Hellogoodbye, Mates of State, and the End of Winter February 28, 2007
Posted by Lara Sanders | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack
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Music
Last day of February, and I am very excited it is not a leap year, cause I am over this month. I am pretty much over winter in general. Even if there is no temperature leap tomorrow, March still has that connotation of spring in my mind. Anyway, in other un-whiney news, I was very excited to see our dear boy Forrest of hellogoodbye interviewed in Teen People. They even mentioned that he was vegan! Kudos goes to Forrest for talking about animals in all of his interviews, and kudos for being so darn cute. See evidence of said cuteness below…
For more unabashed cuteness, please refer to our new Mates of State feature.
xoxo-lara
Currently listening to:
Mates of State
Posted by Lara 
VOTE: Which New peta2 Sticker Do You Like Best? February 28, 2007
Posted by Marta | Permalink | Comments ( 161 ) | TrackBack
peta2 is creating brand-new "I'm Scared of Needles Too!" stickers to let people know that animals who are abused in cruel, outdated experiments feel pain just like humans do. It's pretty straight forward ... you wouldn't want to be strapped down to a table against your will to have all kinds experimental chemicals injected into your body, so why should other animals be put through that kind of torture?
Our lovely designers have come up with six possible stickers, but sadly, we can only print one (since apparently PETA isn't made of money like Scrooge McDuck). We love them all too much to make a decision, so we're leaving it up to you. Vote for your favorite by leaving a comment telling us which one is the best and why. Whichever one gets the most votes by the end of this week will be the winner!
Remember that you can order any and all of peta2's stickers at PETALiterature.com (or, you can click here to download and print your own, and save peta2 some money). Once the "I'm Scared of Needles Too!" stickers come back from the printer, we'll send you as many as you want. Aren't we nice?
-Noah
Posted by Marta 
The Olsen Twins Have Lost It... February 27, 2007
Posted by Patricia | Permalink | Comments ( 30 ) | TrackBack
What has happened to the Olsen twins? Can anyone tell me? Anyone??? You know they used to look good, for about all of five minutes and then one day "poof" and it was gone. Those girls have so much money and they are just willing to give it to, well, apparently anyone who tells them that they look good in a corpse and a Hefty cinch sack, except they never cinch it and it just hangs off of them...it's like they're wearing tarps or something. They're all sacks and fur and tights and boots and gigantic sunglasses all of the time now. It's almost like it has become their uniform or something. I just do not understand why anyone in their right mind would walk around dressed like an old bag lady in ill-fitting couture—because you know they plunked down mad cash for those clothes—and torn stockings with corpses piled on their backs. And it's both of them now, they're both wearing nasty fur. It used to just be that Ashley, but now Mary Kate is doing it too, maybe it's hereditary.
Fur and tights and boots...eeewwww!
Maybe they've been replaced by robots with no fashion sense or hearts, or those pod creatures from the classic horror flick Invasion of the Body Snatchers. You know, that would explain why wearing tortured animals and ugly clothes doesn't seem to bother them. Or maybe they've both had lobotomies, although I do hope that isn't the case because I'd like to think that maybe one day they will both come to their senses.
XOX
Posted by Patricia 
Play 'Catstration' February 26, 2007
Posted by Marta | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack
This is pretty neat—Cincinnati-based advertising and Web agency Ideopia created a new Flash game called "Catstration" that exposes just how bad the companion animal overpopulation crisis really is. As they say on their site, Ideopia came up with the game to reach "the big breeders of the world ... The people who own animals, and don't understand the importance of spaying and neutering." It's always refreshing to see companies that actually care about helping animals!
Anyway, check out the game at NoMoreStrays.com.
Before you point it out, let me say that I know this game doesn't accurately represent spaying and neutering (seeing as the cats in the game have their balls removed by a cleaver-wielding carny), but it addresses a very important issue nonetheless. The fact is that millions of animals must be euthanized each year because of dog and cat overpopulation. Just one unaltered female cat and her offspring can produce an estimated 420,000 cats in only seven years. In six years, a female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies.
Bravo Ideopia for putting on your creative pants and coming up with a game with a message. Everyone should listen to Bob Barker: get your companion animals spayed and neutered!
-Noah
Posted by Marta
KFC's Latest Menu Additions: Blood and Rats February 24, 2007
Posted by Marta | Permalink | Comments ( 22 ) | TrackBack
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By now most people know that KFC tortures chickens, but apparently the problems with the restaurant chain don't stop there. It seems that KFC doesn't really do such a good job in the cleanliness department. (In my opinion, if you eat their food you might as well be licking the inside of a toilet at a truck stop.) Be warned, the following stories might make you projectile vomit ...
Last week, a man in North Carolina found what appears to have been blood in his order at KFC. According to ABC in Raleigh ...
Nathan Toothman says he ordered three snack size sandwiches from a Cary KFC, the first and second one no problems, but when he opened the third, he stopped eating. He said, "The light just happened to hit the wrapper just right, and I knew immediately what it was." Blood is what Toothman thinks was on his Kentucky Fried Chicken wrapper.
He took the wrapper back to the KFC and showed it to the manager. He says he was met with nothing but evasiveness and defensiveness.
(Read more ...)
Tasty huh? Mmm ... blood! Hold on, it gets better. This week, a KFC in Greenwich Village, New York, was closed by the Health Department due to the fact that it is infested with rats, and has been for nearly three years. Just last December, the city's Health Department cited this KFC for evidence of "live rats present in the facility's food and non food areas." One former employee of the Greenwich Village restaurant had this to say when he spoke to CBS in New York:
"I quit because it was nasty. They don't use gloves to make the food. They use the same grease day after day after day. At night, the manager told me to put the chairs up. We don't sweep; we don't mop. So that's what the rats are eating off, the stuff that's left on the floors," said Marcus Bonner, who claimed to be a former employee.
(Read more ...)
This is not the first time KFC has been caught violating health and safety regulations. Just last year, KFC was fined nearly $50,000 for a "poisoning risk" after KFC staff were found to be wearing filthy uniforms and not washing their hands. There's even a Web site, KFCMadeMeSick.com, where people can post their horror stories from eating at KFC.
What it all comes down to is this: KFC cripples birds by pumping them full of drugs, then scalds them in boiling water and slits their throats while they're still alive. More than 850 million birds are killed for KFC's restaurants each year. Is it really all that surprising that a company which doesn't care about animals also doesn't seem to care about the health and safety of their customers?
-Noah
Posted by Marta
Victory: No More Foie Gras at Giant Eagle February 23, 2007
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After receiving nearly 250,000 e-mails and countless phone calls from concerned shoppers, grocery store chain Giant Eagle today announced that it will no longer sell foie gras—a "delicacy" which is made by force-feeding ducks and geese until their livers swell up and become diseased—in any of its more than 200 stores in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio. In a statement to PETA, the company confirmed that "Giant Eagle Market District stores have stopped the sale of foie gras."
This is a huge victory for the ducks and geese who suffer to make foie gras. With this compassionate decision, Giant Eagle follows in the footsteps of grocery store giant Whole Foods who also banned the sale of foie gras in its stores. Because of the cruelty involved in producing foie gras, the state of California, the city of Chicago, and more than a dozen nations worldwide have banned it entirely, and even the pope has condemned it.
A very big thank you to everyone who e-mailed and called Giant Eagle to voice your concern for the ducks and geese. Because of your hard work, the foie gras industry is one step closer to being a thing of the past.
-Noah
P.S. If you notice a store in your area selling foie gras, talk to the manager about how cruel it is, then e-mail peta2@peta2.com to let us know the name of the store.
Posted by Marta
Liberation Is Coming February 23, 2007
Posted by Pulin Modi | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack
See the exhibit at UCLA this week:
May 29th and June 1st 11am-3pm at Bruin Plaza
May 30th at the Court of Sciences 11am-3pm
Liberation: A Project by peta2 is an eye-opening and provocative traveling exhibit that examines the causes of- and solutions to- the oppression of humans and animals.
Get more info at peta2.com
Today, billions of animals are slaughtered, experimented on, and denied everything that is natural and important to them. Despite the fact that scientists have proved that animals have the ability to think and to feel pain, love, joy, terror, and other emotions, we continue to oppress them for profit and pleasure—just as we have done to other human beings throughout history.
Animals have inherent worth that is completely separate from their usefulness to humans. Every creature has a right to live free from pain and suffering. Animal rights is not just a philosophy- it is a social justice movement that challenges the outdated view that all nonhuman animals exist solely for human use.
Only prejudice allows us to deny others the rights that we expect to have for ourselves. Whether it’s based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or species, prejudice is morally unacceptable. If we wouldn't eat a dog, why eat a pig? Dogs and pigs have the same capacity to feel pain, but it is prejudice based on species that allows us to think of one animal as a companion and the other as dinner.
Animals' lives are as important to them as ours are to us. Just as it is wrong to oppress and abuse less powerful humans, it is wrong to oppress and abuse animals. Victims of tyranny are often unable to defend themselves, and they depend on the voices of principled people to help them. Today we view slavery, child labor, and the oppression of women as intolerable, but these cruel practices ended only because forward-thinking people called for change.
Posted by Pulin 
Prada's Fashion Week Show Lacked Something... February 22, 2007
Posted by Patricia | Permalink | Comments ( 12 ) | TrackBack
So this is HUGE, so huge in fact that I can hardly contain my excitement. It's something I have hoped for and even dreamt about for years. As usual Prada's Milan Fall Fashion Week show was filled with dangerously thin fashionistas and models, amazing clothes unaffordable to most of us, hoards of photogs, and fabulous celebs, but something was conspicuously missing from this season's ready to wear line...FUR. I know, I know, unbelievable, right? But less than a month after PETA reps showed graphic fur footage to Prada execs in Milan, not a single piece of real fur hit the runway, and the head of Prada's fashion house, Miucca Prada, declared that she was "bored" with real fur and used faux instead. Coincidence? I think not.
Behold the fur-free splendor!
Oh, joy of joys, if Prada permanently scraps fur, I'll finally be able to sell a kidney and buy something, anything! with a Prada label.
XOX
Posted by Patricia
Klaus the Fish's Long Lost Brother February 22, 2007
Posted by Marta | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack
I have to say, I was skeptical when I first heard about FOX's American Dad. I'm a big fan of Seth MacFarlane, but I wasn't sure if the show would live up to the hype of being the "new show from the creator of Family Guy!" Somehow, though, ol' Seth found a way to meet my expectations, and I am now a loyal American Dad watcher. I mean really, what else is there to watch on Sunday nights, re-runs of Reba?
So I'm sitting there watching American Dad this weekend, and I couldn't help but notice a striking resemblance between Klaus the fish and peta2's "Fish Are Friends Not Food" mascot. Could it be ... brothers separated at birth?
Klaus—note the mohawk-like dorsal fin.
And peta2's fish mascot, again, with the tell-tale mohawk.
Uncanny! I think I am going to write Seth and propose a reunion on Maury.
-Noah
Posted by Marta
If Jesus Were Alive Today ... February 21, 2007
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... He would be appalled at the way that some of us humans treat our fellow animals.
With today being the first day of Lent, PETA unveiled its undercover investigation into Mepkin Abbey—a Christian monastery in South Carolina that operates an egg factory farm to raise money. You would think that an egg farm run by Christian monks would treat its chickens with at least a little compassion, but not so at Mepkin Abbey. Just watch this video, and you be the judge as to whether or not this is how a caring God would want animals to be treated.
If this is how monks treat egg-laying hens, just imagine what its like for hundreds of millions on other farms! Here's the bottom line: 99% of hens raised for eggs live on factory farms in conditions like these—if not worse. If you care about animals, you shouldn't buy eggs, plain and simple. So instead of giving up chocolate for Lent (though you can do that, too, but good luck with that!), show some compassion and give up eating eggs. (Once you discover just how easy it is to go without eggs, you'll want to keep it up long after 40 days have passed.) Even if you don't participate in Lent, you can still stop eating eggs—the chickens don't care what your reason is!
And since we're on the topic of God and showing compassion for animals ... yesterday, Israel's chief rabbi Yona Metzger issue a religious ruling that Jews must not wear fur from animals who are skinned alive (as many animals killed on fur farms are):
All Jews are obliged to prevent the horrible phenomenon of cruelty to animals and be a 'light onto nations' by refusing to use products that originate from acts which cause such suffering.
(Read more ...)
Maybe there is some hope for us humans yet.
-Noah
Posted by Marta
We Heart Doug from The Sleeping...And I think he Hearts us, too! February 21, 2007
Posted by Nicole | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack
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Music
We were sent this awesome pic of our good friend, Doug Robinson, from The Sleeping, sportin' some peta2 garb. We already knew Doug had phenomenal taste in music, friends, and causes, but now we can officially add style icon to his arsenal!
Last month when The Sleeping were playing Norfolk, Pulin and I caught up with Doug at the show—which FYI, was absolutely amazing—and then we met up for some vegan pizza after. Although the company of Pulin and I would have certainly been gift enough, *cough, cough* we came bearing gifts of materialistic value, as well. Doug chowed down on the meatless jerky we brought him and changed into his spiffy, new peta2.com shirt immediately following the band's set. Doug is such a doll that I was unsure—up until I saw this pic, that is—as to whether or not his level of stokedness (pretty sure that's not even a word) at the gifts was genuine or just him being the sweetheart that he is. I now have visual proof that it was real love he was showing and any iota of doubt in my mind has since been erased. I'm so happy we made Doug so happy, and now he's returned the favor by making peta2's day! Isn't reciprocity grand?!
Posted by Nicole 
Meat Sucks! February 20, 2007
Posted by Marta | Permalink | Comments ( 22 ) | TrackBack
This is my first blog. I have never written one before so please excuse my seeming idiocy – it's just nerves! Bring Me The Horizon front man, Oli Sykes has always been one for the chicks, which he showed when he designed an anti-KFC poster. This time he's gone a step further to help his furry and feathered friends by designing a t-shirt on behalf of peta2 UK. Oli's clothing label Dropdead is a hit with the likes of Gallows and Lost Prophets, and the new shirt is our favourite one yet! Can you tell why?
The t-shirt is a very limited edition, and all proceeds from the shirt will go to peta2 UK and its efforts to help animals. So you have 2 choices my friends: try your luck in our contest with Dropdead, or log-on to www.iheartdropdead.com to buy one online. Remember, all proceeds go to peta2 UK, so buy buy buy!
How did I do? Is this a "good" blog?
Ok bye,
*Violet xx
Posted by Marta
First Night of TOC! February 16, 2007
Posted by Lara Sanders | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack
TAGGED:
Music
Upon arriving at the venue for the first official show of Taste of Chaos, we began to set up our table. Shortly after completion, we were blessed with the presence of a man who introduced himself as "tha hustla of T-O-C". While he was rather ambiguous on what exactly his job entails, it appears it did not require a belt.
As for the show itself, it was amazing. We got tons of kids to sign the KFC petition throughout the show, and that doesn't even include "tha hustla". Our Street Teamer tonight was the ever-stupendous Coulter. As a former peta2 staffer himself, all I had to do was let him work his magic, and work he did. Here he is doing that thing he does.
All in all, twas an excellent first night. I will leave with an action shot of our friends in Aiden doing some fun spinny kicks. Since their drummer went veg (after 3 members did on the Silverstein tour last fall), look for more from them on peta2.com in the near future!
Day off tomorrow in Portland and then down to San Fran! -Ryan
P.S. You can still win tix to come to TOC here!
Posted by Lara
Pink's Got Something to Say February 15, 2007
Posted by Patricia | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack
On her recent trip to the land down under, the all mighty Pink chatted with teen mag Dolly about her good work for animals. "If your fans like your music they might also like something you're into and it opens their eyes. I write letters, rescue abandoned animals, and raise money for charities as well as awareness."
I think what I like best about her is that she is never at a loss for words and always, always, always says what she thinks no matter who she irritates. Usually the people her razor sharp words are aimed at are contributing to the suffering of animals in one way or another, like fur wearers or Aussie wool farmers for instance. "Animals are the purest spirits in the world, they don't fake or hide their feelings. I wish everyone was forced to learn the horrors these animals go through for our trends." If only! She's also got some pretty good advice for Dolly readers, "Get informed. The more you know about where stuff is coming from the easier it is to be responsible. Educate yourself about what you purchase. It does get complicated, and it can be a lot of work, but it's worth it. You have to think about how little fun those animals are having." So true, a little bit of knowledge goes a long way.
XOX
Posted by Patricia
South Dakota Says 'No' to Letting 10 Year-Olds Hunt February 14, 2007
Posted by Marta | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack
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Earlier this week I told you about a bill backed by the gun fanatics at the National Rifle Association (NRA) that would have lowered the legal hunting age from 12 to 10 in the state of South Dakota. If the NRA had gotten its way and this bill had been made into law, fifth graders in the state would have been allowed to go out into the woods and shoot and kill small animals in the name of "tradition" and "recreation." Let's call it what it is—hunting is murder.
Yesterday, this ridiculous bill came before the House for a vote, and South Dakota's legislators did the right thing. Only 20 representatives voted in favor of lowering the hunting age, while 49 (nearly 75%) voted against the "Guns 4 Tots" concept.
Any sane person can agree that we should not be putting guns into children's hands at a young age. Today, hunting—which was part of human survival, like, 100,000 years ago—is nothing more than a violent "sport" that is unnecessary for the survival of the vast majority of hunters. Hunting has contributed to the extinction of animal species all over the world (look at the Tasmanian tiger and the great auk for example). No matter how much they may attempt to claim they are "controlling wildlife population," the truth is that many hunters just get off on violence, and take out their "manhood" problems on deer, rabbits, and other animals that can't defend themselves.
Aside from the fact that it is cruel to animals, hunting teaches children that violence is acceptable and puts them at serious risk of being injured or killed. As Vince Weber, a gun safety instructor from Sioux Falls, put it when he addressed the South Dakota House on why he opposed lowering the hunting age, "How many of you, with all the best intentions of the world and standing right at their shoulder, are going to let your 8-year-old grandson run your table saw?"
-Noah
Posted by Marta
Animal Rights Music Video February 13, 2007
Posted by Lara Sanders | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack
TAGGED:
Music
I recently ran across this heartbreaking video for Velvet Acid Christ's song Wound, featuring undercover animal lab footage. Check it out for yourself, but be warned-it is graphic.
I asked Bryan of VAC why the band decided to make this video, and he said, "Animal rights have always meant a lot to me. I became vegan when I was 18. I have been making political music for years. And have touched on the subject before, but I feel it fell on deaf ears. I wanted people to see the pain and hurt the medical and food industries cause to the innocent and amazing creatures we know and love."
Right on.
xoxo-Lara
Currently listening to:
Ladytron
Posted by Lara
Here's a Brilliant Idea: Guns for 10 Year Olds! February 12, 2007
Posted by Marta | Permalink | Comments ( 20 ) | TrackBack
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Every time another kid walks into school with a semi-automatic weapon and blows his classmates' heads off, America goes nuts debating whether to blame the creators of "Grand Theft Auto" or Marilyn Manson for the tragedy. Right ... now, fade-in to 2007, and lawmakers in South Dakota are actually considering lowering the age at which kids are allowed to go out and shoot woodland creatures to 10. That's right: the good ol' boys in the South Dakota legislature seem to think that the current hunting age limit of twelve years old is just not fair. Instead, the state wants kids to be able to hunt and kill small animals at age 10. Besides the fact that killing animals and calling it a "sport" is incredibly cruel, does anyone see a problem here? LIKE THAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING GUNS IN THE HANDS OF FIFTH GRADERS?
According to the Sioux City Journal, Guns 4 Tots could be right around the corner ...
The legislation, as originally introduced by [Representative] Buckingham, would have removed any age limit to hunt small animals, such as pheasants and rabbits, and to hunt coyotes and varmints. Those who were at least 10 could hunt deer and other big game. In all instances, those younger than 12 would have to be accompanied by adults.
The measure was changed to set 10 as the minimum hunting age at the request of Rep. Tom Deadrick, R-Platte. He said the bill likely would fail in the Legislature if it allowed children of any age to hunt.
"This is a big step for the state of South Dakota to go from a minimum of 12 to no minimum age whatsoever," Deadrick said. "We can do it in stages and see how it works."
(Read more ...)
Great, let's teach kids that killing animals is fun. Really, that'll end well. (*cough* Columbine High School *cough*)
It's interesting to note that this bill was pushed through by the gun nuts at the National Rifle Association, who are also lobbying several other states to lower or completely get rid of their minimum hunting age. If these people had their way, every newborn would be given an AK-47 at birth.
-Noah
Posted by Marta
Farewell Anna Nicole Smith February 9, 2007
Posted by Patricia | Permalink | Comments ( 11 ) | TrackBack
I'm sure by now you've all heard about the untimely and tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith. She was always there when the animals needed her help. No matter where she went or what she did she was always in the news, and unlike a lot of people, Anna Nicole was more than happy to share her spotlight with PETA to help expose and fight cruelty to animals. From speaking out against Iams for testing on animals, to letting fur wearing celebs know what she thought about them, to speaking out against the Canadian seal hunt, Anna Nicole was always ready to lend a helping hand. All we had to do was call. Anna Nicole even went vegetarian after learning the truth about what happens to animals on factory farms and in slaughterhouses.
No doubt many people will choose to remember Anna Nicole for the troubles and scandals that haunted her, but to me she will always be the blonde goddess with a heart of gold, the embodiment of the modern day Marilyn, as she was when she appeared in one of my all time favorite PETA ads.
We'll miss you dear friend.
XOX
Posted by Patricia