John Gray, 87, injured during a bombing raid in the Blitz was told he would never again see through his right eye, but surgeons have now restored his sight after 66 years. (BBC via Ananova News)
Dalai Lama Supports Chinese Olympics Calls for Calm and Cooperation
In a news conference today, the Dalai Lama discussed recently protests surrounding the Olympic Torch, urging supporters to keep the demonstrations peaceful, defending freedom of speech, and supporting China’s role as host of the Olympics. His values of compassion, tolerance, empathy and cooperation are in full view in this fascinating piece of tape.
Bangladesh Street Kids Turn From Begging to Banking
“Raju’s life changed after he discovered an unlikely profession for a street child: banking. The 16-year-old boy started working for the Children’s Development Bank , a Bangladesh-based lender that is owned by a non-government organization and managed by street children. He now earns $30 a month and can save a portion of his income.” (Reuters-India)
Scrub Your Floor and Chase Away Depression
“Working up a sweat while performing household chores may not just improve the cleanliness of your home, but your mental health too, a survey suggests. Just 20 minutes of sustained exercise a week – from cleaning to jogging – can impact upon depression, the British Journal of Sports Medicine study found.” (Get the full story at BBC News)
Boy, 11, Steers School Bus Out of Semi’s Path
“An 11-year-old boy who steered a runaway school bus to safety said he took the wheel because the vehicle was rolling toward a semi. Other children on board during Monday’s crash were “freaking out,” screaming and hollering, but David Murphy decided he had to do something.”
Canada to Create Giant New Northern National Park
“Canada will create a giant new national park covering some 1.9 million acres along one of the country’s most spectacular northern rivers, Environment Minister John Baird said on Monday.” (Reuters News has the story)
How to Be Happier – 7 Steps to Contentment
If happiness is the currency of life — the true measure of success, how hefty is your happiness account? How abundant is your contentment? How much happiness can you afford to give? Do you hoard or hide your true desires? Do you resent others for their happiness and curse their rose-colored glasses? Here are seven ways to boost your levels of happiness, and therefore, your success.
1) It’s Not the Goal that Matters
The purpose of naming long-term goals is to facilitate the enjoyment of the process. The journey on our way to the goal is made happier when we’ve envisioned our destination clearly in mind. Goals keep us from feeling aimless. But achieving the goal does not necessarily provide the happiness. Enjoy the journey — including the struggles. Become WHO you want to be along the way so that the achievement of the goal isn’t the most important effort, and doesn’t leaving you feeling empty once the goals are in the past.
Memphis Zoo Successfully Breeds Endangered Frog
“Hope is alive for the endangered Mississippi gopher frog thanks to the Memphis Zoo, the first zoo to successfully breed the vanishing amphibians. Using in-vitro fertilization techniques, the zoo has produced 93 Mississippi gopher tadpoles, to nearly double the number of frogs alive today in the wild (100).” (News story in CommercialAppeal.com in Memphis)
How Would Love Respond? A New Book Shows How Love Can Transform Your Life and Business
Have you ever thought of using love as a method of quitting your unhealthy addictions —to cigarettes or food — or as a method of finding success in life or business to turn around negativity and underachievement? Peak Performance & Success Coach Kurek Ashely has. His new book How Would Love Respond?: Imagine If You Were Given a Gift So Powerful That You Knew You Had to Share It with the World
After a horrific helicopter crash in which his best friend died in his arms, Kurek Ashley suffered for two years with severe depression, until he finally experienced a transformation through the source of pure and infinite love. After receiving a glimpse into the source of this infinite power, he transformed his own life and has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world. With his higher purpose in mind, he offers “How Would Love Respond?
Boeing Flies First Hydrogen-Powered Plane
US aircraft giant Boeing claimed a world first Thursday flying a manned airplane powered by a hydrogen-cell battery, the first time in the history of aviation and a breakthrough that could herald a greener future for the industry. (Thanks to Memetic Daybreak for the tip!)
Kindness is Booming in Montana
Not only did the Helena auto mechanic stop to help a stranger on the highway whose car was in need of major repair, he and his girlfriend drove to town several times, purchased the parts, completed the repair and topped off her fluids — all for no charge. . . Now, that’s some Big Sky kindness! Thanks to Chris Jones and Melinda Wilcox. (Helenair.com has the story) Submitted by Kim Rieser, Helena MT
Dell Headquarters Goes 100% Green Energy
Dell is now powering 100 percent of its 2.1 million square-foot global headquarters campus, home to more than 10,000 employees, with 100 percent green power, the latest step in meeting the company’s 2008 carbon neutral commitment.
The 50th Anniversary Of The Peace Symbol
In case you missed this gem in Friday’s ‘On This Day in History’ column (featured every day at the bottom of the Good News Network homepage), the peace sign was created 50 years ago by artist Gerald Holtom in London for an anti-war protest. Peace activists marched from Trafalgar Square to an atomic weapons factory 50 miles away in Aldermaston. The new symbol of their movement was printed on clothing and signs — and ten days later debuted for Americans in a Life magazine photo. The design incorporated the flag signals (semaphores) for the letters N and D –for Nuclear Disarmament. Gerald Holtom and his anti-nuclear compatriots deliberately didn’t trademark the symbol, so it was free for everyone to use. Happy birthday, peace sign!
(Read this anniversary tribute in the CBS News.)
Former Hunters Help Rare Birds Recover
One-time hunters recruited to a conservation project have helped threatened bird populations in Cambodia’s Great Lake recover, according to a report Friday. The Wildlife Conservation Society report said populations of some of the bird species had increased 20-fold since the project began in 2001 at Tonle Sap Lake, known as the Great Lake.
Elephant Paints Self-Portrait (Video)
Elephants are one of the smartest and most inteligent species, on par with apes and dolphins. This remarkable video shows elephants in Thailand creating realistic paintings of other elephants whenever they’re given paints and brushes. Thanks to Donna Jones for the tip!
Portland Hopes to Win the Battle of the Butts
Globally, over 2 billion cigarette butts are tossed to the ground every day, the most littered item in the US and the world. But now a group of motivated community members are organizing in Portland, Oregon to spread the word that tossing your butts is illegal — and making the world an uglier place.
King’s Memphis Motel Now Marks National Civil Rights Museum
40 years ago yesterday — one day before he was shot — Martin Luther King, Jr. predicted, “I may not get there with you, but I know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.” The Lorraine Motel where he was killed was rescued as a landmark by a small band of admirers and became the home of The National Civil Rights Museum in 1991.
For a brief moment in 1968, the attention of the nation focused on the tiny Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. It was April 4th, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had come to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. There was much turmoil surrounding his appearance in Memphis, but King knew what to expect. In a somewhat prophetic tone the night before, he had proclaimed to a capacity audience at Memphis’ Macon Temple that his time may indeed have been at an end. (Watch the speech below)
Less than 24 hours later, King was dead from an assassin’s bullet.
5th-Grader Points Out Mistake at Smithsonian
“Is fifth-grader Kenton Stufflebeam smarter than the Smithsonian?” He was hailed as correct after he informed the staff of the national museum that they had mistakenly used the phrase Precambrian Era to describe a unit of time. His teacher back in Kalamazoo, Michigan had taught him that the proper term is otherwise… (Associated Press via MSNBC) Thanks to Ro for the story tip!
Disabled Veterans Serve in New Mission Tutoring Disadvantaged Kids
Amidst the flood of young disabled veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, a group of older veterans organized themselves to help ease the return of the soldiers to civilian life. VeteranTutors.org was set up as a way to sponsor these young veterans and help train them for new careers.
The group understands that returning veterans want nothing more than to return to their units but need to face the reality that service on active duty is over. The success of the Veteran Tutors hinge on finding a new mission for the returning wounded that allows them continue to serve their country and their fellow-citizens. For most it is a life-saving experience, for all it is a pathway to healing.
The mission that these soldiers find so rewarding is helping disadvantaged kids to stay in school and acquire the technology skills needed to compete in the digital economy. Many of the veterans come from disadvantaged homes themselves so the match is perfect.
Veteran Tutors’ Dropout Intervention and Recovery Initiative is a joint effort of experienced educators and disabled veterans and is based on research conducted by Steven D. Levitt, an economist at the University of Chicago, whose analysis of the records of the 400,000 students in the Chicago Public Schools over a period of twenty years found that the only students who saw a dramatic change from transferring to another school were “those who entered a technical school or career academy. These students performed substantially better than they did in their old academic settings and graduated at a much higher rate than their past performance would have predicted.
Now the group is getting help from some national funders. Executive Director Richard Ehrlich went to Washington D.C. to visit Congressman John Carter (R-TX ) who represents the district that houses Fort Hood and serves on the Veterans Affairs sub-committee. The Congressman agreed that Veteran Tutors is an outstanding idea and recommended the group for a National Science Foundation grant.
“This opportunity to help the public schools keep at-risk kids out of trouble and get them into college should not be missed. From my position on the House Appropriations Committee and on the Veterans Affairs subcommittee, I constantly have to weigh the “bang for the buck” we get from each taxpayer dollar. The notion of using the same taxpayer dollar to help at-risk youth stay in school while helping our disabled veterans transition to civilian life is compelling.”
Ehrlich, a veteran himself who returned from the Viet Nam war in body cast, hopes to enlist the help of VFW posts nationwide to help reach the vets who need help.
“Man Who Stopped Knife Fight….was Blessing From Above”
“Police do not recommend doing what Will Gardner did Tuesday afternoon, but they do acknowledge that he probably saved a life. The 56-year-old intervened in a brawl just off Interstate 40, kicking a knife out of the hand of one man and then separating the fighters. But Gardner, an ex-Marine who saw combat in Vietnam, says he did what most people would do in that situation — the right thing.” (Asheville Citizen Times)