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Youtube video

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HI0CH_UTaZQ&NR=1


Story below:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-11-10-voa1.cfm

Rival Clergy Clash at Jerusalem's Holy Sepulcher Church
By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
10 November 2008
   

Rival clergy have clashed at a historic church in Jerusalem's Old City. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.

Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks shoved, scratched and traded blows at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - a shrine revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

The clash erupted during a procession of Armenian clergymen marking the 4th century discovery of the cross on which Jesus is believed to have been crucified.

Fearing that their own claims to the ancient sepulcher would be undermined, the Greek monks demanded that one of their clergy be present in the ancient tomb during the march.  The Armenian monks refused, and when they tried to march, Greek Orthodox monks blocked their way, sparking the brawl.

Each side blames the other for the violence.  This Greek Orthodox priest says his side did what was necessary to protect its rights.

"We protested peacefully," he said. "We tried our best not to use violence."

Armenian clergyman Fakrad Barjekian sees things differently.

"The Greeks attacked the Armenians and they responded," he told Israel Television.

Israeli police rushed into the church and eventually restored order.

The clash underscores centuries of hostility between six feuding denomination's at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  For instance, a ladder placed on a ledge over the entrance in the 19th century has remained there ever since because of a dispute over who has the authority to take it down.  Because of disagreement among Christians, a Muslim family holds the key to the holiest place in Christianity. 

You can just see George Bush and his cronies inventing new 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' to pin on the Cubans.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7675234.stm

Cuba claims massive oil reserves

Cuba currently produces 60,000 barrels of oil a day

The state-owned Cuban oil company says the country may have more than 20bn barrels of oil in its offshore fields - more than double the previous estimate.

Cubapetroleo's exploration manager said drilling in the offshore wells would begin as early as the middle of 2009.

Such reserves would place Cuba among the top 20 oil producing nations.

Cubapetroleo's estimates are based on comparisons to known oil reserves found within similar geological structures off the coasts of the US and Mexico.

The company said Cuba had undersea geology "very similar" to that surrounding Mexico's giant Cantarell and Poza Rica oil fields in the Bay of Campeche.

'More data'

Cuba's share of the Gulf of Mexico was established in 1977, when it signed treaties with the US and Mexico.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) recently estimated that as much as 9bn barrels of oil and 21 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could lie within that zone, in the North Cuba Basin.

Map showing area of North Cuba Basin

However, Cubapetroleo exploration manager Rafael Tenreyro Perez said his company's estimate was higher because it had better information about Cuba's offshore geology.

"I'm almost certain that if [USGS officials] ask for all the data we have, their estimate is going to grow considerably," he told a news conference in the capital, Havana.

If correct, Cuba's oil reserves would be almost the same as those of the US - 21bn barrels, according to the Oil & Gas Journal - and nearly twice the size of Mexico's - 11.7bn barrels.

It could generate unprecedented wealth for the Communist-run state.

Mr Tenreyro said he expected the first production well to be drilled before the middle of next year by a consortium led by the Spanish oil company, Repsol, and that more wells could be started before 2010.

Cuba currently produces 60,000 barrels of oil a day.

It depends on Venezuela for an additional 93,000 barrels a day, which it receives at preferential rates in exchange for the services of thousands of Cuban doctors working in Venezuela.

1% on income tax, 200 yoyos on second homes, bit more on wine. Don't exactly see too many donning the hairshirt as yet.

From the BBC


£26m bank robbery trial collapses


The trial has collapsed of the only man charged with the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in December 2004.

Chris Ward, 26, denied facilitating the massive cash robbery at the Northern's Belfast headquarters.

He had also faced charges of robbing the bank and two further charges of falsely imprisoning bank colleague Kevin McMullan and his wife Karyn.

The judge said: "Given the decision to present no further evidence, I could not arrive at any other verdict."

The trial at Belfast Crown Court began on 9 September.

[Expected Number of Participants 240Expected Number of Supporters 300]

After being told that the "homecoming" parade for Irish murderers mercenaries currently serving in the British Army was not aimed to offend anyone, the Parades Commission website now tells us that this obscene procession will end up at Lanyon Place, between the only two nationalist areas in the city – The Markets and Short Strand.


http://www.paradescommission.org/parades/?parade=25270
Date of Parade   2nd November 2008

Start Time of Outward Route   12.45
Proposed Outward Route   Front gate RBAI
College Square
Howard Street
Donegall Square
Cenotaph
Donegall Square North
City Hall
Chicester Street
Crown Courts Plaza
Oxford Street
Lanyon Place
City Council Reception
End Time of Outward Route   13.05

Number of Bands   1
Expected Number of Participants   240
Expected Number of Supporters   300     (yeah right  )

Expected Number of RUC to 'police' the parade: 2000
Expected Number of lockdown hours for nationalist residents: 48

'Twist' Revealed As Interpol Seek ETA Member In Dublin

http://www.4ni.co.uk/northern_ireland_news.asp?id=82826

The International Police have been asked to find a convicted ETA member in Dublin, after it emerged he'd been living in the city in recent weeks.

In a surprising twist revealed by an Irish Newspaper, the hunt centered on the Dublin address of James Monaghan, who was one of the so-called 'Colombia Three'.

A Spanish judge made the request to Interpol to arrest Inaki de Juana Chaos at the specific Dublin address.

Mr Chaos, the 52-year-old man who is being sought, was sentenced to 3,000 years in prison for a series of 25 murders in the 1980s.

He was released from prison after 21 years on August 3rd and is reported to have flown to Ireland the next day.

Gardaí are believed to have been aware of Mr De Juana Chaos's presence in Ireland following a tip off from the Spanish authorities via Interpol, and he has been under surveillance in Dublin.

It is also understood the wanted man has spent time in Belfast and that the PSNI has also been tracking his movements there.

Mr De Juana Chaos is now wanted for the crime of "terrorism apologist" after writing a letter of support for the Basque Separatist Group.

The address he stayed at is linked to the Colombia Three, Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan, who were initially arrested in 2002 at an airport in Colombia.

Later sentenced to 17 years jail in that country on charges of training Marxists rebels, they 'vanished' in December 2004, while on bail awaiting an appeal.

Ulster unionists later reacted with anger at news that the fugitive trio had arrived back in the Republic of Ireland.

In 2005, there were widespread calls to the Irish Government to send the three men back to Colombia to face due legal process, but that didn't happen.

[twisted and bitter]

As donalmac99 has again refused to substaintiate his allegations and resorted to personal abuse on the McIlveen thread by locking it and refusing right to reply, I've started another. Though if he really cared about the McIlveens, he'd mask his shame by deleting it, but that's another matter for him.

His last post was:

"I will lock this thread as a certain twisted and bitter individual ,that likes to threaten people via the pm system , continues to hijack the thread and show blatant dis respect to the memory of a young child, and his family, murdered by savages.
You can form your own opinions regarding this twisted sicko."

I'm not sure who you mean here donalmac. I assume you are referring to me, even though I have promised to donate £1k to charity as soon as you produce something to back up your allegations.

Or is it Hardy and Skull you are referring to i.e. assuming that the phrase "twisted and bitter" you use in the first post is the same as "sick and twisted bitter" you use in this next one: 

"Hardry/the skull: you're entitled to your opinions, however your posts say more about your sick and twisted bitter little minds than I could ever articulate on an internet forum."

Perhaps you would have the courtesy to reply and let us know?

Amidst the predictable furore over the airing of the 'Breakout' documentary last night one aspect that hasn't been picked up on was the psychological manipulation and intimidation used by the escapers. The contributors last night explained how they gave the impression of conforming to prison rules in order to lessen tension and get the screws to lower their guard so as to gain information. This happened even to the extent that other prisoners not in on the plans not only began to question the men but would verbally abuse them for what they were doing. Later in the escape "controlled aggression" was used to scare the screws into submission so that the use of weapons would not be needed.

In his Doctoral thesis and subsequent book, 'Out Of Time: Irish Republican Prisoners. Long Kesh 1972-2000', Laurence McKeown also describes the use of similar techniques by the prisoners in order to gain segregation in the wake of the Hunger Strikes. In that episode the republican prisoners gave the impression of conforming in order to gain access to the prison workshops so they could sabotage them whilst also using psychology to intimidate the loyalist prisoners who locked themselves in their cells 24 hours a day as a direct result until they were eventually segregated.

I've heard that some of the things that really irritate the unionists up at Stormont is the cheery bonhomie, insistence on using first names and general personabilty that the Shinners use in their dealings with them. If I was a unionist up there I would be wondering as well whether it was genuine or whether they are still using the psychological approach that served them well in the past. Or maybe the plan is to keep them guessing? Interesting all the same...

From Breaking News

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/index.aspx?c=ireland&jp=mhqlqlkfmhid

Asgard II sinks off France
11/09/2008 - 08:16:27

The Irish sail training vessel, the Asgard II, has sunk off the French coast.Tall ship Asgard II sank off the coast of France today.

The vessel, an Irish sail training ship, sent a distress signal shortly after 2am from the Bay of Biscay when it started taking in water.

Five crew members and 20 trainees evacuated in lifeboats and were rescued by the French coastguard.

Among them were 22 Irish, two from the UK and one from Italy.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Department of Defence, which owns the ship, said all are safe and well.

The ship sank shortly before 9am UK and Irish time.

"At around 2am in the Bay of Biscay, the Asgard started taking on water and the captain made a decision to evacuate the ship," she said.

"They were evacuated in two lifeboats and were rescued by the French coastguard.

"Everybody is safe and well and are now currently in Belle Ile in the Bay of Biscay."

The Asgard II, while owned by the Republic of Ireland, is not a naval vessel and is used to train aspiring civilian sailors.

Four of the crew are Irish and one is from the UK, while 18 of the trainees are Irish, one is Italian and another from the UK, according to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.

Four of the trainees are between 16 and 20 while the remainder are aged from their 20s to mid-60s, the Irish Department of Defence said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said officials from the Irish embassy in Paris would be travelling to meet those rescued.

The Irish Defence Forces said the naval ship LE Niamh was on its way to the area.

It is not yet known what caused the ship to get into difficulties.

Designed specially for sail training purposes, the vessel was built in Arklow, Co Wicklow, and commissioned there on March 7 1981.

After slapping down Holly (aged 8 from Kent), publishing the personal details of members of this Board who were foolish enough to believe that the supervisors of that sewer could be trusted and then door-stepping Tony at his place of work, the bigot brigade have stepped up their campaign of intimidation by publishing the name of Tony's employer and along with the phone number.

The numbnut knuckle-dragger with the irony bypass is being egged on in his plan to confront Tony by the other bitter little loyalists which abound in that forum of reasoned debate and goodwill:

"If this is the time when he's deemed to have gone a step too far, and has to suffer the consequences,"

Says one,

"good on you. Lets see how big a man he is then."

Says another. Let's hope that the 'consequences' aren't similar to those suffered by Robert Hamill in the same town.

Watch your back Tony. At least you have the balls to post under your own name unlike our friend 'donalmac99' who also issued a thinly veiled threat on the same topic, which was conveniently edited at the same time these other posts started on OWC.

Just announced a second night in the Waterfront Hall (18th Oct). At £60 odd for the better tickets it's a bit steep but for Morricone fans or movie buffs it's one not to be missed (at least that's what I'm telling the wife).

I'm looking for a copy of the new Sunday Game music. Would anyone have it as MP3 or .wav? Not the old one mind.

Trial of the Raytheon 9 collapses

The trial of the Raytheon 9 has collapsed at Belfast Laganside court today, Wednesday.

The defendants from Derry Anti War Coalition walked free after the judge dismissed the case for lack of evidence from the prosecution.

The nine anti-war protesters, including campaigning journalist Eamonn McCann, occupied and shut down the Derry offices of Raytheon, the fifth biggest arms manufacturer in the world, on Wednesday 9 August 2006.

The action was part of a wider protest at Raytheon's complicity in the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Throughout the trial the Nine maintained that their actions were legitimate as an attempt to prevent war crimes.

The judge was forced to concede this when he stated that the defendants had acted to prevent destruction in Lebanon.

This is a major victory and vindication of the action of the Derry Anti War Coalition and the Raytheon Nine.

Only last time they manned that particular checkpoint I seem to remember them skulking inside the sanger and were wearing helmets when they did venture out on rare occasions to run over to the barracks. Shucks they can get anything right in the movies these days.





The big fella was spotted overlooking the checkpoint from the Celtic club. Was an attack imminent?



Not fooling anyone with those glasses big lad.



Keep straight for the Batcave.

Leading IRA figure Brian Keenan has died

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The leading Belfast republican and IRA leader, Brian Keenan, has died after a long illness.

Mr. Keenan was a pivotal figure in the Republican movement during the Northern Troubles.

Tony Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, described him in his recent autobiography as "the greatest single threat to the British state".

An apprentice electrical engineer, he joined the IRA in 1968.

He spent 25 years on the run and 16 years in jails across England.

Sinn F€in President Gerry Adams has described Brian Keenan as having been crucial in securing IRA support for the peace process.

The BBC must have had all of their professionals up in the North West covering the bike racing because that show today was atrocious. I could have got over the 'gremlins' with the features, the poor sound, the droll commentary from Sidebottom, the cheesy suit and ties in the portacabin 'studio' if they had at least given us 70 minutes of wachable moving pictures. I know they've little experience of covering live sports but how hard is it to even get the basics right? Invariably they were giving us close-ups of men running so when a tackle came or a boy slowed to kick the ball, the camera continued in motion and we missed the action. Then there was 'golf' shots of the ball in the air –the cameraman was so focused on showing us the ball in the air we couldn't see the movement on the pitch – McCabes goal being a perfect example.

Let's face it that show can only improve because it honestly can't get any worse.

Sad news this week from the modelling world, with the news that former Calvin Klein face Heather Stohler, died Sunday morning in an apartment fire. Stohler, whose real name was Heather Arrick, was killed when a fire swept through the Florida apartment that she shared with her boyfriend, Daniel Risley, who also died in the blaze.

The 29-year-old starred in a Calvin Klein campaign alongside Kate Moss, as well as appearing in shows at Paris, Milan and New York. She also graced high-profile magazine covers, landing the cover of Vogue nine times.

Stohler and Risley were both rushed to hospital, where the model died of smoke inhalation on Sunday. Risley passed away the following day from severe burns.

The cause of the fire is believed to have been an accident.

Beloved Turf: Neighborhood horse was near-celebrity
By Judy Wakefield
Staff Writer

His obituary hangs on a paddock fence at Wildwood Nurseries,where neighborhood kids have added dozens of sympathy cards, flowers and colorful drawings.

The one they called "Turf" was clearly a neighborhood icon, and many neighbors loved to visit him. Over the years, numerous moms had pushed strollers to his home so their kids could feed carrots and apples to him.

Turf was a horse. A very, very popular horse.

"Turf will be missed terribly by everyone who loved him," said neighbor Kristina Trott. "He was such a beloved neighborhood fixture."

Turf liked visitors of all ages. One elderly neighbor visited often with special muffins made with his favorite, Empire apples. She also bought him a 25-pound bag of his favorite mints with explicit orders for her family to make sure Turf got the bag when she was too sick to deliver it.

"He loved people and knew when certain visitors were coming...The elderly neighbor used to come with those muffins and mints and he would go to that corner and wait," Judy Shaw said of her family's horse. "He just knew she was coming."

The Shaws' pretty white farm stands out in the neighborhood and has been a must-go destination for anyone in search of simpler times. Turf had a wonderful life, and enjoyed his status in the neighborhood, but was being bothered by a few different ailments, Shaw said. Turf had to be euthanized on April 23.

"He just loved people and was very gentle and affectionate. He loved to nuzzle and loved to be hugged," Shaw said. "One time I was vacuuming my pool on a Sunday morning for an hour and I counted 14 people stopping by to pet him."

Trott is an artist who was commissioned by the Shaw family to draw a portrait of Turf last year and happily obliged.

"Turf will be missed terribly by everyone who knew him," Trott said. "The Shaw family has lost a gentle friend of 31 years."

Born at Wildwood Nurseries, at the corner of Wildwood and Holt roads in south Andover, Turf was a townie — he spent his whole life in Andover.

Named "Wildwood Turf" when he was born on April 12, 1977, he grew to be a strong 15-feet-two-inch (in hands) chestnut gelding and was very affectionate. He was the last of the Shaw family's seven pet horses and ponies who had lived on the property over the years.

For his first 25 years, Turf would get his exercise by running at a track in Hamilton, Shaw said. For the past couple of years as aging slowed him down, his trainer would walk him in Harold Parker State Forest and around the neighborhood.

Several week's after his death, Turf's obituary continues to hang on his fence as Shaw said the "Turf tributes" are still coming in. She's laminating the notes and drawings so they hold up in the rain. Eventually, she will most likely make a Turf tribute scrapbook.
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[£14.99 in Maplins]

1 DC to AC converter for car



£14.99 in Maplins



1 Dremel SpeedClick attachment



£5.99 in B&Q



The pricks clamp in the boot of my car




Priceless

Bolivia nationalises energy firms

The Bolivian government has continued its nationalisation of key industries by taking controlling stakes in oil, gas and telecoms companies.
It took back control of telephone company Entel from its foreign owners along with a gas and oil exploration firm and an oil pipeline company.
A deal was done with one company, and decrees imposed in other cases.
President Evo Morales wants to increase the revenue his country receives from its industries.
Parts of Bolivia's energy industry was privatised in the 1990s, with foreign companies taking 50% stakes.
In an announcement on the 1 May workers' holiday, President Morales said:
"Basic services - call them energy, water or communications - cannot be in the hands of private business," he said. "They are public services."
Bolivia's state energy company paid $6.3m for a majority stake in Spanish-owned Andina, one of the country's biggest energy companies which exploits oil and gas fields and owns a 50% stake in two giant gas fields.
It has also taken over, by state decree, the control of Chaco from BP and Pan American Energy and the Transredes pipeline company from Ashmore Energy International.
Mr Morales is an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has also taken back control of a number of industries from foreign control, including oil, electricity and cement.