“At the crux of this saga are the Bushes’ real and imagined relationships with Nazi Germany. Rumors about Bush-Nazi connections began circulating in earnest in the pre-web days of the late 80s. The Philadelphia Enquirer discovered a number of German Nazi military officers working as low-level operatives for the Republican National Committee in the Bush presidential campaign of 1988. Rumors of a Bush-Nazi association were kept alive on alt.news conspiracy bulletin boards through the 90s. They gained critical mass during the 2000 election campaign, generating a bewildering variety of exposes, mythic narratives and shadow histories.

Below is just a sampling of some of the hottest current web forums dedicated to exploring Bush-Nazi ties…” The Thresher [via Red Rock Eaters]

Skies over the U.S. east coast are clearing just in time for the meteor shower. You’ll begin being able to see meteors around 10 p.m. but peak viewing time here in the East will be around 5 a.m., when there might be 60-100 falling stars per minute.

Poll: Insiders not backing Gore ’04: “Only about a third of Democratic Party insiders think former Vice President Al Gore should run for president again in 2004, according to a poll published Sunday.” Salon

The scandal that wasn’t: “To read the headlines, you might think that the Yann Martel scandal is the latest example of a good author who done wrong. Ever since Martel won Britain’s prestigious Man Booker Prize last month for The Life of Pi, charges of plagiarism and intellectual theft have swirled around him. But as damning as the accusations may sound, the controversy reflects more poorly on those who have propagated it than on Martel. The brouhaha provides less insight into the ethics of literary creation than the way the media can spead false claims.” Raleigh News & Observer

Well, can it? “Last week, a study published in the New Scientist found that the consumption of monosodium glutamate (MSG), the flavour enhancer best known for its use in Chinese cooking, could damage your eyesight.

Scientists at Hirosaki University in Japan fed rats high levels of MSG, and concluded that it was responsible for destroying retinal cells, which, in turn, delayed nerve signals. It might, they said, explain why people in eastern Asia have a high rate of normal tension glaucoma – an eye disease that leads to blindness.

It sounds plausible, until you take a closer look at the facts.” Telegraph UK

Silicon chip to be inserted under the skin: “Britain is considering a controversial scheme to implant surgically electronic tags in convicted paedophiles amid fears that the extent of the abuse of children has been massively underestimated.

Documents obtained by The Observer reveal the Government could track paedophiles by satellite, with a system similar to that used to locate stolen cars.” Observer UK

The headline in Salon reads: Vonnegut speech could be his last. What it is really about is this: “Kurt Vonnegut is spending a few hours in a building his grandfather designed, an event some say could be the last public appearance by one of American literature’s most revered writers.

Over the past several years, other speeches by the iconic author have been billed as grand finales, but Vonnegut continues to make occasional appearances. And at his age, the 80-year-old says any of them could be the last.” Pretty silly piece from the Associated Press, if you ask me. Should we begin covering every public appearance by an octogenarian with a headline saying it might be their last appearance?