The flight of an albatross

August 31, 2006

More inmigrants abandoned in the desert

Filed under: Rage against the world — 曹 tsao @ 11:37 pm

Médicos del Mundo-España reports again about around fifty inmigrants abandouned by Morocco in Kandahar (between Sahara and Mauritania), without food nor water. Their boat wrecked going to Canarias Islands, so they arrived to Morocco.

inmigrants in the desertSpanish government make pressure on the Morocco dictatorial government to block inmigrants in their frontiers, but they don’t worry about human rights in this process. In fact, president J.L. Rodríguez Zapatero postponed a meeting with Morocco authorities to go Germany to hear his wife singing in a chorus.

Meanwhile, the Job Minister Caldera and the Home Minister Rubalcaba returned of their vacation to say in the congress they are working right (from their sun loungers, I suppose),the inmigration pressure will increase, and no inmigrants die in Spanish coast (in fact, they die in the travel).

The reality about the inmigrants that arrive to Canarias is most of them are expelled to their countries after passing some days piled up in the few inmigrant centers in the islands. If they aren’t expelled, they are spread over all Spain in Government centers, and, in some weeks then they are put out in the street with a sandwich, a water bottle and a list of NGOs in the city. So they are in risk of social exclusion again.
One inmigrant died and two are seriously ill. And we don’t know about thousands inmigrants that never arrive to Spain nor return to their home dying because this new aparthaid.

August 23, 2006

Dust off the boots

Filed under: Dead Poets Society, On the road — 曹 tsao @ 8:08 pm

Every summer I work in a little gest house that my family has in my hometown. It’s an interesting chance to meet with many people. Sometimes, you talk with somebody, but you forget them some days or months later. Sometimes they back to remember. Sometimes it’s not necessary because the little time you meet is enough to don’t forget them. You meet very interesting people.

A week ago two pilgrims came home. They were going on Way of St. James on the English route. You know, pilgrims go to Compostela because different motivations: faith, meditation or simply tourism. I immediately realized they not only were going because faith. In fact, they made impression of to be pilgrims of past ages.

I remember to talk with them at night. They were eating conguitos (chocolated peanuts) on the dock looking how the tide was raising and decreasing. They asked about the time periods (they were from Burgos, in the inland). Of course, I could explain an (near technical) tide time functions. They smiled, and one of them asked me:

‘And, who organizes it?’

‘What?’ I answered surprised

‘Yes, who organizes it?’, he asked again

The other pilgrim put the thumb up. Then we smiled and completed with the answer:‘The Boss.

They went on the Way next morning. I didn’t see them again until yesterday. My mother called me and said ‘watch tv’. Later I could read in ElMundo.es the sad new: they both, Julián Campo and Santiago Manzano died in a rail crash in Palencia, near their home. Then I could read their real history that we could know by intuition: both left their well-off, rich, occidental life to help the poors. Julian went to India, and there he helped to Mother Teresa organization, meanwhile Santiago went to Ethiopia. Both maintained a pilgrim’s hostel in Castrojeriz, near Burgos, when they spent time in Spain.

Now they can wipe the dust off their boots.

August 16, 2006

Trying to recover the smile

Filed under: On the road, Sec, crypto, forensics and priv — 曹 tsao @ 11:39 pm

It’s no easy. In Galicia 4 persons died and around 100,000 Ha of forests burned, lots of animals too. Fortunately, fire didn’t arrived to the Fragas of Eume River, the most important Atlantic forest in Europe (and near my hometown, I kept an eye from the top of my house) . Politicians stinked a lot again. Promised “truth comitees” where truth is what they decide, not the real facts of our tragedy. A jest to population :-( .

But the life must go on. Let’s smile. I discovered via Allan Beaufour’s blog the facts of the great cryptography and security expert Bruce Schneier. Enjoy! :-)

August 15, 2006

A bit of mod, a bit of bop

Filed under: Jazz — 曹 tsao @ 12:40 am

Last Saturday I went to the Felipop (Felicia’s Pop Festival) in Limodre, Fene. I knew this festival through some smart people :-) that come every year to Pontedeume from Logroño and Madrid, but this year was the first time I went to.

Libreto de presentación del Felipop 2006

Of course I enjoyed a lot with the concerts. Felipop is a little, minority festival, so it’s easy to enjoy alternative pop music as meet interesting (majority mod) people. I discovered some pop groups, the best in the night was Paul Collins with a wondering, full-energized live.

But Felipop is a chance to buy vinyl LP’s too. So, when I arrived to the festival I run to the music store stands and I found four (for me) little jewels:

  • “One night in Birdland”, a Charlie Parker Quintet live (1950)
  • “The Bosses”, Joe Turner and Count Basie hand by hand(1973)
  • “Newk’s time”, with Sonny Rollins, Winton Kelly, Dough Watkins and Philly Joe Jones (1957)
  • “Mirror, mirror”, with Chick Corea, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins (1980)

August 10, 2006

Put an Intel 965 in your life

Filed under: Free Software — 曹 tsao @ 12:23 am

In the opposite way of ATI and Nvidia, Intel has released its newest Intel 965 Express chipset-based 3D cards device driver (gpl-ed for linux kernel, mit-ed for X).

I think it would be enough if they showed the specifications, but this decision is wonderful! (I suppose this fact is related with Keith Packard’s work inside Intel :-) )

References:

August 9, 2006

Abe Rábade Trío: “Playing on light”

Filed under: Jazz — 曹 tsao @ 3:28 am

Portada Playing on lightI think the third album of Abe Rábade Trío (the fourth if we count the GHU! Project Vol.1) is a maturity album. I understand Babel de sons and Simetrías as great sets of themes, performed with virtuosity, heart and the Trío style.

Playing on light is a set of seven themes that express the feelings (sensuality, introspection, despondency, helplessness, violence, protection and enlightenment) of Abe about seven photos (included in the booklet). But it’s more than a set of seven themes. This is a perfect, one work in seven times. When I hear each piece of the album I feel I’m hearing different sides of an heptaedron, even when Abe caught us with a non-accoustic theme :-)

Some references:

August 8, 2006

Dreams in demolition

Filed under: On the road — 曹 tsao @ 11:31 pm

There I began to study.
There I knew Espronceda.
I meet my first love.
I began to write poetry.
And I dreamt with conquering the world.

Since some days ago the Couceiro Freijomil School is being demolished. The government will build a new school in the same place, beside the Pontedeume port. It will be named as the old school, I suppose. But I feel a piece of my childhood dissapear with each torn rubble.

Colexio Público Couceiro Freijomil

Galicia burns

Filed under: Rage against the world — 曹 tsao @ 6:25 pm

My green, fresh, ancient dear Galicia burns. Every summer there are lots of forest fires. But this summer seems diferent. We have a territory in siege by fire, who reachs cities and villages, cuts off phone and electric lines and blocks the roads. And we have three victims at this moment. Actually fire brigades are helped by the Army in their work, and they keep watching the forest. Another Autonomous Communities send us more fire fighters too.
Meanwhile, Spanish president J.L. Rodríguez Zapatero and Galician president E.Pérez Touriño are in holiday. This fact reminds me when in the latest environmental disaster, the sinking of the oil tanker Prestige, the former Galician president M.Fraga Iribarne was hunting in that weekend. I remind too Rodríguez Zapatero in the opera meanwhile 13 firefighters died in Castilla-La Mancha last year. Fraga’s government was conservative, Touriño rules with a socialist and (Galician) nationalist coalition. Opposite ideologies, the same improvised, negligent attitude.

The fires are started intentionally by humans, and, as every year, some people are arrested. Every year it’s said by politicians they’re going to change the law, but every year the burned wood is sold in low price, and forests are replaced by new estates.

There is an amazing satellite photo in ElMundo.es.

August 5, 2006

Chinese Catholics arrested again

Filed under: Rage against the world — 曹 tsao @ 1:12 am

The rage of the Chinese Comunist dictatorship against Catholic Church has a new chapter. Asia News report Yao Liang, auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Xiwanzi and priest Li Huisheng have been arrested. Xiwanzi Catholic community movilized to request freedom to both prisoners of conscience. So, 90 persons were arrested too by 500 police agents who charged against the crowd.

But these histories doesn’t matter when Spanish businessmen and government trade with the PRC.

August 4, 2006

Gotcha! I’m the Blob!

Filed under: Free Software — 曹 tsao @ 3:19 am

I was awaiting since months ago the new. I’d heard hackers would prove the vulnerability of a closed firmware (HAL) of a wireless device driver. There is an important controversy with this layer because 1)taints the kernel an 2)you can’t audit the source code.

In OpenBSD those kind of firmwares were thrown out. Using inverse engineering and pressing the manufacturers to show the specifications they built free (as in freedom) firmwares. Meanwhile, there is still a pragmatic tolerance in the Linux world in general (with violent flames in the kernel list), and in proyects like Madwifi in particular (what I use in my laptop).

Well, I read today in the OpenBSD Journal about the public show of exploting a ‘Blob’ firmware in the Black Hat Con.Jon Ellch and David Maynor took as example a Macbook, they hijacked the machine and talked about another two exploit-able bugs in MS-Windows.Puffy against the Blob

Let’s kill blobware!

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