Brendan Nyhan Political scientist and media critic huffington post Last week, a Pew Research Center poll was released that showed an increase in the proportion of Americans who falsely believe President Obama is a Muslim. The conversation since then has largely focused on the failings of the public. Slate’s Jack Shafer, for instance, said adherents of the Muslim myth are “imagining things” and pointed to a poll finding that “18 percent of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth”: Don’t these people read newspapers or watch TV? As a matter of fact, many do. According to the poll, 60 … Continue reading 1 in 5 Americans thinks the Earth is Flat?

Ferrari 458 plagued by mysterious jinx With its sleek lines and mesmerising performance the Ferrari 458 has been described as one of motoring’s all time greats. By Martin Evans telegraph.co.uk A burnt out Ferrari 458 in Costa Mesa, California, USA Photo: SWNS Ferarri investigating a number of fires involving the 458 A burnt out Ferrari 458 in Switzerland Photo: SWNS A crashed Ferrari 458 in Pardubice, Czech Republic Photo: SWNS A burning Ferrari 458 in Paris Photo: SWNS Officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September the latest addition to the Italian manufacturer’s stable of supercars has become the … Continue reading Ferrari 458 jinxed!

Rare 1950s Jaguar for sale – having done just 500 miles A rare 1950s Jaguar sports car with just 500 miles on the clock is to be sold after being painstakingly reconstructed from parts packed away in boxes. By Andrew Hough telegraph.co.uk Jaguar XK150 Sports has just 553 miles on the clock Photo: PICTURE IT NOW The Jaguar XK150 Sports is expected to raise more than £250,000 after a rebuild in Harworth, near Doncaster The car was bought brand new in the USA by American John Dolce in 1959, and it was one of only 724 of the cars sold … Continue reading Jaguar XK150

Amazon Kindle review: the e-reader for the mass market It’s smaller, faster and cheaper than its predecessor. The Kindle is ready for the mainstream, writes Matt Warman By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor telegraph.co.uk Amazon’s new Kindle is slimmer and cheaper than previous models. Amazon’s new Kindle is the first ebook reader that has a credible chance of cracking the mass market. Smaller, cheaper, faster and better connected than its predecessor, the new Kindle is to the old what the paperback is to the hardback, and on Friday it’s finally officially available in the UK. Prices start at an affordable … Continue reading Kindle

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