Friday, September 19, 2008

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. Christian Heritage Party candidate Ron Gray is standing for election in the riding of Langley.

Wikinews contacted Ron Gray, 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.

Mr. Gray has been leader of the Christian Heritage Party since 1995. He first ran for office in 1988.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

The year 2007 marks the meeting of the major representatives of the watch and jewelry industry at BaselWorld Show, Basel, Switzerland. The Show will take place in the period of April 12 – 19, 2007. The international event is to attract over 2000 companies from 45 countries and about 90,000 visitors.

At present day the luxury goods business holds quite strong positions in the world industry and is still developing at high rates due to appropriate economic climate. Thus, BaselWorld is perceived by watch and jewelry producers and their partners as favorable new grounds for their further development.

BaselWorld is organized annually by MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) Ltd with a purpose to provide new business opportunities for the participants who are expected to exhibit their latest products in the exhibition area of about 160,000 m2. Visitors come to BaselWorld to keep aware of the current trends of watch and jewelry making, while retailers and wholesalers discover new partners and strengthen their links with well-established ones.

The exhibition is divided into product sectors presented in the six exhibition halls, among them there are the Hall of Universe and the Hall of Elements. This year the management of the Show has taken care of updating and redecorating the design of the halls.

All the participants of the event will be able to expand their business contacts beyond the fair in the BaselWorld Village located nearby. The ‘village’ comprises special facilities for partners to discuss their matters in informal atmosphere.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

A Scottish woman who set out before Christmas to purchase a turkey finally made it home on Monday, after being cut off by snow for a month. Kay Ure left the Lighthouse Keeper’s cottage on Cape Wrath, at the very northwest tip of Great Britain, in December. She was heading to Inverness on a shopping trip.

However on her return journey heavy snow and ice prevented her husband, John, from travelling the last 11 miles to pick her up. She was forced to wait a month in a friend’s caravan, before the weather improved and the couple could finally be reunited.

They were separated not just for Christmas and New Year, but also for Mr Ure’s 58th birthday. With no fresh supplies, he was reduced to celebrating with a tin of baked beans. He also ran out of coal, and had to feed the couple’s six springer spaniels on emergency army rations.

“It’s the first time we’ve been separated”, said Mr Ure in December. “We’ve been snowed in here for three weeks before, so we are well used to it and it’s quite nice to get a bit of peace and quiet.”

Thursday, February 24, 2005

A paste containing synthetic tooth enamel can seal small cavities without drilling. Kazue Yamagishi and colleagues at the FAP Dental Institute in Tokyo say that the paste can repair small cavities in 15 minutes.

Currently, fillers don’t stick to such small cavities so dentists must drill bigger holes. Hydroxyapatite crystals, of which natural enamel is made, bond with teeth to repair tiny areas of damage.

Yamagishi and colleagues have tested their paste on a lower premolar tooth that showed early signs of decay. They found that the synthetic enamel merged with the natural enamel. The synthetic enamel also appears to make teeth stronger which will improve resistance to future decay. As with drilling, however, there is still the potential for pain: The paste is strongly acidic to encourage crystal growth and causes inflammation if it touches the gums.

The paste is reported in the journal Nature.

Friday, July 20, 2007

On Friday, a group of hikers and 18 boy scouts were airlifted by helicopters away from a wildfire in Nephi Canyon, Utah. The hikers and scouts escaped into a rough rocky area to keep a safe distance from the dangerous wildfire after it advanced on their campground.

The wildfire started in a campground in Salt Creek Canyon, 85 miles from Salt Lake City, and has burned 13,000 acres across 20 square miles as of Friday. The fire has burned a campground and motel, and forced the evacuation of all campgrounds and cabins in its path.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Results of the second phase in an ongoing major study of the spiritual lives of college students was released Wednesday, April 13 by a research center at UCLA. The study is a groundbreaking attempt to gain insight into the spiritual lives and concerns of students and improve how faculties and administrators at US colleges and universities address this part of their students’ lives.

The study, named The Spiritual Life of College Students, was conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), a research center of higher education in the United States. HERI is based in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies (GSE&IS) at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

HERI also produces a widely-cited annual Survey of Entering Freshman through its Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) program.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

A successful 12-month trial of mobile phone blocking technology in New Zealand prisons has just been completed, according to the Minister of Corrections, Vodafone and Telecom.

Corrections Minister, Damien O’Conner, described this technology as a world first and a significant milestone for the Department of Corrections.

The mobile phone blocking technology is being implemented to help prevent the growing problem of inmates using mobile phones which they are currently prohibited from. One case included a Mt Eden prisoner using a mobile phone to organise NZ$1 million worth of methamphetamine (commonly known in New Zealand as P) being smuggled in. Other cases at Mount Eden Prison included posting of pxts on the Internet, and ordering meals of KFC.

Vodafone, Telecom and the Department of Corrections signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) stating that they will help prevent the use of mobile phones inside prisons. In a joint statement Greg Patchell, Group Technology Officer for Telecom, and Tom Chignell, Corporate Affairs General Manager for Vodafone, said, “With the technical trials completed, and the MoU Agreement in place, work can now begin to apply the most effective technologies to combat unauthorised cellphone use in each prison site in New Zealand.”

Hawke’s Bay Prison will be the first prison to get the new technology due to its high level of gang members. The technology will be implemented in the next six weeks.

However, some prisons, including Mt Eden Prison, might not have this technology implemented due to different characteristics of each prison. Simon Power, Corrections Spokesperson for the National Party, said, “The technology won’t work around all prisons, the most notable being Mt Eden, which has had significant contraband problems.” Patchell and Chignell said, “…we have now identified a package of technical solutions which the Department of Corrections believes could be deployed with effectiveness in some of its facilities.”

The prison and if the mobile phone service of anyone living near a prison will be affected, will determine the type of mobile phone jamming technology used.

As well as the new mobile phone jamming technology, new legislation is being written which will mean if an inmate, prison contractor, or staff member is found carrying a mobile phone, they will face either a fine of $5,000 or a year in jail. As well as tighter security of prisons, including only one point of access into them.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

British pop star Leona Lewis has broken Billboard records in the United States to become the first female British pop star to reach a number one spot on the music charts in over 20 years and became the third solo British artist ever to reach the top charts.

Lewis made the number one spot with her new hit single Bleeding Love. According to Billboard.com her single ranks number one in the top 100, the pop 100 and hottest digital songs.

“I’m so excited to be able to spend some time in the US and showcase my music to everyone here. Its been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and I can’t wait,” said Lewis on her website.

The last female singer from the UK to top the charts in the U.S. was Kim Wilde in 1987 when she did her own version of The Supremes ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On.’

Lewis took the UK by storm when she won The X Factor (UK) in 2006 and became the biggest selling female artist of all time in the UK.

Friday, January 25, 2008

B2B Trade Area of Taipei Game Show, criticized by trade buyers last year, but accompanied with 2008 Taiwan Digital Content Forum, moved to the second floor at Taipei World Trade Center for world-wide participants with a better exchange atmosphere this year.

Not only local OBMs (Softstar Entertainment, Soft-World International Corp., International Games System Corp., …, etc.) but also companies from New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea showcased different specialists with multiple styles. Especially on South Korea, participated members from G? Trade Show (Game Show & Trade, All-Round, aka Gstar) showcased gaming industry of South Korea and the G? upcoming at this November with brochures.

In the 2-days Digital Content Forum, world-class experts not only shared industry experiences, members from Taiwan Gaming Industry Association also discussed and forecasted marketing models for gaming industry. With participations from governmental, industrial, and academical executives world-wide, this forum helps them gained precious experiences of digital content industry from several countries.

According to the Taipei Computer Association, the show and forum organizer, the digital content industry in Taiwan was apparently grown up recent years as Minister of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China Steve Ruey-long Chen said at Opening Ceremony yesterday. Without R&Ds from cyber-gaming, and basic conceptions from policies and copyright issues, this (digital content) industry will be fallen down in Taiwan. If this industry wanted to be grown up in sustainability, gaming OBMs in Taiwan should independently produce different and unique games and change market style to market brands and games to the world.