Wednesday, April 1, 2009

According to the payroll services company ADP, United States private sector employers cut 742,000 jobs in in March. The figures were almost 80,000 more than the average analyst prediction of 663,000 losses. This is the largest monthly payroll decline since January 2001, when the ADP began tracking job activity.

ADP also updated its job loss statistics for February, from 697,000 to 706,000.

“The sharp employment declines among medium- and small-size businesses indicate that the recession continues to spread aggressively beyond manufacturing and housing-related activities to almost every area of the economy,” said Joel Prakken, the chairman of the company that conducts the ADP survey, Macroeconomic Advisors LLC.

“Despite some recent indications that stock prices, consumer spending, and housing activity may be bottoming out, employment, which usually trails overall economic activity, is likely to remain very weak for at least several more months,” he added.

The US Labor Department‘s report for employment statistics for March is due to be out on Friday. Analysts predicted that the department will announce the unemployment rate increased to 8.5% with 660,000 jobs eliminated in March. However, the bad news from ADP has prompted some to think that the current forecasts are too optimistic.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

With this year’s November midterm elections fast approaching, three prominent United States Democrats announced their plans for retirement from public service on Wednesday.

Powerful and influential—yet controversial for his alleged close ties to the financial sector and his handling of last year’s bailout—Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut announced that he would not be seeking a sixth term this year.

In a speech to his supporters in East Haddam, Connecticut, the sixty-five-year-old senior senator—with his family at his side—said, “I have been a Connecticut senator for thirty years. I’m very proud of the job I’ve done and the results delivered. But none of us is irreplaceable. None of us is indispensable.”

He then went on to say, “Over the past twelve months, I’ve managed four major pieces of legislation through the United States Congress, served as chair and acting chair of two major Senate committees, placing me at the center of the two most important issues of our time—health care and reform of financial services.”

In addition to highlighting some personal travails, Dodd alluded to his precarious political situation, “I lost a beloved sister in July, and in August, Ted Kennedy. I battled cancer over the summer, and in the midst of all of this, found myself in the toughest political shape of my career.”

Despite this, Dodd adamantly maintained that none of the above reasons were the causes for his retirement. He said that his reasons were more “personal,” and that his retirement would hopefully give him a much-wanted opportunity to spend more time with his family.

Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota announced that he would not run for re-election this year either.

“Although I still have a passion for public service and enjoy my work in the Senate, I have other interests and I have other things I would like to pursue outside of public life,” said the sixty-seven-year-old, three-term senator who said he came to this decision after discussing his future with his immediate family over Christmas.

Governor of Colorado, Bill Ritter announced that he too would not seek a second term. The fifty-three-year-old freshman governor said that although he felt his race was “absolutely winnable,” after some deep “soul searching,” he realized that he truly wanted to retire from politics nonetheless. This due to the fact that he felt his main priority should be to be a better husband to his wife as well as a better father to their four children.

When asked to comment on Senator Dodd’s retirement on behalf of the Administration, Vice President Joseph Biden said Dodd would “be long recognized as one of the most significant senators of my generation.”

He furthermore stated, “I believe the nation will miss his wisdom, wit and compassion. I count myself lucky because I know he’s not going too far and will always be a source of advice and counsel.”

Biden gave similar comments and expressed like sentiments about the retirement of his other two Democratic colleagues as well.

Friday, June 2, 2006

At dawn this morning a team of 250 policemen stormed a building in Forest Gate, London, England. A part of the police teams were armed, while others were equipped with chemical weapons gear. Two men were arrested and one was shot in the raid made under the 2000 Terrorism Act.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, the Metropolitan Police’s anti-terror chief, said he had acted on specific intelligence, “we planned an operation that was designed to mitigate any threat to the public either from firearms or from hazardous substances.”

The injury to the man who was shot was not life threatening and the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who have opened an investigation into the incident, say a single shot was fired. At Royal London Hospital where the man, later arrested, was taken armed guards were seen at the entrances.

The man, said to be 20 years old, who was not shot, has been questioned at Paddington Green police station. Others at the address have been moved out – two residents have been treated in hospital for shock.

The search at the house in Lansdown Road is said to be ongoing. Police have closed Lansdown Road, Rothsay Road and Prestbury Road and a blind has been erected around the premises. The Civil Aviation Authority report a four-day “no fly area” below 2,500ft is in force over east London.

The British intelligence agency, MI5, and the Health Protection Agency also had a role in the operation, which British Prime Minister Tony Blair had been told about. The raid is not thought to be linked to the London tube and bus bombings in July 2005.Saturday, June 3, 2006Police say the raid was carried out in search of a ‘suicide vest’ that could be used to release poison gas. Police say MI5 believe there exists ‘firm intelligence’ that such a vest exists.

As of Friday evening, police had yet to discover weapons, chemicals or any other evidence of a planned attack.

The two men arrested are believed to be 23 and 20 year old brothers, Mohammed Abdul Kahar and Abdul Koyair, both of Bangladeshi origin. Abdul Kahar was shot in the shoulder during the raid, his injury is said to be non life threatening.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

David S. Touretzky, prominent free speech activist and critic of Scientology, discussed his opinions on the recent Internet backlash against the Church of Scientology in an interview with former Scientologist and Wikinews reporter Nicholas Turnbull. The recent conflict on the Internet between critics of Scientology and the Church has been spurred on in declarations by a nebulous Internet entity using the name Anonymous that the Church of Scientology “will be destroyed”. Anonymous has directed recent protests at Scientology centres across the world, which have attracted significant numbers of individuals supporting the cause. In recent e-mail correspondence with Wikinews, a representative of the Church of Scientology declared that the Church considers the activities of Anonymous to be illegal, and that Anonymous “will be handled and stopped”.

Touretzky, a research professor in artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University, has been a prominent critic of the Church of Scientology since mid-1995, and has been protesting against Scientology vociferously since then; he has also run websites that publish material that Scientology wishes to keep suppressed from the public eye, such as extracts from Scientology’s formerly-confidential Operating Thetan (OT) materials. Touretzky views the actions of the Church of Scientology as being “a threat to free speech”, and has endured harassment by the Church of Scientology for his activities.

The Church of Scientology continues to suffer damage to its public reputation through increased exposure on the Internet and vocal protests by Scientology critics such as Prof. Touretzky. A recent event that focused intense attention on Scientology’s totalitarian attitude was the leak of an internal Church of Scientology propaganda video to the Internet video sharing site YouTube, in which celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise spoke heavily in Scientology’s jargon and stated that that “we [Scientology] are the authorities” on resolving the difficulties of humanity. The declaration of war by Anonymous followed shortly after this leak, in the form of a video posted to the Internet.

The ongoing dispute, cast by some as Scientology versus the Internet, brought Scientology terms such as “SP” (Suppressive Person, an enemy of Scientology) and “KSW” (Keeping Scientology Working) into general usage by non-Scientologists from the late 1990s onwards; increased attention has been drawn to Scientology by the release of the Cruise video in addition to media coverage. This focus has caused an even greater propagation of these terms across the outside world, as Touretzky comments in the interview.

Wikinews asked Prof. Touretzky about the impact that the activities of Anonymous will have on Scientology, the public relations effect of the Tom Cruise video, the recent departure of individuals from the Church of Scientology’s executive management, the strategies that Anonymous will employ and Touretzky’s experiences of picketing the Church.

Monday, October 30, 2006

On November 13, Torontoians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Etobicoke Centre (Ward 3). One candidate responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include Doug Holyday (incumbent), Peter Kudryk, Lillian Lança, and Ross Vaughan.

For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Christopher Lee McCuin, 25, from Tyler, Texas in the United States has been arrested after police found him possibly preparing to eat the body parts of his dead girlfriend, Jana Shearer aged 21. He was also charged with stabbing his ex-wife’s boyfriend, William Veasley, 42.

According to reports, Shearer’s mother was told by McCuin to “look in the garage” where she discovered the mutilated body of her daughter. She then flagged down a police officer on the road.

McCuin called 911 after the mother left the house. According to reports, he told the dispatcher that he was boiling Shearer’s body parts and preparing to eat them. When police got to his home, they discovered one of Shearer’s ears boiling in a pot, and an unnamed piece of her flesh on the kitchen table, with silverware placed beside it. The rest of her body had several “chunks” missing from it, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph quoting Sheriff J.B. Smith of the Smith County Sheriff’s Department.

Police later found out that McCuin had stabbed his ex-wife’s boyfriend, and also broke into Tyler Custom Openings, a local business, sometime on Friday or Saturday. He started by going to Shearer’s home on Friday January 4 to have a discussion with her, but she was never seen alive again. Before stabbing Veasley, he beat Shearer “with a blunt object, multiple times” to death. On Saturday morning, he arrived at his ex-wife’s home and fought with Veasley, stabbing him. He is currently in critical condition at a local hospital.

McCuin then broke into the Tyler Custom Openings and then went to his mother’s house where he took her to his home to show her what he had done. Although McCuin was inside the house when police arrived, he was able to escape and was chased for a short distance before being caught again.

McCuin is currently being held on a US$2,000,000 bail at Smith County jail.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Yesterday evening in La Molina, Spain, Wikinews sat down and talked with Irene Villa to discuss para-alpine skiing, disability sport, women’s sport, and her own sporting career. Villa was in town as part of activities taking place around the 2013 IPC Alpine World Championships, where one of her skiing club teammates is competing as a member of the Spanish team. Her high profile in Spain has brought additional interest to para-alpine skiing and disability sport in general.

((Wikinews)) : Hi we are interviewing Irene Villa, who is a disability skier from Spain and professional author, social figure, journalist, and psychologist. You are most well known for being a terrorist survivor, but you’re here because of the [2013 Alpine Skiing] World Championships. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Hola estamos entrevistando a Irene Villa, esquiadora española, escritora, figura política, psicóloga y periodista. Aunque se le conoce más por haber sobrevivido a un atentado, se encuentra aquí por el Campeonato del Mundo [de Esquí Adaptado 2013].}

Irene Villa: I’m here because I love sitting ski, I practice and I compete, but since I got pregnant and my son was born I stopped competing. But before I had my son I competed against the people who will run tomorrow, the Germans who win, and I wanted to be here. I haven’t raced in the World Cup, but I did race in the European Cup. And well, I’m also here to support paralympic sports. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Estoy aquí porque me encanta el esquí en silla, lo practico y he competido, pero desde que nació mi hijo dejé de competir, porque me quedé embarazada, pero antes de tener a mi hijo competí contra las que mañana corren, las alemanas que ganan, y quería estar aquí. Nunca Copa del Mundo, he corrido Copa de Europa. Y bueno, para apoyar al deporte paralímpico.}

((WN)) : In 2009 you said you were trying to make the 2010 Winter Paralympics. After giving birth are you going to continue with the sport and hope to make 2018? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?En 2009 dijo que quería clasificarse para los Juegos Paralímpicos de Invierno de 2010. Tras dar a luz, ¿va a continuar con el deporte e intentar llegar a 2018?}

Irene Villa: I would love to. The thing is that you need a certain amount of IPCAS points. I’m now competing, on top of that I have an injury, tomorrow and the next day I will be training, and I don’t know if I’ll have enough time to make it. Sochi [Winter Paralympic Games of 2014] is right around the corner, next year, so it depends on how many point you’ve got. 2018? For sure. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Me encantaría. Lo que pasa que bueno, eso no se sabe, porque tienes que tener unos puntos IPCAS determinados y yo ahora estoy compitiendo, encima me he lesionado, y mañana y pasado voy a estar esquiando, y no sé si van a dar los tiempos para llegar… Es que Sochi [Juegos Paralímpicos de 2014] está aquí al lado. Son el año que viene. Entonces depende de los puntos IPCAS que tengas. ¿2018? Seguro que sí.}

((WN)) : You compete in a lot of national competitions, and with disability sport in general, classification is a big issue. Competing in national competitions, does classification come into play, especially when there is so few women skiers in your group? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Participa en muchas competiciones nacionales, y en el deporte con discapacidad en general, las clasificaciones son un un tema polémico. En la competición nacional, ¿es la clasificación un factor tan determinante, especialmente cuando hay tan pocas esquiadoras en tu grupo?}

Irene Villa: Yes, certainly. You see, I have an advantage because I have buttocks, I have abs. I have an advantage over a teammate who has a spinal injury here [points to the high part of the back] and also competes. So of course classification is very important because we cannot have an advantage. I believe in competing in equal fairness, and disabilities vary so much that you need a good classification. Issues because of classification? Well, I think we are pretty well classified. For example, my fingers [shows hand where she lost three fingers] are not taken into account in classification, there’s always going to be a small detail that they don’t count. This is a disadvantage when holding the outrigger, and yet I’m classified like someone who is missing half a leg, for example. I’m missing both legs and three fingers. But, it’s really complicated to finetune it… Because then we would need to have twenty thousand classifications. This is what we have. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Sí, claro que sí. Porque claro, yo tengo ventaja por ejemplo al tener glúteos, al tener abdominales, tengo ventaja sobre una compañera de mi equipo que tiene una lesión medular desde aquí [señala principio de la espalda] y también compite, así que por supuesto la clasificación es muy importante porque no podemos tener ventaja. Creo que tenemos que estar en igualdad de condiciones, y las discapacidades son tan distintas que tienes que tener una buena clasificación. ¿Problemas porque no te clasifican bien? Hombre pues yo creo que nosotras estamos bien clasificadas. Por ejemplo, a mi estos dedos [muestra mano en la que perdió tres dedos] no me los cuentan en la clasificación, claro, siempre va a haber algo pequeño que no te cuentan. Esto es una desventaja al coger el estabilo, y sin embargo estoy clasificada igual que una a la que le falta media pierna, por ejemplo. A mi me faltan las dos y tres dedos. Pero es que claro, es muy dificil dar justo… Porque entonces tendríamos que tener veintemil clasificaciones. Es lo que hay.}

((WN)) : Some of the skiers I’ve talked to in the mens’ side, not in Spain, but from other countries, have complained about the quality of womens’ skiing, and that there’s not enough high quality competition. That’s why I was interested in if classification was impacting women’s skiing because there is so few women skiers, that classes seem they’d make it harder to find competitors in classes that are making the sport equitable and fair. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Algunos de los esquiadores de otros países con los que he hablado se quejaban de la calidad del esquí femenino, y la escasa calidad de la competición. Por eso me interesaba saber si la clasificación incidía en el esquí femenino al haber tan pocas esquiadoras, que las clases parece que hacen más dificil encontrar competidoras en clases que hacen el deporte más equitativo y justo.}

Irene Villa: Of course. In the case of the women, it is really hard to get a woman skiing, to have her compete in sit-ski. In fact, in Spain we exist thanks to Fundación También, which insisted in there being a female category. There was no female category, no women who dared. And we’re the same who started out in 2007. There has been no new blood because women don’t dare, because it is a tough sport, that requires sponsors —that do not exist—, or your own money, and it also demands courage and withstanding bad moments. I’ve suffered cold and injuries, and had some really tough times. You take away the best with you, but it is very hard, and men resist the cold better. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Claro. Es que en las mujeres cuesta muchísimo que una mujer se ponga a esquiar, a competir en silla. De hecho en España estamos gracias a la Fundación También, que es la que se empeñó en que hubiese categoría femenina. No existía la categoría femenina, no había mujeres que se atrevieran. Y de hecho somos las mismas que empezamos en el 2007. No se ha renovado porque no se atreven, es un deporte duro, que además requiere sponsors, que no hay, o dinero de tu bolsillo, y además requiere valentía y malos ratos. Yo he pasado mucho frío y muchas caidas, y lo he pasado muy mal. La verdad es que te quedas siempre con lo bueno, pero es muy duro, y es cierto que los hombres son más fuertes para el frío.}

((WN)) : Your personal experiences have adequately prepared you to hurl yourself down the mountain at high speed? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?¿Sus experiencias personales le han preparado adecuadamente para lanzarse pendiente abajo a máxima velocidad?}

Irene Villa: At the beginning, it was very scary. The first times were very hard: falls, injuries… I even dislocated my vertebra and got a prothesis for the neck because of a hernia, one teammate broke her clavicle, another her femur… It has a lot of risks, but the truth is, speed hooks you! Once you learn to plant the ski pole, angle yourself, learn the position you must use, which is like a motorcycle rider’s, once you see you can run a lot and not fall, speed is addictive and you want to go faster. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Al principio, mucho miedo. Los comienzos fueron muy duros: caidas, lesiones… A mi incluso se me salió el disco del cuello, me tuvieron que poner una prótesis en el cuello por una hernia que tenía, otra se rompió la clavícula, otra el femur, en fin… Tiene mucho riesgo, pero la verdad que la velocidad engancha. Una vez que aprendes a clavar el canto, a angular, la posición en la que tienes que ir, que es como la de un motorista, una vez que ves que puedes correr mucho y no te caes, sí que engancha la velocidad y quieres ir cada vez más rápido.}

((WN)) : Most of the ski team looks like they come from the Madrid area? From the Fundación También? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?¿La mayor parte del equipo parece que vienen de Madrid? ¿De la Fundación También?}

Irene Villa: In my team we are from everywhere in Spain. Even Nathalie Carpanedo is from France. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?En el equipo somos de todas partes de España. Incluso Nathalie [Carpanedo] es de Francia.}

((WN)) : How does a Frenchwoman become a Spanish skier? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?¿Cómo se convierte una francesa en una esquiadora española?}

Irene Villa: Because she lives in Madrid. She has the Spanish nationality. Then we have another woman from the South of Spain, in Andalusia, from Tarragona in Catalonia, from Galicia… We are from all parts of Spain. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Porque vive en Madrid. Tiene la nacionalidad española. También tenemos a una mujer del sur de España, de Andalucía, otra de Tarragona en Cataluña, de Galicia… Las chicas venimos de todas las partes de España.}

((WN)) : So there’s a national ski culture. People think of Spain as a place with beaches and no snow. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Así pues hay una cultura de esquí a nivel nacional. La gente piensa de España como un lugar con playas y nada de nieve.}

Irene Villa: There’s not too much tradition of paralympic skiing, to be true. There’s less. But we do have Sierra Nevada and the Pyrenees. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Del esquí adaptado no hay tanta cultura, eso es cierto. Hay menos. Pero bueno, tenemos Sierra Nevada y tenemos el Pirineo catalán, aragonés…}

((WN)) : The Paralympics in Spain are supported by the Plan ADO Paralímpico. Do they provide enough support to women and to winter sports in general? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Los deportistas paralímpicos reciben apoyo gracias al Plan ADO Paralímpico. ¿Proporcionan suficiente apoyo para las mujeres y los deportes de invierno en general?}

Irene Villa: The people in the national squad, like Úrsula Pueyo, would know that. If Plan ADO helps someone, it’s the people in the national team, those who dedicate their lives to the sport. They offered it to me when I was at my peak, in 2010, when I won my first gold medals and wasn’t yet married. They offered me to move to Baqueira, where Úrsula lives, with Nathalie, and with a Catalan girl too, but I declined, because when you have a life, a daily job, events, conferences, travels…. you can’t leave it all for the sport. But I think the Plan does help the people who dedicate themselves to the sport, like Úrsula. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Eso lo saben los que están en el equipo nacional, como Úrsula Pueyo. Si el Plan ADO ayuda a alguien es a quienes están en el equipo nacional, a quienes dejan su vida por el deporte. A mi por ejemplo me lo plantearon cuando yo estaba en mi mejor momento, que fue en el 2010, que gané mis primeros oros y no estaba casada. Me plantearon irme a vivir a Baqueira donde vive Úrsula, con Nathalie, y con otra chica catalana, pero dije que no porque cuando tienes una vida, un trabajo diario, eventos, congresos, viajes… no podía dejarlo todo por el deporte. Pero creo que a la gente que sí que se dedica a ello sí le ayuda. Como a Úrsula.}

((WN)) : When I’ve read about disability skiing in Spain for women, they talk about you and they talk about Teresa Silva. Is there a way to get more attention for women skiers on that level, outside of using you and Teresa Silva as a vehicle? Not that you are not great for drawing attention! But how do you draw more attention to women’s sports and high quality that women are capable of doing? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Cuando he leído sobre el esquí adaptado en España, suelen hablar de usted y Teresa Silva. ¿Existe alguna forma de atraer más atención a las esquiadoras, más allá de usarlas a ustedes como reclamo? ¡No es que no sean fantásticas para atraer atención! ¿Pero cómo se incrementa la atención al deporte femenino y a la alta calidad que las mujeres son capaces de lograr?}

Irene Villa: Oh, I would like that more people would join this sport or any other disability sport, that they practised it. And what we do is try to encourage them through the media, interviews, conferences… Teresa is the director of Fundación También, and she has access to talk with many people. As a speaker in motivation conferences and the like, I make people aware of it too. But it is difficult, because people try it out and love it, but will not race. Because racing is very risky and, well, you saw the slopes yesterday, sometimes they are hard, like a wall, and falling can be awful. But when we get the chance, we promote the sport and try to attract people that way, encouraging them to join this adventure that is sport. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Eso es lo que a mi me encantaría, que cada vez más gente se apuntase a este deporte o a cualquier deporte, que hiciese deporte con discapacidad. Y nosotros lo que hacemos es intentar a través de los medios de comunicación, a través de entrevistas, a través de congresos… Teresa es la directora de la Fundación, y tiene acceso a hablar a mucha gente. Yo como ponente de conferencias, de motivación y tal, también lo doy a conocer. Pero es dificil, como digo, porque la gente lo prueba y le encanta, pero dicen que no a la carrera. Porque la carrera tiene muchos riesgos y porque, bueno ya visteis la pista ayer, que es complicada, a veces es muy dura, es un marmol, y las caidas son muy jorobadas. Pero sí que en cuanto podemos y tenemos la oportunidad, lo damos a conocer e intentamos atraer a la gente de esa forma, animándola a que se unan a esta aventura del deporte.}

((WN)) : As an outsider from, not Spain, I know you are a political figure. Has that gotten in the way of your ability to be a sportswoman? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Como alguien que no es de España, entiendo que usted es una figura política. ¿Ha sido eso un obstáculo a la hora de ser una deportista?}

Irene Villa: No… Besides, that part about me being a political figure… I have nothing to do with politics. I don’t know why people always… Why? Because of what happened to me. I was a kid. A 12 year old has nothing to do with politics. We know too that ETA has attacked people who had nothing to do with politics as well. My mother was a police director. What may have interfered is the fact that since I was a known figure I’ve tried that other people…. Let’s see, for example I started doing sport so other people would know you could do sport. So it is true that the fact of being known has pushed me to do more things that I would’ve probably not have done. Because I wanted to show people that you could ski. And I ended up hooked. I only did it for a tv reportage. “Okay okay, a reportage and let’s have people know that yes, we can”. In fact, my book is titled “Knowing that you can” [Saber que se puede, in Spanish]. Later I got hooked. But the fact of being known motivates you to show other people a path that could be very beneficial to them, and at the end you get addicted to it. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?No… Es que además, lo de política me suena a que… yo no tengo nada que ver con la política. No sé por qué la gente siempre… ¿Por qué? Porque me pasó lo que me pasó. Era una niña. Una persona que tiene 12 años no puede tener nada que ver con la política. ETA ya sabemos que ha atentado contra gente que no tenía que ver con la política. Mi madre era funcionaria de policía. El caso es que lo que quizás ha podido interferir es que el hecho de ser una persona conocida he tratado de intentar que otras personas… A ver, yo empecé por ejemplo a hacer deporte para que otras personas supieran que se podía hacer deporte. Así que sí que es verdad que el hecho de ser conocida me ha impulsado a hacer más cosas de las que hubiese hecho seguramente. Porque yo quería mostrar a la gente que se podía esquiar. Y acabé enganchándome yo. Lo hice simplemente por un reportaje. “Venga venga, un reportaje y que la gente sepa que se puede”. De hecho mi libro se llama Saber que se puede. Luego me enganché. Pero el hecho de ser relevante o conocida te impulsa a mostrar a otras personas un camino que puede ser muy beneficioso para ellos, y al final acabas tú enganchada.}

((WN)) : When all is said and done, what do you kind of want your legacy to be? Do you want to be known as Irene Villa, disability sport advocate figure? Do you want to be known like Jon Santacana, or do you want to be known as somebody who has pushed the boundaries in other areas? ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Al final del día, ¿qué clase de herencia desea dejar? ¿Ser conocida como Irene Villa, deportista y defensora del deporte discapacitado? ¿Ser conocida como Jon Santacana, o como alguien que ha forzado los límites en otras áreas?}

Irene Villa: As something more. I’d like my testimony to go beyond sport, which is what I try to do around the world, besides telling people you can do it. It’s about the capacity of a person to make herself, to be happy, to overcome resentment, to love herself, and to love others. I think that is the most important thing. And that’s the basis. I think sport is something that completes your life, mentally and physically. It’s very important. But my message is forgiveness, happiness and hope. ^{((es))Spanish language: ?Algo más. A mi me gustaría, que es lo que hago por todo el mundo, aparte de decir a la gente que se puede, que mi testimonio vaya más allá del deporte. Es la capacidad de una persona de hacerse a sí misma, de ser feliz, de superar el rencor, de amarse, y de amar a los demás. Yo creo que eso es lo más importante. Y esa es la base. Creo que el deporte es algo que completa tu vida, te complementa mentalmente, físicamente. Es muy importante. Pero mi mensaje es perdón, alegría y esperanza.}

((WN)) : Thank you very much! ^{((es))Spanish language: ?¡Muchísimas gracias!}

[edit]