Free Republic

SodaStream is an Israeli company which makes a really cool and really popular product, essentially a make your own soda at home device. I plan on getting one. Its U.S. division is SodaStreamUSA.This video shows the SodaStream story of building bridges between Jews and Arabs:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl85AL1l0H0Nonetheless, SodaStream has been the subject of a vicious boycott by the anti-Israel BDS movement, that grouping of Islamist, anti-Israel leftists and academics and other fringe players like Code Pink, which seeks to delegitimize Israel. The latest iteration, as you know, was the pressure campaign which succeeded in convincing Stephen Hawking to boycott an Israeli conference.SodaStream...

California Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, proposes a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks. KGO-TVreports that his controversial bill is currently on its way to the senate's Health Committee for discussion. How much more expensive would a can of soda be if the tax goes into effect? The price of each can of sweetened soda would increase by 12 cents. Which types of beverages will this law affect? As noted in SB-622, this tax affects all "bottled sweetened beverages" as well as concentrates if they contain more than 25 calories for every 12 ounces of content. Fruit and vegetable juices may also...

Ace has a great post up that asks a simple question. They told us if we voted for Romney he would impose his bizarre religious beliefs on us...so why is the left imposing THEIR bizarre religious beliefs on us instead? You know, some of us don't join religions because we actually don't want to have strange devotional rituals and forbiddances imposed on us. But religion is voluntary. Government law is not. Why are thesemonsters -- yes, monsters -- encoding their bizarre religious devotions into law? As I've said: God save us from those with no god but but bursting at the...

The left would probably be completely beside themselves at this comparison, but it's totally appropriate.We have fallen very far from our founding when government, even at the local level, feels entitled to micromanage our lives down to the number of ounces of soda we drink. From Super Conservative

If you thought Nanny Bloomberg’s meltdown was bad yesterday when the judge smacked down his soda jihad, you have to watch NBC/MSNBC leftist hack Mika Brzezinski meltdown this morning on Morning Joe. Her temper tantrum made Nanny Bloomberg look calm, cool and collected. Brzezinski, whined about how soda makers are ‘poising and killing our children,’ ‘liquid sugar and sugar is poison,’ etc.

NEW YORK (AP) - Eateries from corner delis to movie concession stands have gotten a last-minute reprieve from the nation’s first ban on big sugary drinks. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg is urging them to shrink their cups and bottles, anyway.

NEW YORK — It wasn't too long ago that America had a love affair with soda. Now, an old flame has the country's heart. As New York City grapples with the legality of a ban on the sale of large cups of soda and other sugary drinks at some businesses, one thing is clear: soda's run as the nation's beverage of choice has fizzled. In its place? A favorite for much of history: Plain old H2O. For more than two decades, soda was the No. 1 drink in the U.S. with per capita consumption peaking in 1998 at 54 gallons...

(CNSNews.com) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the large soda ban set to go into effect this month at city restaurants, street vendors and movie theaters is how government tells the public what’s in their best interest. “We're not banning anything. It's called portion control,” Bloomberg said Sunday on CBS’s "Face the Nation." “It's a typical way that companies use to and governments use to explain to people what's in their interest and what isn't.”

Barring any late legal surprises, Mayor Bloomberg's 16-ounce cap on sugary sodas goes into effect on Tuesday, March 12. After that, restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and food carts will not be permitted to sell extra-large portions of sugar-packed drinks. Stay calm. This does not signal the end of democracy in America. This is not the nanny state gone out of control. If we want Americans to be healthy, we are going to have to take actions like this - and many more - and do so soon -snip So-called "nanny-state" measures - like bans on driving while drunk, smoking...

Take a big gulp, New York: Hizzoner is about to give you a pop. Nanny Bloomberg unleashes his ban on large sodas on March 12 — and there are some nasty surprises lurking for hardworking families. Say goodbye to that 2-liter bottle of Coke with your pizza delivery, pitchers of soft drinks at your kid’s birthday party and some bottle-service mixers at your favorite nightclub. -snip- Typically, a pizzeria charges $3 for a 2-liter bottle of Coke. But under the ban, customers would have to buy six 12-ounce cans at a total cost of $7.50 to get an equivalent amount...

Some people never learn. New York City's Mayor Michael The Nanny Bloomberg is one of them. He's been a major gun grabber for years. Along the way he's gone after cigar smokers, transfats, baby formula and Big Gulp sodas. He has to be the all time greatest buzzkill. He likes his hot dogs, we like our fries, why can't we all just get along? But no sooner does The Nanny ban extra large sodas, now he's after your pain meds. He instructed New York City's socialized medical institutions to limit such prescriptions, even if it means more patient suffering. Who...

Richmond's soda tax may have faltered badly on election day, but the idea is now bubbling up in other Bay Area cities and counties. Officials in San Francisco, Berkeley, Alameda County, Vallejo, El Cerrito and other jurisdictions have discussed, or plan to discuss, placing soda taxes on ballots. "We lost the election, but the movement will eventually win," said Dr. Jeff Ritterman, the Richmond city councilman who sponsored Measure N. "Momentum is on our side."

Pepsi seeks lead in the cola wars with new ‘fat-blocking’ sodaBy: Danielle Tworek November 12, 2012 In the endless battle to shake their growing reputation as a key trigger point in America’s obesity epidemic, the major soda manufacturer, Pepsi, has a new invention for the soda market: Pepsi Special, the “fat-blocking” cola. On November 13, consumers in Japan will believe they can say yes to the fries and even add a little bacon on that burger as they head through the drive-thru, as long as they include a large Pepsi Special with their meal deal. At least that’s the concept...

WASHINGTON - Several members of the D.C. Council have come out in favor of restricting the sizes of sugary sodas sold in the District - a ban similar to one in New York City. At a recent debate between candidates for the at-large council seats, current Councilmembers Michael Brown and Vincent Orange said without hesitation they would vote to ban the sale of large drinks.

Washington boy finds whiskey in Mountain Dew A 13-year-old in Shoreline said he took a swig of his Mountain Dew and it turned out to be whiskey. His parents say the bottle was sealed and looked legit. “Except for the color it looks like a fully functional Mountain Dew,” said Marie Grant, mother. Marcus Olson immediately spit it out. “It tasted a little bitter. It didn’t taste like Mountain Dew at all,” he said. His mother said her son drank at least a shot. Grant is furious. She claims she’s only getting the run around from both Pepsi and the...

New York City's health board has passed a rule banning super-sized, sugary drinks at restaurants, concession stands and other eateries. The regulation passed Thursday puts a 16-ounce size limit on cups and bottles of non-diet soda, sweetened teas and other calorie-packed beverages. The ban will apply in fast-food joints, movie houses and Broadway theaters, workplace cafeterias and most other places selling prepared food. It doesn't cover supermarkets or most convenience stores. City health officials say the ban is necessary to combat a deadly obesity epidemic. The restaurant and beverage industries have assailed the plan as misguided. They say the city's...

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- New York City's controversial proposal to regulate restaurant sales of large sugary drinks is coming to a head, with the city's Board of Health scheduled to decide the measure's fate on Thursday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's self-appointed board is expected to pass the measure, effectively prohibiting city restaurants, delis, sports facilities, and street vendors (but not grocery stores or convenience stores) from selling sweetened beverages in servings exceeding 16 ounces. The mayor has framed the issue as an urgent public health effort to combat obesity, saying the goal is to help New Yorkers make better...

Is 16.9 oz. the perfect size? Who knows? We willingly submit to the unforgiving judgment of the market.As a fellow entrepreneur with a public-service orientation, I have been a longtime admirer of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to acting on his principles. Having launched Honest Tea 14 years ago with five thermoses and a belief that consumers were thirsty for a lower-calorie natural and organic beverage, I appreciate all he has accomplished. However, I write today as an entrepreneur frustrated by a proposal that arbitrarily complicates the practical realities of commerce. When the mayor announced his proposal to...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - America's largest physician organization recommended on Wednesday that taxes levied on sugar-sweetened sodas be used to fight the country's growing obesity crisis. But the policy statement adopted by the American Medical Association's House of Delegates meeting in Chicago fell short of outright support for taxing sugar-sweetened beverages to control use of these products. Two recommendations to support such taxes put before the group's policy-making body in prior meetings failed to pass. "While there is no silver bullet that will alone reverse the meteoric rise of obesity, there are many things we can do to fight this epidemic...

Call it a case of “Pepsi Envy.” The far-left kookocracy that rules Cambridge (motto: “Too small for a Republic, too large for a permanent ‘Occupy’ encampment”) saw the unrelenting mockery of New York City’s proposed “big-soda” ban and said, “Hey, that could be us!” And so they leapt at the opportunity to play national punch line yet again, pushing their own version of Nanny Bloomberg’s Big Gulp ban. If the story of Massachusetts were made into a movie, Cambridge would be played by Pauly Shore. And even he’d be embarrassed by it. Embarrassed because even in this attempt at self-humiliation,...