Friday, March 25, 2005

A U.S. District Court in Tarrant County, Texas, issued a summary judgment Thursday against Circuit City’s InterTAN Inc., requiring all 950 RadioShack stores in Canada to stop using the RadioShack brand in store signs, packaging, products and advertising after June 30.

RadioShack’s Canadian operations were spun off in 1986 to a new corporation, InterTAN Canada, which was purchased in 2004 by RadioShack’s major U.S. competitor, Circuit City. Shortly thereafter, RadioShack sued InterTAN, alleging it had violated the terms of their licensing agreement and seeking the right to terminate the contract early.

In a statement released following the judge’s ruling, RadioShack’s general counsel, Mark Hill, claimed: “The most important thing to us was to protect our brand position in Canada.”

Circuit City chairman and chief executive officer, W. Alan McCollough responded today in a press release seeking an appeal: “We respectfully believe the court has erred in the partial ruling entered yesterday and we will use every means of relief possible to exercise our rights under the agreements, including all appeal rights. The Company believes the positions taken by InterTAN are correct and believe InterTAN will ultimately prevail in the legal proceedings.”

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

On Tuesday, the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs‘s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing titled “Credit Card Practices: Unfair Interest Rate Increases.” The hearing examined the circumstances under which credit card issuers may increase the interest rates of cardholders who are in compliance with the terms of their credit cards. It was a follow-up to a March 2007 hearing.

Subcommittee Chairman Carl Levin said in his opening statement: “Today’s focus is on credit card issuers who hike the interest rates of cardholders who play by the rules — meaning those folks who pay on time, pay at least the minimum amount due, and wake up one day to find their interest rate has gone through the roof — again, not because they paid late or exceeded the credit limit, but because their credit card issuer decided they should be ‘repriced’.”

Present to testify on behalf of credit card issuers were Roger C. Hochschild of Discover Financial Services, Bruce L. Hammonds of Bank of America Corporation, and Ryan Schneider of Capital One Financial Corporation.

Much of the 90 minute hearing focused on specific cases where interest rates were raised, allegedly because credit scores of the debtor dropped, and not because they were delinquent or otherwise behind on payments. According to Levin, this practice made it so that almost all payments went towards finance charges with almost none toward repaying the principal. This, he felt, is an unfair practice, as the credit card companies were negligent in informing their customers of the rate hikes and the reason for such hikes.

The collective credit card debt of Americans totals an estimated US$900 billion. Issuers have come under pressure to disclose their policies in regards to setting fees and interest rates. The US Truth in Lending Act requires that terms of a loan be set forth up front. Fluctuating interest rates on credit cards would, on the surface, appear to violate this act.

Roger C. Hochschild disagreed, arguing that “every card transaction is a new extension of credit … This makes it difficult — and risky — to underwrite, and price, the loan based solely on the borrower’s credit-worthiness at the time of application [for the card].”

Ryan Schneider, agreed: “The ability to modify the terms of a credit card agreement to accommodate changes over time to the economy or the credit-worthiness of consumers must be preserved.”

“Attempts to interfere with the market here … will inevitably result in less credit being offered,” warned Bruce Hammonds. “Risk-based pricing has democratized access to credit,” he added.

All three credit card executives also mentioned an ongoing Federal Reserve System review of credit card rules that already proposes a 45-day notification ahead of any rate changes.

Committee members criticized the industry for varying practices. Included in the criticism was the practice of mailing checks to card-holders, failing to notify applicants that obtaining additional cards could lower their credit score and raise their rates, and “ambushing” card-holders with raised rates.

Ranking minority member of the subcommittee, Norm Coleman said, “families find themselves ensnared in a seemingly inescapable web of credit card debt. They particularly report being saddled with interest rates that skyrocketed on them seemingly out of the blue.”

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Alfred Hsing, a US martial artist with Chinese origins, besides having a long history of martial arts training in various styles, such as traditional kung fu, tae kwon do and karate, considers wushu – an athletic sport based on Chinese martial arts – as a form of art that pushes one’s physical limits and stimulates the mind at the same time. After having won the gold medal at the 10th World Wushu Championships, he became international movie star Jet Li’s personal assistant and went on to do stunts, action choreography, and land roles in movies.

Hungarian Wikinews contributor Teemeah has interviewed Alfred Hsing about his views on martial arts, life and Wikipedia.

Monday, April 3, 2006

Sometime during the night of Friday, January 28, 15 year-old Jenissa Ryan was assaulted and raped in Alice Springs. She was discovered near the entrance of Centralian Senior Secondary College around 10:30 a.m., and a college employee called an ambulance. The attack was not reported in the mainstream national media until this week, when it became known that the victim was the great-granddaughter of famous indigenous artist Albert Namatjira.

In an article published in Saturdays Sydney Morning Herald, Russell Skelton said that the fact that she was an Aborigine, and the location of her bashing, contributed to her death. “If Jenissa had been white, she might be alive today, though the scars of her brutal bashing and rape could never be erased. If she had been bashed and left for dead almost anywhere else, assistance would have been immediate and the outrage strident.” He also said that if her connection to Namatjira had been known, Jenissa’s death would have been a “national scandal.”

Police believe that she was attacked by a number of youths her own age while walking home. She continued to walk home, but collapsed unconscious near the entrance to the college. Here, according to police, she was found by three teenage boys, who dragged her out of view and raped her.

Jenissa was still alive when found. Skelton considered it likely that people had seen her during the morning but done nothing. “That means a number of residents of middle-class Grevillea Drive probably noticed. The white T-shirt and striped tracksuit pants were hard to miss,” he said.

She was taken to Alice Springs Hospital, and then flown to Adelaide’s Women and Children’s Hospital.

On February 13 Northern Territory Police charged a 16 year-old male and a 15 year-old female with assaulting Jenissa Ryan. Three other males, aged 14, 15, and 16, have been charged with having unlawful sexual intercourse with Jenissa Ryan. Police expressed gratitude for the assistance they had received from members of the public.

Father Asaeli Raass said that both indigenous and non-indigenous people were in denial about the incident. “Yes, it’s a painful thing, but people are sweeping it under the carpet when they should be confronting the big issues Jenissa’s death raises,” he said. He also said that the initial wave of publicity “never travelled outside Alice Springs.”

Jenissa’s mother, Carmel Ryan, said that her daughter wanted to be a painter, like her great-grandfather. “She wanted to be like him, to make a creative contribution we would all be proud of. Tragically that can never be, but I feel nothing but sorrow for the parents of the children involved in this terrible event,” she said.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Tuesday saw Philippines President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, direct Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) officials and Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez to investigate and charge the people involved in an alleged drug bribery attempt involving wealthy Filipino families. The president also instructed the chair of the Dangerous Drugs Board, Vicente Sotto III to keep in custody the drug suspects, the so-called ‘Alabang Boys’. This pending the DOJ‘s reinvestigation of the alleged P50-million bribe mess.

In September, Richard Santos Brodett, age 25, Jorge Jordana Joseph, age 22, and Joseph Ramirez Tecson, age 23, members of the “Alabang Boys”, were arrested in a series of buy-bust operations in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, and Cubao in Quezon City. 60 ecstasy tablets, small bags of marijuana and cocaine sachets were taken from the suspects by the drug agents. The three suspects underwent the DOJ’s preliminary investigation, but the drug case was dismissed by a draft resolution signed by 2 prosecutors from the National Prosecution Service on December 2.

In the challenged resolution, State Prosecutor John Resado, with the recommending approval of Senior State Prosecutor Philip I. Kimpo and Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, noted that the police operatives conducted illegal arrests and unlawful warrantless searches on the vehicles of the three suspects. In addition, Joseph was “under the control of the PDEA agents without the presence of any counsel when information against respondent Tecson was extracted from him,” it added.

The PDEA has accused the suspect’s family members of attempting to pay a 50 million Philippine peso bribe to one of the DOJ prosecutors handling the drug case; in exchange the case was to be dismissed. PDEA Special Enforcement Service head Major Ferdinand Marcelino has revealed that the 50 million peso bribe offer to a DOJ prosecutor was merely the first attempt of three. The Tecson family reportedly offered him 3 million pesos which was later raised to 20 million for the release of the suspects. PDEA Legal and Prosecution Service lawyer Alvaro Lazaro affirmed Marcelino’s accusations, which, however, were all denied by the suspects’ families.

The Chief State Prosecutor, Jovencito Zuño, categorically dismissed accusations that 50 million pesos had changed hands, and that he and the prosecutors had been bribed. “It’s not true. That’s a big lie. They’re just speculating,” he said. Zuño has also alleged that the factual findings were first reviewed by state prosecutors Philip Quimpo and Misael Ladaga. The Justice Secretary has ordered the NBI to investigate not only the government prosecutors but also the PDEA.

According to PDEA chief, Ret. Gen. Dionisio Santiago, the “Alabang Boys” – Richard Santos Brodett, Jorge Jordana Joseph and Joseph Ramirez Tecson – are part of an international drug network. “This is a big group, and they use the Internet to get drugs from America. This operation may lead to a bigger one. They (Alabang Boys) are second in line. It’s hard to penetrate the second line,” Santiago explained. (DOJ) Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez on Thursday, however, has asked PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago to submit evidence to show that money changed hands or had been paid to DOJ prosecutors handling the case amid the pending NBI probe of the matter.

Meanwhile, The Philippines Congress is set to hold Congressional hearings on the case with a view to introducing legislation. “This is a big scandal involving a government agency,” said House vice chairman of committee on illegal drugs, Representative Antonio Cuenco of Cebu City. He has said that the House of Representatives‘ probe will begin on January 5. The three suspects are still detained at the PDEA Quezon City detention centre.

The Senate of the Philippines is also set to conduct hearing on the bribery mess. According to Dangerous Drugs Board chair Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, chair of the Senate committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, has agreed to lead a Senate inquiry investigating the 50-million peso drug bribe.

In a related drug bust operation, La Union Rep. Tomas Dumpit said that the buy-bust in his province had a ‘similar ending.’ “That’s very possible just like the case in Naguilian, La Union where a shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) laboratory was discovered in Barangay Bimotobot, Naguilian, La Union worth one trillion pesos but it was dismissed by the DOJ.” In July, a “shabu” laboratory was searched by the PDEA and the local police, who discovered eight truckloads of equipment and chemicals that could produce 180,000 kilograms of the prohibited drugs. La Union Bishop Artemio Rillera has recently petitioned the President to re-open the cases. On November 12, the DoJ three-member prosecution panel dismissed the cases against former Dagupan police chief Supt. Dionicio Borromeo, four policemen and the shabu laboratory lot owner. Because of the ‘Alabang Boys’ bribery mess, President Arroyo on Tuesday, ordered the reinvestigation of the shabu laboratory case.

This is not the first time that the Philippine judiciary and government had been involved in massive corruption. In the recent GSIS-Meralco bribery case, the High Court dismissed Associate Justice Vicente Q. Roxas, punished Associate Justice Jose L. Sabio, Jr. with 2 months suspension, and reprimanded 2 other CA Justices. In September 2006, Atty. Romeo Roxas accused Justice Minita Chico-Nazario of issuing a ruling for certain considerations, and calling the Supreme Court a “dispenser of injustice”. Roxas said her decision ordering him and one Santiago Pastor to return more than 17 million Philippine pesos to Antonio de Zuzuarregui Jr. was wrong and unjust. Roxas told Nazario: to “sleep well if you still can” and that she would be judged by the “Supreme Dispenser of Justice.” Roxas was cited for indirect contempt and fined 30,000 Philippine pesos.

In April 2007, Philippine Court of Appeals then Presiding Justice Ruben Reyes has ordered an investigation and a regular auditing and inventory of temporary restraining orders (TROs) issued by the 69 CA Justices. Reyes stated: “I will order a monthly or quarterly inventory of TROs, for transparency and to watch the movements of the so-called Dirty Dozen [the 12 most corrupt CA justices].” CJ Reynato Puno said that Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez had not yet submitted the list and the Supreme Court was waiting for its delivery amid her formal investigation against the “Dirty Dozen.”

In September 2007, Lawyer Victor de la Serna has accused Justice Dante Tinga of accepting a 10-million bribe Philippine pesos in the Johnny Chan versus Carmelita Fudot lawsuit, regarding a land located in Doljo, Panglao, Bohol. De la Serna alleged that in the September 26, 2007 meeting, Chan, owner of Bellevue Hotel, paid Tinga 10 million Philippine pesos in exchange for a favorable decision. On September 13, 2007, Tinga penned a decision in favor of Chan’s Cattleya Land Inc., over Fudot, client of De La Serna. The court, however, upheld Tinga, and fined De La Serna 30,000 Philippine pesos for indirect contempt.

In September 2007, Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago has denied charges that she received 10-million Philippine pesos (US$ 224,000) bribe money (as published by The Daily Tribune, Malaya newspaper’s Amado Macasaet and Newsbreak, the previous week).

In January 2005, and December 2006, Philippines Social Weather Stations has released the results of its 2 surveys on corruption in the judiciary. It has reported that: a) “like 1995, 1/4 of lawyers said many/very many judges are corrupt. But (49%) stated that a judges received bribes, just 8% of lawyers admitted they reported the bribery, because they could not prove it. [Tables 8-9]; judges, however, said, just 7% call many/very many judges as corrupt[Tables 10-11] ;b) Judges see some corruption; proportions who said – many/very many corrupt judges or justices: 17% in reference to RTC judges, 14% to MTC judges, 12% to Court of Appeals justices, 4% i to Shari’a Court judges, 4% to Sandiganbayan justices and 2% in reference to Supreme Court justices [Table 15].”

According to the 2008 Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) report, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and China are considered among the most corrupt Asian economies. “The Philippines is a sad case when it comes to corruption, and is probably no worse than in places like Indonesia and Thailand,” the report added. PERC has revealed that “the Philippines scored 9.0 out of a possible 10 points under a grading system used by PERC under which zero is the best score and 10 the worst.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of the Philippines last week, has affirmed the conviction and 40 years imprisonment sentence of Zeng Wa Shui, a Chinese citizen and Maribel Lagman, his Filipino partner. On March 14, 1996, both had possession, in Angeles City, Pampanga, of more than 600 kilos of liquid shabu and more than 1,600 kilos of ephedrine hydrochloride, a main ingredient in the production of the drug.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Monday announced his intention to resign, one month after he reshuffled his cabinet. At a press conference held from 9:30 p.m. Fukuda stated that he decided to resign, thinking the government should implement policies with a new line-up. The cabinet will resign en masse and a new prime minister will be designated. Before that, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will elect a new President.

Since the July 2007 election (to replace half the members) in the upper house, the ruling bloc (LDP and New Komeito) has been minority, while being overwhelming majority in the lower house since the 2005 General Election. Fukuda took over Shinzo Abe as a LDP President, and became Japan’s Prime Minister on September 26, 2007.

Monday, April 4, 2005

Rescuers were today sending a pod of 13 pilot whales back into the ocean at Geographe Bay, near to Busselton, south of Perth, in Western Australia. Six additional members of the pod had died during the stranding, including at least one calf. More than 300 people were watching as the whales set out to sea following a 30 hour rescue effort.

The whales had become stranded early yesterday. Several power boats and a spotter plane were escorting the surviving whales towards Cape Naturalist, in an operation expected to take several hours.

Western Australian State Government Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) officers feared that the whales could become stranded again.

One CALM officer, Neil Taylor, told ABC News dozens of his colleagues and community volunteers had helped the whales survive throughout the night.

“The vet has checked them all and given them some antibiotics yesterday, last thing before dark,” he had told the Australian national broadcaster.

“I think the plan is that the vet will be there again [today] and will give them some vitamins to kick them along before they actually take their swim out to sea.”

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Wikinews on Sunday interviewed Deepa Malik, India’s first female Paralympic medalist, who won the silver medal in the Women’s Shot Put F53 event finals, at the 2016 Summer Paralympics being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Malik lost the gold medal to Bahrain’s Fatema Nedham, who had the best throw 4.76 metres, setting a new regional record in paralympic women’s shot put.

Arriving in Rio, Malik had initial trouble due to the airline losing her luggage; it didn’t all arrive until three days later: clothes, opening ceremony outfit and equipment including competition belts.

In early August there was a possibly that Malik might lose her spot on the Indian team going to Rio, with fellow female para athlete Karam Jyoti challenging Malik’s selection and the Sport’s Authority of Indian’s selection process at the High Court of Delhi. The high court ruled against the plaintiff.

Both of these events occurred against the wider backdrop of the Paralympic Committee of India being suspended by the International Paralympic Committee. The Sports Authority of India took final authority over the Paralympic Committee of India for sending a team to Rio, with agreement from the International Paralympic Committee; this arrangement allowed India to compete under their own flag at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

((Wikinews)) Congratulations on your result.

Deepa Malik: Thank you so much.

((WN)) Even though you are currently waiting in terms of the end result of the protest.

DM: Absolutely, but I’m happy with my performance, I’m happy that I could improve and I could prove myself, there were a lot of questions back home on my selection and on my hard work. My single-minded focus that I had put into this journey of being a Paralympian. Well, I am just so anxious about the results.

((WN)) So how much did the court case and KLM losing your luggage impact on your preparations and your result today?

DM: Yes, but I’m happy that my husband was my coach here, and, so, I had huge moral support in terms of keeping my mind and everything in peace. Most of the equipment was available in the gym, we had to alter the training a bit like the throw days couldn’t happen, so we instead exercised. No, I think that is what sports teaches you, you can’t live on excuses, I never lived on excuses.

((WN)) You work around things.

DM: Yes, that’s what we do, that’s what a sportsman is suppose to do, rise again, and then fall and rise, and run, and I did exactly that.

((WN)) What message should other Indian women take away from your participation and result in Rio?

DM: This is going to be the first female medal that India would have ever won in Paralympics and as it is I’m working aggressively towards transforming this entire concept of empowerment for the women, especially the women in disabilities in my country. So I’m really happy that this medal give my voice more value, more strength, and I’ll be able to impact even more, though on the ninth of September the Prime Minister’s jury has awarded me with the award of Women Transforming India, I’m so happy that within three days of getting that award, I have added another feather to it and proved that yes this journey of ability beyond disability. And not just disability, this is a universal message that if women put their minds to their dreams they can balance it; age, gender, disability, is all a state of mind. If you put your passion and hard work, you can get it, and in the Indian scenario were they say infrastructure is a challenge, women participation that are taboo, religiously and psychologically, disabilities taken as a curse, dependability[?] increases because of lack of infrastructure, well, time to get rid of the excuses. We have to start erasing the excuses and believe your own self and that’s the message I’m carrying with all the activities that I do whether it is car rallying, motorbiking or swimming across a river, every record or every unique activity that I’ve undertaken and just below paralysis has been aimed at changing the stereotypical image of a women and also a women in disability. ?

((WN)) Will you and your daughter both be trying to represent India at the 2020 Games in Tokyo?

DM: I’m very sure about myself, but my daughter, though, she’s a Paralympian, yes, which again was considered a huge taboo in my society that oh my god both the mother and the daughter both have a physical disability, what is going to happen to these two, but we did good and she is working as a youth council representative in the Commonwealth countries, for the Paralympics specially, and her work though her foundation called Wheeling Happiness has earned her the young leader award from the Queen of England, so I guess her focus is now shifting to more on community service and empowering others and not just herself. And she is leaving on first of October to Loughborough to do her PhD doctorate programme in disability sports psychology, I’m very sure Loughborough is going to give her a huge amount of sports [inaudible] but how much time she going to decide to devote to sports and studies is her decision entirely. That’s her dream, her journey. 

((WN)) How helpful was the Sports Authority of India in preparing and supporting your Rio ambitions??

DM: I think 100 per cent, because the biggest challenge we have back home is a customised training, or the infrastructure for that matter, so we were given the ability and the funds to train the way we wanted to train, and the funds were huge which were given to us, out accommodation, food, diet, physical therapist, psychologist, trainer, gym, everything was paid for, and customised, you want it and they give it. So I guess this was easy financially this time, because every expenses was taken care of, my husband could also take a sabbatical from his job and join my journey, and having him twenty-four seven and coaching me because he himself is an athlete, and have the best diet and counselling. I think it’s worked wonders, so I give shout out and a huge applaud.

((WN)) How important was it for you to have a carer in Rio?

DM: Yes, again we really have to appreciate the sports authority of India and also Paralympic Committee of India, which is going to start to function post-Rio in India. They were very very quick, they were very very adamant in giving the wheelchair people escorts. And I need help twenty four seven, I’m just below paralysed so it was really huge, emotionally, mentally, psychically training-wise, every way I think the situation was perfect.

((WN)) Thank you for your time.

DM: Thank you.