Two time Tour de France winner Laurent Fignon dies at age 50

Category : Uncategorized

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Laurent Fignon, the two time former winner of the Tour de France, has died at the age of 50. His death was confirmed by his wife, Valerie. The cause of death was announced as cancer. Fignon had been battling the disease since 2009.

Fignon won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 but is also remembered for the 1989 race. Fignon lost out to Greg LeMond in the final time-trail stage by just eight seconds. In his career Fignon won 76 races including the La Flèche Wallonne in 1986, Milan-San Remo in both 1988 and 1989 and the Giro d’Italia in 1989.

Fignon stayed in cycling even after his retirment managing races. In 2006 he joined the television station France 2 as a commentator. It was as his time with France 2 that he announced he had cancer of the digestive system. He continued to work for France 2 throughout his treatment and even commentated on the 2010 Tour de France.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Two_time_Tour_de_France_winner_Laurent_Fignon_dies_at_age_50&oldid=4577549”

Cypriot court clears all of wrongdoing in Greek air disaster

Category : Uncategorized

Thursday, December 22, 2011

A two-year trial concluded yesterday in Cyprus with the court in Nicosia clearing former senior staff of Helios Airways of manslaughter. They, alongside the defunct airline, had been accused of responsibility for killing 119 in a crash near Athens.

All 121 on board Flight 522 were killed but the prosecution did not charge manslaughter in relation to the two flight crew, deeming them partially responsible for their own deaths. The accident remains the worst air disaster to befall both Greece and Cyprus. Most victims were Cypriot tourists.

The Cypriot jet left Larnaca on August 14, 2005. It was headed for Prague in the Czech Republic. Contact was quickly lost with the aircraft, which flew itself as far as the Greek capital on autopilot.

The Boeing 737’s pressurisation system is believed to have been incorrectly set by maintenance and oxygen starvation had knocked out German Captain Hans-Jurgen Merten and Cypriot co-pilot Pambos Charalambous. They never checked the system before takeoff, which had undergone testing prior to flight.

An alarm had sounded both on the ground and in the air but had been ignored by those flying, as the same alarm was used for a different problem and the pilots therefore misinterpreted the alarm. This design would later be cited by victims’ relatives in a civil case against Boeing.

As the unresponsive jet entered Greek airspace two F-16 fighter jets intercepted. The air force reported back that the civilian craft’s pilots were slumped over the controls. Passengers were similarly incapacitated. The plane reached Athens International Airport — an intermediate stop in Athens was planned — by itself and then began circling the area awaiting human input.

That input eventually came in the form of a trainee pilot working on-board as a flight attendant. Investigators believe Andreas Prodromou had used multiple crew oxygen cylinders to be the last conscious person on board. The fighter pilots were able to watch him enter the cockpit.

F-16 pilot Panayiotis Athanasopoulos was the last person to see Prodromou alive. He previously told the trial of initially receiving no response when signalling the jet in an attempt to get the pilots to follow him, then discovering the flight crew unconscious. The captain was out of sight. He testified he also signalled people wearing oxygen masks in the passenger cabin with similar lack of response. Prodromou, 25, entered the cockpit as the jet began losing altitude.

After trying but failing to resuscitate Merten, the fighter pilots saw the trainee pilot take over the controls himself in a bid to save the plane. He was out of time. By then the aircraft had been in the air for two hours, and it ran out of fuel before it could reach the runway. Although many were deeply comatose from lack of oxygen, everyone on board was still alive when the plane crashed into a mountain at Grammatiko, north of Athens.

Athanasopoulos says he gesticulated to Proprodomou and signalled him to land upon getting his attention. The trainee pilot simply pointed downwards, after which he “looked ahead and did not look towards me again as the plane went down”. The airliner struck the ground levelly on its underside after straightening out moments before impact. It was torn apart.

The following year saw an air accident report primarily citing human error, and an inquiry by ex-Judge Panayiotis Kallis. The Kallis report was never made public. Helios, which was renamed Ajet Airways, closed down in 2006. Helios and Boeing were sued by victims’ relatives; they sought €76 million but reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum. The accident report had also blamed Boeing for an “ineffectiveness of measures” over the dual-purpose alarm system.

The five defendants were charged in 2008. The defunct airline and four senior staff members each faced 119 counts of manslaughter, and alternative counts of causing death by a reckless, thoughtless or dangerous act. This gave a total of 1,190 charges. Manslaughter carries a potential life sentence with up to four years available on the lesser charge. “The charges concern two of the three most serious offences under the Cyprus penal code,” deputy attorney general Akis Papasavvas said at the time.

The prosecution case was that the pilots were unfit to fly and the defendants were negligent in letting them at the controls. The state prosecutor therefore needed to prove the actions of Merten and Charalambous caused the disaster, as well as that those in the dock were responsible for their employment and aware — or ought to have been aware — of inadequacies in their competence.

The prosecution had noted the accused failed to seek references from Jet2, Merten’s last employer. He lost that job owing to failings in his duties and was later the subject of Helios co-pilots’ complaints. Charalambous was considered unlikely to achieve promotion to pilot and his ability to handle stress was questioned at trial.

In reaching a majority decision, two of the three judges noted Helios chief executive Andreas Drakos and managing director Demetris Pantazis would be acquitted even if the prosecution proved its case as they were not responsible for employing the pair. This fell to co-accused operations manager George Kikkides and chief pilot Ianko Stoimenov.

In any event, the verdict described “a dead-end for any procedure of identifying the competence of Merten” with only Jet2 among his previous employers being known to have a negative view of him. Subsequent official evaluations rated both him and Charalambous suitably competent to fly.

“The lack of any causal association between the defendants and the negligence they were charged with for the fatal accident completely disconnects the defendants with the accident,” said the 170-page verdict. “Regardless… [of] how the charges are viewed, they remain groundless and without supporting evidence. It’s judged that this reason is sufficient to dismiss all charges and acquit all defendants.”

Assize Court President Charis Solomonides read the decision: “we conclude, without reservation, that no case has been proven prima-facie against all the defendants in all the charges they face and therefore, all the defendants are acquitted and charges are dropped.” Solomonides made repeated mention of an inability for the prosecution to link the pilots’ actions to those on trial, and noted that therefore no assessment had been made of their performance that day.

Judge Nicolas Santis dissented. Nonetheless, he too had criticisms of the prosecution. He said they failed to properly define ‘competence’ and called very few experts to testify. Victims’ relatives shouted in the courtroom after he finished reading his opinion; cries included “killers!” and “is this justice?”.

Victims’ relatives had in fact predicted the acquittal and blamed the state for what they characterised as a poorly presented case. Relatives’ Committee president Nicolas Yiasoumis said “It was common knowledge that proceedings were weak due to the phrasing of the charges.” There were also renewed calls for publication of the Kallis report. Yiasoumis claimed the Kallis report reached different conclusions to those used at trial, and said “We did not believe they could be convicted on the basis of the argument that they had not employed the appropriate staff.”

Attorney General Petros Clerides initially said an appeal will be decided upon once the decision has been read, and that the Law Office was presently studying it. Yiasoumis said relatives may take Cyprus to a European court over the case once Cypriot legal matters are concluded. Clerides has now confirmed an appeal will be filed, which the prosecution has two weeks to do. He defended the performance of those who prosecuted “this titanic case”. The appeal would be to the Supreme Court.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Cypriot_court_clears_all_of_wrongdoing_in_Greek_air_disaster&oldid=3178662”

Wikinews interviews 2020 Melbourne Lord Mayor Candidate Wayne Tseng

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This article mentions the Wikimedia Foundation, one of its projects, or people related to it. Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

2020 Melbourne Lord Mayor candidate Wayne Tseng answered some questions about his campaign for the upcoming election from Wikinews. The Lord Mayor election in the Australian city is scheduled to take place this week.

Tseng runs a firm called eTranslate, which helps software developers to make the software available to the users. In the candidate’s questionnaire, Tseng said eTranslate had led to him working with all three tiers of the government. He previously belonged to the Australian Liberal Party, but has left since then, to run for mayorship as an independent candidate.

Tseng is of Chinese descent, having moved to Australia with his parents from Vietnam. Graduated in Brisbane, Tseng received his PhD in Melbourne and has been living in the city, he told Wikinews. Tseng also formed Chinese Precinct Chamber of Commerce, an organisation responsible for many “community bond building initiatives”, the Lord Mayor candidate told Wikinews.

Tseng discussed his plans for leading Melbourne, recovering from COVID-19, and “Democracy 2.0” to ensure concerns of minorities in the city were also heard. Tseng also focused on the importance of the multi-culture aspect and talked about making Melbourne the capital of the aboriginals. Tseng also explained why he thinks Melbourne is poised to be a world city by 2030.

Tseng’s deputy Lord Mayor candidate Gricol Yang is a Commercial Banker and works for ANZ Banking Group.

Currently, Sally Capp is the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the Victorian capital. Capp was elected as an interim Lord Mayor in mid-2018 after the former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle resigned from his position after sexual assault allegations. Doyle served as the Lord Mayor of Melbourne for almost a decade since 2008.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews_interviews_2020_Melbourne_Lord_Mayor_Candidate_Wayne_Tseng&oldid=4598699”

Digital Technologies Driving Healthcare Industry In 2020

Category : Radiology

The healthcare industry is expected to reach $280 billion in upcoming years.

2020 will be an essential year for the health industry. When it is about digital health trends, law, artificial intelligence, telemedicine is used to solve the biggest challenges of our age.

Here is a list of the major trends you should know about digital health technologies in 2020:

Most essential digital health trend is MDR:

MDR i.e., Medical Device Regulation, will transform the entire admin scene in the EU. This is going to create an immense impact on mobile app development companies.

The MDR came in order in 2017 and implemented from May 26, 2020.

From that date, every new gadget should have promoted, sold, or appropriated in the European market and need to be confirmed. Strategize successfully and keep your health tech data secure, which guarantees you have great partners.

Health systems with telemedicine:

2020 is going to be the year of telemedicine as it is now mainstream in the healthcare industry. Personal health investment is booming at all lengths, prolonging the healthcare development circuit.

Almost every app and gadget is enabling healthcare application development companies to monitor, diagnose, and treat patients remotely.

It has real-time monitoring of ECG, GP consultation, and robots for doing surgery remotely.

Telemedicine is finding applications with monitors that remotely store a patient’s observation.

AI-enhanced technologies mimicking human-based behavior can drive innovation. Healthcare development companies must understand to make maximum use of AI technology to improve healthcare processes that achieve value with improved performance.

Telemedicine provides personalized and urgent care to patients and frees healthcare providers to deal with the higher number of critical cases.

Big Data and Analytics for Patient Care:

In the US, health care spending is highly expensive. Overall spending is $ 3.8 trillion per year.

Patient and patient care have revolutionized the way you think about health care. The analysis of this data provides a way to gain essential insights into medical conditions. At the individual level, data can form the basis for machine learning (AI), which models predict heart attacks.

On a broader scale, it provides an opportunity to transform epidemiology and save lives with mobile health globally.

Medical Artificial Intelligence:

Medical artificial intelligence has grown with big data analytics for diagnosis and care of the patient.

It will range from chatbots to initiate patients for help with emergency conditions for real-time diagnosis of heart attacks with the help of machine learning.

AI-based applications seek to improve and personalize healthcare delivery for individuals.

However, there are various challenges based on legal as well as technical for using the AI in health technology. Medical Data is usually taken in a distinct format and needs to be analyzed under observation in every few hours. This will transform the approach of traditional healthcare through machine learning. They could limit the application of AI in some scenarios where consent is the core of data processing under law.

The concept of creating a mobile app that is based on an anomaly detection system, a machine learning solution that exposes the intrusion of malignant tumors into health monitoring devices (such as MRI scans). Which is capable of intrusion detection? There is no anonymity in health care processes.

Population and its age:

The most prominent hurdle for global healthcare is demographics. Advancement in healthcare leads people to live more. But, the aging population can create a significant burden on healthcare app development firms.

Digital health applications and other digital devices can help leverage digital healthcare technology trends, often in different ways.

However, with increasing age by 2050, one in six people in the world will be over 65 (16%), one in 11 (9%) in 2019. It will open healthcare software development companies to address through Big Data and AI health issues via Healthcare software applications to improve care outcomes for patients in a hospital setting.

mHealth Apps and Wearable devices:

Virtual testing powered by wearable devices and the M-Healthcare smartphone app is expected to reach $ 450 million.

The virtual clinical trial concept is likely to emerge as it allows you to participate in trials of the clinic from your home or any other location.

The emergence of virtual tests helps reduce costs, as well as streamline processes and demonstrate real-world efficacy.

Augmented Reality role in Surgeries:

AR-based headsets and solutions take advantage of 2D images and other patient data and build 3D models of patient anatomy.

AR is a technique that is capable of revolutionizing the efficiency and cost optimization aspects of surgery while improving the error rate due to high accuracy and target detection within the patient’s body in the context of surgical navigation.

Also, the benefits of surgeon comfort, low effort, low wastage, or possibly low cost are parallel to AR’s performance systems.

EHR Blockchain Interoperability:

Blockchain has been a leader in healthcare, helping EHRs (electronic health records) with interoperability.

A significant challenge for doctors, resulting in regulatory non-specialization, poor referral management to specialists, now stays in the patient upon hospitalization and is unreadable in the hospital – all because the care team needs your complete medical history (eg, allergies Item). Access to specific drugs is not required.

Summing up:

Now that we have discussed about the trend of the most recent digital health technologies that will transform the landscape of the healthcare industry in 2020.

The future of healthcare application development companies to create healthcare applications empowered with AI and blockchain.

Look at these health trends shaping the healthcare industry, highlighting the endless possibilities the healthcare industry has to offer with health-based apps.

Contact us now.

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Canadian nuclear reactor shutdown causes worldwide medical isotope shortage

Category : Uncategorized

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario in Canada was shut down on Thursday, May 14 by the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) due to a leak of heavy water. Government officials say that by Saturday the demand for medical isotopes will no longer be met, due to the shortage caused by the closure.

Medical isotopes are used in diagnostic procedures for cancer, heart disease and other medical conditions. When radioactive isotopes are injected into the body, radiologists can view higher radiation via medical imaging, enabling them to make a more accurate diagnosis.

Estimates suggest that the reactor will be shut down for approximately one month for repairs. The Chalk River Laboratories produce 33% of the international supply of medical isotopes.

Lisa Raitt, Natural Resources Minister said, “A secure supply of medical isotopes is not only an issue for Canada, it is an international issue that is being addressed co-operatively by all isotope-producing countries.”

“It may mean that if you have an elective study booked … that patient is going to be deferred and will have to wait until the situation is resolved. I’m reasonably confident that for most patients, if they’re having an acute problem, that problem is going to be dealt with – and the greater the acuity, the more likelihood it’s going to be dealt with quickly and expeditiously,” said Dr. Karen Gulenchyn, a nuclear medicine expert.

“The government of Canada is engaging international isotope producers as well as companies such as MDS Nordion, Lantheus, and Covidien, who all play key roles in securing medical isotope supply for North America,” said Raitt and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.

In December 2007, the 52-year-old reactor was shut down and the Canadian House of Common stepped in to restart the reactor.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Canadian_nuclear_reactor_shutdown_causes_worldwide_medical_isotope_shortage&oldid=1977188”

Study says dogs can smell lung and breast cancer

Category : Uncategorized

Monday, August 7, 2006

Dogs can be trained to detect early and late stages of lung and breast cancer accurately according to a study published by California scientists in the little-known scientific journal Integrative Cancer Therapies.

The study took place over the last five years at the Pine Street Foundation, a non-profit organization which conducts evidence-based research on integrative medicine (combining complementary and alternative medicine and mainstream medicine). Michael McCulloch and colleagues used three Labrador Retrievers and two Portuguese Water Dogs, both common pets, that received basic behavioral dog training. The researchers trained the dogs to lie down next to a sample from a cancer patient and to ignore other samples.

The samples used were breath samples from 55 patients with lung cancer and 31 with breast cancer — the two types of cancer with the highest mortality rates in the United States.

After the training phase, the dogs’ accuracy diagnosis was tested in a double-blind experiment. Among lung cancer patients, the sensitivity and specificity were 99% accurate and for breast cancer sensitivity was 88% and specificity 98%. Because these figures seem almost too good to be true, cancer experts are the same time baffled and skeptical. The authors of the study themselves also say replication of the study is needed.

Importantly, this was independent of the cancer stage, meaning the dogs were able to pick up the scent of cancer in its early stages. This is important because in many cases, the success of any treatment depends on early diagnosis. However, the researchers don’t believe this will lead to the use of dogs in the clinic soon, rather they want to find out which chemicals are actually sensed by the canines, because they could be used in laboratory assays. “It’s not like someone would start chemotherapy based on a dog test,” Dr. Gansler of the American Cancer Society said, “They’d still get a biopsy.”.

The researchers were inspired by anecdotal reports about dogs detecting cancer. In 1989, a British women consulted with her family physician because her Dalmatian kept licking a mole on her leg. At biopsy it showed to be malignant melanoma. When diagnosed too late this form of cancer has a poor survival rate, but in this case early surgery was made possible, and the women survived. Prior studies showed that breath samples from patients with lung cancer or breast cancer contain distinct biochemical markers. This provides a basis for the hypothesis that some cancer types produce volatile chemicals that dogs could smell. A study published in the British Medical Journal already proved that dogs could use their exquisite sense of smell to detect bladder cancer in urine samples, but they were only correct in 41% of cases, and another study provided preliminary evidence that dogs could detect melanomas.

This doesn’t mean you can show your breasts to your dog and it will tell you if you have cancer, other physicians caution, and scientists do not advise people to train their dogs to sniff for cancer. Unresolved issues from the study include the fact that subjects were required to breathe deeper than normal, so it’s not sure whether dogs can smell cancer in normal breath. Also, whether this is a permanent skill that would be retained by dogs was not tested.

Finally, there are concerns that could arise over liability issues: who would be responsible when the dog makes a mistake?

Current detection methods for both lung and breast cancer are not flawless. For lung cancer, chest X-ray and sputum cytology (detecting cancer cells in coughed up fluid) fail to detect many early cases, and CT scan produces many false-positive results unless combined with expensive PET scans. Although it might be comparing apples and oranges, a $2.5 million CT scanner has an accuracy of 85 to 90%. Mammography also produces false-positive results, and it may be difficult in women with dense breast tissue. As such, another type of “pet”-scan, using dogs as a biological assay, might prove feasible for screening if supported by further research. Current tests are also expensive so the use of dogs for preliminary cancer testing could prove to be an affordable alternative for countries in the developing world.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Study_says_dogs_can_smell_lung_and_breast_cancer&oldid=798579”

Challenges Facing In Real Estate Property Investment

Category : Quantity Surveyors

Challenges Facing In Real Estate Property Investment

by

Cindy Roy

One thing that many people will be in agreement with is that up to now the industry of real estate is conflicting to make an impact on the lives of people. It is still down and it\’s until now to rise. If it was capable enough, countries wouldn\’t understand the housing challenges they are having nowadays.

Initially it was said that the high interest rates that were charged on mortgages explained this circumstance. A few years ago, these interest rates were cheap but still the situation has not changed. This shows that there are other factors which distress this business of real estate property. Therefore, if you are an investor and you wish to invest in residential property, the following are some of the challenges you need to be geared up for.

One of these challenges involves concerns to do with unemployment. Research has it that unemployment is the major challenge that hampers the business of residential housing. This is because of the evident reason that a person who doesn\’t have a job can\’t afford to buy a decent home. However, this is not the holder always. Even those who are employed are tentative in taking a mortgage. They fear what will happen to them if they lose their jobs and they have a loan to compensate for a residential property.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA3JC9WtVXk[/youtube]

The second factor that poses a great confront to this industry is the ever rising numbers of the human population. Though population increase affords a large market to this sector, different people have different tastes and preferences. It is therefore tough to meet all the requirements that they want.

Due to this reason, some homeowners have experienced many losses as they were not able to sell their properties because they have been turned down by the buyers. It is therefore sensible for investors to carry out a thorough research on people\’s likes and dislikes.

Lack of resources is the third challenge that the industry faces. People don\’t have sufficient money to pay as a down payment for these houses. Others on the other hand are not willing to deposit their money into this kind of business. The result that is obtained from these actions is that the industry gets fewer finances that can\’t impel its growth. Natural calamities have also stalled the growth of this sector. The negative crashes brought about by earthquakes and floods are the examples here. Whole houses have been brought down by these calamities.

Man\’s actions have also exaggerated the growth of this industry. Actions of terrorism and those that lead to fire burning are the illustrations here. Harmful business competition is the challenge that has also contributed to the downfall of this industry.

New shareholders are finding it difficult coping up in this market because those who entered the market early are monopolizing everything. However all is not misplaced in this industry. Solutions can be hunted for these challenges and the industry can be reclaimed. Proper planning and preparation need to be done by both owners and buyers of these homes so that challenges can be managed successfully whenever they come.

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Canadian Conservatives vow to defend Arctic sovereignty

Category : Uncategorized

Friday, December 23, 2005

The Conservative Party of Canada leader Stephen Harper today made bold claims about the Canadian Arctic region at a campaign stop in Winnipeg, “The single most important duty of the federal government is to protect and defend our national sovereignty.” . The prime minister-hopeful stated, “There are new and disturbing reports of American nuclear submarines passing though Canadian waters without obtaining the permission of —or even notifying — the Canadian government.”

Harper promised a significant increase in military presence in the Canadian region, which has had notable soveriegnty disputes with the United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway.”You don’t defend national sovereignty with flags,” Harper said. “You need forces on the ground, ships in the sea, and proper surveillance.”

Among other promises, Harper stated he would station three armed naval heavy ice breakers in the area of Iqaluit with 500 regular force personnel, recruit 500 more Canadian rangers, and build a new army training center in the area of Cambridge Bay on the Northwest Passage.File:Stephen Harper voa.jpg

“As prime minister, I will make it clear to foreign governments — including the United States — that naval vessels traveling in Canadian territorial waters will require the consent of the government of Canada,” Harper stated.

The Conservative Party Website states this ““Canada First” Northern Strategy will increase surveillance, navy, army and air force presence”.

The Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservatives’ most powerful rival in the election, quickly posted a rebuttal on their website. They claim Stephen Harpers stated defense budget of $5.3(CAD) billion over 5 years is not enough to afford the two polar icebreakers, which the Liberal party claims will cost $3(CAD) billion with the party estimating an upkeep of $150(CAD) million per year. “Where does Mr. Harper plan to find another $1 billion?” the party asked in their rebuttal.

The Arctic may be an important issue in the future for Canadians, as scientists expect the fabled Northwest Passage of the Arctic to open up for year round shipping by 2050 as a result of global warming. According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, trade routes from Europe to the Far East could save 4000 km through the passage, as compared to the current routes through the Panama Canal.

Canada last flexed its muscle in the Arctic in 2004 in its most massive Arctic exercise ever, with six hundred personnel from the three services (army, air force, navy) involved in a large exercise in the Baffin Islands.

Canadians are scheduled to go to the polls on January 23, 2006 in an early election as a result of a non-confidence motion in parliament against the former ruling Liberal party.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Canadian_Conservatives_vow_to_defend_Arctic_sovereignty&oldid=4514565”

Senator Ted Stevens loses re-election bid in Alaska ballot

Category : Uncategorized

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Alaskan U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, who turned 85 yesterday, narrowly lost his re-election bid to Mark Begich, the Democratic Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska.

Meanwhile, as Alaska’s counting of the November 4 election is almost complete, Democratic challenger for the US House of Representatives, Ethan Berkowitz, conceded to incumbent Don Young, the Republican Party nominee.

With this result, the Democrats are two seats away (assuming that independents Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman continue to caucus with them) from a filibuster-proof supermajority in the United States Senate, with two races (Minnesota and Georgia) as yet uncalled. That would allow the Democrats to invoke cloture, limiting filibusters to a further 30 hours, an ability last attained in the 95th Congress of 1977-79.

Stevens is entitled to request a recount at his campaign’s expense, and has not yet made a statement. After the completion of counting yesterday, Begich had defeated Stevens by 3,724 votes, a margin of over one percent. 2,500 special absentee and postal ballots remain to be counted on November 25.

Begich released a statement on his win saying, “I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate. It’s been an incredible journey getting to this point, and I appreciate the support and commitment of the thousands of Alaskans who have brought us to this day.”

Young won his race by 16,280 votes, a margin of five percent.

Stevens recently became a convicted felon on seven counts for lying on Senate disclosure forms about accepting $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from VECO, an oil services company. He has asked President George W. Bush not to grant him a presidential pardon.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Senator_Ted_Stevens_loses_re-election_bid_in_Alaska_ballot&oldid=3123203”

Fur fans flock to Toronto’s Furnal Equinox 2019

Category : Uncategorized

Monday, March 25, 2019

From March 15 to 17, the Canadian city of Toronto played host to the tenth Furnal Equinox, an annual event dedicated to the “furry fandom.” Wikinews attended. Programming ranged from music to gender, science to art, covering dozens of aspects of the varied subculture. The event’s featured guests were visual artists Moth Monarch and Cat-Monk Shiro, as well as the co-owners of US fursuit costume builders Don’t Hug Cacti.

The event raised nearly CDN$11,000 for Pet Patrol, a non-profit rescue organization in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, run by volunteers. This exceeded their goal of $10,000, the funds needed to finish a rural sanctuary. The furry community is well-known for their charitable efforts. Along with direct donations, the funds were raised through a charity auction offering original artwork, and a fursuit design by guests of honour “Don’t Hug Cacti.” Last year, Furnal Equinox raised funds for a farm animal sanctuary.

While only 10–15% of people within the fandom own a fursuit according to a 2011 study, event organizers reported this year 908 of the 2240 attendees at Furnal Equinox brought at least one elaborate outfit to the event. The outfits are usually based on original characters, known as “fursonas”.

Guests of Honour Cherie and Sean O’Donnell, known within the community as “Lucky and Skuff Coyote”, held a session on fursuit construction on Saturday afternoon. The married couple are among the most prominent builders in the fandom, under the name Don’t Hug Cacti. The scale of their business was evident, as Sean had made over a thousand pairs of “handpaws”, costume gloves.

The couple encouraged attendees to continue developing their technique, sharing that all professional fursuit makers had developed different techniques. They felt that they learned more from failed projects than successful ones, citing the Chuck Jones quote that “every artist has thousands of bad drawings,” and that you have to work through them to achieve. Cherie, known as Lucky, recalled receiving a Sylvester the Cat plush toy from a Six Flags theme park at age 10. She promptly hollowed the toy out, turning it into a costume. Creating a costume isn’t without its hazards: the company uses 450°F (232°C) glue guns. They’re “like sticking your hand in an oven.”

Other programming included improv comedy, dances, life drawing of fursuiters, a review of scientific research by a research group at four universities called FurScience, a pin collector’s social, and workshops in writing.

The “Dealer’s Den” hall was expanded this year, with even more retailers and artists. While many offered “furry” versions of traditional products, at least one business focused on “pushing the boundaries of fursuit technology.” Along with 3D printing a bone-shaped name tag when Wikinews visited, Grivik was demonstrating miniature computer screens that could be used as “eyes” for a fursuit. The electronic displays projected an animation of eyes looking around, blinking occasionally. The maker has also developed “a way to install a camera inside suit heads, to improve fursuiter visibility.” He hopes the tech would reduce suiting risks and accidents. Without the need for eyeholes, fursuit makers would have “more options for building different eyestyles.”

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