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"The highest concentrations of cocaine were found in the center of Rome and especially in the area of the University of La Sapienza," said Dr. Angelo Cecinato, who led the investigation.

Researchers can't say for sure why the high concentrations were registered in those locations, but Cecinato stressed that the findings didn't necessarily mean that cocaine and cannabis are more heavily used there.

The report said the maximum concentration of cocaine in Rome _ 0.1 nanograms per cubic meter _ was five times less than the legal limit for toxic substances in the air. Nevertheless, researchers said even the small amount was reason for concern.

Are they absolutely certain they've ruled out accidental contamination by lab personnel?

LOS ANGELES - The popular online dating service eHarmony was sued on Thursday for refusing to offer its services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

A lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay.

Lawyers bringing the action said they believed it was the first lawsuit of its kind against eHarmony, which has long rankled the gay community with its failure to offer a “men seeking men” or “women seeking women” option.

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They also discriminate against atheists, right?

Married Guy talk:

Went outside for a few minutes to read, married neighbor came out to chat, then we went inside for supper. A few minutes later, my phone rings, an unfamiliar number. It's married neighbor, wants to know if I can come look at some art he wants to buy. I go down the hall, pick out art I like, then we sit on the couch and chat for two hours about moving to LA, the sadness of the crumbling marriage, writing. Nothing flirty, just mournful, it felt like, to me.

moving to LA, the sadness of the crumbling marriage, writing

I had this conversation a lot a couple of years ago. Mournful to be sure. (Not to make it all about me. It just struck a chord.)

Since eHarmony is a private company, it never would occur to me that it would be illegal for it to discriminate against whomever. It's not illegal for Curves to only offer its services to women, is it? (That's not to say that I'm in favor of dating services that discriminate, mind you.) We have lots of lawyers here, I'm sure someone knows.

Well, there was a Jewish dating site that was found to be discriminatory. They appealed and won, using the argument that a Jewish dating site was necessary given that Jews are in the minority. eHarmony couldn't use that same argument, as heterosexuals are not a minority.

Anyway, that's the extent of what I read.

eta: Anyway, companies that restrict by gender are often legal, but not always. For example, private golf courses can't restrict their membership to men only, can they?

Now I'm wondering what the criteria is for businesses like Curves....

Y'all know I have no idea what word(s) eliminated me from spelling bees. I was just happy to be eliminated early.

Firefox having spell check has improved my spelling. Made me just a bit more careful.

no words were corrected in this post.

hrm. I have to say I have no clue where to start looking for precedents in something like the eHarmony case, so I think the wisest thing for me to do is back out of the discussion now, before I say something that exposes me as a self-important boob-brain who talks out of her ass.

It's like that West Wing episode where Josh and CJ meet the upside down map people.

I am a total proponent of the upside down Peters Projection map! So, not actually related to the quote above.

Or that a lot is two separate words.

Pretty sure I only internalized that here. Then again, I have my own pet peeves. Don't we all.

Huh. The dictionary gives "alright" as "non-standard usage." I've seen it used that way plenty of times.

Yeah, I use alright a lot. Heh, and Firefox doesn't correct me on it.

Is this where a girl gets to gripe about Studio 60? I'm watching my tape now and don't any of these people know how the fuck to act during a live show? Harriet? Lawyer chick? And who the hell scheduled a deposition for Matt on the other coast for first thing Saturday morning?