Peer Pressure:Why it is hard to say no to your friends?

Peer pressure is something that everyone has to deal with at a time especially when you want to be part of a group. Most of us tend to behave differently when they are in a group. Teenagers usually follow their friends even if they don't really agree with them because they don't want to be isolated. They skip a boring lesson, make fun of a weak classmate, and sometimes hang out with a popular person who is a bad influence on them even though they don't really like because they don't want to be called cowards or geeks! Think for yourself and choose your friends wisely. Hang out with people who will act and think the same as you and don't be afraid to say no! Has someone of your age ever persuaded you to do something you didn't want to do?What do you do when your friends are all doing something that you don't really want to do?

Mobile phones and Children:Toast Brain !!!

Parents should make sure that children use their mobile phones only when absolutely necessary, and even though there is still no proof that they are unsafe, experts say that there is possible health risk. Especially children under 8 should not use mobile phones at all! The Mobile Phones industry is trying to sell more mobile phones to children so they advertise their products to 7 -10 year old children. One in four 7-10 year old children now own a mobile phone! They use it mainly to send messages to their classmates, play games and talk to their parent when necessary. Parents often feel that their children should have a mobile phone for safety reasons but they are warned to control their children. Medical studies have clearly shown that heavy use of the mobile phone by 7-10 year old children causes health problems, affects brain functions, and the radiation from a mobile phone can even cause DNA damage. Do you own a mobile phone? How often do you use it?

Image is everything!

Music has changed a lot since technology and digital music have entered our lives. Nowadays teenagers listen to their, favourite singers on their mp3 players and ipods and download songs from the internet.Television especially MTV, and the internet has played a major role in changing the music industry and the way we listen to music. There are not many

record shops left as the biggest music shop in the world, itunes, sells its music online. Image is now the most important feature and if a young singer wants to become famous they should have the right looks! This is a song by Katy Perry, a new American singer. She is known for her unconventional style of dress, often humorous, bright in color, and a mix of different decades, as well as her frequent use of fruit-shaped accessories, mainly watermelon,as part of her outfits!

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?