Silver Lining News Round Up

For the past few weeks, I have not really been following the news in the way I usually do -- actually only using it as a sleeping aid, and avoiding bad news as much as possible.

So, here is my best attempt at some silver lining, boy do I need it right now.

These were in my draft folder...
I enjoyed this story about pro sports players speaking out in favor of gay marriage... it's about time.

The Other Side of Joe Biden

Sometimes Joe Biden surprises us ... as I noted during the convention. Some bloggers I read highlighted his speech from 9/11 -- here is a story about the speech with the text of the speech.

Here's another that requires some squinting to see the silver lining, but trust in me, and the lord, if you do that kind of thing.  It is a story about a school doing the right thing when abuse is brought to light, albeit belatedly.

Here is what I have collected in the last ten days or so... The bad news is that the LATimes has figured out how to track the mobile now ... so you might not have full access to the articles.

I found this piece contains some silver although at times tarnished ... it talks about a program for sharing housing with mentally ill folks in the community. I think it is a model worth studying and perfecting.

This piece likewise has tarnished silver -- but I think the kernel of the message to let go of anger and hate in order to find healing is timely, at least for me.

One more piece of tarnished silver ... I don't think we should try children as adults, so I am glad that this law will allow those folks to appeal their convictions -- but it is definitely some backward silver lining here.

I can't share with you the guy who got to Catalina on a jetpack ... but you can see how it might be cheering.

This story of the California Dream Act fills me with hope -- and reflects the spirit of my brother... read with pride. We can do this, as a community.

Because October is breast cancer awareness month (I've had my mammogram this year, have you?), the local paper where I am from is doing a series of articles on survivors -- both those who beat it and those who have to carry on after losing loved ones.  This piece demonstrates the changes kids go through when losing a parent. It is hitting a little too close to home right now as I worry about my niece and nephew -- but I appreciate the lemonade this family made out of some rotten lemons.

A late entry -- the MacArthur Genius Awards were announced, and Junot Diaz got one - you might remember him from one of my other silver lining round ups, if you haven't already read his stuff, go out and get some.  Another winner is someone working on helping families as well as bringing communities together in Oakland, one of my favorite places in the world.

This one suits my mood pretty perfectly -- there are lemons from which we can make lemonade, even if that lemonade means confronting issues that we usually eschew.  Here is one.  I am very proud of this young man -- instead of exhorting millions to go out and buy more guns, he is advocating the opposite.  Keep calling those politicians to the carpet.  In my experience, and that of many others, the only effective weapon against hate is love. And the root of love is peace.

This last one gives me some hope for social media.  I have to put it in its entirety because the AP links break, but I think it's worth it.  When I first started reading it, I was skeptical because I wondered how having a concert would help alleviate poverty or even bring awareness to the problem. As I continued to read, I was pleased with the thought that went in to the planning of the event with regard to really getting the word out about this serious issue.  There is some good that can be done with social media -- I just wish we wouldn't spend so much time and energy on the not so good stuff there.

Thousands attend NYC concert highlighting poverty

LOU FERRARA, Published: Sep 29, 2012

Musician Neil Young, right, performs with his band Crazy Horse including Frank Sampedro, left, and Ralph Molina, at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park on Saturday Sept. 29, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) - Neil Young, the Black Keys, Foo Fighters and others wowed thousands who turned out Saturday night for a free concert in Central Park to call attention to poverty worldwide.
Dubbed the Global Citizen Festival, the concert also featured K'naan, John Legend and Band of Horses, with Young's performance capping off the evening. Video of the event was streamed worldwide as about 60,000 music fans crowded the park's Great Lawn, the midtown Manhattan skyline twinkling behind them.
Legend made a surprise appearance, playing one song "Imagine" at a piano on stage, a short walk from where the song's author, John Lennon, once lived. The five-hour show was a mix of tight sets from the bands, roughly an hour each, mixed with videos and information from guest speakers about global poverty-related problems like infant mortality and polio.
"Feels good to be here," Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl told the crowd during a break between hits like "Learn to Fly," ''Best of You" and "My Hero." Grohl, members of the Black Keys and others joined Young on stage for the finale, his anthem "Rockin' in the Free World."
The concert was scheduled around the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month and organizers used an innovative approach to ticket distribution so that many concert-goers were forced to learn about an array of global problems in order to get a ticket.
Anyone wanting free tickets had to register at globalcitizen.org, which then required users to watch videos or read information about poverty-related issues. Each time material was consumed, users could earn points toward a drawing for tickets. Points were also accumulated by sharing information by way of Twitter or Facebook.
"Our social media campaign has been off the charts," said Hugh Evans, CEO and co-founder of the Global Poverty Project. The approach demonstrates a new model for harnessing digital tools that might be repeated for other big events with political or social messages.
Organizers said more than 71,000 people had signed up online, resulting in more than 3.5 million page views. On average, they spent just over six minutes consuming content or sharing information. Nearly 200,000 pieces of information were shared on Facebook, and just a bit more than that on Twitter. About 170,000 people signed petitions via the site, and there were 98,000 videos viewed to completion.
Evans said the project achieved its goals, set out last year, of getting more than 100,000 people to take action related to extreme poverty while telling a new story about the challenges. To that end, the site conveys information in detailed, documentary-like accounts and uses an array of video, graphics and stories that are friendly for mobile and digital consumption.
Financially, he said, the project also achieved its yearlong goal - working with an array of organizations like the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the Earth Institute and Rotary International - of garnering $500 million in commitments to help fight poverty.
So now what?
Evans said that he's hoping the audience, built online and at the concert, will continue efforts by tweeting President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney to halve extreme poverty by 2015, which is the key U.N. anti-poverty goal. And Evans is working on an announcement in October or November about "a major rock band" getting involved with the anti-poverty efforts.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.