Decent News, August 2002

Some of the more decent news in the world: hopeful, courageous, funny, or just cool. A few are not pleasant, but are stories I think need to be heard. The following are all LINKS to external sites. Some links (e.g., many boston.com) stop working after a few days; some do not. URLs are added when appropriate (not necessarily daily).

Also on this page: News to Think Over

  • Saved by Jewish man on 9/11, Pakistani Muslim reaches out CNN.com 8/30/02 'Brother ... grab my hand, let's get the hell out of here'
  • Worries, hard work and rewards: A child with Down syndrome can bring out the best in a parent AP at Boston.com 8/31/02
  • Rescued 'dog adrift' moves in with new owner CNN.com 8/31/02
  • Spoonful of sugar could get cars zooming: Scientists use eco-friendly hydrogen extraction for fuel cells CNN.com 8/28/02
  • Kentucky pair recognized as world' oldest married couple AP at Boston.com 8/28/02
  • A Music Camp for Those Afflicted but Gifted, Too NY TImes.com 8/26/02
  • Sticky gecko toes have little hairs to thank CNN.com 8/26/02
  • Survivor of 87th floor deals with his demons while finding hope in the future AP at Boston.com 8/25/02
  • Land of the giants: It's crunch time for growers of New England's plumpest pumpkins Boston Globe 8/25/02 ... funny.
  • Owner of knitting store hopes to send supplies to Afghan women AP at Boston.com 8/19/02
  • Job sharing still popular despite slow times bostonworks.boston.com 8/18/02
  • 'Free Willy' star back in the wild CNN.com 8/18/02
  • 'Bathroom man' teaches students responsibility by having them clean restrooms AP at Boston.com 8/12/02 CNN version 8/12/02
  • African separated twins offer hope for 'little Marias' CNN.com 8/10/02 "Remember their connection, the bodies were in the opposite direction and Joseph pointed to Luka and shouted the name Luka" ...plus The Turner twins CNN.com 8/8/02
  • An Afghan doctor's return mixes pride and sadness Boston Globe 8/11/02 ''For a doctor, nothing is as important as the job,'' she said. ''A doctor is like a soldier. You go where you are needed. This is where I'm needed.''
  • FARM SCENE: Tax breaks in Nebraska benefit retiring farmers who help up-and-comers AP at Boston.com 8/12/02
  • World Food Prize winner announced worldfoodprize.org 8/02
  • Keeping the music alive in wartime Sarajevo "Sometimes audience members had to hold the candles so the musicians could read their scores" and Grace notes: Conductor Ansbacher is the free spirit behind BLO's gifts of music Boston Globe 8/9/02
  • A mother's promise Boston Globe (opinion) 8/9/02
  • Fallen athlete regains freedom, voice against war Boston Globe 8/9/02
  • Crow Makes Wire Hook to Get Food National Geographic 8/8/02
  • Twins were close physically, emotionally CNN.com 8/7/02
  • Jordanians learn about Southern hospitality on tour of United States AP at Boston.com 8/8/02
  • Elephant recovering from tuberculosis AP at Boston.com 8/7/02
  • One woman's war: Samantha Power writes passionately about US inaction in the face of genocide - and people are noticing Boston Globe 8/6/02
  • Whale watchers free a trapped whale Boston Globe 8/6/02 Note: later AP story says this violated federal law, and the "crew should have called the Coast Guard and then stayed near the whale while taking video and photographs to document its condition."
  • Swarms of Dying Mayflies Bring Good News NY Times (reg. req'd) 8/5/02
  • The kindness of strangers: Tens of thousands of women grieving over pregnancy loss turn to the Internet every day. It is the one place where they can receive unconditional, and immediate, support. Boston Globe Magazine 8/4/02
  • Rabbi, Egyptian-American team up in comedy shows AP at Boston.com 8/3/02 "...to be able to relate to an Arab as a warm, funny, gentle human being is one way of fighting against xenophobia."
    News to Think Over
    And Pray About....

  • Google sued as PetsWarehouse Lawsuit Continues. Slashdot.com 10/03/02 ... scary example of one person causing a ripple effect of negativity.
  • Lavatory and Liberty: The secret history of the bathroom break Boston Globe 9/29/02 "conservative commentator R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. advised the workers to wear special diapers used by horses in New York's Central Park carriage trade." ... this is the US of A here!
  • It's time we looked toward the new power generation "So many of our current woes in the [Middle East] are rooted in our oil addiction.[....] What needs to follow the dot-com generation is the new power generation." But will business stand in the way? It's happened: read about GM and LA here and here.
  • Accord yields frustration for black farmers Boston Globe 9/7/02 "The ultimate irony for the farmers is that they are dealing with many of the same USDA employees who were in place when the alleged discrimination occurred."
  • Abortion politics holding up popular health center bill AP at Boston.com 9/7/02 ... I don't care what anyone's position is on abortion in this case... it has nothing to do with health care for millions of people.
  • Televisionary: Decades after the fact, the world is just tuning in to the work of TV inventor Philo T. Farnsworth Boston Globe 9/7/02 ... It's not just Farnsworth. Other inventors and contributors have been denied their proper place in history.
  • Parents' behavior linked to teen sex: Study cites influence of smoking, drinking Boston Globe 9/1/02
  • Growing coffee: It's black, no sugar... MSNBC.com 8/02 ... more argument for "Fair Trade" coffee. Oxfam launches 'Coffee Rescue' plan BBC News 9/17/02
  • US Won't Buy Sanitation Goal: Earth Summit II delegation again opposes new targets MSNBC 8/27/02 "The United States on Wednesday continued its policy of resisting new targets for global environmental action...."
  • Music industry targets Chinese download site via service providers digitalmass.boston.com 8/19/02 ... so large corporate conglomerations can censor what we can see and hear.
  • Slain woman's family describes tense relationship Boston Globe 8/17/02. The irony is that experts could have told these people this man was the type to kill his girlfriend. Experts know the traits of domestic violence murderers. Experts know why troubled, fragile men kill their girlfriends. Just reading the symptoms is like seeing warning flags. How many more "she never imagined that X could act violently toward Y"s will there be before we really stop these murders before they happen? Read the book The Gift of Fear!
  • FBI begins secretly observing library patrons Detroit Free Press 6/25/02 ... remember, the US government, OUR government, once did such things as spy on Martin Luther King Jr., and even tried to get him to commit suicide!
  • Fuel Cell Hold-up Government's go-slow approach promises to keep the technology on the shelf and Cold Fusion Rides Again Science magazine publishes more evidence of tabletop nuclear reactions, SF Gate, 6/20/202 and 3/25/02, respectively.
  • After Sept. 11, a Legal Battle Over Limits of Civil Liberty NY Times (registration req'd) 8/4/02
  • Congress to turn hacks into hackers The Register 7/24/02 "it will become legal to hack a network [in the name of protecting copyrights]" ....
  • No End to Their Woes: Allegations of sexual extortion by aid workers in Africa Newsweek 7/29/02 issue February Press Release
  • 1970-85 Famine Blamed on Pollution AP at news.yahoo.com 7/21/02
  • Labels to Net Radio: Die Now ...MSNBC.com 7/15/2002 IMHO pretty outrageous.
  • What your doctor doesn't know could kill you Boston Globe Magazine 7/14/02
  • Idealized Women in TV Ads Make Girls Feel Bad Reuters health at news.yahoo.com 7/12/02
  • Clinton, Mandela: More money, determination needed to halt march of AIDS AP at Boston.com 7/12/02
  • Lutheran minister suspended over interfaith service after terrorist attacks AP at Boston.com 7/8/02
  • Dow Shall Be Liable CorpWatch India 4/8/02 ... I had forgotten the Bhopal, India chemical leak killed 16-20,000 and affected 150,000. That's sixteen to twenty thousand people. There are some parallels with this story about Aberfan, Wales.
  • The pop-up ad campaign from hell: It's the latest in Web marketing innovation: Hijacked Web surfers, exploited Web browser vulnerabilities and malicious spyware all wrapped up together. Salon.com 5/7/02
  • The outrageous Vincent Chin murder, where the assailants were "let off the hook" and Rededication to Justice.
  • Meeting the 'chocolate slaves' BBC News 6/13/02
  • BAH HAHAHAHAHA TV sex does not sell, study says: Viewers less likely to focus on ads Boston Globe 6/23/02
  • Current Decent News
  • Decent News for July 2002
  • Decent News for June 2002 (First "News to Think Over")
  • Decent News for May 2002
  • Decent News for April 2002
  • Decent News for March 2002
  • Decent News for February 2002
  • Decent News for January 2002
  • Decent News for December 2001
  • Decent News for November 2001
  • Decent News for October 2001
  • Decent News for September 2001
  • Decent News for August 2001
    Some spiritual up-links