Jim Paull

Religious belief is no excuse for refusing to shake a teacher’s hand, authorities in a northern Swiss region ruled Wednesday, reversing one school’s controversial decision to grant exemptions for Muslim pupils unwilling to touch the opposite sex. Parents of pupils who refuse to shake a...

BELLYFERRITER: The plot for the next Star Wars film is guarded more closely than the Death Star but one thing is certain, it will feature plenty of Irish mist and rain.

The regular downpours — helped by tankers of water brought on set just in case — failed to dim the enthusiasm of hardy fans and local businesses cashing in as director Rian Johnson began shooting this month on a remote stretch of coastline in southwest Ireland.

“There’s a buzz around and the exposure worldwide is unbelievable,” said Donal O Cathain, a bar owner in Ballyferriter, the small village nearest the set constructed on Ceann Sibeal, a rocky promontory.

Christy Mac Gearailt, who runs a local restaurant, said: “I don’t know if the force is with us but it has certainly forced us to work a lot harder because of the increase in the number of visitors.”

The last movie in the Lucasfilm Disney Star Wars series, which was released in December, has generated more than $2 billion at the box office, making it the third highest grossing film of all time.

‘Part of Star Wars history’

“Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” also featured Ireland in a dramatic ending filmed in a sixth-century monastic settlement off the west Irish coast.

“Ireland has become an important part of Star Wars history,” Candice Campos from Lucasfilm Disney, said in a statement this year officially announcing that Ireland would feature in the eighth instalment.

Irish Film Board chief executive James Hickey said he hoped for “increased levels of job creation, incoming tourists and foreign direct investment to Ireland.”

Episode VIII in the saga is scheduled for release in December 2017.

Among the fans eagerly awaiting the premiere will be Irish-American Jack Sullivan who was in a group trying to catch a glimpse of a structure jutting out from the hilltop, believed to be a Jedi temple.

“This is a real bonus on our trip to Ireland,” he said. “It’s just a pity we can’t get to see it up close — I can’t wait until the movie comes out now!”

But some locals complained about the disruption in this rural spot — one of the last remaining areas where Irish Gaelic remains the primary language.

Louis Mulcahy, who has been hosting some of the visitors at his pottery shop to view the set through a telescope, complained about the traffic around the Dingle Peninsula, which is already one of Ireland’s busiest tourist routes.

“The increase in numbers certainly won’t help,” he said.

Down to earth Skywalker

Truck loads of equipment have navigated the narrow roads in recent weeks to ferry equipment to a hastily-built camp at the bottom of a hill near Ballyferriter that is usually home only to a few sheep.

Local owners of four-wheel drive off-road vehicles are reportedly earning 300 euros ($335) a day to ferry the cast and crew along a temporary road up the hillside to the shoot location, which is bounded by cliffs on three sides.

Around 450 people were working on the set amid tight security to prevent any leaks about the new film.

Landowners have signed onerous secrecy agreements and none will speak openly about the layout of the site for fear that they would not receive the promised compensation for the use of their fields.

Nor were they prepared to talk about their windfalls.

Workers have had to check in mobile phones to prevent them taking pictures and the Irish Aviation Authority has imposed a no-fly zone over the area.

Still, the village’s three bars have been humming with conversations about that day’s happenings on site and how the stars are conducting themselves.

The friendliness and down-to-earth manner of Mark Hamill, who plays the saga’s main hero Luke Skywalker, was singled out by several locals for particular praise.

But some business owners were openly sceptical of claims that the film is enhancing prosperity.

“We have seen plenty of cars passing our door to go to the site but you can count on one finger the number of local people actually working there,” said Eamon Houlihan, owner of the Black Cat shop in the village.

“Everything has been shipped in — it is almost completely self-contained,” he said.

– AFP

A prominent Saudi cleric has declared photographs with cats, and other animals illegal, unless completely necessary due to an upsurge in Saudis “who want to be like Westerners.” On a televised broadcast, Sheikh Saleh Bin Fawzan Al-Fazwan, a member of the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars, was told...

With the unlimited storage that Gmail and Outlook offer now, you might be tempted never to delete your emails. But that’s not how you get to Inbox Zero. For that, you need a change in mindset.

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A Mississippi school principal who allegedly ordered teachers to cheat on standardized tests said prayer and holy water were the reasons scores went up, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported. The allegation came during a disciplinary hearing for Lawanda Tyler-Jones, who has been under investigation...

These powder-pink pistachio rose clouds have a lot going for them. They're truly a study in texture — they shatter at the touch, are chewy in the center, and melt the moment they hit your tongue. When's the last time you had that much fun with dessert?

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IPOH: Despite the shortage of work opportunities in the oil and gas and manufacturing sectors, the country has seen a rebound in the first quarter for areas such as technology, sales and marketing.

There's something so perfect about a one-bowl meal. Equal parts comforting and efficient (we'll always be in favor of fewer dishes to wash), bowl meals are just better — and this is especially true when it comes to lunch.

After all, when you're in the middle of a busy day, you need all the time-saving power that a meal in a bowl can provide. Here are 15 of our best one-bowl meals that are perfect for lunchtime.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malindo Air is offering exclusive fares during the seven-day travel fair, which started on Monday until May 29, offering business and economy class travellers premium full service.

Mizuno’s popular Wave Creation 17 running shoes typically sell for about $130 around the web, but today only, Amazon’s marking them down to just $64 as part of a Gold Box deal. Men’s and women’s versions are both available, and you can even choose from over half a dozen color schemes.

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I didn’t believe it at first, either. When I first heard about the Būband, I googled up review after review looking for someone who could verify that it was a ridiculous garbage gimmick. But most of what I read was positive, so I told you guys all about it . I even bought one for myself, and now? I’m a believer.

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Exchange rates can trip you up when you’re traveling, making you spend a lot more that you expect. On the flip side, you can save some money when the dollar is strong. GOBankingRates looked at exchange rates and a few other factors to put together a guide to spending money in other countries.

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One-pan meals are the true heroes of weeknight dinners, and this lemon-Parmesan chicken with asparagus is no exception. With just a little bit of prep and about 20 minutes in the oven, this bright, flavorful dish can be yours tonight.

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Bangkok’s main Airport Suvarnahbhumi (BKK) finally got a budget alternative directly connected to the terminal building with the BOXTEL just opening late April 2016.

So far the only hotel option at the terminal was the Novotel which often has rates beyond 200$ a night and is for obvious reasons not in everybody’s budget.

The new BOXTEL offers as the name suggests compact sleeping rooms with rates calculated on an hourly basis. In March a similar option opened at Bangkok’s second airport Don Mueang (we wrote about it here).

To get an impression you can visit the Boxtel Website (see here) that offers information and booking options. The hotel is also bookable on booking.com.

I saw their sign by coincidence when I walked past it towards the Airport Rail Link last week so you need to go to the Base Floor where the train is located and follow the long corridor as shown in the graphic below.

For a stay of 6 hours one should budget about 60$ and just as I said in my other article, these hotels are not CHEAP but rather priced in a decent manner.

This only makes sense if you have a brief overnight at the airport while continuing on the next morning in the early hours such as a reader wrote us last month who flew in on Delta Airlines and flew to Phuket the next morning. If you don’t want to go into the city that is.

Conclusion

The price is reasonable but if you spend more than a few hours then you might want to consider staying in the city instead.

For the pricing outlined it is no problem to find a decent 3/3.5 Star hotel for a full day use anywhere in Bangkok however these wouldn’t be right at the airport.

By TK Chua

Let’s forget trying to negotiate the impossible. Let’s forget trying to contain unbridled ambition and bigotry. Let’s stop pretending we are magnanimous when we are intransigent to the core. Let’s forget also the mounting crises the nation is facing.

No one really cares anymore; this country has been on autopilot for a long time.

We have pretenders, hypocrites and corruptors as our politicians and leaders. The baloney being perpetrated is beyond belief. No explanation, justification and rationale has been given for anything. Everything is based on power, defiance, personal survival, and obstinacy.

We violate agreements, ethics and principles and we allow the slippery slope of expediency and hypocrisy to lead us to more baloney as is evidenced today.

Seriously, how could we have PAS as a friend and ally on one hand and as an enemy and opponent on the other at the same time? I think only the greatest hypocrites and the most self-conceited could see no contradiction in this situation.

How could Pakatan Harapan (PH) especially PKR treat its equal partner Amanah as a lesser friend whenever the situation suits them? We may occasionally ask our friends to sacrifice something for us, but asking them to sacrifice for their enemies is nonsensical. Asking Amanah to sacrifice for PAS is out of the question. If PKR was a true friend, it would never have even thought of asking this.

Today we decry the prevalence of unfettered corruption and abuse of power. We blame the self-interests and self-preservation of certain leaders as the source of our problems. However we have largely forgotten the genesis of it – the lack of principles and ethics in everything we do. We pretend to compromise the irreconcilable and we allow expediency to thrive. I think it is not difficult to discern that the rapid disintegration of opposition forces is due to their foggy position vis-a-vis PAS.

PH’s, more correctly PKR’s, continued engagement with PAS is immoral and lacks principles. Political parties must communicate to the people their policies and ideals honestly and unequivocally. They cannot tell the people they are inclusive and cosmopolitan and at the same time, behave in a dogmatic and parochial manner.

There is no such thing as being a little pregnant. If PH can’t be direct and definite while trying to gain power, I am sure they can’t do the same when exercising power. I am no longer in as much pain as I used to be when witnessing the continued disintegration of opposition forces in the country. They deserve it.

TK Chua is an FMT reader.

With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.

PUTRAJAYA: The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) said the “halal egg” issue, which went viral on social media recently, has gone overboard.

In a statement here, Jakim’s Halal Hub Division said action by some egg producers who place the halal logo on eggs was against regulations relating to the halal label.

“The Malaysian Halal Certificate is issued to chicken eggs to avoid dubious elements in its cleaning and packaging process,” the statement said.

Consumers can check the halal status of products via the Malaysia Halal Directory at www.halal.gov.my or via the mobile application myJakim.

– BERNAMA

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is asking for a total ban on the international trade of an extremely rare species of lizard that most locals have never heard of but is in danger of being increasingly “loved” to death overseas as pets.

A quick salad is a great way to use up leftovers. If you’re not sure what that leftover salmon, boiled eggs, steak, or grilled chicken in your fridge is destined for, this graphic will help you build the perfect salad around it, and whatever else you may already have in the pantry.

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While Google’s self-driving vehicles have been cruising around the streets, the company’s engineers have been working on a way to ensure pedestrians that may come into contact with the bumper of one of those autonomous vehicles are left relatively unscathed. Their apparent solution: an adhesive that makes people stick to the car’s hood. 

At least that’s the impression one might get from a recent Google patent intended to protect pedestrians during impact with a vehicle.

“Some efforts have been made to provide for the mitigation of injury to a pedestrian in a collision with an [autonomous] vehicle,” Google says in the patent, noting that when a vehicle has a person behind the wheel the operator is able to react in a way that can prevent injury, where as a fully self-driving vehicle can not.

According to the patent, the system is for protecting a colliding object from a secondary impact after initially hitting the vehicle.

That means while someone would have to actually be hit by Google’s self-driving car, they wouldn’t be pushed forward and hit a second time.

Here’s how it would work: an adhesive layer covered by a special coating would be placed on the front end of a vehicle.

Upon initial impact, the coating would be broken exposing the adhesive layer to “adhere the colliding object to the adhesive layer during the initial impact.”

Google says in the patent that the adhesive wouldn’t be relegated to the front of the vehicle; it could also be used on side panels, as well.

So far, Google’s self-driving vehicles have reportedly only been in accidents involving other cars, or in one case, a city bus. The patent suggests the company is taking the potential of a pedestrian versus car accident seriously.

Of course, we should point out that while Google has filed for the patent, that doesn’t mean the company will actually use it in the future.

[via Engadget]

Eating potatoes for your morning meal is nothing new (hello, home fries!), but have you ever had a baked potato for breakfast? If not, I highly suggest you try it. Filled with eggs, bacon, and cheese, there's really no better way to start your day.

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Here are ten of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

A conversation conducted using sticky Post-it notes on the windows of two offices in Lower Manhattan has delighted passersby and drawn a number of neighboring advertising agencies to join what is now a highly contested art battle. It all began when employees at one firm, Havas Media, replied to an...

Imagine you’re a cat, and, every time you meowed, the loud voice of a snooty-sounding British gentleman kindly informed your human guardian of your every thought and feeling (well, the thoughts and feelings you had before you were terrified by the sound of the voice). A new product called the...

Bill Backer, the real-life adman responsible for “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”—and (spoiler alert) the last moments of Mad Men —died on Friday at age 89. His wife Ann Backer confirmed his death to Newsweek. Bill Backer was a creative director at the advertising firm McCann Erickson when he...

Craving cake, but don’t necessarily have an occasion to make one for? Well then it’s a pretty good thing that you don’t need to wait until your birthday to make this honey-apple cake. This recipe falls under what I call "casual cakes,” meaning cakes that are perfectly suitable for Sunday brunch, afternoon tea, or any random Wednesday night when you need to fulfill a relentless cake craving without having to make something completely over the top. There's a whole chapter in my book dedicated to these cakes without occasion.

With layers of fresh apple cake, honey buttercream, and a touch of crunchy oat crumble, you may even end up devouring a slice of this one for breakfast!

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You’ve most certainly had—or at least heard of—kale chips, but kale isn’t the only leafy green that can be transformed into a crispy snack. Brussels sprout chips are just as easy as the kale version and (I think) a little bit tastier.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians are spending more time in traffic gridlocks than a year ago, according to an online survey conducted by global carmaker Ford.

The company said of the 1,050 Malaysian respondents, 55% of them said they spent more time in traffic.

“More than one in five said their commute was the worst part of the day,” said Ford in a statement today.

The company said Malaysian daily commuters were the second most likely to report an increase in the cost of their commute compared with a year earlier, which at 75% was only behind Hong Kong, with rising fuel prices the most commonly cited reason.

It said the survey in the Asia-Pacific region was conducted by GlobalWebIndex on behalf of Ford Motor Company.

A total of 12,619 consumers were surveyed across 12 markets, namely Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The fieldwork was concluded in January.

– BERNAMA

Ninja makes your favorite affordable blenders , and the supersized Ninja Mega kitchen system is marked down to $150 right now, matching an all-time low. In addition to a 2 horsepower, 1500W motor, you get an 8-cup food processor bowl, a 72 ounce blender jar, and two single-serve cups for making a smoothie on the go.

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Tai chi may work as well as traditional physical therapy for easing pain in people with knee osteoarthritis, a small study suggests.

Knee osteoarthritis, a leading cause of pain and disability in older adults, occurs when flexible tissue at the ends of bones wears down. While it can’t be cured, physical therapy or anti-inflammatory medications are often prescribed to relieve pain and improve mobility.

To see if tai chi – a Chinese meditation practice that combines deep breathing and slow, fluid movements – might be a good alternative to physical therapy, researchers randomly assigned about 200 people with knee osteoarthritis to try one of these options for three months.

Both groups experienced similar reductions in pain at the end of the three months, and after a year, the study found. People in the tai chi group, however, reported greater improvements in wellbeing and mental health than the participants assigned to physical therapy.

The findings suggest that the growing number of US patients practicing tai chi to address musculoskeletal and mental health issues are on to something, said lead study author Dr. Chenchen Wang, director of the Center for Complimentary and Integrative Medicine at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

“Tai chi is a multicomponent traditional Chinese mind-body practice that may systematically promote health . . . by integrating physical, psychosocial, emotional, spiritual and behavioral elements,” Wang said by email.

In the study, Wang and colleagues assigned about half of the participants to attend hour-long tai chi classes twice a week for 12 weeks. The others got six weeks of 30-minute physical therapy sessions twice a week and were then told to continue with exercises at home at least four times a week for another six weeks.

Participants were 60 years old on average. They were typically overweight or obese and had been suffering from knee osteoarthritis for around eight years.

While neither group had perfect attendance, 79 percent of the people in tai chi and 78 percent of patients in physical therapy went to at least half of the scheduled sessions, researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Because patients knew what treatment they received, it’s possible that preconceived notions about the potential benefits of tai chi or physical therapy may have influenced the changes in symptoms that participants reported, the authors note.

The study was also done at a single academic medical center, making it hard to say whether the results would be similar in other settings.

Even so, the findings suggest that tai chi may offer some relief to patients without the potential cost of attending physical therapy or side effects of medications, said Romy Lauche of the Australian Research Center in Complimentary and Integrative Medicine at the University of Technology Sydney.

“Finding effective and safe interventions is a top priority,” Lauche, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

“Any kind of exercise including tai chi may benefit patients by improving functional disability, and they also impact coping skills,” Lauche added.

The controlled movements that are a hallmark of tai chi can be good for joints because they allow fluid in the joints to move in and out of cartilage, improving flexibility, noted Jean-Michel Brismee, a researcher in physical therapy and rehabilitation at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock.

“Both tai chi and physical therapy should have the goal to educate patients in doing the healing movements at home daily,” Brismee, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

– Reuters

When I want comfort food, sometimes only a plate of cheesy, creamy pasta will do. Fettuccine Alfredo satisfies all these cravings, but sometimes I can only eat a few bites before the flavors get a bit too monotonous and rich. Adding lemon and fresh dill, however, suddenly transforms it into a complex dish that I can easily (and happily) eat a full serving of.

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