How We See The World

Elton John calls for blanket ban on religion Last updated at 17:28pm on 12th November 2006 Pop's Sir Elton John wants religion banned completely because he believes it promotes hatred of gays. The singer said relgion lacked compassion and turned people into "hateful lemmings" he told Observer Music Monthly Magazine In a candid interview for a dedicated Gay issue of the magazine, he shared his views on topics as varied as being a pop icon to Tony Blair's stance on the war in Iraq, and complained that people do not take to the streets to protest any more. Sir Elton said: "I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Rel…

Iraq's health minister says between 100,000 and 150,000 civilians have been killed in the war, far more than other previously accepted figures. Officials say the total is based on estimates of the number of bodies brought to mortuaries and hospitals. Casualty figures are a controversial topic, with estimates or counts ranging from 50,000 to 650,000 deaths. No official count has ever been made public. The health ministry is run by supporters of a radical anti-US cleric. Speaking during a visit to Vienna, Health Minister Ali al-Shamari said the figure was based on an estimate of 100 bodies being brought into government run mortuaries and hospitals every day.…

Op while you shop By RICHARD CASEY, Mail on Sunday Last updated at 21:46pm on 11th November 2006 The NHS is in talks with Tesco about establishing 'car park surgeries'. The NHS's new cure for waiting lists ... operations in supermarket car parks NHS patients could be treated at mobile operating theatres set up in supermarket car parks in a bid to cut hospital waiting lists. The scheme - dubbed Op While You Shop - will allow surgeons to carry out procedures for a range of conditions, including cataract and hernia problems, and bladder and orthopaedic complaints. Nuffield Hospitals, the independent healthcare group that treats NHS patients und…

Billionaire arms dealer breaks his silence over claims he hired Heather Mills as escort By JAMES TAPPER and SHARON CHURCHER, Mail on Sunday Last updated at 23:07pm on 11th November 2006 For six years Heather Mills has denied she was a high-class call girl who was paid to entertain guests of the billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Videos: Watch our exclusive clips from the interview here... • Clip One • Clip Two • Heather Mills sets her sights on £850,000 farmhouse a mile from Macca's estate Now Khashoggi has broken his silence on the matter - and said Ms Mills McCartney's account is untrue. The Saudi-born arms dealer has admitte…

Flag burning should be made a crime, says Yard chief By JASON LEWIS, Mail on Sunday Last updated at 21:34pm on 11th November 2006 Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police chief Britain's most senior police officer has called for a range of new anti-terror laws including making flag burning a criminal offence and allowing details from tapped telephone calls to be used as evidence in court. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police chief, also wants legislation to allow officers to question terror suspects after they have been charged and 'a new look' at extending the already controversial 28-day period suspects can be held in police custody. His dema…

Season 4 is up. Personally I think it'll be hard to top S3 because the whole Carver story was...awesome,but a possible gay affair between Drs McNamara and Troy is definitely a hook. Anyone?

anybody here listen to the comedian Dane Cook?...hes one of the funniest comedians i ever heard...you should check him out if you never heard of him

Is this Jacko's new wife? by ALISON BOSHOFF Last updated at 23:24pm on 10th November 2006 Family thriller: Jackson, and Grace Rwaramba, the women his children call Mom This Wednesday will be quite a date for connoisseurs of pop spectacle. Michael Jackson, who has essentially been in hiding since his trial for child abuse 18 months ago, is to appear on stage during the World Music Awards at Earls Court in London. He is seldom seen - his last public outing was at another awards show in Japan in June - but this time the difference is that he is going to perform. It will be the first time in nine years that he has performed in the UK. A public ap…

A Turkish man who claims he is the inspiration for spoof Kazakh journalist Borat - aka Sacha Baron Cohen - says he would like to make his own film. Mahir Cagri, 44, became an internet hit in 1999 after setting up a website that featured unintentionally amusing photos of himself sunbathing. He claims Cohen copied his persona for Borat, adding that he is considering legal action against the comedian. Mr Cagri said: "[Cohen] copies me, and he imitates me in a bad way." 'Very bad' After seeing the Borat film, Mr Cagri said he was worried people might think he is like Borat, who mocks Kazakhstan, enjoys naked wrestling and makes jokes at the expense of Jews. "If you…

Starbucks fined £12,000 for mice infestation in cafe visited by Blair Last updated at 11:30am on 9th November 2006 Starbucks: Mouse droppings were found next to spoons, knives, and cups Coffee giant Starbucks was fined £12,000 after one of its cafes, once visited by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, was infested with mice. An environment health officer with 17 years experience was hit by a "strong smell of mice" and recurring scenes of filth and mice droppings and stainings during an inspection at a Starbucks in the heart of London's West End in November last year. Mouse droppings were found next to spoons, knives, cups, clingfilm and boxes of bis…

Is George W. Bush the worst president ever? by GAVIN ELSER Last updated at 11:27am on 4th November 2006 Worst president?: George Bush The end of the Bush presidency begins next week. That's what the opinion polls predict, with hints of a political tsunami on Tuesday. Voters all across the United States are expected to deliver a wholehearted kick in the teeth to the Bush administration and the Republicans at the mid-term elections, in which both the Senate and Congress could fall to the Democrats. Mr Bush and his advisers know he is in deep political trouble. Within the White House this weekend they fear that the Bush presidency could unravel.…

Bishop: Many Muslims have victim mentality Last updated at 14:40pm on 5th November 2006 Controversial: The Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali The Church of England's only Asian bishop has criticised many Muslims in Britain for having a victim mentality. The Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali, whose father converted from Islam, told The Sunday Times that he believed that some Muslims had a "dual psychology" in which they desired both "victimhood and domination". He said: "Their complaint often boils down to the position that it is always right to intervene when Muslims are victims, as in Bosnia or Kosovo, and always wrong when the Muslims…

Check this....haha. I'm sure they are. He's been taking too many drugs. 'Aliens could attack at any time' warns former MoD chief UK Daily Mail | November 10, 2006 CHARLOTTE GILL UFO sightings and alien visitors tend to be solely the reserve of sci-fi movies. So when a former MoD chief warns that the country could be attacked by extraterrestrials at any time, you may be forgiven for feeling a little alarmed. During his time as head of the Ministry of Defence UFO project, Nick Pope was persuaded into believing that other lifeforms may visit Earth and, more specifically, Britain. His concern is that "highly credible" sightings are simply dismissed. …

Guy Fawkes dropped for bonfire night Last updated at 11:38am on 2nd November 2006 Consigned to history? Guy Fawkes will not feature at a bonfire celebration in Hackney Guy Fawkes has been banned by council bosses in east London - and replaced with a Bengali folk tale. Tower Hamlets said it wanted to provide an "alternative" theme to celebrate November 5 and the attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. The council has commissioned a £75,000 fireworks display entitled the Emperor and the Tiger, which tells the story of the "Moghul Emperor, the Wise Man and the Guardian of the Jungle". As a mock Bengal tiger paces a giant catwalk, fire will l…

Advertising ban on junk foods to cut childhood obesity Last updated at 09:36am on 10th November 2006 Ban: The clampdown could prohibit specific products on TV before an evening watershed yet to be set. Major restrictions on advertising junk food to children on TV are to be imposed. Regulator Ofcom said the "case had been made" against targeting children and it was just a matter of how severe the new rules will be. Commercials during day-time programmes watched by preschool and primary school pupils could be banned, as would promotions aimed at children under 10. Nutritional claims must not mislead and excessive consumption must not be encou…

Democracy, as explained to us in government school civics classes, was supposed to give voters an honest choice between honest candidates. Look, instead, at some of what is being done to thwart democracy in our democratic republic: 1. Non-citizens are voting. In once-conservative Orange County, California, now-Representative Loretta Sanchez narrowly edged veteran Congressman Bob Dornan out of office by a few hundred votes in an election where more than 700 ballots were cast by illegal aliens. Democrats have secured court orders prohibiting Republicans from posting uniformed rent-a-cop security guards near polling places. This year a letter by Sanchez's opponent t…

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been convicted of crimes against humanity by a Baghdad court and sentenced to death by hanging. He was found guilty over his role in the killing of 148 people in the mainly Shia town of Dujail in 1982. His half brother Barzan al-Tikriti was also sentenced to death, as was Iraq's former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander. Former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan got life in jail and three others received 15 year prison terms. Another co-defendant, Baath party official Mohammed Azawi Ali, was acquitted. When called to court, Saddam Hussein, dressed in his usual dark suit and white shirt and carrying a Koran, walked to his c…

Jean Shorts, Mullets...great to be a Gator. Seriously, you see them everywhere...

Senate loss is a final humiliation for Bush Last updated at 12:54pm on 9th November 2006 Bush reigns supreme no more as the Democrats take charge of the House of Representatives and the US Senate George Bush's defeat in the US Senate looked inevitable as the Democrats capped a spectacular series of election results with victory in Virginia. The President had already reacted to Republican loss of the House of Representatives by sacrificing Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the main architect of the Iraq war, and replacing him with ex-CIA chief Robert Gates. But the fall of Virginia is a big win for the Democrats, giving them control of both h…

Dramatic whale rescue Last updated at 21:05pm on 10th November 2006 About 40 whales have died on a beach after swimming too close to shore, but beachside residents were able to save about 40 others. The beachings of the pilot whales prompted a community-wide rescue by residents of Ruakaka Beach, about 85 miles north of Auckland, New Zealand. Rescuers said about 40 whales had been pushed back to sea after volunteers from the town came to their aid. "People seemed to come out of the woodwork from everywhere," firefighter Ben Trial said. Rescue coordinator Sue Campbell said burial plans were underway for 40 or so whales that died on the beach. …

22:48pm on 10th November 2006 The laws are also used to penalise householders who break the rules of rubbish recycling schemes Nearly 100 people a day are being fined under laws that punish householders for leaving wheelie bin lids open. More than 33,000 were handed on-the-spot penalties in the 12 months after the crackdown was launched. The laws - also aimed at those who drop litter in public places - are regularly used to penalise householders who break the rules of rubbish recycling schemes. This can include leaving out refuse in the wrong containers or on the wrong day and filling wheelie bins to the brim so their lids will not shut. Yet…

Four million Brits suffer from toilet phobia Last updated at 18:03pm on 10th November 2006 Loo scare: Toilet phobias range from a mild dislike of public loos to obsessions where sufferers refuse to leave their homes At least four million Britons suffer from debilitating toilet phobias and most are too embarrassed to seek help, the National Phobics Society (NPS) said. The NPS, which works with people affected by anxiety disorders, has classified the "secret" problem of toilet phobia as an anxiety condition in its own right and is launching a new campaign to help sufferers. Toilet phobias range from a mild dislike of public loos to obsessions whe…

Mexico’s Rich Don’t Like To Pay Taxes – They Think You Should By Brenda Walker [More by Brenda Walker] “Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States" is an early example of the now-familiar annoying whine, first voiced by Mexican President Porfirio Diaz . Pathetic loser, mooch, social basket case, criminal narco-state: these are Americans' mental pictures of Mexico. But more than any other, the image is one of staggering poverty. Anyone who has been to a Mexican border town is immediately overwhelmed by the Third World - the oppressive dirt, decay, too many underfed children. However, the truth is that Mexico is a very wealthy country. It …

Alan Johnson backs plans to raise school leaving age to 18 By JAMES CHAPMAN Last updated at 23:07pm on 9th November 2006 Alan Johnson is planning new work-related diplomas and the expansion of apprenticeships. The school leaving age would be increased to 18 under dramatic proposals outlined by Education Secretary Alan Johnson. He said it was as unacceptable today to see a 16-year-old in a dead-end job as it was to see a 14-year-old employed half a century ago. Mr Johnson's plans would see hundreds of thousands of youngsters compelled to stay in education past 16 every year. A quarter of children currently leave school at that stage. Not all w…

AA abandons mother and children on isolated road after computer glitch Last updated at 00:00am on 10th November 2006 Driven to despare: Mum of three Trish Milne with her six year old daughter Mairi. The AA abandoned them after their car broke down on an isolated road The AA has apologised to an angry mum who they left stranded in her broken down car on a dark isolated country road after the "disgraceful" motoring organisation told them they were not on their maps. Trish Milne and two of her three children spent hours waiting for the rescue service - whose breakdown advert says 'You've Got AA Friend' - only to be told they were not going to come o…