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Dieudonné M'bala M'bala and the Quenellization of France

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sat, 04 Jan 2014 08:43 UTC
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Dieudonné M'bala M'bala
The government of France has declared all-out war against Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, a French comedian whose comedy sketches are performed at large, sold-out venues and remain popular with French audiences despite the fact that he has long since been banned from appearing on national television. The comedian stands accused of 'anti-semitism', particularly in relation to a gesture he makes in his comedy sketches, 'La Quenelle', which has become widely popular in France.

Many charges have been brought against the comedian in recent years - some were successful and resulted in fines, others were thrown out of court. What's different this time around is that the French state itself is going after Dieudonné. Up until recently, French Jewish organizations have pressed charges 'on behalf of French Jews', on the grounds that Dieudonné's public comments and comedy sketches broke France's strict 'hate crimes' laws forbidding expressions of 'anti-semitism'.

The French state's strategy to date of ignoring Dieudonné and minimizing his access to mass audiences apparently changed between Christmas and the New Year when top government officials, including President François Hollande, publicly declared their intention to shut the comedian out of French public life altogether. The Interior Minister, Manuel Valls, declared he would "thoroughly examine all legal options that would allow a ban on Dieudonné's public gatherings, which no longer belong to the artistic domain, but rather amount to a public safety risk."
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Cheeseburger

Obesity soars to 'alarming' levels in developing countries

Mark Tran
The Guardian
Thu, 02 Jan 2014 19:01 UTC
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© AP
Workers install lights on a giant McDonald's sign in Beijing.
The extent of the world's obesity epidemic has been thrown into stark relief as a report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) puts the number of overweight and obese adults in developing countries at more than 900 million.

Future Diets, an analysis of public data about what the world eats, says there are almost twice as many obese people in poor countries as in rich ones. In 2008, the figures were 904 million in developing countries, where most of the world's people live, compared with 557 million in industrialised nations.

"The growing rates of overweight and obesity in developing countries are alarming," said the report's author, ODI research fellow Steve Wiggins. "On current trends, globally, we will see a huge increase in the number of people suffering certain types of cancer, diabetes, strokes and heart attacks, putting an enormous burden on public healthcare systems."

The report warns that governments are not doing enough to tackle the growing crisis, partly due to politicians' reluctance to interfere at the dinner table, the powerful influence of farming and food lobbies and a large gap in public awareness of what constitutes a healthy diet.

According to the report, overweight and obesity rates since 1980 have almost doubled in China and Mexico, and risen by a third in South Africa, which now has a higher rate than the UK. Regionally, north Africa, the Middle East and Latin America all have overweight and obese rates on a par with Europe.

Comment: The key to weight loss and overall better health is ditching grains, lowering carbs and increasing your fat intake with the Ketogenic Diet. See:

The Ketogenic Diet - An Overview
Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets
Ketogenic Diet (high-fat, low-carb) Has Neuroprotective and Disease-modifying Effects
Is the Ketogenic Diet the cure for multiple diseases?
Diet for cancer cure: Starving cancer ketogenic diet a key to recovery
Solve Your Health Issues with a Ketogenic Diet

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Shopping Bag

What a Concept! French DIY shops may open on Sundays


The Connexion
Thu, 02 Jan 2014 00:00 UTC
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© The Connexion
DIY shops may now open on Sundays in a temporary relaxation of the usual law on Sunday opening, the government has said.

A new decree adds the shops to a list of categories exempt from the usual ban on Sunday trading, but it is only operational until July 2015.

Commerce and Employment Ministers Sylvia Pinel and Michel Sapin stated that "this exemption aims at, temporarily, giving a stable legal framework for the Sunday openings that have been found to be taking place in this sector, while awaiting a general overhaul of exemptions to Sunday closing, which should remain the general rule".
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People

Death penalty's steady decline a sign of societal shift?

Erik Eckholm
The New York Times
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:00 UTC
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The death penalty in the United States continued its pattern of broad decline in 2013, with experts attributing the low numbers to a critical shortage of drugs used for lethal injection, increasing public concern over judicial mistakes and the expense of capital cases, and a growing preference for life without parole.

Eighty death sentences were imposed by American courts this year, compared with a peak of 315 in 1994, and 39 executions took place, compared with 98 in 1999, according to an annual accounting released on Thursday by the Death Penalty Information Center, a private group in Washington.

"A societal shift is underway," said Richard Dieter, the executive director of the information center, which opposes capital punishment.

In May, Maryland became the sixth state in the last six years to abolish the death penalty, leaving 32 states with capital punishment on the books. But for the second straight year, only nine states put prisoners to death.
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Muffin

EU law could ban Danish pastries


The Connexion
Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:00 UTC
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© Vanilla Bakery
Food safety officials could impose a ban on Danish pastries over concerns they contain dangerously high amounts of cinnamon.

A 2008 health law passed in Brussels limits the amount of cinnamon allowed in "everyday baked goods" to 15mg per kg of food.

The measure, following consultation with the European Food Safety Authority, aims to limit intake of coumarin, a naturally-occurring toxic chemical found in the most commonly used cinnamon, cassia.
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Fish

Evolution lessons in Texas biology textbook will stay despite complaints by religious conservatives

Liza Maria Garza
Reuters
Thu, 19 Dec 2013 20:01 UTC
science textbooks

A rally in September in Austin, Tex., before a State Board of Education public hearing on proposed science textbooks.
A panel of experts has rejected concerns by religious conservatives in Texas that a high school biology textbook contained factual errors about evolution and a state board approved the book on Wednesday for use in public schools.

The debate over the Pearson Biology textbook was the latest episode of a lengthy battle by evangelicals in Texas to insert Christian and Biblical teachings into public school textbooks.

Two years ago, conservatives pushed for changes in history textbooks, including one that would have downplayed Thomas Jefferson's role in American history for his support of the separation of church and state. That effort was unsuccessful.

The second-most populous U.S. state, Texas influences textbook selections for schools nationwide.

In the case of the biology book, an unidentified volunteer reviewer complained to the Texas State Board of Education that it presents evolution as scientific fact rather than a theory, which conflicts with the creation story written in the Book of Genesis in the Bible.
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Arrow Down

Tulsa man charged with hate crime after assaulting woman he thought was a Muslim

Scott Kaufman
The Raw Story
Fri, 03 Jan 2014 21:06 UTC
manning

Stuart Manning
A Tulsa, Oklahoma man is in jail after allegedly assaulting a woman he believed to be Muslim.

According to police reports, the woman - who is Lebanese and was wearing a headscarf - pulled into Bill and Ruth's Deli. When she exited her vehicle, Stuart Manning began to berate her for having parked too close to his Jeep.

"Hey, you f***ing b***h Muslim, why did you get so close to my car?" he reportedly said. She claims he followed her to the door of the restaurant yelling, "Muslim b***h!" As she entered the store, she says she observed Manning crouching by her car.
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Candle

Pope Francis condemns fundamentalism, urges setting an example over proselytizing

Eric W. Dolan
The Raw Story
Fri, 03 Jan 2014 10:29 UTC
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Pope Francis recently urged the faithful to understand reality by looking at it "from the periphery" in order to avoid becoming fundamentalists.

Francis meet with 120 superiors general of men's religious orders at the Vatican in November. His comments were published Friday by La Civiltà Cattolica, a Rome-based Jesuit weekly.

"I am convinced of one thing: the great changes in history were realized when reality was seen not from the center but rather from the periphery," the pope said.

To look at something from the periphery, the pope explained, meant analyzing reality through a variety of viewpoints, rather than filtering all experience through a centralized ideology.
"It is not a good strategy to be at the center of a sphere," he said. "To understand we ought to move around, to see reality from various viewpoints. We ought to get used to thinking."
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Arrow Down

American life to go downhill by 2050: Poll


Press TV
Sat, 04 Jan 2014 02:16 UTC
penny trusty

Penny Trusty, a retired software designer, poses for a photo in her home in Rockville, Md., Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013.
A new opinion poll indicates that a majority of Americans believe the United States will be on a downward spiral for decades.

The poll conducted by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research said 54 percent of those surveyed expect American life to go downhill by 2050. Fifty-four percent of respondents said life in the United States is worse today than four decades ago when asked to rate the change in American life from 1972 until 2012.

According to the survey, 23 percent think life will improve and 21 percent predict life will remain the same. Middle-aged, older, and those who earn mid-level incomes are pessimistic about the future.

"I really worry about my grandchildren, I do," said 74-year-old Penny Trusty of Rockville, Md., a retired software designer and grandmother of five. "I worry about the lowering of morals and the corruption and the confusion that's just raining down on them."

Comment: Take a good look around. America is already sliding swiftly down that slippery slope.

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Stormtrooper

Musician says customs agents at JFK airport destroyed every one of his 11 handmade instruments

Sharona Schwartz
The Blaze
Wed, 01 Jan 2014 20:08 UTC
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© KRON
Flutist Boujemaa Razgui
A professional flutist says that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents smashed every one of his 11 instruments upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport last week, saying they were made of agricultural material that is not allowed into the U.S.

The music blog Slipped Disc reported that Boujemaa Razgui - whom it described as a "flute virtuoso" - had built all of the instruments by hand.

Razgui, a Canadian citizen and native of Morocco who holds a U.S. Green Card, was returning home to New York from Morocco over the Christmas holiday when Customs agents opened his luggage for inspection.

"I told them I had these instruments for many years and flew with them in and out," he told Slipped Disc on Tuesday. "There were 11 instruments in all. They told me they were agricultural products and they had to be destroyed. There was nothing I could do. The ney flute can be made with bamboo. Is that agricultural?"

"Bouzemaa was both upset and unwilling to risk a confrontation with the US authorities," Slipped Disc reported, adding that the blog had sent the flutist's contact information to major media outlets hoping for wider coverage of the story.
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