[Video] Iraqi Boy on Factor-X

Buddhists and Hindus Are On the Rise Nationally, Baylor University Professor Says

Hindu and Buddhist groups have grown steadily in the United States since changes in immigration laws in 1965 and 1992, with particularly high concentrations in Texas, California, the New York Metropolitan Area, Illinois and Georgia, according to a Baylor University professor who helped compile the newly released 2010 U.S. Religion Census.

"Both Buddhists and Hindus, though still relatively small compared to the large Christian groups, have grown to the point that they are beginning to exert significant influence on the key issues that most affect their lives," said J. Gordon Melton, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, who was in charge of assembling the data on both groups.

The census, the most comprehensive statistical assessment of data from the 2,000-plus religious groups active in the United States, is made every 10 years by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. The complete summary may be viewed at this link: http://www.rcms2010.org/press_release/ACP%2020120501.pdf

Both Hindus and Buddhists have temples in most states, and "the groups now regularly voice their opinions on U.S. relations with predominantly Hindu and Buddhist countries," Melton said. "Like the Muslim congregations, Hindus and Buddhists are found in every part of the country, but they are concentrated in the big cities and still have not begun to appear in the smaller cities and rural areas."

Read More:

http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=115069

Manimugdha S Sharma - The man who made a forest

Way back in 1953, French author Jean Giono wrote the epic tale The Man Who Planted Trees. It seemed so real that readers thought the central character, Elzeard Bouffier , was a living individual until the author clarified he had created the person only to make his readers fall in love with trees. Assam's Jadav Payeng has never heard of Giono's book. But he could be Bouffier. He has single-handedly grown a sprawling forest on a 550-hectare sandbar in the middle of the Brahmaputra. It now has many endangered animals, including at least five tigers, one of which bore two cubs recently.

The place lies in Jorhat, some 350 km from Guwahati by road, and it wasn't easy for Sunday Times to access him. At one point on the stretch, a smaller road has to be taken for some 30 km to reach the riverbank. There, if one is lucky, boatmen will ferry you across to the north bank. A trek of another 7 km will then land you near Payeng's door. Locals call the place 'Molai Kathoni' (Molai's woods) after Payeng's pet name, Molai.

It all started way back in 1979 when floods washed a large number of snakes ashore on the sandbar. One day, after the waters had receded, Payeng , only 16 then, found the place dotted with the dead reptiles. That was the turning point of his life.

"The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover. I sat down and wept over their lifeless forms. It was carnage . I alerted the forest department and asked them if they could grow trees there. They said nothing would grow there. Instead, they asked me to try growing bamboo. It was painful, but I did it. There was nobody to help me. Nobody was interested," says Payeng, now 47.

Read More:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-01/special-report/31269649_1_forest-wild-elephants-red-ants

[Video] JACKIE EVANCHO CHRYSTAL CHILD…EMPHASIS ON THE CHRIST IN HER NAME!

Freedom and Jeff

Freedom and Jeff
Freedom and I have been together 11 years this summer. 
She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken wings.
Her left wing doesn't open all the way even after surgery,
it was broken in 4 places.
She's my baby.

When Freedom came in she could not stand 
and both wings were broken. She was 
emaciated and covered in lice. We made the 
decision to give her a chance at life, so I took 
her to the vet's office. From then 
on, I was always around her. We had her in a 
huge dog carrier with the top off, and it 
was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to 
lay in. I used to sit and talk to her, 
urging her to live, to fight; and she would lay 
there looking at me with those big brown eyes. 
We also had to tube feed her for weeks.

This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still 
couldn't stand. It got to the point where the 
decision was made to euthanize her 
if she couldn't stand in a week. You know you don't 
want to cross that line between torture and 
rehab, and it looked like death was 
winning. She was going to be put 
down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in 
on that Thursday afternoon. I didn't want to go 
to the center that Thursday, because I couldn't 
bear the thought of her being euthanized; 
but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone 
was grinning from ear to ear. I went 
immediately back to her cage; and there she was, 
standing on her own, a big beautiful 
eagle. She was ready to live. I was 
just about in tears by then. That 
was a very good day. 

We knew she could never fly, so the director 
asked me to glove train her.
I got her used to the glove,
and then to jesses, and we started
doing education programs for schools
in western Washington . 
We wound up in the newspapers, 
radio (believe it or not) and some 
TV. Miracle Pets even did a show 
about us.

In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed with 
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I had stage 3, 
which is not good (one major organ plus 
everywhere), so I wound up doing 8 months of 
chemo. Lost the hair - the whole 
bit. I missed a lot of work. When I 
felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey 
and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would 
also come to me in my dreams and help me fight 
the cancer. This happened time and time again.

Fast forward to November 2000

the day after Thanksgiving,
I went in for my last checkup. 
I was told that if the cancer was not 
all gone after 8 rounds of chemo, then my last 
option was a stem cell transplant. Anyway, they 
did the tests; and I had to come back Monday for 
the results. I went in Monday, and I was 
told that all the cancer was gone.

So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and 
take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty
and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her 
up, and we went out front to the top of the 
hill. I hadn't said a word to 
Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me 
and wrapped both
her wings around me to where I 
could feel them pressing in on my back 
(I was engulfed in eagle wings), and she 
touched my nose with her beak and stared into my 
eyes, and we just stood there like that 
for I don't know how long . That was a 
magic moment. We have been soul mates ever 
since she came in. This is a very special bird.

On a side note: I have had people who 
were sick come up to us when we are out, and 
Freedom has some kind of hold on 
them. I once had a guy who was 
terminal come up to us and
I let him hold her.
His knees just about buckled and he 
swore he could feel her power course through his 
body. I have so many stories like that..

I never forget the honor I have of being so close 
to such a magnificent spirit as 
Freedom.

Hope you enjoyed this!