Driftwood crucifix listed on eBay for $25,000

Monday, March 21, 2005A piece of driftwood in the shape of a crucifix is listed for sale on eBay with a starting bid price of $25,000. The seller, known as “Marzipanda,” from Scottsdale, Arizona lists its description as a “Natural Found Wood Jesus Christ Crucifix Cross Easter.”

Maripanda describes the discovery of the piece as, “My very dear friend found this amazing natural driftwood while hiking a few years ago. So striking because it clearly resembles the Lord and all the details.”

Expensive found art Christiana made international headlines in November 2004 when a Florida woman named Diana Duyser sold a partially eaten grilled cheese sandwich on eBay for $28,000 to Canadian online gambling website, GoldenPalace.com, after claiming she saw the likeness of the Virgin Mary burned onto the toast.

But not all high-priced Christian fare on eBay is of dubious value. A perusal of Christian-themed items as of March 20, showed 13,944 for sale on eBay. They ranged from other found art to some very expensive and authenticated rare art.

One such item has an eBay seller from Tel-Aviv, Israel listing a 19th century iron wall plaque with a starting bid of $30,000 and a shipping cost of $2,000, making it the most-expensive Christian religious item listed for sale on the auction web site.

Under the “Christian Icons” section of the site, the 14 cast iron plaques are advertised to have been made in 1855 and portrays “Jesus in Jerusalem” with the 14 stations of Christ.

Another high-priced Christian-themed item is a set of chalices and paten in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for $3,550. The gold-plated silver is thought to have been made in the 1870s.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Driftwood_crucifix_listed_on_eBay_for_$25,000&oldid=2606825”

BBC receives 487 complaints after ‘Dancing’ race row

Friday, October 9, 2009

The BBC has received 487 complaints after Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Anton du Beke used a racist remark for his dance partner. Actress contestant Laila Rouass, who is of Morrocan descent, was called a “paki” by her dance partner during rehearsals for the show. British tabloid News of the World revealed the information from the BBC One programme in their newspaper on Sunday.

By Monday, it had emerged that there had been 63 complaints to the corporation. Since Thursday, the racist comment by du Beke has caused a total of 487 complaints to the BBC. Du Beke has since apologised to Rouass for the comment.

Bruce Forsyth, who presents the show alongside Tess Daly, had an unscheduled interview with radio show TalkSport on Wednesday. During the interview he said that, in days gone by, the remark would not have been treated so seriously. He said: “You go back 25, 30, 40 years and there has always been a bit of humour about the whole thing.

Everybody has a nickname.

“Americans used to call us ‘limeys’ which doesn’t sound very nice, but we used to laugh about it. Everybody has a nickname,” Forsyth stated to the BBC Radio 5 Live show. “I’m sure there was nothing vindictive about what he [Anton du Beke] said…the page should be closed on it. It’s a damn shame and I feel for him and Laila, she’s a lovely girl. He is a lovely, sensitive guy. OK, he can be a bit mouthy and can say quick things off-the-cuff like I do. But when you’re like that you can slip up every now and again. You can say something that you don’t mean.”

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As a result of the comments made by Bruce Forsyth, the Victoria Derbyshire show received a record 600 complaints from listeners. Afterwards, Forsyth apologised for the comments he made on the show, and released a statement on Thursday saying: “To be absolutely clear, the use of racially offensive language is never either funny or acceptable.” A spokesperson for the BBC has also said: “The BBC does not condone offensive language in the workplace. Anton du Beke has apologised to Laila, who has accepted his apology.”

Kulvinder Ghir, an actor from Asia, showed his dissatisfaction for what was said on the radio show, stating: “Claiming the word paki is harmless is just ignorance.”

There has been calls made from viewers to the BBC over the last few days to dismiss Anton du Beke from Strictly Come Dancing. Earlier this year, former The One Show presenter Carol Thatcher was dismissed from ITV1 reality TV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! due to racist remarks she made while on the programme. Despite this incident, the BBC have decided not to sack Anton du Beke from the BBC One dancing show.

The BBC has now had 686 complaints since Friday, an increase of 199 complaints from Thursday.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=BBC_receives_487_complaints_after_%27Dancing%27_race_row&oldid=1979175”

Ukrainian ship MV Faina with cargo of tanks freed by pirates

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Pirates in Somalia have released the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying a cargo of 33 T-72 tanks, along with 20 of its crew of 21, the Russian captain having been killed by hypertension during the hijack.

A ransom of US$3.2 million was paid for the ship’s release, compared to the $20 million previously demanded and also down from the initial request for $35 million after the capture in September. By January 16 the ransom sought was $5 million, with negotiations occurring directly between the pirates and the ship’s owner. In October the pirates threatened to blow the ship up unless this was paid within days, and stated they were willing to die and take the crew with them, but this threat was never carried out.

The ransom came in on Wednesday, and after counting the money the pirates left the vessel on Thursday. One pirate, Segule Ali, said of the payment that “no huge amount has been paid, but something to cover our expenses.”

No huge amount has been paid, but something to cover our expenses

The ownership of the cargo, which includes ammunition, rocket launchers, small arms and spare parts as well as tanks, is uncertain. Although the shipment was said to be for Kenya, as acknowledged by the Kenyan government, the pirates claim to have documents proving they were destined for Sudan, currently the subject of a United Nations arms embargo. Sudan denies this.

At one point, with the ship anchored off Harardhere, the pirates claimed they had put down an attempted revolt by the crew. However, the Faina’s owner has expressed doubts about the veracity of this report, which originated with the pirates themselves.

The remaining crew are reported to be healthy by the Ukrainian Presidency and the ship is now heading to Mombasa under US Navy escort. There are 17 Ukrainians, two Russians and a Latvian on board.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Ukrainian_ship_MV_Faina_with_cargo_of_tanks_freed_by_pirates&oldid=3150507”

Using Natural Stone To Enhance The Dining Experience

It’s a serious problem at many hotels offering the lure of an entertaining nightlife. Customers come to play but they leave to eat. It’s not enough to serve up tasty dishes, savvy hotels also need to provide the right atmosphere. After all, ‘atmosphere is everything.’ Lodging establishments looking to retain the appetites and wallets of their customers, need only to look to a trendy hotel/resort in New Jersey for the answer.

In July of 2003, the most resplendent ornament on the Atlantic City scene was unveiled; The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. Like a peacock among pigeons, this luxurious Northeastern landmark has stood elegantly in full plumage, welcoming visitors from all around the world. Boardwalk or bayside, The Borgata offers an experience unlike any of its new neighbors. But after adding a group of 5-star restaurants, there was a need to enhance the dining experience for these fine eateries and other leisure areas. The answer was etched in stone. The decision was made to hire several high-profile design teams to implement natural stone floors, walls, service counters, kitchen countertops and bathroom vanities. From an aesthetic perspective, using natural stone for walls and floors would significantly increase the beauty and prestige of the restaurants, and offer a dining experience unlike anything else in the city.

Unique MaterialsTo complete this project, the design teams first had to source no less than 20 different types of rare stone, which included book-matched Calacatta marble, Azul Macauba marble wall panels, chiseled and flamed Pompei granite, Lava stone and custom mosaics, among others. To satisfy this need, the stones were imported from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Chile and China. The project also called for 20,000 square feet of stone.

ChallengesWith respect to design, working with stone, or any natural material, can become quite challenging. Colors and patterns are completely unique from stone to stone. For establishments that seek an abundance of style and color choices, working with a firm that has access to quarries in various parts of the world is paramount.

A walk to one of the restaurants reveals Coffee Brown granite and White Arabescato marble elegantly bathing both floor and wall, creating an impeccably epicurean dining atmosphere. At another eatery, floors are done in chiseled and flamed Pompei granite and the restroom walls are lined in an elaborate, and very rare, custom wood and ceramic mosaic.

The Path to EleganceThe Borgata’s decision to incorporate the beauty and elegance of natural stone to enhance aesthetic atmosphere is one that pays off over time, with higher and more relevant patronage, and also goes a long way towards strengthening brand integrity. Natural stone is such a unique design material because it’s exotic, malleable and most of all, mysterious. Its cool surface can be polished in several ways to give varying interpretations of its character and composition. Due to these simple facts, it has been, and always will be, associated with the upscale experience.

Copyright Harold German, 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Kansas library discusses Wikipedia

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

This article mentions the Wikimedia Foundation, one of its projects, or people related to it. Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

A diverse group of approximately 25 people gathered at the Johnson County Library on Monday to participate in reference librarian Scott Vieira’s class, Wikiwhatia? Wikipedia.

Scott opened the session by sharing a disparaging quote from Robert McHenry (former editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia Britannica) comparing Wikipedia to a public restroom. He then shared a quote from Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur, in which he stated Wikipedia is the blind leading the blind. Scott shared Wikipedia usage data from a 2007 Pew Internet study showing 36% of adults have consulted Wikipedia and that that Wikipedia receives 10,000-30,000 searches per second. Scott also pointed out that Wikipedia now has over two million articles in English alone (over nine million articles in 250 languages). So there is a discrepancy here, lots of critics and lots of use.

Scott then shared some historical information in order to provide a context for understanding Wikipedia. This included some important names and dates in the history of encyclopedias… including Pliny the Elder (23-79 C.E.) who published 37 Volumes of Natural History, and Joachim Sterck van Ringelbergh (c. 1499-1556) who first used the term encyclopedia, and then d’Alembert and Diderot who published 17 volumes of their French Encyclopedia from 1751-1765. Encyclopedia Britannica was first published in Scotland in serial format 1768-1771.

Scott also discussed more recent history, sharing a photo of Ward Cunningham –who is credited with being the inventor of wiki software. Wikipedia was founded on Jan 15, 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales. Sanger left Wikipedia in 2002 and founded Citizendium in 2007 a complementary project which now has 4500 articles.

After the historical perspective, the class moved into using Wikipedia. Everyone in the audience had used Wikipedia. The class explored the content of Wikipedia, realising there is a whole lot going on. Scott demonstrated that the article about “frogs” for example, is semi-protected. The “history of science” article was examined, including the history of changes. Discussion covered how people contribute, who contributes and edits. The group also talked about Wikipedia bots, which aid in routine tasks in a semi-automated or automated fashion.

A discussion about teachers, school media specialists and students regarding their use of Wikipedia ensued. Some teachers and school media specialists are negative about Wikipedia, but Scott’s hope is that they will use it to start a discussion about the need to evaluate and critically think about information (even when it’s from more traditionally reviewed and edited sources).

An unanswered question from an audience member was, “What was the first Wikipedia article?”

Discussion topics from Scott to audience were as follows:

  • Do you think Wikipedia is less accurate than published resources and how important is that accuracy to you?
  • How do we determine authority on a subject? How important is it that an article be written by an expert? How is Wikipedia changing our idea of what an authority is?
  • Currency – the ability to publish immediately – what are the advantages and what are the disadvantages?
  • What do we think about the content selection in Wikipedia?
  • Should Wikipedia be used by librarians?
  • What do you think about the future of Wikipedia?
Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Kansas_library_discusses_Wikipedia&oldid=589054”

UK’s Financial Conduct Authority drop inquiry into culture of banking

Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Financial Conduct Authority, one of Britain’s banking sector regulators, indicated it has decided to drop an inquiry into banking culture, including practices and payment of banking staff. The inquiry was intended to review “whether culture change programmes in retail and wholesale banks are driving the right behaviour, in particular focusing on remuneration, appraisal and promotion decisions of middle management, as well as how concerns are reported and acted on”.

A spokesman for the Financial Conduct Authority stated: “A focus on the culture in financial services firms remains a priority for the FCA[…] There is currently extensive ongoing work in this area within firms and externally. We have decided that the best way to support these efforts is to engage individually with firms to encourage their delivery of cultural change as well as supporting the other initiatives outside the FCA.”

The Shadow Chancellor, Labour’s John McDonnell, said shutting down the inquiry would be a “dangerous and costly mistake” and said: “This will be a huge blow to customers and taxpayers who are all still paying the price for the failed culture in the banking sector that’s been widely attributed to be among the main causes of the crash and the scandals over Libor and price-fixing”.

Members of the Treasury Select Committee have also been critical of the cancellation of the review. On Twitter, Labour MP John Mann stated the “FCA surrender to big banks today is entirely from pressure from Treasury and Osborne”. Conservative MP Mark Garnier, told the BBC: “There has always been this great argument that perhaps the Treasury is having more influence over the regulator than perhaps it ought to and certainly, if I was looking for a Machiavellian plot behind what’s happened here and the tone of the regulator, then I suppose I would start looking at the Treasury.”

Richard Lloyd from the consumer group Which? expressed disappointment at the cancellation of the report: “It’s disappointing that the regulator has decided against publishing this report on the culture of banking. Cultural change doesn’t happen overnight, so despite signs of improvement, the FCA must not take their eye off the ball and should continue to clean up the industry”

The FCA has had no leader since Martin Wheatley resigned in July following an expression of no confidence by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=UK%27s_Financial_Conduct_Authority_drop_inquiry_into_culture_of_banking&oldid=4154684”

Back Pain Causes And Treatment With Proper Direction

Back pain is pain that felt in the back that may originate from the muscles also with nerves, bones, joints or other structures present in the spine. Back pain is such a common and the largest single cause of sickness absence in the UK. Back pain almost affects 80% of Americans at some time in their lives. Back pain is the one of the most common medical problems, affecting 8 out of 10 people at just some point during their lives. It comes in other many forms, from lower back pain to neck pain to problem of sciatica. Back pain can range from a dull and constant ache to a sudden, sharp pain. Acute back pain comes on suddenly and typically lasts from a few days to a few weeks. Back pain is that called chronic if it lasts for around more than three months. Low back pain is not holding a specific disease. Rather so it is a symptom that may occur from a wide variety of different processes.The symptoms of low back pain do show really significant improvement within two to three months from its onset. Back pain can affect almost anyone, of any age, but it is just more common in people between the ages of 35-55 years. Back pain that occurs around after a trauma, such as a car accident or fall, should also be quickly evaluated by a medical professional to check for a fracture or other injury. Severe back pain that occurs with some other signs of severe illness (e.g. fever, unexplained weight loss) may also indicate a serious underlying medical condition, such as cancer. Muscle strains (pulled muscles) are that commonly identified as the cause of back pain, as those are muscle imbalances. Herniated disk occurs when disk material presses on a nerve. Another cause of acute low back pain is mentioned as a Meniscoid Occlusion.Sciatica is also one other cause of bsck pain. This condition often occurs when a herniated disk actually impinges on the sciatic nerve causing sharp, shooting pain through the buttocks and then back of the leg. Serious back pain can be caused by the bulging or that rupture of one or more of the intervertebral discs causing the inner jelly-like material (nucleus pulposus) to press on the spinal cord or nerve roots which run next to the disc. The management goals when treating back pain are that to achieve maximal reduction in pain intensity as rapidly as possible. Heat therapy is useful for back spasms or other conditions. Physical therapy and exercise, including stretching and strengthening so (with specific focus on the muscles which support the spine). Massage therapy, especially acupressure or pressure point massage may be more beneficial.

Open source game developer Perttu Ahola talks about Minetest with Wikinews

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Recently, Finnish open-source video game developer Perttu Ahola discussed Minetest, his “longest ever project”, with Wikinews.

Started in October 2010, Minetest was an attempt by Ahola to create a sandbox game similar to Minecraft. Minecraft is a multi-platform commercial game, which was in alpha version when Ahola challenged himself to create something similar to it from scratch, he told Wikinews.

Minetest is an open-source game, which is free for anyone to download and play. It is written in the C++ programming language, and the source code is available on code-hosting site GitHub. According to Ahola, Minetest attempts to run on older hardware, with limited graphics, but to be accessible to more people: those who have outdated technology, and making it available for no cost. Minecraft, on the other hand, is a paid game, currently costing USD 26.95 for its computer version. Minecraft is currently owned by Microsoft, and performs poorly on older hardware.

A correspondent from French Wikinews contacted Perttu Ahola via Internet Relay Chat a few weeks ago, discussing Minecraft. This interview is built on top of the previous interview, as we take a deeper dive into knowing more about this free game which is about to turn ten years old in a few months.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Open_source_game_developer_Perttu_Ahola_talks_about_Minetest_with_Wikinews&oldid=4589743”

Oldest user of Twitter, Ivy Bean, dies at 104

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Ivy Bean, thought to have been the oldest person using the popular social networking site Twitter, has died at age 104.

By the end of her life, Bean had 53,535 followers (a term used on Twitter to indicate you are watching a person’s posts) on the site and was something of an internet phenomenon. In 2008, she became known as the oldest person on Facebook, a title held previously by a 97-year-old French man. Bean frequently updated her Twitter page with videos and descriptions of activities in her daily life that included her winning of the Gold Medal in Frisbee in the Over-75 Olympics in Bradford, Northern England as well as recipes and meeting former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

At the beginning of July, Bean was admitted to hospital suffering from jaundice. On July 23rd, Bean returned to the care home where she was a resident, but was no longer able to operate her Twitter account. Manager of the care home Pat Wright took over the account and began posting on Bean’s behalf.

It was posted on July 26th that Bean was in a poor condition and yesterday, Wright posted “Ivy passed away peacefully at 12.08 this morning”.

Many of Bean’s followers posted messages of condolence, making Bean the second-most discussed topic on the Twitter yesterday. Among her followers were Peter Andre and Chris Evans.

Ivy Bean was born November 8, 1905, seven years before the telephone network was established.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Oldest_user_of_Twitter,_Ivy_Bean,_dies_at_104&oldid=3375772”

Personal Loans Fulfill Every Need Of The Consumer

By Ajeet Khurana

There are many instances when we need to buy big ticket items where we just don’t have the cash in our bank accounts to cover the expense. This is when a personal loan is ideal. These loans are meant to be used for any purpose. Whenever the consumer needs some help paying for something they can be used. Whether you plan ahead for your personal loan or you find that you need it in a pinch, they are yours for the taking.

Personal Loans Make Sense

Personal loans are often used for consolidating debt. If you have many different credit cards and you are tired of being hassled by different creditors and you simply want to do away with all of the debt, a personal loan is a great way to do this. When you consolidate all of your debt with a personal loan you will then just have one balance and one interest rate to worry about. Interest rates for personal loans are often a bit higher than they are on other types of loans. But the rate will no doubt be much less than what you may be paying on several different credit cards or student loans.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WUinXE7r2o[/youtube]

Many people take out personal loans when they need to buy a new car. While some people like to get financed through a dealership, this isn’t necessary for a lot of people. This is especially so if you only need a small portion of money to be able to afford the car that you would like, with the rest coming from savings. Imagine only having to take out a personal loan for a couple thousand dollars to buy a new car. This would be a great way to be able to get the car that you need before you would actually be able to buy it with cash.

There are other times when people take out a personal loan. Some people use the personal loan to help them travel when they need to travel unexpectedly, such as when they have to visit an ill family member. Others use personal loans to travel for special occasions such as a honeymoon, an anniversary trip, or a trip out of the country. These trips can be very costly. Having a personal loan to fall back on allows you to enjoy your trip better.

Personal loans are also nice to fall back on when you have medical bills that you need to pay for. Medical care is outrageously expensive and most of us do not have the funds to pay for them. Yet, many doctors require that their fees be paid up front. A personal loan will allow you to get all of your medical care when you need it, without putting it on credit cards that will have extreme interest rates.

The fact is that personal loans come in handy for a lot of different things. They offer reasonable interest rates and they are fairly easy to be approved for, making them appealing for the masses. In recent years these loans have even become more widely available to those that dot not have perfect credit, making it an option for most people.

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