Don't these guys know how to really curse?
MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - Britain's television advertising regulator has agreed to review a ban on an Australian tourism campaign centered on the slightly risque phrase "bloody hell," officials said on Wednesday.
"It's a bloody good result," Australian Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said after she flew to London to save the campaign.
Britain's Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Center had banned the ads from British television because of concerns over the campaign's use of the word "bloody" and ordered censored ads run in their place.
Bailey said the center had now agreed to review the ban.
The ads begin with characters saying: "We've poured you a beer and we've had the camels shampooed, we've saved you a spot on the beach ... and we've got the sharks out of the pool."
They end with a bikini-clad woman on a beach asking "so where the bloody hell are you?"
So concerned were Australian tourism officials by the British decision that Bailey was sent to London to lobby broadcasters and regulators, along with the woman in the bikini, Sydney model Laura Bingle.
"My faith in British justice and humor has been restored and I am now hopeful that common sense will prevail," Bailey said in a statement issued by her Canberra office.
Bailey had argued that the word "bloody," a very mild profanity commonly used in Australia and Britain, was not generally considered offensive and had been used in other British advertising campaigns.
The A$180 million ($133 million) campaign is already running in the United States, New Zealand and in British cinemas and newspapers, and will also target China, Japan, India and Germany.
The full advertisement can be seen at http://www.wherethebloodyhellareyou.com.
TWW'S CRAZY NEWS STORIES
Moderator: S2k Moderators
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
"Oh Grandma, what a big smile you have!"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The sad image of a grieving widow may not be entirely accurate, according to a study published on Tuesday showing that six months after the death of their partner, nearly half of older people had few symptoms of grief.
And 10 percent cheered up, according to the survey conducted by the University of Michigan and paid for by the National Institute on Aging.
The study, which followed 1,500 couples over the age of 65 for years, looked at the quality of their marriages, their attitudes toward one another, and the effects on one spouse after the other died.
Close to half -- 46 percent -- said they had enjoyed their marriages but were able to cope with the loss of a spouse without much grieving.
"Until recently, mental health experts assumed that persons with minimal symptoms of grief were either in denial, emotionally distant or lacked a close attachment to their spouse," Rutgers University sociologist Deborah Carr, who began analyzing the data while she was at the University of Michigan.
"But 46 percent of the widows and widowers in this study reported that they had satisfying marriages. They believed that life is fair and they accepted that death is a part of life," Carr said in a statement.
"After their partner's death, many surviving spouses said they took great comfort in their memories," she added.
"Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence that men and women who show this resilient pattern of grief are not emotionally distant or in denial, but are in fact well-adjusted individuals responding to loss in a healthy way."
In the United States, more than 900,000 adults lose spouses each year. Nearly 75 percent are over the age of 65.
The AARP, a group that represents Americans over the age of 50, says there are more than 13.7 million widowed people in the United States and more than 11 million, or 80 percent, are women.
Writing in a new book, "Spousal Bereavement in Late Life," Carr, psychiatrist Dr. Randolph Nesse, and psychologist Camille Wortman of the State University of New York at Stony Brook said they found that the death of their partner was a relief to about 10 percent of those widowed.
They were depressed before their spouse's death but were much less depressed afterward.
"These are people who felt trapped in a bad marriage or onerous care-giving duties and widowhood offered relief and escape," Carr said. "The old paradigm would have seen this absence of grief as emotional inhibition or a form of denial, but in our view, these are people for whom bereavement serves as the end of a chronic source of stress."
Another 16 percent of surviving spouses experienced chronic grief, lasting more than 18 months. And 11 percent had high levels of depression six months after their loss but much lower levels by 18 months afterward.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The sad image of a grieving widow may not be entirely accurate, according to a study published on Tuesday showing that six months after the death of their partner, nearly half of older people had few symptoms of grief.
And 10 percent cheered up, according to the survey conducted by the University of Michigan and paid for by the National Institute on Aging.
The study, which followed 1,500 couples over the age of 65 for years, looked at the quality of their marriages, their attitudes toward one another, and the effects on one spouse after the other died.
Close to half -- 46 percent -- said they had enjoyed their marriages but were able to cope with the loss of a spouse without much grieving.
"Until recently, mental health experts assumed that persons with minimal symptoms of grief were either in denial, emotionally distant or lacked a close attachment to their spouse," Rutgers University sociologist Deborah Carr, who began analyzing the data while she was at the University of Michigan.
"But 46 percent of the widows and widowers in this study reported that they had satisfying marriages. They believed that life is fair and they accepted that death is a part of life," Carr said in a statement.
"After their partner's death, many surviving spouses said they took great comfort in their memories," she added.
"Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence that men and women who show this resilient pattern of grief are not emotionally distant or in denial, but are in fact well-adjusted individuals responding to loss in a healthy way."
In the United States, more than 900,000 adults lose spouses each year. Nearly 75 percent are over the age of 65.
The AARP, a group that represents Americans over the age of 50, says there are more than 13.7 million widowed people in the United States and more than 11 million, or 80 percent, are women.
Writing in a new book, "Spousal Bereavement in Late Life," Carr, psychiatrist Dr. Randolph Nesse, and psychologist Camille Wortman of the State University of New York at Stony Brook said they found that the death of their partner was a relief to about 10 percent of those widowed.
They were depressed before their spouse's death but were much less depressed afterward.
"These are people who felt trapped in a bad marriage or onerous care-giving duties and widowhood offered relief and escape," Carr said. "The old paradigm would have seen this absence of grief as emotional inhibition or a form of denial, but in our view, these are people for whom bereavement serves as the end of a chronic source of stress."
Another 16 percent of surviving spouses experienced chronic grief, lasting more than 18 months. And 11 percent had high levels of depression six months after their loss but much lower levels by 18 months afterward.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Kangaroo Leads Austrian Cops on Snow Chase
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - A kangaroo led police in southern Austria on a snow chase Thursday after it jumped the fence of its cage and decided to explore its wintry surroundings.
The marsupial — discovered on a country road about 3 miles outside the town of St. Veit in the province of Carinthia — kept hopping away from perplexed police trying to rein it in, local police officer Joerg Fortin said.
In the end, a local veterinarian helped capture the animal using a stun gun.
The kangaroo, which belongs to a breeder in Tirol, was in southern Austria for treatment by Georg Rainer, another local veterinarian.
In a phone interview, Rainer said he was also temporarily looking after a second kangaroo for about two to three weeks. He was not immediately able to provide details about the breeder.
The year-old kangaroo that briefly escaped was being treated for minor injuries, he added.
Tourists who visit the alpine country can buy T-shirts with the slogan "There are no kangaroos in Austria" because this European country is sometimes confused with Australia, where the marsupials are native. Some tourists in Austria have been known to ask where kangaroos can be found.
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - A kangaroo led police in southern Austria on a snow chase Thursday after it jumped the fence of its cage and decided to explore its wintry surroundings.
The marsupial — discovered on a country road about 3 miles outside the town of St. Veit in the province of Carinthia — kept hopping away from perplexed police trying to rein it in, local police officer Joerg Fortin said.
In the end, a local veterinarian helped capture the animal using a stun gun.
The kangaroo, which belongs to a breeder in Tirol, was in southern Austria for treatment by Georg Rainer, another local veterinarian.
In a phone interview, Rainer said he was also temporarily looking after a second kangaroo for about two to three weeks. He was not immediately able to provide details about the breeder.
The year-old kangaroo that briefly escaped was being treated for minor injuries, he added.
Tourists who visit the alpine country can buy T-shirts with the slogan "There are no kangaroos in Austria" because this European country is sometimes confused with Australia, where the marsupials are native. Some tourists in Austria have been known to ask where kangaroos can be found.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Which do you prefer? TV or sex?
By Danny Glenwright
TORONTO, Canada (Reuters) - When it comes to sex and romance, aging Canadian baby boomers spend a lot more time watching television or surfing the net, according to a new study.
The survey by pollsters Ipsos Reid, commissioned by Pfizer Inc., the maker of Viagra, found that Canadians between the ages of 40 and 64 spend an average of 15 minutes a day on sex and romance, but can spend as much as five hours a day watching TV or surfing the Internet.
"Later in life, you have a different perspective of what sex is all about," John Wright, an Ipsos Reid spokesman, said on Thursday.
Of 2,500 people surveyed, more than half said they were often too tired to have sex, while 42 percent said they were too stressed out and 40 percent said they did not have time.
Around half of the respondents said when they do have sex it is intimate and tender.
Wright said another yet-to-be released study found that 37 percent of Canadians over 55 prefer a good night of sex to a good night of sleep, indicating that sex is still important to that age group.
"I think the last two decades have opened up sexuality as far as (older) couples engaging in a variety of sexual activities," he said. "There's been much more openness about this... sex shops abound."
Linda Proulx, owner of Winnipeg, Manitoba's Love Nest boutiques, said the boomers' preference for watching TV is not such a bad thing. She said many of her customers are baby boomers and senior citizens who have taken a cue from television and decided to rejuvenate their sex life.
"People are spending time watching TV, but it is bringing them into our stores," she said, noting that more television shows have sexual themes. "They're buying the products to maybe help them engage in a more intimate or longer sex act because of something they've seen on TV."
The Ipsos Reid survey found that even though boomers are having less sex, only 28 percent say it is less enjoyable now than it was in their 20s, and more than 80 percent say sex makes them feel loved and appreciated.
By Danny Glenwright
TORONTO, Canada (Reuters) - When it comes to sex and romance, aging Canadian baby boomers spend a lot more time watching television or surfing the net, according to a new study.
The survey by pollsters Ipsos Reid, commissioned by Pfizer Inc., the maker of Viagra, found that Canadians between the ages of 40 and 64 spend an average of 15 minutes a day on sex and romance, but can spend as much as five hours a day watching TV or surfing the Internet.
"Later in life, you have a different perspective of what sex is all about," John Wright, an Ipsos Reid spokesman, said on Thursday.
Of 2,500 people surveyed, more than half said they were often too tired to have sex, while 42 percent said they were too stressed out and 40 percent said they did not have time.
Around half of the respondents said when they do have sex it is intimate and tender.
Wright said another yet-to-be released study found that 37 percent of Canadians over 55 prefer a good night of sex to a good night of sleep, indicating that sex is still important to that age group.
"I think the last two decades have opened up sexuality as far as (older) couples engaging in a variety of sexual activities," he said. "There's been much more openness about this... sex shops abound."
Linda Proulx, owner of Winnipeg, Manitoba's Love Nest boutiques, said the boomers' preference for watching TV is not such a bad thing. She said many of her customers are baby boomers and senior citizens who have taken a cue from television and decided to rejuvenate their sex life.
"People are spending time watching TV, but it is bringing them into our stores," she said, noting that more television shows have sexual themes. "They're buying the products to maybe help them engage in a more intimate or longer sex act because of something they've seen on TV."
The Ipsos Reid survey found that even though boomers are having less sex, only 28 percent say it is less enjoyable now than it was in their 20s, and more than 80 percent say sex makes them feel loved and appreciated.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
With a little bit of blooming luck...
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) - Little is as important in the Japanese spring than knowing when cherry trees will bloom.
Last year's prediction was off by several days, leaving forecasters at the Meteorological Agency red faced.
Stung by a storm of criticism, the agency has revised its forecasting model to predict when the delicate pink flowers, a national obsession, will emerge.
"It is true that last year our predictions for the cherries were off by about four days, and we got a lot of complaints," an agency spokeswoman said.
Global warming, it seems, is to blame.
Until this year, the agency based its prediction on data from the past 50 years but global warming is making those figures less trustworthy and the period has been narrowed to 30 years.
The arrival of warmer weather prompts the blooming and Japanese follow the event intensely as it moves south to north over about a month. Media publish frequent updates.
The traditional appeal of cherry blossom viewing is said to lie in its poignant reminder of the shortness of life, but for many people it is an excuse to celebrate in often raucous "hanami" (cherry-viewing) parties.
Planning these parties is a matter of prime importance, which is why accurate predictions are crucial.
The cherries began to bloom in the western prefecture of Kochi on Thursday. Tokyo's trees are predicted to start blossoming on March 22.
The weather agency has erred in more than cherry blossom predictions in recent months.
Last autumn, they said the winter just ending would be warmer than usual. Instead, it was the most severe since World War Two.
"Newspapers say our reputation is at stake over the cherries, but that isn't true," the spokeswoman said. "We give weather predictions and cherry predictions the same scientific treatment."
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) - Little is as important in the Japanese spring than knowing when cherry trees will bloom.
Last year's prediction was off by several days, leaving forecasters at the Meteorological Agency red faced.
Stung by a storm of criticism, the agency has revised its forecasting model to predict when the delicate pink flowers, a national obsession, will emerge.
"It is true that last year our predictions for the cherries were off by about four days, and we got a lot of complaints," an agency spokeswoman said.
Global warming, it seems, is to blame.
Until this year, the agency based its prediction on data from the past 50 years but global warming is making those figures less trustworthy and the period has been narrowed to 30 years.
The arrival of warmer weather prompts the blooming and Japanese follow the event intensely as it moves south to north over about a month. Media publish frequent updates.
The traditional appeal of cherry blossom viewing is said to lie in its poignant reminder of the shortness of life, but for many people it is an excuse to celebrate in often raucous "hanami" (cherry-viewing) parties.
Planning these parties is a matter of prime importance, which is why accurate predictions are crucial.
The cherries began to bloom in the western prefecture of Kochi on Thursday. Tokyo's trees are predicted to start blossoming on March 22.
The weather agency has erred in more than cherry blossom predictions in recent months.
Last autumn, they said the winter just ending would be warmer than usual. Instead, it was the most severe since World War Two.
"Newspapers say our reputation is at stake over the cherries, but that isn't true," the spokeswoman said. "We give weather predictions and cherry predictions the same scientific treatment."
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Stolen Van Gogh returned after 7 years
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch bank got a bonus on Thursday when police turned up with its stolen Van Gogh painting during an earnings news conference.
"The Pollard Willow" was one of the last works the Dutch painter made in Nuenen in 1885 before leaving the southern region of the Netherlands where he was born.
The still life on a wooden panel, valued at several million euros, was stolen from a meeting room at F. van Lanschot Bankiers' Den Bosch headquarters in May 1999 in a heist police still have yet to solve.
"The most important thing was to get the painting back in a good state," Jac Nouwens, chief investigator for the district police, told reporters.
Two men, aged 25 and 33 were arrested for attempting to sell the painting and are being interrogated, Nouwens said. He declined to give more details of the continuing investigation.
Van Lanschot, which owns some 3,500 works of art, is still looking for a secure place to display the painting.
"For the time being we will definitely keep it in the safe. We need to get used to the idea again that it's back," Van Lanschot Chief Executive Floris Deckers told reporters.
Another piece of good news at the news conference was that F. Van Lanschot Bankiers' 2005 profit jumped 51 percent to 152 million euros ($183 million).
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch bank got a bonus on Thursday when police turned up with its stolen Van Gogh painting during an earnings news conference.
"The Pollard Willow" was one of the last works the Dutch painter made in Nuenen in 1885 before leaving the southern region of the Netherlands where he was born.
The still life on a wooden panel, valued at several million euros, was stolen from a meeting room at F. van Lanschot Bankiers' Den Bosch headquarters in May 1999 in a heist police still have yet to solve.
"The most important thing was to get the painting back in a good state," Jac Nouwens, chief investigator for the district police, told reporters.
Two men, aged 25 and 33 were arrested for attempting to sell the painting and are being interrogated, Nouwens said. He declined to give more details of the continuing investigation.
Van Lanschot, which owns some 3,500 works of art, is still looking for a secure place to display the painting.
"For the time being we will definitely keep it in the safe. We need to get used to the idea again that it's back," Van Lanschot Chief Executive Floris Deckers told reporters.
Another piece of good news at the news conference was that F. Van Lanschot Bankiers' 2005 profit jumped 51 percent to 152 million euros ($183 million).
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Don't read this if you get nightmares...
ALMATY (Reuters) - Burglars in Kazakhstan locked a funeral parlor employee in a coffin and kept him there unconscious while rummaging for cash in the shop.
Serik Sarsenbayev said he was on his own late at night when two masked burglars burst into the parlor and beat him until he fainted.
The thieves then nailed him into a wooden coffin and carried on their search for a money safe, he told Reuters by telephone from the steppe town of Temirtau.
He was later freed by the driver of the parlor's hearse.
The thieves made away with the equivalent of $23,000 and remain at large, the daily Express K reported.
ALMATY (Reuters) - Burglars in Kazakhstan locked a funeral parlor employee in a coffin and kept him there unconscious while rummaging for cash in the shop.
Serik Sarsenbayev said he was on his own late at night when two masked burglars burst into the parlor and beat him until he fainted.
The thieves then nailed him into a wooden coffin and carried on their search for a money safe, he told Reuters by telephone from the steppe town of Temirtau.
He was later freed by the driver of the parlor's hearse.
The thieves made away with the equivalent of $23,000 and remain at large, the daily Express K reported.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Toddler shock on reality show
SOFIA, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Bulgarian media and broadcasting authorities criticized a popular reality television show on Thursday for letting a toddler live in a house with 12 frolicking adults.
Media were initially delighted to find the cast of moderately famous Bulgarians on "VIP Brother" included self-described "sex hedonists," an ex-Playboy playmate, and former Miss Bulgaria Violeta Zdravkova.
But opinion shifted when Zdravkova brought her 3-year-old daughter Danaya to the show, which in previous years has featured nudity, sex and short-lived affairs between housemates.
"Little Danaya listens to sex lessons!" said the headline of a disapproving article in daily Trud.
Bulgaria's broadcasting regulator sent a letter expressing concern to Nova TV, the station airing the show.
"We are extremely worried at the presence in the house of a three-year-old, who has become an unwitting witness of indecent acts," it said, urging Nova to bring the show up to "public perceptions of moral standards."
Fans of the show have also complained.
But Nova said it would not kick the girl off the set.
"Only her mother can decide whether she should keep her daughter in the house," said the station's public relations officer Galina Dzhoreva.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Bulgarian media and broadcasting authorities criticized a popular reality television show on Thursday for letting a toddler live in a house with 12 frolicking adults.
Media were initially delighted to find the cast of moderately famous Bulgarians on "VIP Brother" included self-described "sex hedonists," an ex-Playboy playmate, and former Miss Bulgaria Violeta Zdravkova.
But opinion shifted when Zdravkova brought her 3-year-old daughter Danaya to the show, which in previous years has featured nudity, sex and short-lived affairs between housemates.
"Little Danaya listens to sex lessons!" said the headline of a disapproving article in daily Trud.
Bulgaria's broadcasting regulator sent a letter expressing concern to Nova TV, the station airing the show.
"We are extremely worried at the presence in the house of a three-year-old, who has become an unwitting witness of indecent acts," it said, urging Nova to bring the show up to "public perceptions of moral standards."
Fans of the show have also complained.
But Nova said it would not kick the girl off the set.
"Only her mother can decide whether she should keep her daughter in the house," said the station's public relations officer Galina Dzhoreva.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Psychics to try contacting Lennon in TV seance
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - Imagine John Lennon spinning in his grave.
The ex-Beatle, who was murdered over 25 years ago, is the latest subject of a pay-per-view seance arranged by the producers of a 2003 attempt to contact the dead Princess Diana. That show made money but was slammed by critics as hitting a new low in television tastelessness.
"People say this is disgusting and I accept that criticism, but we're making a serious attempt to do something that many, many millions of people around the world think is possible," said Paul Sharratt, who heads Starcast Productions, which made "The Spirit of Diana." That show drew over half a million U.S. viewers willing to pay $14.95 to watch it.
The Lennon show will air on April 24 on a pay-per-view channel and cost $9.95.
Sharratt himself is a "non-believer," and admits to not being totally convinced otherwise after psychics attempted to contact the dead princess in the 2003 program. Nevertheless, it made for some great television, he said.
"I have to say that I'm a skeptic. I went into it very skeptically and I didn't come out a total believer, but it was good for a lot of people as a tribute to Diana," he said.
Sharratt said he chose Lennon because the former Beatle, like Diana, is an icon and was also a deeply spiritual person. "Lennon was very interested in the spiritual world. It's a natural follow-up to the Diana seance," he said.
"The Spirit of John Lennon" is being done without the knowledge or consent of John Lennon's estate. A spokesman for Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow, had no immediate comment.
Sharratt said, "We are writing to Yoko and contacting friends this week to see if any people associated with Lennon would take part."
The program will show psychics traveling to sites of significance to the former Beatle, including New York's Dakota apartment house, where he lived and was fatally shot by a deranged fan, Mark David Chapman, just over 25 years ago.
Psychics will also visit the Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles where the Beatles recorded, and a town in India where Lennon pursued a spiritual retreat.
Sharratt said the Indian sequence will feature a spirit reader at an ashram who believes he can contact Lennon to receive musical notes and lyrics from the other side.
Any notations will be flown to Los Angeles, where a composer will arrange the notes, add vocals and backgrounds to produce a new song.
The special will culminate as psychics, colleagues and confidantes sit at a seance table for 30 minutes surrounded by infra-red cameras that can capture any "presence" or spirit that enters the room.
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) - Imagine John Lennon spinning in his grave.
The ex-Beatle, who was murdered over 25 years ago, is the latest subject of a pay-per-view seance arranged by the producers of a 2003 attempt to contact the dead Princess Diana. That show made money but was slammed by critics as hitting a new low in television tastelessness.
"People say this is disgusting and I accept that criticism, but we're making a serious attempt to do something that many, many millions of people around the world think is possible," said Paul Sharratt, who heads Starcast Productions, which made "The Spirit of Diana." That show drew over half a million U.S. viewers willing to pay $14.95 to watch it.
The Lennon show will air on April 24 on a pay-per-view channel and cost $9.95.
Sharratt himself is a "non-believer," and admits to not being totally convinced otherwise after psychics attempted to contact the dead princess in the 2003 program. Nevertheless, it made for some great television, he said.
"I have to say that I'm a skeptic. I went into it very skeptically and I didn't come out a total believer, but it was good for a lot of people as a tribute to Diana," he said.
Sharratt said he chose Lennon because the former Beatle, like Diana, is an icon and was also a deeply spiritual person. "Lennon was very interested in the spiritual world. It's a natural follow-up to the Diana seance," he said.
"The Spirit of John Lennon" is being done without the knowledge or consent of John Lennon's estate. A spokesman for Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow, had no immediate comment.
Sharratt said, "We are writing to Yoko and contacting friends this week to see if any people associated with Lennon would take part."
The program will show psychics traveling to sites of significance to the former Beatle, including New York's Dakota apartment house, where he lived and was fatally shot by a deranged fan, Mark David Chapman, just over 25 years ago.
Psychics will also visit the Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles where the Beatles recorded, and a town in India where Lennon pursued a spiritual retreat.
Sharratt said the Indian sequence will feature a spirit reader at an ashram who believes he can contact Lennon to receive musical notes and lyrics from the other side.
Any notations will be flown to Los Angeles, where a composer will arrange the notes, add vocals and backgrounds to produce a new song.
The special will culminate as psychics, colleagues and confidantes sit at a seance table for 30 minutes surrounded by infra-red cameras that can capture any "presence" or spirit that enters the room.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Hungry for iron ore in China? Go on the Net!
By Lucy Hornby
SHANGHAI, China (Reuters) - Chinese trading companies are surfing a local version of eBay, Alibaba, to scour the world for an increasingly state-controlled resource -- iron ore.
Small steel mills, desperate to find iron ore from Brazil, India, Indonesia or New Zealand, can find it on Alibaba, China's top online business-to-business Web site, which is backed by Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO)
Some of the 237 offers available on Friday included photos of a lump of the ore used to make steel.
"We use the Internet as an extension of our services, to let more people know what we have," said Sun Gongmin, who handles Internet marketing for Beijing Hero Trade Co. "We only started posting iron ore late last year. Before that we'd been pretty successful with rugs.
The Chinese steel industry, led by top steel maker Baosteel Group, is trying to marshal a united front in term price negotiations with the world's top three iron ore suppliers.
To prevent a run-up in spot prices, Beijing has tried to crack down on speculative imports. It is pressuring small mills to close and larger ones to merge and upgrade, to create a modern and competitive industry.
"A lot of people have contacted us already, mostly other trading companies helping their clients source a few thousand tonnes here or there. We're basically just the middlemen."
His firm specializes in rugs, Canadian lumber, Brazilian iron ore, Indonesian coal, scrap copper and American yellow pine sawdust for composite board, according to its posted description.
Most postings require interested parties to contact the seller for negotiations on price, volume and transport. But the Shanghai Huozhiyao Import Export Trade Co. offers Indonesian spot ore at $67 a tonne, illustrated by a photo of a tropical shoreline. Brazilian ore is $69 a tonne.
Spot Indian iron ore in Chinese ports is now valued around $72 to $73 a tonne, traders said. Brazilian ore sold on a term basis is now valued around $67 a tonne, cost and freight.
By contrast, a search for "iron ore" on eBay, Alibaba's rival in online sales to consumers, turned up a variety of postcards of old mines, iron coins and toy trains, but very little that can be measured in tonnes.
By Lucy Hornby
SHANGHAI, China (Reuters) - Chinese trading companies are surfing a local version of eBay, Alibaba, to scour the world for an increasingly state-controlled resource -- iron ore.
Small steel mills, desperate to find iron ore from Brazil, India, Indonesia or New Zealand, can find it on Alibaba, China's top online business-to-business Web site, which is backed by Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO)
Some of the 237 offers available on Friday included photos of a lump of the ore used to make steel.
"We use the Internet as an extension of our services, to let more people know what we have," said Sun Gongmin, who handles Internet marketing for Beijing Hero Trade Co. "We only started posting iron ore late last year. Before that we'd been pretty successful with rugs.
The Chinese steel industry, led by top steel maker Baosteel Group, is trying to marshal a united front in term price negotiations with the world's top three iron ore suppliers.
To prevent a run-up in spot prices, Beijing has tried to crack down on speculative imports. It is pressuring small mills to close and larger ones to merge and upgrade, to create a modern and competitive industry.
"A lot of people have contacted us already, mostly other trading companies helping their clients source a few thousand tonnes here or there. We're basically just the middlemen."
His firm specializes in rugs, Canadian lumber, Brazilian iron ore, Indonesian coal, scrap copper and American yellow pine sawdust for composite board, according to its posted description.
Most postings require interested parties to contact the seller for negotiations on price, volume and transport. But the Shanghai Huozhiyao Import Export Trade Co. offers Indonesian spot ore at $67 a tonne, illustrated by a photo of a tropical shoreline. Brazilian ore is $69 a tonne.
Spot Indian iron ore in Chinese ports is now valued around $72 to $73 a tonne, traders said. Brazilian ore sold on a term basis is now valued around $67 a tonne, cost and freight.
By contrast, a search for "iron ore" on eBay, Alibaba's rival in online sales to consumers, turned up a variety of postcards of old mines, iron coins and toy trains, but very little that can be measured in tonnes.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Pregnant Teen Waitress Gets $1,000 Tip
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - A pregnant teenage waitress got an unexpectedly large tip when a sympathetic stranger left her $1,000 in cash, according to a media report Friday.
After a lunch of burgers, fries and drinks with a bill of $26.35, the woman left Amanda Newkirk ten $100 bills and a handwritten note reading "Keep the change! Have a great day," the Roanoke Times reported.
The 19-year-old thought it had to be a joke. But the manager at the Ruby Tuesday restaurant confirmed the authenticity of the bills with a counterfeit-detection pen, according to the paper.
Erin Dogan, a 28-year-old widow, called Newkirk's general manager and said she had left the tip while at lunch with her fiance.
"It involved a lot more than good service at a great restaurant," Dogan told the Times. "I didn't need it. It helped someone who ... needed it. God put us there together. God answered my questions."
Dogan, whose husband died last year, told the paper she loves to shop and could easily have spent the money at a nearby mall. But she decided to put it to better use.
"It made me feel phenomenal," Dogan said. "It has changed my life."
Newkirk plans to use some of the money to help pay for medical bills related to her pregnancy. But aside from a few national radio and television appearances, life continues as normal for the teen.
"I'm not going to retire with a thousand dollars," she said with a laugh.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - A pregnant teenage waitress got an unexpectedly large tip when a sympathetic stranger left her $1,000 in cash, according to a media report Friday.
After a lunch of burgers, fries and drinks with a bill of $26.35, the woman left Amanda Newkirk ten $100 bills and a handwritten note reading "Keep the change! Have a great day," the Roanoke Times reported.
The 19-year-old thought it had to be a joke. But the manager at the Ruby Tuesday restaurant confirmed the authenticity of the bills with a counterfeit-detection pen, according to the paper.
Erin Dogan, a 28-year-old widow, called Newkirk's general manager and said she had left the tip while at lunch with her fiance.
"It involved a lot more than good service at a great restaurant," Dogan told the Times. "I didn't need it. It helped someone who ... needed it. God put us there together. God answered my questions."
Dogan, whose husband died last year, told the paper she loves to shop and could easily have spent the money at a nearby mall. But she decided to put it to better use.
"It made me feel phenomenal," Dogan said. "It has changed my life."
Newkirk plans to use some of the money to help pay for medical bills related to her pregnancy. But aside from a few national radio and television appearances, life continues as normal for the teen.
"I'm not going to retire with a thousand dollars," she said with a laugh.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Parrots threaten Dallas electricity supply
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Above the hum of high voltage comes the unexpected squawk of parrots.
The neighbors of Forest Hills in East Dallas treasure the South American birds.
But the parrots have built their nests in a TXU substation. And one stray feather could cut off electricity to 10,000 people. A dilemma as TXU upgrades the facility.
Here's the problem. There used to be nests in this tower and this one. But as TXU rebuilt this tower it removed the nests.
The neighborhood says TXU promised not to destroy the nests until August. TXU said it checked the nests for chicks and eggs before it removed them and no birds were hurt. Now TXU plans to build them a new home.
"An alternate nesting platform that we are going to build at our expense, install at our expense and maintain at our expense," said a spokesperson.
TXU says it is meeting with all parties concerned for a go ahead on the project. The people living in the neighborhood are anxious for the project to start so the parrots can continue their own version of March madness. Mating season.
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Above the hum of high voltage comes the unexpected squawk of parrots.
The neighbors of Forest Hills in East Dallas treasure the South American birds.
But the parrots have built their nests in a TXU substation. And one stray feather could cut off electricity to 10,000 people. A dilemma as TXU upgrades the facility.
Here's the problem. There used to be nests in this tower and this one. But as TXU rebuilt this tower it removed the nests.
The neighborhood says TXU promised not to destroy the nests until August. TXU said it checked the nests for chicks and eggs before it removed them and no birds were hurt. Now TXU plans to build them a new home.
"An alternate nesting platform that we are going to build at our expense, install at our expense and maintain at our expense," said a spokesperson.
TXU says it is meeting with all parties concerned for a go ahead on the project. The people living in the neighborhood are anxious for the project to start so the parrots can continue their own version of March madness. Mating season.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Bloody ad police relent
MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - Australia said "bloody well done" Saturday after Britain's television advertising regulator lifted a ban on an Australian tourism campaign centered on the slightly risque phrase "bloody hell."
The Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Center had banned the ads from British television because of concerns over the campaign's use of the word "bloody" and ordered censored ads run in their place.
However Australian Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who flew to London to save the campaign, said Saturday the regulators had agreed the ads could go ahead in their original form.
"I am pleased that common sense prevailed and the regulators realized the campaign was intended to be cheeky, friendly and very Australian," Bailey told reporters.
The ads begin with characters saying: "We've poured you a beer and we've had the camels shampooed, we've saved you a spot on the beach ... and we've got the sharks out of the pool."
They end with a bikini-clad woman on a beach asking "so where the bloody hell are you?"
The furor over the British TV ban provided an unexpected windfall of free publicity for Tourism Australia, which said it had created "an on-line traffic jam" around the A$180 million ($133 million) campaign.
"That's bloody good news," Victoria state premier Steve Bracks, whose state is currently hosting the Commonwealth Games, said when told the ban had been lifted.
The campaign is already running in the United States and New Zealand as well as Britain and will also target China, Japan, India and Germany.
The full advertisement can be seen at http://www.wherethebloodyhellareyou.com.
MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - Australia said "bloody well done" Saturday after Britain's television advertising regulator lifted a ban on an Australian tourism campaign centered on the slightly risque phrase "bloody hell."
The Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Center had banned the ads from British television because of concerns over the campaign's use of the word "bloody" and ordered censored ads run in their place.
However Australian Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who flew to London to save the campaign, said Saturday the regulators had agreed the ads could go ahead in their original form.
"I am pleased that common sense prevailed and the regulators realized the campaign was intended to be cheeky, friendly and very Australian," Bailey told reporters.
The ads begin with characters saying: "We've poured you a beer and we've had the camels shampooed, we've saved you a spot on the beach ... and we've got the sharks out of the pool."
They end with a bikini-clad woman on a beach asking "so where the bloody hell are you?"
The furor over the British TV ban provided an unexpected windfall of free publicity for Tourism Australia, which said it had created "an on-line traffic jam" around the A$180 million ($133 million) campaign.
"That's bloody good news," Victoria state premier Steve Bracks, whose state is currently hosting the Commonwealth Games, said when told the ban had been lifted.
The campaign is already running in the United States and New Zealand as well as Britain and will also target China, Japan, India and Germany.
The full advertisement can be seen at http://www.wherethebloodyhellareyou.com.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Humphrey the cat dies, but what a life.
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Humphrey, a stray cat who wandered in to the official residence of Britain's prime minister in 1989 and caused a scandal when he "retired" in 1997, has died, a spokesman for Tony Blair said Monday.
The black and white one-time "mouser in chief" was perhaps the most famous pet in a country of animal worshippers.
"World of politics mourns a legend," headlined the Sun, Britain's largest circulation daily newspaper.
"It is true. We learned last week that Humphrey has died," a spokesman confirmed. Humphrey was thought to be 18.
He had wandered into No. 10 Downing Street under Margaret Thatcher and remained throughout the tenure of John Major. But he was sent away to live with a civil servant in "retirement" months after Tony Blair was elected in 1997.
At the time, Conservative opponents accused Blair of having Humphrey put down because the new prime minister's wife Cherie didn't like the cat. Questions were raised. Fur flew.
"Humphrey is now a missing person. Unless I hear from him or he makes a public appearance, I suspect he has been shot," opposition Conservative politician Alan Clark declared at the time.
The government finally arranged for press photos to prove Humphrey was still alive, saying he had gone to live with a civil servant to be treated for illness.
He was photographed, hostage-like, with copies of the day's newspapers to show the pictures were fresh. Blair's office issued a statement saying Cherie was sad to see him go.
It was not the only time Humphrey had been embroiled in scandal. In 1994 the government had to issue an official denial after the cat was accused of killing a family of robins.
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Humphrey, a stray cat who wandered in to the official residence of Britain's prime minister in 1989 and caused a scandal when he "retired" in 1997, has died, a spokesman for Tony Blair said Monday.
The black and white one-time "mouser in chief" was perhaps the most famous pet in a country of animal worshippers.
"World of politics mourns a legend," headlined the Sun, Britain's largest circulation daily newspaper.
"It is true. We learned last week that Humphrey has died," a spokesman confirmed. Humphrey was thought to be 18.
He had wandered into No. 10 Downing Street under Margaret Thatcher and remained throughout the tenure of John Major. But he was sent away to live with a civil servant in "retirement" months after Tony Blair was elected in 1997.
At the time, Conservative opponents accused Blair of having Humphrey put down because the new prime minister's wife Cherie didn't like the cat. Questions were raised. Fur flew.
"Humphrey is now a missing person. Unless I hear from him or he makes a public appearance, I suspect he has been shot," opposition Conservative politician Alan Clark declared at the time.
The government finally arranged for press photos to prove Humphrey was still alive, saying he had gone to live with a civil servant to be treated for illness.
He was photographed, hostage-like, with copies of the day's newspapers to show the pictures were fresh. Blair's office issued a statement saying Cherie was sad to see him go.
It was not the only time Humphrey had been embroiled in scandal. In 1994 the government had to issue an official denial after the cat was accused of killing a family of robins.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Conviction in body enlargement scam
JERUSALEM, Israel (Reuters) - An Israeli court sentenced a man to two years in prison Sunday for operating a fake clinic that offered penis enhancements and so-called medical treatments to make people taller, which failed to work.
Simon Sofer told dozens of clients he was a doctor and said he could add up to 10 cm (3.9 inches) to their height or six cm (2.4 inches) to their genitals, the Tel Aviv court said.
His clinic, in operation since 1999, was not medically supervised, a government prosecutor had told the court.
Sofer has appealed the conviction.
He pre-charged patients 5,250 and 16,000 shekels ($1,125 and $3,430) to increase their height with a Russian-made treatment method. He told the court genitalia enlargements were not performed, despite advertisements that promised them.
People who sought to become taller were suspended from the air by their arms and legs, or had their bodies stretched with weights. Others were poked with needles or given food supplements and exercises to perform at home.
"Only a lunatic could take a person who has not been checked (by a doctor) and hang him upside down," the court in a transcript quoted a witness as saying at one trial session in February.
The court said Sofer had endangered the health of his clients and that none had received their "expected" result.
A judge sentenced him to two years jail, taking into account he had no criminal record and lives with his mother, who supports him financially.
The court gave no age for Sofer.
JERUSALEM, Israel (Reuters) - An Israeli court sentenced a man to two years in prison Sunday for operating a fake clinic that offered penis enhancements and so-called medical treatments to make people taller, which failed to work.
Simon Sofer told dozens of clients he was a doctor and said he could add up to 10 cm (3.9 inches) to their height or six cm (2.4 inches) to their genitals, the Tel Aviv court said.
His clinic, in operation since 1999, was not medically supervised, a government prosecutor had told the court.
Sofer has appealed the conviction.
He pre-charged patients 5,250 and 16,000 shekels ($1,125 and $3,430) to increase their height with a Russian-made treatment method. He told the court genitalia enlargements were not performed, despite advertisements that promised them.
People who sought to become taller were suspended from the air by their arms and legs, or had their bodies stretched with weights. Others were poked with needles or given food supplements and exercises to perform at home.
"Only a lunatic could take a person who has not been checked (by a doctor) and hang him upside down," the court in a transcript quoted a witness as saying at one trial session in February.
The court said Sofer had endangered the health of his clients and that none had received their "expected" result.
A judge sentenced him to two years jail, taking into account he had no criminal record and lives with his mother, who supports him financially.
The court gave no age for Sofer.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Hotel charges guests by the pound
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A hotel in northern Germany has started charging its guests by the kilo for an overnight stay.
In the town of Norden, close to the Dutch border, guests now have to step onto the scales before moving into their rooms and fork out half a euro ($0.61) per kilogram (2.2 lbs).
"I had many guests who were really huge and I told them to slim down," said Juergen Heckrodt, owner of the three-star establishment. "When they came back the year after and had lost a lot of weight they asked me what are you gonna do for me now?"
Heckrodt said he hoped his initiative would inspire Germans to become leaner and healthier.
"Healthy guests live longer and can come back more often."
Larger customers may be reassured that the hotel turns no one away who refuses to step on the scales and charges no guest more than 39 euros, the normal single room price.
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A hotel in northern Germany has started charging its guests by the kilo for an overnight stay.
In the town of Norden, close to the Dutch border, guests now have to step onto the scales before moving into their rooms and fork out half a euro ($0.61) per kilogram (2.2 lbs).
"I had many guests who were really huge and I told them to slim down," said Juergen Heckrodt, owner of the three-star establishment. "When they came back the year after and had lost a lot of weight they asked me what are you gonna do for me now?"
Heckrodt said he hoped his initiative would inspire Germans to become leaner and healthier.
"Healthy guests live longer and can come back more often."
Larger customers may be reassured that the hotel turns no one away who refuses to step on the scales and charges no guest more than 39 euros, the normal single room price.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Police: Man killed teen for walking on lawn
BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) - A man who neighbors say was devoted to his meticulously kept lawn was charged with murder in the shooting of a 15-year-old boy who apparently walked across his yard.
Charles Martin called 911 on Sunday afternoon, saying calmly: "I just killed a kid."
Police, who released the call's contents, said Martin also told the dispatcher: "I've been harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up."
Larry Mugrage, whose family lived next door, was shot in the chest with a shotgun. The high school freshman was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Martin, 66, allegedly told police he had several times had problems with neighbors walking on his lawn. He remained jailed without bond Monday. His jailers said no attorney was listed for him.
Neighbors said Martin lived alone quietly, often sitting in front of his one-story home with its neat lawn, well-trimmed shrubbery and flag pole with U.S. and Navy flags flying.
Joanne Ritchie, 46, said Mugrage was known as "a good kid," but she always also considered Martin to be friendly.
Union Township is near Batavia, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati.
BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) - A man who neighbors say was devoted to his meticulously kept lawn was charged with murder in the shooting of a 15-year-old boy who apparently walked across his yard.
Charles Martin called 911 on Sunday afternoon, saying calmly: "I just killed a kid."
Police, who released the call's contents, said Martin also told the dispatcher: "I've been harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up."
Larry Mugrage, whose family lived next door, was shot in the chest with a shotgun. The high school freshman was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Martin, 66, allegedly told police he had several times had problems with neighbors walking on his lawn. He remained jailed without bond Monday. His jailers said no attorney was listed for him.
Neighbors said Martin lived alone quietly, often sitting in front of his one-story home with its neat lawn, well-trimmed shrubbery and flag pole with U.S. and Navy flags flying.
Joanne Ritchie, 46, said Mugrage was known as "a good kid," but she always also considered Martin to be friendly.
Union Township is near Batavia, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Mexican soldiers shot dead for not cleaning up
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican soldier shot dead two subordinates for refusing an order to clean up their base on the country's Caribbean coast, a police spokesman said on Monday.
Alonso German was taken into military custody after shooting the two on Friday night at the army base near the resort of Cancun, said local police spokesman Angel Lopez.
He said he did not know what ranks the soldiers held. Officers at the base referred inquiries to Mexico's Defense Ministry, where no one was immediately available for comment.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican soldier shot dead two subordinates for refusing an order to clean up their base on the country's Caribbean coast, a police spokesman said on Monday.
Alonso German was taken into military custody after shooting the two on Friday night at the army base near the resort of Cancun, said local police spokesman Angel Lopez.
He said he did not know what ranks the soldiers held. Officers at the base referred inquiries to Mexico's Defense Ministry, where no one was immediately available for comment.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Air travelers seen losing 30 million bags in 2006
GENEVA (Reuters) - Some 30 million pieces of airline luggage -- about one percent of the bags passengers check in -- will go astray this year, the air travel industry's information technology systems provider SITA said on Tuesday.
The Geneva-based company, which tracks baggage in 220 countries and territories, said virtually all missing bags would be returned to their owners within an average of 31 hours after being reported missing.
Around 204,000 pieces -- a minute proportion of the 3 billion bags expected to be checked in at world airports by around 2 billion passengers in 2006 -- would never be found after getting lost in the system or stolen.
Francesco Violante, managing director of SITA INC, the commercial arm of SITA, said the air transport industry spent about $2.5 billion a year tracking down and returning luggage and compensating passengers for lost items.
While the present rapid growth in air travel -- about 6 percent a year -- is welcome, Violante said, "it has to be better managed if airlines and airports want to improve the passenger experience by eliminating delays from the system."
SITA, which along with the global airlines body IATA operates a baggage-tracing system used by 391 carriers, issued its report for an exhibition in Paris.
More and more bags are going missing because of airport congestion, short transition times, frequent switches from one airline to another during a journey, tight security rules and rising passenger and baggage volumes, SITA said in the report.
More sophisticated systems linking bags and owners and more self-service check-in kiosks could help the industry keep better tabs on luggage, SITA added.
The report said the chief cause of late-arriving bags was mishandling when luggage is transferred between flights. This accounted for 61 percent of hold-ups in 2005.
Next came failure to load bags at the original departure point, which made up 15 percent of delays. The attaching of incorrect destination tags at check-in accounted for just 3 percent, according to the report.
GENEVA (Reuters) - Some 30 million pieces of airline luggage -- about one percent of the bags passengers check in -- will go astray this year, the air travel industry's information technology systems provider SITA said on Tuesday.
The Geneva-based company, which tracks baggage in 220 countries and territories, said virtually all missing bags would be returned to their owners within an average of 31 hours after being reported missing.
Around 204,000 pieces -- a minute proportion of the 3 billion bags expected to be checked in at world airports by around 2 billion passengers in 2006 -- would never be found after getting lost in the system or stolen.
Francesco Violante, managing director of SITA INC, the commercial arm of SITA, said the air transport industry spent about $2.5 billion a year tracking down and returning luggage and compensating passengers for lost items.
While the present rapid growth in air travel -- about 6 percent a year -- is welcome, Violante said, "it has to be better managed if airlines and airports want to improve the passenger experience by eliminating delays from the system."
SITA, which along with the global airlines body IATA operates a baggage-tracing system used by 391 carriers, issued its report for an exhibition in Paris.
More and more bags are going missing because of airport congestion, short transition times, frequent switches from one airline to another during a journey, tight security rules and rising passenger and baggage volumes, SITA said in the report.
More sophisticated systems linking bags and owners and more self-service check-in kiosks could help the industry keep better tabs on luggage, SITA added.
The report said the chief cause of late-arriving bags was mishandling when luggage is transferred between flights. This accounted for 61 percent of hold-ups in 2005.
Next came failure to load bags at the original departure point, which made up 15 percent of delays. The attaching of incorrect destination tags at check-in accounted for just 3 percent, according to the report.
0 likes
-
TexasStooge
- Category 5
- Posts: 38127
- Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:22 pm
- Location: Irving (Dallas County), TX
- Contact:
Viagra for stallion who wouldn't horse around...
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A German court ordered viagra to be given to a stallion after his new owner claimed he was impotent and refused to pay the full asking price.
The buyer of the horse called Vedor paid just a tenth of the price of over 4,000 euros ($4,900), claiming it had only one testicle and failed to get frisky with a female pony.
A vet found the testicle after an examination, said Egbert Simons, a spokesman for the court in the eastern town of Neuruppin.
And when the stallion was given the potency drug, it emerged he was fully functional, he added.
The court ordered the buyer to pay the full price.
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) - A German court ordered viagra to be given to a stallion after his new owner claimed he was impotent and refused to pay the full asking price.
The buyer of the horse called Vedor paid just a tenth of the price of over 4,000 euros ($4,900), claiming it had only one testicle and failed to get frisky with a female pony.
A vet found the testicle after an examination, said Egbert Simons, a spokesman for the court in the eastern town of Neuruppin.
And when the stallion was given the potency drug, it emerged he was fully functional, he added.
The court ordered the buyer to pay the full price.
0 likes
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests