73 Madeira Consorcio Meeting 16.9. 2015
Sep 21, 2015 at 8:35 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: bread baking, government, ideas, jeep safari torus, porto santo, Portugal, refugee wave, tree planting
73 Madeira Consorcio Meeting 16.9. 2015
The Bread Project: The new semester has started, and E. has to focus on the university job at this time; however, since last time, we had a few more suggestions for a good Name.
In any case, E.will need a good business partner; an artist usually isn’t very good at managing his own Project.
U.gave him a contact, Sr. José also bakes only with sourdough. The new “Goji” shop in Rua Queimada de Cima would be a good outlet for bread sales. They sell dried fruit, spices and other goodies.
Sa.said that IKEA has some cool packaging which might be nice for E.’s bread, she will let us have a photo of it.
Reforestation on Porto Santo:
Gr. and Sa. are in contact with each other about an urgently needed reforestation project for Porto Santo. A Portuguese scientist has written a good book about it. We as a group should try to promote such an event with actions.
The Porto Santo residents do not seem to be interested to reforest their island, which is basically a pile of sand, and they don’t even recycle. The water table is sinking and the water is poisoned by the lawn fertilizers used on the Golf course. With the planting of trees, the water table will improve.
U. mentioned that the Government is not very good at organizing tree-planting with the unemployed, they had such an event once in Madeira, They have to combine place, date, time, people, tree seedlings, bus transport, lunch, gloves etc and something will inevitably go wrong. Then the Madeirans have the tendency to give up, instead of trying to improve the system for the next time.
U. thinks tree planting could be handed to the Jeep Safari tours organized by travel agencies on Porto Santo: give them the seedlings and encourage the tourists to plant a few trees in designated areas, afterwards cared of by the Government gardeners. The Ferry could show the respective info during the trip and encourage the tourists to help planting. This should work well!
Here is the link again to a video with a nice story about a man who planted trees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_7yEPNUXsU
U. thinks that we should place advertisements in the Diario with our ideas. If they don’t get out, nothing will happen but if they do, one or the other can trigger a good response, even from the Government. U. will work on such ads, to better illustrate the idea.
We also spoke about the potential the refugee wave means for Portugal in terms of population numbers. Portugal needs these people to avert a collapse of a viable state a few decades from now. These immigrants will be happy to plant trees; they would not feel themselves to be above it.
The Government issued a sensible information about the coming migrants, to quieten the fears of the Population
The word of the day: “Privilege is invisible to those who have it” from a TED talk.
71 Madeira Consorcio Meeting 16.7.2015
Jul 19, 2015 at 12:22 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: Bread, crowdfunding, einkorn, emmer, Funchal, kamut, laboratory, luiz saldanha, madeira consorcio, Marine biology station, ocean observatory, Portugal, project, redistribution of wealth, splet, transparency
71 Madeira Consorcio Meeting 16.7.2015
Visit to the Marine Biology Station:
We visited the Marine Biology Station on Praia das Gaivotas, E’s place of work. The Ocean observatory is housed there, and Gr., although she is not officially back to work, also helps out there.
AL, one of the scientists, graciously showed us around. On appointment, she offers guided tours in English and Portuguese on a regular schedule. This would also be an interesting for tourists walks – nobody knows about it!
The station has an extensive library; the oceanographer Luiz Saldanha donated many unique books to the Station. The content is already available in digital format under www.cm-funchal.pt -> Ciencia ->Publicacoes. The Summer University students (Leicester) study here with E. One scientist is currently studying the impact plastic residue has on the marine animal world.
The station, dedicated to the study of the ocean and its species, is fifteen years old. It was supposed to be a part of a bigger complex; due to monetary restraints, the rest will not be built. The station has six floors and houses several, dedicated laboratories. The technical equipment (long lines of multiple tubes on the ceilings, big microscopes, lab bottles – empty as well as filled with something – is quite good. A rolling archive houses thousands of animal species in formaldehyde and alcohol.
The station works with in conjunction with UMa and the Municipal Aquarium in Rua da Mouraria. It is part of an international network of Marine Biology stations. Some preserved species from the Aquarium, are now housed in tanks in the Station, including the head of a once five-m long shark in formaldehyde. Some of the species stored may already be extinct by now.
The station has dedicated laboratories and teaching spaces; Gr was working in one of them. It also affords living space for visiting scientist. On the ground floor, above the beach, are two tanks which can accommodate turtles. One of the scientists is tracing them. Local fishermen also cooperate with the station; when they catch unusual species, they contact the scientists to collect them at the auction and take them to the station to be studied. The station is also a point of reference for scientists worldwide who want to compare species to ascertain of they found a new sub-species in our Waters.
Discussion:
We then started off by talking about the Redistribution of Wealth text.
The rich are not the problem; they can be a part of the solution. It’s a fact that the Portuguese have no culture of giving, they only think of themselves, their family and their friends. Since the times of Salazar, they are used to doing what they are told, they have no revolutionary traits – maybe something in that vein is starting now on the Algarve islets, due to the mass eviction of poor people (from illegal homes, endangered by rising water levels). They are also keen on subsidies which stop them from growing foodstuff for their own use and local sales. They also duly follow the seduction by advertising and throw away and replace instead of recycling, re-using and repairing products.
The Greeks import every lemon, now they will have to create an internal, local economy and start growing their own food. Where there is demand, supply will follow.
Wealth does not need to be measured by money, we can consider ourselves rich when we have a satisfying life.
Money is empowerment; it should not be kept under the mattress, it needs to circulate.
Ce would like to forbid the money flowing into sports in order to redirect the funds to social projects. Subsidies should be abolished.
- Education is the cornerstone to get the population to come away from the “Taker” model (Ishmael) and get them to fight for a more meaningful life.
- A good example is needed to create the right motivation. A good example is Sebastian Salgados “A Salt of the Earth” approach; Wim Wenders made the film (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_salt_of_the_earth/ ). Salgado photographed a lot of wars and bad events, and then decided to dedicate himself to do good by reforesting a vast area of land in Brazil. (http://www.institutoterra.org/eng/conteudosLinks.php?id=22&tl=QWJvdXQgdXM=&sb=NQ==#.VauBqfmP_KB )
- People need to start to question things and they need to stop using subsidies, they can use crowdfunding to start up a business (kickstarter, indiegogo, for Portugal www http://ppl.com.pt ). A site comparing crowdfunding sites: http://www.crowdfunding.com/ it is mportant to choose well because the platforms charge at least a 5% fee for the campaigns.
- Transparency: everything needs to and will be disclosed on the internet in the future. The “traditional” administrator who thinks that he can do what he wants, without benign controlled, will be a thing of the past.
Crowdfunding is a new form of financing, open to all, not just the rich. D invested a bit of money in an apparatus, invented but yet to be developed and marketed, which replaces the cumbersome Sleep Apnoe masks many persons need to use.
Then E read us a text of his, with the story of how he came to like and bake bread of the highest quality. With this meeting, we came to the following conclusion:
We decided that it would be a good project for the group to promote E’s dream of a bakery and bread shop (no Café) to produce and sell his bread, based on old strains of grains (Spelt, Emmer, Einkorn. Kamut). We would help him get the funding through a crowdfunding site, and Ri could take good photos and produce a video for the site. We have to choose the best platform http://www.crowdfunding.com/ to reach the maximum national and international support. As incentive for the backers, E can offer bread subscriptions.
E’s bread can also be exported, he already had requests in this regard.
This would set a good example for the population of self-help to produce a local, Madeira-made product, with grains from Madeira Island, milled on site. A healthy, not genetically modified and not poisoned bread.
This group goal will also be in line with Ri’s idea that the group should focus and work on a meaningful concept
Our next meeting will be on WEDNESDAY 19.8.2015
70 Madeira Consorcio Meeting 21.5.2015
Jun 21, 2015 at 11:09 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: big five for life, gary haugen, health service, Hospital, jean giorno, kings fund, Madeira, madeira consorcio, marmeleiros, new hospital, poverty, strelecky, ted talk
We continued our talk with Dr. C.P. about the situation of our health services in Madeira. He made it clear that the six towers building next to the hospital is not a good idea, it’s not even safe: the plot is on a slope where the exhaust fumes of the cars on the roundabout and tunnel below would float up the hill and adversely affect (at least) the patients with breathing problems. A new hospital is really needed; it would be possible to install modern and well-designed supply piping (oxygen and the like) and afford better service access (and fire exits). It would be easier to avoid sepsis which in the old hospital cannot be avoided, not due to bad hygiene but due to the building itself. The devil is in the details.
The City Hall commissioned a 20 page study about the feasibility of the six towers, and the result was negative. This study was rejected by the old Government.
The best option would be S. Rita. (The Savoy plot would not have adequate access to the traffic.) Another option would be to tear down the School next to the Hospital (which as all schools, is losing pupils) and build there; the land was originally part of the hospital plot.
The Marmeleiros Hospital (Internal medicine) should be next to the main hospital. Now, recourses are wasted on transport between the units. Due to bad maintenance and management, ambulances are late, even in servicing regular patient transport.
Madeira has a hospital centre, not a “proper” hospital like on the mainland. Rare cases still have to be treated on the continent.
We should have an emphasis on one specialty, eg. fighting diabetes which is prevalent on the island but the island does not have a critical mass of inhabitants. Autonomy in this area is not possible.
The pity is that 80 Mil. € were invested in the old hospital (Nuclear Medicine, Pharmacy, Labs), and even if the equipment is moved, there is a waste of money that cannot be recuperated.
We have, for an island, quite a sophisticated health equipment. The problem is bad management. Doctors and nurses are doing a great job under the circumstances they have to work in.
Some years ago, the hospital was greatly helped by the “Kings Fund” and received an accreditation which it lost a few years later. Another accreditation is sought but in the state the hospital is in, this is doubtful.
In any case, it needs political will to build a new hospital, with funds that will have to come from the continent. In spite of all adversity, the group felt that we shall get a new hospital eventually. It also remains to be seen how the new administration is doing its job.
We discussed John Strelecky’s book “Big Five for Live” again. Ri. suggested that the group do some work in this direction, to find a common purpose for the group, in order not to lose focus and achieve meaningful goals. This might be achieved in one or two meetings. There wasn’t much enthusiasm for this; some members think that to speak about their purpose of life, is too personal. People might not want to have a focus, and it might change with time.
Ri.will approach ECM to see if he can win them as a client for a pilot Project
D. recommended the following TED talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_haugen_the_hidden_reason_for_poverty_the_world_needs_to_address_now
It delivers a clear argument that help against poverty, in whatever form, cannot succeed if the recipients live in an environment of danger and violence.. Security can be bought by the rich but the poor need it most of all.
Dennis also recommends a truly beautiful video (30 minutes), based on a short story by French author Jean Giorno,:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_7yEPNUXsU
There is an excerpt of the book and background info on the author here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Planted_Trees
69 Madeira Consorcio Meeting 21.5.2015
May 24, 2015 at 11:26 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: Cecilia Zino, Foundation, Hospital, new hospital, redistribution of wealth, Surgeon
I We visited the Cecilia Zino Foundation; we also invited Dr. C. P. from the Central Hospital to join us for a discussion.
He has an interesting CV, he worked in Latin America and other European countries before coming back to Madeira. He is a General Surgeon in Mendonça since long time.
He is very much in favour of building a new hospital. For technical reasons, it is just not possible to upgrade the old building to the technical requirements of modern medicine. Sepsis is a great danger because of the impossibility to keep the place hygienic as it is, this has nothing to do with cleanliness.
Land which belonged to the hospital grounds has been used to construct a school and a Bairro Social long time ago so there is no space to build a proper annex.
In any case, there needs to be the political will to build a new hospital; much of the funding would come from the mainland. In this case, the 80 Mio invested so far in the old building would go to waste.
Where should the new hospital be?
There are the usual problems to acquire the necessary land in S. Rita, as land owners are greedy to get as much as possible out of their property.
We fantasized a bit: Praia Formosa is the only big piece of land left in FNC but the new hospital only needs to be near the Via Rapida. A few more minutes of transport in an Emir Ambulance doesn’t have an impact on the patients’ mortality rate. A place between FNC and Gaula, for example, would be good as well. The razed Savoy building left a platform, this would also be ideal for a new Hospital.
III U. gave out a third version of her text “Redistribution of Wealth”, to be discussed in a future meeting.
We shall have our next meeting on June 18.
Redistribution of wealth
Apr 29, 2015 at 5:17 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: John Caudwell, Paul Tudor Jones II, redistribution of wealth, rethink capitalism, Warren Buffett
An important issue: Warren Buffett is doing it with the Giving Pledge, John Caudwell is doing it, and now Paul Tudor Jones II is onboard as well: http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_tudor_jones_ii_why_we_need_to_rethink_capitalism
Quote from Edwin Land
Apr 6, 2015 at 11:36 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: Edwin Land, Polaroid, problem
Edwin Land, co-founder of Polaroid, who died recently:
“If you are able to state a problem, then the problem can be fixed.”
68 joint Madeira Consorcio Meeting 12.3.2015
Mar 15, 2015 at 12:20 pm | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: edward snowdon, John F. Strelecky, loss of privacy, purpose in life, ricardo semler, seceding, ted talk, the big five for life, tom wujic, transparence
Unfortunately, the surgeon couldn’t come, so we started with Ri.’s introduction to the system he used to find his purpose in life.
This is based on a technique by an American author (John F. Strelecky “The Big Five for Life”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Strelecky#The_Big_Five_for_Life-_Leadership.E2.80.99s_Greatest_Secret
This is a humanistic approach, about team building for executives (it should also be offered to teenagers) and the application for the work in groups. Most important is that a person knows what he/she most wants to accomplish (the Big Five) in life. Most people work not in the jobs or even fields they would really like to work in, Ri. found that the career in the military was not for him. A person’s occupation should be fun, not just a means to earn money. It should be about “Auto-Estimo”, not egoism.
If we try to work towards the goals we really embrace, we will have more satisfaction in the workplace. This also helps the company achieve its goals, with a lower staff turnover and subsequently, better profits.
Ri. is offering this teamwork program to specific high-value companies. He fuses this with his own approach. This technique requires a group to work together 2 x 1 week in two years.
Some companies work along the lines of Strelecky, such as Richard Bransons’s companies, Google, AirBnB and others, empowering their team to do what like best and reaping more creativity and profits.
We want to buy and read the book in turns and then talk about it further, perhaps to apply this process to us
Other, similar approaches:
Ricardo Semler: http://www.ted.com/talks/ricardo_semler_radical_wisdom_for_a_company_a_school_a_life Ricardo Semler also created schools based on his laissez-faire approach which works very well for this companies and the schools.
Tom Wujec: http://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_got_a_wicked_problem_first_tell_me_how_you_make_toast#
D. talked about tax controls and the loss of privacy. It is much worse than Edward Snowdon revealed. Anonymity also means freedom. With more transparency, our right to invest our money how we want is being curtailed. D. now sees his job as to protect his clients from the Tax Man.
Apps like WhatsApp know our every move. The solution would be turn them off and deny them access to our lives: The Amish between themselves know where everybody lives; the state doesn’t have a clue.
In the old times in Portugal, people would be called by nicknames. In theses village societies, everybody also knew what was going on in everybody else’s life, and oppression was exercised by the priest. In this regard today’s life is not much different; the loss of privacy is nothing new.
In Portugal the problem is bad education. Good leadership skils are not taught, nor are good life skills. Waldorf is a good approach to create personalities with a humanistic approach. In Portugal the problem is attitude, attitude, attitude, and a missing civic sense. Outside of Portugal, the Portuguese are well liked workers; in their own country, they don’t care much about their society.
Another funny thing: in a “happiness poll”, it was found that the feeling of happiness decreases from North to South in Portugal. In the North, communities are still sounder and people thrive better in old-fashioned social networks.
On the other hand. isolation cannot solve all the problems. What we can do is show our happiness so that others ask us how we came to be in this state.
U. quickly referred to the Fracking article by the Economist. Fracking is prohibited in New York State but not across the border in Pennsylvania. It is most likely bad for the environment but the point here is that the people in New York State want to secede from their state and join Pennsylvania across the border to gain jobs and earn money with this technique. The future may be a world with less visible borders as economic interest compels citizens to choose another legal jurisdiction for their community.
Freedom
Mar 9, 2015 at 9:24 am | Posted in Posts | Leave a commentTags: change, effective, freedom
Translated from an article in Der Spiegel, March 2015, on the proliferation of mobile phones in the world:
The freedom of the individual to not be effective.
The Society has the right to refuse change.
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