"Don’t underestimate the grocery store deli worker, the security alarm salesman or the 34-year-old computer science student who anchor the Miami Dade College chess team. The community college undergrads have already faced Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Northwestern and beaten them all." (By SARAH LARIMER, Associated Press)
"Jeff Henderson’s harrowing journey toward a life as a high-profile Las Vegas chef led through kitchens of fried chicken and rolls in the various federal prisons he called home for nine years after his drug-trafficking conviction in 1988. " ‘Chef Jeff, the bad boy of cuisine’ is what they call me now."" (USA Today)
Building on peace efforts over the last 10 years, Northern Ireland’s arch foes have finally agreed to a power-sharing executive governing body for the province.
“Mr Paisley, leader of the Protestant faction, and Mr Adams of the mainly Catholic Sinn Fein, are committed to full participation and said the day dawned a “new era.”
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was a very important day for the people of Northern Ireland.” (READ the story at the BBC)
The time for filing your tax returns is just around the corner. Are you ready? Here is the third in a series of tax advice articles posted on GNN-i, like Freelancers’ Tips here on the Business page.
It’s worth your time — and money — once you’ve completed the necessary forms, to double check on them. Why? Millions of taxpayers commit mistakes when preparing and filing their returns, errors that cost them hundreds to thousands of dollars. Even if you hire the services of a professional tax preparer, that won’t guarantee you an error-free tax return…
France became the first country to open its files on UFOs Thursday unveiling a Web site documenting more than 1,600 sightings spanning five decades.
The online archives, which will be updated as new cases are reported, catalogues detailed cases ranging from the easily dismissed to a handful that continue to perplex even hard-nosed scientists.
The printing for the final Harry Potter book will not only be the biggest, but also the greenest. For the initial U.S. printing of 12 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the publisher, Scholastic, has committed to making sure 65 percent of the 16,700 tons of paper used is FSC-certified, which means the paper comes from forestlands that are managed in a socially and environmentally responsible way…
Japanese billionaire, Genshiro Kawamoto, cried as he presented the keys to a multimillion-dollar home to a low-income single mom with 5 kids. “Her family will live there rent-free, but must pay utility bills. He plans to open eight of his 22 Hawaiian homes to poor families for ten years.” (By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press – with photo) UPDATE: An alert GNN reader pointed to this same billionaire’s eviction of 420 California families five years ago on 30 days notice… perhaps he is repenting for his sins.
Canada rolled out a budget this week that includes $2 billion in new incentives for renewable fuels. Experts say if properly implemented, the program will lead to 20 new world-class biofuels facilities in Canada, create 14,000 new jobs in rural communities, and provide a new market for over 200 million bushels of Canadian grains and oilseeds.
As we alerted you last year, major Ivy league universities have begun offering lectures — and whole courses — on the Internet for free. It’s called the OpenCourseWare movement and it’s gaining momentum across the world. There’s even a site now where you can browse a collection of online courses from schools like UC Berkeley, MIT, Yale, and Princeton — and click to hear university lectures by the likes of Microsoft’s Bill Gates, all without paying a dollar in tuition…
$15 million in tickets are being given away in the U.S. to the March 30th nationwide re-release of the inspirational film adaptation of Dan Millman’s perennial best-selling novel, Way of the Peaceful Warrior. Universal Pictures teamed up with Best Buy to launch the innovative marketing scheme hoping to create enough interest in the film to carry it through the following weeks in April.
Best Buy has created a Web page to distribute 2 million free tickets good only for the weekend of March 30 – April 1…
Thanks to a new university project, the sight of gulls or pelicans with fishing hooks in their mouths or fishing line wrapped around their legs will be less common on California beaches. Beginning this week, the California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project at the University of California Davis is commencing a yearlong effort to remove discarded fishing hooks and slice tangled lines from pier pilings, and establish fishing-line recycling stations to make the coastal ocean safer for wildlife as well as people.
Virginia governor Tim Kaine enacted a law yesterday that ensures teenagers and their parents have the right to refuse medical treatments for ailments such as cancer and seek alternative therapies "so long as they have considered all other medical options." Kaine declared: "This is significant for health freedom in Virginia." (WTOP News)
Australia — A new type of solar cell, the "Sliver Cell," using razor-thin strips of material, has the potential to revolutionize the global solar power industry by dramatically reducing the amount of silicon required, the most expensive part of solar technology today.
Using innovative manufacturing techniques and cells less than 70 microns thick, the process requires 90 percent less silicon, yet delivers greater efficiency than current photovoltaic cells, and cuts the costs of production up to 60–80 percent…
Domestic violence against spouses and intimate partners in the U.S. fell by nearly two-thirds in recent years, reaching a 30-year low. Government figures show the marked declines began in 1994.
"After decades as the world’s most violent region, sub-Saharan Africa is finding peace. Most of the drop in violence is recent." From 2002 through 2005, the number of conflicts involving government troops dropped from 13 to 5. Battling between factions or tribes dropped from 24 to 14. (Full story by Frank Greve, in McClatchy Newspapers)
If you surf the Internet today and go to any of the news sites, you will find story after story promoting bad news. Bird flu, WW III, Iraq, bad government and economic collapse are just a few of the many depressing topics you will find on virtually every site. Rarely do you find any good news. Broadcast media is no better. Various inspirational, spiritual, psychological and motivational teachers like Earl Nightengale, Dr. Wayne Dyer and others say in short words, “We become what we think about.” If we dwell on bad news day in and day out, that’s what we will attract to ourselves…
A small wild bison herd was released in Colorado, only 10 miles from Denver, to roam on prairie grasses that haven’t felt the storied animal’s footprint in more than a century.
What’s more, the 1,400 acres are adjacent to a toxic Superfund site that has been successfully cleaned up and renamed, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge…
The transformation of the property from a chemical weapons and pesticide manufacturing arsenal to a wildlife refuge is being conducted by the U.S. Army, and Shell Oil Co. To date, more than 12,000 acres (two-thirds of the site) have been certified as clean by the Environmental Protection Agency and State of Colorado and have been transferred to the management of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
The 1,400 acres designated as wild bison habitat, FWS says was never used in making chemicals.
Bison were historically an integral component of the prairie ecosystem and their reintroduction will likely boost the health of the entire area. Migrating bison provided essential functions, such as grazing and fertilizing of grasses. This herd of 16 animals is the first to be introduced near a major metropolitan area.
Jonathan Proctor of Defenders of Wildlife told the Associated Press, “The short grass left by grazing bison is ideal habitat for prairie dog colonies, which in turn provide habitat and prey for rare species such as burrowing owls, hawks and swift foxes. Bison also add nutrients to the soil and create wallows which can attract several types of birds.”
The new refuge will also play a key part in advancing the FWS national bison conservation program which monitors genetic variety in herds from Montana to the Dakotas.
“The return of bison to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge signals remarkable progress both in the transformation of this site and in the conservation of American bison,” said Mitch King, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Mountain-Prairie Regional Director.
The Service will add the bison pasture to its popular public tram tour route beginning in April, which will enable the public to view the bison in their natural habitat.
Charlie Scharmann, program manager for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, said: “To see wild bison roaming on this land is truly remarkable and we are proud to have played a role in this historic conservation effort.
“The return of this signature species, along with the bald eagles and more than 300 species of wildlife that already call this site home, make the Refuge a destination that Colorado residents and visitors alike will not want to miss.”
Here is the second part in a GNN series designed to help you with your US taxes — especially beneficial to folks like me who haven’t done them yet! Today, Julian Block, an expert on tax issues related to freelance artists, writers and photographers, will answer some common questions about how to report income on 1099’s (when some include reductions for expenses, and others do not) and if we can take deductions for articles donated to non-profit groups…
“More than 1,400 artifacts protected from looters and the Taliban since 1999 at a museum-in-exile in Switzerland were returned to the National Museum of Afghanistan.” Items included a foundation stone that was definitely “touched by Alexander the Great” in an Afghan city he founded, featuring an owl on one side to symbolize Athens… (AP)
A coalition of industrialists, environmentalists and energy specialists is announcing next week a campaign to eliminate America’s use of incandescent light bulbs within 10 years. It will press for government-enforced efficiency standards to make the old-bulb technology obsolete. (After all, it dates back to the introduction of the telegraph and steam locomotive, which have long since been replaced by better technology.) –NY Times
Energy-efficient lighting can produce a huge difference on your energy bill, and help cut global warming gases. Try this dimmable CF Warm Glow light bulb, from Gaiam.
"Don’t underestimate the grocery store deli worker, the security alarm salesman or the 34-year-old computer science student who anchor the Miami Dade College chess team. The community college undergrads have already faced Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Northwestern and beaten them all." (By SARAH LARIMER, Associated Press)
