Bad news week

I must admit that lately I haven't been be very good at catching up with the latest news stories. However, via a blog and a mail list I've come across two sad stories both of which I think deserve attention.

1. Hong Kong Disneyland is due to open in the in the next few months (i will miss the opening in case you are wondering) and Disney have been under fire for their decision to serve the delicacy "Shark'sFin Soup" at wedding banquets.

The harvesting of "shark's fin" is not only horrendously cruel (the shark has its fins cut off and the body is then tossed back into the sea where it dies a slow and painful death), but it is also unsustainable as 50-100 million sharks a year are harvested. Literally dozens of shark species are facing extinction because of this ghastly practice and top marine scientists are predicting that the removal of sharks from the ocean will have dire consequences for the survival of other marine life.


2. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the US (which covers California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho and Montana) has ruled that it's legal for an employer to fire a female employee who refuses to wear makeup. More here