sugar human rights

Everyone is entitled to a standard of life which should insure one's and one's family their health and well being.

fun fact
[brief daily occurrence]

one of my Portuguese course mates is a Danish young girl, named Pernille. a special and beautiful name in Denmark, it would appear. read: Per-nil.
in Portuguese, pernil (m) stands for the pork's leg.

for some reason, the teacher enjoys calling Pernille's name rather often.

Lizzo Day 122

I've been out on holidays (Fri + w/e) last week.
Started up on the Portuguese course upon return.
Trying to finish the Control Systems report this week.
And to regroup for whatever's coming up out there.

here's my quote of the day:

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.

Sir Winston Churchill

Truth is, I need a backup plan starting September 16th and, at the time being, I haven't found it yet. Wish me luck or tell me of job openings! (:
I'll get back here once I find more time.

Just as I was turning my eye of appreciation towards the Times' editorials, their depiction of the ICC's viewpoint (or better said, lack thereof) left me rather disappointed.
Monday's title, "Choosing Justice over Peace in Darfur" not only seemed to oversimplify but equally to choose a very odd perspective, along the lines of:

Khartoum does not recognize the ICC and says that any case against al-Bashir — who seized power in a military coup in 1989 and has ruled Africa's biggest country ever since — or any other Sudanese citizen will jeopardize ongoing peace talks over Darfur.

And to obviously reinforce that, Tuesday's "Sudan: Retaliation Against the Hague?" went further on to argue that:

Even more lethal, a presidential adviser said Sudan's government might encourage Arab and African states to withdraw from the ICC entirely. Just two-thirds of the world's governments are signatories to the Rome Statute that recognizes the ICC's jurisdiction, and neither Russia, China nor the U.S. is among them.

.... I am astounded. How can such politicised standpoints pass for unbiased editorials?! How about the opposing viewpoint?
Not only have some bothered to actually provide for evidence as to why the ICC's actions are thoroughly supported by facts, but even from a philosophical outlook this begs the question: Does anyone find the idea of a politically-backed or driven Court desirable? ... Cause that doesn't sound all that appealing to me, in particular when it comes to crimes against humanity and such!...

in the eve of the Olympics, Beijing Orders Pollution to Vanish, by

[...] government-decreed industrial and traffic crackdowns. Beijing has announced work stoppages on July 20 for construction sites, mines and chemical plants. A group of polluting factories in Beijing will be required to cut emissions by 30%. [...]
The biggest element of the short-term cleanup efforts will be a restriction on car traffic that begins July 20. On that day government-vehicle traffic will be ordered to cut back by 70%, and private vehicles will be permitted to drive only on alternating days. Although police cars, emergency vehicles and taxis will be exempt, the government estimates that up to 50% of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles will be cleared from the streets. [...]

[...]
But while cleaner skies will be a welcome sight for the Olympic hosts, Beijing's residents won't have long to enjoy it. The restrictions will be kept in place for the Sept. 6-17 Paralympics, then end on Sept. 20. "The measures are only a short-term fix," says Wen Bo, China director for the NGO Pacific Environment. "I think the current Beijing government couldn't have the time and energy to think of long-term solutions for fixing air pollution."

... Should it then be that the original meaning of temporary peace settlements for the duration of the Olympics now also applies to our relationship with the environment?... [Time's article]

Lizzo Day 111
[halfway through my traineeship]

putting aside the fact that my traineeship's unpaid, here are a few things I enjoy about it:

1. having a cool Adviser;
2. it's close to my current home;
3. starting time: 9.30;
4. restrooms equipped with not only toilet paper, but also soap, hand towels & air fresheners;
   
5. my quite large daily intakes of water are freely provided for all employees alike;
6. having certain pleasant and/ or interesting chats over coffee or lunch breaks;
7. I actually am learning new stuff;
8. the super-awesome automatic espresso machine on the 7th floor (coffee included).
   

...unconscious works.
recently came to realise that the set of features which I used to associate with the "grown up" status while teenage I am now associating with the "high profile job" status.
uncertain whether the composite message points to the unknown-phobia exclusively or there's more to it.

... just wanted to share. just did! :)

Lis Day 103

this will now look like an outdated log. but can't help it.
spent my birthday around Carcavelos, was pleasant and mellow.

spent the entire day of Monday fighting to find an appropriate insurance to present to the Border Police the following day; options varying between a 1 year insurance, which cannot be interrupted prior to the year's expiry and, what I've signed up for, an indeterminate duration one, which I am unable to use within the first 3 months, i.e. the time when I actually need it. Still having a bit of a hard time understanding Portuguese insurance law...

spent Tuesday waiting for the SEF's personnel attention and being redirectioned to the City Hall's services; the latter reinserted me into legality by asking for my passport and 7euros and printing out a piece of paper whereby they acknowledge my presence in Lisbon. easy and troublesome. :D

spent Wednesday working, sleepy & headached.
spent Thursday doing my best to tidy up around myself and to fix my banking issue with the de-magnetised BRD card, which ultimately did work out.

spent Friday hurrying up on finishing the purging of the NFP reports legal sections' pages, so as to only acknowledge that finishing up my bit does not equate finishing up the entire thing. but that will be a happy day, when them legal sections will be uploaded to the internets!! :)

spent Saturday doing a big clean-up and then crashing into lifelessness. ouch! ... that hurt.


time for a new week!