There are currently, 65 guest(s) and 0 member(s) that are online.
You are Anonymous user. You can register for free by clicking here
Germinal Knowledge
Toeic
French Wines
HydroFrance
Rod's Pods: Watch, Listen and Learn... :-)
12-Year-Old Noah Lamaide Saves Grandmother's Home From Foreclosure
12-Year-Old Noah Lamaide Saves Grandmother's Home From Foreclosure
Anonymous writes "
Noah Lamaide raised $10,500 through his website, Noah's Dream Catcher Network, to help save his grandmother's home after she fell behind on mortgage payments.
The cost of renovations to a century-old home that has been in the family for three generations brought a Wisconsin woman perilously close to eviction, until her 12-year-old grandson stepped in.
"I wasn't even sure I was going to make it," Noah Lamaide said of his fundraising effort.
The budding philanthropist raised $10,500 in the course of a month, saving his grandmother's Stevens Point home from a scheduled auction date of Feb. 15.
Janice Sparhawk, 72, fell behind on mortgage payments in 2010 after taking out money to put a new roof on her home, a home with rich family history, partially built by her grandfather and the birthplace of her mother.
"My Grandma incase you don't know her has a heart of gold. She has given so much to our community since I can remember!!!" Noah posted Jan. 5, 2012, on his website, Noah's Dream Catcher Network. "
Posted by rodney on Wednesday, February 08 @ 16:46:15 CST (5 reads)
(Read More... | 3456 bytes more | 1 comment | Score: 0)
Don Cornelius ‘Soul Train’ Founder
Anonymous writes "
Cornelius’ lasting legacy is his impact on diversifying pop culture and giving rise to a hugely influential group of black performers. Cornelius created “Soul Train” and hosted the show in national syndication from 1971 to 1993. It was the first real venue on American TV for soul music, and as the show’s writer, producer, and emcee, Cornelius played a vital role in bringing stars like James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson to a wider audience.
He was known for the catchphrase with which he closed each episode: “I’m Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!”
“Soul Train” also spun off the Soul Train Music Awards and the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. “Soul Train” went off the air in 2006.
Cornelius’ colleagues have been quick to commemorate him. Aretha Franklin, who shot to fame in part because of “Soul Train,” released a statement calling Cornelius’ death “sad, stunning, and downright shocking … a huge and momentous loss to the African-American community and the world at large.”
Smokey Robinson put out a statement saying Cornelius “brought exposure to black talent and a positive image to young black teenagers that had never been done before.” Quincy Jones called his “friend, colleague, and business partner” a “visionary pioneer and a giant in our business.”
“Before MTV there was Soul Train, that will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius,” Jones said. “His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched. My heart goes out to Don’s family and loved ones.”"
Posted by rodney on Wednesday, February 01 @ 16:01:21 CST (4 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
Gabrielle Giffords Resigns From Congress
Anonymous writes "Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., resigned from Congress this morning, a little more than a year after being shot in the head at close range.
“This past year my colleagues and staff have worked to make sure my constituents were represented in Congress,” Giffords wrote in her letter of resignation. “But If I can’t return, my district deserves to elect a U.S. Representative who can give 100 percent to the job now.”
"
Posted by Rodney on Thursday, January 26 @ 01:50:29 CST (6 reads)
(Read More... | 4845 bytes more | comments? | Score: 0)
Oprah's Academy for Girls to Hold Its First Graduation
Anonymous writes " Oprah Winfrey celebrates with the first graduating class of The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
Oprah Winfrey is set to graduate the first class of her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls on Saturday, a 10-year journey that has been filled with tears, trials and triumph, she told ABC News' Diane Sawyer.
"I've learned so much. ... I would do it differently but the fact that we are here is a triumph," Winfrey said in a wide-ranging interview that touched on her own future in TV.
"This has been a journey of 8,000 miles," she said this morning. "Tomorrow, for me, is about celebrating the journey this has been."
In January 2007, the talk show host opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls on 52 acres in the small town of Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, South Africa. It took $40 million and six years to build.
At the time, Winfrey called the school -- a promise to herself and to former South African President Nelson Mandela -- "the fulfullment of my work on Earth."
Of the nearly 3,000 applicants, 152 of the country's brightest young girls were selected to attend the boarding school. 72 students will be graduating on Saturday and the school currently has around 400 students.
Winfrey said today that despite their traumatic backgrounds -- pocked with poverty, AIDS, rape, disease and death -- the students pushed forward and succeeded. All of them are headed to college, with 10 percent bound for a U.S. university.
"I've just never seen a more resilient or brilliant group of girls," she said. "I mean they have a heart of brilliance. They're just so open and gracious. ... I'm such a proud mother. They have taken this moment, this opportunity, and seized it in a way that I could only dream of."
"I will be celebrating that [at Saturday's graduation]," Winfrey said. "I will be trying to take that all in and looking into the eyes of their parents who will for sure know that this poverty cycle, that the cycle of poverty, has been broken with their daughters."
'I Promise I'll Make You Proud'
"
Posted by Rodney on Saturday, January 14 @ 16:26:24 CST (6 reads)
(Read More... | 5723 bytes more | comments? | Score: 0)
Teen Mom Kills Intruder: Accomplice in Court
Anonymous writes "
Teen mom kills intruder
The young Oklahoma mother who shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old son on New Year's Eve will not face criminal charges.
Prosecutors have instead charged the intruder's alleged accomplice, 29-year-old Dustin Stewart, with first-degree murder in the death of his friend, Justin Shane Martin, 24.
Police said the two men broke into 18-year-old Sarah McKinley's mobile home in Blanchard, Okla., the evening of Dec. 31, while the young widow was home with her baby. McKinley's husband had died the week before, on Christmas Day, of lung cancer.
McKinley told police that Martin had stopped by the house on the day of her husband's funeral claiming he was a neighbor who wanted to say hello.
On New Year's Eve, Stewart joined Martin, who this time was armed with a 12-inch hunting knife. Police said the two men may have been high on prescription painkillers and looking for more drugs in McKinley's home.
As one of the men went from door to door outside her home trying to gain entry, McKinley told ABC News' Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO that she quickly got her 12 gauge, went into her bedroom and got a pistol, put a bottle in the baby's mouth and called 911.
"I've got two guns in my hand. Is it OK to shoot him if he comes in this door?" the young mother asked the 911 dispatcher. "I'm here by myself with my infant baby. Can I please get a dispatcher out here immediately?"
The 911 dispatcher confirmed with McKinley that the doors to her home were locked as McKinley asked again if it was OK to shoot the intruder if he came through her door.
"I can't tell you that you can do that but you do what you have to do to protect your baby," the dispatcher told her. McKinley was on the phone with 911 for 21 minutes.
When Martin kicked in the door, the young mother shot and killed him. According to court documents, Martin was holding a knife when he died.
Authorities called McKinley's actions justified because she clearly acted in self-defense. Oklahoma law permits the use of deadly force against intruders.
Stewart, who ran away from McKinley's home after hearing the gunshots but later turned himself in to police, was charged in Martin's death.
"When the death of someone occurs in commission of a felony, we're allowed to file a murder charge, and that's what we've done in this particular case, because Mr. Stewart, in this case, will be responsible for the death of Justin Martin," said District Attorney Jason Hicks.
Stewart was arraigned Wednesday and was being held in the Grady County jail as he awaits a bond hearing.
While Stewart sits in jail, McKinley has been hailed as a hero and received an outpouring of support from neighbors who have nicknamed her the "Make My Day Mom."
The Blanchard community has poured in monetary and clothing donations for McKinley, who explained her actions by saying, "There's nothing more dangerous than a woman with a child.
"I wouldn't have done it, but it was my son," she told KOCO. "It's not an easy decision to make, but it was either going to be him or my son. And it was not going to be my son!
"
Posted by Rodney on Friday, January 06 @ 13:53:24 CST (21 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
Egypte : plus de 70 morts après un match de foot
Anonymous writes "73 personnes sont mortes mercredi soir dans des violences qui ont éclaté après un match de football entre 2 équipes égyptiennes dans la ville de Port Saïd. A l'annonce de ces violences, un arbitre a annulé la partie en cours au stade du Caire, et un incendie s'est alors déclaré.
Violences sanglantes en Egypte. Au moins 73 personnes sont mortes mercredi soir dans des heurts qui ont éclaté après un match de football entre deux équipes égyptiennes dans la ville de Port Saïd, selon un bilan des hôpitaux. Près d'un millier de personnes sont blessées. Les affrontements ont commencé lorsque l'arbitre a sifflé la fin du match au cours duquel l'équipe de Al-Masry a fait subir à Al-Ahly, un des meilleurs clubs d'Egypte, sa première défaite (3-1) de la saison, au 17e jour du championnat national. Les supporteurs d'al-Masry ont lancé des pierres, des bouteilles et des fusées éclairantes contre ceux d'al-Ahly, déclenchant les violences, selon des témoins.
Un petit groupe de policiers anti-émeutes a tenté de former une haie pour protéger les joueurs d'Al Ahli mais ils ont paru totalement débordés et les supporters ont pu continuer à frapper à coups de pieds et de poings les joueurs tentant de fuir. "Ce n'est pas du football. C'est la guerre et des gens meurent sous nos yeux. Il n'y avait aucun dispositif de sécurité, pas d'ambulances", a réagi un joueur d'Al Ahli, Mohamed Abo Treika, interrogé par la chaîne de télévision de son club. "Je demande l'annulation du championnat. C'est une situation horrible et on ne pourra jamais oublier la journée d'aujourd'hui."
Session extraordinaire au Parlement jeudi
La Fédération égyptienne de football a annoncé la suspension sine die de toutes les rencontres de première division après cet événement, qualifié de "plus grande catastrophe de l'histoire du football égyptien" par le vice-ministre de la Santé, Hecham Cheïha. "C'est malheureux et profondément affligeant", a ajouté le responsable.
Le maréchal Mohamed Hussein Tantaoui, qui dirige le conseil militaire exerçant le pouvoir par intérim, a décidé l'envoi de deux hélicoptères à Port-Saïd pour récupérer des joueurs d'Al Ahli et certains de leurs supporters. Ces appareils transporteront les blessés vers des hôpitaux militaires. Le parlement égyptien nouvellement élu tiendra jeudi une session extraordinaire sur ces événements, ont rapporté les médias d'Etat. Le parquet a ordonné l'ouverture d'une enquête. Cité par la télévision publique, le vice-ministre de la Santé a précisé que la plupart des blessures étaient des commotions et de profondes coupures.
"Un message des partisans de l'ancien régime"
Des responsables politiques et sportifs ont vivement déploré les faiblesses du dispositif de sécurité et ont imputé le drame aux dirigeants du pays, qualifiés de vestiges de l'ancien régime d'Hosni Moubarak, renversé par "la révolution du Nil" en février 2011. "Les événements de Port-Saïd ont été planifiés et sont un message des partisans de l'ancien régime", a notamment affirmé le député Essam al-Erian, du parti des Frères musulmans, dans un communiqué publié sur le site internet du Parti de la liberté et de la justice (PLJ), la formation politique de la confrérie.
A l'annonce des violences à Port-Saïd, l'arbitre d'un autre match au Caire entre Zamalek et Ismaïli a interrompu la rencontre, ce qui a conduit des supporters à incendier une partie du stade. "
Posted by Rodney on Wednesday, February 01 @ 16:56:26 CST (2 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
Giffords’ Resignation ‘Right Decision,’ Mark Kelly Tells ABC News
Anonymous writes "
A day after wife Gabrielle Giffords resigned from Congress, Mark Kelly told ABC News’ Bob Woodruff that ”it was certainly the right decision,” despite the difficulty of stepping down from her position.
“Over the past month or six weeks, she came to realize that she was not going to be in a position to run for re-election,” Kelly said today. “The goal had been for her to get back to work and run for re-election but she was aware that wasn’t going to happen. She knew that she had to continue with her rehab.”
Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, appeared on the House floor Wednesday to deliver her resignation letter, a little more than a year after being shot in the head.
“This past year my colleagues and staff have worked to make sure my constituents were represented in Congress,” the Tucson native, 41, wrote in her letter of resignation. “But if I can’t return, my district deserves to elect a U.S. representative who can give 100 percent to the job now.”
Kelly, a former astronaut, said Giffords planned to remain politically active and that she hoped a moderate like herself would fill her vacant seat.
“She has always been someone who can work across party lines, a very moderate person who brings people together,” he said. “She thinks it’s very important to have more moderates in Congress. … When she was up there resigning the other day… Did you see who was behind her? It wasn’t only Democrats. There was probably an equal number of Republicans.”
For now, Giffords is spending five to six days a week in physical, occupational and speech therapy. Kelly said she still struggled with communication but was finding progress with intensive speech therapy.
“She loves being a member of Congress and really cared about the people she represented,” Kelly said. “This is the end of a chapter for her but I think the final book hasn’t been written.”
While Kelly said he was certain his wife will return to public service, he said he will not be running in 2012.
“No way,” he said. “I will not be on the ballot. … I’m never one to close any door – there’s no point in doing that – but no one needs to worry about me gathering those signatures.”
"
Posted by Rodney on Thursday, January 26 @ 16:55:11 CST (13 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
12 Ways to Fight Stress and Help Your Heart
Anonymous writes "Can stress hurt your heart?
The evidence is piling up that the answer is—yes, stress is bad for your ticker.
“There are studies to show that stress is comparable to other risk factors that we traditionally think of as major, like hypertension, poor diet, and lack of exercise,” says Kathi Heffner, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Rochester Center for Mind-Body Research at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.
Here are 12 steps you can take to fight stress and protect your heart.
"
Posted by Rodney on Sunday, January 22 @ 05:37:06 CST (9 reads)
(Read More... | 9912 bytes more | 1 comment | Score: 0)
Intel Semifinalist Is Homeless No More Thanks to Community
Anonymous writes "Samantha Garvey, the homeless high school senior gaining recognition for becoming a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, will soon have a home thanks to officials in Long Island.
Suffolk county official Steve Bellone said in a press conference this morning that Garvey and her family can move into a rent-subsidized home in about 10 days. The teen and her family have been living in a homeless shelter since Jan. 1.
Against all odds, Garvey has excelled in school, maintaining a 3.9/4.0 grade point average along with studying Italian and learning to play the violin. Her work in science, specifically studying the effects of predators on mussels, landed her on a list of one of 300 semifinalists in the nationwide competition. She will find out next month if she becomes a finalist. The top prize is $100,000.
“I get so excited to tell people about my mussels and crabs that I become a completely different person,” she said.
Garvey and her family have lived in shelters and hotels since she was a little girl. Seven years ago, they were able to move into a house, but in February 2010, her parents were involved in a car accident. They were forced to leave.
“It hurts leaving everything behind and just having to be rushed out of your home,” she said of the experience.
Now, it seems, she will be able to focus on her work in her own home — thanks to the community.
"
Posted by Rodney on Friday, January 13 @ 15:12:20 CST (7 reads)
(comments? | Score: 0)
10 Steps Toward Better Communication
Anonymous writes "Now that the holidays are over and a New Year is upon us, it is a perfect time to look anew at the relationships in our lives.
Throughout the holidays, as families gathered and people were out-and-about, my inbox was flooded with inquiries about relationships on all fronts. People wondered how to deal with co-workers, how to handle family members and how to respond to that random shopkeeper or passer-by who had an unkind word.
With the struggling economy and shifting job market, much of what we once felt we could count on is now missing. Relationships with the people in our lives have clearly become the thing we rely upon for feelings of security and reliability.
Nearly all of the conflict I hear from people stems from some form of a lack of communication, a misunderstanding or an inability to connect the ideas they are trying to convey.
The good news? This can be remedied. We have the power to make the changes in our own lives.
Try these 10 tips to expand your communication skills and improve your relationships. The benefits have infinite value.
"
Posted by Rodney on Tuesday, January 03 @ 13:07:18 CST (9 reads)
(Read More... | 3904 bytes more | comments? | Score: 0)
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like theme manager, comments configuration and post comments with your name.
