Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, openly criticized the Russian government in connection with the gas conflict with Ukraine. Ms. Rice used quite a trivial technique of psychological pressure, which is mostly practiced in the field of education.

According to Condoleezza Rice, Russia’s actions towards Ukraine did not characterize it as a respectable member of the Group of Eight. The statement from the high-ranking US official sounded like a reprimand from a strict babysitter that was teaching its baby to behave.

It goes without saying that the largest Eurasian power is not a baby. In addition, the geopolitical system in the world has undergone dramatic changes since the 1990s. The US Secretary of State, however, has seemingly lost the sense of time and reality. Ms. Rice’s wish to exercise her political power became a surprise for both the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and proponents of traditional liberal values.

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Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (V) is without5 an answer to how he will maintain Denmarks immigration policy after ECJ rulings. Lawyers and Pia Kjærsgaard (DPP): The tough immigration policy is “capsized”.

Prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (V) didn’t manage to remove the impression that Danish immigration policy is in crisis, when he returned back to the political scene after his summer vacation.

The ECJ have bit by bit dismantled the Danish mechanisms, which should have prevented that the ECJ could be used to bypass the rules for family reunions – so much that both politicians and juridical experts calls the rules “undermined”, “capsized” and “hollowed out”.

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White people of European descent will no longer make up a majority of the US population by the year 2042 - eight years sooner than previous estimates.

The big change is among Hispanics and Asians whose share of the population is set to double to 30% and 9%.

The US Census Bureau’s latest projections are based on birth, death and current immigration rates.  The projections show that the US population is expected to rise from 305 million people to 439 million by 2050, but it will be a population that looks quite different both in age, race and ethnicity.

According to the census bureau’s statistics, people who regard themselves as Hispanic, African-American, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander will become the majority by 2042. Officials had previously projected that this change would happen in 2050.

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As George Bush goes to war of words with Russia over Georgia, protects Israeli interests (Iraq War) and failing to stop Mexican Illegal Immigration, the US economy is soon to be overtaken by China…

Here’s a stat to get the old ticker pumping first thing in the morning:

Past 25 Year Growth Rates:

China: 8%+
U.S.     3%

on an inflation-adjusted average annual rate

Does that place a recent meme circulating on Wall Street (particularly from right-leaning economists) that the increase in Oil prices is due to “speculators” into some context?

Understanding this trend is far from academic, with an impact likely to shake up businesses and governments and today’s U.S.-driven world order. Having the world’s largest economy will give China a greater say in global affairs. Its currency, which is now pegged to the U.S. dollar, will join the yen and the euro as globally traded currencies and in doing so will erode the dollar’s position as the world’s default coin of choice. China’s military, which has enjoyed double-digit budget increases for much of the past 15 years, is likely to grow larger, bolstered by the huge economy.

The Central Intelligence Agency, for one, is taking note. A research arm, the National Intelligence Council, issued a report last month likening China’s emergence and its impact on the world to that of the U.S. in the last century and Germany in the 19th. The report says that by 2020 the world’s geopolitical center of gravity will tilt toward Asia, especially China, the economy of which will have surpassed Japan’s to become second only to that of the U.S.
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A Muslim is to go on trial in a British legal first, accused of encouraging two boys to flog themselves during an Islamic ceremony to he held in Manchester.

Syed Mustafa Zaidi, 44, is accused of encouraging the boys, aged 15 and 13, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to beat themselves during a traditional Ashura ceremony at a community centre in Levenshulme, Manchester, on January 19.

The practice is common among Shia Muslims but allowing children to harm themselves is contrary to British law.

Ashura involves practitioners flagellating themselves using a Zanjeer Zani, an implement which has a wooden handle with chains and blades attached.

The Ashura ceremony takes place during the Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, and commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and a central figure in the Shia faith.

Zaidi, of Station Road, Eccles, Salford, denies two counts of child cruelty. Doubtless his defence will be that it is his religion.

* Is this what multi-culturalism has brought to Britain? Children being taught to beat themselves with chains and blades?

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The launch of the Beijing Olympics went without a hitch - but wait for the official handover ceremony at the end of the games, when the next host nation - Britain- puts on a display of its “culture” to attract visitors in 2012.

London’s strategy for the handover of the Olympic flag at this summer’s closing ceremony does not have a red London bus or Pearly Queen — instead, a black hip-hop “dance” group, appropriately calling itself “Zoo nation”, has been paid £2 million to leap about in a bizarre frenzy in front of a TV audience of more than 100 million.

An eight-minute performance led by Zoo Nation, famous for a West End show which features a drug-dealing pimp and a gangster rap soundtrack, will mark the beginning of the London 2012 Olympiad.

Its show, “Into the Hoods”, is set on the fictional Ruff Endz Estate with characters including Spinderella, Rap-on-zel and Jaxx.

The Chinese have already expressed their doubts, with organisers concerned that London’s performance could clash with their own plans for an “extremely formal” final event.

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Biologists have constructed a genetic map of Europe showing the degree of relatedness between its various populations.

All the populations are quite similar, but the differences are sufficient that it should be possible to devise a forensic test to tell which country in Europe an individual probably comes from, said Manfred Kayser, a geneticist at the Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

The map shows, at right, the location in Europe where each of the sampled populations live and, at left, the genetic relationship between these 23 populations. The map was constructed by Dr. Kayser, Dr. Oscar Lao and others, and appears in an article in Current Biology published online on August 7.

The genetic map of Europe bears a clear structural similarity to the geographic map. The major genetic differences are between populations of the north and south (the vertical axis of the map shows north-south differences, the horizontal axis those of east-west). The area assigned to each population reflects the amount of genetic variation in it.

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“Less than 2 percent of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29 percent are on welfare”

It’s hard to believe that we enlightened, practical, eyes-wide-open Americans are living in a fable, a virtual fairy tale but more and more evidence is making the case that we are.

The “fairy tale” I refer to is actually a witty satire written by the brilliant author/politician Jonathan Swift in 1726. Because it was such an entertaining piece, it became a famous children’s story; but that was not the original intention of the author. Swift himself said “The chief end I propose to myself in all my labors is, to vex the world rather than divert it.”

That is, he wanted to focus his society on its folly. And that he did, eloquently. But little could he have imagined how accurately he would picture our society in America today. It’s startling. It’s disheartening. And it’s threatening to our very survival.

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Flat-pack furniture giant Ikea launched its new catalogue on Thursday amid much coverage in the Swedish national press.

Each August, the arrival of the new Ikea catalogue is eagerly awaited in Sweden, and has become something of a national event. The catalogue is printed 198 million times and published all over the world, but Swedes really look forward to what must be one of the country’s most well-thumbed publications.

This year’s the catalogue’s theme is diversity - ‘mångfald’ - with Ikea claiming to offer even more living and interior solutions for the diverse way we live today.

In a press statement, Jeanette Söderberg, CEO for Ikea Sweden explained the thought behind the new catalogue’s diversity message.

“We are all different. We have different lifestyles, different tastes and different living situations. The diversity around us today isn’t just good, it is fantastic, giving more creativity and new points of view regarding our existence”, she said.

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As anyone with a remote understanding of Russian history (and human nature) should have been able to predict, the Russians reacted rather badly. Before the Georgians could consolidate their “victory,” the Russians unleashed a devastating counterattack.

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