The Discerning Brute: fashion, food & etiquette for the ethically handsome man

1. John McCain is insane! See MoveOn’s “10 Things to Know About John McCain“. Spread the hate, people – he certainly is. McCain opposes a woman’s right to choose. The Children’s Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for gay rights. Blach!

2. Kitchen Hell! (Yes, Gordon planned to eat the lamb depicted – but was beat to the chase last summer by a predator that found the lamb on the sexy Beckhams’ estate.) After his cheesy Paris “Kitchen Nightmare” episode, Gordon Ramsey’s chef skills have proven to fail miserably when it comes to veg food. Girlie Girl: Chloe Jo and I wrote him letters, challenging him to prepare a vegan meal in NYC among fine veg dining establishments like Candle 79, Blossom, Counter, and Pure. We suggest you do the same. See our letters HERE.

3. Scandal! Thanks to Ari at Scent of Scandal, (home of soy candles like “Double D” that smells like Melons) we find that Al Gore recently gave a speech on TED.com which is kind of like a brief addendum to An Inconvenient Truth. It’s about 30 minutes long and is quite inspiring. He’s extremely passionate and moving.

4. Oceans in Danger! Speaking of Al Gore, I had the opportunity to meet and get photographed with him last night at Current TV’s advertising event. I’ve produced videos for Current in the past, and plan to do more in the future. I was shocked, however, to find beef & shrimp – two of the most notoriously ecologically destructive foods for global warming and oceans being served AT AL GORE’S EVENT. All I would eat were damned vegetable kabobs and liquor. In Peggy Bundy’s voice, “AaaaL!”

5. Free Trade? Assasinations! The Columbia/US trade deal that Nancy Pelosi and Teamsters General Prez Jim Hoffa (official Obama supporter) are pissed-off about has to do with the fact that more than 2,500 trade unionists have been assassinated in Colombia, and very little has been done to bring their murderers to justice. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

“All of these trade deals are hurting American workers, but this one is especially bad because of Colombia’s horrible human rights record,” Hoffa said. “No agreement with Colombia should be considered until the government prosecutes the killers of trade unionists and until the union killings stop. Already this year, 11 trade unionists have been killed. It will take years to address the decades of violence and impunity that has taken place.”

For more info: http://www.teamster.org/

6. Guns Germs and More Germs! Speaking of Current TV, I grabbed this news story off of their homepage:

“Amazonian tribes have called for film and television crews to be banned from their territories after a British production company was accused of starting a flu epidemic that killed four members of a remote Indian people.

As if we hadn’t already done enough to completely fuck over all indigenous peoples, we are systematically destroying all hope for human survival after civilization. These are the only people who know how to survive succesfully (look at their track record!) outside of our civilization – when they go away, so does their intimate knowledge of the earth – knowledge we are less and less likely to recover as every single day goes by. Shame!

7. Animal Planet Goes Ape-Shit! Animal Planet’s new series RAW NATURE, gives viewers:

“… an unprecedented and immersive look at the intersection between human nature and animal instinct. The fearless filmmakers of RAW NATURE strike out across the globe to give first-hand accounts of dedicated wildlife professionals working to help animals survive human encroachment. Among other stories, the series showcases a man who’s dedicated his life to rescuing poached sloth bears forced to entertain and dance on the streets of Agra, India, and a biologist in Sumatra who’s doing everything she can to help save the orangutan population from total extinction.”

Only time will tell if this is a legit show trying to help animals – or just another “extreme” nature show exploiting and stereotyping nature. RAW NATURE premieres Tuesday, April 29, at 9 PM (ET/PT) and airs for five consecutive weeks.

8. Organic Hemp, Greek Boating Cap. This hat is quite handsome. 100% Organic Hemp, from Ecolution.

9. Spring Mariners. These ‘vegetan’ slip-ons from Vegetarian Shoes UK are perfect for summer. Made in Portugal, %100 vegan.

10. Pest Pardon. Humans aren’t the only pests that thrive in spring and summer. Don’t you hate the term ‘Pest’ anyway? If you get a rodent that you didn’t invite or rescue from a lab – use the Humane No-Kill Trap. Please? It’s only $12 and you can use it over and over.