Everything Isn’t Total Shit: A Few Good Things Happened Recently

On Tuesday, the Irish parliament approved legislation to prohibit the import of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Israeli Settlements (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill states that it is designed to abide by Ireland’s “international legal obligation, as identified by the International Court of Justice [ICJ] in its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024,” which described Israel’s rule of Palestinian territory outside of the 1967 borders as “unlawful” and obligated all nations to end complicity with the illegal occupation.

New York City public school kindergartners will automatically receive $1,000 for college expenses, up from $100, under the FY2027 budget, which was recently approved by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City Council.

The $1,000 will be invested in a tax-advantaged 529 account and is expected to grow before students access it for higher education expenses.

According to Council Speaker Julie Menin, the $64 million initiative is the largest universal college savings program in the nation.

On Wednesday, the Executive Chairman of Ijede Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Motunrayo Gbadebo-Alogba, officially launched the Free Maternal and Newborn Healthcare Programme and the “Tunrayo Delivery Kit” initiative at the Oke-Eletu Primary Healthcare Centre in Ijede, Lagos.

The program aims ensure that every expectant mother in Ijede has access to quality, and professional maternal healthcare. “As a government, we will continue to invest in programs that improve the well-being of women, children, and our most vulnerable residents,” Gbadebo-Alogba said.

The New Jersey state legislature passed the Fair Price Protection Act, which bans surveillance pricing for groceries in the state. If signed into law by Governor Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey will become the third states to enact a ban on the practice, joining Maryland and Connecticut.

Surveillance pricing is a practice where businesses’ algorithms use a consumer's personal data (location, browsing history, device type, shopping habits, etc.) to determine individual prices with the goal of extracting the maximum amount a buyer is willing to pay.

A federal judge blocked the federal government from rounding up free-roaming horses in a national forest spanning Arizona and New Mexico while a lawsuit challenging the removals proceeds.

U.S. District Judge Krissa Lanham granted a preliminary injunction to the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, barring federal agencies from classifying the horses as “unauthorized livestock,” “ferals” or “strays” and preventing them from capturing and removing unbranded or unclaimed horses within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.

On Friday, New York City’s consumer protection office announced that a new rule banning deceptive subscriptions will go into effect on October 1. Companies that do not provide a simple way to cancel a subscription or membership will pay fines of $525 per user subscription, back fees and additional fines.

The city is also targeting “junk fees” that raise the final price of everything from apartments to sporting events, with a proposed rule that requires sellers to “advertise the total price for any good or service, including all mandatory additional charges and fees, up front.”

On Friday, the UK officially ratified the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ Agreement), also known as the “High Seas Treaty.”

The Agreement establishes, for the first time, a legal mechanism to create marine protected areas on the high seas, helping to conserve vulnerable habitats and species.

The BBNJ Agreement was adopted by United Nations member states in 2023 following more than a decade of negotiations.

This week, Dr. Arleigh Reynolds, President and Medical Advisor for Alaska Native Rural Veterinary, Inc, announced the launch of the Alaska Federation of Natives/Alaska Native Rural Veterinary, Inc. Rural Veterinary Public Health Program, which will serve Tribal communities across rural Alaska.

According to Dr. Reynolds, the initiative will provide veterinary care, including wellness exams, vaccinations to prevent disease, and spay and neuter services to Tribal communities who have long sought an answer to the lack of care provided in the rural areas in which they reside.

Luxembourg’s Health Minister Martine Deprez announced that the government will begin distributing free condoms in 2027 as part of their preventive medicine program.

Since 2023, contraceptives such as the birth control pill, patches, coils, and injections have been available for free to women of all ages with a prescription in Luxembourg. But condoms were not part of the free services; the only free form of contraception available to men under the 2023 reform has been vasectomies.

“What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.” – Howard Zinn