lwsimmons.org

Sunday, January 30, 2005

AUSTRALIA – Mamdouh Habib, a former Guantanmo Bay detainee, arrived back in Australia and was reunited with his family on Friday, after having been held in the US navy base for three years without charge.

In a statement through his Australian lawyer, Stephen Hopper, the Habib family thanked the Australian people during Mr Habib’s incarereation. The statement also offered thanks for the work of Mr Habib’s American lawyer saying, “Most of all we’d like to thank Joe Margulies for his excellent efforts … Joe’s the best lawyer in the world.”

Mr Margulies says Mr Habib needs medical treatment for chronic physical and mental conditions he suffers from his incarceration.

Mr Habib was detained by Coalition forces in Afgahnistan three weeks after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, on suspicion of having links to Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorist group.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

A patient at Stoke Mandeville Hospital had to be treated in a toilet after wards became overcrowded, it emerged on Friday.

The revelation came as Sheryl Pope, a Buckinghamshire National Health Service strategy director, was questioned over plans to bring healthcare to the forefront of the community. A number of councillers challenged her plans, however, claiming that the opposite had been happening.

The Bucks Free Press reported that councillors asked Pope why community hospital beds are being closed and why more clinics are being centralised. The Overview & Scrutiny Committee for Public Health Services was told that an “under-used” gynaecology clinic located at Buckingham Community Hospital was moved to Stoke Mandeville, which one councillor said was already too congested.

“You’re bringing things into Stoke, but there’s such a lot of congestion there… One person had to be treated in the toilet. I’m wondering how quickly you’re going to change it,” High Wycombe councellor Wendy Mallen asked Mrs Pope, a joint director for strategy and system reform.

It emerged that overnight wards at Chalfont’s and Gerrards Cross Hospital have remained closed since a fire risk was identified in 2008. Chalfont St Peter councillor, Bruce Allen, said of the revelation: “We’ve never had an answer from anyone of any intelligence to say what’s going to happen. We had a community hospital with 29 beds and it served us well. We keep asking when it’s going to be opened and we get nil answers. I’ve been to so many meetings and heard this nonsense. We can’t get an answer from anyone.”

Mrs Pope replied by saying that she could not give a “definitive answer,” but said that she considered Chalfont’s to be “an important part of the jigsaw.” Mrs Pope was told by the chairman of the Buckinghamshire County Council committee that she had “a duty” to inform residents of the futue of the hospital. “Unfortunately there’s always a reason for delaying it,” said Mike Appleyard. “All I’m saying is sorry, no longer. We expect you to be here within six months with some answers on the community hospitals.”

Hedley Cadd, another councillor, attacked the gynaecology transfer, saying that he and his wife were forced to travel for four hours to get to and from Stoke Mandeville Hospital, for a consultation that lasted only twenty minutes. Mrs Pope responded by saying that she was “very aware” of the issue, conceding that because the clinic is only 40% full, “those clinics are being denied to somebody else.” Mrs Pope said that it was too early to say how the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, a new organisation which is the result of a merger between the Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust and several community hospitals, would manage local hospitals.

Anne Eden, Chief Executive of the new organisation, said: “We felt it was important to change our name to reflect the wide range of services we now offer patients from our hospitals and in community settings and in people’s own homes. In addition, discussions took place with staff across the organisation alongside patient representatives to evolve our five patient promises to reflect our extended range of services which underpin everything that we do.”

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.”

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Journalist, counselor, painter, and US 2012 Presidential candidate Joe Schriner of Cleveland, Ohio took some time to discuss his campaign with Wikinews in an interview.

Schriner previously ran for president in 2000, 2004, and 2008, but failed to gain much traction in the races. He announced his candidacy for the 2012 race immediately following the 2008 election. Schriner refers to himself as the “Average Joe” candidate, and advocates a pro-life and pro-environmentalist platform. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles, and has published public policy papers exploring solutions to American issues.

Wikinews reporter William Saturn? talks with Schriner and discusses his campaign.

Monday, September 24, 2007

73,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) union members launched a nationwide strike today against General Motors (GM), the largest auto manufacturer in the United States.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said GM would need to meet pay, health care, and job security issues. Gettelfinge said, “This is nothing we wanted…No one benefits in a strike. But there comes a point where someone can push you off a cliff. That’s what happened here.”

The strike was officially launched at 11 a.m. EDT (UTC-4) today.

Negotiations were reportedly going to occur again this afternoon, but there have been no reports of any negotiating going on from either side.

80 facilities in 30 different states closed today because of the strike.

CNN reports that GM facilities in Mexico and Canada may close soon, too.

The vice president of global vehicle forecasts for CSM Worldwide, Michael Robinet, said today that dealerships in the US likely won’t feel the effects of the strike for several weeks.

A statement from GM today said, “We are disappointed in the UAW’s decision to call a national strike. The bargaining involved complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our U.S. work force, and the long-term viability of the company. We are fully committed to working with the UAW to develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing General Motors. We will continue focusing our efforts on reaching an agreement as soon as possible.”

If the strike continues, UAW strike funds will supply each striker with US$200 a month and medical coverage.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Ian Narev, the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, this morning “unreservedly” apologised to clients who lost money in a scandal involving the bank’s financial planning services arm.

Last week, a Senate enquiry found financial advisers from the Commonwealth Bank had made high-risk investments of clients’ money without the clients’ permission, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars lost. The Senate enquiry called for a Royal Commission into the bank, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Mr Narev stated the bank’s performance in providing financial advice was “unacceptable”, and the bank was launching a scheme to compensate clients who lost money due to the planners’ actions.

In a statement Mr Narev said, “Poor advice provided by some of our advisers between 2003 and 2012 caused financial loss and distress and I am truly sorry for that. […] There have been changes in management, structure and culture. We have also invested in new systems, implemented new processes, enhanced adviser supervision and improved training.”

An investigation by Fairfax Media instigated the Senate inquiry into the Commonwealth Bank’s financial planning division and ASIC.

Whistleblower Jeff Morris, who reported the misconduct of the bank to ASIC six years ago, said in an article for The Sydney Morning Herald that neither the bank nor ASIC should be in control of the compensation program.

Friday, April 22, 2005

“Those who are in power are to be held responsible, and that includes me,” Canada’s Prime Minister, Paul Martin, told his nation in the first live address by a PM in ten years. “If so much as a dollar is found to have made its way into the Liberal Party for ill-gotten gains, it will be repaid to the people of Canada.” [1]

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper described Mr Martin’s broadcast as “a party leader playing for time, begging for another chance”.

“After the Prime Minister has shut down the democratic process here … my guess is there will be more people that are calling for some accountability, perhaps in the form of an election,” New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton said.

A series of opinion polls show that in an election held today, a minority Conservative government would probably result, reports The Australian.