I have a 7 year old son and we don’t watch TV, listen to the news, or read newspapers because so much of it is negative and full of pain and hate — things his little body does not need. I am SO thrilled to be able to show him stories on your Website and talk to him about the positive, Good work that is occurring here on Earth. You have given me a safe place where I can allow my son to browse and follow the stories that interest him. Thank you! – Esther Colwell
Encouraging Selflessness in a Down Economy
While sitting in front of his computer in Georgia, B.J. Elliott read a blog post by Maureen Forbes about her desire to make 100 handmade teddy bears and cookies for children impacted by AIDS in her town of Wilderness, South Africa. Forbes only had enough fabric to make 20 bears. Elliott offered to help her raise enough money to make 1,000 teddy bears. Word spread and a group decided to launch Operation Teddy Bear Care at www.teddybearcare.org.
Broken Butterfly Gets Wing Mended for Ride South
A monarch butterfly with injured wing has been mended by a New York couple in time to complete its famed migration south, “thanks to some tiny cardboard splints, a bit of contact cement and a trucker from Alabama”. (Read the full AP story on MSNBC)
Tutu Launches New Anti-Whaling Campaign
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has launched a new global anti-whaling campaign on Thursday, along with other high-profile supporters like Pierce Brosnan. The campaign seeks to ban whale hunting worldwide.
(READ the story from Reuters)
Largest Supermarket Chain in Canada to Discourage Plastic Bag Use
Canada’s biggest supermarket chain, said on Thursday that it will start charging customers a fee for every plastic shopping bag they use. Loblaw, with more than 1,000 grocery stores across Canada, said it would begin charging customers 5 Canadian cents a bag on April 22, 2009, which is Earth Day. More moves in Canada point to a coming reduction in use of the environmentally hazardous plastic bags. (Read the Reuters story on Canada.com)
Say Thanks to the Troops With Free Website
With just a click of your mouse, Let’s Say Thanks sends personalized cards to servicemen and women overseas. Choose one of the designs created by the Boys and Girls Clubs, write a personal note to be printed on the card, and Xerox and it’s corporate sponsors will send the card, along with a care package of personal items to soldiers serving in the US Armed Forces. The postcards, depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images, will be mailed in care packages by the military support organization Give2TheTroops. (The card design, right, is by Adrielle, 12, of Conesus, NY)
Take a minute to send a card at LetsSayThanks.com.
The Unforgettable Moment
31 years have passed since the moment — one of the greatest in Israeli lives.
When I told this to Anwar Sadat, he laughed: “The moment the door of your airplane opened, all Israelis held their breath. I live on a main street in Tel Aviv, and at that moment I looked out at the street below. It was totally empty. Nothing moved, except one cat which was probably hurrying home to the television.”
(White House photo: Nobel Peace Prize winners Sadat and Begin, at Camp David w/ President Carter)
Korean Demilitarized Zone Now a Wildlife Haven
The notorious Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas is the most dangerous and heavily militarized border in the world. It is also a strip of land containing almost every type of ecosystem you can imagine, home to migrating flocks of rare cranes and some of the last wild bears and leopards in the region. Now, there is a call to preserve this transnational monument to war as a nature park – which could also be a step toward peace between the two Koreas. (Christian Science Monitor)
7 Facts we can all be Thankful for
What can we be thankful for in the midst of doom and gloomy news of the economy? Here are 7 items from the news for which we can ALL be grateful this holiday season…
What can we be thankful for?
1) Filling up our gas tanks for under $30.00.
Buying gas for $1.89 a gallon is now a reality for much of the country as crude prices dropped under $50.00 a barrel for the first time in 3 years — REAL relief, just in time for the holiday season, when families fill cars with presents and travel on highways to visit loved ones.
2) Traveling will likely be safer this season – whether by car or airplane.
The U.S. traffic death toll in 2008— according to a mid-year study— could reach its lowest level in almost 50 years. Traffic deaths last year dropped to the lowest level since 1994, and deaths per 100 million miles traveled are the lowest on record, the government said in August.
2007 was also one of the safest years in modern aviation history, with the lowest number of crashes worldwide since 1963, 28 fewer than in 2006, even while the number of airplanes in the sky increased.
3) Americans will continue giving to others, despite economic downturn.
Historically, looking at the trends over 40 years, charitable giving overall has not declined much during hard economic times…
7 Facts we can all be Thankful for
What can we be thankful for in the midst of doom and gloomy news of the economy? Here are 7 items from the news for which we can ALL be grateful this holiday season…
What can we be thankful for?
1) Filling up our gas tanks for under $30.00.
Buying gas for $1.89 a gallon is now a reality for much of the country as crude prices dropped under $50.00 a barrel for the first time in 3 years — REAL relief, just in time for the holiday season, when families fill cars with presents and travel on highways to visit loved ones.
2) Traveling will likely be safer this season – whether by car or airplane.
The U.S. traffic death toll in 2008— according to a mid-year study— could reach its lowest level in almost 50 years. Traffic deaths last year dropped to the lowest level since 1994, and deaths per 100 million miles traveled are the lowest on record, the government said in August.
2007 was also one of the safest years in modern aviation history, with the lowest number of crashes worldwide since 1963, 28 fewer than in 2006, even while the number of airplanes in the sky increased.
3) Americans will continue giving to others, despite economic downturn.
Historically, looking at the trends over 40 years, charitable giving overall has not declined much during hard economic times…
Iraqi Parliament Approves Landmark US Military Pact
A resounding majority of Iraqi parliament members Thursday approved a security pact that calls for an end to the U.S. occupation by 2012, giving the measure a mandate of national unity that was considered critical for its long-term success, reports the McClatchy News Service.
Number of New Cancer Cases Drops in US for First Time
The U.S. yesterday passed an important milestone in the fight against cancer: For the first time the recorded rate of new cancer cases has fallen for both men and women. At the same time, the number of cancer deaths has continued to decline within an impressive 15-year trend that translates to people living longer after they are diagnosed. The decline of new cases holds across racial groups, black, white, hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islanders. (Read more in the Chicago Tribune)
(Photo courtesy of Sun Star)
500 Families To Receive Free Pre-Thanksgiving Dinners From Restaurant
Kevin Walters is not only known for his business savvy and love for art and music, he has a deep appreciation for the Harlem community and the many nonprofit groups serving the disadvantaged residents there. So the restaurant owner decided this year that he would open his doors to the community and host a Thanksgiving banquet for the areas neediest residents free of charge.
“With the election of President-Elect Barack Obama and the current economic state of our nation it is truly the best and worst of times,” said Kevin Walters, Owner, Creole Restaurant and Music Supper Club. “It is in times like these that we must join forces, lock arms together and to take care of our community.”
Walters subscribes to the African adage, If you want to go somewhere fast go alone, but if you want to go far take others with you. So, he is reaching out to his fellow business owners and community leaders to join with Creole in hosting this event on Thanksgiving Eve.
Some of the first to respond were Congressman Charles Rangel, Hope Community, Inc, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, the NYC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Dave and Bob Acosta, owners of El Barrio Hardware Store, NYC Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, The Coalition for the Development of the Black Family, Stroehmans Bread, NYPD Inspector Montgomery, the 25th and 28th Police Precincts. 
Together they plan to attract more of the area businesses and leaders to join forces this afternoon in providing a complete traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all of the trimmings for 500 families in their community.
EVENT: FREE COMMUNITY PRE-THANKSGIVING BANQUET
WHEN: TODAY, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 26, 2008 12:30 P.M. TO 3:30 P.M.
WHERE: CREOLE Restaurant & Music Supper Club
2167 Third Avenue @ 118th Street New York, New York 10035
Operation Smile-Russia Conducts First Mission in Chechnya
Operation Smile in Russia organized its first medical mission to the Republic of Chechnya in September. A team of medical professionals representing six countries traveled to Grozny where they provided free physical examinations to 202 children, and surgeries for 49.
This mission was truly an example of medical diplomacy and helping to heal the scars of war. The republic is still recovering from two civil wars in the 1990’s. “This mission,” said Gianluca Biavati, Operation Smile’s Regional Vice President, “bridged political and cultural barriers and represented the desire of the Government of Chechnya to open the season of reconstruction and of hope.”
Pro Golfer’s Honesty a Shining Example
J.P. Hayes is the personification of ‘a good sport’. The latest candidate for most honest athlete in America is a 43-year-old golfer who hasn’t won a PGA tournament in six years. He had one last chance in November to do just that, and gain a spot on next year’s PGA Tour, but he turned himself in to officials for accidentally using an unsanctioned ball in tournament play.
No one knew but him, yet he reported the incident to PGA officials. So because Hayes decided to be honest, he will not be able to participate in next year’s PGA Tour, losing out on the chance to earn a substantial income.
But Hayes says it was important to tell the truth…
(ESPN has the story and video)
Bright Spot in Holiday Sales? Online Shopping
One bright spot on the holiday retail landscape will be online shopping. Despite economic downturns, internet sales are expected to rise by 12 percent this year. That means more business for shipping companies like UPS and FedEx and web IT companies. Job opportunities exist there, as well as in the field of tax preparation. Happy shopping and happy job hunting from the Good News Network. (Info gathered from the CBS Early Show)
Thousands Pick Free Vegetables on Colo. Farm (UPDATED w/ Video)
Joe Miller, a Colorado farmer wondered if there were any way he could save the leftover potatoes and onions from going to waste in his fields. He decided to open up his 600 acres to the public. He guessed he might see 5,000 people show up. A massive response from about 40,000 clogged the freeway and caused Joe some anxiety, but for all the thanks and blessings he received from people, he deemed it was well worth it. 300 tons of leftover vegetables were dug up and carted away by happy neighbors. Listen to an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition. You can also read the story from AP at Cleveland.com.
College Football Star Wins Rhodes Scholarship (UPDATED w/ Video)
Successfully balancing sports and books, Myron Rolle, the starting strong safety for the Florida State Seminoles, has been awarded the Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford University. The pre-med student had to miss part of Saturday’s game against Maryland because he was being interviewed for the scholarship. (Listen to the story or read it at NPR’s All Things Considered)
Watch a video below…
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Iraqi Soldiers Send Aid to California Fire Victims
A group of Iraqi soldiers stepped up to help California residents victimized by recent wildfires raging throughout the state.
Iraqi army Col. Abbas Fadhil and his team of “Abbas’ Eagles” raised $500 for wildfire relief.
“We want to send a message to the American president and the American people,” said the Besmaya Range Complex commander. “We feel that we are a family — one body. When one part of the body suffers, the other parts suffer, too.”
This is the fourth donation the soldiers of Besmaya have sent to the American people recently. In September, they raised $1,500 for victims of hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The Eagles also donated $500 to the National Sept. 11 Memorial.
(American Forces Press Service)
Dance for All – Especially Kids in Poor African Townships
Dance For All provides children in historically disadvantaged communities in South Africa with the opportunity to dance. Founded in 1991 by Philip Boyd, a former principal dancer with the Cape Town City Ballet, Dance for All builds on the legacy of Cape Town ballet chief David Poole, who started teaching ballet in the townships of Cape Town in the mid-80s.
Daily outreach programs in ballet, African, contemporary, musical theatre and Spanish dance serve more than 700 young people in 7 disadvantaged townships and neighborhoods. Beyond teaching dance, these classes promote the personal development of the children by encouraging their creativity, self-discipline, self esteem and confidence. Students receive first-class training from a talented and diverse teaching team.
