One's a Mac, the other is a PC, but really they are the best of friends

By Stephen Foley in New York
Published: 01 June 2007

They didn't introduce themselves by saying "Hello, I'm a Mac", "and I'm a PC" - but the cheeky Apple adverts ribbing Microsoft were never far from the surface as the tech companies' founders, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, appeared on stage together for the first time in a decade. continue...

As pork prices soar, Chinese put brakes on corn for ethanol

Precious resource: With a famine only 50 years in the past, Chinese are wary about using food – such as this corn harvested in Heilongjiang Province – for biofuel.

With a famine less than 50 years in its past, China remains sensitive about using food for fuel.

By Peter Ford | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Reporters on the job: Peter Ford shares the story behind the story.

John Nordell – Staff

Beijing - Ethanol production has put the Chinese government in an unpleasant bind, as fears rise that the environmentally friendly gasoline additive is also fueling politically dangerous increases in the price of food – particularly pork, a key staple. continue...

White House nears completion of new torture guidelines

Critics say administration's endorsement of 'enhanced interrogation' is 'immoral,' draw comparisons to Nazi war crimes.

By Arthur Bright | csmonitor.com

The White House is close to completing a new set of guidelines on the use of "enhanced interrogative techniques" by US agents, even as critics say such techniques are "immoral," "amateurish," and "indistinguishable" from Nazi war crimes.  continue...

Muslim roots of the blues / The music of famous American blues singers reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa

Jonathan Curiel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, August 15, 2004

More...

Sylviane Diouf knows her audience might be skeptical, so to demonstrate the connection between Islam and American blues music, she'll play two recordings: The Muslim call to prayer (the religious recitation that's heard from mosques around the world), and "Levee Camp Holler" an early type of blues song that first sprang up in the Mississippi Delta more than 100 years ago

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/15/INGMC85SSK1.DTL

Shami Chakrabarti: We risk the values that make Britain worth defending

Shami Chakrabarti: We risk the values that make Britain worth defending

Published: 29 May 2007

More than 50 years ago, with Britain as midwife, the European Convention on Human Rights was born of the ashes of the Second World War. Conceived by the generation who saw the horrors of the Holocaust, one of its non-negotiable articles is the complete prohibition on torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.

Thirty-five years ago a British prime minister addressed Parliament and made clear that the military practice of hooding terrorist suspects was at an end. Even while staring terrorism in the face, democracies can never resort to torture. continue...

Scotland the bravest in broadband revolution

By Nic Fildes
Published: 29 May 2007

Scottish citizens are plugging into high-speed internet at a faster rate than anywhere else in the UK, with more than half of residents and businesses in outlying areas such as Shetland and Aberdeenshire already on broadband.

The figures released by BT Wholesale provide further evidence that the "digital divide" in the UK is narrowing. Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, become concerned in the early days of broadband take-up that the majority of people benefiting from high-speed internet lived in urban areas, creating a class of "digital have-nots" in rural areas. continue...

Agency looks for next Naomi Campbell in Paris banlieues

By Jen Wainwright in Paris
Published: 29 May 2007

For the first time, a top modelling agency that launched the careers of Cindy Crawford and Gisele Bündchen has gone to the Paris banlieues to find the next big thing on the catwalk. continue...

Bar wins right to ban heterosexuals

By Kathy Marks in Sydney
Published: 29 May 2007

A gay bar in Melbourne has won the right to turn away straight patrons, so it can provide an environment in which gay men can express their sexuality without feeling threatened.

The Peel Hotel applied for an exemption to equal opportunities legislation, saying its gay male clientele felt uncomfortable about the increasing numbers of straight people using the venue over the past year. continue...