An Article From Nationalgeographic.com
There are now 6.8 billion of us as of 2009—a doubling since the 1960s and four times as many as just a century ago. As a result, more and more places on the globe are fantastically, swarmingly crowded, especially cities along the coastlines, where people keep settling in ever greater densities. Yet a full city today can mean an empty village or town across the country, or on the other side of the world. Our growth has taken place in surprising ways.
The human population continues to expand by more than 200,000 people every day. With more than one billion teenagers in the world today just now reaching their most fertile years, we can expect the boom in births to continue for decades to come. The latest UN projections have the global population reaching 9.2 billion by the middle of this century. Even that colossal number may be too small, however, since it's based on the assumption that family sizes will drop throughout developing regions—an assumption no way guaranteed to hold true.
Some of the worst predictions of a generation ago—global famine, widespread resource exhaustion—have not come to pass on a global scale. Yet from the crowded streets of Lagos and Mumbai (Bombay), to the suburban sprawl of the United States, to disappearing tropical forests around the world, the harmful effects of more people than the planet can comfortably support are apparent almost anywhere we look.
Not all countries grow the same, of course. Virtually all of the expected population increase in the near future will come in developing countries, while the population of the more developed countries would be declining slightly, were it not for large-scale migration. In much of Europe, where explosive growth started with the industrial revolution two centuries ago, and in Korea, Japan, and elsewhere, national populations have stabilized or are starting to contract. This brings challenges of its own, as successively smaller generations struggle to care for and support their elders.
These problems pale in comparison to the stresses of rapid population growth in the developing world, where the great majority of the growth continues to occur. Already in parts of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America, rapid population growth is contributing to grinding poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, or war.
Humanity is also on the move as never before. More than 3 percent of the global population—more than 200 million people—live outside their country of birth, and uncounted millions more have moved, or been moved, within their home borders.
Our numbers, our mobility, and the immediacy of communication all conspire to make Earth seem smaller, even as our impact upon it grows larger by the day. From climate change to resource depletion to species extinction and a hundred other planetary ills, every environmental issue is intensified by global population, and by the growing consumption of the wealthy and the growing desperation of the poor. If we are to preserve the biological wealth of our planet and increase the well-being of its people, we must first understand our own population dynamics.
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
and things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art; to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
~
Where there is love there is life.
~
"A coward dies a thousnad deaths,
A real man dies,but ones"
Tupac Amaru Shakur
~
"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains,
at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers,
at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars,
and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."
St. Augustine,
Let us accept the inner life, the spiritual life. Mistakes in our journey are inevitable. Success without endeavour is impossibility itself. No work, no progress. Experience we must welcome, for we can learn nothing without experience. The experience may be either encouraging or discouraging. But it is experience that makes us a real being, that shows us the true meaning of our very existence.
- Sri Chinmoy
~
Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.
Faith is taking the first step,even though you dont see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King Jr.
~
"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as if everything is."
Albert Einstein
~
“And in the end, it's not the years in your life
that count. It's the life in your years.”
~
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain.
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Into his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Emily Dickinson
~
This is why we reached the pinnecale of what can be touched and seen
but have not yed endeavoured to the escence of what lie inside
Album Review:Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
0 comments Posted by in.SIGHT at 14:08 It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
1995
By Radoslav Penchev
(c) Outspoken Poet
A little puzzle and a little game we can play.
I give you anagrams you tell me how you solved tehm ;)
So the anagram of today is:
Thick Hit Fuss
This expresses how I feel today.So tell me,how do I feel today?
I write , therefore I am.
I've written , so a chance exist that I might have been.
And if so a trace I must have left , so I remember.
What I felt , not what I've seen.
And what I've seen is beatifull yet grimm.
The goal is not to think , but to exist.
I eat , therefore I am does not the trick.
So I write , for a chance to be.
(c) Outspoken Poet
2pac - Better Dayz
2pac ressurection movie trailer
13.09.2009 - Thirteen years since the unfortunate demise of Tupac Amaru Shakur-undoutably one of the great poets of our time.And thirteen years after his voice and his message echo louder than ever.And it seems now more people open their eye to the true mission of his music as he put it himself: "It's time for us as people to start making some changes.Let's change the way we live,let's change the way we eat.And let's change the way we treat each other.See,the old way isn't working so it's on us to do what we gotta do.To survive!"
Who was Tupac Amaru Shakur?Was he the man who shouted thug life and gave the middle finger after being vindicated of false rape charges?Or was he the man that on his way to the Grammy's in 1995 stoped by a himeless man,talked to him for 30 minutes and gave him 2000 dollars?Was he the man who sang "Fuck the police!",or the man who said "Time to question our lifestyle, look how we live"?Deiced for yourself.
But I will tell you who he was for sure.Tupac Amaru Shakur was the voice of a generation,a man who took hip-hop as the weapon against injustice that it is instead of a tool for bragging, and tried to brick his part of a better world.He was the man who organized free concerts in schools and the only way to get in was to have at least average in class. He was the reciepient of a dying kid's final wish letter to meet him.And he was the man who replied instantly,cancelled all his business and flew right over.He followed the kid until his death and afterwards created a publishing house called "Joshua's Dream" in homage to him.Tupac was the man who on a Thanksgiving one year gave away 400,000 dollars worth of Turkey to poor and homeless people.Anonymosly!Once in his early teens he danced for four hours with an old lady that no one seemed to care about.2pac was going to take his flight in JFK when he heard on radio that a young girl had been attacked by a dog. He decided to give up his flight and go see the girl in a local hospital. He kept contact with her until his death.He was the artist who sold more records posthumously than when he was alive totaling his sales to around 75 million albums to death making him one of the highest selling musicioans of all time.Tupac's poetry is being studied at US universities for 6-7 years now.
And Tupac Amaru Shakur was the man who said "Don't cry for me,I wasn't happy here!"
The world needs more people like Tupac!
(c) Outspoken Poet
It is more difficult for an adult to learn a foreign language than it is for a child because the adult mind is already "structured" in may ways. Adults already seem know the limits of their capabilities and potential, and most NEVER strive to be anything more that what the parameters of the society in which they belong to and have grow up in bind to them. Take for example inner city blacks, most truly believe that they will never escape the grasp of the getto, so most accept this as a fact and don't even try to escape through some other avenue. Such as trying to do well in high school and trying somehow to get into college, or by learning a trade or high paying skill, or by some other "legal" avenue. They simply enter into a gang where the odds of then being shot and killed is vastly higher that anywhere else. They do this because they TRULY BELIEVE this is their fate. If you ask the average 40 or 50 year old adult if they have achieved their goals in life and what they dreamed of becoming as a child, 95 percent would say "no". And then you ask them "why not?? What's stopping you?" Most would give some economic reason or they would say "I'm too old".. or "I missed my chance!" "WHY CAN'T YOU GO AFTER YOUR DREAM!.. WHO SAYS.. THAT YOU CANNOT DO IT! YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD AND IT IS NEVER TOO LATE!" I say and I believe. Life all boil's down to fear, and whether or not you really have the courage to find out what you are really made of! That's why most adults find themselves in a job they really aren't happy with and yet they don't diverse into anything else, or they stay in an unhappy marriage for years and years. Why? Because of fear! The fear of being alone, fear of making changes, fear of taking risks, fear of failing. Earlier in my life,my coaches told me that I couldnt run as fast as the times indicated, and after a while I started to believe them, and as a result I unconsciously slowed down. This is what I mean. By the time someone becomes an adult they have already stated to "slow down". Society has already set up the parameters of their fate, and they have mentally accepted it. But as children, none of these restrictive parameters apply. A young mind is like a damp sponge ready to absorb any information you drop on it.Impossible is only a word thought up by humans,for humans.Bypassing it is the first step to achieving anything.Just remember that what you can't is what you don't believe you can do.
(c) Outspoken Poet
And then she whispers "love come along".
Use me,abuse me, it ain't that wrong.
I can see the start of a beatifull relation.
I can ease youre pain, I can be your salvation.
Just close your eyes to my bad reputation.
If you be with me,you will feel no pain,
buletproof to hurt,you would be a superman.
A fabulos world,not a care exist in my frame,
what I can do is more than simple pleasure.
I will love you like no other lover,whispering your name.
I would never let you go till the very end.
We would be together,even in the worst weather,
when they tell you let me go,I'll hide you in my grasp,stronger than ever.
And we gonna run,run far away,we gonna run forever.
Or until the day that we can't be together,
closing our eyes,forsaking this world only to come back never!
(c) Outspoken Poet
By Henry Adaso, About.com
10. Akon or Con Man?
Akon always touted his past reputation as the ring leader of a notorious car theft clique. He claims to have been locked up for 31/2 years. He even rode his way to fame on the strength of a catchy single titled "Locked Up," in which 'Kon gave a supposedly autobiographical account of prison desolation. In fact, Akon was so obsessed with his felonious past that he named his label Konvict Music. That sound you hear at the beginning of every song he produces? That's the sound of a clanking cell door.
A Smoking Gun investigation would later revealed some inconsistencies between his account and the real deal. Sure, Akon was arrested several times, but the man who titled his sophomore LP Konvicted has never served jail time.
9. Dr. Dre in Pumps and Mascara
Photo © Michael Buckner/Getty I mages
At the height of the Eazy-E vs Dr.Dre beef in 1992, the feuding friends traded insults non-stop. Just when it appeared as if Dre had sealed the deal with "Dre's Day," Eazy-E rebounded with "Real Muthaf-ckin' Gs." Eazy-E attacked Dre and Snoop, dubbing them studio gangsters who had never really witnessed the harsh realities of the "hood," but that wasn't the highlight. He devoted plenty of airtime to Dre's past as a member of the electro-pop group World Class Wrecking Cru' saying that he dressed in drag outfit whi
le in the group. "Damn it’s a trip how a n-gga can go so quick from wearing lipstick to smoking on chronic at picnics," he rapped. Eazy also threw in a promo pic of Dre from 1986 dressed in pumps and mascara to boot.
8. Eve's Dirty Secret
Ma$e once ran into Eve at a strip club years before she became famous, but he never mentioned it to anyone. Some internet jerk who stumbled upon pictur
es of Eve from her stripping days, however, wasn't so nice. In 2003, just as Eve was in the middle of revamping her image as an artist and aspiring actress, unflattering pics of her in full-on stripper outfit surfaced on the web to the amusement of many. Some of the photos showed the Ruff Ryders' first lady in a compromising position with another female. She later denied being a lesbian, saying that the other lady had been Photoshopped onto the original picture. Well, there was nothing doctored about the sex tape that turned up a couple years after the stripper saga.
7. Eminem's N-Bomb Fiasco
© Interscope
In a desperate attempt to paint Eminem as a racist, The Source founders Benzino and Dave Mays emerged with a tape that caught a 17-year old Marshall Mathers using the N-word. On one of the songs from the 1988 tape, an amateurish Eminem spewed hateful venom at black women: "All the girls I like to bone have big butts/No they don't, 'cause I don't like that nigger shit/I'm just here to make a bigger hit."Eminem later explained that he wrote the song out of anger, having gone through a nasty break-up with his black girlfriend. He apologized and took the time to detail the entire saga on "Yellow Brick Road," one of his best songs ever.
6. Young Buck's Emotional Breakdown
© Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
Before he was unceremoniously dismissed from 50 Cen
t's G-Unit crew, Young Buck spent plenty of time airing the group's dirty laundry. In various interviews, the Tennessee rapper claimed 50 owed him some royalties and that he was getting screwed in his deal. To stir up buzz for G-Unit's T.O.S. album, 50 unleashed an old phone conversation with Buck to the web. Throughout the call, Young Buck mentioned that he owes 50 some money while telling his boss about his own financial plight. At some point, he brok down over his dissmisal from the Unit, "Sh*t got me confused, man," he said repeatedly. To which 50 Cent coyly replied, "You'll be alright, don't worry about it."
5. The Source's Fall from Glory
When pioneering hip-hop magazine The Source went ban
krupt, the last explanation its Board of Directors expected to hear was, "Um...sorry, Dave and I spent all the money on weed and bling bling." Like a 7-headed dragon, their problems multiplied and attacked from various angles. A Manhattan lithographer sued for $30,000. A 5th Ave. jeweler petitioned for a $36,000 dent. The magazine's travel agent was owed $142,000. Former Editor-in-Chief Kim Osorio filed a sexual harassment lawsuit. Osorio's description of The Source work environment sounded like something straight out of a movie: a "raunched-out workplace where executives watched porn, smoked pot and called female employees b*tches."
4. Lies, Lies, Baby
© Rob Van Winkle/Getty Images
3. Officer Rick Ross' C.O. Photos
© Henry Adaso/About.com
Rick Ross modeled his rap persona after the infamous drug kingpin Freeway Rick Ross. In reality, Ross' past most resembles that of the men who cu
ff drug dealers than a kingpin. When photos of a young Rick Ross in prison guard uniform turned up on the web, he consistently denied the reports. Ross insisted that it was a doctored image aimed at assassinating his character. Pile of documents from the Florida State Department of Corrections later showed that Rick Ross had, in fact, worked as a Corrections Officer, forcing the Miami rap star to finally admit to his noble past. "In the game we in, it's real competitive," Ross later explained. "Competitors have to do what they have to do to eat."
2. Nas and Jay Had Something in Common
Many theories exist on why Jay-Z and Nas found themselves embroiled in one of the most dramatic feuds in hip-hop history. Was Nas envious of Jay's co
mmercial exploits? Was Jay dissing Nas' girlfriend on "Is That Your Chick"? Nas' ex-girl Carmen Bryan claims she's the unintentional brain behind the beef. Both MCs initially tried to conceal the fact that Carmen, who has a daughter with Nas, had anything to do with the feud. In her memoir, Bryan reveals intimate details of her romp with Jay-Z and how it impacted the beef. In the same vein, Jay-Z admitted to the affair on the scathing "Super Ugly" freestyle. Disgusted by her son's rhymes, Gloria Carter demanded that Jay apologize publicly to Nas and his family. He obliged.
1. Cam'ron's No Snitching Campaign
© Asylum Records
To all those I must add Lil'Wayne and Baby Face's mouth ti mouth kiss as my personal number one.This photo was taken at a party and instantly the picture was all over the net.To this day Lil'Wayne made no statement about it.Here is What Baby Face had to say:
""Before I had a child, Wayne and all of them were my children, you heard me? Wayne to me is my son - my first-born son - and that's what it do for me.That's my life, that's my love and that's my thing. That's my lil' son. I love him to death." Ahhh....love.
