HEADLINES from GB

Beckett's outrage at U.S. for flying bombs to Israel via Britain
By KIRSTY WALKER, Daily Mail

27th July 2006

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett

Margaret Beckett last night savaged the U. S. for using a British airport as a staging post for the supply of bunker-busting bombs to Israel.

The Foreign Secretary could barely contain her fury after learning that two cargo planes had landed for refuelling at Prestwick Airport, near Glasgow, at the weekend.

Defence sources confirmed that the laser-guided missiles were heading from the U.S. to the Israeli army, which is facing criticism over the rising civilian death toll in Lebanon.

Mrs Beckett accused the U.S. of being 'seriously at fault' and revealed that Britain had lodged a formal complaint.

She said: 'I am not happy about it. Not least because it appears that in so far as there are procedures for handling of that kind of cargo - hazardous cargos irrespective of what they are - it does appear that they were not followed.

'I have already let the United States know that we will be making a formal protest if it appears that that is what has happened.'

Mrs Beckett raised the issue with the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during diplomatic talks in Rome.

The unprecedented attack is further evidence of a growing rift in the 'special relationship' between Britain and the U.S. over the Middle East crisis.

Mrs Beckett's remarks come after a string of ministers have openly expressed concerns at the tactics of the Israeli army.

The U.S. has refused to condemn the Israeli strikes and has sped up the shipment of missiles to the Middle East at its ally's request (the lapdog must always do what its master says).

The Israeli army wants the 5,000lb smart bombs to attack bunkers used by Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon.

The revelation that the two planes landed in Prestwick with their controversial cargo has echoes of the row over the CIA's 'extraordinary rendition' of terror suspects - dubbed 'torture flights' by critics.

The latest row over the missiles, which was quickly branded 'rocket rendition' in Westminster, is likely to overshadow Tony Blair's visit to the U.S. tomorrow.

Sources revealed last night that he had sanctioned Mrs Beckett's complaint.

Labour MP Stephen Pound last night said he was 'proud' that a British minister had stood up to the U.S. He added: 'We have to be seen as neutral through this crisis. I am very proud that Margaret Beckett has stood up the U.S. on this issue.

'It is about time that someone made clear that we are not simply an aircraft carrier for President Bush.'

A White House spokesman told Channel 4 News that it was 'fine' for U.S. planes to land on British soil with weapons destined for the Middle East. He added: 'It should come as no surprise that the U.S. is delivering weapons to Israel as we are close allies.'

But aid agencies said the revelations endangered British workers in the Middle East.

Christian Aid founder Dominic Nutt said: 'It is a disgraceful business which only makes our jobs as aid workers deadlier.

'We are now seen as potential hostages.'

Chemical weapons

Meanwhile, Lebanon is investigating reports from doctors that Israel has used chemical weapons against it.

The Israeli army said it had used only conventional weapons and ammunition in attacks on Hezbollah guerillas and had done nothing that contravened international law.

Israel ignored ten frantic calls from a UN post before dropping a precision-guided bomb that killed four observers sheltering there, it emerged yesterday.

Peacekeepers contacted Israeli troops with a series of increasingly desperate pleas over the course of six hours as shells thudded into the ground around the compound at Khiam in southern Lebanon, which was clearly marked with UN flags.

But instead of calling off its offensive, the Israelis dropped a bomb on the building.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday expressed 'deep regrets' over the deaths.

He rejected claims made by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that the targeting of the position was 'apparently deliberate'.

dailymail.co.uk

I wonder if he replates the metal... they seem pretty shiny for something he pulled out of a canal.

probably replates or just cleans the hell out of them

Rooney battles 'cybersquatter' actor over website
28th July 2006

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney wants control of two websites bearing his name

Wayne Rooney is taking legal action against a Welsh TV actor who registered two websites bearing the football star's name.

Hugh Marshall registered WayneRooney.com and WayneRooney.co.uk in April 2002.

Six months later, Rooney hit a spectacular match-winning goal for his former club Everton, prompting his profile to soar.

Rooney was 16 at the time the websites were bought by Marshall, and now claims he should have control of them.

The Manchester United and England striker has taken his case to the UN World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva.

Marshall appears in the Welsh-language drama Tipyn o Stad (Little Estate).

Anyone logging on to the two websites at present are met with a notice telling them that the sites are "coming soon."

Rooney is the latest celebrity to become embroiled in a battle over the online use of their names.

In 2004, US director Spike Lee sued a "cybersquatter" who used spikelee.com to redirect surfers to a pornographic website.

And Tom Cruise won the right to use tomcruise.com after a ruling by the UN copyright body this month.

In 2000, the BBC also blocked an attempt to auction off the internet names bbc1.com and bbc2.com.

The latest controversy comes as thousand of website names ending in the .eu suffix have been suspended by the body that administers the domain.

EURid, a Brussels-based organisation, froze 74,000 names it believes have been stockpiled by a syndicate of registrars who used three British companies as a front to purchase them.

It belives that the firms intended to sell the names on. The process, which is prohibited under EURid rules, is known as "warehousing."

dailymail.co.uk

Liverpool must play Israeli team Maccabi Haifa in the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League, club football's biggest competition, the tournament that they won in 2005 for the 5th time. Last seaon's losing finalists Arsenal will take on either Lithuanian side Ekranas or Croatians Dynamo Zagreb. English Champions Chelsea qualify automatically and so do Manchester United. Edinburgh team Hearts, who finished second last season in the Scottish Premier will play Siroki Brijeg of Bosnia and the winner will play AEK Athens. Little Cork City of Ireland must play Red Star Belgrade, the winners of that game having to play mighty AC Milan.

Of the 8 highest ranking teams in this season's Champion's League, 3 of them are English teams, 3 of them are Spanish teams, 1 is an Italian team, 1 is a French team and there are no German teams in the top seeds.
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Meanwhile, in the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, Newcastle United will play Lithuanian team Ventspils, Welsh team Llanelli will play Danish side Odense and an all-British Isles game will take place between Gretna (losing finalists in last season's Scottish Cup against Hearts) and Irish team Derry City. Irish team Drogheda will play a team called IK Start.

Meanwhile, Israel national team and Israeli club teams, who all play in European competitions, are on the brink of being banned from playing club and international matches at home because of the worsening security situation in the Middle East.

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Liverpool face 'unacceptable' Israel trip
By Chei Amlani, Telegraph online, and PA

Liverpool face Israeli team Maccabi Haifa and Arsenal will take on Lithuanian side Ekranas or Croatians Dynamo Zagreb in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Bumpy ride: Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will prepare for a difficult tie

The English clubs have avoided potentially difficult ties against Fenerbahce, Spartak Moscow or Red Star Belgrade as they look to qualify for the group stages of the competition.

But Liverpool's away leg could be moved due to the situation in Lebanon and manager Rafael Benitez has said that he is unhappy with the thought of travelling to Israel for the game.

"It's a crazy situation and totally unacceptable to even think about us going over there at this time," Benitez said.

"A few years back, when I was with Valencia, we were drawn to play Maccabi Haifa in a Uefa Cup tie and the match was switched to Cyprus. The situation then was nowhere near as bad as it is now.

"Valencia also had a European game in the Ukraine on the day the Twin Towers were attacked in America and I can remember the confusion that caused with the players on their mobile phones constantly to their families who were wondering when we'd be getting back. It's impossible to prepare for a game in these circumstances."

"There is no way we should be going to Israel to play a game of football at this time. It's crazy to even consider it. Uefa cannot put anyone at risk."

Israel are on the brink of being banned from playing club and international matches at home because of the worsening security situation in the Middle East.

However, Maccabi Haifa will be keen to play at home and are likely to insist that there are no safety issues in Tel Aviv.

Uefa official Rob Faulkner said: "We've asked the Israel FA and relevant authorities to give us assurances concerning safety. We all see the news and have serious concerns - and the situation is changing daily. We'll be in discussions with both clubs but the key is the safety of players, fans and officials - and we wouldn't go ahead if we didn't have those assurances."

Arsenal are most likely to meet Zagreb, who lead their second qualifying round tie 4-1 after the first leg.

Vice-chairman David Dein said: "The boys who played in the later stages of the World Cup may not be ready for the game - that's up to Arsene. Ideally we'd like this game a bit later on but we have to deal with it."

Hearts, currently 3-0 up after the first leg of their second round qualifying game against Siroki Brijeg, have been handed a difficult tie against AEK Athens.

Athens beat Hibs in the Uefa Cup in 2001, while they also knocked Rangers out in the first qualifying round back in 1994.

Cork City, however, have potentially the most glamourous tie, against AC Milan - who are still waiting on final clearance to play in the tournament after their involvement in the match-fixing trials in Italy.

The first legs will be played on Aug 8 / 9 with the return two weeks later.
--------------------------------

Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round fixtures

Sherrif Tiraspol (Moldova) or Spartak Moscow (Russia) v Slovan Liberic (Czech Republic)

Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) v Hafnarfjordur (Iceland) or Legia Warsaw (Poland)

FC Zurich (Switzerland) or Salzburg (Austria) v Valencia (Spain)

Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) or Sioni Bolnisi (Georgia) v Chievo Verona (Italy)

Hearts (Scotland) or Siroki Brijeg (Bosnia) v AEK Athens (Greece)

CSKA Moscow (Russia) v Djurgarden (Sweden) or Ruzomberok (Slovakia)

AC Milan (Italy) v Cork City (Ireland) or Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)

Galatasaray (Turkey) v Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic) or Valerenga (Norway)

Standard Liege (Belgium) v NK Gorica (Slovenia) or Steua Bucharest (Romania)

Austria Vienna (Austria) v Benfica (Portugal)

Ekranes (Lithuania) or Dynamo Zagreb (Croatia) v Arsenal

FC Copenhagen (Denmark) or MyPa 47 (Finland) v Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Hamburg SV (Germany) v Osasuna (Spain)

Metalurgs Liepaja (Latvia) or Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) v Fenerbahce (Turkey) or B36 Torshavn (Faroe Islands)

Liverpool v Maccabi Haifa (Israel)

Lille (France) v Debrecen (Hungary) or Rabotnicki Skopje (Macedonia)
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Newcastle have been paired with Ventspils in the Uefa Cup second qualifying round.

The first leg will be in Latvia on Aug 10, with the return taking place at St James' Park on Aug 24.

Scottish Cup finalists Gretna will face Irish side Derry, while Welsh Premier League team Llanelli face Denmark's Odense.

UEFA Cup Second Qualifying Round fixtures
Southern - Mediterranean

Apoel Nicosia v Trabzonspor
Hapoel Tel-Aviv v Domzale
CSKA Sofia v Hajduk Kula
Roeselare v Ethnikos Achnas
OFK Belgrade v Auxerre
Dinamo Bucuresti v Beitar Jerusalem
Partizan Belgrade v Maribor PL
FK Sarajevo v Rapid Bucuresti
Bnei Yehuda v Lokomotiv Sofia
Omonia Nicosia v Litex Lovech
SK Tirana v Kayserispor
**************************************************

Central - East

Artmedia Bratislava v Dinamo Minsk
SV Ried v FC Sion Videoton FC Fehervar
Grasshoppers v Karvan Evlakh v Slavia Prague
Chornomorets v Wisla Plock
Basle v FC Vaduz CSF Zimbru
Metallurg Zaporizhzhya SV Mattersburg v Wisla Krakow
Hertha Berlin v Ameri Tbilisi
Rubin Kazan v BATE
Marseille v Young Boys
************************************************

Northern

IK Start v Drogheda Utd
Odense BK v Llanelli
FBK Kaunas v Randers FC
FC Twente v Levadia Tallinn
FK Ventspils v Newcastle
SK Brann v Atvidabergs FF
Molde v Skonto Riga
Flora Tallinn v Brondby
FK Suduva v Club Brugge
Gretna v Derry City

Ties to be played:

First leg Aug 10
Second leg Aug 24
***************************************************************

Top pot of seeds for Champions League according to current UEFA co-efficient:

1 Barcelona [[Holders]] (Spain) 127.0pts
2 Real Madrid (Spain) 120.0
3 Inter Milan (Italy) 112.0+
4 Liverpool (England) 105.9*
5 Arsenal (England) 101.9*
6 Man Utd (England) 100.9
7 Valencia (Spain) 95.0*
8 Lyon (France) 89.7

Second seeds:

9 Porto (Portugal) 87.5
10 PSV Eindhoven (Holland) 81.6
11 Bayern Munich (Germany) 80.9
12 Chelsea (England) 79.9
13 Roma (Italy) 76.0+
14 Ajax (Holland) 60.6*
15 Celtic (Scotland) 60.0
16 Lille (Fra) 54.7

Others:

40 Hearts (Scotland) 20.0
64 Cork City (Irish Republic) 1.4
68 Linfield (Northern Ireland) 0.77
69 The New Saints FC (Wales) 0.77

(* denotes needs to qualify, + denotes may change if Juventus and AC Milan win appeals in Italy against match-fixing punishment).

telegraph.co.uk

England are destroying Pakistan.

Latest score on the 2nd day of the Second Test between England and Pakistan -

1st innings
Pakistan 119
England 461-9 declared

2nd innings
Pakistan 12-0

England are leading by 330 runs.

The First Test finished last week and the match ended as a draw, so England are looking to go 1-0 up in this Test series.
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Pakistan struck early on day two by snaring the key wicket of Kevin Pietersen, who was dismissed off just the third delivery of the day

The Hampshire batsman had not added to his overnight 38 when he slapped the medium pace of Umar Gul straight to Imran Farhat in the gully
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... and both the capacity crowd in Manchester, as well as the man himself, were bitterly disappointed by the turn of events
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However, Alastair Cook was unfazed by the early loss of Pietersen, and carried on seemlessly towards his third Test century in partnership with Paul Collingwood
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And the pair shared in an unbroken 100-run, fourth-wicket stand in the morning session, with Collingwood contributing an unbeaten 40 to the total, which contained two towering sixes off the bowling of leg-spinner Danish Kaneria
----------------------------------------------------

While after the luncheon interval, Cook went on to register his third Test century, and his second in consecutive Test matches against Pakistan
-----------------------------------------

Collingwood then fell just two runs short of reaching his half-century when he pulled a Gul delivery straight into the grateful hands of Mohammad Sami at square leg
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And Cook became Gul's third victim of the day when he trapped the Essex man lbw with the second new ball
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Before England wicket-keeper Geraint Jones made it a good session for the tourists by falling leg-before having made only eight, Sami the deserving bowler for Pakistan
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Ian Bell then took over and, in the company England's lower order, pushed the home team's total up beyond the 400-runs mark
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While Matthew Hoggard and Younis Khan attempted to get the attention of the press box, where a reflection from the windows was causing a stoppage in play

England are:

Marcus Trescothick

Andrew Strauss (captain)

Alastair Cook

Kevin Pietersen

Paul Collingwood

Ian Bell

Geraint Jones (wicket-keeper)

Matthew Hoggard

Sajid Mahmood

Stephen Harmison

Monty Panesar

Pakistan are:

Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper)
Imran Farhat
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
Inzamam-Ul-Haq (captain)
Faisal Iqbal
Abdul Razzaq
Shahid Afridi
Mohammad Sami
Umar Gul
Danish Kaneria

telegraph.co.

The Scilly Isles (Cornish: Ynysek Syllan), a part of Cornwall, are one of the most southerly areas of England.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS INVESTIGATE 18TH CENTURY SCILLY ISLES FIRESHIP WRECK

By Caroline Lewis 27/07/2006

A diver with one of the fireships four anchors. Photo: Kevin Camidge

Researchers and students from the University of Bristol are investigating a fireship that sank off the Isles of Scilly nearly 300 years ago in one of the worst maritime disasters in British Naval history.

The dive will be the first archaeological survey of HMS Firebrand and the first physical study of this type of British Royal Navy ship. It sank along with a fleet led by Sir Cloudesly Shovell returning from Gibraltar in October 1707, when navigational error took them on to rocks.

Firebrand was launched at Limehouse in 1694, serving in the Caribbean and Mediterranean until her disastrous final voyage. Fireships were loaded with incendiaries with the potential to cause a huge amount of damage sailed against enemy fleets at anchor, but they were most often used as a threatening patrol or to escort sloops in convoy.

The loss of Shovel's fleet, depicted here, spurred on the search for longitude. Courtesy University of Bristol

“This survey will contribute to a new chapter on the significance of small warships to the British Royal Navy,” said Kimberley Monk, leading the team. “The English were considered to be the very ‘Devils with their Fire’ since, under certain conditions, fireships could inflict more devastation than any weapon at the navy’s disposal.”

Firebrand could carry 45 men and was fitted with an arsenal of eight cannon, and had a tonnage of 268. The tragedy took the lives of more than 1,500 Royal Navy seamen in all, along with ships HMS Association, HMS Eagle and HMS Romney, and highlighted the pressing need for an accurate method of calculating longitude.

Following the disaster, the British Longitude Act created the Longitude Prize for anyone who could devise a practical method of determining longitude at sea (achieved by Englishman John Harrison).

Leading the field school with Kimberley Monk are freelance maritime archaeologist Kevin Camidge and Martin Read, a conservator from

Isles of Scilly

The flower symbolising the Scilly Isles is the Thrift.

The Scilly Isles are a part of Cornwall, an area of England that speaks its own Celtic language - Cornish.

The islands once went to war with the Netherlands

There are hundreds of islands but only 5 of them are inhabited. The largest island, St Mary's, is the only one with a population over 1000 and has around four-fifths the entire population of the Scilly Isles -
St Mary's (2001 census population: 1,666), Tresco (180), St Martin's (142), St Agnes (73) and Bryher (92); the total population was 2,153. Until 1855, Samson was also inhabited.

During the English Civil War, the isles were a stronghold for the Royalists. It was during this period that the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War started between the isles and the Netherlands. In June 1651, the isles were captured from the Royalists by Admiral Robert Blake for the Parliamentarians.

The islands were visited by the Phoenicians and the Ancient Greeks.

http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART38881.html

Ever decreasing crop circles
By ROBERT HARDMAN, Daily Mail

29th July 2006

Crop circles have been appearing in English fields for many years. It has been great news for the British tourist trade. Every year, thousands come from all over the world to gawp, and the craze shows no sign of waning.

The first reported crop circle appeared in a field in Hertfordshire in 1678. That circle was known as the "Mowing-Devil." A farmer who, refusing to pay the price demanded by a labourer to mow his field, swore that he would rather that the Devil mowed it instead.

According to the pamphlet, that night his field appeared to be in flame. The next morning, the field was found to be perfectly mowed - supernaturally perfect, in fact.

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Force to be reckoned with: Robert Hardman sorts out the true believers from the circle-makers

Supernatural energy is, apparently, buzzing all around us from beneath the flattened wheat. John Latta from Seattle is wandering round in a trance-like state. Katharyn Henderson, 24, a teacher from New Zealand, is lying on the ground, lost in a cosmic daze.

We are in the middle of a newly-discovered crop circle, an elaborate pattern carved into an unharvested field. This one is not a particularly memorable example but it is already attracting quite a crowd for one reason: the crop circle appears to be an endangered species.

This summer will go down as a dismal year for strange apparitions amid the cereal. Numbers are way down and no one knows why. Those who believe the patterns are extra-terrestrial signals claim the alien messengers have despaired of planet earth and have driven their UFOs off to another galaxy.

Others claim there is a farmers' conspiracy to destroy all circles as soon as they appear. The curious death of a well-known crop-trampling enthusiast has also been cited, as has the present heatwave. No one has blamed John Prescott just yet but it can only be a matter of time.

So, I am not surprised to find a busload of devotees embracing this formation outside the Wiltshire village of Avebury (near to the largest ancient stone circle in Europe). As I approach, I am intercepted by their leader, Patricia Cori, selfstyled 'Scribe to the Speakers of the Sirian High Council' (not a local authority, I learn, but a friendly delegation of aliens).

Patricia, 54, is worried at first that I am a local farmer and assures me that her busload of 19 followers have all put a quid in the honesty box by the gate. When I explain that I am not the landowner, she very politely asks me to refrain from disturbing her group. 'They're toning,' explains this amiable American spokesman for the Sirian vortex. 'It's just so powerful here. Aren't you tingling?'

To be honest, I am not. I wander among the patterns, noting that the outer circle is precisely 12ft wide. It's good to know the universe prefers imperial measurements to metric.

To appreciate it properly, though, I need an aerial view and a few hours later, I am flying over it in a helicopter expecting to see a thing of beauty.

In fact, it looks a bit of a mess. The pattern is supposed to be three propellors around a big propellor but it has gone a bit wonky in places. Either the aliens were a little the worse for wear when they left this message or else it is a rather poor hoax.

'I think they forgot where the centre was,' says Rob Irving, 49, an artist and prolific circle-maker (he was commissioned to create an Olympic rings formation for last year's London bid). 'It looks like the work of trainees.'

The crop circle community is broadly split into three and, as I soon gather, the politics are almost as spectacular as the formations.

True believers

On one side, there are the true believers, people like Patricia who see crop circles as the work of strange paranormal forces. On the other are the circle-makers, hoaxers and artists like Rob who make crop circles for the sheer thrill of it.

There is no love lost between the two. The true believers denounce the circle-makers as frauds who are taking the credit for genuine alien messages.

The circle-makers regard the true believers as a bunch of oddballs and rather enjoy the hysterical reactions and wide-eyed wonderment with which their handiwork is greeted. And, unlike most artists, they shield their identities - this is, after all, vandalism.

In between these two extremes is the third group, the countless agnostics who accept that some formations are man-made but can't help thinking others defy any logical explanation.

But for once they are all in agreement on the fact that this has been a lousy summer - and all are asking the same question: where have the crop circles gone?

Some new examples have been popping up, notably in East Anglia and Italy. But the West of England is looking, well, rather more normal than usual.

Crop patterns have been a startling addition to the English landscape for a quarter of a century, mainly in the wilds of Wiltshire near the ancient stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury and the garrisons of Salisbury Plain.

They immediately struck a chord with the druids, the hippies and the UFO crowd, all of whom seized on them as evidence of either the paranormal or military conspiracies in weird and wonderful Wiltshire.

It remained a rather jolly mystery until 1991, when it emerged that the circles had been started by war veteran Doug Bower and his friend, Dave Chorley, after a night in a Hampshire pub.

The two men only went public after Doug's wife suspected that his high mileage and nocturnal absences were evidence of an affair. But despite the public exposure of their methods - planks, ropes, wire and tape - it did nothing to deter the believers.

As the New Age creed has gained mainstream credibility, more seekers of spiritual truth have become convinced these formations contain profound hidden messages.

At the same time, more and more copycat circle-makers have been creating ever-more ambitious designs using computers and surveyors' kit.

It has been great news for the British tourist trade. Every year, thousands come from all over the world to gawp, and the craze shows no sign of waning.

Rob Irving's The Field Guide: The Art, History and Philosophy of Crop Circle Making is published next month. This weekend, there are two rival crop circle conventions - one in Glastonbury (for the evangelical) and one in Devizes (for the more agnostic).

The believers will reconvene again in a fortnight for the annual Crop Circle Conference in Marlborough. Lectures include spiritual mandalas and crop circles and diatonic geometry of music and crop circles.

There is just one problem. They are running out of circles to study. I head for Thruxton Airfield near Stonehenge where Fast Helicopters do a roaring trade in crop circle tours.

'The circles account for about 15 per cent of our work but there is a lot less to see this year,' admits Captain Shaun Byam. We set off for a tour of what is on offer, sweeping over the stunning Vale of Pewsey.

Just below the white horse etched into the hill above Alton Barnes, a wheat field contains a star and two hearts. It's a tidy little design but not a patch on the colossal 800ft, sixarmed monster with 409 individual circles, which appeared here on Milk Hill one wet night in August 2001.

The Alton Barnes white horse is one of around 15 white horses in Wiltshire alone, most dating from thousands of years ago.

The Milk Hill formation appeared in August 2001. This one gave one landlady the "heebyjeebies" because "it was far too big for humans to have done it."

We fly over the uninspiring Avebury circle where I discovered Patricia and her followers. A newly-harvested field nearby contains the shadow of a formation from last year. It is far more impressive.

In West Overton, we spot a messy design which looks like a botched knitting pattern or a logo for some dreary EU quango. Outside Marlborough, I spot ten people meditating inside a rather stronger specimen resembling two gas rings alongside two trays of concentric croissants.

West Overton

Interestingly, the standard improves the further we travel from the traditional hunting ground towards Oxfordshire.

At Charlbury Hill, two circles contain some intricate topiary while, further on at Wayland's Smithy, we encounter the excellent, threedimensional depiction of a series of skyscrapers.

Finally, next to the remnants of Uffington Castle is a neat design resembling a bird unfolding its wings. But, after more than an hour aloft, that is our lot and we return to Thruxton.

Uffington Castle

Searching for answers

I set out by car in search of answers. First stop is the enchanting Barge Inn, a canalside spot just outside Alton Barnes. This is a mandatory halt for all circle-seekers, with one bar devoted to crop circle pictures.

The landlords, June and Adrian Potts, even have a crop circle mural painted on the ceiling.

'It's definitely an off-year,' says June, 'but all our regulars are still coming through which is nice.' These include a Berlin surgeon and his chum who come every year to study force fields in the previous year's crop circle sites.

One regular who won't be returning is Paul Obee, a quiet circle-maker who was found dead in his car earlier this summer with a note beside him.

'I heard he wanted to see what was on the other side,' sighs June. 'Perhaps his friends have stopped this year which is why it's so quiet.'

A friend to both the true believers and the circle-makers alike, she is convinced that some formations defy rational explanation.

'I know some are hoaxes but I saw that one in 2001 over there on Milk Hill, and it gave me the heebyjeebies because it was far too big for humans to have done it.

'You do see some strange things round here. One night in 1997, several of us saw this strange ball of light which suddenly filled the whole sky and then vanished. I don't know what it was.'

A few miles away, I stop on the A4 at the Silent Circle Cafe, a spiritual home for the true believers. Owner Charles Mallett, 36, dismisses those who claim to be circle-makers as 'circle-fakers'.

'I was camping on Milk Hill with my dog the night those 409 circles appeared and we didn't see or hear a thing. Explain that,' he says.

'I'm not a loony. I'm a regular guy who likes his bacon sarnies but I have had enough experiences to know that crop circles represent an interdimensional communication with the human consciousness.'

So why the shortage? 'Maybe the forces involved have moved on. I am sure it's directly related to the way the world is going. And the farmers are chopping them as soon as they appear. They should just put out an honesty box and make lots of money.'

Tonight, the cafe is staging a talk entitled the power of collective thought, by Andy Thomas, 41, a writer on psychic phenomena. The little tea room is hotter than an allday breakfast but 20 people have paid £7.50 to listen.

He has another theory for the vanishing circles.

'It's the hot weather,' he says. 'Most crop circles appear near strong energy fields and strong underground water sources, which is why the ancient world was drawn to this part of Wiltshire, too.

But the water table is right down.'

One of his audience offers me a simpler theory. 'I know the spirits who make the crop circles because they live in my New York apartment,' says Nancy Burson, a photographer and author from New York. 'These spirits are sad that the farmers keep cutting down their messages so they have just given up.'

What do these spirits, er, look like? 'They are balls of light. I call them extra-celestials. We have to stop destroying their messages.'

The next day, I meet someone who has been destroying extracelestial messages for years. Robin Butler's family has been farming this land since 1937, including the

Avebury field where I found the crop circle. He tells me that crop circles are an expensive nuisance. Not only can they ruin several hundred pounds of crop but they devalue the next one.

'I need to replant that field with barley for next year but all the heads off the trampled wheat are now in the soil, so I'll have a mixed crop. This is just countryside graffiti.'

What about the fabled fortune from the honesty box? He laughs. 'I usually find a few 1p coins in there.'

He denies any conspiracy to wipe out the circles. 'Some people might take out a small one before it becomes an attraction but a big one is too much trouble so you wait until the harvest.'

He puts this year's decline down to the fact that the harvest has come early so there are fewer fields to vandalise.

So what do the circle-makers say?

Rob Irving points to the death of Paul Obee and the emigration of another top circle-maker. 'People are moving away from Wiltshire - we call it Ground Zero - because the farmers are fed up.

'But I have noticed a lot of trial runs which suggests that new teams are coming through. It's not the end of crop circles because it's still a lovely way to spend an evening and these artists are going much further than Damien Hirst because their work is treated like a religion.'

There will be plenty of worshippers all over the West Country this weekend. And long may they continue - as long as they remember to stick a quid in the honesty box.

They don't harm anyone and they are helping a struggling rural economy. What's more, if the Scots can still make a mint out of a Loch Ness monster no one has ever seen, why shouldn't England's fields enjoy a mystery of their own?

dailymail.co.uk

Lyme Regis, Dorset.

The Times July 29, 2006

Town told to drop the dead fish contest
By Will Pavia

(Above) A contestant swings a dead conger eel at another participant in the conger cuddling event. (Below) The hilarious Monty Python scene where characters slap each other with dead fish is similar to the traditional conger cuddling event

THERE was outrage and sadness in a Dorset fishing town yesterday as locals mourned the death of a cherished tradition, killed off after complaints from animal rights activists.

Since time immemorial, or at least since 1974, the denizens of Lyme Regis have gathered on the harbour to indulge in the traditional sport of the conger: a game of skill and balance involving a dead eel.

In the annual finale to the town’s Lifeboat Week, nine players or “conger cuddlers”, would mount wooden blocks arrayed in a triangular formation. An opposing team of nine would take turns to swing a dead conger, suspended from a rope, and try to knock their opponents from their perches as if they were human skittles, the crowd assisting with carefully aimed buckets of sea water.

It was, by common consent, the most fun one could have with a dead fish.

Last night the finest conger cuddlers in the world should have been gathering at the quayside to compete before a crowd of thousands. Teams of firemen, powerboat racers, fishermen — all were preparing to take their chances against the swinging eel in a tournament that raises about £3,000 for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). This year, however, an anonymous animal rights activist has scuppered the event after writing to the RNLI, complaining that the event was “disrespectful” to dead animals and threatening to film it and use the footage for a nationwide campaign against conger cuddling.

Rob Michael, chairman of the Lyme Regis Lifeboat Guild, was advised by the RNLI to abandon the conger cuddling. “The RNLI is not prepared to be involved in an event that may be seen by some as a barbaric throwback,” he said.

Ken Whetlor, the Mayor of Lyme Regis, pointed out that the conger eels used werecaught accidentally in fisherman’s nets and frozen for the event. “The writer of that letter is a gutless troublemaker with nothing better to do than stop people enjoying an innocent event that helps to raise money to save lives,” he said.

For Richard Fox, 66, a retired publican, local historian, and former world champion town crier, the demise of the sport he helped to found is little short of tragic. “One person creates a fuss over a dead fish and destroys the enjoyment of a large amount of people who do this every year,” he said.

Mr Fox bestowed the game on a grateful town when he arrived from Somerset, where farmhands play a game called mangel dangling — a similar time-honoured sport involving a mangel-wurzel, a large root vegetable. He sought to translate that tradition into Dorset fishing culture. He told The Times: “The conger is an extremely slippery fish. The chaps try to grab hold of it to try to stay on their stand.”

Hence the cuddle, although, should you try this at home, he advises that one should crouch as the fish strikes, maintaining a low centre of gravity.

Mr Fox has little hope that the sport might flourish in secret. “The problem is that you need a big space,” he said. “It’s not like street fighting.”

So Lyme Regis is left to cast about for a new ritual. “In Bermuda, our twin town, they still practise ducking. That’s far worse,” Mr Fox said, before adding, thoughtfully: “Though there are a few women round here I could think of for that.”

dailymail.co.uk

Britain has been sending troops all around the world since - forever.

But recent German pacifism has meant that Germany has not been too keen on sending its troops abroad, and its military spending - smaller than that of Britain and France - has meant that several parts of its army have been using obsolete military equipment.

Germany's armed forces

Abroad, by inches
Jul 27th 2006 | POTSDAM
From The Economist print edition

Afghanistan, Congo, maybe Lebanon: more German troops are going abroad

THE Luftwaffe, the Red Army, the East German Volksarmee, the Bundeswehr: the Henning-von-Tresckow barracks, named after a German general who tried to blow up Hitler, has had many tenants. Its latest may be the most surprising of all. For this base near Potsdam is the European Union's operational headquarters for its mission to Kinshasa, capital of Congo, during the election this weekend.

The flags of 20 EU members (plus Turkey) mark the mission's command centre. But the focus of interest is Germany, which is providing not only the bulk of the EU contingent, but also its commander, Karlheinz Viereck—a first since the war. The Congo mission now has added significance in the light of talk about European troops going to Lebanon. German officials do not exclude that possibility, given Germany's historical responsibility to defend Israel. Others say it is precisely because of history that German uniforms cannot be seen near Israel's borders.

At all events, it is a far cry from the pacifism of Germany up to the 1990s. Surprisingly, it was the Social Democrat/Green government that broke the post-war taboo against sending troops into armed combat. In late 1998, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder survived a vote of no confidence to send fighters into former Yugoslavia. “If there is a historic achievement of the Schröder government, it was overcoming this taboo, while preserving the policy emphasis on civilian power,” comments Constanze Stelzenmüller, of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund.

Since then, Germany has become a big provider of peacekeeping troops, with 7,706 now spread over a dozen missions (see table). Congo is a step to normality in another way. For the first time, the debate was not about moral imperatives, but plain national interest: the threat of Congo becoming another failed state. It did not split along party lines, either; rather, the argument was between “internationalists” and “isolationalists”. Social Democrats, young Christian Democrats and even Greens favoured the mission. It was opposed by the Free Democrats and an old guard of cold-war defence buffs. The compromise, which parliament approved by a big majority, was to limit the mission both in time (until the end of November) and geographically (to Kinshasa only).

Lacking a clear position in advance, Chancellor Angela Merkel found it hard to say no to French demands that Germany take the lead in Congo. Strategic debate in Berlin has yet to reach the level of, say, Paris or London. The media have worried most over whether German troops might catch diseases, or have to shoot at child soldiers (if attacked, they will, is Mr Viereck's obvious answer). And there are still doubts over how Germans might react were things to go badly wrong.

That some 63 German soldiers have died on foreign missions since the early 1990s (over 100 British soldiers have died in Iraq alone since 2003) has caused remarkably little stir. Although two-thirds of Germans disapprove of sending soldiers to Congo, few have protested. Yet with the Bundeswehr mostly engaged in humanitarian work and peacekeeping, Germans may see sending soldiers abroad as just a form of armed development aid. “When Somalia turned out a failure in the mid-1990s, we were thrown back several years,” says Stefan Mair of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Many Germans seem surprised that their soldiers in Afghanistan have been targets of attacks.

To avoid a backlash, Germany needs a proper discussion of how to decide where troops should go. It should get involved earlier, so that it can influence decisions about operations. But Germans do not seem ready for this. The government has postponed decisions on defence and security guidelines. Rather than discussing the Bundeswehr's forays abroad, the argument has been over whether to use it at home. Yet new missions are on the horizon: if not Lebanon, perhaps Sudan. With Germany holding the presidencies of both the EU and the G8 in the first half of 2007, it will have a hard time saying no.

COUNTRIES

Military Spending In Billion Dollars (2003-04)

United States 335.7
Japan 46.7
United Kingdom 36
France 33.6
China 31.1
Germany 27.7
Saudi Arabia 21.6
Italy 21.1
Iran 17.5
South Korea 13.5
--------------------------------------------------------

Britain VS Germany - How the militaries compare.

Nuclear weapons
Britain - over 200
Germany - 0
---------------------------------------------------------
Military spending (% of GDP)
Britain - 2.7
Germany - 1.2
-------------------------------------------------------

Global power projection

Britain - her global power projection capabilities are second only to those of the United States Military.

Germany - has only limited power projection capabilities

----------------------------------------------------------
Naval power
Britain - the Royal Navy is the 2nd-most powerful navy on Earth after the US and is also the world's 2nd-largest in terms of gross tonnage, with almost 100 warships and employing 36,320 people.

Germany - the German naval manpower is only around half that of Britain, with around 19,000 people.
------------------------------------------------------------
Air power
Britain - the RAF has almost 1000 planes and is often deployed on missions around the world. It will soon have 232 Eurofighter Typhoons, the most of any European nation. The RAF also has its mighty Nimrods, some of which may soon be used as a British heavy bomber force. The new-generation Nimrods are also about to be constructed.

Germany - the only time the Luftwaffe has seen proper military action since WWII was in 1999. It will soon have 180 Eurofighter Typhoons. [/b]

economist.com

Two decades ago, many in the UK considered the reunification of Germany to be an alarming and threatening prospect. Now, with the US leaning on you to provide peacekeeping troops in Lebanon, you cannot wait for the reunified Germany to rearm.

Is that an accurate appraisal, or not?

CRICKET

Sri Lanka have broken a world record. In cricket, there are two batsmen batting at the same time. The amount of runs they score between them before one of them is out is known as a "partnership." The Sri Lankan partnership of Jayawardene and Sangakkara has set a new world record of 624 runs, Sangakarra scoring an amazing 35 fours. Captain Jaywardene was out after scoring 374 runs, just 26 short of the world record set by West Indies legend Brian Lara. Both batsmen batted for more than 10 hours.

The previous highest-ever partnership was 578, also set by Sri Lanka, against India in 1997/98.
--------------------------------------

Sri Lanka pair break world record and destroy South Africans

Sri Lanka VS South Africa

Third day of the First Test, Colombo.

Latest score at the end of today's play

1st innings
Sri Lanka 756-6 declared
South Africa 169

2nd innings
South Africa 43-0

The scoreboard records the moment when the feat was achieved

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene fell for 374, 26 short of Brian Lara's Test record but did share in a new landmark on an amazing day in Colombo.

Jayawardene set a new partnership record of 624 with Kumar Sangakkara, who hit 35 fours in 287.

The skipper continued but one short of Lara's second highest score of 375 and six behind Matthew Hayden's 380, he was bowled by one that kept a touch low.

Sri Lanka declared on 756-6, with South Africa closing 544 adrift at 43-0.

The crowd erupted when the record came courtesy of four leg byes collected off South Africa spinner Nicky Boje.

The third-wicket pair surpassed the previous best of 576 for the second wicket by fellow Sri Lankans Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama against India at the nearby Premadasa stadium in 1997.

Jayawardene made his debut in that match, in which the Sri Lankans posted the highest Test team score of 952-6.

The skipper was on 278 and Sangakkara was on 273 when they set the new record in the second over after lunch on the third day at the Sinhalese sports club.

Ironically the pair had come to the crease on Thursday evening with Sri Lanka struggling at 14-2 and Sangakkara had had a reprieve when he was bowled off a no-ball before he had reached double figures.

Both batsmen batted for more than 10 hours, or 160 overs, in hot and humid weather in the Sri Lankan capital.

Neither offered a chance before Sangakkara's dismissal on day three, with an lbw appeal by Makhaya Ntini against Jayawardene and a streaky edge through the slips by Sangakkara the closest South Africa came to dismissing them.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, who had to wait for 11 hours of match time to come in at number five, hit a rapid 45 to help add another century with his captain, who declared immediately after his marathon innings was ended by Andre Nel.

BEST TEST STANDS

S'kkara & J'wardene: 624, SL v SA, '06
Jayasuriya & Mahanama: 576, SL v Ind, Colombo, '97-'98
Jones & Crowe: 467, NZ v SL, Wellington, '90-'91
W Ponsford & D Bradman: 451, Aus v Eng, The Oval, '34
M Nazar & J Miandad: 451, Pak v Ind, Hyderabad, '82-'83

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/5226500.stm