Born Free USA Blog:
The gift that gives twice!
Trying to come up with a creative gift for that person who has everything? Or maybe a “green” gift for that person who doesn’t want to clutter their life with more “stuff”? Well then, why not consider the gift of adoption? Adopting one of the amazing monkeys from the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary is a great gift for pretty much anyone.
Making the Change
As the New Year fast approaches, I am reminded about all the wonderful things that I am grateful for and all the hopes I have for change in the New Year. I find that people do not do this quite enough, we tend to get caught up in the all the negatives of the year when we should be reflecting on the positives.
Turkey Talk
As President George W. Bush’s term winds down, he still has a rapidly approaching, and quite absurd, ritual to perform, as he has each year during his eight-year term. He will, if all goes according to a 61-year tradition: pardon a turkey. The bird, chosen earlier this month from the farm of the chairman of the National Turkey Federation, will not be slaughtered, unlike the birds used in the first decades of this practice.
But who should pardon whom?
Pardon the Turkeys
Thanks to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin we have at once been reminded of the brutal reality of turkey dinners and of how thankful we should be that she will not be our next Vice President.
Thanks Sarah. Really. Thanks.
No vacation from stupidity
Okay, two things potentially wrong with the title of this blog.
One is that I wasn’t actually on vacation. I was in Cancun, Mexico for a meeting related to international wildlife trade. Lots of work and an occasional margarita to ease the pain of being that close to the beach and never setting foot on the sand. BUT ... plenty of other people in Cancun were without a doubt there just for leisure.
The other is the word “stupidity.” I’m never quite sure whether referring to someone as stupid implies maliciousness – that is, are they mean-spirited and callous or just uninformed?
Vote! Design Against Fur People's Choice Award!
Born Free USA united with the Animal Protection Institute is a sponsor of the 2008 Design Against Fur poster competition. This competition invites design and marketing students from around the world to create creative and compelling posters that convey that fur fashion is cruel and unnecessary.
The Cat Lady
Barack means “blessed” in Swahili. I know this because I was blessed to be in Kenya for two weeks, just before Barack Obama won the election. It’s hard to say who had the bigger parties after he won, the US or Kenya. (Obama’s father is from Kenya.) Everywhere we went, the one word we all knew was “Obama!” And we shouted it back and forth as if a greeting. (“Jambo” is actually “hello” in Swahili).
Who are the REAL savages?
So many of the old western films constantly depicted Indians — the true native Americans, as “savages.” Webster’s Dictionary gives several definitions of the word “savage”, but for the purpose of this dialog, this one works best: lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings.
