Sparked by the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a new National Institute for Civil Discourse has been established in Arizona by local leaders interested in repairing the corrosive nature of public debate in America.
As honorary chairmen, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton will oversee the institute, which named as its first priority to create a document of “best practices” for political discourse.
Former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former Senate majority leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) will serve as honorary co-chairmen. Board members will include former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright; Kenneth M. Duberstein, chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan; Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren; Trey Grayson, director of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics; and former representative Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.).
The institute is housed in the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona, and can be reached at their website — nicd.arizona.edu.
“In the award-winning documentary Children Full of Life, a fourth-grade class in a primary school in Kanazawa, northwest of Tokyo, learn lessons about compassion from their homeroom teacher, Toshiro Kanamori. He instructs each to write their true inner feelings in a letter, and read it aloud in front of the class. By sharing their lives, the children begin to realize the importance of caring for their classmates.”
A photo uploaded to his Twitter account by Zack Farley shows a demonstrator in Egypt holding a sign that reads, “Egypt Supports Wisconsin Workers”.
Standing amidst Egyptian flags waved in support of his people’s victory over an oppressive regime, the young man’s yellow sign sums up the modern internet age in its final four words: “One World, One Pain”.
The photo has received hundreds of comments on Twit Pic, the photo sharing tool.
A photo uploaded to his Twitter account by Zack Farley shows a demonstrator in Egypt holding a sign that reads, “Egypt Supports Wisconsin Workers”.
Standing amidst Egyptian flags waved in support of his people’s victory over an oppressive regime, the young man’s yellow sign sums up the modern internet age in its final four words: “One World, One Pain”.
The U.S. government is pushing for large-scale wind power development and the timing may be just right.
A recent study from Bloomberg New Energy Finance says that costs for electricity generated by onshore wind are now on par with costs for coal-generated power in the United States and several other markets. That could speed up development of renewables at a time when the world seeks cleaner sources of energy.
The U.S. government is pushing for large-scale wind power development and the timing may be just right.
A recent study from Bloomberg New Energy Finance says that costs for electricity generated by onshore wind are now on par with costs for coal-generated power in the United States and several other markets. That could speed up development of renewables at a time when the world seeks cleaner sources of energy.
Charles Morgan was taking a smoke break from his evening shift at a West Palm Beach car dealership when he dropped dead of a massive heart attack. He was 52.
More than two months later, Morgan has no recollection of any of it. Not his boss’ CPR efforts, or the crowd that milled around in horror, or the paramedics who brought him back to life with advanced emergency equipment most fire departments have yet to acquire.
A record-breaking animal rescue operation ended Thursday when 25 Bolivian circus lions touched down at Denver airport in route to their new life within an 80-acre sanctuary.
The humanitarian airlift, called Operation Lion Ark, began last year when the group Animal Defenders International (ADI) won their campaign to effectively shut down the animal circus industry in Bolivia.
A 2005 ADI undercover investigation exposed horrific abuse in circuses across South America. The question was, where could the lions go after their rescue.
Operation Lion Ark arranged for construction of a specially-built 80-acre enclosure at The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. Up until now, all they have known is deplorable conditions, neglect and abuse. The cats, including three cubs, were nursed back to health before their long journey to the US.
At a ceremony in Colorado, Jan Creamer, ADI’s President, summed up the feelings of her entire team: “I am absolutely elated!”
“It’s a dream come true to have rescued these magnificent lions. They have suffered so much, but at last they will be free. I really can’t believe that this monumental rescue is finally over and we are now here on U.S. soil with all 25 lions safe.”
CSI celebrity Jorja Fox and TV presenter Bob Barker both offered substantial support to make the project possible. One of the rescued lion cubs was even named after Barker, who was at the airport to meet the three month old, ‘Bob’.
Ms. Creamer, along with ADI Vice President Tim Phillips, coordinated the seizure of 25 lions, some of which were extremely malnourished. In the last months they have been recovering at the ADI compound in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, under veterinary supervision, and the watchful eye of the police. Also rescued in the seizures were 6 monkeys, a coati mundi, a deer and horse, which were all relocated in Bolivia or returned to the wild.
The lions that lived their lives in tiny cages on the backs of trucks, will be reintroduced to the wilderness gradually. In preparation for the Lion Ark arrival, a huge indoor facility was constructed at The Wild Animal Sanctuary on almost 10 acres to acclimatize the lions before they are released into huge outdoor enclosures with lakes and rolling grassland – not unlike their natural habitat.. The lions, 14 males and 11 females, range in age from the 3 cubs to an elderly male aged 15.
Established by Pat Craig in 1980, the sanctuary is the oldest and largest nonprofit sanctuary in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to rescuing captive exotic and endangered large carnivores. The site comprises 320 acres, sheltering more than 200 lions, tigers, bears, leopards, mountain lions, wolves and other large carnivores.
ADI has made the commitment to fund the care of these animals for the rest of their lives, and there will be ongoing costs for years to come. They call on animal lovers to help by making a donation. Adopters will receive a certificate, DVD, regular updates on the animals in newsletters and other offers. For more information visit Animal Defenders International.
The Bolivian experience was the first time in history that an animal protection group and a government worked so closely and systematically to eradicate animal suffering.
“Bolivia has set a shining example to the world,” says Creamer. “We now encourage other government’s to stand up and act to do the right thing for animals currently languishing in circuses throughout the world.”
A record-breaking animal rescue operation ended Thursday when 25 Bolivian circus lions touched down at Denver airport in route to their new life within an 80-acre sanctuary.
The humanitarian airlift, called Operation Lion Ark, began last year when the group Animal Defenders International (ADI) won their campaign to effectively shut down the animal circus industry in Bolivia.
A 2005 ADI undercover investigation exposed horrific abuse in circuses across South America. The question was, where could the lions go after their rescue.
In Nairobi, the Africa Yoga Project is training HIV+, poor, and disabled citizens to be yoga instructors, creating jobs and changing lives.
AYP hosts 200 free classes a week, reaching 3,000 students with 42 local yoga instructors. Most students are aged 16-30, living on about $2 a day, and many live in Nairobi slums with HIV/AIDS.
When you’ve got Gaga on your side, it’s easy to raise lots of money. That’s what the MAC AIDS Fund, the philanthropic arm of MAC Cosmetics, discovered during Lady Gaga’s tenure as spokesperson over the past year.
Jackson Browne, Alice Cooper, David Crosby and Graham Nash will perform in Tucson, Ariz., to benefit a charitable fund established after the shooting there that killed six people and wounded 13 others.
It will benefit the Fund for Civility, Respect, and Understanding. Wounded Giffords aide Ron Barber started the fund to support people affected by the Jan. 8 shooting and to hold events promoting community unity.
Recent protests in Egypt have been covered extensively in the media, but stories of Christian-Muslim solidarity have not — and they deserve to be.
During the protests, Christians stood in a circle around Muslims during their Friday prayers to protect them from police. And last Monday, Muslims stood around Christians in Tahrir Square as they conducted mass, and joined them in prayer for those who were injured or died in the protests.
Recent protests in Egypt have been covered extensively in the media, but stories of Christian-Muslim solidarity have not — and they deserve to be.
During the protests, Christians stood in a circle around Muslims during their Friday prayers to protect them from police. And last Monday, Muslims stood around Christians in Tahrir Square as they conducted mass, and joined them in prayer for those who were injured or died in the protests.
First lady Michelle Obama will be speaking out to remove barriers to breastfeeding, throwing the spotlight on nursing as a way to reduce childhood obesity.
The Obama administration has already made several moves to encourage breastfeeding — including a push for more flexible workplace rules — and offering tax credits for breast pumps and other nursing supplies through the IRS.
Nike has big goals on reducing overall material use, on reducing toxics in their products, design products for recyclability, and eventually creating a closed-loop system. The overarching idea is Nike Considered, an ethos for Nike’s operations and products to do more than just less bad, but to do more good.
For example, the company’s World Cup jerseys for the 2010 South Africa games were made of 100 percent recycled polyester, with each jersey taking eight plastic bottles out of landfills. The net result of that one project alone was reusing 13 million plastic bottles, and showed what was possible with Nike’s new ethos.
The purse-wielding “Super Granny” who bested six young thugs as they smashed in a jewelry store window in England, in broad daylight says she is no hero. She had no idea at first that she was breaking up a robbery. “I’m just a mum that went in thinking a kid was getting hit.”
Despite her tightly bandaged and throbbing arthritic legs, Ann Timson stood eyeball to eyeball with one of the men after he lifted the sledgehammer. He quickly dropped it. (Watch the video shot by a passerby)
“I think they were mesmerized,” she told Today show hosts.
The purse-wielding “Super Granny” who bested six young thugs as they smashed in a jewelry store window in England, in broad daylight says she is no hero. She had no idea at first that she was breaking up a robbery. “I’m just a mum that went in thinking a kid was getting hit.”
Despite her tightly bandaged and throbbing arthritic legs, Ann Timson stood eyeball to eyeball with one of the men after he lifted the sledgehammer. He quickly dropped it. (Watch the video shot by a passerby)
“I think they were mesmerized,” she told Today show hosts.
The subway hero who saved a woman pushed to the tracks by a psycho meet his own hero Wednesday night when he was honored at the Knicks game.
Derrick Oakes was presented with a plaque and $2,000 to present to the charity of his choice. John Starks, his favorite among Knicks greats, was set to make the presentation at Madison Square Garden at halftime.
“I couldn’t sleep all night,” Oakes, 43, said Monday. “Oh man, it’s like a dream.”
Sparked by the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a new National Institute for Civil Discourse has been established in Arizona by local leaders interested in repairing the corrosive nature of public debate in America.
The lions that lived their lives in tiny cages on the backs of trucks, will be reintroduced to the wilderness gradually. In preparation for the Lion Ark arrival, a huge indoor facility was constructed at 
