Saturday, March 21, 2009

 

Product of the Day: Cod gum

The gum is produced in the conventional manner and then coated with the cod enzymes and finally glazed. It contains sweeteners but no sugar. Iceland Review Online in "Iceland’s Zymetech Produces Cod Gum for Soldiers"

Iceland, whose banks are in a heap of trouble, has one thing it can count on, at least for a while—fish entrails. It turns out that the enzymes in them are good for all sorts of things, including your teeth. So the Icelandic company Zymetech is about to launch cod gum, initially for soldiers who can't brush and floss.

The company's CEO Dr. Jón Bragi Bjarnason "expects the American and Australian Defense Ministries to start using the gum this year and then it will also become available on the public market, both in Iceland and abroad."

Breath mints are sure to follow.

Tags:

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

 

Custom of the Day: Imperial eunuchs

For centuries in China, the only men from outside the imperial family who were allowed into the Forbidden City's private quarters were castrated ones. They effectively swapped their reproductive organs for a hope of exclusive access to the emperor that made some into rich and influential politicians. —Emma Graham-Harrison reporting in "China's last eunuch spills sex secrets"

Though the custom may have been abandoned in China, we note that toadies without balls are still a commonplace in the executive mansions of the West and receive the same benefits.

Tags:

Monday, March 16, 2009

 

Conservative Gripe of the Day: Blacks' sense of grievance

American minorities of color — especially blacks — are often born into grievance-focused identities. The idea of grievance will seem to define them in some eternal way, and it will link them atavistically to a community of loved ones. To separate from grievance — to say simply that one is no longer racially aggrieved — will surely feel like an act of betrayal that threatens to cut one off from community, family and history. So, paradoxically, a certain chauvinism develops around one's sense of grievance. Today the feeling of being aggrieved by American bigotry is far more a matter of identity than of actual aggrievement. —Shelby Steele, research fellow at the Hoover Institution, opining for the Wall Street Journal in "Why the GOP Can't Win With Minorities"

As they used to say in the South (and probably still do)—"If you could be black for one Saturday night, you'd never want to be white again." Or, reminiscing on the happy days of slavery, "What a carefree life!"

Ah, if the darkies (or as Mr. Steele refers to them, "the formerly oppressed minorities") only knew how good they have it!

Mr. Steele, having been swept up into the arms of the conservative establishment, can perhaps say quite honestly that he is no longer "racially aggrieved." The conservatives are paying a premium today for spokesmen such as Mr. Steele.

Related posts
Commodity of the Day: Black socialites (12/11/08)

Tags:

Sunday, March 15, 2009

 

Free-Market Competition of the Day: China to expand media operations

Beijing is now pushing its big media properties, all of which are heavily censored and operate under the government’s propaganda department, to expand their overseas operations. Under one proposal, China may even create a 24-hour English language news channel to compete with CNN and the BBC, and deliver a more, well, positive view of China’s rise. —David Barboza reporting in "Capitalism Finds Voice in China TV"

There seems to be no limit to what the Chinese will do. And we must assume they intend to carry out the threat.

Let's see. What should they call this proposed news operation? Oh! How about "The Voice of China"?

Tags:

Atom feed

Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com
Blogarama - The Blog Directory

Blog Search Engine

Politics
Blog Top Sites

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?