Definitely go read this (long) piece by Alvaro Vargas Llosa in Foreign Policy on what he calls Latin American idiots--that is, Chavez-style populist / nationalist caudillos.

La Vangua interviews some American diet doctor who says the US diet is the least healthy in the world. I doubt it, since American life expectancy is about 78 years, about the same as the UK and Germany, and slightly higher than Ireland, Denmark, and Portugal, while Russia's is 67. Also, there is no country with anywhere near America's size and diversity that ranks higher. In addition, in this list of percentage of population suffering undernourishment, the US does not appear. Such countries as Brazil, China, Russia, Mexico, and India do.

Now, it is very easy to eat a rotten diet in the US, Hamburger Helper and boxed generic macaroni and cheese and frozen pizza and Hardee's triple bacon cheeseburgers. However, all supermarkets sell a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and dairy products, not to mention your staples like beans, rice, corn or sunflower oil, and flour, and your reasonably healthy processed foods like Raisin Bran and canned corn and peanut butter and hot dogs.

Speaking of health: If we really want to launch a campaign against lies and deception on the web, this site, the 24th-ranked blog in the TTLB ecosystem, ought to be target number one. Check out the credentials of the person running it:

About Me

Welcome! I am a Certified Aromatherapist, Reiki Master, Dr. of Reflexology, Holistic Health Practitioner and Master Herbalist. I also hold certifications in homeopathy, color/crystal therapy and sound therapy. I hope you find the Holistic Health Information on this site to be of help to you. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions, need assistance or have an herbal or essential oil recipe to share!

How totally bogus.

More wackiness: Some people at the La Caixa offices on the Diagonal have been complaining about something called semicircular lipoatrophy on their thighs, which they claim is caused by "static electricity." Yeah, right. Links to stuff that looks scientific here, here, here, or here. They all say that 1) the causes are unknown, but likely involve pressure or injury to the thighs, and 2) it's benign.