Respect the earth!

This is a powerful and impressing video which must be watched to raise awareness of our need to protect out planet earth and about how power and money are killing her by bits.

Uploaded by bittusahgal on Jun 26, 2011 and comment
This is a non-commercial attempt to highlight the fact that world leaders, irresponsible corporates and mindless 'consumers' are combining to destroy life on earth. It is dedicated to all who died fighting for the planet and those whose lives are on the line today. The cut was put together by Vivek Chauhan, a young film maker, together with naturalists working with the Sanctuary Asia network (www.sanctuaryasia.com).

Content credit: The principal source for the footage was Yann Arthus-Bertrand's incredible film HOME http://www.homethemovie.org/. The music was by Armand Amar. Thank you too Greenpeace and http://timescapes.org/

El Jamón Chino

Del Blog gastronomía y Compañía:

China produce ‘jamón serrano’

La verdad es que no nos ha sorprendido la noticia, ahora China produce jamón serrano y pretende abordar el mercado nacional e internacional con su nuevo producto. Y pensar que apenas hace un par de años se luchaba para que España pudiera exportar jamón al país asiático… El mercado español del jamón puede ir olvidándose de introducirse con fuerza en el mercado chino, recordemos que en agosto de 2008, un grupo de técnicos del Departamento de Certificación y Acreditación del Gobierno chino estaba realizando el paso previo que permitiría la comercialización del jamón español en el país, ese paso era la inspección de algunas empresas productoras de jamón a fin de que cumplieran las demandas exigidas por el Gobierno chino.

Quizá tras la concienzuda inspección se encerraban otras cuestiones orientadas a copiar los métodos de elaboración españoles y empezar a producir su propio jamón. El caso es que ahora China produce jamón serrano y lo promoverá a medio plazo en el mundo occidental, aseguran que los jamones chinos ofrecen la misma calidad que los jamones españoles, pero con la diferencia de que cuestan hasta diez veces menos, algo que podemos decir que se repite en todos los productos que comercializa China.



Sobre estas líneas podéis ver al vídeo que se hace eco de la noticia, China produce ahora unas 200.000 piezas de jamón para abastecer al mercado nacional, pero se espera que la producción crezca a pasos agigantados y aborden el mercado occidental. Parece evidente que las inspecciones que realizaban los expertos chinos en nuestro país tenían el objetivo de copiar los métodos de producción bajo la excusa de permitir la entrada del jamón serrano en el mercado chino. Por otro lado, es interesante destacar que la maquinaria para montar las empresas en China ha sido adquirida en Italia, obviamente no podían comprarla en España ya que se delatarían sus intenciones.

Otra característica a destacar sobre los métodos de producción chinos, es que los jamones se obtienen en sólo 7 meses y son aptos para consumo a partir de ese momento. Cría cuervos y te sacaran los ojos… de todos modos hay que decir que es difícil creer que los jamones chinos puedan ofrecer la misma calidad que los jamones españoles, clima, experiencia y tradición avalan por el momento al jamón español. Las empresas chinas indican que el prestigio del jamón español (y especialmente el precio) hará que los consumidores centren su atención en el jamón chino.

Por cierto, nada tienen que ver las razas de cerdo que se utilizan en China con las razas de cerdo español, a pesar de ello, aseguran que el sabor de ambos productos será tan parecido que será difícil de distinguir, sólo el sello que incorpore el jamón garantizará su procedencia. También será interesante destacar que no procede denominar al jamón chino Jamón Serrano y dado que en sólo siete meses ya se puede comercializar, no es equiparable a las denominaciones de jamón serrano españolas, Jamón Serrano de Bodega (de 9 a 12 meses de curación), Reserva (de 12 a 15 meses de curación), y Gran Reserva (curación a partir de 15 meses), aunque seguramente también reproducirán esta escala de curaciones en el país.

En el citado vídeo, podemos ver las instalaciones y la maquinaria china y como los trabajadores manipulan y salan el producto, lo introducen en las cámaras de maduración, etc. Y pensar que los Reyes de España visitaron el país para intentar abrir las puertas del mercado del jamón…

Aprendiz de Brujo

The Magic of Walt Disney

Nyomi

Disneyworld, is where the magic begins...where your wildest dreams come true through the imagination of his creator Walt Disney and his followers. If you ever dream of seeing a great array of Broadway shows for the price of two or three, if you want to be part of an adventure where imagination is brought to real life, if you want to see a child smile because her wishes come true, if you want to relive your memories, you only have to pass the threshold of this wonderful park to have these things happen.
The first Disney Park was opened in Anaheim California, in 1955, but soon it was captured by sprawling businesses and Walt thought it would very favorable to open a park which had existing infraestructure to support the flow of visitors he expected, and at the same time, offer a more accesible and larger environment to the rest of the country. He thought of a park where breakthroughs in science and technology could coexist with the original Disney vision of themed entertainment He flew to Orlando and purchased a larger property than the one in Disneland, 25,000 acres, and started building his dream park. He chose the site, because he thought it was very convenient, since all the freeway routes bisected there.
He envisioned a city of the future with Epcot ( "Experimental Prototype Community (or City) of Tomorrow") . incorporating a working community where his ideas about urban planning could be tested. The theme park that eventually opened under the Epcot name bore little resemblance to this vision, though the neighboring planned community of Celebration, which was founded by the Walt Disney Company, incorporates a few of the ideas.
Unfortunately, he died of lung cancer in 1971, and was unable to see his vision come true. His brother Roy took over and opened the park on October,1, 1971 and named it Walt Disney World after his brother: "Everyone has heard of Ford cars. But have they all heard of Henry Ford, who started it all? Walt Disney World is in memory of the man who started it all, so people will know his name as long as Walt Disney World is here."

From Wiki Disney:
On February 2, 1967, Roy Disney held a press conference in Winter Park, Florida. The role of EPCOT was emphasized in the film that was played, the last one recorded by Walt Disney before his death. After the film, it was explained that, for Walt Disney World to succeed, a special district would have to be formed: the Reedy Creek Improvement District with two cities inside it, the City of Bay Lake and the City of Reedy Creek (now the itle="Lake Buena Vista, Florida">City of Lake Buena Vista). In addition to the standard powers of an incorporated city, which include tax-free bonds, the Improvement District would have total immunity from any current or future county or state land-use laws. The only areas where the District had to submit to the county and state would be property taxes and elevator inspections.
The laws forming the District and the two Cities was signed into law on May 12, itle="1967">1967. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in 1968 that the District was allowed to issue tax-exempt bonds for public projects within the district, despite the sole beneficiary being The Walt Disney Company.
Construction of drainage canals was soon begun by the Improvement District, and Disney built the first roads and the Magic Kingdom and its first resorts.
Roy died just 3 months after the park was opened.
Disney is basically composed of 4 theme parks:Three other theme parks were added over the years:
Magic Kingdom, Epcott Center, Hollywood Studios (known before as MGM), and Animal Kingdom. Each park is represented by an iconic structure.
Magic Kingdom – Cinderella Castle. It opened in 1971.

Epcot – Spaceship Earth. It opened in 1982.

Disney's Hollywood Studios – The Sorcerer's Hat (formerly the Earful Tower). It opened in 1989.

Disney's Animal Kingdom – The Tree of Life. It opened in 1998.

It also has 2 water parks:Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.
Other attractions include: Downtown Disney, Disney's BoardWalk,Disney's Wedding Pavilion,ESPN
Wide World of Sports Complex and Walt Disney World Speedway (Home of the Richard Petty Driving Experience.
Disney's property includes five golf courses. The four 18-hole golf courses are the Palm (4½ Stars), the Magnolia (4 Stars), Lake Buena Vista (4 Stars) and Osprey Ridge (4½ Stars). There is also a nine-hole walking course called Oak Trail, designed for young golfers. The Magnolia and Palm courses play home to the PGA Tour's Children's Miracle Network Classic. Additionally, there are two themed miniature golf complexes, each with two courses, Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland.
Catch-and-release fishing excursions are offered daily on the resort's lakes. A Florida fishing license is not required because it occurs on private property. Cane-pole fishing is offered from the docks at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort Camp; Campground and Disney's Port Orleans Resort.
Additional recreational activities include watercraft rentals, surrey bike rentals, and firework cruises that launch from several resort marinas.
There are 33 resorts and hotels located on the Walt Disney World property. Of those, 24 are owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company.
Disneyland has always made use of various modes of transportation -- both for the purpose of moving people, as well as the fun of using unique or unusual means of conveyance. The Disneyland railroad, the people mover, the monorail, the main street carriages and vehicles, and the boats form a large transportation system. Another innovation at WDW versus Disneyland is the incredible transportation system. Buses, boats of several sizes and shapes, trams, trains, and monorails are designed into the greatest non-public transportation system in the world. If you stay at a Disney resort on the property of WDW, you will be able to take full advantage of the ability to move from place to place...without needing your own vehicle.
Just as an estimate of attendance to the park, according to Wikipedia:
The June 2011 AECOM Theme Park Attendance report for the year of 2010, included the following information:
Magic Kingdom, 16.97 million visits (No. 1 worldwide)

Disney's Animal Kingdom, 9.67 million visits (No. 7)

Epcot, 10.83 million visits (No. 5)

Disney's Hollywood Studios, 9.60 million visits (No. 8)

Needless to say, just to see the smile in the face of our grandchild and to revive the memories of those days when our children, taken by our hands, entered for the first time the threshhold of this magical world...when the father of this precious little girl lit our lives with his unmatched loud and merry laughter...drew us to the verge of happy tears. This time it has been by the graciousness of her mom who shared with us these happy moments, that we were able to fulfill once more the dream of smiling in a world of magical imagination and to stick out our tongues to old age!

The Panama Canal

Uploaded by pitcairn62 on Aug 11, 2009

The Panama Canal is a ship canal which joins the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific ocean. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 km (6,000 mi), well under half the 22,500 km (14,000 mi) route around Cape Horn.[1] Although the concept of a canal near Panama dates back to the early 16th century, the first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership. After this attempt failed and 21,900 workers died, the project of building a canal was attempted and completed by the United States in the early 1900s, with the canal opening in 1914. The building of the 77 km (48 mi) canal was plagued by problems, including disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) and landslides. By the time the canal was completed, a total of 27,500 workmen are estimated to have died in the French and American efforts.

Since opening, the canal has been enormously successful, and continues to be a key conduit for international maritime trade. The canal can accommodate vessels from small private yachts up to large commercial vessels. The maximum size of vessel that can use the canal is known as Panamax; an increasing number of modern ships exceed this limit, and are known as post-Panamax or super-Panamax vessels. A typical passage through the canal by a cargo ship takes approximately 18 to 20 hours. In fiscal year 2008, 14,702 vessels passed through the waterway with a total 309.6 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons.

While the Pacific Ocean is west of the isthmus and the Atlantic to the east, the journey through the canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic is one from southeast to northwest. This is a result of the isthmus's "curving back on itself" in the region of the canal. The Bridge of the Americas at the Pacific end is about a third of a degree of longitude east of the end near Colon on the Atlantic.

Al Fondo del Mar

Este es un precioso video. View this video in You Tube mode so you can see the explanation of the author and comments to it.

SOPA de mal gusto

Juzguen por uds. mismos: No a la ley S.O.P.A.