Even sharing a tough group with Holland, Latvia and old rivals Germany is unlikely to dampen their spirits.

“In Euro 96 we were in a group with Germany, Russia and Italy, and we still reached the final,” former goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek told BBC Sport.

“The very high this time. I’d tip them to reach the last four.”

Certainly an impressive show in Portugal could wipe out memories of recent and return the Czechs to the glory days of eight years ago.

It was at Euro 96 that the side announced their arrival on the scene following the break up of Czechoslovakia with their sensational surge to the final.

People know and respect Bruckner in the Czech Republic because he’s kind of like Bobby Robson is to England Pavel Srnicek

But four years later, the team failed to live up to their debut success, exiting the tournament in the group stages.

“Actually we had a hard group - France, Holland and Denmark,” recalled Srnicek, who was wearing the number one shirt at the time.

“The first game we played was against Holland and we lost on a last minute penalty, which was upsetting.

“The next game we lost 2-1 to France and the tournament was over. We beat Denmark in our last game, but that was the only thing we could take away from the Championship.”

More disappointment followed when the Czechs failed to make it to the 2002 World Cup, but Karel Bruckner’s appointment as coach has signalled a return to winning ways.

A fantastic 17-match unbeaten streak followed, enabling them to become one of the first teams to reach Portugal and condemning qualifying group rivals Holland to a play-off.

Nedved is just one of many stars boosting the Czech’s chances

“People know and respect Bruckner in the Czech Republic because he’s kind of like Bobby Robson is to England,” added the former Czech star, now at West Ham.

“He’s a very good tactician and he always gives a chance to younger players. He brought in players from the under 21 squad to help the team build for the future.

“This has paid off because all those players are doing well at the moment and he mixes it up with the experienced players too, like Pavel Nedved, Karel Poborsky.”

As well as mixing youth with experience, there is also a pleasing blend of steel and technique in the team, but it still remains to be seen whether the Czechs can upset the form books against their old foes Germany.

The two sides have their fair share of history together, dating back to 1976 when Czechoslovakia beat the West Germans on penalties to lift their first and only European Championship title.

Just 20 years later, Germany had their revenge, denying the Czechs a second title after Oliver Bierhoff’s golden goal.

“There’s always some passion because we feel whatever those Germans do, they always do well at this tournament, even when they have a bad qualifying campaign.

“Obviously with all this history, it all comes back to you when you play them. We want to give them something back.”

Original article ‘’

The poster, by Bangor-based Ltd, promised: “You could be meeting someone tonight.” The words, “over 18s only” were featured in the small print.

The Advertising Standards Authority said it was possibly “irresponsible”.

It was “concerned” the poster could imply it was “acceptable for young people to make dates with strangers”.

It was spotted by a member of the public near a local swimming pool, cinema and a fast food restaurant.

Upholding the complaint, the advertising watchdog ruled that the poster could contain a more sinister message

It ruled: “The Authority concluded the poster was likely to be seen to condone or encourage irresponsible behaviour and told the not to use the approach again.”

The posters depicted a bikini-clad woman sitting by a swimming pool with a mobile phone while three men looked on. All posters have now been removed.

Nicknames

Textandmeet said users communicated with each other using nicknames and did not exchange numbers.

It said all messages between users were by an employee who removed contact details before the user’s age was verified.

Safety tips were sent and messages could be blocked, it added.

Textandmeet claimed users who wished to meet were referred to another service which verified their ages.

Read source on

From behind the normally silent walls of the Imperial Palace, came a noise that the Japanese had never heard before.

It was a cry from the Crown princess, and she was not happy. OK not literally. But the message emerged - and it hasn’t been contradicted - that she was frustrated, depressed even. Here was a modern woman trapped by unrealistic expectations dating from a bygone era.

More striking still is that in Japan, she appears not to be alone. Women are growing increasingly restive, no longer prepared to tolerate the submissive role that tradition dictates. They are rejecting duty and motherhood in their millions; the birth-rate is plummeting and the masters, the men, don’t know what to do.

Jonathan Head reported.

JONATHAN HEAD:
Junko Tameda is taking her first steps in flamenco. Like most of the other students here, she is a professional in her 30s, and she’s single. There is a boom in Latin dance as women seek an escape from the stifling formality of everyday life. Japan is going through a social revolution, driven by women like Junko, who are turning their backs on marriage and stamping out their own lives, free of the burden of motherhood. At the age of 32, Junko still lives with her parents. So many unmarried men and women are doing this in Japan, they have coined the term “parasite single” to describe them. Junko doesn’t see herself as a parasite, though - just a young woman choosing to spend her time and money on the finer things in life. Over lunch, the family discuss her most recent holiday in New York. She loves travelling.

JUNKO TAMEDA:
[TRANSLATION]

I have worked hard to build up my freelance business as a graphic designer. I see myself as a success, so why should I be dissatisfied? I never had a strong desire to be married in my 20s, and I feel exactly the same way now.

HEAD:
Junko’s parents once dreamed of a wedding and a handsome husband. Now they seem resigned to having their eldest child living with them indefinitely.

SHIGEKO TAMEDA:
[TRANSLATION]

I was very young when I got married, because that’s what women were expected to do back then. My parents were conservative and they wanted to see me married by a certain age. That was my upbringing, but Junko has chosen to focus on her career and I can see it gives her great fulfilment.

KIYOSHI TAMEDA:
[TRANSLATION]

Marriage is a natural thing, in my view. If she meets someone suitable, she may still get married. If she finds a boyfriend, and perhaps six months or a year later it works out, well of course I will be happy.

HEAD:
There has been no shortage of interest from men, but Junko says none was prepared to allow her the freedoms she now enjoys. It’s been three years since her last relationship.

JUNKO TAMEDA:
[TRANSLATION]

Dating a man was fun, but when I was really keen on this one guy, and we thought about marriage, he started trying to restrict me from doing all the things I love doing. Eventually, I turned him down, and I am sure I made the right decision.

HEAD:
What’s wrong with Japanese men? Why is it so hard to find a good partner?

JUNKO TAMEDA:
[TRANSLATION]

Women these days are doing far more men’s work, that men don’t want to do anything that’s traditionally considered a woman’s role. That’s why we find it so hard to relate to each other. I can’t accept that man expects a woman to make housework a priority over her career.

HEAD:
It’s Sunday afternoon and Hiroe Shibata is snatching a few precious hours of relaxation in the fashionable where she lives, Tokyo’s equivalent of Notting Hill. Hiroe’s life is a hectic one. She is a marketing manager for a multinational drugs company and she is doing a post-graduate MBA. She too is in her 30s and single. In Japan, unmarried, childless women like her have been called “loser dogs”. She lives on her own in a tiny two-room apartment with no space even for a sofa. Her way of life is now the subject of intensive research by Japanese academics and advertisers trying to understand the lucrative single women’s market. She sees herself as a winner, not a loser.

HIROE SHIBATA:
I don’t think we are losers. We win the career. I have a career and I study for myself and that’s going to help my future, so I don’t think I am going to be a loser.

HEAD:
Does it make you angry when you hear that?

SHIBATA:
Not angry, but people think different ways. It’s a different kind of thinking. They think having a baby or getting married is a lifetime goal, but it’s not my goal. It may be a new kind of thinking but I don’t want to be tied up in the kind of traditionals. I want to be what I want to be. If it’s not necessary, I don’t want to get married.

HEAD:
The old spirit of self-sacrifice, which kept their mothers at home, has gone, replaced by a hunger for self-satisfaction. The habits of single women now support a huge market for luxury goods. Brands like Prada and Louis Vuitton run more shops here than in any other country. There are also more dogs today in Japan than children. This one is called Bebe. There is no longer any shame in living without a husband or children. Japan’s birth rate has now fallen to one of the lowest in the world. Its population is ageing and shrinking.

KEIKO AOKI:
[TRANSLATION]

When I talk to this dog, I feel like I am the mother of Bebe. When I go out, I always ask, “Do you want to come with mum?” This is my child. I think the number of women who want to have a child, but not a husband, has increased. A dog is a substitute for a child.

HEAD:
The estrangement of men and women is the subject of endless humour on the morning TV chat shows. Here a frustrated wife despairs of her worthless husband. For half a century, Japan built the world’s most successful industrial society on the back of a relentless work ethic which rigidly separated the roles of men and women. Women were tied to looking after the home and children. But the Japanese salaryman was expected to devote every waking hour to his company, even if that meant being a stranger to his own family. It’s a formula which is now being rejected by younger women in their millions, leaving the more traditionally minded men bewildered and confused. In desperation, these young men have formed a group calling themselves The Cherry Boys. A throwback to a bygone age of chivalry, they have taken a vow of chastity until they find the woman of their dreams. They are seeking solace in the romantic plot of the Puccini opera Manon Lescaut.

SHINKICHI WATANABE:
[TRANSLATION]

Women are much more forward these days. There was a time when they used to walk one step behind men. That still happened when my parents were young, but now they are racing ahead and we can’t keep up with them.

HEAD:
Why is it so difficult for guys like you to meet suitable women today in Japan?

KOICHIRO HIROTA:
[TRANSLATION]

It’s difficult. I often wonder about that myself. Perhaps I am a bit distanced from women.

TOMOYA KUMAGAI:
[TRANSLATION]

We can survive even if we don’t have girlfriends. There are a lot of alternatives available now, like the internet. In the old days, people made a real effort for love. But love just isn’t special any more.

HEAD:
There is a very different ideal of a woman which still has a pervasive hold on the mind of Japanese men. Ichimiyo is a maiko, a trainee geisha, one of a few hundred who still work in the city of Kyoto. Today she is joined by Sumie, who has come to watch her prepare for an evening serving and entertaining men. The two 16-year-olds swap make-up tips. As trainees, they live away from their families and receive only their board and lodging. A professional dresser arrives to help complete Ichimiyo’s transformation from giggling teenager to an ornamented male fantasy. In five years, she will be able to charge powerful clients thousands of pounds for just a few hours in the world of old-style deference the geishas offer. Their own view of their profession, though, is surprisingly hard-headed.

ICHIMIYO, MAIKO:
[TRANSLATION]

When I told my friends out of the blue that I was going to become a maiko, they said, “What are you talking about? Are you crazy?”

SUMIE, TRAINEE GEISHA:
[TRANSLATION]

At first, my friend, my parents and my teachers were against it, but now they are all behind me.

ICHIMIYO:
[TRANSLATION]

Our job is not just to say “yes, yes, yes”. That’s boring. Our job is to make the customers feel comfortable. I think the image of us as submissive is a wrong one.

HEAD:
Marriage seems to be going out of fashion here in Japan. Is that true of other girls your age?

ICHIMIYO:
[TRANSLATION]

I don’t know why. Do you know?

SUMIE:
[TRANSLATION]

People just want to do their own thing these days.

ICHIMIYO:
[TRANSLATION]

I think maybe women are stronger now.

HEAD:
Geishas for many men still embody perfect feminine qualities of grace and compliance. No wonder so many male politicians then can’t work out why modern women are rejecting marriage. The government has several action plans promoting childcare, paternity leave and shorter working hours, but they are not taken seriously by a public which has heard a former prime minister tell women to stay at home and breed.

HIROKO MIZUSHIMA MP
DEMOCRATIC PARTY:
They still think that if mothers stay home, they can make more babies. I think actually they are not so interested in this issue. Well, suddenly they are shocked by the birth rate, and they think Japanese people will diminish or disappear, and suddenly they get panicked, but usually they are not interested in those things.

HEAD:
That view is shared by millions of Japanese. On this issue, the government has a serious credibility problem.

TAKUMI NEMOTO MP
COUNCIL FOR BIRTHRATE DECLINE:
[TRANSLATION]

We know the declining birth rate is very serious. I have been working on it for ten years, so it’s a pity if people misunderstand what the government is trying to do. I think our policies have got better over the years, but it’s important that we present them more clearly to the public.

HEAD:
The toughest challenge will be changing Japan’s working culture. These men have given years of loyal service to their companies. Now they are trying to make the difficult adjustment from office to home. Recently retired salarymen are called “fallen wet leaves” by their wives because they are so useless at home. Divorce rates are rising faster in this age group than any other.

TOSHIMITSU HONDA:
[TRANSLATION]

You see, if you only say, “Dinner, bath and bed” after you come home from work, your wife will run away from you.

HEAD:
Is your wife very pleased that you are learning to cook?

NOBORU MOCHIZUKI:
Yes, and she respects me because she thinks independence is important for the future life.

HEAD:
The yawning gulf that exists between modern Japanese women and male values is being mirrored by an drama being played out here at the Imperial Palace. Behind these fortress-like walls, an independent-minded Crown Princess is battling against the Royal household’s very traditional expectations of her as a woman. She was married into the Royal Family to produce an heir, and she has. The trouble is only men can occupy this antiquated throne and Princess Masako has been under intense pressure from the Palace to have a son. The Oxford and Harvard-educated diplomat is said to be isolated and suffering from depression. The government has now been forced to think the unthinkable - the possibility of allowing a woman to succeed the throne. Japan’s women are better educated than they have ever been. They want more from a society that’s one of the wealthiest in the world. They want fun, they want freedom, and they want to avoid the kinds of marriages their mothers had. No room for marriage right now?

SHIBATA:
No.

HEAD:
Or children?

SHIBATA:
No.

HEAD:
Traditions are being challenged here like never before. Women are leading the way, and waiting for the men to catch up.

WATANABE:
[TRANSLATION]

I live on my own, so I have learned how to cook. I like cleaning my home. It may sound a bit arrogant, but I think I would make a good husband!

HEAD:
Unless there’s a meeting of minds between Japanese women and men over how they live and bring up a family together, the population will age, and it will fall. Japan’s hard-won economic achievements could also be lost.

This transcript was produced from the teletext subtitles that are generated live for Newsnight. It has been checked against the programme as broadcast, however Newsnight can accept no responsibility for any factual inaccuracies. We will be happy to correct serious errors.

Read source of it on the site

“It’s been opportunity for us to fulfil some of our aspirations as Muslims and learn some new things that are going on with our religion,” said Abdul Fatai Adisa, a delegate from Merrillville, Indiana.

Many of the sessions touched on issues related to women in Islam and in American society. On the eve of the convention, Ingrid Mattson, a Canadian convert to Islam, was elected as Isna’s new president, making her the first woman to hold the role.

“The election has huge symbolic importance,” said Edina Lekovic, a delegate based in Los Angeles with the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

“It opens doors for communities who would otherwise not consider having women in leadership positions and I think it sends an important message to those more conservative elements within the American Muslim community.

“It’s a signal to the establishment.”

Focus on the media

On the first day of the convention, Ms Mattson held a news conference in which she criticised President George W Bush’s use of the term “Islamic fascism” when describing the enemy in the “war on terror”.

We don’t value the idea of communicating properly Firas Ahmad Islamica magazine

“This is a term that had very bad resonance in the Muslim majority world and makes us feel uncomfortable,” she said. “We’re hoping there can be some adjustment to this language.”

It was not just the who came under scrutiny.

The criticism of the way in which Muslims are portrayed in the American media was also an important theme at the convention.

“Media Islam is the result of a one-sided of Islam that is represented to us in a solitary, cliched and vicious way,” said former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami in a keynote speech.

And some delegates agreed.

“I think the media portrayal of the crises around the world, many of which are dominated by Muslims, usually tends to accentuate the negative,” said Dr Hesham Hassaballa, a columnist and author.

“If it bleeds, it leads. And so, a Muslim woman holding a candle praying for peace is not as newsworthy as a Muslim driving a truck bomb into a building.”

‘Sheer curiosity’

Dr Hassaballa also said that as the five-year anniversary of the 11 September attacks approached, Muslims in the US had to grapple more than ever with campaigns of against them.

“There are websites and pundits and commentators which disseminate misinformation about Islam, and they’re becoming very sophisticated and very savvy and they give an air of credibility that they don’t deserve,” he said.

Khatami’s visit has upset Jewish groups and some lawmakers

But Firas Ahmad, senior editor with the Islamic magazine, Islamica, said the Muslim community also needed do better at selling itself to the US public.

“We don’t value the idea of communicating properly,” he said.

“We have stories to tell that can connect with mainstream Americans. If they knew them, we’d become a little more human instead of the dehumanising effect of terrorism.

“We need to tell our story in a way that is compelling and only when we do that will these perceptions of the Muslim communities be diminished and a more accurate portrayal be available.”

But not everyone was downbeat.

Ann Siddique from Albany, New York, had a more optimistic take on things. The 25-year-old converted to Islam a few years ago after becoming interested in the religion.

“The main things I get from non-Muslim people are questions,” she said.

“Just sheer curiosity, and so it’s fortunate that a lot of people want to learn and are willing to ask questions - and seek the truth.”

Source article

Ask the same question today and the answer may very well be “why wouldn’t he”.

Indeed, according to the Mirror’s reports of a leaked memo from New Labour’s chief strategist, Lord Gould, it is something Mr Brown is .

The memo, written before Mr Brown became prime minister, reveals much of the style and approach Mr Brown has brought to the job was mapped out long beforehand and he appears to have pretty much stuck to the plan.

The key section, which has added to fever, states: “We have to have a strategy of audacious advance. The best way of achieving this is to hold an early election after a short period of intense and compelling activity. A kind of ’shock and awe strategy’ blasting through the opposition and blasting us to the mid-40 per-cents.”

It comes form the same man who wrote the memo saying Tony Blair should leave Downing Street with the crowds begging for more and it seems to accurately predict precisely what is now happening.

The Tories are distracting themselves with a bout of internal sniping and blood-letting as David Cameron’s opinion poll ratings slide.

Autumn poll risks

Meanwhile the “new” prime minister is enjoying a predicted bounce in the polls and is offering what appears to be a popular, more serious and less glitzy approach to and just that period of “intense and
compelling activity”.

If Britain went to the polls today, a fourth Labour victory with around double the current majority is what the current opinion surveys suggest as the likely outcome.

So, after a good summer holiday during which, knowing Mr Brown, he will never stop calculating and planning, could he return in September and, shortly afterwards, spring a general election?

It may look enticing, but there are some real risks in going for an autumn poll.

There are historical examples of prime ministers either going early or waiting, and suffering as a result - Labour’s Clem Atlee in 1951 (early)
and Jim Callaghan in 1979 (late) and the Tories’ Ted Heath in 1974 (early).

But they probably don’t offer any real insights - other than how
unpredictable this game is - as conditions are always entirely different.

Begging bowls

So Mr Brown will be calculating from scratch. And one of the first
obstacles is the relatively mundane yet vital issue of cash.

Labour is currently some 26 million in the red and, thanks to the
affair, donors have been reluctant to cough up.

That black cloud may be passing, and party officials are already out and
about with their begging bowls.

One way or another, should Gordon go for it, the money would be there.

And if the campaign was genuinely limited to three weeks, with fewer
hugely expensive stunts and more soap box campaigning, that may be a
welcome change from a party committed to getting back in touch with the
voters.

Similarly, there are problems getting the local and national party
machines, currently stripped back to the bone, in fighting shape.

That too is not an insurmountable problem but could give Mr Brown’s
party advisers reason to urge a delay until next spring - still seen as
the most likely time for an early election. The autumn would all be a
bit of a

scramble.

David Cameron had his own ‘bounce’ when he became Tory leader

But then, putting the case for the autumn, there is the simple fact that
the bounce may just stop.

This sort of political honeymoon is pretty fragile and can be based
almost entirely on simply having a new face on the TV every night -
David Cameron an almost identical bounce after his election
in 2005.

Mr Brown could take advantage of the bounce while being able to claim it
was only right and proper that the British people should have their say
on their new prime minister.

And, let’s face it, even if he “bounced” to victory that would not
lessen the five-year mandate he would have.

Either way, what Mr Brown almost certainly will not want to do is wait
until the last moment, by which time all room for manoeuvre is closed off.

Four year tradition

The actual deadline for the next election is summer 2010, although
recent tradition from both parties suggest the “normal” time for an
election would be May 2009.

But even that may be leaving it a bit late for Mr Brown, who might well
expect to have lost a bit of bounce by then.

If he is a worrier, Mr Brown might fear not just the Tories but that
“events” may have overwhelmed the government.

It would also mean that unlike most PMs he would have spent the first
two years in office preparing for an election rather than transforming
the country in his desired direction.

So spring next year looks on the face of it to be the best option - but
clearly there are arguments for and against all the different dates and
the PM knows the virtues of keeping your opponents guessing.

Originaly from: page