Ranting About Rich Snobs and Rat's Milk

Heather Mills McCartney, the former model who is in the middle of a multi-million divorce battle with Paul McCartney, denounced the world's rich as misers and snobs this week. McCartney filed for divorce last year alleging "unreasonable behavior" by his wife. British press reports have speculated that McCartney has offered his wife around $50 million, while she is seeking at least double that amount.

Mills delivered the critical comments during a speech to the debating society of Trinity College Dublin. Mills said she was reluctantly obliged to befriend the world's wealthy because that was the only way to maximize her power as an agent for change. "Sadly, you have to mix at a certain level of people to raise the level of funds you need to bring about the greater good," she said. "Because people are very snobby. These people who have lots of money, they're either snobby or they're stingy. If you have lots of money, you have to be stingy — because why would you want that amount of money?"

She also compared herself to human rights crusaders down through the ages, suggesting they all had been victimized for their beliefs. "If you look at every single person in the history of the world who has tried to make a difference, you'll find a very long section of their lives where they were treated horrifically by the government or by the media," she said.

The speech came just days after she appeared at Speaker's Corner in London's Hyde Park. In that appearance, Mills suggested that people drink more rat milk, as she derided meat, dairy and fish products as principal causes of global environmental collapse. The 39-year-old Mills also asked people to cut down on one or two meat and dairy and fish dishes a week. "We are the only species that drinks another person's milk, so why aren't we drinking rat's milk, or dog's milk, or cat's milk, that's how crazy it is," she said. "It's mad that we are having cow's milk. Even cows don't drink it after one year but we continue forever."

The one-legged model's move to raise her profile on environmental issues was widely disparaged by the British press. Mills provoked accusations of hypocrisy after she arrived at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in a gas-guzzling Mercedes 4x4 - and kept the engine running for part of the morning. One of the posters in the ad campaign shows Miss Mills - whose leg was amputated after a motorbike hit her as she crossed a street - sending herself up with the logo: "You haven't got a leg to stand on!"