You can't eat while we fast

Nov 13, 2009 - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,26343471-421,00.html?from=news+newsletter_rss&referrer=email&source=eDM_newspulse Parents say son was tormented for eating salami sandwich during Ramadan     The Daily Telegraph November 13, 2009 12:01am Helen Grigoriou comforts her son Antonios who was allegedly beaten by Muslim students at his school. Picture: Jeff Herbert

• Boy "chased, assaulted by Muslim students"
• Was eating salami during Ramadan
• Parents withdraw boy from the school

A SYDNEY couple has withdrawn their two children from a public primary school, claiming their 11-year-old son was bullied by Muslim students because he ate a salami sandwich during Ramadan.  Andrew Grigoriou said yesterday he complained to the school and to police after his son Antonios was chased and later assaulted by Muslim students after a confrontation over the contents of his lunch, The Daily Telegraphreports. Antonios, a Year 5 student of Greek-Australian background at Punchbowl Public School in Sydney's southwest, said he and a friend had to be locked inside the library for an hour after being chased by a group of Muslim boys offended by his choice of food while they were fasting. - 17 Comments

Charlie Brandts, White House carpenter turned beekeeper

Nov 05, 2009 - A new type of visitor came to the National Mall this year, flitting past monuments and museums in favor of trees, flowers and plants. But this wasn’t just some horticultural tour; no, this was work. Each day they were abuzz, gathering and pollinating before returning home to modest quarters with tremendous security near Lafayette Park. - 1 Comment

Glenn Beck's Bizarre Outburst Against Meatless Mondays and Vegetarians

Oct 30, 2009 - This goes along with the story that I posted in 4.0 about Meatless Mondays in Baltimore schools Jon Stewart ended an interview with climate-change contrarian and Super Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt on Monday night by noting, "I've apparently frightened our audience by suggesting that conservation isn't the only way out of any of the problems of the world. I sincerely apologize." He added, "And I do also believe that we should just eat vegetables." - 13 Comments

Musicians crank up the volume on Guantanamo debate

Oct 22, 2009 - WASHINGTON — A coalition of mega-bands and singers outraged that music — including theirs — was cranked up to help break uncooperative detainees at Guantanamo Bay is joining retired military officers and liberal activists to rally support for President Barack Obama's push to shutter the Navy-run prison for terrorist suspects in Cuba. Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails are among the musicians who have joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, which launched Tuesday. On behalf of the campaign, the National Security Archive in Washington is filing a Freedom of Information Act request seeking classified records that detail the use of loud music as an interrogation device. - 5 Comments

A National Disgrace- troop funds diverted to pet projects- $2.6 billion taken from guns and ammunition

Oct 15, 2009 - U.S. troop funds diverted to pet projects Study finds $2.6 billion taken from guns and ammunition   By Shaun Waterman THE WASHINGTON TIMES Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis. - 16 Comments

E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Ground Beef Inspection

Oct 04, 2009 - By MICHAEL MOSS                            Published: October 3, 2009 Stephanie Smith, a children’s dance instructor, thought she had a stomach virus. The aches and cramping were tolerable that first day, and she finished her classes. Then her diarrhea turned bloody. - 3 Comments

A Crackdown on Bake Sales in City Schools

Oct 04, 2009 - By JENNIFER MEDINA Published: October 2, 2009       There shall be no cupcakes. No chocolate cake and no carrot cake. According to New York City’s latest regulations, not even zucchini bread makes the cut. - 33 Comments

Oops! Killing Pigs Not Egypt's Best Idea

Sep 23, 2009 - Belatedly, Egypt Spots Flaws in Wiping Out Pigs By MICHAEL SLACKMAN CAIRO — It is unlikely anyone has ever come to this city and commented on how clean the streets are. But this litter-strewn metropolis is now wrestling with a garbage problem so severe it has managed to incite its weary residents and command the attention of the president. “The problem is clear in the streets,” said Haitham Kamal, a spokesman for the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs. - 7 Comments

Big Food vs. Big Insurance

Sep 14, 2009 - Kinda long...so I only posted the first page. I linked the second page of the article at the bottom. By MICHAEL POLLAN Published: September 9, 2009 TO listen to President Obama’s speech on Wednesday night, or to just about anyone else in the health care debate, you would think that the biggest problem with health care in America is the system itself — perverse incentives, inefficiencies, unnecessary tests and procedures, lack of competition, and greed. - 25 Comments