https://newschannel9.com/news/nation-world/despite-fall-former-president-carter-helps-build-home?fbclid=IwAR19rS_ik-YywkBK_IOcl5PpAukNnv2doIAh_-qjKTmQ-wPScT3hJIu1mEo
by TRAVIS LOLLER | Associated Press
Monday, October 7th 2019
With a bandage above his left eye and a large, red welt below it, former President Jimmy Carter was greeted by a cheering crowd Monday morning as he prepared to help build a home with Habitat for Humanity in Nashville.
Carter fell at home on Sunday, requiring 14 stiches, but he did not let his injuries keep him from participating in his 36th building project with the nonprofit Christian housing organization. He turned 95 last Tuesday, becoming the first U.S. president to reach that milestone.
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Showing posts with label inspirational. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspirational. Show all posts
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Boy who spent Disney money to help Hurricane Dorian evacuees gets free Disney World trip
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/america/theme-parks/2019/09/09/disney-world-trip-free-to-boy-who-helped-hurricane-dorian-victims/2267423001/
Jennifer Sangalang, Florida Today Published 3:47 p.m. ET Sept. 9, 2019 | Updated 3:49 p.m. ET Sept. 9, 2019
Jermaine Bell got the surprise of a lifetime Sunday — his 7th birthday — after Mickey Mouse and Disney World cast members arrived at his Jacksonville, Florida, home to thank him for helping Hurricane Dorian victims.
The boy had saved up for a year to visit Animal Kingdom in Orlando, but instead used the money to help those fleeing the storm.
Disney rewarded his grand gesture with a grand gesture of its own, reports Florida Today, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.
As Dorian ravaged the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane last week, Jermaine, who had been visiting his grandmother in South Carolina, bought hundreds of hot dogs, bags of chips and bottled water. Standing on the highway holding signs to get the attention of people driving out of the city, he served the food to hurricane evacuees.
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Mickey's birthday gift to Jermaine? A VIP Disney getaway for him and his family later this month.
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Jennifer Sangalang, Florida Today Published 3:47 p.m. ET Sept. 9, 2019 | Updated 3:49 p.m. ET Sept. 9, 2019
Jermaine Bell got the surprise of a lifetime Sunday — his 7th birthday — after Mickey Mouse and Disney World cast members arrived at his Jacksonville, Florida, home to thank him for helping Hurricane Dorian victims.
The boy had saved up for a year to visit Animal Kingdom in Orlando, but instead used the money to help those fleeing the storm.
Disney rewarded his grand gesture with a grand gesture of its own, reports Florida Today, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.
As Dorian ravaged the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane last week, Jermaine, who had been visiting his grandmother in South Carolina, bought hundreds of hot dogs, bags of chips and bottled water. Standing on the highway holding signs to get the attention of people driving out of the city, he served the food to hurricane evacuees.
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Mickey's birthday gift to Jermaine? A VIP Disney getaway for him and his family later this month.
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Thursday, September 05, 2019
An Anthem Against Silence
https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/01/31/protest-poem-ella-wheeler-wilcox-amanda-palmer/?fbclid=IwAR3SIjBAIhiQEyv-Tr2bqsCplNrZmHouCv1QZ8YP21MFHa00Pyo9LAJNOcs
See link below to see whole poem, and to hear Amanda Palmer reading this poem
By Maria Popova
“Knowing what I do, there would be no future peace for me if I kept silent,” biologist Rachel Carson wrote to her most beloved friend as she was about to catalyze the modern environmental movement with the 1962 publication of Silent Spring.
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the words she cited, though frequently misattributed to Abraham Lincoln, turned out to be the opening lines of a piercing poem titled “Protest” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850–October 30, 1919), from her 1914 book Poems of Problems (public domain | public library), written at the peak of the Women’s Suffrage movement and just as WWI was about to erupt.
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To sin by silence, when we should protest,
Makes cowards out of men. The human race
Has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised
Against injustice, ignorance, and lust,
The inquisition yet would serve the law,
And guillotines decide our least disputes.
The few who dare, must speak and speak again
To right the wrongs of many. Speech, thank God,
No vested power in this great day and land
Can gag or throttle. Press and voice may cry
Loud disapproval of existing ills;
May criticise oppression and condemn
The lawlessness of wealth-protecting laws
That let the children and childbearers toil
To purchase ease for idle millionaires.
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Sunday, December 31, 2017
Formerly homeless hairdresser gives free makeovers to homeless girls
By Jennifer Earl CBS News August 3, 2017, 4:58 PM
Two decades ago, Vanessa Howard was a homeless single mother of three with only $1.75 to her name.
During that time, the woman from Tampa, Florida, admits she was — at one point — suicidal. A victim of domestic violence, she had first gotten pregnant as a teen and left her "drug infested" childhood home, not sure where to go next.
"I cried out one day," Howard told CBS News. "I was tired of being homeless, tired of being alone and prayed for help."
The next day, Howard hopped on a city bus with her three little girls and headed to look at an apartment, hoping that this time, the landlord would take a chance on her. When she finally met the building owner, he said something she didn't expect.
"He was like, 'I don't know you, but I feel like you should have this place,'" Howard described. "It was from there that I found hope and restoration. I just wanted to pay it forward."
Howard got her fresh start working in local beauty salons over the years, earning enough money to care for her children.
Four years ago, Howard, who's now 62, did something she never dreamed was possible: she opened her own salon. She named it the Giving Hands Hair Salon because she planned to use the studio to give back to her community.
And that's exactly what she's been doing.
Once a month, Howard comes into the salon on her Sunday off to give free haircuts to the homeless.
"I know the struggle. That's why I give so hard," Howard said. "I'm looking to help restore women. I'm looking to help restore children, because, again, that pain is a part of my purpose."
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Homeless man who gave away his last $20 buys home thanks to fundraiser
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/johnny-bobbitt-buys-home-fundraiser/
Dec. 5, 2017
A homeless man who used his last $20 to fill up the gas tank of a stranded motorist in Philadelphia has bought a home with some of the nearly $400,000 raised for him by the woman he saved.
Johnny Bobbitt Jr. says on his GoFundMe page that he bought a home over the weekend. The fundraiser has raised more than $397,000.
Kate McClure, 27, of Florence Township, New Jersey, ran out of gas on an Interstate 95 exit ramp late one night. Bobbitt walked a few blocks to buy her gas. She didn't have money to repay the Marine veteran, so she created the online fundraiser page as a thank you.
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Bobbitt says he's donating some of his money to a grade school student who is helping another homeless veteran.
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Dec. 5, 2017
A homeless man who used his last $20 to fill up the gas tank of a stranded motorist in Philadelphia has bought a home with some of the nearly $400,000 raised for him by the woman he saved.
Johnny Bobbitt Jr. says on his GoFundMe page that he bought a home over the weekend. The fundraiser has raised more than $397,000.
Kate McClure, 27, of Florence Township, New Jersey, ran out of gas on an Interstate 95 exit ramp late one night. Bobbitt walked a few blocks to buy her gas. She didn't have money to repay the Marine veteran, so she created the online fundraiser page as a thank you.
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Bobbitt says he's donating some of his money to a grade school student who is helping another homeless veteran.
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Sunday, December 24, 2017
The incredible true story of when WWI stopped for enemy armies to celebrate Christmas together
http://www.businessinsider.com/christmas-truce-1914-world-war-i-2017-12
I suggest reading the whole article at the following link. Very moving. Gives hope for the human species.
Ben Brimelow
Dec. 24, 2017
World War I is, for good reason, remembered as one of the worst wars fought in human history.
Millions of soldiers and civilians died in a conflict that changed the way war was waged and set the stage for the rest of the 20th century.
But for one night and one day, some units in the warring parties — the armies of France and Britain on one side, and Germany on the other — put down their weapons for the briefest of moments to celebrate a holiday that brought opposing sides together.
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Huddled in their trenches on Christmas Eve, soldiers on both sides across the entire Western frontline celebrated the holiday as best as they could. Soon, all along the frontline combatants began to leave their trenches without their weapons, and meet enemy soldiers in no man's land.
What followed was an amazing episode for humanity; enemies who were just hours ago slaughtering each other at a level unseen in human history, were talking, singing, dancing, and eating together as if they were friends.
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Perhaps the best way to sum up the truce was said by a British soldier whose letter to the Carlisle Journal was published on January 5, 1915:
"All this talk of hate, all this firing at each other that has raged since the beginning of the war quelled and stayed by the magic of Christmas," he wrote. "It is a great hope for future peace when two great nations hating each other as foes have seldom hated, one side vowing eternal hate and vengeance and setting their venom to music, should on Christmas day and for all that the word implies, lay down their arms, exchange smokes and wish each other happiness."
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John McCutcheon wrote the song "Christmas in the Trenches" about this.
Saturday, September 30, 2017
US air force academy chief delivers stirring speech telling racists to 'get out'
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/29/air-force-academy-general-racism-jay-silveria
The superintendent of the US air force academy in Colorado Springs addressed a direct message to those who left racist graffiti at the academy’s preparatory school earlier this week.
We should have seen Trump coming
Read more
“If you can’t treat someone from another race or a different color skin with dignity and respect then you need to get out,” said Lt Gen Jay Silveria, before encouraging the assembled academy of more than 4,000 cadets and staff to take out their phones and record him saying it again.
“You keep these words, and you use them, and you remember them, and you share them, and you talk about them,” Silveria said.
He was responding to a report in the Air Force Times that five black cadet candidates at the preparatory academy had had the words “go home nigger” written on the whiteboards outside their dorm rooms.
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“If you’re outraged by those words then you’re in the right place. That kind of behavior has no place in the United States air force,” Silveria said. “You should be outraged not only as an airman but as a human being.”
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Silveria said that some of the recent high-profile racist incidents in the US had influenced his decision to speak out.
“We would be naive to think that we shouldn’t discuss this topic. We would also be tone deaf not to think about the backdrop of what’s going on in our country. Things like Charlottesville and Ferguson, the protests in the NFL,” he said.
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The superintendent of the US air force academy in Colorado Springs addressed a direct message to those who left racist graffiti at the academy’s preparatory school earlier this week.
We should have seen Trump coming
Read more
“If you can’t treat someone from another race or a different color skin with dignity and respect then you need to get out,” said Lt Gen Jay Silveria, before encouraging the assembled academy of more than 4,000 cadets and staff to take out their phones and record him saying it again.
“You keep these words, and you use them, and you remember them, and you share them, and you talk about them,” Silveria said.
He was responding to a report in the Air Force Times that five black cadet candidates at the preparatory academy had had the words “go home nigger” written on the whiteboards outside their dorm rooms.
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“If you’re outraged by those words then you’re in the right place. That kind of behavior has no place in the United States air force,” Silveria said. “You should be outraged not only as an airman but as a human being.”
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Silveria said that some of the recent high-profile racist incidents in the US had influenced his decision to speak out.
“We would be naive to think that we shouldn’t discuss this topic. We would also be tone deaf not to think about the backdrop of what’s going on in our country. Things like Charlottesville and Ferguson, the protests in the NFL,” he said.
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Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Links
Trump defaulted on payments for his Puerto Rico golf course, leaving the territory with a $33 million tax debt
https://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/346335/trump-golf-course-puerto-rico-default-33-million-tax-debt/
A groom jumped into a pond during his wedding photo shoot to save a boy from drowning
[This is a hero, a real man.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2017/09/26/a-groom-jumped-into-a-pond-during-his-wedding-photo-shoot-to-save-a-boy-from-drowning/?utm_term=.3a96ddc8d435
Russian-funded Facebook ads backed Stein, Sanders and Trump
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/26/facebook-russia-trump-sanders-stein-243172
Price’s private-jet travels included visits with colleagues, lunch with son
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/26/tom-price-private-jets-243176
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Brave and selfless Oregon stabbing victims hailed as heroes for standing up to racist rants
By Amy B Wang May 28, 2017
Even before their names were released, one word repeatedly came up to describe the men who were killed in a stabbing Friday on a light-rail train in Portland, Ore.: heroes.
They had tried to intervene, police said, after another passenger began “ranting and raving” and shouting anti-Muslim insults at two young women.
That’s when the ranting passenger turned his anger toward those who sought to calm him down. He fatally stabbed two men and seriously injured a third, police said, before fleeing the train on foot.
“Two men lost their lives and another was injured for doing the right thing, standing up for people they didn’t know against hatred,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a statement Saturday. “Their actions were brave and selfless, and should serve as an example and inspiration to us all. They are heroes.”
Police on Saturday identified the two slain victims as 53-year-old Ricky John Best and 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche.
The third victim, 21-year-old Micah David-Cole Fletcher, is being treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.
“They were all attacked because they did the right thing,” Wheeler said.
Police arrested 35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian, of north Portland. Local media reports described Christian as a “known white supremacist” in the area, and his Facebook page showed a long history of posting racist and extremist beliefs.
According to witnesses, a white male passenger riding an eastbound MAX train early Friday afternoon began yelling what “would best be characterized as hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions,” police said. Some of the slurs were directed at two female passengers, one of whom was wearing a hijab, according to police.
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By Saturday afternoon, a GoFundMe campaign called “Tri Met Heroes” set up for the victims’ families had raised more than $30,000. A GoFundMe spokesman confirmed to The Post that the company would ensure that the funds are sent to the victims’ families.
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“We don’t know if [the suspect] has mental-health issues or was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or all of the above,” Simpson said Friday. “With this incident, we’re obviously in early stages of the investigation.”
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The attack prompted outrage among residents and lawmakers in Oregon, as well as nationwide.
Saturday, March 04, 2017
Muslims offer to guard Jewish sites in US
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39142831
Following the recent spate of bomb threats against Jewish community centres and the desecration of graves at cemeteries in Philadelphia and St. Louis, some Muslims have turned to social media to offer to guard Jewish sites.
The offers to protect religious sites have come from Muslims who include military servicemen, lawyers and Emmy Award-winning TV broadcasters.
The JCC Association of North America, a network of cultural centres, reported more than 100 bomb threats against Jewish centres in the first two months of 2017.
On Monday alone, the organisation said another 31 threats were made against Jewish centres including a gunshot fired through a Hebrew school window at an Indiana synagogue.
Viral solidarity
In a tweet, a former Muslim marine, Tayyib Rashid, pledged: "If your synagogue or Jewish cemetery needs someone to stand guard, count me in. Islam requires it."
Mr Rashid, known by his Twitter handle @MuslimMarine adds in his Periscope video that "I've seen a tremendous outpouring of love and support from all Americans, from Muslims, from my fellow Jewish Americans, from Christians, from atheists, from everyone".
The former Marine welcomes people to meet him in a local coffee shop in his home town in Grayslake, Chicago, in his "initiative to help promote peace between Muslims and non-Muslims".
He aims to open dialogue about "the recent atrocities committed by some hateful people" that were responsible for the "destruction and desecration of the graves of people of Jewish faith".
He adds: "I condemn that wholeheartedly and I stand in solidarity with all my Jewish citizens."
•••••
Following the recent spate of bomb threats against Jewish community centres and the desecration of graves at cemeteries in Philadelphia and St. Louis, some Muslims have turned to social media to offer to guard Jewish sites.
The offers to protect religious sites have come from Muslims who include military servicemen, lawyers and Emmy Award-winning TV broadcasters.
The JCC Association of North America, a network of cultural centres, reported more than 100 bomb threats against Jewish centres in the first two months of 2017.
On Monday alone, the organisation said another 31 threats were made against Jewish centres including a gunshot fired through a Hebrew school window at an Indiana synagogue.
Viral solidarity
In a tweet, a former Muslim marine, Tayyib Rashid, pledged: "If your synagogue or Jewish cemetery needs someone to stand guard, count me in. Islam requires it."
Mr Rashid, known by his Twitter handle @MuslimMarine adds in his Periscope video that "I've seen a tremendous outpouring of love and support from all Americans, from Muslims, from my fellow Jewish Americans, from Christians, from atheists, from everyone".
The former Marine welcomes people to meet him in a local coffee shop in his home town in Grayslake, Chicago, in his "initiative to help promote peace between Muslims and non-Muslims".
He aims to open dialogue about "the recent atrocities committed by some hateful people" that were responsible for the "destruction and desecration of the graves of people of Jewish faith".
He adds: "I condemn that wholeheartedly and I stand in solidarity with all my Jewish citizens."
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Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Steven McDonald, NYPD detective turned global peace messenger after getting shot, dies
Jan. 10, 2017
A hero NYPD detective, known for forgiving a gunman who left him paralyzed, has died days after suffering a heart attack. He was 59.
Steven McDonald died shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday at North Shore University Hospital, where he’d been admitted Friday, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said.
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He publicly forgave the teen shooter, Shavod Jones, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In the years after the shooting, McDonald became one of the world’s foremost pilgrims for peace. In 1995 he met with Pope John Paul II. That same year he was promoted to detective. He spoke at two Republican conventions.
In 2004, he was promoted to detective first grade.
McDonald took his message of forgiveness to Israel, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.
“No one could have predicted that Steven would touch so many people, in New York and around the world,” said Commissioner O’Neill. “Like so many cops, Steven joined the NYPD to make a difference in people’s lives. And he accomplished that every day. He is a model for each of us as we go about our daily lives. He will be greatly missed, and will always remain a part of our family.”
Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, called McDonald “a true American hero.”
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Sunday, December 18, 2016
Lawrence Colburn dies at 67; helped end Vietnam's My Lai massacre
http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-lawrence-colburn-20161217-story.html
Associated Press
Dec. 17, 2016
Lawrence Manley Colburn, a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War who helped end the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese villagers by U.S. troops at My Lai, has died. He was 67.
Lisa Colburn told the Associated Press on Thursday evening that her husband of 31 years was diagnosed with cancer in late September and died Tuesday.
"It was very quick," she said by phone from her home in Canton, Ga., near Atlanta. "He was a very peaceful man who had a great desire for there to be a peaceful world."
She also called him "a compassionate person who was a hero in many people's eyes."
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Colburn was the last surviving member of a U.S. Army crew that ended the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968. According to accounts, pilot Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter between unarmed villagers and American troops and ordered Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta to cover him.
Thompson then persuaded members of Charlie Company to stop shooting. The company's soldiers had begun shooting villagers that day even though they hadn't come under attack, authorities later said. The shooting quickly escalated into an orgy of killing that claimed the lives of as many as 504 civilians — mostly women, children and the elderly.
•••••
Trent Angers, who wrote a biography of Thompson, "The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story," said Colburn played an indispensable role in stopping the massacre at My Lai.
"He stood up, shoulder to shoulder with Hugh and Glenn, to oppose and stand down against those who were committing crimes against humanity. Without his assistance, Hugh might not have done what he did," Angers said.
Colburn and Thompson were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for their actions and received the Soldier's Medal, the highest U.S. military award for bravery not involving conflict with the enemy.
Thompson, who lived in Lafayette, La., died in 2006. Andreotta was killed in combat in Vietnam three weeks after My Lai.
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Associated Press
Dec. 17, 2016
Lawrence Manley Colburn, a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War who helped end the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese villagers by U.S. troops at My Lai, has died. He was 67.
Lisa Colburn told the Associated Press on Thursday evening that her husband of 31 years was diagnosed with cancer in late September and died Tuesday.
"It was very quick," she said by phone from her home in Canton, Ga., near Atlanta. "He was a very peaceful man who had a great desire for there to be a peaceful world."
She also called him "a compassionate person who was a hero in many people's eyes."
•••••
Colburn was the last surviving member of a U.S. Army crew that ended the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968. According to accounts, pilot Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter between unarmed villagers and American troops and ordered Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta to cover him.
Thompson then persuaded members of Charlie Company to stop shooting. The company's soldiers had begun shooting villagers that day even though they hadn't come under attack, authorities later said. The shooting quickly escalated into an orgy of killing that claimed the lives of as many as 504 civilians — mostly women, children and the elderly.
•••••
Trent Angers, who wrote a biography of Thompson, "The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story," said Colburn played an indispensable role in stopping the massacre at My Lai.
"He stood up, shoulder to shoulder with Hugh and Glenn, to oppose and stand down against those who were committing crimes against humanity. Without his assistance, Hugh might not have done what he did," Angers said.
Colburn and Thompson were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for their actions and received the Soldier's Medal, the highest U.S. military award for bravery not involving conflict with the enemy.
Thompson, who lived in Lafayette, La., died in 2006. Andreotta was killed in combat in Vietnam three weeks after My Lai.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Arnold Schwarzenegger says : I am not a self-made man.
I don't always agree with him politically, but he is a real man.https://www.facebook.com/notes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-am-not-a-self-made-man/10154889065464658
Arnold Schwarzenegger·Thursday, December 8, 2016
I am not a self-made man.
Every time I give a speech at a business conference, or speak to college students, or do a Reddit AMA, someone says it.
“Governor/Governator/Arnold/Arnie/Schwarzie/Schnitzel (depending on where I am), as a self-made man, what’s your blueprint for success?”
They’re always shocked when I thank them for the compliment but say, “I am not a self-made man. I got a lot of help.”
It is true that I grew up in Austria without plumbing. It is true that I moved to America alone with just a gym bag. And it is true that I worked as a bricklayer and invested in real estate to become a millionaire before I ever swung the sword in Conan the Barbarian.
But it is not true that I am self-made. Like everyone, to get to where I am, I stood on the shoulders of giants. My life was built on a foundation of parents, coaches, and teachers; of kind souls who lent couches or gym back rooms where I could sleep; of mentors who shared wisdom and advice; of idols who motivated me from the pages of magazines (and, as my life grew, from personal interaction).
•••••
Joe Weider brought me to America and took me under his wing, promoting my bodybuilding career and teaching me about business. Lucille Ball took a huge chance and called me to guest star in a special that was my first big break in Hollywood. And in 2003, without the help of 4,206,284 Californians, I would never have been elected Governor of the great state of California.
So how can I ever claim to be self-made? To accept that mantle discounts every person and every piece of advice that got me here. And it gives the wrong impression — that you can do it alone.
I couldn’t. And odds are, you can’t either.
We all need fuel. Without the assistance, advice, and inspiration of others, the gears of our mind grind to a halt, and we’re stuck with nowhere to go. I have been blessed to find mentors and idols at every step of my life, and I’ve been lucky to meet many of them.
•••••
The worst thing you can ever do is think that you know enough.
Never stop learning. Ever.
•••••
This essay was my foreword for the new book by Tim Ferris, Tools of Titans. Thank you to Tim for donating a portion of your royalties to After-School All-Stars and for writing such a wonderful book of advice from leaders in every sector. Including this Austrian immigrant.
Monday, August 01, 2016
Muslims go to Masses in Europe to show solidarity
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2016/07/31/muslims-catholic-masses-europe-show-solidarity/otPLObCMGLjL62lcUkBRaJ/story.html
By Milos Krivokapic and Raphael Satter Associated Press August 01, 2016
ROUEN, France — In a gesture of solidarity after the gruesome killing of a French priest, hundreds of Muslims on Sunday attended Catholic Masses in churches and cathedrals across France and Italy.
More than 100 Muslims gathered at the towering Gothic cathedral in Rouen, near Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where the 85-year-old Rev. Jacques Hamel had his throat slit by two teenage Muslim fanatics Tuesday.
‘We are very moved by the presence of our Muslim friends and I believe it is a courageous act that they did by coming to us,’’ Dominique Lebrun, the archbishop of Rouen, said after the service.
•••••
Outside the church, a group of Muslims were applauded when they unfurled a banner: ‘‘Love for all. Hate for none.’’
•••••
At Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Mosque of Paris, said repeatedly that Muslims want to live in peace.
•••••
In Italy, the secretary general of the country’s Islamic Confederation, Abdullah Cozzolino, spoke from the altar in the Treasure of St. Gennaro chapel next to the Duomo cathedral in Naples. Three imams also attended Mass at the St. Maria Church in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood, donning their traditional dress as they entered the sanctuary and sat down in the front row.
Mohammed ben Mohammed, a member of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, said he called on the faithful in his sermon Friday ‘‘to report anyone who may be intent on damaging society. I am sure that there are those among the faithful who are ready to speak up.’’
Ahmed El Balazi, the imam of the Vobarno mosque in the Lombard province of Brescia, said he did not fear repercussions for speaking out.
‘‘I am not afraid. . . . These people are tainting our religion and it is terrible to know that many people consider all Muslim terrorists. That is not the case,’’ El Balazi said. ‘‘Religion is one thing. Another is the behavior of Muslims who don’t represent us.’’
•••••
By Milos Krivokapic and Raphael Satter Associated Press August 01, 2016
ROUEN, France — In a gesture of solidarity after the gruesome killing of a French priest, hundreds of Muslims on Sunday attended Catholic Masses in churches and cathedrals across France and Italy.
More than 100 Muslims gathered at the towering Gothic cathedral in Rouen, near Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where the 85-year-old Rev. Jacques Hamel had his throat slit by two teenage Muslim fanatics Tuesday.
‘We are very moved by the presence of our Muslim friends and I believe it is a courageous act that they did by coming to us,’’ Dominique Lebrun, the archbishop of Rouen, said after the service.
•••••
Outside the church, a group of Muslims were applauded when they unfurled a banner: ‘‘Love for all. Hate for none.’’
•••••
At Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Mosque of Paris, said repeatedly that Muslims want to live in peace.
•••••
In Italy, the secretary general of the country’s Islamic Confederation, Abdullah Cozzolino, spoke from the altar in the Treasure of St. Gennaro chapel next to the Duomo cathedral in Naples. Three imams also attended Mass at the St. Maria Church in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood, donning their traditional dress as they entered the sanctuary and sat down in the front row.
Mohammed ben Mohammed, a member of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, said he called on the faithful in his sermon Friday ‘‘to report anyone who may be intent on damaging society. I am sure that there are those among the faithful who are ready to speak up.’’
Ahmed El Balazi, the imam of the Vobarno mosque in the Lombard province of Brescia, said he did not fear repercussions for speaking out.
‘‘I am not afraid. . . . These people are tainting our religion and it is terrible to know that many people consider all Muslim terrorists. That is not the case,’’ El Balazi said. ‘‘Religion is one thing. Another is the behavior of Muslims who don’t represent us.’’
•••••
Monday, November 16, 2015
Opening Eyes
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/opening-eyes/?_r=0
By Austin Meyer November 10, 2015
On my 2015 win-a-trip journey with Nicholas Kristof through India and Nepal, I spent most of the time reporting on issues related to extreme poverty, malnutrition and human rights abuses. As I wrote these columns, I battled feelings of futility and hopelessness. I was determined to change hearts and minds through human-centered stories, but I was afraid that the scale of the problems I was witnessing would engulf any efforts made to combat them.
But then I arrived in a town called Hetauda in southern Nepal to see the miracles performed by Dr. Sanduk Ruit and Dr. Geoffrey Tabin in their cataract surgery camp. Watching them blew away my fears. In just five minutes, I watched them cure people of blindness and change their lives forever.
•••••
Since losing her vision, Maya cannot walk properly. She can no longer cook for her family or farm her land. She says she is helpless.
72-year-old Tilo Chan Rai sits next to Maya and shares a similar story. Chan Rai has been blind for a year and half. He used to farm his land but since losing his vision, he can’t walk or go to the bathroom without help.
“I feel like I am dead now,” said Chan Rai. “I can’t do anything.” Maya nods her head.
•••••
Dr. Ruit and Dr. Tabin can each do 100 surgeries in a single day. The surgical method, pioneered by Dr. Ruit, costs just $25 a patient. In the US, cataract surgeries cost thousands of dollars. This dramatically helps poor people like Maya who can’t afford surgery. The Hetauda Community Eye Hospital subsidizes treatment for those who can’t pay, by having those who can, pay extra.
•••••
The night after the bandages came off, I found it hard to fall asleep. I was so inspired. I texted my mom, tongue in cheek, that I was ready to head off to medical school.
What I realized in Hetauda was I can’t let the scale of global development challenges cripple me. If Dr. Ruit had let the scale of global blindness stop him from developing a groundbreaking cataract surgery procedure, Maya would never see her daughter again. And if I let the scale of global development challenges stop me from dedicating my life to help end them, I will never get to be a part of a moment when eyes are opened to a new world — and a life is changed forever.
By Austin Meyer November 10, 2015
On my 2015 win-a-trip journey with Nicholas Kristof through India and Nepal, I spent most of the time reporting on issues related to extreme poverty, malnutrition and human rights abuses. As I wrote these columns, I battled feelings of futility and hopelessness. I was determined to change hearts and minds through human-centered stories, but I was afraid that the scale of the problems I was witnessing would engulf any efforts made to combat them.
But then I arrived in a town called Hetauda in southern Nepal to see the miracles performed by Dr. Sanduk Ruit and Dr. Geoffrey Tabin in their cataract surgery camp. Watching them blew away my fears. In just five minutes, I watched them cure people of blindness and change their lives forever.
•••••
Since losing her vision, Maya cannot walk properly. She can no longer cook for her family or farm her land. She says she is helpless.
72-year-old Tilo Chan Rai sits next to Maya and shares a similar story. Chan Rai has been blind for a year and half. He used to farm his land but since losing his vision, he can’t walk or go to the bathroom without help.
“I feel like I am dead now,” said Chan Rai. “I can’t do anything.” Maya nods her head.
•••••
Dr. Ruit and Dr. Tabin can each do 100 surgeries in a single day. The surgical method, pioneered by Dr. Ruit, costs just $25 a patient. In the US, cataract surgeries cost thousands of dollars. This dramatically helps poor people like Maya who can’t afford surgery. The Hetauda Community Eye Hospital subsidizes treatment for those who can’t pay, by having those who can, pay extra.
•••••
The night after the bandages came off, I found it hard to fall asleep. I was so inspired. I texted my mom, tongue in cheek, that I was ready to head off to medical school.
What I realized in Hetauda was I can’t let the scale of global development challenges cripple me. If Dr. Ruit had let the scale of global blindness stop him from developing a groundbreaking cataract surgery procedure, Maya would never see her daughter again. And if I let the scale of global development challenges stop me from dedicating my life to help end them, I will never get to be a part of a moment when eyes are opened to a new world — and a life is changed forever.
Friday, August 21, 2015
George Houser, civil rights leader, dies in Santa Rosa at 99
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4369500-181/george-houser-civil-rights-leader
BY PAUL PAYNE, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
August 20, 2015
The Rev. George M. Houser, an anti-apartheid activist and leader in the U.S. civil rights movement who was believed to be the last living member of the inaugural Freedom Ride to integrate buses in the Deep South, has died.
The Methodist minister, considered one of the most important yet unsung activists of the era, died Wednesday at the Friends House retirement center in Santa Rosa. He was 99.
“His heart was always with anyone who was dealing with any kind of subjugation,” said his daughter, Cotati attorney Martie Leys. “He was always fierce in his determination to see justice prevail, but he was always respectful, always nonviolent, always willing to talk.”
He credited his upbringing by his late parents, Methodist missionaries Otto and Ethel Houser, with his passion to oppose race-based mistreatment of human beings.
“I guess it was in my genes,” he said in a 2010 interview with The Press Democrat. “I didn’t grow up in an atmosphere of prejudice.”
•••••
Houser co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality, a civil rights group, in 1942 after he and a black friend were denied service at a Chicago restaurant. The group became a national organization, enrolling tens of thousands of members. They endorsed nonviolent protests and sit-ins at establishments around the county.
Five years later, he and activist Bayard Rustin tested the U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning segregation on interstate transportation. They launched the Journey of Reconciliation, placing white and black activists on buses throughout the South, risking attacks and arrests. It foreshadowed the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s and now is widely considered to have been the first of them.
For their efforts, Houser and Rustin received the Thomas Jefferson Award for the Advancement of Democracy from the Council Against Intolerance in America in 1948.
•••••
In 1952, Houser co-founded Americans for South African Resistance and became the executive director of the American Committee on Africa in 1955. He worked to abolish apartheid and to end colonial rule throughout Africa before retiring in 1981. Later, he met with South African leader Nelson Mandela on several occasions.
Houser was recognized for his work in Africa in 2010 when he received the Oliver R. Tambo Award.
His wife said he was reluctant to take credit in whatever he did despite always taking a central role.
•••••
BY PAUL PAYNE, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
August 20, 2015
The Rev. George M. Houser, an anti-apartheid activist and leader in the U.S. civil rights movement who was believed to be the last living member of the inaugural Freedom Ride to integrate buses in the Deep South, has died.
The Methodist minister, considered one of the most important yet unsung activists of the era, died Wednesday at the Friends House retirement center in Santa Rosa. He was 99.
“His heart was always with anyone who was dealing with any kind of subjugation,” said his daughter, Cotati attorney Martie Leys. “He was always fierce in his determination to see justice prevail, but he was always respectful, always nonviolent, always willing to talk.”
He credited his upbringing by his late parents, Methodist missionaries Otto and Ethel Houser, with his passion to oppose race-based mistreatment of human beings.
“I guess it was in my genes,” he said in a 2010 interview with The Press Democrat. “I didn’t grow up in an atmosphere of prejudice.”
•••••
Houser co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality, a civil rights group, in 1942 after he and a black friend were denied service at a Chicago restaurant. The group became a national organization, enrolling tens of thousands of members. They endorsed nonviolent protests and sit-ins at establishments around the county.
Five years later, he and activist Bayard Rustin tested the U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning segregation on interstate transportation. They launched the Journey of Reconciliation, placing white and black activists on buses throughout the South, risking attacks and arrests. It foreshadowed the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s and now is widely considered to have been the first of them.
For their efforts, Houser and Rustin received the Thomas Jefferson Award for the Advancement of Democracy from the Council Against Intolerance in America in 1948.
•••••
In 1952, Houser co-founded Americans for South African Resistance and became the executive director of the American Committee on Africa in 1955. He worked to abolish apartheid and to end colonial rule throughout Africa before retiring in 1981. Later, he met with South African leader Nelson Mandela on several occasions.
Houser was recognized for his work in Africa in 2010 when he received the Oliver R. Tambo Award.
His wife said he was reluctant to take credit in whatever he did despite always taking a central role.
•••••
Friday, August 14, 2015
Democratic Country Star Tim McGraw Just Bought 144 Homes For Veterans
http://www.occupydemocrats.com/democratic-country-star-tim-mcgraw-just-bought-144-homes-for-veterans-2/
by Colin Taylor • June 11, 2015
Thank you to Leslie Salzillo of the Daily Kos for breaking this story.
Tim McGraw, famed country star and diehard liberal, has found a new way to give back to our brave veterans and thank them for the sacrifices they’ve made and the risks they’ve taken defending our nation. McGraw will be giving thirty-six mortgage-free homes away to veterans during his 2015 summer tour; he already has given over 108 homes to vets in association with the charity Homefront.
McGraw explains that “the return to civilian life can be a challenging transition. We want to welcome veterans home to the community they sacrificed to protect. A mortgage-free home provides stability for their families and also allows them to start this new chapter of their life with one less worry.”
His tour kicks off on June 5th, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and continues around the country before ending in California. It will be a highlight of a very successful year for the talented musician, who was honored in TIME’s Top 100 Most Influential People. His work and support for our veterans is famous around the nation, and it is much appreciated by our 2.5 million post 9/11 veteran.
“On behalf of the entire Operation Homefront family and the military families we serve, I am thrilled we are able to continue our amazing partnership with Tim,” said Brig Gen (ret) John I. Pray, Jr., president and CEO of Homefront. “Tim’s deep, personal commitment to honor those who work tirelessly to protect the freedoms we enjoy daily reflects his clear appreciation for what our military members and their families do for all of us.”
As Republicans in Congress continue to cut veterans benefits, knock down their protections from predatory loan sharks, and deny VA benefits to LGBT vets, it’s wonderful to see such support and dedication from the creative community; to remind our veterans that even though the Republican Party may have abandoned them, the American people have not forgotten the debt that we owe our servicemen and women.
by Colin Taylor • June 11, 2015
Thank you to Leslie Salzillo of the Daily Kos for breaking this story.
Tim McGraw, famed country star and diehard liberal, has found a new way to give back to our brave veterans and thank them for the sacrifices they’ve made and the risks they’ve taken defending our nation. McGraw will be giving thirty-six mortgage-free homes away to veterans during his 2015 summer tour; he already has given over 108 homes to vets in association with the charity Homefront.
McGraw explains that “the return to civilian life can be a challenging transition. We want to welcome veterans home to the community they sacrificed to protect. A mortgage-free home provides stability for their families and also allows them to start this new chapter of their life with one less worry.”
His tour kicks off on June 5th, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and continues around the country before ending in California. It will be a highlight of a very successful year for the talented musician, who was honored in TIME’s Top 100 Most Influential People. His work and support for our veterans is famous around the nation, and it is much appreciated by our 2.5 million post 9/11 veteran.
“On behalf of the entire Operation Homefront family and the military families we serve, I am thrilled we are able to continue our amazing partnership with Tim,” said Brig Gen (ret) John I. Pray, Jr., president and CEO of Homefront. “Tim’s deep, personal commitment to honor those who work tirelessly to protect the freedoms we enjoy daily reflects his clear appreciation for what our military members and their families do for all of us.”
As Republicans in Congress continue to cut veterans benefits, knock down their protections from predatory loan sharks, and deny VA benefits to LGBT vets, it’s wonderful to see such support and dedication from the creative community; to remind our veterans that even though the Republican Party may have abandoned them, the American people have not forgotten the debt that we owe our servicemen and women.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Friendly whale nudges up to fishing boat for men to remove bags in his mouth
http://www.examiner.com/article/friendly-whale-nudges-up-to-fishing-boat-for-men-to-remove-bags-his-mouth?cid=sm-facebook-081315-12.00pm-FriendlyWhale
Cheryl Hanna
Aug. 13, 2015
Good Samaritans were caught off guard in Middle Harbour, north of Sydney when a friendly whale swam up to their boat and seemed to be nudging the fishermen to help him get plastic bags and fishing lines out of his mouth on Tuesday afternoon, reports the ManlyDaily.
Kindhearted Michael Riggio,17, took photos with his phone while his friend, Ivan Iskenderian, leaned over the boat to help the whale. The men thought the entire experience was "surreal" and couldn't believe it was really happening. Another fisherman, Ron Kovacs who was in another boat opposite the young fisherman, spotted the whale when he made his first appearance. "He just popped his head up so you could reach out and remove the garbage. He tried on my boat but we are a bit higher," stated Mr. Kovacs. "I made one grab for the bag but missed. He was very inquisitive and more interested in us.You could see that big eye coming out watching us. They are not dumb for sure," Kovacs wrote in his account of the once in a lifetime experience.
As Mr. Kovac tried to reach out and help the whale he missed. but did notice the animal had a big scar on his back, and the fishing line and two plastic bags had been stuck on his head. He was stunned and in awe, as the whale presented his head as the two young fishermen removed the bags. And as the whale is later seen swimming away, the grateful giant presented his fin to the men as if thanking them for their help.
Cheryl Hanna
Aug. 13, 2015
Good Samaritans were caught off guard in Middle Harbour, north of Sydney when a friendly whale swam up to their boat and seemed to be nudging the fishermen to help him get plastic bags and fishing lines out of his mouth on Tuesday afternoon, reports the ManlyDaily.
Kindhearted Michael Riggio,17, took photos with his phone while his friend, Ivan Iskenderian, leaned over the boat to help the whale. The men thought the entire experience was "surreal" and couldn't believe it was really happening. Another fisherman, Ron Kovacs who was in another boat opposite the young fisherman, spotted the whale when he made his first appearance. "He just popped his head up so you could reach out and remove the garbage. He tried on my boat but we are a bit higher," stated Mr. Kovacs. "I made one grab for the bag but missed. He was very inquisitive and more interested in us.You could see that big eye coming out watching us. They are not dumb for sure," Kovacs wrote in his account of the once in a lifetime experience.
As Mr. Kovac tried to reach out and help the whale he missed. but did notice the animal had a big scar on his back, and the fishing line and two plastic bags had been stuck on his head. He was stunned and in awe, as the whale presented his head as the two young fishermen removed the bags. And as the whale is later seen swimming away, the grateful giant presented his fin to the men as if thanking them for their help.
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Teen scientist finds a solution to troubling water quality issues
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-07/asoa-js072915.php
Public Release: 29-Jul-2015
Just say 'No' to drugs -- in water
Teen scientist finds a solution to troubling water quality issues
American Society of Agronomy
Remember the science fair?
For some of us it was an exciting time of creative experimentation. For others it was a time of botched and badly displayed data. For 16-year-old Maria Elena Grimmett, it's a blast. And she isn't peddling baking soda and vinegar volcanoes.
Grimmett is tackling serious water quality issues that threaten the health of rivers, streams and groundwater. When she was just 14 years old, Grimmett was the youngest person published in the Journal of Environmental Quality. Now at 16, she has just put the final touches on her research of a plastic adsorbent that removes pharmaceutical drugs from water sources.
Grimmett's parents aren't water scientists. Her interest in science is self-propelled. The journey to publication was a product of gumption, passion, and a supportive scientific community. It began with a collection of events that led her to water quality research. Grimmett remembers classroom experiments in the third grade. "My science teacher really made experiments fun," says Grimmett, "I started to look forward to the science fair."
•••••
"It's scary that 80% of rivers, streams, and groundwater in this country are contaminated by at least one organic contaminant," says Grimmett. Modern water treatment tactics are good for removing common contaminants, but many pharmaceuticals and other chemicals escape treatment simply due to their extreme diversity. The drugs get into the water after excretion by humans and animals that take them medicinally. One drug in particular, sulfamethazine, is a common antibiotic fed to livestock to promote growth and to prevent diseases. "Ninety percent of it is not metabolized and ends up in water sources," says Grimmett.
For six years, Grimmett used her summers to experiment with sulfamethazine and specific types of polymer resins, which she describes as "just small plastic beads with tiny gaps." Water is passed through a container loaded with resins. The offending drug clings to the tiny spaces in the resins, leaving the water to flow out drug-free.
•••••
Because of a rule restricting lab use by anyone under 16, Grimmett commandeered her family's garage and the dining room for her experiments. Her proud parents didn't resent the invasion of pipettes and test tubes too much, mostly because Grimmett was willing to do all the work herself.
"She was able to do it all at home due to her determination, multiple contacts with scientists and companies, and I suppose my wife and I who were willing to play ball," says Grimmett's father, Michael.
Grimmett has no trouble being taken seriously by her peers in the science community. "Everyone is so supportive," she says, "Whenever I read articles and have questions for the author, they are always responsive and helpful."
•••••
Public Release: 29-Jul-2015
Just say 'No' to drugs -- in water
Teen scientist finds a solution to troubling water quality issues
American Society of Agronomy
Remember the science fair?
For some of us it was an exciting time of creative experimentation. For others it was a time of botched and badly displayed data. For 16-year-old Maria Elena Grimmett, it's a blast. And she isn't peddling baking soda and vinegar volcanoes.
Grimmett is tackling serious water quality issues that threaten the health of rivers, streams and groundwater. When she was just 14 years old, Grimmett was the youngest person published in the Journal of Environmental Quality. Now at 16, she has just put the final touches on her research of a plastic adsorbent that removes pharmaceutical drugs from water sources.
Grimmett's parents aren't water scientists. Her interest in science is self-propelled. The journey to publication was a product of gumption, passion, and a supportive scientific community. It began with a collection of events that led her to water quality research. Grimmett remembers classroom experiments in the third grade. "My science teacher really made experiments fun," says Grimmett, "I started to look forward to the science fair."
•••••
"It's scary that 80% of rivers, streams, and groundwater in this country are contaminated by at least one organic contaminant," says Grimmett. Modern water treatment tactics are good for removing common contaminants, but many pharmaceuticals and other chemicals escape treatment simply due to their extreme diversity. The drugs get into the water after excretion by humans and animals that take them medicinally. One drug in particular, sulfamethazine, is a common antibiotic fed to livestock to promote growth and to prevent diseases. "Ninety percent of it is not metabolized and ends up in water sources," says Grimmett.
For six years, Grimmett used her summers to experiment with sulfamethazine and specific types of polymer resins, which she describes as "just small plastic beads with tiny gaps." Water is passed through a container loaded with resins. The offending drug clings to the tiny spaces in the resins, leaving the water to flow out drug-free.
•••••
Because of a rule restricting lab use by anyone under 16, Grimmett commandeered her family's garage and the dining room for her experiments. Her proud parents didn't resent the invasion of pipettes and test tubes too much, mostly because Grimmett was willing to do all the work herself.
"She was able to do it all at home due to her determination, multiple contacts with scientists and companies, and I suppose my wife and I who were willing to play ball," says Grimmett's father, Michael.
Grimmett has no trouble being taken seriously by her peers in the science community. "Everyone is so supportive," she says, "Whenever I read articles and have questions for the author, they are always responsive and helpful."
•••••
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Nicholas Winton Is Dead at 106; Saved Children from the Holocaust
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/02/world/europe/nicholas-winton-is-dead-at-106-saved-children-from-the-holocaust.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0
By ROBERT D. McFADDENJULY 1, 2015
Nicholas Winton, a Briton who said nothing for a half-century about his role in organizing the escape of 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, a righteous deed like those of Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg, died on Wednesday in Maidenhead, England. He was 106.
•••••
It was only after Mr. Winton’s wife found a scrapbook in the attic of their home at Maidenhead, in 1988 — a dusty record of names, pictures and documents detailing a story of redemption from the Holocaust — that he spoke of his all-but-forgotten work in the deliverance of children who, like the parents who gave them up to save their lives, were destined for Nazi concentration camps and extermination.
For all his ensuing honors and accolades in books and films, Mr. Winton was a reluctant hero, often compared to Schindler, the ethnic German who saved 1,200 Jews by employing them in his enamelware and munitions factories in Poland and Czechoslovakia, and to Wallenberg, the Swedish businessman and diplomat who used illegal passports and legation hideaways to save tens of thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary.
•••••
Nearly all the saved children were orphans by war’s end, their parents killed at Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen or Theresienstadt. After the war, many remained in Britain, but others returned to Czechoslovakia or emigrated to Israel, Australia or the United States. The survivors, many now in their 70s and 80s, still call themselves “Winton’s Children.”
•••••
The rescues were explored in three films by the Slovak director Matej Minác: the fictionalized “All My Loved Ones” (1999); a documentary, “The Power of Good: Nicholas Winton” (2002), and “Nicky’s Family” (2011), and in Mr. Minác’s book, “Nicholas Winton’s Lottery of Life” (2007).
•••••
By ROBERT D. McFADDENJULY 1, 2015
Nicholas Winton, a Briton who said nothing for a half-century about his role in organizing the escape of 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, a righteous deed like those of Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg, died on Wednesday in Maidenhead, England. He was 106.
•••••
It was only after Mr. Winton’s wife found a scrapbook in the attic of their home at Maidenhead, in 1988 — a dusty record of names, pictures and documents detailing a story of redemption from the Holocaust — that he spoke of his all-but-forgotten work in the deliverance of children who, like the parents who gave them up to save their lives, were destined for Nazi concentration camps and extermination.
For all his ensuing honors and accolades in books and films, Mr. Winton was a reluctant hero, often compared to Schindler, the ethnic German who saved 1,200 Jews by employing them in his enamelware and munitions factories in Poland and Czechoslovakia, and to Wallenberg, the Swedish businessman and diplomat who used illegal passports and legation hideaways to save tens of thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary.
•••••
Nearly all the saved children were orphans by war’s end, their parents killed at Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen or Theresienstadt. After the war, many remained in Britain, but others returned to Czechoslovakia or emigrated to Israel, Australia or the United States. The survivors, many now in their 70s and 80s, still call themselves “Winton’s Children.”
•••••
The rescues were explored in three films by the Slovak director Matej Minác: the fictionalized “All My Loved Ones” (1999); a documentary, “The Power of Good: Nicholas Winton” (2002), and “Nicky’s Family” (2011), and in Mr. Minác’s book, “Nicholas Winton’s Lottery of Life” (2007).
•••••
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