Here are some news stories from this week that I think the mainstream media completely missed out on. All links are from legitimate news sources and not the fringe / wacko sites.

* Want another example on how London is different than Texas and how the British judicial system is completely screwed up at the same time? Check this story out… a man and his wife and three kids came home from church services and were all attacked in their own home by a knife wielding burglar and two other men who were already there. The burglars tied them all up and threatened to kill them all.  The homeowner broke free of the restraints and fought with the three men. One of the kids also got free and ran next door to get the homeowners brother. The homeowner managed to hold off the three burglars until his brother arrived to help. Two of the burglars ran away while the third burglar got beat up in the homeowners front yard by the homeowner and his brother with a cricket bat and a metal pole.  The police arrived… and arrested the homeowner and brother for beating the burglar!!! The burglar that was caught? He got let go and is completely free. The two brothers were sentenced to prison for two and a half years. Judge John Reddihough said the prison term was for the homeowners and the homeowners brother’s “very violent revenge”. Judge John Reddihough whined that “If persons were permitted to take the law into their own hands and inflict their own instant and violent punishment on an apprehended offender rather than letting the criminal justice system take its course, then the rule of law and our system of criminal justice, which are hallmarks of a civilised [sic] society, would collapse.” Hey Judge John Reddihough? In Texas, defending your own home and family from burglars is perfectly legal. And Texas isn’t in any danger of collapsing from all this legal “anarchy” you’re so afraid of. People should be allowed to take whatever means necessary to defend their own family in their own home. Especially when they or their family are threatened with terminal harm in their own home. Oh, and one more thing Judge John Reddihough. You’re a complete fucking asshole. A wanker’s wanker. A bloody hairy boil on the ass of the English judicial system. Just thought you should know.  [DAILYMAIL]

* Better get that botox or tummy tuck done soon if you’ve been thinking about doing it. The US government is planning… “a 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic surgery, beginning Jan. 1, 2010.” In other words, a vanity tax. I predict a lot more of these “sneak taxes” coming in 2010. [USA TODAY]

* The FDA opened a branch office in Mexico. To help pre-screen food items heading into the US from Mexico. I don’t know if this is a good idea. What’s wrong with inspecting food once it’s securely on our side of the border? [FOODBUSINESS NEWS]

* Why don’t you notice the dark when you blink? Because blinking temporarily switches off parts of your brain! Science in fun. [PHYSORG]

* A recent military study links deployment to hypertension. Next study from military intelligence – getting shot is surprisingly bad for your health. [MILITARY HEALTH]

—LATE ADDITIONS

* Domino’s Pizza is changing their whole formula! New crust, new cheese and new sauce. The “New crust will have added butter, garlic and parsley, the new cheese will have shredded instead of diced mozzarella and a hint of provolone, and the new sauce will be sweeter, with a red pepper kick.” What the hell? I liked the old Domino’s because it was different! The change happens “in all U.S. stores by Dec. 27”, so enjoy the original style by Christmas before it’s gone forever. [USA TODAY]

* The headline says it all. “Obama weighs creating commission to propose tax hikes”. Didn’t I just predict “sneak taxes” a few paragraphs ago? Well now it’s serious. “The proposed [commission] panel would… vote after the midterm elections on a reform package that could include dramatic tax hikes and spending cuts.” Naturally these cowards would wait to do something after the midterm elections. Start saving and re-investing your money now, folks. [CNN]

Federal Committee alert! A new mega-agency, calling themselves the “Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children”, is planning on bringing the pain to a restaurant near you!

The IWGOFMTC (yikes) is a group of reps from the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture), the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), the FTC  (Federal Trade Commission), and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). You would think when all these heavy hitters get together, it’s because something epic is about to happen. Something along the lines of a mega-disaster asteroid-covered-with-space-ebola is about to smack the earth. But noooooo.

The IWGOFMTC on December 15th “proposed tentative nutrition standards for food marketed to children… the voluntary guidelines would cover food marketed to children up to the age of 17 and place restrictions on products that contain significant amounts of sugar, sodium and saturated fat.”

Voluntary guidelines? The USDA, the CDC, the FTC and the FDA are all just going ask restaurants to change? It’s going to all be voluntary?

Their “voluntary guidelines” are pretty surprising….

“…advertised foods must not contain more than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving and not more than 15% of calories; no more than 13 grams of added sugar; no more than 200 mg of sodium (this level would be interim and over time should be reduced to 140 mg); and must be trans fat free.”

So a bunch of government based heavyweights decided to get together to fight a new “problem” and they’re doing it “for the children”. This looks and sounds a lot like the beginning of something like the Tipper Gore’s Parents Music Resource Center. You ‘member that mess? When they spent tons of money and wasted thousands of hours in congress and the end result was that CDs would need to have a “PARENTAL ADVISORY” sticker on them? You ‘member?

What’s great about all this is that they’re already specifically targeting Yum! Brands, Chuck E. Cheese and IHOP “for their lack of initiative in adhering to meaningful nutrition-based standards for foods marketed to children.” (Yum! brands would be KFC, A&W Restaurants, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, Wing Street, and Taco Bell.)

They’re going after Taco Bell for not having nutritious food for children. I rest my case.

The proposed nutrition standards that they’re working on “are expected to be published in the Federal Register in January, at which point they will be open for comment with possible implementation by the summer of 2010.” They’re also going to be looking at “foods that are advertised on children’s programming, especially on children’s cable networks.”

“Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said now is the time to act, pointing to the growth of web sites and games that are just as effective as television in reaching children. “No matter what standards we create, we’re probably not going to stop kids from liking Cheetos,” Ms. Sebelius said. “But if a kid gets diabetes when he’s 18 partly because when he was younger he only ate the foods he saw everyday on TV and the Internet, that’s not his fault. It’s our fault.”

Um… actually, according to the little Oompa Loompa yelling into my ear, that’s the parent’s fault if the kid grows up chubby and can’t fit into his pants. Mom and Dad need to tell porky pig jr to cut back on the food or the little ADD ankle biters on the playground will make his life a living hell. Government shouldn’t have anything to do with that.

Here’s the link to the Food Business News Article about the IWGOFMTC.