today

Dozens of sharia courts in the UK are regularly giving illegal advice on issues including marriage and divorce, a report published today claims. Decisions concerning marriages not recognised under English law, polygamy, and disputes regarding children are being made by at least 85 sharia courts, according to the report by the thinktank Civitas.

"Some of these courts are advising illegal actions," said Denis MacEoin, a former lecturer in Arabic and Islamic studies who wrote the report. "And others transgress human rights standards."

"Imams and mosques are performing marriage ceremonies that are not registered under English law," Addison added. "They are not the only religion that are doing it … Hindus and Sikhs have registered their temples under the Marriages Act."

IMO: The trouble is the Brits have made their system such a mess with their red tape. I know this for a fact. Will they ever put things right ? I doubt it. UK politicians simply fill their pockets with taxpayer's money and let the law and the country go to hell.

Observer 29 June: 'Ed Balls has become the first senior Labour politician to admit being in touch with Damian McBride, the disgraced spin doctor, following his resignation over attempts to smear senior Tories'.

IMO: As I have suggested earlier, 'where there's smoke there's fire' is not a possibility to be ignored. All the MPs seem to be totally suspect by now. And none of them really seem to want to give the UK a referendum over the constitution. Obviously, Iran seems in the UK to have become a world disgrace in democratic terms, but the UK should bear in mind John Ch8v7 in this regard. Iran will not have forgotten Moussadeq and can't the UK politicans at least clean up their own house and allow the electorate a referendum over Brussels.

Someone added: And all the pubs at the Westminster Parliament should be closed. MPs often seem drunk and mentally unbalanced even on TV commons broadcasts. Half the public seem to be drunks or cocaine addicts (186,000 women cocaine users in London alone) but some want decent conduct and justice.

Michael Rubin says: "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's invocation of folk religion -- his appeals to the messianic Hidden Imam, for example -- is a way to bypass senior religious figures who, according to Shiite theology, will be among the greatest obstacles to the Hidden Imam's return. Nor does the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pay too much heed to his fellow clerics in Qom. They have always refused to bestow on Khamenei a level of religious legitimacy to match his ambition. Today, the majority of Iran's grand ayatollahs oppose the concept of theological rule. Not by coincidence, the majority are now in prison or under house arrest".

IMO: In the West the idea of "Religion 2.0" is also making a very shaky start. Perhaps it is as well to recall that the origins of the Shia-Sunni split were, historically, of an origin that sounds to the West more like 'secular politics'. Such politics is something that Islam has lived with well - in fact the current secular (or faux-secular) nature of Turkish politics is something which may be very temporary and should be of great concern to the EU. In short current Iranian politics looks a little like Western Catholicism on the face of it, and is thus definitely something to be wary of.

The United States expects New Delhi to announce the locations of two nuclear parks for American companies next month when Hillary Clinton makes her first visit to India as secretary of state.

“We hope to have two sites that would be announced, where American companies can go in and provide new reactors, which would be a major source of new business opportunities for American companies,” assistant secretary of state for south and central Asia Robert Blake told a Congressional panel. He sought to clear the air about slow implementation of the civil nuclear deal, asserting: “We’re making a great deal of progress. We’re most of the way there now.”

IMO: While USA so often sells defense crippleware - as is commented on in UK - it is almost certainly best for India to make progress here if possible.

At the recent drone attack by the US there are several reports, but a recent report from Pakistan says "two suspected US missile strikes killed at least 51 Taliban in South Waziristan on Tuesday, where the army is poised for an attack on Baitullah Mehsud". Even the BBC state "The people killed in South Waziristan had been attending the funeral of a militant commander who had been killed in an earlier strike".

On the one hand the Pakistan PM begs for drones 3 hours ago, and yet 5 hours ago he urged Obama to stop drone attacks. Many readers see this as meaning the Paki PM wants to use the drones to attack the USA and its friends, India in particular.

IMO: Obama seems to see that there is good reason to stop or slow Raptor production, but drones are obviously very effective and relatively inexpensive. Not a good idea to give them to Pakistan, though.

Moody’s Investors Service said the dollar’s unchallenged status as the world’s reserve currency is supporting U.S.’s Aaa credit rating even as the nation’s budget deficit is set to quadruple this year. Details here.

IMO: Obviously there is still a depression, some people are switching from US Treasury holdings, but for the individual it depends on your circumstances.

The monsoon is in Mumbai !

Between 8.30 am on Tuesday and 8.30 am on Wednesday, Dahisar recorded a rainfall of 17.26 mm.

In Mumbai, the main disaster control room received 23 cases of trees falling; seven were in the western suburbs, nine in the eastern suburbs and seven in the island city.

IMO: Reasonably heavy rain.

Call Guido old fashioned, but he somehow thinks that it might be a tad useful if the former student Trotskyite turned Chancellor, Alastair Darling, consulted the professor of economics turned career central banker, Mervyn King.

IMO: For once I do not think that Fawkes is absurd, IN FACT WHAT HE SAYS IS SO SO TRUE. But I suspect there are plenty of people better than King to consult, even Vince Cable is an obvious choice. The economic figures are bad, the moment the Americans fully realise they also are in a mess, which may only take the US retards a couple of years, things will be very bad indeed. As I have already mentioned, the US GM pension fund problem will arise in a couple of years. As just one small further example: Even now FEMA is trying to sell the cockroach infested trailer park residences of the New Orleans victims to their occupants and they will not buy some of these for even a dollar! True, some will pay up to half a sawbuck ($5) for the good trailer homes, but yes, things are worse than with Reagan - thanks to George Bush and possibly to a lesser degree even Obama. How does this leave US property prices ? And there is much, much more.

OTOH the steps Brown took in fighting the recession have mitigated its effects. Brown took decisive action while Mervyn King was still wittering about the risks of ‘moral hazard’ in preserving banks. The economic outlook is improving thanks to government efforts to stimulate the economy, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

IMO: Why pay the bankers these big bonuses? The fate of Bear, Stearns and the like should have made it plain that fine talk will not solve the problems. The UK needs effective economic leadership and it has not got it. The Tories would have been far worse, Vince Cable would have been very much better at the economics of it all, but a depression is still a depression. Job losses will only start to reduce after the next election whichever party wins, as the economy takes time to react.

Nowadays we get lots of ideas for anti-ageing drugs, mostly hopeless quack remedies and material more appropriate for writers like poor Simon Singh, but I think the following is a possible starter, some day.

Research suggest that a treatment based on melatonin can delay the first signs of aging in a small mammal. Better known as the ‘time-keeping' hormone, melatonin is naturally secreted by the body during the night. It is therefore a kind of biological signal for nightfall, allowing an organism to synchronize itself with the day/night rhythm.

The PLOS article is here, a popular article here.

IMO: Some day I may reread Strogatz, Winfree and much much more to take more thoughts on this.

Dozens of holidaymakers returning to Newcastle refused to fly after they were asked to act as human ballast. Due to a jammed hold door, passengers asked to balance a plane as the airline wanted to ensure cargo and passengers were evenly distributed.

Those who refused to fly as ballast in the Thomas Cook plane had to arrange alternative transport for themselves. Thomas Cook now seems to have become some German firm, only a step from liquidation.

Passengers said "When someone asked the pilot the hold door could open when we were in the air at 20,000ft, he couldn't understand and walked away".

IMO: Its almost as good as Gordon Brown's new Parliamentary Standards Authority, effectively set up by MPs to monitor themselves. At least the Thomas Cook pilot was taking the risk, the MPs will not be.

Bercow promised that any minister who made an announcement to the media instead of the House first would be called to explain himself before parliament. Watch out for that, Guido Fawkes' money is on Ed Balls doing it first. Wonder what will happen if Mandelson does it…

IMO: Plenty Bercow could do, e.g. improve Question Time and make Cameron stop wasting time with foolish rhetorical questions. Bercow certainly should clean up Westminster. It is presently a laughing stock. I hope Bercow is honest but I am not impressed by the record.

Many attribute the change to the influence of the president's wife, Italian-born singer and songwriter Carla Bruni. From the wealthy Tedeschi family, Bruni has a long history of intellectual engagement. Her sister is a well-known actress. The shift in Sarkozy's musical tastes is seen as proof of the "Carla effect". Previously he listed figures such as Johnny Hallyday, France's ageing rocker, as favourites. Now he has private meetings with Bob Dylan and Marianne Faithfull.

IMO: I like the music of both Johnny Hallyday and Marianne Faithfull, but I do not see either as especially cultural

Now France's Muslim council hit out Thursday at a lawmakers' call for an inquiry into women who wear the burka, the head-to-toe Islamic veil, warning not to "stigmatize" the country's five million Muslims. A group of 58 French MPs are asking for a parliamentary panel to look at ways to curb the wearing of the burka or niqab, which they describe as a "prison" and "degrading" for women and contrary to French secular principles.

The sight of fully-covered women has become commonplace in France, which has the largest population of Muslims in Europe. "Our politicians need to stop acting so blind," Mayor Gerin said, describing the burka as evidence of a new "green fascism" led by Islamic Fundamentalists.

IMO: I suspect Gerin is right. This burqa nonsense is almost male cultural bling, nice to have a female accessory wearing a burqua, those french Muslim guys should be ashamed of themselves, they really are cheese-eating surrender-monkeys. You can't see those muslim cheese-eating surrender-monkeys in Tiananmen Square protesting against Chinese suppression of Islam. All they can do is force their girlfriends to stick a bag on their heads, and ridiculously call that their religion! The french muslim cheese-eating surrender-monkeys would be burnt in the street in Iran. Also, it is encouraging to learn that Sarkozy is taking an interest in cultural matters, after all Simone de Beavoir is almost a French cultural icon etc. etc. But Charles Martel must still be turning in his grave, with all these muslim cheese-eating surrender-monkeys.

Delayed monsoon is giving the government a big headache with India likely to suffer a major agriculture crisis if the rain gods do not smile soon. But the Met Department expects monsoon to pick up in parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka over the next few days.

A deluge in Mumbai is expected by July 24th.

IMO: Really good early rains today, photos here. It should be a good monsoon in Mumbai.

Morgan Tsvangirai today became the first Zimbabwe leader in two decades to be welcomed for talks at Downing St, but left almost empty-handed with a promise of just £5 million in extra British aid.

The tiny pledge, and the fact that the money will be channelled through aid agencies rather than the government in Harare, reflects continuing scepticism that Zimbabwe has changed since Mr Tsvangirai's power-sharing agreement with his former political enemy President Mugabe.

Mr Tsvangirai was booed after he told Zimbabwean exiles that they should return home to help rebuild the nation. Typical UK comment was "I am a victim of torture - and if I was to go back to Zimbabwe I have fears and nightmares of that happening to me again. I think he's a hypocrite. I also lost my mother. She was beaten - she was very old. Many other Zimbabweans have lost brothers and sisters. The people who did this to our relatives - they are still free.So for someone like Tsvangirai to say these things is very worrying."

IMO: Most Africans I know in the UK seem to be nice, decent people. But African leaders definitely seem to be another matter. From what he sounds like on the radio, Tsvangirai seems to walk the walk and talk the talk of such people We frequently hear of gross extravagances by such people, and have done so as long as I remember. But I have known UK relatives of African MPs and usually they have been nice people - much nicer than the regular Brits. Maybe it was the African diaspora who helped to vote in criminal gutter scum like our present MPs in the UK. And it looks as if slow caravan enthusiast Beckett will get made speaker over here - your average member of the hoi polloi would have wanted that chap who runs "Top Gear". FWIW I'm glad it is not Ann Widdecombe, who probably would have collapsed on issues as she sounds like another Susan Boyle, in her way - but the speaker's job apparently has a £2 million pension so some troughie is bound to get it I suppose.

It seems that many young Iranians feel they can't afford to get married because even a one-bedroom apartment is beyond their reach, despite their both having decent middle-class jobs. This reality has preyed on their relationship, compelling them to consider leaving Iran. And they blame the government for their situation.

Iran used to be a society in which people married young. Unfortunately for the government, the mismanagement of Iran's economy — with its high inflation, unemployment rates and soaring real estate prices — has deepened the marriage crisis, and with it the resentment among young Iranians.

Ahmadinejad proposed that young people who cannot afford to marry and move into their own place legally marry but continue living apart in their parents' homes. Online news sites ran stories in which women angrily denounced the scheme, and the scheme now appears to have been dropped

IMO: It could be better for Iran if: 1. the economy of a wealthy place like Iran is run better. 2. There was more transparency in Government. 3. As even a poor but religious country like India copes somehow, maybe it is partly due to the temperament of Iranians and/or the need for a more just Iranian Government. India allows religions other than Hinduism, not always easy to do, and has a secular Government. But doubtful questions of secularism aside, transparency, fair honest dealings with the average citizen, and more efficient and modern Government, must help matters. No Government wants U-turns but acceptance of the fact that there are other nations than Iran, whose views must be considered, may be a good starting point. Clinton has tried to point out that if a small nation like Iran wastes time and money (which could be spent on helping internal religious problems) on nukes, other small nations like Israel who already have nukes will almost certainly try to nuke them out first to be on the safe side. And I wish it were quite as simple .....

The news that Blears would stay in her post was met with shouts of "Hazel out" by protesters in front of Salford Civic Centre. Stephen Kingston, one of the organisers of the demonstration, said: "The reaction is that it shows the Labour party in Salford is completely and absolutely out of touch with their own voters, with the people of Salford. "Labour is supposed to be the party of the working class, so why aren't they listening to the working class in Salford? The campaign will definitely continue. This is just the start of it."

Plans for a 43-storey tower on London's South Bank will cause irreparable harm to the setting of some of the city's heritage buildings, a High Court judge has heard. English Heritage and Westminster City Council are challenging the decision by former communities secretary Hazel Blears to grant permission for Coin Street Community Builders' tower on Doon Street against the recommendation of inspector Philip Wilson (Planning, 22 August 2008, p3).

IMO: As I have frequently said, I spend time in London and to me the proposed tower looks a monstrosity. Photo here. I somehow do not think it will win Blears a 'date' with Prince Charles. This is typical Salford work, perhaps the tower should be called the 'Blears MP Salford corruption tower' or perhaps 'Blears MP Salford fraud tower'. Maybe the taxpayers have the right to name it. A frequent street choice in past for house streets has been 'Pedophile Parade' and 'Letsbe Avenue'.

Gordon Brown in the UK is now always whining that he finds it a difficult job to be PM - but the UK is a political paradise compared to Bengal, where politics are strained to say the least.

The Lalgarh episode has brought to focus the deteriorating law and order situation in West Bengal. While the ruling Left Front has alleged that the Congress-Trinamool combine has been supporting Naxal activity in the area, the Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee has used this to press her demand for advancing the Assembly elections. The Centre has blamed the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government for failing to tackle the Naxal menace. Is this the end of the road for the Left in West Bengal?

IMO: Mamata Banerjee has now taken control of the railways again and seems prepared to modernise with US and Australian support. Attempts may be made to substantially improve infrastucture, introduce solar powered train stations and lower power costs by up to 50% etc. etc. So it is by no means all doom and gloom.

Speaking at Tehran university, the traditional venue for the prayers, Khamenei deemed the elections a "political earthquake". Not since the Islamic revolution of 1979 had turnout been that high. Iran's people had proven that a religious democracy was a valid political "third avenue". He accused "enemies" of Iran of attempts to undermine the people's trust in the government, saying the West was responsible for the accusations of vote rigging in the first place.

Western powers had pulled off their friendly masks and showed their true enmity towards Iran, the cleric said, accusing the British government of being the "most evil".

IMO: Khamenei has a "Third Way", obviously much like Toady B. Liar's "Third Way". More seriously, present democratic methods certainly do not work but more transparency in both Iran and UK should certainly be a quick preliminary way of improving things. We seem to have a better example of this in India, Australia and Canada, all of which have faults but on balance probably not as many as UK and Iran. But speaking from UK, the UK really does seem to be just reporting facts as known in Iran and Khamenei's comments sound like they were simply prepared in advance. The UK Govt seems greedy and incompetent, rather than evil. Iran simply has not got it together at all with the modern world, a danger - but the country as a whole may be trying to be virtuous, FWIW. I agree with Khamenei in some ways, we do not want Iran to be simply a moving billboard for such as Kingfisher beer. But even in a primitive society like Iran, more elements of freedom could be weaved into the fabric. I would think Khamenei may well have more in common with the old style of UK Anglican clergyman that either would care to admit - but still a danger.

Westminster seems to be trying even now to hide expense details. And that is after the Telegraph exposures. Of Tony Blair, the public purse even paid to shred evidence of his deceit.

IMO: Iran is a much more serious issue. John Major seems to be extremely indignant that the Iraq enquiry is to be kept confidential. But in a blog dated 18th June, I note that USA still seems to be supplying the Taliban ! Perhaps they were also selling weapons of mass destruction to Iraq as well, and - bearing in mind earlier Canadian confidences regarding Canadian oligarch's (the "blue-eyed oil sheikhs" ) WMD to be deployed - these could have been used to wipe out London,UK. Anyway, no wonder the criminal spivs in Westminster want to keep it all quiet.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated the party’s own brand of ‘vada-pav,’ ‘Shiv Vada-pav,’ on the 41st anniversary of the party’s foundation day (June 19) at the Shiv Sena Bhavan, the party headquarters. The brand is meant to compete with the north Indian chaat. There are already 700 more applicants on the waiting list and the party aims to go beyond the 1000-mark.

IMO: Sounds like another great idea from Uddhav Thackeray ! I said myself just yesterday that India really needs something like that, perhaps my prayers to Lord Ganesh were answered again. At least it will be vegetarian, anyway.

In an apparent reference to India's efforts for a seat in the UN security Council, Clinton said, "India already is a major player on the world stage, and we look to cooperate with New Delhi as it shoulders the responsibilities that accompany its new position of global leadership."

IMO: Yes, India should be on the UN security council; to that extent at least, Clinton is right and one may well wish to be enthusiastic about some of her other comments. But for that matter, the real problems for India can be helped very much if the Maoist threat to India is reduced and the Sri Lankan Tamils given a much better deal. In the long term, good relations with Iran should also improve matters. Iran, like India, is not (by and large) very keen on the Taliban as it is constituted and as I've mentioned much earlier in this blog, both India and Iran have tried in a peaceful way to reduce problems in Afghanistan. But there seems to be evidence that the USA through Gates' DoD is still supplying the Taliban with arms. I am sure many improvements can be made.

Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said that the public would like to see MPs housed together in barracks in the Olympic village after 2012, and demanded a new culture rather than new rules in Westminster to restore MPs’ integrity.

IMO: And of equal importance must be 24 hour TV surveillance of all MPs, and also their hangers-on and ward-heelers like Lord Drayton and Lord Mandelson. One imagines that money could even be made from a certain minority by selling some of the private and personal Mandelson videos, to help recoup some public expenditure. Wing-nuts like Harman and Cameron should probably be kept under TV surveillance for the rest of their lives.

The spymaster who compiled the notorious Iraq War dossier is being replaced by a former senior aide to Tony Blair. Head of MI6 Sir John Scarlett will pass on the codename 'C' to Sir John Sawers, who worked as Mr Blair's envoy in Baghdad and his foreign affairs adviser, later this year. Officials insisted the move was not connected to the impending inquiry into the war, at which the departing spy chief is expected to be a key witness.

During his time as foreign affairs adviser to Mr Blair in 1999-2001, Sir John Sawers was heavily involved in the Kosovo conflict and the Northern Ireland peace process. He has also worked in the British Embassy in Washington and has been ambassador to Cairo. His expertise on Iran is seen as a key factor in his appointment, with international relations with the country on a knife edge.

"It's a reflection of the way things work in government these days," said a former senior officer. "But I'm not sure SIS needs shaking up. You can tell it's in pretty good shape because it hasn't been in the news." Not everyone will agree, with some in the military criticising MI6's failure to predict the resurgence of the Taliban.

IMO: We may well see if Sir John Sawers' expertise on Iran proves useful. These could be testing times. The "dodgy dossier" on Iraq sounds at best unbelievable but we must remember that there were other factors on Iraq, and the present situation in North Korea cannot have been far from us with Iraq in the days before the Iraq invasion. I am aware of several of these factors, a very strange situation. But what is the overall picture, and more importantly can the West now survive at all without the grace of India, too often simply used and then put aside. In a few years, barring new important problems, India will become easily the largest English speaking nation in the world and the whole matter of international diplomacy needs to be seen in the large. And then, what of China, which with luck for the West may become another large English speaking nation, in part at least. All these people can then be genuine allies of the West. But certainly India does not wish to sacrifice its own cultural integrity for the West, although China and Japan have both gone down the road of becoming 'faux-lapdogs or poodles' of the West - and we must remember the WW2 experience of that already. But this organisation entails running networks of agents who can supply genuinely secret information — not cocktail party tittle-tattle but highly classified intelligence upon which the British Government can partly base its foreign and security policy objectives. In other words even a small organisation like MI6 cannot continue to sacrifice itself for the Grahame Greene 'Our man in Havana' type of intelligence, made up for a fee. And new technological factors also need to be taken into account.

Lord Drayson says he supports a move to re-establish the old House of Commons Science and Technology committee. The science minister was reacting to concerns that his brief needed specific oversight now that it was in the new DBIS super-department. Some MPs are worried that science policy could get lost in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. But speaking at the Paris air show, Lord Drayson sought to reassure MPs about government intentions.

The controversial peer's dealings with Downing Street, Whitehall and the Labour Party have been under scrutiny since when, as Dr Paul Drayson, he made donations totalling £100,000 to Labour funds during 2001 and 2002. Shortly afterwards PowderJect was handed a £32.5million Government contract to supply smallpox vaccine. Made a peer by Tony Blair in 2004, Lord Drayson joined the Government the following year and became Gordon Brown's science minister last October. However no research lab was built. The report says it is unlikely that the facility will ever materialise and that future state development contracts should ensure companies are held to their commitments.

IMO: Not only are the above two comments of interest, but he apparently uses Twitter. I would have thought that there would have been a lot to twitter about, but I will leave it to those who twitter. I also gather that there is a surprisingly small number of people who regularly use Twitter.

Gordon Brown's new spindoctor is Simon Lewis, a former press secretary to the Queen who is the brother of the Daily Telegraph editor Will Lewis. As the Queen's former press secretary, who helped restore her image after the death - alleged by some as cold blooded murder by the Windsors - of Diana, Princess of Wales.

IMO: Why does Brown not have a referendum on the Portugal constitution as he very clearly promised and simply put right most of the faults in Westminster which we continually hear about. Australia and Canada had no trouble at all, or are the UK politicians simply crooks and incompetent nincompoops ? Unfortunately it is beginning to look like they are. Obama appears to be making a real try now to sort out out some of the US corruption, particularly in the health services, in USA (I hope he succeeds) so wouldn't it be nice if Brown tried to do do equally useful work in the UK ? Maybe Brown is using the old South American reason - 'put up with me as the other lot are worse'. True, but that may not work any more.

At least five militants were killed today in a US drone attack in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, media reports said. The strike hit vehicles carrying militants in the Laddha area of south Waziristan which according to officials is the main base for Pakistan Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

Whereas the US Air Force was able to fly only 12 drones at a time just three years ago, it can now operate 34 at a time. When the Air Force first began using drones, it had to rely on fighter pilots taken out of real cockpits and placed in front of stationary consoles equipped with computer screens, keyboard and “stick” to fly the drones from halfway across the world. This only worked until the pilots eventually got the itch to return to the wild blue yonder, forcing the Air Force to begin training pilots specifically for drone missions. Commanders hope that in time young hotshots will see the drones as a career path as viable as flying actual planes, and the Air Force has even devised a special patch graduates will wear on their uniforms to demonstrate their place among the new “top guns” of the military.

IMO: Pakistan is also using cheap drones of their own already and they seem to be pleased with these. However a lot of Pakis want to see more Americans and British dead, and they even want the Taliban to win, and so they still crazily protest against the drones used by the US. In fact they even seem to lie about what they have said to Holbrooke, details here. I don't especially rely on Holbrooke but I would certainly trust him more than the Pakis, by and large. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, drones seem a good relatively cheap way to save money and American lives. Obviously we do not want needless collateral damage but the Taliban seem to take great care to lie and propagandise, to conceal their own losses. FWIW, I'm all in favor on drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

At least 62 percent of all U.S. family bankruptcies result from medical expenses, reports a study released yesterday in The American Journal of Medicine—an increase from the 46 percent the researchers found in 2001.

"Unless you're Warren Buffett, your family is just one serious illness away from bankruptcy," study author and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School David Himmelstein said in a statement.

IMO: One reason it may have been a good idea to elect Obama was that he should have had a sense of this, and ended it quickly. USA is the only country in Western world, AFAIK, in this position. A US national scandal ! FAIK, Iran is better, certainly China and India are and the problem was effectively ended in the UK about 50 years ago by the honest hardworking politician Beveridge. The crooks (particularly Tory crooks) running the UK now are on the way to bringing the problem back in the UK. I can think of half a dozen ways USA could end this problem - but will it ?

The "Economic Times" has a good article on Kashmir.

Resume: "The aim of the forces that are spearheading the agitation for the withdrawal of the law from J&K is not protection of human rights, but to bring the whole political and administrative system into disrepute. The same forces succeeded in inflaming peoples’ sentiments over a non-issue of “allotment’ of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board only recently. It is indeed amazing that the AFSPA has become an issue in a state where the whole criminal justice system is under great threat from these subversive forces. The so-called enquiry by the self-proclaimed representatives of the legal fraternity without observing even the most elementary rules for holding a fair enquiry is an example of what is happening in the state.

However, as the AFSPA has become an emotive issue being exploited by the ‘jehadi’ forces, there may be a case for reviewing it and even replacing it with a more acceptable law that will take care of the ground situation and the concerns of the armed forces without giving ammunition to these forces to further the ‘jehadi’ agenda. It is time that all democratic forces join in the battle against jehadi terror. They should draw the right lessons from what is happening in our neighbourhood."

IMO: It is with deep regret that I learn how things are in Kashmir. It is only yesterday that I even heard accidentally on the BBC while listening to a program about a new book on Kashmir the old news that some houseboats are now sunk. These houseboats, and the boatmen, used to be terrific, I preferred them to a 5 star hotel. Lets hope Mr Chidambaram makes improvements, rather than the opposite. But what is needed is to forget the idea of additional Kashmiri independence, even within India, for the forseeable future until Pakistan either wises up or simply ceases to exist due to terrorism, false Islam, and foreign moneyseeking entrepreneurs, mainly US and AlQaeda infidels and misrepresenters of the faith of Islam. Also, how about financial compensation for the very nearly successful genocide of the Hindu Kashmiri minority ?

That is what the Daily Mail says about passe chipmunk Hazel Blears.

IMO: I lived in Salford for many years, perhaps more than the passe chipmunk. I have met and dated many women like her, and I would be tempted to say "she is naive, give her a second chance". But there are further points: 1. Look at Blears' recent Guardian photo, that is very passe. But Salford is full of passe chipmunks. Those passe chipmunks most often do not have money that they stole from the Govt, or two houses, but instead no husband, no money and a lot of personal debts and worries. Why should Blears defraud the country and have it laughed off ? 2. The Internal Revenue may still want more, see this week's Private Eye. 3. We want an honest parliament, surely some of these MPs are honest ? 4. For the moment, we are suffering and Blears is laughing, relatively. 5. Anyway let us hope that Brown or somebody tries to make the MPs fairer and honester. UK is a rich country but these people are just too "rich".

von Brunn's website has been censored and removed in the UK, thus not leaving it available to reasoned debate.

von Brunn is however a prominent politician in the EU. His opinions are accordingly made available, here, until taken down again.

Guido Fawkes gives a list, here.

IMO: Every one a troughie, the Kinnock lady included. What hope has UK for honest MPs with Labor and the Tories are far,far worse. Read current issues of Private Eye and weep.

New research at the University of Leicester reveals that the recession will bring with it a new ‘economic ethic’ which will curtail the display of ostentation and conspicuous consumption. Emerging from these straitened times will be a new type of economic consumer: “Perhaps, a ‘moderate’ consumer who distances himself from excessive and ostentatious consumption activities will emerge as an archetype of advertising strategies.”

IMO: I doubt this very much. It seems to run against what vendors and customers want. Though such a 'superficial-puritan ethic' might well be mildly morally desirable, real economies on cigs, drink, gasoline etc could be far better than saving money on avoidance of cheap tat - and it IS cheap tat, however expensively such stuff is sold in the West.

Chinese officials have invited Taiwanese companies to supply selected mainland cities with ultra-bright, energy-saving LED lights, the latest in a series of big business deals between the rivals.

Li Jinmin, director of China's Institute of Semiconductors, said LED is one of the most promising fields for cross-strait cooperation. "Taiwan has the manufacturing power, while the mainland has talent and a huge market," Li said. "With the cooperation, we can jointly tackle the current energy crisis and the financial crisis." Taiwan's LED industry generated NT$54 billion ($1.6 billion) in revenues last year, second only to Japan, according to the Taiwan government.

IMO: I am pleased to see international collaboration on worthwhile matters.

Alexandra Horowitz, Assistant Professor from Barnard College in New York, uncovered the origins of the “guilty look” in dogs in the recently published “Canine Behaviour and Cognition” Special Issue of "Behavioural Processes".

It seems that the so-called "guilty look" is caused by the owner's reaction towards the dog, and does not relate to the dog's behaviour.


IMO: This sort of experiment is perhaps important in the assessment of the extent of anthromophism and its relation to conceived effects like epiphenomalism. Also ideas as to whether animals have a 'soul' (Douglas Hofstadter etc) and the many related ideas such as the 'uncanny valley' idea.

Kolkata/Chinsurah (PTI) A Trinamool Congress scheduled caste leader was killed at Khanakul in Hooghly district as the party pointed accusing fingers at the CPI(M) for the act.

Local Trinamool leader Akbar Ali alleged that Judhisthir Dolui was set on fire after being stabbed by the attackers. "The killing proves once again how desperate the CPI(M) has become after its debacle in the Lok Sabha polls," Mr. Roy, Union Minister of State for Urban Development, said.

A gobby 72-year-old Texas great-grandmother who got a bit physically "non-compliant" after being pulled for speeding copped a tasering for her trouble. Officer Chris Bieze collared Kathryn Winkfein en route to Austin doing 60mph in a 45mph zone. The Travis County "dashcam" vid - shot in May but released this week - shows her rather testily getting out of her vehicle to confront Bieze after refusing to sign the speeding ticket. She requests: "Give me the ticket now." Bieze responds by shoving the fuming septuagenarian. Winkfein protests: "You're gonna shove me?! You're gonna shove a 72-year-old woman?"

Accordingly he then tasered her. 'Tasering' means giving a serious - and occasionally lethal - electric shock.

Typical UK comment: "What a cowardly bully. It's not clear from the picture, but it is quite apparent in the video that the cop is a good 12-18 inch's taller and a lot rounder then the little old lady he is abusing."

IMO: Of course, thanks to Charlton Heston, the little old lady might have been carrying a handgun, and mowed the cop down. In areas like Texas the police are actually jumpy about such things, I have found. In the UK it is alleged that normal police cell beatings of little kids and old women have now been stopped in favour of waterboarding. The advantage of waterboarding is that there seems to be no DNA evidence which is why regular style police "life on mars" style torture has been largely discontinued there.

Barack Obama’s attack on US companies who export jobs and hide profits overseas may well backfire. Obama outlined a plan last month to encourage US firms – especially tech outfits – to stop spinning jobs overseas. The idea of “US jobs” being done by cheaper foreigners horrifies Americans. Except when it comes to nannies, gardeners, waiters etc. The plan has already drawn fire from US tech companies, who complain that it will hobble development and ignores the fact that technology is a worldwide business.

IMO: The hasty patchup job on US banks and motor companies will not last either. The last world depression was caused by the selfish and unthinking behaviour of US authorities.

India is a big market for many American products – including defence equipment – so its government had plenty of screws it could turn if Obama follows through on his threats. The defence market could be particularly sensitive: India is looking to develop its own defence industry, while Washington would be even more aghast if it turned to the likes of China, Russia or even North Korea in preference to the US.

IMO: America should clean up its own back yard instead of trying to start a trade war because it is too cowardly and impotent a nation to win any real war. USA even backed down - under both Bush and Obama - before titchy North Korea. America must remember it is part of a global economy, and grow up from being the griping child economy that it is. And talking of kids, even infant mortality rate is extremely high in America - just like the wages of millionaire bankers who have stolen the homes of poor US citizens, not just this once but time and again under loony Reagan and other US presidents. It would be better to put that right than to waste money on the present mindless attempts at neocolonialism. Could any sane person be proud of a country like USA that lets its own people die and tries to sponge of extremely poor foreign nations. I could not.

The western monsoon has reached Ratnagiri, and we spoke to someone in Parra (Goa) who said it is raining there. Rains are expected to be delayed by at least three days in Maharashtra. Should reach Mumbai in 5 days.

Washington Times says “The man now happy to have his Islamic-rooted middle name featured prominently has engaged in the most consequential bait-and-switch since Adolf Hitler duped Neville Chamberlain over Czechoslovakia at Munich."

IMO: As I see it, this was a bait-and-switch. But many points arise:
1. How else is a nigger Muslim expected to get to be President of the USA ?
2. Obama seems to have been a fair choice, and many people see all Western presidents to be liars anyway, such a pity but that is how it is.
3. Hitler did NOT dupe Chamberlain, in fact Chamberlain duped Hitler and half of Europe, and Munich helped Chamberlain to carry on setting up 'shadow factories' etc. I think it was Kennedy's "While England Slept" that explains at least some of the background, and parts of it seem accurate.
4. OK, so the US has Obama as president. Now infant mortality rate in Washington, DC, is higher than in Peking (China) and Mumbai (India). Average salary in Washington is several hundred thousand dollars per annum, in Peking a few hundred or thousand dollars and in Mumbai (where I live) maybe a few hundred dollars per annum, could be less. I should not need to give the reasons for the high infant mortality rate in Washington,DC, obviously it is US greed and that is destroying America.
5. Will point 4 and other statistics improve substantially under Obama, if not he is simply a house nigger, like AlQuaeda claim. I do not vouch for AlQuaeda's other policies, I hardly need to add.

Mandelson will outline the role of science in the newly-created Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. In a press release he stated:

"A new world is emerging. One on the edge of a new industrial revolution that's driven by new technologies and the world's shift to low-carbon. And where global competition will be even tougher. To fully realise our potential as a our country, now is the time that we need to define those comparative advantages that will secure our global lead in this future. And our ability to maintain and develop our strong science base through both applied and a substantial element of fundamental curiosity-driven research, will be essential to our long-term economic success."

IMO: I trust that this involves more money for research. Repeatedly the UK Govt has said that we cannot stop basic investment just because there is a depression. I trust this applies to scientific research, as scientific research actually benefits the economy, unlike sacked corrupt MPs and sacked corrupt bankers.

Someone said: "Mandelson's pronunciations couldn't be less credible if he had a red nose, oversized shoes and a squeezy horn that went PARRRPPP every time he delivers his more blatant lies. I was a named PDR on a grant in the last NERC round. The panel normally considers 30 to 50 grants and might fund a dozen or 15. They funded two. My 2nd supervisor just got a NERC fellowship. They interviewed 45 candidates and were reported to have 30 fellowships to grant. They awarded eight. The research councils have already been told to tighten their belts. Government statements along the lines of "you can't cut your way out of a recession" are straightforward lies."

IMO: I seriously hope Mandelson is satisfactory. He will also state an "intention to place science "at centre of vision of Britain's future prosperity" in a speech at the Science Museum in London". Clearly this should include considerable contributions to blue sky research. New Labor have told a lot of lies, e.g. that we would have a referendum over the constitution, so I hope this is not another lie, but no wonder some people are angered.

Latest rumour, which IMO could be wrong, is that Ann Widdecombe may replace Margaret Mountford (the lady who appear next to Sugar every week) when she leaves soon.

“Colossal magnetoresistance effect” (CMR) is up to a thousand times more powerful than existing magnetic effects and could trigger another revolution in computing technology.


[Pressure-induced magnetic transition in manganite (La0.75Ca0.25MnO3) Yang Ding, Daniel Haskel, Yuan-Chieh Tseng, Eiji Kaneshita, Michel van Veenendaal, John Mitchell, Stanislav V. Sinogeikin, Vitali Prakapenka, and Ho-kwang Mao, Physical Review Letters, June 2009.]

The boss of Indian software firm LxLabs was found dead in a suspected suicide on Monday. Reports of the death of K T Ligesh, 32, come in the wake of the exploitation of a critical vulnerability in HyperVM, a virtualization application made by LXLabs, to wipe out data on 100,000 sites hosted by the UK web hosting firm VAserv.

Typical UK comment: "It's easy to be one of those that doesn't really care, produce a shoddy product and when it fails just rely on courts to make sure it doesn't affect your revenue, but taking that amount of personal pride and responsibility for a task to the extent that it'll push you that far.. i suspect the world's lost one of the good guys."

IMO: That is India. You get suicides that all the time, especially in rural areas. It is such a pity. Maybe people like Mamata Banerjee will help things generally. It seems to me to be caused by some of the appalling problems in India, very often due to forces outside India (one could name Saudi Arabia, China, USA , poor old moronic fellow victim Pakistan even, but the list seems almost endless) or wrongfully competing people like CPI(Marxist) and their allies in India (it is not an election comment, Indian election long over, just an observation of unfortunate fact).

With the UK in the midst of both Local Government and European elections, it has emerged that the website of the Communist Party of Britain has been infected with malicious code. A report claims that hackers have altered a Microsoft Silverlight script so that it will execute malicious JavaScript code, identified as Mal/Iframe-F. The code is designed to deliver funky animation and video effects to website visitors - but actually tries to invisibly download malicious code from web servers based in China and Russia.

The majority of infections of this type come from SQL injection attacks against vulnerable websites, but in this case only one file appears to be infected, suggesting a specific hack. A spokesperson for the British Communist Party has subsequently confirmed that there was an infection but it had since been cleaned up. It is not clear how many visitors to the site have been potentially infected by the malware.

IMO: But is it really the Maoists ? It could even be a major UK party, not wanting to lose even more votes. We will possibly never know.

Some consequences seem to have come out of the EU voting. IMO:

1. Gordon Brown, despite low polling and indifferent/unfavorable voting for Labor, will stay as PM for the moment.

2. This suggests that a roughly "Brownite" or mildly socialist regime will continue to run UK for awhile, as compared to the even more "Thatcherite" Blairite regime. Neither of these groups are socialist though the rather North Korean approach of the CPI (Marxists) remains in the UK. That is not true socialism in the sense of say Atlee and will not win Labor voters IMO. Public/private/partnerships are seen as largely a hamfisted failure.

3. But this strange mildly Thatcherite regime may hold till the end of the term. This would mean no early general election after all. Does it matter ? An early general election would have got the Tories back in office quicker, and allowed them to give what the voting public clearly want and should have - a referendum on Europe - which Cameron would not want to give them, and would probably go on lying about. We would possibly fail to get the referendum anyway as none of the major three parties are acting in anything but personal self-interest.

4. Are we solving the depression problems ? On present circumstances, no, and GM for example will run into more serious problems in 2 to 3 years or slightly longer. For example, with the GM pension plan. The depression in the Western world will run in a cyclical fashion, but who can say as to the lengths of the cycles.

5. Can anything be done? Well, Australia and Canada would not have had these expenses problems, as they already have some checks and balances. The UK can easily resolve the problem, I could design a simple road map and there are very easy ways to allow more transparency, surveillance of Government activities (using TV and many other methods) and direct public participation, actually way beyond the current status of Canada and Australia, which both have the hallmarks of democracy and freedom, unlike UK. But the 3 major UK parties simply want to keep the status quo and to make only a small amount of improvement as an attempted sop to the public, probably a minimum amount of improvement in the case of Labor and Tory parties at least.

At least one influential Labour lawmaker has rallied to Brown's support. John Cruddas wrote in the Sunday Mirror that simply dumping Brown is "madness" that won't solve Labour's troubles. "We're now less than a year away from the election," Cruddas wrote. "We have no more chances left. We either pull ourselves together, stake out what we stand for, or we will be gone."

IMO: That is about right.

Cruddas has somewhat whimsically been called "the thinking man's streetfighter" by the Economist but I believe his approximate constituency used to be that of Cynthia Moseley - this speaks of the poverty of some of his constituents. His European views seem to be roughly those of the German Social Democrat Andrea Nahles.

A lot of people do not know this, yet. And it is likely to be true, at least whilst we have Gordon Brown.

Brief details: "DIUS, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills currently responsible for the UK science funding councils, is apparently being disbanded two years after its creation by Gordon Brown. As a result, responsibility for science will be propelled back across the alphabet soup of new government departments to the Dept. of Business, Enterprise, Regulation and something else beginning with R (BERR), formerly known as the Department of Trade and Industry, and now renamed again to become the Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills. This will be run by Peter Mandelson, when he's not busy being Gordon Brown's right-hand man (which he currently seems to be). The DTI originally dumped Science on the newly-formed DIUS back in 2007".

The authors of that blog state "If the government is encouraging industry to come in and pour more money into research, without detracting from scientists' ability to engage in the sort of blue sky endeavours that are essential for scientific progress, then I'm all for it providing proper checks and balances are in place. If, instead, they plan to "make science pay for itself", then we have a very serious problem ahead. We need to get clarification on this. Science was the forgotten issue in the European elections, but we need to press for answers now that the countdown to a general election has pretty much begun."

IMO: "Making science pay for itself" is a bad and disturbing trend throughout the world. I see that as being far worse in direct cash terms than the bad international mistakes made by the West on banking, almost as bad as those made by "Fred the Shred" and his purchase of 10% of the Bank of China, or the RBS purchase of Barings. With such methods as "Making science pay for itself" we would have no nuclear power or computers, hardly a way of benefiting the world. "Making science pay for itself" is the approach of the neoLuddites which will lead to disaster and the end of the world. Hopefully far sighted businessmen like Alan Sugar, who must have done well from the Arnold (or Amstrad) and from Viglen, will allow plenty of money for so-called blue sky research. Had it not been for blue sky research, Amstrad or Viglen would not have been possible, as there would have been no computers. I worked with a colleague of the late Alan Turing, and have also used an ILLIAC I clone (ILLIAC I was Chicago's very first computer) so I know "blue sky makes money", very big money indeed if you are smart. Margaret Mountford is apparently actually going back to rather abstruse academic work, which though apparently not immediately directed toward science is presumably of real scholastic merit. So Labor have the ability to know, and they have the need to know.

Baroness Prosser, who was Labour Party Treasurer between 1996 and 2000, said: ‘I am completely astonished that we would think that Alan Sugar is a suitable person to be a spokesman for the British government. He is a person who promotes via his television programme a style of management that is about bullying and sexism. If anyone thinks that’s appropriate or if anybody even thinks that’s how management works in reality then they are in a world far different from mine'.

IMO: Er.., have Prosser's expenses and emoluments been checked recently ? Maybe Alan Sugar might have a word or two if Prosser's expenses and dealings were sorted out, and two such words as frequently used by him - "you're fired" I would love to hear in that context, even though I probably will not. Diane Abbott (on the BBC today) seemed to think Brown was as good as you can expect, and I thought she probably is about right in many of her views as expressed then, particularly in suggesting that what seems to matter is governance and not self-promotion and expense fiddles. Though these expense fiddles by all MPs are totally disgusting and having been exposed, should be set on the way to being sorted out soon by the Government. At the same time I have to say that I agree with a lot of what Tony Benn said too. The Govt has let us down on its election promises, particularly concerning Europe. Both Abbott and Benn seemed to make good points. I enjoy waiting for the MEP result, though I suppose I should not as whatever they are, even favorable, more time and money will be wasted, due to Tony Blair and possibly also Mandelson. I also recall that McBride's earlier much criticised comments may not have been so incorrect.

MUMBAI: The Indian monsoon, the country's lifeline, will be significantly affected by climate change, says a report released by the NGO Greenpeace on the eve of World Environment Day.
The report, Monsoon Wager: Climate change and the Indian Monsoon, says climate change could bring about significant change to the intensity, geographic distribution and inter seasonal breaks in the monsoon, which would have enormous social consequences. "The lives of millions of Indians, farmers, city dwellers, even those trading on the Mumbai Sensex, depend on the monsoon. The unprecedented flooding that Mumbai experienced in 2005 is estimated to have caused a direct loss of about Rs.450 crore," said Vinuta Gopal, climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace.


Eight Greenpeace activists hung an 80-foot banner on the Mumbai-Thane bridge Thursday. "Dr Manmohan Singh, Save our Monsoon".

Greenpeace demanded that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put India's climate policy on track and urge other world leaders to do the same. "The climate summit to be held in Copenhagen in December needs to come up with an agreement that will save the planet. The longer the climate negotiators delay the greater the threat to India's one billion inhabitants. With only six months to go, time is running out".

IMO: This action makes a lot of sense. Very little of the cause of global warming is so far due to India. As one of the nations suffering most, this means that future antipollution planning of the Indian economy should help to put matters right. And bearing in mind that USA, UK, China and Russia are the chief polluters, THEY SHOULD PAY INDIA, so India can move further into the position of the world's leading and least polluting nation. Right now, per head India must be one of the least polluting nations in the world, LET US KEEP IT THERE AND IMPROVE STILL FURTHER. Measures like the proposed 1500 new Universities, less polluting power plants and even new cars of a less polluting nature, would help and could benefit India directly at the same time.

Lord Kalms may have become the latest Tory grandee to indicate that he will back UKIP. Lord Kalms said that he was “considering lending” his vote to the eurosceptic party, which has previously won a thinly veiled endorsements from Lord Tebbit and a £100,000 donation from millionaire Tory donor Stuart Wheeler.

IMO: I voted UKIP today so I feel a bit pleased that some people seem to hold the same view.

Despite all the mounting pressure, Australia is refusing to commit to an independent probe into the series of racist attacks against Indians.

IMO: It is probably true that these attacks are not racist. My wife is very obviously Indian and she noted nothing like that when we were in Australia last year, and she talked to quite a lot of people in NSW, Queensland and NT. However we both say that the English in the UK are thoroughly corrupt intolerant fascist rascist bastards - but we can just about put up with it. In Australia they have put up with foreigners for years but Australia is a sort of hick country, also the police can be a bit rough and ready. For example if you are in the bush with a lot of abos, even although you are what anyone might think of as a usual Australian, you can receive some abuse just for that. As another example there seem to be certain 'mafia' style areas (for example around the Murrumbidgee) where you are expected to speak Italian not English or you might be beaten up. But most of these places give you fair warning and all in all it is OK. With about 50,000 Indian students in Australia, some will be bound to find difficulties but it certainly should not hurt to pass genuine grievances to the Australian authorities. Murders should certainly be investigated. Doubtless there are also a few mental cases around who will find a grievance about anything they think out of order.

After Jacqui Smith became Home Secretary at the age of 44, the second youngest since Winston Churchill, her stock was so high some predicted she would be Labour's first woman prime minister. But it is the revelations over her expenses which has cost Miss Smith her reputation as a straight-talking, no frills politician.

First there was incredulity at Westminster that the Home Secretary had designated her sister's second bedroom in Peckham as her principal home while saying the imposing five-bedroom house in her constituency – where her husband Richard and two sons live – was her second home.

It meant that the minister in charge of law and order could, under the rules, claim £116,000 to furnish her family home in the most prosperous neighbourhood of her Worcestershire constituency.

However, Miss Smith was dealt a terminal blow when a full breakdown of her expenses was published which showed that not only had she claimed for an 88p bathroom plug and £550 kitchen sink but also for two pornographic films, watched by her husband, who is her paid parliamentary adviser.

Also "Wacky Jacqui" had done a rotten job as home secretary.

IMO: Winston Churchill also was said by many people outside the UK to have mulcted the UK funds for his own benefit, he certainly machinegunned down legitimate UK protestors, he nearly lost WW1 at Gallipoli and during WW2 he seems to have actually made little real attempt to deal with members of the public - perhaps not as bad as the Viscount Stansgate (aka Tony Benn) during his later free time at Westminster. So from the record maybe wacky Jacky could be the next Labor PM, at least not as destructive as Ed Balls.

Under-fire Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing a Commons grilling after a day of resignations, fresh expenses revelations and party dissent fuelled fresh questions about his leadership.

IMO: Brown seems to have been the wrong PM with strange unworkable ideas such as his "public/private/partnership". Cameron has recently equivocated during BBC interviews and has made statements incompatible with recent Tory advertisements. In short any statements made by Cameron must be mistrusted, he is yet another lying sociopath. In top of this, all the MPs - I cannot say "nearly all" as I know of no genuine exceptions - have used their job as their own personal convenience - they have metaphorically crapped on the voters who elected them. Go and vote on June 4th, but not for Labor, Tory or Libdem.

The most repressive states in the world are China, North Korea, Belarus and Russia. 'Repressive' means stuff like people are watched, put in jail on trumped up reasons, etc. The next after these countries is the United Kingdom (Britain and Wales - Scotland a little better for some reason).

IMO: I've long been aware of that. As a foreigner to the UK, I first noticed this regrettable fact many years ago. And recently they tried to kill me.

Next come USA and Singapore. Decent countries like Australia and Canada are much further down the list - protest helps there. India is about the same as Norway, way down the list. Details here. Pakistan does not seem to be down at all, probably because the genuine mess makes it too hard to rate.

Hindu groups worldwide have called for a boycott of all Sony PlayStation products in response to the company's Hanuman: Boy Warrior, on the grounds that the PS2 game “trivializes the highly revered deity of Hinduism”. Led by "acclaimed Hindu statesman" Rajan Zed, religious leaders took their concerns over the game to Sony, who apparently refused to discuss the matter and whose "callous attitude" has now prompted action.

IMO: Sony is not doing well at the moment. Doubtless Jesus Christ will be the next victim, with "gay Jesus" games to allow small boys to have mock sexual congress with Jesus. Not a joke, I have heard such ideas mooted and I dare say that it would also sell Sony games. But surely Sony could consider the views of those who do not wish for blasphemy.

Bolivia holds the world's largest lithium reserves, so in principle is perhaps the next Saudi Arabia as lithium seems to be an important requirement for modern battery technology - hence cars and other movable items.

Bolivia has a tiny muslim population, under 1000 but the latest confidential report suggests that this minority may be seriously seeking further opportunities.

Current politics there seems to be turbulent and the local natives probably have quite a few grievances.

IMO: This place should interest countries like India that want to see freedom and justice. People in Bolivia have a very low average income, just like India does, and could welcome improvement which allows them to retain their national cultures and personal values. India should get in there fast to help these people.

The Spanish boy handpicked by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of a spiritual leader has renounced his monastic life and spoken out against the monks who worshipped him.

Osel Hita Torres was a 14-month-old toddler when the Dalai Lama recognised him as the reincarnation of a recently deceased spiritual teacher, Lama Yeshe, in 1986. The "peaceful, meditative" baby - as his biography on the website of the Foundation to Preserve the Mahayana Tradition, which has 130 teaching centres around the world, describes him - was chosen over nine other candidates and "enthroned". Renamed Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche, the boy guru was taken away from his family in Granada and installed in a monastery in southern India. Growing up, he was only allowed to socialise with other reincarnated souls - although for a brief period he lived next to the actor Richard Gere's cabin.

IMO: This raises many questions in my mind. Firstly I have always more or less considered that it is "horses for courses" in this spiritual stuff. I studied Zen for years and suppose I never really "got it" like an expert would. Patanjali's stuff came much closer to home, and I stood for hours on my head as a boy. I enjoyed as a child and youth reading Adler and Stekel, although I guessed Jung to be nearer to the 'bee's knees'. To say a lot of this stuff is total crap is only too easy to do (and unfair IMO), but I am not too surprised that Torres could not be easily thrown into Buddhism. Secondly may it not be that Torres may mature to other views, perhaps more congenial to Buddhism; perhaps he could simply be an unwitting media victim, a sort of transcendental Susan Boyle. Thirdly, there could even have been "too much spin" - and Buddhism like somewhat similar things like the "I Ching" are full of instances where matters fall back on the spinner. For example absurd sounding replies to questions asked of the I Ching are a common result sometimes said to be caused by "pestering the oracle" with too many queries. And there is so much more which comes to mind. But, critically, I do not see the fate of Tibet as being benefitted by any of these factors, or anything else likely to come out of this unhappy matter at this time. Perhaps it would have been better if the followers of the Dalai Lama had been more vegetarian in outlook. I recall a television program on which a butcher's shop was shown in the market area near such a monastery. In view of the supposed acceptance of reincarnation in Buddhism, they seem to have got it wrong somewhere and I thought so at the time. I am not suggesting that it is necessary to believe in rebirth or reincarnation but it all seems a bit peculiar to me. Good deeds in present life are what counts to many people.

Anyone with a website with decent turnover who gets spam occasionally can help with digitizing books. Old books very often contain words which are not machine readable and using the free program called recapcha at your website, you can clear out spam and help digitize old books at the same time. This program is run at Carnegie Mellon University. The website to contact is this one. Apparently all you need to do is install their simple program on your website.

IMO: I'm only surprised that this program is not more popular already.