"In Ecuador I met a guy who was living in real poverty, and he said to me, "I'm a happy man, because that's all I've got." Yann Arthus Bertrand,6 Billion Others Project

Flower mandalas   Pink%20Fall%20Rose%20Ia

John Crofton established multidrug treatment regimen for TB in Edinburgh in 50s.  Eradicated TB from the city within 6 years. Also founded ASH, the campaign group against tobacco, with his wife as director.  What a history…

Freerange eggs sold more than battery farmed for first time ever in the UK (Mar 08).   Since then however, sales of organic foods have fallen, apparently in response to the credit crunch.

University of Sussex study examines how groups which have committed atrocious acts against one another come to break the cycle of resentment and forgive.   The researchers surveyed 180 Bosnian Muslims about their attitudes towards Bosnian Serbs in the wake of the earlier conflict. They found that Bosnian Muslims who had more Serb friends and…

Relationship gripes are like posh wine. We keep them bottled up until a special occasion – such as staying in an expensive hotel – warrants their uncorking.   Fiona Gibson

I got into a small civilized spat about the 2 race-hate brits who are seeking political asylum in the US.  Surprisingly civilized, given that the people involved are clearly racist. But I started to feel cornered, as if I was somehow attacking free speech.  So I went to the Liberty website, where I found this excellent…

Marek Kohn was discussing trust on Thinking Allowed. You can see it all the time in the hospital, that patients/families seem to think that you might actually not have their best interests at heart, and would do something/not do something harmful, just because…  Well, I don't know why, out of pure badness? He pointed out…

Children add to happiness for many reasons, but one way is that they help supply a key element to a happy life: an atmosphere of growth.    Happiness Project   It's maybe too early to say, but it feels more like an adventure at the moment, than a fertile garden.  There are new discoveries (babies…

According to Louis Fischer's Gandhi and Stalin, Gandhi's view was that the German Jews ought to commit collective suicide, which "would have aroused the world and the people of Germany to Hitler's violence." After the war he justified himself: the Jews had been killed anyway, and might as well have died significantly. I like the Quakers,…