"Play It Again God"

Man Falls On Tracks Seconds Before Train Pulls Into Station

A man who was nearly hit by a light rail train in Phoenix, Arizona owes his life to two assistants with the Phoenix Police Department.

Surveillance video from the light train station shows the man, who appears drunk, falling off the light rail platform and onto the tracks the night of March 2, 2010. The two police assistants rush to help him as they flag down the train.
kdka.com

The United States and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to slash greenhouse gas emissions from tropical deforestation, one of the main drivers of global climate change. The deal, signed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Brasilia on Wednesday, marks the first time the two countries have formally agreed to work together on deforestation.

In the past, Brazilian leaders have been wary of foreign interference in the Amazon, Earth’s largest tropical forest. But climate scientists are raising loud alarms that the slashing and burning of forests, which cause about 15% of the emissions that are trapping heat in the atmosphere, threatens to dangerously disrupt the world’s climate.
latimes.com

Brazil, Portugal and the Netherlands among teams to wear Nike’s shirts made from recycled plastic bottles

When Kaka and Ronaldinho stride out onto the pitch for the World Cup in South Africa this summer, few of their millions of fans are likely to notice that their yellow jerseys are made from old plastic bottles.

But five-time winners Brazil, along with Portugal and the Netherlands, will for the first time be clad in shirts made from recycled polyester in a bid to make the tournament a fraction greener. The shirts, made by Nike, will also be worn at the finals by the teams of the USA, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, and Slovenia.

Fans supporting their country can buy away kits of the 100% recycled shirts from today, with home versions available from 1 May. They will cost £50, the same price as non-recycled shirts.

It takes up to eight recycled plastic bottles to make each of the shirts, which are sourced from Japanese and Taiwanese landfill and melted down before being processed into fabric. Nike claims the process cuts energy use by 30% compared with newly manufactured polyester.
guardian.co.uk

In 2008, Garland was helping to clear out the West Baltimore house of his grandfather, who was moving into a retirement home. The old man had been a sanitation worker, and in his room, Garland found many of the cast-off items he had collected over the years: broken watches, jewelry, other bits and bobs gathered from the streets of Baltimore.

In one box were two rings. One ring was cheap, a costume bauble. The other was a wide gold wedding ring, engraved “COL to WTF,” along with a date in 1956. Garland slipped it into his pocket.

“I said, ‘Maybe I can figure out whose ring this is,’ ” he told me.
washingtonpost.com

Individuals, frustrated at international response, take own initiative

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The Miami property developer, volunteering after Haiti’s earthquake, was horrified to see children sleeping in the dirt under makeshift tents of bed sheets propped up on sticks. A global, billion-dollar aid effort should be able to do better, he thought.

He decided he could do better himself.

Michael Capponi flew home, collected donated tents, flew them back to Haiti and persuaded a mayor to let him build a proper camp for hundreds of families on the soccer field of a gated community of luxury villas. It took him three days and less than $5,000.
msnbc.msn.com

By Lance Cpl. David J. Beall , 24th MEU

Just a week ago, 14-year-old Lydie Augustin was suffering from two severe, untreated lacerations caused by bricks that fell on her leg that were shook loose from a building during the Jan. 12, earthquake. Today she returned to Grand Saliene in better health and high spirits.

Men, women, and children sprinted down the rutted dirt roads flailing their arms into the sky, with glowing smiles and shouts of joy as her private ride – an MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft – landed to bring Lydie and her father home.

When an assessment team of Marines and Sailors landed in the village of Grande Saliene, Jan. 25, their mission was to survey any earthquake damage, determine if the local’s needs were being met, and find people like Lydie who were in need of medical care.
marines.mil

A colossal red granite head of one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs has been unearthed in the southern city of Luxor, officials said.

The 3,000-year-old head of Amenhotep III – grandfather of Tutankhamun – was dug out of the ruins of the pharaoh’s mortuary temple.

Experts say it is the best preserved example of the king’s face ever found.

The 2.5m (8ft) head is part of a larger statue, most of which was found several years ago.

Antiquities officials say the statue is to be reconstructed.

“Other statues have always had something broken – the tip of the nose, or the face is eroded,” said Dr Hourig Sourouzian, who has led the Egyptian-European expedition at the site.

“But here, from the top of the crown to the chin, it is so beautifully carved and polished, nothing is broken.”
bbc.co.uk

Just about 25 kilometres from Afghanistan’s eastern regional hub of Jalalabad, Sheikh Misri was known as a dreary and rough desert of barren land littered with landmines and unexploded ordnances until December 2005. View more photos

Now, just in a matter of four years, one can see a stark difference with a somewhat thriving life there, thanks to relentless and synchronized humanitarian efforts of United Nations humanitarian agencies, the Government of Afghanistan, other international aid agencies and individual donors.

Fast forward to 2010, now, you can get down from a bus that regularly runs on a newly constructed dirt road from the nearest highway, in the middle of settlements.

If you look like a stranger, children will gather to have a glimpse of you and the local women shy away. More often than not, you will hear the noise of construction works nearby. If you turn around, you can see a long array of tents that serves as the clinic, established by the International Medical Corps (IMC), for nearly 20,000 people.

Welcome to Sheikh Misri New Township (SMNT)!
reliefweb.int

The girl, identified as Martina Maturana, acted accordingly, when she heard her grandfather, who made her know from Valparaiso about the tragedy on the continent.

Martina looked out the window and watched the boats in the bay leaped and struck each other. That’s when she ran to the village square and rang the bong installed in the center of the park.

Martina did not know the code specified for such tragedies, but at the sound of alarm, woke up several neighbors and the news began to spread rapidly. This led many people to reach safety in the highest part of the island.

Minutes later, the tsunami destroyed the cache. Thanks to the expertise of Martina, the tsunami that devastates Juan Fernandez did not produce more victims.
momento24.com