Doubts in Texas over Death Penalty.Texas accounts for half of executions in US but now has doubts over death rowOverturned convictions and growth of DNA forensic evidence shake state's rock-solid faith in capital punishmentChris McGreal in Livingston guardian.co.uk, Sunday 15 November 2009 Article historyEven in Texas they are having their doubts. The state that executes more people than any other by far – it will account for half the prisoners sent to the death chamber in the US this year – is seeing its once rock-solid faith in capital punishment shaken by overturned convictions, judicial scandals and growing evidence that at least one innocent man has been executed.Chris McGreal on fall in executions in US Link to this audio The growth of DNA forensic evidence has seen nearly 140 death row convictions overturned across the US, prompting abolition and moratoriums in other states that Texas has so far resisted.But the public mood is swinging in the conservative state, which often seems to have an Old Testament view of justice. A former governor, Mark White – previously a strong supporter of the death penalty – has joined those calling for a reconsideration of capital punishment because of the risk of executing an innocent person.The number of death sentences passed by juries in Texas has fallen sharply in recent years, reflecting a retreat from capital punishment in many parts of America after DNA evidence led to the release of scores of condemned prisoners.The number of death sentences passed annually in the US has dropped by about 60% in the past decade, to around 100."In Texas we have seen a constant stream of individual cases that really destroy public faith and integrity in our criminal justice system,"…

  'McItaly' storm for McDonald's Fast-food chain McDonald's has gained an unlikely sponsor for it's new all-Italian burger - Italy's Agriculture Minister, who has had to defend himself against accusations of 'selling out' and sacrificing the country's culinary reputation by giving Government approval to the sandwich.  

  Robert Fisk: A financial revolution with profound political implications Such large financial movements will have major political effects in the Middle East The plan to de-dollarise the oil market, discussed both in public and in secret for at least two years and widely denied yesterday by the usual suspects – Saudi Arabia being, as expected, the first among them – reflects a growing resentment in the Middle East, Europe and in China at America's decades-long political as well as economic world dominance.  Nowhere has this more symbolic importance than in the Middle East, where the United Arab Emirates alone holds $900bn (£566bn) of dollar reserves and where Saudi Arabia has been quietly co-ordinating its defence, armaments and oil policies with the Russians since 2007. Related articlesDollar tumbles on report of its demise David Prosser: China's push for power is irresistible The demise of the dollar This does not indicate a trade war with America – not yet – but Arab Gulf regimes have been growing increasingly restive at their economic as well as political dependence on Washington for many years. Of the $7.2 trillion in international reserves, $2.1trn is held by Arab countries – China holds about $2.3trn – and the nations interested in moving away from dollar-trading in oil are believed to hold over 80 per cent of international dollar reserves.Saudi Arabia's denials of any such ambitions were regarded by Arab bankers as a normal part of Gulf politics. The Saudis, of course, managed to deny that Iraq had invaded Kuwait in 1990 – even when Saddam Hussein's legions stood along the Saudi frontier, until the US broadcast the news of Iraq's aggression to the world.Saudi bankers are well aware that in nine years' time – the current timeframe for a transition away from the…

  Religion and learning: what we knowLifelong atheists have more qualifications than lifelong theists. But converts to theism come from better-educated groupsComments (341) Nick Spencer guardian.co.ukAndrew Brown's recent blog on atheism and class attracted a huge number of responses, including one from BristolBoy asking, "Has anyone in the UK ever carried out a study of the demographics of belief, with particular reference to the UK?"The answer is yes. Last year we at Theos, the public theology thinktank, commissioned a large survey (2,000+ respondents) looking into attitudes to evolution, a/theism and a whole host of related topics.One of the questions, adapted from an earlier BBC/ICM survey, asked people not simply what they believed (about God) but whether they had changed their mind, and by cross-tabulating these results with standard demographic questions, we can get a reasonably detailed picture of the class composition of atheism and theism in the UK.The results can be read here but in summary the study found that lifelong theists ("I have always believed in God") are disproportionately from lower socio-economic grades (DE: semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers or those unemployed or on state benefits), whereas lifelong atheists ("I have never believed in God") are disproportionately from upper social grades (AB: higher or intermediate managerial or administrative professionals).No surprise there. The default position in the UK (and seemingly in humans themselves) has long been belief in God, so you would expect theism to be a mass movement and atheism a more select one.What is interesting – and surprising – is that "converts" to theism ("I believe in God now but have not always done so") are disproportionately from upper and upper-middle social grades (ABC1: as above plus supervisory, clerical, junior managerial or administrative professionals), whereas "converts" to atheism…

  Home computers: Decisions, decisions Apple has elected not to compete with PCs on price, so its cheapest portable option is a MacBook with no upgrades at $999.