Sort of. Kind of. I guess. A lot of stuff is going on, so here's what you need to know:
1. Sea Shepherd's Cove Guardians are still on the ground in Taiji, Japan, opposing the slaughter and captivity of dolphins and small cetaceans. I am not participating in that campaign this year, but right now, as I type this, four dolphins are arriving at an aquarium in Japan. The dolphins spent 15 hours being driven across Japan, crammed into coffin-like crates just for human entertainment. Cove Guardians followed the truck and are livestreaming the arrival here: http://livestream.seashepherd.org/ (assuming I hit "Publish Post" soon enough). You can read my account of a similar (but much shorter) transport from last year HERE. Read about ways you can help HERE. Follow them on Twitter @coveguardians.
2. Speaking of the Cove Guardians, Vegan Drinks will benefit the campaign tomorrow. We'll have amazing food from Monks Meats and Mister Sister and some great raffle prizes, including hard to find, vintage Sea Shepherd gear and DVDs signed by Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson.
3. Sea Shepherd NYC will be tabling the Red Hot Chili Peppers show at the Barclays Center on Saturday, January 30. If you're there, come by.
4. We'll also be at the John Butler Trio's shows at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg, February 3 and 4, respectively.
5. Then on the fifth, fellow Cove Guardian, Dam Guardian and Sea Shepherd NYC coordinator Ethan and I will be speaking at a free screening of Blackfish at Bluestockings on the Lower East Side. Free vegan refreshments will be available as well, so don't miss it.
6. THEN, on February 16, we'll have our annual Whalentine's Day Bake Sale at MooShoes, also on the Lower East Side. You all know how delicious that event is, so don't get me started.
We hope to have a volunteer training some time in February, before our tables at the Vegetarian Food Festival and Beneath the Sea dive show in March, so if you'd like to get involved and live in the NYC area, please email nyc @ seashepherd . org to attend.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Monday, December 2, 2013
Letter to USA Today: Travel to Taiji
UPDATE: looks like USA Today has pulled the piece promoting Taiji as a tourist destination that this letter was a response to. Will keep the letter here anyway. Thanks, USA Today!
I recently came across your piece suggesting Taiji, Japan as a vacation destination, and I must admit my surprise at the piece, having been there twice myself.
Dear USA Today,
I recently came across your piece suggesting Taiji, Japan as a vacation destination, and I must admit my surprise at the piece, having been there twice myself.
Firstly, I think you do the town of Taiji a great disservice by
completely ignoring the natural beauty of the landscape. It is one of the most stunning
places I’ve ever been, with absolutely gorgeous mountains. The ocean views are always
breathtaking, whether they’re clear, Pacific blue, the fiery orange reflection
of sunset, or the deep, blood red of the daily dolphin slaughter that is
perpetrated there from September to March.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Thanksgiving/Chanukkah Recipes: Candied Sweet Potato Latkes (Pancakes) and Pumpkin Spice Sufganiyot
Sweet & Sara's candied sweet potatoes have become a family Thanksgiving tradition, but this year, I decided to incorporate some Chanukka flavor. Enter the Candied Sweet Potato Latkes (pancakes).
For reasons Wikipedia would be happy to explain, Chanukkah is all about fried goodness. Bonus points for using olive oil. Probably the most well-known Chanukkah dish is potato latkes (pancakes) served with apple sauce*. This year, I've traded regular white potatoes for sweet potatoes and apple sauce for a thick, sticky marshmallow glaze, packing traditional Thanksgiving flavors into a Chanukkah-friendly shape.
Still can't take appetizing food photos, sorry.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Upcoming Events
It's that time of year again!
This time, we're raising money for Food Not Bombs NYC. FNB generally depends on donations and reclaimed food, but volunteers often go out of pocket for non-perishables like oils and grains as well as plates and cutlery.
The details:
Where: MooShoes, 78 Orchard St, NYC
When: Sunday, April 28, 12:30-5:30 PM
RSVP: Facebook
Baker/Volunteer signup: Google Doc
AND! SAVE THE DATE! Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Galapagos Director Captain Alex Cornelisson will be in NYC on May 1. We'll be showing the short film Galapagos, followed by a Q&A with the captain.
RSVP on Facebook for updates.
After that, I'm heading to the west coast for Sea Shepherd's Dam Guardian campaign and we should have another NYC volunteer training coming up soon. To find out when that (and other events) is going to be, "Like" the chapter on Facebook or follow on Twitter.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Connecting the Dots: Taiji + IMATA
IMATA is the Internatonal Marine Animal Trainers' Association. They're the people responsible for making sure marine animals kept in captivity are treated ethically and humanely*. According to their website, they are committed to
"Exercising the highest levels of respect and humaneness for all animals"
And
"strongly oppose the slaughter of whales and dolphins that occur in drive fisheries. We have long had a clear and definitive position opposing the slaughter, which is opposed by all international, accredited zoo and aquarium organizations."
But they
"oppose the unreasonable demand that IMATA blacklist trainers [involved with drive fisheries]. For IMATA to do so would, in fact, be counter-productive to the goal of ending the slaughter of animals in drive fisheries. IMATA's mission is to ensure that marine animal trainers -- regardless of the facility for which they work - have access to the most progressive, professional, and responsible animal training and management techniques."
So how do they hope to end these drive fisheries that they're so opposed to?
" IMATA believes that thoughtful dialogue on a difficult subject like commercial whaling (specifically drive fisheries) is important between people of different cultures, and a positive way to make changes that eventually benefit marine animals. Through IMATA membership, trainers have access to a network of professionals continually working to improve training and care techniques; access to educational publications; and can attend our professional meetings where the latest training information is discussed. The well being of marine mammals is the first priority of IMATA members, who are dedicated trainers at parks and aquariums around the world. These trainers care deeply about the whales, dolphins, sea lions and other marine mammals they interact with every day."
By taking people's money, then hoping they'll talk about it! That's bound to work, right?
"Exercising the highest levels of respect and humaneness for all animals"
And
"strongly oppose the slaughter of whales and dolphins that occur in drive fisheries. We have long had a clear and definitive position opposing the slaughter, which is opposed by all international, accredited zoo and aquarium organizations."
But they
"oppose the unreasonable demand that IMATA blacklist trainers [involved with drive fisheries]. For IMATA to do so would, in fact, be counter-productive to the goal of ending the slaughter of animals in drive fisheries. IMATA's mission is to ensure that marine animal trainers -- regardless of the facility for which they work - have access to the most progressive, professional, and responsible animal training and management techniques."
So how do they hope to end these drive fisheries that they're so opposed to?
" IMATA believes that thoughtful dialogue on a difficult subject like commercial whaling (specifically drive fisheries) is important between people of different cultures, and a positive way to make changes that eventually benefit marine animals. Through IMATA membership, trainers have access to a network of professionals continually working to improve training and care techniques; access to educational publications; and can attend our professional meetings where the latest training information is discussed. The well being of marine mammals is the first priority of IMATA members, who are dedicated trainers at parks and aquariums around the world. These trainers care deeply about the whales, dolphins, sea lions and other marine mammals they interact with every day."
By taking people's money, then hoping they'll talk about it! That's bound to work, right?
Two professionals having a respectful dialog about the animals they care about so deeply
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Follow the Greedier
Early one morning this week, we arrived in Taiji expecting to see the dolphin killers doing maintenance on their boats and preparing for the regular fishing season. Instead, we found this:
Divers wrestle dolphins into slings, which the crane lifts into the crates. The crates are then loaded into the truck with a forklift.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Back in the Saddle
Despite the fact that the dolphin drive hunt had pretty much ended by the time I arrived in Taiji, so much has happened that it has been difficult to keep this blog up to date. There hasn't been a single drive since I touched down, but the danger to dolphins doesn't end just because the season does.
Dolphin and whale hunting via harpoon is permitted year round, so even as the sight of boats without banger poles lifted our spirits, we knew it would not last long, as the poles could soon be replaced with harpoons. Additionally, these are just regular fishing boats, so while cetaceans are now safer than they've been for the past few months, all other species of marine life are still at risk.
Dolphin and whale hunting via harpoon is permitted year round, so even as the sight of boats without banger poles lifted our spirits, we knew it would not last long, as the poles could soon be replaced with harpoons. Additionally, these are just regular fishing boats, so while cetaceans are now safer than they've been for the past few months, all other species of marine life are still at risk.
Banger poles come down
Fishing poles go up
Monday, March 4, 2013
If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls...
...everyone would be vegetarian.
Or at least that's what people who take the time to put text on images of cows and post them on the Internet would have you believe. And if you walked around Taiji during the dolphin drive hunt season, you'd probably think they believe it too. That would be a pretty logical explanation for all the secrecy, right? All the tarps and barricades and "No Trespassing" signs are there because seeing how the animals they eat are killed makes people uncomfortable and less likely to eat it, right?
Wrong.
One town over, in Kii Katsuura, the fish market is practically a tourist attraction. The slaughterhouse goes a step further than having glass walls: it has no walls. So another Cove Guardian and I went over to see if they'd object to our presence as much as the killers of Taiji do.
WARNING: At the risk of stating the obvious, the photos in this post with the word "slaughterhouse" in the title are going to be quite graphic.
Or at least that's what people who take the time to put text on images of cows and post them on the Internet would have you believe. And if you walked around Taiji during the dolphin drive hunt season, you'd probably think they believe it too. That would be a pretty logical explanation for all the secrecy, right? All the tarps and barricades and "No Trespassing" signs are there because seeing how the animals they eat are killed makes people uncomfortable and less likely to eat it, right?
Wrong.
One town over, in Kii Katsuura, the fish market is practically a tourist attraction. The slaughterhouse goes a step further than having glass walls: it has no walls. So another Cove Guardian and I went over to see if they'd object to our presence as much as the killers of Taiji do.
WARNING: At the risk of stating the obvious, the photos in this post with the word "slaughterhouse" in the title are going to be quite graphic.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Petitions
I'm not usually into petitions, but when it comes to this, I'm willing to grasp at straws.
Sea Shepherd has filed two petitions on the White House “We The People” page which seek the U.S. Government’s support in upholding conservation law regarding protecting at-risk whales in the Antarctic’s Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and with ensuring safe haven for the organization’s respected founder, Captain Paul Watson. It'd be rad if anyone reading this could sign and share them. It just takes a couple of minutes.
Petition the First: “Take strong action to stop the Japanese from killing whales in the Southern Ocean Antarctic Whale Sanctuary”
“The President must take swift and decisive action against Japan's illegal whaling.
Under the Pelly Amendment and the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment, the President has the power to apply economic sanctions against Japan for its continued whale slaughter in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. The United States asserts that it resolutely opposes whale hunting by Japan, but does little to actually bring a halt to the practice.
The U.S. State Dept. has declared: “We remain resolute in our opposition to commercial whaling, including so-called ‘scientific’ whaling, in particular in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary established by the International Whaling Commission. In this context we wish to emphasize that lethal techniques are not required in modern whale conservation and management.”
Petition the Second: “Provide Safe Haven to Captain Paul Watson, Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society”
"We request the U.S. not extradite U.S citizen Paul F. Watson.
There are two active Interpol Red Notices issued against Captain Watson at the request of Costa Rica and Japan. Underlying these notices are non-lethal acts in defense of marine life suffering from illegal shark fishing and whaling operations. The warrants are politically motivated
Captain Watson is a world-renowned and highly respected leader in environmental issues. In 1999, he was awarded President George H.W. Bush’s "Daily Points of Light" Award and in 2000, he was named one of Time Magazine’s “Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century.” In 2012, he became only the second person ever to be honored with the Jules Verne Award for environmentalists and adventurers. Captain Watson is a national treasure."
If the US government won't grant the first (which would be insane), they should at least grant the second, so Captain Watson and the Sea Shepherd crew can take care of what they won't.
You do not have to be a US resident or citizen to sign these petitions. Just be 13 years of age or older. You can read more about them here.
Please take a moment to sign the petitions. These guys sure will appreciate it:
Sea Shepherd has filed two petitions on the White House “We The People” page which seek the U.S. Government’s support in upholding conservation law regarding protecting at-risk whales in the Antarctic’s Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and with ensuring safe haven for the organization’s respected founder, Captain Paul Watson. It'd be rad if anyone reading this could sign and share them. It just takes a couple of minutes.
Petition the First: “Take strong action to stop the Japanese from killing whales in the Southern Ocean Antarctic Whale Sanctuary”
“The President must take swift and decisive action against Japan's illegal whaling.
Under the Pelly Amendment and the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment, the President has the power to apply economic sanctions against Japan for its continued whale slaughter in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. The United States asserts that it resolutely opposes whale hunting by Japan, but does little to actually bring a halt to the practice.
The U.S. State Dept. has declared: “We remain resolute in our opposition to commercial whaling, including so-called ‘scientific’ whaling, in particular in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary established by the International Whaling Commission. In this context we wish to emphasize that lethal techniques are not required in modern whale conservation and management.”
Petition the Second: “Provide Safe Haven to Captain Paul Watson, Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society”
"We request the U.S. not extradite U.S citizen Paul F. Watson.
There are two active Interpol Red Notices issued against Captain Watson at the request of Costa Rica and Japan. Underlying these notices are non-lethal acts in defense of marine life suffering from illegal shark fishing and whaling operations. The warrants are politically motivated
Captain Watson is a world-renowned and highly respected leader in environmental issues. In 1999, he was awarded President George H.W. Bush’s "Daily Points of Light" Award and in 2000, he was named one of Time Magazine’s “Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century.” In 2012, he became only the second person ever to be honored with the Jules Verne Award for environmentalists and adventurers. Captain Watson is a national treasure."
If the US government won't grant the first (which would be insane), they should at least grant the second, so Captain Watson and the Sea Shepherd crew can take care of what they won't.
You do not have to be a US resident or citizen to sign these petitions. Just be 13 years of age or older. You can read more about them here.
Please take a moment to sign the petitions. These guys sure will appreciate it:
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Upcoming Events
There are so many events coming up in NYC over the next few months it's a little overwhelming. Here's a selction:
Monday, January 28: Dinner with Sea Shepherd at Blossom Chelsea
Eat, drink and be merry because Blossom is donating 10% of their receipts to Sea Shepherd on Monday! Blossom is located at 187 9th Avenue, NYC. They seat for dinner 5:15 PM to 9:30 PM and reservations are recommended. Make one at blossomnyc.com or by calling 212.627.1144 ext. 5.
Thursday, January 31 - Saturday, February 2: The 3rd Annual New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
The festival will be full of great films and speakers, including a local Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian. His presentation about Operation Infinite Patience will be part of Thursday night's program. Tickets and more information here. Use the code "sea shepherd" for $1 off.
Sunday, February 10: The Vegan Bake-Off Dessert Competition*
Seriously. I think it's the first event of it's kind in NYC, which is really exciting. Also, I entered, which is kind of terrifying. Get more info, tickets or enter here: http://www.veganbakeoff.com/
Sunday, February 17: Sea Shepherd's Second Annual Whalentine's Day Bake Sale
Yes, it's the best thing about the winter season: bake sale time! At the always wonderful MooShoes, of course. Get all the info here and sign up to bake here.
Tuesday, February 19: At the Edge of the World Screening + Q&A w/film director and crew
The film is kind of like a prequel to Whale Wars. We'll be showing it at NYU, for a suggested donation of $10 per person (but everything is appreciated and no one will be turned away, as long as there's room. Get all the details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/243281942471065/
After that, we'll be screening The Cove and Galapagos with Q&A sessions with volunteers from each of those campaigns and we have some other plans up our sleeves, so be sure to add Sea Shepherd NYC on Facebook or Twitter or join our mailing list (email nyc at seashepherd dot org) to stay up to date.
*Not a Sea Shepherd event, just awesome.
Monday, January 28: Dinner with Sea Shepherd at Blossom Chelsea
Eat, drink and be merry because Blossom is donating 10% of their receipts to Sea Shepherd on Monday! Blossom is located at 187 9th Avenue, NYC. They seat for dinner 5:15 PM to 9:30 PM and reservations are recommended. Make one at blossomnyc.com or by calling 212.627.1144 ext. 5.
Thursday, January 31 - Saturday, February 2: The 3rd Annual New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
The festival will be full of great films and speakers, including a local Sea Shepherd Cove Guardian. His presentation about Operation Infinite Patience will be part of Thursday night's program. Tickets and more information here. Use the code "sea shepherd" for $1 off.
Sunday, February 10: The Vegan Bake-Off Dessert Competition*
Seriously. I think it's the first event of it's kind in NYC, which is really exciting. Also, I entered, which is kind of terrifying. Get more info, tickets or enter here: http://www.veganbakeoff.com/
Sunday, February 17: Sea Shepherd's Second Annual Whalentine's Day Bake Sale
Yes, it's the best thing about the winter season: bake sale time! At the always wonderful MooShoes, of course. Get all the info here and sign up to bake here.
Tuesday, February 19: At the Edge of the World Screening + Q&A w/film director and crew
The film is kind of like a prequel to Whale Wars. We'll be showing it at NYU, for a suggested donation of $10 per person (but everything is appreciated and no one will be turned away, as long as there's room. Get all the details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/243281942471065/
After that, we'll be screening The Cove and Galapagos with Q&A sessions with volunteers from each of those campaigns and we have some other plans up our sleeves, so be sure to add Sea Shepherd NYC on Facebook or Twitter or join our mailing list (email nyc at seashepherd dot org) to stay up to date.
*Not a Sea Shepherd event, just awesome.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Here We Go Again
As you may have gathered from my last post*, I find the current situation in Taiji, Japan very upsetting. So I'm going back. Next month, I will rejoin Sea Shepherd at the Cove for Operation Infinite Patience, where I will help stop Japan's dolphin slaughter. I hope to update this blog regularly from Japan. In addition, I'll be tweeting and the Cove Guardians have a Facebook page and Twitter account and post updates on Sea Shepherd's website.
Travel to Japan is expensive, so I'm doing a bit of fundraising to help me on my way. There are four ways you can help, if you'd like:
1. Buy some of the knitwear I have for sale. I hope to put more things up over time, but here's what I have so far:
Travel to Japan is expensive, so I'm doing a bit of fundraising to help me on my way. There are four ways you can help, if you'd like:
1. Buy some of the knitwear I have for sale. I hope to put more things up over time, but here's what I have so far:
Monday, December 17, 2012
Semi-Annual Update
Hello, the Internet! What's been happening lately? I hope you're well. What have I been up to? Glad you asked!
1. Terry Hope Romero's latest book, Vegan Eats World has hit the shelves and it's everything I hoped it would be and more. Hard cover! Beautiful photos! Delicious recipes (obviously)! If you have an ice cream maker, please make the mochi and let me know how it is so I can be jealous (or share!).
2. Isa Chandra Moskowitz's next book, Isa Does It, is nearing the end of the recipe testing stage (I think) and it's amazing. DIY gnocchi on a week night? Done. Burgers from scratch in 30 minutes? Yes. The best chocolate chip cookies in the world (HINT: rosemary)? Sorted. Vegan meatballs and spaghetti that don't disappoint? Victory! Seriously, this may be my favorite cookbook. I may say that about every cookbook, but this time I mean it even more: the recipes are delicious and most are timed so you can start them when you're already hungry without losing your mind and personally, I can't ask for more than that.
3. This bit's a lot less happy, sorry: I'd like to talk about what's been happening at the Cove lately.
If you're reading this (all three of you), you've probably seen the film The Cove, about the dolphin drive hunt in Taiji, Japan. As an onshore volunteer with Sea Shepherd, I discuss that movie with people quite a bit and appreciate having a mainstream film to refer to, even though Sea Shepherd was on the ground in Japan and cut the nets years before Ric O'Barry and his crew showed up. Unfortunately, for most people, the take home message of the film seems to be "Eating dolphin is bad, don't do that", which absolves them of all responsibility, since they don't. But that's missing half the point.
Ric O'Barry stated that he made the film as a tool against the captive dolphin industry. He realized how horrific it is and felt responsible for it because he had worked as a trainer on the TV show "Flipper", which he believes made people want to get all cozy with dolphins. Somehow this part of the message has been lost on most people.
This past week was the most horrific time at the Cove most of us have ever known. The dolphin killers drove an enormous pod of dolphins into the Cove Tuesday night (NYC time; Wednesday morning Taiji time) and didn't finish with them until Sunday night. These were bottlenose dolphins (the most sought after by dolphinaria) and they were driven for one purpose: captivity.
1. Terry Hope Romero's latest book, Vegan Eats World has hit the shelves and it's everything I hoped it would be and more. Hard cover! Beautiful photos! Delicious recipes (obviously)! If you have an ice cream maker, please make the mochi and let me know how it is so I can be jealous (or share!).
2. Isa Chandra Moskowitz's next book, Isa Does It, is nearing the end of the recipe testing stage (I think) and it's amazing. DIY gnocchi on a week night? Done. Burgers from scratch in 30 minutes? Yes. The best chocolate chip cookies in the world (HINT: rosemary)? Sorted. Vegan meatballs and spaghetti that don't disappoint? Victory! Seriously, this may be my favorite cookbook. I may say that about every cookbook, but this time I mean it even more: the recipes are delicious and most are timed so you can start them when you're already hungry without losing your mind and personally, I can't ask for more than that.
3. This bit's a lot less happy, sorry: I'd like to talk about what's been happening at the Cove lately.
If you're reading this (all three of you), you've probably seen the film The Cove, about the dolphin drive hunt in Taiji, Japan. As an onshore volunteer with Sea Shepherd, I discuss that movie with people quite a bit and appreciate having a mainstream film to refer to, even though Sea Shepherd was on the ground in Japan and cut the nets years before Ric O'Barry and his crew showed up. Unfortunately, for most people, the take home message of the film seems to be "Eating dolphin is bad, don't do that", which absolves them of all responsibility, since they don't. But that's missing half the point.
Ric O'Barry stated that he made the film as a tool against the captive dolphin industry. He realized how horrific it is and felt responsible for it because he had worked as a trainer on the TV show "Flipper", which he believes made people want to get all cozy with dolphins. Somehow this part of the message has been lost on most people.
This past week was the most horrific time at the Cove most of us have ever known. The dolphin killers drove an enormous pod of dolphins into the Cove Tuesday night (NYC time; Wednesday morning Taiji time) and didn't finish with them until Sunday night. These were bottlenose dolphins (the most sought after by dolphinaria) and they were driven for one purpose: captivity.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
S'more Protection for the Oceans 3.0
National S'mores Day is coming up, so Sea Shepherd NYC is holding our third annual S'more Protection for the Oceans fundraiser! Sweet & Sara is providing the vegan marshmallows and graham crackers, local vegan bakeries will be providing even more sweets and we'll be bringing raffle prizes from:
Verameat
Compassion Couture
Christy Robinson
Gristle Tattoo
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
Brooklyn Grooming
Candle 79
Rescue Chocolate
Pacific Northwest Kale Chips
Cyberoptix Tie Lab
Sue Coe
Lazy Dog Designs
Sacha Vida
TofuXPress
Sustainable NYC
Primal Strips
Pangea Vegan Products
Vegan Essentials
Olia Designs
Cri de Coeur
Jaan J.
Dun-Well Doughnuts
Klean Kanteen
and more. Also, everyone who walks through the door will receive a free five-piece lunch set from reuseit.com.
Crew and campaign volunteers will be on hand to chat and answer questions and all the usual Sea Shepherd merchandise (and some new items) will be available for sale.
When: Monday, August 13, 7 PM
Where: V-Spot, 156 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Tickets: seashepherd.org/nyc
Hope to see you there!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Sharkwater
So Paul Watson is still under house arrest in Germany. The bad part of that is that he may miss out on some upcoming projects. For example, Sea Shepherd's shark campaign in the South Pacific is due to start next month, and Costa Rica has until mid-August to file their extradition claim.
The good news is that Sea Shepherd has the infrastructure to carry on without him, so all the campaigns will continue, regardless of whether or not Captain Watson is released (which isn't to say that we shouldn't be writing and calling whenever we can to get him the hell out of there). Also, Paul has been making the most of his time in Germany: he was invited on stage at Rock am Ring with Gojira and at Mötley Crüe's German show to raise awareness of Sea Shepherd's work. He also checked out some vessels with one of The Simpsons' creators, and when SSCS returns to the Southern Ocean this winter, the M/V Sam Simon will have joined the fleet!
If you haven't been following Sea Shepherd news for the past month or so and all this extradition and house arrest talk has you a little confused, fear not!
This Saturday, some other local Sea Shepherd volunteers and I will be at Jivamukti Yoga School to explain the situation and what you can do to help and show the film Sharwater which documents the interaction between a Sea Shepherd vessel and shark poaching boat that Captain Watson was arrested for.
For more information and to RSVP, CLICKITY. Hope to see you there!
The good news is that Sea Shepherd has the infrastructure to carry on without him, so all the campaigns will continue, regardless of whether or not Captain Watson is released (which isn't to say that we shouldn't be writing and calling whenever we can to get him the hell out of there). Also, Paul has been making the most of his time in Germany: he was invited on stage at Rock am Ring with Gojira and at Mötley Crüe's German show to raise awareness of Sea Shepherd's work. He also checked out some vessels with one of The Simpsons' creators, and when SSCS returns to the Southern Ocean this winter, the M/V Sam Simon will have joined the fleet!
If you haven't been following Sea Shepherd news for the past month or so and all this extradition and house arrest talk has you a little confused, fear not!
This Saturday, some other local Sea Shepherd volunteers and I will be at Jivamukti Yoga School to explain the situation and what you can do to help and show the film Sharwater which documents the interaction between a Sea Shepherd vessel and shark poaching boat that Captain Watson was arrested for.
For more information and to RSVP, CLICKITY. Hope to see you there!
Monday, April 30, 2012
In Our Own Back Yard
When I returned home from Taiji and told people what I witnessed and experienced, their immediate response was the expected horror and revulsion, often followed by a bizarre sense of relief and superiority. The dolphin slaugher happened there. That could never happen here. We are civilized. We would never invest government funds to indiscriminately kill wildlife, intelligent animals with families and relationships, and feed their potentially hazardous flesh to people who have no choice but to eat it.
Ahahaha.
Ahem.
Under the pretense of aviation safety and charitable acts, the USDA has been killing Canada geese in NYC parks and saying they will feed the goose meat to homeless and other needy people. Really.
Back in 2009, migrating Canada geese were blamed for taking down the "Miracle on the Hudson" (from which everyone escaped safely), despite the craft's history of engine trouble. Mayor Bloomberg's response was to arrange a contract between the DEP and USDA to slaughter local, non-migrating, Canada geese on city property.
I could go on and on about why this makes no damn sense, but thankfully, someone else has done it for me:
Check out their website here: http://www.goosewatchnyc.com/
Then sign up to help. The wonderful people of GooseWatch are looking for people who live near NYC's parks and are willing to keep an eye on them and let us know when the USDA is there so we can document what they do, bear witness and hopefully discourage it from ever happening again.
If you would like to get involved, or just keep up on what's going on, please contact GooseWatch at
Ahahaha.
Ahem.
Under the pretense of aviation safety and charitable acts, the USDA has been killing Canada geese in NYC parks and saying they will feed the goose meat to homeless and other needy people. Really.
Back in 2009, migrating Canada geese were blamed for taking down the "Miracle on the Hudson" (from which everyone escaped safely), despite the craft's history of engine trouble. Mayor Bloomberg's response was to arrange a contract between the DEP and USDA to slaughter local, non-migrating, Canada geese on city property.
I could go on and on about why this makes no damn sense, but thankfully, someone else has done it for me:
Check out their website here: http://www.goosewatchnyc.com/
Then sign up to help. The wonderful people of GooseWatch are looking for people who live near NYC's parks and are willing to keep an eye on them and let us know when the USDA is there so we can document what they do, bear witness and hopefully discourage it from ever happening again.
If you would like to get involved, or just keep up on what's going on, please contact GooseWatch at
Follow on Twitter
Monday, April 9, 2012
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
No, not Christmas. Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale time!
Yes, the absolutely amazingly lovely people at MooShoes are opening their doors to us once again. This time, we're raising money for the courageous and dedicated Darwin Animal Doctors. Not only is DAD the only vet-staffed, full-time, year round clinic serving all animals in the Galapagos UN World Heritage Site, but they've been pitching in to help the animals down at Occupy Wall Street and are generally rad individuals.
What: Bake sale!Bring your appetite and a container to take your treats home in!
Where: MooShoes, 78 Orchard Street, New York, NY
When: Sunday, April 22, 12:30-5:30 PM
RSVP: Here!
Sign up to bake: Here!
Hope to see you there!
Yes, the absolutely amazingly lovely people at MooShoes are opening their doors to us once again. This time, we're raising money for the courageous and dedicated Darwin Animal Doctors. Not only is DAD the only vet-staffed, full-time, year round clinic serving all animals in the Galapagos UN World Heritage Site, but they've been pitching in to help the animals down at Occupy Wall Street and are generally rad individuals.
What: Bake sale!Bring your appetite and a container to take your treats home in!
Where: MooShoes, 78 Orchard Street, New York, NY
When: Sunday, April 22, 12:30-5:30 PM
RSVP: Here!
Sign up to bake: Here!
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Kind of a Big Deal
The rest of the Sea Shepherd NYC crew and I have been working hard on this for a while, so I'm pretty excited it's finally happening:
Yup, Friday, May 4, Paul Watson's going to be in town for a swanky Sea Shepherd birthday party!
It's going to be rad. We've got some amazing auction items and gift baggy type things lined up, and in addition to Paul, several other crew members and Cove Guardians (like me!) will be there, shmoozing about all things related to shepherding the sea.
There will be food! Drinks! Music! Door prizes! Auctions! Action! Adventure! *Romance!
Point your mouse clicker here to get your tickets while the getting's good: https://my.seashepherd.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=541
*Romance not guaranteed.
Yup, Friday, May 4, Paul Watson's going to be in town for a swanky Sea Shepherd birthday party!
It's going to be rad. We've got some amazing auction items and gift baggy type things lined up, and in addition to Paul, several other crew members and Cove Guardians (like me!) will be there, shmoozing about all things related to shepherding the sea.
There will be food! Drinks! Music! Door prizes! Auctions! Action! Adventure! *Romance!
Point your mouse clicker here to get your tickets while the getting's good: https://my.seashepherd.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=541
*Romance not guaranteed.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
We are all Cove Guardians
My last full day in Taiji, a few of us headed into town to film our parts for this video. I hate being on camera and public speaking, but I hate the senseless slaughter of living beings even more. And I liked the idea of standing around in front of a whaling vessel and discretely flipping it off. Research my ass.
If you can, please share that video. Tweet it, Facebook it, Tumbl it, post a response video on YouTube, make some calls, send some emails, whatever it takes to spread the message that what's happening is not OK and you won't stand for it. It's up to all of us to protect our planet and together, we can all be Cove Guardians.
I'm back home now, which means back at Occupy Wall Street. Last night, I made my first meeting of the Animal Issues working group in a while. We've got a lot going on. Most notably, we'll be presenting a wide range of workshops at the Brooklyn Food Conference on Saturday, May 12 on topics ranging from animal agriculture and the environment to food and free trade issues to bringing plant based diets to urban communities of color. Should be rad. Hope to see you there.
I was just about to post this when I read this bit of good news: the Japanese whaling fleet has called it quits for the year thanks to Sea Shepherd (again)!
If you can, please share that video. Tweet it, Facebook it, Tumbl it, post a response video on YouTube, make some calls, send some emails, whatever it takes to spread the message that what's happening is not OK and you won't stand for it. It's up to all of us to protect our planet and together, we can all be Cove Guardians.
I'm back home now, which means back at Occupy Wall Street. Last night, I made my first meeting of the Animal Issues working group in a while. We've got a lot going on. Most notably, we'll be presenting a wide range of workshops at the Brooklyn Food Conference on Saturday, May 12 on topics ranging from animal agriculture and the environment to food and free trade issues to bringing plant based diets to urban communities of color. Should be rad. Hope to see you there.
I was just about to post this when I read this bit of good news: the Japanese whaling fleet has called it quits for the year thanks to Sea Shepherd (again)!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
More than Murder
My second week in Taiji, the dolphin hunters found a large pod of several hundred Pacific white sided dolphins. Eight bangers, four skiffs and a few hours later, two of those dolphins were stuffed into the Fisherman's
Union harbor captive pens I mentioned in my post. The boats chased the dolphins down, circled them and entrapped them with progressively smaller nets until they were relatively easy to wrestle into the skiffs.
Everything else aside, that black smoke the bangers constantly fart out pisses me off to no end.
White sided dolphins are stronger and fight more than bottlenose, so the hunters take them while they're still at sea instead of driving them into the cove where they may damage themselves on the rocks. Once they had the dolphins restrained in the skiffs (a diver had to lay on top of one of them to keep it from moving too much), they took them to the harbor pens, which they had intentionally blocked with their gutting barge so we couldn't record the transfer. I managed to get a couple of small peeks anyway.
Everything else aside, that black smoke the bangers constantly fart out pisses me off to no end.
White sided dolphins are stronger and fight more than bottlenose, so the hunters take them while they're still at sea instead of driving them into the cove where they may damage themselves on the rocks. Once they had the dolphins restrained in the skiffs (a diver had to lay on top of one of them to keep it from moving too much), they took them to the harbor pens, which they had intentionally blocked with their gutting barge so we couldn't record the transfer. I managed to get a couple of small peeks anyway.
Friday, March 2, 2012
The View From (and of) Taiji
As you may already know, Taiji's dolphin slaughter has ended for the year. The banger poles have come off most of the boats (they spend the rest of the year as regular fishing boats), the structure they use to hide the butchery has been dismantled, and they're moving on to the pilot whale slaughter and bonito fishing.
Sigh.
Sea Shepherd's Cove Guardians will still be on the ground for at least the next month or so to evaluate the situation and plan future campaigns, a rather daunting task when the future of Taiji itself seems so uncertain.
Anyone who spends a significant amount of time in Taiji, will come to notice three things:
1. Taiji is beautiful.
2. Taiji is poor.
3. Taiji is dying.
I'm no economist, but it seems to me that these states should be mutually exclusive; if you have beautiful land, invite people to look at it, then charge them for the privilege. Make all food and drink walking distance from the gorgeousness obnoxiously expensive. This would lead the people who live there to be proud of their home and encourage other people to visit, or move there, instead of moving out at the first opportunity.
The problem with Taiji is that for every this:
There is this:
Sigh.
Sea Shepherd's Cove Guardians will still be on the ground for at least the next month or so to evaluate the situation and plan future campaigns, a rather daunting task when the future of Taiji itself seems so uncertain.
Anyone who spends a significant amount of time in Taiji, will come to notice three things:
1. Taiji is beautiful.
2. Taiji is poor.
3. Taiji is dying.
I'm no economist, but it seems to me that these states should be mutually exclusive; if you have beautiful land, invite people to look at it, then charge them for the privilege. Make all food and drink walking distance from the gorgeousness obnoxiously expensive. This would lead the people who live there to be proud of their home and encourage other people to visit, or move there, instead of moving out at the first opportunity.
The problem with Taiji is that for every this:
There is this:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
