Also amazed that things turned out so well.Is Ali G racist? Peter Hinds, by e-mailAh, the old Stavros debate rears up once more. No, he isn’t, any more than Harry Enfield was anti-Greek, Dick Emery’s “ooh, you are awful” character was homophobic, or Jenny and Dawn’s fat old men characters meant that they think all men are sexists. It would be a sad situation if character comedians were only allowed to play within their own ethnic and social groups. Having said that, I think the debate that Ali G provoked was a healthy one.What has made you laugh in the last 24 hours? Julia Burns, TauntonMy children.
Their scatological material is very similar to my own.Who or what is the butt of your present jokes? Tilda Smith, BirminghamI’m not doing any stand-up gear at the moment, but like all fathers, I’m already becoming the butt of my family’s jokes. Young as they are, the kids have already decided that I am inherently a joke. Why is that? Why are dad’s considered so sad? I’ve seen it happen time and time again. I may start a self-help group.Of all the different things you’ve done, which has given you the greatest job satisfaction? Damian Young, LeedsHosting the Brits. You can’t put a price on a hug from Kylie.Who’s going to win the World Cup? Sarah Williams, by e-mailFootball ain’t my thing.Your musical We Will Rock You opens soon. What makes you rock, Ben? Andy Taylor, CoventryRock and pop has always been a big part of my life, and I have very broad tastes.
Like most people, I’ve always loved Queen, and getting the chance to work with their greatest hits has been great fun. In the long run, though, I’m in no doubt that the greatest pop group of the 20th century was the Beatles.What is there left for you to achieve? Sheila Forrester, by e-mailEverything.’We Will Rock You’ opens on 14 May at the Dominion Theatre, London (020-7413 1713). Iraqi scientists could turn a smallpox-style disease that infects camels into a deadly weapon, a British researcher says. Such a change could happen naturally or be engineered, New Scientist magazine reports today.In 1995, Iraq admitted to UN weapons inspectors that it was working with camelpox with a view to using it as a weapon, because its own troops were frequently exposed to the camel virus and would be immune.The inspectors were dubious about the claim, because camelpox does not cause disease in humans, but they thought Iraq could be using it for research prior to developing a smallpox weapon.Such fears recently prompted Britain to order £32m worth of smallpox vaccines in a contract awarded to a company run by a Labour Party donor.Fresh research, though, suggests that camelpox itself could pose a threat. Geoffrey Smith, of Imperial College, London, who sequenced the DNA of a camelpox strain isolated from camels in Iran in 1970, told New Scientist he was surprised how similar the virus was to smallpox.
“It could be that only a small set of changes would be necessary for camelpox virus to infect people,” he said.Both viruses come from the same family, known as “orthopox”. They have common central DNA structures, used for their replication. The new evidence shows they are also similar towards the ends of their genome, where genes determine what animals they infect, how quickly and with what effect, raising fears camelpox could evolve to infect people.. ITV Digital appeared to be on the brink of liquidation last night after the company’s solicitors faxed the Football League and said that all offers to solve the contract crisis between the two had expired. “We now have nothing to put to our clubs when we meet.” Representatives from the League’s 72 clubs are due to meet in Manchester today and were going to vote on whether to accept a £74m deal for the remaining two years of the League’s contract with ITV Digital.The broadcaster owes the League £178.5m for the next two years but had said the £74m offer was final. That offer has now expired, sources within ITV Digital said, and prospects for any settlement look bleak.ITV Digital could now go into liquidation within days, leaving the League with none of the money it is owed.