german only:
8 days ago: http://futurezone.orf.at/produkte/stories/90852
today: http://futurezone.orf.at/produkte/stories/92292
Monthly Archive for February, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENT AMONG FINALISTS IN PETA’S ‘SEXIEST VEGETARIAN ALIVE’ CONTEST
The Vote Is On—Pick the Hottest Male and Female Vegetarians!
For Immediate Release:
February 22, 2006Contact:
Reannon Peterson 757-622-7382Minneapolis — What do American Idol winner Carrie Underwood and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin have in common? They are the reigning king and queen of PETA’s annual “Sexiest Vegetarian Alive” contest, in which visitors to PETA’s GoVeg.com Web site voted for their favorite vegetarian celebrities. Now, PETA has expanded its contest to include the vegetarian boy or girl next door. After the first round of votes was tallied, 25-year-old Mario Rader—who resides in Burnsville, Minn., with his fiancée—beat out hundreds of entrants from the United States and Canada to become one of 10 male finalists.
A native of Austria, Mario went vegan after watching a video about the suffering that animals endure when they are transported from factory farms to slaughterhouses. Although his family members were skeptical of his decision at first, they now eat much less meat, and his sister went vegan. Mario enjoys photography, mountain biking, and playing drums. He lives with his fiancée, a bird, and a dog named Bug. Mario’s photo and bio, along with pictures of the other hot hunks and veggie vixens selected as finalists, can be viewed at GoVeg.com. The winners will be announced in late March.
“On average, vegetarians are thinner and healthier than meat-eaters,” says PETA Vegan Campaign Director Bruce Friedrich. “One look at our radiant lineup of sexy vegetarian finalists and it’s clear that they’re all winners.”
For more information and to vote in the contest, please visit GoVeg.com.
Source: Minneapolis resident among finalists in PeTA’s ‘Sexiest Vegetarian alive’ contest
The decay of western culture continues:
It is disturbing and hard to believe sometimes, how hypocritical most countries’ leaders are, comparing their home and foreign policy:
South Dakota finally took the step as the first US-state to effectively and completely ban abortion again. So much for the credibility and the freedom in the “oldest democracy” (shhhhh - nobody remembers the Greeks!)… Article @ yahoo.com
So, let’s have a look at the list of countries, where abortion is currently illegal:
I’d like to let this list speak for itself:
| Afghanistan Andorra Angola Antigua & Barbuda Bangladesh Bhutan Brazil Brunei Darussalam Central African Rep. Chile Colombia Congo (Brazzaville) Côte d’Ivoire Dem. Rep. of Congo Dominica Dominican Republic Egypt El Salvador Gabon Guatemala Guinea-Bissau Haiti Honduras Indonesia Iran |
Iraq Ireland Kenya Kiribati Laos Lebanon Lesotho Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Monaco Myanmar Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Oman Palau Panama |
Papua New Guinea Paraguay Philippines San Marino Sao Tome & Principe Senegal Soloman Islands Somalia Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Syria Tanzania Togo Tonga Tuvalu Uganda United Arab Emirates Venezuela West Bank & Gaza Strip Yemen |
| countries printed in bold make an explicit exception to save a woman’s life. | ||
Source: Center for reproductive rights
So, yesterday i got a reply to my inquiry - upon the request of some people, here is the essential content of the response:
The pictures:
- Women’s photos: it was startling how women are much, much more likely to send in revealing pictures than guys.
- People were chosen based on who was thought to be both good-looking and interesting/dedicated, regardless of what they were wearing.
- The people who chose the finalists actually hoped that there were more male contestants to send in pictures “showing off their large veggie-fueled muscles, but the guys who entered were apparently more conservative than the women about their dress.”
The content:
- The information people gave and their responses to the (initial) questions played a huge part in choosing the finalists.
- Several people - who would probably be considered “sexier” by the average American but whose answers weren’t as compelling or whom didn’t seem as dedicated to the cause as the finalists - were not chosen.
- Regarding the surveys: a lot of info was needed from each person, to choose the parts that seemed most interesting/unique. “People aren’t going to read extensive info about 20 different people, so we tried to make them succinct, and as interesting as possible - I’m sorry you thought they were generic.”
- More racial/ethnic diversity among the finalists would have been very welcome, but - for reasons unknown - this years contestants simply showed less diversity than in recent years.
“Regarding conventional ideas of beauty, this contest by its very nature is largely focused on physical appearance. People come to the website and media covers the story largely because they are interested in seeing conventionally “sexy” people. But we repeatedly emphasize that these people and vegetarians in general are sexy because of their compassion, and for their good health. I think this contest is great in that it pulls in people looking for pictures of sexy people, but reminds them that sexiness is about a lot more than just how you look, but about what moral stands you take in your life.”
i guess it all makes sense from their point of view. Still, i suppose it would have been nice to have an organization, that claims to give the voiceless a voice, make a point in being a bit more unconventional concerning the selection of the people for the contest. the last paragraph didn’t really reflect how i felt the backgrounds of the contest were communicated.
Henry Rollins ran into trouble while flying from Auckland, Australia [sic! New Zealand] during the Big Day Out Tour.
Apparently, the former hardcore vocalist and author made the mistake of reading Jihad: The Rise of Militant Island [sic! Islam] in Central Asia while on the flight. The book - a largely academic look at the roots and conflicts in Central Asian and their connections to terrorism - apparently raised some red flags resulting in Rollins recieving what he described as “a latter [sic! letter] from a nice woman who worked in one of those government areas that deals with anti-terrorism matters.”
The individual who sat next to Henry had reported him to the government because of the book; while the letter he recieved from the government dismissed the accussation as “idiocy,” Henry responded:
I was reading a book called Jihad by Ahmed Rashid which is a history of Central Asia. I didn’t speak to the man next to me past how do you do. I think Ahmed Rashid is published by Yale University Press. Bush’s alma mater. Please tell your government and everyone in your office to go fuck themselves. Tell them twice. If your boss is looking for something to do, you can tell him I suggest he go fuck himself. Baghdad’s safer than my hometown and your PM is a sissy.
I honestly am having a bit of a hard time with promoting the contest that PeTA and GoVeg.com put me up for. Why? Maybe this will give you a first, little idea…
There are mainly 2 things that surprised me most about how the contest page has been put together:
1.) The pictures (mainly of the “Tofutti Cuties”): I assumed that they would be more like the ones in the European contest - that’s a little more what I assumed it to be like. I understand that the contest is about a certain veg*an “sexiness”, however, a lot of the pictures just are a bit “too much” in my opinion. The gripe I have is not due to me being prude or anything (hey- I’m European :-P), it’s more because of
a.) the lack of diversity
b.) promoting a beauty ideal that i would have expected from Maxim but not necessarily from a PeTA contest
My girl, my best friend and i all independently pointed this issue out after having seen the site for the first time.
I also understand that the reasoning behind this is probably “sex sells” and yes, after all, in a way it is a contest about “sex”, but it just basically looks like a missed opportunity to take a stand against the classic, contemporary beauty cliche and give it a real shot to let the audience decide.
I am not sure if attracting more newbies to the animal rights idea - with content like this - is worth alienating people who already are politically conscious. For one, I think people who are interested and open for politics and ethical issues are the ones most likely to go for the transition to veg*an. On the other hand, I would also assume that they probably are getting more turned off to that very idea, by a “political statement” like the selection of finalist pictures in this contest. And the people who already are in that scene: I suppose they tend to be more sensitive to ethical issues to begin with. Furthermore I doubt (and first reactions seem to prove me right) that a lot of them feel that they can promote this contest.
2.) the content:
I know from quite a few years of programming for web-communities that it is more work to set up a full profile for each user. On the other hand, in times of scripting and databases it’s not THAT much extra work. Bottom line: we filled out these long questionnaires, and I am sure that it is not an easy thing to summarize them in 3 sentences.
However: giving so little information on each contestant probably emphasizes the impression given in #1: i.e. it’s all about the looks (I don’t think thats all that constitutes “sexiness”). Also, the short snippets somewhat make most of the “profiles” seem pretty generic and just don’t really give people much chance to actually evaluate any contestant based on anything but looks.
All in all I hope this input will change something for the future. I expect a reply from PeTA early next week… we’ll see if they are open for suggestions. It’s just disappointing that I am part of something like this, which seemed like a fun idea to promote a good idea and now turned into something i so don’t want to appear supportive of.
Also, decide on your own, how the information given below, eventually ended up as this summary:
“Sid, 25, lives in Burnsville, Minnesota. A native of Austria, Sid went vegan after watching a video about the suffering that animals endure when they are transported from factory farms to slaughterhouses. While his family was skeptical of his decision at first, they now eat much less meat, and his sister went vegan. Sid enjoys photography, mountain biking, and lifting weights. He lives with his fiancee, a dog named Bug, three ferrets who came from an animal shelter, and a rescued bird.”
update: HERE
Continue reading ‘PeTA contest meat inspection’
dude… fire alarm at 3am. what else can you ask for? i have a feeling we’ll hit the bed early tonight. *yawn*
McDonald’s: Fries Have Potential Allergens
By DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer Mon Feb 13, 6:42 PM ETNot long after disclosing that its french fries contain more trans fat than thought, McDonald’s Corp. said Monday that wheat and dairy ingredients are used to flavor the popular menu item – an acknowledgment it had not previously made.
The presence of those substances can cause allergic or other medical reactions in food-sensitive consumers.
McDonald’s had said until recently that its fries were free of gluten and milk or wheat allergens and safe to eat for those with dietary issues related to the consumption of dairy items. But the fast-food company quietly added “Contains wheat and milk ingredients” this month to the french fries listing on its Web site.
The company said the move came in response to new rules by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the packaged foods industry, including one requiring that the presence of common allergens such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish or peanuts be reported. As a restaurant operator, Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s does not have to comply but is doing so voluntarily.
McDonald’s director of global nutrition, Cathy Kapica, said its potato suppliers remove all wheat and dairy proteins, such as gluten, which can cause allergic reactions. But the flavoring agent in the cooking oil is a derivative of wheat and dairy ingredients, and the company decided to note their presence because of the FDA’s stipulation that potential allergens be disclosed.
“We knew there were always wheat and dairy derivatives in there, but they were not the protein component,” she said. “Technically there are no allergens in there. What this is an example of is science evolving” and McDonald’s responding as more is learned, she said.
While the company wanted to make consumers aware that fries were derived in part from wheat and dairy sources, she said, those who have eaten the product without problem should be able to continue to do so without incident.
The acknowledgment has stirred anger and some concern among consumers who are on gluten-free diets since it was posted on McDonald’s Web site.
“If they’re saying there’s wheat and dairy derivatives in the oil, as far as anyone with this disease is concerned there’s actually wheat in it,” said New York resident Jillian Williams, one of more than 2 million Americans with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten.
“They should have disclosed that all along,” she said. “They should never have been calling them gluten-free.”
It’s not the first time McDonald’s forthrightness has been called into question concerning what’s in its famous fries.
The company paid $10 million in 2002 to settle a lawsuit by vegetarian groups after it was disclosed that its fries were cooked in beef-flavored oil despite the company’s insistence in 1990 that it was abandoning beef tallow for pure vegetable oil.
Last February, it paid $8.5 million to settle a suit by a nonprofit advocacy group accusing the company of misleading consumers by announcing plans in September 2002 to change its cooking oil but then delaying the switch indefinitely within months. Reluctant to change the taste of a top-selling item, McDonald’s has continued to maintain for the past three years that testing continues.
Asked about the status of those efforts Monday, Kapica said: “It’s a very high priority and we are very committed to continuing with testing and lowering the level of trans fat without raising the level of saturated fat. … It’s a lot harder than we originally thought but that is not stopping us.”
McDonald’s shares rose 3 cents to close at $36.36 on the New York Stock Exchange – up 8 percent in 2006.
