I am 25 years of age. I am a full time public relations/advertising student at Flagler College. I also Co-own an art gallery, as well as work as a wine and spirits promoter. I have been lucky enough to work and travel across many western countries including: Mexico, France, Italy, Peru, and Holland.
Care for Your Fruit Trees Correctly
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[image: Care for Your Fruit Trees Correctly]
If you have just planted a new fruit tree, I think it is safe to assume you
are not yet an expert at this. Mor...
Issue Photos
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One of the biggest issues in downtown St. Augustine is the reconstruction
of the Bridge of Lions. This is a continuing problem for not just tourists,
...
UPDATE
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Hi, its been awhile since I've posted on my blog and I'm sorry for that.
The other day I went to check my blog which I haven't checked probably
since schoo...
Thank you!
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So my semester assignment is ending, and I have to say I have really
enjoyed blogging! It was definitely something new for me, and it was
refreshing to be ...
After the Earthquake: Italians Recover Their Pets
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There is an article on the front page of ANSA.com that caught my attention
today about pets that have been found alive and well in the rubble a full
week a...
Facebook, Failing
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*F* is for Fail and in this case, is also for Facebook as well. It has
become so easy for college students to get caught up in hours of online
procrastina...
Wrap it up.
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"Last Wednesday, Simon Mol's apartment was visited by a group of men
dressed in civilian clothing. Mol initially believed them to be racist
attackers, but ...
Chiranuch Premchaiyaporn
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Recently, Chiranuch Premchaiyaporn, editor of the online newspaper
Prachatai, gave a speech at the Thai Netizen Networks first meeting. She
compare the fre...
The Trillion Dollar Ad Campaign
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The Zimbabwean, a newspaper printed in The UK but covering Zimbabwean news,
has started a movement. It's called the Trillion Dollar Ad Campaign. They
have...
French Police Find Bomb Materials, ETA Suspected
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After a quiet end to the month of March the terrorist group ETA starts off
April with a bang. French police found a huge amount of explosives in the
south-...
Born Into Brothels Producers
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Born into Brothels was produced in 2004 by then couple Zana Briski and Ross
Kauffman. They wanted to raise awareness about the Red Light industry in
Calcu...
The first thing I associate when describing the word Colombo, is a notorious Italian family. Instantly images of the 'Tephlon Don" John Gotti or Carmine "Junior" Persico heads of this organization at one time, and known for murders, racketering, and drug distribution. These shady associates now share the Colombo name with a positive purpose. Due to Iran's growing rate of addiction with over 600, 000 Iranians dependant on some opium-based drug. These statistics have been an extreme concern for Iranian youth who have more progressive ideals about western-society and the allure of drugs, so the Iranian government decided to take action and create a programs to prevent the growing number of addicts instead of dealing with the problem's aftermath. This program is a more comprehensive version of the American D.A.R.E program and as I you might assume it is called the Colombo Plan, and lets hope its more effective than the U.S Counterpart...
Hello ladies and gentlemen, I haven't posted recently due to illness and in all honesty I was project for international communication. My decision to return is not related to trafficking of drugs/small arms, or even the refugee crisis continuing across the silk road. I will try to explicate the tragedy which is clash of hope and desperation coursing through the veins of Iran's Majority. A combination of young progressive Iranians who are gasping for the air of freedom without the fear of fundamentalism, and the desire to see a brighter day for Iran; A day without anguish perpetuated through the tyrannical comments & policies of the current Regime. Well that brighter day has been eclipsed when the presidential dictation...(I meant election) had been fixed & the presidency stolen; when I say fixed I meant the votes were "counted" before the ballots were created; when mentioning stolen I am speaking terms of of a 3/1 ratio for presidential candidate Mir Hossein Musavi, the current *Fuhrer Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. (*For those who aren't savvy to the term Fuhrer, it was the term used to address Adolf Hitler by his Nazi legion) I digress, it isn't purpose to give lunatics any more publicity but instead to expose the injustice facing the silent majority, and their incredible dignity, bravery, and solidarity through protests against intolerance, violence, and degradation of women. This valor shown by Musavi supporters, is a true testimate to their thirst for inalienable human rights and liberation from the Mullah's grip on Irian society. So I say to those brave souls Vive L' Iran Neuvou! (Long live a new Iran).
If you made it all the way through this post I thank you for enduring my wreck less banter while approaching my destination ha ha. Now and then it takes the strength someone of else to find the strength in yourself.
Well everyone I'm back, sorry about the lapse in updates but a serious staph infection has kept me a little busy, but I'm a trooper and its time to get down to business. Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that he was hopeful for Afghanistan with the help of Iran for reconstruction. Conversely Iran will become integral in destroying the drug trade currently being produced by their neighboring nation. Iran's interest comes after a devastating percentage of their own population becoming addicted to Afghan Heroin. While Karzai is overtly pro American and says he has strong anti Drug policies, his own brother has been named as one of the top drug lords by many inside sources. Some also attribute the successful protection of Karzai against terrorist assassination is due to his brother's involvement with the heroin trade, which is by the way the #1 form of revenue production funding terrorism. Let's hope Karzai is on the up and up...
The World Cup qualifying match 2001, the stage is set at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran. The game is between Iran and Ireland. What is extremely unique about this particular competition was the large number of Irish fans who flew into Iran for the game. More amazing the Iranian government allowed 40 Irish women to attend the at the stadium. This is the first time since the 1979 Iranian revolution women were allowed to attend any major sporting event. These 40 spirited ladies may have been a lucky charm because the Irish won the series 2-1. This was a historical event in Iran and proved that Iran has come a long way, and that the luck of the Irish stays strong...Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone across this world, we are all Irish today and that means we are all brothers and sisters. GOD bless whom ever he may be...
The Economic Cooperation Organization (A.K.A: ECO) is being proposed to Iran and Pakistan in order to provide relief to Afghanistan. The organization would bind the three countries and require the sharing of technology, building of railroads and roadways, and providing shelter to those in need among the three nations. Iran's main incentive to comply and participate in building this "bridge" so to speak. Why would a fairly organized nation provide assistance and intervention to neighboring countries which are the cause of many of Iran's current drug and population problems? Well the short-term answer is that Iran will be able to curb the heroin trafficking by more ably securing the borders and countryside in Afghanistan. The long-distance answer is that it will eventually strengthen all three nations and provide unprecedented economic growth and unity among these neighbors. A "Triple Threat"of sorts (no pun intended). Lets hope this plan goes the distance and stability can restored to the region, as well as peace!!!
US plans to pull 12,000 troops out of Afghanistan, as well as all 4,000 British soldiers by September. Does this mean less surveillance on the drug trade, and an increase in weapons coming in from Iran to support the resistance. Well unfortunately a recent bombing shows the instability of the situation in Afghanistan, and with less of a force in south-east Afghanistan, the funnelling of drugs, weapons, and chaos will surely continue. In my opinion we should pull back ground forces and put more emphasis on counter intelligence, and special ops to control the borders. Feel free to let me know what you think my fellow citizens of the world?!!!
I wish we could have just opium. But with 350 laboratories [Afghan drug producers] are converting opium to heroin and crystal," he said. Crystal is a particularly pure form of heroin also known in Iran as "crack". This is according to Iran's deputy foreign minister, Mehdi Safari. I this new easily smokable form of heroin is fast becoming the dominant way of drug abuse in Iran. No longer do addicts in Iran need to inject powder heroin to produce the same dangerous high. The rate of addiction is on the rise due to those who once feared disease from needles.
Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N55yDV728Ls
The video above shows a dark side of life for Iranian women who have to turn to prostitution to support their children and themselves. These women are usually not married and have fallen on hard times, and because it is extremely difficult for women to get jobs if they have children out of wedlock or were born into poverty. None the less sex out of wedlock is a very severe crime itself, and prostitution can be punishable by death. Stoning is the common procedure, a process in which stones are thrown that the victim by locals a stone doesn't usually cause the death blow, but instead the accumulation of stones will eventually crush the body under that amount of weight. So with sanctions like these on prostitution, imagine how desperate these women must really be... That's all for now friends, I would like to mention that we have to respect cultural laws but how we help these women find another system of support???
Pic from :http://news.bbc.co.uk/ This is yet another example of the difficult circumstances that both Iran and Afghanistan face. To the right, is a picture of Afghan refugees camping along the border's of Iran. Unfortunately this scene is not unique and we could take a million other pictures of similar living conditions for each Afghan citizen trapped between a country who can't support the influx of refugees (Iran, Pakistan), and a home that may no longer exist...(Afghanistan)
Recently Iran's ongoing nuclear interests have come under even more international scrutiny. Reports leaked about Iran's Nuclear program indicate the country has been able to refine uranium to about 40 percent, more than is necessary for safe nuclear energy. If these reports are correct, the uranium content has to reach a little more than double at 88-92 percent purity to become useful in nuclear warhead...Scary Sh*t. Now although it seems like they have a ways to go, it is making neighboring countries and the international community very nervous because the country is continuing to seek weapons grade uranium and the less than friendly relationship with Israeli, the U.S Occupation of Neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan. Let's hope that reports which I heard on a Nationally syndicated News talk radio program, are a little overblown...no pun intended!
Hey my friends. I am delving into the Iran's crisis dealing with the highest rate of heroin addiction per ca pita in the world. This growing issue is due to the onslaught of heroin and raw opium, making its way into Iran from Afghanistan via the Silk Road. The problem has become so bad that the Iranian government is setting up Methadone clinics across the nation is order to curb the destruction being wreaked upon the nation. Methadone, for those who don't know is a regulated oral substitute to heroin which provides addicts relief from cravings and withdrawals. I will continue my search to understand the magnitude of this problem in the near future.