When people say discrimination causes a lot of “heartache” they may be more medically accurate than they think. A new study by a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago says stress could be causing coronary artery calcification in black women. Health Day News reports this: The investigators found that the more discrimination the women felt, the more likely they were to have coronary artery calcification, a buildup of calcium in blood vessels that’s associated...

…but it proves yet again the validity of Einstein’s theories: Near Perfect “Einstein Ring” Discovered Summary – (Apr 29, 2005) Gravitational lensing happens when the gravity of a relatively close galaxy acts as a telescope lens to focus the light from a more distant galaxy. It allows astronomers to see distant objects they could never have a hope of observing with current instruments, essentially looking back to moments after the Big Bang (cosmically speaking). The galaxies...

A hint. Incredibly sweet. No, not me. It’s this.

….reportedly backs the U.S. version of events in the continued furor surrounding a case that has thrown a monkey wrench into U.S.Italy relations.

Our all-too-infrequent linkfest aimed at bringing you DIVERSE VIEWS from all over the Blog-o-you-know-what. So we do NOT limit them to one viewpoint. Opinions do NOT necessarily represent the views of The Moderate Voice. This will be expanded a bit MORE today and when this sentence vanishes this post will be complete. IS CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR ARNOLD SWARZENEGGER GOING TO BECOME THE NEXT JESSE VENTURA? It’s a very interesting — and valid — question, as those of us here in California...

Just when you thought science had already made most of its key, dramatic discoveries there’s this news: advanced technologies have helped European and American astronomers to take the first-ever picture of a planet outside our solar system. It seemed to be a red speck and some insisted it was a star some 225-light years away from Earth in the Hydra constellation. But scientists now say a Very Large Telescope in Northern Chile has confirmed its true status. The New York Times notes that scientists...

There’s a new company called Clean Flicks. They bill themselves as the “leading provider” of edited Hollywood movies — and reportedly Hollywood is not totally pleased. Clean Flicks removes profanity, violence, graphic violence and sexual content. That should leave about 2 minutes of a 2 hour Hollywood film…But we digress. The issue came up on Joe Scarborough’s always lively MSNBC talk show, Scarborough Country. The transcript is here. Here’s how Scarborough...

Apple’s new Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system was a huge smash as it went onsale yesterday — and we’re not lion. Bill Gates may have the numbers (and bankroll) but, as usual, Apple has the enthusiastic, almost cult-like devotees. Just look at some of these reports. CNET News: SAN FRANCISCO–Mac fans let out a collective roar Friday night, with thousands of eager shoppers turning out at Apple stores across the globe to scoop up Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, the latest version of...

Turning BLOGS into a BUSINESS? Why, who ever heard of such a thing! But there are serious attempts to do so by individual bloggers and people who’ve signed on to a group concept. And here’s one of the most promising ones yet, via Roger Simon: Charles Johnson, Marc Danziger and I have been sneaking around over the last few months, trying to turn blogs into a business. We have enlisted some others with names familiar to you with the intention of working in two areas – aggregating...

You KNEW it just had to happen: the curt New York soup chef mercilessly lampooned in the classic Seinfeld shows as the “Soup Nazi” is going to clone his New York style restaurant so YOU can experience the soup but…he promises, not the New Yawk attitude. It’s the ultimate in franchising. Well, maybe not quite: Tony Soprano butcher shops would be that… But this is FOR REAL, the AP reports (and it is not April 1): Signs will be posted in each of “The Original Soup...

Be careful what you carry with you to eat: it may be hazardous to your freedom: CLOVIS, N.M. – A call about a possible weapon at a middle school prompted police to put armed officers on rooftops, close nearby streets and lock down the school. All over a giant burrito. Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High. The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with...

It’s too early to tell the impact of last night’s press conference by President Bush but there are some ominious rumblings and if you listen closely they’re still whispering “trouble.” Political events such as major speeches, policy changes, and presidential press conferences usually take a while to “sink in.” But one factor that remains out there is a peception that there have been far happier political days for George Bush. There are various signposts —...

An anti-abortion group lost its case in Britain’s highest appeals court to challenge the right for British couples to create babies via in vitro fertilization to help cure sick siblings. UK’s Medical News Today reports: This ruling is the result of an appeal by the Hashmi family, whose son who was born with thalassaemia major. The Hashmi’s say the only hope for their son, who is now six years old, is to create a child with the same tissue type. Zain (the son) has to have regular...

The Internet is clearly a potential political force — and we need look further for confirmation of this fact than this news story: MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – FSB analysts have admitted for the first time that the Internet poses a threat to Russian authorities. Referring to the experience of Ukraine and Georgia, a representative of the FSB Center for Information Security, Dmitry Frolov, put forward an idea to impose stricter technical control over the Russian Internet domain during...

The FDA has approved a drug that proves a Gila Monster can be a diabetes patient’s best friend. Or, Gila Monster spit, to be exact. The reason: Byetta, known chemically as exenatide, is derived from a Gila Monster’s saliva and it has now been given the green light by the FDA to become an injected option for Type 2 diabetics to control their blood sugar. The Washington Post notes that, for now, it’s supposed to be used with older drugs and not alone. More: Some 18 million Americans...

One upon a time in land called the United States there was something called the Presidential news conference and no matter what party the Prez belonged to he could call one and get on prime time TV — but that was once upon a time.. In a showdown that featured inside-the-Beltway lobbying and bare-knuckle boardroom negotiating, Donald J. Trump and President Bush effectively squared off yesterday in pursuit of the same parcel of real estate – a piece of the NBC-TV prime-time lineup. And...

The middle-aged spread has now become the middle-aged dread. A new study suggests middle-aged obesity — particularly in women — can hurt the brain and cause dementia problems later on. The study was released online in the British Medical Journal and conducted by Kaiser Permanente’s research division. It makes it clear that if there was ever a reason to cut down a bit on the hot fudge sundaes, piled high plates of pasta, bagels and lox, or the third (or fourth) trip to the buffet...

If you thought you’ve heard every take on the implications of Pope Benedict XVI’s election, think again: Some insist it signifies that we’ve moved a step closer to the end of the world…

It was not a political tsunami, but some significant shifts occurred at President George Bush’s press conference tonight: a shift on Social Security and some notable steps away from an allied Christian Evangelical leader. You can read the transcript of the President’s wide-ranging press conference here. It was called ostensibly to talk about Social Security, and Bush did that. But he also answered other questions to make his case at a time when polls show support for him and the Republican-controlled...

Message from Senator Bill Frist to Democrats: I’ll give you debate time but absolutely no filibuster. So now least we know this: despite on-again-off-again announcements about whether Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid are still talking to try and head off the “nuclear option” that would ban filibusters on judicial nominees it’s clear that they are still talking — and proposing. The latest is Frist’s compromise, as reported...

Bad news for Rush, Sean, Michael, Randi and Al: listeners are getting tired of you and tuning out..at least in Washington, D.C. It turns out that rather than making listeners run to their radios to hear to this hot, sizzling format, since after the election many DC listeners are seemingly running for Excedrin and other listening options. In the nation’s capitol, at least, listeners are tuning in less and less, according to the Washington Post. How can that be? How can anyone get tired of...

Congressional Republicans have put aside their differences and finally agreed to a budget deal — which makes it likely that there will be oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The AP gives these details on the tentative deal: House and Senate Republican leaders have reached tentative agreement on a budget that envisions $10 billion in Medicaid savings over the next five years and at least $70 billion in tax cuts, congressional officials said Thursday. It could also...

This week’s Carnival of the Vanities is up. If you don’t have a weblog, it’s a collection of posts from all over submitted by various bloggers. It’s wonderful, variety-packed reading. Check it out.

Has the moment of political truth come for President George Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress? Have we seen a classic case of overreaching and miscalculation? The answers will likely be given to us fairly quickly by the political fates. But one thing is certain: suddenly, there is an awful lot of political fluidity out there: President George Bush has his first prime time news conference tonight in one year. The main announced subject is his lagging efforts at Social Security reform. Could...

This is the era of highly active, vigorous seniors and in recent years one way seniors have tried to stay healthy was by taking lots of Calicium and Vitamin D supplements to help their bones. The medical scuttlebutt has been that the two supplements helped prevent fractures. No more. Two studies have come out saying the supplements don’t help. According to the BBC: Taking vitamin D or calcium does not help prevent repeat fractures in elderly people, a study suggests. Two studies by researchers...