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How To Win Monopoly in Under Two Minutes

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monopoly-character.jpgA Notre Dame professor and his son have determined the fastest way to win at Monopoly. The game that many families leave on the shelf because it takes too long, really only requires four turns and nine rolls of the dice to win.

Here’s what has to happen, according to an interview on NPR with sociology professor Daniel J. Myers:

“One player moves around the board very quickly, to buy Boardwalk and Park Place, and places houses on them. And the other one ends up drawing a Chance card that sends them to Boardwalk, and they don’t have enough money to pay the rent with three houses, and the game is over.”

However, the statistical odds of winning by using this exact sequence are very long: more than 250 trillion to one!

Here’s how to play the fastest theoretical game:

Dr Pepper to Recycle 80% of Waste

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dr-pepper.jpgThe Dr Pepper Snapple Group announced it will recycle 80 percent of its solid waste, improve energy efficiency and water usage by ten percent, and conserve more than 60 million pounds of PET plastic through package reengineering and increased use of post-consumer recycled material.

The improvements were laid out in the company’s first corporate social responsibility report, which outlines five-year goals for improving environmental and social performance across the company’s operations.

They will also replace 60,000 vending machines and coolers with Energy Star equipment that is rated 30% more energy efficient and result in $7.6 million in electricity cost savings for customers.

(READ the story in EnvironmentalLeader.com)

A Modest Peace Plan That Works for Turkish-Jewish Pair

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muslim-jew-reston-synagogue.jpgJews: want to fight anti-Semitism? Muslims: want to challenge islamophobia? There’s an easy way to do it: have coffee with one another.

Last week, the rabbi and imam of Duke University, did just that. Amidst the tension between Muslims and Jews caused by the violence off the coast of Israel and Gaza, their regular coffee date felt like a political act.

They typically steer their discussion away from politics not because they feel uneasy on that turf; they know that they disagree on many core issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian controversy and are quite comfortable with that. They are careful because they know that when political discourse becomes the dominant mode — or the only mode — of interaction something essential may be lost: empathy.

(READ more of the column in the Washington Post)

Homeless Man Rescues Dog Dumped in 6-Foot Oil Pit

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dog-oil-rescue.jpgIt was a call Sheila Zachar won’t soon forget. Her friend, James Beavers, a homeless veteran living at an abandoned car wash in East Memphis, Tenn., had just rescued a German shepherd from a 6-ft. pit of oil, and desperately needed Zachar’s help getting her out of the disturbing—and messy—situation.

Earlier, Beavers had noticed a truck speeding away from the car wash, followed by the sound of a dog in distress. He couldn’t pinpoint where the wails were coming from, but as the whimpering continued, he kept up the search.

Milkman Honored by Queen at Buckingham Palace for Lifetime of Crime-busting

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milkman-honored-by-queen.jpgTony Fowler, a milkman with a daily route that takes him 100 miles through 25 towns in Leicestershire, is being hailed a hero by the Queen of England for having contributed to the capture of a string of criminals. Throughout his 20-year career his watchful eye and quick response has foiled burglaries, stopped drug deals and blocked car thieves trying to escape by positioning his milk truck in their path.

Tony keeps an eye on people’s homes when they are still asleep or away on holiday and has even rescued an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s from a fire. He also aligns himself with good causes, raising money for charity and passing out leaflets.

Mr Fowler will collect the MBE from the Queen at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace today. He was also a Local Champion winner of the Pride of Britain Award in 2008.

The MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) is awarded to UK citizens who are dedicated in their field and set an example for others.

Fowler insisted on wearing a suit jacket decorated like a cow, even though the Palace officials asked that he reconsider. See the photos of occasion in the Daily Mail.

“My wife Anne is not pleased about me going as a cow but I just want to do something different. Milkmen and women are very quiet people usually, except for me,” he told the British press.

(READ the story at Mirror.co.uk – His FULL BIO is featured in the Pride of Britain Awards)

Photo from Pride of Britain Awards

Milkman Honored by Queen at Buckingham Palace for Lifetime of Crime-busting

milkman-honored-by-queen.jpg

milkman-honored-by-queen.jpgTony Fowler, a milkman with a daily route that takes him 100 miles through 25 towns in Leicestershire, is being hailed a hero by the Queen of England for having contributed to the capture of a string of criminals. Throughout his 20-year career his watchful eye and quick response has foiled burglaries, stopped drug deals and blocked car thieves trying to escape by positioning his milk truck in their path.

Tony keeps an eye on people’s homes when they are still asleep or away on holiday and has even rescued an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s from a fire. He also aligns himself with good causes, raising money for charity and passing out leaflets.

Mr Fowler will collect the MBE from the Queen at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace today. He was also a Local Champion winner of the Pride of Britain Award in 2008.

The Secret Mall Gardens of Cleveland

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mall-as-greenhouse.jpgUnder its towering glass atrium, a shopping mall in Cleveland is alive with fresh food still on the vine — cucumbers, lettuce and herbs are growing, with strawberries and tomatoes on the way.

In the former Galleria at Erieview mall, a project called Gardens Under Glass is taking root, one of many Cleveland-based projects that are part of a grand plan to transform malls into greenhouse
s.

A new farmers market in the mall is growing in popularity, but “the grander plan calls for the entire mall to become a retail ecovillage: vegetarian restaurants, health food stores, garden supply outlets, more farmers’ stalls and shops selling recycled goods.

(READ the story at Grist.com)

Fiery La. Politician Leads Fight To Clean Up Oil

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billy-nungesser-louisiana-parish-pres.jpgOne of the areas hardest hit by the BP oil spill is Louisiana’s southernmost Parish located along the 70 miles of Mississippi river that empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

But the residents have something in their arsenal to help keep the oil out of their prized marshlands: Billy Nungesser. The parish president is a newcomer to politics who isn’t afraid to take on BP or the Coast Guard to save the livelihood of his home.

From an emergency management center, he recently ordered his staff to ignore BP and put parish equipment out in the water to suck up the oil: “I should have told them to get the hell out of the way two weeks ago, but we are putting [this] equipment and we’re putting the skimmers in the water. I don’t give a s – – – what anybody says.”

(READ the story from National Public Radio) …Thanks, also, to Roxana for submitting this New York Times article about the same story!

Job Openings Rise To Highest Level In 16 Months

job classified ads - Kevin P. via Morguefile

jobs-classifieds-kevin_p-morguefile.jpgJob openings jumped in April to the highest level in 16 months, a sign that hiring by private employers is healthy.

The number of jobs advertised rose to 3.1 million from 2.8 million in March, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That’s the most openings since December 2008.

Private employers, rather than the government, accounted for the entire net gain.

(READ more in the AP story via NPR)

Photo by Kevin_P via Morguefile.com

Saving Honey Bees, One Hive at a Time

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bee-colony.jpgFor the fourth year in a row, about a third of honeybee hives in the United States died off during the past winter, succumbing to Colony Collapse Disorder.

So when beekeeper Keith Roberts comes across a thriving nest of feral bees, his company views it as an opportunity to replenish the dwindling populations of commercial honeybees.

The city of Santa Monica is currently re-evaluating its longstanding policy of exterminating swarms of bees and a law prohibiting the keeping of bees within city limits may be overturned.

Local advocates have urged the city to capture the swarms, re-house them in temporary hives on city land, and then transport them to agricultural areas in California where the bees are needed by farmers to pollinate crops.

“They’re extremely healthy bees, strong producers and obviously very resistant to the varroa mites and the pathogens that are wiping out our bees across the country,” says Mr Roberts. “These bees might very well hold the key to healthier bees in the general.”

(READ MORE of the story from the BBC)

DC Pitching Phenom is Stunning in Major League Debut Striking out 14

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strasburg-steve-nats-minors.jpgBefore the 21 year-old even stepped on a major league pitcher’s mound, he was being called the greatest pitcher in the history of baseball. No one could have expected him to live up to the pre-game hype, but he did.

On the mound for the Washington Nationals last night, Steven Strasburg pitched 14 strikeouts with no walks — something no player in history has ever done in a major league debut.

His fastball was clocked at 100 mph and his crazy curve ball dropped in an avalanche that stumped the Pittsburgh Pirates and sealed his first win, 5-2.

The famed Washington sports columnist Tom Boswell wrote: “The return of baseball here five years ago was the most emotionally charged night the sport has provided us so far in the new ‘Nats’ era. But this town has never had one game, one packed-house party, one continuous night-long celebration of possibility, one obliterate-all-expectations career launch that could even remotely approach the electric future that Strasburg’s 5-2 victory instantly foretold.”

(READ his column in the Washington Post)

Gates Foundation Gives $1.5 Billion for Women’s Health

bill-gates-foundation-photo.jpgThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $1.5 billion on Monday in a joint push with the United Nations to improve the health of women and children.

“That is in addition to grants that we already make in vaccines, diarrhea, malaria,” Melinda Gates told reporters.

The UN is launching a lobbying effort to get governments and other non-profit groups on board.

The money will fund a comprehensive approach to help women deliver babies safely and plan healthy families with access to contraception, while incorporating current vaccination and nutrition programs.

(READ more from Reuters)

Bird Drawings by Young Girl Raise $60,000 for Gulf Wildlife Rescue

pelican-drawing-olivia-bouler-gulf-oilSaddened by what she imagined the oil spill was doing to wildlife near her family’s summer home on the Gulf coast, an 11-year-old began creating pictures of birds to raise money for rescue operations, and claims to have raised $60,000 so far.

After learning about Olivia Bouler’s campaign, America Online donated $25,000 to the Audubon Society in her name and also created a gallery of her artwork.

The fifth-grader decided to send a bird illustration to anyone who donates to The Audubon Society, The Sierra Club, The Weeks Bay Foundation, The Mobile Bay Estuary Program or The National Wildlife Fund, with a limit of 500 originals offered.

Her mother started a Facebook group called “Save the Gulf: Olivia’s Bird Illustrations,” which now has more than 5,000 fans.

(WATCH video below, or read more from the story at AL.com)

Bird Drawings by Young Girl Raises fortune for Gulf Wildlife Rescue

pelican-drawing-olivia-bouler-gulf-oil.jpgSaddened by what she imagined the oil spill was doing to wildlife near her family’s summer home on the Gulf coast, an 11-year-old began creating pictures of birds to raise money for rescue operations. Since then, totals have climbed into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

After learning about Olivia Bouler’s campaign, America Online donated $25,000 to the Audubon Society in her name and also created a gallery of her artwork.

The fifth-grader decided to send a bird illustration to anyone who donates to The Audubon Society, The Sierra Club, The Weeks Bay Foundation, The Mobile Bay Estuary Program or The National Wildlife Fund.

Her mother started a Facebook group called “Save the Gulf: Olivia’s Bird Illustrations,” which eventually collected more than 28,000 fans.

(WATCH video below, or read more from the story at AL.com)

Mozart Makes Microbes Eat Sewage Faster

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mozart-plays-trio.jpgSewage-eating microbes are major appreciators of Mozart, according to one pioneering waste treatment plant in Germany which has taken to playing the Austrian composer’s music on an expensive stereo for the microorganisms that break down sewage — and it found that it greatly increased their speed and efficiency, and could save the plant thousands of dollars a year.

(READ the article at TreeHugger.com)

Wolf Dog Sings to a Baby, Stops His Cry (Video)

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This video of a wolf-like cry soothing a baby evokes something mystical from deep within our collective history. Quite magical in its effect, too.

Posted on YouTube more than a year ago, a Good News reader from Alaska named, wwwoolf (not making that up), finally sent the link to me yesterday. Enjoy.

(Does anyone know to what exact species this animal belongs?)

 

 

Wolf Dog Sings to a Baby, Stops His Cry (Video)

grey wolf howls
wolf-howling-grey.jpg

This video of a wolf-like cry soothing a baby evokes something mystical from deep within our collective history. Quite magical in its effect, too.

Posted on YouTube more than a year ago, a Good News reader from Alaska named, wwwoolf (not making that up), finally sent the link to me yesterday. Enjoy.

(Does anyone know to what exact species this animal belongs?)

 

 

Defeating Terrorism: What Indonesia Can Teach The World

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prison-barbed-wire.jpgIndonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, is waging one of the world’s most determined campaigns against terrorism — and much of the credit goes to the country’s American-trained police unit, Detachment 88. The horror and audacity of the Bali bombings proved to be an epiphany for Indonesians, alerting them to the homegrown extremists in their midst and helping forge a national consensus against terrorism. The following year, Detachment 88 was set up with the backing of the U.S. and Australian governments. Today, it numbers 400 personnel drawn from the elite of the Indonesian police’s special-operations forces — and it has built up an extensive intelligence network to nab terrorists.

Since Feb. 22, 48 suspected terrorists were caught within a seven-week period and another eight killed. In May, a further 16 suspects were arrested and five killed as police foiled a plot to assassinate Indonesia’s President and visiting foreign dignitaries. Detachment 88 had done it again.

(READ the story from Time Magazine)

Mumbai Board Requires Hotels to Recycle Sewage

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mumbai-pub-domain.jpgA new pollution standard announced Saturday, on World Environment Day, ensures that cleaner water wll flow into the Arabian Sea from India’s second largest state.

Maharashtra, the richest state in India, boasting a 300 mile coastline and deep water ports like Mumbai, has ordered that all of its hotels, clubs and resorts install sewage plants on their premises to help recycle 80 percent of sewage water for non-potable use.

The decision from the Maharashtra Pollution Board Control is all the more important because 50 percent of the untreated sewage water of Mumbai, the second most populous city in the world, is flushed directly into the rivers and sea, affecting marine life.

Water shortages across India also bolstered the push for the new rule, which is controversial among smaller hotels.

According to a report in Midday, Vijay Shewakramani, Managing Committee Member, Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India said, “Making optimum use of recycled water is the need of the hour. Soon, not just commercial establishments but residential complexes too will have to implement this rule.”

(READ the report in Mid-day.com)

Mumbai Board Requires Hotels to Recycle Sewage

mumbai-pub-domain.jpg

mumbai-pub-domain.jpgA new pollution standard announced Saturday, on World Environment Day, ensures that cleaner water wll flow into the Arabian Sea from India’s second largest state.

Maharashtra, the richest state in India, boasting a 300 mile coastline and deep water ports like Mumbai, has ordered that all of its hotels, clubs and resorts install sewage plants on their premises to help recycle 80 percent of sewage water for non-potable use.

The decision from the Maharashtra Pollution Board Control is all the more important because 50 percent of the untreated sewage water of Mumbai, the second most populous city in the world, is flushed directly into the rivers and sea, affecting marine life.

Water shortages across India also bolstered the push for the new rule, which is controversial among smaller hotels.

According to a report in Midday, Vijay Shewakramani, Managing Committee Member, Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India said, “Making optimum use of recycled water is the need of the hour. Soon, not just commercial establishments but residential complexes too will have to implement this rule.”

(READ the report in Mid-day.com)