National Security - Trailer

Hi there!

Right below you're gonna see my first attempt to subtitle a video. It's part of the serie "La Isla Presidencial", created by the blog www.elchiguirebipolar.com. There are some flaws (both bad translation and lack of synchronization). It's a parody cartoon which drives 12 leaders (11 presidents from Latin-america + the King of Spain) to an uninhabited Island, making fun of their behaviours as leaders. Have fun!

Brazil: The country where everything works [for those who know the shortcuts and can pay for them]

March 11th, 2010: After 18 hours traveling I finally arrived in São Paulo. I was walking around at the airport, looking for a place to change my money (euros into reais). As the exchange rate of euro was the lowest of the last couple of months, I decided that I'd just exchange some small money to eat something and keep the rest to wait for a better rate. I saw a small "bureau de change", with a huge queue in front of it, without any blackboard showing the rates/taxes. The lack of information actually made me get a bit upset, but I didn't mind. However, I wouldn't wait. I immediatelly stared at one of the employees of the airport and asked him, very politely:

- "Bom dia! O senhor sabe quanto está a cotação do euro aqui? Sabe também se existe alguma taxa fixa?" (Good Morning Sir! Do you know the rate of the euro at this bank? Do you also know if there's any taxes?)

He immediatelly asked me to talk with a lower voice, and invited me to do "business" with him:
- "Olha, é o seguinte: Fala baixo, mas aí no banco os caras tão pagando R$ 2,25, mais uma taxa fixa de 10 reais. Mas 'cum nóis' é R$ 2,40 sem taxa!" (I'll tell you what: Speak low! Here at the bank they're gonna pay you R$ 2,25, plus 10 reais of taxes. But whit us you can get R$ 2,40, without any taxes!)

I realized that I wouldn't get a better rate so easily, so I accepted the offer. He drove me to a dark corner and asked:

- "Quanto cê vai querê?" (How much are u gonna change?)

I answered him, he calculated with the mobile phone, we changed the money and both took their ways. Suddenly a voice came to my mind and told me: "Welcome home!".


March 17th, 2010: I wanted to park my car in the center of the city at about 8 o'clock in the evening. There was a "flanelinha" (guy who takes care of cars at the street) there. He pointed me a parking space reserved for handicapped, and asked me to park there. As I scorned to do it, he started to laugh and said: "Hahaha... Todo mundo pára ae! Não dá nada!" (Hahaha... Don't worry! Everyone parks there!).

Somewhen in the past: Someone from my family comes to me very excited and says: "Hey, you're not gonna believe me! I'm getting R$ 2000 from the government every month, just because the doctor was my friend and we're pretending that I have a serious illness that makes it impossible for me to keep working. And you know what!? I'm getting this money and I'm still working."


You probably have already heard something about the well-known "jeitinho brasileiro" (the brazilian art of findind an easier solution for problems that seem unsolveable at the first sight). This behaviour is frequently mentioned as one of our best qualities, considering that it might avoid some waste of time with bureaucracy and sometimes find a fairer solution for some issues. However it's probably one of the worst obstacles that makes it so hard for us to reach the organization level that some rich countries have. The culture of violating the rules to get advantage on every situation makes people who want to follow these rules be named as fools. "If everyone's taking advantage of the government or of the neighbors and you're not, shame on you! You're the fool! The society you're living in does not tolerate people like you! If you do not change your attitude, you're not gonna survive!".

Outwit the government might make you sound as the smartest guy in the world, if you forget that the function of the government is to serve you! If you went to the hospital and did not find a doctor, whose fault is it? Right, it's the government's fault! The government did not pay the doctor properly because they ain't got enough money, and they ain't got enough money because some "citizens" have the habit of ouwitting them. Every time you get some money which is not supposed to be yours, you're making someone else lose some money which is supposed to be his. I just wanna say that these people are not less guilty than those ones who got arrested for murder. If you get some money which was supposed to save someone's life in a hospital, you can be named a murderer as well.

The common excuse of the brazilians is: "People inside the government are gonna steal this money if I don't get it". Unfortunately, we've seen a lot of corruption in our government that actually made us lose our faith on it, but things have been changing in the last years. We've been fighting against this corruption and it looks like the problem can be solved in some decades. Blaming someone else doesn't solve the problem.

If you're reading it and thinking about starting to hate me because I'm saying a lot of shit about my country as if I wasn't part of it, you're wrong. I am part of it. I accepted the offer of the guy at the airport and changed the money illegally with him. I did not park at the place reserved for handicapped, but my driver licence was expired and I had no fear of the police whatsoever (because I'm a brazilian, and I know how to talk).

I don't how many years would it take for us to change our mentality, I just hope I'll see some changes until the end of my life. As long as WE do not assume that WE are ALL guilty for everything, we're not gonna change anything.

I'll keep my eyes open! ("Order and progress" is the sentence that is written in the middle of the brazilian flag)


Auf Wiedersehen!

The Homework - With great power comes great responsibility

First of all, it's interesting to tell that I'm definitely not the boring guy you might have thought by reading my texts. I generally do not philosophize the World so much. I'd rather be drinking and telling jokes with friends, but this is a special occasion. A gap between two stages, where I got some time to meditate a bit and get some conclusions.

Since I started the blog I've been planning to write something about this topic. This is actually something that comes up to my mind every single day when I look at the people, realize what they are doing and sometimes even notice what they would be doing if they could. The fact that sometimes I stare at people, try to look deeply and see the feelings that are hidden behind their eyes might sound pretty insane, but it's actually nothing more than just an attempt to leave my "small own world" for a while and try to learn something with someone else's experiences (considering that most of them I'll never have). Following the trend that every text of this blog has got inspiration on events of my life, I'm gonna tell you the small story of the day.

Two days ago I arrived in a bus stop and there was a lonely woman waiting to catch the bus. I stared into her eyes to greet her (as I always do), but she didn't. She could just look at the floor while she was rolling a cigarette. That day was an unusual day, cos' I didn't have my red Marlboros with me (reason: Financial Problems... a Red Marlboro pack in Germany costs 5 fucking euros), and this is why I kept looking at her for a while before getting surprised with the words she said with a strong and most likely scared voice: "Du musst keine Angst von mir haben! Komm vorbei, ich werde dich nicht schaden!" (You don't need to be afraid of me! Come over, I'm not gonna hurt you!). I got stunned with her words, opened my eyes wide and couldn't pronounce a single word. I came closer to her, thought for a while and finally got to say something: "Sie haben es falsch verstanden. Ich habe überhaupt keinen Schiss von Ihnen" (You got me wrong! I'm not afraid of you whatsoever). After these words, she finally went to look at my face and suddenly started to tell her story. In short, she told me about the psychological problems she's got, due to her ex-husband, who's been beating her for 10 years (and it wasn't hard to notice it was the truth, by looking at the scars in her face). She told me that she perfectly understands people who are afraid of her, considering that the last 10 years have made her look and act like a man, or maybe as a savage wolf. The sadness in her eyes was clear, and the only thing I could do was keep listening the story and sometimes interrupt her to say some sweet words.

As the reported event happened, I couldn't help but think about the behaviour of those ones who's got every-fucking-thing they need to have a good life, and still complain. The lady of the story probably had no choice, no high education and definitely no luck on finding someone to stay by her side. BUT YOU DO, DUDE!

Every time I listen to someone talking about the accomplishments he's chasing in his life, I hear something like that: "I just wanna have a nice car, a fancy house and live my life in peace. Changing the world isn't one of my issues". Ok, it depends on who you are and what life's been providing you. If you're reading this text, you're probably not really a poor person who has to be scrounging for your next meal. Besides, you're either someone who lives in a rich country, or a Brazilian who speaks english (and this means that money doesn't cause you headaches as it happens with a lot of people). I'll tell you what: You, cool guy, do have the responsibility of moving your fat ass and give your contribution to the world. Who's gonna pay for the CO2 that your cool ride, your refrigerator full of expensive food and your ar-conditioning system are emitting in the atmosphere? Who's gonna pay for the forests that were destroyed to build you fancy house? Who's gonna pay for the trash you're throwing in the nature everyday? You probably always thought you're not destroying the environment, so you didn't need to do something. A common mistake. Dude, the simple fact that you exist, makes you a problem to the world (as long as you're not doing anything useful). If you feel capable of doing something and you don't do, just because you think it's not your problem, I would like to ask you to leave your place to someone else who would do it better than you.

You're about to get graduated, speak 3 languages and have experienced the life in a country where everything works? Congratulations, my friend! You have just become responsible to apply this knowledge and try to make things happen in your country as they do in that place.


All or Nothing HC - "Lead, follow or get out of the way"

A lack of action is your own submission/
Lead, follow or get out of the way/
Your complaints and apathy aren't changing anything/
Lead, follow, or get out of the way/
Sedating yourself will not help/
Lead, follow, or get out of the way/
Leave this world a better place than you found it

Lead, follow, or get out of the way

Educate yourself to arm yourself/
Lead, follow, or get out of the way/
Commit, persist, empower, sacrifice/
Lead, follow, or get out of the way/
Be the next Mead, Gandhi, Anthony/
Lead, follow, or get out of the way/
Be the next Chavez, Mandela, or King


Viele Grüße!


Auf Wiedersehen!

Lieber Verbrennen als Erfrieren

Servus, meine sehr geehrte Damen und Herren die genügend freie Zeit haben um mein Blog zu lesen. =)
Die letzten Tage waren sehr "inspirierend", weil mein Kopf nicht mehr aufhören zu denken kann. Wenn ich nicht mehr arbeiten müsste, würde ich auf jeden Fall den ganzen Tag schreiben. Da ich gerade nicht soviel Zeit habe, schreibe ich einfach kurz die Überlegung die ich heute hatte.

Vor kürze war ich in der Stadt mit einem guten Freund von mir und da haben wir ein kurzes Gespräch gehabt. Dieser Freund ist auch ein brasilianischer Austauschstudent und ist gerade in Deutschland angekommen. Da ich denke, dass ich nicht nur ein gutes Beispiel für die neuen Brasilianer zeigen muss, sondern auch meine Erfahrungen mit ihnen teilen muss, versuche ich immer mit ihnen "philosophische Gespräche" anzufangen.

Heute ist mir Irgendwie eine Überlegung eingefallen über wieviel es sich lohnt Sachen zu machen bei dennen du weisst dass du am Ende dich verletzen kannst. Ich spreche gerade über Gefühle, Beziehungen, neue Arbeit. Solche Sachen die dir Risiken bringen. Solche Sachen bei dennen du nicht ganz sicher bist dass du am Ende unbedingt glücklich sein wirst.

Wenn du den Spruch verstanden hast, der am Titel des Textes geschrieben steht, kennst du schon meine Meinung darüber. Ich möchte dich fragen, kurz nachzudenken. Erinnerst du dich an die besten Sachen die du schon in deinem Leben gemacht hast? Du könntest sagen: "Ich habe eigentlich niemals was grosses gemacht". Ok, ich habe auch selber keinen Krieg gehalten oder den Mond getreten. Es kommt darauf an was du mit "gross" meinst. Auf jeden Fall, spreche ich hier über die wichtigsten Momente, Errungenschaften und Personen deines Lebens. Denk bitte jetzt über die Risiken die du damals gehabt hast um solche Sachen zu erleben. Wenn der Typ beim Interview deines neuen Jobs gesagt hätte: "Hey Typ, was machst du denn da? War das ein Witz, dass du dich beworben hast? Du bist ein Idiot und wirst niemals so einen Job kriegen!", würdest du wahrscheinlich im Arsch sein, oder wenn Irgendeine ehemalige Freundin (Freund) von dir an der Spitze der Beziehung gesagt hätte: "Ich will dich nicht mehr! Du stinkst wie ein Schwein, furzt beim Schlafen und bist ganz schlecht im Bett!", wie würdest du dich fühlen? Leute die so denken, mögen lieber zu Hause zu bleiben um sich von diesen Sachen zu verteidigen. Allerdings, wenn man zu Hause bleibt verliert man die Möglichkeit um was gutes zu hören/erleben/fühlen/sehen, sowie: "Du bist genau der Typ den wir in der Firma gerade brauchen, einfach wunderbar" oder "Es ist echt schön bei dir zu sein. Es gibt nichts besseres als meinen Kopf auf deine Schulter zu legen".

Wenn du immer an die Risiken denkst, musst du lieber stehen bleiben, weil wenn du die Tür deines Hauses aufmachst, hast du schon 0,000000000000000000001% ige Chance erschossen zu werden. Die schönen Sachen des Lebens warten auf dich, aber dafür musst du die Risiken nehmen. Heute total glücklich und morgem im Arsch. Heute lachst du mit jemandem und morgen weinst du weil du den nicht mehr hast. Heute säufst du und morgen jammerst du wegen dem Kater (das war das beste Beispiel).

Auf jeden Fall, das war meine Überlegung des Tages. Egal die Sprache die verwendet wird: "Quem não arrisca não petisca", "No risk no fun", "Lieber verbrennen als erfrieren", "Wer nicht wagt, der nicht gewinnt", "Daham sterbn d'leid", das Konzept ist dasselbe. Danke für deine Geduld, und komm wieder.

Viele Grüße,

Habadere!

Patriotism - Portuguese

In the last days, I've been looking for something that could prove me I'm still capable of feeling such a thing, even though I'm divided between two worlds. The answer did not take too long to appear. Two days ago I got an email which made me very proud to be Brazilian. I got glad and relieved to realize I'm still the good old patriot I used to be. I've translated the text from portuguese to german (not perfectly, of course) and will post both of them. The reason why I chose not to use english on this one will become clear when you start to read it. Now I'm gonna pass the word to Mr. Cristóvam Buarque. Thanks for coming over and enjoy it:

Durante debate em uma universidade, nos Estados Unidos,o ex-governador do DF, ex-ministro da educação e atual senador CRISTÓVAM BUARQUE, foi questionado
sobre o que pensava da internacionalização da Amazônia..

O jovem americano introduziu sua pergunta dizendo que esperava a resposta de um Humanista e não de um brasileiro.

Esta foi a resposta do Sr.Cristóvam Buarque:

De fato, como brasileiro eu simplesmente falaria contra a internacionalização da Amazônia. Por mais que nossos governos não tenham o devido cuidado com esse patrimônio, ele é nosso. Como humanista, sentindo o risco da degradação ambiental que sofre a Amazônia, posso imaginar a sua internacionalização, como também de tudo o mais que tem importância para a humanidade.

Se a Amazônia, sob uma ética humanista, deve ser internacionalizada, internacionalizemos também as reservas de petróleo do mundo inteiro.O petróleo é tão importante para o bem-estar da humanidade quanto a Amazônia para o nosso futuro. Apesar disso, os donos das reservas sentem-se no direito de aumentar ou diminuir a extração de petróleo e subir ou não o seu preço.

Da mesma forma, o capital financeiro dos países ricos deveria ser internacionalizado. Se a Amazônia é uma reserva para todos os seres humanos, ela não pode ser queimada pela vontade de um dono, ou de um país. Queimar a Amazônia é tão grave quanto o desemprego provocado pelas decisões arbitrárias dos especuladores globais. Não podemos deixar que as reservas financeiras sirvam para queimar países inteiros na volúpia da especulação.

Antes mesmo da Amazônia, eu gostaria de ver a internacionalização de todos os grandes museus do mundo. O Louvre não deve pertencer apenas à França. Cada museu do mundo é guardião das mais belas peças produzidas pelo gênio humano. Não se pode deixar esse patrimônio cultural, como o patrimônio natural Amazônico, seja manipulado e instruído pelo gosto de um proprietário
ou de um país. Não faz muito, um milionário japonês,decidiu enterrar com ele, um quadro de
um grande mestre. Antes disso, aquele quadro deveria ter sido internacionalizado.

Durante este encontro, as Nações Unidas estão realizando o Fórum do Milênio, mas alguns presidentes de países tiveram dificuldades em comparecer por constrangimentos na fronteira dos EUA. Por isso, eu acho que Nova York, como sede das Nações Unidas, deve ser internacionalizada. Pelo menos Manhatan deveria pertencer a toda a humanidade. Assim como Paris, Veneza, Roma, Londres, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Recife, cada cidade, com sua beleza específica, sua historia do mundo, deveria pertencer ao mundo inteiro.

Se os EUA querem internacionalizar a Amazônia, pelo risco de deixá-la nas mãos de brasileiros, internacionalizemos todos os arsenais nucleares dos EUA. Até porque eles já demonstraram que são capazes de usar essas armas, provocando uma destruição milhares de vezes maiores do que as lamentáveis queimadas feitas nas florestas do Brasil.

Defendo a idéia de internacionalizar as reservas florestais do mundo em troca da dívida. Comecemos usando essa dívida para garantir que cada criança do Mundo tenha possibilidade de COMER e de ir à escola. Internacionalizemos as crianças tratando-as, todas elas, não importando o país onde nasceram, como patrimônio que merece cuidados do mundo inteiro.

Como humanista, aceito defender a internacionalização do mundo. Mas, enquanto o mundo me tratar como brasileiro, lutarei para que a Amazônia seja nossa. Só nossa!