I thought that it was North Carolina, not South Carolina, that was the land of pig shit. Just check this shit out.

Newkirk has made some helpful suggestions for executing her goal of drawing attention to animal suffering. She specifically suggests:

"That the “meat” of my body, or a portion thereof, be used for a human barbecue…

"That my skin, or a portion thereof, be removed and made into leather products…

"That one of my eyes be removed, mounted, and delivered to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a reminder that PETA will continue to be watching the agency until it stops poisoning and torturing animals in useless and cruel experiments…

"That my pointing finger be delivered to Kenneth Feld, owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, or to a circus museum to stand as the “Greatest Accusation on Earth”…

"That one of my thumbs be removed, mounted upwards on a plaque, and sent to the person or institution that, in the year of my death or thereabouts, PETA decides has done the most to promote alternatives to the use and abuse of animals in any area of their exploitation…

"That one of my thumbs be mounted in a downward position and sent to the person or institution that, in the year of my death or thereabouts, has gone against the changing tide of societal opinion and frightened and hurt animals in some egregious manner…

MTV Won't Show Ads For 'Super Size Me'

Reuters
Thursday, May 27, 2004; Page C09

LOS ANGELES, May 26 -- The documentary "Super Size Me," a critical look at the health impact of a fast-food-only diet, has been downsized at MTV: The cable network has refused to show ads for the film, its distributors said Wednesday.

Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films said in a statement that MTV has told them the ads are "disparaging to fast-food restaurants."

The distributors said MTV sister network VH1 was planning to use clips from the movie in a program called "Best Week Ever," but the clips were pulled before the show aired.

An MTV spokesperson was unavailable for comment. MTV and VH1 are owned by media giant Viacom, which depends on advertising for a major portion of its revenues.

[...]

"Liquor stores in the District may apply to the city's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board for a license to extend their hours until midnight under legislation narrowly approved yesterday by the D.C. Council."

[...]

Another measure, pushed by council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4), was approved after it failed on two prior occasions. It prohibits the sale of single containers of beer at liquor stores and groceries in Ward 4. This is similar to a moratorium that passed four years ago in Mount Pleasant in Ward 1.

"...grant making and the issuance of direct and guaranteed loans to fund the development of renewable energy sources or energy efficiency opportunities. It is understood that cattle carcasses and parts of cattle can be a source of energy. In order to support the Departmental efforts to address the BSE situation, the Agency has determined that it is appropriate to develop this Pilot Program to guarantee loans to rural small businesses which may provide the means to effectively destroy specified risk materials that have been associated with BSE and cattle, while providing a bio-based source of energy. Funding for this Pilot Program is only anticipated to be available for the 2004 fiscal year."

"...From a memo distributed in May 2002 to meat inspectors by the U.S. Department of Agriculture...

"There are many serious responsibilities you have assumed in your role as a Consumer Safety Inspector. You need to learn your role and work within the guidelines. We are anxious to help you know your role well.

"You must understand the responsibility you accept when you stop the company's production processes by stopping the line. If a product that is going into the food supply has been directly contaminated and you can justify the production loss that will prevent its entrance into the food supply, then you will be supported, because that is in your scope of work.

"Stopping production for "possible" cross contamination is unjustifiable unless you can verify that there is direct product contamination. Verification is OBSERVATION of gross contaminate, not SUSPECTED contaminate. This is the only criteria for justifying halting production...

"The company encouraged doctors to use Neurontin in patients with bipolar disorder, a psychological condition, even though a study had shown that the medicine was no better than a placebo in treating the disorder. Other disorders for which the company illegally promoted Neurontin included Lou Gehrig's disease, attention deficit disorder, restless leg syndrome and drug and alcohol withdrawal seizures.

[...]

"Companies continue to underwrite physician education seminars where unapproved uses of their drugs are discussed. They continue to hire advertising agencies to conduct clinical trials and ghostwriters to write up the studies for experts listed as authors. And they often hire physicians as consultants, arrangements that call into question a physician's independence in deciding what drugs to prescribe for patients.

"Other companies that have been fined for drug marketing abuses include TAP Pharmaceuticals, which in 2001 paid $875 million - the largest such fine so far. Last year, Bayer paid $257 million. Schering-Plough is currently under investigation for its sales practices.

[...]

These marketing practices...were extremely effective, according to internal company documents. Doctors who attended dinners given by the company to discuss unapproved uses of Neurontin wrote 70 percent more prescriptions for the drug than those who did not attend, one memorandum showed.

[...]

Part of the government's rationale for bringing the case was that Warner-Lambert's marketing schemes led physicians to prescribe to Medicaid patients who should not have received the drug, costing federal and state governments millions of dollars. Of the $430 million fine, $106 million will go to the 50 states, which share with the federal government the costs of the Medicaid program.

The Florida Legislature passed "Terri's Law," which empowers the Governor to intervene in these cases and stop the removal of a feeding tube. Gov. Bush did so, but the law was ruled facially invalid (PDF) by a Florida state court last week.

I think there are two horrifying issues here--the possibility that you could be injured irreversibly and then become the symbol of the right to life movement. I would much rather be unplugged than exist for years under the control of crazy family members trying to use me to support their wacked religious beliefs.

But it's also horrifying to consider how one dies in these situations--they unplug you and you starve to death. It would be more humane (at least to the patient) to be administered an overdose of sedatives than to die of dehydration. Jack Kevorkian is still in jail, so he won't be administering anything.

Anyway, to at least avoid the risk of being kept alive for years in hospice, you can complete an advance directive or living will. Also consider a durable power of attorney for health care decisions. The American Bar Association has a free brochure (DOC) that you can complete and notarize. Also, the Partnership for Caring has information about end of life decisions.

I've had an advance directive for some time now, as I used to own high-performance motorcycles, and the chance of serious injury motivated me to vest my health decisions in my brother, Mark.

This is what you need to know about this movie:

First, it stars Rowdy Roddy Piper.

Second, those stupid sunglasses are an important part of the story. They allow him to see through all the propaganda that is being used to control the poor.

Third, the news media is an important part of this web of control. Here's Roddy reading some mindless rag. It's probably Time Magazine. My torts professor used to say: Time-Life Magazines. Life, the magazine for those who cannot read. Time, the magazine for those who cannot think.

Fourth, the rich are really aliens who, with help from the middle class, are exploiting the poor through thought control.

Fifth, God, Allah, Baal, and all other divine kings have been replaced by the one true god: money.

Sixth, how is all of this control exercised, you ask? With television! At the end of the movie, Roddy Roddy Piper blows up the cable company, which is creating a signal that disguises all of the social control.

Now that you have learned these six important things about They Live, remember that billboards are telling you things like "No Independent Thought," "Consume," and "Obey."

Mond: "...All great art really grows out of passion, conflict, social instability, and we don't have any of that anymore. People are happy."

Savage: "Happy at what cost?"

Mond: "At the cost of art, religion, philosophy, love, science..."

Bernard Marx: "Science? But we've been conditioned to believe that science is everything."

Mond: "Not true science, Bernard, just technology that serves the public order. Increase consumption, prevent dissatisfaction."

The creator of the film, Morgan Spurlock, was there and led a pretty good Q&A on the film. Most interesting was the problem of primary and secondary school lunches, which offer students lots of choices, but many of the kids choose the worst foods to eat. And all of the choices consist of pre-packaged, preserved foods.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute was there to protest the movie--one of their analysts, Soso Whaley engaged in a simiar experiement where she ate salads from McDonald's for a month and exercised. She lost weight.