Politicians talk turkey and PETA attacks fur-wearing celebs


When Sarah Palin conducted an interview with an Alaskan TV station inside a turkey slaughterhouse, fowl imagery behind her showed the unpardoned birds fated for dinner plates. This Thanksgiving, let’s express gratitude about the election results before our Tofurkey or free-range meals.

President-elect Obama opened Gov. Schwarzenegger’s International Climate Change Summit last week in LA in a taped message stating his commitment to “a new era of global cooperation on climate change.” After reading Michael Pollan’s article about factory food’s contribution to greenhouse gasses, Obama may consider Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid appeal. Meanwhile, Dubya scrambles to lift environmental protections before his not-soon-enough exit.

With 300 turkeys in tow, Will Smith and eco-friendly Rosario Dawson arrived at the charity premiere of their latest film, Seven Pounds, last week in Miami. The birds will benefit the Florida Marlins Community Foundation, a nonprofit that helps needy families. Guests brought canned food to the event for the org’s food bank. The Marlins played a carbon-neutral game with Tampa Bay’s Devil Rays last summer, offsetting 440 metric tons of CO2, the game’s estimated carbon footprint, through carbonfund.org’s local reforestation projects. The meaningful movie, due out in December, appropriately portrays a man who redeems himself by changing other’s lives.

Organic food fan Gwyneth Paltrow apologized about the fur slung around her shoulders when modeling for a Tod photo shoot. The apology caused PETA to back off its attack on Paltrow, but the org pulled off the gloves with Elizabeth Hurley (another organic food fan) for her Blackgama ad. PETA also tossed a bag of flour onto Lindsay Lohan for donning animal skins…Perhaps designer Stella McCartney will reprise her amusing anti-fur protest on Second Life’s virtual world in response to the attacks.

As holiday specials celebrate endless lighting ceremonies (LEDs anyone?), Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert hosts A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All, repeated every evening this week with parodies of standards by Andy Williams, Bing Crosby, and David Bowie sung by Willie Nelson, John Legend, and Elvis Costello. Jon Stewart even joins the merriment. Intended as an antidote to what the comedian calls the season’s “eggnog-induced dementia,” proceeds from a DVD of the show and auction of its costumes will benefit Feeding America, the US’s largest hunger relief outfit. Check out Colbert’s website to watch guest Thomas Friedman speak about his book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America.

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