Diabetes Drug Linked to Heart Deaths

NY Times Magazine profile on former VP Al Gore. This is a picture of Gore's home office. I'm sure every bit of that is recycled paper, right Al? :)

Electricity Crisis Hobbles an India Eager to Ascend

McDonalds offerings around the world

Brits are less uptight than Americans.... "Since the British military began allowing homosexuals to serve in the armed forces in 2000, none of its fears — about harassment, discord, blackmail, bullying or an erosion of unit cohesion or military effectiveness — have come to pass, according to the Ministry of Defense, current and former members of the services and academics specializing in the military. The biggest news about the policy, they say, is that there is no news. It has for the most part become a non-issue."

7 Steps to a Better Night (via quixotickitten)

Battlestar's Grace Park: From Warrior to Cylon to Asian Excellence Award Nominee

Sopranos Shout-Out: How to Clean Practically Anything

The Message Magnet Set from the Discovery Channel Store.

The finalists in the 4th Annual Smithsonian Magazine photo contest

Welcome to the new Solar system, now with one less planet.: “Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight. After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status.”

Something for rparvaaz: That restaurant we’ve been discussing is changing its name.

The FDA approved Plan B by Barr Pharmaceuticals this morning. Full CDER info. Plan B is an emergency contraceptive that, taken within 72 hours after contraceptive failure or unprotected sex, can reduce the risk of pregnancy up to 89%. It is not an abortifacent and does not work on those who are already pregnant. Women may buy it without a prescription, but only with proof they’re 18 or older. Girls 17 and younger still will need a doctor’s note to buy the pills. This compromise is the culmination of a nasty three-year political battle.

Someone has it in for the SciFi Channel. :)

Wisconsin’s Beloit College has published its sixth annual Mindset List.

Does anyone even watch the show anymore? Survivor plays the race card: “So yesterday, on CBS’s morning infotainment program, the network announced that for “Survivor: Cook Islands,” which debuts next month, 20 contestants would be divided into the White Tribe, the African American Tribe, the Asian American Tribe and the Hispanic Tribe. We’ll pause here to give you time to re-hinge your jaw.” More here. Just for laughs,

Just because I love the name: The Velveteen Rabbi Syndicated feed: velveteenrabbi.

10 Tips for Keeping Your Desk Clean and Tidy

The digital toilet


Politics
Back to the Ouija Board: Nuclear Apocalypse milder than expected. A leading Islamic scholar predicted armagaeddon would happen on Tuesday.

Don’t worry. WWIII may yet happen: Israel says “We may have to go it alone against Iran”.
Israel is also using the Lebanon war as justification to put the agreed-upon pullout plan on hold temporarily. In doing so they’re also snubbing President Bush, their staunchest ally. The plan is about a year old. More here. Don’t count on this being the case for too long, though: “Israel’s costly and inconclusive war in Lebanon has triggered a round of internal recriminations so bitter that some observers question whether Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government can survive.”

The WashPost has had solid coverage of this latest MidEast crisis.

Independent Weekly: Do You Know What It Means to Myth New Orleans? “One of the Crescent City’s biggest challenges is overcoming inaccurate reports and stereotypes that formed in the immediate wake of Katrina”

Choices that come back to haunt you....: “In the heart of Tehran sits one of Iran’s most important nuclear facilities, a dome-shaped building where scientists have conducted secret experiments that could help the country build atomic bombs. It was provided to the Iranians by the United States.”

Vanity Fair: Rare scenes from 9/11

Evolutionary biology has vanished from the list of acceptable fields of study for recipients of a federal (US) education grant for low-income college students. The government says “Oops,” (yeah, right) and promises to restore it.

"A new restaurant in India's financial hub, named after Adolf Hitler and promoted with posters showing the German leader and Nazi swastikas, has infuriated the country's small Jewish community.

'Hitler's Cross', which opened last week, serves up a wide range of continental fare and a big helping of controversy, thanks to a name the owners say they chose to stand out among hundreds of Mumbai eateries.

"We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in people's minds," owner Punit Shablok told Reuters."


Note the distinct lack of outraged response in the article from non-Jews living in Mumbai.* I suppose a shrine to General R.E.H. Dyer would have been required for that.....


* Edit: In addition to her comments below, rparvaaz posted an excellent explanation and questions about the restaurant to the Mumbai residents of her flist this morning. She's even raised a discussion on whether a similarly-themed restaurant for Brigadier-General Dyer would be an issue in Mumbai. Consider it required reading for a full perspective.