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TRAVEL RAP: Europe Through the Back Door (It's Pretty Much Da Bomb, If Ya Know What I Mean)

5/31/2015

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We never said Rick could dance

Learn about America's
#RxProblem with Opiates

Learn Russian with Sergey

Despite the title of this article,
Rick's passion right now is for
marijuana law reform,
rapping, and travel, one step at a time.

The Balkans

Best Back Door You'll Ever See

Throw it back responsibly

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"If they kill me, I will rise again in my people." Archbishop Killed by his Government Closer to Sainthood

5/30/2015

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Oscar Romero, the 4th Archbishop of San Salvador, (recently anointed Servant of God by Pope Francis) was assassinated by the El Salvador government in 1980 while offering Mass to the people he served.

Archbishop Romero is an El Salvador national hero for his role in resisting human rights violations that were occurring in the lead-up to the Salvadoran Civil War.

He anticipated his own death.

If they kill me, I will rise again
in the Salvadoran people.
–Archbishop Óscar Romero

Romero was assassinated because he spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations, and torture. Forty people were subsequently murdered at his funeral outside the Cathedral in El Salvador. He was beatified by the Catholic church on May 23.

Today, the Monument to Truth and Memory stands in the Salvadoran capital to honor the 75,000 civilians who lost their lives in the Salvadoran Civil War. To date, the unfinished wall contains nearly 30,000 names.

That's why Steves went to Iran when given the opportunity by his show on public television.

Travel can change your life. The trip to El Salvador changed Rick Steves' life.

Hear what he said about El Salvador, Iran, Europe, and travel...

Rick Steves: Nicaragua, Iran (Value of Travel)
http://blog.ricksteves.com/blog/tehran-heavenly-pistachios-and-a-pinch-of-valium/http://www.ouramazingworld.org/adventure/romerohttp://www.kpbs.org/news/2009/may/19/rick-steves-iran/
Posted by Our Amazing World on Sunday, February 7, 2016

Rick's full Ted Talk

See the longer version of Rick's talk
where he also discusses drug policy

El Salvador: Patriots and Poverty

"The monument is a place where the pains of the past can be freed," said Carlos Henriquez Consalvi, who played a leading role in establishing the monument." It is also a place where new generations can learn the contemporary history of El Salvador and build a culture of peace."

The Carter and Reagan administrations of United States contributed to the 1979-1992 Salvadoran Civil War by providing large amounts of aid to the El Salvador government in the name of fighting Communism.

When a coup d'état overthrew the Salvadoran government on October 15, 1979, Romero expressed cautious support for the reformist junta which replaced it. He soon became disenchanted, however, as the persecution of the poor and the Church did not cease. In February 1980 he addressed an open letter to U.S. President Jimmy Carter in which he called upon the United States to discontinue military aid to the regime." We are fed up with weapons and bullets," he pleaded.

Praying w/ #Romero for reconciliation, justice & peace at El Mazote, site of massacre of +1,000 villagers in 1981. pic.twitter.com/cuRrOnSMvM
— Ian Mitchell (@iancemitchell) May 22, 2015

Monumento Al Divino Salvador

The spirit of Archbishop Romero now lives forever in the memory of the Catholic Church and the poor he fought so strongly for.

His beatification was held in San Salvador on May 23, 2015. It was celebrated in the Plaza Salvador del Mundo cerca del Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo. Cardinal Angelo Amato presided over the ceremony on behalf of Pope Francis. An estimated 250,000 people attended the service, many watching on large television screens set up in the streets around the plaza.

"¡Romero, amigo, el pueblo está contigo", gritan miles de gargantas de devotos de Monseñor Romero #RomeroBeato https://t.co/nE53bT4Ku8
— CNN en Español (@CNNEE) May 23, 2015

San Salvador at dusk

One of the many smaller memorials scattered throughout El Salvador.

"Romero's beatification sent a powerful message of solidarity to those who continue to put their lives at risk to speak out against injustice and human rights violations in Central America, and indeed throughout the world,” said Trócaire Bishop Eamon Casey who was nearly martyred alongside Romero.

Main pyramid of Mayan ruins of Tazumal in Santa Ana, Chalchuapa, El Salvador by Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)

Volcanic black sand beach of El Sunzal La Libertad, located not far from the capital, San Salvador.

Found on gocentralamerica.about.com

Legislating Morality in the United States:
Tolerate Alternative Lifestyles or Build More Prisons?

Culture is Not Your Friend: Legislating Morality Ruins Society
Legislating Morality:Culture is Not Your Friendhttp://www.ouramazingworld.org/politics/biden-mckenna-culture-not-your-friendMass Incarceration http://www.ouramazingworld.org/life/america-land-of-the-freeAddiction, Hepatitis C, and Overdose Epidemicshttp://www.ouramazingworld.org/science/addictingamericaTwisted Drug Policy and Laughable Mental Health Carehttp://www.ouramazingworld.org/fda-addicted.htmlhttp://www.ouramazingworld.org/life/shamanicoptionsInadequate Healthcare http://www.ouramazingworld.org/life/berniecare
Posted by Our Amazing World on Sunday, February 7, 2016

Rick Steves: Corporations in Europe vs America
Via corporations > the people. It's why pharma bro can price gouge us... and why Americans pick up the prescription drug tab for the rest of the world... and why private insurance even has a hand in the healthcare game.http://www.ouramazingworld.org/politics/price-gouging-electionhttp://www.ouramazingworld.org/life/berniecarehttp://www.ouramazingworld.org/life/bernietacklesgreedhealthcarehttp://www.ouramazingworld.org/life/warrenonclinton
Posted by Our Amazing World on Sunday, February 7, 2016

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Kotor & Mostar: 135 Seconds of Happiness in the Balkans (And Realities of America)

5/29/2015

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Kotor, Montenegro

Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

135 Seconds of Happiness
in the Beautiful Balkans

1. We lead the world in incarceration rates

2. Twenty-two (22) veterans commit suicide
every day

2 Facts About the United States:

Drug Policy | Mental Illness | Spirituality

Are You Happy?

Do you ever think about

Life

(or Death?)

William James, America's
greatest philosopher.

Travel as a Political Act

Are you able to see the world?

How about your country?

If not, why?
Let us know in the
comments or in our forums.

Is public transportation
adequate where you live?

Are You This Happy?

You only live once.

The
Happiness
Cycle

Goat herder in Albania, maybe
Macedonia (Still the Balkans!)

Our Homeboy, Rick Steves:
The Value of Travel

Throwback Rick

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Cyprus Donkeys of the Karpas Peninsula [VIDEO]

5/17/2015

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"This here is a hold-up!"

Just kidding, donkeys are herbivores, and awesome.

They're also one of the few things that can unite Turkish and Greek Cypiots:

Some hundreds of Cyprus donkeys live in a feral state on the Karpass Peninsula in the Turkish-controlled northern part of Cyprus. They were abandoned there by Greek Cypriot farmers during the Turkish invasion in 1974. In 2008, a group of Greek and Turkish Cypriots organized to save the animals from extinction after several were found shot to death.

These tricksters' grandparents played a very important role in agriculture on the Karpas peninsula by carrying olives from the groves and grains from the fields to the mills.

"LOOK! Look at meeeeee."

Karpass donkeys surely enjoy the media attention their supporters' Facebook page.

BBC News:

The Facebook messages, in both Greek and Turkish, are a new gesture of unity on the island, whose communities remain divided by a UN-patrolled buffer zone. The breakaway self-styled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey.

A group of Greek and Turkish Cypriots rallied on a beach in the Karpas Peninsula on 13 April to "Save the Cyprus Donkey".

The Karpas donkeys are a legacy of the 1974 Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus, when Greek Cypriot farmers fled the area, leaving their animals behind, the AFP news agency reports.

"Let me ride, I'm a donkey, donkey!"

"Hay is for donkey, not for people."

Karpaz Peninsula from space. Wikipedia

"Meow?"

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If There was a Single Moment When the U.S. Became a Global Power . . .

5/1/2015

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. . . It was the war with Spain. Meow?

The Spanish Empire had been crumbling for a century, and there was a ferocious debate within the US over whether America should become an imperial power to replace it. This centered on Cuba: pro-imperialists wanted to purchase or annex it from Spain (pre-1861, the plan was to turn it into a new slave state); anti-imperialists wanted to support Cuban independence. In 1898, Cuban activists launched a war of independence from Spain, and the US intervened on their side. When the war ended in Spanish defeat, US anti-imperialists blocked the US from annexing Cuba, but pro-imperialists succeeded in placing it under a quasi-imperialist sphere of influence, seizing three other Spanish possessions: Puerto Rico, Guam, and the massive Philippines.

Anand Katakam / VOX

VOX: 70 Maps that Explain America

Theodore Roosevelt resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1898 and organized the Rough Riders, the 1st United States Volunteer Calvary, composed of a diverse group of cowboys, miners, law enforcement officials, and Native Americans.

T. R. the Rough Rider:
Hero of the Spanish American War

(The real Rough Riders)

http://rrclays.com.s13711.gridserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Rough_Riders_grande.jpg

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The Happiness Cycle

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TRAVEL RAP: Europe Through the Back Door (It's Pretty Much Da Bomb, If Ya Know What I Mean)

Learn about America's
#RxProblem with Opiates

The Balkans

CRAZYWISE

Facebook | Tsū | Twitter | Youtube

"If they kill me, I will rise again in my people." Archbishop Killed by his Government Closer to Sainthood

See the longer version of Rick's talk
where he also discusses drug policy

Facebook | Tsū | Twitter | Youtube

Kotor & Mostar: 135 Seconds of Happiness in the Balkans (And Realities of America)

Kotor, Montenegro

Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

135 Seconds of Happiness
in the Beautiful Balkans

2 Facts About the United States:

Drug Policy | Mental Illness | Spirituality

Are You Happy?

Do you ever think about

Life

(or Death?)

Are you able to see the world?

How about your country?

If not, why?
Let us know in the
comments or in our forums.

Is public transportation
adequate where you live?

Are You This Happy?

You only live once.

The
Happiness
Cycle

Throwback Rick

Facebook | Tsū | Twitter | Youtube

Cyprus Donkeys of the Karpas Peninsula [VIDEO]

If There was a Single Moment When the U.S. Became a Global Power . . .

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Learn about America's #RxProblem with Opiates

Facebook | Tsū | Twitter | Youtube

See the longer version of Rick's talk where he also discusses drug policy

Facebook | Tsū | Twitter | Youtube

Kotor, Montenegro Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina135 Seconds of Happiness in the Beautiful Balkans

2 Facts About the United States:

Drug Policy | Mental Illness | Spirituality

Are You Happy?Do you ever think about Life(or Death?)

Are you able to see the world?How about your country?If not, why? Let us know in the comments or in our forums.Is public transportationadequate where you live?

You only live once.

Throwback Rick

Facebook | Tsū | Twitter | Youtube

Archives

Categories

Learn about America's
#RxProblem with Opiates

See the longer version of Rick's talk
where he also discusses drug policy

Kotor, Montenegro

Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

135 Seconds of Happiness
in the Beautiful Balkans

Are You Happy?

Do you ever think about

Life

(or Death?)

Are you able to see the world?

How about your country?

If not, why?
Let us know in the
comments or in our forums.

Is public transportation
adequate where you live?