Hot Docs: "Tainted" Diet Drugs, New Kissinger Transcripts

"Tainted" Diet Drugs: A warning to those who are hoping to ward off weight gain this holiday season: The Food and Drug Administration has released a list of 25 diet drugs you should avoid. The listed products contain "controlled substances," which aren't listed on the labels, and could endanger the health of those who take them. Some of the products bill themselves as "natural" or "dietary supplements," but they may contain ingredients that aren't approved for use in the United States or are suspected of causing cancer. The compounds in the drugs can have serious consequences. One ingredient is linked to "high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia, palpitations, heart attack, or stroke."

Voice From the Past: Kissinger Transcripts: The National Security Archive offers a glimpse into the past as it releases transcripts of Henry Kissinger's phone calls from his years in the Nixon and Ford administrations. Kissinger apparently secretly recorded his phone calls while he was secretary of state and national security adviser. When he left office, he had the tapes destroyed, but kept the transcripts. Now, most of the transcripts are available by subscription (with the exception of some still restricted "on privacy or national security grounds"), but about 20 excerpts are available on the website of the National Security Archive, which is located at George Washington University. The discussions cover "every aspect of Nixon-Ford diplomacy" and include talks about the Vietnam War, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Watergate. Kissinger is heard in 1972 predicting that the U.S. will be victorious in Vietnam, and just prior to the 1976 presidential election arguing that the race was already "lost."

Avoiding Failure in Somalia: Somalia is the "archetypal failed state" and could be headed for even worse days ahead if timely action is not taken, a new report argues. The International Crisis Group, a nonprofit organization that works to prevent conflict, warns that Somalia "is on the brink of collapse, overtaken yet again by an Islamist insurgency." Recent pirate attacks in the region have drawn the world's attention, but they are merely a "symptom" of the larger problem. Ethiopia has agreed to withdraw its troops from Somalia soon, which carries "uncertainty and risk," as well as opportunity. This could be a favorable time to "relaunch a credible political process." The ICG advises that all parties involved, including the country's Islamist insurgents, work together toward a "political settlement." Although there is no guarantee that this process will work, they write, "there is no good alternative to making the attempt."

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