Remembering others as we celebrate Christmas:

Far to many people are without jobs this Christmas.  The decisions they have made about how to celebrate the holidays are different than they would have made otherwise.  The housing crisis still impacts many people, and the economic outlook remains poor as a result.  Families face foreclosure, doubling up or even homelessness.  Remember the faces of homeless people around the world.  And a particular face of the U.S. recession belongs to homeless children.  To quote from the Reuters story:

How does anyone explain to kids like Aeisha and countless others how they wound up homeless in the world's richest nation?

In a report issued earlier this month, the National Center on Family Homelessness, based in Needham, Massachusetts, said 1.6 million children were living on the streets of the United States last year or in shelters, motels and doubled-up with other families.

That marked a 38 percent jump in child homelessness since 2007. . . 

Remember the needs of our Mother Earth.  As the carbon dioxide output soars, the problem of climate change is big enough to be defined an a national security issue.  "Water Poor" Will Suffer Most as Climate Change Hits Cities. To explain how the poor will suffer in India, for example: 

Like many cities in the developing world, Indore's water infrastructure and institutions face the mounting pressures of population and growth and urbanization. Experts worry that global warming will compound these problems, enlarging a category of people they call the "water poor."

Astronauts and cosmonauts are away from their families this Christmas.  The European Space Agency's International Space Station's representative just arrived on orbit.  Andre Kuipers is featured in this story: "Space-Flying Dutchman's Must-Haves: Time, Space Stamps & Cheese," is the headline from a Space.com.  To quote:

The first Dutch astronaut to return to space, André Kuipers is about to begin five and a half months on board the International Space Station (ISS), a mission the European Space Agency named "PromISSe."

<See also, a short slide show: "A Rare Stunning Glimpse Inside the World's Space Programs.">
Finally, if all this news is beginning to depress you, here are 8 Ways To Forget Your Troubles.  My wishes are that you are having happy holidays, and that your 2012 is a good year.