Blog @ MoreWhat.com

McCartney’s ex donating $1M in vegan food to Bronx (AP)

She tells the New York Post that she wants to make sure children in the neighborhood “have as many nutritional advantages as anyone else.”

Give them a ‘vegan’ and they can be strange for a day. Teach them to ‘vegan’ and they can be strange for their entire life. Upon first viewing this report title it appeared to be a spoof. But oh no, Heather Mills knows what’s best for the children of the Bronx and with ex-husband Paul’s money she can prove it. Celebs and others with more money than they know what to do with can be counted on to tell us all what we need to do and what we’re doing wrong.

Is that a little harsh? Hey, Heather, how about using the million to establish some sort of nutrition or health initiative that might be more practical than a million bucks worth of food and could be sustained for a much longer time?

This story was just plain strange and seemed to scream ‘post me’.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

postscript: Veggies are wonderful. The opinion here is that everyone should eat more of them. The author of this blog consumes vast quantities of vegetables along with grains, legumes, fruit, and go figure, meat and fish as well as many other ‘food’ items. This post is not a rejection of vegetables but more a rejection of any cult-like status afforded those with a near fanatical approach to nutrition or any other subject. It’s downright scary or at least bizarre.

And Paul McCartney has got to be thinking ’so that’s where my money’s going.’

Trackposted to Rosemary’s Thoughts, Democrat=Socialist, Right Truth, Stageleft, and The World According to Carl, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

No matter how many times an American icon or in this case, KFC, appears on the stage in another country the whole thing seems awkward at best. From Disney Europe to McDonald’s in Russia and all the other similar arrangements it just looks odd. The press is full of stories that display the continuous array of stories related to affairs of state among the countries of the world and most of them littered with conflict, tension, accusations being lodged and the central theme of placing blame on who is not doing their part to promote or enable peace on the planet.

Is anyone raising an issue with American fast food being introduced to nations around the globe? Gee, Wally, maybe they should remove all the standard diplomatic channels like foreign affairs ministries, departments of state and the United Nations and simply pass the burgers and fries, or in this case fried chicken and sign the peace agreements.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Fast Food To Go in AfghanistanBy Rahimgul Sarawan
Kabul
Kabul Fried Chicken / Broadband - Download (WM)
Kabul Fried Chicken / Broadband - Watch (WM)

Owner Mirwais Abdurrahimzai says his KFC restaurant is licensed by the Afghan government and has two locations in Kabul. His restaurants serve 11 different kabobs, sixteen kinds of pizza, burgers and fried chicken.

The American fast food chain KFC is famous around the world for its fried chicken. KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken and founded by Harlan David Sanders, better know to patrons as Colonel Sanders.

In Kabul, Afghanistan, another KFC restaurant is doing a brisk business. But this KFC is short for Kabul Fried Chicken and serves kabobs and pizza alongside the chicken.

Rahimgul Sarawan reports from Kabul that while this KFC was inspired by Colonel Sanders, that is where the association ends. Brian Allen narrates.

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
Herman report - Download (MP3)
Herman report - Listen (MP3)

Most cooks do their best to keep rats out of the kitchen, but in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, officials are doing just the opposite. The welfare department there is on a quest to increase the popularity of rodent cuisine. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman in New Delhi has the story.

Bihar’s welfare department is hoping to solve several problems by putting rats into kitchens. Officials there believe increased human consumption of the rodent will ease the crisis of soaring food prices, provide increased employment for the state’s low caste rat catchers and get rid of a pest which eats half of Bihar’s precious grain stock.

Leading the quest is the state welfare department’s principal secretary, Vijay Prakash. He says rat can become the new chicken.

“Rat and chicken have equal food values, not only in protein, in fact, the entire spectrum of nutrition. You will find they are almost equivalent,” said Prakash.

Prakash tells VOA News that except for some of India’s most impoverished communities, rats, believed to outnumber people by a seven-to-one ratio here, are not considered enticing by Indians.

“We will have a massive media campaign. We will persuade people to just try it and see whether rats are different from other food,” added Prakash. “In fact, whoever has eaten rat says rat is more spongy and is better than even chicken meat.”

Prakash admits he has not tried rat himself although his mother finds it delicious. He promises to indulge soon, perhaps at one of Bihar’s roadside hotels where the rodent, served roasted, known as patal-bageri, is already a popular appetizer.

“Some of the hotels have now started selling rats, rat meat, here in Bihar. It is being used as a starter,” added Prakash.

The state welfare official hopes Bihar’s hotels will start a trend that will expand to India’s five-star hotels.

Chef P. Soundararajan in Chennai, who oversees food preparation for the 22 properties of the Mahindra resort chain, does not see that happening.

“No way. Indian culture is based on vegetarianism,” said Soundararajan. “Our culture, our custom is based on not harming any living beings.”

It appears the Biharis might have better luck exporting their rats to China, Southeast Asia, West Africa or even parts of France, where the rodent has traditionally been more welcome on the dinner table.

The stewed giant cane rat is popular in parts of Ghana. Rat is also eaten in Togo. In China the mountain rat is served garnished with ginger and onions. There are Thais who find the rodent a tasty snack served with red chili paste. And rat grilled with lemon grass is on the menu in some Vietnamese restaurants. Some diners say it goes down easier with a generous portion of home-brewed rice wine.

from MoreWhat.com:
There are plenty of items included in cuisine around the world that would not find a place on any table most of us know. Say all you want about escargot or Rocky Mountain oysters or any other bizarre or obscure ‘delicacy’ of the international palate, but please, RATS

Stanford Matthews

Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson’s Website, Full Metal Cynic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, A Blog For All, Right Truth, Shadowscope, , Cao’s Blog, , Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Pet’s Garden Blog, Nuke’s, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Allie is Wired, Political Byline, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, McCain Blogs, DragonLady’s World, Walls of the City, The World According to Carl, , Pirate’s Cove, , The Pink Flamingo, , Dumb Ox Daily News, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Here’s a report on India about food and medicine safety. With all the offshore manufacturing from the US and the string of safety problems with products from China it seems there is a need to spend money on fixing safety issues in the country’s where American goods are now produced and sold back to American consumers. The businesses save money on labor, the offshore employees get puny wages, Americans lose jobs and pay the same or more for the products. Gee, exactly who is winning with this arrangement? And then there is the matter of less regulation or pesky labor and environmental laws and probably tax benefits as well for American corporations. And speaking of taxex, where do you suppose the money to train whoever on safety measures comes from….. US tax dollars perhaps?

Herman report - Download MP3 (454K)
Listen to Herman report
India and the United States have agreed to work together to improve standards for food and drugs. VOA correspondent Steve Herman reports from New Delhi that the progress comes during a visit to India by the U.S. government official who oversees many of the agencies responsible for America’s health and safety standards.

Indian officials say New Delhi and Washington have agreed to form working groups to set standards for the import and export of medicine and food.

This comes after the United States signed two agreements with India’s economic rival, China - one concerning food, the other dealing with pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

Both India and China have had problems with exports to the United States because health regulations and other standards were not being met.

Compared to other countries, India has the highest number of food products that are rejected as imports by the United States. Spices, seafood, fruit and additives have been especially troublesome in terms of high levels of bacteria or carcinogenic substances.

India also has a problem with widespread counterfeiting of prescription drugs.

The formation of the Indo-American working groups comes after meetings this week in India between U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and his Indian counterparts.

Leavitt tells VOA News enhancing health standards for products moving across borders has become vital.

“We’re at the early stages of a global market that is now maturing and requiring new tools that haven’t existed in the past to handle the substantial volume of trade that is beginning to occur,” he explained. “These were important conversations and I expect, in time, we will see action - not just at the government level, but among private vendors as well.”

Leavitt was speaking Friday in New Delhi right after administering polio vaccination drops to children in a local slum area.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contributed $2.3 million to India’s efforts to eradicate polio.

Leavitt also announced Friday that the U.S. government is willing to provide technical assistance to help create an Indian version of the Food and Drug Administration. In the United States, the FDA is the federal agency responsible for ensuring the safety of food, pharmaceutical products, medical devices, cosmetics and certain electronic products.
By Steve Herman
New Delhi

Clinton tip at an Iowa restaurant, $197.00, entertainment value…priceless

Just your ordinary citizen retelling the story as it was heard this morning. The waitress at the Made-Rite or Made-Rite or whatever ( was listening to NPR’s report, audio, not sure of spelling) mentioned a few things. What stands out is her saying Hillary doesn’t get it, she didn’t leave a tip and the waitress lost her second job because the person who operates the nursing home was not happy with her performance due to being one who supports HRC. That’s it in a nutshell. Later reports say Clinton’s people did leave a tip of about 150 bucks, the restaurant owner confirms it but not the amount and the waitress is quoted as saying she doesn’t remember any tip.

Another report late Thursday evening says HRC now has a website to offer rebuttal for any statements made about Clinton that Clinton doesn’t like. It says Mitt Romney has one too. Okay, isn’t this kind of he said, she said stuff? What ordinary citizen has the time or resources to thoroughly investigate every item claimed as fact? In this case you have nothing but liberals arguing about what happened. NPR is tagged as being liberal. Clinton it liberal. The owner of the restaurant would appear to be liberal by simply inviting or accepting the arrangements for the Clinton clan’s meals. And it is reasonable to suspect the waitress is for all practical purposes liberal too.

Here’s a hunch from Blog @ MoreWhat.com for HRC’s fact hub or HIllary Hub or damage control central to rebut. A reasonable guess would be that everyone in Clinton’s camp who was at the restaurant thought someone else was handling the bill and tip and the transaction fell through the cracks. The restaurant owner would probably determine that he likes the publicity from Clinton eating at the place, etc., and will contact them later to get paid. He doesn’t want to ruffle any feathers and wreck a good thing. Meanwhile the waitress doesn’t see a tip. By her own statements life could be better so perhaps she saw an opening and took it. Guessing that any publicity is good publicity.

Once the news hit the airwaves and her interview was out there the ____ hit the fan. All sorts of conversations likely took place to gracefully handle the next Clinton gaffe. The local campaign staffer who showed up to give the waitresses $20 a piece in all likelihood paid the bill for Clinton and added the 150+ dollar tip. So NPR gets to take one for the team, the waitress loses her second gig because the boss wants nothing to do with the mess and the restaurant owner made nice with Clinton and vice versa to implement damage control.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it C’mon, it’s as plausible as anything that may yet be suggested. As much as there is no love for the Clintons’ here, it is reasonable to suspect a very natural, honest and common mistake happened over dinner and at some point all parties concerned (at least those who stood to get egg on their faces) worried that in a political atmosphere even an honest mistake would guarantee there would be hell to pay in the press as well as the campaign in general. And if that’s the case it is still a lie. Rather than just say ‘oops’ and explained what really went on culinary conspiracy was hatched. So to what word do we now add ‘gate’ for HRC’s current disaster in the making. Let’s see, tipgate, waitressgate, Iowagate, Visa or Mastercardgate?

Cost of tip for eating at an Iowa restaurant during campaign season, $197.00. Entertainment provided by the Clinton campaign for everyone but Hillary, priceless. The woman can’t even eat a meal without screwing something up.

crossposted at:
Reject the UN
Screw the UN

The UN’s Millennium Development Goals program includes topics claimed to address basic problems worldwide such as hunger and poverty. Currently, the program is about halfway through its schedule to accomplish the goals. Based on how benchmarks are designed and appraised there is plenty of room for argument on what has or has not been accomplished. It is the opinion of the author of this post that the UN’s MDG are nothing more than a proclamation of grandiose plans intended to justify the existence of this impotent international organization.

Today’s installment focuses on one country in Africa. There was no special formula or criteria used to select today’s featured country. It was more a matter of what was readily available and being covered by various news sources at the time of this writing.

The country is Zimbabwe. Whether or not this country is typical or common in terms of the obstacles that face any attempt to improve conditions for people around the world is unknown. But certainly this example cries out for recognition as evidence supporting the fact that UN policies toward problem solving are fundamentally flawed.

It is ironic that Robert Mugabe came to power in Zimbabwe in 1980 which is the same year the now failing water supply infrastructure was installed. One of Magabe’s recent moves (July 2007) was to force businesses to slash prices on products like wide-screen TV’s. Hurry folks, you can get ‘em for about 20 pounds. In a country with a 20,000% inflation rate and the economic crisis Mugabe blames on business that is trying to undermine his government, cars are also going for the incredible price of 30 pounds.

Even though economists weighed in on the situation, it doesn’t require a financial genius to understand the stupidity of this move by Mugabe. It is also not surprising that this country’s leader has been subject to criticism for most of the time he has been in power.

The insanity in contrasts between the problems faced by Zimbabwe, the solutions offered and apparent mixture of priorities demonstrated by the following news accounts reinforce the notion that the UN Millennium Development Goals are either naive in their simplistic approach to problem solving or believe the rest of us are.

Infrastructure problems would be expected as a problem in nations suffering from the ills of ineffective or corrupt governments. As mentioned earlier, the water supply infrastructure in Zimbabwe is seriously inadequate. Frequent interruptions to the supply of water as well as electricity are cited as primary influences in the economic crisis within Zimbabwe. The municipal control of the water supply being transferred to a national authority has not improved the situation. Failure to provide adequate water for the needs of the population creates obvious risks.

Another result of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis has been a flood of two or three million refugees to neighboring the neighboring countries of Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa. There has been some question of how South Africa will handle the swell of mostly illegal immigrants. About one week ago, the UN in their wisdom had stated there is a plan for responding to the refugee situation but no mandate is in place to intervene. This suggests the UN’s grand MDG has no realistic solutions either. Is this not exactly the kind of problem the UN should be capable of resolving?

While Mugabe continues to express his position that the West is trying to bring about regime change, infrastructure problems with water and electric power have created another crisis. People have resorted to using wood to fill the void for cooking requirements. This has resulted in devastation to Zimbabwe’s forests. The power failures have also caused problems for irrigation and a reduction in the food supply. Go figure, the UN will be looked to for supplying food to more than a third of the population through next April’s harvest. So much for the MDG hunger program as it relates to Zimbabwe. Rather than fewer hungry people it appears as there will be more.

No crisis would be complete without headlines suggesting an opposition leader to Mugabe’s government is involved in actions that will impede progress in ‘crisis talks.’ Perhaps this is an area the UN may have previously been expected to participate in and direct other UN member to provide incentives for resolution. The membership of the UN as well as government leadership in struggling nations can be viewed as the central obstacles to problem solving. It would be no surprise that those in positions of authority do not share the concerns of ordinary citizens within troubled nations. If that is the case, how can the UN be a catalyst for improving conditions for the less fortunate throughout the world?

While this next story does not address the MDG primary education goals directly, it offers some insight to the difficulties of education in troubled nations as well as an example of another aid complaint that has targeted the US as not doing enough. Who can hope for the promise of education in areas where basic human needs are in crisis? Must those issues be solved before education can truly help? A tiny fraction of the funds provided by the US recently paid for one week’s training for Zimbabwe teachers to be instructed on how to teach ‘life skills’ as a deterrent to the spread of HIV/AIDS. For a mere $500,000 of aid, or about $40 per day, 1500 teachers attended the training for a week. Considering the difficulties presently faced by Zimbabwe, the wisdom of this activity is suspect.

The final story provided for contrast in this post deals with a topic that by luck of the draw was available as a current example of what makes little sense in the scheme of things. There is a Zimbabwe film festival celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The usual descriptions and hype for such an event are expressed in the article. But to the outside observer, relying only on media reports, it serves as another reason to ask what the hell goes on in places in the world that seem to be consumed by strife? People cannot eat, attend to common tasks, are exiting the country by the millions and yet there is demand for a film festival. Not that anyone in Zimbabwe should be denied an opportunity to develop whatever skills they can, but doesn’t this seem out of place?

Certainly we discuss similar contrasts in the US. The United States is not exempt from bizarre combinations of circumstances featuring the over privileged and underprivileged. It is not expected that these same situations would not be present in other countries.

The central question for this post is how does the UN reconcile public opinion about its operations? It appears they don’t as their activities continue to demonstrate peculiar responses to chronic problems. More statements, more research, more monitoring, more appeals for funding and excuses for performance that never seem to solve anything is what maintains a less than positive public opinion of the United Nations.

Zimbabwe’s problems may be generally representative of nations throughout the world requiring international attention and resolution. Perhaps the UN could spend some of the funding used for communication to explain why its members cannot see their way clear to negotiate effectively with countries around the world like Zimbabwe. Even if one country at a time, the United Nations should be able to rally members to solve problems of poverty, hunger, disease, etc., without the hype and suspicious characteristics of projects like the Millennium Development Goals. The solutions to these problems do not require all the sophisticated and complex arrangements often described by the UN and related organizations.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

sources:
Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe strongman

Mugabe’s price cuts bring cheap TVs today, new crisis tomorrow

Water Shortages Make Every Day Life A Struggle In Zimbabwe’s Cities

Zimbabweans Fleeing Economic Collapse Not Refugees - UN Agency

South Africa Mulls New Response To Massive Zimbabwean Immigration

Zimbabwe Economic Crisis Wipes Out Forests

Harare Says Tsvangirai’s Australia Contacts Jeopardize Crisis Talks

Zimbabwean Teachers To Instruct Life Skills To Avoid HIV Infection

Zimbabwe Film Festival Celebrates a Decade in Cinema

crossposted at:
Reject the UN
Screw the UN

This is another attempt to pierce the veil of secrecy covering details of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and the missing proof of concept or simple accountability for claims made of this program’s success to date. A review of the UN 2007 Report on the MDG displays pretty charts and figures one is obviously expected to believe. Any discussion of this program is rather quiet and it is likely you will not hear much about it unless actively searching for answers and even then useful data is hard to obtain.

For instance, the UN MDG uses PPP or purchasing power parity as a numeric cutoff to define the buying power of those considered in extreme poverty. The first goal of the MDG is to eradicate poverty and hunger. However, a closer look at documents other than the initial publications indicates the goal is really to ‘halve’ whatever level of poverty existed when the program started. The current PPP of $1.08 is based on data from the World Bank and with just that much information it is quite useless for the general public, not to mention those in extreme poverty and hunger. In one of the reports it suggests that the level of those facing extreme poverty and hunger decreased from 1.25 billion in 1990 to 980 million in 2004. Another piece of information that is totally useless to the average reader. Aside from the obvious reasons, those figure are useless since the MDG program started in 1999 or 2000 and the figures include many years in which the program did not exist. Plus, there is no addressing whether or not birth and death rates were taken into account. As morbid as that may seem, if a person is dead they cannot reasonably be considered to have been lifted up beyond hunger and poverty.

That was a rather lengthy description of part of what is wrong with the MDG. But alas, this post is not the only source of criticism toward the Millennium Development Goals. After much searching, one lone source was unearthed today. Included in someone’s paper on the subject was criticism of the measuring process with regard to the MDG. It is focused on medical aspects of the goals but nonetheless concludes that any meaningful data will not result from the way the UN measures goal results. And one response to the paper is enlightening as to the motives behind the MDG as well.

The following is the paper’s author on goals, measurement and problems with the data.

Viewed objectively, it must be agreed that the MDGs palter. The health goals for 2015 sound quantitative, but for most of them, their quantification is irretrievably flawed. The trends that the health goals allude to are either immeasurable or were not measured properly from the 1990 baseline year onward. This is not an extraordinarily controversial conclusion: recall that in each of the cautionary examples discussed—malaria, maternal mortality, and TB—the UN’s own current or former staff have said that the trends are immeasurable or lack baseline data.

Short of abandoning the MDGs, the better option is to amend the goals, targets, or indicators—all three levels of the hierarchy—to be feasibly measurable.

Unfortunately, the UN leadership has, to date, delayed this option. In a September 2004 memo, one year ahead of the Millennium +5 Summit, the UN’s Deputy Secretary General instructed the organisation’s experts in charge of the MDG statistics with the following:

The [Millennium +5 Summit]…should not be distracted by arguments over the measurement of the MDGs—or worse, over different numbers being used by different agencies for the same indicator…. [P]roposals for modifications of definitions or new indicators will only be considered formally after the [Millennium +5 Summit]… as any changes at this stage would only distract from the result that we would like to achieve. [3]

And below is the author’s description of a peer review of his paper. But the interesting part is the reviewer’s opinion of what the MDG are. It nay even be the words of someone working for an NGO.

Some may disagree with my emphasis on measurement and timelines. One anonymous peer reviewer of this paper wrote that while measuring the MDGs is “of concern for epidemiologists and others”, my interpretation “misses the point” because the purpose of the MDGs is merely to be exhortatory. “The MDGs are not a measuring exercise”, wrote the reviewer, but instead are a “common vision of what matters most for improving the lives of people in poor countries”.

It is always refreshing (NOT) to have someone who is not suffering from extreme poverty and hunger express what matters most to people who are. It should be clear to anyone reading this that independently determining the value or lack of value in just one of the MDG goals requires an excessive amount of research. That only serves to make the point that the UN is missing a key element in their Millennium Development Goals. Readily available proof of results in a form understood by the general public would provide some credibility to an organization plagued by suspicion.

There is currently no reasonable way to tell if anyone is better off because of the Millennium Development Goals program. The only thing to be sure of is UN representatives will continue to hound the world for more money while some of us continue to question and criticize the UN.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

In case you need to know here is another lovely story about bad food. Not the kind that is bad because the service or menu at the restaurant you chose is sub par but the food is a health hazard. Is it strange that there are so many reports of tainted food in the US the last couple of years or is the news media now focusing on it? Did we have this much trouble with the food supply historically and no one told us? If this is a new trend, who will stop it and what is responsible for the problem now? You didn’t really expect answers for this here did you? That is why they pay government employees. To answer all your questions like the one’s here.

If you really want an answer there are plenty of conspiracy theories to discuss on this topic.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

U.S. issues new botulism warning for green beans
Fri Aug 3, 4:12 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumers should not eat certain brands of French-cut green beans because of concerns they could be tainted with the toxin that causes botulism, U.S. health officials warned on Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT

The green beans were manufactured by Lakeside Foods Inc. of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and packaged in 14.5-ounce cans, the Food and Drug Administration said.

By Daniel Schearf
Beijing
24 July 2007

Schearf report (mp3) - Download 424k audio clip
Listen to Schearf report (mp3) audio clip

The European Union’s head of consumer safety says China has promised to “strictly” provide regular reports on how it handles European complaints about dangerous products. China has so far failed to live up to earlier similar promises and faces complaints from around the world about unsafe products. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

The European Union Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Meglena Kuneva, told reporters Tuesday that Chinese officials have said they will follow through on their agreement to provide quarterly reports on investigations into dangerous Chinese products exported to the EU.

“I received a political commitment of the highest level. And, I will watch how this political commitment will be translated into practice,” Kuneva said.

Kuneva says China is obliged by a memorandum of understanding, signed with the EU in early 2006, to fully investigate EU complaints of unsafe Chinese products and to provide a summary of enforcement efforts in quarterly reports. However, in the last year, she said, China has provided only two reports.

“The first report was very poor in respect of tracking down, the second was better but still not sufficient. That’s why I’m here,” she said.

Half of all unsafe exports last year to the EU came from China. The EU is China’s largest trading partner and one in four products imported to the EU come from China.

But those products include children’s toys with high lead or chemical content or small parts that posed a choking hazard, batteries that may explode and lamps that could electrocute.

China is under pressure to better enforce product safety standards after a series of revelations about tainted and deadly exports.

Chinese officials last week announced the closure of a company that exported mislabeled chemicals that were used in cough syrup in Panama, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people there in the last year.

Two other companies were closed for using toxic chemicals in pet food ingredients believed to have killed hundreds of dogs and cats in North America earlier this year.

The United States has refused exports of Chinese farm-raised fish and seafood after drugs banned in the U.S. were found in shipments.

Chinese officials acknowledge some Chinese companies are responsible for unsafe exports, but insist the vast majority of products are safe.

Is this special or what? After hearing all the rhetoric leading up to, during and after the 2006 midterm elections about how the Democratic party wanted to take back Congress for the American people and advance their New Direction for America, it is equally disappointing as when the Republicans had their turn. It should come as no surprise to anyone that this is simply politics as usual and is only designed to make a grab for political power in the past midterms and again in 2008.

A good example for this week comes again from The Hill’s Congress Blog and a post by freshman Congresswoman Betty Sutton (D-OH). At a time when the Iraq war, national defense, national security, border control, immigration, health care, education, the economy, ethics, the failed 100 hour agenda and the political nightmare of Speaker Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid dominate the conversation, Rep Sutton chooses to publish a post on the gender gap in wages and references to the dead ERA. Not a surprise really if you consider this is coming from a labor attorney. Rather than a New Direction for America this sounds more like standard fare from the Dems.

A quick search of the news only presented two items to contrast with Sutton’s blog post. One story associates Sutton with legislative proposals on the drama of well publicized tainted food scandals. This can give the impression of a noble endeavor if it wasn’t for the fact that frequently such Congressional attention is only generated for political cover after years of neglect result in tragedy and can no longer be ignored. The second item is typical pandering to the concerns of business constituents and blaming their plight on federal trade policies. Another freshman politician following the party playbook and training manual. This is certainly not a New Direction.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Despite Progress, More Needs to be Done to Close the Wage Gap

(Rep. Betty Sutton)
April 27th, 2007
This week, we observed Equal Pay Day to remind people that men and women still receive unequal pay for the same work. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue, but an American issue and an issue about fairness. Progress has certainly been made, but much more must be done to ensure that the wage gap becomes history.

Recalls prompt push for federal regulation

May 2, 2007 05:14 PM
Tom Walker/Eyewitness News
Washington - From pet food to spinach, food recalls have been big news in the past year. As regulators scramble to react to contamination of food intended for pets and humans, there is increasing focus on what the government can’t do about it.

Sutton talks dumping at U.S. Steel plant

Joe Medici | The Chronicle-Telegram
LORAIN — Congresswoman Betty Sutton, (D-Copley), stopped by the U.S. Steel Tubular Plant in Lorain Tuesday to discuss what she calls unfair trade policies and to see how hard tubes of steel are molded and transformed into the pipes that help transport oil and other fuels around the world.

Trackposted to Right Pundits, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Random Yak, guerrilla radio, Adam’s Blog, Stuck On Stupid, Cao’s Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, , Pet’s Garden Blog, Rightlinx, Faultline USA, Allie Is Wired, third world county, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, stikNstein… has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Planck’s Constant, Dumb Ox Daily News, High Desert Wanderer, Right Voices, Gone Hollywood, The Yankee Sailor, and OTB Sports, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Let’s see. The company the US credits for shipping contaminated wheat gluten that is blamed for the deaths of pets in the US confirms the assertion. But the Chinese government denies they shipped the tainted product. This is reminiscent of the SARS epidemic and reported cases of Avian flu. Nope, nothing is here, nope. Only to have them confirm the reports later. The troubling matter is the company with the wheat ships about 10,000 tons per year and the US shipments only account for about 1,000. So the Chinese public may be in for a surprise or possibly some other nation. But it is probably anyone’s guess when and where the tainted wheat may show up again.

C. Harris
MoreWhat.com

China Denies Role in U.S. Pet Deaths

BEIJING (AP) — China has denied responsibility for several pet deaths in the United States which U.S. authorities blame on a batch of chemically contaminated wheat gluten from China, state media reported….

Does anyone remember the intelligence community scurrying around like trapped rodents when they became the target of choice for the blame gamers after 9/11? Yup, the spooks were getting spanked for not sharing information with the FBI and others in the executive branch. Faulty information, or worse, accusations of just making stuff up smacked them again on Iraq and WMD. Members of Congress are still blaming everyone else for their vote for war. And those who voted no are feeling superior. The “yea” voters defend themselves as being fooled by the intel provided and feel that is a valid defense. If that is the case, then the “nay” voters are wrong. Claiming after the fact that you voted on flawed data means those who voted no were unwilling to use military force to thwart a clear and present danger. Congress can’t have it both ways. And no one is calling them on it.

The Dems are feeling superior. They have a new direction for America. Their 100 hour agenda will prove their worth. And yet even the less complicated issues perplex them. Last week’s example is brought to you by Senator Dick Durbin and a co-sponsor. In their wisdom and due to prodding by a “public interest” group, a solution for all the tainted food incidents in this country is to increase bureaucracy. Food safety responsibilities are already split between the USDA and the FDA. Rather than fix what is wrong with the current arrangement, Durbin is suggesting the solution is to split it more or simply create another agency. There are already 12 involved in food safety. Ya, the 12 will go away after the new one comes online. Even if he was right, why not fix what is wrong with existing tools rather than abandon one and create another?

C. Harris
MoreWhat.com

Legislation Would Create New Food Safety Agency

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) have introduced legislation to put all food safety responsibilities under a single new Food Safety Administrator.

Some other tainted food headlines to increase your appetite:

Cooked chicken breasts join tainted-food recalls
Carolina Culinary Foods, a West Columbia, S.C., firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 52,650 pounds of fully cooked chicken breast strips manufactured for Oscar Mayer (Listeria monocytogenes)

Tainted Cantaloupe, Baby Food Recalled
Dole Fresh Fruit Co. recalled several thousand cartons of imported cantaloupes after the fruit tested positive for salmonella, the bacteria involved in the nationwide peanut butter recall earlier this week.

Food Recalls, More To Come
“I don’t think we are seeing more food borne pathogens occur, I think we are finding them more quickly and using better methodology,” says SFC President Curtis Coleman.

Fresh crops tainted by suspicion
Last year’s E. coli outbreaks — one traced to bagged spinach and two to lettuce — have left a nation in a salad spinner of confusion.Americans have come to expect the food they eat won’t make them sick.But unlike most edible items in the grocery store that have been cooked, baked, broiled, fried, or pasteurized to destroy harmful bacteria, fresh produce has no such “kill point,” no moment on the assembly line when pathogens meet their doom.

• Salmonella Outbreaks: A Recent History
There was a time there when Salmonella was associated largely with chickens and eggs, but as the last few years have shown the potentially deadly pathogen can show up in all kinds of foods.

In honor of pancake week and with a minimal amount of research, what I know is this. As far back as I cared to look was 1445. So the story goes, in condensed form, a woman had saved some fat to make pancakes with for it was now Lent and fat was off the table (excuse the pun). She was in the middle of making pancakes when the Church bells rang to announce Shrive Day. It was time to confess. In her haste to get to Church on time she showed up with apron and pan in hand. Somehow Tuesday became Shrove Day. So it appears the timing makes some sense.
source: Southwest Daily Times (Liberal, Kansas: no, that’s the name of the city)

I like pancakes. I remember the days when IHOP was a big deal. I still like their crepes. In my part of the world we have a small restaurant simply named The Pancake Place. Oh ya, they make some great pancakes. The family favorite appears to be banana nut but I prefer buckwheat. And I’m insane for boysenberry syrup, rather boysenberry anything. BTW, their pancakes are the same diameter as the plate and 3/8 to 1/2 an inch thick. You can order one or more. Trust me, three is plenty. They have flavored half and half for the coffee. And it’s always crowded.

It was a tradition at the Boy Scout camp in my area to serve pigs in a blanket when I was a kid. It was served on the last day of camp, just before we packed up to return home. With so many people they had huge tub like containers to accommodate all the food for the guests. The first time I viewed this inspired awe. Huge containers near overflowing with pancakes filled with porkies and smothered in syrup, cinnamon and sugar. Slept all the way home.

A common practice for all manner of public functions is a pancake and porkie breakfast or some version of that. Pancakes of course are always included. The companion food varies. I have been known to fly a plane or two and a breakfast fly-in with pancakes and whatever is popular. That is my unplanned take on pancakes. Pass the coffee.

Now to the politics of pancakes.

Hillary Clinton Faces Challenge of Iowa’s `Retail’ Politics
By Kristin Jensen
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) — For many presidential hopefuls, the first campaign trip to Iowa is about pancake breakfasts, church socials and quiet chats with voters. Not so for Hillary Clinton.

Oh, Iowa was just a buzz with the arrival of Hillary. According to the report above, retail politics is what will decide the nomination. Also they attribute Hillary’s current polling and popularity to her star appeal. Please, another report characterizes her as a bad version of Bill Clinton and I am still trying to figure out what that is supposed to mean. And the funny thing about Jensen’s piece is the follow with Edwards and Obama leading in Iowa. Go figure.

Then she says Iowa can make or break a candidate. In terms of states, any one of the heavy electoral vote states can doom a candidate who loses. A reference to Kerry winning Iowa in 2004 fails to mention that Kennedy and the party power brokers annointed Kerry then. I suppose when a campaign starts this early with so many candidates and additional potential candidates, the press doesn’t no where to go or what to say. It’s cheap fill for the daily fish wrap.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Trackposted to Blue Star Chronicles, Bumpshack: Where the News Always Bumps!, Perri Nelson’s Website, Cao’s Blog, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. Stuck On Stupid, third world county, Conservative Cat, basil’s blog, Random Dreamer, The Bullwinkle Blog, Big Dog’s Weblog, Maggie’s Notebook, Conservative Thoughts, Right Voices, Shadowscope,The Virtuous Republic, Allie Is Wired, and stikNstein… has no mercy

U.S. lawmakers: EU dragging heels on biotech trade

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States must pressure the
European Union to stop dragging its feet on approving new imports
of bioengineered food, senior U.S. lawmakers said in a letter
released on Wednesday.

Biotech Rice Saga Yields Bushel of Questions for Feds
USDA Approval Shortcut Emerges as Issue
By Rick Weiss, Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 6, 2006; A03
When the biotech company Bayer CropScience AG requested
federal permission in August to market a variety of gene-altered
rice, it assured itself a small, unwanted place in history: the first
to seek approval for a genetically engineered food that was
already — illegally — on the market.

GMO ban ordinance eyed
Visayan Daily Star, Philippines - Nov 12, 2006
Oriental Negros Vice Gov. Jose Baldado said he will work for
the passage of an ordinance banning genetically-modified
organisms in the province. …

Cognis launches 3 natural, non-GMO health ingredients …
SpiritIndia, India - Oct 30, 2006
… West trade show is expected to be brisk as dietary supplement
and functional food manufacturers discover the benefits of three
new, non-GMO natural health …

Seems to be a great deal of quiet discussion on GMO foods. What
is the upside? What do we really know about GMO foods? Is it
reasonable to blindly accept GMO as healthy without valid data on
long term probability or potential of future health problems? What
about causing unexpected changes in natural food sources? Is the
United States the only country promoting GMO foods? There is a
large enough reference to reports around the world that suggest an
uneasy climate toward these foods. Why is it the job of government
officials to influence or intimidate other countries to comply with the
US government’s agenda? Especially when it appears to merely be
on behalf of corporate America and not based on the well-being or
benefit of all affected parties.

C. Harris
MoreWhat.com

Some of the people pushing for the EU to accept US GMO:

Tom Harkin

Collin Peterson

Saxby Chambliss

Bob Goodlatte

Susan Schwab USTR

Canice Nolan

It is bipartisan. It is international. And it is suspicious. There are too many countries opposed to believe that accepting GMO without proof of concept is not right.

Daily Moderate Consumption of Beer or Other Alcohol Beverages May be Healthy from PhysOrg.com
The moderate, daily consumption of beer and other alcohol beverages can play a role in a healthful lifestyle and in reducing the risk of several serious diseases, including coronary heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cognitive disorders and osteoporosis, according to medical and scientific researchers who presented papers at a recent conference on the role of beer and alcohol in a healthful lifestyle. […]