Two window washers clinging to a dangling platform 37 stories up on a downtown Boston building were rescued by firefighters Wednesday.
“They were panicking,” said an employee inside the building.
2 Window Washers Rescued from 37th Floor
Cat Catches the Daily Bus for Four Years
A 12-year old cat has caught the bus regularly from his own yard for four years. He waits in line behind the passengers, hops on, and travels the whole bus route, past pastures and business districts, exiting several hours later at his own stop.
“Casper has travelled an estimated 20,000 miles but Mrs Finden says because he is getting old the drivers often have to shuffle him off at the right stop,” reports the Telegraph.
His owner just found out where he’s been going during afternoons, although the bus drivers have been aware for years.
“A spokeswoman for First Bus said the firm has put a notice up in the office asking them to look after the non-paying passenger.”
Continue reading about the cat who prefers the back of the bus, in UK’s Telegraph.
(Thanks to Pam Guthrie for sending the link!)
Innovative Win-Win for Banks, Builders and Buyers
Virginia banks found the key to getting homebuyers back into the market and helping out the builders they lent money to.
In May, First Market Bank began offering mortgages of 3.99 percent to people buying homes or lots from builders who have loans from the bank. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the area is about 5.2 percent.
The bank has issued $10 million worth of mortgages under the program, and more than 30 houses have been sold.
“It is the true definition of a win-win.”
Bill Clinton Goes to North Korea, Returns With 2 Journalists
Two U.S. journalists who were held for nearly five months in North Korea are back in the United States, after former President Bill Clinton secured their release.
A plane carrying Laura Ling, Euna Lee and former President Clinton arrived in Burbank, California this morning. Mr. Clinton had flown to Pyongyang to meet directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
The journalists and the former president were greeted by cheers when they stepped off the plane. President Barack Obama said he is “extraordinarily relieved” over the release. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the return of the women.
16 Nations Step in Line for Sustainable Tuna
Colombia joined Japan, the United States, Spain, France, and 11 other nations last month endorsing a landmark treaty to protect tuna along the entire Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The agreement bans tuna fishing by all nations for approximately two months each year to help shore up the world’s tuna stocks.
It anchors a series of measures introduced by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) to avoid the catastrophic collapse of valuable stocks of yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna.
Colombia was the last of the 16 nations that make up the IATTC to endorse the measures proposed at the meeting of the Commission in June. The group is made up of 10 Latin American nations and USA, Japan, Spain, South Korea, France and Vanuatu.
Studies carried out by the IATTC showed a rapid deterioration of tuna populations here – particularly bigeye – with stocks seriously depleted.
A statement from Conservation International said: “This agreement is a major step toward the creation of sustainable tuna fisheries in the pacific. Thousands of Colombians rely on this industry, and this plan shows foresight which should ensure Colombian tuna has a future. It also sends a message to the world that Colombia can be a sound trading partner.”
In 2007, Colombia exported over 61 million dollars worth of tuna – 37% of its total fish exports – to the United States, Ecuador, Panama and Japan, among other countries.
“Now with the endorsement of the tuna conservation program, we need to urge the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to adopt conservation measures for the tuna stocks in that region, and in particular, the shared stocks of migratory tuna in the Pacific Ocean.”
The ban will see tuna fishing in the Eastern Pacific banned for 59 days in 2009, 62 days in 2010 and 73 days in 2011.
(Conservation International)
Plywood Mill Reopens After 8 Months
Workers at the Hoquiam Plywood mill in Washington state got back to work yesterday, eight months after the mill shut down due to the housing collapse.
Orders for plywood have come in recently and management hopes that will continue.
Economists say every timber related job can support three other jobs in the community.
(Read more or watch video at King5 TV)
Photo courtesy of Sun Star
India to Pump Millions Into Protecting Forests
India will spend some $200 million to protect its forests and will announce how much carbon emission is being captured by its green cover, the environment minister said on Friday.
Money would go into conserving and restoring unique vegetation, controlling forest fires and strengthening forestry infrastructure.
The Compliment Guys on a 10-city, Feel-Good Tour
The Compliment Guys may be visiting your town to shout out praise to all who pass by…
“I love those sunglasses!”
“I love your smile.”
“You make a cute couple!”
Two college students from Perdue University who began offering an emotional boost on campus to passersby every Wednesday are now traveling under sponsorship from Kodak to bring smiles to more people in ten cities.
It’s easy to find a few kind words from the “Free Compliments” guys on the Perdue campus. They set up shop every Wednesday afternoon, just to make people feel better, outside the Chemistry building.
Today they’re visiting New York City handing out their distinctive flattery and cheer.
Called the BrightSide Tour, it began in New Orleans. From there, the uplifting banter was delivered to Alabama, Atlanta, Charleston, Charlotte, Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. The tour ends on Aug. 7 in Rochester. Visit their website for more info.
Watch the video below from the Chicago Tribune, or read about their stop in Philly last week …
Nissan Rolls Out Electric Car for 2010
Nissan unveiled its new electric car yesterday. The Leaf, a medium-size hatchback, debuted with a top speed of 87 miles per hour (140km) and a travel range of 100 miles with seating for five adults.
“LEAF is the world’s first affordable, zero-emission car,” says the Nissa global website.
Slated for launch in late 2010 in Japan, the US, and Europe, Nissan Leaf ushers in a new era of zero – not simply reduced – emissions, based on its lithium-ion battery-powered chassis.
Mild Season for Tornado Alley
“During a remarkable 17-day lull from mid-May through early June, there were no tornado watches issued anywhere in the United States, a period that is typically the height of the season in Tornado Alley,” reported the AP this week. (July 31, 2009)
Cheap, More Reliable, Less Frequent Test to Replace Pap Smear
A new DNA test for the virus that causes cervical cancer does so much better than current methods that some gynecologists hope it will eventually replace the Pap smear in wealthy countries and cruder tests in poor ones.
Scientists say that women over 30 could drop annual Pap smears and instead have the DNA test just once every 3, 5 or even 10 years.
(Continue reading the April 6 in the New York Times) – Photo U.S. NIH
Whale Saves Drowning Diver
A beluga whale saved a drowning diver by hoisting her to the surface, carrying her leg in its mouth.
While taking part in a diving competition in an aquarium, terrified Yang Yun thought she was going to die after her legs became paralysed by crippling cramps in the arctic temperatures.
Good Samaritan Returns Lost Wallet (Video)
A Good Samaritan returned a wallet filled with cash and credit cards to a Colorado woman’s home after finding it in a restaurant where she’d eaten with her children.
Watch the video below…
Friars Trudge 300 Miles and Find Kindred Souls on the Way
After trekking along more than 300 miles of dusty Virginia country roads and suburban highways, six Franciscan friars reached Washington on Tuesday, having walked from Roanoke with only their brown robes, sandals and a belief in the kindness of strangers to feed and shelter them.
(Continue reading, with photos, in Washington Post)
Elusive Musical Gift Can be Taught to Very Young
The gift of perfect pitch — the ability to identify a note simply by hearing it — may teachable, after all.
The Eguchi Method is used by more than 800 teachers around Japan to teach perfect pitch to very young children, claiming a success rate of almost 100 percent for those who start before they are 4 years old. At the end of the training, which starts by matching chords with colored flags, a teacher will play random notes on the piano and the child, without looking, can identify them.
Obama Names Medal of Freedom Winners: Kennedy, Poitier, Hawking, 13 Others
President Obama on Thursday named the 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom. America’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
Described as “agents of change”, the trailblazers include Billie Jean King and Sandra Day O’Connor, who broke through barriers for women, Sidney Poitier and Harvey Milk, who led the way for blacks and gays, and Stephen Hawking for the disabled.
President Obama said, “These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds. Their tremendous accomplishments span fields from science to sports, from fine arts to foreign affairs. Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way.”
President Obama will award the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom to the following individuals during a White House ceremony on August 12:
* Nancy Goodman Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer organization
* Pedro José Greer, Jr., founder of Camillus Health Concern, an agency that provides medical care to over 10,000 homeless and low-income patients each year in Miami
* Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist and Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University
* U.S. Congressman, Jack Kemp, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (posthumously)
* U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy
* Billie Jean King, tennis champion and gender equality activist
* Rev. Joseph Lowery, civil rights leader and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King
* Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, the last living Plains Indian war chief, author of works on Native American history and culture
* Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official, elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (posthumously)
* Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice
* Sidney Poitier, the first African American to be nominated and win a Best Actor Academy Award
* Chita Rivera, actress, singer and dancer, the first Hispanic to receive the Kennedy Center Honor
* Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
* Janet Davison Rowley, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology and Human Genetics at the University of Chicago who discovered the first consistent chromosome translocation in a human cancer
* Bishop Desmond Tutu, leading anti-apartheid activist in South Africa
* Muhammad Yunus, global leader in anti-poverty efforts, founder of the Grameen Bank, the source of millions of dollars in “micro-loans” to poor individuals
Gaza Children Break Kite Flying Record (Video)
Thousands of Palestinian children gathered in the Gaza Strip to break the world record on the number of kites flown at the same time, in the same place.
Around 6,000 children from 119 schools in Gaza flew at least 3,000 kites simultaneously to earn the Guinness crown.
Thursday’s event was part of a UN initiative organised to restore hope and normality to the war-torn territory.
Al Jazeera’s Ayman Mohyeldin reports in this live video…
Iran Band Rocks in the U.S.
After playing clandestinely in Iran, Hypernova visited the U.S. intending to stay for a few days. They’ve been here for two years and recorded a new album.
Now they’ve founded a non-profit to help other artists in Iran.
Watch the video from Reuters… It may take a moment to load.
Beijing Closing Coal Plants in Environmental Move
Chinese Authorities have closed small coal-fired power plants — more than 7,000 generating units — continuing its efforts to clean up the pollution in China.
“The latest closures will reduce sulfur dioxide emissions that cause acid rain by an estimated 1.1 million tons and carbon dioxide output by 124 million tons per year,” reports the AP.
(Continue reading in the Miami Herald)
5-Year-Old Helps Feed 18,000 People
5-year-old Phoebe became sad after seeing a hungry person holding a cardboard sign on the street. She decided she wanted to help feed people and knew that she could raise money by recycling because her family traded cans for cash on the weekends.
She wrote to 150 friends and family members asking for their cans or donations. Bags of cans and money began pouring in.
Collecting a nickel per can she wildly exceeded her goal of raising one thousand dollars and donated it all to the San Francisco food bank.
For the full story, watch the GoInspireGo.com video below…
