Black Friday

Pela primeira vez este ano tive consciência da chegada e celebração do "Thanksgiving Day ". Também aprendi um pouco mais sobre a forma como o dia é celebrado, em culturas bem distantes da minha e descbri que o Black Friday sucede ao que nós chamariamos Dia da Acção de Graças...

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by Dave Chameides Nov 24, 2009 7:01 am

This coming Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is a bleak day in the United States known as Black Friday. I sadly felt compelled to write about it last year, and this year am hitting it ahead of the curve and hopefully with a piece of advice.

Black Friday, as many of you may know, is the day after Thanksgiving where prices are slashed and the official buying frenzy that is the Christmas shopping season begins. It will be marked by sales, hustling and bustling, and sadly, if prior years are any indication, a few injuries and perhaps even a few deaths.

I don’t know really where to begin in discussing how wrong Black Friday is, because it’s wrong in so many ways. We’re killing each other over a few dollars off on a doll? Seriously? As far as I’m concerned, it’s nothing more than a one-day event that shows corporations how we the people have bought fully into the concept that capitalism is king. It’s the day where we head out in droves and show them–yes, we believe your commercials and your ads, and are willing to empty our wallets and weapons in search of that all-elusive state we call happiness.

Sadly, nothing for sale on Friday will get us there. There is no product, no special, and no “thing” that will truly make us happy in the full sense of the word. Sure that new Wii will bring us a smile for a while, but only until we tire of it, or the next greatest game comes along, and then we’ll be jealous of those who have the new one, and wonder how we can jettison the old. It’s a vicious cycle–one that once you’ve bought into, you will have trouble getting out of.

So Friday, I along with the help of AdBusters, am asking you to step out of it all and stop. On November 27th (Nov 28th internationally), Adbusters is sponsoring their Buy Nothing Day, a 24-Hour Moratorium on Consumer Spending. The concept is simple. Don’t buy anything. Send corporations the message that you can’t be bought and you won’t buy in, and simply say no. Spend the day outdoors, with a friend, take a hike, even clean the house, just don’t buy anything. It’s that simple.

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Porque é que as pessoas precisam de chegar a esse extremo do consumismo? Está certo que essa é a oportunidade que alguns têm de gastar as suas poupanças para comprar presentes para quem amam, mas... que isso leve a perda de vidas e ferimentos, acho demais!

Enfim, um problema que não nos diz respeito de forma directa (a nós cá do Sul, dos países sub-desenvolvidos, muitas vezes referidos países pobres ).

Esta semana participei numa formação sobre Direitos Humanos, e a discussão sobre pobreza foi inevitável. A questão colocada foi: “Será que a pobreza é uma violação dos direitos humanos?”. A reposta é positiva tanto do ponto de vista legal como moral, mas ante situações como esta, eu sinto dor, e muita, muita tristeza de 6.68 biliões de seres humanos vivermos planeta e estarmos tão distantes na nossa própria humanidade.

Aqui no Sul, os seres humanos que vivem em frágeis palhotas de caniço correm o risco de ficar desalojados por causa das cheias resultantes da subida do nível das águas dos mares e dos rios como consequência das mudanças climáticas. Felizmente estes seres humanos desconhecem o frenesin de consumo num certo dia chamado “Black Friday”...

Uma Palhota

The Numerology of 11/11/09

This unique date is slated to affect us all

By Hans Decoz

In Numerology, three specific numbers are recognized as "Master numbers," because they are more influential than any other number. Those Master numbers are 11, 22 and 33. That's why November 11, 2009 is such an important date in Numerology: it's known as a "33 Universal Day," and for most of us, it will be the first we've ever experienced in our lifetimes. Considering that 33 is the most powerful as well as the rarest of the three Master numbers, it's worth noting that this rarity occurs twice in November 2009: November 11 and November 29. To get a bit more technical, not only do these two dates add up to 33, but they are also the only two days between 2000 and 2017 that form a perfect triangle of 11-11-11 (the year 2009 reduces to 11 when adding 2 and 9).

Within the perfect pyramid used to symbolize the three Master numbers (again, 11, 22 and 33), the 11 is found in the left bottom corner and represents intuitive knowledge and mastery. The 22, placed in the right bottom corner, combines the power of the 11 with a commanding ability to make things manifest -- something the 11 lacks -- while the 33 is found at the top of the pyramid and combines the powers of the 11 and the 22 with that of the enlightened teacher and communicator.

November 11, 2009 and November 29, 2009 are the only two dates between 2000 and 2017 that reduce to 11-11-11, adding up to 33.

So what does this mean and how will this affect us?

As the most feminine and intuitive of all numbers, the 11 represented by these dates will undoubtedly inspire diplomacy and a genuine desire to work toward peace. But the influence is subtle: after all, the number 11 is famous for making its impact behind the scenes -- for example, it might heighten our gut instinct, so we'll feel it on a more individual level. But the 33 in these dates will be more obvious and global in impact -- probably inspiring a single voice to deliver a unique and heartfelt message, or urging a collective voice or demonstration with far.

But the 33 in these dates will be more obvious and global in impact -- probably inspiring a single voice to deliver a unique and heartfelt message, or urging a collective voice or demonstration with far reaching-affects.

Interestingly, November 11, 2009 is also an ideal time to consider your bonds with other people, specifically in a family sense. This date ultimately reduces to the number 6, which represents our personal home base -- including our parents, children and sense of interconnectivity -- as well as emotional extremes. That means that as we become more aware of the global mood, we also have a great opportunity to turn our attention back to the hearth and make sure that our personal lives and relationships are fair and in balance.

Voltei

Procuro em mim, o que eu sou,

A minha autenticidade

O meu eu interior,

e não como outros devem ou deveriam ser

Abro-me a possíbilidades inúmeras,

e aceito as diferenças

que vêm de formas diversas.

Umas vezes é fácil aceitá-las

É bom. É bonito!

Como o canto do meu amigo passarinho que pousa na janela da cozinha

E brinda com o seu canto os meus rituais macrobióticos...

Outras vezes aceito-as de formas que me aqueçem o coração.

Nessas ocasiões sinto ânimo para correr, espahar a LUZ e tocar mais e mais pessoas.

Outras vezes porém, as diferenças me agridem atrozmente.

Nesses casos levo tempo a aceitar...

E a iluminar caminhos escuros

Meu brilho é intenso!

Eu sou G A Y A

Mãe Terra

Planet Earth...