Anus Meat Angus Burger Lawsuit

I thought it was just Burger King that had the "Angus Burgers" but apparently Carl, Jr.'s and Hardee's also sell Angus. These companies filed a lawsuit against Jack In The Box over two commercials that seem to imply that cow Anus meat is used in Angus burgers (check the two clips I have posted here). Now back when Black Angus restaurants used to be here in South Florida, all the kids used to call them Black Anus Restaurants. So why should it be different for the fast food crud companies? Let's face it, the odds are good that cow anus does end up in the meat mix.

Hardee's is not around in South Florida anymore, but back when they were, I always thought they used kangaroo meat or the famous Russian elephant meat that was allegedly being sold as horse meat by the Russians who were busy harvesting cheap meat wherever they could get it back during the Cold War era. Does anyone even remember the Cold War? When the Russians were providing military aid to a multitude of third world countries that had no money, the Ruskies were reportedly getting paid in elephant meat, kangaroo meat, zebra chow, and just about anything else that was edible. Supposedly most of this meat ended up in Cuba, Angola, and other places that were getting propped up by Russia.

Anyhow, the fact that these fast food companies are suing each other over whether or not their burgers have cow anuses just goes to show that the best thing to do is avoid them all. Eat your meat at a reputable restaurant that does not add any fillers, preservatives, or other unknown tripe into your food! Better yet, buy the lean cuts at your local supermarket and that way you can eyeball it yourself. Don't be a butthole muncher! Avoid the fast food restaurants!!
Here is the real news story regarding the Anus meat lawsuit:
LOS ANGELES -- The parent company of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast food chains sued rival Jack In The Box Inc. on Friday to stop TV ads that it says suggest Carl's Jr. and Hardee's use cow anus to make Angus beef hamburgers.

CKE Restaurants Inc. sued Jack In The Box in U.S. District Court on Friday over an ad in which executives laugh hysterically at the word "Angus" and another where the chain's pingpong ball-headed mascot, Jack, is asked to point to a diagram of a cow and show where Angus meat comes from. "I'd rather not," the pointy-nosed Jack replies. The employee asking the question traces a circle in the air with his pen while pronouncing the word Angus.

CKE claims the ads create the misleading impression that Jack In The Box's new 100 percent sirloin burgers use a better quality of meat than the Angus beef used by Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. CKE claims the spots confuse consumers by comparing sirloin, a cut of meat found on all cattle, with Angus, which is a breed of cattle.
Executives at San Diego-based Jack In The Box had not seen the lawsuit and could not respond, company spokeswoman Kathleen Anthony said. Restaurants owned by Burger King Holdings Inc. and McDonald's Corp. also serve Angus beef burgers.

CKE is known for running controversial ads for its chains, including one featuring a scantily clad Paris Hilton washing a car while eating a burger. But CKE claims the Jack In the Box ads go too far. "They're not being funny," CKE chief executive Andrew F. Puzder said Friday. "They need to stop misleading people about what Angus beef is." Puzder said that the company asked Jack In the Box to drop the ads, but that the chain refused and pointed to a Carl's Jr. TV spot suggesting Carl's Jr. milk shakes were superior to those served by competitors. Puzder said the comparison was not valid because the Carl's Jr. ads did not suggest that Jack In the Box shakes were made from milk that came from an unsavory part of the cow.

Working Out Rejuvenates Old Muscles

Healthy seniors benefit from strength training by rejuvenating their muscle tissue, say Canadian and U.S. researchers who found the proof at the molecular level. Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, director of the neuromuscular and neurometabolic clinic at McMaster University in Hamilton and Simon Melov of the Buck Institute for Age Research in Novato, Calif., compared tissue samples from 25 healthy older men and women who did six months of weight training and a similar group of 26 younger people.
'This shows that it's never too late to start exercising and that you don't have to spend your life pumping iron in a gym to reap benefits,' said Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky. No matter how old you are, you can start working out and get in shape! It is never too late to start fresh! At any age, your muscles will respond to exercise and progressive resistance training.

The researchers looked at the molecular "fingerprint" of aging in mitochondria, the powerhouse that supplies energy to cells. Studies suggest poor mitochondrial function is involved in the loss of muscle mass and function commonly seen in older people. Older adults showed a decline in gene activity for mitochondrial function, but exercise was linked to a reversal back to levels similar to those of younger adults, the team reports in Wednesday's issue of the journal PloS One. Before exercise training, the older adults were also 59 per cent weaker than the younger adults, but after the training, their strength was only 38 per cent weaker. After four months of follow up, most of the older adults were no longer exercising at a gym but continued to do resistance exercise at home by lifting soup cans or elastic bands. "They were still as strong, they still had the same muscle mass," Tarnopolsky said in a release. "This shows that it's never too late to start exercising and that you don't have to spend your life pumping iron in a gym to reap benefits." While aging studies on worms, fruit flies and mice have shown similar results, Melov said the researchers were surprised at the extent of the results in humans. "The fact that their 'genetic fingerprints' so dramatically reversed course gives credence to the value of exercise, not only as a means of improving health, but of reversing the aging process itself, which is an additional incentive to exercise as you get older."

The younger participants were 20 to 35 with an average age of 26, while those in the older group were all over 65 with an average age of 70. Both groups were similar in terms of diet and exercise, and none took medication or had diseases that affect mitochondrial function. The hour-long resistance training sessions were done twice a week on standard gym equipment, involving 30 contractions of each muscle group. Tissue samples were taken from the thigh muscle, and the strength test was based on knee flexion. Future studies are planned to determine if resistance training has any genetic impact on organ tissues. The researchers also want to determine whether endurance training such as running or cycling affects mitochondrial function and aging.
Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle, PLoS One

Commentary: So once the study was over these old folks were lifting soup cans at home?? Did they learn nothing about the benefits of working out and lifting weights? Wow, if it was because they couldn't afford a membership at the gym, I am sorry for them. On the other hand, if it was just out of laziness, then the doctors who did the study did not educate their subjects very well. There are many people over 70 years old working out at the gym I usually go to, and they look a lot younger than their age. Check out these Gray Iron senior fitness freaks! On the other hand, if you can't get to a gym because of illness, finances, lack of transportation, or any reason; then working out with soup cans is better than nothing! You can also use gallon water jugs and there are probably many things around the house that someone could improvise for working out (or just buy a couple of dumb-bells at Wal-Mart or K-Mart for under $10). Besides lifting weights, walking and jogging is free (not to mention bicycling!), and getting some sunshine is good for your physical and mental health! Check out these Monster Walks which are perfect for New Yorkers! Having lived in New York City, I remember very well how cool the architecture was. Some of those little monsters are really creepy, and some of them are just fun to look at. Having lived in Spain, and visited France, Italy, and Germany, I remember that the older buildings also have gargoyles and other intricate archtectural details and decorations (such as dragons, leprechauns, imps, elves, etc.). The cathedrals are in a class by themselves, and beyond anything that you can imagine if you have never been inside a European cathedral. Europeans walk a lot since their cities are compacted together just like New York City. If you don't live in a city with great places that you can walk to, find a park that you like. Whatever you do, stay active! Get all the physical exercise that you possibly can. Your emotional and mental health will get a boost from your enhanced level of fitness.

No-Limit Fitness Gym

This weekend when I went to the laundromat to do some laundry, I had a chance to visit No-Limit Fitness Gym which is located at 10855 S.W. 72nd Street in Miami, Florida (phone: 305-630-9787). The owner of the gym, David Rene, was a very nice person and he let me work out for free. He was busy doing some personal training on some cute ladies while I was working out. I had a chance to say hello to him. He is a former professional bodybuilder who had competed in several bodybuilding shows, most notably in the NPC Southern States championship. The photos from his competitive days were on the wall behind the front counter.

The gym is small compared to most gyms like Bally's, Gold's or World Gym. However, it had all of the necessary work-out equiptment. There was a full rack of dumb-bells, weight machines to cover every body part, and several benches for various dead weight exercises. I concentrated on chest exercises, and I got a very good workout. There was a also a row of treadmills, stationary bikes, and step machines. This may not be a massive gym, but anybody can get a good workout here. The annual membership fee was reasonable, around $300. The gym is conveniently located in the heart of Kendall.

From what I observed, the personal training plays a substantial role in No-Limit Fitness Gym. Every time I have been to the laundromat, I have walked by No-Limit Fitness; and the owner is usually very busy training the ladies. It must be pretty cool to get trained by a former pro bodybuilder. David Rene's personal training rates are very reasonable, and he has a very friendly personality that is oriented towards helping people out.

Met-Rx Big 100

One of the best-tasting protein bars that I have tried are the Met-Rx Big 100 meal replacement bars. While these are not a diet food, the fact that it is nutritionally complex enough to be a meal replacement bar says that you could try to lose weight by eating one or two of these bars instead of a couple of meals. The Big 100 bars are fortified with at least 40% of the US RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of Vitamin A, C, E, B-6, B-12, Calcium, Iron, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Phosphorus, Iodine, Zinc, and Copper. Unlike some protetin bars, I have not experience constipation from eating these Big 100 bars. When it comes to protein supplements, sometimes they can have some side effects on your digestive process, so finding a better quality product that you can eat every day without any worries is a major positive.

The Big 100 bars provide 27 grams of Metamyosin protein (a blend of milk protein, whey isolates, egg protein, l-glutamine), which is pretty good, but five grams less than the Protein-Plus bars (also by Met-Rx). The Big 100 bars are tasty. The Big 100 bars also post 360 calories (and 51 grams of carbohydrates) into your calorie counter, so they are not for snacking!! My favorite is the Chocolate Chip flavor. It literally has chocolate chips in every

bite. It should have more than 360 calories considering how delicious it is! I have also tried the Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker flavor, and I honestly found it to have a very strong Graham Cracker flavor that I did not like. It was somewhere between too Grahamy sweet and just plain nauseating. These bars are all artificially flavored, and the Graham Cracker version tasted very un-natural. Since this is a new flavor, the odds are that it will be re-calibrated eventually and maybe it will taste better. If you are a fan of Graham Crackers (I am not), you might like it. Try it out and let me know what you think! At most stores (like CVS Pharmacies) these bars are $1.99. If you buy them at a 7-11 they are $2.59. Amazon.com sells a case of 12 bars for $19.59.

I have also tried the Peanut Butter flavor, and it is not bad. It does not taste like Skippy's peanut butter, or a Reese's PB cup. It has a somewhat diluted peanut butter flavor, but it should be good enough for a peanut butter lover. If you have tried it, let me know what you think of it. Have you ever tried any of the Big 100 bars? What did you think of them? How did you use them in your dieting and/or training regimen?

Don Imus Goes Down Like A Clown

I had not heard of Don Imus in a while. I usually skip over his prune-like face as I surf the channels. Even though Imus has lived his entire life in New York City, he likes to pretend that he is a western cowboy. Like most New York City cowboys (see Midnight Cowboy) he looks like a fancy whiskey-bar cowboy (a really old one). Not too many cowboys wear a turtleneck sweater, but Imus always has one on, or else the collars on his jackets are up so he can hide his sagging turkey neck. He also dies his hair, but so did Ronald Reagan.

So last week Imus was talking trash about women basketball players. This week he got fired. Is it a blow to Freedom of Speech? Is Don Imus the Thomas Jefferson of his 1960s de-generation? Or is it time that Don Imus started spending some time with his family and his grand-kids? Isn't it a shame that some folks just can't get enough of fame and fortune and have to cling to it until the bitter end? If you look at the video, Imus is literally doddering on the microphone. Isn't it sad that some old folks need to get kicked to the curb by some scandal because they won't leave when it is way past their prime?

The real tragedy that came out of all this is that New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was nearly killed in a car accident on his way to mediate a meeting between Don Imus and the Rutger's basketball team.