How We See The World

Meet the mummy mafia By SARAH TUCKER Last updated at 08:14am on 16th November 2006 Playground name-calling, gangs of spiteful bullies lying in wait for their victim at the school gate. No, not the children, their scheming mothers: Heather Collins, a 34-year-old mother-of-two from Hampstead, North H London, wasn't considered 'suitable' by some of the other mothers at her son's primary school. Several of the class reps and PTA members felt her skirts were too short, her vowels too flat and her son, Ben, too scruffy. Heather was well aware of their disapproval, but decided to ignore it as idle gossip from women who had too little to talk about in …

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That beating video from February.....which shames our troops, as well as our county. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2348133041403172295&sourceid=docidfeed&hl=undefined I've never actually seen all this until now....the above video is yet another example of the sickening way some troops act in Iraq. Notice, nobody stops the troops and the army camera man is just plain fucking evil, sick and demented And it's British troops here this time....they punch, beat and kick Iraqi children as they plead for the troops to stop. That sadistic camera films all the brutal scenes of torture while laughing, screaming, growling and frothing like a serial killer f…

With their vast intergalactic knowledge and ability to harness the Force, the task of convincing UN officials to recognise their cause should be a walkover for a pair of Jedi Knights. But self-proclaimed Jedis Umada and Yunyun, better known as John Wilkinson and Charlotte Law, have adopted a more conventional approach in their pursuit of recognition – delivering a protest letter. The unconventional pair are calling for the UN to acknowlegde what has become Britain's fourth largest ‘religion’ with 390,000 followers. The UN International Day of Tolerance, which takes place annually on November 16, is aimed at emphasising the dangers of intolerance and promoting …

The proposed burqa ban comes ahead of Dutch elections Muslims in the Netherlands have criticised a government proposal to ban Muslim women from wearing the burqa or veil in public places. Dutch Muslim groups say a ban would make the country's one million Muslims feel victimised and alienated. The Dutch cabinet said burqas - a full body covering that also obscures the face - disturb public order and safety. The decision comes days ahead of elections which the ruling centre-right coalition is expected to win. The proposed ban would apply to wearing the burqa in the street, and in trains, schools, buses and law courts in the Netherlands. I…

Oscar winner George Clooney has been named the "sexiest man alive" by US magazine People. Clooney, 45, beat a host of Hollywood rivals including Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio. Patrick Dempsey, star of medical drama Grey's Anatomy, came second, with fellow actor Ashton Kutcher third. It is the second time Clooney has won the award - the first was in 1997. The actor joked that fellow two-time winner Brad Pitt "was going to be upset". The pair, who are friends, recently completed shooting film sequel Ocean's Thirteen. Clooney won the best supporting actor Academy Award for his role as a CIA agent in Syriana earlier this year. "His big mov…

worth watching?

Alcohol puts 20 under-18s in hospital every day by FIONA MacRAE Last updated at 08:23am on 17th November 2006 Official figures show 20 under-18s a day are diagnosed with conditions triggered by binge drinking The number of youngsters taken to hospital with alcohol poisoning and other drink-related illnesses has risen by 20 per cent in five years. Official figures show 20 under-18s a day are diagnosed with conditions triggered by binge drinking. Some have downed more than a bottle of vodka in a single session. In 2000, 6,288 were found to have problems. Last year, 7,579 were diagnosed, according to the Department of Health's statistics.…

The headmaster of an Edinburgh school where pupils have gone back to using fountain pens said they helped to raise academic performance. The writing policy at Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School in Edinburgh means children a young as seven are using the pens. Bryan Lewis, the school's head teacher, said the practice helped boost youngsters' self-esteem. It is thought the pens make pupils write neatly, which helps exam markers. Fountain pens have been used for many years by older pupils. The move comes after the Scottish Qualifications Agency said markers had difficulties with poor handwriting on exam papers. Mr Lewis said in the past fo…

best left-footed player of all time he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and today morning he died...big loss for football fans

Excessive drinking by young people has seen a 20% rise in hospital admissions in England, a BBC inquiry has revealed. Using NHS statistics, Panorama found 20 cases a day of under-18s diagnosed with conditions like alcohol poisoning. Royal College of Surgeons president Prof Ian Gilmore said alcohol should be made more expensive to deter the young. Figures from the NHS Information Centre showed that between 2004 and 2005 the number of admissions was 7,500, up from 6,288 in the previous year. The government said tackling binge drinking was a priority. Panorama examined statistics provided by the NHS Information Centre. Ian Foster, of the North West …

Junk food advertising during programmes targeted at under-16s is to be banned, regulators have announced. Ofcom said the banned foods include any that are high in fat, salt and sugar. The organisation had spent 12 weeks consulting on options which would tighten the rules on the timing and content of adverts. But the measure does not go as far as health campaigners - who were calling for a total ban before the 9pm watershed - wanted. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6154600.stm

This is Mimi, the first cat to give birth to puppies, her owner claims. Brazilian Cassia Aparecida de Souza, 18, says three of the cat’s six offspring, which were born three months after Mimi mated with a neighbour’s dog, have canine traits. A geneticist from the Passo Fundo University plans to take blood samples from the animals to verify the claim. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=416816&in_page_id=1770

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has defended his controversial creation Borat, saying he is a tool to reveal racism. Baron Cohen dropped his alter ego for the first time since the Borat film was released, for an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. "The joke is not on Kazakhstan," he said. "I think the joke is on people who can believe that the Kazakhstan that I describe can exist." The film has topped the box office for a second week in both the US and UK. The film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, has a naive yet enthusiastic Kazakh reporter meeting with people across the United States. Prejudice 'absurd…

The US has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning an Israeli attack in Gaza that killed 18 civilians, including women and children. The draft, which also condemned Israeli military operations in Gaza, followed Wednesday's attack in Beit Hanoun. The US ambassador at the UN, John Bolton, described the text as unbalanced and politically motivated. Ten of 15 Security Council members backed the resolution. Four abstained - Denmark, Japan, Slovakia and the UK. This was the second time this year the US used its veto on a draft resolution on Israeli military operations in Gaza. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6139968.stm _________________________…

TV viewers were warned yesterday against giving money to the BBC's Children in Need appeal. An independent watchdog said that donating to the charity is 'a bad idea' because of its huge administration costs - £2.4million last year, out of a total of £33million raised. Intelligent Giving said some of the money donated will be swallowed up by bureaucracy. This year's appeal, is expected to attract more than 11 million viewers. BBC stars and the trademark Pudsey bear will host the marathon show. The popularity of the charity, however, is not matched by its efficiency, the watchdog claimed. Its report said: 'Loathe as we are to knock the stuffing o…

System 'spots multimedia content' The system can recognise a picture of a crowded beach A smart system that can recognise and label the content in photos and videos is being developed by researchers. They believe it will help people to organise, find and share the mass of multimedia data being generated by cameras, camcorders and phones. The EU-partnered project, carried out by the Acemedia consortium, is to be showcased at the Information Society Technologies meeting in Helsinki. The technology is cur…

Police are investigating death threats made to Reading duo Ibrahima Sonko and Stephen Hunt in the wake of their side's recent Barclays Premiership game with Chelsea. The pair were involved in the incidents which saw Blues goalkeepers Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini hospitalised during the Royals' 1-0 Madejski Stadium defeat last month. Thames Valley Police said on http://www.bbc.co.uk: "The club is helping us with our inquiry and the matter is being investigated." A Chelsea spokesman added: "There is nothing to suggest these threats came from genuine Chelsea fans." According to the Reading Chronicle newspaper, one letter said: "We are going to kill you for wh…

Two elderly women are being sought by police after a wallet was stolen from a bag that was taken off a train. British Transport Police (BTP) issued a CCTV picture of the pair of grey-haired women clutching the bag on a platform at Sunderland Railway station. The bag is believed to belong to a student who was travelling on a Metro train and while it was later recovered there was no sign of the wallet. Officers have urged anyone who recognise the women to contact them. The CCTV images show the women, thought to be in their 70s, with the bag as they walk out of the station in Sunderland city centre. Both were wearing knee-length skirts, white shirts or blou…

A school has cancelled a sponsored kidnap event in aid of Children In Need, after protests by the family of a pupil allegedly abducted last month. The parents of the teenage girl were reported to be "outraged" at the Wrexham school's insensitivity and had asked for the event to be called off. The head teacher "apologised for any distress caused". A man has been charged with kidnap in Wrexham on 19 October and is due to appear in court again in January. The girl was allegedly snatched from a street in Wrexham and later found 70 miles away in Bangor. The sponsored kidnapping was among a number of activities planned at the girl's school in Wrexham for the B…

Taxing inefficient light bulbs and allowing CDs and DVDs to be copied are among the most popular petitions listed on the Downing Street website. A scheme has been launched allowing people to petition prime minister Tony Blair online. Number 10 says it allows more campaigners than "ever before". Iraq, ID cards, inheritance tax and making Spandau Ballet's song Gold the national anthem are among the topics. Party political, obscene and libellous petitions will not be included. The most popular "e-petition" so far is for an exception to copyright law, which would allow people to make copies of their CDs and DVDs. There are several environmental ideas, from r…

A German appeals court has found a Moroccan, Mounir al-Motassadek, guilty of being an accessory to murder in the 11 September 2001 attacks on the USA. The Karlsruhe court sent the case back to a lower court for sentencing. In August 2005, a Hamburg court jailed Motassadek for seven years, following a year-long retrial. But the Karlsruhe judge on Thursday overturned the Hamburg court's decision to acquit Motassadek, 32, on thousands of counts of accessory to murder. He now faces up to 15 years in jail. Motassadek was originally jailed for 15 years in 2003, convicted of helping the 11 September plotters, who were based in Hamburg, with logistical support a…

An Analysis and Review of Aaron Russo's Film, America: Freedom to Fascism We'll talk some details. But, in the last analysis, Aaron Russo's 2006 film, "America: Freedom to Fascism" is a force of nature. It rips through the secret society corruption culture's history, from 1913 on. Aaron Russo's film is a deal-breaker. The deal -- the social compact between Americans and their secretly-fascist-since-1913 national government -- will be broken for most ethically normal Americans at the film's first viewing. The Russo-shepherded truths are self-evident. The corrections obviously needed are massive. Russo has outed the constitutional criminals and class-war …

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington//16012061.htm Yergin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Yergin

Finally. President taps ex-CIA chief Gates to replace embattled defense secretary WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down as defense secretary on Wednesday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses. President Bush nominated Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. Asked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said, “Well, there’s certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon.” Bush lavished praise on Rumsfeld, who has spent six stormy years at …