A Higher Call ~ WWII Chivalry & Enemy Reunion

CNN piece by John Blake on Two enemies discover a 'higher call' in battle spots the amazing WWII story of Franz Stigler and Charles Brown -- one a German fighter pilot who decided not to shoot down the other, an American bomber captain nursing home a battered plane and wounded crew. Their full saga is told in A Higher Call by Adam Makos and Larry Alexander.

Breaking Point ~ Ballet Dancers at Joffrey School

Interesting promo for new show Breaking Point about aspiring ballet dancers and the pressures of learning at the Joffrey School...

Bogotá Change ~ Story of Mockus and Peñalosa

Check this documentary about Cities on Speed! Bogotá Change...

"...is the story of two charismatic mayors, Antanas Mockus and Enrique Peñalosa who, with unorthodox methods, in less than 10 years turned one of the world's most dangerous, violent and corrupt capitals into a peaceful model city populated by caring citizens. With Mockus and Peñalosa and key members of their staff as first hand witnesses, the film uncovers the ideas, philosophies and strategies that underlie the changes in Bogotá and which are now being exported to cities worldwide..."

What fantastic heroes! Urban crusaders who transform their city for the better. They're an existence-proof that this is possible. Epic!

Rape of Europa ~ Dealing with Artrocities of WWII

Thanks to NHPTV for showing the Rape of Europa, a powerful documentary film about artrocities of war. Special focus is on the Monuments Men of World War II, including heroic art historians and museum curators who fought to preserve what could be saved and to rescue millions of lost treasures thieved by the Nazis throughout Europe. War is hell, but in the end beauty and humanity can triumph over horror. Watch the trailer...

Tullow Oil ~ Fueling Ugandan Prosperity?

Dutch videojournalist Ruud Elmendorp covered Tullow Oil recently, reporting that Uganda oil findings to benefit all, says government... P.S. FYI, interesting follow-up article in The Times by Robin Pagnamenta about Tullow CEO and Founder Aidan Heavey, Monday mainifesto: From streetfighter to big hitter.

Business in Haiti ~ Continuing Trade & Tourism

Robert Booth of the Guardian reports Royal Caribbean is committed to continuing cruise ship visits to their private complex in Labadee, Haiti -- a location on the other side of Hispaniola from the Port-au-Prince earthquake zone. Multiple commentators have expressed "horror" at this decision, calling it an "ethics void" among other disparagements, arguing everything from "callous, aloof" to distasteful "business as usual" and "misuse of resources" to "social injustice". The anti-commercial ethically-myopic irrational righteousness of such comments is really quite saddening. What's unethical about this enterprise? Absolutely nothing. Indeed, it took courage on the part of the cruise company to realize that their northern Haitian employees still need jobs and income, that neighboring resorts in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico remain open, that operating and remaining profitable is what allows them to donate millions to relief, and that they can also open their port to relief supplies in addition to cruise customers. They add to what Haiti needs most right now: A combination of immediate aid -- which governments, civic institutions, and aid organizations are pouring in like a tidal wave, deceptively slow to build up, but ultimately huge -- and urgent solutions for systematic rebuilding, and continued longer-term economic development and regeneration. As Booth quotes Royal Caribbean saying...

"In the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti's recovery; hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood," said John Weis, vice-president. "In our conversations with the UN special envoy of the government of Haiti, Leslie Voltaire, he notes that Haiti will benefit from the revenues that are generated from each call. "We also have tremendous opportunities to use our ships as transport vessels for relief supplies and personnel to Haiti. Simply put, we cannot abandon Haiti now that they need us most." "Friday's call in Labadee went well," said Royal Caribbean. "Everything was open, as usual. The guests were very happy to hear that 100% of the proceeds from the call at Labadee would be donated to the relief effort."

Who else is on-board helping build up Business in Haiti?

Global Choice ~ Saluting Women on Waves...

It's quite sad that cultural oppression manifests itself as anti-choice, anti-woman, anti-freedom laws in so many lands (the reds)... In this regard, I salute Dutchwoman Rebecca Gomperts and her colleagues at Women on Waves for their efforts to...

"...bring reproductive health services, particularly non-surgical abortion services, to women in countries with restrictive abortion laws. Other services offered by WoW include contraception and reproductive counseling. Services are provided on a commissioned ship that contains a specially constructed mobile clinic. When WoW visits a country, women make appointments, and are taken on board the ship. The ship then sails out to international waters (where Dutch laws are in effect on board the ship) to perform the medical abortions."

Here are just a few of the courageous leaders of this effort...

R.I.P. Miep Gies ~ Saved Anne Frank's Diary

Anne Frank's remarkable diary of her life in hiding in Nazi-occupied Holland was preserved by Miep Gies, whose humanity extended not only to secretly helping supply the Franks with food during WWII, but ultimately saving Anne's story -- and ensuring its widespread publication. Gies just passed away at age 100. While quite modest about her own role, nevertheless she's one of my personal heroines and a symbol of those many "unnamed heroes" -- resistance fighters who, as she herself put it -- "said nothing but did a lot."

Face Transplants ~ Courage & Amazing Medicine

Seeing just now the remarkable case of the first US face transplant patient, Connie Culp, an Ohio woman who suffered severe gunshot injuries to nose and jaw five years ago, reminds me of one of the few perhaps even more courageous medical heroines, the first ever transfacial recipient, Isabelle Dinoire, a French woman mauled by her dog. It's a tremendous advance in personalized medical innovations for such procedures to emerge and I want to salute the audacity and skill of the doctors -- specifically Dr Risal Djohan, Dr Maria Siemionow, Dr Bernard Devauchelle, and Dr Jean-Michel Dubernardas as well as their extended teams -- plus the courage and heroism of these pioneering patients. Strength to them all. To give you some context, here's images of the pre- and post-Connie... And the pre- and post- and most-recent images of Isabelle... This is just epic! P.S. Check out this year-later interview by Connie Culp with Diane Sawyer.

Ebtihal Mubarak ~ Fearless Female Saudi Journo

Fascinating to view this CNN Inside the Middle East piece on the 'Tube about Ebtihal Mubarak, a female Saudi journalist who reports on everything from scandal, corruption, and civic incompetence to rather more touchy subjects like discrimination, basic human rights, and the role of women in her society...

Willem "Pim" Kolff ~ R.I.P.

A biomedical engineering giant has fallen to the relentless ravages of age. Dutch inventor-engineer-physician Willem "Pim" Kolff persevered through Nazi occupation in the Netherlands -- helping the Resistance, protecting Jews and others at risk -- all while inventing-perfecting the first kidney dialysis machine. He then migrated to the USA and went on to play key roles in developing artificial hearts, eyes, ears, and an early prosthetic arm. Remarkable. R.I.P.

Bird Strike ~ We're Going To Be In The Hudson...

Listen to the actual audio exchange from the US Airways Flight 1549 and New York air traffic controllers following bird strikes killing both engines just after take-off. Without other alternatives, cool-headed Captain Sully and crew emergency landed in the Hudson River...

John Mortimer ~ R.I.P.

John Mortimer (left) creator of the epic Rumpole of the Bailey series -- Rumpole portrayed on the telly by the inimitable Leo McKern (right) -- has been laid below by the ravages of age and godlessness. No less than the Economist rightly salutes Mortimer as a freedom-fighter who championed the presumption of innocence, battled the scourge of censorship, and served as devil's advocate for pornography, fox hunting, smoking and other supposed sins. R.I.P.

Meet Your Meat ~ Dutch TV Visits Slaughterhouse

As an urbanized carnivore (or really, an omnivore, but let's focus on the meaty part), I have been totally ignorant of the full food-chain from raising the animals through cooking them. And I was especially ignorant of the slaughter. Lamb chops, steak tips, breakfast bacon, lobster roll, grilled chicken sandwich are all simply things I either buy at the market or order at the restaurant. So I was quite interested to stumble across Eet Smakelijk, a six-part Dutch TV show which invites celebrities to go with the host -- top-chef Leon Mazairac -- to visit a slaughterhouse and to watch-and-participate in every step of the process going from live animal to ultimately eating the resulting meat as part of a chef-cooked meal. It's a simple concept, but fascinating -- and it clearly helps contemporary consumers become more fully-informed about what's behind their foods. If you're curious -- and not too squeamish -- watch for yourself: Lamb, Cow, Pig, Lobster, Chicken, and Wild Boar. After seeing these, I'm now curiously hungry!

Beyond Race ~ From Segregation to Inauguration

Thanks to the BBC for Three Generations: Little Rock to Obama...

"For generations of African-Americans, a black US president was an impossible dream. Civil rights veteran Terrence Roberts explains his family's journey from segregation to the inauguration of President Obama."

• P.S. As the Washington Post reports in We've Completed Our Mission, all of the Little Rock Nine as well as the Tuskegee Airmen are invited to Inauguration!
• P.P.S. Very interesting to see that BBC unearthed this historical clip where Martin Luther King shares his optimism for a future African-American President in "less than 40 years", he says "25 years, or less". That quote is from 1965 -- 44 years ago -- still pretty close!

Vision vs Reality ~ Will Deeds Mirror the Dream?

Like most people on our Planet, I'm quite excited by the imminent inauguration of Obama. There's lots to disagree with about his policies and plans, but I put those aside in comparison to the absolutely epic nature of his election and what it says about the US and about the aspirations for anyone, anywhere. I am especially curious whether and to what degree Obama will be able to achieve his ambitions, whether the reality will mirror the vision, and deeds match up to the dream. I'm hoping for real change!

Helen Suzman ~ R.I.P.

Sad to hear that Helen Suzman passed away January 1st, 2009 in South Africa. She was a moral giant, fighting tirelessly and eloquently for decades to achieve progressive values and to secure liberty in a post-apartheid South Africa.

Afghan Girl ~ A Life Revealed...

Thanks to the not-always-so Cynical-C for spotting the famously beautiful and hauntingly memorable Afghani woman, Sharbat Gula, whose teenage portrait by Steve McCurry graced the cover of National Geographic in 1985 and whose story was finally fully discovered just a few years ago...

Samuri Granny ~ Small Stature, Big Impact...

She'll kick your ass. Granny martial arts expert Keiko Wakabayshi effortlessly neutralises opponents and is an essential part of military training...

She tells her students to look at her and believe that nothing is impossible. After flooring an opponent she tells them: "Don't think it's unbelievable. The physique doesn't matter." Sparring is regarded as the most effective method of teaching martial arts and senior Italian military officers hope the experience of being humiliated by Miss Wakabayshi will toughen up their soldiers. Miss Wakabayshi trained for many years to achieve her level of expertise and believes she can carry on defeating brawny soldiers for years to come. The term martial arts is synonymous with the Far East, but actually derives from Mars, the Roman god of war and literally means the "arts of war".

Buffett's 3-i's ~ Innovators, Imitators, and Idiots!

Watch Warren Buffett on Charlie Rose last week. Wide-ranging hour-long exclusive conversation. Among things he discusses are Innovators, Imitators, and Idiots;-) A voice of reason in turbulent times with lots of panicky people...