Watercooler Sensation

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Ganging Up On Gangs Doesn’t Work

• A new report by the Justice Policy Institute shows “anti-gang legislation and police crackdowns are failing so badly that they are strengthening the criminal organizations and making U.S. cities more dangerous.” Whoops. [AP]
• Problems: Cities have tried to battle gangs with law enforcement tactics like mass arrests and long jail sentences. Gang members (and potential gang members) end up serving all that time together and building the gangs up on the inside.
• Throwing young teens in jail also helps to ensure they’ll be further marginalized from society and, you guessed it, more likely to join a gang.
• (In another recent report done for LA to figure out why their anti-gang efforts were failing, Civil Rights attorney Connie Rice said the policy of mass arrests was “stuck on stupid.”)
• More Effective: Intervention. Intervention. Intervention. Education. Jobs.
• Experts see gangs as a symptom of the poverty of the inner-city, along with things like teen pregnancy, unemployment and drug abuse. Cut the cycles, cut the gangs.
• Wes McBride, the director of the California Gang Investigators Association — a group made up of law enforcement officials — hated the report.
• He accused it of being written by “thug-huggers,” charging, “Are they saying we can’t put a thief in jail, we can’t put a murderer in jail, that we should spank them, put a diaper on them, pat them on the bottom, hug them and let them go? It’s obviously a think tank report, and they didn’t leave their ivory tower and spend any time on the streets.”

Maybe we should try some of that “winning the hearts and minds” stuff here at home?

Go Gossip. It’s Good For You.

• If you can’t say something nice, come sit next to us. We wear our badges as the office gossips proudly (and with great style, might we add) — especially now that new research as emerged that says that gossiping might, in fact, be good for you. [MSNBC]
• “It’s a social skill, not a character flaw,” says Frank McAndrew a professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. “It’s only when you don’t do it well that you get into trouble.” Experts went on to say that gossip helps keep culture going, acting as “grease for the social machinery.” We feel pleasure whenever we share savory scraps of information because gossip helps build and cement connections with others, McAndrew explains. Besides, he says, those tidbits can be the tool people use to enforce unwritten societal commandments
• Turns out, though, we don’t all gossip in the same way. Men are much more likely to share juicy tidbits with a romantic partner, whereas women are more likely to pick-a-little-talk-a-little with female friends and partners alike.
• Meanwhile, the the nature of the gossip we have often controls whether it gets passed on. People generally were willing to share damaging, negative personal information when it involved a same sex rival. And they’d happily pass on good news only if it was about a friend.
• So is all gossip good? No, says McAndrew. You should only feel proud about your watercooler talk when it’s used to better the group as a whole. And let’s be honest: how often are you thinking about the general good when you’re discussing Frank from accounting’s indiscretions at the Christmas party?

Our existences, justified.

Oxytocin: The Life Of The Party

• Wouldn’t it be great if there existed a magic substance that made you less likely to lurk around the cheese platter at a party and encouraged actual social interaction?
• Turns out, scientists may be on the verge of developing a potion that’ll make you the life of the party. [New Scientist]
• Oxytocin, that catch-all hormone released during breastfeeding, birth, and yes, orgasm (in both sexes), is being tested as a possible remedy for people with generalized social phobia, a condition characterized by overwhelming anxiety and self-consciousness in social situations. [Wikipedia]
• Participants in a study who received a dose of oxytocin in the form of nasal spray showed improved readiness to interact and reported increased levels of self-confidence during social interaction.
• These results may be partially explained by another study in which oxytocin was shown to reduce the response in a portion of the brain dedicated to fear when participants were shown pictures of fearful or angry faces. Freedom from the usual fear response may have helped participants feel more at ease.

AKA “vodka.”

That Explains Everything! The Alcohol-Monitoring Anklet

• Okay, we’re not afraid to admit it: We’re fascinated by the “alcohol-anklet” sported by Lindsay Lohan and other stars trying to get off the sauce (or out of the slammer). How does it work? [Washington Post]
• First, what is it? Making its debut in 2003, the anklet is technically known as the “Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor,” or SCRAM. It’s currently used in 43 states.
• Size: The device weighs 8 oz. and is strapped to the user’s ankle, where it cannot be removed except by the authorities (just like a house arrest anklet).
• How does it work? The machine analyzes your sweat. (Ew.) You know how after a night of boozing you smell like a brewery? So does SCRAM. Once an hour (or every 30 minutes, if you’re a huge boozer), the device analyzes the ethanol content of your sweat; once a day, you stand near the SCRAM modem, which uploads your data and sends it in to the cops who are monitoring your newly sober ways.
• What does it cost? Having the police monitor your willpower isn’t cheap. The device costs $100 to install, then $10 or $12 a day to monitor. And, yes, the offender is on the hook for the price.
• Tamper-proof: Some offenders try to throw the device off the scent by shoving baloney, duct-tape or business cards between the anklet and the skin. No dice: The anklet reads sweat using a laser. If it can’t get a read, it tattles to the cops that you’ve been messing with it. [ABC News]
• Problems: Yes, it’s possible to get a false-positive if you wear certain perfumes (many of which have an alcohol base) or eat certain foods (like chocolate donuts, for some reason). [Wired]
• Who uses it? More than 40,000 people have worn the anklet, usually as part of a plea bargin to avoid jail time after a DUI. (And yes, Lindsay had a DUI in May, but she swears she’s wearing it voluntarily.)
• Other celebs wearing it: “Former “Lost” star Michelle Rodriguez sported one at New York’s Fashion Week in February; rapper-actress Eve started wearing one at the end of June; Tracy Morgan of ‘30 Rock’ wore one in early June while hosting the Guy’s Choice Awards for Spike TV.”

Plus it looks fabulous with a smart pair of Jimmy Choos.

Weeds: The Only Things That Thrive On Global Warming

• Ice caps melt. The Alps collapse. Polar bears go all Jeffrey Dahmer on us. Face it: global warming’s not exactly helpful for anyone. Except, that is, weeds. [Los Angeles Times]
• That’s right, folks, evil loves company. And two new studies show that rapidly rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are driving noxious poison ivy and those annoying patches of dandelion to grow taller, lusher and more resilient.
• And we’re not talking about the stuff you encountered when you went camping as a kid. Poison ivy growing in lab chambers set to present carbon dioxide conditions swelled to twice the size of samples grown under conditions from the 1950s.
• When scientists plucked off leaves to simulate animals feeding, the plants under current carbon dioxide conditions grew back their leaves twice as fast as those at 1950 conditions. Plants growing at estimated 2090 carbon dioxide levels grew back at triple the rate.
• Dandelions, meanwhile, produced 32% more seed-carrying fruit and longer white pappus hairs, which improve seeds’ ability to float with the wind.
• Science lesson: Plants are particularly sensitive to carbon dioxide levels because they “use it for food, converting it into carbohydrates, lipids and other compounds during photosynthesis.”

We knew the weeds would win in the end.

By the Numbers

New evidence shows the driver of the car in which five teenagers were killed in an accident several weeks ago may have been distracted by a text message. ABC asks the question, ‘R Teens Txt Msg Addicts?’ Let’s take a look at the numbers. [ABC]

28

Percentage of teens who admit to sending text messages while driving

65

Percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 28 who send text messages

35

Percentage of overall population who send text messages

93.8 billion

Total number of text messages sent in the United States during the last six months of 2006

48.6 billion

Total number of text messages sent in the United States during the same period in 2005

4,000

Number of text messages sent per month by the winner of the LG National Texting Championship

Celebrities: Unfiltered

“I didn’t have this tremendous sense of guilt, because I hadn’t hurt anyone. Had I physically harmed someone or caused harm to a human being, I think it would have been an entirely different experience. I never said a word. I didn’t release a statement. I didn’t do anything. I just waited for it to be over. The attention was what was embarrassing.”

— Winona Ryder feels good about that whole shop-lifting fiasco. Her career, on the other hand...well now, that’s a different story all together. [Jossip]

Speed Round

INDICTED

Atlanta Falcons’ star Michael Vick is indicted for his dog-fighting ring. If convicted, he faces six years in jail and $350,000 in fines. [NY Times]

AUDIO: He may have (literally) killed puppies, but Mike Vick says people still love him.

WATCH MORE TV

LeBron James can dunk a ball, but can he make you laugh? Hoops star will host the season premier of SNL this fall. [Variety]

STICKY SITUATION

What do you get when you marry a Gecko lizard to a mussel? “Geckel,” a crazy superglue that can attach to wet and dry surfaces. Cool. [BBC News]

HEALTH

Women who eat grapefruit every day may increase their risk of breast cancer by 30%. Pass the Cookie Crisp. [BBC]

DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY

Newsweek’s question of the day: Are guys in dresses funny? Or is it akin to wearing blackface? Or is it just that we can’t stand John Travolta? [Newsweek]

TRAGEDY

The National Guardsman sniper accused of killing his wife while she sang onstage in a bar kills himself in Wyoming. [CBS News]

KIDS TODAY

Students at Oxford are shocked – just shocked! – that school officials read their Facebook pages and discipline them after finding pics of them trashing school property. [CBS News]

CELEBRIDIRT

Having become bored with every other illicit substance, Lindsay Lohan turns her attention to whippits. [Dlisted]

BEHIND THE MUSIC

Hootie and the Blowfish delay summer tour. In other news, Hootie and the Blowfish are still playing summer tours. [AP]

LOCAL NEWS

A huge metal chunk crashes through the roof of a New Jersey home. NASA officials scratch their heads, then remember they’re dealing with New Jersey. [AP]

AND YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD IT BAD

“Larvae take up residence on man’s head” [AP]

LEAVE IT TO GERMANY

A German zoo faces charges for trying to sell its animals...as food. [AP]

BREAKING THE LAW

“If u can rd ths whle u r drvng, u may be brking the law.” New York wants to make it a crime to text and drive. [NY Times]

TRUE CRIME

“What did I do?” – Ohio man to police, on being arrested while stabbing his second wife. This is the second time the man has been arrested for stabbing a wife – he stabbed his first wife to death back in the 80s. [NY Times]

THE MARTHA

Martha Stewart’s Westchester, NY neighbor writes a song to protest her. Oh, now he’s done it. Now he’s done it. [AP]

POTTER MANIA

So, basically, you’re the only one who doesn’t know how the whole thing ends. And that’ll change in about five minutes. [AP]

THE RUMOR MILL

Rumors of California burger joint In-N-Out hitting the streets of NYC are grilling up. [Gawker]

$1.63

That’s the amount on a tax bill that went undelivered and thus unpaid, costing one Louisiana couple their home. [FOX]

GET UP OFF YO’ HANDS

A study that measured the energy output of chimps walking using four versus two legs on treadmills supports the idea that humans evolved to walk upright because it required less energy. [CNN]

200,000 YEARS

That’s how long ago a giant flood cut off Britain from mainland Europe, according to a recent sonar study of the English Channel. [BBC]

CHEESEBURGER PIZZA

President Bush’s favorite food, according to the White House chef. [The Sun]

AUDIO: We bet this is on his Ipod, then. Take it away, Jimmy!

SUGAR HIGH

Food companies like McDonalds and PepsiCo say they’ll stop marketing unhealthy products to kids, but loopholes abound. [NY Times]

AUDIO: Guess they can’t use ads like this 1989 gem anymore.