2/17/2008

la internacionalisación de bienes publicos

*DECLARACIONES DE CHICO BUARQUE. MINISTRO DE EDUCACIÓN DE BRASIL.*


No todos los días un brasileño les da una buena y educadísima bofetada a los
estadounidenses.


Durante un debate en una universidad de Estados Unidos, le preguntaron al ex
gobernador del Distrito Federal y actual Ministro de Educación de Brasil,
CRISTOVÃO 'CHICO' BUARQUE, qué pensaba sobre la internacionalización de la
Amazonia.

Un estadounidense en las Naciones Unidas introdujo su pregunta, diciendo que
esperaba la respuesta de un humanista y no de un brasileño.


Esta fue la respuesta del Sr. Cristóvão Buarque:

'Realmente, como brasileño, sólo hablaría en contra de la
internacionalización de la Amazonia. Por más que nuestros gobiernos
no cuiden debidamente ese patrimonio, él es nuestro.
Como humanista, sintiendo el riesgo de la degradación ambiental que
sufre la Amazonia, puedo imaginar su internacionalización, como
también de todo lo demás, que es de suma importancia para la
humanidad.

Si la Amazonia, desde una ética humanista, debe ser
internacionalizada, internacionalicemos también las reservas de
petróleo del mundo entero.

El petróleo es tan importante para el bienestar de la humanidad
como la Amazonia para nuestro futuro. A pesar de eso, los dueños
de las reservas creen tener el derecho de aumentar o disminuir la
extracción de petróleo y subir o no su precio.

De la misma forma, el capital financiero de los países ricos
debería ser internacionalizado. Si la Amazonia es una reserva para
todos los seres humanos, no se debería quemar solamente por la
voluntad de un dueño o de un país. Quemar la Amazonia es tan grave
como el desempleo provocado por las decisiones arbitrarias de los
especuladores globales. No podemos permitir que las reservas
financieras sirvan para quemar países enteros en la voluptuosidad
de la especulación.

También, antes que la Amazonia, me gustaría ver la
internacionalización de los grandes museos del mundo. El Louvre no
debe pertenecer solo a Francia.

Cada museo del mundo es el guardián de las piezas más bellas
producidas por el genio humano. No se puede dejar que ese
patrimonio cultural, como es el patrimonio natural amazónico, sea
manipulado y destruido por el sólo placer de un propietario o de un
país.

No hace mucho tiempo, un millonario japonés decidió enterrar, junto
con él, un cuadro de un gran maestro. Por el contrario, ese cuadro
tendría que haber sido internacionalizado.

Durante este encuentro, las Naciones Unidas están realizando el
Foro Del Milenio, pero algunos presidentes de países tuvieron
dificultades para participar, debido a situaciones desagradables
surgidas en la frontera de los EE.UU. Por eso, creo que Nueva York,
como sede de las Naciones Unidas, debe ser internacionalizada. Por
lo menos Manhatan debería pertenecer a toda la humanidad. De la
misma forma que París, Venecia, Roma, Londres, Río de Janeiro,
Brasilia... cada ciudad, con su belleza específica, su historia del
mundo, debería pertenecer al mundo entero.

Si EEUU quiere internacionalizar la Amazonia, para no correr el
riesgo de dejarla en manos de los brasileños, internacionalicemos
todos los arsenales nucleares. Basta pensar que ellos ya
demostraron que son capaces de usar esas armas, provocando una
destrucción miles de veces mayor que las lamentables quemas
realizadas en los bosques de Brasil.

En sus discursos, los actuales candidatos a la presidencia de los
Estados Unidos han defendido la idea de internacionalizar las
reservas forestales del mundo a cambio de la deuda.
Comencemos usando esa deuda para garantizar que cada niño del
mundo tenga la posibilidad de comer y de ir a la escuela.
Internacionalicemos a los niños, tratándolos a todos ellos sin
importar el país donde nacieron, como patrimonio que merecen los
cuidados del mundo entero. Mucho más de lo que se merece la
Amazonia. Cuando los dirigentes traten a los niños pobres del mundo
como Patrimonio de la Humanidad, no permitirán que trabajen cuando
deberían estudiar; que mueran cuando deberían vivir.

Como humanista, acepto defender la internacionalización del mundo;
pero, mientras el mundo me trate como brasileño, lucharé para que
la Amazonia, sea nuestra. ¡Solamente nuestra!



OBSERVACIÓN: Este artículo fue publicado en el NEW YORK TIMES,
WASHINGTON POST, USA TODAY y en los mayores diarios de EUROPA y
JAPÓN.

En BRASIL y el resto de Latinoamérica, este artículo no fue
publicado.*

Ayúdenos a divulgarlo. *
*'La ley, en su majestuosa equidad, prohibe tanto a ricos como a pobres
dormir bajo los puentes, mendigar en las calles y robar pan' *
*Anatole France.*

2/11/2008

Oh wie schoen ist Panama!

Hallo,


inspiriert von Janosch und der Tigerente werd ich in ner Stunde mit Capitano Tom aus Berlin und 4 Kanadiern von Cartagena aus nach Panama aufmachen.
Angeablich solls grade recht netten Seegang haben. Also wird noch ienmal lecker gegessen und schnell verdaut!

lg und bis bald in Panama

2/06/2008

Altruism, plain-vanilla vindication and the duality of man

"I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man,Sir!"

Thats what Private Jokes answers the General when beeing asked why he is wearing a "born to kill !"sticker and the peace symbol at the same time.

I havent been thinking about that comment for quite a while but after some "small scale clash of civilasations" and a bit of a reflection about that it felt as if it was written like the menetekel in tall letters against the wall next door to the mouldy aired hostel in santa marta: "your self-vindication outweighs, you suck !!!"

A few days before I went on a track to the famous ciudad perdida in the Sierran Nevada de Santa Marta for about 6 days.
We were about 15: 12 customers a guide and 2 carriers.

we had great fun on that track, alltough the last day ended up with some ... in the aftermath... quite stupid confrontation:

it was about the tip for the carriers: whe where not that shure about what would be a fair tip for them and so we asked the guide how the price we paid is shared among the company:
the price was about a 480 000 pesos (roughly a 240 US Dollars) and as you could expect the carriers only recieved a quite small share of the whole, while the company recieved about at 200000.

I considered that a tip in general should be something like a small share of the actuall loan (Iguess tipical european) and as they earned something like a 50 000 I planned to give like a 10 000 wish in total of 12 persons would be quite a lot more than the acutuall loan.
Some considered this way to less and I explainded myself that I consider it not as my duty to actually pay for the carries as I did that already by paying for the tour in the fist place.

And there it started:
what i had to here was: "please, dont come up with this typical neoliberal explanations right now, this is cruel!"

First I felt understood miseralby wrong and I kept on thinking for quite a while that my point of view was the right one.. but as I said in the first place: I had to realize that I was not.

Still as a matter of fact 10 000 is not a bat share compared to what the earnig is
the other truth is: a 10 000 is about 5 dollars, this is a 2,50 for each of the persons that carried for 6 days my food trough the hills of the rainforst in the sierra they cooked for me and where good company ... and I give am a lame 2,50.

I still kept to my opinion and in the end i actually jsut gave the 10000. bBut now i feel quite stupid about it.

I had to realize that that perosn how gave me that comment was actually quite right,.. and I feel even worse, not only that it took me so long to get the point but also that I still stick to ideas like that.

And there we are: the duality of man:

what i do back home :

- try to promote fairtrade in university and by talking to people
- go to protests and demposntrations like the one in heiligendamm to fight against western
practics in the world of trade
- buy fair trade products for quite expensive prices
- visit ethics, philosophy and humanrights classes
- visit projects of development cooperation in buenos aires
- I could keep on but i guess you gopt the point

but what do i do in Colombia?

- tip that guys for a week of hard labour with a 2 bucks 50
- bargain down(hard) old ladies who sell hand made art or coffee
- feel utlery disrespected and ripped of if that fruit juice guy at the corner charges me a 500
more than the actuall price is (so 80 cents intead of a dollar) (...)
- dont give money to beggars because i think they should try to work something

and you know what : i still feel vindicated about that.


what the fuck is that???

how can it be that I am not able to controll my ego in a way to be fine with beeing charged a bit more or justt pay a bit more because I can?
Triing to introduce fairtrade and that if I have the actual chance to pai them more right by miself: i try to get the price down.

ore society builts all its prosperity upon the exploitation of the workforce and the recoursec of the so called ldc and I still think to a pretty good thing by travelleing there and support their economy by spending money there.... but please"! not to much!!! ....

I did realize that before, but never in that direct and hard contrast. It is quite hard to give up one trough, connected to the according values for a nother one and trow the old one over board. and I havnt done it yet ..but i guess i should start trying.

1/31/2008

Oye marica, no me gringas!!!




ok ,back in town now!




first of it all: mi spacebuttom is broken and im to lazy to press it reallyhard all during the writing: so here is my apology :)




i arrived a while ago insanta marta and started little trips from there to the surrounding natural parcs at the coast an in the mountains of the sierra nevada de santa marta and i really really like it here.




hola amigos: habia llegadoasanta marta en el norte de colombia hace como 2 semanas y louso como base para hacer viajes pecquenias en la costa y la montana de la sierra de la santa marta. esta super bacano por aqui :)


ah: el button para hacer un pecenioespacio entre los palabras es un poco roto. losiento pro esto ;)




but i had to realize that there are many people around here that have quite some different conception about the reasons whyone should tavel to colombia: i guess you see where this is going:




you sign in to the hostel: and the owner says: shower is at the left side, there is free breakfest between 9 and 11,the internet is about 1500 pesos per hour.... (selfsatisfied friendly look) ...can i help you with something else??....




so it actually turns out that good old mary johanna isnt that much more than coka, and i suggestthat the free delivery is even faster than if one would order a pizza ( and the pizza is not good here at all! )






so the good thing is: 3 euro 50 for a gramm of nice clean cocacolombia might sound temptating to some... but you jsuthave a nother lookout on the steet but one closer to the fellow traveller how sits in the hostel lounge ( since about 3 month now) and he does not look that good any more.




so to make the long story short: at the coast, cokeis all over the place and the good afternoon line seemsasnormalas the radler in the german beergarden but whereas the frequent visitors of the beegradden might get a huge beerbelly, the wasted travelbumbs at santa marta and cartagena look way more fucked than anbody else!!






but backto the nice things:


i went to the ciudad perdida last week, and archeological site of the anchestors of the kogi tribes in the sierra nevada de santa marta... one could problaly imagin it the esiest by comparing it to machu pichu:




thake all the gringos away and leave onlyabout 20 a day= brake down the walls and make the site and arrangment of about an 90 stonecircels on the ground where in the past woooden houses where located and later on gravesites,all that in the middle of lush rainforrests, ion top of an mountai that one reaches after clmbing a 2300 stepss... :)




so: its quite knorke up there!






but once agian the contovercial: the place is located an an area wich is quite close to farc-land: close meens in that case about a fifty kilomerters away in the jungle.




the last time somebody was kidnapped there was in 2003, and considering thatthere aretours going everyday,it its comparable save. but the thing is that it feels realywired, when you are havinga good time with friends in the jungle, trekking up the mountains and realize that to make the tourism safe,wich brings heeps of money to the region, the istalled about a few hundred soldiers along the way and in the mountains and every once in a while, chatting about the the last hangover from the weekend, you pass a checkopint with about 10 soldiers, machine gung gently leaning again the trees, greeting friendly(and smoking a joint..).




all jsut here to make your journey as enjoyable as poslible..and it this would not be enough:; for an aditional 20 000 pesos your guideextends the tour with a visit of a coca fabric in the woods...


..but irealize im getting in to it again.... anyway: its abeatiful,breathtakin site.




so is parque tairona and antional parque along the coastline. i stayded the for a while wiht friends while chilling out frothe busysanta marta for a while reading garcia marquez,swimming in the green clear see, eating freshfish and enjoiing maracuyajuce... perfect!!






1/01/2008

listo!

hey guyz!

Frohes, neues Jahr, feliz año nuevo, happy New Year!

i hope you are all doing great and all the best wishes for 2008, that you are allways in good company, have a lots of good luck and mucho buena onda!



i finally started travelling now!

after a hard but good end of 2007 with nice grades at school, interesting work and contact to great people that do great work around buenos aires to make it a better place.


First, there is my profesora Estela Camarota, de la UBA/FCE who theached me Dirrecion General ( something like General Management, but in the broadest sence possible...more like lessons for real live, then neoliberal Duennschiss).

If you ever plan on an exchange in Buenos Aires, do this course, even if you are not studiing bussines or economics, give it a try, its worth it!!


Its not only that she was well able to make a german with poor spanish able to unterstand the different ideas of concepcion del mundo y paradigmas (wish was acutally reason why i named the page the way it is named!)

but also that she is a great person per se.

as most students here are doing dirrecion general as their last course she gave them all something that we like to call den letzen schliff...well something like an ultimate finnish so people are made able to use all there economical knowledge in an responsilbe way.

the best was actually the last lesson, something that i did know and everybody somehow might now.. but you cannot repeat it often enough: there is allways something you have to give ,and even if its just a free hug or a bit time to listen to someone who needs some attetion: it makes the world a better place



she also introduced us to margarita, a lovely woman who cares for the cartoneros ,the people ,moslty kids who are collecting the paper and boxes from the rubbish of the buenos aires people to sell it for a few cents..
if you wanna read abit about here project>
http://www.margaritabarrientos.org.ar/ there you go!

actually there where many social proekts with good ideas going on, and if you realize how many there are in total, ytou kinf of realize to, that the suffering and malpractice must be so enourmous cause besides all these good peoel working their ass off, there is still little to se on improvment... to bad...

but i do not wanna be pesimistic and therefore link you to a few more or the promising stuff going on around the billas and sourroundings of buenos aires<

so during the next weeks i will add a few more inspiring projects
cu around