Letter to Santa Claus...

Hi Santa Claus,

I know that last year was impossible for to you to give me any present. I thought it was too easy, but it seemed it was the other way around.
So this year I will try to ask something simpler. This year I will be more selfish and I will only ask some gifts for myself.

First, I would like to be able to move around in December without being steeped, kicked and pushed around. Probably you don’t know, since you are extremely busy this time of the year, but people get crazy in December. You cannot buy anything without having the sensation that you are in the savannah, in the middle of a stampede.

Second, as you already know I love to travel, so I would love, as a present, to be able to travel around the world without feeling afraid or feeling that there are people around me that live a more miserable life than mine.

Finally, since I want to travel, I just would like you to replace me over the next year on my job. That way I can travel as you will be working for my salary. Don’t be afraid, my job is easy. If you can manage to deliver all presents to the world in only 24h, for sure you can do my job easily.

Hope that you receive my letter on time,

Best Regards,

Stran

Life without Christmas presents…

Responding to a challenge here is my view of life without having to buy presents.

What would I do with the money I would save if I did not buy the presents for Christmas?

When she first asked me this I had no answer. I never thought of this question in my entire life, so I had no answer. I thought, and thought, and thought until smoke came out of my head. I though that I would give a Social Institution. Or that I would buy something to myself, etc…

But as I thought of this, something in my mind told me that this would not happen. Well it is not that I do not wish to do that, but rather that I would not do that.

Then it stroke me. Really nothing of that would happen. If I did not spend the money on these presents, nothing significant would change in my life and in the world. I would just spend on little stuff like a coffee, or one more magazine, or a drink in the rest of the year. Just that! Why? Well, because I would not have in my mind that I had to buy presents in December, so I would be freer to spend it in insignificant stuff.

So, it is good that someone created Christmas so we can buy a present to the ones more close to us.

In our fast pace world we need this mandatory stuff to make us stop a little bit and appreciate the people around us. It is sad, but true…

Congratulations Europe

It is not a perfect union, but, nonetheless, it is a successful one. After many wars, countries that were almost historical enemies taught a lesson to the world a created this space that we now call European Union. Some generations don't know how it was before, and how we progress with this Union.



Yesterday in Lisbon we took another step forward, and everything considered it is a good progress. Only the future will tell what it is going to happen next but I am looking forward to reach what this treaty points to - a True Union!

Something to think about it…

When I was younger I would always look forward to the future. My main Idea was that in future we would be in power and so all the injustice that we felt those days would end. It was as simple as this: once we reach the years to make decisions (political, economical and social decisions) would change because we would do the right decision.

Well reality is now different and no revolution came, little changes happened but nothing worth enough to be proud. Well a pessimistic would say: “That is life!” but my eternal positive view of the world does not allow me to support that view.

For now I only would like to know this:

If you had a chance what would you change in this life?

Well just something to think about the weekend …

(If you want please leave a comment on this question)

Multiculturalism

This news (click here) made me think about limits of freedom and multiculturalism. For me it was shocking when I read: “Some Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related or sexually transmitted diseases because they claim it offends their religious beliefs.”

This is nonsense. If people feel that they can not do some particular part of a job because of religious beliefs then he or she should quit. I don’t know how people feel at ease to even ask if they can complete the course without taking this lectures or exams. But the worst was the fact that “Sainsbury’s is permitting Muslim checkout operators to refuse to handle customers’ alcohol purchases on religious grounds”. This for me is going too far and is extremely dangerous.

First, if someone is so religious to the point that it does not touch a bottle of wine (for example) then it should also be that strong in terms of not working there. It has the choice, but it can not force his beliefs on others. For me it is a lame excuse for not working, nothing more. It has no grounds to support such action, or even allow it in a company.

Second, there are limits to freedom and to the notion of multiculturalism. For me it is not multiculturalism to endorse such actions, not from the company and not for the costumers. It is the promotion of an attitude that it is not in our common values. People shouldn’t forget that we live in a part of the world where discrimination is a crime. Those people are using the “discrimination factor” only in one way. The reality is that by fearing to be viewed as discriminators we are allowing other people to discriminate.

I don’t know where people got the notion that they can wear a Burka on the street (I am against) but they are allowed to refuse to handle customers’ alcohol purchases.

In general the message that we are giving everybody is that is ok to become more radical, to loose values that were so dear to us. I don’t know if it is out of fear or belief in radical multiculturalism but either way is wrong. People should be free to have their religion beliefs but it should be an inner choice and not a social choice. By endorsing this attitudes we are promoting religion to enter the social area, a place that we thought it had left a long time ago.

The only reason that I think this is allowed is because of our eternal pride and belief of our moral superiority. Imagine that you live in a country where you couldn’t buy something because you are homosexual, and it is a common religious belief to be against sexual promiscuity, do you really endorse such an attitude?

I am just sorry that I am not a Sainsbury’s customer. If I was I would stop being as a protest against their acceptance of discrimination of customers. And I really think you should do the same!!!

One Year - Many Lessons

It is been one year since this Project started, and many lesson were learn. This are a few:

1-No matter which country you come from, you find great people that are very helpful and with strong opinions that should be read;
In the beginning, when I started this project I had no idea how to create a blog. In the process I found many people that help in terms of articles, ideas, design, etc… People that don’t know my real name, where I come from, or what were my ideals, but that immediately started to help. For all of them a Big Thank You, and an even bigger apologize the last semester…

2-In one year this blog passed all the life cycle that is possible: birth, growth and death;
I found that Life is quick and also in terms of blogs. Around April I had a writers block and that was the beginning of the end of my articles. I also found that just writing an opinion it is not enough to keep it going. That lesson will be the moto of this new year of WoS. I will put my efforts on Direct Speech, and to create new sections that are innovative and more interactive with society worldwide. I will also try to bring more people from around the world to participate in this project. Of course the main purpose will continue, to build a space for free speech.

3-You can never tell that a blog is dead until it is deleted!
More than a lesson this is my wish for next year…

"In the Name of the Father"

I have just seen this film (which I strongly recommend) and it was amazing the parallel that you can make with the present time. The plot to few that might not know is:

"A small time thief from Belfast, Gerry Conlon, is falsely implicated in the IRA bombing of a pub that kills several people while he is in London. Bullied by the British police, he and four of his friends are coerced into confessing their guilt. Gerry's father and other relatives in London are also implicated in the crime. He spends 15 years in prison with his father trying to prove his innocence with the help of a British attorney, Gareth Peirce. Based on a true story." (source: IMDB)

Which I found very similar to this old news:

"MAHER ARAR, Subject of Canadian Government Commission Report: I wanted to clear my name. Today, Justice O'Connor has cleared my name and restored my reputation.

JEFFREY BROWN: On Monday, a Canadian government commission report concluded that Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was wrongly accused of having ties to terrorism by Canadian officials and improperly taken by U.S. authorities to the Mideast, where he was tortured." (to know more click here)"

OK, it was a different sentence, different number of people implicated and different type of person but is the same irrational reaction to fear from authorities. The first happen 30 years ago, the second a few years ago.

EU slams United States, Australia on climate change

By Jeff Mason at Reuters

"BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union accused the United States and Australia on Monday of hampering international efforts to tackle climate change.

"We expect ... the United States to cooperate closer and not to continue having a negative attitude in international negotiations," Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told delegates at a United Nations-sponsored meeting to review a report on the regional effects of rising global temperatures.

"It is absolutely necessary that they move because otherwise other countries, especially the developing countries, do not have any reason to move," he said. (...)"

I am not stealing I am an Activist!!!

I just saw the site of yomango (literally I Steal) and my world changed. They present an all new perspective to the world of robbery. It is no longer an illegal activity it is a political statement. I have to admit that the founder of this movement was really imaginative. And they are really organized too. They have a forum where they discuss the techniques of stealing, they perform legal advice and they support all that with their political statement.

Probably that was what Winona Rider was doing when she was busted.

Time to Think

Just a thought. If you had to create an entire society would you create the society that you are living it?

Direct Speech

Direct Speech is a new section of Wall of Speech. In this section it is conducted some interviews with people around the world. The main focus is to get to know some interesting people and their inside view of topics that are discussed in many blogs and newspapers. There is no regular schedule to do these interviews and they will occur every time there is an opportunity and relevance.

The first person to be interviewed is Eric Langager, Associate Professor who is currently teaching in College of Software, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and will be published tomorrow.

ID(eal) or not ID(eal) System

I came up with this discussion at Matt's Site (click here). I have to admit that I couldn't understand the problem about the implementation of an ID Card System in the UK. After being explained and reading 22 reasons against this system at a site that Matt pointed me (click here) I had a clearer picture of the problem.

I have to admit that the system is quite different from the one that regulates my country. Here is mandatory to have an ID card and to always use it (if you don't have the policemen can take you to the police station to identificaty). But for this system to be secure (and not misused) there is one thing that must be always present: there can not be any cross reference to other personnel information. I know that this is difficult to secure, for instance when you open a bank account you have to put your id card number, but is quite effective. There is no direct link from this information database with another (for example a person has a different ID card number, Social Security number and Tax payer number and these informations are independent and it is prohibited for the state to have a common database with this information).

These rules were created so that the state isn't able to hold complete information about a citizen and misuse it like it already happen in the past. This notion is vital for the all system to work, otherwise politicians will have access to much information that is not necessary for them.

I know that we now live a time where security is almost number one value of many regulations and we are losing our freedom for that. For now it is not yet present the danger of these changes because we still live in an open democracy but what about in the future? Is this the ID(eal) system to protect us or will be more helpful for future leaders that will be more totalitarians?

I think that we are slowly loosing our freedom, not understanding that this will have a major impact in our future freedom of choice and speech.

Letter from Santa Claus

I have just received a letter from Santa Claus answering my wish list letter that i sent him this year.

"Dear Mr. Stran

First of all I am sorry for only writing you back now but I have been in the hospital until today. For now you know that I could not fulfil your request. But what you call "simple request" was completely impossible to obtain.

I first went to see George W. Bush but immediately he kick me out (literally) of his office saying that the next time I was there he would make me USA public enemy #1 and would bomb my house for preventing reasons.

I then went to Iran but he just told me if I thought that he really believe in Santa Claus and kick me out (once again literally) saying that he make a "Fatah" against me. Then came the suicide bombers but I was almost blown away buy one and had to get out of there in a hurry.

Being near, I went to Israel but they direct me back to Palestine telling me that only after they declare the same thing they would accept to make this statement. The Palestinians said the same thing and direct me back to Israel. I was like that for days until I gave out.

As for Ben Laden do you really think that I could find him?!?

Then, I went to see the G7 leaders but when I was arriving to the place I remembered what George W. Bush told me and thought it was better for me not to go (after all I need my factory intact to give the presents to all the other kids).

Finally, I tried to convince all countries in the world to comply with the obligations of the charter of the UN. For some it was easy but for the rest, let me just say that I was shot at, stabbed and beaten up and end up in an hospital where I remained until yesterday (because of this it was Mrs Santa Claus that gave the presents this year).

I am sorry that you didn't received your present but like I told you it was impossible.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Santa Claus

[P.S. Next year, if you ask me the same or similar I quit!!!]"

New Look of Wall of Speech

I have just completed the changes in the blog. The first of all and most obvious is the looks. I hope that you liked the change (hope that you don't find it too dark), and that it will be nicer for you to read the posts.

But that was not the only change. First of all there is no more google ads (I just left them in WoS Internal talk to whoever is interested).

Besides this, I have created the following:

1) Blog Feed: I putted the feed of the blogs of the main contributors so that you can see what is being written there.

2) Labels: I introduced the labels so that you can easily see the posts by themes. I also put the author of each article (hope that you don't mind) so that people could also view articles by Author (I will ask you a favour: if you could always label your article with your name in order to not miss any article)

3) Wall of Speech quick links:

*Open Invitation (if people want to participate they just need to leave a message or send an email)

* WoS Statement (tells what the site is about);

*WoS Internal Talks (link to the discussion blog about this site);

*Box of Suggestions (new): I have created this article so people would suggest improvements or could complaint about anything they dislike;

*Quick Speech (new): this space is created to enable people who don't want to be a member to write articles to be published;

These change aim to improve the appearance of the blog, to improve the its quality and to build up the participation, hope you liked it.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the writers of this blog for their great articles and for making possible the fulfilment of the initial idea. Besides this, I would also like to thank Matt M. for the big help that he gave me to enable me to change the appearance of this site .

Thank you to everybody and I hope that you continue to have fun at this blog.

Not for America, not for the World!

The Bush’s 15 minutes of Fame are almost over. His presidency is reaching is final time and his Legacy will be clearer in the future. He will leave the Presidency failing almost all goals and will be a great candidate for the worst USA president of all time.

The recent plans for the Iraqi war shows us that his quest for war was not to make USA or the World safer. Also, was not to gain economic power at long term. Instead the war was intended to make some companies very profitable during his presidency and to support his personnel revenge against Saddam Hussein. With his decisions, he made UN weaker, to the point that is no longer sure that it will survive at long term.

In terms of internal affair his policy also failed, but I believe that it is better for Americans to write about this subject (I am an outsider).

The worst part, the part that American citizens are guilty is that he won two elections. While the first was very imprecise, the second one was clearer that USA citizens had a chance to change for better and did not take it. You can say that Democratic Party had a weak candidate, but I think when making a decision you have also to take into account the team behind the man and the republican team was really bad.

Now that every thing is almost over, we can just hope that in future the presidents will be better and able to correct so many mistakes. Bush was a terrible president and work only for his personnel goals. He clearly was not the right president.

Not for America and not for the World!

Blogger's block

Just like a writer’s block I am having a blogger’s block.

I look at the news and can not find anything relevant enough to write about. I look to what divide us and yet not a single word comes into my mind. I look at the world and it is the same. The war did not end, the hunger still exists, diseases are killing and there is no cure for cancer. So why this is not affecting me enough to, at least, write something about it.

Is it a blogger’s block or am I just to tire to talk about the same things?

A brief look at the World

Watching some headlines it seems that we are on the Apocalypse. For instance on Reuters I read that "Taliban deploy 10,000 fighters for attack"and that "U.S.-Iraqi forces meet little resistance in Baghdad". At BBC I read that "Chad may face genocide, UN warns". It is war, war and more war. I know that it has been always like that (I don't remember one year of my life that there was a war in this world). But it seems to me that there is a difference between old wars and the XXI century world. We no longer have ideology behind a war. There is no different sides that want to develop people welfare through different means (like Communism Vs Capitalism).
Some say that ideology is dead. I am a sceptic, I don't believe in that, I rather believe that we are living a period that ideology is resting, probably to "blow up" in a near future...

Climate Problems

“The IPCC, the most authoritative group on warming grouping 2,500 scientists from more than 130 nations, predicted more severe rains, melting glaciers, droughts, heatwaves and rising sea levels, especially if Antarctica or Greenland thaw.

The final text said it was "very likely" – or a probability of more than 90 percent -- that human activities led by burning fossil fuels explained most of the warming in the past 50 years.” (Taken from here)

First of all let me start to say that I like driving my car, I like travelling by plane, I like the products that some polluting industries give me, I like my lifestyle.

Saying this I have to say that I would like to see politics taking into account climate changes and its problems in their actions.

Why?

I won’t be moral about this issue (leave that for Greenpeace) but show one of my egoistic reason about this issue:
The natural resources that we use are scarce. What this affects me? Well, scarce resources will lead to nation conflicts (we have Iraq war as a good example) and to war. Almost all wars have economic reasons, more than moral reasons, to happen and most of them can be linked to the necessity of controlle of scarce resources. Also scarce resources will become more expensive to us which will lead to the end of our lifestyle.

I would like to leave a question: when will we start solving this problem?

Behind a great man…

… Probably it is better to rephrase that.

Hillary Clinton announced, without big surprise, that she is running to the Presidency. This makes her the second woman that is trying to reach a G7 country Leadership (the other is Segolene Royal in France). If both win we will have a unique scenario. For the first time we will have 3 female leaders at G7 or 2 Female leader with the veto power at the Security Council of the U.N.

Will this change Politics? Is this the dream time of feminists? Is it good? Well I don’t have a straight answer for these questions. I don’t think that gender will influence the politic world and also I don’t think that they are prerequisite for being a leader. But this scenario shows us that some barriers are being broken. It is not a huge step but rather a small step to a more equalitarian and representative society.

America's image

According to BBC World Service poll, the global view of the United States’ role in world affairs is negative. This questionnaire was taken across 25 different countries (you can see it here).
Of the 25 countries only 3 countries (Philippines, Nigeria and Kenia) strongly think that USA influence in the world is mainly positive.
For me this is not surprising, but rather a confirmation of what i imagined.
With the recent disasters in terms of foreigner affairs, with Iraq as major example, USA proved these lasts years that it is not prepared to be in the position that it is now - the major, and probably only, super power in the world. I don't now if it is the responsibility of that role or if it the vanity of the name, but they failed completly.