<div class=Mario Lopez favored to win Dancing with the Stars
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Mario Lopez favored to win Dancing with the Stars

Friday, September 1, 2006

Mario López is favored to win the third season of American television series Dancing with the Stars, with 3:1 odds of winning, but close on his heels is actress Vivica Fox, with four-to-one odds. López is perhaps best known for his role on Saved by the Bell, and currently stars on soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Gambling site BetBet released odds on its website recently.

Monique Coleman (High School Musical), Joey Lawrence (Blossom), and Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans), each with six-to-one odds. Hamlin’s wife, Lisa Rinna, was a contestant in the second season of the series. Singers Willa Ford and Sara Evans each rank 8:1.

It is unknown how the firm decided the competitor’s odds; none of this year’s dancing has been previewed publicly, let alone for the press.

Dancing with the Stars enters its third season on September 12, at 8pm, with a two-hour season premiere. The series was a surprise hit for ABC, who added the program as a summer filler, with no large hopes for its success. Based on the British series Strictly Come Dancing, the series has been produced in 20 countries.

ODDS

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<div class=World Wrestling Entertainment heir Shane McMahon resigns from the company
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World Wrestling Entertainment heir Shane McMahon resigns from the company

Friday, October 16, 2009

Predicted heir to World Wrestling Entertainment Shane McMahon has announced he will leave the company on January 1, 2010. McMahon is the son of current owner Vincent K. McMahon and the current Executive Vice President of Global Media for the company. With the departure of Shane, it will be the first time that a male heir will not take over the company when Vince retires.

Shane announced his resignation on WWE.com earlier today saying, “It is with great sadness that I announce my resignation from the WWE, effective January 1, 2010.” He mentioned how he “never even considered a future outside the walls of the WWE.” He continued to thank his father and superstars of today and the past. According to Shane, he resigned because it was his “to pursue outside ventures.”

World Wrestling Entertainment released an official statement responding to Shane’s announcement. Current owner and Shane’s father Vince McMahon said, “Even though I am personally saddened by Shane’s decision to leave the company, I am proud of the enormous contributions he has made. He will unquestionably bring passion, commitment and extensive business experience to any endeavour he pursues.”

Shane was the fourth generation to World Wrestling Entertainment. He is the son of Vincent K. McMahon, the grandson of Vincent J. McMahon and the great-grandson of Jess McMahon. He has two sons who are considered the fifth generation.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=World_Wrestling_Entertainment_heir_Shane_McMahon_resigns_from_the_company&oldid=4598220”
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<div class=City Planning Board postpones decision on Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal
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City Planning Board postpones decision on Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal

Buffalo, N.Y. Hotel Proposal Controversy
Recent Developments
  • “Old deeds threaten Buffalo, NY hotel development” — Wikinews, November 21, 2006
  • “Proposal for Buffalo, N.Y. hotel reportedly dead: parcels for sale “by owner”” — Wikinews, November 16, 2006
  • “Contract to buy properties on site of Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal extended” — Wikinews, October 2, 2006
  • “Court date “as needed” for lawsuit against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal” — Wikinews, August 14, 2006
  • “Preliminary hearing for lawsuit against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal rescheduled” — Wikinews, July 26, 2006
  • “Elmwood Village Hotel proposal in Buffalo, N.Y. withdrawn” — Wikinews, July 13, 2006
  • “Preliminary hearing against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal delayed” — Wikinews, June 2, 2006
Original Story
  • “Hotel development proposal could displace Buffalo, NY business owners” — Wikinews, February 17, 2006

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Buffalo, New York —In an unanimous vote, the City of Buffalo‘s Planning Board voted to table the Elmwood Village hotel Proposal, postponing voting on legislation for up to 30 days.

The Board said its decision was due to the lack of public involvement, saying that there have not been enough meetings.

The Elmwood Village Hotel is a proposed project by Savarino Construction Services Corporation and was designed by Karl Frizlen of The Frizlen Group. The hotel would be placed on Elmwood and Forest Avenues in Buffalo, New York. In order for the hotel to be built, at least five buildings, that include both businesses and residents, must be demolished.

The Forever Elmwood Corp. is a Buffalo-based non-profit organization founded in 1994. Justin Azzarella, the Executive Director for the organization voiced support for the proposal, stating: “I am here today to lend Forever Elmwood’s support the hotel project. Particularly, Forever Elmwood is encouraged by the fact that this building follows the more stringent Elmwood Village Design Guidelines. We have been speaking with Savarino Construction, and they have promised us [Forever Elmwood] that they will engage the community further, including the surrounding Block Clubs and businesses. For that reason, while Forever Elmwood is in support of this project and the type of project that it is, we are asking also that the project be tabled so that the community can be further engaged. Specifically the surrounding Block clubs which include the Granger, Claremont, Asland and The Lincoln Parkway Block Clubs.”

“Because of the excellent work that Karl does and the game plan that they have, I think its an ideal use of this particular location. I think that this particular type of development needs to be encouraged and promoted as opposed to roadblocked,” said a man who owns five properties near the proposal site.

However, Evelyn Bencinich, a resident of Granger Place and whose house would be located directly behind the hotel said, “My property value will be depreciated or non-existent because no one is going to want to live behind a multi-story hotel. We are facing up to a year of noisy and dangerous demolition and construction. Children, pets and even drunk rebellers could wander on site and get hurt. Traffic tie-ups caused by large machinery and garbage bins is inevitable. Where will pedestrians walk? We could experience increased unsanitary flooding in our yards and basements due to the digging and cementing for the underground parking garage. Rats will be displaced into the immediate neighborhoods and be in great abundance. Once we get past the year of nightmare construction, what if you build it and they don’t come? We could ultimately have a seven million dollar rooming house on our corner.”

Patty Morris, co-owner of Don Apparel with Nancy Pollina at 1119 Elmwood also asked that the project be tabled saying, “this has only been public knowledge for less than two weeks and the public never saw the redesign. How can you vote on anything that no one has seen yet? The Board cut off Morris saying, “so specifically you don’t have any problem with it [the design] you just…” Morris then said, “Oh I am totally against this project, but thats besides the point isn’t it.”

The planning board is also concerned that the current design may still be too big.

At one point Board member Susan Curran Hoyt said, “we know you’ve cut down your number of rooms on this project, but we still see it doesn’t seem to fit the description of a ‘botique’ hotel,” and asked Eva Hassett, Vice President of Savarino Construction, “we wonder if you could reduce the rooms further.”

“One thing I didn’t talk about was the price levels of these rooms and that will be important to know. The room rate will be somewhere between US$120 and $160 a night, which is about the same price of the Hampton Inn down town and the smaller you make the hotel, the more expensive the rooms will get. We believe that we’ve made a good compromise in terms of the size of the hotel and perhaps botique means different things to different people,” said Hassett.

The board was also concerned that there is not enough parking asking, “are there alternative plans for valet parking off-site, in the event that you have a full hotel or a large event going on?”

“We are exploring several possibilities with respect to additional parking for valet and parking near-by,” replied Hassett. “We are also exploring the possibility of using the rear of 1105 Elmwood for additional parking, which would give us an additional ten or eleven spaces.”

The new design has a total of 55 parking spaces for 72 rooms, with 39 of them underground and the rest on ground level.

Hassett also said that a “parking study” will be done on the area.

Concerns that the second floor of the hotel will be too close to the property of 605 Forest were also brought up. The board asked how far the hotel would be from the property and Karl Frizlen replied saying it would “be approximately five feet from the property line,” but he also admitted that, “I do not know exactly how close the house next door” will be from the hotel, but did say “I think the house is about four or five feet away from the property line and we [the hotel] sit right on the property line.”

The board is concerned the setback from the property is not enough saying the space between the building and the hotel is “pretty narrow.”

The City’s Common Council also agreed to table the proposal also citing the need for more public engagement and the need for more organizations to respond including the Buffalo Preservation Board and the Office of Historic Preservation.

During that meeting, Hassett also said the proposal to try and get a variance to obtain the properties of 605 and 607 Forest were “now off the agenda.”

The Common Council is expected to meet and hold a public hearing about the project and the rezoning of the properties to be demolished (1119-1121 Elmwood) on Tuesday March 7, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall. At the moment the properties are not zoned for a hotel.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=City_Planning_Board_postpones_decision_on_Buffalo,_N.Y._hotel_proposal&oldid=1981797”
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The Tips And Tricks To Save Money While Getting Inward Remittance

The Tips And Tricks To Save Money While Getting Inward Remittance

Nowadays, everyone is eager to earn money from the comfort of the home. There are many ways and means to earn money easily if you are well-versed in one of the technologies. The writing, video marketing and digital marketing has been proved to be a boon for the people. The people have been receiving handsome amount money with far-less effort and time from the comfort of their home and computer. For many 9 to 5 jobs have been completely obsolete.

If you know some of the technology like website development, design and development then earning some bucks at home can be extremely easy. Writing has a plethora of opportunities in the overseas market. You can search on the Google as to the new technology by which the freelancer gets money. Some of the new comers in the field of freelancing face some problem in the beginning to receive money and even they don’t know as to how to save money from inward remittance.

We will guide you as to how to save money if someonesend money to India from Australia or from any other countries of the world.

Understanding the exchange rate

If you are a new comer, you may not know as to the exchange rate. Before receiving money you should check the exchange rate on the internet. There are various portals that offers free checking of currency exchange rate. The portal xe.com is highly popular for the checking exchange rate of any countries in the world. If you know the exchange rate, then there is a possibility that no one can cheat you while getting money.

Finding the difference

You should not believe always on the xe.com as it offers only mid-market rate. Sometimes the bank may offer you the best rate than xe.com

Getting money by PayPal

Though PayPal is one of the best ways to remit money and receive money from across the world, it is expensive once it reaches your account. You will be surprised that even you lost almost 7% of the money after receiving money in your account.

Getting money by Western Union

The western union is one of the traditional companies in the world that helps getting money from the international market. Your client maytransfer money to Sri Lanka or my remit it to Singapore Western Union does it very well. If you have demanded 100 USD, then you don’t need to pay extra charges. Your client is likely to bear all.

Receiving money by Wire transfer

Wire transfer is synonymous to bank transfer. It is a kind of electronic money transfer that remits money from one country to another country between 24 hours to 72 hours.

There are many other ways to receive money from the international market as a freelancer. However, you need to check which country is giving you more money. You may get more money for clients in the USA than Singapore since US dollar is more valuable than Singapore. Basically, you can get more money if you work for the clients in Europe, North America and Australia as well. Getting clients from USA, UK, Canada and Australia is easier than other countries.

<div class=Iran moves finances out of Europe’s banks
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Iran moves finances out of Europe’s banks

Friday, January 20, 2006

Iran, has decided to pull its finances out of European banks and into different foreign banks. A senior Iranian official stated that this is an attempt to pre-empt possible U.N. sanctions over its resumption of nuclear fuel enrichment activities.

Comments by Iran’s central bank governor Ebrahim Sheibani, carried on air by the ISNA student news agency, confirmed that Iran had started transferring funds.

“We transfer foreign reserves to wherever we see as expedient. On this issue, we have started transferring. We are doing that,” Sheibani told the ISNA agency.

Ebrahim Sheibani also told the agency that the assets were being moved to an “undisclosed” location.

It is unknown exactly how much money is involved or whether or not Iran’s investments in Europe would be affected by the move. Traders have said that they had already factored such a possibility into the market.

Gary Samore, an expert on Iran and vice president for international programs at the McArthur Foundation in Chicago, said “the move reflected concern by Tehran that the Europeans might take unilateral measures amid the crisis over its nuclear program.” He also added that its decision to pull its assets from Europe “makes sense in terms of preparing for the possibility that Europe might take some measure to impose some financial sanctions. I don’t know that it changes the diplomatic formula. The key issue is still the question of whether or not the Western group can engineer a formal referral to the Security Council.”

It is unclear if an asset freeze or other punishment is imminent in Iran, but it has happened before. The country’s assets in the United States have been frozen since Iranians seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held its staff hostage after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

An Italian court last year had ordered an Iranian bank account to be frozen at the request of U.S. plaintiffs who were seeking compensation for terrorist acts they believe were supported by the country (Iran).

Earlier the EU drafted a resolution that calls for referring Iran to the 15-nation council. But it is said to stop short of asking for punitive measures against Iran. The IAEA is expected to meet on February 2, 2006 to discuss Europe’s draft.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Iran_moves_finances_out_of_Europe%27s_banks&oldid=4221318”
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<div class=Annual rich list shows Ireland now has six billionaires
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Annual rich list shows Ireland now has six billionaires

Sunday, April 3, 2005The annual Sunday Times Rich List published today showed that Ireland now has six euro billionaires, up from four last year. The combined wealth of Irelands 250 wealthiest is €42.3bn.

Topping the list was the new entrant Hilary Weston with a fortune estimated at over €7.2bn. Weston was excluded in previous lists because the majority of her wealth was made abroad, however a rule change this year allowed the Dublin born model to enter in first place. Mrs Weston, 63, grew up in Ireland and built her modeling career there before becoming wed to Galen Weston, heir to his grandfathers multi-billion euro retailing fortune in Canada. The couple permanently moved to Canada in 1983 after a kidnap attempt by the IRA.

The top six on the list were as follows:

  1. Hilary Weston and family; €7.286bn – Retailing
  2. Sir Tony O’Reilly; €1.897bn – Food, media and inheritance
  3. John Dorrance; €1.857bn – Inheritance
  4. Dermot Desmond; €1.239bn – Finance
  5. Sean Quinn; €1.157bn – Quarries, hotels, insurance and industry
  6. Tony Ryan; €1.114bn – Airline

The iconic rock group U2 placed 10th with a combined fortune of €629m.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Annual_rich_list_shows_Ireland_now_has_six_billionaires&oldid=433935”
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<div class=Gunman on the loose in Melbourne
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Gunman on the loose in Melbourne

Monday, June 18, 2007

Police in Melbourne, Australia are on the hunt for a gunman who killed a man and injured two others in the city’s central business district this morning.

Officials warned all office workers to remain indoors, and train services to Flinders Street Station were temporarily on hold, as investigations were carried out on the intersection of Flinders Lane and William Street.

Malcom Bates, who witnessed the shootings at around 8:15 a.m., said the gunman grabbed a woman from inside a taxi. “The lady got away and he turned and shot three people basically point blank,” Mr Bates said. “I was right across the road”. He said that the incident took no longer than the “wink of an eye”.

Paramedics struggled to revive the one victim for almost an hour before declaring him dead at the scene. The two injured people have been taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition.

Police believe the incident began at the Bar Code 24-hour bar in King Street, when a woman attempted to get into a taxi. She was apparently grabbed by the hair by the gunman who then shot her and two men who attempted to come to her aid.

Police have identified the gunman as Christopher Wayne Hudson, aged 29. They believe him to be a member of the Hells Angels bikie gang. Police have described Hudson as about 180 cm tall, with short brown hair and wearing a dark tracksuit top and dark denim jeans.

A building worker on a construction site on the corner of Queen and Flinders Streets has reportedly discovered a handgun. It is understood the gunman may have thrown the weapon into the site as he fled the scene.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Gunman_on_the_loose_in_Melbourne&oldid=454119”
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Male Jealousy &Amp; Insecurities

Male Jealousy &Amp; Insecurities

By Greg Tiwa

Good Job, You Did It?

You finally landed the girl of your dreams. She’s beautiful, smart and sexy. She is everything that you’ve ever wanted in a woman. Every time you both go out, you notice all the guys checking her out. In turn, you hold her closely in a protective manner and send dirty looks to the gawkers. You watch her every move and feel a hint of jealousy and insecurity at times when it is not warranted. You constantly call to check up on her and then count the seconds before she returns your call. You feel extremely paranoid when she goes out with girlfriends or co-workers. You instantly feel rage when she looks at another guy, however innocent it may be.

You feel consumed by your insecurities, directing your energy towards over protectiveness and jealousy instead. You try to buy her time and attention by buying her gifts, dinners and whisking her away on vacations. You also prefer to spend your time with her at home and not out in public for fear of her looking at other men. You use possess and isolate tactics on her.

So where does all this jealousy and insecurity come from?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awUhdi1UO10[/youtube]

You may have had some really bad experiences before regarding loyalty and relationships and you don’t want this to happen to you again. You intensely pledge your guarantee that she is the only one in your life.

Male insecurity has been proven to be directly connected with a deficiency in the size of the male member. Many men are bothered by their current penis size and constantly look down on themselves. This definitely explains the thriving penis enlargement industry.

Other reasons include money and resources. Many guys feel disdain and often envy towards other men who are better off than themselves. Having more money means you could probably buy your girl bigger and better gifts, that you think makes you highly desirable and attractive.

All men, just like women, need to be liked and loved. They want to be adored, respected and esteemed. Men want to feel important and special to someone.

So How Would You Fix This?

You need to take time and do a self-assessment. Get new clothes, hairstyle and learn new things. Get a membership at a gym and start shedding those pounds or toning your body. More importantly, is the measure of trust and loyalty that you and your girl have for each other. Do not let your insecurities and jealousy cloud your judgment and ruin your relationship. Treat your girl with the utmost respect and start trusting her more. She is with you isn’t she?

About the Author: Greg Tiwa has been researching and writing about mens mental health and it’s relationship to male endowment for 4 years. Visit his website: menssexproducts.com

Source: isnare.com

Permanent Link: isnare.com/?aid=112340&ca=Relationships

<div class=Colegio Preciosa Sangre, Pichilemu, amidst other Chilean schools celebrate Student’s Day
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Colegio Preciosa Sangre, Pichilemu, amidst other Chilean schools celebrate Student’s Day

Saturday, May 15, 2010

On Friday morning, Student’s Day was celebrated in the most schools across Chile. Student’s Day was created in May 11, 1990 by Chile’s Ministry of Education. The same day, the Supreme Decree N° 524 was validated, whereby also authorized the functioning of Student’s Centres in the High Education schools.

At Colegio Preciosa Sangre, Pichilemu celebration started at 8:30 AM local time (1230 UTC). Students, grouped by grade, shared a cup of milk and sandwiches. Competitions and games were originally planned to take place in the school’s yard, but due to adverse weather, these were moved to an old, large room. The school was split into two teams, Roja (red) and Verde (green). The event was organized by Nicole Grez, Carol Piña, and Paola Sepúlveda, amidst others, and the judges included Angélica Miranda and Mother Loreto Fuentes.

The first of the activities was the performance of a Pichileminian metal band, that covered Metallica’s songs. Subsequently, started the games. The first one consisted of the imitation of a well-known musical artist. The Roja alliance prepared the imitation of Ráfaga’s Luna Luna. The Verde alliance performed a sketch with Right Said Fred’s I’m Too Sexy. Both alliances gained points for this activity.

The next activity in the morning was gymkhana, that consisted if three steps for students from first to eight grades of Basic Education:

  1. Put a thread through a needle.
  2. Eat a pear while playing with a basketball ball.
  3. Pump up and burst an inflatable globe.

From the first to fourth grades of High Education:

  1. Take out a coin from a plate full of flour.
  2. Eat a sandwich with hot chilli, and drink a glass of Coke.
  3. Put a thread through two needles. (Between this step and the fourth, they have to chew the same pear).
  4. Pump up and burst two globes.
Results

In the group of 1st to 4th Grade (Basic), 5th to 8th Grade (Basic) and 1st to 4th Grade (High), the Verde team won.

Subsequently, some girls from the Cheer-leading team performed a dance with some teachers from the school. Later, a game of the 3-legs jump took place. It mainly consisted of: samples of well-known songs were played, when they stopped, the pairs had to jump until they reached the microphone, and sing the rest of the song. Three groups of four grades were formed, as in the gymkhana game. Each group had to listen 3 songs.

Results
1st to 4th Grade (Basic)
  1. Mazapán – Una Cuncuna Amarilla : Draw
  2. Américo – Que Levante La Mano : Verde team won
  3. Shakira – Loba : Verde team won
5th to 8th Grade (Basic)
  1. Mazapán – Caballito Blanco : Rojo team won
  2. Sin Bandera – Suelta Mi Mano : Rojo team won
  3. DJ Méndez feat. Crossfire – Lady : Rojo team won
1st to 4th Grade (High)
  1. Los Jaivas – Mira Niñita : Rojo team won
  2. Shakira – Waka Waka (Esto es África) : Draw
  3. Wisin & Yandel – La Minifalda : Draw

Finally it was determined that the Rojo team won this game. The penultimate game took place at 12:05 local time (16:05 UTC), and it consisted of:

  1. First round: collect 15 turnkeys.
  2. Second round: collect 10 clocks.

All of this had to be done in just 30 seconds. In the first round, the Verde team collected 11 turnkeys, and the Rojo team, 10. In the second round, the Verde team collected 6 clocks, while the Rojo team, 7.

The last game was tugar tugar, which consisted of dancing known songs, including The Rickrollerz’s Never Gonna Give You Up, Cosculluela’s Prrum, Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, Américo’s Te Vas and Chilean cuecas. After some time, the jury took out some pairs. There were six pairs, with a student from each grade. As the game came to a close, only two pairs remained. Finally, the game was won by the verde team.

Angélica Miranda and Mother Loreto Fuentes, both judges, congratulated both teams and gave the total results:

Alliance Points
Roja 8000
Verde 9250

The same Pichileminian metal band that performed at the beginning of the games, played again, as students left the building.

The Student’s Day was celebrated on Wednesday, the 12th in Los Ángeles. The teachers congratulated the students and at once, they enjoyed activities that included artistic acts, deportive activities and certainly, free food, depending on the scholar journey.

In the José Manso de Velasco School, one of the teachers disguised as Américo, and revolutionized the students. In the Liceo Comercial, they elected a Queen. The most popular took place in Sternenkinder, a special school, locally known as NEE (Necesidad Educativa Especial), that enjoyed an event prepared by a local discotheque.

In Valdivia, the Education Seremi (boss) of the Los Ríos Region, Carlos Crot, visited the students of Instituto Superior de Administración y Turismo (INSAT) while they were celebrating their day, on Wednesday, congratulating all the students of the region. The event took place in a room of the establishment. Crot was the Principal of the Institute until just some weeks ago, when he had to leave to become Seremi.

The Student’s Day was celebrated on Thursday 13, in Parral. The Mayor of the city, Israel Urrutia Escobar, managed to take a Savory and Chocapic (both part of Nestle) tent to Parral. Savory’s ice cream were given for free to people that could get in front of the Municipality building.

The activity had been repeated in other communes affected by the February 27 earthquake. Some of them are: Talcahuano, Coronel, Chillán, Talca, Constitución, and some other minor towns. More than five thousand ice creams were given. “I appreciate the companies that have came along to our call. This activity excites us and entertains not just the childs, but their parents. Today is the Student’s day and we wanted to celebrate it properly […],” said Israel Urrutia.

Students from the Santiago Urrutia Benavente School and Pablo Neruda School, ensured this was one of the best activities made in a long time, because they thought it was a fantasy that people could give ice creams to those who want and to play freely.

The Student’s Day was celebrated on Thursday 13 here, too. In many educational establishments of the city, activities were performed to celebrate this day. In Instituto Superior de Comercio, the students enjoyed a dance-tón (bailetón), El Pingüino reported. The Clerk of the Municipality of Punta Arenas, Orlando Estefó, congratulated the students, “by making history every day by day, as the main actors in the educational process.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Colegio_Preciosa_Sangre,_Pichilemu,_amidst_other_Chilean_schools_celebrate_Student%27s_Day&oldid=4595720”
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<div class=United States to expand ‘information operations’ against terror
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United States to expand ‘information operations’ against terror

Sunday, February 19, 2006

The United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that U.S. public diplomacy efforts need to do more in the media to communicate a message friendly to democracy.

“We’ll need to do all we can to attract supporters to our efforts and to correct the lies that are being told, which so damage our country, and which are repeated and repeated and repeated,” Rumsfeld said in an address to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York city on Friday. He said that insurgent groups have learned to use media and its new satellite and Internet technologies, and are working 24/7, to manipulate public opinion.

Rumsfeld called for the need to implement a “strategic communications framework” to present news information in Afghanistan and Iran. He warned, ” …the [news] vacuum will be filled by the enemy and by news informers that most assuredly will not paint an accurate picture of what is actually taking place.” He said there was a need for communications training of military public affairs officials. The Department of Defense would begin with an emphasis on using out-sourced media expertise found in the private-sector, as was done with the controversial use of Lincoln Group who placed pro-democracy stories in Iraqi media in a business arrangement with the U.S. military.

Rumsfeld was critical of the U.S. media for its sharp response to that program at his address in New York, which he said had the effect of stopping that military effort. In an appearance on the The Charlie Rose Show, a televised program taped earlier and then aired by PBS last Friday, the same day as his New York address, Rumsfeld said “When we heard about it, we said, ‘Gee, that’s not what we ought to be doing.’ … They stopped doing that.” But in a Los Angeles Times report, a Lincoln Group insider and a U.S. commander in Iraq, General George W. Casey, said the program was still in existence.

The White House has signaled a shift towards the use of media in the “War against Terror”. The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Senate testimony on Wednesday last week that $10 million is already appropriated to support political dissidents, labor union leaders and human rights activists in Iran. The Bush administration will be asking for an additional $75 million in funding for the 2006 fiscal year to expand the program.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_to_expand_%27information_operations%27_against_terror&oldid=740634”
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