Solo palabras
sábado, 30 de noviembre de 2013
Eco-coupled
Eco-couple told to pull down their 'hobbit home' made entirely out of natural materials . . . but without planning permission
- Family of three is made homeless by planning inspector's decision
- They built their home from scratch, but have been ordered to tear it down
- The couple admit they built it without first getting planning permission
- Their labour of love was branded 'harmful' to the countryside
Homeless: Charlie Hague and Megan Williams, with their only child Eli, have been left homeless
Charlie Hague and Megan Williams, both 25, built the roundhouse from scratch with their own hands, using only natural materials.
But the couple lost their appeal today against a planning enforcement notice telling them to tear their pride and joy home down.
Charlie and Megan, who have a one-year-old son Eli, built the house on private land in Glandwr, North Pembrokeshire, last summer.
Locals nicknamed it the hobbit home, although most people did not even know it was there because it is so secluded.
But Pembrokeshire County Council ordered the couple to demolish their home because it was built without planning permission.
Charlie and Megan, who live a self-sufficient lifestyle, fought the decision claiming it had a low impact on the environment because of its unique construction.
Charlie, a sculptor and woodworker, said: 'We built this house to provide our son with a healthy environment to grow up in.
'We were born in the area, went to school here, and have lived here all our lives. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.'
The pair acknowledged their property was built without prior consent but said there was no other way for them to afford their own home.
Megan said: 'I know it’s not a possibility for everyone, and our situation here is unique, but if young people are to live and work in the area they need somewhere to live.'
The couple’s appeal was dismissed by planning inspector Iwan Lloyd, who ruled the development harmed the character and appearance of the countryside.
The inspector upheld the council’s enforcement notice, which requires the roundhouse and all associated work, including the timber decking, be demolished.
Middle Earth: Charlie Hague and Megan Williams'
home has been compared to a hobbit's. The couple have been ordered to
tear their idyllic dwelling down
Hobbits: The three-foot tall manlike creatures
were made famous in JRR Tolkein's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
books. Picture here, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey
Mr Lloyd’s report stated: 'The character and appearance of the countryside should be protected for its intrinsic sake.
'The benefits of a low-impact development do not outweigh the harm to the character and appearance of the countryside.'
Friends said the couple were half expecting their appeal to be turned down but were still 'devastated' by the decision.
Unique: The couple's front room, complete. They started building their house using only naturally resourced materials last year
Treebeard: The couple have used a whole tree as a
supporting structure for their home, fondly nicknamed the 'hobbit
house' by locals
Killjoy council: The couple have been unable to convince the authorities of the merits of their eco friendly house
'They are a young couple who should be applauded for solving their own housing issues by creating a sustainable home out of local materials.
'Instead they are now facing the prospect of watching it being razed to the ground.'
The couple have one last chance - they have applied for retrospective planning permission but their friends said they feared it was a lost cause.
Darkness falls: The lights will go out on the
couple's home for good unless they can overturn the Planning
Inspectorate's decision
viernes, 29 de noviembre de 2013
jueves, 28 de noviembre de 2013
David Latimer
Thriving since 1960, my garden in a bottle: Seedling sealed in its own ecosystem and watered just once in 53 years
- David Latimer first planted his bottle garden in 1960 and last watered it in 1972 before tightly sealing it shut 'as an experiment'
- The hardy spiderworts plant inside has grown to fill the 10-gallon container by surviving entirely on recycled air, nutrients and water
- Gardeners' Question Time expert says it is 'a great example just how pioneering plants can be'
To look at this flourishing mass of plant life you’d think David Latimer was a green-fingered genius.
Truth be told, however, his bottle garden – now almost in its 53rd year – hasn’t taken up much of his time.
In fact, on the last occasion he watered it Ted Heath was Prime Minister and Richard Nixon was in the White House.
Scroll down for video
Still going strong: Pensioner David Latimer from
Cranleigh, Surrey, with his bottle garden that was first planted 53
years ago and has not been watered since 1972 - yet continues to thrive
in its sealed environment
Yesterday Mr Latimer, 80, said: ‘It’s 6ft from a window so gets a bit of sunlight. It grows towards the light so it gets turned round every so often so it grows evenly.
‘Otherwise, it’s the definition of low-maintenance. I’ve never pruned it, it just seems to have grown to the limits of the bottle.’
The bottle garden has created its own miniature ecosystem. Despite being cut off from the outside world, because it is still absorbing light it can photosynthesise, the process by which plants convert sunlight into the energy they need to grow.
Lush: Just like any other plant, Mr Latimers's
bottled specimen has survived and thrived using the cycle of
photosynthesis despite being cut off from the outside world
HOW THE BOTTLE GARDEN GROWS
Bottle
gardens work because their sealed space creates an entirely
self-sufficient ecosystem in which plants can survive by using
photosynthesis to recycle nutrients.
The only external input needed to keep the plant going is light, since this provides it with the energy it needs to create its own food and continue to grow.
Light shining on the leaves of the plant is absorbed by proteins containing chlorophylls (a green pigment).
Some of that light energy is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that stores energy. The rest is used to remove electrons from the water being absorbed from the soil through the plant's roots.
These electrons then become 'free' - and are used in chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, releasing oxygen.
This photosynthesis process is the opposite of the cellular respiration that occurs in other organisms, including humans, where carbohydrates containing energy react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and release chemical energy.
But the eco-system also uses cellular respiration to break down decaying material shed by the plant. In this part of the process, bacteria inside the soil of the bottle garden absorbs the plant's waste oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide which the growing plant can reuse.
And, of course, at night, when there is no sunlight to drive photosynthesis, the plant will also use cellular respiration to keep itself alive by breaking down the stored nutrients.
Because the bottle garden is a closed environment, that means its water cycle is also a self-contained process.
The water in the bottle gets taken up by plants’ roots, is released into the air during transpiration, condenses down into the potting mixture, where the cycle begins again.
The only external input needed to keep the plant going is light, since this provides it with the energy it needs to create its own food and continue to grow.
Light shining on the leaves of the plant is absorbed by proteins containing chlorophylls (a green pigment).
Some of that light energy is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that stores energy. The rest is used to remove electrons from the water being absorbed from the soil through the plant's roots.
These electrons then become 'free' - and are used in chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, releasing oxygen.
This photosynthesis process is the opposite of the cellular respiration that occurs in other organisms, including humans, where carbohydrates containing energy react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and release chemical energy.
But the eco-system also uses cellular respiration to break down decaying material shed by the plant. In this part of the process, bacteria inside the soil of the bottle garden absorbs the plant's waste oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide which the growing plant can reuse.
And, of course, at night, when there is no sunlight to drive photosynthesis, the plant will also use cellular respiration to keep itself alive by breaking down the stored nutrients.
Because the bottle garden is a closed environment, that means its water cycle is also a self-contained process.
The water in the bottle gets taken up by plants’ roots, is released into the air during transpiration, condenses down into the potting mixture, where the cycle begins again.
The leaves it drops rot at the bottom of the bottle, creating the carbon dioxide also needed for photosynthesis and nutrients which it absorbs through its roots.
It was Easter Sunday 1960 when Mr Latimer thought it would be fun to start a bottle garden ‘out of idle curiosity’.
He said: ‘At the time the chemical industry had changed to transporting things in plastic bottles so there were a lot of glass ones on the market.
‘Bottle gardens were a bit of a craze and I wanted to see what happened if you bunged the thing up.’
Habitable zone: The spot under the stairs where Mr Latimer has kept the bottle garden for the past 27 years
A SELF-CONTAINED WORLD: HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BOTTLE GARDEN
The
idea of a bottle garden is to create a world in microcosm. It will have
its own special habitat and should require little maintenance, writes NIGEL COLBORN.
First
choose a glass container. It will need a wide neck for easy access and
to look attractive. A goldfish bowl is ideal, or for children, a big jam
jar might do.
You'll also need some good-quality potting compost, shingle or coarse grit and, of course, the plants.
Use a large spoon to insert a layer of grit into the jar and cover that with compost deep enough to accommodate the plant roots.
Use a large spoon to insert a layer of grit into the jar and cover that with compost deep enough to accommodate the plant roots.
Finally,
introduce the plants. You'll need very few and they must be tiny
specimens - unless it's an enormous receptacle. Little ferns such as
indoor maidenhair or Adiantum, small varieties of Tradescantia and baby
plants of Chlorophytum will all establish easily. Miniature trailers
such as 'Mind-your-own-business' (Soleirolia) will also flourish.
Move
each plant gently into position, adjusting them with a stick or with
kitchen tongs until you've got them where you want them. Adding a final
layer of grit after planting will hold the compost down and make your
micro-garden look prettier.
Water
with extreme care (your jar won't need much) and place the finished
mini garden in a well-lit spot, but not on a hot south-facing
windowsill. He put in about a quarter of a pint of water. It was not until 1972 that he gave it another ‘drink’.
After that, he greased the bung so it wedged in tightly... and has not watered it since.
The bottle stands on display under the stairs in the hallway of his home in Cranleigh, Surrey, the same spot it has occupied for 27 years after he and his wife Gretchen moved from Lancashire when he retired as an electrical engineer.
It was revealed to the world when he took a photograph of it in to BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time and asked the panel of experts if it is ‘of scientific or horticultural interest’.
Garden designer and television presenter Chris Beardshaw said: ‘It’s a great example of the way in which a plant is able to recycle... It’s the perfect cycle of life.’
He added that this process is one reason why NASA was interested in taking plants into space.
‘Plants operate as very good scrubbers, taking out pollutants in the air, so that a space station can effectively become self-sustaining,’ he said. ‘This is a great example of just how pioneering plants are and how they will persist given the opportunity.
‘The only input to this whole process has been solar energy, that’s the thing it has needed to keep it going. Everything else, every other thing in there has been recycled. That’s fantastic.’
Organic gardener Bob Flowerdew was less enthusiastic.
‘It’s wonderful but not for me, thanks. I can’t see the point. I can’t smell it, I can’t eat it,’ he said. Mr Latimer agrees the bottle garden is ‘incredibly dull in that it doesn’t do anything’, but remains fascinated to see how long it will last.
He hopes to pass on the ‘experiment’ to his grown-up children after he is gone.
If they do not want it, he will leave it to the Royal Horticultural Society.
miércoles, 27 de noviembre de 2013
Leon Gersten
Un sobreviviente al Holocausto se reencuentra con su salvador polaco 70 años después
Un judío que se ocultó en un almacén de granos en Polonia cuando era niño para escapar de los nazis, recibió el miércoles a los hijos de quienes fueron sus salvadores, 70 años más tarde.
Leon Gersten, de 79 años y nacionalizado estadounidense, acompañado de sus hijos, nietos y bisnietos, estrechó emocionado la mano de Czeslaw Polziec, de 81 años, a su llegada al aeropuerto internacional JFK de Nueva York.
Ambos hombres se habían separado en 1944, siendo adolescentes, cuando los rusos liberaron su pueblo, Frysztak. Leon Gersten emigró entonces a Nueva York.
"Para mí y mis hijos, son héroes", dijo Gersten, quien logró mantenerse oculto junto a su madre, su tía, su tío y su primo, de 1942 a 1944, en el granero de la humilde granja de la familia Polziec.
Polziec, que sirvió en el ejército polaco y sobrevivió a la ocupación soviética, rememoró que sus padres le habían dicho que jamás hablara de sus huéspedes.
"Yo estoy muy feliz, tras haber pasado 69 años en Polonia, de poder volver a ver finalmente a mi amigo", declaró. Los nazis ya habían perseguido y matado a muchos judíos en Frysztak, incluidos los abuelos de Gersten en julio de 1942.
Durante dos años, los Gersten pasaron el tiempo sacándose los piojos, soñando con un futuro mejor y dando una mano de vez en cuando a sus anfitriones.
"Vivimos en la esperanza. Como niño yo tenía la sensación de inmortalidad. La idea de que me pudiesen disparar y matar no me pasaba por la cabeza", agregó Leon Gersten.
Su reunión fue facilitada por la Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, que ayuda financieramente a 650 europeos que ayudaron a salvar gente del Holocausto y en la actualidad tienen una edad avanzada o pocos recursos.
Seis millones de judíos fueron exterminados por los nazis durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Más de la mitad eran polacos. Entre ellos se encontraban el padre, cuatro hermanos de Leon Gersten.
Gulabi Gang
Meet India’s Gulabi Gang, Female Activists for Change
Image Credit: Flickr / mckaysavage. A member of the Gulabi Gang smiling during a meeting
By: Amanda Froelich,
While you may witness injustice on a daily basis, when was the last time you decided to interfere and help change a stranger’s situation? Either afraid of societal reprimand or confused on how to make a difference, many elect to ignore the pressing situations currently going on (homelessness, starvation, war crimes, etc…) and live in the comfort of what they feel is ‘security’. Yet, if no one does anything, waiting for someone else to step up, nothing will ever be achieved or change.
This is why a group of rural women in India are an inspiration for the entire world. Tired of seeing wives being abused by their husbands, children sold into marriage, or unjust companies ruining the lives of poor populations, they banded together with focus to create a change. Not opposed to violent methods, they’ve been labeled the Gulabi Gang.
Mainly comprised of female activists, the women vigilantes are reported to have originated from Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, but are now active across North India. Stepping in to help those who may not be able to help themselves, they have earned a high level of respect and are even positively portrayed by the media. Wrapped in bright pink saris, the women are often seen protesting patriarchal culture, rigid caste division, female illiteracy, domestic violence, child labor, and dowry demands.
The Gulabi Gang was founded by Sampat Pal Devi in 2006. Since then, it has grown to over 20,000 members and includes a chapter in Paris, France. It was the devoted mother of five, former government health worker, and former child bride, Sampat, who created the group in response to the widespread domestic abuse and other violent acts against women. She saw injustice, and decided to do something about it.
Don’t be fooled by the gang’s humble origins, however; the women don’t back down and are fiercely protective of female rights. It is common for the Gulabi Gang to visit abusive husbands and beat them up with laathis (bamboo sticks) unless they stop abusing their wives. And in 2008, the gang stormed into an electricity office and forced officials to turn back on the power which had been cut in order to extract bribes.
The women don’t consider themselves a ‘typical’ gang, though. As quoted from their website, “We are not a gang in the usual sense of the term, we are a gang for justice.”
Their fearlessness has touched the lives of many and has even inspired media makers. Gulabi Gang is the subject of a 2010 movie Pink Saris by Kim Longinotto, as well as the focus of the 2012 documentary Gulabi Gang by Nishtha Jain.
Today the group continues to ensure that proper grain distribution is given to people below the poverty line, disbursement of pension to elderly widows who have no birth certificate to prove their age is given, and that women and children are protected from abuse.
Because they are protectors of both women and men, they serve as an excellent example for the modern world. If one wants to make a difference, all they have to do is commit to an idea and be the change they wish to see.
What would happen if you decided to stand up for something you believed in today? Whose life could you positively impact by stepping in where they can’t?
Sources:
Read more http://www.trueactivist.com/meet-indias-gulabi-gang-female-activists-for-change/
martes, 26 de noviembre de 2013
David Suzuki
Geneticist David Suzuki Says Humans “Are Part Of A Massive Experiment”
We are doing our part to try and spread the word about GMOs, (genetically modified organisms) but we’re not the only ones. Multiple public figures, scientists and researchers have been speaking out about GMOs for a number of years. For example, not long ago a former Canadian Government Scientist at Agriculture Canada, Dr. Thierry Vrain (one of many) spoke out against GMOs. Another prominent public figure, Geneticist David Suzuki has been a long time advocate against GMOs, and has been speaking out about how they can be hazardous to human health as well as the environment. Below, I’ve provided a video example of Suzuki explaining why he feels the way he does about GMOs. Public figures with a wide audience can have a great impact on the consciousness of the masses, they are great ‘tools’ for waking more people up to the reality that GMOs can be harmful to human health as well as the environment. It’s time to pay attention, do your own research and to question what you’ve been told. We can no longer trust branches of the government that deal with food and health, we must not take their word for it, it’s better if you actually look into it yourself rather than blindly believing what your are told.
It doesn’t seem to be much of a debate anymore, it’s clear that GMOs can indeed be harmful to human health. There is a reason why a majority of countries around the world have permanently banned GMOs, so what’s taking North America so long? One reason might be the fact that biotech corporations like Monsanto seem to be above the government and influence policy, but thankfully these things are changing. Big Island, Hawaii has recently banned all GMO products and bio-tech company products. Various bills calling for moratoria on GE food include Vermont, North Dakota, Boulder, Colorado, San Francisco and more.
This large movement against GMOs is not based on belief, multiple researchers and scientists all around the world have shown that GMOs can be harmful. Here is a study that shows how Bt toxins found in Monsanto crops can be damaging to red blood cells, and potentially cause leukemia. Here is another one that shows how GMO animal feed caused severe stomach inflammation and enlarged uteri in pigs. There have been multiple studies linking GMOs to cancer, and a range of other diseases. Scientists all over the world have come together to show their support for the ban of GMOs.
Along with GMOs come the pesticides, which have been linked to cancer, parkinson’s, autism and alzheimer’s, to name a few.
As you can see, alternative media outlets are not the only ones doing their research. Most who investigate this topic, and do the research for themselves will come to the same conclusions. This is what David Suzuki and many others have done as well.
By slipping it into our food without our knowledge, without any indication that there are genetically modified organisms in our food, we are now unwittingly part of a massive experiment.The FDA has said that genetically modified organisms are not much different from regular food, so they’ll be treated in the same way. The problem is this, geneticists follow the inheritance of genes, what biotechnology allows us to do is to take this organism, and move it horizontally into a totally unrelated species. Now David Suzuki doesn’t normally mate with a carrot and exchange genes, what biotechnology allows us to do is to switch genes from one to the other without regard to the biological constraints. It’s very very bad science, we assume that the principals governing the inheritance of genes vertically, applies when you move genes laterally or horizontally. There’s absolutely no reason to make that conclusion.
Below is an article written by David Suzuki and Faisal Moola. At the beginning concerns with the 210 release of the super-genetically modified corn called ‘SmartStax,’ are mentioned which has now shown to be harmful to human health and banned all over the world. This article was written in 2009, but still has some good information.
In gearing up for the 2010 release of its super-genetically modified corn called ‘SmartStax’, agricultural-biotechnology giant Monsanto is using an advertising slogan that asks, ‘Wouldn’t it be better?’ But can we do better than nature, which has taken millennia to develop the plants we use for food?
We don’t really know. And that in itself is a problem. The corn, developed by Monsanto with Dow AgroSciences, “stacks” eight genetically engineered traits, six that allow it to ward off insects and two to make it resistant to weed-killing chemicals, many of which are also trademarked by Monsanto. It’s the first time a genetically engineered (GE) product has been marketed with more than three traits.
Canada approved the corn without assessing it for human health or environmental risk, claiming that the eight traits have already been cleared in other crop seeds — even though international food-safety guidelines that Canada helped develop state that stacked traits should be subject to a full safety assessment as they can lead to unintended consequences.
One problem is that we don’t know the unintended consequences of genetically engineered or genetically modified (GM) foods. Scientists may share consensus about issues like human-caused global warming, but they don’t have the same level of certainty about the effects of genetically modified organisms on environmental and human health!
A review of the science conducted under the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development in 2008 concluded that “there are a limited number of properly designed and independently peer-reviewed studies on human health” and that this and other observations “create concern about the adequacy of testing methodologies for commercial GM plants.”
Some have argued that we’ve been eating GM foods for years with few observable negative consequences, but as we’ve seen with things like trans fats, if often takes a while for us to recognize the health impacts. With GM foods, concerns have been raised about possible effects on stomach bacteria and resistance to antibiotics, as well as their role in allergic reactions. We also need to understand more about their impact on other plants and animals.
Of course, these aren’t the only issues with GM crops. Allowing agro-chemical companies to create GM seeds with few restrictions means these companies could soon have a monopoly over agricultural production. And by introducing SmartStax, we are giving agro-chemical companies the green light not just to sell and expand the use of their “super crops” but also to sell and expand the use of the pesticides these crops are designed to resist.
A continued reliance on these crops could also reduce the variety of foods available, as well as the nutritive value of the foods themselves.
There’s also a reason nature produces a variety of any kind of plant species. It ensures that if disease or insects attack a plant, other plant varieties will survive and evolve in its place. This is called biodiversity.
Because we aren’t certain about the effects of GMOs, we must consider one of the guiding principles in science, the precautionary principle. Under this principle, if a policy or action could harm human health or the environment, we must not proceed until we know for sure what the impact will be. And it is up to those proposing the action or policy to prove that it is not harmful.
That’s not to say that research into altering the genes in plants that we use for food should be banned or that GM foods might not someday be part of the solution to our food needs. We live in an age when our technologies allow us to “bypass” the many steps taken by nature over millennia to create food crops to now produce “super crops” that are meant to keep up with an ever-changing human-centred environment.
A rapidly growing human population and deteriorating health of our planet because of climate change and a rising number of natural catastrophes, among other threats, are driving the way we target our efforts and funding in plant, agricultural, and food sciences, often resulting in new GM foods.
But we need more thorough scientific study on the impacts of such crops on our environment and our health, through proper peer-reviewing and unbiased processes. We must also demand that our governments become more transparent when it comes to monitoring new GM crops that will eventually find their ways in our bellies through the food chain.
Sources:
- See more at: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/11/25/geneticist-david-suzuki-says-humans-are-part-of-a-massive-genetic-experiment/#sthash.WXk3sQ4o.dpuf
lunes, 25 de noviembre de 2013
Charles Baudelaire
Donde sea fuera del mundo
La vida es un hospital donde cada enfermo está poseído por el deseo de cambiar de cama. Éste quisiera sufrir frente al calefactor, y aquél cree que mejoraría junto a la ventana.
Me parece que siempre estaría mejor allá, donde no estoy, y este problema de mudanza lo discuto sin cesar con mi alma.
"Dime, alma mía, pobre alma fría, ¿qué te parecería vivir en Lisboa? Allá debe hacer calor y te echarías al sol como una lagartija. Esta ciudad está a la orilla del agua; dicen que está hecha de mármol, y que la gente tiene tal odio por lo vegetal que arranca los árboles. He aquí un paisaje a tu gusto: un paisaje con la luz y el mineral, ¡y el líquido para reflejarlos!"
Mi alma no responde.
"Ya que te gusta tanto el reposo, con el espectáculo del movimiento, ¿te gustaría vivir en Holanda, esa tierra prodigiosa? Tal vez te divertirías en esa región cuya imagen has admirado a menudo en los museos. ¿Qué te parecería Rotterdam, a ti que te gustan los paisajes con mástiles y las barcas atracadas al pie de las casas?"
Mi alma permanece muda.
"¿Quizá Batavia te complacería más? Además allí encontraríamos el espíritu de Europa confundido con la belleza tropical."
Ni una palabra. —¿Habrá muerto mi alma?
"¿Habrás llegado a ese punto de parálisis en que no disfrutas sino tu malestar? Si es así, vayamos hacia los países que son la analogía de la Muerte. —¡Ya resolví el problema, pobre alma! Haremos nuestras maletas para Tornio. Vayamos aun más lejos, al último rincón del Báltico; incluso más lejos de la vida, de ser posible; instalémonos en el polo. Allá el sol apenas roza la tierra oblicuamente y las lentas sucesiones de la luz y la noche suprimen la variedad y aumentan la monotonía, esa mitad de la nada. Allá podremos tomar largos baños de tinieblas, mientras que, para divertirnos, las auroras boreales nos enviarán de vez en cuando sus botones rosas, ¡como reflejos de fuegos artificiales del Infierno!"
Al fin estalla mi alma, y sabiamente me grita: "¡Donde sea!, ¡donde sea!, ¡con tal que sea fuera de este mundo!"
sábado, 23 de noviembre de 2013
Francesco Brambilla
Tiene 93 años; entró a YouTube y se encontró en un video de la Segunda Guerra Mundial
Francesco Brambilla se reconoció en una filmación anónima de 1942, antes de partir al frente en Rusia, que encontró en Internet con ayuda de su hijo
El excombatiente italiano de 93 años Francesco Brambilla nunca olvidará la primera vez que descubrió YouTube, donde, en su primer tanteo con la Web, se encontró en un video anónimo filmado el día previo a la partida de su regimiento al frente ruso en 1942, durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
El hijo de Francesco, Fausto Brambilla, fue quien acercó a su padre al buscador cuando quiso que su padre viese cómo, en esa pantalla, "basta escribir un nombre de aquello que quieras buscar y ella te lo encuentra", relata Fausto en una historia que publica el diario italiano Il Corriere della Sera .
"Desde que a mi padre le han abandonado las fuerzas y vive confinado en el espacio de su casa, viaja a lo más hondo de sus recuerdos, especialmente a aquellos años, del frente, de la larga reclusión en Rusia", relató.
Por ello, ante la sobria pantalla de Google y con la prometida oportunidad de dar con aquello que uno desea, Fausto cuenta cómo su padre se mostró directo con él: "prueba con Sforzesca , mi regimiento durante la guerra".
El resultado más notorio fue un video, de 1942, bajo el título "Caserma Passalacqua", unas imágenes rodadas de forma anónima en las que se puede ver, en blanco y negro, a cientos de soldados ataviados para la batalla y saludando a sus familiares.
"Papá ese eres tú, exactamente igual a esa foto que me has hecho ver tantísimas veces", relata que comentó Fausto al ver pasar las imágenes.
Somos nosotros, somos aquellos que mandaban a morir. Yo soy el único de mi pueblo que volvió a casa con vida", dijo Francesco Brambilla, de 93 años
Allí, explica, apareció su padre, sentado, esperando la partida de su división al frente ruso, un punto maldito de no retorno para millones de personas del que sí pudo volver este italiano.
La Campaña de Rusia, una de las más importantes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, recibió el envío de Italia de más de 230.000 soldados, de los cuales 114.000 perdieron la vida.
"Míranos allí. Somos nosotros, somos aquellos que mandaban a morir. Yo soy el único de mi pueblo que volvió a casa con vida", acertó a decir Brambilla, nacido en Bellinzago Lombardo, un municipio milanés en el que hoy viven algo mas de 3800 personas.
"Setenta años después, en medio de una vida normal de un hombre común: Francesco Brambilla, para todos siempre Mario, cabo mayor del 54 regimiento de infantería. Un hombre normal con una historia especial, que gracias a YouTube vivirá en el futuro", concluye la historia.
Agencia EFE.
viernes, 22 de noviembre de 2013
Beggars...
If I passed these people on the street, I would give them all of the money I had. On Reddit, pictures of unique pan handlers were posted… and the Internet fell in love with them. They aren’t normal homeless people on the street, begging for money. These people are housed, loved and well-employed. They’re simply asking for money for others.
The Passage’s goal is to help the homeless. They provide services to the homeless like meals, showers, shelter and counseling. Last year, they spent millions funding their charitable organization. These unique requests for donations are helping to fund their wonderful organization. This kindness goes a long way. We should all do our part. Help them help the homeless, visit The Passage.org.
Originally posted on: Viral Nova
jueves, 21 de noviembre de 2013
Louise L. Hay
We Can Change the World
Let’s start right now!
Published: June 11, 2013
IF EACH ONE OF US who is reading this article would practice getting in touch with the treasures within us on a daily basis, we could literally change the world. People living the truth change the world. For the truth of our being is that we are filled with unconditional love. We are filled with incredible joy. We are filled with serene peace. We are connected to infinite wisdom.
What we need to do is to know it and live it!
Today we are mentally preparing for tomorrow. The thoughts we think, the words we speak, the beliefs we accept, shape our tomorrows. Every morning, stand in front of a mirror and affirm to yourself:
I am filled with unconditional love, and I express it today.
I am filled with joy, and I express it today.
I am filled with peace, and I express it today.
I am filled with infinite wisdom, and I practice it today.
And this is the truth about me.
Now that is a powerful way to start your day! You can do it!
Remember, our spiritual connection does not need a middle man. We can pray and meditate quite easily by ourselves. It is important that we know that we all have a direct pipeline to the source of all of life. When we are consciously connect to this source, our life flows in wondrous ways.
Our souls are always seeking greater growth and integration, an opportunity to heal and express all that we are. Sometimes it is very difficult to understand the methods our souls use to promote our growth. Our personalities, the part of us we assume in order to participate on the Earth plane, have certain expectations and needs. We become afraid, resistant, and sometimes angry when our expectations, such as material advancements, aren’t immediately met. It is in these moments, more than any other, that we must hold fast to our faith that there is a higher power working in our lives and that if we are open and willing to grow and change, that things will work out for our highest good.
Often our most painful moments, the times that stretch our personality the furthest, are the moments that provide us with the greatest opportunity for growth. These become an occasion for you to develop great self-love and greater self-trust. It may or may not comfort you to know that many people are seemingly experiencing setbacks in their lives as well. We are at a place of accelerated growth on this planet. Now more than ever is the time to be extra loving and patient with yourself. Do not resist any opportunity for growth. In times of difficulty, it is important to practice gratitude and blessings as much as you are able.
Life is a learning process. We are here to learn and to grow.
Let’s affirm: I make room for all the good that is waiting for me today.
Louise L. Hay, the author of the international bestseller You Can Heal Your Life, is a metaphysical lecturer and teacher with more than 50 million books sold worldwide. For more than 30 years, she has helped people throughout the world discover and implement the full potential of their own creative powers for personal growth and self-healing. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and many other TV and radio programs both in the U.S. and abroad.
FILED UNDER: LOUISE L. HAY | AFFIRMATIONS | POSITIVE THOUGHTS | UN