AR-News: (U.S. - Tx.) Live on-line today - In Solidarity With
Animals anniversary show
Mary Finelli
hello_itz_me at hotmail.com
Mon Mar 1 10:17:26 EST 2004
At noon (EST, 5 p.m. Greenwich) on http://www.GoVeganTexas.org or
http://www.KPFT.org
"If you talk to the animals,
they will talk with you and you will know each other.
If you do not talk to them, you will not know them
and what you do not know you will fear.
What one fears, one destroys."
--- Chief Dan George
In Solidarity With Animals
Special One Year Anniversary Show
Go Vegan Texas!
Monday at 11am (CST) on KPFT
90.1 FM-Houston and 89.5 FM-Galveston
with guest hosts Rhea Green and Melissa Stringfellow
In Solidarity with Animals among well wishers
Pierre Grzybowski, Fund for Animals
John Goodwin, Humane Society of the United States
Sarah Withrow, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Lauren Ornelas, VIVA! USA
Live Call ins from Listeners
and host, Janice Blue, Go Vegan Texas!
Listen Live on http://www.GovVeganTexas.org
(Just Wiggle the Cow's Ears)
Or later on http://www.KPFTarchive.org
_______________________________________________________________________
Greetings!
We are on our way back from PETA's Helping Animals 101 conference in New
Orleans, but I want to tell you about this Monday's Go Vegan Texas! radio
show that we are producing March 1, 11:00 am (CST). In honour of our One
Year Anniversary, we will have several ISWA members in the studio with us as
we talk about who we are, how we got involved in Animal Rights, and the many
things ISWA has done to help animals in Houston in 2003.
The format will be free-style and conversational because we want to give you
the opportunity to know us a little better. Our favourite songs, poems and
ideas will be presented, and we want to hear from you! The phone lines will
be open for the entire show, and we'd love to hear YOUR voices- anything
you’d like to share on veganism or animal rights in your life. Or feel free
just to call and wish us a Happy Birthday! Call 713-526-KPFT or 526-5738.
For the Animals,
Rhea Green, Director
In Solidarity With Animal
In Solidarity with Animals Mission Statement * ISWA Projects
MISSION STATEMENT
http://www.insolidaritywithanimals.com/campaigns/mission.php
In February, 2003, a group of people decided to form a nonprofit
organization to speak for animals who can't speak for themselves. In
Solidarity with Animals consistently plans actions in Houston to help our
animal brothers and sisters. Our main emphasis is placed on the respect and
restoration of the natural world. With this emphasis, every part of life is
precious and nothing is taken for granted.
In Solidarity with Animals is a non exclusive group. Being a vegan (not
eating, wearing or using anything that is derived from an animal) is an
emphasis, not a requirement. Our members come from around the world and
represent all age groups and walks of life. We choose to fight our battles
with love, and we truly believe that we can change the world-one person at a
time.
Spiritually driven by the knowledge that we are interconnected with all life
around us, we began an outreach program. The purpose of this program is to
enrich the lives of our neighbors by offering a different approach to the
general worldview of animals. We view animals, trees, water, air, and all
things in nature as a direct extension of ourselves. We feel that a deep
connectedness with Mother Earth is crucial to our lives as people, and our
development as activists. It is through this connection that we are in
solidarity with animals.
OUTREACH: The main focus of In Solidarity with Animals is outreach, a method
used to educate and enlighten the general public on animal rights issues. To
outreach affectively, we utilize powerful resources such as radio (Go Vegan
Texas! on KPFT 90.1 FM) and print (Indymedia.com). We also implement high
school education programs, public video showings, guest speakers, and weekly
leafleting demonstrations. In Solidarity with Animals is uniquely theatrical
and most demonstrations involve street theater, costumes and props. Monthly
meetings are open to the public and tabling opportunities are available to
anyone interested.
LEGISLATION: Legislative issues can be overwhelming for most people. In
Solidarity with Animals provides hands-on training and detailed explanations
of current legislative proceedings. Occasional trips to the Austin State
Capitol and U. S. Congress in Washington, DC, allow people to experience
the art of lobbying, and many leadership positions are available in this
field. It is empowering to see changes as a direct result of our actions,
and with every animal friendly bill passed, we gain a monumental victory.
COMMUNITY: As a local group, we feel that it is important to establish
relationships and build community with those around us. We are an ever
growing circle of friends, and invite everyone to be a part of this
expanding wave of consciousness. To establish relationships and strong ties
with each other, we host a variety of monthly social events. Our social
dinners represent cultural diversity, as we continuously explore various
ethnic foods. Once a month, we join forces for a powerful meditation in the
park, to remember all those lives lost, and to pray for all those that are
still suffering. We also work towards building bridges with other
environmental and animal groups in Texas. There is power in numbers and we
aim to work with a variety of groups to create positive social change.
PROJECTS
Fur Free Texas * Kangaroo Free Ziggy’s * Texans for Horses *
Honor Our Bison * SACRED Redwood
FUR FREE TEXAS
http://www.furfreetexas.org/
Fur Free Texas is the campaign that started it all. After Rhea Green
attended a Fund for Animals training on the campaign in February, 2003, she
formed and organized Fur Free Houston to focus on ending fur sales in Neiman
Marcus. As the group grew, so did the plethora of animal issues addressed,
and soon Fur Free Houston became In Solidarity with Animals. We have since
implemented the Fur Free Texas campaign as a means of maintaining focus and
pressure on Neiman Marcus. Several stories have run on news24houston, and in
the Houston Chronicle. We have had over 10 big Neiman Carcass events this
year, and we have a lot of fun doing it. Each of our demos are themed, and
we throw parties the night before each event to prepare.
THANK YOU to The Fund for Animals (Pierre Grzybowski and Jennifer Allen )
for providing us with materials, support, and an exceptional campaign to be
a part of. THANK YOU also to The Humane Society of the United States (John
Goodwin and Andrea Cimino) for providing us with facts and inspiration.
To see some of our news pieces, visit http://www.furfreetexas.org/news.php.
(note: the latest news 24 broadcast is not up yet. We will be adding a
feature to the website so you can watch them on your computer)
To see pictures of past events, and to obtain other information on our Fur
Free campaign, visit http://www.furfreetexas.org/houston.php.
For more information on this campaign, visit www.NeimanCarcass.com.
KANGAROO FREE ZIGGY'S
http://www.insolidaritywithanimals.com/campaigns/ziggys.php
You can imagine our horror upon discovering that Ziggy's "Healthy" Grill
serves kangaroo burgers. We immediately contacted them in an attempt to meet
and voice our concern. Ziggy’s proved unresponsive and presented false
information to Houston consumers regarding where the kangaroos come from.
Houston mainstream media picked this story up in a fury of headlines,
declaring a battle between animal rights activists (us) and Ziggy’s. Texas
Monthly picked this story up in their closing issue of 2003 as one of the
strange events that happened in Texas last year. The mention was at the
beginning of the article, with a picture of a kangaroo, and said in blue,
"Members of the group In Solidarity with Animals picketed Ziggy’s Healthy
Grill, a Houston restaurant, because it serves kangaroo burger."
THANK YOU to Lauren Ornelas and VIVA! USA for help with media work, research
and support.
News articles, campaign pictures, and information on what you can do to help
can be found at http://www.insolidaritywithanimals.com/campaigns/ziggys.php.
TEXANS FOR HORSES
http://www.insolidaritywithanimals.com/campaigns/horses.php
We had a huge victory in Texas with the Texans for Horses campaign! In
April, 2003, after hearing that HB1324: The Horse Slaughter Bill, had passed
out of House and was on its way to Senate, a group of Solidarity members
took a trip to the Texas State Capitol in Austin to encourage our senators
to vote “nay“. Our own Senator, Rodney Ellis, was adamantly opposed to this
bill, and he encouraged us to hold a rally and "make some noise" right on
the front Capitol steps. The media is on your side," he declared. "Stop this
thing before it gets any farther!"
Thus, Texans for Horses was launched as a grassroots campaign, working with
other animal rights and equine groups in Texas to organize a statewide rally
which estimated 100 Texans from cities around the state. In early June we
received the exciting news that HB1324 had been defeated, due to an influx
of one million faxes, email, letters and phone calls from concerned Texans.
This is a huge victory for grassroots campaigning!
The fight is not over, and there has been a bill introduced on the federal
level in a last attempt to keep the horse slaughter plants open. We have
given the campaign over to Houston’s new equine group, The Fund 4 Horses.
For articles, pictures and speeches from our Texan for Horses Campaign,
visit http://www.insolidaritywithanimals.com/campaigns/horses.php and click
on the blue links.
For the current status of this campaign, visit www.Fund4Horses.org.
HONOR OUR BISON
http://www.insolidaritywithanimals.com/campaigns/bison.php
The Honor our Bison campaign began when two members of In Solidarity With
Animals spent the summer of 2003 working and living in Yellowstone National
Park. Located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone
<http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm> is a complex ecosystem, home to many
sensitive species, including the North American Bison - symbol of the
American west.
In Solidarity with Animals has launched a cooperative campaign with the
Buffalo Field Campaign. We intend to continue the campaign until the buffalo
live in peace by making regular trips to the field, lobbying, and providing
updates on this devastating massacre.
For more information on Solidarity’s involvement with this campaign, visit
http://www.insolidaritywithanimals.com/campaigns/bison.php and click on the
blue links. If you are interested in going on one of our annual trips to the
field, email Melissa at InSolidaritywithAnimals.com.
For more information on this campaign, visit
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/.
SACRED REDWOOD
http://www.insolidaritywithanimals.com/campaigns/sacred.php
SACRED http://www.SacredRedwood.org Redwood is a campaign that began in
March, 2003, as an extension of In Solidarity with Animals, after hearing
about the destruction of the California old-growth Redwoods, and the species
who depend on the forest for habitat. As we began to research the issue, we
discovered that there are only 1% old-growth forests remaining in this
country, and that many animals are being wiped out by the destructive
logging practices of timber companies.
One of these timber companies, Pacific Lumber (PL), is a subsidiary of
Houston based MAXXAM corporation, so we decided to take the project on,
working to save the forest from MAXXAM's demise and to protect the many
species whose lives are endangered by MAXXAM.
We have had many exciting events with this campaign, including a tree-sit in
Houston’s Memorial Park, benefit concerts, teach-ins, regular trips to the
Redwoods, and radio shows on KPFT 90.1 FM.
For more information on this campaign, visit our website at
www.SacredRedwood.org.
See pictures of past events at http://www.sacredredwood.org/gallery/events.
See pictures of MAXXAM’s destruction and the species that are endangered at
http://www.sacredredwood.org/gallery/campaigns.
Read Rhea’s journal entries from her latest trip to the Redwoods in January:
Week 1- http://www.sacredredwood.org/voices/rhea1.php
Week 2- http://www.sacredredwood.org/voices/rhea2.php
_________________________________________________________________
Take off on a romantic weekend or a family adventure to these great U.S.
locations. http://special.msn.com/local/hotdestinations.armx
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