Cultures & Traditions

Michael Schildberger Lost Battle to Prostrate Cancer

2010-06-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

Veteran broadcaster and former A Current Affair host Michael Schildberger has died.

The Channel Nine and ABC journalist and personality was suffering from prostate cancer and passed away in a Melbourne hospital this morning with his children by his side. He was aged in his 70s.

Schildberger became a familiar face on Australian television after taking over as host of A Current Affair in the 1970s.

He joined Nine in 1955 as a copy boy and completed a journalism cadetship before climbing the ranks to become director of news.

Schildberger later joined the ABC and presented 3LO-774's popular morning program.
Later in life he started his own media production company and penned an autobiography, The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

He was diagnosed with cancer 14 years ago.
Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to Schildberger on talkback radio this morning.

His son Nick told ABC 774's morning host Jon Faine his father had astounded doctors with his lengthy fight against the disease.
"He was a very kind generous man, and also a very strong man," Nick Schildberger said.

"He didn't let things get him down. He was the most positive and optimistic person I know. He refused to give up.

"Unfortunately the cancer, in the end, took over and he was unable to fight any more."

More on Michael Schildberger

Mexican Gang Attack Sir Paul McCartney

2010-06-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

Sir Paul McCartney has been left “shaken up” after a gang attacked his tour bus.

The 67-year-old star had to be rescued by police in Mexico after the youths surrounded his vehicle and jumped up and down on the roof after a concert at the Foro Sol stadium in Mexico City on Saturday.

A source said: "At first his security team thought it was just swarms of fans but when people started scaling the bus, the situation changed in a flash. Paul and the team were shaken up.”

According to reports, the troublemakers left the scene as soon as they heard police sirens.

The singer’s management team are now reviewing his security.

Paul recently admitted he is happy to carry the “weight” of fame.

He said: “Fame can get pretty annoying but now I have rules, I've finally grown up and finally realised I've got rights. I'm happy to talk to people on a one to one human basis but the minute they turn me into this celebrity that I'm pretending not to be for that minute, I sort of say no, I'm not going to do that.

"I will just go shopping or go to the movies on my own, and I like that. It is very much a balancing part of my life."

Emigration Increasing the rate of Infanticides in Senegal

2010-04-05T03:28:00.000-07:00

In Senegal women who become pregnant outside of marriage - their husbands living abroad - commonly kill their babies out of fear and shame.

Husbands' absence is one of many factors contributing to infanticide in Senegal, where many young women with unwanted pregnancies see eliminating the child as their only option, authorities and researchers say. Abortion is illegal in Senegal and clandestine abortion is also common.

Poverty, sexual promiscuity and ignorance about contraception are other factors, but the common thread is severe shame around unplanned pregnancy particularly by extramarital relations, according to sociologist Aly Khoudia Diao in the capital Dakar.

"Infanticide has become the antidote to illicit affairs [that result in pregnancy] - to avoid gossip and shame to the family and to hide infidelity, especially when the woman is bound by marriage," said Diao.

In the city of Louga, capital of Louga region 200km north of Dakar, at least two babies are known to have been killed by their mothers since October 2009, with five cases of infanticide registered in 2008, according to Moustapha Ndour, gendarmerie commander.

"These infanticides are linked to emigration," he said. "The men leave their wives - who are very young - for two, five, 10 years."

One Louga woman recently charged with the crime is married to a man living abroad, Ndour said. "She did not want anyone to ever see the child, which is why she threw the body into a well." Infants' bodies have turned up in wells and in the streets; some are buried.

More than 20,000 men from Louga city - or 10 percent of the population - live in Europe or the United States, Amadou Fall, deputy mayor, said. Six in 10 youths remaining are unemployed, and women make up 80 percent of the population, according to Fall.

Diao estimates from his research that 30 to 40 percent of women with unwanted pregnancies commit infanticide. "It is a worrying statistic, and it's growing," he said. No national statistics are available, Justice Ministry spokesperson Cheikh Bamba Niang said.

"Five to 10 percent of these are linked to emigration," Diao said. "Sex is a physiological need. Some of these women marry quite young and sooner or later they will be pursued by other men. And in a moment of weakness they commit adultery."

Women with unplanned pregnancies often have no one to turn to, according to Fatou Sarr Sow, gender director at Dakar's Cheikh Anta Diop University.

"These girls submit to the social pressure, the fear of shaming the family," she said. "They have no place to go to talk about their situation; they are alone in their misfortune." She said infanticide is common in rural zones, where illiteracy is high.

Diao said many young women start wearing ample clothing and withdraw from friends and family once the pregnancy starts to show. Some move to another locality, where at least one relative is aware of the situation.

Senegalese women who emigrate also have extramarital sexual relations, he noted. "But [if they get pregnant] they have abortions because they are no longer restricted by the country's socio-cultural constraints."

Men who do more housework get more sex

2010-01-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

MEN who do more housework get more sex. It's official. And women who do more housework get more sex, too. A new US study of almost 7000 married couples shows that couples who work hard, play hard.

''Go-getter'' couples who devote lots of time to paid work and household chores still make sex a priority, the study says. Published in the Journal of Family Issues, the study rebuts the view that the ''time crunch'' has killed passion stone dead.

''As life gets busier and time gets tighter, a select group of go-getter spouses can successfully balance multiple time commitments,'' say the authors, Constance Gager, of Montclair State University, New Jersey, and Scott Yabiku, of Arizona State University.

The study shows that sexual frequency averaged 82.7 times a year, or 1.6 times a week, although there was wide variation. Age and the duration of the relationship dampened sexual frequency, as did being Catholic compared to being Protestant. The presence of small children reduced frequency but older children were associated with more frequent sex.

Women on average did 41.8 hours of housework a week, almost twice as much as men, and 19.7 hours of paid work, bringing their total labour to 61.5 hours compared to 57.1 hours for men's total work hours. The more time spent on housework, the more sex the men and women reported.

The study found if slothful women and men - those who did housework for only 16 hours and two hours a week, respectively - increased their effort to match the high performers (women who did 68 hours and men 45 hours a week) they could expect to have sex 15 more times a year.

As well, men and women who spent more time in paid work reported more sex, leading the researchers to conclude that ''individuals may be achievers across multiple spheres''.

Barbara Pocock, the director of the Centre for Work and Life at the University of South Australia, in a study of Australian working women found resentment over housework killed libido.

''Women's feelings about their husband were shaped by perceptions of fairness around housework,'' she said.

''If the resentment factor was high that's when their sex life was not great. The best sex aid a man could use was a vacuum cleaner.''

She also wondered about the sex lives of those women - about one-third - who say they feel ''almost always rushed and pressed for time'', especially mothers who did more than 20 hours a week of paid work.

The US researchers say their findings debunk the theory that time spent on some pursuits, such as jobs or housework, must be stolen from other areas, such as sex. ''The much-lamented speed-up of everyday life … does not appear to have adverse effects on sexual frequency,'' they say.

But the quality of the sex? The researchers said they don't know whether sex has also speeded up and is not very satisfying.

Is John Travolta Calling it Quit With The Church of Scientology?

2009-07-28T03:29:00.000-07:00

Following the tragic loss of his possibly autistic son Jett, back in early January, John Travolta has reportedly been questioning Scientology.

There have been strong rumours coming out of Scientology that John Travolta is disappointed that the religion was not able to help his son more,

Although Jett Travolta allegedly suffered from seizures since a young age, he wasn’t treated with medication as Scientology doesn’t typically condone the use of drugs.

Well, so far there are no confirmed reports from the family that there’s any truth to these rumors. But if it is true and John Travolta is considering leaving, the negative consequences of his departure will likely be great thanks to Scientology’s standard operating procedure to expose all the dirty, little secrets that their members were forced to confess to during the many, many hours of “auditing.” The cult keeps detailed records of these confessions so that they can use the information against those wanting to leave in order to blackmail them into staying in the cult.

But his rep Paul Bloch tells PEOPLE. "There's no change in the relationship between the Church of Scientology and John," says Bloch. "He is a member and it's as it was, now and forever."

However, should John Travolta decide to leave, he won’t be on his own. A website has gone up calling on people to pledge to stand by him after he’s out, It’s OK, John – we’ll back you, especially if you stand up and expose the cult for what it really is, helping to ensure Scientology can’t destroy any other lives.

Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend and Kathy Bates in French Kissing

2009-07-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

When Rupert Friend played the dashing Mr Wickham in Pride & Prejudice, it seemed he might sweep Keira Knightley's younger onscreen sister, Lydia, off her feet.

Of course, it was Knightley herself who succumbed to the actor's charms while making the 2005 film and the pair have been an item ever since. Not that anyone would know, because, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, they are rarely photographed together.

Friend may have had onscreen romances with two of the world's most beautiful women - Michelle Pfeiffer in Cheri and Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria - and be evolving into a star himself but don't expect him to talk about his own relationship. Still, the soft-spoken 27-year-old is interesting in his own right and turns out to be quite a boozer, much like Cheri, his young man-about-town in Stephen Frears' film.

Set in early 20th-century Paris during a decadent a time known as the belle epoque, Cheri is based on a 1920 book by Colette, who lived the liberal life of her times.

Her story recalls a time when wealthy courtesans helped dictate the latest fashion trends after bedding the wealthiest and noblest of men.

As one might imagine, the courtesans weren't the best of mothers and this certainly is true of Cheri's mother, Madame Peloux (Kathy Bates), who soon realises her son is mediocre husband material.

A sharp dresser, Cheri has never contemplated any form of discipline and has managed to get by thus far on his looks and money.

When his mother palms him off to her courtesan friend Lea (Pfeiffer) so the older woman might instruct him in society's ways, the last thing anyone imagines is their falling in love.

After more than six years of living together, an ageing Lea must relinquish her aloof lover to an arranged wife. While he doesn't seem to mind, she is devastated.

"Cheri's a path-of-least-resistance guy and he's incredibly greedy," Friend notes.

"He believes he has the dowry from his wife; they can have a child or whatever and he can carry on with his diffident ways. He's also a product of his society and realises that for social acceptance, to climb up the social ladder, he needs a wife and family. He is quite callous."

Beneath Cheri's impeccably clothed exterior lies a sad, empty man - a character Colette created to reflect not only the courtesans but the high-class society in general.

"It seems like they don't have a care in the world, that they're bored rich people," Friend muses. "But underneath there's a deep undercurrent of vulnerability and yearning. Anita Pallenberg [the swinging '60s icon plays a former courtesan turned opium den owner] puts it concisely: 'You have everything you could possibly want but it doesn't mean a thing."'

Friend admits being nervous when approaching his most extensive love scenes to date.

"Michelle's an icon but I didn't really grow up watching films and I discovered her in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, in Frankie and Johnny and in Scarface rather late. I imagined her as someone who only exists up there on a magical screen, in Hollywood, so it was like stepping into the screen when sharing scenes with her. I was terrified - I mean, I would be crazy not to be."

Pfeiffer, 51, an old-hand at movie intimacy, was happy they went straight into the love scenes without much ado. "I wouldn't say I get nervous doing it but because it's uncomfortable I like to get it over and done with," she admits, laughing. "Still, the scenes were very important to the story, so we didn't want to give them short shrift."

Stephen Frears, who reunites with his Dangerous Liaisons writer, Christopher Hampton, as well as Pfeiffer for similarly raunchy period material, had taken a risk on casting Friend, a relative unknown, to play a 19-year-old. The actor's thin, almost feminine beauty helps him look much younger.

"Rupert sort of blossomed through the film," Frears says.

Given his distaste for the media focus on his girlfriend, it's understandable that Friend has adopted a low-key approach to his career, which began in The Libertine alongside Johnny Depp and also saw him with a blond dye-job playing a Nazi officer in The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas.

He likes to transform into characters and audiences should look forward to his portrayal of Prince Albert, the man Queen Victoria (Blunt) mourned for half her life.

"When I first met Emily, I had to audition with other potential Alberts," he recalls.

"It's rare that an actress is allowed to choose but the director wanted to see if there was chemistry in place. I was filming The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas so it was a bit of a stretch. But she chose me."

The rest, of course, is history.

The Qur’an Says that Other Religions are Cursed by Allah

2008-11-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Buddhists in Thailand, Jews in Israel, Christians in Indonesia, Hindus in India... Why is Islam at war with every major world religion, when none of these religions are at war with each other? Part of the reason is that the Qur’an is specific about the inferiority of other faiths and the hatred that Allah harbors for their people.

Although it is common for Muslims to become upset about anyone “insulting” their religion, here is what the Qur’an says about Jews and Christians:

The Jews call Ezra a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! (9:30) (See also Bukhari 8:427), one of the last things Muhammad ever said on his deathbed was "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians.”)

The Qur’an specifically addresses Christians, Jews, Polytheists (Hindus) and atheists:

Christians are blasphemers (5:17, 5:73) who have invented a lie about Allah (10:68-69). Inventing a lie about Allah is the worst of sins (7:37, 29:68) and for this reason Christians are condemned to Hell (10:70). Although one (early Medinan) verse seems to say that righteous Christians will go to heaven, this is abrogated by later verses that make it very clear that Christians must cease being Christian (ie. reject the Trinity) or suffer eternal torment for their beliefs (5:72-73).

Jews are also cursed by Allah (5:13), in one of his final pronouncements. The Qur’an goes on to assure Muslims that Jews are wicked (4:160-162) – so wicked, in fact, that they have somehow managed to do the impossible (18:27) and alter the word of Allah (2:75). Jews are “fond of lies” and “devour the forbidden” (5:42).

The Qur’an assures believers that Jews and Christians have “diseased hearts” (5:52). Allah even takes credit for the enmity between them (5:14). Only Jews and Christians who submit to Islamic subjugation and pay the Jizya are protected in this world (9:29 & Ibn Ishaq 956).

Hindus are polytheists. Although Muhammad didn’t know any Hindus (and neither did Allah, apparently) the Qur’an still manages to lay the groundwork for the 1000 year ethnic cleansing campaign against the Hindu people that is estimated to have taken tens of millions of innocent lives. In Islam, polytheists are worse than all other religion. Those who join idols (14:30) or false gods (11:14) to Allah also invent a lie about Him (29:17) and will burn in Hell. Even believing in other divine entities along with Allah is an unforgivable crime (4:48, 40:12).

Atheists believe in no god, which is even worse than believing in the wrong one (Muhammad and his successors had atheists put to death - Bukhari 84:57). Merely questioning the existence of Allah is a testament to one’s impiety (25:21), even as Muslim arrogance is encouraged in the Qur’an. Muhammad always answered probing questions merely by telling the inquiring party that they would go to Hell if they didn’t believe in him (36:49-64).

Anyone who gives up his religion is a “perverted transgressor” (3:82). Perverted as well is anyone who denies Allah (40:63). Freedom of conscience does not exist in Islam. Muhammad clearly prescribed the death penalty for apostates (Bukhari 52:260).

While contemporary Muslim apologists often speak of “dialogue” (meaning a unilateral arrangement in which they tell you about Islam while you listen) the Qur’an speaks of Jihad instead:

Listen not to the unbelievers, but strive (Jihad) against them with the utmost strenuousness. (25:52)

What would be the point in hearing anything a non-Muslim has to say... or even talking with them for that matter? Allah has already sealed their hearts and condemned them to Hell:

As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not. Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom (2:6)

For those wondering why Allah would even make infidels if their ultimate destination is Hell, Muhammad said that the purpose of some (Jews and Christians, at least) was to take the place of Muslims, so that they would not suffer there (Sahih Muslim 6666).

The Qur’an Says that People of Other Religions are to be Violently Punished in This World

Allah himself fights against the unbelievers (9:30), so why should Muslims not fight in his cause rather than in the cause of evil (4:76)?

Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies of Allah and your enemies and others besides, whom ye may not know (8:60)

Strive hard (Jihad) against the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell,- an evil refuge indeed. (66:9, See also 9:73)

Muslims are to expect a reward in this life as well as the next (4:134), so it makes sense that unbelievers should be punished in this life as well:

…He whom Allah sendeth astray, for him there is no guide. For them is a penalty in the life of this world, but harder, truly, is the penalty of the Hereafter… (13:33:34)

All beings on heaven and earth will be forced to bow down to Allah, either willingly or by force:

And unto Allah falleth prostrate whosoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly (13:15)

Those who resist Islam will be humiliated:

Those who resist Allah and His Messenger will be among those most humiliated. (58:20 - The context for this verse is the eviction of the Jewish tribes of Medina and the confiscation of their wealth, land, and children by Muhammad).

Non-Muslims are to be fought until religion is only for Allah:

And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah… (8:39 – “Persecution” in this context means resistance to Islam – defined in the prior verse as an unwillingness to believe (see verse 38). This passage was “revealed” following a battle that Muhammad deliberately provoked. Verse 2:193 essentially says the same thing and was also “revealed” at a time when the Muslims were not under physical attack).

Non-Muslims are to be encroached on and pressured by the Muslims:

See they not that We gradually reduce the land (in their control) from its outlying borders? (13:41 - See also 21:44)

And He made you heirs to their land and their dwellings and their property, and (to) a land which you have not yet trodden, and Allah has power over all things. (33:27, See also Bukhari 53:392)

Allah will grant Muslims authority and power over all other people:

Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion... (24:55)

(Muhammad's companions continued to self-fulfill this prophecy with an aggressive and senseless military expansion that left a trail of bodies from Spain to India).

Allah provides instructions to Muslims for dealing with unbelievers who are unwilling to accept Islamic rule:

Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instill terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them." This because they contended against Allah and His Messenger: If any contend against Allah and His Messenger, Allah is strict in punishment. (8:12-13)

Other verses of violence may be found here.

Conclusion

The pattern of violence and aggressive disregard for human suffering that is persistent in Muslim history and contemporary attitude toward non-believers reflects the message of the Qur'an, which is one of personal superiority and arrogance.

In our modern world, Muslim dominance is characterized by the oppression and discrimination of non-Muslims, while Muslim minorities within larger societies are distinguished by varying degrees of petulant demand, discord and armed rebellion. Few Muslims are uncomfortable with this blatant double standard, in which Islam either plays the victim or unapologetically victimizes others, depending on its position - and the reason is obvious.

Islam is a supremacist ideology in which the role of non-believers is subordinate to the position of Muslims. Those who resist Islamic rule are to be fought until they are fully humiliated and forced to acknowledge their inferior status either by converting to Islam or by paying a poll-tax and otherwise accepting the subjugation of their own beliefs.

There is simply no other religion on earth that draws such sharp distinction between its own members and others, or spends as much time condemning and dehumanizing those who merely choose not to follow its dogma.

So much about Islamic terrorism and the general indifference of the broader Muslim community toward the violence makes sense only against this dual nature of Islam. Yes, the apologists are correct in saying that Islam teaches love and kindness, but they fail to add that this applies only to the treatment of those within the Muslim community. Loyalty to one's own identity group is valued above all else and empathy for those outside the faith is optional at best and even discouraged.

The Qur’an meets every criterion by which we define hate speech. Not only does the message inspire loathing and disregard for others, but the Qur'an mandates the superiority of Islam, even if the means of establishment are by force.

If this is a "misunderstanding" of Islam by modern-day "radicals," then it is an error that the founder of Islam made as well. In his later years, Muhammad directed military campaigns to subjugate other tribes and religions, "inviting" them to Islam at the point of a sword and forcing them to pay tribute nonetheless. He set in motion the aggressive military campaigns that made war against all five major world religions in just the first few decades following his death.

Islam incorporates the ultimate devaluation of non-Muslims by teaching that while a Muslim may be punished with death for murdering a fellow Muslim (Bukhari 83:17), no Muslim can be put to death for killing a non-Muslim (Bukhari 83:50). The Qur’an’s "Law of Equality," which assigns human value and rights based on gender, religion and status, is the polar opposite of equality in the sense intended by Western liberal tradition, which ideally respects no such distinction.

One can always find apologists willing to dismiss the harsh rhetoric of the Qur'an with creative interpretation, tortuous explanation or outright denial, but their words and deeds almost always belie a concern for Islam's image that does not extend to Islam's victims - at least not with the same sense of urgency - thus proving the point.

Of course, there are also exceptional Muslims who do not agree with Islamic supremacy and sincerely champion secularism and respect for all people. Some even find verses or fragments of such to support their independent beliefs. But, for these people, the Qur’an as a whole will always be a constant challenge, since it explicitly teaches the distinct and inferior status of non-Muslims.

Allah Himself Prevents Non-Muslims from Understanding

2008-11-14T11:52:00.000-08:00

It would make no sense if Allah gave the people that he hates an opportunity to avoid his wrath. The Qur'an says that Allah deliberately puts obstacles in the way of unbelievers to keep them from accepting the truth:

If Allah wished, he could provide guidance to every soul:

If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance (32:13)

But, instead he sets a veil over the hearts and coverings over their ears:

Verily We have set veils over their hearts lest they should understand this, and over their ears, deafness, if thou callest them to guidance, even then will they never accept guidance. (18:57) – See also 17:46 & 45:23

Allah even uses chains and barriers to prevent unbelievers from believing:

Certainly the word has proved true of most of them, so they do not believe. Surely We have placed chains on their necks, and these reach up to their chins, so they have their heads raised aloft. And We have made before them a barrier and a barrier behind them, then We have covered them over so that they do not see. And it is alike to them whether you warn them or warn them not: they do not believe. (36:7-10)

For the same purpose, Allah also fills the hearts of unbelievers with doubt:

No soul can believe, except by the will of Allah, and He will place doubt (or obscurity) on those who will not understand (10:100)

Allah Actually Causes Non-Muslims to Sin

Not content with merely preventing unbelievers from knowing the truth (which is enough to condemn them to Hell) the Qur'an says that a hateful Allah also causes unbelievers to commit the very sin that he will later punish them for:

And if Allah please He would certainly make you a single nation, but He causes to err whom He pleases and guides whom He pleases; and most certainly you will be questioned as to what you did (16:93)

Although Satan tempts Muslims, it is Allah himself who causes unbelievers to err.

…and whomsoever Allah causes to err, you shall not find a way for him. (4:143)

Allah intentionally sends the people that he hates astray:

…and Allah sendeth him astray purposely, and sealeth up his hearing and his heart, and setteth on his sight a covering? Then who will lead him after Allah (hath condemned him)? Will ye not then heed? (45:23)

Allah even sends demons to inspire unbelievers to commit further bad deeds (that he can later hold against them):

See thou not that We have set the Evil Ones on against the unbelievers, to incite them with fury? (19:83)

Allah tricks unbelievers into thinking that they are doing good deeds, when, in fact, they are merely deepening their own eternal punishment with bad deeds:

As to those who do not believe in the hereafter, We have surely made their deeds fair-seeming to them, but they blindly wander on. (27:4) See also 39:23, 6:39, 35:8, 13:27 & 14:4)

Allah recruits Satan to join Him into fooling unbelievers into thinking that they are doing good:

On the contrary their hearts became hardened, and Satan made their (sinful) acts seem alluring to them. (6:43)

The joke is on non-Muslims, of course, who will protest on Judgment Day that they did everything they thought was right – but are sent to Hell anyway:

Then would they offer submission (with the pretence), "We did no evil (knowingly)." (The angels will reply), "Nay, but verily Allah knows all that ye did; "So enter the gates of Hell, to dwell therein. (16:28-29)

The Qur’an Says that Non-Muslims Should Not be Taken as Friends

Given that Allah hates non-Muslims to the extent that he would prevent them from knowing the truth, cause them to err and then condemn them to eternal torture for their unbelief and misdeeds, it would make little sense if he intended Muslims to treat unbelievers by the same standards that they treat each other here on earth.

The Qur’an says that no true Muslim would ever love anyone who resists Islam, even if it is a family member:

Thou wilt not find any people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, loving those who resist Allah and His Messenger, even though they were their fathers or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred. (58:22)

There are at least nine places in the Qur’an where believers are warned not to befriend non-Muslims:

O ye who believe! Take not for friends unbelievers rather than believers: Do ye wish to offer Allah an open proof against yourselves? (4:144)

In fact, anyone who does take a non-Muslim as a friend could be accused of being an unbeliever as well:

O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk. (5:51)

Muhammad said that unbelievers have it out for Muslims. They may appear harmless or friendly, but, in reality, they harbor corruption and evil intentions:

O ye who believe! Take not into your intimacy those outside your ranks: They will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin: Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths: What their hearts conceal is far worse (3:118)

For the Unbelievers are unto you open enemies (4:101)

Those outside of Islam are really helpers of evil against Allah:

The Misbeliever is a helper (of Evil), against his own Lord! (25:55)

Instead of befriending non-Muslims, Muslims are ordered to fight them:

O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty. (9:123)

The Qur’an tells Muslims that they will spend eternity mocking the suffering of non-Muslims as they are tortured in Hell:

And the dwellers of the garden will call out to the inmates of the fire: Surely we have found what our Lord promised us to be true; have you too found what your Lord promised to be true? They will say: Yes. Then a crier will cry out among them that the curse of Allah is on the unjust. (7:44) – Muhammad got an early start on this by personally mocking his dead enemies following the Battle of Badr (Ibn Ishaq 454)

One does not befriend those over whose suffering they will later rejoice, nor does it make any sense that Muslims would befriend those whom the Qur'an labels "enemies of Allah" by virtue of their unbelief.

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The Qur’an Dehumanizes Non-Muslims and Says that They are Vile Animals

2008-11-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

The Qur’an dehumanizes non-Muslims, describing them as “animals” and beasts:

Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures. (98:6)

Surely the vilest of animals in Allah's sight are those who disbelieve, then they would not believe. (8:55)

Verse 5:60 even says that Allah transformed Jews of the past into apes and pigs. Verse 2:65 continues the theme.

Verse 7:176 compares unbelievers to "panting dogs" with regard to their idiocy and worthlessness.

A hadith says that Muhammad believed rats to be "mutated Jews" (Bukhari 54:524, also confirmed by Sahih Muslim 7135 and 7136).

Verses 46:29-35 even say that unbelieving men are worse than demons who believe in Muhammad.

The Qur’an Says that Allah does NOT Love Unbelievers

Christianity teaches that God loves all men, but hates sin. The Qur’an never says this. Instead it explicitly declares that Allah does not love those who do not believe in him:

For He loves not those who reject Faith (30:45)

Allah only loves those who obey Muhammad (at least according to Muhammad):

Say: "Obey Allah and His Messenger": But if they turn back, Allah loveth not those who reject Faith. (3:32)

Whereas Christianity teaches that God loves the sinner, but hates sin, the wrath of Islam's god is placed squarely on the person:

Surely Allah does not love any one who is unfaithful, ungrateful. (22:38)

Verses 11:118-199 say that Allah does not bestow mercy on everyone. For this reason, he chooses not to guide some people:

And Allah's is the direction of the way, and some (roads) go not straight. And had He willed He would have led you all aright. (16:9)

For those whom Allah does not love, there will be the most terrible of eternal torments:

Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. (4:56)

As we shall see, Allah hates unbelievers so much that he even leads them into sinning and actively prevents them from believing in him, thus ensuring their fate.

The Qur’an Says that Non-Muslims are Destined for Eternal Torture in Hell

Although nowhere does the Qur’an say that Allah loves those who don’t believe Muhammad, there are over 400 verses that describe the torment that he has prepared for people of other religions (or no religion):

And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers (3:85)

The relative worth of non-Muslims is that they are but fuel for the fire of Hell:

(As for) those who disbelieve, surely neither their wealth nor their children shall avail them in the least against Allah, and these it is who are the fuel of the fire (3:10)

As they are fueling the fire, unbelievers will be tormented by Allah’s angels on his command:

“O ye who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire whereof the fuel is men and stones, over which are set angels strong, severe, who resist not Allah in that which He commandeth them, but do that which they are commanded.” (66:6)

It doesn’t matter how many good deeds an unbeliever does, because they count for nothing with Allah:

The parable of those who reject their Lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: No power have they over aught that they have earned (14:18)

Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works? They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall We, on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight. That is their reward, Hell, because they rejected Faith, and took My Signs and My Messengers by way of jest. (18:103-106)

Muhammad told his people that anyone who rejects his claim to be a prophet will go to Hell:

Surely those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and (those who) desire to make a distinction between Allah and His messengers and say: ‘We believe in some and disbelieve in others’, and desire to take a course between (this and) that. These it is that are truly unbelievers, and We have prepared for the unbelievers a disgraceful chastisement. And those who believe in Allah and His messengers and do not make a distinction between any of them-- Allah will grant them their rewards (4:150-152)

In Christianity, punishment in the hereafter is directly tied to sin and ‘wickedness.’ There is relatively little said about Hell, but the emphasis is on personal suffering for selfish or cruel deeds. In Islam, Hell is a punishment for merely not believing Muhammad’s personal claims about himself. In contrast to the Bible, every 12th verse of the Qur’an speaks of Hell and vividly describes Allah’s wrath on unbelievers:

But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads, Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted; And for them are hooked rods of iron Whenever, in their anguish, they would go forth from thence they are driven back therein and (it is said unto them): Taste the doom of burning. (22:19-22)

No one could torture a person in this way without hating them intensely. Neither can Allah’s intense loathing for unbelievers help but affect the Muslim attitude toward those outside the faith.

The personal superiority of Muslims is confirmed by the contrasting picture painted in so many places in the Qur'an in which they are rewarded with the greatest of earthly comforts in heaven, while the unbelievers concurrently suffer horrible torment (see Sura 56 for just one example).

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Why the Islamic Violence? Why the Indifference?

2008-11-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

When Islamic terrorists massacred 186 children and 148 other non-Muslims on the morning of September 3rd, 2004 at a schoolhouse in Beslan, Russia, very few Muslims celebrated the high-profile event and some even took the time to denounce it. But, in a community renowned for its peevishness, there was very little passion over the routine slaughter of innocents in the name of Islam.

While rumors of a Qur’an desecration or a Muhammad cartoon bring out deadly protests, riots, arson and effigy-burnings, the mass murder of non-Muslims generally evokes yawns. In the six years following 9/11 more than 10,000 acts of deadly Islamic terrorism were perpetrated, yet all of them together fail to provoke the sort of outrage on the part of most Muslims that the mere mention of Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo inspires.

This critical absence of moral perspective puzzles many Westerners, particularly those trying to reconcile this reality with the politically-correct assumption that Islam is like other religion. The Judeo-Christian tradition preaches universal love and unselfishness, so it is expected that the more devout Muslims would be the most peaceful and least dangerous... provided that Islam is based on the same principles.

But beneath the rosy assurances from Muslim apologists that Islam is about peace and tolerance lies a much darker reality that better explains the violence and deeply-rooted indifference. Quite simply, the Qur'an teaches hate.

Consider the elements that define hate speech:

* Drawing a distinction between one’s own identity group and those outside it

* Moral comparison based on this distinction

* Devaluation or dehumanization of other groups and the insistence of personal superiority

* The advocating of different standards of treatment based on identity group membership

* A call to violence against members of other groups

Sadly, the Qur’an qualifies as hate speech on each count (despite the best intentions of many Muslims).

The holiest book of Islam (61% of which is about non-Muslims) draws the sharpest of distinctions between Muslims and non-believers, lavishing praise on the former while condemning the latter. Far from teaching universal love, the Qur'an incessantly preaches the inferiority of non-Muslims, even comparing them to vile animals and gloating over Allah's hatred of them and his dark plans for their eternal torture. Naturally, the harsh treatment of non-believers by Muslims is encouraged as well.

So, what does the Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be the literal and eternal word of Allah, really say about non-Muslims?

The Qur’an Distinguishes Muslims from Non-Muslims and Establishes a Hierarchy of Relative Worth

The Qur’an makes it clear that Islam is not about universal brotherhood, but about the brotherhood of believers:

The Believers are but a single Brotherhood (49:10)

Not all men are equal under Islam. Slaves and the handicapped are not equal to healthy free men, for example (16:75-76). The Qur’an introduces the “Law of Equality,” which establishes different levels of human value when considering certain matters, such as restitution for murder (2:178).

With regard to Islam, the Qur’an tells Muslims that they are a favored race, while those of other religions are “perverted transgressors”:

Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors. (3:110)

As we shall see later, Allah condemns non-Muslims to Hell based merely on their unbelief, while believers are rewarded with the finest earthly comforts in the hereafter, including never-ending food, wine and sex (56:12-40). In fact, much of the Qur’an is devoted to distinguishing Muslims from non-Muslims and impugning the latter.

The first sura of the Qur'an is an example of this. It is a short prayer that is repeated by devout Muslims each day and ends with these words:

Keep us on the right path. The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray. (1:6-7)

Muhammad was once asked if these words pertained to Jews and Christians. His response was, "Whom else?" (Bukhari 56:662).

Since Allah makes such a strong distinction between Muslims and those outside the faith, it is only natural that Muslims should incorporate disparate standards of treatment into their daily lives. The Qur’an tells Muslims to be compassionate with one another but ruthless to the infidel:

Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves… (48:29)

Allah intends for Muslims to triumph over believers:

And never will Allah grant to the unbelievers a way to triumph over believers [Pickthall – “any way of success”] (4:141)

The only acceptable position of non-Muslims to Muslims is subjugation under Islamic rule:

Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (9:29 Jizya is the money that non-Muslims must pay to their Muslim overlords in a pure Islamic state.)

A common criticism of many Muslims is that they often behave arrogantly toward others. Now you know why.

Angry Monks brawl at Church of Holy Sepulcher

2008-11-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard of a feud among the monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, it was about a serious distrust among them. It was so bad that they could not trust each other with the key to the Church that they had to give it to a Muslim. However, that was years ago as they are back in the news.

Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City.

Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion.

Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.

Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the Cross.

Tapestries toppled

Shocked pilgrims looked on as decorations and tapestries were toppled during Sunday's clash.

Dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, rival monks threw punches and anything they could lay their hands on.

The Greeks blamed the Armenians for not recognising their rights inside the holy site, while the Armenians said the Greeks had violated one of their traditional ceremonies.

Israeli policemen scuffle with an Armenian altar boy during a fight at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on 9 November2008
Clashes between Christian sects in the ancient church are not uncommon

An Armenian clergyman said the Greek clergy had tried to place one of their monks inside the Edicule, an ancient structure which encases the tomb of Jesus.

"What is happening here is a violation of status quo. The Greeks have tried so many times to put their monk inside the tomb but they don't have the right to when the Armenians are celebrating the feast," he told Reuters TV.

The Armenians had been preparing to commemorate the 4th Century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.

A Greek clergyman said: "We protested peacefully, we stood here in the middle and we claimed that we shall not leave the procession finished unless they leave our guardian be inside. This didn't happen and in that moment the police interfered."

Six Christian sects share control of the ancient church and the BBC's Wyre Davies in Jerusalem says confrontations between them are not uncommon, but rarely descend into violence.

How to Identify a Sex Addict

2008-11-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

Sex addiction can involve many different sexual antics; it may be a strong desire to have sex, masturbate, watch porn or flirt. A person is defined as a sex addict when his behavior gets out of control and starts to have a negative impact on his life. These feelings and behaviors cause a great deal of shame, hopelessness and confusion for the sex addict. These feelings are also normally accompanied by denial, despite it being an unmanageable problem in the sex addict's life.

Sexual addiction takes up a great deal of energy, and you know you’re in trouble when your behavior causes relationship breakdowns, job problems, legal issues, and a loss of interest in anything non-sexual. If you suspect you have a problem, read on for some signs that you might be a sex addict.

Note: Understand that there is a big difference between a creep and a bona fide sex addict, so being a general pervert or filth monger doesn’t qualify you as a sex addict. Being a sex addict means your sexual desires are significantly impinging on your life in a negative way -- which does not include being unable to pick up, by the way.

You’re leading a double life
Do you have an extra girlfriend or mistress? Do you regularly cheat on your partner? Do you keep your sex life a secret from those around you? Leading a double life for sexual gain can be a sign you’re a sex addict. It is true that many people (men and women alike) cheat on their partners, but a compulsion to do so is abnormal. Keeping your sex life a secret may also point to a problem: Why don’t you want to reveal your activities? When you know that what you are doing is wrong but you can’t seem to help yourself, you have a problem.

You frequently seek out sexual material
A preoccupation with all things sex can lead to a very narrow existence. When you constantly and consistently only seek out media that is sex-related, this might be a sign you’re a sex addict. We are not referring to the average guy who enjoys watching the occasional porn, looking at photographs or reading sex articles; it refers to the guy who is always seeking out sexually related material to the exclusion of most other things. It could also include a preoccupation with things like adult dating sites; perhaps you are not being very productive at work because you are desperately seeking Susan/Sarah/Savannah.

You’re compromising your personal relationships
This sign you’re a sex addict refers to compromising your relationship with your girlfriend or wife, but it can easily extend to social and work circles as well. You may cheat, be deceptive or be untrue to yourself and your partner in a variety of ways. Being unfaithful doesn’t just mean having sexual contact with another person; it can be demonstrated in other ways like regularly visiting strip clubs or X-rated movie theaters without your partner's knowledge.

You seek out explicit sexual adventures
If you can’t get excitement out of sex with the same person, you might desire or attempt to seek out more exciting encounters. This could lead you down a dangerous trail of constantly needing different stimuli to gain satisfaction and relief. If you’re never satisfied with a standard lovemaking session with your partner every now and again, your sexuality is suffering. Frequently seeking out sexual variety is often indicative of an out-of-control sexual problem.

You get into trouble with the law
You may be engaging in many activities that are illegal in most places, such as sex with prostitutes, sex with minors or exhibitionism. Some activities might not be criminal offenses, but they are offensive nonetheless: voyeurism, indecent phone calls, etc. If your sex life is getting you into trouble, this might be a sign you’re a sex addict. Sex should not get you into trouble, especially legal trouble; this could lead not only to a breakdown of a relationship, but embarrassment as your face and name are spread all over the local media.

You have negative feelings about your behavior
If you have intense negative feelings about yourself because of your behavior, it’s time to get help. Everyone has a say in their lives, but sometimes we lose it and fall into a pit of despair. Feeling suicidal, guilty, remorseful or shameful can devastate your sense of self and lead to denial. Sex addiction is like other addictions; it is characterized by one’s life becoming unmanageable as a direct result of the addictive behavior. When we do things because we are compelled to do them, and then hate ourselves for giving in to the urge, we create a nasty pattern of behavior that destroys our lives.

x-rated addiction
Sex addiction sounds like it could be fun, but it isn't. Sex addicts are in a cycle of destructive behavior that won’t stop without help. Many people are classified as sex addicts, but it’s not a title to give to just anyone who is obsessed with sex. It is a type of behavior that can be changed with self-knowledge, self-love and a good therapist.

If you think you may have a problem with sex addiction, help is available. Online forums and sites are good starting points. Remember: The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

The Challenges in Curbing Porn Addiction

2008-11-02T05:31:00.000-08:00

Before the internet was ubiquitous in every aspect of our lives, porn addiction was for the creepy lifelong bachelor or the lonely guy with mommy issues. However, now that we depend on the World Wide Web for much of our information and entertainment, the condition is seeping into parts of the population previously unaffected. Seemingly normal men from all walks of life, including actor David Duchovny and an Australian preacher who faked having cancer to cover up a 16-year porn addiction, are claiming that pornography has taken over their lives.

Identifying an addict
While porn addiction is not yet listed in the DSM-IV as an official mental disorder like drug or gambling addictions, therapists are starting to take the condition seriously. The criteria for determining whether or not a patient is addicted to porn are much the same as the ones used to identify other addictions, revolving mainly around the dependence on pornography at the expense of other aspects of life. If viewing, reading, watching or thinking about pornography is interfering with your work, your relationship, your family life or your social interactions, it is a problem. Some porn addicts cannot perform sexually without the stimulation of pornography. Porn addiction may be a part of a more extensive sex addiction.

Availability and early starts
It is now easier to get your hands on porn than ever before. A man doesn’t even have to work up the nerve to walk into an adult video store anymore, but can instead in the privacy of his own home simply download to his heart’s content a dizzying array of pornographic content. The internet is definitely the main culprit behind the explosion of porn addiction. A study published in the journal Pediatrics stated that 42% of internet users aged 10 to 17 have been exposed to pornography. By the time these children reach adulthood, pornography can be a pervasive part of their lives and, for some, this can lead to serious problems, such as porn addiction.

Tolerance build-up
Like an alcoholic needs increasingly larger amounts of alcohol as his tolerance builds up, so will a porn addict need more extreme, unusual or deviant forms of pornography as his addiction develops. Some experts believe that viewing this material can lead to enacting unhealthy fantasies in real life. It is possible that deviant sexual behavior could be inspired by pornographic content. However, in the majority of cases, porn addiction remains an intensely private condition that does not extend to sexual interaction with others. It will, however, likely interfere with healthy sexual experiences of any kind.

The group dynamic
Support groups and 12-step programs for recovering pornography addicts are popping up all over the internet. As illogical as it might seem to turn to the net for help with a problem that most likely started there, many addicts have found comfort and healing through sharing their stories and talking to others with the same condition.

Not unsurprisingly, the majority of groups created to help porn addicts in recovery are religious in nature. Most organized religions take a general disapproving stance on any sexual activity not related to making babies between two married, consenting adults, so it’s not hard to see why the church would have an interest in healing those addicted to pornography. For a religious person, this approach may work, but for someone who is confused and struggling with his sexuality, the guilt piled on by religious support groups may not be helpful at all when dealing with porn addiction.

Therapy
The best way to deal with any kind of addiction is to seek the help of a qualified therapist. Neither sex addiction nor porn addiction is considered an official mental disorder, but they are compulsions that can have serious effects on one’s sexuality and can be detrimental to social functioning. Any decent therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist will recognize this and be able to provide you with tools to reduce your dependency on pornography.

Filtering temptation
There is a variety of software available that can filter out certain content from the internet before it gets to your computer. These filters are usually used to prevent explicit content, including pornography, from reaching the innocent eyes of children, but they can have applications for the porn addict too. Of course, it’s easy to disable your own filters, but simply having them in place may provide enough of a deterrent when you’re craving a porn fix. There is also keylogger software that will track every move you make on the internet and even accountability software that will not only track your internet activity, but will also send a weekly report to your “accountability partner” to keep them up to speed on the sites you’re visiting.

put away the porn
For most of us, viewing pornography is an occasional guilty pleasure. But for those who are driven to use porn constantly, it can represent a genuine mental, emotional and physical trap. With a combination of therapy, internet filters, affirmations, accountability, and research, it can be overcome.

Roman Catholic Bishop Suspended For Adopting a 26-year-old woman

2008-10-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Vatican has suspended a Roman Catholic bishop in southern India after he adopted a 26-year-old woman, a senior church official said Saturday.

Bishop John Thattungal, 58, will be barred from performing any religious or administrative duties until a formal inquiry into his conduct is completed, said the Rev. Stephen Alathara, a spokesman for the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council, in a telephone interview from the southern Indian city of Kochi.

Alathara said the bishop's adoption of the woman earlier this year had upset other priests in the Kochi diocese.

"The majority of the priests were unhappy and asked for his resignation," he said, adding that the Vatican ordered the suspension on Thursday.

He said there are questions surrounding the legality of the adoption because the woman is not a minor.

Thattungal could not be reached for comment, but news reports in Kerala have quoted him as saying, "I have only fatherly love toward the woman who has spiritual powers. This relation is giving me spiritual refreshment."

A three-member committee of bishops will investigate Thattungal's conduct and submit a report to Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil, the president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council, who will then forward it to the Vatican, Alathara said.

The investigating committee does not have a set deadline, but the Vatican has asked for a report "as early as possible," he said.

Christians make up 2.5 percent of India's 1.1 billion people, the majority of whom are Hindus.

IVORY COAST, Where Rape is a Sex Thing and NOT A CRIME

2008-10-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

Rapes of women and girls are common in western Côte d’Ivoire and generally go unpunished, said residents of the region.

“These days nearly every time we hear of armed robberies in homes, on the roads or on plantations, we hear of rape,” said a resident of the western town of Duékoué some 500km from the commercial capital Abidjan, who wanted to remain anonymous.

“We hear of two, three, four rapes every day.”

With the proliferation of arms since conflict broke in 2002, unprecedented violent crime continues to plague many areas of Côte d’Ivoire where a March 2007 peace deal marked a formal end to fighting.

In some parts of the north, attacks by Kalashnikov-wielding men – nearly unheard of before the conflict – are frequent, residents say.

Monika Bakayoko-Topolska, gender-based violence coordinator with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Côte d’Ivoire, said: “We certainly are seeing increased reports of rape over the past year and a half or so.” She called rape “one of the biggest problems in the west,” adding that sexual violence is a problem throughout the country.

Bakayoko-Topolska said it is not clear whether rape cases have risen sharply in the west or whether more people are reporting the crime after an expansion of education campaigns in the region.

She and some residents of western Côte d’Ivoire said that perpetrators of rape are rarely prosecuted.

Impunity

“Rapes are encouraged,” the woman in Duékoué said. “Because there is no punishment.” Residents of Duékoué and the nearby city of Man said that in some cases authorities harassed or ignored women who reported rape, and that even if pursued, alleged attackers are generally released after a brief detention.

Bakayoko-Topolska said pressure from families of both the victim and perpetrator to settle a case outside the formal justice system is one of many factors commonly discouraging women from filing legal complaints.

“It’s still very rare here that someone gets put in jail for rape,” she said. “Community leaders should accept that because rape and physical violence are prohibited by national law, these crimes should be reported to the police rather than informally dealt with in the village.”

The Duékoué woman told IRIN many women are afraid to go after their attackers because they do not feel supported by law enforcement authorities. “It is not safe here [in Duékoué],” she said. “People are constantly victims of violent crime and assailants operate with utter impunity.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his latest report on Côte d’Ivoire, dated 13 October, expressed concern about authorities’ failure to go after criminals. “The low level of prosecution [for violent crimes] has heightened the pervading sense of impunity in the country.”

Residents of Duékoué and Man said one response has been the creation of neighbourhood vigilante groups. But one resident said a recent rape was perpetrated by a youth who belonged to a self-defence group.

Post-conflict

Many western towns hit by violent crime are in the former buffer zone between the government security forces in the south and rebels in the north, which has been vacated by international forces over the past year after the 2007 peace deal.

UN Secretary-General Ban said in the 13 October report: “The insecurity in the western and northern parts of the country, as well as in parts of the former [buffer] zone of confidence, remains of great concern and has impacted negatively on the full enjoyment of human rights.”

He added: “Increasing indiscriminate attacks by unidentified highway robbers, coupled with violence and rape of women, pose a daily threat to the right to life, to physical integrity and to the safety and security of persons and goods.”

The report said the situation is most serious along the 35-km Duékoué-Bangolo road in the west.

"A sex thing"

The Duékoué woman said that the closest court women there can turn to in rape cases is about 100km away in Daloa and this puts many families off. She said local social workers have told the UN and international NGOs the town needs a local tribunal.

IRC has recommended the Ivorian government establish family support units within national police forces similar to those in Sierra Leone, which is emerging from an 11-year civil war. The units comprise police officers and social workers trained to handle sexual violence cases.

“What is needed most in Côte d’Ivoire is a change in attitudes and practices related to all types of violence against women and girls,” Said Bakayoko-Topolska, “men and women alike can begin this by condemning violence and by showing solidarity with survivors in demanding justice.”

The Duékoué resident said ramping up the legal means to go after perpetrators might deter some people, but rape will continue. “I think many people here do not see rape as a crime; they see it just as a sex thing.”

Evangelist Tony Alamo Alleged To Have a 9-year-old Bride

2008-10-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Alamo charged with transporting minors across state lines to engage in sex

A federal magistrate called Tony Alamo a flight risk Wednesday as he ordered the evangelist held without bail until his trial on charges that he took a minor across state lines for sex.

The ruling came after Alamo's former followers testified at a hearing that they were often beaten at his instructions and one said Alamo practiced polygamy with several females, including a 9-year-old girl.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant noted that Alamo is charged with a violent crime. He said he also considered that Alamo fled a California child-abuse charge in 1989 and was arrested two years later in Tampa, Florida, living under an assumed name.

Alamo has access to various vehicles, he added.

Witnesses said Alamo controls businesses and ministry locations in several states. They said none of the properties are Alamo's name, which Bryant also considered as a point against letting Alamo free.

"There is serious risk (Alamo) will flee or fail to appear," Bryant said.

Alamo, 74, said nothing after the ruling. His trial is scheduled for November 19.

He was arrested in Flagstaff, Arizona, five days after a September 20 police raid on the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound in the southwest Arkansas town of Fouke. Six girls were taken into state custody for their protection.

During Wednesday's hearing, Arkansas state troopers searched the compound anew, State Police spokesman Bill Sadler confirmed, not elaborating. Fouke Mayor Terry Purvis said residents told him the investigators did not stay long.

One witness called to the stand by prosecutors Wednesday, Jael Sprinkle, 32, testified that she was taken as Alamo's wife at age 17 and was considered his wife for two years. She said that Alamo had five other wives at the time and that she knew of him taking a 9-year-old girl as one.

Alamo is an advocate of allowing girls to marry when they reach puberty but has denied such unions took place within his organization.

Sprinkle said she, her parents and others were beaten. She said a 12-year-old boy was paddled to the point of bleeding through his clothes and could walk only with assistance.

Sprinkle also described Alamo's control over people in his organization, saying he even had to approve inconsequential expenses such as toilet paper and toothpaste.

Spencer Ondirsek, 18, testified that he left the compound last year after spending seven years there.

Ondirsek said he was beaten by a man working under Alamo's direction. He said he was hit about 15 times on the face and smacked about 30 times with a three-foot paddle in three separate instances while being disciplined for minor misbehavior, such as playing with a spray bottle.

The first beating happened when he was 12 or 13, Ondirsek testified.

Defense lawyers called Ronald and Joan Decker, a couple that has belonged to Alamo's church. They said they would move from Fort Smith to Texarkana to watch over Alamo if he was granted release.

Ronald Decker said he drives a truck for Advantage Food, which he described as a partnership, but he couldn't come up with a figure when federal prosecutor Kyra Jenner asked him how much he earned. He later said Alamo paid for all the couple's living expenses.

"Pastor Alamo controls the church," Ronald Decker said.

Ronald Decker initially denied seeing any beatings. But when asked by Jenner whether he was aware Alamo orders paddlings, Decker paused before saying yes.

The federal charging document accuses Alamo of taking a 13-year-old girl across state lines for sex in 2004 and of aiding and abetting her transport across state lines for sex in 2005.

Alamo, who is listed in court documents by his real name of Bernie Lazar Hoffman, has pleaded not guilty to the two charges, each of which carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Hate Crime? - Violent Attacks against Homeless People

2008-10-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Alison Stateman

The chapel at Immanuel Presbyterian Church was filled to capacity last Saturday afternoon, with mourners moving up to the balcony. Much to the surprise of his family, hundreds — from infants to senior citizens — came to honor John Robert McGraham, a homeless man who was brutally murdered on Oct. 9. McGraham, 55, was doused with gasoline and set ablaze. Despite efforts of residents and shopkeepers to extinguish the flames, he died at the scene, on a sidewalk in front of a boarded up dental office on the corner of West 3rd and Berendo Street in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles. "They targeted him in my mind and that's the worst kind of person," says his sister Susanne McGraham-Paisley of the suspects, who remain at large. "I hope they give them the full scope of the law because that person went to a gas station, filled up the gas can, drove to the site, poured gasoline on him and then set him on fire. That person had so many opportunities to change [his] mind and ... didn't."

California has the dubious distinction of ranking second, just behind Florida, in the number of lethal and non-lethal attacks against homeless people last year. It recorded 22 but, says Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, the actual number of attacks is likely even higher because many are never reported. After a huge increase in 2006 — 65% some of which is attributed to the video Bumfights where people who live on the street are pitted against each other — last year still saw an increase of 13%. Street people, says Foscarinis, live "outside so they can be attacked by anyone for any reason. There are a couple of more subtle factors that are leading to this as well and one of them is that there are increasingly punitive actions taken by cities against homeless people. So that also sends a message that these people are less than human and that attacking them is ok."

The attacks on homeless street people are particularly vicious. "They are the most vulnerable people in the country," says Tony Taylor, a research associate at the National Coalition for the Homeless. "Over one in 4 attacks that are reported against the homeless end in murder. That's huge compared to one-tenth of a percent of other protected classes," he said, referring to categories of individuals currently protected under federal Hate Crime legislation. These typically include bias-motivated violence and intimidation against individuals based on their sexual orientation, race or religion. Being homeless on the street is not one of the existing categories. In 2006, the last year that FBI figures are available for hate crime fatalities, three individuals in the protected classes were killed versus 20 homeless individuals.

Hence, there is a movement to get them covered by existing hate crime legislation. The Coalition and Law Center are lobbying members of Congress to pass two bills, sponsored by Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, which would amend two Hate Crime acts. The first bill, H.R. 2216, introduced in Congress on May 8, 2007 seeks to amend the Hate Crime Statistics Act to include crimes against the homeless. This would require the FBI to collect data on crimes against the homeless — data sorely needed by homeless advocates — in order to determine if they are hate-motivated attacks. The second bill, H.R. 2217, introduced on the same date, seeks to include the homeless in the list of classes protected under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Both bills have been referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Foscarinis says the legislation proposed seeks to increase the punishment for hate crimes against the homeless by three offense levels. "At the same time we are lobbying for real solutions, which are housing and social services for homeless people, we have to make sure their lives and dignity are respected," says Foscarinis. "The point of hate crime legislation to act as a deterrent. It becomes a more serious crime when it's considered a hate crime and there is a harsher sentence that's imposed. We want to send a message that homeless people's lives are just as valuable as anyone else's life."
That has certainly been the unintended consequence of McGraham's murder. It has stirred outrage in the wider Los Angeles community. The Los Angeles City Council is offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals responsible for the crime. But it is the people who actually saw him on the streets through 20 years who have been most affected by his violent end. Poignant notes have been left at a shrine erected at the site of his murder. "You didn't know me but I saw you on my frequent drives... you touched me so deeply...I am so sorry such cruelty took your life," read one letter. Another simply stated, "The neighborhood will not be the same without you." His sister Susanne was touched. "So many times when my family would go to see John, our hearts would be filled with so much sadness. My children would feel sad that we were leaving him all alone. I'm very grateful to hear that he was not alone, that his life had an effect on so many people in the neighborhood."

McGraham's death will be prosecuted as first-degree murder, a capital offense, according to Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Charlie Beck. Even as she mourned, Susanne McGraham-Paisley said, "the people who did this to him did the cause of understanding homelessness a great service. Because the way in which they killed him and the way in which he died and the community's response has clearly shown that people do have an interest in someone like our brother."

Did Pope Benedict XVI Fall Prey to The Fear of the Italian Mob?

2008-10-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

Jeff Israely
John Paul II set a powerful precedent for how a Roman Pontiff can take on the Italian Mob. In May 1993, after a high-profile spate of Mafia killings, the Pope denounced the Mob's "culture of death" in an emotionally charged sermon in Agrigento, Sicily, the home turf of Cosa Nostra. "I say to those responsible: Convert!" he intoned, shaking his clenched fist and index finger. "One day, the judgment of God will arrive!" Two months after the dramatic papal appeal, the Mafia bombed two historic churches in Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI was certainly aware of that confrontation as he prepared this past weekend to visit Pompeii. The southern Italian city, near the ruins of an ancient site buried by a Mount Vesuvius volcanic eruption, lies in the heart of the region controlled by the Camorra. The Naples-based organized crime syndicate has lately tightened its grip on the impoverished region, with more killing sprees and a high-profile death threat against a young writer. But unlike John Paul, Benedict said nothing at all about the Mob in his Sunday homily. Did the Pope back down in the face of one of Italy's most entrenched and destructive evils?

Many were counting on another papal mention about the Mob as violence in the region reaches new heights. Last month, a Camorra death squad unleashed a fury of submachine-gun fire, killing seven immigrants in a single attack. A week ago, reports surfaced of a pointed death threat against Naples writer Roberto Saviano, 28, whose best-selling book Gomorrah, and the movie based on it, reveal the extent of the Camorra's influence and dirty dealings. While the Pope remained silent, more than 100,000 people signed a petition this week in support of Saviano, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu, Orhan Pamuk, Günter Grass, Jose Saramago and Jonathan Franzen. "It is intolerable that all this can happen in Europe, and in 2008," reads the petition. "The state must make every effort possible to protect (Saviano) and defeat the Camorra." The movie version of Saviano's book, directed by Matteo Garrone, won second prize at the Cannes film festival this year and is Italy's entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.

When reporters asked why the Pope had said nothing on such a burning topic in Pompeii, Vatican spokesman Reverand Ciro Benedettini said Benedict had intentionally avoided referring to the Camorra as a "show of respect for decent people" of the region, who "are the vast majority." The Pope, the spokesman added, had also talked about organized crime in a visit last year to Naples, though admittedly not with the same confrontational tone as John Paul did in Sicily.

Benedict's silence has generated a small rumbling of dissent from both inside and outside the church. "It could seem that there is fear now to confront the Mob, and call it by its name," Don Vitaliano Della Sala, a leftist priest from nearby Avellino, said in a Monday radio interview. He drew a parallel between Benedict's decision not to speak out Sunday and the controversy stirring over Pope Pius XII's alleged silence about the Holocaust during World War II.

That analogy seems a stretch: the Italian authorities' decades-long battle to uproot the Mob bears little comparison to the Nazis' state-run policy of genocide. But the comparison between Benedict and his immediate predecessor is illuminating. John Paul not only possessed a pastoral charisma that made him beloved among his flock, but also he could call on a reserve of public passion in order to confront a problem facing his church or the world at large. That kind of fire is simply not in this Pontiff's arsenal.

Fake Tattoos Can Serve As Well

2008-09-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

Run-of-the-mill tattoo designs are easy to fake and therefore easy to doubt. But forging a believably atrocious design with some inkjet tattoo paper could definitely turn some heads. Just be sure add some ointment and optional bandage for that authentic 'fresh' look.

You could always use it to get a sneak-preview before taking the plunge on a real one. Or perhaps you'd prefer to demo some 'sleeves' as shown above.

In a related development by Buzz18.com, Imran Khan's tattoo at the back of his neck in the trailer of Kidnap has caught much female attention. The promo gives a clear view of the new Khan's tattoo, as he turns around and menacingly informs Sanjay Dutt that he had kidnapped his daughter.

There was news that Imran had had the tattoo done especially for Kidnap in keeping with his tough and rugged look in the film. But it turns out, that isn't true after all!

Not many know that the tattoo is a permanent one, which he had got done from a man in Mumbai's Colaba area many years back when so many tattoo parlours weren't around.

Laughs Imran, "It's one of those things I had done when I was 17. It's permanent. We had to hide it in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, as it wasn't in keeping with my character. But my director (Sanjay Gadhvi) felt it went well with the tone of Kabir in Kidnap and decided to show it!"

The clarification should put the mystery behind Imran's tattoo to rest.

Kidnap, the big Id attraction, will be out in cinemas on Wednesday, October 1, 2008. It is an Indian Films-Studio 18 worldwide release.

Journey To Churque (Church-Mosque) Begins In Rome?

2008-06-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

A joint document at the end of the meeting affirmed that the believers of the two religions "should go beyond tolerance" and keep working together.

Faith and reason are both gifts of God, do not contradict each other and are by nature nonviolent, even if sometimes they have been used to justify violence.

This appears to the central conclusion of the meeting held at the Vatican between the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Iranian Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation.

Participants at the three-day colloquium centred on the relationship between faith and reason were received in audience today by Benedict XVI, and issued a joint statement in which they agree that "faith and reason are both gifts of God to mankind", and that "faith and reason do not contradict each other, but faith might in some cases be above reason, but never against it".

Faith and reason, the document continues, "are intrinsically non-violent. Neither reason nor faith should be used for violence; unfortunately, both of them have been sometimes misused to perpetrate violence".

The two sides also say that they agree in the desire to cooperate further "in order to promote genuine religiosity, in particular spirituality, to encourage respect for symbols considered to be sacred and to promote moral values". Christians and Muslims "should go beyond tolerance, accepting differences, while remaining aware of commonalities and thanking God for them.

They are called to mutual respect, thereby condemning derision of religious beliefs". "Generalization should be avoided when speaking of religions. Differences of confessions within Christianity and Islam, diversity of historical contexts are important factors to be considered".

"Religious traditions cannot be judged on the basis of a single verse or a passage present in their respective holy Books. A holistic vision as well as an adequate hermeneutical method is necessary for a fair understanding of them".

"The participants expressed their satisfaction with the level of the presentations and the debates as well as the open and friendly atmosphere during the colloquium. The participants were honoured and pleased to be received at the end of the colloquium by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who was particularly satisfied with the choice of the theme and the venue of the meeting".

The next encounter will be held in Tehran within two years.

Are The Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Church Heading For Unification?

2008-06-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

Has the Patriarch of Constantinople proposed a path toward communion between Eastern Catholics and their Orthodox brethren? Could it be a breakthrough?

Reports are circulating, in circles which are intensely attuned to the continued warming of relations between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, of a statement and proposal allegedly made by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

If they are confirmed, it may signal a major move toward communion between Eastern Catholics and their Orthodox Brethren.It may also open the path to dialogue on communion between the Churches even wider.

The Religious Information Service of the Ukraine, associated with the Ukranian Catholic University, was cited as one source for the articles. Another was a German Ecumenical Journal named after the great Bishops Cyril and Methodius.

Both of these sources allege that the Orthodox Patriarch made an unusual gesture toward Eastern Catholic Churches which are in union with Rome, proposing that the members of those Churches somehow “return to Orthodoxy without breaking unity with Rome”.

Eastern Catholics actually believe, in some respects, that they have already done just what the Patriarch suggests. They are in full communion with Rome, and therefore with the Chair of Peter, while still remaining faithful to Orthodoxy, in their profession of faith, liturgical worship and practices.Some actually refer to themselves as "Orthodox in Union with Rome". Of course, the Orthodox have not seen it that way at all.Fortunatley, old animosity has often been replaced by a growing desire for restored communion.

Further, it is reported that the Patriarch spoke positively of a similar proposal for a form of “dual unity” made by the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Archbishop Lubomyr Husar.Does that also suggest a warming in dialogue concerning concepts for a way toward communion?

These same sources indicate that the Patriarch may be proposing an approach to communion which would allow for some sort of “dual communion”, the details of which are not clear. Further, that he has suggested that the discussions between the two sister Churches look to the first millennium model of the relationship between Rome and Constantinople for pursuing this model of communion.

The Servant of God John Paul II, wrote regularly of the two Churches, Orthodox and Catholic, as being the “two lungs” of Christianity which must breathe together again in the Third Millennium. He dedicated much of his Pontificate to promoting communion between them.

His successor, Pope Benedict XVI has also dedicated his Pontificate to promoting this communion between East and Western Christianity in the Third Millennium. He has made regular overtures toward the Orthodox Church which have received warm and hopeful responses.

Islamophobia Sweeps Thru Australia

2008-06-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

There is a new face of Islamophobia in Sydney.

Gone are the images of angry young men draped in Australian flags and brandishing beer bottles as they rampage through Cronulla terrorising anyone who looks Middle Eastern.

In their place is middle-aged, earnest-looking Kate McCulloch, wearing a large Akubra hat plastered with Australian flag stickers. She tells the TV cameras that she is not racist, but Muslims take our welfare, do not live by our rules and are not welcome in Camden.

They are different faces, but their message is the same. They do not want Muslims on their beaches, in their streets, in their suburbs.

"You heard the news and saw the people," says the treasurer of the Qur'anic Society, Ahmed Chami, whose application to build an Islamic school in Camden was knocked back last week. "They said, 'Go back home. We don't want you here'. "

When Camden Council unanimously rejected the application for a 1200-student school last week, it insisted the decision was purely about planning control. But protests before the decision, which culminated in pigs' heads being left on the proposed school site, have left the impression that it has everything to do with religion.

Whatever the truth, experts say the Camden affair is the latest sign of worsening Islamophobia in Sydney, and will only add to intolerance.

Ms McCulloch, who runs a local business, says: "The school is just the thin edge of the wedge. You only have to look at those countries that have accepted Arabs and other Islamic people to see how they've come in and waged violent campaigns to try and displace locals."

University of Western Sydney human geography professor Kevin Dunn calls the steadily worsening intolerance to Muslims cumulative Islamophobia.

Professor Dunn, who as part of a PhD studied applications to build mosques in Sydney in the 1980s and 1990s, says almost every mosque is opposed by local councils and communities. But in many cases, this is overturned in the courts, he says.

The Qur'anic Society has already said it plans to appeal against the Camden decision.

"In those places where there was opposition to mosque development and where councils catered towards that intolerance, there's no doubt community relations worsened," Professor Dunn said.

He says Camden is no more Islamophobic than many other places in Sydney. In a 2001 survey under the geographies of racism project that Professor Dunn leads, 52.9% of people in Camden and its surrounding suburbs said they would be concerned if a close relative married a Muslim. Sydney-wide, the figure was only slightly lower at 52.8%.

Last year, NSW Police established a new position to look at the force's response to hate crimes. Inspector Chris Keane, of the community contact unit, said he had not seen any increase in reports about attacks on Muslims in particular but said that after 9/11 the whole community felt under pressure.

NSW Anti-Discrimination Board president Stepan Kerkyasharian says he firmly believes Camden Council knocked back the school on planning grounds.

"But we've got people using that opportunity to express jubilance, and to present it as if it was the success of an anti-Islamic campaign," he said.

He agrees anti-Muslim feeling has been increasing in recent years and the situation in Camden will make it worse. There has been a trend since 9/11 "but more importantly since Bali and then Cronulla" where particular groups take advantage of situations to promote anti-Islamic messages.

"It would be fairly disheartening for the Islamic community to see the kind of images that were on TV and to hear the anti-Islamic comments by residents. It sows the seeds of doubt in their mind about the reasons for the school's rejection."

'I Am A Prophet', Lands Indonesian Man In Jail

2008-04-23T02:10:00.000-07:00

The leader of an Indonesian sect who had controversially claimed he was a prophet has been jailed for four years for contempt against Islam.

Ahmad Mushaddeq alias Abu Salam, 63, leader of the Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah sect, was "guilty of showing contempt in public against a religion recognised by the state," Judge Zahrul Rabaid told a packed courtroom today.

The verdict was greeted by religious chanting by hundreds of followers who had crammed South Jakarta district court since early in the morning.

A police officer said 2000 people were at the venue.

Mushaddeq's claim violated a central Islamic tenet that the Prophet Muhammad is the last prophet and will not be followed by any other messengers from God.

His group was proscribed as "deviant" by the country's top clerics last year, echoing the same charge levelled against the Ahmadiya sect this year.

Mushaddeq, who told the court he will appeal, was whisked into a police detention car that left immediately for the state prison.

Mushaddeq handed himself in to police along with six other followers in October, and has since publicly retracted his claim to being a prophet.

About 90 per cent of Indonesia's population are Muslim. Most practice a tolerant form of the religion.

Anger over Ahmadiya drew protesters on to the streets last week and the group has filed for police protection after receiving death threats.

Failure In Religion: 44% Of Americans Cant Be Wrong

2008-02-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

Religion to some should be a check on the society producing a morally upbuilding effect on its adherents. To others it should satisfy their inborn desire for a spiritual life. For yet it is business as usual - tell the people what they want to here, to make them stick and donate more money to the church.

In view of the forgoing it is not suprising that the Washington Post Reports that "Forty-four percent of Americans have either switched their religious affiliation since childhood or dropped out of any formal religious group, according to the largest recent survey on American religious identification.

The survey, released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, found that Americans' faith identity fluctuates during their lives, with vast numbers moving away from the faith tradition of their childhood to embrace other religious traditions -- or no faith at all. The survey interviewed 35,000 people.
Among other findings, the survey indicated that members of Protestant denominations now make up only a slight majority -- 51.3 percent -- of the adult population.
The 44 percent figure includes people who switch affiliations within one of the major faith traditions, such as a Protestant who goes from Baptist to Methodist. Counting only people who switch traditions altogether -- say, from Catholic to Orthodox, or Protestant to Muslim -- the number drops to 28 percent.
"Constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing adherents," the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey said.
The survey also concluded that 16 percent of American adults are not affiliated with any faith today. About 4 percent describe themselves as atheist or agnostic. Young adults ages 18 to 29 are much more likely than people 70 and older to say they are unaffiliated with any particular religion, Pew found".

Has religion not failed?

The Sexually Active But Sexually Ignorant Youths Of Indian Cities

2008-02-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

While love was on top of the minds of many a young Mumbaikar on Valentine's Day on Thursday, a recent study showed that young people in urban Maharashtra are groping in the dark when it comes to issues relating to sex and reproductive health. City doctors and researchers added that they worry about the risky sexual practices by this age group.

Their concerns are borne out by the study, which showed disturbing trends of ignorance - only 35.3% of single girls in cities knew that they could get pregnant in their first sexual encounter. A mere 35.1% of unmarried boys consistently used condoms with pre-marital partners.

"When it comes to sexual behaviour, we found that youngsters had very superficial knowledge, which makes them indulge in risky sexual behaviour," said Usha Ram of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), an autonomous institute under the Union ministry of health and family welfare. IIPS interviewed 8,500 married and unmarried youths. The married ones were aged 15 to 29 and unmarried ones 15 to 24. The study was completed late last year. While 87.8% of single girls had heard of HIV/AIDS, only 40.4% could identify two ways of preventing it and knew healthy-looking persons could transmit it.

Not surprisingly, youngsters knocking at the doors of city sexual health clinics are full of misconceptions. "It isn't unusual to see teens walking in and asking for a spray or medicated cigarettes to improve their sexual performance," said Dr Sanjay Chauhan of the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, which runs two centres, called Jagruti, in Parel for adolescents below 24. The ignorance is worrying given that this is the most sexually active group. At the Jagruti centres, nearly 1% of 1,300 youngsters over the past two years asked for pregnancy confirmation.

Myths - such as masturbation can lead to problems like impotence or tuberculosis - are reinforced as teens often turn to 'ignorant' friends for sexual advice, pointed out professor of sexual medicine Prakash Kothari, who runs a clinic at Opera House. "We find that parents and even teachers are often hesitant about discussing sex and sexuality openly," said Kothari. This was corroborated in the IIPS study, which found that only 0.2% of unmarried boys in the state had ever discussed sexual and reproductive matters with their parents.

"We are able to cater to barely 30% of youngsters in Parel. One of the challenges we face is that youngsters who come in for condoms often run away after getting them. They aren't interested in the counselling or education," said Chauhan. "The only way to bust this darkness is to have sex education," said Kothari, who feels addressing behavioural changes would help promote love and its expression.

Investigating Televangelist Finances For Violating Non-Profit Tax Laws?

2008-02-18T15:37:00.000-08:00

Kent Garber
Rolls-Royces, Dresden vases, vacation homes, jewelry, private jets, a $11,219 clock—the inventory is either admirable or suspicious, depending on your point of view. To adherents of the so-called Prosperity Gospel, the trappings of their ministers are evidence of God's blessings for a life well lived. But to Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, they may be signs of excess—the kind of unreasonable compensation that he says could violate federal tax law.

Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has investigated many scandals, including excessive spending by officials at the Smithsonian Institution. Now, he is taking on the matter of church-state boundaries with his probe of six well-known televangelists who preach that God wants his followers to be rich both spiritually and materially. The philosophy applies not only to the worshipers but to the preachers as well.

So what happens when the preacher earns rock-star status and a paycheck to match? Federal tax law prohibits religious leaders, as the heads of tax-exempt nonprofit institutions, from earning "unreasonable compensation." It also prohibits tax-exempt organizations from providing "substantial benefit" to individuals.

Airplanes. With these provisions in mind, Grassley sent requests to six televangelists last fall seeking information about such things as credit card spending, offshore accounts, and airplane and car purchases. To date, only one ministry has responded to Grassley's satisfaction. So he is redoubling his efforts. Last week, the senator was planning to send a second request for information, along with further justification for his probe. "It is the same thing I have been trying to accomplish with all of my investigations," said Grassley, "and that is to make sure that tax laws are complied with." He said he wanted to make sure that churchgoers were not being "played for suckers."

Grassley's interest in the televangelists stems from several published reports of loose spending by church leaders. In 2003, for instance, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch exposed the opulent lifestyle of Joyce Meyer, a St. Louis-based televangelist whose church, Joyce Meyer Ministries, made an estimated $95 million that year. In his letter to Meyer and her husband, David, he noted reports of the couple accepting "personal monetary gifts and jewelry" from donors. To the Revs. Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International in College Park, Ga., Grassley cited reports that they had received two Rolls-Royces from the church. In both cases, he asked the ministers to show whether they had declared the gifts to the IRS.

The Meyers, who have said they are committed to "transparency," did provide much of the information that was requested, according to one of Grassley's aides. But Creflo Dollar, along with Georgia preacher Eddie Long, has declined to provide Grassley with documents. The other ministries—Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas; Without Walls International Church of Tampa; and Benny Hinn Ministries of Grapevine, Texas—have provided answers Grassley found insufficient. A Copeland spokesperson said the ministry supplied Grassley with 291 pages of exhibits but cited privacy concerns about releasing more documents. The Dollars and Joyce Meyer declined to comment; representatives of the other ministries did not return phone calls.

Discrimination? The objection from the churches is twofold: that the IRS, not Congress, is the proper body to investigate tax matters related to religious groups, and that the focus on members of the Prosperity movement is discriminatory and threatens their First Amendment rights. In a recent editorial, Creflo Dollar's attorney, Marcus Owens, said Grassley had singled out the churches because of his "often-expressed distaste for, or disagreement with, these churches' theology."

Grassley dismisses both arguments, "This has nothing to do with church doctrine," he said in a statement. "This has everything to do with [whether] the tax exemption of an organization is being used according to the law; and is the money that's donated...being used for legitimate, nonprofit purposes?" Grassley also noted that only Congress can change laws.

Still, the idea of the government investigating churches is a sensitive one. The last substantial federal probe of church finances dates to the 1980s, when an IRS investigation led to the indictment of Jim Bakker, the former host of the PTL Club, on fraud charges. The House later considered reforming the tax laws but made no changes and did not investigate the churches themselves. "The IRS has really not gotten involved too much in this, much less Congress," says Gary Snyder, managing director of Nonprofit Imperative. Government oversight of church finances is lax, and penalties for tax violations are rarely dispensed.

One change Grassley could seek, says Pablo Eisenberg, a nonprofit expert at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, would be to impose limits on how much leaders of nonprofit organizations can earn. Congress could also try to demand stricter boundaries between preachers and boards of trustees.

Owens has challenged Grassley to subpoena the desired information. So far Grassley has resisted taking that route, but he says he has no plans to back down. "I think there is some gamble for people who are stonewalling," he said. "Every organization I have requested information from, I have gotten voluntarily."

Japanese Authority's Clean up Hits Sexual Cabaret Club

2008-02-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

Ryann Connell
One of the most daring adult clubs in Osaka's Minami entertainment district has been shut down in what many say is the first strike in a campaign to clean up the area, according to Shukan Jitsuwa.

Six of the hostesses and a male customer of the "sexual cabaret club" Impulse were arrested last month for indecent exposure after the workers allegedly labored while entirely nude and the patron exposed his genitals.

Those alleged acts aren't the only indecency that appears to have gone on at Impulse.

"As soon as you enter the club, a hostess will give you a hot towel that she has already used to swipe her private parts. You can start fondling the hostesses' breasts as soon as you sit down, but that's nothing. You immediately get a drink, but it's a hostess's urine served on the rocks. They also serve tidbits sprinkled with cuttings of the workers' pubic hair," the employee of an adult entertainment introduction service tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "They also had a service where the ice served in drinks is first inserted into the hostess's private parts. They just kept on getting wilder and wilder and I think they went too far in the end."

Impulse strictly forbid the media from covering it, but word of the club's existence spread quickly and it was among the most popular establishments in Minami. Some say the arrests at Impulse signal the start of a clean-up of the entertainment district.

"That place was warned plenty of times in the past for going too far," a writer on the sex industry says. "I knew there'd eventually be arrests there some day."

Others defend Impulse, though.

"Sure, it stretched the limits, but it never really went beyond them. It didn't provide any sexual services that resulted in ejaculation and if there was any nudity going on, it was never anything more than a quick flash," the operator of a call girl service says. "Even its most raunchy stuff wasn't that serious. I think the arrests have been made to send a message to others."

Reporters covering the Osaka Prefectural Police beat certainly think so.

"Some people are saying the tough line cops are taking on adult businesses in Minami will only go on until the end of this year. But I think they're wrong. I think this crackdown is going to keep on going for ages," a hack covering the Osaka police beat tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "And the reason why I feel that is the cops working on Minami now are the same ones who carried out the massive clean-up a couple of years ago of the Kabukicho district in Tokyo."

Chinese Authorities Shut Down 44,000 Porn Sites In 2007

2008-02-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

China shut down 44,000 Web sites and homepages and arrested 868 people last year in a campaign against Internet porn which will continue until the end of this year's Beijing Olympics.

China launched a crackdown on online pornography and "unhealthy" Web content after Chinese President Hu Jintao said the country's sprawling Internet posed a threat to social stability.

Rights groups have said the campaign has been used as a thinly veiled pretext to crack down on dissent and round up online dissidents ahead of the Olympics.

Authorities had also investigated 524 criminal cases involving online porn and "penalized" another 1,911 people.

Some 440,000 "pornographic messages" had also been deleted, the agency said.

China has attempted to stifle online criticism of the ruling Communist Party and discussion related to sensitive topics such as Tibet and Taiwan by ordering Web sites to register with authorities.

Authorities registered 199,000 Web sites last year, but refused 14,000 for failing to get official registration or to apply for official approval.

China employs tens of thousands of human Internet censors and a vast network of filters to control online information.

The anti-pornography campaign would continue until September, "after the Beijing Olympic Games end".

China last month said it would crack down on video-sharing Web sites, and allow only state-controlled sites to post video content online in new restrictions effective from January 31.

Japan's Raunchiest Entertainment Industry Staggering?

2008-02-10T07:23:00.000-08:00

Japan's biggest, brashest, raunchiest entertainment district -- suffered a slow, boring entrance to 2008, with one notable exception: love hotels, Shukan Shincho says.

"It's really sad," a Kabukicho restaurant employee tells Shukan Shincho. "There wasn't a soul around on New Year's Day. About the only places in Kabukicho that attracted anyone over the New Year holidays were game centers and pachinko parlors."

Rumors have recently sprung up that Japan's once-spurting "ejaculation industry" is well and truly on the wane.

"Ever since (Shintaro) Ishihara became governor of Tokyo, policing of Kabukicho has become really tight. The number of storefront sex business there has dropped dramatically and now there are only loads of stores selling adult DVDs or booths offering advice on sex services in their place," the restaurant worker says. "The whole atmosphere of the district has changed and virtually no-one comes here for sex anymore."

Once a Kabukicho staple, soapland brothels in particular are feeling washed up.

"A whole series of famous ramen noodle restaurants have opened up in one alley near all the soaplands," a Kabukicho insider tells the weekly. "People line up to get into the restaurants, which makes it a bit too embarrassing for guys to have to walk past them all to go into the brothels."

Still, not every business in Kabukicho is hurting. In fact, while not as many people may be paying for Kabukicho's carnal pleasures, that doesn't mean they're not getting them in the district.

"(Love hotels) have gone from being just places where you'd go for sex into becoming havens of pleasure. Competition among the hotels is absolutely fierce and consumers get the benefit. That's not just in things like reasonable rates and longer sessions, but services like room service menus with over 100 items and orders accepted 24 hours a day, surround-sound audio systems in the rooms, online karaoke sets and then free provision of toiletries and other items for stays like pajamas. There are even some love hotels with meals prepared by famous chefs," the Kabukicho insider tells Shukan Shincho.

"Some Kabukicho love hotels have started putting up sandwich boards in front of their establishments to advertise the services they're providing. Some couples even spent the entire New Year period in Kabukicho love hotels."

Japanese Authorities Okays The Sexual Abuse Of 18-20 Year Olds

2008-02-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

Ryann Connell
Not long after she had finished elementary school, the father of a now 18-year-old woman identifies only as Miss A began "visiting" her bedroom and sexually abusing her.

His unwanted ministrations continued for years. She graduated high school in the spring of last year but failed to gain entrance into a university, so stayed at home to study.

"He stopped coming in for a while, but then started all over again," Miss A tells Yomiuri Weekly journalist and confidante Miho Nagata.

When the teen's mother was due to go away for a weekend, she was terrified that her father would be able to do as he liked with her, so Nagata stepped in to try and help. But after the journalist dragged the girl away from her incestuous father's clutches, she was horrified to discover Japan's support system places the young woman in limbo -- simply because she's aged 18.

Japanese are legally minors until turning 20, until which time their parents have the legal right and obligation to supervise and educate them. However, laws aimed at protecting children from abusive parents only apply to those under 18. Despite the years of her father's abuse, the Tokyo Child Consultation Center refused to help her.

"If she's 18, her case can't be picked up by one of our centers," the Yomiuri Weekly quotes a spokesman saying.

Other public authorities were equally unhelpful.

"If she really was being abused, why did she wait until she was 18 until telling someone?" the weekly quotes the ever-helpful police from the country area where Miss A grew up as saying.

Public health authorities in the same city expressed similar doubts about her situation. Women's shelter officials in Tokyo were equally unresponsive, saying they generally dealt only with female victims of physical rather than sexual violence.

"It would be the first time we've ever had to deal with a case where a woman was being sexually abused by a member of her family," the weekly quotes a shelter employee saying.

Miss A's age even worked against her when it came to seeking mental health care for the anguish she had suffered.

"If she's under 20, we can't admit her to the hospital without her parents' permission," a spokesman for a mental health hospital says.

Parental permission was highly unlikely to be forthcoming considering the circumstances surrounding Miss A's case, and the fact that her mother and father were constantly ringing or mailing her and demanding she return home. The police also came after her when her parents filed a missing person's report and demanded she be returned to their side.

Eventually, Miss A sought refuge in a place the Japanese call a Woman's Dormitory. These places were initially set up in the 1950s to house and rehabilitate prostitutes after Japan outlawed prostitution. Many of the current residents are also the original inhabitants, and teenage Miss A struggled to live in the communal dorms with the old women.

After most authorities told her they were unable to deal with her case, one welfare worker helpfully suggested to Miss A that she could always go and live in an Internet caf?, the current favorite refuge of many financially strapped Japanese. Police, however, advised the teen to return to the home of the parents who had prompted her to seek sanctuary in the first place.

In the end, Miss A -- shocking those who had tried to help her -- did, in fact, go back to her home. Experts on abuse say it's a common pattern among victims. They also say it's common for many sexually abused children to stay silent about their ordeal until turning 18 and sliding into limbo in Japan.

"We often hear of cases where the victim has actually waited until turning 18 before they tell anyone what has been happening to them," Yuko Taniga, head of Kirara -- an NPO that helps sex abuse victims -- tells Yomiuri Weekly. "Unlike neglect or physical violence, it's very hard for incest victims to tell others about the abuse they've been subjected to. For many victims, incest starts before they know what sex is about, and they can think the same thing happens in every family. There are some incest victims who so enjoy the pleasure of sex that they can't turn it down, even if a relative is forcing it on them. The shame of gaining sexual pleasure makes it all the harder to talk about. There are more than a few minors over 18 who suffer in this way because the Child Welfare Law can't protect them."

Changes to the law in 2004 do allow abused children over 18 but under 20 to apply to a family court to have their parents' guardianship over them declared void. However, it's a step few youngsters are willing to take.

"Even if they are abusive, for children parents are still parents," Kirara's Taniga says. "There are hardly any children who would sue to have their parent's guardianship over them removed."

That leaves few options for youngsters like Miss A who are being abused but are too old to seek refuge through child protection services and too young to be legally treated as adults."Abuse victims with nowhere to go are often forced into sex businesses if they're female, or homelessness if they're male, Tetsuro Tsuzaki, a professor at Hanazono University in Kyoto tells Yomiuri Weekly. "Laws should at least be changed so that children's homes can help people until they turn 20."

Armenia - A 21st Century Symbol Of Religious Intolerance

2008-01-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

The Constitution as amended in December 2005 provides for freedom of religion; however, the law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of adherents of minority religious groups, and there were some restrictions in practice. The Armenian (Apostolic) Church, which has formal legal status as the national church, enjoys some privileges not available to other religious groups.

There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government during the reporting period. Some denominations reported occasional discrimination by mid- or low-level government officials but found high-level officials to be tolerant. Jehovah's Witnesses reported that judges sentenced them to longer prison terms for evasion of alternative military service than in the past, although the sentences were still within the range allowed by law.

Societal attitudes toward some minority religious groups were ambivalent, and there were reports of societal discrimination directed against members of these groups.

The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.

Section I. Religious Demography

The country has an area of 11,500 square miles and a population of 3 million.

Approximately 98 percent of the population is ethnic Armenian. As a result of Soviet-era policies, the number of active religious practitioners is relatively low, but the link between Armenian ethnicity and the Armenian Church is strong. An estimated 90 percent of citizens nominally belong to the Armenian Church, an independent Eastern Christian denomination with its spiritual center at the Etchmiadzin cathedral and monastery. The head of the church is Catholicos Garegin (Karekin) II.

There are small communities of other religious groups. There was no reliable census data on religious minorities, and estimates from congregants varied significantly. The Catholic Church, both Roman and Mekhitarist (Armenian Uniate), estimated 120,000 followers. The Jehovah's Witnesses estimated their membership at 9,000. Groups that constitute less than 5 percent of the population include Yezidis, an ethnic Kurd cultural group whose religion includes elements derived from Zoroastrianism, Islam, and animism; unspecified "charismatic" Christians; the Armenian Evangelical Church; Molokans, an ethnic Russian pacifist Christian group that split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th-century; Baptists; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons); Orthodox Christians; Seventh-day Adventists; Pentecostals; Jews; and Baha'is. Levels of membership in minority religious groups remained relatively unchanged. There was no estimate of the number of atheists.

Yezidis are concentrated primarily in agricultural areas around Mount Aragats, northwest of the capital Yerevan. Armenian Catholics live mainly in the northern region, while most Jews, Mormons, Baha'is, and Orthodox Christians reside in Yerevan. In Yerevan there is also a small community of Muslims, including Kurds, Iranians, and temporary residents from the Middle East.

Foreign missionary groups are active in the country.

Section II. Status of Religious Freedom

Legal/Policy Framework

The Constitution as amended in 2005 provides for freedom of religion and the right to practice, choose, or change religious belief. It recognizes "the exclusive mission of the Armenian Church as a national church in the spiritual life, development of the national culture, and preservation of the national identity of the people of Armenia." The law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of religious groups other than the Armenian Church. The Law on Freedom of Conscience establishes the separation of church and state but grants the Armenian Church official status as the national church.

Extended negotiations between the Government and the Armenian Church resulted in a 2000 framework for the two sides to negotiate a concordat. The negotiations resulted in the signing of a law March 14, 2007, that codified the church's role.

The law establishes confessor-penitent confidentiality, makes the church's marriage rite legally binding, and assigns the church and the state joint responsibility to preserve national historic churches. The law does not grant the church tax-exempt status or establish any state funding for the church. The law formally recognizes the role that the Armenian Church already plays in society, since most citizens see the church as an integral part of national identity, history, and cultural heritage. January 6, the day on which the Armenian Church celebrates Christmas, is a national holiday.

The law does not mandate registration of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including religious groups; however, only registered organizations have legal status. Only registered groups may publish newspapers or magazines, rent meeting places, broadcast programs on television or radio, or officially sponsor the visas of visitors, although there is no prohibition on individual members doing so. There were no reports of the Government refusing registration to religious groups that qualified for registration under the law. To qualify for registration, religious organizations must "be free from materialism and of a purely spiritual nature," and must subscribe to a doctrine based on "historically recognized holy scriptures." The Office of the State Registrar registers religious entities. The Department of Religious Affairs and National Minorities oversees religious affairs and performs a consultative role in the registration process. A religious organization must have at least 200 adult members to register. By the end of the reporting period, the Government had registered 63 religious organizations, including individual congregations within the same denomination.

According to the Department of Religious Affairs and National Minorities, some minority religious groups, including the Molokans and some Yezidi groups, have not sought registration. Although it was not registered as a religious facility, Yerevan's sole mosque was open for regular Friday prayers, and the Government did not restrict Muslims from praying there.

The Law on Education mandates that public schools offer a secular education but does not prohibit religious education in state schools. Only personnel authorized and trained by the Government may teach in public schools. Classes in religious history are part of the public school curriculum and are taught by teachers. The history of the Armenian Church is the basis of this curriculum; many schools teach about world religions in elementary school and the history of the Armenian Church in middle school. Religious groups may not provide religious instruction in schools, although registered groups may do so in private homes to children of their members. The use of public school buildings for religious "indoctrination" is illegal.

The law on alternative military service allows conscientious objectors, subject to government panel approval, to perform either noncombatant military or civilian service duties rather than serve as combat-trained military personnel. The law took effect in 2004 and applied to subsequent draftees and those serving prison terms for draft evasion. An amendment to the law on military service that took effect in January 2006 criminalizes evasion of alternative labor service. Conscientious objectors maintained, however, that military control of the alternative labor service amounted to unacceptable military service.

The military employs Armenian Church chaplains for each division, but no other religious groups are represented in the military chaplaincy. The Armenian Church runs a prison ministry program but does not have permanent representatives in prisons. The Armenian Evangelical Church has chaplains in seven prisons.

The Government's human rights ombudsman and the head of the Department of Religious Affairs and National Minorities met with minority religious organizations during the reporting period.

Restrictions on Religious Freedom

The law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of adherents of minority religious groups, and there were some restrictions in practice.

The Law on Freedom of Conscience prohibits "proselytizing" but does not define it. The prohibition applies to all groups, including the Armenian Church. Most registered religious groups reported no serious legal impediments to their activities during the reporting period.

Although the law prohibits foreign funding of foreign-based denominations, the Government did not enforce the ban and considered it unenforceable.

During the reporting period, the Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists reported that low-level government officials denied them the use of public space for religious gatherings. However, the Jehovah's Witnesses noted that, in general, they were free to assemble without harassment by police or other government entities.

A customs issue pertaining to the Jehovah's Witnesses ability to obtain shipments of religious literature was not resolved at the end of the reporting period. On March 29, 2007, customs officials in Yerevan reevaluated a shipment of religious periodicals received by the Jehovah's Witnesses at a significantly higher rate than the group expected, making it financially difficult for them to arrange clearance of the shipment. Customs officials maintained that the reevaluation complied with the customs code.

At the end of the reporting period, the Jehovah's Witnesses reported that following complaints to high-ranking officials, the military commissariat had issued certificates of registration (necessary for obtaining passports) to the majority of a group of Witnesses who had completed prison sentences for conscientious objection to military service.

Abuses of Religious Freedom

According to leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses in Yerevan, as of the end of the reporting period, 69 Witnesses remained in prison for refusal, on conscientious and religious grounds, to perform military service or alternative labor service. Two additional members were awaiting trial. Representatives of the Jehovah's Witnesses stated that all of the prisoners were given the opportunity to serve an alternative to military service rather than prison time, but that all refused because the military retained administrative control of alternative service.

Jehovah's Witnesses complained that the courts handed down tougher sentences for evasion of alternative labor service during the reporting period. In the period covered by this report, of the 48 Jehovah's Witnesses sentenced, 24 received 30-month sentences and 5 received 36-month sentences, the maximum allowed by law. Of the remaining 19 Jehovah's Witnesses sentenced during the reporting period, 15 received sentences ranging between 22 and 27 months, and 4 received 18-month sentences. Of 36 Jehovah's Witnesses convicted during the previous reporting period, only 1 received a 30-month sentence, and none received 36-month sentences; the majority were sentenced to either 18 or 24 months of imprisonment.

Unlike during the previous reporting period, there were no reports that military hazing of new conscripts was more severe for minority group members. Yezidi representatives reported no harassment or discrimination.

During the reporting period there was no reported officially sponsored violence against minority religious groups. Other than Jehovah's Witnesses who were conscientious objectors, there were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees in the country.

Forced Religious Conversion

There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the United States.

Improvements and Positive Developments in Respect for Religious Freedom

Nineteen Jehovah's Witnesses who had begun and then abandoned alternative military service were acquitted, and criminal proceedings against them were terminated by a decision of the Prosecutor General on September 12, 2006. The individuals were charged with desertion or absence without leave. Seven of the 19 had been in pretrial detention or agreed not to leave the country before their trials at the time of their acquittal. The others had received sentences ranging from 2 to 3 years in prison and served between 5 and 9 months of their sentences.

On October 27, 2006, Yerevan's Holocaust memorial, which had been inexplicably vandalized earlier in the year, was replaced and rededicated to the memory of both Jews and Armenians who had been the victims of "heinous crimes." A gesture of respect and national empathy, the memorial was erected with the cooperation of international donors, the Jewish community, Armenian Diaspora organizations, and the Government.

Section III. Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Societal attitudes toward most minority religious groups were ambivalent. Many citizens are not religiously observant, but the link between Armenian ethnicity and the Armenian Church is strong.

According to some observers, the general population expressed negative attitudes about Jehovah's Witnesses because the latter refused to serve in the military, engaged in little-understood proselytizing practices, and because of a widespread but unsubstantiated belief that they pay the desperately poor to convert. Jehovah's Witnesses continued to be targets of hostile sermons by some Armenian Church clerics and experienced occasional societal discrimination. Unlike in the previous reporting period, the press did not report complaints of allegedly illegal proselytizing lodged by citizens against members of Jehovah's Witnesses.

On June 1, 2007, in the village of Lusarat, a passing Armenian Apostolic priest verbally harassed and assaulted two Jehovah's Witnesses having a Bible discussion with a woman in the central square. While the Witnesses agreed to drop assault charges pending the priest's apology, none was forthcoming. Police closed the case for lack of evidence after the priest denied the incident.

Two Jehovah's Witnesses filed a complaint with local police after they were allegedly threatened by a man with a pistol while they engaged in public ministry on April 15, 2007. Police did not investigate the incident, citing lack of evidence.

At the end of the reporting period, a Witness dropped his case against a co-worker who had attacked him. Police had taken no action on the matter. On March 29, 2007, the co-worker had attempted to choke the Witness at their place of work after discovering that the latter was a member of the religious group.

The group also reported that an Armenian Church priest assaulted two female Jehovah's Witnesses on August 21, 2006. According to the group, one of the victims suffered a broken arm. Police refused to initiate an investigation, in part because the priest expressed remorse, and the women were unable to appeal the decision.

In isolated incidents, some members of the press stoked suspicion of "nontraditional" religious organizations. On February 14, 2007, online news source Panorama published an article based on an e-mail from a reader that accused several famous Armenian singers and a television commentator of being "followers of religious sects." On February 13, 2007, online news source A1+ published an article warning readers about "false Bibles" distributed by "sectarian organizations."

The Jewish community reported no incidents of verbal harassment during the reporting period. In the summer and fall of 2006, a number of spray-painted swastikas of unknown origin, accompanied by the words "No Arabs," "Sieg Heil," and "Russians out of our country," were observed on kiosks and construction site walls in downtown Yerevan; the symbols appeared to express general xenophobia.

Section IV. U.S. Government Policy

The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. During these discussions, the U.S. Government emphasized to authorities that continued eligibility for the $235 million (approximately 79 billion AMD) Millennium Challenge Compact remained contingent upon the Government's performance in meeting good governance indicators, which include standards of respect for religious freedom. Embassy officials maintained close contact with the Catholicos at Etchmiadzin and with leaders of other religious and ecumenical groups in the country. The Embassy maintained regular contact with resident and visiting regional representatives of foreign-based religious groups such as Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Baha'is, and raised their concerns with the Government when necessary. Embassy officials closely monitored trials related to issues of religious freedom and took an active role in policy forums and NGO roundtables regarding religious freedom.

Leaders of local minority religious groups were regularly welcomed at embassy events.

Mormon Church Experimentation In Nigeria

2008-01-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

Outside Zion Osandu Ndukwe's one-room apartment, a naked toddler ran up and down a filthy hallway lit by a single candle. The power in the overcrowded slum was off yet again. The stench of urine from the communal bathroom overpowered the fragrance of spices in the bubbling soup a neighbor was stirring.

But this night, the misery all around Ndukwe — the crime, the uncollected trash, the bathtub-size potholes, the cars belching black smoke — stopped at his door. It was a Monday evening, and because Ndukwe, 39, had been baptized into the Mormon church six months earlier, that meant it was time to be with his family and sing God's praises.

"I am a child of God!" he sang, as he, his wife and their 4-year-old daughter celebrated in loud, joyous voices a faith once known for its all-white, all-American membership.

"I'm a changed man," Ndukwe said, sitting on a bed that took up most of his apartment. "I used to drink. I had girlfriends outside my marriage. I don't do that anymore, and I feel better. The Mormon church contributed 100 percent to the change."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it is formally known, now has more members outside the United States than inside it.

The church's rise from its roots in Utah to a steadily growing global faith in 176 countries and territories has been aided by the Internet, including the popular Web site www.mormon.org, which seeks to dispel the mystery that still surrounds the religion; by a satellite system linking 6,000 of its churches worldwide with the Salt Lake City headquarters; and by tens of thousands of missionaries knocking on doors from Lagos to Lapland.

As the world's largest faiths — Islam, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Hinduism — expand across the developing world, smaller faiths such as Mormonism are also gaining strength. The Mormon church, which did not permit blacks to become priests until 1978, says it now has more than 250,000 members in Africa, including almost 80,000 in Nigeria.

Mormonism, which teaches that an American named Joseph Smith was a prophet who received visions from God about how to restore the true and original Christian church, had 1.7 million members in 1960. Today, according to church statistics, it has about 13 million, more than 7 million of them outside the U.S.

The church's landmark six-spire temple in Kensington, Md., was its first east of the Rocky Mountains when it opened in 1974. Now there are Mormon temples in more than 40 countries, from China to Finland to Ghana, and more than 8,400 Mormon churches or meetinghouses abroad, with a new one built nearly every day.

As the church grows in numbers and diversity, it is gaining global recognition.

"A lot of people think nothing but polygamy" when they hear of the Mormons, said Rodney Stark, a religious-studies specialist at Baylor University in Texas, even though that practice has been outlawed by the church for more than a century. But as more people acquire Mormon friends and neighbors, Stark said, Mormons "are no longer seen as a peculiar little sect. They are too big."

Jan Shipps, a Methodist scholar who has written extensively about the Mormons, said, "When a cult grows up, it becomes a culture."

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Finding "peace of mind"

Early Sunday morning in the dusty Oshodi neighborhood of Lagos, before the tropical sun pressed down like a heavy steam iron, the noisy streets were teeming. Women carried bundles on their heads — cans of paint or a sewing machine. Creaking yellow buses were overcrowded. Wealthier people drove past in ancient Mercedes sedans discarded by faraway owners.

Amid the seemingly endless shacks and open sewers on haphazard Llesanmi Street, one lovely place stood out: a gated, cream-colored compound with a steepled church. Inside the spotless chapel, about 170 people sat in neat rows under whirring ceiling fans as an organist played quiet hymns. Almost every worshipper was black, and every male worshipper wore a white shirt and tie.

One after another, adults and children walked to the microphone and professed their devotion to the Mormon faith. Their reasons for joining it were diverse, but nearly all had once belonged to a larger Christian church they found lacking. Perhaps most of all, they said, they were initially attracted to the Mormon belief that devout families stay together eternally, not just until death.

Joshua Matthews Ebiloma, 40, a sales manager for a power-generator company, said the Mormons offered him "peace of mind" he had not found anywhere else.

Nigeria is half Muslim and almost half Christian, and proselytizing foreigners, from the United States to Saudi Arabia, are pouring millions of dollars into the African nation of 135 million to expand their faiths.

Ebiloma has sampled a range of them. He was born into a pagan family and still bears the scars of tribal markings carved into his cheeks when he was young. After attending Muslim schools as a child, he tried various Christian churches before finding what he described as "happiness and peace" in Mormonism.

Now, Ebiloma nodded and smiled as fellow Mormons told their stories. One woman described the joy of having her family "sealed," a ritual that Mormons believe ensures that families stay together beyond death.

Another said she believed that tithing — the Mormon practice of members giving one-tenth of their income to the church — "would bring great blessings."

A third woman praised Gordon Hinckley, the 97-year-old church president in Salt Lake City, who followers believe receives divine revelations. "I know President Hinckley is the living prophet," she said, just as amplified clapping and stamping in a nearby Pentecostal church began drowning out more testimonies.

"It is quiet and more organized in here," Ebiloma said later. "In other churches, people are shouting at the top of their lungs, sweating so much they need a hankie. One thing I know for sure: God is not deaf."

Ebiloma said those quiet services, along with the fact that all the men wear white shirts, have led many to think that his church is strange: "My friends ask, 'What are you doing in there? Did they make you wear a uniform?' "

Many scholars say the Mormons' decision not to adopt more local customs — such as incorporating African drumming or dancing into Sunday services — is one reason the church has not experienced the same remarkable growth as other denominations. Pentecostals, a lively evangelical Christian movement, can draw half a million worshippers to their all-night services here.

The Mormon church has often had strained relations with other Christian churches, not least because it was founded in the 19th century on the tenet that mainstream Christianity had strayed from the original message of Jesus.

Nigerian Catholic and Pentecostal leaders interviewed about the Mormons said the group was growing, becoming more visible especially because of its fine buildings, but was still small. Others have taken issue with the Mormons' membership statistics, saying that by counting as members those who have been baptized, they include those who have fallen away from the church.

Among the places the church says it is particularly vibrant are Brazil and Mexico, which have about 1 million Mormons each, and the Philippines, with nearly 600,000. In Africa, there are Mormon congregations in 27 countries.

Ebiloma said he especially liked that Mormons don't preach that people of other faiths were going to hell and that Mormon church leaders are largely unpaid and support themselves with other jobs.

Abstinence from alcohol, another church practice, was a tougher sell. But gradually, with the help of his favorite part of the church — regular home visits from missionaries and other members — he abandoned his Guinness beer.

Now, the affable father of two said, he even tries to obey the church's no-caffeine rule. "I am so happy," he said. "I am at peace."

"If you are bereaved or you have a new baby or you don't have money to pay your hospital bills, church members rally around you," he said, smiling. "You tell me: Is this a church I should leave?"

A racist past

Ebiloma is a now a Mormon priest, a lay position in the church which, three decades ago, he could not have held because of the color of his skin. Influenced by the civil-rights movement of the 1960s, many Mormons in the United States grew increasingly uncomfortable with that policy — including George Romney, the former Michigan governor whose son, Mitt Romney, is now a Republican presidential candidate.

According to Newell Bringhurst, an American scholar who has written two books about the place of black people in the Mormon church, the issue surfaced again in 1976, hurting Morris Udall, a Mormon, in his run against Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination.

It wasn't until 1978 that the Mormon president at the time said he had received a divine revelation and lifted the ban against ordaining black men to the priesthood, which has since been open to all "worthy" male candidates over the age of 12.

Like many members interviewed in Nigeria, Ebiloma said he knew nothing of that history. "But I know this church is not racist," he said. "Here it's strange if there is a white person in church."

Bringhurst said the church has been "more successful among blacks outside the United States than inside," partly because abroad there is less "awareness of this past historic discrimination."

The main pressure for the 1978 policy change, he said, "came from the Mormon church wanting to expand outside the United States. There was a certain element of pragmatism. Potential growth was being impeded in places like Brazil and Africa."

A few miles away, in another Mormon church, Muyiwa Omowaiye closed his eyes and fell back in the arms of a Mormon elder until he was completely under water. "I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit," the elder said, as the seated congregation watched the 6-foot-1 computer salesman in a white gown being submerged, their eyes on a ceiling mirror hung above the pool-size baptismal font.

The role of the Internet

Omowaiye is one of more than 220,000 people a year baptized abroad into the Mormon church — four times the 54,000 annual baptisms in the United States. And like many people around the world, he first started learning about the church on the Internet.

The Mormons have embraced the Internet, and a new TV ad campaign in the United States directs people to find out more about the faith online. Millions of people first learn of the religion through its vast online depository of genealogical records.

The Salt Lake City headquarters has considerable oversight over the global church and transmits general conferences and leadership training sessions via satellite to churches around the world. About one-third of the church's 53,000 missionaries are not from the United States.

After reading about the church online, Omowaiye clicked his way to a dating Web site for Mormons (though not officially affiliated with the church). There he began chatting electronically with Deborah Hess, a relocation manager from Colorado. After corresponding for a year by e-mail, webcam and phone, Hess recently came to Lagos and married Omowaiye, a quiet, soft-spoken man.

"No matter where you go in the world, the service is the same," Hess said, noting that the buildings, baptismal fonts, services and hymns in Lagos were nearly identical to those back home in the United States.

Ngozi Ndukwe, a teacher and the wife of the recent convert who says the church helped him stop drinking and womanizing, likes this uniformity. She has watched meetings in Salt Lake City on satellite TV here and saw that the teachings in Nigeria are the same as in the United States — including the emphasis on ancestors.

A central Mormon belief is that even the dead deserve the chance of salvation through baptism. In temples — only Mormons "in good standing" can enter — baptisms by proxy are done with a living person standing in for one who has died, with names and dates of birth and death discovered in genealogical research.

"My daddy didn't attend any church before he died," said Zion Ndukwe, who said he and his wife are planning an 11-hour bus ride to Aba, in southeastern Nigeria, where there is a stunning new Mormon temple. There, he said, he will wade into a pool, surrounded by his Mormon family, and be baptized on behalf of his father. He believes the church teaching that his whole family can be together in heaven one day. "It gives me hope," he said.

Expulsion From The Church An Expression Of Love?

2008-01-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

ALEXANDRA ALTER
On a quiet Sunday morning in June, as worshippers settled into the pews at Allen Baptist Church in southwestern Michigan, Pastor Jason Burrick grabbed his cellphone and dialed 911. When a dispatcher answered, the preacher said a former congregant was in the sanctuary. "And we need to, um, have her out A.S.A.P."

Half an hour later, 71-year-old Karolyn Caskey, a church member for nearly 50 years who had taught Sunday school and regularly donated 10% of her pension, was led out by a state trooper and a county sheriff's officer. One held her purse and Bible. The other put her in handcuffs.

The charge was trespassing, but Mrs. Caskey's real offense, in her pastor's view, was spiritual. Several months earlier, when she had questioned his authority, he'd charged her with spreading "a spirit of cancer and discord" and expelled her from the congregation. "I've been shunned," she says.

A devout Christian and grandmother of three, Mrs. Caskey moves with a halting gait, due to two artificial knees and a double hip replacement. Friends and family describe her as a generous woman who helped pay the electricity bill for Allen Baptist, in Allen, Mich., when funds were low, gave the church $1,200 after she sold her van, and even cut the church's lawn on occasion. She has requested an engraved image of the church on her tombstone.

Her expulsion came as a shock to some church members when, in August 2006, the pastor sent a letter to the congregation stating Mrs. Caskey and an older married couple, Patsy and Emmit Church, had been removed for taking "action against the church and your preacher." The pastor, Mr. Burrick, told congregants the three were guilty of gossip, slander and idolatry and should be shunned, according to several former church members.

"People couldn't believe it," says Janet Biggs, 53, a former church member who quit the congregation in protest.

The conflict had been brewing for months. Shortly after the church hired Mr. Burrick in 2005 to help revive the congregation, which had dwindled to 12 members, Mrs. Caskey asked him to appoint a board of deacons to help govern the church, a tradition outlined in the church's charter. Mr. Burrick said the congregation was too small to warrant deacons. Mrs. Caskey pressed the issue at the church's quarterly business meetings and began complaining that Mr. Burrick was not following the church's bylaws. "She's one of the nicest, kindest people I know," says friend and neighbor Robert Johnston, 69, a retired cabinet maker. "But she won't be pushed around."

In April 2006, Mrs. Caskey received a stern letter from Mr. Burrick. "This church will not tolerate this spirit of cancer and discord that you would like to spread," it said. Mrs. Caskey, along with Mr. and Mrs. Church, continued to insist that the pastor follow the church's constitution. In August, she received a letter from Mr. Burrick that said her failure to repent had led to her removal. It also said he would not write her a transfer letter enabling her to join another church, a requirement in many Baptist congregations, until she had "made things right here at Allen Baptist."

She went to Florida for the winter, and when she returned to Michigan last June, she drove the two miles to Allen Baptist as usual. A church member asked her to leave, saying she was not welcome, but Mrs. Caskey told him she had come to worship and asked if they could speak after the service. Twenty minutes into the service, a sheriff's officer was at her side, and an hour later, she was in jail.

"It was very humiliating," says Mrs. Caskey, who worked for the state of Michigan for 25 years before retiring from the Department of Corrections in 1992. "The other prisoners were surprised to see a little old lady in her church clothes. One of them said, 'You robbed a church?' and I said, 'No, I just attended church.' "

Word quickly spread throughout Allen, a close-knit town of about 200 residents. Once a thriving community of farmers and factory workers, Allen consists of little more than a strip of dusty antiques stores. Mr. and Mrs. Church, both in their 70s, eventually joined another Baptist congregation nearby.

About 25 people stopped attending Allen Baptist Church after Mrs. Caskey was shunned, according to several former church members.

Current members say they support the pastor's actions, and they note that the congregation has grown under his leadership. The simple, white-washed building now draws around 70 people on Sunday mornings, many of them young families. "He's a very good leader; he has total respect for the people," says Stephen Johnson, 66, an auto parts inspector, who added that Mr. Burrick was right to remove Mrs. Caskey because "the Bible says causing discord in the church is an abomination."

Mrs. Caskey went back to the church about a month after her arrest, shortly after the county prosecutor threw out the trespassing charge. More than a dozen supporters gathered outside, some with signs that read "What Would Jesus Do?" She sat in the front row as Mr. Burrick preached about "infidels in the pews," according to reports from those present.

Once again, Mrs. Caskey was escorted out by a state trooper and taken to jail, where she posted the $62 bail and was released. After that, the county prosecutor dismissed the charge and told county law enforcement not to arrest her again unless she was creating a disturbance.

In the following weeks, Mrs. Caskey continued to worship at Allen Baptist. Some congregants no longer spoke to her or passed the offering plate, and some changed seats if she sat next to them, she says.

Mr. Burrick repeatedly declined to comment on Mrs. Caskey's case, calling it a "private ecclesiastical matter." He did say that while the church does not "blacklist" anyone, a strict reading of the Bible requires pastors to punish disobedient members. "A lot of times, flocks aren't willing to submit or be obedient to God," he said in an interview before a Sunday evening service. "If somebody is not willing to be helped, they forfeit their membership."

In Christianity's early centuries, church discipline led sinners to cover themselves with ashes or spend time in the stocks. In later centuries, expulsion was more common. Until the late 19th century, shunning was widely practiced by American evangelicals, including Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists. Today, excommunication rarely occurs in the U.S. Catholic Church, and shunning is largely unheard of among mainline Protestants.

Little Consensus

Among churches that practice discipline, there is little consensus on how sinners should be dealt with, says Gregory Wills, a theologian at Southern Baptist Theological seminary. Some pastors remove members on their own, while other churches require agreement among deacons or a majority vote from the congregation.

Since Mrs. Caskey's second arrest last July, the turmoil at Allen Baptist has fizzled into an awkward stalemate. Allen Baptist is an independent congregation, unaffiliated with a church hierarchy that might review the ouster. Supporters have urged Mrs. Caskey to sue to have her membership restored, but she says the matter should be settled in the church. Mr. Burrick no longer calls the police when Mrs. Caskey shows up for Sunday services.

Since November, Mrs. Caskey has been attending a Baptist church near her winter home in Tavares, Fla. She plans to go back to Allen Baptist when she returns to Michigan this spring.

"I don't intend to abandon that church," Mrs. Caskey says. "I feel like I have every right to be there."

Vulnerable James Packer Was A Perfect Scientology Recruit

2008-01-18T03:54:00.000-08:00

Sad, overweight and jilted by his then wife Jodi Meares, James Packer was the "perfect recruit" when actor Tom Cruise set off on a carefully targeted crusade in mid-2002, aimed at converting wealthy and influential celebrities to scientology.

The claim is made in a blockbuster new biography of Cruise by British author Andrew Morton, who describes the then 35-year-old Mr Packer as the "raw meat" Scientology needed to gain recognition and credibility.

"Not only was he (Mr Packer) wildly wealthy and emotionally confused, he was a well-known figure in a country that has been hostile to the faith, a 1965 (Australian) Government report accusing scientology of being 'evil'," Morton writes in Tom Cruise: An Unauthorised Biography.

"Dominated by his larger-than-life father (the late Kerry Packer), James Packer cut a sorry figure, overweight and out of shape.

"Not only had his One.Tel communications business collapsed, but his wife of just two years had walked out on him.

"His 'ruin' was obvious to anyone - and it did not take long before he was reading Scientology literature."

Morton says Mr Packer was specifically targeted by Cruise, who by mid-2002 had resolved to dedicate his life to Scientology.

He suggests Cruise offered Mr Packer a role as a samurai extra in the film The Last Samurai solely to convert him.

Mr Packer was quickly seduced, saying later he admired Cruise for his humility, values and decency.

Morton claims actor Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett, were similarly targeted by Cruise because of their stature in African-American society.

Cruz relationship 'calculated'

Even Cruise's love interest with actor Penelope Cruz was calculated to boost scientology in Spanish-speaking countries, he says.

"He (Cruise) was not only an advocate but a teacher, donor, a preacher and a recruiting sergeant, using his celebrity and his image as a clean-cut action hero to gain access to the levers of power while making Scientology seem like a middle-of-the-road institution for regular folk," Morton writes.

Australian customers who wish to read all of this for themselves, may have trouble buying a copy, after US publisher St Martin's Press reportedly instructed its distributors not to sell it outside North America.

It was still available last night on the internet.

Amazon.com had a notice saying the publisher had authorised distribution of the book only to US and Canadian customers.

However, The Australian had no trouble ordering a copy using an Australian credit card and an Australian mailing address.

Book sellers scrambling for copies

Angus & Robertson book manager Jodi Smith said the company received an email yesterday from its US wholesaler, Baker & Taylor - one of the main suppliers of books to the Australian market - stating it could no longer provide the book to Australian customers because of restrictions placed on it by St Martin's.

"We had every intention of ordering the book," Ms Smith said. "But everyone we know has been unable to supply it to us.

"We physically can't get the book from anyone."

Another big US distributor, Ingram International, also emailed its Australian customers overnight, informing them it was no longer able to sell the book outside the US and Canada.

It said customers who had already placed orders would have them fulfilled, but no more orders would be taken.

Kinokuniya's Sydney store manager Steve Jones yesterday said the bookseller had found another distributor who was willing to sell to Australia.

"We have actually sourced another supplier of the book - although it may take a little longer," he said.

What Your Kiss Can Do To A Woman

2007-12-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Your first kiss will determine if you get an invitation or a handshake. When it comes to kissing, you have to approach it with the right attitude. It is an experience to be enjoyed in and of itself, not just a stepping-stone to sex. Yes, of course we want it to lead to the bedroom and if done correctly, it probably will, but you need to experience and really enjoy the act of kissing. A woman will feel your kiss with great sensitivity and she will know if it is sincere or not. And if you really kiss with purpose, you'll enjoy it and thereby also be good at it.

Kissing not only involves the lips, but the whole body and mind, and, if you do it right, the soul. First know how to enjoy kissing before you can expect a woman to enjoy kissing you. Kissing is a process, not an act.

The way to enjoy kissing is to be sensitive to the closeness and touching of lips and tongues. Focus on your lips and hers. Enjoy the sensation. Let your mind wander with what you are feeling. Women are touchy-feely and it's all about emotions and heady stuff like that and most of us guys don't really understand and really don't want to, but we have to deal with it. And, again, if you go with the flow and catch the feeling, so to speak, you might find yourself on a new plane of pleasure. Kissing is a wonderful experience if you let it be. I'm reminded of a time when a kiss created the setting for a night of bliss that illustrates one of those wonderful kissing experiences.

I was visiting my parents at my boyhood home in Italy on the Mediterranean coast some years ago, the time not being of importance. After hooking up with old time friends and hitting the social scene, it was not long before my eyes met those of a fair young lady. We hit it right off after a brief introductory chat and from there the night flowed like wine at an Italian wedding.

As the night turned into the wee hours of the morning, we strolled as lovers would in an old time movie through the city square. As she twirled in front of me, arms outstretched and hair flowing so beautifully, I gently stepped closer. Seeing the impassioned look on my face, she slowly glided around and leaned into my arms. I pulled her close to me, looked into her eyes, and whispered a sweet compliment. She smiled and I kissed her. The kind of kiss that brought out all her passions and erased her inhibitions. It was a night that she will always remember as I do. I remember all my moments with women, even though there have been hundreds of them.

The beginning to a great night with a beautiful woman can end with a handshake if she does not like the way you kiss. If you want her to spread her legs, you first have to know how to spread her lips.

Will Smith, I Am The Legend

2007-12-27T19:22:00.000-08:00

Today's lesson: how to film a movie about the end of the world in the busiest city in the world. First, stop the traffic.

One Saturday morning last year, director Francis Lawrence stood in the middle of Sixth Avenue in New York. A voice crackled over his walkie-talkie: "Locking up 42nd Street down to 34th."

At each intersection of one-way Sixth Avenue, police stopped the cross traffic, as well as the vehicles heading north at 34th Street. Production assistants ushered bystanders back into doorways and off the corners, so that within the viewing range of the camera, the stretch was empty. The first day of shooting the film of I Am Legend had begun.

"Just standing there and looking on a Saturday morning down Sixth Avenue and it's completely empty and it's because they're letting us film our movie, and it's cool," Lawrence says. "It's not a power thing, it's just, 'Man, I'm lucky being able to experience these sorts of things.'"

I Am Legend is about the end of the world as we know it, a place swept clean of humanity by a lethal virus that began life as a cure for cancer, shepherded into existence by, among others, military scientist Robert Neville, played by Will Smith. The film is loosely based on the 1954 novel of the same name, written by Richard Matheson.

The virus spares Neville, whose wife and daughter die in the frenzied evacuation of Manhattan, but transforms countless others - human and animal - into zombies with aggressively anti-social dispositions, the usual netherworld aversion to daylight and extraordinary strength and agility.

Smith, Lawrence and Oscar-winning scriptwriter Akiva Goldsman went to considerable lengths to explore the mindset of a man totally alone: I Am Legend begins with Neville three years into his solitary existence.

The questions the film provokes, not least of them being the recent American fascination with apocalyptic scenarios - two such books, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The World Without Us by Alan Weisman, became best-sellers - have forced Smith to ponder the difference between the man he is and the guys he plays on screen.

"Ali didn't step forward [after being conscripted into the US Army] because they wouldn't call him Muhammad Ali, and he knew he was going to jail, knew what the situation would be, but he could not," Smith says. "He wouldn't step forward. I just remember thinking, 'What would I do?' I don't know if I would be enough of a man to give up everything I have right now, the way Ali did for that principle.

"When I look at Robert Neville: what was there to live for, what was there to hope for? To wake up every day and to try to restore something that is good and gone. I like to believe I would put my chest up and stand forward and march on [loud, inspiring voice] and continue to fight for the future of humanity. But I would probably find a bridge - 'I'm comin' to join ya, Elizabeth [Neville's wife].'

"It's a tough question. I don't know. I don't think so. There's a part of me ... you want to be tested to know what you would do but you really don't want to be tested. That's the space I've lived in with quite a few of the roles I've played."

Part of the film is carried by Smith's elan and buff presence. He dropped eight kilograms for the role, illuminated in a single shirtless scene where he does a series of chin-ups, to many sighs from both genders in preview screenings.

In many ways, his part is a reprise of the everyman roles of other movies he has starred in, from Enemy of the State to Men In Black, Hitch and The Pursuit of Happyness. In this case, it's an everyday guy, trying to get by after life as we know it has ceased.

"He's attracted to those roles," Lawrence says. "If you can set aside the fact that he's a superstar, he's kind of an everyguy, oddly enough.

His sensibilities are that way.

"He's better than anyone I know at being just like a member of the general audience, which is partially why he's so successful, because he can sit back and imagine being a 16-year-old kid in the theatre and knows what he wants to see, what he wants to feel.''

In person Smith is tall and fit-looking, with the build of the runner who averages 50km a week, as he does. If anything, that physique yields to his personality, with a loud guffaw of a laugh and a charming and intimate manner - a big salesman for larger-than-life movies about the unexpected travails of an everyday guy. The press were in the palms of his inordinately large hands.

As executive producer and star, Smith had significant say in most aspects of the production of I Am Legend, not least of them casting, with his seven-year-old daughter, Willow, playing his screen daughter, Marley. Willow's older brother, Jaden, nine, appeared as his father's screen son in last year's hit The Pursuit of Happyness.

"Jaden is Johnny Depp," his father says. "He just wants to do good work. He doesn't care what money he gets, he doesn't care [how] many people see it or don't see it. He loves acting. He just wants to make good movies. And Willow is Paris Hilton [laughing]. Willow wants to be on TV [louder laughing]. We're managing both of those in our household."

Other than the challenge of emptying New York, Lawrence had to deal with the challenge of a one-man show, where that one man has no one to talk to but his dog.

Inspiration arrived by accident.

As Lawrence's wife fed their newborn son one evening, he watched a DVD with the sound muted. The movie was The Piano and Lawrence found that even without dialogue he could pick up every nuance of Jane Campion's unlikely, beautiful love story.

"My wife and I were struck at how we could follow it and not just follow, but feel it," Lawrence says.

"I got very excited and I said to the guys [Smith and Goldsman], 'This is what we have to do. We have to apply that thinking to this movie because there's really no dialogue, so whatever we do we have to treat it like a silent film, so not only can you follow it, but you have to be able to feel it without sound.'"

Amy Winehouse Arrested For Interfering With Course Of Justice

2007-12-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

Troubled British soul singer Amy Winehouse was arrested today as part of an investigation into perverting the course of justice, London police and her publicist said.

The 24-year-old, whose husband Blake Fielder-Civil is being held on remand accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, went to a London police station to be arrested in agreement with police.

"It was voluntary and pre-arranged," a representative at her publicity agency said, asking not to be quoted by name.

London's Metropolitan police said: "A 24-year-old woman has been arrested by appointment at an East London police station in connection with an investigation into perverting the course of justice. She remains in custody."

Winehouse, nominated for six Grammy awards, has struggled with drugs and alcohol since shooting to fame. She was pictured this month wandering the streets of London at dawn in only a bra and jeans.

The tattooed singer has cancelled all her remaining planned concerts this year saying she cannot perform while her husband is in jail.

Fielder-Civil, 25, was charged in November in an investigation into perverting the course of justice, days before he was due to go on trial for beating up a bartender.

The trial was delayed after police launched an investigation into allegations made by British newspaper The Daily Mirror that the bartender was offered money not to testify.

Winehouse's parents have made repeated calls for their daughter to seek help, fearing that she could be sucked into a cycle of drugs and trauma.

"We want to help you, but we know that unless you want to be helped, unless you come to us, anything we tried would be in vain," her mother, Janis Winehouse, wrote in a letter published by the News of the World newspaper last week.

"Early fame has overwhelmed you, it's dizzied you and muddled your mind."

Winehouse scored a hit last year with the song Rehab about refusing treatment for drugs and alcohol.

She and Fielder-Civil, who married earlier this year, were arrested in Norway in October for possessing cannabis and paid a fine.

Singer Bob Dylan Claimed Five Spirit Award Nominations

2007-11-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

I'm Not There, an artful look at the life of singer Bob Dylan, claimed a leading five Spirit Award nominations for independent movies, including best film as Hollywood launched its annual award season.

The movie, in which several actors represent different stages of the musician's life and work, also earned nominations for director Todd Haynes, supporting actress Cate Blanchett, who plays one version of Dylan, and supporting actor Marcus Carl Franklin, 14, who plays another.

I'm Not There also claimed the first Robert Altman Award, named after the iconoclastic director of MASH who long-championed independent movies before his death in 2006.

Director Julian Schnabel's drama, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, about a paralyzed French journalist who dictates a book by blinking, and Jason Reitman's comedy Juno, which tells of a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, earned four nominations each, including best movie and best director.

Also taking best film and director nods was Gus Van Sant's teenage skateboard drama, Paranoid Park. The final nomination among best films went to A Mighty Heart, about the search for slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

The final director nominee was Tamara Jenkins for drama The Savages, the story of two adult siblings who move their father to a nursing home. It earned four nominations overall.

'Talented filmmakers'

"We have a huge array of talented filmmakers with movies in many different genres. It has been an exciting year for independent film and this shows a deep pool of talent," said Dawn Hudson, executive director of Los Angeles-based group Film Independent, which gives out the Spirit Awards.

Film Independent supports moviemakers working outside Hollywood's major studios or within the studios' specialty film divisions. The awards have become an important barometer for which low-budget and art films might compete for Oscars, Golden Globes or other honors in Hollywood's annual awards season.

Angelina Jolie was nominated for best leading actress playing Pearl's wife in Mighty Heart and relative newcomer Ellen Page earned a nod for Juno. Joining them were Sienna Miller for Interview, Parker Posey in Broken English and another newcomer, China's Tang Wei, in drama Lust, Caution.

In the category for best leading actor, Don Cheadle was nominated for his role as a radio disc jockey in Talk To Me and Philip Seymour Hoffman earned a nomination playing one of the siblings in The Savages.

Other best actor nominees included veteran Frank Langella in Starting Out in the Evening, Tony Leung, a veteran of Hong Kong movies, for Lust, Caution and Pedro Castaneda portraying a migrant worker in August Evening.

Joining Blanchett for supporting actress were Jennifer Jason Leigh for Margot at the Wedding, Anna Kendrick in Rocket Science, Tamara Podemski for Four Sheets to the Wind and Marisa Tomei with Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

Supporting actor nominees with Franklin were Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn, Chiwetel Ejiofor for Talk to Me, Kene Holliday in Great World of Sound, and Irrfan Khan in The Namesake.

Foreign film nominees included Romania's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, winner of the Cannes film festival's Palme d'Or, Israeli film The Band's Visit, Irish drama Once and two French films, Lady Chatterley and the animated Persepolis.

The Spirit Awards will be given out February 23 in a ceremony that will air on the Independent Film Channel.

One On One With Zachary Quinto

2007-11-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

A year ago, you were just another jobless Hollywood actor. Now you're starring on Heroes and playing Spock. Are you sure you're not dreaming all this?
It's all very dreamlike, though Trek is feeling less so as it draws nearer. We're getting ready to shoot in a month, and I just had my first fitting for my Vulcan ears. It felt incredible, and in that moment there was a huge shift for me. Suddenly it was real, and I was like, "Okay! Let's get this thing going!"

In a wild twist on Heroes, your serial-killer character, Sylar, has lost his powers. Will this help humanise the monster?
Not really. Sylar's plans for ultimate power have been derailed, but that doesn't give us a chance to know him better. If anything, he's the same guy but even more driven and obsessed and in a place of absolute hunger: "I want my power back. No time to waste!" During this struggle, he'll align himself with the twins, Maya [Dania Ramirez] and Alejandro [Shalim Ortiz], and they'll go on a journey to New York to find Mohinder [Sendhil Ramamurthy].

Do some fans root for you to slay as many heroes as possible?
Oh, yeah! There's a group that calls itself the Sarmy or Sylar's Army that's dedicated to the support of my character, and they don't like it when he's disparaged. Their slogan is "Every villain needs a legion of evil supporters." But what's funny is they do great charity work. It's never bad to have an army.

Is it true you were ready to drop out of showbiz when Heroes came along?
I was in the depths of despair to the point where I couldn't get out of bed. I was about to turn 30, which is a notoriously tumultuous time for people, and I was dealing with career obstacles that were profound - a real existential crisis. I was asking myself, "What's the point of all this? Why am I even in the game anymore?"

But you'd already had a few cool roles by that time Tori Spelling's gay friend on So NoTORIous and Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) analyst Adam Kaufman on Season 3 of 24. Weren't you encouraged by that?
So NoTORIous was great fun but had no far-reaching appeal. 24 did have that, but I was an information disseminator who was very expendable on a show that doesn't have a lot of character depth. Until Heroes happened, I'd never played an amazing character on a really great show that a lot of people watched.

Let's get back to Spock. It's almost like you manifested this role. Was this (self-help philosophy) The Secret at work?
From the day I found out they were making the Star Trek movie, I said, "I want to be Spock" and I started talking about it to everybody - to my friends, my agents, reporters who interviewed me. I put my intentions out there clearly and the universe responded. But this is age-old thinking rooted in Eastern philosophy and spirituality. I've never read The Secret.

Some Trek loyalists are already griping online that the film, about Starfleet Academy, is starting to look like Star Trek, 90210. Response?
I don't immerse myself in the internet chatter because it opens you up to a whole source of danger. I think Zoe Saldana [young Uhura] and Anton Yelchin [young Chekov] are formidable young actors, and I'm grateful to be among them. The film is being made with the long-time fans in mind, but it will also be of its own time and have a distinct voice and perspective. There's no better way to respect the Trek mythology than to try to bring it to a wider audience.

Al Gore Says Global Television Community Saved The Planet

2007-11-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

Former US vice-president Al Gore urged the global television community to help get the word out about the climate crisis before it is too late as he accepted a special honour at the 35th International Emmy Awards.

British TV productions dominated the awards ceremony, winning seven of the nine categories, with BBC One's The Street enjoying wins for drama series and best actor.

Actor-director Robert De Niro introduced Mr Gore at the awards gala as this year's recipient of the International Emmy Founders Award for his efforts to promote "our common humanity".

De Niro wryly noted in his introduction that Mr Gore had "devoted his life to public service" and continued to do so "after he was elected President in 2000 and voted out of office by the Supreme Court".

"He has used his prominence as a concerned world leader to wield enormous influence," De Niro said. "When you see an international figure or head of state coming out in support of the fight against global warming look closely, you may see Al Gore behind him, pushing him."

Mr Gore had a special message for the audience of television executives, producers and performers from around the world who gathered in the grand ballroom of the Hilton New York Hotel for the awards ceremony presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

"The climate crisis is by far the most serious challenge human civilisation has ever faced," said Gore, who has already won an Oscar for his global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth and will be travelling to Oslo, Norway, next month to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. "We really do now confront a true planetary emergency.

"We still have time to fix it. But this great powerful medium of television can be part of that solution because networks and channels all around the world represented here can help to get the word out while there is time."

Mr Gore was also honoured for his role as co-chairman and co-founder of the interactive Current TV cable and satellite network, which relies heavily on viewer-created short video segments.

"I think the future of democracy in our world depends to a surprising degree on democratising television," said Mr Gore.

"Current TV was designed from the start to connect the internet and television."

Britain had led all countries with eight nominations. Brazil had seven nominations, but was shut out on awards night. The International Emmys honour excellence in TV production outside the United States.

The only non-British winners were Poland's The Magic Tree for children's programme; the Netherlands' Pierre Bokma, for his role as a religious software entrepreneur in The Chosen One, for which he tied with Jim Broadbent of The Street for best actor; and French actress Muriel Robin, who won as best actress for her role as an infamous "black widow" serial killer in the true-life drama Marie Besnard - The Poisoner.

Robin said she was "so superstitious" that she thought it would be bad luck to prepare a winner's speech, so she wrote "a loser's speech" instead.

"From the bottom of my heart to you just simple words: emotional - a lot, happy - very, proud - yes, tears - not now, later in my bed. I dreamed so much of this moment."

But otherwise the awards ceremony was an all-British affair with BBC productions leading the way with six Emmys.

Each episode of The Street focuses on the residents of a different house on the same street in a city in northern England.

Broadbent, who missed the presentations, was honoured for his role as an embittered warehouse foreman approaching retirement.

"Really this award goes to the creator of The Street, Jimmy McGovern, whose characters have to face the inconvenient truth of their lives with honesty," said the show's executive producer, Sita Williams, in accepting the best drama series Emmy.

British comedian Stephen Fry took home the Emmy for best documentary for Stephen Fry - The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive about his own and other people's experiences living with bipolar disorder.

"This documentary was very important to me ... Manic depression is a pandemic chronic condition," said Fry. "We need to understand much more about it and most of all we need to address the urgent problem of the stigma."

Other British winners included Little Britain Abroad in the comedy category; How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? a competition to cast the role of Maria in a London production of The Sound of Music, for non-scripted entertainment, and Simon Schama's Power of Art: Bernini, about the 17th-century Roman sculptor, for arts programming.

"I wanted to prove that art actually isn't some sort of cultural luxury, it's our food and drink, it's our necessity," said Schama. "Art is a war against dreck. It actually shows us what our best we can do."

Of the British wins, the only non-BBC winner was in the TV movie/mini-series category - the More4 satellite channel's controversial docudrama Death of a President, which begins with the fictional assassination of George W. Bush.

Its producer-writer Simon Finch said the film wasn't meant to be "a liberal fantasy" or "anti-Bush".

"It was meant to be a film which was trying to say that there was something about the age of fear in which we live, about the danger of rushing to judgment," said Finch.

French actress Carole Bouquet presented the International Emmy Directorate Award to Patrick Le Lay, chairman of the TF1 Group, for his role in expanding the French network into one of the largest in Europe.

Le Lay said the television industry should not be thought of as an "old business" because TV programming is much in demand by the new technology from internet access providers to mobile phone companies.

National Broadcasting of Thailand won the special International Children's Day of Broadcasting Award, which this year dealt with the theme of Aids.

The event, hosted by Roger Bart, currently starring in the Broadway musical Young Frankenstein, featured several US television celebrity presenters, including Sam Waterston (Law & Order), Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos), Rob Morrow (Numb3rs) and George Wendt (Cheers).

The academy is the largest organisation of global broadcasters with more than 500 members from nearly 70 countries and more than 400 companies.

Ryan Phillipe Became Suicidal After Divorce

2007-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Ryan Phillippe has revealed he contemplated suicide following his split from ex-wife Reese Witherspoon.

The actor - whose divorce from the actress was finalised last month - considered taking his own life because he couldn't stop crying and vomiting.

He said: "After the divorce, I was a physical wreck. I wanted to die. I was ready to kill myself. I was not taking care of myself at all. I would wake up and cry and vomit."

Luckily, Ryan - who shares custody of the couple's children, eight-year-old Ava and four-year-old Deacon, with Reese - pulled through and believes the experience has made him a better actor.

He added to Man About Town magazine: "Now, it's f***ing easy to cry on cue. When I was younger, I didn't have enough to cry about. But since I've had kids, I feel my work has become better, because my life is fuller and more complicated, and I've experienced so many highs and lows."

Ryan recently revealed how his children helped him get through the divorce.

He said: "I know it sounds pathetic - I'm a 33-year-old guy but my daughter is getting me through the toughest time in my life, and that's beautiful.

"Deacon's fun, every day he says something that makes me laugh, warms my heart. It ain't easy. It's devastating but the bottom line is I have to focus on the children, and they're doing amazingly well and that's really all that matters."

Globalisation - Making China More Westernised

2007-11-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Lijia Zhang

'Scored yet?' That was the first question from several young adventurers crowded around a table at a bar in Lhasa, Tibet's colourful capital city. Between sips of yak butter tea, they trade jokes and swap tales about their latest sexual encounters. These twentysomethings on leave from city jobs could have been from anywhere in the world looking for spiritual enlightenment, romantic encounters, or both. But they were all from China, where such conversations and attitudes would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

'Why not?' said Sandy Li, a 28-year-old fashion designer from Beijing, lighting a cigarette from a candle and confessing that she took the trip to meet someone with no strings attached. 'Just for a bit of harmless fun. We don't have to behave ourselves here; we don't know anyone. Finding a proper boyfriend is a lot harder than finding a man you can go to bed with.'

Li's attitude is typical of many of the young urban middle class, whose slogan could well be carpe diem or rather carpe noctem. Apart from Lhasa, another popular pick-up place is Lijiang, in Yunnan province.

Of course, people don't have to travel to far-flung places for casual sex. Your own flat would do. Less than 20 years ago, singles had little choice but to stay with their parents. Now cohabitation, like sex before marriage, is commonplace.

Before a split six months ago, Li lived with her photographer boyfriend for three years but had never introduced him to her family. 'For my parents, bringing a boyfriend home means impending marriage. I am still young. I'd like to make a splash in my career first, and explore what life can offer.'

'The singles are not talking about marriages, and lovers aren't talking about the future,' goes one popular saying among colleague students. And a joke describes the pattern of 'one-week' relationships: 'On Monday, you send out vibes. Tuesday, you express true desire. Wednesday, you hold hands. Thursday, you sleep together. Friday, a feeling of distance sets in. Saturday, you want out. On Sunday, you start searching again.'

Youngsters' unwillingness to settle down is causing great anxiety to the older generation. In Zhongshan Park, a stone's throw from the Forbidden City in Beijing, dozens of parents, armed with photographs and information about their children, gather and search for potential partners. Some even go 'eight-minute speed dating' on behalf of children who themselves will be chatting and flirting on the internet.

'Today's young people are probably more sexually charged than their parents' generation,' said Susie Huang, author of All About Susie, a collection of essays about the love and sex lives of today's burgeoning bourgeois. It's China's literary version of Sex and the City. 'To start with, it's now safe to be naughty,' she said. 'Before you might have landed in a labour camp for conducting an extramarital affair.'

But is it safe? A more tolerant social environment has led many to experiment in uncharted waters, with mixed results. Divorce rates are climbing steadily in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where one in three marriages ends in failure. Syphilis has skyrocketed, with a 25-fold increase since the early 1990s. And extra-marital affairs are now common.

Maybe Muzi Mei, a former sex blogger, is an extreme example of today's restless and hedonistic crowds. Her site used to attract 10 million visitors a day before it was shut down by the government in 2003. Officials objected to her online diary, which explicitly detailed her exploits. She was forced to resign from her Guangzhou-based magazine as a sex columnist and now works for a website, but still continues her man-hopping ways.

'My sex life is very interesting. Some may find it educational as well as entertaining,' said the 29-year-old journalist over a bowl of steaming soup in a Beijing restaurant. 'I sleep with lots of men because I don't want to be imprisoned in one relationship,' she declared to the giggles of eavesdropping waitresses. 'I am a free spirit.'

She is also a romantic. In her magazine she offered tips on creating the right environment on a date and suggested playing your favourite music while making love. There are books available too, offering step-by-step guides to dating, from basic advice such as not spitting to sending flowers on Valentine's Day. Kissing, something the Chinese people once saw only in foreign films, is now part of the landscape.

A recent cover story in the national News Weekly concluded that 'China's love life is in a stage of revelry, featuring the emphasis on sex rather than love; on physical pleasure rather than spiritual fulfilment'.

Susie Huang thinks she knows why: 'It is a globalisation of some sort: China is becoming more westernised. And, in some ways, more human.'

China's Sexual Revolution Awakens Its Sleeping Libido

2007-11-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

Vanessa Richmond
The tanks are parked. Kids are kissing in Tiananmen Square. And if a new documentary is right, it's the kissing that's leading to more personal liberty than any form of rebellion since the Cultural Revolution began.

According to China's Sexual Revolution, by Miro Cernetig and Josh Freed, Chairman Mao married sexuality with capitalism (as forms of corruption and decadence). But now Chinese youth are embracing both with a passion. At warp speed, in fact. There are probably people necking in front of his statue right now, and that's just for starters.

Here's what happened. Sixty years ago, Mao turned "couples into comrades and not lovers, and cloaked men and women in the same unisexual suits," according to the film's narrator. Makeup was forbidden, and hairstyles were dictated by the government (they were not what you would call flattering). Men and women were supposed to feel only like brothers and sisters, and were supposed to regard sex merely as reproductive labour. Instead, they were supposed to get on with more important work. Um, like making cheap plastic sex toys for the rest of the world (70 per cent of which now come from China).

Why? The communist party regarded sex as an outdated feudal custom. And as Dr. Pan Sue Ming, a scholar featured in the doc says, they considered it dangerous since the Revolution needed "a man to want to fight against someone, but sex makes you love and happy." The party even chose people's spouses. And there were propaganda films portraying people who believed in "romance" as foolish, and a source of shame to their families.

Virgin lust

The film reports that secretly, Mao's own sex life was "worthy of an emperor." He, in fact, had a lust for virgins, whom he believed kept him young. "And his sexual excesses are now legend." But he didn't want his comrades comingling.

As a result there are many Chinese people with as much sexual knowledge as I have of the Mandarin language (I know two words). In fact, a recent survey found that 20 per cent of Chinese men didn't know what the clitoris is and 50 per cent of Chinese women had never had an orgasm. Sounds super.

One male student from Beijing recently called in to Whispers, a radio sex show (which is now one of the most popular shows in the nation) with a question. He wondered if he could have made a girl pregnant or got AIDS himself from their encounter. The incident in question was one where he and a girl kissed and hugged (and that's all) while wearing winter coats.

In the past, the government would have cracked down not only on the naughty public kiss but also on the radio show, but now, realizing whole generations lack adequate sexual information and it's leading to restlessness and resentment of the government, they tolerate it. The government has even come to tolerate sex conferences, complete with sex toy sales and video demonstrations, often flooded by as many as 15,000 people; whereas they used to shut them down. And Beijing alone has 5,000 sex shops, more than New York -- all of which are allowed to dispense free sex ed and sell lingerie and sex toys -- without bother.

It seems sex ed really is needed -- the film has other anecdotes about the level of sexual information out there. One couple, recently married, went to a health information centre to ask about "marital relations." The counselors soon realized they were both virgins. The couple thought sex entailed touching legs in bed. When I spoke to him, Cernetig said when he heard these two stories, he was shocked. But he's since heard countless more.

Raunch meets Revolution

Now, I've asked a few male friends about this. All said no one specifically told them the details about the birds and the bees, but they were pretty sure that a certain part of their anatomy was meant to make contact with something else -- anything else, in fact. And the idea that leg-touching could be "it" seemed, to them, hard to buy. But as a woman, who grew up before so-called third wave feminism made pole dancing and lingerie-in-high-school the norm (have you seen Gossip Girl?), I can see that with sexual repression 100 times stronger than what I experienced, that kind of deep ignorance is not only possible but likely.

Young people in the film are aware they're under a cloak of darkness and are moving into the cities in droves in order to shed it. The phrase "Sex and the City" comes up frequently, albeit in interesting translations. There's even a word for the first city haircut a country girl gets -- and it represents a kind of metamorphosis. And on the documentary, one such country-bumpkin-transformation says she's now working as a waitress, and gets shocked when she sees men and women kissing in the restaurant -- she sticks out her tongue. But she sticks around.

Another, Xiao Feng, the editor of the Chinese equivalent of FHM is in her 30s and still not interested in getting married. "Once, I would have had a husband and love him and do everything for him. But now we can do things just for ourselves." She says this would have been unheard of even a few years ago, and her parents still aren't pleased. But she'll continue the way she is. And many other women are leaving party-arranged, loveless marriages to pursue the city life too, creating an urban divorce rate comparable to ours.

Feng, and many other "city girls" are glamorous. But most women in the doc aren't. In fact, one of the most striking things about the documentary is the images of women not subject to "beauty" obsession present elsewhere, like here.

I covered the Miss China World pageant for a magazine a few years ago, and let's just say most women in the film don't look like they just stepped off that stage. It threw me for a minute, to see women not so elaborately commercially groomed, and it was also a relief. There was a kind of innocence -- meaning un-self-consciousness -- that I definitely don't experience here. And unlike when I watch "normal" TV, I wasn't constantly measuring myself against the women in the shows. Instead, I was just drawn in to what they were saying.

It's the feminist irony. On the one hand, I wanted them to find liberation and their dreams. On the other, I wanted to warn them against looking for it in a lip gloss.

Dancing without the stars

In fact, the most charming thing about the doc is the images -- shots of ordinary people and of places like night clubs. In the last clubs I went to, in Vancouver, New York and even London, most people looked bored and jaded (maybe nightclubs have "ended" but that's another story). Not so in Beijing. The club-goers look like they've been locked away until this very minute and have just seen color, warmth, music, booze, drugs and the opposite sex for the first time. There's joy on their faces and in their uninhibited dancing. It's worth watching this film just to see the wholehearted enjoyment.

But it's not all rosy -- and unlike most docs that focus on sexy topics, this one delves into the complex sociological implications of the trends.

The one child policy was meant to curb overpopulation, and on the good side (depending on whom you ask) had the unintended consequence of liberating women to pursue other things like education and paid employment. But solving the population problem created social problems -- given the culture's strong preference for boys, there will be 30 million more men than women within the decade.

Cernetig says for him, it was the saddest part of the research. In the cities, there are whole armies of men who will never have a girlfriend or a wife. They've moved from the country to make a certain kind of life and won't ever have it. And a form of class-ism is building. Working class men in the film talk about how they know they will never get a wife because they don't own an apartment and they aren't at least 173 centimetres tall.

"There is already a rising sense of gang violence in China," he says, "and it's getting harder to control. And that's the reason. A lot of men have nothing to lose. They go to Beijing only to find they will never be a Beijinger."

And it's also given rise to a thriving, brand new sex trade, not unlike that of Thailand's bordellos -- to serve those men. Some scenes show "karaoke bars," shot with a secret camera, where a hundred women sit in a basement, waiting for a client/john to purchase their services for the evening. Cernetig says the dungeon-like grimness there is one of the things that shocked him most.

So what can we learn from watching a sped-up version of the 1960s North American revolution take place at warp speed? Cernetig says, "One is that the Chinese are more like us than you might think. And the other is that it's a very layered place and a lot of what you see about the great rise of China actually masks a lot of problems."

Sex A Taboo To A Muslim Girl

2007-11-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

Rosie Millard
There is no way that Selin Tamtekin could be described as even remotely low-life. Immaculate, groomed to perfection, she walks towards me on perfectly unscuffed heels, without a gleaming hair out of place or a single microfibre of dust on her pristine white shirt.

At 33 she looks after the private clients of a Mayfair contemporary art gallery, organising dinner parties for collectors and inhabiting a glittering world that thinks nothing of dropping £40,000 on a painting. Her father is Yuksel Tamtekin, one of Turkey's most revered consular-generals.

Yet she has caused outrage in Turkey after the British publication of her debut novel. The Turkish Diplomat's Daughter is a racy roman à clef, chronicling sexual affairs with a Bangladeshi landlord, a sailor and a Freddie Mercury-obsessed fantasist.

When Turkish newspapers got hold of the book, Tamtekin admitted her identity (it is written under the pseudonym Deniz Goran) and was so roundly pilloried that worried friends dubbed her "the female Salman Rushdie". Splashed on the front pages of at least four national newspapers, she was derided as a "high-class Mayfair prostitute" who was writing about her own thinly veiled sexual experiences. The media were astonished that not only a Turkish woman but one from the highest echelons of society had written so frankly about her sexuality.

A public witch-hunt went on to name and shame members of the Turkish elite whose sexual peccadil-loes were supposedly outlined by the novel. Tamtekin went into hiding for three weeks, horrified by the uproar.

Despite the title, she insists that the novel is not about her experiences.

"It's not an autobiography, although there are people and situations in it that have inspired me. In society, women are expected to play the game according to the rules. Well, I wanted to create a character who does as she pleases. It's not common for women in Turkey to be so overtly sexual," admits Tamtekin.

Although she concedes she has not received death threats, the examples of not only Rushdie, but also Theo van Gogh, the Dutch film-maker murdered for Submission, his transgressive film about women and sex in Islamic society, are a reminder that artistic expression as social critique is not easily accepted in some Muslim countries, even the secular ones.

Tamtekin is unbowed and is furious about the hypocrisy. "It's not as if no one has sex in Turkey. Of course women have sexually active lives, but they always make sure that no one hears about them. Women aren't able to stand out as individuals and talk openly about sex or fancying men," she says.

Turkey might pride itself on its secularity, but it seems as if the notion of a sexually active woman is as utterly taboo there as it is in far more fundamentalist Muslim countries. Tamtekin, who has a BA in history of art from University College London, is the first Turkish Muslim woman to publish a sexually explicit book. The reaction to what would seem pretty mainstream in Britain and the rest of Europe, where even such salacious series as Sex and the City have become accepted, shows how wide the gulf in attitudes still is between Turkey and its neighbours.

The process of Turkish accession to the European Union may well require a wholesale modernisation of the country's attitudes to women and freedom of expression. "There are no tele-vision programmes where people just chat about sex, for example," says Tamtekin. "Where I am from in Istan-bul, it's not that restrictive. I come from a secular, liberal background. But a high number of people living in Turkey regard virginity as crucial and would not contemplate the idea that their daughter might have sex before marriage."

As her book roundly attests, this morality is often utter hypocrisy; Tamtekin vividly describes a society where young women may well be sexually active but who are encouraged to visit a back-street doctor for a bit of "corrective" surgery before marriage.

She writes of a society where in remote rural areas incest is an unspoken but present horror and where, even among the middle classes, "sex, especially female sexuality and homo-sexuality, is still regarded as taboo - it's always done in a highly intricate manner behind closed doors".

From the subsequent furore, one can only surmise that many of her observations on Turkish society are spot on; even her father, the worldly wise diplomat, has stopped speaking to her since her book came out. "When a female Turkish author writes about sex in such a big way, that's a big issue," says Tamtekin sadly.

Given all the fuss, why did she go on with the publication of her novel in Turkish, which is now imminent? "Before signing the Turkish agreement I did have my doubts," she admits. "But if you have an idea and have created something, you have to take a stand and go all the way. I'm not insisting on imposing my own ideas, but everyone has a right to an opinion. I believe I have a right to publish this book in Turkey. And I will stand by my book."

She says that when writing it she just let her imagination wander. "I mean, why do people make such a big deal of it," she says. "We all have sex, everyone does. Sex is part of life and we should come to terms with it. From an early age, my father always taught me there was no taboo in art. And so I took him at his word."

Somehow I suspect that did not go down too well with the former consular-general. "Well, I sent him a letter reminding him that he always told me I was an artist with a great imagination. Of course, my mother asked me why I didn't write a novel all about flowers and birds."

Her novel is a lively gauntlet thrown down by a single woman championing casual sex. It encourages women to indulge in sex openly and freely and even dares to cast a sceptical look at marital fidelity. And it's not just about Turkey.

As she writes: "I never seem to understand why society considers sexually liberated women as such a big threat. Even in London, as a woman you need to play down your sexuality, otherwise people see you as some sort of a nuisance. I find it insane that there is still a majority out there who actually believe men . . . have a much higher sexual drive than women."

While The Turkish Diplomat's Daughter (Burning House, £10.99) may not be perfect literary fiction, the ideas that it suggests are quietly revolutionary. "I would like to be able to change opinion a bit," says Tamtekin. "I am not saying every woman should be leaping around, but they should have more freedom to do so if they wish to. And be open about it."

Hong Kong Sex Workers Attacking Foreign Businessmen

2007-11-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

Forty-four mostly foreign businessmen have reported being drugged and robbed by sex workers in a Hong Kong red-light district over the last three years, police said this week.

Police are continuing to investigate the possible poisoning deaths of two Americans at the Grand Hyatt hotel, also in the red-light Wan Chai district, over a week ago. Reports said the two men, identified only as Paul, 45, and Richard, 51, had been to a night club before returning to their room with two women.

The men's slumped bodies were discovered the next day by cleaning staff.

Police have yet to say what caused the men's deaths, although they have not ruled out that they were drugged. The Standard newspaper reported that a mixture of cocaine and heroin was found in their blood, but police have refused to comment, saying toxicology tests were continuing.

A Filipino women arrested shortly after the bodies were found has been released, but will appear in court on charges of violating her visa by moonlighting as a prostitute, a police spokesman said.

Police said Sunday that at least 44 men had reported incidents of drugging and robbery over the last three years in Wan Chai, where many nightclubs are easy places to meet Filipino, Indonesian and mainland Chinese prostitutes.

Some victims couldn't remember much and only made reports days or weeks after the event when they received their bank statements and found unexplained withdrawals from cash machines, a police spokeswoman said.

Other victims discovered cash and other valuables missing when they awoke in their hotel room, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Police were aware of the problem and of the possibility that some type of date-rape drug may have been used, she said.

She said police were giving crime prevention advice to bars and hotels in the area and working with the immigration department.

In one of the most high-profile cases, a senior Finnish policeman, Kari Juhani Koivuniemi, died of a heart attack in a luxury hotel after being given the drug Rohypnol in 2003. A woman thought to have been a mainland Chinese prostitute was suspected of giving him the drug, but she was never found.

Wan Chai was once one of Hong Kong's most notorious districts for sex and drugs, but has undergone a makeover in recent years. It remains a popular place for U.S. sailors, tourists and overseas businessmen.

Although prostitution is legal in Hong Kong, many of the women are either illegal immigrants from mainland China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, or moonlighting from their day jobs.

Trafficking Syndicates Use Fake Free Roundtrip Tickets To Lure Filipinas Into Prostitution

2007-11-15T12:11:00.000-08:00

Trafficking syndicates use fake roundtrip tickets and offer them as "free" to lure Filipinas they deploy for sex jobs in Singapore, the Philippine embassy in Singapore said last week.

In a recent statement, Consul General Maria Lumen Isleta said: "'Most of the human trafficking victims who run to the embassy for help hold dummy return tickets and ask for our assistance to be repatriated back to the Philippines."

Following a report earlier this week showed that a growing number of young Filipino women were being trafficked to Singapore for sexual exploitation. That report cited the cases of two women who were drawn in by the adventure of work abroad on the false promise of a high-paying decent job.

The increased incidence of trafficking of Asian women, including Filipinas, to Singapore has prompted the United States State Department to downgrade the city-state's rating from Tier 1 in 2006 to Tier 2 this year.

The embassy, in a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the Singapore government was already cracking down on trafficking syndicates victimizing women.

Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Fule-Anota said that in the past couple of months, Singapore authorities have arrested and jailed foreigners who knowingly presented fake return airline tickets to immigration authorities. She said that among them were 12 Filipinos, who were each given jail terms ranging from three to 10 months.

Anota said those arrested included several job seekers, pub girls who tried to extend their stay in Singapore, and even a Filipino information technology professional.

Isleta, who heads the embassy's consular section, observed: "Most of the women who were arrested by Singapore authorities for holding fake e-tickets were irregular hospitality workers who came to Singapore to work in pubs without any work permit. Most were caught while trying to re-enter Singapore at the border with Malaysia after their Singapore visas expired."

To entice prospective victims, Isleta said human traffickers and illegal recruiters would usually provide "free" roundtrip tickets (usually in the form of e-tickets). But, she cautioned, only one way was valid.

Isleta said this was a way for human traffickers to lower their cost and to demonstrate to their prospective victims that they were charging only a minimal recruitment fee while in the Philippines.

"To lower costs, human traffickers connive with travel agencies to issue dummy return tickets, usually from an airline different from the outbound one, to allow the trafficking victim to comply with the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) requirement of a roundtrip ticket for tourists," she said.

Possession of a roundtrip ticket is a requirement for Filipino tourists who travel abroad. It is checked at the port of exit in the Philippines, as well as the port of entry of the destination country.

"This modus operandi lowers the cost of trafficking people across borders as traffickers only need to advance the cost of the outbound flight," she added.

Gay Sex Party Busted In Kuala Lumpur

2007-11-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

Police in Malaysia, where sodomy is a crime, broke up a gay sex party and arrested 37 men, including a Briton and a Chinese national, a senior official said this week.

Police, acting on a public tip-off, raided a fitness center in northern Penang island Sunday while a sex party was in progress and arrested the 37 men, aged between 20 and 45, said local police chief Azam Abdul Hamid.

Apart from the two foreigners, all of the men are ethnic Chinese Malaysians including three who work at the center, he said.

Police found used condoms strewn all over the floor, seven tubes of lubrication jelly, 20 gay magazines, four pornographic VCDs and six boxes of new condoms, he said.

"Based on our information, the center was regularly used for these gay activities," Azam told The Associated Press. "This is against our culture, our way of life."

Investigations are ongoing but he said the operator of the premises could lose his business license if he is found to have abused it, and the men, who have been released, could be charged with committing unnatural sex acts.

Homosexuality is not specified as a crime in predominantly Muslim Malaysia but it is covered under a law prohibiting sodomy, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and whipping.

Azam said police are also surveilling other centers suspected to be involved in gay activities under an ongoing operation to check vice activities in Penang island, a major tourist centre.

Google Boss Larry Page And Lucinda Southworth Getting Married

2007-11-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

There are scores of eligible Google millionaires, but as of next month, both its famed billionaire founders appear to be taken.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, co-founder Larry Page will marry his girlfriend, Lucinda Southworth, at an undisclosed location during the weekend of December 8.

Guests have been advised to have their passports available to travel internationally, the newspaper said.

Earlier this month, Silicon Valley celebrity gossip site valleywag.com reported that the two would marry on Necker Island, the Caribbean hideaway owned by Virgin Group billionaire Richard Branson, on December 7.

Since 2003, Southworth has been a doctoral student in biomedical informatics at Stanford University. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001 and holds a master's of science from Oxford University.

Southworth did not respond to requests for comment. A Google spokesperson declined to confirm the engagement.

Page, 34, co-founded the now famed search company in 1998 with Stanford University classmate Sergey Brin.

Since the firm went public in 2004, its stock has skyrocketed to nearly $750 a share and it has become one of the world's most highly valued companies. Following a week of rocky trading, shares closed at $660.55, up 4.5 per cent.

Page and Brin were co-ranked at No. 5 this year in Forbes' 400 list of US billionaires. Each is estimated to have a net worth of $18.5 billion.

In May, Brin married his longtime girlfriend, Anne Wojcicki, on a sandbar in the Bahamas.

Justin Timberlake Gives Jessica Biel Same Kind Of Gift He Gave His Ex

2007-11-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Justin Timberlake has bought girlfriend Jessica Biel a customised surfboard, the same gift he gave ex Cameron Diaz.

The SexyBack singer, who bought Cameron a similar board from the same shop four years ago, is determined to teach Jessica how to ride the waves so he splashed out on a board and a years' supply of surfboard wax for her.

A source said: "He phoned Evolution Surf and ordered a longboard with a blue, yellow and gold design. He also put in an order for a year's supply of Sex Wax. He thought it'd be fun to surprise her with a board and a trip to Hawaii to teach her how to surf!"

Meanwhile, Justin is set to host his first PGA Tour golf event in Las Vegas.

The week-long competition, which is scheduled for October 2008, will be named the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

The singer will play in the celebrity pro-am competition and perform during the tournament.

Justin said: "I couldn't be more excited. We will make sure to make this event unique and memorable, and we will raise money for charity while participating in the greatest game ever played.

"Raising money to better children's lives while playing golf? I can't think of a better way to pass the time."

The star is following in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Sammy Davis Jr. by hosting a PGA Tour event.

Famous Magazine Features Celebrities Without Their Make-ups

2007-11-12T07:22:00.000-08:00

If you woke up feeling less than incredibly beautiful this morning, get your hands on a copy of this week's Famous. The magazine's "Celeb ugly days" cover story is guaranteed to make you feel like a stunner instantly.

When the mag says that it contains "the photos they [celebs] really didn't want you to see" it is actually telling the truth. The "52 shock pics!" include a parade of angry red pimples (Katie Holmes, Britney Spears, Victoria Beckham, Jessica Biel, Cameron Diaz) and a flotilla of fat, in the form of cellulite (the singer Beth Ditto, Heather Locklear and, again, Spears).

The scary pictorial spread features a number of other stars on the verge of looking like dropped meat pies, after being caught without their lippie and mascara. "Call the make-up artist," the magazine implores Jennifer Lopez, Cindy Crawford, Pamela Anderson and Calista Flockhart. Also chastised is Minnie Driver, who must be weeping into her Chanel foundation after being singled out for looking "more truck than driver".

Oh well, at least ugliness is a treatable condition (a coat of paint and anyone can look like a star), which is more than can be said for the other condition gripping celebsville this week.

It's called "carbophobia" and is characterised by a morbid fear of any food item containing carbohydrates. Just a trace of the evil stuff is known to cause intense hallucinations, in which sufferers imagine themselves tipping the scales at 200 kilograms, with their $400 designer jeans only big enough to serve as leg warmers.

A diet special in this week's NW magazine reveals carbophobia's latest victim, Kimberly Stewart (the daughter of Rod Stewart who is now famous in her own right for, err, we'll have to get to back to you on that one).

Discussing her daily food intake with the mag, Stewart reports typical paranoid carbophobia behaviour, such as scooping the soft bread out of bagels.

"Everyone in the US scoops out their bagels, so I do it when I come back to the UK, too. I always think, why do you need that extra bread?" Geez, I dunno. Maybe to stop you collapsing into unconsciousness because you're really, really hungry.

Tom Cruise may not be in danger of starvation but is busy readying himself for a battle of a different kind. According to all of the mags this week, Cruise is the subject of a new unauthorised biography set to hit the shelves in January. It is written by Andrew Morton, the bloke who lifted the lid on the British royal family with his now-infamous biography of Princess Diana. The revelations in the impending book, the mags say, have Cruise shaking in his boots.

The craziest of the bunch is that Katie Holmes, who is now his wife, had to "audition" to be his girlfriend, winning the "role" over other Hollywood starlets such as Jessica Alba Scarlett Johansson and Kate Bosworth. Maybe he had to send the audition tapes to his alien colleagues on, um, Mars or somewhere, for approval.

The book is also expected to reveal the couple's pre-nuptial agreement, which reportedly states that Holmes is entitled to $70 million after one year of marriage, with a further $10 million if she sticks it out for five years. If she suffers Cruise and his paranoia for "life" she gets $600 million. I don't know about the life part, but if Holmes gets sick of him, I'd be happy to fill in for a year or so. For $70 million I'll even fight the aliens with him.

The Real-Life Soap-Opera "Crazy Love" Now A Film

2007-11-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

Ruth La Ferla.

Fussing over a heap of shirts piled on an armchair in their living room, Linda Pugach turns on her husband and demands, "When are you going to hang up these clothes?"

"One of these days," Burt Pugach drawls, causing her to sigh with infinite exasperation.

"I go ballistic when I call Burt and he answers 'In a moment,"' Mrs Pugach says, adding sourly, "When I want something, he would jump, you would think."

"So go ahead and think," Burt Pugach says.

When they aren't swapping insults, shopping for clothes or sharing egg rolls at the local Chinese diner, Burt and Linda Pugach busy themselves reliving for visitors their famously and darkly convoluted love affair, one that began in the late 1950s and continues to evolve to this day.

It is a love-hate relationship, which is moodily tracked in Crazy Love, a documentary that opens in Australia on November 22. Crazy love is not a condition to be found in the medical journals, but the phrase aptly describes the arc of a romance that, off and on, has riveted the American public for decades.

In the early summer of 1959, Pugach, who was then 32, began to court Linda Riss, 21, a Bronx-reared dark-eyed beauty in the Liz Taylor mould. Burt, a lawyer who was also cock-proud of his small-time success as a filmmaker, wooed Riss with flowers and flights aboard his single-engine plane.

True, he was married, a matter of small consequence to him but naturally unsettling to Linda. Tiring of his promises to divorce his wife, she ended the affair and became engaged to someone else. Burt responded by hiring three men to throw lye (a solution of potassium hydroxide) in her face, leaving her disfigured and all but blind.

The crime and trial were tabloid sensations. But the Pugaches were merely at the end of Act 1. During 14 years in prison, Burt nursed a fanatical ardour for Linda, writing her love letters in a florid hand. Eight months after he was paroled in 1974, the couple renewed their courtship, and they were soon married. More headlines.

Today they live in a modest four-room apartment in Queens. Most striking about their relationship is not Linda's lingering resentment, not her husband's less-than-evident remorse, and not even their mutual dependence, but the marriage's frank descent into humdrumness.

In the film, the director, Dan Klores, examines Linda's increasing isolation. Once the media furore subsided, her fiance left her. Fearing she would be regarded as a freak, she rarely emerged from behind her dark glasses. "She's never seen herself as she is," Klores says. "To her, Burt sees her as she was. She's a hostage. And she's taken on his personality."

Klores goes on: "Those obsessive thoughts and actions that come about when we are hurt, when we love, that's what I thought at first this movie was about. But what I discovered it really is about is what we do not to be alone."

Earlier this month, Linda gave her husband a surprise 80th birthday party, inviting a clutch of the reporters who remain an intermittent presence in their lives. They hammed it up, Klores recalled, all this lovey-dovey cooing and kissing. Decades before the rise of reality television, the Pugaches were inviting camera crews to record their big moments. Burt proposed to Linda on television. Why the long-running fascination with this tale, a kind of seamy modern gothic?

"If you go to some high-class dinner party, I guarantee they all want to know about Pugach," says the columnist Jimmy Breslin, who wrote about the couple in 1997, and talks about them in the film.

At home recently, despite or perhaps because of the presence of a reporter and photographer, the Pugaches bicker steadily. Who is going to change the light bulbs? (She will.) Who will water the plants? (He will.) Should Linda continue to smoke? (She does, hiding ashtrays in her walk-in bedroom closet.)

They even argue about what precisely rekindled their relationship after Burt Pugach was paroled. "When I came out, Linda was stalking me," he says.

"He's not telling you why," Linda returns sharply. "It was because he spoiled me, sending me $100 a week. Then the cheques stopped coming."

Burt shrugs. "I didn't really have it," he says. "And I forgot."

These exchanges take place in a living room hung haphazardly with the oil landscapes Linda painted in the '70s, before she lost what remained of her sight. The room, with its two-tone shag rug, and a couple of wigs settled like lap dogs on the aubergine sofa, is a time capsule.

The focus on presenting a tasteful appearance has survived since the late '50s, when Linda took amphetamines to whittle her plump frame into a size six. She cultivated a dishy style, wearing capri pants, off-the shoulder sweaters, clingy sheath dresses and jawbreaker pearls, a sexier, albeit less regal version of who she is today. "From a style perspective she is very smart," Klores says. "The thing that I know about her is that she's a dame."

Her eyes, described in the film as a milky blue, are hidden beneath one or another of the dramatic dark glasses she collects by the dozen. She wears a champagne-tinted bouffant wig.

More a latter-day Estee Lauder than a Miss Havisham, Linda proudly displays her clothes closet, whose contents she and her husband sorted by colours, one rack for blacks, one for browns, another for whites and creams. "I colour co-ordinate out of necessity," she says. "I hate bothering Burt. He has no patience. I can't keep saying. What colour is this? I'm very independent. I don't like having to ask."

In the film Linda confides that after her attack she felt like damaged goods. She had wished him dead. But years later, a change of heart began. "I saw him on television; he never looked so good in his life," she recalls. She still had limited vision at that time. "He used to be a skinny malinky - like those men in the muscle building ads in the magazines. In the can he started to weight lift. His physique was improved. And he looked good on TV."

Loath to see Linda grow old, alone and blind, Margaret Powers, a New York City policewoman who had befriended her, arranged for the two to meet at Linda's apartment. Burt, who works as a paralegal in Queens, was terrified. "I thought someone was there waiting for me, to kill me," he recalled. A friend of Linda's had to spend 10 minutes showing me the apartment was empty."

Having reached a kind of wary truce with her past, Linda eventually agreed to marry the man who had maimed her. Why? "It's not that complicated," she says dryly. "Things get boring after a while. There was nothing terribly exciting in my life at the time."

Whether from choice or necessity, she remained loyal. During a widely publicised trial in 1997, in which Burt defended himself against charges that he had sexually abused another woman and threatened to kill her, Linda took the stand in his defence. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail. Linda says she regrets none of it.

"Does that sound cold?" she asks, adding after a pause, "When somebody asks 'What would I be doing if things were different? well, I would have had a slew of children already. I would probably have divorced already."

Russell Cowe Now Spiritual Is Getting Baptized.

2007-11-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

Australian actor Russell Crowe is planning to be baptized at the age of 43.

The Oscar-winning actor, whose bad-boy image has overshadowed any spiritual side, told Men's Journal magazine that he planned to be baptized in a Byzantine chapel that he had built on his country property in Australia for his wedding to Australian singer and actress Danielle Spencer in 2003.

He said both his sons, 3-year-old Charlie and 1-year-old Tennyson, were baptized there.

"I started thinking recently, if I believe it is important to baptize my kids why not me?" Crowe said in an interview in the magazine's December issue. "I'd like to do it this year.

"There is something much bigger that drives us all. I'm willing to take that leap of faith," he said.

Crowe, who is currently starring in American Gangster, said the chapel was the most extravagant thing he had ever bought for himself.

"I needed to convince Danielle she didn't have to travel to Rome to get married like she'd always dreamed of, because I saw all the paperwork involved. So I had to manage that disappointment," he said.

"It is consecrated and everything ... And we use it all the time."

Crowe has made newspaper headlines for his bad-boy behaviour including pleading guilty in 2005 to throwing a faulty telephone at a hotel concierge.

But is his reputation as a troublemaker unwarranted?

"Look, I call a spade a spade. I don't deny that," he said. "But my intention, for want of a better word, is a certain purity."

Indian Gay Sex Workers Confident They Cannot Contact HIV

2007-11-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

Shujaat plies his trade well. As dusk falls on the Pir Wadhai bus station in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, the slender 19-year-old gauges disembarking passengers for that 'look' - a responsive glance or wink suggesting a desire for more than just a quick bus ride home.

"Here you can find all sorts; mostly truckers, soldiers, day labourers, and of course married men," he said, leaning against the wall.

"I always find someone," the now veteran male sex worker (MSW) boasted.

After three years on the streets, Shujaat's confidence is dwarfed only by his ambivalence towards contracting HIV - a virus that he and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are increasingly at risk of.

"I'm careful and I'm clean, so what's the problem," he asked?

But for medical experts in Pakistan, a nation which until recently enjoyed a low prevalence for the virus, this line of thinking is worrying.

The South Asian nation of more than 160 million inhabitants now faces a concentrated epidemic among certain high risk groups - particularly intravenous drug users (IDUs), estimated at close to 200,000.

In the country's commercial capital of Karachi alone, a reported 30 percent of IDUs are infected with HIV

Pakistan's National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) officially confirms just over 3,000 HIV/AIDS cases across the country, while health experts assess the real numbers to be much higher.

According to UNAIDS, about 85,000 people are living with HIV in Pakistan today.

And while the issue of IDUs is often discussed in the media, the issue of MSM is usually ignored; a troubling reality in conservative Pakistan, where homosexuality is not only not discussed - it is often denied.

The male sex worker - a taboo subject

"It is very difficult to talk about sex and sexuality in Pakistan and more difficult to talk about homosexuality," said Dr Naeem-ud-Din Mian, chief executive officer for Contech International Health Consultants, a local NGO recently assigned a five-year project for the delivery of preventive services for MSM in the city of Faisalabad by the Punjab AIDS Control Programme and the World Bank.

Echoing that, Brian Miller, field coordinator for the Organisation for Social Development, a local NGO running an outreach programme near Pir Wadhai remarked: "People know about it, but it's a taboo subject as it's not in keeping with Pakistan's Islamic social setting."

As a result, open discussion about MSWs is all but impossible, despite the fact that most health experts in the country now view MSM, many of whom are married, as the singular most at-risk group after IDUs - and an important bridging population into mainstream heterosexual Pakistani society.

Government health figures reveal prevalence rates among IDUs of up to 27 percent, with around seven percent among MSM.

According to the Infection Control Society of Pakistan (ICSP), another NGO targeting the prevention of HIV/AIDS among MSWs in Karachi, around half of the MSWs in the city are married, while more than half of the unmarried MSWs buy sex from female sex workers - underscoring the group's capacity to act as a conduit to the virus's spread.

"They're the next risk group," Naseer Muhammad Nizamani, country director for Family Health International (FHI) in Islamabad - which is actively engaged in promoting safer sex practices among MSM and MSWs in the country - said about MSWs.

The US-based NGO estimates that there are some 50,000 MSWs in Pakistan, while others estimate their numbers are much higher.

ICSP says that in Karachi alone, there are between 40,000 and 50,000 male sex workers, depending on the criteria used.

The impact of poverty

Although many MSWs are gay, poverty, lack of job opportunities and broken homes appear to be the driving force behind this activity.

The majority of MSWs are below the age of 24 and began work at the age of 16, with many starting out under the guise of providing massage to men.

Today 'Malishias' - as they are commonly known - have become a common euphemism for sex in Pakistan, attracting their clients by massaging their private parts and masturbating.

"Massage boys are a traditional way of this happening. It's a big business in Pakistan," Nizamani said.

The average charge per sex act averages between just US$1 and $3. Pricing in turn largely dictates the number of clients a boy may be prepared to service on a given day.

According to an NACP survey carried out in eight separate cities, most MSWs average 2.3 customers a day or more than 31 a month. This is even higher among members of the 'Hijra' (transgender) community.

One Hijra, who had no other source of income, said she could easily service up to 20 men in a single day.

"There is no limit to the number of customers and no limit to the service," she told IRIN/PlusNews openly.

Insufficient services and low condom use

Despite such candour, however, there are limits to levels of awareness among MSWs, most of whom have no real understanding as to how the virus is contracted or simply fail to use condoms to protect themselves.

"People have heard of AIDS. But when you go deeper into what proportion actually know how the disease is contracted, that's something else," FHI's Nizamani said.

Although the NACP survey revealed that 70 percent of MSWs knew something about HIV and that a large majority of those who had heard about HIV also knew that it could be transmitted through sexual intercourse, less than half knew that injections could transmit HIV.

In Karachi, ICSP found that just 18 percent of MSWs in that city knew about HIV, its preventions and modes of transmission, while the NACP survey found that only about 60 percent reported condom use as an HIV prevention method - a fact largely dictated by money.

"I don't use a condom," 25-year-old Javed, who works in Rawalpindi, told IRIN/PlusNews. "They [the customers] complain that they don't feel the same amount of pleasure."

"If the customer wants to have sex without a condom and is willing to pay for it, how can I refuse," another MSW, who declined to give his name, asked?

Less than 25 percent of MSWs reportedly used a condom for anal sex with their last client, and even fewer used any form of lubrication aside from saliva.

According to Dr Kartar Lal of ICSP, 74 percent of MSM use saliva and oil in place of water-based lubricants, which facilitates the virus's spread.

"In-depth interviews of target groups revealed a significant proportion of these individuals are aware of the risks associated with unprotected sex, but are unable to negotiate safe sex practices with their partners," said Dr Rafiq Khanani, ICSP's president.

Male sex workers cite reasons of low self esteem, lack of empowerment and a genuine fear of losing the client to other sex workers willing to provide the service without a condom.

"It's very hard to speak openly about condom usage," Miller reiterated. "It's simply not done in a country like Pakistan."

He said the government had done little to publicly support the use of condoms or their distribution, given the strong religious opposition in the country.

According to UNAIDS, less than 10 percent of people most at risk of contracting HIV, such as MSM and drug users, receive preventative services.

Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses And Blood Transfusion

2007-11-05T06:42:00.000-08:00

Time and again Jehovah's Witnesses are on the spotlight on the issue of blood transfusion. But where does Christianity stand on the question of saving human life with blood?

Jesus was a man of integrity, which is why he is so highly regarded. He knew that the Creator said that taking in blood was wrong and that this law was binding. Hence, there is good reason to believe that Jesus would uphold the law about blood even if he was under pressure to do otherwise. Jesus "did no wrong, [and] no treachery was found on his lips." (1 Peter 2:22, Knox) He thus set a pattern for his followers, including a pattern of respect for life and blood. (We will later consider how Jesus' own blood is involved in this vital matter affecting your life.)

Note what happened when, years after Jesus' death, a question arose about whether someone becoming a Christian had to keep all of Israel's laws. This was discussed at a council of the Christian governing body, which included the apostles. Jesus' half brother James referred to writings containing the commands about blood stated to Noah and to the nation of Israel. Would such be binding on Christians?—Acts 15:1-21.

That council sent their decision to all congregations: Christians need not keep the code given to Moses, but it is "necessary" for them to "keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled [unbled meat] and from fornication." (Acts 15:22-29) The apostles were not presenting a mere ritual or dietary ordinance. The decree set out fundamental ethical norms, which early Christians complied with. About a decade later they acknowledged that they should still "keep themselves from what is sacrificed to idols as well as from blood . . . and from fornication."—Acts 21:25.

You know that millions of people attend churches. Most of them would probably agree that Christian ethics involve not giving worship to idols and not sharing in gross immorality. However, it is worth our noting that the apostles put avoiding blood on the same high moral level as avoiding those wrongs. Their decree concluded: "If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!"—Acts 15:29.

The apostolic decree was long understood as binding. Eusebius tells of a young woman near the end of the second century who, before dying under torture, made the point that Christians "are not allowed to eat the blood even of irrational animals." She was not exercising a right to die. She wanted to live, but she would not compromise her principles. Do you not respect those who put principle above personal gain?

Scientist Joseph Priestley concluded: "The prohibition to eat blood, given to Noah, seems to be obligatory on all his posterity . . . If we interpret [the] prohibition of the apostles by the practice of the primitive Christians, who can hardly be supposed not to have rightly understood the nature and extent of it, we cannot but conclude, that it was intended to be absolute and perpetual; for blood was not eaten by any Christians for many centuries."

WHAT OF USING BLOOD AS MEDICINE?

Would the Biblical prohibition on blood cover medical uses, such as transfusions, which certainly were not known in the days of Noah, Moses, or the apostles?

While modern therapy employing blood did not exist back then, medicinal use of blood is not modern. For some 2,000 years, in Egypt and elsewhere, human "blood was regarded as the sovereign remedy for leprosy." A physician revealed the therapy given to King Esar-haddon's son when the nation of Assyria was on the leading edge of technology: "[The prince] is doing much better; the king, my lord, can be happy. Starting with the 22nd day I give (him) blood to drink, he will drink (it) for 3 days. For 3 more days I shall give (him blood) for internal application." Esar-haddon had dealings with the Israelites. Yet, because the Israelites had God's Law, they would never drink blood as medicine.

Was blood used as medicine in Roman times? The naturalist Pliny (a contemporary of the apostles) and the second-century physician Aretaeus report that human blood was a treatment for epilepsy. Tertullian later wrote: "Consider those who with greedy thirst, at a show in the arena, take the fresh blood of wicked criminals . . . and carry it off to heal their epilepsy." He contrasted them with Christians, who "do not even have the blood of animals at [their] meals . . . At the trials of Christians you offer them sausages filled with blood. You are convinced, of course, that [it] is unlawful for them." So, early Christians would risk death rather than take in blood.

"Blood in its more everyday form did not . . . go out of fashion as an ingredient in medicine and magic," reports the book Flesh and Blood. "In 1483, for example, Louis XI of France was dying. 'Every day he grew worse, and the medicines profited him nothing, though of a strange character; for he vehemently hoped to recover by the human blood which he took and swallowed from certain children.'"

What of transfusing blood? Experiments with this began near the start of the 16th century. Thomas Bartholin (1616-80), professor of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen, objected: 'Those who drag in the use of human blood for internal remedies of diseases appear to misuse it and to sin gravely. Cannibals are condemned. Why do we not abhor those who stain their gullet with human blood? Similar is the receiving of alien blood from a cut vein, either through the mouth or by instruments of transfusion. The authors of this operation are held in terror by the divine law, by which the eating of blood is prohibited.'

Hence, thinking people in past centuries realized that the Biblical law applied to taking blood into the veins just as it did to taking it into the mouth. Bartholin concluded: "Either manner of taking [blood] accords with one and the same purpose, that by this blood a sick body be nourished or restored."

This overview may help you to understand the nonnegotiable religious stand that Jehovah's Witnesses take. They highly value life, and they seek good medical care. But they are determined not to violate God's standard, which has been consistent: Those who respect life as a gift from the Creator do not try to sustain life by taking in blood.

Still, for years claims have been made that blood saves lives. Doctors can relate cases in which someone had acute blood loss but was transfused and then improved rapidly. So you may wonder, 'How wise or unwise is this medically?' Medical evidence is offered to support blood therapy. Thus, you owe it to yourself to get the facts in order to make an informed choice about blood.

Vietnamese Authorities Approves Pornographic Pictures For Exhibition

2007-11-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

Vietnamese authorities have given permission for the first ever exhibition of nude photographs in the conservative communist country, state media and the photographer said this week.

Photographer Thai Phien said he got the go ahead to exhibit 48 of his nude photos in Hanoi between November 24 and 27.

"I was the first photographer in Vietnam that received a licence to open this type of exhibition," he said.

Phien said he had to submit his photos to the censors, adding "it's lucky that the authorities accepted them."

He also expects a collection of about 70 of his nude pictures will be published prior to the exhibition.

The Thanh Nien newspaper said "Nude photos have gone on display in Vietnam before, but never has an exhibition consisted solely of nudes."

The daily said censors in the southern commercial centre of Ho Chi Minh City earlier this year refused to allow a similar exhibition by a female artist because "they were not in accordance with Vietnamese customs and morality".

Vietnam Photographers' Association head Chu Chi Thanh was quoted as saying authorities were always cautious because it was difficult to distinguish the boundary between erotic and artistic photos.

Phien agreed it was hard to draw a line.

"The boundaries between pornographic and artistic photos are very slim. It depends a lot on personal impression," he said.

Vietnam, whose 84 million people are mostly Buddhist, is a socially conservative country.

Films, books, photos and artistic works are often censored and those on sensitive topics such as sex are usually banned.

Earlier this month an amateur sex video featuring the popular teenage host of a TV morality show sparked public outrage, with four students arrested for allegedly posting the clip on the Internet.

Malaysian Muslim Clerics Sees Naked Women When They Close Their Eyes To Pray

2007-11-03T04:56:00.001-07:00

Malaysia's Muslim men are suffering sleepless nights and cannot pray properly because their thoughts are distracted by a growing number of women who wear sexy clothes in public, a prominent cleric said.

Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, said he wanted to speak about the "emotional abuse" that men face because it is seldom discussed, the party reported on its Web site Wednesday.

"We always (hear about) the abuse of children and wives in households, which is easily perceived by the eye, but the emotional abuse of men cannot be seen," Nik Abdul Aziz said. "Our prayers become unfocused and our sleep is often disturbed."

Nik Abdul Aziz has made controversial comments about women in the past, including that women should stop wearing lipstick and perfume to lower the risk of being raped. Women's groups have slammed his statements, saying Islam teaches both men and women to be responsible for modesty. They say comments like these encourage rapes because it puts the onus on women.

Nik Abdul Aziz's fundamentalist party has about 800,000 members. He is also the chief minister of northeastern Kelantan, the only one of Malaysia's 13 states that is not ruled by the moderate National Front governing coalition.

His party's Web site published an illustration Wednesday of how women should dress - in long, flowing headscarves covering their hair and chests and "baggy and loose" long-sleeved, floor-length dresses.

Most women from Malaysia's Malay Muslim majority wear a modest form of Islamic clothing, though younger women in cities sometimes wear body-hugging dresses or tight T-shirts and jeans.

In Kelantan, the Islamic party has fined Muslim women for not wearing headscarves in workplaces and implemented separate check-out lines for men and women in supermarkets.

Film Director David Lynch Gets Positives From Negatives

2007-11-03T03:23:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Bunbury
"It was so nice!" director David Lynch says of his appearance on the streets of Los Angeles with a cow on a rope, a brass band and a poster of his star to promote Inland Empire, his baffling new film that is about neither brass bands nor cows.

"It was kind of like a great gathering and talking and a lot of goodwill for Laura [Dern] and a lot of love for Georgia, this cow."

Lynch, whose reputation as a resolute visionary has made his films an arthouse staple for three decades, is surprisingly child-like in person. He answers questions in capitals - "YES!", "NO!" and "FOR SURE!" - as if he were pleased each time to be able to put up his hand.

Those who have worked with him say it is no pretence: he really is this slightly fey, deadly serious, eager boy scout who, at 61, is very much at home with his various madnesses.

His dense, often bewildering films have found a devoted and surprisingly wide public, even among people who would not normally fancy themselves as fans of the avant-garde.

His first feature Eraserhead, released in 1977, was so weird it seemed to have come from some other planet's cinema but its grainy black-and-white imagery, grinding soundtrack of industrial noise and grotesque science fiction interpretation of new parenthood immediately established him as an indie favourite.

And it wasn't just stoners who watched it. Older, established filmmakers were also quick to recognise Lynch's talents. Francis Ford Coppola showed Eraserhead to his cast and crew when he was making Apocalypse Now and Stanley Kubrick screened it while filming The Shining.

Lynch was was soon hired to direct The Elephant Man (1980), the true story of 19th century sideshow freak Joseph Merrick, to which he brought a particular sympathy and a bravura visual style, then the dismal Dune (1984).

"The feeling was very low after Dune because I felt I'd been selling out. I didn't have final control and then it didn't do well at the box office," Lynch says.

Then he adds brightly, "when you're down low, there is nowhere to go but up". Failure meant he was able to strike out afresh in his own voice. "There was just a huge sense of freedom and nothing to lose."

The result was Blue Velvet (1986), a work about the triumph of love over evil with a nightmare edge. It was pure Lynch and became a cinematic landmark. Palm D'Or winner Wild at Heart (1990) followed, then Twin Peaks, his television breakthrough in the early '90s.

Lynch's left-field series about a small town in America's north-west became that decade's must-see. You can never tell, he says, what will seize the public imagination. "A story that takes place in a little place, hidden away, and travels the world!" he says. "Who can figure it?"

His last film was Mulholland Drive (2001). It was a huge critical success, both for the director and for his star discovery, Naomi Watts, but only after the American television network ABC commissioned and then rejected it as a television series.

That wasn't all bad, he insists. "If they had loved it, I would have been destined to sign on for a long time and that takes tremendous energy and focus … looking back, it is as if it were meant to be."

The network's cold feet gave it a chance to become the film it is. "A lot of times, positives come from negatives."

His adventures in Los Angeles with Georgia the cow could be seen as a positive outcome of his latest problem: finding an American distributor for Inland Empire. The fact that he has had three Academy Award nominations and won several Cannes prizes doesn't seem to move the money men.

"It's a three-hour film, somewhat difficult to understand maybe, so distributors weren't racing to my door," he shrugs. So he decided to take it on himself, peddling his wares like some latter-day travelling showman.

Anyone who has seen Mulholland Drive will recognise many of the key story elements and visual symbols in the new film, although they are - somewhat incredibly - rather more impenetrably scrambled in Inland Empire.

None of this feels like repetition, however, still less that Lynch has run out of ideas.

There is, rather, a sense of the artist working once again with his chosen materials. Laura Dern plays a sunny-natured actress, not unlike the ingenue played by Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive, whose genial character begins to fracture into different identities in the same way Watts's did. One moment she is a cheesy, breezy American sweetheart; the next, she is a trashy tart telling the camera about the men she has sent packing.

Once again, too, the plucky female protagonist stages a climactic showdown with a lover who is rejecting her. Another empty theatre appears to hold the key to a mystery; the mystery, again, appears to be Los Angeles itself, which is cast as seething with seamy stories beneath its superficial glamour.

The title of Inland Empire refers to the suburban sprawl east of the city, while a long sequence with street prostitutes at the end of the film is set on the star-encrusted Walk of Fame. Dern - in her bedraggled, tarty persona - hangs out with them. "There is something about Hollywood and what happened there, the Golden Age of cinema, that has lit the dreamworld of billions," Lynch says. "It's got so much glamour and hope and, you know, despair and horror. The whole thing is beautiful!"

This story is confounded, however, with other elements that work in entirely mysterious ways. A girl weeps as she watches television, often gazing merely at snow; a violent man torments a prostitute, shouting at her in Polish. These sequences were shot in Lodz, a Polish city Lynch took to his heart when he went there for the city's film festival. "The festival takes place in the winter, so it was the winter light, the architecture, these clouds, the people and just a mood in the place I loved," he says.

Some other scenes cut to a stage set with humans in rabbit suits acting out banal kitchen sink dramas interspersed with canned laughter. These are taken from short films, all with rabbits, that Lynch made immediately after Mulholland Drive and has shown for years on his website. That's the way he has always worked, Lynch says; sometimes he can nurse an idea for 10 years until something else comes along that, at some subliminal level, somehow matches it.

"The feeling I have," he says, "is that someone is in another room with a completed puzzle and they keep flipping pieces in to me and as I get them and see them and feel them, I write them down until a whole thing starts revealing itself."

It is true, he admits, that Inland Empire is more of a mosaic than any of his previous films. He was writing scenes and shooting them one by one, for the first time, using digital technology that is cheap enough to allow that kind of randomness.

"I would get an idea and shoot it, not knowing I was building a feature at first. I was just building up scenes. Then the story came more, and I saw how those scenes were relating to each other. And then because so much more came, I wrote more."

He felt himself to be following the lead of the Surrealists he has always admired, throwing ideas up in the air and following wherever they fell.

He does not, as people often assume, work from dreams. "NO! I hardly EVER get an idea from a dream!" he insists. "But I have to say that I love this dream logic. Sometimes an idea comes that holds that dream feel, an abstraction that is not able to be said so well in words - at least not by me, although maybe it could by poets - but cinema is this beautiful language. You can say abstractions and cause wonderings and thinkings and feelings in the cinema that can't be gotten any other way."

That doesn't mean, in his view, that he is moving away from narrative structure. "NO!" he says firmly. "I believe in narrative but there's different narratives. So I like a story but I like a story that holds abstractions. All of them had that but this one maybe more than most."

If it is mysterious, that is what life is like too. "For sure! We are all detectives," he says happily. "We are all looking and feeling and intuiting things and wondering about them."

He is quite clear, within himself, about the story he has told. "But why do I need to worry about saying the words?" he demands. "The words just reduce it. It's the film that is the thing."

Inland Empire opens on November 15.
Twin Peaks seasons 1 and 2 (Paramount) is released on DVD the same day.

48 Different Ways To A Perfect Kiss

2007-11-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

The perfect kiss is one that is done with someone you really care about. There is more caring and sincerity in a kiss with someone special than with someone you hardly know, although a really good kiss can certainly bring two people closer together.

The perfect kiss can be done in 48 different ways, here they are:

- 1 - ICE KISS
Celebrate the first day of winter with an ice kiss. Put an ice cube in your mouth until your mouth becomes cold. Remove the cube, track down your love and plant a kiss that will send chills!

- 2 - ELECTRIC SHOCK KISS
The two of you shuffle your feet furiously on carpet. When you both have an electric charge, lean over and slowly aim for each other's lips. With your lips about one-half inch apart, move in even slower until a spark jumps between the two of you. Instantly after this happens, kiss one another...the please us the kiss right after the shock!

- 3 - CAMPING KISS
On a beautiful cool night, you and your love crawl into a sleeping bag outside. Cuddle and kiss.

- 4 - REWARD KISS
Next time your love performs some disliked home chore like cleaning the bathroom, mowing the lawn, or taking out the garbage, show your appreciation by tucking a candy kiss in a strategic location.

- 5 - POST-IT KISS
Use 3M Post-It notes to make a trail through your house that leads to your lips. Put a lipstick print or lip symbol on each note with an arrow pointing to the next note. You, of course, are at the end of the trail with a Post-It note over your lips that says, "LIFT FOR KISS"

- 6 - KISSING IN THE RAIN
The next time it rains, grab an umbrella, rain coats, and your love. Then go outside and kiss in the rain. If the spirit of the kiss moves you, remove the umbrella and kiss 'till the two of you are soaked.

- 7 - HERSHEY`S KISSES
Prepare a small bag of Hershey`s kisses and slip it into your love's purse, briefcase, or lunchbox. Attach a note that reads "SORRY, I CAN'T BE THERE IN PERSON, BUT THINK OF ME AND DO THE FOLLOWING: Close your eyes and place the candy between your lips. Drop the candy in your mouth and roll it on your tongue until it melts.

- 8 - TRACY AND HEPBURN KISS
Make flash cards, and the two of you re-enact the following kissing scene from WOMAN OF THE YEAR:

- 9 - KISSES IN A BALLOON
Cut out small red tissue lips, and place them inside an opaque balloon filled with helium (any party store could do this for you) Tie the balloon to your love's chair at dinner. Desert is a shower of kisses delivered by a sharp pin.

- 10 - TOLL KISS
Next time you are driving your love somewhere, stop the car before crossing a bridge or going through a tunnel, and say the toll must be paid before you can go any further. Of course, the toll cost in one kiss.

- 11 - MORSE CODE KISS
If you know Morse code, great, If not, this is a great way to learn. Find a Morse Code chart. Using long and short kisses, spell out a message to your love and have him or her try to decipher them.

- 12 - KISSING METER KISSES
We have parking meters, so why not kissing meters? Turn a box into your own kissing meter and wear it around your neck. Give your love kissing tokens to start your kissing meter. Have an "expired" sign appear when you need another kiss.

- 13 - AUDIO STIMULATION
Make a cassette of kissing noises and place in your love's cassette player (walkman, car or home) with a note attached.

- 14 - BREAKFAST IN BED KISS
Slip out of bed early and prepare a special "Kissing" breakfast to serve to your love in bed. Pick foods that you can easily pick up and feed to your love. Kiss between bites!

- 15 - STAIRWELL KISS
This kiss is to be done at a party or at a gathering with your love. Steal away to a private location like behind a door or tree, or on the stairwell and passionately kiss each other. The risk of being discovered in the act is the key element.

- 16 - SCUBA KISSING
Wearing a diving mask and fins, simulate swimming underwater. Snorkel across the room to your love and kiss him or her.

- 17 - EYE TEST KISS
Make an eye chart like the ones that you see in a doctor's office where the letters get progressively smaller. Have the chart read, "IF you can read this you are standing close enough to kiss me." Now find your love and give an eye exam.

- 18 - THYMELY KISS
Thyme, according to the Greeks, is the herb which makes one irresistible kissable. Prepare a meal for your love using the herb. Moments after the first bite, rush to your love's lips with a passionate kiss. Come up for air, announce the Greeks were right, then rush back with another passionate kiss.

- 19 - SHOPPING LIST KISSES
Turn your shopping list into a scorecard the next time the two of you go shopping. The one who finds the item gets credit toward one kiss. Kisses are collected either on delivery to the grocery cart, or later at home.

- 20 - BAD HABIT KISS
Offer to stop a bad habit if your love will pay you kisses. For instance, a kiss for each cigarette not smoked, putting the toilet seat down, and/or every phone call kept under three minutes is rewarded with a kiss.

- 21 - CLOUD SHAPE KISS
Take your love to the backyard or out in a field: lie down on a blanket, and together inspect cloud formations. When both of you see the same thing, reward each other with a kiss.

- 22 - CHECK KISS
With your personal check, make a check out to your love for 1,000 kisses. Tell your love he or she can cash it in any time.

- 23 - TOE KISS
Prepare a foot bath for your love at the end of a long day. After the good soak, you towel dry his or her feet, give a massage and seal each toe with a kiss.

- 24 - CHOCOLATE HEART KISSES
Buy several boxes of little chocolate hearts that have sayings on them. Pick out all the "KISS ME" hearts and put them in a heart shaped box with the note "REDEEMABLE ANYTIME, day or night!"

- 25 - RENDEZVOUS KISS
With a note or phone call, tell your love to meet you at a certain place and time (e.g. park bench, street corner, ice cream stand) for a present. When your love arrives, have a bow stick to your lips.

- 26 - BATH KISS
Surprise your love with a kiss while he/she is showering or in the tub. (WARNING: Prepare to get wet)

- 27 - MACHINE GUN KISS
In rapid succession, plant 12 quick ones on your lover's lips.

- 28 - KISS-A-THON
Passionately kiss your love for at least five minute longer than usual.

- 29 - PINK PANTHER KISS
Humming the Pink Panther theme, prowl toward your partner. On the high note, pounce and pucker. Suggestion-wear only pink!

- 30 - THIRST QUENCHER KISS
For no reason, stare at your love's mouth while licking your lips as though dying of thirst. Inevitably, your love will ask what you're doing. ANSWER: I want them! I have to have them! I yearn to drink from them! Then ask for a kiss to quench your thirst!

- 31 - GREAT EXPECTATIONS KISS
Inform your love one morning that he or she will soon receive a fabulous kiss. Later, call you love with a reminder. When next you see your love, pull out the stops and plant a long, hot, passionate kiss.

- 32 - GOODBYE * 2 KISS
Send off your love in the morning with a quick kiss. As your love turns to leave, pull him or her back for a second, more passionate kiss

33 - RIDDLE KISS
Ask you love to solve the following riddle:
I am just two and two
I am warm, I am cold,
I am lawful, unlawful
A duty, a fault
I am often sold dear,
Good for nothing when bought;
an extraordinary boon,
and a matter of course,
and yielding with pleasure
When taken by force.
If your love solves it, ask for a demonstration as proof. If he or she cannot show the answer, of course, the answer is a kiss.

- 34 - KISS MANDATE
Command your love to kiss you. Elaborate on the technique you expect (e.g. long and wet, or the way Rhett kissed Scarlett) and where and when you will get it.

- 35 - UNEXPECTED KISS
When the two of you are doing the usual, lean over and give your love a sweet kiss on the cheek for no good reason and whisper...I LOVE YOU!

- 36 - POST OFFICE KISS
Notify your love you have personal mail to deliver. Pull your love into the nearest dark closet; close the door and play POST OFFICE: No instructions included!

- 37 - KNOCK-KNOCK KISS
Stage the following knock-knock joke with your love:
KNOCK KNOCK
Who is there?
Kiss
Kiss who?
Kiss who? Why me, of course!

- 38 - BEGGAR`S KISS
That's right, on your knees with your hands clasped, plead for any kiss you love is humbly willing to give you!

- 39 - TOOTHPASTE KISS
Brush your teeth together. When your love's mouth is all sudsy, plant a big wet one on the lips. WARNING: MAKE SURE TOOTHBRUSHES ARE OUT OF THE WAY!

- 40 - PALM KISS
Holding your love's chin with your palm, smile and deliver a sweet kiss to his or her lips!

- 41 - 30 KISSES
Inform your love that in honor of the 30th of the month, you will kiss him or her 30 times during the day!

- 42 - CAT KISS
Rub against your love's legs while meowing and purring. Now that you have your love's attention, touch noses. Playfully paw your love while moving in for a kiss.

- 43 - EYELID KISS
While kissing your love, watch for his or her eyes to close. Sweetly place a light kiss on each eyelid. Note: Be careful!

- 44 - EAR KISS
Whisper to your love how special he or she is to you, and then seal your message with an ear kiss!

- 45 - VALENTINE KISS
Celebrate Valentine's Day with kisses in the shape of a "V" on the face of your lover.

- 46 - FOOTBALL KISS
After a pass during a football game, kiss your love.

- 47 - SLEEPING BEAUTY KISS
Awaken your love from slumber with a tender kiss on the lips!

- 48 - No-Cal Kiss
After dinner, give your love a no-calorie desert...your lips.

Are You A Cyber Trickster Or A Cyber Treat?

2007-10-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

Kathryn Lord

Anyone who has done any online dating or listened to other singles knows that dating horror stories abound. You hear less about the successes, and there are plenty, believe me. I'm one of them -- I met my husband online. If people like me weren't finding love online, Internet dating sites would have gone out of business years ago.
But if there is ever a time for horror, it's Halloween. If you need a few lessons on how to scare the willies out of your cyber sweetheart, try some of these Trickster Tips. You won't even need to yell "Boo!"
How to be a Cyber Trickster:

1. Lie -- about your age, weight, height or marital status.

2. Post an old or deceptive photo. (Most men have learned how far a "glamour shot" is from reality, but not all...).

3. Start writing/talking about sex in the second email or first phone call.

4. Neglect your personal hygiene. Do not have your teeth cleaned in recent memory. Or take a bath. Or clean your nails. Or have your hair cut. Or your gray roots dyed.

5. Treat your first date like a trip to the laundromat. Dress accordingly.

6. Expect the worst and make it happen.

7. Take your time. Be late. Very late.

8. Forget your wallet.

9. Show up drunk or high, or proceed to get that way.

10. Say that you will call or email and then don't.
Scary, huh? Well, if you'd like to be more of a treat and less of a trick, avoid the boo-boos that so many others have made before you. Take some of these hints on being a Cyber Treat.

How to be a Cyber Treat:

1. Look like your photo.

2. Tell the truth, especially about things a potential mate would want to know (relationship histories, children and families, disease or disabilities, or financial difficulties, for instance). If you have a secret that keeps you from dating, you need my article "Do you have a secret? How to tell your sweetheart your worst"

3. Be polite, kind, responsible and prompt in your communications. Kindness and courtesy cost nothing.

4. If you are not interested in pursuing contact, say so in an email. Be tactful. This process is hard enough on everyone. Rude and nasty need to take a hike.

5. Do not continue contact or date if you know that this person is not for you, just because you don't know how to say "no" or don't want to hurt the other's feelings. It is cowardly, not kind. Exit graciously and free your date up to find someone who will appreciate them.

6. Take your share of the responsibility in keeping communications going and building a relationship. Dare to initiate contact, offer plans for meeting, and be ready to share expenses.

7. Show by your behavior that you treat the possible relationship as important. Groom and dress for meetings -- neat and clean go a long way, as does freshly barbered or hair-styled. Show up when you said you would. Offer to help pay.

8. Try to relax and don't push yourself in an attempt to impress. If you are interested in your date and ask questions, that will help you feel less in the spotlight.

9. Avoid alcohol and drugs -- one drink at the most. You need your senses totally sharp so that you can decide whether you want to see this person again. And no one is more attractive drunk or high.

10. Expect and insist on the same respect and honesty from your date as you are willing to provide for them. If your date misbehaves or you find that you have been lied to or misled, you are not obligated to see this person again or even endure the rest of the date.
Despite the "trick or treat" of Halloween, most of us want the treat part and would just as soon skip the trick. No one likes feeling tricked. If you'd like the option of a second date, improve your chances dramatically: make yourself into a treat.

P.S. If you are unsure if you are a "trick or treat" you could use my book "Find a Sweetheart Soon!" It will take you through all the ways that singles undermine themselves in their search for love, and help you design your solutions. There is nothing like being ready when the right person shows up. "Find a Sweetheart Soon!" will get you readier than you can imagine.

Kathryn Lord, romance coach and author, met her now husband Drew online. Out of the dating world for years, Kathryn conquered her fears, found her perfect mate and built a solid relationship. She put what she has learned into writing in "Find A Sweetheart Soon! Your Love Trip Planner for Women." A psychotherapist, Kathryn has been helping singles and couples for more than 25 years. She is on the web at Find-a-Sweetheart.com.

The UPs And Downs Of Dating

2007-10-27T18:32:00.001-07:00

David Wygant

Dating is a process a lot of us really can live without. It's an emotional rollercoaster that can drive you to drink four year-old bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade from the back of your refrigerator.
Here's my list of the top ups and downs of dating -- and how to feel better about them:

1. Stop the mental post-date recap abuse. You went out with somebody with whom you thought you had a connection, and it turns out you didn't. So now you're going to mentally torture yourself for the next four days trying to figure out what you said wrong. You'll even torture all your friends asking them what you could have done differently. The post-date recap is a form of mental torture. You will never know what that other person is thinking unless they call you. If they don't call, it really does mean that he or she is just not that into you (which is about the only good advice from that ridiculously stupid book).

2. We made out in the parking lot and they never called again. Making out is fun! You needed it. They needed it. Don't beat yourself up that you did it, just realize you did it. Be okay with it. It was a great date. You were in the moment, and you experienced something that you wanted to do.

3. I texted them the next morning and said, "I had a great time last night," and they never texted back. So what? You had a great time last night. So did they. They just woke up, and their post-date recap was different from yours. They probably had a good time, but when they thought about it, the chemistry and the "it" factor wasn't there. It's not about you. At least you were honest. So you did all you can do.

4. Should I have said something different in my voicemail message? You left a voicemail message and now you're replaying it in your head a thousand times. "Should I have said 'Last night was fun' with more enthusiasm? Is that why she's not calling me back?" When it comes to voicemail messages, the shorter the better. From an old sales technique, I always prefer to say, "Last night was fun. I have something really funny to share with you the next time we speak." That's it -- it creates a little bit of intrigue, a little bit of mystery and no mental torture.

5. Who cares what they think? You left the above voicemail message without knowing if you'll ever see them again, and they don't call you back. You start to think, "Now they know that I like them, and they don't like me." So what? Is it better to just sit there and hope and pray they call? I always believe in being honest. You've got to do what feels right for you.

6. Stop giving your power away to one person. If a two-hour date can cause you to give away all your power and confidence, then you need to learn to embrace yourself and love yourself more. This is just one person you went out with for two hours. They don't know what an amazing person you are. The only thing they know is the person they sat across from at the table. Whether they choose to hang with you again isn't the issue. The issue is that one person does not determine your worthiness. You've got to toughen your skin. Rejection is what dating is all about; you can't take it personally. If I go out with someone and I have a great time but they never want to see me again, I'm still a great person the next day.
Want some tips about dealing with dating rejection? See them here

7. In order to feel better about dating, you need to think abundance. Just because you think you like somebody and they don't call you back, this is not the last person in the world you're going to meet. In order to be a successful dater, you need to practice abundance. The power of abundance is training your mind to realize that if it doesn't work out with one person (or 10 people), there are plenty of other people out there who do want to hang out with a fantastic person like you.

Sparking Online Conversations With Appropriate Questions

2007-10-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Rad Dewey

Want to start and email conversation with someone who flirted back when you sent them an Icebreaker?
The best interviewers on television, on radio or in print share a couple of sure-fire techniques for getting their subjects to open up and reveal themselves. First, they ask great questions. They put themselves in the place of the members of their audience. What would they want to know? And rarely, if ever, can the answer just be a "Yes" or a "No."
Second, the best interviewers listen to their subjects. If a question prompts an intriguing answer, the interviewer pursues it. And, because they're such attentive listeners, they put their interview subjects at ease. They change their interviews into conversations.
Use the same techniques yourself
You can apply the same techniques to start great conversations through email or by IM. All you need are some sparkling questions. To get you started, we've supplied several questions that attracted interesting responses when they've been used by one of our team members. Be prepared with a good answer of your own for any of the questions you ask.

* If our moms were setting us up on a blind date, what three things would your mom tell mine about you?
* What's your favorite beach in the world?
* What's the next country you want to visit?
* What one thing are you craving today?
* What music is in your car or home stereo right now?
* What are three of your guilty pleasures?
* What was the last book you read? Did you enjoy it?
* What is must-see TV for you?
* If you met the right person, how many children would you have?

Readers told us their best questions

* If you could live in any time period in history, when would it be? -- Hacklefish
* 1) What was one of your most memorable jobs? (I like this 'cuz I mowed cemeteries and dug graves with my family.) 2) Do you endure, like, or absolutely LOVE your job? 3) If asked, would you dance in the middle of a grocery aisle? -- Cindy
* What are your passions? What moves you? (You'll always get a great response because people don't expect that kind of realness in conversation right from the beginning.) -- Kenneth
* When you meet someone, do you concentrate on their physical appearance or the way they act towards you? -- Nadia
* If you won $1 million in a lottery, how would you spend it? -- Ludi
* What is the craziest thing you've done lately? -- Emily
* What turns you on, specifically what physical or emotional features? -- Lizmet
* If you could invite any five people to your birthday party, who would they be? -- Roberto
* 1) If time and money were not an obstacle, to what causes would you dedicate your time? 2) What are three things that you dislike the most in a person? (I believe it is important to know not only what the other person likes, but also what he/she does not like.) -- Luzmarie
* If we were to hit it off on our first date, what emotions would that set off in you? -- Becky
* What's your favorite color? -- Judy
* Do you as a man enjoy having a woman take care of you? (Some men like to have the control of taking care of the women.) -- Theresa
* Are you listening to music or watching TV at this moment? What are you listening to or watching? -- D.W.
* If you could be an animated superhero, which one would you be and why? -- Cooper
* If you were a candy bar, which one would you be, and why? -- Desiree
* 1) What was one of your most embarrassing moments? 2) What was your proudest moment? 3) What are the three most important qualities you are looking for in that significant other and why? 4) Who is your hero and why? 5) If you could talk to one famous person (dead or alive), who would it be and what one question would you ask him or her? -- Kamara
* If you went in to work and learned you had an unexpected day off, what would you do with your day? -- Kandis
* 1) What is your favorite food? 2) What is your "comfort" meal? 3) Do you practice a faith? 4) Where do you attend church? 5) Do you believe in God/ a higher power? -- Anna
* What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? (Get some good feedback with that question.) -- Tony
* 1) If you could spend the day with one person (living or deceased) who would it be and why? 2) Money no object, describe your dream vacation... 3) What is your fondest memory from childhood? 4) Who is your hero? 5) What is the one thing that you couldn't live without? 6) East Coast or West? -- Rachael
* What do you like best about being single? (The answer tells me a lot, mostly if they are happy with themselves or bitter over past issues.) -- Carol
* What was your favorite vacation? Where would you like to go on the next one? -- Linda
* What are six adjectives that describe yourself? -- Teri ?
* If you were suddenly queen of the world, what would be your first new rule? -- Bill K.
* I ask them to explain the meaning behind their screen name (unless it is obvious). I have been told that people rarely ask that question. -- Reed M.
* Toilet paper over or under? -- Tara P.
* Ask - what are your three best qualities, what are your three worst? Also, what is your favorite part of your body, then - what is your least favorite? -- Alistair K.
* I will usually ask a guy, "What are the little things in life than you enjoy?" I'm not talking about major hobbies or anything like that, but just those little everyday things that will make you smile. I then give a couple of examples of the type of little things I mean. For instance, I happen to love just dozing on my bed in the late afternoon/early evening when the sun is streaming in the window directly on my face. I'm not sleeping, but just enjoying the rest with the sun on my face. It's a very warm feeling and one can only think happy thoughts then. I think you find out quite a bit about a person this way. Also, it's not something they're used to thinking about so seldom do you get a "canned" response. -- Kristyne H.
* If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be? -- Becky D.
* What defines compatibility between two individuals? And when do you personally know if you are compatible with someone? Also, thinking about the people who you most admire in your life, what attributes do they hold that makes them attractive and admirable to you? -- Christi U.
* If you could pick just one it would be: attractive, intelligent or rich? -- Sandra
* If you were a light bulb, what kind would you be and why? --Jason H.
* For older singles, ask the other person to tell you about his or her family. If the man I'm communicating with doesn't want to brag about his kids, it's a bad sign! -- Kandi G.
* What makes your heart pound? What makes your skin crawl? -- Belinda K.
* What was the last movie you saw that made you cry? If she asks me the same question, I answer it (truthfully). This shows that I am emotional, and it will also tell me about what situations she can relate to. It's difficult to cry during a movie where you don't feel a personal connection. -- Chuck R.
* What are three of your faults that you would like to change? Are you working on them now? -- Nancy
* How was your day? (I ask because I really want to know and also because it helps me get to know a person better when they describe what they have been doing that day.) -- Cindy C.
* When they make the movie about your life, what actor should portray you? -- Leslie R.
* What's a nice person like you doing in a place like this? -- C.G.
* If talent, ability and money were not factors, what job would you do? -- Ellen R.
* What are your wants, dreams and desires? No cheating now. Think about them before you answer. -- Mark B.
* (1) What was your favorite cereal as a kid? (2) What was your favorite cartoon as a kid? These questions have always worked for me -- they bring out the playfulness in a person and the subject matter is not too heavy. -- Vanessa M.
* What does it take to keep your attention? -- Montgomery
* The only way a relationship will stand is by having a solid foundation. Your list should be reduced to just one question: Where do you stand in "religious" beliefs? Solid relationships are the relationships that are held together by an external force, mainly God. Not just any god, but the god of the scriptures. If your relationship does not have that the foundation it is currently based on is soon to crumble. -- Andre

The Secret Of A Perfect First Date

2007-10-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

David Wygant

Throughout the years, men have always asked me, "How do I make that first date as perfect as she expects it to be?"
I've come up with a checklist of some of my favorite first-date tactics that will leave her glowing at the end of the night. In fact, these are so good, she'll be texting or calling you within the next 24 hours expecting more of the same!

1. It's OK to suggest a drink instead of dinner for a first date. She dreads a potentially boring, four-course ordeal, too!

2. Always call her by early evening on Tuesday to confirm a Wednesday get-together -- it's the polite thing to do and it lets her know you're already thinking about her.

3. Be sure to leave both your home and work phone numbers. If you don't leave your home number, she might assume you have a wife or girlfriend. If you don't leave any number, she'll wonder what game you're playing.

4. If you want to keep the plans a surprise, at least clue her in as to what to wear. You do not want an overdressed, overstressed woman navigating in high heels on a sunset beach walk.

5. Always listen to what she has to say, and make sure you wait until she's done talking before responding.

6. Don't assume that just because you're out with a beautiful woman, she knows how pretty she looks -- she wants to hear it from you. Don't go overboard, though, or she might think you're insincere.

7. Men judge women according to whether they can picture having sex with them; women judge men by whether they can imagine kissing them. White teeth, fresh breath, great shoes, cell phone turned off, and unchapped lips make her more apt to lock lips with you that night.

8. Do not ask her, "So, what kind of music do you like?" The last 10 guys asked that. Be original and instead fill your iPod with a great mix of music that expresses your style.

9. Tip well. Believe me, she'll be watching.

10. Reading body language is simple: If she touches your arm, she's interested. If she touches your leg, she's interested tonight. If she leans away from you the whole night, she is not interested at all.

11. Very small gestures go a long way and show her you're a gentleman. When you drop her off at her house, be sure to wait the extra 30 seconds while she gets inside (and next time you might be going in with her!).

12. Women need momentum. Without it, they lose interest or wonder if you have lost it, too. Follow up with a phone call the next night. Even more important, ask her out at the end of the date. Don't play games or wait.

13. Never look at another woman when you are on a date. If she catches your wandering eye, you are done.

10 Keys To Charming Smart Women

2007-10-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

David Wygant
Modern society thrusts men and women into each other’s worlds more than ever before, and it is becoming increasingly necessary for people of both genders to know how to have appropriate, friendly relationships with each other. But some times for no obvious reasons charming a women is daunting task, do you feel this way too? Then consider these.

Do they like a daily check-in phone call? Does she secretly wish you'd text her in the middle of the day for no reason but to make her smile? Do they prefer expensive dinners to home-cooked meals? Rock-hard abs? Flowers for no reason?

Identifying women's turn-ons is complicated, because they all react differently. Some women you wish came with owner's manuals so you knew exactly how they were wired. Luckily, I've done most of the legwork for you and am happy to pass this knowledge on to you.

1. Be aware. This means cracking open more than the sports section on the daily paper. Be up on current events and learn the difference between feelings, emotions and thoughts. Women are emotional beings and tend to think things through. They are attracted to men who are as smart or smarter than them, and your knowledge of worldly matters will demonstrate your intelligence.

2. Demonstrate humor. Women love a man who can make them laugh. Now don't fret here if you're not a stand-up comedian. We all have a certain type of humor. You can be dry, sarcastic, hilariously funny, quick-witted or dark. Being able to poke fun at yourself and just plain old being goofy is a turn-on for women. Keep in mind that all women are not attracted to the same type of humor, so if you don't vibe, just walk away and try someone else.

3. Have passion. A guy who lives his life with gusto is incredibly appealing. When you speak to a woman about your life, your travels, your job, your interests, speak with passion. That passion about who you are will turn her on instantly. She will start to imagine what it will be like when you are involved with her and how passionate you will speak about her.

4. Be considerate. Pay attention to the little things and look for opportunities to make small gestures that show you care. A simple "How was your day?" and being able to listen to her when she wants to discuss something are huge. So many men forget about simple things like holding the door, paying for her valet or just thanking her for a great time last night. Women are all about a guy with manners -- she is not attracted to the dope who acts like a caveman.

5. Be honest. Share who you are by telling her something personal. Maybe share one of your favorite childhood memories or some personal growth that you have been going through. Something that will show her that you are a trusting and honest person. It also shows that you are a confident but vulnerable man. Women love to see the vulnerable side of you. Note: Don't talk about an ex in a bad way here. If you have to talk about an ex, do so in a positive manner and share what you learned and how you grew from the relationship.

6. Be flexibile. Be open to her plans but surprise her with your flexibility. Take charge and surprise her with a fun night out. Instead of being the typical guy who makes a reservation, think about how you can be the guy who listens to her and plans a great date that she did not expect. If you can pull this off, she will be open to all sorts of advances from you.

7. Be positive. If you are positive about life, it shows in your actions. I always tell men to be extra nice to waiters, bartenders and other service people. Be a courteous driver when she's in the car. When you are in line at the movies, don't complain. Look for the humor and try to have fun with people all around you. Be positive about everything, and she will find you to be very sexy and alluring. No one wants to be with a negative hothead.

8. Be balanced. Women love a successful, ambitious man. They love that you work hard, but if you constantly put work ahead of her she will become turned off. She will start to imagine what life with you will be like with her needs being ignored. If you are out meeting women to date, you need to balance your life between work and play. This will be a major turn-on for her.

9. Have ambition. Men who are ambitious about what they do are a turn-on to women. It doesn't matter if you choose to be a rich stock trader or a painter, as long as you are passionate about who you are and what you do. If you don't love what you do, find something that really turns you on. You can't attract the woman you want with a negative ambition. Women love a man who is the best at what he does.

10. Be attentive. You are out with her for the very first time, and she tells you she loves a certain type of music. On the next date take her to a lounge that plays that type of music. It is all about paying attention to the details and working on your listening skills.

This list of 10 things will work in most cases. Keep in mind there is always the woman who you just can't seem to please. If you happen to cross paths with this type of woman, ask yourself, "Why would I want to be with a woman who is so difficult?"
I tend to avoid the difficult, judgmental women. Knowing women's turn-ons and putting them into practice will help you identify women who may be relationship material. You need to realize that you want to attract and turn on the women that are attracted to you on an equal level!

Is VIVA LAUGHLIN The Worst TV Show Ever Made?

2007-10-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

Greg Hassall
Is VIVA LAUGHLIN the worst TV show ever made? That's a big call, but the program is certainly one of the most ill-conceived.

The first big project from Hugh Jackman's production company, Seed, has been attracting all the wrong kind of headlines since premiering in the US last week.

It was hardly the buzz Nine was looking for before last night's Australian premiere.

Based on the six-part BBC series Blackpool, which aired on the ABC in 2005, it follows Ripley Holden's quest to open a casino. Viewers might have been surprised to find Holden is not played by Jackman but by the British actor Lloyd Owen, a name conspicuously absent from Nine's publicity. Jackman's minor role is as a rival casino owner.

The other thing missing from Nine's publicity was the dreaded M-word: musical. As in Blackpool, the characters break into song. However, they do so with an astonishing lack of conviction.

Like very bad karaoke, they warble along apologetically as the original songs play loudly in the background. Owen's casting is inexplicable. Not only is his American accent poor, he has a very ordinary singing voice. And the less said about Melanie Griffith's performance the better.

How did the US network CBS get this so wrong? One can only imagine its executives were looking for something quirky, in keeping with the trend for offbeat dramas (think Heroes, Ugly Betty, Life, Desperate Housewives). But they clearly lacked the courage of their convictions. Viva Laughlin has the fingerprints of nervous network executives all over it. In recent articles, those involved with the show played down its musical aspect. Their embarrassment flows through to the performances. If you're going to try something different, you've got to commit to it. In Blackpool the songs were attacked with such spirit that you were swept along for the ride. Here, they have no context. They seem to belong to an entirely different show and the actors seem relieved when they're over.

Channel Nine just can't take a trick. While its rivals enjoy the success of Bionic Woman, Heroes and House, it's stuck with this - a bad episode of Las Vegas, with songs. Nine's best hope last night was that viewers tuned in out of morbid curiosity. You have to work with what you've got and "the worst show on TV" is at least a talking point.
THE CRITICS SAY…

Viva Laughlin … may well be the worst new show of the season, but is it the worst show in the history of television?

The New York Times

Let us count the number of ways it bombs.

Newsday.com

Laughlin is merely cheap and leaden, like a deflated balloon. Film.com

Weep … for Jackman's reputation, for all of us who have spent an hour gawking at a train wreck.

PopMatters

Sex- Tainted Television Programmes, Destroying American Society

2007-10-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Roberto Carlos Alvarez-galloso

“Once we turned it on, we watched whatever was on, one thing after another,” said Haruna. “We wouldn’t turn it off until we were ready to go to bed.” Some say: “I just can’t keep my eyes off it,” and others, “I don’t want to watch TV as much as I do, but I can’t help it.” Do you watch too much television? Are you concerned about the effect TV may be having on your family?

TV Programmes in US are full of sexual innuendos; the Hollywood conglomerates believe that sex, drugs and violence are money-spinners. Love for family or for that matter, life for life takes a backseat. The soaps of US Latin TV stations are no better.

Current television programs in America are full of sexual innuendos either by design or by accident. The conglomerates of Hollywood claim that sex, drugs and violence are moneymakers. The people who watch television hour after hour swallow the garbage that comes out of it and imitates it.

The television programmes of the Twenty First Century do almost nothing to promote love for family or love for life. It is always sex, sex and sex in America. Who can forget a certain episode in "Desperate Housewives" [which is a show promoting adultery] where the housewife asks of the plumber, "are you here to fix my pipes?” The same programme also shows the housewives Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria complaining that their husbands “do not give it to them"; it also shows them hopping from man to man like prostitutes.

On the few occasions I have seen television in America [except for certain stations and even then I prefer the computer and the short wave radio for better in-formation and entertainment], I gained the impression that the women in America are like the ones you see on TV.

Regardless of the language spoken, almost all of US TV spits out pornography and sex. This also includes the US Latin TV stations whose soap operas are good at promoting adultery.

I am reminded of the experience of a friend of mine who acts in US Latin soap operas as well as US Anglo-Saxon soap operas. The director wanted her to do a nude scene behind a curtain. She refused, so a compromise was reached - she would do a love scene in a bathtub full of water, wearing wet white T-shirt, wet blue jeans and showing her bare feet. Personally, I preferred that to the nude scene, which she felt, was degrading.

At the rate we are going, there is always going to be sex on US TV. What I ask of the viewers is to boycott stations that refuse to listen to us so that there could be more family-oriented programmes. I have turned off US TV myself so I can listen to TV and radio via the Internet, such as programmes from India, Great Britain, Costa Rica, Estonia, Portugal and other countries in South Asia.

Brad Pitt In "The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford"

2007-10-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

Helen Barlow

For a long time Brad Pitt was not a film-festival kind of guy, but this year he has gone into overdrive. Whether he was skylarking with his good friend George Clooney and his Ocean's 13 buddies in Cannes, supporting his beloved Angelina Jolie as the producer of A Mighty Heart or presenting his own serious turn in Venice as the infamous outlaw in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, he was grinning from ear-to-ear, perhaps pleased that after years of making films he is finally being taken more seriously.

And, yes, at 43 he looks good, too - positively dapper in his vintage-style cream linen suit. Maybe that growing brood of kids has given him direction.

"It's the most fun I've ever had; it's also the biggest pain in the ass I've ever experienced," he says of being the father of the adopted Maddox, six, Pax, three, and Zahara, two, as well as his birth child, Shiloh, one, who is a stunning mix of himself and Jolie.

"I love it and can't recommend it any more highly but when I do have time to work then I really have to focus, because I know there's a short window to get something done. Actually, I've become much more efficient; I'm quite pleased by it all."

If Ben Affleck complains that "Bennifer", his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, was the cause of his career undoing, Pitt has thrived in the so-called "Brangelina", the term given to his relationship with Jolie,?whom he met on Mr & Mrs Smith.

He has become surprisingly more articulate when dealing with the press, has taken on greater challenges behind and in front of the camera and shares Jolie's passion for humanitarian causes.

Professionally, Pitt has found inspiration in his friendship with Clooney, who has long had his own production outfit to make adventurous movies. Pitt originally formed Plan B with his former wife Jennifer Aniston and Brad Grey. Plan B has produced big-budget films such as Troy, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and the Oscar-winning The Departed, as well as the adventurous flop Running with Scissors, starring Pitt's former fiancee, Gwyneth Paltrow.

With Aniston long out of the company and Jolie constantly by his side, Pitt has developed a more hands-on approach with A Mighty Heart, based on Mariane Pearl's book, and Jesse James, by New Zealand-born Australian director Andrew Dominik (Chopper). Interestingly, there are also Australian links to his recent Plan B productions: Shantaram, which stars Johnny Depp, is about the astounding life of former Australian heroin addict and underworld figure Gregory David Roberts, who sets up free clinics in India, while The Time Traveler's Wife stars Eric Bana.

"I got into it [producing movies] to be a part of stories that I wouldn't normally be right for as an actor," Pitt says.

"I got into it after seeing how films can go off the rails and thinking I have something to offer there, to help support directors I want to work with. Our simple edict has been just great storytellers and great stories and it's proven to be rewarding for us."

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford represents Pitt's greatest achievement. He nurtured the well-received film, which is based on Ron Hansen's novel, from its inception. When he took out the Venice acting prize for his brooding portrayal of Jesse James, that was the icing on the cake.

(Interestingly, both Pitt and James spent their formative years in Missouri.)

"This is a very complex, slow-burning style of film that is not part of the current zeitgeist of filmmaking - it's more a throwback to some of the great films of the '70s," Pitt says of the project, which went through about 40?edits before arriving at its current 150-minute incarnation.

"I actually liked the first cut, which was four-and-a-half hours long, but we didn't think people would have a lot of tolerance for it. I think it's a delicious film that sits and breathes like good wine. It's my favourite kind of storytelling."

The story follows the doomed outlaw in the final year of his life just after the American Civil War has ended. Paranoid that someone is going to kill him, he lashes out and shoots men who were once his friends. Eventually he becomes resigned to his fate, meted out by Robert Ford (Casey Affleck, who is the younger brother of Ben and a favourite for the Venice acting award). Not only was Ford after the huge reward but he also yearned for the fame it would bring. Much has been made of this theme in terms of Pitt's?own?celebrity.

"I don't think it's the main point of the story, but I can certainly understand his feelings of having a bounty on his head to some degree. Fortunately, nobody's pointing guns at me," he?laughs.

"In the movie, Jesse James was certainly caught up in his own celebrity - he was weary of living an alias and had really lost himself in this perpetuation of his outlaw life. Robert Ford represents another aspect of celebrity here with his blind want for fame without really understanding the consequences."

Pitt, who considers the film more a gangster tale than a Western, hand-picked Dominik, who had made another?movie about a wanted man, Chopper Read.

"When I saw Chopper I was really blown away by it. I thought it was a very important film, and very authentic, original storytelling. Andrew understands the undercurrents that propel people to behave the way they do and in ways that don't always make sense. Through the whole lengthy process of making our film, he stayed true to his vision."

Now it seems that the 39-year-old director is a new member of Pitt's extended cinematic family. So, too, is Affleck, a close friend of Matt Damon, who appeared in Ocean's 13.

Sam Rockwell, who plays Ford's older brother, Charley, has long been championed by Clooney since he was the star of Clooney's directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, in which Pitt and Damon had cameo roles.

As Pitt's clout is increasing, it doesn't hurt having friends such as Clooney. A frequent visitor to Clooney's plush pad in Lake Como, Italy, Pitt is often the brunt of Clooney's humour.

After Clooney won People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for the second time in 2006, he famously quipped, "Brad's going to be upset." Pitt was the first to win the award twice. Currently they are appearing together in the Coen Brothers' comedy Burn After Reading.

Pitt has joined his Fight Club director David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in a tale about a man who ages in reverse, where he joins his Babel co-star Cate Blanchett. He rejoins Ed Norton for State of Play, in which he will play the former campaign manager of Norton's congressman. And it has just been announced that he will replace Damon in The Fighter, which stars Mark Wahlberg as one-time world champion boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward.

There's no doubting that Pitt, who first made his mark seducing Geena Davis in Thelma & Louise and later delivered gnarly performances in Twelve Monkeys, Snatch and Fight Club, remains eclectic in his choices.

"My decision to take on a film is not calculated in terms of its potential success," he says.

"I just go with the story that speaks to me, that I feel strongly about, and more importantly with the people I'm surrounded by. I don't even think about aiming for a bigger audience. My main concern is quality and I think there's quality in all categories of filmmaking."

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Director Andrew Dominik
Stars Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell
Rated MA15+.
Opens November 1.

Heather Mills Gets A Divorce Settlement Of $57 Million From Paul McCartney

2007-10-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

Former Beatle Paul McCartney has offered his estranged wife Heather Mills a divorce settlement of £25 million ($57 million), the Daily Mirror reported today.

Quoting unnamed sources, the tabloid said that McCartney initially offered Mills between £3 million and £5 million, but Mills's legal team had negotiated that up to the current offer, with one source saying "it's the closest they have been" on settlement sums.

"There has been serious wrangling going on behind the scenes for months and months and months and he [Mills's lawyer Anthony Julius] has finally managed to get them to hike the package up to about £25 million," a well-placed source told the paper.

"There is no guarantee they will settle but it's the closest they have been."

The pair's legal teams were still negotiating the details of the deal, including a confidentiality clause that McCartney had insisted Mills sign, the paper said.

Media reports have suggested that Mills was seeking up to £60 million from McCartney's reported £825 million fortune to end their marriage, which collapsed last year.

McCartney, 65, and Mills, 39, a former model who lost a leg in a 1993 road accident, married in 2002, four years after the musician's first wife, Linda, died of breast cancer.

Since they split last year, the couple's divorce has been played out acrimoniously in the public eye, with Mills saying in March that securing a divorce deal was like "getting blood out of a stone".

On the £25 million offer, an unidentified source close to McCartney told the Mirror: "His [McCartney's] legal team knows a judge is unlikely to award Heather a package of much more than about £25 million so he has offered that and now all he has to do is sit and wait.

"It's now in Heather's hands. Paul has always been prepared to go all the way, but if it can be sorted out before then, he's not going to stand in the way."

Is George Clooney Double Dealing ?

2007-10-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

David Michael

George Clooney is no stranger to a crisis of conscience. Two years ago he was sitting alongside Bono and Bob Geldof at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, throwing his weight behind the cause of lobbying the then leader of the Word Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, to wipe out Third World debt.

Only a matter of hours before the meeting it had been announced that a consortium fronted by Clooney (including Brad Pitt) was planning to open a behemoth Las Vegas casino complex called Las Ramblas.

"The casino had been something we'd been working on for years and that announcement was unfortunate," admits Clooney, with hindsight. "I told my partners, we can't do it this way, we have to evolve and participate, let's give 25 per cent of anything that we make to the Make Poverty History campaign. Then at least you can justify the idea."

Crisis over, Clooney was spared further accusations of double standards when the rapid increase in the cost of construction and the spiralling fortunes of Vegas casinos caused a U-turn in the billion-dollar project, although Clooney, Pitt and Co made good on the sale of their land.

At the Venice Film Festival last month to promote his latest film Michael Clayton Clooney was again wobbling on a tightrope of apparent hypocrisy when it was suggested at the film's press conference that his appearance in advertisements for Nestle coffee brand Nespresso was perhaps at odds with a film that directly questioned multinational corruption.

Nestle was much maligned in the late 1970s for its unethical marketing of formula baby milk in developing countries.

Not amused, Clooney abruptly dismissed the question but the next day, speaking to a smaller gathering of press, decided on a little damage limitation.

"It's irritating because I'm doing the best I can to bring attention to things," he sighed.

"Every major corporation in the world has been picketed and I'm not sure what the specific agenda was on that one. Those are the moments where you want to go: 'What are you doing to help the world'?" With the veneer of his customary charm scratched, it was soon business as usual in Venice as his Cary Grant smile and warm familiarity went into overdrive.

Within minutes the assembled press were again laughing at his jokes, not caring if they'd heard his self-deprecating remarks about playing Batman before.

There's no doubt Clooney is the most charismatic and likeable of the Hollywood A-list and, as is par for the course with his attendance at these events, people fall over themselves to get a piece of him.

To get some time alone with him I literally have to tear him away from a gaggle of feverish Italian girls swarming round him in a hotel hallway, wanting pictures taken with him on their mobile phones.

With an Italian residence in Lake Como, Clooney has always been a favourite in this part of the world.

Having been twice voted sexiest man alive by People magazine, his demand is justified. However, he has long risen above such frivolity of being a Hollywood star. As his casino dalliance demonstrates, he's now a high roller.

This year Clooney was ranked 27 in Variety magazine's top 100 Most Powerful and Influential People list. The scale of the accolade is not immediately apparent, but when you consider he ranks higher than Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger, with only the likes of Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates above him, it's a clear indication Gorgeous George is more than just a pretty face.

Sporting a salt-and-pepper beard and wearing his regulation dark jacket and shirt combo, Clooney admits to me he often wrestles with his "Irish-Catholic guilt" since his success.

"I have some money and a nice house in Italy, but when you're out there saying we should raise some money for the poor or making these films that ask questions, you kind of look like a schmuck.

"So it's a weird situation: you don't want to give up all those things you've worked hard for and enjoy, but I think you have to participate in one way or another."

Despite his recent spate of politically charged films such as Syriana, Good Night, And Good Luck and now Michael Clayton, Clooney has done more than just let his films do the talking.

He has been an advocate in campaigning for the Sudanese Government to stop the genocide in Darfur, lobbying both the UN and US Senate in the process. Plus, as part of his contract with Omega watches, he's working with them on the development of a fuel cell, not to mention presenting himself as the pin-up boy for eco-friendly electric cars.

"I can't do a film about oil corruption and consumption and drive a big Bronco," he says. "I can point to my life 10 years ago when I excitedly bought a Bronco. I'm evolving too."

The young Clooney grew up in Kentucky on the television sets of his father, news anchorman Nick Clooney. The spark to begin acting came when his California-based uncle, actor Jose Ferrer, visited town on a film and suggested his nephew should move to Los Angeles to take a shot at acting.

From the age of 21 Clooney spent a decade making a mediocre living off low-profile TV parts. While the quantity was there, quality was another matter.

"I did a series called Sunset Beat where I played an undercover cop on a Harley during the day and a rock star at night," he laughs. "I've done some really bad television."

In hindsight it may have been his now pal and co-star on the Ocean's films, Brad Pitt, who initially stunted his film career. Clooney had auditioned several times for Ridley Scott for the part of J.D. in Thelma & Louise (1991), a role that ultimately went to Pitt and catapulted him to heart-throb stardom.

"It was pretty embarrassing," joked Clooney in front of Pitt, while doing press for Ocean's Thirteen. "They brought Brad and me in and they just made us take our shirts off and stand there for a while, and then they picked Brad."

Clooney had to be patient, waiting until he was 33 years old to land his big break as Dr Doug Ross in ER, with a transition into film swiftly following. Coming to success later in life has provided Clooney with a sobering outlook on his lot in life.

"I saw how little it has to do with you," he says of his journey. "It's all about luck. The problem with famous people in general is that they actually think they're geniuses. You get famous and you think, 'Yes, of course I should be famous and I've earned it all'. You haven't, you got lucky. I got lucky, I was in a TV show that got a Thursday night-time slot at 10pm and it was a massive hit, and as a result I get to do movies I want to do." Such a grounded perspective fuels an all-round-good-guy persona, which according to his Michael Clayton writer-director Tony Gilroy is the genuine Clooney. "I would say, of all the actors and movie stars I've dealt with over the years, George has the least amount of filter between the way he presents public and private. He doesn't act. The guy: that's him."

But does Clooney find it difficult to flick on that movie star switch? "I'm at that point, in my life and my career, where very few things rattle me. I'm not sick of being 'on'. It doesn't bother me. There are times, but not often."

Perhaps the biggest test of his temperament came during last year's Oscar race, when Clooney's smile may as well have been fixed as he did the rounds to support not only his directorial effort for Good Night, And Good Luck, but also Syriana. In the latter he eventually took best supporting actor for his role as a conflicted CIA agent.

"It was an interesting time," he reflects. "I was going through the whole Oscar campaign . . . where you kiss babies and stuff. You go to all these different events and you can convince yourself you're doing it for the film, but in a way you start to feel unclean about yourself."

He admits to feeling "really beat up" during the experience. He was filming Michael Clayton, in which he plays the eponymous "fixer" for a New York law firm who is coming to terms with the morality of his work while trying to hold together his fraying personal life.

Adding to his dishevelled appearance in Syriana, his Michael Clayton role shows he has no interest in playing the pristine Hollywood leading man, that he could still easily pull off even at 46 years old (he is, after all, currently dating a 28-year-old, ex-Vegas waitress Sarah Larson). The best of examples of his lack of vanity on screen come with his work with the Coen Brothers - O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Intolerable Cruelty and Burn After Reading.

"The end part in my trilogy of idiots with them", Clooney labels it. "They seem to find I make a good knucklehead."

Of course the reality is far from that. If the private jets, advertising endorsements and multimillion-dollar pay cheques of his day job have unavoidably made the ground less then firm when he campaigns and acts on burning issues, it's also compromised any political ambitions.

"I've always been involved in social and political things my whole life," says the instinctively political animal.

"I campaigned for a guy for governor when I was 13 years old. The truth is that, at this time in history, being an actor, unless you're a Republican helping out a Republican, you can't show up as you do damage.

"When my father ran for Congress in the last election I couldn't campaign for him because it was Hollywood verses the heartland. Likewise with John Kerry, whose request I had to turn down."

Ultimately, he concludes, running for office himself is the only thing about which he does have a clear conscience. "In politics you have to make a tremendous amount of compromises in everything and I'm not built like that. I'm more stubborn than that. I'd be a horrible politician. No, I would run from office."

10 Biggest Hollywood's Divorce Battles

2007-10-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney likened his bitter divorce battle with Heather Mills to "going through hell" this week.

But the songwriter is faring surprisingly well compared to some of his celebrity comrades.

We trawled through the archives to countdown the ten most acrimonious celebrity divorces...

10. Shanna Moakler & Travis Barker

Former beauty queen Shanna Moakler divorced Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker in November last year, celebrating the occasion with a very public "divorce party" in Las Vegas.

While Barker refrained from entering a public slanging match with his ex-wife, he sought revenge by hooking up with Moakler's sworn enemy, Paris Hilton.

Indeed, Moakler reportedly attacked Hilton in an Los Angeles nightclub over the incident.

Despite their differences, the couple reunited in March this year, but separated again in July.

9. Kid Rock & Pamela Anderson

It may only have lasted four short months, but it was long enough to leave Kid Rock bitter and twisted.

Earlier this month, the singer publicly accused Anderson of lying about a miscarriage in a bid to guilt trip her then-husband.

The former Baywatch star shot back, saying that Rock was bitter and desperate.

8. Anne Heche & Coley Laffoon

After five years of marriage, actress Anne Heche left husband Coley Laffoon for her Men in Trees co-star James Tupper last year.

Since separating, the divorce has become increasingly heated, with Laffoon publicly criticising the actress' parenting skills and Heche's "bizarre and delusional behavior".

Heche then fought back accusing the cameraman of frequenting strip clubs, playing poker and ping-pong and watching online porn while they were together.

Last month, Laffoon accused Heche of entering their former home while he was away and removing furniture. He also claimed she entered his closet and ripped the buttons off several of his shirts.

Heche denied the allegations. Legal proceedings are still underway.

7. Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown

Whitney Houston showed just how cold a diva she can be when she kicked ex-husband Bobby Brown to the curb.

According to court documents, Brown lived in his car following the separation, while paying for Houston and daughter Bobbi Kristo to stay in a plush hotel.

Brown also claimed that Houston blocked his phone number and banned their daughter from receiving phone calls from her father.

After 14 years of marriage, the couple's divorce was finalised this year, with Houston getting sole custody of their child.

Houston told the judge she did not need spousal or child support and that 14-year-old Bobbi Kristina could not depend on Brown.

"He's unreliable. If he says he's going to come, sometimes he does. Usually he doesn't."

6. Eminem & Kim Mathers

Some people just don't learn...

When rapper Eminem divorced Kim Mathers in 2001, he said: "I'd rather have a baby through my penis than get married again."

She said: "I can't stand him. He's an absolutely horrible person, and he gets worse every day. I vomit in my mouth whenever I'm around him or I hear his name."

Despite such bitter sentiments, the couple reunited in 2005 and remarried in January 2006, before the rapper filed for divorce less than 90 days later.

5. Gary Oldman & Donya Fiorentino

Harry Potter star Gary Oldman may play the role of caring godfather Sirius Black in the film franchise but according to his ex Donya Fiorentino, he is a drunken bully.

Fiorentino made the allegations in court documents, claiming Oldman accidentally burned their four-year-old son Charlie with a cigarette and failed to notice when he had broken his foot.

She also claimed Oldman is a drunk and a drug addict, who once packed painkillers in their sons' overnight bags.

Oldman denies the allegations.

4. Liza Minnelli & David Gest

The claws came out during Liza Minnelli and David Gest's divorce in May last year.

During the proceedings, Gest told the court Minnelli had herpes and did not tell him until after they were married in 2002.

If Minnelli had herpes before March 2002, that would constitute fraud and their prenuptial agreement would be void.

Minnelli hit back, accusing Gest of trying to "poison her with drugs".

3. David Hasselhoff & Pamela Bach

After 16 years of marriage there is no love lost between former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach.

He says she is a stalker who broke into his house and hid in his closet.

She says he emotionally and physically abused her.

In court documents she said: "He grabbed me and pushed me hard into a car. In the past, he has also broken my nose and called me 'whore,' 'bitch,' 'slut' and 'drug addict' in front of our children."

He then said, she is nuts (perhaps not in so many words...)

Both deny the allegations.

2. Kim Basinger & Alec Baldwin

Since divorcing in 2001, Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin continue to have one of the most acrimonious relationships in Hollywood.

Lowlights of the ongoing feud include Baldwin leaving an abusive voicemail on his daughter Ireland's cell phone, calling her "rude, thoughtless little pig".

Baldwin then accused Basinger of leaking the voicemail to media.

Over the years, Baldwin's family have stepped into the fray, with Billy Baldwin calling Basinger a "black widow" and "a nutcase".

Baldwin himself has claimed Basinger is a manipulative liar, who taught their daughter to "function as a spy".

Basinger once compared her ex to Saddam Hussein.

1. Charlie Sheen & Denise Richards

It started off amicably enough but soon became one of the most bitter divorce proceedings in Hollywood history.

Despite settling their divorce in November last year, Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards continue to wage a war of words on one other.

Richards recently filed court papers seeking to limit Sheen's visitations with their daughters, following a spate of abusive emails allegedly sent by Sheen to Richards.

On August 22, this year Sheen wrote: "You are a pig. A sad, jobless pig who is sad and talentless and, um, oh yeah, sad and jobless and evil and a bad mom, so go [expletive] yourself, sad, jobless pig."

In another email, Sheen refers to Richard's mother, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, saying: "Go cry to your bald mom, you [expletive] loser."

Australian Pop Diva Kylie Minogue And Taiwanese Singer Jolin Tsai Record A Duet

2007-10-15T20:08:00.001-07:00

Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue has recorded a duet with top Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai that will be included in an Asian edition of her upcoming album.

EMI Taiwan said on its website that the singers had joined forces on an English language song called In My Arms which will appear on Minogue's new album X due out November 26.

It is 39-year-old Minogue's 10th studio album but her first studio album in four years and the first since she battled breast cancer in 2005.

The album release will be preceded by the new single 2 Hearts that will be released digitally on November 5.

Tsai, 27, who is one of the most successful and popular singer in the Mandarin music market, described Minogue in a statement as a "goddess."

In June, Tsai was named best female singer and most favorite female artist at Taiwan's 18th Annual Golden Melody Awards.

In addition to the new album, Minogue is the subject of the documentary White Diamond, which chronicles her return to performing after her 2005 surgery for cancer.

Brad Pitt Cut Down On Alcohol Intake To Be A Good Dad

2007-10-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Brad Pitt thinks drinking beer made him a neglectful dad.

The Ocean's Thirteen star decided to massively cut down his alcohol intake after seeing his adopted daughter Zahara, two, choke on an ice cube.

He said: "It's not easy to be a good father when you've had a few drinks.

"About a year ago I'd had a couple of beers and my daughter Zahara had this piece of ice that had been dropped on the floor, and she was putting it in her mouth and began to choke on it, and that was it.

"You have to be absolutely on top of every situation. The other s**t doesn't work anymore. When they wake up in the middle of the night you have to be there.

"And you can't deal with children when you have a hangover - that's just a misery!"

Brad and his long-term partner Angelina Jolie have three adopted children, six-year-old Maddox, three-year-old Pax, and two year-old Zahara, as well as a 16-month-old biological daughter, Shiloh.

The 43-year-old actor insists his kids find it difficult to cope with having famous parents.

He explained to Total Film magazine: "It's odd for my children, man. They have this idea that there's this sea of people with cameras. This is their idea of the world they live in."

Westlife Plan To Destroy Spice Girls In Upcoming Chart Battle

2007-10-15T19:38:00.001-07:00

Westlife have slammed the Spice Girls for living in the past, and insist they will destroy the girl group in their upcoming chart battle.

The Irish boy band - made up of Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan - have dismissed Mel C for boasting, "Seriously, who would you put your money on", when asked about the two group's upcoming chart battle, insisting past success counts for nothing.

"No one could compete with the Spice Girls 10 years ago," Mark said. "But actually we competed with them eight years ago and we won! We are not living in the past."

Shane added: "Yeah, we put our album out at the same time and we beat them. When they were first around no one could compete with them. But that's not true now.

"Mel C obviously has some issues with us."

Mel C has said the competition does not worry her.

"I personally don't like Westlife," she said. "We've just sold out 17 nights at the 02 Centre...we've got nothing to prove!"

The last time both groups released albums simultaneously, Westlife's Coast To Coast sold 160,000 copies more than the girl's Forever LP.

Nicky has warned Mel C to stop attacking Westlife - before it gets too "personal".

He fumed: "You get a lot of tired old has beens, and I am not referring to the Spice Girls now, saying, 'Oh it was different when I was in the business.' Nostalgia is a big thing and it will work for the Spice Girls.

"I don't have anything against them personally. But if Mel C wants to start opening her mouth and picking on us individually or our families then it is going to become personal. It should be a good chart battle."

Both acts were due to release their new albums on November 5, but the Spice Girls reportedly delayed their greatest hits collection by a week to avoid directly clashing with Westlife's new album Back Home.

Author J.K Rowling Given A Treat In Los Angeles

2007-10-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter might have waved his wand and cast a spell, but author J.K. Rowling sat down and cheerfully signed 1,600 books for schoolkids as she launched her first US book tour in seven years.

"This is an amazing treat for me," Rowling said of the mass book signing and reading for cheering Harry Potter fans who gave her a pop star welcome in Los Angeles.

"I really miss being able to interact directly with the readers. Everyone keeps saying, 'it must be so onerous. Doesn't it hurt your hand?' But, honestly, that's the bit I really enjoy," Rowling told reporters.

The 42-year-old British author said that after 10 years of writing to a deadline, she now felt as if she was on vacation and has not yet started writing the promised Harry Potter encyclopedia that fans around the world are awaiting.

She gave no clues as to her next project, but told an audience of 1,600 children that Harry Potter would be a hard act to follow.

"I want to fall in love with someone the way I fell in love with Harry. I never think about a particular genre. It is all about the story and the characters, but it has to be something I adore," she said.

Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- the seventh and final book in the boy wizard series -- became the fastest-selling book in history when it was released in July. More than 11 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours in the United States and Britain.

Seated on an oversized red and gold throne in the Kodak Theatre -- home to the annual Oscar ceremony -- Rowling read a chapter to a spellbound audience and answered questions from 12 Los Angeles children about her inspiration as a writer and about characters in the series.

She will hold similar readings and book signings in New Orleans and New York this month.

"I was super excited. I have been looking forward to this day for weeks," said Hannah Nelson, 12, one of the lucky few who got to pose a question.

"I really idolize her, and to be able to meet her was a great experience," Nelson said.

Despite widespread praise from teachers and parents for boosting interest in reading in children, the Harry Potter books have regularly been banned by schools and libraries in parts of the United States and Britain because of their focus on wizardry.

But Rowling said she was in good company with other acclaimed writers. "I take my inclusion on the banned book list as a massive compliment."

Aussie Channel Seven Lost Olympics Broadcast Rights To Channel Nine

2007-10-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Anthony Stavrinos & Jeff Turnbull

Channel Seven will lose the Olympic broadcast rights to arch-rival Channel Nine after next year's Beijing Games.

Nine, in conjunction with pay television provider Foxtel, had secured rights to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday.

The coup - understood to be costing $US100 million - is a major blow for Seven, which has had a stranglehold on Olympic broadcasting since 1992.

It will be the first time the summer Olympics have been shown on Nine since Montreal in 1976, when it shared the rights with Seven and the ABC.

The IOC said Nine and Foxtel were chosen because they could reach the widest audience on a variety of broadcast platforms - terrestrial TV, subscription TV, mobile and internet.

Nine chief executive David Gyngell was buoyant. "London is a solid cultural fit with our viewing audience and it is likely to achieve strong ratings, particularly with the historical links in sporting and cultural terms between Australia and the United Kingdom," he said.

One insider at Nine said the rights win would be a fillip for staff morale, which has been rocked by its losing its No.1 rating ranking and since James Packer offloaded the majority of the station to private equity group CVC Asia Pacific.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said: "Our aim is to ensure that as many people as possible are able to enjoy the Olympic Games across the world and we look forward to working closely with the Nine Network and Foxtel to make this possible in Australia."

Australian IOC member and chair of its Press Commission, Kevan Gosper, last night rejected suggestions the IOC had overlooked Seven's solid Olympics broadcasting history.