On Saturday, December 23, 2006, eight activists stood up for the 750,000 hens imprisoned at Wegmans Egg Farm in Wolcott, NY. Demonstrators were well-received by members of the public and employees alike at the East Avenue store in Rochester, NY. Several passing motorists expressed their support for the campaign, and several copies of "Wegmans Cruelty" were distributed to interested consumers.

Adam Durand, one of the documentarians of Wegmans Cruelty and the President of Compassionate Consumers, was sentenced to 6 months in jail on May 16, 2006 for a first time offense of trespassing by Judge Dennis Kehoe. However, Durand was released after being granted a stay of sentence nearly a month later after appealing the harsh sentence, which was an obvious attempt to silence critics of the company’s inhumane practices. Adam’s appeal is set to be ruled on in mid-February.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Additional Information: See the documentary here | Sign a petition asking Wegmans to phase out battery cages | Donate to the Legal Defense Fund

For the past 23 years I have lived in Hemlock. The surrounding environment is absolutely stunning and it makes for an experience to not soon be forgotten. Venturing down to Hemlock or Canadice lakes makes for some pretty rugged wild adventures into the woods where the bears hibernate and the bald eagles soar. Sometimes late at night I can hear the coyotes howling at the moon. The two lakes are magical spots that have magnificent ancient histories surrounding them, including but not limited to being one of the largest tracts of old growth forest in North Eastern America. These lakes and their undeveloped surroundings have also acted as the source of Rochester's drinking water for over 130 years.

On December 17th, the Democrat and Chronicle (D&C) reported that “the Monroe County Water Authority and the City of Rochester, are about to begin discussions that could lead to a radical restructuring” which could lead to a possible ownership change for Hemlock and Canadice lakes. Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy wants to permanently preserve the land which encompasses the two lakes, but has also not ruled out the possibility of development. Rumors are also around that some folks would like to develop the land and although the specific groups are not mentioned in the article it seems that one of the prime prospects for making a profit off of Hemlock Lake could come from logging companies.

Hemlock Lake and Canadice Lake should remain forever wild and the surrounding community should be able to directly participate in the decisions that most effect their lives, such as the preservation of this eco-system in their backyard. The Finger Lakes region of Upstate, NY along with the Great Lakes make for one of the highest concentrations of fresh water in the entire world and we need to protect these natural resources from further development along with promoting a more sustainable lifestyle. Read the full article here.

Additional Information: Article originally posted at York Staters | City Paper: Ferry's problems aren't like Water Authority's | The Return of the Water Scandal | Monroe County Water Authority board members' corporate and political affiliations | Atlantic (NY) Chapter of Sierra Club Refutes Arguments of MCWA for New Water Supply Plant | Will the New Webster Water Plant Help or Hurt the Community of Monroe? | Protecting New York's only remaining undeveloped Finger Lakes | Should we cut old growth trees in Hemlock? | A Case for the Preservation of the Hemlock-Canadice Watershed in a Natural State by Stephen Lewandowski

A packed St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality boasted an all-you-could-eat pancake breakfast this past Sunday in order to raise money for two of its members who are planning to head back to Haiti in order to complete and expand sanitation and water purification programs as well as social empowerment and infrastructure projects already begun last spring.

Sarah Brownell and Kevin Foos—full-time volunteers with St. Joe’s—will continue work started with the community in Borgne, Haiti, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods, and Haiti Outreach: Pwoje Espwa or H.O.P.E. when they depart Rochester sometime in January. The two volunteers plan on finishing the refurbishing of a “poor house”—a space for individuals and families who lack housing, build ecologically sound toilets, expand sanitation as well as water purification systems, expand on a photo project called “Looking Through Their Eyes”, and create an experimental garden in order to demonstrate new compost techniques. Other goals include the creation of a community center, starting a textbook lending library, and expanding education projects and health care training.

Sarah and Kevin are looking for both travel and project donations. Please e-mail Sarah at zanmitaj@yahoo.com for more information.

Also, the two volunteers will be presenting to the Rochester Committee on Latin America and others on their work in Haiti: January 3rd, 7PM at DUPC.

Additional Information: St. Joseph's House of Hospitality | Haiti Outreach: Pwoje Espwa or H.O.P.E. | Sustainible Organic Integrated Livelihoods or S.O.I.L. | Rochester Committee on Latin America or ROCLA | Haiti, Borgne's Technology Center: Sante Teknoloji

Rochester Indymedia journalists Dawn Zuppelli, Andy Dillon and their daughter Zarha, left Rochester in late November in order to cover the elections in Venezuela and get the hell away from the cold of Western New York.

According to their blog, Tales from Venezuela is "an effort to Document our Travels in Venezuela this Winter. We take off November 22, 2006 and will spend the first few weeks in Caracas to participate in Election Coverage. A new Indymedia has been Launched by folks in Venezuela to cover the election, we hope to network with these IMCistas."

Elections in Venezuela:
Andy, in their latest post titled Continuation of the Bolivarian Project Reaffirmed, stated that, "As most of the Polls predicted, Chavez won by a wide margin on Sunday December 3rd. I think many were surprised by how peacefully things proceeded. There were periodic rumors on Friday and Saturday that violence had broken out and the some of the more aggressive of the opposition would sabotage voting centers. But there was nothing to these rumors." See their entries Gringos in the MiraFlores, Political Fireworks, and Que Paso? for more about the elections.

Pineapples, Sandals, and Shopping:
Dawn elaborated on the barriers of language and culture while shopping for food in a post titled ?como se dice..?, while Zarha wrote about her love of pineapples and her sandals—"My sandals are cool, if it weren't for them my feet would be REALLY uncomfortable. Well they already were, since we walked so much and Andy and Dawn seemed to be immune to the torture of walking."

A Cowboy in Caracas: Reflections on the Venezuelan Democratic Revolution:
The Triad's host in Caracas, Charlie Hardy, spoke about poverty, power and the immense popularity of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela to a Global Exchange Delegation. You can hear the first half hour here and the second half hour here.

Multimedia/Links: Photos | Cowboy in Caracas | Venezuela Solidarity Network | Venezuelan Analysis | Hands Off Venezuela! | Friends of Brad Will | Upside Down World | Expedition Mexico