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ich, selfish, callous….perfect villains. But as this week’s Private Eye points out, there are a number of problems with this story. The same report, from the Mirror, reveals that the experts were themselves unsure:

During the seven-week trial the Gays vehemently denied they had done anything to harm Christian. Experts could not agree about how the toddler sustained the head injury from which he died, despite the wealth of medical evidence.

Home Office pathologist Professor Helen Whitwell said the brain damage could have been caused by an impact, or forceful gripping.

Prof Whitwell insisted there was “nothing specific” to indicate the problem had been caused by too much salt and there was no evidence of a weapon being used.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Timothy Chambers said it was not safe to conclude definitively that Christian’s high blood-sodium levels were caused by ingesting salt. But he agreed with prosecutor Julia Macur QC that there was “virtually no other reason” to explain it.

There’s a history of women being accused of deliberately overdosing their children with salt. The man behind these stories?….discredited Professor Sir Roy Meadow, of “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy” fame, whose evidence helped convict innocent mothers such as Angela Canning, Sally Clark, and Trupti Patel of murdering their babies.

The Gays were originally charged with murder, but it emerged at the trial that Christian’s bruising was too recent, and must have occurred while he was in hospital, so the shaking/beating allegation collapsed. It also emerged that Christian had suffered two episodes of heart damage, the larger one certainly before he was in the care of the Gays.

So the default option for the prosecution, in line with Sir Roy Meadow’s dubious precedent, was to opt for deliberate salt poisoning. Christian had a sodium chloride level of well above normal on admission to hospital, though not necessarily a fatal level. But how do you administer teaspoons full of salt to a toddler without force? And why? Why on earth salt? Not, you would think, a common method of punishing children, outside of the fantasies of Sir Roy Meadow.

As the Eye point out: “Probably the most troubling aspect of the case, which points to Christian having died from natural causes, is that high levels of salt were not being excreted by his kidneys, as might have been expected.” If he was being deliberately poisoned, his kidneys – which appeared healthy – should have been working hard getting rid of that salt.

A few web sites have reported on this case, as an example of how nasty people can be. “Evil fuckers” just about covers the general attitude. Maybe they’re looking in the wrong direction for the “evil fuckers”.

l nation and glorify the 60th anniversaries of the WPK and the liberation of the country as grand festivals of victors.

They also vowed to mercilessly wipe out the imperialist aggressors who are working hard to infringe upon the sovereignty and dignity of the DPRK with the invincible might of Songun and embody the idea of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration to accomplish the historic cause of national reunification without fail.

Firework was displayed to beautifully adorn the sky above the Jongil Peak when the high praises of the great man prevailed in the primitive forest.

Servicepersons of the three services of the KPA, poets and artistes recited poems in an excited tone.

IN/1878972197/qid=1108506493/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_10_1/202-2954386-5370260″>The Hearing Trumpet” or “The Stone Door“, for instance, over a supposed masterpiece like Breton’s “Nadja“.

There’s a beautiful portrait of Carrington included in the exhibition. There’s also a portrait of Charles Hawtrey, from 1940, dressed in a low-cut number, looking for all the world like Lady Windermere. Now that is surreal.

ce, although many [people] in Egypt oppose normalization. Could you explain your views?”

Hassanein: “Egypt’s rulers are afraid of peace, since peace pushes us towards democracy, and they are not interested in that. Nor are they interested in our becoming acquainted with the cultural reality which Israel has created or with the democracy that the Israelis, together with the Jews, have implemented.”

You need courage to say these things in Egypt. The leader of the liberal opposition party al-Ghad, Ayman Nour, was recently arrested on trumped up charges of forgery. This response to Hassanein’s remarks from Mustafa Bakri, editor of the independent Egyptian nationalist weekly Al-Usbu’, is chilling:

“This man is not normal. It is saddening that such a man used to be a member of parliament. He is a man full of contradictions. Once he was affiliated with the Wafd party, then he changed and became a Nasserist, and now he stands alongside Israel in the same trench…

“His words reflect only his personal opinion. The Egyptian people are opposed to normalization with the Zionist enemy, and stand alongside the Palestinian people. The intention of such claims [like Hassanein’s] is to incite the entire world against Egypt, his birthplace. To our deep regret, he is now selling it [Egypt] to Shimon Peres and to Ariel Sharon. It seems that he has been blinded by Israeli democracy, and he should be brought to court in Egypt for his dangerous words, which are damaging to Egypt’s national security. We can’t rule out [the possibility] that this man speaks for Israel.

“This man can find no way to get publicity other than announcing he would like to present his candidacy for Egypt’s presidency… I am willing to bet that if he were to say these things in the streets, he wouldn’t get out of it unscathed…”

Amir Taheri in the Times looks at the details of the Iraq election:

One thing is sure: Iraq has been set on the road to democracy. This is going to be a bumpy road with many zigzags. But, provided the US-led coalition does not lose its nerve, but stays committed until the new Iraq can defend itself against its domestic and foreign foes, the Iraqi experience could inspire democratic change in other Muslim countries in the Middle East.

It would not be easy for Syria to orchestrate another fake election in Lebanon in May. The Khomeinists in Iran would find it hard to present another fixed election in June as a genuine reflection of the popular will. The Egyptians would have a hard time producing another 99.99 per cent majority for President Hosni Mubarak, or his son Gamal, in yet another single-candidate election next year. The Saudis would not be able to indefinitely postpone demands for at least half of the seats in the Majlis, their parliament, to go to elected members. In Libya Colonel Gaddafi might find it harder to appoint his son as prime minister with a mere acclamation from his henchmen.

The Arab despots and their friends in the West make a meal of the cliché that democracy cannot be imposed by force. But what happened in Iraq was not imposing democracy by force. The US-led alliance used force to remove impediments to democracy. The people of Iraq became the co-liberators of their country, first by not opposing the US-led coalition and then by risking their lives to set their nation on a new path in the face of vicious terrorism.

It is time to see what is happening in Iraq on its own merits, not in the context of an irrational hatred of the United States and George W. Bush. Like it or not, President Bush has got one thing right: give any nation a chance to choose democracy and it will.

d/story/0,,1409903,00.html”>Here’s a charming article about one such, Daniel Tammet, from the Guardian:

One day his brother asked him a sum. “He asked me to multiply something in my head – like ‘What is 82 x 82 x 82 x 82?’ I just looked at the floor and closed my eyes. My back went very straight and I made my hands into fists. But after five or 10 seconds, the answer just flowed out of my mouth. He asked me several others, and I got every one right. My parents didn’t seem surprised. And they never put pressure on me to perform for the neighbours. They knew I was different, but wanted me to have a normal life as far as possible.”

Tammet could see the car park of his infant school from his bedroom window, which made him feel safe. “I loved assembly because we got to sing hymns. The notes formed a pattern in my head, just like the numbers did.” The other children didn’t know what to make of him, and would tease him. The minute the bell went for playtime he would rush off. “I went to the playground, but not to play. The place was surrounded by trees. While the other children were playing football, I would just stand and count the leaves.”

Here’s a report from the BBC website. A Nigerian study estimated that 8% of the population of Niger are slaves:

Trading in slaves has been banned in Niger since the days of the French colonists in the last century, but ownership of slaves was never specifically banned.

Most slaves in Niger today are the descendents of slaves who were kidnapped in wars and raids centuries ago, and were simply born into their status.

Many slaves in Niger are appallingly abused by their masters.

Slave children are taken away from their parents before they are two-years-old, to break the bonds between parent and child and to eliminate any sense of identity.

The children grow up working in the house of the master.

The slave owners encourage the slaves to reproduce to increase their numbers, sometimes even determining when they have sexual intercourse.

They treat the slaves like their cattle.

Slaves are often beaten for small misdemeanours.

They work long hours and are sometimes deprived of food as punishment.

There are documented cases of slaves being stripped naked in front of their families to humiliate them, of female slaves being raped by their owners, and even of male slaves being castrated by their owners as punishment.

okslut):

64. Evacuation is unlawful in four places. First, in dead-end alleys. Second, on the property of a person who has not given his permission. Third, in a place assigned to a specific group of people, such as some schools. Fourth, over the graves of the faithful, if it would be considered disrespectful.

107. The whole body of an infidel, even the hair, the nails, and its wetness, is unclean.

112. Industrial alcohol used for painting doors, tables, chairs, etc., is clean if one does not know it was made of something inebriating.

120. The sweat of a camel that eats unclean substances is unclean.

125. When a clean object touches an unclean object and one or both are wet enough to convey that wetness to the other, then the clean object becomes unclean. But if the wetness is not enough to reach the other, the clean object does not become unclean.

145. If a host, while eating, realizes that the food is unclean, he must inform his guests. But if one of the guests realizes this, it is not necessary to inform the others, unless his relations with the others are such that as a result of remaining silent he himself becomes unclean.

462. Divorcing a menstruating woman is void.

464. If a woman begins menstruating while praying, her prayer is void.

2,054. These are the major abominable dealings. First, selling real estate. Second, butchery. Third, selling shrouds. Fourth, dealing with base people. Fifth, dealing between the morning azan and the onset of sunshine. Sixth, choosing to buy and sell wheat, barley, and the like as one’s occupation. Seventh, entering into a deal involving the purchase of a commodity that another person is about to buy.

2,622. Eating locusts caught with the hand or by some other means is lawful after they are dead. It is not necessary that the person who caught them be a Moslem or that he mentioned the name of God when he caught them. But if a dead locust is held by an infidel and it is not known whether it was caught alive, it is not lawful to eat it, even if the person who caught it says that he caught it alive.

2,629. It is not unlawful to swallow the food that exits from between the teeth as a result of flossing if one’s nature has no aversion to it.

2,631. It is loathsome to eat the meat of a horse, a mule, or a donkey if someone has had coitus with the animal.

2,637. Several things are loathsome (abominable) when eating. First, eating while satiated. Second, excessive eating (it has been said that the God of the World dislikes a full stomach more than anything else). Third, looking at other people’s faces while they are eating. Fourth, eating hot food. Fifth, blowing at what one is eating or drinking. Sixth, waiting for something else after the bread has been put on the tablecloth. Seventh, cutting bread with a knife. Eighth, putting bread under a container of food. Ninth, cleaning the meat stuck to a bone so that nothing remains on it. Tenth, peeling fruit.

2,874. It is not unlawful to introduce a man’s semen into the uterus of his wife with devices such as suction cups.

2,882. When the preservation of a Moslem’s life rests on grafting an organ from a dead Moslem, severing that organ and grafting it are acceptable.

Had he been reading Borges’ Encyclopedia?

In the wake of the Lawrence Summers affair, Norwegian blogger Secular Blasphemy translates an article in Swedish paper Aftenbladet

In one respect Sweden’s government is unique in the world. It has a definite opinion about a scientific controversy: whether women’s and man’s brains are different, or not. The first time I realised that the government had involved itself in neurobiology, was when gender equality minister [!] Jens Orback in a speech about sexual deviations and living with horses [!!], affirmed:

– The government considers female and male as social constructions, that means gender patterns are created by upbringing, culture, economical conditions, power structures and political ideology.

Apart from taking a position on this scientific question, the government has decided to side with the most extreme researchers: gene theoreticians who for ideological reasons state that biology can not have any saying in explaining why male and female behaviour differs.

This reminds me about the Soviet biologist Trofim Lysenko. Lysenko was by Stalin proclaimed a scientific genius and his “creative darwinism” was hailed as a huge step forward for genetic research. Lysenko argued that learned traits could be inherited and that by manipulating the environment one could easily cause fundamental changes in plants and animals. Career hungry politicians loved him. Ideology meant everything, experiment and science nothing.

The real scientists, who protested, were cleaned out (and executed).

One of the reasons I write this is that the county government (länsstyrelsen) in Norrbotten has banned the publication of a book about gender equality because it contains an interview with a scientist who argues that the difference between men and women is not only caused by the environment, but a combination of inheritance and environment.

According to professor Annica Dahlström, one of the world’s leading neurobiologists, men’s and women’s brains are different. Thus she has entered an area where Sweden’s government has already ruled what is scientifically true and false.

The result is that the book is being censored. The county government has demanded that the interview with Dahlström has to be removed, or there will be no money and no book.

The county government doesn’t hide what this is about:

– Since our job is to execute Swedish policy, we cannot stand behind a book that expresses these opinions.

, said that the Korean feature film “The Flower Girl”, scripted from immortal classics “The Flower Girl”, is a flawlessly perfect masterpiece.

It is entirely thanks to the on-site guidance and instructions given by Kim Jong Il to the field of cinematic art on many occasions for the past several decades that the Korean cinematic art has reached such a high level as we have seen today, he said, adding: We hope that the Juche-based cinematic art of Korea would further develop and effloresce under his guidance.

Viktor Yeliseev, head of the State Academy Ensemble of the Ministry of Interior of Russia, said that the museum clearly bears witness to the greatness of President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and the glorious course covered by the Korean cinematic art, which has made great progress under their wise guidance. Our visit to the museum convinced us that Kim Jong Il is a genius of art, he added.

Swedish delegate Agneta Gustavsson, head of the Austrian delegation Brigiter Waych and other participants of the 9th Pyongyang Film Festival said after visiting the museum that they are firmly convinced that the cinematic art of Korea will make greater progress in the future as it is guided by Kim Jong Il, its great master.