Decent News, 2005

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.

  • Oakland humanitarian earns honor SFGate.com 12/16/05
  • Daring rescue of whale off Farallones: Humpback nuzzled her saviors in thanks after they untangled her from crab lines, diver says SFGate.com 12/14/05
  • Youths Make Spirited Case at Climate Meeting NY Times 12/9/05 "Apathy Is Boring" ... great name! "Stop asking how much it will cost you and start asking how much it will cost us." Heh!
  • A fine, free Thanksgiving feast: Homeless, Oakland natives dine side by side SFGAte.com 11/25/05
  • U2's Bono makes fiery case for rocking the world with ambitious mission to eradicate global misery SFGate.com 11/11/05 "In a funny way, it's not even about Africa. It's about who we are, what reasons we have to get out of bed in the morning. And if you're a rich, spoiled rotten rock star, this is a very good reason to get out of bed in the morning and put your Catholic guilt to work, why don'tcha? I'm doing it because we can. And because we can, we must."
  • Cat Show Plans Memorial Service for Dog SFGate.com 11/10/05 About Ginny, "The Dog Who Rescues Cats"
  • An 11-Year-Old Lifts Spirits at a Shelter NYTimes.com 10/27/05
  • A Happy Ending for Lady and Sasha NPR.org 9/19/05 and It Takes a Village to Save a Dog HSUS.org
  • With push from activists, Loma Prieta stirred low-income housing renaissance SFGate.com 10/3/05
  • Constance Baker Motley, Civil Rights Trailblazer, Dies at 84 NY Times 9/29/05 "Her hope as a judge was that she would change the world for the better...."
  • 'Mothering the Mother' With Childbirth Support NY Times 9/25/05
  • In pictures: School for Ecuador indigenous women BBC News
  • An oasis amidst the devastation Volunteers seeking funds to keep clinic operating in overlooked neighborhood 9/20/05 SFGate.com
  • Kids learn how gardens grow Boston.com 9/14/05
  • Moved to Help Evacuees, Caterer Grabbed a Spoon NY Times 9/10/05
  • Refusing to Leave Them Behind, Evacuees Smuggled Their Pets Out With Them HSUS.org 9/4/05
  • CULINARY PIONEERS Pioneering garden marks a decade SFGate.com 9/7/05
  • Disabled sailor crosses Channel: A paralysed woman has become the first quadriplegic sailor to cross the English Channel BBC News 8/23/05
  • Japanese-Americans interned in WWII get diplomas 50 years late SFGate.com 8/21/05
  • THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE A HOME: After 6 years living out of vans and trailers, the Silver family moves into a 3-bedroom subsidized apartment and enjoys the simple pleasures -- taking a bath, watching movies together on the sofa, getting a fresh start SFGate.com 8/21/05 The family's situation in 2003 12/2003
  • GREEN: Clean, Green Homes Start with nontoxic cleaners SFGate.com 8/17/05
  • Doctor with rare brain disease keeps active despite condition SFGate.com 8/8/05
  • ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings Dies at 67 SFGate.com 8/7/05 An amazing guy.
  • Hope for Hungry Children NY Times.com 8/8/05
  • Chemist Tries to Solve World's Energy Woes SFGate.com 8/6/05
  • Fairy Godmother of Real Estate: An SF investor looks beyond profit to help families buy in SF SFGate.com 8/5/05
  • Canada Plane Crash Has Textbook Evacuation SFGate.com 8/3/05 Wow, some of the people who came to the scene were heroic.
  • Teens in Kenya (blog) SFGate.com blog July 2005
  • Seeds of change For Central Valley Hmong families, the farming tradition faces an uncertain future SFGate.com 8/3/05
  • GREEN Farming the Future Your organic food box is a delicious step towards a sustainable tomorrow SFGate.com 8/3/05
  • A TIME OF CHANGE: ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS AND THE DISENGAGEMENT Palestinian teacher of Holocaust history SFGate.com 9/3/05
  • A TIME OF CHANGE: ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS AND THE DISENGAGEMENT At checkpoints, a gentle advocate for Palestinians SFGate.com 8/2/05
  • Vindication for Ivory-Billed Woodpecker and Its Fans NY Times 8/2/05
  • A New Kind of Birdsong: Music on the Wing in the Forests of Ecuador NY Times 8/2/05 A bird that uses its wings like a cricket, making a violin-like sound. Check out the videos.
  • Mystery tree planter strikes again AP at Boston.com 7/28/05
  • Skoll and the Calvert Foundation promote "The New Heroes" at PBS. 7/5/05
  • A Livable Shade of Green NY Times 7/3/05
  • Study: Chickadee Song Warns of Danger NY Times 6/24/05 "The familiar ''chick-a-dee'' can indicate a stationary predator. Variations can convey how dangerous it is, whether it flies or is a snake or a mammal such as a ferret, and where it is, he said." Never underestimate a chickadee again.
  • University for South Africa's poor "Taddy Blecher must be the first person to have founded a university from a fax machine...." BBC News 6/15/05
  • Vietnam Babylift adoptees welcomed home 30 years on Boston.com 6/15/05
  • CLASS ACT: Delida Wong Focus on future -- not just hers Lowell grad dedicated to her own success as well as a better life for her single mother SFGate.com 6/9/05
  • Alicia's Story SFGate.com 2005 Series about a young woman facing cancer.
  • FINDING MY RELIGION: Pastor Heng Sure on what Buddhism has to do with healing the world SFGate.com 5/9/05 ...how minds touch.
  • Berkeley: KPFA pair give young Palestinians a voice SFGate.com 5/27/05
  • 78 names added to journalists' memorial Boston.com 5/3/05 Not good news, but a reminder of the sacrifices people make in the name of freedom of information.
  • New Light on M.I.T. Issues, With a (Gasp!) Biologist at the Helm NYTimes.com 5/3/05
  • Afleet Alex Touches Lives With Each Step He Takes on the Track NYTimes.com 5/3/05
  • HAYWARD Teen playing on tracks tried on manslaughter charges SFGate.com 5/3/05 ... Nothing in this story is happy, but it so strongly reminds me of: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his brother." The girl is a hero, and I wanted to honor her action.
  • FINDING MY RELIGION: Buddhist pastor Heng Sure talks about his 2 1/2-year pilgrimage up the California coast SFGate.com 5/2/05
  • THE STUNNED WIFE: Preacher husband infected her with HIV -- knowingly SFGate.com 5/2/05 ...but now she's helping others like herself.
  • S.C. teens credit higher power for rescue Boston.com 5/2/05
  • A Healing Journey, From Harvard to the Homeless Shelters NY TImes 4/26/05
  • Lakeport mourns its loss: Town recalls lively spirit of activist killed in Baghdad SF Gate.com 4/19/05 ""She would want people to know that if she, this California girl, came to Iraq with no money and no contacts, and made a difference in a conservative Middle Eastern country, then anyone could."
  • The world mourns people's pontiff EMBRACED: A heartfelt gesture changed perception of AIDS SFGate.com 4/4/05
  • Robotic microscope: a tinker's breakthrough Neural disease researcher melds optics and computer software SFGate.com 3/28/05
  • Plant Is Found to Correct Its Own Mutated Gene NY Times.com 5/23/05
  • New help for the homeless City's unique volunteer program is growing into a genuine civic movement SFGAte.com 5/21/05
  • Groups Work to Save Rain Forest Palms AP news at yahoo.com, 5/20/05
  • Ask Them (All 8 of Them) About Their Grandson NY Times.com 3/20/05
  • Job training program uses tough love to alter attitudes of the hard-to-employ Boston.com 3/20/05
  • 13 things that do not make sense NewScientist.com 3/19/05 ... cool science mysteries!
  • How do Jews and Muslims talk? about the Maimonides Foundation in London BBC News magazine 3/16/05
  • Tsunami orphan's teddy auctioned: A 100-year-old teddy bear owned by an Italian girl who was rescued from a tsunami has been sold for 1,500. BBC News 3/16/05
  • The wonder welders of Tanzania BBC News 3/14/05 "An exhibition showcasing the work of a group of polio victims who built a reputation for designing innovative and unusual sculptures has opened in Tanzania."
  • Finding a new life, new work in a new country Boston.com 3/6/05
  • When Rapists Walk Free (about the courageous Mukhtaran Bibi, the Pakistani woman) NY Times 3/5/05
  • The Peacock Princess of China NY Times One young man, she said, was selected after she heard him crying out for his runaway cow. A young girl was chosen after pleading for the opportunity to dance so she could earn the $48 it would cost her family to buy a cow. Ms. Yang said the girl's story moved her to tears. "I picked her even though I thought she was too short," Ms. Yang said, laughing. "But she works hard. I can always hear her singing in the back. She puts all her energy into it. You see, this show is nothing but real life."
  • The Push Is on for Good Clean Dirt NY Times 2/3/05 (gardening)
  • Kids from all walks of life sing from the same page. And it's in Mandarin. SFGate.com 3/1/05
  • Fair play to us (Fair Trade and the UK) BBC News 2/22/05
  • More than a shelter, home: The homeless respond to good quarters, comfort, says architect SFGate.com 2/21/05
  • Strong as steel and environmentally sound, bamboo is branching out Boston.com 2/17/05
  • Young convicts renew hope on trail of death: Father's loss touches prisoners on crew of mudslide rescuers SFGate.com 2/20/05
  • Miyazaki to receive Golden Lion at Venice fest... various news sources have this, but this 2/9/05 forum post is pretty comprehensive.
  • National Council of Churches speaks up for the environment in this news release 2/14/05
  • Giving the fruits of his labor: Boy, 8, creates program to give fruit to needy. The Indepedent 2/3/05 (Check it out!!)
  • Survival in a flood zone Boston.com 2/8/05
  • BIG TURNOUT BUOYS HOPES UNFLINCHING: Millions vote in defiance of rebel attacks SF Chronicle 1/31/05 "I remembered my brother, who Saddam executed.... I felt a power inside myself, and there was a voice telling me, 'This should not happen to my son or to any Iraqi. I have to prevent this dictatorship from returning to Iraq.' "
  • Leaving the Brothel Behind NY Times 1/19/05 "Today Srey Neth steers clear of the boys trying to flirt with her - she's still deeply distrustful of boys and men - but she has learned to laugh again."
  • Stamp honours Jewish 'moon boy' BBC News 1/20/05
  • Companies seek recipes without trans fat Boston.com 1/18/05
  • Power Plants Agree to Slash Coal Emissions NY Times 1/12/05
  • Humanure! Ultimate enviros turn brown to green SF Gate 1/12/05
  • 130,000 wishes come true: All the teen wanted for Christmas 1/11/05
  • History's other great relief effort BBC News 1/11/05
  • Straight to the Heart: National Geographic Articles That Made a Difference National Geographic Jan. 2005.
  • SHAME OF THE CITY: Reclaiming her life 54-year-old Rita Grant fell from a middle-class life to homelessness, heroin and heartache before accepting her family's offer to help clean up SF Gate.com 1/9/05
  • Mourners remember Matsui's devotion to roots SF Gate.com 1/9/05
    News to Think Over
    And Pray About....

  • Africa's World of Forced Labor, in a 6-Year-Old's Eyes NYTimes.com 10/29/06
  • An Elephant Crackup? 10/8/06 NYTimes.com What have we done to elephants? Why do some of them still treat us like one of their own?
  • Let Us Now Kill All The Dogs China slaughters tens of thousands of canines with giant clubs. How appalling is it? SFGate.com 8/9/06 Asks some tough questions.
  • New energy law limits public's say in decisions. Activists dismayed: Cash flows from gas pumps to industry's pockets, they say The Salt Lake Tribune 8/12/05
  • Tracking the Imperiled Bluefin From Ocean to Sushi Platter" NYTImes.com 5/3/05 "...the intensifying trade in bluefin may soon empty the waters of this master of the sea"
  • LIVING IN THE SHADOWS: Bay Area doctors join fight against a rare genetic skin disorder that afflicts an alarming number of Mayan children in rural Guatemala. SFGate.com 11/28/04
  • Decapitating Appalachia NY Times.com 1/13/04 "In 2002, the administration essentially repealed a longstanding provision of the Clean Water Act prohibiting the dumping of mining wastes in streams. Now...."
  • Quarantining dissent: How the Secret Service protects Bush from free speech SF Gate.com 1/4/04
  • Searching for hope in Uganda BBC News 12/28/03
  • U.S. Proposes Easing Rules on Emissions of Mercury NY Times 12/3/03 ...Mercury is a potent toxin that causes brain damage, folks....
  • For Billions of Birds, an Endangered Haven NY Times 9/23/03
  • New lessons from a look at Hitler's rise 5/15/03 Particularly: "Ed Gernon, an executive producer, lost his job last month after telling TV Guide that the social climate in Germany during Hitler's rise was similar to that in the United States as it headed into war with Iraq." Might the action of firing him be another step down the same road?....
  • The press and freedom: some disturbing trends courier-journal.com 4/20/03
  • Groups Fault Rule on Automatic Detention NY Times 3/31/03 Yes, we are the land of the secret tribunal. "One Sudanese woman, who said she had fled to the United States to escape slavery that she lived under in Kenya for 14 years, said she was handcuffed, placed in leg shackles and paraded through the Newark International Airport after she filed for asylum in November 2001." `Referring to the automatic detention of new applicants, the woman, who was once jailed for a month in Iraq, said, "That's horrible. It's not much different than what I went though in Baghdad."'
  • Bush Administration Wins Court Victory on Guantanamo Detentions NY Times 3/12/03
  • 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....
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