Food subsidies lead to obesity

Link In a piece written by the author of 'The Omnivores Dilemma', we understand how the food subsidies in the farm bill cause the cheapest food to be the least healthy -- explaining why the poor are also the most obese.

Partitioning Iraq

Link I'd written earlier that I'd thought that partitioning Iraq would be a way to prevent genocide of Shia on Sunni. I put it this way since Sunni's are the minority and have little political power. Seems like the US military was attempting to do just that in Baghdad, but now al-Maliki says he's against such a move. Of course he's a Shia, so I don't know whether we can trust him.

Bush loses is first and second cabinet members to scandal and failure

Rumsfeld, Libby, Wolfowitz, Michael Brown (FEMA), Gonzales: I'm sure I'm leaving out more wonderful white male buddies of Bush. People said in 2000 that it didn't matter that Bush was an idiot, he had a wonderfully experienced cabinet.

Well, I think it turns out the only good guy Bush had was Powell, and nobody at the White House listened to Powell. Everyone else was corrupt, inept, and a liar. Turned out even Powell was a liar at the UN.

What's really sad that Rumsfeld and Cheney came from Ford's cabinet. Ford was a good guy, but he sure had bad judgment of character.

-- Updated 4/19

Economist talks about how the Neocons have been discredited -- mostly by their own failure.

-- Updated 5/15

Interesting story about Ashcroft and Gonzales.

Brain genes on the X-chromosome

I've read that researchers had found that many genes for intelligence are actually on the X-chromosome, and since males only have one copy of that chromosome, any mutations which might be recessive in girls are expressed in boys. This could be the reason behind the wider variance in intelligence in males compared to females -- supposedly males can be really smart or really dumb. Lately, I've found mostly evidence of the latter. Also, it means that these particular X-chromosome brain genes come from the mother only. No wonder I don't have my dad's gift for math.

-- Updated 5/1

Link It seems what I said above was not quite correct. Apparently, one of the X-chromosomes is mostly shut down in girls as well. Hmmm.

Fierstein argues against prejudices double standard

Link Why do Ann Coulter and Isaiah Washington get a relative pass for calling people f----t? And Imus get fired for calling others nappy headed hos? Fierstein wonders why and thinks it's due to a double standard.

Perhaps there aren't insult words strong enough that we can hurl at straight white Christian males in America to understand what it's like to be insulted with such words. Cracker, breeder, red-neck, bible-bearing, poor white trash don't quite meet the level of insults straight white male people can say towards women, Jewish people, gays and blacks. I think people just need to take a moment to put themselves in other's shoes. This seems to be a lost art in this day and age, but a capacity that all humans have.

One can complain about thought police and mind-control, but really this argument isn't about what people think. People can think what they like, but if a public figure makes public insults, he/she is going to have to pay the price. I just hope it that unlike what Fierstein says, gays don't remain the only group bigots can insult publicly and not lose their job.

-- Updated 4/15

Expectations, context and target matters according to Times piece.

Iraq Shia urged to fight Americans by al Sadr

Link I'm beginning to think the Americans are in a trap. Bush created this mess which is Iraq, and now the Shia majority is going to start genocide against the Sunni minority once the American soldiers leave. America will be blamed for that. Then again, al-Qaeda and the Sunni insurgents are working together to increase the violence. But this makes the Shia majority are angry enough to write them out of further influence in Iraq which will hamper any chance of political reconciliation. America will probably be blamed for that too.

Perhaps we can somehow escape our duties by saying the Iraqis are doing this to themselves. But still the Americans are in fact the ones who created this situation in the first place -- 'you break it, you own it.'

Dutch seem to have a good idea with peaceful counter-insurgent tactics

Link It's not a clear winner as far as tactics, but it looks better from the point of view of long term strategy.

Shiite Cleric wants civil war

Link The powerful Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani rejected the call for modification to de-baathification laws in place currently in Iraq. It seems to me that Iraq wants civil war. I say let them have it, and we should step aside to let them know there are consequences to being unreasonable.

EPA needs to regulate warming gases

All over the news: the Supreme court says EPA needs to do something about carbon dioxide and methane. Now, let's see if the Bushies actually do something. I can see a lot of feet dragging, half measures and excuses coming.