The “Clean” Coal myth is explored in this hilarious ad by the Coen brothers for This Is Reality. Can the dirtiest source of energy really be the solution? We didn’t think so either.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-_U1Z0vezw]
Denim “fur” and “leather” hits the G Star Runway. “Just when you thought you’d seen every incarnation of denim there is, G Star brings you “fur” and “leather” made out of denim.” Read the full article HERE.
Am I dreaming, or is MTV actually broadcasting a pro-vegan campaign? The organization Compassion Over Killing’s 2009 advertising campaign featuring two of their most powerful ads, “Exploring Your Food” and “A Side of Truth,” hit the MTV airwaves on February 23. That was last night! Did anyone see them?
I can imagine these will cause quite a stir amongst teens, who tend to be idealistic and stubborn. I went veg in high school after coming across slaughterhouse footage in a documentary – but now it’s being handed right to them. I’m just amazed that MTV is OK with this, considering their sponsors.
Watch the Ads here:
Compassion Over Killing's MTV Campaign
[polldaddy poll=1399405]
From the left: Shelley Whelan - Montreal Retail Manager & Rep, Julia Grieve - Founder & CEO, Colin Seymour - Toronto Retail Manager & Rep
PRELOVED held their first US in-store event on Sunday evening at the Greenpoint, Brooklyn boutique, ALTER. The Spring ‘o9 collection is made entirely of reclaimed items like bed sheets, shirts, suiting, and even curtains! These items would otherwise end up in a landfill, and have been reconstucted into really gorgeous garments for ladies and gentalmen, alike. Founder and CEO, Julia Grieve told me that she never intended to be an environemntalist, she just liked working with reclaimed fabrics. But now, as Preloved heads to the forefront of the green-fashion movement, she realized the importence and gravity of making sustainability ‘cool’. Nothing says sustainable like turning trash into gorgeous, head-turning garments. You won’t find find any granola on their runway!
The Zuri Tee $169.00 at ALTER
The line does include wool, but it is recycled from old sweaters that would otherwise be garbage. I’m not going to be complaining about it. Hopefully this trend will catch on, and with styles as awesome as the Zuri Tee, who can resist?
ALTER consists of two boutiques across the street from eachother in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Owned and operated by Roy Caires and Tommy Cole, they carry a great selection of eco and veg-friendly items incuding their own repurposed line “This Old Thing?” as well as Matt & Nat accessories, Melissa shoes, and they have more coming! ALTER is carrying the women’s collecion for Preloved currently, and will be carring the men’s collection within a few weeks.
Speaking of Matt & Nat, I love their new vegan, canvas, Bauhaus bag with 100% recycled lining.
Girlie Girl Army shows us how to get superpowers from superfoods! This is a 101 for anyone who wants to know the basics of the superfood phenomenon! This is for dudes too! Wanna stop chugging sugary, milk-protein-laden workout ‘food’ and get a longer-lasting, healthy high for that extra curl, press, or pull-up? Try these foods! Also, if you didn’t hear Chloe’s sexy visit to the boys at Hot97, click here.
Veganic farming is wha…? Veganic farming takes organic farming and brings it to it’s logical conclusion. Who wants to eat organic potatoes that grew in factory-farm feces and blood? Ugh.. the vegan permaculture movement is taking hold! The Huguenot Street Farm in New Paltz, NY is one successful example. Check out their funny video here, and stay tuned for more updates on the veganic farming movement:
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJUtTvZQGpM"]
FICA is full of it. The ‘Fur Information Council of America’ insists that fur is the “natural, responsible choice“.
If you’ve already started rolling your eyes or laughing, you are not alone. In WWD, for the final day of NY Fashion Week (The Feb 20th, 2009 issue), FICA paid for an ad that was disguised as a part of the paper to make it seem as though fur garments were heavily talked-about in the publication.
In fact, aside from one shawl by Issac Mizrahiny, there wouldn’t have been any fur in the publication that day. Boo hiss to Issac for his hideous new fur collection. Also watch his attempt to lose weight eating “vegan” M&Ms.
"Peanut M&M's are vegan" ...right
Also boo, hiss to TV Host and supposed ’style expert’, Robert Verdi who I spotted in the lobby, surrounded by plastic fur-hags, wearing this atrocious hood (Did his Court-Dress wig fall back, or was he going for the evil Skeksis look?).
Skeksis from "The Dark Crystal"
Tim Gunn should give them both a stern talking-to in the ways of educated and compassionate elegance. The only way to look like a bigger jerk is to have tan-lines in the shape of aviators on your head. Oh wait…
What I love (and by love, I mean hate) about FICA’s pretty-in-pink website is the total avoidance of ever mentioning an animal oustside of abstractions like “species” or “populations”. If they did acknowlegde that individual animals with brains and nervous systems existed, they’d have to follow through with logic that would contradict their reference of animals as “natural resources” to be used “responsibly”. I won’t even make the historical comparisons, you can do that yourself.
Stephanie McMillan's "Minimum Security"
Download "The Green Scare" Pamphlet
THE GREEN SCARE is something you need to know about if you are an environmentalist, an animal advocate, or even a social justice advocate, regardless of the types of action you participate in. The term ‘green scare‘ specifically refers to the government’s expanding efforts in prosecuting, harassing, and villianizing animal and ecological activists. It draws parallels to the “Red Scares” of the 1910’s and 1950s. In essence, it is a deliberate effort to “chill” dissent, activism, and campaigning that economically damages the industries benefiting from the exploitation of animals and the natural environment. It is first known to have appeared in 2002 in the wake of the February 12 congressional hearings titled “The Threat of Eco-Terrorism”, and its most notorious incarnation is the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (S. 3880), a current United States federal law introduced by Republican Thomas Petri of Wisconsin. The law was passed under a suspension of rules (a motion made in order to accomplish something that is normally not allowed.) Of the six representatives present to vote, Dennis Kucinich is the the only one who expressed opposition, saying the bill was “written in such a way as to have a chilling effect on the exercise of the constitutional rights of protest… people who, the law says, well, their first amendment rights are protected…“
The SHAC 7 case
The Green Scare has resulted in animal and environmental activists being legally considered on-par with murderous terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda – equating property destruction and liberating animals with taking lives. Prosecutors and juries now consider any criminal activities conducted in the name of animal advocacy or environmentalism ‘terrorism‘, and trials in the United States and the UK (having similar laws), have resulted in activists being condemned to especially lengthy prison sentences – sometimes lengthier than those given to many rapists, child molesters, and murderers.
Friend of DB, Kelly Overton wrote on CounterPunch in 2007, “The imprisonment of the group, known as SHAC 7, is nothing more than history repeating itself. Those who first called for an end to slavery were imprisoned. Those who believed women should vote went to jail. Civil rights activists, supporters of gay and lesbian rights, and now animal rights activists have all been jailed.”
The United States Department of Homeland Security names the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front as the top two domestic terrorist threats, even though no person has ever been injured or killed in an action claimed by those groups. This may seem illogical, but it clarifies the true interests and role of government in curbing activism – protecting the profits of corporations at any cost, even when corporate activities threaten to undermine the stability of the planet’s ecosystems (which our lives depend upon). Television shows like Law & Order have parodied the ‘eco-terror’ phenomenon, often exaggerating the circumstances to involve murders, which paints a very inaccurate picture in the minds of mainstream, television-watching people.
Corporate news sources do a poor job of objectively covering (or covering at all!) the chilling effect of this campaign – so much so that most people don’t even know it’s happening! One of the most worrisome aspects of this campaign is that it is suspected to be part of a broader initiative to chill dissent in general – and since animal and environmental advocates have fewer mainstream sympathizers than most, they are the easiest targets.
A scene from the upcoming documentary on the Green Scare:
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgF-7iQcwHc"]
For More Info:
GreenistheNewRed.com
GreenScare.org
BombsandShields.com
www.fbiwitchhunt.com
ELP News: ecoprisoners.org
Civil Liberties Defense Center: www.CLDC.org
Break the Chains: www.breakthechains.info
Fashion Week is upon us in New York City! I had a few moments to catch up with Tim Gunn at the Bryant Park Hotel for his conference with PETA on the fur industry. Tim is an outspoken advocate for animals used in the fashion industry, and calls for responsibility and accountability from every single person using or wearing the skin of an animal – whether it is fur, leather, or wool. In the sea of indifference to animals that is Fashion Week, it is amazing to have someone with such clout eloquently speaking the simple truth that fur no longer represents luxury – instead it is an outdated and egregious symbol of ignorance.
Watch Tim’s Video for PETA:
