Macrobolic’s BodyBlog

Check out behind the scenes footage of Jenna’s photo shoot.

Rumors are swirling that adult film icon Jenna Jameson might be pregnant. Whether this is true or not, one thing is for sure: Jenna knows the importance of birth control—animal birth control (ABC), that is. That’s why Jenna posed nude alongside the tagline “Sometimes Too Much Sex Can Be a Bad Thing” in PETA’s latest ABC ad.Every year, nearly 7 million dogs and cats are abandoned at animal shelters in the U.S., and the shelters are forced to euthanize almost half of these animals for lack of good homes. The good news is that you can help as Jenna has—and you don’t even have to take your clothes off! It’s as easy as ABC: animal birth control.

What is animal birth control? It means always spaying or neutering your companion animals and never buying from a breeder or pet store. If everyone took these small steps, we could put an end to the companion animal overpopulation crisis.

“Until dogs and cats can go on the pill or wear condoms, we need to help them practice safe sex—by spaying and neutering,”  says Jenna. “Millions of homeless animals are turned in to shelters every year because there simply aren’t enough good homes for them all. The answer is as easy as ABC: Animal Birth Control, which means get your Fido or Fluffy fixed!”

Join Jenna in fighting to end the companion animal overpopulation crisis. Use the form below today to sign the pledge to end animal homelessness.

Swimmer Amanda Beard might be the sexiest and most compassionate U.S. Olympic athlete of all time. Need proof? Check out the anti-fur ad that she did—naked—for PETA.

Even with her busy and demanding training schedule, Amanda took the time to bare her skin to help save animals’ skins. With the tagline “Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin. Don’t Wear Fur,” Amanda posed nude to help raise awareness of the cruelty inherent in the fur industry.

With Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympic Summer Games, Amanda’s ad couldn’t have come at a better time. An investigation into the fur industry in China—which is where most fur originates—revealed that minks, foxes, dogs, cats, and other animals are kept in tiny wire cages in all weather extremes. In the video footage, animals were strangled or bludgeoned, and they were often still alive and struggling when workers flipped them onto their backs or hung them by their legs or tails to skin them.

The cruelty of the fur industry does not end at the borders of China. Every dog, fox, rabbit, mink, and baby seal suffers immensely, whether they are killed in China, Europe, or North America. "I have seen a lot of the videos, and [it] brings me to tears," Amanda says. "What [some people] think is pretty is actually something that’s very gruesome and gross."

The origin of a particular fur product can’t be traced, so anyone who wears any fur at all shares the blame for the horrific conditions on fur farms. The only way to prevent such unimaginable cruelty is never to wear any fur.

By signing the pledge below and encouraging your friends and family members to do so as well, you will be joining forces with Amanda to send a powerful message not only to the fur industry but also to designers, retailers, and others who directly profit from the suffering caused by this cruel industry.

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/amanda_beard?c=weekly_enews

The animals in your community need you to take a stand today against cruelty, neglect, and the companion animal overpopulation crisis by lobbying your public officials to propose and pass stronger animal protection laws in your community.

How can you help?
Lifesaving measures such as spay-and-neuter mandates and restrictions or bans on the chaining of dogs (also known as tethering) are popping up all over the U.S. With a little hard work and a lot of persistence, you can make a world of difference in your own back yard.

Spaying Is Cheap, but Saving Lives Is Priceless
The companion animal overpopulation crisis is a national epidemic: 6 to 8 million animals enter animal shelters every year, and shelter workers are forced to euthanize roughly half of them. Cities and counties—including San Mateo, California; King County, Washington; Richmond, Virginia; and Rock Island, Illinois—are aggressively addressing this problem through prevention by requiring breeding permits, which cost far less than what breeders usually charge for just one puppy, and fining violators. As expected, communities with mandatory spay-and-neuter laws have reported significant reductions in the number of animals who are taken to their facilities and euthanized. Until all cities adopt similar laws, animals will continue to breed at uncontrollable rates. You can view samples of spay-and-neuter legislation from various communities here.

Breaking the Chain
We’ve all seen chained dogs: prisoners trapped at the end of a heavy chain with nothing but one patch of dirt on which to eat, sleep, and relieve themselves. Life at the end of a chain deprives these highly social pack animals of basic necessities, such as the ability to move freely and get away from their own waste. Chained dogs are vulnerable to attacks by other animals and cruel people, and many chained dogs choke or hang themselves after becoming tangled in their chains. Some dogs go mad from constant confinement and attack people. Working with elected representatives to pass ordinances that ban or restrict tethering is the most effective way to help chained dogs. At least 115 U.S. jurisdictions have recognized the dangerous consequences of chaining dogs and have passed laws addressing it. See what officials in those communities are saying about their tethering laws.

Take the Law Into Your Own Hands!
Legislators want to hear from their own constituents; in your community, that’s YOU. If you’re willing to help, please sign up so that we can provide you with an arsenal of tips and tools, from tips on communicating with officials to literature and facts to share with them. We will be your personal hand-holding support system. We will provide information on others’ success stories and help you plan your strategy throughout the process. We’ll also send action alerts to other activists to support your efforts. With your help, we will be a legislative team that works to save animals who so desperately need our help.

Make your community a safer place for both animals and humans.
Get started on changing your community for the better today. Contact Candace Hertzel for more information and to join our team. Animals in your community are counting on you.

Also, please forward this message to others in your area who might be willing to lend their voices to these important issues.

Thank you for your compassion for animals and for your willingness to act.

Sincerely,

Candace Hertzel, Legislative and Outreach Specialist
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Interested in the link between animals and religion? Active in a church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship? If so, I encourage you to join our new All Creatures Great and Small campaign, which raises awareness about our moral responsibilities to animals, including those raised for food. Today I invite you to take the All Creatures Great and Small pledge to make more humane food choices.

Thank you for helping farm animals today, and for all you do for animals.

Does China plan on keeping any of their promises?

BEIJING - Some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive Web sites despite promises of unrestricted access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday.

Persistent pollution fears and China’s concerns about security in Tibet also remained problems for organizers nine days before the Games begin.

China had committed to providing media with the same freedom to report on the Games as they enjoyed at previous Olympics, but journalists have this week complained of finding access to sites deemed sensitive to its communist leadership blocked.

“I regret that it now appears BOCOG has announced that there will be limitations on Web site access during Games time,” IOC press chief Kevan Gosper said, referring to Beijing’s Olympic organizers.

“I also now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related,” he said.

Attempts at the main press center to access the Web site of Amnesty International, which released a report on Monday slamming China for failing to honor its Olympic human rights pledges, continued to prove fruitless by mid-week.

Other Web sites, including those relating to the banned spiritual group Falun Gong, are also inaccessible.

Beijing organizers said censorship would not stop journalists doing their jobs in reporting the Games.

“We are going to do our best to facilitate the foreign media to do their reporting work through the Internet,” BOCOG spokesman Sun Weide told a news conference.

“I would remind you that Falun Gong is an evil, fake religion which has been banned by the Chinese government.”

Reporters without Borders, a Paris-based media watchdog, said it was increasingly concerned that there would be many cases of censorship during the Olympics.

“We condemn the IOC’s failure to do anything about this, and we are more skeptical about its ability to ensure that the media are able to report freely,” the group said in a statement.

Skirting censorship
To combat the issue, Reporters Without Borders is encouraging journalists covering the Beijing Olympics to skirt censorship with tips on how to get around firewalls, lock computer files and find safe translators.

In a guide published on the Internet Wednesday, the Paris-based organization advised reporters Wednesday to conduct phone calls and write e-mails with the knowledge that they may be monitored.

China has backed away from a promise to lift all Internet blocks on foreign media.

The new guide will likely help only journalists who have not yet left for Beijing: The press freedom group says its Web site,  http://www.rsf.org, remains blocked in China. The guide is available at  http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=27991 .

Chinese officials assured news organizations “complete freedom to report” when bidding for the games seven years ago. The International Olympic Committee received further such assurances in April. But Kevan Gosper, a senior member of the IOC, said this week that the promise will apply only to sites related to “Olympic competitions.”

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BEIJING (AP) - Two female Chinese gymnasts, including a gold-medal favorite, might be too young to participate in the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Several online records and reports show He Kexin, the host nation’s top competitor on uneven bars, and Jiang Yuyuan might not yet be 16, the minimum age for Olympic eligibility. Both were chosen for China’s team last week.

On the Web site of the Chengdu Sports Bureau - Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province in southwest China - a file dated January 2006 shows He Kexin as being born Jan. 1, 1994.

Most recently, a May 23 story in the China Daily newspaper, the official English-language paper of the Chinese government, had He’s age as 14.

The newspaper story begins: "The 14-year old newcomer to the national team, who was recruited last year, has raised a lot of eyebrows recently after she broke two world records on the uneven bars in as many months."

The New York Times raised questions about the athletes’ ages in a story Saturday. And Chinese officials provided the newspaper with copies of passports indicating both gymnasts are 16.

But in a speech on Nov. 3, 2007, in the central city of Wuhan, Liu Peng, director of general administration of sport for China, said: "The 13-year-old uneven-bar gymnast He Kexin, who defeated national team athlete Yang Yilin - she just won the bronze medal in the world championships - has demonstrated her ability."

To be eligible for the Cities Games where Liu made his remarks, Chinese documents show athletes must be over 13, but under 15.

The New York Times reported International Gymnastics Federation officials acknowledged questions about He’s age had been raised and asked the Chinese for clarification in May.

"We heard these rumors, and we immediately wrote to the Chinese gymnastics federation," Andre Gueisbuhler, the secretary general of the international federation, told the newspaper. "They immediately sent a copy of the passport, showing the age, and everything is OK. That’s all we can check.

"As long as we have no official complaint, there is no reason to act, if we get a passport that obviously is in order."

The American and Chinese women are expected to battle for the team gold medal when the Beijing Games begin Aug. 8.

He is one of the few athletes in the world who has scored over a 17 under the new scoring system. Using He and Yang Yilin, who also has scored a 17 on bars, the Chinese hope to use the uneven bars to build up a big advantage in the team competition.

The Americans, who won the 2007 world championships team title, have only one gymnast, Nastia Liukin, who’s gotten a 17 on bars.

If gymnasts He, a gold-medal favorite, and Jiang are under age, it would be yet another black eye for China in the buildup to the games.

In June, Chinese swimmer Ouyang Kunpeng and coach Feng Shangbao were permanently banned from the sport after Ouyang tested positive for anabolic steroids. Wrestler Luo Meng and his coach also were barred for life for a doping violation by the athlete.

The Chinese government is working feverishly to present a positive image of an open, friendly, progressive nation. But visa restrictions, toxic air pollution, freedom of the press issues and a problem-filled torch relay have presented a far different image to the world.

This story actually made me quite mad. I have T-Mobile, and wasn’t even aware of this! If you have a cell phone, you need to read this:

By Bob Sullivan as found on www.redtape.msnbc.com
When Marco Zaldivar purchased four T-Mobile cell phones for his family a few years ago, he had no interest in text messages. They came anyway, and by 2007 unwanted texts were adding $20 to $30 to his bill every month, he claims. When he asked T-Mobile to shut off text service, the firm said that was impossible. Instead, he was given a Hobson’s choice — either sign up for a bundled text message plan with a monthly fee, pay $800 in early termination fees to cancel the service or turn the phones off for the remainder of his two-year contract.

Zaldivar decided on a fourth option — he’s suing T-Mobile for violating consumer protection laws. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, got a small green light last week from a U.S. District Court in Seattle, which rejected T-Mobile’s motion to dismiss the case.

“When T-Mobile customer service told me I could always take the battery out of my phone to avoid the charges, I couldn’t believe this was happening to me,” Zaldivar, a corrections officer in California, said in an e-mail statement to msnbc.com. “It left me no choice but to try to stand up for myself, and others in the same situation.”

A number of the texts received by Zaldivar were unsolicited advertisements, said Zaldivar’s lawyer, Jeff Friedman. Even when unopened, his client was still charged for the messages, he said.

T-Mobile said it would not comment on the lawsuit, but a spokeswoman said the company has recently added a feature that allows consumers to essentially turn off texting.

“T-Mobile is committed to providing the best customer experience in wireless and does offer customers the ability to block chargeable text messages,” the spokeswoman said. “T-Mobile also has extensive filters built into the network to help detect and block spam text messages being sent to customer’s handsets that originate from internet IP addresses.”

Last year, when the Red Tape Chronicles explored the topic of text message spam, a T-Mobile spokesman said text message service could not be shut off because it was used for internal billing purposes.

“The text messaging feature on your account is actually a mandatory feature and cannot be removed,” the spokesman said. “This feature is needed because it’s where voice mail and billing notifications are delivered.”
If Zaldivar’s lawsuit is given class-action status, T-Mobile could have a large case on its hands.

Friedman said about 17 million of the 27 million T-Mobile customers are not signed up for a text message bundle currently, and about 4 million of them have never sent a text message, indicating their lack of interest in text service. The lawsuit will attempt to include all those consumers in the class.
T-Mobile would not discuss how many subscribers pay for text message bundles.

The lawsuit maintains that T-Mobile, which is based in Bellevue, Wash., made text service “mandatory,” while never making that pre-condition “clear and conspicuous” in its contracts. That violates Washington state’s consumer protection laws, the lawsuit alleges.

“This is a matter of a long line of abuses, where people with the carrier have very little choice,” Friedman said. “(Zaldivar) was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He felt trapped, and that he was put in an unfair position.”

Verizon, AT&T and Sprint allow consumers to shut down delivery of unwanted text messages.
The T-Mobile lawsuit comes at a time when all carriers are turning up the heat on consumers to sign up for monthly text bundles. In August, T-Mobile will increase its basic text message cost by 33 percent, from 15 cents to 20 cents per message. Other carriers made that jump earlier this year.

Consumers can avoid those high prices by signing up for a bundle — 400 messages for $5 a month, for example.

Critics say the basic price of text messages is excessive compared to other cell phone data-related charges. Because they carry only 160 text characters, text messages consume a tiny amount of bandwidth — about 1/4000th as much as a typical song, according to the blog GThing.net. But downloading a 4-megabyte song costs only about $1 on a standard cell phone data download service — or roughly five times the price of a single text message. At test message prices, music downloads would cost almost $6,000 each, the site argues. You can double-check the Gthing.net math here.

And remember, cell phone companies make 20 cents twice on each message — when it’s sent, and when it’s received.

Friedman says he expects a federal judge to rule on certification of the proposed lawsuit class by the end of the year.

RED TAPE WRESTLING TIPS• Many people are signed up for a per-message text plan and don’t realize it. If that’s you, shut it off now, before you get a bunch of text spam. Check with your provider. Now with T-Mobile on board, all the major providers essentially let you shut off texting.
• For most people, even light users, it’s worth signing up for at least a small text bundle. They are reasonably priced — as little as $3 per month – and act like insurance for that one month you are stuck in a train tunnel and find yourself sending 15 or 20 text messages. It’s odd for me to be recommending that you sign up for a service with a fee like that, but that’s just the way cell phone math works right now.
• If you have teenagers, seriously consider plans with unlimited text messages. Youngsters are capable of sending incredible numbers of text messages, so you’re best off insuring yourself against that.
• Even with an unlimited plan, you can still end up paying a lot for text messages – so-called “premium text messages” — which can cost $1-$10 each. These are texts sent to or from special subscription services, like dating services. One consumer who wrote to Red Tape found himself on the long end of a $10,000 bill not long ago. Even if you use text messaging, you should consider calling your carrier and asking that premium texting be disabled.

Dear Friend,

There’s a lot to celebrate about the Summer Olympics in China: The many nations of the world put politics aside and come together in peace so that the greatest human athletes on Earth can compete.

But there’s an ugly side for animals living in the Olympic host country, a side that you won’t see in this week’s nonstop coverage: the Chinese fur industry’s horrific abuse of animals.

By making an urgent donation today to support our work, you can help us draw the world’s attention to the cruelty of the Chinese fur industry and keep people from unwittingly supporting it.

An estimated 2 million cats and hundreds of thousands of dogs are tortured and slaughtered for their fur in China every year. PETA’s undercover video footage shows terrified animals crouched in tiny cages that are crammed so full of animals—both dead and alive—that the animals are unable to move. Some of the dogs and cats shown in the footage were still wearing the collars that their former families put on them. Animals are often hung upside-down by their legs or tails, and their skin is ripped off their bodies as they writhe and struggle.

China’s fur industry unrepentantly continues to torture and kill animals for their skins.

China is one of the world’s largest suppliers of animal fur. More than 95 percent of China’s finished fur garments are exported for sale overseas, and many of them go to North America. Dog and cat fur is often intentionally mislabeled as “Asian jackal” or “rabbit” fur.

With so much attention focused on China right now, this is the time to demand an end to the Chinese fur industry’s terrible torture of animals. Please help us stand in the way of the fur industry by taking the following two simple steps:

• Sign our pledge to go fur-free. Thousands of people—including gold-medal-winning Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard—have already pledged never to buy or wear fur. Please also forward this pledge to all your friends, colleagues, and family members. This simple act is one of PETA’s most successful weapons in the fight against fur because it gets new people to take the pledge and think about the cruelty that goes into making fur garments.
• Make a generous donation online to support PETA’s worldwide anti-fur campaign. Your gift will allow us to keep working hard to end the horrors of the fur industry in China and around the world. Please help us stop the slaughter of animals for fashion!

We know that the fight against the fur trade is one that we can win for animals if we push hard enough, long enough, and vigorously enough. PETA’s efforts to expose the true cost of every piece of fur has already helped convince some of the world’s leading designers and retailers—including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Ann Taylor—to adopt permanent fur-free policies. With your help, we can work to ensure that animals, including dogs and cats who are treated like trash by the Chinese fur industry, don’t suffer for their fur.

Don’t let this important moment pass without doing all that you can to help cats and dogs and other tortured animals in China. Sign the petition, and make your gift now.

Thank you for supporting our work to end senseless cruelty.

Kind regards,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

P.S. By making a generous gift today, you can send a powerful message to those in China and around the world who profit from the unimaginable suffering of animals. Please act against the cruel fur industry today.