Our driver wanted to be fast. So he drove as fast as possible then braked hard or did a sharp turn left or right to avoid one of the many big and smaller holes in the road. Sometimes it was a bit scary, when there was traffic on the other side or the road was close to the edge of a mountain. Here the roads are not that much secured, so if you fall there isn't much that would stop the car in most places. Good to see that they were working on some guardrails. This driving style wasn't the best, although he was fast. One of our friend's stomach didn't like that very much. She had a hard time.

On the trip there are some nice places. Beautiful beaches, mountains, tropical forrests, monkeys, flowers, rice fields, people carrying heavy things on their head... It was a little sad that we didn't have time to stop and to enjoy the views. All the pictures I could get I took from the car. It was very funny because most of the time I just got grass and not the beautiful beach or people, when the car climbed up a mountain. I will add some, once I have them on the computer, promised...

For lunch we had stopped for about half an hour. And then some toilet stops. At about seven it was dark and got very cold and rainy. I searched for a sweater, which I hadn't worn for six month now. It feels cold but also special it we have to wrap up ourself in someting. A good landmark is when we pass the boarder of the province. Then two thirds are done... But also interesting in our province there is no church building  but right after the boarder there is the first one on a little hill to welcome all the people passing. The atmosphere seems quite different. Still the trip is not over. It would have liked to go by plane so much, but it was all booked. it seems better to make the trip at night, when we can't see where it is dangerous and we would try to sleep more.

After 12 hours, my guess was right, we finally arrived. My legs felt as if they would belong to someone else. We were very thankful to have arrived safely. It was a veeery long trip.

The podcasts are designed to allow self-study and could be given as homework assignments. The suggested level is for students at, or beginning, level A2 in the European Framework.

Elementary Podcasts from the British Council

Using On the Issues.org I will demonstrate why John McCain is the more worthy candidate for President this year. There are a handful of issues which are going to be important in the next four years, those are: Energy, Foreign Policy, Gay Rights, Abortion, Economy and Immigration. The most perennial of these issues has to be Abortion and so it will be dealt with first. John McCain is a pro life candidate, which is more than can be said for either Barack Obama or Joe Biden. McCain is against public funding for abortions, which will make it less cost efficient for abortion clinics to remain open having to depend on the money brought in by their customers. McCain recognizes that if Abortion clinics are not receiving public aide for their operation, the cost of operating will fall on the women who seek abortions. The rise in cost in Abortions will ultimately force many women to forgo having an abortion and of course will close free abortion clinics which cater to the lower income women and teens in general. Likewise, McCain supports the prosecution of Abortion doctors rather than the women who seek them out. A doctor who knows they will be prosecuted for performing an Abortion is less likely to do so than if they know they are permitted. Many will argue that as doctors refuse to perform Abortions many women will revert to back alley abortions. John McCain also supports adoption and foster care in order to help give women an alternative to abortion. McCain has shown this willingness to support adoption has he himself has an adopted daughter named Bridget, and adopted his first wife's two sons Douglass and Andrew. McCain's voting record demonstrates his support for Pro Life stances, including voting to continue the ban on abortions on Military bases, and making it a crime to harm a fetus when committing another crime.

The second issue, which has for sometime now been building to what will possibly be a national issue, Gay Rights, specifically Marriage. Senator McCain believes that the issue of homosexual marriage should be left up to the states, believing it to be unrepublican for the Federal government to decide. However, he has also voted against making sexual orientation a part of the hate crime definition. While he does not support a Federal definition of marriage as one man, one woman, he has shown support for California Proposition no. 8 which would do just that for the state of California. McCain is also in favor of maintaining the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy of the United States Armed Forces. For many Conservatives, though not this one, McCain's stance on Gay Marriage is exactly what they wish: he is against it personally, but does not believe it is the Federal government's place to deny it.

Since the beginning of the American Republic there have been two key issues that we have struggled with: Immigration and Foreign Policy. The two issues are interconnected and thus will be dealt with here together. Immigration today is largely focused on Hispanic immigration, primarily from Mexico. There is always a threat, whether laughable or not, that Mexican immigration could be a part of a larger ploy by Mexico to reclaim the lands lost during the Mexican-American War (Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona.) Recognizing this, and the need to ensure immigration is kept orderly, Senator McCain voted for a fence to be built along the Mexican-American border. In 2007, John McCain voted in favor of making the English language the official language of the United States Government, though this was primarily viewed as a ceremonial jester by Congress. He is in favor of a Guest Worker program and granting visas to skilled workers. He also has voted in favor of allowing limited health care to be provided to immigrants. In July of 2001, McCain came out in support of English immersion rather than bilingual education. Overall, McCain is in support of immigration reform. Border security, his primary concern in reforming immigration, is intrinsically connected to foreign policy. While the Mexican government is allied with the United States, drug dealers and rogue nations like Venezuela are always threats to our national security.

John McCain supports a healthy defense budget, including modernizing outdated military technology such as the C-130, B-2 and Seawolf. He also wants to raise the salary of the United States Armed Forces in order to help divert the need for a draft. McCain also finds it embarrassing that we have soldiers or former soldiers living on food stamps. He did not vote in favor of limiting time in Iraq for soldiers to 12 months. McCain also supports the closing of unnecessary bases, finding it ludicrous that we leave bases open simply for political reasons. In March of 2005 McCain sponsored a bill which banned torturing of terrorists in U.S. Custody. In February of 1999 he voted in favor of raising the military salary by 4.8%. John McCain is the most logical choice for President in a time when we are at war and potentially could be at war with Russia or Iran within the next four years. Obama lacks military or foreign policy experience, John McCain has both. We need a person in office with military knowledge, over the last 16 years we have had individuals in office without true military knowledge leading us in war. We cannot afford, with the prospect of a true declared war, to have an individual in the Oval Office that lacks knowledge of military and foreign affairs.

On the Economy, John McCain is very important for our country. In 2006 he voted to permanently repeal the death tax. Then in 2008 he voted to raise the exemption from 1 million to 5 million on the death tax. In 2000 he voted in favor of eliminating the marriage tax and in 2001 voted to reduce the marriage penalty. John McCain is also against unions, believing that they are monopolies and voted in favor of giving employers the power to interfere in unions. McCain is also an advocate of free trade, voting to extend free trade to Oman, Singapore, Chile, and the Andean Nations. McCain has also voted in favor of normal trade relations with China and Vietnam. Finally, McCain is for less government spending and voted in 1997 in favor of the Balanced Budget Amendment. He is in favor of using the veto to stop over spending by Congress and has voted against pork barrel bills and pork spending.

Finally, we are faced with a problem of energy in this nation as we have become more and more dependent on foreign oil suppliers to support our nation. As a result we have become subject to nations which wish us ill including Venezuela who is our largest oil supplier. Senator McCain is in favor of nuclear power, which I personally believe is the most logical way to deal with our energy problems. In 2005 McCain voted in favor of banning oil drilling in ANWR, while his running mate and current Governor of Alaska is in favor of drilling in ANWR. McCain does believe that the climate has changed and is in support of reducing green house gases. McCain recognizes the need to cut our dependency on foreign oil and finding alternative methods to provide energy for this nation.

McCain has shown, throughout his time in Congress, an ability to work with both sides of the aisle and help reform our government and protect our nation for future generations. On the major that are presenting themselves for the next four years, John McCain has answers that are more correct than Barack Obama. He has the knowledge necessary should our nation engage in wars with Iran or Russia. He understands our nation's immigration problems as he represents the state of Arizona, one of the most hard hit states from illegal immigration. He recognizes the need for finding alternative fuel sources and supports the development of Nuclear power. John McCain supports the pro life stance and has sought to criminalize abortion in the most legally sensible methods possible. He recognizes the problems with our economy and knows that we must be willing to freely trade with other nations to help protect our own economy. Barack Obama has offered empty promises and has nothing in his voting record to demonstrate his steadfast character on the issues.

http://www.pandora.tv/my.europepoo/33026092

• 1 14 ounce package Gimme Lean Sausage
• 6 eggs or egg substitute
• 1 tbsp onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups milk, soy milk or rice milk
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese or soy cheese
• approximately 4 slices whole grain bread
• 1 tbsp cooking oil or spray

Preparation:

In a skillet, sautee Gimme Lean Sausage in cooking oil or spray for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Layer sausage in the bottom of a 9"x 9" pan. Cut bread slices into 1 inch strips and layer them across the sausage.

In a small bowl beat the eggs and milk. Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread slices. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes until golden on top.

Serves: 6

Per serving: Fat-11g, Fiber-2g, Sodium-640mg, Carbohydrates-21g, Protein-21g (soy protein 8g), Calories-270.

Ingredients:

• 1 16 ounce package penne pasta
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 16 ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to saucepan.

Stir in diced tomatoes, kidney beans and spaghetti sauce. Transfer to 2-quart baking dish and top with shredded mozzarella. Bake until cheese is melted and golden, about 40 minutes.

Hank's Double Standard

"This was a plain case of 'put up or shut up,'" are Hank's precise words as he describes his ploy to eradicate chivalry.  "Shutting up" is what the British peasantry had been doing for centuries in the face of upper class oppression.  In fact, Hank himself notes with disgust the rut the British peasant finds himself in, mentally as well as economically.  Is Hank's act towards knight errantry the same act that Hank professes to detest in royal oppression? Yes!

A page after Hank describes his forceful defeat of chivalry, he establishes one of his goals for "universal suffrage."  Hank is still striving for this not because he really sees it as the best thing, but because the idea strikes his fancy, and moreover, he feels morally obligated to, at least in speech, propagate the idea.  However, Hank's actions up to the last would suggest his lack of respect for the will of the people.  Even to the point of the whole nation marching against him, Hank insists his actions are justified.

What this really tells the reader is that Hank could care less for the people.  Therefore, readers should not be fooled by Hank's lofty propositions.  They all turn out empty.  Sure he eventually abolishes slavery....EVENTUALLY.  This is not to say that he lacks progress, just that there is only progress when the fancy suits him and when it goes well with his own plans.  What it boils down to: Hank wants freedom for the people assuming Hank can mold them into exactly what he wants.

While standing at the State line that separates Arizona and Nevada in 1998 during a family vacation, I could not help but think about how that moment really captured the feeling of being neither here nor there. I feel the same way when I drive through a tunnel. But in both those situations there is a resolution for me. I can cross over and I am definitively on one side.

With migration it has not been so easy. Which side will I pick or which side will pick me? American or Indian? That has not been an easy question for me to answer. In our family of four everyone had an answer to that question except for me. It bothered me terribly that I did not have an answer. That I might have to create a whole new identity all by myself without guidance and role models, aggravated my sensibilities even further. My parents obviously stayed true to their roots. My younger sister came to this country when she was three. It was almost as if she was expected and given familial blessings to become an American. She does not speak our mother tongue, though she can still understand it. Her memories of India are few and till recently she really had no interest in anything Indian, except maybe eating the tradition rice and rasam. I have felt like a misfit at home and within the society at large.

To cope, I unconsciously turned to language. I found that one of the ways to best fit in with everyone was to adapt my accent accordingly with the company I kept. For instance, with Americans I spoke like an American. With my parents and my Indian family, I spoke colloquial Tamil and my English with just the right amount of Indian accent. I was able to travel back and forth between the two linguistic states with an ease that sometimes I found eerie.

Complications were inevitable because I could not keep my environment uncontaminated. The different circles would eventually meet and I would have to account for one of my accents to one of the groups. And eventually people did point out that I switched in and out of accents. This often embarrassed and concerned me because I did not want people to think of me as a fake or to think I was being deceitful. But what really began to keep me up at night was suspecting my own sincerity. Why was I doing this? Who was I trying to please and was it working? The one thing I know about myself with absolute certainty is that I have a zero tolerance policy for the fake.

Alarmed, I was morphing into a fake, I set off to research what was happening to me. Luckily, being in Washington D.C. at that time, I had access to the Library of Congress, many immigrant groups, and the University of Maryland Libraries. Talking to the right people, reading the right literature and in a way listening to my own heart, I began to understand what had been happening to me all this time. I certainly was not alone in being "bilingual." There were other immigrant kids who were the 1.5 generation like me ( born in their native country, lived there for a while and then grew up in the US) who had some of the same issues. They also felt the need to translate themselves via their accents to really belong. There were enough of us to start a support groups. Bilingual By Choice (BBC)

Jokes aside, what was happening? To me? To all of us?

In a nut shell, evolution had worked and survival instincts had effectively kicked in. I was adapting to all of my changing environments given the fact that my identity was just forming. I had really no idea who I was and yet I had to draw from a well deep inside to respond to the people and places around me. So I turned to words, the only thing I could manipulate. I could cross from here to there in no time, like crossing the State lines from Arizona to Nevada.

** Update: Sources confirm that the author is indeed genuine. She has just gone through some confusing times.

by Bad Boys Blue

Lyrics

Tonight there'll be no darkness tonight
Hold tight let your love light shine bright
Listen to my heart and lay your body next to mine
Let me fill your soul with all my dreams

You're a woman I'm a man this is more than just a game
I can make you feel so right be my lady of the night
You're a woman I'm a man you're my fortune I'm your fame
These are things we can't disguise be my lady of the night

Lay back back in my tenderness
And take take all of my sweet caress
You've got all of me you can't go wrong if you agree
Soon two hearts will beat in ecstasy

You're a woman I'm a man this is more than just a game
I can make you feel so right be my lady of the night
You're a woman I'm a man you're my fortune I'm your fame
These are things we can't disguise be my lady

You're a woman I'm a man this is more than just a game
I can make you feel so right be my lady of the night
You're a woman I'm a man you're my fortune I'm your fame
These are things we can't disguise be my lady of the night

1.- Mix water, yeast and sugar and let stand 10 minutes to start bubbling.
2.- Add flour to yeast mix and blend well.
3.- Place in a greased or oiled bowl, and cover with a warm damp cloth.
4.- Allow to rise in a warm place until double in bulk, around 1 hour.
5.- Punch down dough and pat out onto an oiled (or cornmeal dusted) pizza pan to form the crust.
6.- Bake in a preheated 450° F oven for 8 minutes.
7.- Place olive oil, 1 cup diced seeded tomatoes, salt in blender and process until smooth.
8.- Spread mixture onto baked pizza crust evenly.
9.- Add 3 tomatoes sliced, 1/2 cup pitted olives, 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, 2 cup crumbled mozarella cheese, 1 cup diced green bell pepper, 1 zucchini sliced, 1/4 broccoli chopped . Sprinkle with salt and pepper dry basil and bake at 360° for 10 minutes. Bake until pizza is heated through and cheeses melt, about 10 minutes. Cut into squares.

Offering to Krishna.

Now, I'm a department manger not a network engineer but i am using openSUSE. OpenSUSE will live up to the demand for a better desktop Linux of my PC.

Sorry for my poor English again. I just want to write down more about computer technology what i have learned. I also wish it can help you in future.

“I can’t take a picture here,” I told Lili. She was quick to find a solution, but to a different problem altogether.

“I can ask the old man to move,” she proposed.

“Even if you do,” I explained, “you’d still need to ask them to move.” I placed an extra emphasis on the word “them”, while casually glancing at the scantily dressed women a mere twenty meters behind the statue, behind the old man, right in the path of the picture I would’ve wanted to take.

The look Lili gave me told me I had no choice but to take a picture. And I did. And, though I tried to frame the out, one lonely prostitute was able to sneak in behind Carlos Pena Filho, forever tarnishing the picture.

Now every time the bus goes by the Praça da Independencia in Recife, I look for the statue of Carlos Pena Filho and play a game: count the prostitutes. It’s not a hard task to achieve; there are usually plenty to keep me busy during the three or four seconds it takes the Casa Caiada bus to drive by the square. Only on rainy days does it become a challenge, when the prostitutes leave the square, abandoning Carlos Pena Filho and seeking shelter under the awnings of the downtown stores, blending in with the crowds...

by Louis Armstrong

Lyrics

I see trees of green........ red roses too
I see them bloom..... for me and you
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue..... clouds of white
Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

The colors of a rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin.. how do you do
They're really saying......I love you.

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
They'll learn much more.....than I'll never know
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

Yeah I think to myself what a wonderful world

New Trailer, English Website Launch for First Squad

Japan's Studio 4°C animates World War II action series set in Soviet Union

The Russian-Canadian animation company Molot Entertainment has relaunched the website for its upcoming First Squad animated video series, which is currently in production at Japan's Studio 4°C. The English/Japanese/Russian-language site now includes a brand-new trailer, an introduction to First Squad's story, character profiles, and a set of design and layout sketches. The trailer is also available for streaming via YouTube.

First Squad is set during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front. Its main cast are a group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invading German army. They are opposed by a Schutzstaffel (SS) officer who is attempting to raise from the dead a supernatural army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross and enlist them in the Nazi cause.

First Squad: The Moment of Truth is being directed by Mind Game and Tweeny Witches' Yoshiharu Ashino. Hirofumi Nakata, who recently worked on the Batman: Gotham Knight anthology video, is designing the characters, and Studio 4°C head Eiko Tanaka, whose credits include both The Animatrix and Tekkonkinkreet, will be one of the producers along with Molot's Misha Sprits and Aljosha Klimov.

World War II junkies (like myself) would be interested on this one. Definitely looking forward for this. :)

Official Website: First-Squad (English)

This book is intended, if not in actuality, then in spirit, as a continuation of the works started by Winston Churchill.  While it is an unique view of historical events (and peppered with interesting, yet trivial tidbits), it is a history tome.  As such, it will depend on your tolerance for diving into history for how interesting you'll find the book, or how quickly you'll go through it.

Personally I found the book interesting, but got bogged down in the history of it (a trait of my own, no fault of the author's).  In general, Mr. Roberts' style is easy to read, but he does have a tendency of jumping around a bit, or slipping in some minor information that takes you out of the narrative flow.  In the end, I'd recommend this book to you if you're interested in the intertwined history that America and the British Emprire had (and continue to have).

We will sure miss all of them and all the wonderful times we had there!!!

Beijos,

Dani and Dave

[gallery]

Diego is an animal rescuer.

Everyday he saves animals.

If he wants to know who is in trouble, he uses his camera.

The camera’s name is Click.

The camera is inside the TreeHouse.

Diego has a Rescue Pack.

Rescue Pack can change into anything but not people.

His friend is Baby Jaguar, his sister is Alicia and his cousin is Dora.

Go Diego Go is a good show like Wonder Pets because they are not fighting.

Diego speaks English and Spanish.

He lives in Latin America.

I first saw Go Diego Go on TV in Crowne Plaza in Chicago.

We rented a cabin at the beach and spent the weekend on a real fisher village!!!

We met some nice people. One in particular is the owner of a small restaurant. We spent some time with him and his dog...

Check it out!!!

Beijos,

Dave and Dani

[gallery]

The trope “A World Where Many Worlds Fit” goes back to Subcommandante Marcos, when talking about the Zapatistas’ struggles in the Lacandonian Rainforest in Mexico. Since their uprising in 1994 the Zapatistas have been fighting for a less hierarchical, autonomous world with more options to offer in democratic decision-making processes. They fight against an existing world, which calls itself “democratic,” but should rather be seen as a form of sophisticated oligarchy that functions especially in favour of the interests of the political and economic elites. In other parts of the world the stick that punishes people who envision another world is usually not so visible. But this can change suddenly when those in power assemble in the framework of the summits of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organization (WTO), World Economic Forum (WEF) or the G8. Though the decisions made by politicians and business leaders at such meetings affect the lives of all people in the world, the negotiations take place hidden from the public gaze, behind fences and under massive security with the protection of thousands of riot police. These gatherings have become a symbol for the undemocratic and illegitimate formation of global capitalism.

At each of these summits individual and collective singularities from all over the world come together in order to express their opposition to the way global decisions are taken and realised. These mobilisations of attendance at summit meetings are the movements’ most visible public appearances. According to most narratives, the action taken against the WTO in Seattle in 1999 launched the birthplace of the new movement. The events at Seattle articulated a form of resistance and protest of the centres of capitalism that proved strong enough to shut down the WTO summit there. Since 1999 this global movement has shown up at each meeting of World Bank, IMF, WTO and WEF — unless the scared politicians decide to meet in the mountains, in deserts, or in dictatorships in order to avoid publicly shown dissent at their summits, which were originally introduced for publicity purposes. Even though this movement is the first that is truly globalised, it is usually described as a counter-globalisation movement. It can actually be called the “movement of the movements.”

At the demonstrations, counter-summits and mass blockades, many individuals and collectives come together: media activists, clown army, pink block, naked block, black block, anarchists, socialists, Trotskyists, members of ATTAC, human rights activists, feminists, migrants, indigenous people, artists, etc. Many activists switch between these identities. All these singularities have their own images, banners, different public appearance and slogans, that do not only represent something, but contribute to the creation of effective blockades and to the creation of a space. This space is both one of representation, as well as a space for action that in the best cases also spreads to other areas such as the local neighbourhoods of the activists. This new social subject, sometimes referred to as the “multitude”, builds horizontally organised networks and has a radial transformation of society in mind.

“A World Where Many Worlds Fit” attempts to present a global movement as an example of collective intelligence through a variety of artistic practices, and wants to function as “a space for thinking.” The 12 artists involved in the project demonstrate a strong commitment to social movements and do not position themselves as “neutral” in relation to them. Many of the included works focus on the cities that have now become known for past demonstrations, counter-summits and/or blockades and are used as shorthand descriptions for these events: Seattle, Prague, Salzburg, Genoa, Buenos Aires, Gleneagles, St. Petersburg or Heiligendamm. The exhibition can be seen as a kind of course, which addresses important steps of the movement of the movements.

Whether or not this globalisation of resistance will be successful in the future will depend on whether upcoming summits can be mobilised to show our dissent to the world and our desire to create other worlds. As Tadzio Mueller eloquently outlines,* it will be essential for the global movement to develop a critical and convincing anti-capitalist strategy to fight climate change, as this is a central issue of world-wide importance that the G8 exploit to legitimise their meetings in the public, and that “asks the question of property and class struggle” and “talks about collective social transformation.” If we manage to bring such an agenda into public debate, the movement of the movements will probably also play an important role in the political landscape in the ten years after the upcoming G8 summit in Maddalena in Italy.

*In: “What Would It Mean to Win?”, A film by Zanny Begg and Oliver Ressler, 40 min., 2008

Artists’ works in the exhibition:

An audio track by Seattle-based composer, improviser, and phonographer Christopher DeLaurenti permeates the exhibition. “Four Protest Symphonies” is a series of front-line recordings made at various actions, including the World Trade Organization protest in Seattle in 1999. Spattered by pepper spray, enshrouded in tear gas and pelted with rubber bullets, Delaurenti was engulfed in a maelstrom of drums, slogans, chants, screaming and violence. These are cemented with combative field recordings of the various protests, art actions, police transmissions, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather alerts, radio broadcast anomalies (splashes and sprays of tape hiss, enigmatic numbers glossolalia, crude phase encoding), and wild card audio snatched from the airwaves to compose a vivid soundscape of dissent.

The artist, designer and activist Noel Douglas presents an installation based on graphic material that he has produced over the last seven years as part of his involvement with different social movements. The banners, posters, t-shirts, books and magazines included in the installation have been used and disseminated during many recent anti-capitalist and anti-war protests. In “A World Where Many Worlds Fit,” Douglas arranges these objects in a nine-metre long vitrine. Displayed on a panel in the vitrine are numerous spreads from books and magazines promoting and popularising the ideas of the movement. Alongside these are laid out the popular “Regime Change Begins at Home” playing cards, which satirise the playing cards handed out to troops by the US military in Iraq. On the floor of the vitrine thousands of “Capitalism Means War” dollar bills are spread out, these were handed out during the major demonstrations against the impending War in Iraq held on February 15th, 2003. On the glass window, a vinyl tape with the text “Ceci N’est Pas Le Capitalisme” (This is not Capitalism) frames the work. This tape was used at demonstrations across Europe and the US as a temporary street “line” to hang posters from. Shown here hung on the walls, these posters called for demonstrations against the G8 and instead for participation in the European Social Forum. There are also those that simply visualise the problems of capitalism using a more direct agit-prop approach with many proclaiming one of the central slogans of the movement, “Another World Is Possible.”

The Argentinean artist/activist collective Etcétera presents documentation of their Buenos Aires based street actions in an installation that includes information about the original local context and situation. Since late 1997 Etcétera has implemented a poetic, absurd and surreal artistic practice into street actions that take a crack at important issues such as social injustice and human rights agendas. Their work became even more pertinent in the midst of the enormous economic crisis that peaked in 2001 and that sent Argentina spiralling down to levels of emergency and starvation. Etcétera’s actions, like many enacted in the public space, are ephemeral and circumstantial. They re-imagine the activity of the street as a performance in a specific space and a specific time. As a result of the dissemination their amazingly humorous and bitter sparks of activism into cultural institutions, artistic circuits and the web through videos, cartoons, pamphlets and manifestos, Etcétera have inspired numerous kindred spirits and related projects.

Petra Gerschner produced a photo-documentation of the activities made against the G8 summit held in Heiligendamm. She celebrates the work of activists, who aim to become the subjects of their own history, by literally illuminating them in the form of a light-box with a precise selection of four photos. “Join the Winning side – Smash Capitalism,” reads a light-installation on a truck in one of the images. This slogan represents the approach of the global movement to not only comment on social conditions, but to also actively change them. The work attempts to transpose the energy and enthusiasm of the activists and hints at the possibility that with collective experience and action, resistance is feasible and can be successful. At the same time Gerschner raises questions about the visual representation of the movement of the movements in the collective global consciousness. In a second work, a digital print from the series “What does memory mean to you?” (2001/2006), Petra Gerschner lays bare the demonstrative power of state forces by confronting political advertising and slogans with pin-ups, which all came together in the public space during the protests against the World Economic Forum in Salzburg.

One of the works in the exhibition that ventures beyond a documentation of the activities of the “movement of the movements” is by the British artist/activist John Jordan whose practice merges art and social engagement, and favours transformative actions over representation. He is one of a number of artists who consider themselves part of the “movement of the movements” and intervenes wherever and whenever possible. Jordan’s installation consists of documentation from the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army’s operation “HA HA HA”, which took place during the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland in July 2005. The central element of the installation is a large canvas map that shows the area around the G8 summit, which was used by activists for organising protests. Two video monitors are placed on opposite corners of the map, with pink ribbon connecting them to locations on the map where the activist’s events occurred. One short film shows a performance of police and clowns competing in a strange game together, and the second documents clowns magically breaking through a line of riot policemen and occupying a road.

A timeline of the global movement, spanning from the momentous actions against the World Trade Organization Conference in Seattle in 1999, up until today, is laid out by Zanny Begg in a 12 metre long wall drawing. It is a kind of framework for “A World Where Many Worlds Fit” that not only sets up a relationship between the various works, but also tells its own stories. Embedded in Zanny Begg’s huge timeline is Oliver Ressler’s video “This is what democracy looks like!” The video presents the events of July 1, 2001, which took place surrounding a demonstration against the World Economic Forum in Salzburg in Austria, where 919 demonstrators were encircled by the police and detained for more than seven hours. In the video the demonstrators take the role of active spokespersons and describe what was happening from their own individual perspectives.

What Would It Mean To Win?, 2008

This film, a collaboration by Zanny Begg & Oliver Ressler, was made on the blockades of the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany in June 2007 and focuses on the current state of the movement of the movements. Combining documentary footage, interviews, and animation sequences, the work is structured around three questions pertinent to the movement: “Who are we?” “What is our power?” and “What would it mean to win?” The protests in Heiligendamm seemed to re-assert the confidence, inventiveness and creativity of the movement of the movements. In particular the five-finger tactic – where protesters spread out across the fields of Rostock in order to slip around police lines – proved successful in establishing blockades on all roads leading into Heiligendamm. Staff working for the G8 summit were forced to enter and leave the meeting by helicopter or boat thus providing a symbolic victory to the movement.

The objects and photographs of the “anti-corporate corporation” RTMark chronicle the corporation’s commitment to direct intervention. For the protests during the G8 summit in Genoa, RTMark produced pink, blue, black and purple mirrors that were distributed to a thousand activists. The mirrors focused and reflected sunlight at police helicopters and other aggressive assault vehicles, as well as into the eyes of attacking police. The work is titled “The Archimedes Project,” after the ancient Greek mathematician who reputedly used several large mirrors to focus the glare of the sun at invading Roman ships, burning them to a crisp and thus saving the city of Syracuse in what is now Sicily, Italy. The Italian press hilariously characterised these mirrors as weapons and included them amongst the police’s other official weapon classifications, which included cell phones and Swiss army knives.

Allan Sekula’s slide installation “Waiting for Teargas” was produced from the photographs he had taken during the protests against the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference that took place in Seattle in 1999. Sekula’s concept was, in his words, “to move with the flow of protest, from dawn to 3 a.m. If need be, taking in the lulls, the waiting and the margins of events. The rule of thumb for this sort of anti-photojournalism: no flash, no telephoto zoom lens, no gas mask, no auto-focus, no press pass and no pressure, to grab at all costs, the one defining image of dramatic violence... The alliance on the streets was indeed stranger... varied and inspired... There were moments of civic solemnity, of urban anxiety, and of carnival. Something very simple is missed by descriptions of this as a movement founded in cyberspace: the human body asserts itself in the city streets, against the abstraction of global capital. There was a strong feminist dimension to this testimony, and there was also a dimension grounded in the experience of work.”

Gregory Sholette’s “WTO Action Collectible” comprises a “commemorative” action figure and an accompanying poster that refer to the police tactics that labelled unarmed protesters as violence-prone during the now legendary Seattle World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in 1999. Sholette’s plastic figure – which comes equipped with interchangeable “action arms” that are useful for deflecting tear gas grenades and an authentic “radical” mascot carrying a Molotov cocktail — also makes reference to the long, if little known history of militant political resistance in the United States: from the great rail strikes of the late 19th century to the National Student Strike and mass demonstrations of May 1970 that followed the shooting deaths of anti-Vietnam war protesters by National Guardsmen at both Kent and Jackson State Universities.

This video focuses on various forms of protest that occur across the European continent. It brings into play femininity, and blurs gender-expectations. As a work about a particular moment of joy and expectation at the global movement’s early days, “Tactical Frivolity + Rhythms of Resistance” questions the social order through unanticipated role reversals and confuses the response of the media and the police to label such forms of protest as violent. As the artists write, “Tactical frivolity sought to undo classical anarchists vs. police, one-to-one confrontational tactics, by multiplying front-lines and making an extremely ironic use of femininity and kitschy representations of the body in direct action. Music and dance provided this radical redefinition of street protest not only with a powerful tool to practically dissolve or detour police violence, but also with the strongest possible image (and soundtrack) to realise how street demonstrations can become the unleashing of the body’s desires in the moment of protest itself.” The work demonstrates that resistance can result in a lot of creativity and fun, which is important to draw in larger crowds who are not necessarily active and who normally see activism as a sour and professional exercise of a singular political inclination.

In his video “Protest Match. Kirov Stadium” Dmitry Vilensky focuses on the heavy security tactics enforced upon the Russian Social Forum that ran parallel to the G8 Summit in Saint Petersburg in 2006. These tactics included the detainment of former delegates long before their arrival in the city; coercion of print-shop owners to not print pamphlets, blackmailing and arrests. The video reviews the situation at the Russian Social Forum in the Kirov Stadium, the space that was offered by the authorities. A series of interviews with Russian political activists discuss this particular event, where it was impossible to demonstrate and where even participation in the forum became a perilous pursuit.


On September 12, 2008, between 2 and 4 pm, a roundtable discussion with
participating artists will take place in the framework of the Taipei 
Biennial. With: Zanny Begg, Noel Douglas, Petra Gerschner, Oliver Ressler, Dmitry
 Vilensky, and Federico Zukerfeld & Loreto Garin Guzman from Etcétera.

Much to the chagrin of most of the nice folk in attendance (and the not-so-secret satisfaction of my sponsor), I made a comparison of MFIs to SMEs, based on the fact that the needs exhibited by most MFIs are very similar to SME needs (see what is an SME?).  The reaction from the crowd was sufficiently violent that I briefly considered aborting the presentation, but the support from my sponsor was enough for me to press on.

After I left the hotspot, a couple of people came up to me to express their vehement rejection of the possibility that the laudable institutions of poverty relief (MFIs) could be mentioned in the same breath as the money-grubbing, capitalist swine (SMEs).

In the intervening years I have been able to observe this same sentiment throughout the Microfinance sector.

One of the first impacts of this attitude is the rejection of management best-practices, especially those that come from commercial banking.  Without a doubt, the success of microfinance is based on some very "un-bank" activities (some of which commercial banks would do well to adopt - another post), but that doesn't necessarily mean that all banking practices don't have a place in MFI operations. This limits even regulated MFIs to "medium-sized" at best, as they just can't seem to resolve their governance and strategy issues. Worse yet, it provides a vulnerability that Commercial Banks that wish (need?) to grow their market share may exploit.

The total absence of discussion and research regarding "management" in the International Development world, as compared to the attention directed at the Commercial Banking sector, underscores the prevailing attitudes of MFIs and their investors towards the professionalization of their management teams.  For example, at the recent Microfinance Leaders Retreat, which produced the Pocantico Declaration, the participants felt it necessary to declare "We are concerned by low standards of transparency in the sector and an emphasis on hype", but no mention was made of management best-practices.

I believe that as the competitiveness of the microfinance sector starts to rise (can that happen in a virtual oligopoly? - another post) MFIs will be forced to pay attention to how they manage their business (regardless of the profit focus that each institution pursues) - those teams that are open to including tried methods will generate faster positive results.

That is, if Commercial Banks don't discover microfinance's secrets and expand their presence to the low-income segments first...