Welcome to the ezine produced by SGI Buddhists that prompts the positive, kindles the constructive, highlights the hopeful and leaves you feeling - well, up!
Published on Thursday, 03 April 2008 19:00 | | 
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The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world. It has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. What's gone wrong?
by Vida Adamoli
Statistics provided by the International Centre for Prison Studies at King’s College, London, show that the US puts 700,000 more citizens behind bars than China, whose population is five times larger. It also has 1,330,000 more people in prison than crime-ridden Russia. The fact that one out of every 32 US adults is either behind bars, on probation or on parole, indicates something is seriously wrong in the 'land of the free'.
Published on Thursday, 03 April 2008 19:00 | | |
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'How many brain scientists have
been able to study the brain from the inside out? I've gotten as much out of
this experience of losing my left mind as I have in my entire academic
career.'
By Geraldine Royds
Dr Jill Bolte Taylor was a 37-year-old Harvard-trained and published brain scientist when a blood vessel exploded in her brain shutting down her left hemisphere’s neural circuitry.
In this enthralling video made for the TED conference in February 2008, she describes how she watched as her brain functions - movement, speech, self awareness - slipped away, one by one.
Published on Thursday, 27 March 2008 19:00 | | |
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'Every one of us can make a contribution,' says Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. 'And quite often we are looking for the big things and forget that, wherever we are, we can make a contribution.'
Published on Friday, 21 March 2008 08:30 | | |
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Greg Mortenson's passions are mountain-climbing and running marathons. But since 1993 he has dedicated his life to building schools and promoting community-based literacy programs in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Published on Thursday, 20 March 2008 19:00 | |
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The lives of thousands of women living in poverty have been transformed by the vision of Chetna Gala Sinha.
By Geraldine Royds
Kamal Jaisinh Gore, a vegetable and milk vendor, is a widow with two children. With a small loan, she was able to buy a buffalo. No longer at the mercy of moneylenders, she is now able to save a few rupees a day.
Published on Thursday, 13 March 2008 12:03 | | |
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Cupcake Brown is a force to be reckoned with - an imposing figure of beautiful and proud womanhood.
By Clea Myers
The buzz is electric when she enters the forum that is hosting 'An Audience with Cupcake Brown' in East London's Bethnal Green Road. Having to yell over the applause, she asks who has read her best-seller, A Piece of Cake, and quickly re-phrases, asking who has not, while the cheers and whoops drown her out.
Published on Saturday, 16 February 2008 14:34 | | |
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Daniel Barenboim, the world-renowned Israeli pianist and conductor, is equally as famous for his efforts to bring Palestinians and Israelis together through music.
By Geraldine Royds