Why assume it was us?

Last year an Indian student in Melbourne, Kanan Kharbanda, was bashed and left partially blinded. It set off a furious reaction in India against "racist whites".

To give you an idea of the response in India, here are the seven comments following a report on the bashing in an Indian media outlet (Press TV):

Sutapas: It was not only convicts that the Brits shipped to Australia. They also transported shiploads of prostitutes. The Aussies are descendants of criminals and whores. My brother was punched quite unprovoked by an Aussie when he was on holiday in Tokyo years ago.

holocaust: The real war is not between neighboring states like palestine-israel, nor the real threat about nuclear N Korea or Iran or Palestine or china support taliban, but the real threat is rascism that has been conferred by the white people

S. Balu: So called "australia" is made of ILLEGAL EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTES who have STOLEN ABORIGINE LAND! TIME INDIA NUKED IT AND THREW THESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATES INTO SEA thus Indians who are living in SQUOLAR IN INDIA can have NEW LIFE!

Shirin: Superior cultures of the ancient world such as that of Persian peoples affected the conquerors. Mongols & other savages failed to cause depravity of Iranian peoples` cultures instead the conquerors were gradually affected by the highly refined cultures of Iranians they came in contact with. However, this was not the case with the feeble Anglo-Saxon people as they were lacking any significant moral refinement to persevere the onslaught of degeneracy.

Shirin: The root causes of Anglo-Saxon corruption of moral values goes back to 1100 years ago. Anglo-Saxon culture & dispositions have long manifested the degeneracy of Viking culture of savagery, sadism, looting, colonizing & enslaving with which they came in contact with & which they succumbed to.

shirin: No more than about 12,000 convicts were shipped to Australia. There are many good and wonderful people in Australia, but there are too many racist bigots there specially in less multicultural areas such as the Queensland state. This is more a case of Anglo-Saxon degeneracy.

Anarchy: Australia is a former penal colony. So, all Australians are descendants of former British convicts. What else do you expect from such a country? Australia is bloody racist.

Our own media weren't that much better. Here is a transcript of an ABC report on the bashing of Kanan Kharbander (the reporter being Guy Stayner):

KANAN KHARBANDA, VICTIM: It was a Sunshine taxi rank, and some of the hooligans approached me. They asked for a dollar. And I said, “I don't have any dollar with me.” I showed the pockets of my trousers, and they start beating me ...

GUY STAYNER: Little wonder these victims support the student protests that blocked Flinders Street and battered Melbourne's reputation around the world.

INDIAN REPORTER: It seems that there has been another racist attack, or at least a hate crime, perpetrated against another Indian ...

GUY STAYNER: With the spotlight on Australia, and the country's massive international education industry at risk, politicians are finding their voice.

KEVIN RUDD, PRIME MINISTER: I speak on behalf of all Australians when I say that we deplore and condemn these attacks. These are senseless acts of violence.

JOHN BRUMBY, PREMIER: There is no doubt that some of the assaults which have been committed against members of the Indian community have been racially based ...

GUY STAYNER: This week the State Government fast-tracked its hate crime legislation.

ROB HULLS, ATTORNEY-GENERAL: What we're gonna do is amend the Sentencing Act to give guidance to our judges in relation to sentencing practices for crimes that are specifically based on hate, prejudice, against people based on their race, their religion, their ethnic origin or their sexual orientation.

GUY STAYNER: How important was it to be seen to be doing something about this issue?

ROB HULLS: Well I think it's very important to send a message to the community, whenever and wherever we can, that we are a friendly, open, caring, multicultural community, and hate based crimes will not be tolerated.

I love the last bit. The implication is that white Australians are violent and aggressive and that it's multiculturalism which creates a friendly, open, caring community. Problem is that the facts just don't fit the fantasy. Kanan Kharbanda was attacked in Sunshine, one of Melbourne's most multicultural suburbs. And it seems he was attacked by a Sudanese gang.

Four men were charged with the attack. Three were too young to have their names released. But the eldest one has just been sentenced for the crime. His name is Majang Ngor, he is a Sudanese refugee, and far from being sentenced heavily for committing a hate crime, he's walked out of court with a suspended sentence:

The judge suspended the jail term for 15 months and ordered Ngor to do 40 hours of community work, saying the greatest public benefit would come from his rehabilitation.

Simona Andrejic

Midweek Roundup (Brought to you by the letter B).

The Britannicas-The Britannicas. The Britannicas are a power pop supergroup of sorts, consisting of Herb Eimerman, Magnus Karlsson and Joe Algeri. All three of them each have a vast body of solo and band work on their CVs, and all share a love of 60-styled pop in the manner of the big three Bs (Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds). So it's fitting their own band begins with a B and borrows from those three. It's also fitting that the disc leads off with a track titled "Those Good Vibrations", but it owes more to the jangle of the Byrds than to the pop of Brian Wilson. Eimerman's "Baby Say Yeah Yeah" is old school power pop, Algeri's "Friday Night Alright" sounds like a lost Nuggets classic, and "Stars" brings the jangle in a great way. If the idea of 3 power pop vets at the top of their game bringing the 60s back to life is your cup of tea, the Britannicas are for you. And it has the imprimatur of the Kool Kat label, so you know it's quality.

Kool Kat | CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

The Big Sweet-Shot of Bliss. The Big Sweet hail from Ohio, and their debut disc Shot of Bliss is an impressive mix of indie rock and power pop, drawing from influences like Big Star, The Replacements, Pavement and Television. Oh, and by the way these guys are only 16. If you didn't know this fact, it'd surprise you after listening to this debut that sounds like a band 8-10 years its senior. There's plenty to like here: the early Wilco rock of "Dress Up Your Mind", the poppy Replacements sound of "So Fine (You're Mine)", the indie rock of the title track, and the acoustic "Good & Down Youth". And they have the good taste to go with "September Gurls" as their lone stab at a cover here. If these guys are the future of power pop, then power pop may be in good hands.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Bo Don: Prada Black

Prada Resort 2011 Lookbook

Images courtesy of WWD & Style.com

Sharing the anger

I'm not sure it's good form to write this kind of post. But I thought it worthwhile because it offers a bit of insight into the radical left-wing mind.

Penny Red is an up-and-coming young English feminist. She's recently been given a paid position at the New Statesman.

She's written a personal piece at her own blog describing a bout of depression she is currently suffering from. I wish her well in recovering from this, but I couldn't help but be struck by what she feels her depression deprives her of.

Her anger and rage.

She is worried that her depression prevents her from feeling anger:

It's getting harder to stay angry. And that frightens me.

My mental health has taken a turn for the worse. I'm struggling to care. I'm struggling to stay angry. That terrifies me more than anything ...

That's what clinical depression does, you see. It takes away your anger, piece by piece, along with every other drive and interest and emotion that ever mattered to you ...

So here's what you can do to help me. If you have time and energy in your own life ... here's what you can do: send me your ideas. Send me your anger and truth, for the little space in time when I can't access my own.

Send me your rage, your issues, things that make you mad, things that make you want to run into the street and start a revolution ... It doesn't matter what's making you angry or whether you think I'll agree or be interested - I want to hear it ... Send me your anger and understand that if the internet is made for anything, it's made for times like this.

Traditionalists too have things to be angry about. And anger can be a source of motivation to get active. But I still think there's something very different in the way that Penny Red looks at things. Would any traditionalist describe a loss of anger as the worst deprivation? I wouldn't think so.

I wouldn't want to live my life in a state of anger. If I wanted to retain anything it would be to live responsively, with a warmth of attachment, a sense of moral integrity, an enjoyment of nature and the arts, a responsiveness to women, a sense of masculine prowess, energy to rise to the challenges I face at work and at home, a love of family, a connectedness to ancestry and my communal tradition, an appreciation of beauty and so on. Anger would not be anywhere near the top of the list.

And what was the upshot of Penny Red's call for her readers to send her their anger? She got sent heaps:

I've now received over fifty emails full of rage and hope and ideas. The internet is wonderful, you're all wonderful, and you're a constant source of energy and inspiration.

What does it all mean? Maybe it's difficult for radical leftists to stay motivated these days, given how far society has already been transformed along the lines they favour - and so rage at the system has to be self-consciously cultivated. Or maybe there's some vitalist nihilism at play here - if you think that life is empty then maybe anger and rage keep up a level of energy, excitement and sensation to make life seem more stimulating and interesting.

A visit to right-liberal HQ

What exactly is wrong with a libertarian or classical liberal politics? The answer is clear if you visit the Cato Institute.

The Cato Institute's mission is to "advance liberty". That sounds good, in fact in sounds very good. But wait till you find out exactly what "liberty" is thought to mean.

How to label Cato

The Catoists reject the label conservative. They like the term classical liberal but worry that it might be thought backward looking. So they prefer to be labelled as libertarians or market liberals.

In short, they are right-liberals. Like all liberals, they want a society made up of radically autonomous individuals. They reject the left-liberal idea that such a society can be organised by the administration of a central state, so their politics is anti-statist.

They believe instead that the best way to regulate a society made up of millions of abstracted, atomised, autonomous individuals is through the free market. The hidden hand of the market, it is thought, will keep the individual pursuit of profit working for the overall progress and benefit of society.

So they have a vision of Economic Man, in which our core identity and purpose is realised through our unimpeded participation in the market. That is the kind of liberty that matters to the Catoists, but as we shall see it's an understanding of liberty with unfortunate consequences.


Open borders

If you believe that the most important freedom is unrestricted trade, then you won't want limits placed on the movement of labour. And so you'll support open borders and mass immigration.

This is the immigration policy of the Cato Institute:

Immigration should be considered an important source of necessary labor for the American economy. Immigration policies should be revised to allow US based businesses liberal access to both high and low-skilled workers. Immigration control should be focused on securing our borders from terrorists and criminals.

Throughout history, immigration has been an important source of economic and social vitality for the United States, naturally expanding and contracting depending on the available supply of jobs in the US economy. Regulating immigration is the responsibility of the federal government, and we should have a comprehensive federal immigration system that promotes family cohesion, economic innovation, economic growth, the rule of law, and secure borders.

It's all focused on Economic Man. There's nothing about preserving a culture, heritage, identity or tradition. Nor is there even any serious consideration of social cohesion, apart from the one restriction of not allowing entry to terrorists.

Consider also two of the books that are being plugged by the Cato Institute:

Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders

Jason Riley makes the case for welcoming more immigrants to the United States. Drawing on history, scholarly studies and first-hand reporting, Riley argues that today’s newcomers are fueling America’s prosperity and dynamism.

Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them

In a provocative new book, British author Philippe Legrain presents a comprehensive case for expanding the freedom of workers to cross international borders legally, especially from less to more-developed countries. With an American audience in mind, Legrain examines the economic benefits of both high-skilled and low-skilled immigration.

A Cato type liberty means open borders for the sake of free trade. Little else is seriously considered. Isn't this a very limited view of man and society? And doesn't it impede other kinds of liberty, such as the freedom to enjoy and uphold an existing culture and identity? Or to enjoy stable forms of communal life that we can feel secure attachments to?

Even the economic arguments are dubious. There's evidence that lower skilled native workers suffer a fall in their economic condition during times of mass immigration. And yet such workers are supposed to believe that through open borders they are experiencing maximum liberty.

Breaking a pattern

These right-liberal ideas do have an influence. The more intellectual types within the Liberal Party, the Republican Party and the Conservative Party would have been influenced by these right-liberal ideas in their formative years.

It's important that those of us who don't like left-liberal politics don't fall into a right-liberal politics as an available alternative. The Cato slogan of "Individual Liberty, Free Markets, and Peace" might sound appealing, but in its details it's not helpful for conserving the larger Western tradition.

Michael Palmer - We Rule

Winston Hussey - Yuh Face Look Good

Frankie Paul - True

A very nice Frankie Paul record from 1987 on the Black Scorpio label.
Nuff respect Johan for this contribution !!!

Black Scorpio Hit Singers Of The 80's & 90's

Many thanks Johan for this contribution ! A compilation of the best singers on the Black Scorpio label. Big up Johan.

Three Star All Star

One riddim showcase album from the Three Star Production label out of Canada. Released in 1985, this album gives us some early digital reggae with artists like Ernie Roots, General Lenky, Major lloyd, Super Black, Skarro Mango and a few more.

Spain's Alonso fastest in European GP practice

CNN -- Ferrari's Fernando Alonso edged out the Red Bulls to set the fastest time in opening practice for this weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia on Friday.
The Spaniard, who was racing on home soil, lapped the street circuit quickest in one minute and 39.283 seconds in the afternoon practice session.
Alonso, whose only victory so far this season came in the opening race in Bahrain, is aiming to reproduce today's form in official qualifying and then Sunday's race.
"This morning, the McLarens were very quick, the Red Bulls are always on front running pace and even Mercedes and Renault are very close," he told the Formula One website.
Our only aim is to be ahead of everyone, otherwise we wouldn't be Ferrari

"However, our only aim is to be ahead of everyone, otherwise we wouldn't be Ferrari."
Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull came second, with his teammate Mark Webber third and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, who was fastest in the morning session, in fourth place.
But his teammate and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher again disappointed, only posting the 11th best time on his debut in Valencia.
Schumacher, who finished out of the points in the last grand prix in Canada, has won the European Grand Prix, at different venues, six times.
"I found it quite comfortable to drive even if some of the corners are blind," he told reporters.
"However it's demanding to get the real rhythm which I have not totally found over one lap yet."
It was a generally disappointing day for McLaren, as championship leader Lewis Hamilton came in fifth fastest, followed by Renault's Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa of Ferrari.
Adrian Sutil of Force India managed eighth, just ahead of world champion Jenson Button and last year's winner Rubens Barrichello of Williams in ninth and tenth respectively.
However, reigning world champion Button remains positive the McLaren team can gain some vital points going into what he expects to be a difficult weekend of racing.
"It's going to be a tough weekend for us, but an enjoyable one too, and we should still get some good points from it," he told the Formula One website.

Stalemate enough to take Brazil and Portugal into last 16

(CNN) -- Brazil and Portugal played out a disappointing draw as Group G reached its climax but both cruised into the last 16 of the World Cup.
Striker Nilmar came the closest to breaking the deadlock for Brazil, as his shot was diverted onto the crossbar by Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo.
Brazil finish as group winners and will face either Spain, Chile or Switzerland in the second round. Portugal go through as runners up and will face either Spain or Chile.
Ivory Coast comfortably beat North Korea 3-0 in the group's other match but it wasn't enough to give them hope of qualifying in place of Portugal.
Brazil 0-0 Portugal
During a cagey opening in Durban, neither side created any chances of note in the opening 20 minutes of the game, that was dominated by a series of niggly fouls.
Brazil defender Juan was lucky not to see a red card as he hand balled a long pass that would have released Cristiano Ronaldo.
The first real chance came on the half hour mark as Nilmar met striker Luis Fabiano's cross but Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo turned his effort onto the crossbar.
Fabiano then headed narrowly wide of the target as he met Maicon's cross from the right flank.
Ronaldo registered Portugal's first effort on target five minutes before the break but his powerful shot was easily gathered by Brazil goalkeeper Cesar.
A series of fouls disrupted the flow of the game, as the referee produced seven yellow cards before half-time arrived -- including one to Tiago for diving.
Fabiano forced Eduardo into another save with a looping header before Simao tested Cesar at the other end but his shot was right at the 'keeper.
A powerful run from Ronaldo created a chance for Raul Meireles but his flick towards goal brushed the side-netting via a touch from Cesar.
Substitute Ramires brought a superb save out of Eduardo near the end as his shot was deflected towards the top corner but both sides were content to hold out for a point.
Ivory Coast 3-0 North Korea
Ivory Coast knew they needed to rack up as many goals as possible against North Korea to have any chance of qualifying and they opened the scoring within 15 minutes.
Yaya Toure collected Arthur Boka's cross before stroking the ball into the far corner. Just a minute later, full-back Romaric hit the post.
In the 20th minute striker Didier Drogba smashed a shot against the crossbar before Romaric nodded the rebound into the net.
Gervinho nearly made it 3-0 seven minutes before half-time but his shot from an angle flicked off the outside of the post.
Drogba came close to adding a third after the break but his diving header flew over the crossbar before substitute Salomon Kalou smashed a shot over the bar from close range.
With ten minutes remaining Kalou met Boka's cross to fire into the net and despite having two goals disallowed for offside, the Ivory Coast couldn't add to their tally.

PM deposed

We had a dramatic week in politics here in Australia. Our Prime Minister was dumped by his own party.

The conspiracy against the PM is not that surprising. He was riding high in the polls seven months ago, but since then suffered a decline in popularity. The Labor Party powerbrokers decided, probably correctly, that he was an electoral liability and replaced him with the deputy PM, Julia Gillard.

There's little reason for traditionalists to regret the demise of Rudd. Just consider these disastrous policies:

i) When Rudd first arrived in office he set out to create an Asia-Pacific Union, along the lines of the EU. Fortunately his diplomatic efforts failed to interest the major Asian powers.

ii) Rudd ramped up immigration to astonishing levels. In 2008 alone there were 876,222 arrivals.

iii) Rudd set up a national curriculum for all Australian schools. There are three themes underpinning every subject in the curriculum from prep to Year 12: indigenous perspectives, Australia's place in Asia and sustainable living.

Julia Gillard, the new PM, was part of the inner circle who decided these policies, so we shouldn't hope for too much better from her. She is also someone who has ruled out the idea that women might be full-time homemakers:

If one suggested to a girl in school today that her future life would consist of marriage, raising children and tending the family home, she would no doubt look at you as if you had just arrived from Mars ...

... while she may not know what course she wants to chart out in her life yet, she knows work will play a role in it – and an important one. Whether for the thrill of career, the social integration of work, the pay packet or for a mix of all of them, she’ll work.

So much for choice. Gillard comes across as an ideological feminist in this quote, as someone who disdains the significance of the motherhood role.

Anyway, it's likely now that there will be an election soon, before Gillard's honeymoon period is over. She's a chance to win, particularly with the upsurge of the Greens (whose preferences will mostly go Labor's way). Time will tell.

Spain down Chile to secure top spot as both progress to last 16

(CNN) -- Spain's World Cup campaign finally burst into life as they beat ten-man Chile to finish top of Group H and avoid a last 16 clash with tournament favorites Brazil.
David Villa and Andres Iniesta scored the goals as the European champions leapfrogged their opponents into top spot courtesy of a 2-1 win.
Switzerland failed to take advantage of Chile's defeat and grab the last qualification spot, as their game with Honduras finished 0-0.
Spain will now face Portugal in the second round while Chile will play Brazil.
Spain 2-1 Chile
Spain headed into the game knowing that a win would be good enough to take them into the second round as group winners.
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres had an early chance to put them in front but he headed over from Xavi's cross.
Chile's first chance came in the tenth minute when Jean Beausejour crossed for Mark Gonzalez but the winger couldn't direct his effort on target.
In the 24th minute Barcelona striker David Villa broke the deadlock.
As Fernando Torres raced to latch onto a long pass, Chile 'keeper Claudio Bravo rushed out of his goal to clear, but Villa latched onto the loose ball to stroke it into the net.
Defender Gerard Pique should have made it 2-0 when he put a free header over the bar from ten yards out, but he had to be alert seconds later to deny Beausejour an equalizer.
Then came the decisive passage of the game as Villa squared for Andres Iniesta to place a shot into the corner. In the build up to the goal Chilean defender Marco Estrada tripped Torres and was sent off after being shown a second yellow card.
Chile's ten men did hit back within minutes of the restart as substitute Rodrigo Millar's shot deflected off Pique and into the net but they failed to create any chances after that.
There was a worry for Spain as striker Torres was substituted on 55 minutes. The 26-year-old was injured at the end of the Premier League season with Liverpool and began Spain's opening game on the bench.
Chile pushed forward in search of an equalizer late on but Spain made their extra man count to retain possession, kill off the game and secure top spot.
Switzerland 0-0 Honduras
Switzerland knew they had to beat Honduras to have a realistic chance of going through through but it was Honduras who enjoyed the majority of possession in the early stages.
Midfielder Gokhan Inler squandered Switzerland's first opportunity, shooting wide form the edge of the penalty area.
Striker Eren Derdiyok then headed wide from six yards out after meeting Stéphane Grichting's right wing cross but the teams went in level at the break.
With Chile trailing to Spain, Switzerland poured forward in search of the goals that would have lifted them into second spot and meant qualification for the last 16.
But it was Honduras who had a glorious chance to take the lead just after half-time when Edgar Alvarez's cross found David Suazo unmarked six yards from goal but the striker somehow managed to put his header wide.
Then only a brilliant reaction save from Switzerland 'keeper Diego Benaglio prevented Edgar Alvarez from scoring as Honduras broke quickly.
Switzerland's Alexander Frei was next to go close as he met Hakan Yakin's free-kick at the far post but he couldn't direct his effort on target.
Both teams threw players forward to try and find a winner but it ended 0-0.

Why smartphone buyers should wait

The iPhone 4 is finally available, but a good deal of the early buzz surrounding the hot new smartphone has been negative. The first wave of purchasers has complained of reception problems, yellow discolorations on the screen and swapped volume buttons, among other grievances.
Given the relative likelihood of such launch jitters, should savvy consumers wait a few months before plunking down on the latest "it" phone?
Analysts say the buy-now or buy-later decision boils down to the importance of having a phone that works properly from minute one, but in general it's better to wait a few weeks or even months while hardware kinks — the hardest type of fix — are sorted out in the manufacturing process.
"Really, it’s a personal preference," said Tina Teng, a senior analyst for wireless communications at tech firm iSuppli. "If you don’t want to deal with the hassle [of early problems], then maybe wait a few months."
Michael Morgan, a mobile devices industry analyst for ABI Research, agreed. "If you are extremely dependent on being in contact at all times, maybe you want to wait a bit [before buying a new phone]," Morgan said.
Inevitable errors
Manufacturing flaws are a fact of life, Morgan noted: "Let's face it, I don’t think there is a product on Earth, from drugs to tech devices to cars, that doesn't occasionally have a glitch or two coming off of the assembly line."
Quality control and technical issues are nothing new for smartphones when they first hit the market. Once confirmed, manufacturers aim to iron out these wrinkles as soon as possible so a new product is not tainted. For example, HTC announced last week a software fix for its new EVO 4G, which is suffering from poor touch screen sensitivity.
Even though the iPhone 4 is a fourth-generation device, it underwent the biggest redesign in the history of the line, both on the outside and the inside and its operating system.
"The iPhone 4 has new hardware and new software, so there are two ways for things to go wrong," said Morgan.
So far, the phone's issues appear hardware-related, which as a class are more difficult to solve because they usually require sending the phone back for repairs or swapping it with a replacement.
In general, a software problem does not necessitate a product return, noted iSuppli's Teng. A software fix or "patch" is typically created by the manufacturer and then made available for download right on the phone.
Testing, testing
Even if snafus are easy to resolve, companies naturally wish to avoid them at all costs.
Before a new-fangled product ever gets into the hands of customers, tech companies thoroughly attempt to vet it in-house for functionality and durability.
One common practice is so-called dogfooding, Morgan said, which is "when an engineer has to walk around and live with the device he made," or eat his own dog food, as the expression goes.
Apple certainly seems to dogfood aplenty, as evidenced by the prototype iPhone 4 accidentally abandoned by an employee that caused quite a stir back in April.
Though this real-life testing process will often reveal some pesky design flaws, Morgan said, almost no amount of dogfooding can expose all the potential trouble spots.
During pre-release testing, "on the software side, there are always some bugs that haven’t been discovered," said iSuppli's Teng.
The Palm Pre that came out a year ago is one such phone that has had numerous bug issues, Teng noted.
Into the wild
For a popular smartphone to really earn its stripes, it must satisfy millions of customers in the hyper-competitive real world marketplace.
In the case of the iPhone 4, having a plugged-in, obsessed fan base such as Apple's can be a blessing for someone undecided about when to purchase the phone.
With hundreds of thousands of new iPhones making the rounds right out of the gate, any and all flaws, however minor, in these first few batches tend to get seized upon.
The yellow discolorations that have been widely reported on iPhone 4 screens on the device's first day out might be an example. After speculation on Apple-centric Web site forums, Apple support technicians have now reportedly confirmed over the phone to customers that this yellow is from a screen bonding chemical agent. The agent apparently has not had time to fully evaporate just yet because Apple rushed the product from the factory per strong demand.
As a company that must back its products, Apple is presented with the challenge of evaluating reams of such user-generated claims of subpar product performance or manufacturing defects. "It gets real tricky ... separating the wheat from the chaff ... [when you're a] company selling millions of handsets," Morgan said.
Complicating the picture is that buyers can have a sort of "tech hypochondria," in which they think something is wrong with their device, having heard or seen such claims, when in fact the device is working just fine.
For the patient consumer, however, this sort of scouring by the early adopters can be great for honing future versions of a desired device.
"You want to see the glitches and wait for [companies] to fix them before you buy it," Morgan told TechNewsDaily. "Once things are discovered, [companies] do their damnedest to fix it and make it better right away."

Government drops broadband tax

Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that the 50p a month landline tax ear-marked for next-generation broadband will be scrapped.

Instead the government will leave the majority of super-fast broadband roll-out to private investment.
Some money will be available for rural roll-outs, he said.
The Conservatives opposed the introduction of the broadband tax and it was dropped from the Finance Bill at the end of the last parliament.
Speaking about the decision to scrap the tax, he said: "I am happy to be able to abolish this new duty before it is even introduced. Instead, we will support private broadband investment, including to rural areas, in part with funding from the Digital Switchover under-spend within the TV Licence Fee."
Opening ducts Labour plans to create a rural broadband fund via the new tax were supported by the Liberal Democrats but were heavily criticised by the Tories.
It was dropped from the Finance Bill as a compromise to get the rest of the legislation through before parliament was dissolved.
Despite the lack of new funding, the coalition government has said it is committed to providing broadband improvements.
In a speech at the beginning of June, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said that it was his goal to provide Britain with the "best superfast broadband network in Europe".
To achieve this, he is considering forcing water, gas and electricity companies to open up their ducts to allow fibre to be laid inside them.
Experts estimate that a large chunk of the cost of offering fibre networks is associated with the expense of digging up roads to create new ducts.
Last month, Ed Vaizey was appointed as the new broadband minister.
He will oversee the roll-out of next-generation broadband. He is also responsible for ensuring that all homes have a minimum speed of 2Mbps (megabits per second) by 2012, honouring a pledge made by the previous government.

Google's Street View faces multi-state US probe

 

US state Connecticut will lead a multi-state investigation into Google's collection of wi-fi data.

It is the latest in a series of global investigations aimed at the firm.
Google has admitted that its Street View cars "accidentally" collected data from unsecured wi-fi networks in 30 countries because of some rogue code in the software used by the service.
The US investigation will attempt to answer how that code ended up being used by Street View.
Google has explained that the data was gathered as it logged wi-fi hotspots to help it develop location-based services. It has since stopped collecting such data.
But it has never gone into details about how the software came to be included in the Street View system, saying just that it was the work of a "single engineer".
The US investigation aims to drill down into Google's working practices.
It will ask the search giant who inserted the code and why, whether the data was extracted and why Google saved it.
In a letter to the search giant, Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has asked for copies of the company's internal procedures regarding Street View and for exact details of how and when Google learned that its cars were capturing sensitive data.
The letter also asks why Google recorded the signal strength and quality of personal and business wireless networks.
Richard Blumenthal Connecticut Attorney General

Mr Blumenthal said he expected a "significant number of states to participate". 30 have so far signed up.
He described the accidental collection of data as a "deeply disturbing invasion of personal privacy".
"Street View cannot mean Complete View - invading home and business computer networks and vacuuming up personal information and communications.
"Consumers have a right and a need to know what personal information - which could include e-mails, web browsing and passwords - Google may have collected and why. Google must come clean," he said.
The French data protection agency CNIL has had an early view of some of the information collected and said it included data such as passwords.
It said it was considering whether to prosecute the firm.
Like many other data protection agencies it had requested Google hand over copies of the data it gathered to find out whether it breached privacy rules.
Investigations are also on-going in Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Google said it was working with all the investigators and offering to delete all the sensitive data.
It has defended its position with Google boss Eric Schmidt saying there was "no harm, no foul" in collecting the snippets of information.
"Who was harmed? Name the person," Mr Schmidt said during an interview at the company's annual Zeitgeist conference held in Watford in mid-May.

Big Sur: a few of our favourite things

All that traffic and city living burnt you out? Escape the clutches of the daily grind and decompress in lush, laidback Big Sur - it’s oh so near but feels oh so far.

Known for its counter-cultural tendencies, Big Sur feels like a rural mountain community with an earthy, artsy bent. Here are a few of our favourite things in Big Sur:

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park: California knows how to do a redwood. In this park you can hike through towering redwood groves, see the 60ft-high Pfeiffer Falls, climb to Valley View vista or dig down into the purple sand of Pfeiffer Beach - purple because of the manganese garnet that washes down from the hillsides above.

Esalen Institute: Only open to the public after midnight, the natural hot-springs baths of the Esalen Institute are worth the crazy effort of making reservations for, with au-natural pools perched on an ocean ledge and stormy moonlit surf crashing below.

Big Sur Bakery: This rustic, wood-shingled café produces feather-light artisan pastries and oversized cups of robust coffee. Grab a spot on the outside deck to enjoy a backdrop of lush green mountains and hummingbirds showing off.

Henry Miller Library: Miller lived in Big Sur for 18 years (Kerouac also lived here for a time) and this house celebrates his life and work with a great collection of books by Beat and Big Sur writers and eclectic cultural events.

Glen Oaks: Restored to its ‘Mad Men in the forest’ 60s chic, this rustic motel has been renovated using recycled elements while retaining incredible style. There are no TVs in the rooms - just wall-mounted gas fires to watch. Strangely captivating.

Big Sur Roadhouse: This incredible restaurant isn’t slinging greasy roadhouse grub - its chefs once worked at the award-winning Sierra Mar restaurant. The Latin-inspired menu utilises fresh local produce and the results are incredible - you’ll never have a spinach salad quite like theirs.

Download the Central Coast chapter from our latest Coastal California guide and head for Big Sur. It’ll be the start of a beautiful friendship.

7 reasons to visit Eastern Tibet

It’s a pain in the backside to get permits for, and many places are still off limits to foreigners, but here are seven reasons why eastern Tibet should be firmly fastened to your Tibet itinerary.
1. Getting off the beaten track

The southern Sichuan-Tibet Highway. Image by Daniel McCrohan

Roads are improving out this way, but there are still long stretches of unmade dirt tracks that turn into mud baths as soon as it rains. Worst-case scenario: landslides. Best-case: an uncomfortably bumpy ride. But, hey, tarmac would be too easy, wouldn’t it?
2. Lush, green and gorgeous

Nyang-chu River. Image by Daniel McCrohan

If the vast, desert-like Tibetan-plateau landscape doesn’t rock your boat, head east to find sub-tropical Tibet: dripping-wet forests, raging rivers and towering gorges. This is the face you never knew Tibet had.
3. The coolest guesthouse in Tibet?

Sleeping on Ngan-tso Lake. Image by Daniel McCrohan

The picture says it all really. This dream-come-true guesthouse on the outskirts of Rawok has to be the coolest place to stay in all of Tibet. Not only do you get incredible views of Ngan-tso Lake and the surrounding snow-capped mountains but the rooms are cheap (about Y100 for a double, or Y50 for a bed in a dorm) and they all have wifi.
4. Tashigang Village

Traditional stone homes in Tashigang Village. Image by Daniel McCrohan

This simple farming village, a short walk from Lunang, is bursting with rustic charm and offers a rare chance to stay with a Tibetan family in a traditional Tibetan stone house. Six of the villagers here have turned their wonderful homes into family guesthouses and all offer cheap beds, home-cooked meals and even a hot shower! The surrounding countryside – fields of barley and rapeseed leading to pinewood forests – is perfect for hiking. If that’s too energetic for you, find a villager willing to rent you their horse for an hour or two, and trit-trot your way into the hills.
5. Hiking the Bonri kora

Prayer flags and rhododendrons on top of Bonri. Image by Daniel McCrohan

This fantastic holy hike (or kora), around Bonri, the Bon people’s most sacred mountain, used to take two or three days. But now a new road leads around the back of the mountain, so travellers and pilgrims alike can complete the most exhilarating section – up and over the Bonri pass – in around seven hours. It’s still a tough slog, up steep trails and at altitudes approaching 5000m, but it’s incredibly rewarding to follow pilgrims over such sacred ground through such fabulous scenery. Yaks graze on grasslands at the top, while the slopes lower down are covered in blankets of rhododendrons. Get your driver to drop you at Mirui Village, then just follow the prayer flags, or the pilgrims, up and over the mountain until the trail meets the main highway where, with a bit of luck, your driver will be waiting for you.
6. Camping around Draksum-tso

Tsodzong Monastery island on Draksum-tso. Image by Daniel McCrohan

It may cost Y100 just to see it these days, but Draksum-tso is still the most picturesque lake in eastern Tibet. Chinese tour groups love this place, and who can blame them. But if you want to get away from the crowds, bring a tent and walk clockwise round the lake from Tsodzong Monastery island (where the bus drops you off) until you get to a fabulous camping spot known as Qiuzi Dong. It should take about three hours, leaving you with about a four-hour hike in the morning to complete your circuit of the lake.
7. Not another Westerner in sight

Chinese tourist enjoying the ride. Image by Daniel McCrohan

Eastern Tibet is the perfect place for mixing with the locals because, chances are, you won’t meet tourists of any kind for much of your time here. Those you do see will probably be Chinese, and they’re just as excited about being here as you.

Visitors to get new look at part of Colosseum

Rome, Italy (CNN) -- Visitors to a popular tourist destination in Rome should soon get their first look at a once-formidable world that has been hidden from public view for nearly 2,000 years.

For the first time, the Colosseum plans to let visitors explore an underground corridor that has previously been off limits.

It's a place where gladiators once prepared for battle and lions and tigers were caged before entertaining a bloodthirsty public, architect Barbara Nazzaro of the office of the Rome Archaeology Superintendent told CNN.

The Colosseum plans to open the underground section in August.

In the underground maze of tunnels, the Romans kept "every type of exotic animal that they were able to bring here," including rhinos and snakes, Nazzaro said. Elephants and other animals could walk freely without scraping their head on the ceiling -- with plenty of room to spare.

Completed in 80 A.D., the Colosseum once held 50,000 to 60,000 people and reached an impressive 130 feet in height. It was constructed with enough stone to build a 15-story building, though less than half of the structure now remains, said Nazzaro.

For more than 400 years, wealthy and poor alike attended ultra-violent spectacles in the Colosseum, including executions which often concluded with fights between Roman warriors.

There were four floors, each dedicated to a specific class, according to colosseum.net, a website dedicated to amphitheaters and coliseums around the world. The upper floors were for the lower classes and women, while the lowest was for the most prominent citizens, sitting just above the underground passageways.

The more gore and blood, the happier and more involved people became, Nazzaro said. "It is difficult to understand nowadays."

Listed as one of the seven wonders of the world, the Colosseum requires the equivalent of more than $860,000 a year (700,000 euros) to maintain, according to the archaeology superintendent's office.

Opening the underground corridor for the public will coincide with an extensive restoration of the Colosseum, the office said.

It will cost an estimated $2.5 million (2 million euros) to open the new attraction to tourists.

Yet restoration plans don't stop there. Efforts to find sponsors to help fully restore the entire Colosseum, including more of the underground section, are underway. That could cost the equivalent of another $40 million (32 million euros), officials said.

The Colosseum attracts an estimated 4 million tourists a year and generates roughly $38 million (about 30.5 million euros) in revenue from such things as ticket sales and souvenirs, according to the archaeology superintendent's office.

Peter Jackson in negotiations for 'The Hobbit'

(EW.com) -- Almost one month after Guillermo del Toro dropped out of directing "The Hobbit," "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson is in talks to helm the two films in the franchise. While we wait for the studios involved or Jackson's manager to confirm, there are lots of questions that remain before "The Hobbit" can actually begin production, let alone reach the big screen.

First, MGM, the debt-laden studio that owns 50 percent of the rights to the classic tale, is facing an uncertain future. The studio failed to attract bids high enough to satisfy its creditors during an auction earlier this year, and the latest plan may see Spyglass Entertainment running the studio in a prepackaged bankruptcy, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Talks are continuing and no decision has yet been made, though some resolution is needed before the studio's debt waiver expires in mid-July. Some Hollywood insiders question whether production could actually proceed if there's a chance that those rights could wind up in bankruptcy court along with the rest of MGM's assets (it's the same reason why the "Bond" franchise is tied up since MGM owns half of those rights, too), but sources close to the "Hobbit" project insist that MGM's financial woes aren't a factor in this production.

The other issue to consider is how much money the studios can offer Jackson. Saul Zaentz, Harvey Weinstein, and the Tolkien estate are all gross participants in the "Hobbit" movies -- meaning they get a share of the profits right off the top. Jackson will also receive a part of the pie for his producing efforts, but adding director to his title card greatly increases his right to the revenue generated from the movies. How much can the studios pay and will they even be able to get this thing up and running with MGM's future so uncertain? Stay tuned as we learn more.

John Edwards's daughter: Our lives were 'savaged'

(PEOPLE.com) -- Elizabeth Edwards -- and, for the first time, daughter Cate -- are opening up about John Edwards's infidelity and the breakup of the marriage.

In PEOPLE's edition next week, Cate, 28, who lives in Washington and clerks for a federal judge, and her mother talk candidly about their relationships with John now, Elizabeth's cancer and other issues.

"There are the things she taught without words," Cate writes about her mother in a bonus essay for PEOPLE. Like, "how to continue to live your life on your own terms when it somehow becomes savaged by people you never invited into it."

PEOPLE's extensive interview was Elizabeth's first in more than a year and her first public comments since several tell-all books and interviews about the former presidential candidate's affair called Elizabeth's own character into question earlier this year.

"It's my story and I'm writing it from here on out -- nobody else," Elizabeth says in the interview as the paperback edition of her bestselling book "Resilience," is released.

The paperback includes a new chapter reflecting on the worst of the fallout from husband John's infidelity and on their split at the end of last year.

(PEOPLE.com) -- Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars is quickly becoming outnumbered at home he and director Sofia Coppola recently welcomed a second baby girl, a source confirms to PEOPLE.

Daughter Cosima was born in New York City "within the last month" and joins big sister Romy, 3.

The couple, who began dating in 2005, announced the pregnancy in December.

Mars continues to tour in support of his band's Grammy-winning album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," while Coppola's latest film, "Somewhere," will be released in December.

Toyota recalls 17,000 Lexus cars

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toyota is recalling 17,000 Lexus vehicles because they spilled too much gasoline during crash tests, the company said Friday.

The affected vehicles are 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h cars, Toyota said. The company did not immediately return a request for comment.

As part of a yearly testing program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) performed a crash test and found that these cars spilled more gasoline than is allowed by the agency's safety requirements.

But Toyota said it tested the cars in the same manner and found that the fuel spillage met the requirements. The company is working to identify the reason for the different test results.

Lexus has not yet identified a fix for the problem, "but it is working hard to do so promptly and will notify owners as soon as one is developed," the company said in a statement.

Federal law prohibits dealers from selling any of the recalled products until a fix is identified.

Obama arrives in Canada for economic summit

Toronto, Ontario (CNN) -- President Obama arrived in Ontario on Friday for a series of high-stakes economic meetings with leaders from around the world.

Obama, who was greeted in Toronto by America's ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson, is set to meet first with his counterparts in the G-8 nations, followed a broader G-20 summit over the weekend.

The meetings are taking place against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty, with demands for more government stimulus balanced against fears of runaway deficits. At home, the Obama administration is struggling to push a new economic relief package through an increasingly skittish, debt-wary Congress. Overseas -- particularly in Europe -- leaders are increasingly being forced to enact unpopular fiscal austerity measures.

Also hovering over this weekend's meetings is the specter of protests and violence, which have plagued other recent meetings of world economic leaders.

Friday morning, before departing the White House, Obama referred to agreements reached in the first two G-20 summits he attended and added, "This weekend in Toronto, I hope we can build on this progress by coordinating our efforts to promote economic growth, to pursue financial reform, and to strengthen the global economy.

"We need to act in concert for a simple reason: This (recent economic) crisis proved and events continue to affirm that our national economies are inextricably linked -- and just as economic turmoil in one place can quickly spread to another, safeguards in each of our nations can help protect all nations."

Obama fears that a rollback too soon from government stimulus packages would send the world back into recession. The European Union, on the other hand, has sent a letter to all G-20 leaders asking for substantial budget cuts to come no later than 2011.

Also high on the agenda will be reforms to global banking regulations. Although all G-20 nations have pledged banking reforms, the reforms being considered in Europe and North America are diverging. Britain, France and Germany are calling for taxes on banks to pay down deficits and cushion future financial shocks. The U.S. government wants to discourage additional taxes, which officials fear would stunt consumer demand.

The weekend's sessions will offer a first appearance on the world stage for British Prime Minister David Cameron and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Both leaders arrived in Toronto on Thursday.

The G-8 meeting opens Friday at Deerhurst Resort in the Muskoka region of Ontario. The G-20 meeting opens Saturday in Toronto.

Custer's last flag: Banner carried at Little Bighorn to be sold

New York (CNN) -- A flag that accompanied Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry into their final battle 134 years ago will be put up for auction, the auction house that will handle the sale said Friday.

Custer led more than 200 other other soldiers into battle against thousands of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne warriors on June 25, 1876, at the Little Bighorn River in what is now Montana. None of the U.S. soldiers survived the battle.

The flag that will be sold in October is tattered and fragile, measures 27½ by 33 inches and may be stained with blood. It was found three days after the Battle of Little Bighorn -- or the Battle of Greasy Grass Creek, as the victors called it -- beneath the body of one of Custer's men killed in the battle.

Sgt. Ferdinand Culbertson, a member of the burial detail assigned to retrieve the remains of the 7th Cavalry, found the Cavalry guidon, or swallow-tail flag, that was used by cavalry companies. The design reduced wind drag as the soldiers advanced.

"It's not a piece of decoration," said Sotheby's vice chairman, David Redden. "It's a sacred relic. People died for this flag. This flag is really important as it symbolizes one of the great and mythological battles in American history."

Another flag from the battle site was found months later in an Indian village seized by U.S. troops and is now owned by the National Park Service, but Redden said it is in very poor condition.

Custer's last battle was part of the United States government's 1876-77 campaign to retake the Black Hills region, ceded in perpetuity by an 1868 treaty to the Lakota. But when gold was discovered in the area, the army was sent to push the aboriginal Americans to a reservation set up for them.

The 7th Cavalry surprised the Lakota and Cheyenne, camped on the river banks, but Custer vastly underestimated their number and was crushed.

Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were among the Lakota leaders who took part in the battle.

The Detroit Institute for the Arts acquired the flag in 1895 for $54 but has decided to part with it and use the proceeds for future art acquisitions.

The Institute's director, Graham Beal, says the flag won't be missed as it was often on loan to other institutions, most recently at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.

"The sale will help with future acquisitions," said Beal. "With the proceeds we will get art for the collection. Even though we are in Detroit, we have one of the great universal collections including Baroque, African and early modern collections. We are right up there with Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Author Nathaniel Philbrick, whose book "The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Big Horn" was released in May, said the significance of shabby flag is enormous.

"It's not only symbolic, but it's also just a terrific artifact," he said. "It's pretty intact and given what it went through, it's amazing."

John Doerner, chief historian at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, said he believes the flag is stained with the blood of a fallen soldier and that the banner belongs to the American people.

"It was an act of courage and bravery," said Doerner, a 20-year veteran of the National Parks Service.

"To lose the colors was really something that a soldier would give their lives [to prevent]," he said.

Doerner is helping oversee events for the battle's anniversary this weekend at the national monument, where visitors will hear symposiums and view re-enactments. He is hopeful that a benefactor will purchase the flag and loan it to a national museum.

Redden said expectations are good that the Custer flag sale price might exceed Sotheby's $2 million to $5 million estimate, but the hope is that the sale will come close to the $12.3 million paid for a Revolutionary Battle flag in 2006, a record for any military relic at auction.

Archaeologists investigating mass infant burial at Roman villa

London, England (CNN) -- English archaeologists said Friday they are trying to figure out why 97 babies were buried around a Roman-era villa that may have been used as a brothel.

Because childbirth in Roman times was more dangerous than it is today, infant mortality was high and infant burials are common at Roman villas. However, the massive number found at the site in Buckinghamshire, just northwest of London, is far higher than at any other Roman villa in Britain, the Buckinghamshire County Council said.

Recent examination of the Roman-era bodies shows "the infants almost all died around the time of birth, suggesting this may be an example of deliberate infanticide," the council said.

That was legal in Roman times if the mother was a slave, and a large number of deliberately killed babies may show someone wanted to keep the mothers working, it said.

The villa was occupied for several hundred years during the Roman era, and there is a theory it may have been used as a brothel, which would explain the high number of unwanted babies, the council said.

There is also a theory that the building was an imperial supply depot with many literate workers, since a large number of writing implements were found at the site, along with a high number of kilns for drying corn. If those literate workers were mostly women, they may have been forced to kill their babies and keep working, the council said.

Yewden Villa, as the site is known, was first excavated in 1912. It was later covered over and is now a field. The report on the dig didn't appear until 1921 because World War I got in the way, the council said.

A community archaeology project recently started looking at the 1912 finds, most of which had never been examined, hoping a century's worth of new research may shed new light on them, the council said.

The 1921 report, which was published in the national journal Archaeologia, described the grounds as "positively littered with babies."

"A few were laid at length, but the majority were evidently carried and buried wrapped in a cloth or garment, huddled in a little bundle, so that the head was almost central, and the knees above it," the report said.

"As nothing marked the position of these tiny graves, a second little corpse was sometimes deposited on one already in occupation of a spot, apparently showing that these interments took place secretly, after dark."

Most academics agree that large Roman villas were built and used by a small but extremely wealthy section of the society that lived in the area between the first and fourth centuries AD, the council said.

They were used as both residences and administrative and servicing centers, it said.

Adults had to be buried outside a settlement when they died, but that rule did not apply to infants, the council said.

India pledges new aid for victims of Bhopal gas leak

New Delhi, India (CNN) -- India has announced a new financial package for victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster as the case shot back to prominence after a court ruling this month.

The country's Cabinet has sanctioned about $270 million as part of plans to compensate the victims and clean up what is now a defunct plant of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) in the central city of Bhopal, authorities said.

Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni told reporters Thursday that the new financial assistance would be delivered to more than 45,000 people deemed severely hit by the leak of poisonous gas from the pesticide factory 26 years ago.

Deaths, disabilities, cancer and total renal failures from the exposure will be covered under the package, she said.

Nearly 4,000 people died in the immediate aftermath of the escape of methyl isocyanate, a chemical used to produce pesticides, from the company's plant in Bhopal in December 1984. More than 10,000 other deaths have been blamed on related illnesses, with adverse health effects reported in hundreds of thousands of survivors.

Many of them struggle with ailments including shortness of breath, cancer, near-blindness, fatigue and heart problems.

Soni's announcement came barely two weeks after a court in Bhopal handed down a two-year sentence to seven Indian executives of the local subsidiary of the US-based Union Carbide Corp. (UCC)

The ruling sparked an outcry in India, with both government and judiciary coming under heavy criticism for their handling of what has been regarded as one of the world's worst industrial disasters.

Originally, the Indian defendants were tried on the count of culpable homicide. After an appeal, the country's supreme court downgraded the charges to death by negligence in 1996. Soni said the top court would now be petitioned again to revisit its 1996 scrapping of tougher charges.

As advised by a ministerial panel this week, India will also push the United States to extradite Warren Anderson, the former head of Union Carbide Corp., she said.

Anderson has been declared a fugitive from the Bhopal indictment in India, with an arrest warrant out for him.

Indian authorities, officials say, will use new evidence in support of the extradition plea: testimonies that the parent company was aware of what investigators believe were defects in its Bhopal plant.

India's federal police first requested that the United States extradite Anderson in 1993.

"However, this request remains unexecuted," the Central Bureau of Investigation noted in its statement on June 7, the day of the Bhopal ruling.

Currently, India has extradition pacts with 31 countries, including the United States.

Investigators have blamed the Bhopal tragedy on the maintenance and design of the site.

Union Carbide, however, said the leak was an act of sabotage by an employee who it said had tampered with the gas tank.

The company, now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co., paid a $470 million settlement to India in 1989.

But the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal said survivors had so far received an average of only $500 each in compensation.

Union Carbide says neither the parent company nor its officials are subject to the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

Sixteen years after the leak, Union Carbide became part of the Dow Chemical Corp. Union Carbide claims the issue has been resolved and Dow has no responsibility for the leak.

In her briefing, however, Soni said the government would pursue courts dealing with liability litigations.

"Appropriate applications may be filed before the courts concerned and request the courts ... to expeditiously decide the question of liability of the Dow Chemical company and/or any other successor to UCC, UCIL," she said.

Also, India's Cabinet recommended the country's attorney general examine the possibility of approaching the top court again for reconsideration of the 1989 settlement of $470 million.

Islamist websites: McChrystal fired because Afghan war is lost

(CNN) -- The recent change in commanders in Afghanistan is proof the U.S and its allies have lost the war, statements posted on two Islamist websites said Thursday.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahmadi said in one statement President Barack Obama wanted to save face by firing Gen. Stanley McChrystal and bringing in Gen. David Petraeus. McChrystal was relieved of duty -- although he technically resigned -- Wednesday after he and his staff made comments in a Rolling Stone magazine article that appear to mock top civilian officials, including the vice president.

"History is evident of more powerful and experienced generals than General McChrystal and empires mightier than the United States of America being surrendered and bowed down before the Afghans," Ahmadi said, according to the website statement.

Ahmadi said McChrystal's strategy of increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan had been futile and led to the change in commanders. The Taliban spokesman said the change in command is useless because Petraeus, the new Afghan commander, is weak.

"Indeed, he has got no (more) special qualities than General McChrystal had," Ahmadi said in his statement.

In another statement, a group calling itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said Petraeus is mentally worn out because of the lengthy war, which began in October 2001.

"Nine years of military actions, different strategies and back-breaking monetary and life damages at the hands of mujahedeen have left the crusaders totally in distress," the statement said.

Last week, when Petraeus briefly fainted at a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting, dehydration was cited as the cause. But the website said it was a sign that Petraeus knows the war in Afghanistan is lost.

"General Petraeus, being witness to the incidents in Afghanistan is the only person who realizes the gravity of (the) situation and described this situation well by falling unconscious," the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said.

"Through this action he gave the answer to many questions to which the members of committee were eager to listen. They should learn from this answer by General Petraeus and start working for the well being of their masses."

Ahmadi, in his statement, said Petraeus has "left a big question mark on his physical and mental health."

Hanna Rundlof

Eniko Mihalik: On the Countryside

 

"Afternoon Stroll" (Select Images)

Ph: Max Farago // Stylist: Hannes Hetta

Scanned by blackangel41999 at The Fashion Spot

Anya Kazakova & Simona Andrejic: Ski Trip

 D&G Fall/Winter 2010 Campaign

Ph. Mario Testino // Stylist: Anastasia Barbieri

Location: San Moritz, Switzerland

Photos courtesy of DolceGabbana.com