links for 2009-07-10

Oh I *so* want a tour of the Olympic Stadium and I *so* am not gong to spam my Twitter followers to get one #fruitmoon or whatever that was

"The question is, what to do now? There clearly ought to be proper investigation into the collection of personal information by newspapers – particularly the use of phone tapping. But who should do it? The Press Complaints Commission has already had an opportunity to conduct an inquiry but failed to discover any further wrongdoing. Moreover, its Articles of Association constrain its freedom to act and it has limited resources and personnel. However, any disproportionate action by Parliament or the police would raise understandable – and justifiable – concern about freedom of the press and a journalist’s right to protect the anonymity of their sources".

"'A wonder pill could extend the lifespan of people by up to 23 years,' the Daily Express has reported on its front page. Most other newspapers have also featured stories on an 'anti-ageing drug', which contains a chemical made by insects in the soil on Easter Island". That sounds fantastic! Oh, hang on, damn science facts getting in the way again: "The researchers say that they cannot rule out the possibility that improved survival among these two groups of male [mice] might reflect differences in nutritional or health status between control and rapamycin groups before 600 days, rather than solely the effects of rapamycin."

"I subtitled it ‘a work in progess’ because anything on online communities is going to need constant revision and updating, and I intend to create v2.0, v3.0 etc and hopefully involve some more people to create a more comprehensive guide".

Top linkbait title and all of them come with a related Monty Python YouTube clip. And some of the lessons aren't bad either.