Videos
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Couldn't Attend Let Live 2009? Catch Up Online
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Important Films to See, at Home and at Festivals
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Sadness to Sweetness
Get Your Favorite Nonprofit Featured on YouTube
Published October 10, 2009 @ 07:22AM PT
The folks at YouTube have dropped us a line to let us know about a new project going called Video Volunteers. With a focus on animal welfare this month, the project asks people to choose a nonprofit they support, create an under-3-minute promotional video for that org, and submit it to be voted on -- well, sort of. According to the FAQ, Ben Stein gets to pick the top 10 submitted by October 22, and then YouTube users get 24 hours to vote those 10 down to their favorite 3, which will then be featured on the YouTube homepage.
Though "animal welfare" is the stated focus, I'm going to recommend that you actually create a video for an animal rights organization or sanctuary -- or at the very least an AR-friendly welfare/wildlife organization (e.g., not a happy-meat-promoting group, not a zoo, and not an aquarium) -- for obvious reasons. And just so everyone knows right from the start, Humane Society of the United States videos are already out of the running. Ben Stein's a supporter, and included in YouTube's must-meet-these-criteria-to-be-a-finalist list is this: "Not be about the Humane Society - Ben Stein's got them covered." But of all the animal rights and animal welfare organizations out there, HSUS needs the publicity and additional support the least, so I would have recommended going with a smaller or less-well-known group anyway, in addition to recommending a rights group.
There's no way to know in advance what's going to make it past Ben Stein into the 10 videos to vote on, but there are a lot of animal rights nonprofits and animal sanctuaries out there whose group (and whose message) could use this exposure -- with both the group and animals benefiting from the exposure -- and I know there are a lot of animal rights advocates out there with talents in this area, so I hope that some of you folks will consider grabbing your video camera and jumping on board with this and that interested nonprofits will reach out to their supporters about it. There are a number of rules for making sure your video is eligible (including making sure you have your chosen nonprofit's approval of the video) as well as some tips/guidelines for how to go about making your video, so be sure to read the details and FAQ before you get started. And then let us know here if you submit something so that we can go check it out!
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Photo uploaded to stock.xchng by tsevis
Maddow v. Berman
Published October 08, 2009 @ 04:19PM PT
I like Rachel Maddow. I do not like Rick Berman -- or his deceptive Center for Consumer Freedom or Berman/CCF's mouthpiece David Martosko (who gets a shout-out from Berman, and gets called out by Maddow, during the following interview; see the list at the end of this post for previous posts related to these shady characters). And the two videos that follow further confirmed which party I like and which I despise. The first five minutes of video 1 are of Rachel Maddow giving us an intro to Berman and some of his many front-group organizations, and the remaining five minutes feature an interview between Maddow and the creep himself. Video 2, under five minutes long, is the last half of the interview.
Berman's a bit of an evil genius, and he's been spinning and equivocating and deceiving for a long, long time. But Maddow held her own and didn't let him pull all his usual crap. Good for her. (You can also view these videos on the show's site: part 1 and part 2.)
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Previous Berman/CCF/Martosko-related posts:
Love Is Not Only for Human Animals (and Circuses Aren't Sanctuaries)
Published September 30, 2009 @ 05:31AM PT
A series of videos and stories at National Geographic's Web site, from a special titled Unlikely Animal Friends, came to my attention yesterday via Facebook, courtesy animal-loving, link-providing pals Chad Miller, co-founder of Food Fight! Vegan Grocery in Portland, Oregon, and Dallas Rising, program director of the Minneapolis-based Animal Rights Coalition. The video above, of Tara and Bella at the Elephant Sanctuary, whose heartwarming story many animal advocates and even the general public know by now, is one of these. There is much good to take away from the profiles, and even the videos many of us have seen before are worth watching again, but as tends to be the case with these sorts of mainstream animal programs, there are troubling aspects of what we're shown in a couple cases too (I'll get to that in the last half of this post).
"Treat Equal"
Published September 28, 2009 @ 12:27PM PT
I send thanks to animal advocate Susannah from Spain for sending along the following short video from the Stray Animals Foundation/BGD of Turkey (no links because I couldn't find any; anyone who has more information on these groups, please do share). I won't say more to introduce the ad because it speaks, simply but elegantly, for itself.
Another Undercover Look at Eggs: How Much Cruelty in Your Dunkin' Donut?
Published September 15, 2009 @ 01:54PM PT
Last month, I wrote about Compassion Over Killing's "Dunkin' Cruelty" campaign (link best opened in a browser other than IE) aimed at getting the popular chain to remove egg and dairy from its doughnuts, in addition to providing vegan menu options. But despite COK's concerted efforts and the many e-mails, calls, and letters from customers and potential customers of Dunkin' Donuts, the company has all but ignored the campaign and the information provided on the cruelties of dairy and eggs.
They'll have a hard time ignoring this latest aspect of the campaign.
Peaceable Kingdom Premieres in Boulder, Sept. 26-27
Published September 14, 2009 @ 05:41AM PT
Are you ready for some great news? This past week, the premiere of the long-anticipated Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home was announced! The film will make its debut just a couple weeks from now, at the Moondance International Film Festival, September 26-27, in Boulder, CO. See details on the weekend's events at the evite (amusing side note: it appears the premiere screening is taking place in the Dairy Center for the Arts, a former "dairy processing and storage facility" according to the center's site -- oh, the vegan irony).
A new Web site for the film has just launched as well -- http://www.peaceablekingdomfilm.org/ -- so make sure to wander over and check it out.
I'm terribly jealous of anyone who gets to attend the screenings, talks, and reception in Boulder, but I'm excited to take the first opportunity I get to see it once it starts making the rounds closer to my area. If you can get to Boulder for the premiere, by all means do, but if you can't (and, actually, even if you can), make sure to sign up for updates so that you'll know when the film is heading in your direction and when it's available on DVD. You can also keep up with what's happening with Peaceable Kingdom and other Tribe of Heart projects by becoming a fan at Tribe of Heart's Facebook page.
Related: A Film That Will Change Hearts and Save Lives -- And How You Can Help
The Tortoise at Woodstock
Published September 09, 2009 @ 03:14PM PT
Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary has a new temporary resident. Check out his adorableness (short story below the video):
From Woodstock:
Ciyalana or "Ciya" (pronounced See Ya!) is a 20 pound African Spurred Tortoise who was abandoned in a NYC park about 4 years ago. He is estimated to be 11 years old, with a life expectancy of 70-80 years! Why is a non-farm animal here at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary? His permanent home, the Lower East Side Ecology Center in Manhattan, is undergoing major renovations over the next year, and we've agreed to provide a loving foster home for this little guy in the meantime.
