From the AJC:

Whole Foods Market is recalling its 365 Organic Everyday Value Swiss dark chocolate bars because they may contain almonds, which can cause a severe or life-threatening reaction in people who are allergic to the nuts.

No illnesses have been reported. The recalled chocolate bars have a wrapper code that begins with L71423, followed by a four-digit time stamp between the times of 11:33 and 12:15.

Consumers who have bought the chocolate bars can return them to Whole Foods for a full refund. For more information, consumers can call 512-542-0656.

The government of Israel says they are “correcting a 60-year-old blight”…

Six million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II. Hundreds of thousands who survived concentration camps came to Israel after the war. Many suffered physical or psychological damage from the torture and deprivation they suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

Six decades after the war ended, the remaining survivors are elderly, and many have been unable to provide for themselves in their final years, suffering chronic shortages of money for medical and psychological treatment and in some cases even food.

…

“We are correcting a 60-year-old blight,” he said. “Holocaust survivors living in Israel are entitled to live respectably without reaching a situation in which it is beyond their means to enjoy a hot meal.”

Beginning next year, the amount allocated for 120,000 needy survivors, about half the total number still living in Israel, will be $28 million annually, according to Olmert’s statement.

But that works out to an average of just $20 a month for each survivor.

Apparently, the cost of living respectably in Israel is just $19.44 per month, that’s the amount their generous stipend works out to be.

The number 1944 is ironic enough if you ask me.

[Crossposted at RetroMental]

Gidget is a remodeling nut. When she gets in the mood, and we have a little bit of pocket change to spare, she kicks into high gear and remodels one of the rooms of our house.

Our master bedroom is her latest project. She slapped a different colored paint on the walls a few weeks ago and now she has the window treatments in her sights. A few years ago she made some custom curtains for those windows, but her new plan calls for fabric blinds instead, which is fine with me. When she designs a room, it ends up being comfortable, inviting, and beautiful.

I wonder when she’s going to focus on my office? I sure could use some blinds in here too.

Almost everyone I know seems to have been to Jamaica. I was talking to some guys at work, and one of them just got back from his vacation, which was in Jamaica. The other guy went there last year. It was weird listening to them talk about places and things, where they had both been, especially because I have never been there.

If I went to Jamaica, the first thing I would do is try all of the food. As most of you who have been long-time readers know, I love to cook, and the one culinary style I have not mastered yet is the Jamaican Jerk style. I have tried several times and always end up with something that is “similar” but it’s not quite right. It would be a delight to actually try the real thing.

The next thing I would do, is charter a boat and go fishing. When I lived in Hawaii I missed a golden opportunity to go deep-sea fishing, and Jamaica’s Northern waters are famous for their deep-sea and sport fishing. It might cost me a bundle in charter fees, but I could spend the rest of my time sitting in a boat out on the open water.

Needless to say, the conversation with the guys at work ended up with me longing for that overdue vacation. What would you do if you had the chance to travel to Jamaica?

How freaky is this?

Maria La Frenais got more than she bargained for when she broke an egg for breakfast.

The Glendene resident was about to start a morning fry-up when she made the unusual discovery - an egg inside an egg.

“I cracked it into the pan and out came a small yolk,” she says.

“But to my amazement there was another fully formed egg in the shell.

“I then cracked open the inner egg which had a yolk the same size as the first,” she says.

Ms La Frenais says the egg - described by experts as a freak of nature - was in a tray of supersized free range eggs.

An egg in an egg? Imagine if she had made soft boiled eggs that day instead of fried eggs.

[CrossPosted at Bits Of Dust]

I just found a new website that gives you Gigantic Perks when you make major purchases. It’s called ePERKS and you can earn some really cool stuff just for spending money.

Some real estate agents are giving a perk between 15 and 50% cash back when you buy a home or a vacation to Hawaii when you sell one. Contractors have so many ePERKS going on that they are just too numerous for me to mention in one post, but you might want to join ePERKS if you’re planning on having any work done around your home.

The part that intrigued me the most was that car dealers in my area are giving away trips to Las Vegas, three months of free gas, or 32 inch plasma televisions just for making a purchase with them. The dealer I bought my GMC Sierra from last week also participates in the ePERKS program. Of course, I find this out 7 days after making my purchase.

Just think, I could be kicking back, watching my 32-inch plasma television hanging on the wall right now, but no, I had to go and purchase a truck one week before learning about this awesome website. Talk about timing…

Bill Walsh, the groundbreaking football coach who won three Super Bowls and perfected the ingenious schemes that became known as the West Coast offense during a Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers, has died. He was 75.

Walsh died at his Bay Area home early Monday following a long battle with leukemia, according to Stanford University, where he served as coach and athletic director.

Walsh didn’t become an NFL head coach until 47, and he spent just 10 seasons on the San Francisco sideline. But he left an indelible mark on the United States’ most popular sport, building the once-woebegone 49ers into the most successful team of the 1980s with his innovative offensive strategies and teaching techniques.

…

He is survived by his wife, Geri, and two children, Craig and Elizabeth.

Walsh’s son, Steve, an ABC News reporter, died of leukemia at age 46 in 2002.

Rest In Peace, Bill.

Here we go again. This time, it’s aldicarb sulfoxide in ginger.

From the FDA website:

Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), today warned consumers not to eat fresh ginger imported from China after the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s residue monitoring program detected the presence of aldicarb sulfoxide in some batches of imported ginger. Aldicarb sulfoxide is a pesticide that is not approved for use on ginger.

The product is known to have been distributed to Albertson’s stores and Save Mart stores in northern California by Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, California.

CDPH and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are tracing the imported ginger from the importer (Modern Trading Inc. in Alhambra, California) to determine the full distribution of the product and to identify other retail stores that may have received the product.

Currently, there are no reports of illness associated with the contaminated ginger.

Consumers who may have purchased this product from Albertson’s stores and Save Mart stores in northern California should discard it.

Symptoms of aldicarb poisoning in humans are likely to occur within the first hour following exposure. Ingestion of foods contaminated with aldicarb at low levels can cause flu-like symptoms (nausea, headache, blurred vision) which disappear quickly, usually within 5 or 6 hours. However, at higher levels, ingestion of aldicarb contaminated food can also cause dizziness, salivation, excessive sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle stiffness and twitching, and difficulty in breathing.

Individuals who may have consumed this product and have any of the above symptoms should contact their health care provider immediately.

Cynthia McKinney must have been going through attention withdrawals.

Former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has filed a libel lawsuit against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

McKinney claims the paper included defamatory statements about her in at least two editorials and a news article in 2006. The lawsuit names the paper, its parent company, Cox Enterprises, and editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker.

When someone like Cynthia McKinney is involved, it all becomes surreal doesn’t it? I mean, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not when you listen to her talk, so how does anyone know if something is libelous towards her or not?

It’s pretty clear to see that this nothing more than yet another attempt on her part to step in front of a camera. Too bad she doesn’t know the difference between a camera and a bus.

I love Lois Bromfield. I posted about her for my Monday Memory at TinselTown Trash today and I thought I would share this clip over here.