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For some reason this story gives me hope we can discover that beneath our different nations, races and cultures, beats one human heart. Just in time for St. Patrick’s day!
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Not long ago a scientific experiment measured neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light, which would shake Einstein’s view of the universe. The results of that experiment were used, much as quantum mechanics have been used, to advocate for an irrational approach to living. A retest appears to have proven Einstein was right.

The reason I am putting this in the good news section is that we sometimes forget to be grateful for the constants of nature. Some people look for proof of God in the gaps of our ignorance and so God ends up hiding in smaller and smaller pockets. It’s a dying religion that builds its foundation upon what it doesn’t know. Every birth, every sunrise reveals the one miracle we should be celebrating.

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After the Kony 2012 fiasco some people will lose faith in charities, but that is not the lesson of that sad affair. It is true that we cannot work for justice by merely pushing a button, but why were we trying to make our service to the world as easy as making microwave popcorn. The lesson of Kony is not that we are helpless to save the world. The lesson is that we must leave our isolated silos to do so. The first step is community. The second step is communication between the communities. The third step is to dedicate all the communities to the common good. At that point we will all find we have something the world needs, and we’ll even know the people we are trying to help.
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I’m looking for good news this morning. First item comes from France, where studies questioning the effects of genetically produced food are being taken seriously by national leaders. Must be nice.

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It has been a year now that Syria has been in turmoil. What initially started out as protests for reforms has escalated over time into an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s one-party rule, dragging the country into chaos and a period of uncertainty.

Parts of Syria today resemble a war zone. Few cities and towns have been left unscathed by the political upheaval.

Al Jazeera spoke to residents of different parts of Syria to learn more about how the eventful year impacted their lives and what the future possibly holds.

To read, click here

The World Bank is claiming that global poverty is on the decline. Invented after WW2 to help nations recover, the Bank is often accused of making matters worse by forcing vulnerable populations to open their markets only to become deeper in debt. This article by Institue for Policy Studies casts a sceptical eye on the claims of the World Bank that things are getting better. It claims that the nations getting better are the ones who have turned elsewhere than the World Bank for help.

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KARACHI, Mar 16, 2012 (IPS) – By winning an Oscar at this year’s Academy awards, filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has brought home the genius of Pakistan’s women as well as the extreme violence they often suffer in a male-dominated society.
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BAGHDAD, Mar 16, 2012 (IPS) – Dozens of bodies bludgeoned to death pop up in Baghdad’s dusty streets like the remains of a wreckage on a beach. They are the corpses of homosexuals and followers of the ‘emo’ fashion who dare to break with the strict canons of the Shia orthodoxy in power.
To read article, click here.

In addition to our city and nation, we are citizens of the whole. The revolution the world most needs is for us all to realize what we owe to our human family. Perhaps you have heard the Earth Pledge:

The Earth Pledge
I pledge allegiance to the Earth, And to the web of life upon it. I promise to honor the dignity, of every member of our human family. One planet, One people, in harmony, with peace, justice, and freedom for all.

What follows is a beautiful video by an organization called “Share the World’s Resources”. It is a good reminder of some brothers and sisters we may be forgetting.

To watch or listen click here.

It would be great if sexism were restricted to one side of a political isle. The sad truth, this author argues, is that shaming women for being sexualy active has often been a bi-partisan affair. Rush was saying crudely what many liberals just express more politely.

to read, click here