Worldlog Semaine 43 – 2012

La semaine dernière nous avons eu des vacances d’automne, donc aujourd’hui je peux recommencer toute reposée une semaine dans l’Assemblée nationale néerlandaise. La formation bat toujours son plein. On nous en donne peu de nouvelles. Le Parti populaire de la Liberté et de la Démocratie (VVD) et le Parti du Travail (PvdA) sont toujours en train de négocier. J’espère vous en raconter davantage la semaine prochaine.

Par une enquête du quotidien ‘NRC Handelsblad’ entre autres il s’est révélé que le Parti pour les Animaux reçoit les meilleures critiques de l’arrière-ban: dire que 100 pourcent a un jugement positif à très positif du parti. Cela nous fait du bien. Nous continuons à tenir nos idéaux!

Notre parti a remporté un beau succès dans la commune de Leiden. Cette commune va décourager le lancement des ballons non biodégradables et des ballons avec des fils en plastique pendant les événements et les festivités. C’est à cause de la motion adaptée de notre conseiller municipal Dick de Vos. Lancer des ballons pendant un événement festive semble chouette, mais ces ballons descendent à un certain moment et alors ils peuvent être mortels pour les animaux. C’est-à-dire que les oiseaux et les mammifères marins les prennent souvent pour de la nourriture. Les restes sont mangés et le résultat est que les animaux meurent à cause du plastique dans leurs estomacs. Leiden est la première commune avec une politique de découragement pour les ballons non biodégradables.

Les préparations pour notre fête jubilaire battent son plein. A savoir que le 28 octobre notre parti existe dix ans et alors cela vaut une fête :). Ce sera un bel événement où le documantaire ‘Le lièvre dans le marathon’, qui s’agit des dix ans du Parti pour les Animaux, passera en première. A suivre !

Beau travail de l’artiste Banksy des ‘chicken Nuggets’.

Et je ne veux pas vous retenir de ce beau travail : Piece together for peace. Pouvez-vous découvrir les douze animaux?

Cordialement, Marianne

‘The road to a European state is presented as unavoidable given the fact that we now have a single currency. If we were wise, we would argue at the upcoming European summit against the further erosion of the strong member states and for the introduction of parallel currencies alongside the euro to solve the euro crises. Any form of far-reaching integration would mean a reduction of prosperity, an erosion of democracy and the breakdown of autonomy.’

That was my message during the debate in the Lower House last week on the position the Netherlands should take at this week’s European summit. We do not wish to cooperate on a disastrous course of political and economic integration, but want to see the euro crisis solved in another manner. In today’s Europe, with all its different economies, maintaining a single currency is difficult and complex and that is why it would be good to have parallel currencies alongside the euro.

Last week we landed twice in a top 100 list 😉 Magazine Opzij has proclaimed me one of the 100 most powerful women in the Netherlands. This list of a hundred women, which is divided into ten categories, features me as a newcomer in the category “politics”. Esther and I are also in daily newspaper Trouw’s Sustainable top 100. Great!

Shocking images have come to our attention of cows being terribly mistreated for the cheese on Burger King’s Whoppers. To be fair, Burger King is more focused on animal welfare than other fast-food chains, which have not yet been filmed. You can view the images here. Be warned. The images are shocking.

The Dutch Royal Family was in the spotlight last week. The Spanish Royal Family costs five times less than its Dutch counterpart while Spain has three times as many inhabitants as the Netherlands. That’s a factor of fifteen. We want to see greater transparency on the royal budget. In times of austerity, it is crucial that the Lower House is able to monitor the rising costs of the Royal Family. Furthermore, I have asked prime minister Rutte whether the Royal Hunt Department, which has undergone a euphemistic name-change and is now known as the Royal Department for Fauna Management, in any way supports, financially or otherwise, hunts by members of the royal family.

Bhutan is setting a wonderful example for the rest of the world. The government of Bhutan has decided that all agriculture in the country is to be 100 percent biological. Go Bhutan!

People think up the craziest animal-unfriendly stunts these days to attract visitors to zoos. The owner of a Florida zoo is letting visitors swim with a young tiger for 150 dollars. Alternatively, visitors can opt to swim with an alligator for 75 dollars. But don’t worry, its jaws have been taped shut…

More news about the bizarre hobbies some people have: in a number of countries in Africa foreign tourists can legally shoot dead a buffalo, lion or elephant for just under 80,000 dollars. And people are doing it too, just because they can 🙁

View the trailer of the film A Thirsty World on water consumption in the West and the lack of clean drinking water in other parts of the world.

Have a good week! Marianne