A TEXT POST

The American bullies

I really like to discuss EU - US relations, and when Obama got elected, everyone in Europe cheered, for he was viewed as a moderate, not a maverick.


It finally seemed that the US had (again) a president who saw Europe as, not only an important ally, but as an important player in world politics and economics.

Of course when you add the financial crisis to the mix, people on both sides of the Atlantic are quick to point the finger at each other over who is to blame, and who is not doing enough to get it fixed (if there is any fixing to it)

I was slightly disappointed, when during the G-20 summit in London, the US team kept pushing the Europeans to “do more” to solve this crisis, by ignoring our fiscal policy and basically “spend our way out of this crisis”. I really don’t think that spending is the way to solve this crisis and support the German’s in their tight fiscal policy and that of the Eurozone and the Stability pact.

Another key issue (not discussed during the G-20 summit) was the accession of Turkey into the EU . Obama (while on Ankara) discussed that Turkey should be allowed in the EU. 
Now, and without wanting to discuss what is the best policy for the EU and Turkey, this is not they way to go. Even before Obama, there was already pressure from the US to allow Turkey into the EU, the US has a vested interest in an ally close to Iraq and the Middle East. But telling the EU who to take or not to take inside the Union is like having Barroso go to Mexico and tell everyone we (Europeans) think Mexico should be part of the US.

Think about it… 

Obama, you let me down. Don’t let it happen again. And look at Europe with a bit more respect

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A TEXT POST

Driving on Ice in Estonia

It’s one of those things you keep hearing about the whole time you’re in Estonia, but you never actually get to do. Well one of this weekends we decided to drive west to the small town of Haapsalu, and while we were there, we saw some cars out in the sea. We obviously had to try it as well.

So we took to the sea with our car, trying to stay afloat. It was actually quite safe, but it looks pretty scary. At the beginning of the road there’s a sign that says you’re not allowed in if your car weighs more than 2 tons. Also, once you start driving, you can’t stop and you must keep a constant speed of between 10 and 25 km/h or you must drive above 45 km/h. Anything between 25 and 45 km/h is not safe (maybe some resonance thing…)

At one point the icy road turns a bit mushy as the ice starts to melt and give way to murky waters. That looked dangerous. You’re supposed to drive without a seatbelt, so that, in case the car goes under water, you can get out quickly. But today’s cars start beeping if you remove the seatbelt, so you have to attach it behind your back.

All in all it was a pretty fun experience. Here’s the video and some photos





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See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Drill, baby, drill - Exxon Valdez 20 years on

March 24th, 1989.


The Exxon Valdez, a US oil tanker, owned by the Exxon Corporation, hits a reef off the coast of Alaska and spills an estimated 40 million liters of crude oil.


“Thousands of animals died immediately; the best estimates include 250,000 to as many as 500,000 seabirds, at least 1,000 sea otters, approximately 12 river otters, 300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles, and 22 orcas, as well as the destruction of billions of salmon and herring eggs. Due to a thorough cleanup, little visual evidence of the event remained in areas frequented by humans just 1 year later. However, the effects of the spill continue to be felt today. Overall reductions in population have been seen in various ocean animals, including stunted growth in pink salmon populations. Sea otters and ducks also showed higher death rates in following years, partially because they ingested prey from contaminated soil and from ingestion of oil residues on hair due to grooming.

Almost 20 years after the spill, a team of scientists at the University of North Carolina found that the effects are lasting far longer than expected. The team estimates some shoreline habitats may take up to 30 years to recover. Exxon Mobil denies any concerns over this, stating that they anticipated a remaining fraction that they assert will not cause any long-term ecological impacts, according to the conclusions of 350 peer-reviewed studies.However, a study from scientists from NOAA concluded that this contamination can produce chronic low-level exposure, discourage subsistence where the contamination is heavy, and decrease the "wilderness character” of the area.“

What is disturbing is that even today there is evidence that Exxon has been editing the page to downplay the consequences of the accident

Although this incident is one of the most recognized environmental accidents on record, it is by far not the most devastating or even the largest spill on record . The Prestige oil spill , off the coast of Galicia in 2002 was, by some estimates, even worse.


“Alaskans like Colburn are worried that on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Valdez accident, the spill and its toll are in danger of being forgotten — even as new offshore oil and gas exploration is being considered in Alaska. In 2007, former President George W. Bush ended a long-standing executive ban on offshore oil drilling in Bristol Bay in the southeastern waters of the Bering Sea, potentially opening up what’s been called America’s "fish basket” to the fossil fuels industry. Although the Obama Administration has slowed the process, it hasn’t stopped it — and Alaska’s Republican Gov. Sarah Palin would be happy to “drill, baby, drill,” especially as the declining price of oil diminishes state revenues.“

20 years on, are in forgetting the lessons of the Exxon Valdez?

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The best and the brightest

As usual, a very interesting article on the NY Times about the degradation of values in today’s society , and how making a fast buck on Wall Street was hailed as the most interesting job for anyone with a brain.

“The best and the brightest meant the people who were supposed to be the smartest, not who made the most money,” she told me this week. “This application in the last few years of the phrase to anyone who’s made a pile of money on Wall Street shows a real degradation of the culture. It’s part of the dumbing down of language as well as culture. It shows a real real dumbing down of everything.”

It’s certainly worth a read.

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Ideas that change the world - Citizen Action

The power of ideas to change the world has always been stuck on my mind. But as I grew older those thoughts of catalyzing ideas that could spur people into action faded away with my increasing cynic view of the world.

Well, recent events, such as the current economic crisis, have vindicated some of my thoughts on what was “wrong with the world today”. Others, such as the election and rhetoric of President Obama, have re-ignited the dreamy idealist in me.

It is with that sense of renewed hope, that I see all around me shinny examples of young idealists, such as myself, take action and taking an active role in shaping our current world and their respective environments.

Some good friends of mine, Adi and Andrei, are taking part in a campaign by Societe General, that encourages young people to come up with ideas that are practical, implementable and that change the way we do things.

Don’t get me wrong, the cynic in me still sees Societe General as a big money making machine with no real concern for the state of the world or its environment (except for its economical environmnet). Coorporate Social Responsability in my head is still a big marketing buzzword, and a wishwash PR stunt.

But nontheless, I’m happy to see my friends take action, in a field that is close to their home and hearts.

Their project is about Eco-agriculture and ways of making it a viable business venture in rural Romania. I think it’s about time Romanians wash themselfs of the image of peasantry and realise the potential that their soil has to feed the rest of Europe with good, ecological, healthy products. Specially now that most of the soils of Southern Europe are largely contaminated after years of intensive industrial farming. Romania, as a new entrant to the European Union, has much to gain from the access to such a large market. It needs people like Adi and Andrei to forge ahead and shape their fellow countrymen mentality to openness of new ideas.

Well done guys, I’m really happy for you and hope to see you succeed with this project.

You can learn more by visiting the project’s website. They have conducted a series of interesting interviews, from which I highlight the one with the General Director of the General Direction for Rural Development, from the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

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Portuguese short movies in Tallinn

Every now and then there are a couple of Portuguese movies showing up in Tallinn, either during the Black Nights movie festival  
or in some events organized by the Portuguese Embassy in Estonia. Usually the movies are shown at the Kinomaja, a small room with rather uncomfortable seats, but quirky and adorable in its name (Kinomaja roughly translates to cinema house).


This time, there are 3 short movies being shown

“Respirar (Debaixo d´Água)”, António Ferreira (2000) - 45 minutos (www.zedfilmes.com/respirar.html)

“O Nome e o N.I.M.”, Inês Oliveira (2002), 25 mins

“Quando o sol toca na lua”, Pedro Palma (2001), 20 mins

The screenings start at 18h00 and the entrance is free

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The Credit Crisis explained

A delightfully simple way of presenting the current credit crisis we’re in.


Do visit the Jonathan’s webpage , and the video in HD on vimeo 

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A TEXT POST

How much do you depend on Gmail?

Where were you when Gmail went out?


Last Tuesday's "Gfail" only shows how dependent we’ve become of “cloud services” like Gmail and others on our daily productivity tasks. Many companies these days use Gmail for their corporate email, and were left in the cold for more than 2 hours. 

Of course for most of the US this wasn’t a problem, since the outage happened during their sleeping time. For me it wasn’t a problem either. Estonia was celebrating their independence day, so it was a day off and I went for a small road trip.

But to me it really is a matter of not relying on Gmail as much as I used to. I already ran into problems when I exceeded their “huge storage capacity” So, I’m taking a few steps to ensure that even if Gmail fails again, I’ll still have access to my emails.

Step one is opening and starting to use a back up account at Yahoo!, step 2 is installing Google Gears on my laptop so that even if I’m offline I can at least use my email to search my most used email. This is specially useful when flying and when your Gmail goes offline and you need to search for a booking code for your next trip… Step 3 is making sure that somewhere I have an IMAP enabled account that downloads all my email once a week or so.

Until recently I’ve always used Thunderbird, or Apple’s Mail, but now I’ve found a better alternative. Post-box It’s sleek, clean, based on Thunderbird, does search much better than any other (perhaps on par with Apple’s Mail) and works on both Windows and Mac.

Next time this happens… I’ll be ready. Will you?

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Abu Ghraib - a history of violence, now reopened, renamed

So, the Iraqis have now reopened Abu Ghraib, the prison many call the worst prison on Earth.

The NY Times has an article showing small articles from war correspondents as far back as 1978, with some pictures and interesting stories. It follows the events from before the Iraqi invasion, up to the disgrace that was the Iraqi occupation by the US military and its use of torture in that prison.

In one of the stories, the reporter, after taking several pictures of inmates, was asked for his camera and his film. He managed to “negotiate” with the prison guard, and gave him the camera’s battery instead, pretending it was the camera’s film.

http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/abu-ghraib/

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Playtime - Jacques Tati, 1967 - Trailer

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