Japanese monk's hip hop Buddhism

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk Kansho Tagai, Japan's famed hip-hop loving monk, better known as MC Happiness A Japanese monk in Tokyo is using rap, hip hop and chanting to bring Buddhism to a younger audience. The hip-hop loving monk, who goes by the stage name of MC Happiness, plans to add tap dancing to his repertoire as he takes to the stage in the name of Buddhism. Kansho Tagai is the head of the 400-year-old Kyoouji Temple in central Tokyo. But once in a while, he raises the volume, and the tempo, of these prayers, going before an audience to rap Buddhist sutra, or teachings, to hip hop beats and in modern Japanese. "When I listened to rap music for the first time, it was in English so I couldn't understand a word," Tagai said. "I realised that the same can be said for Buddhist sutras because most people can't understand a word. And the thing is, listening to rap music makes you feel good even though it may be incomprehensible."

Poor New Zealand student 'sells virginity

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk A poor university student in New Zealand who offered her virginity on an auction site has accepted a £20,000 offer to sleep with a stranger. Last year American student Natalie Dylan, auctioned off her virginity to fund her master's degree. Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA The 19-year-old, who has not been named or pictured, said she posted the advert to help pay for her university fees. The girl, from Northland, in New Zealand's north island, is only known by her username Unigirl. She wrote on auction site ineed.co.nz after the auction had finished at NZ$46,000: "I have accepted an offer in excess of $NZ45,000, which is way beyond what I dreamed." The student added that the advert had been viewed by more than 30,000 people and had received more than 1200 offers. She wrote: "Thank you to the more than 30,000 people who viewed my ad and to the more than 1200 offers made." In the auction she described herself as attractive, fit and healthy and that she had never been in a sexual relationship.

Money is counterproductive?

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk Austrian millionaire Karl Rabeder is giving away every penny of his £3 million fortune after realising his riches were making him unhappy. Mr Rabeder, 47, a businessman from Telfs is in the process of selling his luxury 3,455 sq ft villa with lake, sauna and spectacular mountain views over the Alps, valued at £1.4 million. Also for sale is his beautiful old stone farmhouse in Provence with its 17 hectares overlooking the arrière-pays, on the market for £613,000. Already gone is his collection of six gliders valued at £350,000, and a luxury Audi A8, worth around £44,000. "My idea is to have nothing left. Absolutely nothing," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Money is counterproductive – it prevents happiness to come." Instead, he will move out of his luxury Alpine retreat into a small wooden hut in the mountains or a simple bedsit in Innsbruck. His entire proceeds are going to charities he set up in Central and Latin America, but he will not even take a salary from these.

Zuma should seek treatment for "sex addiction"

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk South Africa's polygamous president, Jacob Zuma, yesterday publicly apologised to his family and political colleagues for fathering a child out of wedlock. Mr Zuma, 67, had already confirmed reports about the child's paternity and said he had met his "cultural obligations" to the family of the woman, who is the daughter of a friend. "It has put a lot of pressure on my family and my organisation, the African National Congress. I deeply regret the pain that I have caused to my family, the ANC, the Alliance and South Africans in general," he added. The child's mother is Sonono Khoza, the 39 year old daughter of Irvin Khoza, chairman of the World Cup local organising committee. Mr Khoza is said to feel betrayed by Mr Zuma's relationship with his daughter. Mr Zuma has now made a traditional payment of inhlawulo (damages) to the Khoza family. News of the child's birth led to controversy, with one MP suggesting that the President should seek treatment for "sex addiction".

Al-Qaeda in Yemen call for jihad

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk Said al-Shihri, the deputy chief of al-Qaeda's wing in the Yemen, has called for Muslims in the region to wage holy war against Christians and Jews. In an audio message posted on the internet Said al-Shihri, a former inmate of the US prison in Guantánamo Bay, urged followers "to attack the interests of America and the Crusaders." He continued: "We advise you, our people in the peninsula, to prepare and carry your weapons and to defend your religion and yourselves and to join your mujahideen brothers." Yemen is in the throes of a major crackdown on the global militant network's regional offshoot, which grabbed the world's attention when it claimed a failed bomb attack on US-bound plane in December. Al-Shihri congratulated Nigerian radical Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab for his "blessed" attempt to blow up the Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas. The authenticity of the statement could not be independently confirmed but it was posted on a website commonly used for militant messages.

1Funny Malaysia

clipped from www.malaysiakini.com 12 copies of '1Funny Malaysia' comic books and 10 copies of 'Where is Justice?' were seized from the Popular Book Store, Seremban. Special Investigation Divisions officer Inspector Bobby Bana said that orders came from the Negri Sembilan police headquarters last week for the books to be seized. "We are not banning the books but are just taking them to analyse their content," said Bana, who was part of the raiding team, when contacted today. It is understood that the books are being studied for seditious content that could compromise the harmony of the country. '1Funny Malaysia' is a compilation of cartoonist Zunar's works while 'Where is Justice?' is about death and brutality in police custody focusing on four prominent cases involving Teoh Beng Hock, A Kugan, Altantuya Shaariibuu, and Anwar Ibrahim. This is the latest incident following seizures of the same books in Malacca and Penang two weeks ago.