Bus travels, Tour and transport

The introduction of a minimum travel distance for children to qualify to use Guernsey school buses has been delayed The environment department planned to start the restrictions from Monday, but has delayed it until the New Year.

The new measures means pupils who travel less than a mile to school will be barred from using the service The delay is to allow the department to consult further having only received responses from five schools to the proposed changes.

The move follows complaints from parents and schools that some children had been unable to catch the bus as seats were taken by those who lived much closer.

source:www.bbc.co.uk

THE Senate finance committee yesterday skipped the proposed 2012 budget allocation for the Office of the President (OP) and instead bared a 2009 Commission on Audit report that the OP in the previous Arroyo administration racked up unliquidated cash advances in the total amount of P594,040,619.70, mostly on foreign travels .

Appearing before the budget hearing, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa volunteered additional information that while the COA report for 2010 has yet to be released, their internal accounting showed that the OP, as of December 31, 2010, also incurred unliquidated cash advances totaling P571,190,306.

"This shows the impunity and disregard of the previous administration to what was appropriated and an abuse of (the Arroyo administration’s) fiscal authorization (given by Congress)" said Sen. Franklin Drilon, finance committee chairman.

Drilon, an administration ally, disclosed that in 2009, the OP was only appropriated P30 million in travel expenses but disbursed a total of P848 million for foreign travel and P92.5 million in local trips. As of August this year, Drilon said, the amount of unliquidated disbursements included P367 million in cash advances.

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APT’s 18-day tour of Indochina is a remarkable adventure on which you will enjoy unparalleled standards of luxury. Combining 11 nights of guided touring and a seven-night river cruise, you will discover a vibrant, exotic culture, beautiful scenery and remarkable historical relics – including many places that are accessible only by water.

In Vietnam and Cambodia, APT offers two intimate vessels. MS La Marguerite is one of the finest ships on the Mekong, with just 46 suites and an elegant art nouveau-inspired design. This year, she is joined by the newly launched MS AmaLotus, an equally luxurious vessel with 62 suites.

On board, you’ll enjoy excellent cuisine and the attention of a knowledgeable APT tour director – local to the area and who speaks fluent English. They remainon hand to ensure that your holiday goes smoothly.

Shore excursions are led by expert local guides and conducted in groups of no more than 25, so you can be sure of individual attention and can immerse yourself fully in the culture of the places visited. What’s more, the price of the cruise includes all soft drinks, beer and spirits on board, plus wine at lunch and dinner and all tips.

Travel to these exotic locations and more worldwide destinations , Book worldwide vacation rentals


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Three major bus accidents in the Northeast, including the horrific crash on Interstate 95 in the Bronx that killed 15 passengers and critically injured several others, may finally spur Congress to mandate bus safety improvements.

A bipartisan measure to require seat belts, roofs that can withstand a rollover, better windows to prevent passenger ejection in crashes, and other vital safety steps was introduced in the Senate by Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, and Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas. The bill, which covers interstate motor coaches, also has new and more stringent requirements for driver fitness and bus company oversight to root out irresponsible operators. A companion bill is pending in the House.

A nearly identical bill died at the close of last year when Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, imposed a hold on the legislation. Early Senate approval, with strong bipartisan support, may even embarrass the regulation-hostile House into acting.

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Chicago tour — a short bus, 20 stran­gers smiling gamely at each other, an edgy guide checking his watch and eager to start on time. Which one is this? A food tour? Architecture? Ghosts, gangsters, the great fire?

Phil Rockrohr, the guide at the front of the bus, plugs his iPod into the stereo system and cranks it. Suddenly Tutu & the Pirates’ grinding punk-rock milestone “Wham Bam Son of Sam” is blaring, and we suspect Chess Records is not on the day’s itinerary.

“Chicago Rocks: 1980-2002” delivers just what its greatest-hits title states, a whirlwind drive-by of where the city’s punk, post-punk, alt-rock and modern rock bands lived, played and drank. Tours of Chicago’s blues and jazz history pop up intermittently, but the new mini-voyage — launching this weekend, with three-hour tours leaving each Saturday from Schubas bar and concert hall — aims at tourists and residents for whom Naked Raygun, Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair are foundation music, not necessarily Muddy and Buddy.

Rockrohr is a musician himself, a Park Forest native who’s played in about a dozen local bands, including his own Phil Rockrohr & the Lifters.

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The number of Canadians living with kidney failure has tripled in 20 years and thousands of patients are waiting for kidney transplants, researchers say in a report that suggests if transplants were available, $150 million spent on expensive treatments would be saved.
There were nearly 38,000 Canadians living with kidney failure in 2009 -more than triple the number recorded in 1990 -with 3,000 people on a transplant waiting list, according to a study examining organ failure released yesterday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
If everyone on the wait list was transplanted, about $150 million would be saved each year because of less dialysis treatment expenses, said Claire Marie Fortin, CIHI's manager of clinical registries.
"Dialysis is expensive, there's no denying it," Fortin said.
"It's also onerous on the patient. We always think of dollars and cents when it comes to health care, but there are patients involved and these are people who have to travel far to get their dialysis. A greater supply of organs would be beneficial to the system."
Hemodialysis treatments cost $60,000 a year per patient while a one-time expense for a kidney transplant is only about $23,000, plus an additional $6,000 for medication to maintain the transplant, Fortin said.

I have to admit to being stunned by the level of misinformation that is currently accompanying the Health and Social Care Bill as it is introduced into Parliament.
Yesterday, the shadow health secretary John Healey stated that ‘the changes would make the health service profit centred rather than patient centred, health secretary Andrew Lansley said ‘competition would be on quality and not cost’ and that as the health service is free at the point of delivery patients obtain the best medical outcome rather than the cheapest option. Meanwhile, Karen Jennings, head of health at Unison, stated that the only survivors will be the private health companies which are ‘circling like sharks’ and MPs say ‘the reforms have taken the NHS by surprise’.
None of these statements has much basis in either fact or evidence. The reforms being introduced in the bill are essentially a continuation of the reforms started under the previous administration, albeit at an increase in pace and scale. The Labour reforms introduced competition between hospitals for patients and patient choice of hospital and a system of regulated prices. Lansley has changed the buyers of health care from local PCTs to general practitioners, but under Labour the PCTs were supposed to act on behalf of their local GPs anyhow. Why Healey believes that increasing the pace of reform and replacing the PCTs with GP consortia should mean the NHS switches from being patient to profit centred is completely unclear.
GPs have not been seen by politicians as profit centred previously. In fact, perhaps because GPs see so many voters each week, most politicians studiously ignore the fact that GPs are private contractors and not NHS employees. In addition, the new GP consortia will probably employ a fair number of ex-PCT staff. So it seems unlikely there will be a radical shift in values on the purchaser side.

Weight-Loss Tricks Around the World: USA Today’s Hellmich Maneuvers and China’s Weird New Roundworm Diet
Given Lab Notes’ almost Twitter-like space limitations, however, only a few of Hellmich’s tips could be cited, which is sufficiently unfortunate to serve as justification for a more elaborate summary of her various suggestions. A lot of them are staple weight-loss tips that are familiar entries on almost every list, such as drinking water prior to meals, using smaller plates and bowls, exercising two to four hours a week to accelerate weight loss, and so on. We’ll skip those.
But some others are less commonplace and/or more specific, and worth taking a moment to pass on to anyone who might not have already encountered them. Here, in brief:

• Set weight-loss goals you can actually meet: 1/2 to 2 pounds a week is reasonable.
• Familiar ploy: Get a pair of jeans or other pants too tight for you and use them as an incentive. Hellmich variation: Don’t hang them in the closet, but in your kitchen.
• Involve your family as your partners and support crew.
• Replace the fatty and sugary snack items in your home with snackable substitute veggies (carrot and celery sticks, cucumber slices) and fruits (grapes, apples, strawberries).
If you think our shortage of jobs is making people crazy, consider China, where unemployment currently stands at around 22 percent officially, and maybe much higher unofficially. However rapidly China’s cities can create new jobs, job-seekers from the vast rural expanse pour in to take them even faster. And, as is the case here, simple physical attractiveness is often a significant advantage in landing a position, especially for women, and especially to the benefit of the slim and slender.
• This has driven females entering the Chinese workforce to some drastic measures to slim down for job interviews, among them exotic pills, teas, and even soaps, acupuncture, staring at photographs for hour after hour as a kind of self-hypnosis, and showering whenever hunger strikes — up to 10 times a day or more.

Turning travel into a volunteer opportunityis an increasingly popular way to spend vacation time. For those with an interest in protecting planet biodiversity and wildlife conservation, Biosphere Expeditions offers the opportunity for adventure travel while giving a helping hand.
An award-winning, non-profit organization, Biosphere Expeditions bridges the gap between scientists at the forefront of conservation programs that are in need of funds and helpers, and enthusiastic travelers who during their vacation time and through their hands-on assistance and expedition contributions, want to support them.
Travelers can take part in anything from a weekend project to extended expeditions lasting months. Examples of possible conservation projects in 2010 include working with whales, dolphins and turtles in Azores, coral reef in Musandam, or jaguar and puma in Brazil. The average cost of a one-week expedition is about 1,780 USD with at least two-thirds of the volunteer contribution devoted to long-term funding of the conservation projects and sustainability.

By taking part in volunteer travel focused on protecting biodiversity you can be involved in making a difference around the globe. So far some of Biosphere Expedition’s most notable achievements include a declaration of a protected area which serves as a wildlife habitat in Central Asia, recommendations incorporated into the national and state jaguar action plans in Brazil, and fewer killings of lions, leopards and cheetahs in Namibia.
If you are looking for a cause to travel for these expeditions are something to consider. You will have a positive impact on local communities, wildlife, and the environment while seeing some of the most beautiful locations this planet has to offer.

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Geography

Dalian is located west of the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and east of Bohai Sea. With a coastline of 1,906 km, it governs the southernmost Liaodong Peninsula and about 260 surrounding islands and reefs.

History

Part of the State of Yan in the Spring and Autumn Period, Dalian became a small town in the 1880s, when the Qing Empire established bridges, cannon platforms and camps there. Named after the Dalianwan Bay (大连? of the Yellow Sea northeast of the peninsula, it was officially called Dalian in 1899, and the term was first used in October 1879 by Li Hongzhang in a document.

Dalian of south Pulandian was occupied by the British in 1858, returned to the Chinese in the 1880s, and then occupied by Japan in 1895 during the first Sino-Japanese War. From 1898-1905, it was occupied by the Russians and renamed Dalny (Qingniwaqiao 青泥洼桥 of Zhongshan District, Dalian) and Port Arthur (Lvshunkou). After the Russo-Japanese war Port Arthur was conceded to Japan (Treaty of Portsmouth), who set up the Kwantung Leased Territory or Guandongzhou. Since the foundation of Manchukuo in 1932, the sovereignty of the territory moved from China to Manchukuo. Japan still leased it from Manchukuo. In 1937, the modern Dalian City was enlarged and modernized by the Japanese as two cities: the northern Dairen (Dalian) and the southern Ryojun (Lushun).

After World War II, Dalian was not returned to China, but taken over by Soviets with theoretical Chinese overlordship (see Yalta Conference), and was returned to full Chinese control in 1955, although the first communist Chinese mayor of the new Lvda Administrative Office was elected in 1945. The name Lvda was formed from the initial letters of Lvshunkou and Dalian. Because of the sudden closure of many Japanese businesses, many Dalian residents were out of work for a while.

On December 1, 1950, Lvda was made into a city again. From March 12, 1953 to August 1, 1954, it became a municipality of China|municipality. The city's name was changed from Lvda to Dalian on March 5, 1981, after the State Council approved it on February 9. It was upgraded from a prefecture-level city to a sub-provincial city in 1994, with no change in its administrative subdivisions.

Dubrovnik is rich in culture and history. Dubrovnik is located on the extreme south of Croatia , the city enjoyed immense growth in trade and naval power in the Middle Ages. The city of Dubrovnik has since relinquished its position as a Mediterranean power player.

Today the city of Dubrovnik is a peaceful and children-friendly haven for tourists and locals. Zagreb , its capital, offers a glimpse of the glory days of the old city of Dubrovnik ; it boasts of well-preserved medieval architectural marvels. As a testament to its ability to masterfully blend the old with the new, the city's capital has established itself as the hub of modern life and is considered the economic, political and scientific center of Croatia .

The city of Dubrovnik takes hospitality on a higher level by offering a wide range of “private accommodations.” Private accommodations are apartments or villas privately owned by locals that have been specially prepared for tourist occupation. These accommodations may be adjacent or separate from the owner's own residence. They are furnished and are most often strategically located to take full advantage of the city's majestic seascapes.

The cuisine of the city of Dubrovnik takes full advantage of the sea's abundance; fresh seafood that is either boiled or grilled and seasoned with herbs and olive oil.

There is a lot to experience in city of Dubrovnik ; charming medieval architecture, spectacular views, fresh food and a host of other activities that will make anyone want to stay.