Akrit is an incredible boy, aged 12, living in India who performed his first sugery at seven. Now he works with 76 adults on his theoretical cure for cancer. He sees his duty as stopping “all the suffering in the world.” He is sure of himself, compassionate of others, and declares that for the sake of others, “I won’t waste my talent.”
A documentary was made about his extraordinary intelligence, you can find the entire film on youtube, but here is a clip.
A Guyana news agency reports on the Lemonade Stand in Maryland, USA that raised money to save 4000 acres of Guyana rainforest. Alex Rice and his Cub Scout Troop raised $350.00 that was matched by Conservation International (CI), and CI-Guyana… Public Service at its finest!
The wired and wireless web is allowing the homeless to better communicate with the world. (Wired)
Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant. He can perform mind-boggling mathematical calculations at breakneck speeds. But unlike other savants, who can perform similar feats, Tammet can describe how he does it. Now scientists are asking whether his exceptional abilities are the key to unlock the secrets of autism.
He doesn’t calculate these math problems in his head. He is immediately shown the answer. It started at the age of three after an epileptic seizure.
Since his epileptic fit, he has been able to see numbers as shapes, colours and textures. The number two, for instance, is a motion, and five is a clap of thunder. "When I multiply numbers together, I see two shapes. The image starts to change and evolve, and a third shape emerges. That’s the answer." (Fantastic Story and Interview in the Guardian)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with UPS, will test a new hydraulic delivery truck on the city streets of Detroit this summer that offers fuel savings, cleaner air, and less noise.
The new system replaces a truck’s transmission with hydraulics and that, combined with a low-emission diesel engine, yields a 60 percent to 70 percent saving on fuel use…The delivery company, United Parcel Service partnered with the EPA; Eaton; International Truck and Engine Corp., UPS’ largest supplier; and the Army in February 2005 to develop a green fleet of low-emissions vehicles. (AP)
OPINIONWashington, D.C. – “Some people believe that football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude, it is much, much more important than that!”
With those words, former Liverpool football coach Bill Shankly inadvertently alluded to a new reality: football is not just a game, but is also an economic force, a model of globalization and, more importantly, a vehicle for conflict resolution.
Football and sports in general can play and have played a role in limiting the reaches of war and de-escalating violent situations. There are numerous examples from the 20th and 21st centuries showing just how large a role:
In the northern port town of Acre, Jewish and Arab high school students work together to transform rubbish into hand-crafted benches. And in the Galilee hills, Arab and Jewish women go for regular walks together alongside a pristine road that was once strewn with garbage.
Those are two of the activities of LINK, a non-profit environmental protection organization that brings together Arab and Jewish residents of the Galilee. The main goal of LINK is encouraging Galilee residents to participate in environmental protection programs. But an outgrowth of these activities has been an improvement in relations between Arabs and Jews. . .
In the 1980’s Indiana wildlife officials imported 73 eagle chicks to raise in artificial nests at Lake Monroe, for eventual release into the wild.
The goal was five nesting pairs by 2000. Instead, there were 24 pairs by that time; since 2000, that number has almost tripled. (AP )
Today more than 200 eagles reside in Indiana, a number not seen in more than 100 years. The population in the nation overall is likewise booming, as Roger Marion reported here in March.
Sanitation workers helped a man find his wife’s wedding ring inside a truckload of garbage. Such digging in the heat of summer was easier because the man used yellow bags for his trash… (AP)
Following recent moves by the U.S. and Brazil to protect coral reefs and sensitive marine ecosystems, Indonesia has announced plans to create a marine-protected area covering more than 4.6 thousand square miles (1.2 million hectares) off the eastern coast of the Derawan Archipelago in the Sulawesi Sea.
The island chain contains some 450 species of coral and support one of the world’s largest varieties of reef fish, as well as commercial and community fisheries. In recent years, however, overfishing and destructive fishing methods, including the use of cyanide and dynamite, have destroyed large sections of coral and depleted fish populations.
Community members of more than 25 coastal villages initiated the call to protect their marine areas, following reports from local fishermen that fish catches were decreasing and revenues were being lost due to increased non-resident commercial fishing operations. . .
A service Beagle named Belle is an amazing animal that has been trained to call for help if Kevin Weaver’s diabetes spirals out of control. Belle’s sense of smell is so acute that she can sense his blood sugar levels. On the day Kevin collapsed onto the floor, the Beagle pulled down the cell phone from the table where it always rests and bit into the number 9, which dialed 911.
Today, the 17-pound beagle is expected in Washington to receive the 2006 VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, given to someone — or, in this case, some dog — who used a cell phone to save a life, prevent a crime or help in an emergency. It’s the first time a dog has received the award.
Dozens of groups in the U.S. train dogs for service to humans with disability or disease. When you learn more about service dogs you may want to volunteer to raise a puppy for one of these not-for-profit organizations.
(The story of Belle by the Orlando Sentinel was also featured in Best Friends Network.)
Most days, six-year-old Aubrey Matthews spends her energy fighting a brain tumor growing behind her eyes. But the first-grader managed to foil crimes and chase an arch-nemesis through Boise on Friday, serving the city as the superhero "Star" with assistance from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Idaho. (story here, photo here)
I hope she can use her newly experienced super powers to shrink that tumor. Some kids are using their imaginations, and video games, to blast the cancer cells on the gaming screen, and, in turn, within their own bodies.
More super tales of making wishes come true for people with disease can be read at wish.org …
A new method of counting Giant Pandas in the wild using DNA revealed there was more than double the estimated number living in one reserve and, based on the finding, as many as 3,000 of the elusive and endangered animals in the mountains of China, rather than the 1,590 previously thought.
I thought this was interesting…
Who is the greatest Canadian ever?
1.2 million Canadians voted in 2004 during a CBC reality TV show and collectively decided that the greatest of them all was Tommy Douglas.
I had never heard of him but found his tale worth promoting. He earned the respect of millions of Canadians by following his dream for universally accessible medical care. After being hospitalized at the age of 10 and threatened with the loss of his leg due to his family’s inability to pay for specialized care, he followed a life path into politics and refined his skills as a fiery speaker becoming Canada’s ‘father of Medicare’. His notion, forged in a Baptist college, of a “social gospel,” a vision of religion-in-action, was the foundation of his life.
As head of North America’s first-ever socialist government, and amid widespread skepticism, Douglas mobilized aggressively, passing more than 100 bills during his first term. He introduced paved roads, sewage systems and power to most farmers and managed to reduce the provincial debt by $20 million.
Read about the Top Ten Greatest Canadians from the 2004 Survey by the CBC: or Watch the CBC report above
(#5, David Suzuki is featured as an Op/Ed writer on the Good News Network.)
1. Tommy Douglas
2. Terry Fox
3. Pierre Elliott Trudeau
4. Sir Frederick Banting
5. David Suzuki
6. Lester B. Pearson
7. Don Cherry
8. Sir John A. Macdonald
9. Alexander Graham Bell
10. Wayne Gretzky
Bryce and Chris LeJeune have started the nonprofit Second Chance Equine Association to help a growing number of abandoned and neglected horses, ponies and donkeys in the Pennsylvania area. The long-time horse owners have formed a network of eight foster homes to help care for these animals. The LeJeunes may be an inspiration for networking in other areas and offer advice as to how to get started. Their phone number was in the Tribune article: 724-423-7175
Minnesota’s North Woods backyard “won’t be under as much pressure from land developers thanks to a conservation effort announced Wednesday that provides extra protection for up to 50,000 acres” in and around the George Washington and Koochiching state forests. (AP news and video via KARE-11)
Burundi’s government and the country’s last active rebel group have signed a ceasefire that has committed the sides to engage in serious discussions aimed at ending hostilities and to reach a comprehensive ceasefire within the period of two weeks. The truce follows nearly three weeks of talks mediated by South Africa involving the last of seven Hutu groups still outside a power-sharing agreement from 2000. Achievement of a settlement would finally heal the remnants of a civil war started in 1993 in which 300,000 people died.
New findings by brain researcher Kelly Lambert, professor and chair of the psychology department at Randolph-Macon College, suggest that fatherhood may change more than just a man’s lifestyle — it may actually cause lasting benefits in his brain. (ScienCentral.com)
Check out their outstanding video news story (1:27) about the male California Deer Mice who became more capable individuals after being exposed to baby mice in the role of "Foster Dad" for only 10 minutes per day. Apparently, a beneficial "cuddle hormone" kicks in …
The new government of Bolivia has announced a sweeping plan to reduce poverty and create employment. Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, will invest almost $7 billion in ambitious public works programs and focus on meals for school kids and clean water.
The economic plan announced by Planning and Development Minister Carlos Villegas aims to create 100,000 jobs a year for the next five years It is the latest measure in a series implemented by President Evo Morales since taking office in January. (BBC )
"From insects to fish to small mammals and even humans" — Exemplary fatherhood is common in the animal kingdom…
"There are more and more examples popping up of males stepping up and doing as much or even more than females in parental care," said Jeffrey French, a professor of psychology and biology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. "We see a wide variety of species showing biparental or even exclusively male parental care." (Pioneer Press, MN)
