All Perspectives
Sun King wants to brighten life for rural poorDesigning and distributing technically sophisticated yet durable solar lights has been a nifty accomplishment for Greenlight Planet, whose aim is to replace dangerous kerosene lamps.
Skoll World Forum 鈥� watch liveThe annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship April 9 to 11 brings together top thinkers from Malala Yousafzai to Richard Branson. Watch sessions live here.
Agnes Vertes tells her story as a Holocaust survivorAgnes Vertes, who survived the Nazi Holocaust in Europe as a child, is one of many Americans sharing their stories now, while they still can.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Where are the American prodigies?Letters to the Editor for the April 7, 2014 weekly magazine:If it weren't for immigrants America would be in sad shape. Too many 'natives' are more interested in texting, celebrities, sports heroes, fighting over abortion and contraceptive rights, and denying global warming and evolution than promoting and improving education.Many US colleges are funded by American taxpayers, and their first responsibility is to educate, inspire, and create opportunity for American youth. Should we be focusing on finding foreign talent, rather than recruiting and developing the talent of our own youth?
Difference MakerBob Hansman's inner-city art program became so much moreCity Faces, started as an arts activity for St. Louis kids, now includes help with homework, library skills, basic cooking, and other classes.
Erika Flint knows firsthand about giving dignity to the needyFlint is executive director of the Watertown (N.Y.) Urban Mission, which works quietly to help people get back on their feet so they can take care of themselves.
Rafiatu Lawal: education empowers African womenAfter persevering through her own challenges, Rafiatu Lawal now helps other young women in Ghana pursue their dreams.
Better together? A new generation trySharing a dwelling has never been easy. But the idea has always been appealing. Now a combination of economics, technology, and new attitudes about owning is spurring the co-housing movement.
The news bubble around Vladimir PutinWhat we tell others can end up convincing us as well. The Russian leader has created a modern, Russia-centric news machine that puts forth his view of the world. Is he deceiving himself?
Karen Lange: volunteering 'helped my soul and heart to heal'She volunteers at Baltimore's Moveable Feast, which provides nutritious food to home-bound people living with chronic physical problems.
If homeless people had a safe place to live, taxpayers could save millionsBy providing housing to its homeless, Charlotte, N.C., saved $1.8 million, research at the University of North Carolina鈥揅harlotte found.- Readers RespondReaders Write: America spent while its military fought; Obama shouldn't take sides in Syria's religious warLetters to the Editor for the March 31, 2014 weekly magazine:聽Budget deficits now threaten benefits for veterans. Nobody likes to pay higher taxes, but America has a responsibility to those it sends to war.聽Syria's civil war is fundamentally a conflict between Sunni Muslims and Alawites, 海角大神s, and Druze. By supporting the rebels, Mr. Obama has taken sides in a religious war.
Why Doug Friedlander moved from New York to the Mississippi Delta 鈥� and stayedThe three keys to successfully helping out in a new community, he says, are being humble, volunteering constantly 鈥� and sharing the credit.
Difference MakerSam Bracken's Orange Duffel Bag project helps at-risk former foster kidsBracken, himself a former foster child, started Orange Duffel Bag to offer life coaching and other help to teens dealing with the challenges of homelessness or foster care.
Born in prison, she's back behind bars on a missionDeborah Jiang Stein, author of 'Prison Baby,' created the unPrison Project to help women in prison find their self-worth and realize that they can set goals and change their lives.
Son of baseball great Jackie Robinson finds Sweet Unity in TanzaniaDavid Robinson's Sweet Unity Farms coffee co-op is farmer owned and operated. It's profits have been invested back into projects from solar panels for electricity to water management and irrigation.
Nicole Javorsky overcame challenges by doing, not complainingThe 18-year-old aspiring trapeze artist founded Cubs for Coping, which makes and donates handmade teddy bears to young people in hospitals, shelters, and clinics.
Toilet tech fair takes on global sanitation woesSome 2.5 billion people still have no access to modern sanitation. But beyond providing proper facilities future toilets may become profit-generating resources that create electricity, fertilizer, or fuel.- Readers RespondReaders Write: BDS movement and Israeli economy; EU's history of ill-treatment of IsraelLetters to the Editor for the March 24, 2014 weekly magazine:Without mentioning the BDS movement's successes, a recent article on Israel's growth in the cyber security sector reads like a pro-Israel propaganda piece.While reading about聽Europe's growing boycott of Israeli companies, I realized that European behaviors toward Israel have ranged from naive to hostile for decades.
What our freedom demandsIn the fight against heroin and other addictive substances, the slippery slope of self-gratification is too often overlooked and the need for self-control too often minimized.
