Preparing Afghanistan's Future Civic Leaders

Recently the Boston Globe profiled the work of Qiamuddin Amiry, President and co-founder of non-profit organization, the Afghan Scholars Initiative, which enables students from Afghanistan to attend American high schools and universities.

Raised in Kabul, having himself won a scholarship to a high school in Hong Kong, Amiry decided to find a way to bring higher education to other Afghans. He and fellow student at Colby College, John Campbell, therefore founded Afghan Scholars Initiative (ASI). The project's website promotes Peace through Education. It states: "The key to the rebuilding of Afghanistan is in the education, training, and dedication of its next generation of leaders. In a country with too much poverty, too many guns and too few roads, hospitals and schools, Afghans must struggle against the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, a culture of corruption and a booming drug trade.

"By giving Afghanistan’s brightest and hardest-working students a chance to learn at the best schools in the world and work with the most influential non-profits and companies in the world, ASI promotes the human development and cultural understanding Afghanistan needs to move forward."

You can help ASI get additional Afghans into schools by learning more about the initiative and sharing information on what it's doing or by making an online donation.

Story Telling for a Cause

Tim Fitzhigham is a "multi-award winning comedian, explorer, quadruple world record holder, historian, archaeologist and author." According to a short biography from Tim himself, he is also "a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Freeman of the City of London. Knighted by a foreign monarchy, he has entertained audiences world-wide with his fascinating, hilarious, moving tales of dreamy impacticalness - navigating the Channel in a Thomas Crapper bathtub, rowing a paper boat up the River Thames from source to Tower Bridge [160 miles],  running across deserts in armour, playing hopscotch up active volcanoes, or long distance Morris Dancing" [an English folk dance].

Tim is indeed extremely entertaining, and he has charisma enough for two. But he is also an incredible story teller, who uses story telling to raise awareness for environmental issues, among others. He believes that because stories convey emotions and make people feel, they can persuade listeners and even draw people towards a particular opinion better than facts can.

Tim's website is full of information on this unique and multi-faceted character.

A Taj Mahal, of Sorts

A symbol of eternal love, the Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Today another monument stands testiment to a man's love. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu has housed his collection of some 66,000 works of art in a new building, named Museo Soumaya, after his wife Soumaya Domit de Slim.

The museum holds works by many famous European artists from the 15th to the 20th century, including Tintoretto, Dali, Picasso, Renoir, van Gogh and Monet.  It contains 380 works by sculptor August Rodin.

Particularly good news is that the museum is open to the public free of charge. Mr. Slim's mission is to allow the general Mexican public to view an important collection of great masters in Mexico, so without expensive travel to Europe.

Foods that Fight Cancer

What do green tea, citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, garlic, cabbage (and vegetables from the cabbage family, including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts), ginger, turmeric, mint, flaxseed, shiitake mushrooms, seaweed  and dark chocolate have in common?  They are all foods that fight cancer! Indeed, they are all foods with diverse cancer-fighting properties.

Diet is an important factor in the prevention of cancer. So say Drs. Richard Beliveau and Denis Gingras in their practical book, Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer. The authors asked a group of chefs to devise recipes that not only are delicious but that include the fruits, vegetables and spices identified as containing anti-cancer molecules.

Backed by scientific research, the authors explain that green tea has one of the highest proportions of anti-cancer molecules, and raspberries, strawberries and blueberries have molecules that block tumor development. Eating cooked tomates increases blood lycopene levels, which interferes with the growth of precancerous cells in the prostate. Regularly consuming garlic lowers the risk of developing specific types of cancers, particularly esophagus, stomach and colon cancers. It seems garlic's smelly molecules when crushed enable the elimination of toxic carcinogenic substances from the body. Crucifers and vegetables belonging to the cabbage family when eaten regularly significantly decease the risk of developing certain cancers, by stimulating our natural defence mechanisms. Ginger and turmeric are powerful spices due to their anti-inflammatory activity. Mint, thyme, marjoram, oregano, basil and rosemary, all plants from the lamiaceae family, contain terpenes that block the development of cancer. In general, herbs and spices help prevent tumors from growing. Several kinds of mushrooms, such as shiitake, enokitake, maitake and boletes, have anti-cancer molecules that slow down the growth of tumors. Algae including seaweed counteract the the development of certain microtumors. Dark chocolate, which is chocolate made of 70% cocoa mass, has important health-promoting properties; although more studies are needed, results so far show that eating a small amount of dark chocolate regularly slows down the growth of some cancers.

So help your body fight cancer by integrating these ingredients into your diet. Doing so will allow you to eat well while protecting your health.

Cement That Takes CO2 Out of the Air

Calera Corporation aims to stop global warming and ocean acidification by pulling greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere. Essentially, the company is developing a technology capable of converting CO2 into building materials. The company is drawing carbon dioxide from its surroundings during the manufacturing of cement. Normally cement making generates massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, by some estimates as much as 2.5 billion tons in carbon dioxide per year. But Calera is designing a new type of cement and process that would remove 1 ton of CO2 from the air per ton of cement. One of the company's goals is to have 100 plants producing up to 1 billion tons of the new cement by 2015. On Calera's website, Founder Brent Constantz states that: "Calera plants can be co-located and operated at scale with many carbon dioxide sources because the robust nature of the technology allows it to be broadly adapted to specific circumstances, providing large and long-term profitable and sustainable new business."

Calera Corporation is a privately owned company funded by entrepreneur Vinod Khosla, the founder of Khosla Ventures. It is based in Los Gatos, California.

The company on its website also states: "We understand that some people may have doubts about a technology capable of converting CO2 (a bad thing) into building materials (a good thing). However, Calera’s MAP [Mineralization via Aqueous Precipitation] technology works and we have proven it in our pilot plant, and at our demonstration plant. After reviewing our technology in depth under confidentiality agreements, many independent scientists, researchers and industry experts agree with our conclusion. Also, we have filed over 170 patents around the world with over 3,500 claims and now have patents actually granted, demonstrating novelty. Over time, as more patents are granted and the details become public, the skeptics will learn more and more about what we actually do in our process."

You Too Can Help Protect the Orangutan from Extinction

Primatologist Biruté Galdikas' efforts show how one person can make a difference. A world expert on orangutans, Dr. Galdikas and colleagues established Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) in 1986. According toOFI's website, "As a result of poaching and habitat destruction, viable orangutan populations are on the edge of extinction and could be gone within the next 10 years. Understanding is the first step to action. As President of OFI, Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas has studied orangutans longer than any other person in human history and has worked ceaselessly to save orangutans and forests, and to bring orangutans and their plight to the attention of the world."

The Good Times first heard about Dr. Galdikas and the OFI from journalist Jake Stevens, who wrote an article for Vanguard on a novel fundraising event to help raise money for endangered orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra.

You too can help protect these animals from extinction by, for example, donating to OFI, fostering an orphan orangutan, volunteering some of your time to OFI, or shopping online at the OFI store. Find out more on how to contribute to this effort from the "Get Involved" page of OFI's website.

The Good Times Contest Runner-Up

Shy Prince with a Huge Heart

These may be the worst of times for Japan.
They are the best of times for Ryo Ishikawa.

Ishikawa is the 19-year-old golf sensation who has captured the minds and imaginations of his Japanese homeland. He is a big-time newsmaker at a very tender age. At a time when most teenagers are looking for an identity, Ishikawa has already made his way in the world and has done the extraordinary.

His concern for his nation and its people has driven him to make an incredible decision. He is donating all of his golf course earnings this season to the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts that will help his country rebound from these horrible disasters.

Last year he made nearly $2 million. He's a cinch to do better than that this year. As if that's not enough, he's also going to donate $1,200 for each birdie he makes this season. He made 341 last year, so that will be a hefty amount in and of itself.

The Good Times Contest Winner

Marie Trempe: Devoted Mother, Autism Education Trailblazer

Tony Attwood, author of The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome, believed that individuals with Asperger’s represent “bright threads on the rich tapestry of life.” Applying these bright threads to tapestries can result in works of art that stand out from the rest; however, properly applying these threads is not an easy task, and failure to stitch these threads effectively can result in tapestries that are either unfinished or lack the artistic creativity to stand out.

When a bright thread presented itself to Marie Trempe, a married mother of two from LaCrosse, Florida, she not only found a way to create a rich tapestry, but found a way to share her secrets with others.

When I first met Marie, I was a master’s student at the University of Florida pursuing my degree in Mass Communications. She posted a message on Craigslist requesting volunteers to assist with her son, Narottam’s, recovery from autism using the Son-Rise program. Barry and Samahira Kaufman started this program as a way to help their son, Raun, recover from his autism diagnosis; it encourages its practitioners to focus on interaction with the children rather than their disability.