One city’s fight over biomed plans [Christian Science Monitor]
When Covance, a multinational drug-testing company, elected to build a $44 million laboratory here – where it will test chemical and medical compounds on animals – residents, as well as national and international animal rights groups, mounted a vigorous campaign to block it.
To learn more about Covance, go to http://www.protectchandler.org/

Vick Loses Another Sponsor _ Rawlings [ABC News]
Michael Vick lost another sponsor Rawlings. The sports goods company said Tuesday it was ending its relationship with the Atlanta Flacons quarterback because of dogfighting conspiracy charges.

Nike suspends Vick’s endorsement deal [The Oregonian]
A week after seemingly standing by accused dogfighter Michael Vick, Nike said Friday it is suspending without pay its multimillion-dollar endorsement contract with the embattled NFL quarterback.

Is a Vegetarian Diet Healthier? [MSN]
Evidence has been building for two decades that people who eat a mostly vegetarian diet have the upper hand. But even scientific studies may not be enough to convince meat eaters to give up their lust for flesh in exchange for a longer, more disease-free life.

Your Veggie Burger Deconstructed [MSN]
We explain the purpose of some mysterious ingredients commonly spotted on the labels of meat-free burgers.

Poaching, Encroachment Threaten India’s Leopards [ENN]
India’s leopards are under threat, with increasing numbers of the wild cats being poached for their body parts and villagers killing them for straying into human settlements, experts said.

Canada Fights Belgian Ban on Seal Trade at WTO [ENN]
Canada will request consultations at the World Trade Organization to challenge Belgium’s ban of Canadian seal products.

Paul Sentenced to 4 Years… and a Book Report [Green Is The New Red.com]
A federal judge sentenced Jonathan Paul to four years and three months in prison for his role in a 1997 fire that destroyed the Cavel West horsemeat packing plant in Redmond, Ore.

‘Vegansexuals’ Do It With Each Other [ABC]
A recent study conducted in New Zealand found that vegans — notoriously finicky eaters who don’t eat meat or animal byproducts, like eggs and dairy — don’t like the idea of swapping spit (or anything else) with those who have been dining on flesh.

I-Team Report: Poultry Farm Abuse [Fox 8 News, Cleveland]
The Fox 8 News I-Team has obtained hidden camera video shot inside one of the nation’s largest poultry slaughterhouses. (link contains graphic video footage)

Dumping pets a burden on national forests [The Huntsville Item]
Each year, unwanted cats and dogs dumped on national forest lands kill and harass native birds, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles.

Activists ask feds to confiscate Maggie [KTUU]
In a letter sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, In Defense of Animals claims the Alaska Zoo is in violation of the Animal Welfare Act.

Costa Rica monkeys lose ground to developers [MSN]
Costa Rica has lost up to half of its monkeys over the last 12 years as developers expanding into their jungle habitat isolate them in small communities, according to local scientists.

Victory for animal rights group against testing [The Independent]
An anti-vivisection campaign group won a partial victory yesterday in its High Court claim that the Government was failing in its legal duty to ensure animal suffering was kept to a minimum in UK laboratories.

Cockfighting supporters plan to sue state of New Mexico [The Albuquerque Tribune]
While Bhatka hasn’t decided whether he’ll take part, others who are indirectly connected to the state’s cockfighting industry say they plan to sue the state over the ban, which took effect last week.

Animal rights activists warn of protests against cull of 3,200 kangaroos in Australia [International Herald-Tribune]
Canberra’s administration, the Australian Capital Territory government, announced it would allow the Defense Department to shoot 2,800 kangaroos at one of its properties and use tranquilizer darts to kill another 400 on a second property, where shooting bullets its regarded as too dangerous to the public.

Scientists establish link between Foie Gras and Disease [Indian Catholic]
A University of Tennessee researcher has discovered an association between foie gras prepared from goose or duck liver and the type of amyloid found in rheumatoid arthritis or tuberculosis.

Mad cow lawsuit filed against government – by farmers [Taste Better!]
The courts have cleared the path for a class action suit against the Canadian government. The multi billion dollar suit claims that the feds’ handling of the mad cow outbreak was poorly handled, and public safety was jeopardized.

Josh Harper Finally Out of the Hole [Food Fight!]
After spending nearly 100 days in the SHU (Special Housing Unit, otherwise known as “the hole”), Josh was finally released back into his unit of the prison on Monday 6/18.

#20: Chart Your Progress. Recently I posted about how I created a chart to track my progress with each of my goals. This chart is not just for information purposes, for me to look back and see how I’m doing. It’s to motivate me to keep up with my goals. If I’m diligent about checking my chart every day, and marking dots or “x”s, then I will want to make sure I fill it with dots. I will think to myself, “I better do this today if I want to mark a dot.” Well, that’s a small motivation, but it helps, trust me. Some people prefer to use gold stars. Others have a training log, which works just as well. Or try Joe’s Goals. However you do it, track your progress, and allow yourself a bit of pride each time you give yourself a good mark.

Now, you will have some bad marks on your chart. That’s OK. Don’t let a few bad marks stop you from continuing. Strive instead to get the good marks next time.

#19: Hold Yourself Back. When I start with a new exercise program, or any new goal really, I am rarin’ to go. I am full of excitement, and my enthusiasm knows no boundaries. Nor does my sense of self-limitation. I think I can do anything. It’s not long before I learn that I do have limitations, and my enthusiasm begins to wane.

Well, a great motivator that I’ve learned is that when you have so much energy at the beginning of a program, and want to go all out — HOLD BACK. Don’t let yourself do everything you want to do. Only let yourself do 50-75 percent of what you want to do. And plan out a course of action where you slowly increase over time. For example, if I want to go running, I might think I can run 3 miles at first. But instead of letting myself do that, I start by only running a mile. When I’m doing that mile, I’ll be telling myself that I can do more! But I don’t let myself. After that workout, I’ll be looking forward to the next workout, when I’ll let myself do 1.5 miles. I keep that energy reined in, harness it, so that I can ride it even further.

#18: Join an online (or off-line) group to help keep you focused and motivated. When I started to run, more than a year ago, I joined a few different forums, at different times, on different sites, such as Men’s Health (the Belly-Off Runner’s Club), Runner’s World, Cool Running, and the running group at About.com. I did the same when I was quitting smoking.

Each time I joined a forum, it helped keep me on track. Not only did I meet a bunch of other people who were either going through what I was going through or who had already been through it, I would report my progress (and failures) as I went along. They were there for great advice, for moral support, to help keep me going when I wanted to stop.

#17: Post a picture of your goal someplace visible — near your desk or on your refrigerator, for example. Visualizing your goal, exactly how you think it will be when you’ve achieved it, whether it’s financial goals like traveling to Rome or building a dream house, or physical goals like finishing a marathon or getting a flat stomach, is a great motivator and one of the best ways of actualizing your goals.

Find a magazine photo or a picture online and post it somewhere where you can see it not only daily, but hourly if possible. Put it as your desktop photo, or your home page. Use the power of your visual sense to keep you focused on your goal. Because that focus is what will keep you motivated over the long term — once you lose focus, you lose motivation, so having something to keep bringing your focus back to your goal will help keep that motivation.

#16: Get a workout partner or goal buddy. Staying motivated on your own is tough. But if you find someone with similar goals (running, dieting, finances, etc.), see if they’d like to partner with you. Or partner with your spouse, sibling or best friend on whatever goals they’re trying to achieve. You don’t have to be going after the same goals — as long as you are both pushing and encouraging each other to succeed.

#15: Just get started. There are some days when you don’t feel like heading out the door for a run, or figuring out your budget, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do that day for your goal. Well, instead of thinking about how hard it is, and how long it will take, tell yourself that you just have to start.

I have a rule (not an original one) that I just have to put on my running shoes and close the door behind me. After that, it all flows naturally. It’s when you’re sitting in your house, thinking about running and feeling tired, that it seems hard. Once you start, it is never as hard as you thought it would be. This tip works for me every time.

#14: Make it a pleasure. One reason we might put off something that will help us achieve our goal, such as exercise for example, is because it seems like hard work. Well, this might be true, but the key is to find a way to make it fun or pleasurable. If your goal activity becomes a treat, you actually look forward to it. And that’s a good thing.

#13: Give it time, be patient. I know, this is easier said than done. But the problem with many of us is that we expect quick results. When you think about your goals, think long term. If you want to lose weight, you may see some quick initial losses, but it will take a long time to lose the rest. If you want to run a marathon, you won’t be able to do it overnight. If you don’t see the results you want soon, don’t give up … give it time. In the meantime, be happy with your progress so far, and with your ability to stick with your goals. The results will come if you give it time.

#12: Break it into smaller, mini goals. Sometimes large or longer-term goals can be overwhelming. After a couple weeks, we may lose motivation, because we still have several months or a year or more left to accomplish the goal. It’s hard to maintain motivation for a single goal for such a long time. Solution: have smaller goals along the way.

#11: Reward yourself. Often. And not just for longer-term goals, either. In Hack #12, I talked about breaking larger goals into smaller, mini goals. Well, each of those mini goals should have a reward attached to it. Make a list of your goals, with mini goals, and next to each, write down an appropriate reward. By appropriate, I mean 1) it’s proportionate to the size of the goal (don’t reward going on a 1-mile run with a luxury cruise in the Bahamas); and 2) it doesn’t ruin your goal — if you are trying to lose weight, don’t reward a day of healthy eating with a dessert binge. It’s self-defeating.

#10: Find inspiration, on a daily basis. Inspiration is one of the best motivators, and it can be found everywhere. Every day, seek inspiration, and it will help sustain motivation over the long term. Sources of inspiration can include: blogs, online success stories, forums, friends and family, magazines, books, quotes, music, photos, people you meet.

#9: Get a coach or take a class. These will motivate you to at least show up, and to take action. It can be applied to any goal. This might be one of the more expensive ways of motivating yourself, but it works. And if you do some research, you might find some cheap classes in your area, or you might know a friend who will provide coaching or counseling for free.

#8: Have powerful reasons. Write them down. Know your reasons. Give them some thought … and write them down. If you have loved ones, and you are doing it for them, that is more powerful than just doing it for self-interest. Doing it for yourself is good too, but you should do it for something that you REALLY REALLY want to happen, for really good reasons.

#7: Become aware of your urges to quit, and be prepared for them. We all have urges to stop, but they are mostly unconscious. One of the most powerful things you can do is to start being more conscious of those urges. A good exercise is to go through the day with a little piece of paper and put a tally mark for each time you get an urge. It simply makes you aware of the urges. Then have a plan for when those urges hit, and plan for it beforehand, and write down your plan, because once those urges hit, you will not feel like coming up with a plan.

#6: Make it a rule never to skip two days in a row.This rule takes into account our natural tendency to miss days now and then. We are not perfect. So, you missed one day … now the second day is upon you and you are feeling lazy … tell yourself NO! You will not miss two days in a row! Zen Habits says so! And just get started. You’ll thank yourself later.

#5: Visualize your goal clearly, on a daily basis, for at least 5-10 minutes. Visualize your successful outcome in great detail. Close your eyes, and think about exactly how your successful outcome will look, will feel, will smell and taste and sound like. Where are you when you become successful? How do you look? What are you wearing? Form as clear a mental picture as possible. Now here’s the next key: do it every day. For at least a few minutes each day. This is the only way to keep that motivation going over a long period of time.

#4: Keep a daily journal of your goal. If you are consistent about keeping a journal, it can be a great motivator. A journal should have not only what you did for the day, but your thoughts about how it went, how you felt, what mistakes you made, what you could do to improve. To be consistent about keeping a journal, do it right after you do your goal task each day. Make keeping a journal a sensory pleasure.

#3: Create a friendly, mutually-supportive competition.We are all competitive in nature, at least a little. Some more than others. Take advantage of this part of our human nature by using it to fuel your goals. If you have a workout partner or goal buddy, you’ve got all you need for a friendly competition. See who can log more miles, or save more dollars, each week or month. See who can do more pushups or pullups. See who can lose the most weight or have the best abs or lose the most inches on their waist. Make sure the goals are weighted so that the competition is fairly equal. And mutually support each other in your goals.

#2: Make a big public commitment. Be fully committed. This will do the trick every time. Create a blog and announce to the world that you are going to achieve a certain goal by a certain date. Commit yourself to the hilt.

#1: Always think positive. Squash all negative thoughts. Monitor your thoughts. Be aware of your self-talk. We all talk to ourselves, a lot, but we are not always aware of these thoughts. Start listening. If you hear negative thoughts, stop them, push them out, and replace them with positive thoughts. Positive thinking can be amazingly powerful.

1. Be honest about who you are and how you want to live your life. Don’t be ashamed if there are limits to the amount and type of activism you want to do.

2. Acknowledge your physical, emotional, material and other non-activist needs.

3. Surround yourself with mentors and others who will encourage and inspire you.

4. Avoid people who abuse you or make you feel guilty or bad in any way. This includes, but is not limited to, other activists and family members.

5. Don’t abuse yourself with constant selfcriticism. Become a compassionate observer of your own flaws.

6. Celebrate every achievement, no matter how small. It’s recognizing and acknowledging the positive, not harping on the negative, that creates growth.

7. If you need therapy, get it. If you suffer from ADD, ADHD, OCD, depression, addiction, codependency or another affliction, see a specialist and follow through on his or her recommendations. These conditions are fundamental barriers to success and happiness, so it is vital to deal with them.

8. Manage your time. Time management is a primary skill that separates successful from unsuccessful people.

9. Stop worrying about your problems and start solving them. Solving involves observation, analysis, consultation with experts and deliberate behavioral change.

10. Never give up. Sometimes success seems remote—particularly if you have a habit of worrying instead of solving—but it is never as remote as it seems. Start taking small positive steps as I outline here and in The Lifelong Activist, and you will make faster progress than you ever dreamed possible.