Friday, March 13, 2009

According to a government report released on Tuesday, six inmates of a Regina, Saskatchewan jail managed to escape last summer after spending four months using nail clippers and other makeshift instruments to break out.

The report stated that no fewer than 87 prison guards had supervised the inmates’ unit, but did not discover the prisoners’ escape plans.

The inmates, four of whom had faced murder charges, used the instruments to remove a steel plate and grill, and finally break through with a shower rod, reaching an exterior brick wall. The inmates used sheets and blankets to climb up the exterior walls of the compound.

Some of the prisoners played cards at a table in the corridor to block the guards’ view.

The prisoners were later caught and sent back to prison. “We didn’t think we would get away with it. We started working on it. It was something to do and we just kept at it. When we didn’t get caught, we picked our night and just went,” said one of the escapees to the team investigating the incident.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Ren and Stimpy. Bugs Bunny. Philip J. Fry and Professor Hubert Farnsworth on Futurama. Sparx. Bi-Polar Bear. Popeye the Sailor Man. Woody Woodpecker. You may not think you have ever heard Billy West, but chances are on a television program, a movie, a commercial, or as Howard Stern’s voice guru in the 1990’s, you have heard him. West’s talent for creating personalities by twisting his voice has made him one of a handful of voice actors—Hank Azaria and the late Mel Blanc come to mind—who have achieved celebrity for their talent. Indeed, West is one of the few voice actors who can impersonate Blanc in his prime, including characterizations of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons.

What is the fulcrum in Mr. West’s life that led him to realize a talent to shape personalities with his voice, and how did the discovery of that gift shape him? Wikinews reporter David Shankbone found that like many great comedians, West faced more sour early in life than he did sweet. The sour came from a physically and emotionally abusive alcoholic father (“I could tell you the kind of night I was going to have from the sound of the key in the door or the way the car pulled up.”), to his own problems with drug and alcohol use (“There is a point that you can reach in your life where you don’t want to live, but you haven’t made the decision to die.”).

If sin, suffering and redemption feel like the stages of an endless cycle of American existence, West’s own redemption from his brutalized childhood is what helped shape his gift. He performed little bits to cheer up his cowed mother, ravaged by the fact she could not stop her husband’s abuse of young West. “I was the whipping boy and she would just be reduced to tears a lot of times, and I would come in and say stuff, and I would put out little bits just to pull her out of it.”

But West has also enjoyed the sweet. His career blossomed as his talent for creating entire histories behind fictional characters and creatures simply by exploring nuance in his voice landed him at the top of his craft. You may never again be able to forget that behind the voice of your favorite character, there is often an extraordinary life.

Below is David Shankbone’s interview with renowned voice actor Billy West, who for the first time publicly talks about the horrors he faced in his childhood; his misguided search for answers in anger, drugs and alcohol; and the peace he has achieved as one of America’s most recognizable voice actors.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Liverpool FC revealed the plans for its new Stanley Park Stadium today. The stadium is to be built over the next three years in Stanley Park, to replace Liverpool’s long time home at Anfield. The plans as submitted would provide for a capacity of 60,000, with a possible increase towards 80,000.

The design by HKS is situated approximately 8 meters below the surface to lessen its impact. The cost of construction is said to be £300 million.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Anthony Weiner announced his resignation yesterday afternoon as a Democratic representative from New York to the U.S. House of Representatives, a position he has filled for twelve years. He has been under pressure from politicians within his own party after a sex scandal engulfed his life and that of the Democratic party.

Weiner told reporters it was “impossible” to continue in his role after the events of the last few weeks, including revelations that he was involved in sexual relationships with a number of young women over the internet, including sending lewd photos of himself, and then lying about his actions to reporters.

He announced his resignation at a press conference in a Brooklyn senior center where 20 years ago he began his political career and apologized for his “personal mistakes”. His wife, Huma Abedin, did not accompany him, but Weiner apologized to her in his speech, saying that he hopes “most importantly, that my wife and I can continue to heal from the damage that I’ve caused.” He took no questions from reporters.

On June 6, Weiner had admitted to corresponding with women he met on the internet, including exchanging lewd photos. But on June 11 he declared in an emotional interview he would not resign. Under pressure from Democrats, Weiner requested a two-week leave of absence from his position in order to obtain treatment to become “a better husband and healthier person.”

However, Democratic politicians became increasingly anxious to put the growing scandal behind them, as it distracted members from more important issues such as problems with Medicare and the need for more jobs. As the scandal gained momentum, a variety of politicians, including Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, called on him to resign. President Barack Obama said he would resign if he were in Weiner’s place in an interview with ABC News.

“Weiner exercised poor judgment in his actions and poor judgment in his reaction to the revelations,” Pelosi said in a statement after Weiner announced his resignation. “Today, he made the right judgment in resigning.”

The scandal came to light May 27 after Weiner accidentally sent a photograph of his crotch on his public stream on the social networking website Twitter, and then tried to cover it up by blaming hackers for posting the picture, denying all responsibility.

Weiner later admitted sending online messages to other women, including to a 17-year-old high school student in Delaware, though a police investigation uncovered nothing illegal. On Wednesday, a former porn actress revealed that she had engaged in an online relationship with Weiner and that Weiner had asked her to lie about the nature of their contact.

More photos have continued to emerge, including one showing his nude genitals, and others showing him half naked. On Wednesday, the National Enquirer published images of Weiner cross-dressing while he was a college student at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. In one photo, he is seen wearing a bra and pantyhose, while in another he is oiled and wearing swimming trunks.

Colleagues said Weiner wanted to wait for the return home of his wife, Abedin, before making a final career decision. He has been married for almost a year to Abedin, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child. She is a top aide to Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, and the couple’s wedding was presided over by former President Bill Clinton. She returned home to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning after having traveled with Clinton in the Middle East and Africa since June 8.

Weiner’s district covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens, boroughs of New York City. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of New York City in 2005, and he was considered a potential candidate for future races. Known to be an outspoken supporter of liberal causes, he has irked conservatives and Democratic leaders. In 2009, he pushed for government-run health care, even though Obama had opposed the idea.

Monday, April 25, 2005

Australians and New Zealanders throughout the world stood still for their national war memorial days in remembrance of the failed Australian and New Zealand Army Corps — ANZAC — attack on Gallipoli, Turkey that began on 25 April 1915. The fateful attack was designed to end the First World War more quickly by creating a supply line to Russia. A hundred-thousand died in the battle, remembered every year as ANZAC Day by both nations.

The British-directed battle of Gallipoli is often seen as the defining moment in the ‘birth’ of Australia and New Zealand. With New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark saying “For New Zealand as for Australia it was at Gallipoli that our young nations came of age.” [1]. This being the 90th anniversary of the attack, Clark, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Britain’s Prince Charles are all at Gallipoli to remember that fateful campaign.

Some controversy has been created about Australian Prime Minister John Howard not attending the New Zealand ceremony at Chunuk Bair on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This has upset many people as it is a break in a tradition that the Prime Ministers attend the ceremonies of both countries.