David Pollay has advice for anyone in need of rescue from a situation that is so distracting or irritating that you can’t think of anything else. Try this, and see if it works…
The plane was full. My seat was 22C. To my surprise there was no one beside me and no one behind me. I felt like I had won the lottery of seating charts. You know the feeling. You can spread out. You can recline without bothering anyone. You can even use two tray tables!
EDITOR’S BLOG — What is one to say after the worst school shooting in history? And on the very same day, the worst bombings in Iraq to date? … I continued publishing positive news even though I felt like an imposter. Like other artists, whose creations feed the soul rather than providing benefits in outwardly practical ways, I felt an inadequacy and uselessness in the wake of the tragedy. Then I remembered the days after 9/11, when I confided to my ten-year-old boy that maybe sharing the good news was pointless in these horrific times. He countered, "Good news is more important than EVER!"
“Before Virginia Tech, before Columbine, there was Paducah, Kentucky. A 1997 school shooting there left Missy Jenkins Smith paralyzed, but not without hope.” … She talks from her wheelchair about how we’ve already got a powerful solution to the violence in the way that we treat people. She carries absolutely no malice for the boy who open fired on her and her friends and is a tremendous spokesperson. She’s got a happy life, born anew with purpose, a new husband, and a baby on the way… Read the full story, produced by Kevin Sites, in the Hot Zone.
"For the first time, an American mining firm has supported a "social responsibility" resolution put forward by shareholder activists. The move shows the power shareholders hold in getting corporations to address social and environmental concerns." (CS Monitor) Thanks to SG!
“For 50 years, Britain’s Peter Ashton has been studying — and trying to preserve — a wealth of diversity in Asia’s tropical forests.” (CS Monitor) Thanks to SG for the link!
"To live independently, single mothers need an education. But to get one, they also need a place to live and child care — needs that colleges are waking up to." (CS Monitor) Thanks SG!
"Major lenders embark on a rescue mission to halt the wave of foreclosures sweeping the nation and delaying a housing market recovery." (CS Montor) Thanks to SG for the link!
The governor of Oregon challenged himself to live on food stamps for one week, which didn’t leave enough for his morning coffee. Twenty-one dollars is what the average state resident is allowed for groceries, so he shopped for "mac and cheese" while the media tagged along. (AP)
Al Sharpton and other black activists are angry at hip-hop superstar entrepreneur Russell Simmons for stepping forward to initiate a new dialogue around offensive language in rap and hip-hop lyrics.
In short, Simmons says three words should never be played in songs over the airwaves. “If you want those words go buy them.” There can be “clean versions” that are for sale, which also have the words removed.
A Grand Prix event in St. Petersburg, Florida, donated their leftovers — 5 tons of steak, lobster, shrimp and sandwich trays — to a St. Vincent de Paul charity. “We’ve been unloading for three days,” said Sophie Sampson, the executive director there. “The Indy Racing League Ministry, an organization serving the Grand Prix’s sanctioning body, has been donating unused food to rescue missions for years, and in 2006 gave away about 100,000 pounds in communities where races take place, according to its Web site.” (– St. Petersburg Times)
Just before his death in 2006, Gary Comer, founder of Lands’ End, funded a start-up company to develop ways to pull CO2 out of the air. Last week, Comer’s Global Research Technologies officially introduced its unique CO2 vacuum cleaner in conjunction with Earth Day, placing the Arizona company in a good position to win a $25 million prize offered in February to anyone who could invent such a thing. (The hefty prize was the creation of Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, as a motivation for inventors to devise ways of cleaning the air of existing global warming gases.)
“Your perception determines your experience,” says Rev. Michael Beckwith, one of the teachers writing in the hit book, The Secret. Take responsibility for your life by choosing what you focus on. CBS’s Bill Whitaker questions the truths behind “The Secret” on this video, which was posted on YouTube by CBS — with an option to share.
For more Eye to Eye programs visit CBSNews.com.
On April 23rd eight major UK companies joined with Tony Blair to unveil We’re in this Together, a campaign to provide consumers with compelling products and simple solutions for individuals that make it easier to reduce their CO2 emissions. Together, as citizens, people can watch on the Web site as the amount of global warming gases decrease with each solution implemented…
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled plans on Sunday for a more energy-efficient city where pedestrians would be shaded by more trees while breathing cleaner air. The proposal saves water by rebuilding aging water mains, fosters support for mass transit, creates more energy-efficient buildings and pledges to plant a million new trees by 2017 that will help with pollution by cleaning the air.
The Bush administration will allow Wiccans to choose the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, for inscription on government-issued memorial markers for deceased veterans, it was announced today. Officials dragged their feet on the request for years (and were finally sued) but in the interim approved the symbols of six other religions and belief systems, like the Sikh emblem approved in only a few weeks. Wicca is a nature-based religion grounded in pre-Christian beliefs that honors the Divine as both Mother and Father, encompasses love of Nature and its cycles, and encourages harmony among all humans. (Green Bay Press) Related is a June 13, 2006 GNN story, Christianity Today Stands Behind Wiccan Widow.
Where once a million flamingos awashed the shores in pink along Lake Nakuru, a community is replanting saplings to help rebuild the forests they had burned for farmland in the 1990’s. Realizing the error in judgment they have planted more than 3000 trees since January, and the flamingos are already returning, along with valuable tourist dollars. (Reuters)
Port Phillip in Australia is encouraging people to smile or say "G’day" — the standard Australian greeting — to both neighbors and strangers as they stroll down the street. "Smiling," the mayor says, "encourages people to feel more connected with each other and safer, so it reduces fear of crime — an important element in the quality of life of many neighborhoods." … "Very small positive experiences can make people not only feel better about themselves, but also be more helpful to others." (The Daily Star also mentions a study showing people who find money left in a phone booth are more likely to help others.)
For a happier Earth Day, read four stories from the states, where in Washington, Illinois and Georgia, beautiful areas of the United States are being protected and efforts are being launched to mitigate global warming… Happy day, Earth!
The 1997 Academy Award®-winning documentary, “A Story of Healing,” has been re-released this week under a Creative Commons License, the first time in history that an acclaimed film is being widely distributed over the Internet for free with the message, “Please copy.” The nonprofit group that was the subject of the film recognized that by releasing the film under a relatively free license (strictly for non-commercial use, attribution required and no derivatives allowed) they would encourage people to spread the word about their inspiring charitable work. (And the fact that it’s here on the Good News Network proves they were right.)
Millions of people living in urban slums throughout the world are set to benefit from the pro-poor housing fund set up by UN-Habitat and its partners, a senior UN official said on Friday.
