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Growing Pains, and Glitches

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Good News Network
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Welcome to "G is for…. Blog"

G is for Growing pains and Glitches

Well, I sure needed those quotes this morning! (see below and also Inspiration Point for March 18 ) After a week of technical problems with the site, our glitches have yet to be resolved. On top of that, I ran into a website this morning with SO MANY of the features I want for this site — technorati feed, de.licio.us tags preset for each story, multiple tags for each story that lead to related topics, headline links for mobile phones to bookmark… I feel that all this angst is forcing me to be smarter, to rise to the occasion… to be compassionate with myself. . . So I’m learning something, which is good. Try to see the good in your pain.

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"Smart, useful pain comes to you because you are taking risks, and acting out of love and adventure. It is trying to make you smarter. In Kabbalah, in tarot, the devil card is the archetype of the Riddler, who presents us with insolvable problems so we can get smarter by rising to the occasion. Pain is demanding that we get more loving and expansive."

– Rob Brezsny (Author, Pronoia is the antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings
"Compassion directed toward oneself is true humility."
– Simone Weil

Golden Monkeys Surprising Comeback

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Good News Network
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China’s golden monkeys, a species more endangered than giant pandas (and almost as adorable), have made a surprising comeback with populations quadrupling in the past two decades from 200 in the early 1980s to around 800.

The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World

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Cultural Creatives

Cultural CreativesThe Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World (Hardcover)

The researchers who wrote this fascinating book characterize a new group of people as “Cultural Creatives.” These are people like me, the editor of the Good News Network, whose values embrace a curiosity and concern for the world and its ecosystem; an awareness of and activism for peace and social justice; and an openness to self-actualization through spirituality or personal development.

Sociologist Paul H. Ray and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson claim to have found that 50 million adult Americans (slightly over one quarter of the adult population) can now be identified as belonging to this group. They estimated that there were an additional 80–90 million “Cultural Creatives” in Europe as of 2000. Their assertions, though broad and sweeping, shed new light on American culture and demograpics.

Ray and Anderson argue that cultural creatives hold the potential for radically reshaping the values and material realities, the “deep structure,” of American life, and so they aim to make this group cognizant of their shared values, to bring about substantive changes.

Ray and Anderson created a questionnaire to identify “Cultural Creatives” in Western society. The below characteristics were identified as qualities of a “Cultural Creative”. Agreement with 10 or more indicates status as a “Cultural Creative”.

  • love of nature and deep caring about its preservation, and its natural balance.
  • strong awareness of the planet-wide issues like climate change and poverty and a desire to see more action on them
  • being active themselves
  • willingness to pay higher taxes or spend more money for goods if that money went to improving the environment
  • heavy emphasis on the importance of developing and maintaining relationships
  • heavy emphasis on the importance of helping others and developing their unique gifts
  • volunteer with one or more good causes
  • intense interest in spiritual and psychological development
  • see spirituality as an important aspect of life, but worry about religious fundamentalism
  • desire equality for women and men in business, life and politics
  • concern and support of the well being of all women and children
  • want politicians and government to spend more money on education, community programs and the support of a more ecologically sustainable future
  • are unhappy with the left and right in politics
  • optimism towards the future
  • want to be involved in creating a new and better way of life
  • are concerned with big business and the means they use to generate profits, including destroying the environment and exploiting poorer countries
  • unlikely to overspend or be heavily in debt
  • dislike the emphasis of modern cultures on “making it” and “success”, on consuming and making money
  • like people, places and things that are different or exotic

New Life for Historic Railway

By
Richard Rogers
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In what has been called an “historic agreement,” a scenic stretch of railroad along the rugged coastline of British Columbia has been donated to a charitable community foundation ready to promote more environmentally friendly commuting and tourism.

The deal depended upon a huge array of community municipalities and citizen groups along Canada’s western coast working together for four years until they achieved non-profit status as the Island Corridor Foundation.

The Canadian Pacific Railway then handed over the 225 km (140 miles) of railway line between British Columbia’s capital Victoria and Vancouver Island, along with six historic stations, a number of spectacular trestles, 651 hectares (1600 acres) of property, and $2.3 million in cash (Canadian) for upgrades to the line. In return, the company received the full tax benefit due a $236 million charitable donation.

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Science Confirms Humans Naturally Helpful

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toddler is kind naturally

toddler is kind naturallyWhat is human nature? Are we basically good, evil, or a little of both? Philosophers have debated this throughout the ages, but today science delivers some definitive news. Humans are naturally altruistic.

In Germany at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, a window has been opened into human behavior. Experiments involving prelinguistic and just post-linguistic children as young as 18 months showed the toddlers to be freely and voluntarily helpful in situations where the experimenter feigned a need for help.

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Spirituality and Religion Prevalent Among College Professors

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Eighty-one percent of U.S. college professors consider themselves “spiritual,” according to a report by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA.

The survey of 40,670 faculty at 421 colleges and universities seems to counter the popular perception that college campuses are predominantly secular.

…And, check out the neat online community called Integrative Spirituality where I found this story. (There are way too many links on the front page, though… It tends to cause paralysis in a viewer…)

Chelation a Possible Cure for Autism

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Boy with cancer Portrait by Flashes of Hope-Patrick Schneider

Boy with cancer Portrait by Flashes of Hope-Patrick SchneiderParents and caregivers are crediting the process of chelation with curing their son of autism. He went from not responding to his parents and continually spinning himself in circles, to talking and responding like a normal child.

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Photojournalist finds people are thirsting for images of goodness

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Gerald Herbert
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I have found … that people are thirsting for images of goodness in order to maintain their hope in a difficult world. Sometimes, the measure of our work as journalists is not the professional recognition of colleagues, but rather the mark we make in the hearts of readers who see our work.

– Gerald Herbert, photojournalist

Poor Kids Can Figure Out Computers on Their Own

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Good News Network
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Children in Remote Villages in India Teaching Themselves to use Computers Instinctively – with No Help from Adults

An IT engineer in India was gazing out his office window at the poverty-ridden shanty town located just outside the walls of his sleek hi-tech corporate compound. This irony led to inspiration. Computer skills offer a better chance at success for these poor kids.

The BBC reports, “He decided it was time to break a hole in the wall and give the children outside a chance to see what a computer was. He cut a hole and hooked one up. What happened next amazed him. They taught themselves how to use it.”

The article gives fascinating detail on how that occurred.

Innovative kid-only computer kiosks (built to keep large adult hands out) are now being installed in the village squares of other impoverished areas.

Since its inception in 1999, the Hole-in-the-Wall project has grown from a single computer at Kalkaji, New Delhi, to more than a hundred computers at various locations across India and abroad. For the children, it is an extension of their playground where they can play together, teach each other new things and, more importantly, just be themselves. World leaders, like the president of Afghanistan, have come to watch them play on the computers.

The really interesting twist is, no one teaches the kids how to use the technology. They teach themselves. “The driving force behind Hole-in-the-Wall is the the concept of Minimally Invasive Education which is truly path breaking,” reads their Web site. Observing the children at the kiosks for four years has shown “children could learn on their own, something not many people would have imagined.”

Editor’s note: Some families in the U.S. have “imagined” it and they called it Unschooling… a type of homeschooling that is gaining momentum. It is also called natural learning or child-led learning. Approximately 100,000 kids in the U.S. are in families that practice this philosophy… including my own! — Geri

Goldfinches making comeback in UK Thanks to Garden Feeders

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Good News Network
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A survey revealed that better food in bird feeders and gardens contributed to a recovery in the UK goldfinch population by one third in the last 20 years.

The telegraph reports that "increases in population have been noted since the mid-1990s, but the survey is the first confirmation that the revival has been brought about by the bird food offered in Britain’s 15 million or so gardens."

Nyjer (or niger) seed is one of the preferred foods for finches and is readily available, along with the high-energy sunflower heart seeds. Feeding birds is a simple way we can all help to bring back species of beautiful songbirds.

(submitted by tif short, CA)

Six months after Katrina, Kitty Reunited with Owner

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A 7-pound black kitty named "Cupcake" proved to be tough and streetwise prowling the devastated New Orleans neighborhood for six months in search of food following the evacuation of her family. She never strayed far from her home until animal rescuers found her owner and reunited Cupcake with the teenager now living in Atlanta… AP reports and files a wonderful photo of the happy girls.

"Animal rescue groups have rescued more than 1,200 former pets living as strays in New Orleans and have been working to reunite them with their owners, according to Best Friends Animal Society, the group that arranged the reunion."

How to Get a Small Business Loan

By
Neil Berdiev
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Neil Burdiev

Neil BurdievWhen I finished writing my Loan Financing Guide for Small Business Owners, I realized that the book is only a small step toward the achievement of my goal to develop training tools and resources that are easy to grasp and actually work.

My book tour has taken me to the streets of large cities like Boston and Miami and small towns like Cambridge and Somerville in Massachusetts. I’ve documented many questions from small business owners about loan financing for small businesses in Finland as well. In response, I’ve written articles and developed a seminar entitled, Preparing a Powerful Small Business Loan Request.

Here are three answers to frequently asked questions.

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Volvo Pledges Lifetime of New Cars for Heroes

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BevilhymerHope Bevilhymer from West Jordan, Utah, is “America’s Greatest Hometown Hero” in the third annual Volvo for Life Awards. Her inspired work in developing countries around the world helping those in need to receive prosthetic limbs, won her a complimentary new Volvo car every three years for the rest of her life. The Limbs of Hope Foundation was born out of the difficulties in her own life raising money to buy a prosthetic limb when it was not covered by insurance.

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Australian Vintners Donate Grapes to Winery Torched in Brush Fires

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wine-GrampianEstates

wine-GrampianEstatesWineries in Australia rallied to support a fellow vintner whose crop had been destroyed by regional bushfires. Ten thousand dollars in grapes were donated to allow Grampians Estate to bottle a Shiraz that year.

They called it the ‘Friends Collection‘ and put images of the fires and the people who helped them return to their craft on the front and back labels of the 2006 vintage.

Don’t you just love Australian wines even more now?

(READ the full story from ABC.net)

Summer Vacations, Cheering Orphans, and Host Couples

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KidSave International
To California, North Carolina, and Virginia, the Summer Miracles program brings orphans from Russia, Kazakhstan and Columbia for summer vacation with host families. Through carnival rides, picnics, swimming, and horseback riding, these kids often experience the best moments of their lives.KidSave International

The adults who sign up for the program, through KidSave International, fall in love with children and often are inspired to adopt. More than 1,300 children have participated in the Summer Miracles program. Nearly all have found permanent homes.

American College Students Choosing to Teach Inner City Kids

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Good News Network
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Teachers can learn something from Finland

Grad Students Teach America What Gen X is All About

In the spring of 2005, 12 percent of graduating seniors at Yale signed up to “Teach for America” in inner city schools. David Gergen of US News and World Report shared a compelling tale of young idealism.

Teach for America teachers score higher in classroom math scores than regular teachers. “This spring on many college campuses, something absolutely remarkable happened: Talented young people lined up by the scores to teach lower-income kids in urban and rural public schools. In years past, investment banks like Goldman Sachs were the recruiting powerhouses at top campuses; this year, they were joined by Teach for America, a program that expresses the fresh idealism and social values of this new generation.”

Small World Stories

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photo of elderly couple, by Geri

This is an inspiring letter I received from Michael in Canada. He calls it his small-world story. It should remind you that striking up conversation with people whom you don’t know is usually quite worthwhile, even though it takes some courage.

A recent study shows how being extroverted can make you happy. Talking to strangers requires us to be extroverted, but it pays handsomely, as the following tale reveals. Notice how Michael is aware that passing time talking with others enriches his happiness:

I was waiting in our local Emergency Room to see about my sprained wrist. I struck up a conversation with an elderly gentleman to pass the time a bit more enjoyably. He told how he was once helping out his local church rummage sale when a client asked to buy a large piece of furniture. While waiting for the delivery truck to return, he started talking to the man.

 

The man was an Iranian immigrant, fleeing from Khomeini’s strict regime. His family had fled to Turkey to escape.

 

My new elderly friend said, “My nephew worked in Istanbul during that time.”

 

The immigrant replied, “Istanbul is where we ended up! Tell me, your nephew, his name was David?”

 

“Yes, he worked at the Canadian Consulate.”

 

The immigrant grabs the old man in a huge hug and started crying, “Your David approved us to come to Canada! Your David saved the life of my family!”
Michael Kannon
Winnipeg, Canada
Do you have any Small World Stories (SWS’s) to share? Post a comment below.

20,000 Muslims Gather for Peace

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Dec. 5, 2005 — We need to be reminded again and again that mainstream Muslims are not like their fanatical brothers in terror. In Britain, families traveled to London to be counted as the peaceful majority of Islam, able to stand against terrorism yet speak out in the face of unfairness. Let’s collect here on the Religions page of the GN Network as many stories as we can about Muslims as equals. Equality and Oneness shine as values in all the world’s religions.

Optimism is Healthy

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optimistic oldster

optimistic oldster Park FallsA 2006 Dutch study of elderly men found a lower risk for cardiovascular death for those identified as optimistic.

The research found optimism to be associated with a 50 percent lower risk of death from heart attack in men studied over 15 years. Higher optimism scores were associated with younger age, higher education, less often living alone, better health, and increased physical activity.

Studies suggest that a person’s optimism can predict their well-being and physical health, according to background information in the article. Being optimistic has been associated with better health outcomes in patients with ischemic heart disease (caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries), and with a lower risk for all-cause death and cardiovascular disease and death. The study authors focused on dispositional optimism, defined as having generally positive life engagement and expectancies for one’s future.

Erik J. Giltay, Ph.D., M.D., of GGZ Delfland, Institute of Mental Health, Deft, the Netherlands, and colleagues studied elderly men living in the Netherlands to determine optimism’s effect on cardiovascular death. The study included 545 men aged 64 to 84 years who did not have pre-existing cardiovascular disease or cancer. Optimism was assessed in 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000 in a questionnaire given to study participants, who were asked to rate their agreement with the following items: “I still expect much from life,” “I do not look forward to what lies ahead for me in the years to come,” “My days seem to be passing by slowly” and “I am still full of plans.” The men were given scores and divided into groups based on their levels of optimism.

The researchers found optimism to be associated with an approximately 50 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death in the men over 15 years of follow-up. Higher optimism scores were associated with younger age, higher education, less often living alone, better health, a higher physical activity score and a lower depression score in 1990. On a scale from zero to three, with three being the most optimistic, the average scores decreased from 1.50 in 1985 to 1.27 in 2000. Current and past study results indicate that an individual’s optimism changes only moderately over time, though it does tend to decrease with age. “Optimism can be estimated easily and is stable over long periods,” the authors write. “It is yet to be established whether interventions aimed at improving an older individual’s level of optimism may reduce the risk of cardiovascular mortality.”

(Article in the February 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals)

 

Blue Butterfly Back From the Brink

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Good News Network
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The Smithsonian published a feature article in 2005 called Back From the Brink that asserted: “Not every endangered species is doomed. Thanks to tough laws, dedicated researchers, and plenty of money and effort, success stories abound.”

The Hawaiian green sea turtle is one such success featured in the magazine, along with the bald eagle, palila songbird, and southern sea otter, the whooping crane, red-cockaded woodpecker, and California chinook salmon, the Chiricahua leopard frog, grizzly bear and the karner blue butterfly.

“The vexing question of what to do with endangered species on private land is answered by the inspiring cooperative agreements forged on these animals’ behalf.”

For instance, the article points to Wisconsin:

“38 different partners participate to conserve habitat for the karner blue butterfly. The Wisconsin Gas Company agreed to mow grass along its power lines later in the summer than usual, the state highway department … also mows late, and they leave the grass long at the end of the season to help butterfly eggs survive the winter. Forestry companies delay spraying pesticides on their lands until the fall, after lupine have died.”

Amy Grant, of Germantown, Wisconsin, wrote to the Good News Network describing how she cooperated in this coalition for conservation:

Back in 1996 I worked for an organization in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, called the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association. It is composed of private landowners in the state with 100 or more acres and at the time served 1000 members. The plight of the Karner Blue butterfly was brought to the attention of association members, whose land was prime habitat for the karner blue. They were asked to plant large fields of lupine, the wildflower on which the karner blue lays eggs in spring and summer. The plant provides food and shelter once the eggs hatch.

 

Now, almost ten years later, I was so touched by an article in Smithsonian magazine, about this endangered butterful, and how, through the help of state and local agencies like WWOA, this incredibly beautiful butterfly is making a comeback in Wisconsin.
(photo courtesy of Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife)
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