Briton jailed for four years in Dubai after customs find cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe

A father-of-three who was found with a microscopic speck of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes has been sentenced to four years in a Dubai prison.

Keith Brown, a council youth development officer, was travelling through the United Arab Emirates on his way back to England when he was stopped as he walked through Dubai's main airport.

A search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just 0.003g - so small it would be invisible to the naked eye and weighing less than a grain of sugar - on the tread of one of his shoes.

"Bugs are crawling out of his mattress when he's sleeping. His family are frantic with worry and can't call him."

What is the role of religion in politics? Why are the presidential candidates even allowed to talk about religion?

Religion is being exploited as a device to win well-funded and outspoken demographic groups who add weight to debates -- disproportionate to their size -- on whatever their special interests happen to dictate. With the exception of Buddhism, religions usually specify an in-group to the exclusion of a much larger majority -- is this not fundamentally undemocratic (for me, this alone sets off alarm bells)? This is the same tool used to cut funding from stem-cell research. Why should we allow them to keep it in the shed? The majority will poll as supporting this and that, but the majority isn't going to get it so long as politicians are allowed to openly appeal to disproportionately influential groups. The only way to restore to this divide is to cut religion out of politics altogether, as it should be.

It's obvious that the EU doesn't like George Bush, and for good reason. Why then are heads of state so restrained in their criticism? It seems they would all stand to benefit not just by distancing themselves from Bush, but really going on the attack. It would require major flip-flopping for Blair and Merkel, especially if they took a strong stance against the occupation of Iraq, but if they were united in their opposition, would there really be any criticism to deflect? It might be an opportunity for Blair to salvage his legacy to some extent. Even though the U.S. is a key ally, they could exploit the president's unpopularity and drive a wedge between the U.S. and their unwanted leader; perhaps they could even convince Bush to resign by calling for it publicly, or create a ground swell of support for impeachment. Blair has already demonstrated an ability and willingness to dispense with loyalty within his very own party. Railing against Bush would be breaking with protocol and setting new precedent, but world opinion would support it, would it not? The people of Europe would welcome this, we would welcome this -- who wouldn't welcome this?

I'm fed up with watching thoughtful diaries get trashed by users who are so ethnocentric and unquestioning in their pro-Israel stance as to label anyone who doesn't agree with them antisemitic. I had resolved not to post any diaries on anything related to the I/P conflict or antisemitism, but this morning I witnessed an attack on a perfectly reasonable, well-written diary that carried on to the point that the writer felt compelled to delete it. I don't care about my own shitty writing, but I don't want to stand by and watch better, more thoughtful, fair and balanced diaries get railed into oblivion.