BBC NEWS | Europe | Muslim protest at Paris book fair — Now this.

A book fair in Paris has become the subject of controversy with several Muslim countries announcing boycotts because the guest of honour is Israel. Saudi Arabia has become the latest to withdraw, following Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Isesco) has also urged its 50 members to pull out from the fair, which starts on 14 March.

Isesco said Israel had committed crimes against humanity in Palestinian areas. The organisers of the book fair have said their aim is to honour literature and promote dialogue between cultures.

nd if this was not enough, a similar row is brewing over the Turin book fair in May in Italy.

BBC NEWS | Africa | US bombs Islamist town in Somalia — This doesn’t seem to be getting much coverage.

The US has launched an attack against a “known al-Qaeda terrorist” in southern Somalia, the Pentagon says.

Three missiles hit Dhoble town early on Monday, reportedly killing four people and wounding 20. People are fleeing the town, fearing more strikes. Residents say planes could still be seen flying overhead on Monday morning. Islamist insurgents seized the town last week and reports said a leader, Hassan Turki, had been in the area.

Mr Turki is on the US list of “financers of terrorism”.

Click image for larger view

A NASA spacecraft has taken the first-ever image of an avalanche in action near Mars’ north pole.

The High Resolution Imaging Experiment on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the photograph Feb. 19. The image, released today, shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.

The camera was tracking seasonal changes on Mars when it inadvertently caught the avalanche on film.

Delightful. The Orbiter doing exactly what it should be doing.

The body of a revered Italian monk has been exhumed ahead of being put on public display. The body of Padre Pio, who died 40 years ago and was later made a saint, will be prepared by experts before being placed in a glass coffin.

The body was in “fair” condition, a Church statement said…

Among his reputed powers were the prediction of future events, being seen in two places at once, and the ability to know people’s sins before they had confessed them. He was also said to have emitted the scent of flowers.

What kind of hat does he get to wear?

The decision by Germany’s highest court to annul a controversial state law allowing secret computer searches for security and anti-terror investigations rightfully puts civil rights above security interests, experts say…

Intelligence agencies will now only be able to collect data secretly from suspects’ computer hard drives if they have evidence that “legally protected interests,” like human lives or state property, are in jeopardy, the court said. They also must get permission from a judge before they upload Trojan horse spyware onto a suspect’s computer. The court also forbade the collection of a suspect’s personal data…

The state law, legal for just over a year, had allowed security officials to monitor private e-mails, Internet telephony and chats, as well as storing hard drive data, including images and word documents. Schaeuble had wanted a similar law for his federal agencies but will now have to change his plans.

Some of you may recall that Germany has previous experience with a nutball government that placed security above freedom?

Chavez Orders Tanks to Colombia Border, Raises Risks – Bloomberg.com: Hugo Chavez’s orders to close his Bogota embassy and send tanks to the border raise tensions beyond his previous rhetoric and to the point where miscalculation could trigger a military clash.

Chavez, who ordered 10 armored battalions to the border yesterday, said Colombia’s air strike March 1 on a rebel camp in Ecuadorean territory risks a regional war. He pledged to support Ecuador under any circumstances. The raid killed Raul Reyes, reputed to be second in command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

THE ENEMA WITHIN (Confirmed True by Darwin)

May 2004, Texas | Michael was an alcoholic. And not an ordinary alcoholic, but an alcoholic who liked to take his liquor… well, rectally. His wife said he was “addicted to enemas” and often used alcohol in this manner. The result was the same: inebriation. And tonight, Michael was in for one hell of a party.

Two 1.5 litre bottles of sherry, more than 100 fluid ounces, right up the old address!

When the rest of us have had enough, we either stop drinking or pass out. When Michael had had enough (and subsequently passed out) the alcohol remaining in his rectal cavity continued to be absorbed. The next morning, Michael was dead.

Yes, we reflected on this tale and others of similar bent in 2007. I emphasize “bent”.

Click photo to listen.

This Episode’s Topics:

• The new Beijing airport terminal; we need a road trip with shopping.
• Snooty sommeliers, from paint thinner to Grappa.
• Akamai and Limelight patent suits – commenters are poorly informed.
• John’s CBS Marketwatch column and Adam’s “live and die by Comscore clicks.”
• We rant on Google – they control both the buy and sell side. Is Google dying?
• Why didn’t Google, Yahoo or someone else hire this guy? Non-compete?
• Reader feedback. What the …
• Why are we (possibly) censored in Dubai?
• Text messages and SMS delivery.
• Do bank CEOs tell the truth? Bank stocks are down by half.
• I said this in 1912, and I’m right! (Just for clarification)
• Do we still make anything in America?
• U.S. still awarding govt. contracts overseas.
• Story of the week – “skin privileged”, deciphering other PC code words.
• Podcasting monetization and “grantsmanship.”

Room with a View

The Canberra Times

ARCHITECT-DESIGNED self-contained cottages with roomy kitchens, lounge rooms complete with flat-screen LCD televisions and mountain views through floor to ceiling windows. Welcome to the Alexander Maconochie Centre, the ACT’s first prison, where the cost of a room is your liberty and more. With an operating budget of $24.5 million, the ACT Government anticipates it will cost taxpayers $336 a day for each inmate at the $131 million prison, based on a population of 200 prisoners. At its capacity of 300 inmates, which the ACT Opposition expects it will not reach in the foreseeable future, the cost would fall to $219.

This is slightly less than what the Government currently pays $239 a day to keep an ACT prisoner in a NSW prison. “Objectives with the prison was to make it human rights compliant and in terms of design that means … an atmosphere which is healthy not just for prisoners and staff but for everyone who uses the facility,” he said.

An interesting point at the end of the article is even if the members of the press at times (or most times: Fox News) show bias, does it really matter in the end? Despite constantly pointing out all of Bush’s flaws, he was reelected by a public who didn’t listen.

The Myth of Objectivity

The pols and the people invest the press with great power. Conspiracies abound. Right-wing talk-show hosts love to go on about the liberal media establishment. Lefty commentators accuse the press of rolling over for George W. Bush before the invasion of Iraq. Politicians of all stripes accuse the press of being unfair, even cruel. Sometimes we are. On the day Vice President George H.W. Bush announced for the presidency in October 1987, he watched as his 28-year-old daughter, Doro, wept when she picked up NEWSWEEK’s cover story that week, picturing Bush driving his speedboat under the cover line FIGHTING THE ‘WIMP FACTOR.’
[…]
Certainly, there are editors and publishers who would like to be kingmakers, or just kings. From William Randolph Hearst to Henry Luce to Rupert Murdoch, press barons have sought to leave their personal stamp, if not change the course of history. But for the vast majority of media, the reality is much more mundane; the press’s impact on elections, as well as most other human events, is murky.

Cosmopolitan started the whole discussion with an article – for women – about where to meet choice guys.

If you’re on the prowl, check out these hottie spots we’ve mapped out — they’re saturated with the male species…

As you probably well know, man hunting can be an enjoyable but sometimes challenging enterprise. That’s why, if you want to find guys, you have to go where tons of them gather. Cosmo scouted out the top locations men can be found these days — whether you’re looking for a fun fling or a long-term relationship.

Hot spot: The Apple store

The draw: Most guys are natural gadget lovers, and with sales of iPods and MacBooks skyrocketing, more men than ever are stopping by Apple boutiques. The vibe at the stores is conducive to man meeting too: You can check your email among cuties, take a free workshop on anything from Photoshop to podcasting (a great opportunity to strike up a conversation), or just survey the, ahem, good-looking merchandise.

Who’da thunk it?

Not the real thing

Italians are used to buying bogus Gucci bags or Rolex watches to look stylish but police found a new height of craftsmanship and cunning when they broke up a ring selling fake Ferrari cars for a fraction of the real price.

Police accused 15 people of building the blood red sports cars and selling them to car fanatics on a budget, most of whom knew they were buying a counterfeit classic…

Some of the cars sold for about 20,000 euros, about a tenth of the going price for some versions.

Delightful. And worth every Euro.