Decent News, July 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


  • Girl uses tow truck to free dad from under car AP at Boston.com 7/31/02
  • Holocaust survivor tells her story a final time; suffers apparent heart attack at festival AP at Boston.com 7/30/02 "her last public words were, `Please remember this story and tell it to others...'"
  • It's no fish story one angler... plus a cute goat story. AP at Boston.com 7/30/02
  • Barnaby the Horse Gets an Artificial Leg Reuters at news.yahoo.com 7/29/02
  • After Roll-of-the-Dice Rescue, a Mine Town Rejoices NY Times (registration required) 7/29/02
  • Cool science news at NY Times: including ant cemeteries NY Times 7/23/02
  • New FDNY chaplain follows his late friend, mentor and legend AP at Boston.com 7/28/02
  • To Keep the Peace, Study Peace NY Times (registration required) 7/27/02 "...cities with developed social, political and economic integration were far less vulnerable to conflict." Probably applies to countries, too.
  • 'We've Been Waiting,' They Say After 3 Days Underground NY Times (registration required) 7/28/02
  • Fairy Tales as a Learning Tool for Young Offenders NY Times (registration required) 7/24/02
  • Environmental group buys timber rights CNN.com 7/25/02
  • Tense times: Teachers from Mideast share peace lessons Boston Globe 7/22/02
  • Young Florida girl finds friendship, hope in teenager with same disease AP at Boston.com 7/21/02
  • 20 years later, gift to town is restitution for college prank AP at Boston.com 7/20/02
  • Civil rights lawyer who represented Rosa Parks breaks another racial barrier AP at Boston.com 7/19/02
  • Church Group Leads Strippers Out of Clubs Reuters at news.yahoo.com 7/19/02
  • Asian Heroes at Time.com includes Thirteen Years Of Solitude: Aung San Suu Kyi and The Courage of His Convictions: Makoto Oda and others.
  • Seeds of Peace camp plants seed of hope CNN.com 7/18/02
  • Surgeon Says Heart Failure Patients Now Play Rugby Reuters at news.yahoo.com
  • Aid for Farmers Helps Butterflies Too New York Times 7/9/02, helping farmers and butterflies both, and Protecting Monarchs by Trying to Protect Forests New York Times 7/9/02 (need to register at nytimes.com)
  • Seeds of Peace Camp founder dies CNN.com 7/11/02 and A letter from his son.
  • Taking aim at apathy Boston Globe 7/11/02
  • Two female officers including one with a gun try to fill role neglected by Taliban regime CNN.com 7/11/02
  • Maine's Seeds of Peace camp hopes to make future leaders out of Afghan teens AP at Boston.com 7/8/02
  • Slowly and nervously, women in Taliban's birthplace emerge from shrouded world AP at Boston.com 7/7/02
  • Canada zoo gives elephant steel tusks BBC News 7/6/02
  • Movie-goers' paradise soon to be a nature lover's paradise AP at Boston.com 7/6/02
  • Hope floats: Families with Sept. 11 losses connect, play at camp Boston Globe 7/6/02
  • Company builds game plan to help blind Boston Globe, 7/6/02
  • Journey from rejection to joy: Author reflects on her quest for a spiritual home Boston Globe 7/2/02
  • Giant steps: Katherine Dunham has left an imprint on the world of dance, and at 93, the legendary choreographer is finally getting her due. Boston Globe 7/3/02
  • Hybrid chestnuts offer hope for species CNN.com 7/01/02
    News to Think Over
    And Pray About....

  • 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 June 2002
  • 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