The war on drugs worldwide has been a complete failure. The drugs dealing business is far from coming to an end. Countries that claim to have been "successful" in fighting drugs are just kicking out to the production to other places, meaning that it is just a re-allocation at the end; as whenever there is a demand, there will be a supply.
Two weeks ago an important journalist during a documentary discussion mentioned that there are numbers proving that only 5% of the profit generated of this forbidden business remains in the countries where it is produced (Latin-America) - the rest of this profit remains inside the borders of the main consumers (USA and Western Europe). The extensive number of victims of this stupid war (hundreds of thousands) happen mainly in the producing or trading countries (Colombia, Mexico). Therefore, the media is doing a really bad job portraying and blaming the wrong places; there is a double-morality on the issue in the consuming countries.
We don't want more blood from this stupid war in Latin-America; we want a co-shared responsibility facing the issue, but above all that we want the entire world (or main players) to have a new and serious debate on drugs (legalization, responsibility, accuracy of information, etc)
A government only reflects the image of its civil society. Whether it is from its greatest fears or whether it is from its conduct and values standpoint.
A civil society with no fear and strong values is condemned to live in prosperity. A corrupt government has no room in such society.
Ethical and fearless leadership can bring together a society to defeat its fears as well to transform its conduct and values. Therefore, the importance of using the right to vote in a democratic society as a tool to achieve social transformation.
Un gobierno solo refleja la imagen de su sociedad civil. Ya sea desde la perspectiva de sus más profundos miedos y temores ó comportamientos y valores.
Una sociedad civil sin miedos y con grandes valores está condenada a la prosperidad. Un gobierno corrupto no tiene cabida dentro de una sociedad así.
Un liderazgo ético y sin miedos puede convocar a una sociedad a eliminar sus miedos y temores, al igual que a transformar comportamientos y valores, por ende la importancia del uso del voto en una sociedad democrática como mecanismo de transformación.
I was sitting on my desk sipping a coffee and checking twitter. The first thing I read was. #Earthquake happening right now in Washington DC. Two seconds after that tweet, we felt it here in NYC. As a friend said just now in facebook...tweets traveling faster than earthquakes! Fascinating and surreal, isnt?
“Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant farmer can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become president of a great nation.” Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela in his autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom”.
Hace algunos días un hecho desagradable e inaceptable ocurrio con el director técnico de la selección Colombia. Golpeó a una mujer. El hecho generó tanto escándalo y rechazo en el país que le costó la cabeza al seleccionador. Ahora, siendo entendible el resultado de tal acción y la repercusión en su carrera (como debería de esperarse siendo un personaje que debe dar ejemplo en las canchas y fuera de ellas) encontré una opinión bastante pedagógica en el tema...
Por Sergio Fajardo. Candidato a la Gobernacion de Antioquia.
EL BOLILLO NO DEBE RENUNCIAR. TIENE QUE REPARAR A LAS MUJERES DE COLOMBIA
Si Bolillo Gómez renuncia a la selección de fútbol de Colombia, en dos días el tema será historia y la indignación volverá sólo con el próximo incidente de violencia contra una mujer que reciba suficiente atención por parte de los medios de comunicación. Nadie recordará que una de cada tres mujeres en Colombia ha sido víctima de la violencia masculina y que cada cuatro días muere una mujer víctima de la violencia de género. Nadie sabrá que la experiencia de la violencia intrafamiliar es uno de los factores que marca con mayor impacto la historia de quienes entran al mundo de la violencia.
Si el Bolillo está seriamente dispuesto a entender y afrontar su responsabilidad, como hombre y, además, hombre público, puede ser una voz valiosa en la educación de nuestro país en la prevención de la violencia contra las mujeres. Reparar se convierte entonces en asumir una responsabilidad con las mujeres, al reconocer la magnitud de un problema, la violencia machista, habitualmente silenciosa, que viola los derechos humanos y que puede, y debe, ser resuelto.
Doy un par de ejemplos de acciones que reparan. El Bolillo primero tiene que entender por qué no fue capaz de usar un medio diferente para resolver el conflicto que tuvo. A renglón seguido prepara, a partir de su experiencia personal, una conferencia sobre el tema. Con la Selección Colombia, durante un año va a colegios y dicta su conferencia, participa en foros, conversatorios, campañas, etc. Igualmente puede visitar y hacer trabajo voluntario en Centros de Acogida, esos lugares a donde llegan mujeres golpeadas en busca de protección. Así, donde vaya la selección Colombia como equipo, en nuestro país o en el exterior, hace exactamente lo mismo.
El hecho puede pasar a la historia trivializado, como un capítulo más entre los hechos desafortunados de un personaje público. O trascender con la reparación, para que como sociedad afrontemos el problema, más allá de la justa indignación coyuntural.
Beautiful and touching song... Is it for freedom ? by Sara Thomsen
Rulers of the nations: as you fuss and fight
Over who owns this or that and who has the right,
To design, build, sell and store and fire
All the bombs and guns to defend your holy empire,
There are children hungry, children sick and dying.
There are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers crying.
They're only pawns in your play of power and corruption.
Slowly starve them, your new weapons of mass destruction,
And prove to me, America, that you care;
And prove to me, America, that you're aware
Who's dying for your freedom in this land;
Who pays the cost for the liberties you demand.
Is it for freedom or for comfort and convenience?
Is it to profit for big business we pledge our allegiance?
Are we prisoners in the land of the brave and bold,
Held by indifference or hearts grown hard and cold?
And prove to me, America, that you care;
And prove to me, America, that you're aware
Who's dying for your freedom in this land;
Who pays the cost for the liberties you demand.
Children of the world: you have the right
To sing and dance, run and play. Let your dreams take flight.
As the innocent die, you rulers carry the shame,
And if we stand idly by, we share the blame.
And oh, America, do we care?
And oh, America, are we aware
Who's dying for our comfort in this land?
Who pays the cost for the convenience we demand?
Children of the world: you have the right
To sing and dance, run and play. Let your dreams take flight.
,,Creating a new theory is not like destroying an old barn and erecting a skyscraper in its place. It is rather like climbing a mountain, gaining new and wider views, discovering unexpected connections between our starting points and its rich environment. But the point from which we started out still exists and can be seen, although it appears smaller and forms a tiny part of our broad view gained by the mastery of the obstacles on our adventurous way up.” (Albert Einstein)
Reflections on ethics and the process of making things happen:
effective implementation of solutions for critical sustainability equations.
If ethics is the choice for the common good (global reach and
including all living beings):
1. Deciding to act small because it is more comfortable… is not ethical;
2. Deciding to hold back (your proposals, ideas and actions) because you don't want to go against "the group" … is not ethical;
3. Deciding to doing the possible instead of trying to make the impossible possible… is not ethical;
4. Deciding to use just a part of your potential (to "save" it for self interest purposes) … is not ethical;
5. Deciding not to act, to stay silent, letting fear stay in the way…is not ethical;
6. Deciding to conform to the "letter of the law" instead of persisting on the path defined by the "spirit of the law" … is not
ethical;
7. Deciding not to try because nobody tried it before… is not ethical;
8. Deciding not to pursue the perfection and conform to what seems
"negotiable" … is not ethical;
9. Deciding to postpone bold actions again and again "waiting for the right moment" … is not ethical;
10. Deciding to "play the game" and pretend that you are not seeing the manipulations underway… is not ethical;
11. Deciding to live in the realm of ideas, diagnosis and theories instead of taking the risks and going for actions… is not ethical;
12. Deciding to act only when all is scientifically proven, even when the truth is self evident… is not ethical;
13. Deciding to reject all radically creative ideas (yours including) when the "traditional-not-so-radical ideas" have not been working… is not ethical;
14. Deciding to reject every proposal that looks "idealistic" or "utopic" … is not ethical;
(Insights of Oscar Motomura during Tallberg concert that followed a
session of the Moral Boundaries Workshop, Summer 2008)
motomura@amana-key.com.br
A very accurate quote on leadership that explains the grey color of it.
"The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly."
Jim Rohn
I will always reject any sort of violence in mankind.
I am really touched with the recent episodes of violence and humanitarian need in the world.
Although...
I see incredible solidarity with the recent episodes of terrorism in Norway but I don´t see as much solidarity when such episodes happen in different places such as Africa, Middle East, Central Asia or even my country.
Moreover, if the person who killed dozens in Norway was Muslim or from a different religion-nationality, the press would have declared him as a terrorist. For now though, he is just an 'Assailant ', 'Attacker' (Reuters), 'Gunman' (BBC, CNN & Al Jazeera). Looks like 'Terrorist ' is a name reserved for some religions or nationalities. The US Dept of State calls it an 'Act of Violence', Not an 'Act of Terrorism'.
The world seems to have more attention on it than in The Horn of Africa, there are over 10 million people in HIGH risk. It is a famine for god-sake!
Is it that ONE human life in the western world is more worth than ONE life in where what we consider the developing (or very undeveloped) world?
Shall we have in in our Facebook profile picture more flags demonstrating that we really care?
Just food for thought for the emerging generations.
I just decided to start again a blog. I did have one in the past as a victim of social-fashioned trends. Got rid of it (I think) - as private things of my life were being shared and eventually it didn't feel as right.
I am not intending to reach a specific audience or anything, it is actually for myself. Popularity isn’t an objective and it is only an initial exercise.
It is an exercise of writing, putting together thoughts and insights about life and world issues. It is also a self-conducted training of the challenging task (for me) of writing in an articulated manner about anything.
I will probably send it around to some of the closest people I have in my life to get their opinion and input.
It is my space of freedom - of free-flow of thoughts with the intention of giving them shape and foundation and a structure.
Finally, it is a memory of a journey of understanding myself and my surroundings. How ideal that scenario!!
Sustainability is new name for peace? - The reason for this name is because it is a concept that encapsulates many variables and systems - it is a holistic explanation of things, and so far the most inclusive one in my opinion of all the things to connect and resolve in this fucked-up world.
You may wonder whose quote is that? well actually haven't heard it before - I heard Gandhi said once "Development is the new name for Peace" - so I would say it is an upgrade (rather update) of what he meant in the first part of the XX century.
Peace is a mood, rather than a state I reckon. It is a long-lasting mood of our animal nature where rationality and well-intentioned emotions come together. More on this later on!
