MAX

Re-defining The Right Wing

2009-11-29T17:00:00.006Z

The European perspective...

Motto: God, Nation, Family

Right Wingers make sure they let the world know how religious they are: they attend the church/temple every week; they heavily participate in every church/temple activity; they join certain groups (or agencies) and God is always present in their speech.
But then, when in the political arena, they seem to contradict spiritual values: they display bigotry, xenophobia; sometimes hatred, lack of concern for social matters (after all that is for the lefties), contempt and belligerent behaviour.

The Right Wing is more patriotic than any other Wing: it knows the national anthem and sings it; it respects the flag. It is proud of its nation’s cultural identity, values and history. It aims at a national common project (as long as it fits within its values).
But then, when in the political arena, it can stubbornly hold on to its ideals even if it means to bring the country to chaos. Flexibility is a word the Right Wing ignores.

The Right is all about family values: its partisans usually marry early; they have a lot of children; they display an image of a perfect familial unity and do anything (absolutely anything) to keep it intact. The Traditional Family (i.e. no gays) comes first.
But then, when in the political arena, some of them end up by seeing its true colours exposed: extra-marital affairs, homosexuality (the very thing most of them speak against), physical and psychological abuse within their family etc.

Furthermore, the Right Wing is viewed as being a cold-hearted capitalist, greedy; with no respect whatsoever for the environment (again, that is for the lefties); unethical and aiming at benefitting the private sector at all costs.

I am a Right Winger: I deeply believe in God; I seek the success of my nation and my family always comes first (no matter what or whom).
However, I (and those like me) endeavour to re-define the Right Wing...

Re-definition

Motto: God, Family, Nation

Right Wingers believe in God, but they do not necessarily have a religion. God is omnipresent, meaning that each home can be a temple. Community service can be done in several ways. Their speech and behaviour reflect their spiritual progress: Love, Humanity, Generosity; Respect and Peace (although fully conscious that in order to have peace some wars must be fought).

Right Wingers understand that families are the foundation of any nation.
They strive to re-instate family values, in our society, for it is the only way to bring back real order to communities.
Definition of family: A- two adults raising a child or children; B – An adult bringing up a child or children (of course, situation A is preferable, however if not possible mono-parental families are better than no family at all).
Marriage (between a man and woman) is essential. Legal Unions (between same sex couples) are a right. Living together, although respected, is not aimed at.
The Right Wing loves its country, its national identity & symbols (flag and anthem), and history. However, it also understands that its culture can be further enriched by other cultures that legally come to its nation and help in its development.
Right Wingers love law and order. They also seek the wellbeing of all the citizens of the country they love. They defend an ethical capitalism, philanthropy and social responsibility. Since they love the “Patria” they must care for its environment. They comprehend words like flexibility and compromise.

Presently, people see the Right Wing as the image of social division, snobs and “anything goes in Business” and, hence, turn to the left. It is time to re-define it.

For a North American perspective, please beam over to LS' place: Here.

The Lusosphere: Macau

2009-11-24T15:52:00.004Z

1553-1554: The Portuguese arrive in Macau. They illegal & temporarily settle there under the pretext of drying their soaked up merchandise.

1557: The Chinese authorities finally give permission to the Portuguese to permanently settle in Macau; and grant them a fair degree of self-government. In exchange, the Portuguese had to pay an annual fee (of approximately 500 silver taels [1 silver tael = 40 grams]) and certain taxes to China (so that it could always be known that Macau was still a Chinese territory).
Ever since, Macau has developed and enriched by becoming an entrepôt of trade and the intermediary of commercial triangle between China, Japan and Europe (in a time when China prohibited direct trade with Japan for more than 100 years).

Besides being a transshipment centre, Macau was also an important disseminator of the Roman Catholic teachings throughout the Far East (specially China). For this reason, in 1576, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Macau was created by the edit of Pope Gregory XIII (which covered China, Japan, Vietnam and the Malay archipelago [excluding the Philippines]).

(Macau Trade Routes)

1583: The "Leal Senado" was created (some sort of City Council) which was in charge of protecting the commerce controlled by Macau; of establishing order and security and solving day-to-day issues.

1622: Due to its prosperity, Macau was attacked several times by the Dutch. The most famous attack occurred on the 22nd of June 1622, when 800 Dutch soldiers disembark on the city to conquer it; only after two days of combat they were heavily defeated and the Portuguese victory was considered a miracle given the fact that they were so unprepared.

1844-1849: Through a Royal Decree, Macau was officially considered a Portuguese colony (such decree was not recognised by China). Macau becomes a free economic zone. Governor João Ferreira do Amaral orders that the annual fee and taxes paid to the Chinese are to be ceased; that the mandarins are to be expelled from Macau and that the Ho-pu (Chinese customs) was to be abolished.

(Lesser Coats of Arms of Portuguese Macau)

1901: BNU (Banco Nacional Ultramarino [Overseas National Bank]) was authorised to issue currency (the Pataca).

1966: 3rd of December, a mutiny (known as the 12-3 Incident) occurred in Macau carried out by the pro-communist Chinese (who were unhappy and utterly inspired by the Cultural Revolution of Mao Tse-tung), which led Portugal to renounce its perpetual occupation of the territory.

1974: Right after its Revolution (known as the Carnation Revolution), Portugal declared the immediate independence of all its overseas provinces; but China cleverly rejected it and proposed negotiations. In the end it was decided that Macau would now be called Chinese Territory under Portuguese Administration, and that it was to be transferred to the People Republic of China on the 20th of December 1999 (through the Transfer of Sovereignty of Macau declaration).

(Macau Flag)

Language

The official languages are the Chinese and Portuguese (declared official by the Chinese government in 1993).

Very few people speak Portuguese in Macau but institutions like "Fundação Oriente" (East Foundation) strive to keep the language alive in that region.

Curiosity

I know a few people who came from Macau (mainly during the 90's) to Portugal and I can say that, just like any other person from the former colonies, they are absolutely fantastic (completely different than the Portuguese). They are dynamic, creative, open minded, out-of-the-box people, cultivated, entrepreneurs...simply amazing.

Portuguese Architectural legacy

Enjoy some of the images:

(St. Paul's Cathedral's whole)

(St Anthony of Padua's Church)

("Leal Senado" Building)

("Ponte da Amizade" [Friendship Bridge])

(International Airport of Macau)

Next Stop: Back to Portugal

All images (with the exception of "Friendship Bridge") were taken from Wikipedia.

Lies: The Universal Truth

2009-11-17T14:30:00.004Z

It is so easy to turn a lie into a truth.

If we keep repeating a lie over and over again; eventually it will become true (since we begin to believe in that same lie). We cease knowing which one is which and then…we witness the birth of a whole new truth.

Consensual truth is a fine example of it.

A group of religious people (of any denomination) convenes and discusses several issues. Each party (or individual) offers its opinion, its own interpretation of sacred texts; its own version of the facts and then negotiations commence. After much deliberation, a consensus is reached and the intellectual fruit of their agreement (not necessarily true) is now considered a Truth.

And all members of the congregation are to learn and repeat it as if it were the absolute truth.

Governments gather and decide when the people should spend or save (i.e. they go to the television and repeat n times the same sentence “We are now in a recession!” [People start saving]; “We are now in recovery!” [People start spending]). They even decide when people should globally be concerned with environmental issues or not (ex: intelligence services had satellite images proving that the Arctic had been melting for years, but only now [now that nations want to develop green energies] they reveal these pictures…). Global warming was a “lie” before but now it is surely a universal truth.

Governmental lies can become universal truths, in such a fashion that wrong wars may end up being fought.

Marketing is the biggest lie-turned-into-truth industry in the world.

It decides when people need futile consumption goods that they don’t really need, and then fabricate lies in order to lead consumers to buy superfluous good (the latter, hypnotized by the machine of lies keeps repeating “It’s true; I do need it…I have to buy it!”).

The biggest example of a lie turned into a universal truth is the anti-cellulite creams: Lord Marketing says that creams will fight cellulite, but forgets to mention that for it to work one has to exercise, drink lots of water, eat healthily (McDonald’s, and alike, is the closest friend of peau d’orange [1]) and keep buying anti-cellulite creams for eternity…otherwise “Welcome back, lunar craters!”…

And then we have the most endearing party whose “lies” are a universal truth (in a sense that the people in this category behave the same way all over the world): I am talking about mothers.

When before danger or crises, the first thing mothers will say is “It’s all right! Everything is going to be all right!” (they can be dying with their heads cracked open and still they’ll say this).

Kids see that it is not true; nothing is all right; they even doubt things will ever be all right (specially when moms die) but in that moment, out of love, they take that lie for an absolute truth.

The absolute Universal Truth is: everybody lies.

I’d like to thank Alexys for having suggesting this wonderful theme: you know you rock, girl!

[1] Peau d’orange: cellulite (in French).

Image: The Astronomer (detail) by Johannes Vermeer

Is the 1st Amendment killing Americans?

2009-11-10T14:13:00.002Z

America’s enemies are within borders.

2009 has been an odd year for this great country: threats to its President (simply because of his complexion); attacks against Jews (being the most notorious case the shooting at the Holocaust Museum, in Washington); terrorist plots to attack several buildings across America; and, most recently, the shooting at Fort Hood.

What do the authors of these threats, plots, attacks and shootings have in common (prior to committing their crimes)? They are all radicals (be it nationalists or fundamentalists). They all express their ideologies of hate through the verb and/or the Internet. They were/are all being observed and followed by security forces. They are all protected by the 1st amendment and thus pre-emptive measures are out of the question. Innocent people get killed.

I watched, this past weekend, the TV show AC 360º (that I had previously recorded) where an American citizen (a convert to Islam), in the middle of New York, was spitting words of fire and hate against Americans, against the President; claiming that those who do not turn to Islam should die; and that Allah commands all Muslims to terrorise infidels (as a means to fear Him). This individual (accompanied by his Jewish-Israeli-recently-converted-to-Islam friend) recruits, in front of a mosque, and incites other Muslims to violence against Americans, on American soil. Until they actually kill somebody or set a plan forward to kill people, the police can’t act for their speech is protected. They may not act but others, inspired by them, might. (N.B: these irresponsible radicals do not give a jot about the repercussions of their actions upon moderate Muslims).

Major Nidal Malik Hasan (an American citizen) used to express hatred against America (he even had a blog for this purpose). This caused him to be under surveillance for once again his logorrhoea was protected. Last Thursday he shot his fellow soldiers, his brothers in arms; causing 13 people to die and 38 to be wounded.

His cousin (in Ramallah) said that he was made fun of for being a Muslim (note: the man is a psychiatrist, for heaven’s sake...can he say “sublimation”? And if we are going to talk about humiliation and having been made fun of in the military, let’s recall what happened when the first black soldiers joined the forces...yet, none of them shot their comrades); that he wanted out of the military but wasn’t allowed (note: if the military invests in your education, you must return that investment – everybody knows this) and some other explanations based on victimisation.

There are no coincidences. This event occurred after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Israel for its unprecedented steps for peace. Major Hasan’s family seems to be Palestinian – now, whenever the Israeli-Palestinian issue is raised, do these Palestinian-descendant-American citizens feel more Palestinian or American? That is the question.

Then we have Mr. James W. von Brunn, a white supremacist, who authored an anti-Semitic web site where he vomited all his hatred – his mental diarrhoea was also protected and under surveillance.

But since he never mentioned his intentions on his site, the police never saw him coming. On the 10th of June 2009, Mr. White Supremacist walked in the Holocaust Museum and began shooting the place up hoping t exterminate some Juden but the only person he murdered was a goy (Mr. Stephen Tyrone Johns, 40), a brave security guard.

This racist trash keeps society with Patriots and Neo-Nazis. He’s well known by security forces yet they could do nothing before an innocent person got killed.

Europe loves its freedom of speech (after all it did have the inquisition, fascism and communism) nevertheless the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms foresees a limitation of that freedom “in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or the rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.”…

So, what do you think: is the 1st amendment killing Americans?

Image: Burning of the Heretics (Auto da fé) by Pedro Berruguete

Irresponsibility Sexism and Violence

2009-11-03T14:56:00.003Z

I love rap. I’ve been listening to it since I was 9 (my first rap song was “I need Love” by LL Cool J – so very cool).

There was a time when rap, in general, meant something; when it bore an important social message (injustice, segregation, human relations etc) and in a language free of filthy words (during the 70’s and 80’s).

But then came the 90’s...

Suddenly most rap equals to the F word; to killing people; to “the chronic”; to gangs; to women bashing and to defying the authorities.

The F word is horrible (I do not mean “Fornicate”, I am talking about its ghastly cousin). Is there really the need to include it in songs? I wonder if these rappers know that the usage of fowl language not only is vulgar but also denotes lack of intelligence and culture; for instead of saying F*** this and F*** that, they could enhance their message through the use of words that actually mean something (there are a lot of ways to protest without being coarse).

I bet they’d sell more CD’s if they’d obliterate this dreadful word off their repertoire; because people wouldn’t get lost in vulgarity and would actually pay attention to the message at hand.

Rap seems to romanticise gangs and incite people to violence.

Being in a gang is not the same as belonging to the Cosa Nostra; and if the latter can be awful (with all its codes of honour to protect families), now imagine what’s like to belong to a gang (where honour seems to be ignored and not intended to protect families – a gang is based on violence for violence and by violence) – it is not romantic, it is not cool.

The lyrics, in rap music, often embellish the act of smoking weed. This is irresponsible.

Smoking weed may lead to the consumption of hard drugs and abuse of other substances; which in turn will lead to depravation...

Speaking of putrefaction...let’s discuss women bashing.

One must really be doped up and drunk to bash women; to objectify a being that represents the generation of life, love, nurture, generosity, strength, resilience and power.

The Rap Industry must be all smoking crack not to realise that bashing women is the same as bashing its own mothers, sisters, wives, cousins, nieces, daughters and so forth. No money, in the world, justifies this.

Now, it is known that some women perpetuate this behavioural vulgarity and to them I say: you are a damn woman; where’s your dignity?

The police, around the world, make a lot of mistakes (it abuses its position of power); nevertheless it is a figure of authority that needs to be respected (if they mess up, there are ways to get them).

Some say that most rappers represent the stereotype of not having had a daddy around, which depleted them of the capacity to deal and respect authority – Nonsense!

Plenty of people didn’t have a father around and they chose to walk on the right path...towards a healthy and successful life.

Kids listen to rap and they like it. If they are fortunate enough to have a parent around all the time (like I did) to explain them that the contents of those songs are not a role model at all; great. But if they are not fortunate enough (like most kids today) then these children are being subjected to the Rap Industry’s irresponsibility, sexism and violence.

Image: Borrowed from Youth In Control

An Act of God

2009-10-25T17:00:00.002Z

An act of God is the miracle of creation (under its many forms).
An act of God is every expression of love, tenderness and care.
An act of God is every bond, connection and act of intimacy...

Yet there are other readings...
In law, this expression signifies events that are outside human control (ex: floods, tornadoes, volcano eruptions, earthquakes and landslides).
Should it be inferred that lawmakers (and people in general) admit that there is a God willing to provoke these tragedies of nature?
Let’s assume that yes, indeed God occasionally does these things: with what purpose?
Does He want to punish, warn us or simply hold us accountable for our nation’s actions as a people?

Punishment
If God were to use floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes and volcano eruptions as a means to punish nations, why would He punish some countries more than others? For example, why would He punish the American Samoa, and not (let’s say) some nations where women are disrespected, where human rights are constantly violated and where His name is used to justify dread, hatred and terror?
What is the Caribbean, year after year, being punished for? I wonder whether the 2000 floods in Mozambique meant that God hadn’t forgiven the implementation of communism in that nation (a regime that translated into re-education camps, torture, food rationing, oppression and misery).
What about Hurricane Katrina? An evangelical pastor claimed that God punished New Orleans (Louisiana, US) because of Gays and immorality...Hmm...

Warning
Perhaps the world is being warned of the advent of a new era – after all, so many natural disasters occurring, at the same time (for the past few years), around the world must be telling us something – but what would this advent translate into exactly?

Accountability
Imagine that the natives of some nations are being held accountable for the actions of the political leaders they elected (thus affecting the lives of so many others – on a national and international level). Imagine that people of some countries are being held liable for not fighting against despotic leaders that took power by force and inflict pain (either physical or psychological) on the nation they were supposed to lead and develop.

Many people believe that “an act of God” is indeed the expression of God’s anger.
Others suggest that, in some cases, the “Act of God” should, in fact, be labelled as the “Act of Man” for they believe some earthquakes and tsunamis occurring in the Indian and Pacific oceans are the result of military testing...

Share your thoughts with us: what is an act of God to you?

You are invited to savour a different and most interesting perspective from LS: Here.

The Lusosphere: East Timor

2009-10-20T15:09:00.011+01:00

Timor derives from the Indonesian word Timur, meaning "east".

Before the Portuguese arrived in Timor, there was already in the island a small population of hunters and farmers. There is documentation proving that this island maintained commercial ties with China (around the VII century) selling slaves, bee wax, sandalwood and noble wood (used to manufacture luxury furniture).

1512: the Portuguese arrived in East Timor

For 4 centuries the Lusitanians only used the territory for commercial purposes (thus, exploiting the island's natural resources: sandalwood & coffee). Unlike they had done in the other colonies, the Portuguese never developed this island (for instance: only during the XX century, after the 60's, there was electricity, potable water, sewage systems, schools and hospitals in Díli [the capital of East Timor], all the rest of the nation remained undeveloped).

August 1975 (a year after the Portuguese Carnation Revolution of 1974): the Portuguese government decides to leave the island; passing on the power to the FRETILIN (Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste [East Timor Revolutionary Front]).

28th of November 1975: FRETILIN (supported by the People's Republic of China) declares independence.

But this independence did not last, since the Indonesian troops invaded the island (by orders of General Suharto, on the 7th of December, who was supported by the USA and Australia for fear of a communist domino effect), despite the repudiation expressed by the United Nations, making of it thus the 27th Indonesian province (called Timor Timur).

The Indonesians applied a genocide policy, which resulted in the massacre of the Timorese (for more details read here).

The leader of FRETILIN (Xanana Gusmão) was imprisoned; and when Nelson Mandela visited him (in July of 1997) the people were more encouraged to seek independence from Indonesia. The fight for liberation was extremely violent; which led the governments of Portugal and Indonesia (in 1999) to negotiate a referendum (on the independence of the territory) - on the 30th of August 1999, 78,5% of the electorate voted for the independence of Timor.

Meanwhile, Indonesia began a program of social development in order to improve its image near the Timorese people.

After the referendum, the militias (that were allowed to defend the interests of the Indonesian country, by decree) went to the streets to kill everybody suspected of having voted for the independence. Thousands of people ran to hide in the mountains, families were separated, foreigners were evacuated leaving, thus, Timor in the midst of violence between the military and the Indonesian militias.

Portugal (in the person of Durão Barroso, the present President of the European Commission) engaged on a serious diplomatic battle in order to ensure the independence of this nation, since Portugal felt responsible for the current state of affairs. The Portuguese, in national territory (from North to South), placed white sheets by the windows as a token of solidarity towards the Timorese people; and funds were raised to help the displaced families and refugies. During this time Portugal welcomed thousands of refugees from Timor.

20th of May 2002: Timor finally became independent and Xanana Gusmão (presently Timor's Prime Minister) was elected its President.

Language

The official languages are the Tétum and the Portuguese (although for business Indonesian and English are the elected languages); however there are 15 other national languages: ataurense, baiqueno, becais, búnaque, cauamina, fataluco, galóli, habo, idalaca, lovaia, macalero, macassai, mambai quémaque and tocodede.

Culture

The culture reflects the influence of several other cultures: the Roman Catholic tradition; Portugal and Malaysia.

The majority of the population is Roman Catholic.

The national Anthem is "Pátria" (Nation) and is sung in Portuguese only.

(Traditional house in Díli)

Architecture

There are some Portuguese-style buildings, along with the traditional lulik (sacred houses in tetum) and the lee teinu (houses with legs) in the region of Fataluku.

Video

Let's finish this article with some images from this beautiful island. Enjoy!

Next Stop: Macau

Misused Sex

2009-10-13T16:17:00.003+01:00

I shall be direct & brief...

Sex is a wonderful thing. When done with love it becomes divine.

Two bodies intertwined in passion; the shawl of love sanctifying the blessed act; energies flowing; moist promising life; the lock that forever bonds a loving couple.

But then we have plain sex. An act based on pleasure for the sake of pleasure only; irresponsibly done and disposed of as if it were a commodity.

Two bodies intertwined in lust; the shawl of hedonism desecrates what should be a sacred act; energies flow only to block; moist promises death; the lock between a penis & a vagina bonds not.

People use sex to belittle and humiliate themselves.

When someone makes use of sex to get a job, a promotion or climb the social ladder, that individual is telling, not only the world, but mainly itself that it is incapable of finding a job through its own intellectual merit; a promotion through its creativity, intelligence, and hard work; and/or climb the social ladder by the respect gained through an honourable conduct (yes, money alone means nothing in certain circles: one’s demeanour is highly important).

A human being who uses sex in such fashion is acknowledging that it doesn’t respect and thinks not highly of itself.

On the other hand, doesn’t this being hold the right to do with its body whatever it wishes? The first answer that comes to my mind is: Yes, it does. But then I think to myself that even though it has the right to do whatever it wishes, it doesn’t mean that it is correct to do so.

Let’s delve into this: two people work in a company (or any other institution) and person A is dynamic, highly creative, it invests a lot of working hours, it knows the meaning of team work, it is a natural born leader, it is the apple of any company’s eyes; person B is a regular worker, sufficiently creative, it works from 9 to 5, it is slightly socially challenged, it is practically a median employee. When the time came to promote one of them, person B was the selected one.

(N.B: person B sleeps with the CEO)

I ask, what is it like to be inside the mind of these people? When they look at the poor competent colleague who missed its promotion because he/she is honest...do they think “You are an idiot. You should’ve slept with the boss, before I did: thank God you didn’t though”?

What are their conscience’s last thoughts before they fall asleep? Do they have any conscience at all?

Negative sex overshadows good sense and sensibility.

Image: Sculpture (Apollo & Daphne) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Journalism: Rest In Peace

2009-10-06T17:28:00.003+01:00

Journalism lies in the hands of media groups; thus look what happened to its independence and ethics...

Friday evening: I turn on the TV and on a political show, on CNN, there is a discussion on an extremely crucial issue...David Letterman’s sex “scandal”.

Then I watch the Portuguese news channels and instead of analysing in depth the current quid pro quo between our president and the government, they comment on football (soccer), and nonchalantly suggest that some referees may be corrupt.

Saturday evening: on CNN, David Letterman’s sex adventure with some of his female staff is still “news”.

On the Portuguese news channels, finally, the municipal elections take over the scene: communist candidates look at decayed buildings and promise to tackle the situation (detail: some of these candidates have been elected aldermen for more than 13 years; so a question is in order: why didn’t they tackle the situation before?); socialist candidates cannot control their party members (who in a certain constituency beat up members of the opposite campaign [centre-right wing] – oh, classy!); social-democrat candidates (in some cases, in coalition with the Christian party [right wing]) present some decent electoral programs and at the same time engage in kitchen sink arguments with the socialists.

Sunday evening: I give the news a rest, hopeful that on Monday fresh news will be bestowed upon me.

Monday evening: on CNN, David Letterman’s sex extortion case is still hype and I nearly emailed the news network (in question) to tell them “Give it a rest! The man had sex: so what? Can we, please, go back to discussing the Goldstone report?”...but I didn’t...instead I decided that if Tuesday they’d talk about the same thing, I’d switch to that ghastly news channel called Fox News.

On the Portuguese news field, David Letterman’s case finally arrives, only extremely briefly (because even the Portuguese know that this is not a subject worthy of being the centrepiece of news – I even bet some Portuguese anchors and presenters [both male and female] thought to themselves “Lucky bastard! I wish...”). Then, thank God, they focused on our Republic’s anniversary: yes, sir...it is now 99 years old (Happy Anniversary, Portugal)! I even enjoyed watching the members of the “Causa Real (Royal Cause)” party waving the monarchic flag and promising to bring back monarchy to Portugal – good luck with that, mates!

This being said, gone are the days when the words journalism and quality walked hand in hand.

Long gone are the days when reporters would draw the public’s attention to real issues; when journalists transmitted the news with a respectable amount of impartiality (which encouraged people to think and make decisions by themselves).

Today, journalism lost its focus, its sense of purpose, its ethical code and nearly turned into a stripper dancing to the sound of marketing trash-music, while waiting for the ads to slip a 20 inside its knickers.

Image: Taken from here

Socialism Communism Reverie

2009-09-27T13:00:00.005+01:00

Socialism was born due to the unethical development of the industrial capitalism:

Extremely harsh work conditions
Exploitation of women and children (15-16 hours/day of working time and they were paid 30%-60% less than men).
Salary injustice (salaries were paid either in money or in groceries; they were decreased if the volume of business was low and, if the worker got late to work, or damaged any machinery, he/she’d pay a heavy fine).
Squalor (industrial workers lived poorly in apartments, provided by their employers, without potable water nor sewage system – subjected, thus, to diseases of all sorts).

These harsh conditions led the workers to form a collective conscience that they were victims of the bourgeoisie’s abuse, and that only a radical revolution could establish justice (which could only be established if they’d organise themselves and create institutions).
In 1827, the cooperative movement was born and it was comprised of two parallel branches: syndicalism (professional movement) and political (of socialist inspiration).
Syndicalism aimed at reducing the working time, increasing salaries, improving hygienic conditions and security. But they also had a dream: to transform society, and to prepare the advent of a more just social order (for society as a whole [called the messianism of the working class]). Syndicalism defended that the worker was not to trust the bourgeois; he was to completely trust in the cooperative movement only.

The initial spirit of socialism was, in my point of view, correct and just.
The industrial revolution was one of the best periods in human history (in terms of creativity), but it was also a period of unethical capitalist behaviour (workers were severely exploited; thus disrespected, humiliated and unvalued [when they were the main asset of any business: industrial, agricultural etc]).
Socialism helped improving the working conditions worldwide, and we can never forget that; however, after accomplishing all that they have, why do they keep having that silly anti-rich rhetoric, when socialist parties are mainly comprised by rich people (the “Gauche-caviar” [French for “Left-Caviar”]) that call themselves socialist in order to draw votes, and once in power they implement right-wing policies (except for national security issues & Patriotic pride)?

Communism: the deadliest plague of them all, thanks to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
These German philosophers had a dream: that socialism would replace capitalism, and lead to a stateless, classless society baptised as pure communism.
The very definition of communism (a set of economic and political ideals, in addition to social movements, “related to the establishment of an egalitarian, classless and stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property, in general” [Source: Wikipedia]) is an illusion and, when implemented it becomes, an attack to individuality, to creativity, to personal ambition, to freedom.

When implemented, communism is not about egalitarianism (which can be reached by any political system if/when we start respecting each other as human beings; and communism never achieved this because it respects not: it oppresses and represses), it is about the search for the absolute power for a restricted group (that would end up by becoming a corrupt political group in absolute); it is not about a classless society (because two classes, under this regime, still exist: the people and the regime’s pack); and it is certainly not about a stateless society (for the state remains existent: the communist government that controls and owns everything, including the life and minds of people).

Communism is far worse than capitalism; for the latter creates, builds, develops, invests, enriches; whereas the first narrows the mind, brainwashes, castrates, censors, persecutes, imprisons, tortures, violates human freedoms, destroys and impoverishes.

A successful socialist and/or communist regime are a complete reverie: wake up!

I strongly encourage you to read my co-graffiter's (LS) point of view: Here

The Lusosphere: Goa

2009-09-22T13:49:00.011+01:00

8th of July 1497: 4 vessels (St Gabriel, St Raphael, Bérrio, Food vessel) weighed anchor in Lisbon towards India. [below you can see the route they used - black line].

18th of May 1498: Vasco da Gama arrived in India (Calcut, in the present state of Kerala, to be more precise). He had to negotiate with the local governor (the Saamoothiri Manavikraman Raja) in order to obtain favourable commercial deals - these negotiations proved to be very difficult due to the cultural differences (in the West, Kings would offer gifts to their foreign guests; but in the East, Kings expected to receive opulent presents); therefore the merchandise introduced by the Portuguese did not impress the local zamorins (Saamoothiris = a title used by the Eradi Rulers).

Still, Vasco da Gama insisted and in the end he managed to get a letter (from the zamorin) conceding Portugal the trade of cinnamon, clove, ginger, pepper and gems. In exchange, Manavikraman Raja wanted gold, silver, coral and scarlet.

12th of July 1499: Nicolau Coelho returned to Lisbon (since Vasco da Gama had stayed in Azores to take care of his sick brother) and announced that Portugal had found the naval path to India.

25th of November 1510: Goa became the capital of the Indian Portuguese State (since it was the best commercial port of the region).

The Portuguese wanted Goa to be an extension of Lisbon in the East, therefore they built institutions; several churches in order to expand Christianity; and forts to defend the city from external attacks (a special post will be prepared to show some of the Portuguese architectural delights in Goa).

1560-1812: the arrival of the Inquisition. Thousands of local residents were violently converted to Christianity (by missionaries): if they refused to convert they'd lose their land, titles, assets and receive a severe punishment.

1797-1798/1802-1803: brief periods of British control of the region.

1900: first bilingual newspaper (gujarati-Portuguese).

18th-19th of December 1961: 40,000 Indian soldiers take Goa back from Portugal (since António de Oliveira Salazar - the Portuguese fascist ruler - refused to return Goa to India, during the British decolonisation period), and as retaliation Portugal closed down Indian stores, in Mozambique; it arrested Indian citizens (those who had not been born in Mozambique) and put them in concentration camps, prior being expelled from the country. Portugal only recognised Goa, as being part of an independent India after the Portuguese revolution of 1974.

Language

The official language is the konkani, however there is a small portion of the populace that speaks Portuguese (and strive to keep the Portuguese traditions alive).

Cuisine

A mix of Portuguese and Indian cuisines. Before the arrival of the Portuguese to the region, there were no soups in the Goan menu, but today (if you ever visit Goa) you can taste, for example, the Fish Head Soup and Canja (= congee, inspired on the Portuguese Canja). Before the Portuguese, Goans didn't use certain vegetables either: cabbage, common bean, cauliflower, spinach and brinjal (to name a few) - only they cook it with coconut milk and lots of spices.

Goan cuisine includes meat (veal, pork and chicken), being one of my favourite Goan dishes the "Chacuti" (prepared with chicken, coconut milk, spices; and served with rice).

The cuisine from this region is so rich, that I will post (later on) a proper article about it - it will bring water to your mouth.

Music

Goan music was highly influenced by European music (since the Portuguese took there the piano, the mandolin and the violin).

Goa produces classical music (being known by the Goa Symphony Orchestra and Goa Philharmonic Choir - founded by Lourdino Barreto); pop music (being one of the most known pop stars, Remo Fernandes) which is sung in Konkani; and Goa trance (electronic music, pioneered by artists such as Goa Gil and Fred Disko).

This week we will begin by experiencing Goa Trance: enjoy!

Next Stop: East Timor

Musical Video: double treat

2009-09-20T21:42:00.004+01:00

Chimarrão

Since last week I didn't post any musical video (due to time constraints); I will offer you, this week, a double treat: the first video is by the Gaúcho artist Renato Borghetti and the second video is by the group "Afoxé Oyá Alaxé" (from Recife, Pernambuco - Northeast Brazil).

A Brazilian friend (and blogger - Dilermano), suggested that I post the video below by Renato Borghetti. This artist plays a rythm characteristic of the Rio Grande do Sul (South of Brazil) and what can be seen in this video is the life-style of Gaúchos (country people from Rio Grande do Sul), including the Chimarrão (an infusion prepared with yerba mate and hot water - see picture above).

Renato Borghetti interprets a melody entitled "Cumplicidade" (= intimacy, in this case).

This second video below, is an example of the Afoxé genre. Afoxé is an Afro-Brazilian rythm highly connected to Candomblé (an Afro-Brazilian religion) and is usually associated to the States of Pernambuco and Baía (Northeast of Brazil).

In this video, the group "Afoxé Oyá Alaxé" interprets "Oyá é mulher forte" (Oyá is a strong woman). Enjoy!

S.O.M: Save Our Men

2009-09-15T14:31:00.011+01:00

I thoroughly enjoy reading the press targeting the male market, for they always crack me up.

There are, at least, 4 sections that are always present in these magazines: Beauty, Sex, Advice and Cuisine (needless to mention the Flat Abs section).

I invite you to join me in a brief analysis to the message conveyed by magazines for men.

Beauty

I love good scented men, with a smooth skin, dressing sharply and classy…yes, mea culpa…but these magazines can exaggerate.

For example, they suggest men should do facials, body & feet massages, body waxing, manicure, pedicure, home spas etc – are they competing with women or something?

I can imagine a guy’s boss scheduling a lunch meeting and the guy asking him/her “Boss, can we have the meeting after lunch? You see, I have a facial at luncheon.”

These beauty suggestions have reached such proportions that, in India, the trend is to recommend men to use skin whiteners (to draw beautiful women and be more successful at work)...my God...

And let’s not talk about the product suggestions they make: Dior for men, Yves Saint Laurent for men, Channel for men, Calvin Klein for men etc. Yeah, the mainstream (the main target for these magazines) can well afford these products...people, get real!

Sex

This section, in magazines, always makes me laugh my eyes out. Let’s take a look at some examples of the sexual advices men are exposed to (the title is almost always something like “10 tips to make her go wild tonight”):

1- The G Spot is a myth, but look for it anyway; she’ll love it!

2- Lick her ears (but be careful not to salivate all over her earlobes).

3- Whisper in her ear how sexy she is (even if she’s not).

4- Wash her hair, while kissing her neck; use shampoo not soap; do not forget to condition her hair. After the wash use a Braun Creation blow dryer with a Vidal Sassoon brush to style her sexy hair.

5- Kiss her feet (and if they’re crusty: who cares!).

6- Offer her a thong to wear on your special night (and if she’s a jelly butt, adorned by cellulite, ignore aesthetics for what matters is what’s inside the thong).

7- Kiss her armpit (and if she forgot to put the deodorant, endure it, or you won’t get lucky tonight).

8- If she has vagina issues, just look her in the eyes and tell her that size and shape is not important; what counts is what she does with it.

9- If she just had her breasts done (or re-done), let her know how beautiful they look (even though they feel like rubber).

10- Stop being selfish: do whatever you can to let her reach an orgasm before you do; if needed be learn Tantric sex (it’s ok, it only takes 5 or more years to fully practice it [after a lot of discipline and testicular pain])!

Must they try subjecting almost every woman, in the world, to the same foreplay experience (kindly lectured by pseudo-sexual gurus)?

Advice

This section is dedicated to those who write the magazines seeking for guidance. But really, sometimes I think that the people are making fun of the guy advising them, for some of the questions are absolutely ludicrous (something like this):

I “Dear X, I realised that whenever I am in my health club’s locker room, watching the other guys getting dressed my penis leans towards the centre; and I was told that in order to get all the girls my penis should lean towards the left. What should I do?”

Reply: “dear reader, it doesn’t matter which way your penis leans towards, just as long as it works properly”.

II “Dear X, I have hairs all over my body; my girlfriend says she’s tired of tooth-picking my hairs off her teeth. What should I do?”

Reply: “dear reader, try the Veet Wax for men it will do wonders; or, you could try permanent depilation. That way your girlfriend’s teeth will be safe and hair free”.

Cuisine

These magazines do make an extra effort to teach men how to cook (since they advocate that men should not depend on women to eat [the reporters who write these things, experience a momentarily positive schizophrenia, since they forget to mention that most women, nowadays, refuse to cook for men]. Yet the offered reason is quite valid; if you ask me).

The problem is that now, because of all this quick lessons, every man is a chef and a cuisine critic – they even tell women who cook “Ohh, you didn’t use orange with the duck...you should’ve!” (Simply because Men’s Health told them that orange goes well with Duck)...please...

I know that shallowness sells; I know that deep and serious themes suck; but must these magazines imply that men have no creativity at all (hence needing silly sexual tips), and that they are a bunch of idiots?

S.O.M!

Image: taken from Google Images

My biggest disappointment: Africa

2009-09-08T13:29:00.009+01:00

Africa: the birth-land of creation.

The continent of warm people; of good food; of excellent fruit; of unforgettable sunsets; of beautiful landscapes; of diversity and of magnificent artists.

However, I feel deeply disappointed at the Motherland as a whole, why (you may ask)? Because of what it has become:

A: the world’s number one beggar

Africa is happy with the handouts kindly given by Western countries; so happy that they just lay back, do nothing, knowing that we (suffering from the guilt complex) we’ll be there to throw them crumbs and financial aid whenever they need it.

Instead of waiting for the fish to eat for a day, Africa should ensure a peaceful and safe environment so that its people could learn how to fish and eat forever.

B: the stage of violence and wars

Long gone are the days when one could walk freely in most African countries without being mugged: nowadays one cannot walk in the streets wearing Nike’s (and alike), golden chains, rings, earrings or even a good shirt without being targeted as a possible mug victim.

When people think of Africa, the first two words that come to their mind are “war” and “hunger” (even though there are plenty of peaceful and stable African countries), and I can’t blame them for that is the image that is transmitted to all over the world – thanks to African leaders.

C: a Bacchanalia

Africans drink till they drop; they fornicate to exhaustion with no protection (if a man has five women, he can be sure that these five women have each 2 or 3 other men; which in turn will have 5 or more women and so on so forth); they contract diseases, they spread them like butter; and they seem to have lost their traditional values.

Even when at war, they find ways to rape women and children. I was under the impression that African wars were being fought to achieve ideological liberation but now I see they are an excuse to obtain sexual gratification by force.

D: China’s lollipop

China sucks, sucks, sucks, and sucks Africa’s natural resources (to ship them to the PRC).

Africa has stigmatised Europeans due to the colonisation period, but now it allows the Chinese to colonise them in an appalling way: the People’s Republic of China retrieves from Africa whatever it needs, it does not build anything, it does not transform the raw materials in African territory, and it does not employ African workers (in fact, it brings Chinese workers from back home). The PRC unethically exploits & explores with permission.

At least, the Europeans viewed Africa as something more than a mere lollipop or Chiclets.

E: the nasty nest of corruption

Corruption is everywhere in the world, and it will always exist as long as there’s a human being on earth.

When corruption occurs yet the infrastructures, schools and hospitals are there, it may be viewed as being human. However, when corruption occurs but there’s no potable water for all, no sewage system, no water treatment stations; no schools, no hospitals, no electricity for everyone; no properly equipped and trained police officers, no fire fighters etc – this is utterly unacceptable.

F: the safe haven for Islamists

Africa has this annoying feature of welcoming criminals into its territory. In the past, criminals would live their lives and mind their own business; but Islamists do not wish to mind their own business: they set their mind into converting the African youth into junior terrorists and future suicide bombers; only to serve their one and sole purpose – a Zorka free Africa. Look what was happening in Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique: children were being kidnapped, by the hundreds, in order to be placed in madrassas in order to be brainwashed into becoming martyrs.

And to think that all this is happening on the African Union’s watch. One may wonder: who’s paying whom?

Whenever I hear that a westerner has been kidnapped in the Middle East, or in Latin America, I ask myself “But why don’t this people go to Africa on vacations/backpacking?”...Then I wake up, smell the coffee and reply “But how? Africa doesn’t offer any ethical or moral security". For example: who can savour succulent and tasty game meat, knowing that outside 50 hungry children wait for a handout? Only a diplomat; since he/she was exhaustively trained to ignore other people’s misery.

Image: African Warrior [detail of a postcard] by Lombe (a Zambian female artist)

Musical Video: "Depois de ter você" by Maria Bethânia & Adriana Calcanhoto

2009-09-05T14:08:00.005+01:00

Last week we were introduced to Bossa Nova (performed by João Gilberto & Tom Jobim).

This week, we will experience MPB (Música Popular Brasileira [Brazilian Pop Music]) genre, by listening to an artist, who is considered the biggest MPB singer: Maria Bethânia.

In this video (of a show that celebrated the 35th anniversary of her career) she invited Adriana Calcanhoto (another top MPB artist) to sing, along with her, a beautiful love song "Depois de ter você" (After having you).

Below the video, you'll find the lyrics to this song and its translation.

I hope you enjoy it, and have a smashing weekend!

Lyrics

Depois de ter você

Depois de ter você

Pra que querer saber

Que horas são?

Se é noite ou faz calor

Se estamos no verão

Se o sol virá ou não

Ou pra que é que serve

Uma canção como esta?

Depois de ter você

Poetas para quê?

Os deuses, as dúvidas

Pra que amendoeiras pelas ruas?

Pra que servem as ruas?

Depois de ter você...

After Having you

After having you

Why would I want

To know what time it is?

If it's night or if it's hot

Or if we're in summer,

If the sun will rise or not

Or what is the aim of

A song such as this?

After having you

Poets, what for?

The gods, doubts,

Almond trees, what for?

Streets, what for?

After having you....

Translated into English by Max Coutinho

Image: Maria Bethânia (taken from geocities.com)

Drug Legalization

2009-08-30T09:00:00.002+01:00

What would be the purpose of legalising illicit drugs?
Some suggest that it would combat illicit enrichment; others defend that it would decrease crime rates related to drug trafficking; others would even argue that it would help fighting money laundering (i.e. preventing drug traffickers from transforming the proceeds of their criminal business into revenue generated by a legal activity).

This sounds simple in theory, but like Antonio Maria Costa (Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) said “transnational organized crime will never be stopped by drug legalization” and I am inclined to agree with him.

So, if drugs become legalized who would then become their main supplier? The government? I suppose this would pose a huge problem, for there would be a portion of citizens who would not agree on financing (through taxes) the supply of the presently called illicit drugs.
Then whom? Para-state organisations? And who would be the CEOs of these groups? Perhaps people trained by incarcerated drug dealers/traffickers (the Feds would make use of their expertise to train future generations of Drug Supply Chief Executive Officers - after all, drug dealers and traffickers do know more about the business than anyone).
However I am suspicious that not even this would obliterate drug trafficking nor decrease drug related crimes.

For example, in the Netherlands, coffee-shops owners are allowed to grow cannabis at home and then sell it in their shops (each shop is allowed to have 500 grams [17.6 ounces] in its premise), but they cannot buy large quantities from external producers/suppliers. This looks good on paper, but the problem is that
Producers, through the use of laboratories, "managed to increase the amount of the active ingredient THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) in their plants from an average of between 4 percent and 9 percent to around 18 percent. Some strains have even reached 30 percent." (source: Der Spiegel). And these sophisticated producers have managed to introduce their products in the coffee-shops (even though it is illegal to buy from external sources). If you follow the provided link above, you will see that even though it is legal to sell cannabis in Holland, drug related crimes have not decreased.

Drug traffickers exist first because there are people who have a genetic pre-disposition to use drugs; and second because people push others to that abyss (through indifference, negligence, abandonment, despise, and more importantly through the lack of sense of community - because nowadays no one is capable of offering a meal, a smile or a hug to its neighbour's child).

Drugs, be it legal or illegal, are addictive, dangerous and they kill.
Illegal drugs will never end for there are several people involved (from all walks of life [social and political]).
About legal drugs, no one will ever make a serious effort to go after pharmaceutical companies, since they contribute to institutions we all profit from (hospitals, schools, sport complexes etc etc etc) and place people, that are favourable to them, in politics (i.e. drug companies finance and win elections).

This makes me come to a conclusion:
Drugs: illegal or legal, it doesn't matter cause either way we are stuck with them.
One could advocate going back to the basics (natural medicine) but how, when even nature is not nature any longer?

For a different perspective on this controversial theme, visit my co-Graffiter LS: Here

The Lusosphere: Brazil

2009-08-25T11:40:00.001+01:00

When the Portuguese "discovered" Brazil this country was already inhabited by 2 million indigenous (which were divided into 3 main tribes: the Tupi-guarani, Jê and Aruaque. The Tupis were sub-divided into the Guaranis, the Tupiniquins and the Tupinambás).
So, in some cases when we use the term "discovery" (when referring to Brazil, Mozambique and Angola) we are in fact in error, since these nations had already been discovered by previous civilizations.

22nd of April 1500: Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived in Brazil, whom initially called it "Ilha de Vera Cruz" (Vera Cruz Island), since at first it was thought that it was an island; but after further geographic expeditions it was concluded that Vera Cruz was part of a continent and so the Portuguese re-named it to "Terra da Santa Cruz" (The Land of Santa Cruz; where today is Porto Seguro, in the Brazilian State of Bahia).

26th of April 1500: Father Henrique de Coimbra celebrated the first Mass. The indigenous witnessed this religious celebration with curiosity; which led the Portuguese to think that their Christianisation would be easy. However, they soon found out the opposite: the local Indians were not interested in being Christians, which made the Portuguese re-design the methods of their spiritual conquest.

1532-1822: the new colony is populated (the first village to be founded was São Vicente, in São Paulo), since there was the fear that this "new" land would be invaded by those who had been left outside the "Treaty of Tordesillas" (The Netherlands, France and England). Colonising this land was a form of protecting not only the territory but mainly the exploration of Pau-Brazil (from which derived the name of the land). Nevertheless, the French and the Dutch invaded Brazil. The citizens of the colony were Portuguese.
The economic power of this colony was built by African salves (who, along with the Indigenous, had no right to citizenship and, lived in poorly kept "senzalas"). Later on, in the XVII century gold was discovered, and as such the Portuguese King ordered its exploration (mainly in the regions of Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso and Goiás).
There were several conflicts and colonial revolts (Ex: Emboabas’ War, Guarani War, Minas Conspiracy).
In 1821, Dom Pedro was advised by his father (the King John VI of Portugal) to declare the independence of Brazil and take the throne for himself (in order to protect the Portuguese sovereignty in Brazil). In 1822, Dom Pedro declared Brazil as an independent constitutional monarchy with himself as the Emperor.

Language
The official language is Portuguese.
Many say that the Portuguese spoken in Brazil is mellow, smoother than the one spoken in Portugal (due to its musicality, making it easier for a foreigner to learn it). And the reason for this is the fact that the language has suffered many influences (along its history): the indigenous influence (to start with), the African influence, the French, the Dutch, the Spanish, the Italian and the German.

Interesting Fact
We are used to hear that countries like the US, the UK, France or even Italy are a melting pot. However, Brazil remains the truest melting pot of them all (since its colonial times).
The Portuguese/Brazilians have always favoured assimilation and tolerance for other people; and while intermarriages were not acceptable in other Portuguese colonies, they were encouraged in Brazil.
The Brazilian society is mainly comprised by European descendants (Portuguese, Italian, German, Spanish, etc) but then it is also constituted by the mulattoes (of African and European ancestry) and the mestizos (of Indian and European ancestry).
In Portugal we usually say that all Brazilians are "achocolatados" (a bit chocolate) for we are under the impression that in all Brazilian families there is either African or indigenous blood.

Music
Brazilians use their music in a very powerful fashion so that socialpolitical messages get across to people and the country.
The Brazilian music was basically formed from European and African elements, brought by the Portuguese and the slaves respectively. The indigenous people didn't have much influence in the music produced in that nation (except for a few folk genres).

The main Genres are: Choro ("cry" in Portuguese), Música Popular Brasileira (known as MPB, to refer to Brazilian pop music), Bossa Nova, Música Nordestina (popular music from Northeastern Brazil); Música Gaúcha (from the Rio Grande do Sul state, in Southern Brazil); Repetismo (ballads); Frevo (from Olinda and Recife [Northeast] played during the Carnival); Forró (the foundation of lambada), Sertanejo (country music); Funk Carioca (it has nothing to do with Western Funk; it is a very peculiar sound that I will introduce here); Rock, Metal.
Then we have the Afro Brazilian musical genres: Samba, Capoeira, Afoxé (some sort of religious music, part of the Candomblé tradition); and Samba-reggae. (For a more detailed information, click Here).
(On a personal note: Brazil produces the most beautiful love songs on earth - and many times they pay homage to Portuguese poets in doing so)

We shall begin by experiencing Bossa Nova, in the voice of the great João Gilberto (guitar) and Tom Jobim (piano) performing "Desafinado" (Lyrics & translation: Here). Enjoy!

Next Stop: Goa

Translation: Desafinados

2009-08-20T18:56:00.004+01:00

Desafinados

Se você disser que eu desafino amor

Saiba que isso em mim provoca imensa dor

Só privilegiados têm ouvido igual ao seu

Eu possuo apenas o que Deus me deu

Se você insiste em classificar

Meu comportamento de anti-musical

Eu mesmo mentindo devo argumentar

Que isto é bossa-nova, isto é muito natural

O que você não sabe nem sequer pressente

É que os desafinados também têm um coração

Fotografei você na minha Roleiflex

Revelou-se a sua enorme ingratidão

Só não poderá falar assim do meu amor

Este é o maior que você pode encontrar

Você com sua música esqueceu o principal

Que no peito dos desafinados

No fundo do peito bate calado

Que no peito dos desafinados

Também bate um coração

Off Key

Love, if you say that I am off-key

Know that much pain you cause in me

Only the privileged ones have a hearing like yours

I only possess what God betsowed upon me

If you insist in defining

My behaviour as anti-musical

I can argue even if lying

That this is Bossa Nova and that is quite natural

What you know and feel not

Is that the off-key ones also bear a heart

I took a picture of you with my Rolleiflex

And your ingratitude it reflected

You can not speak of my love this way

For it is the biggest that you'll ever find - "ok?"

You, in your music, forgot the main thing

That in the bosom of the off-key ones

Deep in their bosom, in silence, beats

That in the bosom of the off-key ones

A heart also beats

Written By Tom Jobim

Translated By Max Coutinho

Image: Taken from Here.

A comment on two issues...

2009-08-18T14:13:00.006+01:00

Une quéstion Musulmane (a Muslim issue)

France has taken a few legislative steps concerning the Muslim customs, which have appalled a few people. For example, Muslim women are not allowed to wear headscarves in state schools; the government is searching for ways to ban the use of burkas (since it is understood that they “reduce dignity” and France “cannot accept to have (...) women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, prived of identity,”) and more recently a Muslim lady was prevented from swimming, in a public pool, in a burkini (image above) due to hygiene purposes (the pool prohibits the use of several kinds of swim wear).
Some defend that it represents an attack to the Muslim culture; but I’d say it is a defence of the European culture and tradition.
The burka (and its derivatives) is a symbol of female repression and submission. Europe has already had its share of repression, in the past; it fought against it and it will not go back there in the name of the so-called cultural/religious respect.
When Westerners travel to most Arab countries they are forced to abide to the Sharia Law; and Western women must cover themselves up (under extremely high temperatures) and cannot travel alone with a man (unless he is either the father or the husband). So, are our culture and customs respected there? No.
I do think, though, that Muslim women should be allowed to wear a headscarf (if they wish so), which would satisfy both ends: the Muslim custom would be maintained and we would be able to recognise their facial traits; their identity. We do not wish them to forsake their religion or/and customs; we simply desire to guard our own values and culture.

The Left issue
The Portuguese left is ashamed of our historical past.
I recently read that our Minister of culture (José António Pinto Ribeiro) expressed the will to open a Museum of Travel (to be called Museum of the Discovery Age); however a Socialist Party-supporter blog [in the person of Leonel Moura], in a poor attempt to be funny, wrote that the minister (by travelling) could only be referring to surfing the web because if he meant to go back to laud the discovery age, and our past deeds, then he should forget about it because Portugal is way ahead of it. I wonder which Portugal this socialist is talking about...certainly not the same I’m in.
First, our national anthem is about the discovery period and it calls upon us to bring back the glory Portugal once enjoyed – this is called pride for our history and a plea to recall that we are grand & capable of anything.
Second, since when are we “way ahead of it”? What glory do we enjoy as a nation (in the international scenery)? We are not even invited to the G20 meetings; but again how could we? If a foreigner wishes to know more about Portugal (under our perspective) it can’t...for our online press is in Portuguese only (even the Germans have English versions of their e-newspapers). The international press only mentions Portugal to speak of Cristiano Ronaldo; the whores in Bragança; whenever our football (soccer) teams participate in the Champions’ League and to stress our failure in dealing with the case of Maddie McCann.

Does the world know that our scientists (from the Nova University) invented the Paper Transistor? Does it know that a Portuguese company (Solar Plus) is a pioneer in the photovoltaic modules (using the Thin-film technology)? No. The mainstream doesn’t...yet it knows that we discovered the path to India, they know our former colonies; they know we (along with the Spanish) were the most vicious in the slave trade and that we performed the worst decolonisation ever in human history.

So, Mr. Leonel Moura should just wake up and smell the coffee...we are not there yet, let alone “ahead”.
Our past serves as a trampoline to a successful future.

“God wills, man dreams, the task is born.
God wanted the world to be whole,
The sea to connect, and no longer divide.
He chose you and you went forth unraveling the foam,

And the white rim went from island to continent,
Clearing up, racing, to the end of the world,
And the whole Earth was suddenly seen,
Emerging, round, from the deep blue.

He who hallowed you, made you Portuguese.
Of the sea and us, in you he gave us a sign.
The Sea was accomplished, and the Empire was undone.
Lord, Portugal is yet to be accomplished!” ("Prince Henry" by Fernando Pessoa)

Image: taken from Daily Mail

Homophobia as a Perversion

2009-08-11T16:00:00.002+01:00

There is nothing sadder than homophobia. God created us all; and I mean all of us.

This article is divided into two parts. The first addresses religious people (from all denominations); the second addresses a recent crime perpetrated against gay people in a Middle East country.

Part I
To: Religious communities around the world
Dear representatives of the several religious denominations: shame on you!
You are supposed to represent God on earth. You claim that God is Love, Merciful, Forgiving, All Good…yet you, as His representatives, display hate, lack of compassion, lack of forgiveness and evil; if/whenever you entice your flock against homosexuals.
I know some Christians and Jews may claim that God (in Leviticus 18:22) declared homosexual relationships (between men) as abominable (= awful, unpleasant, very bad, disgusting)…but to whom? Most certainly not to God (since He creates them & only He knows with what purpose); then why did He make such a declaration? Because He knows the imperfect heart of men. He knows that heterosexuals are hypocritical enough to find a gay relationship “awful, unpleasant, very bad, disgusting” and generate evil based on their hypocrisy (yes, because God knows that many heterosexuals do exactly the same sexual things homosexuals do); but mainly because He knows the danger it may represent to the human body (health-wise) – and this cannot be denied.
Nevertheless, God loves us all. So based on what do you (standing on a pulpit) teach people how to despise or hate other brothers and sisters? With what right? With what authority? Only God can judge us; and being a representative of the Lord does not equal being the Lord.
Many of you accuse gays of being a perversion. You are the ones embodying perversion, because instead of looking at gays as the humans they are and respect them as such; you look at them and immediately think of how their sexual life is; you imagine them having sex; you wonder and try to analyse it – this is a perversion.
People’s sex life (be it hetero or homo) is none of your business. Your job is to nurture the soul, help humans to evolve spiritually and guard the gates of God’s threshold on earth...so, do that and leave sex out of it.

Part II
To: Israel
This country is a pioneer in gay rights (for example, the Israeli Defence Forces has homosexuals serving openly without any discrimination, since 1993) and yet, last week it was the stage of a trashy tragedy: Liz Trobishi (17) and Nir Katz (26) were killed and 15 others were wounded in a gay club, in Tel Aviv.
The police said there is no indication of hate crime, however Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (rightly so) compared the sad event to an act of terrorism.
This incident caused a survey to be done, from which it was concluded that 46% of the inquired Israelis consider homosexuality a perversion.
Let’s analyse this...it is known that some Israeli men go to Pattaya, in Thailand, to practice what is called sex tourism, because of “the humanity, the smiles of the beautiful sexy and open-minded women. It's not like the Israeli women, with their nose so far up in the air that it slaps Jumbo planes flying by in the sky.” [Source: here]; so what does this mean? It means that since Israeli women are not willing to fulfil their perverted fantasies they go to fulfil them abroad with “sexy and open-minded women”. Being a pervert with women is quite all right; cheating on your wife and going abroad to be blown is quite all right; going to Thailand to pay 13-year-old girls to provide sexual services is correct...but...two consenting adults (even if of the same gender) having a relationship and loving each other is a perversion...right...

Paedophilia is a perversion.
Necrophilia is a perversion.
Coprophilia is a perversion.
Urophilia is a perversion.
Paraphilia is a perversion.
Domestic violence is a perversion....

Our body, our flesh is a fantasy costume...it’s an illusion. Reality is what emanates from behind the mask: the spirit.
Spirits have no sexual agenda for they are simply the essence.
We incarnate to evolve. Thus, despising, disrespecting, hating, beating up and killing people based on their sexual preferences is not evolving.

Image: Two young men by Cariani

Me Young You Old, You Young Me Old

2009-08-04T16:44:00.000+01:00

Love is a magical feeling: it brings light into the household of darkness; it bestows upon you happiness; it softens the hardest of hearts; it melts the iciest of beings and helps us to evolve.

Love ignores the boundaries of age.

However, society has managed, once again, to express its bigotry, lack of sensibility; poor judgment and, foment sexism even when it comes to feelings.

Who the bloody hell decided that a lady (let's say, in her 40's or more) should not be involved with young men (for example, in their 20's or 30's)? Moreover, why are they labelled as cougars or pumas when they do so?

We all know that whenever a lady falls in love with a younger man, people will either say "Oh, he's after her money" or "Oh, he's seeking for adventure with a more experienced woman" or even "What a waste! So many beautiful young ladies around, and he chose to be involved with an old bad".

Let's analyse these ridiculous sentences:

"Oh, he's after her money" - that's what they said, in India, when a young man (of +/- 40 years old) got married to a 96-year old lady; but it turned out that she was not even rich...well, she was not even a middle-class citizen. Is it possible that Love might've been the key factor here?

I do not deny the existence of cases where young men do marry big fortunes for the sake of fortune; however I do reject the idea of pre-judging a relationship solely based on age disparity.

"Oh, he's seeking adventure with a more experienced woman" - this sentence is utterly demodé, for there are 18-year old girls (and I am being generous here) who are more "experienced" than my granny, my mother and I put together.

"What a waste! So many beautiful young ladies around and he chose to be involved with an old bag!" - first of all, why is dating an older woman a "waste"? Second, who commanded that simply because one is young one must like young people? Third, "old bag" is another obsolete concept for I know ladies who look much much better than many girls in their 20's.

Today's young ladies seem to enjoy cultivating their futile side; they seem to find it interesting to be shallow and immature whose notion of quality time is to catch gonorrhoea in their throats by performing oral sex in every being with a penis.

Older women seem to be more interesting, more selective, more creative, more powerful (and power can be an incredible aphrodisiac).

Whenever a man marries a younger woman he receives no label, he is simply a man marrying a younger lady. Nevertheless, the wife doesn't escape the silly assumptions some people make...such as "Oh, she married his money!" or "She's looking for a father" or "Oh, she must be really good in bed" or even "she's a black widow".

Yes, some older men marry younger women for the sex only; yes, some women marry old men for their money; yes, some marry each other for social-status reasons; yes, some women are indeed black widows and, yes; some are (in fact) looking for a father figure in their husbands...and then there are those who actually marry for love, care and/or respect, companionship. So what? In what will meddling in these people's life and making stupid comments about their relationship enrich our intellect or spirit?

The He-old She-young/She-old He-young question is daft and a complete waste of time. As long as the involved young people are not underaged; what they do, whom they choose to sleep or marry with and, the reasons why they do so is none of our business (specially if they are not family members).

A cliche is in order here:

Live and let live!

Image I: Amorous Old Woman & Young Man by Lucas Chranach the Elder

Image II: Old Man & Young Woman by Lucas Chranach the Elder

The Genesis of Evil

2009-07-26T13:00:00.008+01:00

What is Evil?

Evil is an emanation that stems from severity and darkness. When not controlled it is highly destructive; when controlled it can be rather constructive. But controlling evil is a very hard task to undertake and there is only One Who can utterly control it (i.e. One Who knows when and how to make use of it in utter balance with love): its Creator.

God is the creator of all things and as such He created evil (“I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the Lord, that does all these things.” Isaiah 45:7) – He, himself, told us that He IS the genesis of evil.

Now, why did the Supreme Form of Love create such a stark emanation?

After much thought on this issue, I came to the conclusion that He created it (not only to generate Balance, but mainly) as a form of discipline. However, souls when occupying a body fail to grasp God’s purpose for evil.

When we were created, the Lord breathed life into our nostrils. This breath of existence bore two impulses that are part of His Essence: good (Yetzer Tov) and evil (Yetzer Ra).

While God uses, in full equilibrium, the evil impulse (i.e. Severity and Darkness) to discipline us; to (with love) show us the result of diverting from his plan; humans when making use of it fail in injecting love into their actions (thus generating a destructive unbalance) and are capable of the most vicious and hideous acts that make us question existence and initiate an obsessive quest for good (that is, we once more create a need for another disequilibrium).

Whenever I recall God’s words “and I create evil” I am reminded that perhaps we should leave this malefic emanation to Him, since He is the only One who Is truly able to implement it and actually grow something out of it. For example, when we transgress before God (be it either by mistreating a fellow human or breaking His basic rules) and He severely teaches us a lesson (i.e. life’s vicissitudes) we find room to grow, to evolve, to turn inward and be in touch with our own spirituality and humanity – this is constructive.

Whereas humans, when in contact with this emanation, they destroy everything around them and within. They secretly want their soul to detach itself from The Soul (i.e. they try relinquishing Love), they allow vanity to take over and, thus, materialize their evil into a whole new creature (only known to them): Demon.

The Devil (not Satan, the Accuser – God’s creation designed to implement His severity) is nothing more than a projection of human evil. A projection that can have devastating effects on others - especially those who are not protected against it (by protection I mean a Light within [i.e. Divine Love] and some artefacts that serve to help building a shield against earthly-based evil).

How many forms of human evil are there?

Quite a few. We have the nasty evil (capable of the most vile of actions: paedophilia, rape, vicious murder); then we have envy (that can lead people to do dreadful things); obsessive jealousy (that can result in murder) and torture.

Is evil really a necessary harm?

For a most interesting perspective, please beam over to LS' place: Here

Musical Video: "Tauas/Vamos Embora" by Zico

2009-07-15T20:32:00.001+01:00

The leading star of this week's video is Zico (one of the most famous contemporary artists in Mozambique) who offers us a mix of two of his songs (Tauas and Vamos Embora [= let's go, in Portuguese]).

Zico's themes are almost always the same: women (avassati in Ronga), and he sings primarily in both Ronga and Changana (although he often manages to inject some Portuguese in the middle).

What I like about Zico's work is the beat, because his lyrics are silly and his video clips are vulgar [except when he, and his mates, show some cool Mozambican dance steps]. That being said, his art is club music (where nobody cares about what the artist is saying).

Dance away!

Musical Video: "Marrabenta" by MC Roger

2009-07-09T16:41:00.001+01:00

During my absence MAX will continue to share the Mozambican culture; and as such, I will share a video where MC Roger (a Mozambican artist) performs the modern Marrabenta: a fusion of the traditional Marrabenta (that has already been discussed Here) and modern beats.

MC Roger, in this song, says that Mozambicans when partying want Marrabenta, when doing their BBQ they want Marrabenta, in weddings they want Marrabenta; he also urges Mozambicans to teach their kids how to dance Marrabenta for it is time for the nation to be proud of its culture; and he calls upon the DJs to play Marrabenta in the clubs, so that they can show their pride in the Mozambican music (as opposed to play Angolan and Cape Verdean music all the time).

He tells everybody to bring their cousins, sisters, aunties, friends and dance the Marrabenta.

Enjoy!

Super Cities Vs Global Unification: will either replace Nation States?

2009-06-28T13:00:00.005+01:00

Super City: a large metropolitan area comprised of, at least, 8 million people, undergoing rapid growth in population and urbanisation.

A priori, this sounds a rather interesting concept, but in truth it is one that masks a series of social and economic problems; that in the long run, may reveal to be catastrophic.

The first impact of mass migrations (to the megalopolis) is chaotic: usually these cities are not prepared to receive such a huge number of people, which could result in illicit “urbanisation” (ex: the “favelas” in the São Paulo metropolitan area, and the “barracas” in the Lisbon metropolitan area, during the 80’s), thus causing environmental pollution (due to poor, or no, sewage system); high rates of unemployment (since there may not be enough jobs for all) that will lead to low human development, which in turn will result in high crime rates.

("Favela" in São Paulo)

If we think of it from the city management point of view, more chaos could be generated; for imagine that most of the population is fully employed (in a perfect scenario), thus having favourable living standards: if they all own cars and the majority drives to work (due to lack of proper public transportation planning) the super city will suffer from consistent congested traffic; air pollution; it will have to invest a lot in the maintenance of the heavily used pavements; focus in the potholes and other asphalt defects.

Super cities may help decrease life expectancy.

("Barraca" of Lisbon, in the 80's)

Now think with me...even if a genius comes up with a way to surpass these disturbing issues and actually organise the super city in a way that its environmental and common health impacts are favourable to us all (thus rendering the megapolis huge economic and political power); there are nations that will never be able to form super cities (ex: Portugal, Israel, Belgian, Luxemburg, the Netherlands etc) so, where would they stand in the new political scenario?

Moreover: would the present alliances (EU, Arab League, Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation, AU etc) end, so that new ones (based on the super cities) would emerge?

There is the danger that these powerful megalopolis may, in the long run, aim at replacing state nations (due to their organisational autonomy), which could lead to civil wars all over again.

However global unification (despite its imperativeness to development) can never substitute state nations because of one crucial factor: cultural identity.

The culture of any nation, and its traditions, is part of a people’s identity, which is what glues them together, to fight for the national common good and interests.

Small cities are easier to administrate (in every sense), they are environmentally healthier and generate sane individuals.

Super cities promote estrangement, lack of sense of community, loneliness, depression, suicide.

Global unification should foment cultural exchange (which incites understanding, mutual respect and tolerance) and not acculturation.

Nations states are more than monetary fortitude and political strength; they are the land, the people, their history, identity, values and sense of belonging.

For further reading on this fascinating subject, please beam over to LS' realm: Here.