It's official: Guillermo del Toro to direct 'The Hobbit' and sequel - Los Angeles Times

It's official: Guillermo del Toro to direct 'The Hobbit' and sequel - Los Angeles Times: "Peter Jackson and the production team behind the 'Lord of the Rings' legacy have tapped Guillermo del Toro to direct 'The Hobbit' and its sequel 'The Hobbit 2.'"

Rationing of rice hits Britain’s Chinese and curry restaurants - Times Online

Rationing of rice hits Britain’s Chinese and curry restaurants - Times Online: "Rice is being rationed in Britain as shopkeepers limit supplies to their customers to prevent hoarding. Restrictions on sales in Asian neighbourhoods are reported as emergency measures are taken by governments worldwide to combat the soaring cost of rice and prevent outbreaks of food rioting."

Researchers Detail Chemotherapy's Damage to the Brain - URMC Press Room

Researchers Detail Chemotherapy's Damage to the Brain - URMC Press Room: "A commonly used chemotherapy drug causes healthy brain cells to die off long after treatment has ended and may be one of the underlying biological causes of the cognitive side effects – or “chemo brain” – that many cancer patients experience. That is the conclusion of a study published today in the Journal of Biology."

Blair caught on train without ticket | NEWS.com.au

Blair caught on train without ticket | NEWS.com.au: "FORMER British prime minister Tony Blair has been caught travelling on a train without a ticket or any cash to pay the fare."

Sorry to ruin the fun, but an ice age cometh | The Australian

Sorry to ruin the fun, but an ice age cometh | The Australian: "Disconcerting as it may be to true believers in global warming, the average temperature on Earth has remained steady or slowly declined during the past decade, despite the continued increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, and now the global temperature is falling precipitously.

All four agencies that track Earth's temperature (the Hadley Climate Research Unit in Britain, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, the Christy group at the University of Alabama, and Remote Sensing Systems Inc in California) report that it cooled by about 0.7C in 2007. This is the fastest temperature change in the instrumental record and it puts us back where we were in 1930. If the temperature does not soon recover, we will have to conclude that global warming is over.

There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence that 2007 was exceptionally cold. It snowed in Baghdad for the first time in centuries, the winter in China was simply terrible and the extent of Antarctic sea ice in the austral winter was the greatest on record since James Cook discovered the place in 1770."

Inmate Count in U.S. Dwarfs Other Nations’ - New York Times

Inmate Count in U.S. Dwarfs Other Nations’ - New York Times: "The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners."

Japan's hunger becomes a dire warning for other nations | theage.com.au

Japan's hunger becomes a dire warning for other nations | theage.com.au: "A 130% rise in the global cost of wheat in the past year, caused partly by surging demand from China and India and a huge injection of speculative funds into wheat futures, has forced the Government to hit flour millers with three rounds of stiff mark-ups. The latest — a 30% increase this month — has given rise to speculation that Japan, which relies on imports for 90% of its annual wheat consumption, is no longer on the brink of a food crisis, but has fallen off the cliff."

What are the aircraft career battle groups for? - The China Post

What are the aircraft career battle groups for? - The China Post: "Three U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups are patrolling waters off southeast Taiwan. The task forces with the Kitty Hawk, Nimitz and Lincoln in the lead are believed to continue the patrol until May 20. Of course, it's rather unusual. But what for?"

ABC News: Clinton Ad Features Osama Bin Laden in Last Minute Vote Drive

ABC News: Clinton Ad Features Osama Bin Laden in Last Minute Vote Drive: "Clinton further displayed tough talk in an interview airing on 'Good Morning America' Tuesday. ABC News' Chris Cuomo asked Clinton what she would do if Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons.

'I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran,' Clinton said. 'In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them.'"

Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World | The New York Sun

Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World | The New York Sun: "MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Many parts of America, long considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing."

PETA offers $1m for test tube chicken | The Register

PETA offers $1m for test tube chicken | The Register: "PETA, the US Animal rights organization, is challenging scientists to create test-tube meat for a cash reward, in a similar vein as X Prize Foundation.

PETA announced today it will offer $1m to an organization that can successfully create and market 'in vitro meat,' i.e. muscle tissue grown without the pesky animal attached."

Dissident Voice : Who Killed Martin Luther King?

Dissident Voice : Who Killed Martin Luther King?: "In 1977 the family of Martin Luther King engaged an attorney and friend, Dr. William Pepper, to investigate a suspicion they had. They no longer believed that James Earl Ray was the killer. For their peace of mind, for an accurate record of history, and out of a sense of justice they conducted a two decade long investigation. The evidence they uncovered was put before a jury in Memphis, TN, in November 1999. 70 witnesses testified under oath, 4,000 pages of transcripts described the evidence, much of it new. It took the jury 59 minutes to come back with their decision that Loyd Jowers, owner of Jim’s Grill, had participated in a conspiracy to kill King, a conspiracy that included J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, Richard Helms and the CIA, the military, the Memphis Police Department (MPD), and organized crime. That verdict exonerated James Earl Ray who had already died in prison."

Exposed: the great GM crops myth - Green Living, Environment - The Independent

Exposed: the great GM crops myth - Green Living, Environment - The Independent: "Genetic modification actually cuts the productivity of crops, an authoritative new study shows, undermining repeated claims that a switch to the controversial technology is needed to solve the growing world food crisis."