— News —

June 4, 2009  Women delighted at Obama’s address
Siraj Wahab | Arab News
ALKHOBAR: For women across the Muslim world, US President Barack Obama’s historic address from Cairo was nothing short of a blessing.
He acknowledged his respect for their personal choices and at the same time underscored his belief that their choices should be personal.   more

June 1, 2009  Bob Hope honored with postage stamp
Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press
Bob Hope is making one more appearance with the troops.
The comedian famed for his tireless travel to entertain American service men and women around the world is being honored with a 44-cent postage stamp today in ceremonies aboard the USS Midway in San Diego.  more

May 31, 2009  Blind pianist inspires judges
Karen Van Rooyen  arlier this month, a six-year-old blind pianist stole many hearts with her rendition of French composer Claude Debussy’s piano suite, Clair de lune.  more

May 27, 2009  Tomorrow Night 6:00 EST- The First Broadcast of Motivation Nation Live!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Motivation-Nation
Motivation Nation is a show about how to get motivated and stay motivated! Hosted by professional Speaker, Author, Trainer and Consultant Shawn Doyle

May 26, 2009   Confidence as Important as IQ in Exam Success
Intellectual Confidence Is Inherited and Independent From Actual Intelligence, Study Shows
By EWEN CALLAWAY
Do you think you're smarter than most? Chances are, your children will feel the same way about themselves.  A new study of thousands of twins suggests that intellectual confidence is genetically inherited, and independent from actual intelligence.   more

May 24, 2009  Inspiring lives told in books
By KENDAL RAUTZHAN, Herald-Tribune Columnist
People who do great things are an inspiration for everyone. Well-written children's nonfiction books supply the mind with knowledge, ideas and perhaps ultimately the very catalyst that propels individuals to seek out their own strengths and gifts.
The books reviewed today focus on just that -- people worth learning about. There are countless more such books worthy of your time and attention. Just ask your local librarian and book seller for further suggestions. After all, inspiration is a very good thing.   more

May 23, 2009  Neb. boy, 6, takes wheel after dad passes out
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. – A 6-year-old boy grabbed the wheel of his family's pickup truck when his father passed out from low blood sugar, keeping the vehicle from crashing until an officer could bring it to a halt, police said.
Tustin Mains was in the back seat with his 3-year-old brother Sunday when his father, Phillip Mains, slumped over at the wheel, the boy told police. The family had been driving home from a restaurant.
"I remember getting up to about the mall — that was about 6:45," Mains told The North Platte Telegraph. "The next thing I remember was waking up to the officer and paramedics, and it was 8:15."   more

May 23, 2009  Novel campaign by self-help group to create awareness on Ganges river pollution
Varanasi, May 23 - ANI: A self-help group from Varanasi on Friday sent 543 utensils filled with water of river Ganges to the national capital to raise awareness on river pollution.
Ganga, which is revered as holy, also happens to be one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
Organisers said that the 'Save the River Ganga' campaign was to enlist support of the 543 newly elected lawmakers in parliament.   more

May 21, 2009  Top billionaires hold secret meeting in NY
In a quiet meeting closed to the news media and the public, Bill Gates, David Rockefeller Sr., Oprah Winfrey and other leading philanthropists met in New York this month to discuss ways to promote efforts to solve growing social problems in America and abroad.
Together, the philanthropists in the room have committed a total of more than $72.5 billion to charitable causes since 1996, according to Chronicle of Philanthropy tallies.
The unusual event was held May 5 at Rockefeller University and was organized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Among the high-profile participants were Ted Turner, Warren E. Buffett, George Soros and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. (All of those philanthropists have appeared at one time on The Chronicle’s ranking of America’s most-generous donors.)   more

May 21, 2009  Free To Be Ignored
By james.ledbetter - The Big Money
In the late 1960s, two separate groups—the Diggers in San Francisco and the Yippies in New York—began operating
"free stores." These were places where people could come to get things they needed—food, medicine, clothes, and, in some cases, cash—for free. These were designed simultaneously as parodies of, and alternatives to, the usual American consumer materialism. The stores were not around for very long because (at least in New York) people would come in and simply take everything they could put their hands on. Such predictable incursions were contrary to the spirit of the enterprise, but people who set themselves against market principles are ill-positioned to enforce "limit one per customer."   more

May 19, 2009   Sketching success  
By Dianna Marder, Inquirer Staff Writer
Jerry Pinkney, who grew up in Philadelphia and went on to achieve acclaim as a children's book illustrator, is returning to be honored at the Celebration of Black Writing Festival.
s a boy in 1951, he worked part time in a newsstand outside Rowell's department store at Germantown and Chelten, where, from behind the counter, he'd sketch the displays in the shop window.   
Now, that 12-year-old sketch artist is an internationally acclaimed illustrator with more than 100 children's books to his credit. You've likely seen his work on the cover of Nightjohn, by Gary Paulsen, or JD, by Mari Evans.   more

May 17, 2009   Sam Walton's steps for success
2 comments by Harvey Mackay
Sam Walton, legendary founder of Walmart, had simple and straightforward rules for running a successful business.
Take note that even in this tough economy, Walmart is prospering.
1) Commit to your business. When you have passion, you speak with conviction, act with authority and present with zeal.   more

May 17, 2009  ‘Inspiring’ project urges citizens to engage the state
Santham Pillay
A project aimed at inspiring South Africans to shape a brighter future was launched in Johannesburg last week, 15 years after it was conceived.
The Dinokeng Scenarios is a South African initiative that was created in 1994 but got off the ground only last year with the formation of teams to drive it throughout the country.
The Dinokeng Scenarios has created three examples of possible futures for South Africa, with the aim of making a better country by 2020.   more

May 16, 2009  The future of the book turns a page
E-readers improve. Features grow. E-book sales explode. And the next phase of reading comes into view.
By Gloria Goodale  |  Staff Writer for The Christian Science Monitor
Westwood, Calif. - Poetry is in the air, says poet Barbara Hamby as she leaves the stage at the recent Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“It’s all going digital,” she says with a touch of, well, poetics, waving her hand toward the cavalcade of brightly festooned booths that dot the sun-dappled university lawn.
While those cloth-and-paper bound volumes known as “books” have been edging into the digisphere for some time now, the transformation of ink into electrons has reached a critical mass, say researchers, authors, and publishers.   more

May 16, 2009  Kate's passion is to inspire others
By Farhana Haque
A TOP entrepreneur has been chosen as a national ambassador to inspire other women into business.
Kate Hardcastle, of Holywell Green, a partner at business mentoring service Insight with Passion, is now one of around 1,000 Spark ambassadors picked to tell their inspiring stories through events and school visits.   more

May 14, 2009  Inspiring Heroes — InnerView: Martha Hitchcock takes fundraising personally
By LAURIE KAVENAUGH
CHICO — Her mother says if someone's having a bad day, it's a good idea to have a chat with Martha Hitchcock because she inspires others to do well. Many of them consider her their hero.
Hitchcock, 33, is master's student at Chico State University. Although she's on track to completing her education and starting a career in social work, it hasn't been easy for her to get to this place in her life.
She's had a few challenges, including 21 surgeries. One of those surgeries at the age of 20 took away her sight.   more

May 13, 2009  Hospital ‘feel-good’ job
Katie Mercer, Canwest News Service
Doug Heuring’s career has taken him many places, but none as rewarding as working in a hospital.
"My biggest thrill in life now is just helping people," the Red Seal-certified plumber said. "There are neighbours, kids whose fathers and mothers are in the hospital. It makes you feel good if you can make their stay a little more comfortable and safer."   more

May 12, 2009  Internet Program Helps Problem Drinkers
Dutch study finds Web-based self-help site reduces consumption to lower risk levels
(HealthDay News) --A new Dutch study finds that the Internet may be able to help problem drinkers change their bad habits.
About 19 percent of Netherlands residents who used a special interactive self-help Web site over six months to deal with their excessive alcohol consumption said they lowered their weekly drinking to what was considered more "low-risk" levels, a survey found.   more

May 12, 2009  Study: Brains beats beauty when it comes to career success
Nashville Business Journal:  Brains beats beauty when it comes to career success, according to a new University of Florida study.
"While beauty matters to career success, brains matter most," said Timothy Judge, a UF management professor whose research is published in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology. "If you were somehow able to choose from being smart, good-looking or self-confident, our study shows that, while you'd want all three qualities, brains are the most important to economic success."   more

May 11, 2009  Top teachers inspire, encourage, enthrall students
Language arts ruled this year's Metro Teacher of the Year awards, with reading and English teachers nabbing top honors at the high, middle and elementary school levels.
These winners will receive $200 and will go on to represent Metro Nashville at the statewide Teacher of the Year competition.  more

May 11, 2009  US homeless couple marry in dream wedding
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The groom wore a black tuxedo, a damask-rose pink waistcoat and tie, and an ear-to-ear smile.
He picked out his wedding outfit at a mall in Virginia -- his first time ever in one of the sprawling shopping centers that are monuments to consumerism in the suburban landscape across the United States.
During his 14 years living homeless on the streets of Washington, Dante White, 28, never realized that so much opulence existed. Nor had he had much luck in love in his life, having been thrown out of his mother's home when he was just 14.   more

May 10, 2009  Food Drive a Big Success
by Amy Erickson
The shelves of Maine's food pantries will soon be better stocked...thanks to the generous folks who took part in the National Letter Carriers Food Drive Saturday.
The event is in its 17-th year.
It's the largest one-day food drive in the country.
Letter carriers left notices in mailboxes this week, encouraging folks to leave out bags of non-perishable foods.
On Saturday, they collected the goods by the ton.
Then, volunteers sorted it all at the Hampden Postal plant.
Everything collected in our area will stay local.
<"all the food that's donated in a particular area stays in pantries in those areas. the food is collected locally so for example, food that's collected in calais, maine stays in calais maine for families who need it there.">
Since 1993, Letter Carriers have collected more than three quarters of a billion pounds of food for the hungry.

May 9, 2009  St. Jude scientists help develop a vaccine for influenza A (H1N1)
As the world watches the developing story of the influenza A (H1N1) outbreak, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is working collaboratively with other research centers to help develop an effective vaccine.
The St. Jude Division of Virology in the Department of Infectious Diseases received the virus earlier this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The first activities are to develop vaccine seeds and reagents. Reagents are needed for detection and also for future research. Vaccine seeds should be approximately four weeks away. The scientists will also be exploring whether existing vaccines against seasonal viruses protect against this virus. The combination of efforts across the hospital will involve about 50 employees.  more

A World Record Breaking Run for Charity
Author and therapist Richard Singer (Eastern Wisdom for Your Soul and Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds) has signed an agreement with the Guiness Book of World Records to attempt breaking the current 27 year old record by crossing the United States in 46 days on foot. He will be benefiting several charities representing different aspects of life. In addition, 50% of his book sales profit will also be donated to charity. Rick hopes to raise $1 million dollars and show the world what one person can do to make lasting changes.
Join Rick as he sets out on August 16, 2009 to run from Los Angeles to NYC to raise a money for charity which includes Indra Loka Animal Sanctuary, Stay Focused, Choice Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center Damon and Stella Foundation for Mental Health,and the Goodeed Health.