news notes

watch the wire: how your grill brush could make you sick - yikes. i do think about this, though, when i'm cleaning the grill.  actually, i worry more about the side of our brush that has "cleaning solution" on it.  is that even safe for me to ingest?

holy smoke! - really interesting article.  so very true.  christianity has been twisted and blown so far away from its original intent, it's really very sad.  not that i'm a practicing christian, or anything for that matter, but as an observer, i just find it really disturbing.

the dirty dozen and clean 15 of produce - i have a mother who is a food chemist and a very close friend who is a food scientist.  what i've learned from them is that most products that are labeled organic are not actually organic, they're just more expensive.  and if my mom and my friend don't buy organic for their families, then i don't need to, either.  but i would like to start buying more produce from a local farmer's market, just so the food is cleaner and also so it's locally sourced.  so it's good to know that even if i just stick with the dirty dozen, i'll be doing better.

pink slime in your meat? labels to tell you, usda says - i haven't really been following this whole pink slime controversy, but it is nice to read that safeway, inc, who owns genaurdi's (which is where we do our shopping), has refused to sell products with the pink slime in it.  cuz when you read about it, it sounds pretty nasty.

nissan's taxi of tomorrow rolls into new york - interesting.  i love the concept of the transparent roof.  what a great way to let the tourists take in the big skyscrapers without having to crane their necks.  i do wonder about wheelchair accessibility in these - how will a person in a wheelchair transfer into it?

khalid sheikh mohammed, 4 others charged 9/11 attack - wait, what?  we hadn't charged them yet?  that is my first reaction to this story.  my second one is that the aclu is protesting these trials?  no offense, but these people are not americans and should not be afforded the right to a "fair" american trial.

doctors call for end to 45 medical tests, procedures - i come down on both sides of the debate here, i think.  as a woman who had pre-cancerous cervical lesions that were caught by a routine pap smear (at the age of 22), i strongly believe that pap smears should continue to be a yearly test for every woman over the age of 18 and/or age of first sexual encounter.  i will never change my mind on this, no matter how many doctors try to say its unneccessary.  tell that to the 22-year-old who's just been told she can't have children because the lesions got so big that they had to cut out her entire cervix (mine was big enough that being able to carry to term is a concern, and i may need to have my cervix stitched shut to maintain a pregnancy).  ok, but on the other side, as a hospital employee, i can definitely tell you that doctors order way too many tests.  we have one doctor in particular who orders a stress test for nearly every single patient who walks through the door - it's become a running joke.  but it is an enormous waste of healthcare dollars.  so i can definitely get on board with making doctors more responsible for thinking about whether or not a patient actually needs a test.

police probe tyler perry's profiling claim - oh, tyler.  really?  racial profiling?  a, you broke the law, which you clearly admitted.  b, you had tint on your windows so the officers couldn't see you clearly enough to assess the situation, which is what they do in every single routine traffic stop.  c, they didn't recognize you, so they were surprised to hear that you thought you were being followed, so they asked why you thought that.  d, you didn't turn off the engine, which is what you're supposed to do in any routine traffic stop.  e, they saw you reaching for something concealed in your middle console.  their behavior is perfectly appropriate.  and then the black officer shows up, recognizes you as a celebrity, and gets them to apologize?  had you been any other average shmuck - black, white, or purple - you would not have gotten an apology.  you would have gotten a ticket for breaking the law and told to be more careful.  get over yourself.

13 simple steps to get you through a rough day - not an article, but damn funny.