This graph shows the adolescent fertility rate in relation to the income per person. It is clearly shown that the less wealthy a country is the more teenage girl have babies. Africa and Sub saharan Africa are kind of stick together as they have a lower income per person. East Asia has a low adolescent fertility rate with an exception: Lao. Europe and Central Asia are shown close to each other. There is a clear pattern.

One reason that there are less births in wealthy countries could be the education people get. Education makes teenage girls not be able to get pregnant because of the time they spent in school, colleges etc., education keeps them busy and education causes teenage girls to be aware of the consequences. Other reasons there is that pattern could be cultural differences, differences in religion etc. I think it´s a very important graph for the human development because it shows how important education is for everything.

-What I´m curious about is why Lao has the highest number of teenage girls having children. There is definitely a difference between Lao and the after Lao one which is Timor-Leste.
- China has the smallest number and Congo has the biggest. Why is that? How do people in China and Congo handle it different? Is it education, religion, cultural?

Some interesting statistics about gays:

* One study reports that the average homosexual has between 20 and 106 partners per year (6). The average heterosexual has 8 partners in a lifetime.

* The median age of death of homosexuals is 42 (only 9% live past age 65). This drops to 39 if the cause of death is AIDS. The median age of death of a married heterosexual man is 75 (8)

* The median age of death of lesbians is 45 (only 24% live past age 65). The median age of death of a married heterosexual woman is 79 (8)

However, Alfred Kinsey carried out research in the 1940s and 1950s into the sexual behaviour of 12,000 men and women in America. Although his work has been heavily criticised it remains a rare and relatively authoritative study of sexual behaviour in America.

Amongst the men he found:

• 37% reported some homosexual contact;
• 13% reported more homosexual than heterosexual contact;
• 4% reported exclusively homosexual contact.

Amongst the women he found:

• 13% reported some homosexual contact;
• 4% reported more homosexual than heterosexual contact;
• 1% reported exclusively homosexual contact.

In 2006 South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled in favour of same-sex marriages. But at the other extreme the goverment of Nigeria doesn’t just agree with same-sex marriage, but is against anyone that supports it. But there are still in Africa countries where homosexual activity is illegal for instance: Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia etc. (http://www.forplu.com/community/life&style/feature/homosexual_rightsfast.htm) It’s a huge thing though, that South Africa made that step, to make gay marriage legal.

I’m really happy that African people apart of the poverty and the diseases that their dealing with they are making little steps towards their “perfection”

Two men and two women were married by Tassos Aliferis in the ceremonies on the Eatern Aegean island of Tilos. The conservative Greek Orthodox Church has expressed strong objections, and the country’s Justice Minister, Sotiris Hatzigakis, said he believed gay marriages were illegal.

I was an am very happy that it happened. Because hopefully people will realize that it’s really not a big deal. It’s something normal, although it doesn’t happen often. People should learn to talk about it, be able to handle it and accept it.

To make the future brighter than the past we have to make the best out of modernity because there are no limits but the perfection of the human species. This perfection can be reached by education. As de Condorcet says “… not men be continually verging towards that state, in which all will possess the requisite knowledge for conducting themselves in the common affairs of the life by their own reason…” Another part of perfection requiring education is to get rid of discrimination between men and women. For instance de Condorcet also argues that an educated person couldn’t possibly justify that discrimination is right. It’s clear from those arguments that technology and modern society provide an opportunity to everybody to be educated.

Modern progress is used to improve everybody’s lives not just of a few. According to Engels if modern progress improves the life of a few while causing social and political abuses… Engels argues that “… the herding together of a homeless population in the worst quarters of the large towns… overwork, especially of women and children to a frightful extent, complete demoralization of the working class…” Politically: The Bourgeois gained political power and used it against the Proletariat. However modern progress should be used for everybody. If it’s used for everybody then the human beings will be happier and better off. Engels goes on with the quote:

“The possibility of securing for every member of society, by means of socialized production, an existence not only fully sufficient materially, and combining day by day more full, but an existence guaranteeing to all the free development and exercise of their physical and metal faculties..” de Condorcet agrees with his opinion writing the quote: “That the destruction of the two most active causes of deterioration, penury and wretchedness on the one hand, and enormous wealth on the other, must necessarily tend to prolong the common duration of man’s existence, and secure him a more constant health and a more robust constitution.”

To arrive at a future that is brighter than the past we have to make sure that we don’t confuse technology with civilization. Technology doesn’t guarantee civilization. Like Gandhi said people used to fight their battles face to face but with technology it is possible to take away thousands of the lives working behind a gun from a hill. However to be civilized requires a sense of duty. According to Gandhi civilization is that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty.

Our duty with modernity is to take the best out of it, to use it to improve everybody’s lives and to not confuse technology with civilization.

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Κανονικός πίνακας”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:”";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

At the turn of the 20^th Century authors believed that the future would be brighter than the past so long as we optimize modernity, realize that modern progress can be used to improve everybody’s lives and don’t confuse technology with civilization.

To make the future brighter than the past we have to make the best out of modernity because there are no limits but the perfection of the human species. This perfection can be reached by education. As de Condorcet says “… not men be continually verging towards that state, in which all will possess the requisite knowledge for conducting themselves in the common affairs of the life by their own reason…” Another part of perfection requiring education is to get rid of discrimination between men and women. For instance de Condorcet also argues that an educated person couldn’t possibly justify that discrimination is right. It’s clear from those arguments that technology and modern society provide an opportunity to everybody to be educated.

Modern progress is used to improve everybody’s lives not just of a few. According to Engels if modern progress is used to improve the life of a few that causes social and political abuses. Such as “… the herding together of a homeless population in the worst quarters of the large towns… overwork, especially of women and children to a frightful extent, complete demoralization of the working class…” Politically: The Bourgeois gained political power and use it against the Proletariat. However modern progress should be used for everybody. If it’s used for everybody then the human beings will be happier and better of. Engels goes on with the quote:

“The possibility of securing for every member of society, by means of socialized production, an existence not only fully sufficient materially, and combining day by day more full, but an existence guaranteeing to all the free development and exercise of their physical and metal faculties..” while de Condorcet agrees with his opinion writing : “That the destruction of the two most active causes of deterioration, penury and wretchedness on the one hand, and enormous wealth on the other, must necessarily tend to prolong the common duration of man’s existence, and secure him a more constant health and a more robust constitution.”

To arrive at a future that is brighter than the past we have to make sure that we don’t confuse technology with civilization. Technology doesn’t guarantee civilization. Like Gandhi said people used to fight their battles face to face but with technology it is possible to take away thousands of the lives working behind a gun from a hill. However to be civilized requires a sense of duty. According to Gandhi civilization is that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty.

Our duty with modernity is to take the best out of it, to use it to improve everybody’s lives and to not confuse technology with civilization.

Nevertheless I do remember that after 9/11 travelling inside Europe became suddenly much more complicated. For example a trip from Athens to Amsterdam used to be very simple without my luggage being checked or even having a passport was not necessary.  After 9/11 all this changed completely. Suddenly there were very strict rules for handlugagge (I couldn’t take any peanut butter anymore)  and every time I travel by airplane I have to show a passport or an ID card.

Also there was the bombing on Bali, which effected the daily life of my best friend because she lost her brother over there. That bomb was a political/religious act, commited so far away from my country but still I experienced the pain and sorrow with that family who was completely innocent to the nightmare that happend to them.

Travelling as well is a very good way of getting to know other cultures. I remember travelling through Tunisia and how surprised I was by the way the people live in very poor conditions. It was also the first time I realised that for girls and woman life can be very different depending on the country they live. It made me realise how lucky I was being born in a “rich” and “save” country where boys and girls have the same opportunities.

This kind of experiences made me understand that I and everybody for that matters, are part of the world around us and things that happen anywhere could have their effect on our daily life.