Why did Constantinople get the works?

Just back from an amazing weekend in Istanbul. I promise that there will be an update on that, but I want to upload the photos first, so you may need to wait a day or two.

Right now, I bring you this line from a story in the New York Times about the beef recall:

"Agriculture officials said there was little health risk from the recalled meat because the animals had already passed pre-slaughter inspection and much of the meat had already been eaten. [emphasis added]"

Last I checked, the fact that something had already been eaten did not change its status as "health risk," especially when the risk in question is the relatively-unknown-quantity of mad cow disease passing into humans.

I'm not overly alarmed, nor do I think you should be, my US meat-eaters, but I thought the statement was pretty funny.

In fact, it's almost as funny as this line, from "Confession, Part 2," by Usher, wherein he tries to convince his girlfriend not to leave him after he knocked up the girl he had an affair with and is on his way to illegitimate fatherhood:

"I hope you can accept the fact that I'm man enough to tell you this."

Again, I'm not convinced that telling your girlfriend that you were about to have a baby with someone else is something that you have to be "man enough" to do. I think it's kind of unavoidable, actually. How else does he plan to explain the sudden appearance of baby? Or his inexplained absences? Or the fact that he comes home smelling like spit-up? Or the child support payments? Or...