The Portuguese Global Empire

"What actually happened was, in a very short period of time, the early 16th century, the Portuguese landed in Brazil and established a network of trading posts around the Indian Ocean, all the way to Macao. Beyond Macao, they got to Japan by the 1540s. They put together this phenomenal network that was less territorial and more commercial—the only sizable land settlements they had were in Brazil. The Portuguese were active in India and the Persian Gulf area, the west and east coasts of India, Japan and China."

" Portuguese is the most spoken language in South America." I never thought about this one. I guess it is because Brazil is such a vast territory!
The article can me found at the Smithsonian Magazine

Child kidnap 'surge' in DR Congo

Recent fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has led to a surge in child abductions by armed groups, the charity Save the Children says. more...
All sides in the conflict use children, Save the Children says!!!! > Ler em Portugês

Brotherhood

Here is a poem from the Luthern Pastor, Martin Niemöller, who broke with the Nazis in 1933 and became a symbol of the German resistance. He wrote the following at war’s end in 1945:

First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.

Watch Night

On New Year's Eve, many African American religious groups hold prayer and worship services from the late evening until midnight when they worship the new year with praise, thanksgiving, prayer, and confession. These services are called watch night meetings. December 31, 1862, was a very special evening for the African American community, because it was the night before the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, freeing all the slaves in the Confederate states.

Student loan debt bearing down on U.S. graduates

The National Center for Education Statistics reports that two thirds of undergraduate students are carrying loan debt with them upon graduation, on average $19,237. The median debt load is $17,120; a quarter of undergrads borrow more than $25,000, and a tenth borrow more than $35,000. Loans from the for-profit private loan industry have especially increased as share of the total student loan volume over the past few years, as students max out their borrowing limits on federal loans. Increased private borrowing is also related to the collapse in family home equity and tightened alternative avenues for credit. Last year, students borrowed $18.5 billion from private lenders, up 6 percent from the 2005-2006 school year to fully a quarter of all borrowing.

Ya, keep them chained right from the beginning, how's that for modern slavery?

December 16th 2007

So it has been a year since my last post! (laughing) I had lost the password and other affairs had pushed me away from here. Today I was able to recoup my password and, what a surprise... it is exactly 1 year since my last post! What a coincidence, I am shocked!! (laughing)