10Best: Caribbean getaway cruises

The quintessential Caribbean cruise experience comes with sunshine, soft sand, palm trees, icy drinks and clear blue water. This vacation also includes time on some of the most exciting ships sailing the seven seas.Escape the cold temperatures and snow with a vacation getaway on these wintertime Caribbean cruises.

Quantum of the Seas:Royal Caribbean's ship is getting considerable and well-deserved buzz. The 4,180-passenger Quantum appeals to a tech-savvy, active cruise crowd with robot bartenders, bumper cars, an indoor skydiving experience and a ride way up in the air in a glass capsule, among other things. There is so much going on you may be tempted to stay onboard, but then you'd miss ports that include San Juan, St. Maarten, Bridgetown (Barbados) and Fort-de-France (Martinique). Eight- to 12-day cruises embark from Bayonne, New Jersey this winter, fares from $1,249.


Regal Princess:Princess Cruises' newest ship is in the Caribbean for the first time this winter, a sparkling beauty bringing such features as a main pool with fountains, an adults-only pool and sophisticated Sanctuary sunning area and The Piazza, an expanded three-deck atrium that serves as the ship's lively entertainment, eating and imbibing hub. Look for special activities in celebration of the cruise line's 50th anniversary. One-week Caribbean cruises include a day at Princess Cays, the cruise line's private beach in the Bahamas. Wintertime fares from $599.

Seabourn: Fans of the luxury line Seabourn Cruises may feel nostalgic as the 208-passenger Seabourn Spirit and Seabourn Legend will both be leaving the fleet at the end of the season (to join Windstar Cruises). This winter you can enjoy one last chance to experience the line's extraordinary service, flowing champagne and gourmet cuisine as the small ships explore quaint ports such as Jost Van Dyke, St. Barts and Terre-De-Haut on Iles des Saintes (Guadeloupe). Don't miss the iconic experience of "Caviar in the Surf," where you can literally eat caviar in your bathing suit. Fares from $2,999.
Windstar Cruises: Both the 310-passenger Wind Surf and 148-passenger Wind Star cruise the Caribbean showing off their glorious computer-operated sails. The raising of the sails is a dramatic moment – the white sheets unfurling to the theme song from the movie "1492: Conquest of Paradise." Itineraries spend time on less-visited islands including St. Vincent's and The Grenadines. Partake of complimentary water sports and enjoy good food and good camaraderie. Week-long cruises from $1,449.
SeaDream Yacht Club: Cruise on SeaDream's 112-passenger SeaDream I and II you may think you're on your own private lot. Luxury accouterments include fine food and drink, but the experience is still delightfully low-key. Spend your days in small harbors where you can borrow water toys such as glass-bottom kayaks and standup paddleboards and explore among the yachts of the rich and famous. Don't miss the opportunity to spend a night on deck, under the stars, in a Balinese Dream bed. Fares from $3,499.
Eurodam: One of Holland America Line's newer ships, the 2,044-passenger Eurodam sails from Miami on alternating eastern and western Caribbean itineraries – combine the two for a 14-day comprehensive Caribbean getaway. Onboard, enjoy traditional cruising enhanced by top-rate music at the B.B. King's Blues Club, cooking demonstrations at the culinary Arts Center and a dance contest tied in with the popular TV show "Dancing with the Stars." Those looking for a splurge can book a private poolside cabana. Fares from $499.
Carnival Breeze: Enjoy the sunshine while munching a Guy Fieri burger, join the competition between bartenders at poolside rum and tequila bars and get wet on the Twister waterslide. This tropically decorated 3,690-passenger "Fun Ship" really is about having fun. Kids will delight in Camp Carnival programming including Seuss at Sea. Adults will find it hard not to laugh along with first-rate comedians chosen by George Lopez. Snag an eastern or western Caribbean cruise on this Carnival ship at a budget price – fares from $299.
Norwegian Getaway: Get into the Latin beat on Norwegian Cruise Line's newest ship, the 4,000-passsenger Getaway, themed on its homeport of Miami and cruising to the eastern Caribbean. Sip mojitos and dance salsa, but don't miss the one-of-a-kind "Illusionarium" dinner/magic show, award-winning musicians performing at the GRAMMY Experience and opportunity to stroll, dine and sip drinks on the wide outdoor promenade, The Waterfront. Fares from $499.
Disney Magic: No cruise line delivers family cruising quite like Disney, and it's not just about the characters – though they are there to delight fans. The recently enhanced Magic sails from Port Canaveral with features including an AquaDunk "thrill" waterslide and a Marvel's Avengers Academy, where those ages 3 to 12 can train to be a superhero. The onboard scene includes excellent show productions and a kid-friendly rotation dining system. Itineraries include a visit to Disney's private Bahamas island paradise, Castaway Cay. Fares from $770.
Star Clippers: Pretend you're a pirate while cruising the Caribbean on a real sailing ship. Star Clippers' ships give you the opportunity to perch in the Crow's Nest or nap in the bowsprit. The 170-passenger, four-masted Star Clipper and 227-passenger, five-masted Royal Clipper are among the largest and tallest full-rigged sailing ships in the world. They cruise from St. Maarten and Bridgetown on Windward, Leeward, Treasure or Grenadine islands itineraries, the wind-in-your-face experience enhanced by comfortable cabins and decent food. Cruises priced from $1,510.

Understanding Russia's Obsession With Mayonnaise

By Maeve Shearlaw for the Guardian New East Network

On a crisp autumn night in central London a group have gathered to discuss an age-old Russian affair: A shared love of mayonnaise.

Go and Get proper one

Putin's Russia

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Europe's Russia Policy Pleases Nobody

For reasons that are understandable even to an arch-realist such as myself, increasingly large numbers of Europeans — including many people in countries that have traditionally been quite sympathetic to Russian concerns — have decided that Putin's Russia is not a "partner" to be engaged with, but an adversary to be confronted, isolated and eventually defeated.

While growing, the membership of the European Union's "hawkish" bloc is a bit of a moving target. A few years ago it would have clearly included both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and while it would be a gross exaggeration to call either country's current government "pro-Putin" there has been a noteworthy shift away from their more confrontational past positions. Hungary, too, has seen its government soften the rhetoric it aims at Moscow.

The core group of Russia hawks, which includes Poland, Britain, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, has not only become increasingly outspoken about the Russian threat, but has had real success in pulling formerly reluctant countries like Germany and France closer to its preferred approach.

 

 

The EU's approach might not have been entirely hawkish in orientation — given the time-consuming and inefficient way in which EU policy is created, this was never a possible outcome — but it is a lot tougher than many people, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, expected when the situation in Ukraine first started to go haywire.

For various reasons, most of the members of the core group of Russia hawks are also part of what, for lack of a better phrase, could be called the "monetary hawks." While they are not identical in their economic policies, monetary hawks are generally of the opinion that the best way out of the current slump is "structural reform" combined with sharp reductions in government spending.

Germany — rather moderate in terms of its foreign policy — is a loud and active member of the group, and has succeeded to a quite remarkable degree in enforcing an EU-wide policy of fiscal austerity.

The problem that is becoming ever clearer is that the two groups of hawks are advocating policies that are mutually exclusive. While in the past a confrontational Russia policy and an austere economic policy might have been possible at the same time, this is no longer the case.

In order for the EU to follow a Russia policy that would actually weaken the Kremlin's position in Ukraine and other countries in the region, it will have to spend enormous amounts of money. At an absolute minimum, maintaining the current — rather modest — level of economic sanctions will cost Europe billions of dollars.

Other proposals favored by the Russia hawks, such as creating an EU-run "rapid reaction force" capable of thwarting any potential Russian military incursion or buying the Mistral warships from France to prevent their transfer to the Russian navy, will cost several billion more.

The direct costs of a more aggressive Russia policy, while not insubstantial, are absolutely paltry in comparison with the costs of bailing out Ukraine — a necessary precondition for weakening Moscow's power within its self-declared "sphere of influence." Precise estimates differ significantly from economist to economist, but the damage to Ukraine's economy has already been so severe that the minimum cost of a bailout is calculated in the tens of billions of dollars.

Other policies that have been publicly advocated by the hawks, such as a modern "Marshall Plan" that would jump-start Ukraine's economy through massive infrastructure investments, would cost tens of billions of additional dollars. In the EU's current environment of budget cuts, unemployment and economic malaise, that is real money.

I won't pretend that I favor such a foreign policy approach, but many intelligent and capable people do. The problem for the Russia hawks is that the monetary hawks (who are often the very same people) have very loudly and very insistently repeated the claim that the EU is effectively broke and that there is an urgent need for governments across the continent to get spending under control.

I don't want to get bogged down in a stimulus-versus-austerity debate, but what does seem clear is that it is politically impossible to argue that the EU needs to radically cut government spending while simultaneously spending tens of billions of taxpayer dollars bailing out Ukraine so that it can stand up to Russia.

The idea that the EU takes from Peter to pay Paul — that it is taking "hard-earned" money away from people to pay shiftless foreigners — is precisely what has caused such an explosion of Euroskeptic parties like the U.K. Independence Party. By advocating both fiscal austerity and an aggressive — and extremely expensive — foreign policy, the hawks have left themselves extremely vulnerable to populist challengers.

So what is to be done? Hawkish political parties and politicians need to do some very hard thinking about what they value more highly. Do they want to see fiscal restraint and an effort to trim bloated public sectors? Or do they want to see an emboldened and aggressive EU force Putin to back down?

They are going to have to decide, as the continent's economy is in far too parlous a condition to allow both policies to be pursued at the same time. Hawks are in a strong enough position that they could prevail on either issue, but not on both.

What I imagine will happen is that the Russia hawks will hold their noses and acquiesce to a slightly more Keynesian approach to the euro zone's economic crisis. This compromise is the only realistic way to convince highly skeptical countries in Southern Europe that they should go along with a more interventionist approach to the crisis in Ukraine.

Without some kind of compromise, however, the EU will continue to march on as fecklessly as it has in the past, writing rhetorical checks it has no practical ability to cash.

How MachineGames created Wolfenstein's new order

"This ain’t war, but the breaking of seals. The undoing of life itself.” BJ Blazkowicz mutters these words – or thinks them, it’s never quite clear – while clearing out a column of Nazi footsoldiers in the trenches outside General Deathshead’s Baltic compound.

     

The first level of Wolfenstein: The New Order is the only part of thegame that takes place during the Second World War. It’s both a sendoff to the old Wolfenstein and the introduction of the new, stranding the player on a beachhead and forcing them to fight past Nazi robodogs, electrocharged kommando squads, and a building-sized walking Tesla coil called ‘The Stomper’.

Beyond the beach is the compound itself, a gothic edifice that riffs on the mossy Teutonic fortresses beloved of the previous games. It’s a return to Castle Wolfenstein in all but name, a swansong for the series’ familiar milieu: a big man in a tan jacket gunning down fascists with a Thompson in hallways full of suits of armour and fading portraits of Nazi field marshals. After this there’s a run-in with an old villain, an explosion, and a 14-year coma. After this the game concerns an insurgency operating out of alt-’60s Berlin, becoming a game where a big man in a brown jacket sprays down Nazis with an upgradable lasergun in brutalist concrete megastructures and also on the moon.

The funniest patch notes in PC gaming

​Fixed: Not having an article about PC gaming's funniest patch notes​

Games are complicated things; often attempting to digitally replicate the systems and physics of our world. Sometimes this process goes horribly wrong. This leads to situations where developers are trying to fix familiar things that have broken in unusual ways: be it otherwise benign NPCs acting up, or objects doing what they were never designed to do.

As a result, we often get patch notes filled with things that, when taken out of context, are unintentionally hilarious. Here are some of our favourites, grabbed from genuine developer patch notes.

If you have some good ones to add, do suggest them in the comments.

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Argentina charges HSBC for tax evasion 'scheme'

Argentina's tax agency says it has charged British bank HSBC with helping more than 4,000 Argentines to commit tax evasion by stashing money in secret Swiss accounts.

The Argentine tax authority (AFIP) said on Thursday that it had searched HSBC offices in Buenos Aires before moving ahead with the charges.
   
"We have filed a charge for tax evasion and illicit association relating to bank accounts in Switzerland," said AFIP director Ricardo Echegaray.
   
He said three agencies associated with HSBC in Argentina were suspected of aiding the tax evasion scheme.
   
AFIP said it had identified 4,040 people who allegedly sent money to overseas accounts, and almost all of the transactions were supervised by HSBC representatives in Argentina, the United States and Switzerland.
   
HSBC said in a statement that it "emphatically rejects (the charges) of participation in any illicit association, including any organization allowing the transfer of capital in order to evade taxes."
   
The charges are the latest woes for the banking giant, after former employee Herve Falciani leaked to French authorities data on thousands of HSBC customers, saying he wanted to expose tax fraud.
   
The leak sent shockwaves through the world of Swiss banking, long valued by wealthy individuals for its stability and traditions of banking secrecy, and led to a French probe into HSBC to determine whether it had also helped French customers avoid taxes.

‘Smart’ drugs won’t make smart people smarter, research concludes!!![It is the FACT]

It is claimed one in five students have taken the ‘smart’ drug Modafinil to boost their ability to study and improve their chances of exam success. But new research into the effects of Modafinil has shown that healthy students could find their performance impaired by the drug. 

It is claimed one in five students have taken the 'smart' drug Modafinil to boost their ability to study and improve their chances of exam success. But new research into the effects of Modafinil has shown that healthy students could find their performance impaired by the drug.

Dr Mohamed said: "We looked at how the drug acted when you are required to respond accurately and in a timely manner. Our findings were completely opposite to the results we expected."

In a randomised double blind study, 'Modafinil increases the latency of response in the Hayling Sentence Completion Test in Healthy Volunteers: A Randomised Controlled Trial', they administered 32 participants with the drug and 32 with a placebo. All the participants were given a famous neuropsychological task known as the Hayling Sentence Completion Test in which they were asked to respond both quickly and accurately. Dr Mohamed found the drug slowed down reaction times, impaired their ability to respond in a timely manner and failed to improve their performance of the task.

Dr Mohamed said: "It has been argued that Modafinil might improve your performance by delaying your ability to respond. It has been suggested this 'delay dependent improvement' might improve cognitive performance by making people less impulsive. We found no evidence to support those claims.

"Our research showed that when a task required instant reactions the drug just increased reaction times with no improvement to cognitive performance."

This backs up the findings of a previous study carried out by Dr Mohamed and published in September 2014 in The Journal of Creative Behaviour. The study: The Effects of Modafinil on Convergent and Divergent Thinking of Creativity: A Randomised Controlled Trial showed that the so called 'smart' drug impaired the participant's ability to respond in a creative way particularly when they were asked to respond laterally -- outside the box.

Does Modafinil benefit anyone?

When Dr Mohamed looked at participant's ability to problem solve in a creative manner he found that those who weren't particularly creative to start with were improved by the drug while those who were creative were impaired by the drug. He said: "Our study backs up previous research that suggests psychostimulants improve people at the lower end of the spectrum in cognition whereas they impair people who are at the optimum level of cognitive function -- healthy people for example. It looks like Modafinil is not helpful for healthy individuals and it might even impair their ability to respond and might stifle their lateral thinking, while people who have some sort of deficiency in creativity are helped by the drug."

What can make us smarter?

Ahmed Mohamed's research was carried out while he was at Cambridge University. He has since moved to The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus where he will be looking at the effects of non-pharmacological interventions, such as meditation, exercise and diet on the healthy brain. He is also currently using Electroencephalography (EEG) to study how mindfulness can affect the healthy adolescent brain.

Dr Mohamed said: "What I have found in my doctoral studies is that if you are already a healthy person and functioning at an optimum level, it is really difficult to improve your cognition. But the brain of the adolescent is still in development and you might be able to improve cognition at this stage of our development through positive interaction, healthy diet or mindfulness."

[Paul Walker Remembered] Actor's Dad Shares Heartwarming Memories of His Son, 1 Year After His Death

It's been almost one year since the tragic death of Paul Walker and his father, Paul Walker III, says he still feels his son's presence.

The Fast & Furious star, who sports his dad's bright blue eyes, died at age 40 in a car crash near Los Angeles on Nov. 30, 2013. He left behind a teenage daughter, Meadow.

Paul's father told E! News he sees the actor's face every day, hundreds of times. He also talks to his son.  

"I feel his presence every day," he said.

"I miss talking to him a great deal," he added. "He had a good heart." 

READ: Remembering Paul Walker: Cody Walker reflects on his brother's life and legacy

The actor spoke to E! News on the porch of his Southern California house—Paul's childhood home.

"There was always a lot of laughing in this house," the actor's dad said. "A lot of practical jokes."

He made comments just before Thanksgiving. During the holiday in past years, he would bring Paul and the actor's younger brothers, Cody and Caleb, to shoot arrows at an archery range near their house.

He said he remembered how Paul would sit on the benches with him on the porch and talk to neighbors that would walk past. When he was famous and people started recognizing him, the actor would graciously pose for photos and talk to them about their lives. He seldom discussed his own career or movies.

"He didn't like the limelight," his dad said.

"Paul said one time, 'I really don't like this business, but I can do a lot of good with the money I make,'" he added.

The actor is the founder of Reach Out Worldwide, a nonprofit foundation aimed at helping help mobilize aid workers when natural disasters strike.

"Paul just radiated love and you can't fake that," his dad said. "Paul had a really good heart. I thought, 'How did I deserve such a wonderful son?'" 

Paul loved sports, action, adventure, cars and the ocean.

"That was his magical kingdom," he said. "The ocean, and the other was the racetrack." 

Paul's father said he wanted to be by himself on the anniversary of the actor's death because he "didn't want to be around sad people." However, the phone calls have been pouring in.

"That's what helped me, my friends," he told E! News. "But the shock value is very much there."

Paul's father plans to go to the actor's gravesite on the anniversary of his death with some family members. He says he will bring coins with him to remember the times he and the actor played a made-up coin game during casting calls.

Meanwhile, he is also looking forward to January, when he is set to become a great-grandfather.

Paul also has two younger sisters. Cody is 26 and is the youngest sibling. Their father said the actor was almost like a second dad to him.

After Paul died, his brothers filmed several of his character's scenes for the newest Fast & Furious movie, Furious 7, which is set for release in April. Their dad said the two did not jump at chance to do the movie.

"It's a hard thing to do to step in for your brother," he said.

Also following Paul's death, Cody joined Reach Out Worldwide. He announced this alongside a photo of the three Walker brothers on his Instagram page in January. Cody is now the group's CEO.