Bogor -- Halal City

The Bogor government has declared its intention of becoming a halal city. Halal in this case means that there is to be no government services with respect to the slaughtering of pigs (photo). However, if private citizens of Bogor want to slaughter pigs and they have their own tools of the trade, then they are going to be permitted to do so.

I wonder if just by the government stopping the slaughter of pigs is enough to make Bogor a halal city? The last time I was in Bogor there were a few other things that might be considered to be decidedly non-halal, like alcohol and prostitution.

I never went to Bogor for a good feed of pig meat anyways. If I went to Bogor and it was not for work-related reasons, then it was to visit the botanical gardens and the weekend retreat of the President. However, when one considers the huge influx of Jakartans to Bogor on the weekend, then it was usually better to stay in Jakarta and enjoy the relative freedom of movement.

Kentucky Fried Chicken & PETA

Kentucky Fried Chicken or as it is better known KFC came into the sites of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or as they are better known PETA. It seems that PETA has a problem with the way KFC treats their chickens. in factories and slaughterhouses. The thing about PETA protests is that the generally bring out the crowds for a bit of a perv as they normally involve some degree of nudity. PETA's protests against fur are legendary for the bare-breasted women. Now it seems that chickens are getting the bare-breasted treatment as well.

The three women were bare-breasted and wearing skimpy yellow bikini bottoms (look at the photo yourself -- I have attached it for your viewing pleasure). The protest took place in the Sydney CBD during the lunch hour. Maximum exposure for maximum effect, I guess. The three were in a cage and holding signs that read, "Chicks Agree: Boycott KFC".

The protesters -- Ashley Fruno, Fawn Porter (Fawn is a great name for a PETA activist), and Carla Lobos were eventually arrested and then claimed they were roughed up by police. The police, obviously, have denied this and also denied they used the additional powers that they have been granted for the month of July to cover the WYD activities. I would imagine that naked or semi-naked women would not be so much of an annoyance but rather a test of a pilgrim's faith!

The young women think that their protest has been successful and that they have educated the masses about the cruel practices of KFC. Judging by the attached photo they did more educating on the semi-naked form of women by the number of mobile phone cameras taking pictures.

Pamela Anderson is a PETA fan and gave Jessica Simpson a serve recently over a t-shirt that read, "Real Men Eat Meat". Pam has also recently been starring in Australia's version of Big Brother and while here also protesting in front of KFC. Unfortunately, Pam's protest was top on as opposed to topless, which was undoubtedly disappointing for many.

The end result is that KFC still feels that its treatment of its chickens is ethical. I think this is because they have not been deemed to have broken any laws. I would have thought that PETA would have been advocating a vegan lifestyle and not just better treatment of animals that are to be slaughtered.

Oh well!