Vittorio de Filippis : Libération journalist handcuffed, stripped and body searched by French cops

Vittorio de Filippis, an executive and former editor-in-chief of the Paris newspaper Libération, recently awoke to the sound of knocking on his door at 6.40 AM. Three cops were at the door - two men and a woman.

When the police entered the journalist's home, they informed him that they had a warrant to take him before the Tribunal de grande instance (TGI) high court in Paris. They refused to allow him to contact his attorney. An argument ensued, witnessed by de Filippis' children.

The journalist was ordered to get dressed and transported to Raincy police station, located near his home. He was informed that he had been arrested in connection with libel cases brought by Xavier Niel, founder of the internet company Free, in relation to articles written by Renaud Lecadre. These articles appeared in both Libération and the paper's web site.

Vittorio de Filippis was managing editor of Libération in 2006 when the Renaud Lecadre articles were published.

It appears investigating magistrate Muriel Josie issued the arrest warrant for de Filippis because she believed he had ignored her mailed summons. This was an extreme move on the part of Josie because de Filippis' lawyers were apprised of the details of the case - their numbers are listed in the phone directory, as is the number of Vittorio de Filippis.

After being handcuffed de Filippis was transported to the main courthouse in the center of Paris. He was forced to strip and subjected to a humiliating body search before being locked in a cell.

The following morning at around 10 AM, he was again forced to undress and once again subjected to a body search. This apparently occurred because Muriel Josie insisted that police follow procedure to the letter.

Following this treatment, he was taken to Josie's office. She refused his request to call his lawyers, and as a consequence, de Filippis refused to answer any of her questions. Josie formally notified de Filippis that he was being investigated in a libel case and he was released onto the sidewalk at the front of the court.

The Paris newspaper Libération is a left-wing daily. It has been a strong critic of president Sarkozy. The extensive powers of French police under Sarkozy's law-and-order initiatives allow much leeway when it comes to the treatment of alleged suspects. So it appears to be no coincidence that de Filippis was singled out for extraordinary treatment over a two-year old libel case that may draw a fine, but certainly not a prison sentence.

There is little doubt that these proceedings were designed to humiliate and 'punish' de Filippis. The police conduct under these circumstances was outrageous and has caused an outcry from those who believe that freedom of expression in France is under threat.

This from Reporters Without Borders:

"We are outraged by the unacceptable methods used against Vittorio de Filippis and their humiliating nature. Such a thing has never been heard of in France. To treat a journalist like a criminal and to resort to practices such as body searches is not only shocking but unworthy of French justice."

Washington Post coverage of story here.

Tags: Vittorio de Filippis, Liberation, arrest, Marie Josie, Sarkozy, Renaud Lecadre, Paris courthouse

Michael Wolff book : Rupert Murdoch 'despises' Bill O'Reilly

It's one thing for FOX news bully boy Bill O'Reilly to take flack from the left, he's used to that. But when criticism comes from the boardroom of News Corp., and from upper echelons of FOX itself, it's another matter.

Politico received a pre-publication copy of Michael Wolff's upcoming biography of Rupert Murdoch, titled The Man Who Owns the News. Turns out that Murdoch is embarrassed by his ownership of FOX news. In addition, he "absolutely despises" Bill O'Reilly.

It is not just Murdoch (and everybody else at News Corp.’s highest levels) who absolutely despises Bill O’Reilly, the bullying, mean-spirited, and hugely successful evening commentator,” Wolff wrote, “but [Fox News chief executive] Roger Ailes himself who loathes him. Success, however, has cemented everyone to each other.

According to Wolff, Murdoch's purchase of the Wall Street Journal was motivated in part by a desire to distance himself from the "the belligerent, the vulgar, the menacing, the unsubtle ... for the better-heeled, the more magnanimous, the further nuanced."

O'Reilly epitomizes a certain type of macho bravado with his almost pathological control needs and intimidation tactics. He's a journalistic thug with a big following.

When he brings on comedian-of-sorts Dennis Miller it's kind of like watching two middle-aged self-congratulatory smart asses pleasuring each other and it's not pretty.

O'Reilly appeals to people out there who like his authoritarian ways. They get off on watching him savage liberals or jumping all over people he loves to hate, such as Barney Frank.

Bill O'Reilly is an old dog who will never learn new tricks and he's reaching his expiry date fast. It's ironical though that Murdoch of all people, is embarrassed by the Factor host. Perhaps advancing years have a way of mellowing out even cynical and hard nosed news hustlers.

The Wolff revelations create a perception problem for O'Reilly because it's not just liberals doing the dissing any longer. It's big daddy upstairs.

Tags: Michael Wolff, The Man Who Owns the News, Rupert Murdoch, Bill O'Reilly, FOX news

Cool gift : Samsung BL103 10.2MP digital camera

If you're looking for a quality digital camera at an affordable price check out the seasonably red Samsung BL103.

Samsung BL103 specs include a 2.7-inch LCD display, 3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom.

Here's the link to the detailed Walmart specs on the BL103.

Also eBay price and specs here.

The Walmart price is $69. A camera case is included for an extra $10.

Tags: Samsung BL103, digital camera, gifts, Walmart, eBay

Italian neo-fascist party offers parents $1,280 to name baby after Mussolini

An Italian neo-Fascist party, MSI-Fiamma Tricolore, is offering cash to parents who name their babies after war time fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, or after his wife Rachele. Parents stand to make 1,500 euros, roughly $1,280, for being Benito-enablers.

The MSI-Fiamma Tricolore party based in the far south of Italy is the descendent of Mussolini's fascist party. MSI is concerned that the names Benito and Rachele might be "at risk of extinction," particularly in the southern Basilicata region.

Benito isn't in the top 100 list of baby names for obvious reasons. In the decades following WW2 not too many Italian parents were keen on the idea of naming their child after a fascist tyrant who was murdered then hung upside down from a gas station roof with the aid of meathooks.

Mussolini's full name was Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini. Perhaps the MSI might consider paying $500 for babies named Amilcare or Andrea. That way when the kids grow up they won't be a target of Mussolini jokes. It would be a humane gesture.

They also wouldn't be burdened with the thought that they were named after a dictator who has passed into history leaving the following memorable quotes:

"People are like women, they go with the winning man."

“Let us have a dagger between our teeth, a bomb in our hands, and an infinite scorn in our hearts”

Tags: MSI Fiamma Tricolore, Benito Mussolini, Rachele, name payments, Gianfranco Fini, Alleanza Nazionale

Italian neo-fascists offer parents money for Benito babies

Tags: Fiamma Tricolore, benito Mussolini, baby names

Ok So-ri unfairly victimized by S. Korea's adultery laws

South Korean actress, Ok So-ri, had an affair with a friend of her husband. When hubby, actor Park Chul, accused her of adultery she admitted the affair.

After the affair became public, Ok So-ri attempted to challenge the constitutionality of S.Korea's adultery statute. She argued that the law was an infringement of human rights and was often used by husbands to take revenge.

Unsurprisingly, in a society in which the rules favor males, she didn't make much headway. The court ruled that adultery must remain a crime, saying it was 'damaging to the social order' - kind of ironical considering there is no law against incest in S.Korea.

Currently S.Korean prosecutors are demanding an 18-month jail term for Ok So-ri.

There is a huge double standard at play in S. Korean society. Law and punishment isn't the only disincentive facing women who engage in extra-marital relations. In many instances they are ostracized by their families - even shunned. By contrast, men who cheat, or even keep mistresses on the side, rarely risk the same level of humiliation.

Each year in S.Korea, more than 1,200 people are indicted under the adultery law. Roughly half that number are convicted.

At a news conference shortly after news of the affair broke, Ok So-ri was open about the problems in her marriage which she described as 'loveless.' She also said that sex was virtually a non-event ... an unusually frank disclosure in what is still a very conservative culture.

It is ridiculous that such personal matters should be investigated as a 'crime' worthy of punishment, but apparently S. Koreans are prepared to live with this. When they were polled on the subject, 70% said they supported the adultery law.

Tags: Ok So-ri, Paul Chull, adultery laws, S.Korea

Giancarlo Gentilini : homophobic, xenophobic and with a fatwa on his head

Giancarlo Gentilini, former mayor, now deputy mayor of the northeastern Italian city of Treviso, suggested not so long ago that the police should "ethnically cleanse" homosexuals.

The deputy is on record as saying that city policemen should be given "the right to carry out ethnic cleansing against the faggots...here in Treviso, faggots and things like that don't have a chance."

Gay orientation has zero to do with ethnicity. Such fine distinctions don't appear to matter to Gentilini who is comfortable with sweeping generalizations, however muddled. In speaking of "faggots" he uses a broad brush to include "things like that." Presumably this means immigrants and any other 'lesser' humans who Gentilini believes should be "cleansed."

Gentilini is a member of the far-right Northern League party. The League was crucial to Berlusconi's election victory in Italy. It claims it isn't racist, but there is much evidence to the contrary. It's leader Umberto Bossi described African immigrants as "bingo bongos" in an interview and suggested opening fire on the boats of immigrants who tried to disembark in Italy. Another League member, Erminio Boso, proposed a separate train for immigrants so that Italians could avoid mingling with them.

Northern League anti-immigrant posters.

Gentilini's bigotry doesn't just extend to gays, he also views Muslims with withering contempt. Like many right-wingers he suffers from mosque-phobia and would like to banish any sign of Islamic worship.

"I want to see a revolution against those that want to open mosques and Islamic centers ... This also includes the members of the church hierarchy here who say that we should leave them alone to pray. No, let them go pray in the desert. I'll open a factory to give them the carpets they need to pray on in the desert."

This has irked a few Muslims. So much so in fact that a fatwa has been issued in response to Gentilini's "blaspheming" of Islam. The deputy mayor's name has turned up on a web site based in Lebanon - ilpadano.com.

News of the fatwa has led to an increase in police protection for Gentilini, who appears to relish being the target of negative attention. He boasts that he is fearless. For a fearless man he certainly seems to require a lot of protection. He's been living under police guard for five years, as a result of his tendency to shoot off his mouth.

Gays and Muslims aren't the only target of his insults. He holds immigrants in low esteem - so much so, he believes they should be banned from using the benches in the public parks. Not content with merely banning them, Gentilini went further to suggest hunting them: "we should dress them up as rabbits and go bang, bang, bang with a rifle."

When you're wondering how much more xenophobic the deputy can become, he doesn't disappoint. Dogs are also on his hit list. He has an aversion to "non-local dogs" and said "We don't want foreign breeds here."

Gentilini claims that his racism, homophobia and random bigotry against any living thing that somehow or other causes him offence, is because he wishes to "defend my culture, my religion and civilization." The irony of course is that it is ignoramuses like Gentilini who are doing Italy the most damage by promoting xenophobia and contempt.

Tags: Giancarlo Gentilini, Treviso, fatwa, ilpadano.com, xenophobia, bigotry, homophobia, ethnic cleansing, Umberto Bossi, Berlusconi

Giancarlo Gentilini : a big talking man

Tags: Giancarlo Gentilini, the Sheriff, Treviso

Fraudster Conrad Black pleads for clemency from Bush

Despite saying he would never request a presidential pardon, fraudster Conrad Black has asked for one.

The plea isn't in the least surprising. Strip away the British title (redundant in jail), the corporate clout, the coin, the connections, the privileges and perks ... and you have a guy with an identity crisis clinging to the last vestiges of his former self. Black's identity was essentially derivative. It depended to a large extent upon the survival of an image buoyed by a media that has always been a sucker for the Black legend.

Without the trappings Black is unconvincing. His communications from the Coleman Correctional Center are the sort of thing he probably imagines a cruelly maligned hero might write from his prison cell. He works hard at keeping up the impression of the wronged but decent chap who is struggling against the odds to keep the old chin up. Rah rah stuff, but important to his Canadian fans who buy into the 'great man under siege' version. Typically his view of his fellow inmates is patronizing - characterizing them as "quite interesting and affable, often in a Damon Runyon way."

When you state you're not going to ask for a presidential pardon, you stick to your guns. If Black had shown that type of intestinal fortitude a measure of respect would have followed. But the election of Barack Obama, who is no fan of white collar crooks, however well read, has put the wind up Black who now sees Bush as his last hope.

Despite the chipper communications, he wants out badly enough to risk losing face with a very long shot indeed. A shot made even longer by his recent complaints about American incarceration rates - all entirely valid, but coming from Black you have to smile. In his hour of need he suddenly finds something in common with the left he loved to despise. You would think he was speaking out on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Some of his communications create the impression he is a prof in residence. He isn't in jail doing time as 'a criminal' - no he's "writing and reviewing legal initiatives, as well as dealing with my students." The Coleman circus just demonstrates that Black will never be divided from his pompous self-regard, even as he goes down on one knee and grovels to Bush. He has nonetheless become a rather pathetic caricature of his former vainglorious self.

As for his chances of a pardon ... in the midst of dealing with an economy that was screwed over by the greed of corporate shysters such as Conrad Black, the very last thing Bush is likely to do is offer him a break.

Tags: Conrad Black, presidential pardon, Coleman Correctional Center, president Bush, Barack Obama

Whizzinator : 2 men plead guilty to selling prosthetic penis for faking drug tests

George Wills and Robert Catalano ran an internet company called Puck Technology. Between 2005 and 2008 they sold a prosthetic penis, known as the 'Whizzinator' to help users avoid being outed in drug tests. This week both men pleaded guilty to selling the device in a Pittsburgh court.

The Whizzinator was sold with a heating element and fake urine. The company website described itself as "the undisputed leader in synthetic urine."

The prosthetic penis is very realistic and concealing is simple, while our quality production and materials assures you that the Whizzinator will let it flow again and again, anytime, anywhere you need it!

Wills and Catalano are looking at up to 8 years in the clink and a $500,000 fine.

The use of performance enhancing drugs in sport is obviously a problem that needs to be addressed - also in work situations where there is a high risk element such as transportation. But testing has become more intrusive and it isn't always applied equally across the board.

What about the executive who goes out at lunch and downs a few too many beers and shooters or even a snort of cocaine? A lot of the rules and tests that apply to regular employees rarely impinge on the lifestyles of those whose privileged position shields them from scrutiny. As in many things, the old double standard is alive and well, so I'm sure some Whizzinator users saw it as a way of beating a rigged game.

Tags: whizzinator, George Wills, Robert Catalano, drug tests, synthetic urine

Wendy Whitaker and Genarlow Wilson persecuted by stupid Georgia sex laws

This is a horror story if ever there was one.

A woman named Wendy Whitaker, now 29, has been on Georgia's sex offender list for more than 12 years. When Whitaker was seventeen, she gave a blowjob to a student who was just shy of his 16th birthday. They were both sophomores at the time.

The decision to place Whitaker on a sex offender list for this 'crime' was ridiculous. She is suing, claiming that she has endured cruel and unusual punishment.

This is an example of what happens when Christian sex-phobic attitudes and warped laws lead to the type of bizarre sentences that are way too common stateside. Georgia is a state that has laws on the books that make aspects of Islamic sharia seem kinda civilized. Believe it or not, oral sex between married partners was criminalized in Georgia until 1998.

But it gets worse. The laws that have impacted Wendy Whitaker's freedom are linked to another case. A while back in Georgia another 17 year old named Genarlow Wilson was convicted of having consensual oral sex with a 15 year old.

After Wilson's conviction, Georgia legislators came around to the view that the laws that put the star athlete away were a little err ... draconian ... a realization spurred no doubt by the public outcry over the case. They made some needed changes to the law. The sexual activity Wilson engaged in is no longer a crime in Georgia. But legislators voted to prevent the law from applying retroactively. They did this to ensure Wilson didn't get out of jail.

Some believe this decision was driven in part by racism. Genarlow Wilson is black and the girl who gave him the blowjob is white. There are some things that are sure to fan the flames of prejudice in Georgia and interracial teen sex is one of them - particularly when it's recorded on video as it was in the Wilson case.

The decision to keep the law from applying retroactively left Wilson and Wendy Whitaker branded as felons.

Wendy Whitaker has not only been victimized by the legal system, she's fighting to keep a roof over her head. In 2006 when she and her husband were looking for a home, they had to make sure they were compliant with Georgia's sex offender law that prohibited offenders from living within 1,000 feet of where children congregate. The Whitakers found a house that seemed suitable, only to discover later that a daycare in a nearby church placed them in violation of the law. As things stand, the Whitakers may have to face foreclosure.

All in all, an absurd and horrific price to pay for the 'crime' of engaging in consensual oral sex.

Tags: Wendy Whitaker, Genarlow Wilson, Georgia, oral sex, sex offenders

Vatican test for priesthood : blatant targeting of gay applicants

New steps taken by the Vatican to eliminate candidates for priesthood who are considered 'psychologically flawed' is consistent with the anti-gay stance of the the Pope. The psychological test the Church proposes is aimed at identifying gay men, rather than pedophiles.

In a recent Guardian article Peter Tatchell notes that:

The Vatican identifies homosexuality as a deep-seated personality disorder and psychological flaw; condemning same-sex acts as "grave sins", "objectively disordered", "intrinsically immoral" and "contrary to natural law". Even men who have a gay orientation but abstain totally from sex are condemned by the Pope as possessing a "tendency towards an intrinsic moral evil".

The targeting of gay priests, overlooks the fact that in many instances the perps in Catholic child abuse cases were heterosexual. The Vatican's anti-gay measures conflate pedophilia with homosexuality. This is a mistake that is often made and it has led to many false assumptions.

It is ironical that Vatican guidelines require priests to have: "a positive and stable sense of their own masculine identity".

Tatchell :

Surely all this makes Pope Benedict himself a prime candidate for psychological testing and exclusion? After all, he wears a dress, loads of jewellery, Prada shoes and has a penchant for high church, high camp ritual and theatrics. While I don't want to indulge in stereotypes, Benedict is not exactly macho. In fact, he's quite effeminate. He is also surrounded exclusively by men, has an unusually young and handsome male private secretary and has no known close friendships with women.

He would not be the first gay pope. There have been several others, most scandalously Pope Julius III (1487 to 1555), who was more a pederast than a homosexual. He took a 15-year-old boy as his lover and made him a cardinal at the age of 17, showering him with such wealth that he became one of the richest men in Europe.

This move on the part of the Vatican targets gay seminarians in an unfair manner. It is particularly hypocritical given that many of the senior clergy in the Vatican are themselves gay and might well have failed a 'screening test' that in some regards is rather like a psychological inquisition. There is no guarantee that the effeminate Benedict would have passed with flying colors ... 'manly' he is not.

The focus on homosexuality sends the wrong message. The Church should instead look at rooting out child abusers, but then of course this might rock the boot, because some offenders are well placed clerics who enjoy the protection of the Church. It's so much easier to launch a campaign against gay clergy ... but unfortunately it will still leave children vulnerable.

Tags: Pope Benedict, gay clergy, psychological testing, clerical child abuse

Bel Giorgio and Benny

Tags: George Ganswein, Pope Benedict, gay bashing

Jamaican anti-gay reggae : homophobe Bounty Killer to play in UK

Jamaica has produced some stellar reggae talents over the years. More recently a number of reggae artists from Jamaica have been pushing an anti-gay message. An example is Rodney Price aka Bounty Killer. He comes from Kingston and likes to whip up crowds with his hate and violence lyrics. Price works hard at being bad. When he's on-stage bragging about killing gays he uses simulated gunfire to make his point.

Price has the type of act that gets a big reception in Jamaica where 96% of the people polled said they would oppose the legalization of homosexuality. His anti-gay lyrics includes gems such as "Faggots, I kill every one of them." He also issues threats, promising to drive "batty man" (gays) out of "our community."

There have been rumors that Price may have some gay connections himself and speculation that his anti-gay stance might in part be a smokescreen to play up his straight man credentials. Similar rumors have circulated about other Jamaican artists who perform songs with anti-gay content.

In the case of Beenie Man, Capleton and Sizzla it should be noted that they signed the Reggae Compassionate Act in 2007 renouncing homophobia. They agreed to "uphold the rights of all individuals to live without fear of hatred and violence due to their religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or gender." Performers who refused to sign up at that time included Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton.

Recently Price was given the green light to perform in the UK. This has rightly outraged many in the gay community. Peter Tatchell, parliamentary candidate for the Green Party makes the point that the Home Secretary has refused visas on many occasions to performers with racist views.

Tatchell said:

A white racist singer who advocated the killing of black people would be refused entry to Britain. Why the double standards? This singer encourages and glorifies gang violence - it is reckless and obscene for the Home Secretary to give Bounty Killer a visa and work permit.

Rodney Price is a messenger of hate and division. His lyrics include the lines "You know we need no promo to rub out dem homo" and "Mi ready fi go wipe out this fag."

Protests have had some success. In March two of Price's concerts in Bradford and Birmingham were canceled thanks to efforts by the human rights group OutRage! But more needs to be done to close this guy down so long as he puts himself forward as an advocate of hatred and violence.

Tags: Bounty Killer, anti-gay, homophobia, Jamaica, reggae, OutRage, Peter Tatchell

Amy Winehouse is dead in Half Gallery

Morbid speculation about the death of Amy Winehouse that has been doing the rounds has now become the subject of a gallery exhibit.

Marco Perego has created a sculpture of Winehouse dead, lying in a pool of blood. The work is called 'The Only Good Rock Star Is A Dead Rock Star.' The sculpture is on show at the Half Gallery in Manhattan's Bowery district.

There is an accompanying figure of the author William Burroughs holding a shotgun. This appears to be an effort by the artist to conflate timelines in order to create a fantasy event, mirroring a real life tragedy. In 1951 Burroughs fatally shot his wife, Joan Vollmer, at a party in Mexico City while playing a game of William Tell.

A spokesperson for Winehouse said : “It’s a funny kind of tribute. The artist seems in thrall to a tabloid persona that is not the real Amy. People often use her image to sell their work.”

'The Only Good Rock Star Is A Dead Rock Star' is going for $100,000 US.

The ongoing photos that have been showing up on the net of Winehouse looking totally wasted and screwed up, have become a sort of sick joke. Problem is she facilitates the media and draws negative attention like a magnet.

Some feminists see a more general theme relating to violence-against-women in the Perego sculpture. But the work can also be seen as a symbol that isn't gender specific. The gender-neutral term "rock star" is used in the title. The sculpture is about celebrity, notoriety and the end that often follows the reckless who tempt fate one time too many. Maybe just seeing it might be a wake-up call for Amy W who seems to be careening down the road-of-no-return at breakneck speed.

Tags: Amy Winehouse, dead, Marco Perego, Half Gallery, William Burroughs

Nobody wants to shake Bush's hand or buy his memoirs

At the recent G20 Summit world leaders appeared to be ignoring Bush and the opportunity to shake his hand. He is pictured on video looking rather forlorn, kind of like the kid in the school yard who everyone secretly hates.

It looks as though the same disinterest extends to the prospect of Bush memoirs. Hardly surprising given the state of the American economy - not to mention the state of the American psyche after being dragged through a protracted, ongoing and extremely costly war.

There is more enthusiasm for Sarah Palin's 'oh-look-I-can-read-and-write' manuscript than a Bush book. More enthusiasm even for Tina Fey's book, reputedly contracted for $6 million.

To add to Bush's rejection complex there is the fact that publishers have been hot for his wife's memoirs. Laura Bush is more popular than the president and what she has to say in print likely to attract a keen readership.

Tags: George Bush, G20 Summit, memoirs, Laura Bush, Sarah Palin, Tina Fey

Thor Steiner 'neo-Nazi' wear causes tensions in Germany

The district of Mitte in Berlin with its ethnic restaurants and international cinema isn't the type of neighborhood you would associate with neo-Nazis or their sympathizers. Appearances can be deceiving. This year a store named Tönsberg opened up in the district. It specializes in clothes popular with right-wing extremists.

The clothing is deceptive because you wont find any swastikas, thunderbolts, SS or other explicit Nazi symbolism. Tönsberg caters to what you might describe as fashion conscious extremists.

It promotes the clothing line of Thor Steiner. Back in 2004 the Thor Steiner line was hit with a ban because of the similarity between the company's logos and SS symbols. Following this the company rebranded with a new look that didn't fall foul of the law.

Even with the rebranding effort, Germans know precisely what Thor Steiner clothing represents, so the line has become a sort of subversive messenger for the far right. The words and symbols that appear on Steiner clothing seem fairly neutral - for example the word kontaktfreudig, simply translates as "outgoing" in the sense of being "happy to make contact." Other symbols are more directly associated with Nazism. For example the use of the numbers "18" and "88" - which refer to "Adolf Hitler" and "Heil Hitler."

The British company Lonsdale has also become fashionable with right wingers in Germany. Some Lonsdale clothing features the letters "NS" which can be interpreted to mean National Socialism.

Much overt far right symbolism has gone underground and resurfaced in the form of fashion statements that can't be explicitly outed for Nazi content. But even without explicit Nazi symbols the Steiner brand is highly provocative.

Der Spiegel describes a recent incident that took place during Kristallnacht demonstrations:

The brand also stirred a recent controversy in Berlin after a plainclothes policeman wore a Thor Steinar shirt while on duty at a demonstration to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht -- the Nazi-orchestrated pogroms that swept Germany on November 9, 1938. Dieter Glietsch, head of police in Berlin, said ignorance of the brand was not an excuse. "That a police officer walks around wearing Thor Steinar clothes during the anniversary of the pogrom calls for a thorough investigation," he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper. "It is not as if in Berlin people don't know what the label stands for."

Germany's domestic intelligence agency describes Thor Steiner as "an identifying mark for right-wing extremists." They can't do much about it though. A spokesperson for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution said: "We are only watching which symbols they use, to make sure they are not illegal.

Tags: Thor Steiner, Lonsdale, Tönsberg, neo-Nazis, Nazi symbols, Kristallnacht, National Socialism

New Monty Python video site

Monty Python and associates are understandably irked by the crappy Python videos that have been showing up on YouTube. So in an effort to do their work much deserved justice, they have set up their own video site.

You can enjoy videos straight from the Python vault in primo condition. The have also taken their most viewed clips and uploaded brand new HQ versions.

Selections include all-time faves such as Ministry of Silly Walks, Silly Olympics, Killer Rabbit, Lumberjack Song, Argument Clinic, Job Interview and Every Sperm is Sacred.

Bloody brilliant ... link to the site here.

Tags: Monty Python, new video site, videos, clips

BNP online membership list can be found here

Try Wikileaks first.

Last check the server was overloaded as a result of the popularity of the search. It also offers a subscriber option.

If Wikileaks is no go, give this a try - BNP list.

I tried the above address 15 minutes prior to this posting and it was working.


Tags: BNP membership list

Anti-Obama Wichita church sign : pastor Mark Holick refuses to remove message

A sign at Spirit One Christian Center in Wichita, Kansas, names Obama as a Muslim and describes his election as "a sin against the Lord."

The pastor was contacted about the sign, but he has refused to remove it even though it is promoting a lie - a lie recycled on the internet during the campaign in an effort to scare voters away from the Democratic ticket. This lie has persisted despite the fact that Obama is a Christian.

On Sunday the situation heated up when some Obama supporters got into a shouting match with church members. But the sign remains up.

Pastor Mark Holick had this to say:

“The main point of the marquee is to cause Christians to understand he's not a Christian. They call and tell me he’s not a Muslim he's a Christian. That's not the point. The point is he's not a Christian.”

Holick obviously doesn't even understand basic Christianity. If a man or a woman openly declares their allegiance as a Christian, and demonstrates that profession of faith by attending church on a regular basis - that person is a Christian. Period. If Holick is setting himself up as the final judge on whether or not Obama is a Christian, then he is contradicting the words of his teacher, who reputedly said: "judge not, lest you be judged."

Last year IRS threatened Holick with revocation of his church's tax exempt status because of his views. The threat was dropped after IRS agents met with Holick. Maybe IRS needs to take another look at this bigot, because a lot of local residents are very unhappy with his smear campaign.

Under law, churches that apply for tax-exempt status must agree to the following conditions:

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all IRC section 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches and religious organizations, are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made by or on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise tax.

The IRS have been asleep at the wheel on a lot of cases that required more stringent action. As it is churches in the US enjoy unbelievable breaks while not paying a cent of income tax. But that doesn't stop many churches from meddling in politics.

An example is the Jonesville Church of God in Jonesville, South Carolina. Pastor Roger Byrd put up a political message during the campaign comparing Obama with Osama bin Laden.

Byrd's church was actively working against Obama. The fact that he was breaking laws he agreed to abide by doesn't appear to bother Byrd and others like him. Many of these partisan pastors want to have their cake and eat it too. They need to be reined in.

Tags: Wichita church sign, anti-Obama, Spirit One Christian Center, Mark Holick, IRS, Roger Byrd, Jonesville

British National Party: membership list of 10,000 published on the internet

Thousands of members of the far right British National Party (BNP) are living in fear of exposure after a disgruntled member posted the entire membership list online.

The list has about 10,000 names and includes home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Many of these people are 'faceless' members of the BNP in the sense that their standing in the community could be adversely effected if their affiliations become known. The racist reputation of the BNP isn't exactly compatible with public service.

The membership list includes occupations regarded as sensitive, such as doctor, nurse, scientist, engineer, company director, journalist, priest. Names of police personnel have also shown up on the list.

There doesn't appear to much leeway when it comes to legal recourse. According to a lawyer interviewed by the London Times, outed members won't be able to sue either the party or the leaker. The lawyer acknowledged it was a breach of data protection law but said the legal remedies were weak.

According to BNP leader Nick Griffin, the leaking of the membership list was deliberate, coming as it does just before the European Parliament elections.

As for those on the list who are in panic mode ... tough! If people decide to sign up as members of fascist or far right parties, their community has a right to know. When people go to the doctor or dentist or file a report with a cop, most would like to believe they aren't dealing with a racist or worse.

Even the UK's tabloid press that can be big on the jingoism and flag waving, have little time for the BNP. The Sun had a front page headline that lampooned the party as Bloody Nasty People.

Tags: BNP, membership list, Nick Griffin, European Parliament elections

Evangelical teen pregnancy and the Bristol Palin circus

In September, when Sarah Palin announced that her daughter Bristol was pregnant you would have thought the teen had just scored a touch-down judging from the enthusiastic support that came from McCain's evangelical backers.

Bristol was seventeen. The father, Levi Johnson ... self-described on Facebook as Levi "I'm a fucking redneck" Johnson ... clearly a reluctant actor in the over-the-top family drama that was to follow.

But most ridiculous of all was the tidal wave of support that followed the disclosure of Bristol's pregnancy. Evangelicals were delighted ... Bristol wasn't aborting. Gran-to-be Sarah gave the appearance of being untroubled and lost little time on the campaign trail.

Marlys Popma head of evangelical outreach on the McCain campaign told the National Review: “There hasn’t been one evangelical family that hasn’t gone through some sort of situation.” She meant that to sound like a positive spin as in 'we're all in this together,' but her comment reflects a seriously dysfunctional attitude to teen pregnancy.

An article in the New Yorker titled "Red Sex, Blue Sex" highlights the differences in attitude to teen pregnancy between more liberal minded Americans and their evangelical counterparts:

Social liberals in the country’s “blue states” tend to support sex education and are not particularly troubled by the idea that many teen-agers have sex before marriage, but would regard a teen-age daughter’s pregnancy as devastating news. And the social conservatives in “red states” generally advocate abstinence-only education and denounce sex before marriage, but are relatively unruffled if a teen-ager becomes pregnant, as long as she doesn’t choose to have an abortion.

A book by Mark Regnerus, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin titled “Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers” includes some surprising data drawn from a national survey of some 3,400 thirteen to seventeen year-olds.

Regnerus found that:

According to Add Health data, evangelical teen-agers are more sexually active than Mormons, mainline Protestants, and Jews. On average, white evangelical Protestants make their “sexual début”—to use the festive term of social-science researchers—shortly after turning sixteen.

Another key difference in behavior, Regnerus reports, is that evangelical Protestant teen-agers are significantly less likely than other groups to use contraception ... only half of sexually active teen-agers who say that they seek guidance from God or the Scriptures when making a tough decision report using contraception every time. By contrast, sixty-nine per cent of sexually active youth who say that they most often follow the counsel of a parent or another trusted adult consistently use protection.

More about Regnerus' findings in the New Yorker - here.

Tags: teen pregnancy, Bristol Palin, evangelicals, Sarah Palin, Mark Regnerus, Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers, New Yorker

Teen pregnancy : evangelical style

Tags: Evangelical teen pregnancy

Prince opposed to same-sex marriage : says God against homosexuality

Prince who owes his success to a music business that for the most part is supportive of liberal values, is down on same-sex marriage and adoption by gay parents.

A recent piece in the New Yorker is about a visit to Prince's home in Beverly Park - a gated community in LA. Prince is described as "a small fifty-year-old man in yoga pants and a big sweater, wearing platform flip-flops over white socks, like a geisha."

When the talk turns to social issues, Prince uses the Bible for a prop:

When asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and said, “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’ ”

Prince somehow knows what's on the mind of "God" and gay marriage isn't part of the plan. Great musician though he is, at the age of 50 he is on the straight and narrow and it shows. He's becoming predictable and a lot of that has to do with his religion of choice.

Prince is a Jehovah's Witness ... has been for seven years. He's been known to slip out of his gated community to go around the neighborhood proselytizing door-to-door. His religious make-over has included cleaning up the dirty bits in his song lyrics. It has even included going celibate.

The Jehovah's Witnesses are uncompromising on a number of core beliefs. According to Beliefnet.com, an independent website that covers the world's religions, the Witnesses believe that abortion is wrong, homosexuality a "serious sin" and gender roles defined i.e. men are the head of the household and women loving caretakers who assist the husband in teaching the children. They are opposed to blood transfusions. JW members have died as a result of refusing blood.

Let's face it anyone who goes door-to-door on behalf of an organization known for its theocratic top-down control has a whole lot in common with the Mormons. So what Prince has to say on the topic of same-sex marriage is, well ... predictable.

*Update: Prince claims he was misquoted in the New Yorker article, but he doesn't retract his stance on moral issues. He can't. He's a Jehovah's Witness. His late call is just splitting hairs and typical of his need to have his cake and eat it too. He didn't like the reaction he was getting in the media and decided to make a deal about being paraphrased. Bottom line - Prince is a Jehovah's Witness and no amount of journalistic spin can alter that unfortunate reality.

Tags: Prince, same-sex marriage, Jehovah's Witnesses, Bible

Sarah Palin : $7 million dollar book deal and pricey photos

Sarah Palin has had a lot more than 15 minutes of fame and it seems it will pay off - if not in political capital over the long haul, certainly in bankable assets.

According to estimates, Palin stands to make around $7 million when she inks a book deal. One million better than the $6 million deal Tina Fey reputedly was offered.

Strange though it may seem - there are people out there who can't get enough of Palin. She is nothing less than a pop-culture icon in the eyes of her fans.

Palin photos are in hot demand. A set that surfaced recently shows the governor relaxing on a lounge chair by a pool during time-off from the gov's meeting in Florida. Estimates for photos get into five-figure sums, although one editor disputed this and said they would more likely be somewhere in the $500 to $7,000 range depending on the photo and the news value.

There are editors who take the view that she's overexposed. Others see her as a hot commodity irrespective. Linda Mann of Mann Media had this comment:

"Her buzz is incredible. She has car-wreck appeal. You're compelled to watch, hoping she'll say the dumbest things possible. I'd propose a show combining her love of fashion and lack of brainpower - 'Project Dumbway'."

As for Palin's political prospects on the national stage ... Newt Gingrich, who knows a thing or two about GOP politics, said on Face the Nation "She’s not going to be the de facto leader.”

Tags: Sarah Palin, book deal, photos, Greta Van Susteren, Newt Gingrich, GOP

The Mormons : Joseph Smith : and the campaign against same-sex marriage

The Mormon church hasn't just been speaking out on the same-sex marriage issue in the US, it helped to put together a well-funded organization with the aim of denying gay and lesbian Americans the right to marry. Alan C. Ashton, the grandson of a former president of the Mormon Church personally contributed $1 million to this all-out effort.

Catholics and evangelicals were also involved in the campaign, however the Mormon organizational machine coupled with an ability to raise funds made a big difference to the eventual outcome.

It's hardly surprising the anger of the gay community has been directed at the Mormon church. When a church goes so far out on a limb in order to push its preferred values via the ballot box, it is bound to breed resentment. Michael R. Otterson, the managing director of public affairs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aka the Mormons, said “It was a matter of standing up for what the church believes is right.” Many opponents of Proposition 8 in California believe the Mormon drive to influence the vote went well beyond simply 'standing up' for their beliefs.

Not enough is known about Mormonism and its origins. More needs to be known about the history of a church that wields considerable clout behind the scenes in those parts of the US where it has the most influence.

The early beginnings of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints, was the result of a 'revelation' fabricated by a con artist and fantasist named Joseph Smith jr.

Smith's itinerant family hailed from Vermont and New Hampshire. They have been described in some accounts as "drifters." The mother was a religious fanatic - a neurotic whose spiritual obsessions helped to mold the odd obsessions that drove her son to present himself as a prophet.

In his book "Saints, Sinners and Reformers: The Burned-Over District Re-Visited" John H. Martin exposes the lies and deceit that lay behind The Book of Mormon.

Martin describes the activities of the Smith family when they ended up in New York state.

The family eventually ended in west-central New York State in Palmyra in 1816 when Joseph was ten, an area of the Burned-Over District which had the usual fairly high level of superstition. One of these superstitions concerned glass-like stones which existed in the area, and these were called "magic" or "peek" stones. The father and the boys spent much of their time with dowsing rods and "peek stones" which they believed could locate buried or stolen treasures.

We get a glimpse into the early life and circumstances of the young Joseph.

Joseph thus had little schooling since all in the family had to help in their economic survival. He could read easily, but his writing was halting and not truly of a literate standard. He had only the rudiments of arithmetic. He was often the but of practical jokes in the neighborhood since others considered him as not quite bright. As a result he compensated with fanciful claims to powers and wealth which others did not have.

Historical records have been found that provide details of the arrests of Joseph Smith in the 1820's. The arrest warrants cover court transcripts, legal bills and Smith's involvement in 'glass looking,' treasure seeking and disorderly conduct.

The so-called 'glass looking' he engaged in was part of Smith's ongoing obsession with the superstitious side of life. It extended also to a fascination with phantoms of his imagination that helped pave the way for the Book of Mormon - a tome described by Mark Twain as "chloroform in print."

Smith was given to stating fantastical 'truths' as though plain fact. In an 1892 LDS publication, an article titled "The Inhabitants of the Moon" by Oliver B. Huntington, informs us that:

As far back as 1837, I know that he (Smith) said the moon was inhabited by men and women the same as this earth, and that they lived to a greater age than we do -- that they live generally to near the age of 1000 years.

He described the men as averaging near six feet in height, and dressing quite uniformly in something near the Quaker style. "In my Patriarchal blessing, given by the father of Joseph the Prophet, in Kirtland, 1837, I was told that I should preach the gospel before I was 21 years of age; that I should preach the gospel to the inhabitants upon the islands of the sea, and to the inhabitants of the moon, even the planet you can now behold with your eyes.
(The Young Woman's Journal, published by the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations of Zion, 1892, vol. 3, pp. 263-64).

The comical lunacy of Joseph Smith is only matched by the absurdities of Brigham Young, who when not preoccupied with his extensive 'harem' found the time to say this about the sun and moon:

Who can tell us of the inhabitants of this little planet that shines of an evening, called the moon?...when you inquire about the inhabitants of that sphere you find that the most learned are as ignorant in regard to them as the ignorant of their fellows. So it is in regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it; it was not made in vain.

Smith's fantasies and fabrications were driven by the will-to-power, a lust for wealth and the need to acquire influence over women. Prior to his murder in Illinois, he was reputedly 'sealed' to 33 women.

Smith directed his extensive cunning, imaginative resourcefulness and powers of persuasion into wish fulfillment dressed up in the garb of religion - and to a remarkable degree succeeded in pulling off the scam. Of course efforts have been made by the church to rehabilitate his image but I'm not sure there is enough whitewash to redeem Joseph Smith, except in the eyes of those who have a vested interest in promoting his legend.

But back to the Book of Mormon - the biggest con job of all. On September 22, 1827, a figment of Smith's imagination named the angel Moroni, told him to head over to a hill in Palmyra, New York, where he was told he would find a 'Bible of the New World.'

Smith claimed that when he set to work on the Palmyra hill he dug up golden plates in a stone box. On these plates the barely literate Smith identified what he described as hieroglyphics of the Reformed Egyptian language. In an amazing coincidence, the plates came with two crystals named "Urim" and "Thummen" that believe it or not were set in silver to form ... a pair of spectacles. These magical specs were ostensibly used by the con artist to 'read' the hieroglyphics.

It gets even funnier. Over the next two years, Smith worked behind a curtain translating the hieroglyphics while credulous fools acting as his assistants wrote down his words. One of the scribblers, a fellow named Martin Harris, provided money for the publication of the tome. When questioned about whether he had actually seen the golden plates behind the curtain - Harris admitted the assistants had only seen them with "the eyes of faith." In other words Smith had run his scam right under the noses of his helpers, taking full advantage of their faith based credulity.

Just so there would be no awkward questions about the plates, Joe's imaginary friend, the angel Moroni, showed up when the task was done to remove the golden plates and crystal glasses forever. How convenient.

Martin does an excellent job of deconstructing the eclectic mix of ideas that went into The Book of Mormon:

Actually, the text is a mixture of many strands common at the time. Much of the original text is in the King James Bible style of English, as Joseph would have been familiar with the spoken version of the Bible from church services ... but where it departs from the language of the King James scriptures it is ungrammatical, repetitive, and awkward. It is the language one would expect from one of Smith's educational level. Later revisions of the text by others were to enhance the language, the grammar, and the flow of the text.

In addition, the book reflects the religious ideas and the social activities of the 1820s. Its oaths are close to those of the anti-Masonic movement of the times, and almost every religious concern and error under discussion in the decade of the 1820s can be found here, particularly those ideas of the Campbellite dogma and the perfectionism of the time. The Campbellite doctrines of Protestant Christianity reflect the influence of Sidney Rigdon, one of the most influential of Smith's early converts who had been a Campbellite minister after having been a Baptist and a Disciple minister. The text also reflects aspects of Shakespearean language such as one heard from traveling actors who appeared in New York State towns. The question also arises as to how much of the account is based on an unpublished novel by an eccentric Presbyterian minister, Solomon Spaulding, which details the supposed origins of the American Indians.

It is ironical that a church that has arisen on the back of a web of deceit and engaged extensively in the practice of polygamy over the years is now engaged in a campaign to deny the rights of those gay and lesbian Americans who simply want the freedom to get married to the ones they love.

Tags: Mormon church, Joseph Smith jr, gay rights, same-sex marriage, Proposition 8, The Book of Mormon, angel Moroni

Gay rights action day : November 15 rallies to protest marriage ban : photos

Protests across the USA took place today, November 15, to protest the ban on gay marriage.

Jay Lindsay writing in the Huffington Post reports:

Crowds gathered near public buildings in cities large and small, including Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Fargo, to vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change.

Protests following the vote on Proposition 8 in California, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, have sometimes been angry and even violent, and demonstrators have targeted faiths that supported the ban, including the Mormon church.

However, representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday's demonstrations, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain from attacking other groups during the rallies.

It is disappointing that in a year of momentous change in America that saw the election of the first African-American for president ... Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and California voted down equal rights for all citizens. Sadly a percentage of voters gave the thumbs down to gay and lesbian couples who simply want the right to marry.

Proposition 8 in California that seeks to place a ban on gay marriage is far from the end of this. The LGBT community ... all fair minded Americans ... will ensure that gay and lesbian couples are not discriminated against in the area of marriage. It may take time, but those committed to the fight will not quit until these rights are secured.

Link to the full Huffington Post report here.

Link also to a site that promotes love and equality for all - Join the Impact

Tags: gay marriage rights, November 15 protests, Proposition 8, Join the Impact, LGBT

Migrant workers attacked in Indian state of Maharashtra : Bollywood film blocked over fears of violence

Local authorities in Mumbai recently blocked the release of a Bollywood film titled Deshdrohi (Traitor) out of fear that the film might add to local tensions. Senior police official Vijay Jadhav said the release of the film had been stopped out of fears it might trigger violence.

Migrant workers in the Indian state of Maharashtra have been targeted for attacks in the capital Mumbai and elsewhere in the state. At least five migrant workers have been killed in attacks that have been blamed on the right-wing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena party (MNS).

Violence directed against migrant workers is a real and growing problem in Maharashtra state. MNS leader, Raj Thackery, was arrested in October and is presently on bail facing charges of inciting violence against migrant workers. Violence and threats of violence has forced many of these workers to flee their homes. Thackery has consistently denied being behind the incitement.

Deshdrohi stars well known Bollywood actors Gracy Singh and Hrishita Bhatt. The producer of Deshdrohi, Kamal Khan, said he had reports of posters being torn down outside theaters and said he would not be releasing the film in the state.

Tags: Deshdrohi, Bollywood, Mumbai, Kamal Khan, Gracy Singh, Hrishita Bhatt, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Raj Thackery

The USA's 'racist belt'

During the presidential election in the States, only 22% of counties cast more votes for Republicans than in 2004. This bucked the national trend. In these counties Democrats and moderates actually switched to the Republican ticket at a time when a Republican president's poll numbers were in the basement and the country was hankering for change.

An article in the New York Times supports the contention that racism played a part in this trend. It supplies plenty of evidence to support the belief that racist attitudes in the south saw McCain picking up percentages that likely he wouldn't have obtained if his Democratic opponent had been white.

The New York Times article includes a look at the voting trends in Alabama.

Here in Alabama, where Mr. McCain won 60.4 percent of the vote in his best Southern showing, he had the support of nearly 9 in 10 whites, according to exit polls, a figure comparable to other Southern states. Alabama analysts pointed to the persistence of traditional white Southern attitudes on race as the deciding factor in Mr. McCain’s strong margin. Mr. Obama won in Jefferson County, which includes the city of Birmingham, and in the Black Belt, but he made few inroads elsewhere.

“Race continues to play a major role in the state,” said Glenn Feldman, a historian at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. “Alabama, unfortunately, continues to remain shackled to the bonds of yesterday.”

David Bositis, senior political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, pointed out that the 18 percent share of whites that voted for Senator John Kerry in 2004 was almost cut in half for Mr. Obama.

“There’s no other explanation than race,” he said.

The NYT article also touches upon some of the attitudes as expressed by local people.

Race was a strong subtext in post-election conversations across the socioeconomic spectrum here in Vernon, the small, struggling seat of Lamar County on the Mississippi border.

One white woman said she feared that blacks would now become more “aggressive,” while another volunteered that she was bothered by the idea of a black man “over me” in the White House.

When Buzzfeed ran the story about America's racist belt, a number of the commentators were infuriated by the suggestion that a part of the US would vote along racist lines. I'm sure other factors came into the mix also, perhaps Obama's perceived lack of experience and fears about the Democratic agenda - but there is little doubt that racism was a key factor.

Tags: Racism, USA, racist belt, presidential election 2008, Barack Obama

No racists down this way

Tags: America's racist belt, Obama, 2008 elections

Ram Bahadur Bomjon : Buddha Boy back from the jungle

According to his followers, Ram Bahadur Bomjon is no less than the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama aka the Buddha.

Buddha Boy became famous three years ago when people flocked to watch him sit cross-legged under a tree in a remote area of south-east Nepal. They claim Bomjon spent 10 months meditating without eating or drinking. When he emerged from this death defying retreat Bomjon didn't exactly look emaciated. You have to suspect someone was slipping him some fruit or possibly power bars and the occasional can of Spike Shooter.

Buddha Boy's long luxuriant hair is reminiscent of Jimmy Page back in Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love period. His mane looks silky smooth - like hair in an ad for a henna shampoo with highlights.

BB's face looks a bit puffy in some photos ... he looks bored out of his skull in other shots, staring vacantly into space as though trying to convey something profound, without being entirely sure what that might be. Most of all he looks like an opportunist, biding his time while his legend spreads courtesy of modern technology.

For every genuine teacher out there, there are a hundred charlatans. They acquire a few powers, a few tricks, then draw spiritual traffic, coin and in the case of Sai Baba ... young dudes not averse to the errr 'touch' of the holy man.

News that Buddha Boy is the reincarnation of Gautama himself has been attracting the credulous who come to gawk and give. 'Volunteers' have been collecting thousands of dollars from pilgrims. This has led to accusations that BB is part of a clever money-making scam.

Bomjon has been caught cheating. He was filmed eating when he was reputed to be fasting. When his followers claimed he was meditating in private, it turned out he was having a snooze. It must be tiring bearing the weight of Buddhahood on your shoulders.

Anyone tempted to head off to Nepal to pay homage to Buddha Boy or seek out any other 'enlightened master' should first link to the False Guru Test - here.

Tags: Ram Bahadur Bomjon, Buddha Boy, Nepal, Sai Baba, false gurus, Buddhism

Students on school bus in Idaho chant 'assassinate Obama'

Raw Story has a report of students in Idaho chanting "assassinate Obama" on a school bus. The incident occurred in Rexburg, Madison County.

Madison County, Idaho was once dubbed "the reddest place in America" by Salon, but that didn't make it any less shocking when elementary school children allegedly started chanting "assassinate Obama" on the school bus.

Matthew Whoolery told KIKD News he found out about the chanting from his second and third graders, who had no idea what the word "assassinate" meant.

Whoolery, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University in Rexburg, is not an Obama supporter, but he was shocked that any public official would be threatened in that way. "I don't think that the majority of people in Rexburg have extreme ideas like that, but we were just surprised that it would go that far," Whoolery told KIKD.

... Rexburg and surrounding Madison County may well be the rosiest place in all of red America. Need numbers to prove it? In the 2004 presidential election, 93 percent of Madison County's votes went to George W. Bush or minor-party conservative candidates -- arguably the reddest result of any county in the entire country.

The population of Madison County is not only heavily Republican but also 97.7% white. One of Rexburg's lone Democrats, a professor at the university, told Salon that "she remembers the time when a group of classmates followed her third-grader home, shouting out 'baby-killer' all along the way. She took it up with the teacher, who didn't seem to mind.

During and after the US election campaign evidence of racism directed at Barack Obama has been hard to miss. Emails, graffiti, posters, T'shirts, flyers etc have shown up on the net.

Some examples:

Even with the election over, incidents continue to make the news. Earlier this week up to a dozen cars were sprayed with racist graffiti on eastern Long Island. At North Carolina State University graffiti included a threat to shoot Obama in the head. Last report the North Carolina NAACP was urging the University to expel the four students involved.

Link here for other reports of post-election incidents.

Tags: Barack Obama, racism, Idaho, NAACP, US election campaign

Cindy McCain: National Enquirer claims she's having an affair

Huffington Post has a report that Cindy McCain might be dating a dude who according to an eyewitness resembles "a washed-up '80s rock musician." On the face it this sounds like a crock but let's pretend it might be possible.

The National Enquirer first broke the story. The Enquirer can be iffy when it comes to the straight goods as we all know - but they got it right on John Edwards' affair, so who knows.

Apparently 'mutiple witnesses' have seen the pair together. One guy said he couldn't believe he was actually watching Cindy McCain kissing and hugging another man. Other witnesses claim to have spotted the couple at concerts and sporting events acting very lovey dovey.

The photo that the Enquirer ran with the story is very grainy, and this has led to hoots of disbelief. However assuming this is an actual photo of the couple and not a cut and paste job, chances are this might in fact be Cindy McCain or her doppleganger.

The Enquirer photo was taken at the Tempe Music Festival where the woman in the pic was allegedly greeted as "Cindy."

Despite the physical similarities, it most likely just comes down to some person who is the spitting image of Cindy McCain - perhaps presently enjoying a huge in-joke with her friends.

Stranger things have happened. Earlier this year a Nicolas Cage lookalike fooled the football team Real Madrid into thinking he was the real thing. The lookalike was given red carpet treatment at the Champion's League match against AS Roma.

If the photo is legit, odds are a blonde Cindy clone out there is having the last laugh.

Tags: Cindy McCain, cheating, National Enquirer, Tempe musical festival, lookalike

Rapper Trick Trick tells gay people 'I don't want your faggot money'

Rapper Trick Trick has a new album coming out and he has a message for the gay community:

I’ma go on the record right now with this. Homosexuals are probably not gonna like this album. Faggots hate me and I don’t give a fuck. I don’t want your faggot money any goddam way. I don’t like it. Carry that shit somewhere else. It’s just that every time that you turn on the TV, that sissy shit is on. And they act like it’s fucking okay. The world is changing for the worst when shit like that happen. And I address that issue. I address it hard as hell.

Trick Trick has long been making his feelings clear on the subject of gays and lesbians. His album Villain includes references to Ellen Degeneres and Rosie O'Donnell as "dyke bitches." There is a promise to send a 'scud missile right through their fucking cruise ship.'

He also advocates the murder of gay men:

He goes both ways, Either way he’s gay
Ain’t no other way to say
He’s a fucking faggot so I’m lettin’ off my AK
Bust ’em in his forehead, He ain’t worth lettin’ live
A man and man shouldn’t raise another man’s kids!

In the UK Ben Summerskill, CEO of the GLBT civil rights advocacy organization Stonewall, points out that a new law passed in the British Parliament will provide legal protections against incitement to hatred or violence on the grounds of sexual orientation. The new laws won't get in the way of genuine freedom of speech.

Summerskill says:

Once the new offense of incitement to homophobic hatred is enacted, anyone who sells or distributes this sort of material will be subject to prosecution.

The election of Obama with his concerns about fairness and human rights, could well pave the way for similar legislation in the US. The homophobic underside of hip-hop casts a shadow on rappers who are seeking to get out a positive message.

As Ice-T once said: "Freedom of speech ... just watch what you say."

Tags: Trick Trick, homophobia, hip-hop, gay rights, Ellen Degeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Stonewall, Ben Summerskill

Chinese outrage : star Gong Li becomes a citizen of Singapore

A leading Chinese actress Gong Li - star of Memoirs of a Geisha - has whipped up a storm of controversy in China following her decision to become a citizen of Singapore. Her name is dirt on some Chinese websites, where she is being accused of treason. Posts include include angry accusations such as: "Why do we make her money for her, just so she can take the money and run."

Some actresses come to embody the national ideal of womanhood, no matter how corny that may seem. Catherine Deneuve is viewed by many of her fans as an icon of French cinema - the embodiment of the French ideal. Gong Li is viewed in a similar way by many Chinese and this has made her 'treachery' seem all the more unforgivable in the eyes of some.

The Chinese web has been stridently nationalistic following the criticism of China in the wake of the Tibet crackdown. The Olympics helped to fan nationalist pride. The online attacks on Gong Li reflect this fervor. The popular portal Sohu.com had the comments: “All traitors will be nailed to history’s mast of shame. We should resolutely reject any further contact with such people” ... “Traitors like this don’t even love their own country. These people were only fake countrymen of ours. Let them slink off to other countries and die!”

Other sites such as sina.com have similar comments voicing outrage.

There are voices that are more sympathetic, noting the constraints on artists in communist countries and pointing out that many Chinese take citizenship in other countries in the hopes of improving their opportunities in life. Such comment though is usually understated since it can be risky bucking the party line.

Chinese state media has helped to drive the controversy by running footage of the actress being sworn in as a Singaporean citizen. It showed her with her hand over her heart at the Teck Ghee Community Club in Singapore where the swearing-in ceremony took place.

China Film Group also got in on the act, running a statement on its website that said that Gong Li was the 'pride of China' and that if she wins awards as a Singaporean star it will offend a lot of Chinese people.

An article in The Independent provides background on her acting career:

The actress was born in China's Liaoning province and for many years was the darling of the arthouse film circuit as the partner and leading lady of Zhang Yimou, an avant-garde director who later embraced the establishment and this year directed the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Ms Gong was his muse and starred in his earlier, better movies, including Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern, as well as The Curse of Golden Flower in 2006.

The Chinese reaction is over-the-top. It's not as if Gong Li's move was an overnight decision. She's been married to Singapore businessman, Ooi Hoe Seong, since 1996.

Tags: Gong Li, Singapore citizenship, China, Sohu.com, sina.com, Ooi Hoe Seong, Memoirs of a Geisha

Anchorage : Greta Van Susteren's softball interview with Palin

FOX's Greta Van Susteren trades on her down-home style to help give the impression she's a no-nonsense interviewer who can be relied to upon to cut to the chase. Not when it comes to Sarah Palin. During the Palin interview in Anchorage, Alaska, Van Susteren might as well have been a paid partisan hired to make Palin look good - while enjoying some moose chili and snowmobiling on the side.

To hear Palin tell it, she barely set a foot wrong during the campaign. The controversial wardrobe just kind of 'appeared.' She never asked for a single thread. In fact she and Todd would have been happy just to have worn their regular outfits on the campaign trail because they like nothing more than being their authentic Alaska selves.

When she was on the trail and the controversy erupted about her pricey new outfits, she announced that the clothes were RNC property. But that didn't prevent some of the clothing ending up on the plane back to Alaska.

Palin was unprepared for the big stage. She lacked knowledge in key areas. At times she screwed up. But she doesn't see it that way, and instead blames the mean media and faceless "jerks" associated with the McCain campaign.

Then of course there is the God factor. In the interview there was lots of false humility, but she made it clear that come 2012 the decision is in God's hands. If she gets the nod from the big guy, she will open the door. God only has to signal that it's her time.

In the course of the interview, Palin referred to bloggers as 'kids in pajamas sitting in the basement of their moms' home.' That's hardly an original line. It's the type of thing conservatives say when they get criticism they don't like from bloggers. It's convenient to turn detractors into kids in pajamas - you don't have to take them seriously.

At various points during the interview Palin put herself forward as a uniter, someone with the good of her country at heart. Strange to hear considering the vicious attacks she launched against Barack Obama, and the hatred she whipped up at her rallies. When she talked about the virtues of "getting along," Van Susteren asked her how she proposed to do that.

She replied:

“You start by not discrediting or invalidating someone because of a position that maybe they take that you are in disagreement with. You learn from them and you're able to find middle ground on so many of these issues... There is always a way to work with another person... Maybe we disagree on some of the particulars on an issue. We don't have to be screamin' at each other, though. Let's find a way to work together and solve a problem.”

Aspects of the governor's track record give the lie to this, but Van Susteren didn't challenge Palin on her assertions.

The interview was more of a 'feel good' exercise than any genuine effort to get behind Palin's act. For the most part Van Susteren took what the governor had to say at face value, and at times almost offered her an open microphone. Aside from a few questions designed to appear tough, the interview was softball journalism.

Just because Palin is seen by some as a victim of the media and a target for Republican detractors eager to place blame, doesn't mean she should be given a free ride.

Tags: Sarah Palin, Greta Van Susteren, interview, FOX, Anchorage, RNC, presidential campaign, John McCain

Operation Alaska : Republican wardrobe retrieval mission

Tags: Sarah Palin, clothes, Republican Party

Edward Stourton : Queen mother 'ghastly old bigot'

BBC presenter Edward Stourton's book on political correctness titled "It's a PC World" was published this week.

Stourton recalls a conversation with the late Queen Mother that he found troubling.

A Guardian article describes what transpired:

The exchange occurred in the early 1990s when Stourton, who currently presents the BBC Today programme on Radio 4, had just returned from covering a European summit. The Queen Mother reportedly commented: "It will never work, you know ... It will never work with all those Huns, wops and dagos."

Recalling the moment, Stourton wrote: "The words were delivered with the eyes on maximum tiara-strength twinkle, but I am afraid I froze. The nation's favourite grandmother was, I thought, in fact a ghastly old bigot, a prey to precisely the kind of prejudice which had driven the conflicts the European project had been designed to prevent ... I thought that what she had said was nasty and ugly.

I'm surprised Stourton was surprised. The British monarchy is an absurd anachronism that has no place in modern society. It doesn't help that many of the royals and their hangers-on would come off best as wax museum exhibits.

Much of the Queen Mother's bigotry was passed off as 'the old girl just being herself' - whatever that means. Presumably this would be similar to the odd tolerance some Brits have for the Duke of Edinburgh's bigoted remarks that have become staple tabloid fodder in the UK. The Duke is never slow with a gaffe. His oddball comments are so numerous a mere article couldn't hope to cover them all.

Here is a sampling:

In 1986 during a state visit to China, The Duke told a group of British students: "If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty-eyed."

During a visit to Australia in 2002, he asked an Australian Aborigine if he was "still throwing spears?"

When visiting a factory near Edinburgh, he commented that an old fashioned fuse box "looked as though it had been put in by an Indian."

In 1984, on a visit to Kenya, when he was presented with a gift by a native woman, he asked: "You are a woman, aren't you?"

In 1993 in Budapest, he came across a fellow Brit and offered the insight: "You can't have been here that long - you haven't got a pot belly."

Last but not least ... in 1998 when chatting with a student who had trekked through New Guinea, Philip said "you managed not to get eaten then?"

Aspects of PC culture can definitely be a drag - but it has helped to sideline the type of racist and misogynist behavior that was pretty commonplace a few decades back. Royal culture though is something else - a world onto itself. When hereditary entitlement and a system of patronage is the rationale for your existence, it's hardly surprising that royals frequently come off as condescending, out-of-touch and offensive.

Tags: Queen Mother, Edward Stourton, ghastly old bigot, Duke of Edinburgh, gaffes

The Irish connection : Barack Obama's other roots

Barack Obama has Irish ancestry on the maternal side. His ancestors lived in the Moneygall area of County Offaly more than 150 years ago. Obama's third great-grandfather, Falmuth Kearney, left Moneygall for New York in 1850, and eventually settled in Ohio.

Genealogists have also found records that indicate Obama is descended from an 18th century Dublin businessman.

A BBC story provides the details:

Researchers at Trinity College, Dublin, delved further into (Obama's) colourful past to find his sixth great-granduncle was a prominent Dublin businessman in the 1700s.

Wig-maker Michael Kearney brushed shoulders with Ireland's aristocracy on a daily basis and bought and sold property throughout the city and parts of the country.

Research director with the Trinity company heritage group Eneclann Fiona Fitzsimons said they were amazed by the discovery.

"I didn't expect this," she said.

"When we started off we had Joseph Kearney, shoemaker, that sounded like a country shopkeeper. We were surprised to find any link to Dublin at all.

"He (Michael) made his money from periwigs and perukes, but then he invested the profits from that in a lot of property.

"I think we found 16 deeds in the registry of deeds and some of those refer to other deeds which we didn't find."

His wig company - regarded as an exclusive and profitable trade at the time - was located just metres from Dublin Castle - the then seat of British power in Ireland.

His business dealings also afforded him the opportunity to become a Freeman of Dublin in 1718 and he ended up very active in the politics of his trade guild.

Within a decade of joining he was elected Master of the Guild of Barber Surgeons.

Not afraid of confrontation, when the aristocracy tried to rig Dublin City Council elections in the 1750s to put in their own candidates Kearney was prominent among the Dublin Guildsmen in opposing them.

The little village of Moneygall on the N7 Limerick road, is proud of its connection to the president-elect. Two billboards announce "Welcome to Obama country."

When Obama won the presidential election, quite a few Moneygall residents headed over to Ollie Hayes' Bar to celebrate. Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys were scheduled to play "There's No One as Irish as Barack Obama."

The song by the Corrigan Brothers is a hit on the internet. It celebrates Obama's Irish roots.

Here's a sampling of the lyrics:

O'Leary, O'Reilly, O'Hare and O'Hara
There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
From the old Blarney Stone to the green Hills of Tara
There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama

Our Barack's a hero, I've heard them say
Fenian to Kenyan, the American Way
He's Cuchulainn, Liongo, not Vishnu or Brahma
But there's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama

Click here to hear it sung.

Obama has said that he will visit the village in Ireland that has adopted him. He might even stop by Ollie's for a brew.

Sláinte Barack!

Tags: Barack Obama, Irish roots, Moneygall, There's No One as Irish as Barack Obama, Falmuth Kearney

Greek and Armenian monks fight in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Jesus is alleged to have taught his followers to "turn the other cheek" when provoked. But when it comes to representatives of his earthly church - fugetabout it!

A brawl erupted on Sunday between Armenian and Christian Orthodox monks in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - the alleged site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

AP writer Matt Friedman, explains the sequence of events that led to the brawl:

The brawling began during a procession of Armenian clergymen commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.

The Greeks objected to the march without one of their monks present, fearing that otherwise, the procession would subvert their own claim to the Edicule - the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus - and give the Armenians a claim to the site.

The Armenians refused, and when they tried to march the Greek Orthodox monks blocked their way, sparking the brawl.

Tags: Greek and Armenian monks, brawl, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jeruslem

Monks of the Holy Sepulcher

Tags: monks, brawl, Holy Sepulcher

Polish lawmaker Artur Gorski : another anti-Obama slur

Artur Gorski, a member of Poland's right-wing Law and Justice party views the victory of Barack Obama as a threat to his kind.

Gorski described Obama as the "black messiah of the new left" and said his victory marks the "end of the civilization of the white man."

Gorski made the comment on Wednesday, a day after Obama's historic victory as America's first African-American president.

The Polish Foreign Ministry has condemned Gorski's racist comments and will urge the Parliament's Ethics Committee to review the case.

Ministry spokesman, Piotr Paskowski, said the government regards the remark as unacceptable.

Tags: Artur Gorski, racism, Obama, Poland, Law and Justice party

Bill Ayers tells it like it was : 'long, strange trip'

Bill Ayers has broken his silence, and talks about the "long, strange trip" he's been through in the course of the recent US election.

His considered reflections on being made a target for lies and misrepresentation was published by In These Times and is well worth the read.

He starts out with:

Whew! What was all that mess? I’m still in a daze, sorting it all out, decompressing.

Pass the Vitamin C.

For the past few years, I have gone about my business, hanging out with my kids and, now, my grandchildren, taking care of our elders (they moved in as the kids moved out), going to work, teaching and writing. And every day, I participate in the never-ending effort to build a powerful and irresistible movement for peace and social justice.

Ayers describes what really transpired between himself and Barack Obama. It was simply an intersection of lives - people who happened to serve on the same board and who happened to live in the same neighborhood. The only sinister thing about it, is what the McCarthyite mindset seeks to make out of it:

During the primary, the blogosphere was full of chatter about my relationship with President-elect Barack Obama. We had served together on the board of the Woods Foundation and knew one another as neighbors in Chicago’s Hyde Park. In 1996, at a coffee gathering that my wife, Bernardine Dohrn, and I held for him, I made a donation to his campaign for the Illinois State Senate.

Obama’s political rivals and enemies thought they saw an opportunity to deepen a dishonest perception that he is somehow un-American, alien, linked to radical ideas, a closet terrorist who sympathizes with extremism—and they pounced.

The demonization of Ayers began in the primaries when Hillary Clinton's campaign "provided the script" for the attacks that were to follow:

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) campaign provided the script, which included guilt by association, demonization of people Obama knew (or might have known), creepy questions about his background and dark hints about hidden secrets yet to be uncovered.

On March 13, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), apparently in an attempt to reassure the “base,” sat down for an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News. McCain was not yet aware of the narrative Hannity had been spinning for months, and so Hannity filled him in: Ayers is an unrepentant “terrorist,” he explained, “On 9/11, of all days, he had an article where he bragged about bombing our Pentagon, bombing the Capitol and bombing New York City police headquarters. … He said, ‘I regret not doing more.’ “

McCain couldn’t believe it.

Neither could I.

On the campaign trail, McCain immediately got on message. I became a prop, a cartoon character created to be pummeled.

When Palin got in on the act, Ayers describes the attacks as going "viral."

When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin got hold of it, the attack went viral. At a now-famous Oct. 4 rally, she said Obama was “pallin’ around with terrorists.” (I pictured us sharing a milkshake with two straws.)

The crowd began chanting, “Kill him!” “Kill him!” It was downhill from there.

Read the full article by Bill Ayers here.

Tags: Bill Ayers, In These Times, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, McCain campaign, Palin

Dizzee Rascal : BBC slammed for hip-hop perspective on Obama

The BBC has come under fire for bringing on hip-hop star Dizzee Rascal to discuss the consequences of the Obama victory.

Some members of the British black community take the view that Dizzee Rascal's presence on the Barack Obama Newsnight special played up "negative stereotypes" of inner city black youth. They point to Dizzee's use of slang terms such as "innit" and "wassappenin'" as an example.

They need to chill out. Dizzee Rascal may not be their idea of a role model, but he is a talented artist - winner of the prestigious Mercury Award in 2003 - and his opinion added some zing to a middle-of-the-road show. He understands that the Obama campaign owed some of its success to reaching out and using the vehicle of popular culture to help bring out the youth vote.

DJ Semtex, a presenter on BBC's 1Xtra, said on his blog: "Dizzee was sincere, accurate, unfazed by the political process, and entertaining, which is why they put him on primetime TV."

Absolutely right. To view Dizzee as not being 'representative of the black community' isn't the point - he was representing himself and a point-of-view that many young people identify with. Moreover, Dizzee wasn't the solo black guest on the Newsnight interview. Baroness Amos, was also a guest - so there was a balance.

More troubling than Dizzee's presence was host Jeremy Paxman's question - "Mr Rascal - do you feel yourself to be British?" Considering that Dizzee is a Brit - born Dylan Mills, 1985, in East London - how weird is that?

Lee Billingham of Love Music Hate Racism had this to say about Paxman's question:

Why does a leading BBC news journalist deem it necessary to ask a black British person 'do you feel yourself to be British'? ... it seems that even if you're third or fourth generation British, if you have black or brown skin then your nationality can be brought into question, where your white counterpart's would not.

Link to the Dizzee Rascal video here.


Tags: Dizzee Rascal, Jeremy Paxman, Newsnight, BBC, Lady Amos, Boy in da Corner, Obama

Obama family and friends watching the election returns

The Obama campaign has posted photos of the soon-to-be First Family on election night, watching the results coming in. Sasha, Malia, Michelle, Jill and Joe Biden, Plouffe, Gibbs and Axelrod all make an appearance. Quite the photographic treat.

Tags: Barack Obama, election night photos

Klaus Emmerich : Austrian journalist smears Obama ... says 'blacks aren't as politically civilized'

What is it about Austria and its tolerance for far-right racists and xenophobes? In the recent Austrian elections the combined far-right tally was 29% of the vote.

Heinz-Christian Strache who heads up the Freedom Party has been filmed hanging out with banned German neo-Nazis. He has openly mocked gay people, called for the deportation of immigrants and the repeal of laws banning Nazi revivalism. Nonetheless Austrians gave Strache and his far right loons 18% - close to a fifth of the vote. Eleven percent went to the late Jorg Haider's Movement for Austria's Future.

When you are speaking of far-right Austrian extremists, racism is to be expected. But when a mainstream Austrian TV personality named Klaus Emmerich drops blatant racist remarks about Obama, you have to wonder what the hell is going on.

Emmerich isn't just some fringe commentator. He is a well known personality on Austrian TV news, with a career spanning 61 years. He spent time in the USA as a correspondent for ORF - Austria's public television broadcaster. Emmerich has been described by Der Spiegel as the Austrian version of Wolf Blitzer, the well known CNN commentator.

On Wednesday, while discussing the US election on ORF, Emmerich said: 'I do not want the western world being directed by a black man. And if you say this is a racist remark, I say you are damn right it is.'

After digging this hole, Emmerich dug deeper. He said Americans were ... "racists, now as before, and it must be going very badly for them that they so convincingly ... send a black man, and a black, very good-looking woman, into the White House."

ORF has distanced itself from Emmerich's comments. But this hasn't cooled Emmerich's jets - quite the opposite. He told the Austrian Standard that the rise of Obama was 'a highly disturbing development' because "blacks aren't as politically civilized."

In an interview with Die Presse, he explains Obama's success by attributing it to "a devil-like talent to present his rhetoric so effectively."

In addition to being offensive, Emmerich's comments are so wrong and idiotic they almost defy a reasoned response. It obviously escapes Emmerich's attention that some of the greatest tyrants and jackasses in history have presided in the palaces and parliaments of Europe - and none of them had a trace of African blood in their veins.

Although ORF has disassociated itself from Emmerich's remarks, it has refused to fire him. It claims it is reviewing the situation. Very Austrian of them.

Tags: Klaus Emmerich, racist Obama comments, ORF, Austria, Strache, Haider

Fake photo of Kim Jung-il raises suspicions

Where is Dear Leader? In August there was a mysterious lag in the usual news reports and images released by KCNA, the North Korean news agency. Since then photos of Kim Jung-il have been circulating that most experts believe to be either dated or fake, or both.

There has been speculation that Kim is seriously ill. Kim Sung Ho, head of South Korea's spy agency has confirmed media reports that Kim suffered a stroke.

The preponderance of evidence to date suggests that Kim has suffered a medical setback of some sort - something North Korean authorities are keen to cover up.

Japan's Fuji Television reported that a top French brain surgeon, Francois-Xavier Roux, had admitted flying to Pyongyang. Roux denied that he had made the trip initially until faced with footage that showed him boarding Pyongyang-bound plane. He then admitted making the trip but claims that he didn't treat Kim Jung-il.

The North Koreans have gone to great lengths to create the appearance of normality. Fake photos aren't exactly new. They have been known to fake photos in the past for propaganda purposes. One with Kim on Paektu Mountain in the company of his late father is an example.

They're lousy at photoshopping images. Most North Korean fakes can be easily spotted. In the recent offering, the shadow cast by Kim's leg points in a different direction from the shadows cast by the soldiers. There is also evidence of mismatched pixels.

A photo released in October showed Dear Leader with summer-like foliage in the background. They can't even get their seasons right.

They also concoct tall tales when it suits them. Earlier this week the state-controlled North Korean media announced that Kim had attended a musical performance at which he “waved back to the cheering performers and congratulated them on their presentation” - but no photographic evidence to back the claim.

If in fact he is capable of getting around and even waving enthusiastically, you have to wonder what stops him from posing for a photo, rather than have his wizards cut and paste yet another digital facsimile.

Tags: Kim Jung-il, fake photo, KCNA, stroke, North Korea, Kim Sung Ho

Fake photos of Kim Jung-il that have been discredited

Tags: Kim Jung-il, fake photos

Berlusconi refers to Obama as 'suntanned' and 'a messiah'

Barack Obama's US election victory has been greeted around the world with messages of support. There have also been a few mixed messages. One such came from the perma-tanned Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who has a reputation for being a bit of a joker.

At a joint press conference in Moscow with Russian President, Dmitri Medvedev, Berlusconi sarcastically remarked that Obama's election to the White House had been "hailed by world public opinion as the arrival of a messiah."

He then went on to express a hope for better relations between Russia and the US. In doing so he referred to Obama as "...handsome, young and suntanned."

Berlusconi's humor isn't appreciated by a good many of his fellow citizens. La Republica announced "Right on time, here comes the first sensational gaffe." An opposition member of parliament, Dario Franceschini, demanded that the Primi Minister apologize, saying that referring to Obama as "suntanned" is "an insult loaded with dangerous ambiguity."

Berlusconi is known for his off-color humor. His joking caused a diplomatic row in 2005, when he indicated that he had used his "playboy tactics" on President Tarja Halonen of Finland to ensure her backing for Italy to host the European Food Safety Authority.

His statement ... "I had to use all my playboy tactics, even if they have not been used for some time" ... prompted Helsinki to summon the Italian ambassador to explain the remarks.

At an EU ministers' summit in 2002, Berlusconi made a hand sign behind the head of the Spanish foreign minister, Josep Piqué, during an official photoshoot. The sign, known as the "corna," was meant to indicate that Piqué was a cuckold.

When he took on the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers in 2003, one of Berlusconi's chief detractors was German SPD Member, Martin Schulz. At one point the Italian PM responded to criticism from Schulz with:

"Mr Schulz, I know a movie producer in Italy who is making a movie about Nazi concentration camps. I suggest you play the role of a Kapo. You are perfect for the part!"

Next to Obama, the perpetually tanned, cosmetically enhanced billionaire with his far right associates is the real joke - it's just that nobody's laughing.

Tags: Silvio Berlusconi, Obama, US election, suntanned, messiah

Proposition 8 unites gays and allies in West Hollywood protest

An hours-long protest took place on several LA area streets to protest the passage of Proposition 8, the initiative that bans same-sex marriage. Protesters headed for the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that has opposed same -sex marriage.

The LA Times reports:

Police closed portions of Westwood Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard around the temple, and traffic in the area quickly became clogged.

The actual number of demonstrators is in dispute. A Los Angeles Police Department official earlier estimated the crowd to be about 3,000. But another LAPD spokesman later placed the estimate at 500 to 1,000.

Photos by Dan Steinberg

The California Supreme Court ruled in May that same-sex couples had the right to get married. As many as 18,000 gay couples took advantage of their new rights until the election on Tuesday resulted in voters approving Proposition 8, which denies marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Despite this legal step backward, gay and lesbian weddings performed in the state will remain valid.

This from Pink News:

With 100% of precincts reporting, 52.5% or (5,387,939) voted in favour and 47.5 (4,883,460) against. Opponents of Prop 8 claim "there are more than 3 million and possibly as many as 4 million absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted."

The California Secretary of State is expected to reveal today how many votes are yet to be counted as well as where they are from.

Legal challenges are underway:

The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights have filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court urging them to invalidate Proposition 8.

The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians.

Proposition 8 also "improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities."

The groups also claim that radical changes to the organizing principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first.

Anger and raw emotion was on display during the protest. Sean Hetherington and his partner Aaron Hartzler pointed to some of the problems with Proposition 8 support. Hartzler said he believes Proposition 8 supporters 'lied to scare and confuse people by suggesting that if the proposition failed, gay marriage would be taught in schools.'

Hetherington said: "they are using gay Americans as a wedge issue and we don't accept that."

Tags: Proposition 8, protest, Los Angeles, Civil Liberties Union, LAMDA, National Center for Lesbian Rights

Sarah Palin : behind the scenes revelations

In the aftermath of an election, you start to get the skinny about what really went on behind-the-scenes. Goings-on from the campaign trail and off-the-record remarks make it into print in magazines such as Newsweek which undertook a Special Election Project.

More details have emerged about Sarah Palin's shopping excesses, her 'knowledge deficit' and exhibitionist tendencies.

Palin's shopping spree was much more extensive and costly than first reported. In fact she went over-the-top with such abandon, an aide characterized her shopping offensive as: "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast."

This from Newsweek:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

Other details have emerged about the Alaskan governor's erratic behavior behind-the-scenes.

The Couric interview exposed a startling void in Palin's grasp of both geography and foreign policy realities, but it gets worse. Fox political correspondent, Carl Cameron, reported that McCain staffers were greatly concerned that Palin lacked "a degree of knowledgeability necessary to be a running mate, a vice president, a heartbeat away from the presidency." They had reason to be concerned ... she didn't know what countries were in NAFTA ... which amounts to not knowing what countries make up North America. More troubling - according to Cameron's sources she wasn't sure if Africa was a continent or a country. Watch the clip from the O'Reilly Factor here.

When she attended the GOP convention in St Paul, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, stopped by her hotel room on campaign business. Fresh from the shower, Palin appeared wearing only a towel and told them to chat with her husband Todd while she was off getting dressed.

Palin was hell for staffers to deal with. She refused help to prepare for the Couric interview, then when it turned out be a disaster, blamed everyone but herself - reserving special blame for Nicole Wallace. When she reviewed press clippings in the morning, she would throw tantrums about negative coverage and become so nasty staffers were reduced to tears.

When John McCain made his concession speech, Palin wanted to speak also. There had been a speech prepared for her, but McCain's chief strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the plan.

Palin in 2012? Yeah why not - the GOP offers superb entertainment value.

Tags: Sarah Palin, shopping spree, McCain campaign, Todd Palin, Steve Schmidt, Mark Salter, Couric interview, GOP

Barack Obama victory : acceptance speech and photos

Tonight the president-elect of the United States, Barack Obama, appeared before hundreds of thousands of supporters at Grant Park in Chicago to deliver his acceptance speech.

Obama was his cool and composed self. There was an air of humility as he delivered the words the world was waiting to hear. He spoke thoughtfully, but with great conviction. It was a speech that was both deeply moving and yet tempered with realism. It summoned belief - "yes we can" - and called for unity and common purpose.

It was a classy speech delivered with the cool poise we have come to expect from Barack Obama, who has proved throughout the course of this US presidential campaign that he is a leader with an extraordinary sense of mission, and an extraordinary sense of destiny.

The link to the video of the speech here.

Some key excerpts:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Photos from Grant Park:

Photos from around the world:

Israel

Greece

China

India

Japan

France

Philippines

Indonesia

Kenya

Netherlands

Tags: Barack Obama, US election victory, Grant Park, speech

Nun attack : Italian restaurateur says 'nuns assaulted me'

Guardian reports an alleged nun attack on Italian restaurateur, Aniello Esposito, who runs a restaurant in Rutino, Campania.

He said he arrived at the restaurant recently to find two elderly nuns and a priest throwing furniture into the street. When Esposito tried to prevent them from doing this, they turned on him.

He alleges the priest knocked him to the ground with a chair. The nuns then moved in and began kicking him.

Esposito was taken to hospital and doctors found neck and abdominal contusions - injuries listed on his hospital file. The nuns' lawyer denies his clients were behind the attack.

Apparently the priest and nuns believed the premises had been illegally occupied by Esposito. They were upset to discover that a wall had been knocked down and seating installed.

Esposito denies the accusation and claims he rented the premises in good faith: "But I was giving out receipts, which didn't suit the nuns, who wanted everything under the counter," he said.

Tags: Aniello Esposito, nun attack, Rutino, Catholic Church

Haram Iran : dangerous world of gay teens in Iran

A play titled "Haram Iran" will open November 8th at the Athenaeum Theater in Chicago.

Kilian Melloy, an Edge contributor, provides some background to this important opening:

Based on the true story of two Iranian teens who were put to death after a trial in 2005 in Mashad, Iran, Haram Iran, written by Jay Paul Deratany and directed by David Zak, is set to open on Saturday, November 8th, at 8:00 p.m.

Perhaps the most tragic aspect of the story is that it is not even clear that the two boys, both fifteen, were gay. Many heterosexual youths experiment sexually with same-sex friends before determining their innate preference.

Either way, Ayaz Marhjouni and Mahmoud Asgari were hauled up before a religious court and accused, under the strict and anti-gay tenets of Sharia law, of crimes against God in a play that, while true to names, dates, and places, is partly fictionalized by necessity, filling in details that are not known in the West.

The factual details on which the play is based include the initial charges of homosexuality and the fact that the judge reacted to international pressure not by showing lenience, but by changing the charge to the more serious crime of rape.

The press release makes clear that while the play targets the flawed legal system in Iran, it is not intended to "critique or criticize Muslims, or the Muslim faith, which is a loving and peaceful religion."

For more information on human rights crimes in Iran check out Gays Without Borders. Also these links ... Washington Post ... BBC ... UKGayNews.Org.UK

You can purchase tickets at www.haramiran.com
The Athenaeum Theatre
2936 N. Southport
Chicago, IL 60657

The show runs Nov 8 through December 7.

Tags: Haram Iran, Edge, Athenaeum Theater, Kilian Melloy, Islam, Iran, gay rights

Obama wins in towns with early vote

Two towns that traditionally open US election voting have come out for Obama. Dixville Notch began its tradition of midnight voting soon after Hart's Location.

In Hart's Location Obama won 17 votes, McCain 10 and Ron Paul two.

In Dixville Notch Obama won 15 votes to McCain's six.

These are small communities but it's a symbolic beginning to a historic day that could see the largest turnout for a presidential election in US history.

Tags: Obama win, Dixville Notch, Hart's Location, US presidential race

Susanne Klatten: sex tape used to blackmail female billionaire

Susanne Klatten is listed as #55 on Forbes.com billionaire list. An October edition of Manager Magazine, ranked her as the fourth wealthiest German. Her net worth is reputed to be around 7.8 billion euros - wealth she inherited from her father, the industrialist Herbert Quandt of BMW fame. Klatten holds a large stake in BMW and also in the Altana chemical company.

Although the super-rich are obvious targets for blackmail, Klatten didn't seem the type to be embroiled in a sex tape scandal. She's married with three kids ... described as a private person with a low-key lifestyle. The only interview she is known to have given was to Quandt biographer, Rüdiger Jungbluth.

In 2006 Klatten met a guy named Helg Sgarbi. The two had an affair, meeting up some of the time in Monte Carlo. Italian news reports describe Sgarbi as "a Swiss gigolo".

The encounters were secretly taped either by Sgarbi or an associate, Ernano Baretta, in a hotel where Klatten and Sgarbi met for their trysts.

Initially Sgarbi's money requests centered around his claim that he was being threatened by the mafia and needed large sums of money to pay them off. Klatten was convinced by these entreaties and agreed to pay him seven million euros. She met Sgarbi in an underground garage of a Holiday Inn they frequented and handed over 14 plastic folders each containing 500 -euro banknotes.

Sgarbi pushed his luck further. He told Klatten to leave her husband and place 290 million euros in a trust fund so they could begin a new life together.

Klatten refused. In an effort to increase the pressure Sgarbi turned to blackmail. Klatten received a CD containing stills from the sex tape. There was also the threat that if Klatten didn't come through with 49 million euros, subsequently lowered to 14 million, the video footage would be released to the press. It was around this stage that she went to the police.

German police arrested Sgarbi in Austria where he had gone to meet Klatten in the belief that she was going to pay up.

Sgarbi allegedly told the cops he had targeted Klatten as a form of retribution because Quandt industries had worked with the Nazis during WW2. He said his Jewish grandfather had been forced to work in one of the Quandt steel factories.

Whether or not there is any truth to Sgarbi's claim, the Quandt-Nazi connection is well known. An investigation into the connection aired on German TV last year. The program claimed that the family owed a large part of its fortune to slave labor used in factories during the WW2 era.

Tags: Susanne Klatten, blackmail, Helg Sgarbi, Ernano Baretta, Quandt industries, BMW

Sarah Palin tricked by prank call : believed Canadian comedian was President Sarkozy

Canadian comedian, Marc Antoine Audette, succeeded in convincing Sarah Palin that he was the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Audette used a rather comical, exaggerated French accent during a six-minute chat that was aired on a Montreal radio station. Amongst other topics, he chatted with Palin about politics, Carla Bruni and a possible joint hunting trip.

When Audette told Palin that he could see her as president one day, Palin laughed and said: "Maybe in eight years."

Audette's more outlandish remarks didn't seem to alert Palin to the prank nature of the call.

In reference to the Alaskan governor's foreign policy experience and her claim that she could 'see Russia from land here in Alaska,' the comedian kidded - "You know we have a lot in common also, because from my house I can see Belgium."

Palin replies: "Well, see, we're right next door to different countries that we all need to be working with, yes."

When Audette passed off the singer, Steph Carse, as Canada's Prime Minister ... Palin bought it and said: "Well, he's doing fine and yeah, when you come into a position underestimated it gives you an opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder."

Canadian PM is actually Stephen Harper, and to say he came into "a position underestimated" is off-base. Unlike the McCain-Palin ticket, Harper was ahead in the polls leading up to the election.

Palin didn't appear to twig even when Audette/Sarkozy said he is "so hot in bed" and told her that Carla Bruni has written a song about Joe the Plumber titled "De rouge a levre sur un cochon" - which translates as "Lipstick on a pig."

Marc Antoine Audette and fellow comedian Sebastien Trudel call themselves the Masked Avengers. In the past they have placed prank calls to Nicolas Sarkozy himself, former French president Jacques Chirac and Britney Spears.

Palin spokesperson, Tracey Schmitt, had this to say about the call:

"Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters."

Tags: Marc Antoine Audette, Masked Avengers, Sarah Palin, Sebastien Trudel, Montreal

Sarah Palin gets a second prank call

Tags: Sarah Palin, Bart Simpson, foreign policy

Virgin Atlantic fires 13 for remarks on Facebook that 'bring company into disrepute'

Virgin Atlantic has fired 13 cabin crew for joking on Facebook about faulty engines, cockroaches and referring to passengers as "chavs." Definition of "chavs" here.

The Guardian reports:

The airline said yesterday the employees' behaviour was "totally inappropriate" and "brought the company into disrepute".

Disciplinary action was launched last week amid claims flight crew had criticised its safety standards and insulted passengers on the social networking site.

Other comments joked that planes were full of cockroaches and claimed the airline's jet engines were replaced four times in one year.

It is understood the messages were posted by members of a Facebook group about planes flying from Gatwick, which has now been removed.

The airline said 13 staff members participated in a discussion on Facebook which "brought the company into disrepute and insulted some of our passengers.

Companies that go sleuthing on Facebook for evidence against employees could well have something to hide. Remarks about faulty engines and cockroaches might just be tall stories coming from disgruntled employees - on the other hand there may be something to the allegations. Virgin's heavy handed approach tends to re-enforce the latter impression.

Privacy on the internet has many loopholes. The net is a public domain and anything you post can be retrieved and potentially used against you, no matter how justified a person might feel about speaking out.

Virgin employees are far from the only Facebook casualties. A guy named James Brennan was fired from his job with John Lewis Partnership in London. Brennan had the bright idea of using "Fuck the Partnership" as his Facebook status.

As Ice-T said : “freedom of speech, just watch what you say”.

Tags: Virgin Atlantic, Facebook, cabin crew, faulty engines, cockroaches, Ice-T