That’s what I call killing two birds with one stone.*

* Turn of phrase meant to offend PETA

(hat tip: Melvyn)

Recently, PETA’s European affiliate wrote to the Pet Shop Boys to suggest that they change their name to the “Rescue Shelter Boys.” It’s got a nice ring to it, right? PETA Europe let the duo know that dogs and cats sold in pet shops come from breeders who often keep animals in cramped, filthy conditions and that many animals sold in pet shops suffer from inbreeding, genetic weaknesses, physical deformities, or behavioral disorders. By changing their name, the would-be-Rescue Shelter Boys could raise awareness about the cruelty of the pet trade at every tour stop.

As one of the commenters on the PETA site says:

Are you going to go after Meatloaf next..?

She looks like them.

Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.

Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin.

The link was discovered by Oxford University scientists who used memory tests, physical checks and brain scans to examine 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87.

When the volunteers were retested five years later the medics found those with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage. It confirms earlier research showing a link between brain atrophy and low levels of B12.

Brain scans of more than 1,800 people found that people who downed 14 drinks or more a week had 1.6% more brain shrinkage than teetotallers. Women in their seventies were the most at risk.

Beer does less damage than wine according to a study in Alcohol and Alcoholism.

Researchers found that the hippocampus-the part of the brain that stores memories – was 10% smaller in beer drinkers than those who stuck to wine.

And being overweight or obese is linked to brain loss, Swedish researchers discovered. Scans of around 300 women found that those with brain shrink had an average body mass index of 27 And for every one point increase in their BMI the loss rose by 13 to 16%.

Incidentally, Indian vegetarians are estimated to make up more than 70% of the world’s vegetarians.

(Hat tip: Shy Guy).

So when I heard they were now attacking – wait for it – the American Cancer Society – I hardly raised an eyebrow.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has recently slammed Michael Jordan for smoking cigars, calling him a bad example for young people. Here at PETA, we can’t help but laugh– the ACS berates a man for smoking because it’s linked to cancer, yet continues to serve cancer-linked fare at their “Cattle Baron’s Ball” fundraising events.

In an article from as far back as 1999, the American Cancer Society recognizes that animal product consumption leads to higher risk of cancer. “Our results showed diet was the most influential factor in modifying the risk of prostate cancer,” said James R. Hebert, ScD, lead author and Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. “Populations having diets high in animal products will have increased rates of prostate cancer mortality.”

In our letter to the ACS, we point out that “[y]ou can’t possibly expect anyone to think that you are serious about fighting cancer until you promote and serve proven cancer-preventing vegetarian meals at your events. . . . [Y]our Web site even admits that ‘[p]opulation studies have linked vegetarian diets with a decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and colon cancer.’ In his letter to Jordan, your spokesperson wrote, ‘When high-profile athletes publicly display unhealthful habits, they can mislead young people to emulate their behavior.’ Isn’t it safe to say that when a high-profile health group publicly promotes unhealthy habits like meat consumption, it is also misleading Americans, young and old?”

So no cancer-linked smoking, but serving cancer-linked animal flesh at a cancer fundraising event is ok? Gotcha.

As classy as ever.

Answer: To get to the chicken.

Australia’s sexiest Hollywood export Sophie Monk has been criticised for being two-faced, after she was snapped with food from a KFC restaurant – a fast food chain she has bagged in the past as a vegetarian.

Celebrity gossip websites have reported seeing Monk walking out a KFC in Hollywood, with photos that reveal her holding a take away drink and a bag filled with KFC fast food.

The contents of Monk’s KFC run are unknown, and if she was buying food for herself.

But gossip sites have already started speculating on what PETA’s stance is on her latest KFC run – and if they will remove her from their animal rights campaign.

Monk previously lashed out at KFC when she posed nude for the animal rights activist group PETA, in October 2007.

After doing the sexy photoshoot, she admitted she was a vegetarian and only ate at vegetarian restaurants as they have the “best food”.

She also criticised KFC eaters, saying: “I think the message to KFC eaters (is that) you should think about what you’re eating. If you’re eating deformed animals that are being induced by hormones, you know, it can not be good for you.”

Now there’s some finger-link’ good hypocrisy for you.

An animal rights group has tried – and failed – to run a newspaper ad comparing the beheading of a passenger on a Greyhound bus last week to the treatment of animals by the meat industry.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, said on its website it would run the ad in the Portage la Prairie Daily Graphic.

However, city editor Tara Seel said the newspaper had no intention of running the ad, which uses imagery of “an innocent victim’s throat” being cut, in reference to the slaughter of cows, chickens and pigs on factory farms.

“His struggles and cries are ignored … the man with the knife shows no emotion … the victim is slaughtered and his head cut off … his flesh is eaten,” reads the ad, which is posted on the website.

“If this ad leaves a bad taste in your mouth, please give a thought to what sensitive animals think and feel when they come to the end of their frightening journey and see, hear and smell the slaughterhouse.”

Ms. Seel would not specify reasons for why the newspaper was choosing not to run the ad, except to say it wasn’t something they wanted to do. She noted the newspaper had been inundated with calls from other media since the posting to the PETA website.

Vince Weiguang Li, 40, of Edmonton, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old carnival worker Tim McLean, who was stabbed and decapitated aboard a Greyhound bus on July 30.

Mr. Li has been ordered by a judge to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

“Like human victims, animals in slaughterhouses experience terror when they are attacked by a knife-wielding assailant,” Lindsay Rajt of PETA said in a news release. “We are challenging everyone who is rightly horrified by this crime to look into their hearts and consider leaving violence off their dinner plates.”

Ms. Rajt said the ad was intended to be shocking and is meant to spur people to think about the terror and pain experienced by animals who are raised and killed for food.

Meanwhile, they continue to treat women like meat.