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DANTE FOR THE RENAISSANCE IN US
The only international magazine with an Italian soul
Design With a Conscience Roger Ballen/ Die Antwoord The Three Billion Club New Capital, New Totalitarianisms: A Part-Confessional Temples of Doom dark mythology along northern Peru’s Moche Route.
in modern reality
9 772051 002005
The seven capital sins
ISSN 2051-0020 DANTEmag Print
Overture q q
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index MISSION STATEMENT BY THE EDITORS Dante and Beatrice p. 8
Food for thought! p. 10
DIVINA COMMEDIA AROUND THE WORLD. p.14
ART.
Roger Ballen/Die Antwoord p. 18
LITERATURE Islam, Censorship and a Modern Tradition p. 28
MUSIC
A Modern Instrument’s Revival p. 34
FILM
Whence Passion? p. 40
DESIGN
Design With a Conscience p. 44
POLITICS
The Three Billion Club p. 56 A Victory for Historical Amnesia in the Baltic: The Enduring Danger of Revisionism p. 62
COVER
Window of the soul Empowering the Blind in Nepal p. 86
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO Health Camillia Sinensis “is a cup of life” p. 100 TRAVEL Temples of Doom p. 108
The Seven Capital Sins in Modern Reality p. 68
FOOD Soup, Glorious Soup! p. 118
BUSINESS
COLUMNS
New Capital, New Totalitarianisms: a Part-Confessional p. 78 Living in a Digital World: How Commercial Photography Can Thrive p. 84
Nonno Panda tales Nonno Panda and... the Beautiful Little Girl, Part Two p. 124
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catandnat.com! Our website is the first English lifestyle website and content-based magazine to not only highlight the latest trends in Thailand, but also discuss the cultural issues and opinions expressed by prominent people living here.
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contributors Editor in Chief Massimo Gava
Arts Editor Jean Philippe Vernes
Deputy Editor Chris Kline
Associated Research Editor Louis Romero
Editor at Large US Caroline Udall
Business Editor Martin Shah
Editor Asia and Middle East Joseph Mayton
Research and Communication Editor Mattia Braida
Editor at Large Bee Van Zuylen
Online Design Editor Lavinia Todd
Executive Literary Editor Patrick J.Summers
Online Research Editor Mary Shulze
Feature Editor Keanu Kerr
Art Director Nicola Sasso
Photography Director Winston Cole
International Correspondent Mike Jerovia
Picture Editor Luella Stock
Director of New Media and Web Adargoma Mejias-Sanabria
Sub-Culture Editor Michael Chandler
Sales and Marketing UK Antonio Sanna
Music Editor Dean Rispler
Marketing and Communication Italy Novella Donelli Just in Time http://justintimesrl.wordpress.com
Copy Editor Philip Rham
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Contributing Writers . Ivor Powell/Heidi Erdmann Antonia Bruns, Eszther Gafalvi Julian Taylor, Fernando Carneiro Mike Hawthorne, Mario Moniz Barreto Eleonora Flammini, Jose Da Silva Elisa T. Keena, Neil Geraghty, Edith Sitwell, Marco Pernini, Dante and Beatriz, NonnoPanda.
Contributing Photographers. Roger Ballen, Christian H端ller Giorgio Tentolini courtesy of Defending History.com Eleonora Flammini, Maureen Audetto, SilverLake Photography LTD Giuliana Mackler, Ana Baumann Ally Lethbridge, Caro Patlis, Sofie Barfoed, Ana Baumann, Marily Konstantinopoulou Jared Buschang, Marco Flammini Dan Brohawn, Giuliana Mackler wikipedia.org Shutterstock.com
DANTEmag is published by DANTEmag Ltd Company 12 Charing Cross Mansion 26 Charing Cross Rd. WC2H 0DG London UK info@dantemag.com.
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Letter from the Editors
I
It is never a good thing to wallow in gloom and doom but it is equally unsound practice to deny the critical state of the era we live in. Ours is as trying, dangerous, and complex an age as any that humanity has endured since we emerged from the Great Depression, two World Wars, post-Colonialism and the end of the Cold War. If we merely consider this simple list of historical precedents we must painfully acknowledge, as we have started 2013, that collectively we are not free from want, armed conflict, repression, tyranny or extremism. The logic of the greater good does not rule. The march of civilisation finds the road ahead uncertain. It is fraught with dangers, filled with a myriad of terrifying unknowns and as many dark certainties as we dare fathom. It is a truism to assert that the prognosis is fearful and fragile. The growing prospect of global economic collapse has shadowed us since Dante’s inception. That is why we want to toy with the concept of the seven deadly sins as our cover article for this edition, giving them a modern make-over with some fascinating points to make on the way, which lead to some surprising conclusions. The people who work for Dante are citizens from a host of nations in every continent on earth, of every possible race, religion, intellectual and cultural orientation. We regard this diversity and multitude of voices as our core strength. We do not consider just DANTEmag n.8
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one parochial backyard but the larger mosaic of our common humanity and our common condition. We are in this together with our readership, hoping for the best, preparing for the worst and trying to do the story justice. Our métier is to posit and discuss ideas – universal and selfevident ideas, like the right to education, the equality of women, racial tolerance, freedom of expression, legitimate dissent and the right of survival itself. And when these things are silenced by an iron hand, from Moscow, to the Swat Valley to the Niger Delta and Darfur, Tunis and Teheran, we object unreservedly and regard it as our duty to raise the alarm. Journalism’s raison d’être is
Dante and Beatrice Michael Parkes
ence as peoples and societies.
to speak truth to power. This, more than ever, remains its highest calling and expression, no matter how cowed the Fourth Estate has become in many instances, not least in the United States, where the inhabitants of the last superpower serve neither themselves nor the planet well, in accepting such provincialism and corporatism from a press corps that was once one of the most unyielding in the history of the craft. Five centuries after the Renaissance - the very ideal that prompted us to found Dante - we conclude, unashamedly, that we live in a profoundly irrational age, with few of us immune from the slavish or wilful absence of reason dominating our collective exist-
How should we respond to a looming new Dark Age disguised by all the trappings of so-called modernity and progress? We must tend to the soul. We must remember to live and not merely to exist. We must ascend to loftier ground, pause to walk in the garden, to ponder the beauty, the brilliance, the genius and creativity of humanity. Dante will not stop celebrating this spark, which all the brutishness and ignorance in our baser selves seem incapable of extinguishing. And if solidarity and compassion are instincts as pronounced within us as our appetite for destruction, let us become the change we seek, despite the hardships and the odds against us. Let us banish the notion of improbable success and add our light to the sum of light, as Tolstoy implored us to do, and, together, defeat the beast of our own stupidity. Let the inmates take over the asylum and let us see who is truly mad. And if, alas, the existential fireball is inexorably coming towards us, then let us look to the dissenting hothouses of the human spirit in all their glory in Paris, Berlin, and the Harlem Renaissance in New York in 1939, before the juggernaut devoured us, as instructive examples. Things were hard then too, and they got harder. They will become more difficult now, too, no doubt. But when conformist irrationality is touted as both reason and as the natural order of conduct, then our refusal to participate in selfimmolation is the method in the madness that makes us sane. I resist, therefore I am. Good tidings to all of you in this 2013, dear readers, from all of us at Dante Magazine.
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Food for thought!
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Food for thought!
Food For Thought!
by Massimo Gava
“From war to peace: a European tale” A Nobel lecture by the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy. Acceptance speech for The Nobel Peace Price 2012 given to the European Union. Oslo 10 December 2012
Y
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Heads of State and Government, Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with humility and gratitude that we stand here together, to receive this award on behalf of the European Union. At a time of uncertainty, this day reminds people across Europe and the world of the Union’s fundamental purpose: to further the fraternity between European nations, now and in the future. It is our work today. It has been the work of generations before us. And it will be the work of generations after us. Here in Oslo, I want to pay homage to all the Europeans who dreamt of a continent at peace with itself, and to all those who day by day make this dream a reality. This award belongs to them. ***** War is as old as Europe. Our continent bears the scars of spears and swords, canons and guns, trenches and tanks, and more. The tragedy of it all resonates in the words of Herodotus, 25 centuries ago:
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Food for thought!
The President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy
“In Peace, Sons bury their Fathers. In War, Fathers bury their Sons.” Yet, … after two terrible wars engulfed the continent and the world with it, … finally lasting peace came to Europe. In those grey days, its cities were in ruins, the hearts of many still simmering with mourning and resentment. How difficult it then seemed, as Winston Churchill said, “to regain the simple joys and hopes that make life worth living”. As a child born in Belgium just after the war, I heard the stories firsthand. My grandmother spoke about the Great War. In 1940, my father, then seventeen, had to dig his own grave. He got away; otherwise I would not be here today. So what a bold bet it was, for Europe’s Founders, to say, yes, we can break this endless cycle of violence, we can stop the logic of vengeance, we can build a brighter future, together. What power of the imagination. ***** Of course, peace might have come to Europe without the Union. Maybe. We will never know. But it would never have been of the same quality. A lasting peace, not a frosty cease-fire. To me, what makes it so special, is reconciliation. In politics as in life, reconciliation is the most difficult thing. It goes beyond forgiving and forgetting, or simply turning the page. To think of what France and Germany had gone through…, and then take this step… Signing a Treaty of Friendship… Each time I hear these words – Freundschaft, Amitié –, I am moved. They are private words, not for treaties between nations. But the will to not let history repeat itself, to do something radically new, was so strong that new words had to be found. For people Europe was a promise, Europe equalled hope. DANTEmag n.8
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When Konrad Adenauer came to Paris to conclude the Coal and Steel Treaty, in 1951, one evening he found a gift waiting at his hotel. It was a war medal, une Croix de Guerre, that had belonged to a French soldier. His daughter, a young student, had left it with a little note for the Chancellor, as a gesture of reconciliation and hope. I can see many other stirring images before me. Leaders of six States assembled to open a new future, in Rome, città eterna… Willy Brandt kneeling down in Warsaw. The dockers of Gdansk, at the gates of their shipyard. Mitterrand and Kohl hand in hand. Two million people linking Tallinn to Riga to Vilnius in a human chain, in 1989. These moments healed Europe. But symbolic gestures alone cannot cement peace. This is where the European Union’s “secret weapon” comes into play: an unrivalled way of binding our interests so tightly that war becomes materially impossible. Through constant negotiations, on ever more topics, between ever more countries. It’s the golden rule of Jean Monnet: “Mieux vaut se disputer autour d’une table que sur un champ de bataille.” (“Better fight around a table than on a battle-field.”) If I had to explain it to Alfred Nobel, I would say: not just a peace congress,
Food for thought!
a perpetual peace congress! Admittedly, some aspects can be puzzling, and not only to outsiders. Ministers from landlocked countries passionately discussing fish-quotas. Europarlementarians from Scandinavia debating the price of olive oil. The Union has perfected the art of compromise. No drama of victory or defeat, but ensuring all countries emerge victorious from talks. For this, boring politics is only a small price to pay… ***** Ladies and Gentlemen, It worked. Peace is now self-evident. War has become inconceivable. Yet ‘inconceivable’ does not mean ‘impossible’. And that is why we are gathered here today. Europe must keep its promise of peace. I believe this is still our Union’s ultimate purpose. But Europe can no longer rely on this promise alone to inspire citizens. In a way, it’s a good thing; war-time memories are fading. Even if not yet everywhere. Soviet rule over Eastern Europe ended just two decades ago. Horrendous massacres took place in the Balkans shortly after. The children born at the time of Srebrenica will only turn eighteen next year. But they already have little brothers and sisters born after that war: the first real post-war generation of Europe. This must remain so. Presidents, Prime Ministers, Excellencies, So, where there was war, there is now peace. But another historic task now lies ahead of us: keeping peace where there is peace. After all, history is not a novel, a book we can close after a Happy Ending: we remain fully responsible for what is yet to come. This couldn’t be more clear than it is today, when we are hit by the worst economic crisis in two generations, causing great hardship among our people, and putting the political bonds of our Union to the test. Parents struggling to make ends meet, workers recently laid off, students
who fear that, however hard they try, they won’t get that first job: when they think about Europe, peace is not the first thing that comes to mind… When prosperity and employment, the bedrock of our societies, appear threatened, it is natural to see a hardening of hearts, the narrowing of interests, even the return of long-forgotten fault-lines and stereotypes. For some, not only joint decisions, but the very fact of deciding jointly, may come into doubt. And while we must keep a sense of proportion – even such tensions don’t take us back to the darkness of the past , the test Europe is currently facing is real. If I can borrow the words of Abraham Lincoln at the time of another continental test, what is being assessed today is “whether that Union, or any Union so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure”. We answer with our deeds, confident we will succeed. We are working very hard to overcome the difficulties, to restore growth and jobs. There is of course sheer necessity. But there is more that guides us: the will to remain masters of our own destiny, a sense of togetherness, and in a way… speaking to us from the centuries … the idea of Europa itself. The presence of so many European leaders here today underlines our common conviction: that we will come out of this together, and stronger. Strong enough in the world to defend our interests and promote our values. We all work to leave a better Europe for the children of today and those of tomorrow. So that, later, others might turn and judge: that generation, ours, preserved the promise of Europe. Today’s youth is already living in a new world. For them Europe is a daily reality. Not the constraint of being in the same boat. No, the richness of being able to freely share, travel and exchange. To share and shape a continent, experiences, a future. Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen, Our continent, risen from the ashes after 1945 and united in 1989, has a great capacity to reinvent itself. It is to the next generations to take this common adventure further. I hope they will seize this responsibility with pride. And that they will be able to say, as we here today: Ich bin ein Europäer. Je suis fier d’être européen. I am proud to be European.
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comedy THE DIVINE Around the World
Half along our life’s path. Lost in a dark wood. Unable to find the right way….
PARADISO Dear Beatrice… CANTO I
New hope in the cure for cancer. The Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, Ph.D., published a study today in Open Biology, the magazine of the Royal Society. Although mortality from many cancers, particularly those of the blood (i.e., leukaemias), has been steadily falling, epithelial cancers (carcinomas) and effectively all mesenchymal cancers (sarcomas) remain largely incurable. Watson presents a novel hypothesis regarding the role of oxidants and antioxidants in cancers that are currently incurable, notably in late-stage metastatic cancers. Watson claims that antioxidants in late-stage cancers can promote cancer progression, a theory he counts “among my most important work since the double helix.” At the heart of his thesis is the group of molecules that scientists call reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS play a role in apoptosis, which allows dysfunctional cells that pose a threat to the survival or organisms to kill themselves. Watson calls ROS “a positive force for life.” However, ROS are also able to irreversibly damage key proteins and nucleic acid molecules [e.g., DNA and RNA]. Thus under normal circumstances, when they are not needed to curb dysfunctional cells, ROS are constantly being neutralised by antioxidative proteins. In order to aid this neutralisation, we are often urged to eat foods rich in antioxidants such as blueberries. Watson claims that in late-stage cancer, DANTEmag n.8
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as ROS are needed for apoptosis, suppressing them may promote the progression of threatening cells and hence cancer. He writes “blueberries best be eaten because they taste good, not because their consumption will lead to less cancer.”
CANTO II
Wine retailer Majestic Wine in the UK said that Italian Prosecco was the sparkling wine last Christmas. Chief Executive Steve Lewis said sales of Prosecco have surged 20 percent, accounting for 45 percent of its total sparkling wine revenues. “Prosecco is the real story with sparkling wines,” he said. Lewis added that while sales of Cava were up, sales of Champagne were flat. Gabriele Cescon, Director of the Cantine Maschio, part of the largest group of Italian wines Cantine Riunite, said that while it is true Prosecco is an unstoppable phenomenon on the British market, even more surprising is the perception that British consumers have of the added value of the Prosecco wine DOCG Valdobbiadene and Conegliano. “A higher price is offset by the superior quality. And our sales of Christmas 2012 in the modern distribution have rocketed. . ..” I guess this can only be good news for the ailing Italian economy.
CANTO III
Rita Levi Montalcini was the
Italian neurologist that, together with her colleague Stanley Cohen, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1987 for the discovery of the nerve growth factor NGF, a small protein that prevents neuronal degeneration in animals and led to several clinical trial in humans. Levi Montalcini started her experiments from a home laboratory, studying the growth of nerve fibres in chicken embryos. This laid the groundwork for her later results. In 1968, she became the tenth woman elected to the US Academy of Science. In 2001, Italian president Carlo Azelio Ciampi named her Senator for Life for her outstanding merit in the field of science. Amongst her many achievements she had been the oldest living Nobel Prize laureate and the first ever to have reached her 100th birthday. She served in the Italian Senate from 2001 till December 30, 2012, when she passed away at the age of 103.
Dear Beatrice, we want to salute this amazing, elegant woman, not only for her brain, but for her dignity and strength, with one of her quotes. “Above all, don’t fear difficult moments. The best comes from them.” And that should be her best legacy to all of us
CANTO I
. . . the Marie Antoinettes heading Italian politics who are taking the country to the polls on February 24 and 25. With really nothing new on the table, disenchanted Italians will still not be able to vote for the candidate of their choice due to a voting system where only the secretary of the party can choose the candidate. So the same faces that have almost bankrupted the country are all there. The average age of the prominent contenders is above 67. So much for claiming renewal of the political arena and leaving space for the younger generation! The most credible man, who has gained international praise for rescuing the country in the last twelve months, has stepped into a coalition with two of the biggest losers of the political scene. They hope to rise to the opportunity to rescue their ailing poll numbers under a flag of reforming Italy. And they hope to gain momentum with the undisputable reputation of Mr. Monti. Unfortunately their political acumen will not work well, as their thirty-plus years of “consistency” in politics has worn out Italians. But there might be light at the end of the tunnel. A spontaneous movement led by a stand-up comedian Beppe Grillo – so ostracised by the press – has already won the majority vote in local elections in Sicily and has appointed his first mayor in Parma. The Five Star Movement is tipped to become the biggest winner in this upcoming poll. Let’s face it – politics has become comedy all over the world. So considering that the major international achievements for Ita-
Purgatorio Virgil what can be said of... lians in the last ten years or so have been won by comedians – Benigni won the Oscar for Best Actor and Dario Fo the Nobel Prize for Literature – Italy ‘s only chance of rising up from the ashes to chop the head off this farcical political status quo must come from the more “ironic” spectrum of society. Those normal citizens who have made the country great with their work and talent feel totally misrepresented by the current political cast who have been playing comedy for too long. Curtain down, please!
CANTO II
Drinking fizzy drink is linked to depression. A recent study made by U.S. National Institutes of Health has found that drinking up to four cans of sparkling drinks a day can raise the risk of mental illness by 30 percent, while the same amount of squash increased the risk by 38 percent. The danger is even higher if one drinks diet products. The study was done in the US with a sample of 263,925 people, consumers of soft drinks, tea and coffee, between 1995 and 1996. Ten years on, 11,311 of the participants, aged between 50-70 at the start of the study, have been diagnosed with depression. Lead researcher Dr Honglei Chen, of the National Institute of Health of North Carolina, said in a statement: “Our research suggests that cutting down on sweetened diet drinks or unsweetened drinks or unsweetened coffee may naturally lower your depression risk.” Of course we should always take this kind of result with a pinch of salt as there are many factors that can lead to depression and it is difficult to address them all. But diet plays an important factor in mood and anything consumed to excess can have an impact on a person’s health. So research or not . . . watch out!
CANTO III
French actor Gerard Depardieu, after going around the world in a road show spreading his disappointment at the 75 percent tax rate for the super-rich (proposed by Socialist President Francois Hollande but rejected by France’s Constitutional Council), failed to appear at a court in Paris on drink-and-drive charges. His excuse: he had meetings with film
producers. It is reported the Obelix star is due to feature in a new movie playing disgraced IMF banker Dominique Strauss-Khan in New York. Mr Depardieu is not known as a method actor, so it is worrying that he is taking the role of a crook a bit too seriously. But this is what happens when you obtain Russian citizenship from the hand of Vladimir Putin himself and move your residency to Belgium to keep your wealth away from the French tax authority. We liked him better in the romantic role of Cyrano when he lies for fear of being rejected by the woman he loves because of his big nose. Hmm . . . hold on; are we sure that wasn’t Pinocchio? Anyway, here is a suggestion for the French president. Dear Francois, what about starting a campaign policy in the wake of what the now-Russian-Belgian actor has started? The EU countries should have an equal tax policy all over the EU, so that ungrateful people and companies who want to trade in the EU cannot shop around for the most advantageous deal. Of course that should include Switzerland, even if it is not considered part of the EU. You will restore your credibility in the wake of his smear campaign and you can kill two birds with one stone – because if all the tax dodgers move to the Cayman Islands and weigh as much as Russian-Belgian Depardieu, the islands might sink.
CANTO I
94,388 people shot in the USA in 2012 39 people killed by firearms in England and Wales in 2008-2009 11 is the minimum age to obtain a firearms certificate in the US state of Minnesota. 300,000,000 is the number of privately owned firearms in the USA. 50% of guns worldwide are in USA which has only 5% of global population.
INFERNO 95 shots used by German police in 2011, including 49 warning shots 90 shots used by Los Angeles police to kill a 19 year-old man after a high-speed car chase. 40% of gun purchases in the USA do not require background checks. 42 of the 50 states do not ban or regulate assault rifles. 1 is the number of mass murders that have been carried out by women. Considering California has just passed a law requiring the porn film industry to make the wearing of condoms compulsory, how about a law that limits the amount of gratuitous violence on-screen? And what about tougher laws regulating the sale of guns? Right! That will only prevent innocent people getting murdered by crazies. Not sure we need a lobby for that.
CANTO II
Samsung sold five hundred handsets a minute in the run-up to Christmas. The South Korean tech giant says it made about $5.1 billion in the last quarter of 2012 – up almost 90 percent on the same period in 2011. That put the company well ahead of Apple and Nokia for sales of smart phones. It was hugely helped by the launch of Galaxy Note II, the smart phone with a 14cm (5.1 inch) screen and digital pen. Samsung retained market dominance despite the release of iPhone 5. An estimated seven million Galaxy Note II units were shipped during the quarter along with 15 million of the Galaxy SII android device. Considering the deluge of phones on the market, I cannot help getting more and more irritated seeing people communicating via phone even when they are sitting in good company at a restaurant. Checking images and text has become an obsession and is creating totally demented behaviour. And if you consider experts have forecast that 300 million smartphones will be sold in 2013, who cares about the lead over Apple. Let’s get worried about the lack of interpersonal communication; because this flood of devices is turning people into a bunch of lunatics talking on
the street alone or glued to a tiny screen. We do not want to hear somebody else’s conversation on the train nor to know how many times your friends have been to the loo on FB. Too much information!
CANTO III
What would you think if I tell you that half of the food produced in the world goes to waste? I am not crazy, I’m afraid. These are the shocking findings of the Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not report. Dr Tim Fox, Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London UK, which produced the report, said that between 30 and 50 percent of all food goes to waste. In Britain, seven millions tonnes of food valued at 10 billion pounds are thrown away in homes every year. Almost a third of vegetable crops are not harvested because they are misshapen and shops refused to sell them. Farmers fearful of not having enough to supply supermarkets grow too much food as a preventative measure against bad weather. In India 21 million tonnes of wheat is wasted annually because of harvesting done by hand, leaky and unsanitary warehouses and an outdated distribution system. In some Southeast Asian countries, losses of rice are as high as 80 percent. Up to 550 billion cubic metres of water are wasted in the process of growing produce that never reaches our shopping baskets. In the light of warnings by the UN that there could be an extra 3 billion mouths to feed by 2100, maybe we should start changing our habits or face ending up eating rats, mice, pigeons and other birds, or insects, as they seem to take the most advantage from our waste everywhere in the world. Yuck!
To what other terraces of doom and pain, dear Virgil, will you accompany me...next time... DANTEmag n.8
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ART
Roger Ballen/ Die Antwoord by Ivor Powell/Heidi Erdmann all photos by Roger Ballen
Born out of the ashes of a small scheduling disaster, the strange – yet somehow fitting – collaborative exhibition by photographer Roger Ballen and musical duo Die Antwoord draws raves in South Africa. DANTEmag n.8
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ART
T
The Photographers Gallery za in Cape Town had planned to host Roger Ballen’s Boarding House exhibition in 2010. This particular series had been on view at most of the major art centres across the world. What was of particular interest was the announcement of a major Roger Ballen exhibition at the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town during 2010 as well. This was a first retrospective of his work at this art museum. Once the date for the museum exhibition had been confirmed it was also made clear by the museum director, Mr. Riason Naidoo, that no associated commercial exhibition would be permissible during the duration of the museum show. Thus, the Photographers Gallery za had to cancel its long-planned solo exhibition. It was a disaster. Because the 2011 schedule had been confirmed, there were no slots available to postpone the exhibition to a later date. A better strategy soon emerged: cancel the Boarding House solo exhibition completely and start planning a new exhibition. It was during this upheaval when Ballen mentioned, almost in passing, that he had done some work with the musical duo, Die Antwoord. The Roger Ballen/Die Antwoord exhibition became a reality when a Month of Photography festival was confirmed for the last quarter of 2012. By the time we opened the exhibition, on 18 September 2012, it had been six years since Ballen’s first solo exhibition at Photographer’s Gallery za. Neither Ballen nor Die Antwoord was in South Africa much during the planning phase of the exhibition. This caused delays, but ultimately did not affect the vast numbers of visitors who turned up for the opening night reception. Shortmarket Street is a pedestrian street; it was filled with visitors, many of whom never managed to get in to see the exhibition. The gallery itself was packed to capacity. Ballen gave an opening address that provided an intimate and sobering insight into his approach to black and white photography – sobering in the sense that many people present at the opening knew very little about Ballen or his keen and deep interest in combining psychology with photography.
Roger Ballen, Die Antwoord, New York Times,
Roger Ballen, the artist, the photographer, has long been misunderstood by South African audiences. He was accused of exploitation at the opening of his first Cape Town exhibition in 2001. That attitude is still very much alive.
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ART
Roger Ballen, Die Antwoord 2008
Die Antwoord has a huge fan base, but they also have their critics as well. Folding the work of these creative individuals into one exhibition brought fans from both sides, as well as the critics. The gallery’s visitor numbers were the highest recorded in the history of this twelve-year old gallery. The exhibition was extended to 17 November to accommodate the volumes of visitors, but not even that was long enough. The media response was also unprecedented. The exhibition remained a news item for five consecutive weeks in the daily and weekly print and online media. Roger Ballen became a household name and Die Antwoord used the opportunity to launch a new song, “Fatty Boom Boom,” which instantly went viral. The regular white cube gallery was transformed into a dark ‘Ballen-esque’ space. Carefully selected photographs from his earlier series (namely Outland and Shadow Chamber) were also included. The main focus of the exhibition was the thirteen photographs featuring Die Antwoord. The centre of the installation is the music video of Die Antwoord’s hit song “I Fink U Freeky”, directed by Roger Ballen and Ninja. It won the award for Best Music Video at the twentieth anniversary event of the Plus Camerimage International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography in Bydgoszcz, Poland in December 2012. This is the second major award for the video, which has DANTEmag n.8
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received over 20 million hits on You Tube. It was also awarded the Music Video Grand Prix at the Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival in Portugal in 2012. Visitors to the Roger Ballen/Die Antwoord exhibition felt compelled to discuss their interpretations of the material on display. The gallery’s visitors’ book is crammed with responses; one particular one is worth mentioning here. The viewer explained that visiting the exhibition felt like being present at the site of a car accident. There is so much pain and disaster. The visitor further notes, “Who does one rescue? Roger Ballen or Die Antwoord?” Such deeply emotional reaction to the exhibition was standard. The body of work elicited a huge response. Yo-landi Vi$$er of Die Antwoord has said, “We learned a lot from working with Mr. Ballen because he is a genius. He taught us that every single element in an image should mean something. You can stop on any one frame in the ‘I Fink U Freeky’ video and you will be looking at a perfect photographic image. That video is a masterpiece.” Die Antwoord’s admiration for Roger Ballen’s work is well known and well
ART
Roger Ballen/Die Antwoord installation view
documented. But what is Roger Ballen’s interest in Die Antwoord?
words from the twilight zone of post-modern metaphor) has grown from a single homemade video posted on the internet.
South African writer Ivor Powell gives his insights on this question: The first thing to understand is that there is a fundamental lack of fit between Roger Ballen, photographer, on one side, and Die Antwoord’s Yollandi Vi$$er and Ninja on the other. Die Antwoord is a project. It is a kind of extended joke or existential conceit. It exists only conditionally, as a hypothetical. It moves in the thin air of virtual reality, and only the irredeemably confused would be any more likely to confuse the public personas of Vi$$er and Ninja with Adri du Toit and Waddy Jones than they would Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse. That doesn’t really need to be said. It becomes interesting though when you note that Die Antwoord subsists at what is essentially a new frontier of reality. Ninja and Vi$$er breathe a twenty-first century cultural air we have never really breathed before. This is not so much because of the actual underpinnings of the personas nor the transcendence of Zef culture. It comes from somewhere else. Commentators almost inevitably use the word viral when talking about the way the Die Antwooord brand (another one of those
Viral? Literary laziness to be sure. But at the same time there is an insight inherent to the epithet: it has to do with a dynamic that is mysteriously exponential, uncontrollable, explosively mutative and quintessentially twenty-first century postmodern. At the end of the day it is the reception of the work - what its audience brings to it - that is the medium of expression. It is a participatory thing. What the producers of the work did to create it is just the starting point. Now it is a no-hands, downhill ride; you don’t really steer, you just try not to fall off. That is Die Antwoord. Ballen is something different completely. If Die Antwoord is the paradigm of the twenty-first century postmodern in its ephemerality and elusive dissociations, Ballen is just as much a modernist. His project as an artist is irreducibly tied up with the projection and exploration of self, in and through the work he creates. Starting out in the 1970s as a documentary photographer, Ballen, a native of the United States, focused DANTEmag n.8
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first on small-town South Africa, the curious and already poignant – because already threatened, even doomed – half-life of South African whites in the platteland. Though certainly more aggressive in the way he approached his subject matter than contemporaries like David Goldblatt, Ballen, like them, entered into a dialogue with his subject in which the self is revealed in a response with the other. From there though, Ballen took some different existential turns. While there are obvious commonalities of style and intention between Ballen and American photographer Diane Arbus in observations like Dresie and Casie, Twins, Western Transvaal 1993 and Sergeant F de Bruin Department of Prisons Employee, Orange Free State 1992, there is also an internal logic that is especially highlighted in what happened to Ballen thereafter. Images like the two above are of the order of the freak show – at the extreme in their otherness. But there is more happening than just putting the subjects on the end of a pin. Ballen does not bring any particular empathy to his human subjects, but he does photographically engage with them, through eye contact and as sites of consciousness. In this, the dialogue of self continues undiminished. It just moves into a somewhat more psychologically extreme and ultimately more dangerous terrain. DANTEmag n.8
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Then, sometime in the mid to late 1990s, there is a seismic shift in Ballen’s work. The dialogue segues into what is essentially a dramatic monologue. He stops defining himself as a photographer and instead starts thinking of what he does as art – not in any value-laden sense, merely to denote a different kind of activity. As Ballen himself puts it on his website, his later work is rooted in a sense that his chosen medium of black and white photography is “a very minimalist art form and unlike colour photographs does not pretend to mimic the world in a similar manner to the way the human eye might perceive. Black and white is essentially an abstract way to interpret and transform what one might refer to as reality.” And he goes on to say his purpose in “taking photographs over the past forty years has been ultimately about defining myself... fundamentally a psychological and existential journey.” The key word here is one that almost disappears in the context: abstract. What Ballen, paradoxically and somewhat provocatively eschews in his later work is what common sense says is irreducible in the photograph – its concreteness, the fact that (except in the special case of images created exclusively by the manipulation of chemicals, light and emulsion, which is not at issue here) the photograph records something that exists separate from the photographer, in time and space.
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Roger Ballen, Gooi rooi,
The point is different. It has to do with the existential weighting that is given to what is recorded in the photograph on the one hand and the recorder on the other. What Ballen chooses to highlight is one pole in what is ineluctably a bipolar process. If there is always ‘self ’ (the photographer) and ‘other’ (what is photographed) written into the image, what Ballen tries to achieve is a situation where the other is precisely, though in imagistic code, the self. By these lights, Ballen’s grail comes to be (even more precisely) the otherness of a self projected in and explored through his highly idiosyncratic mise-enscène. Ultimately it is a one-off thing. As Ballen is aware there is a kind of fin de siècle morbidity about it, and it is predicated on a precarious sense of loss, a sense, as he puts it, that he belongs to the last generation who will grow up with black and white media. Nevertheless it gives him a unique and poignant perspective on reality and photographic expression – one that is acknowledged in Vi$$er’s much cited e-mail homage to Ballen: “When me and Ninja saw your photographs,” Vi$$er wrote, “we decided
right there and then to put an end to all the music and art we had been working on up till that point. Immediately, we began working on a new project called DIE ANTWOORD.” The commendation is well in character of course. But it also makes sense. Even before Die Antwoord began actively collaborating with Ballen, they appropriated not only an aesthetic – the textures and the proto-symbolic iconography which Ballen distilled and transmuted from his own photographic explorations and travels: supercharged details of dissolution and decay, grotesqueries, denizens of the psychic underworld of the platteland, boarding houses and other extremities of experience – but also a liberating sense of the conditionality of experience. Somewhere in the heady mix, the virtual world of Zef comes into being. It is predicated on an entirely unserious, frequently hilarious and almost always outrageous social commentary and stereotyping of experience, but there is also more to it than that. You can read this particularly in the persona of Ninja. What is obvious is the gestural and narrative reference to the overlapping condition of white trash and gangsta. What is less obvious is a register of expression that invokes the state of possession in which the human consciousness becomes the vessel for impersonal and super-personal forces. DANTEmag n.8
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Roger Ballen, Dresie and Casie, Twins, Western Transvaal,1993
Roger Ballen, Sergeant F de Bruin Department of Prisons Employee, Orange Free State 1992
Roger Ballen, Skelm
Roger Ballen, Ninja
He gurns outrageously, yes, but in the extremity of the gurning, he becomes more the locus of Zef than Ninja, so to speak. That is why it works and is not just the worst acting you have ever seen! It is also Ballen of course – though it is Ballen swallowed whole and regurgitated as the ultimately throwaway pop culture which Die Antwoord inevitably and avowedly is. It borrows and references as shamelessly on the visual level as a DJ does at turntables. Crucially though, there is an identity shift in the post-modern appropriation: where Ballen’s imagery – as Ballen – is all about conjuring up the self, in the post-modern half-life of Die Antwoord, the self is subsumed in the imagery itself. A conundrum then and a knot: Ballen as an arch modernist using imagery and light in much the same way as an abstract expressionist uses paint – to DANTEmag n.8
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access and encode the externalised traceries of the self: in homage, Die Antwoord, moving only on the surface, picking like a virtual magpie from the elements of Ballen’s compositions. A knot that gets double tied in the works in the current exhibition, where Ballen takes Die Antwoord (a composite drawn in part from his sensibility) as the subject matter for his photographs. I am not about to comment in any detail on the images that result. But there are two that might be worth noting in conclusion. One of these, called Skelm, and in the presentation view rotated through 90 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction, has the disembodied head of Ninja – in gurning extremis – entering the frame horizontally from the right. Framed with graffiti elements – a kind of barbell shape along with abstract forms and markings – it takes the physiognomy away from the moorings of grav-
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Glossary: Die Antwoord (an Afrikaans word for the answer) Zef (South African term that can be likened to kitsch or common)
Roger Ballen, Shack scene
ity and, implicitly, personal psychology, and instead reduces the face to the status of another graffiti element.
The reason for rejecting this offer was feverishly followed by fans from both sides, and is now well documented in tweeter-sphere.
The second is simply titled Die Antwoord and has Ninja and Vi$$er posed against a wall covered with proto-symbolic graffito markings. Both are masked and covered in virtual (and some real) tattoos to blend almost seamlessly with the hieroglyphic noise of the backdrop.
Roger Ballen/Die Antwoord exhibition will open in Los Angeles during the first quarter of 2013 and will also be on view at Pingyao Photography Festival in China in September 2013.
Thus Ballen – though without malice – closes the circle of appropriation to own the images and the nuances and the textures again.
The exhibition in Cape Town was curated by Heidi Erdmann and Roger Ballen.
Die Antwoord will be the supporting act for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers tour in South Africa during February 2013. They rejected an invitation to be support band for Lady Gaga’s tour in South Africa during December 2012. DANTEmag n.8
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“Walking through the doors of Grand Café & Rooms in Plettenberg Bay for the very first time reminds me of my worldly travels. The ‘Grand Dame’ immediately captures an emotion within”.
T
his is how Suzette Main, the proprietor of Grand Café, Rooms & Beach felt just over seven years ago when she first ventured into the Grand. Through the award winning ‘Grand Dame’s ‘ Indian wooden doors, guests enter a world of discreet escapism where a sense of decadence and worldly charm reflects upon its setting over one of Africa’s most beautiful marine bays. Suzette then took the vision of the brand to Camps Bay; the “Miami Mile” of Cape Town, establishing the ‘Shameless Showgirl,’ Grand Café & Room, overlooking a magnificent beach as a grand new destination for ocean side dining in Cape Town. Crimson red roses adorn the tables and copper topped bars, aged candlesticks set the tone; while polished glassware and white crockery decorated with the Grand angel wings, showcase trusted and classic signature dishes. Grand Room accommodates two guests in true Grand style with 24 hour butler service, concierge, private access, designated parking & probably one of the largest ‘mini bars’ in the world. It offers our signature style King size bed with fine Italian linen from the Hall Collection, an en suite bathroom with a double slipper copper bath and shower and a bespoke vinothèque. Grand Room is also perfect for hosting private dinners and parties.
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Her Grand concept where boho-chic meets retro-romance fit for the worldly traveller, a new trendsetting Grand Café & Beach, the only one of its kind in Africa, was created in late 2009 in Granger Bay, Cape Town, close to the V&A Waterfront and silhouetted by the World Cup 2010 Stadium. At Grand Café & Beach, the ‘Beach Boy’ exterior of the old warehouse has been retained while a sun-deck and beach area have been extended to the water’s edge; offering a new lifestyle destination for any international and local traveller. During construction, all efforts were taken to ensure that a green approach was maintained, including sustainable timber used in the outside deck, use of textured eco‐friendly paint, enhancement of the original building’s look & feel and even using environmentally sound beach sand. “What defines the Grand philosophy for me is where grand-chic meets retro-romance fit for the worldly traveller & diner. Revelling in the triumph of authenticity, the Grand has grasped the notion that: no-one knows how much love can be held by humankind”. “It is an eclectic collection of boho–chic nuances that encourage a free spirited attitude to Café life – a romantic fusion of French and African flair with eccentricity and honesty.”
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Africa A grand Rose by any other name - 'Boadicea' A new name in lifestyle shopping ! The name 'Boadicea' was inspired by the mighty Boadicea, a woman of great power and passion – an Empress warrior. Grand Gallery Boadicea is a lifestyle concept within the Café and Beach brand conceived by two inspiring women, Suzette Main and Jane Lello. Friends and business partners, both passionate and energetic; Suzette and Jane have embarked on creating a Grand Gallery Boadicea, an extension of the Grand brand, which is an expression of their collective passions for beautiful objects and art sourced throughout their worldly travels.
The theme of the Gallery stems from the Café & Beach concept of a resort feel with a splash of indulgence, while the eye catching merchandise tantalises the diner. Stock purchased in South Africa and abroad rotates with demand, offering a selection of beautiful items available to the Grand Gallery Boadicea. GRAND CAFÉ & ROOMS: PLETTENBERG BAY Concierge@GrandAfrica.com TEL: +27 (0) 44 533 3301 GRAND CAFÉ & ROOM: CAMPS BAY CAPE TOWN Reservations@GrandAfrica.com TEL: +27 (0) 21 438 4253 GRAND CAFÉ & BEACH: GRANGER BAY CAPE TOWN Beach@GrandAfrica.com TEL: +27 (0) 21 425 0551 SMS: +27 (0) 72 586 2052 GRAND GALLERY BOADICEA: GRANGER BAY CAPE TOWN Info@GrandGallery.com TEL: +27 (0) 21 425 0164 WWW.GRANDAFRICA.COM
From an exclusively Grand branded Bath & Body collection to an assortment of French styled soaps and community handmade key rings, to silver candelabras, there is something for all.
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LITERATURE
Islam, Censorship and a Modern Tradition
By Joseph Mayton
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KUALA LUMPUR: I enter one of hundreds of bookshops in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. The air-conditioning hits you in the face like a cool storm. With the dense humidity outside, the cool air is a must in this wall-towall bookstore. Volumes are piled one on top of the other, from romance novels to Islamic texts
to comic books. Two rows in from the entrance lie a few books that are rare in Malaysia. If he’s caught with them, the bookseller could face criminal charges. One of the texts is the familiar English-language version of Canadian-Muslim author Irshad Manji’s Allah, Liberty and Love. DANTEmag n.8
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Irshad Manji
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Irshad Manji with a Muslim student
Irshad Manji receiving the Mansour Hallaj Freedom of Speech Award
“Don’t worry, they won’t do anything,” the owner, Reda Islam, reassures me as he watches me picking up the book and flipping through a few pages. Manji’s text is banned but, says Reda, “they only care about the big bookshops. For us little people, it’s not a big deal.” Even as Malaysia looks to join the developed world in the next decade, their cultural meanderings, including book banning and religious censorship, have left many in the country questioning whether the government truly wants to be a leader in Southeast Asia socially, as well as economically. “People are angry over this book because the author is a lesbian, and the government cracked down. But the reality is that we Malaysians are reading more and wanting more. The question is whether the government and the religious leaders will let it happen,” says political science student Yussif Nur Aziz. He believes the future of Malaysia’s political and cultural identity is being waged right now. It is a battle between traditionalism and modernity. DANTEmag n.8
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“The government and religious leaders talk about the need to enter the modern world, but they are stuck decades in the past, when censorship of anything they didn’t like was common. It won’t create a new Malaysia with hope,” he added. Bookshops rightfully have some fears about selling banned volumes. In late May, a 36-year-old Borders bookstore manager, Nik Raina Nik Aziz, was charged in a Malaysian court for selling Manji’s banned book. If convicted, she could be fined up to $1,000 or two years’ imprisonment. For young activists, banning a book for its message, one they say that portrays Islam as a “tolerant and understanding faith,” is absurd, especially considering Malaysia’s multi-ethnic make-up. But with an election pending – the government must call for a general election by April next year – officials are seeking to shore up the conservative base of the electorate. That means Manji’s book has been banned.
LITERATURE
“They are doing this because she is a lesbian woman who is talking about an Islam that the conservatives don’t want. They think she is dangerous and will have young people going crazy. Of course this is not really true, but it is why they ban it,” added Mohammed, another political science student. Officially, the home ministry banned the book after it was deemed to be offensive to Islam, to contain “elements that could mislead the public,” and to be “detrimental to public order.” According to Manji’s website, the book “shows all of us how to reconcile faith and freedom in a world seething with repressive dogmas.” Manji has been a longtime proponent of tolerance and understanding within Islam, and describes herself as a “practising Muslim.” Self-described religious blogger and women’s rights advocate Ousmanah Aziz argues that the banning of the book is about which form of Islam can be discussed in the country. She says that the government wants to be seen
as the only promoter of liberal and tolerant Islam in order to win votes. “It’s about sending a message,” she asserts. “And that message is that the government and its party own the rights to moderate Islam. They talk to the world about how open and tolerant Malaysian Islam is, but at the end of the day, censorship is rampant in the country.” She pointed to popular cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaqur, or Zunar, who has felt the heavy hand of the state in recent years. “He is an inspiration to young people against a government that is trying to end our freedom to speak out.” Zunar has been intensely watched by the Malaysian government and subject to draconian forms of censorship for close on ten years. In 2010, he was arrested and detained and all newspapers in the country were ordered to cease publishing his cartoons. Zunar fought back by publishing five volumes of his cartoons in a booklet format. But publishers had also been told not to DANTEmag n.8
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Enforcement officer. Indonesia and Malaysia have banned the book
publish Zunar’s work and the books were seized by the government. In addition, his office is constantly raided, his books have been confiscated by police, and vendors are told not to sell his work or they could face court charges. His movements are monitored and his phone tapped. In July 2011, Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) presented its annual Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning to Zunar. In his acceptance speech in Florida, Zunar explained that the government controls all the newspapers and television and radio broadcasts, leaving no room for dissent. He said: “My aim is to use cartoons as a weapon to fight corruption and the abuse of power by the Malaysian government. Through my cartoons, I highlight very important issues, which have not been reported in the government-controlled media.” He urged everyone to fight injustice. “My philosophy is clear: in order to make an impact, we must do it to the fullest. My method is to criticise the most powerful leaders in the hardest ways. Why pinch when you can punch?” But freedom of speech offers more challenges than simple censorship. When protests against a video erupted across the Islamic world on September 11, beginning in Libya and Egypt, Malaysia’s Muslim population DANTEmag n.8
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followed quickly after, though the Malaysian protests were notable for their moderate, peaceful tone. The demonstrations were against the film, titled “Innocence of Muslims,” reportedly produced by an Egyptian Coptic Christian living in the United States because it had been perceived as insulting to Islam, and included in their protests were the cartoons mocking Mohammed published by French magazine Charlie Hebdo. The French cartoons have been seen by many Muslims across the world as provocation. The Malaysian government demanded that Google remove the film from Youtube in an effort to keep the video from being accessed in the country. While Google refused to remove the film from YouTube, it has blocked the video in countries that have protested against it. But Malaysian bloggers and activists say that Muslims must come up with a different response. “We have to be honest about what really insults us. Is it this film or are we just angry at how Islam is treated by the West? Maybe a mix of both. But we can respond differently,” one blogger said after the demonstrations turned violent. Even Zunar has weighed in on the controversy. And when Zunar speaks, Malaysians listen. He put it best when he asserted that artists should create a new Malaysian identity that pushes art and Islam in a new, positive direction.
LITERATURE
Zunar called on Muslims across the world to make works about Mohammed in response to works such as ‘The Innocence of Muslims’. “Films, cartoons and other works of art that mock the Prophet Muhammed will continue to be produced by the Westerners who are neither aware of nor subject to the rules of Islam,” he wrote in an open letter published by Free Malaysia Today. That, for many Malaysians, is the right response and one that combines Islam, modernity and openness.
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MUSIC
Carolina Eyck Konzerthaus DANTEmag n.8
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MUSIC
A modern instrument’s Revival
Once used in film music and then almost forgotten, the theremin has been experiencing a revival in the last few years. It is a “Golden Age” for Germanborn musician and composer Carolina Eyck, 25, who is one of the foremost theremin players in the world.
By Antonia Bruns
C
Carolina Eyck looks focused, her curly hair tucked behind her ears, her black dress shimmering in the stage spotlight. She is standing in front of a wooden box with a metal antenna on each side, one bent, the other one upright. When Carolina begins to move her arms towards the antennae, an eerie sound can be heard, slightly reminiscent of a woman’s singing voice. It is a magic moment. Carolina is playing a melody without touching anything. The tones seem to come right from the air.
The odd-looking box with the two antennas is a theremin. It is one of the first electronic instruments, invented in 1919 by Russian physicist Leon
Leon Theremin 1919 inventor of the theremin
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MUSIC
Carolina Eyck playing the theremin
Theremin. Briefly, the theremin works as follows: the metal antennae create an electromagnetic field (though called antennae, they do not actually broadcast anything). The musician forms a capacitor between his/her hands and the antennas whose capacitance varies by the distance between the player’s hands and the instrument. The closer the musician’s hand is to the upright antenna, the higher the pitch. Volume is controlled by the loop antenna. It is hardly surprising that early film music composers got to love the mysterious sound of the theremin, which was introduced commercially in the US in 1929. In Hitchcock’s “Spellbound”, for instance, composer Miklós Rózsa uses one to describe the protagonist’s fear and psychological crisis. However, the hype did not last for long. After an initial flurry of interest, Leon Theremin’s revolutionary invention was barely played and rather forgotten. It is only in the last few years that the theremin has experienced unexpected revival, mainly in modern classical music. Eyck explains the new resurgence of interest in her chosen instrument: “Composers are always searching for something new, something people don’t know yet, so the theremin is an ideal instrument for them. As it is played without being touched, it’s also something extraordinary to see, not only to listen to.” DANTEmag n.8
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Carolina’s full schedule demonstrates the recent demand for theremin virtuosi all over the world. Only last year, she took part in several world premieres. Whether in Turkey, in Finland, in the United States or in Japan, the situation after the concert is always the same: people come up to the stage and want to try out the theremin themselves. “The good thing is that you don’t have to touch it to play, so people can’t break it”, Carolina laughs. “I’m not really sure if I like the sound when people try it out, because when you don’t know how to play, it’s just whimpering. But as long as people love it, I let them do it. That shouldn’t be a call, though!” When Carolina tried the instrument for the first time herself, she was seven years old. Her father made electronic music and arranged for Carolina to study with Lydia Kavina, one of the greatest players in the world. At the age of twelve, Carolina made her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic and was soon invited to concerts and festivals worldwide. She is glad of the chance to travel and to explain how her instrument works. Nevertheless, she also sees a critical aspect about these invitations: “As a thereminist, you could sometimes get the impression that tour operators just need a random theremin player
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MUSIC
and book you because of your instrument, not because they appreciate you as a musician. But recently, I feel that I’m not only perceived as an interpreter, but also a composer. On Facebook, people post on my wall: ‘Hey, awesome concert you played!’ So, in the end, it’s also about my own way of playing and about my own musical works.” Carolina loves to improvise and try out new techniques, especially as she has grown up with a rather classical perception of the theremin sound. On her first CD she interprets mainly classical music arranged for the theremin. Since then, her style has evolved and could be described as a mix between classical music, modern music and jazz. At her home in Leipzig, Germany, she has several sound effect stations such as a loop station or a delay. “I love these effects,” she says. “You can start with a simple melody that becomes a whole orchestra!” For those who have a hard time imaging musical sound, a visual impression of Carolina’s music can be found on her walls which are covered with her own paintings. “When I make music, I think in colours, so for me, visual art and music belong together. I put my music on canvas whenever I have time between my concert tours.” Her stays in Leipzig are also an occasion for Carolina to meet her duo partner, the jazz guitarist Vinzenz Wieg. When the two musicians play together, DANTEmag n.8
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everything is possible. Their concert programmes primarily consist of improvisations out of the moment. “It happens that we go on stage without knowing what we will play. That’s very exciting! We also try to involve the audience, so we ask them a word and they say “sunny sky”, for example. What we do then is to imitate the feeling of a warm shining sun and the bright colours of a sky. Or I could just draw a sun in the air – and the theremin converts my movements into sound.” Both as a soloist and as a duo partner, it is Carolina’s aim to introduce her instrument into new styles of music. And she is not the only one. On the internet, the theremin network gets more active every day. Players exchange ideas and discuss unconventional ways of playing. Carolina is happy about the interest and responded by writing the first extensive method book, The Art of Playing the Theremin. She also gives lessons during her concert tours and founded her own theremin summer academy in Colmar, France. “The theremin is such an interesting instrument with so many possibilities we can still discover. I’m looking forward to it!”
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FILM
Whence Passion?
By Eszther Gafalvi
What happens when, as we age, the passions that drive our lives can no longer be pursued? Or when perfection in those passions can no longer be attained? A new film by first-time director Dustin Hoffman, explores those questions and comes up with some thoughtful – and ultimately hopeful – answers.
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It is said that there are twelve stories. The longer the film industry keeps churning, the less it seems there is to say. It is true that we are familiar with most narratives by now; globalisation, the existence of the internet, and the proliferation of mainstream media mean that we are more aware of each other and our stories than ever before, and most imaginable situations have already been explored on film. Narrative is old.
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FILM
Dustin Hoffman, Pauline Collins Billy Connolly, Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay at the Grey Goose Party for Quartet
This holds doubly true for Quartet, with its cast almost exclusively comprised of elderly actors and singers. Set in a retirement home for aging musical performers, a new arrival moves in: Jean Horton, a world-renowned opera singer (Maggie Smith). The other three members of the quartet in which she used to sing (Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay, and Pauline Collins) must try to convince her to sing with them again in a fundraising event to raise money for the home, in spite of the terrible end of her brief marriage to Reginald (Courtenay) years before. None of the events in this film are surprising; the plot is entirely predictable. Yet most film stories are predictable now; virtually every incarnation of the romantic comedy-drama genre follows similar patterns. Presumably this is something with which every director must make his peace and accept that the art is now in the execution, in the variation on a theme. In this, the film DANTEmag n.8
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is a masterful success. Instead of trying to focus the novelty on the plot, the time and care have been put into a gloriously comic, touching script, into the cinematography, into the casting, and of course, into the music. It is the setting, in particular, that makes this film surprising. Ageing is a variety of taboo in Western society. The realities of getting old are a comfortable prospect for no-one, particularly in a depressingly superficial, image-obsessed culture, in which Youth is Queen, we are her courtiers, and anti-ageing products are her offerings. Admittedly, this portrayal of OAP life is sanitised. We are not shown the extremes of physical and mental degeneration in old age; there are no bed pans, or cases of severe dementia. But while the setting is in a home for the elderly, this film is not about the visceral realities of ageing; it is about the cost of living. This film is about passion.
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Quartet Poster
I once asked an older (but by no means elderly) friend of mine – an actor, out of work at the time – why he didn’t do something else. He was mortally offended. “Do something else? What a stupid question!” I did not understand at the time why he was so upset, but have since reached the conclusion that this is a question of passion. What is passion? How do you find it? How do you become successful at it? What is success? The reason I did not understand my friend’s reaction, and his commitment to an art at which in my perception he was not succeeding, was because I do not have a passion. I am a “dabbler”. I have multiple projects going at a time, multiple skills at which I succeed but at which, in general, I do not excel. People with a single passion are a different breed; that passion suffuses and consumes them, and it must be pursued. The relationship between cost and benefit is quite different to people with passion, as if the words “cost” and “benefit” have taken on new values. Writers carry on writing, making money how they can,
until they can support themselves by writing. The same with actors; the same with musicians. My sister, a musician herself, heard the “Do something else” story and said “I understand. If anyone said that to me, I’d punch them in the face.” I wonder sometimes whether one way is better than the other. Am I better or worse off because I do not have a passion? Or is it simply a different way of living? To follow a passion is to open oneself to vulnerability. The stakes are higher; the investment is greater, thus the cost of failure is greater. The question of passion is both in the text and in the subtext of Quartet. Jean Horton (Smith) is an opera singer who no longer sings because she is oppressed by her own success. She is unable to stand the pressure of having to outperform not others, but herself. This is a perfect illustration of one of the realities of age and presents not in the visceral failures of everyday tasks, but DANTEmag n.8
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FILM
Pauline Collins and Maggie Smith
the failure of the body and mind to keep up with passion – a passion for which she has sacrificed everything. The performances are superlative, and the cast is exceedingly well-balanced. Despite the unreality of the plot, something unexpected, immediate, and very real jumps from the screen. We find it in Jean’s elderly, insecure mutterings in the car; in the sharp tones that cover her vulnerability. We find it in Wilf ’s (Connolly) shamelessness and love of plum jam. We find it in Reginald’s (Courtenay) awkward but eager connection with the young teenagers whom he teaches about opera; we find it in his hurt pride and long-nurtured love. We find it in Cissy’s (Collins) scatterbrain and in her sweet innocence – an innocence not conferred by age and senility, but by nature. Billy Connolly and Michael Gambon take on most of the comedy with seasoned hands, DANTEmag n.8
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but Connolly does not lack for touching charm and seriousness when the moment calls for it. The colours are warm, the living conditions idealistic, and the music is rich and varied in the soundtrack, providing a comforting, padded, humorous environment in which to explore some uncomfortable topics. Altogether, it proves a fine debut for Dustin Hoffman as a director, and the film benefits greatly from having an experienced actor at the helm. And this is a film about Dustin Hoffman as much as it is about the characters. Hoffman is known for being driven, for being committed, and for having passion – yet it is clear from many of his more recent interviews that he understands now more than ever before that passion comes with sacrifice. Passion is one of the most creative forces in the world, and it is a double-
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edged sword. For when we pursue something relentlessly, we must give up other things along the way – often valuable things like human connection. When we invest so much in passion, we embrace perfectionism because of the high cost of failure. Brené Brown, the shame researcher made famous by her speeches at the TED conferences, tells us, “Perfectionism is not about achievement and growth.... Most perfectionists grew up being praised for achievement and performance in our grades, manners and appearance. Somewhere along the way, we adopted this dangerous and debilitating belief system: I am what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it. A ticker tape began to stream through our heads: Please. Perform. Perfect.” There is no area in which this is more prevalent than in the performing arts, and in Quartet Jean’s fear of not living up to the expectations of her audience is heartbreakingly relevant to a society where everyday life is rife with perfec-
tionism, insecurity, and shame. This is an extremely appropriate first film for Hoffman as a director. It mirrors Hoffman’s own evolution and his own eventual acceptance of his own limitations – an acceptance which, far from damaging his career, has in fact clearly freed him to be creative. In showing us this freedom, both in the film as Jean lets go of her fear of failure and in Hoffman’s reality, he gives the question, “What happens when we can no longer pursue perfection?”, a charming, funny, and honest answer.
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Design With a Conscience By Julian Taylor
A design-led society or societyled design? As we move ever closer towards a new world order in which humanism and technology can happily coexist, which one has the potential to lead us into the future?
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Original design, in its purest sense, was born out of human needs – a necessity of finding a way of making something work, a development of process or just a helping-hand to make life a little easier for everyone. As society has developed, so too have the tools and instruments used to produce goods that – in turn – have enabled us to progress even further in our struggle for survival and then dominance. DANTEmag n.8
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Ernest Race, BA-3 chair
Nowadays, it seems as though there are thousands of extraneous products being launched in the developed world every year. So maybe the future of design is to follow where society is leading. Technology is at the forefront of this transformation, however, and is bringing the world within reach of us all by providing us with an astounding amount of information at our fingertips. It is little wonder that humanity’s desire to evolve is pushing design to its limits in order to keep pace with us. As we become more and more interconnected, it is easy for people to see what they do not yet have, but already covet. In the early 1970s, one designer sought not to refute technology nor shun its capabilities, but rather called into question the designer’s position on social and ethical responsibilities in the development of that technology. Victor Papanek believed it possible to instil a sense of social accountability into the work being produced. In so doing, Papanek anticipated, by some DANTEmag n.8
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twenty years, the advent of Appropriate Technology. This is the idea that through small-scale, local initiatives, technological benefits could be felt immediately by those most in need. It is a model that has been adapted and taken around the world with varying degrees of success, but one factor is common throughout – each project has been driven by the requirements of the local community. Those requirements can be explained by any number of factors determined by local conditions, yet all aim to achieve the same desired outcome, namely, an improvement within society through design. It was the antithesis of the looming zeitgeist of the times, epitomised by the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when she deliberately stated “there is no such thing as society”. That remark did not hold sway in many parts of the world, not least the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Denmark and Finland. With their traditions and belief in crafting as a way to explore the psyche, they have long been associated with human ideals of
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Hans Wegner Elbow chairs, 1949
design and the empowerment it affords the user. Designers from Sweden in the post-war years measured and calculated the basic standards required for living, at a time when adhering to the values of democracy and egalitarianism were so important to the world. The results enabled people to live a more connected existence and provided them with a sense of wellbeing and happiness within their own homes. The limiting of materials and pure, almost sculptural, qualities of the work gave rise to what is now universally acclaimed to be “good design�. Furniture from Hans Wegner or glass from Tapio Wirkkala were seen as vital enrichments of daily life rather than status symbols. They spoke of a unity between technology and craftsmanship, allowing communities to focus on new ways of seeing and living with one another. The relationships that were forged across a shared sense of ownership and neighbourhood began to govern the wider community and influence civic design in towns and cities across the region. Workplace and communal spaces were just as important, with most local
authorities throughout Europe having their own departments governing architecture and municipal design. The aims and aspirations people had sought inside their own homes, were now being played out on a grander scale in the community. This social awakening was not a new phenomenon. Eighty or ninety years earlier, British artist, designer, and socialist William Morris was striving for the same ideals. In 1871 and again in 1873, Morris visited Iceland. There he saw for himself the uncomplicated arrangement of a classless society, aided and supported by the national assembly at Thingvellir, the oldest of its kind in the world. The experience was to inform his future writings on the inseparable links between the applied arts and society, those which forged cooperation and gave man his creative freedom. Sadly for Morris, his writings and musings on a socialist utopia were overtaken by the popularity of his work, and those who he had long fought DANTEmag n.8
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Tapio Wirkkala Chanterelle Vessels for Iittala, 1955
against – the Victorian Middle Class – became his main supporters. In Britain, it would take another sixty years before design became a central part of the government’s policies for society. With the advent of the Utility Furniture Scheme, ministers sought to develop and instruct the public’s taste with a rational and simplified approach to design. It was, however, too closely linked with austerity measures, and an overwhelming public reaction forced the closure of the scheme in 1952. It was all too reminiscent of the brief flirtation Britain had experienced with Modernism in the 1930s, when Louis Sullivan’s maxim of “form ever follows function” had captivated the imagination of a youthful and vigorous society. Tradition and comfort were too heavily ingrained in the British psyche to relent. Despite the popularity of exhibitions such as “Britain Can Make It” or the “Festival of Britain”, the love affair with the all-encompassing demands made on life by Modernism, came to an end. Society was, by the middle of the Twentieth Century, asserting a wanton desire to consume the things it wanted, rather than merely cope with the things it needed. From the colours and playful shapes of popular America in the 1950s and the vibrancy of psychaedelic London in the 1960s, designers were now producing goods as a means of conveying the attitudes and values DANTEmag n.8
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a younger generation had come to represent. Design for consumerism would last another thirty years globally. In spite of the oil crisis, the threeday week and the national strikes, we wanted nothing more than all those things we couldn’t afford. During the 1980s, society had become a victim of its own desires, during what is now seen as the “designer decade”. Anything which could be consumed, could be labelled “designer”. The industry was selling itself to the farthest reaches of society and perpetuating its own self-fulfilment. However with the coming of the 1990s, we had begun to look beyond our own selfish wants and to reflect on the needs and the purpose of design within society. Even the most notorious and fickle of the design industries – fashion – had stripped itself bare of the excesses and returned to a more holistic approach, with numerous couturiers sending out rows of models to the catwalk in all-white creations, symbolising the renewed state of a clean and virtuous society. The context of design was changing as “Green” movements gathered momentum and a global conscience was awakened to what we had been doing to the world’s resources. We began to see we had a duty to protect and care for the world, for society, for ourselves.
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Festival of Britain poster
William Morris
As we settle into the 21st century and are all a little more comfortable with omnipresent technology, we understand the context of design within society as well as how it helps to shape our individual positions amongst that society. Education, healthcare, housing and leisure have become the most prevalent sectors willing to embed a human scale into their development. Schools in the UK are being designed with large, open, airy communal spaces, where children of all ages can gather and socialise. Such designs can be directly linked to the open and democratic assemblies of Iceland, Sweden and Denmark – where everyone has a place and there is a place for everyone. Hospitals have realised the value and importance of colour to aide recovery times for bed-ridden patients meaning a faster turnaround on wards. This, in turn, enables greater numbers of patients to be treated by the hospital in general. Gardens are incorporated into hospital design for scent and texture and to encourage interaction and recuperation. Housing cooperatives and self-build schemes have proliferated in the past ten years as a reaction to the box-like properties developers have erected on the pretext that that is what the public wants. Fortunately, some enlightened clients still exist in the economic depressive era we face and are
willing to fund experimental architecture and design as a means of improving life. In Denmark, architect Bjarke Ingels and his team completed the 8House project in 2010. This is a mix of residential and commercial properties which, in their words, offers “homes in all its bearings for people in all of life’s stages: young and old, nuclear families and singles, families that grow and families that become smaller.” Our world is no longer made up of two-parent/two-child units. The architects of our communities must recognise and reflect this shift when designing for society. Cultural behemoths such as the V&A in London or the spectacularly successful Guggenheim in Bilbao show what a transformative effect design can have on a city or indeed, an entire region. The economic benefit to the Basque country in the first three years alone was said to have been worth an estimated €500 million. With such tangible results, design has been able to provide society with an understanding of what it can do for us and how it helps to shape our communities. It is because of these experiences that we have been given the confidence to ask for what we need of the industry and displays the symbiosis in which society and design coexist together. It is up to all of us to continue to foster this relationship and ensure that as technology develops, none of the world’s communities lose out on benefits in the future.
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The Three Billion Club By Fernando Carneiro Photos and Artworks by Giorgio Tentolini
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Humans are crowding into the rafters of the planet. Are we on a march to an extinction of our own making? Or can we get a grip in this generation and find a rational and sane solution? The power to do either is in no- one’s hands – and minds – but our own.
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Our demographic time bomb. And here we are: seven billion humans on the planet and counting. Chalk another one up to human ingenuity. Alas, this mark is troublesome. In 1950, there were three billion homo sapiens hopping about. If we discount Darwinian evolution, this particular species of hominid – which got its moniker from French philosopher Henri Bergson – has been around for roughly 200,000 years. In other words, we’ve doubled, splicing ourselves by half in sixty years. That is very worrisome. Some secular humanists, usually taking a balanced and scientific approach to these matters, worry about what can be done. Many believe that superior technology will get us out of the hole. But Albert Einstein sounded an timeless cautionary tale when he said “…all our lauded technological progress – our very civilisation – is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal.” Most new technology brings with it new problems. We understand nowadays that green, slow and organic are here to stay. If economics studies the allocation of finite and limited resources, we must remember that the planet also has a geometrical finitude. There will not be a happy ending to this movie. Ever since I can remember, my thoughts on this subject were like the definition of good taste. Less is more. As I observed lines, crowds,
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queues, multitudes, I immediately thought about silence and the cloister. Malthus, though dead, received a good philosophical lashing in academia during my formative years. The pedagogical recalcitrance of others did not deter me. I still admired his ideas and thought he was on to something. Nowadays, he is at the forefront again after a seemingly long hiatus. UN demographers, led by Joel Cohen, talk about a “stabilisation” of the world population that will take place between 2050 and 2100. Some agree that many of our current problems, particularly in Europe, are due in great part to this issue. The demographic explosion is like the metaphor of the living room wake that is taking too long. In the present global economy, we currently have capital sufficient for only half of the inhabitants. This includes their retirement, as well as investments needed in infrastructure and renewal of modes of production to support such numbers. The assets under management (AUM) are cur-
rently lacking. The issue appeared in the media as a celebratory mark, full of exulting tones, and paeans to this generation. Sometimes you might read a minor perfunctory warning about such a milestone. But the mood was definitely upbeat. The ontological traits of the issue are forgotten, because to tackle it would require an examination of individual liberties, the collective well-being, and how to balance assorted demands. In the midst of such confusion, or lack of a healthy and honest discussion, we sometimes have proponents of oddball solutions to our intractable problem. There is a seemingly apocryphal internet group called Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT). It utilises syllogism and sophism to explain its position. As we are a threat to ourselves, we should simply stop reproducing. They do not advocate mass murder or collective suicide. The “logic” is that we will self-destruct one way or another. Thus, we should start exiting on our own. DANTEmag n.8
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This idea does not make much sense, least of all for actuaries. If we were to reach zero reproduction, (through violation of human rights I presume), our end would result from multiple organ failure, both institutional and biological. We would literally come to a halt as a species. A news site in Portugal commented that “genocide … is what those guys really want, but do not dare to say so out loud.” A little bit of research on VHEMT takes us to its leader, Les U. Knight. The alliterative joke is in Lacanian bad taste, but some think that Les can put his ideas in practice by going to Guyana. He could make his own contribution to the cause – and take some martyrs with him. On the other hand, the issue does worry serious people. We are not entirely sure if the demographic growth models are properly calibrated.
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Specialists like Cohen recognise that we do not have an exact science on our hands as there are many variables to deal with. We have to be guided by history and precedent. The highest fertility rates occur in less developed socio-economic areas, both in the macro profile (continents and countries) as well as on a micro level (cities and neighbourhoods). This is not a perspective that augurs well for us. We currently have a demographic renovation where the new inhabitants and individuals have a precarious educational, economic, and health situation. So a fertility rate of less than 1% is desirable over what absolute number - 7 billion or 20 billion (I used this last figure because it seems to be the capacity of the mother ship according to experts) - and where? The environment is totally subservient to this issue, as well as the economy and global geopolitics. This central topic is not being discussed anymore on the G-20 level, and is not on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council. If Europe did not currently have such a disproportionately large geriatric population, the aggregate and
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percentage of the sovereign debt would be much lower. So before applying the Band-Aid, it is better to disinfect the wound. We have arrived at a point in which the measurement of GDP is absolutely worthless. Ruchir Sharma, head of Emerging Markets at Morgan Stanley, wrote an utterly forgetful piece in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, talking about the demise of the BRIC countries. He based his thesis solely on the premise that such countries cannot sustain long and robust periods of GDP growth. Every year that Brazil has negative – or close to zero – growth, millions of acres of virgin tropical rainforest are not chopped down. In terms of twenty-first century economics, this means it has preserved and literally saved an as-yet incalculable amount of untapped wealth. It means that its capital stock was not further dilapidated by human activity. GDP measures creation of wealth and income without discounting or amortising environmental liabilities. This has always happened on a micro, or corporate, level. It is funny that serious publications still give such antiquated notions the proverbial prime-time spin. I am not even talking about Bhutan and its Gross National Happiness (GNH), but rather, about some economic modelling assumptions that are completely useless. GDP was never a measure of social inclusion or welfare. Now it is even less than what it was. Finally, when we reach demographic “stabilisation”, close to apocalyptic
levels, we can only have a Hobbesian solution. We are going to be in the hands - or at the mercy - of groups, or a coalition of countries, that might enforce “administrative measures” to tackle the problem. This will include infringements on our personal liberties, such as our reproductive choices. The coming lack of food, and ensuing chaos, will take us to an elemental social structure requiring a Leviathan to impose some kind of order. Who or what shall that be? So why not start a Three Billion Club? Instead of voluntary extinction, or a march towards an involuntary one, it would be preferable to stabilise what we have now, and start a descending spiral on the absolute number of people on the planet. Three billion is a reasonable mark. We as humans must attain this number, and stay put – elasticity of demand notwithstanding. Contrary to what the pessimists or millenarians say, we do have the intellectual means to get there through education and cooperation. The theories of Robert Axelrod, who modelled cooperation using game-theory, are a good first step. We are innately cooperative animals; we just need to be taught about the unconscious benefits that we enjoy every moment unknowingly. Finally, are the ones who believe in life after death luckier? Well it depends on the energy and mass storage capacity over in the next world. But whosoever survives here has the capacity to rewrite all the operational handbooks and manuals. We must prove that we are, but above all – that we think. . DANTEmag n.8
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A Victory for Historical Amnesia in the Baltic:
The Enduring Danger of Revisionism
Jews being led to execution, Kovno, 1941
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By Chris Kline Photos courtesy of Defending History.com
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Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it – or so it’s said. But what of those who don’t simply forget the past, but actively squelch it, erase it, stamp it out, revise it? Perhaps they don’t just repeat the past, but live it, as a continuing – a still-threatening – present. “It must never happen again” cannot become a healing reality if people insist “It never happened at all.”
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So in what country can a World War II Nazi sympathiser, fascist quisling and war criminal get a state funeral in 2012? Here’s a hint: it’s the home of a nowinfamous heckler at the recent Summer Olympic games, who made monkey noises, placed a comb over his upper lip, and gave Hitler salutes when he spotted black basketball players on the court. He then stood before a not-amused British judge after being arrested and stated in his defence that this was “perfectly acceptable behaviour in my country.” His country, incidentally, is one where Jewish graveyards and synagogues are routinely vandalised with impunity, and where one of the largest neo-Nazi marches in recent memory took place, with virtually no opposition.
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You might be surprised to learn that the location in question is Lithuania, which is per capita one of the best educated nations in Europe. It is a credible democracy and member of the United Nations, NATO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and a signatory to all of the human rights conventions that go with them. But this past May 17th, a white-gloved military guard of honour, the Lithuanian Army Orchestra, former president Valdas Adamkus and Catholic Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevicius were present to render an official homage to the repatriated remains of wartime prime minister and Nazi puppet Juozas Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis. A solemn memorial service was held and the collaborationist leader was reburied in the Church of the Resurrection in the city of Kaunas. The Archbishop lionised Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis as a man “who loved Lithuania and loved God.” The mayor of Kaunas, Andrius Kupcinskas, is adamant that the ceremony was nothing untoward, and the current president, Dalia Grybauskaite, isn’t saying much at all. To their credit, individual Lithuanian parliamentarians, academics and journalists decried the spectacle of this official adulation and hero’s welcome for Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis, but they represented only a handful. One couldn’t say the event prompted a national outcry or a vigorous debate and certainly no deep soul-searching in the nation’s collective psyche. So where is the sin of omission? What did Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis and his contemporaries do that was so terrible? For historians of the Second World War and scholars of the Holocaust, the conclusion is chilling, incontrovertible and widely documented: nothing less than actively helping and enabling the occupying German forces to launch the Final Solution in the Baltic, well
Lithuanian Militia rounding up Jews, Kovno 1941
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Jewish Children, Vilnius Ghetto
tangible way, wartime Lithuania can be regarded as the very beginning of the Jewish genocide in its physical application, in what has been called the “Holocaust by Bullets.” in advance of the wide-scale industrialisation of the genocide elsewhere and before the network of death camps ever existed. This ultimately resulted in the near total annihilation of Lithuania’s Jewish population between 1941 and 1944. In the first year of the German occupation alone, German death squads and their allied Lithuanian auxiliary police forces and militias killed some 175,000 Lithuanian Jews. In the first six weeks following the German arrival, the Lithuanians themselves killed 10,000 Jews. In fact, Lithuanian mobs and paramilitaries had started murdering Jews en masse, before German troops and police did. And it was Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis that had signed the legal documents giving them authority to do so, legitimising the horrors that followed. Lithuania’s forests echoed with the sound of firing squads and its old castles and fortresses, like the Seventh Fort in Kaunas where 30,000 were executed, became both detention centers and killing grounds. Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis had rubber-stamped the Holocaust. In a
Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis was not remotely a reluctant collaborator either. He was a fawningly enthusiastic and sycophantic one. His personal correspondence with German occupation officials is laden with lavish praise and adulation for his newfound masters and the greater Third Reich. If he wasn’t officially a Nazi, he gave an excellent impression of one. Lithuania had a population of three million, 210,000 of whom were Jews. Of those, 196,000 would be murdered, some eventually shipped to the death factories, but most dying on their own soil, at the hands of their compatriots. Lithuania became such an efficient killer of Jewry that Vichy-led France even sent two trainloads of its own Jewish citizens to die in Kaunas. What distinguished Lithuania was the widespread participation of its people in the slaughter: in thought, in acquiescence, in very deed. As elsewhere DANTEmag n.8
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throughout Eastern Europe, antisemitism was rampant and entrenched in Lithuania. Though only 1% of Lithuanian Jews were members of the Communist Party, there was a widely accepted belief that Jewish Communist fifth columnists had played a key role in the Soviet Union’s annexation of Lithuania in 1940. It was a pathology both Lithuanian nationalists and Nazi propagandists whipped into an effective and murderous frenzy to cleanse the perceived enemy within, when Germany attacked the Soviet Union and conquered Lithuania once more. Having themselves suffered terribly under Stalin, the Lithuanians greeted the Germans as liberators and soon vented their thirst for vengeance upon the easiest target, encouraged by their new occupiers, who were surprised and pleased by the Lithuanian zeal for the slaughter. Germany never raised SS units from Lithuanian volunteers as they did in neighbouring Latvia and Estonia. A fledgling, German-sponsored, Lithuanian proto-army was organised but did not last long. However, the numerous Lithuanian security police formations established by the Third Reich saw service in occupied Poland, Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus, as murder squads, counter-guerrillas hunting partisans, repressing civilians and guarding prison and death camps. There the Lithuanians earned a reputation for cruelty documented in many Holocaust survivors’ diaries and oral testimony. Records do show, in contrast, that 100 non-Jewish Lithuanians were execut-
ed by the Germans for trying to help or rescue Jews. An additional 723 are remembered as “righteous” people in the archives at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum, honoured for having saved Jews despite the risks. And there did also exist a small, armed resistance movement against German occupation, composed of Communists and non-Communists alike. But Lithuania was not like Denmark, Norway, Belgium or Holland, where the resistance fought on behalf of all citizens. Indeed, in Denmark virtually the whole Jewish population was saved by the underground. Lithuania, through the cold prism of history, was more like a virulent Baltic version of Vichy, Lilliput soaked in the blood of its own people, in no small measure done by its own hands. Yet if one considers the whole course of the war – the Soviet occupation beforehand and re-occupation after the German withdrawal, the mass deportations to the Gulags that ensued, renewed guerrilla resistance to the Soviets, and the destruction wrought by battle – Lithuania did pay dearly for its allegiances, its mistakes, its geographic location, its aspirations, its prejudice and the sheer tide and fluid fortunes of conflict. Catholics and Jews together, a total of some 780,000 Lithuanians, perished – a near genocide in itself. The casualties included tens of thousands of soldiers pressganged into the Red Army. Precise figures are hard to come by, but perhaps another 60,000 died at Soviet hands in the post-war period as fighters or prisoners. Essentially one fifth of the population underwent deportation. But there lies the rub, the conflation of all this tragedy, the blurring of causality and accountability, which is precisely the malady distorting modern Lithuanian memory, as it looks back on itself. It is an all-buttransparent effort to re-write history, to highlight moments of glory and courage, and to bury the shame. The legacy of victimisation is the key to airbrushing the stain of fratricide during the Second World War. A modern post-Soviet Lithuania, fully integrated in the European Union, is still a nation under construction, shaping itself and with it, the national mythology that it deems palatable, as any other country would do. The most potent building blocks of this tale are how it fought tenaciously for its independence after the First World War (which it did); how it resisted the Kremlin’s yoke throughout the Second; and, with the fall of the Communism, having been an insurgent state all along,
Ponary massacre 1943
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how it earned the moral right to regain its place as a proud and independent people with an ancient cultural tradition and a once-grandiose past as a ducal state when it had ruled much of Europe. That’s a legend everyone can live with. Indeed, the tale of the anti-Soviet guerrilla movement and the hardy Lithuanian partisans who came to be known as “Brothers of the Forest” is a truly epic tale of courage, devotion and sacrifice. The Brothers fought as ferociously as Tito’s partisans ever did, except they continued well into the 1950s, largely ignored by the outside world. The last of them, still holding out and committing suicide rather than face capture, died – a rebel to the last – in 1965! Outside of Lithuania, this is largely an untold and unknown story, surely one of the most heroic in the history of all resistance movements.
Lithuanian militia man, Kovno
The problem is that it’s not the whole story. Official government-sponsored investigative studies of both the German and Soviet eras are top-heavy with accounts of Soviet abuses and conspicuously light on references to the enthusiastic Lithuanian collaboration with Nazism, and fervent participation in the Holocaust. But who would want to remember such crimes publicly? Who would want to acknowledge that many of Lithuania’s guerrilla heroes were rabid antisemites, not a small number of them having tasted first blood in German service or in homegrown pogroms? And so we’re back to the hagiography of Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis once more, the most recent phenomenon of selective memory: the celebrated rehabilitation and reinterpretation of a Nazi-admiring collaborator and enabler of genocide and his elevation to national hero. In the new canon, he wasn’t a racist, bloody-minded toady of the Nazis. He was rather, a patriot, doing what was best for his people and his country; keeping alive some semblance of self-government and independence; sowing the future seeds for a reborn Lithuanian state.
Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis was not a hero. He was a mass murderer, guilty of crimes against humanity, who, by rights, belonged in the dock on trial at Nuremberg and then on the gallows with a noose around his neck, like the other convicted Nazi architects of unspeakable horror. Somehow he escaped justice and died peacefully as an immigrant in the United States and now rests enshrined as a national hero in a tomb fit for a gallant knight errant of old. It is a desecration of both the truth and of history and it does not move Lithuania forward into the future as an equitable and mature partner in the community of nations. Nor does it help educate a younger generation of Lithuanians to avoid repeating the grave mistakes of the past, or to abandon an especially malignant form of racism. Instead it leaves Lithuania open to the persistent accusation that it remains one of the most intolerant and deeply antisemitic societies in the whole of Europe. Moreover it gives renewed hope to every revisionist and Holocaust-denier still able and willing to tell the great lie. If a lie is told long enough and well enough, it may begin to have the ring of truth for those who’d prefer not to see the truth in its entirety. Lithuania’s painful ordeal under the crushing brutality of the Soviet Union, cannot, should not, and will not erase the ugly stain of wartime Lithuania’s atrocities and crimes. The suffering of one does not cancel out the evil of the other, when the victim of the first is also the perpetrator of the second. You don’t get a clean slate when you commit genocide. You can only heal that wound when you own up to the truth. Until Lithuania is prepared to do so, we must ask: does it deserve a place at the European table and the community of civilised nations?
Remains of Ambrazevicius return to Vilnius
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The seven capital sins in modern reality
By Mike Hawthorne
The seven deadly sins given a modern makeover, M.H traces their origins and points to some fascinating modern parallels with some surprising conclusions.
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The poet Dante (1265-1321) stands between our time and that of Pope Gregory The Great (540604). It was Gregory who first publicly formulated the Seven Deadly Sins, as we know them today. They underpin the construction of the infernal circles in Dante’s Divine Comedy. While the Bible was being translated into its first official Latin editions, Pope Gregory compiled the Seven Deadly Sins from a list of monastic guidelines. Monks were alerted to these seven tendencies within themselves, before they became dominant habits and stifled spiritual growth. From the pulpit, the laity was encouraged to make a similar effort, especially during the forty days of Lent, which recalled Christ’s period of fasting in the wilderness.
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The list retains its hold on the imagination due to the significance of the number seven in different cultures down the ages. Although people may struggle to remember each sin, they stick in the mind as a group. Seven resonates with echoes of occult knowledge and eternal mystery, from the days of the week to the orifices of the body. A digression about the symbolic importance of the magic number would fill a fat book. I won’t dig a hellish pit like Dante, but go in the opposite direction, meeting the Sins on the way up. New religions cannibalise their predecessors. They assemble a Frankenstein’s monster from extraneous parts and hope the stitches are not too obvious. Any bits that do not fit are discarded or demonised. The gods of exotic mystery sects were attached to the Saviour of the New Testament. The Holy Communion smelled of Demeter’s corn and the wine of Dionysius. Egyptian Isis transformed the peripheral figure of Jesus’ mother into a virtual goddess. Persian Mithras, the god of light, shone from Christ’s halo. The Old Hebrew myths were combed for useful references, to incorporate the tribal storm god Jehovah as the Father in the Holy Trinity. The Pagan cults, with their private initiation ceremonies, claimed to know the secrets of the universe and offered the prospect of immortality. Devotees entered the ancient temples in the homeland of Mithras by ascending seven steps. Menacing statues of winged monsters flanked each step. Inside, a sculpture of a bright young man stabbing a bull represented the god. We can regard the Seven Sins as bestial traits, which may be necessary for survival in nature, but which must be held in check. They are the inner demons or life forces. If any one becomes dominant, the imbalance encourages the growth of the remaining six demons in the crew. The soul rots away to leave only the animal. Without insight or conscience, we are in a world of competing sociopaths, more viciously inventive than animals. The resulting cruelty and indifference creates hell on earth. Heaven is nothing more than the recognition and avoidance of this hell. It is, according to Jesus, spread out before us, but we cannot appreciate it. The demonic Carnival clouds our vision. The seven temple steps and the god killing the animal can provide a symbolic stage for the Seven Deadly Sins. Traditionally, the Deadly Sins follow a sequence from one to seven, in order of importance. I will take them in reverse order, starting with Sloth at seven, up to Pride, at number one, which crowns them all. DANTEmag n.8
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N SLOTHM Originally, Sloth was associated with melancholic depression, leading to fatalistic lassitude. It might culminate in suicide, death being preferable to making any effort. In the monastic context, Sloth implied a sin of ingratitude to the Creator for the gift of life. Malingerers became a burden to others. This made sense in a religious community with shared values. In a commercial environment, with obscene salaries at the top and minimum wages at the bottom, defining Sloth is much more problematic. Under slavery, Sloth can appear as passive resistance or common sense. On a personal level, Jesus’ Parable of the Talents chimes in with Marx’s “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” For Dante, Sloth is the sin of insufficient love. For Jesus it is a sign of spiritual poverty, a cowardly refusal to engage. He is not going to bother with snoring idlers. Like depression, Sloth breeds a lack of appreciation, both for material resources and individual gifts. The Sin lies in ignorance of one’s own potential, a kind of wilful self-sabotage, leading to the miserable half-life of the couch potato, dozing fitfully as the blizzard of consumerism flickers across the television screen. Time to slap enough Anger into the slug’s cheeks to make it crawl onto the next step.
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If Sloth is a kind of self-neglect, Anger is often its answer. Anger ranges from seething resentment to blind rage, when “the red mist descends.” The mad courage of a cornered rat cannot distinguish friend from foe. Selfawareness has gone through the smashed television screen. Suppressed, misdirected anger triggers sudden explosions, which erupt out of nowhere. We get the habitual bully’s shouting, road rage and supermarket rage, even “rage rage”. Everybody has red buttons and pet hates; the Temple’s moneychangers were the last straw for Jesus. It took the priests by surprise, convincing them to remove him. The adrenalin rush breaks through the barrier of reason, but calm deliberation is the only way to defuse both the long-term corrosion and the immediate violence. Some people get addicted to the rush. Battle-hardened soldiers, trading in organised murder, avoid gung-ho maniacs because they will get everybody pointlessly killed. Opportunistic manipulators can harness a population’s wider anger and lead them straight to hell before they realise what is happening. The angrier and blinder the maddened mobs are, the better. For the most spectacular results at the sharp end, add alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, the Wrath of God and – POW! Rock ‘n’ roll! Meanwhile, other causes for anger go unnoticed, especially the manipulator’s self-serving shenanigans. Anger is exhausting. You wake up among the ruins, with the “munchies” gnawing at your guts and the bloated bulk of Gluttony blocking the stairway.
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I once asked an obese African American why he thought he had piled on so much weight. He patted his belly and said, “Oh, that? That’s rage. That has prevented some murders.” A fat Italian woman reflected, “I can see what he means. We swallow all our rage, fear and frustration to fill the void inside us; the conviction that we are worthless.” The devil that promotes Gluttony will never appear as a flabby diabetic suffering from a heart condition. McDonalds and Coca Cola sponsor the Olympics, preferably watched on TV, guzzling a variety of snacks. Legal and illegal drugs promise instant, short-term, relief. Meanwhile, at every stage, money is made, hand over fist, behind the smokescreen of advertising, acting as Gluttony’s pimp. Nearly half the food in developed countries is thrown away. Corpses of cartel casualties lie among the rotting waste in Mexican rubbish tips. Our bulimic system vomits while the bankers launder the profits. The workers who harvest both food and drugs are the lowest paid. A healthy dose of Anger, at being reduced to that degraded creature, “the consumer”, might be the beginning of an escape from the vicious circle of an expanding waistline. Fat chance! The devils ramming the ‘Gluttonomy’ down the world’s throat insist that we need more GROWTH! Before I know it, a skinny figure with sharp fingernails, called Envy, pulls me onto the next step, claiming to know how I feel.
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4 ENVY
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Wouldn’t it be great if the rich finally got their come-uppance? Isn’t this what feeds the tabloids? Build ‘em up and knock ‘em down? Envy certainly fuels capitalism, which renders conservative condemnation of egalitarian policies as “The Politics Of Envy” not only hypocritical but also ridiculous. Money bestows power, and an obnoxious sense of entitlement, that
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is begging to be brought crashing to its knees. However, revolutionaries would be well advised to search their own souls for traces of Envy before they set up the guillotines. Happiness is the best revenge. The mansions, designer clothes, private jets, celebrity status and entourages of flunkies cannot deliver it. Nor can a desire to be somebody else, dreaming about winning the lottery, while the good things within you, or right under your nose, remain invisible. “Not Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these,” says Jesus, picking a flower. Racks of weekly magazines encourage Envy and its close relative, Schadenfreude. The rich are hideous because they believe those things matter so much that they want to fence them off and enjoy them beyond the reach of the envious masses. They will start wars for fear of losing them. However, Envy usually works on a pettier level, such as sibling rivalry or peer pressure in everyday situations. It is like a visual impairment, a hungry stare, wanting to devour the distorted image in front of it, to fill the vacuum within. If it cannot do any damage, it gnaws its own flesh, “consumed with Envy”. Here I am, sweeping the last traces of Envy off the marble staircase, when I notice the High Priest’s young wife batting her eyelashes at me on the next step. I can see right up her skirt.
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3 LUST
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The early Christians, under the influence of Saint Paul, anticipated Christ’s imminent return. The End of the World made further reproduction, and the sex drive, redundant. Even under those circumstances, this attitude revealed astonishing ignorance about human nature. We are so hard-wired for the survival of our species that the threat of death activates our libido. Remember the Cold War’s three-minute-warning fantasies? During the following centuries after Saint Paul, both Catholics and Protestants drummed feelings of guilt and shame about Lust into their children. Female pleasure was not even considered, except as a symptom of lunacy or diabolic possession, until quite recently. In England, while gay males were criminalised, lesbians did not officially exist. Clerical patriarchs divided women into virgins and whores. Primitive, ultra-conservative societies continue to practise “honour killing” and genital mutilation to keep their daughters in line. Men are de-
based to dogs sniffing raw meat, so the girls must cover themselves up. The Temple authorities tested Jesus by dragging a woman they claimed had been caught in the act of adultery before him, intending to stone her, Talibanstyle. He saw through their attempt to trap him and the hypocrisy of their eagerness to punish her. He knew that 100% of males masturbated with accompanying fantasies, so he put their lustful thoughts on the same level as physical actions, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” He went deeper, “If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out.” As for that busy right hand, cut it off. Now, leave me alone with your nonsense. As for the woman, “Go and sin no more.” Lust? Big deal. None of us would be here without it. People who have a problem with Lust are obsessed with it, and the first to moralise about what others are doing. A Zen Buddhist story tells of two monks on a journey, one carries a stranded nun across a stream. After a few more miles, the other one brings the subject up. The first monk replies, “I left that nun on the riverbank hours ago. You are still carrying her.” Let’s leave her on the stairs. Look, Gordon Gekko wants to help us invest our money on the next step. He’s just had a hot tip from Fred The Shred concerning the Vatican Bank and Credit Suisse.
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2 AVA R I C E
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“Blood in the water!” was the battle cry at Goldman Sachs when the shares crashed. Vulture funds and asset strippers licked their lips. With the bankrupt governments chasing their tails, nothing could stop the feeding frenzy. Who needed Fascist Storm Troopers, when the lawyers and the police had already crushed the labour unions and the unemployed? And now we are
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in it up to our necks. “It’s no use protesting”, say the treasurers, “you can’t defy the law of economic gravity”. As if it were a natural system and not an artificially rigged game. The cheats, who made sure they could not lose long ago, hold out their hats for all the money in the house because they say it will collapse without them. As for the “trickle down” effect, the only trickle from the tight-fisted billionaires you will feel is their piss on your head. A little earlier, we saw rich leaders and champions of private enterprise kneel in prayer to Jesus before launching an illegal war of plunder. Could this be the same Jesus who cursed warmongers and condemned the wealthy? It’s the economy, stupid! In order to win elections, you must raise a huge campaign fund and pander to the voter’s greed. When that fails, threaten them with destruction. It is all good for the arms trade. Every aspect of life must be subordinated to the profit motive, until money is no longer a means of exchange but an end in itself, the be-all and end-all, with no other priorities. It wouldn’t be so nauseating if it wasn’t all cloaked in the language of freedom and altruism, backed up by mountains of fashionable toys and prestigious events. The directors do not draw salaries anymore. The CEOs award themselves ridiculous amounts of “compensation”, the poor darlings, as if they were the victims of a crime. But do you feel rich inside? Or does it all make you long to be lazy, angry, gluttonous, envious and greedy, knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing? “Of course it does,” says the preening figure on the final step, “Because I’m worth it.”
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1 PRIDE
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The Sin of Pride goes beyond healthy self-assertion and gratitude for human potential. We are on the top step now, with the aristocracy of Sin, where Lucifer, the Morning Star, dares to challenge the coming Light of Day, which will rub every last trace of his puny existence from the heavens in a new dawn. The essence of Pride is a hollow boast, an inflation of the Unconquerable Will of Nietzschean Supermen, to justify the rape of Mother Earth, with all her human and natural resources, so that the other six Sins can indulge themselves to their hearts’ content. All other lies radiate from this Big Lie, the Father of Lies, who must appear as attractive and powerful as possible. So Jesus warns against false prophets, some of who speak in His Name, others in the name of The People, The Will of God, Free Market Forces, Progress, Manifest Destiny, World Revolution, Racial Purity, and any number of mutations of the above that serve their purpose. Others, perhaps
more honestly, do not need an ideology. It is just dog-eat dog. Better to be top dog. Take the best and fuck the rest. “No,” says Jesus. “For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Do dogs have souls to begin with? Well, you can always polish your outward appearance, and take Pride in your status, to compensate for the absence of a soul. On the outside, we may see through the lies that varnish the ugly truth, but we have to survive. It is the old pimp’s excuse: “I got kids. Anyway, what difference does it make? If I don’t do it, somebody else will.” So, participate in the charade and receive the Yes-man’s reward. Soon, the mask is stuck to the face. It hurts to try and prise it off. Then, your resentment can express itself by reminding your subordinates of your pre-eminence at all times, and that let the mask of Pride shine brightly. If it goes to your head, your sense of entitlement might make you think you deserve it and everyone adores you. Remove the props and it all falls apart, sometimes before it reaches the graveyard. The grimacing gargoyles have not frightened me away. I can enter the Inner Sanctum at the top now, hoping to find Jesus in the bright, beautifully decorated space above. Oh, look; he has left a note on the altar. “Change of venue. You can find me in the pub where all the tax collectors, thieves and whores drink. Temples give me the creeps.”
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Independent news for the the world. DANTEmag n.8
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Independent news for the the world. www.bikyanews.com
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New capital, new totalitarianisms: a part-confessional
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By Mario Moniz Barreto
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“The End of History?” Hardly. The post-Cold War World has not developed according to irrationally exuberant, triumphalist predictions made in the giddy days immediately following the fall of the Communist bloc. It certainly could – and did – get worse. It is time to take a sober look at where we are, how we got here, and where we want to go.
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“Times are changing” may be the most understated way to begin this article. Old Twentieth Century truths like: “Democracy is the best out of the worst of all systems”, or “The European construct is intrinsically a force for good” are increasingly out of tune with a disgruntled southern Europe. These assertions are dissolving at least as fast as a quick rise of a suspicious, burgherlike North. Old divides are reawakening, cultural stereotypes are returning. This, one can argue, is linked to a totalitarian time born out of the ruins of a defeated Soviet Marxism. The fear caused by the Soviet Union is no longer there, and this was the fear that, to a degree, kept the purses of big corporations open, the states’ treasuries more balanced, and the people better taken care of.
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European Commission Building, Brussels
Could anyone have predicted that the great victory of the West would turn out to (maybe) become its greatest tragedy? Did anyone suspect that the loss of a competitor across the then-Iron Curtain would lead to a loss of social, labour and other long-fought-for rights? Was it foreseeable that big finance, no longer fearing for safety, would blackmail and rule over states? The Fukuyama inspired view of the early 90s, post-Berlin Wall, post-Perestroika was that history had ended. Democracy and Western-based values had won the day. It looked like all the nations could finally aspire to the same standard of living that Europeans, North Americans and other citizens in democratic states had enjoyed for decades. It looked like, sooner or later, everyone would be entitled to vote, to speak out against government with no fear of persecution. There was but one victor, there was but one system. Even countries where somehow the system of government did not change much, or where the one party system survived the first blows of pro democracy uprisings, made concessions, either at the grassroots level - allowing for citizens to access complaints or judicial mechanisms with greater ease - or through constitutional and leadership changes. DANTEmag n.8
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This now looks like the most simplistic and inexact of views. Things couldn’t only get better. What has happened is that the opening of markets and the ensuing globalisation, in spite of having brought a modicum of improved living standards to those in the so-called third world countries, together with deregulation have produced what the Pope calls “capital without nation” in a reality of weakened and weakening nations. This new capital of faceless funds feels no allegiance to countries, regions or continents. It feels no responsibility to create value, only to profit and return to shareholders. It is further emboldened by one of the most mediocre, self-serving generation of politicians to have gained power – some of whom used to work in the very banks that they helped save. It is another ironic sign of the times that we, the moderately indebted peoples, are being lectured about how wrong we were, and how austere we must be by those who, after accumulating colossal debts that nearly left them bankrupt, received public funds to clean their toxic balances and still have not changed their ways. It is a case of “Do as I say, not as I do.”
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This same attitude has spread to governments and to the public space and has produced, as in almost no other time in history (with perhaps the exception of the Soviet Union), a totalitarian public space, where commentators or politicians who do not sing the exact same tune get sidelined or are not broadcast. The messages are repeated with slight variations to allow for a personal touch. The numbers quoted, whether they be spending cuts, stimulus packages to companies, or economic projections that somehow always fail to materialise (but in the meantime serve to justify further slashes in public spending, especially on social benefits) are never verified, neither by opposition parties nor by a dependent media desperate to stay in the good graces of advertising companies. There is one message, one way, one possible result, and successive waves of echoes. Some of these echoes we face in Europe start sounding more reminiscent of “Tea Party America”, or old Dickensian times. In the sunny, broke South, while the non-democratic left-wing parties seem to bask in the glory of being proven right about how self-destructive this over-liberalised form of capitalism can be (while picking up voters in the process), the right-wing conservative parties have lost any qualms about promoting ideas more typi-
cal of pre-democratic times: for instance, how private charity is so much better than social benefits, because then we do not have entitlements. We hear of politicians addressing allies like a Development Aid Agency as one would speak to a spendthrift teenager. We are amazed by how, at the same time it becomes less acceptable to speak in disparaging terms of gender or sexual minorities, it is apparently more acceptable to insult those poor lazy, early-retired, corrupt southerners. And so we arrive at this scorched-earth policy, or as Portugal’s Prime Minister calls it “austerity at all costs.” While most European countries hold on to airline companies, air and sea-port operations, or utilities, even using these companies as covers to help them buy stakes in other countries’ similar operations, or make social benefits more equitable and inclusive, increasing pensions, or helping the unemployed, the Mediterranean rim countries are busy pushing ahead, sometimes out of conviction, others in order to get loans, with “Americanisation” of their, at best, embryonic welfare system (despite the fact that taxes are more typical of Scandinavia). They discard strategic state services at discounted prices at the same time as an abrupt significant reduction of income annuls consumption and destroys the local economy. Exports are not enough to keep countries afloat. And one has DANTEmag n.8
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European Parliament
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Inside European Parliament. Brussels, Belgium
the feeling that in some cases these countries are being used as guinea pigs for the economic and social testing of theoretical models. In years to come economists in universities, think tanks and international institutions will be analysing what happened in Ireland, Greece, Portugal and other countries being forced to implement fast adjustment austerity policies. It is hard to accept open public lecturing between countries at the best of times. It is much worse when times are bad. So every time I hear Merkel, Draghi, Barroso, Schlaube, or any others holding a megaphone to announce to the South that the beginning of recovery is nigh, I am immediately reminded of a true story about an elderly lady named Aurora. She had suffered a severe stroke and had been slowly convalescing in hospital. One day, still twisted, barely speaking, with little movement in her limbs and with no certainty of a full recovery she overheard two nurses speaking about their daughters. She said with great difficulty that her greatest regret was not having had children of her own. One of the nurses, as a way to console Aurora, replied: “Never you mind love, at least you have your health.” This is exactly how the Southern Troika countries are being addressed today. The tone is condescending yet demanding, patronising yet punishing. One only has to recall one of the latest speeches of Victor Constâncio, VP of the ECB, advocating that in the near future any state asking for loans from the EU, or ECB should be forced to sign away a degree of autonomy
in order to execute reforms and policies contained in a “Bilateral Agreement” dictated by the Central Bank in Frankfurt. Some years ago, everyone applauded the independence of Central Bankers who used to receive instructions from governments. Now it is getting to be the exact opposite. Central Bankers want not only independence to set, among other things, the price of money, they want to manage those countries in difficulties. The sombre mood of the present, reminds me of what Portuguese writer Teixeira de Pascoaes described as “nostalgia for the future.” It stems from the sense that the people are no longer the authors of their own narrative. And even though some would argue this is not entirely new, the magnitude of the loss of the ability to influence is unprecedented and indeed novel. It is a sense that is heightened by the submissiveness of politicians to the markets and by a so-far either non-existent, or as yet unknown viable global alternative. We are all aware of the risks of keeping the people too unhappy and too hopeless for long periods of time. Europe will not be able to drag its feet around this crisis much longer, for it will risk not only the long term prospects of all it has accomplished in the last decades, but also the very perseverance of those triumphant western values. It is time to think outside the comfort zone that has brought us to this state of affairs.
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Living in a Digital World: How Commercial Photography Can Thrive By Eleonora Flammini
photo Sofie Barfoed
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Eleonora Flammini
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Maureen Audetto
Commercial photography has undergone major transformations since the advent of digital technology. From the growth of the “amateurs-for-hire” (who some analysts identify as potential threat to the industry) to Kodak filing for bankruptcy, the condition of the photography industry is extremely clear – and not particularly promising for new business ventures. So why start a new photography agency? Well, there are, it turns out, some compelling reasons.
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We are living in a digital world and photography is perhaps the starkest example of this. Did you know that today more images are created every two minutes than were created during the entire nineteenth century? In the US, the percentage of photos taken with camera phones continues to grow. Conversely, the percentage of photos taken with point-and-shoot cameras continues to fall. In 2010 camera phones accounted for 17 percent of photographs while in 2011 they accounted for 27 percent. In 2010, 52 percent of photographs were taken by point-and-shoot cameras; in 2011 that number dropped to 44 percent. (petapixel data) All of these digital photos are stored on the Web. Facebook is the biggest photo library online with 300 million photos added every day as of March
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photo Giuliana Mackler
photo Ana Baumann
2012, and 140 BILLION photos stored in total. That is ten thousand times larger than the photo archive of the Library of Congress. Sixty new photos are added on Instagram every second.
In the midst of this explosion, the commercial photography industry as a whole is showing signs of life. According to industry analysts, 2010 saw the photo industry recover to pre-2009 levels. One indicator is the number of photos captured per month by professional shooters, which, different sources report, trended up in 2011. Industry observer IBISWorld projects steady growth in revenues to $10.1 billion by 2016. Despite rising demand for professional photography, however, competition from amateurs is increasing. While photographers are benefiting from the changes by increasing DANTEmag n.8
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their efficiency and availability, consumers are now able to take professional quality images themselves, without the need for professionals in the industry. Even advertising agencies have suffered over the past five years with the decline in corporate advertising spending representing just one dramatic change in how people consume media. However, now, revenues have started to recover and should continue to rise over the next five years as firms adapt to the changing environment. From the numbers of the British Council Industry Survey of Photographers we can appreciate how over the last 20 years it has become more difficult to enter the industry.
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photo Ally Lethbridge
For example, 39 percent of photographers in 2010 had a separate income, and two of every five freelancers had an additional income stream outside photography. Overall one in five earned less than half of their income as photographers. Statistics show that the majority of photographers will at some point in their working life seek employment outside this industry. Analysis also shows that a significant amount of photographers entered the industry at an age later than 20-30.
commercial photographers must continue to identify new markets, including ways and means to separate their work from that of price-cutting, entrylevel shooters. And, in the years to come, they must look for new business opportunities in post-production services, image sharing, image storage and printing, and the continued implementation and sales of personalised photoproducts that serve the market.
So, what happens if the consumer can shoot his own family or product with his DSLR upgrade and is satisfied with the images? What’s left for the pro shop? Experts say that aside from pro-level skills and the acquisition of higher-end cameras and lenses, digital technology continues to give pro shooters more and faster options to meet their customers’ needs. Successful
Why would two women in their twenties decide to start a photography business in this environment? Simply put, I do not think professional photography is dying. I do believe we have to rewrite the model and structure of our businesses to embrace change and seek new market needs. That is part of the reason why we represent young, up-and-coming artists. The ability of DANTEmag n.8
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all photos Caro Patlis
the young generation of image-makers to move seamlessly between photography, video, and new media allows them to change the old definition of photography. There are no real stats on the turnover in the industry really, such as the loss of revenue due to the stock library images that now sell at very low prices, or the impact of open source imagery (often provided by the growing number of amateur websites that offer photographs for free only in return of a photo-credit mention). Many commissions no longer exist as designers can base campaigns on freely available photography, rather than creating photographs to fit a campaign. I don’t believe that with the increase of photographers in the market, the quality of images has diminished. I feel the quality of published work has. There is no doubt that in purely numerical terms photography is one of the most competitive industries around. Photographers are competing against DANTEmag n.8
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more people each year for a smaller amount of work. Marketing at this point is essential, the photographer’s or agency’s image is as important as the work they produce. The future of image-makers will lie in the convergence of skills and the diversification of creative output. A single style is no longer dominating the market. This gives artists more room to be creative and offers more people the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work.
This is how Silverlake Photography was born: with a passion for visual arts, a different perspective towards the industry, and a pinch of courage. The adventure started when I visited my friend Maureen Audetto in Singapore during the spring of 2012. She had been living in Asia for a year and was just about to relocate to Europe. We talked about the future, our plans and dreams, and found ourselves to be in very similar situations; we both
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photo Sofie Barfoed
photo Ana Baumann
wanted to start something new and exciting. On one side, I had recently finished my Masters in photography in New York City and was struggling to find a place in the photography world in Italy, where I was living at that moment. On the other side, Maureen had gained some experience working in a photography production agency in Singapore, had fallen in love with the visual arts, and wanted to keep working in the industry. One thing led to another and the contagious excitement of potentially starting an activity
together made us meet again a few days later, this time in England. There we decided to register and set up our baby: Silverlake Photography. Maureen had just decided to live in London and I knew I would always be in Rome and New York, my two inspirational metropolises. We brainstormed ideas and found what we now believe to be our competitive advantage, differentiating us from other photography agencies. Having the opportunity to DANTEmag n.8
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photo Eleonora Flammini
photo Marily Konstantinopoulou
photo Jared Buschang
Marily Konstantinopoulou photographer
live in different continents, we decided to represent talents from across the world, providing our clients with services anywhere and everywhere. We also agreed that up-and-coming digital image-makers are the new great generation of visual artists. They represent the next big thing in terms of style and visual vibe, so we searched for young international artists who were looking for representation. Through my studies in photography, I had the luck to meet a very talented group of photographers from Argentina, Paraguay, Greece, France, Denmark and many other countries. This was key to the success of our initiative. We now officially represent ten talents, based in seven different countries – all of them very different from each other, but all very passionate about what they do. Our goal is to help these talented artists grow and gain exposure internationally. We work on a commission basis, finding clients jobs in anything from editorial to advertising. To complement the agency structure, DANTEmag n.8
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we also offer our clients a wide range of production services – managing budgets, sourcing models, locations and make- up artists, and providing post-production services. Another important aspect of our agency is social media, a key ingredient to a successful contemporary business. We have created a strong platform through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest and we hope that together with our website, this will help us create a rising creative presence in the industry. SilverLake Photography also has an ambition to help raise awareness of
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photo Giuliana Mackler
photo Marco Flammini
photo Dan Brohawn
community, charity and social issues throughout the world. We are now collaborating with BNE Water Foundation (www.bnewater.org) among others. We discovered this organisation on Twitter. It is a charity organisation that helps impoverished communities gain access to clean water and sanitation by selling artists’ works online. We are working right now on donating fine art prints to sell online and we hope this will be a long-term collaboration.
The reason we started this company – even if right now might not be the best moment to enter the industry (on paper, anyway) – is that the creative world will always need image makers, however those images are made: with a point-and-shoot camera, a Polaroid, a large format camera, a pinhole camera, a SLR or a phone camera. The creativity rather than tech skills will denote successful photographers in the years to come.
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1 Piccadilly Arcade , London W1J 9EN tel +44 (0) 207 493 1975 Fax + 44 (0) 20 7 4938410 london@santamarianovella.co.uk www.santamarianovella.co.uk DANTEmag n.8
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Window of the soul
Empowering the Blind in Nepal By Jose Da Silva
Worldwide, there are over 50 million blind people and a further 180 million suffering from serious visual impairments. The World Health Organisation estimates that 90% of these live in developing countries. Nepal shoulders one of the largest burdens of global blindness with around 600,000 people who are blind or partially sighted. Poverty and lack of care are the major underlying causes for this, but the burden is two-fold for the blind in Nepal. Lack of services and lack of opportunity keep the blind from living productive, hopeful lives. An unlikely group – massage therapists – is working to change all that. DANTEmag n.8
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Window of the soul
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Pokhara, NEPAL – The employees at Seeing Hands Nepal are not able to witness the towering snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas that mark the skyline in Pokhara, the city on the cusp of the Annapurna Himalaya range. Nor can they see the smaller mountains that encircle the country’s second largest lake, only a short walk from the stone pathway that marks the entrance to where they work.
They are blind. But through a UK-based charity, Seeing Hands Nepal, which has been able to foster the development of the often-disenfranchised blind community in Nepal, they are finding meaningful work, independence, and hope. Seeing Hands Nepal (which is linked to the grassroots NGO, the Nepal
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Woman and her blind son
Association of the Blind) trains blind people in Nepal to deliver massages to the millions of tourists who attempt to traverse the top of the world. After a trek in the Annapurna Range, muscle relaxing and recuperating are in order. The top-flight masseurs at Seeing Hands deliver unparalleled quality through their hands, which are the eyes of the workers. “Without the support of my family, I wouldn’t be here at all,” said Ramzi Paudel, one of the veteran masseurs at the Pokhara branch of Seeing Hands. Paudel, who comes from a farming family of thirteen children in the southern city of Lumbini, recently earned his bachelor’s degree, speaks fluent English, and is preparing to begin his Master’s programme at the local university in Pokhara. In many ways, Paudel is one of the lucky ones in a country where the blind community is largely dependent on others for work, with no - or very limited - opportunities for education or work. “The blind in Nepal stay at home and do nothing, get some education and DANTEmag n.8
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become teachers, or try to do things on their own, but it is hard,” he said. Seeing Hands, founded in 2006, identified this need for help and, according to their website, “was set up to provide training and employment opportunities for young blind Nepalis as massage therapists.” With some seven million international tourists coming to the small country in the foothills of the Himalayas, massage therapy was a natural choice. Here in Pokhara, the facility of eight therapists offers remedial sports therapy and Swedish-style relaxation massage. “It doesn’t get any better than that,” said one British patron after receiving a sports massage from one of the therapists. “After trekking the mountains, it was much needed.” Paudel and the other therapists, all blind, use their hands to empower themselves. It is not an easy task, however. All therapists who are accepted onto the programme are required to complete one hundred hours of Braille training as well as one hundred hours of therapeutic massage coursework.
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Blind child reading her book Blind musicians playing to a crowd
This work earns them a certificate that meets the international standards set by the Institute of Sports and Remedial Massage (ISRM) in London. Without Seeing Hands and their acquired ability to give back, Paudel says, many of the therapists who have come to work and earn a degree would have very different lives. “Here we have become very self-sufficient. We can take the bus on our own and we now earn an income that we can send back to our families to support them a bit,” he says, his bright smile showing hope in a country that has long struggled with political turmoil, violence and one of the highest global poverty levels. Although Seeing Hands may not be a massive venture, it has already trained dozens of blind people in Nepal, who, in turn, have gone on to teach and train others, giving them the experience of independence achieved. “Blind people in Nepal need vocational opportunities that economically and socially empower them, enabling them to generate their own incomes and
lead dignified, independent lives,” Seeing Hands says. And the therapists accomplish that, earning thirty-five percent of all revenue from their massages, with the remaining funds going to training, infrastructure and development of facilities to better assist the blind community across the country. Lalumaya Bhuzel, a 23-year-old masseuse in Pokhara, hopes to continue her education while she is with Seeing Hands. Like Paudel, she comes from a large farming family in central Nepal, and through the Seeing Hands initiative, has been able to complete her bachelor’s degree and hopes to become a teacher after finishing a master’s degree. “I’m very lucky,” she said of being a therapist at Seeing Hands. “Blind people have a very difficult life in Nepal, and they struggle to have good jobs, or work of any kind.” The NGO has given Bhuzel the opportunity to have dreams and hopes for a future that largely was impossible less than a decade ago for blind people. DANTEmag n.8
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Child with the “talking-watch”
She says that before Seeing Hands, teaching, playing music or being radio jockeys were the only professions readily available to the blind community. And with millions of tourists visiting Nepal annually, the majority of whom take to trekking in the Himalayas, Seeing Hands therapists believe there is also room for expansion. Tourists seem to agree. “Why would I go somewhere else when I can get a world-class massage by people who need the work and empowerment,” said Norwegian climber Tor, after being given a massage by Lalu. “She was amazing. I don’t think I have had a better massage anywhere else in the world,” he added. Seeing Hands is in the early stages of development. The administrators in Pokhara are hopeful that as the media takes note, and as tourists continue to flock to the mountains lining the northern border areas, the future is one DANTEmag n.8
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full of optimism for the blind community. “The workers here are very committed and this is important, because without their effort and their skills, this whole project would not be able to continue to grow and expand,” said the Seeing Hands organiser in Pokhara. Empowering the disenfranchised community through work is an important step toward enabling further opportunities for the community, and one that Paudel and Bhuzel believe has been instrumental in their desire to help others. “I think it has shown me that blind people are not really handicapped, and that we can be part of Nepali society here,” said Paudel.
Combining luxury and sophistication while enjoying the astounding views of the Mediterranean Sea, Mövenpick Hotel & Resort Beirut is the ideal retreat for all those seeking excitement and serenity. The hotel offers upscale accommodations and recreational facilities and promotes a wide range of activities and leisure pursuits for business travellers and holiday-seekers alike.
Window of the soul
Mövenpick Hotel & Resort Beirut Général de Gaulle Avenue Raoucheh 2038 6908, Beirut - Lebanon Phone +961 1 869 666, Fax +961 1 809 326 hotel.beirut@moevenpick.com
www.moevenpick-hotels.com
Mediterranean escape
extensive resort facilities.
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MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO - Health
Camillia Sinensis
“is a cup of life”
By Elisa T. Keena
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“If people took a cup every day the Pharmacists would starve” Chinese proverb
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AHHHH the effect Camillia Sinensis has on a human being– body and soul! Refreshing, relaxing, revitalising, reflective, robust, rich, rakish, radiant, responsive, romantic, rosy, refined, resonant, ………. All the feelings associated with a good cup of tea. The comfort it offers, from a mother to a sick child, woman to husband or lover, a friend to trusted friend or welcome visitor, is well known. The beautiful Japanese tea ceremony, the fragrant tea gardens, elegant tea parties, high tea, afternoon tea, hot tea, iced tea, spiced tea all bring to mind beauty and grace. Who can not envision the scintillating aroma of Earl Grey, tinged with bergamot, the spicy scent of Chai, the fresh tart taste of green tea, or a calming yet invigorating cup of Darjeeling. Each tea has its own properties and as you think about them, you can feel your body react, feel your body relax, feel your body respond to the magical ambrosia that we call Tea. It is one of the timeless treats that are universal and all can find solace in.
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Flowering tea
“There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea”- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Tea is a religion of the art of life” (Okakuwa Kakuzo) THE BOOK OF TEA
Tea has graced the human race for approximately 5000 years. It was discovered in China accidentally in 2737 BC when Emperor Shen Nung, who had an interest in herbalism and medicine, believed that boiling water prior to drinking it reduced its impurities and improved health. He mandated that all water should be boiled before drinking. Legend has it that he was sitting under a tree waiting for his water to boil when a few leaves floated down into DANTEmag n.8
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his cup. Intrigued by the heavenly aroma wafting up from the cup, he tasted it, was pleased and so the elixir “Tea or Chai” was discovered. Tea was first used medicinally and to this day we are discovering “or remembering” the benefits of tea consumption on our lives. In 780 AD Lu Yu a scholar during the Tang dynasty authored the first definitive book on Tea“CHA CHING”. This elevated the drinking of tea. Hence the “art “of tea drinking was born. Tea became inspirational and the subject for books, poems, song and paintings.
By 900 AD tea drinking spread to Japan where the tea drinking ceremony was created. It further established the drinking of tea as a graceful art form
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Green tea leaves
“If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty”Japanese Proverb
Tea was introduced to Europe in the 1600s. At that time because of the expense - it cost the equivalent of nine months’ wages - only the aristocracy enjoyed it. Tea has progressed to be the second most consumed liquid in the world surpassed only by water. “
“Tea is Drunk to forget the din of the world” (Tine Yemen)
Tea is defined as a water extract of dried leaves of the evergreen shrub Ca-
mellia Sinensis. It is mainly grown in mountainous areas 3-7,000 feet above sea level between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn Leading tea producing countries are China, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya, as well as some south American and Middle Eastern Countries. There are four main types of tea- Black, Green, White and Oolong. 78 % of tea produced and consumed worldwide is black tea. Green tea represents 20-22%. White and Oolong about 2 %. The Irish drink more tea per head than any other nation.
“If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you’re too heated it will cool you. If you are depressed it will cheer you. If you are excited it will calm you.” (William Gladstone)
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Tea plantation in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Allowing the tealeaves to dry, thereby reducing moisture and weight creates black tea. Next the withered leaves are rolled and crushed which initiates fermentation. Finally they are pan-fried, resulting in strong full-bodied flavour. Oolong is made in the same way, the tealeaves are picked and intentionally bruised to initiate fermentation and oxidation. After a shorter time of fermentation than black tea the leaves are pan- fried to stop oxidation. Green tea is made from freshly harvested leaves that are rapidly steamed or pan-fried. This inactivates the enzymes present in the leaves and stops fermentation. White tea – the tea of Emperors- is derived from the tea buds and youngest tealeaves. It is the least processed. The tealeaves are steamed then dried. For some white tea varieties, such as silver needle, the tea buds are harvested only two days in the year. These different manufacturing processes, as well as climate, soil composition, temperature and age of plant affect the properties of the tea. As there are wine connoisseurs, there are tea connoisseurs. The area from which it is grown usually defines the tea. You can travel around the world sipping from your cup of tea some of the tastes, smells and feelings of the unknown.
“Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage” (Catherine Douzel) For as long as tea has been consumed there have been health benefits associated with it. Teas are filled with polyphenols, specifically flavonoids, which are a specific type of phytochemicals. They are strong antioxidants. Stronger than Vitamin C. antioxidants protect against the damage that can DANTEmag n.8
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be caused by free radicals (unstable molecules in our body.). This damage includes artherosclerosis, arthritis, ageing, Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes. Catechins are some of the main flavinols in green tea there are six of them of which EGEC (epigallocatechin gallate) is the most studied and active. EGEC is thought to be twice as active and effective than Resveratrol (see Dante July/Aug issue The Magic of Wine). Since green tea is steamed it has more EGEC than black or oolong. Black teas have theaflavins (TF1, TF2, TF3) as the main phytochemical. It is produced during the oxidation process that decreases the catechins. They have been found to reduce the risk of cancer, cause cancer cell death and reduce inflammation in arthritis. Teas also contain vitamin B2, B6, B1, potassium, manganese, folic acid and calcium Tea polyphenols have the ability to scavenge free oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen radicals. Our bodies are exposed to environmental sources of these free radicals, such as chemical pollutants, plastics and cigarette smoke daily. These free radicals attack the lipid (fatty) membrane of our cells and damage DNA. This damage is known to initiate the development of heart disease, cancer, and ageing and other degenerative and debilitating diseases. ORAC, which is the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, determines the strength of the antioxidant- tea has been found to have a higher rating
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Black tea
than garlic, kale, spinach, brussels sprouts, and spinach. Within 60 minutes of consuming one cup of tea the plasma antioxidant capacity of healthy adults improved. More antioxidants = less cellular damage
“ While there is tea there is hope” (Arthur Pinero)
Polyphenols, especially catechins have a strong binding affinity for metal ions, especially iron. This binding can prevent perioxidative reactions or oxidative stress. The chelating ability is significant given the fact that iron progressively accumulates in the ageing brain and may be the cause of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Tea polyphenols also have a strong affinity for binding to certain proteins especially proline. It is the binding ability of the polyphenols that is thought to inhibit certain enzymes involved in carcinogenesis.
Entrap activated carcinogens Inhibit enzymes involved in tumour promotion and growth-related signals. Different findings, which may be contradictory in clinical studies, may be due to different environmental and lifestyle factors, for example, comparing an area where high salty fat foods are eaten frequently to an area where such items, which may contribute to the increased risk of cancer, are not consumed so often. Breast Cancer • Women in the early stages who drank green tea had fewer recurrences and less metastasis than those who who did not. • Women who drank green tea lived longer with the disease Bladder Cancer• People who drank tea had an increased five year survival rate
Health Benefits Artherosclerosis/_Cardiovascular disease-: • Both green and black tea decreases the risk of heart disease. • Green tea may block the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines, assist the body in ridding itself of cholesterol and lead to a decrease in LDL “the bad cholesterol”. • The risk of heart attack was decreased by 11 % by drinking three cups of tea in one study. Cancer• Polyphenols in tea will help prevent cancer. They inhibit cancer cell growth and development, protecting other healthy cells, in the breast, skin, lung, oesophagus, stomach, liver, intestines, pancreas, bladder and prostate in both animal and human studies. • Polyphenols have also been found to: Increase apoptosis, (cell death) Reduce the production of the inflammatory prostaglandin (PEG2)
Pancreatic cancer• The risk of developing pancreatic cancer decreases with tea consumption Prostate cancer• The risk of developing prostate cancer decreased with tea consumption. Skin Cancer• Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) is anti –inflammatory and helps prevent skin cancer. • Decreases wrinkles and improves skin texture Dental Caries• Compounds in tea play a role in prevention of plaque build-up on teeth. This can be due to the natural fluoride found in tea and to the ability of tea to inhibit the cariogenicity of oral bacteria DANTEmag n.8
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Bone Health• Tea may help prevent arthritis by reducing inflammation and slowing the breakdown of cartilage. • Tea drinkers had greater bone mineral density.
Liver disease• Green tea may protect the liver from the damaging effects of toxins, such as alcohol. • It helps increase detoxification process
Diabetes/obesity• Green tea helps control blood sugar levels and may decrease the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes. • Individuals who consistently drink green tea have lower body fat, smaller waists and reduced waist to hip ratio. • EGCG regulates genes involved in fat oxidation and storage as well as insulin signalling and glucose metabolism. This can decrease obesity and Type II diabetes. • Green tea can also stimulate brown fat thermogenesis which results in increased metabolism
Anti- inflammatoryImmune Function• Green tea enhances immunity by stimulating the production of immune cells. • It neutralises germs that can cause diarrhea, pneumonia, cystitis and skin infections. • It has topical antibacterial properties. Antidepressant effect• Increased tea decreased depression • Contains L- theanine, which reduces mental and physical stress and promotes a feeling of wellbeing
“Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comfort of solitude and the pleasure of company” (Anon)
“Tea is such a magical product perhaps even the eighth wonder of the world” (H Rahman)
You can add essential oils or spices to tea to further increase its beneficial properties. Earl Grey has bergamot oil added to it, which is a potent antiDANTEmag n.8
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oxidant in itself. Earl Grey is known to boost immunity, reduce fever, and improve mood and digestion. Spiced Chai with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, cardamom and fennel helps with digestion and is an anti-inflammatory. Poor digestion is believed to be the root of many diseases. Cinnamon helps to calm the stomach and combat nausea and diarrhea. Ginger soothes the stomach. Black pepper stimulates digestive fire (see Dantemag issue on Ayurveda). Cloves stimulate digestion, while fennel decreases flatulence. Cardamom decreases heartburn and contains anti cancer properties Darjeeling tea contains an amino acid L- theanine that reduces mental and physical stress and promotes a feeling of well-being. This protein softens the effect of the caffeine in the tea, leaving a person relaxed yet invigorated. Put a squeeze of lemon in your tea and you will have added more antioxidants and increased their absorption.
I saw the bill I was astounded it was over three figures! The sales woman told me it was expensive to have the monkeys pick the tea – they must have some union, those monkeys! I took the tea home and brewed it up, serving it in my special teapot for my friends. I was excited to tell them about my monkey picked tea! They were not impressed. They laughed for weeks that I had spent that much on a tea no one liked. I guess I found something that Buddhist Monkeys hurt - my wallet! There is no accounting for taste, we all are different I’ll keep perusing teas.... and well the taste of a good tea Heaven!
Tea can also help heal shaving cuts, eliminate bad odours, marinade meat, and fertilise roses, clean floors and keep away mosquitoes. We find it added to all types of cosmetics. The antioxidants in tea reduce wrinkles and keep skin looking fresh and young. I love to go to tea stores and try all the different varieties, Queen of Babylon, green jasmine, Darjeeling, English breakfast, Irish Breakfast, silver Needle, Golden monkey, etc., etc., One day I bought six oz of a new tea to try -Monkey picked oolong-. The Buddhist monks had taught the monkeys how to climb the tea trees to get the buds on the top of the tree. When the bill came they thanked me for gifting myself and investing in my health. When
Green tea leaves
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Colonial Houses Trujillo
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Temples of Doom
By Neil Geraghty
Discover a lost world of fabulous treasures and dark mythology along northern Peru’s Moche Route.
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“Vould you like choc ice?” an elegant Air France stewardess purred seductively as our Lima-bound Airbus bumped over a particularly turbulent patch of Amazon storm clouds. I was engrossed in my third in-flight film, Marsupalami, a rip-roaring French comedy set in Palombia, a fictitious South American dictatorship putatively located in the steaming jungle below us. Based on a 1950s Belgian comic strip, the plot is a hilarious romp involving a hunt for the secret of everlasting youth, radioactive orchids, narrowly averted human sacrifice and the mythical Marsupalami, a yellow monkey-like creature with superhuman strength. Biting into my choc ice, I couldn’t think of a more entertaining way to prepare for an adventure in darkest Peru.
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Karajia Rock Tombs
A week later, I was hiking along the slopes of the Cochahuayco river valley in search of another creature with a wacky name – the scarlet-plumed Cock of the Rock, Peru’s handsome national bird. My guide José had already introduced me to the delights of bird watching and, consulting the gorgeously illustrated Princeton Field Guide to the Birds of Peru, we’d already identified sky-blue tanagers, iridescent hummingbirds and bright yellow tit tyrants darting through the treetops. The winding path suddenly led out into a spectacular gorge flanked by jagged cliffs, festooned with curtains of emerald moss. In the distance, we could see the slender, white ribbon of the Gocta Waterfall cascading down a mountainside. At a dizzying 771m, this two-tiered waterfall is one of the world’s tallest, and is a spectacular focal point for hiking in the northern DANTEmag n.8
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Andes. A sudden screech emanating from the thick jungle canopy below us made José freeze with excitement. It was the courtship call of the Cock of the Rock, wherein several males gather together and compete for the attentions of a female in an intricate and noisy treetop dance. Right on cue, the distant forest canopy erupted into a cacophony of frenzied whoops and warbles. But no matter how hard we peered through our binoculars, the raucous Cocks of the Rock remained as tantalisingly elusive as the mythical Marsupalami. Because it plays host to one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World, that means one thing for most tourists who visit Peru: flying to the beautiful Andean city of Cuzco in the south and making a beeline straight to the legendary ruins of Machu Picchu. This has left the northern part of Peru relatively
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Moche Royal Tomb, Sipan
Trekking near Kuelap
Plaza de Armas Trujillo
undiscovered – which is a shame as tourists are missing out on recent archaeological discoveries unparalleled since the golden age of egyptology. Around 1500 years ago, the Moche civilisation flourished along the fertile rivers flowing down from the Andes. As the civilisation slipped into decline, many of the Moche’s mysterious adobe brick cities were engulfed by the Sechura Desert’s shifting sands. Recent excavations have revealed temples covered in beautiful polychromatic frescoes, and treasures as dazzling as Tutankhamen’s. The main base for exploring the northern deserts is Trujillo, a charming Spanish colonial town an hour’s flight north of Lima. As I walked down the steps from the plane into the fierce sunshine, I was fully expecting blasts of searing hot desert air to burn my face. I needn’t have worried; Trujillo is known DANTEmag n.8
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The Booted Racket-Tail hummingbird (Ocreatus underwoodii)
in Peru as the City of the Eternal Spring and for good reason. Along Peru’s northern shoreline, the freezing cold Pacific Humboldt Current sends blasts of natural air conditioning into the desert. Temperatures hover around 23°C all year round, which makes exploring the desert’s archaeological sites a delight. With tourists few and far between, Trujillo is blissfully unaware of its charms. The streets and squares are lined with beautiful blue and mustard-coloured mansions with ornate window trellises. Graceful baroque church domes pierce the skyline and a sprinkling of leafy plazas completes the elegant colonial ensemble. A short drive out of Trujillo’s dusty suburbs and the sinister conical silhouette of Cerro Blanco, the Moche’s sacred mountain, comes into view. At the base of the black, lava-streaked slopes, two vast temple structures were built: the Pyramid of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. Made up of over 130 million bricks, the Pyramid of the Sun is the largest adobe structure ever built in the Americas, but what remains is a mere shadow of the original structure. In their lust for gold, the early Spanish settlers diverted the nearby Moche River to undermine the pyramid’s foundations, forcing the walls to collapse. The smaller Temple of the Moon has been much better preserved and recent excavations DANTEmag n.8
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inside the onion-like structure have vividly brought to light a lost world of fascinating mythology and ritual. While visiting Peru’s archaeological sites, it’s impossible to avoid remnants of human sacrifice, and the first space you encounter in the Temple of the Moon is a sacrificial pit in which dozens of skeletons of Moche warriors were found. With a disconcerting smile on her face, my guide explained how elite warriors fought ritual battles in which the losers were presented to priests for sacrifice. After the warriors’ throats were slit and their blood drained, a priestess would carry a vessel of that blood to the king to drink. Meanwhile, the hapless warriors had the flesh stripped from the bodies and their skeletons were used as ritual marionettes. My head still spinning from this terrifying slice of history, I then came face to face with the gruesome visage of Ai-Apaec, the Moche’s chief deity. Otherwise known as the Great Decapitator, his boggle-eyed, fanged face, surrounded by human heads, stares out from beautifully preserved rhomboid frescoes decorating the temple walls. The blood-curdling mythology is mawkishly fascinating, but I was glad to have a breather as I stumbled across a display of humble adobe bricks. The makers stamped each brick with an identifying mark, and there amongst all the dots, dashes, and crosses, was a Smiley,
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Amazon Forest
drawn a thousand years or so before it became a pop culture icon. ☺ From Trujillo I drove north through the mournfully beautiful Sechura Desert to the bustling city of Chiclayo, stopping en route at the imposing ruins of El Brujo. Located next to a majestic, windswept stretch of the Pacific Ocean, the remarkable intact tomb of The Lady of Cao, a 1600-year old Moche queen was discovered at this ancient city in 2004. A striking contemporary museum of polished, angular concrete and beautifully lit rooms shows off the treasure to breathtaking effect. Highlights include intricately wrought golden parrot and puma earrings, a beaten gilt copper crown, and The Lady of Cao herself, whose extraordinary mummy is covered in sinister-looking spider tattoos. Displayed on a raised platform and lit by a soft blue light, she hovers above her treasure like a levitating ghost. I stood for ages contemplating the unfathomable world she must have inhabited and so didn’t notice a small crowd gathering behind me. When I turned around I was startled to see about twenty primary school children staring at me in owl-eyed wonder rather than at this phantom queen from a long-lost world. With tourists a rare sight in this corner of Peru, you’ll often be the prize exhibit as you wander around the ancient sites!
I left El Brujo feeling as if I’d just been in an Indiana Jones film. But perhaps the most mysterious attractions of the northern deserts are found in the Valley of the Pyramids at Tucume. Here twenty-six adobe Cock-of-the-rock, pyramids cluster around a sacred national bird of Peru mountain known as Purgatory Hill, which is covered in the spiky arms of hallucinogenic Saint Peter’s cacti. These plants were used by the Moche in religious ceremonies, and shamans still travel to the mountain to imbibe the drug and perform ritual divinations. A rocky path leads up the mountainside to a lookout where I sat down on a parapet to take in the magnificent view. A fresh breeze was blowing in from the Pacific and the staccato trill of mockingbirds was echoing around the mountain slopes. The eroded pyramids resemble giant termite mounds and are dotted by the flapping tarpaulins of archaeological digs. Treasures are discovered almost every year in the Sechura Desert and the whole region has become a looter’s paradise. I idly fantasised about buying a metal detector and discoverDANTEmag n.8
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ing a quick and easy fortune. At that moment a giant, black bee flew straight into my face and I almost toppled backwards off the parapet in surprise. I was a hair’s breadth away from becoming an impromptu human sacrifice myself. I made a mental note in future to be more respectful when visiting sacred locations lest I incur the wrath of vengeful ancient gods. In a land where the Great Decapitator once held sway, you can never be too careful.
Gocta Falls
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Women spinning wool
Fact Box Journey Latin America specialise in tailor-made holidays and group tours to Latin America and Antarctica. Their 13-day Northern Peru Holiday visiting the desert city of Chan Chan, the treasures of Sipan, Chachapoyas and Kuelap cost from ÂŁ2782 per person. This price includes flights from London with Air France, transfers, excursions, and breakfast daily. For further information, contact Journey Latin America (T. 020 8747 8315, http://www. journeylatinamerica.co.uk/) Air France offers a choice of fifteen UK and Irish departure points: Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Dublin, Dundee, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, London Heathrow, London City, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton. Fares from London Heathrow to Lima, via Paris Charles de Gaulle, start from as little as ÂŁ586 return. For more information, log on to www.airfrance.co.uk. For telephone bookings, call 0871 663 3777.
Traditional reed boats, Huanchaco
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Consorzio Tutela Lugana DOC Parco Catullo 4 37019 - Peschiera del Garda Verona - Italy tel +39 045 9233070 fax +39 045 8445434 www.consorziolugana.it info@consorziolugana.it join us on facebook: www.facebook.com/consorzioluganadoc
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a wine supreme
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Soup, Glorious Soup! By Marco Pernini
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” Edith Sitwell
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Winter is here with all its doom and gloom. We have already forgotten the parties and the fun of the holidays and even if the days are getting slightly longer, it is not enough to give us that boost of energy we need.
That’s why, in the Catholic countries, Carnival was invented, I guess. But even if, as old Seneca used to say, semel in anno licet insanire (“once a year you are allowed to go mad”), you can eat fatty food and delicious sweet things, this year, Mardi Gras, (the last day of Carnival) falls on February 12. That’s long before the end of the winter. So what can we do to help us get through the rest of the season? “Soup, glorious soup!” Don’t worry, I am not going to sing it for you. What
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Here’s my recipe for Red Lentil Soup: INGREDIENTS:
• • • • •
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1/2 stem of finely chopped celery 1 whole carrot finally chopped 1 yellow bell pepper cut in small cubes (optional)
• 2 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
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1 tsp of ground cumin 1 tsp of ground coriander 2 cups of red split lentils A handful of green or brown lentils 1 vegetable stock cube (preferably non GM) Water
METHOD: 1) Heat up the oil in a tall saucepan. 2) Add all the ingredients up to the lentils (apart from the fresh coriander) and fry a little so that the spices open up the flavour of the vegetables. 3) Add the lentils and the stock cube and stir. 4) Pour cold water into the pan on high heat, then reduce the flame and let simmer. Don’t worry if you think it’s too much water. It will reduce while cooking. 5) Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a little chopped coriander for garnish. I can do, though, is assure you that there is nothing more soothing and warming than a good bowl of soup. It is, without a doubt, the best dish for wintertime, especially right after we have been indulging so much over the holidays and then Carnival, if you happen to celebrate that too. So now, I want you to start thinking about how to get healthy (though, what with everyone else telling you what to do after Carnival, I run the risk of boring you with this). Vegetables are a good source of vitamins and a perfect way to detox, so soup is an exceptional way to get ready for spring and then, of course, summer. I must confess, I always like to start my dinner – whether it is for my clients or myself – with soup. It helps the digestive system, and is also a good way to get vegetable intake, especially if you don’t like to eat them. I suggest substituting a three-course meal with just a bowl of soup. Another good thing about soup is you can hide grains in it. For instance, if it is difficult to get your kids to eat any grains or some particular kind of vegetable, this is the DANTEmag n.8
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best way to slip it into their diet without their noticing. Evidence of the existence of soup can be found as far back as 6000 BC. Even so, boiling was not a common cookery practice at the time. That practice became more widespread with the invention of waterproof containers, probably made of clay, as archaeological artefacts lead us to believe. The etymology of the word soup comes from French soupe (meaning soup or broth). The French word is derived from the Vulgar Latin suppa (meaning bread soaked in broth). Traditionally, soups can be made in a variety of styles: with clear broth, with ingredients liquidised to a puree, or left in big chunks. They can be vegetarian or we can have soups with meat or fish. I like to make different versions. One of my favorites is red lentil. I like this because, although it stays liquid, it has a thickness to it so you don’t have to use a blender. Adding a little cumin adds a slight Indian flavour to it.
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO - Food
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NonnoPanda TALES
Nonno Panda and... the Batwa Girl, Part Two
...So I took Mbuti with me that day and went wandering along life’s path, till we got lost in a dark jungle and, unable to find the right way, we found the Gorilla compound... (Continued from the previous issue.) When Gory, the chief gorilla of the mountain, saw me coming with the girl, he smiled.
“I was wondering when she would get to you,” said Gory with contempt. “What? You know about Mbuti?” I said, surprised. He looked at his friends and burst out laughing. “Yes, we all know about Mbuti and her lot.” And they carried on laughing. Mbuti felt embarrassed and wanted to leave, but I held her tight with my paw and moved even closer to the gorilla. “So what have you got to say?” I asked, quite puzzled by his reaction.
“There is nothing to say,” Gory replied. “Mbuti and her lot are just a bunch of rejected savages from mankind who have bothered us for too long. Finally men came to their senses and decided to give them an education. Once they’re retrained they can have a better future. That’s all.” “That all?” I said, not believing what I’d heard. “You’re telling me you don’t care about this people being forced out of the rain forest and put into open concentration camps, to leave space for you so you can perform for a bunch of bored tourists who have nothing better to do than take a pictures of your lot munching leaves, farting and beating your chests?” DANTEmag n.8
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I was furious. I certainly would have expected more understanding from an animal that has been driven nearly to extinction. “Listen. Nonno!” said the gorilla, in a less patronising tone. “The way I see it is, the forest has been returned to us and it’s safe now to wander around without being killed by the spears of these little men. So we can all live in peace. That’s all I’m interested in. After all, it’s a more ‘sophisticated man’ who has decided their fate. Not us.” “Oh, well, it sounds all so convenient for you, doesn’t it?” I replied. “Well, we took the opportunity and here we are,” explained Gory. “I know about her going around crying and making statements against us, and I was wondering how soon she would get to you. But don’t blame us for something we didn’t create. OK?” “You’re taking full advantage of the situation, aren’t you?” I told him. Really, gorillas have never been renowned for their intellectual skills, but it was a no-brainer to understand what was going on. At that point another gorilla stepped into the conversation. “They’re just jealous of our popularity, that’s all. We get all the attention and nobody is interested in them. And why should anyone? Look! They’re just dirty savages.” “Wow! That’s rich coming from a noble beast like you. I can’t believe you just said that,” I replied annoyed by his words. But the gorilla didn’t let me finish. – “I didn’t,” he said. “I’m just repeating what one of the authorities which set up this
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scheme for us stated when he was asked what he thought of the pygmies.” “She is a Batwa, not a pygmy,” I interjected, preventing him from continuing. “You’d better start calling her by the name of her people and show her some respect. I can’t believe how comfortable you’ve become with your situation. Have you forgotten what happened to you when men created a business trading in your skins? Now those same men have discovered that chopping off your paws for an ash tray or using your fur for a hat is less profitable than charging a considerable amount of money per person - costing the same as for a field an entire family normally lives on - to come and see you acting in the wild and take pictures to show their friends back home. Are you aware the Batwa know the forest better than you do and with their activities kept the whole ecosystem in balance - for your sake, as well as their own? Are you aware that they could reveal the secrets of the forest to the benefit all mankind? Tell them girl how your people heal themselves.” Having being thrown into this animated conversation, Mbuti was a bit reluctant to talk at first, but seeing the gorillas puzzled by my words, she slowly started to speak. “Yes, we know a type of bee that makes its hive on the ground. It produces a jelly similar to honey that is so powerful it cures all our illnesses. But you need to know where and when to collect it. Also there are thousand of herbs we use for medicinal purposes that no man outside the forest has access to. We are the only ones that do, because, for centuries, we’ve been trained by our ancestors to keep those secrets.” The gorillas listened to her with amazement and Mbuti, seeing she had captured their interest, carried on talking about her life in the forest and how happy her “lot” had been. At a certain point she addressed her current situation. “We do know how important it is for you to be free to move around the forest, but it’s important for us too. Even if the people from other worlds don’t care about us beyond sending us money to reform us so that we become good followers of whatever form of adoration they believe in. We don’t want that. That might classify us as savages. But some
of their studies suggest that our short stature could be related to us adapting to the low ultraviolet light level in the rain forest, which can create a deficiency in vitamin D. That limits calcium uptake from the diet for bone growth and maintenance, and could have led to the evolution of our characteristic small size. Other explanations for our size include lack of food in the rainforest environment, low calcium levels in the soil, the need to move through dense jungle, adaptation to heat and humidity, and most recently, an association with rapid reproductive maturation under conditions of early mortality. Other evidence points toward unusually low levels of expression of the genes that encode the growth hormone receptor.” “The truth of the matter is that our body needs a diet rich in proteins and that can only come from the bush meat in the forest. It is very difficult for us to get all our nourishment from the land we have been forced to work on. Yes, we are trying to adapt to the new situation, getting closer to the new way of life. But lots of our old people weren’t able to adapt and have died as a consequence. You see, it’s in our genes to be hunter-gatherers. It takes a long time to adapt to a new way of life and your body suffers. Think about the difference it made for you being confined in a cage. Such a small space drives you mad. The same applies to us.” “Granted, we’re not in a cage, but we’re in a reservation camp and not allowed to go into the forest where we get all our nourishment. We’re forced to change not only our habits but also our diet, with food we need to buy. This is a totally new concept for us. Until a short time ago, we only traded with goods. We need to seek alternative jobs in order to get paid with money, but we don’t know what we’re capable of. We’ve been broken into several communities and dumped next to the nearest town so we can be integrated, but we’re perceived, as you said earlier, as savages by the locals. They don’t accept our way of living. I’d like to see how they’d take it if the reverse had happened to them. If they were forced for whatever honourable principle to live our way in the forest, how many of them would survive, let alone adapt. It is a no-win situation, any way you look at it.” “Some of our dismantled community thought they’d be clever by harvesting a herb they discovered that, if smoked, gives you powerful hallucinations. They sold it to the neighbouring community and there seemed to be a great demand for it. When they started to smoke it DANTEmag n.8
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themselves, though, they got hooked, which then created another kind of addiction. What I’m saying is it’s easy to pontificate on our situation. Too many men supposedly have the perfect solution for us. The truth of the matter is: how do you rescue a population like ours that has developed a sense of loss, because in order to make money they have literally taken the land from under our feet.” “It takes only two seconds to say words like ‘retrain’ and ‘educate,’ and those things seem to work well for the sophisticated men. However, the reality is far more complicated. It takes a long time to arrive at a perfect functionality.” Mbuti’s speech was very effective. The gorillas looked at her almost in disbelief at what they had heard. “What can we do to help you?” said Gory, expressing the feelings of all his friends. Mbuti smiled. “Well, in a situation like this we have to compromise in order to move forward. One solution I’ve found for my people, since we know your habitat very well, is to become your guardians” “We do not need any guardians,” said Gory, frowning - a clear sign he did not fully understand what the girl meant. Mbuti smiled back at him. “ We wouldn’t necessarily be your guardians, but rather the guardians of the forest. At the moment, the people in charge of the gorilla-tracking fanfare are trained by others. DANTEmag n.8
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We don’t need to be trained. We know the forest extremely well, so you’re free to move around. You don’t have to be bothered by people spying on you because they’re afraid of losing your track and disappointing the tourists.” “I can’t stand when they flash those lights at me,” said one gorilla. “It makes me so mad,” added another one. “But what about your bush meat diet? I don’t want to end up in your barbecue,” said another gorilla, worried by the idea. Mbuti laughed. “Don’t worry. It wouldn’t make any sense killing the source of our livelihood. Besides, we only hunt small game using arrows or nets, and gather plants and fruit in the rain forest. That’s why we were known as the keepers of the forest.” “So what can we do, then, to make this happen?” asked Gory …. At that point I left them sorting out the logistics of the thing, as it was better dealt with amongst themselves. They needed to build on the favourable moment, spurred on by the mutual understanding they’d gained from their increased knowledge of each other. I definitely knew that if they needed any help, they would come to me. So I went away – but not too far – and lay down in the sun, thinking how much easier things would be in the world if there were more understanding and respect for one another. . . .
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