A now-67-year-old German woman finally got to thank in person an 88-year-old American woman for her middle-class family’s generosity toward ‘the enemy’ after World War II.
The American family had made sure that life was just a bit more bearable for a German war widow and her young daughter, by sending 70 boxes of clothes, food and supplies –one every month, or so, for years.
Now, after all those years, the daughter traveled to America and wanted to find the American family — the Benjamins — and thank them personally.
Mr. Benjamin considered Hitler and the government the enemy, but the people as victims. He signed up at his church to provide CARE packages, but instead of just donating money for supplies, he made it a personal mission to get to know the family and to bridge the ocean of distance and experience that divided them.
Something to think about, from a Letter to the Editor in the Daily Record…
Since the end of World War II 65 years ago, this is the first generation of (Western) Europeans in about 1,600 years to reach their 60’s without being ravaged by war.
This is also the first generation of Russians to reach their 60’s without being ravaged by war. The same is true for the Chinese and the Japanese.
They suggest a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and drinks. Here are the top ten items to include in your diet, if you don’t already have them on your menu…
Ghana is on track to be the first country in Africa to achieve the Millennium Development Goals for halving poverty and hunger by 2015.
Between 1990 and 2004, Ghana outperformed all other countries worldwide, reducing hunger by 75 percent.
“Ghana’s progress has been remarkable,” says Melinda Gates, of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, “especially when you consider the devastating drought, dwindling harvests and rising poverty that Ghana experienced in the mid-1980s.”
The West African nation is also making great strides to reduce the number of people living in poverty.
The Basque separatist militant group ETA declared a cease-fire in a video statement issued on Sunday, suggesting it might turn to a political process in its quest for independence.
“ETA makes it known that as of some months ago it took the decision to no longer employ offensive armed actions,” the statement said, suggesting it is ready to pursue a “democratic process,” in trying to achieve its goals.
The video, which appeared in Basque newspaper Gara’s website and was also made available to the British broadcaster BBC, showed three masked militants making a statement in Basque.
Out of his love for the environment and concern about over-flowing landfills, Akinori Ito, from the Japanese company Blest, developed a machine capable of transforming plastic back into oil for use as gasoline or kerosine.
While the process is easy to understand the results are pretty impressive: For every 1kg of plastic, 1 liter of oil can be harvested. Aside from the obvious advantage of this process targeting issues of plastic recycling, the machine also breaks down the byproduct of carbon dioxide into water.
Plastic’s carbon footprint is very high, since incineration is often its destination because the recycling rate is so low around the globe.
“If we burn the plastic, we generate toxins and a large amount of CO2. If we convert it into oil, we save CO2 and at the same time increase people’s awareness about the value of plastic garbage,” says Ito.
The tabletop machine can be transported via commercial airline and taken to developing countries where they have no capability to recycle trash.
“(After seeing a demonstration of the machine) people begin to see that this is not garbage,” said the inventor. “The plastic cap, the (carryout) lunch container, is oil.”
Further, if oil and gasoline could be created in these countries, they wouldn’t have to import it from faraway places, thus eliminating the extensive CO2 emissions required to transport it.
Commenters from around the world who’ve seen the following video on YouTube or Reddit are anxious to know if and where they can purchase such a machine. Though the company still mainly produces larger, industrial-use machines, Blest Co. will be more than happy to hear from you. Contact them directly at [email protected].
Out of his love for the environment and concern about over-flowing landfills, Akinori Ito, from the Japanese company Blest, developed a machine capable of transforming plastic back into oil for use as gasoline or kerosine.
While the process is easy to understand the results are pretty impressive: For every 1kg of plastic, 1 liter of oil can be harvested. Aside from the obvious advantage of this process targeting issues of plastic recycling, the machine also breaks down the byproduct of carbon dioxide into water.
Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars in energy seep through poorly insulated walls, doors and windows in American homes. So in 2009, as the U.S. Congress crafted its economic stimulus bill, lawmakers set aside a record $5 billion to weatherize the nation’s leaky homes.
The purpose was twofold: to help low-income Americans save money on home heating and cooling bills and to boost job growth in the industry that specializes in residential energy efficiency. The weatherization program funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and run by states is now upgrading 25,000 homes a month.
“That’s 200,000 low-income families that will be benefiting from lower energy bills and from increased comfort in the years ahead. It’s absolutely fantastic progress,” said Cathy Zoi, the U.S. Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Cheered by hundreds of thousands of jubilant Kenyans waving national flags, President Mwai Kibaki signed a new constitution last week that curbs his sweeping powers and strengthens civic rights.
In a ceremony full of military pomp and traditional dance, Kenyans packed Nairobi’s Uhuru Park—or Freedom Park—to see their leaders take fresh oaths under the first overhaul of the charter since 1963.
U.S. manufacturing grew faster than expected, chalking up a 13th straight month of expansion, while the overall U.S. economy has grown for 16 consecutive months.
The Institute for Supply Management factory report showed a reading of 56.3 in August, up from 55.5 in July. A reading above 50 shows manufacturing is growing. The index has averaged 56.6 over the last 12 months.
The latest figures support the view that the U.S. economy will avoid a double-dip recession, says the Wall Street Journal.
Stocks shot upward on the news. The three major U.S. indexes rose nearly 3 percent Wednesday.
Small Businesses Continue Hiring
Meanwhile, US small businesses continued to hire in August, according to the Intuit Small Business Employment Index. The August employment growth translates to approximately 26,000 new jobs nationwide, the same number of jobs added in July.
Since the growth trend first began in October 2009, small business jobs have increased by 340,000, with healthy gains made in January through April of 2010.
The employment index reflects data from approximately 57,000 small business employers who use Intuit Online Payroll.
U.S. manufacturing grew faster than expected, chalking up a 13th straight month of expansion, while the overall U.S. economy has grown for 16 consecutive months.
The Institute for Supply Management factory report showed a reading of 56.3 in August, up from 55.5 in July. A reading above 50 shows manufacturing is growing. The index has averaged 56.6 over the last 12 months.
The latest figures support the view that the U.S. economy will avoid a double-dip recession, says the Wall Street Journal.
Stocks shot upward on the news. The three major U.S. indexes rose nearly 3 percent Wednesday.
Small Businesses Continue Hiring
Meanwhile, US small businesses continued to hire in August, according to the Intuit Small Business Employment Index. The August employment growth translates to approximately 26,000 new jobs nationwide, the same number of jobs added in July.
Since the growth trend first began in October 2009, small business jobs have increased by 340,000, with healthy gains made in January through April of 2010.
The employment index reflects data from approximately 57,000 small business employers who use Intuit Online Payroll.
“An emerald so large it’s being compared with the crown jewels of Russian empress Catherine the Great was pulled from a pit near corn rows at a North Carolina farm.”
“After the gem was cut and re-cut, the finished product was likely worth more than one and a half million dollars.”
You probably have a routine for when you get home from work. You might go through your mail, change out of your work clothes, spend a few minutes checking in with your spouse or maybe grab something to drink. You get the idea.
You basically have a handful of automatic responses designed to help you physically and emotionally recover from your day. And it requires no thinking on your part. Unfortunately, because of the increasingly complex and demanding lives most of us are choosing to live, these automatic responses are not enough.
The winner of Mitchum’s Hardest Working Man in America contest was awarded $100,000 last month for his labor of love: hauling tires, trash – and even rusty cars – out of the nation’s rivers on behalf of his non-profit conservation group.
Chad Pregracke has worked for twelve years to clean up America’s rivers – retrieving over six million pounds of debris including 775 refrigerators and 55,000 tires.
Pregracke was shocked as a high school student when he first glimpsed the trash that littered the bottom of the Mississippi. In 1998 he founded Living Lands & Waters, based in East Moline, Illinois, and today, the organization has grown to include ten full-time employees and a fleet of four barges, a towboat, six workboats, two skid steers, six work trucks. The crew has worked with tens of thousands of volunteers along the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and Potomac Rivers.
“Chad’s work in preserving the Mississippi, Illinois and other rivers for the enjoyment of all epitomizes the drive and dedication embodied in Mitchum’s hardest working person in America contest, and truly justified America’s decision to vote him the winner.”” said Alan T. Ennis, CEO of Revlon, Mitchum’s parent company.
“Although Mitchum’s contest focused solely on my efforts,” said the humble Pregracke. “I can’t accomplish the mission without the help from a dedicated bunch of conservationists and thousands of volunteers that allow us to keep the rivers clean.”
His work offers other rewards beyond peace of mind: He met his bride-to-be when she came on board as a volunteer.
Having received 50,000 votes in the Mitchum contest, Pregracke will be among the subjects featured in a short film by acclaimed documentary director Albert Maysles set to premiere on Sundance Channel in early October.
A wide range of Americans submitted reality videos on which the voting was based, ranging from a drill sergeant, fighter pilot and working mother, to a custodian, and blacksmith. Their films offered a rare bird’s eye view into our neighbors’ lives and provided a source of inspiration on the tireless efforts of Americans every day.
The winner of Mitchum’s Hardest Working Man in America contest was awarded $100,000 last month for his labor of love: hauling tires, trash – and even rusty cars – out of the nation’s rivers on behalf of his non-profit conservation group.
Chad Pregracke has worked for twelve years to clean up America’s rivers – retrieving over six million pounds of debris including 775 refrigerators and 55,000 tires.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control analyzed 2000-2009 data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey on tobacco use and found a significant decline over the decade.
During 2000–2009, the prevalence of current tobacco use among middle school students declined 6.9 percent (15.1% to 8.2%), and cigarette smoking experimentation declined 14.8 percent (29.8% to 15.0%).
Similar trends were observed for high school students, with current tobacco use declining from 34.5% to 23.9% – an improvement of more than 10 percent. Experimentation with cigarettes in high school also was down nine percent over the decade, according to the school-based survey.
Middle school girls who said they smoked decreased even further during the latter period of 2006-2009, down from around 6.5% to 4.5%. And, similar trends were seen among high school girls recently, with tobacco use dropping between 2-4 percent.
There’s a lot less smoking in the movies these days, too, a new report shows. In the most popular films from 1991 to 2009, tobacco use on the silver screen peaked in 2005 and has been on the decline since.
Last year more than half of the 145 top movies released didn’t show any smoking at all. That’s a record for the past two decades. For films aimed at children or teens, the percentage of non-smoking was even higher — 61 percent.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control analyzed 2000-2009 data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey on tobacco use and found a significant decline over the decade.
During 2000–2009, the prevalence of current tobacco use among middle school students declined 6.9 percent (15.1% to 8.2%), and cigarette smoking experimentation declined 14.8 percent (29.8% to 15.0%).
A now-67-year-old German woman finally got to thank in person an 88-year-old American woman for her middle-class family’s generosity toward ‘the enemy’ after World War II.
