Hope Springs Exulting on Triumphant Wing
June 21, 2018 1:05 PM Subscribe
Good evening. This ... is HNN, the Hopeful News Network. Our top story tonight: President Carter helps his birthplace get a doctor. Stories later in our program: McDonald's UK is banning plastic straws, South Bend's mayor marries his love during Pride Month, Lyft partners with the American Cancer Society for free rides, South Korea outlaws killing dogs for meat, a diabetes cure may come from the tuberculosis vaccine, and stories of very large donations to public radio and to mental health organizations in Kate Spade's memory. Remember our motto!
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- loup
This is the last straw.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 1:51 PM on June 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 1:51 PM on June 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
PS, mods: the public radio link isn't working. Looks like the id bit at the end is necessary. Here's a link that works.
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 1:54 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 1:54 PM on June 21, 2018
The dog meat thing bugs me, if anything, there should be regulations to ensure less cruel slaughter practices and treatment in life. Banning dog meat is arbitrary to the point of being a problem, what about the other animals we eat? Either it's okay to eat meat or it isn't, these half-measures smack of something I can't think of a word for but it is bothersome.
posted by GoblinHoney at 1:58 PM on June 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by GoblinHoney at 1:58 PM on June 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
Thank you, HNN
posted by Fupped Duck at 2:03 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by Fupped Duck at 2:03 PM on June 21, 2018
You have no clue how head-spinning it is to know South Bend, home of gawdalmighty Notre Dame, has a gay mayor. And now a married gay mayor. There really is hope, isn’t there?
posted by Thorzdad at 2:09 PM on June 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 2:09 PM on June 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
This post is a very good example of "looking for the helpers." Thank you for making it!
posted by WalkerWestridge at 2:25 PM on June 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 2:25 PM on June 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Oh this is sorely needed. Thank you!
posted by a hat out of hell at 2:34 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by a hat out of hell at 2:34 PM on June 21, 2018
Wow, that's incredible about BCG vaccine for diabetes! In case anyone is curious like I was, the study is here. The mechanism they're suggesting is not that the vaccine "reverses" diabetes in the sense of regenerating lost pancreatic beta cells or increasing insulin production, but that it makes cells better able to take up glucose from the bloodstream without insulin.
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:53 PM on June 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:53 PM on June 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
As a T1 I'm cautiously optimistic it'll work out well for some. ...improve type 1 diabetes in adults between 18 and 60 years of age who have small but still detectable levels of insulin secretion from the pancreas. Means it might not work at all or quickly for me, but still hopeful.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:07 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:07 PM on June 21, 2018
Nice that the article actually got the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 correct, unlike a lot of reporting.
Perhaps I will delay asking my doctor about gastric bypass surgery for type 2 and see how this comes out. With that mechanism I expect it would be effective.
posted by Foosnark at 3:36 PM on June 21, 2018
Perhaps I will delay asking my doctor about gastric bypass surgery for type 2 and see how this comes out. With that mechanism I expect it would be effective.
posted by Foosnark at 3:36 PM on June 21, 2018
Adding to the good feelings here, but don't have time to make a separate FPP (others are welcome to do so): This month, San Francisco became the second city in the US (following New York in 2017) to establish a universal right to counsel to any tenant facing eviction--and the first to do so by a ballot measure.
posted by duffell at 3:56 PM on June 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by duffell at 3:56 PM on June 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
Just a few days ago I bought these. Highly recommended.
posted by Splunge at 3:58 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by Splunge at 3:58 PM on June 21, 2018
I am super excited about Lyft--they're not always my favorite company but I for sure recommended them to a colleague who's undergoing cancer treatment right now. She travels in from the suburbs for her treatment and that's a long way to drive when she's not feeling well.
posted by librarylis at 4:56 PM on June 21, 2018
posted by librarylis at 4:56 PM on June 21, 2018
McDonald's UK is banning plastic straws
Nothing triggers my darkest cynicism like "good news!" efforts such as this. What do you mean they're "banning" plastic straws? They're simply considering no longer giving them out. They'll be giving out zillions of mostly paper but possibly plastic-lined or wax paper ones instead. It's nice I guess, by it's hardly enough to make the continued operation of McDonalds Inc. good news for the environment, and a bunch of feel-good faux news propaganda pieces half-written by the McDonalds PR team that don't even bother to specify what kind of material the replacement straws are to be made of isn't good news for the media environment, either.
posted by sfenders at 5:08 PM on June 21, 2018
Nothing triggers my darkest cynicism like "good news!" efforts such as this. What do you mean they're "banning" plastic straws? They're simply considering no longer giving them out. They'll be giving out zillions of mostly paper but possibly plastic-lined or wax paper ones instead. It's nice I guess, by it's hardly enough to make the continued operation of McDonalds Inc. good news for the environment, and a bunch of feel-good faux news propaganda pieces half-written by the McDonalds PR team that don't even bother to specify what kind of material the replacement straws are to be made of isn't good news for the media environment, either.
posted by sfenders at 5:08 PM on June 21, 2018
sfenders: Nothing triggers my darkest cynicism like "good news!" efforts such as this.
Well, seems to me there's a balance to be struck. You're right that in the grand scheme of things---and even in the grand scheme of McDonald's (McDonald's's?) operations---it's not a huge step, and we collectively shouldn't let the PR distract us from e.g. the way food becoming a commodity affects the environment or how we think about ourselves and our environments.
But incremental improvements are worth celebrating! Large changes don't have to come from revolutions; they can come from many small changes that don't quite cancel each other out. More to the point, maybe, this really does mean less plastic washing down storm drains, and that part of it is an unambiguously good thing.
posted by golwengaud at 5:27 PM on June 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
Well, seems to me there's a balance to be struck. You're right that in the grand scheme of things---and even in the grand scheme of McDonald's (McDonald's's?) operations---it's not a huge step, and we collectively shouldn't let the PR distract us from e.g. the way food becoming a commodity affects the environment or how we think about ourselves and our environments.
But incremental improvements are worth celebrating! Large changes don't have to come from revolutions; they can come from many small changes that don't quite cancel each other out. More to the point, maybe, this really does mean less plastic washing down storm drains, and that part of it is an unambiguously good thing.
posted by golwengaud at 5:27 PM on June 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
Thank you for doing this, WCityMike! Good to see a hopeful news post!
And a quick reminder that the current "state of the site" discussion included metatalk about bringing in alternate viewpoints without seeming to dump on a post...
so in the respectful spirit of that ...
good to see first steps on banning meat--see here for efforts on less visible animals!
good to see the straw discussion..see ">here for further metafilter discussion including options to consider....
And my own addition to the good news...Texas Monthly has a podcast with Cecile Richards, immediate past president of Planned Parenthood-she reviews possible plans to run for future office and says that the foundational core of what she knows about politics, leadership, and good old-fashioned rabble-rousing, she learned from her mother, former Texas governor Ann Richards.
posted by beaning at 5:59 PM on June 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
And a quick reminder that the current "state of the site" discussion included metatalk about bringing in alternate viewpoints without seeming to dump on a post...
so in the respectful spirit of that ...
good to see first steps on banning meat--see here for efforts on less visible animals!
good to see the straw discussion..see ">here for further metafilter discussion including options to consider....
And my own addition to the good news...Texas Monthly has a podcast with Cecile Richards, immediate past president of Planned Parenthood-she reviews possible plans to run for future office and says that the foundational core of what she knows about politics, leadership, and good old-fashioned rabble-rousing, she learned from her mother, former Texas governor Ann Richards.
posted by beaning at 5:59 PM on June 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Here in the Netherlands, we're trying to use less plastic. Several large supermarket chains are announcing they will no longer give out plastic bags with loose produce; instead, we'll use alternatives such as paper bags, but also reusable see-through bags like this one.
Many vegetables and fruits are already sold without plastic packaging; ironically, the 'organic' variety is often packed in plastic because it needs to be visually recognisable. But a solution has been found: laser branding. It looks like this.
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:49 PM on June 21, 2018
Many vegetables and fruits are already sold without plastic packaging; ironically, the 'organic' variety is often packed in plastic because it needs to be visually recognisable. But a solution has been found: laser branding. It looks like this.
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:49 PM on June 21, 2018
Along the same vein, I also follow Tanks Good News on Instagram.
posted by like_neon at 3:39 AM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by like_neon at 3:39 AM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
« Older "the free speech wing of the free speech party" | Mama said knock you(r lovely ocean view) out Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Artw at 1:50 PM on June 21, 2018 [4 favorites]