Montgomery and Stockton Tie for Most Obese Cities, Colorado Dominates Least Obese
Saturday, March 13, 2010
	Americans could stand to lose a few pounds in parts of Alabama and California, while Colorado has demonstrated itself to be quite lean when it comes to obesity. Gallup and Healthways teamed up to examine body mass index data and figure out which parts of the United States have high and low obesity rates.   Montgomery, Alabama, and Stockton, California, tied for the most obese urban areas, at 34.6%. They were followed by Visalia/Portervile, California and York/Hanover, Pennsylvania, also above 34%. The national average obesity rate is 26.5%.   Perhaps not surprisingly, these cities also faired poorly when it came to measuring healthy behaviors, which included gauging eating, exercise, and smoking habits.   Gallup/Healthways also produced a ranking of cities with the lowest obesity rates. Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado, came out on top, with a 16% rate, followed closely by Boulder at 16.6%. Two other Colorado metro areas finished in the top 10: Colorado Springs and Denver/Aurora. -Noel Brinkerhoff   What America's Most Obese Metro Areas Have in Common (by Elizabeth Mendes, Gallup) Good Health Habits the Norm in Slimmest U.S. Metro Areas (by Elizabeth Mendes, Gallup)

Gospel Label Delayed Album Release Because God Did Not Approve
Thursday, March 11, 2010
	Gospel recording label Habakkuk Music delayed payment of a $30,000 advance to singer Isaiah D. Thomas because God had not told company executives when to proceed. Thomas is now suing Habakkuk and its owner, April Washington-Essex, who reportedly informed the singer when he inquired about his advance: “I have been seeking God about the timing of your next recording. To date, God has not confirmed His approval for Habakkuk Music to participate.” Thomas says his contract states the company owed him the money once he began work on his second album.   Thomas subsequently left the label and signed with another company, Global Gospel Music Group. During promotion of Thomas’s album “I Dare You,” Habakkuk allegedly said it would file an injunction against Thomas and Global Gospel. Thomas says this move and others amounted to an attack on his reputation, and he is seeking damages as part of his lawsuit. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Gospel Singer Won't Buy the God Story (by Karina Brown, Courthouse News Service) Habakkuk Music Issues Notice of Injunction to Isaiah Thomas and Global Music (by Mona Austin, EURweb) Isaiah D. Thomas Web Site

First Commercial Brain-Operated Computer
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
	Disabled people trapped within their bodies now can communicate with the outside world via the first commercially available brain-operated computer. The Intendix, developed by Guger Technologies, allows those suffering from locked-in syndrome or similar conditions to type out messages by communicating with their brain. A special EEG cap is fitted atop the individual’s head and reads their thoughts. The user focuses on a screen showing a grid of letters, and the computer detects the letter of choice by reading spikes in brain activity. Intendix is also designed to set off alarms, convert text to speech, print, copy and email. The price of the computer is about $12,000. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Intendix, the Brain Computer Interface Goes Commercial (by Aaron Saenz, Singularity Hub) My Brain can Type! by Stuart Turton, (PC Pro) Intendix Website

Detroit Settles Perfume Allergy Case for $100,000
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
	Susan McBride, a civil servant in Detroit, won a $100,000 settlement from the city after officials failed to accommodate her allergy to perfume. McBride complained to superiors about a coworker’s perfume, claiming the smell made it difficult for her to breath. When managers did nothing to address the situation, McBride sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act and won.   In addition to paying the hundred grand, the city, as part of the settlement, will post signs asking employees to refrain from wearing “scented products, including but not limited to colognes, after-shave lotions, perfumes, deodorants, body/face lotions, hair sprays or similar products.”   In 2005, Detroit was the site for a private lawsuit between a DJ, Erin Weber, and a local radio station involving perfume. As in the McBride case, Weber complained about a coworker’s perfume, got no relief, then sued and won—a $10.6 million verdict. The award was later knocked down to $814,000. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Scents Alive! Perfume Allergy Case Settles for $100,000 (by Matthew Heller, On Point News) Susan McBride v. City of Detroit (U.S. District Court, Eastern Michigan) (pdf)

Swiss Vote on Providing Lawyers for Animals
Sunday, March 07, 2010
	Switzerland is big on animal rights, so much so that voters today cast their ballots on whether the government should provide lawyers to animals that have been abused. Backers of the measure, which received 144,000 signatures to get on the ballot, say cruelty to animals will drop if cats, dogs, even fish are given access to legal representation.   Antoine Goetschel, the official animal lawyer for the canton of Zurich, is currently the only attorney in Switzerland who has handled cases for animals. In one notorious case he filed a complaint against a fisherman who took too long to reel in a pike. Most of Goetschel’s 150+ clients a year are abused dogs. . Opponents of the proposed new law argue enough is enough, saying the country already has strict laws protecting animals.   Early results indicated that the measure would be defeated. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Swiss Ask Whether Animals Need Lawyers (by Imogen Foulkes, BBC News) Swiss May Give Animals Free Lawyers (by Robert Mackey, New York Times) Scales of Justice: In Zurich, Even Fish Have a Lawyer (by Deborah Ball, Wall Street Journal) Lawyer Lends His Voice to the Animals (by Isobel Leybold, Swissinfo)

Venus de Milo Snow Sculpture Forced to Wear Bikini in New Jersey
Saturday, March 06, 2010
	Breasts, even those made of snow and shaped in the figure of famous artwork, were too much for one New Jersey community to handle. Rahway, New Jersey, police told Maria Conneran and her family that the snow woman they built in their front yard, which was deliberately crafted in the image of Venus de Milo, needed some clothing because neighbors complained. Conneran’s mother, Elisa Gonzalez, was proud of the creation, which she described as “curvaceous, bodacious and booty-licious,” along with having six-pack abs.   Conneran complied with the police’s clothing suggestion and added a bikini top and sarong to the snow woman. “I thought she looked more objectified and sexualized after you put the bikini on,” Gonzalez told the Star-Ledger.   Conneran said the incident reminded her of when former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft had material draped over the semi-nude statue of the Spirit of Justice in the Department of Justice headquarters in January 2002. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Nude Snow Sculpture in Rahway Leads Police to Request 'Snowlady' Cover-Up (by Eliot Caroom, Newark Star-Ledger)

Israel Calls Off West Bank Raid after Leak on Facebook
Friday, March 05, 2010
	Facebook is not the place to post classified information about cross-boarder raids if you’re in Israel’s military. Using his cell phone, a soldier recently wrote on his Facebook page about his unit’s plans to slip into Palestinian territory, and mentioned what day the attack on the West Bank village was planned. "On Wednesday we clean up Qatanah, and on Thursday, God willing, we come home," he wrote. He also included the name of his unit. Actually, there does not appear to be a village in the West Bank named Qatanah. However there is a refugee camp called Qalandia.   After learning of the leak, Brigadier-General Nitzan Alon, commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ Judea and Samaria Division, called off the raid and rescheduled it for a few days later. As for the soldier, he was court-martialed and sentenced to 10 days in prison. -Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky   IDF Calls Off West Bank Raid Due to Facebook Leak (Reuters and Haaretz Service) IDF Operation Canceled Due to Facebook Status (by Hanan Greenberg, Ynetnews) Israel Calls Off West Bank Raid After Soldier Discloses Details on Facebook (by Shira Rubin, Associated Press) Facebook Details Cancel IDF Raid (by Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post)

Court Rules Zombies Allowed to Roam the Streets
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
	Zombies in Minnesota have had their day in court, and won. A group dressed up as the undead to protest “mindless” consumerism at a July 2006 festival in Minneapolis were arrested by local police for disorderly conduct, resulting in a two-night stay in jail and one “zombie” having his prosthetic leg taken from him. Claiming they did nothing to break the law, the group sued the city and the police department. They lost their initial trial in district court, then appealed to a federal circuit court and were victorious.   “[A]n objectively reasonable person would not think probable cause exists under the Minnesota disorderly conduct statue to arrest a group of peaceful people for engaging in an artistic protest by playing music, broadcasting statements, dressing as zombies, and walking erratically in downtown Minneapolis during a week-long festival,” ruled the three-judge panel serving on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Zombies' Claims Against Police Aren't Dead (by Annie Youderian, Courthouse News Service) Jessica Baribeau et al. v. City of Minneapolis et al. (U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit) (pdf) Zombies Arrested in Downtown Minneapolis (ABC 5 Eyewitness News)

Overdue Since 1921, Next Solar Storm Could Disrupt Much of World
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
	When the last massive solar storm struck earth, modern civilization was without the electronic- and wireless-based communications that are now so critical to day-to-day living. Researchers recently conducted a simulation to see how countries might fare if the earth was subjected to a huge burst of electromagnetic radiation, and the results were not good.   A solar storm similar in size to those unleashed by the sun in 1921 and 1859 could result in millions of people around the world losing access to electricity, running water and phone service. The tabletop exercise, held in Boulder, Colorado, found that radio signals and GPS devices were vulnerable to a rush of radiation hitting the planet. Also, communications satellites responsible for relaying television signals and other data could get taken out by the next storm, described by scientists as a solar equivalent to Hurricane Katrina. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Solar Storms Could Be Earth's Next Katrina (by Jon Hamilton, National Public Radio) NASA Warns of “Space Katrina” Radiation Storm (by Lewis Page, A Register)