Saturday, November 4, 2006
On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley East (Ward 33). One candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Zane Caplan, Shelley Carroll (incumbent), Jim Conlon, Sarah Tsang-Fahey, and Anderson Tung.
For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.
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Saturday, November 10, 2007
The U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled more products over the last few days, though not all because of excessive lead.
While American toy companies have been rocked in the last few months by numerous unsafe Chinese-made products, mostly due to excessive amounts of lead in paint, a few of the latest recalls were actually due to design flaws.
Also recently recalled are sunglasses and toy cars from the Dollar General chain of price-point retailers.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Two teenagers in the United Kingdom have been acquitted of planning a high school massacre similar to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in the United States. Police and the Crown Prosecution Service have been criticised for bringing the case to trial.
Matthew Swift, 18, and Ross McKnight, 16, were cleared of accusations they planned a copycat attack at their school in Manchester to coincide with the April 20 anniversary of the original mass shooting. They had been charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property. Swift and McKnight have spent the last six months behind bars on remand, Swift in prison and McKnight a young offenders institute.
Police had thought they had found a criminal plot when they were alerted after a girl received a drunken phone call from one boy talking about a school shooting. They discovered a second girl had received a text saying “If I ever text you not to come into school don’t question it, just don’t go in.” The pair were found to be in possession of The Anarchist Cookbook and a BB gun . No guns or explosives were found even though the prosecution alleged to have video footage of the pair manufacturing explosives.
The prosecution case further focused on diary entries and plans talking of how they would perpetrate the “greatest massacre ever.” “Audenshaw high,” wrote Swift “will be no more. Unlike Columbine, my propane bomb will actually fucking explode and I will walk from classroom to classroom killing the fuck out of everybody, then maybe people will learn.”
The 2007 plans were alleged by prosecutors to have included a diversion bomb away from the school, which was the main target, even though they also suggested attacks on several other buildings. Swift explained that his writings were “naive and pathetic ways to channel my teenage angst. I was 16 with a vivid imagination.” The defense had focused on the notion that the plot was pure fantasy.
Supporting this was testimony, including that of McKnight’s police officer father Ray, that the duo had plenty of other weird and wonderful schemes. Much as the shooting idea had come from Michael Moore‘s documentary Bowling for Columbine, so too had they discussed living off the land in Alaska after watching Into the Wild. Other ideas included a winter mission to climb Ben Nevis and launching a dinghy service on local canal routes.
The five men and seven women that comprised the jury agreed, and took just 45 minutes to reject the charges. They even waited for defence counsel so they could wave and smile at them. It was, according to McKnight’s lawyer Roderick Carus QC, perhaps the “quickest acquittal of this apparent gravity” he had ever witnessed. He said the case was a weak one that should never have gone to court. One of the lawyers on the case described the teens as victims of an “unnecessary, heavy-handed prosecution” that was a waste of several hundred thousand pounds.
British officers working the case flew to the United States to speak with those that worked upon the Columbine massacre. Later, the former head of the Columbine investigation traveled to the UK.
Ray McKnight did not comment on the decision to try the case, but he did say both defendants had experienced “purgatory” and “absolute agony” while imprisoned. “We are all just incredibly relieved,” he said, stating that he never doubted his son’s innocence for a moment. His son read the following statement outside Manchester Crown Court: “I would like to make it clear that at no time was any person put at risk. This was just a fantasy. This was never a reality. I would just like to say that during my time in custody, I have taken my GCSEs. I hope that my wish to join the army has not been harmed.”
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Friday, November 17, 2006
A group of 13 teenage boys raped a 13-year old school girl in Zurich last weekend, reports the website of the German language newspaper 20 Minuten. The report says that the girl was raped repeatedly and the act was filmed on mobile phones.
Six of the suspects are Swiss nationals, two come from Serbia and Montenegro, one comes from Italy, two from the Republic of Macedonia, one from the Dominican Republic and one from Bosnia and Hercegovina. All live in Zurich.
All the suspects were arrested on Thursday. Police secured 3 mobile phones. Police say that securing the phones ensures the movies don’t get published on the Internet and cannot spark potential copycat acts.
The alleged act took place in the flat of an 18-year-old colleague of a 15-year-old friend of the victim. The victim and four of the arrested suspects attend the same school Schulhaus Buhnrain in Zurich Seebach.
According to 20 Minuten, the families of the perpetrators have now massively threatened the victim.
Verena Lang Temperli, a school official, told 20 Minuten that this case is a problem of society itself, not a problem of the school.
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Saturday, March 15, 2008
The Internet group Anonymous today held further protests critical of the Church of Scientology.
The global protests started in Australia where several hundred protesters gathered at different locations for peaceful protests.
In a global speech, the Internet protest movement said Scientology “betrayed the trust of its members, [had] taken their money, their rights, and at times their very lives.” The protesters welcomed the public interest their protests have led to, and claimed they witnessed “an unprecedented flood of Scientologists [joining] us across the world to testify about these abuses.” The group said it would continue with monthly actions.
In a press statement from its European headquarters, Scientology accused the anonymous protesters of “hate speech and hate crimes”, alleging that security measures were necessary because of death threats and bomb threats. This also makes the Church want to “identify members” of the group it brands as “cyber-terrorists”.
Wikinews had correspondents in a number of protest locations to report on the events.
Anonymous states that the next protest is scheduled to take place on April 18, which happens to be the birthday of Suri, the daughter of Tom and Katie Cruise.
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Saturday, September 15, 2007
Mark Grenier is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Welland riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.
Minor alterations not affecting the content have been made to this interview; the original text is available by clicking on the tab marked “Collaboration” for.
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.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Mongolia’s ruling People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) has been declared winners of the country’s legislative elections, two days after allegations of vote-rigging leveled against the ruling party sparked violent protests in the capital of Ulaanbaatar.
Preliminary results show the MPRP with 47 seats out of 76 in the State Great Khural, General Election Committee spokesman Nergui reported. The opposing Democratic Party won 26 seats, Nergui said, with the remaining seats divided between minor parties. The official results are expected to be revealed tomorrow. Nevertheless, the preliminary results indicate a decisive victory for the former communist party.
International observers say the vote was largely fair. There were some irregularities reported, but according to William Ifante, Mongolia director of The Asia Foundation, “they were in no way widespread” and the election “appeared to have been transparent and free throughout.”
This did not stop Democratic Party supporters from taking to the streets on Tuesday in protest of alleged election fraud. Rioters clashed with police, setting fire to the MPRP headquarters and a cultural center. Five people were killed in the violence, over 300 were injured, and around 700 protesters were detained. President Nambaryn Enkhbayar declared a four-day state of emergency in the capital, which will stay in effect until Saturday.
Calm has since been restored in Ulaanbaatar, although a heavy police presence remains in the city. “Life is steadily coming back to normal. Military equipment has been moved from the city and traffic restrictions have been lifted,” said Justic Minister Monkh-Orgil. Protests have been banned during the state of emergency, but Democratic Party leader Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj does not expect a recurrence of the violence.
However, Elbegdorj still asserts that the elections were marred by fraud, and he is demanding a recount. “I am deeply saddened that this vote was stolen,” he said. “It was stolen and there needs to be a recount. The result is false.”