Ringling Wants More Animals to Abuse

 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will go far and wide to find more animals to exploit. Feld Entertainment, which owns this wretchedly cruel circus, has applied to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to import eight tigers and one leopard who are currently being used in a circus in Germany. PETA has submitted comments and extensive supporting materials in opposition to this application, including a statement from a renowned tiger expert.

The Endangered Species Act prohibits the importation of endangered species except for "scientific purposes" or to benefit the survival of the species. Hard to make any of that comport with Ringling's desire to haul the big cats around in boxcars and use whips to make them hop on their hind legs.

Federal law also strictly prohibits transporting any endangered species in the course of a "commercial activity," and there is no question that the Ringling Bros. Circus is exactly that. The law further prohibits harming, harassing, and wounding endangered species and requires that they be maintained under humane and healthful conditions. Ringling's well-documented history of animal abuse is clearly grounds to reject its import application, as PETA points out:

• In September 2010, inspectors in Sacramento observed tigers in cages without water, food, or enrichment of any kind.
• During a 2009 PETA undercover investigation, a Ringling trainer was videotaped beating tigers during dress rehearsals.
• According to Ringling's permit application, four tigers have died in the past five years as a result of the circus's activities.
• Since 1991, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited Ringling for 27 violations of the Animal Welfare Act with respect to the care of big cats, including for allowing a 2-year-old lion named Clyde to bake to death in a boxcar as the train crossed the Mojave Desert as well as for shooting a caged tiger five times with a shotgun.

Please share this troubling information with all the parents you know and urge them never to buy a ticket to Ringling or any circus using animals.

Horse Collapses, Carriage Operator Unmoved

A horse pulling a carriage in New York City collapsed to the ground twice yet was right back waiting at the curb before her driver was challenged by the woman who had been riding in the carriage at the time and who caught most of the horrifying incident on her cell phone. See the woman's emotional confrontation with the driver here (warning: graphic language):



PETA pals Chrissie Hynde, Pink, Lea Michele, and Pamela Anderson have all called for these cruel and dangerous rides to be eliminated. New York City Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito has introduced a bill (Intro. 86) that would phase out the industry and replace it with electric-powered antique cars or "green" horseless carriages. Carriage drivers would be given first dibs.

Please never patronize these cruel rides, and e-mail City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to let her know that you support Intro 86.

Fashion is fascim

Judging fashion choices has become a sport and we can all join the bitch-fest workout by reading Grazia, Glamour (the famous do’s and don’ts of public outfits can be particularly vicious, though they at least have the courtesy of obscuring the identities of offending style criminals) and any other magazine dictating exactly how to present ourselves month-by-month.

It’s easy to buy a newspaper now and not actually have to read anything important at all – almost every paper has a celebrity gossip section, and what they are wearing is of crucial importance.

I confess I love fashion magazines. I think it’s healthy to take an interest in ways to improve ones appearance. It’s a courtesy to other people to be well presented (not to mention hygienically maintained). But I object to the style tyranny that’s become so rampant. Fashion should be fun, not panic-sweat inducing while planning what to wear to a party!

In days gone by ordinary women wanted to look wealthy, but now fashion is easily followed at high street prices so the zeitgeist has shifted to trend-dressing, which means following the rules laid out by style bibles Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Elle, etc. Social fear is created with threats of whispered taunts for wearing something not approved by whoever it is that makes the decisions about what the nation should be wearing – ie. the cynical entities that make a killing off the insecurities of desperate women. Let’s not be fooled into thinking something is on-trend because of a public consensus; trends come and go when brands recycle old ideas to con women into spending money on ‘new’ products.

The fashion industry is laughing all the way to the bank, while continuing to dictate the terms of the consumer agreement. We agree to develop a body complex about fitting into the designs, we agree to spend money on magazines that each month promise brand new methods to slim down in order to fit into the featured designs, and they agree to provide status when we wear their designs.

It starts early, of course. As children we played with our Barbie dolls, dressing up the impossibly-figured toy in an array of outfits to win over Ken and live in happy, plastic bliss. Each week in magazines we obsess over Britain’s very own Barbie and Ken couple.,– fashion is serious business, don’t you know). Careers and independence are cast aside in favour of life as an uber-Barbie; Katie Holmes has been called both the ultimate feminist style icon who ‘has it all’ – a successful career, a baby and, importantly, an enviable wardrobe – or the ultimate mannequin who has swapped her own identity to become a coat hanger for the latest designs while hanging off the arm of husband Tom Cruise.

Fashion is aspiration. It’s about having people believe certain things about you because of the way you dress: that you know what’s in, that you can afford to keep up, and that you are every bit as stylish as any celebrity. Though, it’s less about style and more about an agreed conformity. Even current maverick Agyness Deyn is only judged fashionable because she follows an agreed androgyny – a reaction by an industry keen to move on from popular feminine style by dictating a changing trend towards masculine style in order to make more money.

Fashion magazines can be great fun, and Harper’s Bazaar particularly features some very good writing. Likewise, I admire some print advertisements as works of art; current favourites are the Eva Green Dior Poison perfume ad, and the Diesel ‘Live Fast’ ad of a woman running while throwing talc powder over the baby she is holding in the crook of one arm.

But seriously, fashion is a business not a lifestyle, and shouldn’t be taken too, well, seriously.

Vegetarians Get More Bang for the Buck

Two recent studies prove what most of us vegetarians already knew: vegetarian diets are cheaper and more nutritious than meat-based ones.

Two Oklahoma State University professors studying costs and benefits of vegetarian diets found that vegetarian foods cost less to both produce and consume than animal products. For example, the researchers determined that obtaining a gram of protein from the cheapest meat source studied (chicken flesh) costs more than triple the price of obtaining a gram of protein from the most expensive plant-based source studied (peanuts).

And it's only going to get costlier for carnivores. Cattle futures economists predict that beef prices will skyrocket to record highs in 2012. The U.S. Department of Agriculture concludes that the price of beef will rise more than any other major food group. Meatpackers, retailers, and restaurants all face higher costs, which—you guessed it—get passed on to the consumer.

Another study published in Food, Nutrition & Science and The Journal of the American Dietetic Association compared nutrient intakes of vegetarians and nonvegetarians. Researchers found that the vegetarian group had higher intakes of nutrients, including fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, and vitamins A, C, and E, and that vegetarian diets in general were very healthy. The American Dietetic Association reports that vegetarians are less prone to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity than meat-eaters are. So not only do vegetarians save animal’s lives, but they save at the register, and at the doctor's office too. We'll eat to that.


Sometimes, when you're trying to show people the benefits of a vegan diet, you have to get a little cheeky.

Good Nutrition

We all know that vegan foods are far healthier than animal products. They're cholesterol-free, and they're more likely to be low in saturated fat and calories and high in fiber, complex carbohydrates, and cancer-fighting antioxidants (of course, I'm not talking vegan cookies, candy or potato chips). If you want to reap the health benefits of a vegan diet—a slim waistline, lots of energy, and good health—you should eat an array of fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains, and other wholesome plant-based foods. Big surprise, huh?

If you're a vegan, everyone from your third cousin to your third-grade teacher has likely quizzed you about where you get your nutrients. They don't need to worry. Plant-based foods can provide for all of your nutritional needs:

Protein-Packed Plant Foods Almost every food contains protein, so it's nearly impossible not to get enough if you're consuming an adequate amount of calories. Soybeans, a vegan super-food, are packed with protein and essential amino acids. Other beans as well as chickpeas, lentils, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, broccoli, walnuts, whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, and corn are also good protein sources.

Calcium Plus Compassion Cows don't have to suffer in order for people to get calcium. It's abundant in collard greens, kale, broccoli, beans, sesame tahini, and almonds. It can also be found in calcium-fortified soy or rice milk, orange juice, and some brands of tofu.

Fish-Free Omega-3s Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for heart, brain, skin, and joint health. Fortunately, you can get them without all the cholesterol and toxins found in fish. Flaxseeds, walnuts, and canola oil are good vegan sources of the omega-3 ALA. It's also a good idea to take vegan DHA capsules, which contain omega-3s derived from algae (where the fish get it from!).

Make Popeye Proud Spinach is rich in iron, so eat it heartily to build strong muscles. Other iron-rich foods include beans, black-eyed peas, lentils, chickpeas, oatmeal, dried fruits, nuts, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, molasses, and grains such as quinoa and millet. Vitamin C helps increase iron absorption, so for optimal health benefits, consume foods that are rich in both nutrients, such as dark-green, leafy vegetables.

Vitamin B12 for Vegans Leading health experts encourage everyone to take a multivitamin or supplement to get ample amounts of vitamin B12. It's also found in fortified nutritional yeast, some supermarket cereals, and fortified soy and rice milks. (Click here to learn more about vitamin B12.)

Vitamin D, the Sunshine Vitamin Sunshine is one of the best sources of vitamin D. During warmer months, your skin should manufacture enough of the vitamin if your face and forearms are exposed without sunscreen to midday sunlight for 15 to 20 minutes per day. But many students and people who work indoors don't get enough exposure. And in many areas, sunlight during colder and cloudier months isn't strong enough to give you a sufficient dose of vitamin D.

Many brands of nondairy milks contain some calcium and vitamin D, as do some brands of fortified orange juice. But doctors increasingly say that no matter what you eat, it's a good idea to take a vitamin D supplement of at least 1,000 IU on the days that you aren't getting sufficient sunlight exposure.

Shark Week

There are a handful of well-publicized shark attacks around the world every year, humans pose the bigger threat—we kill about 73 million sharks annually. According to the Discovery Channel's Shark Week website, you're more likely to be bitten by another person than by a shark! In honor of Shark Week, here are five other facts about these mysterious ocean dwellers:




1. Sharks may seem to be all business, but they also have a playful side. Porbeagle sharks have been observed playing with objects floating in the water, repeatedly rolling themselves in kelp fronds, and chasing after other sharks who trailed pieces of kelp behind them.
2. Sharks work together to obtain food—and mind their manners when eating. Biologist Peter Best once saw several great whites working together to move the carcass of a partially beached whale to deeper waters so that they could eat it. Caribbean reef sharks follow a pecking order when eating, with the biggest shark eating first.
3. Frightfully fast, sharks are excellent swimmers, thanks to scales covered with tiny teeth that enable water to flow smoothly over their bodies. Several years ago, Speedo introduced a swimsuit modeled after shark skin—but the suits worked too well and were banned from major swim meets for giving swimmers an unfair advantage.
4. We don't know if great whites like Great White (ahem), but they love AC/DC. A charter boat operator in Australia has discovered that great white sharks become less aggressive when songs by AC/DC are played underwater.
5. While whale sharks can give birth to 300 babies at a time, most sharks grow and mature slowly, have long gestation periods (up to two years!), and produce few young—making these animals particularly vulnerable to overfishing.

What Does WWF Really Stand For?

When you think of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), do you envision a group that pushes animal testing and endorses the Canadian seal slaughter and the shooting of elephants for sport? Chances are you don't, because the dirty secrets of the WWF are well-concealed behind a cuddly panda bear logo.

But German producer Wilfried Huismann is about to turn that "eco-façade" on its head. In his film Silence of the Pandas, he exposes what he dubs "the dark side" of the mammoth organization. WWF has become so large, says Huismann, by partnering with wealthy corporations that plaster its famous logo on their products as an endorsement in exchange for sizeable donations. Even while WWF purports to protect the environment, it promotes companies that are destroying it.

And we haven't even mentioned the animals WWF leaves in its wake. By pressuring government agencies to require even more animal tests, WWF's lobbying led to the establishment of what will be one of the largest animal-testing programs of all time. But what else would you expect from an organization founded by trophy hunters?

Like many people, I once was fooled by the warm and fuzzy commercials of pandas frolicking in the mist and made a donation to WWF. Now that I've learned what my money supported, the only green this meanie gets from me is when I throw its solicitations in my recycle bin. 

Use Cash Instead!

Since the invention of the banking debit cards scheme, consumers and merchants have been systematically robbed and bombarded by undeserved fees, some as much as 12% to 15% on each purchase. Thus unnecessarily raising the prices of consumer goods and enriching the banking and Wall Street goons.

When a merchant is forced by the banking pickpockets to pay these 12% to 15% high fees, he in turn is going to add the said charges to the price of his products that you are paying for!

We are charged $20 to $25 monthly service charges for depositing our money in the bank? Exactly what kind of service is the bank providing to our cash / money? Is our cash getting a daily, facial, spa and massage? While banks are making money from the depositors' deposits, why charge service charge? Because pickpocket, greedy, criminal bankers never have enough!

When did cash become so bad and inconvenient? -- And how stupid are we?

We willingly give our cash to the banking goons, so we can get a piece of plastic, a debit card, to be used for purchasing products and services we need, while we are being charge all kinds of fees for withdrawing our own money, our deposited cash in the bank?

Don't you see how stupid that is? To voluntarily give our money to a thieving bank and then pay them all kinds of fees to get it back?

We should cutout the middle man, the banking goons and start using cash. - Lets save our money and be smart, use cash instead of plastic