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Thursday, November 8, 2007

What you are about to read is an American life as lived by renowned author Edmund White. His life has been a crossroads, the fulcrum of high-brow Classicism and low-brow Brett Easton Ellisism. It is not for the faint. He has been the toast of the literary elite in New York, London and Paris, befriending artistic luminaries such as Salman Rushdie and Sir Ian McKellen while writing about a family where he was jealous his sister was having sex with his father as he fought off his mother’s amorous pursuit.

The fact is, Edmund White exists. His life exists. To the casual reader, they may find it disquieting that someone like his father existed in 1950’s America and that White’s work is the progeny of his intimate effort to understand his own experience.

Wikinews reporter David Shankbone understood that an interview with Edmund White, who is professor of creative writing at Princeton University, who wrote the seminal biography of Jean Genet, and who no longer can keep track of how many sex partners he has encountered, meant nothing would be off limits. Nothing was. Late in the interview they were joined by his partner Michael Caroll, who discussed White’s enduring feud with influential writer and activist Larry Kramer.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable Gordon Brown PC MP, in a speech to the British House of Commons today presented his ninth Budget, what is very likely to be his last Budget before the next UK General Election. This opened the parliamentary debate on the 2005 Finance Bill, and was followed by responses from the opposition parties.

In a 48 minute long speech, the Chancellor presented a Budget of “tax cuts that are reasonable, spending that is affordable, and [economic] stability that is paramount”, that was “the prudent course for Britain”. There were few surprises that had not already been indicated in his 2004 pre-Budget report. The increase in the threshold on stamp duty was greater than that forecast by commentators, as was the amount of the Council Tax rebate to households with pensioners.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Leaders from around the world have congratulated re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama on his success at the ballot box.

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he “will continue to work with President Obama to preserve the strategic interests of Israel’s citizens” and described relations between the U.S. and Israel as “rock solid”. Some others within the ruling Likud party were not so optimistic about the relationship, with Knesset member Danny Danon criticising Obama for “ill-advised” policies towards Israel and hoping Obama “resets his course relating to Israel and our region for the next four years”.

A statement on behalf of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas expressed hope that Obama “continues his efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East”.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron took time from his tour of the Middle East to congratulate Obama and listed as shared priorities a trade deal between the U.S. and the United Kingdom as well as solving the crisis in Syria. Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour Party, stated on Twitter that Obama’s success in the election was “based on building fairer economy and optimism about what politics can achieve.”

French leader François Hollande said in choosing Obama over Mitt Romney, voters in the United States had voted for “an America of openness and solidarity, fully engaged on the international scene and conscious of the challenges facing our planet: peace, economy and the environment”. He listed economic growth, unemployment, and the Middle East as challenges the two politicians would have to face. German leader Angela Merkel stated she “deeply appreciated” meetings and conversations with Obama on issues including “overcoming the global financial and economic crisis”.

Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, issued a joint statement which described the U.S. as “a key strategic partner of the European Union” and hoped to meet Obama “at an early date in order to reconfirm our priorities and provide renewed impetus to our joint action”.

Across Africa, Obama received congratulations from South African President Jacob Zuma, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, and Raila Odinga, the Prime Minister of Kenya.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Hissen Habre, the former President of Chad, has received a death sentence for plotting to overthrow the Chadian government. He is currently in exile and is living in Senegal.

In addition, the head of Rally of Forces for Change, Timane Erdimi, was sentenced to death in absentia as well as 10 other individuals. Erdimi is related to the current President of Chad, Idriss Déby. 32 other people were penalized with hard labor.

The inquiry said that Habre’s government was responsible for 40,000 politically motivated murders and 200,000 torture cases.

The trial, which began on Tuesday, lasted for three days. The individuals tried in the hearing, received no legal defence throughout the period. El Hadj Diouf, Habre’s lawyer in Senegal, stated that “this is a manipulation … I’m not taking this seriously.” Habre is expected to be tried in Senegal per the request of the African Union. The trial could potentially be years away, as no official date has been set.

Since being forced out of power in 1990, Habre has fought in a rebellion against the Chadian government along the eastern border of the country.

Friday, February 17, 2006

The Office of Film & Literature Classification Review Board in Australia has refused to classify Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. The computer game’s premise is a future world where freedom of expression is suppressed by a tyrannical city government and to win the game the player has to express his message through graffiti. The decision was made by 5 members who voted 3/5 against the classification of the game; Ms Maureen Shelley, the convenor, broke the deadlock on the grounds it encourages crime. The game cannot be sold, demonstrated, hired or imported without a classification. Australia is the only country to ban the game so far. The decision comes even though OFLC guidelines state that adults may hear, read and see what they wish.

The game was originally rated MA15+ for Strong violence, and strong themes on 18 November 2005.

Other games to be banned in Australia include Postal and BMX XXX, while’Combat: Task Force 121′, a game whose premise involves shooting people to defend US interests from Marxist rebels [1]was rated M (below the maximum rating of MA for a video game in Australia) and is therefore available to buy by anyone of any age.

Atari Australia, the games local distributor has said it strongly disagrees with the outcome and they defend the original MA rating “We are definitely investigating all our options at the moment. If we can appeal it we will,” said Mr David Wildgoose, public relations manager at Atari.Any action to be taken would take place after they receive the Review Board’s written decision.Mark Ecko has been also expressed his point of view“I am extremely disappointed in the Australian Government Classification Review Board’s move to ban my video game … based solely on a perceived notion that it somehow will promote the crime of graffiti.”

Ms Maureen Shelley, when questioned on her decision by the ABC’s Lateline, said she didn’t need proof that video games encourage crime—only that she thought they could.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

A Norwegian University of Science and Technology study released Thursday found electric vehicles have a potential for higher eco-toxicity and greenhouse impact than conventional cars. The study includes an examination of the electric car’s life cycle as a whole rather than a study of the electric car’s environmental impact during the use phase.

The researchers conducted a comparison of the environmental impact of electric cars in view of different ratios of green-to-fuel electricity energy sources. In the case of mostly coal- or oil-based electricity supply, electric cars are disadvantageous compared to classic diesel cars with the greenhouse effect impact being up to two times larger.

The researchers found that in Europe, electric cars pose a “10% to 24% decrease in global warming potential (GWP) relative to conventional diesel or gasoline vehicles”.

The researchers suggest to improve eco-friendliness of electric vehicles by “reducing vehicle production supply chain impacts and promoting clean electricity sources in decision making regarding electricity infrastructure” and using the electric cars for a longer time, so that the use phase plays a more important role in the electric vehicle life cycle.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

With a fourth-quarter investment earnings of $3.9 Billion CAD, largely driven by stock market rises, the Canada Pension Plan’s (CPP) assets rose to $140.1 Billion reported the CPP Investment Board on Thursday.

Rate of return for the quarter netted three percent, bringing the first nine months of the fiscal year to 8.3%. The fund’s broad exposure to equities, in concert with a good quarter for stocks both in Canada and internationally, was largely to be credited according to CEO David Deneson.

The assets value rose from $127.6 Billion March 31st 2010, to $138.6 B on September 30th, to $140.1 B December 31st. The $3.9 B investment earnings, 3.58 of which came from the 54% of the portfolio in equities, was partially offset by seasonal outlays of $2.4 B to plan members.

The fund was very active throughout the calendar year, and particularly active in infrastructure, real estate, and private equity. As part of a consortium they completed the $4.8 B purchase of UK-based Tomkins plc, as well as purchasing Australian-based Intoll for $3.4 B thus acquiring a 30% stake in the 407 Express Toll Route (ETR) near Toronto — which they expanded purchasing a further 10% stake from Spain’s Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. (CINTRA). They acquired a 25% equity stake in Westfield Stratford City, a retail complex adjacent to London’s Olympics venue, among many real estate ventures.

The CPP fund covers every province except Quebec, whose Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec is the only larger pension fund in Canada. The five-year annualised investment rate of return for the CPP reserve fund was 3.5%, its 10-year rate of return was 5.6%, at the close of 2010. The fund was established in 1997.