In January, it was revealed that West Park School, in Derby in the midlands of England, was “subjecting” (its words) badly behaved children to Mozart and others. Children are forced to endure two hours of classical music both as a relaxant (the headmaster claims it calms them) and as a deterrent against future bad behaviour. Aapparently, the number of disruptive pupils has fallen by 60 per cent since the detentions were introduced.

One news report says some of the children who have endured this Mozart authoritarianism now find classical music unbearable. As one commentator said, the children probably will “go into adulthood associating great music – the most bewitchingly lovely sounds on Earth – with a punitive slap on the chops.” This is what passes for education in Britain today: teaching kids to think “danger!” whenever they hear Mozart's Requiem.

Moar

LONDON (AP) -- The leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism.

Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing "without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions."

Tahir-ul-Qadri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London was publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a government-funded anti-extremism think tank and drew strong media attention.

The religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a worldwide movement that promotes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other countries.

Troopers raid popular bars for unlicensed beers
Dozens of gallons seized after 'citizen complaint'
By DON RUSSELL & BOB WARNER
Philadelphia Daily News

warnerb@phillynews.com 215-854-5885

IT WAS ELIOT NESS and the Untouchables, as played by the Keystone Kops.

More than a dozen armed State Police officers conducted simultaneous raids last week on three popular Philadelphia bars known for their wide beer selections. The cops confiscated hundreds of bottles of expensive ales and lagers, now in State Police custody at an undisclosed location.

The alleged offense: Although the bar owners had bought the beer legally from licensed Pennsylvania distributors and had paid all the necessary taxes, the police claimed that nobody had registered the precise names of the beers with the state Liquor Control Board - a process that requires the brewers or their importers to pay a $75 registration fee for each product they want to sell in Pennsylvania.

Based on a complaint from someone the State Police refuse to identify, three teams of officers converged last Thursday on the three bars, run by Leigh Maida and her husband, Brendan Hartranft. Checking their inventories against the state's official list of more than 2,800 brands, the cops seized four kegs and 317 bottles, totaling 60.9 gallons of beer, according to police calculations.

In fact, according to Maida, more than half the beer removed by the State Police was properly registered - but the cops couldn't find it on their lists because of "clerical errors" or "blatant ineptitude" between the police and the Liquor Control Board, with whom the officers were conferring by telephone.

She estimated the total value of the confiscated stock at $7,200, representing about 20 brands, some of which go by multiple names.

For instance, the cops grabbed Monk's Cafe Sour Flemish Red Ale.

The beer has been sold throughout the state at dozens of restaurants and distributors for the last seven years. The brand appears on the state's online list as "Monk's Café Ale." It's on tap seven days a week at the Center City bar after which it was named: Monk's Cafe, at 16th and Spruce streets.

But that wasn't enough to keep the State Police from confiscating 20 bottles and three kegs of the supposedly illegal ale at the three bars run by Maida and Hartranft - Resurrection Ale House, at 2425 Grays Ferry Ave.; Local 44, at 44th and Spruce streets, in West Philadelphia; and Memphis Taproom, 2331 E. Cumberland St., Port Richmond.

Maida said that the State Police also confiscated bottles of Duvel, a popular ale imported from Belgium that is widely advertised and available in at least 200 bars throughout the city and suburbs. The beer appears on the PLCB list as "Duvel Beer," while its label reads "Duvel Belgian Golden Ale."

"No actual investigating was done," Maida said in an e-mail to the Daily News. "The police sent a shoddily typed list to the PLCB, some drone fed it into the machine verbatim and returned what came back, without . . . even trying to offer us the benefit of the doubt by double-checking on some of the so-called unregistered beers."

While acknowledging that it appears that some of the confiscated brands had not been properly registered, Maida said that about half appeared on the state's registration list in some form.

"My main beef with this whole convoluted situation is that the PLCB is the sole regulator of a set of products that they do not even know the names of," she said.

State Police Sgt. William N. La Torre, commanding officer of the Philadelphia office of the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, said that he was not aware of any beers that had been mistakenly confiscated.

La Torre said that the beer would be kept in a secured location, as evidence, until the case is resolved, probably in six to eight months. If an administrative-law judge finds that the bars possessed unregistered brands, the State Police typically would seek a forfeiture order to destroy the beer, he said. Depending on the temperature of the storage location, some of the beer will likely turn sour in that period.

Maida said that the couple's attorney had told them that they have until 6 p.m. tonight to compile evidence to prove that the confiscated beer is properly registered.

"The onus is on us to prove our innocence," she said.

She added: "It's McCarthy-like. They swarm in here and confiscate this product because they don't know what the product is."

La Torre noted that Resurrection had been warned last year when it served an unregistered beer from Maryland - Resurrection Ale, made by Brewer's Art, in Baltimore. Maida acknowledged that violation - the beer had been a gift in honor of their new business, she said, but the resulting citation made the couple extra-careful about compliance with the Liquor Board's rules, she said.

La Torre said that the investigation was sparked by "a citizen complaint."

"It doesn't matter where the complaint is coming from," he said. "If there is merit to the complaint, we have to follow through with it. . . . We received a complaint regarding the licensee bringing in unregistered beers and we confirmed with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board that certain brands were not registered."

Francesca Chapman, a PLCB spokeswoman, said that the registration requirement helps the state assure payment of state beer taxes and helps prosecutors identify alcoholic beverages in drunk-driving cases or any other type of prosecution.

Industry sources complain that brand registration is typical of the onerous regulations that make selling beer in Pennsylvania difficult. For example, while it is the responsibility of the brewer or importer to submit the necessary paperwork and registration fee, it is the tavern or restaurant licensee who may be liable for selling unregistered brands, they said.

Registration is further complicated by the growth of under-the-radar one-offs: unique, limited-production, highly sought-after draft beers that appear briefly - perhaps as quickly as an hour - on tavern taps. While they pay the necessary state and federal taxes, breweries sometimes do not bother to register the brands because they are produced in extremely small amounts.

Among the brands that the State Police reportedly sought during its raid was Pliny the Younger, recently named the No. 1 beer in the world by Beer Advocate, a popular online beer-rating site. The ale is made once a year by Russian River Brewing, in California.

Last month, about a dozen small kegs of the beer arrived in Philadelphia amid much hoopla. Several taverns, including the three operated by Maida and Hartranft, advertised specials for as much as $25 a glass.

In most cases, the kegs kicked in less than an hour.

Although it had been registered for sale in the past, Pliny the Younger currently does not appear on the state's list of registered brands.

In an e-mail to the Daily News, Russian River owner Vinnie Cilurzo wrote: "It was a simple mistake on our part that we forgot to register some brands with the state of PA. We are a small mom and pop brewery and every once in a while something slips through the cracks."

But apparently not just small breweries have failed to register brands. Heineken-owned Hacker-Pschorr, one of the largest breweries in Munich, does not appear on Pennsylvania's registration list, though it is widely sold throughout the state.

http://jta.org/news/article/2010/03/10/ … -saysStory on unkosher lox was a ‘lie,’ rabbi says
March 10, 2010

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The organization that reportedly banned lox as unkosher says the media fabricated the story.

"They made it up," Yisroel Neiman, a member of Chevra Mehadrin, told LoHud.com. "It's a lie. We never said lox wasn't kosher."

The Monsey, N.Y.-based group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis made national news last week when it reportedly declared lox unkosher because of the presence of a parasitic worm.

The story was picked up by the New York Post, the Boston Globe and other publications, even though the Orthodox Union, the mainstream Orthodox kosher certifier, declared the lox ban unjustified from the start.

The bagel with cream cheese and lox has long been a staple in many New Yorkers diets, but one ultra-Orthodox group of rabbis are campaigning against the delicatessen delicacy.

Chevra Mehadrin, a Jewish group in Monsey, N.Y, recently released a list of food items that should no longer be considered kosher.

According to the group, a tiny parasitic worm called anisakis that is found in smoked salmon makes it unfit for kosher cuisine.

But some other Jews think the new rules are just a bunch of mishegas.

Is Lox No Longer Kosher?

Is Lox No Longer Kosher?

"From time to time there are organizations who get a little crazy with these ideas," said Hal Simon, manager of Ben's Kosher Delicatessen in midtown Manhattan, who sells lox daily.

At a meeting in a Brooklyn shul last month, Rabbi Moshe Karp of Modi'in Illit in Isreal claimed that fish like wild salmon, flounder and halibut, can no longer be considered kosher because of the same parasite found in all of them.

In an article written by The Jewish Star, Karp said that despite arguments made in the Gemorah (second part of the sacred collection of Jewish writings known as the Talmud) that states that the worms found in fish do not make the fish non-kosher, pollution has caused the roundworm to mutate and become larger which should warrant it being taken off of the kosher list.

Despite reports, some are skeptical of the radical claims made by the extreme groups.

"This issue has been resolved in Jewish law for hundreds of years already,"  Rabbi Moshe Elefant of the Orthodox Union, the largest kashrut certifying organization in the world reported to the NY Post.

Attempts to reach the Chevra Mehadrin by NBCNewYork were unsuccessful.

First Published: Mar 8, 2010 12:46 PM EST

EU warns US against protectionism in Pentagon deal
By SLOBODAN LEKIC (AP) – 3 hours ago

BRUSSELS — The EU on Tuesday warned the United States against protectionism after a European-led consortium pulled out of the bidding for an Air Force contract, saying the terms had been altered to favor a U.S. company.

EADS, the parent company of Airbus, had partnered with Northrop Grumman to vie for the 179 tanker order, but their consortium pulled out on Monday. They said the terms of the deal appeared designed to eliminate its design in favor of a smaller jet offered by rival Boeing Co.

The announcement left Boeing as the only bidder for the project. It is offering a version of the 767 commercial airplane to replace the U.S. Air Force's 1960s-era fleet of KC-135 tankers.

"The European Commission would be extremely concerned if it were to emerge that the terms of tender were such as to inhibit open competition for the contract," the European Commission said in a statement.

In the United States, the political fallout from the announcement was also swift, with several U.S. lawmakers — including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., President Barack Obama's campaign rival in 2008 — saying they regretted the Northrop Grumman/EADS decision.

In 2008, the EADS-led consortium was awarded a contract for the tanker fleet, but Boeing protested and the deal was annulled later that year.

In December, Northrop Grumman/EADS expressed serious concerns to the Pentagon and the Air Force that the new criteria for the project were slanted in favor the Boeing design.

"It is highly regrettable that a major potential supplier would feel unable to bid for a contract of this type," said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. "Open procurement markets guarantee better competition and better value for money for the taxpayer."

The EU noted that the trade balance in defense equipment with the 27-nation EU has traditionally been heavily in favor of the American side, and that in 2008 the US exported $5 billion worth of defense materials while importing only $2.2 billion from the European side.

"The Commission will be following further developments in this case very closely," the statement said.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the military plans to move ahead with the program and that the requirements for a new tanker fleet won't be reworked just to ensure there are two bidders.

"The question for us is, competition at what cost?" Whitman told reporters. "We know what the requirements are . . . we are going to buy to those capabilities."

Meanwhile, German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said on Tuesday he was disappointed by the developments in the U.S. and warned the situation had "signs of protectionism."

"The free market should not be unilaterally restricted," he said.

Twenty-eight of the EADS KC-45 tankers have been ordered or are already in service with the air forces of Australia, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Boeing's KC-767 tanker, which can carry a smaller payload, has been ordered by Italy and Japan.

In Paris, EADS CEO Louis Gallois maintained that the EADS design — based on Airbus A330 — makes a better tanker than the Boeing alternative.

"We deeply regret that the U.S. Air Force will not get the best available airplane," he told journalists.

He said the decision doesn't change EADS' intention to boost its presence on the American defense market.

Gallois said the consortium was talking to the administration in Washington to recoup some of the money it spent on its bids.

Also on Tuesday, EADS reported that spiraling costs on its new military airlifter, the A400M, and its A380 superjumbo had led to losses in the fourth quarter and full year but said its outlook visibility was improving.

Associated Press correspondents Anne Flaherty in Washington, Emma Vandore in Paris and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report.

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada's largest airline has learned it sometimes has to take a back seat to the country's biggest sporting passion, ice hockey, the head of Air Canada said on Tuesday.

The airline was forced to delay a flight from Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games because passengers watching the end of gold medal final on airport televisions ignored repeated calls to board.

"We incurred a flight delay for a reason Air Canada had not yet encountered in over 72 years of existence," chief executive Calin Rovinescu told a business gathering.

The Canadian fans were rewarded for their delay, as the nail-biting end to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics saw Canada beat arch-rival United States 3-2 in overtime.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/1003 … ada_hockey

husband-wife culinary team in New York have created what one headline writer has already dubbed "the mother of all cheeses": breast-milk cheese.

Chef Daniel Angerer and Lori Mason own Klee Brasserie, in Chelsea, which specializes in natural, locally sourced, sustainable foods. They are also parents of a newborn, with an abundance of breast milk. Ergo, the mother of invention.

"It tastes like cow's-milk cheese, kind of sweet," Angerer, who once out-cooked Bobby Flay on Iron Chef, told The New York Post. He said it goes well with a Riesling.

Here's how Angerer explains the discovery on his website:

I came about mother's milk when our daughter celebrated her 4th week birthday -- my spouse is feeding our baby with breast milk. We are fortunate to have plenty of pumped mommy's milk on hand and we even freeze a good amount of it – my spouse actually thinks of donating some to an infant milk bank which could help little babies in Haiti and such but for the meantime (the milk bank requires check-ups which takes a little while) our small freezer ran out of space.To throw it out would be like wasting gold.

Angerer includes a photo of his creation ("maple caramelized pumpkin encrusted cheese with texturized concord grapes") and a step- by-step recipe for "My Spouse's Mommy Milk Cheese Making Experiment." There's also a photo of  the other  Angerer-Mason creation.

Dan Rather Makes 'Watermelon' Quip in Depicting GOP Attacks on Obama

The former CBS News anchor is known for his homespun anecdotes, though his choice of language in this instance already is raising some eyebrows on media blogs

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather, speaking on the GOP's expected strategy against Democrats in elections this fall, said Republicans would describe President Obama as "a nice person ... very articulate" but an ineffective leader who "couldn't sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic."

Rather prefaced the comments, made Sunday on the "Chris Matthews Show," by saying, "The Republicans will make a case and a lot of independents will buy this argument."

Rather is known for his homespun anecdotes, though his choice of language in this instance already is raising some eyebrows on media blogs, which note the potential "racial minefield."

Racial slurs aimed at Obama have popped up across the country -- and been quickly denounced -- since he became the country's first black president.

In one case, the mayor of the small California city of Los Alamitos caused an uproar a year ago for sending an e-mail showing watermelons in front of the White House. The mayor apologized and resigned, claiming he was unaware of the stereotype that blacks like watermelon.