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St. Petersburg Times (Russia)
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Jul 23, 08 9:20 PM CDT
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Conservatives are pressuring Marriott to remove adult films from its pay-per-view programming, saying porn doesn't jibe with the hotel chain's commitment to families, the St. Petersburg Times reports . "It's corporate greed,'' said the head of a Christian group. Marriott contends nixing the flicks isn't so easy: It owns only a few of the 3,000 properties operating under the brand.
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Portfolio
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Jul 23, 08 1:00 PM CDT
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Jean-Georges Vongerichten has been busy indeed outside the kitchen—too busy, in the minds of some. In the next 5 years, the restaurateur plans to open between 30 and 50 new establishments in Starwood Hotels worldwide. The dramatic move, brokered by a private-equity firm, will make consistency a challenge and could lessen his cachet before long, Portfolio reports.
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Travel Leisure
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Jul 22, 08 8:45 PM CDT
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You sat in plenty of stuffy cabins to earn those frequent-flier miles: make sure you get a good trip out of them. Travel and Leisure runs down the best ways to earn miles and use them efficiently. Stick with one airline: The more you commit to a single airline, the better you'll be treated and the more miles you'll accumulate. Eat more, drive more: Rental car companies such as Hertz double the miles of some airline customers, and participating restaurants also offer such benefits. Ditch the mouse for the receiver: Booking a ticket by calling an airline agent can help you use your miles more efficiently than online booking.
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Daily Mail (UK)
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Jul 22, 08 1:09 PM CDT
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Batman star Christian Bale was arrested today in London after his mother and sister accused him of assaulting them in his hotel suite over the weekend, the Daily Mail reports. The women lodged their complaints yesterday, but police waited until after last night’s London premiere of The Dark Knight to question him.
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Associated Press
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Jul 22, 08 11:37 AM CDT
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Fish pedicures where dozens of tiny carp smooth out your tootsies by eating away the dead skin is the latest in spa pampering. Since March, a DC area salon has offered the pools of garra rufa, aka doctor fish—popular in Turkey and Asia—as an alternative to scraping razors. So far 5,000 people have taken the plunge, the AP reports.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jul 18, 08 12:55 PM CDT
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Beijing’s newest construction binge may lead to a glut of rooms as hoteliers race to finish new properties before the Olympic Games begin in August, the Wall Street Journal reports. When the Games open, Beijing will have 50 five-star hotels, more than double the total of five years ago. While three-quarters of those rooms are booked, fewer than half the rooms at four-stars are reserved.
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Greenville (SC) News
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Jul 17, 08 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) -
"South Carolina is so gay," announce posters in the London Underground. Part of an advertising campaign targeting visitors to London's gay pride events, the posters have set off a backlash in South Carolina, drawing sharp criticism from senator David Thomas and resulting in the resignation of a state staffer involved in the ad campaign, reports the Greenville News.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jul 16, 08 7:01 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Some Americans aren’t letting high fuel prices and a weak dollar get in the way of travel plans, the Wall Street Journa l finds. Wannabe wayfarers are taking the “staycation”—a holiday spent at home—to new heights of creativity, with one Bronx woman swapping a trip to Japan for a week in NYC complete with a tea ceremony, taiko drumming concert, and postcard-writing.
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Economist
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Jul 16, 08 5:00 PM CDT
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Besides skyrocketing gas prices, there's another reason to ditch your car: the steep cost of parking. The Economist breaks down the cities with the most expensive spots: London—$1,167 a month, $68 a day Sydney—$774.76 a month, $54.50 a day Hong Kong—$742.40 a month, $28.20 a day New York—$585 a month, $40 a day Tokyo—$552 a month, $46 a day
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Washington Post
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Jul 16, 08 3:40 PM CDT
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Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams will all be part of Barack Obama’s foreign trip that begins later this week, Howard Kurtz reveals in the Washington Post —as the Dem’s campaign impressively “draws the anchors halfway around the world by offering access.” The ABC, CBS and NBC anchors will interview the candidate on separate nights in different countries.
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Associated Press
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Jul 16, 08 8:00 AM CDT
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Air China plans to buy 45 Boeing 777 and 737 aircraft, reports the AP, a purchase the airline says will increase its capacity by about 35% and help reinforce Beijing's status as a transportation hub. The list price for the planes—one of China's biggest airliner purchases—is $6.3 billion, but the final price is expected to be lower.
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New York Times
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Jul 15, 08 3:05 AM CDT
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Stranded passengers are finding ways to settle in for the night at airport terminals as hotel vouchers become a thing of the past in the cash-strapped airline business, the New York Times reports. Frequent fliers advise terminal sleepers to bring something soft to sleep on and to stock up on food and drink before airport stores close—or spend their own cash on a hotel.
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Daily Telegraph (UK)
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Jul 14, 08 8:46 PM CDT
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Tasmanian devils are reproducing at a younger age to offset a contagious cancer epidemic, the Daily Telegraph reports. The ill-tempered marsupials, suffering from tumors that cut their lifespan in half, are now breeding at age 1 instead of 2 or 3. "We could be seeing evolution occurring before our eyes," one expert told the AP—though the devils may still die off in about 25 years.
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Times (UK)
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Jul 14, 08 7:45 PM CDT
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Organizers of the Beijing Olympics released their "Spectators' House Rules" today, aiming to keep order during the August Games as well as protect the hosts from embarrassing incidents, the London Times reports. For starters, babies are discouraged but not forbidden. Other dos and don'ts: Permitted: Umbrellas ("In Beijing we prefer to avoid the sunlight," says an organizing committee official) Small quantities of lip gloss, fountain pens, and sunscreen
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Newsweek
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Jul 13, 08 3:59 PM CDT
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Ecofriendly travelers once camped outdoors and foraged for food, but today a hotel in Times Square can claim it's as green as a lodge in the Costa Rican rain forest, Anna Kuchment writes in Newsweek . In other words, eco-vacationing has gone big business, and environmental advocates fear the notion is being diluted. "A lot of people want to use terms like 'ecotourism,' because it's cool and hip now," one expert said.
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Guardian (UK)
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Jul 12, 08 12:59 PM CDT
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Bust a move, save the world. That's the premise behind a new disco in London that bills itself as the world's first eco-club, reports the Guardian . Its dance floor is designed to harness the energy of dancing feet. The club's owner says that alone will cover 60% of the electric bills, though scientists in the obscure field of piezoelectricity are skeptical the gains will be that high, Time notes. Solar power and wind turbines meet the rest of the club's energy needs.
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