Free Republic

Hamar is a city of circa 27,000, about 800 miles south of Gamvik and Berlevag (way up there between Hammerfest and Vardo, in case anyone is interested), or about 90 miles directly north of the capital of Norway, Oslo.I do not mean to be offensive, but of all the places I have (thus far) seen of Norway, Hamar seems a rather bleak, sterile, soulless place; it reminds me very much of the "artists' city" of Santa Fe, New Mexico--an "arty" place for the Birkenstock and Ben & Jerry's ice cream crowd.....and little else.Which is a pity, because Hamar actually has...

OSLO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Worms squirming on a fishhook feel no pain -- nor do lobsters and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian government has found."The common earthworm has a very simple nervous system -- it can be cut in two and continue with its business," Professor Wenche Farstad, who chaired the panel that drew up the report, said on Monday.Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the study had found they felt pain, but Farstad said "It seems to be only reflex curling when put...