Decent News, Current 2007

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, many NY Times) 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

Link to: HappyNews.com and HeroicStories.com.

  • Businessman Into Total Philanthropy SFGate.com 11/25/07 "The 83-year-old founder of Untours also gives away all of his company's profits to help poor the more than $5 million since 1999."
  • Emotional trek to Sierra crash site for man who lost legs at age 10 SFGate.com 11/25/07
  • Thanksgiving feasts for the homeless, indoors and out SFGate.com 11/23/07
  • Congo Creates Massive Reserve to Protect Close Human Cousin NYTimes.com 11/20/07
  • In Eco-Friendly Factory, Low-Guilt Potato Chips NYTimes 11/15/07
  • Dolphins save surfer from becoming shark bait: A pod of bottlenose dolphins helped protect the severely injured boarder MSNBC.com 11/8/07 When will we return the favor and save dolphins from us?
  • Loving thy neighbor: Glaring problem metamorphoses into artwork SFGate.com 11/10/07
  • Is pet overpopulation a myth? Inside Nathan Winograd's "Redemption" 10/2/07 "Based on data from the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, the Pet Food Manufacturers Association, and the latest census, there are more than enough homes for every dog and cat being killed in shelters every year. In fact, when I spoke to him for this article, he told me that there aren't just enough homes for the dogs and cats being killed in shelters. There are more homes for cats and dogs opening each year than there are cats and dogs even entering shelters." Wow....
  • Microcredit movement tackling poverty one tiny loan at a time SFGate.com 9/29/07 Wow!
  • When it comes to artful eco-conscious living and improving life, Denmark's new biennial Index design award - and not Burning Man - shows the way SFGate.com 9/29/07
  • Century-old Oakland photos identified by former owner's nephew SFGate.com 9/12/07
  • Super Smart Parrot's Dying Words: 'You Be Good, See You Tomorrow. I Love You.' blog.wired.com 9/11/07 Alex, a parrot with gift of gab, dies LATimes.com 9/12/07 Support the Alex Foundation
  • Slur on Campbell church sign erased mercurynews.com 8/21/07 and Members of Campbell church reach out to neighbors after vandalism mercurynews.com 8/27/07 "We asked, how can we turn this into love?" Scott said. "You could feel the energy shift in the room." " "We believe God's love can't be defaced or damaged, so we're going to put more love out there." "It's what's right, treating hate with hate isn't going to solve anything, and people with so much hate need to be loved more than the rest of us...."
  • Quitters sometimes win: Jumping ship in order to clean them SFGate.com 5/29/07 "But once I made a change, I realized that change is possible. In fact, I really just wondered why I hadn't done so sooner."
  • Design That Solves Problems for the World's Poor NYTimes.com 5/29/07 See the video. See also Design That Matters and The Lemelson Foundation (MIT) as well as D-Lab (MIT), and the IDEAS Competition (MIT).
  • One-Limbed Med Student to Graduate UCLA SFGate.com 5/27/07
  • Elite Colleges Open New Door to Low-Income Youths NYTimes.com 5/27/07 Anthony Abraham Jack's essay
  • Lack of Short-Term Memory Doesn't Stop New Grad NPR.org 5/25/07 This young man studied 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • How North Beach rallied to rescue neighbor in need SFGate.com 5/26/07
  • Orangutans play video games at Zoo Atlanta: Researchers are studying the cognitive skills of the primates MSNBC.com 4/11/07
  • Solar Flashlight Lets Africa's Sun Deliver the Luxury of Light to the Poorest Villages NYTimes.com 5/20/07 "In places where there is absolutely no electricity or running water, having light at night is a luxury many families don't have and never did and which we take for granted in developed countries."
  • Lifelong listener fears the sound of nature's silence: He has recorded call of the wild for decades, but worries earth's music will soon be lost SFGate.com 5/20/07
  • MOTHER'S DAY: One mom's mission of love: At 56, a San Francisco doctor took in a disabled 2-month-old Russian orphan. Now 71, she will officially become his mother as adoption papers go through. SFGate.com 5/13/07
  • Middle School Manages Distractions of Adolescence NYTimes.com 5/12/07
  • Coral Is Dying. Can It Be Reborn? NYTimes.com 5/5/07 "So I thought, well, these corals are in trouble. And we can make a difference rather than make money." "In another year or two we'll have several thousand corals. That's mostly one person making a difference."
  • Whole Foods Promotes Local Buying SFGate.com 4/29/07
  • Katrina relief work awakens teens to life-changing benefits of service SFGate.com 4/28/07
  • With a Charity for Soldiers, Youths Make Recycling Pay NYTimes.com 3/29/07 "For us to give them [soldiers] a lifeline to their family keeps us motivated."
  • Dog Performs 'Heimlich' on Choking Owner SFGate.com 3/27/07
  • Iraq injury left newsman battling for words, others SFGate.com 3/26/07
  • Once a drugged child soldier, Beah reclaims his soul SFGate.com 2/27/07
  • Baggs: Live on an autistic island? Not me CNN.com 2/23/07
  • FINDING MY RELIGION: Dharmachari Kumarjeev and millions of other Indian untouchables convert to Buddhism to escape India's caste system SFGate.com 2/12/07
  • Young Americans find roots in China: S.F. program offers history and genealogy, helps locate relatives SFGate.com 2/18/07
  • Preserving perches for wild parrots: City would take responsibility for favored aging cypresses under S.F. supervisor's plan SFGate.com 2/14/07
  • In Niger, Trees and Crops Turn Back the Desert NYTimes.com 2/11/07
  • How Green Was My Wedding NYTimes.com 2/11/07
  • From the Jurassic to the Patio NYTimes.com 2/8/07 About the Wollemi Pine at wollemipine.com
  • Reclaiming a Black Research Scientist's Forgotten Legacy NYTimes.com 2/6/07
  • Lifting up Tibet's women: UC Davis grad finds herself -- and a life's work SFGate.com 2/5/07
  • Super Bowl Coaches Value Family, Faith WashingtonPost.com 2/4/07
  • It just comes naturally: Software executive helps open up the technology field for minorities SFGate.com 1/25/07
  • NYC Newcomer Gets Lost for Five Days SFGate.com 1/22/07 Luckily, someone actually cared enough to stop and help. "When I see people in need, I try to help them," Bharath told the News. Lost in city's jungle: New arrival went for a walk & wandered Qns. for 5 days NYDailyNews.com 1/22/07
  • Hero dog Buffy gets operation to save her leg: Happy owners are grateful for donations to cover surgery SFGate.com 1/17/07
  • Camper rescued weeks after search called off CNN.com 1/15/07
  • Woman Stops To Help Men After Crash KETV.com 1/15/07
  • CLASS ACTS: A new breed of young Bay Area philanthropists redefines the meaning -- and methods -- of giving SFGate.com 1/14/07
  • Man known as Secret Santa dies in Mo. news.yahoo.com 1/13/07
    His private holiday giving started in December 1979 when he was at a drive-in restaurant nursing his wounds from having been fired. It was the second year in a row he had been fired the week before Christmas.
    "It was cold and this carhop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, `I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,'" he said. He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change.
  • Another NYC subway hero saves woman USAToday.com 1/13/07
  • Dog shot while fending off Oakland robber SFGate.com 1/11/07 Heroic dog. Dog shot defending owner from mugger KansasCity.com "She won't let children fight each other, she won't let me get too close to my husband if we're play-fighting. She's against violence, period," said Bartley's wife, Lagree Bartley.
  • Mysteries of the Brain and the Science of Sleep, Brought to Life in a Barn NYTimes.com 1/9/07
  • Two NYC Men Save Falling Toddler SFGate.com 1/5/06 To quote the guy who jumped onto the subway tracks to save another: "All New Yorkers! If you see somebody in distress, go for it!"
  • A Man Down, and a Stranger Makes a Choice NYTimes.com 1/3/07
    News to Think Over
    And Pray About....

  • Refugees Find Hostility and Hope on Soccer Field NYTimes 1/21/07
  • Sea Sends Distress Call in One-Note Chowders NYTimes 1/17/07
  • *THIS IS A SPOOF ARTICLE* Chinese Factory Worker Can't Believe The Shit He Makes For Americans TheOnion.com 6/21/06 - THIS IS A SPOOF ARTICLE, but its point is true enough....
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