Taiwan - The Jade Mountain... mais perto do ceu!

Take a walk on the wild side!

Hoje somos todos espanhois...

...porque sentimos a mesma dor que os nossos irmaos.
Em homenagem aos que partiram para sempre e em homenagem aos que irao partir um dia, vamos continuar a nossa comunhao emocional e acabar de vez com as tensoes do passado...
ja chega de nacionalismo absurdos, podemos ter orgulho de sermos quem somos sem ter a necessidade de carregar seculos de conotacoes negativas e ja sem sentido algum...
Quando a dor se for atenuando, a amizade dos portugueses pelos espanhois devera se ir fortificando...
Embora por uma causa triste... nao deixem passar este 'curativo' em vao....

O luto continua, fica a marca para sempre... rir tambem e' uma forma de prestar homenagem...

e' raro rir sozinho quando leio alguma anedota... mas esta nao resisti mesmo....
esta e' dedicada a todos os bloguistas que andam ca fora a lutar pela vida e aos que andam la dentro em combate pesado....
de certo que, nesta aldeia global, todos nos tivemos alguma situacao em que se fala/escreva, bem 'a sua maneira...
um portugues a aprender chines tambem e' um pouco assim:

Um Inglês, morando há pouquíssimo tempo em Portugal e dominando mal o Português, faz a sua lista de compras e vai ao supermercado, para tentar abastecer a sua dispensa. Escreve ao seu modo e, com o carrinho à frente, vai lembrando do que precisa:
- Pay she
- Mac car on
- My one easy
- All face
- Car need boy (may kilo)
- Spa get
- Her Villas
- Key jow (parm zoon)
- Cow view floor
- Pier men tom
- Better hab
- Lee moon
- Bear in gel
- Three go
E, no final, ainda bateu na testa, dizendo, em bom Português: Food Ace !
Is key see me do too much. Put a keep are you!

SOS Vida retira referências a Taiwan - Movimento pediu desculpas formais à representação em Portugal

portugal diario (09-03-2004 23:22 ):
"O movimento SOS Vida pediu esta terça-feira desculpas formais à representação de Taiwan em Portugal e decidiu retirar as referências a Taiwan dos panfletos anti-aborto, segundo as quais se podem comprar naquela ilha bebés para churrasco.
Em declarações à Lusa, o padre Jerónimo Gomes, representante da SOS Vida, disse ter apresentado "desculpas formais ao representante da República da China (Taiwan), senhor Huang Lien-Sheng, pelo incómodo involuntário causado pela imagem e frase referente a Taiwan", cuja "(in)autenticidade" a associação ignorava.
O movimento SOS Vida comprometeu-se que "a partir das 18:00 de dia 09, isso será retirado do folheto", intitulado "Amor Precisa-se", afirmou o padre, acrescentando que foi apresentado ao representante de Taiwan o livro de onde a associação extraiu "tal conteúdo".

Sr padre Jerónimo Gomes,
E' de boas praticas de etica e profissionais, validar informacao antes de a publicar, em particular se se trata de algo ofensivo...
No minimo classifico o seu acto de negligencia malina... (nao so atribuir falsas informacoes a fotos irreais, como tambem as distribuir a criancas).
Quase que me parece um acto diabolico, sr.padre!


Dear Taiwanese friends,
This unfortunate episode not only offended the people of Taiwan but it also caused general choc and concern among the parents and educators of the children who indivertibly received a copy of the referred pamphlet.
The offensive source apologized to the Taiwan representation in Lisbon and the issued was clarified in the main Portuguese newspapers.
As Portuguese, I apologize for this insane, irresponsible and isolated case.
The referred association and its (i)responsible person, does in no means represent Portugal or the Portuguese.

Nada, mesmo nada, justifica provocar uma unica so morte!

Partilho a dor e o luto com os meus irmaos espanhois...

bush e bin laden, uma unica forma de pensar e de agir

O povo espanhol podera agradecer ao pseudo lider dos EUA, o sofrimento que agora sente...
O bush utiliza exactamente as mesmas estrategias do Alcaeda:
"En el nombre de Dios, Clemente y Misericordioso,
Cuando te castigan, tienes que castigar del mismo modo a quienes
te castigaron.
Mátalos allí donde los encuentres; expúlsalos como ellos te expulsaron; la sedición es más grave que el asesinato.
A los que cometen agresiones contra ti, debes hacerles lo mismo."

extracto da carta supostamente enviada por Alcaeda para o jornal El Pais

quando e' que ambos param os seus jogos de poder?????!!!
Please american people, help the world in dec.2004!!!

11 March 2004...I don't understand...why... why Mr. JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR?

I feel hopeless, sad and unfortunately almost not surprised. It feels like we sensed that something really bad was going to happen one day, we just didn't know when and with time we just hope that that day would never come.... but it did, 11 March 2004...

When the people of Spain together with almost the rest of the world were desperately begging "No to War", the arrogance of certain politicians ignored the people's voice and acted like their enemy did, acted as if they were God!
Remember those days Mr. JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR?
Today Mr. JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR says (extract from Aznar's letter published in El Pais):
"Somos una gran nación, somos una gran nación cuya soberanía reside en todos los españoles. Quien decide es el pueblo español. Nunca permitiremos, no vamos a permitir nunca, que una minoría de fanáticos nos imponga nuestras decisiones sobre nuestro futuro nacional."

Today, Mr.JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR you are contradicting your own past and sad behavior, today you finally want to listen to your people... today Mr.JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR, today you must feel so regretful and embarrassed but today, Mr.JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR, it is just a little to late...

TAIWAN INDIGNADA COM FOLHETOS ANTI-ABORTO

O correio da manha publicou na sua edicao on-line de hoje uma noticia com o titulo referido acima, onde se lia que a organizacao SOS Vida publicou folhetos com um oriental (expressao de conotacao racista) a comer um feto e acrescentava que se poderiam comprar bebés mortos a 50/70 dólares para churrasco...
Tanta ignorancia e publicada!!!!!!
Estes panfletos demonstram a fraca credibilidade do publicador, dando forca ao movimento adversario, a favor da IVG!
Os responsaveis do movimento SOS Vida nao o sao!
Deveriam se certificar da veracidade do que publicam antes o fazer, nao e' com mentiras (ofensivas) que convencem alguem!!!!
A associacao SOS vida deve um pedido de desculpa a Taiwan!

A Portuguese anti-abortion association "SOS Vida", published pamphlets showing a Chinese man eating a BBQ baby. This association maliciously used the photo, as it was a piece of art part of an artist's exhibition. The pamphlets also stated that dead babies could be purchased in Taiwanese hospitals for consumption, at a price of 50 to 70 dollars.
All this has been denied by the "Centro Económico e Cultural de Taipé" (Taiwanese representation in Lisbon) and apologies were demanded from the publisher!
This was just a stupidity; the result of ignorance and it does not represent what the Portuguese people think about Formosa.

BIG BROTHERS and the Extreme Tracking

Recently I installed the 'big brother tool' - Extreme tracking, into this cyber space.
The reason of the need for a tracking could give sufficient material for a psychology PhD thesis, but I it is not my intention to touch this now...
The real reason I approached this issue was that, when I looked at the "geo tracking" function, it shows that somewhere in China, there is a province called Taiwan, as it literally states: Taiwan, Province of China.
If Taiwan is a province of China, why can't I fly from Taipei to Beijing?
If Taiwan is a province of China, why my friend from Beijing, cannot visit me?
Why can't the big brothers, from both sides, deal with the issue and solve it once and for all, so that the Extreme Tracking and many other official organizations cease to be provocative for some and politically correct for others?

viagens de portugal

tudo comecou com as horas normais do Boss (nao sei linkar boss, too bad pois merecias bem ):


normal e' o que se pensa que todos os outros pensam por nao se ter capacidade de pensar por si mesmo...


Normal e'a ilusao obvia;
Normal e' o subjectivo objectivo;
Normal e' tudo o que nao nos faz pensar;
Normal e' superficial, facil e nao doi;
Normal e' tudo o que nao perturba a mente;
Normal e' ter-se a mente bloqueada pelo "do not disturb", sem se saber!


Quando se chega 'a Republica dos Normais pela 1a vez, podera pensar-se que ha' muita anormalidade no que se ve/ouve/sente... No minimo sente-se que tudo e' estranho... tudo, nao e' normal...
Mas nao, com o tempo, consegue-se ver quem na verdade era o anormal...
Bem me parecia que estava rodeado de normais, aqui na Republica da China, pois tratam os anormais de uma forma agradavelmente humana!!!
Sao mesmo uns normais!

monday... stupid test day

Which Imfamous criminal are you?

You are the Marquis Da Sade. Even stripped of
exaggerations, Your real life was as dramatic
and as tragic as a cautionary tale. Born to an
ancient and noble house, you were married
(against your wishes) to a middle-class heiress
for money, caused scandals with prostitutes and
with your sister-in-law, thus enraging your
mother-in-law, who had you imprisoned under a
lettre de cachet for 14 years until the
Revolution freed you. Amphibian, protean,
charming, you became a Revolutionary,
miraculously escaping the guillotine during the
Terror, only to be arrested later for
publishing your erotic novels. You spent your
final 12 years in the insane asylum at
Charenton, where you caused another scandal by
directing plays using inmates and professional
actors. You died there in 1814, virtually in
the arms of your teenage mistress.
You are a revolutionary deviant. I applaud you.


Which Imfamous criminal are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Which Peanuts Character are You?

You are Woodstock!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

What is Your Heart REALLY Made of?

Heart of Gold


What is Your Heart REALLY Made of?
brought to you by Quizilla

Kona's popularity with coffee drinkers

Article published in Taipei Times, 04 March 2004
(A joke is here underpinned but you will only get it if you know Portuguese):

Hawaii's Kona coffee thrives in a declining market
TOP-CLASS CUP: Coffee consumption is declining in the US, but connoisseurs of the brew are willing to pay a premium for the limited supplies of Kona coffee

REUTERS , HONOLULU
In a coffee world inundated with frothy cappuccinos and creamy lattes, more java junkies are turning to the rare and expensive Hawaiian coffee known as Kona.
US demand for the brew, grown only on a narrow 32km stretch of land on the Big Island of Hawaii, has surged since the late 1990s.
Giant coffee retailer Starbucks Corp will begin carrying the beans in its 4,176 company-owned North American stores in April after a seven-year absence; the Seattle company had been unable in recent years to arrange for sufficient supplies.
"We get long-time customers that'll say `When are you going to bring back that Kona coffee?'" said spokesman Chris Gimbl. "The name Kona itself has a certain recognition" among coffee drinkers, he added.
Kona's popularity with coffee drinkers and retailers alike has not waned despite an overall drop in US coffee consumption.
According to the National Coffee Association, about 108.3 million Americans turned to coffee for their daily caffeine fix last year, sipping an average of 3 cups a day -- down from 109.4 million regular drinkers downing 3.5 cups daily in 1999.
But don't tell savvy Kona growers the coffee market is declining.
"Our coffee is sold out each year before the next crop comes in," said Christine Sheppard, vice president of the Kona Coffee Council. "Nobody is wrong if they don't like Kona coffee; but once you do, nothing else quite satisfies the same way."
Kona plantings during the last decade have surged 175 percent as demand has increased. After harvesting 1,336 hectares this year, Kona farmers are expected to boost plantings by more than 10 percent annually during the next several years, according to industry officials.
Kona, which many devotees say has a rich flavor enriched by a mild roast, is one of the world's best-known and higher priced coffees, along with Jamaican Blue Mountain.
"A big part of the mystique is there is only so much of it," said Jim Wayman, chief executive of the Hawaii Coffee Co, which buys and roasts about 17 percent of the total Kona crop each year.
According to the US Agriculture Department, the 2002/2003 Kona harvest totalled 1.5 million kilograms, only 0.2 percent of the world's entire coffee crop.
Kona coffee is grown along Big Island's west coast, mostly by 650 family farmers who each have between three and eight acres of land. Some roasters offer key growers cash bonuses and even fertilizer to keep them from taking their coveted product to competitors.
"You deal with these people sort of like family," Wayman said.
The coffee's full taste is cultured by warm temperatures, an even distribution of rain during the year and porous volcanic soil that filters the moisture.
Bright-red Kona cherries, which often house two coffee beans each, are hand-picked about six times a year between October and early February, allowing riper beans with better flavour to be harvested at their peak.
But with richer flavor also comes a richer price.
A pound of Kona coffee purchased from a US retailer can command more than US$35 -- compared with US$10 to US$12 for a good Colombian or Mexican coffee.
To make Kona coffee more affordable, Hawaii Coffee and other roasters also offer "Kona blends" that contain only 10 percent Kona coffee and are about 70 percent less expensive than their pure Konas.
Starbucks, which purchased a substantial "premium lot" of Kona that it will distribute in pre-packaged bags, will sell a half pound for US$19.95. The coffee chain will look at the Kona crop next season to determine whether it will continue to sell the gourmet beans at its stores.

I love you in japanese

Japanese tend to speak indirectly or use an expression suited to the occasion, rather than to come right out and say "I love you."
For example, when they propose, they might say "Issho ni kuro shite kuremasen ka" which literally translated means "Won't you please share the difficulties of life with me?"

and another one... sex in the city?

Which Sex and the City Player Are You? Find out @ She's Crafty

You're upbeat, insightful, effervescent and imaginative.

Sometimes a little too imaginative... You're all about the subtext, about what's going on between the lines. You very rarely take anything at face-value.

You also have a tendancy to be a little neurotic and self-absorbed, and fall for people who are either (for the most part) emotionally unattainable or completely wrong for you.

That's okay, though, everyone loves you anyway. You're very well-liked. You always have a shoulder for your friends to cry on or an ear for them to gossip in. High-profile and fun, you're the life of the party.

Carrie quotes:
"You can't make friends with a squirrel. Squirrels are just rats with cuter outfits."

"I'm thinking balls are to men, what purses are to women. It's just a little bag but we'd feel naked in public without it."

"The only thing I've ever successfully made in the kitchen is a mess. And several small fires."

Another Test: Which country are you?

I am Spain!

You like rain on the plain, as well as interesting architecture and
a diverse number of races and religions.  You like to explore a lot, but sailing,
especially in large groups, never really seems to work out for you.  Beware of pirates
and dictators bearing bombs.  And for heavens' sake, stop running around bulls!
 It's just not safe!
Take
the Country Quiz at the href="http://bluepyramid.org">Blue Pyramid

Taiwan, 228

It was August 6th, 1945, the US drop of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the beginning of the end of the Japanese empire.
Soon after the Japanese surrender and withdraw from the occupied China. Chiang Kai-Shek, the chairman of the Nationalists (KMT) send troops from China to Taiwan, to liberate the island from 50 years of Japanese occupation and rule.
This liberation turned out to be a new occupation and Taiwan became ruled by the Nationalists.
The liberators were initially welcome as they got rid of the Japanese, however they soon took over all the political and social power, leaving the Taiwanese in the same situation as when the Japanese were ruling.
The situation deteriorated even more and the Taiwanese people were starting to feel revolt.
On February 28, 1947 the people of Taiwan came out to the streets and took justice on their hands.
As a result additional troops were sent from China, to re-establish order. Things did calm down a lot but just because an enormous amount of people (10 to 20000) were arrested, beaten and shot. Among those people were the elite and educated class.
That day was just a confirmation that the only thing changed from the Japanese occupation of the occupier. The Taiwanese developed servant, obedient and compliant attitude in facing the new rulers

“They took a slavish character in order to ensure their personal safety, never daring to resist their rulers. On the other hand, the people both feared and were disillusioned by politics. Such paranoia and indifference towards politics suited the one-party totalitarism of the new occupiers. Taipei Times 28.02.04”

Two years after this incident, in the Main Land China, the Nationalists (KMT) were defeated by the Communists and seek refuge in Taiwan, conveniently ruled by the KMT.
This refuge was suppose to be temporary as the KMT, claimed to represent China and would eventually go back to take over the Main Land from the Communist.
Taiwan was designated by the Republic of China, while the main land China was designated by Mao Tze Tsung, The People’s Republic of China.
Taiwan was officially recognized by UN to represent the whole China until early 1970’s.
The KMT never got re-organized nor had the international support to go back to china and take over the country, from the communist.
The communist always claimed that Taiwan was another province of china to were the defeated army ran away to.
The politicians of both sides, pretty much seek the same: to rule both sides as one country.

Today, the situation remains unsolved, the lack of communication and diplomatic talks are contributing for a raise in the cross straight tensions.

Today, 28 February 2004, the Taiwanese are holding hands, in about one hour they will make history again. At 2:28 pm, local time, more than 1 million people are expected to hold hands in a nearly 600 km chain from the north to south.
Today they are holding hands to protest against the 446 missiles that China has pointed at the island.
Today the Taiwanese, are protesting against the enemy of their enemy back in 28.02.47…
One may say, "the enemy of the enemy!...it does not make much sense" and it is arguable... but whatever one's opinion and side, at least they are free to express their thoughts again!

Spring in southern Taiwan (Formosa Island)

Last night something extraordinary must have happened in the southern tip of this island.
It’s Saturday and I have to work, I should feel shitty about it but hey… it’s not the case.
I looked outside and the sky is blue, unusual in Tainan city at this time of the day. as its always hazy in the morning. Today I could see the sea, 7 km from my window.
I went down to catch the lift to the office and didn’t sleep on the way, as I usually do. I start looking out the window as the car was moving and realized that so much has changed since yesterday. All of the sudden Tainan is covered with flowers, all kinds of pink, scarlet red, orange, purple and yellow. The naked trees have blown up into this flowery explosion. It almost looks like, overnite, an artist had done a great job... Tainan looks like an oil painting.
Amazing how it could have happened in a single night, the power of nature is amazing. Spring came over night and it looked like nature was planning this so well that it didn’t miss a single detail. The show was well prepared and here it was being proudly exhibited.
As the van drove out of the city, the bands of birds dancing waltzes on the air, over the sugar cane fields, validated my thoughts, they were the announcers!
The sun, a red ball of fire trespassing over the palm tree leaves, completed the perfect post card.
Spring is definitely here!
I suppose that my ancestors must have arrived in Taiwan on a day like today and that is why they called "Ilha Formosa"*!


*Ilha means Island in portuguese
Formosa means beautiful in classic portuguese