Athlete/Actor Claims Self-Defense in Killing of 7-lb Cat

Do you think Joseph Petcka (pictured below) should serve prison time if convicted of animal cruetly? Take the NY Dail News Poll

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/09/19/2008-09-19_joseph_petcka_testifies_that_he_was_terr.html

Warning: Some of the details in the story are disturbing.

“He lunged, throwing me on my butt, on the coffee table,” Petcka testified under cross-examination from Assistant District Attorney Leila Kermani.

“Did you feel threatened?” Kermani asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

Petcka, who also appeared on “Sex and the City,” said he unleashed a half-dozen bicycle kicks at the kitty – which bit him once again on the knuckle of his right thumb. He was unsure if any of the kicks landed.

Cook Vegetarian Magazine Launches in October

From the Cook Vegetarian Magazine Website:

Cook Vegetarian! is the UK’s only monthly vegetarian cookery magazine, packed with tips, ideas and advice for the woman who wants to create delicious meals without meat or fish. With stunning recipes, easy meal suggestions, cookery solutions and shopping pages, this magazine is a celebration of meat-free food. It’s an indispensable guide that will serve vegetarians without compromise, while embracing a wider audience who don’t want agenda or campaigning – just great food without meat.

Linda McCartney Foods Launches New Vegetarian Mince

Note: Mince is similar to “ground beef,” but of course the vegetarian mince is soy protein.

Talkingretail.com reports the following:

 

Linda McCartney Foods new Vegetarian Mince is made with succulent soya mince which is fat-free, high in protein and rich in fibre, and sets a new uncompromised ethical standard for the brand, as the Vegetarian Mince is packaged in a fully biodegradable bag.
This product will soon become a staple in every household; a tasty and nutritious option for anyone who simply wants to cook a delicious meal using an ingredient that just happens to be meat-free.

Linda enabled people to have confidence, enthusiasm and know-how to prepare home-cooked meat-free meals for all the family.

She believed in encouraging people to be creative cooks, supporting and equipping them in their quest to eat less meat whilst still being able to enjoy delicious and wholesome meals.

The new Vegetarian Mince continues Linda’s mission, with the complete support of the McCartney family, in promoting a meat-free lifestyle to a world dominated by the over production of meat.

“Linda inspired countless people around the world to go meat-free. Linda was so passionate about demonstrating how delicious vegetarian food could be. She was a great believer that there is just as much taste and flavour in a meal that’s meat free.”

This new product is a welcome addition to the range of tasty meat-free dishes, and is just the beginning of a line of new ingredients that will expand the range and ensure its innovator status as a leader in the meat-free industry.

The Vegetarian Mince will be launched exclusively at J Sainsbury’s on 22nd September 2008, priced at £1.75; it will then be available in Waitrose from the end of November 08.

Visit the Linda McCartney Foods website at www.lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk for information about the company, the products, and also view the wonderful photos of Linda and the McCartney family

Shameonbigoil.com

Oil and Water do not mix!

www.shameonbigoil.com

Letter to Congress (from the above website)

Dear Big Oil and Big Oil’s friends in Congress and the White House:

More drilling may be good for you, but it’s not good for American families or this country. You have leases to drill millions of acres of U.S. public lands that you could be drilling already. We think that’s plenty. Anyone who has studied this issue even in passing knows more drilling in the Arctic or off our beaches will not lower gas prices or solve the energy crisis. You know it and we know it.

Show at least some humility. America should aggressively pursue energy conservation and clean energy alternatives, and you should be a part of the solution.

We, the undersigned, support the real solutions that will ultimately reduce gas prices, end our addiction to oil and keep the strongest protections for America’s special places.

Aerial Hunting in Alaska, Intensified by Gov. Palin

An article from the Washington Independent states the following:

 

In a program begun by ex-Gov. Frank Murkowski, and intensified by Palin, Alaska has sponsored the aerial hunting of more than 800 wolves since 2002 — out of a state population of perhaps 9,000. Pilots chase the wolves through the deep snow, sometimes for miles, until the exhausted animals have slowed enough to be blown away with shotguns. Then the plane lands and finishes the job, unless the wounded wolf has managed to crawl into the deep woods to bleed to death in solitude.

The wolf is an intelligent, handsome creature and, for many visitors to Alaska, an integral part of the state’s wild appeal. Wolves live in complex social structures, mate for life and don’t attack humans — it’s easy to see in them the family resemblance to mankind’s best friend.

That’s what makes it so painful to look at the video of an aerial wolfhunt in Alaska that has been circulating since Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was nominated as Sen. John McCain’s running mate on the Republican ticket.

…

Hunting groups support the program, arguing that it increases the availability of game for poor Alaskans, and the sporting chances of hunters like Sarah and Todd Palin themselves, who have their sights set on moose. But wildlife viewing brings far more tourist dollars to the state, where only 14 percent of the population hunts….

As John Toppenberg of the Alaskan Wildlife Alliance puts it, the 60,000 square miles where the cull takes place are mainly used by “fat-ass trophy hunters on all-terrain vehicles, not Native peoples who need them for subsistence, with rare exceptions.”

Critics say Palin has shown a strong bias for hunters. Her staff recently wrote a statute that would permit her hand-picked Board of Game, whose seven members all favor killing predators, to operate without written guidelines. Another bill, currently undergoing legal review, would prohibit Alaskans from putting pro-wildlife propositions on the ballot, by declaring wildlife a “state asset” whose fate can be determined only by the state

Read full article here – http://www.washingtonindependent.com/5517/predatory-practices

Crude Oil? No, Crude slogan!

Have you heard the chant of the Republicans, Drill, Baby, Drill?

What a CRUDE way to describe this assault against Planet Earth. Perhaps there is something to the ecofeminist theory!

from wikipedia: (Ecofeminists argue that a relationship exists between the oppression of women and the degradation of nature, and explore the intersectionality between sexism, the domination of nature, racism, speciesism, and other characteristics of social inequality.)

How much does the Republican Party love Big OIL — SMOOCH! xo xo

It’s a love affair for sure.

 

Below is a letter from Clean Water Action.

Drill, Baby, Drill?
With Congress set to vote on a new energy bill that would open up more of our coastal waters to offshore drilling, we need you to tell your representative to side with the American consumers and against Big Oil:
Take Action Now.
Big Oil and their political allies would have you believe that offshore drilling is the solution to high gas prices and the path to energy independence.
But more drilling doesn’t mean lower gas prices – and Americans know that, because we’ve already tried that approach.
Since 2001, the number of new offshore drilling permits has tripled – yet gas prices have also tripled.
Drilling more won’t lower gas prices – and neither will it help us achieve energy independence.
That’s because only a small percentage of our coastline is currently off-limits to more oil exploration.
Even if Big Oil got its way, these debated offshore oil reserves won’t even provide 1 percent of our daily oil demands, even when operating at peak production.
That’s not a solution to our energy problems. And it’s a small return for Americans at the expense of our environment and our health:
Contact your Representative.
Despite Big Oil’s claims, offshore drilling isn’t environmentally safe.
In the Gulf of Mexico alone, oil spills happen once every six weeks on average. Just last month, a 416,000 gallon oil spill closed the Mississippi river at New Orleans — costing the U.S. economy $275 million per day.
And oil drilling is a dirty business. Oil wells generate hundreds of thousands of gallons of contaminated mud, containing toxic chemicals like arsenic and mercury that are dumped back into the ocean, where they eventually make their way into our food chain.
More drilling will mean more oil spills on beaches, more toxic waste, more air pollution – and not a cent of a difference at the pump.
But more drilling will fatten the wallets of the Big Oil fat cats.
We can do better. The solutions exist. We just need to look in the right place.
Rather than pushing for more oil wells, we should be supporting increased exploration into alternative energies and more fuel efficient vehicles. Developing offshore oil reserves would give us a limited amount of energy for a limited time – and that tiny boost wouldn’t arrive for at least ten years.
But increasing vehicle fuel efficiency standards to 35 miles per gallon would save us more than a million barrels of oil every day– forever.
A serious national commitment to renewable energy and efficiency will put our economy back on the path to prosperity by bringing energy costs under control, creating more than 800,000 new jobs, and making us more energy independent.
That’s why we need you to contact your representative today. It’s time we reminded these politicians that as elected officials, they should be working for us – and not the Big Oil fat cats.
Tell your Representative to stand up for solutions – not big oil giveaways.
Thank you for taking action.
John DeCock
President
Clean Water Action

Get your gossip here

This is a new favorite website of mine — ecorazzi.com. It’s mindless and informative at the same time! But seriously, I find myself checking the site often for all the latest.

Free Shoes for a Year Sweepstakes!

Enter to win by visiting www.vegetarianshoesandbags.com or for more info contact Jessica Burfield, jessica@libradesignandmedia.com

Winners will be notified Dec. 15, 2008.

UN Chair Advises People to Consume Less Meat

The Guardian.co.uk reports the following:

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which last year earned a joint share of the Nobel Peace Prize, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.

His comments are the most controversial advice yet provided by the panel on how individuals can help tackle global warning.

Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel’s chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems – including habitat destruction – associated with rearing cattle and other animals. It was relatively easy to change eating habits compared to changing means of transport, he said.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are generated during the production of animal feeds, for example, while ruminants, particularly cows, emit methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than carbon dioxide. The agency has also warned that meat consumption is set to double by the middle of the century.

Full Article Here http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.foodanddrink

Forbes Top 100 Most Powerful Women

In response to the recent release of Forbes Top 100 Most Powerful Women, wowOwow.com has selected some names of their own.

Perhaps the most unusual response comes from Judith Martin (aka Miss Manners). Her top pick is Mother Nature.

Not surprisingly, Oprah Winfrey made everybody’s list!

View Forbes List http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/27/most-powerful-women-biz-powerwomen08-cz_me_cs_0827women_land.html