Monday, April 30, 2012

"Sunday" current affair show on "Homekill and "Cow Pooling" VIDEO


This "Sunday" current affairs segment is nuts, about buying into "homekill", buying a cow from TradeMe, keeping her alive 28 days (as regulations require) and then having her killed by a "homekill" operation, depicted here as "Ms Moo" being shot through her head by a man in his truck.

The scenes showing flesh are gross, in particular the yellow fat, ESPECIALLY showing it being mixed into the "sausages" as yellow "pus". I'll stick to the Vegan sausages made from beans thanks!

Farmers are already reporting increased customer demand after the Sunday show aired yesterday night, as customers flood their phonelines wanting in on these deals.

Contains many nods to "Vegetarianism", which is certainly a good thing, ie "no wonder so many people are going vegetarian" while at the supermarket flesh section, and the final notes of the piece?

"...for those tempted, but squeamish at the thought about getting to know your MEAT, there is an unwritten rule that should always be obeyed...."dont name your BEAST...dont name your FOOD" *laughs* reporter: "why not?"  "its very much harder to kill a *FRIEND* that it is to *laugh* to kill a perfect stranger".

End reporter : "yes indeed, it probably inspires as many vegetarians as it does homekill enthusiasts."

I certainly hope my gentle videos of my Chicken Friends living their lives will have that effect.


ceramic art made by my friend Romina, who has Rescued Hens which she looks after

Video

http://tvnz.co.nz/sunday-news/kindest-cut-meat-video-4857073

Saturday, April 28, 2012

INVSOC mention onscreen during World Record Interview attempt!

I sent in a message for Mayor Tim Shadbolt's attempt at the Guinness World Record for Worlds Longest Interview, he's talking for 26 hours, its televised here, and online

www.smashingrecords.co.nz

"Well done Tim and Tom! Great to watch while we plan our next Invercargill Vegan Society Potluck!
We'll always be thankful for Mayor Shadbolt donating his time to appear in our promotional video! :-) www.invsoc.org.nz/history "



Well worth sending in a message to these sorts of things, although I missed recording the first part! :-)



Mayor Shadbolt was kind enough to appear in this video for INVSOC, I made the appointment to meet him, waited, got buzzed through, let in through the different layers of security and finally there he is in his office, waiting for me, chewing gum the whole time!

He read the wide spaced, large font script off bits of paper pinned to my Herbivore Clothing sweatshirt :-)

Friday, April 27, 2012

Mrs Elephant, ex circus elephant I met has killed someone



NZ Herald article about "Mila", the ex circus elephant called the horrible name of "Jumbo", who I always called Mrs Elephant killing a vet after she received an electric shock from the fence caging her in.



Article about her former "owner" Tony Ratcliffe in 2008, in which the reporter frequently mocks the "elephant keeper", from his appearance to his behavior.  As we find out here, Tony Ratcliffe quote "fatally injured" a gang member who wanted to take Ratcliffes daughter out on a date using a circus tent peg….I'm imagining the guy was beaten to death with a solid metal peg the size and dimensions of a baseball bat, and later died of his injuries.  I knew about this incident from reading the article before I met Ratcliffe and Mrs Elephant….




I joined a single issue campaign about ending *all* animals kept in circuses organised by SAFE.
A photo I took of Mrs Elephant while "Elephant keeper" Tony Ratcliffe threatened me, as seen bottom right of photo, "YOU ANIMAL RIGHTS?!?!  YOU GET OUTTA HERE, IF YOU COME BACK, THERE'LL BE TROUBLE!!!!"  Lucky I still took the photo back in 2009, its here now in 2012, just a matter of pushing the shutter button on my fathers camera back then, and the moment is recorded.



Mrs Elephant was eventually released to the SPCA, where we see she was planned to "eventually" go to an Elephant Sanctuary in America, once money was raised etc....here shes shown having bananas thrown at her by bored attendants, bananas in their skins with the plastic stickers still on....



video originally from
http://www.3news.co.nz/Circus-elephant-Jumbo-to-begin-new-life/tabid/367/articleID/131672/Default.aspx

Shes shown "rocking" swaying back and forth, from despair. She lived a horribly alone life, as the behaviorist at the end mentions, "shes given 28 years of her life, albeit not voluntarily...."

After the vets death, Tony Ratcliffe, "elephant keeper" tells his story after the death about how only *he* could handle her, or as he often says, "IT".  He takes a parting shot at SAFE right at the end, as the host says "yeah, thanks a lot, that was Tony Ratcliffe" and hangs up on the guy, its pretty rude how radio hosts always do that to callers! 

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2516893/elephant-kills-female-keeper-at-franklin-zoo

Apparently Mrs Elephant will still be able to go to America, to live in an elephant sanctuary, finally with other African Elephants, I hope she'll live out the rest of her life in relative peace and quiet.

How do we best help Other Animals?  I wish at the time of the circus animal protest that I'd included  signs promoting Veganism, about helping all animals.  For me - and to be fair, SAFE - it was never solely about "The Elephant in the circus", but all the animals, including the miniature ponies kept in dark inflatable tents, which you had to pay money to go inside and see.  Imagine being kept in the dark, as an air compressor ran, keeping the tent setup......

One of the most egregious photos I took is of "Jumbos House", the awful white trailer she was often kept in, which she eventually tore parts out through frustration, theres signwriting claiming "Jumbo thanks these sponsors for her new home", all steel fabrication companies etc....why in the blue hell would she be PLEASED to be carted around New Zealand in this awful metal contraption, kept behind electric fences (which eventually electrocuted her, leading her to kill someone else).......

Additional photos of the circus animal protest


"A witness to the fatal accident at Franklin Zoo says the elephant was triggered to kneel down, crushing her keeper, by what appeared to be a misinterpreted circus command: "down".
"Put me down, Mila," the keeper, Dr Helen Schofield, was heard saying as she patted the elephant's head.
Mila obeyed by going down on her knees - crushing Dr Schofield.
"The elephant didn't attack the lady. The elephant was in a circus mode. It was following commands," said the zoo visitor, who did not want to be named.
He said the elephant had seemed to him to have acted as if she were performing a circus trick."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10802023

Please promote Veganism.  Its easy to be Vegan, and it helps everyone, from circus elephants, to hens kept in cages for us to take their eggs, to pigs killed for their body parts.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Countdown supermarket INVSOC cards

Community Noticeboards all over Invercargill quake in fear - which will be vegan activated next???




See also Plaza Supervalue and New World Elles Road

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Almond Milk is So Good VIDEO

So Good brand Almond Milk was on special, two cartons for $5 NZD! (about 4.50 USD)  Its usually around $3.20 each carton, so getting it at $2.50 each is great!  Even though its an Australian product, shipped to New Zealand, apparently its often more expensive in its native Australia than here in New Zealand - go figure!

I was overwhelmed by gluttony:



We're all weak deep down, when confronted with such a deal!


UPDATE:

Now with a second version without the MJ clip, since Sony has apparently blocked the first video in the USA?  This will work as a backup, as the great clip is removed :-(

Friday, April 13, 2012

INVSOC Letters published in The Southland Times



Invercargill Vegan Society members had a few letters published in our local newspaper, The Southland Times.

First, for Earth Hour an employee of PETA Australia had a letter published in newspapers across Australasia, including our own Southland Times





Well!  That got the attention of Our Friends At The "Meat" Council, "Beef + Lamb New Zealand", who claimed it was an attack on our national tradition of killing Other Animals and was highly unpatriotic to be Vegan!


***UPDATE***  Seems the New Zealand Cancer Society disagrees with Fiona, Nutrition Manager of our "Meat" council, that animal flesh should be greatly reduced as much as possible, for *health* reasons!

Ha, well, I couldnt let that go unanswered!  Another letter was published in defense of being Vegan too


The next day, we received two replies



So, I replied to both, another Vegan in Australia had replied addressing points on Soy, so that part of my letter was "abridged", not included.  Jeny made some great points!  I focused my letter tongue in cheek on the usage of the term "near-hysterical", claiming that it was emotive and sensitive to *not* be for killing Other Animals.  I felt the previous letter had a homophobic angle to it, which I addressed:




One last letter from a local Vegan, plus a religious believer expounding her beliefs about flesh


We were very glad to have our letters promoting Veganism included in the local newspaper, so I decided to do some baking as a small sign of thanks, I dropped a few Banana Chocolate Chip muffins off at The Southland Times reception :-)


Five years ago, I dont remember ever hearing or seeing the word Vegan, the more we can get it out there, in podcasts, online, in printed newspapers, the more exposure to Animal Rights there is, the closer to a Vegan world we get :-)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Southland Times baking, Two New Vegans narrowly miss meeting me :-)

Another day, another adventure in Veganism!

I dropped off some baking for The Southland Times, our local newspaper in thanks for their printing of our letters, and while I were out, the two new Vegans to move to Invercargill stopped by my house, we *just* missed each other by ten minutes or so!  Oh no! :-)  Theres always another day.

The Southland Times - a newspaper in 2012? - was predictably morgue-like, large layoffs are going to happen to the southernmost branch of Fairfax, an Australian conglomerate with its stranglehold on the New Zealand newspaper scene, owner of many news websites, and New Zealands online auction site TradeMe, our most popular website in the nation.

In primary school we visited The Southland Times building on Esk Street, the printers involved are fantastically obsolete, these huge metal machines with rolling conveyor belts every which way, for dead trees made into low quality paper to have ink thrown at them in a low quality way, eventually driven about and delivered, manually, to the people who'd put up with such a product, rather than checking the news on their smartphone or tablet....or if they felt old fashioned, their computer, in a reasonable way.

The Times is close to Whitcoulls, the New Zealand "bookstore" about to close down and die, at first there was talk that one of the smaller book chains here was to be absorbed into it, that they were so bankrupt that gift cards wouldnt be redeemed, causing uproar (because who HASNT got a few thousand dollars invested in bookstore gift cards lying around the house?), now it seems more likely Whitcoulls itself, a MASSIVE New Zealand brand will crap out itself.  Such is the way of print media in this digital age.


Now, The Southland Times printers are to be shutdown, future newspapers to be printed in the city of Dunedin 200KM away and driven down to Invercargill each day, cost cutting as print media clumsily lurches its way to the grave with its name nicely etched in stone...... it was an interesting experiment to see what kind of people you'd meet inside, waiting at the receptionist, what newspaper readers looked like!

Inside the doors, where you have to turn a hard left from the direct "STAFF ONLY" doors (I've been all throughout the building for my work in an Antique, Secondhand store, buying furniture from nearly every part of the building), you end up in a bank teller sort of situation....for people who've only used ATM's and Online Banking over 3G connections on their smartphone, its kind of like a line that never really moves, until you get to talk with a bored woman in her 40's behind a few plastic covered wires, the two or three strands of wire are to presumably put a barrier between any would be stabber, and also to remind the poor woman in her 40's that she is trapped in this job, like a woven steel web of a prison, until the whole operation goes "belly up" and dies.  Combined with the humming florescent lights, and the constant banging and clanking of women in their 40's who must have had some kind of qualification allowing them reporter-hood status above, its a hell hole allright!

Well, I was bringing Vegan baking, to thank them for including our letters in reply to PETA Australia and then the New Zealand slaughter board representatives, "Beef + Lamb".  Its always good to read about Veganism in the media, especially local media.  Honestly, five years ago I never remember seeing or hearing the word "vegan", now I seem to be surrounded by it, and thats a GREAT thing!

I tried to hold a smile on my face while I was surrounded by the newspapers customers, people in their 50's, 60's who more often than not reeked of despair and tobacco, in equal proportions, if I didnt hold such happy thoughts of Curious Hen and Black Chick and Yellow Hen and Ms Hen and Mr Rooster and all the Yellow Chickens in my heart, I could well have succumbed myself, such is the stench of death in a Newspaper company these days.

The people in the line, each one of them coming past the "STAFF ONLY" door, expecting to see nobody else waiting to be served for paying a debt (OH!  With newspapers, get this, you have to PAY to read their news, crazy, right!!!!???), upon seeing the line of 5 or so people (bloody MASSIVE for Invercargill!), they all swore in some fashion, "holy hell!", and then muttered to one another about how busy it is, how non busy they thought it would be.  One guy near the end of a line told the newest comer "yeah, I've been here forever", I was thinking to myself "buddy, you came in like 30 seconds ago, I've been here the best part of ten minutes, just standing in this spot, behind the woman with the preserved and dyed bright red animal skin bag, and her nicotine fumes, shut your damn whinging!  Besides, you're close to the exit, close to the outside world, free of print media, while I myself am somewhere firmly in the belly of the beast, a world of footsteps from the stained ceiling, humming from the florescent lights, and deep down in the basement, in the printing department, the sobs of the print engineers, steely men (and presumably women, although I've never met a female in the printing part) who work all kinds of hours to keep the giant car sized rolls of low quality paper going into the giant metal presses where they plop out covered in low quality ink, quietly weeping about their hardships, planning the last edition printed in Invercargill which they'll have snuck a cover design of "you can take this job and shove it ya bastards!", before they throw themselves into the ink intake grinder (BTW, in case you cant tell, I'm dramatizing this just a little), their bones, blood and fecal matter providing the "ink" for the last edition, yes, up here, four out of five people in the never ending, never moving queue you can smell the rotting guts of print media, yup."

But I didnt, I kept it to myself, and now I share the harrowing details with you, dear reader :-)

Eventually a second woman emerged to staff another old LCD monitor on a swiveling hinge arm along the counter, protected by a couple strands of bulletproof, stab proof plastic covered wire.

Here was my moment, where I emerged not as a crushed soul with an axe to grind about being charged for 53 weekend editions, "....what kinda crap are you mongrels tryin' pull here, like cards in a deck, theres only 52 weeks, what kind of scammy financial year runs on one year plus one week!!!  I want my 1.80 NZD back!!!", or as someone wanting to pause the delivery of these pulpy printings while they check themselves back into The Clinic, so their 53 week's worth of newspapers wont be delivered to an empty house, wasting precious news, and paper resources....ok, and money............NO!  I was here to take two ~$5 clear plastic containers out, each filled with 10 Banana and Chocolate Chip muffins, made to a Banana Bread recipe, alongside a couple of Boston Vegan Association pamphlets  and my INVSOC business cards, which you may or may not have seen at a supermarket community noticeboard near you.

"Hello!  I'm Jordan of the Invercargill Vegan Society, we'd like to thank you for including some of our letters in the past weeks, thank you so very much, as a small token of our appreciation, I've brought you some baking, Banana Chocolate Chip muffins, I hope you like them!  You can find the recipe on our website, on the card, and these pamphlets quickly explain what Veganism is.  I've been speaking with Michael and Frances (names of two staff members who popped into my head, I felt like I needed to name drop, as though I had a reason to be there, trying to bring baked rays of light into this dark, dark place!)  I really appreciate that you included our letters, thank you very much, have a lovely day! :-)"

With that, the woman took the collective 10 NZD worth of clear, made in New Zealand plastic, and put it down on her side of the counter, by the ancient computers keyboard, "thank you, I'll let them know".  Um right, she'll let "Michael and Frances" know that some guy from the Vegan society has dropped these 20 muffins off, which are presumably to be somehow shared among all the Southland employees of Fairfax, no doubt running out just before the poor printers, who'll no doubt include "....and those cheap *CENSORED* Vegans, twenty muffins?  Get the *CENSORED* outta here, jerks!" at the bottom of the bone, blood and fecal matter ink-ed front cover, come last day of Invercargill printing.

With that, a giant weight seemed to have been removed from my back, my eyes brightened and remoistened (the atmosphere inside The Southland Times seems to prevent blinking, I've no explanation, other than the nicotine and despair fumes coming off the other people in the queue), with a bold, confident smile, like a woman who's *finally* found the right "feminine hygiene product" offering "the protection you need, now with wings extending from the wings", I realised I could go now, it was my time.  I strode past the "STAFF ONLY" door which logically faced the entrance, and walked in sunlight down Esk Street, knowing the people inside, waiting to take their grievances out on the counter staff inside would have heard me making some kind of speech, putting something on the counter, and *being happy* inside such a place, knowing they could presumably be watching me through the windows as I walked past, grumbling "what the *CENSORED*  is that jerks problem?  And when the bloody hell is this line gonna move, I've been waiting here 30 seconds for chrissakes!", I strode home, as I'd walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I feared no evil.

I checked my iPhone and found I had an email, my Galaxy Nexus smartphone, the current Android flagship had been shipped from the Auckland store, presumably to arrive tomorrow or the next day, BRILLIANT!, and carried on the journey home, having dropped The Ring into Mount Doom (the print industry), I could catch a ride from my Giant Eagle Friends and return to The Shire

As I'd left the house, I'd seen an email from two new Vegans to Invercargill, Amba and Steve, who'd mentioned they'd stop by and meet me, I'd give them a couple of INVSOC badges, the two Banana Chocolate Chip muffins I'd saved for them, and we'd talk in the sun, with our Hen Friends.  I must have just missed them by 10 minutes, as you'll see from the scrawled note I left by the front door, with a pencil for them to write a reply on in case we *didnt* cross paths, being instead two ships in the night ,which turned out to be the case.

Whats the 2012 equivalent to leaving a bit of paper and a pencil out?  I'm not so keen on leaving my iPad there, mostly hidden under the door mat, glass screen waiting to be stepped upon, perhaps I could have left my Bluetooth wireless keyboard at the door mat, with a small note written in dust explaining "I presume you can touch type, tap out a message on this keyboard, and I'll see it on the computer inside when I get home".  Hmm, maybe I'll try that next time!


I greatly look forward to meeting Amba and Steve, I'd heard from Ella, another Vegan living here in Invercargill recently too, and theres Fiona up in Fiordland way, who emailed me to say she received her INVSOC badges in the mail, that she was very thankful.

Well Fiona, thank you for appreciating the information and badges I sent, but honestly, until you've stared the despair that is print media in the face, and lived to tell the tale, then you've yet to know the meaning of thankful!

CHRIST I'm glad to be outta there!

P.S perhaps I should warn Steve and Amba about Vegans and Motorcycles?



***UPDATE*** 22 May 2012 I met Steve and Amber at our May INVSOC Potluck, along with Ambers motorcycle :-)


***UPDATE*** 26th May 2012 The Southland Times will no longer print newspapers in Invercargill , as far as I know, there were no dramatic endings resulting in "unusual" ink, although the article above mentions several gruesome incidents from the quote "carnivorous" printer, a hand lost, all the skin ripped from another in a "degloving" accident, finger tips....

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

New World Elles Road message board INVSOC cards

Supermarket community noticeboards are a great place to perform Vegan advocacy on the cheap!  As well as a great place to meet the local "Pure Veg" Hare Krishna group!

See also Plaza Supervalue message board, now with INVSOC cards for a limited time only









Pretty sneaky sis!

Plaza Supervalue supermarket message board, now with 100% more INVSOC!

I made some baking to thank the vets who saved Curious Hens life with antibiotics, on my way home, I noticed the Plaza Supervalue supermarket (who dont seem to have a website, in 2012!!!) has a community message board, like Pak n Save and Countdown (now with INVSOC cards) and New World (now with INVSOC cards) :-)

I took some of the provided cards, to later glue my INVSOC business cards onto...but then I realised "hey, I can just bang the cards in there directly, duh!", so I did just that :






After taking these photos, I thought it would be more secure to sneak the cards into the Vet South plastic leaflet holder, wind and waterproof, ha!

"A free service to our valued customers"......um, well, I guess I bought a couple bottles of Waiwera mineral water there a few months ago......dont tell them I dont shop there!  I'M TOO YOUNG TO GO TO PRISON, THEY'LL EAT ME ALIVE IN THERE!!!

Monday, April 9, 2012

April 2012 INVSOC Potluck

Another month, another excellent potluck with friends!  Thank you to Katharine, Dan, Natalie, Steve, Kerri, Jess and first time guest Robert for being involved, great work everyone!

Robert wrote about the Vegan encounter on his blog


Banana Chocolate Chip "cupcakes" made using a variation on this recipe, with chocolate chips









Robert brought along some great Apples from his orchard, including this MASSIVE behemoth!


Jess with The Big Apple!



Dan's Custard Square (made using a Veganised version of this recipe), Jordans Banana Chocolate Chip muffins/"cupcakes" and Kerri and Steve's Brownie and chewy Dream Bar






Well done!  Heres to next months Invercargill Vegan Society potluck!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Episode 80 Curious Hen and the Hare Krishnas

Episode 80 Curious Hen and the Hare Krishnas

Jordan and Dan visit the Invercargill Hare Krishna group, Pak n Save "meat week" (or Flesh Weak), Southland Times published letters involving PETA Australia, "Our Friends" at the "Meat Council" New Zealand "Beef + Lamb" and Jordan and Steve of the Invercargill Vegan Society, Listener Survey, Sociologists cracking jokes, "Blue Sky Meats rules, South Pacific Meats sucks", Bluff Hill animal eradication programs and more!


Listen now by downloading directly from here or, better yet, subscribe in iTunes to get each episode automagically!
Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals iTunes link


Hello and welcome to episode 80 of Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals, Curious Hen and the Hare Krishnas.

Thank you to my friend Clarke Vincent for the great bumper clip, the Vincent family appear in a "We Are INVSOC" photo on the Invercargill Vegan Society website, I sent a couple of INVSOC badges over to them, and they sent back a great photo.  


Today we have a fine episode lined up, filled with clips and local Invercargill, bottom of New Zealand news, all the things you love.

To try and whip this shambles of a show into shape, I created a simple survey online.  I would greatly appreciate if you'd fill it out, its anonymous, and takes just a minute or so of your precious time.


You can find the survey at www.coexisting.co.nz .  Its added to the "Important Links" section, on the right hand side of the website, the top link.  Its very important after all.  Coexisting Survey.

This survey will help create a listenable show for the listeners, I'll appreciate your time filling in the survey, and so will you!

A quick summary of the 17 results so far, most who filled in the survey had listened for over a year, and the most popular answer as to where they discovered my show was through a friend, or through Facebook.  I would love if you'd share Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals with a friend, be it on the street, in a dark alleyway, as the exposed pipes drip and rust all around you and your friend, whispering the names of Animal Rights podcasts in hushed voices, or, if you'd simply "share" links to episodes on Facebook, its up to you, whatever floats your boat.


The most beloved episode is my interview with the one, the only Dr Will Tuttle, one of the most generous and kind human beings on the face of the planet.  Some of the write in answers also included "the one with Carl Scott in it" (my friend Carl was the Man in a Cage here in New Zealand, asking to have battery cages banned in New Zealand by staying in a self made cage for a month), "all the ones mentioning Dr Roger Yates" and Episode 37.  This particular survey response mentions "Episode 37 Hey Hey Hey, Nah Nah Nah! I can't say if that's my favourite one but it's definitely my favourite title. It always makes me chuckle whenever I think of the van deer Heyden audio clip or your excellent impersonation of said clip."

Oh, you mean the one about New Zealand "dairy" cows being given abortions, after being made pregnant by force initially, their unborn babies are killed, called an "induction", they "induce" labour knowing the child wont survive, like pulling the plug in your bathtub, all the water runs out and the baby gets sucked down the drain, you know, through the drain cover and all. 

New Zealands largest company, dairy monopoly Fonterra's chairman was asked about the controversial practice, if he subjected "his" cows to it.  The guy gets paid a huge salary, he's a multi millionaire many times over, and yet this is the best he could do, representing our largest company :


Oh, you wanted my impression too?  Sounds like a small terrier barking and growling at the postman, 



The things you liked most about Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals, The Attempts at Humour, thank you, I'll be here all week, and  Stories of Chicken Friends.  Heres one written answer,

"applying an abolitionist perspective on lots of different subjects and explaining your position, often with humour. It reassures me i'm not alone in thinking that way, and introduces new ideas to me."