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...That love is strongest in Thailand's rural north, where Thaksin grew up. Bangkok residents may rattle through a litany of Thaksin's alleged faults - corruption, a disregard for human rights, even an attempt to build his reputation at the expense of Thailand's beloved King - but, for people upcountry, as the Thais like to call it, Thaksin's populist health-care initiatives and village funds were manna. "When the soldiers took over, people were scared to say they liked Thaksin," says Nuntana Sommun, a teacher of Thai dance in Chiang Rai. "But in our hearts we still supported...
...Leave No Afghan Behind Having helped build or repair 27 schools in north-central Afghanistan over the past six years, I can verify that education is a building block to eliminating poverty, oppression and extremism [Jan. 28]. I have seen remarkable social, political and economic changes among the more than 20,000 children we represent, particularly the girls. They are marrying later and having fewer children. Families are healthier, and mortality rates have decreased. Children are learning much needed life skills. More important, there is now hope. Despite staggering odds, kids are thinking about the future. There is new respect...
Others saw in the devastation a blank slate on which Greensburg could build back better by building back greener--with energy-efficient homes and offices powered by Kansas' abundant wind and biofuel resources. The community could become a mecca for environmentalists, drawing green businesses and new jobs. Daniel Wallach, an entrepreneur from a nearby town, formed the nonprofit Greensburg GreenTown shortly after the tornado to promote this transformation. "It could be a living laboratory," he says, "to demonstrate to the rest of the country and the world what a town of the future could look like...
Today Greensburg is living up to its name. Consultants from the Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are helping residents build new houses that are up to 50% more energy efficient than their old ones. In early January, the city council approved a plan that would make all public buildings in Greensburg conform to the platinum rating of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) standards--something no American town has ever tried. Ron Shank's car dealership will be rebuilt as a model green facility...
...country whose demographic decline rivals those of rapidly aging Italy and Japan, immigrants are to thank for providing labor to build the economy and sustain over a million pensioners in the social security system...