In the past few days, a whole list of things have made me want to hold my nose. Just for starters:

Toilet texting on the rise

Neal Augenstein, wtop.com

WASHINGTON — With today’s smartphones, more people are taking their work and personal lives wherever they go — even to the toilet.

A new study of mobile phone habits shows 75 percent of people have texted, emailed, used apps or surfed the web while nature calls.

More than 90 percent of people between 28 and 35 will return a call or text while sitting on the toilet.

One in five men joined a conference call while sitting on the toilet, despite the possibility of people on the other end hearing noises or accidentally hitting the FaceTime video conferencing button…

How about leaving your cell phone in your pocket or, better yet, at your desk?
If you use your cell phone on the toilet, you will most likely contaminate the phone. (All the more so if you DROP the phone.) Suppose you wash your hands, then pick up that phone again. You’ve just gotten the germs back on your hands.

McDonald’s drops use of ‘pink slime’ ammonium hydroxide in hamburger meat

Kristin Annable  Jan 26, 2012 – 9:24 PM ET | Last Updated: Jan 27, 2012 11:13 AM ET

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver can claim one more victory in his food revolution after McDonald’s stopped using what he called “pink slime” in its burgers.

On Thursday, McDonald’s USA announced it was discontinuing the use of ammonium hydroxide in its beef.

The Naked Chef had publicly denounced the use of the additive on his show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. He questioned how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could allow the compound to be used in foods.

Ammonium hydroxide is made of water and ammonia and is used to kill bacteria. Typically it is used in household cleaning products.

On one episode of his show, Mr. Oliver said that beef producers take beef “trimmings” that would normally go to dog food and wash it with the compound until it is fit for human consumption.

“Imagine how happy an accountant is, you just turned dog food into what can potentially be your kids’ food,” he said on the episode…

Yep, ammonium hydroxide is household ammonia – the stuff you use to clean windows, and janitors use to clean floors. It isn’t McDonald’s decision to stop using the ammonia “meat makeover” treatment that bothers me, but rather, the fact that they sold adulterated food to begin with. All of that nanny-state “nutritional labeling” has proven to be useless, when we aren’t even told the truth about what the ingredients are. How many people would buy a burger if the label disclosed that it contained meat scraps treated with ammonia?

More details from Yahoo News.

Breitbart: Hate Radio Host Berates And Belittles Black Republican

Memphis talk radio host Thaddeus Matthews insulted and humiliated Republican congressional candidate Charlotte Bergmann during a recent interview. He ended the interview by saying, “get your stupid, ignorant ass up out of my studio.” As Bergmann was leaving the studio she extended her hand to the host and Matthews refused to shake hands because he didn’t want the “whiteness” to “rub off” on him.

Note: The video of the incident was clearly made by someone who doesn’t favor Republicans or members of the Tea Party.

Commenter claspur links to Thaddeus Matthews’ rap sheet.

Further details at The Blaze. See comments for contact information. (h/t: Sara Dipindy)

Jesus said, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” (Matthew 15:11 KJV) Indeed, Thaddeus Matthews defiled not only himself and his talk show guest, but also the entire citizenry of Memphis. I question the judgment and common sense of anybody who would advertise on Matthews’ show or even listen to it more than once.

Does this look like a halal joint to you?
Hillbilly Heaven is a barbeque-only restaurant that serves pulled pork. But at least one ignoramus actually asked whether they serve halal food, while others kept asking about all manner of other foods that aren’t on the menu. So two years ago, Cameron Bailey began posting funny signs listing foods that the restaurant does not serve, and only now have those signs caused a brouhaha.

Brian Lilley with Hillbilly Heaven’s Cameron Bailey

Click here to view the embedded video.

Uploaded by SDAMatt2a on Jan 28, 2012

Inclusivity mavens have a habit of saying very odd, overreaching things in denouncing words and actions of which they disapprove. Evelyn Myrie, who is executive director of the Centre for Civic Inclusion in Hamilton, Ont., provides us with a classic of the genre in today’s Spectator: “He has the right to sell his goods but doesn’t have the right to trash other foods that are culturally driven.”

The “he” in that sentence is one Cameron Bailey, proprietor of Hillbilly Heaven, a local barbecue joint. The issue here is some attempts at institutional humour Mr. Bailey has displayed around his store. On a list of “things we DON’T HAVE and never will,” we find ethnic items such as “halal,” “shawarma,” “kabob” and “Mexican,” along with ethnic-to-other-people items such as “fries,” “wings,” “1/4 chicken” and “burgers.”

Another sign reads, “To better serve you, our staff speaks: ENGLISH.” Another asks: “What would make you think this was a Korean BBQ? Do you see any f’n ducks in the window?”

All of this is perfectly in keeping with the hillbilly persona you’ll find answering supposedly frequently asked questions on the Hillbilly Heaven website. And Mr. Bailey says most are in response to specific questions about his menu, which he believes were ridiculous. But Ms. Myrie demands he remove the signs and apologize.

Let’s have a look at her objections.

1. Does Mr. Bailey “trash” foods that he does not sell? Objectively, he does not. Here’s what trashing food might look like: Shawarma sucks, smells like feet. Ditto Mexican food, which makes you fart and is disgusting and for all I know might be full of donkey meat. Hanging dead ducks in a restaurant window is sick. The Australians’ love of Vegemite is evidence of widespread mental defect.

As it happens, I only believe the last of those things. But it hardly matters. I do indeed have the “right” to trash “culturally driven” foods. I will face no sanction for the preceding paragraph, and neither would Mr. Bailey — if he was, in fact, trashing anyone’s food. Which he isn’t.

2. What the hell is a “culturally driven food,” anyway? Or put it another way: What’s a non-culturally driven food? Catching a fish and putting it straight in your mouth?

3. “Why would he go and attack the people who eat those kinds of foods? He’s ignoring a great deal of the population.” That’s Ms. Myrie again, prefacing her novel interpretation of Mr. Bailey’s rights with a novel interpretation of what’s her damn business. But we can answer her question quite definitively: He’s doing what he’s doing because he wants to, and nobody, not even the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, has any bloody right to stop him from doing it.

That, and free advertising.

- National Post

Chris Selley: • cselley@nationalpost.com

Are We Foodists?

January 26, 2012 : Cameron Bailey

I am sure that most of you might have heard about the accusations and controversy brought by Evelyn Myrie of Hamilton’s Centre For Civic Inclusion. If you are not aware, I have posted a copy of the Spectator article to our site.

Over the past two days, we have had camera crews from CHCH, Global TV and CITYTV in the store. In addition I have been on seven radio interviews answering for what Ms. Myrie has deemed offensive signage and menu.

While I respect Ms. Myrie’s position with her group, the mandate of her group is as follows:

* Community-based civic resource centre, committed to working as a catalyst for anti-racist change across Hamilton.

* HCCI initiates and supports transformative processes that promote equality and create racism-free and inclusive environments in all areas of civic life

* HCCI develops and shares training and education resources

* HCCI is a source of support and information to newcomer immigrant and refugee communities, diverse ethno-racial and ethno-cultural groups and First Nations communities

* HCCI helps build community leadership and enable productive dialogues and partnerships between marginalized and ‘centralized’ communities, organizations and institutions

* Hate Crimes Prevention Program aims to fill the deficit of support for victims of hate crimes in Hamilton who are vulnerable and unable to access counselling services

---

Given her mandate, I believe that Ms. Myrie has overstepped her bounds and, through that, made our business appear to be racist in nature. No such racism exists and there has never be a claim made prior to Tuesday’s edition of the paper.

After phone calls and two emails, finally a suggestion potential of legal action caused Ms. Myrie to return my call. I asked her to apologize and she suggested that I deal with her through my lawyer.

Prior to taking that step, I thought it best to bring this to the attention of our customers – perhaps a call or two from concerned citizens may give Ms. Myrie a clearer picture of our community and what weight her accusations carry.

She can be reached at:

Hamilton’s Centre For Civic Inclusion
Evelyn Myrie, Executive Director;
Phone: 905-297-4694   ext 106
Email: emyrie@hcci.ca

As always I appreciate your support – especially those who wrote and visited during this period.

Cameron Bailey
905 538 4525
bbq@hillbillyheaven.com

Where to find Hillbilly Heaven?

Hamilton, Ontario is not far from Niagara Falls.
http://hillbillyheaven.com/

SUN-WED: 10am-8pm
THU-SAT: 10am-10pm
………
647 Upper James Street
Hamilton Ontario L9C2Y9
905 538 4525
Facebook Page

Mr. Bailey’s signage inspired us to create this “No Halal” sign.
Feel free to use it!

From the 1389 Blog mailbox:

Subject: halal being shoved down Canadians’ throats at movie theatres across Canada
Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:18:08 -0500

At the movie theatre, check the yogurt before ordering a yogurt smoothie…

I asked about the packages they were using, not because I ever dreamed it might be halal, but because I thought if I got the name of the producer of the frozen yogurt packages, I could get some myself at Costco or another wholesale outlet and use them to make my own smoothies.

Anyway, the package shows the halal safe product, and when I politely declined the smoothie, and explained why, the girl got upset and asked the other server to call the manager. When he came over, I explained that I refused to eat halal products and asked if he knew what the slaughter process was all about, and he explained yes, they had two other muslim managers and they had explained it all to him.

Eat up all you ignorant fools as sharia compliant products fill the market and this sharia just keeps on creeping, With absolutely no public awareness.

It makes me sooooooooooooooo angry…

Here’s a follow-up:

Sent: Friday, January 6, 2012 3:02 AM
Subject: RE: halal being shoved down Canadians throats at movie theatres across canada

…This one has several aspects to it.

I contacted COR, as this yogurt company (Yogen Früz) also has the COR label as well as Halal.

COR (Kashruth Council of Canada) is an regulatory organization in Toronto that makes sure products are Kosher and thus authenticates them as such for Jewish people.

The shocking thing is that these products carry both authentications.

I hope some strong outspoken Jewish people will contact the yogurt company (Yogen Früz) about aligning Kosher with Halal.

This kind of makes me sick. These creepy Muslims…

Jewish people have never ever tried to deceive the public about eating kosher products, but now the Muslims are not only trying to deceive everyone, they are trying to align themselves with the Jewish Kosher products so people won’t object. There are more and more restaurants and franchises opening up where Muslims are the owners, and where they serve the public with halal meat products and do not tell the public.

There has to be a market for all the 20 to 25 percent of halal slaughtered meat in Alberta…If that isn’t sickening…

The killing of meat in halal is very different from anything the Jewish people do.

Canada-Wide Boycott of Chiquita Banana

Click here to view the embedded video.

Uploaded by SDAMatt2a on Dec 19, 2011

The Alberta Enterprise Group (AEG) is calling for a boycott of Chiquita Brands International after it agreed to avoid fuels derived from oilsands crude.

ForestEthics announced Thursday it was working with the company to eliminate shipping of Chiquita bananas with fuel from refineries that use the crude.

“This is greenwashing at its worst. What we have here is a company that has such a terrible human rights record around the world that’s desperate to shine the spotlight on someone else,” said David MacLean, AEG’s vice-president of communications and policy. “Remember, this is a company that pleaded guilty to funding terrorist groups in Colombia and paid a $25 million fine in the United States.”

He added it is now the subject of an historic lawsuit by the families of thousands of Colombians who died at the hands of terrorist groups in that country.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) is calling on Chiquita to provide a social responsibility report on alternatives to Canadian crude and then explain its decision, CAPP spokesman Travis Davies said .

“We’ve got a really good record of continuous improvement on both environmental and social performance that stands up to any jurisdiction, obvious marketing aside,” he added.

“Canada’s tarsands is all risk and no benefit for leading American brands like Chiquita that are resolved to reduce environmental problems, so they are working hard to get tarsands out of their transportation footprint,” said Aaron Sanger of ForestEthics.

At Chiquita’s recent annual conference with trucking companies, CEO Fernando Aguirre announced the company’s new process to ensure that fuel from refineries using oilsands crude is not being used for ground transportation of Chiquita products, according to the ForestEthics announcement.

The Ohio-based company announced last month its intention to relocate its head office to Charlotte, N.C., to make its operations more efficient.

Chiquita accounts for roughly one-quarter of the United States’ banana market, and the millions of bananas it sells every day arrive at stores in diesel-fuelled and refrigerated heavy-duty vehicles, said the announcement.

“Chiquita is joining other companies, cities, farmers, workers and many others in drawing the line at tarsands,” Susan Casey-Lefkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council said.

ForestEthics said it has identified nearly 50 U.S. refineries already using synthetic oil derived from the oilsands to make trucking fuel.

ForestEthics claims oilsands crude is produced by one of the most energy-intensive and “greenhouse gas spewing” extraction processes in history.

Out of the 90 plus oilsands operations in Alberta, only about five are mines with the remainder using varying forms of in-situ processes.

“Thoughtful companies that have been targeted by ForestEthics in the past have reconsidered their decisions to single out oilsands after coming to understand the facts. I would point to Bed, Bath & Beyond, Gap, Timberland (and) Levis as recent examples,” noted Davies.

Oilsands crude has similar CO2 emissions to other heavy oils and is 6% more intense than the U.S. crude supply average on a wells to wheels basis, reports CAPP’s Upstream Dialogue. Since 2007, government regulations on GHG emissions have resulted in reductions of 23 megatonnes, the same as taking 4.8 million cars off the road.

With 0.5% of the world’s population, Canada produces 2% of global GHGs. Oilsands account for 6.5% of Canada’s GHG emissions and 0.1% — 1/1,000th — of global GHGs.

According to Environment Canada, when comparing GHG emissions by sector, transportation accounts for the largest chunk with 27.5%.

Davies pointed out that statements such as the one made by Kate Colarulli of The Sierra Club calling oilsands crude the dirtiest oil on Earth reveal a certain lack of understanding or attempts to mislead the public.

“Whether you’re looking at GHGs or water performance or social performance, Canadian oilsands stack up very well. Our whole goal is continuous improvement; we’re going to keep that going forward. California heavy, more GHG intensive; Venezuelan, Nigerian the same, and take a look at their social records as well,” he challenged.

The reality is that energy derived from the Canadian oilsands is high quality, conflict free, heavily regulated and transparent, added MacLean.

“Chiquita should educate itself about global energy supply and the Canadian oilsands. Until these companies get up to speed on the facts, Canadians should take their business elsewhere.”

Misguided Green-Washing: Alberta Business Group Calls for Chiquita Boycott

EDMONTON: Alberta Enterprise Group (AEG) is urging all Canadians to boycott international brand Chiquita Bananas in light of their decision to boycott energy derived from the Canadian Oil Sands under the banner of San Francisco-based environmental group Forest Ethics.

“The reality is that energy derived from the Canadian oil sands is high quality, conflict free, heavily regulated and transparent,” said AEG President Tim Shipton. “Turning your back on Canadian oil means more barrels of oil produced by the likes of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria. A company like Chiquita, which ships bananas around the world and burns more fossil fuels than some small countries, ought to know better.”

Oil sands crude is 50 per cent of the crude oil supply in western Canada, mixing with conventional sources — all of which is refined into liquid transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel.

The US Midwest is also highly dependent on western Canadian crude with one-third of the crude supply in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin coming from Western Canada. In 2009-10 the oil sands industry had $11.5 billion impact on the United States economy and created 172,000 person years of employment.

Across Canada, some 112,000 jobs are directly or indirectly supported by the oil sands industry. In 2009 Oil Sands companies contracted $810 million in goods and services from aboriginal-owned businesses. “Chiquita should educate themselves about global energy supply and the Canadian Oil Sands,” said Shipton.

“Greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands crude is comparable to other sources and are steadily improving as are other key environmental benchmarks. Until these companies get up to speed on the facts, Canadians should take their business elsewhere.”

-30-

AEG members employ more than 50,000 Canadians in the energy, manufacturing, construction and retail industries and generate billions of dollars in economic activity each year.

How fresh are packaged salads?

Forget Fresh Express®. Who needs salad that is pre-cut and washed with bad-smelling and bad-tasting chlorine, anyway?

According to About.com, “The stuff bought whole and chopped on the kitchen counter is definitely more healthful.” Preservatives stop the aging process so that packaged salads appear fresh, but they don’t prevent loss of the nutritive content over time. You can do much better with fresh ingredients.

I am neither a great chef nor much of a salad-eater, but even I can handle this:

Serbian Salad

Dressing:
Mix ahead of time and refrigerate:
2/3 cup sunflower oil or olive oil
1/3 cup vinegar (red wine, balsamic, or apple cider)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, snipped
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon crushed cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Salad:
Toss in a bowl with the dressing:
6 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeds and pulp removed, coarsely chopped
1 small hot pepper, seeds and pulp removed, finely chopped (optional, use gloves!)
Crumbled feta cheese (optional)

You be the judge.

Hungry Bengal Kitten (Impatient Kitty)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Uploaded by noossab1 on Aug 4, 2007

This is the original video that went viral in 2007. It appeared on the Tonight Show on 3-20-08, on Oops TV in England on 3-09-09, and America’s Cutest Cat on Animal Planet on 11-13-10.

Please read this before you scream “ANIMAL ABUSE”. This kitten was being fed canned food twice a day and was not starving. You can see a brown bowl of chow on the counter. She was not a stray; she was young and thin. She was completely unharmed on the rounded edge of the can. I did not touch her with the fork. Even a kitten that is well-fed will go crazy for canned food. We simply decided to video our cute new kitten eating and this is what happened. It is a harmless candid video that turned out to be very funny.

Enjoy the priceless moment!!

Crazy Felix Turns Three

Click here to view the embedded video.

Uploaded by CrazyFelixCatVideos on Apr 24, 2011

Felix celebrates his 3rd Birthday with a party attended by his sibling kitties, Gandhi, Mozart, Lucy & Ethel.

Web site: http://www.debandco.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Crazy_Felix
Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/CrazyFelixTheCat

I recently blogged about why non-Muslims should avoid halal food. Acceptance of halal food leads to pressure for more Muslim immigration and for the gradual expulsion of non-Muslims from the food industry.

Those are not the only reasons to shun halal food. I noticed this unappetizing story on the RSS feed from Winds of Jihad:

Halal, the Dirtiest Grub in New York City

NY POST: Worst of the wurst: NYC’s dirtiest ‘alfresco’ food cart vendors

(hat tip Pamela Hall via Pamela Geller)

That’s wheely gross. Mobile food vendors racked up a stomach-turning 2,517 violations this year — ranging from poor personal hygiene, to serving up mystery meat, to live rodents — but the city Health Department doesn’t grade them or let the public know just how filthy they are. [emphasis added]

Sheik yer’mami has classified information that in Germany the tax-authorities, who are after small business like blood-hounds, have strict guidelines not to investigate Mohammedan businesses who are known tax-cheats……

In just four months, sidewalk slinger Bulent Isci earned 16 violations, making him the city’s vilest vendor, according to records obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information Law request.

Isci manhandled food on the southeast corner of West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, instead of using a utensil, and failed to wash his hands “after visiting the toilet, coughing, sneezing, smoking [or] preparing raw foods,” records show. After his first inspection in January, he failed to clean up and was cited during three more inspections in March and April.

Mubarak Ahmed broke the health code 14 times in a two-month span at his stand on West 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue, according to records. His offenses included inadequate personal cleanliness and the absence of a required sink for hand-washing.

When a Post reporter stopped by Ahmed’s stand Friday, he was scarfing down lunch — a rice-and-meat dish from a neighboring vendor — and tore an orange open with dirt-caked fingernails before serving a customer…

What’s the real problem here?

Food trucks, halal or not, “enjoy” a dubious reputation for sanitation, partly on account of the lack of hand-washing facilities. It is possible (though not necessarily cheap) to equip a food truck with a lavatory. This involves a potable-water tank, a small water heater, a water pump, the lavatory itself, and a holding tank, plus paper towels and a soap dispenser. At least in South Carolina, it’s is required by law.

I mentioned the issue of dirty halal food to Bunk Strutts, who reminded me, “Unsanitary conditions aren’t limited to halal joints. It’s not an ethnic food thing either.”

Bunk is certainly right about that! Here’s the video he sent me, featuring hilarious re-enactments of real restaurant inspection reports. A Persian pizza place is pilloried at 3:28, but, as Bunk indicates, eateries of every variety are among the guilty.

Amazing Restaurant Inspections

Click here to view the embedded video.

Uploaded by chadlnc on October 4, 2006

TRUE health inspection violations from inspectors around the country. From mice in the marinade to lettuce fished out of the garbage.

Any prepared food nowadays – not just ethnic food – is likely to have been handled by people – some from Third World countries, but by no means all – who may carry communicable diseases, who have not been trained in proper sanitation, or who disregard such training after having received it because that wasn’t the way they were raised. It takes good supervision and management to ensure compliance, which is unlikely to happen if the owners of the establishment are of the same unwholesome mindset – or if they don’t expect the laws to be enforced.

After looking at all of this evidence very carefully, I have concluded that food trucks, cafeterias, and restaurants that serve halal food might not be significantly dirtier than those that serve non-halal food. Instead, halal food is exposed to contamination before it gets to these establishments.

As Sheik pointed out above, there seems to be a double standard of enforcement, in which governmental authorities are slow or reluctant to enforce the laws and regulations, or to notify the public, when the culprits are Muslim. And that’s the real problem here.

Okaaaaay. The following incident took place in 2008, and we don’t hear about it until 2011? Even the UK Muslims themselves were well aware of issues with unsanitary halal food, as long ago as 2004.

Northampton Chronicle: Dirty fridges, out of date milk and packaging gnawed by rodents at Halal butchers shop

Published on Thursday 5 May 2011 02:10

INSPECTORS found a catalogue of hygiene breaches at a Northampton shop, including dirty fridges, out-of-date milk on sale, and mouse droppings in bags of food, a court heard.

An inspection at Kenya Halal Butchers, in Wellingborough Road, in January 2008, found packaging that had been gnawed by rodents, mouse droppings inside bags of maize, dirty kitchen utensils, cultured milk on sale that was more than six weeks out of date, and dirty floors, fridges, storage cabinets and food preparation surfaces.

Co-owner Mohammed Ayub, aged 66, of Berkeley Avenue, in Greater London, appeared before magistrates in Wellingborough yesterday and pleaded guilty to six charges of breaching food safety and environmental health regulations, including failing to comply with a hygiene improvement notice served by Northampton Borough Council in September 2007. He was fined £1,320.

His son, fellow owner Mohammed Shazan, was fined £2,500 in August 2008 for similar offences…

Sometimes it involves deliberate fraud. This happened in Australia last year:

Sydney Morning Herald: Caught red-handed in a meat makeover scandal

HEATH ASTON, NSW POLITICAL EDITOR
April 25, 2010
EXCLUSIVE

BUTCHERS are using the illegal preservative sulphur dioxide to make old and greying meat look fresh. A butcher in Yagoona has become the latest to be caught using the toxic additive – a major ingredient of battery acid – on beef mince.

Toufic Elarab, the owner of Yagoona Halal Meats, was also found by NSW Food Authority inspectors to be storing meat in an unsanitised shopping trolley while beef hung on rusty hooks was allowed to rest against filthy, blood-splattered walls in a storage area.

The butcher is the latest to fall foul of health restrictions against the use of sulphur dioxide to disguise old or inferior raw meat.
[…]
The NSW Food Authority warned that sulphur dioxide carried the risk of serious allergic reaction…It is banned from all raw meats, including mince, sausages, rissoles and hamburger patties.

NSW Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said: “While the vast majority of licensed operators do the right thing, it takes just one dodgy operator to put the community at risk from food-borne illness, which can have a devastating effect.

This is a clear message to those few rogue operators who continue to do the wrong thing: we will get you.”

Yagoona Halal Meats was fined $4800 and and ordered to pay $2000 in costs by the Chief Industrial Magistrate’s Court, which had previously found against the company over six other offences. The Food Authority gave evidence that the storage area had “rusty hanging hooks and a rusty handsaw contaminated by old, dry meat”. The walls were “unclean and found to have debris and dried blood on them”.

Having failed a string of inspections over the past few years, the Yagoona butcher is one offence away from being shut down, according to sources at the Food Authority…

Will anyone go on record to tell us exactly what it takes to get an egregiously filthy halal butcher shop shut down? Did the authorities recall any of the tainted meat that had been sold by Yagoona Halal Meats? If not, why not?

Another halal food warehouse is being sued by the State of Texas, following a pattern of violations dating back to 2001:

Food Safety News: Texas Sues Halal Group Over Food Safety

by Helena Bottemiller | Dec 02, 2009

The state of Texas is suing a Halal food establishment and its business partners for several food safety violations, including holding food in an extremely unsanitary warehouse, Courthouse News Service reported yesterday.

Halal Import Food Market’s warehouse was inspected after a Texas state trooper found 148 dead goat carcasses stacked inside an unrefrigerated van. Health inspectors not only found filthy conditions at the warehouse, but discovered that 102 dead goats and boxes of organs had disappeared in transit.

According to Courthouse News Service, the complaint describes the warehouse as having, “dead birds and bird droppings on food products…live bird flying around the warehouse and resting on food products,” and points to “trash piled 6 feet deep in some places.”

The complaint also adds that inspectors found “numerous dead rodents, numerous rodent droppings along with gnawed materials and debris,” and meat rotting in a grinder.

“Cigarette butts, rotting fruit, peels, partially eaten chicken and other food,” were also scattered about the warehouse, according to the complaint.

Texas is suing Halal Import Food Market, Zamzam Supermarket, World Food Market (the two stores the state believes received the missing goat meat), Adel, Sam, Nihaya, Jamal and Shoukry Mohammed Qaddura and Riyad Ibrahim.

Halal Import Market has been cited for food safety violations since as early as 2001.

The state is seeking fines of up to $25,000 per day from each defendant for each violation of safety regulations and wants all the contaminated food destroyed.

E. coli O157:H7 – It’s what’s for dinner!

Fecal coliform bacteria are an indication of fecal contamination and of poor sanitation in general. Certain strains of E. coli are dangerous, while others are not. Among the pathogenic E. coli strains are O104:H4 (the culprit in the deadly 2011 European outbreak) and O157:H7.

According to Wikipedia:

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an enterohemorrhagic strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli and a cause of foodborne illness. Infection often leads to hemorrhagic diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure, especially in young children and elderly persons. Transmission is via the fecal-oral route, and most illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef, swimming in or drinking contaminated water, and eating contaminated vegetables.

Burnaby Now puts it in somewhat plainer terms:

Food contaminated with E. coli might not look or smell spoiled.

Consumption of food contaminated with the bacteria can cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses.

Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. Some people may have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Others may live with permanent kidney damage. In severe cases of illness, people may die.

Notice how one Canadian halal meat purveyor managed to evade further accountability for tainted meat:

Food Safety News: BC Meat Processor Drops Federal Inspection

by News Desk | Jan 25, 2011

A meat processor that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency suspected had an E. coli contamination problem last November is opting out of federal inspection entirely and will be regulated only by the Province of British Columbia.

Provincially regulated plants are not required to test for the E. coli bacteria. Federally licensed meat processing plants in Canada, however, are required to test for E. coli O157:H7, and report positive results to CFIA.

Pitt Meadows Meats, Ltd, one of BC’s largest meat processing plants, has been under scrutiny for not immediately reporting lab results when they turned up positive for E. coli O157:H7 last fall. The company is known for its “halal” beef and lamb products, made in accordance with Islamic law and sold in many Middle Eastern food markets in the greater Vancouver area.

After the test result Sept. 9, Pitt Meadows destroyed 61 cases of product, but did not notify CFIA. Then an employee whistleblower turned Pitt Meadows into CBC News. The company told the CBC it had questioned the validity of the test results, and suspected an employee might be trying to sabotage its operation.

After it became aware of the possible contamination, CFIA issued a public health warning Nov. 9, advising the Vancouver Islamic community not to eat meat from the plant.

Later tests were all negative for E. coli. Pitt Meadows was closed down for a month, but re-opened Dec. 6.

There were no reports of illnesses associated with Pitt Meadows meats last fall, but CFIA officials say the only way to know now if there is E. coli contamination at Pitt Meadows will be after someone gets sick. [emphasis added]

Or after a LOT of people get sick.

Readers of public health journals learned over a decade ago that pathogen-tainted halal food is a widespread problem, and not a matter of isolated instances. But somehow this information never made it into the mainstream media or reached the general public. Wonder why not!

Microbiological investigation of halal butchery products and butchers’ premises

(Communicable Disease and Public Health, Vol. 2 No. 2, June 1999, full text available at the above link)

Summary: Halal butchers’ premises were investigated as they had not been represented in a recent study of butchery products and butchers’ premises conducted by the Local Authorities Coordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards and the PHLS. This study examined 183 raw prepared meats and 212 environmental samples from 105 halal butcher premises. Only raw meats were prepared on 97 of the premises visited; and the types of meat prepared on the remaining eight premises was not specified. Four halal butchers sold cooked meats prepared elsewhere. Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. were detected in 12 (7%) and 52 (28%) of the 183 raw meat products, respectively. Five raw prepared meats (3%) contained both salmonella and campylobacter. Vero cytotoxin producing Escherichia coli O157 was isolated from a raw meat product that also contained campylobacter. No cooked meat products were available for collection. The physical separation of raw and unwrapped cooked meat products in premises that prepared raw and sold cooked meats was not recorded. Apron cloths were the most heavily contaminated environmental samples examined; hygiene indicator microorganisms indicated an increased risk of cross contamination. Managers in 85 premises had received no food hygiene training and 88 premises had no hazard analysis system in place. Improvements are needed to reduce the risk of cross contamination…

Improvements are needed… Gee, ya think?

Oh, and by the way, you won’t automatically know when you’re getting halal meat. Just sayin’.

Daily Mail (UK): Chicken McHalal: An MoS investigation reveals that halal meat IS used in one of McDonald’s most popular meals

Fast-food giant McDonald’s has admitted selling halal chicken without telling its customers. The poultry was used in popular menu items such as Chicken McNuggets and the McChicken Sandwich in its 1,200 British outlets.

The admission comes three weeks after the company categorically denied to this newspaper that it used any halal meat. Now McDonald’s has revealed that the firm that supplies its poultry, Cargill, produces halal chicken at one of its abattoirs.

In a statement to The Mail on Sunday, McDonald’s said: ‘As a result of your enquiries, our investigation has confirmed that some halal chicken has entered our supply chain without our knowledge, and we apologise to our customers for this.

Food chain: Halal poultry has been used in popular menu items such as Chicken McNuggets and the McChicken Sandwich in its 1,200 British outlets

‘While is it not a quality issue, halal chicken is outside of our specification. We have received assurances from Cargill that halal meat production from this abattoir has now stopped.’

McDonald’s says all the chicken in its restaurants comes from poultry which has been stunned before slaughter. Meanwhile, Asda, Britain’s second-largest supermarket chain, has admitted that much of its lamb and chicken is slaughtered according to Islamic ritual…

Also see:

• Bare Naked Islam: UK: Parents outraged over HALAL-ONLY food being forced on their children in schools fight back
  (Warning: Graphic slaughterhouse images/videos)
• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services
• Food Establishment Inspection Scores (USA)
  (h/t: Bunk Strutts)

Bon appétit!

No, I am not claiming that anybody is required by law to supply me with caviar. (Don’t I wish!) We’re not talking about that type of sturgeon at all.

Instead, we’re talking about a rule of thumb, to wit…

Sturgeon’s Law

Sturgeon’s Revelation, commonly referred to as Sturgeon’s Law, is an adage derived from quotations by Theodore Sturgeon, an American science fiction author. While Sturgeon coined another adage that he termed “Sturgeon’s Law”, it is his “Revelation” that is usually referred to by that term. Commonly cited as “ninety percent of everything is crud” or “ninety percent of everything is crap”, the phrase was derived from Sturgeon’s observation that while science fiction was often derided for its low quality by critics, it could be noted that the majority of examples of works in other fields could equally be seen to be of low quality and that science fiction was thus no different in that regard to other art…

More here.

Theodore Sturgeon knew a thing or two about identifying crud:

Theodore Sturgeon vividly recalled being in the same room with L. Ron Hubbard, when Hubbard became testy with someone there and retorted, “Y’know, we’re all wasting our time writing this hack science fiction! You wanta make real money, you gotta start a religion!” Reportedly Sturgeon also told this story to others.

I just now happened upon a blog called India Uncut by the libertarian blogger, columnist, and poker player, Amit Varma. Among other thought-provoking essays, including a fine paean to the blogosphere, I found this:

Does Sturgeon’s Law Apply To Human Beings?

Sturgeon’s Law states that “ninety percent of everything is crud”. This is certainly true in many fields, and I myself have invoked it in the context of blogging, but today I’m wondering, is this true also of human beings? Are 90% of us stupid? Like, really stupid? Consider this news story by Reuters in Istanbul:

Turkish police donned white coats and stethoscopes to disguise themselves as doctors, then knocked on people’s doors to see how easily they would fall for a confidence scam.

The undercover police officers told residents of the southeastern city of Gaziantep they were screening for high blood pressure and handed out pills, according to Turkish media.

They were alarmed when residents at 86 out of 100 households visited on Tuesday swallowed the pills immediately.

Apparently this was the actual modus operandi of a gang that got people to pop sedatives and then robbed them. But this isn’t all.

Officers in Adana in southern Turkey last week called at houses, announcing through the intercom: “I am a burglar, please open the door.”

Police said they were stunned at the number of people who opened the door, the Radikal daily newspaper reported.

Read the rest; it’s funny.

I can imagine what some of you are thinking:

“1389′s nom de guerre recalls a date in history when the Serbs fought the Ottoman Turks to a standstill. Old 1389 is just taking another cheap shot at the Turks by showing how stupid they can be.”

Guilty as charged. But then, considering that everybody, including the Turks, takes cheap shots at the Serbs, I claim the right to take them at everybody else.

And I do mean everybody. If you think you’re so much smarter than those human fish who eagerly took the bait in Amit Varma’s article, then take a long and careful look at Wikipedia’s List of cognitive biases. See how many of them apply to you!

Yeah, I thought so. Welcome to my world!

Halal food seems to be everywhere these days. It is food containing meat prepared by Muslims in accordance with shari’a law.

Gates of Vienna: The “Non-Existent” Islamization of America

Below is a brief report on some of the peripheral events that occurred during Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff’s recent visit to Washington D.C.

As the Baron has been reporting for the past couple of days, he and I attended the ACT! For America National Conference in Washington DC. From June 22 through June 24.

Apart from “official” business such as the meeting with Congressman Allen West and collecting donations for my defense fund, I was able to catch up with some friends from various ACT! chapters who came in from across the nation. In addition, I spent a day in my favorite outlet mall in Woodbridge, VA.

On the last day of the conference, I had dinner with chapter leaders from Michigan and Texas. We decided on an Indian restaurant near the hotel: “Rajaji Curry House” on Connecticut Avenue. The still ongoing happy hour and the mouth-watering menu made our decision to spend the evening in this restaurant particularly easy. As we sat down, we immediately ordered our drinks and some appetizers while perusing the menu in detail. The menu did indeed promise good food. However, while the others chatted I took a closer look at the menu and imagine my shock and horror when — on the very last page and in fine print — the menu read: “We serve halal food.”

I cried out: “Sorry, you guys, but we have to get out of here! I cannot eat halal food. I am leaving. Now.”

The others immediately concurred with my decision. We motioned for the waiter and told him we would pay only for our drinks; the food order was canceled as the food was halal. The waiter was only very mildly indignant. He obviously realized that we knew exactly what halal meant. We ran outside and had an excellent meal across the street at an Irish pub. Very definitely not halal!

I always spend the early part of the day of my flight home at an outlet mall. Like last year, my destination was Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge, Virginia. Imagine my dismay when this year I saw this huge banner displayed in the mall, one that wasn’t there a year ago:

And why do so many still insist that there is no Islamization of America?

This monster is staring us in the face, ready to devour us whole. Get up and do something about it! Support ACT! for America.

Posted by Baron Bodissey at 6/28/2011 09:41:00 PM

Why should non-Muslims care about halal food?

GoV commenter Egghead explains:

Here is WHY non-Muslims should care about the introduction of any halal food into the West.

I read a great anti-halal essay that explained that halal food contributes to four significant problems – independent of animal cruelty or religious issues.

The first problem is an employment fairness issue. Halal slaughter requires that Muslims perform all halal rituals. The end result is that Muslims begin to “take over” food production jobs of a nation. The idea that Muslims – who wish to eliminate non-Muslims – control any aspect of non-Muslim food production is disturbing.

The second problem is a terrorist funding issue. All halal products require the monetary purchase of halal certification from a major Muslim entity – and some of that money inevitably supports terror efforts against the West.

The third problem is a Muslim immigration scam. Evidently, halal slaughter requires Western nations to import halal butchers from Muslim nations. The scam is that the halal butchers QUIT as soon as they receive their Western immigration status – requiring the constant importation of halal butchers from – you guessed it – Muslim nations.

The fourth problem is that – where Western countries have banned guns but allow knives – halal butchers can use their butchering skills as very effective human murderers. In essence, the importation of halal butchers is the importation of devout Muslims who would make extremely effective foot soldiers in a fighting war.

In the meantime, halal butchers use their butchering skills to commit violent crimes in the West – halal human slaughters which go unreported by the main stream media.

6/29/2011 2:13 AM

Egghead also offers these links:

• The Halal Food Supply Chain
• Australian Muslim community demands ‘taxpayer-funded halal training centre’

Also see:

Temple Grandin: Improving Religious Slaughter Practices in the U.S. (h/t: truepeers)

Did CAIR Endorse Mitt Romney?

It sure looks that way! If US voters had any common sense whatsoever, this would put the final nail in the coffin of Romney’s misbegotten political career.

Weasel Zippers: CAIR Praises Mitt Romney For Avoiding “Sea Of Sharia Law Crazy”…
(h/t: Bumr50)

More here.

Is Caribou Coffee Owned by Supporters of Palestinian Terrorists?

The left-leaning (and pro-Muslim) Snopes website downplays the claim that Caribou Coffee is Muslim-owned. But it does reveal that the First Islamic Investment Bank bailed out the troubled firm by purchasing an 87.5% share of Caribou Coffee, and that, at least before 2002, the firm was associated with the infamous Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

I have not patronized any Caribou Coffee outlet in many years, and will not do so again as long as there is any significant Muslim ownership.

Snopes.com: Caribou Coffee

Claim:   An Islamic bank is the majority owner of the Caribou Coffee chain.
Status:   Partly true.
Example:   [Collected on the Internet, 2002]

As you will see from the links below, Caribou Coffee is owned 87.8% by the First Islamic Investment Bank which, among other things has the following philosophy: “Above all, ensuring that all activities conform to Islamic Shari’ah” The chairman of their Shari’ah supervisory board is:

Dr. Yusuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi

Chairman, Seerah & Sunnah Center, Qatar University;

Professor, Faculty of Shari’ah, Qatar University…

Much more here.

Did Al Qaeda Assassinate Rabbi Meir Kahane?

Who were, and are, the real terrorists? Not Rabbi Meir Kahane, but those who murdered him.

News Real Blog: Was KSM Behind the Murder of Meir Kahane?

The controversial Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose political network was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, had many enemies. But he made perhaps his most consequential foe when he spoke at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in the mid-1980s.

In the audience that day was an “enraged” Khalid Shaikh Mohammed—al-Qaeda’s operational mastermind who planned, among countless others, the 9/11 attacks. The description of KSM, as he is known, comes from Richard Miniter, the investigative journalist who has just published Mastermind: The Many Faces of the 9/11 Architect, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Miniter makes the case that KSM may in fact have been behind Kahane’s 1990 assassination in New York City. (Note: I will be conducting a broad interview with Miniter this week on the book and KSM—so, much more to come on KSM.)

Miniter suggests that when KSM bragged to his interrogators in 2003 that he was behind Kahane’s murder he was telling the truth, not just blowing hot air, as the CIA assumed:

“Virtually all of the players in the 1990 Kahane assassination would reappear in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which KSM funded and his nephew orchestrated. This cannot be a coincidence, yet to this day it has largely been ignored by investigators.”

Much more here.

Why Does the US and NATO Provide Cover For Muslim War Criminals in the Balkans?

UP Pompeii: Why have Muslims not been on trial in the Hague – for atrocities against humanity

Why have Muslims not been on trial in the Hague – for atrocities against humanity

I have been following the trial of General Vladic and this trial like the trial of Milosevic is not going to tell the real story of what happened in Kosovo.

Kosovo as we all know was, for many centuries part of Serbia, Kosovo was, over the years populated by Albanian Muslims, all was quiet for some time but as we all know Muslims and Islam work on the critical mass principle, once critical mass is reached then the annexation of the occupied land begins, in other words part of the country in which the Muslims are is literally stolen from that nation state, this was the fate of Kosovo.

The same principle is being enacted in the middle east in a place that many call Palestine, this is a land grab by Muslims of Israeli territory, and here as in Bosnia the West is trying to enable the Islamic takeover of this land.

In Bosnia the West succeeded , they, the West also committed one of the biggest war crimes in History, when I say “west” I refer to Messrs Clinton and Blair – two World leaders who now have the dubious honour of actually attacking their own, and wilfully aiding a hostile predatory force take over sovereign territory of a free Western democratic country.

The Bosnians have been accused of genocide and the slaughter of thousands of Muslims, very little evidence has been shown to back this up, there is plenty of testimony, but as Goebels said if you tell the people a big enough lie often enough they will accept it as truth. The Media in the West made sure of this the rest of the World followed suit, they swallowed the Muslim propaganda and force fed it to the public at large.

They ignored a great deal, it did not fit their agenda

The following will hopefully give some insight into what actually happened in Bosnia…

Much more here.

I am still awaiting updates on the counterjihad “March of the Pigs” that had been planned for Lyon, France on May 14, 2011.

Here is what I found on the Marche des cochons website:

Rassemblement pour la liberté autorisé, une victoire pour les Identitaires!

Après 48 heures de réflexion, la préfecture du Rhône vient d’autoriser la manifestation identitaire « rassemblement pour la liberté » de samedi prochain 14 mai. Cette autorisation vient d’être notifiée suite à une rencontre en Préfecture entre les services de l’Etat et les organisateurs.

Il s’agit d’une véritable victoire politique. Après son ubuesque interdiction de la « Marche des cochons » de la semaine dernière, l’Etat a donc reculé. Il est vrai qu’il lui était difficile d’interdire un rassemblement pacifique pour la défense de la liberté d’expression. Ce d’autant plus qu’il n’a pas une seconde envisagé d’interdire la contre-manifestation des nervis d’extrême-gauche qui, depuis des semaines, appellent à la violence physique sur leurs sites internet à l’encontre des militants identitaires ou patriotes. Une contre-manifestation qui sera sous surveillance policière à environ 4 kms du rassemblement identitaire.

Le Bloc Identitaire se félicite de cette décision, conforme à la démocratie et aux droits des gens. Il remercie l’ensemble de ses opposants et notamment les élus socialistes et Verts de la municipalité lyonnaise qui, depuis quinze jours, par leur battage médiatique hostile, ont servi d’attaché de presse, ô combien efficaces, du mouvement identitaire. Toute peine méritant salaire, le Bloc Identitaire leur adressera prochainement, à titre amical, le programme de leur candidat à l’élection présidentielle, Arnaud Gouillon. Ils découvriront sans doute alors avec surprise, loin des clichés et des caricatures, les propositions du Bloc identitaire en matière d’environnement, de rapports nord-sud ou de construction européenne.

Après cette première victoire, le Bloc Identitaire et Rebeyne! appellent tous les Lyonnais et habitants de la région, à transformer l’essai et à venir participer à ce Rassemblement pour la Liberté, samedi à 14 h 30, place St-Jean à Lyon.

Face à toutes les menaces, à tous les abandons, l’espoir doit renaitre : Lyon sera toujours la capitale de la résistance!

Translated into English via Google:

Freedom rally authorized a victory for Identitaires!

After 48 hours of reflection, the prefecture of the Rhone has cleared the event identity “freedom rally” next Saturday May 14 This authority has been notified following a meeting in the Prefecture between state departments and organizers.

This is a real political victory. After his grotesque prohibition of “March of Pigs” last week, the state has declined. It is true that it was difficult to ban a peaceful rally for freedom of expression. Especially since he has not considered one second-demonstration against the banning of left-wing thugs who, for weeks, calling for physical violence on their websites against activists identity or patriots. An event-cons who will be under police surveillance at about 4 kms from the gathering of identity.

Block Identity welcomes this decision, consistent with democracy and human rights of people. He thanked all his opponents including the Socialists and Greens elected to the City of Lyon, who last fortnight, by their hostile media coverage, served as press secretary, oh so effective, the identity movement. Any punishment worthy salary, Identity Bloc send them soon, as friendly, the program of their presidential candidate, Arnaud Gouin. They then discover perhaps surprisingly, far from the stereotypes and caricatures, the proposals of the identity block in the environment, North-South relations or European integration.

After this first victory, the Bloc and Identity Rebeyne! Lyonnais and call all people of the region, transforming the test and come participate in this Rally for Freedom, 14 am Saturday at 30, Place St-Jean in Lyon.

Address all threats, all withdrawals must hope reborn: Lyon will always be the capital of the resistance!

It appears as though the rally was scheduled to go ahead after all.

I was unable to find any videos or news coverage of the rally itself. If you are aware of any, please contact me at 1389 Blog.

In any event, I have chosen to honor at least the efforts, and hopefully also the success, of these counterjihad marchers with a decidedly non-halal culinary effort of my own:

Fatwa-Worthy Pasta Sauce (4 Servings)

1 lb. hot Italian pork sausage (remove sausage casings, or buy sausage meat without casings)
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil (or sunflower oil)
1 carton fresh mushrooms (or 1 can sliced mushrooms)
28 oz. (or more) tomato puree
8 oz. dry red wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. fennel
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. chopped chives
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 bay leaf

Brown the onions, garlic, sausage, fennel, and red pepper flakes in a frying pan with the oil. If you are using fresh mushrooms, slice them and add them to the sausage mixture. Do not overcook the sausage.

Put the sausage mixture and all remaining ingredients into a large saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf before serving.

This sauce can be used with just about any type of pasta, including lasagna.

The sauce requires no added salt, because the sausage meat contains enough salt to flavor the entire dish. The dry red wine adds just the right degree of tartness, without any need for vinegar or sugar.

Update 4/15/11:

From Le Progrès, which evidently is a left-wing French newspaper (h/t yenta-fada) comes an article that just barely mentions the rally itself, and focuses all of its attention on some squabbles between counter-demonstrators afterward:

Lyon : après un rassemblement, des groupuscules d’extrême droite provoquent une rixe.

Vu 9112 fois | Publié le 14/05/2011 à 16:49

Plusieurs centaines de militants d’extrême droite se sont retrouvés samedi après-midi devant la cathédrale de Lyon lors d’”un rassemblement pour la liberté d’expression”, en remplacement d’une marche contre “l’expansion du marché de la viande halal” interdite par la préfecture. 80 personnes ont été interpellées après avoir proféré des slogans nazis dans les rues

Les manifestants, visages découverts et cheveux ras, sont progressivement arrivés vers 13H00 sur l’esplanade de la Primatiale Saint-Jean, dans le Vieux Lyon, où avaient été déployés quelque 400 policiers, jusqu’à former un groupe d’environ 500 personnes, selon la préfecture.

Vers 17H00, les manifestants s’étaient dispersés “sans incident”, de même qu’une contre-manifestation contre l’extrême droite organisée à partir de 14H00 entre la mairie et la préfecture, et qui a rassemblé jusqu’à 800 personnes, selon la même source.

Néanmoins, 80 membres de groupuscules d’extrême-droite ont été interpellés après avoir proféré des slogans nazis dans les rues. Un kebab a également été vandalisé. Parmi eux, des membres des Boulogne Boy’s mais aussi du Bunker Korps Lyon, déjà connus des services de police.

“Nous demandons une traçabilité du halal car les non musulmans n’ont pas à subventionner une religion qui n’est pas la leur”, a réclamé dans un discours Fabrice Robert, le président du Bloc identitaire, qui organisait le rassemblement avec un groupuscule local d’extrême droite, Rebeyne.

“L’islamisation est une réalité en France. Des millions de Français la subissent et ils n’en peuvent plus. La résistance est là”, a-t-il assuré devant son auditoire, qui a scandé “1ère, 2e génération, nous sommes des mangeurs de cochon” et “Islam, Hors d’Europe” tout en allumant des fumigènes roses.

Depuis plusieurs mois, les jeunes identitaires avaient manifesté leur intention d’organiser le 14 mai une “marche des cochons” pour protester contre “l’expansion du marché de la viande halal” et “l’islamisation de la France”.

Interdite par le préfet, cette marche a été ensuite rebaptisée par ses organisateurs “rassemblement statique pour la liberté d’expression” et déclarée lundi en préfecture.

Mercredi, le collectif lyonnais Vigilance 69 (gauche) avait appelé à contre-manifester samedi pour que “Lyon ne devienne pas un laboratoire de l’extrême droite” et dénoncé “la multiplication” des agressions à l’encontre de militants de gauche ces “deux dernières années”.

Selon le collectif, deux locaux sont gérés par l’extrême-droite à Lyon : l’une par les identitaires dans le Vieux Lyon, l’autre à proximité du stade Gerland par des supporters proches des milieux néo-nazis.

Cette contre-manifestation a rassemblé plusieurs centaines de personnes, élus locaux de gauche, militants CGT, Sud, Attac et Front de gauche et nombreux militants anarchistes arborant foulard noir et drapeau de la Confédération nationale du travail.

Derrière la banderole “Riposte au fascisme”, les manifestants ont alterné slogans traditionnels contre l’extrême-droite — “Le fascisme c’est la gangrène, on l’élimine ou on en crève” — et mots d’ordre anti-capitalistes appelant à “l’égalité économique et sociale”.

Le 9 avril, 2000 personnes avaient manifesté à Lyon contre l’extrême droite.

Google translation:

Lyon after a rally, small groups of extreme right cause a fight.

Viewed 9112 times | Posted on 14/05/2011 at 16:49

Hundreds of right-wing activists gathered Saturday afternoon in front of the cathedral of Lyon during a “rally for freedom of expression” in lieu of a march against “the expansion of the meat market Halal “prohibited by the prefecture. 80 people were arrested after uttering the Nazi slogans in the streets

The protesters, their faces uncovered, their hair short, have gradually arrived around 1:00 p.m. on the esplanade of the Cathédrale Saint-Jean in Vieux Lyon, which had been deployed around 400 policemen, to form a group of about 500 people, according to the prefecture.

Around 17:00, the demonstrators had dispersed “without incident”, as well as cons-demonstration against the extreme right held from 2:00 p.m. between the town hall and the prefecture, which was attended by 800 people, according the same source.

However, 80 members of splinter groups of the extreme right have been arrested after uttering the Nazi slogans in the streets. A kebab was also vandalized. Among them, members of the Boulogne Boys’ but also of Bunker Korps Lyon, already known to police.

“We demand traceability of halal because non-Muslims do not have to subsidize a religion that is not theirs,” he claimed in a speech Fabrice Robert, president of the Bloc identity, which organized the rally with a local splinter group extreme right Rebeyne.

“Islamization is a reality in France. Millions of French people suffer and they can do more. The resistance is there,” he assured his audience, who chanted “1st, 2nd generation, we are eating pig “and” Islam Outside Europe “while turning pink smoke bombs.

For several months, young identity had expressed their intention to hold May 14 a “March of the Pigs” to protest against “expanding the market for halal meat” and “Islamization of France”.

Banned by the prefect, the march was then renamed by its organizers “static rally for freedom of expression” and declared Monday prefecture.

On Wednesday, the collective vigilance Lyon 69 (left) was called against the protest on Saturday for “Lyon not become a laboratory of the extreme right” and denounced “multiplication” of attacks against these leftists ” last two years. ”

According to the group, two premises are managed by the extreme right in Lyon: one by the identity of Old Lyon, the other near the Gerland stadium with supporters close to the neo-Nazi circles.

This cons-demonstration attracted several hundred people, local politicians from left, militant CGT, Sud, Attac and the Left Front and many anarchist militants wearing headscarves and black flag of the National Confederation of Labour.

Behind the banner “Response to Fascism”, the protesters have alternated traditional slogans against the far right – “Fascism is gangrene, it eliminates or we die” – and slogans of anti- capitalists calling for “economic and social equality.”

On April 9, 2000 people demonstrated in Lyon against the extreme right.

Here’s how to get the campaign started in your own neighborhood. It takes very little effort, it costs almost nothing, and, most important of all, it helps other beleaguered members of the public to realize that they are no longer alone.

YourDaddy’s Politics: The Sticky Note Campaign Hits Georgia Supermarkets

The Sticky Note Campaign is making deliveries in Georgia Supermarkets now. Super-Charged with Conservative ideals REAL Americans all over the country and even an awakened Democrat or two are now participating in this grass roots initiative. It’s not a partisan issue either; no one can afford these rising prices at the gas pump or the grocery store.

I just realized that I need to order more FREE PRE-PRINTED Sticky notes from the Koch Brothers – gotta go now.

Be sure take pictures of your STICKY NOTES, upload them to your Facebook, TAG all your friends in the pics and then also be sure to share them with the event page.

Join the Official FaceBook Event by clicking here.

See the original photos at this FaceBook Gallery.

See it all here.

RedState: It’s fun. It’s easy. It’s cheap. Join the Sticky Note Campaign!

Here’s something we all can do — and all you need is some Post-It notes!

A Facebook page has been set up for this campaign. The people behind it are encouraging people to send in photos of their own like the ones above.

To borrow a line from an old leftie, “…and, friends, they’ll think it’s a movement!”

By the way, I like the emphasis on food and gasoline, since the official Consumer Price Index does not include — are you ready for this? — food and energy!

Grocery prices increased 6.5% in March from early January, an annualized increase of 26%, according to a report from Consumer Growth Partners. The group called the rise the “sharpest in a generation.”

…A 25% increase in gasoline prices this year combines with higher food costs to take $18 billion out of monthly household spending on discretionary items… Consumer Growth said in its report, which compiles data from Target, Walmart and Aldi stores in four U.S. states.

No word on whether the price of sticky notes has gone up significantly. If we all do our part, however, demand should skyrocket!

Hat tip: Doug Ross / Cross-posted
Read the rest here.

Getting Started

• Get some sticky notes, either regular or “Super Sticky,” in whatever color you like. 3″x3″ is the best size for this purpose.
• Bring something to write with that won’t run if it gets wet, such as an ordinary ballpoint pen, a Sharpie marker (the new retractable felt-tip is easier to carry), or even a pencil.
• After posting each note, use your cellphone or a pocket camera to snap a photo of it before you leave.
• If you have a Facebook account, please upload the photos to the Facebook event page as explained above.

Optional: Ordering Preprinted Sticky Notes

• You can create your image ahead of time using your own graphic program (e.g., Photoshop or GIMP) and your own fonts. For an image that will be printed on a 3″x3″ notepad, the original should be 900×900 pixels or larger. Alternatively, you can draw your art with black ink on white paper and scan the image at 300dpi or greater. Save the result in .png format.
• If you are not equipped to create your own digital image, you can often use the design software provided by the print shop or office supply retailer to create your image. They can also scan and upload your artwork from paper if you don’t have access to a scanner.
• You may want to get together with your friends and fellow political activists to share the expense of ordering sticky note pads with several different messages.
• A less expensive alternative is to order a self-inking rubber stamp with an image that will fit on a sticky note.
• Sample sticky-note images created by blog admin 1389 are shown below. Feel free to print from them, distribute them to others, and so forth, without restriction.

Click each image to get free high-resolution reproducible art.

Sticky Note Campaign – Yes We Can

Sticky Note Campaign – Can’t Afford Gas

Uploaded by KingSmokeRing on Apr 30, 2011

****** “America’s GAS-ROOTS movement”! ******

visit https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197324990309059

Purchase a pad of large sticky notes. Write on each one, “How’s that Hope & Change working out for you?” Every time you stop to fill your vehicle with gas, place your sticky note somewhere on the pump before you drive away. DO NOT be destructive in ANY way! Place your sticky note somewhere, so as not to impede the next customer’s ability to read the pump’s digital readout.

After placing your sticky note, please consider taking a digital picture, then uploading it to our wall. Please tell us in which city and state the picture was taken. This is meant to be a “quiet” protest by our silent majority of Americans, to be served upon this administration!! Thank you all for your support!

Also see:

• Ten Rules for Liberty Guerillas
• Gas Pump Activism: Print This Poster!

Gates of Vienna: The March of the Pigs

Many of you will remember last year’s invasion of a French halal fast food restaurant by dozens of Counterjihad insurgents wearing pig masks. A video of the event became an instant hit on YouTube.

The first anniversary of this historic occasion will be celebrated on May 14 with a “March of the Pigs” in Lyon. Many thanks to Bear for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for subtitling the video announcement of this event.

YouTube: March of the pigs May 14 2011 Lyon

[The above YouTube link is not embeddable. Please click to view it on YouTube - it's quite funny!]

La Marche Des Cochons Website (French Language)

Click the thumbnail poster below to access this website.

Many cats are endlessly fascinated with the common flush toilet (variously known as the commode, the water closet or “WC”, the loo, and so forth). Perhaps this is because cats like the sight and sound of running water, or prefer to drink cold water. Some cats also like drinking from, or playing with, water faucets, fountains, or even shower heads.

This cat likes to watch the toilet flush

Some cats have figured out, or been taught, how to flush a toilet with their paws. While marathon toilet-flushing can be immensely entertaining for the cat, this activity can also lead to an unexpectedly high water bill for the cat’s human companions – especially where water is expensive or in short supply.

Gizmo Flushes

Cat flushing toilet

When human beings see cats (or other animals) drinking from the toilet, the humans’ first thought is usually “Ewwwww!” It is no wonder that the term toilet water (which actually means a mildly diluted fragrance solution) is seen less and often in American advertising.

But then, those same humans are happy to drink water, soft drinks, or iced tea from fast food restaurants without a second thought. It turns out that the cats may be smarter than we thought…

Girl’s Science Project Finds Toilet Water Cleaner Than Ice In Restaurants

(h/t: Guggi)

Student finds toilet water cleaner than ice at fast food restaurants

New Tampa, Florida – 12-year-old Jasmine Roberts is a seventh-grade student at Benito Middle School in New Tampa.

When it came time for her to choose a science project, she wondered about the ice in fast food restaurants.

Jasmine Roberts, 7th-grade student:
“My hypothesis was that the fast food restaurants’ ice would contain more bacteria that the fast food restaurants’ toilet water.”

So Roberts set out to test her hypothesis, selecting five fast food restaurants, within a ten-mile radius of the University of South Florida.

Roberts says at each restaurant she flushed the toilet once, the used sterile gloves to gather samples.

Jasmine Roberts:
“Using the sterile beaker I scooped up some water and closed the lid.”

Roberts also collected ice from soda fountains inside the five fast food restaurants. She also asked for cups of ice at the same restaurant’s drive thru windows.

She tested the samples at a lab at the Moffitt Cancer Center where she volunteers with a USF professor. Roberts says the results did not surprise her.

Jasmine Roberts:
“I found that 70-percent of the time, the ice from the fast food restaurant’s contain more bacteria than the fast food restaurant’s toilet water.”

Roberts’ graph shows the toilet water, shown in red, had less bacteria in most cases than the ice inside shown in blue, and the ice from drive-through windows shown in green. Roberts’ teacher says he wasn’t surprised either.

Mark Danish, Honors Science Teacher:
“It does concern me and I think with any restaurant you have to think twice about what you may get there.”

Read the rest.

Kitten Wearing a Tiny Hat: Audition Outtakes

(h/t: snowcrash)

Kitten Wearing a Tiny Hat Eats a Tiny Ice-Cream Cone

Actually, the adorable tabby kitten, Scout Jr., eats just the ice cream itself, not the cone. Unlike dogs and human beings, cats are “obligate carnivores”; that means they need plenty of animal protein just to stay alive. Kittens require an even higher percentage of animal protein in their diets than do mature cats.

These YouTube clips are actually from advertisements for Lake Street Creamery, a mobile ice cream vendor. As a disclaimer, I have yet to sample their wares. Though I admit to liking butter pecan ice cream, I very rarely indulge in ice cream or, indeed, in any form of sweets. I can’t abide artifical sweeteners, and due to a hereditary condition known as impaired glucose tolerance, sugar in any form disagrees with my innards. Like Scout Jr., I feel much healthier when I have plenty of protein. But because I’m not a cat, for a limited period of time I can get by with various tree nuts, as well as the humble but delectable peanut.

Kitten Wearing a Tiny Hat Gets Another HORRIBLE SURPRISE

Click here to view the embedded video.

Above is the Allen West video cited by author Mary Grabar.

A Slovenian immigrant blogs about what has made America great, and what we must do now:

Thanking God for What Makes Us Exceptional

Being thankful that “Don’t touch my junk” is today’s version of “Give me liberty or give me death.”

November 25, 2010 By Mary Grabar

This Thanksgiving season I am thankful for small pleasures, like being able to order a Mad Happy Ale at Twain’s in Decatur, Georgia, and listen to jazz, bluegrass, and blues musicians jamming on various days of the week.

I am thankful that we ended Prohibition. I am thankful that free enterprise is working on a small scale at Twain’s, where musicians gather on their own time and play for tips, where waiters work for tips, where the brewers are free to concoct that nectar of the gods, Mad Happy Ale. I am glad that I am able to stop by there on my way home after a hard afternoon of working in that most un-free of American institutions, the university.

I am glad that the government has not yet decided to restrict which musicians can play at Twain’s or how many barrels of Mad Happy Ale Twain’s can brew or how much they can discount it on certain nights. It’s supply and demand, and I know that when I requested Mad Happy Ale last Sunday afternoon and they were out, my vote, along with others, set the master brewer brewing that hoppy ambrosia.

I am thankful that I am not flying this holiday season, and I am thankful that Americans are protesting the government’s unlawful searches. I am thankful that the American spirit still lives. “Don’t touch my junk” is today’s version of “Give me liberty or give me death.” That primitive part of our brains that instinctively reaches for a weapon against the searches of law-abiding Americans has not been bred out of most Americans.

[...]

Alexis de Tocqueville warned about this soft despotism. I am thankful that capitalists set up a foundation to pay my salary so that I can teach Tocqueville, because the university where I teach would surely frown upon my placement of Democracy in America on my syllabus. I am thankful that after showing Ronald Reagan’s 1964 speech, I could show newly elected Congressman Allen West’s video to my class. He is the Patrick Henry of our day.

I am thankful for the Tea Party, that group of Americans not cowed by the long arm of the government, that group that is clinging to their guns and religion, and that helped elect Allen West. There is still much for them to learn, but I am thankful that so many ordinary Americans have volunteered their hours and dollars to preserving freedom. I am thankful that voters were alarmed and awakened this election.

I am thankful that 70 percent of Oklahoma voters voted to prevent sharia law from taking hold. I shudder at what CAIR is thinking of doing next, like taking away my Mad Happy Ale and music because it offends Muslim sensibilities.

Come to think of it, it’s good to go to a place like Twain’s and never see anyone wearing a hijab. It’s a good place to begin a revolution.

[...]

When I see a photo of Janet Napolitano I see Josef Broz Tito. Big Sis ordered her agents to be on the lookout for those like me, who place “Don’t Tread on Me” bumper stickers on their cars.

Many immigrants from Eastern European countries could not understand how Americans could have elected Obama. Well, our historical memory was wiped clean by the educationists, so that we could not see the threat in our midst.

…There is still something in the American character that shudders at the picture of a long line of docile people being herded into a transportation conveyance, while indifferent, ill-educated government employees ogle, prod, and poke their bodies. They understand what such government invasion means psychologically and spiritually, how it demoralizes a brave and free people. We may be boarding 747s instead of cattle cars, but the American spirit rebels. We know there are better ways, like arming ourselves.

There has been a “long train of abuses” over these last two years. There are still some like Congressman-elect Allen West who see these and say, “Pick up your bayonets” and “CHARGE!”

Isn’t it amazing that someone whose forebears were slaves could strike such a chord among free Americans and inspire them to elect him as their representative? It could happen in no other country. We still speak out and speak honestly. We still sit tall in the saddle. We still have our six-guns at our sides. We will not be prodded and herded along. This is American exceptionalism, what makes us different.

I thank God for that.

Read it all.