Month: April 2007

Authorities for the first time said they had isolated the deadly E. coli strain on Paicines Ranch in San Benito County near a field the ranch leased to Mission Organics, a spinach grower. They found E. coli “indistinguishable from the outbreak strain” in river water, cattle feces, and wild pig feces on the ranch within…

“For most of history, after all, the poor have typically suffered from a shortage of calories, not a surfeit. So how is it that today the people with the least amount of money to spend on food are the ones most likely to be overweight?” A good article, except: “The devil is in the details,…

Famed singer Sheryl Crow has come up with the cure to “global warming”: I have spent the better part of this tour trying to come up with easy ways for us all to become a part of the solution to global warming. Although my ideas are in the earliest stages of development, they are, in…

At their first meeting with journalists since taking over Russia’s largest independent radio news network, the managers had startling news of their own: from now on, they said, at least 50 percent of the reports about Russia must be “positive.”In addition, opposition leaders could not be mentioned on the air and the United States was…

On the fifth anniversary of a coup that briefly toppled him, President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that soldiers who disagree with his government’s socialist leanings should leave the military. “Today every commander at every level is obliged to repeat, from the soul and raising the flag high, this slogan: ‘Fatherland, Socialism, or Death!’” read more…

A bill that would have allowed college students to defend themselves on campus died, while Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. “I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly’s actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.” read…

Now that women are starting to outnumber men on most college campuses, feminists are in the hunt for fresh opportunities to further their agenda. The New York Times reports on their efforts in a field traditionally dominated by men: computer science. Apparently, programming is just not cool enough for girls: “The nerd factor is huge,”…

Once again, Americans are faced with the counter-productive consequences of gun control. At least 33 students were killed today in a rampage on the Virginia Tech campus. The shootings were reportedly committed with two 9mm handguns. The killer chained shut the dormitory doors, and went door-to-door slaughtering students. The usual police procedure in such situations…

Are politicians more knowledgeable than rocket scientists when it comes to planning the next U.S. moon shot? House and Senate appropriators have pushed back against NASA’s proposed termination of a planned 2011 robotic lunar lander mission, directing the agency to spend $20 million this year to continue work on a follow-on to the 2008 Lunar…

… and unlike the world’s richest man, his insight may extend beyond business:  Slim, 67, has added a staggering 23 billion dollars to his personal fortune over the last 14 months, thanks largely to a strong Mexican economy and a stock market that jumped nearly 50 percent last year. He accrued four billion dollars of…