The new Euro Honda Accord is unveiled in Geneva, and it looks a lot like the Acura TSX.
The new Honda Accord just made its world debut here on the first morning of the 2008 Geneva auto show, but we could have sworn we'd seen it somewhere before--with an Acura badge on it. From a distance, the Euro-only Accord is essentially a rebranded version of the new Acura TSX, which is set to debut in the United States later this month. However, beneath the surface, there are few differences.
The first is that the Euro Accord comes in both sedan and station-wagon models.
Second, the Accord has some safety tech features that have not been announced for the TSX, including a Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), Adaptive Cruise Control, and the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), which is currently only on Acura's flagship RL sedan in the United States. Finally, the Euro Accord is offered with a choice of gasoline and diesel engines, and one of the models on show was sporting Honda's new 2.2-liter i-DTEC engine (147 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque)--the first time it has been shown in a car. Usually this last point would not be cause for too much interest (European diesel-engine equivalents of models available in the U.S. are nothing new); however, it is widely expected that there might be similar news in store for the TSX when it shows in New York. If so, it will be Honda's first diesel passenger in the U.S.


DENVER, Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Lamb Board is asking all lamb-loving cooks to celebrate the spirit of the season, and the launch of a new Fans of Lamb website with the 2011 "Best American Lamb Family Recipe" and "Best Festive Family Photo" contests. Starting today, fans of lamb are invited to share lambtastic family recipes for the chance to win two racks of lamb to serve a family of ten and a limited edition Flared Roaster Pan from All-Clad, perfect for holiday happenings. Photogenic families that submit their most memorable photos will take home stellar lamb swag and be entered to win enough lamb to feed the whole family this season.
Whether preparing a rack of lamb for a festive gathering with friends, or a stunning roast to impress loved ones, American lamb is a fresh and flavorful way to enjoy the holidays. For a list of local American Lamb retailers, visit www.americanlamb.com/lamb101/wheretofindlamb.aspx.
From now until Dec. 8, 2011, amateur cooks can submit festive family photos and their recipes with a short 200 – 300 word description of why their dish is a family favorite by visiting www.fansoflamb.com/recipe-contest. The winning recipe will be announced the week of Dec. 12, via Twitter and Facebook.
A one-stop shop for the love of lamb, the re-launched www.FansofLamb.com offers new resources for finding local lamb, an enhanced recipe database with interactive functions, how-to lamb videos for any occasion, pasture to plate stories from chefs and shepherds around the country, new lamb gear for purchase, fun lamb facts and trivia and details about events in local markets.
For more information about the American Lamb Board, please visit http://www.fansoflamb.com, Facebook or Twitter @FANofLAMB.
The American Lamb Board is an industry-funded research and promotions commodity board that represents all sectors of the American Lamb industry including producers, feeders, seed stock producers and processors. The Board, appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, is focused on increasing demand by promoting the freshness, flavor, nutritional benefits, and culinary versatility of American Lamb. The work of the American Lamb Board is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the board's programs are supported and implemented by the staff in Denver, Colorado.


Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc rose as much as 33 percent in their market debut as investors tucked in, betting on the growing popularity of the restaurant chain's fire-grilled chicken.
Shares of El Pollo Loco, Spanish for "the crazy chicken", touched a high of $20 on the Nasdaq, valuing the company at more than $700 million.
Restaurant chains that have gone public in the past 12 months have had mixed fortunes on the stock market.
Shares of Zoe's Kitchen Inc, a Mediterranean-style chain, have nearly doubled since their debut in April on the back of strong demand for healthier food, a trend that has also boosted Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc's stock.
But pizza chain Papa Murphy's Holdings Inc and sandwich maker Potbelly Corp, which are striving to improve their market share in a highly competitive sandwich and pizza market, are both trading below their IPO price.
"We're not planning to be the next Chipotle. We will be a great El Pollo Loco," CEO Steve Sather told Reuters.
El Pollo Loco fire-grills its chicken in an open kitchen, allowing diners to see their meals being cooked. Since opening its first restaurant in Los Angeles in 1980, the chain has grown to more than 400 branches across the southwestern United States.
The Costa Mesa, California-based company says it combines the convenience of quick service with the quality of food expected of fast-casual chains.
With an average check of $5.83 per person, a visit to El Pollo Loco is more expensive than dining at a McDonald's Corp or a Wendy's Co outlet, but is cheaper than going to a Chipotle restaurant or ordering a Subway sandwich.
El Pollo Loco first filed for an IPO in 2006. It withdrew its registration later that year citing unfavorable market conditions, before receiving a $45-million funding from Freeman Spogli in 2007.
El Pollo Loco raised $107.1 million after its offering of 7.1 million shares was priced at $15 each, the higher end of the range.
The company's revenue rose 7.2 percent in 2013 to $314.7 million on the back of 11 straight quarters of rising same-store sales through the quarter ended March 26.
Its annual loss widened to $16.9 million last year from $7.9 million, due to early repayment of debt.
Private equity firms Trimaran Capital Partners LLC and Freeman Spogli & Co owned the company through Trimaran Pollo Partners LLC prior to the offering. Their stake fell to 80 percent after the IPO.
Jefferies LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co LLC were the lead underwriters for the offering.


From the makers of a Good Game uberfavourite, Advanced Wars, comes Fire Emblem : Shadow Dragon. This is a second remake of the very first Game...if that makes sense?
The Fire Emblem series has always been big in Japan but it took till the turn of the century to make it to the West, and that was largely thanks to Emblem's characters Marth and Roy being powerful to play in Super Smash Bros Melee.
You play as the son of the King, that's Marth who's on a mission to do a whole bunch of stuff.
Yeah, it's pretty convoluted but the gist is you're on a quest to win back your kingdom, and you need a bunch of followers to do it.
Battles are similar to Advance Wars with a lot more classes, levelling and gear collection. Fire Emblem's big difference is that when of your party die that's it...they have ceased to be!
He's shuffled off his mortal coil.
- so you get sad when you lose a team-mate that you've given heaps of gear to, or levelled up nice and high.
Yeah it's a bit depressing, those diagonal attacks always get me Bajo, it's hard to remember to cover your units from a diagonal.
I'm constantly mangled by Diagonalangles Jung. Our main criticism of the wii Fire Emblem version was that the rock paper scissors system might as well not have been there, because your main character Sothe was just so overpowered.
Here, Marth is pretty tough, but definitely vulnerable and you need to keep healers close, and your tanks in the front. This is especially important when you're forced into a bottleneck.
I find the gameplay in general a bit messy Jung. It's not that crystal clear, tactical feel that you get with Advance Wars and it can be tedious moving so many units on a map, one by one - especially as the 'wait' isn't the first menu option after every move - which is just silly - a group move ability would really help this game.
ON the other hand though Baj, there's a certain joy in the role playing side of it, and storming in with your group of merry men is fun, especially for a game that's almost two decades old. On the other other hand though, you are thrown right into the deep end here - the tutorials are still screens that do little to ease a new gamer into the fine details of combat, and classes.
To our knowledge it is the first Fire Emblem of the lot to have an online component. You can battle with friends and there's an online shop for gear and the like. You can also chat with the DS mic online, BUT like some older psp and ds games, the wifi doesn't support all router security types, so if you're not running wep [or a ds accesspoint stick], you might need to jump into your router and change some settings.
Yeah that's a big-time pain Bajo. Almost as much as the weapon deterioration in the game like I always say, there's nothing fun about weapon maintenance!
haha, let it go Jung!
Never! and it's even worse here because once it breaks - the weapon is gone-game over man, game over. It's unnecessary, a time waster and I am over it! At least the rest of the game is good, I'm giving Shadow Dragon 7/10 rubber chickens.


CALIFORNIA, USA: A new market research report on Home Automation, shows that the United States represents the largest market worldwide, followed by Europe. Asia-Pacific ranks as the fastest growing market with a CAGR of 29.5 per cent over the analysis period.
Growing employment opportunities, steady economic development, easy availability of housing finance, strong residential construction activity, increasing urbanization, rising standards of living, and increase in consumer spending for lifestyle products, represent key factors driving growth in the region. The research report titled “Home Automation: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc shares that global market for Home Automation is projected to exceed US$13 billion by 2020, driven by the growing trend towards energy efficient, safe, luxurious and convenient homes.
Home automation is defined as the process of automating the entire home environment by means of a combined in-built monitoring system. Capable of controlling electronic, electrical and security appliances from a single interface, home automation solutions are increasingly growing in prominence among homeowners across the world. Connectivity, over the years, has emerged as a high-end novelty across a wide range of home devices including security cameras, utility meters, and thermostats, among others. In the coming years, connectivity is poised to balloon into a more pervasive trend to the extent of being an embedded standard in virtually every household device and equipment. Smart homes of the future will feature over 20-30 connected sensors and devices linked via a home area network to the Internet as well as the service provider’s back-end systems.
Increasing preference for safety and security, growing awareness about energy efficiency, rising penchant for remote monitoring of houses and buildings, resurgence in the construction industry, remodeling of residential buildings, rapid urbanization trends and growing trend towards a more luxurious and convenient lifestyle, are factors driving demand for home automation solutions.
Rapid proliferation of gadgets and smartphones coupled with technological advancements are also promoting the adoption of home automation products that are capable of operating at the push-of-a button. Increasing demand for enhanced and round-the-clock connectivity is also paving the way for Pay TV and ISP Gateway technologies, which are expected to further propel demand for home automation products in the medium to long term.


MANCHESTER — For Will Stinson, the transition isn’t as great as it might be for others in the same boat.
But he’s still aware he's giving away size on the field this week.
Stinson, a 6-foot, 210-pound center, is one of three players representing St. Thomas Aquinas at the sixth annual CHaD East-West Football All-Star Game, a showcase for the state’s top outgoing seniors that will be played Friday (7 p.m.) at Saint Anselm College.
About 60 percent of the players originally picked for the East team come from Division I, the largest of the state’s three classifications. The numbers are similar on the West side.
Stinson, who is expected to rotate at center on Friday with Ryan Michaud of Salem, grew up playing with Gillis and others in the Exeter Seahawks program so there’s familiarity with some of the D-I guys. But he also comes from one of the strongest programs in D-II, with the Saints capturing the state title his junior year.
Linemen Brad Conha and Cam Goodell of St. Thomas were also picked for the East team.
Kozens had praise for one of the handful of Division III players on his roster, nose tackle Kiki Oroh of Somersworth.
As challenging as it will be facing bigger bodies on the West defensive line, Stinson is also getting used to an offense that bears little resemblance to the fast-paced spread he played in at STA.
Kozens has named Jake Stevens of Londonderry the starter at quarterback. Running backs Christian Peete of Portsmouth (who’ll also be the backup quarterback), Vinny Panetta of Dover, John Ferrelli of Winnacunnet and Cam Flanagan of Exeter are all expected to get a share of carries, along with Joshua Thibeault of Timberlane and Parker Belsky of Windham.
Of the three STA guys chosen for this game, only Stinson, who earned second-team All-Division II South honors at center, is not continuing his career in college. He’ll be attending Texas A&M-Galveston, and plans to study engineering and join the Navy ROTC program.
Conha and Goodell plan to continue their football careers at Division III colleges, the University of New England and Western New England, respectively.
But first, the three will take the field as teammates one last time, a trio of Division II standouts rubbing shoulders with players from the state’s largest division.
The event has become a big annual fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth, with more than $1 million raised. Other local players on the field this week are Shon Parham, Ben Barba, Alex Gladu, and Kevin and Aidan Moore of Portsmouth; Liam Viviano and Seth Provencher of Winnacunnet; Dylan Russell of Dover; Tim Ramsay of Exeter; and David Barca of Farmington-Nute.


Millie Bobby Brown is having a real princess moment at the 2018 Emmy Awards. The Stranger Things star evoked the spirit of our favorite video game heroine in a pretty millennial pink princess gown from Calvin Klein.
From the off-the-shoulders neckline to the bow embellishments to the rose print, the 14-year-old Emmy nominee looked sophisticated and sweet. Brown completed the royal ensemble with delicate gold jewelry, matching pink shoes, and a fresh, dewy face.
MBB is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Eleven in Stranger Things for the second year in a row. Whether she takes home a shiny Emmy statuette or not, it doesn't really matter; after all, Brown has already won our hearts — and seriously slayed the red gold carpet.


Containment: The U.S. War Aim?
"The objectives are clear," President Bush declared on Oct. 7, announcing the U.S. strikes in Afghanistan.
Sorry, they are anything but clear. On the one hand, Bush defined the objectives as "the disruption and ... defeat of the global terror network." On the other, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld countered that "the idea of eliminating [terrorism] from the face of the earth" is unrealistic. Then Rumsfeld himself offered an alternative goal - preventing "people from adversely affecting our way of life."
Americans being a freedom-loving people, he said, victory means establishing "an environment where we can in fact fulfill and live those freedoms." Well, as the newsletter Inside the Pentagon wryly noted, this is not exactly a specific military objective on the order of staking an American flag in Kabul's city center.
Why the lack of specificity? For one, this new conflict is shadowy, making the usual war goals (capture a territory, destroy an army) irrelevant. For another, the desire to include skittish Muslim states in the U.S.-led coalition leads to a reticence about goals. Finally, there's a need to keep open the possibility of taking care of business outside Afghanistan - especially in Iraq. Ambiguity permits flexibility.
But it also contains dangers. As Carl von Clausewitz showed in his classic On War, unless politicians give military officers precise goals, the war will almost certainly go awry. This simple but profound insight explains why a book published in German in 1832 is still studied at U.S. war colleges.
Contain radical anti-Westernism among Muslims - Osama bin Laden's militant Islam, Saddam Hussein's fascism, or other variants - so that its adherents no longer assault Americans or their allies.
Note the word contain, not destroy. Radical anti-Westernism is so popular and widespread that it can only be fended off, not defeated.
Containment was the successful U.S. policy toward the USSR in the Cold War. George Kennan wrote in "The Sources of Soviet Conduct," his influential 1947 article: "The main element of any U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies."
Likewise, we now need a "long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment" of radical anti-Westernism's expansive tendencies. The goal must be to convince its adherents that the use of force against Americans is at best ineffectual and at worst counterproductive.
Or, as Charlotte Beers, the State Department's information chief, rightly puts it, the enemy should look at America and say, "I understand how you are, I want nothing to do with it, but I would not want to murder you as a result of it." That would indeed constitute victory.
Militant Islam and Saddam's Iraq are both totalitarian and both view the United States as the single greatest obstacle to attain their goals, so convincing them to desist will require more than logic and diplomacy. Containment of radical anti-Westernism will likely require taking steps in a variety of countries. These could include closing media outlets, intimidating radical sheikhs, staunching financial flows, killing militia leaders and even uprooting regimes.
Nor can one forget the brand-new Office of Homeland Security and the domestic side of this war; the enemy within is no less dangerous than the one abroad.
Law enforcement has already arrested or detained nearly 700 people in connection with the Sept. 11 atrocities - and prudence requires assuming this to be only a fraction of the enemy's operatives in the United States.
The domestic goal is also containment: to prevent radical anti-Westerners in the country who would do harm from doing so by expelling, jailing or otherwise restraining them.
That dimension brings its own distasteful changes, from long lines at airports to enhanced background checks for foreigners entering the country. The media have already altered to these harsher circumstances; banks, universities and many manufacturers must soon follow.
This, then, is the war goal: containment abroad and at home. Unpleasant to implement, difficult to achieve - but, then, what else can one expect from war?
Related Topics: War on terror | Daniel Pipes receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free mef mailing list This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete and accurate information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.


Optimization tools boost efficiency and reduce strain on bandwidth.
Determine the makeup of traffic by protocol.
Review network topology and utilization.
change in the next 18 to 24 months.
points on the network using at least three ?
before-and-after measures along the way.
mass. They also work on improving technique.
Similarly, adding powerful ? and expensive ?
deliver major gains is WAN optimization.
capabilities, and reduce bandwidth costs.
return on investment with such benefits.
primary drivers toward WAN optimization.
using [a combination of ] caching and compression,"
requires fewer trips across the WAN.
Microsoft's Common Internet File System.
There is no single approach to WAN optimization.
time since implementing WAN optimization.
is playing a key role in driving WAN optimization.
reduce the number of servers required.
as part of their managed services offerings.
$25,000, depending on the scope of features.
Networks, Packeteer and Silver Peak.
and ongoing maintenance reasonably painless."
thanks from our proof-of-concept users,"
Maggie Biggs is a freelance writer.


The Carr Fire is now burning more than 268 square miles, with containment unchanged from Monday.
As a thick blanket of smoke covered much of the region Tuesday morning, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials working with authorities continued to lift evacuations.
The fire, which grew by about 7,600 acres from Monday, had charred more than 268 square miles, or 172,055 acres, with containment unchanged at 47 percent.
Firefighters said the fire is burning in steep drainages with winds continuing to pose challenges to get the blaze under control.
Firefighters are continuing to construct containment lines as they work to prevent spot fires from jumping over them.
The fire linked to the death of seven people, and it has destroyed 1,077 homes, 22 commercial structures and 500 outbuildings, making it the sixth-most destructive wildfire in California history by structures burned, as well as one of the all-time deadliest.


Sue Bird sat in a folding chair to watch the University of Connecticut women's basketball team practice on Wednesday, with crutches by her side and a disappointed look on her face. Bird tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during a drill on Monday, and the freshman will miss the rest of the season.
It was an aggravating development for Bird, who was the starting point guard for the top-ranked Huskies following a phenomenal career at Christ the King High School in Queens. It was just as aggravating for UConn, which lost a critical player to injury for the fourth time in the last three years.
Shea Ralph had the same injury to her right knee during the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament on March 15, 1997, and in a summer workout less than six months later. Nykesha Sales tore her Achilles' tendon on Feb. 21, 1998, and, aside from a controversial staged appearance to score 2 points and eclipse the school's career scoring record, did not play again.
Because the school is taking final exams, Bird remained on campus and will most likely undergo surgery after Christmas. Bird, who was averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 assists a game for the 8-0 Huskies, was injured when she stopped to shoot a jumper in a 3-on-2 drill and her knee buckled. Since Bird had played in more than 20 percent of UConn's 28 scheduled games, it is unlikely that she will be eligible for a medical hardship waiver to retain the year of eligibility.
Without Bird, who was one of the best high school players in the nation when she averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 assists and 8.5 steals for Christ the King, Auriemma will experiment at point guard with Ralph and Keirsten Walters, a freshman who is averaging 3 points and 1.9 assists.
While Ralph, a junior who is averaging 16.5 points and is accustomed to being a shooting guard or small forward, is more experienced and more aggressive than Walters, Walters is quicker and is a better ball handler. Walters played more minutes than Bird (24-11) in UConn's 91-51 victory over St. John's last Sunday. Still, losing Bird has already had an impact.


I'm sure there are Halo fans out there who are super into the universe but feel like the actual combat of the series is too, I don't know, comical. This mod for ArmA III will fix that for you and then some.
It's looking to take ArmA — normally a very serious military simulation set in the present day — and reskin it so that's about Halo's UNSC v Insurrectionists civil war.
It looks pretty good! I especially like the way they got the ODST's drop pods working. Be warned, though, Halo fans; this is a very different shooter experience to Bungie/343's series, so if you're new to it just for this mod, maybe do some tutorials first, so you're not getting your head blown off the second you run into bad guys.


Messages on the importance of inclusiveness and tolerance in this increasingly connected-yet-divisive world were amplified in scores of discussions and art performances at the 13th Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) here.
Early in the morning on Friday, a prominent Balinese spiritualist, Prabhu Darmayasa, who had just launched his interpretation of the Indian classic Bhagavad Gita (Song of God), pointed out that one way to tackle religious-related problems, including radicalism, hate and violence, is by realizing the essence of religion.
“The essence is spiritual liberation and happiness. By treating religion as a box that confines us, we would not achieve that essence,” he said.


Of all the art-driven iPhone apps—and there are many, including Brushes, the medium for newyorker.com’s Finger Painting series—few are as engrossing as the new one from MOMA. Browse the museum’s collections by floor, exhibition, and decade (including works not currently on view); audio commentary is available for select images, and doubles as an audio tour inside the museum. The app also features a glossary of art terms, an encyclopedia of modern artists, a calendar of upcoming events, and a feature called MOMA Snaps, which lets you take a picture during your visit and convert it into a postcard.


BRAINTREE − The Thayer Public Library, 798 Washington St., will present free showings of "LBJ," the Rob Reiner movie about President Lyndon B. Johnson, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and 1 p.m. Thursday in the Logan Auditorium.
Mayor Joseph Sullivan will introduce the Thursday showing.
Seating is limited to 100 people.


Spice up your culinary skills this month.
New York City restaurants, bakeries, stores and bars are offering cooking classes, where you can learn from some of the best in the business.
Scroll down for some of your options.


Caloocan banked on a hot first half to romp past Manila, 120-102, on opening day of the Metro League Reinforced Conference held at the San Juan Gymnasium.
The Supremos erupted for 69 points in the first half, 37 coming in the very first quarter, and opened a 31-point lead.
Johnnel Bauzon led four Caloocan players with at least 20 points, dropping 24 markers to go with 14 rebounds and four assists.
McArthur Enriquez buried seven triples for all but two of his 23 markers with two rebounds and two assists.
Kris Torrado made 8-of-9 from the field and got 22 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, and one steal.
Joseph Brutas tallied 21 markers, four rebounds, five dimes, and two steals.
Carlo Lastimosa dropped 32 points with four rebounds, one assist, and two steals for Manila.


Chinese New Year at Lahaina Cannery will be celebrated on Feb. 9, 2019. PC: Lahaina Cannery.
Lahaina Cannery kicks off the Chinese New Year with a display of martial arts, firecrackers and a traditional “feeding of the lions” on Saturday, Feb. 9 from 2 to 4 p.m.
This free cultural experience, led by the enigmatic Au’s Shaolin Arts Society, will usher in “The Year of the Boar” for West Maui residents and visitors. This family-friendly event is preceded by a hula performance at 1 p.m.
Lahaina Cannery will also host the Lahaina Arts Society for three weekends in February. Many of Maui’s most talented artists will be showcased at the LAS Art Festival to be held on the lawn fronting Starbucks from Feb. 9 to 10; Feb. 16 to 17; and again on Feb. 23 to 24 between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hula hālau continue to perform weekly at Lahaina Cannery  in February. The free cultural entertainment takes place at center stage in the air-conditioned complex every Wednesday at 7 p.m. as well as every Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.


With deft strokes a local woman cuts open a dead seal on the ground, her knife flashing as she expertly slices the flesh.
As a curious crowd looks on, another Inuit crouches down, mixing something into the gory mound of raw meat with her hand before popping it into her mouth.
"There is nothing more delicious than seal brain and berries!" she declares, looking up with a Joker-like grin through lips bright red with fresh blood.
For Aaju Peter, born into an Inuit family in Greenland, a meal of raw seal is as normal as fish and chips. Now living in Canada, she is back in Greenland visiting the remote coastal community of Kangaamiut as a cultural expert with cruise specialists, Adventure Canada.
Several of the ship's passengers who are gathered around also try the seal but it is only when the youngest, Tim - a giant of a 12-year-old from Ontario - plucks up the courage that the gaggle of village boys watching by the fence brave a taste as well.
They quickly spit the flesh out, laughing. This is a first for them too. Children here are used to cooked seal, but eating it raw is an Inuit tradition which died out before their time.
Travelling down the vast, empty coastline of Greenland and northeast Canada, the changes and challenges of living here become clearer.
Kangaamiut is perched on the edge of the land, its brightly painted wooden houses on stilts facing resolutely to the sea - the residents' main link with the outside world. For generations fishing was the mainstay of the village, which was founded in 1755, but the decline of the industry caused the population to plummet, dropping by more than half in the past 50 years from around 800 to 340.
Today, a Sunday, a few young parents wheel pushchairs along, abandoning them at the bottom of the steep wooden steps to carry their babies back home. Three older men sit in a row watching the world go by, smiling consent to the occasional mimed request from a passenger for a photograph.
In 2010, after years of seeing cruise ships sailing past, villagers started a tourist association to lure this new catch. Women do demonstrations of seal skinning for visitors, who can buy handicrafts and paintings.
Inside the church the legacy of the 18th-century European missionaries who brought Christianity to these distant shores lives on. A choir dressed in traditional Inuit sealskin and fur sing in their own strange-sounding foreign tongue to the oddly familiar drone of church hymns.
The Arctic landscape is also what lures so many visitors here each year.
While most of this trip is in the subarctic, vast icebergs the size of houses (and that's just the part you can see above water) are not uncommon.
We anchor in Evighedsfjorden, the Eternity Fjord, and get into the Zodiac landing craft to see the spectacular scenery close up. Chunks of a dazzling blue glacier at the end of the fjord in front of us calve off regularly into the water below, making a distinctive boom and sending ripples across the sea.
The man driving the Zodiac is Ian Tamblyn, who describes how quickly the ice is melting here. Just over a decade ago this was glacier, he says, indicating the area in which we are now bobbing about on the sea. Tamblyn often works with Adventure Canada and studied geology, but he is better known as one of Canada's most famous singer-songwriters.
In the spirit of entertainment, the company has hired five musicians for this trip. They play at least once almost every day, in between sharing ship duties.
Like Tamblyn, the other four are all talented Canadian performers. The most noticeable is undoubtedly Washboard Hank, a one-man band whose energetic antics are frequently the centre of attention among passengers.
If you are looking for a relaxing, quiet or more seriously-minded cruise, this definitely isn't it. Adventure Canada co-founder Matthew Swan sets the tone right from the start, dressed in bear feet slippers and matching headgear as he urges guests to enjoy a mix of "fun and learning". Cue daily requests for people to make silver sheriff badges for the Hank Williams memorial gig, pen a fake whisky label mocking effusive marketing speak or volunteer for a "polar plunge" battle of the sexes.
Visits on land include a few hours exploring the L'Anse aux Meadows, the only authenticated Viking settlement in North America and a Unesco World Heritage site.
One trip ashore, to the township of Hopedale in the Canadian province of Labrador, is surreal as an organised football match with the locals becomes a circus. Things kick off with 120 passengers in multicoloured waterproofs and wellies swarming into the community whose entire population is only about 600.
The ship's team don fake ponytails while a troop of cheerleaders appear, impersonating polar bears, naturally (with shower caps on their heads and black-painted noses).
From leftfield a middle-aged man from a group of gregarious Geordie passengers reveals a penchant for cross-dressing, donning a fluorescent pink wig and a mini skirt before leading a group of local schoolgirls in an impressively lively warm-up around their school gym.
Meanwhile Jean, a regular passenger who at 95 is also the eldest here, shakes her walking stick from the sidelines in mock menacing fashion, the back of her T-shirt daubed with the monicker Blind Asesino.
Back onboard, there are informative talks on the Arctic environment by staff including eminent Canadian geologist, Denis St-Onge, a past president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
The events programme also features author Kathleen Winter, who grew up in Newfoundland and Labrador. She started a book group for fans and does readings of her work which are a treat to hear.
The people with the most fascinating stories to tell, however, are the Inuit themselves. It is moving and enlightening to be shown around abandoned Inuit settlements by someone whose parents and grandparents once eked out an existence in this harsh but beautiful land. That really does bring history to life.
The most haunting and controversial is Hebron, which became a ghost town in 1959 after the missionaries, the local government and Hudson Bay Trading Company - which ran a store selling provisions - all pulled out.
Pausing beside the ruined remains of her parents' home, the white wooden mission church still standing imposingly behind her, Inuit cultural expert Zippora Nochasak becomes emotional as she speaks.
She says: "This is the place where my mother and father met and fell in love. They got married in the church here."
Describing how her parents and the other Inuit people were told they had to leave or go it alone, Zippora adds: "The missionaries gathered the people in the church and told them they were moving.
"No-one could stand up and say anything because it was in the church."
The people were promised housing but were instead frequently ostracised when they arrived at a new community and forced to camp on the outskirts.
Almost 50 years after the last families left Hebron, the Newfoundland and Labrador premier issued a public apology to the people who were effectively forced to leave their homes by the decision to close down the site. In 2009 a monument was erected near the church inscribed with that apology and the people's response.
Canadian Affair has return flights to Toronto from Glasgow with Air Transat from £368. See canadianaffair.com.
13-night Greenland and Wild Labrador trip costs from £2750 per person. A flight from Toronto to Greenland costs around £677 per person. See adventure canada.com. Flights back from St John's to Toronto start at around £191 with WestJet. Julia Horton flew courtesy of Newfoundland and Labrador Tourist Board. Go to newfoundland labrador.com.
A double room at the Delta St John's Hotel, St John's, costs from £103 per room. Go to deltahotels.com.
A double room at the Holiday Inn Express Glasgow Airport costs from £49 per room.


VENTURA, Calif., Nov. 9, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- Pastor Rob McCoy, who is also a member of the city council and acting mayor in Thousand Oaks, California, has been ministering to hurting people in that community after this week's tragic shooting. McCoy is the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel Church and also the chaplain of the local rescue unit. Ironically, despite the good work of the church, a lawsuit filed against the city of Thousand Oaks seeks to prevent the church from operating in a location formerly occupied by a YMCA.
This week, Liberty Counsel filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the Dos Vientos Community Preservation Association (Association) and Donald Armstrong. The frivolous suit attempts to force the city of Thousand Oaks to undertake environmental review and other procedures which are not required. The Association does not represent the neighborhood and is comprised of a handful of people which are mad that a church is replacing the YMCA, which went out of business.
Liberty Counsel already had the suit dismissed one time and is now seeking to get the amended suit dismissed. In Dos Vientos Community Preservation Association v. City of Thousand Oaks, Liberty Counsel represents a religious nonprofit foundation (Foundation) which purchased a building and entered into an agreement to rent the facility to Calvary Chapel. The city of Thousand Oaks supports the use of the facility by the church. However, the so-called Association filed suit objecting to the church. The Association claims that the facility should be used for a YMCA, not a church.
Pastor McCoy has been ministering to people in the community after the tragic mass shooting in which 12 people were killed at Borderline Bar & Grill on Wednesday night. In an emotional interview with ABC News, McCoy promised to be with those affected "every step of the way." "It is going to be a long, hard road, but this community will stand together, and we'll love on these folks. That's the only way to get through it. I imagine there's going to be a lot of funerals, and we'll be asked to officiate, and we'll be there with the families. It's not something that you do just once. You walk through them, and then you have to be there when you remember their birthdays and for some, it'll be anniversaries." said McCoy.
"The way that Pastor Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel Church has been ministering to hurting people in Thousand Oaks after this week's tragic shooting shows the deep need for this church in this community," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "Our prayers go out to the families and the community. This so-called association should take notice and drop this frivolous lawsuit against the city of Thousand Oaks. Now, more than ever, Pastor McCoy and Godspeak Calvary Chapel church are needed to bring hope and comfort," said Staver.


A woman and her daughter were shot dead by a man in Narsinghpur village here on Saturday morning, police said.
Sita Devi Shakya (40) and her daughters Madhuri (20) and Neelam (18) were working in a field when one Budh Sagar, a dhaba worker, opened fire at them. Sita Devi died on the spot and Madhuri was seriously injured, they said.
Madhuri was referred to Saifai hospital where she succumbed to injuries during treatment, they added.
Neelam managed to escape after the villagers rushed to help the trio but by then Sagar had fled from the spot, the police said.
Superintendent of Police Ajay Shanker Rai, who rushed to the site with heavy force, said it appeared to be a case of one-sided love.
"The investigation has started and four police parties have been deployed to nab the criminal," he said, adding that the bodies have been sent for a post mortem examination.


Clearspring’s AddThis widget provides anonymous statistics about user behavior from across the social web. AddThis has been installed on 7.2M domains, collectively reaching over 1 billion users a month worldwide and giving them insight into the evolution of what’s being shared on the social web.
AddThis, which we covered back in August, currently supports over 300 services but none seem to be coming close to Facebook when it comes to social sharing. In 2009 Facebook controlled 33% of sharing volume, a number that increased to 44% in 2010. That’s a 1/3 increase year over year. Facebook is also the second most popular video destination, after YouTube and ahead of Yahoo.
All isn’t smooth for Facebook, however, as other services are fiercely competing for users’ attention. From magazines and email to twitter and other social networks and bookmarking sites, people are spending less time on Facebook. Yet Facebook has more pageviews than Google and has reached over 500M registered users – a spectacular reach for an organization that’s a fraction of Google’s size.
AddThis has it’s finger on the pulse of the Social Web and gets to see a lot of trends & memes as they’re happening across multiple social networks and online services, so we look forward to receiving continual updates on how sharing evolves and starts tying more deeply into the future of social commerce.


Silvercar, a startup rethinking the auto rental experience in airports, already seems pretty tied to Audi — after all, every vehicle that Silvercar rents out is a silver Audi . Now the companies are deepening that relationship with a $28 million Series C investment.
Audi led the round, with the company’s North American president Scott Keogh joining Silvercar’s board of directors. Silvercar and Audi are also looking beyond airports with a new initiative called the Audi Shared Fleet, where businesses will be able to offer cars to employees on their corporate campuses.
Silvercar has raised a total of $60 million in funding. Previous investors Austin Ventures and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin also participated in the new round.
The service doesn’t just offer every customer access to the same high-end vehicle. It also streamlines the reservation and payment process, allowing you to make bookings through a mobile app and unlock the car by just scanning a QR code.
The company says its business tripled in 2015, and it’s now launching in its twelfth market, Las Vegas, just in time for this week’s Consumer Electronics Show.


Between January and November 2015, Argentine fish exports fell by 7% in volume and 6.8% in value, with 436,897 tons sent abroad equivalent to US$ 1.39bn.
Illex squid exports to November reached 94,709 tons equivalent to US$104.25 million, with declines of 20.5% in volume and 36.3% in value, compared to 2014.
Hake (hubbsi) exports totaled 89,211 tons and US$ 220.97 million, down 17.4% in volume and 17.5% in value, comparing with the same period of 2014.
A bright spot was shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) which maintained its upward trend with landings of 140,600.1 tons, 10.5% more than in 2014.
Hake (Merluccius hubbsi) discharges experienced a slight decrease of only 1.5% to 263,015.8 tons. However, shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) maintained its upward trend: landings totaled 140,600.1 tons, 10.5% more than in 2014.
Landings of Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) totaled 3406.4 tons, down 12.6%, and hoki (Macruronus magellanicus) fell by 17.3%, to 48,294.2 tons. Other resources that recorded marked falls were the white-mouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri), with landings decreasing 28.3% to 27,662.3 tons, and sole (Paralichthys patagonicus), with discharges down 13.3% to 5,055, 3 tons.
Mackerel (Scomber japonicus) was the species that showed the largest increase in landings, 136.8%, with 17,971.5 tons, compared to only 7,589.3 tons in 2014. Landings of European anchovy (Engraulis anchovy), meanwhile, rose 3.3%, to 14,410.7 tons.
With regard to exports, the latest situation report issued by the Under secretariat of Fisheries includes data until November 2015, so it is not possible to know the final figures of last year.
However between January and November 2015, Argentine fish exports fell by 7% in volume and 6.8% in value, with 436,897 tons sent abroad equivalent to US$ 1.39bn.
Exports of fresh or chilled fish, excluding fillets, plummeted by 51.3% in volume and 51.1% in value. Sales of mollusks decreased 20.1% in volume and 31.3% in value, while fillets and other fish meats went down by 16.9% and 14.3% respectively.
Fishmeal, fish oil and pellets unfit for human consumption, however, grew 2.8% in volume and 12.3% in value.
Regarding hake (hubbsi), 89,211 tons, exports to November were US$ 220.97 million, down 17.4% in volume and 17.5% in value, comparing with the same period of 2014.
Tags: Argentina, Argentina fish landing, hake, Illex argentinus, Patagonian toothfish, shrimp.
TMBOA legacy in profligate fishing to 'punish the squatters' rumbles on.
GOOD, more for the Falklands who know how to sustain their fishing stock.


Orientation for ninth-graders entering Allentown high schools next year will be much more extensive, as part of an attempt by the school district to ease the transition from middle schools.
A group of ninth-graders this year expressed concern to the Allentown School Board about problems in adjusting in the larger schools, asking for a return to a junior high school system. The board pondered a return to junior highs from a middle school setup but opted instead to initiate a program to help ninth-graders adjust.
The administration gave its recommendations for a more intensive orientation to school directors last night during the board's Education Committee meeting.
In addition to attending the regular orientation day before the first day of school, ninth-graders and their parents will meet with teachers and administrators in Allen and Dieruff High schools during July and August. The students will be familiarized with the schools' operations and rules, said Robert Klova, director of the middle and high schools.
High school handbooks will also be mailed earlier in the summer to new students, Klova said.
Several eighth-graders have already made trips to the high schools this spring to familiarize themselves with the schools. Klova said teachers have become much more aware of the transition problems and will focus their efforts on helping the new students.
Cynthia Knauer, the parent of a student, said she feels more can be done to help the new students. She suggested the district set up a program in which ninth-graders have an upperclassman "buddy" who could help them learn about the high school.
Klova said he would be interested in initiating such a program.
Dr. James Hirsh, a school board member, said the administration's initiative should only be the beginning of what should be done for the ninth- graders. "The board will be take a broad-based look at this," Hirsh said.
The Education Committee voted in April to establish a committee to study the problem of ninth-grade transition, but no committee has yet been formed.
In other business, the committee agreed to consider a request from the Cities in Schools program for $5,000.
The program, in which businesses and industries help bring community and social agencies into the schools, has operated in Allentown for three years free of charge. The money for the program has come from the businesses and industries.
This year, however, program officials asked the district for $5,000 so it could be eligible to receive $5,000 from the United Way. The United Way said it would donate $5,000 to the program if the district matched the contribution.
The committee recommended that the full board consider appropriating the money with contract stipulations. One of those stipulations would be that a representative of the school district serve on the Cities in School board.
Also, Dr. Glenn F. Smartschan, an assistant superintendent, announced that funding for curriculum projects in 1986-87 would decrease by 11 percent so more money could be provided for a staff development program approved for next year.
Curriculum projects include the gifted programs, final examinations and computer-programming instruction. The allocation for the projects for 1986-87 is $33,500.


A BOOK charting the seemingly terminal decline of the country’s record shops has just been released.
The author of Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened to the Record Shops?, Graham Jones, will be in Caernarfon tonight (Thursday) for a reading and book signing.
He will be appearing at Palas Print bookshop, on Palace Street, from 6.30pm and this is a “must see” event for anyone who is a music fan, a record shop customer, a concertgoer or a vinyl collector and would like to hear more about his hilarious and sometimes harrowing accounts of the record shop tales.
Not so long ago, there was a record shop on every high street but over the last four years, 540 of these have closed down.
Last Shop Standing is the heartbreaking but true tale of the decline of these much loved record shops and their beloved vinyl. The record retailing is an industry in crisis because of the growing popularity of music downloading and a host of other rapidly emerging market trends.
Mr Jones has collected a wealth of entertaining stories. He has witnessed the dealings of the UK’s worst record shop, heard about the hysterical tale of the band that faked a murder, knows the reason why Mr Blobby has a special place in the heart of record shop owners and how most hyped records cheated their way up to the top of the charts!
The book reveals anecdotes about rock stars including the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Oasis, Queen, David Bowie, to name only a few.
The Liverpudlian has worked in the music industry since the 1980s and was the founder of Proper Music Distribution and also managed a band called the Cherry Boys.
His recently published book reveals the truth behind the undertaking of a final tour around the last remaining independent record shops in Britain.
The author said his main purpose is to bring attention to the fact that these family businesses are going to the wall because of the big faceless corporations. The friendly, one-to-one service of a record shop owner is dying.
The book is also a celebration and a tribute to these music fans who simply wanted to give music a chance to be heard.
The reading will be followed by an acoustic set by the funky, Latin American influenced band, Banda Bacana.
Free tickets for the event are available at Cob Records, Bangor and Palas Print, Caernarfon.


Regular search engines such as Google and Yahoo use statistics to make sense of the Web. They count links, keywords, and other items on a page to determine its rank in search results. Semantic search engines try to actually understand the meaning of the words found on the Web and other documents to bring back the most relevant results to a query. Microsoft bought Powerset for $100 million to gain semantic search expertise, but so far all it can search is Wikipedia.. Hakia, Textwise, and other startups are also working on semantic search. Now comes NetBase, which brings a slightly different approach that its says can scale to the entire Web.
NetBase has been around for a while. Originally called Accelovation, it has raised $9 million in two rounds of venture funding over the past four years, has 30 employees, and counts among its current customers P&G, Caterpillar, 3M, BP, Kraft, BASF, and Goodyear. It is now changing its name and offering its core semantic indexing technology as a platform for other companies to build their own products. Already, scientific publisher Elsevier uses NetBase to power its Illumin8 research tool for searching scientific articles, patents, and Websites.
NetBase takes a sophisticated linguistic approach, actually diagramming sentences to determine the relationship between words and phrases. It does particularly well with causal relationships, allowing it to tease out cause and effect from raw text. For instance, in the sentence, “The calcium, potassium and magnesium found in yogurt can help reduce your risk for hypertension often resulting from stress, obesity, and other factors” NetBase can identify that “stress” and “obesity” are causes of hypertension and that “calcium,” “potassium,” “magnesium,” and “yogurt” can be used to counter hypertension.
The company has already indexed about 8 billion Web pages and processes 100 billion sentences a month through its semantic parsing. Once it identifies causes, effects, and other relationships, it can serve them up in search results along with top-ranked links. For instance, a health-related search could turn up a guide that includes related symptoms, causes, drugs, and treatments. The technology also lends itself to Q&A types of searches. You could ask, “What companies are developing semantic search technologies?” and it will return a list of companies along with the snippets of mention that company and semantic search.
I’ve tried a few demo searches set up to do various things such as provide the pros and cons of a product, the companies in a particular market, or causes and effects of a medical problem. The results were impressive. On the whole, I’d say they were at least 70 percent relevant, compared to the much larger proportion of irrelevant links I get when I do a Google search. But it was slow. NetBase took 5 seconds or more to return results, something it says won’t be as big an issue in a production versions of its technology.
NetBase is not building its own search engine, although it plans to create a health-related search engine around PubMed content as a proof of concept Instead, it is targeting large publishers and companies that want to create their won vertical search tools, which combine data on the Web with their own databases of content. This is definitely an enterprise play. Licensing starts at about $100,000 and goes up from there.


A new report on performance-based funding reveals potential downfalls that could disrupt community colleges in the long run.
Performance-based funding (PBF) has become progressively utilized in order to reward higher education institutions for their success in enhancing student advancement and completion, but may have some critical drawbacks.
Data has increasingly shown that performance-based funding may cause some undesirable side-effects, such as more prestigious schools only admitting students who are likely to graduate, while institutions that serve a greater number of disadvantaged students fall even further behind without the additional funding.
Still, 35 states have already taken steps to adopt PBF initiatives. Texas adopted PBF for the state’s 50 community colleges in 2013, and their Student Success Points Model gives funding based on student achievement of intermediate performance metrics, such as completing developmental coursework or passing college-level gatekeeper courses; as well as key milestones such as earning a certificate or associate degree, or having students transfer to four-year universities.
For each of those “success points,” the state awards $185 to each college. While this money currently only accounts for 10 percent of state funding, some are proposing to increase the pool to 25 percent of funding for colleges.


KUWAIT CITY, Nov 6: Police have arrested an Indian black magician and referred him to the concerned authorities, reports Al-Shahed daily. According to security sources, police in Mahboula suspected a motorist and ordered him to pull over. While checking his documents, the Indian began to mumble strange words which aroused police suspicion. The police then checked his car and found witchcraft tools and narcotics pills from the car.
Wrong info by police: A Kuwaiti man has filed a complaint with the concerned authorities accusing policemen at the Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh Police Station of negligence, reports Al-Anba daily. In his complaint the man said, he received a call from the said Police Station informing him that his half lorry which was reported stolen had been found and that it was in the custody of the police. He added he was told that he should wait until completion of legal procedures, but to his surprise he did not find the vehicle in the parking lot of the police station.
Two Kuwaitis injured: Two Kuwaiti citizens sustained serious injuries when two vehicles collided and toppled in Sabah Al-Ahmad City, says Al-Seyassah. According to security sources, when the Operations Room of Ministry of Interior received information about the accident, securitymen rushed to the location with paramedics and firefighters.
Woman missing: Police are looking for a Kuwaiti woman working at the Ministry of Information who has been reported ‘absconding’ by her family, reports Al-Rai daily. According to security sources her car was found in the parking lot of the ministry in Salmiya, the place where she works. The daily did not give more details.


Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones in the Stephen Hawking biopic "The Theory of Everything," which was nominated for five Academy Awards.
Oscar night will hold a fair bit of drama for space fans this year.
Wormhole travel across the universe and supergiant black holes are just some of the wonders seen in the film "Interstellar." See how the science of "Interstellar" works in this infographic.
Two space-themed movies — Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic "Interstellar" and the Stephen Hawking biopic "The Theory of Everything" — are up for a total of 10 Academy Awards, which will be announced Sunday night (Feb. 22).
"Interstellar," which follows the quest of a small band of explorers to find a new planet for humanity to call home, garnered nods for best original score, production design, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.
"The Theory of Everything," meanwhile, was nominated for best picture, best actor (Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking), best actress (Felicity Jones as Hawking's first wife, Jane), best adapted screenplay and best original score.
"The Theory of Everything" isn't the only best picture nominee with some science chops. "The Imitation Game," which tells the story of brilliant English mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing's work to crack the Nazis' Enigma code during World War II, also got a nod.
But the critical success of these two films — which together make up 25 percent of the best picture nominees — does not necessarily signal a great or increasing appreciation of science in society, said Katie McGill, a physics doctoral candidate at Cornell University.
"I think that these movies are about really interesting lives," McGill said Thursday (Feb. 19) during a "Science at the Oscars" Google+ Hangout that was hosted by the nonprofit Kavli Foundation. "They don't really get into the science as much."
Indeed, Hawking has battled through the crippling disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to become one of the most influential theoretical physicists since Albert Einstein. And Turing was gay during a time when engaging in "homosexual acts" could land you in prison in England. Despite his service to his country, Turing was prosecuted and eventually underwent chemical castration to avoid jail time.
Turing died of cyanide poisoning in 1954 at the age of 41. His death was ruled a suicide.


A drama about a schoolgirl whose life changes after she witnesses a violent attack has been named best film at this year's British Independent Film Awards.
Broken, the debut feature by theatre director Rufus Norris, also picked up a best supporting actor prize for Rory Kinnear.
Psychological thriller Berberian Sound Studio won the most awards.
It received four trophies - including best director for Peter Strickland and best actor for Toby Jones.
The 15th annual awards, which honour films made mainly outside major studios, took place at Old Billingsgate in London.
Sunday's ceremony was hosted by James Nesbitt, who plays the dwarf Bofur in The Hobbit film out this week.
Broken, which stars Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy and newcomer Eloise Laurence, went into the awards as the frontrunner with nine nominations.
The story focuses on three families who live in the same cul-de-sac and are linked by a violent incident that has far-reaching consequences for them all.
Describing the win as "fantastic", first-time film director Norris told BBC News: "Hopefully it makes it more likely that I'll get the chance to make another film."
Norris's recent stage productions include London Road at the National Theatre and the opera Dr Dee, with Blur frontman Damon Albarn.
"I don't like stories where you get good people and bad people - I don't think life's like that," Norris said.
"Broken shows how people behave sometimes in really awful ways and sometimes in really good ways. And often it's to do with love, protection or fear. Those things affect us all. It doesn't mean they are terrible people."
Broken was first seen at the Cannes film festival in May, but is not released in the UK until next year.
Andrea Riseborough won the best actress prize for thriller Shadow Dancer, about an IRA member turned informer in 1990s Belfast.
Olivia Colman won best supporting actress for her role as the Queen Mother in period piece Hyde Park on Hudson.
It was Colman's second Bifa award in two years, having won best actress last year for Tyrannosaur.
Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio stars Toby Jones as a meek British sound engineer who is brought to Italy to work on the sound effects for a horror film.
With the actual gore kept off-screen, the audience sees Jones create horror noises by stabbing cabbages, chopping melons and twisting the stalks off radishes.
"The thing that really fascinated me was that these are innocent everyday sounds," said Strickland. "All you do is you alter the context of them and it completely disorientates you and it's quite disturbing"
The film's four wins included best achievement in production and best technical achievement.
The Imposter, the true story of a French conman who convinces a grieving Texas family that he is their missing son, won two awards: best British documentary and a directorial debut prize for Bart Layton.
Layton said: "I'd do an interview one day convinced I understood what happened, and the next day I'd sit down with someone with a different side of the story and come away with the opposite conclusion. My job was navigating these conflicting versions."
Sightseers, Ben Wheatley's pitch-black comedy about a couple on a killing spree during a caravan holiday, won the best screenplay prize for writers Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, and Amy Jump.
Oram and Lowe developed the lead characters on the comedy circuit over several years.
"It all started with us talking about childhood experiences of family holidays and we took that concept to its extreme," said Lowe.
James Floyd picked up the most promising newcomer award for his role in My Brother the Devil.
As previously announced, Jude Law received the Variety Award for helping to focus the international spotlight on the UK.
Sir Michael Gambon was awarded the Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor to British film.
"My whole life has been spent worrying about learning lines," he joked to the BBC. "I've never relaxed - apart from Harry Potter where I just had fun!"


If a person wants to quit smoking, he needs to lower his daily intake of alcohol, states a new study. Heavy drinkers' nicotine metabolite ratio - a biomarker that indicates how quickly a person's body metabolizes nicotine has been found to be the key to this problem.
New research has found that heavy drinkers who are trying to stop smoking may find that reducing their alcohol use can also help them quit their daily smoking habit.
Heavy drinkers' nicotine metabolite ratio - a biomarker that indicates how quickly a person's body metabolizes nicotine - reduced as they cut back on their drinking.
Past research has suggested that people with higher nicotine metabolism ratios are likely to smoke more and that people with higher rates have a harder time quitting. Slowing a person's nicotine metabolism rate through reduced drinking could provide an edge when trying to stop smoking, which is known to be a difficult task, said Sarah Dermody, an assistant professor at Oregon State University and the study's lead author.
"It takes a lot of determination to quit smoking, often several attempts," Dermody said. "This research suggests that drinking is changing the nicotine metabolism as indexed by the nicotine metabolite ratio, and that daily smoking and heavy drinking may best be treated together."
The study was just published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.
Dermody, who is based in in the School of Psychological Science in OSU's College of Liberal Arts, studies risky behaviors such as alcohol and nicotine use with the goal of better understanding factors that contribute to alcohol and nicotine use and how best to intervene with problematic use of these substances.
Use of both alcohol and cigarettes is widespread, with nearly 1 in 5 adults using both. Cigarette use is especially prevalent in heavy drinkers. Drinking is a well-established risk factor for smoking, and smoking is a well-established risk factor for drinking.
Dermody and colleagues at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada, wanted to better understand the links between the two. They studied the nicotine metabolite ratio, an index of nicotine metabolism, in a group of 22 daily smokers who were seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder - the medical term for severe problem drinking - over several weeks.
"What's really interesting is that the nicotine metabolite ratio is clinically useful," Dermody said. "People with a higher ratio have a harder time quitting smoking cold turkey. They have are also less likely to successfully quit using nicotine replacement therapy products."
They found that as the men in the study group reduced their drinking - from an average of 29 drinks per week to 7 - their nicotine metabolite rate also dropped.
The researchers' findings for men replicated those of an earlier study that found similar effects and provide further evidence of the value of the nicotine metabolite ratio biomarker to inform treatment for smokers trying to quit, Dermody said.
"The nicotine metabolite ratio was thought to be a stable index, but it may not be as stable as we thought," Dermody said. "From a clinical standpoint, that's a positive thing, because if someone wants to stop smoking, we may want to encourage them to reduce their drinking to encourage their smoking cessation plan."
The women in the study did not see reductions in their nicotine metabolite ratio, but the researchers also did not find that the women in the study reduced their drinking significantly during the study period.
"The rate of drinking for women in the study started low and stayed low," Dermody said. "I anticipate that in a larger generalized study we would not see the difference between men and women like that."
Dermody is preparing a new study of the links between smoking and drinking. She hopes to recruit heavy drinkers who also smoke to participate in an intervention to reduce their drinking. The study will also examine the effects on smoking to try and replicate the findings in a larger group.
"This research is demonstrating the value in addressing both smoking and drinking together," she said. "The question now is how best to do that."
Drinking more wine or alcohol can trigger a migraine headache, reveals a new study. Alcoholic beverages such as red wine were considered the most common migraine triggers.


Is Notre Dame primed to land another four-star recruit?
Already with a verbal commitment from four-star Florida defensive end Clay Burton late last week, is Notre Dame ready to land another big fish in Florida’s sea of defensive high school talent?
Head coach Brian Kelly hopes he hits the jackpot in his pursuit of another four-star defensive end from Florida, Aaron Lynch. The Cape Coral native just happens to be good friends with Burton, the Venice High product who is projected to play outside linebacker in coordinator Bob Diaco’s 3-4 scheme.
Lynch, however, is also being pursued by Miami, Florida State, LSU and Alabama, among others.
The 6-5, 235-pounder — and growing — is quite the athlete with a good motor and nice first step. While he relies more on his athleticism, he can be a dangerous pass rusher if he adds some moves to his repertoire. He also could play tight end in college, as he possesses very good hands.
Meanwhile, Burton — the brother of current Florida Gator Trey — plans to graduate early and enroll in school in January. He currently is the highest-rated defender among the 10 commitments the Irish have compiled.
Kelly and the Irish staff know improvement in the win-loss column will hinge not only on the effectiveness of the new spread offense but also on whether the defense improves dramatically this season and into the future.


CNBC's Jim Cramer is getting deja vu from the fall in the commodities complex this year.
"I've been noodling over this; going back and forth a lot about … what the analogy is here. I'm beginning to feel like this portion of industrial America, that is, oil, natural gas, steel, iron, anything we make, it's almost like they're folding like the dot-coms" after the bubble burst in 2001, Cramer said Tuesday on "Squawk on the Street."
Oil and natural gas have hit multiyear lows this year amid global growth concerns.
In the early 2000s, many technology companies saw their stocks surging, sending the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite higher. However, many of these companies were unable to sustain their valuations.
"There's a downgrade of Encana today. This is one of the great oil companies of our time," Cramer said. "They've done everything right to be able to make this thing so they are going to survive."
"I think they are [going to survive], but they have a huge amount of debt, and that's what all these companies have in common, as opposed to the dot-coms. The balance sheets are horrendous."
BMO Capital Markets downgraded Encana's stock to "market perform" from "outperform," and cut its price target to $8 a share from $10.
Shares of Encana traded more than 4 percent lower at $4.70.
DISCLOSURE: Cramer's trust did not own shares of Encana when this article was published.


Despite assurances that undocumented immigrants would not be detained at shelters or while evacuating, some did not want to take the risk.
Juan Caravaña of Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry readies boxes to be delivered to immigrant families and farmworkers affected by Hurricane Florence.
DUNN, North Carolina — Juan Caravaña looked like he was doing some complicated math in his head.
He held one bag of white rice in one hand, a bag of black beans in the other, and stood quietly over five cardboard boxes of donated food that were to be given out that day.
"If we give one of these per family, we'll be out quickly," he said.
When Hurricane Florence slammed into North Carolina last month, it devastated the state's agriculture industry, leaving thousands of migrant farmworkers with little or no work. For many of them, groups like the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry became one of the few lifelines in the days and weeks after the storm, providing food and basic necessities the workers could not get through official channels.
All the donations, however, would have to be delivered.
Documented and undocumented workers in the region told BuzzFeed News they remained keenly aware of state and federal laws targeting immigrants, leading many of them to ride out the storm in work camps or in rented homes in rural parts of the state. The hazardous conditions kept many of them at home, running low on supplies instead of running the risk of being pulled over and possibly deported.
For Caravaña and others trying to help out, that meant that collecting food, toilet paper, diapers, and cleaning supplies was only half the battle.
Two weeks after the hurricane made landfall, Caravaña said he and other volunteers have made deliveries to more than 50 worker camps and other homes where migrants have been living in and around Harnett County, in the central part of the state.
The organization doesn't know exactly how many people it has reached, but volunteers have tried to offer donations to anyone within a 45-minute drive of the church.
"What we've done is coordinate to pass out food to the camps that were flooded and to the families that were affected," Caravaña said.
With a multimillion-dollar agricultural economy, North Carolina has become dependent on immigrant labor, both documented and undocumented. That influx of labor has meant a drastic change in the demographics of the Southern state, which in 2000 had about 378,000 Latino residents, or about 4.7% of its population. Since then, the number of Latinos has more than doubled, and today makes up nearly 10% of North Carolina residents.
The demographic shift has not come without tension.
In recent years, North Carolina's Republican-led legislature has tried to push through laws targeting the state's immigrant population, including allowing local police to check the immigration status of anyone they come into contact with and mandating jail time for anyone caught driving without a license.
In 2015, then–Republican governor Pat McCrory also signed a bill that prohibited the ID issued by the Mexican consulate, known as the matricula consular, from being used as an official form of ID in the state.
Besides Texas and Georgia, North Carolina also has the most law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program, which deputizes local sheriff's departments and police to enforce federal immigration laws.
Local immigrant advocates say that the anti-immigrant rhetoric from the White House has also encouraged some local jurisdictions to toughen their position against immigrants.
The sentiment was at the front of many immigrants' minds as Hurricane Florence tore through North Carolina, leaving residents — including many migrant workers — stranded, with limited access to shelter and basic necessities.
"The last year and a half have complicated things with the new president," Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, president of El Centro Hispano, a group that provides education, health care, and other assistance to Latinos in North Carolina, told BuzzFeed News. "It has not been friendly, at all, to our community."
The day Florence made landfall, the Department of Homeland Security posted a statement online saying immigration agents would not be conducting enforcement while people were evacuating or staying at shelters. Still, many undocumented people in North Carolina didn't want to take the chance.
Considering the immigration tactics that have been adopted by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, Rocha-Goldberg said, many immigrants did not believe the statement when it was issued by DHS, or when it was repeated by local authorities trying to persuade residents to evacuate to shelters.
Rocha-Goldberg said she fielded multiple calls days before the hurricane hit from people afraid of getting on the road.
Many of them undocumented, immigrants in the state were afraid of the presence of federal officials, as well as unfamiliar police uniforms in their community as local officials braced for the impact of the storm.
"There were a lot of people asking [questions], a lot of people were scared," she said.
Despite assurances from public officials, many were also afraid of being asked about their immigration status at shelters, or that law enforcement would set up checkpoints as people evacuated their towns.
Two undocumented farmworkers said they decided to bear out Hurricane Florence from their rented home instead of running the risk of being pulled over and deported.
Not all local governments in North Carolina have taken a hard line against the state's immigrant population.
Amid the recent statewide crackdown on driver's licenses and identifications, some counties and local police departments have agreed to accept identifications that have been passed out by grassroots organizations, known as "faith IDs."
In others, law enforcement has attempted to work more closely with immigrant communities. For example, some are known for handing out tickets to drivers caught behind the wheel without a license, instead of taking them into custody or checking their immigration status.
Those different approaches, which can vary widely from one jurisdiction to another in North Carolina, are generally understood by immigrants who make the annual trip for work in the tobacco, sweet potato, and cotton fields across the state.
"As long as I stay in this county, I'm OK," one undocumented immigrant in Greene County, who asked that she not be identified, told BuzzFeed News last week.
She owns an SUV but, more than a week after the hurricane passed through the region, she still chose to stay off the roads — just in case.
The front of the home she shares with another farmworker, who is also undocumented, flooded shortly after rain started falling from Hurricane Florence, but both had made the decision to stick out the storm rather than move to a shelter.
She said she is resigned to the possibility that she might be deported someday, but also isn't trying to walk straight into the arms of immigration agents, or county officials acting as their proxies.
But more than a week after the storm had passed, she had waited as long as she could, and knew that soon she would have to make the drive from her rural rented home toward town for food and basic necessities.
"If I don't drive, I starve," she said. "This is just part of my life."
She has a "faith ID," but knows that won't get her out of a ticket. In the wrong county, she knows she can still end up in jail and, eventually, deported.
"That's how things are," she said. "Those are the laws."


WI water, soda, tonic, or nothing at all. How you drink Hennessy depends on what you like Tradition is in the making Taste is in the drinking. Hennessy The world's most civilized spirit. Pour it yourwa 98 t -J <; ! et' a.\ ) ') ""II . ,,- f \., " :$ ð .) it " "-...... , . " " "It/( .ã::: \ ' t ., \-. J t ./ '"'""" ennessy " '$ ," ""-,. 4. -;;, 1itNNO s . :oil< . "1"* ""^ . <^" "", J ,,;; " " HENNESSY COGNAC,BO PROOF,IMPORTED BY SCHIEFFELIN &CCi .NY Washington's crossing the Delaware. Said Governor Byrne, "Certain]y the paperwork was done in Philadelphia on the Fourth of July, but the war had to be fought and won in Ne Jersey:' The fact that New Yorkers are out of it may be just as well. In no future production could they hope to match the local triumph of J ul} 4, 1 976, last year's great morale booster, when two million people-almost as many as had lived in all thirteen colonies two hun- dred years earlier-crowded into Man- hattan south of City lIall, the area the British once occupied, to watch the Tall Ships and otherwise celebrate the nation's two-hundredth birthday. "New York's Bicentennial was, by com- mon consent, the country's finest" was the verdict of Mary McGrory, who in April had described the city as "sick. . . and sickening." Her explanation for the relnarkably fast convalescence was "Ad versit) has done wonders for New York." N ewsda y, whose territory is Nassau and Suffolk Counties, com- mented, ((The Revolution was launched in Boston. Independence was declared in Philadelphia. Washington has been the capital since 1791. But where is the B ice n ten n i al really happening? In New York City, of all places. Crime-ridden, poverty-stricken, politics- plagued N ew York has made itself headquarters for the Fourth of July, 1976." Still the local Bicentennial celebra- , tions may not necessanly be over. New Yorkers have been known to rise above inconvenient historical fact. Last May, for example, the Battle of Queens was reënacted in F'lushing Meadow-Corona Park, although the participants agreed that no Revolutionary battle took place in that borough. There was no dress re- hearsal. ('The battles of the Revolution did not have dress rehearsals, so why should we?" asked a history buff act- ing as expert adyjser for the event. The pagean t could, of course, serve as a dress rehearsal for a glorious victory in the second Battle of Queens against the British, this time accompanied by the F rench-the victory in the battle over the Concorde, when or if it comes -ANDY LOGAN . CORRECTION We vvould like to apologize to M rs I--tois McMurray for the description on her as, "the bane of the Clinton High library's existence," in yesterday's ITEM. llhe sentence should have read backbone of the Clinton High library -Clinton (Mass.) Daily Item Carryon, Mrs. McMurray. It s an imperfect world.


BENGALURU: SK Shivakumar, a former director of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), died early on Saturday, after complications from obstructive jaundice, said his family members. He was 66 years old.
A senior scientist, Shivakumar was part of the team that developed the telemetry system for Chandrayaan-I, India’s first moon mission. He was also responsible for designing the deep space communications equipment and was involved in the development of the 32m dish antenna that can communicate with satellites millions of miles away.
Born in Mysuru, Shivakumar pursued his bachelors degree in science from Mysuru University followed by BE in electrical communications engineering. Later he obtained MTech in physical engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
During this period, he contributed significantly to the mission planning, analysis and operations of several Indian satellite missions including Bhaskara, APPLE, IRS and INSAT. He served as mission director for IRS-1B and IRS-1C satellites that successfully completed a decade of operations in orbit.
From September 1998 to November 2010, Shivakumar served as director of ISTRAC and later took charge of URSAC, which was his last appointment.


Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Thunder possible. Low 42F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%..
Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Thunder possible. Low 42F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Although there are arguably more pressing matters in our city, lately it seems the residents of Colorado Springs are heavily focused on the increase of bike infrastructure in or near our downtown.
Being a huge bicycle advocate, I am very pleased to see the active dialogue on this topic, knowing that the input and conversations can only make the city’s efforts to implement safe bike infrastructure even better for our residents.
Under Mayor John Suthers’ leadership, Colorado Springs has finally begun to create a safe and connected network of bike lanes for cyclists.
This doesn’t mean that every street will someday include a bike lane. It means a few of our streets will add bike lanes, creating safe and connected routes for those commuting to work or school by bike.
These routes were envisioned, planned, and now being executed from a yearlong public process that created the city’s Bike Master Plan.
This plan can be viewed at https://coloradosprings.gov/bikes/page/bike-master-plan.
I understand there are many residents critical of bike infrastructure. This is understandable, as change is hard, especially when it comes to our roads. Council members hear more from constituents about road issues than any other issue, as our roads impact our daily lives and are a constant indicator of the success or failure of a city.
Implementing connected and safe bike routes on our roads substantially increases the number of people who will ride their bikes.
This increase in ridership reduces overall congestion and wear and tear on our roads, which then delays the need for road construction and road maintenance, which saves tax dollars. Yes…saves tax dollars.
Even more important is that implementing bike infrastructure reduces speeding, which is especially important in residential neighborhoods, like the Old North End, where kids play nearby and walk to school.
If you need proof of this, I encourage you to drive up Cascade Avenue, where a bike lane now exists, and then back down Nevada Avenue, which has no bike lane. You will quickly understand that the bike lane on Cascade Avenue naturally reduces road speeds and feels safer for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike.
Cascade Avenue has become an extremely civilized road experience for all users, which is what all residential streets should be.
Colorado Springs also has many of residents who are unable to drive single-passenger vehicles, often due to a medical condition. As a compassionate city, we simply must provide alternate transportation modes for these citizens, to include transit and bike lanes, just as we provide ADA infrastructure for citizens who need accessibility options to safely navigate the city. No, there aren’t many citizens who need this type of infrastructure, but as a caring community, we strive to build a city that serves and benefits all.
I would not want to live in a city that did not provide mobility and accessibility options for all its residents. Would you?
And if you still need another argument for bikes, our city data reveals that residents under 40 years old want more bike infrastructure.
We might be a great city for retirees, but we must also become a desirable city for younger residents and families, who work and create jobs, and these residents want more transportation options, to include bike lanes.
We learned this during the public process to create a comprehensive plan for the future development of our city.
The majority of over 8,000 public comments want safe and connected bike amenities on our roads.
As we build a city that matches our scenery, we must continue to listen to the voices of all of our citizens and implement the infrastructure they want and need. But we must do this without sacrificing safety, as the safety and well-being of all of our citizens will always be our highest and most noble priority.
Jill Gaebler is the District 5 representative on Colorado Springs’ City Council.
Jill Gaebler is the District 5 Representative on Colorado Springs' City Council.


Wolverines beat Wakefield; lose to Fairfax, Yorktown, W-L.
Senior captain Kelsie Whalen, right, is the West Potomac field hockey team’s leading goal scorer. Photo by Craig Sterbutzel.
Herndon  The West Potomac field hockey team entered the two-day Herndon Invitational with a 5-2 record, having scored 23 goals in seven games. But the Wolverines’ offense evaporated over the weekend as West Potomac dropped three of four to finish in sixth place.
Senior captain Kharis Schrage (12) and the West Potomac field hockey team lost to Washington-Lee, 2-1, in overtime of the fifth-place game at the Herndon Invitational on Sept. 15.


The sheen of an airline's professed gratitude faded quickly.
I used to laugh at the announcement made, just after you board a flight, in which a special "warm welcome" is extended to customers who are part of the airline loyalty program. The idea that big corporations feel any warmth towards their customers, aside from the fuzzy feeling they get when emptying their wallets, had always struck me as particularly ridiculous.
Then one day I received a letter from Virgin Airlines, and my attitude changed. This letter congratulated me on my loyalty, and explained that, thanks to the many trips I'd been making to Sydney, I was now a Silver member, promoted from lowly Red. It also contained special tags that I could put on my luggage, alerting the world to my newly acquired status.
The tags were nice, of course, but this promotion also came with practical benefits. I could now check in extra luggage, and book seats closer to the front of the plane. Most importantly, the word "SILVER" would appear on my boarding passes, so that anyone peering over my shoulder as I queued up to board would see that I was special.
I was quietly chuffed by this, but my enthusiasm faded when my husband received a similar letter, proclaiming him a Gold member. Gold was better than Silver, of course, so he now enjoyed the same privileges as me, but could also use priority boarding, and had the right to be seated even nearer to the front. Most importantly, he was also granted membership of the Virgin Lounge.
"Lounge membership" is the jewel in the crown of rewards programs, with its undeniable ring of glamour, at least to plebs like myself. And now my husband had it, and I did not.
My irritation was exacerbated by the fact that his membership was earned with a single (!) international business class flight, which his work had paid for. Whereas I was a genuine frequent flyer, a loyal customer schlepping out to the airport every other week, back and forth, back and forth, always on Virgin. Didn't that count for anything?
The answer was no, it did not. I soon discovered that the key to ascending the status ladder is not frequent flyer points, but a mysterious thing called Status Credits. These are earned if you fly to more than one destination, travel further or purchase more expensive, flexible tickets. Flying domestic, on the same run, week after week, on the cheapest possible ticket, does not apparently cut it.
Now, there are benefits to lounge membership, but they are few. You can charge your phone, and order a reasonable coffee, but as a general rule, buffet food is out of the question, unless you enjoy playing listeria roulette. And if you think you're going to escape the crowds, forget it. By late afternoon, the Virgin lounge at Sydney airport is typically busier than a department store on Boxing Day.
Still, the idea that my husband should have access to all this, while I did not, was intolerable. My Silver membership did not gift me access to the lounge, but it did allow me to purchase lounge membership at a significant discount. Which I immediately did.
Determined to enjoy my new lounge privileges, I turned up to Sydney airport early. And, with so much time to kill, I decided to walk around to the front of the airport, and use the exclusive-looking lounge entrance that I'd noticed, tucked away there.
"I'm sorry, you can't come through here," the attendant snapped when I handed over my lounge membership card. "But I'm a member!" I protested. "Yes, you're a Silver member," she replied. "You have to be Gold or Platinum to use this entrance." I could feel the eyes of all of those lining up behind me. Gold and even Platinum eyes. And so I slunk back to the ordinary entrance, shamed at having my lowly status once again exposed.
By the time I finally got into the lounge the place was seething, with everyone swarming around the bar, as they do every afternoon, literally elbowing each other out of the way in order to get at their free drinks. Cheap wine and beer, without even the obligatory slice of lemon to disguise the taste. Stuff that most of these people wouldn't touch if it were offered up in any other environment. Yet here, it's irresistible. Because it is a perk. Because we can have it, and the plebs outside cannot.
And if that's your idea of status, then you really do have more credits than sense.


What's better than breakfast for students? Riding a bike to school.
Teen girls who walked or biked to school in a Spanish study performed better at school in verbal and math skills that their peers who rode the bus or got to school in a car, according to a 2011 research study funded by the Spanish National Research Council.
More recently, the results of a large Danish study from 2012 show that driving kids to school in a car is doing them a disservice. This large study by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University followed 20,000 school kids aged 5-19 in some of their daily activities. The researchers were interested to see whether a good breakfast made a difference in concentration levels - an idea that is fairly well accepted in the U.S.
The group of kids walking or biking to school concentrated better than those driven to school or taking public transport, and the effect lasted throughout the morning hours. On average, active students scored 8.2 - 8.4 on a concentration test (of a possible 10) while non-active students scored an average of 7.6 - 7.8. This was more than the concentration difference shown between students who did eat breakfast (8 - 8.15) and those who didn't (8.1 - 8.25).
Unfortunately, in the Nordic nations and in the U.S., the trend for how children get to school is going in the opposite direction - more children are getting driven to school than ever before. Parents perceive walking and biking to be dangerous, while actually things have gotten safer for cyclists in many, many places, and overall fatalities are trending downward.
Of course, correlation is not causality, so it can't be said with certainty that riding a bike to school will make you smarter, anymore than it can be said that driving in cars will make you fat.
With biking, there are so many other benefits, real and perceived, that it certainly seems worth a try to get parents off the driving-the-kids-to-school frenzy.
A Spanish study showed girls biking to school got better grades - now a new Danish study confirms walking or biking is better for your school brain.


Chart guru Robert Prechter was on Fast Money this evening, reiterating his comments about extreme declines. He states that bullishness has gone from 2% to 90% (though we're not sure where that comes from), and that volume and breadth are down.
Interestingly, when he was asked about gold, he demurred and said he was "very, very bullish" on the dollar.


Properties are hot. Real estate is booming. But there is little regulation. The United States, home to a big chunk of Costa Rica’s real estate investors, is entering an economic downturn and perhaps a recession. Is this a recipe for disaster? Mauricio Castro, head of the Costa Rican Chamber of Real Estate Agents, recently sat down with The Tico Times to share his thoughts on these and other issues.
Castro, 54, has been a real estate broker for decades and has headed various construction and development companies. Now he teaches seminars at the chamber and at private firms. He lives in the western San José neighborhood of Rohrmoser with his wife, Alexandra Céspedes, and four children.
TT: What happened to the real estate market last year?
MC: In 2007 the real estate market surprised us with continued growth.We expected it to slow because in 2006 it also grew at a clip. But in 2007 the market saw spectacular growth, especially in the coastal areas where there is an enormous demand for property by foreign investors. Some semi-rural areas became urban, with restaurants, hospitals, schools, all the services necessary for a community to survive.
The development and construction boom all started in Guanacaste (the northwestern province). It was a result of the creation of the Liberia International Airport (Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste’s capital). This allows people to go directly to Guanacaste without going to the Central Valley. People visiting the country decided to buy retirement homes or second homes (there).
Is there a downside to real estate’s rapid growth?
The country wasn’t prepared for such rapid growth. We didn’t expect to see such high demand in so little time. There weren’t zoning plans. There wasn’t adequate infrastructure. The little infrastructure that exists is collapsing. People aren’t guaranteed basic services. All for lack of planning.
How will these problems affect the real estate market?
Undoubtedly the market will diminish if there is no solution. I think the government and the localities are already reacting to the situation.
Is there risk of a real estate bubble?
We have to be prudent so as not to reach a real estate bubble. That’s where people keep investing and paying more and more until the market adjusts and apartments begin to be abandoned. The real estate bubble pops and the market contracts. Another thing that could happen, if we aren’t careful, is something similar to what is happening in the United States, in Florida and California, where property prices have dropped sharply.
Who is buying and developing property here?
The vast majority of recent purchases were made with foreign investment, mostly U.S. money. The great developers are North American companies or people who buy and develop properties and then sell them at international market prices. The prices of property in Tamarindo (on the northern Pacific coast) are no longer for Costa Ricans (because they are too high).
What would be the effect here of a recession in the United States?
A recession would be fatal. But if the United States does not reach a true recession, Costa Rica would not be that affected. Fewer North American investors would come, but we have other markets. Like who? Europeans will benefit from the exchange rate. For them, land here will be very cheap. There are other segments of the United States and Canada that would not be so hurt (by the economic downturn).
In Costa Rica, many people are buying luxury houses. I’m talking about really successful people – businessmen, film stars. This sector could continue to buy here in Costa Rica. But certainly a big group of North Americans would no longer invest here.
What do you think will happen in 2008?
We in the chamber are building a lot of alliances with different organizations in order to pressure the government to regulate real estate activity. There is little regulation in Costa Rica. A lot of (real estate agents) here are doing things wrong, or even working illegally. That is, they don’t have residency. They don’t have preparation. They don’t know Costa Rica. They don’t speak the language. We cannot continue with the law of the jungle.
What, more specifically, are real estate agents doing?
Overcharging. They sell property valued at X for 10 times X, with and without the owner’s consent. It’s bad practice.
How will the real estate market fare under the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA)?
If (real estate) is chaotic now, without all the benefits of CAFTA, what will happen when a bunch of companies come in and we aren’t prepared legally to respond to their needs? If there is no regulation, if there are no zoning plans, they could put factories in residential areas.