Julia Glatthaar – Pike & Hurricane

Organ donations: a second chance at life

Julia Glatthaar — Wed, 20 May 2020 09:28:51 +0000

“Helping others” is something a lot of people aim for, take pride in and get satisfaction from. There are so many projects that you can get involved in, you could start volunteering or donating to a specific organisation. It is exactly at this point where it is crucial to talk about how each and every one of us, through a single donation, could give another person a second chance at life. To be exact, one person could possibly save up to 8 lives and enhance 75 more. Living organ donors can donate a kidney, lung, as well as a portion of their liver, pancreas, and intestine. Deceased organ donors can give two kidneys, two lungs, heart, pancreas and intestines. Corneas, tissues, hands and face, blood stem cells, cord blood, bone marrow, blood and platelets can also be donated.

Organ donations through deceased persons has sparked much controversy. Each country has developed their own approach on this matter based on an opt-out or opt-in concept, trying to boost organ donations in the presence of ever growing waiting lists.

Opt-in or opt-out?

Countries, such as Germany, Sweden, and Brazil are using an opt-in system, relying on their citizens actively signing up for organ donations, This, however, can lead to individuals who would want to be a donor not donating (a false negative). Opt-out countries, for instance Sweden, Russia and Uruguay, consider all citizens to have agreed to be an organ donor, even though this can potentially lead to an individual who does not want to donate becoming a donor (a false positive). Every day various organs get harvested and planted, yet the waiting list is growing exponentially compared to the people donating organs, and every day people die waiting for a life saving organ.

A study by the University of Nottingham found that an opt-out system had a higher total number of kidneys, the organ with the longest waiting list, transplanted and a higher quantity of organ transplants in general. However, as mentioned above, organs do not always stem from deceased donors. And living donations are higher in opt-in countries.

This study may have impacted countries, mostly European, to make changes in their system. For instance, England changed to an opt-out system this March. In either system, family members still have the final word, and can even override their relatives’ decision to donate.

Getting personal

It may surprise you then that Sweden, an opt-out country, has one of the lowest organ donation rates in Europe. It is Spain, who has the highest organ donation rate in the world. Apart from utilizing opt-out consent, their success is based on measures such as a transplant coordination network that works both locally and nationally, a high quality of public information available about organ donation, and a focus on reaching out early to families of potential donors. Just by talking to relatives for 3-4 hours chances of organ donation triple.

When organs are rejected

Another problem is the lack of surgeons who are able to remove organs or tissue for donation. For instance, in the US, Roland Henry, a previously healthy person until the car crash, wanted his organs to be recovered and donated, yet t local organ collecting agency denied his wish. This is one of many examples where governments all around the world are letting usable organs go to waste due to a lack of communication within the different organ agencies, gaps in the medical system and a lack of overview and reporting.

Organ tourism and organ trafficking

These gaps in efficiency, when it comes to harvesting organs, are extremely dangerous to people on both sides of the spectrum. On the one hand, people on the waiting lists are dying, on the other hand organ donors are being exploited to the extent of death as well. An example of the latter can be found in the Indian state Tamil Nadu, where three out of four harvested hearts went to foreigners, mostly wealthy citizens of Western countries. And whilst the Transplant Authorityclaims that organs are only given to foreigners when there are no Indian citizens on the waiting list, it is difficult to overlook that the main obstacle for Indians seems to be to register and pay the necessary fees. Of course, Tamil Nadu is only a single center, yet it it is part of an overall problem.

The lack of organs and possibilities to pay high prices also leads to the phenomenon of organ trafficking. As of 2008, the WHO estimated every tenth kidney to derive from international organ trafficking, a business worth approximately 5 billion US dollars. There are stories of people selling essential and non-essential organs to pay debts, or to help their families. Moreover, they are difficult to confirm. As for the buyers, they are mostly sick and vulnerable citizens from the US, Western Europe, the Arab Gulf states, Israel and wealthy enclaves in the developing world.

As mentioned, particularly in Europe, states have been trying to combat waiting times, and with that organ trafficking and organ tourism, by boosting organ donations through opt-in and opt-out systems. In other countries, already a new medical definition of “death” could boost organ donation.

Brain death and cardiac death

Cardiac death, is typically defined as the moment when the heart has stopped beating or is beating too irregularly to sustain life. Brain death is the cessation of all brain activity, including all of the activity in the brain stem. Hence, with advanced technology, such as ventilators, the central body system (heart and lungs) can still keep the body running, whilst the person itself is no longer sentient. Therefore, in countries, such as Japan, Pakistan and Romania, brain death is not accepted by society and, often times, the medical sector. And this is a real struggle when it comes to deceased organ donation.

Here, in Sweden, brain death is seen as equal to cardiac death. Therefore, in the case of deceased organ donation, turning of the ventilator is not noted as the official moment of death, instead the date of the diagnosed brain death is registered.

Organ donation is something very personal, and maybe therefore still not talked about enough. It is important to speak to your family and friends about this subject and ask yourself the question of whether or not you want sign up for donation, stay the system, ot opt out.

by Julia Glatthaar

Photo Credits

Organ donation, GDS Infographics, CC BY 2.0

Organ trafficking, Glacomo Salicconi, CC BY 2.0

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Death and Moving On: Dictating the Afterlife

Julia Glatthaar — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 12:56:12 +0000

Everybody will die at some point. Some people die young and others manage to live through a whole century. Some people die naturally, and others have their lives taken by force.

The essence is, and I think all of you will agree, that our days are counted and that sooner or later we will pass away. What humans fail to agree on, is the question of what comes next. And this creates tension. Because our beliefs in different hereafters impact our behavior, our attitudes and actions towards others, and in that sense it also shapes the way others see us and what they see in us.

When looking at some answers of the main religions the afterlife is used as the carrot and stick that motivates us to do good deeds during our time on Planet Earth. For instance, whilst Christianity and Islam focus on the soul that enters one’s body when being conceived and returns to their god when one dies, Buddhism revolves around the concept of reincarnation. So in this article, we will take a closer look at the cycle of life according to the concept of reincarnation, and talk about one of the most famous recurring souls of our time and his squabbles with China.

Reincarnation

The basic idea of reincarnation or rebirth is a central point of Buddhism, as well as many other religions. It is based on the concept of mortality and immortality of the soul. Hence death, until the soul reaches Nirvana, only precedes another reincarnation. Which means that when your body, the current host of your soul, gives out, your soul will go on a journey and settle in a new body.

On closer inspection, different people express different opinions on how exactly reincarnation can and should work. Some people believe that reincarnation is not strictly reserved for humans, but that you could also be reincarnated into animals. Others believe that reincarnation is not bound by the fixed chronology of timelines. This makes for an interesting thought experiment because it would mean that you could meet “yourself” at some point in life. Or even that every single living being on this planet shares the same soul being reincarnated time and time again…

One of the most important, if not the most important, souls in Buddhism, when it comes to reincarnation, is that of the Dalai Lama. So let’s grab a cup of tea and look at what makes this person and his reincarnations so important.

The Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama represents a soul from the 14th century and has been the symbol of unity and national identity in Tibet. Currently, this particular soul is occupying its 14th home, the now 83-year old body of this guy:

The basic idea is that this is the soul currently experiencing its 14th life. It was first born in 1391. Therefore, this soul has witnessed over 630 years, or around 224 280 days. It is safe to say that it has experienced quite a lot. Which brings us to the next point: why is it so important for this particular soul to be passed on and, throughout the centuries, collect even more experiences and wisdom?

The Dalai Lamas are sacred to Tibet, and they are key to Tibetan national identity. It all started in 1913 when the 13th Dalai Lama took to the political stage announcing Tibetan independence and starting to meddle with the political system. Since Tibet is not recognized by China, it is too dangerous a place for the Dalai Lama which is why he has been living in exile in India for the past decades.

Today, the struggle for autonomy is still ongoing as the Dalai Lama pointed out during his visit to Malmö University: “I’m happy to meet you all here today, Tibetans and our friends and supporters. I often point out that since the cause of Tibet is a just cause, Tibet supporters are not so much pro-Tibet as pro-justice. We continue to keep up our struggle based on non-violence. Since 1974 we have not been seeking independence, but we have been seeking the rights mentioned in the Chinese constitution, the rights to be implemented on the ground, not only in the Tibet Autonomous Region but in all Tibetan areas, to preserve Tibetan language and culture.”

The uncertain future of the Dalai Lama

This split is apparently one of the worst fears of the Chinese government who are still occupying Tibet to this day. The Communist Party’s representative summed up China’s stance in a meeting, where he declared that the Dalai Lama was no longer a religious leader after he left Tibet in 1959 and that if he wanted to return to China he must acknowledge that Tibet is an inseparable part of China, with the People’s Republic of China being the only legitimate government, hence, the Dalai Lama must give up on “Tibetan independence”.

Moreover, as to not give any support or approval to the Dalai Lama living in exile right now, China recently passed a law that requests all Buddhas to be registered. This has already led to China announcing their own Buddhas, that now compete with their equivalents in Tibet. Hence, many fear that the Republic will “choose” the next state-conform Dalai Lama.

So, this cookie-eating guy from the picture has raised several possibilities of what might happen after he dies. From choosing to being reincarnated as a woman, appointing his successor whilst still being alive, being incarnated outside of Tibet in a free country, or not to reincarnate again. Many scholars believe that whilst this Dalai Lama does not have the power of stopping the reincarnation, he will pass on to one of the 130,000 Tibetans living in exile.

It will be very interesting to see what the future holds. But it is very likely that we will experience an age of two Dalai Lamas, one in China, and one in India. Or maybe even in Sweden.

Written by Julia Glatthaar

Photo Credits

The Dalai Lama @ The Vancouver Peace Summit (1), Kris Krüg, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Dalai Lama @ The Vancouver Peace Summit (2), Kris Krüg, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Brass 1, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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Mis(sed) Information: Who killed Father Christmas? We Did!

Julia Glatthaar — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 15:58:00 +0000

Did you know that Christmas was banned in Berlin in 2013? And have you heard about that time when immigrants looted a Christmas tree in a Western shopping center? No? But surely you must know about the Swedish law that bans Christmas lights to avoid angering Muslim refugees. Still not ringing any Christmas bells? No? That is because all of these bizarre headlines constitute a part of the fake news that are cursing the internet and our minds. However, fake news and alternative facts are not the only way in which misinformation spreads.

Today when you are enjoying the beginning autumn, and the first Christmas ads are popping up in the stores, we will discuss how news get to us, and why every one of us is affected by misinformation. This article is not about weird Christmas headlines, but about the headlines we don’t read.

Net neutrality

In order to talk about missed information, we need to clarify, how certain topics reach us. And net neutrality, a lovely alliteration, is the means which should provide us, the internet users, with neutral and unbiased search results. However, search algorithms are shaped by and based upon our personal search history. Therefore, it often happens that some information, and not only cat videos but at times very relevant information, slips through the world wide web.

So, when we look something up, different websites are ranked by both google search algorithms as well as by our personal preferences. And, as all of us know, nobody looks up the search hits on page 36, right? Moreover, more and more people use social media as their primary news source. Since you actively shape for instance your facebook news feed, you actually end up with narrow and single-minded stories. Hence, a lot of information will never reach you.

Prioritisation and Missed Information

The same goes for TV news and newspapers, since they need to prioritise the news in order to cover what they deem to be the most important information. Different shows and newspapers are made for a specific audience, catering towards their backgrounds and political preferences. That way the same event is reported in different ways, or events are not reported at all.

Additionally, a study by Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) on local newspapers claims that the vast majority of the news was essentially repetitive with less than 20 percent of all news actually containing new information. And even if you do look at a variety of sources, your personal bias influences the types of news you look out for, actively remember and act upon. For instance our so called “negative bias“ makes us hear and remember mainly bad news.

Father Christmas Is Still Alive

Everytime fake news that made their round on public or social media are debunked, there is an outcry of indignation. Who could have known that no Christmas tree has been set ablaze on purpose? Who could have known that Christmas is still legal? We should have bought some decoration after all! And why would anybody knowingly spread these lies in the first place? What can we do? Yet, as you know now, there are much more subtle mechanisms through which bias is introduced into our daily news consumption. And Father Christmas might be still alive after all and is waiting on page 36 of google.

By Julia Glathaar

Photo Credits

Wanted: Santa Claus, Kevin Dooley (CC BY 2.0)

Net Neutrality, Free Press Action Fund (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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The Döner and foreign policy

Julia Glatthaar — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 07:03:22 +0000

Denn Döner Macht Schöner

Turkey is known for many things, up and foremost for its food: Burek, Baklava, Kötbullar (yes, you read correctly, basically your whole life has been a lie) and, of course, the highlight of German-Turkish relations, the most fantastic … DÖNER.

Döner can be eaten the traditional way (professionals can eat it whilst walking or running to work), or in one of its chicken, vegetarian or vegan variations. It is one of the best foods to eat when going to Germany, and then, when travelling onwards to other countries, it will be the most disappointing experience of your whole trip.

In other words, Döner is great, and Döner is exciting.

Foreign Policy on the other hand is something many people often don’t really think about. It is complex, complicated and often gloomy and discouraging. However, it is also something very important and a topic we do not think enough about.

So, by analysing foreign policy through the theoretical framework of Döner, I hope to make foreign policy a bit more accessible.

Turkish-German relations

German-Turkish relations date back a long time. Today, this relationship is manifested in the epitome of awesomeness – the Döner. If you have ever been to Berlin, the capital city of the Döner Empire, you will most likely remember a harmonious setting. People from all cultural backgrounds sitting and standing in or around their favourite Döner joint, sharing the experience of this meal together. Whilst you may remember this multicultural setting as being very peaceful, behind closed doors, as always when you have two different and strong personalities coming together, conflict is unavoidable.

Turkish Delights? No thank you.

Germany currently holds the largest diaspora of Turkish citizens in the world, but the immigration process, even after all these years, is as poisoning as a Döner, which has been lying in the sun for 7 days. From the Turkish side, government actions from Erdogan have put a huge strain on the relationship of the political leaders, which of course, affects the civilian population as well. And there are problems lurking everywhere.

For instance, the comedian Jan Böhmerman, became a huge threat to relations on an international level., solely by publishing a poem. Moreover, there are other issues, such as the EU-Turkey immigration deal, which only contribute to making things less than perfect. And finally, there is the problem, that the Döner is not the only thing that is crossing Turkey’s borders and coming to the land of Lederhosen and Dirndl. Erdogan himself seems to try and imitate the ways of the Döner, only that this Turkish delight is not particularly welcome on the GDR’s territory. This became particularly evident during 2008, 2011, 2014 and recently in 2017, when Erdogan tried to secure his presidence through rallies for the 1,5 million Turks living in Germany who are eligible to vote. The German government and population did not like the idea of Erdogan’s visit, due to German reporters being detained in Turkey, as well as the precarious human rights situation in the homeland of the Kebab.

Since the Döner showcases, that the merging of these two cultures is possible, it seems that this simple dish should function as a role model for these two countries.

Bringing the heat – Must Germany return to the Currywurst?

However, Turkey is not the only cook who is spoiling this Turkish-German recipe. Germany, instead of quietly eating a Döner and being happy, has added to the heat, by acting like this horrible drunk person in your favourite Döner store who suddenly starts throwing food around and insulting the owners.

The bad taste of Islamophobia has taken control of the mouths off many Germans, and has spread political right-wing food poisoning all over the country. Threats towards the Turkish communities have become more and more prominent and thereby effectively undermine any positive progress made in immigration processes. In addition, Mosques and the holy sights of Döner stores have more frequently become targets of attacks and so called ‘Döner murders’.

Sadly, many see Turkish culture, language, food, anything as a threat to “the good culture and traditions of Germany”, with one exception: football heroes such as Khedira.

Instead of embracing the multicultural setting, Germans fear the impact of of Turkish immigrants. Moreover, the current political climate and myopic views on Turkish immigration, which often just get equated with ‘something Islamic’ leads to sabotaging the everyday lives of millions of Turkish people who contribute to what is German society. Yes, immigration does have an impact on the country and brings a number of challenges to the eating table (which can be overcome), but does Germany really have so much to fear?

When I compare the deliciousness of Döner, to ‘good, traditional German currywurst’, the horrible mess of sausage, if you can even call it that, smothered in disgusting, luke warm chilli sauce, it is very clear: Germany can and should learn a lot from their Turkish partners, fast.

By Julia Glatthaar

Pictures:
Image 1 by Nicolas Nova, Döner Kebab, (CC BY 2.0)

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CSI: Crime Scene Incompetence

Julia Glatthaar — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 17:06:46 +0000

Everything wrong with Forensic Science

Imagine yourself in June 2018. You have successfully completed this semester and are in the airport on your way to go on a well deserved holiday! However, when you are going through the passport control, a police officer suddenly shows up and takes you to another room. A few hours later, you find yourself not on a flight to paradise but in an interrogation room being charged with murder.

This is not the introduction to a horror or science fiction story that I came up with but a very real situation that has already happened. It is part of a large collection of stories about people like Brandon Mayfield who will be discussed later on. And forensic science has everything to do with them.

Am I Really Unique?

I always thought that my DNA and fingerprints are unique and cannot be found on any other person in the world. However, during the past decades, experts have increasingly pointed out that there is no scientific proof of such uniqueness, and up to now there has been no initiative to conduct studies of large populations to establish the uniqueness of marks or features.The assumption of uniqueness underlies all areas of forensic evidence.

However, the even bigger problem lies within the “overtaxed, inconsistent, and underressourced forensic science infrastructure” and how forensic evidence is collected, examined and interpreted.

Forensic Science in Court

Forensic evidence is used and accepted by courts all over the world to help the jury with convictions of cases concerning, for instance, attempted murder, child abuse or burglary. Forensic science practices include pattern or experience evidence, such as fingerprints, firearms examination, toolmarks, impressions (for instance, footwear), bloodstain pattern analysis, handwriting, hair and bite marks, as well as analytical evidence like DNA, coatings (for instance, paint), fluids, fire and explosive analysis. and chemicals and materials (for example, drugs). Some of these practices, such as nuclear DNA analysis, are laboratory-based while other practices rely on experts to observe patterns among fingerprints or bite marks.

While these practices, in particular DNA analysis, have helped identify convicts and solve crimes, it has also been revealed that faulty forensic science has also contributed to wrongful convictions of innocents. Between 1989 and 2008, 223 people were imprisoned in the US, and later exonerated (proven innocent) by post-conviction DNA testing. And with false positive rates among the more scientific sound forensics, such as fingerprint analysis, being estimated as high as 1 out of 18, the dark figure of wrongful convictions is much greater than what we expect.

Unreliable and Invalid Forensic Evidence

We are in 2009, in Germany, where a murderer is haunting the people of Heilbronn. The police has found common DNA traces in all the crime scenes and are now searching for the convict. However, this common DNA trace then suddenly turns out to be a contamination on the cotton swabs that have been used.

However, even when high quality evidence and tools of analysis are available, there is a large room for errors when it comes to the system and human factors in forensic science.

In the US nearly “anyone with a garage and some capital” can theoretically open a forensics laboratory and start offering services to court since no official certifications are required. Moreover, even laboratories offering excellent services are constantly under the constraints of major limitations in time and resources.

Another factor is that forensic laboratories seldomly are individual institutions, but are run by government or the police. This often results in a subjectification of data, due to the scientists who unintentionally let their access to irrelevant case information limit their ability to perform objective analysis.

It is important to understand that forensic sciences often do not meet the fundamental requirements of science but are still perceived by most people, even those who are considered experts in the field, as being bulletproof.

Why is this Important?

All of this talk about the faults of forensic science is important because we constantly overestimate the validity of the conclusions that are based upon the analysis of forensic evidence. And this can have serious consequences.

Let us have a closer look at the case of US lawyer Brandon Mayfield who was arrested in connection with the train bombings in Madrid in March 2004. An FBI expert had testified that, to a certainty of 100 percent, Mayfields fingerprints were matching those that had been found on a bag in Spain containing detonation devices similar to those used in the bombings. However, shortly after, three further matches were identified and led to the exoneration of Mayfield. Whilst Mayfield had been imprisoned only for two weeks, he described the time as follows: “[t]he days, weeks and months following my arrest, […] were some of the darkest we have had to endure. I personally was subject to lockdown, strip searches, sleep deprivation, unsanitary living conditions, shackles and chains, threats, physical pain and humiliation.”

Fingerprint analysis seems to be very accurate, yet prints found in crime scenes are often of poor quality and therefore increase the chances of errors occurring. Moreover, there is no centralized system matching fingerprints to people. Therefore, depending on where you run a fingerprint through the system, you will get different results.

Imagine how somebody suffers, who is not “only” imprisoned for a few weeks, but for decades before being exonerated. Imagine the suffering of the people and their families in cases when the truth does not surface in time and death sentences are carried out due to wrong forensic evidence. One example would be Santae Tribble who spent 26 years in prison for murder after an FBI analyst testified that hair from the crime scene “matched [Tribble] in all microscopic characteristics”. Tribble was exonerated when DNA testing revealed that none of the 13 hairs belonged to him, with one hair being identified as originating from a dog. Or look at Keith Harward who was wrongly convicted of a rape and murder and spent more than half of his life in prison due to the false analysis of his bite marks by six different experts.

The tragedy here goes beyond the suffering inflicted upon these innocent people. Hair analysis, which the FBI revealed to be flawed in 95 percent of all cases, as well as bite mark analysis, which is among the most unscientific, unreliable and flawed practices in forensic science, are still being used in court.

So, What do we Learn from This?

Forensics is a hugely complex subject, and this article has merely scratched the surface of this fascinating area. With this article, I want to highlight some of the dangers following the increased and uninformed use of forensic science in court. That being said, it is important to remember that forensic science also is a great accomplishment and has helped to solve cases which, a few decades ago, would have been unsolvable. Nuclear DNA testing, in particular, is very accurate and has been an immense help in exonerating falsely convicted people.

As always, with the good there comes the bad, so my final message is that one must be aware that humans are not perfect, and that the crime scenes we see in CSI Miami or The Bridge do not accurately reflect reality. So, when you come across a report about infallible forensics, or read about somebody being convicted due to fingerprints or other DNA samples found at the crime scene, take a step back and remember that not every conviction means justice.

By Julia Glatthaar

Photo Credit:

Picture 1: West Midlands Police, Day 329 – West Midlands Police – Spit Kits to tacke anti-social behaviour, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Picture 2: Jan Kaláb, Fingerprint, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Picture 3: Kaleb Fulgham, Teeth X-Ray, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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The Horrors of the Kanelbulle

Julia Glatthaar — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 14:52:16 +0000

Every country has a specific way in celebrating what people deem to be important, their national heritage, or just because everyone likes an excuse to party. Globally we celebrate events and movements such as international women’s day and with festivities expanded towards an ever growing range of bizarre holidays, there are also holidays like the international Winnie the Pooh Day on January, 18th that can be celebrated by everyone.

In Sweden, with Swedish people having an average of one to two fikas per day and eating around 316 kanelbullar (cinnamon buns) per year, it seems only natural to celebrate what represents Swedish culture at its best on October, 4th, the Kanelbulle Dag (Cinnamon Bun Day). However, do not let this little sweet, delicious, scrumptious pastry fool you! The kanelbulle has a dark past that is little known around Sweden. To let a bit more light into this grey zone of people’s minds, let us delve into this horror story together.

Colonialism, Exploitation and Cinnamon Cravings
Cinnamon may not directly spring into your mind as being the number one trade good that allowed for an increased European domination of the Indian Ocean in the late 16th century. However, this particular spice and the capture of the cinnamon trade was a priority goal amongst the European aristocracy.

Originally cinnamon was used to cover up the taste of foul meat during the winter and, more importantly, cinnamon was a mighty status symbol. Everybody who could afford this spice would make sure to have plenty of it on display to impress guests and friends during feasts.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the rising middle class soon began to pursue cinnamon as well and with rising demands, the race to capture the cinnamon trade monopoly was on!

Portugal was the first country to win this race and managed to take over Ceylon cinnamon production. They defended their monopol through cruel means- by enslaving the Sinhalese and by making sure that no competitor would take away their monopoly. Their methods would include measures such as sinking Arab dhows (trade ships) and hanging any possible European competition. This strategy did work for some time, until the Dutch forcefully took over the Portuguese production. For the local Sinhalese however little changed, some argue they were treated even worse by the Dutch than by their former Portuguese colonizers.

The colonizers changed flags once again in 1796 when the British arrived in Ceylon and displaced the Dutch from their control of the cinnamon monopol.

By the middle of the 19th Century the cinnamon market in Europe grew more “democratic”. Whilst there was an increase in production of 1000 tons a year, low quality cinnamon became more acceptable. Therefore cinnamon production sites were erected in a variety of locations, such as Brazil, the West Indies and Guyana and the era of the cinnamon monopoly came to an end.

Cinnamon – Sweden’s Grey Zone?

Sweden, the “lagom” country of Scandinavia, the neutral country during WWII, a country that you would probably not link to torture, slavery, exploitation and colonialism. Whilst Sweden did possess some small colonies overseas, this was a very small number compared to its European neighbours. Yet the Kanelbulle that became so popular in Sweden during the 18th century, and was made into the national holiday in 1999, is a product of Europe’s dark past, its colonial history.

So, next time you go out for some fika and get your favourite pastry, do think about where the Kanelbulle comes from and be aware of its bloody past.

By Julia Glatthaar

Pictures:

Image by Gabby Canonizado, Stranded for a While_B&W, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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A Whole New World – With New Horizons to Pursue

Julia Glatthaar — Sat, 10 Mar 2018 17:54:53 +0000

Writing about hope today is not always the easiest of all tasks. In general, people seem to be very pessimistic about the future of the country they are living in, and often rightfully so; they are unhappy with the government they are living under, frustrated with the way the prior government worked and angry about the way their tax money is being spent. Phrases such as “Things used to be so much better” are being passed around and the world does not seem like such a bright or colourful place to be.

But, it is February and you are struggling to keep all of your great New Year’s resolutions. So now is the perfect time to truly start over and really get excited for 2018. This article is for all you grouching, naggering and grumbling folks, it is about inspiring projects and about how 2018 and our future will be a better time.

So, here are my top 2018 hopeful headlines.

A Space Oddity

This is some of the most exciting news I have heard so far this year, and it combines Tesla with SpaceX, bringing us one step closer to human settlements on Mars and becoming a multiplanetary society. It is the perfect follow-up to my last article on SpaceX and the Big F***ing Rocket. The BFR has now finally been launched with a very peculiar payload: The sportscar of Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. The car is complete with a dummy called Starman, who is listening to “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.

“I took a [road]trip on a gemini spacecraft and […] I passed through the shadow of Jupiter” includes some fantastic views, great destinations, David Bowie Music, and a really, really nice car that is flying at a speed of 3.5 km/sec (Check out the video here).

This car not only serves the purpose of getting people interested in space again, it is also the starting point of a long overdue discussion on space pollution.

Macedonia Times Two?

This is quite a confusing thing I found out about recently, when I went on a trip to Skopje, the capital city of what I thought to be Macedonia. However, Macedonia is a department in Northern Greece that shares a border with FYROM—the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the country I went to. Quite a mouthful and very confusing, right?

The name has been a topic of much dispute between the country and the Greek department. The ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, before splitting up, had included both of these parties. Today, millions of Greek people identify as Macedonian and have little in common with their Northern Slavik counterpart. It has been a long conflict about who has the right to name themselves Macedonia, but more importantly it is about who can claim Macedonian cultural heritage to be theirs.

Well, things regarding the name are finally looking up! FYROM’s new prime minister is seen as a very open and calm person, just the thing that is needed. Talks between FYROM and Greece over a new name have just started and most people are rather positive that this time the dispute will finally be settled.

The Canadian Anthem turns Gender Neutral

On 31 January, just in time for the Winter Olympics, the Canadian Senate passed a bill to change the second line of the Canadian anthem from “true patriot love, in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command”. The athletes are said to be practising the revised anthem, that can now be representative of their countries development in gender neutrality. Canada now joins Austria, who also tweaked its anthem to include “sons and daughters”. This movement is truly inspiring and leaves room to wonder which countries will follow suit!

Zuma on the Run

Another country that has some reason to celebrate is South Africa. Especially now, when the country is facing major challenges, such as running out of water to supply the region of Cape Town, the news regarding their controversial head of the state is very much appreciated by some of its citizens.

Jacob Zuma, the now former president, has resigned to give way to Cyril Ramaphosa, who has been waiting since December to finally take over Zuma’s position as President of South Africa and as party leader of the ANC- the African National Congress.

In the eyes of many South Africans, the ANC has lost its reputation and has become a static party, where dynamic discussions of issues and changes have become a feature of a long ago past. The hope is that through their new leader, the party can leave behind scandals and corruption to come out strong in the next elections in 2019. Hope is also prominent among the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) that they will be able to replace the ANC in 2019.

The Winter Olympics

North and South Korea will compete under a unification flag in this Winter Olympics, and for the first time ever (in Women’s Ice Hockey) they will form a team together.

And now to the really good news: This Winter Olympics for the first time in history, a team from the African continent is competing in bobsledding.

Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga are three U.S.-based Nigerian athletes, and they will make history in 2018. They practiced with a handcrafted wooden sleigh first, and started this project from scratch through a crowdfunding campaign, showing that literally, anything can be possible in 2018…

By Julia Glatthaar

Pictures:

1. By Official SpaceX Photos, Falcon Heavy Demo Mission, CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)

2. By beaumontpete, Canada Day cupcake, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)

3. By GovernmentZA, President Jacob Zuma attends United States of America vs Bafana Bafana soccer match, 17 Nov 2010, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)

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Cry me a river: where does all the plastic flow?

Julia Glatthaar — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 23:05:39 +0000

Plastic is everywhere, in your muesli and milk packaging, in your toothbrush. It is in the Tupperware container with your lunch, in the take away coffee from the student union, it is in your laptop, your bike tire and your winter jacket.

Plastic can serve you for many years or just live for 10 minutes, the time you need to drink your coffee before throwing the cup away. If you are a student, you can probably manage at least 4 cups of coffee in 10 minutes.

So, why this article?

Plastic lasts forever, which is a good thing, if you want to use your Tupperware container for many years. However, most items only get used once, and then lie around or get thrown away. It is estimated that almost 9 million metric tons plastic have been produced on this planet.

But, where is all this plastic?

Some of the plastic gets recycled, some is horded and stored in landfills, and a lot ends up in our oceans. Currently, we have about the same amount (in weight) of plastic as fish swimming and drifting in the oceans. It can be found inside 90 percent of all bird life, and in almost all fish and mussles. There is plastic in the fish caught in UK fishing grounds and in mussels of the European shoreline.

Today, 8 million tons of plastic end up the ocean every single year, according to the organization Plastic Oceans. But with the human population growing, the plastic production is also increasing and may triple by 2050.

Wait, but how does it all get into the ocean?

Plastic littered along the shorelines is swept up by lakes and rivers and then flows along with the water, eventually ending in the oceans. It follows the circulation and then creates large garbage patches. The pieces then slowly dissolve, sink to the ground, or get eaten, first by animals, then by us.

Even the plastic we throw away properly does not just disappear. With 80% of the plastics in the ocean coming from land-based activities it is not hard to imagine that even though you might throw everything into the bin, some plastic might still find its way to the water.

Why is nobody doing anything?

Plastic is a polymer that is usually extracted from crude oil but in recent years, science has developed and now makes use of other materials such as corn and soybeans. Anyone can produce any type of plastic anywhere in the world. There are no regulations regarding the production and distribution of plastic. While organizations, individuals and countries are working to develop a way to free the oceans from plastic, no one seem to be concerned with the root cause – the production.

By Julia Glatthaar

Photo Credits:

Waste in a natural reserve by Paolo Margari, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Beach Invasion by Jason Karn, CC BY-ND 2.0

Marine Litter by Bo Eide, CC BY-NC 2.0

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Beyond Globalisation – becoming a multiplanetary civilisation

Julia Glatthaar — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 22:11:11 +0000

Life has experienced some quite horrible and horrific times, that led to 5 mass extinctions – events where more than 80 percent of all species died out. Statistically speaking, the next mass extinction will come sooner or later, and let us hope for the latter, but it will hit us at some point.

The future might bring us nuclear war and climate change, maybe we will get hit by an asteroid, just look at what happened to the poor dinosaurs, or eventually we’ll be engulfed by the sun. You get the idea. The chances of humans surviving are very, very slim.

So, with all of this being so closely examined and researched, wouldn’t the most logical consequence be to have a backup plan? Shouldn’t we try to “save” the human being on a “USB-Stick”, in case our “computer” crashes? Some people are actually working on this “backup Earth” by planning future travels to and settlements on Mars.

Space Travel

During the 60’s and the epic race to space, 4 percent of all federal spendings of the US were dedicated to NASA, whereas in the 2000s the budget has shrunk to 0,3 percent.
Projects of putting people on Mars, colonising the Milky Way, seem unthinkable and out of reach. Putting people into space seems to have lost its charm.

But, how is this possible when we live in an era of technological advancement? How is it possible that it seems as if no politicians or countries are making space travel one of their priorities? And how on earth is all of this possible when this generation might be the last one to be able to affect the chances of sustaining life of the human species on Earth?

Elon Musk, SpaceX and the Big F***ing Rocket

Well, there is one person who takes space travel very seriously. His name is Elon Musk. Some of you may hear his name for the very first time, others might have heard of him as a co-founder of PayPal, the founder and CEO of Tesla, and a person involved in many other projects such as the Hyperloop, OpenAI, SolarCity or Neuralink.

I will introduce him to you as the founder of SpaceX, as someone who aims to make this “Earth backup” by putting 1 million people on Mars by 2060. Manned missions would start in 2024.

SpaceX is a company that “designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft […] to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets”.

There have already been major advancements by SpaceX. The company has revolutionised space travel by building a reusable rocket, a rocket that will eventually transport humans to Mars and goes by the name of BFR – the Big F***ing Rocket.

Should we colonise Mars?

And of course there is some criticism out there. Critics might ask why we even should move to Mars and destroy yet another planet? Could you argue that by civilising Mars, humans will care less about environmental problems on Earth?

But keep in mind: Mars is not our second chance to make things right, it is not the new refuge for humankind, once we have made Earth an uninhabitable planet. Mars is simply the easiest option to become multiplanetary. As Musk explained in an interview with National Geographic: “The future of humanity is fundamentally going to bifurcate along one of two directions: Either we’re going to become a multiplanetary species and a spacefaring civilization, or we are going be stuck on one planet until some eventual extinction event.”

I know, that this is an abstract idea. On some days I totally get it; it seems like the most logic thing to do – create a backup of humans so that we can stick around for longer in the event of a mass extinction. On other days I tell myself: “This idea is nuts, Elon Musk must be a crazy person, to think that he can create a colony on Mars. Why start polluting more parts of our Galaxy when we can’t even take care of our own planet?”

Whatever you feel right now, I hope that you have managed to step back and get a glimpse of the big picture concerning our future.

By Julia Glatthaar

Photo Credits:

Rebekka Olshcewski, all rights reseved

Interplanetary Transport System, SpaceX, CC0 1.0

EchoStar XXIII Launch, SpaceX, CC0 1.0

Interplanetary Transport System, SpaceX, CC0 1.0

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Social Reforms, Corruption and Missing People: The Telenovela of Bolivian Political Leadership

Julia Glatthaar — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 19:01:48 +0000

When we, the writers of Pike and Hurricane, decided on this month’s overall topic “leadership”, I instantly thought of the Bolivian president Juan Evo Morales Ayma who has always been a fascinating political figure to me.

Every time I hear his name, I get transferred back to the time I spent in Bolivia. Whether I was working in the school kitchen and listening to the radio, or walking down the steep streets of La Paz seeing graffiti’s of “Evo, sí”, “Evo, no” and “Evo presidente”- everything would be about Evo, or related to his politics, and of course the myths and scandals surrounding him.

Bolivia is a multicultural country situated in Latin America. It has 37 official languages and due to its unfortunate history, it is the only Latin country that does not have a direct access to the sea (you’re welcome, I know at some point during a pub quiz you will relish this piece of information).

The majority of the Bolivianos have indigenous background and Evo, who identifies himself as Aymara (one of the largest indigenous groups), was the first indigenous president ever to be elected in 2006. What makes this government even more special, is that it has been the first one to last for longer than just a few years, months or days.

Currently, Evo is serving his third of two terms, that are allowed by the constitution, and speculation hints that he will stick around for longer, even though a controversial referendum that took place on the so-called “day of lies” (día de la mentira) should keep him from doing so. You can read all about his political career, from a coca farmer to the president here.

By now, you can probably imagine that opinions on Evo tend to be very diverse; and believe me, everybody has an opinion on this man!

To give you an insight, I interviewed two of my friends David Crespo Godoy from Argentina, and Salomon Alberto Pinto Limpias from Beni- a small village in the Bolivian Amazonas.

The expression of the Bolivian pueblo

Alberto has been living in Germany since 2007, but he still is very much in touch with Bolivia and up to date with its political developments. When he talks about his country, he refers to it as the “pueblo boliviano”.

“Evo Morales has been a very good president for the Bolivian people- he is the expression of the Bolivian pueblo; he comes from a very small, rural village of farmers, he is very humble and has many characteristics that make him appealing”, says Alberto.

“For example, his Spanish is far from perfect, because it is not his first language; he had to learn it during his time in politics. However, over time, he also has forgotten most of his mother tongue. Many Bolivians – myself included – can relate to this situation being trapped between the values and traditions of our rich history and the modern world.”

Alberto living his daily life in Germany.

When asked about what has changed since Evo became president, he answered :

”Evo has managed to give Bolivia its dignity and identity back, he is teaching Bolivians democracy, their rights and their obligations. I have noticed how change has managed to pick up over time, we may be changing slowly, but there is a positive motion within our country. Schools and hospitals are being built, agriculture is changing from illegal coca farming to more sustainable crops, and people have found their hope again. The only thing we lack is professionals and experts that can advance this change.”

“I have voted for this government and I would vote for Evo again, if I get the chance. I am not ignorant towards his faults, but Evo is what Bolivia needs right now – a long-lasting, steady and stable government. I believe Evo will run again and that he will remain our president, because he is the true candidate of our people. If the Bolivian pueblo wants him again as a president, he will offer his services again. It will be the decision of the Bolivian people, not of the president. I think that if it were not for the scandals and false allegations, the opposition had spread, Evo would have won the referendum.”

Alberto then further explained his point of view regarding the opposition and the current political situation:

“I feel that our opposition is not offering constructive criticism of our government and in the event of coming to power they would destroy everything Evo has managed to establish. If they were to come to power, they would take away every social programme that we have fought for so long.

The government has its faults, but Evo is the best person to represent my people and he is the person we need to keep on making positive changes and to keep our positive image in the international community”

Scandals and corruption

David Crespo Godoy is from Argentina and he is an international management consultant who has lived in the US, Europe, Asia and Central America. He did a consultancy in Bolivia from October 2003 to May 2006 and then he went back in October 2012 and has lived there ever since. When we got to know each other, he was living in Tarija, a town in South Bolivia.

A photo of David while in Jerusalem.

You can read the full interview in Spanish here. But I will provide you with the most important issues we talked about.

“Originally, since the inauguration of Evo, the image of Bolivia improved a lot in the international community. Although, due to Evo indirectly supporting narcotrafficking, he has lost some of his popularity. And this loss of popularity can also be seen within Bolivia.

Even though Evo has managed to make positive changes, his government also has its dark side and is involved in serious corruption and money fraud schemes through front businesses. People have started to realise this, which is why he lost the referendum”, David said. When I asked him about all the scandals surrounding Evo, he merely answered:

“I think that his government invented the scandal regarding Zapata [former girlfriend of Morales, ed.] and the lost son, reeling the attention of the public eye to something that would not have serious damage to Evo’s image.”

However, David also concurred that many positive changes have taken place since Evo took office:

“Some of the positive changes I have noticed in Bolivia since 2006 are that there is now a regular work day and the minimum wage which people with few exceptions are receiving- a salary of 2000 Bolivianos (~290 US$) per month, that the gap between the rich and the poor has started to close, and that the government offers a variety of services to all citizens, that traditionally only rich people had access to.”

“If the government invested more into small family businesses- that make up 80% of all businesses here, if it focused on production areas apart from oil, gas and petrol, if it invested more efficiently in our education system, we would achieve a much faster change within Bolivia!”

“Another positive movement has been the new constitution of 2009. On the one hand, it has given many Bolivians the hope for a better life. On the other hand, it has lessened US influence in Bolivian politics, for example our parties were administered by the US government and they even got to define the leaders in our ministries. This has not been public, but it is known alike.”

However, there is a flipside to the Bolivian success story, according to David:

“Indeed I think that the biggest problem we face in our country is corruption – it starts in our daily life and goes up to our government and the fact that it controls our judiciary, forces conformity. Evo and his government have made it impossible to speak out against them by taking advantage of errors within our legal system, for example by not considering people going missing a crime and therefore will not search for them or start an investigation.”

“In October 2012 my father “disappeared”. At that time he had been involved in a legal process against the government, because they had confiscated one of his airplanes. When I started investigating, I made out that alongside him three more people had gone missing. And then, when I reported this to the Human Rights Commission, it dawned on me that my father was merely one of hundreds.”

“Due to my investigations, I was arrested by the military in June 2013 and accused of being a terrorist. That same day I had to negotiate with the government and make a deal: I had to leave the country and stop all further investigations. Furthermore, my father’s company was expropriated by the military.”

“Since then I went on a spiritual journey to come to peace with myself and the fact that my father alongside many others will never come back again.”

“I wanted to share my story to show some of the serious problems we are facing with the Bolivian government.”

By Julia Glatthaar

Photo Credit:

Photo 1 by Kris Krüg, Celebration Dinner with Bolivian President Evo Morales – Colomi – Bolivia CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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