Russia faces fresh condemnation?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/758...

Speaking during a visit to Ukraine, Mr Miliband said Moscow had not reconciled itself with the new map of the region and that the West should should look at ways to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas.

"

Seven of the world's leading industrialised nations have jointly condemned Russia's decision to recognise Georgia's breakaway regions.

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and UK said Moscow's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia violated Georgia's integrity and sovereignty."

So why didn't the 'world's leading industrialised nations' refrain from recognising those regions that broke away from Russia?  This is not a case of recognising respecting the 'integrity and sovereignty' of Georgia, but in maintaining whatever national status quo that suits the west's interests.  In other words, you don't exist as a nation till the west says so.  To which, i cannot but proffer a two-fingered salute. 

I think the west, amongst others, ought to recognise any nation that has more than half the vote of the population for independence.  And it ought not to matter if they are within a particular geographical locality or a transnation that exists within several countries or throughout the globe.

ed

'Priest' to hold nun beauty pageant

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/758...

"This contest will be a way to show there isn't just the beauty we see on television but also a more discreet charm," the priest, who lives near the southern city of Naples, told the Corriere della Sera.

When I first saw the title of this article, I thought, ‘how does one portray the beauty of the soul’.  I didn’t think that it was actually a real ‘beauty’ pageant. 

This idiot, mistaken for a priest, is doing nothing more than detracting the masses from the beauty of the soul, and thus reinforcing the current criteria of beauty promoted by ‘beauty pageants’.

And if that isn't enough, the fool states, "Nuns are above all women and beauty is a gift from God", giving the current criteria of beauty the mandate of God. 

He wants to erase the stereotype that nuns are 'old and dour'.  The way i see it, their being old and dour enables us to appreciate their inner beauty even more, considering the work many of them do. 

I wonder if this rubbish is going to be given the papal nod - thus giving me yet another reason to excommunicate the current version of the church.

Amen

ed

Bin Laden ex-driver found guilty - Terrorism, definition

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7...

Hamdan, who was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, was initially impassive when the verdict began to be read out. But the BBC's Kim Ghattas, at the trial, said he later appeared to break down in tears.

Terrorism : Violence inflicted for political ends by an organisation not recognised by the United Nations to be a Nation.

Queen's bloomers sell for £4,500 - and they say 'religion' is dead?!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/en...

The bloomers sold for almost 10 times their £500 guide priceA pair of bloomers that once belonged to Queen Victoria have been sold for £4,500 at an auction in Derby.The knickers have a 50in (127cm) waist and date from the 1890s, which indicates the monarch had a large girth as she approached her old age. It was thought the bloomers would fetch £500 but a Canadian buyer spent £4,500 on the pants which are monogrammed with VR for Victoria Regina. The knickers had been owned by a lady-in-waiting to the Queen. They had remained in the woman's Lincolnshire family until now. 'Very wide girth'Auctioneer Charles Hanson said: "These pants, considering their provenance and pedigree, are very exciting... we know that they are hers [Queen Victoria]." Mr Hanson said the bloomers were an interesting piece of social history that indicated Queen Victoria was "a very big lady of quite small stature with a very wide girth". The knickers are made from a fine cotton and are hand-made. A chemise with a 66-inch (167cm) bust, which also belonged to the UK's longest-reigning monarch, sold for £4,000 while her nightdress went for £5,500 at the auction. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with:DeliciousDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponWhat are these?

Just a case of making a ‘God’ out of ‘Prominence and Fame’.  Unlike the worship of Gods-of-ole, what we are left with is a 'God' that is vessel of nothing but the worst of human appetites - wealth, power, greed, hedonism, etc.  That is when we worship the ‘haves’ because of their contrast to the ‘have-nots’ and perpetuate their tenure as a class over our heads-turned-bog holes.

Can the world influence China on human rights? - nope, only self-interest can

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/threa...

Ten days ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in China, the human rights group Amnesty International has sharply criticised Beijing's human rights record since being awarded the Games in 2001. What action can the world take? Amnesty says when the Games had been given to China, the government promised better human rights and greater freedom for the media. But the report said that the opposite had happened, with human rights activists being jailed, journalists detained and more people sent to labour camps. There has been no reaction from Beijing. What do you think of the Amnesty charge? How should China respond? What can the international community do to help improve China's human rights record? Are you in China or having friends and family there who have been the victims of human rights violations? Read the full story

After all, if you think about it, it is self-interest, reinforced by the current socio-economic system, that has determined the advance and limits of human rights.  China is just a worse example of it.  Anyway, holding the olympics in this state basically throws out the olympics as a symbol of human unity.  Anyway, i never appreciated how human unity is reinforced by competition.

Beijing Olympic Bird's Nest ready - or 'bound foot'?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacif...

The IOC is worried about Beijing's air pollutionThe main venue for Beijing's Olympic Games - the "Bird's Nest" stadium - is complete and fully operational, Chinese officials have said.The 91,000-seat stadium will host the Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics events. A network of steel girders gives the stadium its nest-like appearance. All 37 venues for the Games are now ready. The International Olympic Committee has praised Beijing's preparations, but said air quality was a concern. The Bird's Nest - or National Stadium - was designed by award-winning Swiss firm Herzog and de Meuron and Chinese architect Li Xinggang. The design beat dozens of other entries in a worldwide competition held in 2003. "The Bird's Nest is the last completed Olympic venue but the best," said project manager Tan Xiaochun. The project was completed at a cost of $500m (£250m). "You can imagine yourself to be an athlete, standing at the centre of the venue attracting thousands of eyes," said Li Xinggang. "You will be turned on by the audience's cheers, feeling at the centre of a stage. It will lead you to final success." Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The above monstrosity was designed by a so-called 'award-winning' swiss firm and chinese architect Li Xinggang. 

I don't know...hmmm....perhaps it is a subconscious illustration of the bondage within which chinese civilisation thrives.  To me, it looks like a 'bound foot' - crippling the chinese perspectivally since the time of Shih Huang Ti (211b.c.).  Just remember, culture is not independent of socio-political reality.  It, over time, either conflicts with it, or accomodates, then bolsters it.  What do you think would be the state of a culture after 2000 years of bondage eh.

Pro-Chavez Catholics under fire

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7...

By James Ingham BBC News, Caracas Mr Chavez has clashed with the Catholic Church in the pastReligious leaders in Venezuela have criticised a recently formed church that openly backs President Hugo Chavez's socialist politics. The Reformed Catholic Church was set up by a group of Anglicans and Catholics who wanted to put more emphasis on helping the poor. But the ruling body of the Catholic Church says its members are criminals who are trying to divide the Church. The Church and the government have been in frequent conflict in Venezuela. Catholicism is practised widely in Venezuela, but the new group's open support for President Chavez's socialist policies is deepening those divisions. Feathers ruffled The Reformed Catholic Church was set up by a group of priests from a mixed background. It has a small following - several thousand people in the west the country. But despite its size, its philosophy has ruffled a few feathers. The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, the ruling council of the Catholic Church, has described the founders as delinquents. Its vice president, Archbishop Roberto Luckert, has accused the new organisation of taking government money and mixing politics with religion. But Enrique Albornoz, who was appointed as the Reformed Church's first bishop last week, denies the allegations. "We support the work the government is doing for the poor," he told the BBC, "but we don't take any political line." The breakaway organisation is unusual in supporting Mr Chavez. The Catholic Church has often clashed with the president, accusing him in the past of taking Venezuela down a path to dictatorship. He in return has criticised the Church for being elitist and ignoring the country's poor. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with:DeliciousDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponWhat are these?

Just for the sake of argument....

So the ruling church in Venezuela has criticised this breakaway group for dividing the church.  Well, are they dividing the church or are they claiming it for the proles, or working towards a clear distinction between a bourgeois socialistic church and a proletarian one.  I think what the church has to do to put this matter to rest is to determine if the Christ was a bourgeois or a socialist in inclination.  Till that is done, for all you know, it is the ruling church that is the 'breakaway' faction from the original one.  Think about it. 

The evolution of a conspiracy theory

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/ma...

A large number of Americans question what happened that dayIt wasn't only the Twin Towers that collapsed on September 11. A third World Trade Center tower that wasn't hit by the planes also fell. As a report into Tower 7 prepares to publish its findings, Mike Rudin considers how this conspiracy theory got to be so big.

A 'conspiracy theory' is a 'theory' and not a 'science'.  Not because it cannot be a 'science', but because the lack of transparency disables its 'theorists' from putting their respective theories to the scientific test.  This doesn't invalidate it, but just gives us a good reason to strive for total transparency.  Of course there are dissenters who laugh at 'conspiracy theorists', but these are the real fools who actually believe that all that they see and hear must be true simply because they see and hear it.  They become the puppets of the media, MNCs, governments, etc.  That is nothing more than a medieval mentality and such people should be denied the right to vote - as are children and  the mentally challenged.

If you think about it further, once there is total transparency, 'conspiracy theory' will cease to exist as such and become one of the modules within political science. 

Should the Church of England appoint women bishops? - vaginal discrimination?

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/threa...

The Church of England's General Synod will debate the issue of women bishops on Saturday. Can the Church unite over this and other controversial issues?The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, will lead a debate on Saturday on a report outlining the options open to the Church of England in proceeding with women bishops. Traditionalists want the legal right to opt out of the supervision of a woman bishop, and into the care of a male alternative. Last week conservative Anglicans agreed to create a global network to combat modern trends like the ordination of gay clergy.Are you an Anglican? How do you feel about the ordination of women bishops? Is the Communion heading for a split over controversial issues – such as the appointment of women bishops and gay vicars?

Let's put it another way - should the Church of England appoint bishops without penises? 

...which makes me immediately wonder what the relevance of what's-between-my-legs is to the Word of God.

There is no doubt that windows is quite the dodgy software.  I've been using it since win95 through to winXP and am hesitant to fork out money for what will certainly be the latest DBI version of Vista (dodgy-but-improved).  But one of the reasons why it is such a 'crap' OS compared to, say, MacOS - according to reports - is that Mac is competing with Windows whilst Windows is competing with previous versions of itself. 

Here is where I apply what I call, 'the principle of relative relief', to understand this.  In other words, so long as what we experience is better than what we are used to, we can potentially mistake it for 'good' simply because it provides us with greater relief than what we are accustomed to - that's why political systems, cultures, the human condition, etc, can remain is such a sorry state year after year.

But hey, who cares, that's capitalism for you - selling screwed up goods so that we can sell you upgrades for the future and depend on the Principle of Relative Relief to help the fat bast*rds rake it in.  Anyway, I'm waiting for a Win version of the MacOS that enables software written for the windows environment to be used within a MacOS environment.  All that Mac has to do is to write up a software compatible with software written for windows.  Of course that's not going to happen anytime soon as the fangirls and boys waving flags under the loins of each company are too busy forking out money to maintain either camp without pushing for an amalgamative strategy.  So long as Mac can keep their software attached to the hip of their hardware, they can rake in money for their hardware as well.  That's 'progress' for you.