Lifestyle: Get a Second Life!

Do you already have a SECOND LIFE? if not, what are you waiting? Nowadays, the internet allows us more and more to escape boring everyday routine, meet "interesting" people all around the globe (why be limited to your boring next door neighbours or your uncreative work colleagues?), get to know people with who you have things in common, join different communities with similar interests, date interesting people, etc. The problem with a lot of those is that it is all quite 'virtual' and hardly ever goes 'real'.

Just think of MySpace, Hi5, Tunefeed, Meetic, gaydar, gayromeo, Youtube, MSN, and all those 'virtual communities'. Many of those have become quite trendy and if you don't have a profile there, you're NO one... It goes so far that there are even companies that 'create' fake 'friends' to fill your Myspace page (www.fakeyourspace.com). And not even Wikipedia escapes with 'fake' people writing fake 'facts' about the most different issues.

But now there's SECOND LIFE and that goes even further. With this virtual game (although it's not really a game) you can re-invent yourself or create multiple characters, become the gorgeous one you always dreamt of, etc, do all the things you never had the courage to in real life. And who knows, after all, whether this is not all a dream within a dream. Or if in our 'real world', we are only the 'avatars' of some bored beings somewhere out there in another dimension?

So what is SECOND LIFE after all? as wikipedia describes it:

"Second Life (abbreviated as SL) is an Internet-based virtual world which came to international attention via mainstream news media in late 2006 and early 2007. Developed by Linden Lab, a downloadable client program enables its users, called "Residents", to interact with each other through motional avatars [characters or profiles], providing an advanced level of a social network service combined with general aspects of a metaverse. Residents can explore, meet other Residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another.
Second Life is one of several virtual worlds that have been inspired by the cyberpunk literary movement, and particularly by Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash. The stated goal of Linden Lab is to create a world like the Metaverse described by Stephenson, a user-defined world of general use in which people can interact, play, do business, and otherwise communicate. Second Life's virtual currency is the Linden Dollar (Linden, or L$) and is exchangeable for US Dollars in a marketplace consisting of residents, Linden Lab and real life companies.
While Second Life is sometimes referred to as a game, it does not have points, scores, winners or losers, levels, an end-strategy, or most of the other characteristics of games. In all, more than five million accounts have been registered, though many are not active, and some Residents have multiple accounts. Despite its prominence, Second Life has notable competitors, including Active Worlds, There, and newcomers such as Entropia Universe, Dotsoul Cyberpark, Red Light Center, and Kaneva."

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SL is a virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. It has been so successful that it went from 1 million avatars in the beginning of 2006 to some 6 million profiles around the globe, by the beginning of 2007. It doesn't mean that there are as many as 6 million people using SL, in fact some people may create several characters. Indeed, why get bored? But it shows the growing interest it is creating.

As the site says "From the moment you enter the World of SL, you'll discover a vast digital continent, full of people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business. You'll also be surrounded by different creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents."

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So what are you waiting for? Go explore the virtual world of SL...

Citizenship: Ready or not for climate change?

By identifying specific targets for environmental performance and measuring how close each country comes to these established goals, the Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) provides benchmarks for current national pollution control and natural resource management results.

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The issue-by-issue and aggregate rankings facilitate cross-country comparisons both globally and within relevant peer groups. The EPI thus provides a powerful tool for improving policymaking and shifting environmental decisionmaking onto firmer analytic foundations.

The EPI centers on two broad environmental protection objectives: (1) reducing environmental stresses on human health and (2) protecting ecosystem vitality. Derived from a careful review of the environmental literature, these twin goals mirror the priorities expressed by policymakers, most notably the environmental dimension of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Environmental health and ecosystem vitality are assessed using sixteen indicators tracked in six established policy categories: Environmental Health, Air Quality, Water Resources, Biodiversity and Habitat, Productive Natural Resources, and Sustainable Energy.

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The Pilot 2006 EPI deploys a proximity-to-target methodology focused on a core set of environmental outcomes linked to policy goals for which every government should be held accountable. Top-ranked countries—New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom—all commit significant resources and effort to environmental protection, resulting in strong performance across most of the policy categories. The five lowest-ranked countries—Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Chad, and Niger—are underdeveloped nations with little capacity to invest in environmental infrastructure (such as drinking water and sanitation systems) or aggressive pollution control and systematic natural resource management. Every country lags its peers on some issues. This suggests that all governments stand to benefit from using the Pilot EPI to identify policy options and models to borrow from other countries. Globally, considerable work remains to be done to put the planet on the path toward environmental sustainability.

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Portugal does not perform too bad, coming in place 11, France 12, Germany 22, Spain in 23, USA 28, Brasil 34, Belgium 39 (surprise...), Mexico 66 and the worst european country is Romania in 90.

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Indicators used: child Mortality , Indoor Air Pollution, Drinking Water, Adequate Sanitation, Urban Particulates, Regional Ozone, Nitrogen Loading, Water Consumption,j Wilderness Protection, Ecoregion Protection, Timber Harvest Rate, Agricultural Subsidies, Overfishing, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, CO2 Per GDP.
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read the article in Newsweek.

For a copy of the complete Pilot 2006 EPI Report and additional materials, visit:
www.yale.edu/epi

Or check the summary here.

Check also: http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/programs.html

Politique: quelle Constitution européenne aurons nous?

En 2005, le philosophe Jürgen Habermas manifestait ses craintes sur le processus de ratification du Traité constitutionnel européeen. Il avait bien raison, la France et les Pays-Bas, deux des six partenaires fondateurs, ont voté 'non' en referendum. Quelques années plus tard, on n'est pas sorti de l'auberge... Angela Merkel , la chancellière allemande, et le Président Barroso, veulent trouver une sortie rapide et 'facile', en proposant une version "light", "déca", "zero" calories, qui ne s'appelerait peut être "Constitution" et qui pourrait être ratifiée par les Parlements nationaux sans passer le difficile test des referendum nationaux. Il semble qu'ils ont déjà 'orchestré' une tactique pour faire passer ce Traité sans faire trop de bruit. L'important c'est que le nouveau traité dote l'Union des structures démocratiques de décision qui permettent une gouvernance européenne efficace permettant à l'Union de conquérir sa place de 'puissance' mondiale. Au Portugal, le Président de la République, coordonnée avec Barroso, a déjà fait savoir qu'il serait pour une ratification sans referendum... et en France, quelle approche ira adopter le nouveau Président? Si Sarkozy pourrait accepter l'idée d'un mini-Traité sans referendum, Ségolène Royal a promis un nouveau referendum. Et aux Pays Bas? et au Royaume Uni? Et qui feront les 17 pays qui ont déjà ratifié la Constitution? enfin, on n'est pas encore sures d'avoir une Constitution ratifiée en 2009, comme le prétend Barroso et Merkel...

Politique: France, victoire de la démocratie !

Dimanche dernier c’est la démocratie qui a gagné en France !

Avec une participation au vote de l’ordre de 85% des électeurs inscrits, ce fut la plus grande participation depuis 1964. Pendant que dans la plupart des pays démocratiques la participation citoyenne dans les votes recule, atteignant dans certains pays des chiffres honteux pour une démocratie (Etats-Unis par exemple), en France, elle atteint des pourcentages record. En plus, il faut dire que le vote n’y est pas obligatoire comme dans d’autres pays, comme la Belgique ou l’Argentine, par exemple.

A part ça, il y a eu deux victoires et deux défaites. Première victoire pour Sarkozy (31% des votes), qui, avec une campagne intelligente à droite, a su séduire l’électorat qui avait auparavant voté pour Le Pen. Du coup, grande défaite pour celui-ci, qui est désormais ‘fini’, avec ces 11%. Et, honnêtement, je ne le crois pas capable de revenir dans cinq ans…

Défaite aussi pour Bayrou, qui, malgré ces 18,5% de votes, n’aura pas réussi son pari, celui de passer au deuxième tour. Malgré tout il sera peut être désormais un nom incontournable du changement et de l’inévitable restructuration politique en France. Probablement il ne donnera pas indication de vote, reste à voir, même si Mme Royal essaie bien de le ‘séduire’.

Finalement, victoire pour Ségolène Royal, première femme à passer au deuxième tour des présidentielles en France. Elle a su maintenir sa deuxième place, malgré des difficultés de parcours, avec 25,5%.

Finalement, cette fois-ci les sondages se sont révélés assez proches des résultats. Pour le deuxième tour, Sarkozy remportera probablement le vote des français, sauf péripéties de dernière heure, alliances improbables, révélations bombastiques…

Jusqu’à présent il est clair que ces élections ont dynamisé le débat politique en France et que les partis et la politique ne sera peut être plus jamais la même. Indépendamment de qui gagne le 6 mai prochain, ce qui est vraiment important c’est que la France reprenne ça place de leadership dans la construction européenne, s’ouvre vers l’extérieur et vers le monde, aie confiance dans ses potentialités et n’aie pas peur, ni de la construction européenne, ni de la globalisation. Car l’Europe en a besoin et aussi les pays de l’Europe du sud.

Personnellement je voterais pour Royal, si jamais je pouvais voter en France. Malgré ses contradictions, hésitations et gaffes, je crois davantage dans son projet et dans sa volonté de changer et apporter une différence. Je la vois moins pliable aux intérêts américains et moins partisane d’une France ‘grand-pays’ au sein de l’Union européenne, donc plus favorable à un équilibre entre les grands et les petits pays, moins arrogante, finalement. Comme elle-même disait dans un comice à Toulouse, tandis que «le projet de M. Sarkozy c’est lui-même», les citoyens sont au cœur de son projet (Royal), en tout cas certainement plus que dans le cas de son rival. Bonne chance!

Cinema: IndieLisboa FilmFestival has started!

The fourth edition of IndieLisboa – Lisbon’s International Independent Film Festival - started yesterday, April 19, 2007. Until April 29, 226 films from all over the world will be screened. That includes 19 World premieres and 10 european premieres, but also film-concerts and talks. The opening ceremony will be followed by the screening of the movie-concert “LIFE IN LOOPS - A MEGACITIES REMIX”, by Timo Novotny/ by austrian group SOFA SURFERS.

INDIELISBOA aims to meet some of the most recent and interesting works of independent cinema from all over the world. The Festival intends to discover new films and new directors, in the universe of independent cinema. In only three years it was able to become the second most important Portuguese festival.

For the international competition, IndieLisboa will comprise short and feature films that have never been publicly screened in Portugal, and that have been concluded in 2006 or 2007. There is also a section for shorts and features and an Observatory as a radar on what’s being done in the independent film scene. There's also a laboratory section that explores the new territories of filmmaking. IThe festival will also organize the LISBON SCREENINGS: PORTUGUESE PREMIERES, a special event on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of April 2007.

The international competition section includes, among others, Mexico's DRAMA/MEX (by Gerardo Naranjo, 2006), Chile's RABIA (by Oscar Cárdenas, 2006), Argentina's EL AMARILLO (by Sergio Mazza, 2006), Israel's CLOSE TO HOME (by Vidi Bilu & Dalia Hager, 2006) and Germany's SUMMER '04 (by Stefan Krohmer, 2006). There are also some 31 films also in the short film section .

This year, IndieLisboa will pay tribute to japanese director Shinji Aoyama and to the New German Cinema. In 2004 the festival paid tribute to the Sundance Film Festival and in 2005 to the New Argentinean Cinema and chinese cineast Jia Zhangke. In 2007, ten years after "Henry Fool", Hal Hartley returns to the story of Fay Grim and Henry Fool, also to be seen in Lisbon.

The closing Film will be the much awaited DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (by Gabriel Range - United Kingdom, 2006) (in which President G. W. Bush is assassinated in Chicago…).

This is all very promising! Pitty I will not be in Lisbon to enjoy all this…

Music: Slagsmålsklubben from Sweden

Cinema: Cannes 2007

La sélection officielle du 60e festival de Cannes mêle anciens lauréats et nouveaux venus
LEMONDE.FR | 19.04.07

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Citizenship: 50 reasons to love the European Union

As the EU celebrates its 50th anniversary, the British newspaper The Independent looks at 50 benefits it has brought, from a British point of view of course, and asks: "What has Europe done for us?"
Very interesting. Check it here.

Politics: Belgian Jews support far-right party

In the meantime, while some try to promote cultural integration, others promote active segregation, and not only.

Something very strange (or maybe not) is happening in Belgium these days: a small but important number of Jews (there is a wealthy important community, in particular in Antwerp) are supporting a far-right party whose founders were Nazi collaborators. The xenophobic party, Vlaams Belang (previously Vlaams-Blok), has grown on fears of immigrants (mostly arabs and turks) claiming Belgium to the belgian (well... more Flanders to the flemish, that is...) and, unlike the prewar parties from which it is descended, courts Jewish votes! according to an article by the IHT, some 5% of the Jews in Antwerp voted for the Vlaams Belang in the last election... Now it remains to be seen what will happen in this year's elections. In the last ones, this party got 1/3 of the votes in Antwerp.

read more here....

Politics: Tariq Ramadan and Eurabia

Tariq Ramadan is a well-known intellectual activist in Europe. He wants the arab minority in Europe to become mainstream, and the muslim religion too, to become sort of institutionalised. He claims that it is the only road to the integration of muslim citizens in Europe. The IHT - International Herald Tribune, wrote an article on him and his view of Eurabia.

"Tariq Ramadan, Muslim, scholar, activist, Swiss citizen, resident of Britain, active on several continents, is a hard man to pin down. People call him "slippery," "double-faced," "dangerous," but also "brilliant," a "bridge-builder," a "Muslim Martin Luther." He wants Muslims to become active citizens of the West but four years ago was himself refused permission to enter the U.S. He could not take up the teaching position he'd been offered at the University of Notre Dame. Oxford University took him on as a visiting fellow instead.

To his admirers, he is a courageous reformer who works hard to fill the chasm between Muslim orthodoxy and secular democracy. Young European Muslims flock to his talks, which are widely distributed on audiocassettes. A brilliant speaker, he inspires his audiences, rather like Black Power leaders did in the 1960s, by instilling a sense of pride. A friend of mine saw him last year in Rotterdam, talking to a hall packed with around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. To them he had the aura of an Islamic superstar. Even my friend, an Iranian-born Dutchman with entirely secular views, was impressed by the eloquence of this Muslim thinker, who wishes to press his faith into the mainstream of European life. His critics see things differently: they accuse him of anti-Semitism, religious bigotry, promoting the oppression of women and waging a covert holy war on the liberal West."

Read the whole text in the IHT.

Citizenship: Music for all!

The music e-shop Apple is under fire from the European Commission, which will take measures against music shops in Internet that sell music separately by country, such as iTunes of Apple.

Apple has been selling songs for the iPod-users for some years on the Internet, via iTunes. iTunes customers can only buy music in the shop of their own country. That is contrary to European rules. In iTunes, for each country a separate e-shop has been set up with its prices, but not a shop for all countries, that is! According to Apple, that is so because of the rules set by the record companies. But the European Commission considers that it goes against the consumer's freedom of choice in Europe. The commission confirmed last Tuesday that they had sent a letter to the concerned companies, expressing the Commission's objections, according to European rules. The European Commission could apply important fines if the rules are not accepted. A British consumer group had already complained in 2005, concerning the fact that songs in France and Germany were cheaper than in Great Britain, but it is not possible for British consumers to buy in other shops (unless they have a credit card from the country). Apple can block people from buying abroad by checking the credit cards data.

But the iTunes internet-shops are also controversial in Europe because of the copying right imposed on the music files. Songs bought in iTunes can only be played (directly) on iPods and there are rights preventing people from listening to them in other supports. Already in France, lastyear, iTunes was given a deadline to make the technical changes necessary so that the music format sold can be used in other supports (mp3). According to different consumer groups the buyer should be entitled to listen to music wherever he wants, once he has bought it.

Things are moving slowly but surely! Already last week, EMI, one of the major record companies, has agreed to drop the rights preventing people from listening to their music in other supports and burn it wherever thay want. And it might be that soon we will have more competition in the internet music buisiness and that iTunes will be forced to have a global e-shop without borders...

In the meantime check my favourite sites for mp3 music download (sometimes more than 99 cents per track though):

Beatport: https://www.beatport.com/

DJdownload: www.djdownload.com

E-music: www.emusic.com

Fnac-music: www.fnacmusic.com

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Be careful with which airline you fly!

Lost and mishandled baggage

When flying, you'd better avoid big airport hubs, and in particular Heathrow and BA...

The UK's Air Transport Users Council (AUC) has published a report on mishandled baggage. It includes data provided by the Association of European Airlines (AEA). According to the airlines' own data, the major European network airlines mishandled over 5.6 million bags in 2006, of which 85% were delivered within 48 hours. This figure, however, relates only to the twenty-four airlines that are members of the AEA.

The 2006 figures show that the AEA airlines that tend to have the worst performance are the larger carriers. The three biggest carriers – Air France, Lufthansa and British Airways – have the worst records (together with the smaller TAP-Air Portugal - of course...). The worst performing AEA airline in 2006 was British Airways with 23 lost luggage per 1000 passengers. The problem is that Heathrow also has the worst record of flight delays! And Brussels the best!

Airlines that operate most of their flights from major hub airports, where many of their passengers take connecting flights, show a higher risk of mishandled baggage. And of course, passengers on connecting flights are exposed to the highest risk of all.
The Montreal Convention The Montreal Convention sets out airlines’ liability for passengers and their baggage (it also covers liability for cargo). The good thing about the Convention is that it says that an airline must accept liability for passengers’ baggage. The bad thing about it is that it limits an airline’s liability to around £800 (depending on exchange rates) per passenger. An airline will typically need to be convinced that a lost suitcase, for example, really did contain what we say it did. And that is easier said than done.
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Energia: o SOL chega finalmente a Portugal

Como se pode ver no mapa do potencial para produzir energia solar fotovoltaica na Europa, Portugal (e o sul em particular) é das regiões mais beneficiadas. E, parece que finalmente o Sol vai chegando a Portugal.

A central solar de Serpa (Alentejo, Portugal) começou a funcionar recentemente, com 52 mil painéis fotovoltaicos, uma potência total de 11 megawatts (suficiente para produzir energia electrica para 8.000 pessoas). Finalmente o governo português apostado em aproveitar ao máximo as excelentes condições do país desenvolver as energias renováveis, e não apenas a energia eólica. O Governo português pretende produzir 100 MW até 2010, produzindo electricidade para mais de 75.000 pessoas. Outras centrais fotovoltaicas estão previstas, como em Moura, com 52 MW. Alémdisso, outras tecnologias, para além dos painéis foto-voltaicos, serão experimentadas, como torres de aquecimento para turbinas a vapor - ver artigo no Público.

Mas por outro lado ainda não se utiliza suficientemente no país (como acontece noutros, e muitas vezes com bastante menos potencialidades) os colectores ou painéis solares térmicos, para aquecimento de água, embora existam incentivos fiscais para isso.

Paralelamente, e aproveitando certamente as excelentes possibilidades do país, a empresa alemã Bosch vai instalar em Aveiro um centro de investigação sobre energias renováveis, nomeadamente, a solar térmica, prevendo-se a criação de em 100 postos de trabalho até 2010. o grupo Bosch pretende produzir painéis solares térmicos, pois o retorno do investimento é de cinco a seis anos. No entanto, a Bosch não pretende desenvolver actividade no sector solar fotovoltaico pois, segundo o seu representante, o investimento é menos rentável, até agora, com um retorno do investimento de 13 a 15 anos.

Embora a produção de energias renováveis em Portugal tenha aumentado significativamente nos ultimos anos, ainda é relativamente insuficiente, no contexto Europeu, embora países como a França (que apostou no nuclear) façam claramente pior. Em 2004 Portugal produziu 21 (1000 tep- toneladas equilavelentes de petróleo) de energia fotovoltaica, enquanto o total na Europa (dos 25) foi de 7473 (Espanha 62, Grécia 108, Alemanha 269, França 19 e Itália 19). No mesmo ano, Portugal tinha produzido 70 (1000 tep) de energia eólica – para um total da EU25 de 5033 (e a Espanha 1341, a Alemanha 2173, Dinamarca 566, França apenas 49 e Itália 159). Mas, em relação a energia electrica eólica, Portugal produziu 816 GWh, de um total na EU25 de 58521 GWh (Espanha 15601, Grécia 1121, Alemanha 25270, Dinamarca 6583 e França 573).