Haiti Is Still Hurting

Up to 95% of existing farmland and livestock was destroyed in 2008 when Haiti was hit by three hurricanes and one tropical storm in a three week period.  A year later, the population is still suffering from severe food shortages and a lack of medical care.  Please take a moment to read the stories of a few survivors who are desperate to provide for their families by clicking here.

New Nets Stadium

Are you getting excited?!?!?!

Wal Mart Gift Cards To Curb Syphillis!?!?!

Yep it’s true, in Forsyth County, North Carolina (where reported syphillis cases have more than tripled since last year) health official have begun going door to door asking residents to get tested for HIV and syphillis in exchange for a $10 Wal Mart gift card.  And yes, it worked – about half of the 603 people tested during the campaign said they were motivated by the monetary incentive.  Read the full story here and feel free to leave your comment on the “VD Hall of Fame”

Say What?!?!?!?!?!?!

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Machete-wielding police officers have hacked their way through billions of dollars worth of marijuana to stave off a bumper crop sprouting in the tough economy. Law enforcement and military personnel have chopped down plants with a combined street value of some $12 billion in the top five marijuana-producing states through the first eight months of this year. Ed Shemelya, head of a marijuana eradication program in Appalachia, theorizes that the ailing national economy may be resulting in more people growing pot. In the mountainous region, officers are typically finding small plots that could be tended by a single grower. Authorities say marijuana profits can have an irresistible pull on people down on their luck.

To Work Or Not To Work?

According to Plan International, children farmers in Malawi are absorbing nicotine levels equal to two packs of cigarettes daily!!!! Scientist report that such large amounts of nicotine will not only cause breathing problems, dizziness, vomiting of blood (which many children have reported) but also at such a young age, the brain’s function and development can be altered.   Read Yahoo’s coverage here and then visit www.philipmorrisinternational.com to help ensure that these claims are investigated.

Estamos recibiendo alto esta noche!!!!

Mexican citizens celebrate the legalization of marijuana and other illicit drugs.

Mexico has decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

Prosecutors said the new law sets clear limits that will help keep Mexico’s corruption-prone police from shaking down casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing domestic drug use in check.

The new law sets out maximum “personal use” amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities no longer face criminal prosecution.

“Police sometimes hauled in suspects and demanded bribes, threatening long jail sentences if people did not pay” “The bad thing was that it was left up to the discretion of the detective, and it could open the door to corruption or extortion. ”

The maximum amount of marijuana for “personal use” under the new law is 5 grams — the equivalent of about four joints. The limit is a half gram for cocaine, the equivalent of about 4 “lines.” For other drugs, the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.

Anyone caught with drug amounts under the new personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and for those caught a third time treatment is mandatory.

Mexico has emphasized the need to differentiate drug addicts and casual users from the violent traffickers whose turf battles have contributed to the deaths of more than 11,000 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006.

Mass Murder Mastermind

Gregoire Ndahimana was found hiding among Hutu rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Mr. Ndahimana is suspected to be a mastermind in the 1994 Rwandan genoicide, in which 800,000 murders were carried out against Tutsis and moderate Hutus during a bloody 100-day period.  To recap – 333 men, women, and children were killed every hour non stop for 3 months in an area the same size of Massachusetts.

Human Shields

Please read this story about child soliders (as young as eight) in Africa.

In Case You Missed It

For shame!

31 Years Til It’s Over?

More reason to join the Green Movement…..

In a recently published paper,  Andrew Brierley of St Andrews University claims that the world is quickly heading towards irreversible climate change. Among the most alarming revelations is the proof that  carbon dioxide rates are rising faster than the worse-case scenario.  According to Mr. Brierley and his team of scientist, the polar ice caps are expected to be non existent by 2020, and coral reefs  are expected to be gone by 2040. In the apocalyptic view, there will be at least a metre rise in sea levels by 2100 and the atmosphere will be cloudier than the smoking lounge at Hartsfield-Jackson. Read the full story here.