Etc.

Letter in Hadassah
The April/May issue of Hadassah magazine features a great letter to the editor from a Floridian, titled "Humane Slaughter?" "Humane slaughter is an oxymoron," says Sherry Fudim of Palm Beach Gardens. Fudim points out, "A vegetarian diet benefits boh human and animal alike."

Controversy Surrounding Jewish Iditarod Participants
According to the Forward, a Jewish historical museum in Alaska will feature an exhibit glorifying Jews who have participated in the cruel dog-sled race. In response, the Sled Dog Action Coalition noted, "Six dogs died in the 2009 Iditarod. Two dogs were on the team of Dr. Lou Packer. Dr. Packer told the Anchorage Daily News he believes the two dogs froze to death in the brutally cold winds. ... What happens to the dogs during the race includes death, paralysis, frostbite (where it hurts the most!), bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, broken bones, torn muscles and tendons and sprains. At least 142 dogs have died in the race."

Traditions on Twitter
After counting the omer on a blog in 2007, I set up a Twitter account earlier this month so that I could count the omer on Twitter. Ultimately, I decided to count the omer offline instead. On Tuesday, The Jew & The Carrot featured a post about trying to tweet the Four Questions in 140 characters or less.

Partnership Proposed
On April 3, I attended an animal law conference at NYU. Panelist Cheryl Leahy of Compassion Over Killing said she has "always thought" that kosher activists and vegan activists should work together. Leahy said that campaigns could include fighting for better labeling of products in supermarkets and getting vegan restaurants certified as kosher. I personally don't see this as a practical or likely partnership. Then again, an Israeli kosher activist recently took a page out of animal rights activists' playbook by launching a one-man I'd Rather Go Naked Than Have a Supermarket Sell Chametz on Passover campaign.

Seder for Dogs
A seder for dogs was held in Illinois this past weekend. "None of the dogs like matzoh," said an organizer. If you've read my two posts about the bark mitzvah trend, this shouldn't be too surprising. My friend's dog recently went for "bark kor cholim" classes (training dogs to participate in bikur cholim) at a local shul. The argument could be made that some Jewish traditions have gone to the dogs.