Benin’s cotton farmers are embracing the benfits of organic farming. By ditching pesticides and only using natural fertilizers, not only is their health improving, but the damage they’re causing to the environment is decreasing.
Another benefit is that farmers no longer need to buy expensive fertilizers.
Watch the AFP video below, or at Clip Syndicate.
A five year court battle to retrieve his son appears to be over for a New York man. Brazil’s chief justice on Tuesday ruled in favor of David Goldman who has pursued a grueling international battle to gain custody after his ex-wife died in Brazil.
Watch the video below, or at Clip Syndicate…
A team of Toronto Star reporters fanned out across the city to document a most wonderful human behavior: people being kind to each other. We started at midnight and we continued around the clock. We found kindness everywhere we looked, and it left all of us deeply moved.
Follow the timeline at thestar.com
Photo courtesy of Sun Star
I grew up hearing that moods were a “gift” that you needed to go through in order to become a better person. I’m not sure how anyone came to that conclusion but that was what was passed down to me. Even heavy or dark moods were a gift.
Turns out it was simply and excuse for bad behavior. I was in my mid-twenties before I figured that out. I was going through one of those times where I felt completely ill-equipped to deal with whatever was going on in my life. It had only happened a few times before, but when this kind of depression descended I felt no other desire but to lock myself away from everyone and everything. I did so by shutting the drapes and unplugging the phone. I just allowed my self to disappear for awhile.
I didn’t want people to see me this way. I slept a lot, thought a lot and did a fair bit of feeling sorry for myself.
As I looked out of my window at the blizzard moving in – I felt the words “you’re choosing this, you can choose something else” come into my consciousness.
Responding to horror stories of stranded travelers, the Obama Administration yesterday established a 3-hour time limit for airline passengers to be delayed on the tarmac before lifting-off.
The new rule prohibits U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours without bringing passengers back to the gate. Carriers are also now required to provide adequate food and drinking water for passengers within two hours of the aircraft being delayed on the tarmac and to maintain operable lavatories and medical attention if necessary.
“Airline passengers have rights, and these new rules will require airlines to live up to their obligation to treat their customers fairly,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
In her loft near Union Square in Manhattan, the abstract painter Carmen Herrera, 94, nursed a flute of Champagne last week. Now, at a small ceremony in her honor, she was basking in the realization that her career had finally, undeniably, taken off.
After six decades of very private painting, Ms. Herrera sold her first artwork five years ago, at 89…
(Continue reading in the NY Times)
New site tracking from StatCounter Global Statistics shows that Firefox 3.5 is now the most used browser in the world, surpassing Internet Explorer 7.
In March, Firefox became the most popular browser in Germany, the first time is has beaten all versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer in a major country.
Continue reading and see the chart at TheNextWeb.com)
If you haven’t tried Firefox, you are missing out on the best, safest and fastest browser for surfing the web. Here are the top five reasons for downloading the FREE software, Firefox.
Carey Carter and Mitchell Barnes, owners of the posh Carter Barnes salon in Atlanta, Georgia, found an amazing, unconventional way to bring Christmas joy to hundreds of people in need of a pick-me-up. With just weeks to go before Christmas, after a client rang to say she couldn’t afford to get her hair done after losing her job, Carter, Barnes and fellow stylists decided this persistent economic downturn needed a beauty intervention, with free botox, free color and free styling for all.
The salon spread the word, and soon there was an influx of heart-wrenching letters from men and women who were facing tough times: job loss, broken marriages, illnesses. The stylists selected 250 people who were desperate to regain some of the confidence only a good cut and color can give, but were unable to afford it. Now, the giving has become contagious, with some of the newly styled clients finding ways to pay it forward to others in need this season.
See the video below and read the full story at CNN.com.
Many people say they had found unexpected and uplifting turns during the struggling economy’s darkest moments. Some have rediscovered what they previously dismissed or took for granted: Family, friends and faith. Others say the tough times have helped them seize opportunities they might have ignored before.
In a Thanksgiving Day poll, MSNBC readers were asked if there was any reason to thankful for the recession. One woman was grateful that she was able to tap into her dormant desire to write the great American novel. Others have gone back to school, reinvented their family roles or are on the lookout for an unexpected opportunity.
The recession has hit Terry Zimmerman hard. He is out of work, on the verge of being homeless and barely has money for food.
But the 47-year-old Army veteran from Sacramento still has something to be thankful for.
“My health,” says the software programmer.
The recession forced Scott Winterton of Austin, Texas, to question everything about his life. In the end, the unemployed software engineer found a deeper connection to his faith and family.
“I realized that my faith was not in my paycheck or in the housing market,” he says. “Since the recession, I’ve also noticed a change in the country and how we’ve taken a step back from excess.”
“We had it all and we lost it all,” says Lucia Del Barto of Mesa, Ariz., a mom of six who decided to go to college after losing her home and three cars.
“If it weren’t for the economy going so bad, I would still be blowing money left and right and not even trying to better myself with an education,” Del Barto says. “I am grateful because of the recession. The recession gave me a new opportunity, hope and purpose.”
It forced new roles on Scott and Julie Dick of Mechanicsburg, Ohio.
“I’m the major bread winner for the first time,” says Julie.
She returned to work as an office manager with the Ohio Department of Education after giving birth to her son, Matthew, and Scott, who lost his engineering job in 2008, stays home with the newborn.
“The switch in gender roles was a struggle at first, but we know it’s the right thing to do and I am very proud of my husband and the job he is doing at home,” Julie says.
John Temple, a retired U.S. postal worker, never dreamed a recession would make it possible for him to move out of an old Greyhound bus and into his first home.
“We could never afford a house,” says the 55-year-old from Henderson, Nev. “Every penny we had went to our four children and that didn’t leave us much for a home.”
But the Temples never stopped saving and sacrificing. Once Nevada’s housing prices plunged, they cashed in.
Zimmerman is watching for his big opportunity.
“I know it’s going to get better,” he says. “I believe in this country and I believe we can make it through this recession and become a better nation.”
© 2009 msnbc.com
Republished with permission of MSNBC – December 21 2009;
permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center.
Blind and deaf, a little dog who didn’t seem to have much of a future finds a purpose helping to teach children about compassion. Named Rudolph, the little dachshund inspires lessons in elementary schools that many lead some children away from bullying in the future.
Watch the video below, or at MSNBC…
Owners with four-wheel-drive vehicles came to the aid of a snowed-in bride and her 40 guests, driving them to the church on time, ensuring the wedding went ahead despite the weather.
Karen Rawlins, 42, had feared she would have to cancel her wedding to John Lee, 35, because of the snow, but following an appeal on BBC Radio Kent, listeners helped transport them to the church in a remote village.
Following the service the new Mrs Lee said: “It was a dream come true.”
(Continue reading, and see the photo, at BBC.com)
A chain of e-mails and friends talking to friends grew the caroling idea into something bigger than the organizers could have possibly imagined. Close to 400 people huddled together Wednesday evening in the yard of a woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer to sing a joyous round of Christmas carols that could be heard from blocks away.
(Continue reading the story w/ nice photo in the Dayton Daily News)
Poinsettia image by Alex Cube, GNN supporter and artist
New Zealand scientists have developed tiny “light” particles that can seek out and destroy cancer cells.
Victoria University synthetic chemist Richard Tilley said researchers had established the tools to detect cancer when it was at the stage of a single diseased cell – well ahead of some MRI scans which cannot identify tumors until they are about 2.5 centimetres wide.
The lit particles can be attached to cancer drugs, which could treat the disease in a targeted way.
(Continue reading in the New Zealand Herald)
Photo by National Cancer Institute, CC license, via Wikipedia
Video cameras set up by the Starbucks LOVE Project filmed singers simultaneously in 156 countries as they each performed their own version of the Beatles’ anthem, All You Need Is Love.
Each group of musicians plays in a different country and all the sounds are blended to make a beautiful video for sharing. You can watch the names of countries go by in the corner as the different singers appear — like these folks (right) in Ukraine.
You can join others on the chorus by uploading your own version to their website at www.starbucksloveproject.com. Or choose a country and browse through their entries.
The purpose of the project, filmed on December 7, the day before the anniversary of Lennon’s death, was to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa, but I’d say that raising excitement about the idea of love is… well… all you need.
Video cameras set up by the Starbucks LOVE Project filmed singers simultaneously in 156 countries as they each performed their own version of the Beatles’ anthem, All You Need Is Love.
Each group of musicians plays in a different country and all the sounds are blended to make a beautiful video for sharing. You can watch the names of countries go by in the corner as the different singers appear — like these folks (right) in Ukraine.
You can join others on the chorus by uploading your own version to their website at www.starbucksloveproject.com. Or choose a country and browse through their entries.
The purpose of the project, filmed on December 7, the day before the anniversary of Lennon’s death, was to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa, but I’d say that raising excitement about the idea of love is… well… all you need.
Spend some time with Faith the Dog, who was born with only two legs but still walks with dignity, and you will see why Faith’s owners say their animal offers inspiration for all, including military families who may have loved ones injured by conflict.
Watch the video below, or on Clip Syndicate.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the deal on climate change reached by world leaders at a United Nations summit in Copenhagen, calling it an “essential beginning” that contains progress on all key fronts, but adding that work must now focus on turning the deal into a legally binding treaty.
Nations attending the Copenhagen conference agreed overnight to “take note” of an agreement reached by the leaders of five countries – the United States, China, India, Brazil and South Africa – after two weeks of marathon negotiations in the Danish capital.
“We have the foundation for the first truly global agreement that will limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support adaptation for the most vulnerable and launch a new era of green growth,” Mr. Ban told journalists at the conference today.
He said results have been made on all four of the benchmarks for success that he laid out during the special leader summit on climate change held in New York in September.
“All countries have agreed to work towards a common long-term goal to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius many governments have made important commitments to reduce or limit emissions countries have achieved significant progress on preserving forests and countries have agreed to provide comprehensive support to help the most vulnerable cope with climate change.”
The Secretary-General said these commitments have been backed up by $30 billion of pledges for adaptation and mitigation measures for poorer countries, and further commitments to spend more money between now and 2020 to achieve those goals.
But he cautioned that serious work lies ahead in turning the Copenhagen Accord into a legally binding treaty, and said he would work closely with world leaders to make that happen.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that to stave off the worst effects of global warming, industrialized countries must slash emission s by 25 to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, and global emissions must be halved by 2050.
“We still face serious consequences. So while I am satisfied we have a deal here in Copenhagen, I am aware
that it is just the beginning. It will take more than this to definitively tackle climate change, but it is a step in the right direction.”
President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo in which he pledged a new U.S. relationship with Muslim countries, has been named the top religion story for 2009 by journalists who cover religion in the United States.
The June speech in Egypt was seen as offering an olive branch to the Muslim world and was named the top story by more than 100 members of the Religion Newswriters Association .
During his talk, Obama invoked the Qur’an, Talmud and the Bible while declaring that America was not at war with Islam.
A young girl is calling her neighbor a superhero because of his superhuman actions while she was trapped beneath a car.
Nick Harris doesn’t know where or how he got the strength to lift the car from the six-year-old girl, but called it a “Christmas miracle”.
See the local news report from KCTV below, or at Clip Syndicate.
A newly-adopted dog out for a walk, suddenly bolted, pulling his owner for a half mile down the street arriving at a baby on the ground who wasn’t breathing. The Florida woman then proceeded to revive the baby with CPR, while her frantic mother said the child had been drowning in the bath tub.
It turns out the dog had been trained in child rescue but hadn’t passed the course, and was put up for adoption!
Watch the incredible KVVU report below, or at Clip Syndicate…
