Better 2000s

The New York Times has declared the 2000s to be 'The Decade from Hell' and it ranks high on 'Worst Music' and - well, it's regarded as the worse decade of the 21st Century thus far. But what if the 2000s were - better? The Times wrote; "Indeed, it is very likely that the first ten years of this century will go down as the most dispiriting and disillusioning decade Americans have lived through in the post–World War II era." There was 9/11, the War in Afghanistan, Iraqi Wars, the 2008 financial crisis, the Ponzi scheme revealed that October, the fall of the Detroit auto industry, the brutality at Guantanamo Bay, and so much more. In some nations like Brazil and China there was a fairly good economy but over all the 2000s were horrible - both in culture, conflict, natural disasters, etc. So, what if the 2000s had been a better decade?

What is Better?
For the sake of this timeline 'better' is what causes the least harm and the most joy. It's success, prosperity and general well being but 'Better' isn't always perfect. Just because events in this timeline are 'better' then they are in OTL doesn't mean they will not produce a negative at some point. Nor can 'better' be achieved for everyone - for example - a person's day can be 'brightened' or 'dimmed' by the outcome of a sports game but typically only one team can win such games. You can't please everyone. Additionally 'tragedy' can lead to needed improvements; at times a loss only makes us stronger and brings to light safety concerns that had previously not been widely public. Like the Concert of Europe staving off a European War what comes may be far worse then what could have been. Such is my word of caution as we make the 2000s one of the best decades of the 21st century.

Rule 1: Only events of the 2000s may be altered be they choices you made in that decade or the choices of others.

Rule 2 - Natural disasters are unavoidable but the severity can be diminished by human action.

Rule 3 - Deaths by accidents, injury or other faults of man are avoidable but deaths from age are not.

Rule 4 - After the 31st day of December in the year 2009 the positive bias will discontinue. What follows is to be a rational ripple of the decade based on the alternate history to that point.

Tip: Focus on people for they make history every day.

Timeline
Lives Saved thus far: 495

January

 * 18th - The Tagish Lake meteorite impacts the Earth.
 * 30th - Due to a bit of fortune an electrical fault does not lead to a false stall warning on Kenya Airways Flight 431 upon take off, however upon approach to Jomo Kenyatta airport an electrical fault occurs (as the nose dips down) leading to a false stall warning. Captain Paul Muthee with visibility of the landing site at the time of arrival manages to bring the craft down as one would under such conditions - the fault is discovered by ground crew with the event causing a bit of a scare but not as severe as that caused by events in OTL. It's enough to shake many of the passengers, crew, and staff at the airport. (169 who would be dead are alive) The plane is replaced in 2001 as scheduled.
 * 31st - Alaska Airline Flight 261 crashes in California resulting in the death of 88 persons (this could have only been averted in at the latest the year 1999 [last scheduled maintenance] and at the earliest in 1985 [when time between the replacement of the screw and lubricant was increased]). The event leads as in OTL to improvements in the Jackscrew's design by NASA in 2001 for its space shuttles, and to better maintenance scheduling by the airline industry likely saving other lives in this decade and beyond.

March

 * 7th - Nickleback's The State album is re-released for the second time - this time with the cover art being a boy outside a jail cell rather then the original 1999 cover art.

July

 * 14th - Geomagnetic storm on Earth brought about by a powerful solar flare.

September

 * 28th to October 6th - Hurricane Keith

October

 * text

November

 * 2nd - First resident crew enters the International Space Station.

December

 * 25th - Avoided Luoyang Christmas Fire; the man tasked with welding is another worker then the one tasked in OTL who nervous is careful and while told to work faster later he unknowingly avoids a disaster that would have saw the loss of 309 lives. Unintentional side effect: Without this disaster the Ministry of Public Security doesn't release an urgent request for local governments to spare no expense for safety during the holiday season. As a result many - though smaller - accidents take place over the holidays but none resulting in fatalities.

February

 * 9th - Avoided USS Greenville doesn't accidentally strike Japanese fishing ship Ehime Maru near Hawaii (In OTL this collision was caused by, based on court findings, multiple negligence with Commander Scott Waddle's insistence on rushing a demonstration to civilians onboard being at fault. Scott's 'rush' was caused by his joy at the excited eagerness of the guests and in this euphoria which had also held members of the sonar crew the Commander decided to demonstrate an emergency breach. Scott in our timeline did perform a brief scan rather then the 360 mandated by protocol and in his own words is certain that ship was only slightly farther to the right then he had scanned. In this timeline a brief passing of words by a visitor prior evoked Commander Scott Waddle to carry out the 360 scan despite being behind schedule for the sake of the visitor's enthusiasm. In doing so he spotted the Ehime Maru and while the USS Greenville returned from its Visitor's Excursion slightly behind schedule a comment regarding this by his superiors is far better then the disaster known in OTL. In OTL this event aroused suppressed resentment carried over from the 2nd World War causing some animosity between individuals ranging from victims of Japanese Occupation to Veterans of the Pacific War. Visitor Excursions also became fewer depriving some civilian families the experience of touring a submarine in the service and thus the wonder that had given Waddle and his guest's pleasure. Waddle's mission was of education much as the Ehime Maru for aboard the fishing ship were High School Students learning about the fishing industry under the supervision of teachers. In total, the death toll was nine [three crew members, four students and two teachers] - lives not lost in the Better 2000s).

June

 * 8th - Averted Osaka School Massacre (see Mamoru Takuma; eight are alive who are dead in OTL). Unintended Consequence: Public interest in mental health policy, school ground accessibility, security at public schools, and the rights of victims and criminals don't rise this year.

September

 * 11th - Nickelback releases the album Silver Side Up having finished recording on the 30th of June.
 * 11th - President George W. Bush takes into account the serious threats of an imminent terrorist attack on the United States as reported by the CIA just three months prior, and warned about by the outgoing Clinton administration during his transition. After hearing that Al-Queda will use airplanes to carry out their attack, and knowing that only 50 air marshals are employed by the government, President Bush instructs FBI Director Robert Mueller to plant FBI agents upon planes to act as temporary air marshals for approximately one month. When the morning of September 11th arrives, 16 hijackers with ties to Al-Queda attempt to take control of four commercial airliners, but their plans are foiled by the undercover FBI agents. All 16 hijackers are shot dead before their plans can be carried out.

March

 * 20th - Due to the prevention of the planned 9/11 attacks by Al-Queda, President Bush weighs his options on Iraq more carefully, as he wants Saddam Hussein out of power, but does not wish to start a ground war he possibly cannot finish. After speaking candidly with UN Ambassador John Negroponte, Bush announces that he will not go forward with a plan to invade Iraq. However, he still wishes to have Iraq inspected for possible possession of weapons of mass destruction. In a speech to the United Nations on this day, he makes his case for tough sanctions against Iraq in order to get the renegade country to come to the table and allow UN inspectors into the country.

April

 * 12th - The United Nations passes Resolution 1338, which places strict sanctions on foreign supplies going into Iraq, under the conditions that Iraq allows UN inspectors into the country to check for WMD's.

November

 * 2nd: Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney defeat Democratic nominee Congressman Richard Gephardt and Vice Presidential nominee Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln. Bush won by a electoral vote of 334 to Gephardt's 203. In this timeline, there are no faithless electors, and Bush is able to nab the Blue Wall states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. His election victory is a result of his handling of the aftermath of the attempted 9/11 attacks as well as the decision to handle the issue with Iraq diplomatically rather than militarily. John Kerry does not run in this timeline because there is no Iraq War, which is what prompted the Democratic Party to prop Kerry up as a presidential candidate, due to his military background and his hardline opposition to the war.