Monday, December 24, 2012

151 Victims of Mass Shootings in 2012: Here Are Their Stories

Daniel Barden, Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting
Did not survive.
Daniel was the kind of kid who would open doors for adults, his parents recalled. “Our son had so much love to give to this world,” his father said. “He was supposed to have a whole lifetime of bringing that light to the world.”

The media coverage tends to linger on the killers. But as the nation mourns the excruciating losses in Newtown—and finally begins to confront an epidemic of mass shootings amid the worst year for them in modern US history—it is equally important to bear witness to the victims. What follows are portraits of 151 people physically wounded or killed in the rampages of 2012. In addition to the victims of this year's seven mass shootings, we've included the victims of similar but less lethal rampages in a Portland shopping mall, a Milwaukee spa, and a Cleveland high school.

The total number of lives devastated by these attacks far exceeds 151, of course, starting with survivors who narrowly escaped physical harm, such as the unidentified six-year-old girl who played dead and walked out of Sandy Hook Elementary School against all odds. Mother Jones has only included photos of those injured and killed that were shared publicly by the families or survivors themselves, or for which we were granted specific permission. For essential context and findings from our in-depth investigation, also see our guide to mass shootings in America.
  
read more here

Google Sponsors Global Impact Awards


Global Impact Awards support organizations using technology and innovative approaches to tackle some of the world’s toughest human challenges. We look for nimble, entrepreneurial organizations that have a specific project that tests a big idea and a brilliant team with a healthy disregard for the impossible. From real-time sensors that monitor clean water to DNA barcoding that stops wildlife trafficking, our first round of awards provides $23 million to seven organizations changing the world.

Consortium for the Barcode of Life

DNA barcodes to safeguard endangered species

Project:

The Smithsonian Institution’s Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) will use its $3 million Impact Awards grant to create and begin implementing ‘DNA barcoding’ as an actionable tool for protecting the world’s most endangered wildlife. Working with researchers in six developing countries, CBOL will build a public library of DNA barcodes that law enforcement officials can use to identify confiscated material.

Impact:

More than 35,000 of the world’s 1.8 million named species are considered to be in danger of extinction, either regionally or globally. Of these, 2,000 are protected from illegal international trade by the strictest trade regulations under a UN treaty. Intercepting wildlife as they are transferred across borders and prosecuting traffickers are critical to slowing illegal trade, but current detection tools are too slow, unreliable, and either too expensive or simply unavailable to developing countries where most protected species live. DNA barcoding is a cost-effective, rapid, standardized approach that can identify species by matching short DNA sequences in a global database. The Consortium for the Barcode of Life will work with researchers to assemble the database and will train enforcement officials to use this technology to disrupt illegal trade.

"LandFillHarmonic" Orchestra Plays With Instruments Made of Trash



 Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Paraguay, where the musicians play instruments made from trash.

Visit their Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/landfillharmonicmovie

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