http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa Articles published by guardian.co.uk World news about: United States en-gb &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:57:33 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds 15 http://image.guardian.co.uk/sitecrumbs/Guardian.gif http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/rachel-corrie-israel-civil-suit/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/75184?ns=guardian&pageName=Rachel+Corrie%27s+parents+to+face+men+who+killed+her+in+court++%3AArticle%3A1447675&ch=World+news&c3=Guardian&c4=Rachel+Corrie%2CWorld+news%2CIsrael+%28News%29%2CGaza%2CUS+news&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Rachel+Shabi&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447675&c9=Article&c10=&c11=World+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FRachel+Corrie" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Civil suit into death of US activist crushed to death in Gaza by Israeli bulldozer to hear testimony from vehicle's operators</p><p>The family of Rachel Corrie, the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/mar/23/internationaleducationnews.students" title="American activist crushed by an Israeli bulldozer">American activist crushed to death</a> in Gaza seven years ago, could face the men driving the Israeli bulldozer that killed her in the second stage of their civil suit against the state.</p><p>The case, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/23/corrie-death-law-case" title="which began in March">which began in March</a>, reopened at Haifa district court today and will hear Israeli state witness testimony on her death. The 23-year-old had been trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian house in Rafah, in the Gaza strip.</p><p>In 2003 an Israeli army investigation into the incident concluded that its troops were not to blame for Corrie's death. Her family says that a full investigation was never carried out.</p><p>Representing the Corrie family, Hussein Abu Hussein, a leading human rights lawyer in Israel, said: "It is clear that the army investigation was very far from being sufficient, thorough or impartial."</p><p>Today the court heard from one of the military investigators into the case, referred to only by his first name, Oded. He told the court that he did not think it important during the investigation to question Palestinian eyewitnesses to the incident, or the medical team that treated Corrie. Abu Hussein said: "It is amazing that this 20-year-old – at that time with no legal background and no experience – was responsible for this investigation."</p><p>The court was also shown about 12 minutes of Israeli footage from surveillance cameras close to where the incident took place. Hussein said the clip started minutes after the incident, although the cameras it came from are supposed to operate around the clock.</p><p>Rachel's father, Craig, said: "Being here is emotionally taxing in ways that are really hard to explain, but we have to do it and have an obligation to the many who cannot. It is not just about Rachel or our family."</p><p>The state will present as witnesses the head of the military investigation and the men who were operating the bulldozer that killed Corrie.</p><p>Corrie, from Washington, travelled to Gaza during a period of intense conflict between the Israeli military and the Palestinians. Her diaries, in which she describes her experiences in Gaza, were later turned into a play, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/mar/15/theatre.israelandthepalestinians" title="My Name is Rachel Corrie">My Name is Rachel Corrie</a>, which has toured internationally.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/rachel-corrie">Rachel Corrie</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/israel">Israel</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gaza">Gaza</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/rachelshabi">Rachel Shabi</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> Rachel Corrie World news Israel Gaza United States The Guardian Editorial http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/rachel-corrie-israel-civil-suit Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:48:51 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/craigslist-sex-ads-anti-prostitution/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/68211?ns=guardian&pageName=Craigslist+removes+sex+ads+after+campaign+by+anti-prostitution+lobby%3AArticle%3A1447635&ch=World+news&c3=Guardian&c4=US+news%2CCraigslist+%28Technology%29%2CInternet%2CWorld+news&c5=Digital+Media%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CTechnology+Gadgets&c6=Ed+Pilkington&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447635&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=World+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FUnited+States" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Advertising site Craigslist takes down adult services content from US servers but 'erotic' ads remain in place elsewhere</p><p>Campaigners against prostitution and sex trafficking appeared to have won a victory over the weekend when Craigslist, the powerful online advertising website, capitulated to mounting pressure and removed its "adult services" content from US servers.</p><p>The move is an important concession in the fierce debate in America between free speech and first amendment advocates and those seeking to clean up the web and protect vulnerable girls and women from exploitation. It follows a sustained campaign by prosecutors across the US to have the sex advertisements removed.</p><p>In the absence of comment from Craigslist, it is not clear whether the shift will be permanent. It is also unclear what the concession means for other countries, including the UK, where "erotic" services remained available today. However, the fact that the site's executives placed a <a href="http://newyork.craigslist.org/" title=""Censored" block over its adult services link">"censored" block over its adult services link</a> in the US suggests that, in word at least, they have not given up the fight.</p><p>The sex services portion of the website, previously called its "erotic" section, was criticised as a thinly veiled clearing house for prostitution. It exposed Craigslist to several damaging scandals, the most serious of which was the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/04/philip-markoff-craigslist-killer-stripper-assault" title="killing in April last year of Julissa Brisman">killing in April last year of Julissa Brisman</a>, a 25-year-old masseuse from New York, in a Boston hotel. Philip Markoff, her alleged murderer, was dubbed the Craigslist killer because he had arranged to meet her through the site. He <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/16/craigslist-alleged-killer-suicide" title="committed suicide in jail">killed himself in jail</a> last month.</p><p>Brandon Petty pleaded guilty last month to sexually attacking with a knife four women who had advertised for sex through Craigslist. He faces up to 45 years in prison.</p><p>Also last month, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/06/AR2010080606376.html" title="an advert was placed in the Washington Post">an advert was placed in the Washington Post</a> and another paper under the headline "Dear Craig", in which two women said they had been forced into prostitution with punters attracted through the website. One of the women said she had been sold by the hour at lorry rest stops while the other said she had been a victim of sex trafficking from the age of 11.</p><p>Chief prosecutors from 17 states across the US clubbed together on 24 August to write a joint letter to the website complaining that "ads trafficking children are rampant on it". They accused the site of profiting from the "suffering of the women and children who continue to be victimised by Craigslist".</p><p>Though Craigslist has faced an intensifying public relations crisis, it is shielded from prosecution by a federal law that protects internet providers from the actions of their users.</p><p>According to <a href="http://aimgroup.com/" title="web advertising monitors">web advertising monitors AIM group</a>, Craigslist made $45m from its sex ads last year, about a third of its total profits. The website insists it has responded to concerns by introducing in the past year a system of weeding out the most egregious adverts, claiming to have rejected 700,000 items since May 2009.</p><p>"Craigslist is committed to being socially responsible, and when it comes to adult services ads, that includes aggressively combating violent crime and human rights violations," the chief executive, <a href="http://blog.craigslist.org/" title="Jim Buckmaster recently said on his blog">Jim Buckmaster, recently said on his blog</a>.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/craigslist">Craigslist</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/internet">Internet</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/edpilkington">Ed Pilkington</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> United States Craigslist Internet World news The Guardian News http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/craigslist-sex-ads-anti-prostitution Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:05:43 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/poll/2010/sep/05/craigslist-internet/print <p>Under pressure of intense lobbying, the San Francisco-based global classified ads site, Craigslist, has dropped its adult services section. Are you glad to see it go?</p><br/><p style="clear:both" /> Craigslist Internet Prostitution Technology Advertising Media Censorship United States World news Freedom of speech guardian.co.uk Comment http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/poll/2010/sep/05/craigslist-internet Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:01:56 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/brazilian-immigrants-gunned-down-mexico/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/27126?ns=guardian&pageName=Deadly+lure+of+the+US+leaves+trail+of+tears+across+two+continents%3AArticle%3A1447536&ch=World+news&c3=Obs&c4=US+immigration%2CBrazil+%28News%29%2CMexico+%28News%29%2COrganised+crime+%28News%29%2CDrugs+illegal+%28Society%29%2CSociety%2CUS+news%2CWorld+news&c5=Society+Weekly%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CUS+Elections%2CCommunities+Society&c6=Tom+Phillips%2CJo+Tuckman&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447536&c9=Article&c10=Feature&c11=World+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FUS+immigration" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Juliard and Hermínio set out to smuggle themselves into a better life in the US. Three weeks later, the body of one, and the identity card of the other, were found among 72 blindfolded corpses in Mexico</p><p>Boston, on the east coast of the United States, was the destination when Hermínio Cardoso dos Santos and his friend, Juliard Aires Fernandes, left their sleepy rural town in south-east Brazil on 3 August. The two young men had relatives there: they dreamed of earning a good wage in a vibrant city that boasts a sizeable Brazilian community.</p><p>Warning signs litter the road they took out of their home town, Sardoá, which cuts through the mountains towards Governador Valadares, the nearest city. "Dangerous curve ahead," the rusty green signs advise. "Attention! Wild animals." But when 24-year-old Hermínio and 19-year-old Juliard boarded the bus, they could have had little real idea of the mortal danger that lay ahead.</p><p>"Hermínio left the house and said: 'Dad, God willing I'll go and work there and get some money together, and then God willing I'll come back,'" Antonio Ramos dos Santos, Hermínio's 64-year-old father, told the <em>Observer</em> at the family's small ranch. "I said: 'God be with you. Be happy'." Hermínio's sister, Marlene, fought back tears. "They both had the same dream: to go to the United States. And then this happened."</p><p></p><p>Three weeks after the two Brazilians left Sardoá, on Tuesday 24 August, Mexican troops discovered the corpses of 58 men and 14 women, bound, blindfolded and lying in the grass along the edges of a breezeblock barn in Tamaulipas state. Their bodies were riddled with bullets.</p><p>According to the testimony of an Ecuadorean migrant who escaped the scene with a bullet wound in his neck, the dead were economic migrants who were kidnapped on their way to the US by gunmen from the notorious Zeta gang; the latest victims of the brutal, frightening drugs cartels of northern Mexico. According to some accounts, they would not or could not pay a ransom to their captors. Another version suggests that the migrants refused to be recruited into the cartel. There are rumours that the killers may not have been Zetas at all, but members of a rival cartel, trying to give the Zetas a bad name.</p><p>What is certain is that kidnappings of desperate and vulnerable men and women seeking to scramble across the Mexico-US border are commonplace. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission estimated in a report presented last year that nearly 20,000 migrants are kidnapped annually, based on the number of reports it received between September 2008 and February 2009. The government disputes these figures.</p><p>Since the macabre discovery of the bodies near the Mexican border town of Reynosa, the dismal process of identifying them has begun. Six hundred Honduran families have reported relatives missing who had set out for the US. It has been established that there were also Salvadorians, Guatemalans and Ecuadoreans among the dead. And, almost certainly, two Brazilians.</p><p>The body of Fernandes, who would have turned 20 on 8 September, has been positively identified. That Dos Santos was also among the dead has yet to be officially confirmed. Mexican authorities reportedly found his identity card at the scene but have not yet been able to match it to one of the corpses.</p><p>"We don't know if he is dead or alive. We are waiting to see if they can find him. We still have hope," insisted Marlene. Seconds later, however, when asked how many brothers and sisters she had, she betrayed her family's true feelings. "There are six of us," she said, but then immediately corrected herself. "It was six with him. He was the youngest."</p><p></p><p>Sardoá is a small town lost in the rolling hills of eastern Minas Gerais state. Famed as one of the largest departure points for Brazilian migrants, the region was also home to Jean Charles de Menezes, another local boy who met an untimely end abroad when British police mistook him for a terrorist on the London Underground in 2005.</p><p>Almost exactly five years ago, Menezes's funeral cortege passed through Sardoá on its way to his hometown of Gonzaga, around 20km away, where he is buried. Then, the town's main square was decked with placards and flags in tribute. Hundreds of local people took to the streets to watch his body being driven by on top of a bright red fire engine. Now, five years on, a white banner hangs from two palm trees in the same square, a homage to the region's two latest victims. "Juliard and Hermínio," it reads. "Suddenly silence."</p><p>Growing up near Governador Valadares, a city of around 270,000 residents nicknamed "Vala-dólares" in reference to the amount of US currency supposedly flowing back to it from abroad, all three young men would have dreamed of making their fortune overseas. "Lots of people from this region go there in search of their future," said Marlene, Dos Santos's sister. "For some it works out, but others come back with nothing. It's a place that tricks you. People here think it is going to be one thing and they get there and find it is just like here, without proper work. Sometimes fathers even leave their families behind to try to offer something better," she added. "Because here there are no jobs – who wants to work for 25 reals [£10] a day?"</p><p>Amilton Leite, Sardoá's social services secretary, estimates that between 15% and 20% of the town's population, which numbers around 5,000, currently live overseas. The majority become illegal immigrants in the US, forced to risk the treacherous passage through the Mexican desert to get there. Around 80% of those who take the plunge are young men like Dos Santos and Fernandes, he believes, for whom working in the US has become a rite of passage.</p><p>"It is extremely rare for someone from Sardoá to get a visa, so 99% go through the Mexican border," Leite said. Migrants usually must work for at least 18 months just to pay off the traffickers who take them there. "It's like a gold rush. People think they will become millionaires, that their dreams will come true. But dreams don't always come true."</p><p>The fatal decision to go to the US was not the first time Dos Santos had tried his luck abroad. Growing up in the <em>roça</em>, Brazil's impoverished countryside, working the fields with his family, he had set his sights on an adventure overseas.</p><p>After dropping out of school in his early teens and being unable to raise enough money to pay the traffickers, known as <em>coyotes</em>, to smuggle him into the US, he looked to Europe. Four years ago he flew from Brazil to Italy, but was arrested by Italian police and deported within months. "He said they handcuffed him and made him sleep in the police station. When he arrived here he couldn't even move his fingers," said his father, adding proudly: "I'm 64 years old and thank God I've never ended up in a police station."</p><p>Almost immediately, Dos Santos and Fernandes turned their thoughts to America and set off in search of their local <em>consul</em> – the colloquial name given to the middlemen in Governador Valadares who negotiate migrant smuggling with their contacts in Mexico. "The <em>consuls</em> are an open secret," said Leite. "Nobody knows exactly where they live or what their full names are, but if you want to find one you can do it very quickly. You just have to ask someone: 'Who is taking [people] at the moment?' "</p><p>When the two men left their homes on 3 August and boarded the 6pm bus to Governador Valadares, they were going to meet the <em>consuls</em>. The men promised to smuggle them into the US for a fee of around 24,500 reals (£9,000). From Valadares, family members say, the two men had planned to travel to São Paulo before flying into Guatemala – a country which, unlike Mexico, does not demand tourist visas for Brazilians. In Guatemala they were to be met by a contact of their <em>consul</em> who was to accompany them to the Mexico-US border by road. Once safely inside the US, the men would head to Boston to find the relatives who would help them begin a new life.</p><p>Born and raised in a hotbed of ambition and migration, Dos Santos and Fernandes can have been under no illusion as to the risks their journey might involve. In an interview last week with <em>Brazilian Voice</em>, a Portuguese-language newspaper for Brazilians living in the US, one man from Sardoá described his 59-day struggle to cross the border three years ago alongside 22 other Brazilian immigrants. "[It is] scary. You are in a place surrounded by armed men who are forcing you to do things you shouldn't," the immigrant, identified only as "G", told the newspaper.</p><p>According to his account, the nightmare continued even after the group had crossed over into Texas. He told the newspaper that he and his comrades were "kidnapped" by armed men dressed as police officers and held captive for 13 days.</p><p>"You couldn't even sit on the sofa, or they would beat you. You couldn't turn on the tap, or anything. If you used the bathroom, they would beat you. They said if we used too much water the police would find us." Finally, G said, the group were freed after paying around $6,000 each to their captors.</p><p>But, despite the risks, family members say they thought little of the lack of contact from Dos Santos and Fernandes and were not overly worried about their wellbeing. In Sardoá, most families are used to seeing relatives make the dangerous and lengthy journey into the US.</p><p>On 25 August that sense of calm was shattered. Reports of the massacre near the Mexican border reached Sardoá via the nightly television news, and the anxiety began. "Everybody was worried because nobody knew what had happened to him," said Rosângela Marques, Fernandes's cousin, who is also a distant cousin of De Menezes. "As soon as news [of the massacre] got out we were apprehensive, fearful that he was involved."</p><p>In an interview with the <em>Estado de Minas</em> newspaper, Fernandes's aunt, Maria da Glória Aires, 48, said she believed that the immigrants had been killed after refusing to help smuggle drugs into the US.</p><p>"All we know is that their hands and feet were bound and they were gunned down," she said.</p><p></p><p>In the small, rural Brazilian community, the sense of shock and grief at the massacre in Tamaulipas is palpable. But Leite does not believe the killings will deter the ambition of Brazilians who have fallen for the American dream. "This will make people nervous but it won't stop people going," he said. "It's about necessity."</p><p>For the Dos Santos family, Hermínio's apparent death represents the second major tragedy to hit their household. Aged 23, his only brother killed himself. Their father found his body swinging from a eucalyptus tree in front of the family home.</p><p>"This is life," said Antonio Ramos dos Santos, a devout Catholic who has nailed a wooden crucifix at the side of his wooden front door. "It's God who takes care of us. It's God who decides things for us."</p><p>In the sitting room of his humble brick home, a black-bound copy of the Old Testament had been opened to the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 29. The page lying open appeared to sound a warning to anyone tempted to risk a journey through the heartland of northern Mexico's drugs cartels.</p><p>"Better is the life of a poor man in a mean cottage, than delicate fare in another man's house," it read. "Be it little or much, hold thee contented, that thou hear not the reproach of thy house."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usimmigration">US immigration</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/brazil">Brazil</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/mexico">Mexico</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/organised-crime">Organised crime</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/drugs">Drugs</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/tomphillips">Tom Phillips</a></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jotuckman">Jo Tuckman</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> US immigration Brazil Mexico Organised crime Drugs Society United States World news The Observer Features http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/brazilian-immigrants-gunned-down-mexico Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:21 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/05/anti-ageing-america-arlene-weintraub/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/97202?ns=guardian&pageName=America%27s+%2488bn+anti-ageing+industry%3A+dangerous+and+with+no+scientific+b%3AArticle%3A1447446&ch=Science&c3=Obs&c4=Ageing+%28science%29%2CUS+healthcare%2CUS+news%2CWorld+news%2CScience%2CHealth+%28Society%29%2CSociety&c5=Society+Weekly%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CUS+Elections%2CHealth+Society&c6=Paul+Harris&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447446&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Science&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FScience%2FAgeing" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">A new book warns that millions face serious health problems caused by the gurus of hormones and dietary fads</p><p>The desire to defy age is as ancient as human history, but in the past 10 years a multibillion-dollar industry has sprung up in America promising decades of extra life and good health beyond your 100th birthday.</p><p>However, a new book has revealed a disturbing lack of safety regulation, outrageous unproved medical claims, risky products that could cause serious health problems, and a celebrity-dominated marketing machine promising an extended youth – much of it with little science to back it up.</p><p>Arlene Weintraub, who spent four years researching <em>Selling the Fountain of Youth</em>, says the anti-ageing industry has grown from virtually nothing to a staggering $88bn in 10 years, with few products and procedures regulated in the same way as normal pharmaceuticals and medical cures. Much of it is based on replacing the body's hormones as people grow older. But it also includes extensive use of products such as Botox, vitamin supplements and dietary fads. All have become hugely popular, but there is little proof that they work – or are 100% safe. Some female users of a popular hormone therapy called the Wiley Protocol have complained about their menstrual cycles starting again, with excessive bleeding and hair loss. The creator of the Wiley Protocol, a Californian called Susie Wiley, was found to have virtually no scientific or medical qualifications.</p><p>Such alarming reports have not slowed the huge expansion of the industry. The American Academy of Anti-Ageing Medicine (known by the acronym A4M) holds annual conferences that attract thousands of businessmen, chemists and physicians, all hawking their wares. Some critics of the organisation have dubbed it "all for the money" and say it has spearheaded the idea that getting old is basically a treatable condition.Across America chains of "rejuvenation centres" have sprung up touting the latest "cures" for getting old.</p><p>Weintraub argues that the current demographics of America have made the country especially susceptible to an anti-ageing message. The "baby boomer" generation – some 77 million strong – is just hitting the retirement age and millions are looking for ways to prolong their health and lifespan. "This generation, probably more than any before, wants to grow old in a different sort of way," Weintraub said. "Boomers have seen how their parents' generation aged and are trying to avoid that scenario."</p><p>She traces the birth of the anti-ageing industry to the discovery that human growth hormones used to treat stunted growth problems in children could also be used in adults, and in many cases appeared to have a rejuvenating impact.</p><p>The industry spread to include the use of Botox, derived from the deadly botulinum toxin and originally intended to treat muscle disorders. But anti-ageing doctors also frequently prescribe hormones such as testosterone and oestrogen, that are derived from plants such as yams and soy beans. Weintraub has documented cases where people are using such large amounts of these hormones, sometimes as skin creams, that their partners are absorbing them when they lie next to them in bed at night.</p><p>She says the main problem is that government regulation is too light and safety rules not as tight as for normal drugs, which require extensive medical trials before they get federal approval. She also points out that as ageing is not classified as a medical problem – and thus is not covered by insurance companies – the anti-ageing industry is largely founded on patients buying treatments from their doctors, which can easily lead to abuse and lax safety standards.</p><p>The industry frequently has its products touted on such influential shows as <em>Oprah</em> and <em>The View</em>. It's highest-profile celebrity proponent is Suzanne Somers, a former actress on the sitcom <em>Three's Company</em>, who has written three books on anti-ageing and is a regular on the talk show circuit.</p><p>All her books promise vastly extended lifespans and good health through anti-ageing treatments. Critics say she ignores the potential health risks of the products she endorses in favour of a vision of prolonged youth.</p><p>In her latest bestseller, Somers describes herself in 2041, when she will be 94: "Most mornings start with wonderful sex with my 105-year-old husband, Alan."Weintraub sees her book as a shot across the bows of such celebrity marketing. But she has seen first hand how powerful they are. Last year she was visiting an anti-ageing clinic when Somers appeared on <em>Oprah</em>. Suddenly the clinic was besieged by phone calls from interested potential patients desperate to stop the ageing process. "Their phones were ringing off the hook. It was crazy," Weintraub said.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/ageing">Ageing</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/healthcare">US healthcare</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/health">Health</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/paulharris">Paul Harris</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> Ageing US healthcare United States World news Science Health Society The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/05/anti-ageing-america-arlene-weintraub Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:07 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/ground-zero-civil-liberties-paul-harris/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/20892?ns=guardian&pageName=Welcome+to+Kiryas+Joel%2C+New+York.+Please+behave+*+and+don%27t+wear+shorts%3AArticle%3A1447099&ch=World+news&c3=Obs&c4=Religion+%28News%29%2CCivil+liberties+-+international+%28Law%29%2CGround+Zero%2CWorld+news%2CIslam+%28News%29%2CNew+York+%28News%29%2CUS+news%2CSeptember+11+2001+%28News%29&c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CCharities&c6=Paul+Harris&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447099&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=World+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FReligion" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">America's tolerance is famed except, it seems, when it comes to the religious centre near Ground Zero</p><p>The sign is polite but firm. At the entrance to the small, upstate, New York community of <a href="http://www.kjvoice.com/" title="">Kiryas Joel, </a>a new notice asks visitors to the village to shun shorts in favour of trousers or long skirts and wear long-sleeved shirts. It also asks people to maintain "gender segregation" in all public areas. "In keeping with our traditions and religious customs we kindly ask that you dress and behave in a modest way while visiting our community," the signs says.</p><p>What it does not explain is why. But that is simple enough. Kiryas Joel is home to a community of ultra-conservative <a href="http://judaism.about.com/od/denominationsofjudaism/a/satmarhasid.htm" title="">Satmar Hasidic Jews</a> and they would prefer that visitors adopt, or at least respect, their religious customs when passing through.</p><p>The New York branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, a tenacious watchdog on the encroachment of religion into public life, has no argument with the signs (they are on private land and, clearly, non-binding). Nor has the American media been especially outraged. After all, almost all the 22,000 residents of Kiryas Joel are Hasidic and abide by their religious customs of wearing heavy, body-covering clothing even through the heatwave that has gripped New York this summer.</p><p>But it's not just been the weather that's been hot in New York. So has the explosive debate over the so-called Ground Zero mosque (neither a mosque nor at Ground Zero).</p><p>Now, just for a moment, imagine that the good people of Kiryas Joel were not conservative Jews. Imagine them, instead, as Muslims. Muslims who had asked visitors to cover up when they come to their town. Muslims offended by the sight of any female flesh above the ankle or the wrist or below the neck. Muslims who wanted women and men passing through their community to stay apart. The outrage of America's conservative classes could well be astonishing.</p><p>The largely silent acceptance of Kiryas Joel's wishes tells us much about America's admirable tolerance for minorities. Just as the ugliness of the Ground Zero mosque debate tells us much about its fear over Islam.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/religion">Religion</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/civil-liberties-international">Civil liberties - international</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ground-zero">Ground Zero</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/islam">Islam</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/new-york">New York</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/september11">September 11 2001</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/paulharris">Paul Harris</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> Religion Civil liberties - international Ground Zero World news Islam New York United States September 11 2001 The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/ground-zero-civil-liberties-paul-harris Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:34 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/middle-east-peace-talks-washington/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/81388?ns=guardian&pageName=Middle+East+peace+talks%3A+Cynicism+and+mistrust+stalk+make-or-break+negot%3AArticle%3A1447223&ch=World+news&c3=Obs&c4=Middle+East+%28News%29%2CPalestinian+territories+%28News%29%2CIsrael+%28News%29%2CBinyamin+Netanyahu+%28World+news%29%2CMahmoud+Abbas%2CBarack+Obama+%28News%29%2CHamas+%28news%29%2CWorld+news%2CUS+news&c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CUS+Elections&c6=Harriet+Sherwood&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447223&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=World+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FMiddle+East" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The Barack Obama-backed summit is a long way from the bloody realities of the West Bank</p><p>The Israeli taxi driver shook his head and pointed to his kippah when asked to journey across town to an east Jerusalem neighbourhood on the day of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/02/middle-east-peace-talks-begin" title="">Washington talks</a>: "I am a Jew. They will kill me. They are all Hamas."</p><p>Behind this vignette lies a view held by many Israelis that the Palestinians do not want peace, that the threat of violence is ever-present and Israel must not make further concessions in these talks which are, in any case, doomed to failure like so many before them.</p><p>In Ramallah, it's not so different, but there the talk is of settlements. Many Palestinians believe that the Israelis are using the negotiations as a cover for continuing to encroach on their land, to create facts on the ground that make a viable Palestinian state impossible.</p><p>Hundreds gathered in Manarah Square on the eve of the talks in a show of opposition to sitting down with the Israelis without a commitment by the latter to extend the current partial – and temporary – construction freeze. Many of those present were convinced the talks will fail and the consequences could be a return to armed resistance.</p><p>The mood on both sides is one of hostility, cynicism or indifference. Despite Barack Obama's encouraging though sober words on Thursday about the "moment of opportunity", it is hard to find people here ready to express any hopes or expectations of a successful outcome, even though opinion polls on both sides show a majority in favour of a two-state deal.</p><p>The backdrop to last week's talks was not auspicious. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/31/israelis-shot-dead-west-bank" title="">Hamas gunmen shot dead four Israeli settlers</a>, later saying 13 militant groups had joined forces to launch a wave of attacks which could include suicide bombings. In response, settlers' groups declared the construction freeze to be over and that building would resume in around 80 locations in the West Bank. The arrest of scores of Hamas supporters across the West Bank by Palestinian security forces led to accusations that President Mahmoud Abbas was more interested in collaboration with the occupation than resistance.</p><p>The mood in Washington was cautiously upbeat, but the real work lies ahead and the settlement issue could well strangle the talks at birth. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, has categorically said that the Palestinian team will walk out unless the construction freeze is both extended indefinitely and applied to the currently exempt east Jerusalem. They want an explicit agreement, he said, not a tacit understanding.</p><p>Binyamin Netanyahu, mindful of his coalition's pro-settlement right wing, is unlikely to offer this. The current freeze expires in three weeks, at which point the Palestinians' robustness will be tested. Despite the agreement of direct talks without preconditions, Netanyahu has also publicly stated his terms, foremost of which is that the Palestinians recognise the Jewish nature of the Israeli state. Behind this lies the Palestinian demand that refugees have the right to return to homes they were forced out of or fled in 1948 and 1967. Although a compromise on the refugee issue is inevitable in any agreement, for the Palestinians to accept Israel as a Jewish state at the start of negotiations means conceding a prime goal at the kick-off.</p><p>The broader question, to which there is no definitive answer, is whether Netanyahu is really serious about trying to come to a deal with his Palestinian counterparts. The view that he has come to the table only under intense pressure from the Americans and that his strategy is to spin out talks for as long as possible while continuing with the "Judaisation" of the West Bank and east Jerusalem is persuasive.</p><p>But there is a counterview: that the rightwinger, who has opposed and obstructed peace moves so often, has decided that a deal should be his historic legacy. The Americans seem to buy this. Obama has hinted that Netanyahu has given him private assurances of his commitment. Netanyahu has said he did not embark on a second stint as prime minister for pleasure, adding that there was not much pleasure to be found in the job in any case. He cannot seriously contemplate the alternatives to a two-state deal: a return to sustained violence; a continuation of the occupation and moving further towards a quasi-apartheid regime; a single state between the Jordan river and the sea for both Palestinians and Israelis that would spell the end of the Jewish state. He is ready, he insists.</p><p>Most Palestinians – and quite a few Israelis – view the notion that the Netanyahu leopard has changed its spots with derision and scepticism. But if there is any substance to this narrative, the weakness and the division of the Palestinian people is likely to be part of the equation.</p><p>Having already conceded 78% of pre-1948 Palestine, it is hard to see how the Palestinian leadership could give up more territory beyond agreeing land swaps for the big settlement blocs around Jerusalem (even that is unacceptable to many). But if Netanyahu shows willingness to strike a deal, there will be enormous pressure for the Palestinians to make concessions. If they walk out at any point, the Israeli narrative – once again – will be that there is "no partner for peace" and that the Palestinians have balked at an agreement.</p><p>Both sides have much to gain and lose. The US is adamant we will know within a year - if, of course, these talks last that long.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middleeast">Middle East</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/palestinian-territories">Palestinian territories</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/israel">Israel</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/binyamin-netanyahu">Binyamin Netanyahu</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/mahmoud-abbas">Mahmoud Abbas</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/hamas">Hamas</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/harrietsherwood">Harriet Sherwood</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> Middle East Palestinian territories Israel Binyamin Netanyahu Mahmoud Abbas Barack Obama Hamas World news United States The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/middle-east-peace-talks-washington Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:05:04 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/sep/04/useconomy-ben-bernanke/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/74626?ns=guardian&pageName=Ben+Bernanke%27s+monetary+policy+poverty+%7C+Chris+Payne%3AArticle%3A1447480&ch=Comment+is+free&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=US+economy+%28Business%29%2CBen+Bernanke%2CEconomics+%28Business%29%2CBusiness%2CBanking+%28Business+sector%29%2CEconomic+policy%2CUS+news&c5=Credit+Crunch%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CBusiness+Markets%2CUS+Economy%2CInvestments+%26+Savings&c6=Chris+Payne&c7=10-Sep-04&c8=1447480&c9=Article&c10=Comment&c11=Comment+is+free&c13=&c25=CIF+America+%28Blog%29%2CComment+is+free&c30=content&h2=GU%2FComment+is+free%2Fblog%2FCif+America" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The White House is floating a new stimulus, though the Fed chief seemed to rule it out. But does he have any other tools?</p><p>Everyone was pretty glum about US GDP growth between March and June, when it was thought to be 2.4%. But due to the wonders of statistical revision, <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2010/0827/US-GDP-growth-revised-down-to-1.6-percent-as-economy-cools">it now turns out that it was only 1.6%</a>. Of course, those out of work do not care what the statistics say because they know exactly what <a href="http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/anemic-job-growth-strands-unemployed-americans/19620199">the economy feels like to them now</a>. All the same, these numbers are no doubt confirming people's fears that the dreaded second dip (of on-going depression) is on the way. </p><p>Coinciding with the revised GDP numbers, though, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-28/bernanke-says-fed-has-tools-to-prevent-a-recession-avoids-stimulus-pledge.html">Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has announced</a> that he is going to do all that he can, using all the tricks available, to fight deflation. So, what are those tricks and how successful might they be?<br /> <br />Trick number one: continue with quantitative easing (QE). In layman's terms, this means that he will continue to buy securities in the market place in order to keep their price up, and he will create funds (with the press of a button) at the Fed in order to pay for these purchases. This is good old-fashioned money-printing, and the Fed had already made it clear that it is what they intended to keep doing. Their aim with this policy is ensure that bond prices do not fall, because, if they do, private banks will find their asset base falling, their capital adequacy declining; and if one thing led to another, we would all find ourselves back in the financial maelstrom. </p><p>Necessary as this policy is, it is not a "stimulus", for this "high-powered money": that the Fed is creating is not, in fact, very high-powered at all; it does nothing to incentivise banks to lend and nothing to stimulate entrepreneurs and consumers to borrow and spend. It is a desperate policy to stop things getting worse.<br /> <br />Trick number two: tell everyone that you intend to keep rates low for a long time. Well, everyone knows already that the Fed is committed to fighting deflation and ensuring that banks' assets do not fall in value too much. A commitment by the Japanese to keeping their interest rates low (at almost zero) <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/30/japan.japan">has not helped them</a> in the past 10 years.<br /> <br />Trick number three: paying no interest on the private banks' excess deposits of money at the Fed. Well, the Fed is already only paying 0.25%, so cutting to zero is not going to make much difference. If these low returns are not incentivising banks to lend at the moment, this "change" in policy is going to make no difference at all.<br /> <br />Trick number four: targeting higher inflation. The chance of higher inflation would be a fine thing! One can target any number one likes, but if the current policy of printing money and setting policy rates at near zero is having no effect on consumer prices (which are rapidly heading towards deflation territory), then what use is a new target going to be? In fact, I can only imagine that it would be counterproductive; after all, how better to signal the fact that essentially you have no new tools left and are unable to fight deflation than to demonstrate clearly that you have no ability to hit your own targets.<br /> <br />So what does all this mean? It means that unless the Fed plans to print money and actually start buying real housing stock and real goods and services (because that would be a sure way of bringing inflation; probably hyperinflation, in fact), there is nothing left for them to do. Except what they have been doing, which is helping to ensure that the banking system does not implode again. </p><p>In other words, monetary policy is, for the time being, over. Either you believe that the private sector will recover in due course of its own accord or you believe that what we really need is a proper fiscal stimulus, the likes of which we are yet to see.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/useconomy">US economy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/ben-bernanke">Ben Bernanke</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics">Economics</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/banking">Banking</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/economy">Economic policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/chrispayne">Chris Payne</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> US economy Ben Bernanke Economics Business Banking Economic policy United States guardian.co.uk Comment http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/sep/04/useconomy-ben-bernanke Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:00:53 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/04/us-economy-housing-recession-editorial/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/37672?ns=guardian&pageName=US+economy%3A+The+recovery+that+wasn%27t+%7C+Editorial%3AArticle%3A1447459&ch=Comment+is+free&c3=Guardian&c4=US+news%2CWorld+news%2CEconomic+growth+and+recession+US%2CEconomics+%28Business%29%2CBusiness&c5=Credit+Crunch%2CBusiness+Markets%2CNot+commercially+useful&c6=Editorial&c7=10-Sep-04&c8=1447459&c9=Article&c10=Editorial&c11=Comment+is+free&c13=&c25=Comment+is+free&c30=content&h2=GU%2FComment+is+free%2Fblog%2FComment+is+free" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">We have an anaemic recovery at best. And the housing market, where this crisis began, remains in terrible shape</p><p>Back in January, US vice-president Joe Biden offered up a huge hostage to fortune. Talking to fellow Democrats about the Obama plan for the economy, he promised: "You're going to see, come the spring, net increase in jobs every month." Yesterday figures showed that a net total of 54,000 workers lost their jobs in August, taking the official unemployment rate to 9.6%. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/03/larry-elliott-us-employment" title="">A big dollop of gloomy news just in time for Labour Day weekend</a>.</p><p>Not that you would have taken it as bad news, going by the immediate reaction. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/03/markets-rally-america-unemployment-figures" title="">The Dow enjoyed a modest bounce</a>, while Mr Obama described the non-farm payrolls report as "positive news". Which is true, if what you really mean by positive is "not as awful as it might have been". Oh sure, optimists can point out that the job losses were below analysts' estimates. And they can also take heart from the report's scaling down of job losses over June and July – so that a net total of 229,000 posts were lost, rather than the 352,000 previously reported. But consider this: over two and a half years after America's recession officially began in December 2007 (according to the National Bureau of Economic Research), the economy is still only limping along. By this stage, one would normally expect the US to be surging ahead, with companies producing much more, bosses taking on droves of recruits and even the housing market picking up. Instead, we have an anaemic recovery at best. And the housing market, where this crisis began, remains in terrible shape. Sales of new and existing homes are cratering, and the numbers of foreclosures and borrowers falling way behind on their repayments are as bad as they were last summer.</p><p>Some economists, such as Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff, pointed out years ago that this downturn was always going to be worse than a normal recession, simply because banking crises are more crippling and have worse aftermaths. But the White House underestimated the scale of this crash – which is why Christina Romer, the outgoing chair of Mr Obama's council of economic advisers, admitted this week that <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/01/AR2010090106148.html" title="">she and her colleagues "failed to anticipate just how violent the recession would be"</a>.</p><p>Mr Obama promised yesterday that he would unveil "a broader package of ideas" next week. Let us hope they are more action than ideas. Before November's midterms, the president must bring in big measures to encourage job creation and stop the freefall in the housing market. That makes political as well as economic sense. Politicians tend not to win elections by pointing out that things are not as terrible as they might have been. If Mr Obama wants proof of that, he should ask Gordon Brown.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/useconomicgrowth">US economic growth and recession</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics">Economics</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> United States World news US economic growth and recession Economics Business The Guardian Editorials http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/04/us-economy-housing-recession-editorial Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:06:37 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/sep/04/archie-panjabi-emmy-good-wife/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/2531?ns=guardian&pageName=Archie+Panjabi%3A+%27I+love+roles+that+transform+me%27%3AArticle%3A1447378&ch=Culture&c3=Guardian&c4=Emmy+awards%2CCulture+section%2CTelevision+%28Culture%29%2CUK+news%2CUS+news%2CWorld+news&c5=Film+Awards%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CTelevision+Media&c6=Amy+Raphael&c7=10-Sep-04&c8=1447378&c9=Article&c10=Feature&c11=Culture&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FCulture%2FEmmy+awards" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Beating the stars of Mad Men to an Emmy for her role in The Good Wife was a 'well-received shock', British actor Archie Panjabi says</p><p>When Hugh Laurie went home from last Sunday's Emmy awards empty handed, there seemed to be a mass slumping of shoulders among the British press. Laurie has found spectacular success with his portrayal of a grumpy doctor in the TV drama House, but perhaps it's time for him to let another – younger, better-looking – Brit steal the spotlight in America. She may not yet be a household name in Britain, but Archie Panjabi is a big deal in America; the 38-year-old from Edgware, London, picked up her first Emmy on Sunday.</p><p>Panjabi's dazzling portrayal of a law firm's in-house private investigator in the hit CBS show The Good Wife swept aside Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks, who were surely odds-on&nbsp;to win. Even with months of wildly supportive press in the US, did Panjabi have a clue that she would win best supporting actress in a drama series? She roars with laughter. "No! It was a complete shock. I was up against five very talented and established actresses ... but it&nbsp;was a well-received shock. The best way to describe it is to compare it to a child's first trip to Disneyland."</p><p>Panjabi was asked to audition for the show after the writers saw her performances in the films A Mighty Heart and A Good Year – Ridley Scott, director of the latter, was an executive producer. There's even a quote from him on her website, saying that she is "smart and sensitive enough as an actress to make anything fly, comedy or drama, an unusual talent ... she's a beautiful girl".</p><p>The great thing about Panjabi is that she doesn't rely on her considerable beauty. She can do comedy – she had fun with roles in East is East and Bend It Like Beckham - but is a serious character actor. She is able to lose herself in different roles yet is always commanding on screen - even alongside Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart. In the critically acclaimed 2004 film Yasmin, in which she played a bold, modern young woman who agrees&nbsp;to enter into an arranged marriage to please her traditional Pakistani family and whose world is rocked by 9/11, she gave her character dignity, depth and a very real sense of suppressed anger.</p><p>The role of Kalinda in The Good Wife is perfect for Panjabi: she is totally fearless&nbsp;in her figure-hugging clothes, stiletto boots and soft, expensive leather jackets. She wears her hair up, stands very straight and scares most of the people who come into contact with her. She is contained, emotionally remote and sexually ambiguous.</p><p>How did the writers first describe Kalinda? "As an East Indian – which is what Americans say to differentiate from American Indian – Erin Brockovich who uses her sexuality to get what she wants. In the pilot I wore jeans and then came the high boots. The costume designer had this idea of making her wear tight clothes and really short skirts. We were trying to make her look sexy without it being obvious she'd made a big effort. It was a challenge, but we got there in the end. I love roles where I have to transform myself."</p><p>Panjabi enjoys the spiky boots; they help her get into character, get her walking in a totally different way. Off screen, Panjabi is a little shy and learning slowly to shed her British modesty whereas Kalinda is feisty as hell. But there's a steeliness and a determination to succeed that they share. When I ask if she is ambitious, Panjabi repeats the question to herself. "I knew what I wanted to do for my entire life, from nursery to university. I've always been geared towards wanting to act. I've stuck with it, dedicated time to it. So if that makes me ambitious, then the answer is yes."</p><p>Her parents emigrated to London from India before she was born and in previous interviews she has mentioned family arguments about acting; as Yasmin compromises by agreeing to an arranged marriage, so Panjabi agreed to study management studies at Brunel before pursuing acting full-time. If anything, having to fight for her freedom to act has given her focus. She worked so hard on the first series of The Good Wife that she barely managed to do any sightseeing in New York (where the drama is filmed because Julianna Margulies, as the wife of Chris Noth's disgraced politician, wanted to stay close to home).</p><p>Panjabi thinks nothing of waking up at 2am and doing some work on her character but dismisses suggestions of being a workaholic; she insists extra-curricular research helps her to relax. She hasn't even had time to watch Mad Men, Nurse Jackie, 30 Rock, Modern Family or any of the other American TV shows of the last few years. These shows, great though they are, tend to be dominated by white faces and I wonder if Panjabi has ever felt thwarted by her ethnicity. "Sometimes my ethnicity is relevant, other times not. I definitely get the best of both worlds. The great thing about Kalinda is that her ambiguous sexuality is more important than her background."</p><p>There are times when Panjabi desperately misses family and friends in London, but she is committed to staying in New York until April, when series two of The Good Wife finishes filming. And what then? "I honestly don't know. I'd love to work with Ken Loach and maybe even Quentin Tarantino." As one of his tough chicks? She laughs. "Yeah! Please! I'd love to do a romantic comedy. And perhaps, if the character was right and I had a good gut instinct, a Bollywood movie." The words are now tumbling out. "And I'd love to direct. One day. I'm learning a lot on the set of The Good Wife."</p><p>So, apart from being totally focused on her work and, it's probably fair to say, consumed by Kalinda, what makes Panjabi so good at her job? "Oh no! I'm too British to tell you that. Maybe it's always telling myself that I can do better. Remembering never to learn lines and then just recite them. Thank you for thinking I'm good." She tails off, embarrassed.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/emmy-awards">Emmy awards</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/television">Television</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/amy-raphael">Amy Raphael</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> Emmy awards Culture Television UK news United States World news The Guardian Features http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/sep/04/archie-panjabi-emmy-good-wife Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:01:59 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/sep/03/usa-fiction-art-and-commerce-franzen/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/70950?ns=guardian&pageName=The+Franzen+feud+%7C+Michael+Tomasky%3AArticle%3A1447425&ch=Comment+is+free&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=US+news%2CFiction+%28Books+genre%29&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Michael+Tomasky&c7=10-Sep-03&c8=1447425&c9=Article&c10=Blogpost&c11=Comment+is+free&c13=&c25=Michael+Tomasky%27s+blog&c30=content&h2=GU%2FComment+is+free%2Fblog%2FMichael+Tomasky%27s+blog" width="1" height="1" /></div><p>I trust you've been following to some extent the Jonathan Franzen-New York Times-chick lit debate. If not, it is summed up well <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2265910/">here, in this Slate piece</a> in which the authors counted up every piece of adult fiction reviewed in the NYT over the last two years and found that men get reviewed about twice as often as women.</p><p>Of course the book-reviewing trade discriminates against women. Why should it be any different from anything else? I say that derisively, you understand, not with approval.</p><p>I've never read Jodi Picoult or Jennifer Wiener, the two "chick-lit" authors who kicked this off (and by the way, as literary feuds of the past go, this one ranks way way down the list). I have nothing bad to say about Franzen. I haven't read the new book but think I will. I did buy Gary Sheyngart's new one, also being beatified right now, and it's not really up my alley, although I see that he is immensely talented, and I wish him every success.</p><p>I'm a believer in lessening the distinction between serious and unserious writing, or music or anything. Shakespeare wrote things for money. Mozart wrote music he thought his paymasters would enjoy. Dickens? Please. He wrote magazine serials, placing his craft in the distinctly anti-aesthetic service of pumping up circulation. And I see nothing wrong with caring about how well one's product might sell. Another way of saying that: how many lives and hearts it might touch.</p><p>The image of the lonely creative genius in his (no; her!) garret, caring not about recompense and wanting only to share with the world what is in his (no, dammit; her!) heart is the image to which we all pay the greatest obeisance. And maybe on balance that does make for the greatest art. But if a writer or painter or musician happens to have a commercial touch in addition to being able to make art, that's certainly nothing to hold against anybody. The more I read about the matter, the more I conclude that most yes most of history's creative geniuses were indeed trying to be commercial, in many cases trying very hard. And bravo for them. Or brava.</p><p>Where is the art-commerce line? Discuss.<br /></p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/fiction">Fiction</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/michaeltomasky">Michael Tomasky</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> United States Fiction guardian.co.uk Blogposts http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/sep/03/usa-fiction-art-and-commerce-franzen Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:07:26 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/03/eu-official-antisemitism-middle-east-peace-talks/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/41963?ns=guardian&pageName=EU+official+apologises+after+blaming+Jews+for+blocking+Middle+East+peace%3AArticle%3A1447295&ch=World+news&c3=Guardian&c4=European+Union+%28News%29%2CMiddle+East+%28News%29%2CJudaism+%28News%29%2CIsrael+%28News%29%2CPalestinian+territories+%28News%29%2CUS+news&c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CPolicy+Society&c6=Ian+Traynor&c7=10-Sep-04&c8=1447295&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=World+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FEuropean+Union" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">EU trade commissioner accused of antisemitism after saying Jewish intransigence dooms Middle East talks in Washington</p><p>A top European official was accused of antisemitism tonight after declaring that there was little point in engaging in rational argument with Jews and suggesting that the latest Middle East peace talks were doomed because of the power of the Jewish lobby in Washington.</p><p>Karel De Gucht, the European commissioner for trade, and a former Belgian foreign minister, sparked outrage after voicing his scepticism about the prospects for the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/02/middle-east-peace-talks-israel" title="negotiations which opened in the US">negotiations which opened in the US</a> this week. He told a Belgian radio station that most Jews always believed they were right, and questioned the point of talking to them about the Middle East.</p><p>De Gucht, who negotiates for Europe on trade with the rest of the world, and is one of the most powerful officials in Brussels, was forced today to issue a statement declaring that the views he expressed were personal.</p><p>"Don't underestimate the opinion … of the average Jew outside Israel," he told the radio station. "There is indeed a belief – it's difficult to describe it otherwise – among most Jews that they are right. And a belief is something that's difficult to counter with rational arguments. And it's not so much whether these are religious Jews or not. Lay Jews also share the same belief that they are right. So it is not easy to have, even with moderate Jews, a rational discussion about what is actually happening in the Middle East."</p><p>Explaining why he thought the peace talks were probably doomed, he added: "Do not underestimate the Jewish lobby on Capitol Hill. That is the best organised lobby, you shouldn't underestimate the grip it has on American politics – no matter whether it's Republicans or Democrats."</p><p>Jewish leaders were incandescent. "This is part of a dangerous trend of incitement against Jews and Israel in Europe that needs to be stamped out immediately," said Moshe Kantor, the head of the European Jewish Congress. "What sort of environment allows such remarks to be made openly by a senior politician? Once again we hear outrageous antisemitism from a senior European official. The libel of Jewish power is apparently acceptable at the highest levels of the EU."</p><p>Officials in Brussels stressed the remarks did not represent EU views or policies. De Gucht was forced to issue a statement clarifying his remarks.</p><p>"I gave an interview … I gave my personal point of view," he said. "I regret that the comments that I made have been interpreted in a sense that I did not intend.</p><p>"I did not mean in any possible way to cause offence or stigmatise the Jewish community. I want to make clear that antisemitism has no place in today's world."</p><p>Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, today attacked the "doomed" Middle East peace talks and urged Palestinians to continue armed resistance to Israel. Ahmadinejad used the annual al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally in Tehran to scorn the Obama administration's efforts in launching the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/02/middle-east-peace-talks-israel" title="Guardian: Middle East peace 'in a year'">first Arab-Israeli negotiations</a> in nearly two years.</p><p>"The people of Palestine and the people of the region will not allow them to sell even an inch of Palestinian soil to the enemy," he said.</p><p>Iran supports Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian movement that controls the Gaza Strip and opposes talks involving Mahmoud Abbas, the western-backed PLO leader who is based in the West Bank.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/eu">European Union</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middleeast">Middle East</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/judaism">Judaism</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/israel">Israel</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/palestinian-territories">Palestinian territories</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/iantraynor">Ian Traynor</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> European Union Middle East Judaism Israel Palestinian territories United States The Guardian News http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/03/eu-official-antisemitism-middle-east-peace-talks Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:30:43 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/03/bp-mergers-acquisitions-oil-spill/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/57720?ns=guardian&pageName=Bid+talk+swirls+around+BP+as+it+nears+final+cap+on+leaking+well%3AArticle%3A1447399&ch=Business&c3=Guardian&c4=BP+%28Business%29%2COil+and+gas+companies+%28Business%29%2CEnergy+industry%2COil+%28business%29%2CBusiness%2CBP+oil+spill+Deepwater+Horizon%2COil+%28environment%29%2COil+spills+%28Environment%29%2CUS+news%2CMergers+and+acquisitions+%28business%29%2CExxon+Mobil&c5=Environment+Conservation%2CCredit+Crunch%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CBusiness+Markets%2CEnergy&c6=Terry+Macalister&c7=10-Sep-03&c8=1447399&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Business&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FBP" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">• ExxonMobil discussed politics of BP takeover with the White House<br />• BP's value had once dropped by more than $100bn, since 20 April</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>BP said today that it was a fortnight away from finally sealing the rogue well in the Gulf of Mexico – potentially triggering bids from rivals for a company whose market value has been dramatically eroded since the April blowout.</p><p>BP, which also announced that the clean-up bill has hit $8bn (£5bn), has been viewed as vulnerable to takeover since the Deepwater Horizon accident on 20 April.</p><p>But City experts said the leaking well needed to be finally capped – putting a lid on liabilities – before anyone would dare make a move. There have been successive reports that the cash-rich US firm ExxonMobil – the biggest non-government owned oil company in the world – has discussed the political implications of a BP takeover with the White House .</p><p>While Barack Obama is said to have raised no competition objections – although some assets would probably have to be sold – industry experts believe he must be concerned about job losses at a time of high US unemployment.</p><p>Any takeover offer would fit into a wave of merger and acquisition activity across other sectors of business and would inevitably lead to redundancies.</p><p>No new oil has flowed from BP's Macondo well in the Gulf since 15 July when a cap was inserted but BP said it hoped to seal it for good in mid-September.</p><p>The bill has steadily risen since the explosion, which triggered an environmental disaster in the region and the country's worst-ever oil spill. In the aftermath, the oil company was forced to abandon hopes of drilling in the Arctic due to its tarnished reputation while BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, bowed to pressure to resign from the end of this month.</p><p>Since the processing of claims by people affected by the disaster was transferred to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, led by Ken Feinberg under a deal with the White House, BP has paid out some $38.5m to 4,900 claimants. Before the transfer, it had made 127,000 payments, worth about $400m. Meanwhile, more than 28,000 people, more than 4,050 ships and dozens of aircraft are still involved in the country's biggest offshore clean-up operation.</p><p>BP's future was effectively put up for formal discussion in June when the normally-conservative investment bank, JP Morgan Cazenove put out a provocative research note on BP.</p><p>Fred Lucas, JP Morgan's London-based oil analyst, looked at whether Exxon was the right player to make an £88bn bid. The US group is the financially strongest oil company, he said, adding that it could make a cash and stock offer while spinning off $50bn (£33bn) of refining and marketing assets, resulting in a bid estimated at 473p a share.</p><p>Certainly BP is very cheap by historic standards. More than $100bn was wiped off BP's market value at one stage since the 20 April explosion.</p><p>The company has instructed Goldman Sachs and Blackstone to defend against any hostile takeover bids.</p><p>One City fund manager said last night that he expected Exxon, Chevron or possibly even a Chinese national oil corporation to make a move on BP but Fadel Gheit, veteran oil analyst with the Oppenheimer brokerage in New York, said he doubted the White House would endorse a takeover that would cost more US jobs.</p><p>"When Exxon took over Mobil (in 1998) 50,000 jobs were shed within three years. The real way these mergers are made to work is by cutting costs often by massive layoffs. What politician would support that when unemployment levels are already at their highest for 40 years? It makes a lot of sense on paper but the political realities make it unlikely."</p><p>Other analysts said a move by a Chinese company was unlikely be agreed in the US, where many of BP's assets are based. Washington vetoed the takeover of Unocal by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation in 2005.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/bp">BP</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/oilandgascompanies">Oil and gas companies</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/energy-industry">Energy industry</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/oil">Oil</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bp-oil-spill">BP oil spill</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/oil">Oil</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/oil-spills">Oil spills</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/mergers-and-acquisitions">Mergers and acquisitions</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/exxonmobil">Exxon Mobil</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/terrymacalister">Terry Macalister</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> BP Oil and gas companies Energy industry Oil Business BP oil spill Oil Oil spills United States Mergers and acquisitions Exxon Mobil The Guardian News http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/03/bp-mergers-acquisitions-oil-spill Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:23:54 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/03/mosque-near-ground-zero-poll/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/6811?ns=guardian&pageName=New+Yorkers+split+over+mosque+planned+near+Ground+Zero%3AArticle%3A1447300&ch=World+news&c3=Guardian&c4=New+York+%28News%29%2CGround+Zero%2CUS+news%2CIslam+%28News%29%2CReligion+%28News%29%2CWorld+news%2CSeptember+11+2001+%28News%29%2CSarah+Palin&c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CCharities&c6=Ed+Pilkington&c7=10-Sep-03&c8=1447300&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=World+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FNew+York" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">New York Times poll shows two-thirds want to see the proposed mosque built further from the site of the 9/11 attacks</p><p>The controversy around the proposal to build <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/aug/03/mosque-ground-zero-new-york" title="Guardian: Mosque near Ground Zero site gets go-ahead">a mosque close to Ground Zero </a>has caused a deep rift within those most directly affected – New Yorkers – with a new poll showing that two-thirds want the planned centre moved further away from the site of the 9/11 attacks.</p><p>The poll, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/nyregion/03poll.html?hp" title="conducted by the New York Times">conducted by the New York Times</a> among 892 adults across the city, records that 67% want to see the Muslim community centre built in a less controversial location.</p><p>Under the current plans, the $100m (£65m) project for the 13-storey multifaith centre would be built in Park Place, just north of the World Trade Centre, where almost 3,000 people lost their lives when al-Qaida brought down the Twin Towers.</p><p>The remaining third of those New Yorkers sampled felt that to move the centre would be to compromise American values.</p><p>The findings of the poll suggest that the intense dispute surrounding the planned mosque, which has seen national politicians as well as Christian and other religious groups wade into the controversy, has had an impact on the city that has up to now prided itself on retaining its traditional tolerance even in the face of the terrorist threat.</p><p>The proposed mosque, the brainchild of the <a href="http://www.cordobainitiative.org/" title="moderate Islam group the Cordoba Initiative">moderate Islam group the Cordoba Initiative</a>, has had a strong backer in the mayor of the city, Michael Bloomberg.</p><p>The survey suggests that among some New Yorkers there is a residue of anti-Muslim feeling. A fifth said openly that they feel animosity towards Muslims, and a third that they thought Muslims more sympathetic to terrorism than other subsections of US society.</p><p>The controversy surrounding the mosque shows no sign of letting up. On Sunday a firebrand Christian televangelist, Bill Keller, has booked a conference room in a hotel just next to Ground Zero to launch his so-called "9/11 Christian Centre". The Florida-based preacher is branding his new ministry as a direct response to the Park Place mosque scheme.</p><p>Keller has a track record of preaching against Islam as a false religion devoted, in his portrayal of it, to hatred and violence.</p><p>The religious figure behind the mosque, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, is a leading moderate within the US Muslim community. He has recently been on a tour of the Gulf region sponsored by the US state department to promote religious tolerance.</p><p>In a speech in Dubai earlier this week, he said the battle over the planned centre had breached fundamental questions of the future of Muslim relations in the country, that went far beyond "a piece of real estate".</p><p>The New York Times poll shows that although the city's residents are doubtful about the scheme, they do not like interference by outside politicians such as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/jul/19/sarah-palin-refudiate-new-word" title="Guardian: Word of the day: Sarah Palin invents 'refudiate'">Sarah Palin, who famously called on peaceful Muslims to "refudiate" it</a>.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/new-york">New York</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ground-zero">Ground Zero</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/islam">Islam</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/religion">Religion</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/september11">September 11 2001</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/sarahpalin">Sarah Palin</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/edpilkington">Ed Pilkington</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> New York Ground Zero United States Islam Religion World news September 11 2001 Sarah Palin The Guardian News http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/03/mosque-near-ground-zero-poll Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:19:59 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/sep/03/google-infested-bed-bugs/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/61829?ns=guardian&pageName=Google+building+infested+by+bed+bugs%3AArticle%3A1447315&ch=Technology&c3=Guardian&c4=Google+%28Technology%29%2CNew+York+%28News%29%2CTechnology%2CWorld+news%2CUS+news%2CInsects+%28environment%29%2CEnvironment&c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CEthical+Living%2CCorporate+IT&c6=Ed+Pilkington&c7=10-Sep-03&c8=1447315&c9=Article&c10=&c11=Technology&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FTechnology%2FGoogle" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The internet giant's New York headquarters have fallen prey to a city-wide outbreak of bed bugs</p><p>They are reddish-brown, smaller than an apple seed, have a taste for human blood and when they bite they itch like hell. And now the onward march of the common bedbug has extended into cyberspace.</p><p>The search engine giant Google confirmed today that its 9th Avenue offices in Manhattan have been infested with the bugs. Parts of the headquarters, a futuristic space renowned for having a Lego room and scooters for staff to move around, have been found to be harbouring the parasites, prompting the wags at <a href="http://gawker.com/5628944/bedbugs-are-spreading-via-google-now" title="Gawker media group to wonder whether its possible">Gawker media group to wonder whether its possible</a> for them to spread via the internet.</p><p>Google is the latest victim of an epidemic that has been rampaging through New York over the summer and has the city that normally prides itself on its permanent state of cool in a veritable panic: the blood suckers have wreaked havoc everywhere from the Empire State building to hospital wards, the prosecutor's office in Brooklyn and Time Warner's Manhattan headquarters.</p><p>Nobody is immune to the threat, from theatre-goers to dwellers in posh Manhattan condominiums and shoppers. Hollister, the teen clothing store, had to close its flagship outlet in SoHo after employees complained they were being bitten.</p><p>The outbreak at Google was disclosed by one of its marketing staff who posted the news on her Twitter feed. "Jeepers, I am not immune to the bedbug panic. Bedbugs have been found at work."</p><p>The feed has now been taken down.</p><p>Across the city, there has been a two-thirds increase in the number of bedbug cases reported over the past two years, with almost 13,000 calls to the city's helpline over the past 12 months. Last year, a survey suggested one in 15 New Yorkers had become victims, a proportion that is likely to have risen since. Experts put the spread down to the decline in use of the chemical DDT, which was banned in 1972. The US environmental protection agency <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/publications/Bed_Bugs_CDC-EPA_Statement.htm" title="warned last month of an "alarming resurgence" of bed bugs">warned last month of an "alarming resurgence" of bed bugs</a> that was overwhelming public health authorities.The agency has promised to search for a new generation of safe pesticides strong enough to eradicate them.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/google">Google</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/new-york">New York</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa">United States</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/insects">Insects</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/edpilkington">Ed Pilkington</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> Google New York Technology World news United States Insects Environment The Guardian Editorial http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/sep/03/google-infested-bed-bugs Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:57:10 GMT