The Republicans and their new Tea Party friends have worked overtime during the 2010 election to give us enemies to hate, as they have for every election since 1968. 

But this cycle they have spawned an embarrassment of riches, so we need a prioritized list to ensure we hate the right people in the right order.

In first place, and coming on strong, should be Muslims. We don’t really need a reason to hate Muslims, as they’re mostly brown and black and wear funny clothes, but there’s always 9/11.

Opinion

You know that point in a marriage ceremony when the priest or minister says, 'If anyone knows any reason why this union should not take place, let him speak now?'

Well, I'm speaking up against the Tea Party pairing of social conservatives and Libertarians. If ever there were an unholy union, this is it.

Once upon a time I used to travel through the Hatton Garden area of central London on a regular basis. It is the diamond and jewellery centre of the city. A friend who had bought a ring from her friend-in-need asked could I get it valued for her. I took it to a jewellers who offered me around 100 pounds. I protested that I had a valuation from the shop that sold it for 1,500 pounds and the man with the eye piece just laughed. He explained that was the price he had probably sold it for but the stone and the ring were worth just 100 pounds to him.

In the West, cheating on your spouse or fiance might lead to a break-up. But in Afghanistan, it just might get you stoned -- and, no, this isn't a story about medical marijuana. The Taliban yesterday conducted a public execution of a 28-year-old married man and 23-year-old engaged woman because the two "had an affair" deemed to be a violation of Islamic religious law, according to the governor of the country's Imam Sahib district (via Britain's Daily Telegraph). Members of the Taliban were among the roughly 100 people who gathered to chuck rocks at the couple as they were bound together in a lonely field, killing them.