The Cove wins an Oscar - maybe you should see it now.

The brilliant documentary The Cove has completed its amassing of awards by taking the Oscar for Best Feature Documentary. If you haven't seen the film yet, and you consider yourself a compassionate human being, I recommend that you watch it. It's much more than a basic documentary. It has the excitement and suspense of an action film, and the engaging, eye-opening detective work of an exposé.

 Here is a trailer:

 The debate rages on over the captive marine mammal issue, but the moral and ethical implications of capturing these animals for our fun and profit is becoming increasingly clear.

Update (December 9, 2015):

Another film was released in 2013, documenting the plight of the Orca or Killer Whale, as they're called. The film is called "Blackfish." It details the story of Tilikum, a captive Sea World Orca that has been responsible for several human deaths (this, despite the fact that there is no record of an Orca ever attacking a human in the wild).  Here is the trailer:

Extra credit activity

If you're like me, (you're probably not, but that's a popular way to get people's attention), you most likely receive more offers for credit cards in a given month than you'd like. C'mon, you know you do. Yes, you've contacted DMAchoice.org and any other agency who can help to reduce your junk mail, but still the envelopes come. What do you do with them? If you're like most folks (see, it really does work), you either throw them straight in the round file (a.k.a. trash can) or you exercise your right to protect your privacy by shredding them. Here's a suggestion for a much more effective process:

Start saving them. Then, once a week, or once a month, or whenever it's convenient, take the stack into the bathroom with you when you're about to make a deposit. Open the envelopes, and place the contents - minus any identifying information - into the bank's postage-paid return envelopes. Heck, mix and match - be creative. Again, be sure to remove anything that can identify you, or you'll just wind up getting even more junk mail. Do NOT take advantage of the fact that you are currently producing bodily waste to adorn the paper with your genetic signature (although this could both save toilet paper and give you a brief sense of satisfaction) -- that's unsanitary and just plain wrong. Pop the return envelopes in the mailbox, and don't forget to shred the parts with your personal information on them.

This will result in the following:
1. More income for the poor, beleaguered Post Office - they need the cash, apparently.
2. Less incentive for the banks and credit card companies to keep killing trees and bombarding us with this junk every week. If they have to pay to receive and process millions of envelopes stuffed with unwanted, useless crap in them (kinda like what they send us), they might actually rethink the practice of annoying us with these relentless offers in the first place.
3. Less trees needlessly wasted on this junk.
4. Less junk mail you have to shred, since it contains information that people might use to steal your identity.
5. A chance to hit the banks in the only place it hurts them - the bottom line - as a signal that you're tired of their practices.

It takes very little effort on your part, it feels somewhat satisfying, and it's democracy in action. It's a chance to speak your mind with demonstrative action, and maybe help inspire positive change. If you like this idea, by all means, spread the word around and let's start a movement. In order to do good, we must first do something.