TOP 100 NEWS SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Russia blows up inflatable army Steve Rosenberg blows up a tank as he investigates the Russian army's new range of inflatable decoys. bbc.co.uk |
Wind turbines 'lure in' animals Wind turbines attract insects, which may explain why their blades strike and kill significant numbers of insect-eating bats and birds. news.bbc.co.uk |
On Latinos and Asians | Michael Tomasky It appears that Harry Reid is really sticking it to Sharron Angle for her now famous and ill-advised remark to Latino schoolchildren that some of them looked Asian to her.Well, whatever it takes, I suppose. But I would agree, or acknowledge or whatever, that one lamentable outgrowth of liberalism in these last 15 or so years is overly aggressive pc language policing.True, Angle should know better in the climate we live in not to say something that stupid. And I think it's probably true that she is in fact "insensitive" to most Latinos, but not because she makes a stupid language slip-up. Rather, because most Latinos in this country are working- to (at best) middle-class and in need of certain federal emoluments, and she supports hard-right social Darwinian policies (no unemployment insurance and the like) that would leave a lot of people, of all hues but in particular minorities, foundering. I think she's anti-human, in essence, or if that sounds a bit harsh, which it does even to my beleaguered ear, at least anti-all humans who aren't like her. Or I should say, who aren't like she perceives herself to be, by which I mean: she thinks she is independent and doesn't need government, while in fact she lives a life in which she daily takes advantage of many things the federal government provides for her, as we all do.It's not as if her stated positions have not been controversial; they have been. But I find it odd and a little depressing about our political culture, and about contemporary liberalism, that it's something like this generates the really big headlines. I doubt she meant any harm. In point of fact, it seems to me possible to make a completely innocent error along these lines.I think moments like these because hubbubs mostly because they're really low-hanging fruit for the media. There's always an aggrieved nonprofit leader to call and get a quote demanding an apology, and in a campaign context especially, a reporter can be certain that an opponent will carry on about it, and that reporter's stories will get nice play in the paper for two or three days running.Of course, in Angle's case, there is the context of her anti-immigrant ad, which ends with the tagline "Harry Reid: The Best Friend an Illegal Alien Ever Had." She has preposterously tried to say that the ad isn't about Latinos. Last I looked, undocumented aliens aren't typically from Denmark.Oh what the hell, let her sweat.US midterm elections 2010NevadaMichael Tomaskyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Iraqi Parliament Ordered to Resume Iraq's highest court has ordered parliament back in session after a seven-month political impasse that has blocked formation of a new government. online.wsj.com |
Costas and Commercials Outweigh Action An analysis of NBC's 3 ½-hour program Friday night showed that there were 56 minutes, 41 seconds of commercials over 24 breaks—that's three more minutes than actual event action that was showed. online.wsj.com |