pElAgUS' 

April 15 - AN Italian animal rights group today asked Pope Benedict XVI to stop wearing fur out of "respect for the sacredness" of animals' lives.

The Italian Anti-Vivisection League said the Pope should not wear a fur hat the Vatican has ordered from a manufacturer in the northern city of Pavia ahead of his visit to a university there on April 22.

"Out of respect for the sacredness of the lives of all living species, we invite the Holy Father to arrive at a choice of high religious and ethical value by giving up fur clothing for that occasion and for the future," the group's vice president, Roberto Bennati, said.

Benedict XVI, who will celebrate his 80th birthday on Monday, regularly wears clothing with fur, particularly during outdoor ceremonies in the winter.

The animal rights group argued that he should do without fur because "valid alternatives exist that do not call for the murder of animals".

Full article:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21560049-5001028,00.html

Former Coca-Cola workers blocked access to all Coca-Cola Co. (KO) bottling plants in Venezuela and picketed administrative offices Monday, demanding a solution to a long-running dispute over unpaid severance.

A vocal lawmaker close to President Hugo Chavez celebrated the move which has forced the company to cease production across the country.

"We have seized Coca-Cola plants...We will not allow a single truck from Coca-Cola to leave with soft drinks," Iris Varela, a lawmaker, said during a televised interview with state television.

Varela did not specify how long the seizure could last or what role the government is playing in this dispute between the company and workers.

"Now we will see if they will pay workers what they owe them," she said.

A Coca-Cola official who declined to be named, said former soft drink distribution contractors have blocked access to all four bottling plants in Venezuela, effectively paralyzing production since early this morning. Protesters are also picketing outside some administrative offices in Caracas.

The company has fought a legal battle with former distribuitors over unpaid severance for years.

The workers have stopped employees from entering the plants but have allowed others to leave, the official noted.

Liliana Sierraalta, a spokeswoman for the company, said she could not comment yet but would release information later in the day.

Varela, the lawmaker who announced the protests, expressed support for the worker cause and suggested the government should eventually expropriate the company's assets if it fails to comply with worker demands.

If Coca-Cola doesn't follow through, "the company should be expropriated," she said, and a new company could produce "Venezuelan soft drinks instead."

Venezuela's congress is now completely dominated by politicians who support President Hugo Chavez, since opposition parties decided to pull out of last year's congressional election citing electoral irregularities.

Here we are in the midst of a disastrous war in Iraq, and the Bush administration is now talking about attacking Iran! Any such "preventive military strike" is illegal under international law, but to hear Bush threatening a nuclear strike is not only illegal but threatens to destroy 30 years of efforts toward non-proliferation and disarmament, and could even trigger a global war. It's time to declare a hot pink alert! We weren't able to stop the last war, but we must stop the next one…NOW!

The United Nations, which is the mandated to uphold international law, must speak out against the Bush Administration's plans. Let's send a collective letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan imploring him to denounce this threat and call for a diplomatic solution. Click here to sign on and or send your own, and to pass it to friends and family around the world. Let's let the Bush administration and Kofi Annan know that the world is demanding an end to this madness!

Here in the US, we must be even more visible in our opposition to the threat of war in Iran and the ongoing war in Iraq. It will soon be Mother's Day, a day that dates back to the 1870 Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe for women to rise up and say "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."

Join us for Mother's Day weekend, May 13-14, in Washington DC as we gather for a 24 hour vigil outside the White House. We'll be joined by special guests Cindy Sheehan, Susan Sarandon, Patch Adams and many more. Bring your mother, your children, your grandmother, your friends, your loved ones. Click here to sign up and let us know you'll be at the vigil. For more information about the Mother's Day event click here.

If you can't make it to DC, you can still be a part of this important action by participating in a local activity and writing a letter to First Lady Laura Bush to ask her how she, as a mother, can continue to support a war that is leaving thousands of American and Iraqi mothers bereft. We will read the letters aloud in DC during the Mother's Day vigil and later publish a selection for the world to see. Please send your letter soon to Laurabush@codepinkalert.org and encourage your friends and family to do the same!

Let's make this Mother's Day, May 14, one where we heed Julia Ward Howe's original call to action. Let's come together to build the world we want for our children -- and our mothers.

Together towards peace,
Allison, Dana, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Rae and Tiffany

P.S. Still searching for the perfect Mother's Day gift? Check out the new CODEPINK t-shirts and other gifts created just for Mother's Day-gifts guaranteed to make your loved one smile!