The body of Muslim woman, killed in a German courtroom by a man convicted of insulting her religion, has been taken back to her native Egypt for burial.
The New Economics Foundation looked at 143 countries that are home to 99 percent of the world’s population and devised an equation that weighed life expectancy and people’s happiness against their environmental impact.
By that formula, Costa Rica is the happiest, greenest country in the world, just ahead of the Dominican Republic.
Latin American countries did well in the survey, occupying nine of the top 10 spots.
Australia scored third place, but other major Western nations did poorly, with Britain coming in at 74th place and the United States at 114th.
The New Economics Foundation’s measurements found Costa Ricans have a life expectancy of 78.5 years, and 85 percent of the country’s residents say they are happy and satisfied with their lives.
Participants of the European LWF Global Training for Young Leaders
A contribution by Daan Leker and Moritz Gräper:
„Seigneur, nous arrivons…“
Today was already departure-day. Nine young adults from all over Europe (Sweden, France, Slovakia, Chech Republic, Finnland, Poland, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Germany) had been together for one week. No one knew what to expect!
During the week we shared thoughts, ideas, passions and problems. We supported each other in developing projects for our local contexts, wich was the goal oft he LWF young Leadership Course. And got to know each others cultures. One thing is for sure: Time just flew by.
The LWF program was divided into different phases. After we had gotten to know each other better, we started by analyzing our views on our home context, to sharpen our goals and talk about things that need change.
In between working on our projects we also had bible studies wich where presented to us in interactive ways. We discovered about the gender differences between our cultures and learned how to speak as apostles. Which was really interesting. During the week it was really good to see that everyone one was entitled to their own opinions and was able to speak freely! We also had worship every day, which we all prepared. We learned songs in French, German, Swedish, Russian and all the other languages. This was a bit difficult sometimes. And we played games in the morning to wake up, most of which included paper towels.
We were exposed to Russian diakonal work in a soup kitchen to get a feeling of social issues in Moscow. We helped passing out soup, salad and tea to 60 to 80 year olds. These people came tot he soup kitchen almost every other day and from all over Moscow. It was impressive to see and it really made an impact on all of us to see that these people, who al ready have a whole life behind them, didnt have enough money to eat. It was a an impressive day.
The kitchen was run by an Etheopian man who had been in Russia since the eighties. Younger volunteers from Cameroon and also Nigeria helped out. After this deep real-life experience we got into, we started the next day to go into ourselves in order to discover our passion and formulate a vision. It was so precious hearing what’s really going on inside of every one!
The most challenging part was probably to move from the big ideas of our vision to a certain project that would make sense in our own communities, being realistic about sources, budget and people. Many of us experienced quiet a crisis. Goals that where to big, SMART goals that we didn’t fully understand. Preparing the presentations which we had to do on the last day, without computer! An example of some oft he projects we will be working on fort he next ten months are:
- Setting up classes for young people in wich they’ll learn to discover themselves and try to give them direction in their lives.
- Setting up an international program in a congregation.
- Setting up youth services within in a congregation.
- Setting up youth meetings and give English lessons to young people.
For us it was very helpful to hear one an others opinions. We usually got up between 7:30 and 8 am and went to bed at around 1 or 2 am! There was simply so much interesting things to talk about, lots of work, tommy emmanuel videos on youtube.com, table tennis matches (Joanna beat us all), playing volleyball with some Russians, having coffee, and so on.
Thank you to everyone who participated (Yana, Sanna, Johanna, Daan, Nastia, Katariina, Milan, Martin), thank you Roger, thank you Yana and Dmitry! You all made this trip so precious!
CATEDRA DE LA PAZ conjuntamente con la Fundación Don Bosco, en el marco del proyecto Ciudadanía Global, como integrantes de la RED INTERNACIONAL GLOBALINKS, se viene proyectando un CICLO DE PELICULAS para todo público en general, en especial, para los y las jóvenes de Mérida. Para este Miércoles 08 julio 2009, a las 6.30 pm en la Capilla Velatoria de Los Curos, Parte Media de Los Curos, en la ciudad de Mérida, se proyectara esta película. La Entrada Gratis, indico Walter Trejo Urquiola, Coordinador General de la Cátedra de la Paz y Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Los Andes.
El trama consiste en la historia de una joven que crece en el Irán de la Revolución Islámica. A través de los ojos de Marjane, una precoz y abierta niña de nueve años, vemos las esperanzas de un pueblo rotas al tomar los fundamentalistas el poder, imponiendo el velo a las mujeres y encarcelando a miles de personas. Inteligente y sin miedo, engaña a los "guardianes sociales" y descubre el punk, Abba y Iron Maiden. Pero cuando su tío es ejecutado sin piedad y las bombas caen alrededor de Teherán en la guerra entre Irán e Irak, el miedo diario que rodea su vida es palpable.
Continua reseñando Walter Trejo, que a medida que crece, la audacia de Marjane hace que sus padres se preocupen por su seguridad. Y así, a los catorce años, toman la difícil decisión de enviarla a una escuela en Austria. Vulnerable y sola en un país extraño, resiste los malos tragos típicos de un adolescente. Además, Marjane tiene que combatir el hecho de ser equiparada con el fundamentalismo religioso y el extremismo de los que tuvo que huir. Con el tiempo es aceptada, e incluso experimenta el amor, pero tras el instituto se encuentra sola y con una terrible nostalgia de su hogar.
Por eso es una buena oportunidad, para ver esta película y entender mucho la realidad de Irán en estos momentos, de forma crítica y alternativa, esperamos que la gente de Mérida, en especial, de Los Curos nos acompañe en esta proyección, culmino Walter Trejo.
So many changes! Josue and I are settling into our life in Toronto and I have to say that the city is treating us very well. So many amazing smart people working on incredibly innovative projects, with lots of ideas in the mix. The last article I posted talked about Toronto 2.0, and boy are we ever on the run. In the last half a year I have been blown away by the amount of cool internet applications from TTCUpdates to my new place of work as Community Evangelist with GetInvolved.ca. The thing that touches my heart is not just the technical talent embedded in this city, but the city's many artists and activists that are creatively forging ahead using the urban landscape as their canvas, from community mural projects to large festivals and conferences.
Not only is this city beaming with talent, it's beaming with opportunity. Collaboration is in the air, and when there is a will there is away. People are enthusiastic about supporting innovation be it social, creative, technical or otherwise. I really feel like anything is possible at this point, and that Toronto is rapidly challenging large American cities for supreme coolness. Will Toronto murals rival San Francisco's? Will our artists challenge NYC and LA as the top North American art market? Will we take over Silicon Valley with our startups, or should we leave that for Waterloo? Either way Toronto is kicking ass!
The United Nations and China have started a program this summer that will employ 1,000 youth to talk about the environment. The youth will teach people how to be more conscious about the environment and what individuals can do to protect it.
Through a new training program called “One Thousand Environment-Friendly Youth Ambassadors Action,” eight Chinese ministries, along with the UNDP, hope to educate 1 million people about the actions they can take to preserve the environment and limit climate change.
The program started last month with training for 1,000 high school and college students in Beijing (north China), Shanghai (east), Xi’an (northwest), Chengdu (southwest) and Guangzhou (south).
Each young ambassador is expected to train another 1,000 people, hence one million people around the nation will be informed of professional environmental knowledge. The program is sponsored by the national Center for Environmental Education and Communication, China Environmental Awareness Program, Ministry of Environmental Protection, UNDP and Johnson Controls.
Since the founding of TakingITGlobal in 1999, I have been incredibly inspired by my interactions with thousands of young change makers from all around the world. Through my Masters Research on youth-led action in an international context along with exposure to other studies and international conferences examining the role of today's generation of youth as change agents, I have gained an important observation. My observation is that I have seen the emergence of Six Archetypes of Youth Change Makers, which provide a glance at the roles young people are taking on in the process of creating change.
The Dreamer
The Dreamer is the driver behind new ideas. Dreamers are often the first to articulate a long-term vision for the future and think big. It is the sense of aspiration, optimism and imagination of dreamers that drive progress, innovation and change.
The Megaphone
The Megaphone is a vocal advocate for change. Megaphones are very focused on delivering the message and will campaign tirelessly and work hard to lobby for a message to be heard. They inspire action through their words and help to shift priorities on the agenda.
The Spark Plug
The Spark Plug is a catalyst and has a gift for networking and connecting people. The Spark Plug is able to foster collaborations and bring many different organizations and individuals together in dialogue, convincing diverse interest groups to come together for a common goal.
The Task Master
The Task Master is often behind the scenes making things happen and is sometimes the under-rated player within a group or organization. Often, it is the Task Master who literally keeps things together by turning ideas into manageable tasks with actionable timelines. Task Masters are practical, objective-oriented individuals.
The Sherpa
The Sherpa serves as a guide who provides mentorship, insight and training through peer education. Sherpas are natural educators with a strong interest in learning and sharing knowledge. Sherpas value hands on experiences and are able to draw upon the expertise and resources of those they encounter.
The Storyteller
The Storyteller is often the documenter of an organization and its projects, preparing short stories, interviews, blogs, webcasts newsletters and more. Storytellers become a vehicle for spreading inspiration and sharing of best practices through identifying patterns and strengthening movements through recognizing exceptional individuals.
The Faces of War -- Why Irresponsible or Fanatical Individuals and/or Governments Must Never Gain Control of Nuclear Weapons http://civact6.tigblog.org/post/417257
***
Would you like to explore the possibilities for volunteer, professional, and/or career involvement in civic action, community service, and other constructive developmental efforts in countries that are of greatest interest to you ??
Visit and explore the wide range of available choices for programmatic and/or administrative professional specialization and possible careers, at:
Dave Matthews, Facilitator
The Civic Action Free University http://www.tcafu.net
"Nation-Building: Are You Serious ??"
E-Mail Address: civact6@yahoo.com
Here’s a novel idea: move all your belongings only using a bike. You can do it regardless of where you live, but in Montreal you can hire someone else to do the hard work for you. Transport Myette is a new moving company in Montreal that uses only bikes.
Myette boasts that his fledgling moving company, Transport Myette, will tow just about anything that can be stacked on his modified bike trailers.
“Pretty much anything, except for pianos, of course,” he said Tuesday at a job, where he and two of his employees carefully pieced together – with the help of duct tape and straps – intricate piles of large household items, including a mattress, a stove and a fridge onto the flatbeds.
The Montreal resident’s inspiration to launch the bike-moving business came while surfing the Internet last summer. Myette stumbled upon the website of an American company that sold mini-trailers.
Up until then, he had been working for a moving company that used a truck.
“I’ve always been a cyclist, I’ve always cared about the environment, so it just seemed natural to me to combine the two,” said Myette, who bought his first custom trailer last fall for $1,000 and now owns three.
Workers pull the trailers with standard mountain bikes equipped with powerful hydraulic disc brakes – for the steep descents.
Outside of peak periods, Transport Myette charges just $25 an hour for one worker with a trailer, $35 an hour for two workers and two trailers and $50 an hour for three of each.
Remember National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) back in November? You all used the opportunity to take a swing at churning out a 50,000-word novel on your blogs in only one month — some with great success!
It’s an even more fitting occasion for posting regularly to your blog on the topics that interest you. And maybe the best part is that it starts whenever you want it to! The only objective is to post every day for a month. So why not begin with July? To make it official, sign up here. It’s open to anyone with a blog, anywhere in the world.
The NaBloPoMo team provides a theme for each month, which isn’t mandatory, but is a nice way to gain inspiration that can kick off your daily updates.
Not into that? Then we suggest sticking to the stuff you’ve been blogging about all along — the things you experience and love — with the added caveat of keeping it on the regular.
If you run out of steam, you can always find ways to blog about the dozens of weird celebrations and holidays that take place in July, in addition to Independence Day in the U.S. — like Ice Cream Soda Day, Video Games Day, or Bugs Bunny’s Birthday.
To plug the WordPress community into your endeavor, we suggest using NaBloPoMo09 as a tag on each post you publish to your blog. They’ll show up on the tag results page, which is also a great place to get inspired by your fellow bloggers.
A note: Please refrain from commenting with questions about NaBloPoMo in response to this post. It’s not a WordPress project. Instead, check out their FAQ to learn more about its objectives and requirements.
Last month we launched the Yahoo! App and 360 importer so you can migrate your content to WordPress.com quickly and easily. And we introduced the SocialVibe widget, which helps you earn donations for the charity of your choice. July will bring more feature updates, and more of the themes and customizations you’ve been asking for. We’re listening.
Here are the stats for June:
388,580 blogs were created.
5,845,417 posts were published.
411,540 new users joined.
5,800,941 file uploads.
3,633 gigabytes of new files.
810 terabytes of content transferred from our datacenters.
8,330,617 comments.
6,841,633 logins.
1,245,935,191 pageviews on WordPress.com, and another 1,245,882,985 on self-hosted blogs (2,491,818,176 total across all WordPress blogs we track).
2,153,176 active blogs where “active” means they got a human visitor.
As pessoas devem se preocupar mais, muito mais, com suas Próprias Vidas! Alguém disse (não consigo lembrar o nome certo, pois são inúmeros os depoimentos) que Michael Jackson agora não está mais sendo torturado pela "moral da civilização".
Julgamento com piadas infelizes que nunca entendi! A civilização "criou" seu manual de conduta moral se achando dona do certo e do errado. Grande tragédia!
Eu espero que todos aqueles que julgaram, fofocaram possam sentir na pele como foi o calvário e a tortura que Michael enfrentou. E, graças a Deus, Ninguém Morre, essa certeza eu tenho.
"Michael Jackson é bom exemplo do que pior tem acontecido. A IMPRENSA DEVE DESCULPAS a ele pela forma horrível como o tratou. Ele começou a morrer quando as acusações ganharam as manchetes. Em conluio com os acusadores, estava a mídia americana. Todos se lamentam, como se fosse uma tragédia nacional...Ninguém o ajudou. Viveu em infâmia."
(Gay Talese - jornalista e escritor norte-americano)
Ecumenical Women (EW) is an international coalition of church denominations and organizations which have status with the Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) at the United Nations. We train and empower faith-based advocates for gender equality at the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held in February-March.
Ecumenical Women at the United Nations is seeking a Blogging Specialist to update and maintain its blog and website, www.ecumenicalwomen.org. Qualified applicants will be familiar with blogging and other social network tools, or demonstrate serious willingness to learn. Applicants should be committed to women’s rights and gender equality, be comfortable writing about Christianity and other faiths. Experience with advocacy, ecumenical organizing and the United Nations is preferred but not required.
The EW Blogging Specialist will be responsible for posting 4-6 blog posts per month, which s/he may either write or recruit others to write and edit. Posts should be within the interests and advocacy goals of EW’s member organizations. The Blogging Specialist must be a clear and creative writer, an independent worker, and capable of working remotely.
Multiple writers will be chosen, depending on applicant pool. Young men and women from the global South and /or underrepresented groups from the north are encouraged to apply in order to deepen our blog’s perspectives. Individuals from remote locations are strongly encouraged to apply, but Internet access is required. This position will last three months upon hire with opportunity for renewal. A stipend of $400 will be provided.
In your cover letter, tell us why you will be a creative and interesting blogger, and how you can help us improve our website.
To apply, please submit resume, cover letter, and two samples blogs of 200-300 words, including hyperlinks on topics related to faith, women’s rights, advocacy or the United Nations of blog posts by July 30th, 2009 via email (put “Blogging Specialist” in subject line) to:
Malte Lei malte.lei AT elca.org
Ecumenical Women c/o Lutheran Office for World Community
The Big Dig was a transportation infrastructure project for Boston that built a giant underground tunnel for automobiles. An architecture firm got their hands on left over building materials from the insanely expensive underground highway and decided to build a house.
As a prototype building that demonstrates how infrastructural refuse can be salvaged and reused, the structural system for this 3,400sf house is comprised of steel and concrete discarded from Boston’s Big Dig utilizing over 600,000 lbs of salvaged materials from elevated portions of the now dismantled I-93 highway. Planning the reassembly of the materials in a similar way one would systematically compose with a pre-fab system, subtle spatial arrangements are created from the large-scale highway components.
