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Thursday, October 22, 2020
2020 Melbourne Lord Mayor candidate Wayne Tseng answered some questions about his campaign for the upcoming election from Wikinews. The Lord Mayor election in the Australian city is scheduled to take place this week.
Portrait of Wayne TsengImage: Wayne Tseng.
Tseng runs a firm called eTranslate, which helps software developers to make the software available to the users. In the candidate’s questionnaire, Tseng said eTranslate had led to him working with all three tiers of the government. He previously belonged to the Australian Liberal Party, but has left since then, to run for mayorship as an independent candidate.
Tseng is of Chinese descent, having moved to Australia with his parents from Vietnam. Graduated in Brisbane, Tseng received his PhD in Melbourne and has been living in the city, he told Wikinews. Tseng also formed Chinese Precinct Chamber of Commerce, an organisation responsible for many “community bond building initiatives”, the Lord Mayor candidate told Wikinews.
Tseng discussed his plans for leading Melbourne, recovering from COVID-19, and “Democracy 2.0” to ensure concerns of minorities in the city were also heard. Tseng also focused on the importance of the multi-culture aspect and talked about making Melbourne the capital of the aboriginals. Tseng also explained why he thinks Melbourne is poised to be a world city by 2030.
Tseng’s deputy Lord Mayor candidate Gricol Yang is a Commercial Banker and works for ANZ Banking Group.
Currently, Sally Capp is the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the Victorian capital. Capp was elected as an interim Lord Mayor in mid-2018 after the former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle resigned from his position after sexual assault allegations. Doyle served as the Lord Mayor of Melbourne for almost a decade since 2008.
For numerous reasons, many of us come to a point where we need or want to purchase new cookware for our kitchen. This seems like a simple task, but when you see the number of choices that are available today, it quickly becomes clear that making a choice may be much easier said than done. There are numerous things to consider when choosing new cookware. Let’s look at four of the most important consideration.
The first thing to consider is the type of cooktop or range that you will be using. All cookware types can be used on standard gas or electric ranges. However, ranges or cooktops with a glass top need cookware with a smooth bottom to avoid scratches in the glass. Cast iron cookware is not recommended for glass top ranges. Induction cooktops require cookware made from material that is magnetic. It should be noted that due to variations in metal content not all stainless steel is magnetic. If you need cookware for an induction cooktop, confirm with the manufacturer or on the package that the product is induction ready. Another way to confirm if cookware will function on an induction cooktop is to see if a magnet will firmly attach to the bottom of the pan.
The type of material used to make the cookware is also an important consideration. Stainless steel, cast iron, copper, glass and aluminum cookware are all readily available. Stainless steel cookware is a durable, easy care option and is often dishwasher safe. It provides even heating and does not react with foods. Cast iron is excellent at maintaining heat, meaning once the pan is hot, it stays hot. Most new cast iron cookware comes pre-seasoned and does not require that the cook go through the seasoning process before the first use. Copper is the best heat conductor. However, unlined copper cookware may react with some acidic foods such as tomato sauce, causing a bitter taste. Stainless steel pans may have copper bottoms, adding the excellent conductivity of copper to the non-reactive properties of stainless steel. Glass cookware is attractive and allows you to see what’s cooking, even with the lid in place. It also moves easily from stove top to oven or microwave or to the freezer. Oxidized aluminum cookware is light weight, conducts heat well and doesn’t rust. Raw aluminum pots and pans reacts with ingredients such as tomatoes, greens and citrus, discoloring the foods. Most aluminum cookware in the market today had been manufactured with an aluminum oxide coating that greatly diminishes these issues.
Another consideration is the weight of the pans. It’s important to think not just of the weight of the pan alone but also much it will weight when it’s full of food. Cast iron cookware and glass are the heaviest while aluminum is the lightest. Stainless steel and copper are heavier than aluminum but much lighter than cast iron. If possible, it’s a great idea to handle potential new cookware prior to making a purchase to test the weight and feel of the pans.
Last, but certainly not least, it’s important to consider the care required to maintain your new cookware. Stainless steel is relatively easy to clean, in many cases it is dishwasher safe. Glass and oxidized aluminum are also easy care, check manufactures instructions for details as some may be dishwasher safe. Cast iron cookware requires more attention. It needs to be cleaned and dried completely to avoid rust. It’s recommended that cast iron cookware be stored with the lid off to allow any remaining moisture to evaporate. Copper requires regular polishing to maintain its beautiful shine and even heat conductivity.
Although, the above are some important considerations when purchasing new cookware, these are not the only things to think about. Additional considerations such as cost, appearance, and personal preference will also play a part in the final decision.
About the Author: Susan Barnes has always loved to cook and has developed a keen interest in quality cookware and kitchen tools. She is currently helping manage
Nigerian police arrested former Delta State governor James Ibori Wednesday on charges of abuse of office, corruption, and money laundering.
According to a statement by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibori was picked up at a private residence in the Asokoro District of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. Ibori was to be arraigned yesterday at the Federal High Court in Kaduna. He is facing a total of 103 charges.
James Ibori had been governor of Delta for the past eight years, until leaving office in May, 2007. Although he earned a modest US$25,000 per year as governor, he had reportedly accumulated more than $35 million in foreign accounts. Ibori’s UK assets have been frozen while the Metropolitan police investigate further. Should the money be deemed the proceeds of crime, it could be transferred back to the Nigerian government.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua was elected in May on a platform of battling corruption in the government. Since taking office, Yar’Adua has overseen the arrest of five other former governors on corruption offences. James Ibori had supported the president in his election bid.
Law enforcement officials and anti-corruption advocates in the UK and Nigeria have complained that the Nigerian attorney-general was interfering and slowing down investigations. The attorney-general, Michael Aondoakaa, has denied the allegations.
In a December, 2007 paper by the global corruption watchdog Transparency International, entitled Report on the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2007, Nigeria was determined to have one of the highest rates of corruption, evaluated as a percentage of citizens reporting they paid a bribe to obtain a service.
A review this week by Wikinews of US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) complaints about mortgages in the United States shows Bank of America leads all lending institutions in complaints.
Since mortgages complaints were recorded in December 2011, 77,622 total have been added to CFPB’s database. 29.2% of these complaints involved Bank of America, with the second most received by Wells Fargo, accounting for 15.5% of all complaints. JPMorgan Chase ranked third by volume of complaints with 9.8%. Ocwen was fourth with 8.7% and Citibank was fifth with 4.8%. Nationstar Mortgage; Green Tree Servicing, LLC; HSBC; PNC Bank; U.S. Bancorp; OneWest Bank; SunTrust Bank; Flagstar Bank; and Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. each had between 1.0 and 3.8% of total complaints. The remaining 14.4% of all complaints about consumer mortgages were divided between about 530 other lending institutions.
The Motley Fool reported last month that for the past fiscal quarter, the biggest US based mortgage lenders were from first to fifth Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Quicken Loans and U.S. Bancorp.
According to the US Federal Reserve, debt for family residences stands at US$10.706 trillion for the second quarter of 2013. As of the end of June of this year, Bank of America is the United States’s second largest commercial bank with US$1.343 trillion in domestic assets. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest commercial bank with US$1.251 trillion in domestic assets. JPMorgan Chase is the largest US commercial bank with US$1.329 trillion in domestic assets and US$1.947 trillion in total assets.
The mortgage complaints in the CFPB report include several subproducts. Conventional fixed mortgages account for 27.1% of all complaints. Conventional adjustable mortgages account for 10.0%. FHA mortgages account for 7.7% of all complaints. Home equity loans or lines of credit account for 3.8% of all complaints. VA mortgages are 1.4% of all complaints. Second mortgages and reverse mortgages each account for 0.6% of complaints. The remaining 48.7% of complaints are about other mortgages or other mortgage issues. A few years ago, FHA loans accounted for about 10% of all US mortgages while VA loans accounted for about 3%. Prime loans accounted for over 75% of the market and the rest were subprime mortgages.
Total complaints against mortgage companies by state Image: Laura Hale.
California leads all states by volume of complaints with 14768. It is followed by Florida, New York, Georgia and Texas. When complaints are divided by a state’s total population, New Hampshire leads. The state is followed by Washington D.C., Maryland, Georgia and Florida. Complaints do not correlate with national rankings for August’s foreclosure rate by state where Nevada topped the list, followed by Florida, Ohio, Maryland and Delaware.
Two zip codes account for over 1,000 total complaints between them. 565 complaints originated in the 48382 zip code, which is in Commerce Township, Michigan, located in suburban Detroit. 553 complaints originated in the 33071 zip code, in Coral Springs, Florida. According to real estate website Zillow, there are currently 1,033 properties in foreclosure in Coral Springs while Commerce Township only has 131 properties currently in foreclosure. Four other zip codes have 100 plus complaints originating from them. 91730, in Rancho Cucamonga, California, had 158 complaints. 33409, in West Palm Beach, Florida, had 132. 92626, in Costa Mesa, California, had 125 complaints. 92660, in Newport Beach, California, had 122 complaints. Respectively, the towns had 534, 1,068, 153, and 134 properties currently in foreclosure. These numbers are higher than for the cities of a few sampled zip codes where there was only one complaint, such as Gold Hill, Oregon which has 4 properties in foreclosure, and Decatur, Illinois which has 6 properties in foreclosure.
For the top 5 lenders by volume of complaints, the percentage of complaint types against them. Image: Laura Hale.
The CFPB categorizes complaints into six categories: “Loan modification, collection,foreclosure” or problems when a person is unable to pay; “Loan servicing, payments, escrow account” or problems with making a payment; “Application, originator, mortgage broker”; “Credit decision / Underwriting”; “Settlement process and costs”, and “Other”. The CFPB says the complaint types indicate consumers “appear to be driven by a desire to seek agreement with their companies on foreclosure alternatives. The complaints indicate that consumer confusion persists around the process and requirements for obtaining loan modifications and refinancing, especially regarding document submission timeframes, payment trial periods, allocation of payments, treatment of income in eligibility calculations, and credit bureau reporting during the evaluation period.” Currently, 59.6% of all complaints against lenders deal with being unable to pay. 25.1% deal with problems in making a payment. 7.0% have to do with the application process.
Of the complaint-heavy zip codes, for 48382 in Commerce Township, Michigan, 98.9% of all complaints have to deal with being unable to pay. Accounting for 23.4% of all mortgage complaints in Commerce Township, 132 of the complaints for being unable to pay were made regarding Bank of America, accounting for 97.8% or all but 3 complaints against them from the zip. 121 of the Bank of America responses in Commerce Township were closed with explanation and 12 were closed with non-monetary relief. 33071 in Coral Springs is different, with 537 of the 553 complaints being categorized under other. Only 11 complaints relate to foreclosure and issues with being able to pay. 92626 in Costa Mesa, where 32% of the mortgage complaints were about Bank of America and 26.4% were about Wells Fargo, had 93.6% of its complaints dealing with being unable to pay. 5 total complaints dealt with payment issues and 3 dealt with applications.
Beyond regional variance in complaint types lodged, the top five mortgage lenders by volume of complaints all had being unable to pay as their top complaint category, ranging between 55.8% for Citibank and 69.4% for Bank of America. Problems with payment accounted for the second largest area of complaints, with Ocwen having the largest percentage of complaints at 31.9% and Bank of America having the smallest at 18.8%. Foreclosure was the top area of complaints for a number of other lending institutions including 1st Alliance Lending, OneWest Bank, Ally Bank, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Bank of the West, BMO Harris, BOK Financial Corp, Caliber Home Loans, Inc, Capital One, Deutsche Bank and EverBank.
By state complaints against mortgage lenders by monthImage: Laura Hale.
Nationally, complaints reached a high of 5,840 for January 2013, 1,107 more than the next highest month of April 2013. The total emerging for September is the second lowest since records were first kept in December 2011. On a state by state level, this pattern largely repeats with a major exception for Florida which saw a peak of 849 complaints in June 2012. Then, as now, Florida was one of the top five states in the nation in its foreclosure rate. The national January spike came as the Qualified Mortgage standard required by the The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 came into play. It required mortgage lenders to take steps to insure borrowers could repay their mortgages.
Bank of America’s complaint volume follows the national trend, with a spike in January 2013 with 1,925 total complaints. Unlike nationally, the next month by volume of complaints was February of this year with 1,598 complaints. Prior to that, the highest month was May 2012 with 1,418 complaints. The lowest volume of complaints is September this year with 334.
Wells Fargo matched national trends for volume of complaints by month, with the exception of the current month being the lowest on record for number of complaints with 197 compared to the next lowest month, December 2011, when they had 221. JPMorgan’s complaint volume by month spiked in January and March of this year with 504 complaints. April of this year was the next highest month with 493 complaints, edging out May of last year with 488 complaints. September this year is on track to be the lowest month by complaint volume.
The federal government shutdown is unlikely to impact the current mortgage situation in the United States directly for most consumers, though mortgage processing by the Federal Housing Administration could be slower, resulting in fewer mortgages processed.
Ingrid Newkirk (with Little Man): “I want to more closely associate humans with the other animals, because if we took Biology 101 we know we are all animals. It’s just that we decide we’re gods, they’re trash. That’s just invalid, wrong from every point of perspective: scientific, moral and everything else. I want people to relate to the other animals.“Image: David Shankbone.
Last night HBO premiered I Am An Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA. Since its inception, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has made headlines and raised eyebrows. They are almost single-handedly responsible for the movement against animal testing and their efforts have raised the suffering animals experience in a broad spectrum of consumer goods production and food processing into a cause célèbre.
PETA first made headlines in the Silver Spring monkeys case, when Alex Pacheco, then a student at George Washington University, volunteered at a lab run by Edward Taub, who was testing neuroplasticity on live monkeys. Taub had cut sensory ganglia that supplied nerves to the monkeys’ fingers, hands, arms, legs; with some of the monkeys, he had severed the entire spinal column. He then tried to force the monkeys to use their limbs by exposing them to persistent electric shock, prolonged physical restraint of an intact arm or leg, and by withholding food. With footage obtained by Pacheco, Taub was convicted of six counts of animal cruelty—largely as a result of the monkeys’ reported living conditions—making them “the most famous lab animals in history,” according to psychiatrist Norman Doidge. Taub’s conviction was later overturned on appeal and the monkeys were eventually euthanized.
They have launched campaigns and engaged in stunts that are designed for media attention. In 1996, PETA activists famously threw a dead raccoon onto the table of Anna Wintour, the fur supporting editor-in-chief of Vogue, while she was dining at the Four Seasons in New York, and left bloody paw prints and the words “Fur Hag” on the steps of her home. They ran a campaign entitled Holocaust on your Plate that consisted of eight 60-square-foot panels, each juxtaposing images of the Holocaust with images of factory farming. Photographs of concentration camp inmates in wooden bunks were shown next to photographs of caged chickens, and piled bodies of Holocaust victims next to a pile of pig carcasses. In 2003 in Jerusalem, after a donkey was loaded with explosives and blown up in a terrorist attack, Newkirk sent a letter to then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat to keep animals out of the conflict. As the film shows, they also took over Jean-Paul Gaultier‘s Paris boutique and smeared blood on the windows to protest his use of fur in his clothing.
The group’s tactics have been criticized. Co-founder Pacheco, who is no longer with PETA, called them “stupid human tricks.” Some feminists criticize their campaigns featuring the Lettuce Ladies and “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” ads as objectifying women. Of their Holocaust on a Plate campaign, Anti-Defamation League Chairman Abraham Foxman said “The effort by PETA to compare the deliberate systematic murder of millions of Jews to the issue of animal rights is abhorrent.” (Newkirk later issued an apology for any hurt it caused). Perhaps most controversial amongst politicians, the public and even other animal rights organizations is PETA’s refusal to condemn the actions of the Animal Liberation Front, which in January 2005 was named as a terrorist threat by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
David Shankbone attended the pre-release screening of I Am An Animal at HBO’s offices in New York City on November 12, and the following day he sat down with Ingrid Newkirk to discuss her perspectives on PETA, animal rights, her responses to criticism lodged against her and to discuss her on-going life’s work to raise human awareness of animal suffering. Below is her interview.
Wikinews
This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details.
Contents
1 The HBO film about her life
2 PETA, animal rights groups and the Animal Liberation Front
Finding out that you need to have an operation can seem frightening. In order for you to be able to fact whatever is coming your way you need to trust in the hands that are guiding you there. This means that you have to make sure that the surgeon that you are choosing for your joint replacement surgery is someone that you feel comfortable with. To do this, there are several different things to consider. Here are a few points that can help you to make the best possible call when you are working on finding a good fit for your medical professional.
Get Referrals
One of the easiest ways to find someone who might be able to fit your needs is by asking your primary care physician for a referral. Often, medical practitioners work alongside other specialists in order to send business back and forth. These doctors will only refer patients to other reputable physicians that they trust. This means that you can ask the doctor that you know and love about who you should go to for your joint replacement surgery and you can get an answer that might satisfy you. Still, if you do not really know your doctor that well or you would rather find someone on your own you are going to want to keep other tactics in mind.
The internet can be a powerful resource when you are looking for a surgeon to fit your needs. All you have to do is do a quick search for candidates in your area that specialize in the service that you require and you will be well on your way to finding some choices. Make a list of everyone that seems like a good fit and begin digging deeper in order to discover more. Read reviews or testimonials from patients who had good and bad experiences with the surgeon to get a feel for what to expect. See what the success level is for operations to understand if you are taking a risk or not. Finally, after narrowing down your list, make some calls and set up an appointment to get looked over for your surgery. This will be the best move you make in regards to making your decision because you will get to meet your candidate and see if you feel comfortable from the start.
Know Your Needs
Finally, you might want to take time to think about why you are considering this option in the first place. Are you dealing with chronic pain? Is the pain caused by a recurring condition or is it new? You need to know what you are dealing with in full before you jump to the decision of having joint replacement surgery. Since surgical options are not inexpensive and are also dangerous if not needed, you are going to want to see if your specific situation actually requires surgery or not. The more you know the easier it will be for you to make a decision that will benefit you immensely.
To get the right help for your health it can be important to go about searching in the right way. Find the correct surgeon for you by being diligent in the way you go about your process.
About the Author: Weston Barnes is a write and an avid reader. When he’s not writing about business, marketing, health, pets, or relationships, he’s immersed in his latest book. When Weston was little, he would have to sneak a book light into his room so he could read until the wee hours of the night.Visit at
Apple may introduce a new iPod Touch (first generation pictured) next week.Image: Nsy.
Apple Inc. will hold a music-centered event in San Francisco, California on September 1. It has been widely speculated that the company will introduce an updated line of iPod portable music players and a new Apple TV.
The company e-mailed invitations for the event to various media organizations on Wednesday. The message included a picture of a guitar and the time of the event. Apple did not release any information about what products would be involved.
Apple has released new iPods through previous similar events in September in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. This year, Apple may unveil a new iPod Touch with two cameras, similar to their recent iPhone 4 design. It will likely also update the iTunes music store and software.
Speculation about a new Apple TV is mixed. While many blogs are reporting that a refresh of the device will be announced, analysts say that it is unlikely to happen during next Wednesday’s event. According to Reuters, sources are saying that Apple is negotiating with major television networks, including ABC and NBC, in order to provide shows for purchase on iTunes. However, they also reported that the deal has not been completed, and none of the companies involved have commented on the rumors.
It has also been rumored that Apple will introduce a new online music service. In 2009, Apple took over a company that allowed users to stream music online rather than download individual songs. Apple has not confirmed the rumors.
Last September’s media event saw the return of Apple CEO Steve Jobs after he took a break to undergo a liver transplant. This year, the event will be held in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, previously used by Apple in April for the unveiling of the iPad.
The British government has said it fears that two bodies handed back by the Iraqi authorities are those of two Britons captured in 2007. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that forensic tests were currently being conducted to determine whether they were indeed those of the hostages.
In May 2007, four security guards and an IT consultant, Peter Moore, were kidnapped at the Ministry of Finance by armed militants of the Islamic Shiite resistance. The kidnappers released a video of the captives, saying that one will be killed if British forces do not withdraw from Iraq.
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Miliband said that “we have never speculated on the outcome of this case although we have been working intensively on it, so the overriding feeling today is one of deep sadness and fear. Our immediate thoughts are clearly with the families of the five Britons taken hostage in Baghdad in May 2007.”
Foreign Office sources have suggested that the bodies have been dead for several months.
Chinese officials have said that their country’s exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world’s biggest exporter.
The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 total Chinese exports reached US$1.2 trillion, above Germany’s forecast $1.17 trillion.
Huang Guohua, a statistics official with the customs administration, said the December exports rebound was an important turning point for China’s export sector. He commented that the jump was an indication that exporters have emerged from their downslide.
“We can say that China’s export enterprises have completely emerged from their all-time low in exports,” he said.
However, although China overtook Germany in exports, China’s total foreign trade — both exports and imports — fell 13.9% last year.
I sent copies of the book to book bloggers who responded to my email that they indeed wanted to review the book but who never reviewed the book. I later realized that I wasn’t anyone to them so my book obviously got buried in the avalanche of books they receive.
Now what I did right:
I researched on Amazon for reviewers who had written good reviews about similar-themed books. I contacted them through the Amazon friend feature and offered my book for review. (Note — there is no payment given for these reviews.) I got a few replies, including some who told me they were too busy along with some who really wanted to review the book and did.
When I emailed these Amazon reviewers to consider reviewing the book, I gave them the link to my website with the first four chapters available for free. I suggested they read those chapters to see if the book might appeal to them. Obviously, if they didn’t like the first four chapters, they probably wouldn’t want to read the whole book.
I took a virtual book tour through virtual book tour organizer Pump Up Your Book Promotion, and several book bloggers agreed to review the book. (Again, no payment.) I said yes to providing a second free book for a contest connected with the review (or interview). And the winner of the contest often had her/his own book blog.
I started using social media platforms especially Twitter and Facebook to make “friends” online. Now when these people said yes to reviewing my book I was no longer a nobody to them. We had a relationship.
More valuable reviews from people who were interested in my book:
The reviews I got by approaching people interested in my book’s fiction genre were much more valuable than the reviews I got using, for example, pay-for-review services where the reviewer might not even like my type of book.
And, yes, doing the work to find and contact reviewers who like your type of book takes time and effort. It can be much easier to use pay-for-review services even thought these reviews might not be as targeted and sincere.
If you do use pay-for-review services, ask if the reviewer will be someone who likes the genre in which you’ve written. You could even ask to see samples of the reviews the proposed reviewer has written on books of this genre. In this way you may have a better chance of getting a reviewer who will appreciate your book.
And if right now you’re still writing your book or it’s still in the publication process, this is an excellent time to start forming relationships on Twitter and Facebook. The key to both these social media platforms is to freely share information that can help others. If you do this wholeheartedly, in return your online “friends” may sincerely help you.
About the Author: For a free report
7 DYNAMIC REASONS FOR TAKING A VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR
and other book marketing information, visit http://www.queensofbookmarketing.com. Follow Phyllis Zimbler Miller on Twitter at @ZimblerMiller and connect with her on Facebook and LinkedIn as Phyllis Zimbler Miller.
