How Dr Laura misspoke Behind Laura Schlessinger’s insistence on her right to use the N-word lies a denial of the way racism has shaped our society Philip Dayle guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 August 2010 12.30 BST Article history Dr Laura Schlessinger poses during her morning radio talk show, in 1998, when her ratings topped even Rush Limbaugh’s. After the August 2010 controversy over her use of the N-word, she has announced the end of her show. Photograph: Susan Sterner/APThe issue of who can say what in matters of race, gender and sexuality is a prime area for right-leaning pernicketyness. Take the … Continue reading Laura Schlessinger wants to lynch black people?

The cracks in the Iranian regime Sanctions have aggravated infighting among Iran’s ruling clique. Now the US must take care not to play into hardliners’ hands Massoumeh Torfeh guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 August 2010 13.12 BST Article history Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at the ceremony inaugurating the Karrar drone aircraft. Photograph: Vahid Reza Alaei/APLooking at the Iranian press over the past few weeks you would be forgiven for thinking that Iran is in a state of hypertension. The long list of new military hardware ready to fire against the “enemy” is mindboggling. While punitive sanctions are taking effect, Iran continues to … Continue reading US must take care not to play into hardliners’ hands

The backlash against Obama’s blackness From Arizona to Ground Zero via birthers, the Republicans are riding a wave of white resentment. It’s reckless and frightening Dan Kennedy guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 August 2010 15.00 BST Article history Hundreds of opponents of the proposed Islamic centre near the World Trade Centre site rallied in lower Manhattan last weekend. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex FeaturesThe August madness into which America has descended is about several things. It’s about the still-sputtering economy, of course, and the fear it engenders. It’s about xenophobia, never far below the surface. And it’s about a rightwing media-political complex that plays on … Continue reading Tea Party and The Negro!

Alien life – but not as we know it Don’t be fooled by Hollywood aliens: any extra-terrestrial intelligence we encounter is likely to be artificial, not biological Seth Shostak guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 August 2010 11.00 BST Article history ET – Hollywood’s most famous alien – is a distinctly anthropomorphic character. Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/UniversalNine out of 10 Hollywood aliens look like us. Oh, sure, they might be short, big-eyed and hairless – decked out in skin smoother than gourmet prosciutto. But really, these creatures from afar are usually so anthropomorphic (aside from their grey complexions), they could pass for hominid relatives, freshly … Continue reading Alien life

Reconciling Islamic values and democracy The sovereignty of God and that of the people often conflict in Muslim politics – but Turkey shows this needn’t be the case Inayat Bunglawala guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 August 2010 09.00 BST Article history Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addresses members of the parliament from his ruling AK party. Photograph: Umit Bektas/ReutersWriting on Cif recently, Brian Whitaker argued that the main problem with Islamic political movements in the Muslim world was their belief in the “sovereignty of God” (hakimiyyah) and that this has brought them into conflict with democratic ideas of the sovereignty of … Continue reading Islamic democracy

Deluges after the deluge Catastrophic floods in Pakistan are likely to recur as global warming combines with El Niño Julian Hunt guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 August 2010 21.00 BST Article history The Pakistani crisis is already one of the very first order. Some 20 million people have been left homeless, along a path of destruction of more than 600 miles. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has even compared the challenges the country now faces to those during the 1947 partition of the subcontinent in which around half a million people were killed in mass violence. It is small wonder that Pakistani … Continue reading Deluges

Islamic cleric behind Ground Zero mosque says U.S. has killed more innocent civilians than Al Qaeda By Daniel Bates The Islamic cleric behind the mosque at New York’s Ground Zero has sparked fury by claiming the United States is worse than Al Qaeda. In an interview Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said that America is more culpable than the terrorist organisation because U.S.-led sanctions led to the death of half a million Iraqi children. ‘We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than Al Qaeda has on its hands of innocent … Continue reading Time for Muslims to stop apologising for their religion!

British beekeeper breeds bee that can protect itself from deadly mite that is wiping out colonies By Daily Mail Reporter A British beekeeper is breeding a strain of bee which can protect itself from a deadly parasitic mite that is wiping out colonies across the world. Ron Hoskins, 79, lost tens of thousands of bees since the parasitic varroa mite entered Britain in 1992. The mite poses a serious threat because the billions of bees it kills are needed to pollinate crops and plants which remove carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Beekeeper Ron Hoskins from Swindon who has bred a … Continue reading Super Bee !

A parasite from my contact lens is gnawing into my eyeball: The gruesome truth about a scarily common bug By Keith Poole My face frozen in a contorted grimace, I could still make out the blunt steel needle closing in on my eye. ‘Keep still, and open your eye as wide as you can,’ said the doctor, as she scraped a sample of tissue from my cornea. Even with an anaesthetic drop in my eye, I could feel a sharp pain as, for several excruciating seconds, the metal rubbed against one of the most delicate areas of the body. I … Continue reading Acanthamoeba parasite

What a waste! Taxpayers foot £190,000 bill as bridge opens over busy bypass… for DORMICE They say the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. But in this case, at least the mice will be happy with the outcome. A cash-strapped council has been criticised for spending £190,000 on a bridge – to allow dormice to cross the road safely. Bosses at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council in South Wales decided to erect three wire walkways above a new bypass to protect the rodent population. The £190,000 dormouse bridge straddling the new Church Village bypass near … Continue reading The Bridge for Mice 🙂