more on kim babjak's success: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DTI/is_8_33/ai_n15681426/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1

Since the weekend proved a bit of a wash and my own go-out-'n-get-'em sightseeing thrust wained considerably, I booked another day tour to motivate me. Culling through the options, I settled on a tour to Northern Israel so that I could 1) see the North, the more fertile area of the Holy Land, and 2) get my history on once again. Recalling how moved I was by the historical and religious importance of Jerusalem's sites, I wanted to see some more of these Biblical lands that existed in my childhood mind as mythical locales.

Forcing myself out of bed for the 7AM call time, I dozed the entire 1.5 hour ride to Nazareth, missing many of the guides more salient points. We pulled into Nazareth, a small, vibrant city with a sizable Arab population, and walked up a busy street to the Church of the Annunciation. This theme would be repeated: Major New Testament sites of old dropped in the middle of meccas of modernity. Progress doesn't slow even for religion, encouraging my imagination to shift into overdrive in order to imagine the original settings of these momentous miracles.

The Church of the Annunciation as it currently stands was built during the 1960s, emitting a distinctly modern flair that I would see at other churches in this area. The Annunciation refers to when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she was about to be God's baby mama. The most striking feature of the church is the spectacular mosaics imported from Catholic congregations worldwide. Smaller mosaics line the outdoor courtyard, while in the second floor of the church, mosaic from the big kahunas stretch towards the towering ceiling. The American mosaic depicts a very contemporary take on Mary, her presence bursting forward from the wall in great relief. Perhaps the most beautiful and intricate, the Japanese mosaic includes real pearls dotting Mary's kimono robes.

Next door rests the Church of St. Joseph. Joseph, a carpenter, was Jesus' adoptive father. The church lies on the location of Joseph's home. Still visible in the excavation work is his mikvah, the ritual bathing pool important in Jewish tradition.

Wrapping up the short stop in Nazareth, we wound through Cana -- site of Jesus' first miracle of turning water into wine -- and stopped at Tabgha, the Church of the Multiplication of the Bread and the Loaves. Considered Jesus' most important miracle, the site memorializes when Jesus took a basket of bread and one of fish and multiplied them thousands fold to feed the more than 5000 followers gathered to hear him preach. The plain church, maintained by the Benedictine monks, built its altar over the rock from which Jesus supposedly performed the feat. While I still can't really commit to believing any of the story, the scenery sincerely touched me. Located in a hilly expanse of yellow grass, I could finally behold what the land may have looked like all those years ago.

Immediately following, we entered Capernaum, an archaeological site deemed "The Village of Jesus," as this is where he lived out most of his short adult life with his BFF Simon Peter, thrice betrayer of his bud and the first Pope. Peter was a fisherman, and Capernaum provides easy access to the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and his bros used to take the boats out fishing, and rather than having a few Buds and dropping a line or two during a long, hot day, Jesus preferred trying out his preaching stylings on the captive audience the boats provided. In fact, the apostles were mostly fisherman.

The sweltering heat restricted our visit to Capernaum to a relatively quick tour through the ruins of the temple, the new church (shaped like a boat, of course) and the tumbled town square. The next few hours proceeded uneventfully, as we drove by the Mt. of the Beatitudes, stopped at a pricey lunch spot -- though the time to wander down to the Sea of Galilee was priceless -- and visited a diamond factory in Tiberias where we were given a sell harder than the stones themselves.

Final stop: The Jordan River, site of Jesus' baptism by the appropriately named John the Baptist. But like all things in this war-torn land, the site was more *actually* the site where Jesus was baptized. Since the real site lay downstream in what used to be disputed land, the Christian world agreed to move the site to a more friendly area. It's still the same river, just a different spot.

This minor flaw doesn't seem to matter to the hundreds -- sometimes thousands -- of Christians who come here each year to renew or first make their baptismal vows. When our group approached, a number of Christians draped in white robes were wading in the river, eagerly awaiting their turn to be dunked in the holiest of waters. I opted for some simple finger splashing as a photo opp.

On the way home, I gazed out across the Sea of Galilee -- actually a lake -- into the Golan Heights, and made plans to come back to do some more exploring of my own on a later trip.

Shirley wasn't feeling too well that night, so I went for a long walk by myself on the boardwalk and attempted to digest all the sites and sounds I ingested over the past 5 weeks, a task that rendered me simultaneously dizzily giddy and exhausted. Pushing this intense contemplation off until my 11-hour flight tomorrow, I grabbed some McDonald's for my last overseas meal. I know, I know ... McD's? I never even ate that in the US. But the meal provided a nice segue from the otherness of international adventures to the familiarity of the homegrown, becoming the perfect ending to this journey. Not to mention those chicken strips tasted damn good!

[08.06.30] Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Jordan River and Tel Aviv

A questão é que no anonimato do meu carro eu só era vista do ombro para cima, meia culpa por estar na fila do pecado, mas as pessoas que desfilavam entre seus carros e a entrada do Mc estavam com todos os holofotes nelas. E se uma pessoa como a modelo Karolina Kurkova pôde ser acusada de estar obesa o que diriam os fashionistas de plantão sobre o desfiles de gostosuras  entrando para comer?

Comer é uma necessidade básica, mas quem é gordo sofre preconceito por suprir essa necessidade. Será que um magro tem mais direito de comer Mc do que um gordo? Nossa crtítica baseada em noções de beleza pré-estabelecidas por outrem acha que sim. Uma pessoa acima do peso deveria sentir vegonha de ser vista entrando em restaurantes de fast-food, deveria apenas frequentar academias de bairro para não manchar o visual fitness das grandes como a Runner e só ser vista comendo mato.Esse é o pensamento geral.

O fato é que eu como um lanche do Mc a cada dois, três meses e estou acima do peso... Então a culpa não é do McDonalds ou das coisas que como ou das que eu não como, tudo faz parte de um problema muito maior no meu caso e quem pode dizer que não é o mesmo para tantas outras pessoas?

Pensar que uma pessoa está fora de forma simplesmente porque come demais é ignorância. Gera uma sociedade farta em alimentos com pessoas desnutridas e com distúrbios alimentares.

Talvez a modelo Karolina não estivesse realmente dentro dos padrões definidos para se desfilar, mas chamá-la de obesa é demais... Queria eu ser obesa como ela!

My healthy version is tastier than the real thing, has more fiber and fewer grams of fat. I promise, you won’t miss a thing and you will feel fuller for longer!

 Here's what you'll need:

• 1 slice Canadian bacon
• 1 egg
• 1 slice Kraft Free American cheese
• 1 Thomas’ light multigrain English muffin

1. In a nonstick skillet, cook Canadian bacon until lightly browned on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Spray pan with nonstick spray. Add egg and scramble.
3. While egg is cooking, place the cheese on one half of the English muffin and put both sides into a toaster oven to toast.
4. Remove English muffin from toaster oven, place Canadian bacon and scrambled egg on muffin, and top with the slice of cheese. Enjoy!

Serves 1

Nutritional Content
Per Serving:  248 Calories, 28 g carbohydrates, 8 g Fiber,  21 g protein,  7 g total fat,  2 g sat. fat, 861mg sodium

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.

... I am centered.

... I am convinced Sonic no longer uses meat.

... after six weeks of this promotion, I'm beginning to think you really don't care about your career.

The American Family Association (AFA) is calling for a boycott of Mcdonalds for promoting as they say "the homosexual agenda".  I guess The King from Burger King is promoting the heterosexual agenda by showing up with a crossainwich in a man's bed?  Are you kidding me?

AFA founder and chairman Rev. Don Wildmon, McDonald's is "promoting a lifestyle that would utterly destroy the traditional family." 

O.K. can I ask you all something?  What is the traditional family nowawdays?  For real.  Does the traditional family still have picket fences?  Does a traditional family go to Mcdonalds because gas is so high they can only afford stuff from the $1 menu?  Just because Grimmace always seems happy doesn't mean that the Hamburglar has turned into the turdburgler and giving it to Grimmace every time Mayor McCheese isn't looking.

I could understand people boycotting McDonalds because it is bad for you (although their french fries are the boooomb and why does the soda there taste better than anywhere else while we are at it.) or boycotting Mcdonalds to put some meat in their dang burgers.  If you had a 2 cheeseburger combo from them recently, you know that ain't angus baby, but anus. 

Here is more info on this story: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/03/mcdonalds-boycott/

I guess the golden arches should be getting a rainbow around it.  Maybe Mcdonalds should get someone hot and straight and is fake like their burgers cleaning my car and getting it all soapy..oh wait..Paris Hilton did that a few years ago. -Dr.FB

The room itself was facing the west, with a cheerful open foyer instead of the dingy musty room they used the last six months. As songs of Mariah Carey and Bob Dylan swept the room, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made his entry.

Forever a sober person, he surprised everyone when he  breezed in, in denim knickers running down below the knees with matching Lotto footwear. His Benetton T- Shirt was a designer wear showing ‘I Did it!’ across his chest.

Gone was the namaste, being replaced by a cheerful ‘Hi’ and a firm Dale Carnegie handshake as he walked around the table.

"What's our Agenda folks?" asked the Prime Minister as he sipped his chilled orange juice.

"We are here to explore other areas of cooperation after the Indo- US deal," said Priyaranjan Das Munshi with black coffee in hand. Gone were the kadak chai and Bengali sweets like chum-chum and misti-doi from Das Munshi’s morning menu.

"Okay. Let's move it," said the PM kickstarting the meeting.

"The Indo-American Association wants to celebrate the nuclear deal. They have made posters  with  ‘Indi-USsi bro bro’---ten million of them to be distributed all over India and pasted on trains, buses, office buildings and also on the offices of the Left in Delhi, Calcutta and Trivandrum," said Das Munshi. "T-shirts for students will come in later."

"That's great! Isn't it?" said the PM while breaking a piece of chocolate doughnut and dipping it in black coffee and taking a bite. People habituated to seeing him dip aloo paratha into dahi were surprised to see this change.

"What else?"

"The Americans want to setup McDonald's and Burger King in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha canteens. Starbucks will also be part of this setup. It seems this was in ‘123’ Agreement Para IV sub text in small prints. They have sent their experts to design the location of the kitchens. After finishing in Delhi they will setup similar kitchens in Assembly and Legislative Councils in States."

"Was it a part of the deal?" the PM asked and answered it himself. "It must have been. I didn't read it with a honeycomb. Let them go ahead and do their thing."

"The American Baseball league wants us to organize a  World series Championship on the lines of IPL  20-20. Lalit Modi and Shah Rukh Khan are already in Boston talking with Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. If you clear this I will go next week and work out a calendar to squeeze this item in our schedule." That was Sharad Pawar with a bagel in hand.

"Super Duper stuff! Good to get Baseball in here than beating the same old cricket stuff all the time."

"We have no objection to it, Mr Prime Minister," interrupted SP’s Amar Singh and continued, "But we would like Abhishek Bachchan to go with Lalit Modi. Since Abhishek studied in Boston, he knows the city and the game inside out. Also, he is not a Paanchvi Class-fail and will do a better job."

"That won’t be a problem at all. Let’s switch the names’ said P.M. who was now eating Kellog’s power cereal.

"The US Department of Agriculture wants our farmers to use only GM Seeds. It seems this part was added by them just as our team was entering IAEA meeting hall. It is in annexure XXX which can’t be magnified. Even our CBI failed to enlarge this for us."

"Let’s not go into the nitty-gritty as our friends from the Left were doing. They never read the Report but were only interested in annexures and comments on the margin."

'Anything else," asked the PM while eating Apple Pie with black coffee.

"We have a couple of points to make," said Mulayam for the first time.

"Shoot," said the PM.

"I want actions initiated on what we have already agreed when we saved the Government from the ‘No Confidence’ motion. First. We want all cases against Amitabh Bachchan withdrawn and all the land purchases he made, restored to him.  Case against Jaya Bachchan allegedly giving wrong information before filing Rajya sabha election should be withdrawn. Next, we want you to talk to President Bush and arrange a lifetime award for Amitabhji in the next Oscar Award presentation. Our next list will be ready before the winter session of Parliament."

"Done! Yes to all demands. Get George on the line. He will be in Camp David now," said the Prime Minister as he dunked the last coffee gulp of breakfast

Taken from Edge, Philadelphia, PA.

McDonald’s Stands Up to Anti-Gay Group
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Contributor
Thursday Jul 3, 2008

Homophobes ain’t lovin’ it

The anti-gay American Family Association, which condemns gay and lesbian family causes like marriage equality, has called for a boycott of fast-food chain restaurant McDonald’s.

McDonald’s, however, has given the AMA notice that it’s not about to allow its policies to be dictated by anti-gay groups.

In a May 29 letter to AFA founder and chairman Donald Wildmon, Pat Harris, Global Chief Diversity Officer for McDonald’s, wrote, "Our founder Ray Kroc once said, ’None of us is as good as all of us.’"

Added Harris, "This is a core value of McDonalds."

Harris’ letter continued, "We treat our employees and our customers with respect and dignity, regardless of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other factors. We support out employees’ personal involvement in organizations of their choice."

Added Harris in the letter to Wildmon, "McDonald’s is a trusted and well-respected neighbor, employer and corporate citizen in communities across the U.S. We will continue to support our people and their right to lie and work in an inclusive society."

In response, the AFA has created a new Web site where the letter from Harris to Wildmon can be viewed. (The previous letter, from Wildmon to McDonald’s, is evidently not available for viewing at the site.)

The Web site refers to a "gay agenda" and calls for viewers to print up petitions and contact McDonald’s themselves.

Seethes the Boycott McDonald’s Web site, "[The boycott] is about McDonald’s, as a corporation, refusing to remain neutral in the culture wars."

Continued the online text, "McDonald’s has chosen not to remain neutral but to give the full weight of their corporation to promoting the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage."

The Web site also exhorts viewers to "Show your support!" and sign an online petition. (No explanation is offered as to what, exactly, the signer of the petition is supposed to be supporting.)

The boycott seems to stem, in part, from McDonald’s having aired a television commercial in 2007 in the San Francisco market during Pride. The commercial, as quoted by the Boycott McDonald’s Web site, said that McDonald’s is "a company that actively demonstrates its commitment to the gay and lesbian community."

But more directly, the AFA’s call for a boycott follows the company’s acceptance of one of its officers, Vice President of Communications Richard Ellis, having joined the board of directors of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).

Notes online GLBT media source Good As You in a July 3 posting, "Like Disney and Ford before them, Mickey D’s has become the latest American corporation to suffer at the baselessly extremist, rabidly anti-gay hands of Don Wildmon Inc."

Adds Good As You, "If ever there were a reason to eat carbs, gays, this just might be it!"

Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.

Eu não sei quem editou, mas o japa fez o vídeo em cima de alguma propaganda do Mc Donalds japonês. Ficou um vídeo bacana. Não dá para explicar muito, eu dei muita risada!
Veja abaixo a performance do palhaço Ronald Mc Donalds e boas gargalhadas!

When George W. Bush visited Indonesia last year, thousands of us marched down the streets, with banners saying things like "Bush's feet are stained with blood. Don't let him on our innocent land and force our government to kick the President of USA out of our country."

These people, we suspect, were the same people who had protested many times before -- and who would protest again in the future -- against US international policies and any bad news from Palestine (or 'good news' from Israel) regarding the conflict between the two countries. These people, claimed themselves anti-Americans. They burn the so-called star spangled banner, threw rocks and rotten eggs at the American embassy building ...while wearing Levi Jeans and keeping a Motorola in their pockets! These kinds of people are usually not so anti-American and harmless on normal days. They love McDonald's fried chicken. Only a few of them were true anti-Americans. And I can say is that an anti-American here is also a fundamentalist Muslim.

Anti-Americanism in Indonesia is almost always about Islam and non-Islam. That's why whenever their brothers in the Middle East suffer from Israel and/or USA actions, they get angry, and they gather people to walk the length of all roads to express their resentment. It's a good thing for them that most of Indonesian people would come with these Muslims (or any Muslim at all), for free lunch.

We Indonesians, actually, are not quite familiar with anti-Americanism. We're never even anti to anything at all! We're too lazy to think, to busy with our basic daily needs like getting something to eat, some place to stay, and some clothes to wear. We don't have time for anti-Americanism. So if we joined the parade and burned American flags, we did it for free lunch.

In fact, in normal life, we respect Americans. I know many of us would rather live in the US than in Indonesia, if given the choice. What we commonly have in mind about Americans is that Americans are rich and generous, and that they're nice and fun people to get along with. Thanks to Hollywood.

Moreover, there are many people who kept their head up high simply because they had an American friend. They talked about their American friend all the time, and tried to think and live like Americans do.

Me, I'm with most Indonesian people -- not an anti-American at all. Only I'm luckier than my neighbors here. I don't have to burn flags for lunch.

Okay, happy 4th of July! I'll see you again next time.

When I saw the billboards around town introducing the new Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, I was curious.  Were they really trying to compete with my beloved Chick-fil-A?  For those of you unaware of this chicken fast food mecca, Chick-fil-A, a primarily Southern chain with a few outposts (including Palos Verdes I'm told) is the best fried chicken sandwich known to man.  The perfectly tender, juicy and crisp chicken fillet is protected by a fresh, soft bun, buttered on top, with two pickles, and a dollop of mayo.  Get the waffle fries and lemonade and you have a masterwork of fast food eatin'. 

Every time I visit my sister in Alabama, we have to go to Chick-fil-A. As it is a Christian owned entity and therefore has an owner who believes in giving his workers Sundays off, any visits over a weekend typically include picking me up at the airport and driving directly to the nearest location.  I love flying Delta in that Atlanta has a Chick-fil-a in it's terminal, DFW does not.

But I digress. When I saw the billboards for not only the sandwich but the chicken biscuit, I could not get to McDonald's fast enough to determine if this was the real thing.  So, in my neverending quest to eat food I love, I compare the two using my own research method.  Item for item comparison.

Buns-  McDonald's is a little stale and the "butter" product is a bit greasy making holding the bun greasy as well, but not bad.  Chick-fil-a wins.

Pickles- McDonald's are a little wimpier and more thinly cut.  I'm guessing they are tied.

Chicken breast- McDonald's is a little greasier but both have good flavor.  Chick-fil-a is probably a bit bigger.

Mayonnaise- At least in LA, they don't have packets of mayo or lite mayo to add on your own so Chick-fil-a wins this. 

Overall, I can handle the McDonald's version in a pinch, and I have stopped more than one time over the last month with a need for the sandwich (sometimes the Cinnamelt wins out) but Chick-fil-a still has my devotion.

For other opinions on this matter visit LAist at http://laist.com/2008/05/06/mcdonalds_new_s.php.

Like most Americans, Chris Coleson, a 42 year-old businessman from Virgina, wanted to lose weight. He eventually did so, losing eighty pounds since December of 2007, and shrinking his waist size from a sizable 50 to a respectable 36.

Of course, that's not exactly news. Plenty of people lose weight. The key to his story is this: The formerly-278 pound Coleson lost all of his weight eating - wait for it - McDonald's!

Or that's what the headlines would like you to think. See, the truth is, Coleson didn't become rail thin eating Big Macs and fries. Instead, he ate salads. And wraps. And caramel-free Apple Dippers.

Hear that? That's the sound of thousands of Americans screaming out in indignant agony. No, people - you cannot lose eighty pounds eating McDonald's.That would be too easy.

But you can lose eighty pounds eating salads and wraps (and apple dippers). It's less fun, sure, and isn't really "McDonald's," per se, but it beats Subway, right?

I have quit my current job that is by far the most disappointing assignment in my entire career. I will be moving back to the firm I shouldn't have left in the first place. Like always there are a few lessons to be learnt from the traumatic 15 months I spent at my current job.

• It is very important to understand what you really want out of your job. That helps you decide whether you should start looking out (from your current job) or whether you should accept that seemingly fabulous offer you received yesterday. What do people want in a job? It could be money and more money, or it could be money+recognition, or it could be money+great work place, or it could be an opportunity to gain exposure to a technology or function that could be very rewarding in future, or it could be just getting an opportunity to work on something you are passionate about. In my case I accepted my current job because I saw it as a great opportunity to gain exposure to many other areas of the industry I belong to.  What I did not bargain for was losing a great work place, a professionally challenging environment, and my favourite role viz. Business Development. Luckily my old firm welcomed me back wholeheartedly, but not many people could be as fortunate. Therefore, my advice to all those hi-fliers is to ensure that you don't lose the goodies you already have when you set off in pursuit of a new thing.
• Self confidence. When you have it you can take on the world, you can take any no. of difficulties in your stride, but remember you can lose it too. Yes, very few people, if at all, can retain their self confidence in the face of successive failures. And when you lose self confidence you will slowly lose or start doubting in your abiliites that have once made you very successful.  Therefore never doubt your abilities, I would rather you overestimate your abilities than underestimate them. The world loves confident, successful people, but please spare a thought for those among your near and dear whose confidence is on a low. You don't have to provide any matrial help to them, just remind them about the good qualities they have and the successes they had in the past, and thereby inject a dose of confidence. It will work wonders for them.

The second good news is that I have quit smoking. I began smoking when I was in engineering college, and have since tried a few times to quit. But, it never lasted beyond a week. This time it just happened without any advance planning. There are many days when I stayed off cigarette when I spent the whole day at home. I am not a heavy smoker, but I smoke at least 1-2 cigarettes a day when I am having a regular day (i.e. office, meeting friends, going out, etc.), the quantity goes up when I booze. So, on June 4 when I realized that I have not smoked at all the previous day in spite of it being a regular day, I just thought let me give it serious try this time. What I did differently this time was browsing internet and reading up the ills of smoking all over again (most of us any way know these facts), and more importantly the tips on how to encounter the urge during the initial few weeks. This really helped. The toughest urge would be the sense of loss (as if you have lost a long standing friend) just when you have successfully resisted the nicotine withdrawal symptoms in first 2 weeks. That sense of loss will be so acute that you will feel it is really not worth it if you have to forego all those sweet memories associated with your dear friend (who else, the cigarette). The second toughest urge would come when you booze and let your guard down. The final and everlasting danger would be the complacency you develop when you stayed off the cigarette for more than 6 months. You will feel that quitting was actually easier than you imagined and that you can do it any time you want. But if you know that very few people successfully quit smoking second time around, you will not let the complacency creep in.

Another good thing that happened to me in June was my wife getting a job as mentor/teacher in the school my little son is studying 1st grade. That makes life easy for both of them. Now that all three of us spending the entire day in our respective office/school, we are even more keen to spend quality time together in the evenings and during the weekends.

2 more additions to the reasons why I love Sainikpuri /A.S.Rao Nagar locality so much:

1. HUDA has thrown open a new park in Sainikpuri, in the lane next to Poulomi hospitals. The park has a tot lot, walking track, and a lot of greenery.
2. The 6th and latest branch of McDonalds in Hyderabad was inaugurated in A.S. Rao Nagar. This is also McD’s first drive-thru restaurant in India (?). It also has a large seating area in the first floor. I am loving it.

By Frank Ahrens

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 4, 2008; Page D01

A group that opposes same-sex marriage has called for a boycott of McDonald's, saying the fast-food giant has refused "to stay neutral in the cultural war over homosexuality."

The American Family Association (AFA) launched the boycott yesterday because McDonald's joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce several months ago and placed an executive on the group's board of directors, in addition to donating to the chamber.

The association asked McDonald's to remove itself from the chamber but the burger-maker declined, leading to the boycott. "We're saying that there are people who support AFA who don't appreciate their dollars from the hamburgers they bought being put into an organization that's going to fight against the values they believe in," Tim Wildmon, the association's president, said yesterday.

"Hatred has no place in our culture," McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said. "That includes McDonald's, and we stand by and support our people to live and work in a society free of discrimination and harassment."

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/03/AR2008070303769.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Their compatriots in the US are also at it. The American Family Association has called for a boycott of McDonald's by its members for being proactive in its support of diversity, specifically homosexuality:

McDonald's Vice President of Communications Richard Ellis recently joined the board of directors of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).

The anti-gay AFA claims that the multi-national restaurant chain is "refusing to remain neutral in the culture wars."

Are you remotely clear about what that means? Me neither. Their website says it's not about the hiring or treatment of gay staff, nor is it about gay customers. It appears to be about the diversity agenda itself, which will involve employers like McDonald's joining organisations like the NGLCC, which will involve acknowledging civil partnerships and same-sex marriages (in areas they aren't obliged to by law) and will see them promoting themselves at gay events like San Francisco Pride. This should be no surprise - they're likely to take the same tack with age, gender, disability, race and of course religion.

And this is where their boycott shows itself for what it is. Corporations are never neutral, and the diversity agenda is not about one minority group's untapped resources being brought on board at the expense of another's. McDonald's Chief Diversity Officer Pat Harris says:

"We treat our employees and our customers with respect and dignity, regardless of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other factors.

"We support out employees' personal involvement in organisations of their choice.

"We will continue to support our people and their right to live and work in an inclusive society."

with the AFA responding, saying:

"We are not telling McDonald's who they can hire to work for the company, nor are we demanding that they stop serving Big Macs to homosexual customers.

"This issue is about the world's largest fast food chain allying itself and partnering with an organization that lobbies Congress to enact laws that we feel can be used to repress religious freedom or undermine the sanctity of marriage," AFA said

McDonald's retaliated saying:

"while one McDonald's employee is affiliated with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), McDonald's is in no way 'aggressively promoting the homosexual agenda' as suggested in the [AFA] newsletter."

which drew this from the AFA:

"To refer to Richard Ellis, who is the vice president of communications for McDonald's, as 'one McDonald’s employee,' as if he is a teenager flipping hamburgers, is disingenuous at best. While 'aggressively' is admittedly a subjective term, AFA believes that giving money to and partnering with a homosexual lobby organization is certainly an enthusiastic promotion of the homosexual agenda."

Of course the notion of a 'homosexual agenda' is itself a homophobic one. To suggest that striving for equal rights under the law, in a society driven by the rule of law, not the superstition of scripture, is somehow a subversive agenda is completely ludicrous. What these bigots laughingly call an 'agenda', is the NGLCC's lobbying programme. It makes no mention of gay marriage, but does follow Stonewall's UK lead in seeking changes of the law in areas where rights are not equal, particularly where equality would improve the lives of LGBT workers, which in turn would improve business performance. We also return to the competition I've referred to in a previous post, of human rights colliding, and indeed the bottom line is the same. By insinuating that lobbying for gay rights equates to attempting to 'restrict religious freedom', the AFA is running a bogus argument and a poor smokescreen for homophobia. The point of equal rights is that they are based on the (obvious) presumption that we are all equal; campaigning for one right is not the presumption of rescinding another. There's plenty of room, unless of course their 'religious freedom' were to involve the 'right' to bigoted behaviour based on thin air. Wouldn't that be a surprise?

The NGLCC:

Is dedicated to working with members of Congress in a bipartisan manner to pass common sense legislation in the areas of LGBT equal rights and business parity for LGBT business owners. The NGLCC believes there is a need for fundamental changes in access to heath care, taxation, and general principles that will allow for more prosperous business.

The NGLCC regularly communicates with members of Congress through lobby visits, letters and congressional testimony to ensure the needs of the LGBT business community are being heard.

The AFA in contrast:

believe(s) in holding accountable the companies which sponsor programs attacking traditional family values. (They) also believe in commending those companies which act responsibly regarding programs they support.

AFA supporters receive a monthly letter about a specific issue with a recommended action such as sending a postcard or making a phone call. In addition, supporters receive the AFA Journal with news on various moral and family issues.

The same Holy Bible that calls us to reject sin, calls us to love our neighbor. It is that love that motivates us to expose the misrepresentation of the radical homosexual agenda and stop its spread though our culture. AFA has sponsored several events reaching out to homosexuals and letting them know there is love and healing at the Cross of Christ.

Any of you Christians still bowing before the false idol of capitalism? Hey, I am not against capitalism, I am just talking about the politically conservative Christians who claim that God handed capitalism (along with democracy) on Sinai and Jesus Christ endorsed private property rights in the Sermon on the Mount. I keep telling the religious right Christians ... big business only cares about money and gaining power that they can use to make more money. They don't care about your values, and just like the rest of the world THEY HATE YOUR JESUS CHRIST. Open your eyes and stop pretending otherwise. Big business is part of the anti - Christ agenda just like everybody else. I still remember the 1980s when the dispensational pre - tribulation rapture cult had so many of us convinced that the anti - Christ was going to be a Soviet communist ...

     Yes, that's a whisper.  Hannah is running a high temperature today, so I don't think I'm completely out of the woods yet.  I'm afraid to proclaim my triumphant return too loudly, lest I anger the twin gods of vomiting and diarrhea.  They are angry.  And vengeful.  And full of wrath.  (And Hannah's not quite old enough to make it to the bathroom each time she feels sick, which means more washing of sheets, towels, clothes, carpet, walls, rugs and stuffed animals.)

     I am so, so tired.    

     This past week has been a blur.  One great big laundry-room visiting, scrubbing, washing, folding, hosing, vomiting nightmare.  That repeated itself EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  I won't bore you with the monotony of it, but I will share with you a few highlights:

***** 

       *Kendra and Alex both spent one night throwing up.  After that one horrible night, they were back to normal.  Hannah skated through the week unscathed, only it seems to have caught up to her now, too.  Kenny and I never did throw up, but I was nauseated for days (think morning sickness, only without the baby), and there were times when it was like I suffered from stealthy bouts of Narcolepsy...  one minute I was carrying laundry up the stairs to be folded, and in the next minute, I was sound asleep on the couch with the laundry pile thrown over me for warmth. 

     Poor Anthony, though, was sick all week.  He threw up ALL WEEK LONG.  It got to the point where the kids didn't even freak out anymore.  One would just calmly grab the bowl and stick it under his head, while the other would go for fresh towels.  (Linen closet?  Nope, all out.  Mom's bathroom?  None there, either.  Laundry room?  The only towels down there are the ones Anthony threw up on earlier, and they smell.  Definitely not those.  Oh look, there are towels on the couch.  I'll just grab one of those and OH MY HECK, MOM, YOU SCARED ME!)   

     By mid-week, we were playing "Guess What Anthony Ate to Make It THAT Color".

     Yeah, I can make a game out of pretty much anything.

***** 

     *On Thursday night, everyone seemed to be a little better.  The day was chaotic (which had less to do with the virus, and more to do with the refinance), and when Anthony woke up from his nap, he seemed active and happy and back to normal.  I buckled the kids into the van and took them to McDonald's for dinner.  (I know, not my best parenting moment.  However, in my defense, I was so tired of toast and applesauce, cold cereal and scrambled eggs-- both in preparation and in regurgitation-- that I NEEDED it.  I deserved a break.)

     We got to the restaurant, I made my order, and then sitting in the drive-thru line, waiting to pay, I heard it...  the retching.  The kids started screaming, "MOM!  ANTHONY'S PUKING!!!  MOM!  STOP!  PULL OVER!  MOOOOOOM"  I got to the window, gave the cashier my debit card, tried to calm everyone down, and asked Anthony if he was okay ("Y*gag*eah").  Kendra said she had a towel next to her seat, so I asked her to cover his lap with it, and instructed him to aim for the towel.  While I was waiting for my food, I looked over my shoulder to see how he was, and was met with three pairs of eyes.  No noses, no mouths- just eyes peeking out from their shirt collars.  (As if a thin layer of cotton pulled up bandit-style over the nose could block out that smell...  silly kids.)  The eyes were dry-heaving, and if the whole situation hadn't been so terrible, I would have burst into a fit of giggles over that sight.

     Home was less than five minutes away, so I made the choice to drive straight home and get the three oldest settled with their food before I tackled the clean-up.  It was so bad, I had to unbuckle the entire car seat and put it on the front lawn, with Anthony still seat-belted inside it.  Had he not been sitting in the best car seat I've ever owned, that they don't make anymore, I would have picked up the whole thing and put it directly into the garbage.  (Yup, THAT bad.)  Long story short, I sprayed the heck out of it with the hose, and ended up stripping it down to the styrofoam (styrofoam!?) and plastic base.  EVERY piece had to be washed.  It took three cycles through the washer to get the smell out.

     At least I had a Quarter-Pounder meal to help me through it.  *grin*

*****

     *Leaving my parents' house last night, Anthony threw up just as we were buckling him into the car seat.  Luckily, I had learned from the McDonald's episode, so I had extra towels ready.  I'm sure it was a hilarious sight to see me, my mom and my sister Kelli (thanks, guys!) alternately running for paper towels, clean clothes, wet wipes and garbage sacks.  The three of us stood in the middle of the street, cleaning him off as best we could by the van's interior light, because did I mention that it was 11:00 PM?  Yeah... fun.  In hindsight, what made it even funnier was the fact that the neighbors across the street were setting off their arsenal of fireworks.  So not only were we dodging chunks and vomit splatters, we were trying not to get burned by fountains and screaming demons and spinning bumblebees and all the other twelve thousand things they set off.

*****

     When Anthony woke up this morning, he climbed up on the counter and got into the leftover holiday cupcakes.  I was elated because, first of all, he proved that he can forage for his own food now (kidding!  I AM KIDDING!), and second, he showed the energy necessary to line up the bathroom stool, various toy bins and the garbage can in order to climb them and reach the counter top.  For two weeks, he's barely had enough energy to hold his head up, let alone hatch a mischievous plot to eat all the cupcakes before his siblings could get one, so it was a huge, albeit naughty, moment.  (Who cares?  It's a step toward recovery!  Or, at the very least, a life of juvenile detention...)   He even used his "Ha ha!  Too bad for you!" taunt. 

     Who teaches him these things?

     I am down to my last illness-related load of laundry, which is a huge relief, provided there isn't more tonight.  Now I can tackle the dishes, the toys, the personal shower (can't WAIT for that one!) and the regular dirty-clothes laundry for our family.  If you haven't heard from me in a few days, check the pile of clean clothes on the couch. 

     But please, whatever you do, don't rouse me from my nap by yelling, "Kemi, someone just threw up!"

This time they are trying to do the same to McDonald's. It is no secret that I am not a fan of fast food. I am however a life long advocate of equal rights for everyone. So what do I intend to do about this? The same thing I am going to ask you to do. Spend money at McDonald's. I don't care how much or how little. Something off the dollar menu or a soft drink, apple pie, ice cream, or even just a coffee or tea.

Eat for equality, support McDonald's.

World Net Daily is also supporting the AFA by asking millions to boycott Micky Dee's. Let's show them it ain't gonna work this time.

Guess where I've been?

Authors Note: Feel free to link to this entry, copy it, repost it or create one of your own and trackback.

it looks real cool! i think it will be out some time this month.

Also my 4th of July contest has ended, the winner is... Starviper.

that's all guys.

Food in Saudi Arabia was somewhat similar in taste to that of Indian Food. I think Kabsa has to be their national food. There are two version of it, 1. Cooked basmati rice along with boiled chicken  and 2. Cooked basmati rice with Chicken Faham a.k.a Barbecue. khubuz a.k.a pita is a kind of a flat bread that is often eaten with curry and Halawa (A sweet). Laban is the most widely used yogurt made in the form of fine liquid. I have to agree completely for the quality and standard they have maintained on Food items unlike India where everything is adulterated.  Saudi Arabia had its own fair share of Junk food/Fast food stores like Mc Donalds, KFC, Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Starbuck etc. I remember, at the end of every month my Mom takes me along with her in a Taxi to Akaria to recieve her Salary - The reason for her to take me is to buy me a Big Mac. Buying Big Mac was some kind of a ritual for me. How could one forget the great arabic "Shawarma', its literally everywhere you go but Macoys Restaurant provides the best Shawarma in the Kingdom if not in the world. There are a good number of national Fast food chains like Herfy(Fried Chicken), Kudu(Sandwiches),Tazaj (BBQ Chicken), Al Baik (Fried Chicken) etc are growing and is getting popular among other Arab countries.

Panda was the first and is still the biggest Departmental store in the kingdom with many branches outside as well. Everything from Italian clothing to German Cars to Japaneses electronics are available in the Kingdom. Departmental Stores like Geant and Carrefour has come into Saudi Markets with intentions of huge profits considering the amount of Rich people residing in the Kingdom. Jarrir Bookstore is the biggest as the name suggests Bookstore/Computer Accessories store in the Kingdom, as for Laptops and Computers Not until few years ago. Thursday and Friday are considered as weekends and that is when our family would go for Shopping. Like everywhere else in the world, markets are saturated with chinese goods - the good things are some does work longer than expected and the other thing is "Use and Throw" policy & bad things are some don't work at all and people can't show off. I buy Electronics that are not necessarily have to be branded like DVD players, Surround Speakers etc of China. Unfortunately there is good amount of fake ones of Sony, Panasonic in the market which is a let down because I know many who falls for those.

If you liked it, pls comment for Part 2

Thanks.

And on this day, we remember America, and children because one day, the country will be in their hands.

Their chubby hands.

And now for something that is false!

Note: The U.S. is a republic, not a democracy.

Happy Philippines Independence Day!

O Bozo morreu, agora só falta o Ronald MCdonald!

I'm luggin' it!