Videos
Three Reasons Not to Eat Fish
Published July 07, 2009 @ 01:54PM PT
With a hat tip to the Twitterin' Mary Martin of Animal Person, I give you this smart, short video on the fish issue, which I'd not seen before last night:
Not-So-Vegan and So, So Vegan
Published July 02, 2009 @ 02:05PM PT
Two very different items have been making their way around online spaces this past week: (1) a "hipster vegan"-mocking, but still supremely funny, video titled "So, So Vegan" (which is embedded at the end of this post and the circulation of which by vegans is proof that yes, we do indeed have a sense of humor about ourselves and each other!) and (2) a remarkably involved and impressive investigation into vegan Los Angeles eateries by QuarryGirl.com, which I mentioned briefly in one of this week's roundups.
In the latter, the bloggers revealed the results of a grand-scale investigation into 17 LA-area vegan restaurants to see which ones might be serving food that's not actually vegan (whether inadvertently or, it seems in one case, perhaps even consciously). And we're not talking about some easy, uncomplicated, amateur testing process either. The investigators went all-out scientific, and they report every step of the process in extraordinary detail in the post: "Operation Pancake: Undercover Investigation of LA Vegan Restaurants" (with an update post here: "Operation Pancake: The Plot Thickens"). And really, it wouldn't take a scientific analysis for anyone who's been vegan for any length of time to look at Green Leaves' cheese and immediately question whether it's really vegan. [As I prepare to post this, QuarryGirl.com isn't loading--the site's been receiving a lot of traffic in recent days--but keep trying back periodically if you encounter a problem on first attempt. I'm sure they'll have it back up and running in no time.]
And now the "So, So Vegan" video. Enjoy:
For Vegetarians and Meat-Eaters: The "Calm" Nature of Slaughter
Published June 30, 2009 @ 06:21AM PT
All who insist that killing animals isn't the horrible practice animal advocates know it to be, who insist that the animals remain calm, are unaware of what's about to happen, and go contentedly, obliviously to their deaths need to watch this video that's been circulating in recent days.
It is not graphic--that is, we do not see the animals being shot in the head or their throats slit open or their bodies hung up by one leg. No, what we see (and hear) is perhaps even more devastating. We see an animal alone, trapped, terrified, and looking desperately for an escape from what awaits at the end of the chute. There is no narration. No background music to evoke emotion. Just what really happened, just an honest, unedited look at some of the final moments of one of our fellow thinking, feeling animals who wanted to live.
Once again, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike should pay equal attention. The cows and calves killed for dairy die just as, and have the same heartbreaking fearful experiences as, the animals killed for meat, and they want to live as much as the animals killed for their flesh want to live. Watch through to the end.
A Film That Will Change Hearts and Save Lives--And How You Can Help
Published June 28, 2009 @ 06:12AM PT
Those of us who were moved by the first version of Peaceable Kingdom--including so many of us whose lives were forever and dramatically changed by Peaceable Kingdom--have been anxiously awaiting the new, improved, even more powerful second version. Filmmakers James LaVeck and Jenny Stein have been laboring for years over the project, and much to the excitement of a lot of people, the film is finally finished.
If you're signed up for the Tribe of Heart newsletter and for updates on the film, you know this already, but if not, here are the details (with a preview of the film at the end of the post):
Secret Prisons and the Silencing of Dissent: Video to Watch
Published June 25, 2009 @ 02:24PM PT
Check out Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! interview with animal rights activist Andrew Stepanian, who was just recently released from the secretive Communication Management Unit (CMU) prison in Marion, Illinois (where he was held along with mostly Muslim prisoners); his attorney, Paul Hetznecker; and journalist and blogger Will Potter, of Green Is the New Red, who of course has covered this issue extensively.
As always, what Will Potter has to tell us, in addition to what Stepanian himself shares, is frightening and disturbing. And among all his excellent points, Will makes the important point about how the media has completely dropped the ball when it comes to the political use (and abuse) of "terrorism" labeling.
Video here.
See also the following:
- Daniel McGowan's "Tales from Inside the U.S. Gitmo," published recently at Huffington Post
- This earlier Democracy Now program on the CMUs (for which Will Potter was also interviewed): "'Little Guantanamo'–Secretive 'CMU' Prisons Designed to Restrict Communication of Jailed Muslims and Activists with Outside World"
- The Green Scare category of posts on this blog, which includes links to a number of Will's posts
Gymnast Put to Sleep after Breaking Leg in a Career-Ending Accident
Published June 16, 2009 @ 08:42AM PT
My friend Michelle, probably better known to most of you as Change.org's dedicated and intrepid Stop Genocide blogger, sent me a link to the following Onion video this morning, noting that I might appreciate it "in an odd sort of way." Ah, she knows me so well. Smart commentary on the way we treat, think of, and talk about the horses and dogs we force to race, combined with biting sarcasm? Perfect.
Do You Eat Animals? Do You Have 75 Seconds?
Published June 15, 2009 @ 01:43PM PT
Then watch this video. My apologies if I've shared it before. I know I've seen it, and though I really don't think I've posted it on this blog before, I could be wrong. In any event, here it is, courtesy of Animal Aid (and with a hat tip to Ryan of Veg Blog for linking to it on Twitter).
