DESTROYING MY ART

Hog Love

I'm not a vegetarian, or a food prude, but you must read the incredible article in Rolling Stone by Jeff Tietz.  His investigation into Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the world.  With 27 million hogs "processed" last year alone, you can expect quotes like:

"The area around a single slaughterhouse can contain hundreds of lagoons, some of which run thirty feet deep. The liquid in them is not brown. The interactions between the bacteria and blood and afterbirths and stillborn piglets and urine and excrement and chemicals and drugs turn the lagoons pink."  And, "Concentrated manure is my first thought, but I am fighting an impulse to vomit even as I am thinking it. I've probably smelled stronger odors in my life, but nothing so insidiously and instantaneously nauseating. It takes my mind a second or two to get through the odor's first coat. The smell at its core has a frightening, uniquely enriched putridity, both deep-sweet and high-sour. I back away from it and walk back to the car but I remain sick -- it's a shivery, retchy kind of nausea -- for a good five minutes. That's apparently characteristic of industrial pig shit: It keeps making you sick for a good while after you've stopped smelling it."  He talks about workers stinking of pig effluvium for 3 months after they quit.

The information in this story is so incredibly disturbing, and ethically wrong, I think I'm through with Ham forever.

(FYI - The OJ picture has nothing to do with the story, it's just the funniest Pork photo I have.)

LINK - Rolling Stone Article

Riddle Me This Putin?

In this strange picture, President Putin is seen touring the new Defense Intelligence Headquarters in Moscow.  Many people have thought that Putin could be the "real Batman", but I would argue that Putin is more like The Riddler.  The Frank Gorshin Riddler that is!

Comments?

The Dumbest Person In Florida

A rare stamp worth as much as $200,000 may be on an envelope sealed in a ballot box after the US mid-term elections, poll officials say."

Some rocket scientist used the famous "Inverted Jenny" stamp to cast his (or her) ballot.  The irony  is the vote doesn't even get counted unless it's a close race.

Good stuff.

Darfur

Everyday, the 2.5 million people chased from their homes in Darfur face the threat of starvation, disease, and rape, while the few lucky enough to remain in their homes risk displacement, torture, and murder.

President Bush and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan can do more!

I am asking everyone to please follow the links below and offer your support to 2 important organizations battling evil in Darfur.

Check out 60 minutes recent story on Darfur, and the disgusting ties Sudan's government has with the CIA.

(Photo - Michael Kamber for the NYT)

LINK - The International Rescue Committee - Founded over 75 Years ago to save people under Hitler

LINK - SAVEDARFUR.org (A coalition of 170 organizations) - Use your vote to effect change.

Vote Stem-Cells

Nothing gets me more pissed off than American "Anti-Science."  If you're voting in 2 weeks please do your part in keeping religious anti-science politicos out of office.   I'm happy to see Michael J. Fox doing a powerful support ad for Pro-Science politicians.  Simple and effective - they're honest ads in a time of spin.

You go Marty McFly!  Science rocks!

Get Active:
Michael J. Fox Foundation - For Parkinson Research
SEA - Scientist and Engineers for America (I'm a proud member - despite my lack of mad science skills.)
Stem Cell Research Foundation - Get the facts

Vote Brad Miller

This is the greatest political attack ad ever!  All I know is I like this guy Brad Miller. 

More Sex!  Less War!

Vote - Brad Miller!

Death & Taxes - The Poster

Here's a pretty amazing visual representation of the US Government's insanely large amount of federal discretionary budget and where it is all spent.  Your taxes at work.

LINK - Incredible Interactive Map

The Daily Show Does The Macaca

I try to refrain from posting The Daily Show clips, since I could easily find myself posting 20 clips a week from TDS and The Colbert Report.

But, I particularly liked TDS's coverage on George Allen's Macaca slur.  Sometimes the politicians do 99% of the work - Stewart and Crew just show up for the punchline.

Our Hero?

"Iron Maiden singer and qualified pilot Bruce Dickinson airlifted 200 British citizens who had fled war torn Beirut, Lebanon, back to the United Kingdom yesterday. The 47-year-old flew a Boeing 757 to Cyprus where he picked up the evacuees and flew them back to London's Gatwick Airport."

Curious if he sang "We oil the jaws of the war machine, and feed it with our babies" from their album "A Real Dead One"

LINK

Adam Carolla - Bitch Slapper

Adam Carolla recently had Anne Coulter on his morning Radio Show here in LA.  Probably the shortest interview you'll ever hear anywhere on radio.   

Adam is quickly jumping up in my book!   Awesomeness!

LINK (via: CrooksandLiars)