http://www.metafilter.com/83246/Why-are-we-there

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http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/9PXrfpFLz_o/learn-the-hidden-benefits-of-credit-cards

Extended care warranties, car rental insurance, trip cancellation protection—you know they're just margin boosters for companies, but you can't shake that vulnerable feeling. Personal finance author Ramit Sethi says you need only look in your wallet.

Photo by TheTruthAbout.

Sethi, author of the I Will Teach You To Be Rich blog, and book of the same name, notes that most credit cards extend purchase warranties to one year automatically, on top of the 30- or 90-day standards included in the box. Car rental insurance is also included in most card policies, and even if the airline tries to stiff you for a "late cancellation," many credit issuers grant their users $1,000-$2,000 per year in trip cancellation paybacks.

Sethi details these perks and others in a recent CNBC appearance, along with a free book chapter and related posts linked below.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/14/swine-flu-virus-uk

• Scientists were 'caught napping' by outbreak, says flu expert
• Under 30s at greatest risk from pandemic

One of the world's most respected influenza scientists said today that health officials had been surprised by the spread of swine flu.

Dr Alan Hay, director of the London-based World Influenza Centre, said the extensive summer outbreak in Britain had not followed expected patterns and warned the Department of Health needed to be prepared for a more deadly form of the disease.

"We have been a little surprised by the degree of spread of this virus. A few weeks ago we anticipated that this was going to be a short series of outbreaks that would probably peter out before reappearing in the autumn or winter and that has proved not to be the case."

Hay added:

• Some of the background health concerns noted against flu deaths would not have been fatal, noting an American case where the underlying cause was obesity

• The flu surveillance community had been "caught napping" by the emergence of the swine flu outbreak as most resources were concentrated on guarding against a bird flu pandemic

• He was concerned about the emergence since 2007 of drug-resistant flu, which could impact on the pandemic virus.

Seventeen people in the UK have died after contracting swine flu and 335 people have been treated in hospital after contracting the virus. But tens of thousands are visiting GPs with flu-like symptoms every week, according to the Health Protection Agency. The latest deaths were of a six-year-old girl from north-west London and a GP from Bedfordshire.

Hay, who advises the World Health Organisation on its flu policy, said it had become clear the flu pandemic was predominantly affecting children aged five to 14, with the majority of cases nationally and internationally affecting people under 30. Those born before the 1957 flu pandemic appeared to be particularly resistant to the outbreak, indicating they carried some residual immunity.

Hay said the current outbreak would probably continue for another "week or two" before re-emerging in the autumn and early winter. However, the high level of sufferers now could mean that an autumn outbreak would be less severe.

"We are already experiencing this extensive outbreak of the flu at the present time. The people who are being affected will have reasonable immunity against the virus if it reappears during the winter season, which we anticipate. That will lessen the impact subsequently [on health services]," he said.

"So forecasting what will happen is rather difficult but what the Department of Health has to be prepared for is for there to be significant demand on health services resources."

Of particular concern was that the virus, which has caused only mild illness in most cases, could become more deadly.

"The concern is that the situation might change, the virus may become more virulent," Hay said. "The proportion of severe infections might increase. And fatalities might increase. We have been monitoring this quite intensively in the labs all around the world and have been seeing some minor changes in the viruses."

Hay said there had been a small number of cases of resistance to antiviral drugs but no sustained emergence of resistance.

"We're not totally sure what to expect. Because on the one hand, prior to a year ago, really the anticipation was for very low levels of drug resistance, and then we had the experience in late 2007 with the emergence of drug resistance of seasonal H1N1. And those emerged to become the predominant seasonal virus that has circulated recently. That was really an unanticipated event. We don't know what the implications of that are in the emergence of this novel virus. It is a concern."

Hay concurred that most people who had died from the outbreak had underlying health problems, but said that those may not have been life-threatening.

"Would they have died anyway? I think the answer to that is probably no," said Hay. "Those who have underlying conditions included one that was identified in the US was obesity. So these people were not going to die of obesity in the next month or two I suspect. Some people may have been in a more critical condition."

Flu surveillance scientists, who had been concentrating resources on looking for a bird flu pandemic, had been surprised by the swine flu outbreak, he added.

"We were not anticipating a virus of this nature causing a pandemic. All our eyes were focusing on the H5N1 virus that had been circulating in wild and domestic poultry populations.

"We have been observing similar viruses to this pandemic in pigs in the past 10 years in the US. And because it was antigenically related to the viruses already circulating – it was the same H1N1 subtype – it was not perceived as being a major threat. Of course we were caught napping, you might say, but this is what has transpired.

"We don't really know the way this virus might change as it adapts to the human population and what the consequences of such changes might be."

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/14/news-world-phone-hacking-select-committee

News of the World exposé 'might contradict' evidence of Les Hinton, adds chairman of commons culture committee

John Whittingdale, the chairman of the commons culture committee, said today that the Guardian revelations about alleged phone hacking at the News of the World "raised questions" about the extent of the practice and "might contradict" evidence given by former News International executive chairman Les Hinton.

Speaking at the start of a hearing prompted by Guardian stories that the paper's publisher had secretly paid £1m to victims of phone hacking at the tabloid, he revealed that Hinton did not want to change the evidence he gave to a previous culture committee inquiry into press self-regulation in 2007.

Whittingdale said "when the committee saw these stories it did raise questions. It appeared there might be some contradiction between [them and] the evidence given by Les Hinton two years ago".

In his letter to Whittingdale, Hinton said the answers he gave in 2007 were "sincere" and "comprehensive" and that he declined to appear.

Giving evidence to the committee, Tim Toulmin, the director of the Press Complaints Commission, said that the watchdog would contact the News of the World again in the light of the Guardian stories, which revealed that PFA chief exec Gordon Taylor and two others were paid a total of £1m in out-of-court settlements by the Murdoch title after suing on privacy grounds.

He said that the Guardian stories "gave us cause for concern. We're going to ask further questions [to discover] whether there was any evidence we were misled."

"The fact that Gordon Taylor had sued the paper and the suggestion that another reporter at the NoW knew about Mulcaire's activity – I think that's new, and we will be chasing that with the Guardian".

Glenn Mulcaire was the private investigator used by Clive Goodman, former NoW royal editor to obtain information illegally, sometimes by hacking into mobile phone messages. Both men were jailed in January 2007 after admitting the offence.

Toulmin said the PCC would be "writing to the paper [NoW] once we have as much information as we can possibly lay our hands on."

He added that the board of the PCC, which meets next week, will ultimately decide whether further action should be taken. "If there is any evidence we have been misled, we will be straight on it."

Paul Farrelly MP asked Toulmin what aspects of the case the PCC would investigate.

Farrelly said the PCC might want to ask how Mulcaire was paid: if it came out of a retainer or a "separate slush fund".

Farrelly also said the PCC should ask "how far up the chain of command a settlement of the Taylor case went? Did it go to the board of NI?"

Toulmin said "We weren't told about the Taylor settlement".

Farrelly pointed out that NoW journalists and executives who organised and attended PCC training seminars held in the wake of the Goodman case would have known about the Taylor case.

He also asked whether the PCC regretted his decision not to call former NoW editor Andy Coulson during its 2007 investigation into the extent of phone hacking and other activities on Fleet Street. Toulmin said "maybe it would have been better for the PCC to have done so. The focus of this is on have we been misled?

"If Andy Coulson has any evidence ... he may come into it as a relevant party. That is a decision for the board. We are going to test what they said to us two years ago with what [we] now know."

Toulmin added that he was convinced such practices were no longer commonplace on Fleet Street because of the amount of publicity they received in the wake of the Goodman trial. The hearing is also taking evidence from the Guardian News & Media editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, reporter Nick Davies, and the GNM deputy editor, Paul Johnson.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/14/eight-british-soldiers-afghanistan-return

Thousands expected to line streets as cortege is driven through Wootton Bassett near RAF Lyneham

Thousands are expected to line the streets of Wootton Bassett today as the bodies of eight British soldiers killed during the army's bloodiest 24 hours in Afghanistan arrive back in the UK.

For the second time in four days, crowds are expected to pay tribute to the men, three of whom were 18, as their cortege is driven through the streets of the market town near RAF Lyneham, in Wiltshire.

Among the service personnel being repatriated are five soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Rifles who died near Sangin, in Helmand province, on Friday, in two "daisy-chain" explosions.

Corporal Jonathan Horne, 28, and Riflemen William Aldridge, 18, James Backhouse, 18, and Joseph Murphy, 18, were rescuing comrades from an earlier blast when a second device detonated.

Murphy was carrying Rifleman Daniel Simpson, 20 – who was injured by the first makeshift bomb – when both were killed in the following explosion.

Aldridge, from Bromyard, Herefordshire, was attempting to reach casualties from the first blast, despite being wounded himself.

Also returning on the C17 plane will be Corporal Lee Scott, 26, of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, who died in an explosion on the same day, just north of Nad-e-Ali, during Operation Panther's Claw.

Making up the eight are two men killed in separate incidents on Thursday. Private John Brackpool, 27, of Prince of Wales' Company, of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was shot at Char-e-Anjir near Lashkar Gah, while on sentry duty.

Rifleman Daniel Hume, 22, of 4th Battalion The Rifles, was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol near Nad-e-Ali.

The eight men's families are expected to attend a private ceremony at RAF Lyneham's chapel after their coffins, each draped in a flag, are carried from the plane.

The hearses will then drive through Wootton Bassett three miles away, on their route to the John Radcliffe hospital, Oxford. Inquests into their deaths will be held in the coming weeks.

Crowds have appeared spontaneously in Wootton Bassett to pay their respects since the bodies of British service personnel started being brought back to Lyneham in 2007.

Yesterday Gordon Brown said the last few weeks of fighting in Helmand had been "a sad and difficult time" for Britain, but said it was right to press on and stop al-Qaida using Afghanistan as a base.

His words came after a total of 15 soldiers died in Afghanistan in 10 days, bringing the total number of UK military fatalities in the country since 2001 to 184 – surpassing the 179 who died in Iraq.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jul/14/inflation-falls-below-government-target

A broader measure of inflation using the retail prices index recorded the sharpest drop in the cost of living since 1948

Britain's inflation rate dipped below the government's 2% target for the first time in almost two years last month as cheaper food and soft drinks helped keep the cost of living in check, according to official figures released today.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) fell from 2.2% in May to 1.8% in June.

A broader measure of inflation using the retail prices index recorded the sharpest drop in the cost of living since 1948. Prices were 1.6% lower last month than they were in June 2008.

Higher oil prices and more expensive imports caused by last year's weakness in sterling has meant inflation in recent months has been higher than City expectations.

Today's figures suggest, however, that the effects of Britain's recession-hit economy are causing inflationary pressures to ease and will allow the Bank of England to persist with its twin strategy of ultra-low interest rates and boosting the money supply through quantitative easing.

Before June, consumer price inflation had been above the central bank's 2% target since October 2007, peaking at 5.2% last September.

The biggest downward effect on the annual CPI rate came from food and non-alcoholic drink prices, which fell last month but rose in the same month last year.

Meat, bread, fruit, vegetables and dairy products all contributed. There was also downward pressure from furniture prices, which rose less than last year.

One upward pressure on the index came from the price of computer games, which rose by more than a year ago.

Analysts believe that inflation will continue to slow in the coming months.

"Much of the fall in RPI inflation reflects weaker mortgage payments, house prices and lower oil prices; all of these are excluded from core CPI inflation, which has been less volatile. But even core CPI inflation should wane over the next six months as the margin of spare capacity in the economy exerts greater downward pressure on underlying pricing pressures," said Colin Ellis, European economist at Daiwa Securities.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, said he expected that CPI would have fallen to 1% by this autumn.

The newest member of the Bank's monetary policy committee, Professor Adam Posen, told MPs that he was more concerned about undershooting the 2% inflation target than overshooting it.

"While the 2% target is right, if you overshoot a little one month here or one month there, it doesn't necessarily mean you get an inflationary cycle," Posen told the Treasury select committee during his appointment hearing.

"What Japan has demonstrated is that once you fall into a deflationary situation, it's very hard to get out," he added.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/jul/14/twitter-teens-facebook

The world seems all a titter that teens don't use Twitter
Was the whiz-kid correct? Two teens give opposing views

Teens spurning Twitter was one of the bombshells from 15-year-old Matthew Robson that the media highlighted in a report he wrote for investment bank Morgan Stanley.

However, it wasn't really breaking news that teens don't use Twitter.

• Last November, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found the median age of Twitter users in the US was 31, higher than 26 for Facebook and 27 for MySpace.
• In April, web metrics firm comScore reported that the majority of Twitter's 10m or so users were over 35.
• In June, comScore reported that 11.3% of visitors to Twitter.com in the U.S. are ages 12-17. Internationally, only 4.4% of visitors were younger then 18, according to comScore data from May.
• In June, Pace University said that while 99% of 18-24 year olds have profiles on social networks, only 22% use Twitter.

In a battle of the teen prognosticators, 16-year-old Daniel Brusilovsky, writing on TechCrunch says that teens don't use Twitter because it's a completely open network and anyone can see your status updates. Teens prefer the privacy of closed networks such as Facebook. Brusilovsky said it makes teens feel "unsafe".

It's probably more about teens wanting to establish a privacy perimeter from the prying eyes of adults rather than a safety issue.

That's not entirely true. Twitter users can protect their updates so only followers they approve can follow their updates.

Also, as David Meyer points out on ZDNet, Robson only referred to updating Twitter via SMS. However, as Meyer points out, Twitter is now used mostly via a range of desktop applications and internet apps on smartphones. Also, up until recently Twitter was MIA in the UK via SMS because Twitter and the carriers couldn't reach an agreement on pricing.

A number of bloggers, including my wife Suw, took Morgan Stanley and the media to task for mistaking anecdotes from a 15-year-old for hard data.

Suw wrote:

Neither Morgan Stanley nor the media seem to be able to tell the difference between anecdote and data. This "research note" is more note than research, and it should not be taken to be representative of all teens. A teenager in a rural setting, or in an inner city estate, or one who feels socially excluded from web culture will have a very different experience than a teen who's well-connected enough to get himself an internship at Morgan Stanley.

Beyond criticising Robson's methodology, there is something more interesting going on here. As comScore's Sarah Radwanick pointed out, as technology becomes more common, teens and college students aren't the only people in the population that can be considered "technologically inclined". She said:

...trends are much more prone to take off in older age segments than they used to.

It challenges the idea that the youth are the only people who are "digital natives". Charlie Beckett, director of journalism thinktank POLIS at the London School of Economics, challenges the whole idea of the digital native:

As Matthew Robson describes, most teenagers use a variety of digital devices, but when you talk to people who work with teenagers they describe a much more complex picture of what they actually do.

The same teenagers who have literacy problems have media literacy problems. Many of the teenagers apparently comfortable with new media are in fact only using a very limited range of applications and in a very limited way.

Other researchers indicate that teenagers are getting just as frustrated as the rest of us with the complexity and cost of many online and mobile applications.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jul/14/assisted-suicide-conductor-edward-downes

Sir Edward Downes, who conducted first Sydney Opera House performance, ends life with wife, Joan, in Switzerland

One of Britain's most respected conductors, Sir Edward Downes, and his wife, Joan, a choreographer and TV producer, have died at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland, their family said today.

Downes, 85, was almost blind when he and his 74-year-old wife, who had become his full-time carer, travelled to Switzerland to end their lives, a family statement released to the BBC said.

Born in Birmingham, Downes had a long and distinguished career, including conducting the first performance at the Sydney Opera House. He worked with the BBC Philharmonic and the Royal Opera House in London.

The statement from the couple's son and daughter, Caractacus and Boudicca, said they "died peacefully, and under circumstances of their own choosing".

The statement continued: "After 54 happy years together, they decided to end their own lives rather than continue to struggle with serious health problems."

The couple died at a clinic run by Dignitas, the Swiss organisation that operates a specialist euthanasia service.

The Downes family said: "Our father, who was 85 years old, almost blind and increasingly deaf, had a long, vigorous and distinguished career as a conductor.

"Our mother, who was 74, started her career as a ballet dancer and subsequently worked as a choreographer and TV producer before dedicating the last years of her life to working as our father's personal assistant.

"They both lived life to the full and considered themselves to be extremely lucky to have lived such rewarding lives, both professionally and personally."

Downes was knighted in 1991.A Metropolitan police spokesman said Greenwich CID had launched an investigation.

"We continue to investigate the circumstances of their deaths. [There are] no further details at this stage," he said.

In the past, police have investigated cases in which British people have travelled to the Dignitas clinic. Anyone assisting a person to commit suicide could face up to 14 years in prison.

Prosecutors have not pushed forward cases against families and friends of the growing numbers of Britons who have travelled to Dignitas to die, however, and there is fierce debate about whether the law should be changed to protect people from prosecution.

Last December, the Crown Prosecution Service announced it would take no action against the family of 23-year-old Daniel James, who travelled to Switzerland to die after being paralysed from the chest down in a rugby accident.

The police did not investigate the deaths earlier this year of Peter and Penelope Duff, who became the first terminally ill British couple to be helped to die together in Switzerland.

Last week, the House of Lords voted against an attempt by the former lord chancellor Lord Falconer to relax the law on assisted suicide. His amendment to the coroners and justice bill would have allowed people to help someone with a terminal illness travel to a country where assisted suicide is legal.

Debbie Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis, is seeking to clarify the law in the House of Lords. She wants a ruling that her husband will not be prosecuted if he helps her travel abroad to die.

Some people fear that relaxing the law on assisted suicide would lead to an increase in cases, and put people at risk of being pushed into taking their own lives. Gordon Brown is against a change in the law.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/14/ben-bradshaw-bbc-management

Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw makes strong attack on Mark Thompson and Sir Michael Lyons over BBC licence fee

The culture secretary, Ben Bradshaw, has attacked the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, and Sir Michael Lyons, the chairman of the BBC Trust, for "self-defeating" and "wrong-headed" resistance to sharing the licence fee with other broadcasters.

BBC management had lost the confidence of many of their senior staff who had been left with "almost a feeling of despair", he said.

Speaking on the eve of the publication of the corporation's annual report, Bradshaw said Thompson and Lyons were misguided in their resistance to government plans, outlined in Lord Carter's Digital Britain report, to share some of the £3.6bn licence fee with rival broadcasters.

"[There] are plenty of people within the BBC that do not feel it is a well-led organisation and that is almost for me the most worrying thing," Bradshaw told the Financial Times.

"And they don't feel they are being well-led on this issue. It fits into a pattern. It is not the only issue. There is almost a feeling of despair among a lot of highly respected BBC professionals."

Digital Britain outlined proposals for the BBC to share some of the licence fee with other broadcasters for the first time in its history. Around £130m of licence payers' money will go towards ITV regional news programmes, and possibly children's programming.

Thompson accused ministers of having an "ideological" motivation for the plan, while Lyons said the BBC Trust would not "sit quietly by and watch this happen".

Bradshaw, who succeeded Andy Burnham as culture secretary last month and is himself a former BBC journalist, said: "I don't know why they have adopted this position. I don't think it's sensible.

"I think it's wrongheaded and will ultimately be self-defeating. And there are plenty of people I know in the BBC who agree with me.

"I think the BBC is far more likely to be able to make a strong case in future for the retention of the licence fee if it sees itself as an organisation that is not just simply always interested in defending its own narrow interests, but has a broader role in terms of defending and providing high-quality public-service content."

This echoed Bradshaw's comments at the all-party parliamentary media group's summer reception last month, where he said he rejected the idea that top-slicing threatened the future of the licence fee. "I think the opposite is the case," he said. "It is far more likely to secure the licence fee if you share it, rather than end it."

Bradshaw told the FT that a consultation period lasting until early September was "an opportunity for the leadership of the BBC to show some leadership rather than feel that the bunker is the place they want to be in".

He said the idea that the top-slicing plans were ideologically motivated was "nonsense". "We have an ideological commitment to ensuring that the public gets high quality public service provision in those areas which the public tell us matter to them – and local and regional news are at the top of that list."

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/14/china-electric-shock-internet-addiction

Statement follows release of first definition of internet addiction last year – but critics say criteria for condition are too vague

China's ministry of health has banned the use of electric shock treatment to cure internet addiction.

The move follows growing concern in the country about young people's compulsive use of chat rooms, websites and online gaming – but also the methods used to wean them offline.

Doctors released the first diagnostic definition of internet addiction late last year, based on a study of more than 1,300 intensive users. It says addicts are those who spend at least six hours online a day and have shown at least one of a range of symptoms – including yearning to get back online, fear of social contact, irritation and difficulty concentrating or sleeping.

Other experts argue that the definition is far too general and that many non-addicts qualify under it because the criteria are so vague.

But critics warned that some of the "cures" promoted to anxious parents were as worrying as the original problem.

A notice on the ministry's website said that the safety of the technology was not clear so use of the therapy should be stopped immediately.

Today's ban follows reports that Dr Yang Yongxin from Linyi City's psychiatric hospital in Shandong province was using electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

According to the Beijing News, Yang said he had created the unique "xingnao" ("brain-waking") therapy which involved sending a small current through the brain. He added that the stimulation might cause pain but was very safe and would not harm children in any way.

An earlier report by the Information Times claimed patients received electroconvulsive therapy if they broke any of the centre's rules, which included eating chocolate, locking the bathroom door, taking pills before a meal and sitting on Yang's chair without permission. It said parents had to sign a contract acknowledging their child would be given ECT before admission.

The ministry of health asked Shandong's health department to stop the use of "electrical stimulation" for internet addiction while experts investigated. The researchers said both the safety and the effectiveness of the method was unclear.

The ministry added that people wanting to conduct medical research required official approval as well as full consent from patients. But there are said to be hundreds of internet addiction treatment centres across China and others are believed to use similar methods.

The centre's public relations chief said it had stopped using electric shock treatment for internet addicts due to the pressure of public opinion, but was still treating them through other means.

According to the Beijing News, its reporter was unable to reach Yang. When the reporter called the centre posing as a consumer, staff said the treatment fee for internet addiction was 5,500 yuan (£500) a person every month.

Asked whether or not electric shock therapy would be used, the employee said it should be called "pulse therapy" and was only used in special circumstances.

Kong Lingzhong, who runs a website on ending internet addiction, said that electric shocks are usually used on mentally ill patients.

He added: "Most experts in the field do not agree with this therapy. No one knows whether there are side-effects or not."

Tao Ran, who runs a well-known centre for curing internet addiction in the suburbs of Beijing, said: "There are about 300 million net users in China and 200 million of them are young people. More net users means more chances to be addicted to the internet. Young people are weaker in controlling themselves and when they find the computer games gripping they will quickly become addicted."

He said his clinic treated around 200 patients a month for addiction, 80% of whom were aged 15 to 18 and 90% of whom were male. Most required around three months of treatment.

"We treat them in two ways: with psychological treatment and medicine. About 60% of the patients need medicines because they have other symptoms like depression, anxiety," he said.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jul/14/emmanuel-adebayor-manchester-city-five-years

• Arsenal accept offer believed to be worth close to £25m
• Adebayor will be paid £150,000-170,000 per week at Eastlands

Manchester City are on the verge of completing a deal to sign Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal, the Guardian understands. The two clubs have agreed a fee, believed to be closer to Arsenal's asking price of £25m than City's original offer of £20m, and the striker is in Manchester discussing terms on a five-year contract worth between £150,000-170,000 a week.

Adebayor, who would become the ninth striker on City's books, was identified as a realistic target last week, leading the club to end their interest in Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o. Talks with the Togolese have moved rapidly over the last few days, and though the striker was initially keen on a move to Serie A, it is believed the scale of the salary persuaded him to move north.

City hope the 25-year-old will now be able to take some part in their pre-season tour to South Africa, with Mark Hughes's squad due to fly out tomorrow. Carlos Tevez will be on board after the club confirmed his arrival on a five-year contract.

"Carlos is an international player of the highest class who possesses all the attributes that will help drive this club forward," Mark Hughes, the City manager, said. "He is not only outstanding technically but he is a reliable goalscorer and someone who will contribute fully to the team ethic. He gives us another exciting, attacking dimension. I cannot wait to welcome him to City."

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/14/al-qaida-threat-china-urumqi

Algeria-based group issues threat to Chinese workers and projects within north Africa in retaliation for Uighur deaths

Al-Qaida's north African wing has threatened to target Chinese workers and projects in the region in retaliation for Muslim deaths in Urumqi last week.

It is the first time Osama bin Laden's terrorist network has directly targeted Chinese interests, according to experts at a London-based risk analysis firm.

Stirling Assynt's report says that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – based in Algeria – has issued a call for vengeance, basing its statement on information from people who have seen the instruction.

But the assessment does not suggest there is any direct link between Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province and al-Qaida. It also suggests it is unlikely that al-Qaida's central leadership has decided to stage attacks within China.

Justin Crump, head of terrorism and country risk at Stirling Assynt, said: "For al-Qaida central, it is really not in their interests or part of their plan at all. I think you will see action where it is easy by al-Qaida franchises, but it won't be al-Qaida policy.

"Strategically it would be highly counter-productive for them if you look at the fact their main assets are in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

He suggested that AQIM's decision was partly "opportunistic", reflecting the ease with which they could target Chinese nationals and anger in some Muslim communities worldwide. Indonesia saw anti-Chinese protests yesterday.

At least 184 people were killed and 1,680 injured in the inter-ethnic violence in Urumqi, which first broke out on 5 July, officials say. According to government figures 137 were Han Chinese, 46 Uighurs and one a Hui man. But Uighurs have alleged that far more of them died – either in a crackdown by security forces or at the hands of Han Chinese during revenge attacks for vicious assaults by Uighurs.

Muslim Uighurs make up almost half the 21-million population of China's vast north-western region of Xinjiang. Many have long chafed at strict rules restricting their religion, which include banning under-18s from mosques, as well as Han migration and policies which they believe favour Han Chinese.

"Although AQIM appear to be the first arm of al-Qaida to officially state they will target Chinese interests, others are likely to follow," adds the note.

"The general situation (and perceived plight) of China's Muslims has resonated amongst the global jihadist community. There is an increasing amount of chatter ... among jihadists who claim they want to see action against China. Some of these individuals have been actively seeking information on China's interests in the Muslim world, which they could use for targeting purposes."

Stirling Assynt estimates that hundreds of thousands of Chinese work in the Middle East and north Africa, including 50,000 in Algeria alone.

The firm's report points out that AQIM attacked an Algerian security convoy protecting Chinese engineers on a motorway project three weeks ago, killing 24 paramilitary police. The workers themselves were not targeted or injured, but the note adds: "Future attacks of this kind are likely to target security forces and Chinese engineers alike."

It also suggested that other al-Qaida groups in the Arabian peninsula "could well target Chinese projects in Yemen".

Despite the huge security presence in Urumqi, violence broke out again yesterday. Officials said police shot dead two Uighur men armed with knives and sticks and injured a third as the trio attacked another Uighur man.

But a Han man in the area told the Associated Press that he saw three Uighurs with knives come out of a mosque and attack paramilitary police.

In a separate development, more than 100 Chinese writers and intellectuals have signed a letter calling for the release of an outspoken Uighur economist who disappeared from his Beijing home last week and is believed to be detained.

"Professor Ilham Tohti is an Uighur intellectual who devoted himself to friendship between ethnic groups and eradicating conflicts between them. He should not be taken as a criminal," said the letter, posted online yesterday.

Xinjiang's governor accused Tohti's website of helping "to orchestrate the incitement" of last week's riot – but the letter's authors said it was an important site for dialogue between Han Chinese and Uighurs.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/14/taylor-hague-war-crimes-trial

Former Liberian leader faces 11 counts, including murder, sexual slavery and using child soldiers in backing Sierra Leone rebels

The former Liberian president Charles Taylor began his defence at his war crimes trial in the Hague today by professing his "love for humanity" and said the charges against him were based on lies and misinformation.

Taylor faces 11 counts before the special court for Sierra Leone, including murder, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers. Prosecutors have accused Taylor of arming and instructing rebels during the 1991-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone in order to gain control of its rich diamond fields.

In court, Taylor confidently introduced himself to the three judges as the 21st president of Liberia. His defence lawyer, the British QC Courtenay Griffiths, asked Taylor what he thought of an indictment that accused him of being "everything from a terrorist to a rapist".

"It is quite incredible that such descriptions of me would come about," Taylor said. "It is very, very, very unfortunate that the prosecution – because of disinformation, misinformation, lies, rumours – would associate me with such titles or descriptions."

Yesterday Griffiths told the court that Taylor, 61, had been a "broker of peace" in the region rather than a war criminal and would testify about his efforts to restore calm in Sierra Leone.

The description was sharply at odds with the evidence offered by the prosecution since January 2008. The 91 witnesses called included a man whose hands were hacked off by rebels during the war and a former aide of Taylor who said he saw him eat a human liver.

Taylor, who is expected to give several weeks of testimony, insisted he had done no wrong.

"I am a father of 14 children, grandchildren, with love for humanity, have fought all my life to do what I thought was right in the interests of justice and fair play. I resent that characterisation of me. It is false, it is malicious, and I'll stop there."

He is the first African leader to be tried by an international court. An economics graduate who once escaped from a US prison, Taylor launched a successful rebellion in Liberia before being elected president in 1997.

He is alleged to have forged close ties to the brutal Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel movement in neighbouring Sierra Leone, which was notorious for recruiting child soldiers and hacking off the limbs of civilians during a conflict which cost tens of thousands of lives. The prosecutor, Stephen Rapp, said Taylor provided weapons and support to the rebels in return for "blood diamonds".

Taylor denied encouraging atrocities such as forced amputations by the rebels, and said the allegation that he had been paid in diamonds placed inside food jars was a "diabolical lie".

"Never, ever, whether it was mayonnaise or coffee or whatever jar of diamonds from the RUF," he said.

Taylor fled to Nigeria after being indicted in 2003 for war crimes. In March 2006, when Nigeria accepted that he should face international justice, Taylor escaped from his seaside villa and was arrested trying to cross into Cameroon. He was transferred to The Hague, rather the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, where the special court is based, due to fears that the trial might affect regional stability.

A verdict is expected next year.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/14/post-office-strike-royal-mail-cuts

• More than 12,000 postal workers to walk out on Friday
• Strikers protesting against cuts at Royal Mail

Thousands of postal workers across the UK will go on strike on Friday in protest against cuts at Royal Mail, threatening the worst disruption to deliveries in years.

The action will be the latest stage in a series of strikes over jobs, pay and services, which have hit parts of the country in recent weeks and are now set to escalate into a national dispute.

The Communication Workers Union said more than 12,000 of its members in cities ranging from London and Edinburgh to Bristol and Plymouth would walk out for 24 hours.

The union has accused Royal Mail of cutting the pay and jobs of postal workers without agreement, while also reducing services.

On Friday afternoon, a letter and postcard will be delivered to Royal Mail's chief executive, Adam Crozier, and business secretary Lord Mandelson. This will be followed by a national balloon release, with thousands of balloons rising above Royal Mail workplaces across the UK.

Dave Ward, the CWU deputy general secretary, said: "There are serious and growing problems in the postal sector which urgently need resolving. We have renewed our offer of a three-month no-strike deal to Royal Mail in return for meaningful talks over modernisation. The current cuts, bullying managers and ever increasing workloads on a shrinking workforce cannot continue. Pressure and stress is at breaking point for postal workers so we urgently need a fresh start for a modern Royal Mail.

"The national day of action on Friday is in response to an ever growing number of requests for industrial action from postal workers across the country who feel let down by Royal Mail management. We have almost 400 ballot requests at the moment with more coming daily. Without progress, this could effectively turn into a national strike."

Last week,

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/14/belfast-riots-real-ira-blame

Twenty-one police officers injured during rioting at height of Ulster loyalist marching season

The Real IRA paramilitary group was behind last night's violence in north Belfast, Sinn Féin said today.

Twenty-one police officers sustained injuries at several sectarian flashpoints across Northern Ireland at the climax of the Ulster loyalist marching season.

During the disturbances in north Belfast at least one shot was fired at police by republicans from the Ardoyne district and there were other disturbances after Orange Order parades. A masked rioter could be seen firing a shot at Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers at the Ardoyne shops.

Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly said dissident republicans, from the Real IRA, were orchestrating the violence.

At the height of the rioting women in Ardoyne found children playing with a loaded rifle and handed it into police.

Petrol bombs, fireworks, stones, and bottles were thrown at police after they tried to move rioters away from a parade route. Two of three hijacked vans were pushed at police lines.

The Ardoyne priest Father Gary Donegan said the trouble was started by outsiders.

"Myself and many people were looking at people last night that we'd never seen in the area before in our lives.

"It was as if people had been bussed into the area for this very purpose and that this was being very much orchestrated," he said.

A PSNI spokesman said there would be a "rigorous investigation" to identify those who had taken part in the violence.

There were other disturbances in Derry and the Country Antrim village of Rasharkin overnight after nationalist demonstraters attacked police officers wedged between them and Orangemen and their supporters.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/ethicallivingblog/2009/jul/14/bike-brothel-discount

Maison d'Envie in Berlin rewards 'green commitment' with a discount, but what else would encourage you to ride a bike?

The Germans have always been one step ahead of the rest of us when it comes to the environment. They are European champions when it comes to wind power, recycling rates and installing combined heat and power boilers. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is a former environment minister.

So it should come as no surprise to learn that a German businessman has pushed the concept of green rebates to the next logical level: Thomas Goetz, owner of a Berlin brothel called Maison d'Envie, is currently offering a discount to any customer who arrives by bicycle or public transport.

"The recession has hit our industry hard," Goetz told Reuters. "Obviously we hope that the discount will attract more people. It's good for business, it's good for the environment – and it's good for the girls."

Any punter who arrives by bike – the puns readily spring to mind with this story – or who can prove they've travelled by public transport qualifies for the discount (they must present a valid ticket and a map of Berlin's public transport network upon arrival). The room hire for a 45-minute "session" is normally €70 (£60), but cyclists qualify for a €5 "eco" discount. Customers with, er, less time on their hands can opt for the 15-minute session which normally costs €30, but with that eco discount it drops down to €25. (For unexplained reasons, though, no eco discount is available for a 60-minute session. The mind boggles.)

In the name of research, I had a quick look around the brothel's website to verify that the offer really does exist, and, yes, there it is in black and white. "The Maison d'Envie offers one major advantage over other establishments: it is perfectly accessible by public transport. Both S-and U-Bahn stations are within walking distance and well-maintained bicycle paths also allow for a more environmentally friendly journey. And because we want to reward your green commitment, we have – and it's unique in Berlin – an environmental discount." It's the sort of statement you might expect to hear from your local council, not an establishment – very much legal in Germany – that offers the services of "nice, motivated models" in a "very pleasant, almost family atmosphere".

It seems to be working, though, as Goetz says the offer is attracting three to five new customers every day, adding that the incentive has helped to reduce traffic and parking congestion in the local area.

So, what would it take to get you going by bike more often? What other innovative incentives could help boost the number of people cycling?

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/audio/2009/jul/14/guardian-daily-podcast

The latest Guardian/ICM poll shows the Conservatives extending their lead over Labour. Julian Glover has the details.

Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith – who now runs the Centre for Social Justice thinktank – tells Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee how he thinks the government should help the family.

Home affairs editor, Alan Travis, looks at a new government report into the spread of organised crime.

Polly Curtis explains the significance of a Charity Commission report today which tells two independent schools they must do more for poorer children or face losing their charitable status.

And Martin Wainwright revisits Nadia Clarke, who he first met in 1998, when she was six years old, to find out how she fared being educated in mainstream schools despite her cerebral palsy and deafness.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2009/jul/14/france

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/gallery/2009/jul/13/1

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2009/jul/11/arctic-monkeys-humbug

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/video/2009/jul/13/control-orders-terrorism

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jul/13/ashes-andrew-flintoff-series-doubt

• All-rounder a major doubt for Lord's Test
• Flintoff awaiting results of scan on his right knee

England were last night fearful over Andrew Flintoff's participation in the rest of the Ashes series as they awaited the results of a scan on his right knee that is likely to rule him out of this week's Lord's Test and possibly beyond.

Flintoff, who has been bowling only since 11 June after injuring the same knee playing in the Indian Premier League in April, twisted the joint in the field during the draw with Australia in Cardiff and now faces renewed speculation about his future as a Test force.

As England's relief at saving the first Test last night gave way to a familiar sense of foreboding, team officials insisted the scan was merely precautionary but the addition of Steve Harmison to an enlarged 14-man squad did little to dampen fears that the latest in a long line of niggles could rule Flintoff out for the summer.

At 31 he boasts a list of career injuries that have already forced him to miss 62 of the 138 Tests England have played since he made his debut 11 years ago. Although an England spokesman said Flintoff would be given every chance to recover in time for Lord's, sources close to the Lancashire all-rounder were pessimistic about his chances.

Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: "Andrew is experiencing soreness and swelling in the knee which he twisted while in the field and he will be reassessed by the medical staff over the next 48 hours. It's not the pain he had before when he had his real problems with the knee – it's new pain. But if you have pain of any kind you find out the best remedy. We won't rush it: we regard Andrew too highly to do that. We know how much passion he has to play for England and in the Ashes so we would not rush that situation. An Ashes series is not a sprint, it's a marathon."

Exactly how Flintoff picked up his new affliction is not clear, although he twice slid heavily chasing balls to the boundary during Australia's mammoth total of 674 for six at Sophia Gardens – at one stage berating his captain, Andrew Strauss, for failing to lend support to one of his boundary-saving tumbles. What does seem beyond doubt, though, is that Flintoff's 35-over stint – his longest run-out in any cricket since he bowled 40 overs in the first innings against South Africa at Headingley a year ago – would have done nothing to ease the discomfort.

The likely absence of Flintoff for Lord's would leave room in the line-up for another tall, bang-it-in bowler, and Miller duly described Harmison, who took five for 60 over the weekend for Durham in their county championship match against Yorkshire, as a "like-for-like replacement".

Miller agreed that Harmison, who twice bounced out Australia's opener Phil Hughes for single-figure scores while playing for England Lions in Worcester two weeks ago, loomed large in the Australian psyche – despite his disastrous wide to second slip to kickstart the 2006-7 Ashes in Brisbane. "Cricket is a game of mental toughness and psychology, as well as capability and technique, and they remember what he can do," said Miller, who was at Headingley yesterday to follow Harmison's progress. "It's a case of him showing what he could do, he can still do now. If he can, then it's game on."

Miller said Harmison's recall was a reward for his efforts since being dropped during the series in the West Indies earlier this year. "He knows what it's all about, he's a strong character, he knows what he has to do internationally, he knows the opposition, so I would have no worry if he did play at Lord's.

"He didn't sulk. He was given the reason why he wasn't selected, and he's gone away knowing what he had to do: show enthusiasm for Durham, get the results for Durham. When he got those results he was then selected for the Lions. He got the results for the Lions, and he's come back in the next game here and done really well, so he's justified his place in the squad."

"I wouldn't like to say we can cope without Andrew Flintoff, because that's the wrong phrase, but we've got international quality players, and if he's not fit we'll pick 11 who are." Miller added that Harmison and Flintoff could even play in the same side if conditions suited, but last night it was a scenario that felt far-fetched.

Mike Selvey, page 2

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http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1509

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July 14th, 2009: I wanted to link to Leonard Richardson's short story, Let Us Now Praise Awesome Dinosaurs. I wrote a bit about it here but I'm going to copy Joey (who also loves it) and just give you the first few paragraphs: "Why would a dinosaur need a gun?" asked the shop owner. "Self-defense." The owner's gaze dropped to the three-inch claw that had chipped his display case. "These are killing claws," said the dinosaur, whose name was Tark. "For sheep, or cows. I merely want to disable an attacker with a precision shot to the leg or other uh, limbal region." "Uh-huh," the owner said. "Or maybe you figure humans shoot each other all the time, but if someone turns up ripped in half the cops are gonna start lookin' for dinosaurs." Tark carefully pounded the counter. "There used to be a time," he said, "when gun dealers would actually sell people guns! A time . . . called America. I miss that time." Let Us Now Praise Awesome Dinosaurs. Speaking of books! Remember Asterios Polyp, which I recommended a few days ago? I am now UPPING my recommendation to "This is one of the best comics I've ever read". I really loved it, you guys! PERHAPS YOU WILL LOVE IT AS WELL? – Ryan

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http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/14/china_electro_regime/

Buzz off and forget it

The Chinese government has declared that electric shock treatment is not a suitable therapy for youths allegedly addicted to the internet.…

Web threats: Why conventional protection doesn't work

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http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/14/live_nation_ticketmaster_competition_commission/

Watchdog releases the hounds

The UK’s competition watchdog is continuing to probe a possible merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, to determine whether such a deal would stifle competition in the live music market.…

The power of collaboration within unified communications

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