Bali bombers 1, executed

Islamic militants Mukhlas, his younger brother Amrozi, and Imam Samudra were put to death for their lead roles in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

A prison source confirmed the executions in a one-word SMS to journalist at Cilacap, near Nusakambang.

The SMS said "sudah' ("already").

TV One said the three Islamic militants responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings were executed around midnight at Nirbaya, an orchard some 6km from their prison on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java. The island is home to the prison where they spent their last years.

According to an AAP source, the bombers yelled "Allahu Akbar"("God is great") as they were taken from their cells.

They were guarded by 30 fully-armed Brimob policemen and taken to the execution site as part of a convoy of eight cars.

Online news site detik.com earlier reported the men were taken from their isolation cells to Nirbaya around 11.55pm local time Saturday.

The Bali bombings killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. Hundreds more were injured when bombs tore through the crowded Sari Club and nearby Paddy's Bar on October 12, 2002.

Toraja Adventure & Cultural Package

Incl. Malino Eco Tour
Duration: 07 Days/06 Nights
Mini participants : two persons

Itinerary:
Day 01. ARRIVAL IN MAKASSAR / DRIVE TO TANA TORAJA (L,D)
According to your schedule of arrival, you will be meet our Tour Guide at Hasanuddin Airport Makassar. Then take approx. 8 hours drive to Tana Toraja passing through the Buginese villages with their typical wooden houses. Lunch will be served at a seafood restaurant in Pare-Pare. In the afternoon have some drink or snack on Bambapuang café while enjoy the wonderful view of Mount Buttukabobong. In the afternoon arrive in Rantepao. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

Day 02. FULL DAY TANA TORAJA TOUR (B,L,D)
After breakfast, we will visit the stone hanging grave of Lemo with its Tau-Tau effigies. Then to Kambira where we can find the peculiar baby graves in the trees. Onwards we will explore the architecture of Tongkonan houses in Ketekesu village and Londa, which is a natural grave with entombed deceased. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant in Rantepao. In the afternoon, we visit Nanggala and Siguntuk, local Torajan villages famous for their old Tongkonan houses and rice barns. Then back to the Hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 03. BATUTUMONGA TREKKING (B,L,D)
In the morning we will visit Tinombayo where we can enjoy the spectacular view of the megalith stones spread over the extensive rice fields. Then to a burial cave of Lokomata. From Lokomata, we continue our trip to Batutumonga where our guide will lead you for trekking around Batumonga to enjoy various of local Torajan daily life style and wonderful land sceneries. Lunch will be served on the spot. In the afternoon, visit Pallawa & Sa’dan local Toraja villages famous as the center of wood carving in Rantepao. Then back to the Hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 04. WHITE WATER RAFTING AT MAULU RIVER (B,L,D)
In the morning, pick up at your hotel at 08.00, then drive to start point in the mountains is 1 ½ hours from Rantepao, after a 40 minutes walk through quite villages and rice fields. It’s in water for 3 or 4 hours of seriously fun whitewater rafting. Here you can find a very beautiful landscape and you will see special animals like leguan, big butterflies and beautiful birds. We top quality equipment to make for a safer and more enjoyable rafting experience. We stop in a very quite river bank for a delicious lunch. In the afternoon back to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 05. TORAJA – SENGKANG (B,L,D)
After breakfast, we will drive Sengkang via Palopo. On the way from Toraja to Palopo, we will stop on Puncak Paredean to enjoy a spectacular view of Palopo peninsula and surrounding area. Lunch en route. In the afternoon, arrive in Sengkang and we direct to the Lake Tempe where we will have a boat trip to explore the daily life of the local Bugis fishermen who live on the floating houses. Dinner and overnight at a simple accommodation in Sengkang.

Day 06. SENGKANG – TANJUNG BIRA (B,L,D)
Today we drive to the Southern tip of Sulawesi island Tanjung Bira, famous as the center of traditional Phinisi boat building and its wonderful white sandy beaches. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant in Sinjai. In the afternoon, arrive in Tanjung Bira. Dinner and overnight stay in a cottages – simple accommodation.


Day 07. FREE PROGRAM / DRIVE BACK TO MAKASSAR (B,L,D)
Today is your free at leisure during a half day in Tanjung Bira, where you can do some swimming, snorkeling or just take a relax under the sun shine on white sandy beach or take a sightseeing around. After lunch, drive back to Makassar via the southern coast. On the way we will stop in Tana Beru to see the process of traditional Phinisi boat building. We also will stop in Bantaeng district to visit the natural Bissappu waterfall. In the afternoon, arrive in Makassar. Then we will visit Akkarena Beach Tanjung Bunga for refreshment and enjoy some drink. Dinner and overnight at the Hotel in Makassar.

Day 08. TRANSFER OUT (B,L)
After breakfast, if we still have any change, we will take you on a short city tour in Makassar until the time for us to take to Hasanuddin Airport Makassar for your flight to your next destination. End of Tour.

http://www.adventuresulawesi.com

Dirty Dogs and Carbon Cats

The Lantern has never been trusted to care for any pet larger than a hamster—rest in peace, Fonzie!—so he'll admit that this question falls a little outside his comfort zone. But your question raises an important point: To own a dog or cat can significantly increase the ecological footprint of your household. The Lantern hopes to cover other aspects of domestic animal husbandry in the future, but today let's focus one of the most important ways you can manage your pet's "pawprint": responsible waste disposal.

Whether you have a dog or a cat, you'll have two problems to deal with: How do you collect your animal's poop, and what do you do with it once you have it in hand? Most dog owners have been conditioned to clean up after their pets when they walk on public streets and sidewalks. But it's just as important to dispose properly of dog waste in your own backyard. Pet waste contains bacteria that can contaminate local waterways if it washes from your lawn into storm drains. In large enough quantities, this pollution can remove oxygen from streams and rivers and contribute to algal blooms, threatening marine life.


What should a dog owner do to prevent this from happening? Experts recommend one of several options. First, you can dump the waste down the toilet, since most sewage-treatment systems can filter out the harmful bacteria. You can also bury the waste in your yard at least 12 inches deep and then cover it with soil. Or you can create a special composter for your dog waste—see these instructions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture; just make sure it's far away from any fruits and vegetables you might be growing.

To move dog poop around, it's best to reuse old plastic shopping bags. If you've made the better move of eliminating polypropylene bags from your diet already, then try to find boxes or bags that are made from bio matter.

For cat owners, things get more complicated. Cats that get infected with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii can shed that organism's oocysts in their waste. (Most cats with toxoplasmosis won't show any symptoms, so you might not know if your cat has the disease.) According to research conducted in California, Toxoplasma appears to have contributed to an uptick in the deaths of wild sea otters in the past few years. (The parasite can be toxic to humans, too, but as long as you wash your hands after dealing with cat poop, you probably aren't at risk.) And conventional sewage treatment doesn't appear to be effective in filtering out the nasty bugs.

Skeptics have pointed out that cats haven't definitively been identified as the culprit. They note that only 1 percent of cat feces samples in one recent study carried Toxoplasma, that indoor cats are especially unlikely to catch the parasite, and that many infected otters may actually be dying of other causes. It's also not clear how much Toxoplasma affects other kinds of marine life. But pending further research, the Lantern thinks that if your cat ever wanders outside the house, precaution merits keeping its poop out of the toilet and out of your yard.

You're better off using kitty litter instead—but be careful about which kind you use. Most is made of bentonite clay or its cousin, fuller's earth; both materials are extracted through surface mining, an environmentally taxing process. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, about a quarter of all bentonite mined in the United States and over half of all fuller's earth—nearly 2.5 million metric tons a year between the two—is used as an absorbent for pet waste. Mining companies claim they can regrow any vegetation removed during the extraction process, but the scope of reclamation projects for Wyoming bentonite suggests that the effects of strip mining can be significant. Meanwhile, because the litter is nonbiodegradable, there's no place for it to go but the landfill.

A better option would be litters that come from recycled newspapers, wheat, corn cobs or reclaimed sawdust, assuming you don't want to go about making your own. These litters—along with the cat waste—can be composted, as long as you use the right precautions, and they provide a good use of recycled material. If you use liners for your litter box, you can find ones made from biodegradable plastic. (Some owners complain about their cats' reactions to green litters, so try them on a small scale first and see what happens.)

Is there an environmental quandary that's been keeping you up at night? Send it to ask.the.lantern@gmail.com, and check this space every Tuesday.

Blog?

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual [1], with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.[2] With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning — that of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something.

Types
There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written.
Personal Blogs
The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following. A type of personal blog is referred to as "microblogging," which is extremely detailed blogging as it seeks to capture a moment in time. Sites, such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family and is much faster than e-mailing or writing. This form of social media lends to an online generation already too busy to keep in touch.[3]
Corporate Blogs
A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs.
Question Blogging
is a type of blog that answers questions. Questions can be submitted in the form of a submittal form, or through email or other means such as telephone or VOIP. Qlogs can be used to display shownotes from podcasts[4] or the means of conveying information through the internet. Many question logs use syndication such as RSS as a means of conveying answers to questions.
By Media Type
A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog.[5] Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called tumblelogs.
A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a Phlog.[citation needed]
By Device
Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA could be called a moblog.[6] One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance. Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.[citation needed]
By Genre
Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs, house blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs) or dreamlogs. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a Splog.

Community and Cataloging

The Blogosphere
The collective community of all blogs is known as the blogosphere. Since all blogs are on the internet by definition, they may be seen as interconnected and socially networked. Discussions "in the blogosphere" have been used by the media as a gauge of public opinion on various issues. A collection of local blogs is sometimes referred to as a bloghood.
Blog Search Engines
Several blog search engines are used to search blog contents, such as Bloglines, BlogScope, and Technorati. Technorati, which is among the most popular blog search engines, provides current information on both popular searches and tags used to categorize blog postings. Research community is working on going beyond simple keyword search, by inventing new ways to navigate through huge amounts of information present in the blogosphere, as demonstrated by projects like BlogScope.
Blogging Communities and Directories
Several online communities exist that connect people to blogs and bloggers to other bloggers, including BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog.
Blogging and Advertising
It is common for blogs to feature advertisements either to financially benefit the blogger or to promote the blogger's favorite causes. The popularity of blogs has also given rise to "fake blogs" in which a company will create a fictional blog as a marketing tool to promote a product.

This is turning into an eco

As some of you might have noticed from my Facebook status interjections, I’ve sold my loft and recently found a new house that I’m about to renovate. And as my more “serious” blogging now occurs on the Perennia blog, I thought it might be a nice idea to share my journey into renovating in the most ecoresponsible way that I possibly can, within time and budget constraints.

So first tings first: the “before” pictures!


The goods:

• located 200 meters from a metro (which means I can continue to take public transportation)

• 10 minutes bike ride from the office

• a few blocks from parks and supermarkets

• built in 1953, has only had one owner (very rare)

• no structural work to be done

My personal design brief goes more or less as follows:

• keep as much of it as possible

• open it up, bring in the light

• transform the back yard into a food growing place, as well as an outside “room” for summer living

• use as much ecoresponsible materials as possible

• buy locally as much as possible

• ban all toxic materials

• when felling walls, do it in a way that the wood beams may be recycled

• pet project: try to keep the ‘70’s era bar as intact as possible, while upgrading it to suit my own tastes

All that carpet and tiles are coming off, and we’ll see how the original wooden floors are looking. For colors, I’m very tempted to go all out in very bright colors: mazatlan blue, coral, kelly green, etc (all in non VOC paints, of course). I also want to open up a large chunk of the kitchen and have a great big huge door to have seamless outside-inside living during summer months. I’ll need help with the garden, but a huge bonus will be the fact that I’ll be able to compost to my heart’s content and reuse that beatiful humus in my garden! I want to plant varieties that will be sturdy, local and easy to take car of.

So let’s consider this week one and see how it goes.

The Shoe Is On The Other Foot Now

Some people cannot leave well enough alone. Robert Jeffress, a Baptist preacher out of Dallas, and one of the most vocal and bigoted of all the anti-Mormon, anti-Romney religious far-rightists, has stuck his head up again. He featured prominently in the Article VI Movie, in perhaps its ugliest moment, as being unwilling to even declare himself a friend of a Mormon. Well, Peggy Fletcher Stack caught up with him speaking at the Religion Newswriters Association last week:

“I believe we should always support a Christian over a non-Christian,” Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, told a packed audience of journalists at last weekend’s Religion Newswriters Association (RNA) annual meeting. “The value of electing a Christian goes beyond public policies. . . . Christians are uniquely favored by God, [while] Mormons, Hindus and Muslims worship a false god. The eternal consequences outweigh political ones. It is worse to legitimize a faith that would lead people to a separation from God.”

Jeffress made his remarks during a luncheon debate with Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a law firm and educational organization that focuses on religious-liberty issues. The DeMoss Group, a Christian public-relations firm in Duluth, Ga., sponsored the event.

Sekulow, who also disagrees with Mormon theology but supported Romney’s candidacy, argued he would rather have a president who promoted a conservative political agenda than one who shared his doctrinal positions.

Thank goodness for people like Sekulow and Mark DeMoss who are willing to challenge silly people like this. But what I found most interesting was what is occurring in the wake of this posturing that we witnessed during the primary campaign.

While many leading Evangelicals are quick to embrace the whole “Sarah [Palin] is religious just like me” thing, it is being used as a cudgel against them. We are seeing the same kind of stuff around Palin with this religious identity mantra that emerged around Bush is 2000 and it is a large part of why we are in this mess. One of the great problems with the Bush administration is that he is not “just like us.” In fact I would argue that no one seeking the office of the Presidency of the United States is going to be just like any normal Joe on the street. The desire alone separates that individual pretty significantly from the rest of us.

That fact does not cast aspersions on their faith, none-whatsoever, it is just to point out the illusory nature of this kind of identity politics. But note what is happening. At Contentions, Abe Greenwald takes on a piece by Sam Harris that discusses Palin in precisely the same incredulous tones that were used to discuss Romney’s Mormonism. Most amazing is it devolves into a discussion of what we mainstream/creedal Christians call the charismata, the miraculous manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Which is precisely the club that was used to beat Romney. What else are the “founding whoppers of Mormonism” than claims of direct and miraculous action by God?

But leaving aside commentary pieces, MSNBC’s breathless and ridiculing story of a viral video showing Palin being prayed over, and specifically for protection from “witchcraft” is just contemptible. Imagine what would happen if some one dug up videos of Obama in a dashiki, attending an African ritual of some sort and reported on it in this fashion? The charges of racism would be so extreme as to run into actual censorship.

And in large part we have brought this on ourselves. When fools like Jeffress say such foolish things, it will come back to haunt.
Elsewhere…

Some interesting and well done work on Biden, Catholics and media bias. It’s somewhat comforting to know that the press cannot seem to get religion correct, no matter what the religion.

This Sunday just past was designated for pastors to protest the limitations placed by the IRS on their political speech from the pulpit. There was a little counter view op-ed in the NYTimes Saturday. This one is a tough call. Pastors should be free under the constitution to say whatever they want from the pulpit, and it is reasonable to argue that the tax laws are coercive enough to constitute a de facto form of censorship (most churches would go belly up in a matter of weeks if they lost their tax advanatges), but pastors doing politics from the pulpit is usually a recipe for disaster to the church. Were I a pastor, I would chose to quietly support lawyers arguing the law rather than engage in this kind of protest.

And finally, a column from Lutheran Magazine looks at the now old Pew Religious Landscape Survey and writes:

According to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life ’s “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey,” a modest 14 percent of adults say their beliefs are the main influence on their political views. Many more, 34 percent, claim their personal experience is the deciding factor in shaping political views.

However, the report found a strong tie between political issues and Americans’ religious affiliation, beliefs and practices. “In fact, religion may be playing a more powerful, albeit indirect, role in shaping people’s thinking than most Americans recognize,” the report said.

Members of U.S. evangelical churches and Mormons are more likely to self-describe their political ideology as conservative, with two-thirds of Mormons and one-half of evangelicals saying they are Republicans or lean that way. On the other side, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and the unaffiliated self-describe as being politically liberal. A large majority of that group plus members of historically African-American churches endorse the Democratic Party.

Where the divide really hits is in what the survey calls “culture war controversies.” A large majority of Mormons and evangelicals agree that abortion should be illegal in most or all circumstances, while similar numbers among members of mainline Protestant churches and the unaffiliated contend abortion should be legal in most or all cases. “A similar divide exists on the question of whether homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged or accepted by society,” according to the report.

I think that is very informative and one of the very few places I have seen that has properly analyzed the findings in that study. Anybody that has studied statistics should know that correlation and causation are two very different things. Just because there is a very significant correlation between Evangelicals and Mormons and conservatism does not mean one causes the others. As this points out, while many claim both labels, religious and political, far less claim that one results from the other.

This should put to the lie finally the idea that religious identity is necessary for political goals, but of course it will not. It is sad sometimes how shallowly this nation thinks.

Nicosia, Cyprus

Cyprus's divided capital has made steps towards reunification, offering travellers the chance to sample the distinct Turkish and Greek flavours of the city.

Why go now?

The ancient walled city of Nicosia (also known as Lefkosia) is the world's last divided capital: Turkey invaded the island in 1974 and still occupies 37 per cent of the territory in the north. Cyprus is divided by a UN-patrolled buffer zone, called the Green Line, which snakes east-west across the countryside and symbolically slices the walled capital in two. For many years it was difficult for visitors to cross from one side to the other. This year, however, Dimitris Christofias was elected president of the official Republic of Cyprus on a reunification pledge. Already the barricades on Ledra Street – the main thoroughfare and Nicosia's most-poignant symbol of division – have been removed, making this an ideal time to explore both sides of the barricades.

Touch down

Nicosia's airport is closed, so visitors arrive at Larnaca, 45 minutes away on the south coast. You can fly from Heathrow with British Airways (0844 493 0787; www.ba.com) or with Cyprus Airways (00 357 2236 5700; www.cyprusairways.com) from Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester and Birmingham. Monarch (08700 40 50 40; www.monarch.co.uk) offers flights from Gatwick, Luton and Manchester.

Kapnos Airport Shuttle (00 357 2464 3017; www.kapnosairportshuttle.com) runs regular buses from Larnaca airport to Nicosia from 5.30am until 1am. A one-way trip costs only €5 (£4). A taxi should cost from €45-€55 (£37.50-£45).

Get your bearings

The old walled city of Nicosia is shaped like an 11-pronged star, surrounded by an odd mix of car parks and municipal gardens. The most prominent feature is the Green Line that runs right across it. In the south, Ledra Street starts at Laiki Geitonia (a maze of narrow alleys crammed with shops and eateries) and stretches north until it reaches the Green Line, where the new crossing has recently opened. In the north, most places of interest are in the centre of the city, just east of the Ledra Street crossing (1). Wherever you are in the city, it is easy to orient yourself by finding the walls and moving around bastion-by-bastion.

Check in

The Centrum Hotel (2) is modern and well-placed at 15 Pasikratous Street, Eleftherias Square (00 357 2245 6444; www.centrumhotel.net). The rooms overlook the Laiki Geitonia area, which is attractive, but can be a bit noisy in the early evening. Doubles start at €92 (£77), including breakfast.

The Classic Hotel (3) is on the western side of the old city at 94 Rigainis Street (00 357 2266 4006; www.classic.com.cy), but still within the city walls, facilitating easy access to the town centre. Its minimalist design is pleasant enough. Doubles start at €97 (£81), including breakfast.

Budget options are few and far between, but the Sky Hotel (4) at 7 Solonos Street (00 357 2266 6880; www.skyhotel.ws) offers basic, functional doubles at €60 (£50), including breakfast. The rooms' glossy blue paintwork may encourage you to spend more time exploring the city, but the location, in the heart of Laiki Geitonia, is excellent.

Take a view

For a panoramic view of the city, head straight for the Shacolas Tower (5), just off Ledra Street. On the 11th floor you'll find the Ledra Museum-Observatory (00 357 22 679369); it opens 10am-8pm daily, admission €0.85 (£0.70). From here you can trace the Green Line dividing the city. Although difficult to make out at first, the derelict rooftops and profusion of Greek and Turkish flags soon give away its location. On the western edge of the UN buffer zone is the impressive Ledra Palace Hotel, which is now occupied by the UN. As a reminder of the city's political tension, look north – a giant Turkish flag has been painted on a mountainside.

Take a hike

From the Shacolas Tower (5), head north on Ledra Street until you reach the crossing (1), which until this year was barricaded and guarded by armed soldiers. As you wander slowly across the UN checkpoint, take a moment to glimpse the derelict buildings trapped in no man's land.

In less than 100m, Nicosia takes on a distinct Turkish identity, particularly evident as you head west on Arasta Street. The skyline of this shopping quarter is dominated by the minarets of the Selimiye Mosque (6). As you move along the street, this incongruous building slowly reveals itself; the minarets were added to a French gothic church, perhaps architectural evidence of Nicosia's troubled past. So long as you are conservatively dressed, you may enter the mosque, but you must time your visit around Muslim prayer times.

Lunch on the Run

Next to the mosque you will find the lively Belediye Pazari, or Municipal Market (7). Street food and local produce is plentiful from here and the surrounding shops.

Window shopping

On the way back south, stop off at the Büyük Han (8) – a triumph of Ottoman architecture. Recently renovated, this 16th-century hostel for travellers has a distinct bohemian feel and is a perfect place to escape the bustle of central Nicosia. The old rooms of the inn are now occupied by shops, all of which surround the octagonal miniature mosque that sits at the centre of the open air courtyard. You can browse handicrafts under the shady porticos of the courtyard.

An aperitif

The influence of the east pervades Cyprus, which has been a contrasting mix of cultures for generations. Seek out the Fanous Restaurant (9) at 7c Solonos Street (00 357 2266 6663; www.fanous.eu) for an early-evening drink and, if you wish, to smoke fruit tobacco from a nargileh or hookah pipe for €6 (£5).

Dining with the locals

Settle in for the evening at Xefoto (10) at 6 Aischylou Lane (00 357 2266 6567), a quaint tavern serving local food. For €13.70 (£11.40), you can order the meze and have the full range of Greek-Cypriot cuisine served to your table throughout the evening. The fish meze costs an extra €3.50 (£2.90). On Friday and Saturday nights, your meal will be accompanied by live music. The owner will happily show you photographs of Nicosia's dignitaries dining at his restaurant, including the current president. Xefoto opens daily from 11am until late.

Sunday morning: go to church

Nicosia's most charming church is St John's Cathedral (11), the seat of the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus. The internal 18th-century wall paintings of this small, single-aisled cathedral are perfectly preserved. They depict biblical scenes such as the discovery of the tomb of Saint Barnabas at Salamis. Mass begins at 7am on Sunday mornings. On other days, the cathedral is open to the public from 9am-noon, and then from 2-4pm, except for Saturday afternoons.

A walk in the park

A few minutes' walk from the cathedral is the Liberty Monument (12), perched on one of the 11 bastions of the old Venetian fortifications. On weekend mornings, this quarter of the city is unusually quiet, making it ideal for a stroll along the city walls. Head north towards the municipal garden, passing the Famagusta Gate en route, and escape the afternoon heat in a shady corner of the park. At the end of the road you'll find the ever-present Green Line and an abandoned UN checkpoint. If you are feeling adventurous, try to follow the buffer zone back into the city through the maze of ghostly-quiet streets – you'll probably get lost, but if you keep heading west you'll soon regain your bearings.

Out to brunch

Once back to the city centre, unwind with a local favourite, the frappe (€3.25/£2.70), in Heraclis (13) at 110 Ledra Street (00 357 2266 4198). If you've worked up a more substantial appetite, this bar doubles as a café, offering a range of snacks for all tastes. A popular choice is lountza (pork fillet), halloumi and tomato in pita bread (€4.95/£4.10). Before leaving, grab an ice-cream (from €1.60/£1.30) or a crushed fruit yogurt (from €2.30/£1.90) for the road. Heraclis is open 9am-1am daily.

Cultural afternoon

The Leventis Municipal Museum (14) at 17 Hippocrates Street (00 357 2266 1475) nests within the Laiki Geitonia quarter of the city and was the former residence of Mayor Lellos Demetriades. Although the museum is compact, it is well-stocked with artefacts from the Copper Age to the present day. Of particular interest is the British Gallery on the second floor, which highlights our colonial past and explains the strong British influence on the island. It's open from 10am-4.30pm daily, except Monday; admission is free.

Icing on the cake

No trip to Nicosia would be complete without a Turkish bath. The Hamam Omerye (15) at 8 Tillirias Square (00 357 2275 0550; www.hamambaths.com) is on the Greek-Cypriot side and is a den of pure tranquillity. Weary travellers can revitalise themselves for €20 (£17), which grants you access to the steam room for two hours (including all apparel, drinks and fresh fruit).

Awaken, not stirred

Glamorous, sure. But would 007 have approved? As the Danube Express, Europe's newest luxury train, majestically pulls out of Berlin's austere Schönefeld Airport station for its maiden journey to Budapest last week, I'm thinking of the world's favourite secret agent, and Ian Fleming's words in From Russia with Love.


"The great trains are going out all over Europe, one by one," wrote James Bond's creator back in 1956, as Bond got ready to board the Orient Express to Paris, with the sexy Russian girl from Smersh. It was to be a journey of intrigue, treachery – and lechery. But Fleming was lamenting what he saw as the end of a golden age of rail travel. Bond's train, he wrote, "throbbed with the tragic poetry of departure".

What, I wonder, would Bond have thought of the train claimed to "set new standards for overnight rail travel in Europe"? As we gather speed on our two-day journey down the "glittering tracks", in Fleming's words, I feel sure of one thing. He would have liked the beds.

Since Fleming's era, a lot of nonsense has been talked about the so-called "romance" of night trains. The reality usually involves cramped compartments, hard "beds" converted from daytime seats, and primitive washing facilities. Even the most famous trains are not exempt. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express – promoted as one of the world's most luxurious trains – is something of a passion killer. No proper beds, no en suite lavatory facilities or showers and, to the horror of many American tourists, no air-conditioning.

The passengers embarking on the maiden voyage of the Danube Express encountered something rather different last week. There were real beds with proper mattresses in double berths, en suite showers and toilets, air-conditioning and soft lighting, with just five spacious sleeping compartments in each car. Previously, they served as the travelling post-offices of MAV, the Hungarian State Railways. The mail train bogies now have a different purpose – to soothe the customers to sleep in their comfy beds. And the smooth ride will do nothing to hamper the libidos of those determined on Bondish pursuits.

As it turns out, my journey is to be more Smersh than Bond, as the steward leads me through swaying gangways to the front of the train. Here the coaches are older, the curtains thicker, the blinds more impenetrable, and the mahogany more burnished. And the sense of mystery thickens. These historic coaches are marshalled into the train from Hungary's national collection of vintage rail vehicles. Eventually we arrive in car 54, where the door slides open to reveal a spacious compartment, complete with one of the widest train beds I have seen. No wonder it's known as the VIP suite. In its former incarnation it was the personal quarters in the private coach of the last Communist president of Hungary.

Members of the Hungarian ruling elite were not known for skimping on the luxuries they denied to the proletariat, and President Janos Kadar was no exception. So I settle back for the journey, amid authentic 1950s "commie chic" – plenty of Formica, Dralon, tasselled curtains, Art Deco lighting and a beaten-copper table where the president liked to play chess.

Instead of the gun-toting guards who would once have been stationed outside the door, stewards (one is inappropriately named Atila) wait patiently on my every need. Can I smell a steam engine at the front of the train? No, it is just the stewards stoking up the coal-fired stove along the carriage that heats up my personal radiator and hot water.

It is this rather gentler nostalgia that defines the Danube Express's journey south along the banks of the Elbe and the Danube – as we pass through a timeless world of Middle Europe, still dominated by the ghosts of Slavs, Magyars, Tatars, Ottomans and Habsburgs. The tone is set by the names of the new coaches, taken from the ancient Roman provinces through which we pass: Pannonia, Vindobona and Kracovia.

First stop is Dresden, melancholy in the rain, with many of the architectural splendours reconstructed after the devastation left by Allied bombers in 1945 and the concrete horrors of Soviet-era rebuilding. In the square by the Frauenkirche, ostnostalgie is very much alive, as stallholders do a roaring trade in model Trabants (the one I buy is metal, a great improvement on the real thing).

Back on the train, there is more nostalgia as the whiff of a roasting goose for supper fills the carriages. In a world where train meals are now rarely created outside a microwave, there are few better sounds than a sizzling oven as we pass through the restaurant car to take our seats. And over the next two days, the chef recreates some great Hungarian classics – Hortobagy pancake, chicken and mushroom ragout, and pungent red cabbage, apple and sour cherry strudel.

Rocked to sleep by the old-fashioned clicketty-clack of the rails, we awake amid the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia, which is surely the modern incarnation of Ruritania, where the official rail map shows the hills still to be inhabited by wolves and bears. We stop for a break in the second city of Kosice, where I had to pay in koruna (euros become legal tender only in the New Year) for an over-large pair of Eastern European swimming trunks. Locals still drink in a bar dressed up with Lenin memorabilia.

Journey's end is Budapest's Nyugati station, with its elegant wrought-iron roof built by Gustav Eiffel – and a glass of champagne in the dusty, baroque surroundings of Emperor Josef II's personal waiting-room, opened especially for the train's arrival.

Next spring, the Danube Express extends its iron horizons to other great capitals of Eastern Europe and beyond – Prague, Vienna, Sofia and Istanbul.

So what would Bond have made of it? More homely than exotic, I suspect. I did not fall into the arms of Tatiana or anyone like her. Nor did I manage to solve the mystery of the Spektor encryption machine. Maybe this was no bad thing, since there were other compensations. It was famously said in Hungary that, like Stalin, its Communist leaders "never slept". I am happy to declare that, coddled by the train in the president's bed, I had one of the best night's sleep of my life.

Traveller's Guide

Getting there

The writer travelled on the Danube Express (01462 441400; www.danube-express.com), which offers a three-day, Central European journey between Budapest and Berlin from £1,150 per person. The price includes two nights' full board travel in a Classic two-berth compartment, with complimentary wine, beer, soft drinks and all sightseeing. Travel from and back to the UK is not included.

Michael Williams travelled in the Classic VIP single-berth compartment, costing £2,750 for the three-day trip.

The Danube Express Central European journey is also available as part of a 12-day, fully escorted holiday, setting off from London St Pancras by Eurostar and First Class train, which costs from £2,990 per person.


More information

www.germany-tourism.co.uk; 020-7317 0908

www.slovakia.travel; 0844 700 5100

www.gotohungary.co.uk; 00800 36 000 000

The new ski season

I'm new to skiing – will I like it?

The best way to find out is to try. This year, for the first time in six years, the Association of Snow Sports Countries has joined forces with seven leading tour operators to offer free skiing to first-time skiers for a week, from 17 or 24 January (cynics will note that this is typically a time of low demand). You can choose from 50 resorts in Austria, Switzerland, France, Andorra, Canada, Finland and Norway. The deal is that you pay for a package holiday and then receive free tuition, lift pass and equipment hire. In most resorts this would add up to a saving of more than £300. As there are only 1,000 places, early booking is advisable, either online at www.freshersskiweek.com or through one of the operators listed on the website.

From next month, this website will link up with that of TK Maxx, which claims to be the biggest skiwear retailer in the UK, with a large range of discounted brands. "Being properly equipped, not only for the slopes but for getting out and about in the resort, is something that many first-time skiers overlook," says the company's spokeswoman Helen Gunter. Its website, www.tkmaxx.com, will be offering advice on what is essential clothing and what you can manage without.


Can I afford to ski this year?

It is certainly true that there will be few bargains during the peak periods of New Year, Easter, and February half-term – which this year will be the same week for most schools in the country. To make matters worse, because last season was so good, many people booked for this year as soon as they returned from last year's skiing trip, which spells limited availability in peak periods. But if you can be flexible, there are a number of destinations with enticing offers. Anyone with children under the age of 14 might want to consider a holiday in Andorra: book a low-season departure through any tour company to this small, Pyrenean principality, and the children will receive a free lift pass. First Choice (0871 664 0130; www.firstchoice-ski.co.uk) offers holidays in four of the Andorran resorts; it is part of the same company as the industry leader, Crystal, and Thomson Ski.

Recognition that the cost of a lift pass can significantly increase the cost of a holiday has led to an initiative by 13 of the French resorts, including Val d'Isère and Méribel. Instead of a lift pass, you buy a lift card for €32 (£27) from any of the participating resorts, or online

at www.holiski.com. When swiped at the beginning of the day, the card will debit the cost of a lift pass from your credit card, but with a discount of 15 per cent. The lift card is valid for a year from October to September.


Any cheap flights?

Travelling on a budget airline can help to reduce the cost of a trip, though bear in mind that many flights during peak holiday times, and on Fridays and Saturdays, are already heavily booked and prices have risen accordingly. Easyjet (0905 821 0905; www.easyjet.com) is introducing new routes from Gatwick to Basel, Lyon and Salzburg, and from Manchester to Geneva, in time for the ski season. Ryanair (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com) is adding new flights from Stansted to Basel and Lourdes; from Stansted and Birmingham to Cuneo, 65km south of Turin; from Bournemouth, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Prestwick and East Midlands to Turin; and from Bristol, Birmingham and Edinburgh to Grenoble. British Airways (0844 049 3 787; www.ba.com) is launching services from London City airport to Geneva and Lyon in December.


Coolest resort this year?

Since it opened in December, Revelstoke in British Columbia has been attracting attention; some people are calling it the new Whistler. Part of its appeal is the longest vertical descent in North America, a run that descends through 5,620ft. It now has improved lift facilities and twice as much skiable terrain as last year, and from 8 December there will be direct flights to the resort from Calgary on Hawkair (www.hawkair.ca).

Much of the resort is still a building site, however, warns Michael Bennett, the managing director of Ski Independence (0845 310 3030; www.ski-independence.co.uk), which offers tailor-made ski holidays. "The mountain is open, but with only one lodge, it's not a place to stay for seven to 10 nights," he says. Instead, Bennett recommends skiing at Revelstoke for a day or two, but basing your holiday at the beautiful resort of Kicking Horse. "It's really starting to take off now, and it's a real skiers' mountain."


Upgrades and improvements?

The 2008-9 season could be a good time to head to Whistler, where excitement is already building towards the 2010 Winter Olympics. In anticipation of the Games, the new Peak 2 Peak gondola is scheduled to open on 12 December, linking Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. The transfer will take 11 minutes, and there will be capacity to transport 2,050 people in each direction every hour. Bennett believes that the gondola is an excellent investment for the future. "It makes Whistler a more complete resort – bigger, better, more integrated. And it's something to marvel at – it's a real feat of engineering."

A long way south, in New Mexico, Taos will be open to snowboarders for the first full season – a recognition that the mountains should be enjoyed by everyone, whatever their way of getting down them. One-day lift tickets will be available from $66 (£38), and American Ski (01892 511894; www.americanski.co.uk) is among a number of operators offering holidays in the resort.

Back in Europe, anyone who took a trip last year to the Paradiski area in the French Alps was hampered by the closure of the double-decker Vanoise Express cable car. The safety concerns that caused the closure have now been addressed, and the Vanoise Express will open for the new season on 20 December, linking up 425km of terrain between the resorts of Les Arcs and La Plagne, as well as a number of surrounding villages. Inghams (020-8780 4433; www.inghams.co.uk/ski) is among the operators that sells holidays in both destinations.

In Courchevel, 20 December sees the reopening of Le Portetta (00 33 4 79 08 01 47; www.leportetta.com), the hotel now owned by Le Poussin, the group led by the celebrity chef Alex Aitken. The multimillion-euro refurbishment is aimed at making Le Portetta one of the most desirable resort hotels in the French Alps: "You can ski straight out from our terrace, and back in time for a lunchtime bite of classic French cuisine in the sun," is the boast.


New trends?

The ski industry is waking up to the idea that many people are looking for a general winter experience rather than just slopes, accommodation and very little else. The most successful example of this is Finland: its slopes are far from Europe's best, but there is a good range of other activities, including ice-fishing, reindeer safaris and snowmobile trips to see the Northern Lights. The tour operator Crystal (0871 231 5645; www.crystalski.co.uk) sells packages to a variety of Finnish resorts. Marion Telsnig, a Crystal spokesperson, says that prices for food and drink are comparable to those in the UK. "And it's great to have your own sauna, I must say," she says of one of the standard features in every Finnish hotel and cabin.

Resorts in other parts of Europe have clued in to Finland's methods. "Now everyone else has got wise to it," says Andrew Ward, who represents the ski resorts of Andorra in the UK. "People are looking for a general winter experience. Skiing and snowboarding are taken as read, but now they are looking for other things to do." Following Finland's lead, the resorts of Andorra have spent €21m (£17m) providing extra attractions: snowmobile circuits, husky trails, sledging, ice bars and an ice hotel. "We can't afford for our beginners to go elsewhere, so we've had to get our act together," Ward says.

Pip Tyler, the overseas director for the Neilson tour operator (0845 070 3460; www.neilson.co.uk), recommends Are, Sweden, as a family destination. The Copperhill Mountain Lodge is scheduled to open there in November. Designed by the architect Peter Bohlin, it will have 112 rooms and suites, and a state-of-the-art spa. Tyler is also promoting a new Neilson destination in Norway: Hafjell. "There's great accommodation and ski schools," he says. "And the Hunderfossen Winter Park is something of a winter theme park, with mini snowmobiles, ice bowling and sleigh rides."


Some of my family don't like skiing

Thomson Ski (0871 231 5612; www.thomsonski.co.uk) sells holidays in the Swiss resort of Leukerbad that are ideal for couples where one wants to ski and the other does not. In addition to 55km of pistes and a World Cup run, Leukerbad is the largest thermal resort and wellness centre in the Alps, with 22 different spas in one small town. Other activities include snowshoeing, husky sledding and paragliding.

Another experience designed to attract non-skiers can be found at California's largest resort, Heavenly, whose slopes overlook Lake Tahoe. Leave your skis at the hotel and take the gondola up 9,000ft to the Heavenly Flyer, a zipline ride that opened last season and that will transport you at up to 50mph through unforgettable scenery. It opens 10am-3pm daily during the winter season, and rides cost $30 (£17). Lift tickets are extra.


Anything more adventurous?

According to Betony Garner of the Ski Club of Great Britain (020-8410 2022; www.skiclub.co.uk), there is an increasing demand among skiers for something perceived as challenging or adventurous. "People seem to want more from their holidays," Garner says. The Ski Club has added nine new off-piste trips to its brochure, and has also extended its ski-touring programme, in which skiers walk between slopes, avoiding the lifts and staying overnight in mountain huts.

Safaris are a combination of hotel and hut accommodation. For those who want creature comforts with their adventure, the Ski Club has also introduced exploration trips to the Alps destinations of Grimentz, Flaine and the Tarentaise Valley; on these trips, participants go off on a series of day tours, returning to a hotel at night. The Club is also offering an eight-night ski tour through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. It will depart on 7 March, and the cost of £1,095 covers travel from Marrakech, three nights' accommodation in the city and five in mountain huts. Flights are extra, and are likely to cost £150-£200 return.

****

Slope off in style: the latest kit and fashions

There's always a new trend in clothing and equipment. This year, the fashion is for all-in-one suits, or trousers and jacket in the same colour; they should be baggy in style. Look out for fluorescent colours and expect to see plenty of purple, on and off the slopes.

Experienced skiers thinking of buying new skis should think about rockers, to keep up with the trend for off-piste skiing. According to Claire Collins of Snow+Rock, the design is a bit like that of a rocking horse: "It gives you more float in powder, so it's easier for an on-piste skier to go off-piste," she says. "They're wider underfoot, and easy to ski on." She recommends the Salomon ranges of Lord or Lady skis (from £349, bindings extra).

Her advice to skiers who prefer to stay on-piste is to get a carving ski with a good edge grip. "I'd look for the K2 Luv range," she says. These skis are available from £269.

Board silly: Big Air takes off in Battersea

This year, for the first time, a Snowboarding World Cup event will take place in London. On 25 October, the usually snow-free surroundings of Battersea Power Station will be transformed and many of the world's best boarders, including most of the British team, will compete in the London Big Air. The competition involves riding down a steep slope before jumping off and flipping and spinning to the ground. The 36-metre ramp will be covered with real snow. Big Air is part of a four-day event (23-26 October) featuring Alpine ski bars, live bands and DJs. The event begins at 11am (tickets from www.londonfreeze.com, cost £29.99).

No virgins for women in Muslim Paradise

When Muslim men die and pass to Islamic Paradise (Heaven), they expect to enter a utopian dimension where wine, milk and honey flows, fruit-trees flourish and rivers gush forth with the purist water.

Here, they plan to be greeted by 72 young virgins of "perpetual freshness" (houris) who will lead them into palaces loaded with luxurious thrones surrounded by gold, silver and jewel plated furnishings.- a holy place where believers reclined on jeweled couches surrounded by the finest silks can experience unlimited erotic sexual pleasures.

Islamic scholar Yusuf Ali described the virgins as "the companionship of Beauty and Grace - one of the highest pleasures of life. In the higher life it takes a higher form...The pronoun in Arabic is in the feminine gender. It is made clear that these maidens for heavenly society will be of special creation,-of virginal purity, grace, and beauty, inspiring and inspired by love, with the question of time and age eliminated."

The virgins, according to another Islamic commentator are "creations of God, intelligent yet soulless and created to serve the believer who goes to Paradise. They are created for the purpose of serving the believer, and as such, they don't exactly have free will. They are described as pure, beautiful, dark eyed, lustrous, virgin, and more perfect than any human on earth. Imagine the woman of your dreams."

Quranic commentator Al-Suyuti (died 1505 ) explained more graphically that Muslim men in Paradise experience non-ending arousals and that ever time they have sex with one of the angelic maidens, they find her body reconstituted as "virgin."

"The sensation that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint," Al-Suyuti explained. " Each chosen one [Muslim] will marry seventy houris, besides the women he married on earth, and all (will be appetizing)."

Islam's Prophet Muhammad was heard saying about Islamic Heaven: 'The smallest reward for the people of paradise is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby, as wide as the distance from Al-Jabiyyah [a Damascus suburb] to Sana'a [Yemen]."

To assure Muslim men that they will be able to fully enjoy their heavenly rewards, Muhammad said, "A man in paradise shall be given virility equal to that of one hundred men."

Islamic law and moral guidance for all of Islam is mostly based on the life of Muhammad and his Quranic revelations, his life as a conquering warrior and his sayings, acts, approvals or disapprovals. He was born 570 years after the death of Jesus Christ.

Muslims say that the Archangel Gabriel manifested himself to Muhammad where he was secluded in a cave to pray.

Gabriel, according to Islamic teachings, instructed the terrified Muhammad that he had been chosen as a messenger of God to "recite, repeat and proclaim" revelations from God. For nearly 23 years, Muhammad supposedly received "Divine" instructions

As soon as Muhammad would receive a divine revelation and repeat it back to his followers, it became Islamic tradition or law. Muhammad recited a revelation declaring that Christ was not the Son of God another instructing Muslims that it was their heavenly duty to fight and kill Christians and Jews where ever they could be found.

For centuries Muslim men have followed Muhammad's specific "revelation" instructions on how and when to fight, loot, pillage, plunder, rape, torture and murder in order to further the interests of Islam and their own personal wealth in the form of "plunder."

Muslim women were and still are restricted to the role of wife, who is a source of comfort for her husband and mother for his children. This because Muhammad was heard to say "men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given one more strength than the other, and because they support them from their means" and "stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display of yourselves like that of the former times of ignorance. (Surah Ahzab:33)

When a Moslem female turns 7 years old, she is segregated from all males in and out of her extended family. From then on, no males including her father, grandfather, uncles, brothers, cousins are allowed to be present at her birthday parties or at any ceremony celebrating her accomplishments.

At 9 years old, she must begin adhering to Islamic laws because she is considered an adult and eligible for marriage. Muhammad contracted for his wife Aisha, when she was 7 (he was 51) and consummated the marriage when she was 9.

Aisha, was the second of 11 wives and an unknown number of concubines and female slaves who Muhammad collected during his life, which span from 570 AD until 632 AD.

When a Muslim woman steps from her house into the public, her body must be covered from head to toe with no skin showing (hijab).

This law, according to Islamic tradition, is a result of Muhammad becoming upset one day when he noticed several of his wives flirting with men who were visiting him. Muhammad ordered the women to retire behind a dividing curtain when speaking to the men. It was that order by Muhammad which caused the Islamic obligation of hijab. The term comes from the Arabic word "hijaba," which means to hide from view.

If a Muslim women gets sick, she is required to be treated by female doctors. If none are available, she must be examined through some sort of divider or go without treatment.

Like Muslim men, Muslim women must kneel facing Mecca and pray five times a day and fast one month out of a year. Women are required to pray at home in many Islamic countries because females are not allowed in mosques. Among the countries which allow women in mosques, the women are banished to basement rooms or other segregated spaces.

Muslim leaders explain that for Islamic prayers to be "valid" and "accepted by Allah," the prayer must be offered with a complete presence of the heart, harmony of the inner self and uninterrupted concentration.

They say women performing the Muslim prayer movements of standing upright, sitting, bending and prostrating is inappropriate because it distracts men from their prayers. For justification, Muslim leaders point to the Islamic tradition which states " . . . and whoever prays behind a woman imam should repeat his prayers even if the time slot for that specific prayer has passed."

Muhammad was once heard saying: "from among my followers there will be some who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments, to be lawful. Allah will destroy them during the night and will let mountains fall on them. He will transform the rest into monkeys and pigs and they will remain so till the Day of Doom" (Hadith, Volume 7, Book 69, Number 494v).

As a result, Muslim women are ordered not to wear silk (fashionable cloths) or bright colors, play musical instruments, dance, wear make-up, date, have sex outside of marriage, play sports, watch men play (even on television), etc. If they get caught doing so, depending on the Islamic country, they will be arrested and beaten.

Women living under Islamic laws are not allowed to work, travel, go to college, join organizations, or visit friends and relatives without the permission of their father or husband.

They can be legally jailed or executed for violations of Islamic laws, depending on the seriousness the infraction.

Quranic verse 24:31 warns Muslim women not to make eye contact or allow any part of their skin or jewelry to be seen by strangers, "and tell the believing women to lower their gaze and protect themselves from illegal sexual acts, and not show off their adornment [to all men] and boys]." As a result of this verse, if an adult girl (9 years and older) is raped by an adult man, she will be considered at fault because she was careless and provoked the attack. Her parents will be expected to severely punish or kill her for dishonoring her family.

If a woman is taken political prisoner, and condemned to death, Islamic law prevents her from being executed as long as she is a virgin because Muslim leaders believe virgins go to heaven. But, according to those same leaders, women involved in politics are "ungodly creatures" who do not deserve to go to heaven. To insure that an "ungodly virgin" does not enter heaven, the woman's captors will treat her as a concubine making it legal for her to be systematically raped.

Islamic justification for raping woman prisoners can be found because Muhammad gave permission for Muslim warriors to rape enemy prisoners "except those (captives and slaves) whom your hands possess. Thus has Allah ordained for you….." Surah 4:24. The key words for the Islamic legal code are "whom your hands possess" and "thus Allah has ordained for you."

Muslim Quranic (bible) verse 4:34 instructs Muslim men to "admonish" and "beat" their wives if they become "rebellious" and that "men are the managers of the affairs of women because Allah has preferred men over women and women were expended of their Rights."

In an Islamic court of law, it takes the testimony of two women to override the testimony of one man. Justification for this legal tradition is found in Quran 2:282.

Muslim women are not allowed equal right to their inheritance (Quran 4:11-12) because they are only worth half of a man's share. In most Islamic countries, women are not allowed to vote and are certainly not allowed to be elected to public office.

According to Islam, most women are inherently evil and their ultimate destiny is Hell fire. Muhammad explained about one of his visions, ". . . I stood at the gate of the Fire [Hell] and saw that the majority of those who entered it were women."

When a women asked Muhammad why there were more women in Hell than men, he replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you."

When the woman asked what was deficient in a woman's intelligence and religion, Muhammad answered, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man? This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses? This is the deficiency in her religion."

Because Muhammad said, "marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, four; but if you fear you will not be equitable, then only one, or what your right hands own; so it is likelier you will not be partial," polygamy is legal in Islam. A man may marry "four Permanent" and as many "Provisional" or temporary wives as he desires.

Because Muhammad said, "your women are a tillage for you; so come unto your tillage as you wish," Islam assumes not only that women are worth less than men, but that they are property who must unquestionable meet all her husband's sexual desires. If she refuses, he has the legal right under Islamic law to deny her food, shelter, and all of life's necessities.

A Muslim woman does not have the right to choose who she wants to marry. She is not permitted to divorce her husband unless she can prove he is impotent or that he does not have sex with her "at least one night in every forty nights" and if he has not provided her with a minimum standard of living. In both cases, the woman would need another witness, because Muhammad said a women's testimony counts only "half of a man's."

If a Muslim women protests any of her treatment, she is reminded that "her husband can divorce her simply by repeating "I divorce you" three times and that her prayers and devotions will not be accepted by God and curses of heaven and earth will fall upon her" if she continues to rebel.

Since Muhammad's time, Muslim women have been made to fear the Hell Fire consequences of disobeying husbands and fathers, but what can the loyal and obedient women expect to find for herself in paradise?

Because Paradise, is described in largely male terms, the exact nature of an equivalent reward for women remains unclear. Married women, who pass the purity test will be reunited with their husbands and children. A woman who married more than once would have to choose which husband she would prefer to join her in the after-life. She, however, remains reserved for her husbands, if one chooses to keep her.

Men who married more than once will remain free to keep all their wives while having the privilege of being attended to by 72 pure, beautiful, dark eyed, lustrous angelic maidens, whose bodies continuously reclaims as "virgins."

Muslim scholars say that Muslim women in Paradise are also rebuilt young and beautiful with perpetual virginity, but that there is no Quranic promise of virgins for women.

Although Muhammad was heard promising that "round about them will serve boys of perpetual freshness: if thou seest them, thou wouldst think them scattered pearls," Muslim scholars are emphatic that the pretty virgin boys in Paradise are not there for the women.

Patriots Revolt demands better candidates in presidential race

Patriots Revolt, a rapidly growing movement to re-establish constitutional government in America, is urging voters to stand up and demand alternatives to the two major party presidential candidates. The site calls for nominating a conservative candidate who "will restore American values and common sense given us by God and our founding fathers."

"People are hesitant to step out," retired Army Col. Harry Riley said. "The two parties have us so convinced that if we do something outside those two parties, we're doing damage to one of the candidates."

Herb Rudolph describes the organization as an effort to get the country back on track.

"The United States has been going downhill for quite a few years," Rudolph said. "People in Washington feel above law. They no longer listen to the law. They do things the way they want them to be done. They turn off their constituents. The two gentlemen up for election will not get our support."

A retired Air Force veteran and a Nebraska resident, Rudolph said the current presidential candidates are not "pro-constitution. These people have gotten away from the constitution the way it originally was framed."

Most Patriots Revolt members share his sentiment.

Riley, a founder of the group, is well-known in conservative political circles. He was the founder of Gathering of Eagles, a movement to oppose Code Pink demonstrations in Washington and around the country. Code Pink targets Iraqi War veterans for hostility and abuse.

Riley says neither of the presumptive presidential nominees, Democrat Sen. Barack Obama or Republican Sen. John McCain, is the leader America needs.

"Why vote for either one if they are both professing to be liberals," Bob Thompson, of Panama City, Fla., said. "Liberals are ruining our government and destroying our sovereignty."

Sovereignty is a hot spot with Patriots Revolt founders. They point to immigration issues, NAFTA and the North American Union movement, which they say would erase borders between Mexico, the U.S. And Canada.

"I am pleading with the American people to learn the facts and to finally realize that the status of our government is such that we are no longer in control, and we will lose our sovereignty if we don't take action very, very soon," Thompson, another Patriots Revolt founder, said.

The movement's purpose is to get enough people together to decide who would be the best candidate and vote unanimously, he said.

All agree that Obama, a confirmed liberal with less than a half term in the Senate, falls far short of their hopes for America.

"Obama terrifies me, the damage he could do in four years," Deb Leonard, of Virginia, said. "I've been going back and forth on this (choice of another candidate). I'd rather vote for none of the above, and say, 'Can we please start over?' "

Leonard, registered as an Independent, has a daily blog in which she talks politics and military issues. The mother of a female soldier, Leonard stays in touch with the issues and sentiments of military members and their families.

"Soldiers who read my blog, and families of military people, are so upset thinking of Obama being their commander-in-chief or the commander-in-chief of their kids or husbands. He doesn't know enough. He'll put them in more danger than they're in now. He doesn't understand anything about the military. He's proven that time and time again. People have had it. They're really angry that our choice is McCain on the conservative side."

But getting someone other than McCain on the Republican ballot wouldn't be easy. Patriot Revolt leaders are encouraging a grassroots movement demanding that delegates refuse to nominate McCain on the first ballot. As a result, the convention would become "brokered" and negotiations and additional balloting would choose a candidate.

While Revolt organizers have not named a specific candidate, Duncan Hunter, John Bolton, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo and Chuck Baldwin bring murmurs of agreement. Fred Thompson, briefly favored by conservatives, would be an unlikely choice.

"Fred doesn't want it," Riley said. "He has no energy. He didn't demonstrate he was serious during the campaign, although his positions were good. And Newt comes with so much baggage."

Positions and goals are paramount in the Patriots' search for a candidate. The Web site lists 16 issues they are asking a candidate to endorse. The positions range from Social Security solvency to protection of the unborn to vetoing congressional earmarks.

Ranking highest on the list, members say, are immigration, protection of America's borders and the country's energy crisis.

"I worry about what I see going on," Jerry Bell, of Florida, said. "I see the slow takeover of our government, our way of life and our culture, the things we have had all these years and cherished. I see it in Europe.

"The Islamic wave has taken hold completely in countries I never would have expected to see it. Sharia Law is proposed as a way to proceed in the United Kingdom. That is not the way democracy should be working. It is the antithesis to democracy. It would be the finish of our country, and it's happening right this minute.

"So many groups are taking control very slowly, making changes we never would have believed before."

Concern about America's borders echoes among several Patriots Revolt demands. Immigration, NAFTA and the North American Union threaten the country these veterans say they fought to preserve.

"They're trying to combine Canada, the United States and Mexico into a globalist, one-world government approach that President Bush and his dad pushed, and even his grandfather before that, which sort of parallels what Obama wants to do," Riley said. "McCain is part of that, too. The border has to be closed."

Patriots' organizers recognize the difficult task they're facing. They say abandonment and betrayal by the two major parties has developed into an incestuous situation where only a few have control. The rest of America is ignored and left with no hope, they say.

Riley and his group are asking Americans to search their consciences and ask themselves if they really believe Obama and McCain are the right choices for the country. They say Americans must stand up and say, "No, we want other choices."

"If enough stand up and say no, we can see it happen," Riley said.

Ormond Street evacuated after fire

Children who had been anaesthetised before surgery had to be woken up and evacuated yesterday morning after a fire caused an explosion at Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London.


No patients or hospital staff were injured in the blaze but four firefighters were treated at the scene for minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.

It is not yet known what caused the fire in the fifth floor of the hospital's cardiac wing at around 8.35am. It is believed that the explosion was caused when the flames ignited an oxygen cylinder.

A total of 23 patients were evacuated from the building, near Russell Square in central London, along with 12 members of staff. Six fire engines and 30 firefighters tackled the blaze. "Firefighters swiftly brought the fire under control," said Paul Glenny of London Fire Brigade. Hospital authorities were assessing the extent and cost of the damage to the 27-bed ward affected yesterday. The wing's fourth floor also suffered water damage.

Jane Collins, chief executive of the hospital, said: "This is totally different from any incident we have had to deal with before. There were some children who were due to have surgery so they were being anaesthetised. They were woken up as it was deemed to be too risky to go ahead with the surgery."

All outpatient and day appointments were cancelled, as were all the day's planned operations, although the hospital had reopened to treat any emergency patients by the afternoon. A police cordon around Great Ormond Street was lifted at midday and a full investigation into the fire was launched immediately.

One of the concerned patients waiting outside the hospital was Philip Dennis, whose 10-month old son, Theo, is being treated at the hospital's intensive care unit for a heart condition. "The hospital phoned us and told us he is sleeping soundly. They have been very good in keeping us informed and we just want to be let in to see him as soon as possible," said Mr Dennis, 37, a health and safety adviser, with a stuffed toy elephant under his arm ready to give to his son.

It was a frustrating day for some families, who had made long journeys to use the specialist facilities in the cardiac wing, which opened in 1986. Robert Hayman and his wife Joy had travelled from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, to find out the results of tests carried out on their one-year-old son.

"We were up at 5.30am this morning to make it here in time for our appointment today," he said. "It is the last thing we need really at a time like this."

It is the second major fire at a London hospital this year. Five operating theatres, two wards and much of the roof were damaged at a fire at the Royal Marsden Hospital cancer hospital in Chelsea in January, which led to the evacuation of around 150 patients and 200 staff.

The Palm: A nice little place I know

What credit crunch? For a glimpse of just what $1.5bn of hotel looks like, first cross the 300m-long bridge that links mainland Dubai to the extraordinary exercise in land reclamation that is the Palm Jumeirah. To your right and left, the Shoreline Apartments rise in perfect symmetry; behind them the Palm's 17 "fronds" peel off: sandbanks stuffed with villas, awaiting Russian oligarchs or English Premier League footballers. And there, at the end of the Palm's Trunk, slap-bang in the centre of a colossal breakwater called the Crescent, stands Atlantis. You just can't miss it.


There are few, if any, places in the world where political determination, huge amounts of cash and a mania for construction combine to such impressive effect with year-round sun. Atlantis, The Palm (to give it its official title) is the latest expression of the emirate's desire to attract tourists. It's certainly not subtle, but subtlety isn't the name of the game around here.

To rise above the general din of Dubai's constant reinventions – the Palm Jumeirah itself is just one part of a trilogy including the larger Palms Jebel Ali and Deira, which are still under construction – you have to make a statement. So forget boutique retreats: Atlantis is thinking big. Really big.

The first hotel to be completed on the Palm is the brainchild of Sol Kerzner, a South African magnate whose Atlantis hotel in the Bahamas provided the blueprint for the resort. The Dubai version musters a mighty 1,539 rooms, including the Bridge Suite, which unites the two wings of the complex above a huge arch and costs £14,000 a night. Beyond, there's almost a mile of beach, two huge pools and a choice of thousands of deckchairs for your tanning pleasure. By early next year, Atlantis will have its own monorail stop, linking it to the Palm Jumeirah and downtown Dubai. It's easy to be overwhelmed by the scale of an operation that takes up land equivalent to 64 Wembley football pitches, but don't worry: there are 3,500 members of staff on site to calm you down, including 218 lifeguards and 550 chefs.

Hotel guests also have free access to the adjacent Aquaventure waterpark, all 18 million litres of it, with flumes galore and a waterslide called Leap of Faith that spits you out from the top of a faux-Mesopotamian temple called the Ziggurat.

Alternatively, you can sign up for an "interactive experience" with the cetaceans at Dolphin Bay, or book an "Amazon deep forest aqua cure" at one of 27 treatment rooms in the spa. It's the supreme expression of Dubai's opulent attitude, combined with a self-evident desire by the architects of this edifice to scramble their guests' minds.

Having said all that, at noon on Tuesday, just 13 hours before the hotel's first guests were due to arrive, they were pulling up the marble floor-tiles in the main lobby.

This seemed, on the face of it, to be a retrograde step. But Amadeo Zarzosa, Atlantis's general manager, was taking it all surprisingly well, gesturing at me to mind my step as we negotiated a series of rifts in the floor. "This will all be fixed by tomorrow," he said, ushering me past the writhing glass of the Dale Chihuly installation that formed the lobby's centrepiece. Scurrying construction workers took turns to lever up old tiles in his wake, buckets of grout were swiftly poured; a glance outside revealed a crane doing something complicated to the roof.

It turned out that the last-minute renovations were due to a fire that had damaged the lobby earlier in the month. Anywhere other than Dubai, the resulting damage would have meant the postponement of the resort's opening day, or at least a degree of panic. Here, though, there were still a thousand construction workers on site, which meant Zarzosa had a reassuring 13,000 man-hours available to him before the deadline. "I strive for perfection," he said. "I want to sit back and say I've done my best and set everything up. I just know we've been trying to do things well." Helped, of course, by awilling workforce: "They want to be here, so you're bound to get a lot more productivity. The attitude towards service here is so good that it's refreshing."

Mark Patten is in charge of the attitude of all those 550 chefs at Atlantis. He rejoices in the title of Vice President, Culinary.

On a tour of the "backstage" area – huge breeze-block corridors uniting kitchen after kitchen; a vast loading bay; ovens, fridges and cleaning stations galore – he revealed the secret to meeting the logistical challenge of sourcing ingredients, cutting them up, cooking them and thereby serving 15,000 meals a day in 17 restaurants: "How do you eat an elephant? In small bites. You need to know what to focus on and what not to focus on."

Patten's team had been practising for months – apparently the furthest room in the complex can now be reached by room service within 15 minutes. And even with so many meals at stake, Patten didn't seem inclined to compromise on quality, going so far as to use his own line of "Atlantis beef", farmed in his native Australia. Again, as with all things Atlantis, it was all about scale. According to Patten, once the resort is fully open he expects to get through 6,000 litres of ice-cream a month and half a tonne of seafood a day.

Fish are big in Atlantis. Perhaps the single grandest structure within the resort is the Ambassador Lagoon, an enormous fish tank that lines one wall of the Poseidon Court in the East Tower. The sensation of watching a whale shark swim by as you head off for dinner is as eerie as it is impressive. The 11 million litres of water that fill the central tank (all stocked with local sea-life, according to Adrian Tolliday, VP of Exhibit Operations) are bolstered by the Lost Chambers, a vast Atlantis-themed aquarium on the ground floor, which is stuffed full of marine eye-candy, from enormous Goliath groupers to shoals of moon jellyfish and Indian mackerel. Two "Lost Chambers" suites (called Poseidon and Neptune) are also available to rich ichthyologists for £4,300 a night: the bedrooms in each share a wall with the fish tank, so you can commune with the whale shark in private.

Another wall of the Lagoon is shared by a fish restaurant. But, this being Atlantis, it isn't just any fish restaurant. Ossiano is run by the three-starred Michelin chef Santi Santamaria. The food on offer is exquisite: onion jam with cuttlefish and squid ink sauce; snapper with chopped dried fruit and nuts. There's always a nagging feeling, however, that the fish on the other side of the glass are watching while you tuck into their erstwhile chums. u o But again, this being Atlantis, it's not enough to have just one celebrity chef. It seems that no self-respecting hotel can manage with fewer than four these days. So Nobu Matsuhisa has set up here as well: the interior of this latest venture into the splendours of Japanese cuisine is hung about with wooden beams like the interior of a boat. The two-starred Michelin chef Michel Rostang has also been lured to the Middle East: his brasserie space offers up Parisian fare, such as fish soup, hot duck sandwiches and snails served in tiny burger buns. Even Georgio Locatelli has been tempted, opening his first new restaurant after the two-starred Locanda in London.

"I needed to be convinced that I could deliver the quality I wanted," Locatelli told me as he made final adjustments to the new Ronda restaurant before it opened. He obviously was convinced; his intention now is to offer a broader range of Italian cuisine than that available in Locanda in order to satisfy the greater number of customers he expects. There's even pizza available, served from a central oven in the restaurant, though apparently the region's wide fluctuations in humidity present a big problem ("For the past couple of weeks we've been testing the crust"). According to Locatelli, overcoming such difficulties is what Dubai is all about. "It's the only place on Earth where you can go to bed and wake up and there's a new garden outside your window. There's a tremendous optimism about Dubai that is shared by all." Just like everyone else in Atlantis, Locatelli is thinking big: in London, his restaurant seats 85; Ronda can handle 250 in a sitting.

There's a sense, as you explore the interior of Atlantis, that it's trying to be all things for all people: wildly differing restaurants, a tasty selection of celebrity chefs, a waterpark for the children (and three kids' clubs, divided according to age), spa treatments for the adults, shops for everyone. The decor, too, never really settles down to one style, though aquatic motifs are rife. So there's a bit of Art Deco here, some Tiffany there, a huge amphora in the corner, some bulbous pillars, some naive art, and strange nautilus-like objects propping up the ceiling. The spa looks Moroccan from the outside; but by the time you've settled down in your treatment room, you've moved from the Near East to the Far East. Even the stonework in The Avenues retail area has ersatz marine fossil shapes embedded in the masonry.

On the other hand, it never gets too bellicose; none of it is as "bling" as you might expect. Indeed, as night falls and the cutting-edge skyscrapers of the Dubai skyline flicker into life, it all seems strangely appropriate to Dubai's cultural mishmash – after all, only one in six of the population here are UAE citizens, the rest of them "guest workers" trying to earn a crust for the folks back home. And it all calms down completely in the guest rooms, which are strictly international in their styling – though I did notice that my towel kept being folded into the shape of a swan.

Wednesday was opening day for Atlantis. Purely in the interests of research, I took it upon myself to test the Aquaventure flumes with the guests. After an introduction by Peter Doyle, Senior Vice President of the Marine and Water Park (vice presidents are common around these parts), I was let loose on the rapids, a 2.7km circuit that looped and sloshed round the park. "It's always exciting on day one," said Doyle. "But I've never opened a waterpark anywhere this hot before." The heat, of course, is one of the fundamentals of a visit to Dubai (it was scraping 37C this week), but bobbing around on a giant inflatable ring (the preferred mode of transport in the Rapids) certainly helped keep things bearable.

Conveyor belts then whisked me and my inflatable to the top of the Ziggurat, from where – among other flume-based activities – I was able to choose to be dropped through a tunnel of marine wildlife, including a few bored-looking sharks, or discard my inflatable and take the Leap of Faith, which involved hurtling downwards at terrific speed before being photographed, gurning and bedraggled, at the bottom.

There's a science fiction-like quality to the whole of Dubai. Douglas Adams, in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,

created a character called Slartibartfast, who was a planetary designer specialising in coastlines ("I like to do all the little fiddly bit round fjords," he says, claiming that he won an award for Norway). Slartibartfast would have appreciated the Palm, just as he would have enjoyed the vast exercise in terraforming that has resulted in Atlantis and its waterpark. But this is a hostile environment, too. Just as Locatelli's pizza crust has had to be adapted to cope with the humidity, so the scorching heat of this part of the planet requires constant air-conditioning (and lashings of sunscreen) in order for it to be enjoyed in comfort. And, of course, mighty resources – food, energy, manpower – are required to sustain it all.

Dubai doesn't let details like that get in the way of building an enormous hotel or attracting thousands of tourists to its shores. On 20 November, a star-studded guest list will hear Kylie Minogue perform at the official opening ceremony for Atlantis. But after that, there will be new hotels to open, new Palms to construct.

In the end, the lobby wasn't quite ready on time, but that was of no concern to Kevin and Lisa Farr, newly arrived from Ipswich. "It's fantastic; we knew it was going to be good, but it's out of this world," said Lisa, as she gazed at the whale shark floating round its tank. For Kevin, who works for HBOS back home, Dubai offered the ideal escape. "They don't know about the credit crunch here," he said.

Traveller's Guide

Getting there

Dubai is served by Emirates (0870 243 2222; www.emirates.com) from six UK airports; also BA (0844 493 0787; www.ba.com), Virgin Atlantic (08705 747 747; www.virgin-atlantic.com), Royal Brunei Airlines (020-7584 6660; www.bruneiair.com) and Biman Bangladesh Airlines (020-7629 0252; www.bimanair.com).

Emirates Tours (0844 800 1400; www.emiratestours.co.uk) is offering a special three-night package at Atlantis, The Palm from £899 per person. This includes Emirates flights to Dubai, three nights' B&B, private airport transfers and complimentary access to the Aquaventure Water Park and The Lost Chambers. The package is valid for travel from 7 October until 26 November 2008 and must be booked before 24 October. Quote ref. EKTDXB32.

Staying there

Atlantis, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (00 971 4 426 1000; www.atlantisthepalm.com).

More information

Contact Dubai Tourism: 00 971 4 223 0000; www.dubaitourism.ae

Entomologist, publisher and antiquarian bookseller who discovered the Burren Green moth

Eric Classey was one of the last of the old-style entomologists. He was revered both as an authority on British moths and butterflies and also as an antiquarian bookseller noted for his generosity to impoverished entomologists. He was founder, editor and publisher of the Entomologist's Gazette, a quarterly journal on British insects, and served on most of the senior entomological societies and institutions. In a sense he devoted his whole professional life to the service of brother entomologists.


Classey's name will forever be associated with a particularly beautiful species of moth known as the Burren Green. The first specimen of this bright green moth was found near Gort in Co Galway in 1949. Classey identified it as a continental species known only by its then scientific name, Luceria virens. Realising that it was unlikely to be a stray, Classey organised the first entomological expedition to the Burren in western Ireland.

Despite storms, sickness and other mishaps – all written up in detail in the Entomologist's Gazette – Classey and his companions succeeded in solving the mystery. A newly emerged specimen of the new species was found drying its wings and a little judicious digging unearthed its empty pupa case, thus confirming that it was indeed a resident breeding species. Classey wanted to give the moth an Irish name, the Claddagh, meaning sea-beach, but other counsels prevailed. Each night when the party went mothing in the Burren they were joined by up to 30 curious locals who "came to see the gentlemen catching flies".

Classey's enthusiasm for the chase was such that he was known to leave his favourite tipple, a mint julep, in order to spring for a butterfly net and race full tilt across the lawn in pursuit of a new specimen. During the 1930s he collected moths in the countryside around London, mainly by sugaring trees with a bait of treacle and alcohol, or by shining a Tilley lamp on a ground sheet. He had a seemingly limitless fund of terrible jokes as well as entomological stories; in fact the two were often combined.

Classey was a quick-talking, precise man with definite, generally conservative, opinions. On collecting expeditions he seemed to friends to scarcely sleep at all, being busy with butterflies all day and moths all night. He regarded any non-entomological sightseeing or bathing as slacking. In 1983 he was elected a member of the exclusive Entomological Club, the world's oldest entomological society which is restricted to around 15 distinguished members. That same year he was introduced to the Queen during celebrations for the half-centenary of the Royal Entomological Society.

Eric Classey was born in Queen's Park, London in 1916 and educated locally at Essendine Road School, which he left aged 14. After working as a biological assistant at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, he found a more congenial post in the specimen-setting room of the Natural History Museum, working mainly on beetles. During the Second World War he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and worked in its Entomological Laboratory at Mytchett in Surrey, studying malarial mosquitoes and teaching newly fledged doctors the mysteries of medical and forensic entomology.

After the Second World War, Classey was offered the post of manager of the famous naturalists' supply business, Watkins & Doncaster. In its cramped Dickensian premises above a barber's shop in the Strand, Classey was in his element, meeting all the best-known entomologists of the day and exchanging field lore.

One of his main concerns was to revitalise amateur entomology after the decline of the war years. Classey's solution was a new journal, the Entomologist's Gazette, which he founded with Richard Ford. The Gazette broke precedent by charting new records, expeditions and discoveries in the chatty style of a magazine. It was a modest success and continues today. Classey was its first editor, and soon afterwards its publisher. Though he gave up the editorship in 1960, he continued to contribute articles about collecting trips and entomological history, and was a member of its editorial board almost to the end of his life.

From 1950, with the help of his wife, Ivy, Classey built up a home-based business in new, antiquarian and second-hand books and periodicals on natural history, specialising in entomology. In 1959, E.W. Classey became a limited company. Using his contacts in Britain and abroad, Classey was able to purchase deceased entomologists' libraries, and, in effect, recycle rare books within the entomological community. With his shrewd eye for business combined with a thorough knowledge of second-hand books, Classey's thrice-yearly catalogues became a focus for libraries, universities, museums and other research institutions throughout the world.

In 1973 the Classeys, together with their daughter Sally, moved from Middlesex to Faringdon, Oxfordshire, from where they continued to publish and sell books, mainly as a mail-order business. In 1976, Sally left to start a family and their son Peter joined the company. After his beloved Ivy ("Ive") died in 1982, Peter took over the day-to-day running while Eric concentrated on the antiquarian side. The business finally closed in 2005.

As a publisher, Classey traded either under his company name or as Hedera Press, named after the scientific name of ivy, in honour of his wife. Using his contacts and knowledge of the entomological world he was able to find a market for worthwhile books and booklets of value to entomology that would normally be unsaleable, for example, Butterflies and Moths of Shetland (excluding Fair Isle) by MG Pennington, published in 1991, and The Lepidoptera of the Orkney Islands and a Bibliography of the Entomology of the Smaller British Offshore Islands, both published in 1983.

He also reprinted deserving out-of-print titles like Philip Corbet's A Biology of Dragonflies and Norman Joy's A Practical Handbook of British Beetles, as well as Vincent Holt's jeu d'esprit Why Not Eat Insects? Among Classey's most ambitious projects as a publisher was Moths of North America North of Mexico. The first volume appeared in 1971; many volumes later, the work is still in production.

Early on in his career he decided to present his fine collection of moths to the Natural History Museum. However he remained keenly interested in small and difficult moths (microlepidoptera) from Britain and around the world, again presenting collections to the Museum. More formally he was Chairman of the Cockayne Trust at the Museum, responsible for improvements to the national collection of butterflies and moths and promoting the study of insects. He was also appointed vice-president of the Lepidopterists' Society in the US in 2000.

Another of Classey's passions was for wild orchids; he succeeded in finding all but one of the British species. Friends noticed that his collection mania extended to keeping boxes of stamps from his business correspondence. Characteristically he gave them away to stamp-collecting children.

Classey was gregarious and hospitable, and was visited by a stream of overseas entomologists whom he would take on sightseeing trips of London. He was an accomplished ballroom dancer, a fearsome opponent at Scrabble, an eager genealogist and a Gilbert and Sullivan aficionado. He served as a magistrate in Middlesex and was an active freemason.

He is perhaps remembered above all for his generosity. He gave away many rare specimens and books. His friend Barry Goater remembers how, "in my early and impecunious days he would ring me up to say he had a book he knew I needed, and that I could pay him when I could. Among my most treasured possessions are the two volumes of Culot [an expensive, hand-coloured French work on moths] which he inscribed in front of me: 'In the event of my demise, this book belongs to Barry Goater'. Shortly after that he said, 'Look, you will find them useful now. Take them'. I know I was not the only one to have been helped in this way".

Peter Marren

Eric William Classey, entomologist, publisher and bookseller: born London 2 November 1916; director, E.W. Classey Ltd 1951-2005; Editor, Entomologist's Gazette 1952-60; married 1939 Ivy Ash (died 1982; three sons, one daughter); died Gloucester 7 September 2008.

Meet Mr ScarJo

My flatmate, noted less for his taste in film than for his intrepid nature, had been sent out into the wind and rain to find the video store and select the evening's entertainment. When he returned, soaking wet but elated, the rest of us were huddled patiently around the television, 16 inches of Domino's finest waiting on the sideboard. He chuckled as he pulled the tape from his jacket. Was it a war flick? A foreign film? Some arthouse erotica? No. It was Van Wilder: Party Liaison. This frat-boy comedy – full of racial stereotyping, dog masturbation and, worst of all, Tara Reid – was my first introduction to an actor named Ryan Reynolds, the young buck who has just become Mr Scarlett Johansson.


On paper, I ought to sigh with exasperation at the very mention of Reynolds' name. He's been in a string of awful movies. He has teeth like tombstones and an acting range to rival Richard "Did I leave the gas on?" Gere. And, worst of all, he now counts one of the world's most beautiful women as his wife. Yet, for some reason, I like him. And that's probably why I also liked Van Wilder: Party Liaison, in which he plays a self-appointed social secretary at an American university, who's been avoiding graduation for about seven years. OK, Tara Reid was terrible as ever, but the racial stereotyping was probably meant to be ironic – and the bit where they, er... "wag" the dog had us all choking on our pizza. With laughter.

Reynolds, now 31, makes the sort of films that do well on DVD, especially among students who send out their least film-savvy flatmate to the rental place: Smokin' Aces; Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle; the remake of The Amityville Horror. But whether he's slicing up vampires in Blade: Trinity or wearing a fatsuit for Just Friends, he exudes good will and a sense of himself – and the films he's acting in – as faintly ridiculous. They're movies that don't stretch the actor or the viewer, and you have to respect a man for knowing his own limits.

So what's next for Reynolds? A raft of comic-book adaptations, if rumours are to be believed. He'll be in the new X-Men movie, Origins: Wolverine, as Deadpool, who may receive his own spin-off. And there's talk of his playing the Flash – a DC Comics creation whose superpower is the ability to run, really fast. I'm a little concerned about watching The Nines, a Charlie Kaufman-esque endeavour in which Reynolds plays three different characters. If he tries to make serious movies, and ends up doing it badly, I may have to start disliking him. Why stop making bad films, Ryan, when you do it so well?

Put yer ya-yas away, dear

They were the original rock gods, the band whose songs were the soundtrack to decades of excess. But now? Frankly, the Rolling Stones are maturing into a bunch of dirty old men. So, a message to the crinkled crocodiles of rock: you're old enough to know better than chasing 20-something skirt (whether it's Mick, 65, with Molly Miller Mundy, 23; or Ronnie, 61, with waitress Katia Ivanova, 20). It's not a good look: Freedom Pass in one hand and feisty filly in the other. Bring on the Zimmer frames – that should slow them down. By Rebecca Armstrong


What does breast milk taste like?

News that animal-rights campaigners are urging Ben & Jerry's to introduce human breast-milk ice cream has shifted the debate over breast-feeding from a question of health to an issue of taste (go on, we've all wondered, haven't we?). Regular imbibers know that mother's milk is often imbued with the taste of last night's dinner – from chicken casserole to prawn vindaloo. It also depends what time of day it is: hind milk, from an empty breast, is creamier, akin to old-style gold top; milk from a full breast is more watery – ideal for a skinny latte. So now you needn't try it for yourself. By Jonathan Brown


Last orders for the great British bowler

Has the bowler hat doffed its last? It's certainly been a bad week for what was once the headgear of choice for the British Establishment. First came the death of Paul Newman, who was admittedly mourned for many more reasons than his choice in millinery. As Butch Cassidy, he was perhaps the only man outside the Square Mile to get away with the bowler – in fact, he even made it look cool.

The demise of Bradford & Bingley marks the end of its logo, that of two faceless bankers in bowlers – and in this climate of financial bungling, who wants to look like a City boy?

Girls in bowlers have a patchy record, too (think Chicago). Last year, we were nearly won over by Keira Knightley posing naked in a Chanel ad, her modesty preserved by only a bowler, but the nascent trend was spoiled when Sienna steam-rollered in with some dodgy pin-stripe version.

Bowlers – or Derby hats, as they're called Stateside – might still have a future thanks to hip-hop, however. Rapper Nate Dogg is sporting a "pimped-up" white version. All it would take is a Jay Z endorsement and the lowly hat would be saved from sartorial oblivion.

Until then, dandies, if you're finding the departure of this national symbol of the stockbroker's trade too much to bear, may I suggest you head home, bake yourself a few comforting Homepride cakes, and stick on a DVD of Mr Benn. Or, for something a little more cutting-edge, how about Goldfinger...Tom Hoskyns