Is it innate in Western thinking to hate and be intolerant towards others? It seems anything to legitimise such hate is soundly followed and practised.

18 hijackers attacked New York but 1.6 Billion Muslims have to be held to account for such an event. Its as if the West uses such intolerance to justify their acts i.e. Iraq, "anti" this or that legislation etc.

Today the West which claims they uphold freedom and democracy by the way of Guantanemo Bay, Abu Graib, renditions and imprisonment without trails, pressure on real democratic processes as in Palestine etc.

The so called just and fair society is nothing more of an illusion. To most Muslims it is.   more »

So there we were thinking that "Superbad"

was just another scatological comedy

about two teens trying to get laid

by members of the opposite sex

Not quite. It's really a scatological comedy

about two teens trying to get laid by each other

   more »

Keywords: superbad, closet, bonding, gay, movies, male, homosexuality

Did you see George all choked up? In his surreal TV talk last Thursday, he got all emotional over the killing by Al Qaeda of Sheik Abu Risha, the leader of the new Sunni alliance with the US against the insurgents in Anbar Province, Iraq.

Bush shook Abu Risha's hand two weeks ago for the cameras. Bush can shake his hand again, but not the rest of him: Abu Risha was blown away just hours before Bush was to go on the air to praise his new friend.

Here's what you need to know that NPR won't tell you.

1. Sheik Abu Risha wasn't a sheik.

2. He wasn't killed by Al Qaeda.

3. The new alliance with former insurgents in Anbar is as fake as the sheik - and a murderous deceit.   more »

The most remarkable thing about these events is that they demonstrate the breathtaking disregard that US economic policy makers have regarding the value and fate of their own national currency.

Richard Nixon-era secretary of the treasury John Connolly, speaking to European economic officials, once said that the US dollar was "our currency, but your problem".

The country could get away with that back in the early 1970s, when the US was the world's biggest lender; now that this situation is reversed, and the country must borrow $2-3 billion from foreigners each and every day just to feed its overconsumption addiction.

The market reaction to this Fed move was about as expected as the day's sunrise - a sharp fall in the US dollar. The greenback finally breached the record 1.4 level versus the euro; it has now fallen 15% against the euro since early 2006, 63% since early 2001.   more »

For a true appreciation of the delicate balance which exists between contemporary wealth, conscience and poverty, the best place to start is at a prominent charity dinner and auction.

At these fashionable events, various key players in the great soap opera of contemporary life are brought together.

The majority of guests will be people on mind-boggling salaries but there will also be a healthy smattering of good-egg celebrities (actors, models, TV presenters), there to show their caring sides.

Glamorous PR folk will be circulating, socially lubricating, while a few media types will be on hand to ensure that no good deed goes unreported.   more »

ohn Abizaid, the retired Army general who headed Central Command for nearly four years, said he was confident that if Iran gained nuclear arms, the United States could deter it from using them.

"Iran is not a suicide nation," he said. "I mean, they may have some people in charge that don't appear to be rational, but I doubt that the Iranians intend to attack us with a nuclear weapon."

The Iranians are aware, he said, that the United States has a far superior military capability.

"I believe that we have the power to deter Iran, should it become nuclear," he said, referring to the theory that Iran would not risk a catastrophic retaliatory strike by using a nuclear weapon against the United States.

"There are ways to live with a nuclear Iran,"   more »