By Nickie Wang

Joel Torre is a Sabungero in an indie film

If you’re thinking of sending out advertisements for a cockfight through the mail, you should be aware that a new regulation allows the postal service to refuse to deliver it.

The same rules also covers advertisements for a “knife, a gaff, or any other sharp instrument attached, or designed or intended to be attached, to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture.”

Animal fighting is barbaric. And it is illegal in most places. The underground nature of animal fighting makes one wonder how many cockfight promoters actually advertise their events by putting fliers in the mail. Wouldn’t that just make it easier to get arrested?

If so, the USPS should be encouraging such advertising, not banning it. Driving animal fights further underground only makes them harder to eradicate.

Good News about Animal Rights in 2009

1.Largest Dog Fighting Operation Rescue

In July a coordinated effort between humane organizations and law enforcement agencies led to the raid and closure of dog fighting operations in four states.  More than 20 people were arrested and nearly 500 dogs were rescued.

The raid was historic on many levels.  It was the largest multi-state raid in U.S. history and it was the first time the temperament of every dog was evaluated by experts to determine which pit bulls could be rehabilitated.  Two-thirds of the former fighting dogs were placed with rescue groups or in foster homes – with the goal of adopting them into new families.

2.Two More States Added Puppy Mill Laws

Both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were notorious for the large number of puppy mills in their states. Their lack of supervision for commercial breeders led to the suffering of many dogs. But this year both states implemented laws to protect the well-being of the dogs and put restrictions on the owners of puppy mills.  They joined Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington which already have laws in place.

3.President Obama Reverses Change to Endangered Species Act

Before leaving office in 2008, President Bush made a last minute change to the Endangered Species Act. It enabled government agencies to decide on their own whether new dams, logging or mining operations posed a threat to endangered animals.  Prior to this amendment new projects had to have a “threat assessment” from government biologists.  President Obama reversed this modification keeping the Endangered Species Act straight on course.

 4.California Bans Declawing

A funny thing happened in the State of California this year when a statewide law was passed that prohibited local municipalities from voting on bans to declaw cats.  Apparently the local cities and counties didn’t like being told what to do by the state, so during the small window of time when the law was passed and when it went into effect, many town boards quickly voted for local ordinances.  This led to an overwhelming number of new laws that will protect cats from the painful surgery – now and in the future.

5.Cockfighting Illegal in all 50 States

When the legislature in Louisiana voted this year to ban cockfighting, it happily brought all 50 states into compliance. Now cockfighting is an illegal activity in every state in the country.

To read the whole article, go to: http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/favorite-animal-rights-achievements-in-2009/

Please share your good news about the environment, animal rights, human rights or even from your own family. This is the time of year to spread good cheer!

Today, one would be hard pressed to find someone who did not know who the Filipino boxing champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao was, or anyone who had never heard the name before. After an almost complete domination of the best fighters of his time during the past decade (we’re all waiting for the Mayweather fight), it can easily be said that Pacquiao is already one of the greatest boxers of all time. And his meteoric rise in popularity over the recent years has greatly increased his profile, and that of the country that he calls home- the Philippines. But in terms of a history of boxing in the Philippines, very little information is available. However, the origin of Philippine boxing can be traced to the year 1898, when Americans first began their occupation of the country. As early as 1899, a pair of boxing gloves was reportedly found abandoned in a village in Luzon, apparently left by an African American rebel soldier who began teaching the locals how to box.

Following the war with Spain, American government officials started trying to find ways to “civilize” the Philippines, in order to begin their process of benevolent assimilation. One way to do so was to implement their version of American sporting life, as the Philippines’ current most popular form of sport at the time was cockfighting, which in the Americans’ eyes was quite the uncivilized and cruelly violent practice. In failing to successfully implement the national pastime of baseball within the sporting language of the Filipinos, American soldiers turned to introducing boxing, which was more closely associated with cockfighting and the one on one competition that took place within the ring (and also was another opportunity for gambling, where people could bet on the matches similar to the way they would place bets on the bird that would survive the cockfight).

This was also an opportunity for the Americans to help remedy certain things such as dissention, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, and various diseases among their ranks of Navy soldiers and Army soldiers. Boxing was a way to build character and keep them focused on training, which would keep their minds and bodies away from particular vices that would lead them to such negative predicaments. Furthermore, following the initial occupation of the archipelago by the United States, the naval fleets that usually consisted of Japanese cooks and stewards began to change in having the men replaced with Filipinos. In turn, these Filipinos began to take up “shipboard boxing”, with some, such as Filipino boxing pioneer Eddie Duarte, fighting abroad and later around home. The popularity of boxing later trickled back to the mainland, where boxing rings and arenas began popping up… and the rest is history.

[PV]

About three weeks ago, the Toronto office of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) launched an education campaign to raise awareness of the cruelty to animals inherent in blood sports such as bullfighting, bear baiting and cockfighting. One of their eye-popping print ads showed up today in Metro news, the favourite free paper of transit riders.

The smart campaign materials are designed to mimic the old-style circus event posters. At first glance these posters and advertisements seemingly publicize bullfighting, bear baiting and cockfighting events; however on closer inspection they contain clever messaging that indicates these activities are cruel and barbaric.

Created largely pro-bono by award-winning Toronto advertising agency TBWA, the campaign is designed to pique the interest of those individuals who might be attracted to attend these kinds of events with an aim to show them what truthfully happens at these events – hundreds of thousands of animals suffer unnecessarily and die solely for human entertainment.

Exotic Fights dot com.

More about the campaign.

More about the blood sports .

In the United States, cockfighting is considered as a form of animal abuse by many animal rights groups and by the government. In many major states, cockfighting is already banned and anyone who is caught fighting roosters or breeding them for the purpose of fighting is sent to jail. This is indeed a sad plight for many cockfighters and breeders in the United States and most especially to the many gaffers, feeders and feed makers who are dependent on cockfighting as their source of living.

(Roosters fighting in the United States. Cockfighting is already banned in most parts of the U.S)

Here in the Philippines, cockfighting is not considered a form of animal abuse, but rather a gentleman’s sport. Why? If you have the time to visit a derby or even a local “tupada”, you will understand. Bets are squared by trust, not by some sort of contract. There is a silent agreement between the two parties and whatever the result is, they accept. Unlike politicians who do nothing but argue and yell at each other, ready to tear each other apart for their ideals, the cockpit is the place where gentlemen talk and agree without violence.

How can you call cockfighting a form of animal abuse when breeders spend thousands of money buying feeds, vitamins and all other stuff to make sure that their feathered champion is comfortable? By nature, roosters FIGHT with each other, not like dogs or horses that are forced to do something that is not natural to them. If roosters beating each other to death is animal abuse, then killing cows or pigs is also animal abuse when we humans are dependent on KILLING these animals for our daily nutrition. I wonder if these animal rights people know this?

We welcome our American brethren who have come to the Philippines to enjoy their favorite past-time. And may cockfighting remain here in our country.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wanted to know if Congress could ban a “Human Sacrifice Channel” on cable television. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked about videos of cockfighting.

“What about hunting with a bow and arrow out of season?” Justice John Paul Stevens asked.

“What if I am an aficionado of bullfights,” Justice Antonin Scalia wondered, “and I think, contrary to the animal cruelty people, they ennoble both beast and man?”

And Justice Stephen G. Breyer asked about “stuffing geese for pâté de foie gras.”

The rapid-fire inquiries came in an exceptionally lively Supreme Court argument on Tuesday in the most important free speech case this term.

The case concerns the constitutionality of a 1999 federal law that bans commercial trafficking in “depictions of animal cruelty.” The number and variety of questions suggested that most of the justices thought the law was written too broadly and thus ran afoul of the First Amendment.

In defending the 1999 law, Neal K. Katyal, a deputy solicitor general, cautioned the justices against pursuing an “endless stream of fanciful hypotheticals.”

Mr. Katyal reminded the justices that the case before them concerned videos of dogfights and that the law itself was mainly prompted by so-called crush videos, which cater to a sexual fetish. Those videos show women in high heels stepping on small animals.

But the 1999 law by its terms applies to audio and video depictions of all sorts of activities in which “a living animal is intentionally maimed, mutilated, tortured, wounded or killed” if that conduct was illegal where the depiction was sold.

The case before the court, United States v. Stevens, No. 08-769, arose from the conviction of a Virginia man for selling videos of dogfights. The man, Robert J. Stevens, was sentenced to 37 months in prison. The federal appeals court in Philadelphia last year overturned Mr. Stevens’s conviction and struck down the law on First Amendment grounds.

Patricia A. Millett, a lawyer for Mr. Stevens, urged the justices to follow suit, saying the law could not be rendered constitutional by narrowing it through judicial interpretation.

“There is interpreting and then there is alchemy,” Ms. Millett said, “ and I think this statute requires alchemy.”

The law does exempt materials with “serious religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical, or artistic value.”

But several justices indicated a discomfort with the vagueness of that standard and with entrusting the question of a work’s “serious value” to prosecutors and juries.

“Could you tell me what the difference is between these videos and David Roma’s documentary on pit bulls?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Mr. Katyal, referring to “Off the Chain,” an exposé of dogfighting. “David Roma’s documentary had much, much more footage on the actual animal cruelty than the films at issue here.”

Mr. Katyal responded that “the line will sometimes be difficult to draw.”

Justice Scalia said the law violates the First Amendment by treating speech condemning depictions of animals fighting more favorably than speech celebrating the fighting. Mr. Stevens’s “message is that getting animals to fight is fun,” Justice Scalia said.

The hypothetical Human Sacrifice Channel came up late in the argument. Justice Alito described how it would work.

“Suppose that it is legally taking place someplace in the world,” he said. “I mean, people here would probably love to see it. Live, pay per view, you know, on the Human Sacrifice Channel.”

Ms. Millett haltingly said that Congress could not ban such a channel solely on the ground that it was offensive.

Mr. Katyal, to the apparent surprise of some of the justices, agreed, saying the First Amendment would not permit a law banning such a channel unless it could be shown that the depictions made the sacrifices more likely. The distastefulness of the depictions alone would not justify the ban.

The justices did not seem inclined to expand categories of speech outside the protection of the First Amendment, notably obscenity and child pornography, to encompass violent images unrelated to sex.

In child pornography, Justice Ginsburg said, “the very taking of the picture is the offense — that’s the abuse of the child.” In dogfighting, by contrast, she continued, “the abuse of the dog and the promotion of the fight is separate from the filming of it.”

Ms. Millett agreed. “If you throw away every dogfighting video in the country tomorrow,” Ms. Millett said, “dogfighting will continue.”

Justice Breyer suggested that Congress would be able to draft a more carefully tailored law focusing on crush videos and the kinds of animal cruelty that are illegal in all of the states.

“Why not do a simpler thing?” Justice Breyer asked. “Ask Congress to write a statute that actually aims at those frightful things it was trying to prohibit.”

“I am not giving Congress advice,” he added, “though I seem to be.”

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/us/07scotus.html?_r=1&hp

I love this line: Los Angeles (AP): “The chickens have come home to roost for Los Angeles city dwellers who keep roosters.” Trying very had to avoid political incorrectness status by not mentioning who exactly is keeping roosters in the city, the line (god bless it) does its best to invite us to read between the words (after all, looks what’s happening to Lou Dobbs). Yes, I’m afraid LA is very near official third world status. The law will now allow only one rooster to a household (good luck!)…The law was given some impetus (finally) by complaints over noise and hygiene and concerns over illegal cockfighting. Look next for LA to be forced to ban bullfighting in its parks….Imagine LA in twenty years…er, on second thought, don’t. Read article here.

Pisgah, AL—A feud between two rival families turned into a full-scale riot yesterday outside city hall. Over 150 family members were booked on assault and battery charges in the wake of the madness. Baseball bats, tire irons, rocks, tree limbs and virtually anything within arm’s reach was used as weapons in the riot. Several people were maimed and injured in the cloud of violence, including innocent bystanders; at least five are in critical condition. The feud is said to be centered on the slaughter of a previously undefeated champion rooster in an underground cockfighting ring.

Funeral Expenses Didn't Run Much...

Poor South Carolina… We Georgia fans know the pain of losing your mascot, so I penned this article to submit to a newspaper in Greenville.

The University of South Carolinas’ beloved mascot “Cocky” passed away last night from a sudden illness. Cocky had an incredible run at USC, leading his storied program to more bottom feeder finishes of the conference than the majority of mascots in Division 1. His memory will be cherished by the legions of fans in the Cock Nation.

Cocky rose from humble beginnings. Hatched in a mobile home park just outside of Columbia, Cocky was the son of Martha and Jonas “Big Spur” Cockenstein, a pair of Bantam Red Gamecocks who had fled their native West Virginia home to escape persecution after the introduction of a Zaxby’s restaurant to the area.

As a young cock, after his father suffered an untimely passing by being rendered into dog food, Cocky found himself the sole provider for his mother and extended family. Times were hard. There was a flock of young beaks to feed. Something had to be done. So, Cocky did what any good son would do, he laced up his silver spurs and took to the ring.

The crowds went crazy for this young cock. He was the hottest thing on the cockfighting circuit since Elmer Randolph brought a port-a-john in his truck that doubled as a beer cooler. Many foes entered the ring to square off against Cocky, and none exited with their lives.

Cocky’s unparalleled success in the South Carolina state pastime made him an overnight sensation. Soon toothless yokels from around the state were coming from far and wide to lay down their welfare check and place a bet on Cocky. It was at one of these events where Cocky was approached by the dean of USC.

The dean made Cocky an offer he couldn’t refuse, come back to Columbia, retire from the blood sport that had made him famous, live in peace, and become the symbol of SEC football futility. Cocky jumped at the chance, and the rest, as we all know, is history (or lack thereof).

Cocky was no doubt a great mascot, but alas, we all pay the price for money and fame. Everyone is aware that Cocky had his fair share of personal issues, a different hen every night, the late night clubbing, a thugged out entourage, a taste for cheap scotch, and a well chronicled methamphetamine addiction.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Cocky were close, and Sanford may well have used his influence to prevent Cocky from serving time for his multiple offenses. Cocky and Sanford are reported to have made several trips to Argentina to obtain the “services” of the local female population.

Though Cocky never conquered his personal demons in his lifetime, the joy he brought to the fans of Cock Nation far outweighs any public embarrassment he (or our team) may have suffered.

Rest in peace Cocky, you will always be remembered as the mascot who led us to our greatest victory – The Outback Bowl. May your flight to the great chicken coop in the sky be as divine as the time we shared together here in Columbia.

Right Click to Download

Trying a new format…. Right click on the icon on the left to download the audio, courtesy of RTRFM.

You get more from the audio… it’s not always funny, but it is always recorded at 7.15am, Tuesday mornings… and that’s a weird time.

In this instalment (a day late, a buck short), thoughts on exploding tables, Today Tonight, cockfighting and the importance of good nasal hygeine.

Thanks also for your enquiries about last night’s stand-up gig… I had fun and learnt more about what to do next time…

LYRICS TO THIS WEEK’S SONG BIT

Somewhere, there’s a swine
Who gave a human the flu
Next thing, pigs might fly
Now the virus is airborne too…

We’re all gonna die
Says the lady who reads the news
Better not get it,
The Avian Swine Flu…

Nettie, who was rescued from a cockfighting operation. Photo by Marji Beach

Chickens. Intelligent, inquisitive, loving, loyal, courageous. They’re also victims of some of the worst abuses in animal agribusiness. From battery cages to the broiler shed, chickens suffer to feed humanity’s hunger for cheap animal protein. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, chicken flesh has become the most frequently consumed meat in the US, and consumption continues to increase every year, with nearly nine billion chickens slaughtered annually in the US. Egg producers, meanwhile, confine egg-laying hens in cages so small the birds cannot move a single wing. As you read these words, about 300 million hens are languishing in battery cages in the US. (For some idea of how a battery hen lives, please see this virtual battery cage.) Moreover, laying hens are forced to endure such painful mutilations as debeaking and detoeing. Chickens raised for meat (“broilers”) face brief but grim lives in which they pack on so much weight in 45 days that their legs and organs cannot properly support their bodies. Just six weeks old, these birds are still babies when they are slaughtered.

Agribriz isn’t the only abuser of these sensitive birds, however. Cockfighting, though illegal throughout the US, still goes on, pitting one rooster against another so their exploiters can gamble on the outcome. The outcome is often death for one or both of the birds. To maintain their supply of fighting birds, called gamecocks, cockfighters keep breeding hens and raise the male chicks to become fighters.

Fortunately, activists around the world are not only campaigning against the cruelties inherent in agribusiness and animal fighting ― they’re helping to provide loving homes to birds rescued from these enterprises. Here are a few of their stories and the birds who have touched their hearts.

Apricot – Rescued from a Broiler Shed

“We did a broiler rescue on April 20,” says Patty Mark, founder of Animal Liberation Victoria, “and one of the birds had what I refer to as ‘splayed legs,’ meaning both legs are not able to function at all, and the legs just sit out in front of the bird, and she or he can’t stand or bear weight or walk. The vet always puts these birds down, and I’ve lost count of how many of them we’ve rescued over the years who are basically fairly healthy; they just can’t bear weight or walk and tragically, they get put down.

“This splayed-leg bird from April 20th I called Apricot. I felt so sorry for Apricot, as the other 13 birds were all in pretty poor condition but all mobile, including the three with badly twisted and crippled legs who couldn’t and still can’t use their one crippled leg ― they hop around on their other leg. And poor Apricot just sat in her basket watching the others every day. I had to hand feed and water her and clean her bottom daily. She was always so grateful and made such sweet little noises. So I started to get attached to her and put off taking her to the vet.

“On about day 12 after the rescue when I got up one morning she wasn’t sitting in her basket. I freaked and thought, ‘Where’s Apricot?’ I looked about and noticed her amongst the others, and she was standing! Only for a few seconds, but she stood up and held her weight. I got teary eyed. Anyway, as the days have passed, she is walking about with a hobble, but walking around, and right now she’s outside enjoying a mild autumn day with the others in the sunshine. I’m overjoyed.”

Nettie ― Rescued from a Cockfighting Operation

“Her plight became public after police broke up a large cockfighting operation,” says Marji Beach of Animal Place, a sanctuary and education center in California. “Hundreds of roosters from across the state were pitted against one another in deadly fights. She wasn’t a fighter but a breeder; her existence served to create more fighters.

“All the roosters were euthanized ― an unfair end for such beautiful birds. Animal Place was given custody of the hens and chicks remaining at the property. It was with sadness and hope that we arrived, nets in hand, to capture more than a hundred birds. The going was rough: exposed wires, broken fencing, sharp metal and glass all posed serious hazards to us and the birds.  

“Toward the end of the second night, I spotted her in the corner of a barn stall. She was white with brown speckles. I stayed silent and watched her, knowing that she associated human voices with terror and fear. As I approached, she made deep growling sounds and fluffed her feathers. She wouldn’t move, rooted there by a deep, maternal drive to protect the three babies cheeping beneath her. It was easy to pick her up, but not so easy to remove her beak from my hand!

“Chickens from fight busts are different than the hens we’ve rescued from egg-laying operations. They aren’t petrified of the world, they have their beaks, they know how to survive. But they have also been exposed to more disease and parasites. We lost half the chicks to respiratory diseases and several of the adults

“The birds have never known that they could have a constant supply of good food and clean water. They’ve never known people to be nice to them. It was just as miraculous watching these hens learn to trust as it was watching former egg-laying hens learn to dust bathe for the first time. It was harder finding homes for these hens. They are normal chickens who produce a normal number of eggs per year, maybe 40 or 50. Adopters who picked these hens did so out of a desire to save a life, not because they wanted eggs.

“I named the white hen Nettie. She liked to perch on my shoulder or knee but wouldn’t let me touch her. All her chicks died and she mourned them like any mother. It took months for her to become a healthy, thriving hen. When she did, she found a wonderful home with other hens and a beautiful rooster. Selfishly, I wish she had stayed at Animal Place, but I’m so glad that she and all the other birds found permanent homes. It means we can rescue more.”

Fanny – Rescued from a Battery-Egg Farm

“Fanny came to the sanctuary after an 18-month term in a North Carolina egg factory,” says pattrice jones, co-founder of the Eastern Shore Sanctuary. “Usually, so-called ‘spent hens’ who can no longer lay eggs every day are slaughtered for low-grade meat or simply buried alive in landfills. Fanny and 19 others were saved from that fate by a kind woman who brought them here.

“Like all hens from egg factories, Fanny had been subjected to debeaking. The painful operation burns off the tip of their beaks to prevent bored and hungry hens, crowded into cages so small that they cannot spread their wings or even lie down comfortably, from pecking themselves or each other to death in frustration. Fanny’s injured beak gave her face a blunted look that always reminded me of what she had been through.

“When Fanny arrived at the sanctuary, she was shockingly skinny and had very few of her lovely red feathers. She and her peers bore little resemblance to birds. Years spent perched on wire in cramped cages meant they could hardly walk. They had never seen sunshine or grass, and weren’t at all sure what to do. Some were frantic while others seemed to be in a numb state of shock.

“To help the birds become less fearful, I sat very still on the ground and spread food around me. After the birds came close enough to eat that food, I put food on my shoes and pants. Very gingerly, some of the birds began eating that food too. One bold bird jumped right into my lap. The Band song instantly popped into my head and I began singing to her:

Take a load off, Fanny,

Take a load for free.

Take a load off, Fanny,

And put the load right on me.

The name stuck. From that moment, this bold bird became ‘Fanny.’

“Fanny loved to hear her song ― or, to be honest, any song. She would come if we called her name, not because she was being summoned but because she wanted to see what was going on. Unlike many of the birds, whose feathers get ruffled by any departure from their favored routines, Fanny liked visitors and excitement and changes of pace. She expected to be greeted whenever we saw her and, just like any friend, would feel snubbed if ignored. We made sure to say ‘hello’ to Fanny every morning and several times each day before saying ‘goodnight’ every night.

“When she got too old to deal with the hustle and bustle and randy roosters of the main chicken yard, Fanny began to greet visitors from our front yard, where she spent her days. She was joined by her friend Carmen, who had been with her in the egg factory; a younger hen called Darwin, who had lost a wing in a freak accident; and a delicate but tenacious half-blind hen called Felicia. Carmen and Darwin were gregarious red hens like Fanny, so the three of them hung out together. Felicia, a shy white hen, spent much of her time alone until a feral hen had chicks and decided to let Felicia help out with them. The mother hen wouldn’t let any other chicken near her chicks, so that was quite a compliment to Felicia, who became very attached to her new family. Eventually, the chicks grew up, and Darwin and then Carmen died.

“Fanny then became fast friends with Felicia. They were like next-door neighbors who don’t have a lot in common at first but become close over time due to shared experiences. Felicia had once been so sick that we were sure she would die. But she recovered and went on to enjoy two more times around the seasons. When the cold weather came again this past winter, her little body finally gave out. That was very sad for us and for Fanny, who had lived to see all of her closest friends die. She kept up her usual routine but just didn’t seem herself anymore. Sometimes we would see her standing out in the yard alone. She spent some time with the elderly roosters and a juvenile rooster named Dizzy, but didn’t seem to have the same bond with them that she had had with her hen friends. Luckily, a red hen named Rosalita moved in from Washington, DC, and she and Fanny hit it off right away. Fanny’s mood improved overnight.

“On the morning of what would be her last day, Fanny had a slow start but came running when my partner mixed up her favorite treat for breakfast. Later in the day, I noticed Fanny drooping and brought her some mulberries. She ate one berry eagerly but dropped the next and couldn’t find the rest. Seeing that she was slipping into a stupor, I gathered her into my arms and reclined with her resting on my chest. She fell asleep as the life began to ebb from her body. Just before she died, her wings began to flap, as birds’ wings often do when they go into their death throes. I wanted to say ‘No, don’t go,’ but instead I said, ‘Go, fly away with the wild birds. You’re free.’

“Fanny had almost five years here after two years in an egg factory. She survived all of her original hen and rooster friends, and the cats with whom she used to huddle in a dog house when waiting out rainstorms. Fanny was one in a million, literally and figuratively. She was just one of millions of hens crowded into tiny cages in egg factories. And, like every one of them, she was unique in the sense of having her own characteristics, her own likes and dislikes, and her own way of looking at the world. If, by speaking and writing about Fanny, we can help people to see hens as individuals and stop treating them like objects, then Fanny really will live forever. Still, she leaves two deeply grieving people and a host of human admirers.”

Rescue Groups

There are a number of groups around the world that rescue chickens. If you can help one or more of these nonprofits, I know they’d appreciate it. And I’ll bet you’ll feel great knowing you’re helping birds like Apricot, Nettie and Fanny.

Animal Liberation Victoria (Australia)

Animal Place (US)

Battery Hen Welfare Trust (UK)

Befreite Tiere (Germany)

Cambridgeshire Hen Rescue (UK)

Eastern Shore Sanctuary (US)

Farm Sanctuary (US)

Harvest Home (US)

Hillside Animal Sanctuary (UK)

Little Hen Rescue (UK)

Peaceful Prairie (US)

United Poultry Concerns (US)

Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (US)

The term “social invention” was first proposed by Stuart Conger in his 1974 book “Saskatchewan Newstart”. It covers new organizations, laws and procedures that satisfy personal, social or market demand. His examples are:

1. Organizational social inventions: schools, law courts, House of Commons, labour union, jails, YMCA, Children’s Aid Society, Red Cross, he Boy Scouts, etc.
2. Social inventions in the form of laws: Poor Law of 1388 in UK, Indenture of Children Act of 1601 in UK, English Bill of Rights (1689), Compulsory School Attendance Act in Russia in 1717, Swiss Unemployment Insurance Act of 1789, and an 1875 US law against child abuse.
3. Procedural social inventions: language, writing, charity, democracy, labor strikes, professional licensing, training, courtroom oath, probation, testing, psychoanalysis, etc.

I have a reservation with Conger’s use of the word “invention.” According to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), an “invention” has only the element of novelty while “innovation” has both elements of novelty and utility. Evidence of utility is market demand or social acceptance (see my blog on D14- Innovation versus Invention). Conger’s examples fit the term “innovation” and therefore I will use the term “social innovation” instead.

Let us apply the Value Creation Scale from the previous blog post to various social innovations. Below are examples of largely value-destroying or simply resource transferring social innovations:
-

-
Boxing as a spectator sport is a strange way to create value. When two people fight to hurt each other and no one is watching, this is just 3 in our Value Creation Scale. However, there are many people who will pay to watch people hurt each other — the value proposition of the boxing industry which is 3 and 6 in the Scale. Gladiatorial “fight to the death” in old Rome, Japanese sumo wrestling (an institutionalized, stylized, protocol-bound and milder form of fighting), fee-based hunting/fishing and cockfighting belong to the same category.

Cartels such as OPEC do three things: (a) extract non-renewable natural resources making them no longer available to countless future generations, (b) appropriate proceeds solely to its elite members, and (c) collect rentier profits through oligopolistic supply-fixing or price-fixing. From the perspective of the Scale, burglary, robbery and thievery are better than OPEC! Why? They do not irreversibly deplete natural resources. We tolerate OPEC more than we do burglars, robbers and thieves. Why? Don’t forget “free riders” of OPEC such as the big oil multinationals who earned billions of dollars during the last oil price spike. We grudgingly shell out more of our money for a pricey tankful of gasoline but do we feel the same with bag-snatchers? Why is institutionalized global robbery more acceptable than personalized local robbery? Strange.

Next, examine below various examples of value-creating social innovations. I inserted motherhood for illustrative purposes only although it is not a social innovation:
-

-
The corporation is indeed a successful and widely adopted social innovation (creating value for the few or 6 in the Value Creation Scale). It has several variants. Oligarchic capitalism is where a national economy is dominated by a few business elites. “Regulatory capture” is where powerful businessmen (or “crony capitalists”) tilt the rules of the game in their favor through bribery, collusion (“cronyism”) or outright control of government regulatory agencies. An enclave corporation is one that is isolated and has zero interaction with the local communities in or around which it operates.

I sense new social innovations emerging towards 7 and 8 in the Scale. I wrote earlier about corporate social responsibility and new variants towards the “socially-embedded corporation.” I also wrote on the growing practice of “Triple Bottom Line” — introduced by John Elkington in 1994 — which is 6, 7 and 8 in our Value Creation Scale. A Working Group of the Organisation Internationale de Normalisation (ISO) is currently developing a new voluntary standard on Social Responsibility for corporations; it will be released next year as ISO 26000. The Cartagena Agreement and Costa Rica’s Biodiversity Law combine biodiversity conservation with local rights and community development — harbingers of social innovations combining 7 and 8.

Perhaps we are not hopeless; we are still learning and evolving. There are institutions facilitating innovations towards 7 and 8. Peter Spence from Australia alerted me to Mary Parker Follett Foundation whose program areas are: learning democracy, participatory design of social systems and dialogue as community reflection. Thanks Peter!

-
(PS to my loyal readers: if my recent blogs seem too “Cloud 9″ for you, I promise to write something “Ground 0″ or very practical for KM in my next two blogs before going to “Cloud 11″ in Q26 and Q27 according to my set schedule. Cheers!)

—

(Note that there are embedded links in this blog post. They show up as colored text. While pressing “Ctrl” click on any link to create a new tab to reach the websites pointed to.)

=>Back to main page of Apin Talisayon’s Weblog
=>Jump to Clickable Master Index

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to finally determine whether selling videos depicting animal cruelty should be constitutionally-protected speech.

This year, it will hear the case of United States of America v. Robert J. Stevens. The defendant, who sold dogfighting and hog-dog fighting videos, was the first person to be convicted under a 1999 federal law prohibiting the creation, possession and/or sale of videos depicting animal cruelty with the intention of profiting financially therefrom. He was convicted by a U.S. district court in 2005, but a U.S. appeals court vacated the holding as an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.  

According to one article, “Stevens argued in his appeal that the federal law was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad because it criminalized depictions of conduct that was either legal or happened before dogfighting was outlawed, prosecuted people who did not take part in the underlying conduct or could be extended to hunting and fishing violations.” 

According to the Washington Times, “the U.S. government seeks to carve out an exception to free speech in the case of those selling videotapes of pitbull fighting and the fetished crushing of small animals by high-heeled shoes.”

There has been a question for some years now regarding of legality of sales of videos depicting dog fighting, as well as fetish “crush” videos, in which small animals are crushed by high-heeled shoes. The Humane Society of the United States is currently suing online merchant Amazon.com and four other companies because of their sales of dogfighting and cockfighting videos and magazines. Dogfighting is illegal in all U.S. states, and cockfighting is illegal in 48 states.

-Suzanne McMillan

Repost

- Gameness (til the End)

2009 World Slasher Cup is biggest ever
By Manolo Iñigo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:42:00 01/12/2009

Filed Under: Sports Events

The biggest ever World Slasher Cup since 1963 awaits cockfighting enthusiasts as businessman-sportsman Jorge “Nene” Araneta announced a strong field of nearly 200 entries that will vie for fame and honor from Jan. 19 to 24 at the Araneta Coliseum.

“I am personally inviting you to come and enjoy the fights at the Big Dome,” said the dapper derby promoter and coliseum owner.

From an average of 60 entries to a high of 150 per staging, this year’s number is a cinch to enter the record books as the biggest ever in the history of the World Slasher Cup.

Considered as the “toughest cockfighting event in the world,” this annual international 8-cock derby will be extended from the usual three-day format to five days.

Glo Avena, a Big Dome old-timer, said elimination matches will be held on Jan. 19 to 20, the semifinals on Jan. 21 and 22 and the finals on Jan. 24.

* * *

The 35-strong foreign contingent will be headed by former champions Ray Alexander of Alabama and Roger Roberts of Georgia. Also seeing action are many-time Manila visitors Chuck Berry of Oklahoma and Mike Formosa of Hawaii, Richard McCormick of Canada and Australia’s Greg Berin.

On the other hand, a full complement of the Philippines’ cockfighting Who’s Who is hell-bent to win the World Slasher Cup, the most-coveted prize in the sport.

“We have proven in recent past that Filipino cocker-breeders are at par with their American counterparts,” said Rey Briones, a newcomer who surprised everyone by winning the 2003 World Slasher Cup in a tie with veteran Matt Bitanga.

“It’s time to break the colonial mentality that imported cocks or pure bloodlines, are unbeatable,” he stressed. “That’s not true anymore.”

He said that local crossbreeds are performing better in recent years and that imported cocks are no longer a guarantee that they will dominate the big-time derbies here.

* * *

In winning the World Slasher Cup, Briones only fielded locally bred fighting cocks, yet he beat the pure bloodlines of famous American cocker-breeders Dan Gray, Carol NeSmith, Ray Alexander and Roger Roberts.

Now breeding his own signature bloodlines—the Spartan Reds and Greys—in his modest farms in Masbate and Bacolod City, Briones has joined past World Slasher Cup champions, including former Ambassador Danding Cojuangco, Nene Araneta, the late James Chiongbian, Peping Cojuangco and his partner Esting Teopaco, former Rep. Rudy Albano, hotelier Biboy Enriquez, Pampanga’s pride Jun and Rudy Jingco, Eddie Araneta, Dickie Lim, Patrick Antonio, William Co, lawyer Rudy Salud and Wilson Ong.

* * *

The steady stream of top American cocker-breeders was brought here by Filipino cockfighting legends such as D.O. Plaza, Dr. A.P. Reyes, Jose Lanuza, James Chiongbian, Ramon Mitra, Ricardo Silverio, the Lacsons of Bacolod, the Cojuangcos of Tarlac and the Yulos and Montinolas of Negros.

These true-blue pioneers were responsible for infusing the bloodlines that improved local stocks, thus making the authentic Filipino sport of cockfighting more competitive.

Among the names familiar to Filipino sabungeros were American cockfighting greats like Duke Hulsey, Joe Goode, Billy Abbot, Oscar Aikins, Billy Ruble, Richard Bates, Dan Gray, Carol NeSmith, Bob Howard, Ray Alexander and Tom Wilson.

Meanwhile, I am glad to learn that the cockfighting calendar is now bursting at the seams, with several international derbies lined up for this new year.

Among them are the three-day National Cockers Alliance World Slasher Championship Derby at the Ynares Center in Pasig City which gets going tomorrow, and other international derbies slated in Metro Manila cockpits.

Performance Statistics

Select first and foremost on the performance of the pedigree and of the individual.

The pedigree must have at least a winning percentage of 85% and must be multi time winners for a number of years if not a decade. Get to know the pedigree and its fighting style. The pedigree is dominant especially when the breeder enters a full show of the pedigree at a derby and grab the championship on quick wins.

The individual should be at least a two-time winner winning without a scratch in 60 seconds or less.

Vital Statistics

Physical Statistics

Select high station, solid body conformation and light weight.

The ideal minimum shank (metatarsus) is 3.25 inches or 8.25 centimeters from top of the prop toe to middle of the knee (hock).

The ideal leg (tibia) must be long too.

The ideal thigh (femur) must be long too.

The ideal minimum girth is 20 inches or 50.8 centimeters.

The ideal maximum weight is 5 pounds and 4 ounces or 2.376 kilograms

Age Statistics

The physical statistics above is for a year old to 2 year old cock. Older cock might weigh more.

When Ordering

Even a photo or video sometimes cannot give us the actual vital statistics or physical statistics due to optical illusion. Maybe a ruler included in the photo will help.

To avoid misunderstanding between you and the breeder, send the breeder the vital statistics – (minimum) shank length, (minimum) thigh length, (minimum) leg length, (minimum) girth, (maximum) weight, and age.

Let’s Standardized Vital Statistics

I hope vital statistics (physical and age statistics) will be included in every photo of gamefowls on the web and print.

shank=3.25″
leg=
thigh=
girth=20″
weight=5′4″
age=24mos

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

A POLICE officer was ordered relieved from the police force of Dueñas, Iloilo for allegedly promoting encierro or illegal cockfight in the town.

SPO2 Malko Queque is being tagged as the promoter of the cockfight at Brgy. Catig last Good Friday during which Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) president Sergio Pelopero and his companion Patricio Nobleza were shot dead. 

Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas, Police Regional Office-6 director, said he has ordered Iloilo provincial police director Ricardo dela Paz to investigate Queque.

Cuevas also directed dela Paz to relieve Queque from Dueñas PNP pending the investigation.

“We also sent a team to Dueñas to verify the report that a police officer bankrolled the cockfight on a Good Friday which is illegal,” Cuevas added.

Queque and Senior Insp. Willy Diel, Dueñas police chief, appeared before dela Paz yesterday at the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.

Diel said Queque denied promoting the cockfight.

“Queque’s home is near the scene of the incident and he was the first to respond after he was informed about the shooting. He said he was not at the cockpit nor did he had entries in the cockfight,” Diel said.

Diel said Queque joins cockfights “when he has time.”

“He was about to report to duty when the incident happened,” he added.

Dela Paz said they have formed Task Force Pelopero to probe deeper into the Good Friday shooting.

The task force is headed by Supt. Mario Abraham Lenaming, IPPO deputy director for administration.

Dela Paz said they are preparing murder cases against suspects Jose Tommy Abordaje and his brother-in-law Arnel Pula who both remain at-large.

Dueñas Mayor Robert Martin Pama said they will also include in the investigation Punong Barangay Enrique Silvestre of Catig for allowing the cockfight in his village.

Punong Barangay Edmundo Mirador of Lacadon is also under investigation for being one of the promoters of the cockfight.  

Pama said they later found out that the cockfight was held in Catig which is near Lacadon village.

Punong Barangay Romulo Laguna of Imbang Grande yesterday took his oath of office before Governor Niel Tupas Sr. as the new ABC president of Dueñas.   

As a child, I liked to watch Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games, and Olympic Games. Wikipedia has the following entries.

The Southeast Asian Games (also known as the SEA Games), is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games is under regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia.

• Boxing
• Fencing
• Judo
• Karate
• Muay Thai
• Taekwondo
• Wrestling

The Asian Games, also called the Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The games are regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) under the supervision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Medals are awarded in each event, with gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition which started in 1951.

Competitors are entered by a National Olympic Committee (NOC) to represent their country of citizenship. National anthems and flags accompany the medal ceremonies, and tables showing the number of medals won by each country are widely used. In general only recognised nations are represented, but a few non-sovereign countries are allowed to take part. The special case of Taiwan was handled by having it compete as Chinese Taipei, due to the political status of Taiwan.

The first Asian games were held at New Delhi in 1952,which again hosted it in 1982

The 15th Asian Games were held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. The 16th Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou, China from November 12, 2010 to November 27, 2010.

• Boxing
• Fencing
• Judo
• Karate
• Taekwondo
• Wrestling

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; [Olympiakoi Agones] (help·info)) held at Olympia, Greece. The second, known as the Modern Olympic Games, were first revived in the late 19th century.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in 1894 on the initiative of, Pierre de Coubertin. It has become the governing body of the Olympic Movement, which is defined by the Olympic Charter. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th century forced the IOC to adapt the Games in several ways. Some of these adaptations include the addition of a Winter Games, a Paralympics, and an Olympic Games for teenagers. The IOC has also had to cope with the changing economic, political, and technological realities of the 20th century. The Olympics began to shift away from the pure amateur athlete as envisioned by Coubertin, they also navigated the Cold War and the overt use of the Games for political gain. The medium of television created the issue of corporate sponsorship and the commercialization of the Games.

The Olympic Movement is comprised of International sports federations, National Olympic committees and organizing committees for each specific Olympic Games. The IOC is the decision-making body. They initiate an Olympic Games by selecting a host city, which is usually announced six to seven years in advance of the Games. The host city is responsible to organize and fund a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter. The Olympic program (which consists of the sports to be competed at an Olympic Games) is also determined by the IOC.

The Games have grown in scale to the point that nearly every nation on Earth is represented at a celebration of the Games. This growth has created numerous challenges, including boycotts, the use of performance enhancing drugs, bribery of officials, and terrorism. The Games encompass many rituals and symbols such as the Olympic flag and torch as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Every four years the Olympics enable athletes, who compete in relative obscurity, the chance to attain national, and in the case of a few, international fame. The Games also afford the populations of host cities the opportunity to showcase their home to the world.

Until now amateur sports are more competitive than professional sports in my opinion. But both is affected by human psyche. Human combatants or athletes are not performing to their full potential.

• They want to avoid injuries
• They are thinking of their long term livelihood
• They are already ahead and just need to win on points
• They are have no drive to win all the time
• They do not want to dominate
• They are not fighting for their life

Gamecocks are not affected by human psyche. Gamecocks are true combatants and their instinct is to hit the other until the other flees. Gamecocks will continue hitting a dead one. Gamecocks instinct ignores any injuries they might have and keep fighting. Gamecocks are bitter and game to the core.They are fighting for supremacy and survival. Different breeds and strains have their style of fighting. Sometimes pierce fighting style – infighting shuffling. Sometimes passive fighting style – deadly counter punching. Whatever the fighting style that is ingrain in their genes, they are always game. Gameness is the will and the action to destroy the other. Paralyzed, broken wings, broken legs, punctured body, lungs full of blood, intestine on the ground, dying. Gamecocks still only thinks of killing the other.

- Gameness (til the End)