Hey D.C.ers, this one's for you. Tomorrow morning, when you're picking up that cup o' joe and morning paper before catching the Metro, look out for our sleek new "Vegetarian Starter Kit" stands. They are popping up all over the city—at last count, there were more than 50.

So grab the latest copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." Alicia Silverstone, Russell Simmons, and animals everywhere will appreciate it, and we're sure you will find someone to pass it on to at work or play. Won't you now?

Posted by Shawna Flavell

… now that Russell Simmons has shown her just how cruel the fur industry is. After Russell showed Brooke the video footage from our investigation of Chinese fur farms, she had some great stuff to say.

My personal fav:

popcrunch / CC

"I'd be happy to have my five minutes with one of those animal abusers in a dark alley …"

Dude, have you seen her dad? If he didn't teach this girl how to Atomic Leg Drop some punks, I'd be surprised. Furriers best be watching their backs.

You can read the rest of her blog entry over at Global Grind.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

zimbio / CC

"Fur is no longer being viewed as a way to floss and show off your status or bank account—it is now a billboard of cruelty on people's back."
—Russell Simmons, globalGrind.com

He's the founder of Phat Farm, so if anyone knows style, it's got to be Russell Simmons. In his recent globalGrind blog post, Russell gave a shout-out to Tila Tequila, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and Michelle Obama for speaking out against the fur industry and credited the ladies with marking "a shift in human consciousness." Wow, Russell, we couldn't have said it better ourselves!

Posted by Shawna Flavell

rushcard / CC

Russell Simmons—hip-hop mogul, philanthropist, and editor-in-chief of the online social network developed by and for the hip-hop community, GlobalGrind.com—loves, loves, loves our Veggie Love Super Bowl ad, which was summarily rejected by NBC.

To help us make up for the viewers we lost by not being aired during the 2009 big Sunday game-of-all-games, GlobalGrind.com is calling on other media outlets to help us receive the more than 90 million "impressions," or views, we were denied.

"The hip-hop community is the biggest and best branding community in the world, which is why I feel my site GlobalGrind.com has a responsibility to the community to serve," says Russell, who has been a vegan for 9 years. "When we spread the word that corporate America is feeding us poison, the community will listen." He adds, "Global Grind is donating media space that will give the ad at least 50 million impressions, and this is just the beginning."

You can get in on the action, too. Make Russell and all your PETA Files friends proud by watching the ad right now, leaving a comment, and forwarding it to all your friends. And, hey, send it to your "enemies" too! You never know—they may become your friends after they see it.

You can also catch Russell in PETA President Ingrid Newkirk's newest book One Can Make a Difference as he contributed an essay, along with other compassionate celebrities. Click here for more information.

Posted by Christine Doré

vibesource / CC

You can imagine how delighted we were when Russell Simmons received the "I Am Hip Hop" Icon award on last night's BET Hip-Hop Awards. The Icon award is presented to an individual who has made "notable contributions of outstanding significance to the hip-hop community," according to CNN, and Russell definitely fits that description! He was specifically recognized as a "philanthropic inspiration to other artists." Oh, yeah—we can testify to that!

Russell has lent his tremendous star power to many worthy PETA causes. He's stood up for dogs and against dogfighting, he's a vegetarian who wants to kick KFC's bucket, and he spoke out against foie gras last year.

So, not only is Russell generous to the five charities he personally heads—that's right, five—he's always got time to help animals.

So congratulations, Russell! You are one icon well deserving of an award.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Rochester/Creative Commons

Phat (adj.)
1. Cool.
2. Pretty Hot and Tempting.
Yo, Jack, that 1996 Toyota Corolla of yours is a pretty phat ride!

Fatty (adj.)
1. Consisting of, containing, or resembling fat: fatty tissue.
2. Pathology. Characterized by overproduction or excessive accumulation of fat.
Are you really going to eat that fatty, diseased liver, you sick freak?

Alright, now that we’ve got the definitions out of the way, here’s the big news: Phat Farm clothing and Def Jam records founder Russell Simmons just approached the Chicago City Council on PETA’s behalf to urge them to oppose efforts (funded by what may well be the sickest, most unethical industry on the planet) to repeal the city’s ban on fatty duck liver, or foie gras. Here’s what Russell had to say to the Council:

“Cruelty is wrong, regardless of whether the victim is a child, a dog, or a bird. Let's come together to oppose all cruelty and injustice. I am asking that you support keeping this compassionate law in place—a law that Chicago can be truly proud of."

You can check out Russell’s letter below, and for a little taste of what goes on in the foie gras industry that’s currently pressuring Chicago to repeal its ban, check out this story about 15,000 ducks who burned to death this week at a Hudson Valley Foie Gras factory farm. When asked for comment, Hudson Valley owner Izzy Yanay expressed his deep regret about how much money this is going to cost him. Anyone else feel like these people should be out of business ASAP?

Thanks, Russell, for everything that you do.