Blog 53_Swiss voters said No to minarets

Earlier last month, our blog featured an entry about a referendum that was to take place in Switzerland to ban the building of minarets. On Sunday, 29th November, the Swiss voters had spoken: more than 57% of the voters and 22 out of 26 provinces voted in favour of the ban.

The proposal was brought by the Swiss People's Party (SVP), which is also the largest party in the parliament. They claimed that the shape of minarets reminded them of missels and is a symbol of Islamisation.

Martin Baltisser, the SVP's general secretary, told the BBC. "This was a vote against minarets as symbols of Islamic power."

Many are surprised by the result and feared of what happened in this often-neutral country in the heart of Europe would start a trend on the continent. Although it accepted and respected the decision, the Swiss government did initially oppose the ban, saying that it would harm the country's image, particularly in the Muslim world.

Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told the BBC, "Concerns [about Islamic fundamentalism] have to be taken seriously. However, a ban on the construction of new minarets is not a feasible means of countering extremist tendencies."

She then reassured Swiss Muslims that the decision was not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture. Despite her optimistic clarification, many believe that Islamaphobia has increased intensively.

"This will cause major problems because during this campaign mosques were attacked, which we never experienced in 40 years in Switzerland."The president of Zurich's Association of Muslim Organisations, Tamir Hadjipolu, told the BBC

Observers believe that the referendum result will act as a catalyst to speed up the identity search of many European countries, as a result of immigrations.

Germany is considering a new "contract" idea to bind immigrants to the country's fundamental values, such as gender equality and basic human rights.

Blog 52: Vacation Spoiler: Sunscreen kills coral

As I spend my Thanksgiving holiday visiting some family in Hawaii, I can't help but try to balance my health and the planet's well-being with a lot of frustration. You see? while I need sunscreen to protect me from the sun, the sunscreen that goes into the water is killing the corals.

National Geographic published a story on this. First I thought that maybe the sunscreen was preventing the coral to get the sun that it needed to flourish, just as it prevents the damaging rays to burn my skin, but it is not that simple:

"Four commonly found sunscreen ingredients can awaken dormant viruses in the symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside reef-building coral species.
The chemicals cause the viruses to replicate until their algae hosts explode, spilling viruses into the surrounding seawater, where they can infect neighboring coral communities.
Zooxanthellae provide coral with food energy through photosynthesis and contribute to the organisms' vibrant color. Without them, the coral "bleaches"—turns white—and dies."

The bad ingredients, if you want to read your sunscreen label are: paraben, cinnamate, benzophenone, and a camphor derivative.

One researcher says that banning sunscreen won't be necessary, and recommends two things swimmers can do to reduce their impact on coral: "Use sunscreens with physical filters, which reflect instead of absorb ultraviolet radiation; and use eco-friendly chemical sunscreens."

Blog 51_Goalkeeper got yellow card after saving cat

Goalkeeper Ivan Banovic received a yellow card after rescuing a lost cat on the pitch during a match in Croatia.

It was reported that the referee's decision has upset a lot of fans, who supported Banovic's kind act.

Ivan Banovic "picked up the wandering feline after it strayed on the pitch 20 minutes into his team's match at Sibenik." the AFP reports.

He then put it safely near a scoreboard but was penalised by the referee for leaving the pitch without permission.

Banovis's team, Sibenik, won 1-0.

Blog 50_Hungary warns Santa Claus to get flu shot

"Ho-ho-hutchiuuu!"

Santa Claus may have to make a quick stop to the hospital to get a flu shot this year before delivering gifts to all those good children around the world. Hungarian authorities advised the

bearded old man to get a vaccination to prevent the spread of flu this year.

Santa has also been warned to avoid kissing children to shaking their hands to stop the illness spreading across the country, health official said. The also pointed out that elderly, those who are overweight or chronically ill suffer the highest risk.

The new "agenda" of Santa's is due to an alarming leap of flu cases in Hungary: in a week's time, the number of flu cases increased by 22 100, party due to the H1N1 influenza.

"For Santa Clauses, prevention is especially important as they meet lots of children in early December, and therefore they face a high risk of infection," Hungary's state health authority said on its website, Reuters news agency reported.

It also added that if Santa Claus is elderly, overweight or has a chronic illness - the three highest-risked groups - a flu shot is particularly important.

Dear Santa Claus, if you do not feel well this Christmas, please try to stay indoor and rest. And if you insist on going out, please wear a mask!

Blog 49_Belgian misdiagnosed "in coma" for 23 years

An Belgian patient who was diagnosed to be in a coma for 23 years was conscious all along, but just unable to communicate.

Rom Houben, 46, became paralysed after a car accident in 1983. For 23 years, doctors thought that Mr Houben was in a coma. Until 2006, the University of Liege doctor discovered that despite the paralysis, Mr Houben's brain was working the whole time, which means that he understood what was going on around him and was trapped in his body without being able to communicate to others.

Naturally, Mr Houben was frustrated by and angry at his powerlessness to convey.

"I screamed, but there was nothing to be heard," he revealed at the German magazine Der Spiegel.

"Other people had an opinion of me," he also told the BBC. "I knew what I could do and what I was capable of but other people had a rather pathetic image of me. I had to learn to be patient and now finally we are on an equal footing."

Mr Houben's mother never gave up her hopes and has always believed that her son could communicate.

"He is not depressed, he is an optimist," she said. "He wants to get out of life what he can."

After researchers discovered that his brain was still active by using new diagnostic techniques, Mr Houben has been trained to use his right forefinger to express himself on an adapted keyboard.

His "awakening" has been highlighted in, particularly, Belgium by doctors who are researching on new ways to understand coma patients, hundreds of whom around the world could actually be conscious but just locked in paralysis - and able to feel pain, unlike a true coma patient.

"All that time I just literally dreamt of a better life. Frustration is too small a word to describe what I felt." Mr Houben tapped out on his keyboard. "I shall never forget the day when they discovered what was truly wrong with me - it was my second birth,"

A recent video has documented the latest conditions of Rom Houden.

Blog 48: Survivors

BBC News posted a report of seven men surviving two months lost in the ocean.

Two of them, unfortunately were not able to see land, as they died after being rescued, before they arrived to the hospital.

"The group - initially of eight men - told rescuers they had been making a short crossing in PNG's New Ireland area on 14 September when they ran out of petrol."

They ate drifting coconuts and crabs to survive, but the article does not give many details regarding what they drank and what the conditions were when they were found.

It is a terrible experience, that is for sure, as one person died when he jumped in the water to rescue some clothes and was unable to get back to the boat, while the rest of the crew did not have the strength to save him either.

I wish the survivors, all men from Papua New Guinea, the best both mentally and physically.

Blog47: What accent do you like?

Apparently women prefer Irish accent even over French or Italian, based on a poll by www.OnePoll.com among 5,000 women. I am not sure of the nationality of these women, as I think internationally, there couldn't be an agreement of what accent is sexy (you'll never find your own accent sexy, that's for sure).

And in my humble opinion, I am sorry but, Australian is #5? and Swedish? I don't even know how Swedish sounds like (time to meet a Swedish guy, I guess).

So if you are interested in knowing what women find sexy, here is the list, as published by the Daily Telegraph:

World's Sexiest Accents

1. Irish

2. Italian

3. Scottish

4. French

5. Australian

6. English

7. Swedish

8. Spanish

9. Welsh

10. American

Blog 46_Stolen gold stuffed in a chicken in South Africa

What better way to get away from security than to put your stolen gold in a stuffed chicken? No, it is not a joke.

A South African jewellery firm confirmed that one of its staff actually tried to use this trick to get away from the metal detectors at Browns Jewellers offices in Johannesburg, said BBC.

The thief was caught in the firm's office in Dunkeld, on Monday, with the "golden" chicken. He has been charged with attempted theft and the possession of suspected stolen goods.

It was also reported that recently, the firm had tightened security and banned females workers from wearing underwire bras because they confuse the metal detectors.

Blog 45: 20 years later in Czech Republic

Time Magazine posted a story about the 20 year anniversary of the fall of communism in the Czech Republic.

"Thousands of people in the capital, Prague, plan to participate in a reenactment of a student protest — an evocation of the event that triggered the Velvet Revolution that peacefully toppled the communist regime in what was then Czechoslovakia."

Although police tried to smash the student protest (which is not very peaceful in my opinion) they failed. The fall of the Berlin wall was like a domino effect and just a few weeks later, on Dec. 29, "Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright who had spent several years in prison, was elected the country's first democratic president in a half century by a parliament still dominated by communist."

This was a good example of a peaceful transition and the country has been pretty stable for the last two decades. The situation is far from perfect, as many citizens are unhappy with the current situation, but at least, they can complain about it now. As a student leader quoted in the story says: "most people might be disgusted by politics, but 20 years ago we gained the essential thing: freedom."

Blog 44: Turism to die for?

The Swiss government is not happy that a 50-year-old legislation that allows for euthanasia is being used by non-Swiss citizens (aka: tourist) to end their lives.

Time Magazine has a full story in how the law works in the European country and some examples of people that chose to die there.

The interesting part is not that they are debating the right to choose to die, rather that they are debating the right to die in Switzerland by people from other countries where euthanasia is not legal.

In one hand, this might put more pressure in these neighbor countries to maybe pass some law for assisted suicide, but on the other hand, people who are suffering will not be allow to choose to die in a peaceful way when they chose to go.

Blog 43: Commemoration of Armistice Day

For the first time in history, Germany participated in a commemorative act in France for Armistice Day.

BBC News explains how France and Germany had tried to grow closer over the last few decades and this is a significant move by Germany, although it seems it might benefit more France.

Remember that, after all, they are "celebrating" the day that Germany was defeated in France. It shows a lot of "maturity" to accept the invitation to the party where your neighbors celebrate that their great-grandparents were better than your great-grandparents. Takes time, takes humility.

Blog 42_ Sarkozy posts Berlin Wall photo on Facebook

French President Nicolas Sarkozy posted a picture on Facebook to prove that he was there in Berlin, too, twenty years ago when the Berlin Wall fell.

The image shows that the then 34-year-old French MP was standing in front of a graffiti-covered wall. Under the photo, Mr Sarkozy said that he arrived in West Berlin on the morning of 9 November, crossed Checkpoint Charlie to the East.

"An enthusiastic crowd had gathered to welcome the looming opening of the Wall," he wrote under the Facebook picture, the BBC reports.

But not everyone was convinced; some French observers said that it was probably taken the next day. They argued that the news of the collapse of the wall came late in the day on the 9 November and West Berliners started gathering at the Wall the next day. Hence it does not make sense for Mr Sarkozy to have "predicted the future" and been at the Wall on the 9th.

Well, despite the doubt of whether he was there 20 years ago, he did take part in the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall yesterday in Berlin.

German Chancellor, Angel Merkel, was accompanied by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, President Sarkozy and Hilary Clinton yesterday to celebrate the historical memory of Germany.

The falling of the Berlin wall 20 years ago not only symbolised the end of the Soviet's rule over East Germany but also the unification of the two German districts and people.

On this happy day, I have a piece of advice for Mr Sarkozy : Think twice before you post any private pictures on Facebook!

For more pictures and history of the Berlin Wall, click here.

Blog 41_Swiss mosques open day tackles fears

Muslim organisations in many parts of Switzerland have opened the doors of mosques, three weeks before a vote on a ban of the construction of minarets is to take place in the country.

The open day was held on Saturday in 12 cantons, including Geneva, Vaud and Freiburg. Many Muslim organisations say they hope their open day will counter fears and prejudices.

"We hope these meetings will build a dialogue and better understanding," said Hisham Maizar, a senior Muslim representative in eastern Switzerland, to the BBC.

Switzerland is home to about 400 000 Muslims, of which many see this ban as an act of discrimination.

In addition to the controversial voting per se, disputes also arose over an equally controversial poster that is part of the campaign of the ban. The poster shows a woman, dressed in a burka in front of black minarets that, to some media, resemble missiles. The poster was allowed to be used in Switzerland's biggest city, Zurich and this has created concerns. The Zurich city council justified their decision as a protection of freedom of speech.

Opinion polls suggest that the ban should be rejected.

Blog 40_Tehran, you're fired!

If cities were alive like human, Tehran would be at the edge of being fired from a top-job.

The Iranian government is considering to relocate the country's capital because they say Tehran is "in danger of being struck by a major earthquake", says the BBC.

Tehran has been Iran's capital since 1795. It is located close to the Alborz mountain range and has a population of about 12 million.

The suggestion of replacing capital is, in fact, not new. But this time, the expediency council - a powerful state body- has approved plans by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to "fire Tehran". The question now is: where is the Iranian capital moving to?

According to the report by Penny Spiller, there is speculation indicating that the new capital should be built between the holy city of Qom and Delijan, in Markazi province. The area has not seen an earthquake in 2000 years.

Although the decision seems to make sense, sceptics find the timing of the decision a bit suspicious. It has not been long since some of the worst anti-government riots happened in Iran, and to be more precise, in Tehran.

"It is tempting to view anything going on in Iran these days through the lens of that dispute," Dominic Dudley, deputy editor of the London-based Middle East Economic Digest, told the BBC. "It certainly wouldn't hurt the government to move away from the big centre of liberal protests and opposition."

He said that Tehran is a popular place for liberals, and it was many of these liberals who ran on the streets to protest against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory a few months ago. On the other hand, Qom is the spiritual home of Iran's conservative Islamic establishment. Dudley said that moving the capital closer to Qom can be seen as a step closer to conservative rulings.

But it takes magic to move a capital overnight. Andrew Jones of the engineering, planning and architectural design firm AECOM said in the report that it usually takes 10 to 20 years to build a new capital from scratch, and it takes a century of more to "mature into something that is an attractive and self-sustaining place." he said.

Though difficult, it is not impossible. Brazil moved their capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia almost 50 years ago and that was a successful example.

Picture courtesy of the BBC

Blog 39: Space Hotel

This kind of traveling goes beyond the scope of our blog, that is, it's not about going around the world anymore but to outer space.

Reuters put this news release, which I already have seen covered in different media, about a hotel in the space ready to create a list for their guests for 2012.

I am proud to say this is a Spanish enterprise, but I am also skeptical that you can take untrained people to the space in two years.

Of course, this kind of tourism is not like backpacking in Europe. Your bank account needs to be in good shape for this trip: "The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost 3 million euro ($4.4 million) for a three-night stay at the hotel, with this price including an eight-week training course on a tropical island."

Blog 38_Just look, don't eat!

Call it a stereotype, but the Japanese is seen as one of the most innovative but also the craziest when it comes to funky ideas!

Recently, I saw this video and it proves that the stereotype was pretty accurate. In Tokyo, most restaurants display their menu in the window. Sorry, I mean, the plastic version of it. It includes everything you can imagine on a Japanese menu- sushi, noodles, soup, andeven ice-cream sundae. Customers can easily be fooled by the authenticity of the plastic food.

Restaurant managers think that this will help lure customers into their restaurant by showing them what they will get. Most elderly customers really like it. They wish that restaurants around the world can adopt this idea since there is always a barrier of language, but not of visuals.

I remember when I was young and still living in Hong Kong, many Japanese restaurants have such products. I used to pick the "shrimp" out of the "noodles", only to realise that it was hard, cold and probably too light even for a low-fat shrimp. I asked my mother why restaurants display fake food. Her painful answer? "To prevent hungry people like you from stealing the food."

Credit is given to szantobett