In the news...

Cross removed from crematorium chapel:

A wooden cross has been removed from the wall of a crematorium chapel "to cater for everyone in a diverse multi-faith society". Torbay council, in Devon, has also renamed the building a "ceremony hall".
The Rev Anthony Macey, vicar of nearby Cockington and Chelston, discovered that the 5ft cross had been taken down when he arrived to conduct a funeral. No other religions had complained about the cross, he said, and he hoped the council would reconsider its decision.
"It is political correctness gone mad. That cross has been in the chapel for 50 years. It seems stupid to remove it when most of the funerals are Christian.

*Sigh* Don't get me started about the approach of modern Western society to death and funerals... It's one of my hobby-horses. :I
Also in the Telegraph, Squirrel paté dished by protests:

A restaurant selling squirrel terrine has been forced to withdraw it after death threats from animal rights activists.
Protesters threatened to firebomb the Hadley Bowling Green Inn in Droitwich, Worcs, and to smash up the staff's cars over the £7.95 paté starter.
A female housekeeper was told: "I'm glad I don't work here because I wouldn't want to die in the fire."
[snip]
He (a spokesman) added: "We've never had to take something off the menu before because of threats from protesters. I don't know why squirrel meat is so controversial.
"In the past we've sold meat from fluffy little lambs and it's not been a problem."

I've not been blogging about the Jackson trial, but this did catch my attention:

MICHAEL JACKSON, once the richest musician in the world, now faces the ignominy of handing over his back catalogue to pay off a $270 million (£147 million) debt.
Hints of the troubled star’s dire financial circumstances were revealed during his 13-week child molestation trial in California, as it was claimed that his enormous and unusual expenses have far outweighed his earnings for years.
[snip]
Experts believe that, guilty or innocent, Jackson will eventually be forced to sell his prized 50 per cent stake in Sony/ATV, a company that owns a huge back catalogue of songs, including 251 famous Beatles tunes, some of Bob Dylan’s finest work and hits by Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks.
Teams of advisers, which included the Rev Jesse Jackson, the one-time presidential candidate, have tried to intercede on the star’s behalf to keep the debt collectors from his door.
Others have advised him to sell at least a part of the catalogue but the singer is said to have an emotional attachment to the catalogue, especially the Beatles songs.

I've never been happy with Jackson owning the Beatles back catalogue.
Phone chicken seems to be the latest idiotic teenage craze:

CHILDREN are using mobile phone cameras to film themselves playing “chicken” on railway lines in front of high-speed trains, police said yesterday.
Children as young as 10 stand on the tracks as the trains approach and leap clear at the last moment. Their friends record the stunt using the latest mobile phone technology.
[snip]
Train drivers, who regularly have to deal with the traumatic effects of suicides on the line, say that the “chicken” incidents are causing huge amounts of stress. Tosh McDonald, of Aslef, said: “Even if no one is hurt, this kind of thing can cause enormous stress for a driver. When you’re travelling at 120mph it is stressful to see a kid standing right in front of you.”

Baby tiger!