GOOD NEWS, OR BAD? Organic food is no healthier, study finds. “Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic market worth an estimated $48 billion in 2007. A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference.”

CUTTING ENERGY COSTS with white roofs. That’s old news at InstaPundit.

FIVE EXTREMELY DUMB MILITARY DESIGNS FROM G.I. JOE.

FOOD ALLERGIES GET CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER:

Perhaps most striking are the regional differences. “Peach and melon allergy is particularly common in the Mediterranean – in Spain and Greece,” says Fernández Rivas. Reports from clinics suggest that Iceland is a hotspot for fish allergy and Switzerland has a higher rate of celeriac allergy than elsewhere.

These regional variations are likely to be due in part to differences in eating habits, causing people to be exposed to different allergens. But that alone cannot explain a pronounced north-south divide in the type of apple allergy people experience. In northern Europe, people react to the uncooked flesh of apples, whereas in the south it’s the skin that sets them off, whether it’s cooked or not. What could be the cause of this strange invisible dividing line that skims across south-west France, cuts through Italy close to Florence, and continues eastwards through the middle of the Black Sea? Significantly, this line marks the southern limit of the birch tree, a plant whose pollen is one of the causes of hay fever in northern Europe.

Curious indeed.

WHAT’S ALL THIS BREWHAHA? Snubbed beermakers unhappy with White House. (Pun via Howard Kurtz on Facebook, but the Nick Danger reference is all mine.)

HMM: Michigan Grad Files Complaint With ABA Over Wolverine Program’s LSAT-Free Admissions Policy.

WHY MORE YOUNG WOMEN should start using IUDs. It beats the pull-out method . . . .

SUSANNAH BRESLIN: Does Hairy Backvertising Go Too Far? Yes, yes it does.

PROGRESS IN laser space propulsion. If it works out, it’s huge.

THE PERENNIAL QUESTION: Where Is My Flying Car?

NORTH CAROLINA JIHADI’S FACEBOOK ACCOUNT: “I will kill you.”

STEPHEN MARCHE IN ESQUIRE: “Nobody wants to hear it, but this fact is too important to ignore: So far, the first African-American presidency has been one of the worst ever for African-Americans. The economic crisis has predominantly hit non-white working class men; the collapse of the auto industry is threatening to destroy the basis of the Midwestern black middle class. Key matters for African-Americans languish — the overincarceration of young black men that makes a mockery of American justice being the number one example. Government aid? That goes to bankers in Connecticut. If the President were white, there would be riots.”

IN THE MAIL: From Christian Davenport, As You Were: To War and Back with the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard. Looks very interesting.

JONATHAN TURLEY: Obama Political Appointees Reportedly Overruled Career Justice Officials In Dropping Charges Against New Black Panther Party for Voter Intimidation. “By dropping the complaint, the Obama Administration suggests that other groups could show up with such weapons and military-style uniforms are perfectly permissible. What if this were the Aryan Nation or Soldiers of God? Doesn’t brandishing a weapon have an intimidating effect on voters?”

It’s only okay if you’re from an Officially Recognized Aggrieved Group.

UH OH: Weak Treasury Auctions Raise Worries About US Debt Burden.

Why would anybody be worried?

Note that this is pretty much a best-case scenario these days . . . .

NEW YORK TIMES: New Poll Finds Growing Unease on Health Plan. “President Obama’s ability to shape the debate on health care appears to be eroding as opponents aggressively portray his overhaul plan as a government takeover that could limit Americans’ ability to choose their doctors and course of treatment, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Americans are concerned that revamping the health care system would reduce the quality of their care, increase their out-of-pocket health costs and tax bills, and limit their options in choosing doctors, treatments and tests, the poll found. The percentage who describe health care costs as a serious threat to the American economy — a central argument made by Mr. Obama — has dropped over the past month.”

THE AUDACITY OF HOPS: “The president, we are told, will be drinking Bud Light, Crowley will have Blue Moon, and Gates will have Red Stripe — Red Light and Blue.”

THE DAILY SHOW ON THE HOUSING CRISIS: Why Can’t Geithner Sell His House? “Is it not like hiring a personal trainer who is morbidly obese?”

ON THE ONE HAND, HARD-CORE PORNOGRAPHY. On the other, stories about sensitive vampires. “Just as America’s young men are being given deeply erroneous ideas about sex by what they watch on the Web, so, too, are America’s young women receiving troubling misinformation about the male of the species from Twilight. These women are going to be shocked when the sensitive, emotionally available, poetry-writing boys of their dreams expect a bit more from a sleepover than dew-eyed gazes and chaste hugs. The young man, having been schooled in love online, will be expecting extreme bondage and a lesbian three-way.”

IS AARP betraying its members’ interests?

THE JIM GERAGHTY PRINCIPLE IN TUCSON: “But the Tucson Tea Party let county leaders know, they’re watching and are not afraid to let their voices be heard. A group of about 100 showed up at the supervisor’s meeting to speak at the Truth in Taxation public hearing.”

REVENGE OF THE “SHOE BOMBER.”

HOWARD KURTZ: Is Obama Losing His Personal Touch? Is it just me, or has the media narrative shifted over the last week or so?

KILLING TWO JOBS with one stone. Or email, whatever.

THE WASHINGTON REVOLVING DOOR.

UPDATE: Related: Well-born and well-kept at the Huffington Post.