Years ago, G. K. Chesterton made this observation about our culture: "You are free in our time to say that God does not exist; you are free to say that He exists and is evil. You may talk of God as a metaphor or mystification? and it is not merely that nobody punishes, but nobody protests. BUT IF YOU SPEAK OF GOD AS A FACT, ... AS A REASON FOR CHANGING ONE'S CONDUCT, THEN THE MODERN WORLD WILL STOP YOU SOMEHOW IF IT CAN."

We have come to a time in our nation in which WE NEED TO TURN BACK TO GOD. We need to call on His name, because as WE LOOK AT THE CALAMITIES WE ARE FACING, I believe we have brought many of them upon ourselves. WE HAVE DONE OUR BEST TO GET GOD OUT OF THE COURTROOM, OUT OF THE CLASSROOM AND OUT OF OUR CULTURE, AND LOOK WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR NATION. Malcom Muggeridge said, "All new news is old news happening to new people." As it's been said, if we don't learn from history, then we are destined to repeat it.

The Mapping Sharia in America Project, sponsored by the Washington-based Center for Security Policy, has trained former counterintelligence and counterterrorism agents from the FBI, CIA and U.S. military, who are skilled in Arabic and Urdu, to conduct undercover reconnaissance at some 2,300 mosques and Islamic centers and schools across the country. Many of the Islamic centers are operating under the auspices of THE SAUDI ARABIAN GOVERNMENT and U.S. front groups for the radical MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD based in Egypt.

Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center is one of the mosques indentified by undercover investigators as a hive of terrorist activity and other extremism. It was founded and is currently run by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Imams there preach what is called "jihad qital," which means physical jihad, and incite violence and hatred against the U.S. DAR AL-HIJRAH'S ULTIMATE GOAL, INVESTIGATORS SAY, IS TO TURN THE U.S. INTO AN ISLAMIC STATE GOVERNED BY SHARIA LAW.

Even with such radical mosques operating in its backyard, the U.S. government has not undertaken its own systematic investigation of U.S. mosques. IN CONTRAST, EUROPEAN UNION SECURITY OFFICIALS ARE ANALYZING MEMBER-STATE MOSQUES, examining the training and funding sources of imams, in a large-scale project. "We have too many mosques in this country," said Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y. "There are too many people who are sympathetic to radical Islam. We should be looking at them more carefully."

Mobs have twice attacked the U.S. embassy in Belgrade and on Tuesday hundreds of Serbs burned down two border posts in north Kosovo, in a violent response to Kosovo's secession. British, German, Croatian and Turkish missions were also attacked.

The EU's sub-office stands empty, locked and guarded by two Kosovo-Serb police officers. The 2,000-strong EU rule of law mission is taking over supervision of Kosovo from the United Nations, following Pristina's declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday. The United States and major EU powers have recognised the move.

The north, home to just under half of Kosovo's 120,000 remaining Serbs, has served notice that the EU mission will be treated as "occupiers". It has the backing of Serbia and Russia. Many Serbs regard Kosovo as THE CRADLE OF THEIR RELIGION and national identity, steeped in myth and RICH IN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN HERITAGE. The territory of 2 million people has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO bombed to drive out Serb forces to halt the killing and ethnic cleansing of (Moslem) Albanians in a two-year counter-insurgency war.

The aircraft was taking off with three others on their last flight out of Guam after a four-month deployment, part of a continuous U.S. bomber presence in the western Pacific. After the crash, the other three bombers were being kept on Guam, said Maj. Eric Hilliard at Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii. There were no injuries on the ground or damage to buildings, and no munitions were on board.

America's entire B-2 stealth bombing fleet has been grounded until the initial investigation into the crash has been completed. Each B-2 bomber costs about $1.2 billion to build.

The great crested newts were found in the site of the Earl Shilton bypass. The £15m project, due to finish this year will not now be ready until next February, costing an extra £1.2m. Another £500,000 needs to be spent on steps to stop the rare amphibians returning and on traps to catch them when hibernation ends this spring.

Leicestershire County Council has a legal obligation to ensure the newts and their habitat are protected. A spokesman said: "Low numbers of newts were found - between one and 10 in the three ponds where evidence of their presence was found." He added that the £1.7m cost was "only approximate" and would depend on how long the contractor was delayed.

Council leader Councillor David Parsons said: "I think the public will take it enormously badly and I think we have got to have a change in the law. If we are talking about a small number of newts costing £1.7m that is unacceptable."

Corrupt "Sharia financing" banking practices - legal under Islamic law - are a fairly new phenomenon, Ehrenfeld said. They were first developed by the Muslim brotherhood in the 70s, following the financial power gained by Saudis during the oil boom. "Saudis are using money in order to corrupt the West, to fund terrorism, and eventually to take over the West," said Ehrenfeld.

"Sharia financing means complete and total submission to Islamic bankers," Ehrenfeld explained. "Investors give over all rights to choose what their money supports. Not surprisingly, these illegal banking practices do not have security, which comes at a very large price to investors, who are at great risk both of losing their money, endangering their shareholders, and being prosecuted by American banking laws, which strictly forbid the financial support of terrorism. Besides the money that is used to support Islamic agenda, 20% of funds are labelled 'mandated charity' and go directly to foreign companies in support of terrorism."

Ehrenfeld warns: "They are expanding fast, and are now in more than 80 countries, and more than 300 financial institutions around the world. This is really spreading like wildfire."

The BBC's Mark Mardell reports that the European Parliament IS CLAIMING THAT NO SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL EXAMPLES OF FRAUD WERE FOUND and there is no need to send the report to the EU's anti fraud agency, Olaf. Leading articles condemn the European Parliament for blocking the investigation. A Mail leader notes that "officials are so terrified by these findings that only MEPs on the budget committee have been allowed to see them?So much for EU 'transparency'." A Sun leader says that "Gordon Brown has betrayed us by refusing a referendum on further EU integration. SO WILL HE TELL US WHY BRITAIN SHOULD BE RUN BY THIS BUNCH OF CROOKS?"

Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally was quoted in the Express: "This is a disgraceful theft of taxpayers' money. It shows why EU politicians should not be given yet more powers and more money, and why we need a referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty." Open Europe's Alistair Tebbit was interviewed about the revelations on Al Jazeera. "We are absolutely astonished at the scale", he said. "The report is being buried and people like you and me cannot see the actual details.

TO COMPOUND THE PROBLEM OLAF, THE EU ANTI-FRAUD UNIT, IS ITSELF BEING INVESTIGATED [FOR FRAUD]."

The president and his advisers expected a quick, inexpensive conflict. Instead, we have a war that is costing more than anyone could have imagined. The cost of direct US military operations - not even including long-term costs such as taking care of wounded veterans - already exceeds the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is more than double the cost of the Korean War.

Most Americans have yet to feel these costs. The price in blood has been paid by our voluntary military and by hired contractors. The price in treasure has, in a sense, been financed entirely by borrowing. Taxes have not been raised to pay for it - in fact, taxes on the rich have actually fallen. Deficit spending gives the illusion that the laws of economics can be repealed, that we can have both guns and butter. But of course the laws are not repealed. The costs of the war are real even if they have been deferred, possibly to another generation.

On the eve of war, there were discussions of the likely costs. Larry Lindsey, President Bush's economic adviser and head of the National Economic Council, suggested that they might reach $200 billion. But this estimate was dismissed as "baloney" by the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. His deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, suggested that postwar reconstruction could pay for itself through increased oil revenues. Mitch Daniels, the Office of Management and Budget director, and Secretary Rumsfeld estimated the costs in the range of $50 to $60 billion, a portion of which they believed would be financed by other countries. The budgetary cost to the UK of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through 2010 will total more than £18 billion. If we include the social costs, the total impact on the UK will exceed £20 billion.

The crisis is expected to trigger the early release of thousands of muggers, burglars and other convicts. In a desperate attempt to buy time, Jack Straw begged magistrates to imprison fewer offenders. The Justice Secretary said the courts were giving short jail terms when community punishments would be better.

But magistrates refused point-blank to help him out of the shambles - saying they would continue to hand down whatever sentence they saw fit. The Magistrates' Association said it did not react kindly to being placed under "pressure" by ministers. Tory spokesman Nick Herbert said: "The prison system is now in genuine crisis. This is not the fault of magistrates but the result of sheer incompetence by this Government."

Plans have been drawn up to extend an existing early release scheme called End of Custody Licence, which lets convicts out 18 days before their sentence reaches even the halfway point. It was implemented last June and has led to the early release of 16,000 inmates - one of whom has since committed a murder.

"We urge the European Union not to limit its action to purely calling for an end to the siege but also to apply political and practical pressure on Israel," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said. On Thursday, EU lawmakers urged Israel not to inflict "collective punishment" on Gaza's population, saying its isolation of the territory had failed and its actions were endangering civilians. Zuhri said Hamas welcomed the parliamentary resolution.

Israel said its tightened restrictions were in response to cross-border rocket fire by Gaza militants. Israeli air strikes and ground incursions into the Gaza Strip have killed some 300 Palestinians in the past year, including dozens of civilians, but have failed to prevent rocket fire which killed two Israelis in the same period.

Shunned by the West for refusing to renounce violence after beating Abbas's Fatah faction in a parliamentary election two years ago, Hamas says it would cease fire if Israel stopped its military operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Hamas is also demanding an end to the Israeli-led blockade that has cut supplies to the territory's 1.5 million people. "As for rockets, the problem is the (Israeli) occupation, aggression and the siege imposed on our people. We in Hamas are ready to study any initiative that could contribute to ending the Israeli aggression on our people," Zuhri said.

The comments will reignite the row triggered by Delia's remarks last week about the need for cheap factory farm chicken to feed poorer families. In a BBC Horizon programme to be broadcast next week, Professor Lesley Regan challenges the commonly held belief that organic farming is better for health, the environment and animal welfare.

The professor is seen visiting both an organic and a conventional pig farm for the programme and comes away with the verdict that both have been able to show the animals are 'happy and healthy". She tells viewers: "I don't think we have uncovered anything to persuade me that there is a substantial body of evidence that can demonstrate that I should definitely only eat organic produce or should make organic produce the majority of my shopping basket."

A spokesman for the Soil Association said there was a growing body of evidence that organic food is more nutritious. Three studies looking at tomatoes, apples and peaches, published last year, concluded that organic crops contain higher levels of key nutrients. Policy chief at the Soil Association, Peter Melchett, said: "It is clear that buying organic is far more than a lifestyle choice, it is a rational, sensible and intelligent choice because there are nutrition benefits."

A report from the trade magazine The Grocer says the looming pasta crisis is the result of Italian farmers increasingly growing durum wheat for biofuel production rather than food. The report says the price of durum wheat is two-and-a-half-times higher than June last year as supplies have tightened, forcing some suppliers to cease pasta production because they are unable to pass on the soaring cost of raw materials to customers and stay viable.

Last week, chilled-foods manufacturer Bakkavör announced it was closing its pasta plant in Scunthorpe, with the loss of more than 100 jobs, because of rises in the cost of raw materials. Nigel Singh, UK representative for pasta giant Pasta Lensi, told The Grocer that cost pressures were forcing manufacturers in Italy and the UK to cease production.

He said: "The price of durum wheat has leapt 250 per cent since June last year, but a 500g pack of pasta has only increased by 31p to 61p. That's 100 per cent. For farmers, manufacturers and retailers to make a fair income, a 500g pack should sell for 90p." Last September, Italians went on a one-day "pasta strike" in protest at price rises of over 20 per cent for spaghetti and fettuccine.

The EU says 10 per cent of transport fuel must come from biofuels by 2020. But the industry has been blamed for dramatic rises in the price of food around the world. James Withers, deputy chief executive of NFU Scotland, said: "We have more people in the world to be fed, while land is lost through drought and flooding caused by climate change and targets to be met for biofuels. There is a 'perfect storm' situation building up which will make food security an issue for the first time since rationing during the Second World War."

Since 9/11, and seemingly without the notice of most Americans, the federal government has assumed the authority to institute martial law, arrest a wide swath of dissidents (citizen and noncitizen alike), and detain people without legal or constitutional recourse in the event of "an emergency influx of immigrants in the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."

Beginning in 1999, the government has entered into a series of single-bid contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to build detention camps at undisclosed locations within the United States. The government has also contracted with several companies to build thousands of railcars, some reportedly equipped with shackles, ostensibly to transport detainees. According to diplomat and author Peter Dale Scott, the KBR contract is part of a Homeland Security plan titled ENDGAME, which sets as its goal the removal of "all removable aliens" and "potential terrorists."

Fraud-busters such as Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, have complained about these contracts, saying that more taxpayer dollars should not go to taxpayer-gouging Halliburton. But the real question is: What kind of "new programs" require the construction and refurbishment of detention facilities in nearly every state of the union with the capacity to house perhaps millions of people?

What could the government be contemplating that leads it to make contingency plans to detain without recourse millions of its own citizens? The Constitution does not allow the executive to have unchecked power under any circumstances. The people must not allow the president to use the war on terrorism to rule by fear instead of by law.

Even before Livni took the podium, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yonah Metzger, who usually refrains from any sort of political pronunciations, addressed the Foreign Minister directly, ASKING HER TO USE HER ROLE AS CHIEF NEGOTIATOR "WITH OUR ENEMIES" TO PREVENT JERUSALEM'S DIVISION. Recent reports from diplomatic meetings and Arab negotiators have Livni engaging in wrangling over the relinquishing of parts of the capital.

Rabbi Metzger said. "Jerusalem is above and beyond this conflict. Our right to Jerusalem is a proven, historic right. When the Muslims pray in the mosques on the Temple Mount, they pray with their backs to the site of the Temple; they pray toward Mecca with their backs to Jerusalem. Talking about Jerusalem harms us. If we unite for the sake of our capital, that its division cannot be discussed, we shall win it"

Jerusalem councilman and mayoral candidate Nir Barkat told the conference that he heard nothing encouraging in Livni's words. He said she said nothing to negate the claims of chief PA negotiator Ahmed Qurei (Abu Allah) that negotiations are underway, or the reports of a secret agreement between Chaim Ramon and Arafat-aide Muhammad Rashid.

Shlomo Benizri, of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas party, suggested that the tremors could be stopped through the simple expedient of repealing various liberalising laws on homosexuality that have been passed by the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, in recent years. Since decriminalising homosexuality in 1988, Israel has passed several laws on the subject, including decisions to recognise same-sex marriages carried out abroad, and granting inheritance rights and other benefits held by married couples to gay partnerships. Last Sunday, to the outrage of the religious Right, the country's attorney general, Meni Mazuz, ruled that same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt children.

In what Mr Benizri clearly believes is no coincidence, the first of last week's quakes hit the country just two days later. "Why do earthquakes happen? One of the reasons is the things to which the Knesset gives legitimacy, to sodomy," Benizri said during a parliamentary debate on earthquake preparedness. "We are looking for earthly solutions, how to prevent them," he said. "I have another way to prevent earthquakes. The Gemara says that one of the reasons earthquakes happen - which the Knesset (parliament) legitimises - is homosexuality."