People Have The Power

There are hundreds of great protest songs, but most of them are very sad. That's because I have chosen one that will fill us with energy and optimism, which I feel we need in these hard times.

The song is 'People have the Power' by Patti Smith. Considered as one of the most influential artists in rock history, Patti Smith has always been closely linked to the movement to protest against the U.S. government and this song became a hymn at the end of the 80. Enjoy the beautiful video:

Lyrics of People Have The Power :

I was dreaming in my dreaming
of an aspect bright and fair
and my sleeping it was broken
but my dream it lingered near
in the form of shining valleys
where the pure air recognized
and my senses newly opened
I awakened to the cry
that the people / have the power
to redeem / the work of fools
upon the meek / the graces shower
it's decreed / the people rule

The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power

Vengeful aspects became suspect
and bending low as if to hear
and the armies ceased advancing
because the people had their ear
and the shepherds and the soldiers
lay beneath the stars
exchanging visions
and laying arms
to waste / in the dust
in the form of / shining valleys
where the pure air / recognized
and my senses / newly opened
I awakened / to the cry

Refrain

Where there were deserts
I saw fountains
like cream the waters rise
and we strolled there together
with none to laugh or criticize
and the leopard
and the lamb
lay together truly bound
I was hoping in my hoping
to recall what I had found
I was dreaming in my dreaming
god knows / a purer view
as I surrender to my sleeping
I commit my dream to you

Refrain

The power to dream / to rule
to wrestle the world from fools
it's decreed the people rule
it's decreed the people rule
LISTEN
I believe everything we dream
can come to pass through our union
we can turn the world around
we can turn the earth's revolution
we have the power
People have the power ...

Financial crisis: unmasking the truth

The way I see it, it is clear that we have to set our eyes on the unrestrained financial speculation and neoliberal politics to find the reason of  the economical crisis. These come together with the conservatives and the most radical right wing, who – I believe that not naively- support the unfettered capitalism. And what is more, they want us to believe that this is the essence of our liberties and welfare, even though it is the contrary.

We are beholding stunned how markets have the power and rule over everything. Markets hand out decisions, control governments, remove politicians, and have democracy abducted. But who are behind the markets? The haves, of course, as always throughout History. They are a few, but the are powerful. Their means are the big corporations, with more wealth and influence than the majority of nations. And the stock exchange, a perverse playing field for market timers and all sort of unscrupulous scavengers.

Without any restriction, Markets are ruled by selfishness and greed. That’s because I cannot understand liberalism and neo-cons, who support it. And the results are this: a financial crisis provoked by speculators, in which they are the only ones who get benefited, and who dictate the sacrifices that all the society has to do to escape. And meanwhile, rich get richer, and most people are impoverishing and having hard times.

All this said, I strongly believe that there is a solution. Things could be easily changed by introducing strong economical regulations, imposing taxes to financial movements, restraining the power of corporations, eradicating tax havens, and having strong governments to assure a progressive taxation, and a fair and more egalitarian distribution of the wealth.

What must happen? People are slept. Most citizens are not aware of the real situation. They have subdued to consumerism and biased propaganda. They believe they are free, although they only work to pay debts. They couldn’t have a good education because they didn’t have enough money, or quite the contrary, because they were made to believe that with such an easy life they didn’t need to study. Thus, they are easy preys, incapable of considering other options beyond the worn path.

But there is still hope, as we can see with movements as 15-M. Power must return to people, and people must believe that they can do it. It start with our vote, the education we give to our children, the way we buy things, etc. Let’s by all means do our share!

Take action!  Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.

Link: http://www.avaaz.org/en/

My travel to Morocco

During last Halloween holidays I travelled to Morocco. It wasn’t what can be said a traveller experience, as I travelled in a group and everything was arranged. But I enjoyed it a lot, and although it was mainly for fun, there were also opportunities to enrich our understanding and knowledge about  a different culture.

First of all, it is surprising how easily we can change continent, culture and lifestyle in a few hours, in just crossing in 45 minutes the Strait of Gibraltar. Without realizing it, you get involved in a different world, with its particular way of life, pace and habits. Haven’t been there before, in my prejudiced, I was afraid about all these new things. But once you are there all these fears promptly disappeared, as I came to realize that people’s life there is essentially the same than ours.

After having left the bustling city of Tanger, we reached to Chaouen, in the Rift Mountains. It is a well preserved city, with an ancient Medina which seems to have been taken from a fairy tale, with its picturesque houses and doors painted in blue. The city was founded in the fifteen century by the people who was dropped from the Kingdom of Granada, so that you can get the impression of being in whatever village of Las Alpujarras.

Next stage was Asilah, a touristy point in the Atlantic coast. It is famous for its glistening medina peering into the ocean. It became celebrated in the wake of a National Geographic photography. In contrast, Larache is not a touristy city, although conserves much of the colonial architecture, as it was the capital of the Spanish Protectorado. However, I enjoyed the visit, because there we could see the Moroccan real life, and how they struggle to improve their standard of living, which falls far short of the ideal.

Last stop was in Tetuan, a city strongly connected with Spain. In fact, we visited the Hospital Español, a four hectares area in the heart of the city which, much  to my surprise, remains under Spanish sovereignty, whenever it was used with social purposes. Thus, it has a school with the Spanish learning approach, a training centre, and a nursery managed by two aged Spanish nuns. There we handed out clothes and materials to the children, in a heartbreaking and unforgettable experience. Then We finished the day in the haunting Medina, designated as a world heritage by UNESCO. There, you are taken away to other time, in the middle of  winding streets full of stalls, mosques, craftsmen,  smells, people and things to a bygone era.

The origin of our mindset

Are you progresist or conservative? As we are getting into the election race, it is a good moment to reflect about the proccess that has lead us to have our particular way of thinking, which determines how we see the world, and our political option. Now, We have to decide our vote. But, have you ever considered why we are going to vote (or not vote) in that way?

Link: TED talk: Jonathan Haidt: morals & political views

Crazy English

We’ll begin with a box,

and the plural is boxes;

but the plural of ox

becomes oxen, not oxes.

One fowl is a goose,

but two are called geese;

yet the plural of mouse

should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse

or a nest full of mice;

yet the plural of house

is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man

is always called men;

why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?

If I speak of my foot,

and show you my feet;

and I give you a boot,

would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth,

and a whole set are teeth;

why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that,

and three would be those;

yet hat in the plural would never be hose;

and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother,

and also of brethren;

but though we say mother,

we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his, and him;

but imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim!

Let’s face it,

English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in eggplant,

nor ham in hamburger;

Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

We take English for granted,

but if We explore its paradoxes,

We find that quicksand can works slowly,

and boxing rings are square.

Why is it that writers write,

but fingers don’t fing,

grocers don’t groce,

and hammers don’t ham?

Doesn’t it seem crazy that

You can make amends,

but not one amend?

If teachers taught,

why didn’t preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables,

what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think

all people who speak English

should be in an asylum,

for the verbally insane.

In what other language

do people recite at a play,

and play at a recital?

We ship by truck,

but send cargo by ship.

And how can a slim chance

and a fat chance be the same;

while a wise man and

a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language,

in which a house can burn up as it burns down:

in which You fill in a form by filling it out;

and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And in closing,

If father is Pop,

…

My Inspiration

They say it is not worth.
I cannot explain what keeps me on.
Rumour has it I am going crazy.
But If you ask me, Beauty is all I Know.