lwsimmons.org

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Torture proliferates American headlines today: whether its use is defensible in certain contexts and the morality of the practice. Wikinews reporter David Shankbone was curious about torture in American popular culture. This is the first of a two part series examining the BDSM business. This interview focuses on the owners of a dungeon, what they charge, what the clients are like and how they handle their needs.

When Shankbone rings the bell of “HC & Co.” he has no idea what to expect. A BDSM (Bondage Discipline Sadism Masochism) dungeon is a legal enterprise in New York City, and there are more than a few businesses that cater to a clientèle that wants an enema, a spanking, to be dressed like a baby or to wear women’s clothing. Shankbone went to find out what these businesses are like, who runs them, who works at them, and who frequents them. He spent three hours one night in what is considered one of the more upscale establishments in Manhattan, Rebecca’s Hidden Chamber, where according to The Village Voice, “you can take your girlfriend or wife, and have them treated with respect—unless they hope to be treated with something other than respect!”

When Shankbone arrived on the sixth floor of a midtown office building, the elevator opened up to a hallway where a smiling Rebecca greeted him. She is a beautiful forty-ish Long Island mother of three who is dressed in smart black pants and a black turtleneck that reaches up to her blond-streaked hair pulled back in a bushy ponytail. “Are you David Shankbone? We’re so excited to meet you!” she says, and leads him down the hall to a living room area with a sofa, a television playing an action-thriller, an open supply cabinet stocked with enema kits, and her husband Bill sitting at the computer trying to find where the re-release of Blade Runner is playing at the local theater. “I don’t like that movie,” says Rebecca.

Perhaps the most poignant moment came at the end of the night when Shankbone was waiting to be escorted out (to avoid running into a client). Rebecca came into the room and sat on the sofa. “You know, a lot of people out there would like to see me burn for what I do,” she says. Rebecca is a woman who has faced challenges in her life, and dealt with them the best she could given her circumstances. She sees herself as providing a service to people who have needs, no matter how debauched the outside world deems them. They sat talking mutual challenges they have faced and politics (she’s supporting Hillary); Rebecca reflected upon the irony that many of the people who supported the torture at Abu Ghraib would want her closed down. It was in this conversation that Shankbone saw that humanity can be found anywhere, including in places that appear on the surface to cater to the inhumanity some people in our society feel towards themselves, or others.

“The best way to describe it,” says Bill, “is if you had a kink, and you had a wife and you had two kids, and every time you had sex with your wife it just didn’t hit the nail on the head. What would you do about it? How would you handle it? You might go through life feeling unfulfilled. Or you might say, ‘No, my kink is I really need to dress in women’s clothing.’ We’re that outlet. We’re not the evil devil out here, plucking people off the street, keeping them chained up for days on end.”

Below is David Shankbone’s interview with Bill & Rebecca, owners of Rebecca’s Hidden Chamber, a BDSM dungeon.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Jerome Bettis, who announced his retirement from the Pittsburgh Steelers on the night they won the Super Bowl XL in Detroit, has been tapped as a studio analyst at NBC. His first game in the broadcast booth will come September 7th, on the same night the Steelers will receive their Super Bowl rings. “It will be the proudest night of my life,” Bettis said. “I will finally get my ring and I will start my new career in television in front of all the Steelers fans.”

Bettis, a Notre Dame graduate, began his career in 1993 with the Los Angeles Rams, but was picked up by the Steelers in 1996 and became the NFL‘s 5th leading rusher in Pittsburgh.

Thursday, July 7, 2005

Some stock markets fell sharply Thursday upon news that London was hit by a series of coordinated explosions.

The FTSE 100 Share Index fell over 150 points, over 2.8%. Among the hardest hit stocks were airlines, hospitality and insurance companies, according to reports.

At 11:41UTC, the FTSE 100 [1], the yardstick used to measure the largest British companies on the stockmarket had fallen 3.85%, dropping by 201.2 points to 5028.40. British Airways and the Hilton group lead the losers with drops of over 7% each as investors speculated about a terrorist involvement in the attacks which could adversely affect tourism and travel. In Paris the Cac 40 Index [2] of France’s forty largest companies took an even worse beating, dropping almost 4% by 11:47UTC by 170.37 points to 4109.58. Among the top losers was Axa Insurance which dropped by 5.4%.

Across the border in Germany the Dax [3] had shed 3.15%, or 145.47 points, by 11:50UTC to 4470.02 points. Again among the top losers was a major insurer – Allianz which fell over 5%.

It seems that airlines and insurers have been hit the worst so far. Ryanair has dropped 7.73% or over €400m in value and easyjet has shed 7.28%.

Shortly after news of the explosions spread to trading floors, shares of British Airways fell more than 6 percent. Other stocks affected included Carnival Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton Group, and Prudential.

The FTSE had recovered 116 points at 13:43 after it’s initial fall of 206. Increased volume of FTSE futures on LIFFE has meant that many people have been able to profit from the fall.

The price of gold has jumped by 1% as investors seek a secure place for their money.

United States markets have fallen significantly as well, with the Dow having fallen by 65 points, the S&P 500 7.57, and the NASDAQ 7.51 as of 13:43UTC.

The time is 18:00 (UTC) on August 3rd, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

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Saturday, July 8, 2006

The Russian Beriev 200 airplane leased to the Portuguese Government suffered an accident last Thursday (July 6) afternoon, after one of its engines was damaged.

The accident occurred after a refueling operation at the dam of Aguieira, near Santa Comba Dão. As the aerial firefighting aircraft took off at the end of the refueling maneuver in the water – designated as ‘scooping’ – its “left wing hit the top of the trees and the aircraft suffered some damage” to its fuselage, said Colonel Anacleto dos Santos, director of the Cabinet of Prevention and Investigation of Accidents with Aircraft (GPIAA), to the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã.

While hitting the top of the trees, leaves and some wood entered the left engine, which didn’t blow up, but that had to be turned off and the pilot was forced to release fuel for safety reasons. The release of the fuel started small wildfires across the area, reaching some houses, which were quickly extinguished by firefighters and helitack units of the GNR‘s Intervention, Protection and Rescue Group.

The airplane was able to do an emergency landing at the Monte Real Air Base, where it’s currently operating from, thanks to the flight experience of one of the Russian pilots. When contacted by the Lusa news agency, National Service of Firefighters and Civil Protection, vice-president Lieutenant-Colonel Joaquim Leitão explained that the repairs will be made by the aircraft company and that all the parts necessary to repair the damages will have to come from Russia, by which the solution for the problem will take “some days”.

Lieutenant-Colonel Leitão added that an investigation is in progress to analyse the circumstances under which the accident occurred. And when he was asked if the accident was caused by the limitations of the dam, given the dimensions of the aircraft, he said that the reconnaissance of the area had been performed before the scooping exercises began, and an operation officially kicks off when all the conditions are met.

The final report of the GPIAA will only be concluded in a few weeks but GPIAA director, Colonel Anacleto dos Santos, excluded two of the eventual causes of any aerial accident. “The atmospheric conditions were not adverse and there are no indications of mechanical failure. Everything points to human error.”

On board of the aircraft followed two Russian pilots – one of them still receiving formation – and an Portuguese pilot that was observing the operations.

Two years ago, the Italian authorities tested the Beriev in the same mission type. Having the Portuguese Government sent observers to evaluate the performance of the aircraft. However, some limitations were found in the performing of the Russian aircraft in Italy’s wildfire scenarios. Having the Italian Civil Protection reached the conclusion that the Beriev 200 is not prepared to operate in mountainous terrain.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

David McGruer is running for the Freedom Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Ottawa-Orleans riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

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Sunday, May 18, 2014

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has warned that the state of the housing market in the United Kingdom is the current biggest domestic threat to the country’s economy, due to lack of house building, and regulatory issues.

In an interview to be aired on Sky News today, he said the housing market is the “biggest risk” to the economy and has “deep, deep structural problems”. Of house building he said: “There are not sufficient houses built in the UK. To go back to Canada, there are half as many people in Canada as in the UK, twice as many houses are built every year in Canada as in the UK and we can’t influence that.”

“We’re not going to build a single house at the Bank of England. We can’t influence that. What we can influence […] is whether the banks are strong enough. Do they have enough capital against risk in the housing market?”

Carney also said the Bank of England would look into the procedures used to issue loans and mortgages to see if they were being granted appropriately: “We’d be concerned if there was a rapid increase in high loan-to-value mortgages across the banks. We’ve seen that creeping up and it’s something we’re watching closely.”

Kris Hopkins responded to Carney on behalf of the government, saying the government “inherited a broken housing market, but our efforts to fix it are working”. “We’ve scrapped the failed top-down planning system, built over 170,000 affordable homes and released more surplus brownfield sites for new housing. We’ve also helped homebuyers get on the housing ladder, because if people can buy homes builders will build them. Housebuilding is now at its highest level since 2007 and climbing. Last year councils gave permission for almost 200,000 new homes under the locally-led planning system and more than 1,000 communities have swiftly taken up neighbourhood planning. It’s clear evidence the government’s long-term economic plan is working.”

Earlier this month, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development called on the UK government to “tighten” access to the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme introduced by George Osborne and the coalition government in 2013. ‘Help to Buy’ has also recently been criticised by three former Chancellors of the Exchequer — the Conservatives Norman Lamont and Nigel Lawson, and former Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling. Darling said: “Unless supply can be increased substantially, we will exacerbate that situation with schemes like Help to Buy.”