Desmond Tutu, prayerful priest Desmond Tutu is to withdraw from public life. We’ll be all the poorer without his frenetic energy and thirst for justice Colin Slee guardian.co.uk, Friday 23 July 2010 16.30 BST Article history Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Photograph: Graeme RobertsonArchbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu has announced that, from his 79th birthday in October he is to resign from nearly all of his official commitments and withdraw from public life. He has told his friends he wishes to spend more time in reflection and prayer. The only remarkable element of that desire is that he has spent much of his … Continue reading Tutu – A true Christian

Technology fetishism is skin deep Our shallow obsession with gadgets disguises a conservatism where real change takes place at numbingly slow speed Guy Dammann guardian.co.uk, Saturday 24 July 2010 11.00 BST Article history Ebooks have outsold hardbacks on Amazon, but the ‘catching-on’ process is still taking a while. Photograph: Lucas Jackson / ReutersA milestone has been reached, a Rubicon crossed. With the news, announced on the Guardian’s front page on Wednesday, that ebook sales on Amazon have outstripped hardbacks for the first time, I have decided no longer to pay attention to hi-tech company marketing memos. That means that next … Continue reading Fetishism gadgets!

The Queen should have let Nick Griffin in – he’d have made a fool of himself The idiotic BNP leader is lacking support and mired in infighting. We should not dignify him with preachy exclusion Marina Hyde The Guardian, Saturday 24 July 2010 Article history “Thoroughly un-British!” How typical that in decrying his disinvitation from this week’s Buckingham Palace garden party, Nick Griffin should unwittingly remind us exactly why he should have been there. That the BNP leader should regard excluding people from something as profoundly “un-British” is another one of those cruelly self-parodic flashes that are his speciality – … Continue reading Nick Griffin, death of British Nationalism

National Citizen Service is an unproven vanity project Voluntarism is laudable but Cameron’s enthusiasm for National Citizen Service masks uncertainty as to its structure and purpose Andrew Mycock guardian.co.uk, Saturday 24 July 2010 12.00 BST Article history David Cameron claims the national citizens service is further evidence of the Conservatives’ commitment to a ‘big society’. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/PAThe National Citizen Service (NCS) programme to be rolled out to 10,000 young people next year is, according to David Cameron, further evidence of the Conservatives’ commitment to developing a “big society”. Since becoming party leader, Cameron has maintained a belief in the … Continue reading Voluntarism is good, but must not be enforced by Government

Penis poster exhibitionist hunted by police An exhibitionist who has been posting photographs of his private parts adorned with a yellow ribbon is being hunted by police in the genteel East Sussex town of Lewes. By Alastair Jamieson Published: 8:36AM BST 22 Jul 2010 telegraph.co.uk Officers have seized several large images posted in car parks and close to schools. The A3 and A4-sized posters, in colour and black-and-white versions, show a penis with a yellow bow tied around it. Investigators have interviewed staff at offices close to where the images were found and have taken fingerprints from the posters. One … Continue reading Penis attacks Sussex town!

VIEW: Whither national dignity and self-respect? —Mohammad Jamil From President Obama to Holbrooke, all consider Pakistan as an epicentre of terrorism, but they conveniently forget that the US was also equally responsible for creating the spectre of terrorism, and, therefore, it should share the blame and responsibility and foot the bill for the war on terror Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was partially right when he said, “America has no friends or enemies, only interests.” For one, when the US invades and bombs other countries killing people, it indeed makes many enemies. There are two other exceptions, i.e. Number … Continue reading Whither national dignity and self-respect?

ANALYSIS: Failing…still? —Salman Tarik Kureshi In terms of corruption of elites, history of military rule, use of nationalistic rhetoric and intervention by external political actors, Pakistan’s rankings are amongst the worst. And, on one score, that of secretive, unaccountable security services, Pakistan’s appalling 9.7 is exceeded only by Somalia The problem with state failure is that it is not necessarily a terminal condition. After all, whatever the flags flown over them or the borders drawn around them, there are human beings involved: the people of the state that has become critically dysfunctional. They continue to live, by whatever means they … Continue reading Failing…still?

15 year-old boy creates ‘Trojan’ iPhone app which connects to internet for free A 15 year-old boy duped Apple by creating a ‘Trojan’ iPhone app that allowed users to connect to the internet for free. By Laura Roberts telegraph.co.uk A 15 year-old’s iPhone app allowed users to get online for free Photo: AP Nick Lee designed a Handy Light app which at first glance appeared to allow users to change the colour of their screen. It was charged at less than a dollar to upload on App Store. However, the app contained a hidden code that allowed people to use … Continue reading iPhone app which connects to internet for free

TV presenter has severe asthma attack live on air after swallowing a mosquito By Mail Foreign Service A Taiwanese TV presenter had a severe asthma attack live on air after a mosquito flew into her mouth and bit her. Huang Ching had to be hospitalised after she swallowed the insect, which then got stuck in her windpipe while she was reading the news. The news anchor gamely continued with the broadcast despite the incident but executives from China Television Co decided to take her off air so she could get help. They put on a four-minute advert and a replacement … Continue reading Swallowing a mosquito on TV

The perils of traveling by yourself by Tazeen on 07 23rd, 2010 If you happen to be a single Pakistani woman traveling on your own, chances are you will get asked questions by fellow travelers, random strangers and at times by the flight attendants that may vary from harmless chit chat to something that would rival a Spanish inquisition. Once I sat next to a guy with the biggest cowboy hat I have ever seen. He started his inquisition with a Namaste, assuming I am an Indian. Such cultural sensitivity from a cowboy was endearing so I smiled and said … Continue reading Traveling by yourself