The Middletown School District, in partnership with MAP Information Technology Corp, has launched a pilot program to implant RFID chips into the schoolbags of 80 children at the Aquidneck School. Each chip would be programmed with a student identification number, and would be read by an external device installed in one of two school buses. The buses would also be fitted with global positioning system (GPS) devices.

Parents or school officials could log onto a school web site to see whether and when specific children had entered or exited which bus, and to look up the bus's current location as provided by the GPS device. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has criticized the plan as an invasion of children's privacy and a potential risk to their safety.

"There's absolutely no need to be tagging children," said Stephen Brown, executive director of the ACLU's Rhode Island chapter. According to Brown, the school district should already know where its students are. "THIS PROGRAM IS A SOLUTION IN SEARCH OF A PROBLEM," BROWN SAID.

A little under a year ago an organisation called the Tax Payers' Alliance commissioned a study which revealed that BRITISH TAXPAYERS PAID OUT TEN BILLION POUNDS PER YEAR MORE THAN WAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COST OF OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT - or, as they put it, every British family was overpaying £400 per year in green taxes. By 'green' taxes the organisation meant fuel levies, vehicle excise duty, landfill tax and the EU emissions programme.

The group reported statutory pre-tax losses of £692 million for the six months to June 30 - which compares with profits of £5 billion the previous year. Chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin, who was forced to launched a £12 billion rights issue earlier this year to shore up the firm's balance sheet, said the loss was a "chastening experience" that "I and my colleagues regret very much".

NatWest owner RBS had already alerted investors to a £5.9 billion credit crunch writedown when it launched the rights issue in April.

Fannie Mae reported a net loss of $2.3 billion in the second quarter that followed a first-quarter loss of $2.2 billion. The second-quarter loss of 2.54 dollars per share was more than triple most analysts' forecasts of 69 cents. Fannie Mae plans to slash its dividend, raise fees and end home loans known as Alt-A, considered riskier than prime loans but less risky than the subprime loans at the epicenter of the housing market crisis.

The company blamed the second-quarter losses mainly on a sharp hike in its provision for credit losses in the deepening housing slump. The market has been in freefall since early 2006 after the collapse of a speculative housing boom fed by easy credit.

The embattled government-sponsored, shareholder-owned company and its twin Freddie Mac underpin $5.2 trillion in home loans, nearly half the US housing market. Freddie Mac reported Wednesday a second-quarter loss of $821 million, also more than triple market expectations.

Mayo said households were suffering because foreign companies – often owned by the state – faced no competition at home. "Closed and protectionist European energy markets end up picking the pockets of consumers in this country," he said. FRENCH CONSUMERS ARE PROTECTED BY A STATE PRICE CAP, MEANING THAT BRITISH CONSUMERS END UP SUBSIDISING LOWER BILLS IN FRANCE.

Neil O'Brien of Open Europe is quoted, saying that the price of gas flowing to Britain from France was "kept artificially high" by French operators restricting supplies. He added that, "People in Britain are paying more because other EU countries are rigging the market." Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and former oil economist, said, "Even people who are supportive of the European Union are embarrassed at its failures over energy. The failure to liberalise energy markets and the extreme reluctance of the French and, to a lesser extent, the Germans and the Dutch, has prevented the free flow of energy and especially gas, in a way that is very damaging to the interests of consumers."

EDF Energy, which sells gas and electricity in both countries, blamed the disparity on the British government's failure to invest in new nuclear power stations.

The centrepiece of Tisha B'Av mourning is the destruction of the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash). Among the many groups that have sprouted over the past several years promoting awareness of the Beit HaMikdash is one named "SECULAR JEWS FOR THE TEMPLE."

Ahuvyah Tabenkin of left-wing Kibbutz Ein Harod has nationalist, political and historical reasons why the Temple and the Temple Mount are important. Asked if he has religious considerations as well, Tabenkin told Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane, "Well, the word 'religious' can be the subject of long discussions. Look, the Gerrer Rebbe once said, 'When the Haskalah [Enlightenment] came to the world, with science, physics, etc., we [the religious] left it for the secular Jews; when Zionism came to the world, we gave that too to the secular; and now we have also left the Repentance Movement for the secular.' Accordingly, it looks like we [the secular] will also have to build the Beit HaMikdash."

Asked whether he calls for the actual construction of the Temple, he said, "There are many religious authorities, including Maimonides, who say that the Temple must be rebuilt, and so I think it should be done... AS A FIRST STEP, WE MUST SHOW THAT WE CONTROL THE TEMPLE MOUNT... I call upon all of Israel to come to the Mount on [Tisha B'Av] and show that it belongs to the Jewish nation."

Political controversy has dogged Beijing since it was awarded the Games seven years ago, but the opening gala on Friday aimed to shift the focus towards themes of sport and friendship with its spectacle of fireworks, drums and dancers. "It was spectacular, really unbelievable," said First Lady Laura Bush, who attended with President George W. Bush.

But pro-independence Taipei Times slammed the entire Games as a series of broken pledges by an authoritarian regime. "It started with grim paramilitary goons in blue track-suits accompanying the Olympic torch on its embarrassing tour of democratic countries," the English-language daily said. "And now the Games begin with broken promises on press freedom and shipping in party members to forcibly replace ordinary Chinese hoping to see the torch relay."

Overseas, SOME ASKED WHETHER IT WAS RIGHT TO INCLUDE GOOSE-STEPPING SOLDIERS from China's People's Liberation Army. In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald wondered if Zhang Yimou, the Chinese filmmaker who directed the show, was misguided in SHOWCASING CHINA'S MILITARY STRENGTH at a time the country is trying to reassure the world about its rapid rise. "THE HEAVY PRESENCE OF CHINESE (PEOPLE'S) LIBERATION ARMY OFFICERS THROUGHOUT THE PROCEEDINGS LEFT MANY WONDERING EXACTLY WHAT IMAGE THE HOSTS WERE INTENDING TO PROJECT TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY," the newspaper said.

The behavior was documented in photographs of an event called 'Up Your Alley,' which is sponsored by the same group that organizes the city's fall 'gay-fest' the Folsom Street Fair, on which WND has reported. "Consider how liberal government authorities like Mayor [Gavin] Newsom have corrupted the men in blue by stipulating that police not prosecute public nudity and indecency at homosexual festivals," said a report from Americans for Truth on the graphic activities documented at the event.

"What honor can there be in protecting the public practice of heinous perversions and nudity in the city's streets? The shame of pandering politicians is transferred to the cops who were intended to be guardians of the law and public order," said the organizer's chief, Peter LaBarbera.

"Perverse events like 'Up Your Alley' …mock any notion of right and wrong – as the reckless pursuit of anything -goes 'tolerance' leads governmental authorities to enable and promote evil, turning freedom into sexual anarchy while causing a breakdown in law and order."

The day after the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks collapsed amid squabbling last Tuesday, with the limousines already lined up along Geneva's lakeside promenade, the participants to the conference suddenly appeared to have found agreement after all - at least when it came to their choice of words.

Indonesian Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu said that she was "deeply disappointed." Kamal Nath, the Indian industry minister, also expressed his "deep disappointment." And when US Trade Representative Susan Schwab spoke of a "very disappointing turn of events," European Trade Commissioner and avowed cynic Peter Mandelson couldn't help but echo the general sense of official mourning over the conference. It was "heart-breaking," Mandelson said of the meeting's outcome.

The countries most in need of economic recovery are also negatively affected. The weaker a country is economically, the less leverage it has in bilateral negotiations. But even the industrialized nations face hard times ahead. The collapse of the WTO talks means an end to the trade-war truce agreed to by countries around the world. EXPERTS ANTICIPATE THAT THE CURRENT CONFLICTS BETWEEN AVIATION GIANTS BOEING AND AIRBUS COULD NOW LEAD TO A TRADE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE.

Addressing a welcoming luncheon in honor of world dignitaries who are here to attend the Olympic opening ceremony, Hu said that in the course of bidding and preparing for the Games, the Chinese government and people received sincere help from governments and people of various countries, as well as strong support from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Family.

"I would like to express heartfelt thanks to you and, through you, to all those who have contributed to the Beijing Olympic Games," he said in the toast. "I also wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the international community for the warm support and valuable assistance given to China in our rescue and relief efforts after the devastating Wenchuan earthquake," he said. "The Chinese people will remember forever the profound friendship of people throughout the world," he said.

"I am confident that, with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Family, and together with you, we will deliver a high-standard Olympic Games with distinctive features," the president added.

Dr Susanne Bugel and a team at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Human Nutrition, studied fruit and vegetables on most families' shopping lists, including carrots, peas, apples and potatoes. The team found no clear evidence of any difference in the vitamin and mineral content between the organically and the chemically grown crops.

Their findings are published in the Society of Chemical Industry's Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Dr Alan Baylis, from the society, said: "Modern crop protection chemicals to control weeds, pests and diseases are extensively tested and stringently regulated, and once in the soil, mineral nutrients from natural or artificial fertilisers are chemically identical. "Organic crops are often lower yielding and eating them is a lifestyle choice for those who can afford it." The research was the first to look at the retention of minerals in fruit and vegetables.

HOWEVER IT DID NOT EXAMINE THE FOOD FOR ANY HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF CHEMICALS.

Russian news agency Interfax reported that Georgian troops had entered the besieged town of Tskhinvali after intense battles overnight. But Georgia denied the Interfax report. Interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Georgian forces had not yet entered Tskhinvali, but were engaged in a battle with two convoys, carrying "mercenaries", which had entered South Ossetia from Russia and were trying to reach the town.

Russia, main backer of the separatists who have controlled the region since a war in the early 1990s, accused Georgia of treachery and urged the world community to avert "massive bloodshed." The Kremlin said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was holding consultations with aides on Moscow's strategy "aimed at restoring peace in South Ossetia, defending the local civilian population within the peacekeeping mandate we have."

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who wants to take his small Caucasus nation into NATO, has set a priority on winning back control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another rebel region on the Black Sea. The issue has bedeviled Georgia's relations with RUSSIA, WHICH IS ANGERED BY TBILISI'S MOVES TOWARDS THE WESTERN FOLD AND ITS PURSUIT OF NATO MEMBERSHIP.

In correspondence dating from 2000 and 2001 with Welsh psychiatrist and evangelical Christian, Deborah Pitt, Williams described how his literal faith in the scripture's prohibitions against homosexuality began to crumble after about 1980 and that 20 years of study and prayer had led him to the "definitive conclusion" that "an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage..."

In itself, the revelation comes as no surprise to either liberal or conservative camps within the Anglican church. But Williams' previous writings on the subject have been few and couched in theologisms. This is how he tackled the issue in his essay The Body's Grace in 1989: "The absolute condemnation of same-sex relations of intimacy must rely either on an abstract fundamentalist deployment of a number of very ambiguous texts, or on a problematic and non-scriptural theory about natural complementarity, applied narrowly and crudely to physical differentiation without regard to psychological structures."

We can be thankful, at least, for his later brevity.

A day after cheering crowds welcomed the Olympic torch to Beijing's Tiananmen Square - scene of a 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters - activists from Canada to Kathmandu sought to get their voices heard. Already detained once for protesting on the square, three US Christians were forcefully dragged from the site as they prayed publicly, a statement on their behalf said.

"We were in Tiananmen Square publicly praying for the people of China when police forcefully dragged us across the street," Reverend Patrick J. Mahoney, one of the three, was quoted as saying while in custody. Meanwhile two British and two US activists who staged a dramatic pro-Tibet protest on Wednesday near the stadium where the Olympics will open in Beijing have been deported from China, their campaign group said in a statement.

The two Britons, who helped unfurl giant "Free Tibet" banners, arrived back in London on Thursday and warned the protests would continue in China. China has painted the Games as a celebration of three decades of economic reforms and hopes the event will showcase a rapidly modernising country.

The nearly six-minute video shows flames consuming a Beijing Olympics logo and an explosion over a venue for the competition, and features a masked, turbaned speaker clutching what appears to be an assault rifle. The IntelCenter released a copy of the recording, attributed to the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), an ethnic Uighur and Muslim organization seeking to create an independent state out of China's heavily Muslim Xinjiang province.

The SITE Intelligence Group, meanwhile, translated some of the message, which was delivered in the language of the Uighurs, and said that the speaker identified himself as a TIP member and issued a threat against the Games. The speaker urges Muslims to keep their children from the competition, and warns "Do not stay on the same bus, on the same train, on the same plane, in the same buildings, or any place the Chinese are," SITE said.

Beijing is wary of ethnic Uighur Muslims living in Xinjiang, who maintain an ethnic identity distinct from the Chinese and have struggled to re-establish the independent state of East Turkestan since their homeland became part of China in 1955.