Friday, March 09, 2007
Educational Genocide
As some people know, in Iran, Bahá’ís are denied some basic rights. Amongst them the right to access to Universities.
After international pressure, the Islamic Government decided to stop the policy of asking for religion on the exams to enter Universities. This way, Bahá’í youth was able to apply and access the University.
Then, a new process started. Universities didn’t accept them, despite their marks being far superior to others. At the end, from the thousands accepted only approximately 100 got in. And now? Seventy (after other seventy during this year) of them were expelled! According to the Povo of Bahá (a Portuguese blog), the Iranian Government has denied the allegation of religious grounds on the expulsion! Asked by Reuters (published on February, 28th), a member of the Iranian delegation in the United Nations affirmed: "No one in Iran is stopped of studying because of religion".
But, then again, we also find out information (written, printed, and signed information!) about Iranian Leaders. Issued on November, 2nd 2006 by the direction of the Payame Noor University you can read the following document:
Central Protection Office Protection Office of Region 5 (Provinces of Fárs [Fars], Búshihr [Bushehr], KahKílúyih [Kahkiluyeh] and Buyr-A:mad [Boyer Ahmad]) To the honourable directors of all the centres, Greetings, With respect, according to the ruling of the Cultural Revolutionary Council and the instructions of the Ministry of Information and the Head Protection Office of the Central Organization of Payám-i-Núr University, Bahá’ís cannot enrol in universities and higher education centres. Therefore, such cases if encountered should be reported, their enrolment should be strictly avoided, and if they are already enrolled they should be expelled. Confirmation comes from God alone. [Signature illegible] Central Protection Office of Payám-i-Núr University Protection Officer of Payám-i-Núr University, region 5 [Signature] (Provinces of Fárs, Búshihr, KahKílúyih and Buyr- A:mad) [Stamp] CONFIDENTIAL Mu‘allim Square-Avval-i-Himmat-i-Junúbí Samti chap-Payám-i-Núr University, region 5 Post Office Box: 1774 Telephone: (0711) 628323809 Fax: 6283727
The Bahá’í International Community Representative, Ms. Dugal makes the following remark, with which we must agree: "In its public face, Iran claims that it has finally opened the doors to Baha'i students, after some 25 years of keeping them out of public and private universities in Iran. But, as evidenced by this confidential memorandum from the Payame Noor central office, the real policy is apparently to simply expel Baha'is as soon as they can be identified". And… The questions lied ahead: What are we doing to stop this Educational Genocide? Labels: blogs, human rights, reasons, religion, world citizenship
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Can we fight our Chromosomes?
At V. Willour, P. Zandi, J. Badner, J. Steele, K. Miao, V. Lopez, D. MacKinnon, F. Mondimore, B. Schweizer, M. McInnis (2007). "Attempted Suicide in Bipolar Disorder Pedigrees: Evidence for Linkage to 2p12" in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 61, Issue 5 (pp. 725-727) one can read that there might be a genetic disposition to attempt suicide. Investigations held by the University of John Hopkins (Maryland, USA) and others seem to agree with the idea that there is a relationship between Chromosone 2 (the 2p12 area of the Chromosone) and suicide. These studies have tried to scan a pattern between bipolars with known attempts of suicide and their families, examining the data of 162 families and including 417 people with diagnosed schizoafective or bipolar ills. These findings can serve to identify people at risk of suicide, according to the main investigator Virginia Willour, but then again... Once more we seem to find deterministic ways of seeing people, forgetting that we can have our last decision, despite our biological conditionings... Or can't we? Labels: family, genetics, human nature, reasons, suicide
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Now, let us sleep with such a noise!
 I've read, in some printed news that there is no place, amongst 65 compared countries, where more youth is killed than in Brazil. Besides that, the Country is the third, in a 84 ranking, in which more youth between 15 and 24 year old dye by murder. This was made public by the Violence Map 2006, a study divulgated on November, 16th, in Brasília, by the Iberoamerican States Organization (OEI). The document points that 15.5 thousand Brazilians between 15 and 24 lost their lives in 2004 because of accidents, crimes or suicides caused by a fire gun, which results in 43 deaths per 100 thousand. From the 65 compared countries, only Venezuela comes close to Brazil, with a rank of 38 deaths per 100 thousand youth. Even Israel, a country that lives a situation of armed conflict, has a much lower ranking: 5,3 death per 100 thousand. Despite the increase of 64,2% in the number of murders amongst youth from 1994 to 2004, it was registered a decline of the problem from 2003 to 2004. To the author of the study, Julio Jacobo Waiselfisz, in good measure, the reduction is a reflection of the Disarming Act, applied since 2003. There is no magic solution. Brazil’s debt is historical. Now, let us sleep with such a noise!
Washington Araújo
(published in www.CidadãodoMundo.org, Brazil, November 2006) Labels: death, reasons, violence, world citizenship
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Are you phobic?
You might have heard strange words ended with a "-phobia" component.
Basically, a phobia is a fear to have fear. You are more afraid of the response you and your body can give others than on what really could happen.
That is why in Logotherapy they talk about derreflection and paradoxical intention - things I hope I can talk about later on - so that the ones that think they are phobic can stop thinking in themselves and offering their thoughts to other subjects and persons.
Like on a speech: if you think "I’ll say something wrong", "I will sweat", "they will laugh because of what I am saying", think "they have me here, because they wanted", "I can offer them something", "we can relate to each other".
Focus your thought and actions on the others, not on yourself. Communicate: give yourself away!
Labels: communication, fear, Frankl, phobias, reasons
Friday, January 12, 2007
Making love, making speeches
I have just read an interesting article named “Make love, very healthy to your work life”, based on Stuart Brody's study, recently published in the New Scientist. Several people were monitored to check how can sex influence stress levels. And, he found out that those people participating as volunteers in the investigation, practicing observed sex presented lower stress-related blood pressure and performed better on public speeches. You could think that whoever makes sex in public is able to make anything in public, but, according to Brody, this is because some cranial nerve is controlling some of our psychological processes, releasing oxytocin, the hormone that works out during sexual act, and that has a calming effect! Now, remember what Frankl could say about this: sex shouldn’t become the means to a good speech, but the reason to start giving yourself to others. Making love could be, just like giving speeches, a experiential value that allows you to connect with another human, a human that, just like you, is able to give and to receive! Labels: emotions, fear, Frankl, human nature, love, reasons, relationships, sex
Saturday, January 06, 2007
The reason for a blog…
I was thinking in how to justify this blog... But, then again, should it be a reason for converging ideas all across the world? Or should it be a reason to defend every human being's right to exist?This is the space that wants to bring different kinds of peoples and, therefore, different kind s of visions of the world. All based on one single idea: the respect for human rights and values.
A Psychoanalyst could ask me why I am doing this? A Systemic ask me what for? And, an Existentialist ask for the meaning of this project in my essence...All I can say is that I am another one in the quest, searching for that “one point” that is knowledge, split in so many ideas and world-conceptions. Seeker is how I define myself!
This blog is the sum of many: many writers and collaborators from different cultural backgrounds will (once in a while) write their thoughts in things related to psychology (and not only); different readers (hopefully) from across the world; different experiences and different ways of seeing the same reality.
This blog wants to bring everyone the reflection on what I consider the four human dimensions: the Physical, the Mental, the Noettic and the Social, in all their possible meanings.Please, be welcome
to Labels: blogs, Existentialism, Psychoanalysis, reasons, System-Theory
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