I read the news today oh boy! Page 1,554

If you're worried about potential animal products being prepared in a Halal fashion, then might I suggest eating more pork. I know my bacon hasn't been religioned up by the desert tribes peoples.

You'd think that but if you go to a cafe and the bacons all symetrical and odd.
It may well be Halal turkey bacon.

Quote: sootyj @ 7th May 2014, 11:18 PM BST

It may well be Halal turkey bacon.

Nooooo!!! (though not as bad as vegetarian crap pretending to be real food)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-27293314

The Chinese are at it again on the high seas, clashing with both Vietnam and The Philippines. They are using their imperial naval power to claim huge sections of South East Asia and the world is turning a blind eye.

All those anti-war types who keep blabbing on about The Falklands never seem to have an opinion whenever China does something.

Women of the Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society are increasingly reading books, topless, in new York. This is liberating for them, I imagine, whereas Mily Cyrus going topless in her video is exactly the opposite, apparently.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/may/08/topless-pulp-fiction-appreciation-society-book-club

Lol. What a load of old bollards.

I was ahead of the game on this one.

This is a letter I sent to our building facilities contractor back in 2006:

Reading the BUGS minutes for the Meeting of 8th August 2006, I was shocked to read that that all lamb and chicken served in our staff catering facilities are Halal. Under an exemption from the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations, 1995, the Muslim method of slaughter, Halal, does not have to conform to the requirement of stunning prior to bleeding.

Many would agree with the view that religious laws on animal slaughter were designed to improve hygiene in primitive conditions, and cannot be justified in modern secular society where it is possible to combine humane standards of animal welfare with an acceptable level of hygiene.

The RSPCA has called for an end to the slaughter of any animal without rendering that animal insensible to pain and distress until death supervenes, and the Government's own advisory body, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) has recommended in a report that slaughter without pre-stunning is unacceptable and that the Government should repeal the current exemption. The Government accepted the report's conclusion that, on balance, animals slaughtered without pre-stunning are likely to experience very significant pain and distress, but declined to act because a ban on religious slaughter could encourage imports from countries with lower stansdards of animal welfare and because such a ban would not be consistent with the provision of the Human Rights Act 1998 which implements the European Convention on Human Rights.

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of a complete ban on halal slaughter practices, it is unacceptable that when it comes to providing catering facilities for Government employees that the religious scruples of a minority should be given precedence over the humanitarian principles of society as a whole. Non-moslems should have the opportunity of enjoying lamb and poultry slaughtered using modern humane methods, and where halal dishes are provided for the moslem minority these should be clearly labelled.

In declining the FAWC recommendation, the Government noted that it was clear from the public reaction following the publication of the report that there are strong feelings against slaughter without prior stunning, on the part of consumer and animal welfare groups. It was therefore concerned that consumers should be able to identify meat from animals which have not been stunned before slaughter at the point of sale. As a consumer and a Government employee I am distressed to learn that halal chicken and lamb has been on sale in a Government building, and has not been clearly labelled as such, therefore depriving me of the opportunity of acting in accordance with my conscience.

I therefore strongly agree with the view expressed in the BUGS minutes that the Halal status of lamb and chicken in staff catering facilities should be clearly advertised, albeit for quite different reasons. But then as the National Secular Society has commented in relation to a proposed voluntary scheme for labelling Halal meat, "Neither producers nor merchants are likely to be enthusiastic about setting up voluntary labelling schemes, as labelling food as kosher or halal might deter more consumers than it attracts."

Can I ask if there are any plans to change policy with regard to supplying Halal meat in staff catering facilities, or to introduce a clear system of labelling?

Did you get a reply?

Quote: keewik @ 9th May 2014, 5:32 PM BST

Did you get a reply?

Better. I got a meeting where I was assured that in future no halal meat would be served in the catering facilities. :)

Assured, huh?

Hmm

So, so gullible ...

I was stunned...

Then I woke up and there was a meaty smell...

Quote: lofthouse @ 9th May 2014, 5:49 PM BST

Assured, huh?

Hmm

So, so gullible ...

Just so long as I get to eat my chop with an easy conscience.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27354230

Michelle Obama is 'outraged' over the kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls. My favourite thing about this whole incident are angry people complaining that the international news didn't make a bigger deal about the kidnapping.

They did, I plainly remember seeing the story featured on the BBC News website when it first broke a month ago.

'No' they cry, 'why didn't the news feature the story more prominently, why wasn't it the main headline?!'

So, let me get this straight, 200 teenage girls being kidnapped by Islamic militants is only important if the news tells you it's important? You're angry that the news has been slow in telling you how to feel? That it's the responsibility of the news to whip you into a frenzy? You're blaming them for your own ignorance and apathy, even though they reported the story a month ago?

Yeah, go f**k yourself.

I think the Nigerian PM not bothering to even comment about it for three weeks is much worse

In other news, get downloading those movies quick!!

Deal to combat piracy in UK with 'alerts' is imminent

After years of wrangling, a deal between entertainment industry bodies and UK internet service providers to help combat piracy is imminent.
BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media will send "educational" letters to customers believed to be downloading illegally.
But a document seen by the BBC shows that rights holders are set to make do with considerably weaker measures than originally asked for.
The first letters - known as "alerts" - are expected to be sent out in 2015.
The deal has been struck with the BPI, which represents the British music industry, and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), which covers film.
The bodies had originally suggested the letters should tell repeat infringers about possible punitive measures.
They also wanted access to a database of known illegal downloaders, opening the possibility of further legal action against individuals.

Quote: lofthouse @ 10th May 2014, 2:21 PM BST

I think the Nigerian PM not bothering to even comment about it for three weeks is much worse

I don't see what one has to do with the other. If Goodluck Jonathan had said something a little earlier, then the international news would have made a bigger deal of it and therefore, those easily led hashtaggers would have also put it top of their agendas?

1500 people on both sides of the conflict in Nigeria have been killed in 2014 alone - don't see anyone giving a shit about that.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ 10th May 2014, 2:18 PM BST

'No' they cry, 'why didn't the news feature the story more prominently, why wasn't it the main headline?!'

So, let me get this straight, 200 teenage girls being kidnapped by Islamic militants is only important if the news tells you it's important? You're angry that the news has been slow in telling you how to feel? That it's the responsibility of the news to whip you into a frenzy? You're blaming them for your own ignorance and apathy, even though they reported the story a month ago?

Yeah, go f**k yourself.

Ingenious theory, but no.

It is an important news story. I clocked it was an important story from the moment I got wind of it.I want the news to give me information about this important news story because I cannot go to Nigeria myself and research the facts. (So technically, I am both ignorant and apathetic.) I want to know what is being done to rescue these children.