Author: Admin

Sunday, August 5, 2012

The following is the ninth in a monthly series chronicling the U.S. 2012 presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after a brief mention of some of the month’s biggest stories.

In this month’s edition on the campaign trail: the rules of third party candidate polling are examined, a third party activist causes four other parties to lose their place on the Illinois presidential ballot, and the new vice presidential nominee of the Justice Party speaks with Wikinews.

Friday, September 1, 2006

Mario López is favored to win the third season of American television series Dancing with the Stars, with 3:1 odds of winning, but close on his heels is actress Vivica Fox, with four-to-one odds. López is perhaps best known for his role on Saved by the Bell, and currently stars on soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Gambling site BetBet released odds on its website recently.

Monique Coleman (High School Musical), Joey Lawrence (Blossom), and Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans), each with six-to-one odds. Hamlin’s wife, Lisa Rinna, was a contestant in the second season of the series. Singers Willa Ford and Sara Evans each rank 8:1.

It is unknown how the firm decided the competitor’s odds; none of this year’s dancing has been previewed publicly, let alone for the press.

Dancing with the Stars enters its third season on September 12, at 8pm, with a two-hour season premiere. The series was a surprise hit for ABC, who added the program as a summer filler, with no large hopes for its success. Based on the British series Strictly Come Dancing, the series has been produced in 20 countries.

ODDS

• 7:2 – Mario Lopez
• 4:1 – Vivica Fox
• 6:1 – Monique Coleman
• 6:1 – Joey Lawrence
• 6:1 – Harry Hamlin
• 8:1 – Willa Ford
• 8:1 – Sara Evans
• 15:1 – Shanna Moakler
• 15:1 – Tucker Carlson
• 15:1 – Emmitt Smith
• 30:1 – Jerry Springer

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Police in Purcell, Oklahoma, about 40 miles (64 km) south of Oklahoma City, on Friday discovered the mutilated body of a ten-year-old girl in the apartment of a man who lived in the same apartment complex.

The body of Jamie Rose Bolin was found in a storage bin in the bedroom closet of Kevin Underwood, 26, said Tim Kuykendall, district attorney for McClain County. Underwood has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and is being held without bail. He has no criminal record or history of mental illness.

The girl was last seen on Wednesday near the Purcell public library, and her family reported her missing that night. Officials waited until Thursday night to issue an Amber Alert because no abduction was reported.

Underwood reportedly drew the suspicion of law enforcement at an information checkpoint set up at the apartment complex. Among the other items found in Underwood’s apartment were a decorative dagger, a hacksaw, barbecue skewers, meat tenderizer, and a wooden cutting board, according to police.

Preliminary autopsy reports find that the girl died of asphyxiation and blunt force trauma to the head. Deep saw marks found on the body indicate that the suspect attempted to decapitate the girl, say authorities. As the body was found unclothed, police also suspect that Bolin was molested after she died.

“Regarding a potential motive, this appears to have been part of a plan to kidnap a person, rape them, torture them, kill them, cut off their head, drain the body of blood, rape the corpse, eat the corpse, then dispose of the organs and bones,” Purcell police chief David Tompkins said.

According to Kuykendall, Underwood said he began fantasizing about eating someone a year ago. The prosecutor added that authorities believe “that while she was ultimately chosen to be the victim of this horrific crime, that other people had been targeted and considered,” including a woman and a 5-year-old boy. He added that this was one of the most atrocious crimes he had seen as district attorney, and that he intends to seek the death penalty.

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.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Former Salt Lake City mayor and human rights activist Rocky Anderson took some time to discuss his 2012 U.S. presidential campaign and the newly-created Justice Party with Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn.

Anderson served as mayor of Salt Lake City for eight years (2000–2008) as a member of the Democratic Party. During his tenure, he enacted proposals to reduce the city’s carbon emissions, reformed its criminal justice system, and positioned it as a leading sanctuary for refugees. After leaving office, Anderson grew critical of the Democratic Party’s failure to push for impeachment against President George W. Bush, and for not reversing policies on torture, taxes, and defense spending. He left the party earlier this year and announced that he would form a Third party.

Anderson officially established the Justice Party last week during a press conference in Washington D.C.. He proclaimed “We the people are powerful enough to end the perverse government-to-the-highest-bidder system sustained by the two dominant parties…We are here today for the sake of justice — social justice, environmental justice and economic justice.” The party promotes campaign finance reform and is attempting to appeal to the Occupy Wall Street movement. It is currently working on ballot access efforts, and will hold a Founding Convention in February 2012 in Salt Lake City.

Among other issues, Anderson discussed climate change, health care, education, and civil liberties. He detailed his successes as mayor of Salt Lake City, stressed the importance of executive experience, and expressed his views on President Barack Obama and some of the Republican Party presidential candidates. He spoke in depth about former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, with whom he worked during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and fellow Utahan, former governor and U.S. ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, Jr..

Monday, July 16, 2007

Erica Powell OBE, who was the Private Secretary to Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana and later to Siaka Stevens, President of Sierra Leone, died last month at the age of 86. She died at Peterborough on June 5, 2007. She was made an MBE in 1958 and OBE in 1960.

Erica was born on March 15, 1921 at Brighton in Sussex England into a middle class family. She trained as a secretary and then as a teacher. She worked with Barclays Bank during World War II. She was the top candidate in the 1940 London Chamber of Commerce Shorthand and Typewriting exams.

In February 1952, the Crown Agents for the Colonies offered her the position of “Private Secretary (Female)/Gold Coast” which later became the title of her autobiography. She ended up working as the Private Secretary to the Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Charles Arden-Clarke. While working for the Governor, she became a close friend and confidant of Kwame Nkrumah, then bidding for Ghana’s independence from the United Kingdom. Her closeness to Nkrumah led to her being dismissed in 1954 and being sent back to the UK.

Powell returned in January 1955 to work for Kwame Nkrumah, a position she held till 1965, a year before his overthrow. Her close relationship and loyalty to Nkrumah bred a lot of rumours both in Ghana and the UK. It also brought a lot of resentment from various quarters. She kept in contact with Nkrumah while he was in exile in Guinea until his death in April, 1972.

She later worked for Siaka Stevens as his private secretary from 1970 to 1979. She attended Nkrumah’s funeral in 1972 as part of the official Sierra Leone delegation.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Sahnoun Daifallah, of White City, Gloucester, was today remanded in custody by Cheltenham magistrates after being arrested for spraying a “foul-smelling, brown substance” from a sports bottle. The liquid is thought to have contaminated food, books, wine bottles, and other items across several stores in Gloucestershire.

Mr Daifallah, the court was today told, committed the offences over multiple days. The attack on a Tesco supermarket, where frozen chips and wine bottles were contaminated with what Tesco claims to be a “mix of human urine, faeces, and domestic products” happened on Friday. He is also accused of a similar offence in a Morrisons supermarket 4 miles away on the same day. Two days previously, Mr Daifallah is accused of spraying the substance inside a pub near Cheltenham, contaminating food, and contaminating over 700 books in a Waterstone’s bookstore in nearby Cirencester.

Mr Daifallah today confirmed that he was at the locations stated, however he indicated he will be pleading not guilty to the charges. He has been remanded in custody until May 28th, when he will appear before Stroud magistrates via videolink to be committed to Gloucester Crown Court – a decision made by magistrates after the estimated damage by the defendant was given at over £10,000, plus cleaning and replacement expenses.