Did you hear? Taco Bell is being sued by a Montgomery, Ala., law firm that wants to know what's in the company's meat. Here's a snip from Yahoo! News:

"Rather than beef, these food items are actually made with a substance known as 'taco meat filling,' " the lawsuit says. The firm contends that that Taco Bell shouldn't market the taco meat filling in question as beef because their testing shows that it only contains 36 percent ground beef. If that's true, Taco Bell's meat filling product would fall below the already generous USDA standard for it to qualify as meat -- the present standard demands it consist of at least 40 percent meat. This inspired Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz to crack, "Perhaps they should call it 'Almost Taco Meat Filling.'"

Read the entire article, by Brett Michael Dykes, here.

And then ...

From Grist.org:

It appears that Taco Bell is interested in having a debate over the meaning of the word "beef." The fast food chain, victim of a class-action lawsuit claiming that its taco beef is only 35 percent actual beef, has released a new ad directed at its accusers (as well as its customers, presumably) saying, "Thank you for suing us."

The fact is, Taco Bell is in the unenviable position of defending against accusations that its food is not really food. In the end, I would argue that the damage has been done.

Read the rest of this post, by Tom Laskawy, here.

I'm going to have to go with Tom here. The fact that the company stands accused of using a food substance that's two-thirds filler and only one-third beef is enough to make me lose all interest in eating at the restaurant chain. What about you?

Of course, couldn't we see this coming? As the saying goes, we get what we pay for. Problem is, in this economy, for some people food-like substances will have to do, and this is one restaurant where five bucks will fill an empty stomach.

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

• Thanks to the Library of Congress for this photo.

No kidding. A couple of grad students from New York University have designed some T-shirts with lungs and hearts — like the organ, not the cutesy symbol of love — that change colors when they're near pollution. So, for example, if you're wearing one of the shirts and you smoke a cigarette, blue veins will appear.

Here's more from the New York Daily News:

Nien Lam and Sue Ngo came up with the idea for a class on wearable technologies in the interactive telecommunications program at Tisch School of the Arts.

"The organs in your body are invisible to you, just like pollution and the other silent killers out there," said Lam, 32, who lives on the upper West Side.

"We wanted to bring up that visualization, bring the inside out," added Ngo, 27, of Fort Greene, Brooklyn. "This is a stark reminder for yourself and others around you."

A dime-sized carbon monoxide sensor attached to the sweatshirt detects pollution from cars, factories, and even second-hand smoke.

It sits on a microcontroller programmed to send electrical currents through the shirt, warming wires that run under the lungs - or on some shirts, a heart.

Because the organs are made of thermochromic fabric that changes color dramatically when heated, blue veins become visible when the sensor finds toxins in the air.

"They went for something that's at once subtle and quite in your face," said designer Despina Papadopoulos, who co-taught the class. "It was a perfect project. It's a conversation starter."

Read the rest of this article, by Barry Paddock, here.

Now, who's brave enough to wear these shirts this summer in Charlotte, the city the American Lung Association deems the 10th worst in the nation for air pollution?

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

ReVenture. Heard of it? It's the proposed eco-industrial park that will include a hybrid (new + old technology) incinerator and a city-owned waste water treatment plant. If you need to get up to speed, check out "ReVenture Under Review" in the February issue of Charlotte magazine (written by me).

Now, the developers admit the parks' plans are constantly "evolving." For example, in the article linked above, I describe how the company planned to pelletize our waste and add lime to it, a move that woulda, shoulda, coulda helped lessen air pollution concerns. Welp. Between the time the article went to the printers and the time it hit stands, that long-touted plan was scrapped.

Another long-touted plan on the chopping block? Mecklenburg County's role in the air quality permitting process. Keep in mind, the American Lung Association says our city's air is the 10th worst in the country.

To be clear, Don Willard, director of Meckleburg County's Air Quality, told me this morning, "There is no permit. There is no application. When we have an application, we can tell people what the facts are."

But, here's the deal: While the county is authorized by the state to issue air quality permits, they're not allowed to issue them for municipal waste incinerators, "if this is, in fact, a municipal waste incinerator," said Willard, and "it appears that's what this will be."

(A public relations note: Team ReVenture — that's what they call themselves — doesn't like us to use the word "incinerator.")

So, if the county can't permit the plant, the state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources will get the job. This concerns Bill Gupton, of chair of the Central Piedmont Sierra Club. He feels the move will weaken the county's role in the process and that "Mecklenburg County citizens will lose the ability to review and approve the air quality permit." Further, he said, "If this is the case, then everything we've been told goes out the window."

"With yesterday's announcement that ReVenture's main facility will be permitted as a municipal waste incinerator, and therefore under the jurisdiction of the state DENR rather than Meck County air quality, one of the developer's critical assurances has become an empty promise," said Shannon Binns of Sustain Charlotte. "We have been told repeatedly that this will be one of the most heavily scrutinized air pollution permits in the history of the state because it must pass both county and state review, and our elected officials have supported it with this as one of their reasons, yet local decision-making authority has suddenly been lost. Unfortunately, this is only the latest example of an assurance from the ReVenture team that has gone up in smoke and the public should be very concerned."

To back up their case, both men point to DENR's recent permit for Duke Energy's coal ash ponds which doesn't limit the amount of substances like arsenic that can be drained into our river (aka our drinking water), despite the fact that citizens clearly wanted those substances limited.

When asked if the county's voice will be weakened in the permitting process if DENR's in charge, Willard said, "I wouldn't put it that strongly. We will play a role, but we won't be able to dictate what they will or won't do."

Diana Keys, a spokesperson of DENR, said, "We obviously can't comment on a permit we don't have." She also said she'd have someone call me back later today to discuss the state's permitting process, so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, Tom McKittrick, the man behind ReVenture, said, "We are indifferent who administers the permit; that will be decided between Mecklenburg County and the State."

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

• Thanks to Cult Gigolo for the pic!

If your food has a nutrition label on the front, instead of the back, will you pay more attention to it? Yeah. This is kind of like commercials on the radio — do you actually hear them?

We've become great about tuning out what we don't want to know, so this latest move by the food industry just comes across as silly.

And guess who'll ultimately pay for this change? Yep. You and me.

Here's more from the Associated Press:

The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute on Monday announced the industry's voluntary new "Nutrition Keys," which will list calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugars per serving. Manufacturers may choose to use only one or two of the figures in small, package-front icons, or all four.

The icons replace a program the industry launched and canceled in 2009 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said was misleading. It was called "Smart Choices" and included a green check mark on foods that met some nutrition requirements set by the industry.

Most U.S. food makers and sellers are backing "Nutrition Keys," which the industry is launching with a $50 million marketing campaign.

Read the rest of this article, by Lauran Neeraard, here.

Further reading: 150 years of dieting fads and still no quick fix

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

• Thanks to Alex Castro for the pic!

Uhhh ... we're waiting. Last month, the rumor was WikiLeaks was about to drop a document bomb on Charlotte's baby, Bank of America. At first, BofA was all "no biggie, we're cool." Then they got a little tense, tightened security and ... *crickets*. That's pretty much where the story ends.

Of course, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange didn't say BofA was the group's next target. People heard "big" and "bank" and figured the Q.C.'s big bank was it. But, thing is, the WikiLeaks hasn't dropped a document bomb on any big bank, anywhere.

So, we wait.

Meanwhile, Libya's President, Moammar Gaddaffi, blames WikiLeaks for the political uprising in Tunisia. Wow. That's something. Who knew a website could topple entire governments? At least they're not slacking off.

And, just this week, a banker in Switzerland handed over documents to WikiLeaks, alleging attempts by wealthy business leaders and lawmakers to evade taxes. (That's not exactly shocking, though, is it?) Anyway, here's the video, which explains the hold up on new leaks ... they're busy, yo.

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Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

Is this surprising news? I mean, look around: Americans are fat and in love with processed food. Many of us continue to smoke — and bitch about smoking bans — despite knowing how harmful cigarettes are. We drive everywhere and spend way too much time in front of our electronic screens.

While not surprising, it is something we need to consider in the health care reform battle. Unhealthy people aren't good risks for insurance companies, so they either don't want to cover us or they want to charge much higher rates if they do. No wonder the industry doesn't want to be regulated.

Here's more from Reuters:

As many as 129 million Americans under age 65 have health problems that could hurt their ability to obtain health insurance or force them to pay higher premiums, a U.S. government study said on Tuesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services released the study as the House of Representatives prepared to take up a Republican bill to repeal the healthcare overhaul that was one of President Barack Obama's biggest legislative achievements in 2010.

U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the House debate on the Republican-backed proposal, which starts on Tuesday, would provide an opportunity to spell out the benefits of the legislation that would provide coverage to as many as 33 million people who lack medical insurance.

"Under the old rules, if you had any kind of medical condition, whether you were a child born with a medical disability, a cancer survivor, a pregnant woman or, in some cases, even a victim of domestic violence, insurers could freely deny you application," Sebelius told reporters in a telephone briefing on the report.

The vote by the Republican-led House that is set for Wednesday will be largely symbolic since Democrats remain in control of the Senate and are unlikely to advance the repeal effort. But the repeal vote will help Republicans fulfill a campaign pledge and meet a key demand of conservative Tea Party activists, who were crucial to their winning control of the House and picking up seats in the Senate.

Read the rest of this article, by Donna Smith, here.

Further reading: Two N.C. Dems switch sides on health care vote

Here's a video that's attempting to explain how we got into this debate in the first place:

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist and former life and health insurance agent who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

What's with all the odd Washington deaths lately? We've got the military veteran/Washington adviser gunned down mafia style in a landfill; we've got an assassination attempt on a congresswoman — and six fallen citizens who were in the wrong place at the wrong time; and on the same day as the big merger news (in case you haven't heard, North Carolina's big energy companies are getting married), one of Progress Energy's Washington lobbyists was found on fire in her own car ... in her own driveway. Of course, her death isn't being labeled as a crime at this point, just a freak accident.

Here's more from Death and Taxes magazine:

Turton’s body was found inside the burning car by the Washington D.C. Fire Department. Turton was the wife of White House deputy director of legislative affairs Dan Turton, and was a lobbyist for Progress Energy (in the news because of a $13.7 billion merger with Duke Energy announced the same day).

According to ABC News, there was a call made at 4:50am reporting a car accident. It is believed that Turton crashed into her garage, igniting a flame that engulfed the car. The explanation seems reasonable, as it only requires a spark and gasoline to trigger such an inferno.

At this point, it is too early to come to a conclusion about the cause, but something about a woman crashing into her garage at around 4:50 a.m. seems rather curious. Several questions need to be asked.

Read the entire post, by DJ Pangburn, here.

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

Good for the people of Nash and Wilson Counties; they're not sitting idly by while a chicken processing plant moves in. Oh, no. They've actually hired a public relations firm to lobby their county commission in an effort to convince them to back away from the development. Click here to see one of the fliers being circulated in the area and online. It talks about the plant's demand on the area's drinking water, potential water and air contamination, worker safety concerns and, of course, the smell that millions of chickens will generate.

Now, the real question: Why should citizens have to hire a public relations firm to get their elected officials to listen to them?

From The Rocky Mount Telegram:

Nash County residents have hired a Raleigh-based public relations firm to develop a campaign to sway a company not to locate a chicken processing plant in the southern end of the county.

Campaign Connections, which has handled political and corporate campaigns throughout the state, has been hired by the residents with the financial assistance of the city of Wilson, said Con Ward, chairman of the Nash County Landowners Association.

The association was formed to convince county officials and Sanderson Farms to drop plans to develop a proposed chicken processing plant at the southeast quadrant of N.C. 97 and Interstate 95. On Nov. 1, the Nash County Board of Commissioners approved of a rezoning of the property that would allow the plant to be built there. County officials have been courting Sanderson Farms, which promises 1,100 new jobs, since the summer. But residents in Southern Nash County and Wilson County, as well as city officials in Wilson, have raised concerns about the proposal. The city of Wilson and local residents have sued Nash County, alleging the rezoning process was flawed.

As the legal case continues, the residents will continue to make their case known through protests and the Campaign Connections campaign, Ward said.

Read the rest of this article, by John Henderson, here.

Here is a peek inside an unnamed U.S. poultry processing plant:

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

Wow. What a week for Charlotte's LGBT community. And, for the second time this week, our city's sexual orientation acceptance issues have made the national news. This time, we've got a bar apologizing to a lesbian couple after a Facebook boycott stemming from pathetic, mean-spirited customer service.

From MSNBC and The Charlotte Observer:

Two women who launched a Facebook page to organize a boycott of Dixie's Tavern - after they say they were told the bar didn't want to serve lesbians - have won an apology from the manager and a promise of sensitivity training for the staff.

Tracy Thomas said she and her friend Kelly Johnson created the page after visiting Dixie's Tavern on Seventh Street in uptown Charlotte on Dec. 17 about dinnertime. She says they grew upset after about 20 minutes passed and no waiter came to their table, although waiters were serving tables nearby.

When they finally got to put in their drink order, Thomas said, another 10 minutes passed before it came so they decided to leave. She said a member of the staff asked if they were going to pay for the drinks and they said no.

They said as they walked out that the staffer said, "Good, we don't want to serve lesbians here anyway," followed by cuss words and other degrading comments. Thomas said when her friend burst into tears and asked what the man's name was, he said he was "one of the owners."

"Never, ever would I have dreamed that anybody would be treated like that," Thomas told the Observer Wednesday. "I was just shocked."

Read the rest of this article, by Eric Frazier, here.

People, listen: We can't keep beating up on others because they're different from us in some way. Let's learn to come together to celebrate our differences and help our neighbors.

I'm not a big gospel music fan, but I love sentiment behind the lyrics to this Rhonda Vincent song, "You don't love God if you don't love your neighbor." Give it a listen:

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.

WikiLeaks still hasn't dropped its document bomb on Bank of America, but word is Charlotte's big bank is in full-on paranoid mode.

From The New York Times:

By the time the conference call ended, it was nearly midnight at Bank of America’s headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., but the bank’s counterespionage work was only just beginning.

A day earlier, on Nov. 29, the director of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, said in an interview that he intended to “take down” a major American bank and reveal an “ecosystem of corruption” with a cache of data from an executive’s hard drive. With Bank of America’s share price falling on the widely held suspicion that the hard drive was theirs, the executives on the call concluded it was time to take action.

Since then, a team of 15 to 20 top Bank of America officials, led by the chief risk officer, Bruce R. Thompson, has been overseeing a broad internal investigation — scouring thousands of documents in the event that they become public, reviewing every case where a computer has gone missing and hunting for any sign that its systems might have been compromised.

In addition to the internal team drawn from departments like finance, technology, legal and communications, the bank has brought in Booz Allen Hamilton, the consulting firm, to help manage the review. It has also sought advice from several top law firms about legal problems that could arise from a disclosure, including the bank’s potential liability if private information was disclosed about clients.

The company’s chief executive, Brian T. Moynihan, receives regular updates on the team’s progress, according to one Bank of America executive familiar with the team’s work, who, like other bank officials, was granted anonymity to discuss the confidential inquiry.

Whether Mr. Assange is bluffing, or indeed has Bank of America in its sights at all, the bank’s defense strategy represents the latest twist in the controversy over WikiLeaks and Mr. Assange.

Read the rest of this article, by Nelson D. Schwartz, here.

Further reading, in somewhat connected news: Are you a terrorist by association? In These Times takes a look at the Justice Department and their current targets. Read more here.

Just because it's fun, and since we're still waiting for the next WikiLeaks bomb to drop (tick frikkin tock), here's Julian Assange rapping (kinda) on Rap News 5:

Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.