Excerpts from a TV interview of 3 Quarks Daily editor Azra Raza, by The Boston Channel (WCVB):

Raza said cooking spices that kill bacteria — like ginger, tumeric, onion and garlic — could be a powerful weapon to fight certain pathogens that can cause cancer.

“At least 15 percent of the world’s cancer globally has been linked to pathogens, including cervical cancer and (human papillomavirus),” Raza said. “Who would have believed stomach cancer would be related to a bacteria? Now we know it’s related to H. pylori.”

The idea comes from warm-climate cultures, like Asia and Raza’s native Pakistan, that heavily use the spices to preserve food and meats. The cancer rates in these counties are dramatically lower than in the United States.

“For example, in America the incidence of breast cancer now is 660 per million. In India, it’s 79 per million,” said Raza.

Raza thinks spices may also interrupt the pathways that allow cancer cells to thrive. She’s been given a donation of $1 million from a former patient to start her research. She said she feels major discoveries are not far away.

More here.

From MSNBC:

Want your own personal genome sequenced? Researchers said they had found a faster and cheaper way to do it that would cost only about $2.2 million. George Church and colleagues at Harvard Medical School hope eventually to reduce the cost further to $1,000 per genome — the entire DNA code of a person, plant or other organism. Their new method, described in a report in the journal Science, bypasses the traditional gel-based technology for analyzing DNA and instead uses color-coded beads, a microscope and a camera. It is considerably cheaper than the current methods, which cost an estimated $20 million for a human genome.

More here.

Israel kastner is one of the most controversial figures in the Israeli historic perspective of World War II. Some look at him as an angel and a savior. Some think he sold his soul to the devil. Though he was cleared by court from the latter accusations he was assassinated by those who did not forgive him.

“Israel Kastner gave letters of exoneration to four Nazi officers in 1946, during the Nuremberg trials, journalist Dan Margalit said yesterday at a public debate marking the 50th anniversary of the Kastner trial.The debate was held as part of the 14th World Congress for Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus.

…Dr. Israel Kastner, one of the leaders of the Jewish community of Hungary, negotiated with the Nazi regime in Budapest, including Adolph Eichmann, to save 1,684 Hungarian Jews who had been sent to Auschwitz in World War II.”

more Here

and this is kastner’s website

and something about moral choices

A new poem from Charles Simic.

There are one or two murderers in any crowd.
They do not suspect their destinies yet.
Wars are started to make it easy for them
To kill that woman pushing a baby carriage.

The animals in the zoo don’t hide their worry.

They pace their cages or shy away from us
Listening to something we can’t hear yet.
The coffin makers are hammering everywhere.

The strawberries are already in season
And so are the scallions and radishes.
A young man buys roses, another rides
A bike through the traffic using no hands.

Old fellow bending over the curb to vomit,
Betake thee to thy own place of torment.
The sky at sunset is red with grilling coals.
A hand in a greasy pot-holder hovers over us all.

I fell for the name “Timbuktu” long ago, before my own terrors and before Sept. 11 ushered in America’s collective agoraphobia. Now I’m finally in the dusty city that prompted no less an Afrophile than Bob Geldof to wonder, “Is this it?”

Timbuktu is a sad place, dispirited and angry. The most visible signs of its faded glory are the ugly sheets of corrugated metal that adorn most doorways. The doors here were legend, massive wooden portals with ornate silver workings. Tourists have bought them off the hinges. In 10 years, there won’t be a door in Timbuktu.

The harmattan wind keeps a constant layer of silt in the air, a light-diffusing mist that softens the squalor. Camels—who for some reason always remind me of Mick Jagger—blink contentedly in the shade of sparse trees. A mud-brick wall is tagged with graffiti. “Masta Wu Tang.”

I am here. This is it.

more here.

T.A. Frank in The New Republic:

Non-despotic countries may complain about tyranny, but at least they do not have to tolerate a steady stream of provocations by reactionaries, self-seekers, and political dwarfs. The outposts of tyranny have maintained a positive outlook despite the impertinence of their critics, and, as the saying goes, living well is the best revenge. Failing that, however, the quelling of dissent is a close second…

Cuba. Cuba has been the calmest and happiest tyranny lately. Perhaps that’s because it’s been enjoying a visit from the “16th U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan,” as reported in the article “CUBA IS STRONG AND BEAUTIFUL, SAYS U.S. CARAVAN MEMBER.” And smart and handsome, too. The article relates that “[t]he 16th Pastors for Peace U.S. Cuba Friendshipment Caravan includes 145 people divided into groups to visit Villa Clara, Havana, Matanzas and the special municipality of the Isle of Youth.” To be sure, these guests might sound irritating; but, with visitors like Oliver Stone, perhaps Cuba cannot afford to be too choosey.

More here.

From CNN:

It may not have the instantly identifiable primary-colored logo of eBay, but another Web site is having a big impact on how business is done in Cyberspace.

Craigslist.org is a simply-designed site — it does not even have a fancy logo, just the words “Craigslist” in plain type.

But, a decade after it was created, it is now one of the most popular Web sites in the world — currently number 22 on Alexa.com, an Amazon-owned site that provides detailed statistics and information about Web site visitors.

Founder Craig Newmark started the privately owned online business with the aim of keeping his friends up to date with what was happening in his hometown, San Francisco.

The “stay local” philosophy has stuck, but the business is anything but — Craigslist.org attracts more than 10 million unique visitors each month.

Craigslist.org is a place to find a new job, new apartment or even a new love interest. It does not charge individuals to make a posting, but does charge businesses who want to advertise situations vacant.

More here.

From Neutopia Magazine:

At a time when the daily headlines are all about North Korea and Iran trying to get nuclear weapons, it is good to return to Hiroshima. With its broad boulevards, tree-lined rivers and low-slung mountains, Hiroshima today is one of Japan’s most attractive cities, a spacious contrast to densely packed Tokyo, 400 miles to the north. But even these assets are a reminder of the event sixty years ago that instantly made this city known throughout the world.

More here.

From BBC News:

One of the puppies died soon after birth but the other, an Afghan hound named Snuppy, is still doing well after 16 weeks, the researchers say. Snuppy joins a host of other cloned animals including Dolly the sheep, CC the cat and Ralph the rat. Scientists hope dog clones will help them understand and treat a range of serious human diseases. “The dog has characteristics similar to human beings,” lead researcher Woo Suk Hwang of Seoul National University, South Korea, told the BBC. “Some of their diseases are almost the same as human diseases. “So [dog clones] could be very valuable in finding technologies useful for curing human diseases. This is our main research call.” 

More here.

“Huge rise in race attacks on all ethnic minorities across Britain. Senior Tory MP tells Muslims: ‘If you don’t like our way of life, get out’. Senior Muslim tells women not to wear veils in public for fear of assault.”

Terri Judd, Nigel Morris, Ian Herbert and Paul Kelbie in The Independent:

Increasing evidence has emerged of a backlash against Muslims and members of ethnic minorities in the wake of the London bombings. Police forces across Britain have recorded a dramatic rise in racist assaults and abuse in the aftermath of the July 7 suicide attacks.

Four weeks after the explosions in the capital, a survey of forces by The Independent yesterday found a substantial increase in racially motivated crime, particularly in inner cities. Experts said as many as one in six of those abused or attacked were not Muslim but were simply of an Asian appearance.

As community leaders expressed alarm over the surge in race-hate crimes, a Conservative frontbench spokesman was accused of stoking racial tension by calling for Muslims to get out of Britain if they did not like its way of life.

More here.

Lynn Hirschberg in the New York Times Magazine:

Although he bristles at the title — his expression hardens, and his face starts to resemble a cloudy day with thunder threatening — Jim Jarmusch is the last major truly independent film director in America. This is not a statement about his sensibility, although it is true that his minimalist cinematic style and his ability to deftly cross-pollinate pop culture, Eastern philosophy and classic movie genres have made him a unique presence in film for the past 20 years. While other directors may be hailed for their originality and independent point of view, Jarmusch, unlike Quentin Tarantino or pretty much any other auteur, has never made a film under a studio’s watch. Ever since his debut feature, ”Stranger Than Paradise,” in 1984, which cost $150,000, grossed $2.5 million in North America, won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and permanently upended the idea of independent film as an intrinsically inaccessible avant-garde form, he has owned and controlled all of his movies.

More here.

Reuters via MSNBC:

Have you ever wondered why your teeth chatter when you’re cold, or if you could really catch a disease from sitting on a toilet seat?

New York physician Billy Goldberg, pestered by unusual questions at cocktail parties and other social gatherings over the years, puts the public’s mind at ease in his book “Why Do Men Have Nipples?”

“It’s really remarkable how often you get accosted,” said Goldberg, 39. “There are the medical questions from family and friends, and then there are the drunk and outrageous questions where somebody wants to drop their pants and show you a rash or something.”

The book, subtitled, “Hundreds of Questions You’d Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini,” (Three Rivers Press), is co-authored by humorist Mark Leyner.

More here.

Gregory M. Lamb in the Christian Science Monitor:

Part of being human is making mistakes. But what we say and do after the mistake makes a tremendous difference.

When a mistake involves serious injury or even death, the stakes are high. A highly publicized 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine, “To Err Is Human,” estimates that nearly 100,000 hospital deaths each year may be caused by preventable errors.

The report has energized efforts to reduce mistakes in a medical system that is complex and in many ways archaic. Hospitals are adopting new practices such as computerizing records and prescriptions to curtail medication errors, requiring surgeons to complete airline-style checklists before operating, and having the patients themselves mark the correct locations for their surgeries.

But what role should be played by the latter half of Alexander Pope’s famous maxim: “To err is human; to forgive, divine”? What actions promote forgiveness, and how might a greater attention to seeking forgiveness improve our medical system? What part does forgiveness play in healing?

More here.

The link between alcohol and seduction is absolutely undeniable. I have conducted my own small survey among friends and colleagues, and discovered that a telling 100 per cent of respondents first kissed their current partner while drunk. They first went to bed with them, it transpires, while only ‘quite tipsy’, but first said they loved them when ‘totally insensible on booze’. It makes you wonder how people in the United Arab Emirates ever manage to breed.

more here.

Dresden continues to be a source of discomfort for Britons and Americans. But though the horrific firestorm that consumed the city and the tragic deaths that resulted are what claim a hold on the Western mind, they are not what distinguishes this episode from many others in the war. The most troubling aspect of the Dresden raid has not been emphasized often enough by historians: The raid—like others waged along with it—was envisioned in part as a way to cause disruptions behind German lines by exploiting the presence of refugees. Yet many of those responsible did not allow themselves to recognize what they were doing. In their compulsion to explain, to shape interpretations, or simply to distance themselves from the story and its implications, Allied military and political leaders displayed a collective conscience that was not unburdened by Dresden’s fate. Only by appreciating the fears, dashed hopes, and weariness of Allied leaders in the winter of 1945 can we fully understand how they came to embrace plans that, in essence, made refugees pawns in a fearsome drive to end the Wehrmacht’s ability to wage war. But the very existence of those plans ought to give pause to us all, and stir wider and more thoughtful debate about human behavior in wartime. Dresden is a stark reminder of how hard it is to control the human capacity for destruction, once the forces of war have set it loose.

more here.

‘Reclusive janitor by day, visionary artist by night, outsider artist Henry Darger moved through life virtually unnoticed. But after his death, a treasure trove was discovered in his one-room Chicago apartment: a staggering 15,000-page novel and hundreds of illustrations that continue to inspire artists around the world.’

From the PBS P.O.V. web page on Jessica Yu’s film In the Realms of the Unreal, about Outsider Artist Henry Darger. The film had its television premiere last night. Yu controversially animated Darger’s work in order to bring it to life, but the visual effect is enjoyable. More problematic is the film’s emphasis on the “visionary” and the inspiring, as if Darger were a William Blake figure rather than a tormented soul and “sorry saint” who was compelled to work on art and writing by forces far beyond his control. Retreating into Darger’s fantasy world, the film neglects to interview the scholars, art historians, critics, and psychologists who have worked on Darger’s case. The end result is that Darger appears more as a misunderstood genius than a desperately lonely figure whose mental illness forced him to create grand, terrifying, and beautifully-colored fictional universes.

From The Village Voice:

Three years ago, Princeton University appointed Harvard professor Cornel West as the school’s newest professor of religion. This came after Harvard president Lawrence Summers questioned the quality of West’s “scholarship” to colleagues and the press. Amid the furor over West’s departure from Harvard’s celebrated department of African and African American studies came a much quieter yet no less disturbing contretemps. That June, a group of conservative scholars withdrew from a panel on the prominent philosopher Sidney Hook that featured West as a discussant. Asked to explain the boycott, CUNY’s John Patrick Diggins told The New York Times, “I’m concerned about whether [West] has any point of view in matters of philosophy,” despite the fact that West holds a Princeton Ph.D. in the discipline and devoted some of his 1989 book The American Evasion of Philosoph y to Hook.

In The Chronicle of Higher Education this April, Robin Wilson portrayed African American studies programs as fighting against irrelevance—and for their very survival.

More here.

From The National Geographic:

Just as the Atkins diet fad goes belly up—the Atkins Nutritionals company filed for bankruptcy on Sunday—a new, scientifically tested anti-obesity technique is making its timely debut. The potential treatment relies not on diets, medications, or workouts but on tricks played on the mind. U.S. researchers say they can put a people off fattening foods by tricking them into believing the foods made them sick as a child. This is achieved by planting false memories of past culinary encounters.

Similar mind games could be deployed around the family dinner table on sweet-toothed children, the study team reports in the Proceedings of the National of Academy of Sciences’ current Online Early Edition. During the study, the researchers told adult volunteers that data suggested they fell ill after eating strawberry ice cream as children—a patent falsehood. Up to 40 percent of the test subjects fell for the deceit and added that they would steer clear of strawberry ice cream in the future.

More here.

“Sex and drugs and drink and food … enough was never enough for William Leith. Here, the poster boy of binge living tells Tim Adams about a life lived in the grip of excess – and how he finally had his fill.”

From The Guardian:

I first got to know William Leith almost 10 years ago. He came to work at The Observer as a columnist and was preceded by a reputation. Looking back, he was perhaps some years ahead of his time. Before television screens and magazines were filled with the intimate personal confessions of people you did not know, he had written a column for the Independent on Sunday of such startling introspection that he had become a sort of poster boy for a new kind of journalism. In some ways, at The Observer, I recall, he started as he meant to go on: one of his earliest pieces for this paper was a 6,000-word article on masturbation, dwelling principally on his own inevitably tortured history with the subject.

More here.

Robert S. Leiken in Foreign Affairs:

Radical Islam is spreading across Europe among descendants of Muslim immigrants. Disenfranchised and disillusioned by the failure of integration, some European Muslims have taken up jihad against the West. They are dangerous and committed — and can enter the United States without a visa.

More here.