Niagara ADL Today’s Special Mailing List Update 18.12.12

Friends!

It’s been a while since the last update - November 29th - and we apologize!

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#Springbrook01 - On December 1st members of the ADL, and advocates from all over Southern Ontario, headed to St. Agatha to join the Kitchener Ontario Animal Liberation Alliance (KOALA) for a demonstration at Springbrook Fur Farm. The demonstration had the farm closed off for four hours, over a half a dozen police officers and also saw Fur Council of Canada spokesperson Nancy Daigneault. Demo photo attached as well as overhead of St. Agatha - a fur farm that raises and slaughters 30-50,000 animals a year.

Community Potluck in Hamilton - After the demonstration in St. Agatha ADL members headed down to Hamilton for a community vegan potluck in Hamilton organized by the same folks working on Burlington/Hamilton Pig Save as well as Food Not Bombs Hamilton. We had a great meal, did some brainstorming and came out with a concrete convergence demonstration date and a wonderful gift exchange. Huge thank you to our awesome hosts that night!

National Day of Remembrance and Action for Violence Against Women - On December 6th the newly formed ADL group - the Dark Circle Collective - organized an outreach event downtown St. Catharines where they projected the names and faces of the Women murdered in the Montreal Massacre, read them, and chalked them on the streets downtown. Passers by where stopped and engaged about why the event exists and why it is still so important to remember.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence -  In honour of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, the Dark Circle Collective held a demonstration at St. Catharines Right to Life (possibly the first ever). About 12 people come out and their day was effectively interrupted and a strong message was sent that misogyny will not be tolerated in our community.

“Last Chance” Film Screening - In honour of “Human Rights” Day the ADL planned to screen the documentary “Last Chance,” onto Rick Dykstra’s office. The weather had us move the screening to the ADL Office, however, we still screened the powerful documentary detailing the lives of LGBTQ refugees in Canada and the barriers that they face. 

Marineland Animal Defense - Marineland Animal Defense has still been consistently busy throughout the off season. We have posted a statement of solidarity with Christine Santos - an ex Marineland trainer who Marineland has filed a $1.25 Million suit against, pushed materials for #coalforholer, had two videos unvieled - the “Into the Water” Documentary and the Merglgate March, called out local Media again, released John Holer’s Christmas Wish List, and announced another t-shirt presale.

Sustainer Fund - We are going to give report backs with each mailing list update so that all of our members, sustainers, followers and supporters can watch our sustainer fund grow! As it stands right now - we have 11 sustainers with a fund of $185/month! Our goal is 90/10 - 90 sustainers for $900/month - and we are already over 16% of the way there (if my math is correct!). If you are interested in becoming a sustainer please let us know. We can set up monthly donations via paypal, direct deposit, cash or cheque and accept and appreciate everything above $5/month (less than ONE latte!). We are currently looking for people to get us over that $200 hump. We are stalled - be the one who got us out! 

William C. Rodgers Remembrance - We are joining in global remembrance events honouring the memory and life of Earth Liberation Front Activist William C. Rodgers aka “Avalon.” For the day we are encouraging people everywhere to go to the Conflict Gypsy archive and pour through the “Black Cat Sabotage Handbook” - a radical earth liberation zine rumored to be written by William. This is also a great time to post a reminder that we are encouraging people to donate to help bring Josh Harper to Buffalo to speak - Josh is a co founder of Conflict Gypsy.

UPCOMING

ATTN: POSTPONED - WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19TH - TEST THEIR LOGIK ALBUM RELEASE - Due to illness and some last minute hiccups in organizing we will be pushing our Test Their Logik show back until after their album hard copy is released and we can bring Tru Rez down as well as Haudenosaunee activists to speak. In the meantime - please support the #IdleNoMore movement, especially the happenings at Six Nations - and also support the upcoming releases for Tru Rez and Test Their Logik.

SATURDAY - FUR FREE NIAGARA “SHUT YOUR TRAPS” DEMO - OUT DOORS ORIENTED - 2PM - 470 VANSICKLE - We will be joining with activists across Canada to answer the call for support from Fur Bearers Defenders and applying pressure to stores that sell Canada Goose jackets. Join us for the demonstration!

SATURDAY - NIAGARA ADL FOOD/CLOTHING DRIVE FOR THE RAFT YOUTH SHELTER AND APIECALYPSE BAKERY PICK UP - 10AM - 2PM - ADL OFFICE - 281 ST. PAUL ST. - Hey everyone - please join us on Saturday December 22nd from 10am to 2pm as we hold a food/clothing/funding drive for the RAFT Youth Shelter in St. Catharines as well as a bake sale and pick up for Apiecalypse Now! Vegan Bakery gift basket orders. Food and clothing requests can be found on the event page!

MARINELAND ANIMAL DEFENSE - OPERATION SHUT IT DOWN LAUNCH DEMO - NEW YEARS DAY - MARINELAND, NIAGARA FALLS - Join us on New Years Day as we demonstrate at Marineland, launch our new campaign, and send a message to John Holer that although the season is over the animals on site are still in our hearts and minds!

INTO THE FUTURE

COMBAT ANIMAL TESTING SUPER SECRET LAUNCH. ASK A PUNX.

Marineland Opening Day Demonstration 2013 w/Ric O’Barry! - MAY 18 2013!

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Niagara ADL Today’s Special Mailing List Update 29.11.12

Hey all,

18 days since our last update and we have been extremely busy. This is going to be a big update - grab a (green) tea and sit down for it!

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Cafe Disco Office Launch - On November 17th a bunch of pals packed the ADL office and we drank tea and root beer and ate goodies and played twister! It was a great, fun launch event and for a lot of people their first time in the ADL space. Most notably though - we also found and rescued a cat off of the mean downtown streets of St. Catharines that night - who is now Arthur Miller the Office Cat. He doesn’t live at the office, he is safe in a foster home while we continue to search for his family (if he has one), but he will forever be remembered as our Office Cat mascot (picture attached).

#FurFreeOnt / Fur Free Friday - This year the ADL and Fur Free Niagara held a demonstration at Outdoors Oriented (Fourth Ave) as they are a distributor of those god awful Canada Goose jackets. We had our fun - demonstrating inside and outside the business - as well as beautifying the building with anti-fur slogans. We also managed a group demo shot inside the store (attached). From there many of us made the trek up to Toronto to join with Fur Free Toronto in their March on the Fur District demonstration for Fur Free Friday. The march (only a couple city blocks) included stops at a handful of fur stores - with many of them confronting us, realizing that was a bad idea, and then shutting down early. The message to the stores was clear. We also promoted events across Ontario that day with the #FurFreeOnt tag and poster - which included Durham Animal Rights Alliance (Oshawa), Tri City Animal Liberation (Kitchener-Waterloo), Kingston Animal Trust and Ottawa Animal Defense League.

Rae Spoon w/Ivan Coyote #genderfailure - A coalition event - Queer Action Niagara, Live Free Collective, Hearts of Oak Collective, Niagara ADL and Dead Gender hosted Rae Spoon and Ivan Coyote this past Sunday at the Niagara Artist’s Centre as they stopped on their Gender Failure tour. The event was best described by Lauren Corman on the event page - “Heart broke, got mended, broke again.” We packed the space and are at a loss for any other words that would describe something that you kind of had to be there for. This is the second time Rae has been down in 2012 with Queer Action Niagara, Live Free, HOA and DG Magazine and we hope Rae AND Ivan make Niagara a priority in the future!

Niagara Transgender Day of Remembrance - Queer Action Niagara and Niagara Vegan Baking Militia set up a bake sale table at this years Niagara Transgender Day of Remembrance and raised $70 for Transgender Niagara. The event was emotional and powerful and it was great to see a full room (more chairs needed!)

Gaza Solidarity Candle Lit Vigil - Just prior to the ceasefire that ended the assault on Gaza absurdly titled Operation Pillar of Defense - the Live Free Collective joined End the Occupation Niagara for a candle lit vigil that turned into a candle lit march in solidarity with the people of Gaza and the Palestinian community in Niagara (picture attached).

#Coiny2012 - The ADL’s first Coin Drive Fundraiser - we held #Coiny2012 all weekend last weekend with all ADL working groups participating. In the end we raised over $1000! There were so. many. coins! We ended up with a 49lb coin baby! Thank you so much to everyone who participated!

Prisoner Support Film Screening for Daniel McGowan’s Support Fund - Every third ADL meeting of the month (every Monday) doubles as a prisoner support event and this month we screened the Academy Award Nominated Documentary “If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” which details Daniel’s story and raised $100 for his support fund! Not to be outdone by awesomeness - the Friends & Family of Daniel McGowan group sent over a thank you and ended it off with “Also, you guys are kicking ass. The Marineland campaign and your FFF are simply incredible.” Fuckin’ eh.

Bring Josh Harper to Buffalo IndieGoGo! - Speaking of Prisoner Support - we are working with the rad folks at Burning Books in Buffalo to raise the funds needed to bring SHAC 7 defendant Josh Harper to Buffalo for a speaking event! We encourage members to donate! This will be a great event and it is most likely the closest thing we can arrange.
 
Sustainer Fund - We are going to give report backs with each mailing list update so that all of our members, sustainers, followers and supporters can watch our sustainer fund grow! As it stands right now - we have 11 sustainers with a fund of $185/month! Our goal is 90/10 - 90 sustainers for $900/month - and we are already over 16% of the way there (if my math is correct!). If you are interested in becoming a sustainer please let us know. We can set up monthly donations via paypal, direct deposit, cash or cheque and accept and appreciate everything above $5/month (less than ONE latte!). We are currently looking for people to get us over that $200 hump.

We Will Miss You! Goodbye to Ally - The ADL has a tradition of saying goodbye to organizers who are leaving town and we followed up with it at our last meeting - the last meeting for Ally Brinsmead who is leaving Niagara. Ally, and her sister Hannah, were both an amazing breath of fresh air to the ADL and both have used their craft/design/art/organizing skills to push all of our campaigns and working groups that much farther. We will miss her, but are also happy that she isn’t going that far - and as always, hope that what’s learned here leaves here! (See Ally - we resisted the urge to post that embarrassing picture of you screen printing!) Hahah.

UPCOMING

NIAGARA ADL OPEN MEETING - MONDAY 6:30PM -281 ST. PAUL ST. (SUITE 201) - ST. CATHARINES - Our next open meeting is Monday November 5th. All of our meetings are open meetings and the structure remains the same for all of them, first timers come at 6:30 pm to get introduced to the group, others who have been to previous meetings come at 7pm. Anyone can add an agenda item and/or speak to any issue and everyone walks away with action items.

#SPRINGBROOK01 -  CONVERGENCE FUR FARM DEMONSTRATION - TRI CITY ANIMAL LIBERATION - SATURDAY DECEMBER 1ST - ST. AGATHA -
We have endorsed and will be joining with Tri City Animal Liberation for their convergence demonstration this Saturday at the Springbrook Fur Farm in St. Agatha. TCAL held a demonstration at the farm this past Friday for Fur Free Friday and were met with hired private security who roved the property in ATV’s and intimidated activists. It’s time a for a united response! If you need a ride - or can offer a ride - let us know!

INTO THE FUTURE

Test Their Logik - “Be” Album Release - December 19th - ADL Office. $5-10. Support radical hip hop. Show poster attached.

Fur Free Niagara “Shut Your Traps” Solidarity Demo at Outdoors Oriented for National Fur Bearer Defenders - December 22nd - Event Page Coming Soon!

COMBAT ANIMAL TESTING SUPER SECRET LAUNCH. ASK A PUNX.

Marineland Opening Day Demonstration 2013 w/Ric O’Barry! - MAY 18 2013!

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Niagara ADL Today’s Special Mailing List Update 11.11.12

Hey all,

12 days. Good turn around. Hopefully sometime soon we can get back to our regular weekly Sunday night mail out.

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Marineland Animal Defense - Since our last mail out we broke news that a “Joseph Mergl” reached out with a $10,000 “donation” if we “do things the adult way,” received a Cease and Desist letter (read: SLAPP threat) from Marineland’s Lawyers claiming “intimidation” and “harassment,” held a 9k march-candle lit vigil from June Mergl’s Niagara Falls Animal Medical Centre clinc to John Holer’s house and raised $200 at that vigil with the Niagara Vegan Baking Militia for Long Island Food Not Bombs and Sandy Relief. Oh - and we also released “Marineland Ryan Gosling.” There is no need for legal support at this point - however - please do stay tuned. The best support right now is promoting our social media sites and helping us grow our audience!

#ResistTO - ADL members headed up to Toronto for the 3rd and 4th of November to; hold vigil with 100 over folks against the Fur Industry in Canada with Fur Bearer Defenders, join with 230 folks for an inspiring grassroots fundraising organized by Toronto Pig Save titled Animals Beyond Borders 2, join with 50 activists to oppose the Royal Winter Fair and joined with hundreds on Sunday night to confront and disrupt Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s honourary degree ceremony from Haifa University. It was a cold, inspiring and beautiful weekend where people got to see and engage in a bunch of different grassroots/community building tactics.(Photos from the weekend attached).

Position on No Kill St. Catharines - Things have been hot at the LCHS for a quite while now - but movement to bring substantive reform at the shelter has picked up as dozens have attempted to join the board after Councillor Matt Siscoe passed a motion urging the shelter to move towards zero killing. We have been monitoring the situation - but not actively attempting to join the board and we released this statement to ensure that our silence was not read as disapproval and also in hopes of adding some small items to the focus.

Sandy Relief - Between the ADL, Marineland Animal Defense and the Niagara Vegan Baking Militia we have now sent over a total of $325 to Long Island Food Not Bombs to help with Hurricane Sandy relief. Long Island has been hit especially hard and Long Island Food Not Bombs is well organized and has been doing amazing work in the community for a long time - and will be around long after clean up. We urge members to also give to Long Island Food Not Bombs if they can.

Sustainer Fund - We are going to give report backs with each mailing list update so that all of our members, sustainers, followers and supporters can watch our sustainer fund grow! As it stands right now - we have 11 sustainers with a fund of $185/month! Our goal is 90/10 - 90 sustainers for $900/month - and we are already over 16% of the way there (if my math is correct!). If you are interested in becoming a sustainer please let us know. We can set up monthly donations via paypal, direct deposit, cash or cheque and accept and appreciate everything above $5/month (less than ONE latte!). We are currently looking for people to get us over that $200 hump.

UPCOMING

NIAGARA ADL OPEN MEETING - MONDAY 6:30PM -281 ST. PAUL ST. (SUITE 201) - ST. CATHARINES - Our next open meeting is Monday November 5th. All of our meetings are open meetings and the structure remains the same for all of them, first timers come at 6:30 pm to get introduced to the group, others who have been to previous meetings come at 7pm. Anyone can add an agenda item and/or speak to any issue and everyone walks away with action items.

CAFE DISCO - OFFICE SPACE LAUNCH PARTY - SATURDAY - 7PM - 281 ST. PAUL ST (SUITE 201) - Photo and video teaser attached - including an invitation to our office space open house - cafe disco - party on Saturday November 17th at 7PM! Come celebrate with us! It’s been an amazing 7 months - launching from nothing to have an office - and we could not have done this without the support of so many people and especially without our sustainers! The video above also have a “needed donations” list for our office - so be sure to check that out and help out if you can.

INTO THE FUTURE

Fur Free Friday - Niagara - Outdoors Oriented - Friday November 23rd

Rae Spoon w/Ivan Coyote - Gender Failure - Sunday November 25th - Niagara Artists Centre - Queer Action Niagara

COMBAT ANIMAL TESTING SUPER SECRET LAUNCH. ASK A PUNX.

Marineland Opening Day Demonstration 2013 w/Ric O’Barry! - MAY 18 2013!

Niagara ADL Today’s Special Mailing List Update 31.11.12

Hey all,

A month since the last update. Ugh. So much ground to cover. This one is very picture heavy for the visual learners.

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Marineland Animal Defense - If you were living under a rock since our last update you would have missed about #ACT07 - October 7th Closing Day Demonstration. We had over 700+ demonstrating out front of Marineland - NRP had the number over 800+ - and hundreds of folks hoped the turnstiles, entered the park, and shut down the final dolphin show of the year. It was a magical and inspiring day that will never be forgotten by those who attended. This was the largest demonstration ever organized at Marineland - topping our previous record of the summer of 500+ people, and one of the largest animal advocacy demonstration in Canadian history (second to my knowledge). We managed international press and the next working day following the Provincial Government were quick to announce changes and meet with stakeholders (this was obviously later disrupted by Dalton McGuinty stepping down). The iconic photo from the demo is attached (it was shared 1,000’s of times on social media). We have also been busy with speaking events at Brock University and Western University (photo attached of M.A.D. co-founder Dylan Powell speaking at Brock University - our 7th talk in 2 years).

Friends of Kanonhstaton - Since our last update we answered the call for support to help mobilize with the “Supplies Not Lies” demonstrations urging the Government to release funds to schools on Six Nations as well into October children were still without basic supplies (that were ordered in May and usually arrive in June), without textbooks and math and science books, no hot water, TA’s not paid, etc. The pressure is building and continuing, however, these demands have still not all been met. It is disgusting that the Federal Government is using Six Nations children as an example - yet another continuation of colonialism and racism (photo attached from the Tekawanake news front page w/M.A.D. megaphone!). Also since our last update we have answer the call for support to help Six Nations youth get to the recent Powershift Environmental Justice Conference in Ottawa helped get a car up to the Brantford stop on the She Speaks: Indigenous Women Speak Out Against the Tar Sands tour.

Niagara Walk for Farm Animals 2012 - The same weekend at the #ACT07 demo - the walk for Farm Animals this year took a bit of a back seat. However, did still raise over $7,700 and had over 70 walkers! Tons of new faces as well for this great fundraising event. (photo attached).

Office Space! - This is a HUGE update for the ADL. After searching for office/meeting space for months we teamed up with our good real estate friend Judi Megarity and found an amazing space downtown St. Catharines across from Sahla Thai and kitty corner from the new Arts development! 281 St. Paul - Suite 201 - is our new home. Photo and video teaser attached - including an invitation to our office space open house - cafe disco - party on Saturday November 17th at 7PM! Come celebrate with us! It’s been an amazing 7 months - launching from nothing to have an office - and we could not have done this without the support of so many people and especially without our sustainers! The video above also have a “needed donations” list for our office - so be sure to check that out and help out if you can.

Solidarity with South Florida Smash HLS - Two organizers with South Florida Smash HLS were recently arrested at a demonstration for megaphone use. Florida has some wacky by laws. Help them beat it. We have donated $50 towards legal support and we urge members to help out if they can.

Shut Down Bulls on Bay Street - We were part of a coalition of over 25 organizations that help put pressure on the City of Toronto and the Royal Winter Fair to cancel a strangely last minute planned “Bulls on Bay St.” event advertized to kick off this years Royal Fair. We mobilized a demonstration that would have put hundreds of people on the ground during the event providing an opposition and #Sandy did the rest. The event had its permits rejected and was eventually cancelled. Focus now shifts to other Royal Fair demonstrations this weekend (more below).

Herbivore Clothing Donation - Herbivore Clothing out in Portland got hit up recently with some really bogus vandalism. Our friends at Herbivore have donated a ton of gift certificates for events in Niagara over the years and we sent over a $50 donation to put towards costs of getting things back to normal.


UPCOMING

NIAGARA ADL OPEN MEETING - MONDAY 6:30PM - 281 ST. PAUL ST. (SUITE 201) - ST. CATHARINES - Our next open meeting is Monday November 5th. All of our meetings are open meetings and the structure remains the same for all of them, first timers come at 6:30 pm to get introduced to the group, others who have been to previous meetings come at 7pm. Anyone can add an agenda item and/or speak to any issue and everyone walks away with action items.

#RESISTTO - SATURDAY/SUNDAY - TORONTO - VARIOUS LOCATIONS - We are promoting all of these events together (poster attached) as #resistTO. We hope you join us! If you need a ride or can offer rides speak up. It is so important that we show solidarity with animal liberation activists in Toronto - and also answer the call for solidarity and support from social justice organizations and allies in Toronto. Saturday - Silent Vigil for Fur Animals / Animals Beyond Borders (this is a fundraiser for M.A.D. and other grassroots groups in Southern Ontario and M.A.D. spokesperson Dylan will be speaking) Sunday - Say No to the Royal! #NOROYAL! / Confront Jason Kenney! #nohonour

For anyone looking for more info on the Confront Kenney demonstration you can find an amazing promo video below.

http://youtu.be/dAwxq3VwNvg

INTO THE FUTURE

FOLLOW THE MONEY MARINELAND MARCH - Thursday November 8th. 5PM - 10PM. Poster attached. Let’s make it big!

COMBAT ANIMAL TESTING SUPER SECRET LAUNCH. ASK A PUNX.

Marineland Opening Day Demonstration 2013 w/Ric O’Barry!

Niagara ADL Today’s Special Mailing List Update 03.11.12

Hey ADL’ers,

We’ve got updates, we’ve got events, we’ve got t-shirts and more!

For the sake of expedience we are going to break with our regular format.

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Marineland Animal Defense - Marineland Animal Defense continues to overwhelm our update. Below is a full update from M.A.D. The only other updates not contained below are that our shirts are pressed (come grab them this Sunday) and also that we released this super awesome Marineland PSA that you should all share the heck out of vimeo / youtube - oh, and you can also see a short photo set from out Sept 29th demo here.

This is our most important mail out of the year as we lead into the most important event in the history of 20+ years of protest at Marineland in Niagara Falls!

First off, if you have some how missed it - this Sunday is our Closing Day Demonstration at Marineland. Ric O’Barry will be joining us as well as NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo and ex-head trainer Phil Demers. The full demonstration schedule is attached below and can be found on our website here. We still very much appreciate any help in promoting the event, especially RSVP/SHARE/INVITE of the Facebook event page which you can find here. We’ve also attached two event flyers for people to share, print, post as well as a facebook cover to promote the event.

For those who registered for buses that we arranged for the event we posted our bus schedule tonight. You can find that post here. If you have registered and no longer need your spot please get in touch asap so we can make your spot available for someone else! For everyone else please register the names of anyone you are bringing (i.e. children) so we can ensure everyone gets to the site and gets home!

Last but not least we have an update on the site calling for action this Sunday. We need all hands on deck. We’ve named this event #ACT07 and are urging supporters to use this hashtag on twitter/tumblr/instagram, etc. We are calling on everyone to do whatever they can this Sunday to make the plight of captive animals at Marineland impossible to ignore! Please read our post on the site for action ideas.

SEE YOU ON SUNDAY!

Friends of Kanonhstaton - Friends of Kanonhstaton has continued to help provide support at Kanonhstaton in opposition to white rights/reverse racism activist Gary McHale. This past Sunday we went down to watch Gary along with a crew of zionists, ayn rand followers, tea partiers and far right followers as they waved Canadian flags and had Pizza Pizza delivered to their impromptu picnic in front of the reclamation site. This absurd theater is a great reminder of the dangers of nationalism and nation state identities in the psyche of human beings and is also a comment on the state of our education systems. In more positive news, FOK has purchased flag fabric and will be making our own two row flags as a fundraiser for the Haudenosaunee Land Defender Legal Support Fund.


UPCOMING

SUPPLIES NOT LIES DEMONSTRATION - FRIDAY - BRANTFORD - 8 AM - Tomorrow morning Friends of Kanonhstaton will be answering the call for support as Six Nations schools have still not have supplies delivered that were ordered in May and should have been delivered in June! The call for support is below. If you can make it out and need a ride let us know asap! If you can’t make it out - PLEASE CALL!  “So the supplies have not been delivered in Six Nations and the protest in Brantford is on beginning at 8am tomorrow, 58 Dalhousie St. Six Nations and Tyendinaga are the only two reserves in Ontario which have refused the devolution of educational funding onto band councils, and have insisted that the federal government live up to its treaty responsibilities and fund education. No textbooks for the curriculum have arrived, substitute teachers are not being paid, and the Oliver M. Smith elementary school at Six Nations is in risk of having it’s photocopier taken by the repo man. Get out and protest! Call the Director of Education Peter Jones 416-973-1274 to complain about this appalling situation.”“So the supplies have not been delivered in Six Nations and the protest in Brantford is on beginning at 8am tomorrow, 58 Dalhousie St. Six Nations and Tyendinaga are the only two reserves in Ontario which have refused the devolution of educational funding onto band councils, and have insisted that the federal government   

SHE SPEAKS: INDIGENOUS WOMEN SPEAK OUT AGAINST TAR SANDS - FRIDAY - BRANTFORD - 6:30 PM - The Live Free Collective has endorsed this event and is sponsoring ride shares. If you are interested let us know asap!

NIAGARA WALK FOR FARM ANIMALS - SATURDAY - ST. CATHARINES PUBLIC LIBRARY - 11:00 AM - The Niagara Walk for Farm Animals is finally upon us! This Saturday we walk for Sanctuary!

MARINELAND CLOSING DAY DEMONSTRATION W/ RIC O’BARRY - SUNDAY - MARINELAND NIAGARA FALLS - 12:00 PM (NOON) - #ACT07 - All out to close Marineland! JOIN US!


NIAGARA ADL OPEN MEETING - MONDAY 6PM/7PM (TBA) - Our next open meeting is tomorrow night. All of our meetings are open meetings and the structure remains the same for all of them, first timers come at 6pm to get introduced to the group, others who have been to previous meetings come at 7pm. Anyone can add an agenda item and/or speak to any issue and everyone walks away with action items. Contact us for the location!


INTO THE FUTURE

COMBAT ANIMAL TESTING SUPER SECRET LAUNCH. ASK A PUNX.

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Niagara ADL Today’s Special Mailing List Update 23.09.12

Hey ADL’ers.

It’s been a month. Whoa. Had to double and triple check to confirm. Where did the last month go? We are still buried in organizing - working over time with all hands on trying to channel outrage at Marineland with Marineland Animal Defense - while also carrying on with our other campaigns. We are tired yo! Although it has been a month - we have also received no complaints - so don’t even try and make us feel bad! We are going to do our best below to give you a quick and accurate portrayal of what the past month looked like and where we are headed.

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Marineland Animal Defense - Since our last report back we followed up a 500+ person demonstration on site with a 300+ person demonstration and then a 100+ person demonstration out front of John Holer’s house (pictures attached). Aside from this we have continued to keep the focus on federal legislation closing the wild capture loophole, as well as getting out front of organizations like CAZA and the OSPCA who are complicit in industry nightmares like Marineland. Aside from the we also bought a t-shirt press, tabled numerous events, released a new leaflet, organized fundraisers, did some surprise exit leaflets and put in a ton of work on our remaining demonstration schedule - especially the closing day demonstration on Oct 7th with Ric O’Barry, Cheri DiNovo, Phil Demers and more.

Niagara Vegan Baking Militia - Since the last update the NVBM raised hundreds of dollars for Marineland Animal Defense - both in August and the the Convergence on John Holer demonstration - and also raised $55 for the Port Colborone Feline Initiative.

Live Free Collective Kim Rivera Support - The Live Free Collective demonstrated out front of Rick Dykstra’s office this past Wednesday - one day before Kim’s deportation date - urging him to allow U.S. Iraq War Resister Kim Rivera to stay in Canada on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds. Dykstra is Jason Kenney’s Secretary in the Immigration and Citizenship post with the Federal Conservative Party and directly responsibly for her deportation. Their office declined and Kim, a mother who has been living in Toronto since 2007 and who had children born in Canada, was arrested the U.S. border on Thursday and has been held in custody ever since. She will face a military tribunal in the United States and could face jail time. We encourage all members to fight this office tooth and nail. Aside from this, local NRP also fined a demonstrator for sidewalk chalk at this demonstration for writing “Stop the Deportations.”

Friends of Kanonhstaton - The FOK has been busy over the last month - traveling to Kanonhstaton to provide support and a counter to white rights/reverse racism rallies held by Gary McHale and also tabling at the 1st Annual Brock University Pow Wow. Friends of Kanonhstaton member Graham Paradis also wrote a very moving critique about the Holy Chuck - Dirty Drunken Half Breed Burger.

Niagara CopWatch - Niagara CopWatch members joined Fort Erie residents this past weekend to shed light on C Platoon - a unit the Fort Erie Niagara Regional Police station who are implicated in a large border narcotic traffic ring which includes - among many other drugs - the date rape drug. Local media have largely ignored this issue, with media coverage coming from sources in Toronto. We took to the community to let people know about the issue and start a dialogue about the role of policing in our communities.

Niagara ADL Sustainer Fund - Over the last month we’ve continued a slow roll out of our “Sustainer” Fund. This is a special fund set up for monthly donations and provides the ideal form of giving to ensure that the ADL can continue to grow. We can set up donations via paypal, or with reminder by e-transer, cheque, or cash. We’ve already raised $115/month with this fund and we are focused on continuing to grow this number! If you would like to help out and can give, please let us know! Also - we got booted from Facebook for the fourth, and final, time. Boo hoo.


UPCOMING

NIAGARA ADL OPEN MEETING - MONDAY 6PM/7PM (TBA) - Our next open meeting is tomorrow night. All of our meetings are open meetings and the structure remains the same for all of them, first timers come at 6pm to get introduced to the group, others who have been to previous meetings come at 7pm. Anyone can add an agenda item and/or speak to any issue and everyone walks away with action items. Contact us for the location!

MARINELAND ANIMAL DEFENSE DEMONSTRATION - SATURDAY SEPT 29TH - 12 (NOON) - NIAGARA FALLS - Join us for our second to last demonstration of the year and our first demonstration back on site in weeks. Please RSVP/SHARE/INVITE and repeat!


INTO THE FUTURE


Niagara Walk for Farm Animals - The Niagara Walk for Farm Animals is scheduled for October 6th this year! Please join us and register with the “Niagara ADL” team!

MARINELAND ANIMAL DEFENSE CLOSING DAY DEMONSTRATION W/ RIC O’BARRY, CHERI DiNOVO, PHIL DEMERS AND MORE! - SUNDAY OCT 7TH. HELP US MAKE THIS THE LARGEST MARINELAND DEMONSTRATION EVER!

COMBAT ANIMAL TESTING SUPER SECRET LAUNCH. ASK A PUNX.

CALENDAR

You can always stay up to date with ADL events by checking our calendar!

DONATE

You can help keep this well oiled machine running! Donations can be made to our paypal: niagaraanimaldefenseleague@gmail.com and/or can be brought to our open meetings on Monday nights! Become a “Sustainer” and hook us monthly donations!

You can find all previous mailing list updates from the ADL under the “mailing list” tag on our website.

Niagara ADL’s “Today’s Special” Mailing List Update 22.08.12

Hey all,

It may be more proper to call this the Marineland Animal Defense Edition as we have little to update aside from it, a lot of update from M.A.D. Because of this we are also going to play with our regular format a bit.

For those living under a rock, exactly one week ago, the Toronto Star released their investigative report detailing testimony of neglect and abuse from 8 ex-employees who broke non-disclosure agreements to come forward. Our world has been turned upside down since then as we have been flooded with concern, outrage and messages of support.

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Marineland Animal Defense - Our demonstration numbers swelled last Saturday and on site we held a demonstration with over 500 people! This was the single largest protest in the history of 20+ years of protest on site, the largest animal advocacy protest in the history of the Region, and one of the largest animal advocacy demonstrations in Canadian history! A new era of protest has begun at Marineland, as our social media reach, mailing list and organizing hub have all grown. We have a few action alerts to share off the top 

• We are calling on all members to contact Libby Davies and other MP’s calling for a revival of Libby’s motion to close the wild capture loophole. This would effectively grandfather the industry as captive breeding stocks are not capable of maintaining it. You can find a form letter here as well.
• We have a call for support/endorsements posted on our site. If your organization, group, event, business, club, collective, etc. are not on it yet, get on it! 
• We have a demonstration lined up for this Sunday. Please do all you can to help publicize and promote this event! Please RSVP/SHARE/INVITE - REPEAT! Demonstration poster attached as well as a demonstration “cover” for your facebook timeline! 
• We have also announced that at our closing day demonstration we have confirmed internationally renowned dolphin activist Ric O’Barry! The demonstration is on Oct 7th and we appreciate all help with promoting and publicizing that event as well! RSVP/SHARE/INVITE - REPEAT! 
• As always we appreciate any and all help promoting all of our social media sites/mailing list. Extending our social media reach is an integral part of this campaign - please share our public Facebook Page, our Facebook Group Page (important for automatic demonstration invites), our Twitter account, as well as our tumblr/website. 
• We have also continued with our photo reveal. Any help sharing these photos and having people learn about these animals in their proper context is greatly appreciated.     
• We have a vegan bake sale/corn roast fundraiser planned by the Niagara Vegan Baking Militia set for Thursday August 30th. Please come out for lunch or dinner/dessert! 
• Although M.A.D. has not endorsed any petitions against Marineland - we are acknowledging the hard work that ex-trainer Phil Demers and Zoocheck have put into this issue and also note that their petition has the largest amount of signers. You may want to check it out - but don’t ever let us catch you stopping at just signing petitions!

For people who feel like they still need a primer on what has happened - please check out our FAQ sections on the site as well as our Press section.

We have also slowly started building an Activist Toolkit section - of which we are taking suggestions - and we can also report that ADL organizer and spokesperson Ally Brinsmead has launched a Marineland Animal Defense fundraiser on her Etsy shop with all proceeds going to M.A.D. - please check it out and pass it along!

Aside from all of this we need to push the inevitable donation call out. We are raising in order to own our own merchandising assets - button press, t-shirt press, as well as for office/meeting space and for our on-site demonstration organizing. Funds are absolutely crucial right now. Monthly giving is ideal, however, we appreciate any and all support. We will have more on our fundraising platform to come soon!

Niagara Animal Defense League - The ADL is back on facebook! The fourth time is hopefully the charm! Please like the page and share with your network.

Live Free Collective - The Live Free Collective recently sent over $200 to answer the call for support for injured migrant work Eloid Drummond and have committed to fundraise throughout Eloid’s rehabilitation. We encourage members to stay engaged in these issues - follow Justice for Migrant Workers - and offer any support they can. The ADL/Live Free/Queer Action Niagara also have sent over $50 to the Support CeCe McDonald fund after last week’s prisoner support night/meeting where we learned about her case and wrote letters of support. Every third Monday of the month doubles as a prisoner support event and we encourage members to follow CeCe’s support page and support in any way you can. We have also sent off donations to other cases we have already issued statements on - including a $50 donation to Northwest Grand Jury Resisters and $50 to Louise and Joseph Wawatie’s support fund.


UPCOMING

RAWSTOCK NIAGARA - SATURDAY AUGUST 25TH - NOTL - 11AM - 10PM - FREE! - The very first all day raw food festival in Niagara. Come stop by the M.A.D./ADL table and say hi!



INTO THE FUTURE

Love and Liberation Book Talk - TBA. Featuring local co-author Sarat Colling and co-author Anthony Nocella. Stay tuned for more details.

Niagara Walk for Farm Animals - The Niagara Walk for Farm Animals is schedule for October 6th this year! Please join us and register with the “Niagara ADL” team!

Niagara ADL’s “Today’s Special” Mailing List Update 12.08.12

Hey everyone,

Back on the Sunday schedule. Best of luck to everyone this week!

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Fundraiser for Jeleel - Immediately after our last mail out we also found another press piece done on Jeelel’s story. We’d like to share that here, as well as, a recent story about Eloid Drummond, another injured migrant worker that we are fundraising for.

Shrine Circus/Coalition for Circus Animal Freedom - Since our last update ADL members cancelled last weeks open meeting and traveled instead to Markham to send the Shrine Circus out of the GTA (photos attached). Since that demo the Shrine Circus was welcomed to Kingston by over 200+ advocates who provided an opposition. This weekend is their last in Ontario and they leave the province after a show in Cornwall on the 14th. We sincerely hope that advocates in Quebec keep up the pressure. By the time they have left they will have encountered demonstrations in 20 of the 22 cities they stopped in in Ontario - with half of those cities being traveled to by ADL members! It was truly a great summer of protest against the Shrine Circus.

Marineland Animal Defense - Marineland Animal Defense has been busy of late. The photo reveal has continued thanks to We Animals with photos of a bears, and the deer park. Also, M.A.D. has released statements on a Kingston shock jock blasting Marineland, beluga births and deaths at Marineland, sources within Marineland, as well as, the new Ripley’s Toronto Aquarium. Aside from this, they put the ADL megaphone to it’s first use at the Marineland Demonstration on August 5th (photo attached) and are preparing to do it again for the demonstration on Saturday August 18th. M.A.D. appreciates any help in promoting the demonstration - please RSVP/SHARE/INVITE to the event page. If you can offer rides, or need one, please post on that event page or email marinelandanimaldefense@gmail.com. We would also like to acknowledge donations from Susan and Diane - thank you for your support, for answering our call for donations, and for allowing us to keep the pressure on Marineland!

Prisoner Support - The ADL recently released a large prisoner support statement - acknowledging the struggles of Nate Buckley, Louise and Joseph Wawatie, CeCe McDonald and Grand Jury Resisters. Several ADL members also observed Prisoner Justice Day by doing a 24 hour solidarity hunger strike on Friday August 10th. Aside from this, we have good news to relay about Louise and Joseph Wawatie - both have been released!

Niagara Vegan BBQ Fundraiser - Our 2nd Niagara Vegan BBQ Fundraiser - as part of our Sanctuary Tour campaign - happened yesterday at Bamboo Natural Food Market and we raised $183 for Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary! We’d like to thank everyone who came out and supported the event, as well as Bamboo for again being a very generous host! Since launching in March the ADL has raised over $1,300 for Sanctuaries in Ontario! We hope to keep that up. For advocated who can make it, or who are in Toronto, we strongly suggest heading out to Sadie’s on Tuesday for the Chili-for-Charity event for Cedar Row!

UPCOMING

NIAGARA ADL OPEN MEETING - MONDAY 6PM/7PM (RISE ABOVE) - Our next open meeting is tonight at Rise Above (120 St. Paul. St). All of our meetings are open meetings and the structure remains the same for all of them, first timers come at 6pm to get introduced to the group, others who have been to previous meetings come at 7pm. Anyone can add an agenda item and/or speak to any issue and everyone walks away with action items. As with the new structure to our mail outs, we are now committed to being at Rise Above every Monday from 6pm on.

SATURDAY - MARINELAND DEMONSTRATION - NIAGARA FALLS 12 - 2 PM - We return to Marineland this Saturday for another demonstration. We will be set up across from the front walk in gates.

INTO THE FUTURE

Rawstock Niagara 2012 - August 25th in NOTL. The very first annual all day raw food event in Niagara!

Mass Demonstration - Target Fairness - The Niagara Flying Squad is asking for members to answer the Ontario Federation of Labour call out for support for a mass demonstration on Wednesday August 22nd against Target. If you can make this event, need a ride, or can offer rides, please let us know!

Love and Liberation Book Talk - TBA. Featuring local co-author Sarat Colling and co-author Anthony Nocella. Stay tuned for more details.

Niagara Walk for Farm Animals - The Niagara Walk for Farm Animals is schedule for October 6th this year! Please join us and register with the “Niagara ADL” team!

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Niagara ADL’s “Today’s Special” Mailing List Update 03.08.12

Hey everyone,

By the time I am finished this and hit send it will be Friday! TGIF! A lot of people have a long weekend too. Exciting!

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Fundraiser for Jeleel - We sent over $650 to Jeleel this past monday! The funds will go towards food and the cost of school for his kids. A huge thank you from Jeleel, his support community in Niagara, J4MW, CUPE 4207 and us to everyone who supported the event. We also were able to get a little bit of press about this issue in the lead up to the event.

Vegan Corner Endorsement - We finally got around to sending in our donation and writing an endorsement for Vegan Corner. This is a rad new project taken up by two folks who were part of the AETA 4 case. Support in any way you can!

Shrine Circus/Coalition for Circus Animal Freedom - Demonstrations happened last weekend in Vaughn. We also helped with the release of behind the scenes footage of Marie and Schell, the two wild-caught Asian elephants held by TZ Productions.

Marineland Animal Defense - Marineland Animal Defense began it’s slow reveal of photos taken at Marineland by Jo Anne McArthur of the We Animals project. Our first photo went up last night and features the beluga whale Aurora. This photo release is intended to tell the stories of these individuals in their proper context. We appreciate all efforts to extend their reach.

Barriere Lake - Friends of Kanonhstaton wants members to know that the struggle at Barriere Lake is far from over. Traditional council rejected the deal brokered with Resolute Forest Products and arrests of Algonquin elders have begun. We urge members to support the struggle in Barriere Lake and will be redoubling our efforts to do the same.

UPCOMING

FRIDAY - MONDAY - SHRINE CIRCUS DEMONSTRATION MARKHAM - FIRST MARKHAM PLACE (3255 HWY 7 WEST) - This is the last weekend for the Shrine Circus in the GTA. Please get out and support advocates in Markham as they give them a proper send off. If you need a ride, or can offer a ride, please post on the event page. Any help promoting the demonstrations is appreciated as well. It is also worth noting that the demonstration in Kingston on Tuesday is looking like it will be the largest of the summer, so if people want to demonstrate in numbers it is worth the drive!

SUNDAY - MARINELAND DEMONSTRATION - NIAGARA FALLS 12 - 2 PM - We return to Marineland this Sunday for another demonstration. We will be set up across from the front walk in gates. The demonstration schedule for the rest of the summer is attached. Ride shares and promotion are appreciated! We also hope to unveil our new exit leaflets this weekend (attached). Donations to offset the costs of these new leaflets are greatly appreciated!

NIAGARA ADL OPEN MEETING - MONDAY 6PM/7PM (RISE ABOVE) - Our next open meeting is tonight at Rise Above (120 St. Paul. St). All of our meetings are open meetings and the structure remains the same for all of them, first timers come at 6pm to get introduced to the group, others who have been to previous meetings come at 7pm. Anyone can add an agenda item and/or speak to any issue and everyone walks away with action items. As with the new structure to our mail outs, we are now committed to being at Rise Above every Monday from 6pm on.

NIAGARA VEGAN BBQ FUNDRAISER - Niagara Vegan is back with a fundraiser BBQ at Bamboo Natural Health Food Market on August 11th - this time raising funds for our friends at Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary! Mark it on your calendars and help us promote the event by inviting friends and sharing the event page! Poster is attached.

INTO THE FUTURE

Rawstock Niagara 2012 - August 25th in NOTL. The very first annual all day raw food event in Niagara!

Love and Liberation Book Talk - TBA. Featuring local co-author Sarat Colling and co-author Anthony Nocella. Stay tuned for more details.

Niagara Walk for Farm Animals - The Niagara Walk for Farm Animals is schedule for October 6th this year! Please join us and register with the “Niagara ADL” team!

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