Angry barber reveals Edwards' $1,250 haircut

By David Usborne in New York
Published: 06 July 2007

The hairdressing flap that engulfed the presidential hopeful John Edwards earlier this year has burst back to life with the Beverly Hills stylist at the centre of it all revealing that he once charged the former senator much more than the $400 that was originally reported. A single trim in Atlanta cost $1,250. continue...

Two Asian Returnees' Nostalgic Tale of Love And Passion for Uganda

IT is 35 years since the Asian expulsion from Uganda. One returnee is Dr. Vali I. V. Jamal, former Senior Economist at the UN and now owner of Café Viva on Kampala Road. Frederick Golooba-Mutebi lets us into the world of this academic-turned- restaurateur. continue...

Eco-Solutions

Energy's Solutions

Daniel Yergin

The energy challenge certainly ranks at the top of the world’s agenda. What makes it particularly difficult to deal with is that it is created by two forces.

Though not usually put in these terms, one is globalization--and, in particular--the success of globalization. High growth rates, the emergence of large middle classes in countries like China and India, the continuing integration of the global economy--all this is powered by energy. To keep it going requires energy, lots of it. continue...

For Job Market, Green Means Growth

In 1999, as the dot-com boom reached new heights, environmental journalist Joel Makower launched an online publication covering business and environmental interests: two areas he believed would become more connected.

Smart bet. The tech bubble burst, but Makower's publication, GreenBiz.com, boomed. Providing news and analysis, it's the flagship publication for Greener World Media, a for-profit company he created last year with associate Pete May. "As the greening of business expands, it is filtering into every aspect of business," from procurement to marketing to human resources, says Makower. continue...

BP's Biotech Bet

The energy giant has become the biggest investor in some of the most out-there genetics research.

Oil companies are better known for burning fossil fuels than splicing genes. But BP, the energy giant formerly known as British Petroleum, has made leading-edge technologies like custom engineered bacteria a linchpin of its strategy to face up to global warming.

In the process, germs would be souped up to make ethanol, biobutanol or other fuels from plants like corn. Scientists would embed the genomes of bacteria with genes taken from termites, sheep guts or microbes that live on your lawn. The very plants they consumed would also be bioengineered, and even more re-engineered bacteria might produce gasoline or similar fuels directly. continue...

The World's Most Nuclear Nations

The United States may have the most generating power in the world, but as it deliberates how to make nuclear power a bigger part of the country's energy future, Eastern Europe and Asia are racing ahead.

Of the 30 plants being built worldwide, seven are in Russia, six in India, four in China and two in Ukraine--home to a place called Chernobyl. Bulgaria, Romania, Pakistan and Iran also have new reactors in the works. continue...

Rookie Marathon Training Mistakes - Forbes.com

It's the evening before your first marathon. You've loaded up on spaghetti, drank gallons of water to make sure you're fully hydrated and laid out your new sneakers and running shorts.

Inadvertently, you've also set yourself up for an upset stomach, a long night of frequent visits to the bathroom and potentially race-ending blisters and chafing from your stiff gear. These are just a few of the common mistakes runners make when preparing for the often-unnerving 26.2-mile race.

And it's not just the beginners who stumble, says Brian Collins, founder of 1st Marathon, a training program based in Mesa, Ariz., that coaches about 1,000 first-timers a year. Continue...

iPhone 2.0

Steve Jobs is probably seething. The reviews of Apple's iPhone are in, and they're great. But Apple's chief is known to be almost as thin-skinned as he is secretive. This diva reads his press clips, and you can bet he's already stirring up his minions as he prepares for his next performance: iPhone 2.0.

The iPhone may go on sale this Friday, but the gadget maker has no doubt put months, maybe years, of toil into the product that could soon make the iPhone obsolete. And you can count on every flaw picked at in this week's reviews of the iPhone from The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg or The New York Times' David Pogue to become a creeping nightmare for the iPhone team slaving away in a windowless arm of Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

The buzz has already begun. The trade press is reporting that a next-generation iPhone could debut at MacWorld in January. In May, a patent surfaced showing a full-screen touchpad on the reverse side of what looks like an iPod Nano. Others report that the next iPhone could come in a cubic zirconia case. The rumors can't all be true, but using the latest reviews as a tip sheet, here's a roundup of what we can expect: continue...

Mrs. Murdoch Takes The Wheel At MySpace China

Mrs. Murdoch Takes The Wheel At MySpace China
Shu-Ching Jean Chen, 06.28.07, 3:56 AM ET
HONG KONG -

Wendi Deng, the young Chinese wife of Rupert Murdoch, appears to have finally been elevated to an official post within News Corp.: chief of strategy for MySpace’s China operation.

News of the impending appointment was confirmed by unnamed sources separately in media in China and the U.S., as well as in Australia. The new title, plus a seat on the board of MySpace China, would bring her into the glare of the public eye for the first time after an important backstage role setting up the venture.

MySpace China, which aspires to duplicate the success of the pioneering U.S. social-networking Web site, debuted in April as a trial site. It is a locally incorporated company that News Corp. (nyse: NWS - news - people ) has only a minority stake in, alongside U.S. venture capital firm International Data Group and China Broadband Capital Partners, an investment company founded by Edward Tian, the former head of China Netcom.

An official role at MySpace China would provide the 39-year-old Deng with her first chance to prove her mettle in the succession battle with Murdoch's children for control of the sprawling family-run media empire. more...

Small Talk: Biofuel investors lose out as board plays blame game

By Andrew Dewson
Published: 02 July 2007

The demise of Biofuels Corporation might have been widely predicted but it highlights the fact that even if an industry has the potential to start laying golden eggs, you've still got to find a capable midwife. continue...

300 domain names a day cash in on new iPhone craze

By Stephen Foley
Published: 02 July 2007

As hundreds of people queued up around the US to get their hands on Apple's new iPhone, dozens of entrepreneurs were at home on their computers hoping to cash in on the hype - by registering internet sites incorporating the iPhone name.

The number of registrations spiked as high as 300 a day, as names such as iPhoneJewelry.com and TheAppleMaciPhone.com were among the domains snapped up last month. But Apple, too, has belatedly swung into action to ensure it carves out the right amount of cyberspace to sell its new gadget, the first web-enabled phone with combined music player that has truly captured the public imagination. continue...

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Sane, ordinary Muslims must stand up and be counted

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Sane, ordinary Muslims must stand up and be counted
These nihilists undermine our fundamental right to belong in this country

Published: 02 July 2007

As they wake up to news of the foiled car-bomb attack on Glasgow Airport, I know what millions of my compatriots - atheists, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews and Christians - will be saying, their easy Sunday ruined by yet another alleged Islamicist plot: "What's wrong with these crazed Muslims?" "Why the hell are they here if they hate it so much?" "When will we be rid of the lot of them?" "What do they want?" "Other minorities also have a hard time, they don't blow up nightclubs and airports". continue...

'Love thy neighbour'

For civility to be a unifying, healing – holy – force in our lives, it has to go beyond good manners.

Lately, there's been a swelling chorus of voices among columnists and social commentators over the growing level of intolerance in society. Several incidents over the past few months suggest that people's patience is wearing thin. They want a more civil environment. continue...

Back to the kitchen for 'Ratatoille'

Remy: Pixar's star rodent hangs with his pal, Linguini.Disney-Pixar/AP

Pixar's latest looks good but it's undercooked.

By Peter Rainer | Film critic of The Christian Science Monitor

"Ratatouille," the eighth feature from Disney-owned Pixar, has an icky premise. It's about a rat named Remy who lives with his rodent brood in the French countryside and fulfills his dream of becoming a great chef in a legendary Parisian restaurant. continue...

Simple ways to raise your credit score

Consumers often are unaware of their credit scores, but giving it some attention could save you thousands on a mortgage.

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

For house hunters aiming to take advantage of today's soft real estate markets, one mysterious number is becoming increasingly fateful – and it's not the seller's asking price.

A credit score, calculated to tell companies whether a consumer is likely to pay bills on time, is taking on more significance in an era of mounting defaults and foreclosures. On a scale of 350 to 850, scores in the 500s were good enough to secure a mortgage just last year. But now, any score below 600 is almost always a deal breaker, according to Jay Brinkmann, vice president of research and economics at the Mortgage Bankers Association, a national trade group for lenders. continue...

Can You Hear Me Now?

Sherry Turkle
05.07.07

Thanks to technology, people have never been more connected--or more alienated

I have traveled 36 hours to a conference on robotic technology in central Japan. The grand ballroom is Wi-Fi enabled, and the speaker is using the Web for his presentation. Laptops are open, fingers are flying. But the audience is not listening. Most seem to be doing their e-mail, downloading files, surfing the Web or looking for a cartoon to illustrate an upcoming presentation. Every once in a while audience members give the speaker some attention, lowering their laptop screens in a kind of digital curtsy. continue...

A look 'Inside Hamas'

A look 'Inside Hamas'
How a group from the slums of Gaza became the power that rocked the Palestinian territories.
Click here to read this article.

www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2007 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved

The Big Question: Why has social mobility declined, and what can be done to reverse the trend?

By Sean O'Grady, Economics Editor
Published: 26 June 2007

Why are we talking about social mobility?  
New research confirms the image of Britain as a relatively rigid society. There is proportionately more chance that, if you're born poor in Britain, you'll stay poor. continue...

150,000 pupils targeted by homophobic bullies

By Tim Ross, PA Education Correspondent
Published: 26 June 2007

More than 150,000 pupils have been targeted by school bullies because they are gay, research suggested today.  continue...

Robert Fisk: After the Spaniards, who will be next to die in Lebanon?

Published: 26 June 2007

Which United Nations contingent in southern Lebanon will be next? It is a ghoulish, terrible question after the car bomb attack that killed six Spanish soldiers of the 13,000-strong international army on Sunday evening, but one which the officers of the UN Interim Force - Unifil - are asking at their intelligence meetings. For the UN army from 30 countries under the command of four Nato generals - the Spanish contributed 1,100 soldiers - is clearly going to be attacked again. The usual expressions of determination of Western leaders who are not going to "cut and run" - so reminiscent of the Iraq war - are not going to change that.  continue...