One of the most significant factors behind Britain's stubbornly high rate of teenage pregnancy is the accelerating breakdown of the family, which leaves children from broken homes without role models to teach them about the importance of love and commitment in relationships.

Ironically, this collapse of traditional family life has been fuelled by deliberate government policies, such as the end of tax relief for married couples and the introduction of financial incentives in the welfare system for lone parents.

For make no mistake: despite what the Government might think, being brought up in a stable, domestic environment is by far the best way a child can learn about the importance of fidelity, restraint and personal responsibility.

There is no ethical basis to any of the advice given to young people about sex. In Britain, sex education is, quite literally, just words. Indeed, so powerful is this collapse of a stable moral code in Britain that youth counsellors, campaigners, teachers and ministers are now terrified about making any judgments whatsoever about an individual's behaviour. Do whatever you want, with whoever you want, whenever you want, as long as you wear a condom or take the morning-after pill. That is the thrust of most sex education for teenagers in Britain today.

Indeed, far from promoting restraint or commitment, the entire emphasis of this politically correct system is on the so- called 'sexual rights' of young people. And the dreadful consequences are there for all to see in rising rates of both teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The problem is further exacerbated by the increasing secularisation of our society. Christianity in particular has largely lost its influence, with less than 10 per cent of the population now regularly attending church.

You might say that this politically correct, nonjudgmental attitude has, in fact, become the new secular religion of our times, with any attempt to raise issues of morality now regarded as a form of heresy. THE ONLY STIGMA IN MODERN BRITAIN, IT SEEMS, IS DIRECTED AT THOSE WHO WARN AGAINST INFIDELITY, ADULTERY OR PARENTAL NEGLECT OF CHILDREN. In this brave new world, personal rights reign supreme.

Discarded plastic is known to harm seabirds and marine life, but Karen Lavender Law of the Sea Education Association said the problem in the Atlantic ocean had been 'largely ignored.' The revelations come after the results of a 22-year study were unveiled at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, US.

During the study, the longest and most extensive record of plastic marine debris in any ocean basin, SEA undergraduates collected more than 64,000 tiny bits of plastic. Scientists and students carried out 61,000 sweeps of the North Atlantic towing fine mesh nets behind a research vessel. More than half of these expeditions revealed floating pieces of plastic on the water surface.

The researchers described the sheer diversity of what they had found in this synthetic soup in a voyage blog. They wrote: 'We saw embedded in each patch a disturbing mosaic of plastic junk. We grabbed our nets and began fishing furiously, amassing a pile of bottle caps, shotgun shells, crates, toothbrushes, a boxer's mouthpiece, and myriad unidentifiable chunks floating by, gently pulsating with the ocean's currents.' Dr Lavender Law said that most of the pieces of plastic were generally very small - about one centimetre across, and were accumulating fairly far north in the Atlantic.

The researchers wrote on their voyage blog: 'There is no doubt in our minds that the Pacific plastic plague is not an isolated phenomenon, but an International problem. We've seen plastic trash covering beaches in Bermuda, carried from the mainland by the Gulf Stream. We've seen broken down fragments in our trawls after sieving the ocean's surface and we've now seen mini "islands" of plastic trash entangled in Sargassum (seaweed).'

A report by an Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity said that the judiciary has historically drawn its membership from well educated, middle-class, white, male barristers. It said that despite increasing numbers of women and ethnic minorities in the legal profession, this had been reflected only slowly in appointments to the judiciary.

The report said it was wrong for members of the judiciary to be drawn from a "narrow and homogenous group" that does not reflect the society it serves. Just one in five judges sitting in courts in England and Wales are women and less than 5 per cent are from ethnic minority groups. Only 3 of the 163 most senior judges sitting in the High Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal are from minority groups.

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, said: "I warmly welcome their findings and their recommendations. Becoming a judge must be, and must be seen to be, open in practice to everyone with the right skills and qualities."

At 10am US Eastern Time, he will host an all-day "summit", broadcast live on nationwide TV, with his Republican congressional opponents and his wayward Democratic supporters, to try to establish some kind of political consensus on the top priority of his presidency - reform of the ruinously expensive US healthcare system. Medicine now absorbs 17 per cent of US national income, double the average in other advanced economies and half as much again as Switzerland, which has the next most expensive healthcare.

If nothing is done to change the US healthcare system, it can be stated with mathematical certainty that the US Government and many leading US companies will be driven into bankruptcy, a fate that befell General Motors and Chrysler largely because of their inability to meet retired workers' contractually guaranteed medical costs.

Today's summit represents Mr Obama's last chance to find a way forward, either by shaming some Republicans into supporting him or by embarrassing his own perennially divided Democratic Party into uniting around a single plan. If he is unable to do this, he will have almost no chance of passing any significant legislation on any other issue - not on energy, budgetary responsibility, macroeconomic management or even on such seemingly popular issues as bank regulation and jobs.

In short, Mr Obama has staked his entire presidency on today's summit. If you are not convinced, just listen to the President's own radio broadcast last weekend: "What's being tested in the healthcare summit is not just our ability to solve this one problem, but our ability to solve any problem." Consider what three years without effective government in Washington could mean, not only for America but for the entire Western world.

The escalating dispute came as a general strike in Greece spilled over into violent clashes between hooded youths and riot police in Athens. Chants of "burn the banks" are a foretaste of tensions once austerity measures bite in earnest later this year. Public and private sector unions joined forces to bring the country to a standstill for 24 hours, halting flights, trains, and shipping, and shutting schools and hospitals.

Theodoros Pangalos, deputy prime minister, said Germany had no right to reproach Greece for anything after it devastated the country under the Nazi occupation, which left 300,000 dead. "They took away the gold that was in the Bank of Greece, and they never gave it back. They shouldn't complain so much about stealing and not being very specific about economic dealings," he told the BBC.

Twisting the knife further, he said the current crop of EU leaders were of "very poor quality" and had botched this month's crisis summit in Brussels. "The people who are managing the fortunes of Europe were not up to the task," he said. One banker said the situation was surreal. "How can they call the Germans incompetent Nazis and still expect a bail-out?"

Despite Britain's close alliance with the US, the Obama Administration is determined not to be drawn into the issue. It has also declined to back Britain's claim that oil exploration near the islands is sanctioned by international law, saying that the dispute is strictly a bilateral issue.

Argentina appealed to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, last night to intervene in the dispute, a move Britain adamantly opposes. "The Secretary-General knows about the issue. He is not happy to learn that the situation is worsening," Jorge Taiana, the Argentine Foreign Minister, said after meeting Mr Ban in New York. "We have asked the Secretary-General, within the framework of his good offices, to stress to Britain the need to abstain from further unilateral acts." A top UN aide acknowledged, however, that Mr Ban would not be able to mediate because of Britain's opposition.

Sir Mark Lyall Grant, Britain's Ambassador to the UN, said: "As British ministers have made clear, the UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands ... We are also clear that the Falkland Islands Government is entitled to develop a hydrocarbons industry within its waters, and we support this legitimate business in Falklands' territory."

Senior US officials insisted that Washington's position on the Falklands was one of longstanding neutrality. This is in stark contrast to the public backing and vital intelligence offered by President Reagan to Margaret Thatcher once she had made the decision to recover the islands by force in 1982.

"Violent Islamic terrorism ... was part and parcel of the Fort Hood killings," Napolitano told the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday morning. "There is violent Islamic terrorism, be it Al Qaeda in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen or anywhere else, [and] that is indeed a major focus of this department and its efforts."

In the months since an Army psychiatrist - who had been in contact with a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen - opened fired inside the Army base, many on Capitol Hill have urged administration officials to publicly identify the attack as terrorism. Those calls have been used by Republicans and others to paint administration officials as weak on terrorism and subsequently unwilling to use the word "terrorism."

During the Senate hearing on Wednesday morning, Senator Joe Lieberman, the Homeland Security Committee's chairman, called the administration's "reluctance" to use terms such as "Islamist extremism" or "Muslim terrorist" a "pet peeve of mine." He said his "concern" about the issue was "aroused again" when an internal Pentagon review of the events leading up to the attack by Army Major Nidal Hasan on November 5, 2009, never used such terms.

Napolitano has often used the word "terrorism," including several times during her Senate confirmation hearing more than a year ago. But she, like others in the Obama Administration, has rarely referred to "Islamic terrorism."

But a string of allegations about coup plots by the military - and this week's arrest and formal indictment of seven senior military officers, including four admirals, a general and two colonels - have brought these tensions to a new level. They raise fundamental questions about whether peaceful cohabitation is possible between the staunchly secular military and a governing party with Islamist roots. And for Turkey's Western allies, they raise troubling questions about where the country could be heading.

If Mr Erdogan presses the issue even harder, this will strengthen the view of his critics that he is out to settle scores and is becoming increasingly authoritarian. But, as they watch their power and credibility eroding, the generals find themselves in a bind. To wage a war of attrition against the AKP, which has already won two convincing election victories, could simply ensure it wins a third.

There is no credible political rival on the horizon. Besides, the current chief of the Turkish general staff, the widely respected General Ilker Basbug, says coups are a thing of the past. Still clinging to its traditional role as guardian of the nation, but aware the tide of history is moving against it, the Turkish military finds itself at an uncomfortable crossroads.

Prince Ahwaleed has been buying his anti Semitic and Muslim way right into American life. Let us review just how generous he is a moment. He purchased a 5.6% stake in News Corp in 2005, second from the top now. He manipulated Islamic study departments into place by giving $20 million each to Georgetown and Harvard Universities. Ahwaleed is a man who gave $500,000 to CAIR, Council on American Islamic Relations, and then there is the mother load of $27 million in 2002 to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. Naturally, he called them 'martyrs.'

He is not a man of mystery in any way. Before he jumped in bed with Murdoch and his son James, he revealed his true heart on Arab News. Just some of the things he said were: "Arabs should focus more on penetrating US public opinion as a means to influencing decision making" rather than boycotting US products... Arab news stated "Arab countries can influence US decision making if they unite through economic interest, not political... We have to be logical and understand that the US administration is subject to US public opinion."

What ever happened to the tough guys on Fox taking on Islamic radicals? No one can truly say just how this Muslim control influences Fox, yet Alwaleed bragged if you recall, saying he had called Fox to make sure their coverage of the Muslim riots in France weren't described as 'Muslim' riots in France. I remember that! Fox never has denied this by the way. By the way, THEY DID TALK ABOUT THOSE RIOTS IN MUTED WAYS BUT YES, THE RIOTS WERE NOTHING BUT MUSLIM RIOTS!

I am all for capitalism and fair commerce, but does it really protect our freedom of speech and the truth in media, especially in a time of war with Muslim radicals, when our most conservative network FOX is largely controlled by a rich Muslim who wants control? Are they completely on drugs or is it us who are on drugs for slowly allowing ourselves to boil in water while the temperature keeps getting higher.

Attorney Mario Apuzzo said his background information in the case confirms that two US Supreme Court decisions reveal the definition for "natural born citizen" is found not in the Constitution but in common law. "We maintain that Obama is not an Article II 'natural born citizen' because he lacks unity of citizenship and allegiance from birth which is obtained when a child is born in the United States to a mother and father who are both United States citizens at the time of birth," he said.

"Obama's father was only a temporary visitor to the United States when Obama was born and never even became a resident let alone a citizen. Not being an Article II 'natural born citizen,' Obama is not eligible to be president and commander in chief," he said. The appeal further challenges that not only might Obama not be a "natural born citizen," he might not even be in the United States legally. "If Obama was not born in the United States, there exists a possibility that Obama could be an illegal alien," it states.

Adding fuel to the fire is Obama's persistent refusal to release documents that could provide answers and the appointment - at a cost confirmed to be at least $1.7 million - of myriad lawyers to defend against all requests for his documentation. While his supporters cite an online version of a "Certification of Live Birth" from Hawaii as his birth verification, critics point out such documents actually were issued for children not born in the state.

WND also has reported that among the documentation not yet available for Obama includes his kindergarten records, Punahou school records, Occidental College records, Columbia University records, Columbia thesis, Harvard Law School records, Harvard Law Review articles, scholarly articles from the University of Chicago, passport, medical records, files from his years as an Illinois state senator, his Illinois State Bar Association records, any baptism records and his adoption records.

The "certification of live birth" posted online and widely touted as "Obama's birth certificate" does not in any way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same "short-form" document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true "long-form" birth certificate - which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician - is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny.

Oddly, though congressional hearings were held to determine whether Senator John McCain was constitutionally eligible to be president as a "natural born citizen," no controlling legal authority ever sought to verify Obama's claim to a Hawaiian birth.

The FDIC's so-called problem bank list jumped to 702 institutions in the fourth quarter, up from 552 in the third quarter, putting further pressure on the agency's already strained insurance fund, which ran a deficit of $21 billion for 2009. Not since 1993 have so many institutions been on the FDIC's list, although the industry does appear to be on the mend.

"Consistent with a recovering economy, we saw signs of improvement in industry performance," said FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair in a statement. "But as we have said before, recovery in the banking industry tends to lag behind the economy, as the industry works through its problem assets."

Banks swung to a small profit in the most recent quarter, earning $914 million, versus a loss of $37.8 billion in the final quarter of 2008. Most of that improvement was driven by large banks, the FDIC said, although for the first time in three years, more than half of federally insured institutions reported increases in profit compared to a year earlier. "It's not that this was a strong quarter; it's simply that everything was so bad a year ago," Bair said.

New data from First American CoreLogic shows why the solution to the problem banks face is so difficult to find. Eleven million, three hundred thousand homes had underwater mortgages as of the fourth quarter of last year. That number represents 24% of all residential home loans in America.The mortgage numbers are much worse when homes with equity of less than 5% are included.

First American reports that "an additional 2.3 million mortgages were approaching negative equity at the end of last year, meaning they had less than five percent equity." THAT MEANS THAT THREE OUT OF TEN HOMES HAVE VIRTUALLY NO FINANCIAL VALUE TO THEIR OWNERS. The pressure that the home value trouble puts on banks is clear. The aggregate dollar value of negative equity was $801 billion at the end of last year, up $55 billion from $746 billion in Q3 2009.

People who believe there is no hope of their homes ever having any economic value are more likely to default on mortgages, especially in an environment where unemployed and under-employed people make up 17% of the total available workforce nationwide. Many homeowners are as concerned about their employment future as they are about the value of their houses.

The difficulties that face small and mid-sized banks, which ultimately are a problem for the FDIC, are to a large extent still a fallout of the deteriorating real estate sector. The underwater mortgage problem is still growing and that almost certainly means bank closings will be high again this year as well.

But when CAIR is exposed as a terrorist front group, an unindicted terrorist co-conspirator, a haven for more than a dozen men already indicted or convicted of terrorism charges, the media go silent. It's astonishing. What causes this double standard so big a blind sheikh could see it in the dark?

The fact of Saudi influence in the US press.

Saudi Arabia is a totalitarian country where it is illegal to be anything other than a Sunni Muslim. For those who like Sharia law, Saudi Arabia is the model. All the churches and synagogues were destroyed long ago. The once-thriving Jewish communities were slaughtered hundreds of years ago. It's not even legal for non-Muslims to enter the "holy city" of Mecca.

Saudi Arabian money funds most of the mosques in the US today. It's also responsible for spreading the fanatical jihadist ideology throughout the world. And it also writes the checks that keep CAIR afloat. At the same time, Saudis are investing increasingly large amounts in media enterprises the American people depend upon to give them their news.

Do you think you can get "fair and balanced" news about the Middle East, about the Islamo-fascist terrorist threat, about stealthy jihadist operations inside the US from a media thoroughly compromised by Saudi petro-dollars?

The proportion of people, questioned in a survey by Ipsos Mori, who believe climate change is 'definitely' a reality has dropped from 44 per cent to 31 per cent in the last year. The poll of 1,000 people also found a significant drop in those who said climate change was caused by human activities. Last year, one in three people believed it was caused by people. Now just one in five hold this conviction.

Coupled with higher prices for energy and other goods, this decrease will make it harder to persuade the public to support action to curb the problem. Edward Langley, Ipsos Mori's head of environment research, said the results suggest that it will be harder to get individuals to reduce their carbon emissions.

'It's going to have be a hard sell to make people make changes to their behaviour unless there's something else in it for them - such as energy efficiency measures saving money on fuel bills. It's a hard sell to tell people not to fly off for weekends away if you're not wholly convinced by the links. Even people who are convinced still do it.' he told the Guardian.

The poll follows two months of allegations which claimed climate scientists might have manipulated and withheld data. Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, recently called on the public to ignore the 'siren voices' of climate sceptics. He last night said the Ipsos Mori poll illustrated the scale of the task of building public support for action.

But opposition politicians branded his plans a 'terrific muddle' after he insisted faith schools would still be free to teach pupils that contraception and homosexuality were wrong. The row centres on proposals to make sex and relationships education compulsory in primary and secondary schools. Last week, critics accused Mr Balls of performing a 'last minute' U-turn by tabling an amendment to his controversial Bill making clear that faith schools would be able to teach about issues such as contraception, abortion and homosexuality within the tenets of their religion.

But on Monday it emerged that such schools will be required to teach pupils about abortion in a 'non-judgmental way' and tell them about a range of contraception options even though their faith may not condone sex before marriage.

The Children, Schools and Families Bill was going through its final Commons stages last night. Under current laws, secondary schools must teach sex education but the elements they must cover are not laid down. Parents have a legal right to withdraw their children from sex education until the age of 19. Primary schools do not have to offer it at all. Under the changes, sex and relationships education will become mandatory for five to 16-year-olds.

Lessons in the first three years of secondary school will cover sexually-transmitted diseases, contraception, pregnancy, abortion and the importance of stable relationships such as marriage and civil partnerships. Parents will be able to withdraw their children on moral and religious grounds but will lose the right on their 15th birthdays. The Catholic Education Service said it had 'secured' last week's amendment afterwards and was now supportive of the Bill.