At a white tie event in NYC last night, the two presidential candidates poked fun at themselves and each other at the Al Smith Foundation Charity Gala. To say it is sublime to see these tough opponents laughing and delivering hilarious commentary about the campaign with only two weeks left before an election is an understatement. Watch and be uplifted! (Full comedy roasts be each candidate below)
From the time I can remember, I believed in positive thinking bringing positive results. I knew there was something missing though, because just thinking about it wouldn’t necessarily make it happen. I already used visualization in sports — teamed with positive thinking — to become a very good 4-sport athlete. As I got older, I realized the missing ingredient to make the Law work for me was taking action.
Losing almost 200 pounds, overcoming type-2 diabetes and enjoying the best health of his life were the only reasons one man needed to continue on a raw-food diet that includes copious quantities of “green smoothies,” blended cocktails of raw leafy greens, fruit and water. His dramatic transformation has convinced 170 Rogue Valley residents that they, too, can benefit from a raw food diet during a six-week “challenge.” (Southern Oregon’s Mail Tribune)
The border city of Brownsville, where nearly all students come from low-income Hispanic families and where 4 in 10 are not native English speakers, has managed to make huge strides in closing achievement gaps, boosting SAT scores, as well as the number of students who take the college entrance exam. The school district this week received $1 million as the winner of the 2008 Broad Prize for Urban Education. The prize money is in the form of college scholarships for graduating seniors next spring.
The charitable arm of UPS this week announced five grants totaling more than $1 million to support a variety of environmental programs, including funds for planting trees, conservation, youth education and volunteerism. The grants reflect the establishment of environmental stewardship as a new focus area by The UPS Foundation.
Monkeys were able to overcome wrist paralysis with an experimental device that might lead to new treatments for patients with stroke and spinal cord injury. Remarkably, the research at the University of Washington found the monkeys regained use of paralyzed muscles by learning to control the activity of just a single brain cell. (Associated Press report via WTOP NEWS)
When most people think of farms, they think flat, endless fields of corn or wheat in the heartland of America. Former professional basketball player Will Allen thinks of community centers that opt to grow their own food to cut costs and, maybe later, farming skyscrapers. . . Such vision has earned Allen a $500,000 “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to continue and expand his efforts.
Five zoos have been able to stave off likely extinction since 1998, but for a change, nature gave a bit of a break to one of the nation’s most endangered species — the Mississippi gopher frog.
The small number left in the wild — fewer than 100 adults — has swelled this year after 181 tadpoles survived, parasite and pond level, to join the others in the forest. (Associate Press story on Physorg.com)
How could you not cry watching this joyous reunion between a soldier and his dogs.
Instead of a recession, the artist and poet SARK wishes we would see ourselves as being on a “money recess!” Here is an essay she wrote in 1990 called, How To Relax About Money. Try calling her 24-hour inspirational phone-line if you need more wise words to create “succulent living”… (415) 546-3742.
Her new book, Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper, is for sale
Painting homes a lighter shade does more than save money on A.C. If all urban rooftops in warm climates were white, they could slow global warming by up to 11 years, a new study finds. (Christian Science Monitor)
Government leaders are learning in the face of danger from the global credit crisis that they can pull together with constructive initiatives, and that there is more strength in standing together than in struggling alone. And, if they can save banks, why not the environment? If they can stop the spread of shareholder panic, why can’t they stop the spread of nuclear weapons? (Christian Science Monitor)
– Image courtesy of Sun Star
The US has removed North Korea from its terrorism blacklist after the Asian nation agreed to comply with full inspections of its nuclear facilities. As a result, North Korea has granted the UN atomic watchdog access to its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, the IAEA said Monday.
Solar panels perched atop poles provide a low voltage current that causes a chemical reaction in seawater, building up limestone on the electrified metal. The ready supply of shell-building minerals will help the oysters, decimated here and elsewhere by overharvesting, pollution, and disease, says James Cervino, a professor of marine biology at Pace University in New York City. Oysters need hard surfaces to attach to and access to minerals to form their shells. (Christian Science Monitor )
Recycle-a-Bike was founded in 1999 with a straightforward mandate: Repair abused, remaindered, broken, or worn bikes and funnel them back to consumers. But the organization’s youth programs have also become a big draw for students who want the mechanical training. Locations include Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. (Christian Science Monitor)
This year’s Top 10 CNN Heroes were announced last week. Each will receive $25,000 and be honored during a televised All-Star Tribute airing on Thanksgiving night, culminating in the crowning of Hero of the Year. The top hero will be selected by the public in an online poll, continuing through November 19 at the website, CNN.com/Heroes. The person receiving the most votes will win an additional $100,000.
The Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008 are:
Tad Agoglia, Houston, Texas —
Ted provides his own volunteer First Response Team to areas hit by natural disasters. In the last year, he and his crew have aided thousands of victims at more than 15 sites across the United States.
Yohannes Gebregeorgis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia —
Yohannes established Ethiopia Reads to bring free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of his native country’s children.
Carolyn LeCroy, Norfolk, Virginia —
After serving time in prison, Ms. LeCroy started The Messages Project to help inmates stay in touch with their children. She and volunteer camera crews have taped roughly 3,000 messages from parents to their children.
Anne Mahlum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania —
Anne remembers jogging past homeless men and now she is transforming their lives by running with them as part of her “Back On My Feet” program.
Liz McCartney, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana —
Liz has dedicated herself to giving back their homes to Hurricane Katrina survivors — more than 120 families, so far — with her nonprofit St. Bernard Project.
Phymean Noun, Toronto, Ontario —
Ms. Noun offers hundreds of Cambodian children who work in Phnom Penh’s trash dump a way out — through free schooling and job training.
David Puckett, Savannah, Georgia —
David provides artificial limbs and braces free of charge to people in Mexico. In the last eight years his mission has helped more than 420 people.
Maria Ruiz, El Paso, Texas —
Several times a week, Maria crosses the border into Juarez, Mexico, to bring food, clothing and toys to hundreds of impoverished children and their families.
Marie Da Silva, Los Angeles, California —
Having lost 14 family members to AIDS, the Los Angeles nanny funds a school in her native Malawi for AIDS orphans.
Viola Vaughn, Kaolack, Senegal —
The Detroit, Michigan, native moved to Senegal to retire, but instead, started a school for hundreds of girls who were falling through society’s cracks. Today, her “10,000 Girls” program helps girls succeed in school and run their own businesses.
Ecuador has become the first nation in the world to grant constitutional rights to the natural environment. On Sept. 28, the country voted for a new constitution that, among other changes, gives many of the same rights to rivers, forests, plants and animals as it does to people. (From the Green Report, Toronto Globe and Mail)
Landmark legislation to accelerate use of the vast renewable energy potential in the Philippines through incentives for investors could save the country over $2.9 billion dollars, a study has found. The newly passed Renewable Energy Act assures investors in wind, solar, ocean, hydropower and biomass premium rates in electricity generated from these clean sources.
The average price of regular gas has dropped 35 cents over the past two weeks to $3.31 a gallon. The cheapest gas is in Wichita, Kansas, at $2.79 for a gallon of regular. Analysts say the prices could drop even lower with crude oil prices falling below $80.00 a barrel. (Video below)
In celebration of 50 years of NASA, take a look at 50 innovations that, thanks to space exploration, have made our lives better — everything from safer food and the light emitting diode (LED) to cleaner oceans and faster rescues of hikers and mountaineers. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
