A new cafe concept is taking hold in Japan. Paying by the hour, stressed-out workers get a chance to play with friendly cats in a bid to unwind from the toils of everyday life in the big city.
Watch the AFP video below, or at Clip Syndicate…
Cats Provide the Perfect Answer to Combat Stress — by the Hour (Video)
Porter Rescues Threatened Murals From JFK Airport
As a baggage porter at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Darren Hoggard spent slow days over 30 years gazing at the scenes on the walls of the American Airlines terminal.
Unexpectedly he learned the paintings would be no more, slated for demolition in 2007 along with the rest of the terminal. (Above: the JFK mural, Rejoicing and Festival of the Americas, by Carybé)
The news hit Hoggard so hard, it showed on his face, and a passerby stopped to ask what was wrong. Coincidentally, the passerby, Beatrice Esteve, was familiar with the murals’ artist, who hailed from her native Brazil. She vowed to do whatever she could to help Hoggard.
(Continue reading the AP story at MSNBC)
Afghan School for Girls Succeeds Despite Lack of Walls and Books (with Video)
This Afghanistan girls’ school successfully prepares students for University but without any roof, walls, library, or many books… until now.
Thanks to an American charity, A Little Help, this school in Badakhshan province now has an entire library from grades one through twelve, lab equipment to help teach Biology, Chemistry and Physics, and several huge tents to keep the students out of the rain and hot sun.
Badakhshan province has the highest number of girls attending Kabul University, in part due to the Naswani No 2. girls school in Feyzabad. Hundreds of girls and pre-schoolers study hard despite the lack of classrooms and teaching materials for everyone.
Watch the video below, from the YouTube- Good News Network channel (click to subscribe to the YouTube channel), or read the entire story at the bottom…
Wedding Party Boogies Down the Aisle (Video)
In a church in St. Paul, Minnesota this month, Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson vowed not to have a boring wedding. Instead of a standard entrance walking down the aisle, they and their wedding party performed a choreographed dance sequence to the electro-pop song Forever, by Chris Brown.
The YouTube sensation below, has received 1.3 million views in five days and landed the couple on the Today Show.
Congratulations to the bride and groom…
India Court Releases $2.3 Billion for Forests
The Supreme court of India has released $2.3 billion of frozen funds to be used to boost forest density and wildlife habitats, the Ministry of Environment and Forests said.
The money would improve the tree cover on 14.8 million acres (60,000 sq km) of degraded forest land.
Increasing the number of trees on Earth is the best tool for reducing levels of carbon dioxide currently in the air, the main contributor to global warming.
World’s First Zero-Emissions Hydrogen Power Plant Coming to New Mexico
Energy technology company Jetstream Wind recently announced plans that it will develop the world’s first sustainable zero-emissions power plant. The plant will use power from renewable resources such as wind and solar power, which will then be converted into hydrogen and transferred back to the grid as available power, according to the New Mexico-based company.
Autoworkers Transform Rust Belt Factory into Wind Power Assembly Line
Innovative backyard wind turbines are the result of years of Silicon Valley research, yet they are being manufactured in former auto plants by former auto workers, in the heart of the rust belt.
The old skills have been applied to new products, resuscitating a city in Michigan and establishing a model for job retraining in the 21st century.
Watch the video, or read more from ABC News and 20/20 …
Dow Breaks 9,000 for First Time in 6 Months After Home Sales Surge
US Stocks rose 2.1% to close at 9,069.29 today as bright reports on home sales and corporate earnings bolster beliefs that the recession is lifting.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped above 9,000 today for the first time since early January as favorable home sales data combined with another round of encouraging earnings reports to boost optimism about the economy.
Investors were buoyed by news that sales of previously owned homes rose 3.6% in June — more than expected. (Read more in LA Times)
US Restores Texas Wetlands Out of Toxic Stew
More than 2,500 acres of coastal wetlands have been restored and enhanced in Port Arthur, Texas, as a result of a cooperative agreement between Chevron, the polluter, and federal and state natural resource agencies. The clean-up efforts not only provide beneficial habitats for the fish and wildlife of the area, but also will expand outdoor recreation areas for the public.
Chevron Corporation was forced to restore the habitats after toxic releases from its refinery operations decades ago. They cooperated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas General Land Office to fund the 4 square miles (1000 hectares) of restoration.
Healthy coastal wetlands are particularly valuable in providing a buffer as tropical storms and hurricanes move onshore.
U.S. Solar Market has Improved Markedly in Six Weeks
Solar panel makers have suffered this year from a falloff in demand due to a lack of available financing for projects but the U.S. market for solar power has improved dramatically in the last six weeks, says the head of solar panel maker Yingli Green Energy.
“Increasingly attractive returns on solar projects have attracted more debt financing from banks in recent weeks, while the Obama administration earlier this month unveiled guidelines that will allow companies to apply for $3 billion in government grants for renewable energy projects.”
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He also said that residential sales of solar panels have remained “rather robust” throughout the economic downturn. (Continue reading in Reuters)
Venice’s First Female Gondolier Pushes off into History
As a little girl in Venice, Giorgia Boscolo was forever bugging her father to let her ride with him in his gondola. While her sisters played with dolls, she would beg him for a turn with the oar.
Now, the 23-year-old mother of two calmly took her place in one of Venice’s storied gondolas and gently steered the sleek black boat straight into the annals of history.
(Continue reading in the L.A. Times)
(Photo: Venice gondolier, GNU free license)
First Chinese-American Woman Enters Congress
California Democrat Judy Chu became the first Chinese-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress, winning a largely Hispanic district with 61 percent of the vote in a special election to replace Hilda Solis who was appointed as Labor Secretary.
In an audio interview with NPR, the newly-minted Congresswoman talked about her journey from school board member to Capitol Hill and winning a district of majority Hispanic voters in the 32nd Congressional District of California. (Listen here)
First Double Arm Transplant Recipient Regains Mobility
The recipient of the world’s first complete double arm transplant scratched his head and back and beamed at his doctors Wednesday, saying he was on the path to independence a year after the pioneering operation.
Farmer Karl Merk lost his arms just below the shoulder in a 2002 combine harvester accident.
Kids Banned From Pool Get Disney Trip from Tyler Perry
Hollywood actor and producer Tyler Perry was so disturbed after hearing that 65 Pennsylvania children were refused pool privileges at a swim club that he decided to treat them all to a Disney World vacation.
“He wanted to do something nice for them and let them know that for every negative experience, there are people out there who want them to succeed regardless of the color of their skin,” said Keleigh Thomas, Perry’s publicist.
Mr. Perry is paying for a 3-day holiday in Florida for all the kids from the day care center near Philadelphia, including all transportation, hotel, admissions and food costs.
Dramatic Drop in UK Deaths from Most Common Cancers
The death toll from three of the UK’s most common cancers has dropped to its lowest level in almost 40 years, according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK this month.
Mortality rates for breast, bowel, and male lung cancer are at their lowest since 1971.
The latest figures from 2007 showed breast cancer deaths plummeting 36 percent since their peak in 1989.
From a high in 1992, bowel cancer deaths dropped 31 percent.
As more people have given up smoking, the number of men dying each year from lung cancer since 1979 has dropped dramatically to 19,637 deaths in 2007 – an improvement in mortality rates of 53 percent.
Samsung to Invest $4.3 Billion to Become Green Leader
The world’s largest chipmaker will invest $4.3 billion in R&D and facilities development to make the South Korean company a leading eco-friendly company by 2013.
More than half the investment will be spent to develop products which cause less damage to the environment, and the remainder on energy-saving technologies and the environmental improvement of manufacturing facilities, Samsung Electronics said in a statement.
Watch the video below, or read the story from Reuters.
Defying Slump, 13 States Insure More Children
Despite budgets ravaged by the recession, at least 13 states have invested millions of dollars this year to cover 250,000 more children with subsidized government health insurance.
The expansions have come in the five months since Congress and President Obama used the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program to vastly increase its funding and encourage states to increase enrollment. The federal government covers the vast majority of the cost.
(Continue reading in the New York Times)
Indian Saint Tours North America Harnessing Power of Hugs
True bliss is on tour.
Get a hug from spiritual leader Amma – one of more than 26 million she’s given throughout her adult life – and, according to her followers, it has the power to change your life.
Amma’s reach is unquestionable. Known as South India’s “hugging saint,” she has raised millions, having pledged $1 million to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and another $46 million to victims of the 2004 tsunami. The hugs are free, and all in a day’s work.
“It’s an expression of my love for people,” says Amma through her Swami interpreter at one of her tour appearances in a Toronto hotel.
Photo courtesy of Amma.org
Hero Brothers Pulled Boy, 4, Out of Burning SUV
Firefighting brothers John and Joel Rechlitz arrived on the scene within minutes of the accident which flipped the SUV on its side. A group of good Samaritans were already at work, struggling to free the family from the blazing vehicle — but it took guts and a combined 29 years of firefighting experience to save the life of the 4-year-old boy trapped inside by his car seat.
They took turns trying to wrest the child free from his seat restraint, both burning their hands badly in the process. Another quick-thinking neighbor had a garden hose at the ready to douse the boy in cold water to stop the burning.
He is in critical condition in an area hospital.
“It just shows the true spirit of this city,” Milwaukee Police Lt. Mark Wroblewsk said. “Everybody’s willing to help.”
(Continue reading and see the brothers at NBC’s Today)
Photo courtesy of John Stone, eyeclectic.net
UN Gives Technological Boost to 500,000 Albanian School Students
Almost half a million Albanian students now have access to modern computer laboratories, high-speed Internet and training in information technology skills thanks to a new United Nations-backed initiative aimed at improving their employment prospects.
As a result of the “e-School” program, some 379 high schools and 800 elementary schools across Albania have been equipped with up-to-date computer technology, benefiting some 450,000 students and 25,000 teachers. (UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis greets Albanian students, UNDP photo)
