Mexican StandoffDon't blame Arizonans—or immigrants—for the state's draconian new law. "It's terrifying to live next door to homes filled with human traffickers, drug smugglers, AK-47s, pit bulls, and desperate laborers stuffed 30 to a room, shoes removed to hinder escape"Read Article

 Martin Amis: 'Men are terrible. We can't help it' Martin Amis has written some of the funniest, cleverest novels of the late 20th century. He tells Christina Patterson about his new book, and how he wishes the world was run by women   Friday, 10 April 2009
WILL WINTERCROSS Surrounded by books: Martin Amis at his home near Regent's Park If Martin Amis is worried about security – about random visits, say, from Islamist nutters seeking revenge, or from latte-sipping liberals whose anti-torture instincts have, on reading recent Amis, been sorely tested – he clearly hasn't told his nine-year-old daughter. We've already had a nice chat about her day, and her lovely pink top, and the portrait on the wall, when I realise that this dark-eyed little girl, who pressed the buzzer on the outside gate, and opened the front door, and welcomed me in, hasn't actually told either of her parents that I'm there. She's delightful, of course, but I can feel the taxi-meter of precious interview time ticking away. So finally I crack and off she trots – serious, soulful, sweet – and here they are, Mummy and Daddy, one of the most glamorous literary couples in the world. Mummy is Isabel Fonseca, the beautiful American heiress, writer, novelist, and second wife. And Daddy – well, we know who Daddy is. Amis fils, he used to be called, this writer of brilliant, glittering, savagely comic novels, this writer of coruscating, polysyllabic, look-at-me prose, this writer who is one of the most famous writers alive. Amis fils he used to be called to distinguish him from Amis père, angry young man turned grumpy old devil, poet, curmudgeon, pen pal of Larkin and creator of – yes – savagely cruel comic novels, and of one of the funniest books in the English language, Lucky Jim. If Kingsley was the colossus who loomed – a colossus who, famously, gave up reading his son's books – Martin was the sexy one, the hip one, the one who wrote the blistering satires on money and success, but did pretty well at garnering both. And here, in this gracious Regency house, are the fruits of it: tasteful modern art, ethnic artefacts, artfully arranged antiques. In the corner, there's a pinball machine and the sofas are scarlet velvet. No "Martin Amis does Laura Ashley chintz" shock horror. No "Martin Amis does space, light and elegance with a funky twist", Goddamn him. Martin Amis does, by the looks of it, perfect happy families in massive, beautiful house. Martin Amis does brilliant, world-famous novelist and all this as well. Related articles More Books Articles I am, it's clear, having the authentic Martin Amis experience. In the old days, it was young men who were sent to interview him: young men who would bask in the golden light of his glory, hoping perhaps that some of that precious, blessed stardust (pure testosterone, maybe, frozen into tiny, glittering crystals) might…

 
  How Lucy's meat-eating made us what we are now Steve Connor: The point when our ancestors first picked up a sharp stone to butcher animals has been pushed much further back in time Read Article    

 GOP Chairman Scoffs at Obama Winning Peace Prize By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the Republican Party is contending that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize as result of his ''star power'' rather than meaningful accomplishments.Michael Steele issued a statement Friday saying, ''The real question Americans are asking is, What has President Obama actually accomplished?''Steele, who took over the reigns of the party earlier this year, said he thought it was ''unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights.'' He said he doesn't think Obama will be ''receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action.'' 

  How the web has changed our world Democratic but dangerous, says Aleks Krotoski, presenter of a new series on the history of the net