From the New York Times (NYT):

Soaring food prices, driven in part by demand for ethanol made from corn, have helped slash the amount of food aid the government buys to its lowest level in a decade, possibly resulting in more hungry people around the world this year.

The United States, the world’s dominant donor, has purchased less than half the amount of food aid this year that it did in 2000, according to new data from the Department of Agriculture. Read more at the NYT.

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Posted by Russell at 8:00 AM PDT

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I usually don’t frequent the site, Unbounded Medicine, as I’m a bit too squeamish for most of the posts. But, I was there today to look up some information for one of my writing jobs when I discovered this post.

Kylie Hodgson gave birth to twin daughters by cesarean section, and that’s when she discovered that one girl was black and the other was white. This conception happened after two eggs were fertilized at the same time in the womb. While this occurrence is uncommon, the odds against it happening are incredible. According to the site:

Skin color is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together. For a mixed-race couple, the odds of either of these scenarios is around 100 to one. But both scenarios can occur at the same time if the woman conceives non-identical twins, another 100 to one chance.

This involves two eggs being fertilized by two sperm at the same time, which also has odds of around 100 to one.

If a sperm containing all-white genes fuses with a similar egg and a sperm coding for purely black skin fuses with a similar egg, two babies of dramatically different colors will be born.

The odds of this happening are 100 x 100 x 100 - a million to one.

If you want more amazing but true medical stories, visit Unbounded Medicine. This site is fanatical about their quest for the odd and unusual.

Posted by Linda at 8:00 AM PDT

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Yes, folks - this is Twiggy the water-skiing squirrel. Don’t know if the squirrel was named for Twiggy, the 1960s pop icon (shown at right in the 1960s), or for the twig-like cable that Twiggy latches on to as he’s pulled around a pool by a little power boat (see below). I think it’s the latter, but who knows. What talent! What entertainment for the kids!

You can also watch Twiggy’s video or read more about this enlightened squirrel, who was rescued after being blown from her nest after a hurricane and taken in by Chuck and Lou Ann Best. That’s not the only video that Twiggy starred in (as in the squirrel), as some of Twiggy’s credits include three movies, “Good Morning America,” “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” “The Wayne Brady Show,” and “Late Night with David Letterman.” She also has been noted in school books, the Encyclopedia Britannica, on covers of magazines, on many television game shows and even had her picture on Interstate billboards promoting some of her shows. What have YOU done this year?

While you’re at it, you can also view a surfing Chihuahua.

Posted by Russell at 8:00 AM PDT

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It never fails to stun me when I hear that many people in the U.S. can’t find their own continent on a map. So, I know those same folks probably don’t know the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, although they may have heard about it in the news. So, here it is so you can enhance your knowledge:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The reason I wanted to post this amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1791, is because the Patriot Act (HR 3162 RDS) clearly violates this amendment - but no one has seriously challenged this violation until recently. According to a CNN report, a federal court on Wednesday struck down two provisions of the Patriot Act dealing with searches and intelligence gathering, saying they violate the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures with regard to criminal prosecutions.

The ruling - made by Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon - was a response to a lawsuit filed against the federal government by Brandon Mayfield, a Portland, Oregon, attorney who was wrongly arrested for alleged involvement in the 2004 Madrid train bombings. Mayfield is seen in the photo above at left with public defender Steven Wax.

Read on, mon cher! »

Posted by Linda at 8:00 AM PDT

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