It conjures up images of the great polar expeditions of the past. We can imagine Adm. Robert Peary and Frederic Cook in a race to reach the North Pole, or Capt. Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen racing to reach the South Pole. But today, the prize is bigger. At stake are vast mineral and energy deposits. According to U.S. Geological Survey estimates, about one-quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas lies beneath the ... [full story]

Here is a good bar bet. Can you name the actor who appeared in the most films in the 1990s? With roles in 43 movies, the busiest actor of that decade was Samuel L. Jackson. And he is not very far off that pace in the new millennium.   SAMUEL L. JACKSON - Samuel L. Jackson plays a broken-down, homeless boxer, a champ long thought to be dead in 'Resurrecting the Champ. CNS Photo courtesy of ... [full story]

Freeing your country from an unwanted occupier is a grim, violent and bloody business. I could be writing about Iraq - where we are perceived by much of the country as alien occupation forces.   'THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY' - Cillian Murphy, left, and Padraic Delaney star in 'The Wind That Shakes the Barley.' CNS Photo courtesy of Joss Barratt.  DVD RATINGS 4 stars: Don't miss: rent it/buy it 3 stars: Worth the risk: rent ... [full story]

You might say that I like to err on the side of caution.  Sometimes I might even be too cautious.  This comes from being the recipient of so many “I told you so!”s in my youth. My personal maxim since the time of so many “I told you so!”s has been asking myself, “What if I’m wrong?” If the answer to that question isn’t too severe then I know that I can go ahead with ... [full story]

In the not-so-good old days, I lived in the mirror. Couldn’t go ten minutes without a peek. You’d think I was afraid of disappearing. It wasn’t vanity so much as the impulse to fix myself. Some people call it retarded.  Sunup to sundown, I probed myself for flaws. Weeks were lost to the idea that one eye was bigger than the other. My shrink, Dr. Dan, called it “body dysmorphic disorder”—seeing a monster in the ... [full story]

Physicians make mistakes.  Occasionally they admit their mistakes.  Their insurance companies and lawyers do not. A senior legal helpline caller encountered such denial.   He is 62 and a member of a state health plan through he was required to choose a primary “gatekeeper” physician.  “I’ve never really liked the doctor I selected; more importantly I’ve never felt he was competent,” the caller said. After feeling poorly for several weeks he visited his designated physician, who ... [full story]

There's an old saying in the manufacturing industry that when a single person loses a job, three other people lose their jobs.The so-called ripple effect has been noticed most recently in the auto industry. Detroit has had some tough times lately, and the whole state of Michigan has suffered.But the month of August is turning into a black cloud over the mortgage industry's head, as layoffs have begun to rival some of the auto industry ... [full story]

Q: I own a rental condo and want to transfer it into a limited liability company (LLC). I will be the only member of the LLC. Is this a good idea and will the property be better protected while in the LLC rather than in my name personally?Also, after setting up the LLC, how would I transfer the condo property into the LLC?A: You've asked some good questions. If you own property in your own ... [full story]

"There'll Always Be an England" - popular World War II song.BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - Perhaps there will not always be an England. An exodus unprecedented in modern times, coupled with a record influx of foreigners, is threatening to erode the character of the land of William Shakespeare and overpowering monarchs, a land that served as the cradle for much of American thought, law and culture.The figures, making headlines in London newspapers, tell only part of ... [full story]

DUBLIN, Ireland - Britain's version of Elvis week reaches its crescendo Friday with a memorial service marking the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The woman famously described by Diana as the "third person" in her marriage isn't coming. Discretion and the Queen convinced Camilla that her presence would distract from the occasion. The media are full of stories and images of Diana, whose face when it appeared on the cover of People ... [full story]