Decent News, September 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

  • Late congresswoman to remain on ballot: Patsy Mink is lauded as champion of labor, women, civil rights Boston Globe 9/29/02 "...the first minority woman in Congress.... a leading force behind the groundbreaking Title IX legislation that opened up school athletics and academics to women in 1972."
  • Fifteen nurses honored for risking lives to save others Boston Globe 9/24/02
  • Septic tank home to star gazers BBC News 9/24/02
  • Team's climb conquers more than the usual obstacles Boston Globe 9/24/02
  • Blast victim's final gift BBC News 9/22/02
  • Philadelphia: 'American Community' on display CNN.com 9/20/02
  • Bringing insight to bear on an exotic adventure Boston Globe 9/21/02 ''I realized I was meant to witness the suffering and hope revealed to us on this journey, no matter what the data brought, and that it was my great privilege to be here.''
  • Almost 101, cowgirl still saddles her horse CNN.com 9/21/02 "You have to get out in the world and look at all the wonderful things." -Constance (Connie) Douglas
  • Kids use PlayStation for high-tech homework CNN.com 9/21/02
  • Lyric's 'Carmen' lures 50,000 to Common Boston Globe 9/21/02
  • Turkish diplomat who rescued Jews from Holocaust dies AP at Boston.com "On one occasion, [Necdet] Kent boarded a train bound for Auschwitz after Nazi guards refused to let some 70 Jews with Turkish citizenship disembark. After more than an hour, the guards allowed Kent and the Jews to leave."
  • Deaf former Miss America hears new sounds through implant; hopes to hear her young sons ''[Helen Keller] felt the water, and she realized there's a name for water,'' McCallum said. ''That's the same kind of joy I had in my heart when I heard the water before I went to bed.''
  • Too clean? Study suggests that germs in dust can protect against allergies AP at Boston.com 9/19/02 ... well, it's good news for those of us who are messy.....
  • Steaming ahead: Determined clamdigger helps reopen South Shore flats Boston Globe 9/18/02
  • More than 300 research chimps and monkeys retired, turned over to preserve AP at Boston.com 9/18/02
  • Remains of rabbit-like dinosaur with buck teeth found in China AP at Boston.com 9/18/02
  • Cracking crime in the suburban 'jungle' BBC News 9/17/02
  • South African 'Sesame Street' introduces first HIV-positive Muppet AP at Boston.com 9/17/02 and HIV puppet on Sesame Street BBC News 9/17/02
  • Mail carrier cited as hero for donating kidney AP at Boston.com 9/17/02 Against All The Odds: Christopher Reeve, in a visit with TIME, tells how he is regaining control of his body, one finger at a time Time.com 9/16/02
  • World Vision's AIDS Cycle Relay news: Grandfather Cycling Through Africa For AIDS Awareness, Graca Machel hails WV's Cycle Relay.
  • Ethnic farmers celebrate two-year collaboration with upscale chefs AP at Boston.com 9/14/02
  • A year after 9/11, clergy reflect on the blending of faith, nation Boston Globe 9/14/02
  • Christopher Reeve's improvement called 'unprecedented' CNN.com 9/13/02 "its significance is that people will begin to emphasize the importance of rehabilitation and look at it in more ordinary people with these injuries."
  • New York Fed president calls on CEOs to cut their 'excessive' pay Boston Globe 9/12/02
  • Idaho mountain community preserves timber culture by processing spindly trees AP at Boston.com 9/12/02
  • Choirs to mark attacks with 24-hour 'Requiem' CNN.com 9/11/02
  • Four families' enduring grief Boston Globe 9/11/02
  • Help is on the way Boston Globe 9/8/02 ...EMTs in action.
  • Miss World boycott over Nigerian stoning CNN.com 9/7/02
  • Going against the flow: Experiment traps rainwater runoff to ease water shortage Boston Globe 9/7/02
  • Restorers saving ground zero photos Boston Globe 9/7/02 "...employees at Kodak and NFL Films, working after hours on their own time, have been scanning the photos onto computers."
  • Trial by fire: Girls in juvenile rehab program battle wildfires, their own demons AP at Boston.com 9/7/02
  • Virgin forest discovered in W. Mass. Boston Globe 9/5/02
  • After the shock, many Americans take stock of their lives and some change them AP at Boston.com, 9/4/02
  • Swimming rescuer, 81, saves motorist, 83 CNN.com 9/2/02
  • Jazz great Lionel Hampton, vibraphone virtuoso who broke racial barrier, dies at 94 AP at Boston.com 8/31/02 `Vibes' master Lionel Hamptom dead CNN.com 9/1/02 "It was the first time black and white ever played together"
    News to Think Over
    And Pray About....

  • Analysis: Pyongyang's U-turn on abductions BBC News 9/17/02
  • 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 August 2002
  • 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