January 7, 2005

1/7/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

This Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:

1. Production of Foie Gras to Soon Be Banned in Israel

2. JVNA Bumper Sticker Slogan Sought

3. Nutrition Tip For the New Year

4. Conference To Improve Your Abilities to Help Animals

6. Material on the Asian Tsunami

a. Editor's comments: One possible response:
b. 'Mangroves Can Act as Shield Against Tsunami'
c. Mangroves destroyed largely for shrimp farming/aquaculture
d. Helping the Animals
e. Did animals sense the tsunami?
f. Statement by Robert Cohen on a Lesson From the Tsunami

7. Veggie Jews Vegan Dinner in New York City

8. Restaurant and Health-food-store Guide to New York City

9. Institute for Animals and Society Update - January 4, 2005

a. LEARN ABOUT ANIMAL RIGHTS ON LINE!
b. TWENTIETH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL COMPASSIONATE LIVING FESTIVAL
c. "EMPTY CAGES" PRESENTATIONS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE IAS WEBSITE
d. THE ANIMALS' PLATFORM

10. E-mail Study Program on Jewish Values Scheduled by "Hazon - Our Universal Vision"

Some material has been deferred to a later update/newsletter to keep this one from being even longer. [I actually already have enough material for another newsletter.]

[Materials in brackets like this [ ] within an article or forwarded message are my editorial notes/comments.]

Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the JVNA, unless otherwise indicated, but may be presented to increase awareness and/or to encourage respectful dialogue. Also, information re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsements by JVNA, but may be presented for informational purposes. Please use e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites to get further information about any event that you are interested in.

As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.

Thanks,
Richard

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1. Production of Foie Gras to Soon Be Banned in Israel

Force-feeding of geese to be illegal from April 1
January 04, 2005 Tevet 23, 5765
By Zafrir Rinat
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/522619.html

Force-feeding geese will become illegal on April 1, the Knesset Education Committee decided yesterday.

The High Court of Justice ruled 18 months ago that fattening geese by overfeeding them was illegal, agreeing with a petition by animal rights groups that the practice violates the law against cruelty to animals. The geese are force-fed to increase the size of their livers. Israel is one of the world's largest exporters of fois gras.

However, the court gave the farmers until March 31 to either develop alternative careers or prove that force-feeding the geese does not violate the cruelty law.

Yesterday, the Knesset committee refused an Agriculture Ministry request to extend that deadline, meaning that as of April 1, it will be illegal to force-feed geese. The ministry argued that the farmers should be allowed to force-feed the birds using by uncruel methods. [The last sentence is unclear.]

© Copyright 2005 Haaretz. All rights reserved

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2. JVNA Bumper Sticker Slogan Sought

Forwarded message:

Hello ,

My name is Ms Paris Harvey and I am the moderator of Bite Back Vegan Society and I also happen to be the volunteer coordinator for the international group Christian Vegetarian Association.

Most of all I am an avid demonstrator, in the fight for animals rights. I frequently demonstrate with my Body TV and bull horn if needed speaking out against all the different issues revolving around the horrors in factory farming, vivisection, foie gras, etc. Pete Cohon here in the San Francisco Bay Area , where I live, suggested I contact you to see if you can help me with a Jewish message bumper sticker.

You see, recently I became the owner of what I call the "Raw Truth Truck".

It is a truck with a very large cube on the back that displays interchangeable posters of these cruelties that I drive through at demos and in front of large crowds.

Sitting in traffic, the drivers behind and along side of me are forced to read the verbiage, posters and bumper stickers...that also list websites for further information.

On a small strip in the back of the truck bumper I have 2 Christian bumper stickers that speak to the Christian contingency, but I would really like to also add one that speaks to the Jewish people as they ride along side me.

For ex: the Christian ones say "What would Jesus eat Today?" and "Vegetarianism honors Gods creation" both listing the website www.christianveg.com . I want to not exclude any train of thought/belief. In fact I plan to add as many religions as possible eventually

Do you have such a sticker? where could I get one? What if I made one using a term that you are comfortable with?

This would be seen by many people.

I am not a violent activist, in case you are wondering. and the truck is a very up to date and modern one. The signs were bought and paid for by PETA and IDA. They are 4' by 10'.

Please let me know if you can help in this regard.
Thank you,

Paris Harvey
Bite Back Vegan Society
925 788 8296 (PST)
bitebackvegan@yahoo.com/bumper sticker

Join bitebackvegan@yahoogroups.com for updates, calendars, articles
Now look at this...no frills "Meet your Meat" video with Alec Baldwin
http://www.meetyourmeat.com/indexvid.asp?video=mym2002

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3. Nutrition Tip For the New Year

Forwarded message from the NotMilkman Robert Cohen

New Year's Resolution: Eat More Rainbows

Your new year's resolution should be to eat one more rainbow each day than you did last year. Legend suggests that a pot of gold can be found at the end of a rainbow. That treasure can be cashed in to preserve your good health and ward off future disease.

Society considers that which is white, to be pure. Such a belief can be deceptive. By shining white light through a prism, one is instantly blessed with the hidden beauty and complex nature of our universe. A pure white beam of light reveals its inner essence.

Most people can name the seven visible colors of the rainbow's spectrum. Violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Of course, there are two other colors, often forgotten, but always present, ultraviolet and infra-red.

Animals and insects feel these colors. Plants sense them too. While we lack the same receptors and are blind to their existence, our handicap cannot negate their influence.

The ultras and infras of plants are magical substances, indeed! They include plant chemicals, or phyto chemicals, such as isoflavones and bioflavinoids. Science teaches us that plants protect themselves from attack with their own secretions and chemical messengers. Vegetables repel insects who would eat them, and blossoms attract other insects with a perfume so that their pollens can be spread and their species self-propagate. Plants protect themselves from too much heat, or cold, or wind, or too much moisture, maintaining their own good health with their specialized hormones. Plants can cure their own sicknesses and cancers by secreting and bathing themselves with these enchanted
essences.

When we eat the plants, we are similarly protected. Modern science has confirmed the centuries-old traditions and lore from cultures that refined the sacred techniques of using
foods as medicine. We have often heart that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Such wisdom!

Today's Perfect Rainbow

Eat foods of color. The perfect color can be found right in the middle of our rainbow, the color green.

Eat green for wellness.

In the 1980s, scientists first began to explore how phytochemicals prevent cancers. A great amount of emphasis was placed upon the fruits and vegetables that contain vibrant colors. The best known of these wonder drugs was recognized as beta carotene. That's what gives carrots their bright orange hue.

In the 1990s, scientists at the University of Minnesota (Steinmetz, et. al.) categorized different groups of fruits and vegetables demonstrating life giving, disease fighting qualities. In doing so, they defined some of those magic colors, and the phytochemicals so contained within those pigments.

The violet, indigo and blues of the plant kingdom include phenols and dithiolthiolnines contained in eggplant, cruciferous vegetables, grapes, plums, and grains.

Eat onions and shallots, leeks, scallions and garlic for cancer-fighting alliums. Those green leafy vegetables contain flavonoids, and inositol is found in beans. Green fruits and veggies contain phenols, and plant sterols, protease inhibitors and saponins.

Yellow limonines contained in citrus fruit and squash have also been identified as cancer fighters, as have the orange carotines in carrots, and my all-time favorite vitamin pill, the cantaloupe. Balancing out the rainbow's spectrum would be the red phenols in peppers, radishes, and tomatoes.

Tens of thousands of unique substances have been identified, and there are still plant hormones and enzymes yet to be discovered.

Remarkably, the one plant containing the greatest amount of these wonderful phytochemicals is the soybean. The tiny white soybean contains coumarins, flavonoids, inositol, isoflavones, lignans, phenols, plant sterols, protease inhibitors, saponins, and Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils.

So, on new year's eve, visit your local produce store and treat yourself and family to a rainbow. Make this your daily tradition never to be broken.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

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4. Conference To Improve Your Abilities to Help Animals

Forwarded Message:

PETA's Helping Animals 101 Conference Is Coming!

[This is for informational purposes only, and is not meant as an endorsement of all of PETA’s philosophy or actions. I hope that PETA’s very responsible behavior re the Postville slaughterhouse controversy will lead to a reconciliation that will lead to positive results for our imperiled planet and the people and animals on it.]

Here at PETA, we hear daily from people who feel saddened by animal abuse but helpless to do anything about it. I felt like that for years. And that's why we created our Helping Animals 101 conferences.

Please join us for a weekend in 2005. We want to share with you what we've learned over 25 years of activism.

HA101 takes place over two full days:

-Workshops and talks given by some of our best PETA staffers
-Information on everything from helping your neighbor's dog to writing a letter that really matters
-Videos, PETA merchandise, literature, posters, and a goodie bag stuffed with cruelty-free products
-Fabulous meals
-The chance to meet and get to know both PETA staffers, who can help you in the future, and like-minded folks from your local area.

You may want to change your local animal shelter. Or perhaps you're ready to do some demos, but you don't know how to get the media to show up. Maybe you're just sick of feeling helpless and hopeless—we've all been there. Whether you have 40 hours a week to help animals or just 40 minutes: You CAN make a difference, and you'll feel better each day because of it.

I've been hearing from you for months now, asking for more conferences in 2005. Thanks for contacting me? You got it! Here's our 2005 schedule:

San Francisco, California: February 5-6
Washington, D.C.: March 5-6
Tempe, Arizona: April 9-10
Chicago, Illinois: May 14-15
Cincinnati, Ohio: June 4-5
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: July 16-17
Miami, Florida: October 22-23
Houston, Texas: November 5-6

Last year, we had many participants regret not bringing their friends, spouses, or coworkers. To help avoid that in 2005, I've arranged for some special discounts:

San Francisco
Register online by January 3 and you can bring a friend for free.
Register online by January 17 you can bring a friend for half-price.

Washington, D.C.
Register online by January 17 and you can bring a friend for free.
Register online by January 31 and you can bring a friend for half-price.

All Other Cities in 2005
Register online up to 90 days in advance and you can bring a friend for free.
Register online up to 60 days in advance and you can bring a friend for half-price.

All Conferences in 2005
If you're a starving student, we want to help you attend! Students of any age pay only $35 at all conferences.

Please set aside two days next year to change your life. I know from experience when I attended the first HA101 back in 2003, I owned a restaurant, and while I was doing my best to help animals, I didn't feel very effective. After two days with the amazing PETA staff, I flew back home and immediately changed my daily life. I started to feel like I was really making a difference, and that's a great feeling! Now here I am, working full-time for PETA and happier than I've ever been (if you want to know what it's like to work for Ingrid Newkirk, just pull me aside during a conference break). You may not want to sell your business like I did, but I do hope you'll join us for a weekend so you can get a good dose of inspiration and motivation. You won't regret it!

See you next year,
Alex Bury
Helping Animals 101 Coordinator
AlexB@peta.org

P.S. Be sure and forward this message to all your friends!

To register online:
www.HelpingAnimals101.com

This email was sent by:PETA
501 Front St Norfolk, VA, 23510, United States

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6. Material on the Asian Tsunami

a. Editor’s comments: One possible response:

Along with many others, I have been shocked and saddened by the widespread loss of life and devastation left in the wake of the Asian tsunami. I certainly do not have any answers to the many questions raisd by this tragic event.

However, perhaps some good may result if a recognition that if projections by the leading climatologists occur, we may look back at the tsunami as a relative picnic, and this leads to positive actions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group composed of the world's leading climate scientists is predicting an average temperature increase of 2.5 to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the next 100 years. Since there already is melting of glaciers and polar icecaps, this temperature increase could result in many serious threats to humanity, including massive flooding. Even the conservative group Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP America; http://www.blogger.com/app/) is urging that major steps be taken to reduce global climate change.

As I have indicated before, I believe that Jewish groups could do a tremendous kiddush Hashem by, along with others, showing how the application of basic Jewish values can reduce global warming and other current threats to our imperiled planet.

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b. 'Mangroves Can Act as Shield Against Tsunami'
http://www.hinduonnet.com/2004/12/28/stories/2004122805191300.htm
By G. Venkataramani
Dec. 28, 2004
© Copyright 2000 - 2004 The Hindu

CHENNAI, DEC. 27. "Tsunami is a rare phenomenon. Though we cannot prevent the occurrence of such natural calamities, we should certainly prepare ourselves to mitigate the impact of the natural fury on the population inhabiting the coastal ecosystems. Our anticipatory research work to preserve mangrove ecosystems as the first line of defense against devastating tidal waves on the eastern coastline has proved very relevant today.

The dense mangrove forests stood like a wall to save coastal communities living behind them," said M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai.

The mangroves in Pitchavaram and Muthupet region acted like a shield and bore the brunt of the tsunami.

The impact was mitigated and lives and property of the communities inhabiting the region were saved.

"When we started the foundation 14 years ago, we initiated the anticipatory research programme - a two-pronged strategy - to meet the eventualities of sea level rise due to global warming. One is to conserve and regenerate coastal mangroves along the eastern coast of the country, and the second is transfer of salt-tolerant genes from the mangroves to selected crops grown in the coastal regions.

It is now found that wherever the mangroves have been regenerated, especially in the Orissa coast, the damage due to tsunami is minimal," he said.

Livelihood options

The MSSRF will soon be publishing a scientific document `Tsunami and mangroves' highlighting the need to conserve and rehabilitate mangroves as the frontline defense against tidal forces.

snip

c. Mangroves distroyed largely for shrimp farming/aquaculture

[EXCERPT: In 1991, thousands of people were killed when a tsunami (large wave caused by an underwater earthquake) hit the coast in an area of Bangladesh where shrimp farms had destroyed all the mangrove swamps. (complete article follows)]

http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/shrimps.htm

Tropical Shrimp Farms

Those who eat shrimp in the world, they are eating the blood, sweat and livelihood of the poor people of the Third World. -- Banka Behary Das, India

For many farmers one acre of land means the difference between life and death. -- Jacob Raj

We've lost our rice lands, our incomes and our buffaloes, what do we have left? -- Kantamma, elder and community leader, Nellore, India

What is tragic is that we are the victims and were arrested for defending our rights. Each shrimp is a teardrop that belongs to one of us. That is how much we suffered. -- Azmi Jalil

It is a brutal process by which the protein is extracted from the poor people and the land which is owned by the poor people and this extraction is to feed the bloated stomachs of the rich. This is certainly a violation of the right to life. -- Jacob Raj

If there are no mangrove forests, then the sea will have no meaning. It is like having a tree with no roots, for the mangroves are the roots of the sea. -- Fisherman on the coast of the Andaman Sea, Trang Province, Southern Thailand

When Yadfon first told me about the importance of seagrasses, I thought they were crazy. Now I'm telling others that seagrass, coral, mangroves, crabs and turtles are all very important. You can't have corals without the mangrove forest. You can't have crabs and fish without seagrass. -- Bung Hed Hawa, village leader, Ban Chao Mai, Thailand

There were cyclones, but not like there are now - the waves were usually stopped by the forest. After the 1960s, the deforestation increased, and so did the intensity of the cyclones. -- Mohamed Ibrahim, village elder, Bangladesh

Tropical shrimp farming is the latest get-rich-quick scam to hit the Third World. There are two easy ways to riches in Ecuador - cocaine and shrimps. People suffer, communities are devastated, ecosystems destroyed.

Shallow coastal waters are important ecosystems, especially mangrove swamps. Mangrove swamps are some of the world's most important ecosystems, only exceeded by tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Mangrove swamps are inhabited by migratory birds, sea turtles, manatees, and dolphins. 75% of the tropic's commercial fish species spend part of their life cycles in mangrove swamps. Loss of the mangroves has ironically led to a drop in the wild population of shrimp as their nurseries are lost. Mangrove swamps act as a buffer for large waves, the impact of cyclones on the coastal regions of Bangladesh has been devastating following the large-scale destruction of mangrove swamps.

In 1991, thousands of people were killed when a tsunami (large wave caused by an underwater earthquake) hit the coast in an area of Bangladesh where shrimp farms had destroyed all the mangrove swamps. In 1960, when a tsunami of similar magnitude hit the same area, there was not a single fatality.

snip
------------------------------------------------
Web Resources
see: http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/shrimps.htm
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References

Robert Allen, How to Save the World: Strategy for World Conservation, Kogan Page, 1980

Ashash Ambasta, Wetlands: The Endangered Ecological Bridge, Changemakers.net Journal, October 1998

Jonathan Atkinson, The blue revolution, Ethical Consumer, June/July 1999

Marcus Colchester & Larry Lohmann (eds), The Struggle for Land and the Fate of the Forests, World Rainforest Movement/The Ecologist/Zed Books, 1993

snip


d. Helping the Animals

Forwarded message:

Dear friends,

Really shocking and frightening to say the truth.

The domestic animals are worst hit mostly the cattle and dogs but not the street ones. This is my immediate conclusion. Many of them left their pets behind while in some areas dead cows and goats can be seen tied to poles and trees. How helpless these beings were, not even given a chance to try and flee the sea's fury!

I am trying to assess and grapple with the situation in my locality and move on to other areas. As I can see it is huge task and needs all your support morally and physically first. Immediately the animals that escaped or abandoned should be helped first, the dead buried while others rescued.

Even after three days is over I am still not in a position where to start from really , it is immense. I would love to associate and do my bit though I am pressed with many difficult cases. And any help would be much appreciated and will promise to give to the needy animals. I will keep you abreast of the situation and our field work.

With love to you all.
Pradeep Kumar Nath,
Hon.President,
Visakha SPCA,
26.15.200,
Main Road, Visakhapatnam - 530 001,
Andra Pradesh, India
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Dear friends: I know some of you would like to also help the animals suffering from this tragedy and it is next to impossible to find out how. Please note the following extremely compassionate organizations (my friends!). They are getting little press (send directly by check to India, its perfectly safe, or contact me for sending U.S. tax deductible donation here in the states). Please take care and feel free to forward, thanks! Eileen

In India

These are registered tax deductible organizations (in India) and they can deposit the checks directly into their bank accounts as they have the necessary government registrations or contact me (eileenweintraub@comcast.net) for details about donating to them by sending a tax deductible check here in the states.

Visakha SPCA
www.ahimsatx.org/vspca
c/o Mr. Pradeep Nath
26-15-200 Main Road
Visakhapatnam
530001, India
Phone: 91-891-564759
vspcadeep@yahoo.co.in

Blue Cross of India
www.bluecross.org.in
c/o Dr. Chinny Krishna
1-A Eldams Rd.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600018, India;
91-44-234-1399;
fax 91-44-234-9801;
drkrishna@aspick.com
------------
Dear friends: I know some of you would like to also help the animals suffering from this tragedy and it is next to impossible to find out how. Please note the following 3 extremely compassionate organizations. The easiest way would be to donate euros through Paypal as we did (one euro = 1.35 dollars) for the Phuket dogs www.soidogfoundation.org but please note the needs of the shelters in India (my friends!) that are getting little press (send directly by check to India, its perfectly safe, or contact me for sending U.S. tax deductible donation here in the states). Please take care and feel free to forward, thanks! Eileen


e. Did animals sense the tsunami?

By GEMUNU AMARASINGHE

YALA NATIONAL PARK, Sri Lanka (AP) - Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka expressed surprise Wednesday that they found no evidence of large-scale animal deaths from the weekend's massive tsunami - indicating that animals may have sensed the wave coming and fled to higher ground.

An Associated Press photographer who flew over Sri Lanka's Yala National Park in an air force helicopter saw abundant wildlife, including elephants, buffalo, deer, and not a single animal corpse.

Floodwaters from the tsunami swept into the park, uprooting trees and toppling cars onto their roofs - one red car even ended up on top of a huge tree - but the animals apparently were not harmed and may have sought out high ground, said Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne, whose Jetwing Eco Holidays ran a hotel in the park.

"This is very interesting. I am finding bodies of humans, but I have yet to see a dead animal,'' said Wijeyeratne, whose hotel in the park was totally destroyed in Sunday's tidal surge.

"Maybe what we think is true, that animals have a sixth sense,'' Wijeyeratne said.

snip


f. Statement by Robert Cohen on a Lesson From the Tsunami

Man-made Tsunamis Begin as Ripples

When a tsunami is born, it gently rocks boats out at sea. In its youth, a tsunami rushes towards shore seeking shallow harbor water. As the tsunami matures, its power grows so that a tsunami can alter landscapes. Natural disasters of this sort are painful lessons to be
learned by one generation, and are often forgotten by the next. Such cataclysmic events exist to repeat themselves, for that is the nature of our living planet.

Last night, I made the resolution to work harder this year. Each time we go the extra yard in helping others, we create tiny ripples in an enormous ocean. Please observe closely the next time you throw a rock into a lake or large body of water. It's always a bulls-eye! Ripples continue long after the primary event.

Create enough ripples, and one makes waves. Resolve to make waves. Wavemakers are often unpopular, but a man who has never made a wave has turn his own back on human potential, obligation, and destiny. In a sense, he has died before he has been born. Together we can erode ignorance, and change our landscape for the better.

There will forever be ripples and tsunamis. Learn to channel their power for the good of all. Have a very happy and healthy new year.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

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7. Veggie Jews Vegan Dinner in New York City

Announcing Veggie Jews' 1/11/05 Dinner in New York City

[PLEASE FORWARD TO RELEVANT GROUPS AND CALENDARS]

We are pleased to announce that, thanks once again to volunteer host Lynn, Veggie Jews will present it's next vegan dinner in New York City on Tuesday evening, January 11, 2005, when we will gather at Vegetarian Paradise 2, 144 West 4th Street, at 7 p.m.

Vegetarian Paradise 2 is a reasonably priced, vegan, Chinese restaurant with a huge selection of veggie meats, glutens and tofu dishes as well as excellent tasting, high quality food in general, located on West 4th Street between MacDougal and 6th Avenue. We will be ordering from the menu.

If you will attend, please reply to veggiejews@cyberonic.com no later than 7 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Monday evening, January 10, 2005. Walk-ins will only be accommodated on a space-available basis. So, to insure yourself a seat, reservations are strongly recommended.

For information about Vegetarian Paradise 2, call (212) 260-7130. (Please note that, although this restaurant is vegan, it is not certified kosher.) For information on Veggie Jews, please go to www.groups.yahoo.com/group/veggiejews .

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8. Restaurant and Health-food-store Guide to New York City

Forwarded message from the VivaVegie Society:

VivaVegie has just completed an extensive updating of its restaurant and health-food-store guide to New York City.

It is now posted as a pdf file at: http://www.vivavegie.org/vvs/nycguide/index.html

We ask everyone on this list, if they have a moment, to download the file and give us feedback.

As always, we are grateful to receive corrections to what we've posted. Stores and restaurants are constantly going in business and out of business and changing hours of operation and even phone numbers.

We welcome everyone's two cents - really !

Thank you, volunteer Jessica Chavez for calling nearly all of the businesses listed in the guide to confirm contact (and open hours) information. That was quite a task!

Thanks,
Pamela Rice

**************
This E-mail newsletter is a service of the VivaVegie Society, an all-volunteer-run nonprofit, 501(c)3, educational organization. http://www.vivavegie.org/terms/

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9. Institute for Animals and Society Update - January 4, 2005

a. LEARN ABOUT ANIMAL RIGHTS ON LINE!

Sign up now to learn more about an on-line class in animal rights taught by Kim W. Stallwood, executive director, of the Institute for Animals and Society. The IAS, in conjunction with the Community College of Baltimore County (MD), will offer the three-credit class, " public www.animalsandsociety.org and click on the left hand side button, "Learn About Animal Rights Online."

b. SAVE THE DATE FOR THE TWENTIETH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL COMPASSIONATE LIVING FESTIVAL OCTOBER 7-9, 2005!

Make a note today for October 7-9, 2005 for the Twentieth Annual International Compassionate Living Festival! This unique conference, which will be produced again by the IAS and the Culture and Animals Foundation (CAF), takes as its theme "The Power of One. The Strength of the Many." The conference will be again at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center, which is close to the Raleigh Durham Airport (NC). Please watch for further announcements.

c. "EMPTY CAGES" PRESENTATIONS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE IAS WEBSITE

Visit www.animalsandsociety.org to access 14 presentations made at "Empty Cages: The Nineteenth Annual International Compassionate Living Festival." At this conference, which was organized by the IAS and CAF, activists, experts, and scholars developed "The Animals' Platform" - a manifesto of animal issues to advance in the public policy arena.

d. THE ANIMALS' PLATFORM

In addition to the discussion at the "Empty Cages" conference, the IAS also received more than 50 detailed comments on the draft "Animals' Platform" from individuals and organizations. Presently, this feedback is under careful review for possible inclusion in a future platform draft. We will publish this revised draft as soon as possible and open a second period of public comment. Finally, "The Animals' Platform (2005-2006)" will be produced and a campaign launched to secure individual and organizational endorsement. With movement-wide support, animal advocates will mobilize citizens to question candidates for public office and elected representatives about their positions on the issues addressed through to the November 2006 election.

Thereafter, the IAS will produce updated and revised editions on a two-year cycle timed to coincide with the US presidential and off-year elections.

Although nonprofit organizations are prohibited by law from supporting individual candidates, we can and should encourage the increasing number of voters who care about animals to keep the animals' interests in mind when deciding which candidate to support.

Kim W. Stallwood
Executive Director
Institute for Animals and Society
3500 Boston Street, Suite 325
Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
(410) 675-4566
E-mail: kim.stallwood@animalsandsociety.org
http://www.animalsandsociety.org/

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10. E-mail Study Program on Jewish Values Scheduled by "
Vision"


Forwarded message from Yosef hakohen, author and JVNA advisor:

This is a one-time mailing to introduce you to: "Hazon - Our Universal Vision." Hazon is an e-mail study-program based in Jerusalem which explores the universal vision of the Torah for the Jewish people, humankind, and all creation. Within the Torah is not only a vision, but a path of mitzvos - ethical and sacred deeds. In this spirit, Hazon also explores the mitzvos of the Torah and how they help us to fulfill our vision.

We have just completed a series of letters on the mitzvah of tzedekah - the Divine mandate to share our resources with those in need. In this series, we also cited Torah sources which indicate that all peoples are obligated in the mitzvah of tzedekah. An archive of our letters on tzedekah appears on our website: www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/hazon/

For information on how to join the mailing list of Hazon -- Our Universal Vision, please visit our website. When you contact us, please include your name along with your e-mail address.

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