Non believers? The 8th Proof of God's Existence

From the New York Times:

Prevention: Evidence of Heart Benefits From Chocolate

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

An analysis of studies including more than 100,000 subjects has found that high levels of chocolate consumption are associated with a significant reduction in the risk of certain cardiovascular disorders.

The seven studies looked at the consumption of a variety of chocolate — candies and candy bars, chocolate drinks, cookies, desserts and nutritional supplements. By many measures, consumption of chocolate was linked to lower rates of stroke, coronary heart disease, blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions.

But there was no beneficial effect on the risk for heart failure or diabetes.

Over all, the report, published Monday in the British medical journal BMJ, showed that those in the group that consumed the most chocolate had decreases of 37 percent in the risk of any cardiovascular disorder and 29 percent in the risk for stroke.

Still, the lead author, Dr. Oscar H. Franco, a lecturer in public health at the University of Cambridge, warned that this finding was not a license to indulge and noted that none of the studies reviewed involved randomized controlled trials.

“Chocolate may be beneficial, but it should be eaten in a moderate way, not in large quantities and not in binges,” he said. “If it is consumed in large quantities, any beneficial effect is going to disappear.”

Seattle's tunnel viaduct debate -- cue the videos

A decade after an earthquake revealed a highway that had to go in downtown Seattle, voices arise via video to make the case over a Seattle ballot measure.

Should Seattle replace an elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct highway with a deep-bore tunnel, a "surface option," or just keep talking?

Who decides the fate of one of the world's most fabulous waterfronts, while also resolving conflicting priorities over freight mobility, sustainability, transit and the car in the city of my birth? Dare we vote in a manner that further degrades our standing as the coolest city in the Northwest?

I so miss Emmet Watson.

It's a a huge civic debate, submitted to voters in mid August, when most of us are thinking of swimming and hiking in a region where the clouds have lifted after an 11 month wait.

Roll the tapes.

David Brewster, long one of Seattle's finest journalists, analyzes the long civic toothache. With his usual combination of wit and stylish mastery of detail, he sees a debate about the soul of our city.

An earlier post, containing Matt Smith's hilarious satire on the argument to keep the Viaduct is here.