I send a thank you to all of those engaged in strong yet peaceful activism -- the heroes on the high seas and ice floes, or rescuing animals from horrendous conditions -- and to the thousands at computers, sending notes that bring a museum to shut its doors and hold a forum. Forums change thinking. And as nothing influences thinking in the modern world as powerfully as the media, I thank all those who engage in constant peaceful communication with the media. The effect of your efforts over the last few years has been enormous.

We have an opportunity to hold that cancelled forum in San Francisco on the Chronicle's editorial page. You can read the article cited above at
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/29/BAGNVSRME.DTL
And you can sent your thoughts on animal slaughter as art, in a letter to the editor, at letters@sfchronicle.com

The Chronicle notes, "Please limit your letters to 200 or fewer words ... shorter letters have a better chance of being selected for publication."

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. And please be sure not to use any comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read advance reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals" and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.