LXII - Online Activism Enables You to Take a Stand on Every Issue

               This post is a summary of two articles. The first with the complete title of, " Online political activism enables you to take a stand on every issue."  Written by Chris Robertson and  published  at http://www.majon.com/. The second with the title of, "Slacktivism: why snopes got wrong about internet petitions." Published at   http://www.frogloop.com/, and written by Randy Paynter on April,28, 2010.

             To many people, politics seems remote and getting involved has posed insurmountable barries. Being involved in politics has never been easy, at least until recently. Now that online political activism is available to everyone that has internet access, every citizen can easily get involved and take a stand on the important issues of today. One good thing that internet and politics have in common is their ability to unite people and with these two together, they create a powerful force of citizens, ready and willing to fight for their rights in a peaceful manner. Internet activism is a type of political social networking in which online users work together to reach a certain political goal. For example, a website called, "DoYouHearUs.org" has recently been developed to enable the citizens to voice his or her opinion. Members are united in their message on every issue and directed to the appropriate state or federal figure. Citizens can now have their voices heard by someone that can make a difference, their own political leaders! Through cyberactivism, citizens can voice their wishes concerning education, taxes, non-profit funds, the environment, war or any other issue they feel strongly about. An online political activism website provides the information related to every issue for members to review. The members will consider the upcoming issues and decide or not to take action. Taking action on every issue is recommended, but not required. Implementing politics on the internet sounds simple, but can be a very affordable, effective way to reach out in these unsettled political times. Many folks simply do not have the time or resources to form local or national protest groups. They do not have time for traditional activism, but cyberactivism opens the doors wide for the busy individual. It unite people from all walks of life who normally would not be able to group meetings. Start making a difference in your nation by joining online political activism. It is one step toward a better future.

             Snopes.com is a site that characterizes internet petitions as "slacktivism", a pejorative nickname suggesting that activism is worthless if it does not require considerable effort. Ignore such commentary, is a favorite among cynics, and no doubt has turned off many who might otherwise have take action. At a time when civic engagement is more important than ever, it is a tragedy that this ill-conceived commentary has done. The reason we have such apathy in society today is because people believe it is too dificult to have an impact and/or they do not believe they personally can make a difference. Because online activism makes it easy to get involved, millions more people than ever before are speaking up and taking action. Usually, activists start with simple steps, if we want a more engaged democracy we need to make it easy for as many people as possible to feel the joy of those first steps. Those first steps can be a powerful motivator. It is not the effort of the act that further motives people, it is the emotional payoff that drives future engagement. If you make activism effective and enjoyable, people will do more of it. Not everyone is going to become a super activist, but if simple steps are all you are up for, then it is great to have you on board, far better than apathy. New legislation, new schools, elections, may grab all the headlines, but these are just the results of millions of small decisions and actions along the way. That is the way change happens: always the result of many steps and many influences. These days it is hard to imagine significant change happening that is no greatly influenced by so-called armchair "slacktivistas." Web 2.0 activism has transformed the power structure, putting power in the hands of the people and forcing authorities to be accountable like never before.

LXI - Day Of Teachers 2013

            Next Tuesday is celebrated the day of teachers, so this is my little tribute for these very important professionals. This is a summary of three articles. The first with the title of, "Teacher appreciation gifts ideas." Published at http://www.zimbio.com/Teacher+Appreciation+Day/articles?Sort=date&Page=8. The second with the title of, "Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recognizing teacher appreciation week. May 6-10,2013." Published at  https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/statement-us-secretary-education-arne-duncan-recognizing-teacher-appreciation-we. The third with the title of, "Importance of teachers." Published at http://www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-teachers.html. 

           Our teachers spend all of their time to help students succeed and rarely think about themselves. Some teachers affects eternity, he can never tell where his/her influence stops. Do not our teachers need some recognition, feedback and appreciation for a job well done? Do not they mean a lot to the success of our children`s  present and future? Then let show our appreciation for our teachers and tell them just how important they are to society. Why wait until an important holiday to give them a thank you, let is do it now! Many people agree that being a teacher is one of the hardest jobs in the world. So do not stingy in your recognition to confirm that the work of  teachers is great and valued. 

           "Teachers are central to every community. Each day, they come to school ready to tackle a job that is critically important, complex, and at times heartbreaking. In essence, teachers help others to become their best selves and I can not think of more important work. Teacher Appreciation Week is a time to recognize the work of teachers and to listen to their perspective on ways we can continue improving our schools. It is our responsability to make sure that all teachers have the tools, time and professional development to be the very best they can be. And every member of our society has a part to play in supporting our teachers and students. This is a moment to say thank you to teachers for everything that they give in the name of helping students achieve. Teaching is an art, a science, and a public service, and I thank all teachers for their relentless efforts."

           The influence a teacher has on students may not be direct or obvious, but traces of his/her ideals, principles and values trickle into the psyche of students. These, then, find the way they conduct themselves in various walks of their lives. This phenomenon is what we call inspiration. All teachers impart valuables life lessons to their students. In essence the best teachers is one who can awaken in students a thirst for knowledge. Here lies the greatest importance of a teacher, show students the way to accumulate knowledge. A good teacher is one who enforces a sense of management in students, be it management of time, space, resources, or conflict. Young students are individuals who are dealing with changes in their lives, physical and psychological. They are who that also need motivation. The mere knowledge that someone believes in them, that someone knows that they will get up if they fall, is a huge confidence booster. This knowledge itself can inject encouragement in the students. This kind of moral support strengthens the trust of a student in his/her teacher and we all know how far we can go when urged by the people we trust. A teacher can be an inspiration to millions without even knowing it. With the way they teach, connect and bring out the best, teachers play a very important role in the self-improvement efforts of students. Teachers are not restricted to educational institutions alone. If you ever met anyone who touched your life in any of the aforementioned ways, thank life for introducing you to a wonderful teacher when you were not even looking for one!

      

LX - After a Golden Decade, Can Latin America Keep its Luster

                  This post is a summary of two articles. The first with the title above, published at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/latin-america, on May,8th 2013. And was written by Alejandro werner, director of the IMF. The second with the title of, "Grounded." was published at  http://www.economist.com/, on September,28th 2013.

          Latin America continues to be one of the fastest growing regions in the world, even though growth slowed down in 2012. Many economies in the region are operating at or near potential, inflation remains low and unemployment is at low levels. In the near term, the region will continue to benefit from easy external financing and high commodity prices. We project that the region will expand by about 3.5% in 2013, on average. In Brazil, economic activity is strengthening, driven by improving external demand, measures to boost investment and the impact of earlier policy easing. Since 2003, Lain America has experienced a period of resurgence, with strong growth, low inflation and improved social outcomes. Prudent macroeconomic policies and important structural reforms habe been the cornerstone of this performance. Foreign financing has been cheap and abundant and there has been a large and persistent increase in the prices of the region`s commodity exports. However, even gold can lose its luster. These blissful external conditions will not last forever. Commodity price are projected to decline and interest rates will eventually rise as growth in the advanced economies returns. The key challenge is to adjust policies to preserve macroeconomic and financial stability, and build strong foundations for sustained growth, under possibly less favorable external conditions. With labor participation at historically high level, future growth would have to rely increasingly on productivity gains. Boosting productivity is not an easy task. Policies that would be conducive to this outcome include higher investment in infrastructure and human capital, more modern legal frameworks, and more efficient and competitive product and labor markets.

       In June this year Brazil was struck by an outbreak of mass protests that brought more than a million to the streets. It gave vent to public fury over rising inflation, high taxes, poor public services and political corruption. The change in political weather came after almost two decades of brightening skies. Since 1994, when hyperinflation was tamed with a new currency. The economy grew and inequality declined. The global commodity boom helped by sucking in Brazilian iron ore and agricultural produce, and in 2007 Brazil struck vast deposit of deep-sea oil. Seemed due recognition that its days as a chronic underachiever were behind it. But Brazil`s economy did not play ball. It has slowed to 2.7% in 2011 and a mere 0.9% in 2012. This year will see a tepid recovery at best. Inflation is sticking at around 6%. Many now wonder whether it has managed nothing more than a chicken flight, a brief, unsustainable growth spurt followed by a rapid return to earth. More than half of population of Brazil now belong to a lower-middle class, living in houses equipped with cookers, fridges. Many own cars. But when they step outside their doors, most roads are still unpaved. Public transport consists mainly of packed buses. When life was a struggle for survival, the jobs were the main concern. Now that people are a little better off, the parlous state of infrastructure and public services is at the front of their minds. The politicians should have realised that the new middle classes would want decent public services and elected representatives who were visibly working towards these ends. Several parties have proposed electoral reforms to make politicians more responsive to voters, but they all want different things, so reaching consensus will be difficult. A less favourable economic climate is now making it even harder to meet the voters increasingly vocal demands. The slowdown in growth has caused a downturn in investment, which last year was just 18.4% of GDP, not enough to lead a recovery or to build the infrastructure Brazil needs. And commodity prices seem unlikely to bail out Brazil with another spurt.

LIX - 110th Birthday of George Orwell

    This post is a summary of five articles. The first published at http://bradleydavies.blogspot.com.br/,with the title of, "Orwell`s 110th birthday." Published on 25 June,2013. The second with the title of "Happy birthday George Orwell." Published at http://www.mrhare.com/, on 26 June, 2013. The third, with the title of "George Orwell day begins annual commemoration." Published at http://www.theguardian.com, on 21 January,2013. Fourth, "1984:theme analysis." Published at http://www.novelguide.com. Fifth, "What would Orwell do?" Published at http://www.paperdroids.com/2013/06/25/what-would-orwell-do/, on June 25,2013.

          An inspiration to authors and journalists of the world. Eric Blair was born this day, 110 years ago. Dying at the age of 46 to tuberculosis, Orwell spent his last years isolated racing his deteriorating health to finish what would become one of the most iconic and celebrated novels of the 20th century, "1984". Orwell wrote and lived in troubled times: He saw first-hand the bending of truths and the promulgation of untruths, he witnessed persecution and purges in Spain during Franco`s dictartorship, but perhaps most importantly, he witnessed the declining state of freedom in much of Europe. It is an indisputable certainty that the legacy of Orwell will persist for as long as there is tyranny and opression.

           George Orwell (1903) was a prolific writer and journalist whose famous works include Animal Farm, 1984, and Down and Out in London and Paris. He took several jobs from teacher to fighting in the Spanish Civil War. During World War II he was the BBC`s Eastern correspondent, where his role was to stop propaganda from Nazi German. In 1949, "1984" was published using his homegrown concepts such as "Big Brother is watching you", and "Doublethink." Ideas which have continued to carry weight in the society of today.

           A major celebration of George Orwell kicks off today with the inaugural "Orwell Day". Orwell`s 1946 essay Politics and the English Language is being given away for free, as well as published in a edition by Penguin. "Political language and with variations is true of all political parties, is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind," wrote Orwell in the essay, and Jean Seaton, professor of history at the University of Westminster said, " we are now in a battle for the kind of nation we will live in as much as he was. Orwell is in the air and I think he is very relevant today. He puts truth before self. Very few of us can bear to do that. But nonetheless, we need people to do that, and he remind us of that. It is that bleak realism, expressed, it is what will keep us decent. Both his writing and in an odd kind of way his personal life stand for integrity. If there is one value that politicians, bankers and journalists, and our society as a whole, needs, it is no jargon, is more integrity."

          Could the world in 1984 ever really exist? This question haunts readers from the first to the last pages of the novel. Sadly, the answer is yes. Orwell intends to portray Oceania just realistically enough to convince readers that such a society has, in fact, existed and could exist if people forget the lessons taught by history, or fail to guard against tyrannical, totalitarian governments. While it is difficult to pinpoint the specific sparks that set off World War II, the people fighting in the Allied armies must clearly believed that their mission was to crush totalitarism and restore democracy around the world. Given this context, 1984 political messages emerge clear.

           This month marks what would be the 110th birthday of the man acclaimed as the father of dystopian fiction, the man with a whole science fiction subgenre named after him, the only George Orwell. He was not the first author to come up with the idea of a world in which a government has total control, but his novel, is a defining example of the genre. Orwell coined the term "Big Brother" and demonstrated how frightening propaganda can be. Orwell was a political writer and a keen observer of the shifting ideologies surrounding World War II. His books serve as dire warnings of what could happen if the proletarian classes remain indifferent to what their government can become. He believed ambiguity was the breeding ground for misinformation and propaganda, key aspects of his imagined government`s hold on power.

Prolific - producing many works.
Bleak - bare, exposed and unwelcoming.
Odd - unusual or unexpected strange.
Jargon - expressions or words used by a group that are difficult for other people to understand.

Inside the Mind of Eric Schmidt

          This post is a summary of a interview with the President of Google Eric Schmidt, published on April,20, 2013, at http://www.theguardian.com/uk. And was written by Alan Rusbridger as Eric told him. It is like if the Eric himself had written.The title is above.

          I would argue that Google and the internet enable people to do more creative work. Creativity will drive innovation, innovation will drive new businesses, new jobs, and so forth. That is how economics work. That is the story of the industrial revolution. The human creativity, this passion for making the world a better place, takes over. I am concerned that we need to fight for our privacy or we will lose it and the reason this is a concern of mine is that it is natural for these technology to aggregate information about citizens. If the Chinese hacked into the NYTimes, how would you feel if you were a Chinese dissident? Google always allow for anonymous search. Anonimity is very important, especially for people who have reasons to believe that the state, or others, are going to hurt them. The internet, in general, has been good about allowing for anonymity. As a matter of historical interest, I wanted to understand what role Wikileaks would play. His core idea is that systematic evil has to be written down, and that , if you have a leaking culture in government, the stuff gets leaked before they can do it. The problem is, who gets to decide who does the leaking?

         Five years from now, what will your reader look like? He or she will have an ultra-powerful tablet, the knowledge that is in that tablet about the readers will be so much greater than today. And it will be possible, reading a story, to go instantly deep about the origins, the positioning, the debate. The contribution that the internet made to Arab Springs was the enabling subset of communication that allowed courageous people to unify. That was the step that they had been missing previously and then it was their courage and combat that led to everything else. The optimists would say that the power of the internet and the power of individual empowerment is so strong that it will be impossible for government to resist that connectivity. The pessimists would say that intelligence of government can figure out ways of breaking the openess of internet. North Korea, has its own internet. They have people copying the content that the their leaders thinks is ok and they put it on internal servers. That is the crudest strategy.  The chinese government for example, every time a *VPN shows up, they shut it down and people move.

        What is the number one education problem in the developing world? Literacy and childhood education. Can we solve that? Absolutely, at 100%. We simply preload smartphones with all that teaching material. They use them to learn how to read. We can also preload their tablets. We have also the textbooks for maths and science, in their languages. In universities you have got new online courses. You have got an smart person who does not have textbooks and is hungry for the latest university education, they are going to get it online. So what do you need for that? You need broadband, if governments are smarts enough to get the 3G and 4G networks. Another way to get information is with SD cards, you know, the tiny little SD cards, because everybody has a phone. Even if you do not have an internet connection, you could have a SD card which would have the information that I am describing. And these SD cards are getting more and more powerful.

*VPN - Virtual Private Network is a method used to add security privacy, privacy is increased with a VPN because the user`s initial IP address is replaced with one from the VPN provider.

The Relationship between education and development

         This post is a summary of a report published at http://anale.feaa.uaic.ro/anale/, in 2009. The complete title is, "The relationship between the level of education and the development state of a country." And was written by Cristian Popescu and Laura Diaconu.

          The new theory of the economic growth underlines the fact that the education has a strong impact on the economic development from two points of view. First of all, human capital is an input in the production function, thus explaining the options for the investment in education and, secondly, the factors that involve the endogenous growth, especially the technological progress, are correlated to the human capital stock because determines technology or new knowledge. More educated countries are developing faster due to the fact that the schools enables the labor force to innovate and to adapt to the existing ones to the local production. The level of education is influencing not only the growth and the economic productivity of a country, but also an educated citizen is more able to take part in the local or regional decisions.

           A World Bank study, made in 2003, shows an essential factor that has led to the growth and development of the Asian Tigers: the good allocation and the high quality of education. A good example for this is given by South Korea, where the schooling rate for the tertiary education was 16% in 1980, 39% in 1990, and 68% in 1996. Resources allocated are related to the income level but also to the budgetary priorities. While the states are developing, the necessities related to the infrastructure and to the social spending becomes less pressing, so that additional sums may be allocated to some fields, in other circumstances considered to have secondary importance, such as education, environment, etc.

         We want to underline that the relationship between education and development does not have to be regarded only from the economic point of view. The development process is more complex one that, apart from the economic growth, also involves social and cultural evolution, environment protection, healthcare, etc. It is noticed that the educated persons are interacting efficiently not only inside the groups but also in front of the law, norms, etc. Such a behavior creates a harmonious environment. Understanding the democratic value, for example, recognizing the liberties and the limits of the interference between the politic and the public sector, the acceptance of the arbitrage of the democratic institutions, all these are attitudes that develop in time. They are influenced by the educational factors, formal and non-formal ones. Moreover, while national boundaries are just lines without capacity of restricting the free movement of production, the higher skilled persons will be able to take advantages easier and more efficient from the new opportunities of the global economy. Between the education and the development, there is a strong correlation, in both direction. Yet, the determinant factor of the process seems to be the educational one.

         The impact of education being essential for the progress of a nation, it is necessary that the state interfere in initiating and supporting the institutions responsible for the education process, under all its facets, formal, non-formal and even informal.

LXIII - Brazil`s No-Blame Game: How Impunity Imperils The Country`s Image

        This post is a summary of two articles. The first published at  http://world.time.com/2013/04/11/brazils-no-blame, on April 11th, 2013. With the title above. And written by Andrew Downie.   The second published at http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/anti-corruption-round-table-in-brazil-9-december.html, on December 9th, 2012.

       Two shocking episodes of violence, yet another case of mismanagement by its sporting bodies, and several episodes of deadly traffic madness, all made worse by a sense of continuing impunity enjoyed by the alleged perpetrators of crime and mismanagement, have come as a reminder that all is not rosy in South America`s biggest nation. In São Paulo, eight police officers are being held in a city hall in connection with the investigation into the cold-blooded killing of two youths. In Rio de Janeiro, a american woman was brutally raped. Meanwhile, the city`s mayor was forced to close the new stadium that will host the track and field events for the 2016 Olympics Games, because the roof is in danger of collapse. And a bus that was allowed to continue running in spite of having 47 fines of traffic violations careened off a viaduct killing seven people onboard. The events are more than just graphic illustrations of how life is cheap in Brazil. The other common thread is impunity and a lack of accountability. The front page headlines have been a huge embarrassment for Rio. The root of the problem is two-fold, says Fabricia Ramos, a researcher, most glaringly, public services are insufficient or inefficient. They can function for the elite when they need them. But the poor, and the areas they live in, are treated with disdain, she said. There are few ways to complain and those responsible are rarely held accountable. Ramos cited as one example a new city hall line set up to help citizens to resolve everyday problems. The city hall says that 1 in 5 of the calls leads to direct action. But Ramos says a more common outcome is frustation. " You are at the mercy of the city hall. If they want to ignore you, they can and there is nothing you can do. Accountability is the big challenge." She said. The lack of accountability is even more evident in the sports world. Carlos Nuzman, the man who organized the 2007 Pan American Games and now in charge of organizing the 2016 Olympics, has not commented on the debacle of the stadium closure, much less called to account for it. He has always maintained the Pan American Games venue were built to olympics specifications and that quality was the reason the games went six times over budget. Now, however, two of those venues, for cycling and swimming, have been found to be substandard, they can not be used for olympics events and the athletics stadium was closed. The world will come to Brazil and no doubt be delighted by the climate and friendly hosts. But they are unlikely to be impressed by the infrastructure around them. Just do not expect anyone to be held accountable.

           Ricardo Young, president of the Ethos Institute for Private Social Responsibility, stressed that " a number of corrupt officials have suffered no penal actions until today. Impunity of one of the worst problems in Brazil, no one could possibly talk about efficiency or effectiveness when there is so much impunity. Corruption is an assault to democracy." Miriam Leitao, one of Brazil most important journalists, believes that this is one of the most serious signs a state can give to the market. She stressed, " Corruption calls out for collusive players, corrupt enterprises. This is a lethal message. It undermines institutions and the market and deforms regular production techniques. What frightens me the most is to see the youth losing its confidence in democracy." MP Paulo Rubem Santiago, coordinator of the Parliamentary Front Against Corruption stated that, " corruption staggers the state, because it allows a parallel one to govern." He proposes structural changes. " The President should not nominate Judges of the Supreme Federal Court and Superior Justice Courts." He said. Professor of UnB, Ricardo Caldas, mentioned a survey that shows that only 10% of Brazilian citizens trust the National Congress. Furthermore, more than 50% had no idea of what the National Auditing Agencies did. In addition, only 7% had participated in local communal organizations at least once in thier lives. On the other side, most individuals, according to its research, believe that corruption can be fought, mainly with the support of the media and civil society.

Accountability - responsability for your actions and expected to explain them.
Debacle - collapse, breakdown.
Collusive - conspirational, combined.
Stagger - vacillate, stun, confuse.