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Bahrain: A tenfold increase in population?!

Ayesha Saldanha · 20:14 · Middle East & North Africa

This time the roundup from Bahrain covers three weeks. We have frustration on every front, unfortunately: frustration with being surrounded by apathy and ignorance, with being a teenager, and with a ludicrous criminal charge. One blogger is considering leaving the Gulf for a better life back in India, another admits he rarely reads, and a number of others are debating the merits of secularism.

Going ‘home’?
We start with Ashish Gorde, who is visiting India after a break of three years – and wondering if he should leave Bahrain:

There is an enormous energy resonating all across, and the enthusiasm is almost palpable wherever you go. Alright, now that sounds like a superlative but so far I've only been to Bombay and Poona and I've felt the same excitement in both the places. […] Another interesting thing I have learned is that salaries have shot up sky high in the past few years, and there is a lot of wealth and purchasing power in the hands of the middle-class. The prevalence of major brands and swanky malls is another clear indicator that the new religion of consumerism has managed to set up its massive temples here as well. As a lifelong expat Indian, these observations make one think twice about a lot of things. It is clear that India is headed towards greater economic strength, and when that happens, where does that place us — that is, Indians who have lived in the Gulf all their lives — in this present scenario. Do we still stay here in Bahrain and other countries in the Gulf with meagre salaries, and watch our compatriots earn lot more in India? Do we miss out on the excitement that's surely ours in an economy that is headed towards the ionosphere? Do we sacrifice promised vibrancy for safety, however, dubious it may seem?

Aaaaaaaagh…!
The Girl With No Face is tired of the apathy – and hypocrisy – she keeps encountering:

what happened to passion and courage?!?!? what happened to the hippies and the 70s where people would fight for what they thought was right?!?!?! Doesn’t a revolution start with ONE persons idea? Doesn’t a million dollars start with ONE dollar? why do we always have to give in? and why is it that US GIRLS must sacrifice the most? […] Define ‘good girl’!! If being a good girl means doing WRONG THINGS without people knowing, then i don’t want to be a ‘good girl’ because the way i see it, most girls in this country would rather go out with guys, get drunk, get high or just be plain @*&# up without anyone knowing and STILL be labeled as a ‘good girl’. i just want to live my life doing what i think is right and sometimes being a human being and wanting to do something wrong, and DOING it. i want to live in a place where i don’t have to abide by rules i don’t believe in.

Cookie is just fed up of being a teenager:

I hate this age ! being a teenager is hard ! I can’t stand it any more !!!!!!!!!!
why? hmm people deal with you as a kid BUT want you to act like an adult !
our life is a mess !
we know that we are drawing the pic of our future so we keep thinking about future and that is kind of scary cause any mistake could destroy every thing!
every teenager hate at least one thing on his/her face or body and keep thinking about it !
you could find us very religious one day and then change!
we could shout and say words we don’t mean and hurt people cause of stress!
we might sleep for more than 10 hrs to forget some issues (me)
20-17= 3
I’ll wait 3 more years ! hope that 18 is better!
p.s : the weather is so good for sleeping !!

The police and the pebble
Redbelt is in disbelief – at a suspicious charge of causing damage:

I have officially been cited to appear in front of the Sixth Minor Criminal Court. What is the charge? Allegedly, a pebble flew out from my tyre and hit another car's wind shield. […] I have been cited with the following charges:

1. Caused by mistake to cause damages in properties of others
2. Drove the vehicle while unregistered
3. Did not take utmost care due when driving

Are you laughing yet? […] I suspected that this might actually be a scam. Last May, several police officers called me several times, long phone calls may I add, to try to persuade me to pay BD 10 “for this poor poor man!”.

No beaches – and no sea
Khalid is frustrated about privately-owned beaches, and land ‘reclamation’:

فبالرغم من إننا نعيش في جزيرة صغيرة إلا إننا محرومون من الشواطئ فغالبية الشواطئ ملك خاص .. وان ما يقارب من 3% من شواطئ المملكة فقط ملك عام أو المتنفس الوحيد لعامة الشعب .. […] فنحن اليوم في بلد غريب و غريب جدا .. فنحن نعيش بوجه العموم في جزيرة بلا شواطئ وعلى وجه الخصوص يوجد في بلدنا كورنيش بلا بحر ..!!!

Even though we live on a small island we are deprived of beaches as the majority of them are private… Something like just 3% of the beaches of the kingdom are public property or the only breathing space for the general public. […] Today we live in a strange country, very strange… Basically we live on an island without beaches, and more to the point, in our country there is a seafront corniche – without any sea!

How many zeroes?!
Silly Bahraini Girl is frustrated by a surreal conversation:

I have single handedly managed to come across Wonderland's 7 millionth idiot! […] I was talking to a fellow Bahraini today and one thing led to the other and as I was typing and talking on the phone .. I wasn't really listening and just answering with a yes or an exaggerated ohhhh .. every time there was a lull in the conversation.

“Yes, with the population of Bahrain hitting seven million now…” he was saying. I freeze.
Me: “Seven what?”
Him: “Seven million.”
Me: “Do you know what a million is?”
Him: “Yes, seven million.”
Me: “We are barely 700,000, counting the bastards and prostitutes.”
Him: “No. It is seven million. 700,000 was when we were in school.”

Even after this person was persuaded to check the figures online, he still wasn’t convinced:

Him: “Ok .. I see the figures but they are wrong. Governments lie about everything. Remember how when we were children? Our house used to be the only one in our neighbourhood. Now the place is full of people. We are seven million.”

Books…
Yagoob has a confession to make:

… اعترف بأن ثقافتي ضحلة و فقيرة و تحتاج إلى إعادة هيكلة و تأهيل
فأنا لا أعرف شيء في الثقافة العربية و لم أقرأ أي من روائع نجيب محفوظ و دوماً كنت أحسب بأن احسان عبدالقدوس أحد نجوم السينما المصرية في الثلاثينيات من القرن الماضي

I admit that that my cultural awareness is shallow and poor, and needs rehabilitating and reworking… I know nothing about Arab culture; I have not read any of Naguib Mahfouz's novels, and I always thought that Ihsan Abdel Qudoos [a writer] was one of the stars of Egyptian cinema in the 1930s.

…and notebooks
Hasan, a Bahraini student in Japan, has notebooks on his mind – and memories of his grandfather’s store:

Here in Tokyo I seem to have developed a habit of buying too many notebooks, usually at the beginning of something new. By ‘something new’, I mean moving to a new place, starting a new semester, travelling to a new destination or starting a new project of some kind. I don’t buy any notebook from any stationery store. There are a few particular places from which I particularly enjoy to buying my notebooks. I especially like to buy notebooks from a couple of stationery stores in Kunitachi (the town in which my university is located and in which I lived for most of my first two years in Japan) that seem to remind me of the book store/stationery store my grandfather ran for a long time in the old souq, or bazaar, in Manama. I must admit that I like browsing through dark, crowded shelves of stationery that reek of shadows and dust. My grandfather’s book store was not well-lit and I do associate it with cobwebs and dust for some odd reason.

Mosque and state
Some weeks ago we quoted a blogger who was calling for more Islamically-minded bloggers in Bahrain; now we hear from other bloggers who are debating the importance of secularism, and keeping religion out of government. Hayat gives her opinion:

فصل الدين عن الدولة خطوة مهمة لكي نضمن حرية و احترام الديانات و المعتقدات و الثقافات و لكي نمهد لنهضة الدولة في مختلف الميادين و المجالات في ظل دولة القانون التي فيها يكون المواطن متساوي مع المواطن الآخر بالحقوق و الواجبات دون اي تمييز او اقصاء..

The separation of religion from the state is an important step to ensure freedom and respect for different religions and beliefs and cultures. It also paves the way for the renaissance of the state in various spheres and areas covered by state jurisdiction, where every citizen is equal with regards to rights and duties, without any discrimination or exclusion…

For a recent university project, Haythoo undertook a survey of 300 people regarding their opinions on secularism, and here are some of the results:

هل تتفق مع الأراء العلمانية بشكل تام؟ نعم : 3% لا :97%
إذا كان جواب السؤال السابق لا, هل تتفق مع بعض أفكار العلمانية؟ نعم : 58% لا :42%
هل ترى إن العلمانية تتفق مع الدين لامي؟ نعم : 32% لا :68%
هل تعتقد إن العلمانية هي باب التقدم في الوقت الحاضر؟ نعم : 35% لا 65%
هل تظن إن الحكومات العلمانية هي الأفضل؟ نعم : 32% لا 68%

Do you agree with secular opinions completely? Yes: 3% No: 97%
If you answered ‘no' to the last question, do you agree with some secular ideas? Yes 58% No: 42%
Do you think that secularism is compatible with Islam? Yes: 32% No: 68%
Do you consider secularism to be the gateway to progress in the present day? Yes: 35% No: 65%
Do you think secular governments are preferable? Yes: 32% No: 68%

The end
Bahraini Rants is shutting up shop (or just shutting up):

A chapter in my life has just shut and a new one is about to begin, if I may, with little writing and explanation: it’s gonna be intense and draining, and I am seriously looking forward to it. I think we can all fairly say that I’ve lost interest in this blog, but not because I don’t like writing my thoughts out anymore. I used to write with a purpose in mind, and to be honest, I’ve lost that purpose. Doesn’t mean I don’t think about you all the time, it just means that I can’t be bothered to write and write and rewrite and hope that you’ll catch the secret double entendres and so on and so forth.

So after these few and far between posts, emotional cries for help, and many years of reading: I hope I’ll be someone you’ll remember fondly.. Yeah him Bahraini Rants, he was good, I miss him.. I wonder what he’s up to now? Do you think I should search for him? Maybe I should go back and read some of his old posts…

We end with a picture from the Top 20 Bahrain group on flickr; this is the Bahraini flag, an appropriate image as 16 December is Bahrain's National Day (and if you look carefully, you can see the moon):

Photo credit: BALUCHI

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Taiwan: Migrant Worker Rally-”I want my day off!!”

Portnoy · 19:11, December 15th, 2007 · Taiwan (ROC)

lingua → jp · zhs · zht · es

On International Human Rights Day, the dogfighting politics of the two major parties still occupied the front pages in Taiwan's mass media. The politicians consume the terms “democracy” and “freedom” for their own political odds while neglect basic rights of underprivileged communities. GVO Taiwan team would cover some important human right issues and firstly we bring you the story of biannual rally of migrant workers in Taiwan.

photo by RCAN
humblest appeal

In the last 15 years, Southeast Asian migrant workers have become an important manpower in many Taiwan labour-intensive industries. These works may jeopardize their health, safety and even life, nevertheless, their rights are often neglected. Moreover, they are suffered from the double oppression of being “aliens” (foreigners) and marginalized labors in Taiwan society.

photo by RCAN

Migrants Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT) initiated a migrant worker rally to fight for their own right on December 9, the eve of International Human Rights Day. The rally drummed up migrant workers from Philippine, Thailand, Indonesia , Vietnam and some local NGOs. The route crossed the high streets of Taipei and participants shouted out their appeal for basic right– I want my day off!, to attract passers-by attention. They ask Taiwanese to be aware of the fact that there is still a group of people forced to work long hours without any break in this “modernized” society.

migrant worker's street performance, photo by bad mouth

There are 160,000 migrant workers serving in domestic sector like nursing and care-taking. However, they are excluded from the Labor Standards Act, a basic labour protection law in Taiwan and they don't have any right to holiday nor extra payment for overtime work. Chen Show-Lien and FoolFitz, volunteers of TIWA, have written up stories of two run-away migrant workers. They are exploited by their employers without any legal protection. Miss Chen also looks into the migrant workers' contribution to Taiwan underprivileged families :

因為被排除於勞基法的適用範圍，外籍家庭類勞工沒有任何法令的保護，來到台灣只能碰運氣，運氣好的遇到好僱主，運氣不好只能在惡劣的勞動條件中，為了生存而奮鬥。台灣人對這些來台工作的外勞，常常用：「她們都是來賺台灣的錢」帶過。這句話掩蓋了太多的東西，她們來台灣其實撐起了兩個家庭，一個是她們母國的原生家庭；一個是僱用她們的台灣家庭。如果不是她們願意以極低的薪資，負擔起全年無休的照顧工作，彌補了台灣社會福利漏洞，替台灣人照顧臥病在床、行動不便的家人，讓他們能出去工作養家，不知道有多少弱勢家庭會垮掉。在一次訪談中，一位聘請家庭看護工的僱主告訴我，如果不是有外勞幫她，她會帶著她的母親一起去自殺。

Without any protection, the migrant caretakers can only depend on their luck when they are working in Taiwan. Most Taiwanese simply regard migrant workers as money seekers and ignore their inhumane working conditions. In fact, migrant caretakers have to shoulder double burdens– one is the pressure of economic income from their home countries, and another pressure comes from the employers' families in Taiwan. They take care of people in needed, so other family members can earn more income. Once in a conversation, an employer told me from the bottom of her heart that she would kill her elderly mother and herself if they were not assisted by migrant caretaker.

New immigrants and gender/sexuality Rights NGO also support migrants workers. photo by vc2401

Taiwan authority nevertheless leaves all home caring responsibilities of the elderly and handicapped to the families and migrant caretakers without providing any social assistance. MOI offers “Respite Care” to families that need some break from long-term home care. But this respite service has excluded families with migrant caretakers. Migrant workers thus are unlikely have holidays and breaks from their work. MENT demands MOI to amend the regulation of home care with five suggestions:

migrant workers in home-care industry should be protected by labour laws.
abolish private agency for migrant employment, apply direct nation to nation contract
migrant workers have right to change employers
cancel the limitation of working years
respect their rights to organize union

photo by coolloud

Two employers on wheelchair joined the rally to show their support and appreciation to migrant workers. Together with their migrant employees, they sang a popular song like a family on the stage.

photo by RCAN

And here is a video clip of the rally on Peopo.

Benla posted his thought:

坐在輪椅上的是兩位身體不方便的朋友，他們是雇主，但，支持移工們要有休假的權利。我不曉得有多少台灣的朋友會有同樣的想法，但，我相信許多僱主可能並不知道規範家庭看護工的法令並不合理，因為，僱主自己對勞動法令恐怕也是相當陌生。我想告訴移工朋友：謝謝你們，要感謝的，並不是因為妳們幫忙分擔了台灣許許多多的家庭負擔，或者，成了台灣經濟奇蹟的另一群無名英雄，而是，你們讓我們看清了自己，看清了自己的傲慢與不足，因為你們，讓我們反省，讓我們成長。感謝，我們還在學習，我們會更努力。

Two employers were on wheelchair, they came here to show their support. I am not sure how many Taiwanese would share their views. I guess many employers do not really care about labour regulations and have no idea how unreasonable the working conditions are. I want to thank you all, the migrant heros and heroines, for shouldering the home-care burden and contributing to Taiwan's economic miracle. Your presence serves as a mirror to reflect our arrogance and insufficiency. You make us realize the need for introspection and improvement. Thank you, we will united and work together for change.

everybody cosigned on the long narrow strip, photo by RCAN and coolloud

This article is originally written by Foolfitz in Chinese, and translated into English by nairobi. Both Foolfitz and nairobi are dedicated members of GV Chinese Lingua.

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Malawi: Innovation, the digital divide, and politicians who shun the Internet

Steve Sharra · 13:11 · Sub-Saharan Africa

lingua → zht · zhs · es

Although we are not quite there yet, the beginning of the year 2008 will mark one year when the two Global Voices authors for Malawi, Victor Kaonga and myself, will have been writing roundups on the Malawi blogosphere. Victor and I live half a world apart, and are always in contact via email and phone. But we had never met before, until this past weekend. We are in and out of Malawi, but never at the same time. That changed at the beginning of this month when we both flew into Malawi within days of each other, and managed to meet, albeit very briefly. We should be able to meet again, this time for much longer.

However our being able to physically meet for the very first time is not the subject of this roundup. Rather, our subject is the never-ending ingenuity of Malawian inventors and technology experts, while Malawian politicians continue to rely on traditional radio and newspaper presence, with hardly any presence on the Internet.

Dr. Cedrick Ngalande invents an electric charger

Victor Kaonga recently wrote on his blog Ndagha about Dr. Cedrick Ngalande, a Malawian aeronautics engineer who has just invented a generator that uses yeast and sugar to charge cellphones, laptops, and other electrical appliances in places where there is no electricity available. In Malawi consumer access to electricity is provided by a government parastatal, ESCOM, reaching a reported 7 percent of the Malawian population. As in many developing countries, especially in Africa, power is always intermittent, and a luxury enjoyed by a tiny minority of the population. Victor quotes Dr. Ngalande, describing his invention, as saying:

This gadget will be very ideal to developing countries like Africa where electricity is scarce. As you know, the growth of cell phone is fastest in Africa. The problem most Africans have is that they cannot charge those cell phones due to lack of electricity. Some have to walk long distances just to charge cell phones. My invention will make it easy for these people to charge their cell phones. Also, this generator can be used to charge $100 computers which are being introduced in Africa. It can also be used to charge or operate medical devices in rural Africa.

Dr Ngalande

Soyapi Mumba creates SearchWith software

Another piece of exciting invention news comes from blogger Soyapi Mumba, a Malawian software developer, who starts by explaining why he has not posted on his blog for two months. He quotes Dare Obasanjo, who is said to have stated that “Writing Code Will Always Be More Important Than Writing About Code.” With that quip, Soyapi announces on his blog the release of SearchWith version 0.4, a personal software project he has been busy with for quite a while now. He explains the utility of SearchWith, which can be found at Mozilla Addons SearchWith site: (addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2194), as a “search extension for Firefox, Thunderbird and Flock,” which enables users to “group search engines by service (content type) and search from the context (right-click) menu.” Soyapi writes:

Apart from big fixes, this version includes improvements to the Addressbar option especially in Thunderbird. Addressbar option now integrates well with Google's Feeling lucky feature.

Another enhancement in this version is that when you search with all engines for a particular service, SearchWith will automatically remember to pre-select all engines under that service, by default.

To select all engines or change this back, use the Advanced Search dialog which pops up when you hold down the SHIFT key while selecting a search service on the context menu or when you right-click without selecting any text.

Malawian politicians missing out on the Internet revolution

While Malawian inventors and technology experts pour their time and energy into technological advancements to benefit poor, disadvantaged communinties, as in the case of Dr. Cedrick Ngalande, or advancing Internet search engine software, as in the case of Soyapi, Malawian politicians have an almost zero presence on the Internet. Victor Kaonga writes in an article that generated a lot of comments on the Malawian Internet newspaper Nyasatimes, which he republishes on his blog, that no Malawian political party is known to have an official website, let alone websites or even blogs for individual politicians:

When it comes to politicians and parties, I was saddened to discover that no political party in Malawi owns a website, neither a blog which actually comes as a free package. I am sure our political parties in Malawi have money to have a website or if desperate then get a blog.

Kaonga cites a University of Malawi professor, Edrine Kayambazinthu, who points out that:

…most politicians in Malawi lack of access to computers, lack access to even the Internet. This “may explain why they shy away” from online communication. She pointed out that the politicians clamour for media access only through radio and newspapers which are readily available and do not depend on their individual literary skills and access.

Kaonga bemoans the poor quality of the official website of the Malawi government, contrasting it with other government websites where the President is available to answer questions submitted online, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni being an example. Kaonga wonders why Malawian politicians are Internet-shy, imagining that with general and parliamentary elections coming up in May 2009, one would have expected incumbents and potential candidates to extend to the Internet campaign efforts they have already started gearing for on radio and in newspapers.

It has been suggested by another University of Malawi lecturer, Chomora Mikeka, a technology researcher, that the cost of access to technology in Malawi is twice that of the Southern and Eastern African region. Most Internet access in Malawi is still dial-up, and wireless Internet in Malawi can cost anywhere between about US$80 to US$600 per month. The same goes for cell phone access, at around US$0.34 cents per minute, a cost so prohibitive most Malawians are reduced to an innovation called “flashing,” in which a caller dials a number and cancels it before the receiver picks up, so they can see a “missed call” message and then call the “flasher” if they have any airtime.

One would imagine that perhaps the high costs of telecommunication access in Malawi is partly a result of very few lawmakers fully appreciating the importance of hi-tech communications, which they apparently do not see much use for in their political careers. The Malawi Government recently announced the awarding of a US$23 million contract to a Chinese company Huawei Technologies to lay undersea fibre optic cables in Lake Malawi, in preparation for connection to the larger, sub-continental East African Sub-marine Cable System (EASSy), expected to become operational by 2009. according to Nyasatimes, the project to create a fibre-optic network for Malawi will take two and a half years.

News just in: In the Tuesday December 11 print edition of the Malawian daily The Daily Times, the Speaker of the Malawi parliament, Hon. Louis Chimango, is quoted as saying it is important for every single Member of Parliament in Malawi to be provided with a laptop computer. He is quoted as having said this after receiving a donation of 15 new desktop computers from the Taiwanese government, for chairpersons of parliamentary committees. The laptops would, according to Mr Chimango, afford MPs easy access to the Internet, among other opportunities. “In my view,” says the Speaker, “an MP without a laptop is like being in the driver's seat of a car which has no steering wheel or accelerator pedal.”

Coming to America: Update on windmill inventor William Kamkwamba

And finally, in the Wednesday December 12 edition of The Wallstreet Journal, African correspondent Sarah Childress writes about William Kamkwamba, the young Malawian who at age 14 invented a windmill for his house, and attracted worldwide attention. Among William's growing plans, writes Childress, he intends to build a new windmill powerful enough to pump well water, connect Masitala village to electricity from the windmill, and eventually connect others villages across the country.

This week William was invited to attend and speak at a one-day conference convened by two USAID-funded educational projects in Malawi, the Malawi Teacher Training Activity (MTTA) whose book donation to a school library near William's village started the entire William Kamkwamba phenomenon, and the Primary School Support Project: A School Fees Pilot (PSSP:SFP). The conference's main theme was to shape the way forward using lessons learned and knowledge gained from the two projects, with the participation of other stakeholders, including government ministries involved in educational activities in Malawi. Since William is still in school until this week, he was unable to go and attend the conference. Mr. Simeon Mawindo, the Chief of Party for both projects, and Dr. Hartford Mchazime, the Deputy Chief of Party for MTTA and mentor to William, are working to develop new policy directions that might benefit other young Malawians who are as talented and determined as William, but lack avenues through which to express their ingenuity.

And on his blog, William announces that he is headed for the United States of America for a short holiday, starting December 17 into the early days of the new year. He will be hosted by one of his American mentors, and will visit New York, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

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Oscar Niemeyer: 100 years of a daring architeture

Paula Góes · 12:13 · Americas

lingua → pt · de · es

Brazil's most celebrated architect Oscar Niemeyer turns 100 today - still very much alive, lucid, working and involved in many projects. He is the man who designed the country's capital city, Brasilia, which is considered his master piece. He has also given the world many architectural gems, such as the UN Headquarters in New York, Museum of Modern Art of Caracas and the French Communist Party headquarters.

The last surviving founder of architecture's modernist movement is still full of ideas for designs that have become even more daring concepts. Among his upcoming projects, there is a new arts building for the Spanish city of Avilés. He has revealed in interviews that, although this project may only be ready in 2010, it is already one of his favorites designs.

Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Curitiba, Brazil. Photo by acewill, under a Creative Commons license

Brazilian and international bloggers have been wishing him a happy birthday, publishing pictures of his work and commenting on his strength, ideas and projects. Starting with Fernando Assad [pt] who explains why the Brazilian is a genius:

As obras de Niemeyer são formadas por traços limpos e dinâmicos, e por isso evocam a modernidade. O dinamismo, a simplicidade e a clareza das obras valorizam o Ser Humano, pois são indicativos, porque o Humano só consegue o sucesso em seu labor quando se compromete com o dinamismo, a simplicidade para a otimização e a clareza de seus atos. Sem contar a beleza das obras, ricas em curvaturas insinuantes. (Que os engenheiros continuem quebrando suas cabeças para colocarem as obras de Niemeyer de pé).

Niemeyer's works are comprised of clean and dynamic lines, and as such they evoke modernity. The dynamism, simplicity and clarity of his works enhances the Human Being, because they are indicative of the fact that Humans only succeed in their work when they commit themselves to dynamism and simplicity to optimize and clarify their acts. Without even taking into consideration the beauty of the works, rich in ingratiating curves. (I hope engineers will carry on puzzling over ensuring Niemeyer's works can be made to stand).

Communist Party Headquarter, Paris, France. Photo by fromform, under a Creative Commons license

Valéria Borborema [pt] adds that the lightness he has given to concrete through his daring curves may have been:

Uma tentativa de brincar com a sisudez tão presente na arquitetura, que passou a gozar de uma plasticidade impensável até Niemeyer.

An attempt to play with the seriousness so present in architecture, which now enjoys a plasticity unthinkable until Niemeyer.

During the military dictatorship, Niemeyer was exiled in Paris, after having his office and the headquarters of a magazine he used to coordinate destroyed. When it comes to political views, Pedro Nelito [pt] notes that the architect has not changed much since he was a young man:

Oscar Niemeyer, foi amigo de Luiz Carlos Prestes(Cavaleiro da Esperança) político e militante do PCB, perseguido por todas as ditaduras que se estabeleceram em nosso país. Oscar é o que nós chamamos de “Velho Comunista”, mesmo sendo festejado pela Rede Globo, não abre mão de suas convicções políticas e é muito respeitado pela sua história de vida.

Oscar Niemeyer, who was friends with Luiz Carlos Prestes (knight of Hope), a politician and PCB [Brazilian Communist Party] supporter, was chased by all dictatorships that established themselves in our country. Niemeyer is what we call an “Old School Communist”, even if now he is celebrated by Globo Network, he has not given up his political views and is much respected because of his background.

Museum of Contemporary Art, Niterói, Brazil. Photo by Hendo101, under a Creative Commons license

calamity jane [pt] quotes Niemeyer's ideas on socialism - he turns 100 years still believing in social justice and revolution - and gets inspired by them:

O mesmo senhor diz também que a vida é um sopro. E eu, que acredito que temos uma missão na vida, caso contrário não sei bem o que estaríamos aqui a fazer, digo-vos, inúmeros e incontáveis: se há quem chegue aos 100 anos a acreditar na revolução, no amor e na felicidade, então temos de acordar rapidamente para fazer a nossa parte. (…) É possível mudar o mundo porque eu quero.

This same gentleman also says life is a blow. And I, who believe that we all have a mission in life and who otherwise would not know what we are here for, tell you all: if someones reaches the age of 100 believing in revolution, love and happiness, then we have to wake up quickly and do our bit. (…) It is possible to change the world because I want it.

Many others embedded a trailer of Fabiano Maciel's documentary quoted above, A vida é um sopro (Life is a blow), in which Eduardo Galeano, author of The Open Veins of Latin America, says:

“É sabido que Oscar Niemeyer odeia o capitalismo e odeia o ângulo reto. Contra o ângulo reto, que ofende o espaço, ele tem feito uma arquitetura leve como as nuvens, livre, sensual, que é muito parecida com a paisagem das montanhas do Rio de Janeiro. São montanhas que parecem corpos de mulheres deitadas, desenhadas por Deus no dia em que Deus achou que era Niemeyer”.

“Everyone knows that Oscar Niemeyer hates both capitalism and right angles. To go against right angles, which ruins the space, he has created an architecture as light as clouds, free, sensual, which is very similar to the mountainous landscape of Rio de Janeiro. These are mountains that look like women's bodies lying down, and they were designed by God the day that God thought he was Niemeyer”.

Copan Building, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by ojjo, under a Creative Commons license

Even those who do not personally agree with his radical ideas, have to bow today to this living legend, as Vera Fróes [pt]:

Independente de concordar ou não com suas idéias, admiro a figura do arquiteto que sempre se mostrou firme em seus ideais sejam eles ideologicos(comunismo), religiosos(ateu) ou arquitetônicos(concreto armado). Além disso chegar nessa idade lúcido e desenvolvendo vários projetos, não é para qualquer um, tem que ser iluminado.

Regardless of agreeing or not with his ideas, I have admiration for the architect who has always remained firm in his ideals, be it in ideology (communism), religion (atheism) or architecture (reinforced concrete). Besides, not everyone gets to this age still lucid and developing many projects, he must be enlightened.

And the celebrations go on. Pelo Mar Aberto [pt] publishes a dozen pictures, Varal de Idéias [pt] brings a hand full of illustrations and caricatures, and Esthefani Magalhães [pt] links to YouTube video-homages. Others talk about the many exhibitions [pt] in Brazil, Portugal and other countries to mark this centenary. There are also photo-galleries here and here. A search in the blogosphere yields posts and reports in many other languages. Among them, we finish off quoting Niemeyer himself, who was recently interviewed by The Times about today's date:

“The date is not important. The age is not important. Time is not important. Life is very fleeting. It’s important to be gentle and optimistic. We look behind and think what we’ve done in this life has been good. It was simple; it was modest. Everyone creates their own story and moves on. That’s it. I don’t feel particularly important. What we create is not important. We’re very insignificant.”

National Cathedral in Brasilia, Brazil. Photo by guilhermekardel, under a Creative Commons license

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Korea: When You Can't Sleep…

Hyejin Kim · 08:43 · South Korea

lingua → bn · es

What is your tactic when you have difficulty falling asleep? Check these methods that netizens recommend and see whether you agree or not.

숙면에 좋은 방법

▼ 식사 조절은 필수!

과식은 숙면의 가장 큰 방해 요인. 잠자는 내내 대장 운동이 진행되어 깊이 잠들기 힘들고 도중에 깨기 쉽다. 잠자리에 들기 최소 3시간 이전에 음식을 먹고 커피, 홍차, 콜라 등 카페인 음료는 수면에 방해가 되므로 피한다. 배가 고파서 잠이 오지 않는다면 따뜻한 우유나 대추차, 유자차 등 카페인이 없는 달짝지근한 차를 마시는 것이 좋다. 술 역시 피하는 것이 좋은데 알코올이 몸속에서 분해되면서 숙면을 방해한다.

▼ 일찍 잠드는 습관을 기른다

늦게 잠들고 늦게 일어난다면 좀더 일찍 잠자리에 드는 습관을 기르도록! 밤늦은 시간까지 TV를 보거나 인터넷을 하느라 일찍 잠들지 못한다면 아침에도 개운하지 않을 뿐 아니라 쌓인 피로도 쉽게 풀리지 않는다. 저녁은 오후 8시 이전에 먹고 11시 이전에는 잠드는 습관을 기른다.

▼ 휴일에는 늦잠을 자지 않는다

평일에 쌓인 피로와 스트레스를 풀기 위해 주말 동안 한 번에 몰아서 잠자는 것 역시 숙면을 방해한다. 신체 리듬이 깨지면서 밤에 잠이 잘 오지 않고 다음날 피로도 쉽게 느끼게 된다. 평소와 같은 시간에 일어나 운동이나 가벼운 산책을 하고, 부족한 잠은 20~30분 정도의 낮잠으로 보충한다.

▼ 억지로 잠을 청하지 않는다

잠이 오지 않는다고 억지로 잠들려고 하면 오히려 역효과가 나기 쉽다. 잠을 청할수록 정신이 또렷해진다면 일어나서 가벼운 체조를 하거나 독서 혹은 조용한 음악을 듣는 것도 방법. 단 집중해서 무언가를 하는 것은 잠을 방해할 수 있으므로 삼간다. 자꾸 시계를 보게 되면 불안해져 더욱 잠들기 어려워지므로 시계를 안 보이는 곳으로 치운다.

▼ 침실 환경을 바꾼다

평소 잠을 잘 자지 못한다면 베개, 이불을 바꿔주는 것도 방법. 베개가 높으면 목에 자극이 되어 혈액순환이 제대로 되지 않는다. 이불은 푹신하고 가벼운 것으로 고르고 햇볕에 자주 말려 사용하도록! 잠옷은 몸에 꼭 끼지 않는 편안한 면 소재로 된 것을 입는다. 잠들기 전 숙면을 유도하는 아로마 향초나 램프를 켜두는 것도 좋다.

잠이 솔솔~ 베스트 숙면 아이템

01 숙면에 도움을 주는 메밀과 불면증 해소에 효과가 있는 라벤더를 베개 속에 넣어 만든 허브 베개.

02 혈액순환과 신진대사를 도와주는 성분이 들어 있어 신고 자면 숙면을 취할 수 있는 수면 양말.

03 일반 베개 속에 넣어 사용하는 허브 베갯속. 건조시킨 천연 허브와 메밀을 섞어 만들었다. 라벤더, 로즈메리, 페퍼민트, 캐모마일 4가지

04 잠이 오지 않을 때 따뜻한 우유 한 잔을 마시면 도움이 된다. 컵에 따라 전자레인지에 넣고 데우거나 냄비에 중탕으로 끓여 마신다.

05 카페인이 들어 있지 않은 허브를 따뜻하게 우려 마시면 몸에 쌓인 독소를 푸는 데도 좋다.

믿고 따라 해보자! 숙면 위한 전문가들의 조언

▼ 반신욕을 한다

저녁 식사를 하고 나서 1시간30분이 정도 후에 반신욕을 하면 숙면을 취할 수 있다. 반신욕을 하고 나면 체온이 0.5~1℃ 오르는데 이것이 깊은 잠을 자도록 유도한다.

▼ 숙면을 도와주는 지압법

잠자기 전 지압점을 자극하거나 손바닥을 서로 맞대고 비벼주면 쉽게 잠이 든다. 손바닥 가운데, 셋째 손가락 끝, 머리 꼭대기 부분, 발바닥을 3등분해 위쪽 ⅓ 지점에 있는 지압점을 손가락 끝이나 지압봉으로 누르면 깊이 잠들 수 있다.

▼ 맨손체조를 한다

억지로 잠을 자려고 하면 오히려 숙면을 방해할 수 있다. 잠이 오지 않을 때는 가벼운 맨손체조를 할 것. 그러나 심한 운동은 역효과를 낼 수 있으므로 잠들기 2시간 전에 하는 것이 좋다.

▼ 손발을 따뜻하게 한다
손발을 따뜻하게 하면 잠이 쉽고 빨리 든다. 실내 온도는 더운 것보다 서늘한 것이 수면에 도움을 준다. 실내 온도를 낮추고 이불은 따뜻하게 덮는다….

▼ 잠자리에 든 후 3시간 이전에는 일어나지 않는다
사람이 깊이 잠드는 시간은 잠든 후 3시간이다. 이 시간 동안 아무 방해도 받지 않도록 전화를 부재중으로 설정하고 가족들이 침실에 들어오지 못하게 한다. 침실의 온도는 20℃로 설정하고 이불 안은 33℃ 정도로 유지한다.

Methods to have a deep sleep
▼ Diet!
Overeating is one of the biggest obstacles to deep sleep If your stomach is busy digesting while you’re sleeping, it’s hard to have a deep sleep and easy to wake up. Caffeine, such as coffee, black tea, and coke, three hours before bed time will interrupt your sleep as well. If you can’t fall asleep due to hunger, you’d better have warm milk, jujube tea, or citron tea. Avoid alcohol. It will interfere while it spreads in your body.
▼ Sleep early
If you have a habit of sleeping late and waking up late, try to go to bed early! If you don’t sleep early because of watching TV until late night and searching the internet, you can’t be clear the next morning and your tiredness will be stagnant. Have dinner before 8 pm and try to sleep before 11.
▼ Don’t oversleep
To oversleep on the weekend in order to solve tiredness and stress during the weekdays also disturbs deep sleep. Breaking physical rhythm indeed makes you not sleep well at night and feel tired the next day. Wake up at the same time, and do exercise or have a walk. You can make up for the insufficient sleep with a 20-30 minute nap.
▼ Don’t try too hard to fall asleep
If you try to fall asleep so hard, it will cause the opposite effect. The harder you try to fall asleep, the clearer your mind is. Then get up and stretch. Or try to read or listen to quiet music. But doing something you can focus on will disturb your sleep, too. If you watch the clock on and on, you will not feel comfortable and make you hard to fall asleep. Put your clock out of sight.
▼ Change the decoration of your bedroom
If you can’t sleep well, try to change your pillow or blanket. If your pillow is too thick, it will disturb your blood circulation. Choose a blanket that is soft and light. Put them under the sun frequently! Your pajamas shouldn’t be tight. Use cotton material. It’s good to put aroma incense or lamps on to let you fall asleep before your bed time.
Best items for falling asleep
01. Herb pillows with lavender
02. ‘Sound sleep socks’ to help blood circulation and metabolism
03. Or tuck dried herbs, such as lavender, rosemary, peppermint, and cammomile, and buckwheat in your pillow.
04. Drink warm milk.
05. Drink herbal tea without caffeine.

Or try experts’ advice
▼ Having bansinyok (put your body from waist to feet in warm water)
After dinner, have bansinyok for one and half hours. It will help your body temperature go up 0.5-1 ℃ and lead you to have a deep sleep.
▼ Finger pressure therapy.
Before sleep, go through finger pressure treatment or rub the palm of your two hands. Pressing the tips of the middle fingers, tip of the head, and upper one third of the sole of the feet with fingers or Q-tips will help you sleep.
▼ Stretch your body
Trying to fall asleep is rather disturbing the sleep. If you can’t sleep, try to stretch your body. Excessive exercise might cause opposite effects, and do exercise two hours before.
▼ Make your hands and feet warm
Warm hands and feet make you fall asleep fast. Cool temperature helps sleep. Turn down the internal temperature and put on a warm blanket instead.
▼ Don’t wake up for three hours after you fall asleep.
The time when people can fall asleep deeply is three hours after falling asleep. Don’t be interrupted. Turn your phone off and don’t let family members come to the bedroom. Temperature of the bedroom should be 20℃ and inside the blanket should be 33℃.

How much do you fit in the categories below?

요즘 불면증이 심하다…=_=;

잠을 잘 자는 것도 능력인듯 하다..=_=

잠을 잘자는 방법은…음..

1) 좋은 수면 상태란?!

잠을 잘 자는 것은 보약을 먹는 것보다 낫다고 한다. 몇시간을 자느냐보다는 수면의 질이 중요하다. 좋은 수면은 아침에 눈을 떠서 5분쯤 후 상쾌한 기분이 드는 것이다.하루에 평균 7 ~ 8 시간을 자는 것이 가장 좋다. 또 아무리 바빠도 최소 6시간 이상은 수면을 취해야 건강에 해를 끼치지 않는다.

2) 좋은 숙면을 위한 생활습관?!

1. 규칙적인 생활을 유지한다
…매일 아침 일정 시간에 기상하고 주말, 휴일에도 일정한 수면 스케줄을 지키는 것이 좋다.

2. 잠자기 전 운동은 금물, 가벼운 목욕은 수면에 좋다
： 잠자리에 들기 전 샤워를 하거나 가벼운 스트레칭은 숙면에 도움이 된다. 그러나 잠들기 전의 심한 운동은 오히려 교감신경의 활동이 활발해져 잠을 방해한다. 목욕도 미지근한 물(37~38도)에 20 ~ 30분 정도 담그는 정도가 좋다.

3. 배가 고파 잠이 안 온다고 양껏 먹는 것은 금물
： 잠들기 바로 전에 음식을 먹는 것은 잠을 방해하고 위장이 쉬어야 할 시간에 다시 활동하게 되므로 건강에도 좋지 않다. 도저히 배가 고파 잘 수 없을 때에는 탄수화물과 단것을 아주 조금만 섭취하는 것이 좋다.

4. 꾸준하게 운동을 한다
： 적어도 1주일에 3일정도 20 ~ 30분씩 걷기, 조깅, 수영 또는 사이클 등 가볍게 운동을 해 주면 신체가 이완되도록 도와 깊은 잠을 잘 수 있다.

5. 면 소재 잠옷을 입는다
： 잠자는 동안에는 가벼운 옷이 좋다. 땀이나 분비물 등을 잘 흡수하는 부드러운 면 소재를 선택하고, 되도록 꽉끼는 브래지어 등을 착용하지 않아야 혈액순환이 원활하게 이루어진다.

6. 내게 맞는 베개를 선택한다
： 베개를 베지 않으면 머리가 낮아 피가 머리로 몰리게 돼 숙면을 방해하고,또 베개가 높으면 어째, 목 근육에 무리가 가서 불편하다. 가장 적절한 높이의 베개는 베고 누웠을때 자신의 주먹정도 높이로, 베개를 누른 상태에서 6 ~ 7cm가 적당하다….

잘자고 싶다!! …

I have serious insomnia… Sleeping well seems to be a capability. How to sleep well is….
1) What is good sleep?
Sleeping well is better than having nice medicine. Quality of sleep is important rather than how many hours you sleep. Good sleep means that you feel fresh five minutes after you open your eyes in the morning.
Sleeping 7 to 8 hours every day is very good. Even though you’re busy, you should sleep at least 6 hours not to harm your health.
2) Habit for a good sleep
1. Regular life: …wake up at a regular hour and keep the same sleeping schedule in the weekends and holidays.
2. No exercise before sleeping, okay for good baths: Before sleeping, take a shower and try stretching. But excessive exercise will disturb your sleep. Take a bath with warm water (37-38℃) for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Avoid over-eating before sleeping: Eating before sleeping disturbs your sleep and it’s not good for health. If you can’t sleep because of hunger, try carbohydrate and sweet things a little bit.
4. Regular exercise: walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling for 20-30 minutes three days per week will relax the body and help a deep sleep.
5. Put cotton pajamas on: light clothing is good during sleeping. Choose cotton pajamas that can absorb sweat and exudates. Don’t wear tight attire, such as brassiers.
6. Choose pillows suitable for you: If you don’t use a pillow, it will disburb your sleep because blood will rush into your head. But if the pillow is high, it will give the pressure on shoulders and neck. The suitable height for your pillow is the height of your fist or 6-7 cm when you press the pillow down….
I would like to sleep well….

This simple method seems much more difficult.

간단한 원리는 “뒤척이지 않는다.” 되겠습니다.
2. 가장 편안한 자세로 눕는다.(기본이 되겠죠.)
3. 약간의 불편함이라도 있으면 1번으로 돌아간다. (가장 어려운 부분이라 할 수 있습니다.)
4. 어떠한 시련이나 고통이 오더라도 그 자세에서 손끝하나 움직이지 않고 가만히 있는다.
5. 잠이든다. (근육을 움직이지 않으면 혈액순환이 안되기 때문에 쉽게 피로해집니다.)

The simple principle is “not to toss about on the bed.”
1. To lie down in a comfortable position (basic)
2. If you feel not comfortable, go back to number 1 (most difficult part)
3. Regardless of hardships and pains, don’t even move your fingers
4. You fall asleep naturally (not moving muscles makes you feel tired fast because the blood doesn’t circulate well)

Funnier methods might work.

잠이 오지 않을 때 할 수 있는 5가지 대처법
1. 양파를 이용한다: 일단 불을 끄고 눕는다. 양파를 쪼개서 코 밑에 얹어놓고, 나머지 양파들도 냄새가 방에 잘 퍼지도록 쪼개서 그릇에 담아 머리맡에 놓는다. 양파향이 정신에 안정효과를 가져다 준다고 한다. 코 밑에 놓은 양파향 때문에 거의 최면에 걸려 잠이 올 것이다.
2. 맥주를 마신다: 술을 거의 마시지 못하는 사람들에게만 적용되는 방법이다. 맥주를 한 캔 사서 다 마시면된다. 그냥 뻗는다. 최소한 4시간은 잘 수 있을깔? 단점은 주량이 늘면 무용지물이라는거…
3. 명상이다 기도를 한다/중얼거린다: 잠이 오지 않을 때 염불이나 기도와 같이 작은 소리로 중얼거리는 행동을 하게 되면 몸도 지치고 잠이 서서히 든다…
4. 읽다가 포기한 책을 읽는다: 이 기회에 평소 미루었던 책을 읽는다. 평소 읽다가 중단했거나 내용이 난해하고 지켜운 책을 하룻밤에 독파할 수 있는 절호의 기회다.
5. 증상이 계속되면 병원에 가라.
더 이상 설명이 필요없다.

Five methods when you’re not sleepy.
1. Use onions: Lie down after turning the light off. Chop the onion and put it under your nose. Put the rest of the onion in a bowl on the top of your head. So the smell will spread over the room. The onion fragrance stabilizes the mind. Due to the fragrance under the nose, you will be induced to sleep.
2. Drink beer: it’s for people who can’t almost drink alcohol. Buy a can of beer and drink it up. And just lie down. You can fall asleep for four hours at least. The disadvantage will be that you might increase the capacity of your drinking.
3. Do meditation or pray/mumble: when you don’t feel sleepy, do praying or mumbling. And then you’ll be tired and fall asleep.
4. Read a book that you gave up in the middle: using this chance, read a book that you delayed before. It’s a good chance to read a book that you stopped reading before or is difficult.
5. If the symptom continues, go to the hospital.

끝

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