A New Henge Discovered at Stonehenge

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Jul 23, 2010

stonehenge-like finding, artist rendition

A remarkable finding within a few hundred yards of the Stonehenge monument will completely change the way archeologists think about the iconic circle of stones and the people who created it 5,000 years ago.

The newly discovered circular monument is believed to have been created around the same time as Stonehenge, but constructed using 19 foot tall wooden posts. Just like Stonehenge, its two entrances are aligned every year on the summer solstice.

Professor Vince Gaffney, of Birmingham University, found the Late Neolithic circle using ground-based imaging techniques and believes more monuments will likely be found during an ongoing 3-year study called the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project.

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Upbeat Corporate Earnings, Forecasts Send US Stocks Surging

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Jul 23, 2010

Stocks are surging in early trading after another strong batch of earnings and some encouraging signs of growth in Europe.

Caterpillar, 3M, UPS and AT&T all topped earnings forecasts and raised their outlooks.

The scope of earnings releases throughout Thursday provides a good picture of the health of the global economy because they provide details about how much consumers are shipping, shopping and borrowing and manufacturers are producing.

(READ the AP story on Google News)

Photo via Morguefile.com

Banner Year for Salmon Returning to Columbia-Snake Rivers

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Jul 22, 2010

This summer, the Columbia-Snake River Basin is witnessing the biggest sockeye salmon returns since at least 1938. The record-breaking run has provided a boon harvest for the region’s sport and Native American fishermen.

Scientists credit favorable ocean conditions along with the court-ordered spill of water over some of the basin’s dams for dramatically swelling the ranks of fish. The increases in spill—won by conservation attorneys—helps many more baby salmon survive their epic migrations from mountain streams to the sea where they grow to adulthood. Scientists also credit this spill with significantly contributing to a chinook salmon return currently 140 percent above the 10-year average.

(READ the story at Earth Justice, whose efforts won the day for salmon)

Thanks to Shanti Services for sending the link!

AIDS Breakthroughs in Africa Give Women Hope in H.I.V. Fight

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Jul 22, 2010

With an AIDS vaccine still out of reach, two rigorous new studies have found different ways to sharply cut H.I.V. infections among women and schoolgirls, who make up a majority of the newly infected in sub-Saharan Africa.

After two decades in which researchers searched fruitlessly for an effective vaginal microbicide to block H.I.V., South African scientists working in two AIDS-devastated communities of South Africa say they have finally found something that shows real promise.

The gel lowered HIV infection rates in women by 39 percent, compared to those women using a placebo gel.

(READ the story in NY Times)

Photo courtesy of Sun Star

Britain’s Annual Swan Count on River Thames Squawks with Pageantry, Conservation

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Jul 21, 2010

The Swan Master, by Dalyndigitalphotography.com

Clad in red-and-white outfits emblazoned with the royal livery, palace boatmen embarked on their annual five-day journey up the River Thames to count the population of the waterway’s swans, which have theoretically belonged to the monarch since the 12th century.

“Swan Upping” — so called because the boatmen catch the swans by lifting them up from the river — dates from medieval times, when swans were served as delicacies at banquet tables.

Today, the census is used to save the swans. The counting, measurement and documentation enables conservationists to tailor methods to protect the regal birds.

(READ MORE of the AP story w/ photo at NorthJersey.com)

The Swan Master, photo by Dave, Dalyndigitalphotography.com

London Opens Bike “Superhighways”

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Jul 21, 2010

London wants to become a better city for cycling and Mayor Boris Johnson’s new bike lanes are clearly a big improvement. They’re big. They’re blue. And, eventually, 12 of these commuter routes will radiate out from the center of London like spokes in a wheel.

On Monday, he announced the opening of the first two, and called them, “cycle superhighways.” Each is five feet wide, and has two lanes, so as to accommodate traffic in both directions.

(READ the story and see the map in GOOD magazine)

Photo by Jack999 via Flickr undrt CC license

New Insurance Rules: Free Preventive Health Care Required for New Plans

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Jul 21, 2010

Each year chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths among Americans and account for 75% of the nation’s health spending.

A rare area of agreement during last year’s heath care debate in Congress was the need for preventative care. If people got free preventative care, like cancer screenings, cholesterol screenings and physicians’ advice about high blood pressure and obesity, we could save millions of dollars in future health care costs and avoid those costly emergency room visits.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the Vice-President’s wife, announced on Monday new prevention benefits that will effect all new health insurance plans.

Starting in September, insurance plans will be required to pay the entire cost of recommended, preventive services. That means that, without paying a deductible, co-pay or coinsurance, many Americans will be able to take the preventive steps needed to keep themselves and their families healthy.

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Crime Falls to Lowest Since 1981 in England, Wales

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Jul 21, 2010

The level of crime in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest since records began in 1981, figures showed on Thursday. The annual British Crime Survey showed offenses fell by 9 percent in 2009/10, allaying fears a deep recession would cause a jump in criminality.

Actual crimes recorded by police forces across England and Wales fell by eight percent, a separate report showed, and particularly a “notable” fall in theft, burglary and fraud.

(READ more from Reuters)

Millions Turn Out for Party on German Autobahn Highway

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Jul 20, 2010

autobahn photo by alphafux, via flickr CC license

An estimated three million people turned out for a celebration on the super highway in western Germany where cars were forbidden Sunday. Bicycles and roller blades glided along the famed Autobahn between Dortmund and Duisburg with dancing and music along the way.

Germany’s Ruhr region was named this year’s European Capital of Culture, which entails a year’s worth of celebration and arts events.

WATCH the video below, or at Clip Syndicate...

Autobahn photo by alphafux, via flickr under CC license

Millions Turn Out for Party on German Autobahn Highway

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Good News Network

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Jul 20, 2010

An estimated three million people turned out for a celebration on the super highway in western Germany where cars were forbidden Sunday. Bicycles and roller blades glided along the famed Autobahn between Dortmund and Duisburg with dancing and music along the way.

Germany’s Ruhr region was named this year’s European Capital of Culture, which entails a year’s worth of celebration and arts events.

WATCH the video below, or at Clip Syndicate...

Autobahn photo by alphafux, via flickr under CC license

Pakistan, Afghanistan Sign Landmark Trade Deal

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Jul 20, 2010

Pakistan and Afghan trade reps signing as Hillary looks on

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Sunday signed a landmark trade agreement that has been heavily promoted by the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is in Pakistan for a two-day visit, looked on as the Pakistani and Afghan commerce ministers sealed the deal in Islamabad.

The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, called the agreement “a vivid demonstration of the two countries coming together” – which, he said, has been a goal of the Obama administration “from the beginning.”

The pact, which has been under negotiation for years, will facilitate the ground shipment of goods between the two neighbors.

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Honda Plans Electric Vehicle and Plug-In by 2012

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Jul 20, 2010

Honda will start selling an electric vehicle as well as a plug-in hybrid by 2012 in the U.S. and Japan, joining the race to manufacture green cars in which rivals have already taken slight leads.

‘Honda has no future unless we achieve significant reduction in CO2 emissions,’ Honda Motor Co. President Takanobu Ito told reporters today.

(READ the AP story at NPR)

Photo: Honda CR-Z electric-gasoline hybrid

Farm Aid From Space

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Jul 20, 2010

Across the dry, dusty plains of northern Kenya, cattle herders are pioneering a new way to fend off poverty by teaming up with unlikely partners – insurance agents.

An innovation, called weather-indexed insurance, might help impoverished cattle farmers survive the loss of their cows during times of drought thanks to the help of a NOAA satellite that tracks environmental changes for insurance agents back in the US who want to help mitigate risk for the Kenyans on the ground.

(READ the story in the CS Monitor)

Electric Car Maker Fisker Moves Into Delaware GM Plant

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Jul 20, 2010

Electric car maker Fisker Automotive has finalized the $20 million purchase of a former General Motors Co. plant in Delaware where it plans to make a new plug-in hybrid sedan that will go on sale in 2012.

The California-based automaker expects to employ more than 2,000 people at the plant.

Fisker also makes the Karma, a plug-in hybrid sports car it plans to start selling later this year for $87,900. The sedan that will be built in Delaware will be a lower-cost family car.

(READ the AP article at WTOP)

Photo: the Fisker Karma

Indonesia Pledges New Forests for Orangutan Haven

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Jul 19, 2010

80 percent of orangutans live in Indonesia, which now has offered the species more another safe haven there. Government officials agreed to reserve 332 square miles of forest (86,000 hectares) on Borneo island for some 200 captive orangutans waiting to be released into the wild.

Forestry ministry officials in Jakarta have okayed a permit submitted by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation to refurbish the forested land, formerly used for logging, and release the endangered great apes by 2015.

At an international meeting on orangutan conservation in Bali on Thursday, the government announced its decision calling it a win-win-win for great apes, forest biodiversity, and the battle against climate change, referring to thevast tracts of Indonesian jungle that have been cleared for plantations and logging.

(READ the AFP story in Yahoo News)

Indonesia Pledges New Forests for Orangutan Haven

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Good News Network

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Jul 19, 2010

80 percent of orangutans live in Indonesia, which now has offered the species more another safe haven there. Government officials agreed to reserve 332 square miles of forest (86,000 hectares) on Borneo island for some 200 captive orangutans waiting to be released into the wild.

Forestry ministry officials in Jakarta have okayed a permit submitted by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation to refurbish the forested land, formerly used for logging, and release the endangered great apes by 2015.

At an international meeting on orangutan conservation in Bali on Thursday, the government announced its decision calling it a win-win-win for great apes, forest biodiversity, and the battle against climate change, referring to thevast tracts of Indonesian jungle that have been cleared for plantations and logging.

(READ the AFP story in Yahoo News)

Humble South African Golfer Comes Out of Nowhere to Win British Open on Mandela’s Bday

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Jul 19, 2010

Louis Oosthuizen 2008 PGA photo by Bob Stapleton

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who had missed the cut in all his three previous Opens and was a 250-1 outsider before the tournament started, won the British Open Sunday on the 92nd anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth.

Receiving thunderous applause, Oosthuizen crushed the world’s best golfers by seven strokes to delight the crowd on the ninth green in Scotland, the birthplace of the sport.

Not only had he never made an Open cut before but it was only his second professional win outside South Africa with a previous best finish of 73rd in the 2008 U.S. PGA Championship (pictured on right, courtesy of Bob Silverman).

No one was happier with Oosthuizen’s achievement than the world number six, South African player Ernie Els. Oosthuizen is a graduate of the Ernie Els Golf Foundation which helps identify young talent in South Africa.

(READ the full story in the Good News South Africa– UPDATE: Read the wonderful account in the Daily Record, which quoted his odds of winning at 250-1)

Good News Touted at Global AIDS Conference

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Jul 19, 2010

vaccine jars Several good news announcements came out of the 18th annual International AIDS Conference under way in Vienna.

The number of people benefitting from life-saving HIV treatment has soared by more than 1 million last year to 5.2 million, marking the largest jump ever, according to a United Nations report unveiled today.

Additionally the UN World Health Organization said that the prevalence of HIV/Aids among young people is now falling in some of the world’s worst-hit countries, according to the BBC.

Bill Gates, whose foundation is another leader in the global health field, spoke at the conference saying the number of infections has gone down by 17 percent worldwide.

Japan Shows Willingness to Redress Over Korean Forced Labor in WWII

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Jul 19, 2010

Mitsubishi has agreed to begin negotiations for compensation with Korean women who were forced to work for the company during World War II, when their country was under Japanese occupation.

Also, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku recently said that private lawsuits by victims forced to labor for the Japanese military, “must be solved through a political decision aimed at improving relations between Korea and Japan.” The comments hint at the possibility of a government-led effort to compensate victims.

(READ the story at Korea’s Chosun.com)

Government Investments in Electric Batteries Start to Pay Off

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Jul 18, 2010

Coinciding with President Obama’s trip to Holland, MI last week for the official groundbreaking of a new electric car battery plant, a federal report was released detailing the economic impact of Recovery Act investments in advanced batteries and electric vehicles. Before the Recovery Act grants, the report says, there were no domestic factories producing high-volumes of batteries for electric vehicles, but with the federal investments, the U.S. will have the capacity to produce up to 40 percent of the world’s batteries by 2015.

The Department of Energy report, “Recovery Act Investments: Transforming America’s Transportation Sector,” documents how $2.4 billion in Recovery Act funds are being matched with private capital to create new jobs, construct new plants, add new manufacturing lines, install electric vehicle charging stations across the country and help build the emerging domestic electric vehicle industry from the ground up.

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