Legion of Angels News Archive

LONDON, England (CNN) – The creators are billing it as one of the coolest hostels in the world and it’s undoubtedly one of the most novel overnight stays you are ever likely to experience. Welcome to the Jumbo Hostel — an old Boeing 747 which is being converted into a 25-room hostel at the Stockholm-Arlanda airport.

The idea is the brainchild of Swedish businessman and entrepreneur Oscar Dios, who has been running hostels in Uppsala, Sweden for the past five years.

Renovation work is underway on a plane which used to carry in excess of 350 passengers. Jumbo Hostel is scheduled to open for business in December 2008 and will provide accommodation for up to 85 guests.

CNN spoke to Dios about how he got the project off the ground. “We were looking to expand the business but it was more or less impossible to find reasonably priced housing at the airport. And you cannot build a new house and run a hostel because it is too expensive,” he said.

It was in 2006 that Dios first heard about the Boeing 747, which was for sale. Formerly flown by the now defunct Transjet Airways, the plane was wasting away in a hangar at Arlanda airport and hadn’t flown since 2002.

“The plane was in a terrible state when we first saw it,” he said. “But we contacted the owners and gave them a fairly good offer, I think.”

Although he wasn’t prepared to let on exactly how much he paid for the old Boeing, Dios confirmed that the price tag was a six-figure sum (in euros).

Dios took possession of the 1976 Boeing 747-200 — one of 393 built by the company until 1991 — in June 2007 and by December he had reached agreement with the airport authorities about his unique proposal.

In August 2008 the plane was finally moved to its permanent home at Arlanda airport’s main entrance, where it will now stay.

Apart from the engines being removed from the wings before purchase, the plane, from the outside, looks almost exactly as it did when it was grounded.

The interior, for obvious reasons, is a different matter. Dismantling and stripping out all the old equipment and instruments started earlier this year. The final phase of refurbishment is nearing completion and Dios says it complies with the same building regulations required for a house.

There will be two types of accommodation. A basic room will be roughly six square meters in size with sleeping space for three adults. It will cost €110 ($150) per night.

But if you fancy splashing out, you can book the top deck, complete with the cockpit suite, which comes with a private bathroom and panoramic views of takeoffs and landings. Dios envisages newlyweds taking advantage of this more expensive option, which costs €500 ($700).

If you don’t want to spend a whole night on board you can hop on and relax in the cafe suite for a couple of hours at a cost of €25 ($35). This will also afford you the opportunity of striding out onto the wing and taking in the views of the bustling airport.

While most large commercial planes end up in vast aircraft boneyards, some, like the Jumbo Hostel, find new lives.

New York based urban architects Lot-ek plan to create a library in Guadalajara, Mexico, made by recycling 200 Boeing 727 and 737 fuselages. And Californian millionaire Francie Rehwald has started building a house from the parts of another scrapped 747.

Source — CNN

PARIS - Paris may be the most visited city in the world, yet it’s also one of the most expensive.

“This city is worth the price,” says veteran tourist Alex Wadkin, 71, a retiree from Dublin, Ireland, sipping a $6 cup of coffee on the Champs-Elysees. “If you avoid expensive neighborhoods — like this one — you’ll do alright. But the key is to plan ahead.”

For travelers on a budget, the choices can be tough: stay in a far-flung suburb and eat a baguette for every meal, or leave happy but broke. Yet for those in the know, there are plenty of cheap — and even free — ways to enjoy the city.

THE SIGHTS: The Eiffel Tower may be impossible to miss for any self-respecting tourist, but it costs $19 to reach the top and long lines leave you exhausted by the time you reach the celebrated view.

Instead, do as the Parisians do: come in the evening, pack a picnic, and sit on the sprawling lawns surrounding it to watch the sunset and admire the tower alight at night, sparkling every hour for 10 minutes.

For a great view of Paris, just hike up to the top of Montmartre and sit on the Sacre-Coeur Basilica’s steps overlooking the city.

THE MUSEUMS: Unless you plan on spending most of your time in museums — which, granted, is possible among the dozens of great museums in Paris — the museum passes (two, four or six days) may not save you much. Better compare prices first at http://www.parismuseumpass.com.

Try to time your visit to include the first Sunday of the month, when the Louvre and all the major museums are free. And students, always have your ID card on you.

Don’t discount a couple of smaller free museums. Le Musee Carnavalet has lots to offer: located in the gorgeous Marais neighborhood, it retraces Paris’ rich history, from the Revolution to today. Meanwhile the Petit Palais, an architectural beauty in the heart of Paris, shows off collections from Paris in the 1900s all the way back to antiquity.

For photography fans, the gates surrounding the Luxembourg gardens host free open-air exhibits featuring stunning large-scale photography from around the world. And don’t forget to go into the park, where Parisians hang out by the fountain, get a tan, and listen to free music on summer weekends.

THE SOUNDS: Paris boasts not one, but two, world-class opera houses. Good seating remains prohibitively expensive, but if you reserve early and don’t mind craning your neck a bit, there are seats for $11 and $16. For the under-28 crowd, last-minute tickets — sometimes for coveted seats — can also reach low prices. These are sold 15 minutes before the start of the show. The Opera Bastille reserves 62 standing-room tickets at $8, on sale as soon as doors open, generally 90 minutes before starting time.

And for a musical Notre Dame, drop in on Sunday afternoon starting at 4:30 p.m., when free organ concerts bring out the cathedral’s sacred atmosphere.

THE WANDERING: The cheapest and most satisfying way to see the city is on your own. A year ago, Paris debuted an extensive system of rental bikes that you can help yourself to for just $1.50, credit card only, a day at numerous spots all over town. Velib’, as they are called, are a great way to wander around the city independently. However Paris traffic can get pretty hairy, and the bikes don’t come with helmets, so stay alert.

If cycling isn’t your thing, hop on a bus and see where it goes. Weekly passes, which also work on the metro, are well worth investing in. Some scenic bus lines include numbers 24 (goes by the Seine, the Louvre, Notre Dame, several bridges, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Elysees) and 30 (the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysees, the Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur).

And there is always the Seine River. Try the Batobus — it’s $19, but unlike other flyboats its tickets are good for a whole day, and you can hop on and off with ease at eight top sightseeing spots.

THE FOOD: Food and drink are tricky to budget for in cuisine capital Paris, but if you stray away from touristy streets, there are cheap eats to be had.

For typically French food, no need to go to expensive restaurants, either. Try Le Bouillon Chartier (7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre, metro Grands Boulevards), not just for its stunning art deco interior but for its simple, affordable fare. Or pick up a traditional French picnic at La Cantine de Quentin (52 rue Bichat, metro Goncourt), and walk over to the lovely Saint Martin Canal.

Try street food in the atmospheric Latin Quarter, or fixed-price lunch menus, cheaper than their dinnertime counterparts.

For gourmet ice cream with a view, try Berthillon, at the tip of the Ile Saint Louis, a little island in the middle of the Seine.

Or peruse Paris’ traditional outdoor markets. One of the best and least expensive is the Belleville market, between Avenue de Menilmontant and Avenue de la Villette, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

THE ROOM: If you’re staying for a week or even just a few days, short-term rentals found on Craigslist can be a lot cheaper than hotels. For an intermediary and a bit more peace of mind, the one-woman company Alcove & Agaves will set you up in lovely Parisian homes -http://www.bed-and-breakfast-in-paris.com.

If you can afford to, avoid budget hotels or rentals in the suburbs of Paris, as you’ll waste too much time on transportation. Lastly, if you find a place so cheap it doesn’t come with an Internet connection, take heart: there are free Wi-Fi spots all over Paris, including in many public parks - check out http://www.wifi.paris.fr.

Source — Yahoo!

LOS ANGELES - OVER the last 10 years, Jamey Heath, a songwriter and producer, has adjusted to an increasingly nonsmoking world and put up with the indignities.

Smokers like him have become outnumbered in the music industry. He has seen restaurants shut down their smoking sections and cities shun him as persona non grata, even in the open air. These days he is reduced to smoking his Salem Lights in his car or on his front porch, in deference to his nonsmoking wife and two children.

But a governmental ban on menthol cigarettes? Despite his own mixed feelings about smoking, “it feels unconstitutional,” Mr. Heath said. If all cigarettes were banned, he said, “that’s one thing, but to cut out just one segment seems a little fishy.”

Smoking menthol cigarettes has become politically charged as Congress considers legislation that would give the federal government the power to regulate tobacco products for the first time. The bill, which the House of Representatives approved last week in a bipartisan vote, and which now awaits a Senate vote in the fall, bans clove, vanilla and other flavorings in cigarettes.

But the bill’s sponsors in the House decided that the Food and Drug Administration should make the decision on how to regulate menthol, the most common flavoring. Menthol cigarettes account for more than a quarter of all cigarette sales and, studies and surveys show, are the preference of the overwhelming majority of African-American smokers, as well as a significant proportion of all teenagers ages 12 to 17.

Those who support the ban of menthol include seven former federal secretaries of health and human services, African-American antismoking advocates and some Congressional Black Caucus members. Those opposing the ban of menthol include Philip Morris USA, the nation’s largest cigarette company; other Black Caucus members; and major public health groups, which said a compromise was needed so as not to derail the legislation.

In this maelstrom of debate are the smokers. There are those like Mr. Heath, who is African-American, who reject such wholesale interference with personal choices, and there are others who believe that having their menthol cigarettes snatched away may be just what they need to end their habit.

AN entertainment executive with a major Hollywood studio who smokes Marlboro Smooth, a newly introduced menthol, said he did not want the government “telling me anything.”

“Are we supposed to be so stupid that we need the F.D.A. to try to protect us from ourselves?” he said. But a ban, he continued, would be “one more thing to help me quit when I should anyway.”

The executive, a white man who spoke on condition of anonymity because he serves on an antismoking committee in the movie industry, said he had once managed to stop smoking but became hooked on menthols about 10 years ago when he was stressed out and happened to have a cold. He asked a friend for a menthol cigarette, which he thought was a “less harsh” option.

“I stuck with menthol,” he said. “A nonmenthol seems like smoking dirt.”

Taste is a big draw to menthol cigarettes, whose mint flavor and cooling sensation are not unlike those found in mentholated cough drops or toothpaste. A study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published this year found that many African-American smokers view menthol cigarettes as “soothing” and “smooth,” and less harsh and dangerous than nonmentholated cigarettes.

(Studies are inconclusive on whether menthol cigarettes are more, or less, addictive and harmful than unflavored ones.)

“For me, I think I’m addicted twice, once to the menthol and then second to the tobacco,” said one smoker in a small group discussion with black adult smokers in the Atlanta area, which was held by the C.D.C. and summarized in a study published this year in Ethnicity & Health, an academic journal.

Marketing campaigns have greatly influenced consumers. Menthol cigarettes have been heavily promoted to African-Americans since the 1960s, numerous studies have documented. A study released this year by the Harvard School of Public Health found that menthol cigarettes are increasingly popular with adolescents, partly because tobacco companies have new milder brands that facilitate “initiation.”

Of course, some smokers had their eyes wide open when they succumbed to the habit.

Katherine Dozier, 24, a wedding planner in Los Angeles who is white, said she started smoking regularly about a year ago, when a Hollywood club passed out Camel No. 9 menthols as a promotion. She was struck by the “cute” black-and-turquoise box with a pink camel, and said the cigarettes were obviously aimed at young women. “You just don’t see men smoking them because they wouldn’t be caught dead with these pink and green boxes,” she said.

Ms. Dozier liked the cigarettes, finding them “really smooth and minty and very light,” she said. “They didn’t make me cough.”

Soon she was smoking half a pack a day, also made easy, she noted, because the packs were sold two for the price of one. She said she recently cut back significantly, only smoking “if I’ve had a hard day at work.” She is trying to quit.

She said she made up her mind after she caught a fellow driver in traffic staring at her puffing away “like it was really gross.”

African-Americans have disproportionately high rates of death and disease from smoking, and 75 percent of black smokers choose menthol cigarettes. The House bill calls for review within one year of menthol cigarettes by a scientific advisory committee. (The White House has threatened to veto the bill, saying that the F.D.A. already carries a heavy workload and that the agency’s oversight could lead the public to mistakenly conclude that some cigarettes are safe.)

“We experience more deaths and disease, and that alone to me should warrant the immediate banning of menthol,” said William S. Robinson, executive director of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, which withdrew its support of the House bill because of the menthol exemption.

Mr. Robinson said that at a recent family reunion in Norwalk, Conn., he rounded up a dozen or so cousins — men and women ages 30 to 50, all of whom smoked menthols — to talk about the possible ban. Without exception, he said, all said they would quit smoking if menthol cigarettes were not available. “They said they couldn’t tolerate the harshness of other products,” he said.

But it may take more than a ban — or the health warnings or the $5 pack — to stop some smokers. Mr. Heath, the music producer, said he has tried to quit, without success. He has tried wearing nicotine patches, and he doubts that a menthol ban would work, either.

“Most likely I’d continue to smoke it underground, or I’d switch to other cigarettes,” he said.

For some smokers, menthol is the default choice. Brandal Hollingsworth, a 32-year-old security guard in Los Angeles, said he does not particularly like menthols, but that is what he often ends up smoking. He controls his habit by relying on his friends to give him a cigarette or two. And they smoke menthols. Usually, he breaks the filter off the cigarettes to extract more flavor. “A menthol is not the quality of a full-flavored cigarette,” he explained.

Justine Love, 54, an African-American radio personality in Washington and a pack-a-day menthol smoker for 30 years, recently kicked the habit after losing her father to lung cancer. She said that menthol might make smoking more enjoyable but that the addiction to nicotine, and its psychological hold as a crutch, as a way to cope with stress, is what explains most smoking.

Now an antismoking crusader, Ms. Love gives testimonials in public service announcements on her station, WPGC-FM, but she said she does not preach.

“This is a very personal decision, and you don’t need anybody to tell you what you can or can’t do,” she said. “I don’t say, ‘You should stop smoking.’ I give encouragement to quit. I tell them I saved $139 in the first month.”

Source — The New York Times

He already scored with “Sexy Lady,” but that was last year. In a world where you can be hot one minute and virtually unknown the next, you’ve got to live up to — and hopefully exceed — the hype.

So as he unveiled tracks from his debut LP, Look What You Made Me, last week at Legacy Recording Studios in Manhattan, Yung Berg knew that the stakes were high. He’s kept his momentum rolling with a spot on Ray J’s “Sexy Can I” this year, and he credits Ray for the song that “changed his life.”

But Berg is out to prove he’s here to do more than churn out catchy hooks. As he unveiled his debut album, he boasted that at just 22, he has his own label (Yung Boss) and he writes, raps and produces music for himself and others.

“I don’t know nobody that’s signed to their own label,” he said. “Twenty-two years old and producing their own records with their tight buddies and [has] millions of downloads.”

He’s also revealing himself to be a singer. Many of the cuts on Look What You Made Me are slower and feature some of the most prominent names in the genre. Trey Songz lends his vocals on “One Night,” and Lloyd turns up on “Manager.” He even uses his next single, “The Business,” to get some shine for Casha, the first artist signed to his label.

“Its called ‘One Night,’ ” he said of his collabo with Songz, which is a strong contender to be the single. “It’s produced by me and my boy J.F.K. It’s a real big record. One of them joints that’s about the ladies, but all my dudes gonna feel it. All the dudes gonna rock with it. It’s got a lot of live instrumentation. Me and the boy J. took it to a whole ‘nother level, brought to you by [samples of] Wah Wah Watson. It’s a whole ‘nother level showing that young-boss swag.”

But Berg mixes it up, seemingly having a song (and guest artist) for every occasion. Amerie helps out on the club banger “Get Your Number.” “Do That There” is his self-proclaimed “street anthem,” and the reggae-influenced “Victory Lap” features Eve and Collie Buddz. But Berg said his favorite song on the album may be “Outta Space,” an almost hypnotizing voice-box-drenched track reminiscent of songs by T-Pain and Lil Wayne.

“I’m an R&B dude at heart,” Berg revealed. “And I like rap. I started with [DMX]. My craft has evolved. I try to be a jack-of-all-trades where I can sing R&B and write R&B as well as me doing my rap thing and producing as well. I’m multitasking.”

But the party didn’t end after the new tracks got their world premiere. Berg worked the room, relaxed and in good spirits, soaking up the atmosphere and encouraging everyone to enjoy themselves (imploring guests to stick around and “enjoy the Hennessy”). The party continues when Look What You Made Me drops August 12.

Source — MTV

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, the most prescribed pills in the world, have become a family affair.

Middle-aged men, many women and the elderly are routinely put on the powerful drugs to lower high cholesterol. Now the nation’s leading pediatric group says that certain high-risk children as young as 8 may also be put on statin therapy, just like Mom, Dad and Grandpa.

The new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics have been sharply criticized by many pediatricians and parents. They worry about the long-term health consequences of the drugs and have raised questions about financial ties between the academy and drug companies. There is also concern that the guidelines could lead to more widespread use of the drugs among children. An estimated 13 percent of children have total cholesterol above 200 milligrams per deciliter, the threshold used in adults to determine high cholesterol.

But the doctors who wrote the guidelines say they have been largely misunderstood. They say that far from leading to widespread use of statin drugs by children, the guidelines target the small percentage of children with genetic cholesterol problems or those with several worrisome risk factors, like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.

“I don’t see this as a major groundswell for the indiscriminate use of lipid-lowering drugs,” said Dr. Stephen Daniels, a member of the A.A.P.’s nutrition committee and chairman of the department of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. “That’s exactly why we need these guidelines, to say where the limits of that usage should be.”

It’s not clear how many children will be affected. About 1 in 500 have genetic cholesterol disorders, and doctors estimate that currently, about 30 percent to 60 percent of those children haven’t had a diagnosis. Over all, only about 5 percent of children have levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, above 130. Drug therapy would be suggested for children with bad cholesterol of 130 only if they have diabetes. Otherwise, drugs would be recommended for those with bad cholesterol of 160 and a family history of heart disease or two other risk factors, or when bad cholesterol hits 190.

Already five statin drugs — Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Pravachol, Pfizer’s Lipitor, Merck’s Zocor and Mevacor, and Novartis’s Lescol — have been approved for use in children with genetic cholesterol disorders. But there is little data on long-term use.

“People should realize that these drugs have only been studied in children with a genetic defect that causes very high cholesterol levels,” said Dr. Dianne Murphy, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s office of pediatric therapeutics, who noted that those children were followed for only two years.

Some doctors say the short-term data on statin use in children is reassuring and mirrors long-term safety data in adults. “The concept is that prevention should start early,” said Dr. Daniels. “You already have children who have risk factor levels that would be a concern for an adult.”

But the lack of long-term data has caused concern among many pediatricians, who say children often metabolize drugs differently than adults.

Dr. Darshak Sanghavi, a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, said statin drugs may affect a child’s endocrine system, which regulates growth and development, among other things. “I, for one, feel unsafe simply saying children are little adults in this case,” he said.

The medical literature is filled with examples of mistakes made when medical experts extrapolated data from one group to another. For years, doctors assumed that since menopause hormones appeared to protect the hearts of middle-aged women, then older women would benefit even more. But when the issue was studied in the large Women’s Health Initiative trial, older women on hormones turned out to have a far higher risk for heart attack and stroke.

The new guidelines have raised questions about the pharmaceutical industry’s ties to both the A.A.P. and the members of the group’s nutrition committee that made the recommendations. But the A.A.P. asserted last week that “there is no involvement by any commercial entity in the development of any statement or report” it issues.

Reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service and provided by the A.A.P. show that the academy has received contributions from several companies with ties to statins, including $433,000 from Merck, $835,250 from Abbott Laboratories’ Ross Product Division and $216,000 from the Bristol-Myers Squibb company Mead Johnson Nutritionals. The biggest statin maker, Pfizer, is not listed as a contributor. The A.A.P. reported a total of $81 million in revenue in 2007.

Three committee members have disclosed industry ties. Dr. Daniels was a one-time consultant for Merck and has also worked for Abbott Laboratories, although not on cholesterol drugs. Dr. Nicolas Stettler of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia took part in clinical trials for Merck’s Mevacor and a failed Pfizer cholesterol drug. Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, chief of neonatology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, couldn’t be reached for comment, but in earlier disclosure statements he listed financial relationships with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Mead Johnson unit, Abbott’s Ross Products and Dey Laboratories, which is affiliated with Merck.

Two committee members — Dr. Frank Greer, the committee chairman and a neonatologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Dr. Marcie Schneider, a pediatrician in Norwich, Conn. — said they had no financial relationships with the drug industry. Two others could not be reached for comment.

But the notion that the A.A.P. recommendations will turn into a bonanza for the drug industry — at least in the short term — is unlikely. Because five statins have already been approved for pediatric use, and most of the drugs have already gone off patent or are nearing the end of their patents, additional growth opportunities for the existing branded drugs are limited.

Regardless, many in the pediatrics community appear ready to resist the notion of putting children on statin therapy. Dr. Barney Softness, associate professor of pediatric endocrinology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, who regularly treats diabetic children, said he would be reluctant to prescribe a statin to a child. He notes that he himself stopped taking the statin Lipitor because of muscle aches.

“There’s no data yet on long-term safety and efficacy studies in children,” Dr. Softness said. “I just don’t think the drug is benign enough to take the chance on some long-term side effects.”

Source — The New York Times