Dr. Filomena

For a long time now, I’ve been going on about the lack of respect for anyone or anything in Slovenia. Pretty much anything goes. The more primitive, the cooler.

Nevertheless, with my expectations as low as they are, people still manage to surprise me.

Right now, protests are being held in various places around the country, aimed against politics in general, against politicians who have been unable to steer the country clear of the continuously deepening crisis. The protests are spontaneous and no politician or political party dares claim them as their own. They do, however, try to pin them onto others, much to the disgust of the protesters.

Tonight, Pavel Gantar, a politician with a long career of standing up for human rights and a former President of the Parliament, President of the Zares party, twitted in reference to last year’s early parliamentary election which his party had lost:

“Protest proti političnim elitam! Mogoče so volilci leta 2011 na volitvah odslovili napačne ljudi. …samo pravim.”

(A protest against political elites! Perhaps the voters voted out the wrong people in 2011 … Just saying.)

In response, Milan Zver, a Slovenian MEP (EPP) and member od the SDS party, twitted:

@PGantar A se zato poskušate vrniti brez volitev, z demonstracijami, Pavle? Samo vprašam…:)

(Is that why you are trying to make a comeback without an election, through demonstrations, Pavle? Just asking …:) )

I retwitted and added “Maturity FTW”.

An exchange among others followed with people reacting to his tweet. Granted, some reactions were less than kind. When Mr Gantar replied that no comeback is possible without en election, Mr Zver replied in good humour:

@PGantar @drfilomena Ok, to sem želel slišati. A si opazil, kako žolčno je Al Kaida reagirala na najino komunikacijo?

(Ok, this is what I wanted to hear. Have you noticed the bitterness in the Al-Qaeda’s reaction to our conversation?)

Consider me naive, but I do somehow expect a different level of public communication from a Member of the European Parliament. While it may have been funny on some level that I am not privy to and Mr Zver was just teasing, the humour is lost on me in the light of the recent trend in the Slovenian right-wing politics (to which the SDS by some twist of the Slovenian political imaginarium belongs) to brand as left-wing extremists anyone disagreeing with their opinions.

I presume that this post will be considered another Al-Qaeda attack on an innocent politician, an exemplary democrat and, mind you, presidential candidate in the election that has just produced the new Slovenian President. Thankfully, it is not Mr Zver.  Incidentally, the man who holds a PhD in political science is right now preparing his lectures on democracy, the crisis and youth. He says the provocation from “extremists” (there goes that word again) is an added incentive for him to continue his work. Should be interesting. Well, at least he hasn’t called anyone plebs. Just yet.

Slovenija:

Kdor visoko leta, nizko pade.

Amerika:

Always shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.

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Izberete lahko več odgovorov. V pomoč:
plonkceglc 1, plonkceglc 2, plonkceglc 3, plonkceglc 4

Source: Temeljna ustavna listina o samostojnosti in neodvisnosti Slovenije (Basic Constitutional Charter on the Independence and Sovereignty of the Republic of Slovenia)

The new Slovenian government is led by an ex (radical) communist. Apparently, he was too radical even then and was dismissed from the Party on that account. Ever since, he has been doing his very best to erase his red record. Except that by doing so, he is demonstrating how firmly the principles and M.O. he learned as a young man have stuck within.

An important concept in Slovenia ever since the late eighties has been that of reconciliation. As we (should) know, war is good for absolutely nothing. Glorious victories actually mean years or decades of rebuilding and healing. Physically and psychologically. On both sides. In Slovenia, part of the nation collaborated with the occupying armies. The reasons they did so were varied and personal. Atrocities were committed. Violence invariably leads to more violence and after the war ended, extra-judicial executions were carried out, which included the collaborating Slovenians. But the nation survived contrary to what the Nazis had planned. And the foundation for Slovenian sovereignty was laid right there and then. Literally.

After decades of rebuilding and yes, healing, Slovenian citizens decided to take the route towards independence at a plebiscite where 95% of voters voted in favour of at a 93.5% turnout. The result speaks for itself. The desire for independence crossed all lines of division within the population. Ever since  independence became a reality, however, some of the people involved in the process have been trying to hijack the unique event in Slovenian history and appropriate it for history books to record. The man referred to in the first sentence of this blog post, for example. They easily dismiss the population-wide support for the project, the role of other political actors and civil society (except what they consider their own) at the time and paint a story of how they as the heroes  struggled for the country’s independence while the big bad wolf, I mean the damn communists obstructed them. And in doing so, they keep biting at the role of resistance fighters in Slovenia during World War II. Because the Yugoslavia that was formed after the war had a communist regime, which BTW is not something that all the freedom fighters fought for, they are using every opportunity to represent the collaborators (i.e. Slovenians who fought the Slovenians fighting the occupying armies) as anti-communists who had the nation’s best interests in mind and were actually at least as good a guys as the freedom fighters if not better on some level.

Well guess what. Reconciliation does not mean shifting blame from one side to the other or making excuses. It does not mean repairing injustice by causing more thereof. Reconciliation involves fessing up for both sides. The winners of the WWII who should not have committed extra-judicial executions nor cause problems to collaborators’ relatives after the war and the collaborators who should have thought twice when picking sides. It involves recognising that – again – war is good for absolutely nothing and that it is time to move on and stop the bloody persistent practice of checking what side somebody’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather may have been on. It means respecting the feelings of the families of the deceased on both sides. They were all, after all, human. Lord knows not all of them were humane, but human they were. That’s all there is. Can we please move on? Yes?

No. See, when these guys who are in the process of appropriating Slovenian statehood (patent-pending?) take the wheel (I meant to say win the election, but they actually came in 2nd) of the country, this red-herring keeps popping up. I’ll come back to the herring thing later. The Slovenian MEP who happened to be the independent state’s first PM, for example apparently drafted the resolution for the European Parliament to state that all totalitarian systems, including communism, were equally bad. (Read: therefore Slovenians fighting the Slovenian red threat is equal to the Slovenian freedom fighters fighting the occupying forces whose ultimate objective was to erase the nation.) The latest has to do with the celebration of the Statehood Day. The celebration, which will be marked by folk dances. How is that for an art programme?

The government led by the man who in his younger days marched proudly to Jajce in remembrance of the glory days, decided that this year, for the first time ever, the flag bearers representing the veterans of Slovenian WWII freedom fighters and their legacy would not be invited to the celebration. Only veterans of the independence war were deemed worthy to participate. Actually, several other organisations were invited as well, but refused because the WWII veterans had been excluded. The police veterans from the independence war era rejected the invitation based on solidarity with the WWII veterans as well.

The veterans of 1991 who endured the 10-day war and fought bravely while the politicians, diplomats and media people were engaged in their own important battles, would do well to realise that they are being played and exploited and either demand that their colleagues representing those who fought to keep the nation alive for four years and more are shown respect or refuse to participate in the ceremonies themselves.

As for the red-herring aspect of the whole thing. It is rather obvious that the anti-commie we-are-your-saviours issues are much easier to deal with and respond to in public (especially after years of practice which probably trigger an autopilot with these guys) than to answer questions related to slashing maternity leave benefits and how exactly cutting funding for research and education while lowering taxes for the well-off is supposed to stimulate growth. Or why the ruling party opposed the structural reforms prepared by the previous government claiming they were unnecessary whereas now it wants to bulldoze the public sector and syndicates  claiming the exact opposite. You know, the insignificant little issues.

This whole thing would be funny were it not so sad.

PS: I am quite sure that I will immediately be called a commie for having written this text. I can see communist, Murgle, agitprop and komsomol coming up. All would-be name-callers are kindly referred to the first sentence in this blog post.

O, ljuba Gospa,
luč, ki razsvetljuješ svet
in izpolnjuješ človeka,
priporočam se ti.

Dobri ljudje so zašli.
Pozabili so tvoj nauk.
Ne vidijo čez meje,
ki jih gradi nevednost.

Svojim duhovnim voditeljem
so pripravljeni odpuščati
grozovite grehe.
A ljudem, ki se ljubijo
drugače kot oni,
zapovedujejo, kako naj žive.

Gospa, ki si naša sreča,
daj, da bi sprevideli,
kako njihovi predsodki uničujejo
človeška življenja.

Ti dobri ljudje
verjamejo, da delajo dobro.
Otopeli so in ne čutijo več,
kako čutijo drugi.

Mati nas vseh,
Ljubezen,
usmili se nas.
Obišči jih.

Mir in dobro.

(foto: dr. fil, Yellowstone)

Vsak ima svojo luno

Verjetno si mislil, da je luna ena sama?

Mar ni?

Ah kje, lun je zelo veliko.

Kje pa so?

Skrivajo se. Največ se jih tišči blizu skupaj, tako da se zdi, kot da je tam samo ena. Druge so se poskrile globoko v vesolje, ker jih že dolgo nihče ni poklical.

Zakaj je toliko lun?

Vsak od nas ima svojo. In ko hoče zvečer zaspati, se ozre v nebo. Pomaha mu prav njegova luna. Vidiš?

Je tisto moja luna?

Tvoja je tista, ki jo vidiš ti.

Kaj pa ti?

Moja luna je dlje v vesolju. Ampak ko pogledam v nebo, se zelo potrudi in močno zasveti. Reče mi lahko noč.

Poglej, moja luna mi je pomežiknila!

Kaj res?

Ja, rekla mi je lahko noč!

Lahko noč, sinko.

(all photos in this post were taken in Yellowstone, photo (c) dr. fil)

Testing Blogsy.

• Just giving it a test run, really.
• Had to turn on location services in order for photo upload to work.
• Most issues are addressed in the in-built help section.
• This thing needs an undo button.

(more…)

Bolj srčkan od svizca in najmanj tako priden. (polh, foto dr. fil)

Povod za tokratni zapis je sicer pogovor na Facebooku, vendar ga verjetno ne bi sestavila brez spodbude ekipe Skeptik.si. Hvala za brco v rit, za pripombe in lekturo. Objavljeno najprej pri njih.

Mamica, ki ima otroka s potovalno slabostjo, je včeraj neko skupino na Facebooku povprašala takole:

Pozdravljene mamice! Zanima me kakšno je vaše mnenje o homeopatskem zdravljenju otroka? Izkušnje so dobrodošle.

Načeloma se pri tovrstnih zadevah ne vpletam, ampak tokrat se mi je zazdelo neodgovorno, da se ne bi.

Moj odziv:

Zdravljenje resnih obolenj z vodo se mi zdi neodgovorno, manjše tegobice pa se odpravijo same od sebe.

Naslednja članica skupine:

Jaz … dajem homeopatska zdravila že od novorojenčka za krče,zdaj za zobke itd in ne mislim nehat,stvar odločitve,eni pač raje
otroke zastruplajo s kemijo iz naših lekarn…eni pač najdemo druge rešitve

Moj odziv:

Moj otrok za krčke ni dobil prav ničesar in tudi pri zobčkih ne bo. Razvojni krči in rast zob pač niso bolezen. Otrok pri
obojem potrebuje veliko potrpljenja in ljubezni, ne pa farmacevtske izdelke in homeopatsko natego z vodo. Moje mnenje.

Nekaj izmenjav naprej sem dodala:

Dokler dajete otrokom drago vodo po kapljicah (=homeopatska “zdravila”) za krče, zobe in potovalno slabost, super,
naj bogatijo homeopati. Otrokom ne bo nič boljše in nič slabše. Preden jim to začnete dajati v resnejših primerih, pa vsaj na hitro poglejte
npr. http://whatstheharm.net/homeopathy.html

Popolnoma pričakovano so se oglasile mamice, ki zaupajo homeopatiji in
jo uporabljajo pri svojih otrocih. Zaradi vztrajanja, da gre za drago vodo, sem bila hitro označena za nestrpno. Padlo je vprašanje, kaj so
mi homeopati hudega storili, bojda sem bila negativno nastrojena in vsiljiva s svojimi komentarji.

Menda sem ga res pobiksala, ko sem mamici, ki uporablja homeopatske kapljice na osnovi kamilic, poskušala pojasniti, da kamilice niso v
domeni homeopatije ampak zeliščarstva(1), ki ima znanstveno razlago in dokaze za svoje učinke ter je prednik sodobne farmacije(2). Končno se je našla poznavalka, ki je pojasnila:

homeopatska zdravila so v bistvu visoko potencirane snovi, lahko je npr. tudi baker. To pomeni, da je tako razredčeno, da ostane samo še kakšna molekula. Toliko se spomnim, ker sem delala včasih kot varuška pri homeopatinji. Mene je takrat prepričala, sem pa tudi že marsikaj probala.

Požela je aplavz. Tihega tudi pri meni, saj je homeopatijo opisala natanko tako, kot jo razumem jaz. Voda.

Zelo poljudno in neznanstveno o homeopatiji
(Ker se drugače ne da.)

Nekoč je živel gospod(3), ki se mu je zdelo precej logično, da se enako z enakim zdravi. Tega načela še nihče ni uspel dokazati, ampak
to homeopatov in njihovih strank ne moti. Osnovno načelo pomeni, da se bolnega zdravi s snovmi, ki bi pri zdravem človeku povzročile
simptome, za katerimi trpi ta bolnik. Primer. Človek ima težave z očmi. Vsi vemo, da oči pordijo in se zasolzijo tudi pri rezanju čebule. Čebula po opisani logiki torej zdravi obolenja oči.

Da pa je zadeva še malo bolj hecna, pacient ne dobi kar snovi, ki naj bi mu pomagala. Zato, da snov resnično učinkuje, jo je treba
“potencirati”(4), kot se reče v homeopatiji. V jeziku nehomeopatije to pomeni, da se snov močno razredči z vodo, močno pretrese, močno
razredči, močno pretrese, močno razredči, močno pretrese in tako v nedogled. Vse dokler po tem potenciranju v vodi ostane samo še kakšna
molekula domnevno zdravilne snovi. Največkrat pravzaprav niti ena molekula ne. Ostane samo še voda.

In ko povprašate homeopata, kako lahko zdravi s snovjo, ki je tako zelo razredčena, da je pravzaprav nič več ni, vam bo razložil, da ima
voda spomin(5). Za to, da naj bi si voda zapomnila, kaj je bilo v njej raztopljeno, in ta tudi učinkuje temu primerno, sicer ni nikakršnih dokazov, ampak gotovo drži. Potem pa svizec zavije cesarjeva nova oblačila, mene pa hudo zaskrbi, ali si je taista voda zapomnila, kaj vse je bilo v njej, še preden je začela redčiti zdravilno učinkovino.

Vse je naravno
Tobak in mušnice tudi. Marihuana je samo travica. Argument naravnosti je eden bolj nesmiselnih in kljub temu precej pogostih. Kristalni
sladkor, ki ga starši v sladicah in sladkanih pijačah ponujajo otrokom, je popolnoma nenaraven(6). Strup za organizem brez hranilne vrednosti. Je pa okusen. Drži, tudi jaz si ga privoščim, nenaravca.

Kaj imam proti homeopatom
V resnici prav nič. Mislim, da ima vsakdo do neke mere pravico služiti na račun človeške neumnosti. Dokler ne škodi. In tisto, kar se mi pri
homeopatih, ki sem jih poslušala po radiu, najbolj dopade, je, da opozarjajo, da njihove kapljice ne morejo biti nadomestek za prava
zdravila, ampak lahko le “pomagajo”(7) poleg njih. V primeru kakršne koli resne bolezni bo torej, predvidevam vsaj, pravi homeopat svojo
stranko napotil k zdravniku.

Da ne bom prestroga, naj dodam, da verjamem, da homeopati ljudem lahko pomagajo. Približno tako kot duhovniki ali psihoterapevti. Veliko je v naših glavah in iskreno mišljena pomoč človeka, ki mu zaupamo, lahko da voljo in moč za odpravo marsikatere tegobe. Zauživanje njihovih kapljic je najbrž izbirno, pomaga pa pri izračunavanju tarife za pomoč.

In ne bi se spravila k pisanju tega besedila, če ne bi bilo zastavljeno vprašanje, kaj si mislimo o homeopatskem zdravljenju
otroka. Zaenkrat ni dokazov, da bi homeopatija delovala bolje od (katerega koli drugega) placeba. Če je otrok dovolj star, da razume
zadevo in zaupa staršu, ki zaupa homeopatu, mu lahko koristi učinek placeba. Če gre za kar koli resnejšega, pa trdim, da je neodgovorno
otroka prepustiti vodi s spominom.

Rož’ce, kakršne so na primer kamilice, pa v tem kontekstu, prosim lepo, pustite pri miru.

Dodatek (27. 8. 2011):
Opozorjena sem bila, da homeopati “potencirajo” tudi z alkoholom. Dodajam torej še ta podatek. (Verjamem, da nič molekul zdravilne učinkovine v alkoholu bolj prime kot nič molekul zdravilne učinkovine v vodi.)

Opombe:

1. http://eduwiki.si/Od%20zeli%C5%A1%C4%8Darstva%20do%20prvih%20lekarn
2. http://eduwiki.si/tiki-index.php?page=Zgodovina+Farmacije
3. http://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Hahnemann
4. http://www.shd.si/
5. http://www.kvarkadabra.net/article.php/Informirani_raziskovalci
6. Ne raste na drevesih. Ali na grmih. Ali kjerkoli. V bistvu je potrebne precej manipulacije s sladkornim trsom ali sladkorno peso, da
   pridemo do belega sladkorja.
7. Ljudje, ki uporabljajo homeopatske pripravke poleg konvencionalnih, radi pozabljajo, da je bila tudi sodobna medicina zraven in učinek (ozdravljenje) pripišejo homeopatiji.

krofi & foto: dr fil

Drage soženske, na ta šaljiv dan nam želim, da ne bi pozabile, da bi morale biti enakopravne moškim, čeprav nismo enaki. Da se moramo boriti za svoje pravice. Ne proti moškim. Da si poleg izenačenih možnosti v poslovnem svetu zaslužimo korektnost in vljudnost na vsakem koraku. Tako kot moški. Da nas nikoli ne smeta ustaviti strah ali brezvoljnost. Upajmo si zahtevati več. Da bomo imele enako.

PS: Krofe sem danes delala prvič, po receptu ene od mnogih superžensk, ki jih poznam – svoje babice. Ne sprašujte po njem, ker je vsega “ravno prav”.

Vir: SAZU

Opravičilo za neobjavljanje zapisov je sestavljeno, a žal bo minilo še nekaj let, preden ga bo odgovorna oseba znala podpisati. Neobjavljanje ne pomeni, da ne berem, ne opazujem, ne poslušam. Sivocelične napetosti na hitro sprostim na Twitterju, zato bloga ne pogrešam pretirano.

Ko pa mi kdo grozi z resetiranjem, oziroma me vabi, naj se skupaj z ostalimi volivci resetiram kar sama od sebe, si vzamem čas, da svoje mnenje delim tudi z vsemi tremi bralci tega bloga.

“Resničen reset se mora zgoditi tukaj, v Sloveniji. Resetiranje novinarjev pomeni resnico-ljubno pisanje. Volivci morajo resetirati svoje vrednote, svoje srce: lumparije na drobno dajejo glasove lumpom na debelo. In glava volivcev mora spregledati propagando, ki brenka na tistih pet predsodkov. Resetirani volivci bodo bolj zahtevni kupci na slovenskem političnem trgu in trgovci – stranke – se jim bodo morali prilagoditi. Politične stranke se bodo morale resetirati in nekatere priznati svojo idejno bankrotiranost in odvisnost od predsodkov. Mimogrede, podpisani nove ne ustanavljamo.”

Vir: Delo

V današnji Sobotni prilogi Dela nas k temu spet poziva dr. Žiga Turk, tokrat v družbi dr. Mateja Lahovnika, dr. Marka Pavlihe, mag. Rada Pezdirja in dr. Janeza Šušteršiča. Zaenkrat pustimo ob strani dejstvo, da so med naštetimi trije bivši ministri, ki so že imeli realno možnost krojiti delovanje slovenske države.

Fantje, trenutni položaj v državi ni rožnat, pa tudi tako črn ne, kot bi radi naslikali. Ljudje smo takšne čudne, nikoli zadovoljne živali. Prav to nas vodi v iskanje vedno novih rešitev in znanj, ki so temelj tistega, kar samovšečno imenujemo napredek. Če se strinjamo, da stanje ni popolno (in da nikoli ne bo), pa me v živo zadenejo ideje o, če ne kar zahteve po nenadnih korenitih spremembah domnevno popolnoma gnilega sistema.

Slovenija je krasna država. Narava je lepa, ljudje delavni in pametni, potencialov je veliko, smola le, da vse skupaj z napačnimi odločitvami kvarijo zavedeni volivci in neresnicoljubni novinarji? Besedilo je prežeto s tolikšno mero naivnosti, da človek težko verjame, da je prišlo izpod prstov tako izobraženih ljudi. Predlagam jim pogovor s kakšnim preprostim posestnikom zdrave kmečke pameti.

V demokracijah, ki jih tako radi omenjajo avtorji, se spremembe uvajajo postopoma. Podlage zanje pripravijo demokratično izvoljeni predstavniki ljudstva, preživeti morajo razprave in zakonodajne postopke, če ne dosežejo želenega učinka, se poskusi drugače, verjetno z drugo ekipo. Hitre širokopotezne spremembe sistema, vsiljevanje novega sistema vrednot, spreminjanje človeka samega v želji po oblikovanju popolne družbe, vse to so elementi neke popolnoma drugačne miselnosti, katere posledice pozna vsak, ki je vsaj od daleč povohal zgodovinske knjige.

Za vsak slučaj, da ne bi prišlo do nesporazuma, sem izraz hotela preveriti v Slovarju slovenskega knjižnega jezika, a ga v njem ni. Angleška definicija izraza je, na primer:

reset – to press a special button or to make changes so that a machine will work again or work in a different way

Vir: Macmillan Dictionary

Ne boste verjeli, ampak človeška družba takšnega gumbka nima. V resnici verjamem v dobronamernost avtorjev članka in tudi, da verjamejo v to, kar so napisali, ampak njihova teorija nasede na čer prvega stika s človekom v resničnem življenju, v praksi.

Nasprotje postopnih sprememb v demokratičnem sistemu, ekvivalent gumbku, ki spremeni delovanje družbe (predvidevam, da avtorju niso imeli v mislih povratka družbe v katero od že videnih ureditev) je v preprostem jeziku revolucija.

Ne, hvala. Resetirajte sebe.