[Indelible]

oh man. england is a beautiful country, i would love to go back there and see what i didn't get to see the other time i was there.....but you're right, it's too damn expensive to go there if u r canadian...i think it's like 2 pounds sterling to 1dollar canadian now.....

[GreatBriton]

Passengers refuse to fly until Asians are removed



Passengers refuse to allow holiday jet to take off until two Asian men are thrown off plane


By CHRISTOPHER LEAKE and ANDREW CHAPMAN

20th August 2006





'Suspicions': Jo and Heath Schofield with daughter Isabel. Below:

Passengers mutinied on a Monarch Airlines A320 at Malaga



British holidaymakers staged an unprecedented mutiny - refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed.

The extraordinary scenes happened after some of the 150 passengers on a Malaga-Manchester flight overheard two men of Asian appearance apparently talking Arabic.

Passengers told cabin crew they feared for their safety and demanded police action. Some stormed off the Monarch Airlines Airbus A320 minutes before it was due to leave the Costa del Sol at 3am. Others waiting for Flight ZB 613 in the departure lounge refused to board it.

The incident fuels the row over airport security following the arrest of more than 20 people allegedly planning the suicide-bombing of transatlantic jets from the UK to America. It comes amid growing demands for passenger-profiling and selective security checks.

It also raised fears that more travellers will take the law into their own hands - effectively conducting their own 'passenger profiles'.

The passenger revolt came as Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was accused of using the terror crisis to make money. Government sources say he boasted to an official at the Transport Department: "Every time I appear on TV, I get a spike in sales."

The Tories said the Government's failure to reassure travellers had led the Malaga passengers to 'behave irrationally' and 'hand a victory to terrorists'.

Websites used by pilots and cabin crew were yesterday reporting further incidents. In one, two British women with young children on another flight from Spain complained about flying with a bearded Muslim even though he had been security-checked twice before boarding.

The trouble in Malaga flared last Wednesday as two British citizens in their 20s waited in the departure lounge to board the pre-dawn flight and were heard talking what passengers took to be Arabic. Worries spread after a female passenger said she had heard something that alarmed her.

Passengers noticed that, despite the heat, the pair were wearing leather jackets and thick jumpers and were regularly checking their watches.

Initially, six passengers refused to board the flight. On board the aircraft, word reached one family. To the astonishment of cabin crew, they stood up and walked off, followed quickly by others.

The Monarch pilot - a highly experienced captain - accompanied by armed Civil Guard police and airport security staff, approached the two men and took their passports.

Half an hour later, police returned and escorted the two Asian passengers off the jet.

'There was no fuss or panic'

Soon afterwards, the aircraft was cleared while police did a thorough security sweep. Nothing was found and the plane took off - three hours late and without the two men on board.

Monarch arranged for them to spend the rest of the night in an airport hotel and flew them back to Manchester later on Wednesday.

College lecturer Jo Schofield, her husband Heath and daughters Emily, 15, and Isabel, 12, were caught up in the passenger mutiny.

Mrs Schofield, 38, said: "The plane was not yet full and it became apparent that people were refusing to board. In the gate waiting area, people had been talking about these two, who looked really suspicious with their heavy clothing, scruffy, rough, appearance and long hair.

"Some of the older children, who had seen the terror alert on television, were starting to mutter things like, 'Those two look like they're bombers.'

"Then a family stood up and walked off the aircraft. They were joined by others, about eight in all. We learned later that six or seven people had refused to get on the plane.

"There was no fuss or panic. People just calmly and quietly got off the plane. There were no racist taunts or any remarks directed at the men.

"It was an eerie scene, very quiet. The children were starting to ask what was going on. We tried to play it down."

Mr Schofield, 40, an area sales manager, said: "When the men were taken off they didn't argue or say a word. They just picked up their coats and obeyed the police. They seemed resigned to the fact they were under suspicion.

"The captain and crew were very apologetic when we were asked to evacuate the plane for the security search. But there was no dissent.

"While we were waiting, everyone agreed the men looked dodgy. Some passengers were very panicky and in tears. There was a lot of talking about terrorists."

Patrick Mercer, the Tory Homeland Security spokesman, said last night: "This is a victory for terrorists. These people on the flight have been terrorised into behaving irrationally.

"For those unfortunate two men to be victimised because of the colour of their skin is just nonsense."

Monarch said last night: "The captain was concerned about the security surrounding the two gentlemen on the aircraft and the decision was taken to remove them from the flight for further security checks.

"The two passengers offloaded from the flight were later cleared by airport security and rebooked to travel back to Manchester on a later flight."

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga said: "These men had aroused suspicion because of their appearance and the fact that they were speaking in a foreign language thought to be an Arabic language, and the pilot was refusing to take off until they were escorted off the plane."


dailymail.co.uk

[Wada]

Great story GB! Would have been better though if they had kicked off all the whiteys who refused to fly and left these two lads to continue with anyone else who wanted to go.

[IcedCap]

Well let's hope Al-Qaeda aren't clever enough to use Muslim converts or blue eyed blonde Bosnians because that'll really stump these amateur security experts.
I think its disgusting that Monarch gave in to the passengers, The two Asians had been through security checks and probably already undergone more scrutiny than anyone else on that flight.

[GreatBriton]

The fourth and final Test match between England and Pakistan has been abandoned after Pakistan were accused of ball tampering. England were given 5 penalty runs because of the cheating. After play resumed after tea, Pakistan refused to come back onto the field and stayed in their dressing room in protest. The England batsmen were on the field waiting. After 45 minutes, the Pakistanis came back onto the field, amid boos and jeers from the crowd. But they then had to go back off again as the umpires also refused to come back out. It is the first time any international side have been penalised in such a way for the offence following a change to the laws of the game in recent years.

In cricket, bowlers can tamper with the ball in a variety of ways so that it suits the bowlers and their team and causes grief for batsmen. But it's illegal.

Pakistan were winning this Test Match (but had already lost the Series as they were 2-0 down in the Series and this was the final Test) but, according to the laws of the game, England could now be declared the winners due to Pakistan's protestations.
--------------------------------------------------------------

The Score

Fourth and final test

1st Innings
England 173
Pakistan 504

2nd innings
England 298-4

England are 33 runs behind but could be declared winners, and will win the Series 3-0.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Test match in chaos over cheating row

20th August 2006



Umpires inspect the ball after Pakistan were accused of tampering with it.


Pakistan are at the centre of an unprecedented ball-tampering controversy this afternoon. Their players had refused to continue the match at the Oval after the umpires alleged they had tampered with the ball.

Another half an hour later, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq led his side out onto the field, but neither the umpires nor the England batsmen followed and two minutes later the tourists returned to their dressing room.

During the lunchtime session on the fourth day, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove decided that Pakistan's bowlers had altered the state of the match ball and awarded England five penalty runs.

It is the first time any international side have been penalised in such a way for the offence following a change to the laws of the game in recent years.

Under law 42.3 of the International Cricket Council's playing conditions, the umpires should award five runs to the batting side and change the ball when they think it has been interfered with.

The batsmen at the wicket should then choose a replacement of similar wear from a selection of half a dozen.

England were 230 for three after 56 overs when the officials stopped play to confer in the middle and batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood were then asked to choose a substitute from a box brought out by fourth umpire Trevor Jesty.

Frequent inspections of the ball are undertaken by the umpires but there were no obvious signs of any Pakistan fielder altering the ball's condition.

The incident may have been sparked by Pakistan starting to achieve reverse swing through seamer Umar Gul, who dismissed Alastair Cook for 83 with an inswinging yorker, as England reached 298 for four when bad light stopped play shortly before tea, still 33 runs adrift.

As soon as the incident took place, Pakistan's English coach Bob Woolmer went to see match referee Mike Procter, who was due to discuss the matter further with the umpires at tea.

England had resumed 253 runs adrift on 78 for one and been fortunate not to lose a wicket during the early stages with Cook, who had not added to his overnight 33, being caught at silly point off pad and bat facing leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in the first over of the day.

Umpire Doctrove rejected that appeal and just four overs later Cook was given his second reprieve when he was bowled off a no-ball from Kaneria.

Perhaps influenced by his earlier decision, Doctrove did uphold an appeal for leg before when a fizzing leg break from Kaneria hit stand-in captain Andrew Strauss outside off-stump having hit a determined 54.

Three overs later Cook was given his third and final reprieve when he pulled Mohammad Asif straight to Faisal Iqbal at square leg only for him to miss the regulation chance.

It allowed Cook to forge a 103-run stand with Kevin Pietersen which put England back on course to salvage a draw until the ball began reverse-swinging in mid-afternoon and ended his innings of 83.

Pietersen, dropped on 15 by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal off Kaneria, went on to punish Pakistan for their miss and shrugged off the controversy over the ball tampering to move within four runs of his sixth Test century.

But, looking for the big shot to bring up three figures, Pietersen instead edged Shahid Nazir behind and it needed a determined stand between Collingwood and Ian Bell to ensure England did not suffer any further losses before the light closed in.

dailymail.co.uk
***********************************************************************

How bowlers can tamper with a cricket ball to cause trouble to batsmen -



A new, highly polished ball is used at the start of each innings in a match. Bowlers are also allowed to polish the ball during the game with saliva or sweat and rubbing it onto their trousers which causes a red stain, but any other substance is illegal. Balls can be tampered with by being scratched or scruffed with the fingernails or the seams picked or lifted. This is probably what Pakistan did against England.



A cricket ball may not be replaced except under specific conditions described in the Laws of Cricket:

*If the ball becomes damaged or lost.
*If the condition of the ball is illegally modified by a player.
*If, after a specified number of overs ( 80 in Test cricket), the captain of the bowling side requests a new ball.


The ball is not replaced if it is hit into the crowd - the crowd must return it (unlike in baseball). If the ball is damaged, lost, or illegally modified, it will be replaced by a used ball in similar condition to the replaced ball. A new ball can only be used after the specified minimum number of overs have been bowled with the old one.

Because a single ball is used for an extended period of play, its surface wears down and becomes rough. The bowlers will polish it whenever they can - usually by rubbing it on their trousers, producing the characteristic red stain that can often be seen there. However, they will usually only polish one side of the ball, in order to create 'swing' as it travels through the air. They may apply natural substances (i.e. saliva or sweat) to the ball as they polish it, but any other material is illegal.

The seam of a cricket ball can also be used to produce different trajectories through the air, with the technique known as swing bowling, or to produce sideways movement as it bounces off the pitch, with the technique known as seam bowling.

Since the condition of the cricket ball is crucial to the amount of movement through the air a bowler can produce, the laws governing what players may and may not do to the ball are specific and rigorously enforced. The umpires will inspect the ball frequently during a match. It is illegal for a player to:

*rub any substance apart from saliva or sweat onto the ball
*rub the ball on the ground
*scuff the ball with any rough object, including the fingernails
*pick at or lift the seam of the ball.

Despite these rules, it can be tempting for players to gain an advantage by breaking them. There have been a handful of incidents of so-called ball tampering at the highest levels of cricket, involving players such as Pakistani fast bowler Waqar Younis and former England captain Mike Atherton.

A new cricket ball is harder than a worn one, and is preferred by fast bowlers because of the speed and bounce of the ball as it bounces off the pitch. Older balls tend to spin more as the roughness grips the pitch more when the ball bounces, so spin bowlers prefer to use a worn ball. A captain may delay the request for a new ball if he prefers to have his spin bowlers operating, but usually asks for the new ball soon after it becomes available.

Cricket balls are notoriously hard, and potentially lethal. Frederick, Prince of Wales, is said to have died of complications after being hit by one, and Glamorgan player, Roger Davis, was almost killed by one. Raman Lamba was killed when hit on the head while fielding at forward short leg in a club match in Bangladesh. Hence today's batsmen and close fielders often wear protective headgear.



wikipedia.org



The art of legally polishing a cricket ball only on one side of it or in certain areas so that it produces a certain swing or trajectory to cause trouble to a batsman is an art that could take years to learn.

[GreatBriton]

It is the first weekend of the new Barclays Premiership season, the most exciting and entertaining football league in Europe. And there was not a boring 0-0 draw in sight. Rooney and winker Ronaldo seem to have put aside their differences. Rooney scored twice and Ronaldo once in Manchester United's impressive win against the posh boys from Fulham.

Champions Chelsea also started with a convincing win.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The results of the first games of the 2006-07 Premiership season.

Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa
Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea 3-0 Manchester City
Everton 2-1 Watford
Manchester United 5-1 Fulham
Newcastle United 2-1 Wigan Athletic
Portsmouth 3-0 Blackburn Rovers
Reading 3-2 Middlebrough
Sheffield United 1-1 Liverpool
West Ham United 3-1 Charlton Athletic



The Table, for what it's worth after just 1 game each -


Team...............Points

Manchester Utd 3
Chelsea 3
Portsmouth 3
West Ham 3
Bolton 3
Reading 3
Everton 3
Newcastle 3
Arsenal 1
Aston Villa 1
Liverpool 1
Sheffield Utd 1
Middlesbrough 0
Watford 0
Wigan 0
Charlton 0
Tottenham 0
Blackburn 0
Manchester City 0
Fulham 0


Pictures from the weekend's games -


Charlton Athletic's Traore is sent off in his debut game for the team. Charlton lost 3-1 against West Ham.
-------------------------------


West Hame VS Charlton, a London derby.
------------------------------


Gilberto Silva scores against Aston Villa. The game finished 1-1. It was Arsenal's first ever Premiership goal at their new, hi-tech stadium.
-----------------------------------


Portsmouth score in their 3-0 win against Blackburn Rovers
-----------------------------------


Defender Jamie Carragher was in impressive form for Liverpool against Premiership new boys Sheffield United, but he was later out of the game with a minor injury.
--------------------------------


Ex-Celtic and Leicester City manager Martin O'Neill in his Premiership debut game with Aston Villa.
------------------------------------


It was a rain-soaked day at the Newcastle V Wigan game.
-------------------------------------


Bolton's Kevin Davies scores from a header to put his team 1-0 up against Tottenham Hotspur.
-------------------------------------


But Davies is only second-best in this little battle with Keane.
-----------------------------------------


Liverpool make it 1-1 against Sheffield United thanks to this Robbie Fowler penalty kick.
---------------------------------------


Portsmouth score again against Blackburn.
------------------------------------------


And Wigan score in their 2-1 defeat against Newcastle.
--------------------------------------------


Premiership new boys Reading stage an amazing comeback. They were losing 2-0 against Middlesbrough but won the game 3-2.
----------------------------------------------


Are we seeing things? Rooney and Ronaldo celebrate during their team's 5-1 demolition of Fulham.

premierleague.com

[Hyack]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

[Wullu]

Yeah, I thought only the 0 reply posts were going here.............

[GreatBriton]

Just WHO, or WHAT, causes Britain's many crop circles?


The beauty and mystery of Britain's mysterious crop circles
By BILL MOULAND

21st August 2006



An eye-catching crop circle in Uffington, Oxfordshire.




These photographs should probably carry a health warning.

'They give off energy to sensitive people,' says the woman who took them, crop circle expert Lucy Pringle.

'There are certain ones that even I don't feel comfortable looking at.'

A case in point is an aerial shot of a pattern of triangles and diamonds taken in a cornfield at Aldbourne, Wiltshire.

'There is just something about it that makes me feel uncomfortable,' she says.

Mrs Pringle, who lives near Petersfield, Hampshire, has become something of a national expert on the crop circle phenomenon since being hooked by their mystery in 1990.

Nursing a painful shoulder injury after a tennis match, she had visited a crop circle which had appeared in a field at nearby Morestead.

'It was two circles with a linking shaft, a bit like a dumb bell,' she said. 'I sat down and a most curious sensation went through my shoulders and I realised there was a ripple of energy going through me. I was completely healed.

'It was at that point that I realised there was something going on in the circles for which there was no scientific explanation. That set me on my journey of exploration.'

The journey has included two books, founder membership of the Centre for Crop Circle Studies, a round the world lecture tour and the annual 'crop' of amazing photographs – some of which are reproduced here.

They include a design known as The Peacock's Feather at Uffington, Oxfordshire and a second even more complex arrangement which some claim has echoes of the Twin Towers.

Although cynics say the ever more intricate patterns are the work of computer scientists using teams of volunteers, others say there are simply not enough summer hours of darkness to allow them to be completed without the human workforce being discovered in the act.

Someone, somewhere is trying to send us a message, they say. The only problems are, what is the message? And how are we supposed to respond?

Mrs Pringle, a survivor of the hoaxers who demonstrated how to make authentic-looking crop circles with lengths of rope and planking, is among those who believes some unseen and unknown intelligence is responsible.

Theories


The favourite theory is that colossal energy is amassed above the earth in the ionosphere and then zapped towards the ground where it creates the crop circle – usually on chalky ground in areas traditionally known for their 'energy lines' and mystical past.

'Some crop circles are clearly manmade, but others defy explanation,' she said. 'I believe these circles originate in the ionosphere and travel down to earth in vortical form, hitting the ground with hundreds of thousands of volts per metre, just for a nano second. This softens the plants at their base, allowing them to fall. Any longer and the crop would burn.

'I believe there has to be an intelligence behind this, but what intelligence it is, I have absolutely no idea whatsoever. If you can't explain, and I can't explain how we get these incredible shapes, there has to be an unknown intelligence.'

See more of Lucy Pringle’s work at http://www.lucypringle.co.uk/


A gallery of some of Britain's crop circles.


Crop circle expert Lucy Pringle has captured stunning images of the 'crop circle' phenomena, as this aerial shot taken in Shalbourne, Wiltshire, shows.
-------------------------


This eye-catching crop circle made up of triangles and diamonds appeared in a field in Aldbourne, Wiltshire, in July 2005.
©Lucy Pringle
--------------------------


This intricate arrangement appeared in a field in Uffington, Oxfordshire.
©Lucy Pringle
--------------------------


Circles running in concentric patterns mae up this beautiful image in Windmill Hill, Wiltshire.
©Lucy Pringle
---------------------------


This complicated picture appeared in July this year in a field in Rollright, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
©Lucy Pringle
----------------------------


Is someone out there trying to send us a message. Does this amazing crop circle in West Overton, Wiltshire, suggest forces other than human are at home.
©Lucy Pringle
-----------------------------


This intricate design in Uffington, Oxforshire is known as the Peacock's Feather - for obvious reasons.
©Lucy Pringle
-----------------------------


Onlookers (who look tiny) look on amazed as they contemplate how this circle - made up of intricate geometric designs - came to be in this field in Woolstone Hill, Uffington.
©Lucy Pringle
---------------------------------


Precisly placed hexagons form this crop circle, photographed in Juggler's Lane, Cherhill.
©Lucy Pringle
---------------------------------


Photographed in June 2006, this design in Silbury, Wiltshire, contains three circles in one.
©Lucy Pringle
----------------------------------


Another shot of the Peacock's Feather, taken in July 2006.
©Lucy Pringle
---------------------------------


A pyramid design surrounded by diamonds and circles makes up this crop circle in Aldbourne, Wiltshire.
©Lucy Pringle
----------------------------------


These rings in a field in Savernake, Wiltshire, almost give off a 3-D effect.
©Lucy Pringle
------------------------------------


This intricate crop circle in Marden, Wiltshire, resembles a human eye. Does it mean someone is watching us?
©Lucy Pringle
---------------------------------------


Perfectly aligned circles within a circle make up this design in Avebury, Wiltshire.
©Lucy Pringle


dailymail.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

Drought gives a glimpse of ancient archaeology
21st August 2006




(TOP) Round borrows from the Bronze Age are seen in the Vale of Glamorgan. (BOTTOM) The outlines of a medieval ditch in Shropshire.


Britain's long hot summer may have left the nation's gardens parched, but the absence of rain has uncovered some remarkable aerial architecture, giving us a glimpse of how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago.

These remarkable images reveal the outlines of previously unknown sites, believed to be some of the first communal buildings erected by prehistoric Britons.


The Vale of Glamorgan county.


Shropshire

Experts believe they may have been sites used for markets, ceremonies and celebrations.

Like a slowly developing Polaroid, these markings have come to light in fields in Shropshire, the Vale of Glamorgan, the Vale of Conwy and central Wales.

Two 6,000-year-old Neolithic causewayed enclosures have been spotted in Walton, Radnorshire, and near St Athan airfield, in Glamorgan. Archaeologists believe they may be the remains of a rare 5,000-year-old enclosure from Neolithic times.

Dr Toby Driver, of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, told the Daily Telegraph: "It has been a hugely successful year for aerial archaeology.

"We may not see another like it for a decade. I now have months of work to go through the discoveries, notifying local archaeologists and ensuring that some of the most remarkable sites are visited on the ground and studied further."

Dave Cowley, of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, said: "Excavations, while important, are slow, expensive and look at a tiny proportion of a site. Aerial archaeology allows us an overview of the whole ground plan, which can also teach us a great deal about how these people lived."

dailymail.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

Time for us to pull out

Andrew Alexander

In the main leader of the Daily Mail on 9th December 2000 Andrew Alexander argued why he believes it is inevitable that Britain will withdraw from the EU

Britain will one day leave the EU. The timing may be hard to predict, but not the inevitability of our eventual departure. The Nice summit is merely serving to underline our incompatibility with the structure and the aims of the Union, with the certainty of more differences to come.

I say that our departure has become inevitable with some regret. Being against the Common Market in the first place is not the same thing as looking forward to our leaving, since the process will be drawn out and sure to produce much ill-temper both here and abroad. Among our EU partners, France and Germany will be particularly annoyed - two countries with whom we should always aim to have the most amicable relations.

But we cannot allow this to stand between us and our own well-being. It is a consoling thought that, in the much longer run, our relations with these two countries would improve.

Outside the EU, we would have far less to quarrel about. Even that leading Europhile Lord (Roy) Jenkins has conceded that. We shall depart because the balance of advantage, both politically and economically, already so plainly in favour of leaving, will become overwhelming. The narrow majority which said in a recent Mori poll that it would vote to leave the EU, will grow steadily.

No hope can any longer be pinned on the doctrine of 'subsidiarity' - individual nations deciding more for themselves and Brussels deciding less. The opposite has happened. And the Nice proposals involved even more power going to the centre.

Even if we managed to stop most or all of those plans, it would be only a matter of time before they resurfaced. And the plans for a federal superstate have, of course, a ratchet affect. There is no going back. The powers being taken now go miles beyond those once excused as necessary for the functioning of the single market. For instance, aims for a uniform legal system have nothing to do with economics.

And so to that balance sheet.....



There is a popular belief, eagerly fed by EU-enthusiasts with confusing statistics, that we are massively dependent economically on Continental Europe and that leaving would risk millions of jobs.

It simply isn't true. Sales of British exports to Europe comprise just 40% of our total worldwide exports of goods and services. But, in fact, exports make up a minor part of our total production. Those to the EU account for little more than 10% of our annual national output.

Ironically the absurdity of the threat-to-jobs claim was shown up earlier this year in a study commissioned by Britain In Europe, the Blair-backed organisation charged with glorifying the single currency. Martin Weale, the Euro-inclined head of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, concluded that 175,000 jobs - out of a total work force of 27 million - would be lost within three years of leaving the EU. But that was only if the Government did not take any remedial steps.

In any case, the EU nations sell more to us than we do to them (our trade balance with the rest of the world is, by contrast, favourable). We are the EU's biggest single export market, bigger even than the US. So Continental nations have a powerful interest in maintaining the flow. You can imagine the alarm there would be among such firms as Mercedes and BMW if anyone suggested curbing their lucrative markets here.



But there is no danger of our trade being 'cut off'. When we joined the Common Market, tariffs between nations were high. These days they are very low, averaging around 4%. And the World Trade Organisation has the aim - endorsed by the EU - to get them down to zero. We would be in an immensely powerful position to insist on a Free Trade agreement with zero tariffs such as Norway and Switzerland have with the EU. Besides, British businesses would benefit directly from leaving the EU because they would no longer be subject to the cramping rules and red tape which have flowed - and are likely to flow on an increasing scale - from the Social Chapter and other Brussels schemes. The threat of trades unions being involved in business decisions would vanish, as would a host of other supposed 'reforms'. We would be left with a significant competitive advantage.

It is no good to say that the EU would, in some way, not 'allow' us that advantage. As a genuinely independent nation we would be entirely at liberty to make up our own rules. Some people seem to have forgotten, sadly, what it means to be free.



On the direct contributions side we would no longer be paying a net £5.5 billion a year to Brussels, most of which goes on the monstrous Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - for whose radical reform we are still waiting after 30 years of promises. It remains a scheme devised essentially for the benefit of French farmers and keeps food prices high with little benefit to British farmers. Being outside the CAP would allow the annual cost of food to fall by about £250 a head. At the same time we could go back to an agricultural policy (perhaps following the successful New Zealand model) designed to suit ourselves. For instance, the Brussels rule which forbids us producing all our own milk would immediately go.

Outside the EU we could at once reclaim our fishing grounds so disgracefully given away by the Heath government in its supine pleading for Common Market membership. It would transform the outlook for our fishermen at a stroke. We could return to our own conservation policies, those which made the acquisition of rights in British waters a gift to Continental fishermen who had bothered so little about stocks.



The economic advantages of being outside the EU would march hand in hand with the political advantages.

Over the past 30 years, Brussels has produced a staggering 25,000 regulations and directives - on matters ranging from cheese-making and hedgerows to the insistance that we accept giant goods vehicles and strengthen our bridges. Very few have even come before Parliament for debate, let alone a vote.

We rarely know how ministers or Brussels civil servants arrive at their decisions, or which national representative voted for what. Outside the EU any rules made would be our own and they could be reversed through a change of government.

Outside the EU we would no longer have to fear demands that we should harmonise direct or indirect tax rates or rules on immigration, police, competition, regional policy and all the rest.

There would be no question of being subject to a community rule about minimum VAT. Indeed, we could abandon the costly VAT system with all its red tape. We adopted it in place of our previous indirect taxes only in order to join the Common Market. On our own we could go over to simple sales taxes, such as operate in the US.

We would certainly not need to contribute to any rescue scheme for the huge deficits in EU countries' pension schemes - few of them having our own system of properly funded company schemes.

Such an expensive menace has regularly been dismissed as unreal. But the idea floated in Nice that all member nations could be called upon to help individual countries in trouble indicates that the pensions menace should be taken seriously.

So far, so good - and simple too. But what about what about the direct investment from countries like the US and Japan which has flowed into Britain in recent years, often because we offer a sound base for trading with the rest of the EU?

Here, I admit, there is a difficulty, though only a temporary one. Certainly, in the period running up to an exit from the EU, foreign investors would become nervous and the size of the flow would decline.However, once it became clear that we could and would negotiate good trading arrangements, the flow would resume. The attractions of Britain as a commercial base would actually increase as it became clear that we would have access to EU markets without being bound by its sclerotic regulations.

On the legal side, on our own we would no longer be threatened by an EU Charter of Fundamental Rights - how innocuous it sounds - which endangers our own legal system and practices.

The only real barrier to our leaving the EU, apart from some hard bargaining, is psychological. Many people worry how we could survive 'on our own'. It is an odd question to ask about the world's fourth largest economy and a country which has a larger network of diplomatic and trade relationships than any other EU nation and, incidentally, the EU's largest and most effective military forces too.



The question should really be stood on its head. We should ask how could the country survive as a recognisable independent nation within the EU.

For those who think it important to 'belong' to some international group, there is the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which includes the US, Canada and Mexico. It is a proper free trade area which leaves member nations free to make all their own laws. We would be welcome as members.

But membership of Nafta is not essential. It is an optional add-on.The balance of advantage in leaving the EU is so striking - and threatens to become more so as the European political concept is developed - that some may be puzzled that neither of the main parties advocates departure. (What politicians on both sides say off the record is another matter).

So what would we lose? Very simply Britain would no longer play a role in forging what EU politicians see so excitedly as a potential superpower, able to challenge the US in size and influence. To which the appropriate answer is "So What?".

Remember the purpose of the whole European venture. First it was to prevent France and Germany ever going to war again. Second, it was a vehicle for France's grand ambition to lead a Europe which could openly challenge American power and influence. Third, it would offer a way to safeguard European agriculture. Fourth, it would demonstrate that the Anglo-Saxon free market economic model was not the best path to prosperity.

The first aim would seem to have been met - and never needed us anyway. The second may be achievable but amounts to a dangerous power game. The agriculture plan has pushed up food prices and driven down farm incomes. The fourth aim has been disproved by events - see French and German unemployment levels for example.

The fierce national debate about Europe will continue. But it will shift gradually and remorselessly from the terms on which we stay, to the terms on which we leave. Hard facts will prevail over political nonsense.

eurosceptic.com

[GreatBriton]

Terror suspects in court




By SIMON HUGHES
Chief Investigative Reporter

EIGHT suspects were charged with conspiracy to murder yesterday over the alleged suicide bomb plot to blow up airliners.

They were also accused of trying to smuggle bottle bomb components on board the planes which would then be assembled and detonated.

Another three suspects — including the wife of one alleged plotter and a 17-year-old boy — were charged with involvement in an attempt to down up to nine jets flying from Britain to the US.

This morning the suspects were taken from London's high-security Paddington Green police station to appear at Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court in Westminster.


Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court, Westminster

The charges suggest the conspiracy dates from New Year’s Day.

Anti-terror chief Peter Clarke claimed the scale of it was “immense” and said the police investigation would span the globe.

He also provided an inventory of “evidence” seized since most of the arrests were made 12 days ago in London, Birmingham and High Wycombe, Bucks.

He said: “We have found bomb-making equipment.

“There are chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide, electrical components, documents and other items.

“We have also found a number of video recordings — these are sometimes referred to as martyrdom videos. This has all given us a clearer picture of the alleged plot.”

Mr Clarke, who heads Scotland Yard’s Anti-Terrorist Branch, added: “There have been 69 searches.

“These have been in houses, flats, business premises, vehicles and open spaces.

“As well as the bomb-making equipment, we have found more than 400 computers, 200 mobile telephones and 8,000 items of removable storage media such as memory sticks, CDs and DVDs.

“So far, from the computers alone, we have removed some 6,000 gigobytes of data.

“The meticulous investigation of all this material will take many months. All the data will be analysed.

“The enormity of the alleged plot will be matched only by our determination to follow every lead and line of inquiry.”

But the police chief also issued a chilling warning of more scares to come.

Looking sombre, he said: “The threat from terrorism is real. It is here, it is is deadly and it is enduring. As we all look for explanations, we cannot afford to be complacent and ignore the reality of what we face.”

Those charged with plotting to murder, all men, were named as Ahmed Abdullah Ali, also known as Abdullah Ali Ahmed Khan; Tanvir Hussain; Umar Islam, aka Brian Young; Arafat Waheed Khan; Assad Ali Sarwar; Adam Khatib; Ibrahim Savant and Waheed Zaman.

No ages or addresses were given.

Abdullah Ali’s wife Cossar Ali was accused of failing to disclose information about a terror act allegedly to be committed by her husband.

The 17-year-old, who was not named, is said to have had a book on improvised explosive devices.

He was also accused of having suicide notes and wills “with the identities of persons prepared to commit acts of terrorism”.

And he allegedly possessed a map of Afghanistan likely to be useful to a terrorist.

An older man, Mehran Hussain, was accused of failing to disclose information which would have assisted another to commit an act of terror.

Top Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Susan Hemming, who heads the CPS’s counter-terror division, sanctioned the charges following consultations with Director of Public Prosecutions Ken MacDonald.

She said one suspect, a woman, had been released without charge while 11 others remained in custody under active investigation.

Ms Hemming added: “We have been carefully examining and assessing the evidence against each individual with the assistance of anti-terrorist officers in order to come to charging decisions at the earliest practical opportunity.”

The bottle bomb probe, codenamed Operation Overt, already stretches to Pakistan where Briton Rashid Rauf, said to have al-Qaeda links, is in custody. His brother was among those seized in Birmingham.
*****************************************************

The charge sheet




1. AHMED ABDULLAH ALI aka ABDULLAH ALI AHMED KHAN. On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 conspired with other persons to murder other persons — contrary to Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

On diverse days between 1 January 2006 and 10 August 2006 with the intention of committing acts of terrorism engaged in conduct to give effect to their intention to smuggle the component parts of improvised explosive devices on to aircraft and assemble and detonate them on board — contrary to Section 5 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006.

2. TANVIR HUSSAIN. The same charges.

3. UMAR ISLAM aka BRIAN YOUNG. The same charges.

4. ARAFAT WAHEED KHAN. The same charges.

5. ASSAD ALI SARWAR. The same charges.

6. ADAM KHATIB. The same charges.

7. IBRAHIM SAVANT. The same charges.

8. WAHEED ZAMAN. The same charges.

9. A 17-YEAR-OLD MALE. On a day between 1 October 2005 and 10 August 2006 had in his possession a document or record, namely a book on improvised explosive devices, some suicide notes and wills with the identities of persons prepared to commit acts of terrorism and a map of Afghanistan containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

10. COSSAR ALI — female. On diverse days between the 1 January 2005 and 10 August 2006 had information which she knew or believed might be of material assistance in preventing the commission of another person namely, Ahmed Abdullah Ali aka Abdullah Ali Ahmed Khan, of an act of terrorism and failed to disclose it as soon as reasonably practicable.

11. MEHRAN HUSSAIN. On diverse days between the 23 September 2005 and 10 August 2006 had information which he knew or believed might be of material assistance in preventing the commission of another person namely, Nabeel Hussain, of an act of terrorism and failed to disclose it as soon as reasonably practicable.



thesun.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

New Zealand: the funeral of the Maori Queen took place near the city of Hamilton, shown on the map. The Maoris are the natives of New Zealand.



Warriors take Maori Queen on final journey
By Paul Chapman in Wellington, New Zealand


(Filed: 22/08/2006)



Tens of thousands of mourners surrounded a sacred hill yesterday as Maoris laid their tribal queen to rest with a moving ceremony on a scale rarely seen in New Zealand.

Tears flowed and dirges filled the air as the body of Dame Te
Atairangikaahu who had served as the Maori Queen for 40 years was transported on a waka, or traditional canoe, by river to the hillside where she was buried near her ancestors.



Maori pall bearers carry the coffin of Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu towards Taupiri Cemetery

Dame Te Ata, as she was known, died last week aged 75 after a long struggle with failing health.

Large crowds, mainly made up of Maoris but also including many New Zealanders of European descent, travelled from all over the country to attend the funeral, held at the Turangawaewae royal marae, or meeting house, in the small town of Ngaruawahia, near Hamilton on the North Island.

State Highway 1, the main route linking Wellington and New Zealand's capital city Auckland, was closed for more than seven hours and diversions put in place because of the sheer number of people thronging the town.

Yesterday was the climax of six days of mourning, and it began with the coronation of Dame Te Ata's successor, her eldest son Tuheitia Paki, aged 51. After the winter sun rose and early fog parted, the new king was anointed wearing the feathered cloak of his ancestors, and with a Bible placed on top of his head.

In the inter-denominational funeral service that followed, the Anglican Archbishop of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, Whakahuihui Vercoe, said of Dame Te Ata: "Many women have done excellently, but you have surpassed them all."

Messages of condolence were read from the Queen, Prince Charles and Pope Benedict XVI. When three white doves were freed to symbolise the release of Dame Te Ata's spirit, one lingered on the ground, which mourners took as a sign that their much-loved queen was reluctant to leave them.


King Tuheitia Paki sits on the throne at his coronation


A hearse took the coffin from the marae to the Waikato river, where thousands more people lined the banks to watch the royal waka, paddled by bare-chested warriors, carry it the four miles to the sacred Taupiri Mountain.

A spontaneous haka, or war dance, broke out as the waka left the shore. The outpouring of grief continued with more hakas, chants of lamentation, the sound of car horns and the wail of bagpipes as the waka made its journey.

Finally, the coffin was carried up the steep 300ft hillside on the shoulders of eight pallbearers, assisted by dozens of helpers pulling on ropes.

Helen Clark, the prime minister of New Zealand, said: "What an incredible tribute to see this vast crowd come, not only today but over the previous days, to pay tribute to an outstanding leader in Maoridom.

"This isn't some tribal event out on a fringe, this is something that goes to the heart of New Zealand, something very special."

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have paid their respects at the marae as the body lay in state over the past week.

Dame Te Ata was the first woman to be chosen as head of the King Movement, which was established by Maori tribes in 1858 when they united in response to land seizures by the early colonial government.

Although King Tuheitia continues a hereditary line of seven monarchs, succession is not automatic but rather a choice made by a gathering of tribal elders.

telegraph.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

British movie Atonement, starring Keira Knightley, will be released in 2007. Filming is taking place in several locations around Britain, including Grimsby, Shropshire and Redcar, Cleveland. The movie is set in several different times, including during the Dunkirk evacuation of 1941. The town of Redcar in the county of Cleveland has been transformed into the Dunkirk of 1941 -



The filming of these scenes took place in the county of Cleveland in North East England.
---------------------


Actors recreate the World War Two battle of Dunkirk for the new Keira Knightley film, Atonement.
------------------



The seaside town of Redcar was transformed into 1940s Dunkirk.
-----------------


Actors take a brief nap between shooting fighting scenes.
-----------------


On the march, actors play British soldiers fleeing from Dunkirk.
-----------------


Redcar was turned into a warzone for the movie.
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The town was chosen as an ideal place to recreate wartime Dunkirk because they are both seaside locations with heavy industry.
------------


Hundreds of Redcar locals were chosen to play soldiers.

dailymail.co.uk

*******************************


Atonement - Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Abbie Cornish, Joe Wright



Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement begins on the hottest day of the summer of 1935, 13-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching Cecilia is their housekeeper's son Robbie Turner, a childhood friend who, along with Briony's sister, has recently graduated from Cambridge.

By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had never before dared to approach and will have become victims of the younger girl's scheming imagination. And Briony will have committed a dreadful crime, the guilt for which will colour her entire life.

Atonement takes the audience from a manor house in England in 1935 to the retreat from Dunkirk in 1941; from the London's World War II military hospitals to a reunion of the Tallis clan in 1999.



thecia.com.au

[GreatBriton]

Ancient pathway unveiled
22 August 2006




Archaelogical wood consultant Richard Darrah and senior project officer Rod Gardner inspect the find


ARCHAELOGISTS working at Ipswich Waterfront believe they have found the remains of a pavement dating back more than a thousand years.

The dig at the site of the former Cranfields grain mill has found evidence of an Anglo-Saxon woven pathway which is believed to date back to the tenth century.

And they may also have found a revetment which was built beside the river at the same time - part of the original port that was the reason for the foundation of the oldest English town in the Dark Ages.

Further along, on the Albion Maltings site, the same team has uncovered evidence of medieval buildings and is hoping to make further finds over the next two months.

Suffolk county archaeologist Keith Wade said the sites were providing interesting finds despite the damage that had been caused by building work over the centuries.

He said: “There is quite a bit of damage, which is frustrating. Some is from the earlier work when industrial buildings were put up, some is from the recent demolition work.

“But we have to live with that - there is still quite a bit of interest for us.”

The nearer the archaeologists get to Stoke Bridge, the more interesting and older finds they turn up.

The town was founded as Gipeswic by the Anglo-Saxons because it was the lowest point at which the River Orwell could crossed and the first settlement was built around what is now Stoke Bridge.

“When redevelopment work starts on the sites right next to the bridge, there should be some great finds - but of course there is always the danger that things will be damaged in the demolition work,” said Mr Wade.

He expects to spend about another two months on the Albion site and about a month at Cranfields - but insisted that the archaeologists' work was not holding up redevelopment.

“There is still quite a lot of work to be done to clear the sites and I don't think our presence is an issue at either,” he said.

The walkway itself has been covered in damp mud for 1,000 years and to preserve the wood, it is necessary to cover it in water most of the time.

It is only exposed when archaeologists want to carry out more investigations - and will eventually be covered again to allow construction work on the site to get under way.



Saxon Suffolk facts:



Stoke Bridge was the lowest point at which the river was crossed for more than 1,000 years - until the Orwell Bridge was opened in December 1982.

Ipswich is the oldest continuously-inhabited town in England, and the first English town. It was originally known as Gipeswic. Colchester fell into dereliction after the Romans left and was later re-inhabited by Anglo-Saxons.

Suffolk and Norfolk were inhabited by Angles who came over from Germany in the Dark Ages. They were the East Angles and split into South Folk and North Folk - hence the modern names of the counties and the area of eastern England in which they are situated is East Anglia

The invaders who landed south of what is now the River Stour were from a different German tribe, the Saxons. They became known as the East Saxons - a name later shortened to Essex.

In 991 Gipeswic was sacked by Vikings on their way to the Battle of Maldon.

Source: www.anglo-saxons.net, Evening Star archives.

eveningstar.co.uk