Lance Armstrong, at 37, is getting back on his bike, determined to win an eighth Tour de France this spring.
(Read text of story below)
Lance Armstrong Returns to Cycling, to Win 8th Tour
Standing Up Against Mockery in the Public Discourse
We are a society that has come to consider mockery an acceptable form of public discourse. Whether it’s on a late-night comedy show, in a popular movie, or a political campaign speech, this form of public degradation is seen as “normal. We don’t care if a speaker’s words are vicious or denigrating, or even true — as long as they’re uttered with a smile and a joke line… But as mockery has grown increasingly acceptable in the public discourse, children and teenagers have also come to accept it as normal, and the consequences have sometimes been tragic, like suicides by teens who were cruelly mocked. (Mocking is a form of bullying, a way of asserting superiority by denigrating or humiliating another.)
Mockery is used by both Republicans and Democrats, in blogs on both sides. It is time to reject it. Read the rest of this inspired opinion column by Pamela Gerloff, co-author of Dignity for All: How to Create a World without Rankism (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008).
This Sunday Join a Worldwide Intention Experiment for Peace
Join possibly the largest experiment ever designed to test the power of group intention to lower violence and bring peace in conflict areas around the world. This Sunday, September 14, you can participate with hundreds of thousands of people for ten minutes sending an intention for peace under highly controlled scientific conditions.
Lynne McTaggart is the author of The Intention Experiment — see the Good News Network feature, Largest Successful Mind-Over-Matter Experiments in History.
McTaggart has assembled a scientific advisory body of leaders in consciousness research, to devise a strict protocol and measure violence levels before and after the intention experiment to see if there is any effect.
Visit TheIntentionExperiment.com for more information or to sign-up to partcipate.
(Image courtesy of Sun Star)
Turkey-Armenian Thaw After Presidents Watch World Cup Match Together
An inspired meeting of rivals from Turkey and Armenia over a football match has opened a crack in the wall of silence between the the two nations since World War I. Amid widespread negativity in his own country, the president of Turkey accepted an invitation from his Armenian counterpart to view Saturday’s World Cup qualifying match between the two teams, becoming the first Turkish leader to step foot on Armenian soil since 1991. The invitation led to talks about a future plan for peace.
Giant Buddha Statue Unearthed in Afghanistan
Archaeologists in Afghanistan said they discovered a giant Buddha statue near the ruins of the pair of giant Buddhas, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The archaeologists said the newly discovered statue measures 62 feet tall and features the Buddha in a sleeping position. (Reuters)
What are the Odds? Son Gets Same Dorm Room as Dad
The father of a Michigan State University student said fate landed the 18-year-old in the same dorm room his dad stayed in 30 years ago. Rich Robell, 50, said he was shocked when his son, Mike, received his room assignment at Emmons Hall, B310.
Accord Signed to End North Lebanon Violence
Alawites and Sunnis in northern Lebanon’s main city signed a reconciliation accord late on Monday aimed at restoring state control to the port and ending sectarian bloodshed there. At least 23 people were killed in Tripoli during clashes in May.
Download My Commemorative 9/11 Newsletter!
In memory of the events of 9/11, 2001, please download my commemorative 9/11 Edition of SOME GOOD NEWS, an 8-page printable newsletter (in PDF) that focused on the wondrous and small miracles of service in the wake of the September 11 tragedy.
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GNN Newsletters Are Archived Online, RSS, too
Did you know there is a web archive of my weekly newsletters? Yes! You can see all the newsletters going back to January, when I switched to a fancy mailing company, AWeber.com. They have archived all the Top Ten Good News Stories of the week online on this page.
Also, an RSS feed is provided so you can see the latest editions posted to your News Reader, instead of receiving them in your mailbox. The RSS link looks like this: http://www.aweber.com/z/rss/?gnn-newsletter
Old Prison Transformed Into Arts Center
What does society do with an old abandoned prison? Turn it into an art center, of course. Each prison dormatory is a different display of another creative vision of the world. The Lorton state prison in Virginia, some miles down the road from where the Good News Network began, is now completely transformed into the Workhouse Arts Center. There are pilates classes and even classes offered during the day for home-schooled children beginning with the grand opening September 19. (Read on WUSA9.com or watch video) Photo: Fine art photographer, Luca DiCecco, captures the spirit of the prison’s past
Also see the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton website. (Thanks to Steve G. for submitting the link!)
Coaching Legend Don Haskins Dies, Remembered for Breaking Color Barrier
Don Haskins coached perhaps the most important basketball game of all time and broke the color barrier in an all-white sport at the time. In 1966 as coach of Texas Western, he fielded 5 black players in a championship college game against Kentucky’s 5 white players. The story of that game, and the magical season, was made into a film called “Glory Road”, which was released in January 2006. Haskins died Sunday at the age of 78.
“He remains one of the most revered and honored coaches in basketball history, said the Texas school’s athletic director Bob Stull. “His decision to start five black players in the 1966 national championship game changed college basketball and the sports world.”
Cyprus Rivals Meet to Launch Push for Reunification
Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders launched talks in what is seen as the best chance in decades to reunite their divided island. The rival leaders held the 90 minute historic meeting in their divided capital, Nicosia. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, and it is hoped the talks between the two moderate statesmen can end a conflict which threatens Turkey’s EU membership hopes.
The Organic Lunch Lady (Video)
Oak Grove School in Calif. is planting the seeds of healthy living by offering an organic all-vegetarian school lunch, and a nutrition lesson that will last long after these kids leave school.
TV Networks and Stars Raise 100M With Unique TV Cancer Special
A galaxy of stars and the three major TV networks united in a rare televised fundraising event to “stand up” to cancer. ABC, CBS and NBC joined with Hollywood stars on Friday night – including cancer survivors such as Christina Applegate, Patrick Swayze, and Lance Armstrong. The telethon raised $100 million.
Abandoned NYC Rail Line Being Remade as Park
In a desolate corner of Manhattan’s West Side as wrecking balls loomed, a campaign will triumph in turning a 13-mile-long elevated railway track into a park. A spokesperson for the city Planning Commission, says the project will attract tourists and provide for affordable housing in the area. (AP story in Contra Costa Times)
HP Ships PCs in Fabric Bags to Win Green Packaging Contest
A Hewlett-Packard laptop computer that’s packaged in a recycled bag rather than a box has won a contest for less wasteful packaging. The winner of Walmart’s Home Entertainment Design Challenge is the Pavilion dv6929 Entertainment Notebook that cuts product packaging by 97 percen, which not only conserves fuel but also reduces CO2 emissions by removing the equivalent of one out of every four trucks previously needed to deliver the notebooks to Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations around the country.
Jumper With Chute Problem Survives Mile-High Mountain Fall (UPDATED)
A Norwegian jumper survived a spine-chilling crash from a mile-high mountain. Hans Lange struggled to straighten out his parachute before slamming into a rock wall and crashing into a tree top. He survived with a broken leg. (Fox News has the story )
New Breast Cancer Screening Tool Shows Promise
A new screening tool works three times better than mammography at finding tumors in women who have dense breast tissue, which can confound mammograms, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. It is called, molecular breast imaging, or MBI.
Saving Real Lives via the Virtual World (Video)
A group of software developers in the UK are promoting a new kind of video game designed to help in real-life situations. They’re called ‘serious games’ and train people to deal with adverse situations such as medical emergencies.
Exercise May Improve Memory in Older People
Regular, moderate exercise may help improve memory in older people and delay the onset of dementia, a study in Australia shows. Here is the Reuters link.
(Photo courtesy of Sun Star)
Shareholders Vote for Climate Change Resolutions in Record Numbers
2008 was a good year for enviros in the boardroom. A record 57 climate related shareholder resolutions were filed this year—a figure that has doubled over the past 5 years. Support for these measures averaged more than 23% among shareholders– another all time high. (Environmental News Network)