Press Action

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Animal Rights, Ecofeminism and Rooster Rehab: Mickey Z. Interviews pattrice jones

pattrice jones is an ecofeminist educator, activist and writer. She is the author of Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World: A Guide for Activists and Their Allies and co-founder of the Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center.

Founded in a rural region of Maryland dominated by the poultry industry, the sanctuary provides a haven for hens, roosters and ducks who have escaped or been rescued from the meat and egg industries or other abusive circumstances, such as cockfighting. Not surprisingly, pattrice and company take things further than your average sanctuary. “We work within an ecofeminist understanding of the interconnection of all life and the intersection of all forms of oppression,” she explains. “Thus we welcome and work to facilitate alliances among animal, environmental, and social justice activists.”

As the sanctuary begins a move from Maryland to Springfield, Vermont, I thought it would be the perfect time ask pattrice a few questions, via e-mail:

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Comments (0) | Posted on 06/13.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Activism 101

By Mickey Z.

Okay, short attention span crowd: Grab your remote (or mouse) and get ready to click, click, click…

“How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight? I don’t wanna die without any scars.”

-Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

Click…

William Burroughs once wrote about how we humans—like the bull in a bullfight—tend to focus on the elusive red cape instead of the matador. Indeed, we are all-too-easily distracted from real targets by an attractive image or illusion.

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Comments (1) | Posted on 05/26.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Obama and the Denial of Genocide

By Mickey Z.

Writer-activist David Boyajian’s investigative articles and commentaries have appeared in Armenian media outlets in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Armenia and the Newton Tab and USA Armenian Life newspapers named him among their “Top 10 Newsmakers of 2007.” So, when Barack Obama paid a visit to Turkey last month, it seemed like a good time to ask Boyajian for his take on the new president’s approach to the issue of the Armenian genocide.

Mickey Z: This April, President Barack Obama broke campaign promise #511, namely to explicitly acknowledge the Armenian genocide as U.S. President. What happened on his recent visit to Turkey? What are the ramifications of his breaking this promise?

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Comments (1) | Posted on 05/12.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mothers and the Great Escape

Perhaps the most famous elephant of the nineteenth century was Jumbo. He was captured in a similar fashion. A hunter, Hermann Schomburgk, shot his mother. He describes it himself: “She collapsed in the rear and gave me the opportunity to jump quickly sideways and bring to bear a deadly shot, after which she immediately died. Obeying the laws of nature, the young animal remained standing beside its [sic] mother …. Until my men arrived, I observed how pitiful little baby continuously ran about its mother while hitting her with his trunk as if he wanted to wake her and make their escape.” …

If you are a mother, what would you do if someone tried to take your child? If you have a mother, what would you feel if someone shot her so they could put you on display? What would you feel as you poked at her, hit her, wanted her to wake up so together you could make your escape, but she did not awaken?

-From Derrick Jensen’s “Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos"

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Comments (0) | Posted on 05/10.

Vegetarianism, the Holocaust and the Myth of Civilization

Lierre Keith’s new book The Vegetarian Myth is generating lots of passionate discussion on vegetarian and vegan blogs and message boards. Here are a couple examples of comments recently posted on the Vegans of Color blog:

“I was just reading about the book elsewhere. I don’t want to buy it though… I don’t want to support the project. I’ll see if I can get it from my library.”

“I would be tempted to review it but not if I had to actually support the book by buying it. And I only say tempted because I really wouldn’t want to give this book any more publicity than it already has.”

These commenters appear interested in reading The Vegetarian Myth, although they seem more inclined to pick up a copy at a library rather than purchasing one. But does borrowing the book from a library mean you won’t be “supporting the project”?

Libraries are more inclined to keep books on their shelves—i.e., not discard them—if they’re getting checked out. And library systems may decide to purchase additional copies of a particular title if they’re getting regular requests from patrons. So, it would seem readers are still “supporting the project” even if they opt to borrow a book from a library ... But I digress.

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Comments (1) | Posted on 05/10.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Hired Gun: CCF's Greatest Hits

As tracked by GreenIsTheNewRed.com:

American Idol Star Carrie Underwood Accused of “Supporting Domestic Terrorists”

American Idol star Carrie Underwood is donating a portion of the proceeds from her new single to the Humane Society of the United States, and getting accused of supporting “animal rights terrorists.” One of my favorite lines so far: “Carrie Underwood may think she is supporting puppies and kittens, but she needs to understand that she is supporting domestic terrorists instead.”

Let’s pause for a second and take a look at how idiotic this has all become. The Center for Consumer Freedom needed a hilarious flow chart to attempt to connect HSUS to “terrorism,” and failed miserably. Now, Carrie Underwood is being smeared as a terrorist for being “connected” to HSUS and, as Ecorazzi reports, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is trying to put pressure on Fox. What’s next?

Underwood’s single, “Home Sweet Home,” is a cover of a Motley Crue song. Maybe that means they can go after Tommy Lee for supporting terrorism, too? (I mean, he also produced that, ahem, “terrorist training video” with PETA spokesperson Pamela Anderson).

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Comments (0) | Posted on 05/07.

Derrick Jensen on IMF Protest

Source: Lia Tarachansky

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Comments (0) | Posted on 05/07.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Soil Isn’t Just Dirt: A Review of The Vegetarian Myth

By Mark Hand

Review of The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability by Lierre Keith (PM Press, 2009).

On the cover of Lierre Keith’s new book, The Vegetarian Myth, there’s a blurb by environmental activist and author Derrick Jensen that says, “This book saved my life.”

I don’t think I’m prepared at this time to make such a bold pronouncement. However, I may change my mind if my health radically deteriorates and I decide to follow the advice on diet and nutrition dispensed by Keith.

After reading the book, though, I am prepared to write this about it: The Vegetarian Myth tackles a set of related topics—the food we eat, how it’s produced, and how it affects us—with a substance and style that I’ve never read anywhere else.

My summary assessment isn’t as dramatic as Jensen’s “This book saved my life” blurb. Such an opinion would be hard to match, given the consequences at stake in Jensen’s life. Another test of a book’s redeeming value is to determine whether it effectively challenges one’s long-held beliefs on a particular topic. For me, as a vegetarian, The Vegetarian Myth passes this test because it effectively challenged my strongly held belief in the merits of vegetarian and vegan diets.

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Comments (2) | Posted on 05/03.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Remember The Martyrs

In “Minimum Security,” a furious (yet adorable) bunny and his friends confront countless obstacles to pursue their dreams. Whether it’s to save the world or to break into the competitive world of accordion superstardom, they use everything from plucky grit to the willful denial of unrealistic expectations to achieve their goals. And, in Bunnista’s case, an impressive arsenal of gray-market weaponry.

The title is inspired by a prisoner who, after being released into general society, observed in an interview, “I’m still not free; I’m just in minimum security.” “Minimum Security” is an allegory of a society headed over the precipice into who-knows-what.

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Comments (0) | Posted on 05/01.

Operation Cease and Desist: Derrick Jensen and Mickey Z. Liberate Arlington

Authors Derrick Jensen and Mickey Z. came to Arlington, Va., on April 25, 2009 to speak about what they think is wrong with our society and culture and the ways we can right the wrongs.

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Comments (0) | Posted on 05/01.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Derrick Jensen and Mickey Z. - Let's Go to the Videotape

Mickey Z. and Derrick Jensen If you didn’t attend the Derrick Jensen-Mickey Z. event in Arlington on April 25, where were you? Were you too afraid to hear frightening details about how we’re killing the planet and ourselves? Are you in denial about the seriousness and urgency of the crisis?

Well, if you are afflicted with either of these conditions, or don’t live in the D.C. area and were unable or chose not to travel a long distance to the event, you’re in luck. We have video.

C-SPAN’s Book TV decided not to show up, without an apology or even a note saying they couldn’t make it. But who needs C-SPAN? We have other footage. So, let’s go to the videotape.

Keep visiting Press Action in the coming days and weeks. We’ll give you information about how to access video of this wonderful event. Mickey and Derrick captivated the audience for four-and-a-half hours. Yes, they were on stage from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., enlightening, inspiring and entertaining.

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Comments (0) | Posted on 04/27.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Derrick Jensen-Mickey Z. to speak in Arlington tonight

Doors open at 6 p.m. for book sales and signings. Derrick Jensen and Mickey Z. take the stage at 7 p.m.

Admission is free to the event.

Event venue Where: Arlington Temple United Methodist Church, 1835 N Nash St., Arlington, VA 22209. The church is across the street from the Rosslyn Metro Station in Arlington, only one Metro stop from Washington, D.C. Click here for directions.

The Arlington Temple United Methodist Church is located above a Chevron gas station.

For information about the event, please visit http://www.pressaction.com/news/weblog/earth or contact

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Comments (0) | Posted on 04/25.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Countdown to Derrick Jensen-Mickey Z. - 1 Day

Acclaimed environmental author Derrick Jensen will be joining “professional iconoclast” and New York City author Mickey Z. in Arlington, Virginia, on Saturday, April 25, 2009, to assess the first 100 days of the Obama presidency from a vantage point unfamiliar to most Washington insiders.

The two dynamic speakers will take a close look at the new administration’s policies on the environment, civil liberties, the economy and foreign interventions. Jensen and Mickey Z. will not repeat the business-as-usual platitudes articulated by pundits on the Sunday political TV talk shows. Instead, they will offer fresh perspectives for addressing the top issues of the day.

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Comments (0) | Posted on 04/24.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Derrick Jensen-Mickey Z. author event unrelated to Earth911.com

ARLINGTON, Va., April 23—The author event scheduled for April 25, 2009, in Arlington, Va., featuring Derrick Jensen and Mickey Z., is completely unrelated to Earth911.com and Earth911.com is not in any way affiliated with PressAction.com or the April 25 author event titled “A Wake-up Call for Obama Nation.”

Earth911.com is a one-stop shop for all you need to know about reducing your impact, reusing what you’ve got and recycling your trash. Check Earth911.com for daily news, weekly feature stories, product channels and information on opting into weekly emails.

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Comments (0) | Posted on 04/23.

Countdown to Wake-up Call for Obama Nation - 2 Days

One of the good things about everything being so fucked up—about the culture being so ubiquitously destructive—is that no matter where you look—no matter what your gifts, no matter where your heart lies—there’s good and desperately important work to be done.

-Derrick Jensen, Endgame, Volume I: The Problem of Civilization, p. 97

Join Derrick Jensen and Mickey Z. on Saturday, April 25 at 7 p.m. for “A Wake-up Call for Obama Nation,” as they break through the conventional wisdom that suffocates public discourse in Washington. Along with dissecting the first 100 days of the Obama administration, they’ll offer ideas on how to avoid ecocide and resist corporate-controlled culture. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to see Derrick and Mickey together in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, only one Metro stop from Washington.

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Comments (0) | Posted on 04/23.