Decent News, January 2003

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

Ants, Mushroom and Mold: An Evolutionary Arms Race NY Times (reg. req'd) 1/28/03 "Recently, biologists analyzed the DNA of mushroom fungi from attine ant gardens in many countries and found that all belonged to a single clone, presumably dating from 50 million years ago.... The mushroom has been forced to quit the sexual race, but it could have handed over its evolutionary defense to the bacterium, as deployed by the ants."

Fickle Evolution: Winged, to Wingless, to Winged NY Times (reg. req'd) 1/21/03

Rescued whale recovers in hotel pool CNN.com 1/25/03

Rare vampire bats dodge death in desert town CNN.com 1/23/03

Oregon: A whale of a vacation CNN.com 1/22/03

Blind pianist composes music about life he's never seen AP at boston.com 1/19/03

Enter policy, stage right: Theaters now dramatize, debate the hot issues Boston Globe 1/19/03

Monks' Brew Showers Blessings on Belgian Town NY Times (reg. req'd) 1/15/03

Beating the Odds, With New Lungs and a Zeal for Life NY Times (reg. req'd) 1/14/03

New Ideas Energize Alzheimer's Battle NY Times (reg. req'd) 1/14/03

Aaron Feuerstein: Bankrupt and Wealthy aish.com, unknown date.

Ryan's transformation from death penalty advocate to foe AP at Boston.com 1/13/03 "...since capital punishment was reinstated in 1977, 13 death row inmates had been exonerated, more than the 12 executed." "...juries were more likely impose a death sentence if victims were white than if they were black." "...lawmakers passed none of the sweeping changes Ryan was pushing for."

Separated sisters going home CNN.com 1/12/03

How the Spiny Lobster Finds Home: Magnetism NY Times (reg. req'd) 1/7/03

Scientists invent new ways to fight infection by exploiting bacterial communication AP at Boston.com 1/12/03 ...cool science

Protests counter neo-Nazi rally: 4,500 back Somalis against racist church Boston Globe 1/12/03

Koreans celebrate 100 years in America; many today hold positions of prominence AP at Boston.com 1/12/03

Bat bite packs clot-busting potential for strokes CNN.com 1/9/03

N.M. woman becomes nation's first Hispanic state chief justice CNN.com 1/9/03

Wickenheiser out to impress BBC News 1/8/03

Adjourned: Courthouse notes passing of Mitze, a cat Boston Globe 1/9/03

States of exile: In Euripides' 'Children,' director Sellars sees plight of today's refugees Boston Globe 1/3/03, The Balm of Ancient Words: Peter Sellars talks to Gideon Lester about The Children of Herakles American Repertory Theatre 12/02 "Security is based on communication, on mutual understanding, on the ability to look somebody in the eye, and that is a cultural program, not a military program." What Euripides Knew About Refugees: Everything NY Times and Peter Sellars and the Children of Herakles WBUR "The Connection" show 1/9/03 Theater's role in opening discussion - the role of Soviet theater and its citizens' quiet facilitation of it - a condemned Afghanistan woman whose extended family exhausted its wealth to send her to Paris where refugees are under attack - the Greek understanding of the power and role of theater.

Family issues blur gender roles, affect workplace: Men increasingly take caregiver role for elder family members BostonWorks.com 1/5/03

Camera in a pill provides inside view: 'Gut cam' probes small intestine Boston Globe 1/5/03

For all who contributed, Globe Santa says, 'Thank you': Fund provided gifts to 53,211 children in '02 Boston Globe 1/5/03

Finnish Prisons: No Gates or Armed Guards NY Times (free reg. req'd) 1/2/03

Mastering 88 Keys Con (Digital) Brio NY Times (free reg. req'd) 1/2/03

Orangutans Said to Exhibit Hallmarks of Culture NY Times (free reg. req'd) 1/2/03

News to Think Over
And Pray About....

Plastic Invades Ocean KGO-TV from 11/12/02 ...pretty alarming and really disgusting.

Rep. Howard Coble's support of the internment of American citizens during WWII....

NASA Dismissed Advisers Who Warned About Safety NY Times 2/3/03

KMart reports evidence of wrongdoing: Internal investigation uncovers evidence of "grossly derelict" actions by former top managers. CNN.com 1/25/03 ... in other words ... the way our laws are now, if you want to be a thief and live the high life, become a CEO.

Two Scientists Contend U.S. Suppressed Dolphin Studies NY Times 1/8/03 ... maybe minor on the human scale of things, but more indications of the usual politics, this time hurting other species.

Court says military may hold citizens: Panel finds broad powers for president during warfare Boston Globe 1/9/03 ... sure some stuff is necessary, but is the government so trustworthy this won't be abused?

Half a Million Afghan Refugees Left Homeless and Cold in Cities NY Times and Orangutans Said to Exhibit Hallmarks of Culture NY Times (reg. req'd) 1/2/03 - just as we begin to learn, we are destroying them....

Anthology examines Third World women's plight Boston Globe 12/19/02

What's in a Name? Perhaps Plenty if You're a Job Seeker NY Times 12/12/02 ... racial profiling at work

The Doors of Perception ... how propaganda runs public perception. Well, not quite a news article, but it goes hand in hand with "For Richer," below.

AIDS robbing African classrooms CNN.com 11/27/02

As Andean Glaciers Shrink, Water Worries Grow NY Times 11/24/02

Problem of Lost Health Benefits Is Reaching Into the Middle Class NY Times 11/25/02 Maybe now things will change???

Whose Hands Are Dirty? NY Times 11/25/02 ... what's THAT doing in the Homeland Security bill?!

Gap hit by 'sweatshop' protests BBC News 11/21/02 "I'm Paid $0.30 an hour to make GAP clothes" read some signs.

Voters advise lawmakers to ax Clean Elections law AP at Boston.com 11/6/02 ... I saw the ballot and was the wording ever skewed against Clean Elections, which might have helped some non-bigwig politicians get into office ... and then we find out that Big Business paid lots of money to have Clean Elections killed. There's a song that had the refrain "Justice for money, how much more can I pay?" ... another case of that, sounds like!

For Richer NY Times article 10/20/02 (registration required) "Twenty years ago, would a prominent senator have likened those who want wealthy people to pay taxes to Nazis?" "Plutocracy by some other name"

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 December 2002

Decent News for November 2002

Decent News for October 2002

Decent News for September 2002

Decent News for August 2002

Decent News for July 2002

Decent News for June 2002 (First "News to Think Over")