US issues health warning over mercury fillings
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/us-issues-health-warning-over-mercury-fillings-856582.html
They're in millions of mouths worldwide, but have been linked to heart disease and Alzheimer's. Now a report concedes they may have a toxic effect on the body... However, a study that followed 507 Portuguese and American children for seven years after they received amalgam or mercury-free fillings found no differences in the rates of neurological symptoms between the two groups...

CNN/MSNBC reporter: Corporate executives forced pro-Bush, pro-war narrative
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/05/29/yellin/index.html
"..the press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives, frankly, to make sure that this was a war that was presented in a way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president's high approval ratings..."

Bush's top general quashed torture dissent
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/06/30/richard_myers/
New evidence shows that despite warnings from across the military, former Gen. Richard Myers shut down legal scrutiny of brutal interrogation tactics.

A Kinder, Gentler Torture
http://www.truthout.org/article/a-kinder-gentler-torture
His American jailers spared Al-Ghizzawi the very worst of the worst in the long list of torture techniques now in use. He was not murdered or waterboarded. He did not have a razor blade taken to his penis, nor was he hung from the ceiling by his arms. One might describe Al-Ghizzawi's torture as a kinder, gentler torture. In American custody, Al-Ghizzawi was only beaten with chains; bound to chairs in excruciating positions for endless hours; threatened with death and with rape; stripped and subjected to body-cavity searches by non-medical personnel while men - and women - laughed and took pictures. Among many other brutalities and indignities, Al-Ghizzawi was also posed naked with other prisoners; terrorized with dogs; forced to kneel on stones in the searing heat; left to stand or crouch for extended periods; deprived of sleep; subjected to extreme cold without clothes or covering; denied medical attention; and kept in isolation for years...

Google disables anti-Obama blogs
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0608/Google_disables_antiObama_blogs.html
Several anti-Obama, or pro-Clinton, blogs that run on Blogger -- Google's free blogging platform -- have been disabled after somebody complained -- falsely -- that they're spam...

Tutu's Trip to Gaza Censored by the US Media
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20025.htm
When Nobel Laureate and world renowned peacemaker Desmond Tutu goes to Gaza to visit the site of an Israeli massacre; that's news, right? So why is it impossible to find any account of his trip in America's leading newspapers? Is it because any information that is incompatible with the territorial ambitions of the Israeli leadership is simply "disappeared" into the media-ether?

Nuclear physicist loses U.S. clearance, job and right to fight back
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08153/886567-85.stm
Dr. Moniem El-Ganayni, a nuclear physicist and Muslim prison chaplain, has lost his battle with the Department of Energy to get back his security clearance and his job at the Bettis Laboratory in West Mifflin. He never even got a chance to tell his side of the story. The reason: unspecified grounds of national security.

Islamic-era skeletons 'disappeared' from Elad-sponsored dig
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988803.html
Dozens of skeletons from the early Islamic period were discovered during excavations near the Temple Mount, on a site slated for construction by a right-wing Jewish organization. Contrary to regulations, the skeletons were removed, and were not reported to the Ministry of Religious Services. The Israel Antiquities Authority termed the incident "a serious mishap."

New video game's objective: Stop the spread of Christianity and Islam
http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/object_of_new_video_game_is_to_stop_the_spread_of_christianity_and_islam/11957/
The object of the game is to stop the spread of Christianity and Islam by murdering Abraham and the authors of the Bible, before beheading Muhammad...

'Foreign' Paddington and the new UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7431396.stm
The creator of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond, has told the BBC how modern life has brought a new dimension to his much-loved character as he returns for the first time for nearly 30 years. Paddington Here And Now, published on Monday, brings the marmalade-loving creature up to date as he tries to deal with tabloid newspapers, stringent measures dictating where a wheeled suitcase can be parked - and his status as an immigrant from Darkest Peru.

Taboo Trial Words: 'Drunk,' 'Victim,' 'Rape'
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5277015
"Rape." "Drunk." "Victim." "Crime scene." "Homicide." These are the words one would expect to hear in trials for such crimes as drunken driving, robbery, murder, sexual assault. But these are just a few of the words that have recently been banned from criminal trials around the country in what some prosecutors warn is a growing and disturbing trend...

One in five Aussie women indulge in cyber-sex
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14705836
Sex is not just limited to bedroom anymore, for women have found their sex haven in the virtual world as well, what with one in five Aussie women admitting to having a sexual encounter in an internet chatroom, reveals a new survey.

(The next time I'm at a table with 5 women, I'm going to ask them which one it was...--ED)

What the F***?
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=246c0071-a9cd-46e2-a665-c6e61a45377e
When it comes to political speech, we are living in a free-speech utopia. Late-night comedians can say rude things about their nation's leaders that, in previous centuries, would have led to their tongues being cut out or worse. Yet, when it comes to certain words for copulation and excretion, we still allow the might of the government to bear down on what people can say in public. Swearing raises many other puzzles--linguistic, neurobiological, literary, political.

Pagan 'blessing' sought for new building
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=65800
A former employee of a Tennessee insurance company is objecting to a "ceremony" held at the construction site of a new building because it called on "the gods on the structure" for "good fortune and fertility."

My Illegal Home Birth
http://babble.com/content/articles/features/personalessays/holler/My-Illegal-Home-Birth-Giving-Birth-At-Home-Was-Weird-Magical-And-A-Felony/index.aspx
Giving birth at home was weird, magical and a felony.

Forget Viagra, Eat Watermelon - Same results, no side-effects
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forget-Viagra-Eat-Watermelon-88937.shtml
According to a new study carried out at the College Station's Texas A&M Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center, the watermelon could soon take Viagra producing companies out of business since it contains chemicals that have effects similar to those of the blue pill, thus increases libido.

Porn star set for Tarantino's 'Faster, Pussycat, Kill! Kill!' remake
http://www.topnews.in/light/porn-star-set-tarantino%2526%2523039%3Bs-%E2%80%98faster,-pussycat,-kill!-kill!%E2%80%99-remake-212819
Porn star Tera Patrick is being considered for Quentin Tarantino's remake of 'Faster, Pussycat, Kill! Kill!'

Americans are world's top drug users: study
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hovUpnhllEsX9vClXt86VxCmwo1A
Americans are the world's top consumers of cannabis and cocaine despite punitive US drug laws, according to an international study published in the online scientific magazine PLoS Medicine.

(They mean USAnian Americans, as opposed to the other kinds..--ED)

'Raped' girl, 11, can have abortion
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5ja-lUSvC1G_zSHTeWGpofeQBDcNw
An 11-year-old girl who was reportedly raped by her uncle can have an abortion in Romania on exceptional grounds, the country's government ruled.

(Love the Scare Quotes...*sigh*...--ED)

Alisha Dean Doesn't Look - Or Act - 13
http://www.dreamindemon.com/2008/05/21/alisha-dean-doesnt-look-or-act-13/
That's what Morris Williams said. Williams, 22, went to see Alisha Dean's father, Jerry Dean, after several dates with Alisha. Alisha had told Morris Williams she was 18. Her Myspace (now edited and private) said she was 19 and divorced. But after having sex with Alisha, Williams got worried. Things she said and did tipped him off, and he went to see Jerry Dean, who told Williams that yeah, his daughter was only 13. Then Jerry Dean called the police to press charges.

Now, the backlash
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/01/gender.women
The sex industry is booming, the rape conviction rate is plummeting, women's bodies are picked over in the media, abortion rights are under serious threat and top business leaders say they don't want to employ women. It all adds up to one thing ... an all-out assault on feminism. But why?

Computer autocorrects surname "gay" to... no, you guess
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/06/30/computer_autocorrects_surname_gay_to_no_you_guess.html
The American Family Association doesn't like the word "gay". Its auto-correct software obeys. With disastrous results...

Ancient crashed UFO claimed to be from dinosaur age, 150 million years ago
http://jointreconstudygroup.blogspot.com/2008/06/ancient-crashed-ufo-claimed-to-be-from.html
News released today about a secret U.S. Government project to analyze an allegedly extraterrestrial craft has a unique twist. This craft did not crash in 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico. According to the anonymous sources, it crashed approximately 150 million years ago during the age of the dinosaurs...

Study finds long benefit in illegal mushroom drug
http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/S/SCI_PSYCHEDELIC_STUDY
In 2002, at a Johns Hopkins University laboratory, a business consultant named Dede Osborn took a psychedelic drug as part of a research project... Scientists reported Tuesday that when they surveyed volunteers 14 months after they took the drug, most said they were still feeling and behaving better because of the experience...

When It Comes to Saving, Who Would You Listen to: My Wife or Milton Friedman?
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/when-it-comes-to-saving-who-would-you-listen-to-my-wife-or-milton-friedman/
"When I was a first-year assistant professor at the University of Chicago, my friend and department chair, Jose Scheinkman, relayed the advice Milton Friedman had given him 20 years earlier, 'Don't save too much'..."

Security Alert: Microsoft Advises Users To Restrict Safari Use
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Security_Alert_Microsoft_Advises_Users_To_Restrict_Safari_Use_18364.html
Microsoft's security team issued a warning to all Windows users to stop using Apple's Safari browser pending a security vulnerability investigation... Microsoft warned that anyone who uses Safari at this point is vulnerable to such an attack...

(Yup. And they're always telling Windows users to stop using Internet Explorer when there's a vunerability with it...--ED)

Scientist Launch Worldwide Bid To Make Wikipedia More Accountable And Accurate
http://www.itproportal.com/articles/2008/06/30/scientist-launch-worldwide-bid-make-wikipedia-more-accountable-and-accurate/
The recent work carried out by Dr Marley, a psychiatrist from Rotherham, England has shown a way forward that is likely to prove especially significant for the knowledge based website Wikipedia.

Cancer cells revert to normal at specific signal threshold, researchers find
http://www.physorg.com/news134108296.html
Cancer starts when key cellular signals run amok, driving uncontrolled cell growth. But scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine report that lowering levels of one cancer signal under a specific threshold reverses this process in mice, returning tumor cells to their normal, healthy state. The finding could help target cancer chemotherapy to tumors while minimizing side effects for the body's healthy cells.

Study provides cold sore cure hopes
http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/health/tennis/study-provides-cold-sore-cure-hopes-$1230132.htm
Scientists believe they are a step closer to finding a cure for cold sores after discovering how the virus behind them manages to hide away.

Casual sex left me feeling worthless: How a one-night stand left one woman emotionally destroyed
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1031259/Casual-sex-left-feeling-worthless-night-stand-left-woman-emotionally-destroyed.html
New research says women bitterly regret one-night stands. But the emotional damage can go deeper than you think...

Islamic hard-liners in Indonesian capital break up rally promoting religious tolerance
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/01/news/Indonesia-Religious-Violence.php
Islamic hard-liners broke up a religious tolerance rally Sunday in Indonesia, beating demonstrators with bamboo sticks and calling for the deaths of members of a Muslim sect they consider heretical, witnesses said...

The Pit of Life and Death
http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=961
Just outside Butte, Montana lies a pit of greenish poison a mile and a half wide and over a third of a mile deep... In 1995, an analytic chemist named William Chatham saw something unusual in the allegedly lifeless lake: a small clump of green slime floating on the water's surface.

20+ Weirdest and Ugliest-Looking Animals on Earth
http://www.scienceray.com/Biology/Zoology/20-Weirdest-and-Ugliest-Looking-Animals-on-Earth.154635
Most people will not even give those extremely weird and ugly animals a second look. In the worst cases, these innocent animals are being killed, slaughtered or tortured because their weird look made people could not bear to look at them. As for the animal protection and rights organization, they feel a concern in the sharp decline of these weird animals as people pay no attention and care for them.

(Featuring linkfrenzy's mascot and totem, the Star-Nosed Mole! Hooray!--ED)

Conservative Anglicans form breakaway church in revolution led from the south
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/30/anglicanism.religion
Conservative evangelicals representing half of the world's Anglicans launched a new global church yesterday, challenging the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury and vowing to rescue people from the forces of "militant secularism and pluralism" created by a "spiritual decline" in developing economies.

Exclusive: First Look at Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible"
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Roush-Dispatch/Joss-Whedon-Dr/800042425
Two of my favorite things in all of show business-- musical comedy and Joss Whedon -- combine in the funniest, freshest TV special of the summer, which happens to be available only on your computer starting in mid-July...

Captain Hammer: Be Like Me! (Nemesis of Dr. Horrible!)
http://myspace.com/darkhorsepresents?issuenum=12&storynum=2
Written by Zack Whedon, art by Eric Canete

'Pregnant Man' Gives Birth to Girl
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5302756&page=1
Thomas Beatie, the transgender man who made headlines as the so-called "pregnant man," gave birth Sunday to a healthy baby girl, ABC News has learned...

I Speak With Sylvia Browne
http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/ispeakwithbrowne.shtml
From time to time, I receive emails from Browne supporters who ask whether or not I have ever seen her in person. Some of them say that if I ever saw her in person, it would change my opinion of her and her abilities. Others have gone so far as to say that until I see her in person, I have no right to express an opinion of her or of her abilities. Whether or not that last statement is true, I decided that I would go to see one of Browne's shows/lectures the next time circumstances permitted.

Pringles Can Inventor Buried in a--wait for it--Pringles Can
http://icantseeyou.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/06/pringles-can-inventor-buried-in-await-for-itpringles-can.html
Dr. Fredric J. Baur was so proud of having designed the container for Pringles potato crisps that he asked his family to bury him in one. His children honored his request. Part of his remains was buried in a Pringles can - along with a regular urn containing the rest - in his grave at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Springfield Township.

Dark Morris: Dancing the Sun Down
http://oldtownschool.org/connect/hottimes/2007/10/29/dark-morris-dancing-the-sun-down/
A good introduction to Morris dance was watching their celebration of Halloween. This year, as in the past, Chicago's Ravenswood Morris joined Morris dancing teams all around the world to dance the sun down -- an old tradition known as "dark Morris"...

(Or at least, "old" in the sense of 1991, when Pterry invented it in his book Reaper Man...--ED)

Recently Traditional Fictional Morris (RTFM)
http://rtfm.arberth.com/
RTFM is a group of morris dancers who perform the other dance (as described by Terry Pratchett in Reaper Man) at sunset each October 31st...

Schoolboy first to 'name' iceberg
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7429046.stm
An enormous Antarctic iceberg will be known as "Melting Bob" after being named by a Hampshire schoolboy. Melting Bob is three times the size of Greater London...

My Strangest UFO Abduction Case, by Brad Steiger
http://www.ufodigest.com/news/0608/strangest-case.html
If the following report were not attested to by a very matter-of-fact physician associated with one of the largest, most prestigious hospitals in the Midwest, I would be extremely hesitant about sharing it with the public...

List of fictional elements, materials, isotopes and atomic particles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_elements%2C_materials%2C_isotopes_and_atomic_particles
Some of the materials listed as elements below may indeed be minerals, alloys, or other such combinations, but fictional works are often vague on such distinctions...

Pregnant women get morning sickness to protect fetus
http://www.physorg.com/news134143992.html
Two evolutionary biologists report that morning sickness protects both the pregnant woman and the developing embryo just when the fetus is most vulnerable.

Wood density holds key to Stradivarius sweet sound
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080702/sc_nm/stradivarius_dc
Researchers using a medical scanner have worked out why a Stradivarius violin sounds so good -- it is because of the remarkably even density of the wood...

The really early days of computing: How I shot down VisiCalc
http://www.embedded.com/columns/technicalinsights/207801301
After college, I went to work for the space agency, NASA. I was going to help put men on the moon (which I did). My first day, I received the two tools of my trade: an 18-inch government-issue slide rule and a book of five-place trig tables...

Regenerate! Fans revive 60s Doctor Who
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/26/bbc.doctorwho
An army of enthusiasts is recreating lost instalments of the Doctor's adventures with hand-drawn and computer animations

Graffiti And Stencil Art Will! Be! Ex! Terminated!
http://io9.com/397147/graffiti-and-stencil-art-will-be-ex-terminated
It's no wonder the Daleks rule the street art and graffiti world -- they have sleek awesome lines, and one of the most famous street artists in the world is called Dalek...

UNT checks authenticity of UFO claim
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080701_wz_auroraufo.11907b7a.html
University of North Texas researchers are analyzing pieces of unsual metallic objects to see if they could have come from a UFO. Some people believe the metal came from a spacecraft that crashed in Aurora back in 1897. The History Channel program "UFO Hunters" recently made the discovery while searching in a cemetery...

(No, Not UNIT! The Aurora crash, which was quite famous in UFO circles for the reported burial in the local cemetery of a dead UFOnaut, was previously claimed to have been the invention of a local newspaper...--ED)

50 Amazingly Helpful Time-Tested Tips for the Kitchen
http://lifehackery.com/2008/05/17/50-amazingly-helpful-time-tested-tips-for-the-kitchen/
You know all of those helpful kitchen-related suggestions that old-timers are so willing to share with the younger generations? These little tips and tricks might be called "kitchen hacks" these days, but they're still the same good old nuggets of wisdom that they always were. As with any old wives' tale, hack, or tip, your mileage may vary. Some of these gems have been around for several lifetimes - and according to most grandmas, they really work.