Valentine's Day and Young secular Indians

Young Indians square up to nationalists over Valentine's Day

Jeremy Page in Delh. February 14, 2009.

Young secular Indians are organising their own vigilante groups - some armed with Taekwondo moves, others with pepper spray - to protect unmarried couples from Hindu radicals looking to disrupt Valentine's Day celebrations.

For the first time, several secular groups have organised patrols across the country to combat the Hindu nationalist organisations which they accuse of trying to "Talebanise" India. The secular groups decided to act after television coverage showed activists from the Sri Ram Sena (Lord Ram's Army) attacking women in a pub in the southern college town of Mangalore last month.

A 15-year-old Hindu girl from a village near the same town commited suicide on Wednesday after being attacked by Hindu radicals for being in the company of a Muslim boy.

In Delhi, a group called the Earth Saviours' Foundation is responding by sending ten teams of five vigilantes - including Taekwondo experts - to patrol the city's parks, markets and other public places. "We're sending a strong message that times have changed and women have equal rights," said Ravi Kalra, the founder of ESF, who is also head of the India Amateur Taekwondo Federation.

"Our teams will have boot polish, and anyone harassing women will have their faces blackened and be handed over to the cops," he told The Times.

The Delhi chapter of the Kashmir-based National Panthers Party is also sending out vigilantes armed with pepper spray. In Chennai - formerly Madras - one of India's leading sexologists says he hopes to attract 6,000 people to a run along the Marina sea front, where police attacked promenading young lovers last year. In Bangalore, a secular political party has organised a fleet of "love vehicles" to patrol areas such as the Cubbon Park which are often frequented by young lovers.

These are rare examples of young, secular Indians organising themselves spontaneously to stand up to the powerful Hindu nationalist movement, which wants to rid India of foreign influences. However, their plans have raised fears of violent clashes with the nationalists, who are rallying votes for their political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of national elections, due by May.

In Delhi, the Hindu nationalist youth group Bajrang Dal has sent letters to all pubs and discos warning them not to host any event promoting "obscenity and nudity". In Mumbai, the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena party has told colleges not to allow any Valentine's Day events, and promised to protest against any form of "vulgarity". In Chennai, the Hindu Makkal Katchi party has warned that lovers found in public will be handed over to the police.

In Bangalore, meanwhile, the SRS has called off its plans to target unmarried couples but vowed to carry out its threat elsewhere in the southern state of Karnataka. Pramod Mutalik, the SRS leader, said his group was "protecting Indian culture" after it attacked several young Indian women in a pub in Mangalore last month.

He was arrested, but soon released on bail, prompting criticism from secular Indians of the Karnataka state government, which is run by the BJP.

Mr Mutalik then threatened to force unmarried couples seen in public on Valentine's Day either to get married or to tie "rakhis" - string bracelets - on their wrists to signify they are brother and sister. He was forced to scale back his plans after the federal Home Minister wrote to the local government warning that it would intervene if local police could not maintain law and order.

The decision was partly due to publicity generated by a Facebook group called the Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women, which now has more than 30,000 members.

Nisha Susan, a 29-year-old journalist who founded the group, urged women to send pink "chaddis" - panties in Hindi - to the SRS and to celebrate Valentine's Day by going to the pub.

She told The Times that supporters from India, and as far afield as Puerto Rico, had sent more than 1,500 pairs of panties to the SRS.

Tejuswini Chowdhury, the daughter of the Minister for Women, also set up a Facebook group encouraging Indian women to go to the pub, which has attracted some 3,000 members. She had planned to take more than 100 women friends to the same pub in Mangalore that was attacked but was forced to cancel because local authorities could not guarantee their safety.

She told The Times she was now planning to take her friends to a pub in her home city of Hyderabad, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. "This is the first time I've seen people coming together with such passion in their voices," she said. "I hope the trend continues."

(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5729126.ece)

New device projects web from fingertips..

MIT's 'Wear Ur World' (WUW) device puts internet literally at your fingertips

SCIENTISTS have developed a computer that lets users project the internet on to objects by waving their fingers in the air.

SCIENTISTS have developed a Minority Report -style computer, where users can project the internet on to objects by waving their fingers in the air.

The device, created by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), can turn any surface into a computer touch screen.

Users can take photographs simply by framing an object with their hands or project a digital watch face on to their wrists by drawing a circle in the air with their finger.

The device, known as "Wear Ur World" or WUW, works by cobbling together a web camera, tiny projector and internet-connected smartphone into a device that can be worn like jewellery.

Tiny sensors respond to hand movements, allowing wearers to conjure internet information seemingly from the air.

"You can use this gadget to interact with data on the internet just by selecting which information you want from a screen of options," MIT researcher Patty Maes said.

"Other than letting you live out your fantasy of looking as cool as Tom Cruise in Minority Report, it can really let you connect as a sixth sense device with whatever is in front of you."

By waving their hands over an airline ticket, it can let users know whether their flight is on time.

It can also recognise books and project reviews or author information from the internet.

The WUW is expected to be commercially marketable by 2011.

(http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25039973-5014239,00.html)

McCain very upset with Obama

Obama spend is generational theft - McCain

Washington. Reuters. February 14, 2009.

SENATOR John McCain said today that President Barack Obama should include Republicans in his plans sooner if he really wants their support after the bitter debate over the $787bn economic stimulus bill.

Sen McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential election to Mr Obama, and other Republicans complained they had been left out of negotiations on the legislation by Democrats who hold majorities in both houses of Congress.

Sen McCain said the Bill was filled with non-emergency spending paid for with borrowed money that future generations will have to pay back.

"I think that the majority of people understand that this was generational theft," Sen McCain said.

The Arizona senator said many other issues coming up will require a bipartisan effort that he said has been lacking so far from Mr Obama and the Democrats.

"I hope they've learned a lesson," he said.

"I hope that they will reverse course, and sit down, negotiate from the beginning, so you're in on the takeoff, so you can be in on the landing."

Sen McCain met Mr Obama two weeks after the November 4 election and agreed that "Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington" to solve urgent challenges.

Mr Obama initially hoped for an overwhelming majority for passage of the stimulus Bill, but the debate quickly dissolved into the traditional argument in which Democrats backed a package more weighted to spending programs and Republicans advocated tax cuts.

Acknowledging scaled-down ambitions for the vote, Mr Obama on Thursday said "I hope they act in a bipartisan fashion, but no matter how they act," the legislation should help the economy.

The stimulus Bill ultimately passed the House of Representatives with no Republican support. It was expected to garner the votes of three Republican moderates in the Senate.

"No one could view this as having a scintilla of bipartisanship," said Sen McCain, who has often annoyed his own Republican colleagues by working with the opposition party.

"The message of the election was, sit down and work together. They obviously are not doing that," he said.

(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25052996-401,00.html)

Cuba's Castro has put on weight.......Recent picture

Reclusive Castro shown looking well

Agence France-Presse. February 14, 2009.

Feeling all white ... a tracksuited Fidel Castro poses with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet / Reuters

AILING former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is pictured standing, decked out in a white Adidas track suit, in new photos released after he met in Cuba with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet yesterday.

The Chilean Government released the pictures after a meeting in Havana between Mr Castro, 82 and still the head of the Cuban Communist Party, and Ms Bachelet.

In them, Mr Castro is shown standing next to Ms Bachelet but not smiling, wearing a track suit with dark trim. He was last photographed publicly in January during a visit with Argentine President Cristina Kirchner.

Ms Bachelet, whose visit to Cuba continues today said Castro was in "very good condition" following their 90-minute meeting.

"I have met with Fidel Castro, he is in very good condition, we had a long conversation for an hour and a half," Ms Bachelet said.

Her three-day visit to Cuba is the first by a Chilean leader in more than three decades.

Ms Bachelet - a doctor by training - said that Mr Castro was "very active" and was lucid. "He knew all the most important details" about a range of topics she said.
"He was very interested in topics concerning Chile, analysing information, statistics and interested in hearing about areas in which we have had success," she said.

Mr Castro ceded power to his brother Raul in July 2006 during a health crisis. Raul Castro, 77, became Cuba's president officially a year ago.

Fidel Castro has not appeared in public for the past two and a half years following major digestive or intestinal surgery.
(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25052999-401,00.html)

Obama to host Stevie Wonder at the WH

US President Barack Obama to host tribute to Motown legend Stevie Wonder

From correspondents in Washington. Agence France-Presse. February 14, 2009.

US President Barack Obama will honour Motown legend and high profile supporter Stevie Wonder later this month, in what will likely be the first major cultural event since he moved into the White House.

President Obama and wife Michelle will hold a concert in the ornate East Room of the presidential mansion in honour of singer-songwriter, who is being awarded the second annual Gershwin Award for Lifetime Achievement by the US Library of Congress.

The White House said the February 25 event will be recorded for broadcast the next day by US PBS public television as part of celebrations for African American History month.

Multi Grammy-award winning Wonder was a frequent presence at President Obama's campaign rallies in the 2008 election campaign, and performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and inaugural festivities in Washington.

Obama often danced along to the Wonder hit Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours after he had wound up his campaign speeches.
(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25053434-1702,00.html)

Does Jacko suffer from flesh-eating bacteria?

Michael Jackson has a 'flesh-eating superbug'

From BANG Showbiz. NEWS.com.au. February 13, 2009.

Superbug ... Michael Jackson is rumoured to have picked up a disfiguring infection while having plastic surgery / AP

• Michael Jackson rumoured to have superbug
• "It could turn into a flesh-eating disease

THE latest Michael Jackson rumour to hit the tabloids has the star fighting off a potentially "flesh-eating" superbug.

The 50-year-old singer is said to have contracted the skin infection, which is resistant to traditional antibiotics, while having surgery to reconstruct his nose.

"The infection has spread throughout his face and body and is being aggressively treated by doctors," Britain's The Sun quoted a source as saying.

"There's a chance it could turn into a flesh-eating disorder where it begins to kill off his skin, so he’s being very carefully monitored."

Jackson is reportedly receiving treatment for the bug via an intravenous drip and was pictured leaving an LA clinic with inflamed and blotchy skin partly concealed beneath a surgical mask.
"It is possible that Mr Jackson has a staph infection," celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn said.

"In some worse cases surgeons will have to remove the infected tissue if it dies - leaving the patient needing major reconstructive surgery. It is particularly worrying if it’s on the face.”

In December, author and celebrity commentator Ian Halperin claimed Jackson had a potentially fatal lung disease.

However the singer’s spokesman dismissed the claims.

"Mr Jackson is in fine health and finalising negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances," he said.
(http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,28383,25048311-7484,00.html)

Most Arthritis complementary therapies USELESS.....

Most Arthritis therapies 'ineffective'

Powder made from the 'velvet' on antlers was tested

Most complementary therapies used by people with rheumatoid arthritis are not effective, a study has suggested.

The Arthritis Research Campaign looked at the scientific evidence available for 40 treatments.

Two thirds of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and a fifth of treatments for osteoarthritis were found to be ineffective by the researchers.

The Arthritis Research Campaign said it wanted people who used the therapies to know what evidence was available.

The message is not 'don't take them' Professor Alan Silman, Arthritis Research Campaign

Rheumatoid arthritis, the most common kind, is caused by inflammation of the lining (synovium) of the joints.

Osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown of protective tissue called cartilage in the joints. Inflammation results when the unprotected bones of the joint begin to rub together.

It most commonly affects the joints of the fingers, knees, hips, and spine.

In total, 60% of people with arthritis are thought to use some form of complementary medicine.

Antler velvet

The researchers looked at compounds taken by the mouth or applied to the skin.

Effectiveness is measured by improvements in pain, movement or general well-being.

When the researchers examined treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, they found 13 out of 21 complementary medicines were shown to have no or little effect based on the available evidence.

The 13 were: antler velvet powder, blackcurrant seed oil, collagen, eazmov (a herbal mixture), feverfew (herb), flaxseed oil, green-lipped mussels, homeopathy, reumalex herbal mixture, selenium, the Chinese herb tong luo kai bi, vitamins A, C and E, and willow bark.

However, fish body oil was given five out of five in the report, for being effective in reducing joint pain and stiffness.(please check out a detailed scientific data regarding this that will be posted in the next few days).

In addition, six out of 27 treatments for osteoarthritis were shown to have little or no effect based on the available evidence

Capsaicin gel, made from chilli peppers, proved most effective in relieving pain and joint tenderness.

But the effectiveness of glucosamine, a popular supplement used by people with OA which costs around £10 a month, which researchers have previously said was ineffective, again called into question.

For fibromyalgia, which causes widespread pain in muscles and joints, only four products were assessed, none were found to be highly effective with three medicines scoring two out of five, and the fourth just one.

Side effects

The researchers also examined how safe compounds were.

One - thunder god vine, a traditional Chinese medicine - was given a "red" classification, meaning there were serious safety concerns.

A quarter of the compounds were given an "amber" safety classification, because there were some reported side-effects.

The team said they were unable to evaluate the effectiveness of 36 therapies, including basil, green tea, sarsaparilla and St John's Wort because there was insufficient data.

Professor Gary Macfarlane, from the University of Aberdeen, said while different things worked for different people, "it is useful to also have the scientific evidence available and just as important to know how safe we think they are to use."

Professor Alan Silman, the Arthritis Research Campaign's medical director, added: "We didn't start this saying this was our opportunity to knock complementary medicines.

"The message is not 'don't take them'. The message is 'if you are going to take them, be aware of what the level of evidence is'."

Dr Peter Fisher, clinical director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, said the report focused on tablets and preparations applied to the skin, missing out therapies such as acupuncture and osteopathy.

"I think what really comes across in this report is how sorely under-researched this area is," he said.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7875192.stm)

A second similar article
by Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor (Telegraph)

Little evidence complementary medicines work for arthritis: research

Complementary medicines used by millions of arthritis sufferers have been called into question as research finds little evidence to support their use.

There are around 400,000 people in the UK are living with rheumatoid arthritis Photo: GETTY

Two thirds of complementary medicines used for rheumatoid arthritis and one fifth of those used for osteoarthritis were found to have little or no effect based on available evidence, the Arthritis Research Campaign said.

There are around 400,000 people in the UK are living with rheumatoid arthritis which is where the body attacks itself and causes inflammation in the joints.

Around eight million people, mostly the elderly, have some degree of osteoarthritis, where the cartilage between the joints becomes damaged.

Experts from ARC looked at the evidence for commonly used complementary medicines from randomised controlled trials and gave each a score from one to five with five being the most effective at improving pain, general wellbeing and movement.

Almost half of people turn to complementary medicine at some point in their lives, spending over £450 million a year on acupuncture, chiropractic, homoeopathy, hypnotherapy, medical herbalism and osteopathy, the report said.

People with arthritis and similar conditions are particularly attracted to the medicines, with 60 per cent of sufferers admitting they have tried or use a variety of products.

Professor Alan Silman, the Arthritis Research Campaign's medical director, said: "Complementary medicines are widely used by people with arthritis as they seek to avoid taking potentially harmful drugs, preferring natural products. However, natural does not mean they are either safe – or effective. Many people spend hundreds of pounds on these products and they need to know that there is a strong chance of benefit."

For people with rheumatoid arthritis, the medicines researched scored poorly, with 13 out of 21 complementary medicines (62%) scoring just 1 point.

Fish body oil - which is derived from the tissues of fatty fish like sardines, sprat, salmon, and mackerel - scored a maximum 5 for effectiveness among people with rheumatoid arthritis.

It also received a "green light" for safety, according to the study.

For people with osteoarthritis, the therapies fared better, with only six out of 27 (22%) scoring 1 point.

A therapy called phytodolor and the nutritional supplement S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe), both received a 4 for effectiveness.

Capsaicin gel, made from chilli peppers, proved the most effective, scoring the full 5 points.

Glucosamine - one of the most widely taken products - worked in some trials but not others.

The report found that the evidence is stronger for glucosamine sulphate (which scored 3) compared with glucosamine hydrochloride (which scored 1).

Only four products were assessed for fibromyalgia but none of them were highly effective, with three medicines scoring 2 out of 5, and the fourth scoring 1.

:: According to new research in the USA, middle-aged women who take multivitamin pills to guard against heart disease and cancer may be wasting their time.

The Women's Health Initiative, whose findings are published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, conducted the largest study of its kind among post-menopausal women and found that multivitamins have no effect on the risk of either killer illness - or the overall chances of dying.

Study leader Professor Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who tested almost 162,000 women aged 50 to 79, said: "Based on our results, if you fall into the category of the women described here, and you do in fact have an adequate diet, there really is no reason to take a multivitamin."

Osteoarthritis:

Capsaicin gel - 5

Phytodolor - 4

SAMe - 4

Chondroitin - 3

Devil's claw - 3

Ginger - 3

Glucosamine sulphate - 3

Green-lipped mussel - 3

Indian frankincense - 3

Pine bark extracts - 3

Rosehip - 3

SKI 06X - 3

Articulin-F - 2

Cetylated fatty acids (CFAs) - 2

Chondroitin - 2

Collagen - 2

Duhuo Jisheng Wan (DJW) - 2

Gitadyl - 2

MSM - 2

Vitamins A,C,E (anti-oxidant vitamins) - 2

Vitamins D & B complex (non-anti-oxidant vitamins) - 2

Willow bark - 2

Eazmov - 1

Fish liver oil - 1

Glucosamine hydrochloride - 1

Homeopathy - 1

Reumalex - 1

Stinging nettle - 1

Rheumatoid arthritis:

Fish body oil - 5

Borage seed oil - 3

Evening primrose oil (EPO) - 3

Thunder god vine - 3

Biqi capsule - 2

Cannabis oral spray 2

Cat's claw - 2

SKI 06X - 2

Antler velvet - 1

Blackcurrant seed oil - 1

Collagen - 1

Eazmov - 1

Feverfew - 1

Flaxseed oil - 1

Green-lipped mussel - 1

Homeopathy - 1

Reumalex - 1

Selenium - 1

Tong luo kai bi - 1

Vitamins A,C,E (anti-oxidant vitamins) - 1

Willow bark - 1

Fibromyalgia:

Capsaicin gel - 2

Homeopathy - 2

SAMe - 2

Anthocyanidins - 1

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/alternativemedicine/4571134/Little-evidence-complementary-medicines-work-for-arthritis-research.html)

Lip-lock kissing can make you feel dizzy. Really!!!

Why a hot kiss makes you feel dizzy

London. "Ummmmms" and "aaaahhhs" are not the only co-partners of kissing, for a passionate lip-lock unleashes a chain of chemical changes that really turn your head, claims a new study.

Wendy Hill, professor of psychology

at Lafayette College, Pennsylvania has taken the opportunity to shed light on that most basic of all human expressions of love — the smooch. In her study, Hill has found that a meeting of lips can spark a complex chemical surge into the brain

that makes a lover feel excited, happy or relaxed.

Also, it is being speculated that the hormone release may be triggered directly by an exchange of sexually stimulating pheromones

in the saliva.
"This study shows kissing is much more complex and causes hormonal changes and things we never thought occurred," the Times quoted her, as saying. "We tend to think more about who we are kissing and how it feels, yet there are a lot of other things happening," she added.

To reach the conclusion, the research team looked at the impact of kissing on levels of two hormones, oxytocin and cortisol, in 15 male-female couples before and after holding hands and before and after kissing.

Oxytocin is known to be involved in social bonding so the researchers predicted that its levels would rise, while cortisol, a stress hormone, would fall. The results showed cortisol levels fell in both sexes, although oxytocin levels rose in men but fell in women.
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health__Science/Why_a_hot_kiss_makes_you_feel_dizzy/articleshow/4096065.cms)

Nano-technology and tiny submarines to attack Cancer

Tiny submarines 'can deliver cancer drugs straight to tumours'

Tiny submarines which can be injected into the blood to deliver cancer drugs straight to tumours have been developed by scientists.

Researchers hope that the machines could be used to treat patients within three years.

The news comes just weeks after a team of scientists announced that they had developed similar technology to carry out potentially life saving operations inside arteries.

The machines, part of a growing trend for so-called nano-technology, recall the plots of Hollywood science fiction movies, including 1987's Innerspace with Dennis Quaid, and the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, starring Raquel Welch.

Sending drugs straight to cancer cells will mean that they do not damage other surrounding healthy tissue, researchers said.

The submarines are 100 times smaller than cells, according to Dr Dan Peer, head of nano medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel, who has already tested them in mice.

All the materials used to create the tiny machines occur naturally in the body, meaning they will not be attacked by the patient's immune system.

Dr Peer said: "We have tested this on mice and they were all fine and now we are ready to test it on people.

"The important thing is that we only use things that the body recognises, so its immune system won't attack them, as they do with other technologies."

He added: "We will probably start with blood cancers because the cells would be floating around and will be easier to find.

"But cancer is very clever and it will learn to avoid what we are doing and we will have to keep up - it is a war we are in.

"Although the film Fantastic Voyage was made before I was born, I have seen it is the kind of thing that I have dreamed of.

"Now I hope we on the verge of something similar."

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4527597/Tiny-submarines-can-deliver-cancer-drugs-straight-to-tumours.html)

British terrorists biggest threat to US

CIA warns Barack Obama that British terrorists are the biggest threat to the US

Barack Obama has been warned by the CIA that British Islamist extremists are the greatest threat to US homeland security. I came across this article in the Telegraph and thought my readers would be interested and I'll let them make their own opinions.

The CIA has told President Barack Obama that British terrorists are the biggest threat to the US

American spy chiefs have told the President that the CIA has launched a vast spying operation in the UK to prevent a repeat of the 9/11 attacks being launched from Britain.

They believe that a British-born Pakistani extremist entering the US under the visa waiver programme is the most likely source of another terrorist spectacular on American soil.

Intelligence briefings for Mr Obama have detailed a dramatic escalation in American espionage in Britain, where the CIA has recruited record numbers of informants in the Pakistani community to monitor the 2,000 terrorist suspects identified by MI5, the British security service.

A British intelligence source revealed that a staggering four out of 10 CIA operations designed to thwart direct attacks on the US are now conducted against targets in Britain.

And a former CIA officer who has advised Mr Obama told The Sunday Telegraph that the CIA has stepped up its efforts in the last month after the Mumbai massacre laid bare the threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group behind the attacks, which has an extensive web of supporters in the UK.

The CIA has already spent 18 months developing a network of agents in Britain to combat al-Qaeda, unprecedented in size within the borders of such a close ally, according to intelligence sources in both London and Washington.

Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who has advised Mr Obama, told The Sunday Telegraph: "The British Pakistani community is recognised as probably al-Qaeda's best mechanism for launching an attack against North America.

"The American security establishment believes that danger continues and there's very intimate cooperation between our security services to monitor that." Mr Riedel, who served three presidents as a Middle East expert on the White House National Security Council, added: "President Obama's national security team are well aware that this is a serious threat."

The British official said: "The Americans run their own assets in the Pakistani community; they get their own intelligence. There's close cooperation with MI5 but they don't tell us the names of all their sources.

"Around 40 per cent of CIA activity on homeland threats is now in the UK. This is quite unprecedented."

Explaining the increase in CIA activity over the past month, Mr Riedel added: "In the aftermath of the Mumbai attack the US and the UK intelligence services now have to regard Lashkar-e-Taiba as just as serious a threat to both of our countries as al-Qaeda. They have a much more extensive base among Pakistani Diaspora communities in the UK than al–Qaeda."

Information gleaned by CIA spies in Britain has already helped thwart several terrorist attacks in the UK and was instrumental in locating Rashid Rauf, a British-born al-Qaeda operative implicated in a plot to explode airliners over the Atlantic, who was tracked down and killed in a US missile strike in November.

But some US intelligence officers are irritated that valuable manpower and resources have been diverted to the UK. One former intelligence officer who does contract work for the CIA dismissed Britain as a "swamp" of jihadis.

Jonathan Evans, the director general of MI5, admitted in January that the Security Service alone does not have the resources to maintain surveillance on all its targets. "We don't have anything approaching comprehensive coverage," he said.

The dramatic escalation in CIA activity in the UK followed the exposure in August 2006 of Operation Overt, the alleged airline bomb plot.

The British intelligence official revealed that CIA chiefs sent more resources to the UK because they were not prepared to see American citizens die as a result of MI5's inability to keep tabs on all suspects, even though the Security Service successfully uncovered the plot.

MI5 manpower will have doubled to 4,100 by 2011 but many in the US intelligence community do not think that is enough.

For their part, some British officials are queasy that information obtained by the CIA from British Pakistanis was used to help target Mr Rauf, a British citizen, whom they would have preferred to capture and bring to trial.

Sensitivities over the intelligence arrangement formed a key part of briefings given to Mr Obama, since they are central to what is often called "the most special part of the special relationship" and could complicate his dealings with Gordon Brown.

Tensions in transatlantic intelligence relations which were laid bare last week during the High Court battle over Binyam Mohamed, the British resident held in Guanatanamo Bay. British judges wanted to publish details of the torture administered to Mr Mohamed, an Ethiopian national, in US custody. But key paragraphs were blacked out after American officials threatened it could damage intelligence sharing between the two countries.

Intelligence experts said that a trusting intelligence relationship, in which one country does not publish intelligence data obtained by the other, is vital to both countries' national security.

Patrick Mercer, chairman of the House of Commons counter-terrorism sub-committee, said: "The special relationship is a huge benefit to us. It clearly works to our advantage and helps keep the people of the UK and the US safe.

"There is no doubt that a great deal of valuable intelligence vital to British national security is procured by American agents from British sources."

Mr Riedel added: "The partnership between the two intelligence communities is dynamic; it is one of great intimacy. We overuse the term special relationship, but this is an extraordinarily special relationship.

"Since September 11 the philosophy on both sides has been to err on the side of telling each other more rather than less. It is in everyone's interests that that continues."

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4550144/CIA-warns-Barack-Obama-that-British-terrorists-are-the-biggest-threat-to-the-US.html)

World's virtual phone book

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

It has been a busy week for Google

Can the all-seeing, all-knowing Google be trusted to rule the world?

February 6, 2009 (from TOL)

It started last weekend, when a Google employee typed a single backslash in the wrong place at the wrong time. This act resulted in the Google website marking every page on the internet as potentially harmful. The internet was no longer a safe place. Google, the web’s gatekeepers, said so.

The breakdown only lasted for around 40 minutes and the company spent the rest of this week trying to make it up to humanity. In just a few days, Google gave us the ability to virtually plunge the depths of the oceans and then track the every movement of friends and family using our mobile phones. It also found time to map Mars and helped set up a new university to prepare scientists for an age when machines are cleverer from man.

All of this frantic activity displays how pervasive and powerful Google has become. No government or organisation in history has held so much information about us. Through its search engine, Google knows our likes, dislikes, even our vices.

Through its email service, GMail, it holds the keys to the private correspondence of millions. Once you send a message to someone using the service, three parties can access it: you, the person you wrote to, and Google. We have to trust all three keep the conversation private. Whether you know it or not, you have a personal relationship with Google, sometimes one more intimate than with the closest of friends.

The signs are that Google will hold even more influence over us in the coming few years, with the company set to release an endless stream of products and projects. These include a plan to digitise and search through almost every book ever published. Another project will allow people to store health records with the site that can update with data coming from medical device. So as a heart rate monitor takes your pulse, for example, it will automatically appear in your Google account. Reportedly, Google even plans to do away with the need for a traditional PC altogether.

Google will do all this for us, and not charge consumers a penny. They even, through their chartiable arm Google.org, have ambitious plans to find alternative energy sources that will replace fossil fuels. Yes, it is trying to save the world.

Google’s products have become essential to many of our lives. How will the company continue to impact on us in the next few years? Its motto is: “Don’t be evil”. At the moment, the world seems to take them at their word. The question is: should we?

It must be remembered that Google can do all of this because of the masses of money it makes from the information we give it - 99 per cent of Google’s revenue is from advertising connected to its search engine.

Its search business is lucrative because it's so good at targeting the right adverts to the right person. Type in “pizza” and adverts for pizza chains come up. It is cost effective for the advertiser, as they pay Google only if someone clicks on the advert. And because Google controls over 80 per cent of the world’s internet searches, according to market reserachers Net Applications, people do click on these ads - in abundance. Thanks to our searches, a company which started life as a project between two Stanford university students little over ten years ago is now worth more than $107 billion (£72 billion).

So what will Google do with its gargantuan piles of cash?

One thing could be to fundamentally change the way we use computers, and as rumour would have it, just get rid of the PC altogether. Technology circles are abuzz with talk of Google’s most ambitious project yet: the GDrive - a service that would enable users to access their personal computer from any internet connection. The company itself has refused to say anything about it but there is growing speculation that it will release the GDrive sometime this year, fuelled by the leak to a blog of some Google code referring to a GDrive as an “online file backup and storage” device.

(http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5678595.ece)

Hamster a murder suspect ?

Hamster labeled a murder suspect. A funny report for my readers...

Suspect ... the blunder that saw a hamster linked to a murder

A BLUNDER in a television news report has seen a hamster labelled as a murder suspect.

WFSB TV in Hartford, Connecticut was reporting on police interviewing a suspect in the 2000 disappearance of teenager Molly Bish.

The anchor told viewers a man being held in a Florida prison on suspicion of murder had been linked to kidnapping the 16-year-old.

But instead of showing a picture of the man, Rodney Stanger, the television station showed a picture of a hamster.

"The possible suspect Rodney Stanger seen here ... well this is not Rodney Stanger obviously," the newsreader said.

"Well we're going to get his picture. He's currently in a Florida jail accused of murdering his girlfriend."

Mr Stanger is awaiting trial in the slaying of his longtime girlfriend Chrystal A. Morrison, 50, last year, the Worcester Telegram reports.
Bonnie M. Kiernan, Ms Morrison’s sister, said days before her death Ms Morrison called and dropped cryptic hints that her boyfriend may have killed Molly.

Molly went missing while on lifeguard duty at Comins Pond in Massachusetts in June, 2000.
(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25006273-13762,00.html)

Is this "Saintly" figure spooky or what......

'Saintly' figure appears in fishy family photo

Another story from downunder. Is this spooky or what...

February 05, 2009. By Nikolaos Stavrou. NEWS.com.au

Saintly spectre ... a close-up of the photo shows a ghostly image

• Photo shows grandad with "saintly" figure
• Men told the figure is St Teresa of Avila
• Mary and Jesus apppear in lava lamp

IT’S an intriguing story likely to confirm whether you’re a true believer or a true sceptic.

Twin brothers Phil and Mick Cahalane, 45, possess a family photo they claim shows their great-grandfather with the image of a “saintly” figure.

The photo, which was allegedly taken more than 100 years ago in Scotland, was first sighted by the Sydney pair as children when their mother produced it at a family gathering, The Mount Druitt Standard reports.

“What I heard was that he had gone on a boat trip out in the ocean somewhere and a really bad storm came through as he was fishing,” Phil, who lives in Quakers Hill, said.

“He started praying because he thought he was going to die. The storm passed and because he thought it was safe, he kept fishing, and that’s when he caught most of his fish.
“When he got to land he took a photo with all the fish he caught and this image showed up in the photo.”

The boys were told the figure was St Teresa of Avila . For the full story and more pictures go to The Mount Druitt Standard.
(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25011557-13762,00.html)

Sporting Gadgets to keep you on track..fit and healthy

The best sporting gadgets to keep you on track

February 02, 2009. By Stephen Fenech, The Daily Telegraph. A friend sent me this article from Australia and I thought many of my readers would be interested. Check it out.

IF exercising more was your New Year's resolution, these gadgets may help keep you on track.

Nike + iPod Sport Kit
Price: $48
From: Nike or Apple, 13 36 22
Web: nike.com.au

NOW there's a way for iPod runners to keep track of their performance. The Nike + iPod Sport Kit consists of a small receiver that connects to Apple's iPod Nano, and a small sensor that can be placed inside a range of specially designed Nike running shoes.

During your run, the sensor sends data to the Nano to record the time, distance travelled, pace and calories burned. Users can set open-ended runs or select a workout with specific goals. And because it's connected to the iPod, Nano runners can also listen to their favourite tunes and even program a power song for motivation.

Once a workout is completed, runners can dock their iPod to a PC to upload the data to nikeplus.com, where the information can be viewed in chart form for analysis and comparison.

Sony B Series NWZB133FR Walkman
Price: $49
From: Sony, 1300 720 071
Web: sony.com.au

IT'S not always ideal lugging a large music player with you when you go to the gym or out for a run.

Sony's new B Series has 1GB of memory, which is plenty of room to store hundreds of tunes before setting out. And because it weighs only 29g, it can easily be stored in a pocket or, thanks to its elongated shape, held comfortably in your hand.

It also has a rapid charger so three minutes of power can provide up to 90 minutes of playback.

Also on board is a bass booster and an FM radio, so users can hear live radio and even record their favourite songs to the device.

Casio Riseman G9200
Price: $399
From: Shriro Australia, 1300 768 112
Web: www.shriro.com.au

SWIMMERS who like to keep track of their laps in the pool or the length of their ocean swim can rely on Casio's Riseman to keep time, even at a depth of up to 200m.

But the Riseman is just as much at home out of the water with an altimeter that can measure time along with differences in altitude – a function that can be useful for sports such as rock climbing, mountain biking and skiing.

The Riseman also comes with a thermometer, barometer, solar power and an electroluminescent backlight with automatic illumination.

It tells the time, not just where you are but across 33 different time zones – a handy feature for frequent travellers.

The Riseman incorporates atomic timekeeping, which means it is calibrated with signals from atomic clocks in the US, Germany, England, Japan and China.

Wii Fit
Price: $129
From: Nintendo, 9730 9822
Web: nintendo.com.au

CAN a gaming console get you fit? Well, in the case of Nintendo's Wii Fit the answer is a definite yes.

The Wii has been a runaway success with its widespread appeal to gamers of all ages and skill levels, thanks to its movement-sensitive controllers and imaginative application into the games.

Wii Fit introduced a balance board that gives the user an all-new way to interact with the console by reading your body movements.

Players can get up off the couch and into shape and have fun at the same time. There are games to develop your sense of balance, along with yoga, strength training and aerobics.

It's like having your own digital personal trainer and it keeps track of your progress on your way to achieving your fitness goals.

The more you train, the more Fit Credits go into your Wii Fit Bank. As your Fit Credits increase, they can be used to unlock more games and activities.

Casio Pro Trek
Price: $629
From: Shriro Australia, 1300 768 112
Web: www.shriro.com.au

SAYING the latest watches can tell the time is like hearing the latest mobiles also make phone calls – we already know that.

It's the extra features that really make these products stand apart and that is definitely the case with Casio's Pro Trek watch. It's an ideal companion – with 200m water resistance and solar power for gym junkies or those people who just enjoy the great outdoors.

Pro Trek provides moon phases, tide graphs and a timer for yacht racing, which will go down well with swimmers and sailors alike.

There is also an altimeter, barometer, thermometer and digital compass so you can have the latest information, whether you're mountain biking, mountain climbing, bushwalking or relaxing on the beach.

(http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,24995664-5014239,00.html)

Google takes a peek under water.....

Ocean in Google Earth' lets users go underwater

February 03, 2009. By Agence France-Presse

Sea legs ... information caption for a giant clam on the Great Barrier Reef in 'Ocean in Google Earth' / Google

Underwater ... a view of the ocean floor near Hawaii modelled on data supplied by the US Navy / Google

• Google Earth launches underwater feature
• Users can track tagged animals by satellite
• Technology: Read more news and reviews »

SEARCH giant Google has launched a new service to let users explore the depths of the world's oceans from the comfort of their homes on dry land.

The "Ocean in Google Earth" feature will allow users to "dive beneath the water surface, explore 3D underwater terrain and browse ocean-related content contributed by marine scientists", Google said.

"Google Earth is equipping itself with a new dimension: depth," Jean-Francois Wassong, an engineer at Google France, said.

Nearly four years after Google Earth enabled users to zoom in to view streets, and later explore galaxies in the sky, the latest version of the software allows virtual travellers to dart across miles of unchartered territory underwater.

"Oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the planet's surface but only a little bit has been explored," said Florence Diss, head of Google's geographical partnerships, referring to findings that humans have examined just 5 per cent of world's seas.

By allowing users to explore underwater volcanoes, hunt for whales and learn more about shipwrecks, Google said the feature offered a platform for everyday people to link up with the scientific community.

The feature includes 20 different layers of content contributed by leading ocean explorers, scientists and researchers, such as photos and videos of "hot spots" around the world and information on marine protected areas.

It also has an animal tracking device in which users can follow animals that have been tagged by satellite.

Ms Diss said the decision to expand Google Earth to cover the world's oceans "is not about making money".

But she would not reveal the project's cost.

Since its launch in June 2005, Google Earth has been downloaded more than 400 million times.

The free software gives internet users access to satellite images and maps around the world.

Links

Ocean in Google Earth – http://earth.google.com/ocean/

(http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25001084-5014239,00.html)

Video game of plane on Husdon River

Try your skill at landing a plane on the Hudson River

By Walker Simon in New York. Well, well, I was wandering how long it would take for this game to come out...AND HERE WE ARE......Once again a tragedy has been replicated into a fun video game.

Reuters

Jet ... a scene from Hero on the Hudson, a simple online game that lets players recreate last week's dramatic landing / news.com.au

FIRST came the heroics of landing a crippled passenger jet on the Hudson River in New York City. Now there are the video games.

Hero on the Hudson challenges players to steady a plane nosediving toward the busy river. In Double Bird Strike, the goal is to evade flocks of birds – a suspected cause of the US Airways jet's near-disaster on January 15.

Both are free online games created by units of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom. Free games, which make money by selling advertising, are seen as a promising segment of the $US22 billion ($34 billion) video game industry in the US.

Players can try to emulate the skill of pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who won acclaim for his smooth emergency landing on the Hudson River that saved all 155 people aboard.

Hero on the Hudson has been played more than 1.4 million times since it was launched on January 21, said Kate Connally, spokeswoman for AddictingGames. Average success takes three tries.

"If you land it correctly like the pilot did, then the passengers come out and cheer on the wing," she said.

"The payoff is the joy of having saved all the passengers."

The plane sinks with burbling sounds if you fail.

Double Bird Strike, which launched on January 18, may be trickier. Scott Roesch, general manager of creator atom.com, said it took him at least a dozen tries to succeed.

"The decision to launch the project was made within 24 hours. It really is a story of heroism," Mr Roesch said.

"The more we started to think about, the thing that the plane was hit by birds was amazing."

Among those playing Double Bird Strike, he said, are mothers at home. Before playing the game, viewers must watch a laundry detergent commercial featuring models on a catwalk.

In 2008, politics mixed with online gaming.

Several of the most popular games of last year, Mr Roesch and Ms Connally said, featured Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the outdoorsy governor of Alaska.

Hunting With Palin by atom.com was played more than 1.6 million times.

(http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25001796-5014239,00.html)

Latest update on Windows 7....February 2009

Even in Test Form, Windows 7 Leaves Vista in the Dust

I was looking out for more information regarding where the new Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system stood. Fortunately, I came across an excellent article by Walt Mossberg
of the Wall Street. I'll let my readers make their own opinions.

This will be a big year for new operating systems. Apple plans a new version of its Macintosh operating system, to be called Snow Leopard. Palm plans an all-new smart phone operating system called Palm WebOS. But the new release that will affect more users than any other will be Windows 7, the latest major edition of Microsoft's dominant platform.

Microsoft hasn't announced an official release date for Windows 7, but I would be surprised if it wasn't available to consumers by this fall. The company has just released the first public beta, or test, version of the software, and I've been trying it out on two laptops. One is a Lenovo ThinkPad lent me by Microsoft with Windows 7 already installed, and the other is my own Sony Vaio, which I upgraded to Windows 7 from Windows Vista.

Personal Technology columnist Walt Mossberg provides a preview of the coming Microsoft Windows 7 operating software, which he says offers significant improvements over the unpopular Windows Vista.

I won't be doing a full, detailed review of Windows 7 until it is released in final form, but here's a preview of some of the main features of this new operating system and some of my initial impressions.

In general, I have found Windows 7 a pleasure to use. There are a few drawbacks, but my preliminary verdict on Windows 7 is positive.

Even in beta form, with some features incomplete or imperfect, Windows 7 is, in my view, much better than Vista, whose sluggishness, annoying nag screens, and incompatibilities have caused many users to shun it. It's also a serious competitor, in features and ease of use, for Apple's current Leopard operating system. (I can't say yet how it will compare with Apple's planned new release, as I haven't tried the latter.)

In many respects, Windows 7 isn't a radical shift from Vista, but is more of an attempt to fix Vista's main flaws. It shares the same underlying architecture, and retains graphical touches like translucent Window borders. But it introduces some key new navigation and ease-of-use features, plus scores of small usability and performance improvements -- too many to list here.

The flashiest departure in Windows 7, and one that may eventually redefine how people use computers, is its multitouch screen navigation. Best known on Apple's iPhone, this system allows you to use your fingers to directly reposition, resize, and flip through objects on a screen, such as windows and photos. It is smart enough to distinguish between various gestures and combinations of fingers. I haven't been able to test this feature extensively yet, because it requires a new kind of touch-sensitive screen that my laptops lack.

But even if your current or future PC lacks a touch screen, Windows 7 will have plenty of other benefits. The most important may be speed. In my tests, even the beta version of Windows 7 was dramatically faster than Vista at such tasks as starting up the computer, waking it from sleep and launching programs.

And this speed boost wasn't only apparent in the preconfigured machine from Microsoft, but on my own Sony, which had been a dog using Vista, even after I tried to streamline its software. Of course, these speed gains may be compromised by the computer makers, if they add lots of junky software to the machines. Windows 7 is also likely to run well on much more modest hardware configurations than Vista needed.

The familiar Windows taskbar is more customizable and useful in Windows 7. The program icons are larger, and can be "pinned" anywhere along the taskbar for easy, repeated use. There are also "jump lists" that pop out from the icons in the taskbar and start menu, showing frequently used or recent actions.

View Full Image

Associated Press. A screenshot shows several application windows on the desktop of the Beta version of the Microsoft Windows 7 software.

Windows 7 also cuts down on annoying warnings and nag screens. Microsoft notifications have been consolidated in a single icon at the right of the taskbar, and you can now decide under what circumstances Windows will warn you before taking certain actions.

Compatibility with hardware and software, which was a problem in Vista, seems far better in Windows 7 -- even in the beta. I tried a wide variety of hardware, including printers, Web cams, external hard disks and cameras, and nearly all worked fine.

I also successfully installed and used popular programs from Microsoft's rivals, such as Mozilla Firefox, Adobe Reader, Apple's iTunes, and Google's Picasa. All worked properly, even though none was designed for Windows 7.

But there are some downsides to Windows 7. First, you will only be able to directly upgrade Vista computers to the new version. People still using Windows XP will need to perform a more cumbersome multistep process. Microsoft is working on a method to help XP owners preserve all their data during this process.

Second, Windows 7 will eliminate some familiar bundled programs from Windows. Vista's Mail, Calendar, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, and Address Book programs are being removed. To get similar basic, free, programs, you'll have to download them from Microsoft's Windows Live service, or use alternatives from other companies. Microsoft defends this move as supporting consumer choice and better coordination with Web services, but it does remove out-of-the-box functionality from Windows.

Still, even in its preliminary form, Windows 7 looks very promising, and could well help expunge the bad reputation of Vista. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258632983004629.html)

Was in London attending meetings and conferences

Are you a dual American/British citizen...Do you use use Bank of America debit card in London to get cash?

I will write and publish two major issues pertaining to the above issues that I observed while in London and I am sure will benefit many of my readers. I am back and will resume my postings...