ketchup bloody ketchup

While eating lunch last Sunday, I overheard someone at our table say quite matter-of-factly that Heinz ketchup was made with animal blood because it helps to keep the ketchup red. For a split second, I actually thought it might be true, but thankfully my bullshit detector went off and I immediately grabbed the bottle to inspect it. Sure enough, right on the label was the symbol of the Orthodox Union (it's the U inside the circle) certifying that the product was kosher.

For those who aren't familiar with Jewish dietary law, eating blood is strictly forbidden as per Gen. 9:4, Lev 3:17, Lev 17:11 and Deut 12:16. In other words, nothing can be labelled "kosher" with animal blood as an ingredient.

Just be to sure (read "sick sense of curiosity"), I googled "Heinz" and "animal blood" after I got home to see what I could find. Apparently, it's a popular urban legend. I'm not sure why, though. I mean, where do people even get these ideas? Why the fuck would anybody put animal blood in ketchup in the first place? "That's how it gets it's red colouring," they say. "It keeps it from turning black." Um, its red colour couldn't be from all the ripe, pickled tomatoes could it? Not to mention the fact that, as my friend Brian pointed out, BLOOD TURNS BLACK WHEN IT OXIDIZES!

So the moral of this story is: if you hear someone say that Heinz ketchup is made with animal blood, smack them in the back of the head for saying something so stupid. Or at the very least, take the time to calmly explain to them about kosher foods and Jewish dietary law. Who knows, maybe they'll actually learn something worth repeating in public while everyone's trying to eat their chicken strips and french fries.

$100 million campaign promotes capitalism

From the Washington Times:

$100 million campaign promotes capitalism

That's the spirit, Chamber of Commerce! When the going gets tough, advertise!

"We know we've helped to cause a world-wide economic crisis and massive unemployment, not to mention help kill your 401(k) plans and pension funds, but we've still got a lot going for us."

Personally, I think we need to move far, far away from unregulated laissez-faire capitalism. As one person so aptly put it:

Libertarianism is a strange religion. The belief that if everyone just did what was in their own best interest, the world would be all happy and care-free. It never works out in reality. It's like cells of the body. If they work only in their own best interest, they grow and multiply until they damage or kill the host. We call that cancer.

happy indigenous peoples' day

I prefer to call today Indigenous Peoples' Day. Why? Because Columbus doesn't deserve a national fucking holiday.

I don't dislike Columbus Day simply because he "discovered" land that was already inhabited (Hispaniola), I dislike it for the fact that he helped to literally wipe that land of its original inhabitants, the peaceful Arawaks, through his unbelievable cruelty and that of those who followed him to the New World.

What happened to these poor people was nothing short of genocide. Stealing land and killing and/or enslaving its native inhabitants isn't OK. There's simply no justification for it.

And for all those who are unfamiliar with the real history behind Columbus Day, I suggest checking out:

You Are Still Being Lied To: Howard Zinn’s "Columbus and Western Civilization"

obama wins 2009 nobel peace prize

I woke up to this new today from the BBC:

Obama wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

Gandhi, the man whose name in synonymous with nonviolence, never got one, but they gave one to Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples"?

I mean, I like Obama and all, but the Peace Prize? Seriously, Oslo? With only 8 months in office and after sending an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan, and possibly more in the near future?

The best comment I've seen so far is: "I hope Obama will be able to take time out from planning the escalation of troops into Afghanistan to accept the Peace Prize" (Xoxarle).

But to be honest, I think it's more of a slap in the face to Bush than anything else. (That's the going theory on FRDB at any rate.)

Or maybe it's satire (or "an embarrassing surreal tragic joke on a universal scale" as one member of the SPUSA put it), referring to the Party's official slogan in George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984: War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength.

I don't know. It's too early for me think this much.

helen keller statue unveiled at capitol

From CNN:

Helen Keller statue unveiled at Capitol

A fine tribute to Helen Keller, one of America's most inspiring radicals—a champion for peace, women's suffrage and worker's rights.

Incidentally, the NewsHour also did a half-assed report on this story. The best part was listening to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) dedicate the statue, saying, "By dedicating this statue in this place of giants, we show that those whom the world calls imperfect are not only worth our attention, they’re worth our highest honors."

It makes me wonder how much the good senator from Kentucky really knows about her life, because I can't imagine he'd knowingly praise an honest-to-goodness socialist.