The Justice Department’s latest annual National Crime Victimization Survey of the United States estimates that rapes and attempted rapes fell more than 80 percent in the last three decades from 1973 through 2004. . .
US Upgrades Libya to Non-terror State
Colonel Gaddafi’s desire to bring Libya back into the international fold has paid off.
The US has followed the lead of the UN by renewing "full diplomatic relations with Libya and deciding to remove it from its list of countries that support terrorism." (BBC News) The United Nations lifted sanctions against Libya in September.
Some of the actions taken by Gaddafi that have earned him esteem in the rest of the world include renouncing weapons of mass destruction in 2004, and agreeing to pay compensation to families of victims in the Lockerbie bombing in 2003.
G is for Goodbye, West Wing
EDITOR’S BLOG
The West Wing was often called the smartest show on television and in my mind it was. I watched ritualistically in the early years when its brilliant creator, Adam Sorkin was the writer. Then I drifted away as the scripts were placed in the hands of a different team. West Wing featured a White House run by a Liberal president in possession of the admirable traits we liked about Clinton. It was a fantasy world to which I enjoyed escaping, where my president was someone I admired, the policy decisions were decided by values I could identify with. It was the only must-see tv on my list.
Tonight I will watch the final episode of West Wing as President Bartlett clears out his desk in the oval office ending his successful, but difficult and sometimes tragic, two terms. All the early regulars, like Rob Lowe, will return for the finale and will attend "Leo’s" funeral. The handsome and solid actor John Spencer, who played chief of staff Leo McGarry, died last December after a heart attack, and likewise, his character Leo died in a recent episode.
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We will miss you Martin Sheen… For many years you and the West Wing cast inspired us to believe that we might again be served by a president who exudes integrity, vision, intelligence, caring, and thoughtfulness. Goodbye and Godspeed, Mr. President!
Major League Goes Pink for Mom’s Day, Breast Cancer
On Mother’s Day, Major League Baseball players will be using pink bats to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. As part of a weeklong campaign the pink breast cancer ribbon behind the logo of MLB will be noticeable on commemorative home plates, pink wrist bands, dugout lineup cards, and uniforms of players and staff.
Derek Jeter, David Eckstein and Marcus Giles are among hundreds of players will be hoisting the pink bats on Sunday. The AP reported that “Kevin Mench was among several Texas players who wanted their mother’s names burned on the bats, and he also planned to use a bat for his grandmother, who died from breast cancer.” (use the AP link to see a cool photo of the bats and their inscriptions)
The best part is the bats, home plates and lineup cards used in each ball park Sunday will be autographed and auctioned online at MLB Auctions to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. . .
Sweden, Iceland Say Yes to NO OIL
Thanks to Lisa D. for submitting this story she found in a recent edition of Positive News magazine in the UK:
By 2020 Sweden aims to become a virtually oil-free economy, a bold step that will require co-operation from individuals and industry alike. . . Already one of Europe’s leading countries in green energy, Sweden gets 26 per cent of its power from renewable sources compared to the six per cent European average. Pos. News UK
And, thanks to Cindy Bogard for submitting this story found on MSNBC. Iceland is hand-in-hand with Sweden:
Imagine an entire nation dependent on something other than oil for its energy. It’s cheap. There’s plenty of it. And it means never worrying about instability half a world away. But to find it, you have to go to Iceland — a country better known for its glaciers and booming fishing industry than leading the world in energy.
Here, you can read all about their use of hydrogen and geothermal technology.
Migrating Wild Birds NOT Carrying Bird Flu
Scientists monitoring avian influenza in water birds report that “millions of water birds have already migrated from Asia to West Asia and Africa, but the flu didn’t travel with them.”
Jaguars Returning to U.S.
It seemed that jaguars were gone from the United States. The cat’s historic range extended from northeastern Argentina through Brazil, Central America, Mexico and into Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, but by 1969, no female jaguars were thought to exist in the wild in the U.S., and the last male was killed in 1986.
The December 2005 issue of Smithsonian Magazine reports that that may be changing. . .
(photo courtesy of Bjørn Christian Tørrissen)
Rape Victim Awakens Pakistani Village Womens’ Rights
Mukhtar Mai is a shy Pakistani woman with such extraordinary courage that she was named Glamour‘s Woman of the Year, one of Asia’s Heros by Time, and last week was honored by the United Nations. Most importantly, her unprecedented action after being raped by a gang of men in her village to settle a score against her brother in the public’s mind, has led to the transformation of the culture of justice and education for her entire village.
In 2002, a tribal council in rural Meerwala ordered the rape of Mai, after her brother was accused of being with a girl from a rival tribe, and as a solution to “restoring the family’s honor.” Instead of being cowed by traditional strictures under which she was expected to commit suicide out of shame, Ms. Mukhtar, with the support of her father and family, her Imam, and some journalists, decided to press charges. In a country where the vast majority of rapes go unpunished, Mai fought her case all the way to the nation’s highest court and, in a decision that rocked Pakistan, the perpetrators were found guilty. . .
After receiving an award from the Pakistani Government of 500,000 rupees, Ms. Mukhtar, instead of fleeing, returned to the village in which she had experienced such pain to establish a school that now educates 300 girls and 200 boys, and a crisis center that advises women and girls threatened by childhood marriage and other practices.
For her audience at the UN, the soft-spoken woman explained through an interpreter why educating children was important in the fight for woman’s rights. “When [I was pursuing justice], the uneducated people tried to stop me and the educated people supported me. So I realized education was crucial,â€
“My slogan is: ‘End oppression with education,’†she added, noting that after her efforts in her rural village, attitudes there have changed quite dramatically.
Under-Secretary-General Tharoor, a native of India, recognized the scale of that accomplishment: “As someone who comes from a country that has also struggled to find ways to end the often brutal practices of our traditional pasts, I can assure you that the obstacles that Ms. Mukhtar Mai and her fellow Pakistanis face are not small, and that hers is no small achievement,†he said. “I think it is fair to say that anyone who has the moral courage and internal strength to turn such a brutal attack into a weapon to defend others in a similar position, is a hero indeed.
In October, Glamour magazine awarded Mai a check for $20,000, and readers of a New York Times article in 2005 were so moved they sent nearly $100,000. Mai said she’d donate money to help the female victim’s of Pakistan’s recent earthquake and the rest would be used to set up a hotline and shelter for women in Pakistan who want to escape abusive relationships or to recover from the trauma of rape.
She aired a message on CNN to all the women of the world who have been raped or brutalized in any way: “No matter what, they must talk about it and they must fight for justice.”
9/11 Widows Help Afghanistan War Widows
Susan Retik and Patti Quigley – both pregnant when their husbands were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks – 
decided to donate a large part of the money they received after 9-11 to help war widows in Afghanistan. They’ve raised a half of million dollars to fund Beyond the 11th, a nonprofit foundation to aid widows in war ravaged areas.
On Thursday, after traveling through the filthy back alleys of Kabul, “they met for the first time one of the recipients of their donations – an Afghan mother who now has a small chicken farm.” (full story on The Washington Post)
Innovation Wins Good Government Awards for Six States
Six state programs, ranging from Maine’s comprehensive health care reform to Wisconsin’s environmental program for businesses, are competing for $100,000 grants in one of the nation’s premiere good government competitions.
More than 1,000 federal, state and local government programs entered this year’s contest, called the Innovations in American Government Award. The half-dozen state initiatives are among 18 finalists being judged on novelty, effectiveness and potential to be replicated.
The 6 good government state programs:
- Connecticut’s Supportive Housing Pilots Initiative, a public-private partnership that provides homeless people with affordable rental housing, health and addiction treatment services and employment counseling.
- Illinois’ Generations of Hope, a planned community designed to help new adoptive families of foster children who have prospect of a permanent family. It is also home to a group of about 60 senior citizens who serve as honorary “grandparents” to create an intergenerational neighborhood.
- Dirigo Health Reform in Maine, which is meant to expand health coverage through insurance subsidies to low-income individuals and families and a statewide insurance plan offered to businesses and self-employed workers.
- Teaming, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which aims to reduce isolation among social workers and improve services for families in crisis. Under the program, teams of social workers collaborate on a group of family cases.
- Promising Practices Network of Missouri, an online resource that gives social service providers and policy-makers access to research-based information on helping children, youth and families. Missouri is one of seven states that has partnered with the Rand Corporation on the Web site and its content.
- Wisconsin’s Green Tier, a voluntary program to that gives businesses more flexibility to improve their environmental standards, often at a lower cost and with less red-tape.
The 18 finalists will compete for prizes given by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in conjunction with the non profit Council for Excellence in Government. Final presentations to a selection committee in Cambridge, Mass. will be presented on May 25.
Seven winners will each receive $100,000 at a July 10 ceremony in Washington, D.C. The money is meant specifically to share information about the winning programs with other organization and governments. stateline.org
Eric Kelderman is a Stateline.org Staff Writer
195 Miles Per Gallon, Zero to 60 in Four Seconds… The Electric Supercar is Here
When you think of an electric car, you may imagine a vehicle that provides no power, no safety, no range, and taking forever to recharge. Now, think of George Clooney buying a new kind of electric car, a model that shatters all the stereotypes.
Introducing . . . the Tango.
Why would Clooney buy a Tango? Along with jaw-dropping Porsche-esque performance, the Tango is good for the environment. Its fuel cost is eight times better than that of a typical gasoline car, amassing the equivalent of 195 miles per gallon. Such efficiency makes even a Prius seem like an SUV.
“Our goal is to make the Tango as recyclable/reusable as possible,” explained Bryan Woodbury, the Vice President of Commuter Cars, Inc., the company that makes the Tango. In an exclusive GNN-i interview, Woodbury elaborated that in addition to the Tango’s efficiency, “The lead acid batteries are recyclable so they get reborn as new batteries and they’ll never end up in a landfill.”
UN Polio Campaign Underway in Afghanistan to Safeguard Two Million Children
More than two million Afghan children are currently being immunized in a United Nations-backed three-day polio eradication drive following a sixth reported case of the crippling and sometimes fatal disease in the south of the country this year.
Two months ago, Egypt was declared polio-free after successful immunization efforts. The Ministry of Public Health, UNICEF and the World Health Organization remain confident that the goal of polio eradication is achievable for Afghanistan.
Brazil Fueling 1 Million Cars on Sugarcane
Latin America’s largest country, Brazil, is the world’s biggest producer of bio-ethanol and 1 million Brazilian cars already run on the fuel made from sugarcane. The cars, introduced three years ago, can use either gasoline or bioethanol.
Afghan Women Start Businesses, Help Reconstruct a Torn Nation
According to Microfinance Times, 75 percent of all active microcredit borrowers in Afghanistan are now women, many of whom use their loans to start businesses. Beauty parlors, tailoring shops, and bakeries are just some of the enterprises these women now own. Their efforts, observers say, are indispensable in the struggle to reverse decades of deprivation in Afghanistan. (Yahoo News)
US Sends Food to Starving Sudanese
President Bush sent five aid ships filled with emergency stockpiles of food to Sudan and ordered the emergency purchase of another 40,000 metric tons of food for rapid shipment to help ease the oncoming humanitarian crisis. He also called on the US Congress to approve $225 million in food aid. . . He said, Americans who wish to contribute money to help deliver relief to the people of Darfur can find information about how to do so by going to the USAID website and clicking on the section marked "Helping the Sudanese People." http://www.usaid.gov
Miners Rescued After 14 Days
Two Australian miners trapped underground in a small metal cage for two weeks were rescued yesterday to cheers by fellow miners and Australian media and officials. The miners’ lives could improve substantially as filmmakers offered each up to half a million dollars for exclusive interviews of their experiences. (photo of a miner with fist raised in victory)
Iraqi Universities Given Virtual Science Library by US
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Washington-based professional group has designed a virtual library for Iraqi Universities with help from the US Departments of State and Defense and a $360,000 grant. The new collection allows free or virtually free access to thousands of scientific journals and databases at the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture, Science.gov, and 17,000 magazines. (The Mercury News)
Plastic Shopping Bags Made of Corn and Biodegradable
With the new reality of $70 (US) crude oil, the plastics industries are turning to corn and fast-growing switchgrass to manufacture everything from carpet to car parts. Bio-degradable and reusable shopping bags made of corn will break down in a landfill — or home composter — within four to 12 weeks. These BioBags cost Canadian Mountain Equipment Co-op several times more than conventional plastic bags, but they allow the outdoors company to minimize their environmental impact. Giant conglomerates such as DuPont and Archer Daniels are looking to reduce their oil consumption and this is great news for farmers. . . Click read more for full coverage — Submitted by Cindy (Good News Network user name: carb101)
In the last quarter century, the low cost of oil has made it difficult for any alternatives to gain a foothold in the marketplace. Now, plant-based polymers are poised to be an important feedstock for the future of plastics-based industries.
“The same carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms in oil are in plants,” says Maurice Bitran, director of research and innovation with Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture. “Oil is just plants that were under the ground for millions of years. The idea is you can save those millions of years and go directly to the plants,” adds Bitran. “Given that the cost of energy and the environmental imperatives are increasing, the research that has been done is starting to pay some dividends.”
In March, Archer Daniels announced that it would build a commercial plant in Clinton, Iowa, that would produce 45,000 tons of natural plastics annually beginning in 2008.
Read what DuPont and British Petroleum are up to in this emerging field of eco-plastics. Full story here.
New Orleans gets $60 Million Boost from Tiny Arab Nation
New Orleans receives a big boost this week from the small Persian Gulf country of Qatar who is paying-up a large chunk of the $100 million it pledged to the city after Hurricane Katrina. After looking at what areas were being under served by relief organizations, Qatar chose education, housing and health. $17.5 million will go to Xavier University of Louisiana, a historically black Catholic university, $5 million for scholarships to students affected by the hurricane and $12.5 million to add a wing to its College of Pharmacy. That will increase enrollment but also provide construction jobs and more students from the university to work in free community clinics. Other beneficiaries are . . .
Help Others.org
Help Others is a web community that features stories of kindness. Nothing is known publicly about the site, but the stories are powerful so I’m sharing them — I hope with the blessing of the owners. -Submitted by my friend and advisor in Canada, Harry (user name, KingHartuc)
Julie K. was unable to attend her brother’s wedding out of town because finances are tight while raising six children on her own. She shared her “poor me story” with one of the physicians she worked for who told a family member. A week later just days before the wedding, a stranger showed up with a card and $500.00 that said ‘Pack your bags and be with your family.'” (click on read more to hear another favorite, an idea that absolutely tickles us, and will inspire copycats)
Big Quarters by Anonymous:
Whenever I pass by an Elementary schoolyard, I pull any loose coins (especially Quarters) that I have in my pocket and pitch them over the fence, by the swing sets or sliding boards. As a small child it was a thrill to me to find a lost coin laying on the ground, (especially something as BIG as a Quarter!) and I enjoy the idea that I’m passing that excitement on to another small child.
I WILL be trying this!
