“In the 1920s O G S Crawford invented aerial archaeology, one of many services this eccentric Marxist misanthrope performed for the study of antiquity.”
- Jonathan Meades: Link

Bloody Old Britain: O G S Crawford and the Archaeology of Modern Life

By Kitty Hauser

Granta Books, 286pp

Amazon: Link

“Future archaeologists will perhaps excavate the ruined factories of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when the radiation effects of Atom bombs have died away.”
- O. G. S. Crawford, from Archaeology in the Field (1953)

O. G. S. Crawford @ Wikipedia: Link.

~ Karl Jones

ShareThis

---

© karl_g_jones for Babel, 03:38 PM. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Rome: It’s beautiful and it’s not. Kinda like everything else in life.

“La prossima fermata è Roma Termini.”

I moved to Italy to live at the end of September last year. I lived in Brescia (a medium-sized city in Northern Italy) until March 1, when I moved to Siena.

(I am once again back in Brescia, but that’s a story I’m going to save for another day.)

I picked up some vocabulary during those first five months in Italy, but it wasn’t until I started attending an Italian class for immigrants in Siena that I really started learning the language.

Now, finally!, I understand much of what is being said either to me or around me. The language no longer sounds foreign or like pretty sounds flowing forth from people’s mouths. Although I’m more motivated to learn the language–because it finally seems like an achievable goal to converse fluently–the glossy veneer of the nonsensical musical sounds has dulled. I don’t know, there’s something about understanding when somebody complains about the weather (or conversely, the ease in which I can complain about it) that makes any language sound less romantic.

Shiny glossy veneers are so overrated. Don’t you think? I mean, a veneer is just a thin expensive sheet of wood (or metal) with layers upon layers of unusually toxic clear varnish. If it wasn’t for the common cheap material beneath (like pine or regular mild steel), the veneer would have nothing to attach itself to.

And I’ve always preferred the look of a dull, used or aged finish anyway…and now that I’ve exhausted my analogy I’m finished with this post.

But one more thing before I go to bed on this hot summer night: it is nice to know that you can simply listen to the conductor to know when your next stop is and not have the nervous wondering of whether you’ve missed it or have yet to arrive.

Arrivederci a dopo.

~Janelle Renée

ShareThis

---

© Janelle_Renee for Babel, 02:46 PM. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Natural Touch is a Non Governmental Organisation based in Calabar the Eastern part of Nigeria.The inspiration come from a point of observation of handicapped people and Children roaming the streets of some citites in Nigeria mostly in Calabar begging for alms.
Most of them at the end of the day retired to uncompleted buildings to pass the night,It was a very gory site when a reported case of ritual dehumanising killing of two of such people in a street close to my residence.These two were killed and some part of them remove for rituals activities or some other things not quite known to us.

So touched by such inhuman treament to people because of their inability to defend themselves or provide proper accomodation for themselves,and even a source of livelihood was traumatic,hence,my decision to get the NGO (NATURAL TOUCH) started,with the aim to provide food and shelter for the hanicapped.Make sure there is a future for them and security of life for them.

Upon our inception,we had limited our intention to mostly the young ones and average aged.Although we could not provide accomodation for them but we  provide the basic needs which is food for them atleast once a day.

It is our aim to increase the feeding arrangement to twice a day and also build a home for them.It is our aim to accomodate at least 2000-5000 handicapped people of difiers ages in the home,and Animals too.
With support from other Organisations/Individauls that are touched just as we are.We will establish a school or a handicraft centre for them to study and become independent of their own in future.
Suffice to say here that most of them roam the street with torn cloths and look unkept,We also provide clothing where necessary and affordable to them.
Based on our inability to sustain the financial burden,we are looking forward to Groups or Individuals with similar passion as we have towards uplifting the living standard of these hadicapped and also thinking of ensuring their future.

We are planning of building a home for them in Calabar to accomodate the handicapped and also recruit personnels to take care of their cooking and tranining.
We look forward to support  from passionate groups and individuals.
Thanks,
Dennis

ShareThis

---

© Naturaltouch for Babel, 02:38 AM. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Technology for human needs:

• The Outquisition
• Engineers Without Borders
• MIT International Design Summit
• Free/Open Appropriate Technology
• Transition Towns
• Technology for Humanity

(...)
Read the rest of Technology for Humanity (735 words)

---

© karl_g_jones for Babel, 02:50 PM. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

A growing chorus against EPA:
The Nassau Guardian Editorial -
Nassau, Bahamas:




The Bahamas government has recently announced its intentions to hold a series of town meetings on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to discuss and hopefully, clarify matters of concern to the general public, special interest groups, academics and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

That course of action is not only timely, it is critical to addressing a topic which appears to be gathering detractors at an increasing rate, both here in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean, as the days go by.

State Finance Minister Zhivargo Laing correctly noted that one of the most vociferous local critics of the agreement is the BARF group and although that group apparently opposes The Bahamas entering into any trade agreements, it is not the only one, and the many other less vocal individuals and groups would also need to be heard on this important issue.

This proposed EPA with the European Union is attracting much attention and consternation both here and in the Caribbean because it differs radically from all former trade agreements executed by Caribbean nations.

To begin with the earlier trade agreements with the U.S. (Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act); the European Union (Lome Agreements followed by the Cotanou Agreements); Canada (CARIBCAN) were essentially one-way-street preferential agreements which were restricted to Caribbean products having tariff-free entry into the markets of those developed countries on a non-reciprocal basis.

The EPA on the other hand, would make provisions for tariff-free access for both goods and services from the Caribbean countries to enter European markets while at the same time, extending the same market access privileges to European goods and services entering the Caribbean.

In addition to the denunciation of the proposed trade agreement by the government of Guyana, the list of detractors now includes the Barbados Manufacturers Association which is of the view that the agreement is not in the best interest of the region and that the repercussions are likely to be so severe that the matter should not proceed without a referendum; a number of trade consultants who are of the view that the fiscal implications of the agreement have not been fully fleshed out and may cost Caribbean governments much more than originally estimated, not to mention the impact the EPA might have on any future trade agreements the region might wish to entertain.

The Barbados Agricultural Society was somewhat less subtle but more to the point in its conclusion that the agreement was a "bad deal" and that the governments, intellectuals and trade unions who negotiated the agreement had failed the region. The newly installed government in Grenada is reported to have said that they will delay signing-on until it has had the opportunity to properly review the implications.

Other experts were more optimistic while acknowledging that mistakes were made, they were of the view that the Caribbean governments and that of the Dominican Republic were determined to sign the agreement in September and in those circumstances, manufacturers, businesses and other members of civil society ought to look ahead and make the best of the situation by finding ways and means to exist in the new trading order.

It is difficult to determine the precise impact the EPA will have on any member of CARICOM including The Bahamas since comprehensive trade data is lacking in some instances; the differing timetables for full implementation; the inability to project or anticipate any new services areas that may become available in the future; and the exact nature of non-tariff barriers that may exist in Europe to derail the cross-border flow of goods and investment.

What we could determine at this point however, is that the growing concern and uncertainty regarding the likely impact of the EPA needs to be carefully explained both here in The Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean region.

Is Your Silence Costing You Your Life? By Cookie Tuminello

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”- Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King was right on when he said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” It is the beginning of the end.

A major source of stress is caused by unspoken feelings, not getting what we want, and not asking for what we want. This stress can cause headaches, insomnia, emotional eating, avoidance, depression, and laryngitis just to name a few. I, myself, have experienced all of the tell tale signs at one time or another in my life.

So, back to the question, is your silence causing you stress? A good question to ask yourself is your life working or not working for you? A good place to start looking for answers is to take a good long look at your relationship with yourself and others.

• How many times do you say YES when you want to say NO? For fear that they may not like you. You valued the other person more than you valued yourself.
• How many times have you kept quiet because you were afraid to speak up? For fear of what might happen or not sure of yourself. So, you just sucked it up and paid for it on the inside.
• How many times have you spoke your feelings, but did not ask for what you wanted? For fear that you didn’t know how to ask or felt you weren’t worthy enough. So, you came away unfulfilled and sometimes even resentful for not having spoken up and stated what you really wanted.
• How many times have you let others dictate the course of your life because you didn’t think you knew enough? So, you lived the life they wanted, not yours, simply because you wanted to please them.
• How many times have you settled for less when you could have had more? What do you think doing this did to your sense of self worth?

Think about it. When you become silent, don’t express your feelings, and don’t speak up, you give away your power and your soul. Now, if this only happened one time it may not be a problem. You learn from the experience and you take care of better care of yourself next time. However, keeping silent time after time causes a slow demise of the quality of your life, not to mention your integrity, dignity, joy, passion, and prosperity in your life. How long are you going to keep saying ‘Ow!’ before you stop!’

So how do you reclaim your power?

The first step is to be accountable. You are where you are because of the choices you have made in your life. Now don’t go south on me and start beating yourself up more. It’s not bad or wrong, it’s just where you were at the time. Now is the time to make better choices for yourself – stand up for yourself.

The second step is to take a look at the areas of your life where you’ve sabotaged yourself. Determine what it is that you want and start putting in corrections. In other words, start taking different actions than the ones you took before. And every time you take a new empowered action, you begin to reclaim your power little by little.

Being silent does have its place in everyone’s life, but staying silent when you really need to be standing up and showing up for yourself serves nobody well, least of all you.

If you’re really having problems stating what you want, just remember the old saying, ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’ In short, open your mouth and clearly state what you want - one word at a time.

Assassination attempts foiled:
By CANDIA DAMES, Guardian News Editor -
Nassau, Bahamas:




The Royal Bahamas Police Force is increasingly driven by intelligence-led policing, which has thwarted assassination attempts on magistrates, prosecutors and witnesses, Acting Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson revealed yesterday while testifying before the House of Assembly's Select Committee on Crime.

But he noted that some witnesses have "paid the ultimate" price. Ferguson was referring to the murders of some witnesses who were lined up to testify in certain cases.

Such occurrences led to the government establishing a Witness Protection Program, but the acting commissioner was not questioned on how the program was functioning.

He was also not asked to name the magistrates, prosecutors and witnesses whose lives were threatened.

Ferguson, the first witness to appear before the committee, also told the five-member panel during the hearing at the British Colonial Hilton Nassau that police intelligence has foiled bank robberies; led to the interdiction of major drug shipments; resulted in the confiscation of millions of dollars, the seizure of high powered firearms and grenades and assisted in tracking suspects.

The police chief said intelligence-led policing is one of nine strategies being employed to address the high level of crime in The Bahamas.

"Intelligence-led policing will continue to be a focal point of the force's strategy to enable officers to prevent and detect crimes that may otherwise go undetected," he said. "It has been proven that with the effective gathering of information, the police can work smarter in its efforts to stem the flow of lawlessness in all segments of the community."

Ferguson also reported that while the level of crime is still far too high, the fear of crime seems to be decreasing. This is seen from the feedback that the force is getting from various areas of the community, he said.

Pointing to the impact lifestyle choices are having on the level of crime in the country, the police chief said that for 2008 statistics have shown that eight out of 10 murder victims knew their assailant.

"The force has beefed up its intelligence gathering capacity," Ferguson said. "And while we are still inviting members of the public to come forward with more information on crimes and suspects, we are pleased that the numbers are increasing. There is also a concern with the seemingly increasing use of violence in the commission of the most basic crimes. This lends itself to the likelihood of a minor offense becoming a major one."

The acting police commissioner, who was speaking under oath, also told the panel that the impact of the increased cost of living has caused some people who would normally be honest to "resort to being tempted" to purchase goods that they know may have been gotten through criminal activity.

Despite the challenges, Ferguson insisted that the Police Force was doing "an excellent job" in fighting crime. He was responding to a question asked by committee chairman, Dr. Bernard Nottage, who is the leader of Opposition Business in the House of Assembly.

Nottage also pressed the police chief on whether reported acts of corruption involving police officers and politicians were being properly investigated. Ferguson assured that corruption claims against police are properly dealt with and he asked Nottage whether he wanted to point to a specific case involving a politician. No such case was highlighted, however.

Ferguson agreed that a national agency to investigate corruption would be beneficial.

The acting commissioner also raised concerns about what he called the ever increasing number of criminal deportees from North America and other countries.

"These individuals that have very little connection to The Bahamas can in time become the next wave of criminal underclass that local law enforcers have to deal with," he said.

Ferguson is expected to testify before the committee again at a date to be announced. The select committee on crime will make recommendations to Parliament on how to address the issue, Nottage said. Other committee members are Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson, FNM MP Kendal Wright and PLP MPs Glenys Hanna-Martin and Frank Smith, who each got a turn to question the acting commissioner on the crime situation in The Bahamas and how the Police Force is responding to it.

Superintendent of Prisons Dr. Elliston Rahming is scheduled to testify before the committee this morning.

Senator John McCain, the US Republican choice for presidential nominee, has made an ill-advised, highly political choice of vice presidential candidates in Sarah Palin. She is an incredibly under-accomplished, far-right wing, inexperienced woman whose only significant political experience is being the governor of Alaskaa and an Alaskan city of 9,000 people, Wasilla.

One might think that this woman, who only holds an undergraduate degree from Idaho State and whose policies reflect her utter lack of education and grip on reality, foreign policy, economics, defense, environment, etc, might be unelectable. Unfortunately, as the election of George W Bush before her proves, Americans are apt to vote based purely on personality, looks and lifestyle, not on qualifications, education, policy or experience.

Beyond Palin's corrupt political career, abandonment of her own home state in pursuit of national political aims (her lobbying for a $200 million bridge to connect an empty town in Alaska to a local airport, and then voting against her own bridge after it became clear the country was in uproar, as other bridges in other states collapsed and multiple fatalities resulted), her undistinguished careeer as an almost-beauty queen, her support for oil-drilling on the Alaskan coast to support her personal and family oil company financial interests, and anti-environment policies, etc, Sarah Palin is a rabid right winger against women's human rights.

Ironically, her stance against sex education in schools, and her support of abstinence-only until marriage education, has resulted in her own daughter, Bristol, becoming an unmarried pregnant teenager at 17 years old. Her boyfriend Levi vows on his since-erased MySpace page that he "doesn't want kids." Yet this week, Palin has forced her daughter into becoming engaged to her underaged boyfriend still in high school, in order to uphold her political appearance and candidacy for vice president.

Terrifyingly, McCain is the oldest potential incumbent in the United States, at 70 years old. Were McCain to pop off during the presidency, this woman would become President of the United States. Even more ironically, this woman who is the staunchest opponent to women's rights wishes to reverse the slow and painstaking progress made to gender inequality over the past 100 years. She would reverse Roe v. Wade and she opposes abortion even in the case of rape or incest.

Here's some information about how "Sarah Barracuda", a self-termed "hockey mom" and mother of five, feels about people's ability to make their own choices about their sexual and reproductive health:

Source:
[Think Progress]

Palin Is A Member Of Anti-Abortion Group Feminists For Life. Palin is a member of an “anti-abortion group called Feminists for Life.” When running for governor in 2002, she “sent an e-mail to the anti-abortion Alaska Right to Life Board saying she was as ‘pro-life as any candidate can be’ and has ‘adamantly supported our cause since I first understood, as a child, the atrocity of abortion.’”

[Anchorage Daily News, 8/6/08]

Palin Opposes Abortion Even In Cases Of Rape Or Incest. In 2006, Palin said that even if her daughter were raped, “I would choose life.” She said that she would support abortion only if the mother’s life were in danger.

[Anchorage Daily News, 11/3/06]

Palin Slashed Funding To Help Teenage Mothers. Earlier this year, Palin used a line-item veto “to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.” Funding for Covenant House Alaska, which provides transitional housing for teen mothers, was cut by 20 percent — from $5 million to $3.9 million.

[Washington Post,9/3/08]

Palin Supports Abstinence-Only Policies. In 2006, the Eagle Forum Alaska asked Palin whether she would “support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education.” Palin replied, “Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.”

[Politico, 9/1/08]

Palin Supports Parental Consent Laws For Minors Seeking Abortions. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Palin was “disappointed lawmakers let a bill die requiring girls under 17 to get parental consent for an abortion. ‘My belief is parents have the right to know about the health and welfare of their children,’ she said.”

[Anchorage Daily News, 8/14/08]

O Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Ipea) divulgou o texto Juventude e Políticas Sociais no Brasil, organizado por Jorge Abrahão de Castro e Luseni Aquino. A publicação reúne textos que abordam a inserção da temática juventude no âmbito das políticas sociais brasileiras e analisam as ações executadas pelo governo federal em áreas como educação, trabalho, saúde, assistência social, cultura e segurança pública.

A seção dedicada à educação, enfatiza o percentual de jovens analfabetos que, apesar de ser comparativamente baixo em relação à população idosa, é preocupante porque a população juvenil teve mais oportunidades de freqüentar a escola. Além disso, o documento reforça as desigualdades regionais na redução das taxas de analfabetismo entre os jovens brasileiros. Destaca ainda que a opção da educação de jovens e adultos possui oferta insuficiente e pouca articulação com os cursos de alfabetização.

A última seção apresenta um balanço da Política Nacional da Juventude implementada pelo governo federal desde 2005, trazendo à luz alguns de seus principais avanços e as maiores dificuldades enfrentadas até o momento.

O estudo está disponível em: www.ipea.gov.br/sites/000/2/publicacoes/tds/td_1335.pdf.

Fonte: Ação Educativa

Chegou ao Brasil nesta segunda-feira, 1, o coordenador sênior da Unidade de Segurança, Crime Organizado e Combate à Lavagem de Dinheiro do escritório da ONU sobre Drogas e Crime (UNODC), Ketil Ottersen, responsável pelo projeto do UNODC com a Organização Mundial de Alfândegas (OMA), de controle de contêineres.

O projeto foi desenvolvido para fazer frente ao tráfico de drogas e já funciona no Equador, Senegal, Gana e Paquistão, com resultados positivos.

De acordo com o escritório do UNODC em Brasília, Ottersen veio ao Brasil para apoiar a país em cooperação técnica para investigação sobre tráfico de drogas em contêineres marítimos.

Ele se reuniu com autoridades da Polícia Federal, Receita Federal e representantes da União Européia. Também fará visita técnica aos Portos de Vitória e Santos, acompanhado de representantes do governo brasileiro.

Tráfico via contêineres

O volume do comércio mundial por meio de contêineres vem aumentando consideravelmente nos últimos anos, com expectativa de que dobre até 2012. Segundo o UNODC, mais de 220 milhões de contêineres circulam mundialmente a cada ano. Menos de 2% são inspecionados.

O crescente uso de contêineres marítimos para propósitos ilícitos fica ainda mais evidente nas rotas do tráfico ilícito de drogas e no contrabando de produtos. As apreensões de cocaína via marítima chegam a 64%; 2% de apreensões ocorrem via transportes aéreos e 34% em outros meios de transporte.

Os contêineres também são utilizados para o tráfico de produtos roubados e falsificados, armas e explosivos, produtos químicos controlados e até de tráfico de seres humanos.

Fonte: www.inforel.org

Um seminário em Recife, Pernambuco, e um congresso em Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, marcam o lançamento do livro Juventude e Movimento Estudantil: Ontem e Hoje, coletânea que resulta do projeto A Engenharia Nacional, os Estudantes e a Educação Superior: a Memória Reabilitada (1930-85), desenvolvido na Universidade Federal de Pernambuco sob a coordenação de Otávio Luiz Machado, também um dos organizadores do livro. O próximo fruto do projeto será a coletânea Movimentos Juvenis na Contemporaneidade.

Programação do seminário

Tema: Juventude e Movimento Estudantil em 1968

Data: dias 4 e 5 de setembro

Local: Recife, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Atividades: Lançamento do livro; mesa-redonda Intelectuais e Cultura nos anos 1960; exibição do filme "Hércules 56" e debate; mesa-redonda Movimentos dos Trabalhadores do Campo em Pernambuco em 1968; mesa-redonda Movimentos Estudantis em 1968; exibição do filme Pernambuco: O Golpe (1964 - 1979), de Bráulio Brilhante

Programação do congresso

Tema: 1º Congresso dos Estudantes da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP)

Data: 10 a 12 de setembro

Local: Cine Vila Rica (Ouro Preto, MG)

Atividades: Painel "Repensando o Movimento Estudantil – Passado, Presente e Futuro"; Painel "História do Movimento Estudantil"; Painel "O Futuro da Universidade Pública e as Reformas Educacionais"; Painel "O Futuro da Universidade Pública e as Reformas Educacionais" (Contraponto); Atividades de Grupos de Trabalho; apresentação e votação das propostas dos GT; considerações finais; entrega de certificados.

Para saber mais sobre os eventos:

http://sejarealistapecaoimpossivel.blogspot.com/2008/08/sumrio-do-livro-juventude-e-movimento.html

http://sejarealistapecaoimpossivel.blogspot.com/2008/08/prefcio-do-livro-juventude-e-movimento.html

http://www.ufop.br/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3380&Itemid=196)

Otavio Luiz Machado: Caixa Postal 7828, CEP: 50.670-000, Recife-PE, telefone celular: 81/9715-7846.

Fonte: UFPE

O Ministério da Educação publicou ontem o cronograma oficial do Fies (Financiamento Estudantil). Para participar do financiamento regular para o segundo semestre de 2008, as IES (Instituições Superiores de Ensino) têm até 12 de setembro para aderirem ao processo seletivo.

As universidades devem enviar o termo de adesão até 15 de setembro, dia em que serão divulgadas as IES participantes. Até dia 19 de setembro as adesões serão validadas pela GIFUS (Gerência de Filial de Fundos e Seguros Sociais). Os estudantes poderão se inscrever no programa entre 22 de setembro e 19 de outubro. Será divulgada a relação de inscritos em 20 de outubro.

O programa

O programa do governo visa financiar a graduação de estudantes que não têm condições de arcar integralmente com os custos de sua formação. Contempla alunos regularmente matriculados em instituições privadas, cadastradas no programa e com boa avaliação no MEC (Ministério da Educação).

A partir deste ano, o Fies oferece financiamentos de 100% dos custos das mensalidades a estudantes de graduação e pós-graduação (mestrado e doutorado) de universidades particulares. Antes, o valor estava limitado a 70% e a iniciativa restrita apenas aos alunos da graduação. O fundo oferece também seis meses de carência, contados a partir da data de conclusão do curso, para que o beneficiado comece a quitar o crédito. Essas novas diretrizes fazem parte da Lei nº 11.552, sancionada no dia 20 de novembro de 2007.

Estudantes selecionados pelo ProUni para recebimento da bolsa parcial de 50%, regularmente matriculados em cursos de graduação, também podem conseguir financiamentos dos outros 50% do valor da mensalidade. Os bolsistas parciais do ProUni não participam dos processos seletivos regulares do FIES, sendo designados períodos específicos para concessão do financiamento.

Desde sua criação, no segundo semestre de 1999, o programa financiou os estudos de cerca de 457 mil alunos, com investimentos acumulados de R$ 4,8 bilhões. O programa veio substituir o PCE/CREDUC (Programa de Crédito Educativo).

Fonte: Universia

Luis B. Gómez L. /MIÉRCOLES 3 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2008
El Tema Haitiano en relación con la República Dominicana, es tratado constantemente. Las discusiones suelen realizarse entre extremistas defensores y demandantes que pocas veces logran un justo entendimiento frente a un estado con poca autoridad histórica frente a la problemática.
Esta situación ha costado mucho a ambos países hermanos históricamente. Tanto que faltarían páginas para describir los conflictos sociales y económicos ocurridos en la República Dominicana con la presencia de ilegales o para contar las travesías por las que atraviesan estos migrantes en búsqueda de mejoría. Pero quizás sea más doloroso intentar relatar la situación de vida y la esperanza en nuestro vecino país, esas mismas situaciones que los hacen emigrar.
Son conocidas las dificultades, para un país pobre como la República Dominicana, la razón de tener que hacer suya la responsabilidad de dar asistencia médica, educación y empleos a tantos ilegales que no ha podido calcular, afectando así el servicio que ha destinado para su población, como también se ha visto la reducción de empleos para sus nacionales frente a una mano de obra más barata en casos específicos (por ahora) de la construcción, la agricultura y las ventas ambulantes.
Conocidos también son, en parte, las barbaridades ocurridas durante el transporte de los inmigrantes desde la “frontera” de nuestros países hasta las diferentes localidades dominicanas. Historias tristes e increíbles han sido mostradas en nuestra prensa sobre lo inhumano que se ha hecho el transporte y las características del tráfico ilegal que en muchas fronteras internacionales tienen su parecido.
Estos puntos como también la situación socioeconómica y ambiental son tratados en la Posición y Propuestas del CONEP ante la presencia de inmigrantes haitianos y sus descendientes.
El Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada (CONEP), hace un análisis de la situación causante de ésta desesperante inmigración haitiana de manera muy profesional, al mismo tiempo que hace un llamado a las autoridades dominicanas a tomar como prioridad nacional el tema. El grupo de empresarios han visto de manera muy objetiva la realidad de ésta incalculable inmigración presentando diez ejes principales de conflicto a los que presentaron su propuesta de solución como manera inicial de discusión a la problemática nacional.
Los ejes en contradicción evaluados en el documento presentado a las autoridades y la prensa nacional por el CONEP son nacionalidad dominicana, racismo, documentación civil, Ley 285-04 General de Migración, repatriaciones y deportaciones, frontera, comercio, mercado y derechos laborales, medio ambiente e identidad cultural.
Es cierto que hacen falta en el país estudios que ofrezcan informaciones sobre la realidad de este preocupante escenario, sobretodo en el número, las condiciones sociales, las relaciones e integración cultural, y la importancia en la economía dominicana. Sin embargo, merece altas felicitaciones la posición del CONEP frente a su interés de que se discuta el Tema Haitiano de manera que se produzcan soluciones viables bajo el respeto de los derechos humanos de los inmigrantes y el derecho de un Estado Libre y Soberano. Además la población dominicana debe estar motivada a ser partícipe en estas discusiones para el fortalecimiento de las relaciones entre estas repúblicas y la creación de oportunidades para el bienestar y crecimiento de ambas.

Luis B. Gómez L. /JUEVES 4 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2008
En su documental, Una Verdad Incómoda (An Inconvenient truth) el Premio Nobel de la Paz Albert Arnold Gore refiriéndose a la magnitud del daño al medio ambiente dice que los humanos veíamos muy grande al mundo como para imaginar que nuestras acciones llegaran a tales consecuencias.
Y esto me recordaba a las reflexiones que alguna vez nos refería el P. Julio Cicero, sj en cuanto a la utilización del bejuco indio para fabricar el famoso mabí: ¿Acaso tiene alguien una finca de producción de bejuco indio? Bueno, habría que preguntarse también si los vendedores ambulantes que se encuentran en las autopistas tienen criadero de jaiba o la compran a algún productor. De no ser así, ¿habrá siempre jaiba que pescar o bejuco indio para hacer el sabroso mabí.
Estos días he sentido la necesidad de hacerme preguntas parecidas respecto a las arenas del Río Yuna. Hace unos meses conocí la práctica de habitantes de las riveras del río próximo a la Reforma, prov. Duarte que consiste en la extracción la azulosa arena en equinos desde el río y la acumulación a orillas de la carretera. Antes se veían las pequeñas terraplenes de arena, luego se ven mayores acumulaciones y cada vez mayores. Recuerdo las grandes granceras ubicadas en sus riveras y a la vista del país y la de otros ríos, y veo esta sencilla extracción que de burricada en burricada es capaz de hacer una gran montaña de arena. Entonces no queda más que preguntarse, ¿cuánto soportará el Yuna la extracción de arena?

(En La Foto, vista del Río Yuna a su paso en aproximaciones a La Reforma)

“I’m slightly afraid that fewer and fewer people will want to devote their whole life to one experiment. This may be a problem.”

- Michal Tomášek

One experiment, one life

The scale and complexity of the LHC [Large Hadron Collider] can only be rivaled by some of the greatest scientific efforts ever made, such as the race to the moon or the development of the atomic bomb. More so than those efforts, the LHC is truly international, which is made clear on a visit to its outdoor cafeteria, where, in the shadow of Mont Blanc, a multitude of languages can be heard.

The duration of the experiment — about two decades on, it is only about to begin, and it could likely operate for 20 years — means that some physicists will spend their whole careers devoted solely to the LHC. This concerns Michal Tomášek, a Czech physicist who works on Atlas.

“Back when I was a student,” he says, “there were 20 to 40 experiments that lasted five to six years, and you had an opportunity to go from one to another. … [Now] it’s really one experiment for one life.

“I’m slightly afraid that fewer and fewer people will want to devote their whole life to one experiment. This may be a problem.”

- Paul Voosen @ The Prague Post - September 3rd, 2008.

Large Hadron Collider @ Wikipedia

~ Karl Jones

---

© karl_g_jones for Babel: The multilingual, multicultural online journal and community of arts and ideas, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh