Monday, October 11, 2010 Wikinews interviewed author Amy Scobee about her book Scientology – Abuse at the Top, and asked her about her experiences working as an executive within the organization. Scobee joined the organization at age 14, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005. She served as a Scientology executive in multiple high-ranking positions, working out of the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base”, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California.
Read MoreSri Lanka accepts ‘One China’ policy
Monday, March 28, 2005 Sri Lankan Ministry Of Foreign Affairs said the government accepts Beijing’s “One China” policy and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic Of China, according to a March 17 press release. The current foreign Ministry communiqué, recollects the press communiqué issued by the Foreign Ministers of China and Sri Lanka in Beijing in December 2004. Sri Lanka reiterated its support for Chinese legislative measures to oppose forces seeking to secede from China. In the communiqué, the Sri Lankan government categorically mentioned, Sri Lanka…
Read MoreCanada’s Toronto—Danforth (Ward 30) city council candidates speak
Saturday, November 4, 2006 On November 13, Toronto residents will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Toronto Centre (Ward 28). One candidate responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Edward Chin, Paula Fletcher (incumbent), Patrick Kraemer, Suzanne McCormick, Daniel Nicastro, and Michael Zubiak. For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.
Read MoreFifteen people killed in Philippines hotel fire
Sunday, December 19, 2010 Fifteen people were killed and twelve were injured after an eight hour hotel fire in Tuguegarao City, Northern Philippines, however police and firefighters managed to save many guests. Reports suggest the deceased sought cover in bathrooms where they were burnt beyond recognition. After entering the building firefighters were left in tears after finding the charred bodies of guests on the upper floors. “It’s so close to Christmas, we wept when we saw their bodies,” said fire investigator Daniel Abana. Nine of the deaths were confirmed to…
Read MoreCreator of website satirizing Glenn Beck on winning domain name case
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Wikinews interviewed the creator of a parody website satirizing American political commentator Glenn Beck, about his thoughts after prevailing in a domain name dispute brought by Beck before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Florida resident Isaac Eiland-Hall created the website in September, and it asserts Beck uses questionable tactics “to spread lies and misinformation”. Eiland-Hall was represented in the case by free speech lawyer Marc Randazza. Wikinews interviewed Randazza for the article “US free speech lawyer Marc Randazza discusses Glenn Beck parody”,…
Read MoreBenazir Bhutto buried; violence erupts in assassination aftermath
Friday, December 28, 2007 Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack yesterday, has been buried in her ancestral home in the village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. Meanwhile, violence has erupted across the nation in protest to the 54-year-old opposition leader’s death. The Pakistani government has claimed to have evidence to suggest that al Qaeda were responsible for attacking her at the end of her address to an election rally. One spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said “We have intelligence intercepts indicating that al…
Read MoreFrank Messina: An interview with the ‘Mets Poet’
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 In the early Olympic games, athletes used to run a mile and then recite a poem. The first poet-in-residence of an English football team, Ian McMillan, remarked that football chants are like huge tribal poems. Generally, though, sport and poetry have never seemed natural companions in human enterprise. Until the New York Mets baseball team suffered in 2007 arguably the worst collapse in Major League Baseball history. To describe the anguish fans felt, The New York Times turned to a poet, Frank Messina. “Nothing was really…
Read MoreNew Jersey to consider bikini waxing ban
Friday, March 20, 2009 New Jersey is considering a state-wide ban on Brazilian waxes, the removal of hair from the bikini area. Although genital waxing has never really been allowed in the state, the New Jersey Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling plans to propose a ban with more specific legal wording, in response to two women who reported being injured during a wax. The board will consider the proposal at their next meeting on April 14. If the measure passes, New Jersey may become the only US state to ban…
Read MoreBDSM as business: Interviews with Dominatrixes
Sunday, October 28, 2007 Whether the Civil War, World War II or the Iraq War, it can be challenging to face how conflict penetrates the psyche of a nation and surfaces in the nuances of life. There are thousands—if not millions—of individuals who indulge in fantasies others would deem perverse that have their nascence in some of the darkest moments of human history. It is possible someone you know pays a person to dress like a German Nazi to treat them like a “dirty Jew”, or to force them to…
Read More‘Bloody Sunday Inquiry’ publishes report into British Army killing of activists in Northern Ireland
Thursday, June 17, 2010 File:Civil Rights Mural SMC May 2007.jpg On Tuesday, the “Bloody Sunday Inquiry” published its report into 1972 British Army killing of fourteen civil rights activists in Northern Ireland. The Saville Inquiry, a twelve-year-long public inquiry into the fatal shooting, published their 5,000-page report; stating, the deaths were “unjustified”. The events of “Bloody Sunday” in 1972 saw soldiers open fire on civilians during a civil rights march. Family members and supporters of the victims reacted positively to the report, as they gathering outside the Guildhall in Derry.…
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