PETA Burgers

Old News Rehashed Department:

PETA Tries to Get Hamburg, NY, to Change Its Name

Note: This originally appeared in another one of my sites in 2003. Since PETA has been back in the news so much of late, it was worthwhile to take a look backward and compare their recent actions with some of their older efforts to "save the animals." You be the judge.

HAMBURG, NY - The national animal rights group PETA has offered Hamburg officials $15,000 to change the town's name to Veggieburg.

"The town's name conjures up visions of unhealthy patties of ground-up dead cows," said Joe Haptas, a spokesman of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), in a letter faxed sent Monday, April 21, 2003 to Hamburg Supervisor Patrick Hoak.

In the faxed document, PETA offered to supply area schools with $15,000 worth of animal-free veggie burgers in exchange for the name change.

"Our offer is serious as a heart attack," Haptas said. [Ed: Haptas later said that his offer was "tongue in cheek" and still continued on about Veggieburg.]

Hoak who was Hamburg Supervisor at the time, promptly declined the offer. Speaking about the hamburger, he said,  "With all due respect, I think it's a delicacy in our community. We're proud of our name and proud of our heritage."

The town, located in Upstate New York, has been named Hamburg since 1812, and it claims to be the birth place of the American culinary staple sandwich. In July, Hamburg commemorates the birth of hamburgers at its  annual Burgerfest. 

Evidently Joe Haptas wasn't going to give up, for he issued a press release on August 27th stating that PETA wanted the residents of Hamburg residents to know that they weren't yet off the hook. The press release stated that on August 28th, Danish-born Penthouse Pet Kira Eggers would be handing out free veggie burgers in their town, dressed in nothing but strategically placed lettuce leaves and waving a sign reading, "Welcome to Veggieburg! 

Another site had reported that this "Veggie burger" event was going to be repeated in "a number of major cities" as well. 
  

Should Fishkill have become Fishsave?

It should be noted that this isn't the first time that PETA has tried to get a town to change its name. In 1996 they asked the residents of the Hudson Valley town of Fishkill to change its centuries-old name to Fishsave, since the group believed the name conjured up violent imagery of dead fish. Fishkill was named by Dutch settlers in the 1600s. "Kill" is the Dutch word for "stream."

"Oh, my goodness. Fishsave Elementary School. Good Lord!" stated then-Mayor George Carter, adding "I think if they would look the word up, they would find out what it means... We are not going to change the name."

Some pundits living in the area suggested that if the town was to change its name, it should be to Fishgrill. And if you think this is all a big joke and that PETA wouldn't do this, check here for more info.

Here are some people, places and things that are worthy of receiving the $15,000 that PETA wants to give away, suggestions from readers who contributed their thoughts when this was originally published elsewhere in 2003:

• The game, "Duck, Duck, Goose" should be renamed to something less offensive to PETA members, such as "Bean Sprout, Bean Sprout, Tofu."

• Maybe the aging rock singer and actor Meatloaf should change his name to "Tofu Loaf" in hopes of appealing to a new generation of fans.

• Tossing out the insult "You're such a turkey." It should be replaced with "You're such a lima bean!"

• Buffalo, NY: Since so many restaurants are serving Buffalo wings made from chicken, maybe they need to become more politically aware and change the name of their city. How about "Bean-Curd-O" or something like that? 

• The kid's card game "Go Fish" needs to be renamed to "Go Catch and Release" in order to reflect an appreciation of our finny neighbors of the aquatic realm. 

• People with the last "Hunter" should consider changing his or her name to "Forager."

If you have any other ideas for changing some of the other animal-threatening phrases and helping PETA give away all that money that is provided by donations, get in touch with them in care of PETA's Web site at www.peta-online.org. Surely they would appreciate any suggestions.

PETA is supposed to be an abbreviation of "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals." Maybe they need to keep the initials but rename what they actually stand for. Here are some ideas which should help to describe the contemporary characteristics of this organization:

• PETA = People Eating Tasty Animals (this is a real site)

• PETA = Prevents Eating Tasty Animals

• PETA = Publicly Embarrassing Tired Antics

• PETA = Pinheads Eating Tofu Always

• PETA = Please Eat The Animals

• PETA = Provocateurs Envisioning Tasteless America

• PETA = Petulant Ecological Terrorist Asinines

• PETA = Pitiful Emptyheads Trashing America

• PETA = Pinheads Endlessly Touting Absurdities

• PETA = People Emancipating Thick-witted Apes

• PETA = People Eager for Tons of Attention

• PETA = Pernicious Egocentric Twits of America

• PETA = People Engaged in Total Absurdity

• PETA = Public Education's Thoughtless Alumni

• PETA = Pinheads Espousing Total Asininity

• PETA = People Exempt from Thoughtful Analysis.

Got any more to offer?

For years many have been saying that PETA has been going way too far in their efforts, and that their loony antics have become ridiculous.  Perhaps they are right. 

Originally posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 
From Associated Press and other sources

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They said this:

Sacred cows make the best hamburger.
~ Mark Twain

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Technorati Tags: Lexidiem, PETA, Hamburg, Veggieburg, Kira Eggers, nude, Fishkill, Fishsave, WTF

Rosie Sez...

A Message From Rosie

Rosie O'Donnell has quit her job as moderator of The View after a vicious war of words with Elizabeth Hasselbeck hit the headlines last week. She clashed with her co-host on last Wednesday's program after the pair fell out over their political views, and she has not returned to the daytime show since.

She told fans she didn't know when she'd be back in a posting on her blog after the on-air fight, but now the show's producers have confirmed O'Donnell has quit.

O’Donnell’s remarks became so inflammatory that ABC actually bleeped her live on the air. She lost any remaining shreds of credibility the moment she showed an utter lack of respect for the opinions of her fellow panelists, live audience, and viewers at home.

On her blog O'Donnell said, "I have said all I needed," and posted a scrapbook tribute to her co-hosts from The View as a touching swan song video.

Rosie O'Donnell says she will likely never speak to her former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck again, as you can see here, after an on-air tiff last week that led to O'Donnell's early departure from the show.
And just because she is no longer on "The View", don’t think she’s just going away. She's announced that she's going on a rock tour, joining her friend Cyndi Lauper on a series of dates beginning soon. They're said to have been friends for a while, and Rosie has even considered producing Cyndi’s show for Broadway.

But in out world there are sometimes coincidences that are too strange not to have deeper meaning. News reports emerged from Alabama last week stating that an 11-year-old boy had killed a 1,051-pound hog with a handgun. 

While Rosie's star is plummeting, 11-year-old Jamison Stone is reveling in his instant stardom and the attention over his pig, which already has a Web site put up by his father — www.monsterpig.com — that is generating a bit Internet buzz.

And even more coincidental, the handgun that Jamison used is rumored to have been purchased a few years back at a local Kmart, and Rosie O'Donnell used to be their TV spokesperson. And it's probably untrue that the firearm was a Rosie O'Donnell Signature Edition™ Smith & Wesson.

The hog's head is now being mounted on an extra-large foam form. Jamison's father Mike denied that they were going to name the stuffed after the former host of The View.

Jamison, meanwhile, has been offered a small part in "The Legend of Hogzilla," a small-time horror flick. The movie is holding casting calls, but has not announced who will be chosen for the role of Hogzilla.

But back to Rosie O'Donnell. 

She can hang lose, just relax for awhile, and won't even have to brush her hair in the morning. 
 
No, I for one won't miss Rosie's self-pitying, victimhood-claiming, manipulative, no-sense arguing at all. Maybe she can go back to advertising for Kmart.

Rosie O'Donnell, The View, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, tantrum, Lexidiem, JargonTalk, on-air fight, Cyndi Lauper, Jamison Stone, Hogzilla 

Technorati tags: Rosie O'Donnell, The View, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, tantrum, Lexidiem, JargonTalk, on-air fight, Cyndi Lauper, Jamison Stone, Hogzilla

Barbaro Burgers? Not this week!

Those hungry for horsemeat won't get their wish this week

On Thursday the House of Representatives passed H.R. 503, the bill that bans horse slaughter in the United State. The bill passed by a vote of 263 to 146, despite amendments submitted by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte to weaken the measure.

The issue was simple: about 90,000 horses are sent each year to three plants in this country (two in Texas and one in Illinois, all foreign owned), where they're slaughtered and the meat is shipped to restaurants in Europe and Asia.

Though some complained about the priority of this legislation, 263 lawmakers voted for the horse bill in the final tally, with only 146 daring to say "nay."

The administration has stated that they opposed the bill in a letter sent to the House of Representatives' Committee on Agriculture. This may be an issue that will have to be dealt with when the bill goes before the U.S. Senate as S.1915.

The Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) also opposes the horse slaughter ban. LMA Director of Information John McBride said he's concerned Congress won’t stop at banning horse slaughter, and said opponents of the ban will work to keep it off the Senate's agenda.

So congratulations go out to all those who contacted their respective Representatives and let their thoughts be known. And thanks go out to all of those 263 members of our Congress who thought about the issue and listened to their constituents.

And a special thanks goes to FlyingFilly.com and all the resources they put together to help all of us better understand the issues and the actions that can be taken.

You have all proven that our system works!

Our lexidiem is Congress.

Technorati tags: HR 503, Barbaro, Barbaro Burger, fast food, AHSPA, SAPL, basashi, lexidiem, jargontalk, FlyingFilly, Willie Nelson, Kinky Friedman, Bo Derek, Dallas Crown, John Sweeney, John Spratt, Ed Whitfield, John Ensign, Mary Landrieu, Bob Goodlatte, S.1915, horsemeat, LMA, John McBride

Barbaro Burgers Legal after Thursday?

Those hungry for horsemeat may get their wish this week

Just check out these 9/7/2006 headlines, and read this in the text:

One fast food franchise has already applied for the name "Barbaro Burgers" as a trademark, and expects to be selling horse burgers before November 1st.

Horrifying, isn't it? OK, this is a fictitious copy of a fictitious newspaper. 2006 Kentucky Derby Winner Barbaro is not going to be slaughtered because of his injuries. You're not going to be finding "Barbaro Burgers" on the menu of your local fast-food restaurant this weekend.

But could it happen? Yes, and here's why.

Up before the U.S. House of Representatives this week is a bill known as H.R. 503, The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, a bill to to "prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes."

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA) is scheduled to go before the House on September 7, 2006. Simply put, its a bill to end the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States and the export of live horses for the same purpose.

The bill has been reintroduced in the House of Representatives by Congressional Horse Caucus Co- Chair John Sweeney (R-NY), Representative John Spratt (D-SC) and Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY). Senator and veterinarian John Ensign (R-NV) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have reintroduced an identical measure in the Senate.

This sounds fine, except that there are currently no guarantees that this bill is going to pass. The Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL) has been involved, and has sent out an urgent alert letting people know that this potential legislation needs the support of people like all of us. SAPL is the oldest non-profit organization in the United States specifically dedicated to the passage and promotion of federal, international and local legislation to ensure and protect animal welfare.

Paula Bacon, the Mayor of the small town of Kaufman, Texas, has been fighting to get the nearby Dallas Crown Inc. slaughter mill to close. Some families in the area say that odors from Dallas Crown keep them indoors. The plant and its Belgian owners have survived numerous attempts to close it in recent years. Bill H.R.503 would shutter Dallas Crown and other slaughter plants in Fort Worth, TX and DeKalb, Il. Horse meat is not marketed as table fare in the US, but the slaughter plants process hundreds of horses each week and ship the meat overseas. Horse meat (pictured here) is considered a delicacy in some European countries, Japan and other places.

Noted Texans, such as oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens and country singer Willie Nelson and gubernatorial hopeful Kinky Freidman have been activists on this issue for some time, accusing the slaughter plants of cruelly killing even young horses and call the processing operations an un-American slaughter of a cultural symbol. Nelson sat down recently with Bo Derek, Morgan Fairchild and Jennifer Lee Pryor and openly discussed this brutal practice which must be ended. There are many others who have come out in support of ending this often brutal slaughter.

So what can be done about it, and when?

FlyingFilly.com has put together a marvelous set of resources and facts to help you better understand the issues at hand and the actions that can be taken. Take a moment and see exactly where your representative stands on this, then contact your representatives directly and let them know how you feel. Read what Equine Advocates has to say about this issue and what you can do.

But whatever you decide, do it before September 7th, or you might be explaining fast-food signs like this to your kids in the near future.

It's in your hands - there's still time for you to act.

Our lexidiem is horsemeat.

tags: HR 503, Barbaro, Barbaro Burger, fast food, Congress, AHSPA, SAPL, basashi, lexidiem, jargontalk, Kentucky Derby, FlyingFilly, Willie Nelson, Kinky Friedman, Bo Derek, Dallas Crown, John Sweeney, John Spratt, Ed Whitfield, John Ensign, Mary Landrieu

You've got mail! You've been e-Fired!

RadioShack terminates 400+ people via e-mail

What's going on here? RadioShack had announced earlier this month that they were going to trim some 400 to 450 jobs, so any news regarding this should have been expected. But what wasn't expected was the way they went about notifying the employees who were being terminated.

Employees who were effected by this round of layoffs at RadioShack's Fort Worth headquarters came to work Tuesday morning to find an e-mail message informing them that they were being terminated effective immediately.

According to Strategic HR Lawyer, the e-mail contained the following information:

"The workforce reduction notification is currently in progress...unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated."

A letter from the boss like this doesn't exactly make one's day.

Company officials had told employees in a series of meetings that layoff notices would be delivered electronically, spokeswoman Kay Jackson said. She said employees were invited to ask questions before Tuesday's notification on a company intranet site.

Workers who were terminated reportedly got severance of one to three weeks pay for each year of service, but management experts were surprised at RadioShack's use of electronic notification instead of the customary face-to-face meetings with supervisors.

One wag stated that this might be the new way they do things in Texas, but Frank McLaughlin, chairman of McSearch Personnel Consultants in Dallas, saw things differently. "Traditionally in Texas, people are dismissed in a face-to-face meeting," said McLaughlin. "It's not customary, not socially acceptable to some to do it over e-mail, but it's legal."

Derrick D'Souza, a management professor at the University of North Texas, said "If I put myself in their shoes, I'd say, 'Didn't they have a few minutes to tell me?'"

RadioShack spokeswoman Kay Jackson said the electronic notification was quicker and allowed more privacy than breaking the news in person. "It was important to notify people as quickly as possible," she said. "They had 30 minutes to collect their thoughts, make phone calls and say goodbye to employees before they went to meet with senior leaders."

Employees met with supervisors and human resources personnel before leaving. At coffee bar areas on each floor, the company provided boxes and plastic bags for employees to pack their personal belongings.

"Things went very smoothly. Everyone left very graciously and very professionally," Jackson said.

RadioShack is not the first company to let workers go in this way. Accounting firm Arthur Anderson laid off 7,000 employees in 2002 as a result of their "housekeeping" role in the Enron debacle. Many of their employees were told through e-mails to check their job status on their voicemails.

There have been comments on this type of firing, and some feel that it's indicative of the time in which we live. E-mail is how we communicate with our bosses, and how they communicate with us. We do business by e-mail, and some of us update our blogs via email messaging. One person admited that she had broken up with her boyfriend via e-mail.

Is this a new trend: the e-Dear-John letter?

It should be noted that shares of RadioShack (ticker: RSH) rose 10 cents, to $18.02 in trading Wednesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange. Granted that they have had some hard times lately, with sales down, and the price of their common stock down from the $20 range in early April to a low of less than $14 in June, though it has since rebounded.

Sometimes it's better to not ask how results are obtained.

You've got mail, it's not Spam. No, it's your pink slip.

tags: RadioShack, e-mail, email, lexidiem, jargontalk, pink slip, electronic, firing, fired, Texas

Cactus Art or Middle Finger Salute?

Hello, Neighbor - here's your New Jersey salute!

Darren Wood is building a new home in Riverton, Utah. He's installed a custom vent cover on his house, and says that it's a cactus design.

Sounds like a pleasant style for a desert theme, but his neighbor disagrees. Stan Torgersen lives directly behind Wood's new home, and when he looks out his windows, he sees the symbol a hand giving him the finger.

Darreen Wood claims that the gesture in question is art. He said, "It speaks for itself, really. It's such beautiful art. It's a cactus."

It seems that things have not gone well between Mr. Wood and some of his new neighbors. They've complained about the height of his house and other issues for awhile. The problems began last fall, when Wood's lot was excavated. Neighbor Torgersen was worried that the excavation might damage his home's foundation, so he and another neighbor asked the city to intervene.

Officials in ordered a soil test, which Wood said had been done by the previous owner. He said that the new test would cost $3,000 and delay the construction of his new home by four months.

Recently, the Torgersens and another neighbor complained to the city that the home exceeded the height allowed by code.

"We used to have a view of the mountains," Janet Torgersen told The Salt Lake Tribune recently. "He didn't have to take everyone's view."

Wood noted that the city approved the house plan. regarding his neighbors' grievances he said, "I think the bottom line is harassment. They will find another issue to complain about."

Wood said that he might be willing to change his air vent cover if he received an apology from his neighbors.

Maybe it's all a matter of perception, or beauty being in the eye of the beholder. The vent cover design could be viewed as someone giving another giving the finger, but it could also be an abstract cactus.

Jeroen Arendsen says it well when he asks if this a camouflaged insult or a case of extreme sensitivity? Perhaps even both. Because his neighbours are so sensitive, Mr. Wood effectively manages to insult them and deny it to anyone else. See A Nice Gesture: The Perception of Insults.

In some area, flipping someone the bird can be considered quite an insult, and can even be illegal. In other areas, the "New Jersey Salute" (see #20) is considered a common, everyday occurance. President Bush has done it on video. It's all a metter of one's individual interpretation of the gesture.

Latest indications are that a peaceful resolution has been reached, and that Darren Wood is having the controversial "art" removed.

The lexidiem is art.

tags: abstract cactus, cactus art, new jersey salute, finger, jargontalk, lexidiem, cactus, insult, sensitivity, humor, harassment

Bye-bye, Pluto!

Kids, Pluto is No Longer a Planet

SPACE.com reported today that after years of often intense debate, astronomers resolved today to demote Pluto in a wholesale redefinition of planethood that is being billed as a victory of scientific reasoning over historic and cultural influences. Already the decision is being hotly debated.

So now, officially, Pluto is no longer a planet.

Astronomers have been debating for years about whether to demote Pluto, and public support in favor of Pluto has weighed heavily on the debate. Today's vote came after a two-year effort by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to develop a definition.

Astronomers at the IAU meeting were said to have debated the proposals right up to the moment of the actual vote.

The resolution

The decision establishes three main categories of objects in our solar system.

• Planets: The eight worlds from Mercury to Neptune.
• Dwarf Planets: Pluto and any other round object that "has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and is not a satellite."
• Small Solar System Bodies: All other objects orbiting the Sun.

So it looks like Pluto will be known as a dwarf planet or something to that effect. And classroom teachers will be instructing students to ignore their textbooks: "No, Billy, it's eight planets, not nine. And there will be a test on this tomorrow."

It was just last year that the Lowell Observatory celebrated the 75th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto.

So goes the evolution of the science of astronomy. Check your local news at 6:00 PM for any updates.

So our changing lexidiem is planet.

tags: Pluto, planet, dwarf planet, space, solar system, IAU, astronomy, satellite, evolution

At What Age Does Hatred Begin?

Prussian Black and Blue

My son was watching television in the living room on Tuesday night, and as I walked through I did a double take at what was on the screen. It wasn't anything violent, pornographic or even inappropriate: he was watching "The Outsiders", a special on ABC News Primetime. What was disturbing though was the pair of angelic looking blonde twins, just a few years older than my son, who were talking about preserving the white race and Nazi heroes while they were wearing T-shirts with a happy Hitler smiley face.

He was watching Lamb and Lynx Gaede, adolescent twin girls who make up the band Prussian Blue, and I decided I better join him. We watched as Primetime commented that they though they might look like innocence personified, the twins are part of a terrifying movement spreading a message of racism and White Nationalism.

Their estranged father said that the messages that they preach are not their own, but those of April Gaede, the girls' mother. The twins have been nurtured on racist beliefs since their birth by their mother, who said, "They need to have the background to understand why certain things are happening. I'm going to give them, give them my opinion just like any, any parent would."

It was disturbing to find out that after Hurricane Katrina struck, the girls donated money but stipulated that their donation to victims should go only to white people. My son, who has been involved in Toys for Tots and other charity work since kindergarten, turned and looked at me in complete surprise.

I had seen a previous broadcast last fall on ABC where Lynx had said, "We're proud of being white, we want to keep being white. We want our people to stay white … we don't want to just be, you know, a big muddle. We just want to preserve our race."

Maybe their mother had convinced them that America loved them and their message would be accepted by all, but after that ABC TV segment and the outpouring of criticism that followed, the girls were said to be "in tears."

Lynx and Lamb emerged a bit bruised... Prussian Black and Blue. Well, girls, reality sometimes sucks, doesn't it?

April is said to be a stay-at-home mom who no longer lives with the twins' father. She home-schools the girls, and teaches them her own distinctive perspective on everything from history to current events. April Gaede had grown up "goat's milk and Third Reich footage in the foothills of Fresno," and that her father was a rancher who branded his animals with swastikas. They moved from Bakersfield, CA because it wasn't "white enough" for some place in Montana.

April is clever and resourceful, and uses the Internet to her advantage; she is not above exploiting her infant daughter Dresden in her schemes. There are some, however, who have seen through her and come forward with what they have found, and it not a pretty picture.

Lamb and Lynx may seem like cute adolescent twins at home when they fight for the next turn with the joystick in front of TV. But how cute is it when the video game is Ethnic Cleansing, which is focused on trying to kill as many blacks, Latinos and Jews as possible. Did their loving mother give them this racist game as a Christmas present?

The twins have said they believe Adolph Hitler was a great man with good ideas, such as eugenic standards and incentives to improve the genetic quality of the German people, and marriage loans to help qualified German families begin upon a firm financial basis. In the interview, the twins described the Holocaust as being exaggerated.

One of their songs is "Sacrifice," which pays homage to Hitler's deputy Fuhrer, Rudolf Hess, and it clearly shows the effect of the girls' upbringing. The lyrics pay tribute to Hess as a "man of peace who wouldn't give up."

So where does the name "Prussian Blue" fit into this twisted puzzle?

The blue-eyed girls and mother have stated that part of their heritage is Prussian German, that Prussian Blue is a "really pretty color," hence the name choice. The darker side of this could be that Prussian Blue is the name of the blue residue left over by the use of Zyklon B, the poison the Nazis employed to kill millions of Jews and others in concentration camps during World War II.

In an article entitled "Hello White People" with Vice Magazine, the girls parroted the history revisionists' and Holocaust deniers' line about "the so-called gas chambers in the concentration camps" and stated that the Prussian Blue name "might make people question some of the inaccuracies of the 'Holocaust' myth."

In the same article they stated that the most important social issue facing the white race was: "Not having enough white babies born to replace ourselves and generally not having good-quality white people being born."

How and where do kids learn such hatred of other human beings? An example of this goes back to 2003, when the twins were all of eleven. The pro-hate site National Vanguard called her a "brave young patriot" and reported that "11-year-old White patriot Lamb Gaede" had said "that Dr. (Martin Luther) King 'preferred White Prostitutes' and 'was a plagiarist'" in an interview with a radio host.

At 11-years-old this girl was discussing racial stereotyping and prostitutes?

The Southern Poverty Law Center has been aware of the girls and April Gaede for awhile, noting that she had joined the neo-Nazi National Alliance in 2001. The girls have appeared publicly on behalf of former Ku Klux Klan wizard David Duke. They perform for such groups as the neo-Nazi National Alliance at Holocaust-denial events and festivals entitled Folk the System.

Prussian Blue does have its followers, and they can and will readily excuse and justify the duo's pro-Nazi and white supremacist music and comments, using whatever rhetoric they feel necessary. If you want that side of the coin, try these articles on WhiteCivilRights.com, or some of them on National Vanguard.

One apologist said that the lyrics to their songs might be a bit rough, but they represented the Conservative element in out political spectrum. Conservative? This isn't Conservative, with the girls executing Sieg Heil salutes at their concerts while belting out lyrics such as "Strike force! White survival. Strike force!" These are outright White Supremacists, followers of a real neo-Nazi culture, regardless of their age.

Lamb and Lynx are releasing a CD at the same time as their new music video debuts. You can see their video "Victory Day" here on YouTube, but you may want to read the lyrics here first:

Well sit down and listen, to what I have to say.
Soon will come a great war, a bloody but holy day.
And after that purging, our people will be free,
and sing up in the bright skies, a sun for all to see...

Times are very tough now for a proud White man to live.
And although it may appear that this world has no life to give.
Times are soon changing, this cant go on for long.
And on that joyful summer's day we'll sing our Victory song...

The women, they'll smile, on Victory Day.
And the children, they'll laugh and they'll sing and they'll play.
And the forests will echo our grace,
for the brand new dawn of our Race...

You are my brother and in war we proudly sing.
Our Cause shall never tire. Our gift to you we bring:
A holy creed of Racial purpose, A mighty Race to defend.
And when we fly our holy flag Their oppressive reign shall end...

And when we finally conquer, our people will be free.
And all across this great land, the bold Truth we shall see.
So as we march together, to avoid catastrophe,
let's remember always our sacred Destiny...

Their pretty faces and youthful smiles have taken in many. In late 2005, Teen People magazine, guided by its parent company Time Warner, pulled the plug on a story they had planned to run on the twins. An earlier teaser had called the hatemongering duo "aspiring musicians" and had compared them to teen sensations Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Well, to my ears they both sing off key, and they're a far cry from Mary-Kate and Ashley.

Racist songs praising the KKK and promoting segregation have existed for years, but a new phenomenon emerged in the 1970s, an entire genre of music predicated on neo-Nazi racism, and it's become a global issue. Prussian Blue is just another group in that nasty mix.

Lamb and Lynx aren't espousing their own opinions, but ones they're being taught and surrounded with since birth. It doesn't justify it, but are we beginning to see why the girls are filled with so much hatred?

Lamb and Lynx are turning themselves into something evil, plain and simple, and though they are now fourteen and capable of making intelligent decisions, it's hard to forget where they learned it all, and how much they appear to have been brainwashed.

And when you listen to their music, just ask yourself: is it really that good?

We're supposed to be an enlightened society. It's appalling to think that this kind of venomous hatred and bigotry is being taught to our children in the 21st century, and that it's so easily justified.

Our lexidiem is tolerance.

tags: Racism, Prussian Blue, Gaede, neo-Nazi, Nazi, Hate, anti-Semitic, KKK, Klan, lexidiem, jargontalk, YouTube, Ethnic Cleansing, video, White Supremacy, music

Snakes on a Plane... and everywhere else

All Your Snakes Are Belong To Us

It looks like that we may have a phenomenon in the making, and its based on the newly released movie Snakes on a Plane, starring Samuel L. Jackson. If you haven't heard all the hype about the film, also known as SoaP, you would have to be blind, deaf and hidden from the world for a few months now. But is it making its infamous trademark 12-letter-word acceptable socially?

New Line Cinema is running auctions on items used in the film, and one can even purchase official SoaP jewelry there, such as this 18k gold airplane pendant that has a 3D snake adorned with diamonds for only $3900. It was designed by Lin Shaye who plays Grace in the movie. That's a fashion statement unto itself.

If you want to see the official site with the movie trailers and such, it's here. I'm not going to review the movie, because there are enough opinions posted on the 'Net already, including some positive ones that one might not expect.

Now about that phenomenon, do you remember All Your Base Are Belong To Us? The AYBABTU phenomenon was with us for quite a few months in 2001 and into 2002, and was takeoff on an English language version of the 1989 Japanese video game Zero Wing. In case you forgot those memorable sounds and scenes from the original video, they have been preserved for posterity at Google Video and YouTube.

And now we have All Your Snakes Are Belong To Us, a very funny if quite profane takeoff on the movie. This has now been ported over as a video to YouTube, and it's getting more hits there than the original site, by all indications. I'm not showing this video here, as this one could truly be regarded as R-rated, like the movie, at least for the printed language, etc. At best it might be NSFW, so be warned. and proceed at your own risk.

Had found the link to this on Scobleizer a couple of weeks back, looking for info on Robert Scoble's new book, Naked Conversations (which was commented on earlier). Read all of Bob's caveats about adult language and such and followed his link to the Rageboy blog, and there is was, along with a number of other visual comments regarding the film, and all in Christopher Locke's trademark Rageboy style.

Just so that doesn't sound patronizing, those who know me are aware that I own a copies of Chris Locke's Gonzo Marketing and The Cluetrain Manifesto, of which he was co-author, and have followed him since the Titanic Deck Chair Rearrangement Corp days. What he wrote a few years ago still stands well today - check it out for yourself.

But the main thing here is what I also found on his site, and for some reason it just struck me as completely hilarious at the time, and still does. It's Sheikhs on a Plane, and it's far better than the singular sheikh on a plane reference I was going to use.

And searching the 'Net for sheikhs and planes can bring up some interesting results for the lovelorn, if one is so inclined. But the infamous 12-letter-word just won't be made acceptable at any time in the near future.

The lexidiem is plane.

Technorati tags: AYBABTU, all your base, AYSABTU, all your snakes, Snakes on a Plane, Samuel L Jackson, 12-letter-word, Scobleizer, Robert Scoble, Naked Conversations, Rageboy, Christopher Locke, Gonzo Marketing, Cluetrain Manifesto, sheikhs on a plane, lexidiem, jargontalk, SoaP, snake, TDCRC, plane, Amazon.com

Naked Conversations and Web 2.0 Logo Generator

Web 2.0 Logo Generatr, Windows Live Writr, and Naked Conversations

Went to Scobleizer to check something out and became diverted (as often happens) by something quite different. Robert Scoble had posted a link to Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion blog, where he had a Web 2.0 logo generator. It's supposed to be a joke, but you can create your own Web 2.0 logo with or without a reflection or Beta tag. Really tough decision here, but I just had to go full out for all the options, as you can see here.

Really had gone there to see if he had posted anything new about the new Windows Live Writer application that was released into public Beta earlier this week. Have already found it to be a superb product, and one that will aid any blogger who good control over page layout, graphics, maps and the like. More on this later, but it would be well worth your while to look into this one.

I had also gone to his blog to find out a bit more about Bob Scoble's new book, Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers. He wrote it with Shel Israel, another expert on technology product innovation as can be seen on his site.

A colleague had just purchased this book and was raving about it, and kept referring to Bob Scoble as a "true visionary." On that comment we're in full agreement, but I wanted to browse through the book first. The first sentence is: "We live in a time when most people don't trust big companies."

With a beginning like that, the line is drawn in the sand, and after spending fifteen minutes with the book, will be getting my own copy. My colleague offered to let me read it when he's finished, but this book looks like a keeper. The authors state that there are Six Pillars of Blogging: six key differences between blogging and any other communications channel.

Keep in mind that Scoble practically invented blogging as we know it, and that both authors are well immersed in it. They understand bloggers, the culture and the technology behind it.

Our lexieiem is blogosphere.

tags: Web 2.0, logo generator, Windows Live Writer, Naked Conversations, Beta, Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, Shel Israel, Scobleizer, Amazon.com, six pillars of blogging, lexidiem, jargontalk, blog, blogging

I've got a bad feeling about this...

Terror Plot Uncovered in the UK

Woke up Thursday morning to the news of an alleged terrorist plot to "commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale." British law enforcement authorities had arrested 24 suspects who had planned to explode 10 to 12 aircraft in mid-flight between Britain and America using liquid explosives.

The plot was said to be just days away. British authorities said that the plan bore all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda plot.

The twenty four suspects are said to be British citizens, many of Pakistani origin. This was three more than the 21 announced earlier in the day. British security sources felt that all the main targets had been arrested.

Here in the U.S., Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff raised the nation’s threat level to Severe, or Red, for commercial flights originating in the United Kingdom bound for the U.S. This adjustment reflects the Critical, or highest, alert level that has been implemented in the UK. He also raised the threat level to High, or Orange, for all commercial
aviation operating in or destined for the U.S. Chertoff called the plot "comparable to 9/11."

Also implemented was a new series of security measures, prohibiting any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions from being carried on airplanes. British authorities have implemented similar measure due the potential dangers that could be caused with many simple household liquids.

The UK threat level remains critical, according to UK Home Secretary John Reid, who noted that the main suspects were in custody but it was right to "err on the side of caution." The British government also released the names of the suspects. The oldest person is 35, and the youngest is only 17.

Now ponder these facts, and see how you feel:

• Last Tuesday the FBI had announced that they were looking for 11 Egyptian exchange students who arrived in the U.S. last month, but never showed up for class at Montana State University. Some are now in Federal custody.


• Oliver Stone's World Trade Center film is now playing in theaters (see the YouTube video trailer).


• The fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks is just a month away.


• Homeland Security Chief Chertoff stated that "currently, there is no indication of plotting within the United States."



• ABC News has just posted an audiotape provides one of the clearest and most accurate records of the United Flight 93 hijackers on September 11th.

I for one can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when 9/11 happened, and all these facts are just a bit too coincidental to make one rest easy. At the time of this writing, the current HSAS level in Pennsylvania, where I live, remains at yellow, though Governor Ed Rendell urged resident to be observant and "vigilant at all times." It can make the observer somewhat uneasy watching these events roll by like a parade before our eyes.

In the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), there was a classic line, a quote that I'll share here:

I've got a bad feeling about this.
~ Hans Solo (played by Harrison Ford)

My sentiments exactly, and I truly hope that I'm wrong. I was very close to the 9/11 relief efforts and to some of the people involved in the recovery (see the archived UCanHelp.com Website at the Library of Congress).

World Trade Center Video from September 11, 2001

Homeland Security Advisory

Resources, should you (hopefully never) need them:

• Department of Homeland Security
• Terrorism Awareness and Prevention: A Self-Study Guide
  from The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• FBI Homepage & Local Offices
• FBI Tips & Public Leads
• U.S. Department of Justice
• Red Cross: Family Disaster Plan

Technorati Tags: 9/11, airline, al-Qaeda, bad feeling, WTC, terrorism, security, London, lexidiem, jargontalk, YouTube, video, Chertoff, Homeland Security, John Reid, liquid, Pakistani, September 11th, World Trade Center, Ed Rendell, United Flight 93, 2996,

Our lexidiem is uneasy.

August 11, 2006