Roundup: Cannibal Cane Toad Edition
- John Conyers tells it like it T-I-Is: Conyers says Bush spared Libby from jail to keep him from singing. This is patently obvious to just about everyone, but of course the White House immediately called the charge “ridiculous and baseless.” Which allows it to join the distinguished list of other ideas the administration considers “ridiculous and baseless,” including global warming, Iraq being in a state of civil war, the importance of habeus corpus and the Geneva Conventions, evolution, the earth revolving around the sun, and, of course, “down” being somewhat lower in position than “up.”
- The same Guardian story quotes Republican member of the judicial committee Chris Cannon as saying: “I would prefer that we not waste our time in Congress on these witch hunts and frivolous activities.” Interestingly, Cannon wasn’t referring to the Republicans’ eight-year harassment and frivolous impeachment of Bill Clinton.
- Boston Globe: Fred Thompson was a mole for the Nixon White House during Watergate. Via DKos.
- THE PINK SECTION: More homophobic turmoil in Europe, as hundreds of skinheads and right-wing bullies throw eggs and smoke bombs at a gay pride parade in Budapest. This follows in the wake of a Hungarian cabinet minister coming out of the closet.
- A fascinating look at what it’s like to be gay in India today, as members of the LGBT community gradually begin to make their voices heard while fighting against both traditional persecution and contemporary backlash. The Internet is playing a big role: According to the story, a Yahoo Group called Gay Bombay now includes 16,000 members from all over India, giving professionals like doctors and lawyers a way to connect.
- THE GREEN SECTION: In an effort to combat the negative impact of cane toads on Australian biodiversity, researchers are now studying ways to trigger cane toad cannibalism: “They noticed that adults often wiggle their toes when around young toads, prompting the latter to hop towards them, apparently mistaking the toes for a juicy insect — their main diet. The adults then gobble up the youngsters.”
- Running of the nudes: Activists protest Spain’s “running of the bulls” in the buff.
- Why you shouldn’t let your cats roam outdoors, even if you live in a “nice” neighborhood: There are a lot of scary people out there, and a lot of them hate cats. Case in point: a Minnesota family’s pet cat was beheaded by someone in their neighborhood who doesn’t like cats, and the severed head was tossed in their yard. Their other cat has now gone missing as well. Words fail.
- Another child dies of salmonella from exposure to a turtle. We need to get the word out: Turtles don’t make good pets. They’re beautiful animals, but they should be left alone in the wild.
- HEALTH: A new study confirms that organic fruit and vegetables really are better for you. “A ten-year study comparing organic tomatoes with standard produce found that they had almost double the quantity of antioxidants called flavonoids which help to prevent high blood pressure and thus reduce the likelihood of heart disease and strokes.”
- I’m a big fan of OrangeClouds115’s “Vegetables of Mass Destruction” series on Daily Kos: weekly diaries focusing on natural and organic food-related topics, every Sunday. Yesterday’s entry was a great look at food labels and how much we can really trust them.
- MUSIC: An interesting analysis of the ramifications of Universal’s recent decision to change the terms of its contract with iTunes.
- Chrissie Hynde is opening a vegetarian/Mediterranean restaurant in Ohio called — wait for it — VegeTerranean. (h/t Jim S.)
- COMICS: Here’s a great one I just found in the Slowpoke archives. How to deal with the anti-evolutionists: Politicians who deny the benefits of science should be assigned medieval physicians. “While politicians who accept empiricism will get modern-day drugs, those who don’t will receive spins in a giant centrifuge designed to balance one’s humors.”
- “Foolish surface dwellers!” Reuben Bolling peeks into the top secret files of Dick Cheney. Tom Toles: Maybe it’s the monkey. And here’s Bob Geiger’s most recent Saturday cartoon roundup. I especially love the Justin Bilicki entry, about midway down.
- Opus’s dream candidate. (And cruel awakening.)
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