Crack open the Mars bars

NYT: Causes of Death Are Linked to a Person’s Weight

but it's not how you might think...

About two years ago, a group of federal researchers reported that overweight people have a lower death rate than people who are normal weight, underweight or obese. Now, investigating further, they found out which diseases are more likely to lead to death in each weight group.

Linking, for the first time, causes of death to specific weights, they report that overweight people have a lower death rate because they are much less likely to die from a grab bag of diseases that includes Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, infections and lung disease. And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

As a consequence, the group from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute reports, there were more than 100,000 fewer deaths among the overweight in 2004, the most recent year for which data were available, than would have expected if those people had been of normal weight.

Ah, Sleeper. It can't be long now...

Bona law**

New law could make gay jokes illegal

The right to crack jokes or be rude about homosexuals could fall victim to new government laws to stamp out "homophobic" behaviour, Rowan Atkinson, the Blackadder star warned yesterday...

His concern is that Labour ministers are so obsessed with creating laws to stop people being rude about each other that they are putting in danger the right to free speech and, equally dear to his heart, the comedian's craft...

"Witness the fact that the Government has invited two additional groups - the disabled and transsexuals - to 'make the case' for the proposed legislation to be extended to them. "I am sure that they could make a very good case, as indeed could all those who can claim that they cannot help being the way they are. Men, for example, or women. Or people with big ears".

Via The Englishman

**For the uninitiated see Julian and Sandy

Better a 'white dish' than a 'white pachyderm'

Marcus Binney, in The Times, expresses his disappointment at the newly revealed plans for the London Olympic stadium.

Best venue on the planet? More like a blancmange

Here the motive force behind the whole design is fear. Fear of adventure, fear of overspend and fear of leaving behind a white elephant. At the presentation the word legacy featured far more than the word sport. The main point of the brief was to ensure that an 80,000-seat stadium for the Olympics could be reduced to a 25,000-seater for community use and the occasional elite event.

Fear of overspend and fear of leaving a white elephant? Sounds like some common-sense has infiltrated the planning of this extravagant two week hop, skip and jump festival. Leaving behind a venue which might be of some use for years to come to the people of London who paid for the bloody thing in the first place, sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea to me.

True, practical elements appear to have been properly considered. There is a roof protecting two thirds of the spectators from rain but a large enough space for the centre to be filled with sunlight all day. There is shelter from the fierce winds that bedevil the Thames Estuary ensuring that the opportunity to break records will not be lost.

Right, so the spectators won't find themselves sopping wet, clinging to their seats for dear life and unable to make out what's happening on the track? And what is happening on the track may well be the breaking of world records. Well, that does it, scrap the plans immediately and build something iconic!

Cancer report takes the bacon

Flabby claims about food and cancer | spiked

Professor Patrick Basham and Dr John Luik, authors of Diet Nation: Exposing the Obesity Crusade, pick apart a shocking report on food and cancer that hit the headlines around the world last week.

‘Scientists find link between body fat and cancer risk’, declared the UK Independent. ‘Cancer study sparks bacon sandwich backlash’, said the Melbourne Herald Sun. ‘To avoid the Big C, stay small’, warned The Economist. Publications around the world summarised the findings of the latest report on cancer to tell us that bad diets and expanding waistlines are a public health disaster.

But before committing ourselves to a dietary life of little red meat or alcohol, and few fizzy drinks, milk shakes, crisps or other such ‘bad’ foods, let’s look behind the scary headlines and ask whether the scientific evidence really supports these cancer truths.

A bag of sweeties and a suicide belt?

Are ‘terrorist groomers’ warping our kids?

For some time now, the arguments on terrorism put forward by Western governments have exposed a paralysis of the political imagination. Officials issue statements that implicitly acknowledge that they have little idea of who or what constitutes the ‘enemy’. It seems that the conventional Hollywood caricature of a ruthless, professional, amoral maniac is no longer sufficient to cover today’s disturbing phenomenon of the homegrown terrorist.

In recent times, British officials have tried to harness public fears and anxiety about paedophilia as a way of explaining the threat from Al-Qaeda: they have talked about the ‘strangers’ in this terrorist outfit, and the ‘danger’ that they pose to ordinary people and their children. Now, Jonathan Evans, head of the British intelligence agency MI5, has used his first public speech to argue that the war on terrorism has effectively turned into a child protection issue. It seems that Evans and the rest of Britain’s security apparatus are most concerned about sleazy Al-Qaeda predators who prey on ‘vulnerable’ Muslim children and groom them to do their dirty work.

Turnabout

The 2007 Weblog Awards



An amazing last minute dash has put Neil Clarke in the lead, ahead of Kickette. It's still not over yet but it looks like he's in with a chance. I know I've said I think all these awards are bollocks but if someone has to win it might as well be Clarke.

Update: (08/11 - 10am)  Last day of voting and Clarke is steaming ahead with more votes than Dale and Guido have between them.

Web 4.0

Blogging is Dead; Long Live Blogging

If Web 2.0 is the rounded corners and the Internet as a platform, and Web 3.0 is seamless integration of the various tools built on the platform, Web 4.0 must be algorithmic incorporation of that data into something useful.

Let me paint a picture.

I’m updating my daily activities with regularity on Twitter. I’ve got the TV going on the side, occasionally tagging bits of shows. I’m listening to podcasts. I’m making podcasts. I’m commenting on blogs. I’m writing my own blog posts. I’m sharing items in my feed reader. All of these things generate some sort of XML/RSS stream. A Tumblr/Lifestream/Mini-Feed style service combines this all into a single feed of some kind.

Then that feed gets shoved into a service that is able to sort items by topic, and aggregate them by tag, and provide those who still wish to provide substantive commentary topics and starting points to blog. Some of the article could even be partially pre-written, leaving me with the fun part, writing the analysis (instead of retracing my steps of research and info-gathering to support a point). This mythical thing has the ability to go back in my archives and analyze my writing style (in theory), so it should be able to piece these starter blog posts together using my vernacular, and pull the bits of ideas, tags, media, and such that I’ve consumed and organized for the day and group them.

God-bothering idiots

Jehovah witness Emma Gough's hubby: I blame doctors

The husband of the Jehovah’s Witness mum who died after refusing a blood transfusion because of her beliefs is blaming the hospital where she lost her life. Anthony Gough, 24, claims medical staff may have been negligent over wife Emma’s death – and legal action could follow. He has told friends Emma, 22, would have submitted to a transfusion – if it had used her own recycled blood. Anthony claims when staff brought in a blood-cell salvage machine for the procedure they were unsure how to use it.

There was no need for this woman to die. The means were available to save her life but she chose not to allow the doctors to use them so she died, end of story. But cheer up Mr Gough, you've got a thousand years of milk and honey to look forward to with Mrs G when the time comes. Me, I'm going straight to hell. Thank fuck!

Borat's Guide Book

High five! Borat is back with a guide book to "the glorious nation of Kazakhstan" and "minor nation of U.S. and A."

Q: Which people are smarter?

A: "Kazakh peoples is definite has more powerful brains. Government scientist, Dr. Yamak have prove that our glorious leader, Premier Nazarbamshev have IQ of 412 and a brain that extend into most of his chest - it no surprise that he have never fail in complete any jigsaw puzzle. Since 93 percent of Kazakh people is direct relate to him within 3 generations, rest of population also shares this great intellects."

Who are you grinning at?

Gaze 'key to facial attraction'

You can alter your attraction to the opposite sex simply by looking straight at them and smiling, research suggests. A study of hundreds of volunteers at Stirling and Aberdeen Universities found averting the eyes even a fraction can make you appear less attractive.

They did this research in Aberdeen?! Jeez, I'm surprised they found enough people who knew how to smile.

Mother of All Cancellations

Company Cancels George Galloway's convention booking:

This weekend's Mother of All Talk Shows Convention (Nov 9th/10th) has had to be cancelled after the owners of the venue where it was to take place pulled the plug with only three days to go. George Galloway MP is now suing the company which owns the Globe Theatre, where the convention was booked, after the theatre owners sent an email  unilaterally cancelling the event. The Globe Theatre is one of Blackpool's best-known spots. The theatre is owned by Blackpool Pleasure Beach Limited a company which, it has now emerged, is a substantial donor to the Conservative party. The original agreement and the contract were signed several weeks ago. A substantial deposit was also paid.The theatre management could not have been more obliging until late on Monday evening (Nov 5th) an email was sent by the Globe's Blackpool Director, David Cam, cancelling the booking...

"We're now trying desperately to reach everyone who booked - some of whom are already on the road, including a couple in a motorcycle sidecar combination - to apologise that it won't now take place this weekend and vowing that I will sue the rectum off Cam," said George. "And I'm not a man who loses legal actions. I am mad and I will get even on behalf of everyone."

First, take 300 kilos of lard...

A Welsh View: How To Make Your Own Lifesize Jabba The Hutt

Oh, no need.