Written by PETA
PETA pal Pink recently tweeted that she had "… the BESTest day" with her "amazing sexy hubby," Carey Hart, riding around on beach cruisers and watching the circus. Not to worry, though—our girl Pink would never attend the kind of circus that tears baby elephants away from their mothers and beats them with bullhooks. Pink's tweet continued: "Not the real circus people. No animals, just people. That look and behave like animals. On acid. Tis' a colorful world." We should all take a cue from this compassionate couple and support one of the many circuses that leave animals in peace and feature only amazingly talented—and, most importantly, willing—human performers!
Via Vegetarian Star
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Looking for a way to rebel against a Debbie Friedman–saturated childhood this Passover?
OK, as the daughter of a Hebrew school principal/music director, maybe it's just me, but everyone should check out Jewish-vegan-reggae-rock-hip-hop artist Matisyahu, whose video for "One Day" was rated one of the 10 most inspiring videos on the Web.
In response to a suggestion that he put a shrimp on the barbie while he's in Australia, Matisyahu recently tweeted, "Sorry babe [shrimp are] not kosher plus I went vegan."
The last time Matisyahu played in Norfolk, PETA delivered him a basket of vegan treats along with the video "If This Is Kosher…" narrated by Jonathan Safran Foer. The video shows footage from an investigation at Agriprocessors, the world's largest kosher slaughterhouse.
This is the year I start a new Passover tradition by sending my dad a similar PETA gift basket, only with a Matisyahu CD and a card reading, "Beets Beat Brisket." Leave a comment with your favorite compassionate Passover tradition (or a better slogan for my card)!
Written by Heather Drennan
As one of America's toughest trainers, The Biggest Loser's Bob Harper is hardcore. He's taken 100 pounds off a man in a mere seven weeks (remember Rudy?), breaks contestants down and builds them back up during Last Chance Workouts, and gives us the skinny with his Trainer Tips on NBC. Now he's focused on challenging the country to a 24-hour vegan cleanse.
Bob's latest tweet reads, "Your Challenge today is to go the next 24 hours, starting now eliminating ALL animal products. Good for your heart AND the environment!!"
Go vegan? But how? Well, in the famed words of Bob himself, "Just stop talking and do it!" Or, you know, a vegetarian/vegan starter kit works just as well.
Written by Christine Doré
"Louis Vuitton foxtail handbag accessories make me sick. Please do not purchase those! It's heinous."—tweet from Sharon Osbourne
We're not the only ones loving Sharon Osbourne's compassionate tweet against Louis Vuitton—her wise words have been retweeted again and again by people across the Internet. Sharon—who donated her furs to PETA in 2004—speaks her mind and takes flack from nobody, which is why she's definitely my pick for who's going to win the upcoming season of Celebrity Apprentice.
Louis Vuitton, because of your bloody bags, YOU'RE FIRED!
Written by Logan Scherer
We were inundated with precious pics of your too-cute-for-140-characters animal companions in our Valentine's Day Twitter contest, and now we're featuring the winners in four V-Day e-cards:
At the top left, meet Meeme and Mochi, who may have been watching too much Twilight before their picture was taken. The cutie in the top right is Fifi and in the bottom left is Cricket, the eye patch–sporting dog who was rescued from a trash bin. Last but not least, meet Lucia and James, who apparently can't get enough of each other.
Choose your favorite card and send it to your valentine with a personalized message. Oh, and not to worry—you're not limited to 140 characters!
One pie, two pie, red (cherry) pie, blue (berry) pie. Over at Twitter, we have a stockpile of (virtual) pies, and we've been having trouble deciding what to do with them (you can only eat so many virtual pies before you get a virtual stomachache). Then it hit us: We should share the tasty treats. But who is worthy of having a virtual pastry delivered to their Twitter account? Then, last week, Canada's minister of fisheries and oceans, Gail Shea, received a cream delight right to the kisser because of her support of the bloody seal slaughter, and the answer was clear—Stephen Harper!
With so many virtual baked goods on hand, we need your help launching them all. So if you have a Twitter account, click on your pie of choice to send a tart message sailing at Prime Minister Harper. Here are the flavors you can choose from:
Now, folks, we know that you can probably distinguish a real pie throw from a virtual one, but for those of you in the back: Please do not try this for real. Also, choose your flavor carefully—we only want each person to throw one pie. So what are you waiting for? Ready, aim, pie!
Written by Shawna Flavell
I have a Twitter account so that I can follow the wisdom of elders, see what the guru of good taste has to say, and, of course, try to keep up with PETA.
I'm just one of 52,710 (and counting) who rely on PETA's tweets for news, events, and updates. That's no small feat, considering that PETA has its paws in anything and everything that's related to animal protection. Now, PETA followers, including some well-known tweeters, are nominating PETA to receive the "Shorty Award" for best nonprofit organization. Some examples:
PamelaDAnderson: I nominate @peta 4 a Shorty Award in #nonprofit because PETA has inspired (more than any organization) so many people to help animals
stephaniepratt (from MTV's The Hills): I nominate @peta 4 a Shorty Award in #nonprofit because they save countless animals http://ow.ly/Ufwx -vote for them!!! Xo
Joel Bartlett: I nominate @peta for a Shorty Award in #nonprofit because they will do whatever it takes.
Maria Burgos: I nominate @peta for a Shorty Award in #nonprofit because I love all the animals in the world,specially my lil bunny :)
Web Hosting: I nominate @peta for a Shorty Award in #nonprofit because...I am vegan and PETA is the best AR group in the world!
Sarah Wright: I nominate @peta for a Shorty Award in #nonprofit because eating meat just for pure enjoyment is inhumane & ridiculous
Izzy Rios: I nominate @peta for a Shorty Award in #nonprofit because....they show the world what they dont want to see.
Yasmina: I nominate @peta for a Shorty Award in #nonprofit because... they have to be #1. I love PETA
I'm going to nominate PETA for a Shorty Award as soon as I finish this post. If you don't already have a Twitter account, now might be the time to sign up. All it takes is 140 characters of your time.
Written by Karin Bennett
Grammar Nazis—(cough) PETA editors (cough)—listen up: It turns out that you might have more in common with monkeys than with your fellow humans.
New research suggests that nonhuman animals are capable of communicating not only among their own kind but also with members of other species. Klaus Zuberbühler, a psychologist at University of St. Andrews in Scotland, spent hundreds of hours listening to the calls of Campbell's monkeys and other species, gradually decoding their language, which is so grammatically sophisticated that it uses suffixes to change the meaning of calls based on the kinds of animals posing a threat. These intricate calls, which are used to pass on complex information about predators and their whereabouts, could be understood by other species of monkeys and even by birds such as hornbills.
We're constantly learning more about the countless ways in which animals of all kinds are brilliant, selfless, and complex. Meanwhile, with all our texts, tweets, and e-mails, we sometimes can't even talk to other humans—let alone other members of other species (um, TISNF, BBIAB, FUBAR—WTF?).
The following is a guest post from PETA Living's Mylie.
Yes, you read that right: Starbucks now has vegan cookies. As if Starbucks weren't already super vegan-friendly simply by offering soy milk, now it has something that you can dunk in that soy latte. Among a plethora of new healthy snacks it's carrying, like fruit and nut bars, granola, and fruit snacks, Starbucks is now carrying vegan and allergy-friendly Lucy's cookies.
When Dr. Lucy Gibney, the mastermind behind these delicious cookies, learned that her child suffers from severe food allergies, she decided to do some serious cookie research to find a recipe that would be safe for her little one to enjoy. What she stumbled upon led her to create her very own recipe for cookie success! What's even sweeter than vegan cookies at Starbucks? You can now enter to win a case of them in our contest.
So, what are you waiting for? Pick some up today on your lunch break and share our contest on Facebook with your family and friends!
Written by Mylie Thompson
Urban legend has it that Eskimos have 400 words for "snow," but how many do they have for "snowman"?
Unlike real snowmen, these guys thrived in the Ottawa Sun. Passersby couldn't stop looking and were delighted to get to know our blizzard buddies, who educated onlookers about the hundreds of thousands of baby seals who are shot or have their skulls crushed every year. With this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver approaching, help Canada clean up its reputation by urging officials to end the seal slaughter immediately.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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