The BBC reports that scientists found evidence behind what many tea drinkers already know — a regular cuppa can help you recover more quickly from everyday life stresses…
Man Wins Nobel Prize Like His Father
Roger Kornberg, a biochemist at Stanford University, won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for work with DNA and genes… just like his father before him, Arthur Kornberg, who shared the 1959 Nobel medicine prize for studies involving genetic information… The discovery of this year’s chemisty laureate is crucial to unlocking the medical promise of stem cells, and of understanding diseases, such as cancer. The win completes an American sweep of the science prizes, a feat that occurred only twice before, in 1946 and 1976. (Wash Post)
Google Launches Literacy Project with UN
Google along with the United Nations have launched a portal to connect literacy organisations around the world. "The Literacy Project enables teachers, organisations, and those interested in literacy to use the internet to search for and share literacy information in digitised books and academic articles, and through blogs, videos and groups." (BBC – submitted by Dave)
Infant saved from plunge
A Denver woman walking to her car came upon the unimaginable: A crying eight-month-old baby dangling off a balcony three stories above a cement sidewalk, hanging on by one hand. "I thought someone was on the other side of the railing holding on to her," Mary Bussey said. But it was the girl’s tiny fist clinging to the railing… (Rocky Mountain News – Submitted by Fred)
Court Orders No Drilling in Arctic Wetlands
Thirteen percent of public land, critical to caribou and other wildlife, will remain closed to drilling. A federal judge in Alaska last week ordered the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to keep 590,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land in northwest Alaska off-limits to oil and gas drilling. The acreage falls within what the U.S. government has dubbed the National Petroleum Reserve…
Prisoners Rehabilitate Death-Row Dogs
Having dogs in prison helps reduce violence among inmates. It’s like therapy for the men, especially when they’re given the job of training homeless dogs for adoption. Since August 2004, the Safe Harbor Prison Dog Program has rescued 1,200 shelter animals destined for an early death — bringing them to prison for training as pets and moving them on to adopted homes…
Dell Launches Free Recycling in U.S.
Dell has been hailed as one of the most environmentally-conscious computer gadget makers. Now they are the first manufacturer to offer free computer recycling to anyone owning a Dell — whether or not you are purchasing a new one. Friday, the company launched the program via a simple web page…
Anyone in the US — Dell has been doing this in Canada and Europe for years — can enter a product identification number online and be able to print a pre-paid shipping label or schedule a home pick-up of their Dell device at no charge. The best part is that the new program does not require people to purchase a new product.
U.S. Swaps Guatemalan Debt for Forest Protection
“The United States will forgive about 20 percent of the $122 million debt owed by Guatemala so the money can be used to protect threatened plants and wildlife.” It’s thanks to a 1998 law, the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, “which allows debt owed to the United States to be invested in protecting the environment.” $24 million will now serve to protect species and land. (Oct 2, 2006, Reuters)
El Niño Tames Hurricane Season, Brings Early End
Hurricane forecasters who predicted another record-breaking year for tropical storms were wildly off the mark as the season is winding down with only one more hurricane expected. A welcome relief for storm-weary coastal residents was the unexpected and speedy development of the El Niño warm water phenomenon in the eastern Pacific, faster than almost anyone had predicted, putting an end to hurricane formation in the Atlantic, said William Gray, a noted forecaster at Colorado State University…
Amish Parents Forgive Gunman, Befriend his Family
After a man burst into a Pennsylvania schoolhouse Monday and shot five young girls to death, the Amish community that was left to deal with the tragedy expressed a range of emotions, but anger was not one of them.
Rita Rose, a local midwife and friend who worked amid the Amish community, told NBC that the mother of one of the victims, a 13 year-old girl, has already forgiven the gunman.
They all have.
“She holds no ill will toward the shooter. She’s very forgiving. Christ forgave us, and we in turn forgive, and they honestly have forgiven,” she said. “Even last night, there was no anger toward the shooter.”
The night of the shooting a mental health team arrived at a local firehouse where a gathering of 40 Amish neighbors came to find information and answers to questions about dealing with trauma.
The psychologist that arrived that night was surprised that they were not only talking about supporting the families of the victims, they were also discussing ways they could help the family of the killer, a man who lived nearby but who was not Amish.
He told NPR, “They were talking about how to support his family (the shooter, who killed himself had a wife and three children). They were planning to send a contingent over, perhaps bringing over some food. They had already gotten to the place of forgiveness.”
In the LA Times was this account of the Amish and their reactions:
Rather than dwell on the victims, “though this is a close-knit community, where few are strangers,” Amish residents spoke of their concern for the Roberts family; their sorrow that a man could become so unhinged, so alienated…
“I wish someone could have helped him out, poor soul. It’s obvious that something was troubling him.”
An Amish woman who gave her name as Irene also expressed compassion for the gunman. “I am very thankful,” she said, “that I was raised to believe you don’t fight back. You should forgive.”
The shooter’s wife Marie Roberts released a statement Monday night to the media saying: “The man who did this today is not the Charlie that I’ve been married to for almost 10 years. My husband is loving, supportive, thoughtful, all the things you’d always want and more. Our hearts are broken, our lives are shattered, and we grieve for the innocence and lives that were lost today.”
NPR Story on All Things Considered audio archives
LA Times coverage
Video interview with Rita Rose (and story) on MSNBC
Virgin’s Branson Launches Plan to Cut Plane Emissions
The Virgin Group airline chairman and British billionaire Richard Branson has proposed a plan that would cut aviation emissions and greenhouse gases at busy airports by millions of tons of CO2 world-wide. The idea, which was already endorsed by London’s Gatwick Airport, is a system of ‘starting grids’ set up to provide planes with towing from the gates by small tugs before takeoff…
Food Illnesses Dramatically Declined in 10 Years
Thanks to better industry controls and inspections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that food in general is safer now than at any other time in the last decade, with illness occurring at record-low rates. Improvements in the meat and poultry industry have greatly contributed to the success…
New Orleans is Back
When the New Orleans Saints kicked off against the Atlanta Falcons before a nationwide audience Monday night, the moment signaled more than just the re-opening of the iconic Louisiana Superdome and the largest audience in ESPN history. It was a jumpstart for the city’s critical tourism industry, in which the 2006 fall convention schedule, sporting events and return of the cruise ships are long-awaited highlights.
Monday night’s dome re-opening, including the pre-game concerts by U2 and Green Day and a coin toss by former U.S. President Bush, featured an audience of nearly 70,000, a Saints victory by 20 points, and an estimated $20 million being pumped into the city’s economy…
Teacher Keeps Wealth Secret, Donates $4.3M on Death to Conservancy
Roberta Langtry, an unassuming school teacher in Toronto, hid her riches — gained through shrewd savings and investments in stocks and bonds. But she always gave large donations to those in need. Now, after having made her transition last year at age 89, her donation of $4.3 million to the Nature Conservancy of Canada — the largest ever received by the group — will purchase acreage she held dear, and preserve it for generations of school teachers to come. (Globe and Mail)
US Museum Returns Long Lost Italian Treasures
Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts returned 13 ancient Italian artifacts to their rightful country after seeing evidence that the items had been dug up illegally and smuggled out of Italy. MFA director Malcolm Rogers said he was proud to be "doing the decent thing.” With thanks, Italy will loan other art treasures to Boston. (AP w/ photo at Wash Post)
NY Subway Crime Dips to Lowest Rate in 37 Years
New York subway crime has plummeted more than 37 percent in 2006. That’s on top of the decrease in 2005 of about 5.5 percent. Robberies were down 21 percent in 2006. Grand larcenies declined 46 percent and assaults fell 55 percent, NYPD data showed.
Marriott Hotel Composting 1 Million Pounds Annually in SF
Turning food waste…into wine? In a roundabout way, that is what is happening to the composted food scraps and other items generated at the 1,498-room San Francisco Marriott hotel. The real story here is not the wine but the effort Randy Nelson and the other associates at the San Francisco Marriott have made to divert as much food waste from landfills as possible…
Bus Filters Remove Tons of Soot from San Francisco Air
San Francisco area residents can breathe cleaner air in the years ahead, as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) nears completion of a historic program to clean up the exhaust from more than 1,700 diesel buses. Through the Clean Diesel Bus Program, the city buses from 13 Bay Area transit districts are being retrofitted with diesel exhaust filters…
Iran and US: Similar Presidents with Common Self-Interest
American Journalist David Ignatius sat down with the presidents of both Iran and the United States last week and found similarity both in the positions the two men occupy now and those they hope to move toward. He concludes the potential for war is there, but also the common ground of their aims and the "bedrock of mutual self-interest." Stephen Coulthart is a recent graduate from the State University of New York in political science. He believes the two leaders, who may at first seem to be polar opposites, actually share similar traits in their rise to power, governing styles and religious conviction. Among these commonalities we may find a way toward peaceful resolution of our differences…
‘Free Hugs’ Campaign Video Sweeps Web
This video, posted on You Tube four days ago, documents a “Free Hugs” campaign staged in a busy pedestrian square in Sydney, Australia.
Juan Mann’s sole mission is to hug strangers to brighten their lives.
Police officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign stopped. Then, a surprising and heartwarming reprise for the “hugs” man.
