the salt makers

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Sudanese student today defended the British teacher accused of insulting Islam saying he had chosen to call a teddy bear Mohammad because it was his own name.

Gillian Gibbons, a 54-year-old teacher, was arrested on Sunday after complaints that she had insulted Islam's Prophet by allowing the bear to be named Mohammad.

She is facing a third night in jail without being formally charged.

The boy said: "The teacher asked me what I wanted to call the teddy. I said Mohammad. I named it after my name."

He said he was not thinking of Islam's Prophet when asked to suggest a name, adding most of the class agreed with his choice.

Described as “timid and polite,” Ms Gibbons - facing 40 lashes for the 'offence' - had told friends how she was loving her life in the country.

The teacher, from Liverpool, let her class of seven-year-olds choose the teddy’s name as part of a project at Unity High School.

She was said to be “deeply distressed” in a police cell last night after learning she faces the barbaric lashing under the Muslim state’s strict sharia law.

Former colleague Gill Langworthy said today: “I saw her in July and had farewell drinks and she was so excited about going.

“Since then we have been in email contact at least once a week.

“Last week she sent one with pictures of her sitting on a camel and a beach, loving it, she felt so welcomed and loved teaching the children.”

Miss Langworthy, who taught with Ms Gibbons at Garston Primary School in Liverpool, said teaching abroad had always been her friend’s dream.

But she fears for her safety and thinks the experience will have damaged her deeply.

She said: “I am constantly worried, and thinking about her sitting in the prison cell is horrible.

“When we emailed, she never mentioned a thing about any problems and only said positive things about the staff and children because I asked her.

“She was just having a great time and said nothing negative at all.”

Miss Langworthy, an assistant headteacher, said her friend had endured a tough few years with the end of her marriage and several bereavements.

She said: “She will be absolutely petrified about her children John and Jessica and how they are coping and what they are thinking. She’ll be more worried about them.

“But obviously, she will be scared for her own safety.”

Police seized the 12in brown teddy complete with its handwritten name badge, describing it as “evidence”.

An angry group of young men was said to have gathered outside the police station where mum-of-two Gillian is being held to protest about her conduct.

The teacher – formerly deputy head of Liverpool’s Dovecot primary school – began a two-year posting in Khartoum two months ago.

Complaint

Miss Langworthy explained that Ms Gibbons had always wanted to see the world: “It was always a dream of hers.

"Gillian is such a traveller and wanted to increase her knowledge of different cultures and countries and every year would go on mad explorations.

“She always said she fancied teaching abroad.

“She was just fascinated by Sudan and wanted to learn more about their culture and experience life there - which is just Gillian down to a T.

“I think this will knock her confidence horrendously. I am really worried about how it will affect her."

Miss Langworthy said her “inspirational teacher” friend would be “devastated that she has insulted and offended anyone” with “an innocent mistake”.

She was arrested at her home on the school site even though no parents objected to the bear’s name.

It is thought another teacher, said to belong to a conservative Khartoum family, made a complaint.

An item on the Sudanese Media Centre website – closely linked to the nation’s government – reported Gillian could be prosecuted under “faith and religions” legislation.

The teacher, who is estranged from her husband Peter, could also face imprisonment or a large fine.

Her case is being monitored by the British embassy in the city.

A spokesman said: “The children chose the name because it is very common here. Parents did not have a problem with it. We are in contact with the authorities here and they have visited her. She is in good condition.”

The school was set up by Christian groups but also welcomes Muslim pupils. Director Robert Boulos said Gillian “is timid, polite and the children love her”.

The teacher’s former next-door neighbour in Liverpool said she would be going through hell.

Peter Sorensen, 64, added: “Gillian wouldn’t harm a fly. I’m sure she would never have done anything deliberately to insult the Muslim faith.”

Gillian is a keen traveller and is pictured on her MySpace web page with a cheetah and locals during a trip to Kenya. She told pals she hoped to use Sudan as a base to “indulge my wanderlust”.

Her children Jessica, 27, and John, 25, would not comment last night. A relative said: “They do not want to aggravate the situation.”

From The Daily Mail:

A North Korean factory boss accused of making international phone calls was executed by a firing squad in front of 150,000 people, it emerged today.

The manager was gunned down in a sports stadium in South Pyongan province after authorities claimed he'd installed 13 in a basement to reach the outside world, the Good Friends aid agency revealed.

And six people were also crushed to death and 34 others injured in an apparent stampede as they left after the execution, it was claimed.

The factory chief's death last month came as executions in the communist dictatorship began increasing after a seven-year decline in the number of people publicly killed.

North Korea had faced a barrage of international criticism over claims it has executed many innocent people.

Its citizens are banned from communicating with the outside world, part of the regime's authoritarian policies seeking to prevent any challenge to the iron-fisted rule of Kim Jong Il.



The North has carried out four other similar public executions by firing squad against regional officials and heads of factories in recent months, Good Friends revealed.

"It is aimed at educating (North Koreans) to control society and prevent crimes," the group's head Venerable Pomnyun said in a press conference.

Good Friends gave no exact figures of the public executions this year, although the group has a good reputation as previous reports of what was happening in the country have later been confirmed.

Its report came a week after a UN General Assembly committee adopted a draft resolution expressing "very serious concern" at reports of widespread human rights violations in North Korea, including public executions.

The resolution, co-sponsored by more than 50 countries including the United States and many other Western nations, was sent to the 192-member General Assembly for a final vote.

The North has condemned the draft, saying it was inaccurate and biased.

The communist country insists it does not violate human rights, but it has long been accused of imposing the death penalty for political reasons, holding thousands in prison camps, torturing border-crossers and severely restricting freedom of expression and religion.

From the UK's Daily Mail

Had Toni Vernelli gone ahead with her pregnancy ten years ago, she would know at first hand what it is like to cradle her own baby, to have a pair of innocent eyes gazing up at her with unconditional love, to feel a little hand slipping into hers - and a voice calling her Mummy.

But the very thought makes her shudder with horror.

Because when Toni terminated her pregnancy, she did so in the firm belief she was helping to save the planet.

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Toni Vernelli

Desperate measures: Toni Vernelli was steralised at age 27 to reduce her carbon footprint

Incredibly, so determined was she that the terrible "mistake" of pregnancy should never happen again, that she begged the doctor who performed the abortion to sterilise her at the same time.

He refused, but Toni - who works for an environmental charity - "relentlessly hunted down a doctor who would perform the irreversible surgery.

Finally, eight years ago, Toni got her way.

At the age of 27 this young woman at the height of her reproductive years was sterilised to "protect the planet".



Incredibly, instead of mourning the loss of a family that never was, her boyfriend (now husband) presented her with a congratulations card.

While some might think it strange to celebrate the reversal of nature and denial of motherhood, Toni relishes her decision with an almost religious zeal.

"Having children is selfish. It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet," says Toni, 35.

"Every person who is born uses more food, more water, more land, more fossil fuels, more trees and produces more rubbish, more pollution, more greenhouse gases, and adds to the problem of over-population."

While most parents view their children as the ultimate miracle of nature, Toni seems to see them as a sinister threat to the future.

Continue reading this article here.

Check out the videos made for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama here.

Also, here's an article about the videos from Newsweek, featuring some reactions from a couple of vacuous asswipes that didn't realize it was a joke.

Dennis Kucinich might be one the most supremely frightening individuals on Earth, much less among the contendors for the Democratic nomination for the 2008 Presidential election. His policy proposals range from unrealistic to criminally irresponsible, and his gnomish good looks conjure images of a bastard love-child between Vladimir Lenin and Zelda Rubinstein (the chunky medium from Poltergeist).

That being said, you just have to love the guy. First of all, he is a recalcitrant Communist. While his colleagues in the American Left retreat from words like "liberal" and "redistribution," he happily embraces them in his own unique heart-warming, carefree woodland creature kind of way. If you caught any of the debates, his mainstay for reform in almost every arena is "take out the profit motive." Brilliant.

Being a curious type of guy, I often wondered what Representative Kucinich got up to when he wasn't making hats out of tinfoil and worrying about his Lucky Charms. As it turns out, he spends a great deal of time with Shirley McClaine:

For those who were wondering, Rep. Dennis Kucinich confirmed at Tuesday night's debate that yes, he has, in fact, seen an unidentified flying object.

"Shirley MacLaine writes in her new book that you sighted a UFO over her home in Washington state," Russert said, "that you found the encounter extremely moving, that it was a triangular craft, silent and hovering, that you "felt a connection to your heart and heard directions in your mind."

Kucinich said yes, all of that was true.



And he defended it as a solid policy position. More Americans have seen UFO's, Kucinich quipped, than approve of Bush's presidency. He deadpanned that he plans to open campaign offices in Roswell, New Mexico.

Perhaps more than anyone else in the current political arena, I'd love to have a beer with this dude, or since he probably doesn't drink beer (on account of evil, profit driven breweries and their oppressive labor practices) maybe some yerba mate' tea or something, and just get to know how this little man's brain works. I imagine it's like the the Keebler Elves' cookie factory, only there are propaganda posters on the wall and they're all wearing dull, gray uniforms.

After a long hiatus, and a minor overhaul, The Salt Makers is back in working order. I hope any and all who would like to post topics for discussion will do so by simply clicking the 'email' link in the header.

As always, any subject is open for discussion, any questions, and statements are welcomed and will be answered swiftly and (we can hope) with a moderate amount of respect.

As always, if you wish to become a regular contributor, a simple request to that effect will exact for you access to the blogger account and unfettered ability to post anything at anytime.

I also invite any and all to email with comments about the new look, suggestions for possible improvements, or for a new topic for the opinion poll.