Samstag, 27. Oktober 2007
Irgendwo zwischen Osnabrück und Bremen
Merkwürdigerweise ist die Landschaft leer von Menschen, als ob die Kühen im Feldern ihre eigene Rhythmus entwickelten, befreit von den
Bauern, die normalerweise entscheiden, wann und wohin die nächste Mahlzeit stattfindet. Frühling ist gerade gekommen und die Temperatur draußen liegt zwischen 10 und 15 Grad, mittags. Angenehm wenn man sich mit zwischen -10 und 5 während des letzten Winter gewöhnt hat.
Trotzdem muss man die Wirkung dieser Kälte an menschliche Körper nicht unterschätzen. Manchmal der Windfaktor mach ein unterschied, wie man die Temperatur empfindet. Und wo der Wind kommt. Der Wind vom Meer empfindet man wärmer und salzig. Vom Gebirgen frisch und kühler.
In diesem schnell fahrenden Zug habe ich natürlich keine Ahnung wie alle diese Faktoren meine eigene Haut empfinden. Kürzlich habe ich einen indischen Film im Fernseher gesehen, wo Männer und Frauen in ihre bunte national Kostüm bekleidet, auf der Decke des fahrenden Zuges getanzt und gesungen haben.
Ich wundere mich, ob sie es hier in diesem Zug machen können. Wäre es so, könnten dann die Menschen von ihren Nebel bedeckte Häuschen und Höfchen plötzlich erscheinen. Und diese nördliche Landschaft sieht nicht mehr grau und einsam aus. Sondern voller Menschen, fasziniert und begeistert von diesem Spektakel- alle Zuschauer von einem gewaltigen, einmaligen, fantasievollen Zirkus der Tanzen und Gesänge des Südens.
Diese Ironie fällt mir gerade ein: Menschen im Süden haben keine solche Züge, dafür haben sie Fantasie. Menschen im Norden haben alle mögliche fahrende Technologie, dafür Menschen hier haben keine Zeit zur Fantasie mehr. Wenigstens, nicht die Fantasie der tanzende und singende Menschen auf der Decke der schnell fahrenden Züge.
Ich frage mich, was ist die Beziehung zwischen Fantasie und Schnelligkeit?
Zwischen Komfort und Kreativität? Oder zwischen Kälte und Menschenfleißigkeit?
Donnerstag, 25. Oktober 2007
I'm not KJ but here's another sobering reading, act 2
October 11, 2007
Updated 00:59:04 (Mla time)
Ronnel Domingo
Inquirer Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines--FAMILIES of Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) tend to just sit back and wait for remittances, apparently content with that kind of life, according to results of a survey conducted by Nielsen Media Research (NMR) Philippines.
While the majority of OFW households belong to the lower-income group, most of them prefer not to have other sources of income, Jay G. Bautista, NMR Philippines executive director, said Wednesday.
At least 813,000 families benefit from remittances and most of them belong to the DE class, which accounts for 64 percent of the population.
"Two out of [every] three respondents are stay-at-home housewives, who are not working," Bautista said. "Four out of [every] five receive remittances monthly, which on the average is P20,000 or less."
Last year, the remittances amounted to $12.8 billion.
The survey covered a total of 300 respondents 18 years old and above in Metro Manila and other key urban centers in Luzon, Metro Cebu and Davao City. They were interviewed personally between February and March.
Nielsen said the OFW remittances helped widen the ranks of the middle class in the country.
Some 23 percent of families who have relatives working abroad now belong to the middle class, Bautista told a news conference.
Not in business
By comparison just 11 percent of the Philippine population without relatives working abroad are considered middle class and 84 percent poor.
The survey also found that a big majority of OFW families were not engaged in any business.
"Just almost a third of OFW beneficiaries own a business, which tend to be sari-sari (neighborhood variety) stores, renting out apartments, operating public transportation, buying and selling, [running] a meat shop, canteen or eateries," Bautista said.
The 35 percent who said they planned to put up businesses mentioned a sari-sari store, Internet café, renting out apartments, canteens or eateries, or "agri-business"--their top five choices.
Pull of spending at malls
Nine out of every 10 respondents said they went to malls, supermarkets and fast-food outlets.
"This could mean that malls are where they receive the remittances, which is an environment where the pull of spending is very high," Bautista said.
He said 61 percent of the respondents received money through banks; 23.6 percent, door-to-door; 18.4 percent, remittance centers; and, 3.6 percent, friends and employment agency.
"As for budgeting, 94.6 percent say the money is for household expenses; 62 percent say it is for education expenses; half say it is for medical costs; and 14 percent say it is for paying the rent," Bautista said.
Asked what they intended to buy or invest in over the next 12 months, 18 percent said they would go for real estate; 11.4 percent said they would buy high-tech gadgets like mobile phones, digital cameras and home video players; and 11.3 percent would buy a vehicle; 10.8 percent wanted household appliances. Only 7 percent mentioned saving some money in the bank.
Father, mother, children
Among families of OFWs, 36 percent have a father abroad, 28.5 percent, a daughter; 17.8 percent, a son; 11.7 percent, a mother; and 12.5 percent, a relative.
Their usual occupations are domestic helper, caregiver, seaman, nurse and factory worker.
Most of the OFWs are in Saudi Arabia, the United States, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and Japan.
The respondents said their OFW relative had been away for less than a year (22 percent); one to three years (31 percent); four to six years (28 percent); and 10 years or longer (22 percent).
A little more than third (36.2 percent) of the OFWs come home once every two years. Others do so yearly (21.6 percent), twice yearly (10.8 percent) and still others come less often (9.3 percent.)
Migration
Asked about their plans, 27 percent said they hoped to migrate--the choice destinations being North America (seven out of 10), East Asia, Oceania, Europe and Middle East.
"There were 73 percent who said they would stay here," Bautista said. "But this could be an indication that they are content on carrying on with their current lot."
Internet
Only 13 percent of families use the Internet to communicate with the OFWs as most wait for the latter to call through their cell phones or the landline.
Still, families of OFWs are relatively more exposed to different media, reflecting the international orientation of their lifestyles.
Everybody has television sets; four out of every five listen to the radio, read newspapers and own VCD or DVD players; and about a third read magazines and go to the movies.
"We have apprised advertisers and business groups such as franchisers of this and we have urged them to communicate more responsibly with these consumers as well as provide them with more options in sustaining their sources of income," Bautista said.
Mittwoch, 24. Oktober 2007
85% of RP health care professionals now abroad
A Filipina friend of mine who was long working with 'Doctors without Borders'
and who now takes on a new job as consultant at the UN sent this article to me and let me share this to you. It is time for our government to face the music on such an important issue: the ‘vanishing’ health care professionals in our country. I wish our Health Secretary Duque III all the best and that he gets the much needed support from GMA and our congress to meet the challenge.
85% of RP health care professionals now abroad
By Mayen Jaymalin
Monday, October 22, 2007
With 85 percent of the country's health care professionals working
abroad, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III admits that the medical
system is in crisis, and a "collapse" could
not be far behind.
For every 100 health professionals, 88 have left in search of high-
paying jobs outside the country, Duque said.
"The health care delivery system in the Philippines has gone critical,
almost desperate," Duque said during
awarding of The Outstanding Filipino Physician (TOFP) at the Manila
Hotel Thursday night.
Due to this exodus, he said only one government doctor is available
for every 28,000 Filipinos.
"By any meter stick, the ratio could only mean the under-delivery of
medical services to many of our countrymen," Duque lamented.
He added that the best doctors are concentrated in Metro Manila and
other urban centers where medical practice is
more lucrative to the disadvantage of patients in the rural areas.
To make the situation worse, Duque said fewer medical graduates are
passing the licensure examinations.
"Low number of medical graduates passing the licensure examination
while the monthly pay of new doctors joining the
government remains low – make a potentially disastrous brew that
could lead to the potential collapse of public health care delivery in
the Philippines," he said.
But Duque expressed optimism that the grim scenario could be
prevented as the Department of Health and other agencies embarked
on the search for outstanding Filipino doctors.
With the TOFP, Duque said good Filipino doctors and other health care
professionals would hopefully be encouraged
to stay and render their services here.
"Their examples (of the chosen outstanding Filipino doctors) in
living up to the Hippocratic oath are exactly what
this country needs. Their brand of quiet heroism is a timely
counterpoint to a nation that is desperately in search
of real self-sacrificing leaders," Duque said.
The health chief is also hopeful that with the TOFP, criticisms
against Filipino medical practitioners like the
recent slur in one of America's biggest television shows would be
prevented.
"With the TOFP awards in place, any snide (remark) at Filipino
doctors in the future must not bother us even if it
is made in a top-selling television show like 'Desperate Housewives,'
which
they are – desperate," he said.
Duque said America has not seen the best and brightest Filipino
doctors yet like TOFP awardees Dr. Charlotte
Chiong, Dr. Enrique Ona, Dr. Willie Ong, Dr. Carmencita Padilla and
Dr. Eric Talens.
The awardees were cited for demonstrating professional excellence in
their respective fields, and for making a big
difference in the service of the people, especially the poor.
By recognizing the life-saving contributions of our doctors, we have
started our national campaign for
patriotism," Duque said.
The five awardees bested 72 nominated Filipino physicians, 37 of whom
were short-listed and about 19 doctors emerged as semifinalists. But only five were chosen after a thorough
scrutiny by a eight-man board of judges.
Dienstag, 23. Oktober 2007
8 weirdo things about me (and I hate Dave for making me do the list!)
1.) It is True, that I'm living in this Teutonic land for 8 -years running now but my morning news from day one on come from- guess where?- the New York Times and the Guardian.
3) I hate cakes and desserts which is difficult, to say the least, if you live in a cake-crazy country like Germany. (You always have to say 'sorry but I'm full' or 'no, that's too sweet for me' during Sunday afternoons when they invite you for coffee or tea.
4) I love doing the 'full monty' - a not so Pinoy thing to do (but only in the sauna and nudist beaches, mind you)
5) I read books simultaneously- last count 10- and go from one book to another book, chapter by chapter, until they're all finished. Exception: thrillers.
6) ah, I hate to celebrate my own birthday but friends come anyway to tease and greet me. Luckily, my wife prepares always something ready.
7) My German language teacher complained loud the other day, that I can very well discuss about Kant or Marx in German, but I don't know what to say when I go to the butcher to buy, for instance, sausages :-)
2) I pick my nose when I sleep in the night he...he... he... and the last, but not least,
8) I hate doing this, but then for the love of Dave....
Now who shall I tag? hmmmm, danny, mark, jade, tina, inday, al, and every body who cares to do this for the love of me....
______________________
1.) In the 8 facts about [name], you share 8 things that your readers don't know about you. At the end, you tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going. Each blogger must post these rules first.
2.) Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3.) At the end of the post, a blogger needs to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4.) Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.
Going ‘home’ one weekend for the indigenous peoples
Although, unlike many Filipinos here, I rarely go home. I have my own way of keeping in touch with what’s going on there.
For four years now, I’m sitting in the Continuing Committee of the Philippine Ecumenical Conference in Germany. The conference is a kind of network of mainly Catholic and Protestant church organizations and individuals who are in one way or another involved in many development projects in the Philippines- either as funders, partners, or just someone showing their solidarity with the people there.
The task of the CC is to organize an annual seminar on a particular topic and this year’s theme was “Old wisdom vs. development aggression: the struggle of the Philippine indigenous people for their environment and tradition”.
We had two interesting speakers from the Philippines for this seminar held last Oct. 12-14, in Vallendar along the Rhein river. One was Lory Obal who is the Coordinator of the Pastoral and Social Desk for the Indigenous People of the Diocese of Kidapawan. And the other one was Fr. Dodge Tabios, a catholic priest from Bukidnon who’s currently taking his post-graduate studies in The Hague in Holland. He has been active in reclaiming back for the natives in Bukidnon land which had been stolen from them way back Marcos’ time.
According to Lory, one big threat facing the indigenous peoples now is the encroachment of mining companies into their ancestral lands. Of course, the government billed this as “development” and uses every instrument at their disposal- including the military, sad to say- to win over foreign mining companies to invest in the country.
But for many affected indigenous people it is nothing but a form of state aggression: either they have to leave their land or defend it to death, like what happened to some of their leaders and their supporters who resisted.
Lory’s talk was complimented by Fr. Dodge who told us about efforts to educate and help indigenous people fight for their rights. The Lumads (the term the IPs in Mindanao collectively call themselves) are busy organizing, building alliances, and are getting savvy trying to put their message across. Of course, with plenty of help from outside.
The challenge then to the 40- or so Filipino and German participants of this 23rd ecumenical conference: how do we here living in Europe make a difference for the lives of the Philippine indigenous peoples?
A nagging question which this blogger brought home.
(photo credits go to Gernot and Cely)
Samstag, 20. Oktober 2007
Hogwarts' Albus Dumbledore is Gay
I argued in one of the multiply blogs I visited yesterday that an actor’s – or anybody else’s - sexual orientation should not matter at all. Now opening my PC what do I have here screaming? Dumbledore of the Harry Potter Series fame is gay!
I’m posting this piece of trivia for two reasons: 1) I found out in my last visit that although there seems to be more tolerance on gays in the Philippines, it is nevertheless not easy to be one there. So the words of wisdom of JKR- no less- on this topic would, I hope, help bring some fresh wind to our still bigoted countrymen and women. And
2) a German friend of mine had asked me to help conceptualize a seminar next year on Filipino masculinity. By way of Dumbledore’s outing , inputs from all of you on this matter will be highly appreciated by this blogger.
J.K. Rowling outs Hogwarts character
By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer1 hour, 47 minutes ago
Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.
After reading briefly from the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she took questions from audience members.
She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."
"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.
She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."
Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."
"Oh, my god," Rowling concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction."
Potter readers on fan sites and elsewhere on the Internet have speculated on the sexuality of Dumbledore, noting that he has no close relationship with women and a mysterious, troubled past. And explicit scenes with Dumbledore already have appeared in fan fiction.
Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character.
Rowling, finishing a brief "Open Book Tour" of the United States, her first tour here since 2000, also said that she regarded her Potter books as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority."
Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Freitag, 19. Oktober 2007
The 100 most useful sites (as of Dec. 2006)
Two years ago most Britons didn't have broadband and Web 2.0 was barely a twinkle in a developer's eye. Things have changed - as our cream of the crop for 2006 shows
The Guardian
In 2004, the internet was a different place: there was, for example, no YouTube, and most Britons online didn't have broadband. That's changed dramatically: now, more than 75% of users have broadband, and the arrival of Web 2.0 has brought sites where the interaction is as fast as if it were on your machine. So we've revisited the "cream of the crop" that we brought you two years ago.
Some of the crop is brand new; some has stood the test of time. As before, we have 100 sites in 20 categories. That of course means that your favourite might not be here (even if you suggested it on our blog). Email us with your suggestions for the ones we should have included.
Many of the categories here are new since the last crop. Many of the sites from that time still exist, of course - and are still hugely useful.
One category that's missing is mobiles, where data speeds haven't kept up with broadband. Maybe in 2007?
Contributors: Charles Arthur, Kate Bulkley, Michael Cross, Bobbie Johnson, Vic Keegan, Jack Schofield, Keith Stuart
Applications
Why have an application to run in your browser? Because for tasks shared between people at different locations, it makes sense to access password-protected sets of work. 37signals offers Backpack (note the domain is backpackit) for simple tasks and the bigger Basecamp for grown-up projects. Tadalist is simpler, being just to-dos (but isn't that what it's about?), while Google's Documents & Spreadsheets requires a Google account (they're free) and doesn't try to compete with Microsoft Office. Wikicalc is a free online spreadsheet, and developing smartly.
Blogs: reading
There are millions of blogs out there; you need to pick the best. Step forward RSS (aka web feeds) and blog search engines to simplify things. Technorati is occasionally flaky, but generally a reliable indicator of what's being blogged about. Icerocket runs it close. And you'll need an online aggregator to keep abreast of the feeds you're most interested in: Newsgator and Google Reader are good choices. Bloglines is an excellent alternative feed reader.
Blogs: writing
To do it rather than read it, you need a good set of tools. The open-source and free software project Wordpress has risen to prominence, elbowing aside many rivals with its blog creation, management and (importantly) spam-beating tools. Wordpress.org is the free software; wordpress.com offers paid-for, managed versions of the free package. Blogger is the best of the rest; Vox is neat, easy and free, and plugs into lots of social applications. Statcounter counts, well, statistics for your site; the free Google Analytics (if you can get an account) is good too.
Email
Google's Gmail has become the web-based email system of choice for those who can get access. Its main drawback is that it's still an invitation-only system in the
Gaming
There are far too many videogame news sites on the internet today; you need an aggregator like Gametab to filter through to the best. Pocketgamer specialises in handheld games, while Gamasutra is absolutely unmissable. Gamesfaqs has FAQs and walkthroughs (plus cheats, reviews and previews) for loads of games. And the ESRB lets you search by age rating.
Maps
Maps matter, but once you're past Google's maps and satellite detail, everyone's thrown back on the Ordnance Survey's data, which means there's little to choose between them. Ordnance Survey has improved its site, and can at least now tell you which map to buy for an area; its placename search is nifty. Meanwhile, the New Popular Edition site shows how the country looked in the 1940s. Delightful.
News: mainstream
The BBC marches on, adding more media forms while also letting users add their comments. The New York Times site is vast (though it has shut off some of its content behind a "paywall"). Both sites' (short) RSS feeds can be read on a mobile at bbcriver.com and nytimesriver.com. Google News extends its reach, though the top headline is still whichever site last updated rather than the one which is most accurate. Nowpublic is a US rival to OhMyNews and claims 52,000 (and counting) "mojos" - amateur journalists with mobile phones whose location can be figured out from GPS or phone triangulation.
News: recommendation
One thing that Web 2.0 is really good at is letting lots of people vote on things. It can be (and is) abused, but generally the system works. That's seen the rise of sites which let people vote stories up, or which news stories (and how) bloggers are talking about (at memoerandum).The biggest is Digg, which overtook Slashdot earlier this year. Reddit was recently bought by Wired magazine. Findory is slightly different, learning what you like the more you use it.
Offbeat
Snopes checks out unbelievable tales, scams and urban legends and debunks (or confirms) them. Slightly less useful is the 100-strong webring of Unusual Museums of the Internet. These include the
Politics
The MySociety team remains unbeatable for turning Hansard inside out with Theyworkforyou and Publicwhip, but bloggers have begun to expose the unwritten workings of politicians to greater public scrutiny too. Guido Fawkes' blog has the inside gossip from Westminster, while NO2ID agitates on arguably the most important political and technological issue around, while NHS 23 is a wiki outlining the problems with the political, technological and medical drama of the NHS computer- isation programme.
Public action
Now, it's time to bug someone in power. The idea that the web can make a difference is growing; politicians are on the web and there's an online petition site at No.10. Pledgebank and HearfromyourMP are both part of the excellent MySociety (mysociety.org) family of sites enabling citizens to connect to decision-makers - and, one would hope, vice versa. Netaction includes The Virtual Activist, a manual for anyone looking to build and promote a cause online. Those interested in helping out in their area might try Timebank, which finds organisations to which to donate spare time.
Radio
Radio now travels over wires, at least to our homes. The BBC dominates here, but there are thousands of stations to choose from. AOL's Shoutcast is interesting: find whatever's on right now (you can tune in via iTunes or any internet radio-enabled player.) Radio-locator and Live-radio list broadcasters worldwide, so you can find something new to listen to. Reciva does the same, but if you buy its internet radio you can add your own favourites online and they show on the gadget; or just listen online.
Recommendation: music
Another new category: being able to find stuff that's similar to music you like is increasingly important, both to listeners and to record companies trying to profit from niches. Last.fm requires an application that runs on your machine, and shows what other people with the same music like. Pandora says you need a
Reference
Wikipedia now dominates the reference side of the web, partly because its pages are ranked so highly in Google. User-written, it's not always reliable, but is usually a good place to start. It competes with the Encyclopedia Britannica, which isn't free. However, another traditional alternative is the HighBeam Encyclopedia, which searches more than 57,000 articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia. Otherwise Jim Martindale's Reference Desk, started in 1994, provides an astonishing collection of links to reference sources. For words, try Onelook, which indexes more than 7.5m words in 931 dictionaries. It also has a reverse lookup to find words from their meanings. Finally, Teldir (on the infobel site) has links to the world's online phone books.
Science
Alphagalileo gives a view of public-facing science in
Search
Google continues to tighten its grip on our hunt for information (it now gets half of all searches) but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best. Search can now encompass your hard drive, blogs (a separate category - see above), images, peer-to-peer and even what used to be out there. Blinkx remains unique with its focus on video, while Ask (now without Jeeves) has made great strides recently, though it only gets a tiny portion of searches.
Social software
The browser has grown up: now it's the path to meeting people of similar interests and creating your own personal space online in a shared area. Social networks have become a cliche, but that hasn't stopped MySpace becoming the biggest site online. Bebo is popular, Habbo is more tuned to the kids, while Friendster and LinkedIn will appeal to the older user.
Video
The crowds are all over at YouTube, the poster child of online video (a category too niche to merit mention two years ago; YouTube was founded in February 2005). But it's not the only place to find video. Revver offers a revenue-sharing system (people pay to watch your video, you get some cash). You can also start your own TV station at brightcove and currenttv. And Videojug has demonstrations of how to do lots of possibly useful tasks.
Virtual worlds
The key distinction from social sites like MySpace is that virtual worlds give you an avatar - your representation of yourself in the online world. The advent of broadband allied to faster machines has made them usable. When the BBC held a concert in Second Life, it seemed like an anomaly; then IBM's chief executive got an avatar, and suddenly everyone's there. Habbo Hotel is booming with teens. World of Warcraft has millions of users; Everquest, its own culture. Or you can play the Sims online. Whether an influx of new users will make these worlds more antisocial remains open.
eqplayers.station.sony.com/index.vm
Zeitgeist
It's what everyone's talking about. Some of these sites appear above because they're the places to go to find out whatthe webworld is thinking. Watch them whizz by, but don't forget to breathe. YouTube is the moving picture of the web; Flickr the static one. Google Trends shows what the world's looking for; Digg, what it's found. And Technorati shows what it's writing about. youtube.com flickr.com google.com/trends digg.com technorati.com
Readers' suggestions
VideoJug (videojug.com). Videos on how to do everyday stuff such as tying a tie etc. (HiddenAway)
Slideshare (slideshare.net) . For sharing presentations; Best Tech Videos (bestechvideos.com). Very techie tutorial videos; TechXtra (techxtra.ac.uk). Has a long enough 'tail' to answer real queries. (RoddyM)
Online apps and desktops: Zoho (zoho.com); Cosmopod (cosmopod.com); eyeOS (eyeos.org). Online video editing: jumpcut.com. (hakluytbean)
Reevoo (reevoo.com) is a very handy site for people looking for honest feedback on products, as it only publishes reviews known to come from customers. (TechMonkey)
· If you'd like to comment on any aspect of Technology Guardian, send your emails to tech@guardian.co.uk