BBC’s campaign to give UK wild animals a home for the winter

Made in 2008, anyone who didn’t see this last year, it’s back and doing the rounds again – it’s the viral video promoting BBC Breathing Places…

Foie Gras: Roger Moore campaigns for PETA outside Selfridges

Sir Roger Moore has paid for and appears in a new PETA bus stop ad appealing to Selfridges to stop selling foie gras, a “fancy food” that the revered British actor calls “tasteless”. Sir Roger, a supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), is fighting against foie gras sales because of the cruel methods that foie gras producers use to fatten birds’ livers. The ad – which is placed on Orchard Street directly outside Selfridges’ Foodhall – is designed to catch the eye of Christmas shoppers. The ad shows Sir Roger holding a protest sign and features the tagline “Force-Feeding Birds Is Cruel, Not Yule”. Sir Roger’s plan to pay for the placement of a different image showing the force-feeding of birds for foie gras was rejected by Clear Channel on the grounds that it “would be offensive to the general public”.

“The ad agency deemed the image of the force-feeding of birds for foie gras offensive because it is offensive, but as foie gras production is
too violent to show on an ad, surely this ‘torture in a tin’ is too violently produced for Selfridges to sell”, says Moore, who will not patronise Selfridges as long as it sells foie gras. “What I’m sure the public will find far more offensive is Selfridges’ refusal to stop selling foie gras, the production of which is so incredibly cruel that it is prohibited in Britain.”

To create foie gras – French for “fatty liver” – up to 2 kilograms of mash are pumped into the stomachs of ducks and geese through a pipe two or three times a day. As the birds’ livers expand to up to 10 times their normal size, the animals become too sick to move. The pipes sometimes puncture the birds’ throats, causing the animals to bleed to death.

Moore – who narrates PETA’s graphic video about foie gras production – is joined by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, who will not shop at Selfridges if the company fails to end foie gras sales. In addition, Prince Charles has banned foie gras from all royal menus. A recent RSPCA poll shows that a majority of Britons want foie gras sales outlawed.

Moore sent his first letter to Selfridges in 2008 and never received a reply. He wrote again this year offering to buy all the foie gras the store had in stock if they would agree to then permanently stop selling the product but Selfridges did not take him up on the offer.

Eventually Selfridges Chief Executive Paul Kelly wrote to Sir Roger attempting to justify the company’s sale of foie gras to which Moore responded writing, “Respected veterinary experts from around the world agree that foie gras production is extremely inhumane. I mean no disrespect, but it is preposterous for a department store executive to hold out his own uninformed opinions in defiance of these findings.”

Bristol City Council Refuse Strikes – Claim Compensation!

Bristol City Council’s sub-contractor for waste collection and street-cleansing, SITA, finally agreed a 3-year pay deal with its workers in the Unite union yesterday (Wednesday), that will enable them to end the industrial action of the last few weeks.

Waste and recycling will now be collected as normal and roads and pavements will be swept again.

But how did it get this far anyway?

Unite believes that SITA was using the recession as an excuse to effectively cut workers’ pay. The union calculated that SITA was making a healthy profit from the council, but not sharing.

Because the council services for which we pay so much each year were interrupted, we are within our rights to claim compensation.

Write, quoting your council tax account number and requesting a rebate to: 

Local Taxation Officer
Bristol City Council
PO Box 968
Amelia Court
Pipe Lane
Bristol
BS99 1ZG

or email: council.tax@bristol.gov.uk

The more of us that do it, the more likely they are to listen.

British Man Wins Best Job in the World

Not even a little bit smug now…

Ben Southall was born for this.

The Best-Connected Frog in the World (Rainforests Ad)

Daily Telegraph: “Gordon Brown is a Cunt” – website blooper

Someone at the Telegraph will almost certainly lose their job over this…

Soon after it appeared, the URL had been changed to something more appropriate (see URL – the body of the webpage isn’t quite as interesting!)

 

Who at the Daily Telegraph uploaded this page to telegraph.co.uk?

Business Grants for Switching to Renewable Energy

Businesses in the West are being offered grants to help them switch to renewable sources of energy.

The South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) is injecting an extra £2m into a fund called Regen SW, which offers money and advice to help firms go green. SWRDA has now invested more than £5.3 million in Regen SW since 2002. 

The extra money will allow Regen SW to beef up its support to businesses.  It will also look at speeding up the transition to a low-carbon economy in the South West by promoting sustainable energy.

One local business that has already benefited from a Regen grant is The Mendip Centre at Blagdon, near Bristol. It is the headquarters of Holt Farm and the Yeo Valley dairy. It is currently installing a 130kW biomass boiler, which generates renewable heat. It is estimated it will save them £11,000 a year.

Best Advertisement – Bush vs. Obama

Green Energy – North Sea Wind Farm Could Power Europe

This week Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture announced plans for an incredible array of oceanic wind farms that may one day produce as much energy as the Persian Gulf.

Dubbed Zeekracht (sea power), the masterplan comprises a massive ring of wind farms centered around the Netherlands that spans seven adjacent countries.

By calling for such a large network of communal infrastructure and knowledge, the plan takes a giant step towards ensuring European energy independency by 2025.

Thanks to its high and constant wind speeds, shallow waters, and cutting-edge renewable industries, the North Sea is one of the world’s most suitable areas for large scale wind farming.

OMA states that “The potential magnitude of renewable energy in the North Sea in fact, approaches that of fossil fuel production in the Persian Gulf states today.”

The firm’s Zeekracht masterplan calls for a massive communal wind power infrastructure focused in an “Energy Super-Ring” around the Netherlands. The plan’s components include a Production Belt, which covers clean tech research and manufacturing, and an International Research Center that promotes cooperation, innovation, and development. Since large scale fishing is impossible in the vicinity of a windmill field, the areas will also be effectively converted into nature reserves that shelter fish and other sealife.

OMA states: “With its history, its ingenuity, its collective spirit, and its optimal geography, the Netherlands is poised to play a leading role in the development of the North Sea. Through policy and action, it could demonstrate the potential of individuals and nations to build towards a highly productive, cooperative and sustainable future – on land and sea.”

Sainsbury’s to Stop Selling Battery Eggs

UK supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has announced that it will stop selling battery farm eggs from caged birds from early next month.

The plight of caged hens has been well-known for decades in the UK – it’s barbaric, cruel and unnecessary to keep birds in conditions that make their lives short, painful and miserable.

Like most people I know, I have been buying only free range eggs as long as I can remember. The extra 20p or so per 6-pack is a small price to pay to live in the knowledge that those creatures that provide us with food are not suffering.

How refreshing that a major supermarket is finally taking the step forward.

Now it’s time to put pressure on Tesco, ASDA and Morrisons to do the same.