The women ski down a blocked-off street on fake snow, wearing bikinis.

Palermo itself was partly hidden behind police barricades, blocked-off streets and long lines of police officers and soldiers, heightened security measures aimed at protecting both foreign diplomats and Palermo's reputation.

Out front, a crowd of students had gathered on the sidewalk and neighbors were huddled in small groups in the middle of the blocked-off street.

Bereaved parents sit under white canopies in the blocked-off streets and serve bitter coffee and dates to lines of visitors, including uniformed members of Mr. Arafat's Palestinian police.

Groups that parade in the Carnival start out in "caves" (typically a blocked-off street) where loud music is played.

For a second, the scene reminded me of another annoying NYC phenomenon: location shoots for movies- idling trailers, blocked-off streets, bright lights anywhere you looked.

Desperation in Motor City "It's pitiful," said Roosevelt Albritton, standing near the end of the line, which snaked back and forth through blocked-off streets over two blocks.

An off-duty police officer was shot in the leg early yesterday as he tried to enter a blocked-off street in the Bronx where people were drag-racing, the police said.

In front of the KGB building, an open-air disco rolled its bass line down the blocked-off street.

When the team arrived at the final location, several blocked-off streets of the Canadian city of Toronto, the weather was bad enough to force the team to rewrite the script in order to finish on schedule.