February is National Children’s Dental Health Month – and dentists from across the country took part in a one day program to make sure underprivileged kids have healthy smiles.
The Give Kids a Smile program, now in its seventh year reaches kids ages 3-12 nationwide from New Jersey to New Mexico to Alaska. Overall more than 12,000 dentists and 30,000 volunteers joined the effort this year to treat almost a half million children.
The goal of yoga is to achieve inner peace and one yoga class is lifted to higher levels because beluga whales preside over the group as a backdrop.
(Read the CNN report here)
Mayors from more than 350 cities across Europe signed an EU climate change agreement Tuesday pledging to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 20 percent by 2020. (Read the AP Story at SJ Mercury News)
U.S. auto industry sales have been running about the same in February as January, but signs of recent stability in retail sales have continued and remain encouraging, a Ford Motor Co executive said on Wednesday. (Read more at Reuters)
In Australia, amidst a tale of such overwhelming loss, a result of the worst wildfires ever, the basic goodness of the human spirit shines through.
A Shepparton man, Peter Black, heard about a family that lost everything and said he was overcome with emotion. Such was the impact that yesterday he drove his six-month-old Dodge Caravan to their town, to give it away.
“It just brought tears to my eyes, it’s devastating to hear people lost their lives. I just wanted to do something,” he told ABC.net.au
A love story between two badly burned koalas rescued from Australia’s deadliest bushfires has provided some heart-warming relief after days of devastation and the loss of over 180 lives.
One of the koalas was featured in a YouTube video being rescued by an approaching fire fighter who talked gently to her, and fed her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand.
22 koalas, 14 ringtail possums, several wallabies and eastern grey kangaroos have been rescued from fires. (Read more in the Star)
US President Barack Obama has called for new ideas on the world’s seeming intractable problems. Well here’s one that could undermine the Taliban in Afghanistan without sending in more troops. The US and the EU should buy up all the poppies with government money.
Buying the Afghan poppy crop was first suggested by the International Council on Security and Development. The idea would solve two problems in one blow. First, it would prevent the often-unwilling opium farmers from being driven into the arms of the Taliban for protection and as willing buyers and traffickers. Second, the crop could help the world, especially the poorer parts in Asia and Africa, with their chronic shortage of medical opiates.
Don’t assume that no one is hiring. There are some bright spots in today’s economy:
According to one Information Technology hiring index, 12 percent of the more than 1,400 CIOs polled planned to hire employees during the first quarter of 2009, Microsoft is among this group, as are the thriving tech giants, Google, Cisco and Apple. Look particularly for hiring in the areas of security, wireless support, applications, servers and storage.
The small, red Bible used to swear in Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama will go on rare public display with other artifacts to mark the 200th anniversary of Abe’s birth. The collection will debut at the Library of Congress and includes a first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation and a hand-written Gettysburg Address, along with the contents of the 16th president’s pockets on the night he was assasinated. The artifacts will go on tour through 6 cities.
Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed. Playing appears to help with language development and improves problem solving. In the absence of play, children miss learning experiences. (Read more in Scientific American)
A biotech firm in Washington recently announced an overwhelmingly positive response to compounds from a rain forest botanical for treating Alzheimer’s Disease, along with its intention to safeguard the very forests that provide such a remarkable pharmacopeia.
If you’ve ever cared for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, you’ve searched for hopeful research pointing to a possible cure for this debilitating 6th leading cause of death. Every day scientists test new drugs, diets and devices to prevent or halt the growth of the beta-amyloid plaques in the brain which lead to neurofibrillary tangles that gum it up and transform a loved one into a total stranger.
Most drugs attempt to manage the condition, but nothing really halts its progress, and side effects are troubling, until now.
A group of strangers offered up squeezes yesterday on downtown streets, and got surprisingly positive responses.
On a cold winter day, the offer of a free hug from a stranger is often all it takes to warm the heart. They carrying large signs saying “Free Hugs” and left more than a few feeling a little better about the world. (Read more in the Toronto Star)
The effort was inspired by the Australian sensation on YouTube. Watch the music video that started all the Free Hugs on GNN-i here.
A club for youth to exchange ideas on peace, to be established in all schools of secondary and above levels in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, was launched this weekend by the African Union – United Nations joint peacekeeping operation there (UNAMID).
Over 100 UNAMID members attended the opening of the first Peace Club at the Model Secondary School for Girls in El Fasher. The Peace Club will bring youth together through activities like debates and poetry competitions to focus on an end to war, as well as sporting and cultural activities.
The current economic crisis is offering many people the “opportunity” to change jobs and career fields. The American Association of Community Colleges has joined with organizations across the country to provide new directions in employment specifically for people over 50. (Listen to the story at Nat’l Public Radio)
When I think of comfort food, I think of the times a friend or neighbor has brought over a meal after a newborn joined our family or before a funeral. Thanks to Quail Lakes Baptist Church in Stockton, CA, and a host of 60 volunteers, the load is lightened for families who would otherwise need to prepare meals at critical times. (Read more in The Record) Thanks to GNN-i fan Mohay Rix for submitting the story.
The extremely rare mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park seem to have prospered during turmoil and fighting by rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to new census results. The population—made famous by a series of murders in 2007—has grown by nearly 13 percent in the last 16 months, despite having no protection from civil war or poaching for 15 months, park rangers said Monday.
The count showed that the number of gorillas had increased to 81, compared to a count of 72 in 2007.
Bowing to months of pressure from political allies, Iran’s former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, on Sunday declared he will run in the June presidential vote.
The black-turbaned cleric – who won landslide victories in 1997 and 2001 on the promise of restoring the rule of law, loosening social restrictions, and ending Iran’s isolation – will now be aiming to restore his political reputation while challenging Iran’s arch-conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (Read the full story at Christian Science Monitor)
A team of Monash University researchers in Sydney has made a major breakthrough in the international fight against malaria, which claims the life of a child across the world every 30 seconds. The scientists were able to deactivate the final stage of the malaria parasite’s digestive machinery, effectively starving the parasite of nutrients and disabling its survival mechanism. This process of starvation leads to the death of the parasite. The research , published this week, lays the scientific groundwork to further develop a specific class of drugs to treat the disease. (Read more at Physorg.com)
Nourishing premature babies with high does of omega-3 fatty acids significantly decreases the risk of developmental disorders, according to Australian researchers.
Of 657 premature babies tested in a trial involving five Australian hospitals, about 50% fewer infants on the fortified diets had significantly delayed mental development. (Read more at Sciencedaily.com)
Photo courtesy of Sun Star.
Two Jews and two Palestinians in the U.S. launched a website on Thursday that allows you to make a small loan directly to women entrepreneurs in the Palestinian Territories.
The new site, Lend for Peace, works with US government-approved microfinance institutions on the ground to deliver your capital along with training and guidance to low-income individuals who are interested in starting or expanding their own small businesses. Your loan for as little as $25.00 is repaid over a set period of time as your micro-entrepreneur builds economic self-sufficiency and a stake in peace.
Browse through photos of craft makers and seamstresses, farmers and grocers, to make a loan and a personal connection with women like Safa, pictured above, who is is producing and selling homemade pickles and meatballs to local restaurants.
