The Animal Rights 2009 National Conference happening is being held on July 16-20th at the Westin LAX Hotel near Los Angeles Airport. There will be more than 80 speakers from 60 organizations speaking on a wide variety of animal rights subjects. If you register before May 1, you receive a $40 discount so jump on it now. Here’s a link to the conference’s website and here’s the direct link to the registration form.
Last Sunday we drove out to the west-side to attend the 1st (annual?) Los Angeles Veggie Pride Parade. From all accounts, it was hugely successful drawing an estimated 500 people. The reaction from most passerbys was positive, but there were the requisite “Eat a steak!” comments being yelled by passing motorists. Check out the pictures we took from the event below.
LA Times is reporting that LA Animal Services’ manager Ed Boks has resigned as of today. It’s been long overdue. Speculation is that it is in response to this:
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hired Ed Boks the Director of Animal Services without checking out his references. He did not know that Boks had just been sued for racial discrimination and unlawful termination a month before he hired him. When the City was apprised of the lawsuit in January 2006, Boks told the Mayor that the lawsuit “had no merit.” Antonio did not investigate and took him at his word. Judge Kimba Wood in New York has ruled otherwise.
In an opinion and order dated March 27, 2009 Judge Wood stated that “Viewing the available evidence as a whole, the Court finds that a reasonable jury could conclude that Defendants terminated Plaintiff because of his race.” Since the judge’s ruling the City of New York has decided to settle with the plaintiff Wesley Artope. The exact amount is unknown at this time.
How I love gossip. Goodbye Ed, you won’t be missed.
Links: LA Times, Cleveland Indy Media Center
This is not an extensive list of restaurants. Most places can easily cook vegan food for you if they understand what it is. The word “vegan” has no equivalent translation in Thai. They understand “J” (or “Jay”) and sometimes “vegetarian” but not vegan. “J” is a diet that is almost vegan but they use oyster sauce. Ask for “Jay” food if they don’t understand “vegetarian”, however, tell them no oyster sauce (No “Naam Mon Hoi” or “Mai Ou (=No) Naam Mon Hoi”). Don’t bother trying to say “vegetarian” in Thai, it’s “mung sa vi raj”, because a lot of people don’t understand it. It’s like a big word that’s derived from Sanskrit language. And if they understand that word, they usually understand “vegetarian”.
Okay… here are several places I would recommend in the center of Bangkok. Chances are you’ll be visiting the popular shopping area in Bangkok (Siam Square, MBK, Paragon) which are all around the Siam sky train station. You’ll know these shopping malls if you’re in Bangkok and I say this because Bangkok is known for its shopping scenes.
*MBK *(near both Siam & National Stadium sky train stations) has 2 food courts on the 5th and 6th floors. The international food court on the 5th floor has a vegetarian/vegan place called Tamarind. It’s actually owned by a famous upscale Thai restaurant called Bann Kanitha. They have both Thai and international options. On the 6th floor, it’s the cheaper food court, which consists mostly of Thai foods. They also have a vegetarian/vegan place. Don’t remember the name because they changed recently due to a political reason, but it says “Vegetarian Food” right in front. (The former Bangkok governor is famously known for his vegetarianism and they used his name (or it belongs to him?), but since he became a leader of the “yellow shirt” group, they had to change the name to avoid any possible conflicts.)
*Paragon* (or Siam Paragon, next to Siam sky train station) also has a food court at the ground level, while they don’t have all-vegetarian places, they have many vegetarian options and brown rice. They also have a lot of restaurants in there. I like MK Sukiyaki because they have a nice vegetarian set. (Sukiyaki is a like a hot pot.)
**
*Siam Square* This one isn’t a mall but a big shopping area spanning several streets. They have a bunch of little shops, usually popular among Thai teenagers and younger crowds. They have MK Sukiyaki too but it’s call MK Trendi. There’s also a good Thai/vegetarian restaurant called “Ko Ko”. I believe it’s close to Scala movie theater, either on that “Soi” (=small street) or the one next to it. They have a lot vegetarian/vegan dishes on the menu including a bunch of fake meat. I like the “Mee Prik Pao Kai”, it’s the vermicelli noodle, fake chicken with tom yum chilli sauce and chinese kale.
While there won’t be a lot of varieties when it comes to vegan proteins unless you count the different types of prepared soy foods, you can easily find vegetarian/vegan food here. Find a place with English menu if you can, they usually have a vegetable section. This doesn’t mean those are all vegetarian, but some of them are. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the vegetarian section in there. Just remember “Jay” and “Mai Ou Naam Mon Hoi” (No oyster sauce) and you should be alright…
Several rescue groups are partnering together to sell raffle tickets to help raise funds during these tough economic times. They have a bunch of great prizes including gift certificates to Whole Foods, a 40 Inch LCD TV, spa packages and more. Tickets are $5 or 3 for $10 and you don’t have to be present to win. The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 9th at Molly’s Mutts & Meows adoption event. You can e-mail Molly at molly@mollysmuttsandmeows.org or stop by their booth this weekend at the Super Adoption event to purchase tickets. I have included all the information they sent out after the jump. (more…)
Twice a year, Best Friends Animal Society hosts their Super Adoption events in various parks around the city. This weekend it is happening near LAX in Westchester Park. Every Super Adoption event that I’ve worked at has had hundreds of animals from all kinds of rescue organizations. So if you or someone you know is in the market for a new pet, this is a fantastic event to attend. Here are all the details:
Best Friends Super Adoption
Where: Westchester Rec. Center: 8740 Lincoln Blvd., Westchester, 90045
Date: Saturday, April 26
Time: 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Next Saturday is the start of the annual World Week for Animals in Laboratories. The week-long IDA sponsored event will include demonstrations, speakers, vigils and concerts throughout the world. The most ambitious list of events seems to be happening in Los Angeles and is being kicked off by a benefit concert and silent auction this Thursday night at The Whisky in Hollywood. The event is Hosted by VH-1’s Ambre Lake and Susie Feldman and will feature performances by Melanie Martel (with Rikki Rocket of Poison and Robbie Crane of Ratt), Truth Movement featuring actor Corey Feldman, The Faded, and Nero Zero. This will be a great night and 100% of the door will be going toward raising awareness to put a STOP to laboratory testing on animals. Please repost and spread the word to everyone as we want to make this night a huge success. Tickets are $10 and available from The Whisky Box Office (310-652-4202) or at the door. Here are all the details or click on the image to view the flyer.
World Week For Animals Benefit Concert
When: Thursday, April 16, 2009
Where: The Whisky A GoGo – 8901 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Price: $10
I volunteered at LA Animal Services’ Moorpark Park Mobile Pet Adoption this past Sunday. Fortunately, the dog that I was holding was adopted by a lovely woman, but some of the others weren’t so lucky. Check out these wonderful dogs that are all available for adoption right now. Click on the image to view the flyer and make sure to forward this post to anyone who you think might be looking for a new best friend. There are also YouTube Videos available for each dog which I’ve posted below:
- JR A1019836
- Lucky A1018338
- Amelia A1018378
- Chihuahua mix A1019822
- Nessa A1015055
- Duke A1004328
A few weeks ago LA Animal Services launched a new bulletin board aimed at connecting with their volunteers. So far postings on the board have been very sporadic (I haven’t seen one message yet from the North Central shelter where I generally volunteer). One complaint (among a whole host of others) that I have about LA Animal Services is that they do a pretty poor job coordinating their volunteers and if they use this tool properly, it looks like this might be a step in the right direction. Unfortunately I am still unable to find any info on upcoming LAAS volunteer orientations, but if you’re interested in reading the bulletin board, you can find it here.
