Schools entering students in double GCSEs in same subject to help grades

One school which joined PiXL admitted there was an 'element of game
 playing' in putting pupils up for both exams. Photograph: Alamy

Hundreds of state schools are entering pupils into two different types of GCSE qualification in the same subject in an attempt to guarantee better grades and improve their overall position in league tables, according to schools and an educational organisation which has pioneered the tactic.

The notion, promoted by the Performance in Excellence or PiXL club, which charges schools £3,500 a year for tips on improving GCSE results, involves putting students forwards for a standard English GCSE and also the International GCSE, or IGCSE in English, the Times Educational Supplement reported. The latter has a more traditional, exam-based format and has previously been used by international schools and some independent schools.

About 400 secondary schools are members of PiXL. The group's chairman, Sir John Rowling, formerly headteacher at the highly-performing Nunthorpe comprehensive school in Middlesbrough, told the TES that 80% of member schools were entering some pupils for both exams simultaneously.

Schools were aware of the potential impact on league tables, he said. "Most heads thought the IGCSE was just for independent schools and that it didn't count towards league tables, but we have studied it very carefully and we've found it can be very appropriate for some state school students."

This was particularly the case given the chaos over the grading of this year's GCSE English exams, he said.

"It has assumed new importance because of the messing around with grade boundaries this summer. Teachers work like slaves all year then, at the end of it, get messed about. They invest all that effort, just to be scuppered at the last minute, so I say if there is another alternative then use it."

One school which joined PiXL told the TES there was an "element of game playing" in putting pupils up for both exams. Dan Morrow, head of the secondary school at Oasis Academy Shirley Park in Croydon, south of London, said pupils went for both qualifications this year for the first time to "ensure they didn't miss out on a qualification".

A Department for Education spokeswoman criticised the tactic. She told the TES: "This is clearly not in the best interests of pupils. Schools must only enter students for the qualifications that are right for them, not for the cynical reasons this suggests."

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said he could understand why schools tried the ploy, adding: "It's just another example of the perverse incentives that are a result of league tables."

- Guardian.co.uk

Ireland: Child welfare cut in budget flagged

A €10 cut to child benefit is expected to be announced in the upcoming budget. Some 600,000 households receive the universal rate which will fall from €140 to €130 in a measure that is expected to save the State €138 million in a full year and is likely to be the biggest single cut in social protection.

The Cabinet has been meeting this week to discuss next Wednesday’s budget.

A report commissioned by the Department of Health suggests introducing a “payroll tax” to fund increased health spending.

“A new source of statutory revenue could be introduced, for example a payroll tax earmarked for health to supplement general revenues,” the report says.

It also recommends hikes on alcohol and the creation of “sin taxes” on certain foods. The report justifies these taxes on health grounds, adding that they would result in reduced consumption and increased tax revenue.

- irishtimes.com

Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid: Jose Mourinho feels relaxed

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has dismissed suggestions he is under pressure ahead of the La Liga derby against Atletico Madrid.
After just 13 games, the champions are already 11 points behind leaders Barcelona and eight points adrift of second-placed Atletico.
"My relationship with the players and the club is like it has always been," said Mourinho.
"I have perfect health and I am working as I have done for many years."

Having suffered just two defeats in the whole of last season, Mourinho's side have already lost three times in this campaign after last weekend's 1-0 loss to Real Betis.
Spanish media are speculating  whether the Portuguese boss will still be in charge at the Bernabeu at the end of the season, but the former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager is relaxed about the situation.
"This is not a courtroom but a press conference," he told journalists.
"I am just an employee of the club and it is they who decide if they are happy with what they have but I have a very, very, very good relationship with the president and the board."
Reports suggested last season  that Mourinho had fallen out with defender Sergio Ramos and goalkeeper Iker Casillas but the Real Madrid captain has given his full support to his manager.

"Only a few months ago the shouts were applause and praise that we had won the league but in football memories are very short," said Casillas.
"Mourinho led the team to the title with a record number of points and goals. We should remember the good moments and look to continue the project."
It is almost 14 years since Atletico went into the fixture with more La Liga points than Real.
Real will face in-form striker Radamel Falcao, who has scored 14 in 13 games in all competitions this season, and the Colombian felt confident ahead of the encounter.
"I don't feel as much pressure as motivation," said Falcao.
"We play a great side and it will be a high-tempo match but we will go out looking to win."

- BBC.co.uk

Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon

The international bestseller from the master of suspense.Jennifer Parker is brilliant, beautiful and bold. . She seems unbeatable – but is she really?
Jennifer Parker is brilliant, beautiful and bold. A lawyer, the most glamorous and successful in America, she dominates the court with her intelligence and charm.
When Jennifer falls in love, she can hardly believe her luck. Adam Warner is handsome, smart, destined to be the next President of the United States – and married...
Jennifer falls pregnant and yet is determined not to allow her broken heart to get in the way of her success. But she soon realises that being alone makes her more vulnerable to those who are determined to destroy her...
Sidney Sheldon gives us his greatest character yet in this bestselling tale of power, love and intrigue.

Huge sinkhole appears in German housing estate

A large sinkhole has opened up overnight in the middle of a housing estate in Schmalkalden, central Germany.

The hole, which is around 20m deep, swallowed a car and left a crater of about 40m wide.

Investigations have begun to find out what has caused the huge hole, which has forced 25 people to leave their homes over fears for their safety.

Bread that lasts for 60 days could cut food waste

An American company has developed a technique that it says can make bread stay mould-free for 60 days.


One of the biggest threats to bread is mould. As loaves are usually wrapped in plastic, any water in the bread that evaporates from within is trapped and makes the surface moist. This provides excellent growing conditions for Rhizopus stolonifer, the fungus that leads to mould.

In normal conditions, bread will go mouldy in around 10 days.


But in the new technique the bread is zapped in a sophisticated microwave array which kills the spores that cause the problem.

The company claims it could significantly reduce the amount of wasted bread - in the UK alone, almost a third of loaves purchased.

The technique can also be used with a wide range of foods including fresh turkey and many fruits and vegetables.


Food waste is a massive problem in most developed countries. In the US, figures released this year suggest that the average American family throws away 40% of the food they purchase - which adds up to $165bn (£102bn) annually.

Bread is a major culprit, with 32% of loaves purchased in the UK thrown out as waste when they could be eaten, according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Kelly Clarkson Blasts U.K. Paper for "Obnoxious" and "Arrogant" Misquotes, Claims of Anorexia

All Kelly Clarkson ever wanted was not to be taken out of context.

The ex-American Idol champ is bashing the U.K. Mirror's Sunday Celebs edition, claiming the paper misquoted her and portrayed her as "obnoxious" and "arrogant" in a cover story emblazoned with the headline "No one on the planet should be as famous as me."

Clarkson also accused the editors of twisting her words to make it sound as if she admitted to having anorexia, which she vehemently denied.

ou, Mean It: Finding Whitney’s Love

"Just to clear up the absolutely wrong so called quotes from me, I have never had anorexia nor did I ever say 'no one should be as famous as me,' read an angry tweet from the "Catch My Breath" singer on Monday.

Clarkson then laid out what she really said in the sit-down. "I said in the interview, when asked about fame, that I have no desire to be as famous as Britney or Madonna," the Texas native explained. "I said that kind of fame was too much for any person and that I have experienced a portion of what they deal with and that I didn't handle that well and I'm happy where I'm at in my career."

Clarkson concluded her scathing post by calling out all those at the paper who blatantly misrepresented her. "Side note, I love when people take what you say and twist it to make you sound obnoxious and arrogant ....nice job Mirror," she wrote.

Nicely put, Kelly.

Clarkson also got a show of solidarity from her friend and fellow Idol alum Jordin Sparks, who tweeted her, "tell 'em girl!"

To which the hitmaker replied back: "@JordinSparks I just can't stand when people do stuff like that. It drives me bananas. By the way, I just saw Sparkle. Great job!! Loved it!"

 Those Idol folks sure know how to stick together.

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (2012)

A young woman frets upstairs in her family's country manor on her wedding day, fearful she's about to marry the wrong man. Downstairs, both her fiancé and her former lover grow increasingly anxious.

Director of the movie is Donald Rice and the writers are Donald Rice, Mary Henely-Magill (screenplay). Felicity Jones, Luke Treadaway and Elizabeth McGovern are starring in the movie with the genres Comedy and Drama.

SYNOPSIS: As the preparations for her lavish country wedding get underway, young bride-to-be Dolly Thatcham (Felicity Jones) reunites with her former lover Joseph (Luke Treadaway), and begins to have second thoughts about her impending nuptials. England, 1932: Dolly's family has assembled at a sprawling country manor to see her tie the knot when Joseph shows up unexpectedly. The previous summer, Joseph and Dolly experienced rapture in one another's arms, and as the hour of her wedding approaches, old passions are reignited. Meanwhile, Dolly's mother (Elizabeth McGovern) remains determined to ensure that the ceremony transpires without incident. As the temptation to run away with Joseph grows, Dolly must choose between a stable future with her devoted fiancé or a life less ordinary with the man who swept her off her feet.

Movie is mainly shot in UK and was released on 20^th of April 2012.

Eurozone unemployment rate hits new high in October

                     Unemployment is highest in Spain, partly due to the                             collapse in the property market

The eurozone's unemployment rate hit a new record high in October, while consumer price rises slowed sharply.

The jobless rate in the recessionary euro area rose to 11.7%. Inflation fell from 2.5% to 2.2% in November.

The data came as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi warned the euro would not emerge from its crisis until the second half of next year.

Government spending cuts would continue to hurt growth in the short-term, Mr Draghi said.

The unemployment rate continued its steady rise, reaching 11.7% in October, up from 11.6% the month before and 10.4% a year ago.

A further 173,000 were out of work across the single currency area, bringing the total to 18.7 million.


The respective fortunes of northern and southern Europe diverged further. In Spain, the jobless rate rose to 26.2% from 25.8% the previous month, and in Italy it rose to 11.1% from 10.8%.

In contrast, unemployment in Germany held steady at 5.4% of the labour force, while in Austria it fell from 4.4% to just 4.3%.

Kate Middleton Wears Alexander McQueen Tartan Dress To Visit St Andrew's School

It's been an exciting week in the world of Kate Middleton. First she caused a furore when she stepped out on Tuesday night sporting a brand new half-fringe (GASP!) and rewearing that gorgeous green dress by Mulberry. Then she wowed the world by taming her new Farrah Fawcett do for an outing the following day in Cambridge. And at the British Fashion Awards, she had everyone from Salma Hayek to Manolo Blanhik singing her praises. So how better to top off the week than with head-to-toe blue and green tartan? And no, it's not her school uniform despite the fact she's spending the day at her old preparatory school in Berkshire to celebrate St Andrew’s Day.

In fact, Kate has opted for a long-sleeved, high-neck top teamed with a flared knee-length skirt. How festive! Clarence House informs us the ensemble comes courtesy of Alexander McQueen (naturallment) and the tailored design is super-flattering on our K-Midd. It's very similiar to this McQ origami wool capped sleeve dress that was available on My Wardrobe for $1,006.50 but is now out of stock. Boo! The Duchess has kept cosy in a pair of heeled knee-high boots over black tights and added a simple black clutch. And would you look at those gorgeously tumbling curls? The brand new side-swept hair is really coming into its own.

'Dwarf': Undergoing Controversial Lengthening Surgeries

Tiffanie DiDonato said everything she has ever wished for has come true: a handsome husband, loving friends and a new baby. But most of her childhood dreams play out in simple, everyday victories, like taking out the trash or driving.

DiDonato, 32, was born with diastrophic dysplasia, a rare form of dwarfism. The condition left her with a "typical size" torso, but abnormally short arms and legs. By the time she was in middle school, she was only three-and-a-half feet tall.

Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET

Growing up in Marlborough, Mass., DiDonato fantasized about being tall enough to grab something off the grocery store shelf, cook on the stove, take out the trash and drive a car, but almost everything was out of reach.

But that all changed when DiDonato endured an excruciating and controversial series of limb-lengthening surgeries, which breaks bones and forces them to re-grow longer. It was a decision she made when she was very young, knowing that it would have risks and rewards with a lifetime of consequences.

At age 8, DiDonato had her first surgery to lengthen her arms and gain four inches of height.

"When I woke up, when it hurt so much, you freeze it, almost like if you scream it is going to hurt worse," she said. "All you can do is kind of let the tears fall and deal with it and suck it up and let it ride."

When she was 15, DiDonato decided to have the surgery again. Ignoring the recommended maximum of four inches, she and her doctor decided not to put a cap on her growth. Her mother, who raised her to be a fierce fighter, said she supported her daughter's decision.

"It was all about independence," Robin DiDonato said. "It was doing things on her own, brushing her own hair. My biggest fear was her being dependent on others for her care because, let's face it, Gerry and I won't be around forever."

Her father, Gerry DiDonato, said he told her she didn't need to have the surgery, and it was torture to him to watch his daughter suffer.

"It was very nerve-racking," he said. "She would cry it out. It was tough … it's horrible."

But Robin never wavered. She said she didn't let herself cry in front of her daughter, even during the most gut-wrenching days.

"I was not going to because if I broke, maybe she would have too, maybe she would have stopped," Robin said. "Who knows what she would have done. I think she needed me to be strong for her."

After her second surgery, Tiffanie DiDonato gained an unprecedented 10 inches of additional height, putting her at 4-foot-10 -- right on the cusp of little-person status. She kept a journal, which she said helped her get through the painful process.

"I was honest with myself, if I wanted to die, if I felt like that's what I wanted to do, then I wrote it down," she said.

Her journal was turned into a memoir she defiantly titled "Dwarf." In it, DiDonato chronicles her "no pain, no gain" view of life and how surprisingly grateful she is for the experience.

"If you go through a struggle, if you know what sacrifice is, and you have felt a little pain, it makes you that much braver," she said. "It makes you a little bit more aware."

DiDonato is now married to Eric Gabrielse, a nearly-six-foot-tall Marine, and they recently welcomed a baby boy.

"She's so powerful and strong," Gabrielse said of his wife. "Being in the military, you need somebody that one, can be independent, but two, can be extremely supportive and because everything she's gone through, she's been through her own battles, so she knows exactly how to support me through mine."

Controversy Around Lengthening Surgeries

We first met DiDonato four years ago when she and Gabrielse were about to tie the knot. After her story aired, she caught flack for her lengthening surgeries from critics who said The Little People of America organization doesn't support the risky procedures.

Reza Garakani was also born with dwarfism and said he regrets that his father pushed him to have the lengthening surgery back in the '80s. He was 12.

"I did not want to undergo the painful procedure which, in my mind, I was worried that, what if this fails," he said. "For a few inches, I didn't want to damage my life. I was happy with who I am."

Unlike DiDonato, Garakani said the surgery left him paralyzed.

"Because of this procedure, I lost a major part of me," he said. "Before I was just an average dwarf. I could run around, I could play sports, I could swim and do things. Now, I can't do what I was able to do. I would have rather been three feet tall than be a few inches tall with all the complications."

Even DiDonato's father, who still has mixed feelings about the surgery, said it may have taken a physical toll on his daughter.

"Personally, I feel she lost a little mobility with the extreme lengthening," he said. "I'll always remember her with her little jeans on chasing a ball, but she feels good about herself and that's the most important thing."

But DiDonato said she was well aware of the risks from the start and has no regrets. It seems to have paid off. Being a new mom and the wife of a Marine, she seems to personify the Marine's fighting philosophy: Adapt and overcome.

"Having a baby, every day I'm adapting and overcoming, but I kind of feel like that's for every parent," she said. "Every mom, every dad, you have to take the punches as they come."

ECTAA discussed with the European Parliament issues relevant to TOs' businesses

European Parliament and representatives of the European Commission to discuss topical issues relevant to travel agents’ and tour operators’ businesses. The event, held at the European Parliament on 28 November, was sponsored by Mr. Said El Khadraoui, MEP.

A host of legislative measures are currently being discussed and decided upon in the European Parliament that have an impact on travel agents and tour operators. The event organised at the European Parliament was the opportunity for ECTAA to discuss with high-level representatives of the EU institutions two very important legislative initiatives that will be adopted shortly: the proposals for the revision of the Package Travel Directive and Air Passenger Rights legislation. Both will have a huge impact on the travel and tourism industry. ECTAA therefore called on the EU decision-makers to find an equitable balance between the rights and obligations of both consumers and enterprises. But more importantly is the need for a level-playing field among all market players, especially as regards the package travel Directive.

A level-playing field is unfortunately today not guaranteed. For example, while tour operators have to provide a financial guarantee to protect their customers against their own financial default, no such obligation exists for airlines. The European Parliament has recognised this lack of consumer protection in its recently adopted report on passenger rights in all modes of transport. This was also recalled by Mr. Georges Bach, MEP, in his speech to the ECTAA Members. Unfortunately, the European Commission is not planning any legislation in this respect.

Said President of ECTAA, Boris Zgomba: “The next year will be very important for travel agents and tour operators, as it will determine the conditions for selling traditional package holidays and the ability to compete with other market players that escape the scope of the revised legislation”.

Recognising the need for the upcoming revisions, the ECTAA President also cautioned about over-regulation, adding: “in all legislative measures a right balance needs to be struck between rights and obligations of consumers and businesses respectively.”

Topics in the European Parliament affecting travel agents and tour operators

Upcoming Revision of the Package Travel Directive
Directive 90/314 on package travel, package holidays and package tours is of major importance for package travel organisers in the EU. ECTAA is in favour of the revision of the Package Travel Directive (PTD) as it is essential to adapt it to new and upcoming market developments and:
Ensure that any consumer across the EU benefits from the same level of protection, when purchasing any combination of travel services, irrespective of the distribution channel.
Preserve and foster the competitiveness of the industry, through an equitable balance between the rights and obligations of both consumers and enterprises and ensuring an indispensable level playing field between all market stakeholders.
Upcoming Revision of Air Passenger Rights
A legislative proposal to revise Regulation 261/2004 is expected at the end of 2012. ECTAA supports capping costs for assistance in extraordinary circumstances and extending the time trigger compensation in case of delay from 3 to 5 hours. Existing rights regarding luggage are appropriate and should not be modified. In order to improve air passenger rights and ensure a level playing field with package travel organisers, we strongly support an obligation for airlines to protect passengers in case of airline insolvency. Passengers should not lose the benefit of their ticket if they do not use one segment only.

There is besides a need to better address transparency of air ticket distribution, through better enforcement of Regulation 1008/2008 and possibly revisions, to include non-optional operational costs in air fares, have optional ancillary services published and bookable in the same channel as the fare, prevent discrimination in access to fares based on the distribution channel and ensure the transparency of distribution channels that have developed outside the scope of Regulation 80/2009 on computerised reservation systems. The airline initiative IATA New Distribution Capability will also need to be carefully assessed.

Review of the Airport Slot Allocation Regulation Proposal
The changes proposed by the Commission to the current rules on length of slots series and slot utilisation threshold have a detrimental impact on leisure travel and typical tourist destinations, as they do not take account of the seasonality of leisure travel. Airlines would either have to stop flying at the beginning or end of peak tourist seasons or fly empty planes.

Revision of the Insurance Mediation Directive
Currently, professionals who intermediate travel insurances are not subject to Directive 2002/92. However, under the proposal to revise Directive 2002/92, travel agents and tour operators who mediate in travel insurance would be subject to a new declaration procedure and requirements of knowledge and ability, good repute, professional indemnity insurance... ECTAA is not in favour of that declaration procedure and calls for the maintenance of the exemption of intermediation in travel insurance.

Revision on the Professional Qualifications Directive
ECTAA is favourable to the proposal aiming at modifying Directive 2005/36 on professional qualifications, because it will contribute to the mobility of tourist guides, which is fundamental for package travel organisers. ECTAA strongly hopes this legislation will permit an easier recognition of their qualifications as it takes into account the seasonal and “cross-border” aspects of the tourism industry’s professions.

Directive Proposal on Use of Passenger Name Records by Member State Authorities
Considering costs and disruptions that could be caused to our industry, ECTAA would support the rejection of the proposal. In case an EU PNR system is introduced, ECTAA recommends limiting the scope to data captured electronically by air carriers in their normal course of business and to flights between the EU and third countries. Information should be provided to passengers once at the time of booking, without this obligation lying expressly on travel agencies and ticket sellers.

New EU Framework on Personal Data Protection
The practical impacts of obligations on undertakings must be carefully considered, notably information obligations and the requirement to have a data protection officer. In regard of PNR transfers to third countries, the travel industry should not be put in untenable positions, where third countries require passenger data in conflict with EU data protection legislation.

Implemantation of the Tourism Communication
ECTAA is supportive of all measures that enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the European tourism, including combating seasonality, uptake of ICT in tourism, etc.

Upcoming regulation Proposal for a European Tourism Quality Label
A legislative proposal is foreseen before the end of the year. ECTAA has doubts whether the added value for businesses and consumers justify the expenditures required in creating a pan-European consumer label. In any case, the label should be voluntary and focus on quality only.

Upcoming Review of the EU Visa Code
European tourism will gain a lot from the Commission’s plan to streamline and shorten the visa application procedure, simplifying the application form, improving consular organisation and cooperation, etc, which aim at facilitating travel for legitimate travellers, such as tourists.

Corporate travel budgets to increase for 2013; Hotel industry to benefit

A survey of senior corporate travel buyers commissioned by the Business Travel Show has revealed that budgets are on the increase as we head into 2013 and the hotel sector will be among those benefiting from the cash injection despite buyers continuing to be challenged by the cost of accommodation.

178 industry buyers from across Europe took part in the research, 80 per cent of whom look after £1m+ budgets and 67 per cent of whom have responsibility for more than 500 travellers. The Business Travel Show is Europe’s main exhibition and conference for corporate travel buyers, managers and bookers to source, learn and network. It takes place in London on 5-6 February 2013.

Almost four in ten of the buyers surveyed –37 per cent- expect their corporate travel budgets to increase in 2013 and 38 per cent enjoyed bigger budgets in 2012 compared to 2011. In 2013, nearly half (47 per cent) are expecting to arrange more trips. This year, 45 per cent arranged more trips than in 2011.

When it comes to hotel bookings, just 17 per cent of those buyers will be booking more travellers into lower class hotel rooms in 2013, compared to one quarter in 2012. 12 per cent will be booking fewer travellers into lower class hotels and 63 per cent of buyers’ plans will remain static.

However, accommodation remains a problem category for many corporate travel managers thanks to increasing costs and rogue travellers. The solution is to ‘work strategically with the hotel chains that fit your needs best,’ claims Mette Christensen, Global Head of Travel, A.P. Moller – Morsk A/S.

“Do not jump between different chains just because someone offers you a small discount. Concentrate on your focus destinations where you have sufficient volumes, sign a BAR agreement for the rest and/or buy on your TMC’s corporate rates,” she added.

Jafles Pacheko, Head of Global Travel and Global Commodity Manager for HR and Professional Services, Oerlikon, stressed the importance of monitoring: “We monitor the availability of hotel rates frequently and challenge the hotels with our findings. We also audit the rates in order to check if our so called ‘hotel partners’ are offering us competitive prices. If our contracted rates in a certain property are continuously showing higher than those on Expedia, for example, we will go to the hotel and challenge the value of our business relationship.”

Over 200 corporate travel suppliers will be exhibiting at the Business Travel Show in 2013, including the following companies from the hotel and serviced apartment sector:

The survey responses in full:

Compared to 2011, were your budgets:
Greater 38%
Smaller 28%
The same 30%
Don’t know 3%
In 2013, will your budgets be:
Greater 37%
Smaller 19%
The same 37%
Don’t know 7%
Compared to 2011, how many business trips did you manage?
More 45%
Fewer 30%
The same 23%
Don’t know 2%
In 2013, how many trips will you manage?
More 47%
Fewer 23%
The same 22%
Don’t know 8%
The Business Travel Show takes place on 5-6 February 2013.

Headline December1,2012

''SEARING BEAUTY AND QUIET MENACE!''

''Ultimately,'' says this genius master, ''what scares me the most is Reality!''
As he goes about framing the world in his lens, he is totally fascinated by Light itself........twilight, lamplight, light from windows. His reality is sharpened by the idea not of the next frame, but rather that will all fade as light fades; it is all in the process of disintegration and decay.
American Photographer Gregory Crewdson's figures seem hypnotised and bewildered in the world he has made for them.

In the summer of 1996, he spent two months alone in a cabin in a remote part of Massachusetts. Crewedson, who often seems the most stagey and theatrical of artists, simply took black and white photographs of fireflies. The pictures are untypical of his work but they include his signature sense of disturbance and mystery, of a drama caught at one of its most deeply suggestive moments. The offer stillness as a sort of dream, a creepiness, and beauty as something fleeting and untrustworthy.

Although as typical, they offer an interesting key to Crewdson's visual imagination. First, despite what might seem like minimalism, they are laden with coiled imagination; they contain almost unbearable levels of feeling. They have a dark, poetic and hard-won beauty buried in them. Second, the fireflies themselves offer a focus, but once the eye move from them to the dark or darkening, unpeopled world around them, often featuring trees or an object such as jar, then something hits the nervous system and the images become deeply strange and compelling.

This is also what happens in his photograph's of disturbed suburban life:the beneath The Roses series, for which he is most known. His latest works, showing and exploring similar themes, are of the complacent world as dreams or nightmare, or as it might appear after an accident or a disaster. Patterns of repose and comfort -domestic settings such as living rooms, bedrooms,gardens are made to seem like astonishing creations, heavy with meaning too deep for us to decipher, with emotion shimmering over every inch of the frame.

Crewdson's images can be playful and almost funny; others are highly disturbing, especially when there is no obvious sign of disturbance. There is a mysterious precision in what he does.
His tense images may seem like movie stills but they have an iconic appearance, with no possibility of a before or after.
In this world -this theater of utter cruelty!!
Like God, he just did not find the world, he painstakingly makes it!

Students of advance Engineering and Software concepts would be well advised to seek inspiration from his work.

Good Night & God Bless!

Locations of ice at Mercury's north pole.

Mercury's north pole, as seen by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft. 

New data from the NASA space probe MESSENGER indicate that Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, almost certainly has water ice buried beneath the surface at its north pole!

I know, it sounds completely crazy, but hang tight. It all makes sense.


Mercury is a mere 58 million kilometers (36 million miles) from the Sun and has a surface temperature of 430 degrees Celsius (800 degrees Fahrenheit). But that’s a maximum temperature. In shadows that temperature can drop drastically.

At Mercury’s north pole there are some deep craters. For example, the large crater Prokofiev is the deepest crater measured on Mercury so far. It’s over 110 kilometers (68 miles) across. Because the crater is deep, and the Sun never gets very high off the horizon at the pole, there are parts of the crater floor that are permanently in shadow; they literally are never illuminated by the Sun. Those spots can be very cold; well below the freezing point of water. There are actually quite a few spots like that at Mercury’s north pole.

Over many years, astronomers have sent pulses of radar at Mercury to map its surface. They were surprised to find that there were spots near the north pole where the radar pulses were reflected back to Earth far more strongly than expected from mere rock. Ice, literally frozen water, is a good reflector of radar, so it was hypothesized that there might be ice there.

The MESSENGER space probe has been orbiting Mercury since March 2011. It has a piece of equipment called a neutron spectrometer, which measures neutrons—subatomic particles—blasted off Mercury by cosmic radiation. It’s complicated, but the speed of neutrons coming from Mercury can be changed if there’s hydrogen present, and that’s just what has now been seen at Mercury’s north pole. Combined with the radar data, that’s strong evidence that there’s water there—water is made of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen.

Furthermore, the bright spots seen by Earth radar together with the neutron data from MESSENGER were superposed on a map of Mercury made using MESSENGER’s cameras, and all those spots correspond to deep craters. And the final bit of evidence that makes this so convincing: thermal maps made using infrared—“heat vision,” if you like—shows these very same spots are ones that stay permanently cold!

Locations of ice at Mercury's north pole. 

That’s what this picture shows: Red spots show permanently shadowed (and therefore cold) spots at Mercury’s north pole, and yellow shows where the radar from Earth indicates ice. Note how strongly they correlate to craters!

The ice appears to be buried a few dozen centimeters beneath the surface, and may be from half a meter to 20 meters (20 inches to more than 60 feet) thick. That adds up to an amazing 100 billion to one trillion tons of ice!

And we’re not done: Further observation indicates that some regions in these craters are intrinsically dark, and others bright. The best explanation of this is the presence of organic, that is carbon-based, molecules on the surface. This does not mean life! But carbon molecules are very interesting because we know comets (and some asteroids) have lots of organic compounds like that, as well as water ice. And this is starting to give us a complete picture of what’s going on.

Comets hit Mercury, and have been doing so for billions of years. Most of the water ice in a comet impact gets blown back into space or destroyed by solar radiation over time. But if some of that cometary material settles down in Mercury’s shaded north pole crater areas, it can survive, protected. Over the eons it’s built up, and now with our technology we can actually see it!

This is simply amazing. The irony of finding water ice on such a hot planet is obvious, but also an indication that water is everywhere in our solar system, from close in to the Sun to the farthest reaches we can see, billions of kilometers out past Neptune. We know our kind of life is based on carbon and needs water. I don’t think we’ll find life on Mercury, but what this says to me is that the basic ingredients of life can survive formidable circumstances. And that makes me wonder even more if life can get a toehold (pseudopodhold?) in places where we might have earlier thought it impossible.

Mercury is an unlikely place to teach us about life in the Universe. Still, perhaps it’s good to remember that life itself may seem unlikely at first, but the conditions for it to arise may be common in the cosmos.

- Slate.com

UN agency: Climate change occurring 'before our eyes'

Droughts devastated nearly two-thirds of the
 U.S. this year.

DOHA, Qatar -- An area of Arctic sea ice bigger than the U.S. melted this year, according the United Nations weather agency, which said the dramatic decline illustrates that climate change is happening "before our eyes."

In a report released at UN climate talks in the Qatari capital of Doha, the World Meteorological Organization said the Arctic ice melt was one of a myriad of extreme and record-breaking weather events to hit the planet in 2012. Droughts devastated nearly two-thirds of the U.S. as well as western Russia and southern Europe. Floods swamped west Africa and heat waves left much of the Northern Hemisphere sweltering.

But it was the ice melt that seemed to dominate the annual climate report, with the United Nations concluding that ice cover had reached "a new record low" in the area around the North Pole, and that the loss from March to September was 4.57 million square miles -- an area bigger than the U.S.

Arctic sea ice extent on 19 August 2012
(orange line shows the 1979-2000 median)

"The alarming rate of its melt this year highlighted the far-reaching changes taking place on Earth's oceans and biosphere," WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said. "Climate change is taking place before our eyes and will continue to do so as a result of the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which have risen constantly and again reached new records."

The dire climate news -- following on the heels of a report Tuesday that found melting permafrost could significantly amplify global warming -- comes as delegates from nearly 200 countries struggled for a third day to lay the groundwork for a deal that would cut emissions in an attempt to ensure that temperatures don't rise more than 3.6 degrees over what they were in preindustrial times. Temperatures already have risen about 1.4 degrees, according to the latest report by the IPCC.

Discord between rich and poor countries on who should do what has kept the two-decade-old UN talks from delivering on that goal, and global emissions are still going up.

Ricky Ponting retires from international cricket

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has announced he will retire from international cricket at the end of the third Test against South Africa.
The 37-year-old, who is the second highest run scorer in Test history behind Sachin Tendulkar, will play his 168th Test in Perth on Friday.
"I haven't been performing consistently over the last 12 to 18 months," he said. "I believe now is the right time.

"This is a decision not made by the selectors, it was made by me."
Ponting has scored 13,366 runs at an average of 52.21 in his career, but he has struggled for form in the current series with South Africa.
He scored just 20 runs in the two drawn Test matches and, despite receiving the support of coach Mickey Arthur, he decided to make way.
The Tasmanian admitted his recent poor form had prompted the decision to call time on an international career that began in 1995.
"It's a decision I thought long and hard about. It was based on my output and my results in this series so far. It hasn't been what I expect of myself and certainly not the level required of a batsman in the Australia team," he said.

Ponting in numbers

• Born 19 December, 1974, Launceston, Tasmania
• 167 Test caps & 13,366 runs
• 375 ODI caps & 13,704 runs
• 71 international centuries
• Highest Test score: 257 v India in 2003
• Won three World Cups

3D printers could use Moon rocks, say scientists

Many hundreds of Moon rocks were brought back
 from the Apollo missions

Future Moon colonists should be able to use lunar rocks to create tools or spare parts, according to a study.

US researchers have used a 3D printer to make small objects out of melted simulated lunar rocks.

They say the technique could help future missions to minimise the weight and the expense of carrying materials into space as a digital file would be enough.

But one expert says such a printer would have to be extremely precise.

In 2010, Nasa asked a team from Washington State University to see whether it was possible to use lunar rocks for 3D printing.

It supplied the researchers with simulated Moon rocks, or lunar regolith simulant, containing silicon, aluminium, calcium, iron and magnesium oxides.

Many hundreds of kilograms of Moon rocks were collected during Nasa missions, but the scientists did not use them because they are considered a national treasure in the US.

Lunar regolith simulant is commonly used for research purposes at Nasa.

"It sounds like science fiction, but now it's really possible," said Prof Amit Bandyopadhyay, the lead author of the study, published in the Rapid Prototyping Journal.

His team created simple 3D shapes by sending a digital file or scan to a printer which then built the items layer by layer out of melted lunar regolith, fed via a carefully controlled nozzle to form a shape. The process is known as "additive manufacturing".

- BBC.co.uk

Concorde crash: Continental Airlines killings verdict quashed

A French appeals court has cleared US airline Continental of criminal blame for the July 2000 crash of a Concorde jet shortly after take-off from Paris.

The ruling comes two years after another French court fined the airline and held it criminally responsible for the crash in which 113 people died.

But Continental may still be liable for damages after the court said the firm still bore civil responsibility.

A piece of metal from a Continental jet was blamed for causing the crash.

But Continental labelled the initial court decision and its explanation absurd, and launched an appeal.

The Air France Concorde burst into flames and crashed into nearby buildings after it took off from Charles de Gaulle airport, killing all 109 people on board and four hotel workers.

Most of the passengers were German tourists heading to New York to join a cruise to the Caribbean.

In 2010, a French court decided that the crash had been caused by a titanium strip that had fallen from a Continental airliner.

The US operator was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, fined 200,000 euros (£160,000) and ordered to pay 1m euros in damages to Air France.

In addition, a Continental mechanic, John Taylor, was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence over the crash.

- BBC.co.uk

Total blackout: Syria goes offline nationwide

A Free Syrian Army fighter aims towards Aleppo's
 historical citadel controlled by snipers loyal to
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad - Reutera

The internet in Syria has been shut off nationwide, say two US based web-monitoring companies. During the 20 months of civil uprising, Syria has gone through partial internet disruption, but a 100 per cent blackout is unprecedented.
US-based network security firm Renesys registered Syria disappearing from the internet at 12:26pm local time (10:26 GMT).
“All 84 of Syria's IP address blocks have become unreachable, effectively removing the country from the internet,” reads Renesys’ blogpost.
The same was confirmed by Akamai Technologies Inc, another US-based company that distributes content on the internet.
In the wake of the blackout, the Syrian Information Ministry blamed "terrorists" for the outage, reports pro-government Ikhbariya TV. Official news agency SANA also saw its feed interrupted at midday.

Akamai Technologies's internet traffic data shows Syria blackout line (Image from twitter.com/akamai_soti)

- Rt.com

Japan's secret economic weapon: women

TOKYO — In next month’s general election, politicians—nearly all of them men—will make promises on what they will do to fix Japan’s economic morass. Very few of them will even mention women.

The country’s problems are well known: more older people are living longer as the workforce that supports them gets smaller. The result is rising welfare costs and a shrinking tax base.

An influx of immigrants would boost the number of workers, but Japan has little appetite for migration on a European scale.

Observers say the answer lies within: get more of the nation’s women to work.

Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, said last month that women could rescue Japan’s chronically underperforming economy if more of them had jobs.

A Goldman Sachs report in 2010 estimated that Japan’s GDP could jump by a staggering 15% if female participation (currently 60%) in the workforce was to match that of men (80%).

The report says seven out of 10 women leave the workforce after their first child. And only 65 percent of women with a college-level education work.

Women across the board make only 60% of what men make, according to labour ministry data, in part due to a larger number of part-time workers.

Although for some women, staying at home is a positive choice they have made, commentators say for others it is a lack of opportunities.

Japan is ranked an embarrassing 101st out of 135 countries in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual Global Gender Gap Report, down three places from last year. Near neighbour China is at 69th.

“The gender issue is really ignored in Japan,” said Kaori Sasaki, president and CEO of consulting firm ewoman.

“Japan was strong for five, six decades after World War II because a certain group of men occupied top positions in the fields of economy, media and politics,” she said.

“This boys’ network shared the same values and made decisions unopposed.”

But its failure to adapt to the challenges of the last 20 years means Japan has stood still.

Japanese government data shows women account for a mere 1.2% of executives at 3,600 listed companies.

Sasaki said Japanese men need to realise the effort to close the gender gap is no longer a rights issue.

“This is a management and growth strategy,” she said adding scandal-hit companies—including Olympus, which hid $1.7 billion of losses and Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant—would have been better at dealing with their disasters if they had a more diverse senior management.

“When you try to manage crisis, create products or design services, diversity really counts,” she said.

Saadia Zahidi, the WEF’s head of gender parity and human capital agreed.

“How is the innovation going to happen if you have the same people in exactly the same situation as in the past? So where are the new ideas going to come from?” she said at the launch of a special taskforce in Tokyo last Thursday.

Masahiro Yamada, professor of family sociology at Tokyo’s Chuo University, says it’s not just a case of Japan needing women if it is going to do things better.

Rather he says, it needs women to become workers—and realise the financial gain that this entails—just to survive.

“Unless more women work and get their own incomes, they cannot start a family,” Yamada said.

“Without women joining the workforce, the government’s tax revenue won’t pick up” because the population will continue to shrink, he said.

A lack of childcare makes returning to work difficult for many women; nursery places are at a premium and in any case only usually available during the day.

For some women, the problem is the incompatibility of family life and Japan’s famously long hours, where after-work socialising is almost compulsory.

There are pockets of change, says Hodaka Yamaguchi, 38, whose Tokyo-based IT employer is more sympathetic than many to the needs of its female workforce.

Yamaguchi gave birth to a baby girl in 2009 and came back to a promotion after a 15-month maternity leave. She said her productivity has not fallen despite the fact she is now working six-hour days.

“In this company, working women are well protected,” she said.

Her company allows parents of either sex to take a total of up to six years parental leave—well beyond the 18 months of maternity leave allowed by law.

Although anything above the statutory period is unpaid, the employee’s job is guaranteed.

Ewoman’s Sasaki agrees that things are better than they were, but problems still remain.

“Many young working women say they no longer feel the glass ceiling,” she said. “But I tell them it’s still there. It just moved up.”

© 2012 AFP

Two winners in massive $550 mil U.S. lottery jackpot

WASHINGTON — Two people had winning tickets in the $550 million Powerball jackpot, beating the one in 175 million odds for the second largest lottery in U.S. history, the game’s website said early Thursday.

Powerball’s website crashed shortly after the winning numbers—5, 23, 16, 22, 29, with Powerball 6—were announced late Wednesday, as did that of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball.

Lottery fever in the lead-up to the drawing was such that 160,000 tickets per minute were being sold, according to media reports.

The Powerball website said players in Arizona and Missouri had the winning numbers, without providing further information. It was not yet clear if anyone had come forth to claim the prize.

Another 8.9 million players won lesser prizes totaling $131 million.

Nobody had won the semi-weekly grand prize for Powerball—available in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands—since Oct 6, swelling the kitty for whoever holds the winning six-number combination.

Winning numbers, selected every Wednesday and Saturday, are made up of five out of 59 white balls plus one out of 35 red “Powerballs” from which the game gets its name.

The odds of winning stood at one in 175.2 million—compared to the one in a million chance of being struck by lightning in a given year.

“I’m buying this lottery ticket so I can put my pencil down and walk out of my office and live my dreams,” quipped a 40-something woman named Szami earlier as she bought a batch of tickets for herself and friends at a Washington corner store, declining to give her family name.

“It’s phenomenal. There’s a lot of excitement in the air,” added Kimberly Chopin of the Louisiana state lottery, which had sold $2.5 million in tickets by mid-afternoon Wednesday—compared to $1.1 million a week earlier.

The biggest jackpot in U.S. lottery history—$640 million—was claimed by MegaMillions players in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland who all held tickets bearing the same winning number.

Lottery winnings in the United States are subject to taxation, with winners typically getting a choice between an annuity spread over many years or a reduced amount paid out in a lump sum.

Besides the jackpot, players can win as much as $1 million if they hold tickets with most but not all of the drawn numbers, but many people are unaware of such secondary prizes, which end up going unclaimed.

© 2012 AFP

Cricket: Black Caps end test drought

New Zealand's Tim Southee, center, celebrates. Photo / AP.

For two sessions tonight (NZT), the New Zealand cricketers might have worried they could be the victims of a second extraordinary draw in a week.

Sri Lanka dropped anchor in the second test in Colombo in the hope of batting out for a draw in the same way South Africa did against Australia in Adelaide.

Angelo Mathews played the role Faf du Plessis did for the Proteas - du Plessis batted for seven-and-a-half hours - as he held up one end on his way to 84 off 228 balls. The only problem, however, was those at the other end, as much as they fought, couldn't hold on and allowed the tourists to draw the two-test series 1-1.

It means New Zealand have finally snapped a horrible five-test losing streak - defeat in this match would have equalled the worst by this country in history - and they will feel slightly better about their chances in the upcoming two-test tour of South Africa.
Sri Lanka were finally dismissed for 195 early in the final session, handing the Black Caps a 167-run victory.

'It was tough after losing so comprehensively in Galle,' captain and man-of-the-match Ross Taylor said, "but the way the guys stepped up was a credit to them. We will treasure this moment for a while.


"Test wins away from home don't happen very often."

It hadn't happened for nearly 12 months, when New Zealand tipped over Australia in Hobart. It was also Mike Hesson's first test victory as coach, New Zealand's fourth test victory in Sri Lanka and their first there since 1998.

It was appropriate Trent Boult had the final say when he had Mathews caught at slip after an impressive series.

Boult (3-33) and Tim Southee (3-58) combined for 15 wickets in the match and were menaces throughout with their ability to swing the ball. They put constant pressure on one of the world's best batting lineups and provide some hope the Black Caps can climb out of the dreadful hole they have been in.

One test win doesn't make up for what came before but they at least showed they can fight - a quality not seen enough this year - and showed the value of numerous contributions.

Too often in 2012 players have attained success, albeit limited, in isolation. In Colombo, it has been a team effort. New Zealand has some good cricketers but few world-class players (some might argue there aren't any) and success can only be achieved if a number chip in.

Taylor and Kane Williamson with the bat and Southee and Boult with the ball were the obvious standouts from this Colombo test but others like Todd Astle and Doug Bracewell also did their bit, not to mentioned some of the catching.

It is the only way they will compete in South Africa. The Proteas, however, are not only the world's best side but also the ultimate fighters as they showed in this week's epic draw.

Starting the day at 47-4, Sri Lanka heaped more pressure on themselves when Thilan Samaraweera was needlessly run out for seven with the score at 63.

New Zealand might have felt they were on the verge of victory but they were frustrated as Mathews and Prasanna Jayawardene (29) dug in. The pair combined for 56 in 33.3 painstaking overs on the docile pitch.

Astle finally made the breakthrough when the leg spinner induced a faint edge from Jayawardene for his maiden test wicket and Boult and Southee did the rest.

There is still plenty of work to do until New Zealand can say they have turned things around but it's a start.

- APNZ

Headline Nov30,2012/Cat's Eye!

"CAT'S EYE!"

Bono,  - Yes, Bono - at his very best!  The bald guy raps on. Listening to Lammy taught me something very special about life, and this is ''What, me worry?'' Yes, that's a beautiful, beautiful sentiment. I have attempted to convey this in the lyrics of my song, ''Get Your Ass Off, and Rock This Joint, Baby!''

You learn a a lot about life from all sorts of different human beings. Put it this way, when I was talking to Lammy, there was a knock on the door the other day and who should it be but the lovely, Ben, an early U2 Fan who's truly doing a great job as Pope. So we were rapping on when there was another knock at the door.

''Kofi,'' I said, ''Come in, my old mate! And would you be knowing Ben, here, who's the Pope?''

Two minutes later, who should walk in but this beautiful guy with a truly great sense of humor called Geroge W Bush, says he has a bit of time to spare, thought he'd just hang loose and generally chill for a while. You know, it's easy to underestimate W., but the guy rocks. At heart, he's just a cool cat, just like my main man, Jesse Helms.

So we get to talking about the God and the Bible and everything. I say i always thought God must be a bit like Johnny Cash, but may be not so old. ''Johnny Cash,'' says Pope Benedict, excitedly. ''I am the guy's greatest Fan!''

Listening to those wise men -Pope Ben and Kofi and W. and Lammy  -rapping on, a pearly of wisdom descended upon me and made me feel very very humbled. Two and Two, I thought,  don't make three. Two and Two make Four. And with that I felt at Peace.Tomorrow, I will Txt our Business Manager, Spam, to pass on the good news, but not until I have a put a call through to the Queen, to let her know, too.

I still haven't found what I'm looking for. I love money, but don't get me wrong -I don't love money for what it is: I love it for what it can buy. To wholly involve yourself with this world  -this so beautiful world-  I believe you have moral duty to the Universe to ensure your income Off capital remains as tax-efficient as possible by retaining your disposable assets in earner-friendly offshore holdings!

I was very humbled when my accountant, Skunk, explained the inner wisdom of transferring the heart of my fiscal operations to the Netherlands.

Tax avoidance has a strong spiritual dimension, a dimension of such  joy that it could bring a Tear to the eye of an Orphan Child. As usual, my good mate the Dalai Lama put it in a nutshell.

But mine wouldn't fit in a nutshell so instead I have put it in a portfolio of global investments!

Hahaha! This brilliant conversation could only come from Bono.This is wear transcendent greatness, narrative, come together and then part with the choreographed movements of dance, the rhythm of music, and the lyricism of poetry.Hope you love it as much as I did! The post continues. Bono at its very very best mad work!! Hahaha! This post continues!

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless

Fulham deny Benitez a first Chelsea goal

Chelsea 0 - 0 Fulham


Rafael Benitez is still seeking a first win and goal since taking charge of Chelsea after Fulham battled to earn a point from a tedious west London derby.
The home fans had greeted their new manager with widespread booing during his first game in charge against Manchester City on Sunday, but they laid off him before this match.
A second uninspiring display and goalless draw in four days, though, meant the jeers erupted around Stamford Bridge at the full-time whistle, the hosts' winless run stretching to six games.


Tottenham 2 - 1 Liverpool
First-half goals from Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale were enough to give Tottenham victory over Liverpool in a superb encounter at White Hart Lane.
Lennon opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes when he tapped in Bale's low cross from the left at the far post.
Bale added a second when his 25-yard free-kick left Reds goalkeeper Pepe Reina virtually motionless on the line.
Liverpool pulled one back when the unlucky Bale headed into his own net.


Man Utd 1 - 0 West Ham

Robin van Persie scored the fastest Premier League goal this season as Manchester United beat West Ham to remain top of the table.
The Dutchman struck his 12th goal in all competitions with an effort that deflected in after just 32 seconds.
Andy Carroll volleyed off target as the visitors tried to respond, while goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen denied Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney.

Wigan 0 - 2 Man City

Mario Balotelli marked his return to Manchester City's starting line-up with the crucial opening goal in their hard-fought win over Wigan.
The Italian striker, out of favour and then injured for most of the last month, gave City the lead against the run of play with 21 minutes left, burying the loose ball after Ali Al Habsi's double save.
James Milner's fierce strike moments later made sure of a victory that keeps City only a point behind Manchester United at the top of the table, but this was a far from straightforward win.

- BBC.co.uk

Scotland launches Book Week to promote reading

(Xinhua) -- Scotland has launched the first ever Book Week to encourage people of all ages to embark or continue on a reading journey, a government press release said on Tuesday.

Book Week Scotland, a government initiative from Nov. 26 until Dec. 2, is being held on behalf of Creative Scotland by Scottish Book Trust, the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland.

More than 350 free events are being held throughout the country, several led by some of Scotland's best-loved authors including Iain Banks and Val McDermid, it added.

Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, said the event aims to encourage people to embrace reading's unique capacity for personal enrichment, education, solace, pleasure and growth.

"The week is an opportunity, during the Year of Creative Scotland, to celebrate our exceptional literary talent, our history of literary excellence and our rich culture," she added.

Every Primary 1 schoolchild in Scotland will receive a free pack of three picture books and a specially commissioned book "My Favourite Place".

A total of 150,000 copies of the book, which is a collection of stories and poems written by Scottish people, will be distributed widely at train stations, ferries, stores and many other spots, according to the government.

Moreover, there will be a national Reading Hour from 11 a.m. local time (GMT 1100) until midday on St Andrew's Day of Nov. 30 when people are encouraged to go to the library to show their support for reading.

A flagship Reading Hour event will be held at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, incorporating activities for all ages led by leading Scottish authors.

On Dec. 1, there will be a pop-up festival at The Mitchell Library in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, featuring a packed program of events for all ages throughout the day.

The League of Extraordinary Book Lovers, a group of volunteer enthusiasts aged from five to 75, will appear on street corners handing out book recommendations during the book week.

Marc Lambert, chief executive officer of Scottish Book Trust, said, "The spirit of Book Week Scotland is about celebrating reading, and the real power reading has to change lives."

At Scottish Poetry Library near the center of capital city, Frank Howell, 65, told Xinhua on Tuesday that he enjoys reading and usually spends more time on reading during winter days when it's getting dark earlier.

He added that young people like his niece and nephew usually read less because they have their work and kids to take care of, which makes them mostly occupied.

Talking about e-reading, Howell insisted that he prefers book reading and likes the feeling with a book at hand.

For his part, Colin Waters, communications manager of Scottish Poetry Library, hailed Book Week Scotland for encouraging people to read and enjoy the wealth of literature, especially the poetry, which appears earlier than books and will last for a long time. He also noted that Oct. 4 is the National Poetry Day in Scotland.

The full program of Book Week Scotland was unveiled at the National Library of Scotland in late October to encourage as many people as possible to read, share and celebrate the enjoyment of getting lost in a book, new or old.