You are what you eat!No more skinny models please!!!

How important is what you eat and how you look?

Anorexia is a serious health problem that affects especially young women and a growing number of men too. The role models that are repeatedly presented to young teenagers, pop idols on mtv, models in fashion shows and film stars, promote a skiny body type. The message is crystal clear: thin is beautiful!!! Teenage girls and boys that want to look like their favourite celebrities are encouraged by the fashion and film industry to think that thinner is better! But what is the reality? An anorexic often suffers from stress or depression, losses his/her hair, loses bone and muscles strength, and it is more likely to deal with more serious health problems in the future. How would you help your friend who has an eating disorder? 

What are your dreams for the future?

Martin Luther King was an american activist and leader of the african american civil rights movements. He was against the war in Vietnam and fought for the rights of all people disregarding faith, social backround and skin colour. In february 1965 he received the Nobel prize for peace for his political actions and his determination towards racial and social issues. His dream was a society free of violence and racicm ; a society of justice, social peace and political and economic equality and brotherhood. He was killed in April 4 1968 in Memphis by a white man at the age of 39. The video shows a tribute song to the man who fought for equality and justice and it was written by the popular rock band called U2. Has his dream become a reality since then?

New Orleans.A City of Ruins..

In August 2005 hurricane katrina hit the city of New Orleans in the U.S.A. New Orleans is the city where jazz music was born, of great coffee shops and local cuisine but it is also the city of opposition and racism since there is a large black community. At least 1,836 people lost their lives, most of them afro-americans, hundreds of thousands left unemployed and homeless. It is sad to notice that the Bush government delayed to respond to the victims causing many people to die from thirst, exhaustion and violence days after the hurricane had passed. The parts of the city that were mostly damaged were inhabited by afro-americans which raised a moral question of discrimination by the government. The racial mix in the city has changed significantly since many afro-americans have left their hometown as there are no proposals to rebuild the historical black neighbourhoods. Three years after the katrina those that remain in the city still live in trailers trying to restore their lives, face the future hopeless because help from the government never came.

If you were a citizen of New Orleans how would you advise the new american president, the first black president in the U.S. , to deal with the problems that the city is facing three years after the hurricane?

More children and women dead in the Middle East..

More than 90.000 palestinians have left their homes to escape bombing as Israeli forces continue to strike what they call strategic targets. About 900 people have been killed, 292 of them children and 75 women and more than 2300 injured since the beginning of the fighting. The international community is not doing anything to stop the bombing of innocent civilians and even the is Israeli people strongly support the military operation by 80%! Journalists are not allowed to enter Gaza and food and medical supplies can not reach those in need since Israel has closed the borders. This dispute is one of the many in this area since the end of the 2nd World War, when the state of Israel was founded in a land inhabited mainly by palestineans in the middle east. The U.S.A is the strongest supporter of Israel's policies as they play an important role in a vital part of the world. How do you feel about what is happening?
What would you do to stop this?

The Greek Student:Hard working, stressed, unhappy!

A child living in Greece 13, 14, 15 years old is probably the most hard working citizen in this country! While the law states that the legal working hour for an adult is 8 hours per day, Greek students start their day at 7 'o clock in the morning and usually finish at 10 o'clock at night. They have to go to school in the morning, rush home to have lunch, spend their noon studying their afternoon lessons, maybe attend a sport activity, return home to study for the next day and end up going to bed exhausted at about 10 or 11 o'clock! Hard schedule,  don't you agree? They suffer from stress, sleep disorder and depression. The social pressure is high as family tradition wants greek children highly educated and qualified. In contrast, in most European countries students finish school at noon and have the rest of the day for themselves to enjoy their free time as they choose. The homework they have to do takes no more than one hour a day. Whereas the greek students spend the whole day trying to learn by heart hundreds of pages of useless material resulting an unbearable social and psychological cost.  What would you change if you were the Greek minister of education? What is the ideal school for you?

Santa's Helpers:Some things cost more than you think....

Christmas is a major celebration for the western world. The 25 of december is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and it is considered a chance for family gathering and exchanging presents for the countries that are christian. But is it a religious celebration only? Christmas is a great opportunity for the market to increase sales as people tend to spend more money for presents for their loved ones. It's the consumers' paradise and the shopkeepers earn lots of money during this period. Everybody is happy, or that is what we are told! What about the countries that have nothing to do with christianity and christmas? Who manufactures the toys and the christmas trees that we put in our houses? Few will think why the prices are low and where do these toys come from? The fact is that the toys come from China, India and other mainly poor countries where salaries are extremely low and workers have to work for long hours making about 20 cents per hour. Another problem is that it is very likely that the toy or the christmas tree that you will buy is made by a child. Child labour is very common in poor countries like China and India, as there is no regulation to prevent this as the working force is needed to provide the products for the childen in Europe and the U.S.A. The Christmas joy for the children in western countries is the suffering of the children in China and India.

Greece in flames! Social unrest or Anarchy?

Teenagers throwing stones, cars and buildings are on fire, and Greek police firing tear gas are the only images being broadcast to the world, as rioting in Greece enters its third day with more demonstrations planned. But the unrest started long before the senseless shooting of 15-year-old Alexandros-Andreas Grigoropoulos. The officer described firing warning shots but witnesses have said he took aim at the boy. Since this incident more than 50 people have been hurt and hundred of shops, banks and cars have been damaged. Police arrested about 150 people. Protests have erupted in more than 10 cities across the nation of , including northern Thessaloniki and the islands of Crete and Corfu. Greeks overseas protested in London and Berlin. It has been the worst Greece has seen since the restoration of democracy in 1974, and the question is whether democracy truly exists in a country claiming to be its birthplace!

How do you feel about what is happening in Greece?