❀ The Good News ❀

. . . . . . . . . . 

Stop watching the News on T.V. filled with lies, propaganda, and made to make you feel helpless and afraid.

With all the negative news in the world, it's time to give you hope and inspiration. It's time to the weekly Good News! 

. . . . . . . . . .

Canadian Piglet Jumps from Slaughterhouse Truck to New Life

One little piggy riding down a highway in Canada decided to make a break for life. He found a small opening and jumped off a moving truck that was bound for a finishing facility. Ultimate goal: he was to be fattened up for slaughter. The piglet didn’t understand he landed on a highway full of potentially dangerous traffic.

“The people who were following that trailer saw the piglet sneak through a hole and fall off the trailer,” said Sûreté du Québec spokeswoman, Joyce Kemp, as reported by CBS News Montreal. They called police who eventually found the little guy walking along the highway. He had some bruises and abrasions on his snout from where he managed to push his way out of the truck. Otherwise, he made the great escape in good health.

Kemp reports police contacted animal control officers who eventually found a permanent place for this little piggy at Wishing Well Animal Sanctuary just north of Toronto. Brenda Bronfman, Wishing Well founder, named him Yoda. “He just loves to crawl into people’s laps and be held. He’s a little angel,” said Bronfman. “There is always somebody on the farm, and he will just be loved for the rest of his natural life.”

(Read more) 

China Announces Plans to End its Mandatory Animal Testing of Cosmetics

In a move that has come as a surprise to many, China’s Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has announced plans to end its mandatory requirements for animal testing of cosmetics products that are manufactured domestically at the beginning of next summer.

The Humane Society International (HSI) estimates that as many as 300,000 rabbits, mice and other animals may be used in chemical testing for cosmetics every year in China alone. Under the new plan, Chinese companies that are making “non-special use cosmetics,” like shampoo or perfume, will be allowed to forego animal tests and use existing data for raw ingredients or non-animal tests that have been validated by the European Union, which animal advocates hope will spare thousands of lives from unnecessary suffering.

(Read more) 

Abusive Animal Trainer Faces Federal Charges

The notorious Lance Ramos Kollman has flagrantly ignored the law for years and now he'll have to answer to federal charges. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finally filed charges against Kollman for numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

(Read more) 

Six Tons of Ivory Crushed by US in Historic Event

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crushed nearly 6 tons of confiscated illegal elephant ivory tusks, trinkets and souvenirs into gravel – permanently destroying the U.S. stockpile collected from this deadly trade. It was a highly publicized event. 

The message behind this dramatic act was unmistakable: the United States will not tolerate ivory trafficking and is committed to stopping wildlife crime. The ivory is the accumulated contraband from more than 20 years of seizures by U.S. law enforcement. And this sends a powerful message to poachers and ivory cartels everywhere, and is a huge victory for all who have worked so hard to stop the black market sale of ivory all these years. 

(Read More) 

In North Carolina the Bounty is For Hunters, Not Wolves

Following the deaths of two federally protected red wolves, the tables have been turned on hunters and a hefty reward is being offered for information leading to whoever shot and killed them.

Unfortunately, they continue to find themselves in the crosshairs. At the end of October, two red wolves were found shot to death within days of each other in Washington County after their radio collars stopped transmitting. Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is asking for help finding the guilty parties and is offering a reward that has been added to by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, Red Wolf Coalition, Humane Society of the United States and the Center for Biological Diversity, bringing the total up to $21,000.

Under the law, killing one of these wolves can result in one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

(Read more) 

Victory! Plans for Beagle Breeding Facility Rejected

In a victory for animals, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council Planning Committee voted this week to reject a controversial proposal to build a breeding facility for beagles intended for research.

Last year, public outcry helped stop similar plans in East Yorkshire. However, another proposal for a scaled-down version on the same site that’s owned by Bantin & Kingman Universal Ltd (B&K) was submitted this year and became the center of another controversy surrounding the use of dogs in research and animal testing in general.

Animal advocates, local residents and celebrities rallied against the proposal that was submitted earlier this fall by Yorkshire Evergreen, a subsidiary of U.S. company Marshall BioResources, over concerns about the cruelty inherent in breeding and keeping dogs for research and problems it would cause for residents.

(Read more) 

Tilly the Goose Gets a Prosthetic Beak Just in Time to Save His Life

Tilly has been without most of his lower beak since he was six months old after losing it in an unfortunate encounter with a barbed wire fence. Showing quite a bit of resilience, he’s been using his tongue ever since to help him eat, especially as what was left of his lower beak has continued to shrink.

Over years of use, Tilley’s tongue started to become too “hard and fibrous” so he was in need of support. Then, over the last month, “he got ‘drop-tongue,’” Hall-Coetzer says, and could have starved due to being unable to feed anymore.

Fortunately, veterinarian Andy MacGregor and his dentist friend Chris Siddons came to the rescue. For no fee, they performed extensive surgery on Tilly. The goose was placed under general anesthesia and silicone impressions were made of his upper and missing lower mandibles. Then, a new lower beak made of dental acrylic was bolted into place.

(Read more) 

Hawaii’s Legislature Approve Historic Marriage Equality Bill

Hawaii’s Legislature gave final approval to a historic marriage equality bill this week, sending it to Governor Neil Abercrombie’s desk to be signed.

While every same-sex marriage victory matters, read through the link for four reasons why the Hawaii win is extra special. 

(Read More) 

Could Indiana be the Next Big Gay Marriage Win?

While Hawaii and Illinois have been busy legalizing marriage equality, Indiana has quietly been marching toward a gay marriage battle of its own.

After bringing up a gay marriage ban every year since 2004, Republicans controlling both legislative chambers in Indiana are working toward writing the state’s gay marriage ban into the state constitution, with final legislative approval to a 2014 ballot measure looking likely to pass early next year.

(Read more) 

Do 30 Air Squats and Get a Free Subway Ride in Moscow

In order to encourage Russian citizens to get in better shape, the government has come up with an unusual incentive: commuters in Moscow will receive a free subway ticket, which costs 30 rubles or $0.92 USD, if they can perform 30 air squats in front of special automated transit machines that can tell if you’re cheating.

(Read more) 

Canadian Activist Uses Her Art to Fight the Keystone XL Pipeline

When it comes to tackling climate change and the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, Canadian Franke James doesn’t mince words — or pictures. As both an artist and author, she has combined her right-brain talents with her left-brain determination to raise awareness about the impact that burning fossil fuels has on our planet.

(Read more) 

The Green Party of Canada had the greatest quarter-to-quarter increase -- at 11.2% -- of any Canadian political party!

This was in a quarter in which Stephen Harper’s Conservative party saw a 29.4% decrease in contributions -- considering the Senate-PMO Scandal that really isn’t much of a surprise.

Hurrah for Canada moving forwards! 

5 Awesome School Gardens Helping Kids Eat Healthy

 an increasing number of U.S. school districts are participating in Farm to School programs, reflecting the growing popularity of local foods. According to the National Farm to School Network, 3,812 school districts serving nearly 21 million students in all 50 states now have Farm to School programs, compared to just 400 school districts in 22 states in 2004.

This is amazing! A welcome antidote to the headlines about school kids eating pink slime and other nasty stuff.

(Read more) 

NRDC Victory! Final Yellowstone Winter Use Plan Released

The National Park Service has announced a final plan for snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park that will greatly reduce air and noise pollution -- providing wildlife, visitors and staff a safer and quieter winter season. 

(Read More) 

. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks for reading this week's "Good News!" Join us every week and feel inspired! 

Be sure to sign up for Care2's newsletter for some real news around the globe, to make a change, and to open up your mind to the Real World!

See that your actions count and get out there and do good! Be the Change!  

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

❀ The Good News ❀

. . . . . . . . . . 

Stop watching the News on T.V. filled with lies, propaganda, and made to make you feel helpless and afraid.

With all the negative news in the world, it's time to give you hope and inspiration. It's time to the weekly Good News! 

. . . . . . . . . .

Israel Will Trap, Neuter and Return 45,000 Street Cats

Street cats are everywhere in Israel, in huge numbers, and they tend to be dirty and skinny, often with visible skin infections and eye problems. Their lifespans average just one or two years, compared to 13-17 years for cats who live indoors or in managed colonies.

The outlook for street cats in Israel is improving thanks to changing attitudes. The Israeli government just committed 4.5 million NIS (about 1.27 million in U.S. dollars) to trap, spay or neuter, and release 45,000 feral cats before June 2014. There are an estimated 39,000 street cats in the Tel Aviv area alone — just one shelter, the SPCA, takes in 200 kittens every day during breeding season — so the government’s plan is not a comprehensive solution.

Nonetheless, it is a huge step forward.

(Read more) 

Readers Go On a Mission to Save Kindly Barber and His Stray Cats

This is one of those heart-warming stories about the goodness of people and what they do for each other as well as for animals. Manuela comes  by Hussein's Barber shop in Turkey every week where they feed the alley cats--which is often scorned there in Turkey with the overpopulation problems. So when Hussein's Barber shop was closing down due to lack of rent, there was sadness for the man and for his four-legged friends.

But as fate would have it,  there is something better in store for the barber and his cats. Although animal rescue is thought of as an art exclusively devoted to the four-legged, it is often about saving people as well. As Manuela’s Facebook supporters read her post about the barber’s fate, there is a swell of support. One after another, readers begin making small contributions to help...

(Read the full heart-warming story here) 

Victory! Toronto Zoo’s Elephants Arrive at Sanctuary

After years of lobbying, debating, delays and a seriously long road trip, animal advocates are celebrating a victory with the safe arrival of the Toronto Zoo’s three remaining elephants at a sanctuary.

The three elephants — Iringa, 44; Toka, 43; and Thika, 33 — who were born at the zoo, embarked on a long journey across the continent from Ontario, Canada, to their new home at the Performing Animal Welfare Society’s (PAWS) sanctuary near Sacramento, Calif., where they will spend the rest of their lives being cared for in peace.

A huge thanks to the Care2 members who signed petitions demanding the elephants’ removal from the zoo. Their arrival at PAWS would not have been possible without the continued support of concerned citizens like you.

(Read more) 

Bystander’s Kindness Saves Terrified Orangutan from Jeering Crowd

Sometimes it takes only a simple act of kindness to change an animal’s life. So it was for Ael, an orangutan whose only offense was searching for food near a village in Borneo.

Ael was captured while foraging in a field that had been cleared for planting rice. It’s not clear why they decided to capture her, but it took six men to grab Ael, hold her down and secure her. Then they dragged her back to their village for a little fun. The poor orangutan became a public spectacle — an object of curiosity and degradation. Villagers crowded around her, jeering and taunting to get a rise out of her. Word spread, and soon people from other nearby areas arrived on motorcycles to get in on the excitement.

Poor Ael had little chance of living her life as anything other than a roadside attraction until one compassionate villager decided enough was enough. This kind villager, whose name we don’t know, contacted Argitoe Ranting. Ranting works for International Animal Rescue (IAR) as its field manager for IAR’s project in Ketapang, on the island of Borneo. Ranting also oversees rescues in the area and has a great deal of experience working with orangutans. He arrived on scene to find Ael tied to the tire, struggling to break free and frightened for her life.

Ranting called his team, realizing immediately he had a rescue situation on his hands. The team removed her from the scene to their 60-acre orangutan rehabilitation center in West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.

(Read the full story) 

New York School’s Plan to Go Vegetarian Is an All-Around Success

A public school in Queens, N.Y. is the first in the nation to offer a 100 percent vegetarian lunch menu. That’s right, no more sloppy joes or scary meatloaf. Instead 400 students in grades pre-K through 3 choose from options like organic roasted tofu, braised black beans and falafel.

Before you get upset about the school forcing kids to eat vegetarian, know that students are still allowed to bring any lunch item from home that they want, including meat. The funny, and truly awesome part is, about 90 percent of the students voluntarily choose the veggie-based cafeteria food. And the results have been phenomenal.

After one semester, the number of students at the school who were classified as overweight and obese dropped 2 percent and is still falling, according to school officials. They’ve also documented improved attendance, higher test scores and better attention spans in the wake of the change.

(Read more) 

VICTORY! Fox News North will not be on every TV in Canada

SumOfUs helped keep the racist and biased “Fox News North”, or Sun News, off our TVs. Over 20,000 SumOfUs supporters called on the Canadian regulators (CRTC) to reject the channel’s request for mandatory carriage and a $20 million subsidy -- and they listened! The rejection of this ridiculous bid will hopefully mean that the commercially unviable Fox News North and its vitriol will soon be gone from Canadian airwaves, forever.

(Read more) 

Thanks For Your Help:  SumOfUs filled the war chest to fight Harper’s secret trade deal

SumOfUs: "For the past year, Prime Minister Harper has been trying to ram through his secretive Canada-China FIPA trade deal. When it was introduced, Harper expected he would face no opposition and be able sign the deal in weeks. But thanks to our opposition and strong partners like LeadNow, we have delayed the deal for longer than anyone thought possible.

The next battle is a crucial legal fight that, with our support, the Hupacasath First Nations is waging. Thousands of us donated to support the Hupacasath as they take the Harper government to court to challenge the constitutionality of FIPA. If we keep up this crucial fight together, we can defeat FIPA once and for all and save Canadian democracy."

Victory! River Island (UK) and Woolworths (AU) sign the Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord!

SumOfUs has called on major apparel companies to join the independently-monitored Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh to ensure that their clothes weren't being made under deadly conditions that might repeat mistakes in the past. 

Over 90 companies have now signed the landmark accord. In breaking news, major Australian brand Woolworths has announced it will also join the Accord, after months of pressure from SumOfUs and friends at Oxfam Australia, the Uniting Church and elsewhere. In the UK, more than 16,000 SumOfUs members and their allies targeted major UK brand River Island, demanding it stop dragging its feet and sign the Accord -- and it listened! River Island was one of the last major UK holdouts on the Accord, so it’s a huge win for Bangladeshi workers and all consumers everywhere!

Cameroon Elections Catapult Women to Power

In Cameroon, defenders of gender equality and the empowerment of women today have a reason to celebrate. This follows the announcement of the results of the legislative elections held on September 30. The results of the elections have ensured that women now hold 56 of the 180 deputy positions in the National Assembly, making up 31.1 percent of the legislature.

The percentage exceeds the threshold set out in the Beijing Plan of Action. It is even more significant since the numbers have more than doubled. The previous legislature had only 25 women deputies out of 180, a mere 13.8 percent.

The advocacy efforts were already underway some years ago and were further spurred by UN Women’s strategic plan for gender and elections that received national approval on June 12, 2012.

(Read more) 

Celebrating the 1,000th Sierra Club Solar Home

The Sierra Club and its solar home partner Sungevity reached a clean-energy milestone when the 1,000th rooftop solar array was installed as part of the Club's Solar Homes Program. The program makes it easy for homeowners to go solar, save money, and curb carbon pollution. 

(Read more and join the solar revolution!) 

Asheville, NC, Moves Beyond Coal 

Last week the city council in Asheville, NC, voted unanimously to move the city off coal-fired electricity. Duke Energy's coal plant in Asheville is the largest source of carbon pollution in western North Carolina, and the city will now work with Duke to phase out the use of coal there. Asheville joins Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, and a growing number of other cities transitioning to clean energy.

Los Angeles Could Become the Country’s Largest GMO-Free Zone

Two Los Angeles City Councilmen have introduced a measure [PDF] that would ban the growth, sale and distribution of genetically engineered seeds and plants within the city limits. If passed, Los Angeles would have the illustrious honor of being the country’s largest GMO plant-free zone.

The councilmen, Paul Koretz and Mitch O’Farrell, say they proposed the ban in the hopes of protecting local gardens and homegrown food from GMO contamination. ”We don’t want to consume mystery food,” O’Farrell told The Huffington Post. “Since there’s currently no requirement, anyone could unwittingly purchase a genetically modified product and not know it. I think that’s irresponsible.”

(Read more) 

. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks for reading this week's "Good News!" Join us every week and feel inspired! 

Be sure to sign up for Care2's newsletter for some real news around the globe, to make a change, and to open up your mind to the Real World!

See that your actions count and get out there and do good! Be the Change!  

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

☆ BLACK OUT SPEAK OUT! ☆

About BLACK OUT SPEAK OUT (blackoutspeakout.ca):

Launched on May 7, Black Out Speak Out (or Silence, on parle!, in French) invites organizations, businesses and citizens from across Canada to darken their websites on June 4, and speak out against changes introduced in the federal government’s budget act (C-38) by darkening their websites and taking other actions on June 4.

Black Out Speak Out is a joint project of CAPE, CPAWS, David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Environmental Defence, Equiterre, Greenpeace, Nature Canada, Pembina Institute, Sierra Club Canada, West Coast Environmental Law, and WWF Canada. (For a full list of partners, visit http://blackoutspeakout.ca/partners.php)

Please head over to http://blackoutspeakout.ca/ to find out what you can do, sign petitions, and speak out! 

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

‘Occupy Wall Street’ Issues First Official Declaration; and how this stands for us All!

I felt this was worth sharing with you all. I was actually in New York City during this Wall Street Occupation but for once was out of the loop with what was going on. I didn't know this was going on until the day I was leaving. I wish I could have taken part in this peaceful protest but I also know that people have reached a point of frustration and want change from their governments and from this system that is clearly not working. I think we are going to see a lot of amazing changes very soon. I believe this movement is gaining momentum and this is just the beginning. The list below I feel stands for everyone so let's be united in this. ;) 

On Thursday night, Occupy Wall Street participants voted on and approved the first official “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City.” It it reprinted in its entirety below.

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

I witnessed Something today...People Approving Abuse.

I witnessed something today. Something amazingly simple yet so profound. I witnessed child abuse.

Abuse is a topic that hits close to home for lots of people, myself included, which is why it really rattles my nerves. I personally have zero tolerance for it. End of story. But an experience I had opened my eyes to something I had not really noticed before. Perhaps I feel compelled to share this story because you don't actually often see abuse happening right before your eyes. Or perhaps it was the mere alarm and disappointment I had by people's reactions.

It's strange to think that you could experience something so unsettling when doing something as simple as going out to a movie. My husband and I experienced just this.

A father has his son cornered against the wall. Tears are in the 14-year old's eyes, though you can tell he's trying to hold them back. He looks frightened. Fury, anger; a power-trip rages in the Father. He says he's going to smack the child across the face.

People are standing around; watching, knowing that it's wrong, but are doing nothing.

Apparently this display has been going on for twenty minutes by the time we enter. Twenty minutes of people watching a Man verbally abuse and threaten his son, and, essentially, approving it.

(Cory--my husband):

What is everyone scared of? I know I'm not. I took a stand today. I hope I made the right call. Perhaps it wasn't my call to make. I did what I hope someone would do for me in the same situation. I know if I were to close my eyes and pretend like it didn't happen I might as well be the criminal.

Part of a note he wrote regarding the situation, and how he was the only one to actually confront the Man. He called the man on his actions, told him that what he was doing was not OK. He tried to do something about it, took a stand against what everyone else was just standing and silently but blatantly watching.

Watching abuse happen and doing nothing is telling the abuser that you are supporting their actions. Not only are you telling the abuser that it is OK to be verbally abusive and threatening, but you are telling the abused that as well.

We are the voices of our society. And we can not keep supporting this behaviour. Putting a stop to Abuse is like anything else, you have to have a voice. And you have to say No.

Child abusers need to know that it can not and will not be tolerated. I did something today that I hope will inspire change. Maybe not for everyone but maybe for one.

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.