| Good sports
The Oscar-winning Cantabrigian's work as Jason Bourne in "The Bourne Identity" and its two sequels makes him "the thinking man's action hero," something that surprises even Damon. "I agree I'm not, as you say, the most likely badass killing machine," Damon told EW. "But I love this guy. And to be honest, these movies have changed my life." . . . While the hardworking Damon had been globetrotting in support of "The Bourne Ultimatum," which was released earlier this year, he won't be mentioning that during his appearance on Jay Leno's show next week. Because of the writers' strike, Leno's folks have dug deep into the rerun vault and will be airing a bit from a visit Damon made to Leno's show in 2000.
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They can't even cook their own books
Were I a senior Labour politician this weekend, much of the shame I'd feel would be because people in my party had behaved like crooks; but a little, secret bit of it would be because they've proved such incompetent crooks. We're not talking the Old Bailey here; not even Crown Court. We're talking Woking Magistrates' Court on a wet winter Tuesday; a shuffling line of dysfunctional miscreants in soiled shell-suits, struggling to read the oath, let alone to understand the charges against them. We have a party leader incapable even of colluding with his own deputy. We have a Prime Minister so pathetically anxious to elbow blame on to his colleagues that in the first five minutes of the story breaking he volunteers � volunteers � the opinion that what has happened is "unlawful", thus permanently settling the argument about whether it should be a matter for the police.
A package of news briefs from the Caribbean
The United States and members of the Caribbean Community have agreed to pool their efforts toward combating the smuggling of small arms, light weapons and ammunition within the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. State Department said Monday. Officials agreed to improve import and export controls; promote the tracing of recovered firearms and ammunition; advocate the destruction of obsolete and excess national stockpiles; and restrict the availability and use of illicit firearms. In a statement, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the agreement was in response to meetings among regional foreign ministers in March and reaffirmed at the June U.S.-Caribbean summit meeting in Washington. The text of the joint initiative said the agreement by members of the Caribbean Community, also called Caricom, and the United States was necessary because of "the growing gray and black market arms markets" in the hemisphere.
Farmworker housing inspected
Some say the county has some of the best housing in Florida, but others contend that except for a rare few, conditions are horrible and worse than they were 20 years ago. In the two-level unit, there are two bathrooms - one with a shower, a kitchen, a porch, two bedrooms and privacy blinds for those who sleep in the living area. "This is one of the cushy ones," Briggs said. "Some of the places I look at, you wouldn't want your dog to live in." Farmworker housing is inspected for safety hazards or violations twice per quarter by law, with Briggs' rounds this fall a part of opening season and the yearly permitting process for harvest. She'll be back in December, when her violations marked down now must be corrected. "Our main thrust is to try to assure that we have farmworker housing that is sanitarily acceptable and doesn't promote public health issues," said Thomas Larkin, the health department's environmental manager.
Escaped convict found in Oregon after 12 years
SALEM, Ore. -- For more than a decade, Lyndal Dale Ritterbush led a comfortable life in Salem as a rental property manager. He'd done so, in part, by stealing the identity of his brother-in-law, police said. But that theft eventually caused his story to unravel. Now, he's due to be returned to Utah, where he escaped from prison in 1985 after his second sentence for sexually abusing children. Ritterbush was known in Salem as Robert "Bob" Collins Rhoden, according to a story published in the Salem Statesman Journal. The paper said it and the Salt Lake Tribune had shared information about Ritterbush's time in Oregon and his capture. The real Robert Rhoden and his wife live in Nebraska, said Sheriff Jeff Franklin of rural Clay County.
Roll of the Die - Human Life Speculators Bet on Elder Deaths
Plymouth, California, a town of a little more than 1,000 souls in the Sierra Nevada foothills just east of Sacramento, seems an unlikely site of global financial intrigue. But then nothing seemed ordinary about the sheaf of papers retired librarian Jeannette Cranford obtained a few weeks ago from her 85-year-old mother (whose name we're not printing at Cranford's request). The papers are the by-product of an unusual come-on directed toward elderly people in California, Idaho, and perhaps other U.S. states, in which seniors are offered $1,000 if they'll sign notarized contracts in which they commit to handing over detailed personal medical and financial information. This deal was briefly advertised on Bay Area Craigslist in mid-October under the heading "PAID survey for senior citizens ages 72-85." But it's being marketed for the most part directly by insurance agents, who've been recruited by a secretive Burbank company called Lighthouse Insurance Marketing Inc.
Good cheer for John Lewis but prosperous new year less sure
Computers, MP3 players and televisions were the most popular items. Sales across the chain’s 26 stores were up 5.2 per cent in the week to December 8, compared with the same week last year, and 11.7 per cent higher than the previous week this year. Last week was John Lewis Direct’s busiest week, with online sales 40 per cent higher than last year. Mr Knowles said: "Worries about house prices falling might be putting them off selling so they’re doing up the current one, and we’re seeing a rise in sales of furnishings, fabrics, cushions and curtains." Not all retailers will enjoy such brisk business, according to Mike Watkins, senior manager of retailer services at Nielsen. "Consumers will be thinking twice about splashing out this Christmas," he said.
Wags & Players (48)
McCanns remain defiant as they face 40 questions from UK police this week" “Kate and Gerry's fury as new sighting in Morocco by businessman is ignored" SUNDAY MIRROR front page: “MADDIE HUNT: THE TRUTH." The truth… At last… “DISGRACE." A picture of Madeleine McCann (on the right). A picture of Portuguese copper Goncarlo Amaral (left). “Police have ignored 250 sightings of her" – and have investigated how many? “Cop leading police probe works four hours a day" – Amaral's not overworked and fresh. “He has three-hour boozy lunches with pals" – Amaral holds lengthy meetings to discuss and masticate over the case with team. “Puffing on a cigarette and knocking back beers, the man leading the world's biggest missing child inquiry enjoys yet another long, boozy lunch." Good to know that the Mirror is not wasting its time and watching him.
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