregator and provider in the coming on-demand, freely distributed online TV broadcasts.

Joost bills itself as an online community where viewers, “can watch what you want, when you want, in full-screen eye-quality proper TV.” The service currently provides about 150 channels, although the availability of some channels varies by country or region due to copyright restrictions. Viewers can navigate screen menus to make programming choices, and then use “widgets” from drop-down menus that allow users to interact with the programming.

“Widgets include a clock, integration of instant messaging, RSS/News feeds and a chat room for the particular channel being viewed on the screen. Users have the ability to opt out of the widgets during viewing or can easily access them from the mouse-activated menus,” according to John P. Gamboa of the Dailey Aztec.

The development efforts at Joost are backed by technology-savvy web entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis. The two used Internet peer-to-peer networking to create Kazaa, and then later Skype. The cutting-edge music file sharing and telephony implementations of these two applications, some say bleeding edge, appear to have had an affect on the approach being used now by the two at Joost along with co-developers. The copyright infringement-plagued Kazaa was sold to Sharman Networks in 2002. Skype was sold to eBay in October 2005 for $2.6 billion. In July last year, Kazaa settled with music record labels by making a $100 million payment as reparations for illegal file sharing activities employed by users of the application that enabled the distribution of copyright-infringed music files.

Kazaa became a copyright bust. Skype became a jaw-dropping hit, and a hit in the jaw of telcom carriers whose management of voice transmission became undermined by the sub-set of Internet users with broadband connectivity and peer-to-peer web awareness. The evolution is distinctively one-way. Online broadband peer-to-peer connectivity is here to stay after a nasty birth.

“People are looking for increased choice and flexibility in their TV experience, while the entertainment industry needs to retain control over their content,” said Joost chief executive officer Fredrik de Wahl. “We’ve married that consumer desire with the industry’s interests.”

The “marriage” of TV content to “consumer desire” is the hot-spot that media conglomerates are still seemingly trying to figure out as they dispense their less valuable content for Internet consumption. Joost has managed to secure some rights to webcast programming, but the content is not the highest quality broadcasted TV programming currently available through established subscription cable and satellite distribution channels, or even free airwave TV.

Underlying the concept of Internet TV is the distribution of content in a way that is more efficient than the existing model. Peer-to-peer networking over the Internet makes programming available when a user asks for it. The ‘on-demand’ feature of this approach frees up space in the distribution pipeline and provides feedback to the aggregator to know exactly what is in demand. It gives a middle-man the leverage to negotiate with media conglomerates and then manage a pipeline flooded with unviewed content, thereby conserving bandwidth. It also lets viewers opt for free online TV programming through content arrangements made by the web broadcaster, who acts as a gateway to the programs. However, it is not an advertising-free service.

The Joost hoopla is partly spurred on by its expansionist decision on May 1 to allow users of the Beta version to distribute 99 invitations to other people who could become Beta users.