User:Vmeotf5603

B in Amsterdam
For fans of the final series of BBC Saturday night thriller The Killing ,coach bags, starring Sarah Lund’s woolly jumper, the price of a three-night break at trendy Ibsens Hotel,christian louboutin sale, Copenhagen in January has plunged by 30 per cent from ,cheap louboutin shoes?258 to ?181, just ?90 per person, bookable through the website. Flights with easyJet between Gatwick and Copenhagen start at ?60. At Jet2 holidays, flying out of eight northern airports, New Year city break options include three nights’ B&amp;B in Prague, at the two-star plus Fortuna West Hotel, for ?240, ex-Edinburgh on January 3, and three nights’ B&amp;B in Amsterdam, at the three-star Amstel Botel Hotel, from ?190, ex-Leeds Bradford on January 4. According to the Trivago Hotel Price Index,cheap gucci handbags, hotel prices across Europe have fallen from a peak early in 2012: an overnight stay in December now costs an average ?84. Hotel prices were at their highest in May, at an average ,polo ralph lauren outlet?107. Across the EU, hotel prices are moving in contrasting directions: biggest falls are found in Valencia, down 19 per cent to ?55 per night. Istanbul,christian louboutin shoes, Frankfurt and Brussels have all decreased by 11 per cent, to ?86, ?77 and ?88 per night respectively. Some centres in eastern Europe are boosted by rising demand: Riga, Latvia,Ugg Boots Sale UK, is up by 34 per cent in comparison to last month and 28 per cent in the last year, with one night costing an average ?74. Other significant price increases in comparison to November include Dresden (up 23 per cent to an average of ?80); Prague (up 19 per cent to ?84) Salzburg (up 18 per cent to ?110),ugg boots sale. These three cities are popular winter destinations: Dresden and Prague feature Christmas markets, and Salzburg is a popular skiing destination. But Spain is getting cheaper all the time: in comparison to this time last year, hotels in Seville are down 14 per cent to an average of ?61, with Madrid down nine per cent to ?72. In Britain,gucci handbags, city centre prices have fallen from ?130 in August, to ,coach outlet?109. London hotel prices predictably peaked in August thanks to the London Olympics and the cheapest UK cities in December were Blackpool and Sheffield, where one night costs an average of ?56 and ?67 respectively. Most expensive are London and Oxford, at an average ?151 and ?108 respectively. Related articles:  - analyzed the maps and wrote in the following Springarn a Wall Street veteran 

says this money has made a difference.
WATCHING people cleaning up their homes and businesses after they’ve been flooded has become an all too familiar sight on TV news bulletins in recent years. Most of us feel a pang of sympathy and thank our lucky stars that it hasn’t happened to us, but one of the worrying aspects of the floods that have swept across large parts of the UK over the past nine months, is that many of those affected had never been flooded before and don’t live near a river. There are numerous stories of people having to open their front and back doors to let water pour through their house in order to prevent it building up and causing even greater damage. One of the most dramatic images was of five houses left hanging over a sheer drop following a landslip in Whitby in November. The row of cottages on Aelfleda Terrace had been part of the seaside town’s skyline since the days of Queen Victoria, but then torrential rain caused patios and a slab of rock and mud the size of a minibus to slide down the steep slope, sweeping away the gardens and 150 years of history. It was a reminder that even those seemingly far removed from any kind of flood risk can be affected by severe weather,cheap louis vuitton. The question of how we can reduce the impact of flooding and other extreme weather events has come into sharp focus in recent years following catastrophic floods in 2000,ugg boots uk, 2007, 2009 and again this year,gucci Sunglasses. In 2004, a government study warned that the cost of damage from flooding and coastal erosion in the UK could rise by 20 times over the next century. The Foresight Flood and Coastal Defence Project involved 60 experts in climate change, engineering and economics, and concluded that flooding “would increase substantially” by the 2080s. Professor Edward Evans was science team leader for the project, which formed the information base of the new Government strategy for flood risk management. He believes the Government needs to spend around ?1bn a year on flood defences and warning systems for England and Wales,louis vuitton outlet online. “After the floods in 2007 they started to do that but as result of the cuts that has been scaled back,” he says. “The Environment Agency has done some excellent work and we are much better prepared for flooding now than we were in 2000, or even in 2007. But something like 40 to 50 per cent of flood damage claims aren’t the result of flooding on river and coastal plains, it’s urban areas that aren’t necessarily near a river and have been flooded by surface water running off fields or from inadequate drainage,” he says. “One of the problems is a lot of old towns and villages were historically built around the banks of rivers, Yorkshire is full of places like that, and obviously that is a problem if they keep on flooding.” It would cost too much money to build flood defences for all the small rivers and watercourses, but he says there are still ways of mitigating the impact of climate change. “We need to sort out the deal between the Government and the insurance companies and we perhaps need a campaign to encourage people to protect their property by installing steel gates on their front doors.” But that still leaves the problem of Government funding. “The problem is that it seems to come down to do we want more schools and hospitals, or more flood defences?” In the past five years the Environment Agency has spent around ?47m on flood defences in the North East and regional flood risk manager, Phil Younge, says this money has made a difference. He says nearly a thousand properties at risk of flooding were protected in Yorkshire last summer. “In 2007 we had a lot more people flooded but the good news is the investment put in place has worked and this time it’s stopped a lot of people flooding,Ralph Lauren Sale. The bad news is this is happening more frequently.” And 2012 has been particularly challenging. “It has been an exceptional year in terms of rainfall and it’s been fairly persistent and consistent. In the past you would have floods and the rain would go away and allow the ground to dry out, but this year the ground has remained saturated since June and any subsequent rainfall just adds ?to it.” He says that flooding can have a devastating impact. “Unless you’ve been flooded or seen it then you might not appreciate the effect it can have. It’s not clean water, it’s dirty and often mixed with rubbish and sewage. If you get burgled, it feels like an invasion of your privacy and it’s a similar thing if you get flooded because all the things you’ve worked hard for can be ruined at a stroke.” The Environment Agency, along with the National Flood Forum, works closely with local authorities to help support those who have been flooded,gucci outlet. In Yorkshire there are around 30 flood warden groups who act as the Environment Agency’s eyes and ears in communities at risk of flooding, and they help ensure that local residents, particularly the elderly and most vulnerable, are prepared. Younge says we are likely to face periods of extreme weather in the future. “We are probably going to see greater variations and we need to be able to cope. When we have periods of drought we need to be careful about how we use water and at times of floods we need to understand the risks and be prepared. We have a flood warning system in place in many flood risk areas,coach outlet online, in places like the Calder Valley, York and Leeds, where people receive a phone call or text warning them in advance that there’s a possibility of flooding.” It’s been estimated that flooding and flood management cost the UK over ?2bn each year. Professor Nigel Wright, from the school of civil engineering at Leeds University,ugg boots sale, says some of the costs of are relatively simple to work out. “If the centre of Leeds floods then buildings in the city will be impacted. We get the headline cost of damage and how much the insurance claims are likely to be, but if Leeds is flooded then the city’s train station is likely to be out of action. This means people can’t get to work and it costs them and their employers.” In other words it has a knock-on effect on the city’s economy. “It affects people travelling from places like York and Bradford and if the roads are flooded then that, too,christian louboutin sneakers, has an economic cost. A stretch of the A1 in North Yorkshire was shut for seven days this year due to the weather. These are the kind of costs that are more difficult to calculate and don’t always get taken into account.” Extreme weather events can affect us even when they occur thousands of miles away. “There’s anecdotal evidence that in Japan after the tsunami struck the country stopped the production of hard discs which was moved ?to Thailand. Then Bangkok ?was hit by floods and as a ?result we’re paying ?10 or ?15 more for hard disks, all because ?of flooding on the other side of ?the world.” Prof Wright says there are other, less tangible, issues that need to be considered. “When the floods hit different parts of Yorkshire ?this year we saw the impact it ?had on people’s homes, it ruined their carpets and furniture and you could see these people were at their wits end,” he says. “It’s an incredibly stressful experience and once someone’s been flooded they often become anxious every time it starts raining. The impact can last for years because you hear stories of some people who don’t get back into their homes again until a ?year after they were flooded, or even longer in some cases,ralph lauren polo. It can affect people’s mental health as well and it can even lead to people getting divorced, but these things are much more difficult to quantify.” So if we can’t eradicate the risk, what can we do to minimise the impact of extreme weather? “We can’t prevent flooding but we can reduce the impact it has by building flood defences in our towns and cities. We can make sure that communities are prepared for floods and are given enough warning – and that’s what we need to focus on.”  Related articles:  “Of course not Jeff Lemieux is organizing that will include him Sir Jonathan Miller can make it feel like </ul>

side airbags
<iframe id="motorsVideoIframe" src="?w=450&id=209920&statme=1&ws=A041&d=01210746&cid=motorstoday">

Published on Tuesday 22 January 2013 11:17

Introduction I was recently looking back at a review I wrote on the first generation Kia Sorento, a car that did big, cheap and rugged very well. 'The Sorento was always a very smart buy but it's more than that now. Making it something you'll feel genuinely proud of owning is Kia's next assignment.' I'm not claiming some sort of insider knowledge or spooky prescience, but that's exactly what Kia did with the second generation Sorento,cheap christian louboutin, to an extent that few of us foretold.

Although some might bemoan the loss of a rough and ready bruiser that you wouldn't really think twice about beating across a ploughed field in, the MK2 model has a broader appeal and fits well with Kia's burgeoning reputation as a car manufacturer on the up. Here's how to shop for the early second-generation models. Models 5dr family 4x4 (2.2 diesel [1, KX-1, KX-2, KX-3, KX-3 Sat Nav]) History The original Kia Sorento first arrived in 2003 and was heavily revised in the autumn of 2006. Its replacement was always going to be a more polished product, but in fact it took a subtle but interesting change of tack. Instead of being marketed as a go-anywhere item like the first Sorento, the car that made its European debut on the show stand at the 2009 Frankfurt Show was cut from very different cloth. Billed somewhat curiously as a 'Highline Cruiser', most took that as Kia-speak for a crossover vehicle.

The thing is, although smaller crossovers like the Nissan Qashqai have sold well in the UK, bigger ones have tended to come a little bit unstuck. Nissan's Murano and Mazda's CX-7 are two conspicuous cases in point. The Sorento rolled into UK dealerships in early 2010 and sales have been generally encouraging without fear of any stampedes. An entry-level five-seat variant was offered at the foot of the range, but most models were based around seven-seats. The Sorento soon started picking up industry awards and won a EuroNCP five-star crash rating to boot.

In December 2010, a range-topping Sorento 'KX-3 Sat-Nav' was introduced, adding an integrated satellite navigation system,cheap gucci bags, an uprated Hi-Fi and a colour reversing camera system. The Sorento was replaced by what looked like a facelifted car in the autumn of 2012,ralph lauren outlet online, but which actually got a whole new chassis, as well as the usual efficiency and styling tweaks. What You Get This car is a genuine seven-seater with plenty of space for occupants seated in the third row where specified, making it, say Kia, 'best-in-class' for accommodating the sixth and seventh occupants. Access to the cabin is also improved as the 'hip-point' for the front and second row seats is lowered by 37 mm, the cabin floor is lowered by 32 mm and the second row near-side seats 'double-fold' to allow easier entry and exit for third row passengers.

For maximum versatility when accommodating people and cargo, the Sorento's second row seat is split 60/40 and the optional third row seat is split 50/50,ugg boots uk sale. These seats' backrests fold almost flat to extend available boot space. Luggage space is impressive, with cargo capacity increased by 15% over the original model, thanks to moving the tailgate back by 70mm. When using the vehicle as a five-seater,Ralph Lauren Sale, with the third row seats folded down (where fitted), total capacity is now 531 litres - 96 litres more than the previous model. Cargo capacity with all seats upright in the 7-seater is 111-litres, and a massive 1525-litres when both the third and second row seats are folded down.

Kia is known for its generosity when it comes to specifications and the Sorento is unlikely to disappoint. Standard equipment on all models runs to alloy wheels, electric-adjustable door mirrors, air-conditioning,louboutin shoes, Keyless Entry with central locking, an RDS Radio & CD player with MP3, ESC (Electronic Stability Control) with DBC (Downhill Brake Control), HAC (Hill-start Assist Control), driver and front passenger airbags, front row, side airbags, full-length curtain airbags and 'active' head restraints. Original customers got a choice of five or six speed manual gearboxes plus five or six-speed automatics depending on the engine choice. As an option, a two-part glass Panorama Roof was available. The rear section is fixed, while the front section is powered and can be tilted for ventilation or slide fully back to enjoy uninterrupted views,cheap christian louboutin shoes. Inside, a multi-position roller blind allows the level of shade within the cabin to be finely adjusted. What You Pay Prices open at &pound;14,cheap louis vuitton,000 for the first of the '1' specification two-wheel drive models on a '60 plate. If you're just using it for shopping, the school run and other light duties, it makes a great buy. If you want a bit more all-weather utility, you'll probably want one of the all-wheel drive versions which you should be able to track down in KX-1 specification for only around &pound;500 more. Prices can be quite erratic though and a little searching could net you a KX-2 model for little to no additional outlay. Automatic models tend to start at around &pound;15,250 in all-wheel drive KX-1 trim.

What You Get (used_get) What to Look For Despite its slicker image, the Sorento is still a relatively competent off-road performer and although it probably hasn't been subjected to too much in the way of mud-plugging, it's well worth having a look under the car to see if it's been damaged by over-zealous green laning. Check the exhaust, the suspension and the front and rear underbumper assemblies for signs of damage. The engines have proven very reliable, as have this Kia's electricals, although some dashboard and interior finishes are prone to looking quite tired quite quickly. Kia's brilliant seven-year warranty arrangement means that these vehicles very rarely fall into premature neglect. Replacement Parts (approx prices, based on a 2011 Sorento 2.2 KX-2) Kia spares prices have earned an enviable reputation for strong value for money, and replacement parts for the Sorento are no exception. A clutch assembly is around &pound;220, whilst front brake pads weigh in at around &pound;70. An alternator will cost around &pound,cheap gucci handbags;170 and for a starter motor you'll be looking at &pound;180. On the Road The crossover status assigned to the Sorento by Kia suggests a greater emphasis on road-going ability and that's how things pan out. The car uses the same MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension as the old model but it's 10mm lower and the one-piece bodyshell of this MK2 model produces a centre of gravity that's 54mm closer to terra firma. Engineers have worked to produce a more direct steering set-up with fewer turns lock to lock which should also help on the tarmac, but Kia still claims that a decent level of off-road ability has been retained.

If you plan on putting the Sorento to the test in the rough, you'll be wanting a 4x4 version. There are both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions offered but for off-road driving, towing or coping with slippery on-road conditions, the 4x4 will be the way to go. There are two four-cylinder diesel engine options, an entry-level 2.0-litre unit developing 147bhp and 282lb ft of torque (2WD only) and, for the rest of the range, a 2.2 with 194bhp and 311lb ft.

The Sorento lacks the low range gearbox that would mark it out as a serious off road tool. In the 4x4 models, 100 per cent of torque is directed to the front wheels under normal driving conditions with drive directed rearwards as slippage is detected by the computer. There is, however, a Lock Mode which will split power equally between the front and rear axles to help in slippery conditions at speeds of up to 40km/h. The vehicle also comes with DBC, Kia's version of hill descent control, which controls speed on steep descents and HAC hill start assist which prevents the Sorento rolling back when pulling away up hill. Overall When the second generation Kia Sorento arrived in 2010, it improved the line in so many ways. It was bigger, it drove far better on road, it was better looking, the quality seemed stacks better and it was a good deal more fuel efficient. There were some qualms about the fact that it no longer seemed quite such a sturdy utility vehicle, but put the old and the new car through a tough off-road section and there wouldn't be a lot in it. You'd just have blingier alloy wheels to worry about on the newer car. As a used buy it's about as good as it gets,polo ralph lauren. We'd be looking for a low mileage KX-2 and be willing to negotiate hard. You'll come away never again bemoaning that &pound;15,000 doesn't buy you much car.

<img id="largeMotorsArticlePicture" src="/images/new/large/KiaSorento0510(4).jpg?statme=1&ws=A041&d=01210746&id=cw" alt="Car Picture"/>

Related articles:  Roasted Garlic Soup</li> Satellite view of Hurricane Sandy Sunday morningThey find</li> is particularly strong when it comes to healthcare.</li> </ul>

“The quality of workmanship
,ugg boots uk sale Engineering expertise by Pickersgill Electroplating has played a major part in helping the Leeds Transport Historical Society (LTHS) restore the,cheap gucci bags?tram,coach bags. The project, which is expected to be completed in the summer,coach handbags, is currently located at the premises of the Middleton Railway Trust close to Pickersgill’s Leeds site,Ugg Boots Sale UK, has been over seven years in the making,ralph lauren polo, with the charity using its neighbour’s facilities for the thousands of parts needed to restore the tram to its original 1898 condition,gucci shoes. LTHS project manager Jamie Guest said: “This restoration has been a great success thanks to the thousands of labour hours put in by volunteers over the years,ralph lauren outlet online, but it is also a testament to the fabulous engineering and manufacturing skills we have on our doorstep,Cheap Ugg Boots. “Pickersgills were involved from the start of the project and has been an invaluable member of our network of Yorkshire companies that have helped us rebuild Leeds Tram 107. “The quality of workmanship, advice and service from Pickersgills has been excellent and I can’t speak too highly of them. “They always delivered the finished articles on time and to the highest standard, which was critical to pass regulatory laws for a passenger carrying rail vehicle,louis vuitton outlet.” Related articles:  man / Egos by the ton</li> "Some states are advocating measures such as parent report cards</li>  and if you want to find an old file you've since deleted</li> </ul>

When an iPhone user reaches the bottom of a Web page
<div class="sBody p402_premium" style="display: block;"> All year, and  have locked horns over mobile-phone patents,ugg boots. The two tech giants make close to half of the world's smart phones. But Apple says many of Samsung's popular devices, specifically ones that run operating system, rip off the. As legal decisions roll in from ,Cheap Ugg Boots,, , , and a , Samsung has already been fined more than $1 billion. What did Samsung do wrong? In August, an American jury decided that 28 Samsung smart phones unfairly lifted ideas from the iPhone. The Korean company infringed on Apple features such as: ,gucci outlet?Finger controls: Apple patented the idea of using one finger to scroll and multiple fingers for other interactions, such as the &quot,cheap christian louboutin shoes;pinch-to-zoom&quot; gesture that enlarges images. ?Bounce-back: When an iPhone user reaches the bottom of a Web page, the phone scrolls a little beyond the bounds of the page and then snaps back,christian louboutin shoes. Apple patented this rubber-bandlike flourish. ?Tap-to-zoom: Double-clicking on part of a website will make an iPhone zoom in on that section. ?Appearance: Samsung phones look too similar to the iPhone's patented design, such as its clean front, edge-to-edge glass, rounded corners, and other specific features. Samsung could have incorporated one or two of these design aspects,cheap louis vuitton, but it borrowed too many. ?Icon design: The main menu on certain Samsung phones illegally copies the iPhone's. Both use colorful, rounded-rectangular icons, with a special bottom row for the most important features. Are such patents too broad? The jury had the option to strike down any of these patents. Samsung argued during the trial that companies had already demonstrated ideas that Apple claims to have invented,louis vuitton Replica. For example, six years before the iPhone,christian louboutin sneakers, unveiled the DiamondTouch, a touch-screen table with features that resemble bounce-back and pinch-to-zoom. This evidence of &quot;prior art&quot; did not sway the jury. A higher court may feel differently. Does this mean that all Android phones violate Apple's patents? Not necessarily. While Samsung is one of many companies that make Android devices, it modified 's original code to add extra features and visual flair. After the US trial, Google released a statement saying that most of Samsung's infringements &quot;don't relate to the core Android operating system.&quot; What happens next?  This fight is far from over. A South Korean case recently decided that Apple and Samsung both infringed on each other's patents. A Japanese court said Samsung did not violate Apple patents related to syncing music and video between devices. They still await judgments in a handful of other countries. This global slugfest worries many onlookers. Apple's lawyers won over the American jury with its narrative that and his crew invented the iPhone,ralph lauren outlet, and then Samsung simply ripped it off. But Apple and most tech powerhouses have spent billions over the past few years buying patents for things they didn't invent. Analysts hypothesize that last year for $12 billion mostly for its wealth of patents. These massive stockpiles offer a sense of mutual assured destruction. Don't sue me because I'll just sue you back. Software patents are written in a purposefully vague way to make them as broad as possible, says Julie Samuels, a staff attorney for the in ,ralph lauren outlet online. &quot;This creates a world where not only are litigation costs out of control, but the parties feel like they really need to build up their patent portfolios,&quot; she says. &quot;That is incredibly expensive, and that is a cost that, at the end of the day, consumers will bear.&quot; For more on how technology intersects daily life, follow Chris on. Related articles:  there isn't much that's faster on four wheels.</li> Corporate executives can take a step back</li> land-use planning.</li> </ul>

co-founder and chief executive of MomsRising.org
<div class="sBody p402_premium" style="display: block;"> Forget the. Sure,ralph lauren outlet, the critics pounced when ’s new, CEO let it be known that she did not intend to spend more than a week or two on. They worried that Ms. Mayer was setting a bad example – that professionally driven women really couldn't take time out to be mom; that she was striking a blow to that “having it all” ideal (wherever that came from); that she was doing a disservice to herself and her baby. But that all misses the point, a number of advocates are saying. Just take a look at a new National Women’s Law Center report out this week, which evaluates child care assistance availability across the country. For hundreds of thousands of American women, this, and not the Yahoo boardroom, is where the conversation about going back to work begins. And it is a conversation that is getting harder. To step back here a moment: Although you wouldn’t know it from the commentary surrounding Mayer, for many American women, maternity leave is less a philosophical choice than a decision influenced by employer policies and child care expenses. While the says that eligible employees are entitled to 12 weeks leave after the birth of a child, it only covers a fraction of the  workforce. (Smaller employers, as well as part-time and contract employees – who are often women – are not covered.) Moreover, the Act does not require employers to pay for this leave, and many parents cannot afford to be without a paycheck for months at a time,ralph lauren polo. So going back to work quickly is often less about maternal values than it is about family practicalities. The catch, though, is that the alternative to maternity leave is often childcare – super-expensive, infant child-care. We wrote a couple of months back about. In most states, full day, center-based infant care costs more than tuition at a public college. It ranges from $4,christian louboutin sneakers,600 in to $15,000 in Massachusetts. Lower income families, then,ralph lauren outlet online, are in the worst spot. They are most likely to include a mom or dad with a vulnerable job that either does not pay any leave or does not allow for time off, and at the same time they are the least able to pay for childcare. Which is where the new National Women’s Law Center report comes in. There is federal money, distributed to the states, that is earmarked for childcare assistance. But as Helen Blank, director of child care and early learning at the National Women’s Law Center, told me, only one in six eligible children actually receive this childcare assistance. [Editor's note: Helen Blank's name was incorrectly spelled in the original version; it has been corrected.] “It’s too little money and it’s getting stretched too thin,” she said,Ralph Lauren Sale. This week, in its annual childcare assistance report, the National Women’s Law Center found that for families in 27 states, the affordability and accessibility of childcare assistance was getting even worse. Seven states lowered their income eligibility limits as a dollar amount between 2011 and 2012, meaning that a family had to be even poorer to qualify for assistance. Twenty-three states had waiting lists or had frozen intake for childcare assistance; had 17,058 children on waiting lists, while  had 31,260,polo ralph lauren outlet. And in many states, families paid a higher percentage of their income in co-payments in 2012 than in 2011. “We get stories every day from parents struggling to make ends meet,” says Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner,gucci handbags, co-founder and chief executive of MomsRising.org, a social media site and advocacy group. “Parents who figure out that the cost of childcare is higher than their pay – that’s not uncommon. So they make the difficult decision of whether to stay in the labor force, or whether to not,coach outlet, and then risk not getting a job later.” In comparison, Mayer’s decision about when to go back to work is downright cushy,Cheap Ugg Boots. And personal. Her son, who was born earlier this month, will clearly not lack for childcare. And hey, if I had a $129 million pay package incentive dangling over my head, I’d be tempted to get back to work ASAP,polo ralph lauren, too. But that’s a problem so good – and so rare – that it perhaps shouldn’t even be part of the national debate. Related articles:  Appraisers are right 90 percent of the time</li> And Yahoo is not alo</li> As an added reminder and precaution</li> </ul>