FT Chronicle

Carve out time to spend

with you people-

whoever and wherever

they may be.

As teenagers, many of us couldn’t wait to get out of the house, get out on our own-forge a life in newfound autonomy. Our society- and in part, instinct-tells us this is the way it should be. This can be a great time of growth. Yet the longer we are away, the more we may realize that home isn’t such a bad place to be. If we are willing to admit it, we may actually long enter the familiar door, see the comforting sight, and take in the unforgettable scents that comprise our past.

There’s nothing like the sense of ease and fulfillment we experience when we are in the presence of those who know and accept us. Some people may not have that kind of association with family; but there are friends whose very presence is like going home.

As we grow older, we often find it difficult to make time for the places and people we cherish. Like the little five-year-old who found school an alien place devoid of “his people”, we look forward to being in the presence of “our people”. Family, friends, and the familiar places they inhabit can be a shelter, a refreshing relief for mind, body, and spirit.

It is right for me to feel this way

about all of you, since I have you in my heart.

PHILIPPIANS 1:7

From- Coffee Break Devotions: Cappucino

LOS ANGELES (AP)— The late Michael Jackson has a prominent role in the revamped version of “We Are the World.”

Lionel Richie, who wrote the original charity anthem with Jackson, says the King of Pop can be seen in the new video for the track, singing with his sister Janet.

The video is set to make its debut Friday during coverage of the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics. “We Are the World — 25 for Haiti” features 80 artists, including Pink, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Kanye West and Jennifer Hudson.

Proceeds from sales of the song will benefit earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti.

Here’s an update from ET on the video:

hawaii

Now that the International Space Station has been connected to the Web, the astronauts onboard have been going Twitter-crazy.

Expedition flight engineer Soichi Noguchi – has been sending splendid Twitpics down to earth.

While flying over Moscow, Singapore, Munich, Rome, Haiti, Florida and many other places, Soichi aimed his phone (or, more likely, camera) out of the window and snapped shots.

Some shots include Maldives, Mt. Fuji, Tokyo and Singapore. All of them can be seen on Soichi’s Twitpic feed.

click here for more pictures via pocket-lint

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)– A half-million Haitians who fled their shattered capital after the earthquake are starting to return to a maze of rubble piles, refugee camps and food lines, complicating ambitious plans to build a better Haiti.

Haitian and international officials had hoped to use the devastation of Port-au-Prince — a densely packed sprawl of winding roads and ramshackle slums that is home to a third of Haiti’s 9 million people — to build an improved capital and decentralize the country.

An estimated 500,000 people fled to the countryside in the days after the quake, many on buses paid for by the government to move quake survivors away from the heart of the destruction. Hundreds of thousands more are camped atop the rubble of their homes, or packed into makeshift camps.

The government is largely powerless to keep people from returning, though Prime Minister Max Bellerive protested this week that Port-au-Prince cannot withstand another influx of people.

President Rene Preval’s “Operation Demolition,” an ambitious plan to clear the rubble, includes provisions to remove people living in unstable buildings by force, according to Aby Brun, an architect and member of the government’s reconstruction team.

Haiti’s government on Friday announced a ban on rebuilding until it completes damage assessments and introduces a new building code to be developed with “international partners.” A notice broadcast in Creole on radio warned people against sleeping under or near any damaged buildings. It was not clear how the government would enforce the edict.

A major part of that reconstruction plan is encouraging Haitians to move away from the capital, providing jobs and basic services in other cities, towns and villages.

Haiti plans to build camps with sanitation outside the city, but Stein said such efforts usually fail. But if the government has a plan to rebuild, Bellerive did not reveal it — and no one knows when, or to what extent a new capital will rise.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Friday in his role as a U.N. special envoy for Haiti relief. He expressed faith in Haiti’s leaders and predicted the country would emerge stronger than before.

And despite Haitian and international efforts, opportunities remain few and far between in the countryside.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – In a world where tweets seem to plague the Internet, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates find himself caught with the Twitter fever on Tuesday.

Gates started a “Hello World” post then followed tweets calling for fund aids for Haiti.

The lately-retired Microsoft legend’s Twitter page displayed a blue check-mark sign used to validate identities of prominent people using the popular microblogging service.

He had logged four tweets and signed on to “follow” messages at 40 other Twitter accounts including those of Microsoft and its new Bing search engine.

Twitter users that Gates was tracking ranged from Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan and US President Barack Obama to actress Ashley Tisdale, actor Ashton Kutcher, and CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research.

Gates was also following tweets from prestigious TED conferences known for mind-bending themes and humanitarian missions.

More than 61,000 people signed on to follow Gates on his opening day tweeting.

“Welcome to the club,” tweeted US television celebrity Ryan Seacrest of the popular “American Idol” program.

WASHINGTON– US President Barack Obama joined forces with his White House predecessors, George W. Bush Democrat Bill Clinton, to help victims of Haiti’s major quake.

Obama said that America stands united with the people of Haiti to help them to recover and to rebuild.

The United States have launced “one of the largest relief efforts in our history” to bring support to Haiti following Tuesday’s devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that claimed properties and lives.

Bush, who congratulated Obama for his “swift and timely response to the disaster” and called for people to contribute money for organizations who will be able to effectively spend it for the Haiti people.

The challenges in Haiti “are immense, but there’s a lot of devoted people leading the

Clinton, the United Nations special envoy for Haiti, said the priority for now is to ship food, medicine and water to Haiti.

Obama and the ex-presidents directed people to the website www.clintonbushhaitifund.org to make donations.

NEW YORK – National Basketball Association owners and players announced Friday they have made a combined contribution of one million dollars to the UNICEF relief effort for earthquake victims in Haiti.

Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert, a native of Haiti, videotaped a public service announcement for UNICEF encouraging NBA supporters to contribute to relief efforts in the disaster-stricken Caribbean nation.

The messages will start playing immediately on all league telecasts.

Dalembert is making a $100,000 donation and was set to match the amount of donations collected for UNICEF Haitian relief efforts at the 76ers’ Friday home game.

“NBA players are deeply affected by this tragedy,” National Basketball Players Association president Derek Fisher said.

“We hope our contribution helps provide immediate relief to those suffering in Haiti.”

US President Barack Obama promised earlier Wednesday to mount an all-out rescue and humanitarian effort to help the people of Haiti overcome a “cruel and incomprehensible” tragedy.”

The president said the relief effort is gearing up even as the U.S. government is working to account for Americans who were on the island nation when the disaster struck late Tuesday afternoon.

Video from Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Tens of thousands are feared dead while many are still trapped under rubble of collapsed buildings brought by the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti last Tuesday.

Tuesday’s earthquake brought down buildings great and small even President Rene Preval’s lustrous white National Palace while bodies were everywhere in Port-au-Prince

Hospitals, schools and the main prison collapsed. The capital’s Roman Catholic archbishop was killed when his office and the main cathedral fell. The quake damaged the airport, stranding dozens there. The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission was missing in the ruins of the organization’s multistory headquarters.

Haiti’s leaders struggled to comprehend the extent of the catastrophe — the worst earthquake to hit the country in 200 years — even as aftershocks reverberated.

US President Barack Obama promised an all-out rescue and humanitarian effort including the military and civilian emergency teams from across the U.S. Late Wednesday, the Navy said the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan had been ordered to sail as soon as possible with a 2,000-member Marine unit to join other warships headed to the Caribbean nation.

The first cargo planes with food, water, medical supplies, shelter and sniffer dogs headed to the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation a day after the magnitude-7 quake flattened much of the capital of 2 million people.

Some of the biggest immediate health threats include respiratory disease from inhaling dust from collapsed buildings and diarrhea from drinking contaminated water.

The international Red Cross said a third of the country’s 9 million people may need emergency aid, a burden that would test any nation and a crushing catastrophe for impoverished Haiti.

Earthquake struck Haiti killing eight Chinese peacemakers and leaving damages to the impecunious region. The quake is said to be the largest to hit the area in 200 years.

According to the U.S Geological Survey, the earthquake struck some 10 kilometers from Port-au-Prince. The quake registered a 7 magnitude and was followed by several after shocks.

The earthquake destroyed hospital near the capital and damages many buildings including a luxury hotel.

The quake was also felt in Cuba and Dominican Republic, which the latter shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

(photo credit: AFP)