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Fur fans flock to Toronto’s Furnal Equinox 2019

Monday, March 25, 2019

From March 15 to 17, the Canadian city of Toronto played host to the tenth Furnal Equinox, an annual event dedicated to the “furry fandom.” Wikinews attended. Programming ranged from music to gender, science to art, covering dozens of aspects of the varied subculture. The event’s featured guests were visual artists Moth Monarch and Cat-Monk Shiro, as well as the co-owners of US fursuit costume builders Don’t Hug Cacti.

The event raised nearly CDN$11,000 for Pet Patrol, a non-profit rescue organization in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, run by volunteers. This exceeded their goal of $10,000, the funds needed to finish a rural sanctuary. The furry community is well-known for their charitable efforts. Along with direct donations, the funds were raised through a charity auction offering original artwork, and a fursuit design by guests of honour “Don’t Hug Cacti.” Last year, Furnal Equinox raised funds for a farm animal sanctuary.

While only 10–15% of people within the fandom own a fursuit according to a 2011 study, event organizers reported this year 908 of the 2240 attendees at Furnal Equinox brought at least one elaborate outfit to the event. The outfits are usually based on original characters, known as “fursonas”.

Guests of Honour Cherie and Sean O’Donnell, known within the community as “Lucky and Skuff Coyote”, held a session on fursuit construction on Saturday afternoon. The married couple are among the most prominent builders in the fandom, under the name Don’t Hug Cacti. The scale of their business was evident, as Sean had made over a thousand pairs of “handpaws”, costume gloves.

The couple encouraged attendees to continue developing their technique, sharing that all professional fursuit makers had developed different techniques. They felt that they learned more from failed projects than successful ones, citing the Chuck Jones quote that “every artist has thousands of bad drawings,” and that you have to work through them to achieve. Cherie, known as Lucky, recalled receiving a Sylvester the Cat plush toy from a Six Flags theme park at age 10. She promptly hollowed the toy out, turning it into a costume. Creating a costume isn’t without its hazards: the company uses 450°F (232°C) glue guns. They’re “like sticking your hand in an oven.”

Other programming included improv comedy, dances, life drawing of fursuiters, a review of scientific research by a research group at four universities called FurScience, a pin collector’s social, and workshops in writing.

The “Dealer’s Den” hall was expanded this year, with even more retailers and artists. While many offered “furry” versions of traditional products, at least one business focused on “pushing the boundaries of fursuit technology.” Along with 3D printing a bone-shaped name tag when Wikinews visited, Grivik was demonstrating miniature computer screens that could be used as “eyes” for a fursuit. The electronic displays projected an animation of eyes looking around, blinking occasionally. The maker has also developed “a way to install a camera inside suit heads, to improve fursuiter visibility.” He hopes the tech would reduce suiting risks and accidents. Without the need for eyeholes, fursuit makers would have “more options for building different eyestyles.”

Image: Nicholas Moreau.

Furniture Removalists In Melbourne Can Ease The Stress

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Furniture Removalists in Melbourne Can Ease the Stress

Shaun Frater

One of the biggest chores that a person has in life is that of moving from one home into another. This can be a very time consuming process and a lot of people are more than willing to pay the price to have a company do the work for them.

This is great in the way that the hassles with packing and loading a truck can be placed in the competent hands of another person. The client will then have the time that they would spend getting the packing and moving done on other chores that they have to take care of.

People that have kids also find that this is a particularly good thing to do. It allows them to continue right along with the routine they already have established without having to worry about fitting the time in to pack and move as well.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtHWPXG55oU[/youtube]

People that work full time jobs also like that they can get out of the chores that are associated with moving. These people often are very busy with other areas of their lives such as meetings and dinners and are unable to fit all of the things that need to be done when moving into the hours that are available in a day.

People can feel more relaxed in knowing that there treasured items have been left in the hands of professionals that have been doing this type of work for numerous years. They know the ins and outs that go with packing things in a way that they will not get damaged while on the travel to the new home.

You can also be relieved that there will be no injuries when you move this way. The men that generally do this job are very well versed in how to maneuver their bodies properly so as not to get hurt when they are moving heavy items.

Using a company can be the perfect stress reliever for those people that have a very hectic schedule to follow. It can leave them with the comfort of knowing that everything that they need to have done will be done in the shortest amount of time that is humanly possible when left in the hands of the pros.

Finding the company to move you is the only issue that you will be contending with when it comes to moving your belongings. Take your time when looking for a company as you want to be very sure that they are reputable and will not be taking you for a ride. Get references before you hire them and be sure to check them out cautiously. This is for the safety of both parties that things like this be done.

There are many great websites on the internet that people can look through in order to find furniture removalists in Melbourne. Looking through the websites can help you find out all of the answers to any questions that they may have regarding the move. This can apply to the things they include with their services as well as prices for the different services as well.

Shaun Frater has been in the removal business for over 20 years. His website FreightOz.com.au helps Australians and New Zealanders save time and money by allowing them to list any type of freight and receive quotes from transport operators.

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UK Celebrity Big Brother loses sponsorship over racism allegations

Thursday, January 18, 2007

In the United Kingdom, The Carphone Warehouse, Celebrity Big Brother’s sponsor, has pulled out after some of the reality TV show’s contestants were accused of racism, with which the company did not want to be associated. The Perfume Shop has announced they will withdraw the perfume Shh… of Jade Goody, one of the contestants accused of bullying with a racist undertone. Motorcycle insurance company Bennetts unilaterally terminated its deal with former Miss England Danielle Lloyd to front an advertisement campaign.

The accusations centre around recent comments made by Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O’Meara (a former member of pop act S Club 7) about Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. The racism row was sparked by Jade’s mother, who referred to Shilpa as “the Indian”, instead of calling her by her name. She also asked Shilpa: “Do you live in a house or a shack?” There have been remarks over her accent, her alleged lack of hygiene when cooking, and reactions because she touched the food of housemates with her hands. Danielle Lloyd said: “You don’t know where those hands have been.” Lloyd also commented to Goody about the Indian actress: “She wants to be white”.

When asked about the incident in the Diary Room, Shetty said “…I don’t feel there was any racial discrimination happening from Jade’s end. I think there are a lot of insecurities from her end but it’s definitely not racial.”

Hertfordshire Police, the constabulary within which the Big Brother House falls, have received numerous formal complaints they will be investigating. Politicians, other celebrities, and fans spoke of their disgust as the UK media regulator Ofcom received a record number of complaints that rose tonight to 33,000. The Commission for Racial Equality is investigating if the footage was manipulated to deliberately imply racism.

Labour Party MP Keith Vaz even proposed a motion in the House of Commons condemning the abuse. He said “If this racist behaviour goes on, they [Jo O’Meara, Danielle Lloyd and Jade Goody] should be asked to leave”. Chancellor Gordon Brown, currently on tour in India, told reporters in Bangalore: “I want to reassure people that what British people are proud of is our reputation for tolerance and fairness.” Others believe this reflects a racist tendency in British our Western society in general. The newspaper Times of India ran the headline “Big(ot) Brother bullies Shilpa”. “What is happening in Big Brother is just holding the mirror to the western society. This is the real, discriminating face of the West.”, was the reaction of Bollywood film director Mahesh Bhatt. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, accused Channel 4 of damaging the country’s reputation.

The show was recently losing viewers, but as a result of the controversy, viewing rates are up for the program.

MLB: Yankees’ Phil Hughes earns first win

May 2, 2007

20-year-old pitching phenom Phil Hughes cruised through hitters in just his second start for the New York Yankees, but the end result created even more frustration for the organization and fans everywhere.

Hughes retired 19 Texas Rangers without allowing a hit on Tuesday at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Established big league stars such as Kenny Lofton, Mark Teixeira and Michael Young could not solve the youngster’s blazing fastball or sharply biting curve. Hughes was on the verge of history. Even as his pitch count rose, the Yankees allowed him to keep firing. “He was fine,” manager Joe Torre said of the 2004 first round draft pick. “We were going to allow him to go 100 pitches last time, so I didn’t think that would be a problem.”

Just when the Yankees thought they found an answer to their early struggles, the organization was treated to an agonizing sight. After Teixeira fouled off an 0-2 pitch with one out in the sixth inning, Hughes grabbed his leg, having suffered a hamstring injury. His no-hit bid ended there (Texas would break up the no-hitter in the eighth inning off reliever Mike Myers), though he did earn his first big league win in a 10-1 Yankee romp over Texas. He walked off the mound under his own power, but will reportedly miss 4-6 weeks.

Hughes voiced his frustration afterwards: “It’s tough. It puts a damper on the whole thing.” He added, “I’m at a point now where our rotation really needs it,” referring to his presence on the New York pitching staff. Several Yankees have already voiced their excitement for the righthander’s chances in the big leagues. For his part, Yankees star Jason Giambi compared him to Roger Clemens during Spring Training: “He looks like a young Rocket.”

The Yankees are currently just 10-14, thanks in large part to injuries that have befallen pitchers Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano and Jeff Karstens. In a related story from today, the Yankees fired strength and conditioning coach Marty Miller. Reportedly, this was out of general manager Brian Cashman’s concern for the alarming number of hamstring injuries so far this season.

Campaigners angry at new British police tracking system

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Civil liberties campaigners have reacted angrily to the announcement that the largest police force in Britain has purchased a revolutionary computer system which will allow them to track everything a person does online in a three-dimensional graphic. The Metropolitan Police service, responsible for policing London, announced the purchase of Geotime, a computer program which can correlate information from satellites, mobile phones, social networking websites, IP logs and financial transactions. The software is already used by the U.S. military.

	This latest tool could also be used in a wholly invasive way and could fly in the face of the role of the police to facilitate rather than impede the activities of democratic protesters.

Lawyers and campaigners have questioned whether innocent individuals may be tracked by the software, likened to a computer program in the science fiction film Minority Report. Sarah McSherry, a lawyer representing a number of protesters, raised fears officers could breach data protection laws by tracking innocent protesters, endangering the democratic rights of demonstrators. “We have already seen the utilisation of a number of tactics which infringe the right to peaceful protest, privacy and freedom of expression, assembly and movement. All of these have a chilling effect on participation in peaceful protest,” she said. “This latest tool could also be used in a wholly invasive way and could fly in the face of the role of the police to facilitate rather than impede the activities of democratic protesters.”

Geotime correlates information from numerous sources allowing intelligence officers to view effectively every online move made by individuals, and its website says it can link one suspect to others. The computer software can reportedly create links between people and reveal relationships and private communications, disclosing “temporal patterns and behaviours.” A product director at the parent company, Oculus, said the program is available to purchase commercially.

A number of academics and intelligence experts have said the program could lead to more convictions in terrorism and organised crime investigations, with one professor describing its use as “absolutely right.” In contrast, an official at Privacy International called on police to explain how the software would be used. “Once millions and millions of pieces of microdata are aggregated, you end up with this very high-resolution picture of somebody, and this is effectively what they are doing here,” he said. “We shouldn’t be tracked and traced and have pictures built by our own government and police for the benefit of commercial gain.”

Data protection in Britain has become a major issue among public debate in recent years. The most recent controversy to emerge came last week after an elderly man with no criminal record was given permission to take senior officers who systematically recorded details of his attendance at peaceful protests to the High Court. The Metropolitan Police have not yet confirmed how the computer system will be used, but they are researching numerous possibilities; a spokesperson said they were still assessing whether they would permanently use the technology but declined to confirm how much it cost.

Recycling In The Workplace Help Get The Earth Healthy!

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By Tom Knapp

With Americans focusing renewed attention on the health of the planet, recycling becomes more and more a part of everyday life. Most towns and cities now have curbside recyclingand office managers are beginning to follow their example by setting up office recycling programs.

Though its not the only change we can or should make in our daily habits to save resources, recycling offers many benefits. It reduces waste and saves raw materials while cutting down on energy usesfor example, paper recycling saves 40% of the energy required to make a new product. With the average office worker using 10,000 sheets of paper every yearand with the huge volume of recyclable cardboard boxes that any business receives in the form of mailrecycling in office settings is a quick way to make a big difference. And along with all of these benefits comes a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions involved in making new paper from virgin materials. A successful office recycling program that reduces paper and cardboard waste is a victory for thrift and common sense. And setting one up doesnt need to be hard.

The first thing youll need is to decide on a program coordinator. For most businesses, this will be a dedicated, enthusiastic volunteer from within the company who is well-organized and a good communicator. This person will oversee and evaluate the recycling program while inspiring and educating fellow employees to participate.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Wh_f3enMo[/youtube]

Next, you and your program coordinator will need to conduct a waste assessmentin other words, youll need to evaluate how much trash your office generates, and how much of it is recyclable. If your office is like most, paper (including cardboard) will represent most of your offices refuse. Youll also need to decide on a collection method: commingled containers or source separation. With source separation, you use separate bins for materials that must be brought to the recycling plant separately: for example, white office paper goes in one receptacle, colored office paper in another, cardboard in a third, etc. Recycling plants preferand sometimes will pay morefor materials separated in this way, but you must purchase more containers (increasing your start-up costs), and some employees may resent having to remember which items go where. Commingled containersin which all recyclable materials are collected in a single containerwill reduce employee resistance, but also the value of the recycled materials, because processors pay less for, say, mixed piles of white-and-colored office paper than they do for separated materials. Know your team and your community (including the guidelines followed by the recycling companies in your area), and decide what will work best for you.

Often small businesses dont generate enough recyclables for a commercial recycling company to pick up materials. You may need to find volunteers willing to perform drop-off duty. Be sure to comparison-shop among local recycling companies for the best deal. If your business is fairly large, you may qualify for commercial recycling companies pick-up programs; you may also check with the waste-hauling company that your business already uses to pick up trash, as more and more haulers are starting to offer recycling pickup. If your business is located in a rural area, talk to your suppliers about back-haulinghaving the trucks that bring your supplies take your recyclables back to the city on the return trip.

Hold a meeting to inform employees of the new programand lobby your manager for support, as any program endorsed by managers will have a greater chance of success. Make sure the rules are clearly stated, and make sure everyone gets the memo. Follow up with your fellow employees by email and in person. Also, remember that recyclables must be kept clean to be usable, which makes some cardboard food containers, such as pizza boxes, unrecyclable. Make sure you post the rules (e.g. No pizza boxes!) in employee-accessible places.

Above all, make your program user-friendly. When purchasing recycling bins, keep in mind that bins should be at least as easy to find as trash cans. And make sure that materials are on hand to make recycling easier. For example, your office should be equipped with several pairs of reliable, safe box cutters. Without a package opener on hand, recycling boxes is unnecessarily difficult and time-consuming. (Shipping boxes and moving boxes are hard to flatten with your bare hands!) It goes without saying that any mail room or shipping and receiving department should have many kinds of safety knife on hand. Your office should have a package opener too.

About the Author:

Safecutters

Inc., provides an online store of utility knife box cutters for opening shipping boxes and shipping packages, as well as safety knives to open moving boxes and packages. For more information about Klever Kutter and other Safecutters products contact us!

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Astronaut Steve MacLean talks with Canadian PM over phone

Friday, September 15, 2006

The Canadian PM Stephen Harper spoke with astronaut Steve MacLean over the phone yesterday from Ottawa. MacLean was on the STS-115 (space shuttle Atlantis). He is also the second Canadian to walk in space.

Harper congratulated MacLean and asked him questions, including one from Harper’s son, Ben. The question was: “What time do the astronauts go to bed?” “On our mission, with where the sun is, we have 55 minutes of daylight followed by 75 minutes of darkness … and that does affect your circadian rhythm,” MacLean replied. The astronauts’ sleep pattern “is driven by the rendezvous that we do with the station. That time is the key milestone and then we arrange our sleep schedules around that.” “But you can tell your son that sleeping in space is wonderful. We all sleep down on the main deck, some of us right side up, some of us are on the side and some of us are upside down. There’s more orientations up here, basically.”

Harper told MacLean that the country is proud of his achievements. “I’m sure it’s an adventure of a lifetime and … I expect your mission will inspire millions of Canadians, young people, and even some who are talking to you today to become interested in space and science and technology,” Harper said.

Harper wished MacLean well as the mission winds down. “I know you said … you wanted to bring home a gold medal for Canada, from everything I’ve seen on your performance yesterday, you are well on your way,” Harper said.

Canadian school children also got a chance to ask MacLean about his time aboard the shuttle.

MacLean walked in space on Wednesday. MacLean, with fellow Atlantis crew member Dan Burbank started their six-hour spacewalk at the international space station at 5:05 am ET. They are focusing their attention and tools on a ferris-wheel-like rotary joint that will allow two solar arrays, once unfurled, to always face the sun as the space station circles Earth. The solar arrays will supply a quarter of the space lab’s power when it is completed by 2010.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Belts Guide 1 Of 2

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Submitted by: Stevie Linton

What Are the Requirements For Each Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Belt?

White Belt:

A white belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a beginner-no experience and absolutely new to the art. A white belt is someone who is still figuring out the ideas of BJJ from the positions to basic fundamental submission and techniques. The general time spent as a white belt before advancement to blue belt can span anywhere from six months to two years-depending on the trainer s athletic competence, time invested in training each week and how consistently he or she competes in competitions. Note that these points influence promotion to every one of belts as well as from white to blue belt.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTFbWYXajC4[/youtube]

Blue Belt:

A blue belt is an acquired BJJ practitioner. A blue belt knows all the basic, fundamental techniques used in BJJ. He comprehends the best way to apply them in live gym sparring and also in competition. A blue belt conventionally does not show technique; almost all traditional black belts never have their blue belts teach any new skills in class to lower ranks. This privilege is commonly reserved for purple belts and above. Blue belts are still crafting their own skills and/or set of methods in which they prefer for each of the positions. They are still experimenting with a variety of combinations of attacks and usually attack in the moment and do not think too many steps ahead. Simply because nearly all blue belts are still discovering what techniques work with their style of Jiu-Jitsu and their body type. The average span of time dedicated as a blue belt is a year and a half to three years.

Purple Belt:

A purple belt is finally setting off to develop his game and has his own go-to techniques that he favors in each position and these strategies will be refined exceptionally well combined with the basic fundamentals of BJJ. A purple belt has an intermediate understanding of attacking in combinations and the idea of invisible Jiu-Jitsu, meaning that he tends not to force things but instead, to take what his opponents give him, depending more on his technique than his strength. The average time spent as a purple belt can range anywhere from one to three years.

Brown Belt:

Brown belt is an elite rank. If someone would like begin his own academy, it is at least a brown belt that is most traditionally appropriate. A brown belt has the an understanding of a black belt, he has a mastery of all basic elemental tactics and he has confirmed the capability to think promptly in advance and utilize strategies in combination in order to finish off his opponent instantly. During this stage in one s training, he must be capable of proficiently illustrate strategy and help junior belts effectively utilize strategy. That said, a black belt in BJJ is not guaranteed. If an instructor considers a specific individual does not demonstrate the particular features to earn a black belt, he will not be honored with a black belt-ever. Nearly all practitioners who attain their brown belt do go on to attain their black belt. Coinciding with learning how to coach, the time expended as a brown belt is a time utilized to further perfect one s technique and overall game before advancing on to the rank of black belt. Customarily, numerous usually do not commit an elaborate length of time as a brown belt. The average time invested as a brown belt is one to two years.

Black Belt:

This is an elite rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Frequently, it requires an average Joe training two to three times a week, eight to ten years to earn his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. However, an individual who trains more frequently and competes often can obtain this rank in a quicker period of time. A black belt has perfected all fundamental methods and has proven this time and time again in the gym combined with the ability to attack in combinations and flow from technique to technique without utilization of strength. A black belt has a greater knowing of invisible Jiu-Jitsu, and takes what his oppositions give him. This belt can also manipulate his opponents into moving into positions or submissions aforementioned is not conscious of Black belts additionally obtain stripes, referred to as degrees. The first three degrees are given every three years-a black belt receives his third degree after nine years. Thereafter, it becomes much more sophisticated. The amount of time spent in each degree after that becomes five years, then seven years and even longer after that. A black belt can promote an individual from brown belt to black belt, and he must be a minimum of a second degree black belt in order to award a junior black belt a degree.

About the Author: Stevie has been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for 8 years and is a brown belt. Aside from teaching as head instructor of his own school, Stevie writes for online retailer of Jiu-Jitsu Gis, MMA Gear, and MMA Shorts,

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Michael Flynn resigns as National Security Advisor to Trump administration

Correction — March 2, 2017 This article incorrectly said intelligence officials recorded Pence and Kislyak’s conversations. This was meant to say they recorded Flynn and Kislyak’s conversations.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

On Monday night, U.S. retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn resigned from his position as National Security Advisor at the request of President Donald Trump in response to a Justice Department report indicating the Russian government could blackmail Flynn over untrue statements he’d made to Vice President Pence.

Specifically, Flynn told Pence he had not discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. Pence later went on television and relayed this to the public. However, U.S. intelligence officials had recorded Pence and Kislyak’s conversations. According to one such official, Flynn insinuated to Kislyak then-President-elect Trump would be pleased if Russia did not retaliate for the Obama administration’s December 29 order sanctioning Russian spy agencies and expelling 35 suspected Russian spies from U.S. territory. In his resignation letter, Flynn referred to his statements as “incomplete information” and said he’d apologized to Pence.

Under the 1799 Logan Act, individual U.S. citizens are not allowed to negotiate with foreign governments without permission, and Flynn may have violated it, but University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck said the real issue is whether Flynn lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In remarks to NBC News a senior intelligence official said Flynn had not been shown to have done anything illegal. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the resignation was due to a “trust issue” rather than any legal concern.

According to White House spokespeople, President Trump was informed Flynn had misled Pence last month by then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates, while Vice President Pence did not learn of this until news reports surfaced earlier this week. Democratic Representative Adam Schiff claimed Trump asked Flynn to resign because of the media response and not because of the conversation with Pence itself. There is significant opposition in the U.S. Congress to lifting sanctions against Russia. Several Democrats and some Republicans have called for investigation of the Trump administration’s ties with the country.

Retired general Keith Kellogg, who served as an advisor to Trump during his presidential campaign, was selected as Flynn’s acting replacement.