What's good in the world ( news )

[SIZE=4]NH teacher, 100, gets degree a day before dying[/SIZE]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100127/ap_on_re_us/us_centenarian_degree

CONCORD, N.H. – It was Harriet Richardson Ames' dream to earn her bachelor's degree in education. She finally reached that milestone, nearly three weeks after achieving another: her 100th birthday.


On Saturday, the day after receiving her diploma at her bedside, the retired schoolteacher died, pleased that she had accomplished her goal, her daughter said. Ames had been in hospice care.


Her wish for a degree became known when a Keene State film professor interviewed her a couple of years ago for a piece on the college's own centennial, which the school celebrated last year.


The school decided to research her coursework and see if it could award Ames her long-sought diploma. The offices of the provost, registrar and other departments worked quickly in the last month to determine, that indeed, it could.


College officials, including Walker, drove the document to Ames' bedside on Friday.

Good news? Well they don't really report that, but here's something...

There has been no, repeat NO, magnitude 8 earthquake in New York City today. Eight million people in that area are all fine. Food and running water are still widely available, and they all still have power. Hospitals have adequate supplies and staffing, and there has been no influx of mass casualties. Garbage pickup continues on a normal schedule.

well that's something

Here's something for you Skysidhe.

3-year-old's 911 call saves grandma's life

MAPLE SHADE, N.J. - January 25, 2010 (WPVI) -- In an extraordinary phone call, a 3-year-old saved a life in Maple Shade, New Jersey.

It is a story that for some is too improbable to believe. Our hero is, after all, only 3 years old. But even doctors say if not for his quick thinking, his grandmother who is recuperating would not be alive.

Candace Robbins, the mother of 3-year-old Jaden Bolli, taught him how to call 9-1-1 in case of an emergency last Monday.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=7239080

yay! woo hoo you go Jaden!

Cat that saved couple from fire then goes missing is found:

wrote:

WONDER LAKE, Ill. - A couple in the northwestern Chicago suburb of Wonder Lake found their 13-year-old house cat who went missing after saving their lives during a house fire. Josh Ornberg and Letitia Kovalovsky said their cat, "Baby," woke them early Monday morning as they slept on a couch in the living room. Ornberg said the house was starting to fill with smoke from a fire in the bedroom.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34935297/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/

Let's hear it for puddy tats!

Now why am I thinking of a three-legged pig?

glatt;630244 wrote:

Food and running water are still widely available, and they all still have power. Hospitals have adequate supplies and staffing, and there has been no influx of mass casualties. Garbage pickup continues on a normal schedule.

But what about the mail??????????

A friend of mine, a US mail carrier in NYC, assures me that he is hard at work and there are no extraordinary issues interfering with mail delivery at this point in time.

Whew - thanks Stormie - I was getting worried there for a moment

Yeah, I'm glad those wall street bonus checks are getting delivered.

Suzanne Lanza

I did 11 deliveries on a Thursday and was at work until 11:30 pm. In january!

This is good news...

Snow Storm That Covered South Heads Off to Sea!

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/31/us/AP-US-Winter-Storm.html

It's strange that the country as got terrible storms in batches this winter yet we are warmer than usual or at least warmer than I can remember since being in my teens.

Do you have pictures? I would love to see snow.:D I only see snow on the mountains.

No snow where I live. Only lots and lots of rain.

bumpity boo ... Here is a great "Good News" story.

Cash Mob

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- It began quietly, as an email to 40 friends.

But when a steady stream of customers began coming through the door before the family-owned Chagrin Hardware had even opened for the day on Saturday, it was clear that it had turned into much more than that.

The idea started with Jim Black, a resident of Chagrin Falls, a close-knit village in Cleveland's eastern suburbs that is part artist colony and part bedroom community. Black posted the email to a group of his friends. "Let's show our support for one of our local businesses," he wrote. "I challenge everyone to spend AT LEAST $20 at the hardware on the 21st."

Although his email referred to the idea of a "Cash Mob" or the notion to "Occupy CF Hardware," he really had no political agenda. And it wasn't meant as a protest against the big-box stores that have created an ever-tightening circle around the community.

It was just a way to thank Chagrin Hardware's owners for a beloved shop that has been a fixture in the village since 1857.

"These are good people who needed our support," Black said. "It's just that simple."

By 10 a.m. the place was jammed. By 1:30 p.m., the credit card machine was overloaded and had to be reset. "This is so cool," said Steve Shutts, a mix of joy, wonder and happy exhaustion spread across his face. "I've seen people today I haven't seen in years."

Link

:)

Clean your room... no more

The Swiss have been the world's bank for quite a while.
Now the Swiss are saying they'll be our mother, too.

[YOUTUBE]qTAv7TsnjzA[/YOUTUBE]

squirell nutkin;630287 wrote:

Now why am I thinking of a three-legged pig?

HA!!! Yea, a pig like that you just don't eat all at once.

Prison Kittens are cared for by staff and inmates:

A few months ago, a litter of kittens broke into a maximum security prison. Now, they’re living happily amongst the inmates and staff.

The feral felines managed to sneak into the basement of Great Meadow Correctional Facility in upstate New York, the Post-Star of Glens Falls reports. When employees first discovered them, they needed to bathe the kittens to remove hundreds of fleas. They also had to deworm them and feed them milk through baby bottles.

Now, the kittens are much less disgusting than they were then and are living happily in the building maintenance area in a “kitty condo” fashioned by an inmate.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/01/15/kittens-who-binge-watched-too-much-orange-is-the-new-black-break-into-maximum-security-prison/

Nice story.

And prisoners having access to a pet of sorts might alleviate a lot of the mental stress many of them are under.

I recently re-watched the whole HBO series, Oz.

For those who don't know, this was HBO's first series, started in 1997. It's about the goings-on at Oswald Maximum Security Prison, and in particular about Emerald City which is an experimental part of the prison.

Anyway, at one point 3 of the prisoners (two of the three were my favorite characters: Augustus Hill and Miguel Alvarez...my very favorite character being Ryan O'Reilly (played by Dean Winters, now known as Mayhem in the Allstate commercials) got to keep and train assistance dogs. I think this is a program that is still going on IRL. Oz was, of course, fiction, but it does a heart good to imagine the inmates who take on the task as connecting with the animal.

"Oz: Dream a Little Dream of Me (#5.3)" (2002)
[Penders and Alvarez are training seeing eye dogs]
Alicia Hinden: Okay, you see the steaks?
Greg Penders: We gonna teach the dogs how to cook?
Alicia Hinden: No, we're going to teach them restraint. I'm going to put them on the floor, and you're going to stop them from eating it.
Miguel Alvarez: All right.
Greg Penders: You gotta be kidding me.
Alicia Hinden: What?
Greg Penders: I haven't seen a steak in six years. Now, you're gonna throw it on the floor so a dog WON'T eat it?

infinite monkey;889682 wrote:

Prison Kittens are cared for by staff and inmates

Is there any relationship between teaching empathy and learning it from caring from pets? Can this be a form of rehabilitation?

There are many prison dog programs, as well as several prison horse programs.

Clodfobble;889788 wrote:

There are many prison dog programs, as well as several prison horse programs.

Those citation only say such program exist in near zero prisons.

But more important, does a useful relationship exist between teaching empathy and learning it by caring for pets? Not if any program exists. What is the value of (if any) practicing or learning empathy?

tw;889824 wrote:

What is the value of (if any) practicing or learning empathy?

Bwahahahahahahahaha... choke... gasp... snort... and I believe he's serious. :lol2:

xoxoxoBruce;889857 wrote:

Bwahahahahahahahaha... choke... gasp... snort... and I believe he's serious. :lol2:

Perhaps tw is an economist and was trying to monetise empathy?;)

tw wrote:

But more important, does a useful relationship exist between teaching empathy and learning it by caring for pets? Not if any program exists. What is the value of (if any) practicing or learning empathy?

Countless psychological studies have proven the value of empathy in promoting pro-social behavior. As for whether animal interaction actually leads to a measurable increase in empathy, specifically in the inmate population, studies are limited but there are a few, though some are only in German.

It also makes you more likeable on forums

Clodfobble;889902 wrote:

As for whether animal interaction actually leads to a measurable increase in empathy, specifically in the inmate population, studies are limited ...

That is what I suspected. Also demonstrated here are the many who think otherwise only because they 'feel' it must be true. Same type people also assumed more jails makes a safer society. Another example of knowledge proven by silly emotion.

Empathy is often cited in studies for better health. But we have a problem with rehabilitation. Apparently less studies (domestically) target this problem. Which is also silly since the US has the world's largest prison population both in numbers and percentages.

An interesting proposition is that empathy (ie caring for kittens) could have lasting consequences for some types of prisoners. But it is only a proposition apparently with few facts to justify it. Still the easily manipulated somehow *know* empathy must be good for all rehabilitation. Without first learning facts.

The question remains for others, with a more adult attitude, to contribute. Does a useful relationship exist between teaching empathy and learning it by caring for pets? And which type of prisoners would best benefit from such programs?

Another interesting question. How might one monetize empathy? Virtually?

tw wrote:

Still the easily manipulated somehow *know* empathy must be good for all rehabilitation. Without first learning facts.

Who are you referring to? The boogeyman?

...Another interesting question. How might one monetize empathy? Virtually?

A bitcoin for your thoughts ?

Lamplighter;889943 wrote:

A bitcoin for your thoughts ?

How does one monetize empathy? Become a pimp.

Do pimps now take bitcoins?

Clodfobble;889940 wrote:

Who are you referring to? The boogeyman?

The boogeyman does not get vindictive when he learns his four wheel drive is one of the most dangerous vehicles in slippery and icy weather. The boogeyman only posts when he has something useful to contribute.

And still, no one knows who you are talking about. You are condescendingly dismissing a nonentity. You are imagining people who do all the things you hate, except they aren't real.

Lumberjim is a bot!

tw;889958 wrote:

Lumberjim is a bot!

I heard he was a top :/