———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Dec 24, 2008 12:08 AM
Subject: Part 1/ UPDATES: OCT-DEC 2008

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

PART 1: OCT – DEC 2008 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES
YEAR END WRAP UP – Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/

PART 1: KC UPDATES / OCT – DEC 2008

1. Donna Karan Announces Fur-Free 2009 Lines
2. Dragged Pit Bull Is Healing And Soon Adoptable
3. Cat Killing Boyfriend Walks Free
4. Records Show Big Industry Planned AETA All Along
5. Obama Picks: The Good & The Not So Good
6. L.A. Assistant Fire Chief Charged In Karley’s Killing
7. Netherlands Ban Products Made Of Cape Fur Seals
8. Prempro Maker, Wyeth, Pays For Fake Articles
9. Report On Hallmark/Westland Downer Scandal
10. Eddie Lama’s Oasis Sanctuary Closes
11. Michael Vick: Early Release & Back To NFL?

PART 2: KC UPDATES / OCT – DEC 2008
RESEND PART #2 TO ME: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

12. Hero’s Plan To Save Wild Horses Moves Forward
13. Until Export Is Banned, More Horses Killed
14. Rodeo “Horse Tripping” Outlawed In Phoenix
15. Houston: Biggest Dogfight Bust In U.S. History
16. Activists Vow To Overturn Navy’s Use Of Sonar
17. Oxford Univ. Lab To Use Thousands Of Animals
18. Prop 2 Passes For Calif. Farmed Animals
19. EU Proposal To Ban Great Apes In Experiments
20. Ringling Bros. Big Fat Federal Lawsuit
21. Alaska Whales: 1 vs. Gov. Sarah Palin: 0

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Dec 19, 2008 3:29 PM
Subject: Exit Strategy: The Rush To Ruin Everything

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

December 2008, BUSH EXIT STRATEGY:
The Rush To Ruin Everything — For Animals & Environment

While preparing Kinship Circle’s year-end UPDATES, I found so many zero-hour assaults upon animals/environment — I opted to send this laundry list solo. A quote from a St. Louis Post Dispatch Op-Ed piece sums up the onslaught: www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/2889001

“Now, as the president’s last term winds to a close, the administration has embarked on a fast-paced anti-regulatory spree… No longer is there even any attempt to disguise its anti-environmental actions with such Orwellian labels as ‘Clear Skies’ and ‘Healthy Forests.’”

BUSH ADMIN’S ANTI-ANIMAL LAUNDRY LIST:

1. BLM To Sheep: We Like Roads Better Than You
2. Bush To Penguins: Get A Life, But Not On Our Dime
3. Hack Job: Endangered Species Act Stripped Top To Bottom
4. EPA Says Factory Farms Don’t Have To Report Poop
5. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Turns Its Back On Polar Bears
6. FDA Was Just Kidding About Ban On Animal Antibiotics
7. Snowmobiles In Yellowstone National Park – Let Em’ Rip!
8. Goodbye Flowing Streams, Hello Coal Mine Blasters
9. Drill Baby, Drill!
10. Ask Incoming Obama Team For A Swift Repair Job

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I’d wanted to feature Ralphie and Rennie on this year’s holiday card, but they weren’t exactly cooperative during the photo shoot; Rennie wouldn’t sit still, while Ralphie, laying listlessly under the tree, resembled a piece of roadkill dressed in pirate gear.

Luckily, Peedee saved the day! While we were taking pictures of Booty and the Beast, we had the office door closed so Peedee, Kaylee and Jayne couldn’t distract our would-be cover dogs. But as soon we finished up with Ralphie and O-Ren, I opened the door and in ran Peedee, who promptly plopped himself down right in front of the tree. First shot, and bam! Perfect. There was our FSMas card:

Because I had so much fun making Peedee’s card – and I didn’t want to leave any of the dogs out – I created a few similar cards from the “outtakes.”

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Action Alerts

DawnWatch: Elephant orphanage and ivory trade on 60 Minutes 12/21/08
“Last night’s (December 21) 60 Minutes episode, on CBS, included a wonderful segment on an elephant orphanage in Kenya. The story is called “The Cost of Ivory” because most of the baby elephants we see were orphaned when their mothers were killed for their tusks. We learn that there are record numbers of orphans now because the number of elephants killed by poachers has increased by 45 percent just in the last year. That’s because some African countries have been given the right to sell their ivory stockpiles and the price for illegal ivory has gone from 300 to 5,000 shillings per kilo.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Tell Nickelodeon to Stop Chimpanzee Abuse
“We recently learned that Nickelodeon’s new holiday film, Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh, features a live chimpanzee. With so many realistic alternatives available—such as CGI, animatronics, costumes, and blue screen—there is no excuse for Nickelodeon to use live great apes in its programs.”

Carnivals

Carnival of The Green #159 @ Lighter Footstep

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Action Alerts

American Rivers: Tell Congress to Invest in Green Jobs and Water Infrastructure
“As Congress crafts a massive economic stimulus package to help get people back to work and jumpstart America’s economy, please urge your lawmakers to ensure that funds are invested wisely to protect and restore clean water and America’s rivers. Investments in green solutions will create jobs, save money, and protect public health and safety.”

DawnWatch: KHOU covers continuing horse slaughter horrors 12/19/08
“Thanks to the fabulous friend to the animals, KHOU’s reporter Brad Woodard, the ongoing horror of horse slaughter is not being forgotten by the media.”

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Tell the Consumer Product Safety Commission to stop the sale of toxic toys
“Although Congress has banned the sale of toxic phthalate-laden toys beginning in February 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has caved to industry pressure and created a loophole that will allow these dangerous toys to be sold indefinitely to unsuspecting parents. Tell the commission that these toxic toys must be banned from store shelves immediately.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Urgent: Tell Congress to End Military Trauma Training on Animals
“We all know that the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces face horrors on the battlefield, and many are tragically wounded in the line of duty. What you might not know is that medics and soldiers are forced to harm animals to learn how to treat traumatic wounds—even though sophisticated, superior non-animal methods are available and used on some bases. In these trauma- and chemical-casualty training exercises, goats, pigs, and monkeys are shot, burned, mutilated, poisoned, and killed—many times in unsanitary conditions.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Tell Iams That You Won’t Buy While Animals Die
“PETA U.S. has made progress, but Iams and Procter & Gamble (Iams’ parent company)—which also owns the Eukanuba line of pet food—still have a long way to go! Please write to Iams and Proctor & Gamble officials today to tell them that you won’t buy their products until they end all laboratory tests on animals.”

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Can I just say how deeply it pains me to see Phoebe Buffay Lisa Kudrow happily frying up some Kung Pao Chicken in this commercial for Nintendo DS?

Bonus boggles for the parting “Chinese food, and it was easy” comment. Please tell us, oh wise Personal Trainer peoples, why you expect your audience to assume that “Chinese food” is any harder to prepare than “Italian food” or “Mexican food” – or “American food,” for that matter?

Might these expectations be attributed to your perception of “Chinese food” as “foreign,” “exotic” and “ethnic,” hmmm?

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare meat lisa kudrow phoebe buffay pop culture video youtube commercial ad Kung Pao Chicken chinese food othering nintendo nintendo ds friends

Proceed with caution: Spoilers galore!

Ten episodes in, and already The Mentalist has jumped on the animal rights terra-ism bandwagon.

Let me preface this by saying that I’m addicted to cop tv: The X-Files, CSI, NCIS, Law & Order, Criminal Intent, Life, NYPD Blue – I just love ‘em. And my love runs extra-deep for the serialized cop drama/mystery/thrillers with a season/series-long story arc. Throw in a lead character who just so happens to be an atheist, and I’m hooked. Hello, The Mentalist!

That said, the latest installment (Season 1, Episode 10: Red Brick and Ivy) just wasn’t up to snuff.

The plot line is all too familiar: a scientist who experiments on non-human animals is murdered; the prerequisite, SHAC-like animal rights group which has been “terrorizing” said scientist (or said scientist’s university/lab/company/employer) for months is suspect numero uno. Cue the crazy!

In The Mentalist, the scientist in question is an up-and-coming neuroscientist who, along with his colleagues, has been conducting invasive research on animals (most notably, chimpanzees – unfortunately, a baby chimp does have a role in the episode) in order to locate the structures in the human brain which govern morality. The end goal? Finding a way to manipulate these structures and thus, magically, turn all of humanity into moral beings. Whatever that means.

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As seen while watching TBS’s 207th airing of Anchorman this morning:

Two points:

1 – There’s already a term for animals whose diets primarily consist of the corpses of other animals: carnivores.

2 – The so-called “meatatarian” profiled above is eating a bun which – correct me if I’m wrong – is most decidedly not made of “meat.”

And yes, I get it, Wendy’s is trying to crack a joke here; supposedly this commercial is “funny” because of its ridiculousness: of course humans can’t survive on meat alone.

Except there’s really nothing funny about mass murder, which is precisely how Wendy’s turns a profit.

That, and they’re also implicitly mocking veg*ns with the whole “it’s a lifestyle choice” spiel.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

At least we’ve moved on to stage two, eh?

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare wendy’s vegetarian vegetarianism vegan veganism meatatarian meat bacon hamburger cheeseburger commercial obnoxious ad youtube video

The Saturday before x-mas is reportedly “the biggest puppy buying day of the year,” according to In Defense of Animals (IDA). In response, the group has designated today the 1st Annual Nationwide “Adopt, Don’t Shop!” Day:

The Saturday before Christmas is the biggest puppy buying day of the year. This year, In Defense of Animals is teaming up with activists in dozens of cities around the country to educate the public about the horrors of pet factories and encourage people to adopt a homeless animal from a shelter or rescue group instead of buying one from a pet store.

What: December 20th, 12-3 pm
Where: Your local pet shop

Almost all pet stores around the nation are supplied by inhumane commercial breeding facilities (aka pet factories) where the breeding animals are imprisoned for life and used as breeding machines. Meanwhile, it’s estimated that nearly 5 million healthy cats and dogs (many of them purebred) are euthanized in American shelters every year simply because there aren’t enough homes for them. Make a commitment today to take action for the victims of pet factories and companion animal overpopulation today!

Join In Defense of Animals and friends at your local pet store to help end the abuses of pet factories.

You can find a list of events here.

Over at Vegan Soapbox, Elaine has a list of suggestions for online activism, including posting profiles of animals available for adoption on Petfinder and such. Which is a great idea; but first, let’s tackle a few myths about adopting vs. buying animals.

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Burger King’s latest ad campaign – Whopper Virgins – is a convoluted mess of racism, sexism, speciesism and colonialism, all crammed into a a series of 15-to-30-second ads.

To wit:

Let’s dissect, shall we?

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