today

Reports in Iran indicate that it was revealed earlier this year that the UK already has the highest imprisonment rate in western Europe, being some 50 per cent higher than in comparable countries such as France, Germany and Italy and almost double that of Scandinavian countries.

The "Islamic Republic News Agency" quoted the UK "Daily Mail" in saying UK Home Secretary Reid said "I want experts from around the world, including leading criminologists and academics from the UK, to inform a long-term policy debate."

And here we come to the nub of it. Which experts ? Won't these be just the usual doyens of the criminally corrupt 'nanny state'. In the UK, those who have run across the judical system take a somewhat lower view of some people like prosecution lawyers, police and judges than of 'bent' traffic wardens, of the kind who used to kick the old mechanical traffic meters to try to illegally take fines from motorists by forcing the meter back to zero, and eventually snivelling "its me job" if found out. It is well known that the judiciary has rogue elements who conspire, for example, with crooked or senile doctors. For years I was concerned with care homes and know well the sad tale of corruption which emerges.

It is the innocent victims like little kids and old women, who yet again have to suffer at the criminal hands of these vile people. We all remember the Roy Meadow case, where there was what looks like a conspiracy to send an honest woman lawyer to jail for a murder she did not commit. It is vile filth like these crooked members of the judiciary who would like the death sentence reintroduced as dead people can't plead judicial corruption. And when these corrupt criminal bastards can't get away with that, they impose worthless idiot "courses" on people who have been fitted up by the police, or have effectively not ticked the right square on some crazy form. Community Service might be all right if it were properly implemented but that is unlikely

IMO:Lets hope for once Reid gets sensible advice. Both the adversarial and inquisitorial systems have really had their day: this fact is somehow intuitively recognised by the Govt but all they do is pile legislation on legislation, like Pelion on Ossa. We need a more enlightened and tolerant but not necessarily a more lenient approach to crime. An ASBO, for example, could be appropriate for a drunk teenager but the bent judges we have now are more likely to impose one on a 75 year old women with views which happen to disagree with theirs.

November 30: Conspiracy theories abound. It is now claimed that there is increasing evidence, here, that the radioactive poisoning assassination of ex-KGB and FSB agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko was the result of a plot by anti-Vladimir Putin criminal syndicates based in Britain, Israel, Ukraine, and Poland to embarrass the Russian government. Litvinenko has been described as a Russian-Israeli "double agent" and was reported to have transferred classified Russian documents in Yukos to a Russian-Israeli exiled oligarch in Tel Aviv. Double agents are always in danger from the party they are working against.

Madsen seems to be a dyed in the wool conspiracy buff. But his comments make some sense insofar as former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar became violently ill after eating breakfast at a conference he was attending in Dublin, Ireland. Ireland's banking secrecy laws has made it a favorite location for the Russian-Israeli Mafia. In suspect countries like Russia and Israel, the word 'mafia' appears often enough to refer to partially state-sponsored crime syndicates. Putin's Mafiosi critics in Britain, Israel, Moscow, and other countries have accused the Russian leader of poisoning Litvinenko and attempting to kill Gaidar.

The matters are of interest at least as far as they pertain to Russian oil revenues and control. Obviously Russians don't want to freeze and will try to avoid freezing whilst others warm themselves. Before Putin moved in to take over Yukos Oil from the Russian criminal syndicates, there were plans to build a Russian-German gas pipeline through Poland. So Polish neo-cons and US campfollowers like Sikorski and the US so-called "liberals" must also be considered as suspect, but anyway Poland as well as Israel and even Germany must want to dip their beaks.

IMO: I am very tempted to say "boring, boring". At this point, however, there is one obvious moral: The energy/ecology crisis is hotting up and is now more than simple chit-chat. It really is worth remembering too, that it is not a simple matter of gas-guzzling SUVs, greedy Yanks with a vote and ridiculous "Chelsea Tractors" - though it is that as well - but the fact that when it gets cold in Russia, it is really cold.

Saudi Arabia is threatening to sue US and British tobacco companies for the cost of treating tobacco-related illnesses, according to a health ministry statement cited by Reuters. The health ministry had previously rejected an offer of compensation by unnamed firms. The amount claimed was not revealed, nor where a proposed action would be brought.

IMO: What an excellent idea ! I wish Saudi Arabia success in this very worthy venture and hope more countries do the same. In this case, Saudi Arabia is a fine and noble example to Islam everywhere and indeed to everyone else too. Please everyone, follow this fine ideal! These tobacco companies have got away with too much for too long and have caused many gruesome and painful deaths to decent people.

Yes, friends, now you can buy deadly Polonium-210 for only $69. If you use the right amount, it is undetectable and they think the guy died some other way. Its the professionals way to kill ! Amuse and entertain your friends. Enterprising newcomers - set up your own firm with a title like "Assassins 'R Us !"

New Mexico firm United Nuclear Scientific Equipment & Supplies offers the radioactive element on its website, as part of its aim of putting the "fun back into science". You betcha !

Warning - murder and torture are strictly forbidden in the UK unless your name is Tony B. Liar (or one of his mates).

I have not tried it but there is supposedly an 8Mbps service whose only restriction is a fair-use policy. You don't have to buy anything. There is a helpline number, 0845 453 3543, should anyone have difficulties accessing the service

Eat The Press |November 29 : On Monday, ABC's The Blotter reported that the U.S. Embassy in Argentina had "strongly suggested" that twin First daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush cut their visit to the country short as a result of security considerations. That report was since refuted by the Embassy, which issued a statement of non-expulsion, saying the Embassy "welcomed" the visit. Interestingly, last night's Daily Show presented the story without the Embassy denial; note that the date they showed on the ABC quote was Nov. 28th but the Embassy denial came on the evening of Nov. 27th (and was dutifully appended to the Blotter post). This is the first time in ETP's awareness that a Daily Show piece of news has not been scrupulously correct.

IMO: An earlier post on this blog suggested that Moscow had implied that Barbara Bush might have been on a 'secret mission'. However the present suggestion may also be true, i.e. peculiar sex or even serious misbehaviour such as fraud etc. I have known of at least one case where supposedly secret and confidential material, in this case being carried by plane well before plane fares were reduced to the present phenomenally low levels, in actual fact was the private car of a senior member of the British armed forces, and I was reliably informed that he was simply taking his car home at UK Govt expense, 'secret missions' being a perk of the job. It happens all the time, pity the suffering Afghans and I daresay the idler members of the EU (probably not US, UK or Canada) out in Afghanistan spend their time, in between partygoing around Kandahar airport, working out how to steal EU and UK money by such criminal scams.

Ecologist editor and prospective Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has won £75,000 in damages from The Observer over a story that alleged that he misled the guests of a charity poker evening.
It was stated at that some of the money received by EGL could be passed to the Quality of Life Group, of which Goldsmith is the chairman, and which is advising the Conservative Party on green issues.

I'm not at all sure that this judgement is other than politically ill advised and wrongheaded.

It seems that reporter Anthony Barnett alleged that Goldsmith lied to friends and guests attending the event and hid the fact that it was indirectly funding the Conservative party. But it does seem that money will in fact be put in the direction of the Tory party, and this is finally admitted ! People who go to these events usually do not look in much detail on such matters, and simply to name some group that looks like it could be a charity and not be utterly clear, to the extent frankly that even a sick drunken sot could notice, that somehow a political party will benefit seems quite wrong. In other words if we are continuing to claim Tony B. Liar and Co are crooks, it seems a bit hard if the Tories can get out of admitting that they are receiving even small amounts of funds via the back door, and/or as services for political promotion.

I listened to Edward Goldsmith last night on ecology on BBC World Service, and I certainly have to share his present disappointment as to progress particularly in Global Warming. But it is a pity that these things are continually made a subject of political debate, though I would share delight that the smarmy Guardian Group has had a come-uppance.

IMO: All the UK politicians are total moral reprobates until they take very strong action on global warming, I seem to be 100% with Edward Goldsmith on the serious nature of political inaction on global warming.The Tories are still worse than the rest.

Nov. 28 - Marketers may have your number, neurologically speaking: A new study finds that familiar brands evoke faster, more positive responses in the brain than lesser-known brands.
In tests on young adults using real-time functional MRI (fMRI), the logos of well-known auto and insurance companies "lit up" areas of the brain associated with warm emotions, reward and self-identity...... this research - taking individual needs more seriously - "may contribute to higher (consumer) satisfaction and better quality of life."

The findings, scheduled for presentation Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, are the latest from the emerging field of "neuroeconomics"

IMO: None of this is new and one major problem is that the users of this information are people like lawyers and businessmen who do not feel constrained in any way by medical ethics, or indeed any kind of ethics or fair play. Often enough research, which would if called "medical research" be disallowed by medical ethics, can be done on expensive equipment intended for ethical medical and scientific use. When poor people need medical treatment or scientists want to do ethical research, large firms are using facilities intended to cure them to sell them cheap worthless goods like cigarettes at a high price. That is the fact of the matter. And it is going to get much worse. Right now, in secret laboratories all over the world, insane businessmen are using this equipment to sell poisonous cigarettes to Chinese.

Topatco said: (Allegedly) George Bush's mom is seriously fat. Can you imagine what she looks like naked? I just did. Do you believe a person with such a fat mother should be in charge of the free world? The answer is probably not.

IMO: I do not presume to proffer a view on the alleged matter. But as I see it, if true this places George Bush's mother, in a way, in the same category as President Carter's brother. Now I actually had a very old aunt, now deceased, who claimed that she would not have voted for Jimmy because his brother had a 'backroom' (then argot for a male stew or bordello), The reasoning was, of course, not the all male nature of the area, but the idea that if Jimmy Carter could not even dissuade his brother from such a vote-losing matter, than how would he persuade the military authorities to act sensibly? Indeed, would he even choose to, perhaps on some unclear ethical grounds ? Well, at the end of the day it seems things did not go as Carter would have wished, and one can equally consider a US president with a fat mother. Importantly, after Newt Gringrich's recent rather unbridled attack on US liberty, can one really respect Bush's preferences in that regard ?

This matter is mentioned in the 'Register', and many other papers. "The Intelligent Designers are back. Having had their bottoms soundly birched in the US, they are now determined to "educate" England's schoolkids about their utterly unscientific counter "theory" to evolution."

DHSS say "Neither intelligent design nor creationism are recognised scientific theories and they are not included in the science curriculum, the Truth in Science information pack is therefore not an appropriate resource to support the science curriculum."

No harm in reading such stuff IMO, in the case of reponsible adults. Why, I myself enjoy (say) the work of Julian Jaynes which is hardly more heterodox, and indeed even purchased "The Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" through Amazon. But basically it is ridiculous to teach such stuff as intelligent design to little kids. It might do for the criminal perverted thieving hot gospellors in the sticks in America, but they get found out in due course. I think the discovery of one for what he was recently helped the Democrats to win. It is definitely not for the UK.

IMO: I feel almost as sick about this as I do about Islamism. In the case of Christianity I will say to such people "Matthew 21:13". I have 5 copies of the Koran but I will leave the choice of verse to expert Koranic scholars. Such matters have no place in the Ramayana. Om Shiva.

The hick dour Scot Gordon Browne has every good reason to take away the BBC franchise and sack Jowell from the Cabinet. I'm afraid some take the view that all Scots are ass-lickers, caused by imperialist British rule and one of the highest standards of living in Europe, (certainly higher than London - treat 'em rough to get good work). And Browne will certainly have to lick the Australian Murdoch's ass to become PM. You can now see how wise it is from Bliar's point of view to hang onto his crap job of Prime Minister as long as he can, keeping Browne waiting before he is obliged to inflict his puny plans and ideas on the nation, doubtless under the indirect tutelage of Rupert.

The trouble with the BBC was using Jowell as their spokesperson instead of some more suitable, with what seems to be her dodgy Mafia connection and her friendship with Livingstone. And in fairness who can blame Grade for leaving, after all running the BBC Trust was going to be a dead boring job. Grade needs a challenge and ITV today is certainly that. What is really needed is possibly not programs on demand (like Sky can give at a highish price), but advertisements on demand, and ITV is still far from that, an option commonly considered in US internet circles. Even so , a lot can be done at ITV but nobody can envy Grade the job of trying, lets hope for ITVs sake that he does better than Stuart Rose at M. & S. I am not an expert, just fed up with the incompetence all around me in the UK. It is not all a joke for ordinary people, even if it is for these crummy 'higher-up' hypocrites.

With Germanic determination Benedict is marching resolutely into a potential lion’s den, armed with stated good intentions and positive messages but also carrying the liability (though I would say 'advantage') of his penchant for using blunt language, a trait that has gotten him into trouble in the past.

In Turkey there was the decline of royal rulers and the arrival of strongman Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who forged the modern nation of Turkey in 1922. Ataturk succeeded in part by creating a strictly secular government that imposed strict control over religion - until Ataturk was safely dead.

Now we have Islamism and fundamentalism in Turkey. The Turk who attempted to kill the late Pope John Paul II (and was termed 'mad' by Western media) Mehmet Ali Agca believes the head of the Roman Catholic Church is seeking to polarise the world along religious lines but is confident that "this Nazi remnant will fail in his policies of grudge and hatred." On Sunday, at least 20,000 demonstrators protested the Pope’s visit. This, of course, is not an enormous number but enough, together with other details all over the news, to be reminiscent to the world cartoon riots, on which it has to be said that though the actual Danish cartoons were harmless enough, some of the pornographic filth being spread (perhaps by Islamists and other criminal spammers) of Mohammed and his very young wives and indeed baby children, was fairly annoying. The fact that some would see a grain of truth in it, just makes it even more repellant. The (current and probably bogus) socalled 'Lesbian duos of Barbara Bush and Paris Hilton' or even 'Donkey love with Barbara Bush' pale in comparison.

Whether or not the Pope's visit to Turkey is 'successful', and that seems unlikely, the idea of Turkey successfully joining the EU now seems patently absurd for a very long time. Turkey will have to become more mature for that to be reasonable. Islamism is the main factor of course, but the Armenian genocide, Turkey's attitude to the Kurds, Cyprus and so many other factors now seem to make any further movement to accession seem against everyone's interests. This is a pity, and much can be done, suppressing Islamism even more tightly than the Armenians and the Kurds were suppressed being just one thing to save the situation, but I still see flying pigs as a more likely possibility. There are other alternatives but not for me to dwell on them.

IMO:I have no Islamophobia, but Islamism drives out syncretism. For many centuries, Islam has been able in many places to happily co-exist with other religions and to add to and benefit both them and itself. But Islamism itself could be regarded as the worst form of Muslim heresy, and perhaps Islam itself is best placed to deal with it to everyone's advantage. Islamism is perhaps a gross 'misrepresentation of the faith of Islam' and as such ranks with 'idolatry'.

Agence France-Presse Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who last week died in a mysterious apparent poisoning, travelled to Israel weeks before his death, apparently to pass on a dossier investigating how the Kremlin took over Russian energy giant Yukos.

"Litvinenko had information on crimes committed with the Russian government's direct participation" Mr Nevzlin, the former second-in-command at Yukos, said. Mr Nevzlin had fled to Tel Aviv where he met Litvinenko, who had allegedly uncovered "startling" evidence of what happened to those who opposed the forced break-up of Yukos. Several people linked to the company are reported to have disappeared, or died in mysterious circumstances, while others, such as its head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, have been jailed.

IMO: Many Russians have gone to Israel, apparently fleeing Russia. We don't really know whether the connections here are with Israel, with Yukos, with both or indeed with neither I suppose. Certainly 'oil' is a topic for a great many people to think of and an irony is that Russian communism, for one reason or another, was very slow to use it up, unlike USA and now some would suppose that oil/gas gives Russia an important bargaining tool which it won't want to lose.

Events following the handshake between oil minister Murli Deora and China's commerce minister Bo Xilai — known to each other since their days as mayor of Mumbai and Daliayn — led the two countries agreeing to formalise an official mechanism for a joint bid for oil fields across the globe. A common cause in oil has the potential to elevate bilateral ties.

Tata may also make the proposed Rs 1 lakh car abroad Gets proposals from firms to make car in other countries. 1 lakh is 100,000 rupees, and there are about 80 rupees to £1 so the car is going to be a little more than £1000.00. It will almost certainly look and drive OK. Jeremy Clarkson said the last Tata car was crap, but after all Clarkson's views, especially on very cheap new cars, tend to be crap as well as the cars he pans which often are not so bad for the money, and what can you expect for £1000. Suzuki say "it can't be done" to the highly ecological specification.

But, is India the new Japan ? Democracy is probably stronger in India than in Japan and democracy certainly does not properly exist at all in China. Would you rather buy a good cheap car at lowest price from a good democracy, a more expensive car from a slightly dodgy democracy, or a car from somewhere that is not a democracy and is peddling nukes where it fancies ? (omit USA from the answer). Personally I'd be frugal.

IMO: It all sounds a bit like what the US used to say about Japanese cars and now the Japs have practically put US carmakers out of business. Kirk Kerkorian, once a major GM shareholder (till the last week or so) for example seems to have given up on US cars in disgust, and ordinary US workers at car plants often feel far worse about it now than that. I wonder what they think in Flint, Mich ? "Let down" seems a fair answer. And in the UK at least there would have been impetus to find them work locally. In India, Tata would have helped them greatly. I know.

8/11/06 Pune: Political enmity has taken place among the political parties three months ahead of the civic election when BJP chief of Pimpri-Chinchwad unit Ankush Landge (45) was brutally murdered by a rival gang. Tension prevailed in Bhosari suburb of Pimpri-Chinchwad when angry supporters of Landge lynched two suspected murderers and went on rampage. Landge was hacked to death by rivals in front of his house.

BJP workers in Pimpri-Chinchwad were shocked over the incident as Landge is said to be one of those who made the party powerful in Pimpri-Chinchwad area. It was during his tenure that BJP could increase its strength of corporators from three to 15 in the last election. BJP sources said that the party was hoping to bag as many as 35 seats in the next civic elections under Landge's leadership.

IMO: Is this a taste of what we might soon get in the UK? There is an old saying : "What Pimpri-Chinchwad does today, the World does tomorrow". UK politics is getting too corrupt and there is by now nobody fit to vote for in the UK, especially not the Tory "hug-a-hoodies". Perhaps the UK Tories are by now so desperate they have to enlist young criminals ("hoodies") to act for them. This can happen even in well run democracies, as when previously the US CIA had apparently tried to abolish the UK Labor Parliament and elect as supremo the late Lord Mountbatten (a real idiot, and the Queen's "Uncle Dickie"; I know nothing of pedophile insinuations). Still Mountbatten could always been diverted back to his favorite hobby - partitioning India or in this case partitioning Pakistan into the Punjab and "the rest". They could even have played football against each other, something which might have encouraged retired jocks like Mountbatten.

21 Nov, 2006 One of the residents of the Sukhwani Palace in Pimpri picked up a device and kept it in an open space outside the building.He said "This is a residential and peaceful area, so I thought that somebody must have played a prank. I, therefore, picked up the device and kept it outside," adding that he did not think it could have been an explosive. But explode it did, barely 15 minutes after the resident had moved it from the building. Another person, retired colonel Rajiv Warty, said he had seen "an object that looked like a time bomb"in the Sukhwani Palace, which is a residential complex located near Jijamata hospital

The blast happened even before the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) and top police officials could reach the spot.

IMO: I know the Pimpri area and a lot of people could have got injured. More care must be taken. Even well after the 7-11 bombing, people are still not taking enough care. Understandible because of lack of knowledge. But more attention to these matters must be inevitable. In London, England, for example, for a number of years all litter bins were removed from public places because of fear of explosions. These things happen and perhaps the irony of the London situation is that many of the people who were supposed to be on the side of the explosions - people in the Irish Republic - now more or less want to join the UK again though they certainly won't admit it, and they joined the EU as a compromise which may eventually turn back the clock ! (I am pretty sceptical about all these countries and religions concerned). A reasonable moral is that one should not get rattled about such matters or allow them to upset previous opinions needlessly. But a high element of care is necessary, without going to extremes or worrying. Who wants to be a dead hero needlessly, or even a wounded one.

The BBC, up to a point a mouthpiece for the UK Government.and occasionally UTAP for Pak emigres to UK, now claim that while there is "a long established (China/Pak) comfort zone that guarantees new deals in an atmosphere of happy camaraderie" but "sitting behind closed doors, analysts employed by the Pakistani security establishment may not be sharing the leaders' smiles" and "We could be looking at a troika with India, China and the US at each of the vertices." and more points are made in a detailed BBC article here, which may carry some fact and food for thought.. (I won't trouble to repeat the BBC propaganda).

IMO: Come, come, India and China may be on slightly better terms but why not ? If true it is not a reason to dispair, rather the opposite as reasonable friendship could be in everyone's interests, including Pakistan's interests. After all, in the Indian Parliament Pranab Mukherjee clearly said for example, "As far as Arunachal Pradesh is concerned, it is not a debatable issue at all...It is an integral part of India and is going to be so...The resolution (in this regard) is already there."

A thief stole from Barbara Bush her purse and cell phone while dining in Buenos Aires. According to reports, Barbara Bush was in Buenos Aires, in a secret mission after her twin sister, Jenna visited neighbor Paraguay working as an intern for UNICEF. The activities of the 24-year-old ladies were kept under secret by the US authorities.

The "secret mission" idea may not be just more Kremlin humbug. It seems that clandestine and often morally despicable activities involving junior female family members of US and UK senior statesmen has never been uncommon, as instanced for example in the case of the late Pamela Churchill/Harriman, married to a Churchill - now as then the Churchills were a very seedy crowd, Winston himself being considered by some as a worse creator of genocides as Hitler - and concerned later with such as Aly Khan and to the american Averell Harriman. Possibly it all simply saves taxpayer money, effectively several activities thus being covered at once, but I doubt it.

Anyway, in the present case the US Secret Service was guarding Barbara when she was robbed, but failed to act, apparently, because she was not with her belongings at the time they were stolen, again apparently, from her table in a restaurant. What reports confirmed is that Barbara was spending her first night in town and went to the picturesque neighborhood of San Telmo, as all tourist do in Buenos Aires, for dinner.

The US Embassy to Buenos Aires, promised to release an statement, but later told journalists that all information would be given from Washington. ABC news for example, do not mention the ' secret mission' angle. Also, the Saddam Hussein angle of a series of 'doubles' is not beyond question.

IMO: Perhaps involvement with known celebrities simply goes to some people's head and makes them talk, but I doubt if that is the explanation for the apparent witholding of information..

Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday received a red carpet welcome to Pakistan.In a sign of the importance placed by Pakistan on the visit, Hu was greeted by the country's top political and military leadership, including President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the entire Cabinet and heads of the defence forces.

In comparison, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was greeted on arrival during his visit here last week by a junior Pakistani foreign minister. Snubbed after offering hundreds of millions of British taxpayer's money for genuine aid.


Analysts believe China has supported Pakistan's missile and nuclear weapons programme for decades. "China is the only country, which Islamabad trusts. No one else," said Tarique Niazi, an analyst at the University of Wisconsin, who has written extensively on Sino-Pakistan relations.

IMO: Well you can see why China get the red carpet treatment. USA does its best but refuses to take steps which could lead to an increased Pak nuclear arsenal. Britain tries to restore the peace too. I look for reason and wisdom in Musheraff's line and cannot find it. Does a true friend supply a small child with matches to play with as it wishes ? I do not think so. Lets hope poor Afghanistan is saved by Britain from the Taliban, by hot pursuit into Pakistan if need be, with possible immediate and unwarned use of tactical nukes to save personnel and money, if necessary on Islamabad without warning, but hopefully just by using a wide scorched earth policy over the Pakistan border. Musheraff's idiocy seems now to go beyond tolerance.

Al-Jazeera of course seems have begun as a BBC (UK) spin off. Private Eye's comments (Print Edition 1172, p 12) are given in a brief report. This says inter alia , "its less clear why a (liberal US/UK audience) would wish to see their own territories reported from a (Middle East) perspective (.. than they would the Middle East)". To put the matter rather more bluntly, Al-Jazeera English is beginning to look like the new Lord Haw Haw or Tokyo Rose.

IMO: That is what many would have expected, but I am an optimist, it is early days yet for Al Jazeera and honestly unlike PE I do not YET see it as a" reasonable hoaxer copy of CNN or Sky". If I were a schoolteacher (which I hope to God I will never be) I would give it 6/10 marks and add the comment. Promising but could do much better. Keep trying, your efforts are noted.

Giant music publishing company EMI has threatened legal action against Australian sporting fans. EMI says The Fanatics' Ashes songbook breached copyright because it included altered lyrics to songs such as Go West by the Village People and Daydream Believer by The Monkees.

The Daydream Believer parody included the lines: "Cheer up Michael Vaughan, How bad must it be, To a be a poor pommie whinger, And you're watching on TV?"

The group had removed the songs from its website and was considering what to do with 100,000 booklets that have already printed. They said "We need to work out whether we have to shred these or whether we can in fact hand them out free outside the ground.This action from EMI seems pretty heavy-handed."

IMO: I think EMI is actually run by "pommie whingers". They tend to remind me of the chap from Ealing, Alan Bond, who eventually got out of jail after only four years, far too little. But he certainly whinged.

Subsequent note: EMI has rescinded the ban and it is understood that the songbook and downloads will now be available.

Tory culture spokesman Hugo Swire said: 'It now seems quite clear that the initial budget was done on the back of a fag packet and that Tessa Jowell's department have lost control of the potential costs. 'We will be calling for Tessa Jowell to come to Parliament and confess just how big the cost is likely to be.'

In the paper "London Lite" on 21st November it stated that Jowell and Livingstone had in fact agreed to the enormous Olympic budget in 1 hour.

Seems unsurprising for Gambling Minister Jowell, with a husband on Mafia corruption charges. And of course the VAT error of £0.25 billion is a mere peccadillo, at least compared to the overall 'error', likely to be in the region of £8.0 billion. And of course the resignation of the Chairman of the Olympics authority over the high level of land toxicity - well its got to be remembered that the Mafia do have extra cheap and fast methods of waste disposal.

But I would have though better of Ken, the pensioner's friend and supplier of free bus passes to the poor and needy. Why surely he is as open and honest as the late Huey Long; many even consider him an anti-Semite.

It seems that Jowell and Livingstone are old pals from their Camden Council days, and doubtless it was just like old times to say "Seig Heil" to one another over the matter of a little rubbsh disposal.

IMO: I am a London Council Tax payer and it takes a lot for that persecuted minority to laugh nowadays.

Mumbai police seize 10 Dawood hit men. Police in Mumbai are holding ten members of Dawood Ibrahim group, after they are turned over by authorities in Dubai.

One of them, Arif Bhai, is the brother-in-law of Chotta Shakeel, believed to be a crucial catch. Five of them have been formally arrested and an inquiry is underway for others. Police say the development is a blow to the group and Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil said more gangsters could be turned over in the coming days. The ten gangsters arrived in Mumbai Tuesday morning after a joint operation by the Mumbai crime branch and the CBI. Police also clarified they were not deported. They belong to a group of 30 gangsters held in Dubai in early November for their role in the murder of local bookie Raju.

IMO: Congratulations Dubai ! Well they certainly have them in Mumbai now, lets hope for the best.

It seems that the US military is now considering three options for Iraq: more troops, fewer troops (but for a longer time) and no troops at all -- the ol' cut and run. Many say, and I tend to agree "It is the lingo of Vietnam". Older men asking younger men to die while they try to figure something out. We have been there.

IMO: Pull out UK troops from Iraq very ASAP, preferably now, and concentrate them in Afghanistan - honorable enough. Brown may do this.

Srinagar: Security forces thwarted an attempt by militants to infiltrate into India from across the border. Official sources said that there are intelligence reports that hundreds of militants, mostly foreigners, are camping near the LoC across the border, waiting for an opportunity to sneak into India before the routes are fully closed due to snowfall. Security forces are ready to meet any such challenge. 1500 militants, trained to trigger IED and other blasts and handle automatic weapons, are in different camps in PoK.

A militant, Saquib, confessed that he was the same group which had infiltrated from POK recently. He further said that a large number of militants are waiting across the border to sneak into this side along with sophisticated arms and ammunition. Ultras are being trained in different camps in PoK. An official spokesman said arms and ammunition seized from the slain infiltrators are being used in wars. It included Global positioning system which the militants had used to navigate through the hills and satellite phone to remain in touch with their mentor in PoK.

IMO: I hope that Pakistan will put a stop to this nonsense behaviour on their side. It helps no-one, especially not Pakistan.

Tony Blair tells British troops in Afghanistan they are fighting for the security of the world. 'The world's security is in your hands.' Tony Blair's message for British troops left little ambiguity, as he told them that victory over the Taliban was essential for world peace.

IMO: That seems correct, and poor Bliar seems to be doing his best, for which we must be grateful. But as I pointed out earlier, the other EU nations are truly not pulling their weight - and there are a number of scams, some apparently related to informal road 'tolls' which seem related to US military personnel which certainly does not help. In fact if it does go well it could be termed "Britain's Finest Hour 2.0".

According to the UK 'Times', Nigerians are forging passports and cheques on an “industrial scale” and that huge numbers of false documents are passing through provincial British airports. Millions in bogus cheques are sent by post.

The fraudsters are so resourceful that when the British High Commission set up a telephone line (in Lagos) to book appointments for visas, fraudsters hijacked the lines and attempted to charge applicants to arrange visa interviews.

So, take care of your UK passport and bear in mind that if you have used a new 'Tony B. Liar' style UK passport at an airport without proper electronic shielding, (which you can probably add yourself for pennies) - it has probably been cloned already. And when you and your family go on holiday, the burglars will know and will have your home address that they will have scanned from your unsafe 'Tony B.Liar' passport at the airport as you leave.

IMO: I've never known a dishonest Nigerian, but these rackets do occur on a enormous scale; you can tell this from what's happening to your own emails - often 90% spam, 10% legit.. It is like having your house infested with rodents, all with UK Govt permits..

The 'Daily Star' (Lebanon) say: Iran on Thursday urged the United States to give a clear indication as to whether it wants direct talks with Tehran over stabilizing Iraq and said it was ready to take the "final step" in its nuclear program. "We are hearing different voices from the United States," Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani told reporters Thursday after talks with Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahhar. "The statements from their side are not very clear, and what is important is that they say clearly what it is they want," he said.

So it looks like a nondemocratic country like Iran basically lacks understanding of a democratic one like USA. The USSR had to battle with that for years, and finally gave up existing, and became sort of democratic as Russia. But when I was in Russia a few years ago, I met quite a few ordinary people who still would have preferred communism, they did not even need asking. So obviously Iran has a lot of political problems.

Israel has been looking for an even tougher line from Washington against Iran's nuclear ambitions, and on Thursday Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres slammed Ahmadinejad as a "Persian version of Hitler."

IMO: More like a "Persian version of Tony B. Liar". Ahmadinejad obviously has no idea of the workings of a nuclear reactor or really just why the US and many others disapprove. And he probably has some woolly idea that his clerics may be right, and 'that's the system'. I would say his behaviour towards nukes is about as useful to Iran as Tony B. Liar's behaviour towards passports is to the UK, these passports being a walking billboard to hackers. Hint: What sounds like a good place to plant a neutron bomb ? Answer: Iraq if they keep Ahmadinejad. But maybe he should meet Tony B. Liar as I'm sure they have a lot in common, though I suspect that may not be a 'good idea'.

Arianna Huffington said "Wouldn't it be refreshing to have a Democratic leader who would rather listen to the American people than to "everyone in Washington"? " And a lot more besides.

IMO: I've got to agree with that quoted statement. It won't happen, I fear. Though USA's two obvious vices tend to be to easily descend to rather mindless populism and high but short term enthusiasm, and this fact tends to temper the pain.

"U.S. e-passports will contain a web of metal fiber embedded in the front cover of the documents to shield them from unauthorized readers. Though Basic Access Control would keep the chip from yielding useful information to attackers, it would still announce its presence to anyone with the right equipment. The government added the shielding after privacy activists expressed worries that a terrorist could simply point a reader at a crowd and identify foreign travelers.

In theory, with metal fibers in the front cover, nobody can sniff out the presence of an e-passport that's closed. But Mahaffey and Hering demonstrated in their video how even if a passport opens only half an inch -- such as it might if placed in a purse or backpack -- it can reveal itself to a reader at least two feet away."

There are a lot of other nasty tricks that can easily be done on the new UK passport, even a simple enemy with a grudge can easily identify people, and on air tampering with your passport's contents may be easy.

IMO:The new UK passports are perhaps best kept closed, in a metal fibre case, which could also serve as a passport holder. You could probably make your own.

A commentator on political affairs says: The blatant hard sell of Chinese commercial interests by the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) is providing valuable ammunition to its enemies.

By getting overenthusiastic about China with its President Hu Jintao’s visit here round the corner, the Marxists are allowing themselves to be projected as Beijing’s stooges, a charge that could cause them incalculable political harm. Nationalism has remained the main political force over the past century, sustaining even successful Communist regimes. The CPM would pay a heavy cost by getting identified with another country. The scars left by the 1962 war and Chinese involvement in Pakistan’s military build-up makes such a strategy even more suicidal.

This is not to minimise the importance of cooperation between India and China. Nor should the genuine interventions by the Marxists along with other Leftist groups on behalf of the urban and rural poor be ignored. But the CPM would do well not to mix up the two issues because of some dubious ideological loyalties of the past.

IMO: There certainly seem to be issues here. Decent people, Marxist or not, do not want importation of foreign methods and ideas to India which could disenfranchise or disadvantage the poor. There are a lot of international issues, such as the future of French socialism, which looks as if it could be promising at this time, and the UK's so-called 'New Labor' which sounds like it may be becoming a puppet for any vote provider. Hard to see direct benefit from the big money the UK politicos intend to hand to Pakistan other than votes from UK ethnics. But the money may be used to eliminate madrassas. These days of genetic engineering, pigs may indeed fly. Really the UK should be a good bet for socialists. But for the sake of international socialism, China looks a bitter and rather stale pill if CPM want to swallow it, in fact China is beginning distinctly to look like a reactionary capitalist state. The Chinese leaders, not necessarily the people, may be becoming fast the dalmations running under the chariots of the US capitalist warlords. CPM perhaps should take heed of the real time situation, not what it used to be.

According to several UK papers "Iraq is a 'disaster'" admits Blair on Al Jazeera. I saw the commentary on Al Jazeera. Many people disagree with Blair's Middle East logic, as the voters are well aware ...

IMO: 'Al Jazeera and David Frost' is just 'Al Jazeera and David Frost'. If I were PM, which I would not want to be - I am honest - I would not go on Al Jazeera with David Frost. There is such a lot that can be said about Iraq, and Bliar's views are best seen in detail from his written statements as made in a Western context in Western media, which Al Jazeera is not. This sort of interview can't do justiice to either Al Jazeera, Bliar or for that matter the moral reprobate and hypocrite David Frost.

Added November 19, 2006 3:33 Mecca Time, 0:33 GMT: Tony Blair's office said on Saturday comments he made in a TV interview were not an admission that going to war in Iraq, the leader's least popular decision in a decade in power, had been a disaster. "He has not admitted the policy was a mistake," a spokeswoman said.

To make it clear, that is what I would have thought, just as above.

You really should know this, in case your own passport is cloned. It is even explained loosely in the UK Guardian newspaper. Boingboing and other blogs also explain it, and Bruce Sterling gives full details as to doing it.

This cloning can be done across a room, and your details stuck in a terrorist's passport.

IMO: There have been many computer problems on a big and expensive scale because of inadequacies of the UK Government. For once you can almost feel sorry for Tony B. Liar as it is said he can't even do email. I have known mental retards who could do that. I am pretty sure that this is not a party political matter, such a lot of the UK politicians come from a pseudo upper crust background.

BEIJING: China's air pollution has caused a jump in chronic lung diseases usually associated with the elderly among people in their 30s, state media said today. The government has launched several campaigns to improve air quality ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics, but there have been no tangible results. The report, which also blamed smoking for the rise in lung diseases, was based on studies of patients in 30 hospitals in China's six big cities.

Annan said "This conference must send a clear, credible signal that the world's political leaders need to take climate change seriously. The question is not whether climate change is happening, but whether in the face of this emergency, we can change fast enough".

This must be one of Annan's last speeches as UN Secretary-General. In that position he is likely to say what he wants to say.

IMO: Annan has probably said the most important thing anyone could say. If only the cheap selfish American politicians, in particular, would take more notice of his call. And with the UK too, it has mainly been only words so far.These people are disgraceful. The human race, if it continues to exist, is unlikely to ever forgive them. Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler will seem relatively tolerable.

Evanescent coupling has been used in the past for various effects including time reversal of light. Evanescent coupling can potentially be a highly efficient process.

The New Scientist this week says, for what it is worth: "In the wireless charger design, alternating current from the mains is converted to this resonant frequency and sent into the circuit. The current travels round the circuit, generating a magnetic field as it passes through the inductor loop and an electric field as it passes through the capacitor. This pulsing magnetic field extends up to 5 metres around the device. Placing one of these wireless chargers in each room of a home or office could provide coverage throughout the building...... Soljacic presented the results at the American Institute of Physics Industrial Physics Forum in San Francisco on 14 November. The team is now trying to develop a prototype device."

IMO: So maybe charging batteries etc. by wireless will be possible instead of putting them in a mains wired battery charger, just like WiFi internet connections are now routine. So we could have genuinely mains free electric shavers and DAB radios. DAB radios use up batteries very quickly. A lot of other applications should quickly come to mind. Some of these could be quite new and even bizarre, for example in brain machine interface applications.

On China's claims to Arunachal Pradesh "the majority of the people residing along the border with China are Buddhists and everybody here rejects Beijing's claims," Rinpoche said.

This has a lot to do with China's long term attempt to steal part of Kashmir from India. Today we have to take stock. As I pointed out in an earlier blog entry, industrial growth in China has been led by its client status with the USA. In effect by the apparent increase in wealth in China, the country has yet again given in to imperialism, in this case US imperialism. But China actually still has as at least as many poor people as India, probably more. And India has a true democracy, whilst China is excoriated all over the world by knowledgeable people because, for example, of its lack of internet freedom, worse in some ways than that of Saudi Arabia. The effect of 2000 years of suppression of the Chinese people cannot be easily removed in 20 or 30 years, and I am deeply sympathetic of this. But China can, and must, try harder to remove the internal tyranny and suppression, for a start, and only a start, by removing the Great Internet Firewall of China. There are many other things necessary to free the Chinese people. For example the cessation of execution of Chinese on demand for body parts. Another thing is the long wait at Chinese airports for internal flights. This would not be tolerated in a free society like India. These are just sample cases and one is aware with the problems even in these cases. As for religion, it is obvious that the Chinese still use intolerant methods with Buddhists. On could go on and on, but why reason.

Not only that, but they signed up David Frost. The picture someone has given him makes him look transgendered, but I suppose after the spoof picture of Elizabeth Vargas in Marie Claire, that is the level of accuracy we must come to expect from the media, both West and Middle East. I would like to be able to say that Indian media has not fallen to such depths.......

But perhaps I have missed the point and Frost has at last found his true status in life as a hijra, a sort of Johnny Lever style entertainer to an Al Jazeera marriage to Islamism. But if Frost has the role of Johnny Lever, who then has the role of the promoter (the ageing failing Dawood Ibrahim). One has to guess George W. Bush or Rumsfeld I suppose, but neither is anything like smart enough to compare with Dawood Ibrahim.

People have discovered again that these devices are now relatively easy and inexpensive to make and compact as well. Apparently they sell very well too with a good markup.

IMO: Biofeedback devices certainly can be used to keep you calm, and can probably be better to use than the usual kidney and liver-destroying drugs that the average doctor will supply you with for his own profit. The future may lie with further and more complex uses of biofeedback and there could be an opportunity for inventor profit there,

British intelligence officials believe that al-Qaeda is determined to attack the U.K. with a nuclear weapon, it emerged Monday. The announcement, from an officially organized British Foreign Office counter-terrorism briefing for the media, was the latest in a series of bleak assessments by senior officials and ministers about the terrorist threat facing Britain.

Bin Laden has been boasting about having nukes as long as anyone can remember, a lot of brief details here. For example, reports of Bin Laden having obtained nuclear suitcases, first surfaced in 1998, in various international papers and magazines. In 1996 members of the Chechen Mafia purportedly sold twenty of these nuclear suitcases in Grozny to representatives of Osama bin Laden and the mujahadeen. For the weapons, bin Laden paid $30 million in cash and two tons of heroin that had been refined in his laboratories in Afghanistan. The street value of the heroin was in excess of $700 million. But, Al-Qaeda are said to be even too cheap to pay a ($24.95) shareware fee for their bombs. Not at all moral.

There is a very detailed and interesting summary of the global nuclear state of play here, though IMO it needs some updating.

IMO: If all the Al-Qaeda stuff is much more than feeble puff, why have we not yet seen worse than fuel air bombs. Al-Qaeda initially planned to fly hijacked jets into nuclear installations, it was also said. None of it has happened yet. I'd be more worried about Iran.

Nandini at a Greenland supermarket.

Nandini at the Blue Lagoon.

Snowmobiling on a glacier.

Landing in Greenland - the spots are snowflakes. The propellor-driven Fokker F50 gives a very smooth Transatlantic flight.

Quadbiking.- we both got certificates of proficiency

Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan are hoped to set up a joint panel to combat terrorism.

But Pak has been bust already by the USA,who threatened to send it back to the stone ages, a threat still there AFAIK. It is now also being dunned needlessly by Iran, which seems to feel itself the USA of the region, for more money for electricity etc. etc. Guess who Iran is likely to 'send back to the stone ages' if it gets nukes. (do not guess Israel, as Israel would win a war) What a miserable state Pak is in!

Pakistan has a lot of problems - keeping up with India’s much larger military is an impossible drain on the country’s resources, and the rivalry distracts the government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf from more pressing domestic matters, namely keeping Islamic extremists in check. As for Kashmir - theory and rants aside, those Kashmiris just don't want to know a rubbish tip like Pakistan.

IMO: Pak actually has only one friend and that is "mother India". The sooner Pak realises that, cuts out the bravado and pursues measures, such as anti-terror measures, which will help itself and India, the better for us all.

A Manchester PAEDO seduced a girl of 12 — then lived in her bedroom for three months without her mother finding out.

Scott Jennings, 22, cut a giant hole in the bottom of the youngster’s divan bed then used it as a secret den to evade detection if somebody came into the room. Jennings has now been jailed for two years and three months after he pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one of sexual assault. This incredible item came from the UK "Sun" paper but is now all over the web. I noticed it first on BoingBoing

IMO: After putting up with rotten 'democratic processes' in other areas, like Tony B. Liar's apparent acceptance of the existence of WMD from some student's homework thesis, I feel I can no longer head this item "Only in Manchester, UK". I suppose the next thing is that we will find Al Qaeda making homemade nukes under John Prescott's girlfriend's bed.

CSIRO Belmont (nr Rockhampton, Q., Australia) have invented just that. A T-shirt that enables wearers to generate guitar sounds simply by moving their arms. All the wearer needs to do is choose chords with one arm, and strum imaginary strings with the other. The arm movements are mapped and beamed by radio onto a computer, which interprets them, and transforms them into musical notes in real time.

According to Dr Helmer, the WIS is an easy to use, virtual instrument that allows making music in real time, even by players who have no musical or computing skills. Helmer says wearers are free to jump around, and yet, the sound generated would be the same - like that emanating from an original MP3 player. Dr Helmer truly believes in the commercial potential of the WIS, but he adds that the real intent behind developing it is to offer a sneak-peek into the future of "intelligent clothing".

IMO: Sounds like a good idea, and easy to implement.. Some clever entrepreneur should make a lot of money, and as usual I indicate the source of full details. My wife just bought a T shirt at exhorbitant cost in Kings Road but that one just shows words, currently I think she has programmed it to show "Om Ganesh" which seems reasonable.

She traveled from Charni Road station to Churchgate second class. At Marine Lines, she bought a mouth freshener.

Evangeline Lilly says "My prediction is that she'll be the first female president of the United States".

'Nothing is off the table. All of the options will be considered,' White House chief of staff Josh Bolten said today.

OTOH Ehud Olmert has said that it is "absolutely intolerable" for Tel Aviv to accept the threat of a nuclear Iran. "Israel has many options" he said. Overall Olmert statements "took on the harshest tones so far".

IMO: It almost looks as if US is going to let Israel do its dirty work for it - yet again. In the meantime there is one sure loser - failed nation Pakistan who has just has its power prices doubled by Iran.

Tiruchirappalli, Nov 10: The Tamil Nadu Police today dismissed reports about infiltration of Al Qaeda terrorists or any other militant outfit into the state. A. Subramanian told reporters that airports in the state were "100 per cent safe" and the state police was willing to offer any help to the Central Industrial Security Force, which is guarding them. A letter previously purported to have been written by Al Qaeda was written by miscreants and has been sent for scientific analysis. Anyway, security has been tightened at Madurai, Coimbatore and Chennai airports and the Kalpakkam Nuclear power plant as a precautionary measure.

IMO: I hope it is all right and it probably is.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is old hat but how about the Leaning Tower of Mumbai to claim pride of place?

E Block of Mangal building located at Mira Road, between Borivili and Vasai Creek, in Mumbai reveals a tilt of 17 inches that has happened just four years after the building was completed. The tilt has left displaced tiles on the floor and huge cracks on the wall.

IMO: I hope it does not fall.

That is in Dharavi, a Mumbai suburb between Mahim and Sion. It is said that Dharvari is the essence of India. There is such a lot going on. Such a lot of drive, industry, vibrancy, enterprise. So much spirit. All that cannot but lift you. This corner of India produces everything from garments to tallow to watch-strap buckles to lip-smacking savouries like chikki, much of it for export.

Dharavi encapsulates much of what is wrong in India today. Open drains, piles of uncleared garbage, filth and pitiful shacks are everywhere. Why do so many people have to live like this? That's partly answered by the housing crisis India's cities are buckling under. Foolish laws, misguided policies and venal leaders combine to produce an artificial, but severe, scarcity of land for affordable housing, forcing middle- and lower-class Indians into tiny tenements in impossibly crowded slums like Dharavi. If that's not hard enough, their lack of tenure over the land they live on keeps their lives in a sort of permanent insecurity.

Last Friday the existing pay-and-use toilets were found not to be not maintained at all. This, clubbed with improper drainage facilities, is an open invitation to water-borne diseases. The free public toilet remains closed most of the time since the contractor charges people for it on a monthly basis. But now that it’s defunct, people are still using it.

At Sion Hospital, 10,000 patients are admitted every year for diarrhoea and 30,000 more take treatment in the Outdoor Patient Department. Most of these patients hail from the Dharavi area.

Lord Sainsbury was recently cleared of breaching the ministerial code in April after failing to disclose a £2m loan to Labour. He later said he had "confused the cash" with a declared donation he had made. His financial interest in the development of genetically-modified food has also aroused controversy at a time when the government has come under attack for not banning GM crops.

Lord Sainsbury's interest in science was kindled at Cambridge University in the 1960s. Although initially a history student he transferred to psychology because of a fascination with the breakthroughs then being made in the study of DNA. The future government minister once said that if a fairy godmother were to grant him a wish it would be to become a Nobel Prize winner in plant genetics.

At about the time that the police 'cash for honours' investigation seems to hotting up, he has announced his retirement as science minister after eight years in the post, citing personal rather than political reasons.

IMO: His shops don't seem too bad and are even improving a little. They are actually slightly better, as shops, than Tesco's but not quite as cheap. Many say there have been far, far worse science ministers too. But what could damn him is Tony B. Liar's statement "His contribution to government will have a huge impact in future decades and we owe him a real debt of gratitude." If Bliar says that, one imagines the reasons are not good.

Today, amid reports of infighting in the gang of underworld don and global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim in the United Arab Emirates, authorities there are understood to have detained Chhota Shakeel's brother and some other gang members. In Delhi, efforts were made to explore the possible deportation or extradition in any cases related to bomb blasts, extortion or other organised crimes. The infighting, involving Dawood's trusted lieutenant Chhota Shakeel and his brother Anees (allegedly holed up in Pakistan), is believed to have turned dirty as both were fighting for the number two slot in the gang. Shakeel's brother, his brother-in-law Arif Bhaijan and Qayoom are also understood to have been detained.

The US Govt. said in 2003, probably correctly: "Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian crime lord, has found common cause with Al Qaida".

IMO: Well we all knew the latter, how about some action. As Dubya is essentially passe, at least they can 'do a Carter'.

Earlier this week, the former member of England’s Ministry of Defense (MoD), Nick Pope, decided to step down from his post and speak out about his worries that highly credible sightings of alien aircraft within our skies are being dismissed and that “The consequences of getting this one wrong could be huge.”

Pope is not giving up though and has decided that he is going to continue his research into extra terrestrial life in a private capacity which will follow up his four books dealing with alien life and his experiences with the UFO department at the MoD.

IMO: I was one of those consulted over the Condon report and US money was spent on that with only negative results. No interim work has altered my general scepticism of UFOs allegedly found or sighted so far. Clearly there are many phenomenon (like say blindsight) which really do occur or which may occur (like synaesthesia) and potentially plausible phenomena (like NDEs). All of these seem more interesting than UFOs, even if UFOs were there. If Pope is that convinced, let him go ahead on his own time. Alternatively, is this some kind of elaborate establishment hoax?

Terrorists are recruiting in our schools, says MI5 boss. Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller (of MI5) told an invited audience at Queen Mary College, London, that MI5 was monitoring some 200 groupings or networks comprising more than 1,600 individuals ''who are actively engaged in plotting or facilitating, terrorist acts here and overseas".

The nature and gravity of the threat was deepening, fuelled by the rapid radicalisation of young British Muslims – some still at school, yet prepared to join the ranks of the suicide bombers. She said the country faced a sustained and growing threat that ''would last a generation".

Dame Eliza said surveys among Muslims suggested there could be as many as 100,000 people who considered that the July 7 atrocities were justified. It is the youth who are being actively targeted, groomed, radicalised and sent on a path that frighteningly quickly could end in their involvement in mass murder of their fellow UK citizens or their early death in a suicide attack or on a foreign battlefield.

IMO: Almost like the Spanish Civil war against Franco (a crony of Hitler, just like Tony B. Liar is nowadays as good as a crony of the UK hunting lobby and other criminal fascists) and the book "The prime of Miss Jean Brodie", then? Oh yes, I am afraid I understand.

The dame also said "The Muslim communities in this country did not ask the terrorists to act in their name. The vast majority are sickened by the slur on their great and noble faith. They make a huge and vital contribution to the life of this country."

IMO: That is trueish. I only wish it were 'truer'. Of course Islam has many faults, too, and many of these seem intrinsic to the faith itself. Most people in the UK believe we would be better off without Islam or any Muslims in the UK, and that is undoubtedly a fact.

Summing up: I have a great deal of sympathy and respect for the causes of these militants, but it really is not going to work out favorably in the forseeable future in practically anyone's terms. Basically militant's desires are not going to meet with success. There just is not a big enough payoff for the terror methods to be justified. Now on Global Warming and the end of the world, there is a real issue but there is no evidence that militant means will help or even be used at this time. Maybe the efforts of some of these young idealists should be developed to combat global warming.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave the nod for a manned mission after ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair made a presentation last week.

Some say this is "the best news this decade".

The Indian Space Agency has about the same amount of funds available as Russia.

The Indian "Technology Experiment Satellite" has an image resolution of 1m or less, making India the only country after US to offer such high-resolution images commercially. ISRO is unique amongst space programmes for its focus on developmental applications such as educational broadcasting and remote sensing.

In addition, the ISRO is arguably the most financially successful space programme, with very cheap development and launch capabilities, and a budget of which 45% spent goes to Indian industry - it is arguable that the ISRO has paid for itself several times over already, not just in terms of success, but also in terms of commercial return.

For all those who complain about India spending big bucks on its space program, The Scientific Indian has a list of updates about the space program's plans for this year which includes two cartography satellites, a satellite based 'total disaster management system', a few communication satellites and a satellite launch for the European Union."

IMO: Maybe it is a good idea, my own mind is open either way on this.

Finance minister Gordon Brown, Britain's prime minister in waiting, has been contacted by police investigating allegations that his Labour Party awarded state honours in return for cash, a government source said. Speculation is that Prime Minister Tony Blair will soon be questioned.

Well I have already said in the blog that B. Liar's public statements seem to be enough to give Tony B. Liar at least 7 years in jail. Hopefully police will not continue to go easy on him. They certainly treat their innocent dupes badly enough in their search for cash and promotion. It is just criminal scum befriending criminal scum, if the situation does not resolve itself properly.

IMO: You may say that it is ridiculous to jail the PM just for his ridiculous toadying and kowtowing to the rich and famous - and indeed his far worse behaviour. But there are still people alive who remember the hunger marches of the people of this country, and THEIR BETRAYAL BY THE LABOUR PARTY OF TONY BLAIR IS UNMITIGATED FRAUD AGAINST SURVIVORS OF THE UK STARVING DEAD, AND THE PRESENT COMPLETELY INNOCENT VICTIMS OF POLICE EXPLOITATION, INCLUDING ONE OF MY OWN CLOSE RELATIVES.

The brief article in today's "Private Eye" (10 November, No 1171, p 17) seems to coincide very closely with my own impressions of the situation there when I visited Iceland a few weeks ago. Things are being done very badly there by large firms, often US firms, in a way which grossly offends the locals. Obviously large firms, particularly those based in USA, can't be trusted. The article is worth a read.

Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is the president of Texas A&M University, as well as a former Director of Central Intelligence. He is currently the nominee for the office of United States Secretary of Defense. i.e. to replace Rumsfeld, particularly over Iraq, now the Dems have a majority in both houses.

Very briefly, Alan Fiers (CIA, and seemed to say a lot under a plea bargain) testified that Gates was an exceptionally gifted operator and that his meteoric rise had aroused jealousy among some older colleagues. Fiers said that Gates was very smart, very capable, although "sort of on the make."

Apparently Gates is a friend of George W. Bush, and perhaps more importantly George Bush Senior. One presumes he will also be acceptable to the Dems, at least more than Rummy was. Dems will know Gates, he has served on Iraq joint committees.

We Are All Ted Haggard, says Bill Robinson

Did the Dems get votes on the back (literally) of a gay male prostitute and a bag of crystal meth? Did they get here at the expense of sexually harassed Congressional Pages? Will Harold Ford, Jr. win Tennessee because the Republicans miscalculated effects of a race-baiting ad?

Harold Ford, Jr. didn't strike Bill as the kind of guy who would oppose gay marriage and print the 10 commandments on the back of his business card. How far Americans will go to win? How many are driving their SUVs to the polls today to vote on propositions reducing greenhouse gases? How many complain about overpopulation and global warming, but would rather use a sperm bank or egg donor than recycle a child by adopting?

Is creepy Ted Haggard the only cheating husband, or recreational drug user, in the'great' USA ? Or is he just the one who helps quench a thirst for revenge? Is revenge the object of this election? Or are the Dems reduced to the nastiest campaign season ever because the Republicans set the tone and they have to fight fire with fire to wrest control of an alleged 'democracy' and get the hell out of Iraq? And speaking of Iraq, do the Democrats have a workable plan? Even local hero Murtha has been a little short on details. To sustain this victory, eventually Democrats will have to run for something, not just against something else.

The biggest lesson of this disgusting campaign cycle has perhaps been, once again, that the Dems need public campaign finance. Of course, the big media conglomerates will do anything to prevent that from happening. But maybe next time around, that will leave the door open for YouTube. Imagine if all those clips of Ted Haggard were used to substantively inform the next generation of voters.

This power, believed to be about 200 watts per shelter, is supposed to illuminate the shelters and avoid expensive and needless power reticulation networks. However the 11,800 shelters they apparently intend to advertise will cost about 600 watts per shelter, partly to power the adverts.

The adverts will presumably be of the variety which some people will remember from a few years ago "My daughter Nellie likes eating slugs and snails ", like we had before in London. Some would think this a jolly advertising prank, I suppose. As a vegetarian I disapprove. I will not make jokes about advertisers placing their adverts on their person "where the sun does not shine" as I suppose it is at least better then dismal unlit shelters.

More importantly it is at least showing some ecological goodwill and could be a trailblazer for more significant future events. The present steps, if and when implemented, are supposed to save 1,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over 15 years. Not a lot but at least it is a step.

"Nobody is going over to Iraq anymore?" one student asks a recruiter. "No, we're bringing people back," he replies. "We're not at war. War ended a long time ago," another recruiter says.

One Colorado student taped a recruiting session posing as a drug-addicted dropout. The recruiters helped him cheat to sign up.

ABC News found one recruiter who even claimed if you didn't like the Army, you could just quit.

IMO: These taped lies by Army recruiters probably mirror the level of lies and consequent lack of knowledge all over USA. When such lies are being told and believed everywhere, has the right to vote itself has begun to lose its meaning. Total confusion in the long run is often spotted and eventually backfires. But with adequate action still not being taken anywhere in the world about global warming is it now too late to put things right before the world ends ?

Transparency International's 2006 top of the pops in corruption list has just come out. They claim a high correlation between poverty and corruption. Details here.

Botswana's score places it above twenty-one states in Europe included in the survey, including eleven of the member states of the European Union. That figures.

Arab Emirates, Bahrein and Qatar are about the same as Israel which seems about right.

IMO: A better correlation index might include other factors such as the prison population, abolition of the death sentence etc. Saudi Arabia comes out here the same as India which perhaps means that virtue/religion balances wealth. ie Saudi - rich - Wahabi, India - poor - Hindu. Some of these statistics should be useful to scientifically minded sociologists. I have great doubts about the good rating given to US and UK, also if Iceland and New Zealand really are near the top, God help us all.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology is arguing that "active euthanasia" should be considered for the overall good of families, and to spare parents the emotional burden and financial hardship of bringing up the hardest-hit babies. "A very disabled child can mean a disabled family," the doctors say. Obviously some doctors disagree.

'The Brussels Journal' (widely read journal which apparently has a motto “I believe in being free, acquiring knowledge, and telling the truth.”) says "Shouldn’t We Just Throw Them Off the Dover Cliffs?"

Added to all this there is now, according to the Times and the BBC, a plan for a Human-cow hybrid, ie a creature part human and part cow !

IMO: I feel sorry for the cows, anyway. But lets throw Tony B. Liar and George Bush off the Dover cliffs first, just to start the ball rolling. At least two evils will then have left the earth. These matters need serious public debate which should not either delay real medical progress nor descend to populism or indeed pseudo religious (such as mock-'christian') or abominably 'humanist' views. How is this all to be achieved ? I for one do not know, but in the light of past history, as evinced by the total lack of real practical attention to global warming, I doubt if it will.

Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh): On Sunday, about 17,000 aspiring policemen went on a rampage in Ghaziabad. They were out in the streets smashing motor vehicles and public property and looting food vendors for an hour.

These wannabe constables went on to pull out women from cars and three-wheelers and molested them, even tearing some of the women's clothes and manhandling the men.
However, the police have denied knowledge of any incidents of molestation. As soon as the candidates finished the exam and came out, they realised there was no mode of transportation available for them, which was probably the reason for the outburst.

"These men will become gangsters if they do not become policemen," one man in Ghaziabad was quoted as saying.

IMO: Typical of U.P., some may say. I would say that it reminds me of facts told about the English police by a secretary of mine who had a boyfriend in the English police. Ask any disgruntled UK citizen who has had real bad luck at a demo. Moral: The UK is like UP but in the UK everything is hushed up.

India, now in a 'sweet spot' economically, is set to move on to double digit growth despite politics and populism and may be ahead of China's growth by 2010.

"The hype about India is real. Factors are in place to sustain 10 per cent plus growth..Investment at over 40 per cent of GDP this year is one of fastest jumps in history," renowned economist Surjit Bhalla said in his mid-term review of the economy.

When the correctives are applied, the poverty level at five per cent (for India) would be on par with that of China

IMO: On the face of it the idea sounds incredible, but yes, I would say India could overhaul China economically in a forseeable time. China does a lot of assembly work and that has caused some of its apparent growth, for example. But does India have the overall will to continually succeed materially. I think perhaps it does not and anyway it need not overhaul anyone but it has its own destiny.

He singles out the rise of blogging as one of the most difficult areas for the continuing development of the Web, because of the risks associated with inaccurate, defamatory and uncheckable information.

IMO: Only too true, unfortunately. Individuals bring the greatest hope for truthful talk and useful but hidden information. But people are not in a position to check each source carefully, nor does it always suit them to do so. Far more important than any of their errors are the intentional lies told by large firms and Governments, like the UK and US govts and large telecoms companies. I already refer to such firms here.

He was a former captain of Indian Navy. He was arrested under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant sections of the act. The war room leak which involved the pilferage of sensitive documents that were allegedly handed over to arms dealers.

He had last served in the naval base at Vishakhapatnam before seeking retirement, which was approved last year. Rathore is currently working as a senior executive in Virat Consultants and Traders Limited, a company that deals in the sale and purchase of defence equipment
The CBI has also issued an Interpol Red Corner notice against Ravi Shankaran, kin of former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash, and confiscated his property. Shankaran is believed to be in Britain.

Indeed, the CBI's probe into the Navy War Room leak has brought to light the sorry state of security in the Defence Ministry, with the agency claiming that those involved in the matter had gained access to the top-secret 10th plan of the three services. In its 28-page chargesheet filed in a court here against Delhi-based businessman Abishek Verma, the son of former Congress MPs Shrikant and Veena Verma, the CBI claimed it had recovered documents regarding the minutes of a meeting held in 2004, at which the 10th plan for the Army, Navy and Air Force was discussed. The minutes of the meeting to discuss the plan were recovered from a jet flash pen drive allegedly recovered from former Naval Commander Vijender Rana. The chargesheet, accompanied by 62 documents comprising 369 pages, also alleges that Verma was a "front man" for Thales Communication company, said to have headquarters at 66, Rue Du Fosse Blanc 92231 Gennevilliers France, which has been negotiating with the Indian Air Force for supply of aerostat balloon Defence systems that are used at the border and fixed with spy cameras with a range of 10-15 kilometers.

The next 30 months will, hopefully, see underground, air-conditioned and fully computerised multi-tier parking lots coming up in places like Hutatma Chawk, Crawford Market and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Chawk - the stretch from Regal Cinema to Jehangir Art Gallery. The total area of the three proposed underground car parks will be around 70,000 sq.mt, and will hold around 2,000 cars.

IMO: Better than nothing, and train services could also benefit from further investment, for example extra lines from Borivili to at least Virar and maybe further.

November 3: Shabbir Batterywala, suspected to be the mastermind of the Malegaon blasts that killed 31 people, was today arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) for the terrorist attack. This was the second arrest in the case, the first being that of Noor-ul-Hoda Samsudoha. Batterywala was already in police custody as he was arrested by the Crime Branch soon after the July 11 train bombings in Mumbai, and booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

FILTHY “hell” kitchens have been found at a host of NHS hospitals, a shock report revealed yesterday.

Health inspectors discovered mouldy equipment, cockroach and mice infestations, basins without soap or hot water and unrefrigerated food. Many wards also leave patients HUNGRY, even after they have eaten meals.

The report in consumer magazine Which? seriously dents the Government’s claim that 91.6 per cent of hospitals are now rated excellent or good for food.

One of the worst was South London’s Maudsley Hospital, where inspectors found out-of-date food, inadequate kitchen ventilation, mice infestation and staff not following meal hygiene procedures. Improvements have since been made and local health officers are now happy.

IMO: I've complained for many years about such matters and of course there are far worse things to complain about, such as inadequate and incompetent and even totally personally abusive treatment. But nobody cares. And when a Manchester hospital is now fining patients £80.00 for urinating on the floor, I first wonder - "Have they got a toilet there? Or "How much are the poor patients being insulted and how long are they kept waiting ?". I have no doubt that at this point the hospital has found slick answers to such questions, but overall I grieve that a wealthy country like the UK has come down to this.

There are 6 hybrids already on route 360. A new hybrid double-decker on the 141 route has just been introduced. This hybrid has a 1.9 litre Euro 4 engine (about the same capacity as the engine in a smallish Mumbai car) whereas previous buses of similar performance had a large 7 litre diesel engine. There are no magic tricks, just a slightly better design and a resulting 77% reduction in carbon emissions and cleaner air. Passangers probably won't even notice the changes.

IMO: Thank you Mayor Livingstone. It is only a small contribution but a valuable one, to saving the human race and we should be truly grateful. Others can see that these is little pain and can follow suit.

What's the remedy ?

Copyright report calls for more consumer rights. Outdated copyright laws unfairly penalise consumers says think-tank "Giving people a legal ‘private right to copy’ would allow them to copy their own CDs and DVDs onto their home computers, laptops or phones without breaking the law. Current UK copyright laws unfairly criminalise consumers and must be changed according to a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
Something wrong if "big brother" tells us whether we can copy CDs we have bought and paid for. There should be no need to return a right that was ours from the start.

But this is part of a disturbing trend in the direction of forbidding people to do what they want to the benefit of corrupt police forces, judges, and especially big business.

There are examples everywhere and it is only necessary for an innocent party to have spent time in an English court room to see that something is amiss. I leave aside the DNA database matter, which is currently attracting attention and study. But consider just the Court system. Innocent until proven guilty ? NO WAY. Easy say the cops, just appoint a nincompoop corrupt judge to say "guilty". What then ? Without giving details, the poor innocent person can appeal, and "naturally" will normally get his appeal turned down. More taxpayer's money needlessly spent on useless 'jobsworths'. After going along the appeal trail (and normally innocent people can forget the even more corrupt EU judgements) we can see there is one recourse. Going to Osama bin Laden and offering to blow up the Law court. And that is a recourse, but is it the one most people want ? Possibly not. The obvious answer is more of an inquisitorial system, which no-one in the UK seems to want. Descartes rather than Abelard and Heloise makes some sense philosophically and historically but there are big problems, the first being that anyone brought before a criminal court is in effect taken to be besmirched with guilt for that very reason.

Now all this suggests that computer linguistics should be able to sort out the problem by removing tha original assumption of guilt in the first place. This should not mean a mere codification of matters. In Sydney, Australia at some courts, when people were asked who they were they would answer either "businessman" or "laborer" and then would routinely be given either "fine or jail" or alternatively "Broughton Hall" (which was at the time a lunatic asylum). If you knew the Stipendiary Magistrate you might be let off. That has limited sense but is basically overcodification. What may be really needed is a series of computerised tests, some of which might be intrusional, a confidential profile and ALSO the consideration of the background of the courts and the reasons for their involvement in the first place. Look, in civil law, at the introduction and start of "Winfield on Torts". It looks like an introduction to a textbook on how to be corrupt, which in a way it is. But we need, in civil cases, to consider sensibly the work of Thomas Szasz. The word "sensibly" needs stressing. Sure, we are all guilty, but to paraphrase Orwell "Some are more guilty than others". So the matter can become something more like "How can we help you and ourselves" rather than "You may be a criminal and we want to try you, preferably adversarially".

Now I will mention another example of how UK justice has gone insane. Recently the UK courts found half of the entire male population of a small country guilty of a social offense and are jailing them at a cost far larger than the countries' entire GNP. I will not say that under the adversarial system this was anything other than reasonable. But aren't we glad half the map of the world is not still colored pink ? Better than colored with Old Glory of course, and far easier on the cartographers. Still, with Old Glory we could just have given half the male population of the country "Ol' Sparky" at considerably less cost, as is effectively being done in Iraq.