Worldlog Week 26 - 2012 - Main contents

Last week the senate rejected the legislative bill seeking to ban the ritual slaughter of animals without prior stunning. In addition to the Christian parties, the senators of the VVD, PvdA and D66 also voted against the bill. Furthermore, three of the five GroenLinks senators rejected the bill.

I feel extremely encouraged by the many messages of support that have arrived since the vote. Religion must never be an excuse for serious, unnecessary and avoidable suffering of animals. I intend to submit a new draft bill after the elections which, while taking account of the objections voiced in the senate, will seek to put an end to the slaughter of animals without prior stunning. But first the elections!

Following the elections, we will return to the House of Representatives stronger than ever and we will again attempt to get a majority to support our proposal. It is therefore extremely important that the debate going on in the country about the slaughter of animals without prior stunning continues unabated.

Sam Simon, the producer of The Simpsons, is donating a new ship to Sea Shepherd to help the organization in its fight against whaling. Wonderful news!

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a bacteria-eating virus in meat products. See http://nutritionfacts.org/video/viral-meat-spray/ for more information.

Interested to know how the credit crisis started? Watch The Crisis of Credit Visualized - Part 1. It offers a clear explanation why our economic system is in drastic need of reform.

In our new election programme - which we presented today and which I am very proud of - we describe in detail our party’s views of the current economic system and chart a course toward a sustainable, economically stable future.

We have a multimedia party programme, the world’s first! Through QR codes and hyperlinks, the programme links to a large number of images, reports and background articles that you can consult as you read it on your computer, smartphone or tablet. The title of the programme is “Hou vast aan je idealen, laat ze niet wegcijferen” (Hold on to your ideals. Don’t let them be ignored). The new election programme also aims to make more people aware of the fact that our party has the greenest and most reformist agenda.

Until next week! Marianne