Final Exit

Well as some of you may have noticed I have not been that active with online AR in recent times, this is mainly because I am trying to do more real world activities over online stuff. Along with this evolution of action for myself I have decided to finally hang up the ARB & Dev Ious Boots.

I will be adding some of those activists I know and respect on my own personal FB.

Cheers to all those who have supported ARB over the years it has been a blast at times :)

Anyone wishing to use the Animal Rights Book (ARB) name for animal rights is free to do so, they can also use the ARB graphics if they want on the condition that it is always connected to the animal rights movement!

I am currently considering blogs, websites or other online work but this will be under my own name and not that of ARB or Dev Ious

ARB over and out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family Values....

Last night I had another one of those fucked up Q&A sessions with my meat eating sister and her other half which resulted in me leaving scratching my head once again wondering how on earth I am related to these people. From conversations with other AR activists and vegans/vegetarians I know I am not the only one that is thinking of getting onto one of those madcap chat shows and demanding a DNA test.

The conversation started quite innocently with an aunts concern for her niece, she asked me how my daughters job hunting was coming along. My daughter is at college and is looking for some evening or weekend work for extra income but due to the economic situation in the UK hasn't had much luck so far. I explain she is struggling to get any work but is trying her best, this is when the by now boring attack on the AR lifestyle and vegan diet is slipped in. Through conversations with me and my daughter she has learned that my daughter who is an AR activist and vegan would never work for certain companies or industries such as Mcdonalds, KFC, Burger King ect...... because this would go against her moral beliefs.
So now my sis says if my daughter wasnt so stubborn she could get a job at McDonalds who are always looking to employ young students, STUBBORN?????
I bite my tongue and once again try to explain (all the time knowing I will never again get this wasted 5 minutes of my life back) why it is so morally wrong for my daughter to work in such a place blah blah fucking blah........

I can see from the way I am talking to the back of her head and she is concentrating more on facebook farmville than what I am saying that its not really getting through. "Would she work in a supermarket"? she asked, I explained of course she would as long as it wasnt the meat or fish department. "they sell meat in supermarkets" was her reply! By now my head is starting to hurt a little and my eyes are meeting in the middle, keep in mind I have been through about 100 similar conversations with my sis and all end in the same way, she doesnt get it! I then try to explain the facts about McDonalds having horrendous animal welfare ethics (in the sense they actually have none) and as a business they contribute massively to the meat industry therefore are considered an enemy in the eyes of any true animal rights activist.

I then get the lecture from both my sis and her other half about doing anything to keep a roof over our heads and paying the bills with the comment "even cavemen had to find a cave and supply food", they insisted morals should not come into the equation. I sighed and asked them if they were starving or homeless would they sell a 6 year old child into slavery so they can eat or pay the rent? Of course the answer was no and tensions were raised, they then proceeded to tell me that was not the point while I tried to point out the reason they wouldnt sell the child into slavery to fund their own financial comfort is because it would be morally wrong!

Thinking I had made a good point and slightly hoping I got through a little (forgetting my past failures for a second) I cross my fingers. Nope, instead I got a strong defensive wall and them trying to make me realise I hadnt understood the conversation and there was no point in having this conversation if I wasnt going to listen to them.

So there it was, a pointless waste of energy and time yet again. Why do I keep wasting my time trying to explain the rights and wrongs of mankind to people who just cannot or will not understand it? I suppose its a little obsession about my love for the animals and the AR movement as well as a huge chunk of hope that one day I may actually break through that hard shell of ignorance and plant a seed in the soft centre of their heart. At the end of the day what is the point of the animal rights movement if we dont have hope, a lot of what we wish for cannot be achieved without hope!

Roll Up, Roll Up, The Circus Is In Town.....

I noticed today that a certain so called Animal Rights Social Network is holding yet another one of those never ending guest chats all in the name of desperation, desperate to feel important. Ok I know I cant really talk since the AR guest chat sort of originated on ARB and was sort of my idea but now others have taken that idea and are ass raping it backwards in order to gain a couple more members, its all a little embarrassing now. I am starting to feel like the guy who invented the atomic bomb only to wake up and realise it was actually a bad idea only on a much smaller scale :) I should have listened to Steve Best when he gave me his opinion on these guest chats a while ago.

To be honest I dont think the guest chat feature for an AR website is a totally bad idea and they can have their uses, especially by getting activists from all corners of the globe to socialise. The biggest problem I have with these guest chats now is that a certain AR network is using them merely as a cheap method of boosting membership numbers and site activity which should never be the point of an AR site. Yes there is little point in having a website if no one visits that site but publicity should never be an AR websites core objective in my opinion. The main goal of any AR website I have been involved with is to operate for the good of the animals and the movement not for the good of the site itself, when you become obsessed about the popularity of your site I don't think you can consider the site a true AR site. It becomes more about you than animal rights and a total waste of energy not only for you but also for your site users/visitors.

Anyway onto what really brought me to post about this subject. A certain network has made a shameful decision to host a guest chat with none other than a real live vivisector, no this isnt someone who has realised their torture of animals in the name of bullshit science is wrong and is now a vegan activist. This "guest" is still very active and supportive of the animal testing industry. The network and the guest shall remain nameless here as I do not want to publicise this disgusting waste of time all in the name of popularity. Dont be fooled by this so called AR website, they are not hosting this event for the good of the animals or the movement. They may claim the event is for the benefit of education or debate but the real reasons for this event are obvious to me. The dance with the devil is being arranged purely for the reason of boosting membership numbers and activity on an ego lifting rocket to hell. What other possible reason could they have for hosting such an event as this? Do they think the AR community would benefit from anything this scum has to say or do they feel they and their members can convert this "guest"? If they feel either of these are possible then they are badly mistaken and should not have the capability of hosting a member based website such as this. As AR webmasters we have a duty to use that ability and opportunity to benefit the animals, movement and community in a purely unselfish direction.

Will I be attending this sad excuse for entertainment? In the time it has taken me to write this blog I have thought of 1000 different activities I could be doing at the time of this "guest" chat which could better benefit the AR movement or the animals which so desperately need our attention. Whether you give your attention to the enemy and the fame hungry network admins during this ridiculous circus event or actually concentrate on the important stuff is entirely up to you.

Its easy really, just ask yourselves "what would the animals want"?

Vegan Tribes Coming Soon............................

Vegan Tribes

To win the war we must first unite the army.....

Vegan Tribes, coming soon........

Peter Young guest chat on The AR Hub video Transcript

This is the video transcript for the guest chat which took place on The AR Hub on the 30th October 2010

The video comes in 5 parts

Part one

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

www.arhub.net

Peter Young Guest Chat on The AR Hub

The Animal Rights activist and popular speaker for direct action, Peter Young, will be the guest for this weeks guest chat on The AR HUB.

You can find out more about Peter on his wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Daniel_Young ...Or the Voice Of The Voiceless website http://www.voiceofthevoiceless.org/ The main 11pm time displayed is UK time, for a more local time either see the list of times below or check the World Clock http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html Just enter the date in the converter as 30th October 2010 and the time as 23/11 pm. choose "UK/London" as the from time and then choose your local area as the To Time Zone. Hit convert and you will have your local time for the guest chat :) Brief List of Global Guest Chat Times Australia (Sydney): 9am 31st October Australia (Perth): 6am 31st October Australia (Darwin): 7:30am 31st October Canada (Halifax): 7pm 30th October Canada (Toronto): 6pm 30th October Canada (Winnipeg): 5pm 30th October China (Beijing): 6am 31st October Denmark (Copenhagen): 12am 31st October France (Paris): 12am 31st October Germany (Berlin): 12am 31st October Ireland (Dublin): 11pm 30th October Italy (Rome): 12am 31st October Japan (Tokyo): 7am 31st October New Zealand (Wellington): 11am 31st October Russia (Moscow): 2am 31st October Spain (Madrid): 12am 31st October USA (Boston): 6pm 30th October USA (Washington DC): 6pm 30th October USA (Chicago): 5pm 30th October USA (Denver): 4pm 30th October USA (Los Angeles): 3pm 30th October UK (London): 11pm 30th October We fully expect an interesting and intriguing guest chat with Peter and hope you can all make it :) www.arhub.net

Vegans against PETA

I just seen this logo plastered all over facebook by the twilight zone admin Carolyn Bailey linked to a blog post from the Gary Francione wannabe Dan Cudahy. If it wasnt so serious and sad this would be absolutely hilarious, another of the online hermits attempts to divide and conquer! I'm no psychic but I could easily predict this group of self obsessed idiots will soon be starting a new campaign called "Vegans against Vegans" but then again arent they already active in this? We all know they spend their time speaking out against every action by activists that they deem inappropriate under the false pretence its bad for the movement! They claim ownership of an animal rights movement which in many ways clashes with their so called belief system.

Yes these people are a small minority of invaders to the REAL movement and in reality we shouldnt worry about which part of AR they are campaigning against now but at the same time I have always said there are potentially excellent activists out there being fed this bullshit and buying into it. PETA isnt perfect and a long shot short of being the organisation we would all like to see them be but isnt there much more important targets to be concentrating our energy on?

Soon we will see the twilight zone and its insane admins joining forces with the People Eat Tasty Animals idiots in their unbalanced attempts to bring down or discredit PETA

There are enough anti PETA groups out there without the vegans who hate vegans getting in on the act. I say these people are a disgrace not only to the movement they claim to be a part of but the animals they claim to be here for, can they really get any lower?

Thankfully the real AR movement continues great work while these fools play with their distractions on the sidelines and the majority of AR activists are dedicated to the animals. My advice to anyone new to the movement is to avoid these people like the plague and stay focused on what's important. The animals need us more than ever and bashing other orgs or groups who are primarily on the same side is as much use top the animals as vivisection is to human health!

Shaz Kelly AR Hub Interview

Interview With Shaz Kelly

Shaz Kelly is the founder and administrator of the Avalon Guinea Pig rescue based in Nottingham, England.

Q1) Hi Shaz, thanks for taking part in this AR Hub interview. Can you please start by telling us about yourself?

Shaz: Hi ,well I run a guinea pig rescue in Nottingham with several unpaid staff. I work normally 4 hours per day and the rest of the time is devoted to looking after the guinea pigs here at the rescue.

Q2) How did you come to start working with Guinea Pigs in the first place and then start your own rescue dedicated to guinea pigs?

Shaz: I started by having 2 of my own which were mis-sexed by the pet shop,the female then had babies which we kept as pets then we decided there are way too many guinea pigs out there unwanted and looking for homes,sadly there aren't many guinea pig rescues around
so we thought the best thing to do was to pay out and get lots of hutches and cages and advertise ourselves as a place where people could bring their animals that they had no time for rather than just dumping them,which sadly people still do

Q3) You have a commendable spirit which can only serve to help the guinea pigs :) How long has the rescue been in operation and what is the maximum number of guinea pigs you can hold at
any one time?

Shaz: Thank you, well we started about 5 years ago but became " official " 3 years ago ( with our own website etc) the maximum number we can have here at any one time would
be around 150-170 guinea pigs, that's using part of the house to put indoor cages etc in as well as the hutches in the garden and shed.

Q4) With such experience you must have experienced dreadful situations but also fulfilling moments of joy. Can you give us an example of your worst and best experience during your time as a rescue?

Shaz: The worst experience was from an old man that breeds rabbits and guinea pigs,2 boys he gave us were covered in huge deep wounds on their backs,the wounds oozed infection so they were taken to a vet,after 5 weeks of treatment they sadly both died as the infection had eaten through the holes into their lungs and killed them,the vet said that the boys had been left like that for weeks before got them for them to be that bad,it was heartbreaking to lose the little guys as they had such lovely personalities and despite being pulled about having their wounds treated day after day they didn't complain the best experience was a little girl we called Sweetpea,left to die ( by the same breeder) on a shed floor after giving birth to 6 dead babies,24 hours later she was laying on her side bleeding and couldn't stand up,we brought her home and after 5 weeks of massage on her legs,bathing her wounds ( holes underneath where rats had chewed at her) and helping her walk again she was re-homed. there was also a boy piggy we called Alf,brought to us by the RSPCA,he had been dumped on a common in a pile of shavings,his skin from head to toe was thick and crusty and split where he had tried to turn his neck,his eyes were closed due to infection,people thought he was some kinda of hedgehog and didn't recognise him as a guinea pig,we bathed his sore skin with soothing gel and managed to " peel off " the old crusty skin,which left him with no hair all over,we put drops in his eyes and continued with the soothing gel,after 4 weeks his hair started growing back and he put on 500gms in weight,he was placed with a baby boy guinea pig and both were re-homed a fortnight ago. There are times I have shed so many tears over the state of some of the piggies we have had come in,and still they keep coming in.

Q5) Many will remember the online campaign called "Old Father Hubbard" which was mainly brought into the open by yourself. This was where an elderly gentleman who lives locally to you was responsible for creating a hell on earth within his property. An avid breeder of many small
animals and obsessed with profit over life the animals in his care where living in horrendous conditions. Can you give us an update on this situation?

Shaz: Sadly its still going on,as far as we know he was banned from selling from his house,but thanks to 2 girls who went undercover he sold them 2 rabbits,they had been there a week or 2 previous and got a bun out that's constantly being treated by the vets,according to the girls the animals living conditions are worse than before,there was a petition sent out for people to sign but instead of it going to where it should have it mistakenly got sent to him, he now has the names and addresses of people who signed that petition and is going to those peoples houses posting threatening letters through peoples doors,the letters state the people are going to get hurt unless the campaign against him is dropped,the Police are involved as the letters are being taken to them..but while all that is going on he is -still- selling them at the Melton Auction and also buying them from the auction too, i dread to think of the cold and hunger the animals at his place are still suffering in this cold weather,it seems to be going on
forever.

Q6) Sounds very frustrating, hopefully things will get better soon. Please keep us updated! Running a rescue can be emotionally draining, how do you manage to keep it together in times of stress?

Shaz: Its extremely frustrating and as you hopefully it will get sorted soon. Sometimes I just sit down and have a good cry, I think the only way I keep it together is by thinking of those guinea pigs that need us and that if it wasn't for us most of them would probably be dead by now, I do lay awake some nights thinking about them, the little creatures get me through so much bad stuff, other times I go to the York Air Museum and chill out with the guys that work
on the Victor Bomber ( I am part of the Victor Bomber Crew up there) that takes my mind slightly off the bad things, but they're always there in the back of my mind no matter what I do, listening to some Pink Floyd helps a lot too ( as daft as that may sound)
I don't do holidays anymore as too much time is taken up with the rescue,last time I went away to Berlin,a pet sitter looked after the piggies..or should I say " should have " looked after, but sadly we came back and she hadn't done her job properly and due to not putting hay and clean water in when they needed it ( it was mid October) we lost 30 in 3 weeks,2 of them were our first piggies that we had so now I don't bother really going away anymore.

Q7) Sorry to hear that Shaz, losing a companion can be horrific especially when you work so hard to make sure they have a comfortable life! To change the subject a little :) Vegan/vegetarian diets are one of the biggest talking points of the animal rights movement, are you either vegan or
vegetarian and if so when & why did you make that change?

Shaz: I'm now Vegetarian,it changed me when i went to the Melton cattle auctions and saw how the cows and sheep etc are treated down there, all crammed into lorries,beaten with sticks and basically looking sick and ill next door to the auction is the slaughterhouse and there's a certain part where cattle are sent straight into there, queueing up to die..,also what changed me funnily enough is when we stayed at a pig farm in Wales a few years ago,and I saw how the babies were born etc and then the farmer described which ones were going for slaughter. animals deserve a go at life as much as we do,the conditions where animals are
kept before slaughter are deplorable,and I have always said if it has nerves it has feelings, every animal deserves a right to live

Q8) First of all excellent work in having a vegetarian diet, we at The AR Hub are supportive of ALL measures which help the animals no matter how big or small. How have you found the vegetarian diet and what is your favourite vegetarian meal?

Shaz: It takes some getting used to but there wasn't a lot of meat I like anyway
my favourite food is actually Waldorf Salad, I could eat it by the ton !
and Goats Cheese and Honey Ravioli, anything with salad.

Q9) Do you see yourself working towards a vegan diet or do you feel the vegetarian diet is sufficient?

Shaz: I think the vegetarian diet is sufficient for now, I don't think I can go fully vegan yet, I love my goats cheese and salads etc

Q10) While The AR Hub would recommend the vegan diet we would never alienate anyone who is vegetarian. The road to veganism is a stepping stone procedure and as long as your on that road that is the main thing :) Your involved with some online activism, how has your experience been with interacting with other activists online?

Shaz: Its been great, there are some really nice and very helpful people, and so very friendly, it certainly opens your eyes to what goes on behind closed doors.

Q11) Care to elaborate?

Shaz: Any problems or questions that I have had regarding the campaign we're doing against that certain person I actually feel like I have got backing for once rather than us trying to struggle through alone, and that everyone are like minded regarding animals rather than " oh its just an animal "

Q12) Glad your finding it so helpful. Before we wrap up this interview I just wanted to ask about funding. It can be hard financially running a rescue, how do you deal with this aspect of it?

Shaz: We really struggle big time, we had to pay out of our own money to set it all up, we had a large grant from a pet superstore but that went nowhere, we haven't even made enough yet to cover everything we paid out in the beginning. We make appeals for hay and food etc but hardly get anything in return. The only money that's made is through donations when one of the guinea pigs is re-homed and now more people are giving them up its costing more each week, it costs around £150 every 3 weeks for food, most pet food suppliers when they're emailed and asked for anything they can donate don't reply or if they do they don't seem interested, its all about what money they make and don't seem to want to help
rescues. The hutches that were bought with the grant after a year are already
leaking, the company who made them has we think gone bust so we're desperately needing
to put new roofs on the outside hutches before winter comes, most of the time it feels like no one wants to know and these animals rely on us.

Q13) Shaz maybe you could give us your website address as well as details on how to make donations?

Shaz: Ok well the website address is
http://www.freewebs.com/avalonguineapigrescue/

our address is on there and there is also a paypal address
avalonguineapigrescue@hotmail.com

there are stories and pictures on there about some of the guinea pigs we have
had come into the rescue,some sad but some with good endings

Thanks Shaz its very much appreciated. While that concludes the main interview we would like to have a little quick fire round where you choose one of 2 options :)

1) PETA or ALF

Shaz: not sure

2) Facebook or twitter

Shaz: Facebook

3) Sea Shepherd or Greenpeace

Shaz: sea Shepherd

4) War or Peace

Shaz: Peace

5) More or Less

Shaz: More

6) Winter or Summer

Shaz: Summer

7) Book or television

Shaz: book

8) Love or Hate

Shaz: Love

9) Single or Married

Shaz: single

10) Black or White

Shaz: white

The AR Hub would like to thank Shaz for taking part in this interview

Please visit the Avalon Guinea Pig rescue website and if you can make a donation

Would you like to be interviewed by The AR Hub? Would you like to suggest someone else for an interview? contact Dev ious with details :)

The AR Hub is holding a guest chat in just under 7 hours time with the lifetime activist and author Keith Mann

Find out more about Keith here or from his website From Dusk Till Dawn

Here is a brief list of global times for the chat

Australia (Sydney): 9am 24th October
Australia (Perth): 6am 24th October
Australia (Darwin): 7:30am 24th October
Canada (Halifax): 7pm 23rd October
Canada (Toronto): 6pm 23rd October
Canada (Winnipeg): 5pm 23rd October
China (Beijing): 6am 24th October
Denmark (Copenhagen): 12am 24th October
France (Paris): 12am 24th October
Germany (Berlin): 12am 24th October
Ireland (Dublin): 11pm 23rd October
Italy (Rome): 12am 24th October
Japan (Tokyo): 7am 24th October
New Zealand (Wellington): 11am 24th October
Russia (Moscow): 2am 24th October
Spain (Madrid): 12am 24th October
USA (Boston): 6pm 23rd October
USA (Washington DC): 6pm 23rd October
USA (Chicago): 5pm 23rd October
USA (Denver): 4pm 23rd October
USA (Los Angeles): 3pm 23rd October
UK (London): 11pm 23rd October

To find a more local time use the World Clock Converter

While the hub are not asking members to pre-register any questions we do expect members who attend the chat to have respect for our guest and other members. If you would like to ask Keith a question either wait for a break in chat or send a private message to our admin Lorna who will be moderating the chat. You can of course also register your interest in asking a question at any time before the chat begins by sending a message to Lorna.

ARB had Keith as out guest when the ARB Social Network was up an running, it was a very interesting and entertaining night, I am looking forward to enjoying another guest chat with Keith Mann.

To take part in the guest chat just go to the AR Hub network

www.arhub.net

If you have problems signing in or joining the network email us at contact@arhub.net

If Only AR Were A Religion

I have always said that if the animal rights movement were a religion we would receive more respect. By that I meant respect from the wider world not the actual activists within the movement. Now I say not only would we receive more respect from outsiders but we would also receive more dedication from within the movement. I look at the muslim religion with both fear and envy, the followers of this religion are so dedicated to their cause they are willing to give their lives. Can the same be said for the animal rights movement? Does it take the promise of countless virgins in paradise or the guarantee of a place in heaven to demand that dedication?

We can learn a lot from religious movements with their dedication and unity. A muslim women can claim discrimination against an employer simply for not being allowed to wear their burka, should we not also be allowed to claim such discrimination when our colleagues devour their meat filled lunches? Should we not also be discriminated against when our local restaurant advertises its availability of Halal meat? Are we not discriminated against by the McDonalds or KFC adverts flashed across our televisions daily? Of course we are! There is only one difference from the AR movement and the many religious movements out there and that is they have more determination and organisation than us!

All that separates our needs from theirs is a historic book. if the Koran or Bible said eating meat was a sin would we be seeing muslims suicide bombing slaughter houses and christians picketing the fur farms? I have no doubt this would be a reality!

What makes the situation worse is there is no proof for the existence of god, alah, Jesus or Mohammed other than a book written thousands of years ago. AR has the advantage of fact on its side, the facts of AR are there to see for anyone willing to open their eyes or minds! The great injustice against the animal kingdom by human beings has not only existed longer than any of these historic books but STILL exists today!

We need the same determination and unity from our very own activists. Liberation is a reality and if we want it we can have it we just need to work hard enough to get it, together, united and organised!

The Witness

I saw this video on Facebook


And it caught my imagination. I then followed the link to the full documentary and I'm glad I did :)

It has given me the major kick up the arse I was badly needing. After returning to the online world of AR I have quickly become downhearted by the usual BS infighting which plagues the online side of the movement. Watching this guy and listening to his simple equation of what is required of all us activists has given me a refreshing drive.

This mans struggle to get the truth out there not only brought me to tears but has again recharged my batteries and I'm ready to get going again :)

I recommend this doc to anyone who is questioning whether we are making a difference

Watch the full thing here

The Internet Hermits Who Crave A Divided Movement

After a lengthy break from the online side of the movement I recently decided to go back to it on a part time basis. My reason for having a break in the first place was I was becoming disillusioned by those I call the dividers, a group of internet hermits who have decided for reasons only known to themselves to dedicate their entire waking lives to online activity. Activity which includes the determined attempt to divide the animal rights movement and make a mockery of any activist or operation which disagrees with their theory. That theory being the sole use of education within animal rights and any other method of action being deemed not only unacceptable but extremely damaging to the movement. It probably wouldn't be so bad if they actually did go out there and do some education but their refusal to leave their blogs or websites for even the shortest of time hinders their ability to practice what they preach. Normally I wouldn't care less how fake activists such as this spend their time, its their lives after all but the endless stalking and aggressiveness from such divisive hermits made me rethink my online activity. I'm glad I chose to have a break since I managed to get out there and do a lot more ground work which is really what I am all about.

The internet is a great tool for recruitment and educational purposes but due to the highly divisive nature of certain individuals online who constantly try to hijack the online AR movement it is sadly becoming a frustrating and embarrassing method of activism. Recently since I have become involved with the AR Hub network it has come under attack from dividers such as Carolyn Bailey, Roger (Rabbit) Yates and the other administrators of the other single method network. They constantly try to brainwash the online community that other site or blog admins who are not part of their little yes sir no sir group are all for nothing but violence within the movement. This is complete and utter rubbish and if anyone buys this bullshit then they also need to have a look in the mirror. The philosophy I support and promote is the Any Means Necessary philosophy, this of course means that I fully support ALL methods of action as long as they are beneficial to both the movement and the animals. What the dividers always fail to mention is that I am fully supportive of educational and diplomatic methods of action just as much as I am supportive of any forceful methods of action. Before anyone listens to the silly attention seeking accusations from these people I suggest they do a little research first, its not difficult to find out what other online activists support and dont support.

Another act of complete and obvious division circulated by these egotistic and self righteous trolls is the portrayal that the heart and actions of any activist can be weighed by their IQ is nothing but absurd. On many occasions they have tried to ridicule other activists intelligence and bluntly state they can't possibly call themselves AR activists since they are unaware of a certain persons written philosophical work or read it in full detail. Since when did these fakes decide who was or was not part of the AR movement, who made them judge & jury?

Take this ridiculous exchange of views for example
(since first posting this link Carolyn Bailey has heavily edited the comments on her wall by deleting 90% of her own comments and one of my replies, it now doesnt make much sense)

Or this ill informed blog post from Mr Rabbit himself
(Since first posting this link Roger Rabbit decided to delete the entire blog post & comments with it only to re-post it again without the comments of course)

This is my response to that blog post from Yates (scroll down to the comments)

Also a small note on the activists who have given their time to Bailey's site as guests only to be abused and attacked afterwards, Pete Buthane & Anthony Marr amongst others! It is no secret that Bailey & Yates want you on there so that they can make you look like a fool. I have to ask myself why good activists freely provide their services to this site for them to be shamefully ridiculed and insulted. Mr Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd is their next target, for a site and administration which openly and directly insults the Sea Shepherd organisation as well as Paul himself its nothing short of a waste of an opportunity and a disgrace to hard working activists out there doing something real! Something these hermits know nothing about.



Those who know me from the days of ARB and MahKah will know Bailey and her band of merry fools have given me a rough ride in the past for no reason other than I was administrator of ARB. This involved the release of my personal telephone number to the internet and the harassment of ARB/MahKah members. This stopped once I closed ARB (note: I didnt close ARB because of them ;) but has once again raised its ugly head as I venture into a new network.

Before they spread more bullshit let me reassure you this is not a post centred on jealousy or a means of discrediting another site. I'm not interested in competition within the AR movement, I have always fully supported a united movement working together in the hope of achieving liberation for our animal friends which is why I get frustrated when dividers like this are so dedicated in keeping it divided.

I just wanted to make sure any ARB followers and Hub members knew the situation. Now lets get on with the REAL work :) hats off to all the true activists out there who are fighting the real fight and making a true difference for our long suffering friends!

Pete Bethune Hub Guest Chat Review

Yesterday on the AR Social Hub we were lucky enough to have as our guest Mr Pete Bethune, the captain of the Ady Gil sea vessel which was sank by a Japanese whaling ship during a Sea Shepherd Campaign early 2010. he then single handedly boarded the Japanese whaling ship responsible for the attack on the Ady Gil which led to his arrest and trial by the Japanese authorities. now he is back and proving himself as a worthy speaker and campaigner for a number of issues including Animal Rights. before the chat I had heard from a certain group who had entertained Pete as a guest on their site that he was a hypocritical meat eater out to make a quick buck off the back of his sudden fame within the environmental and AR communities. To be entirely honest I would not have asked Pete to be a guest on the hub so soon after he had been a guest on another site. However pete had been invited before by the WAAR administration and I fully respected that.

The guest chat with Pete didnt get off to the best of starts since due to a misunderstanding about times Pete was late coming onto the Hub. As always with these open chats (no predetermined questions) it was a little chaotic at the beginning but once things had settled down hub members asked Pete some excellent questions and I have to say he gave respectable answers.

There were questions about his time in Japanese custody to which Pete told us the Japanese were excellent hosts and very friendly, all apart from a sergeant who was a little rough with him. Then came a question about whether or not there would be an Ady Gil 2, Pete explained the problem of the costs of such an undertaking for Sea Shepherd but he was unsure at the present time whether this would be possible. he did say SS were trying to secure another ship to the value of $1 million at the moment. Then the issue of Pete's dietary lifestyle came into play, he was asked to comment on how he could be so emotionally attached to the plight of other living beings when he himself is not vegetarian or vegan. At first I have to admit his answer surprised me, he stated he had only eaten meat twice since his liberation from Japan. There was a definite silence in the hub chat after this and I am pretty sure most activists in there where thinking the same thing. How could Pete say this as if it were a good thing, how could such a prominent figure in the world of AR have such views. Pete then continued to explain that he was trying very hard to lead a full vegetarian lifestyle which would eventually lead to a fully vegan diet for him. I am sure there were still mixed emotions about this in the chat but for me if its a case of encourage or depress I always think it best to encourage. Pete said he was trying to be honest with us and I must admit I admired his bravery to come into a dedicated animal rights site like the hub and yet still announce his struggle with his dietary lifestyle. As I said in the chat yesterday I fully believe veganism to be a stepping stone journey which has to be given encouragement throughout the journey by those who have made that journey, to ridicule or repel such travellers only serves to alienate possible vegans from completing that journey.

Before I knew it we were well over the hour mark and although Pete was willing to hang around an unfortunate incident occurred with other activists (not loyal members of the hub) who decided to make the situation difficult.

Overall the guest chat with Pete Bethune was highly interesting and I am glad I was able to attend. I found Pete to be both an admirable and honest person who I hope makes that journey to veganism to enhance his AR activism. Thanks to Pete for being the Hubs guest and to the members for making it a remember-able guest chat.

As the hubs first guest chat I look forward to more :)

ARB Is Back On The Social Curcuit

ARB was approached by the administrators of the WAAR Social Network and NewAR Online with the idea of joining together onto one social network site as a dedicated online animal rights hub. I thought about it since I wasnt so sure about going back to the social network situation but thought it would be largely beneficial to both the animals and the movement, somewhere we can all concentrate our online operations in one place.

The ARB Blog will remain as will the NewAR forum. We hope you will join us at the hub and look forward to hosting some great guest chats, interviews, fun events as well as serious debates. Each site is only as good as its members and followers so really the admins can only do so much, what this online social hub will do is really up to you.

I look forward to seeing any ARB followers, past or present over there :)

Click here to check out the new hub

http://www.waararb.co.cc

Eyes Of Slaughter

Twice a week for the past few months I have driven past a local slaughterhouse, once in the morning and again in the evening. Each and every time i do pass this hell hole inside I'm screaming, for the first time the other day I seen a truck parked down the side of the house of horrors and they were unloading the sheep. I made eye contact with a few of these poor souls as they were leaving the truck and I was ill. My entire body was shaking as I wrestled with this insane situation. There were two voices in my head, one was telling me to remain calm and there was nothing I could do. The other voice was raging with anger screaming that those abused creatures needed help NOW, not when us activists manage to organise our little picket protest with our banners and posters just to be ignored by the ignorant. This is why we need more haste within the animal rights movement using Any Means Necessary. If there was an organised and structured movement capable of immediate deployment anywhere it is required then those that are suffering and need us the most would have half a chance!

In reality there simply wasnt anything I could do for those animals that day, thats the brutal truth of the matter. I'm not giving up though and fully intend action against this hell hole, its what us activists are here for and what we must do!

The Opinion Of Choice

So many times when telling someone I am vegan and why I am vegan I get the reply "well its all down to each person opinion or choice". Bollocks!!! Its nothing to do with my opinion or my choice its to do with FACT!

FACT: EVERY animal including humans wants to live a life free from suffering & abuse.

FACT: Human Beings are responsible for causing endless amounts of suffering & abuse.

FACT: Each individual has an obligation not to be part of that suffering & abuse to the best of their abilities.

FACT: If you consume meat, dairy products, use fur, use products from animal testing or play a part in the human domination of other sentient beings for financial, moral or personal gain then YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!

Animal Rights is not a religion or belief, its not a difference of opinion and its certainly not an optional choice its a lot more simple than that. Its a RIGHT! A right to live a life free from suffering and abuse.

Just like the confusion, hurt and pain a human child feels who has been subject to suffering and abuse each and every animal experiences similar emotions. The majority would never stand by and watch a human child experience such pain and emotion so why do some ignore the same amongst the animal kingdom? They say ignorance is bliss, I say ignorance is an illness. Just like depression or any mental dysfunction, ignorance allows us to create our very own matrix. Do you enjoy being robotic and part of the assembly line or can you take a second to WAKE UP and see the system for what it is?

You may choose to be ignorant or even express your own opinion but me, I'll stick with FACT!

Dont tell me its a difference in beliefs when I KNOW billions of animals are suffering and being abused every day. Its not a belief its a simple matter of fact versus fiction. You choose to believe in fiction and I know it to be FACT!!!!

Try opening your eyes and leave the robotic existence behind, become less of a number and more of a individual. You may be surprised at what you find but I can assure you that you will never look back!

ARB Joins NewAR

It has been a while since I have posted but I was asked to help out with the online arm of the NewAR organisation and after careful consideration I decided to go for it! I like the vision of NewAR as well as the direction it is trying to take Animal Rights, its no big secret I have said for some time now the animal rights movement needs more organisation and structure, it seems I'm not alone in this way of thinking (thanks NewAR ;)

Anyway I'll be working with NewAR for the foreseeable future and highly recommend any ARB followers to consider joining us. You can find out more about NewAR at the NewAR public open forum (remember if you join to use a nickname), I look forward to seeing some of you there!

http://newar.freeforums.org/portal.php

Promising New AR Network

I came across a new animal rights network which is looking promising for those of us who support any means necessary. Its called NewAR and looks and feels just as good as the old ning sites like ARB, I have signed up and will keep this blog updated with its developments!

Click here to go to the NewAR network

Ning Users BE WARNED!!!!!

I would just like to take the opportunity to warn the AR community about the custom social network website Ning. As most of you will know ARB was the first animal rights concentrated social network at the beginning of 2009 using the Ning platform. Since then a LOT of other AR Ning netoworks have popped up, some great and others not so good. At the beginning of 2010 after some serious cashflow problems Ning announced they will no longer be providing a free service with all free sites to be closed down in due course if they did not convert to a Ning paid service. After hearing about Ning ending their free service it was decided to close ARB down rather than go to the paid option however some of us decided to continue with Ning and are opting for the paid service, BIG MISTAKE!

First of all you have to realise why Ning decided to stop offering its extremely popular and successful free service, simply because its in SERIOUS financial difficulty with debts running into the millions. Ning will unlikely recover from these debts and in the end will be no more, in the meantime their trying desperately to get some cash and using underhanded tactics to achieve this.

I have spoken to many Ning creators who transferred to the paid service recently only to have a great deal of money taken from their credit cards, well over and above the advertised amount for the paid service! When these Ning creators have contacted Ning asking for their money back guess what happens? Yes they never get a reply! Its daylight robbery in the making and when Ning decide to jump ship and run (which I feel will not be long after they finally stop the free service) there will be little chance of Ning users seeing their money again.

So please consider yourself warned and spread the word, DO-NOT PAY FOR NING! There are alternatives out there, maybe not as eye catching as ning but just as useful. If I was to reccomend one then it would have to be Spruz

The important thing to remember is most of what you want to do can be done using free services on the internet, when paying for a service check and double check they can be trusted :)

Who REALLY Runs Facebook?

Here's an interesting video detailing how Facebook's privacy policy is..... Well they don't really have one. Everything on Facebook is fair game to the highest bidder and there are plenty of scary bidders out there taking advantage!