Week 4: 22nd - 28th January 2012

I got sick of hearing all the doom and gloom given to us as 'news' by the media so decided to look every day for some good news. Sometimes it's quite difficult to find. I post the good news for the day on Twitter and every week I plan on posting a summary here.

Found some good news? If I didn't spot it please feel free to add it.

Well here goes - the fourth week of January 2012

22nd January 2012 - Chinese man breaks his little finger after being hit by 8 cars.

Li Tao was hit by a taxi, bounced over the roof and broke his little finger. "I'm fine," he said. What makes this story unusual is that this was the eighth time he'd been hit by a car that day! It's a day's work for Li, a chinese stuntman. Full story http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2012-01/16/content_14455388.htm


Of course there's a downside to any story - Li Tao does this for just $32 a day.


Today was a truly rotten day for finding good news so in best 'Some Better News' tradition you'll be pleased to hear that:

• Thousands of people were not killed by an earthquake in southern Syria as in 1837
• A ship called the SS Northfleet did not sink at Dungeness, England. 300 people were not drowned as in 1873.
• There wasn't a train crash in Los Angeles so 30 people lived unlike 1956
• There wasn't a mine disaster in Johnburg meaning 417 didn't die as in 1960.

23rd January 2012 - EU proposes 'Right to be forgotten' law.

You probably won't understand why this is good news unless you've ever tried to get your Facebook, Twitter or other website account deleted. You may think it's gone but the data you posted is often still there on sites such as the Internet Archive or Google's cache. Certainly you can delete the account but the data is still there.


To most people that doesn't matter. many make in-discrete statements on our accounts which we later regret. 

• In December 2011 a congressman fired three aids who made remarks about him on Twitter
• In April 2011 a policeman was confined to desk duties after making remarks about his job on Facebook
• Families have split up after Facebook pictures and posts were made
• Young people have posted items on social media sites which years later prevented them getting jobs
• The Child Support Agency and other government agencies keep an eye on the Facebook pages of people they deal with.

The European Union is proposing new laws which give people the right to have data concerning them forgotten as part of it's laws reforming data protection. 

Full story http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16677370 

24th January 2012 - Fold-up car unveiled in Europe.

A lot has been made of the pollution caused by cars over the last few years and car manufacturers have responded by producing smaller, fuel efficient and electric cars. The trouble is that many of them are treated more as a joke than as a car. Yet back in the 50's and early 60s there were small 'fun' cars around which cost very little to run. I remember owning a 'Bubble car' as a student. It cost me £5 to buy, £5 to insure, £5 to tax and in a year I spent less than £5 on petrol/gas. 


Today a similar car was unveiled and tried out by the European Commisionar of Spain.
Like a child's stroller it can fold up to save space. It's electrically powered and can reach a top speed of 31mph and travel 75 miles on a single charge. Three of them will fit in a normal parking bay. It seats two.


Details at http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/25/2733709/hiriko-folding-car-electric-ev-citycar-mit

Incidentally my bubble car could reach 55mph and travel 200 miles on it's 2 gallon tank. Like the car tested by the commissioner it's door opened at the front. It could seat 3 (5 at a struggle) Impressive how we've advanced since the 60's

25th January 2012 - Like fried food? It CAN be healthy!

Lots of people love that fried breakfast but are concerned that it can be bad for the heart. Now a report indicates that it can be a healthy breakfast..


Apparently it's all a question of what sort of oil you use. Olive and sunflower oils seem to be the best. 


I have to admit this report didn't come as news to me but it's nice to have it confirmed by a scientific study.

26th January 2012 - The 'Cash Mob' hits an Ohio store.

Chagrin Falls hardware totals up the day's takings.
 Picture by  AP Photo/Amy Sancetta  the Denver Post 

Supermarkets and 'big box' stores have meant that many small businesses struggle to make a living. One such store in Chagrin Falls, Ohio was feeling the pinch. E-mail, Facebook and Twitter made a difference though. A challenge was sent out by Jim Black, a resident of the town,  for people in the area to support these 'good people' by spending at least $20 at the store on 21 January. The message was passed around by Internet and on the appointed day hundreds visited the store to buy. 


What a great idea. Can you think of 'good people' in your area who would benefit from similar action?


Full story: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19816216

27th January 2012 - Asteroid near miss.

An asteroid, discovered on Wednesday, passed the Earth within one fifth of the distance of the Moon. That's considered a near miss. It wasn't by any means a huge object - just 36 feet across, but it passed within 60,000 Km and, had it been on a collision course, was discovered too late for us to do anything about it.


In this case it was too small to cause much  damage if it had impacted but there are others out there which could wipe out humanity. In the last three months there have been two near misses (that we know of)


Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16756450

28th January 2012 - A bad day for good news.
To find good news I search the UK, US, Canadian, Australian, Indian, Sri Lankan, New Zealand, South African and Chinese news services. Today, apart from an article about a new method of growing new bone for people who are disfigured (South Africa), I couldn't find any good news. Weekends do tend to be slow for good news so far this year but today was the worst case. So today's good news is....

• The Pope did NOT have to give up his son as a hostage to the French (unlike 1495!)
• Syria was not in any danger from besieging Christians (unlike 1099)
• The English didn't ship any convicts to Australia (unlike 1788)
• Paris wasn't invaded by Prussians (unlike 1871)

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