The Law of Unintended Consequences

The Army Corps of Engineers is so often involved in projects like this, which backfire. Last fall they excavated 500,000 cubic yards of sand from the beaches of Surf City, New Jersey, in order to improve the beach.

The unintended consequence? The dredging unlodged 1,111 pieces of WWI ordinance that had been dumped in the ocean. So the beaches were closed for months, and at a cost of $2.3 million dollars, the beaches were cleared of the ancient discarded weapons. The beaches are being reopened, but now there are special rules: You can't dig any deeper than 12" into the sand.

Just the kind of place you want to take the kids!

NYTimes: After Ordnance Scare, Beachgoers Told to Dig With Care

Aaron Houston for The New York Times

A fuze, a device used to ignite explosives that dates from World War I, was found Monday by a detection crew in shallow water off Surf City.

Got To Make Some of These

Kool-Aid Dill Pickle

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

NYTimes: A Sweet So Sour: Kool-Aid Dills

[] “They’re easy to make a gallon,” Ms. Williams said. “You pull the pickles from the jar, cut them in halves, make double-strength Kool-Aid, add a pound of sugar, shake and let it sit — best in the refrigerator — for about a week. The taste takes to anything. A while back I made a mistake and bought a jar of pickle chips instead of halves or wholes. Came out fine. This whole Kool-Aid pickle thing is going so good, you wonder why somebody hasn’t put a patent on them.”

Jerry Falwell, 1933-2007

Given that Jerry Falwell blamed me, a feminist, for 9/11, I have a hard time saying anything nice about the man. As Atrios says, let's hope he finds God more forgiving than he thought he was. (or, even better, lets hope that he finds out that God is female!)

A compilation of some of the lowlights of his public statements: The Carpetbagger Report: Jerry Falwell dies at age 73

Wikipedia: Jerry Falwell

NYTimes: Rev. Jerry Falwell Is Dead at 73

Kirsten Gillibrand in NYTimes

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

Potential rivals for Representative Kirsten Gillibrand's seat in Congress include a retired Army lieutenant colonel and a former candidate for governor.

Part 3 of the series:

NYTimes: The Freshman
Barely in Office, but G.O.P. Rivals Are Circling

Milford, New York, where the picture is taken, is also the home of the Cooperstown Brewing Co., where you can buy my favorite beer, Old Slugger, as well as other baseball-named beers. I wonder if John Sweeney has partaken of their wares? The New York Times outlines several Republicans who will run for Gillibrand's seat in 2008, but Sweeney is not mentioned.

Save Darfur: Divest

I saw this on BlueGal:

The reason Fidelity feels they can't divest from genocide is because that would mean divesting large holdings from China. China is an international scourge on so many levels. “They’re too big a market to be held accountable to international standards” is a sick testimony to Western greed. That and Wal Mart. Oh, wait. That’s cheap junk from China, isn’t it?

Look at her. Just look at her face.

h/t Quakerdave, who would like as many of you as possible to post this vid to your blogs.

Chemicals and Cancer

The LATimes reports on a new study linking breast cancer to many chemicals common to our environment.

LATimes: Common chemicals are linked to breast cancer
Of the 216 compounds, many in the air, food or everyday items.

LATimes: Chemical carcinogens (list)

It Isn't Your Imagination

Typical Sunday talk show panel: Four white men, one white woman, no minorities
All those talking head shows are filled with white men. Men outnumber women 4 to 1; white outnumber minorities 7 to 1.



Media Matters for America: Sunday Shutout: The Lack of Gender & Ethnic Diversity on the Sunday Morning Talk Shows

Rudy Giuliani: "Said all the right things, but did all the wrong things"

I hope the Republicans are foolish enough to run Rudy Giuliani in 2008. He's crooked and a real jerk. Here are just two articles about his perfidy.

WaPo: In Private Sector, Giuliani Parlayed Fame Into Wealth
Candidate's Firm Has Taken On Controversial Executives, Clients

On Dec. 7, 2001, nearly three months after the terrorist attack that had made him a national hero and a little over three weeks before he would leave office, New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani took the first official step toward making himself rich.

And at the same time he was busily making himself rich, he was exposing thousands of Ground Zero workers to toxic dust by failing to enforce federal requirements regarding respirator use:

NYTimes: Ground Zero Illnesses Clouding Giuliani’s Legacy

Administration documents and thousands of pages of legal testimony filed in a lawsuit against New York City, along with more than two dozen interviews with people involved in the events of the last four months of Mr. Giuliani’s administration, show that while the city had a safety plan for workers, it never meaningfully enforced federal requirements that those at the site wear respirators.

At the same time, the administration warned companies working on the pile that they would face penalties or be fired if work slowed. And according to public hearing transcripts and unpublished administration records, officials also on some occasions gave flawed public representations of the nature of the health threat, even as they privately worried about exposure to lawsuits by sickened workers.

“The city ran a generally slipshod, haphazard, uncoordinated, unfocused response to environmental concerns,” said David Newman, an industrial hygienist with the New York Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, a labor group.

City officials and a range of medical experts are now convinced that the dust and toxic materials in the air around the site were a menace. More than 2,000 New York City firefighters have been treated for serious respiratory problems. Seventy percent of nearly 10,000 recovery workers screened at Mount Sinai Medical Center have trouble breathing. City officials estimate that health care costs related to the air at ground zero have already run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and no one knows whether other illnesses, like cancers, will emerge.

[]

The city’s handling of safety issues has been criticized by doctors, unions and occupational safety experts. Mr. Giuliani’s oversight of the operation was condemned in a 2006 book, “Grand Illusion,” by Wayne Barrett, a longtime critic of the former mayor, and Dan Collins. Mr. Barrett said in an interview that when it came to safety, Mr. Giuliani “said all the right things, but did all the wrong things.”

And of course, by failing to do the right thing in the long term, he saved money in the short term, and used the speed of the Ground Zero cleanup to burnish his own reputation, which he then sold around the world (see WaPo article at top.) For Rudy, it's all about the Benjamins, and public health and the little people be damned.

Infections

Today's Washington Post has an article about the antibiotic-resistant infections sweeping the nations' hospitals. This made me think of Steve Gilliard of the News Blog, who has suffered a relapse in his fight to get out of the hospital and get well. He was already weak from serious kidney and heart problems; now he has a system-wide infection and can only be visited by people in what his friend Jen calls "bunnysuits". Steve was the first 'big' blogger ever to link to this site, so we have a special place in our heart for him and pray for his recovery.

It also made me think about a factor not mentioned in the article, Big Food's aggressive use of antibiotics in the production of meat. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, 70% -- seventy percent! -- of the antibiotics used in this country are used on animals being fattened for slaughter:

It is livestock producers, however, who use the vast majority of antibiotics produced in the United States. An estimated 70 percent of antibiotics and related drugs produced in this country are used for nontherapeutic purposes such as accelerating animal growth and compensating for overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on large-scale confinement facilities known as "factory farms." This translates to about 25 million pounds of antibiotics and related drugs fed every year to livestock for nontherapeutic purposes—almost eight times the amount given to humans to treat disease.

Another reason to become a vegetarian.


1999 Guardian (uk) series: Antibiotics in our food

Time: Playing Chicken With Our Antibiotics
Overtreatment is creating dangerously resistant germs (2002)

Center for Science in the Public Interest: Antibiotic Resistance Project

Tell Your Mama 'Bout O'Bama

"I've got pieces of everybody in me," Obama has acknowledged. (Orlin Wagner - AP)

No wonder I like Obama so much. He's one of my people! O'Bama it is.

WaPo: Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own

MONEYGALL, Ireland -- Here they call him O'Bama.

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, Democratic candidate for president, is the talk of this village because recently unearthed records indicate that he is a son of Moneygall.

Stephen Neill, a local Anglican rector, said church documents he has found, along with census, immigration and other records tracked down by U.S. genealogists, appear to show that Obama's great-great-great-grandfather, Fulmuth Kearney, was reared in Moneygall, then left for America in 1850, when he was 19.

Farewell to Robbie Fowler

Today Robbie Fowler, the hero of the Kop, will play his last game in a Liverpool kit. My favorite story about Robbie Fowler is that he went to Istanbul in 2005 and was sitting in the stands as a fan when Liverpool won its fifth European Cup (even though he was at the time a Man City player). For today, I switched from Didier Drogba (out with injury) to Fowler in my fantasy team. I'm sure the Liverpool team will do everything possible to help God score in his final Liverpool game. Even Rafa hopes he will score today. Here are a few videos of Robbie Fowler to enjoy if you're not getting the game live. Robbie Fowler, you'll never walk alone.

His return to Liverpool last year:

All of Fowler's goals after his return:

100 Players Who Shook The Kop: #4, Robbie Fowler

Compilation of great Fowler goals:

Fastest hat-trick in EPL by Robbie Fowler (1994):


Observer Sport Monthly (uk): Don't look back in anger

Mother's Day For Peace

The history of Mother's Day:

In the United States, Mother's Day was originally suggested by poet and social activist Julia Ward Howe. In 1870, after witnessing the carnage of the American Civil War and the start of the Franco-Prussian War, she wrote the original Mother's Day Proclamation calling upon the women of the world to unite for peace. This "Mother's Day Proclamation" would plant the seed for what would eventually become a national holiday.

After writing the proclamation, Howe had it translated into many languages and spent the next two years of her life distributing it and speaking to women leaders all over the world. In her book Reminiscences, Howe wrote, "Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?" She devoted much of the next two years to this cause, and began holding annual "Mother's Day" gatherings in Boston, Massachusetts and elsewhere.

In 1907, thirty-seven years after the proclamation was written, women's rights activist Anna Jarvis began campaigning for the establishment of a nationally observed Mother¹s Day holiday. And in 1914, four years after Howe's death, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother's Day as a national holiday.

Julia Ward Howe's original Mother's Day Proclamation:

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have breasts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Mother's Day For Peace

Julia Ward Howe

Anucha Browne Sanders Trial Date Set

Or, as the New York Post puts it: SEPT. 10 TRIAL DATE FOR ISIAH

And let the leaking (from the defense, surely) begin:

Legal sources predict the trial to last two weeks, allowing Thomas to be ready for Knicks' training camp Oct. 1 in Charleston, S.C. Sources deny settlement talks took place recently.

"There's going to be a trial," one legal source said. Browne-Sanders declined comment.

Interestingly, Isiah has dumped his initial attorney and replaced him with a her, the former head of the New York Women's Bar Association. Given Thomas's personnel choices at New York and Indiana, I think this may be a disaster in the making. Like the Stephon Marbury deal.

East Valley Tribune (Phoenix): Inside the NBA: New act in Knicks circus: Thomas trial slated for fall

Barely relevant P.S.: 13 years ago today, Isiah Thomas retired from the NBA.

Just For Laughs

GQ: The Real Colbert Report Every time I see the GQ cover photo of Colbert holdng his baby self on a magazine stand, it cracks me up.

Bob Geiger's Saturday Cartoons

Predictions of the Year 2000
from The Ladies Home Journal of December 1900

Dependable Renegade has John McCain, still out there visiting in his flak jacket:

The Gates of Hell

Applebee's in Petaluma, CA

Colonial Williamsburg

Graceland

Orlando, Florida

historic San Francisco

The Lower East Side
Indiana

And my personal favorite: Portland, Maine

Yo Blair

Don't let the door hit you when you leave office on June 27th.

I used to compare Blair favorably to Chimpy McFlightsuit, because he could speak English fluently unlike President Malaprop, but he also made the historically foolish decision to invade Iraq. He will not be judged well by history.

"Yo Blair" greeting audible at second 17 of this NBC Today Show report

AC Milan 3 - Manchester United 0

AC Milan's Kaka (C) and Gennaro Gattuso celebrate at the end of their Champions League semi-final second leg soccer match as Manchester United's Darren Fletcher (R) leaves the pitch at the San Siro stadium in Milan May 2, 2007. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini (ITALY)
AC Milan and Liverpool will meet in a rematch of the 2005 Champions League final on May 23rd in Athens. Milan trounced Manchester United yesterday. The Mancs were missing three of their four starting defenders (Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, and Patrice Evra) but I thought the game was won and lost in the midfield where Gattuso dominated play.

BBC: AC Milan 3-0 Man Utd (agg 5-3)
Mighty Milan destroy Man Utd

Goal.com: AC Milan - Manchester United: AC Milan Player Ratings

Goal.com: AC Milan - Manchester United: Manchester United FC Player Ratings

Liverpool 1 - Chelsea 0 - Liverpool Advance on Penalties, 4-1

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard celebrates after team-mate Dirk Kuyt scored the penalty that clinches victory for Liverpool against Chelsea during their European Champions League semi final second leg football match at Anfield, Liverpool. Liverpool won on penalty kicks after the two teams were tied 1-1 on aggregate after extra time.(AFP/Carl De Souza)

Independent (uk): Liverpool have the final say as Mourinho falls to nemesis again

Independent (uk): Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 (1-1 on agg, Liv. win 4-1 on pens): Reina saves best until last as Liverpool take road to Athens

Food Blogging

I never thought I'd become a food blogger, but so many stories have food in them today.

(1) Save Chocolate! Due to popular demand (meaning the FDA got slammed) the consumer comment period on Big Food's petition to be allowed to substitute vegetable fat for cocoa butter has been extended to June 25, 2007. Don'tMessWithOurChocolate.com has a sample letter you can use in composing your petition to the FDA. I don't want to buy a bar of Crisco, do you?

(2) Pizza. Resigned-in-disgrace AIDS Czar Randall Tobias, patron of the DC escort service, said this in his defense:

[ABC Investigative Reporter Brian] ROSS: Well, David, I talked to him one day before he resigned and told him that we had found his name and personal phone number on a list of clients of the so-called DC Madam’s escort service in Washington. And what he told me was that he in fact had been a customer of the service, but that he had not had sex. He had had what he called gals come over to his condo to give him a massage. He claimed there was no sex but that he was stunned by the fact that we were aware he was a client and that was his conversation. I asked him if he knew any of the young women, their names. He said he didn’t remember them at all. He said it was like ordering pizza.

I don't even know what to say about a comment like that.

(3) Melamine. Apparently our food supply is awash in the stuff, much of it coming from China. It's ground up and added to feed and grains. When a food is tested for nutritional value, melamine looks like protein, so it 'boosts' that number. It's all part of the scientific breakdown of food into scientific categories or nutrients, which has had a disastrous effect on the American and the world diet. Read this article from the Times magazine a few months ago: the best diet is to eat food your grandmother would recognize as food. Mostly plants, and nothing reconstituted in a factory. Most of it tastes like crap, anyway.

NYTimes: Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China

Genarlow Wilson Update

He's still in jail (over two years and counting), but

(1) Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has taken up his cause:

Personally, there is no chance I do business in the state of Georgia beyond the committment the Mavs have to play the Hawks until Genarlow is out of jail.

(2) Today the New York Times editorialized on his behalf: Georgia's Shame

Every day that young Genarlow Wilson remains in prison for consensual sexual activity is a further indictment against the prosecutors, lawmakers and judges of the Georgia legal system. Lawyers for Mr. Wilson have applied for a writ of habeas corpus to challenge his cruel and unusual 10-year sentence. The Superior Court should grant it.

When he was 17, Mr. Wilson received oral sex from a 15-year-old girl. For that, he has served over two years of a strict minimum decade-long prison term. He was convicted of aggravated child molestation, a charge intended for adult sexual predators. If Mr. Wilson had engaged in sexual intercourse with the same girl, it would have been a misdemeanor under an exemption for contact between minors. Oral sex was left out. Legislators have since corrected the unintended trap. If Mr. Wilson engaged in the same action today, it would be a misdemeanor.

The Board of Pardons and Paroles is legally prohibited from granting clemency for this offense. And the State Senate adjourned for the year without taking up a bill that would have allowed judges to review sentences in cases like Mr. Wilson’s.

The behavior of the district attorney, David McDade, requires particular scrutiny. He charged Mr. Wilson with raping a different girl at the same party, and a jury acquitted him in 2005. Mr. McDade has distributed a graphic videotape of the events in that case to legislators as part of a lobbying effort at the State Senate against Mr. Wilson’s release. And Mr. McDade went on television last month and said, referring to Mr. Wilson and others involved, “Six young men basically gang-raped a 17-year-old.”

At best, this is irresponsible considering that Mr. Wilson was acquitted of the charge. It demonstrates poor judgment not by a minor, but by an adult who should know better.

Last Word on Arkville Standoff

New York State Police investigators survey damage to a farmhouse in Arkville, N.Y., Thursday, April 26, 2007. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
Fred LeBrun, Albany Times-Union: Death penalty clamor is red herring for State Police mistakes

After last week's tragic shooting death of a state trooper, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno asked the right question:

"What is more important than protecting the lives of law enforcement officers?"

Then he proceeded to hammer home the wrong answer. In a shameless bit of opportunism, he thundered about the need for a death penalty bill as a response.

[]

In light of what we know now, did our state troopers in harm's way get the protection they deserved from their own police agency? Who gave the command to storm a house where the subject of the manhunt was known to be hiding?

Could better State Police procedures have saved David Brinkerhoff's life?

These are the question the senator and others should be thundering about at the moment. Bruno should be holding hearings on the State Police, not advocating for the death penalty. This is the second time within a year that State Police procedures deserve to be questioned and examined in a very critical and public way. The "Bucky" Phillips debacle in western New York last summer also cost a trooper his life, and wounded another. What did the State Police learn from that in terms of protecting their own? Arguably, not enough.

Maj. Kevin G. Molinari, commander of Troop C in Sydney, told the Times Union Thursday that the operation that took the lives of Brinkerhoff and Travis Trim, the subject of the manhunt, "was well-planned, well-thought-out and well-executed."

I'll bet that's a smug statement Molinari wishes he had never uttered.

A State Police K-9 unit had determined there was a high probability Trim was hiding inside a house owned by a New Jersey cop, who used it as a hunting base. Trim was inside, they were outside. There was no surprise involved from either side.

Everybody present knew that Trim already had fired point blank at another trooper. Trim was probably well hidden, in a good defensive position watching it all, and well armed.

[]

What remained completely unanswered, however, after Felton's otherwise revealing press conference, was whether the house needed to be assaulted at all. Given the circumstances, the inclination, resources and positioning of the shooter, any police storming the house had a high probability of drawing fire. Was that necessary, considering that the house was surrounded, dozens if not hundreds of law enforcement were on the scene, and there was no deadline or hostages involved?

During the press conference, Felton emphasized how well trained the men were who stormed the house, and how they "followed established procedures."

What he didn't answer is whether those procedures were worth a damn and will be critically reviewed. Make no mistake, this is another black mark on the State Police, and they are adding up.

Can't Compromise With Crackpots

Short Digby: You can't compromise with crackpots. The anti-intellectuals who oppose abortion, evolution and gay marriage are just plain wrong.

Just go read Digby.

On The Media

Our prostrate corporate media
A round-up of news about the corporate media and a few glimmerings of change:

Digby at Hullabaloo reminds us of what happened to Ashley Banfield of MBNBC when she criticized the media's coverage of the Iraq war.

Greg Palast in the LATimes on how the corporate media in the US no longer do investigative reporting.

Bill Moyers's new show on PBS aired Friday night; it featured Jon Stewart of the Daily Show and Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo. Watch it here.

Frank Rich gets off Imus's couch (because Imus doesn't have a couch any more, ha ha) and attacks David Broder of the WaPo for going along with Bush and the neocons. (All The President's Press, TimesSelect Wall; also here and here). (I have to take any whoo, isn't Frank Rich great feelings with a grain of salt, as Frank Rich was a frequent guest of Imus, so all that racist and sexist crap didn't bother him so much, and also, he was one of the people who pilloried Al Gore for being boring, and helped give us Chimpy McFlightsuit who is a DISASTER. So I don't have the love for Frank Rich. Wary, yet.)

On a happier note, Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe, who wrote the story about Bush's use of signing statements, won the Pulitzer Prize. Go Charlie go.

Bush "AIDS Czar" Who Discouraged Condom Use Around The World Resigns in Sex Scandal -- UPDATED, below

Last night Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias resigned, and the State Department issued a press release saying he had resigned for 'personal reasons'. Very personal reasons, it turns out:

On Thursday, Tobias told ABC News he had several times called the "Pamela Martin and Associates" escort service "to have gals come over to the condo to give me a massage." Tobias, who is married, said there had been "no sex," and that recently he had been using another service "with Central Americans" to provide massages.

Tobias' private cell number was among thousands of numbers listed in the telephone records provided to ABC News by Jeane Palfrey, the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," who is facing the federal charges.

How Tobias thought it would help his case to tell ABC he had been using Central American gals, I can't say. (Were the Pamela Martin prostitutes escorts illegal aliens?)

Who is Randall Tobias? He is the former CEO of Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant, as well as the former Chairman of AT&T. A bigtime Bush contributor. A bigwig in Indiana politics. Founder of the Randall L. Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence at Indiana University (which his children head, nepotism is a great thing.) And, since 2003 United States Global AIDS coordinator with the US Agency for International Development (I'd refer you to his bio on USAID.gov, but it was removed last night!) and since 2006, Deputy Secretary of State (as well as Global AIDS cooreinator), as USAID was merged into the State Department.

And during his government service, he's been pushing the fundie hatred of condoms, and thereby condemning people around the world to be infected with HIV:

Tobias has consistently put the Bush administration agenda before science and facts in the global fight against AIDS, acting as the “front man for Bush’s ideology-driven policies on prevention and on treatment (of AIDS).”

His HIV-prevention policies have focused on “abstinence-only-until-marriage” leaving “large segments of the population at immediate risk of HIV infection.” He has also made inaccurate public statements on the effectiveness of condoms in AIDS prevention and has funded questionable organizations supported by President Bush, but lacking in technical competency in HIV prevention.

Let's hope he hasn't infected his wife. Hypocrite.

ABC is doing a big story this week on all the phone numbers from Pamela Martin's escort service. I wonder who else is going down? (Very punny.)

ThinkProgress: Rice Appoints Political Sycophant To Head U.S. Foreign Aid Efforts

ABC News: Senior Official Linked to Escort Service Resigns

WaPo: Rice Deputy Quits After Query Over Escort Service
Randall Tobias Oversaw U.S. Foreign Aid Programs

UPDATE: (I can't keep up!)

ThinkProgress: Official Caught Using Escort Service Demanded Anti-Prostitution ‘Loyalty Oaths’

Tobias required any group seeking US funding to take an anti-prostitution oath so broad that it outlawed outreach to sex workers; Brazil lost $40 million in funds it would have used to encourage condom use by sex workers.

During an “Ask the White House” online chat in 2004, Tobias defended the policy, saying the U.S. was “partnering with communities” to begin “fighting sex trafficking and prostitution, while still serving victims of these activities.” Tobias added that he was overseeing several “highly successful” relationship programs “aimed at men and boys to help them develop healthy relationships with women.”

A truly inspired idea, having someone who pays for “gals come over to the condo to give me a massage” run programs on developing “healthy relationships with women.”

Trooper Binkerhoff Killed By Fellow Officer(s)

The state police's attempt to bring in Travis Trim did go horribly wrong; four troopers went into the home where Trim was hiding out, but only two walked out. Trim shot Trooper Brinkerhoff once, with a shot that was intercepted by his bulletproof vest. However, when Brinkerhoff went down to his knees, the fusillage released by his fellow troopers struck him in the back of the head, probably killing him instantly. I don't use the phrase "friendly fire" because I feel it trivializes the act of shooting, just as using the phrase "domestic violence" makes the violence seem less violent.

The state police then tried to wait Trim out. In retrospect, it would have been better to wait Trim out originally once he was located in the home, especially since he had already shot a trooper once with little provocation.

It's still a tragedy all around, and Trim is as responsible for the trooper's death under the felony murder rule as though he had pulled the trigger. None of this would have happened if he had not shot the trooper the day before. However, one hopes the New York State Police will look carefully at their procedures in such situations. Hostage negotiating should be the first option, not the last.

Kingston Daily Freeman: Remembering David Brinkerhoff: 'He was a real special individual'

Albany Times-Union: Killed in the crossfire
State Police fired nearly 70 times in shootout with fugitive, and one of those rounds hit trooper

NYTimes: Comrade’s Shot Killed New York State Trooper

NYTimes: A Fatal Wound From a Colleague’s Weapon Is Rare, but Always a Risk

Newsday (AP): Officials: NY trooper probably killed by friendly fire

Put Your Money Where Your Principles Are: Support Pretty Bird Woman House

This week Amnesty International reported that more than 1/3 of Native American woman are raped or sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. A diarist at dailykos noted the study, and posted a link to Pretty Bird Woman House, a domestic violence shelter on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in South Dakota that was days away from closing for lack of funds.

[t]he great majority of these horrific assaults are coming from outsiders. Outsiders who understand that these women are often isolated in remote areas, outsiders who know that the community authorities have little power to stop them, and who know that federal prosecutors have shown little interest in taking these cases.

You can donate to the shelter via paypal, or snail mail, here:

A Modest Proposal

Democratic presidential candidates U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (2nd L) and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) shake hands at the conclusion of the South Carolina Democratic party's presidential candidates debate at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, April 26, 2007. At left is Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) and at right are U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) (2nd R) and former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel (D-AL) (R). REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES)
The next time the Democrats have a debate, the media should participate in a forum with stupid questions from Brian Williams (listens to Limbaugh; need I say more?) for an hour and a half. Then the candidates should get six hours to kibbutz among themselves about the issues.

Unfortunately, MSNBC showed us the reverse last night, and it was a thorough waste of time. Hearing Pat Buchanan compare Hillary Clinton to Ronald Reagan almost caused my head to explode, but I changed the channel quickly and the Red Sox game restored my sanity.

George W. Bush: Sign The Bill

You can go to their website and donate to run this ad around the country: Americans United for Change

I saw this on Eschaton.

Democrats Finding Voice

1. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) blasted John McCain on the floor of the House yesterday for joking about putting an IED under Jon Stewart's desk:

ThinkProgress: Murtha Slams McCain Over ‘Outrageous’ IED Joke

As he has with all criticism recently, McCain said it was all just a joke.

2. Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow with a devastating cartoon with quotes from all the gasbag corporate media pundits who got the Iraq War horribly wrong.

Keith Olbermann to Rudy: You Crossed the Line

Rudy Giuliani, who located New York City's disaster response headquarters in the basement of the World Trade Center, had fire and police departments whose radios could not reach each other, and elevated his corrupt driver, Bernard Kerik, to Police Commissioner of New York, says if a Democrat is elected America will be hit again by terrorists. Shameless. Keith Olberman says it much more elegantly:

Moyers: "How Did the Mainstream Press Get It So Wrong?"

If you missed Bill Moyers show on PBS last night, go watch it here.

Boston College Women's Ice Hockey Coach 'Resigns'

Photo: USA Hockey: In his fourth season at Boston College, head coach Tom Mutch has everyone on the same page.


Hours after the Boston Herald began making inquiries about sexual text messages found on the cell phone of Boston College women's ice hockey's leading scorer, head coach Tom Mutch abruptly resigned. Mutch had been named New England coach of the year and had led the team to the Frozen Four for the first time.

Apparently following the LSU model for crisis management, Boston College originally issued a statement saying Mutch was leaving to pursue other interests, and thanking Mutch for his contributions to the program. Did they think the story wouldn't get out?

The messages were on a cell phone that the player had given to a teammate, who discovered the messages. They were written from the player to Mutch. The Herald reports:

One source familiar with the messages described them as “filthy. They were very sexual in nature.”

Coach Mutch is 39 years old, and married to a 31-year-old former ice hockey player he met while he was her coach with the women's Olympic team in 1998; they have a 7-month-old baby. The player is a 19-year-old freshman. [I see no reason to name her here. You can read her name on the links. She's been humiliated enough, IMHO.] I bet her parents back home, entrusting their daughter to this guy, are furious, and rightly so. I'm sure his wife is furious, also.

These coaches who marry former players that they met while coaching them should be carefully monitored. They have either crossed or come close to crossing the line in the past. Don't schools do the math? Nine years ago his 31-year-old wife was 22 years old, the same age as many Boston College seniors. Schools must be more careful.

The Herald also reports:

A 2005 profile of Mutch in the BC publication “The Heights” said he was fond of singing Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” to his players.

In retrospect, this is seen as a red flag. I would say, the fact that he is married to a former player is a much bigger red flag.

Boston Herald: BC hockey coach quits after sexy messages surface

Boston Herald: Students mum on beleaguered BC hockey coach

Boston Globe: BC's Mutch quits amid allegations
Coach abruptly leaves women's hockey job

TheHeights.com: Mutch resigns amid controversy
Allegations of inappropriate relationship with player surface

after atalanta: Another player/coach incident

Bostonist.com: Too Mutch: BC Coach Resigns in Sex Scandal

Delaware County, New York Hits CNN

State Police acting Superintendent Preston L. Felton said the cause of the fire isn’t known. It’s possible suspect Travis D. Trim set the fire, Felton said, or a tear gas round could have ignited something.
“We are looking closer at the type of round that was fired into the residence, the type of tear gas round,” he said.
MIKE GROLL The Associated Press
Today I made my usual morning check on the Oneonta Daily Star and saw a story at the top of the local news about a state trooper being shot in Margaretville, New York. The trooper was wearing a bulletproof vest and was not seriously injured. The shooting took place right down the road from Margaretville Central School. I lived in the next town over and drive through Margaretville every time I go home to Coach Mom's house.

I googled the name of the shooting suspect, Travis Trim, and found that the situation had gotten much, much worse. The state police tactical team brought in to look for the kid entered a vacation house in Arkville (the next hamlet over) this morning where burglar alarms had been triggered. Trim was in the house, and two state troopers were shot. Trooper David C. Brinkerhoff died shortly thereafter, and the other trooper, Richard Mattson, was airlifted to Albany Medical Center for treatment. He is in serious but stable condition.

The police surrounded the house and kept it under surveillance all day until about 6:00 p.m. when tear gas canisters were fired into the house. Minutes later the house went up in flames (I watched tape of the fire starting, and you can hear the voices of people on the hill watching it happen: "Who started the fire?" "Could be him, or could be a tear gas canister, they get real hot when they go off.") The house went up quickly; reportedly, the absentee homeowner had informed the police that there was a large gun collection in the house. You could hear things exploding as the fire burned; the firefighters who tried to hose down the flames had to back away when there was a crack, which could have been a shot or just ammunition in the house exploding from the flames. A body [presumably the 23-year-old suspect] was found slumped in the doorway of one of the second story rooms, clutching a rifle.

Horrible all around. The poor family of that state trooper. The people that owned the house. The grandmother of the shooter was quoted as saying: "He was a smart kid. I don't know what happened to him," Ruth Trim said. "I don't think there's any way for this to turn out good now. Not after shooting a trooper. His goose is cooked." Prophetic, unfortunately.

CNN: Body found in burned house after hunt for trooper's killer

MSNBC: Body found in burned house after standoff
Trooper slain during manhunt for suspect in shooting of two other officers

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle: Photo Gallery

NYTimes: 2 N.Y. State Troopers Shot; 1 Dies of Injuries

Capital (Albany, NY) 9 News: Police: Travis Trim believed dead

Albany Times-Union: Body found in charred home at shooting site
North Country resident Travis Trim, 23, suspect in trooper's death

AP Video

Update: The body has been identified as Travis Trim.

A trust fund has been set up for Trooper Brinkerhoff's daughter [see sidebar].

The Suffering

First lady Laura Bush delivers an address at a morning breakfast in New Orleans, Thursday, April 19, 2007. Mrs. Bush delivered remarks at the Zurich Classic 'Birdies for Books.' The professional golf tour stops in New Orleans this week and a $100 donation will be made to the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries for every birdie posted during the tournament. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

On the Today Show this morning, Laura Bush talks about who suffers most from the Iraq War. Who suffers most. Who could it be? The hundreds of thousands of dead and maimed Iraqis? Their families? The thousands of dead and maimed American soldiers? Their families?

No, Laurabot says it is she and George who suffer the most. It is so astonishing that I transcribed the snippet of video, which you can go to Americablog to watch to verify that Laura Bush did indeed say something so very selfish and callous. George W. Bush isn't the only person in the White House living in denial of reality.

[intro, Ann Curry: "I asked Mrs. Bush about other challenges her husband is facing."]

Q: You know the American people are suffering, watching. [Laura Bush softly chuckles]

A: Oh, I know that, very much. And believe me, no one suffers more than their President and I do, when we watch this. And certainly the commander in chief, who has asked our military to go into harm's way.

Q: What do you think the American public need to know, about your husband?

A: Well I hope they do know the burden of worry that's on his shoulders every single day for our troops. And I think they do. I mean, I think if they don't, they're not seeing what the real responsibilities of our President are.

Q: It must be hard for you to watch him in this.

A: Well, it's hard, I mean of course, it's absolutely hard.

McCain on The Daily Show

How is it that Jon Stewart -- A COMEDIAN -- does better political interviews than anyone in our media?



Update: From comments, you can read a transcript of the entire interview on this blog:

The Third Path: John McCain returns to The Daily Show

Excerpts, Tillman Hearing

These were posted on Nancy Pelosi's blog, The Gavel. Fratricide used for political purposes by the Bush Administration. The grief of a family tread upon for political purposes. Sickening. (On Pelosi's blog, you can also see Jessica Lynch's opening statement.)

Congressman Waxman's (D-CA) opening statement:


Kevin Tillman opening statement:


Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) questions:

Supporting The Troops, Bush Style

Pat Tillman and his brother Kevin, who is testifying before Congress today.
Tillman hearing, live on CSPAN-3. The things that were done to cover up this man's death were horrific.

WaPo: Tillman Brother Blasts Military

ABC ran a story last night, about another soldier who was ignored to death. He checked into infamous Building 17 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and despite his family's desperate calls from home, hanged himself there. No one ever went to check.

Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi....

Lionel Messi scored a wonder goal last week that must be seen to be believed. He's in my top three young players in the world list (Ronaldo and Kaka being the other two) but Messi is my favorite because he's so little. At Easter, a non-soccer-loving relative asked me if Americans would ever win the World Cup because our best athletes go into other sports. I resisted the snide comeback that the U.S. has already won the World Cup twice as he was clearly asking about the men's team, and told him that soccer is not about size, it's about speed and skill. Some of the greatest soccer players were not very big. The second video below compares Messi's goal to a very similar goal by one of the very best (if not the very best) to ever play the game, Diego Maradona, who I could look down on from my lofty height of 5'4". And Michael Owen (3rd clip) is not so tall either. It's all about speed and skill. Watch and enjoy.

Lionel Messi goal, 4/18/07, Barcelona v. Getafe. The announcer goes wild!

Messi but de fou !!!
Uploaded by mdjw

Lionel Messi goal, 4/18/07, Barcelona v. Getafe

Side-by-side comparison of Messi's goal with Maradona's goal v. England in the 1986 World Cup. Wow.

Comparativa gol de Messi y Maradona
Uploaded by cariacolov

Another great end-to-end goal, Michael Owen for England against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.

But d'Owen
Uploaded by Ant0ine12

RIP David Halberstam

Horst Faas/Associated Press

His reporting for The New York Times from Vietnam left little doubt that a corrupt South Vietnamese government supported by the United States was no match for Communist guerrillas and their North Vietnamese allies. For that work, Mr. Halberstam shared a Pulitzer Prize in 1964.

David Halberstam wrote three of my favorite books: The Best and the Brightest, The Breaks of the Game, and The Teammates, about my favorite topies: politics and sports. He died yesterday in a car accident in California, on his way to interview Y.A. Tittle, the former quarterback of the New York Giants. I would have liked to read that book. When I was a kid I had the famous picture of Y.A. Tittle's last game, bloodied and bowed, on the door of my closet:


David Halberstam books are books I passed around, or bought to give as gifts. In my mind, reading The Breaks of the Game is inextricably tied with the 1980s Larry Bird Celtics. All my Celtics fan friends read the book, and we marveled at the writing and at the insider's view. I listened to The Teammates a few years ago as a book-on-tape and was brought to tears several times (always dangerous while driving!) as he described the life-long devoted friendship between Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, and Dom DiMaggio. I will miss his writing. Here's a piece he wrote for the Boston Globe about Red Sox Nation (hat tip, A Red Sox Fan in Pinstripe Territory):

David Halberstam, Boston Globe, 8/29/03: Facing the Nation
Up-close look at the Red Sox fan base finds it is as passionate as ever

For a Citizen of the Nation, beating the Mariners or A's is merely winning a baseball game, while beating the Yankees is the very essence of life itself....

[]

It's a condition, being a Red Sox fan, not a cult, nor a religious affiliation, although there are on occasion certain religious experiences. (Think Yaz in '67, and Fisk in the World Series in '75.) Most Americans are relatively indifferent to the past, believing that America is so powerful that history does not matter, that our nation is so strong and energetic, that we can mold the present to our needs, despite the burdens of the past. Not Red Sox fans: They know the past matters, and they know as well that you are, more than you realize, a prisoner of it. In a country where there has been an amazing run of material affluence for almost 60 years with the expectation built into the larger culture that things are supposed to get better every year, citizens of RSN know better. They know that things do not always get better. They know that the guys in the white hats do not always win in the last five minutes of the movie. They know the guys in the black hats have plenty of last-minute tricks, and that they can pick up just the right player off the waiver list in the waning days of a season (think Johnny Mize, 1949).

The Red Sox fan knows that the fates can be cruel. Never mind the Babe. Just think a mere 31 years ago -- why it was like yesterday: Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater. A 27-year-old lefthanded reliever, who had pitched in 184 games in the previous three years, and had saved 16 that year (and would save a league-leading 35 the next year) for a 32-year-old first baseman with up to then 52 career home runs. Oh dear.

David Halberstam, ESPN Page 2: One Splendid day [with Ted Williams]

David Halberstam, ESPN Page 2: Sports can distract, but they don't heal

David Halberstam, ESPN Page 2: Thanks, soccer, see you in four years

salon.com: David Halberstam, 1934-2007
In a host of Salon interviews, the great journalist talks about the depths of his work and passions, from Vietnam to Michael Jordan.

WaPo: David Halberstam, 1934-2007
Author Uncloaked Vietnam Blunders

NYTimes: David Halberstam, 73, Reporter and Author, Dies

San Francisco Chronicle: DAVID HALBERSTAM: 1934-2007
Author was on his way to an interview
He was to meet with Y.A. Tittle to talk about football

San Francisco Chronicle: DAVID HALBERSTAM: 1934-2007
Car crash ends award-winning writer's life

SFGate.com: Friends and former colleagues remember David Halberstam

Academy of Achievement: The David Halberstam Interview

wikipedia: David Halberstam

I Know What I Want for My Birthday

ProJoSoxBlog: Red Sox World Series ring offered on eBay

Why Virginia Tech Happened

A Virginia Tech student releases a white balloon (R) symbolizing one of the victims killed on campus one week ago in Blacksburg, Virginia April 23, 2007. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES)

Because the obviously psychotic Cho wasn't committed. Because our mental health system was systematically dismantled in the 1970s. Read this important article by Dr. Jonathan Kellerman (yes, the author).

Dr. Jonathan Kellerman, WSJ: A DANGER TO SOCIETY
Bedlam Revisited
Why the Virginia Tech shooter was not committed.

Chimpeachment Takes A Step Forward

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

-- Lao Tzu (although often wrongly attributed to Confucius)

Reuters: Vermont senate adopts resolution to impeach Bush

VTImpeach.com home page

Guardian (uk): Vermont Senate: Impeach the President

Bee Colony Collapse

wikipedia: bees
What's causing the collapse of the honeybee colonies? The theories include genetically-engineered corn, predators, cellphones, and the stress of being corporately farmed. When I read that genetically-modified corn contains a neurotoxin (brain cell killer) that kills honeybees, I thought 'bingo'. Monsanto has killed the honeybees. It all makes sense now. They'll probably manufacture some new chemical to sell us to replace the honeybees.

Brendan Calling: Bees: Closer to Home
The disappearance of the bees hits New Jersey

Quotes from a Newark Star-Ledger article:

[Beekeeper] Tassot and his wife believe they know why their bees have disappeared.

“We have suspicions about pesticides,” he said. “We noticed most of the dead hives are close to cornfields. … And when we asked other beekeepers what was the principle crop near their hives, they said corn, corn, corn.”

Simone, of Morris Township, agrees. “When I spoke with other beekeepers they say all their hives with heavy losses are near cornfields.”

Many farmers in the United States and around the world rely on genetically engineered corn to survive the assault of crop-killing insects. The seeds are coated with a systemic pesticide that is essentially built into the corn as it grows.

One of the chief chemicals used is a neurotoxin called imidacloprid, which is manufactured by the German company Bayer CropScience. Imidacloprid works by blocking a pathway in insect brains that results in an accumulation of a neurotransmitter which, in insects, leads to paralysis and death.

At sublethal doses, however, imidacloprid is toxic to honeybees. In a 2001 article in the Journal of Pesticide Reform, German scientist Eric Zeisstoff wrote that his research “indicated that bees affected by imidacloprid suffer problems with orientation. Bees with a particular level of imidacloprid contamination at 500 meters from the colony did not return to the hive at all.”

der Spiegel(Germany): Are GM Crops Killing Bees?

Independent (uk): Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?
Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious 'colony collapse' of bees

High Country News: The Silence of the Bees

wikipedia: Colony Collapse Disorder

Oh. My. God.

I turn on the TV this morning and there is racist Michael Smerconish -- shaved head Philadelphia radio shock jock -- sitting in Imus's studio. Out with the old white male racist, in with the new white male racist! Those black and female faces on MSBNC in the days following the ouster of Imus were just token window dressing. Now we're back to GE's favorite form of news: conservative shock jock.

Smerconish's guest is the mad Camille Paglia, who is nervously babbling that our education system is failing boys and that we should allow them to go straight into factory jobs. Factory jobs? What factory jobs? What parallel universe does she live in?

The only good thing about having Paglia on television is that she talks so fast you can't understand her. And she's such a period piece. She announces that she's a Madonna feminist. Does that mean she is going to Africa to adopt a baby? Sheesh.

I read on dailykos last week that the major corporate media was encouraged to take control of the news by Karl Rove in 1999. I guess Rover was very persuasive.

dailykos: Rove Met With Jack Welch in '99 to Create Media Cartel. W/Poll

Patricia Goldsmith, Smirking Chimp: Restore Fairness, Return to Reality

[] As Rep. Louise Slaughter said in a 2004 interview with Bill Moyers, after fairness was defeated,

AM radio rose. It wasn't even gradual, Bill. I mean, almost immediately. And I should point out to you that when we tried to reinstate [the fairness doctrine] again in '93, one of the reasons we couldn't was that Rush Limbaugh had organized this massive uprising against it, calling it "The Hush Rush Law."

Slaughter goes on to explain that the law wouldn't have hushed Rush-that would take more than an act of Congress, I'm afraid-but it would have mandated that time be given to people who represent other sides of any issue discussed by Limbaugh. The same is true for Hannity, O'Reilly, and even Imus. They just wouldn't have the airwaves all to themselves the way they do now.

[]

[I]n 1999 Karl Rove reached out to GE Chairman and CEO Jack Welch, promising radical deregulation for the broadcast industry (GE is the parent company of NBC). This fit right in with some of Welch's thoughts and ambitions. He had long felt that the news division at NBC wasn't living up to its full profit potential. According to a a must-read article, "The Media Cover-up of the Gore Victory Part Four: Democracy, General Electric Style," by David Podvin and Carolyn Kay, that conversation led to some important changes:

Toward that end, Welch said that he would finally deal with a longstanding grievance of his: the ludicrous idea that news organizations should be allowed to operate in conflict with the best interests of the corporations that own them.

. . . The new dimension that Welch introduced was the concept that mainstream media should aggressively advance the political agenda of the corporations that own it. He did not see any difference between corporate journalism and corporate manufacturing or corporate service industries. . . .

In general, he saw corporate news organizations as untapped political resources that should be freed from the burden of objectivity.

. . .

He began to aggressively, but very discreetly, evangelize the gospel of corporate media as a corporate lobbying tool.

. . .

Welch told associates that he enlisted two members of the GE board to assist him in shaping the coverage of the election by other news organizations. . . . They quietly encouraged the executives of the mainstream media organizations to rethink the relationship between news divisions and business organizations.

And a cartel is born. A cartel can be a group of corporations within one industry who meet to set prices.

So, MSNBC, owned by NBC GE, has performed an elaborate corporate charade in firing Imus, but has gone back to furthering its corporate interests by putting a conservative on the air to shape the news in its corporate interests. Wow.

Barroid Hits #740

ABCNews: Giants Top D'backs; Bonds Hits No. 740
Barry Bonds Moves Within 15 of Homer King Hank Aaron As the Giants Down the Diamondbacks 2-1



"Ruth did it on hot dogs and Beer. Aaron did it with class. How did YOU do it?" was a sign held up by Philadelpha fans in May 2006.

Wisely, Hank Aaron wants nothing to do with steroid cheater Barroid.

WaPo: Aaron Won't Attend If Bonds Breaks Record

I'm with these fans:



Found this great photo on Chappy's League.

Sweep

Boston Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, left, celebrates as New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez (13) grounds to third base to end the baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Sunday, April 22, 2007. The Sox won 7-6. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Didn't you just love A-Fraud weakly grounding out to end the game? Papelbon rules.

SI.com: Friendly Fenway
Red Sox cap sweep of Yankees by playing long ball

Boston Globe: Game photos

Like Water For.....Crisco?

Big Food has petitioned the FDA to allow them to sell vegetable fats and oils and pass it off as real chocolate, which is made with cocoa butter. Mmmm, a big bar of Crisco. You can submit an e-comment to the FDA in opposition to this travesty (click on submit your comments and look for this docket number: 2007P-0085). Save chocolate!

Here's the comment I submitted to the FDA:

Keep chocolate as it is, made of cocoa and cocoa butter. I do not want another false adulterated product passed off as the real thing. Plus, I do not think any research has been done on the nutritional implications of replacing a natural, satisfying ingredient -- cocoa butter -- with vegetable fats and oils. We've already seen the disastrous results of substituting high-fructose corn syrup for sugar. Don't add to the obesity epidemic, and don't take away my real chocolate. Do not adopt these regulations. Keep chocolate real.

LATimes: Hands off my chocolate, FDA!
The FDA may allow Big Chocolate to pass off a waxy substitute as the real thing.

sisyphus shrugged: save chocolate!

Suburban Guerrilla: Oh no!

Don'tMessWithOurChocolate.com

FDA docket No. 2007P-0085: Adopt Regulations of General Applicability to all Food Standards that would Permit, within Stated Boundaries, Deviations from the Requirements of the Individual Food Standards of Identity

Like Water for Chocolate (novel)

wikipedia: Chocolate

Physiological effects

Pleasure of consuming

Part of the pleasure of eating chocolate is due to the fact that its melting point is slightly below human body temperature: it melts in the mouth. Chocolate intake has been linked with release of serotonin in the brain, which produces feelings of pleasure.[13] A study reported on the BBC indicated that melting chocolate in one's mouth produced an increase in brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than that associated with passionate kissing, and also lasted four times as long after the activity had ended.[14] Research has shown that heroin addicts tend to have an increased liking for chocolate; this may be because it triggers dopamine release in the brain's reinforcement systems[15] — an effect, albeit a legal one, similar to that of opiates.

Potential health benefits and risks

Recent studies have suggested that cocoa or dark chocolate may possess certain beneficial effects on human health. Dark chocolate, with its high cocoa content, is a rich source of the flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid, which are thought to possess cardioprotective properties. Cocoa possesses a significant antioxidant action, protecting against LDL oxidation, perhaps more than other polyphenol antioxidant-rich foods and beverages. Processing cocoa with alkali destroys most of the flavonoids.[16] Some studies have also observed a modest reduction in blood pressure and flow-mediated dilation after consuming approximately 100g of dark chocolate daily. There has even been a fad diet, named "Chocolate diet", that emphasizes eating chocolate and cocoa powder in capsules. However, consuming milk chocolate or white chocolate, or drinking milk with dark chocolate, appears largely to negate the health benefit.[17] Chocolate is also a calorie-rich food with a high fat content, so daily intake of chocolate also requires reducing caloric intake of other foods.

Two-thirds of the fat in chocolate comes in the forms of a saturated fat called stearic acid and a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid. However, unlike other saturated fats, stearic acid does not raise levels of LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream.[18] Consuming relatively large amounts of dark chocolate and cocoa does not seem to raise serum LDL cholesterol levels; some studies even find that it could lower them[19].

[]

Studies suggest a specially formulated type of cocoa may boost brain function and delay decline as people age.[21]