So I was going to say "Sunshine for this weekend", a "delicious dessert" or some other useless fashion item but actually no, I would like to talk a little bit about things I learned listening to the radio today.

It happens once in a while that I tune in while brushing my hair or going to the shower. It can be just to kill the silence around me while Mr. F takes his nap or hear about the new movies out this week, nota bene, movies I will NOT be able to see at the cinema. Today I tuned in to France Culture and listened to an interview with France's IT minister (the name in French is so unbelievably complicated: "secrétaire d'Etat chargée de la prospective et du développement de l'économie numérique") so lets say she stands in for economic progress in connective technology. Whatever that means.

Not that her own name is much easier either so at risk of sounding patronising I am going to call Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet only by her first name. And not because she is a woman.

So Nathalie has been chosen to get this country up and running with new technologies and listening to her, she seems quite qualified for the job. A young parlementary, she understands how the internet and technologies around it work (she has her own Facebook and Twitter account) and she sees new oportunities in how to use the web. Nathalie says that the main mistake people make is to try to use the web as just another medium, to advertise products just as on Tv or radio for example. But the trick lies in seeing what the web can do differently from other media and to use it. Focus on how we can use differently. What she also would like to do is to involve citizens more in the IT progress itself, because administration (or governments for that matter) are not always the best qualified to know HOW to USE their data - Therefore, and basing this on similar tactics planned by the Obama administration ("government 2.0" ), she plans to make most government data publicly available (anonymosly of course) and encourage ordinary citizens to come up with ideas of how to use it.

Interesting. How this would work in real life is hard to say. Especially in a big country like France, where you still have to have a million photocopies of all your papers and even sometimes FAX them to their destination. Of course its hard to "computerized" all the data available, and progress is being made (you can even do your tax report online now) but France is still far away from using modern technologies to make everyday life easier for everybody. Your bank could send you text messages for example - and when you get a prescription at the doctor's, he/she should be able to email it directly to the pharmacy (and social security) to avoid all this paperwork. Scanning and documents in email attachements should also be made more available in the system. I dont know how much I have spent on stamps this year -but it's alot.

Other interesting points in the interview are how resources (or investment) in new technologies are now going to ideas and Uses, instead of equipment development before. And France should be quite upfront there, in developing computer games for better uses (such as for Alzheimer patients or work training and progress). Catching up on their own IT bubble perhaps?

You can read more on Obama's "government 2.0" here.

Vacation is over for now so its back to "normality". If normality is working 5 days a week to get paid at the end of the month -

Yes, most of us probably have to work until we get too old to really enjoy all the free time retirement has to offer.
And we all accept it - that and paying taxes, taking loans to be able to buy houses and trying to put money aside, so it can only be used for paying things we didn't predict.

What if I would tell you that the taxes you pay (and work 3-4 months a year for) are used to make the richest men in the world even richer? What If I was to tell you that the wars we are fighting are fought for money (not a surprise to many of you Im sure) and that 9/11 fits exactly the model of a pre-emptive strike that is always needed by governments and the people behind them to justify wars? Not very new revelations, I agree but these things are all linked in a very interresting documentary/artitistic feature I recently saw.

I have seen some startling evidence that shows that there is much more behind 9/11 than we have been told by official sources and therefore all the world's biggest media. It also explains clearly how the world economy seems to be manipulated by only a few persons who don't care about who makes the law in what country - because they are on a mission. Religion does also play an important role in misguiding us from what we really are ment for. The conclusion I am reaching is quite scary - we don't seem to be in control of our own life or destiny and there seems to be so much going on behind the curtains - that will eventually bring us to a horrifying future.

To understand what I am talking about and simply to open your mind a little bit - go and watch this film online (the quality is quite good and the film quick to download - however it takes some time to start and the JEsus story is important for the overall conclusion.. be patient.... and then LETS start to think for ourselves, artivism is for all of us - the Revolution is NOW!

www.zeitgeistmovie.com

Are you afraid of sharks?

Has it ever occured to you when swimming in the sea that you have no way of knowing what is happening underneath you?
If you are afraid of sharks it is very likely that you have seen the movie JAWS at some point - and if you have, what you should see is Sharkwater.

Sharkwater is a documentary that took 5 years in the making and is not only magnificent in imagery but also very informative and surprising.

Ok I have always been interested in the sea and in the animals living there - having studied biology quite alot I should know one thing or two but this film has open my eyes to probably the most misunderstood animal on the planet. And it has confirmed my belief that sharks are NOT dangerous and that they very rarely attack men.

- made by young filmmaker Rob Stewart from Canada, the film was chosen to open the Jules Verne Adventure film festival in Paris and has won many awards around the globe, and understandably so. It follows the passion of former wildlife photographer Rob (he's only 27!) - his passion for sharks and how he discovers that one of the most money making traffic on earth (after drugs) is the industry of shark fins - mainly off the coast of Costa Rica and Equador. And there is BIG MONEY involved!

The shark - which is the oldest predator on earth - has survived 5 major extinctions and is for the first time an endangered species because of man. Once again we have managed changing things in the ecosystem - not caring about the concequences and without even pausing briefly to think twice. The extinction of sharks could mean that there will be no oxygen left in the athmosphere for us to breath! (read up on your biology or .. GO AND SEE THE FILM)

We have known this for quite some time, that sharks are being heavely fished - and until now not many people have cared - since they aren't as cuddly as Pandas or Tigers and because of the misconception that sharks are dangerous maneaters (hmm compared to Tigers?). But when you see images of these creatures where their fin is cut off and they are thrown back into the sea ALIVE you can't just leave it there. This is happening all over the world and the sea is turning into a giant garbage can.(in an hour around 15.000 sharks are killed, and some in a awful way) Do we think that future generations (if they are going to be any) will thank us for messing up our planet and distroy nature's balance completely? with no water or food left and with most of the species we now know extinct? I don't think so. At least I can't just sit here and watch it happen.

Whatever can be said about this film, that maybe it is a bit long and the writing perhaps repetitive, the images are breathtaking and it is one of the most beautiful animal documentary I have seen - made by someone really talented and clearly passionate, that knows these creatures extremely well and has unusual ease to approche wildlife and capture it on film. Stewert clearly wants to make a difference and get the message out there. Well done! There are also alot of things said in the film that I can't seem to get out of my head.

No government or association has ever truly changed the course of humanity.. only 5-7 % of the population - with some very determined people are needed to make a difference. And you can make a difference. Start by signing the pledge to save the sharks www.savingsharks.com

Right - Bush: "Who is the new leader of China?"

Rice :"Hu is the new leader of China, sir!"

Bush: "that's what I'm asking you Condi- who is in China?"

This joke was written by playwright Jim sherman - But somehow I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the joke rose from a real misunderstanding - ok that maybe didn't go as far but still for a few seconds Mr.President might not have got the leader's name. wouldn't surprise me at all.

You constantly wonder what other's people lives are like - or compare your own to theirs.

What if someone could watch you all the time - and everything you did would be documented for others to know about?

That is what the film Das leben der anderen is about  - go and see it

amazingly well done - and if you care, it was nominated for an oscar for best foreign film...