Ontario Votes 2007: Interview with Green candidate Marija Minic, York Centre

Monday, September 17, 2007

Marija Minic is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the York Centre riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed her regarding her values, her experience, and her campaign.

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.

Wikinews Shorts: December 4, 2008

A compilation of brief news reports for Thursday, December 4, 2008.

On December 2, the Toronto city council voted in favor of banning the sales and distribution of bottled water on city property. The council also agreed to provide public drinking fountains on their properties, as well as on a measure that would make shoppers pay at least five Canadian cents for plastic grocery bags and force business owners to offer reusable bags and carry-out containers.

“Toronto’s decision to ban the bottle and turn on the tap sends a clear message that bottled water’s 15 minutes are up,” said Polaris Institute’s campaign coordinator, Joe Cressy.

All of the city’s facilities should be following the water ban by 2011, while businesses will have to implement their bag fees by 2010. Toronto has become the largest city in the world to ban bottled water on government property.

Related news

  • “Calls for bottled water bans grow in Canada” — Wikinews, August 23, 2008

Sources

On Tuesday, American actor, Patrick Swayze, who suffers from pancreatic cancer, denied reports that he was near death. American tabloid National Inquirer reported on November 28 that Swayze’s cancer had spread to his liver and that he was preparing for his death.

“The only thorn in my side being that many tabloids have been consistently reporting lies and false information about me and those close to me,” said Swayze in a statement to the press who also added that he knows he is in “the fight for his life,” but that it is a fight that he “is winning.”

“I’m one of the lucky few that responds well to treatment,” added Swayze.

Swayze has starred in over a dozen films, including the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing.

Related news

  • “Wikinews Shorts: November 28, 2008” — Wikinews, November 28, 2008

Sources

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

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Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Different Kinds Of Properties In Singapore

Different kinds of properties in Singapore

by

Melissa Marietan

Many individual are seeking to invest in a property in Singapore. This is because the property here is quite affordable as compared to the other developed nations in Asia. Singapore in fact offers you a huge variety when it comes to investing in a property. Mostly, you will avail properties in the form of high rise apartments or condominiums.

The three main property types here are

HDB flats

, private apartments and landed properties. When investing in a property here Non-Residents must understand the differences among these properties. This is especially because of the ownership restrictions for HDB flats and landed properties. Here is the general classification of properties as set by the government

Private apartments

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAElxcZz6_U[/youtube]

This property falls under the classification of apartments or condominiums along with the distinction the two being the development size and also built up sizes. Condominiums offer luxurious facilities like as swimming pool, tennis court, gymnasium, squash courts, children s playground, BBQ areas, enclosed car park and security services. Mostly these are freehold, but there are many properties that have a 99-year leasehold or 999-year leasehold.

Landed properties –

Landed properties in Singapore are classified as terraced houses, semi-detached houses, detached houses, exclusive bungalows and shop houses. This kind of a property tends to be expensive as compared to the high rise apartments. The cost of these properties depends on plot size as well as location and is usually tied to the land title. Commonly they are freehold, but some do have a 99-year leasehold and 999-year leasehold.

HDB flats

These are amongst the most sought after

properties

in Singapore. This is mainly because these are most affordable. These flats are built and maintained by the Housing and Development Board, i.e. government financed and subsidised. The property consists of 99-year leasehold. The best part of HDB properties is that they are well connected with all the amenities one would want like coffee shops, supermarkets, food centres, schools, clinics, shopping malls, playground and parks. Also, transportation facilities are a plenty as public transportation systems like the MRT, buses and taxis are easily available.

Executive condominiums

These were built for the young professional who needed to have a home that is better than HDB Flats but not as expensive as the private condos. This kind of a property is slightly bigger than HDB flats but smaller than private condominiums. As per law, this property cannot be sold at all for the first 5 years. But it is automatically converted to no restrictions after 10 years. It cannot be sold to foreigners between 5 to 10 years.

Melissa Marietan is an experienced writer with keen interest in the real estate industry. He has several articles to his credit advising on

property

purchase and renting in Singapore.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

Animal rights activists demand British coffee chain withdraw advertising campaign

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Animal rights activists have demanded that the largest coffee chain in the United Kingdom pull a new advertising campaign because they fear that it will encourage viewers to buy monkeys as pets. The demands are likely to irritate Costa Coffee, who are determined to turn over a larger profit that their arch-rival, Starbucks. Five animal welfare groups have demanded that the advert, which features a futuristic room full of monkeys attempting to use coffee machines, be withdrawn.

In a letter to the Rainforest Alliance, the charities say that “the use of wild animals in this way is contrary to your stance on conservation and, in particular, on rainforest species”. They urged the Alliance to revoke their endorsement of Costa products unless the adverts were withdrawn. The groups also wrote to the coffee chain, saying that they hoped that Costa — which has over 1,000 outlets in the UK — would “think it appropriate to cease using primates in future productions, and make the decision to withdraw the current advert”.

The pressure on the coffee giant has led to fears that the company’s relationship with the Rainforest Alliance—which “works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior”—may be under threat, since animal welfare groups have complained the new advert is in breach of the Alliance’s code of conduct. The television advertisement depicts a number of monkeys being unable to use coffee machines, before a Costa barista hand-makes a cup of coffee. The advert, which features a voiceover by actor Bill Nighy, aired for the first time on Friday. Within hours, animal rights campaigners had demanded it be withdrawn. Manufacturers of products endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance must prove they “are demonstrating [their demand for] goods grown and harvested with respect for people, wildlife and the environment”.

A spokeswoman for Wild Futures, which runs a sanctuary for victims of the primate pet trade, said that she felt that, because they had been forced to appear in the advert, the welfare of the monkeys had been “severely compromised.” She said: “With the release of this new advert, we feel the need to reiterate our long-held concerns on the use of wild animals in entertainment. While they are used in this way their welfare is severely compromised, and it has a knock-on effect in the trade in primates as pets.”

According to The Observer, “the relationship between the appearance of exotic animals in the media and a corresponding increase in demand for them as pets is well documented.” The demand to own clownfish as pets reportedly rocketed following the release of Disney Pixar’s Finding Nemo, which featured one of the orange and white vertebrates as its main character.

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The Alliance refused to comment specifically on the Costa advertising campaign, but said in a statement that it “objects to the use of captive wild animals in commercial advertising where a company is seeking to highlight or promote its relationship with the Rainforest Alliance or its use of Rainforest Alliance certified commodities”. Wild Futures and other charities have, in the past, forced companies to withdraw campaigns they believe compromise animal’s rights. The European Union was forced to pull a stop smoking advert last year after objections for animal welfare groups, and car manufaturer Dodge also withdrew an advert which featured a chimpanzee after animal rights groups lodged complaints.

The Code of Practice on the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates states that “primates used for entertainment and in the media are often removed from their social group and hand-reared, causing distress to the infant, mother and other members of the group.” The five charities have said they feel that, because the animals have been removed from their social group for the purposes of filming, Costa could be in contravention of three of the five needs as stated in the Animal Welfare Act.

Jim Slater, the marketing director of Costa Coffee vigourusly defended the adverts, insiting that “no compromise is made regarding animal welfare standards” in the adverts. “The monkeys were provided by a specialist organisation and have appeared in movies and on TV many times before.” Speaking to Bakeryinfo.co.uk before the advert was launched, he added: “Costa is enjoying double-digit like-for-like sales growth, and we aim to continue this great momentum. Independent surveys consistently prove that coffee lovers prefer Costa, and this TV commercial will help us to explain the reasons why.”

Wikinews Shorts: June 5, 2007

A compilation of brief news reports for Tuesday, June 5, 2007.

Contents

  • 1 Moderate earthquake shakes central Greece
  • 2 Flemish Minister-President will not call Armenian massacre ‘genocide’
  • 3 Mudslide buries Valley of Geysers
  • 4 Back to the wild for pygmy kangaroos

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Patras and its surrounding areas in central Greece on Tuesday afternoon, just before 3 p.m. local time (1200 GMT). There were no reports of injuries or damage.

“The strong earthquake was measured at 5.3 with the epicenter on the edge of Trichonida lake, some 110 kilometres [70 miles] west of Athens,” an Athens Geodynamic Institute official said.

Sources

Minister-President of Flanders Yves Leterme in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Zaman showed a hesitation to call the Armenian Genocide a genocide.

“Before a politician can judge if something is a genocide, the international institutions must speak out about it. …As a politician it is not wise to speak about a genocide until experts have judged it. I don’t stand alone with my view and I have nothing to add to this,” Leterme said.

The matter of the so-called Armenian Genocide lies very sensitive with some Belgian voters of Turkish descent. The situation reminds of the Dutch elections, when Wouter Bos from the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) refused to speak of an “Armenian genocide”. The polls project that Leterme’s party CD&V is to become the biggest political party of Flanders in the upcoming federal elections in Belgium next Sunday.

Related news

  • “French parliament approves bill on Armenian Genocide denial” — Wikinews, October 12, 2006

Sources

Russia’s Valley of Geysers, Eurasia’s only geyser field and the second largest concentration of geysers in the world, was largely destroyed by a mudslide on Sunday.

Millions of cubic meters of mud and rocks fell into the 6-kilometre-long basin, wiping out about two-thirds of the valley, which contains around 90 geysers and many hot springs. Located in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, the valley wasn’t discovered until 1941, and had only opened to foreign tourists in 1991.

Sources

Indonesia’s foresty ministry said Tuesday it will release 17 endangered Dusky Pademelons into the wild in the remote Papua province on New Guinea.

Also known as pygmy kangaroos (similar Red-Necked Pademelon pictured), the animals have been rescued over time from illegal animal traders and from people’s homes, where the little kangaroos were kept as pets. The species, Latin name Thylogale brunii, belongs to a family of seven kangaroo-like mammals that are found in forests of Papua, Western New Guinea and Papua New Guinea.

Sources

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

How To Save Money For Retirement

By Marilyn Pokorney

Saving money for retirement can be easy or difficult depending on your current salary. If you are like 75 percent of the American population, earning just enough money in your current job to meet your monthly bills, then it’s time to do some serious thinking on how you are going to live when you retire.

Social Security isn’t going to meet all your monthly payments. That is, if Social Security, or some revised form of it, still exists when your day of retirement arrives.

Here are some tips on how to save today for your future. No matter how little, or how much, you earn today.

Estimate how much you must save to give you the income you know is necessary for you to retire in comfort.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLSjIYWkFh8[/youtube]

Experts suggest that you will need an income equaling about 75 percent of your current take home pay. Be sure to estimate a rise in inflation which has historically been about 5.3 percent per year.

Figure out how much of your current salary will need have to save each year to achieve your retirement goal by counting backward from the year you plan to retire to see how many years you have before retirement. Include the possibility of being on a fixed income for as long as 20 or 30 years. Depending on how many years you have until retirement a U.S. Treasury bond that guarantees six percent interest might be considered, while stocks might have the potential for a much higher return, but has a much higher risk of loss.

A financial planner, stockbroker, or an accountant, can offer guidance, expertise and access to knowledge about almost any type of investment or retirement planning concerns.

Spread your money out over a variety of investments. Some will prosper while others may fail.

Set up an automatic draft from your bank account from your paycheck so that a portion of your income goes directly into your retirement funds. Pay off major debts, such as home mortgages, college loans and other significant cash-flow drains, as quickly as you can.

For more information visit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/finance/retire.htm

About the Author: Marilyn Pokorney

Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading. Website: apluswriting.net

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=3649&ca=Finances

676,000 Canadian census forms unfilled countrywide

Monday, July 31, 2006

Currently there are 676,000 Canada 2006 Census forms unfilled countrywide following the May 16 census, a large number for Alberta and British Columbia. Canada operates a mandatory census, requiring all citizens to participate or face court action, a $500 CAD fine and/or three months imprisonment.

Census workers are coming to citizens’ houses and asking them to fill them out. “We’ll keep following up until we get them; it’s just costing taxpayers lots and lots of money for us to keep doing it,” said Lisa Gibbons from Statistics Canada.

“The census provides a snapshot of the country as a whole and of individual provinces, and each community and how it compares with where it was five years ago,” said Gibbons.

NZ law exempts working farm dogs from embedded ID tag rule

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

New Zealand farmers have won a key victory in Parliament, with MPs voting to exempt Working farm dogs from microchipping legislation, passing 61:60.

The Federated Farmers debated the law for a long time, saying that the cost of microchipping all their dogs will be a huge cost and an inconvenience. Under previous legislation, all newly registered dogs were to have identification microchips embedded by July 1. The microchips in dogs are for owner identification, in case of attacks on humans. This law was introduced when Carolina Anderson, 7-year-old, was attacked in 2003.

Parliament has been debating several proposed amendments to the Local Government Law Reform bill, which aimed to change the microchipping requirement.

Blogger David Farrar says “It is very messy for the Government to lose the vote after piling so much pressure on.” In the end only Labour, Progressive plus New Zealand First voted for it.

The Green party split votes (rare for a party). Four Greens MPs voted for the farm dog exemption and two against.

The four Green MPs were – Sue Bradford, Keith Locke, Sue Kedgley and Nandor Tanczos. The Greens had previously proposed that only dangerous dogs should be microchipped.

In favour of exempting farm dogs:

Total: 61

Against:

Total: 60

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