WELCOME to a dynamic eBook with short stories, news items and reflections on life as an international aid worker, traveller, adventurer and sailor. About the world and its people: Ambushed in Burundi, the war in Iraq and the Green Revolution. All on Road to the Horizon...
Just to conclude this series about Venice, here are the last photo impressions I wanted to share:
Many visitors to Italy will appreciate the food. Not the usual spaghetti or pizza, but the real Italian food: Italy excels in simple but real tasty food. I sell my soul for the sea food, prosciutto (raw ham), the cheeses,...
Visiting Venice last weekend, reminded me that this town has its own traditions. Some of it, is embraced into Italian traditions, like tiramisu (which was 'born' in this region). Some say "gelato", Italian ice cream is better in Venice than anywhere else in Italy:
One more think many people think of, when talking about Venice: Venetian glass..!
Venetian glass making tradition goes way back, but only got really known when the Venetian Republic, fearing fire and destruction to the city’s mostly wood buildings, ordered glass makers to move their foundries to the island of Murano, in the Venetian archipelago in 1291.
Murano's glass makers were soon the island’s most prominent citizens. By the 14th century, glass makers were allowed to wear swords, enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the Venetian state and found their daughters married into Venice’s most affluent families. The catch was that glass makers weren't allowed to leave the Republic.
Murano’s glass makers held a monopoly on quality glass making for centuries, developing or refining many technologies including crystalline glass, enameled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass.
Today, the artisans of Murano are still employing these century-old techniques, crafting everything from contemporary art glass and glass jewelry to murano glass chandeliers and wine stoppers.
We visited a Murano glass makers shop. We were not allowed to make pictures, but I still managed to sneak in two photos, from two astonishing glass plates, standing about two meters tall:
What else do you think of when hearing "Venice"? Pumuckl commented in a previous post saying: "Carnival"!
And she is right! The carnival of Venice was first recorded in 1268, and has been a long tradition since then. Strolling through the alleys of Venice, we came across many shops where they sold the typical Venetian masks, made in leather or with the original papier-mâché technique. The original masks were rather simple in design and decoration. They often had a symbolic and practical function. Nowadays, most of them are made with the application of gesso and gold leaf and are all hand-painted using natural feathers and gems to decorate.
A photo impression:
Ok... water and gondola's, the romance,... what else do you think of when you hear the word "Venice"?
Mmmm.. how about the history and architecture...? A photo impression:
For many, Venice is a city of romance
Ok, unraveling of the secret: we were in Venice last weekend. ;-)
Jean Ziegler, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, said the United States and the European Union have taken a "criminal path" by contributing to an explosive rise in global food prices by using food crops to produce biofuels.
Ziegler stated that last year the United States used a third of its corn crop to create biofuels, while the European Union is planning to have 10 percent of its petrol supplied by biofuels. He called for a five-year moratorium on the production of biofuels.
Ziegler also said that speculation on international markets is behind 30 percent of the increase in food prices. (Full)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted that setting aside farmland to produce biofuels like ethanol may be partly to blame for driving up world food prices. "There has been apparently some effect, unintended consequence from the alternative fuels effort". (Full)
Meanwhile President Bush President George Bush confirms he is deeply concerned about high food prices but believes ethanol production is responsible for only a small part of food inflation. "And the truth of the matter is, it's in our national interest that we - our farmers - grow energy, as opposed to us purchasing energy from parts of the world that are unstable or may not like us." (Full) (Ed: Oil first, food second?)
An 18-month BBC investigation for Panorama has found evidence that:
- Pakistani peacekeepers in the eastern town of Mongbwalu were involved in the illegal trade in gold with the FNI militia (described by Human Rights Watch as "some of the most murderous individuals that operate in eastern Congo"), providing them with weapons to guard the perimeter of the mines.
- The Indians traded gold, bought drugs from the militias and flew a UN helicopter into the Virunga National Park, where they exchanged ammunition for ivory.
A UN investigation concluded that one officer had been responsible for dealing in gold - allowing traders to use UN aircraft to fly into the town, putting them up at the UN base and taking them around the town. But the UN decided that "in the absence of corroborative evidence" its investigators "could not substantiate the allegation" that Pakistani peacekeepers supplied weapons or ammunition to the militia.
It did, however, identify "an individual who seemed to have facilitated gold smuggling".
The BBC allegations were confirmed by militia leaders. UN insiders close to the investigation told the BBC they had been prevented from pursuing their inquiries for political reasons. (Full)
My comments:
This is despicable and a slap in the face of those UN humanitarians who do try to make a difference.
It is not the first time the UN peacekeeping (UNDPKO) troops have been discredited by scandals (see the post Sometimes I am ashamed to work for the UN). A lack of consequent leadership in UNDPKO, a lack of accountability, direct and clear lines of command, proper supervision, proper screening of the troops, justice for those offending the rules, transparent and public auditing... and above all a lack of political will to structurally make a change to avoid similar scandals from happening again and again.
Update May 2: Human Rights Watch claims UN investigators in Congo ignored misconduct(Full)
Via International Aid Workers Today
Picture courtesy Marco Longari (AFP), BBC
Der Spiegel published a good overview of the current food crisis, depicting the raising food prices, and the countries limiting food exports, and where all of this sparked unrest. (click on the picture for a higher resolution)
