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[Carlos Spicy Wiener]

Vandals have desecrated about 70 graves in two Palestinian Christian cemeteries in what a Palestinian Authority official said was a rare attack on the Christian minority in the occupied West Bank.


A church official in the village of Jiffna near Ramallah, where the attack took place, called in Palestinian security officials to investigate, but neither he nor the investigators said they had any initial clues who was responsible.

"This unfortunate incident has brought Muslims and Christians closer and many from the Muslim community have shown solidarity with us and have condemned this action," said George Abdo, Greek Orthodox Church official.

He said grave stones had been smashed and metal and stone crosses knocked off graves in the attack, which was discovered on Sunday. The head and a hand of a statue of the Madonna adorning one of the graves were also broken off.

Mr Abdo said it was the first time such an incident had occurred in the village.

Issa Kassissieh, a Palestinian Authority official and adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas on Christian affairs, said he believed it was "an isolated act against Christian symbols".

"Palestinian Christians and Muslims have always lived in harmony in the Holy Land," Kassissieh said.

Jiffna, northeast of Ramallah, is home to some 1,600 inhabitants, about two thirds of whom are Christians from the Greek Orthodox and Catholic communities.

The Palestinian Authority says 50,000 of the West Bank's 2.5 million Arab population are Christians.

Though statistics are unclear, officials say many Christians have emigrated in recent decades. Most cite economic hardships under Israeli occupation, though some also voice fears of less tolerant forms of Islam growing among Palestinians, who in 2006 gave a parliamentary majority to the Islamist movement Hamas.

During a visit this month Pope Benedict tried to soothe Muslim anger over past remarks on Islam and urged Palestinian Christians not to follow others in emigrating abroad.

[Carlos Spicy Wiener]

The Church of Scientology faces being thrown out of France if it is found guilty of organised fraud in a landmark trial which opened in Paris.



The charges, which also include claims of illegally prescribing drugs, were filed by France's professional pharmaceutical association and two women who accuse the Scientologists of bringing about their financial ruin.

One woman claimed she was psychologically pressured into paying thousands of pounds for lessons, books, drugs and a device called an "electrometer" which the church says can measure a person's mental state.

The church's main structure in France, the AGES-Celebrity Centre, and its bookshop face charges of "organised fraud", along with six of its leaders.

The six, including Alain Rosenberg, 60, the manager of the AGES-Celebrity Centre, face a maximum million-euro fine and ten year jail term if convicted. The church itself faces a five million-euro fine and closure.

The case has taken ten years to come to court.

Scientology is not banned in France but has been considered a sect since 1995.

It is a recognised religion in the United States, where it was founded in 1954 by L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer. Followers include Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

This is only the second time the church itself has been targeted in France. All other trials have been of individuals.

One of the female plaintiffs, Aude-Claire Malton, was allegedly approached by Scientologists in a Paris street in 1998 and offered a personality test, which, according to the prosecution were "void of scientific value". The Scientologists' sole aim, they argued, was to "claim their fortune" by "exercising a psychological hold" over her.

The 33-year old was allegedly gradually persuaded to hand over around ?20,000 on books, communication and "life healing" lessons, as well as "purification packs".

Three other former Scientologists retracted their complaints after reportedly reaching an out-of-court financial settlement with the church.

One reportedly received 33,000 euros (?29,000).

The Church of Scientology said: "It's a trial for heresy: this could only happen in France... Let people choose their own path." The body's lawyer, Patrick Maisonneuve, said that all organisations contained "lost sheep" ? including the Catholic Church ? but "the only question in this trial is: was there embezzlement ? certainly not whether Scientology is a religion or not".

The trial runs until June 10.

The Church of Scientology has powerful supporters in the US, notably Tom Cruise, the film star, who discussed his beliefs with Nicolas Sarkozy when he was still interior minister in 2004. Their meeting took place two months after the end of the embezzlement investigation.

Controversy erupted last year, when President Sarkozy's private secretary, Emmanuelle Mignon, said that sects in France were a "non-problem" and said that the Church of Scientology should be allowed to "exist in peace".

[Carlos Spicy Wiener]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to completely eliminate the state?s welfare program for families, medical insurance for low-income children and Cal Grants cash assistance to college and university students.

The proposals to sharply scale back the assistance that California provides to its neediest residents came in testimony by the administration this afternoon at a joint legislative budget committee hearing. It followed comments by the governor earlier today that he would be withdrawing a proposal to help balance the budget with billions of dollars of borrowing and replacing it with program reductions.

The proposals would completely reshape the state?s social service network, transforming California from one of the country?s most generous states to one of the most tightfisted. The proposals are intended to help close a budget deficit estimated at $21.3 billion.

[Carlos Spicy Wiener]

Tony Blair viewed his decision to go to war in Iraq and Kosovo as part of a "Christian battle", according to one of his closest political allies


The former Prime Minister's faith is claimed to have influenced all his key policy decisions and to have given him an unshakeable conviction that he was right.

John Burton, Mr Blair's political agent in his Sedgefield constituency for 24 years, says that Labour's most successful ever leader ? in terms of elections won ? was driven by the belief that "good should triumph over evil".

It's very simple to explain the idea of Blair the Warrior," he says. "It was part of Tony living out his faith."

Mr Blair has previously admitted that he was influenced by his Christian faith, but Mr Burton reveals for the first time the strength of his religious zeal.

Mr Burton makes the comments in a book he has written, and which is published this week, called "We Don't Do God".

In it he portrays a prime minister determined to follow a Christian agenda despite attempts to silence him from talking about his faith.

"While he was at Number 10, Tony was virtually gagged on the whole question of religion," says Mr Burton.

"Alastair [Campbell] was convinced it would get him into trouble with the voters.

"But Tony's Christian faith is part of him, down to his cotton socks. He believed strongly at the time, that intervention in Kosovo, Sierra Leone ? Iraq too ? was all part of the Christian battle; good should triumph over evil, making lives better."

Mr Burton, who was often described as Mr Blair's mentor, says that his religion gave him a "total belief in what's right and what's wrong", leading him to see the so-called War on Terror as "a moral cause".

"I truly believe that his Christianity affected his policy-making on just about everything from aid to Africa, education, poverty, world debt and intervening in other countries when he thought it was right to do it.

"The fervour was part of him and it comes back to it being Christian fervour that spurred him into action for better or worse."

Mr Burton says that inherent in Mr Blair's faith was the belief that people should be treated fairly: "He applied that same principle in everything he did ? from establishing the Social Exclusion Unit to ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, and ridding Iraq of the evils of Saddam Hussein's rule."

The comments will add to the suspicions of Mr Blair's critics, who fear he saw the Iraq war in a similar light to former US President George W Bush, who used religious rhetoric in talking about the conflict, as well as the war in Afghanistan, describing them as "a crusade".

Last week, Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, was accused of sending the Mr Bush memos during the Iraq war that featured quotes from the Bible alongside images of American soldiers.

Anti-war campaigners criticised remarks Mr Blair made in 2006, suggesting that the decision to go to war in Iraq would ultimately be judged by God.

Mr Blair was not worried by people questioning his decisions, Mr Burton says, but was "genuinely shocked if they questioned his morality because there was never a dividing line between his politics and Christianity".

Although key advisers such as Mr Campbell tried to stop him talking about his faith while prime minister ? famously declaring "we don't go God" ? Mr Burton says that he was nevertheless determined to fight secularism.

Mr Burton, who coauthored the book with Eileen McCabe, a journalist, said Mr Blair wanted to "buffet the secular society that dominated life in Britain" and thought it was "time to nudge it in the other direction".

Tony Blair complained in 2007 that he had been unable to talk about his faith while in office as he would have been perceived as "a nutter".

"It's difficult if you talk about religious faith in our political system," he said. "If you are in the American political system or others then you can talk about religious faith and people say 'yes, that's fair enough' and it is something they respond to quite naturally. You talk about it in our system and, frankly, people do think you're a nutter."

Since leaving Downing Street, he has set up the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and given a number of interviews about his faith.

Last month, he challenged the attitudes of the Pope on homosexuality, and argued that it is time for him to "rethink" his views.

[maxbailey]

The Australian government has admitted that cash hand-outs aimed at stimulating the economy have been sent to thousands of people who are dead.

The money was part of a multi-billion dollar package under which every tax-payer was entitled to a payment of up to A$900 ($700, ?440).

About A$14m of the money went to dead people, ministers said, and A$25m to Australians living overseas.

Local media have dubbed the deceased recipients "the grateful dead".

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said that the money would still help Australia's economy.

"Even where they go to people who are dead, of course they go to the estate," he told local media.

"The estate typically is going to consist of ordinary Australians who will in turn get the payments, and on balance over time, will spend those payments."

He did acknowledge that a "tiny proportion" of the money might be spend overseas, by expatriates.

But another minister said more than 99% of the money had gone to the right people.

Members of the opposition were not appeased.

"If anybody saw any of the dead out there spending up big at Harvey Norman or Coles or Woolworths, please let me know," ABC news quoted Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham as saying.

[Mr Handlebars]

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I got nothing against muslims, but these Taliban extremist need to be wiped off the face of the earth.

Crackdown on 'Cleavage of the Buttocks'
by : Tim McElreavy
June 9th, 2009



Lawmakers in the city of Yakima, WA, have apparently had enough. Yesterday the city council voted 5-2 to change the city's indecent exposure laws to include "cleavage of the buttocks," that is, exposing a thong or G-string in public. Women caught showing off their assets can now be fined $1,000 or face up to 90 days in jail. If a child under the age of 14 is considered a victim of indecent exposure, those penalities are increased to $5,000 and up to a year in jail. The new law was spearheaded by Yakima's Mayor Dave Elder in response to a new trend in hiring scantily clad women to work in coffee shops. Dubbed 'sexpresso,' businesses are now using sex in the form of attractive barristas exposing thong underwear to sell coffee. Three such establishments have opened recently in Yakima. Many of the town's women have complained about the new law. One resident wrote in a letter to the editor in the local newspaper, "For those who do not have horse's blinders on, it's the society that prohibits that ends up being like the Taliban." However, Elder, a church pastor, defends his position, "If you want to create an environment where crime can happen, you turn a blind eye to adult businesses. And that's why this is important to me." Sounds like somebody in that town needs to turn the other cheek.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

By Robert Strohmeyer, PC World

It may seem like Facebook and Twitter widen the gaps between boomers, Gen X-ers and members of Generation Y, but online social networks may bring us all closer.

The story is as old as the Web: A social network born among 20-something college kids and young wired professionals sprouts up, apparently out of nowhere, and grows into a cultural phenomenon. Eventually, it reaches critical mass and explodes, its mushroom cloud drawing the attention of millions of baby boomers, leading to a huge influx of new users, which in turn triggers complaints from the youngsters who started it all. The invasion of the boomers spurs some members of younger generations to flee the carnage (and the fallout) in search of fresher territory.

We've seen this scenario play out on MySpace and Facebook, and now it is starting to happen on Twitter. When the Baby Boomers -- traditionally defined as anyone born in the United States between 1946 and 1964 -- arrive, they tend to do so en masse. And when they set up camp, they invariably change the dynamic of the social network itself. Whether due to their distinctive social habits or the sheer vastness of their demographic, a mass migration of 50-and-over folk brings in its train everything from increased political activity to a proliferation of spam.

That boomers dramatically alter the social networks they adopt should come as no surprise, according to Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a think tank that studies Americans' online habits. "Boomers are the mainstream of the country now," Rainie says. "When you attract a mainstream audience, you're going to attract a lot more commercial interests. Boomers validate that this is a big market, and that this is a place where commercial interests can make money."

End of innocence
The twin processes of mainstreaming and commercialization mark an end of innocence on a social network, as younger users lose what was once their private playground or -- even worse -- have to share it with their parents.

"Younger folks don't want their parents there," Rainie says. "But does that mean they'll all flock to different places?"

Not yet, according to data collected by Rainie and his colleagues at the Pew Research Center. Though a few early adopters may jump ship as a social network that was once on the electronic frontier gets swallowed up by digital suburbs, most stick around -- at least until a major new network arrives to supplant the old one, as Facebook has done with MySpace.

Still, there's no shortage of anecdotal evidence that sharing the online world can be a source of intergenerational strife. Take Will Smith (no, not the actor), for example. When this 33-year-old tech professional received a Facebook friend request from his father in March, he was floored. Not because he didn't want to connect with his dad, but because doing so on the same network that he shared with so many peers and colleagues raised a host of complex concerns.

"My father, who I dearly love, has a tendency to forward e-mails that are pretty off-color," Smith says. "It's probably nothing that would get me fired, but stuff that could earn me a trip to HR, if I ever opened them [at work]. My concern was that he would post that type of message on my wall or in another public venue on Facebook without realizing it was a public venue. Since everyone from my immediate supervisor to the president of my company is in my friend list, there's potential for bad things to happen. I don't think anything actually would, but there was strong potential for embarrassment."

To reduce the likelihood of a career-damaging dust-up, Smith sent his dad an e-mail in which he laid out what he considered reasonable limits for their online father-son bonding. Off-limits: "Politics, sex, jokes, things you find funny but offend me, comments about family members, any combination of the aforementioned items and pretty much every e-mail you've ever sent me."

Ultimately, Smith's worst-case scenario never came to pass and -- perhaps because of that e-mail -- his father never logged back into Facebook. But according to data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, people of the same age as Smith's father are logging onto Facebook in droves, and baby boomers are now the fastest growing population on the social network.

Share and share alike?
To get a more personal take on the way family politics play out on Facebook, I called up a baby boomer I know pretty well: my Aunt Linda. She is on my Facebook friend list, as are her three children, ages 20, 23 and 25. In contrast to the Smiths, for whom an online connection proved troubling, my aunt came to Facebook in the first place because her college-age daughter invited her. For Aunt Linda, it's mainly a fun way to keep up with her kids while they're away from home.

"I try not to meddle," she says. "I typically go on there, look at their latest pictures and log off."

But like many of her generation, she is deeply concerned about the amount of personal information that her kids -- particularly her 20-year-old daughter, who is still in school -- share online.

"It really worries me. Not just possibility of stalkers, but also because of the way it represents her online. I know that [her older brother] had employers checking out his MySpace page when he was interviewing for jobs right out of school."

Pew's Rainie confirms that my aunt's concerns are hardly unusual for a member of her generation. "Older Americans are worried about the way younger users behave -- how much they disclose, how they present themselves. They wonder, 'Aren't they concerned about the future?' They're aware that [kids] are creating a permanent record on the Internet."

It's the Smith family dynamic in reverse: The voice of age and experience seeks to caution the young against potentially harmful exuberance in the online world.

Different strokes
In addition to basic differences in attitude that seem to arise with differences in age, each generation tends to use social technologies in different ways. To get a broader sense of these differences, I asked 1,200 of my closest friends on Facebook and Twitter what they thought of the online generation gap. Surprisingly, the answers I got -- from people as young as 19 and as old as 60+ -- were fairly consistent.

The gap is most evident in the way people use the networks, not in whom they connect with. The networks of nearly everyone who responded to my questions span multiple generations of users. But the observations my correspondents made about the kinds of posts that other participants submit were telling.

One representative response came from a Twitter user who had this to say: "Gen Dvide=Usage Dvide <25 Tend 2 use 4 form of "stalking" celebrities & peers >25 tend 2 use 4 customized networking/info/culture/research"

Translation: It's all in how they use it. Common gripes about the inanity of Twitter updates -- stereotypically oversharing every moment of daily life from breakfast to dinner, including all rest stops -- may be largely due to the tendency of 20-somethings to broadcast their personal lives in their status updates. (The Twitter criticisms can be rebutted, of course.) Nearly every respondent acknowledged that members of Generation Y--often defined as those born in the 1980s and 1990s -- seem bent on publicizing every detail of their daily life over the Internet.

By contrast, members of Generation X -- tagged as those born between 1964 and 1984, who now make up much of the mainstream workforce -- tend to post more information about their professional lives, conferences they're attending and projects they're working on. To some older observers, it looks like self-absorbed bragging, though many 30-somethings claim to have reaped career-boosting benefits from this type of crowdsourcing. (There is much argument over when the different generations start and stop: Sometimes the Cultural Generation definition is more important than the actual birth year.)

Toward the upper end of the age spectrum, baby boomers tend to use social networks for connecting with old friends, sharing political news, discussing religion and exploring hobbies. Due to the rocky economy, they're fast getting used to networking for jobs via the Internet, as well.
A Facebook contact wrote: "All the 20-somethings I know have hundreds of friends; it seems like they connect with everyone they've ever met. I think 40-somethings like me are more selective -- I don't accept requests from people I don't know, and tend to think of Facebook more in terms of networking and connecting with old friends."

Another Twitter denizen had this perspective: "There is a divide. As services become more organized, they attract older users. Once it becomes more organized, the kids leave."

Rainie agrees. "There's probably some generational divide," he says. "Because people hang out with their friends, there's bound to be some clustering." But he sees no evidence of a serious online generation gap and says that his own friend list spans multiple generations.

Though the cross-chatter between members of the various age groups can get a little noisy, none of the people I talked to saw it as a bad thing. Instead, most seemed glad for the diversity of their friend lists.
In the future, Rainie envisions a day when social networks will more closely reflect the way real-world social networks function, allowing users to discriminate better between close ties and loose ties. When that happens, much of the cross-chatter may be lost. But when that happens, we may also lose a great opportunity to share ideas across the generations.

Robert Strohmeyer, a card-carrying Gen X-er, also is a senior editor at PC World. He keeps his Facebook profile private, but tweets openly as rstrohmeyer. For PC World's foray into fantasy Facebook profiles, read "Facebook Pages We'd Like to See."

[Five Inch Taint]

Police arrest two gangs involved in random robbery attacks in Dubai
By Siham Al Najami. Staff Reporter
Published: June 04, 2009, 22:31


Dubai: Dubai Police managed to recently arrest two separate Asian gangs involved in robbery and attacking pedestrians.

According to Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a number of robbery reports were made to Dubai Police about the presence of robbers stealing from people walking during the night at the industrial areas.

"The Asian gang composed of five members was taking advantage of the remote and quite locations of the industrial areas to attack and rob individuals," he said.

The CID formed an undercover operation and increased police cars patrolling Al Qusais industrial areas and workers' accommodations in Al Muhaisinah 2, and managed to arrest the entire group and referred them to the public prosecution.

The second case involves a robbery attack on a Chinese woman while she was walking next to Al Maktoum Hospital in Deira. According to Colonel Al Mansouri, two Asians attacked the woman and stole her handbag.

The robbers managed to take hold of her passport, mobile phone, and cash that were in her handbag.

Upon receiving the complaint, Dubai Police managed to arrest one of the Asian suspects at the scene of the robbery attack; while the second suspect was later arrested before he could flee the country. Upon arresting the latter Asian suspect, police officer found the stolen items with him.

Both suspects were referred to the public prosecution, said Colonel Al Mansouri.

"I assure everyone that these random robberies are under control and that we have increased patrol cars in different areas in Dubai to ensure the safety of its citizens, residents, and visitors," he said.