24 New Baby Gorillas Bring Hope for the Species – and Adorable Photos!

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Sep 8, 2015

In the wake of a 26 percent population boost for this iconic species, the addition of 24 adorable baby mountain gorillas offer new hope for the future.

On September 5, the 11th Annual Gorilla Naming Ceremony known as Kwita Izina took place at the foothills of the Virunga Mountains. The theme of the day was “Conserving Now and For the Future.”

Each of the newborn gorillas were given a name representative of their personality, circumstances of birth, or a hope for the future.

baby gorilla fluffy hair copyright Keiko Mori — All Photos copyright Keiko Mori, used with permission

Among them was Icyifuzo, which means to “wish,” and Guhuza, meaning “come together.”

Rwanda has been closely tracking an increase in their gorilla population and have registered a 26.3 percent boost.

Although gorilla naming, a uniquely Rwandan tradition, has always been a part of the country’s culture, Kwita Izina was introduced in 2005 with the aim of creating awareness for the endangered mountain gorilla.

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Finnish Prime Minister Opens His Home to Refugees, Joins Growing List

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Terry Turner

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Sep 8, 2015

From single mothers to a prime minister, Europeans are opening their homes for refugees who need housing.

343px-Juha_Sipilä_CC Ppntori — Prime Minister Juha Sipilä – by Ppntori (CC)

Because he is serving in the capital, Helsinki, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä seldom visits his home 370 miles away, so he has offered his house in Kempele to shelter refugees.

“I hope this becomes some kind of people’s movement that will inspire many to shoulder part of the burden in this refugee housing crisis” Sipilä told Finnish broadcaster YLE. “What we need now is a show of compassion.”

A Christian charity in the UK, the Boaz Trust, reports it can’t keep up with the offers from people who are volunteering to share an empty room with the refugees. The Manchester-based group has been fielding calls from Gloucester to Edinburgh.

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“It’s been quite overwhelming,” chief Executive Ros Holland told the Guardian.

Yoshiko Stokoe and her boyfriend Jack Palmer have hosted more than 20 refugees in their home in Leeds at different times over the last two-and-a-half years. They say it costs them no more than $25 a week.

Founded in Germany in 2014, Refugees Welcome was introduced in Austria this year, and today, dozens of asylum seekers and refugees have been placed in flatshares across that country.

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“I wonder why it hasn’t been done before,” Simone Fidler, who hosts a Nigerian refugee in Vienna told Al Jazeera News. “It just makes sense. People are having to sleep in tents while there are so many rooms free.”

(READ more at the Guardian) — Photos by Haeferl, Ppntori, CC

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Quiet Time Program Brings Radical Improvement To Schools Worldwide

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 7, 2015

kids-meditating-David-Lynch-Foundation-Facebook — Photo by David Lynch Foundation

There are hundreds of rowdy at-risk youth in low-income schools that face higher rates of anxiety, stress, and violence in their lives, but when the gong sounds at the start of Quiet Time, students and teachers fall into silence – eyes closed and minds quiet.

The Quiet Time program, started by Twin Peaks director David Lynch, consists of two fifteen minute sessions of transcendental meditation where students are encouraged to breathe deeply, clear their minds, and find their spiritual center.

The results have been staggeringly impressive.

Meditation Produces Enduring Changes In Brain’s Emotional Processing

According to the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace website, the Quiet Time meditation program has shown a 65% decrease in violent conflict, a 40% reduction in stress and anxiety, and an 86% reduction in suspensions over a two year period along with a dramatic increase in self-confidence, creativity, and happiness.

The program has also been used for veterans with PTSD, victims of domestic abuse, and in prisons and homeless shelters. Studies showed reduced flashbacks and stress, a 42% decrease in insomnia, decreased blood pressure, and twice the efficiency in curving alcoholism and substance abuse.

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“I started Transcendental Meditation in 1973 and have not missed a single meditation ever since,” David Lynch explains on his website. “Twice a day, every day. It has given me effortless access to unlimited reserves of energy, creativity and happiness deep within. This level of life is sometimes called “pure consciousness”—it is a treasury. And this level of life is deep within us all.”

Since the program was first adopted by Visitacion Valley Middle School in 2007, it has been adopted in Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, and many other schools worldwide.

Photo Credit: David Lynch Foundation Facebook

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Blood Cells “Retrained” to Destroy Cancer, Lead Again to Full Remission

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Terry Turner

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Sep 7, 2015

Scientists have been able to put a virtually incurable disease into complete remission by altering patients’ blood cells inside the body to fight the stubborn cancer.

The process allows the patient’s own immune system to fight chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Three of 14 patients in a four-year study are in complete remission–and four others showed partial remission.

Overall, patients in the study showed a 57% response rate to the treatment over the course of treatment.

CLL is a blood and bone marrow cancer almost impossible to beat. Expensive stem-cell transplants and chemotherapy have been the main tools doctors use to treat it, but those methods don’t always work.

The new process removes a patient’s T cells (pictured at top) — the white blood cells that the immune system uses to destroy disease. Researchers then “retrained” the T cells through gene therapy to go after a naturally occurring protein in B cells — the type of blood cells that leukemia affects.

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The T cells are then put back into the patient and begin destroying the cells that allow CLL to spread.

“This is a whole new approach to treating cancer,” David Porter, a University of Pennsylvania leukemia researcher and co-author of the study said. “We can now modify the human immune system to effectively and efficiently treat cancer — and that’s going to open doors to a whole new world of cancer therapies.”

This type of gene therapy has been tried with leukemia and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but the long-term results announced in this latest study suggest it also may be a possible weapon against other forms of cancer.

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The report was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Funding for the study was supported in part by a grant from Novartis, and by grants from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the National Institutes of Health.

– Photo by NIAID, CC license

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For Every Product Sold, This Company Picks Up Trash— 124 Tons So Far

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Sonja Schulken

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Sep 7, 2015

The products it sells aren’t so unusual—shirts, bags, coffee mugs, and outdoorsy stuff. The unique part of this business is the stellar service it provides whenever any item is sold– it cleans up a pound of litter.

Focused on fighting pollution, United By Blue has already removed 248,439 pounds of garbage from oceans, rivers, streams, and beaches across 22 states.

The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania five years ago by CEO, Brian Linton, who likes to get his hands dirty. Its mission is to continuously organize cleanups across the country, bringing together thousands of volunteers to pick up trash like bottles, cans, tires, and appliances that muck up the nation’s waterways.

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The company began as an online retailer offering products made from sustainable materials such as organic cotton and wool, but now operates three brick and mortar stores in the Philadelphia area.

The business credits its success to the hands-on role it forged to help the environment. It doesn’t write checks to green nonprofits or accept donations, it just puts people to work picking up trash–and has hosted 137 cleanups so far.

Helping to clean up the environment one purchase at a time. Shopping never felt so good.

(READ more from the Philadelphia Inquirer) Photo: United By Blue, FB –Story tip from Steve Schwartz

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Billionaire Offers to Buy Island for Refugees Pouring into Europe

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Terry Turner

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Sep 7, 2015

While Europeans are offering up houses to refugees, an Egyptian billionaire wants to buy an island where tens of thousands of refugees can live and work.

Naguib Sawiris is offering to buy an uninhabited island from either Italy or Greece large enough to sustain up to 200,000 people.

“All I need is the permission,” Sawiris told CNN. “I’ll pay for the island, I’ll provide the jobs.”

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The CEO promises to pay refugees to build their own houses and schools along with a hospital and university.

He heads Orascom, a diverse company spanning transportation, construction, and communications, which is Egypt’s largest private sector employer.

The Sawiris family has been active in helping Egyptians through their foundation for 14 years. It provides scholarships, training and job placement for people and awards prizes for Egyptian literature.

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Sawiris suggests the refugees could turn the island into their own country and suggested naming the new nation “Hope.”

(READ more at the Jerusalem Post) — Photo: World Economic Forum, CC

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Maasai Women & Donkeys Bring Solar Power to Those Who Need it Most

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Sonja Schulken

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Sep 7, 2015

Using donkeys to haul their equipment, groups of women in Kenya are going door to door, hoping villagers will see the light–and benefits–of adding renewable solar energy in their homes.

The solar house-calls are courtesy of a program launched by Green Energy Africa that is putting income into the pockets of women from the Maasai tribe, a semi-nomadic people of East Africa.

The company provides the women with solar products — energy efficient lights, panels and rechargeable batteries—and teaches them how to install the equipment in homes and villages.

There is a great need for solar energy in Kenya where more than half the population is living too remotely to connect to the country’s power grid.

Installing solar power means people no longer have to burn firewood or kerosene to light their homes and children can read or do homework without inhaling smoke. Solar lamps also can light up livestock pens, scaring away the hyenas and wild cats that threatened their cattle and goats.

It also saves money and time for Kenyan households that may spend 40 cents a day on kerosene or hours in the wilderness gathering or cutting firewood. Some already pay a dollar every week to charge cell phones at the nearest charging station miles away.

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But the initiative provides more than clean, renewable energy. Green Energy Africa sells the equipment to the women at a discount, and the women in turn sell it for a profit.

A path to economic freedom for both the women–who don’t have the right to own property in their Maasai culture–and for those whose lives are changed by a clean, cheap energy source.

So far, about 200 tribal women have installed solar power units in more than 2,000 homes.

(WATCH the video below or READ more at Reuters) Photos: CCTV Africa, YouTube, and Facebook

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Human Library Lets You Check Out People, Aims to Foster Diversity

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McKinley Corbley

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Sep 7, 2015

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover… especially if they can talk.

The Human Library based out of Denmark lets people check out “interactive books” for half an hour–but the words are coming from humans that volunteer to tell their tales.

Readers peruse the library catalog and select an experience to hear about–Child Of The Holocaust Survivors, The Gypsy Tale, Iraq War Veteran, and Orphanage Boy, are examples of story titles offered.

With library card in hand, readers are led to a discussion area to meet their book and hear the tale, cover to cover.

Started in 2000 by a Danish youth-based nonprofit, “Stop The Violence,” the Human Library was a project intended to start conversation and foster understanding between different types of people that would normally not interact with each other.

“The purpose is to challenge what we think we know about other members of our community,” reads the Human Library Facebook Page. “To challenge our stereotypes and prejudices in a positive framework, where difficult questions are accepted, expected and appreciated.”

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The first Human Library event was hosted at the Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen. One of the largest summer festivals in Northern Europe, its theme focused on community activities to help stop growing levels of violence and bias in the area. Now the project has spread to over 50 countries across the world.

If you feel like you’ve got a bestseller inside you, check out the Human Library website to see if there are events happening near you–with no late fees involved.

(WATCH a CBC documentary below)

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(WATCH) 100 People Work Together to Rescue a Great White Shark

By

Terry Turner

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Sep 7, 2015

Dozens of people literally pulled together trying to rescue a 14-foot great white shark that washed up on a Massachusetts beach.

The video shows about 100 people — police, lifeguards, wildlife experts, and vacationing beachgoers — working frantically to save the shark on Cape Cod’s Whitecrest Beach.

They created a pool around the shark and showered him with buckets of water to help him breath. Others dug a trench leading dozens of yards to the ocean.

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When the trench was finished, they tied a rope around the shark’s tail and together dragged the 2,000 pound great-white back into the sea.

Unfortunately, the heroic effort ended with the shark eventually dying in the water, but it was a dramatic show of humanity nonetheless.

Shark experts say it’s very difficult to save large sharks when they beach themselves, although an effort in July did save a 7-foot great white in Cape Cod.

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That younger shark was tagged and has been spotted several times this summer off the coast.

(WATCH the video below) — Image from Robyn Schnaible on Vimeo

Cape Cod Great White Shark Rescue - Whitecrest Beach, Wellfleet from Robyn Schnaible on Vimeo.

10 Easy Ways You Can Practice Mindfulness

By

Elyse Santilli

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Sep 6, 2015

Have you ever wondered what it means to live in the present? Aren’t we all here, now, in the present?

Technically, yes, but for so many of us, we are only ten percent here.

We are really living in our minds. We exist from day-to-day in a dream-like state where we’re not really connected to the world around us, nor centered in our own body or being. Instead, we’re preoccupied with memories of the past, churning thoughts and worries about the future, and judgments and reactions to the few things we do see.

We’re literally missing out on most our own lives, which leaves us feeling shallow, empty and deeply unsettled.

The great news is you can learn to be more present and mindful. Here are 10 easy ways you can practice mindfulness in your daily life.

1. Eat mindfully.

When you scoff down your meal on autopilot while distracted by the television, computer, or constant conversation, you miss out on the delicious taste and smell of your food. You’re also less likely to feel satisfied and nourished, because you ‘missed out’ on the fact that you ate.

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It can be helpful to remember this phrase: When you eat, eat. When you drink, drink.

In other words, don’t attempt to do fifty other things when you sit down to a meal, coffee or green juice. Simply focus all of your attention on what is in front of you.

2. Walk mindfully.

Take a beautiful tip from spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh and “walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.”

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In others words, when you are out and about, pay attention occasionally to the movement of your body and your surroundings.

Notice as your feet connect with and leave the ground. Feel your muscles moving and supporting you.

Observe what is going on around you — the sights, sounds and life unfolding. You may be amazed to find a whole new world you hadn’t even noticed before.

3. Observe your breathing.

As Echkart Tolle once said, a single breath in and out is a meditation.

Your breathing occurs naturally and rhythmically. When you pay attention to it, it takes you out of your mind and into your body.

You momentarily free yourself from your churning thoughts, worries and fears, and you remind yourself of who you really are — your inner spirit, not your thoughts.

4. Connect with your senses.

Your senses — touch, smell, taste, sound and sight — are your gateway into the present moment.

But when you are lost in thought, you don’t experience what your senses are picking up.

Pause to soak up the beautiful aroma of your coffee. The salty ocean air. The beauty and diversity of flowers in your neighborhood. The mouth-watering waft of wood-fire pizza coming from your local Italian restaurant as you pass it.

Notice how your clothing feels against your body. The soft clean bed sheets on your skin in the morning. The comforting warmth of your lover’s kiss. The grass under your feet. The sensation of water and suds on your hands as you do the washing up.

Put love and attention into the simple tasks of your day, and you will be amazed how much joy and peace they can bring you.

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5. Pause between action.

Pause and listen to the sound of the phone ringing before answering it.

Pause and feel the weight of your body in your chair before beginning your work for the day.

Pause and feel the door handle of your home before you open it at the end of the day.

Putting mini pauses between actions in your day can ground you in your inner being, clear your mind, and provide you with fresh energy for the new task ahead.

Think of it like putting energetic bookends at the start and end of each activity.

6. Listen wholeheartedly.

Most of us never truly listen to people when they are speaking to us, because we’re too busy planning what to say next, judging what they are saying, or getting lost in daydreams altogether.

Next time you’re in a conversation, make it your goal to fully listen to what the other person is saying to you, without getting lost in your thoughts.

Trust that you will intuitvely know the right thing to say next when it’s your turn to speak.

7. Get lost in the flow of doing things you love.

We all have certain activities we love doing — they connect us with our inner spirit and bring us fully alive.

For you it could be cooking, dancing, singing, gardening, writing, painting, bushwalking, swimming, or building Ikea furniture.

We love doing these things so much that we often lose ourselves in them. That is, we lose our smaller self — our churning thoughts and worries – because we are pouring all of our love and attention into the present moment.

Incorporate more flow activities in your weekly routine, and your happiness will skyrocket.

8. Mediate daily.

There’s no getting around it — meditation has huge benefits and increases your levels of energy, happiness, inspiration and inner peace.

It doesn’t have to take long. Even 10 minutes a day can have a positive impact on your life. It will also strengthen your mindfulness muscles, so you’ll find it much easier to become present throughout the day.

9. Travel or mix up your routine.

There’s more than one reason you feel amazing on holidays. When you’re in a new place, you automatically become more present and mindful — simply because there are so many new sights, sounds and smells to soak up.

Your senses take over for a short while and it frees you from your mind.

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No travel plans? That’s fine. Mix up your routine — it will have the same effect.

Take a different route, stop at a new coffee shop, visit a new place locally or try something you’ve done done before like paddle boarding, cooking a new recipe or writing calligraphy.

10. Observe your thoughts and emotions.

You are not your thoughts — you are the observer of your thoughts. The fact that you can listen to them shows that they are not you. You are something higher and separate.

By simply becoming aware of your thoughts and non-judgmentally observing them as they come and go — like clouds passing in the sky — you are being more present. You are not getting caught up in your thoughts and forgetting that they are not you.

Our Thoughts Become Our Reality

As you observe, resist the temptation to get carried away by a particular thought down a tunnel into the past or future. Picture your thoughts like trains at the station – you’re on the platform watching them come and go, but you’re not going to jump on and go for a ride.

Before you leave this article, I encourage you to take a moment to pause, take a deep breath, and sense what it’s like to be alive in this very moment. This moment is your life.

Photo Credit: CC HTB

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Postman Delivers Touching Letter to Each Home With Some News

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Good News Network

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Sep 6, 2015

They are all like a second family to this letter carrier in Glendale, Arizona. That’s why he delivered a hand-written letter to each of the homes on his route last week, to announce his retirement.

One of those who received the letter used a more modern form of communication, Reddit, to share a photo of the letter, which delighted thousands of readers, who posted comments about their own beloved mail carriers.

They also suggested the neighbors should throw a party for the man in blue.

“I’ve been here long enough that I’ve seen kids when they are little, and I watch them grow up,” said Michael Raymer, who is hanging up his mail bag on September 30, after 20 years at the US Postal Service.

(WATCH the video below or READ more from KSAZ News)

Photo by Reddit user g3tyasum – Story tip from Tonya Brown Wright

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Loggerhead Sea Turtles Set Another Nesting Record in Georgia

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Good News Network

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Sep 6, 2015

What a difference a decade of conservation can make.

In 2004, the number of loggerhead sea turtle nests on Georgia’s barrier island beaches, a prime nesting ground, plunged to 358, the fewest on record.

Th 2015 summer count shows the threatened marine turtle is bouncing back, with Georgia wildlife officials announcing a total of nearly 2,300 nests–the most since 1989.

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“If you had asked me less than 10 years ago, I would’ve said there’s a possibility we’ll lose loggerhead nesting in Georgia,” said Mark Dodd, a senior wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources sea turtle program.

Much of the success is due to the Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperative, a network of volunteers, researchers and agency employees who patrol beaches daily during the nesting season, protecting and recording data on the nests.

The long-term trend shows nesting increasing at about 3 percent a year, which Dodd calls, “an exceptionally good rate … for a long-lived species with a low maximum-population growth rate.”

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Dodd credits the recovery to a wide range of conservation measures, from the Cooperative members using wire screen to shield nests from predators to commercial fishery regulations reducing sea turtle deaths along Georgia’s coast and far into the Atlantic Ocean.

With nesting completed for the summer, hatching is in full swing. More than half of sea turtle hatchlings on Georgia beaches have already emerged, digging out of their sand nests and heading toward the surf.

The hatching success rate – hovering at about 68 percent – has been boosted by a lack of storm surges and the extreme high tides caused by such tropical weather events.

The future reliability of Georgia as a safe nesting zone for this iconic species has been assured by the incredible involvement of the state’s human citizens– with more than 30 percent of residents 16 and older taking part in wildlife-watching activities.

Follow nesting and hatching activities all along the Atlantic coast at Seaturtle.org

The US Economy’s Second Quarter Went From Solid to Stellar

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Good News Network

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Sep 5, 2015

The U.S. economy grew at a far faster pace last quarter than economists first had estimated–expanding at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the April-June quarter

The Associated Press reported that the country’s gross domestic product was “outpacing the rest of the developed world and bolstering confidence that it will remain sturdy in coming months, despite global headwinds.”

The gains were “broad-based, reflecting more robust spending by consumers, businesses and government,” and based on the Commerce Department report released August 27.

(READ the story from AP) Photo by US Army Corps of Engineers

A Safety App That Lets Friends Digitally Walk You Home at Night

By

Terry Turner

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Sep 5, 2015

You’ll never walk home alone again with this app on your smartphone.

The Companion app connects you with friends to let them keep a virtual eye on you as you walk home from the corner coffee shop or take a taxi across town.

Five students at the University of Michigan developed the app that lets users select friends from a contact list, and then texts to them a link to a map. They can then watch as GPS tracks the user’s movement.

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It also uses GPS and the phone’s accelerometer — the device that measures speed and direction — to tell if the user is in trouble. The app can tell if the user is pushed or falls down, if the user suddenly starts running or if the phone is snatched from the user.

If the app detects trouble, it asks the user if they are alright, and if the user doesn’t answer within 15 seconds, it turns the phone into an alarm and allows the user to instantly call the police. At the same time, it alerts your contacts that you need help.

The Companion app’s developers are working with colleges and universities to integrate it into their campus safety networks.

(READ more from International Business Times) —Photo mashup includes image by Thomas Hawk, CC

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WATCH Fun-Loving Bear in the Wild Do Something We ALL Did as Kids

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Good News Network

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Sep 5, 2015

Ah, there’s nothing like a good roll down a hill. It’s the favorite pastime of many a young person.

In this incredible video, onlookers were amazed to see a wild bear do the same thing– rolling over, and over, and over…down a huge hill.

The chances of seeing a bear, at all, in Alaska’s Denali National Park are slim, so these camera-happy visitors were thrilled.

(WATCH the video below for a good chuckle) Photo by Tambako The Jaguar, CC)

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This Yoga Class Leads Inmates to Find Freedom From Within

By

Sheila Key

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Sep 5, 2015

There’s nothing like a little time on the yoga mat to take you away from it all—especially behind prison walls, where that goal is not easily accomplished.

While incarcerated people have made mistakes in their lives and caused others pain, many are victims themselves—of poverty, neglect, sexual assault, domestic violence and other crimes. Because of that, they are poised to benefit deeply from the holistic self-care offered by a Charleston, West Virginia nonprofit.

Every week, Laotong Yoga—the name means ‘kindred spirit’—brings mats into the Lakin Correctional Center for women in West Columbia and the men’s maximum-security prison in Mount Olive.

Prison Yoga meditation Laotong Yoga video “The need for healing within the prison environment is profound,” co-founder Sue Julian told Good News Network. “They’re using these tools to get in touch with what they care about. What kind of person do they want to be while they’re in prison—and how to find that freedom on the inside while they’re incarcerated. It’s really very powerful.”

Before 2013, when Julian and her co-founder Barbara Steinke launched the nonprofit, both taught yoga for years while working in the criminal justice system–Julian as a domestic-violence activist, and Steinke as a federal court reporter.

“The yoga that Barbara and I offer is rooted in the Kripalu model, a philosophy of non-judgment and compassion for self and others,” Julian said in a phone call. “We really do believe that we’re all connected in the present moment, and that, whether we’re aware of it or not, we are involved in the healing of one another.”

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In addition to the emotional and spiritual benefits, participants in the program earn certificates of completion after each 8-week session they attend–documentation of ‘good behavior’ that could help their case before a judge or parole board.

The breathing and other mindfulness practices that inmates learn in class has helped them reduce reactive behavior, avoid confrontations in the yard, and better cope with their anger and depression.

“Yoga makes me focus on one thing and one thing only. My mind doesn’t race or move around,” reports one female inmate. “I used it the day I went before the parole board—my (yogic) breathing—and it calmed me down, it relaxed me. It’s very peaceful.”

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By now, hundreds of inmates at both facilities have completed Laotong’s beginners’ series, and dozens of these ‘grads’ have continued as regulars in the ongoing series.

After a recent class at Mt. Olive, one participant seemed stunned by the power of yoga.

“I’m not sure what happened back there,” he said. “All of a sudden I felt overcome by emotion and just wanted to cry. It’s been a long time since that has happened to me.”

(WATCH video below) Photo by Laotong Yoga released — Story tip from Colleen Anderson

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Wal-Mart Pledges $25Mil to Disaster Recovery on Katrina Anniversary

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Good News Network

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Sep 4, 2015

In observance of the 10^th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Walmart Foundation announced that they will be making a $25 million commitment over a five year span to support organizations that aid in disaster recovery and resiliency efforts.

In addition to the $25 million, the company and its foundation will also be awarding nearly $3 million in grants to several nonprofits, including Team Rubicon, which helps reintegrate veterans by putting them to work responding to disasters across the United States, cleaning up communities effected by tornados and flooding, for instance.

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As part of the commitment, the Walmart Foundation is making an initial investment of $500,000 in grants to select local nonprofits in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

“Working hand in hand with the people of the Gulf Region at that difficult moment showed us there are times when we can make a real difference,” said Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon, who gathering with leaders in New Orleans this weekend to reflect on the progress made since the storm.

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“When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Walmart was on the front lines of the response. They opened make-shift stores, sent truckloads of supplies to our city, and activated associates on the ground to help those in need,” said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “In turn, they started to change the role of the private sector in disaster response.”

The company has also funded a study, conducted by Louisiana State University, that examines the past and future of disaster response since Hurricane Katrina.

The study utilizes insight from academics and first responders who have experienced disasters worldwide, and found that the lessons learned from Katrina and other large scale emergencies drove an increase in public-private partnerships, the use of technology, and innovations to create a better “preparedness culture.”

Photo by Mike Mozart, CC

Farm Dust Prevents Child Allergies, Could Lead to Asthma Vaccine

By

Terry Turner

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Sep 4, 2015

The secret to an effective allergy and asthma vaccine may be down on the farm, swirling in the dust that farmers kick up while plowing and planting.

Scientists have long known that people who grew up on farms tend to have far fewer issues with allergies and asthma than people who didn’t.

Researchers at Ghent University in Belgium set out to discover why.

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They found that when a person breathes in farm dust, their body produces a protein called A20. The researchers wrote that the protein “makes the mucous membrane inside the respiratory tracts react less severely to allergens such as house dust mite.”

The scientists discovered that if they deactivated the protein in mice, the rodents weren’t able to fight off an allergic or asthmatic reaction.

The researchers also examined 2,000 people who grew up on farms, where exposure to farm dust would have produced A20 in their bodies. Most didn’t suffer from asthma or allergies, but those who did showed deficiencies of the protein.

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The scientists say their discoveries will still require years of research, but put them on the “right track” toward isolating the chemical in farm dust the triggers the protein and turning it into a workable vaccine against allergies and asthma.

The study was published in the journal Science.

(READ more at CTV News) — Photo by David Joyce, CC

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Big Cats Have “Obsession” for Calvin Klein Cologne–Helps Conservationists

By

Terry Turner

-

Sep 4, 2015

Jaguar CC Kali the destroyer — Kali the Destroyer, CC license

The jury’s still out on whether cologne will attract a romantic partner, but this one will lure a jaguar out of the brush so you can take pictures of it.

Biologists studying the big cats in Guatemalan rain forests had trouble photographing the stealthy predators, until they turned to Calvin Klein’s “Obsession for Men.”

Turns out, it’s like catnip, only pricier — $55 for four ounces.

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Since jaguars are able to smell it a half mile away, the investment pays off. The cats come running and stick around, rubbing up against the rocks and wildlife cameras spritzed with the scent long enough for researchers to get detailed photos of the cats.

Their pictures give Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) biologists a more precise count on the exact number of jaguars living in the 8,100 square mile Maya Biosphere Reserve. Their research also helps spur support for conservation.

The WCS discovered the animals’ obsession with Obsession during an experiment at the Society’s Bronx Zoo in New York. Pat Thomas, the zoo’s general curator, tested 24 fragrances on big cats to see which ones would keep their curiosity the longest.

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Obsession for Men was the clear winner, holding a cheetah’s attention for more than 11 minutes — longer than they take to eat a meal.

There might even be some truth in those ads touting a cologne’s animal attraction —researchers have even gotten rare photos of the mysterious jaguars’ mating rituals.

(READ more at ABC News) — Photo: Kali the destroyer, CC

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New Goal for German Football Stars: Helping Refugees

By

Terry Turner

-

Sep 4, 2015

Some of the fiercest competition among German football clubs right now is happening off the field.

A number of teams are trying to outdo one another—in the best possible way—by extending kindness and help to refugees.

Germany, along with Iceland, has been the most welcoming of EU nations as the crisis in Syria has led to a flood of exiles seeking safety in Europe.

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Eight-time national champion Borussia Dortmund, Germany’s third largest team, invited 220 refugees to one of their games to help take their mind off their misery. The team also launched an initiative to help refugees relocate to Germany.

Cologne has supported refugee projects for years while other teams, including Leverkusen, Hannover, and Hoffenheim, have started programs to collect clothing donations, provide tutoring, and programs to help children adapt to life in Germany.

Last year, teams and fans launched #RefugeesWelcome on social media to showcase German hospitality, waving welcoming banners in stadiums across the country.

Football fans in Germany said #RefugeesWelcome this weekend, RT if you think the UK should step up to the mark. pic.twitter.com/dOZnND9XOc
— #RefugeesWelcome EFL (@RefugeesEFL) September 3, 2015

“People come here thinking it’s all beautiful. You get treated with a lot of respect and there are values,” Syrian refugee Ghaith Al Kalla told the Wall Street Journal. “But living on, it’s just as hard as anywhere.”

European football stars carry a lot of clout and their pleas on behalf of refugees can move fans into action. Teams have been taking advantage of that with powerful videos.

The German national team released one featuring players holding up signs in support of “openness, tolerance, support, respect, and fair play” towards refugees.

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Schalke star Gerald Asamoah is featured in another video calling on fans to help refugees.

“We have to stand up,” Asamoah says in the video below, “Otherwise we achieve nothing.”

Later, he and the team dramatically call on the viewers — as they stare into the camera — to stand up alongside them, in support of refugees.

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Germany has a highly efficient system for getting migrants into shelters, caring for their necessities, and relocating them across the country. The country has taken in 40% of the EU’s 334,080 requests for asylum in the first five months of 2015.

(WATCH the Schalke team video below and READ more at Deutsche Welle) Photo: @RefugeesEFL, Twitter —Story tip, Craig Withers

#standup #standupifyoureroyalblue #standupifyourehuman https://t.co/ZccbsSr3ut
— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) September 1, 2015

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1. Eat mindfully.

2. Walk mindfully.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Observe your breathing.

4. Connect with your senses.

5. Pause between action.

6. Listen wholeheartedly.

7. Get lost in the flow of doing things you love.

8. Mediate daily.

9. Travel or mix up your routine.

10. Observe your thoughts and emotions.

3. Observe your breathing.