Living on dusty roads has provided Scott Wade the perfect canvas for creating a new form of art. Wade uses his fingers — as well as traditional tools like brushes — to create his inspired dust art. He even uses popsicle sticks to shift the dirt into plains of inspiration. (photo) Ode to Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ and Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’...
Inspiration Point: Creating Art on Dusty Windshields
Good News from Afghanistan
The U.S. plans to double their construction workload in the next year to provide new roads, electric power and water distribution systems to the Afghan people, the U.S. Army’s top engineer said yesterday. The Army Corps of Engineers will expand their development work in the coming fiscal year beginning this month to some 600 projects, an investment of more than $1 billion, said Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock. Local Afghan children visit the site of a micro-hydro powerstation (photo)
Autism Eases, Given Body’s Own Oxytocin
Hug The Monkey is a Web site about oxytocin, the hormone of love and enjoyment:
Lewis Mehl-Madrona is an M.D. who doesn’t see autism as an incurable disease. He’s found that these kids have rich social and communicative lives, and that parents can learn the "secret language of their autistic children."
Death Rates in US Hospitals Much Improved
The largest annual study of hospital quality in America, issued this week by HealthGrades, finds death rates among Medicare patients continue to decline. The nation’s average in-hospital mortality rate improved, on average, 7.89 percent from 2003 to 2005. The degree of improvement varied widely by procedure. For instance, your risk of dying from Pneumonia improved 17.23 percent; from Coronary Bypass Surgery, 13.59 percent; and from Pancreatitis, 24.72 percent…
The Joy of Giving is Hormone Based
Neuroscience has once again shown that selfless giving has its root in human nature: People do it because it feels good.
Researchers found "the warm glow that accompanies charitable giving has a physiological basis" in the brain…
Inspiring Photos From the Iraqi Front
Eric Adolph uses the steps as an impromptu classroom to help an Iraqi boy with his English lesson in Tall Afar, Iraq, on Oct. 15, 2006. (left)
(Spc. Adolph is attached to the U.S. Army’s Bravo Company, 352nd Civil Affairs Battalion. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. DeNoris A. Mickle, U.S. Air Force)
Command Sgt. Maj. Douglas Adair hands out school supplies donated by the Boy Scouts of America during an operation to help students in a rural district of western Baghdad on Oct. 12, 2006. (right)
(Adair is with the 115th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua Ramey, 1st Armored Division Public Affairs)
Greenpeace Victory Over Pirate Fishing in Baltic Sea
Greenpeace scored a meaningful victory in its efforts to halt pirates overfishing in the North Atlantic. At least a third of the cod caught and landed in the Baltic is taken illegally, severely hampering recovery of fish populations. On October 2, with Greenpeace insistence, Russian authorities began detaining "The Trawler girls," five notorious ships docked in their port for refueling…
How Cell Phones are Helping Fishermen in India
The Peace Through Commerce blog features a story illustrating how cell phones are prospering some of the poorest people in the world, like a fishman in India who now fetches a fair price for his catch, thanks to the geographical reach of his "poor man’s telephone." (Zaadz)
Sufferer of Depression and Paranoia Finds Hope With Good News
Sufferer of Depression and Paranoia Finds Hope With Good News
and A Place to Focus
Thank you so much for your website. I suffer from depression and paranoia, I feel like I can never truly be happy as I always get this sense of encroaching doom. I am not able to let my defenses down at the risk of feeling naive.
Your website is just what I need to focus. Most of my fears are heightened by media sensationalism, which eventually boils down to being little more than hype.
We all need hope for the future, or else what do we have to live for?
Best wishes from South Africa
Mike
July 17, 2006
Man Gives Away Free Flowers in City Streets (Video)
Another inspiring video: Making people smile on a day in April, 2003, giving away free flowers to strangers on the streets of London. With lovely music, “Peace Train sounding louder… Everybody jump upon the Peace Train,” this young man steals your heart with his efforts to “Come Together in Sweet Harmony” with his fellow humans. Cheers to Hugh — We’re with you on the pollen path!
Insurance Industry Goes to Work on Global Warming
Insurers make up the world’s second-largest industry, and stand to lose the most if climate changes raise sea levels. Finally ready to address the problem, policy-writers are offering incentives to ‘go green.’ Two examples of this trend from the October 13, 2006 edition of the Christian Science Monitor…
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Commits to Plant 50 Million Trees
Enterprise Rent-A-Car will commemorate its 50th anniversary by pledging the unprecedented gift of 50 million trees to The National Arbor Day Foundation.
Enterprise has formed a partnership with the Foundation to plant 50 million trees over the next 50 years “a gift of more than $50 million”…
The U.S. Forest Service will help to plant these trees “one million of them each year” in National Forests located in the United States, Canada, and Europe to restore areas damaged by fires, storms, and disease, as well as to help expand and preserve habitats for endangered species.
The ceremonial first trees of the Pledge – several small White Pines – were placed in dirt last week by first lady Laura Bush to officially launch the program. The trees will be planted permanently in the Mark Twain National Forest in southern Missouri.
The Enterprise gift to The National Arbor Day Foundation is the largest in the charity’s history. To put this gift into perspective, there are 25,000 trees in New York’s Central Park. Planting 1 million trees a year is like planting a new Central Park every 10 days… for the next 50 years.
The rental car company reaches the 50 year milestone in February 2007.
(Arbor Day Foundation Announcements)
Honeywell to Spend $451M Cleaning Lake in NY
The giant corporation Honeywell Inc. will spend $451 million to help clean New York’s Onondaga Lake under the "Polluter Pays" principle held by federal and state environmental departments.
The lake is a sacred American Indian site where the famous chief Hiawatha once canoed, but after a century of pollution it became one of only three lakes in the country designated a federal Superfund site…
Sudan Signs Peace Deal with Eastern Rebels
A peace deal was signed between the Sudanese government and Eastern rebels who had been waging a guerilla war against targets in the country for ten years. AP reported that common ground had been reached "on three issues: wealth sharing, division of power and security arrangements." (International Herald Tribune)
Killer’s Wife Salutes Amish Mercy, Forgiveness
The widow of a man who murdered five Amish girls in their schoolhouse sent a letter to the Amish community thanking them for their compassion and support. Marie Roberts said she was “overwhelmed by the forgiveness, grace and mercy” shown to her family following the rampage on October 2, when her husband Charles killed himself and five others.
The devoutly Christian Amish families expressed their forgiveness of the shooter within hours of the tragedy and immediately set about to help Mrs. Roberts and her three young children, bringing them food and eventually setting up a fund at a local bank.
The mother and grandmother of Marian Fisher, one of the young victims, welcomed Mrs Roberts’ aunt into their home the day after the shootings, the local Lancaster newspaper reported on its website.
Mrs Roberts’ grandfather also attended Marian’s funeral. (BBC)
In a letter from the Roberts family and addressed to Amish friends, neighbors and the local community, she shared their feelings of gratitude and aching:
“Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. Gifts you’ve given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe.
“Please know that our hearts have been broken by all that has happened. We are filled with sorrow for all of our Amish neighbors whom we have loved and continue to love.
“We know there are many hard days ahead for all the families who lost loved ones, and so we will continue to put our hope and trust in the God of all comfort, as we all seek to rebuild our lives.
“Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you.
Banker to the Poor Wins Nobel Prize, Reinvests Winnings
Bangladeshi Banker to the Poor, Muhammad Yunus, and his Grameen Bank are winners of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to help lift millions of women and men from poverty, nurturing their small business dreams with tiny loans as small as $20 each.
Over the last 30 years, Yunus’ bank has issued more than five billion dollars into the hands of 6 million borrowers yielding phenomenal results. Called micro-financing, low-interest loans are offered that require no collateral, but collect repayment over a period of years after placing people in honor system support groups. Given that opportunity, even the poorest of the poor can — and will — work to create their own well-being and raise their families and communities out of poverty.
“Charity is not the answer to poverty,” Yunus said. “It only helps poverty to continue. It creates dependency and takes away the individual’s initiative to break through the wall of poverty.”
During a famine in Bangladesh, Yunus discovered that very small loans could make a significant difference in a poor person’s ability to thrive. His first loan consisted of $27 from his own pocket, which he lent to women who made bamboo furniture in a rural village near the university where he worked. The woman used the money to buy bamboo, lifting her craftsmanship to a profitable level, breaking the bonds of not only her poverty, but her workers as well. The loan was repaid in full.
30 years and more than $5.7 billion in loans later, Yunus is just getting started helping the poor. His long-term vision is no less than the elimination of poverty from the world. He told reporters he would use part of his share of the $1.4 million award money to create a company that would make low-cost, high-nutrition food for the poor. The rest of his share would go toward setting up an eye hospital for the poor in Bangladesh.
Muhammad Yunus was born in Bangladesh in 1940. He studied Economics at Dhaka University and obtained his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University in the US when he was 29 years old. Three years later he moved back to his hometown in Bangladesh, where he joined Chittagong University as a professor of economics. In 1976, Yunus founded the Grameen Bank to make loans to poor Bangladeshis.
The success of the Grameen model has inspired similar efforts throughout the developing world and even in industrialized nations like the United States, where the PLAN project is helping people start small businesses in Dallas, Texas.
The Grameen model of micro financing has been emulated in 23 countries and many of the projects have maintained the emphasis toward lending specifically to women. More than 96% of Grameen loans have gone to women, who suffer disproportionately from poverty and who are more likely than men to devote their earnings to serving the needs of the entire family.
Muhammad Yunus, the author of Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, is the first Bangladeshi to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
FURTHER READING
Times Online tells the story of one Grameen borrower who, with her $50.00 loan, bought a cow. Now she owns a restaurant and three shops and her family no longer goes to sleep hungry
An NBC News story, Richly Deserved Prize for Banker to the Poor, has some great storytelling describing Yunus’ work.
Bono Joins Oprah, Armani, Apple and Gap Raising Millions for Africa
Bono announced today the U.S. launch of (RED), the inspiring initiative that allows Americans to help fight AIDS in Africa by doing what they do best: Shopping! Famous brands like Apple will now be selling special edition products, like iPod, in RED with portions of sales going directly to help AIDS survivors in Africa.
Oprah joined Bono to shop for new RED products along Chicago’s magnificent mile. Bono will help help launch the campaign on Winfrey’s show.
Gap, Motorola, Converse, Giorgio Armani and Apple all launched an array of RED goods in the U.S. this week and will be donating up to fifty percent of profits from sales of the items. MTV has signed on as a media sponsor to help build brand awareness…
“AIDS in Africa is an emergency. When you buy a RED product, the company gives money to buy pills that will keep someone in Africa alive,” Bono said. “The idea is simple, the products are sexy, and the campaign is consumer friendly because you can help just by shopping.”
Kennedy clan member, Bobby Shriver, is the chief executive officer of (RED). “With (PRODUCT) RED, consumers can tap into the power of commerce to do something amazing and unprecedented. Our partners have created incredible products that consumers will want and need, which is the beauty of (PRODUCT) RED. We’re not asking anyone for a donation or for them to change their behavior. People buy things every day. But now, when they buy RED, they will look good and do good — and that’s good business.”
Gap is donating fifty percent of the profits from sales of their RED items, a collection of t-shirts, hoodies, jeans and accessories — 40 items — displayed in an all- RED corner of the store. One vintage-style T-shirt from the collection is being manufactured in Lesotho, Africa from 100 percent African cotton. The T- shirt is made for both women and men and will be available in red, as well as a range of other classic colors. (GNN story on RED textile maker)
Additionally, Gap is launching a powerful new advertising campaign featuring an incredible cast of celebrities photographed by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz. The campaign consists of compelling images of Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Garner, Chris Rock, Penelope Cruz, Christy Turlington, Don Cheadle, Mary J. Blige, Dakota Fanning and Apollo Ohno.
Motorola is donating $17 from each combination RED mobile phone and Bluetooth RED headset purchased, to benefit The Global AIDS Fund, which is the specific program PRODUCT RED will benefit.
The Converse (PRODUCT) RED Collection includes four exclusive, limited edition shoes designed by U.K. designer Giles Deacon, including a Chuck Taylor® All Star® Hi-top with 10 percent of net wholesale sales going directly to the Global Fund. In addition, Converse will be introducing MAKE MINE RED, a unique feature only available online offers shoppers the unique option to custom design their Chuck Taylor shoes to support the (RED) initiative.
Giorgio Armani is contributing an average of 40 percent of its gross profit margin from sales of its RED clothing and accessory line.
And, today Apple introduced its (PRODUCT) RED iPod nano Special Edition in a beautiful red aluminum enclosure. Apple will contribute $10 from the sale of each iPod nano sold and will also offer a $25 iTunes (PRODUCT) RED gift card for purchase at Apple’s retail and online stores next month. Apple sales alone are expected to raise millions of dollars for the campaign that has already contributed multiple millions to the Global Fund initiative.
The (PRODUCT) RED collections are designed to be compelling parts of the brands’ overall offerings and are not priced at a premium, making it easy for consumers to choose (RED) over non-(RED) items. RED products and services, like American Express cards, were launched in the UK earlier in 2006. (See May 17 GNN story on RED activity in UK)
For more information about (RED) please visit www.joinred.com.
Brussel Sprouts and Cabbage Kill Breast Cancer
Breast cancer patients should be given a diet of Brussels sprouts and cabbages, along with chemotherapy, according to new research showing that a particular molecule in the vegetables can make tumours more vulnerable to chemotherapy drugs. And, it could mean lower doses of chemotherapy drugs for women... (The Daily Mail)
Driver Hailed a Hero After Moving Car Rescue
A VAN driver is being hailed a hero after saving the life of a motorist who had a fit while driving along a busy highway. Thanks to Tony Smith’s quick thinking, the driver escaped possible death after Tony used his van to slow the car to safety. (Dorset Daily Echo, England)
New Hope for an ‘Untreatable’ Mental Illness
For the first time, a major study has shown that a high percentage of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder can achieve full recovery and emotional health. The disorder is found in 1–2.5 percent of the general population — about 5.8 to 8.7 million Americans, most of whom are young women, and until recent years has been considered untreatable…