Bits and bobs

Spent Sunday in Brighton, covering the new media side of the trade justice demonstration outside the Labour Party Conference. Some 6,000 demonstrators from across the UK turned up to voice their "fairer, not freer trade" message on behalf of a variety of campaigning organisations. Here is my "photomentary" of the day.

The UK has its first Islamic Bank. The Islamic Bank of Britain is based on the principles of the Sharia'a, or Islamic Law, which includes the belief that money has no intrinsic value and interest is forbidden. Money is accrued through equitable sharing of profits made through "legitimate trade and investment in assets". Fascinating.

Finally, three more things I’ve learned from the BBC this week:

1. The flatulence of sheep, cattle and other farm animals accounts for 25% of world methane emissions.
2. There are now more different kinds of cheese made in the UK than France.
3. Cancers produce certain odours, which dogs have been scientifically proven to have the ability to smell.

I'm still shaking off a cold, so I'm now going to curl up in bed and start a new book: Poppy Z. Brite's Drawing Blood.

Other links today:
+ Badly served: the isolation of country life
+ Forty years of The Sun. It actually started life as a leftwing newspaper.
+ Come on Barbie, let's go mobile. Mattel introduce Barbie with a mobile and instant messenger in India - and the mobile works!