The Cheapest Calories Make You the Fattest: "The first generation of GMO products offered the consumer nothing. The food was not cheaper, and it was still grown with pesticides--and in some cases required even more pesticides. In the late 1990s, the companies told me about this second generation of products that was going to provide superior nutrition. Where are they?

We still have the same crops that were rolled out in 1996. It suggests that either the capital to do research and development is drying up, or they've found it's harder than they thought to make these more complex products work. Either way, the industry is on the ropes. I don't think in ten years we'll be talking about GMOs. I can easily see the industry withering away."

Good news from a "food-chain journalist".

STLtoday - News - Maplewood mall will cover toxic ground: "Past rules were too strict, he said. For example, a hardware store owner couldn't buy a vacant lot next door because he couldn't afford to clean up the groundwater to drinking-water standards. 'It doesn't make sense,' he said. 'No one will ever use it for drinking water.' "

Oh that's nice. I'm not going to drink the groundwater NOW, so let's just pave over it and forget there was ever any problem here.

Yahoo! News - Late Cooking Diva Julia Child Loved Red Meat, Gin
Please pardon the cliche, but she seemed to have truly lived "a full life". Jacques Pepin said "She was a true person. There was nothing fake about her." From what I could see on the screen I would have to agree that was a large part of her appeal to myself and millions of "foodies" around the country if not the world. I may have to invest in the dvd of her last series with Pepin. It was just a pleasure watching those two banter and argue about the best way to cook whatever it was they were cooking. I will miss her.

Bush eyes Thomas as chief justice, book says:
"Whether he is elevated to chief justice 'all depends on [President] Bush being re-elected,' Foskett said."

I think we all know what needs to be done here.

Over the phone, Peterson promised Frey a future together
"Frey later described the couple's second date, a hiking trip on Dec. 2, 2002. Peterson, she said, showed up at her Fresno home with an amaryllis plant and a bag of groceries with which he planned to make her seafood lasagna for dinner. Frey testified that they picked up Frey's daughter, Ayianna, from school and then hiked at a nearby lake. Afterward, they sat in the back of Peterson's pickup and watched for the first star, before returning to Frey's home to cook dinner. "

He may have murdered his pregnant wife and dumped her body in San Francisco Bay, but he sure knows how to play the dating game! Seafood lasagna. First star. Who could resist?

Manchurian Candidate, The (2004)Saw this last night. Remind me to steer clear of Jonathan Demme films in the future. The acting was very good, particularly Streep of course, but it seemed to me that Demme copped out at the end. Perhaps there is an alternate ending we will be able to see on the DVD but as it stands it negates the previous 2 hours.

Reason: No Leadership In Sight: Uninspiring choices in 2004: "But it's hard to tell if this is [Bush's] fault, or if anything he could have done would have changed the minds of those who saw him from the start as an illegitimate president."

Wow. There are so many things about this article that pisses me off I don't know where to begin. Let's take them one at a time then, starting with the above quote. Does Ms. Young truly believe that the reason half the country wants Bush out is just because they think he 'stole' the election? Talk about living in your own world! She uses this failed basis to posit that if Gore had 'won', no matter what he would have done in the past 3 years the situation would be neatly reversed. I don't think so. She then goes on to give a pretty clear list of the failings of the current administration, but since she does not belive that Bush is 'evil incarnate' she can't think of a reason to want him out. How about incompetency incarnate! How about because you would like a president who actually LIKES TO READ THE PAPER for one? At the very least, huh? But no, since Kerry is not Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington or even the beloved Ronald Reagan, he has yet to 'offer a coherent vision of what he would do to start resolving these problems', something Bush never did in 2000, Kerry can't be trusted 'to be motivated by principle or national interest rather than partisanship and political gain'. One thing you CAN trust in, Ms. Young: the current administration IS motivated by the latter, as evidenced by 3+ years of data.

The New York Times > Science > Panel Sees No Unique Risk From Genetic Engineering: "Michael Phillips, vice president of agricultural science and regulatory policy of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, said in a statement that the report 'should lay to rest the few naysayers who continue to question the safety of these crops.'"

Like I've said earlier I don't have a problem with the technique itself. I do have major problems with the fact that the technique is used by unscrupulous companies for no other reason than profit. They are messing with worldwide food supplies! Already it is too late for corn and soybeans.

Yahoo! News - Bush: 'I Want to Be the Peace President':
"'Nobody wants to be the war president. I want to be the peace president.'"
He's got to be kidding, right?

The Delivery Man Cometh
Topping "When I Was Cruel" would be some achievement.

Drugmakers Prefer Silence On Test Data (washingtonpost.com[registration required]):
"The issue has gained urgency with recent disclosures that the publicly available research on treating children with antidepressants obscured the fact that in most studies, the drugs were no better than sugar pills. Drugmakers chose not to publish those studies."
How much you want to bet this "law" gets over-written soon?

STLtoday - Missouri Democrats see Edwards as lure for rural voters
Another reason why Edwards was the best choice. It was iffy whether Gephardt could deliver Missouri, but judging from this report it is more likely Edwards will. Elsewhere today I read of a quote of George Bush's when asked the difference between Cheney and Edwards. Bush said "Dick Cheney could be president". Sounds more like a threat to me. If Dick Cheney is the example of what it takes to be president, we are in a big deal of hurt.

CNN.com - Cheney curses senator over Halliburton criticism - Jun 24, 2004
Gee, I guess the grownups really ARE in charge, huh?

Nicholas Xenos - Leo Strauss and the Rhetoric of the War on Terror -- Logos: Spring 2004
Did you ever wonder where 'regime change' got its start? 'Moral clarity'? A tale of what happens when philosophers encounter reality.

Torture and Rumors of Torture: Archive Entry From Brad DeLong's Webjournal
What in the world is going on here? And the president says his orders were to obey the law, but he doesn't connect that fact that his lawyers told him the law allows for torture! Criminals.

ESPN.com - NFL - Giants sign Warner; QB to attend practice today
I'm still a big fan of Kurt and can't wait for the season to start. I am certain he will play well for the Giants. I'm not sure how the team will do, but being able to see him on the field throwing the ball around will be a welcome sight.

Yahoo! News - Flames Coach Hints at Conspiracy After Nieminen Ban: "The Flames, who have walked a fine line between rugged and undisciplined play in the series, crossed it when Nieminen drove Lecavalier's head into the boards. The Lightning forward went crumbling to the ice before going to the dressing room for stitches on a gash to his head.

Sutter conceded after the game it was a penalty but objected to its severity, which included a five-minute major which left the Flames a man short for the final 4:13 of Game Four."

Let me emphasize a part of that quote: DROVE LECAVALIER'S HEAD INTO THE BOARDS. Darryl Sutter is an ass. Nieminen should be banned from the playoffs. Calgary's 'type of play' is the ugly side of hockey and makes for an extremely boring game.

The New York Review of Books: The Logic of Torture: "There's no question what took place in that prison was horrible. But the Arab world has to realize that the US shouldn't be judged on the actions of a . . . well, we shouldn't be judged on actions. It's our principles that matter, our inspiring, abstract notions. Remember: Just because torturing prisoners is something we did, doesn't mean it's something we would do." -- Rob Corddry of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.

Easily the most profound statement I have yet heard about Abu Ghraib.

Yahoo! News - Iraqis Chafe at U.S. Block on Choice of President
Just when you think the Bush Administration is going to finally recognize it might have made a mistake at some point in the past 3+ years and try to do something right, it astounds you yet again. These people are True Believers and then some.

PROS AND CONS OF JOHN KERRY'S TOP TWENTY VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
18. A big pile of fudge; all over

Pro: Tasty, particularly enjoyed by women and increasingly obese nation
Con: Perishable, nonsentient, lackluster in debates and speeches