broke fast

What do you think about pancakes?

By the way, pancake derives from placenta, which in Latin means 'cake'. This puts a new spin on the colloquialism "a bun in the oven".

(no subject)

Key parts of Arizona anti-immigration law blocked

Mortgage brokers to be fingerprinted and registered -- Fingerprinting, to me, seems pretty extreme.

Mental health experts ask: Will anyone be normal?: An updated edition of a mental health bible for doctors may include diagnoses for "disorders" such as toddler tantrums and binge eating, experts say, and could mean that soon no-one will be classed as normal

Wireless sensor watches blood sugar for diabetics -- cyborgesque

Rabbits grow their own joint replacements in study

update on local spill

State Emergency Operations Center Activated in Response to Oil Spill in Calhoun County

Michigan Governor Warns of Oil Spill Threat (NYT)

Enbridge pipeline breaks, spills 19,500 barrels

(See also my response to kittenkissies in a previous post.)

This begs the question: why didn't President Obama declare the oil spill in the gulf a disaster so FEMA could get involved? Not that the spill was initially perceived as an emergency (heck, I can't even find a news article dated April 22nd mentioning the explosion), but as time went on he could have said those magic words so as to let experts come in, take measurements, and document the state of the situation from the outset; coordinate medical responses for locals as well as clean-up crews who have become ill in the aftermath; & appear to hold a multibillion-dollar corporation responsible for its mess.

As it is, the president's image has been tarnished by the perception of collusion (not just with the industry in general but with BP in particular). I don't know if that stain can be wiped away. As some portentious lyrics once detailed, "Never shook Satan's hand, look see for yourself / You'd know it if I had, that shit don't come off."

As a citizen of the world, I am a witness to horror.

Democratic Republic of Congo boat sinking 'kills 140' -- "After decades of conflict, DR Congo has few roads or rail links and many people travel on often overloaded vessels. . . . DR Congo--a country the size of western Europe--has only a few hundred kilometres of paved roads outside the cities."

Mom's trial starts in Texas starved children case -- I can't even imagine. I can read the words, but they remain imageless for me.

Gruesome Charges Detailed Against Suspected Nazi -- 88-year-old Samuel Kunz

'Up to 6,600 graves mislabelled' at Arlington Cemetery -- a news story I've been following for a while now: I remember encountering similar information a couple of months ago

the end of the world as we know it, apparently

President Obama appears on daytime talk show The View

Obama attacked for taking to the daytime TV sofa

Obama's View (NYT)

Obama on "The View": The end of civilization!