LONDON - Airline passengers arriving in Britain escaped chaos early Wednesday despite dire predictions of long waits, as border staff joined teachers, hospital workers and weather forecasters in the country's largest strike in decades.
The one-day strike has been called in protest at the government's plan to make public sector pensions less generous in the years ahead. The pension reforms are part of a package of austerity measures designed to get a grip on the country's high borrowing levels.
London's Heathrow Airport and scores of airlines had warned that international travellers could be held in lines for up to 12 hours at immigration halls as a result of staff shortages. But airport managers said flights arriving early Wednesday from the United States, Asia and Europe were largely unaffected, in part because of contingency plans which saw bureaucrats drafted in to staff border desks.
British border staff, teachers, weather forecasters join 1-day strike over pension reform
8 of the World’s Healthiest Spices & Herbs You Should Be Eating
As a registered dietitian and associate nutrition editor at EatingWell Magazine, I know that herbs and spices do more than simply add flavor to food. They let you cut down on some less-healthy ingredients, such as salt, added sugars and saturated fat, and some have inherent health benefits, many of which Joyce Hendley reported on for EatingWell Magazine.Modern science is beginning to uncover the ultimate power of spices and herbs, as weapons against illnesses from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. "We're now starting to see a scientific basis for why people have been using spices medicinally for thousands of years," says Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D., professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and author of Healing Spices (Sterling, 2011).
How black licorice can help your digestion
You probably tried black licorice when you were a kid, and either loved it or hated it. Its sweet taste is distinct and has similar flavouring to fennel or anise. In fact, licorice candy often contains less licorice extract and more anise flavouring, but it's the extract - the remnants of boiled licorice root - that has many health benefits.
In Chinese medicine, licorice root is considered to have strong anti-inflammatory properties and is a treatment of a variety of illnesses, from stomach ulcers to diabetes. It is used to soothe coughs and sore throats, control blood sugar, balance hormones, heal cold sores, and treat eczema, asthma, flu, herpes, and hepatitis. Its also popularly used as a natural laxative, so it can help with constipation, and as an aid for digestive problems. According to the medical journal, Nutrition and Cancer , substances in licorice may even protect against carcinogen-induced DNA. Furthermore, research suggests that it may help inhibit tumor formations and kill cancer cells.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Total Recall' commentary is a comedy goldmine
What do you get when you put Arnold Schwarzenegger and director Paul Verhoeven in a sound booth and play "Total Recall" for them? You get the greatest DVD commentary in the history of film. Well, it's not so much commentary as it is Arnold explaining what he's seeing on the screen and Verhoeven agreeing with him.Tristar Pictures
Check out this not-safe-for-work sample of the commentary (contains violence, language, and prosthetic side-breast):
10 Wonderful Ways to Use Vinegar
Vinegar isn't just for salad dressings (although it's great for that too!).
This powerful liquid can do just about anything your roster of cleaning products can, and at a fraction of a cost.
From making cut flowers last longer to ridding our boots of salt stains, our favourite household staple is a powerful ally to any cleaning regimen.
Here are our favourite ways to use it.
4 Pricing Strategies That Increase Your Spending
In marketing and retail, the price of a product is often the most important factor in determining the product's success. Sure, quality and appearance play a large role in a customer's decision, but shoppers are being manipulated by the pricing, and they're often not even aware of it.
Ideally, every retailer would determine their costs to provide goods or services, and then tack on a modest surcharge to those goods or services to produce a profit. But in the reality of your local Target or Safeway, shopping is not that simple. Finding the true cost or value of an item is muddled in rewards programs, rebates, discounts on multiple items, etc. More than ever before, retailers and service providers understand that a mix of the following pricing strategies will ultimately produce more profits than selling exclusively with a variable cost-plus pricing method.
Prestige Pricing
Android models dominate 'Dirty Dozen' list of unsafe smartphones
Android can boast its strength in numbers since topping their Apple competitors in smartphone sales back in March, but a recent study is bound to serve up the OS developers with a little humility.The 'Dirty Dozen' list of the market's most unsafe smartphones consists solely of Android models. Researchers at Bit9 have convicted 12 such devices of posing the highest privacy and security risks to its users.
Dancing with the Stars: J.R. Martinez Wins!
The winner of Dancing with the Stars is…
J.R. Martinez!
The 28-year-old veteran and actor beat out Rob Kardashian and Ricki Lake for the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy on Tuesday's finale.
PHOTOS: Look back at DWTS' season 13 cast!
"First and foremost, I want to think everybody who voted for us for 10 weeks," Martinez gushed. "Thank you, America, for believing in us!" For Martinez's pro partner, Karina Smirnoff, the Mirror Ball Trophy was the first she'd won in her 10 seasons with the show.
via ca.omg.yahoo.com
New Trend: Intentionally-Crooked Teeth. (Really)
Japan. The forward-thinking land that first brought us lash extensions and 100-degree therapeutic baths is now responsible for a new beauty trend, but this one is sending shivers down the spines of traditional orthodontists.
The country's latest brain trust? Deliberately crooked teeth. (Perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised, considering bagel-shaped forehead injections and flesh-eating fish pedicures also originated in this country.)
The look is called "yaeba," Japaneses for "double tooth," and it's achieved by attaching non-permanent mini-fang caps to the canine teeth in an attempt to look more childlike, and more desirable.
Money doesn’t buy happiness – unless you spend it on others
We know we can't buy happiness, but that doesn't stop us from trying.PsyBlog recently looked at studies that seem to indicate that money can have an impact on our personal happiness — if we spend it on others.
Why does "prosocial spending" make us happy?
"It's partly because giving to others makes us feel good about ourselves. It helps promote a view of ourselves as responsible and giving people, which in turn makes us feel happy. It's also partly because spending money on others helps cement our social relationships. And people with stronger social ties are generally happier," the blogger writes.
5 Used Cars to Avoid (plus Alternatives)
The 2008 Beetle is button-cute, yes, but expensive electronic problems could be in an owner's future. Below: we rank the five used cars you should avoid (alongside better choices from the same category).
Even though auto manufacturers have greatly boosted quality and reliability, buying a used car can still be a process fraught with anxiety. In addition to worrying about the honesty of the seller, you also want to be sure to avoid vehicles with poor reliability records.To help with that, MoneyWatch looked at owner surveys to see which cars look like trouble, focusing on five separate categories. The focus was on 2008 models - the year ranked in the latest dependability study from J.D. Power and Associates. Buying a 3-year-old used car also lets you shop after the biggest new-car depreciation already has taken place: Because used car prices have risen so sharply this year, 1- and 2-year-old used models can make worse financial sense than buying new.
Finally! Beyonce Reveals Her Wedding Dress from 2008 Nuptials
Better late than never!
Beyonce and Jay-Z's posh April 4, 2008 wedding in NYC was one of the most closely guarded celeb nuptials ever -- with few details and no photos emerging from the big day.
PHOTOS: Beyonce's amazing baby bump style
Over three years later, however, Beyonce (now expecting her first child with her man) is ready to share one very significant moment from her wedding day: Her dress!
via ca.omg.yahoo.com
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s Final Weeks As a Couple
And another Hollywood marriage bites the dust. After weeks of speculation about their union, Demi Moore, 49, announced today that she will divorce her husband of six years, Ashton Kutcher, 33. Since the two often let us in -- perhaps a little too much -- on their lives via Twitter, the demise of the once lovey-dovey coupling of Ashton and Demi came as a surprise at first ... but recently it seemed all but inevitable.Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore (Jim Spellman/WireImage.com)
The trouble began with reports that Ashton had gone astray while partying it up in San Diego on -- get this -- the night before his sixth wedding anniversary, while Demi was working in New York. Rumor had it that Sara Leal, 22, a local administrative assistant, was the other woman.
via ca.omg.yahoo.com
L’eggs Nude Pantyhose Aiming for Comeback
Some female employees working in formal offices never stopped wearing nude pantyhose, but for most of us, the sheer legwear is a distant memory, more associated with our mothers' generation, than our own. Pantyhose (literally hose with an attached panty) came on the market in 1965, timed perfectly with that decade's miniskirt craze. While nude stockings remained popular in the '70s and '80s as women increased their presence in the workplace, bare legs became an acceptable office look in the '90s, and our gams have been liberated ever since. Until now. With style icon Kate Middleton strutting in silky nylons, pantyhose are poised for a comeback and the beloved retro brand, L'eggs, (Remember them? They've been around since 1969) is jumping on the opportunity. The company has a sexy modernized campaign meant to appeal to a new generation of young women.
Which Healthy Foods Are Best for Flat Abs?
What are the best foods for firmer abs?
What are the best foods for firmer abs?
We've heard the saying "abs are made in the kitchen," but what does that mean? When it feels like you're working out and not seeing the result you want, could it have something to do with your diet? We went to SHAPE diet doctor Mike Roussell to figure if there are certain foods that can help you on your route to firm, toned abs. Here's what he had to say:The problem is simple: It's very easy to eat a lot of calories, but it's very hard to burn a lot of calories. The popular slogan "abs are made in the kitchen" refers to the fact that what you eat has a far greater impact on weight loss than any form of exercise you do. But despite the popularity of this saying, many people still attempt to uncover their abs with endless crunches and laps around the track.
Do you need winter tires?
“Tis the season to be jolly”, or so claims the famous Christmas song we know and enjoy at this time of year. But does this hold true when it comes to driving our vehicles as temperatures drop, snow starts to fall and winter shovels replace garden rakes at the side of the shed?
With each change of season comes the need to adjust our driving habits and the equipment found on our vehicles. Although all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles offer greater traction and all-weather drivability in general, they can be just as hazardous as any other vehicle when equipped with all-season or "M + S" tires in the winter.
All-season tires are designed to perform best when the temperature exceeds 7°C. Below this, they become hard and begin to lose grip. Winter tires are specifically designed to remain flexible in cold weather. Plus, their deeper tread pattern acts as a shovel to clear away snow and water from the tire as it rotates. With more rubber exposed tothe road surface, traction improves dramatically when compared to all-season tires.
5 Truths About Drinking Water
Carbs, fat, protein, and sugar always seem to be triggering some sort of debate, but good old water? It doesn’t seem like it should be controversial at all, but it’s been the source of some scuttlebutt recently after a health expert claimed that the need for eight glasses per day is “nonsense.” So what’s the deal? Here are five hard facts about agua.
TRUTH: Fluid needs aren’t the same as water needs
According to the Institute of Medicine, women 19 and over need 2.7 liters of total fluid per day (about 11 8-oz cups) and men need 3.7 (about 15 8-oz cups). But that’s total fluid, not just water, and foods can provide a significant chunk. For example an 8 ounce container of plain, nonfat yogurt supplies 7 oz of fluid, a cup of watermelon 5 oz and even a medium banana, which you don’t think of as being “watery” provides 3 oz. Now that said, if you racked up 20 percent of your fluid needs from food that still leaves nearly nine cups of fluid to go for women, so if water is the only beverage you drink, eight cups (8 oz each) may not be enough.
B.C. man believes his video proves existence of Ogopogo
Like most purported videos of Big Foot, a Yeti or the Loch Ness Monster, the latest clip of Ogopogo is blurry and shaky, but a B.C. man believes it proves the existence of the fabled Okanagan Valley lake creature.
"Wow, that's pretty big," Richard Huls says in the video about the waves. "No boats around."
Huls tells the Vancouver Sun he has always believed in the lake monster and says his video proves something massive lives in Lake Okanagan.
"It was not a wave obviously, just a darker colour," he says to the Sun. "The size and the fact they were not parallel with the waves made me think it had to be something else."
Essential Windows Maintenance: How to keep your system performing at its best
Most of us don't have the time, money, or inclination to buy a new computer every year or two to remain near the cutting edge of performance. The days when that edge was advancing by leaps and bounds every 18 months are behind us now, and it's a lot less frustrating to keep a computer for four or five years and still enjoy functional use. This follows similar trends in automotive ownership; cars are lasting longer, and with so many people feeling the financial pinch these days, upgrading your entire system is easy to put off until something goes really, really wrong and you need to replace components (or the whole thing).
via tecca.com
‘Mini Monet’ sells enough art to buy a home
At an age when most of his peers are just starting to figure out proportion and perspective in art class, Kieron Williamson, 9, has been painting professionally for years.
Dubbed a 'Mini Monet,' the renowned landscape artist just purchased his family a £150,000 ($245,000 CAD) home in Ludham, England, from his earnings. (The home, a former 19th century bank, will remain in trust until his 18th birthday.)
Kieron's last major exhibition saw 33 of his paintings sold within a half hour — for £150,000. His latest 12 paintings will go on sale this week at Norfolk's Picturecraft Gallery. With buyers already promising to camp overnight outside the gallery, the prodigy's exhibit is expected to sell out instantly.
Watch ABC's coverage of his last exhibition below.
"It's lovely to see a nine-year-old boy keeping traditional landscape painting alive," Kieron's mother, Michelle, told The BBC.
Homebuyer with huge bill not told about old leak
A homebuyer from Victoria, B.C., is upset over being hit with $50,000 worth of unexpected repairs to his basement, after the seller and his realtor didn't tell him about previous water leakage problems.
"We don't care — between the seller and the realtor — who was responsible for disclosing or who didn't disclose. The two of them knew there had been an issue with this house," said Glen Plummer.
His dilemma is similar to those of hundreds of Canadians who've gone to court in recent years, claiming they weren't told about known defects in homes they purchased. Sellers in every province are supposed to disclose any major, hidden defects to prospective buyers.
"We're stuck with a house that isn't livable … and we're out of money," said Plummer.
Massive asteroid closes in on Earth fly-by
A big asteroid is set to make its closest flyby of Earth in 200 years on Tuesday, but there is no chance of a crash landing when it zips by our planet, NASA said.
Astronomers have aimed their telescopes to catch a glimpse of the 2005 YU55 asteroid, which will not be visible to the naked eye, when it makes its closest approach to Earth at 6:28 pm (2328 GMT).
The 1,300 feet (400 meter) wide asteroid often travels in the vicinity of the Earth, Mars and Venus, but "the 2011 encounter with Earth is the closest it has come for at least the last 200 years," the US space agency said.
Other asteroids of this size pass by Earth more frequently, though the last such event happened in 1976 and the next will not happen again until 2028 when as asteroid called 2001 WN5 will skim about halfway between the Moon and Earth.
U.S. shoplifter caught on camera dancing while stealing
Many people are guilty of feeling the music and doing a little jig while shopping, but one man has become an Internet hit after he was caught on a security camera busting a move while shoplifting.
The man can be seen waving his hands in the air while holding up woman's clothing and then shoving it under his shirt at a K-mart in New Jersey.
He was confronted by a security guard outside the store, but dropped the goods and took off before police could catch him.
How to choose a healthier lunch meat, and six key ingredients to avoid
A sandwich with a couple of slices of turkey and cheese is a cheap and quick-to-prepare brown-bag lunch, but the health warnings are clear: processed meats have been linked to increased risk of cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. As the Globe and Mail reported, the government is considering new labelling for deli meats that would prevent them from being labelled as "natural" if they contain cultured celery extract, a preserving agent that contains nitrates and nitrites.
Should we avoid processed and deli meats altogether, or are there any deli meats that are "safe" to eat?
Top climate scientists predict grim future of more extreme weather, higher costs
WASHINGTON - For a world already weary of weather catastrophes, the latest warning from top climate scientists paints a grim future: More floods, more heat waves, more droughts and greater costs to deal with them.
A draft summary of an international scientific report obtained by The Associated Press says the extremes caused by global warming could eventually grow so severe that some locations become "increasingly marginal as places to live."
The report from the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change marks a change in climate science, from focusing on subtle shifts in average temperatures to concentrating on the harder-to-analyze freak events that grab headlines, hurt economies and kill people.
"The extremes are a really noticeable aspect of climate change," said Jerry Meehl, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "I think people realize that the extremes are where we are going to see a lot of the impacts of climate change."
The World's 25 Best Multinational Workplaces
Employees have spoken, and three technology companies took the top spots in a new survey of the best multinational workplaces: Microsoft, software-maker SAS, and data-storage company NetApp.
The Great Place to Work Institute, the same company that created the original 100 Best Companies to Work for in America list 15 years ago, has released its first ranking of the world's 25 best multinational workplaces.
[See The 50 Best Careers of 2011.]
To be eligible for the list, companies must have appeared on at least five national Great Places to Work lists, have at least 5,000 employees worldwide, and at least 40 percent of their global workforce must work outside of the company's home country. The 25 companies were chosen from a pool of more than 350 multinationals from 45 countries that participated in the survey.
"What we found in great workplaces is that they don't just do business as usual, and they try to be innovative, creative, and they really care about their people," says Jose Tolovi, global CEO of the Great Place to Work Institute.
5 Breakfast Cereals To Jump Start Your Day
When it comes to breakfast cereals, it can be hard to keep everyone happy. While we all agree that the tastier (and quicker!), the better — taste shouldn’t be highest on our priority list. We’ve found five delicious options full of whole grain goodness to give fat, sodium and sugar the heave-ho.
Post Shredded Wheat
There’s only one thing in Post Shredded Wheat – wheat. So there’s no sugar, salt or hidden ingredients, but you get loads of B vitamins, iron, zinc and magnesium instead.
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