Financiamento Partidário

Um artigo publicado num jornal do Gana insurge-se contra o financiamento estatal dos partidos políticos e defende que este seja exclusivamente privado. Um partido político deve ser uma emanação da sociedade e não uma imposição do estado.

Ao lê-lo não posso deixar de pensar na recente alteração que esta lei sofreu em Portugal.

The protagonists of state funding for political parties have used arguments that have ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. Those who make the argument for state funding seem to forget the essence of democratic politics in a democratic capitalist environment.

The most enduring characterization of a political party, from Harold Laski to Karl Deutsche, is that it is the banding together of men and women of like mind, who subscribe to an idea or political philosophy and aspire to execute the tenets of such a philosophy as the directive principle of a society's political and economic conduct.

The leftists, who regard themselves as all-knowing and all-wise, see this mission as their right which must be imposed by force and without the consent of society. On the contrary, democratic politics believes in submitting their views and plans of action to society for approval and a mandate.

We must first understand that it is the expression of the free will of these men and women, in coming together and that their political beliefs are clearly discernable, and are intended for the public good. To be viable, such an idea must win converts, adherents and foot soldiers unto itself. It must go out in search of converts, animate them into action in order to propel itself forward.

In other words, it must have its own internal mechanism for self-promotion and propulsion. The minute a political idea is unable to achieve self-promotion and propulsion or draw believers and foot soldiers unto itself it ceases to be viable and must be allowed to pass out of existence.

Any external support or externally induced propulsion of such a moribund political idea would be an unwarranted imposition. In essence, it would mean that after failing to win a following or sustain its following, a failed idea is given sustenance and support by a force external to itself.

O autor apresenta ainda vários exemplos de como foi possível a partidos políticos, em condições bastante adversas, fazer campanhas extensas com poucos fundos. Ele está a falar do Gana sublinhe-se...
posted by Miguel Noronha

 
Thomas Sowell: How the War Against the Police Harms Black Americans

<strong>In much of the liberal media, large-scale confrontations between police and people who are breaking the law are usually reported in one of two ways. Either the police used "excessive force" or they "let the situation get out of hand."

Any force sufficient to prevent the situation from getting out of hand will be called "excessive." And if the police arrive in large enough numbers to squelch disorder without the need for force, then sending in so many cops will be called "over-reacting." After all, with so little resistance to the police, why were so many cops necessary? Such is the mindset of the media.

Add the volatile factor of race and the media will have a field day. If an incident involves a white cop and a black criminal, you don't need to know the facts to know how liberals in the media will react. You can predict the words and the music.

Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute does have the facts, however, in her new book, "Are Cops Racist?" Unfortunately, those who most need to read this book are the least likely to do so. They have made up their minds and don't want to be confused by facts.

(...)

Suppose I were to tell you that, despite the fact that blacks are just 11 percent of the American population, more than half the men fined for misconduct while playing professional basketball are black -- and concluded that this shows the NBA to be racist. What would your reaction be?

"Wait a minute!" you might say. "More than half the players in the NBA are black. So that 11 percent statistic is irrelevant."

That is exactly what is wrong with "racial profiling" statistics. It is based on blacks as a percentage of the population, rather than blacks as a percentage of the people who do the kinds of things that cause police to stop people and question them

(...)

The greatest contribution of this book is in making painfully clear the actual consequences of cop-bashing in the media and in politics. The police respond to incentives, like everyone else.

If carrying out their duties in the way that gets the job done best is going to bring down on their heads a chorus of media outrage that can threaten their whole careers, many cops tend to back off. And who pays the price of their backing off? Mainly those blacks who are victims of the criminals in their midst.

Drug dealers and other violent criminals have been the beneficiaries of reduced police activity and of liberal judges throwing out their convictions because of "racial profiling." These criminals go back to the black community -- not the affluent, suburban and often gated communities where journalists, judges, and politicians live


Embora este livro tenha como objecto de estudo a sociedade americana muitas destas descrições e conclusões aplicam-se igualmente à sociedade portuguesa. É tempo de a sociedade no geral e de a comunicação social em particular reflectir acerca do tratamento que confere aos agentes da lei e aos criminosos. É urgente abandonarmos o relativismo pós-moderno que à priori culpa a policia e descupabiliza quem infringe a lei.
posted by Miguel Noronha

 
Nepal - Terrorismo Maoista (via Cinderella Bloggerfeller)

For the grand meeting this May afternoon, the school has been requisitioned. At the scene, an angry speaker harangues the crowd through an old megaphone. Dances imitating fights between the guerillas and the army punctuate the speeches. Two yards away, in a deserted classroom, an old man is weeping. The soldiers killed his son last year. In the neighbouring village there is similar grief. This woman from the caste of untouchables saw the rebels surround her house one fine morning. She fainted with fear. When she woke up, her husband's corpse was lying on the doorstep. She doesn't know the reason for his death. "We were really forced to kill people," Krishna Bahadur Mahara assures me. "But we haven't killed any innocents. Even if we have, what are our mistakes against the scale of our struggle? We are fighting a total war." A war he is convinced he will one day win. "We are not terrorists, our revolt is organized scientifically, victory is inevitable."

"Dreams of reason produce monsters"
posted by Miguel Noronha

 
Biased BBC - mais uma (via OxBlog)

So, here's what Tony Blair said (as he responded to a question asking whether he would continue to serve as prime minister in a third Labour term in government): "There is a big job of work to do - my appetite for doing it is undiminished."

And here's what the BBC reported in its lede: "Mr Blair, who said his appetite for power remained 'undiminished'...."

And not to let a good distortion go, the website then links to the story thusly: "Tony Blair sidesteps questions on the David Kelly affair - but says his appetite for power is "undiminished"."


A distorção das notícas na BBC atinge níveis preocupantes...
posted by Miguel Noronha

 
Alegre está ofendido com Wolfowitz

O socialista Manuel Alegre sentiu-se «ofendido, como deputado eleito pelo povo português», pelas declarações de Paul Wolfowitz, o subsecretário de Defesa americano. Wolfowitz considerou que a Guarda Nacional Republicana tinha «um nome infeliz», numa alusão à coincidência com a designação da Guarda Republicana de Saddam. Alegre, em requerimento ao presidente do Parlamento, Mota Amaral, afirma que as declarações, noticiadas pelo DN no dia 25, são «desprestigiantes» e mesmo «atentatórias da dignidade da GNR e de Portugal», assim como «impróprias em relação a um país amigo».

Alegre pretende saber se o ministro da Defesa ou o ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros reagiram ou pensam reagir, «e em que termos, às referidas declarações, em defesa da honra da GNR e da dignidade nacional».

Como se devem recordar (ver aqui) Paul Wolfowitz referia-se à semelhança de nomes entre a Guarda Republicana que constituia o corpo de elite das forças de Saddam Hussein e a nossa Guarda Nacional Republicana.

Todos compreenderam a piada. Todos? Não! Pelos vistos todos excepto Manuel Alegre.
posted by Miguel Noronha

 
"Be Not Afraid"


Tom DeLay at Israeli Knesset:

"The solidarity between the United States and Israel is deeper than the various interests we share.

It goes to the very nature of man, to the endowment of our God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It is the universal solidarity of freedom. It transcends geography, culture and generations.

It is the solidarity of all people ? in all times ? who dream of and sacrifice for liberty.

It is the solidarity of Moses and Lincoln. Of Tiananmen Square and the Prague Spring.

Of Andre Sakharov and Anne Frank.

And in its name I come to you ? in the midst a great global conflict against evil ? with a simple message: "Be Not Afraid."

I do not say this as a foreigner, cavalier in my estimation of the dangers that surround you.

Instead, I say it as an ally, in spite of the terrifying predators who threaten all free nations, especially Israel.

My country is not ignorant, nor are we indifferent to your struggle.

We know our victory in the war on terror depends on Israel's survival.

And we know Israel's survival depends on the willingness of free nations ? especially our own ? to stand by all endangered democracies in their time of need.

We hear your voice cry out in the desert, and we will never leave your side.

Because freedom and terrorism cannot coexist.

Terrorism cannot be negotiated away or pacified.

Terrorism will either destroy free nations, or free nations will destroy it.

Freedom and terrorism will struggle ? good and evil ? until the battle is resolved.

These are the terms Providence has put before the United States, Israel, and the rest of the civilized world.

They are stark, and they are final.

Those who call this world-view "simplistic" are more than welcome to share their "sophisticated" theories at any number of international debating clubs.

But while they do, free nations of courage will fight and win this war.

Israel's liberation from Palestinian terror is an essential component of that victory.

And it's a liberation we are determined to secure ? not merely a paper-thin cease-fire.

False security is no security, and murderers who take 90-day vacations are still murderers.

The violence must stop.

An immediate and total end to Palestinian terrorism is not a concession the civilized world asks of the Palestinian Authority to advance the peace process.

It is a prerequisite to the Palestinian Authority's invitation to it."
posted by Miguel Noronha

 
Notes from the Previous War

"I was wrong."

Of all the words in all the paragraphs in all the stories ever written by journalists anywhere, the simple inability to utter those three syllables is what distinguishes, say, a Howell Raines from, say, a Michael Kelly.

At the end of the day on April 5, 2003, it was also what finally distinguished the BBC World Service's coverage of the war in Iraq from what was going on in the real world.

(...)

Saturday, April 5: this will be the day most people will remember as the day when the journalistic standards of the World Service committed suicide. The BBC's bad day in Baghdad started early: A column of U.S. soldiers had entered southwestern Baghdad just after daybreak. The soldiers — in tanks and armored personnel carriers — drove through the city for several kilometers encountering only sporadic resistance. Near the university, the column turned left, drove out of the capital and parked at the international airport, which was already securely in American hands. In Qatar, the Coalition command center announced the incursion, saying that elements of the 3rd Infantry had gone into the center of Baghdad. At first, the maneuver was reported as a grab for urban territory. Later, more accurate reports, however, said that it was a demonstration by the U.S. that it could and would enter Baghdad at will.

Cut to: Andrew Gilligan, the BBC's man in downtown Baghdad. "I'm in the center of Baghdad," said a very dubious Gilligan, "and I don't see anything...But then the Americans have a history of making these premature announcements." Gilligan was referring to a military communiqué from Qatar the day before saying the Americans had taken control of most of Baghdad's airport. When that happened, Gilligan had told World Service listeners that he was there, at the airport — but the Americans weren't. Gilligan inferred that the Americans were lying. An hour or two later, a different BBC correspondent pointed out that Gilligan wasn't at the airport, actually. He was nearby — but apparently far enough away that the other correspondent felt it necessary to mention that he didn't really know if Gilligan was around, but that no matter what Gilligan had seen or not seen, the airport was firmly and obviously in American hands

(...)

At a lunchtime press briefing, the surreal Iraqi Minister of Information, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, gave the BBC some solid support: The American incursion was a hoax, said al-Sahaf. Not only that, he added, the Iraqis had retaken the airport, the Americans had been driven out, and Republican Guard units were "pounding" trapped American troops in a suburban area. The bizarre announcement was accepted at face value by the BBC. For most of the rest of the day, the BBC's correspondents, including its diplomatic correspondent, Peter Biles, confessed to being "confused" by the conflicting statements of the Coalition military command and the Iraqi information ministry. Who could you believe, they kept asking themselves?

(...)

Mid-afternoon, April 5: I have listened to the World Service for five straight hours. During that time, the World Service, in its reporting and analysis, has been obviously deeply skeptical of any Coalition claims of success and insistent that the Americans be denied simple good faith. The anger of Iraqis, however, has been widely and consistently featured. No indication of any spontaneous support for Coalition troops was ever mentioned.

(...)

I set up my little test. I watched the TV while listening to the World Service on my hand-held radio. It was a startling multimedia event. I could listen to the BBC's Paul Wood telling me once again that there was no sign of the American incursion into Baghdad. Yet on the screen in front of me there was the 3rd Infantry. They were cruising through Baghdad, driving down the highway, turning into the streets. Look! Along the sidewalks, there were waving children and adults, cheering them on. Men in passed by in trucks and cars crying out, "Saddam down!" and giving the soldiers big smiles and waves. I finally turned off the World Service and turned up the television. At the airport, a correspondent was asked about the Iraqi claim that the Americans had been driven out of the airport and were being "pounded" by Republican Guards. He looked around, mystified, then replied that he'd been at the airport for two days, that it was securely in Coalition hands, and that the only Iraqi challenge he had noticed had been a couple of small skirmishes that were quickly quelled by Coalition forces. "Maybe that's what he meant," he said, generously. Behind him, soldiers lounged around like the stranded tourists they were.

(...)

As midnight approached, the World Service finally conceded that, okay, the Americans had probably reached into Baghdad, but the real story was the way the military guys in Qatar had misled the BBC's correspondents. It was just another reason why nobody trusted the Americans. For example, the BBC correspondents reported, the incursion didn't go to the "center" of Baghdad — or at least far enough to the center that Gilligan and Wood and Omaar could be satisfied. It was confined to the "fringes" of the city. It was a minor thing, really, and the Americans, in their typical cowboy way, had blown it up into something it wasn't. Baghdad was still safely in Saddam's hands, the World Service wondrously reassured its listeners. The Iraqi government's claim to control over the airport was still being reported without comment or qualification. The World Service was still saying the situation was "confused" — and, for the BBC, no doubt it was




posted by Miguel Noronha

 
GUEST BLOGGING

A partir de hoje, e durante os próximos dias, o Miguel d'O Intermitente fica a tomar conta do Blog...com os meus sinceros agradecimentos.

posted by Joao

 
BIZARRO BROADCASTING CORPORATION

"Instead of programs that reflected old-fashioned British virtues (like common sense), the [BBC's] World Service adopted an all-news-and-analysis format meant to reflect modern British values — things like "oneness" and tolerance and, lately, a disdain for all things formerly British, like an instinctive trust in the Atlantic alliance.

...But the World Service's revision of focus also coincided unhappily with a key decision announced early in March, as events in Iraq grew hot, by the BBC's controller of editorial policy, Stephen Whittle. It was Whittle's wish that corporation broadcasts specifically reflect antiwar opinion. Imposing a point of view on events before they unfold is a bit audacious. But it was done, and as a result, the Whittle Rule had far-reaching, although not perhaps unintended, consequences.

It's also led to some pretty awful examples of lousy journalistic practices. As the first round of explosions rocked Baghdad, for example, the World Service's on-air "Middle East analyst" was a chap from the Arab-funded, pro-Palestinian agitprop group called The Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) — an affiliation never disclosed to listeners. A rough equivalent: CNN hiring an "analyst" to comment on an invasion of Israel without disclosing the fact that he's from the Jewish Defense League. So when the World Service anchor asked him for his analysis, the man promptly pronounced the bombardment "an example of pure American imperialism." Nobody challenged this assertion, was he challenged on any of his volatile comments during what became fairly regular World Service appearances. In fact, during it war coverage, the views of guests like the man from CAABU were very rarely balanced with opposing viewpoints, and World Service anchors almost never offered a differing opinion. Instead, the convention is to ask patently biased "analysts" to simply restate their propaganda in more detail: "So, Mr. Hussein, you think this is an illegitimate war, then?" He did, he does and he will tomorrow, too.

This insistent bias isn't limited to the World Service's English-language broadcasts, unfortunately. The all-news Arabic service is perhaps worse-and with consequences far more potentially harmful. As Barbara Amiel has noted in the Telegraph, in the days and weeks leading up to the war, the BBC's Arabic service offered no "Saddam's family firm and the political system underpinning it; there has been virtually no discussion of how he keeps control or the role his sons play in the country… no analysis of [Baathist] war crimes…no serious inquiry about weapons of mass destruction or the policy to destroy oil wells." Instead, listeners were invited to vote on whether the Coalition's invasion would be legal and "and whether the Americans would be looked on as liberators or invaders."

In English, Arabic, or any of the other 43 languages used by the BBC World Service, attaching a virulently anti-American viewpoint to one of the most trusted brands in the world has a deep significance. When the Iraqi leadership calls on suicide bombers to attack British and American soldiers, the call goes out over the BBC, without any attempt to deflate the accompanying rhetoric. If a child is hurt anywhere in Iraq as a result of Coalition activity, the World Service is there, broadcasting from bedside and full of sanctimonious fury. You might read about cheering Iraqis greeting troops as they advance through the country, but you will never hear about such a thing on the World Service.

The German newspaper Der Tagespiel recently compared CNN Radio to the World Service. CNN, supported by advertisers, was seen by the paper as a uniquely American broadcaster. The World Service, however, was "UN radio." The newspaper meant this as flattery, but it might have added that the World Service resembles the U.N. in other ways, too: it's unresponsive to critics, certain of its virtue, fascinated by radical governments, dependent entirely on taxpayers' handouts for its survival and, after a while, stupidly self-serious, and profoundly depressing. I know. I've been listening to the World Service and nothing else for weeks. I've had a full life. I'm ready to die.

Saturday, April 5: this will be the day most people will remember as the day when the journalistic standards of the World Service committed suicide. The BBC's bad day in Baghdad started early: A column of U.S. soldiers had entered southwestern Baghdad just after daybreak. The soldiers — in tanks and armored personnel carriers — drove through the city for several kilometers encountering only sporadic resistance. Near the university, the column turned left, drove out of the capital and parked at the international airport, which was already securely in American hands. In Qatar, the Coalition command center announced the incursion, saying that elements of the 3rd Infantry had gone into the center of Baghdad. At first, the maneuver was reported as a grab for urban territory. Later, more accurate reports, however, said that it was a demonstration by the U.S. that it could and would enter Baghdad at will.

Cut to: Andrew Gilligan, the BBC's man in downtown Baghdad. "I'm in the center of Baghdad," said a very dubious Gilligan, "and I don't see anything...But then the Americans have a history of making these premature announcements." Gilligan was referring to a military communiqué from Qatar the day before saying the Americans had taken control of most of Baghdad's airport. When that happened, Gilligan had told World Service listeners that he was there, at the airport — but the Americans weren't. Gilligan inferred that the Americans were lying. An hour or two later, a different BBC correspondent pointed out that Gilligan wasn't at the airport, actually. He was nearby — but apparently far enough away that the other correspondent felt it necessary to mention that he didn't really know if Gilligan was around, but that no matter what Gilligan had seen or not seen, the airport was firmly and obviously in American hands.

It was clearly important to the BBC that Gilligan not be wrong twice in two days. Whatever the truth was, the BBC, like Walter Duranty's New York Times, must never say, "I was wrong." So, despite the fact that the appearance of American troops in Baghdad was surely one of the war's big moments, and one the BBC had obviously missed, American veracity became the story of the day. Gilligan, joined by his colleagues in Baghdad, Paul Wood and Rageh Omaar, kept insisting that not only had the Americans not gone to the "center" — which they reckoned to be where they were — they hadn't really been in the capital at all. Both Omaar and Wood told listeners that they had been on hour-long Iraqi Ministry of Information bus rides — "and," said Wood, "we were free to go anywhere" -yet they had seen nothing of an American presence in the city. From Qatar, a BBC correspondent helpfully explained that US briefings, such as that announcing the Baghdad incursion, were meaningless exercises, "more PR than anything else." Maybe, implied the World Service, the Americans had made it all up: all day long, Wood repeatedly reported that there was no evidence to support the American claim.

At a lunchtime press briefing, the surreal Iraqi Minister of Information, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, gave the BBC some solid support: The American incursion was a hoax, said al-Sahaf. Not only that, he added, the Iraqis had retaken the airport, the Americans had been driven out, and Republican Guard units were "pounding" trapped American troops in a suburban area. The bizarre announcement was accepted at face value by the BBC. For most of the rest of the day, the BBC's correspondents, including its diplomatic correspondent, Peter Biles, confessed to being "confused" by the conflicting statements of the Coalition military command and the Iraqi information ministry. Who could you believe, they kept asking themselves?

The BBC's Wood and Omaar, meanwhile, had been reporting from more of Baghdad in interviews organized by the Iraqi government. For example, for most of the day, the World Service broadcast hourly, sometimes without any disclaimers whatsoever, an interview by Paul Wood of a Palestinian in Baghdad. The interview was obviously arranged by the Iraqis; it was exactly the kind of Iraqi-sponsored propaganda that got Peter Arnett, then with CNN, in trouble in Baghdad twelve years ago. Then, like now, everything British and American correspondents in Baghdad did was monitored and approved by the Iraqis. But like the use of "analysts" with unannounced axes to grind, the BBC made little effort to make it clear that its journalists were shoveling manufactured "news." In this instance, Wood had been taken to a poor neighborhood of angry Palestinians. He dutifully described to listeners the broken glass and bent window bars he saw when he entered one man's house. ("Excuse me for not taking off my shoes," he mumbled.) The Palestinian was apparently sheltering his whole family in a couple of rooms and dealing irritably with the shelling and bombardments that have become a fact of life in Baghdad lately. He was not happy. Neither were his kids, although happily they hadn't been harmed. Except psychologically: "What happens to the children when there's bombing?" Wood asked, urgently, compassionately, deeply worried. "Do they cry?"

Oh boy, do they ever, said the man.

"And what will happen when the Americans come to this street?" Wood asked.

We will fight them, said the man, to keep them from taking our homes.

NO COALITION HERE!
Mid-afternoon, April 5: I have listened to the World Service for five straight hours. During that time, the World Service, in its reporting and analysis, has been obviously deeply skeptical of any Coalition claims of success and insistent that the Americans be denied simple good faith. The anger of Iraqis, however, has been widely and consistently featured. No indication of any spontaneous support for Coalition troops was ever mentioned.

Of all of the things the World Service reported during those hours, one item caught my attention and held it: Iraqi TV had been blacked out for most of the day by a power shortage.

"How are people in Baghdad getting their information, then?" an anchor asked a correspondent. From the World Service, he said. What a chilling thought.

So I decided to try an experiment — kind of a private Reed Irvine science project. I have a friend in a neighboring village here in France who gets most of the English-language TV news channels — not Fox, but CNN, BBC News, ITV, Euro News, Sky, the usual — on a satellite dish. So I gave him a ring, invited myself over ,and walked the three or four kilometers to his house, listening to the World Service on a pocket radio as I went. The afternoon of April 5 was a beautiful one in northern France — bright, crisp, clear. But it was dark and gloomy in Baghdad, I was sure. "The Americans are bombing again," the BBC mourned. I imagined angry swarms of citizens gathering in homes and cafes to listen to World Service reports about the duplicitous Americans and their phony incursions. (In fact, I might have passed a few such places in my walk through the French countryside.)

When I arrived at my friend's house, I set up my little test. I watched the TV while listening to the World Service on my hand-held radio. It was a startling multimedia event. I could listen to the BBC's Paul Wood telling me once again that there was no sign of the American incursion into Baghdad. Yet on the screen in front of me there was the 3rd Infantry. They were cruising through Baghdad, driving down the highway, turning into the streets. Look! Along the sidewalks, there were waving children and adults, cheering them on. Men in passed by in trucks and cars crying out, "Saddam down!" and giving the soldiers big smiles and waves. I finally turned off the World Service and turned up the television. At the airport, a correspondent was asked about the Iraqi claim that the Americans had been driven out of the airport and were being "pounded" by Republican Guards. He looked around, mystified, then replied that he'd been at the airport for two days, that it was securely in Coalition hands, and that the only Iraqi challenge he had noticed had been a couple of small skirmishes that were quickly quelled by Coalition forces. "Maybe that's what he meant," he said, generously. Behind him, soldiers lounged around like the stranded tourists they were.

On the BBC News channel, the anchors got Wood on camera and very gently pointed out to him that they were getting a lot of video in showing the Americans had indeed taken a drive deep into Baghdad and that the information minister's odd claims didn't seem to be holding up. Wood was kind of chubby, younger than I expected. He seemed obviously pained. But he had his story — no Americans in Baghdad as far as he was concerned — and he was sticking to it.

But of course he didn't have the story. One of the war's turning points had taken place under his nose and he and Gilligan the rest of his BBC colleagues in Baghdad had missed it, simply because they were convinced of American deceit and could not bring themselves to look for what they refused to believe had taken place. I turned off the TV, had a cup of coffee with my friend, and returned home. After a half hour or so — call me crazy — I once again tuned into the World Service. By now, I wasn't so much interested in how the war was going. I knew American troops weren't trapped anywhere. But the BBC had trapped itself in a big hole, and I wanted to see how they'd get out of it.

Jonathan Marcus, the BBC's correspondent in Qatar, was being interviewed by a troubled World Service anchor, "Jonathan, who should we believe? The Americans? Or Saddam?" It's obvious the Iraqis are lying, Marcus shot back, adding that the American incursion was not only real, it was significant and had gone deep into the capital. "Anybody who questions that can't see the forest for the trees," he said. It was the only real-world comment I had heard in a full day of World Service listening. That was the last I heard of Marcus that day. The anchor instantly went to another, more trustworthy correspondent.

As midnight approached, the World Service finally conceded that, okay, the Americans had probably reached into Baghdad, but the real story was the way the military guys in Qatar had misled the BBC's correspondents. It was just another reason why nobody trusted the Americans. For example, the BBC correspondents reported, the incursion didn't go to the "center" of Baghdad — or at least far enough to the center that Gilligan and Wood and Omaar could be satisfied. It was confined to the "fringes" of the city. It was a minor thing, really, and the Americans, in their typical cowboy way, had blown it up into something it wasn't. Baghdad was still safely in Saddam's hands, the World Service wondrously reassured its listeners. The Iraqi government's claim to control over the airport was still being reported without comment or qualification. The World Service was still saying the situation was "confused" — and, for the BBC, no doubt it was.

CRAZY NEWS FOR CRAZY PEOPLE
The World Service began April 6 by broadcasting to the citizens of Baghdad and the rest of the world the report that an Iraqi mullah had called for the faithful in Baghdad to engage in "holy war" against the Americans and the British who would soon be in their midst. I finally turned off the radio and went to bed.

Perhaps reporting the mullah's call for jihad at the moment troops were entering the city was just thoughtlessness, the way reporting the Palestinian's call to arms was thoughtless. Or maybe not. Certainly, the men and women who work at the World Service, from director Mark Byford on down to the likes of Andrew Gilligan or Paul Wood, do not expect to have to answer for any of the consequences of their decisions. If confronted, they will claim they are just the messengers. Of course, that's the journalist's equivalent to the Nuremberg defense. But as Andrew Sullivan recently wrote, "What the BBC is able to do, by broadcasting directly to these people, is to...make the war more bloody...If you assume that almost all these reporters and editors are anti-war, this BBC strategy makes sense. They're a military player. And they are objectively pro-Saddam."

Baghdad has been Saddamized for decades, so the World Service is just piling on. And while most Iraqis obviously don't like their brutal government, along the streets and down the alleys of Baghdad, there are some pretty crazy people getting their news tonight from the likes of Wood, Gilligan, and the others at the BBC. The Americans will return tomorrow and the next day and the next and the next. Soon, they will be everywhere in Iraq, trying to rebuild the place. But one day, one of those crazy teenagers they produce over there might remember the World Service interview with the Palestinian guy, or that Iraqi mullah's call for jihad. Maybe he'll grab a gun and go out to welcome the British and American newcomers — and get shot before he blows anybody away. Some hopeless, misguided young BBC correspondent, riding his big Scoop moment, will report it on the World Service as an outrage.


posted by Joao

 
ALGUMA COISA DO QUE NÃO PASSA NA TSF [um post sobre 1ª notícia em destaque na TSF online de hoje de manhã]

A TSF relata a prisão do guarda-costas de Saddam (aqui):

”Os militares norte-americanos dizem ter capturado um dos guarda-costas de Saddam Hussein, durante uma operação militar realizada em Tikrit, terra natal do antigo líder iraquiano.”

[sublinhado do Valete]

A TSF não confia nas informações transmitidas pelos militares norte-americanos; tem dúvidas sobre a veracidade da afirmação.

Curiosamente, nem a Reuters, nem a Associated Press, nem a France Press suspeitam de que estão a ser alvo de um embuste por parte das tropas americanas.

Por outro lado, a TSF parece considerar mais credíveis todas as informações que surjam sobre ataques contra forças aliadas, especialmente se estas notícias não tiverem ainda sido confirmadas pelas Americanos (aqui)

Na continuação da notícia, a TSF afirma:

”Entretanto, a Casa Branca [N.B. trata-se de um erro, Armitage pertence ao Departamento de Estado] já avisou que o esforço para a captura de Saddam tem limites, perante o crescente número de soldados norte-americanos abatidos no Iraque, desde o fim da guerra. O secretário de Estado adjunto, Richard Armitage explicou que se a captura de Saddam for uma operação muito perigosa, então o antigo líder iraquiano deve ser abatido.”

[A Lusa também publicou também uma notícia com base nestas afirmações - aqui].

Isto foi o que Armitage afirmou:

"If Saddam Hussein could be captured safely, without any harm to US service persons, that would be great. If there is a question of harm being done to US servicemen, then he should be killed."

A France Press comenta estas afirmações da seguinte forma (aqui):

”…a senior US official said Saddam should be killed without hesitation, if capturing him alive meant risking the lives of US soldiers.

The comments, by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, appeared to signal that only clean surrender could guarantee survival to the former Iraqi dictator…The deputy secretary of state became the second high-ranking US official to indicate in less than a week that while the United States was interested in getting Saddam out of the picture, it had no particular concern whether he ended up alive or dead.“

Mas há quem se preocupe...


posted by Joao

 
O CONTRA A CORRENTE VOLTOU AO TRABALHO

Bem-vindo Macguffin.
posted by Joao

 
O Valete está de férias até 11 de Agosto...mas arranjou alguém para lhe tomar conta do Blog a partir de amanhã [um "guest blogger]".


P.S. Notícias para as férias:

Notícias sobre Iraque, guerra ao terrorismo, Coreia do Norte (aqui)
Notícias do Iraque (aqui).
Notícias de Israel (aqui)

Casa Branca (aqui)
Transcrição de discursos do Wolfowitz e Rumsfeld (aqui) [para o caso de surgirem novas manipulações]
Transcrição das declarações de Colin Powell (aqui)
10 Downing Street Media Center (aqui)


Ver também blogs e fontes de informação em destaque na coluna ao lado.



posted by Joao

 
Só mais este....The Press: Time for a New Era? - The BBC and New York Times scandals show that "objectivity" is dead

"...The opinion of the press corps tends toward consensus because of an astonishing uniformity of viewpoint. Certain types of people want to become journalists, and they carry certain political and cultural opinions. This self-selection is hardened by peer group pressure. No conspiracy is necessary; journalists quite spontaneously think alike. The problem comes because this group-think is by now divorced from the thoughts and attitudes of readers. To take politics as a test, in 1992, a sample of top Washington reporters and editors voted 89% to 7% for Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush.

So an editor trying to put out objective reports has to contend with a newsroom dominated by a single viewpoint. Bringing some discipline to this process is no easy task, especially since the editor probably also subscribes to the dominant view. Some editors are better than others in instilling discipline, and some news organizations are better than others in building and sustaining a culture that supports their efforts at objectivity..."

posted by Joao

 
Só mais uma coisinha...ISRAEL PROMOVE A PAZ NO MÉDIO ORIENTE (exclusivo nacional ;) )


1. Release of Prisoners

As of today, Israel has released approximately 250 Palestinian prisoners. Similarly, the Ministerial Committee on Prisoner Affairs decided - several days ago - to approve the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and to reconvene at the beginning of August in order to discuss changes in the criteria so as to facilitate the release of hundreds of additional prisoners. However, Israel has made it clear that it will not release prisoners with blood on their hands.


2. Checkpoints

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has ordered a review of the overall policy on checkpoints in Judea and Samaria, as well as the security aspects for the checkpoints' existence and modus operandi. Pending the conclusion of this review, three main checkpoints have been removed: Between Ramallah and Jerusalem, between Ramallah and Nablus and between Bethlehem and Hebron. In addition, it was decided that the Nablus-Jenin route will be opened to public transportation, and the opening of a bypass near Morag junction in the Gaza Strip will be considered at a meeting to be held between the two sides at the beginning of next week.


3. Transfer of Security Responsibility for Additional Cities

Israel will transfer security responsibility for two additional cities in Judea and Samaria. The decision as to which cities, the nature of the security responsibility and the transfer timing will be made at a meeting to be held at the beginning of next week between Defense Minister Mofaz and Muhammad Dahlan, the PA minister responsible for security affairs.


4. Unauthorized Outposts

Israel is continuing to dismantle unauthorized outposts according to a Defense Ministry plan, the implementation of which has been assigned to the law enforcement authorities.


5. Security Fence

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will consider ways to reduce - by as much as possible - infringements by the security fence on the Palestinian population 's daily lives.


6. Measures to Improve the Conditions of the Palestinian Population

Israel will enact additional measures designed to ease and improve economic conditions for the Palestinian population: The numbers of work permits for Gaza residents will increase by 5,000. 2,500 work permits will be issued to residents of Kalkilya. 1,000 additional work permits will be issued to Bethlehem residents; tourists will be allowed to enter Bethlehem. Conditions will be eased vis-a-vis the passage of goods and merchants. The international crossing points will be open for longer hours.


7. Fund Transfer to the PA

Israel will transfer NIS 72 million to the PA from funds that have been collected - and were being held - by the Airports Authority.


8. Economic Negotiations Underway

Negotiations have begun between officials from the State of Israel and the PA on the expansion of joint industrial zones and improvements in their activities, improvements in the activities of merchandise loading and unloading terminals, and additional measures to advance trade between Israel and the Palestinians.


9. Israeli-Palestinian joint committees

The various Israeli-Palestinian joint committees - such as on incitement and legal affairs - have begun working. It has also been decided to establish a professional team to evaluate Palestinian prisoners' detention conditions.


Note regarding the Palestinians' Obligations

Israel expects the Palestinian Authority to work towards dismantling the terrorist organizations according to the agreed-upon security plans, and carry out the reform process in the areas of security, governance, economic affairs, social affairs and legal affairs, in order to advance the peace process.




P.S. Agradeço a dica ao FJV.
posted by Joao

 
E PRONTOS...

[Aviso: Este post marca a minha segunda tentativa de ir de férias.]

Este é um Blog modesto e humilde e só dispõe de um contador. O meu contador informa-me que ultrapassei as 20.000 visitas e as 40.000 page views.

Considero-me satisfeito. Estes números ultrapassam as minhas previsões mais optimistas e não são justificados pela qualidade do Blog (talvez pela quantidade...)

Vou refugiar-me no meu Blog de férias; o meu Blog de férias está equipado com um abrigo nuclear reconvertido que me protege contra os artigos de destruição maciça da verdade escritos pelos membros da conspiração anti-americana (aqui ).

Estarei de regresso por volta do dia 11 de Agosto.


P.S. Não digo o ano que é para não me chamarem mentiroso.

P.S.2 Alguns Blogs fizeram, na última semana, alguns comentários elogiosos sobre Valete ou sobre algum dos posts. Agradeci alguns dos comentários por e-mail. Noutros casos - No Quinto dos Impérios, Mata-Mouros, Picunhices, Bomba Inteligente, Causa, Veto Político -, não tive ainda oportunidade de agradecer aos autores de tão simpáticos e imerecidos comentários, mas faço-o aqui e agora. O Valete gosta destas massagens ao ego.

posted by Joao

 
See How They Ran

posted by Joao

 

Hoje:

O Pedro Mexia explica porque razão a TSF é de esquerda.

Amanhã:

O Pedro Mexia explica porque razão o Avante é comunista.

Depois de amanhã:

José Casanova assina um comunicado do comité central do PCP no qual assegura aos seus milhares de leitores que O Avante é independente. Considera-se a possibilidade de seguir o recente exemplo do Expresso.

O Pedro Mexia publica um post explicando porque razão o Le Monde Diplomatique é contra a globalização.

Na quarta-feira:

O sr. Ramonet insurge-se contra esta opinião. Insinua que o blogger está a soldo de uma multinacional. Apresenta foto dos ténis de PM.

O Pedro Mexia explica porque razão o Combate apoia o bloco de extrema-esquerda.

Na quinta-feira:

António Louçã ataca violentamente Pedro Mexia e defende que este deve ser julgado no TPI por crimes contra a liberdade de imprensa.

Pedro Mexia explica que O Jogo é do FCP.

Na sexta-feira:

Pedro Mexia passa a manhã no hospital.

À tarde, o Pedro Mexia explica porque razão o Valete Fratres é o único Blog verdadeiramente neutro e imparcial da blogosfera portuguesa...

No Sábado:

O Pedro Mexia descansa (Vd. Aviz).

P.S. Está já anunciada uma nova série de 10 posts explicando em pormenor a tabuada.


posted by Joao

 
GEORGE W. BUSH: National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, 2003

"When North Korean troops invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, the United States took immediate action to defend the freedom of a people unjustly attacked. Leading a coalition of 20 other countries, American and South Korean troops fought to advance liberty and opportunity and to overcome cruelty and repression. More than 1.7 million Americans faced forbidding terrain and harsh combat in battles such as Pork Chop Hill, Heartbreak Ridge, the Pusan Perimeter, and the Chosin Reservoir. Throughout the conflict, the members of our Armed Forces demon-strated extraordinary honor, skill, and courage.

The Military Armistice Agreement of July 27, 1953, ended 3 years of bitter warfare on the Korean Peninsula and stopped the spread of Communism in Korea, signaling to the world America's resolve to stand against tyranny and totalitarian regimes. Fifty years later, our Nation remains grateful for the bravery and sacrifice of our Korean War veterans. They defended human freedom, liberated the oppressed, and selflessly protected the democratic ideals that made our Nation strong. Their efforts reflect the honorable and decent spirit of America. More than 34,000 of America's service men and women gave their lives in battle in the Korean War. As we continue our fight to extend freedom today, we remember and honor their sacrifices and those of their families.

Thanks in large measure to the veterans of the Korean War, South Korea today stands as a shining example of the economic and social benefits of democracy."

posted by Joao

 
Andrew Gilligan, o repórter da BBC que acusou o governo de Blair de ter manipulado informação sobre as WMD iraquianas, alegadamente com base no testemunho de David Kelly, manteve um Blog durante a guerra no Iraque. Este blogger analisou os seus posts. Aqui estão as suas conclusões.

Destaco as seguintes:

• Point 2: Gilligan believes Iraqis prefer Saddam to the US.
• Point 3: Gilligan is very wary of US/UK 'claims'.
• Point 4, Gilligan seems less sceptical of Iraqi claims.
• Point 7, Gilligan's sourcing seems a little dodgy.

[Via Samizdata]
posted by Joao

 
Mais notícias da frente: A caça a Saddam

• "U.S. soldiers said they missed catching Saddam Hussein's security chief — and possibly the former Iraqi president himself — by a mere 24 hours early Sunday" (aqui).
  
  
• "The Americans say they have captured several of Saddam’s bodyguards, and yesterday it emerged that they believed they had come close to seizing the former Iraqi leader in Mosul shortly after the deaths of his sons last Tuesday.
  
  According to military sources, intelligence intercepted a single satellite phone signal known to belong to Saddam during the bombardment of the building where Uday and Qusay were trapped.
  
  Soldiers searched the nearby villa from which the call was made but Saddam was not there. US officers said the intercept was highly accurate, and they were convinced he had been hiding in the building. Yesterday they said they believed he was still in Mosul" (aqui).

posted by Joao

 
Notícias da frente... (o Valete está 'embedded' no Centcom....ao contrário de outras fontes que estão 'in bed' com saddamitas, e a quem estes proporcionaram durante este fim-de-semana uma explosão de prazer)

Para além dos ataques mortais desencadeados contra as tropas aliadas por elementos saddamitas, factos profusamente noticiados, ocorreu também isto:

"...First Armored Division conducted raids at two former regime loyalists’ homes. Both are reputed arms dealers. The two individuals were detained along with nine other individuals. Confiscated weapons consisted of 15 AK-47s, one pistol and one pair of night-vision goggles. Also seized were $10,000 and two gold bars.

Additionally, a 1st AD patrol prevented an improvised explosive device attack in Baghdad when they noticed up to five Iraqis placing a tripwire that was attached to grenade across the road. The patrol fired at the Iraqis, killing one. The others fled the area.

Meanwhile, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force supported the Iraqi Police as they raided a residence suspected of containing a weapons cache. They detained two individuals and captured an anti-aircraft gun, 10 rocket-propelled grenades, eight crates of antipersonnel mines and a number of mortar and anti-aircraft rounds."

In another raid, after receiving a tip from the Mahmudiyah police, 1st MEF captured another arms cache containing 50 rocket-propelled grenades, three launchers, three 81-mm mortar tubes, four boxes of 25 mm rounds, an anti-aircraft gun, three hand grenades and detonation cord.

...e isto:

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said U.S. officials thought there would be a spike in violence following the sons' deaths, but there also has been a beneficial increase in information coming in from Iraqi informants.

"In the last week alone we've picked up 660 surface-to-air missiles. That's a product of the increased intelligence the Iraqi people are providing," Wolfowitz said on NBC's "Meet the Press." (aqui)

...e, ainda, isto:

"Coalition forces assisted Iraqis by helping with waste management issues in the towns of Al Asriya, Mosul, Fallujah and Ar Ramadi" (aqui).

posted by Joao

 
Saddam?s son fed his love rivals to the lions
posted by Joao

 
Saddam: What do the tyrant's own press clippings say about his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons?
posted by Joao

 
TIKRIT, Iraq ? Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division on July 24 seized a large weapons cache located in a house and three adjacent bunkers near Samarrah.

Weapons confiscated from the house and one of the bunkers include: 10 AK-47 rifles, 42 SKS rifles, 21 submachine guns, seven machine guns, 42 rocket-propelled grenades launchers, 152 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, 45,000 sticks of TNT and other ammunition.

The contents of the other two bunkers are currently being assessed.

[Fonte]
posted by Joao

 
A vossa liberdade não é a minha liberdade, Boicote Cuba



Cubans make freedom bid in floating Chevy truck

posted by Joao

 
Charles Krauthammer: os resultados geo-estratégicos da intervenção americana no Iraque

"...every country from the Khyber Pass to the Mediterranean Sea. Everywhere you look, the forces of moderation have been strengthened. This is a huge strategic advance not just for the region but for the world, because this region in its decades-long stagnation has incubated the world's most virulent anti-American, anti-Western, anti-democratic and anti-modernist fanaticism.

This is not to say that the Near East has been forever transformed. It is only to say that because of American resolution and action, there is a historic possibility for such a transformation.

But it all hinges on success in Iraq. On America's not being driven out of Iraq the way it was driven out of Lebanon and Somalia -- which is what every terrorist and every terrorist state wants to see happen. And with everything at stake, what is the left doing? Everything it can to undermine the enterprise. By implying both that it was launched fraudulently (see yellowcake) and, alternately, that it has ensnared us in a hopeless quagmire."

posted by Joao

 
U.S. Troops May Have Captured Top Iraqis

"Acting on a tip from an Iraqi informant, U.S. troops raided a house south of Tikrit on Thursday and captured five to 10 people believed to be members of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s personal security detail, a senior U.S. general said Friday."

posted by Joao

 
Nepal's Maoist Insurgency

posted by Joao

 
CONFERÊNCIA DE IMPRENSA RUMSFELD/BREMER (83 dias depois do fim das operações principais)

"The formation of an Iraqi national army has begun. 30,000 Iraqi police have been hired. An Iraqi civil defense corps is being formed. Coalition forces have captured or killed 38 of Iraq's 55 most wanted. Thousands of lower-level Ba'ath Party loyalists have been rounded up or otherwise dealt with. The Iraqi Central Bank has been made independent. Iraq has returned to the world oil market. All of Iraq's universities have reopened. Power and water are, in most places, at prewar levels, and we're making progress in Baghdad. The food distribution system has been restarted. Nearly all of Iraq's 240 hospitals and 1,200 clinics are open. Over 100 newspapers have begun publishing. In all major cities and in 85 percent of the towns, municipal councils have been formed of Iraqis. Ambassador Bremer has helped establish a new national Governing Council. It's begun exercising executive authority, appointing ministers, preparing the way for a new national constitution."

P.S. Ver ainda COALITION FORCES IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE IN MOSUL, President Bush Discusses Progress in Iraq

P.S.2 Press Briefing by Dan Bartlett and Steve Hadley on Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction and the State of the Union Speech
posted by Joao

 
A VERSÃO DA LUSA

"Saddam Hussein e os filhos só saíram de Bagdad em meados de Abril, quando já os tanques norte-americanos se encontravam no centro da cidade, assegura em entrevista ao Times publicada esta sexta-feira um antigo guarda-costas de Udai, o filho mais velho do ditador iraquiano.

Depois de deixarem a capital, Saddam e os filhos continuaram a dirigir a resistência às forças norte-americanas e britânicas, disse o ex-guarda-costas, identificado na entrevista sob o pseudónimo de Abu Tiba.

Uma vez fora de Bagdad, Udai ocupou-se pessoalmente do comando do movimento dos Fedaínes de Saddam, uma milícia para- militar afecta ao deposto presidente iraquiano.

Na versão do exército norte-americano, Udai e Qussai, os dois filhos de Saddam, foram mortos terça-feira num assalto lançado por tropas norte-americanos contra a casa em que se escondiam, em Mossul, norte do Iraque."

É pena que este saudável cepticismo não se estenda às gravações do Bin Laden e do Saddam, da mesma forma que não se estendia às conferências de imprensa do Comical Ali.


P.S. Este é o artigo no qual a notícia da Lusa se baseia. O artigo não coloca em causa a morte dos filhos de Saddam.

Coloca, no entanto, em causa algumas notícias que têm surgido sobre o facto da resistência estar planeada desde o início da guerra, e sobre a possibilidade desta resistência não estar associada ao regime saddamita...na versão do guarda-costas de Udai...





posted by Joao

 
Sondagem Marktest revela que PSD voltaria a ganhar eleições

PSD 43. 3%
PS 36.1% (no mês anterior 36%; em Maio 45.2%)
PCP 6.6%
PP 5.5% (no mês anterior 7.7%)
BE 4.7% (entre jornalistas 83.3%, Fonte: Valetetest)
posted by Joao

 
Suponham que surgiam rumores sobre o envolvimento de um político num caso de pedofília.
Suponham que o político em causa, em declarações públicas, afirmava estar a ser vítima de uma cabala, colocando em causa o estado de direito.
Agora suponham que esse político era o Paulo Portas.
Neste caso, acham que o tratamento a que o Paulo Portas seria submetido pelos media seria semelhante àquele a que o Ferro tem tido direito?

posted by Joao

 
O INDEPENDENTE


O INDEPENDENTE de hoje é de leitura obrigatória: 2 páginas sobre o caso "decapitação da direcção do PS". (Este artigo deve ser lido em conjunto com este post.)

O João Pereira Coutinho, cujo regresso à Internet foi já anunciado, escreve sobre o último filme de Mel Gibson (ao qual me referi aqui), sobre a África do Sul e sobre a BBC.

O Pedro Mexia debruça-se sobre os homossexuais e as suas associações...a propósito do Prof. César das Neves.

O Prof. Rui Ramos escreve sobre o fim da história em Portugal.

O João Marques de Almeida trata do caso "Blair Vs BBC" e da última obra da jovem esperança da esquerda...


posted by Joao

 
"O único país árabe com uma imprensa livre" (via Instapundit/Daily Standard/MEMRI)
posted by Joao

 
THE ECONOMIST: BLAIR Vs BBC

"...The BBC was once New Labour's friend, not because of any sinister conspiracy, but because the people who work in its news and current-affairs departments mostly share a soft-left world-view: instinctive statism, cordial anti-capitalism, and bien-pensant liberal internationalism. Its reporters' prejudices, allied to the modern preference in broadcast news for context and commentary (that is, opinion) over facts, yielded a generally pessimistic account of British and American actions before, during and after the war. The BBC's story on the spinning of intelligence certainly fit this mould.

...

Mr Kelly was the victim of a needlessly prolonged fight between the government and the BBC. He had doubts about the way intelligence was presented to the public. Yet, according to friends, he was sure that WMD would eventually be found in Iraq. He wanted to return to that country and find them. Sadly for him, and for Britain, that will no longer be possible."

posted by Joao

 
PAUL WOLFOWITZ (2): A GUARDA NACIONAL REPUBLICANA (GNR) !!!!!

"Q Mr. Secretary, going back to what you just said about the Italian Carabinieri, the Portuguese are also sending their unfortunately named Republican Guard, which is the equivalent of the Italian force.

Mr. Wolfowitz: Just keep saying it in Portuguese, and no one will notice the similarity…

Q (Laughs.) I'm wondering, as part of your reputation as an advanced, look-ahead type of thinker, as well as Secretary Rumsfeld's idea of transformation, is it time to start thinking about creating within the U.S. military an equivalent service to the Carabinieri for a future type of engagement in which the U.S. is likely to find itself or could find itself, as it is in Iraq?

The 3rd ID, as you pointed out, is a terrific force for doing what it had to do, not necessarily trained for peacekeeping or after- war effects, not to criticize them, but not what they are trained for.

Mr. Wolfowitz: I don't think -- I mean, the parallel question would be, is it -- isn't it time for the Portuguese Republican Guard -- (chuckling) -- unfortunately named -- to start developing air assault divisions and heavy tank divisions? The answer to that is obviously no. I mean, a little bit of specialization is a wonderful thing."

Será que Paul Wolfowitz é monárquico ?


posted by Joao

 
PAUL WOLFOWITZ (1)

"There is no humanitarian crisis. There is no refugee crisis. There is no health crisis. There has been minimal damage to -- to infrastructure; minimal war damage, lots of regime damage over decades, but minimal war damage to infrastructure except for telecommunications, which we had to target. There has been no environmental catastrophe, either from oil well fires or from dam breaks. And there has been no need for massive oil field repair.

posted by Joao

 
(via National Review)

Three Americans and an Israeli soldier are caught by cannibals and are about to be cooked. The chief says, "I am familiar with your Western custom of granting a last wish. Before we kill and eat you, do you have any last requests?"

Dan Rather says, "Well, I'm a Texan, so I'd like one last bowlful of hot, spicy chili." The chief nods to an underling, who leaves and returns with the chili. Rather eats it all and says, "Now I can die content."

Al Sharpton says, "I'd like to have my picture taken, as nothing has given me greater joy in life." Done.

Judith Woodruff says, "I'm a journalist to the end. I want to take out my tape recorder and describe the scene here, and what's about to happen. Maybe someday someone will hear it and know that I was on the job to the last." The chief directs an aide to hand over the tape recorder, and Woodruff dictates some comments. "There," she says. "I can now die fulfilled."

The chief says, "And you, Mr. Israeli Soldier? What is your final wish?"

The solider says, "Kick me in the behind."

"What?" says the chief. "Will you mock us in your last hour?"

"No, I'm not kidding. I want you to kick me in the behind."

So the chief unties the soldier, shoves him into the open, and kicks him in the behind. The Israeli goes sprawling, but rolls to his knees, pulls a 9mm pistol from his waistband, and shoots the chief dead. In the resulting confusion, he leaps to his knapsack, pulls out his Uzi, and sprays the cannibals with gunfire. In a flash, the cannibals are all dead or fleeing for their lives.

As the Israeli unties the others, they ask him, "Why didn't you just shoot them? Why did you ask the chief to kick you in the behind?"

"What?" answers the soldier. "And have you SOBs call me the aggressor?"



posted by Joao

 
THOMAS SOWELL

"The Vietnam War showed how dangerous it is to allow a President of the United States to lie us into armed conflict, as Lyndon Johnson did by inflating a minor incident in the Gulf of Tonkin into a means of stampeding Congress into authorizing an escalation of military action in Southeast Asia.

If the current charge that President George W. Bush deliberately deceived Congress about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were to be taken seriously, it would be grounds for impeachment, if only as a warning to future presidents.

But just what has President Bush done to generate the current political and media frenzy? He spoke the now-famous 16 words in his State of the Union address: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Did these words mislead Congress into authorizing military action against Iraq? No -- because it authorized military action months before that speech was made."

posted by Joao

 
Parece que BBC vai re-escrevendo os seus artigos (aqui)...
posted by Joao

 
Excerpts From Congressional Joint Intelligence Report on 9/11 Attacks (aqui). Este é o tal relatório que alegadamente iria provar que a Administrasção Bush era responsável pelos atentados contra as torres gémeas...


P.S. Um artigo interessante sobre este caso: 9/11: will Congress blame the FBI & CIA instead of itself and the IPS?.
posted by Joao

 
Cronologia da reconstrução do Iraque (aqui).
posted by Joao

 
Pelos vistos, a conspiração neo-conservadora-judaico-evangélica tinha já conseguido infiltrar a Administração Clinton...a Mónica nunca me enganou...
posted by Joao

 
BILL CLINTON'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESSES

• 2000
  
  "A third challenge we have is to keep this inexorable march of technology from giving terrorists and potentially hostile nations the means to undermine our defenses. Keep in mind, the same technological advances that have shrunk cell phones to fit in the palms of our hands can also make weapons of terror easier to conceal and easier to use.
  
  We must meet this threat by making effective agreements to restrain nuclear and missile programs in North Korea; curbing the flow of lethal technology to Iran; preventing Iraq from threatening its neighbors; increasing our preparedness against chemical and biological attack; protecting our vital computer systems from hackers and criminals; and developing a system to defend against new missile threats -- while working to preserve our ABM missile treaty with Russia. We must do all these things.
  
  I predict to you, when most of us are long gone, but some time in the next 10 to 20 years, the major security threat this country will face will come from the enemies of the nation state: the narco-traffickers and the terrorists and the organized criminals, who will be organized together, working together, with increasing access to ever-more sophisticated chemical and biological weapons.
  
  And I want to thank the Pentagon and others for doing what they're doing right now to try to help protect us and plan for that, so that our defenses will be strong. I ask for your support to ensure they can succeed."
  
  
  
• 1999
  
  "For nearly a decade, Iraq has defied its obligations to destroy its weapons of terror and the missiles to deliver them. America will continue to contain Saddam, and we will work for the day when Iraq has a government worthy of its people.
  
  Now, last month, in our action over Iraq, our troops were superb. Their mission was so flawlessly executed, that we risk taking for granted the bravery and the skill it required. Captain Jeff Taliaferro, a 10-year veteran of the Air Force, flew a B-1B bomber over Iraq as we attacked Saddam's war machine. He is here with us tonight. I'd like to ask you to honor him and all the 33,000 men and women of Operation Desert Fox. Captain Taliaferro."

E ainda, a explicação para os ataques lançados em 1998 (aqui):

"I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors..." [este é só o 1º parágrafo...]


posted by Joao

 
BILL CLINTON SOBRE AS WMD

"It is incontestable that on the day I left office, there were unaccounted-for stocks of biological and chemical weapons (in Iraq)."

- Bill Clinton no Larry King Live, 22/07/03


Agora fiquei preocupado...

posted by Joao

 
FIM DO GOLPE MILITAR EM S. TOMÉ

O golpe militar em S. Tomé, que, como toda a gente sabe, foi motivado pelo petróleo e dirigido à distância por Washington (leiam os Blogs e os jornais!), chegou ao fim.

Mais uma grande derrota para a conspiração judaico-neo-conservadora-evangélica.

A não ser que isto tudo seja mais uma manobra que terá como objectivo desviar as atenções internacionais...grandes sacanas...estes americanos neo-conservadores não brincam em serviço...
posted by Joao

 
Há quase 3 dias atrás, o Aviz bebeu uma cerveja.
Desde esse momento, nem mais uma palavra para o Blog.

Se Blogar não beba !


posted by Joao

 
BBC Vs BLAIR

"The BBC today turned up the heat in its bitter row with the Government over Iraq - revealing it holds a tape of scientist David Kelly strongly criticising Downing Street.

The weapons expert is said to have complained that No10 was "desperate" for information to back Tony Blair's warnings that weapons of mass destruction held by Saddam Hussein were a major menace.

He also charged that the claim in the Government's dossier that Iraq could launch its weapons within 45 minutes had been exaggerated "out of all proportion".

However, it appears the tape does not confirm the central charge from the BBC's reporter Andrew Gilligan that the 45-minute claim was inserted by Downing Street against the wishes of the Intelligence Services."

posted by Joao

 
U.S. Captures Senior Iraqi Guard Official

"The head of the Special Republican Guard, Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid al-Tikriti, was seized at an undisclosed location in Iraq, Sanchez told a news conference in Baghdad. He was 11th on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted figures from the deposed regime."
posted by Joao

 
NOTÍCIAS SEM IMPORTÂNCIA: AS VALAS COMUNS IRAQUIANAS

O João Lecour tem uma dúvida:

"Será minha impressão ou os media nacionais "esqueceram-se" de divulgar que foi descoberta mais uma vala comum no Iraque, desta vez com ossos de mulheres e crianças...A descoberta foi feita na semana passada e os primeiros relatos referiam 400 corpos, mas segundo a AP, residentes locais falam na hipótese de afinal se encontrarem 4000 a 5000 corpos."

O Valete, fiel à sua missão de serviço público, esclarece:

- Esta é uma notícia sem qualquer importância e sem qualquer valor informativo visto que não permite dizer mal dos americanos, comparar o Presidente Bush com o Hitler ou chamar mentiroso ao Bush jr. Por outro lado, se esta notícia fosse publicada, poderia dar-se o caso de um qualquer leitor menos catequizado mudar a sua opinião sobre o conflito iraquiano...qualquer notícia que não esteja conforme com a opinião dos donos da verdade, não é notícia, é desinformação...e, depois, dizer mal de um tirano ainda por cima "de esquerda" (Otelo Dixit), custa sempre um bocadinho...

posted by Joao

 
TIRANOFILIA (um dos sintomas da doença Media Bias)

O João Lecour comparou as notas biográficas sobre o filho mais velho de Saddam publicadas nos sites da SIC e da Sky News. Descubra as diferenças:

• No site da SIC Online (aqui):
  
  "Aos 37 anos, Uday Hussein, filho do Presidente iraquiano, era considerado um dos mais fortes candidatos à sucessão e detém também os media no Iraque. Com o irmão Qusay, partilhaou o contrabando de petróleo e uma luta feroz pelo poder. Mulherengo e viciado em carros desportivos, fez da tirania a sua imagem de marca. Apaixonado por uma amante do pai, matou em público um criado de Saddam que ajudara no romance."
  
  
• No site da Sky News (aqui):
  
  "Uday Hussein, the older son of Saddam, had a reputation for murdering at will and torturing with zeal. He was alleged to have ordered his guards to snatch women off the streets to rape, tortured underperforming athletes and even dropped prisoners into baths of acid just to quench his bloodlust.
  Much of Uday's notoriety abroad stemmed from his position as head of the National Iraqi Olympic Committee, which was accused of torturing and jailing athletes. The London-based human rights group Indict said the committee once made a group of track athletes crawl on newly poured asphalt while they were beaten and threw some of them off a bridge. Indict also said Uday ran a special prison for athletes who offended him. One defector told Indict that jailed soccer players were forced to kick a concrete ball after failing to reach the 1994 World Cup finals. Another defector said athletes were dragged through a gravel pit and then dunked in a sewage tank so infection would set in. Uday's playboy-cum-murderer lifestyle drew the ire of his father. He was temporarily banished to Switzerland after the younger Hussein killed one of his father's favourite bodyguards in 1988. He was the less trusted of the brothers and did not hold such a senior position within the regime.Instead, he was in charge of the paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary unit, helping his father eliminate opponents and strike terror into the hearts of the population. (...)""

É possível que a SIC tenha a BBC como modelo (aqui)...


posted by Joao

 
AFEGANISTÃO: RELATÓRIO SOBRE A SITUAÇÃO EM KABUL (via Instapundit)
posted by Joao

 
O ANTI-AMERICANISMO DA TVI e outras reracções primárias às comemorações dos iraquianos

Recebi o seguinte e-mail do Jorge Bento:

"A TVI abriu ontem o telejornal com imagens de Bagadad onde se vislumbravam balas tracejantes e sons de tiros sobre a cidade. A acompanhar as imagens , diziam-nos que era provável estarmos a presenciar um contra–ataque em grande escala contra as tropas americanas (as palavras seriam parecidas ). A esquerdalhada pôs-se logo de sobreaviso, uma noite memorável em perspectiva ? Passados uns bons 15 minutos o comentador da TVI informa que afinal os tiros que se ouviam seriam causados pelos festejos dos iraquianos, pela morte dos filhos de Saddam…Ohhhhhhh, mais uma noite de frustração para a esquerdalhada…..e um flop para a redacção da TVI , que abriu o telejornal com uma entrada de leão e fechou com saída de sendeiro !!!"

Ontei à noite assiti ao telejornal num café. Quando as imagens acima referidas surgiram ouviu-se alguém dizer: "Agora é que eles vão ver.." [Tradução: não importa que o Saddam volte ao poder desde que os americanos levem na cabeça]. Virei-me para a pessoa com quem me encontrava naquele momento e disse-lhe: "devem estar a comemorar a captura dos filhos do Saddam" [Estes festejos ocorreram já noutras ocasiões]. Resposta: "Não sei...eles não estão nada satisfeitos..." [para conhecer as opiniões "deles" o melhor é ver os resultados da sondagem referida neste post].


Enfim...
posted by Joao

 
OS FILHOS DO PAI TIRANO (cont.) (via Command Post)

"Col. David Hunt on Fox's O'Reilly Factor program just reported that the raid on the house where the terrible twins were killed started off as a classic Special Ops raid with the initial firefight lasting a couple of minutes and resulting in everyone in house being dead. The rest of the fighting was the 101st [Airborne] fighting off reinforcements who tried to come to the aid of those in the house. He also reported that there was over $50M in cash, sat phones, computers and lists of fighters from all over Iraq. For what it is worth."

Ainda:

• "Little Targets Led to the Top": The shift in U.S. Tactics that made the difference.
  
• A Soldier's View from the Iraqi Front

posted by Joao

 
LEIO E SUBSCREVO:

• Responsabilidades políticas de Paulo Pedroso e Ferro Rodrigues no caso Casa Pia (no Liberdade de Expressão).
  
  
• Da Tolerância e da Crítica da Homossexualidade (no Católico e de Direita)
  
  
• Sobre a ETA e os recentes ataques terrorristas (no Mata-Mouros)
  
  
• Sobre os alimentos geneticamente modificados (no Picuinhices)

posted by Joao

 
THE ECONOMIST: The case for war revisited (via Desesperada Esperança)

Não foram ainda encontradas WMD no Iraque e as informações sobre os programas de desenvolvimento destas armas não foram ainda divulgadas.

Os media acusam constantemente o Presidente Bush e o 1º Ministro Blair de terem utilizado informações erradas ou mesmo de terem mentido. Será que, com base nas informações actuais, os defensores da intervenção aliada no Iraque não deverão reconsiderar a sua posição ?

O The Economist analisou de novo o "case for war" e conclui que:

"the question of whether the war was, in retrospect, justified does not rest on [the 45 minute] claim, or on the issue of whether Mr Bush or Tony Blair may at times have gone too far in turning possibilities raised by their spies into apparent certainties. Rather, the justification for the war is best addressed by dividing it into three questions: 1) Were there good grounds to threaten Mr Hussein with an imminent military attack if he did not comply with United Nations resolutions? 2) When he did not comply, were there good grounds for carrying out that threat? 3) After the military victory, have the allies acted in such a way as to make things better both in Iraq and in the region as a whole?"

Leia o artigo acima linkado ou o resumo do argumento publicado pelo Desesperada Esperança.


posted by Joao

 
Bush Adviser Apologizes Over Iraq Claim

Stephen Hadley, President Bush's deputy national security adviser, on Tuesday became the second administration official to apologize for a role in allowing a tainted intelligence report on Iraq (news - web sites)'s nuclear ambitions to find its way into Bush's State of the Union address.

Hadley, in a rare on-the-record session with reporters, said that he had received two memos from the CIA (news - web sites) and a phone call from agency Director George Tenet last October raising objections to an allegation that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium ore from Africa to use in building nuclear weapons.

As a result, Hadley said the offending passage was excised from a speech on Iraq the president gave in Cincinnati last Oct. 7. But Hadley suggested that details from the memos and phone call had slipped from his attention as the State of the Union was being put together.

"The high standards the president set were not met," Hadley said. He said he apologized to the president on Monday.

Tenet previously issued a statement saying that he should have raised objections to the Iraq-Africa-uranium sentence when the CIA reviewed an advance copy of the president's State of the Union message."

posted by Joao

 
THE PASSION - O novo filme de Mel Gibson (parcialmente via Drudge)

Publiquei um post sobre o novo filme de Mel Gibson no dia 16 de Maio (aqui).

Ontem, cerca de 30 pessoas tiveram a oportunidade de assistir ao referido filme.

Estas são algumas das reacções dos espectadores:

• Matt Drudge (Drudge Report): "This is the ultimate film. It's magical. Best picture I have seen in quite some time, and even people like Jack Valenti were in the audience in tears at this screening...and speaking as a Jew, I thought it was a magical film that showed the perils of life on earth." (aqui).
  
  
• Jack Valenti (Movie Pictures Association of America - Presidente): "I don't see what the controversy is all about...This is a compelling piece of art. I just called Kirk Douglas and told him that this is the movie to beat" (aqui).
  
  
• Michael Novak (Teólogo e colunista): "Heartbreaking" (aqui).
  
  
• William Peter Blatty (autor de "O Exorcista"): "a tremendous depiction of evil" (aqui).
  
  
• Kate O'Beirne (National Review): "The movie is intense and riveting, and the time quickly passes as you are completely drawn into the events in biblical Jerusalem...My understanding of Christ’s ordeal will be forever shaped by this remarkable movie. Some will unfairly use Gibson’s labor of love to create a controversy, which is wholly unjustified in the case of this masterful film, but hopefully Gibson realizes that this too shall pass" (aqui).

posted by Joao

 
OS FILHOS DO PAI TIRANO

Vou acompanhar as notícias sobre os filhos de Saddam, no Command Post.

Confirmação do CENTCOM aqui.

Transcrição da conferência de imprensa do Departamento de defesa dos EUA (aqui).l
posted by Joao

 
LEITURA PARA FÉRIAS

[O Valete Fratres ! está a passar férias no seu Blog de férias (ver aqui).]

1. Silvio Berlusconi’s crime is not corruption, it's capitalism
   
   “Now, the point of reciting these tales of hypocrisy and corruption within the EU (and there are plenty of other stories where they came from) is not to exonerate Berlusconi. All those wrongs don't make a right. At the same time, they do make the indignation over the Italian prime minister look a little, well, selective. For an explanation, forget the dodgy dealings back in Italy. Berlusconi's real crime is something far worse — he is a capitalist, a conservative (of sorts) and, horrors, an Atlanticist, and in today's increasingly intolerant Europe the reward for such heresy is meant to be political and legal destruction.”
   
   
2. Where Is Mandela's Apology?
   
   A propósito do aniversário natalício de Nelson Mandela, iniciou-se o esforço de canonização do líder histórico do ANC. O autor deste artigo tem uma longa memória - nalguns casos consegue mesmo lembrar-se de episódios ocorridos no ano 2000 -, e questiona-se “When will Mandela apologize for supporting Castro, Kadhafi, Khomeini and other tyrants?”
   
   
3. 9/11 Report Says There's No Smoking Gun
   
   Para além de cascar na CIA e no FBI e de lançar suspeitas sobre a Arábia Saudita, parece que o famoso relatório que iria expor os erros e apontar as responsabilidades da Administração Americana antes e durante os atentados terroristas contra as torres gémeas diz....nada. Quanto à grande conspiração neo-conservadora/judaica/evangélica, não foi desta que foi exposta...back to the drawing room:
   
   

   ”No single piece of information could have prevented the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, not even an FBI informant who became acquainted with two of the hijackers, a congressional report says.”

   
   
   
4. A primeira sondagem no Bagdad pós-Saddam

posted by Joao

 
BLAIR Vs BBC: O PÚBLICO INFORMA

Ao contrário do que fez no artigo de ontem sobre o caso David Kelly, desta vez o Público não confunde informação com opinião.

Só faltou transcrever as declarações de David Kelly. Mas para isso é que está cá o Valete Fratres !:

Mr Mackinlay: So you made no comments about the veracity of that document at all to Gilligan, you did not say it was exaggerated, embellished, probably over-egged?

Dr Kelly: No, I had no doubt that the veracity of it was absolute.
...

From the conversation I had, I don't see how [Gilligan] could make the authoritative statement he was making.
...
Mr Anderson: What lessons have you learned from this episode?

Dr Kelly: Never to talk to a journalist again, I think.

posted by Joao

 
The media push their own agenda in postwar Iraq

"...reporters think the United States shouldn't be in Iraq and are drawn to stories that illustrate their feelings. To wit: A few Iraqi citizens angrily spurn the frozen chickens distributed by U.S. officials, while a U.S. soldier is interviewed saying he has lost faith in his military leaders and thinks Rumsfeld should resign. True stories. But is this news, or is it opinion conveyed by selective anecdote?"

posted by Joao

 
FÉRIAS

Vou passar as minhas férias no meu Blog de férias.

O meu Blog de férias foi sendo construído com muito sacrifício, ao longo do ano, nos intervalos do Valete e nos momentos de descanso. Ainda não tem as paredes pintadas, mas já é habitável.

No meu Blog de férias não existem nem TV's, nem rádios, nem telefones...e os jornais servem apenas como acendalha para a lareira.

É uma espécie de Marmeleira virtual na qual, um dia, pretendo albergar todos os livros que fui adquirindo ao longo de uma vida de leituras (todos os meus 5 livros).

É difícil chegar ao meu Blog de férias; é necessário um 4x4 virtual...mas mais difícil será regressar.

Espero deslocar-me ao Valete Fratres ! regularmente - pelo menos uma vez por dia - para regar as plantas, dar de comer aos peixinhos, verificar o estado dos congelados...e dar a conhecer os recortes de imprensa do Pentágono.



P.S. Deixei muita correspondência por responder...é a vida.

P.S.2 Quanto aos meus projectos de Blogs colectivos, peço desculpa por não ter respondido a todos os que manifestaram interesse em participar. Em particular, peço desculpa àqueles que já manifestaram o seu desagrado por escrito (nos seus blogs), e em pessoa no jantar da UBL. Neste momento, parece-me que as minhas sugestões e propostas são um caso de mais blogs que barriga. Entre as várias propostas apresentadas, espero seguir para a frente com o único Blog que não suscitou qualquer oferta de colaboração mas que, actualmente, é o único que me entusiasma.

P.S.3 Gostaria de dar as boas-vindas atrasadas aos Blogs Razpartaestamerda, Catalaxia, Cidadão Livre, Bloguítica Internacional, Veto Político (P.S. em actualização permanente...)

P.S.4 Aproveitei e actualizei os links.
posted by Joao

 
TRANSCRIÇÃO DO TESTEMUNHO DE DAVID KELLY PERANTE A COMISSÃO PARLAMENTAR

[repetição de post para benefício dos críticos do Valete; link para fonte original]

Mr Mackinlay: So you made no comments about the veracity of that document at all to Gilligan, you did not say it was exaggerated, embellished, probably over-egged?

Dr Kelly: No, I had no doubt that the veracity of it was absolute.
...

"From the conversation I had, I don't see how [Gilligan] could make the authoritative statement he was making."
...

Mr Anderson: What lessons have you learned from this episode?

posted by Joao

 
OS ERROS E AS MENTIRAS DO PARTIDO ANTI-AMERICANO (II): "Ten Real Lies (?) We Were Told About Iraq" (via Merde in France)

[Parte I aqui]

posted by Joao

 
A BBC E O CONFLITO ISRAELO-PALESTINIANO (relatório no site da BBCWATCH.COM)

Parece que o enviesamento do noticiário da BBC se estende aos suspeitos do costume:

"We have analysed the BBC’s coverage of the Middle East in main news programmes on UK television and radio and on the BBC’s main website over a 9-week period from the end of May to the end of July 2002. The content was assessed for compliance with the BBC’s legal obligations of accuracy and impartiality. We found numerous significant breaches of these obligations. These breaches included an inaccurate and one-sided profile of Yasser Arafat; unjustified discrimination in the use of language; omissions of material events, facts and viewpoints; misleading use of pictures; and the improper inclusion of journalists’ personal comments hostile to Israel and the Israeli government.

...The BBC’s reporting of the Middle East remains partial, inaccurate and in frequent breach of BBC guidelines. There is an apparent widespread antipathy towards Israel within the BBC which emerges in its news reporting of the Middle East. The British public is obliged to pay for the BBC through the licence fee. In return the BBC is obliged to provide a fair, impartial and accurate news service. The BBC is failing to keep to its side of the bargain."

posted by Joao

 
O jornalista da BBC chama mentiroso à sua fonte...
posted by Joao

 
BLAIR Vs BBC

Os jornais ingleses, independentemente das suas simpatias políticas, criticam a BBC.

Os jornais portugueses preferem criticar Blair.

[O Valete Fratres ! critica os jornais portugueses (P.S.2 aqui)].




Só o Telegraph alinhou com os jornais portugueses (capa não disponível).

posted by Joao

 
THE GUARDIAN: BBC blocked a compromise which might have prevented the suicide of David Kelly

"BBC bosses blocked a compromise which might have prevented the suicide of David Kelly, the weapons expert confirmed by the corporation yesterday as its source for the story of the "sexed-up' dossier.

The Guardian can reveal that the BBC chairman, Gavyn Davies, and the director general, Greg Dyke, were made an offer in the days before Dr Kelly was identified, but turned it down because they were determined to give no ground in their battle with Alastair Campbell, director of communications at No 10."

posted by Joao

 
TRANSCRIÇÃO DO TESTEMUNHO DE DAVID KELLY PERANTE A COMISSÃO PARLAMENTAR

Mr Mackinlay: So you made no comments about the veracity of that document at all to Gilligan, you did not say it was exaggerated, embellished, probably over-egged?

Dr Kelly: No, I had no doubt that the veracity of it was absolute.
...

"From the conversation I had, I don't see how [Gilligan] could make the authoritative statement he was making."
...

Mr Anderson: What lessons have you learned from this episode?

Dr Kelly: Never to talk to a journalist again, I think.

posted by Joao

 
JORNALISTAS DA BBC NÃO APOIAM JORNALISTA NEM DIRECÇÃO; DESCONFIAM DE NOTÍCIA

"journalists, editors and presenters contacted by the Guardian yesterday questioned - on condition of anonymity - the credibility of this stance. They expressed doubt about the positions of Gilligan and Richard Sambrook, the director of news, who has given unswerving support to the reporter since he learned that Dr Kelly was his source. A few even talk darkly of revolt. Support for Gilligan, outside the increasingly fraught confines of the Today programme where he is defence and diplomatic correspondent, is slipping away.

"It's one thing if the top brass choose to go to the wall for Gilligan. It's quite another if they expect us to do it too," one insider said." (aqui)

E ainda isto:

"Tom Mangold, the former BBC correspondent and close friend of David Kelly, has accused Andrew Gilligan of "taking the apple Kelly gave him and mixing it with an orange from another source", and revealed the final report "appalled" the respected weapons expert." (aqui).

posted by Joao

 
BBC RECONHECE DAVID KELLY COMO FONTE: CREDIBILIDADE DA BBC EM CAUSA

1. Primeiro, os media britânicos afirmaram que Blair tinha mentido no parlamento e distorcido a informação apresentada. A fonte desta notícia foi um canal de rádio do grupo BBC.
   
2. Depois, a BBC afirmou que nunca tinha dito tal coisa, mas que confirmava a notícia (aqui; aqui).
   
3. Uma comissão parlamentar exonerou o governo britânico das acusações dos media (aqui; aqui).
   
4. Entrentanto, um funcionário do Ministério da Defesa veio a público afirmar que tinha falado com o jornalista da BBC, mas que das suas palavras não se poderia inferir aquilo que a BBC afirmou (aqui).
   
5. o Jornalista da BBC testemunha perante a comissão parlamentar. Os parlamentares acusam o jornalista de ter alterado o seu testemunho durante o interrogatório (aqui).
   
6. O funcionário do ministério aparece morto. Insinua-se que o governo britâncio esteja envolvido (aqui) ! Afinal: "Dr Kelly's body was found in woodland near his Oxfordshire home. He bled to death after cutting his left wrist. He had also taken a large quantity of painkillers." (aqui) .
   
7. A BBC, depois de o ter negado ("a descrição do funcionário não corresponde à fonte do jornalista"; "existem outras fontes"), reconheceu finalmente que o funcionário em questão era a única fonte da notícia. A BBC declara que o seu jornalista não distorceu as palavras do funcionário (aqui)
   
8. Surgem apelos à demissão do presidente da BBC (aqui; aqui). E o pessoal da estação britânica revolta-se (aqui).

...mas na imprensa de hoje todo este episódio é apresentado como uma crise do governo britânico e é Tony Blair que continua debaixo dos holofotes ! Não deveriam os títulos das notícias referir a crise de credibilidade da BBC ?


P.S. Cronologia dos eventos elaborada pela Sky News (aqui).

P.S.2 O DN conta a história num tom neutro, e refere no final da notícia os problemas da BBC (embora o título da notícia e a referência na 1ª página sejam enganadores). O Público desinforma, preferindo envolver-se na campanha contra Blair e fazendo apenas uma referência breve à declaração da BBC, sem noticiar os factos que colocam em causa a credibilidade do canal. O Público prefere, antes, alimentar as teorias da conspiração: "Num "email" enviado a um jornalista do "New York Times" poucas horas antes da sua morte, Kelly avisava aparentemente contra "diversos actores sinistros que manipulam na sombra". Também revela não estar a acompanhar a história com atenção, visto referir "documentos falsificados" que não perencem a esta história (aqui).
posted by Joao

 
AXIS OF EVIL

• Coreia do Norte (aqui):"The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Friday the biggest nuclear weapons threat at the moment was North Korea (news - web sites), though he said he was encouraged by China's attempts to re-open talks with Pyongyang.
  
  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei also expressed concern over recent reports that North Korea had reprocessed all its 8,000 spent fuel rods to extract weapons-grade plutonium.
  
  "In my view, the situation in the DPRK (North Korea) is currently the most immediate and most serious threat to the nuclear non-proliferation regime," Elbaradei said in comments he made to a board of governors session on the IAEA's budget."
  
  
• Irão (aqui): ".N. inspectors have found enriched uranium in environmental samples taken in Iran, which could mean Tehran has been enriching uranium without informing the U.N. nuclear watchdog, diplomats said.
  
  The diplomats, who asked not to be named, told Reuters initial analysis showed enrichment levels possibly consistent with an attempt to make weapons-grade material and high enough to cause concern at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."

A culpa é da política imperialista-colonialista americana e dos seus lacaios judeus. Por detrás disto está o petróleo e a água [sim, a água, leiam as crónicas do Soares pai], o complexo militar-industrial e a e as simples multinacionais-civis, direita ultra-conservadora americana e a esquerda moderada europeia. É guerra de civilizações entre o mundo islâmico-coreano e o ocidente judaico-cristão-ateu-agnóstico-new age...valha-nos Santo Che Guevara !




posted by Joao

 
WMD Scientist's Death Rocks British Government

A insinuação é clara...mas este tipo de insinuações iliustram bem o estofo moral dos seus autores, o seu grau de desepero e a sua falta de coragem. Quem será o "corajoso" que, no meio do carnaval mediático que se irá seguir, atingirá o grau de excitação suficiente para pronunciar as palavras: "o responsável pela morte de Kelly foi Blair" ?

E, no entanto, o próprio desenvolvimento da notícia coloca em causa as teorias dos amadores das conspirações:

"...Speaking so softly he could barely be heard, he admitted to parliament's foreign affairs committee he had met Gilligan, but denied telling him that Blair's communications chief Alastair Campbell had ordered intelligence to be hyped.

Kelly appeared shell-shocked when parliamentarians at the hearing described him as "chaff" and a government "fall guy" put forward to shield top officials from blame.

Kelly's wife Jane described Kelly as deeply upset, family friend Tom Mangold, a television journalist, told ITV News.

"She told me he had been under considerable stress, that he was very, very angry about what had happened at the committee, that he wasn't well," Mangold said.

The government said that if Kelly was Gilligan's source, their differing accounts proved the BBC story was wrong. Gilligan, who never named his source, was questioned at a closed-door hearing around the time Kelly vanished on Thursday."

E tudo por causa das mentiras da BBC...já desmentidas no essencial (Vd. posts das últimas semanas).
posted by Joao

 
20.000 visitas.
posted by Joao

 
CIA: Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs - October 2002

"In the absence of inspections...most analysts assess that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear program—unraveling the IAEA's hard-earned accomplishments.

Iraq retains its cadre of nuclear scientists and technicians, its program documentation, and sufficient dual-use manufacturing capabilities to support a reconstituted nuclear weapons program. Iraqi media have reported numerous meetings between Saddam and nuclear scientists over the past two years, signaling Baghdad's continued interest in reviving a nuclear program.

Iraq's expanding international trade provides growing access to nuclear-related technology and materials and potential access to foreign nuclear expertise. An increase in dual-use procurement activity in recent years may be supporting a reconstituted nuclear weapons program.


The acquisition of sufficient fissile material is Iraq's principal hurdle in developing a nuclear weapon.

Iraq is unlikely to produce indigenously enough weapons-grade material for a deliverable nuclear weapon until the last half of this decade. Baghdad could produce a nuclear weapon within a year if it were able to procure weapons-grade fissile material abroad.

Baghdad may have acquired uranium enrichment capabilities that could shorten substantially the amount of time necessary to make a nuclear weapon.

posted by Joao

 
BUSH LIED ?

"An intelligence assessment by the CIA (news - web sites) last October cites "compelling evidence" that Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was attempting to reconstitute a nuclear-weapons program, according to documents released Friday by the White House.

Mounting a campaign to counter criticism that it used flawed intelligence to justify war with Iraq (news - web sites), the White House made public excerpts of the intelligence community's October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate. That report helped shape now-challenged comments by President Bush (news - web sites) in his State of the Union address that Iraq was attempting to buy uranium in Africa.

The report asserts that Baghdad "if left unchecked...probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade."

It also cites unsubstantiated reports that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from three African countries: Niger, Somalia and "possibly" Congo.

The White House sought to bolster its case as U.S. officials said that documents alleging Iraq sought uranium from Africa were obtained months before Bush cited them in making his case for war. But intelligence analysts did not look at them closely enough to know they were forgeries until after Bush had made the claim, U.S. officials say."

[anterior post sobre esta matéria aqui]

posted by Joao

 

"The BBC journalist who claimed that Alastair Campbell had "sexed up" intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction was tonight accused of changing his evidence by MPs.

Andrew Gilligan, the defence correspondent on Radio 4's Today programme, was described as an "unsatisfactory witness" by the Commons foreign affairs select committee following his second appearance before it today."

[Fonte]


posted by Joao

 
THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE: How the Media Push Our Hot Buttons

• Jayson Blair's World, And Iraq
  
  "The credibility of our major media, and public respect for their work, have nose-dived over the last generation. By 58-38 percent, Americans think today's news organizations are more inaccurate than accurate. Back in 1965, that ratio was almost exactly reversed...Just 23 percent of our citizenry say the news media are "willing to admit mistakes;" a troubling 67 percent say our news reporters "try to cover up mistakes."
  
  ...When survey researchers ask about specific news sources, they find that about one citizen out of four thinks he can believe all or most of what he sees on the major TV news networks today. This is down from as recently as 1996. Only about one out of five citizens gives his newspaper high marks for believability. Magazines like Newsweek and Time score at only 20 percent and 23 percent, respectively, for believability. Among broadcast media, National Public Radio comes in last. One of the ways the public is responding to all of this is by walking away: National TV news viewing fell by nearly half from 1991 to 2002. Newspaper readership tumbled from 54 percent to 41 percent of the public.
  
  ...Asked whether news organizations are fair in the way they report on specific hot-button controversies, Americans respond by about two to one that the media tend to take sides. The number of citizens who believe the press is "politically biased" continues to rise, and currently stands at six out of ten (including the vast number of Republicans and also a clear majority of Democrats). And these citizens are not imagining things. National reporters admit that they vote for Democrats over Republicans by a ratio of about 12 to one. Sixty-one percent of Washington reporters place themselves on the left of the political spectrum, versus 9 percent who say they are personally on the right."
  
  
• Doubt and Derision Over Baghdad
  
  "The Media Research Center (MRC), whose staff studies such matters for a living, concludes that, on the whole, "reports from embedded journalists were refreshingly factual and were mostly devoid of commentary." Yet back in the studios, "television's war coverage was plagued by the same problems detected during previous conflicts: too little skepticism of enemy propaganda, too much mindless negativism about America's military prospects, and a reluctance on the part of most networks to challenge the premises of the anti-war movement."

posted by Joao

 
OLAVO DE CARVALHO SOBRE LULA: O estilo Pavlov de governar

"O célebre neurofisiologista Ivan Pavlov demonstrou que a estimulação contraditória repetida é uma "provação intolerável" (sic) para o cérebro: ela estupidifica o ouvinte e o predispõe a aceitar servilmente qualquer ordem ou sugestão que se lhe dê em seguida, por mais absurda ou prejudicial que seja.

...Lula é a estimulação contraditória encarnada.

Pois não é que ele acaba de apelar ao mundo para que "exija mais ação dos EUA em defesa da democracia", ao mesmo tempo em que protestava contra o ataque a Saddam Hussein?

...E que outra ajuda à democratização universal esperaria dos EUA o nosso presidente? Que aplaudissem o regime de Fidel Castro? Que estimulassem com um empréstimo milionário a escalada ditatorial de Hugo Chávez? Que recusassem chamar de terrorista, para não magoar inofensivos narcotraficantes, o regime de terror imposto pelas Farc a metade da população colombiana? Que, em suma, agissem à imagem e semelhança de Luís Inácio Lula da Silva?

E, diante do protesto do presidente da Polônia, que lhe lembrava o fato arquiconhecido de que os EUA são a única potência internacional que já fez alguma coisa séria para demolir ditaduras no mundo, nosso bisonho governante ainda se queixa de ter sido "mal interpretado"!"

posted by Joao

 
President Bush, Prime Minister Blair Discuss War on Terrorism (transcrição da conferência de imprensa)

"Q Mr. President, in his speech to Congress, the Prime Minister opened the door to the possibility that you may be proved wrong about the threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.

Q Do you agree, and does it matter whether or not you find these weapons?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you might ask the Prime Minister that. We won't be proven wrong --

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: No.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I believe that we will find the truth. And the truth is, he was developing a program for weapons of mass destruction.

Now, you say, why didn't it happen all of a sudden? Well, there was a lot of chaos in the country, one. Two, Saddam Hussein has spent over a decade hiding weapons and hiding materials. Three, we're getting -- we're just beginning to get some cooperation from some of the high-level officials in that administration or that regime.

But we will bring the weapons and, of course -- we will bring the information forward on the weapons when they find them. And that will end up -- end all this speculation. I understand there has been a lot of speculation over in Great Britain, we've got a little bit of it here, about whether or not the -- whether or not the actions were based upon valid information. We can debate that all day long, until the truth shows up. And that's what's going to happen.

And we based our decisions on good, sound intelligence. And the -- our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind.

THE PRIME MINISTER: If I can just correct you on one thing. I certainly did not say that I would be proved wrong. On the contrary; I said with every fiber of instinct and conviction I believe that we are right. And let me just say this one other thing to you, because sometimes, again, in the debate in the past few weeks, it's as if, prior to the early part of this year, the issue of Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction were some sort of unknown quantity, and on the basis of some speculative intelligence, we go off and take action.

The history of Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction is a 12-year history, and is a history of him using the weapons, developing the weapons, and concealing the weapons, and not complying with the United Nations inspectors who were trying to shut down his programs. And I simply say -- which is why I totally agree with the President -- it's important we wait for the Iraq survey group to complete their work. Because the proposition that actually he was not developing such weapons and such programs rests on this rather extraordinary proposition that, having for years obstructed the United Nations inspectors and concealed his programs, having finally effectively got rid of them in December '98, he then took all the problems and sanctions and action upon himself, voluntarily destroyed them but just didn't tell anyone. I don't think that's very likely as a proposition. I really don't."

posted by Joao

 
TONY BLAIR: "America, don't ever apologize for your values"

"...don't ever apologize for your values. Tell the world why you're proud of America. Tell them when "The Star-Spangled Banner" starts, Americans get to their feet--Hispanics, Irish, Italians, Central Europeans, East Europeans, Jews, Muslims, white, Asian, black, those who go back to the early settlers, and those whose English is the same as some New York cab drivers I've dealt with--but whose sons and daughters could run for this Congress. Tell them why Americans, one and all, stand upright and respectful. Not because some state official told them to, but because whatever race, color, class or creed they are, being American means being free. That's why they're proud.

...what you can bequeath to this anxious world is the light of liberty. That is what this struggle against terrorist groups or states is about. We're not fighting for domination. We're not fighting for an American world, though we want a world in which America is at ease. We're not fighting for Christianity, but against religious fanaticism of all kinds. And this is not a war of civilizations, because each civilization has a unique capacity to enrich the stock of human heritage. We are fighting for the inalienable right of humankind--black or white; Christian or not; left, right or merely indifferent--to be free--free to raise a family in love and hope, free to earn a living and be rewarded by your own efforts, free not to bend your knee to any man in fear, free to be you, so long as being you does not impair the freedom of others.

That's what we're fighting for, and it's a battle worth fighting...

And our job...is to be there with you. You're not going to be alone. We will be with you in this fight for liberty.

We will be with you in this fight for liberty. And if our spirit is right and our courage firm, the world will be with us."

posted by Joao

 
HONEST REPORTING: O CONFLITO NO `MÉDIO ORIENTE (media bias ?)

O HonestReporting.com analisou os títulos das notícias da Reuters sobre o conflito Israelo-palestiniano durante 1 mês.

As conclusões são muito interessantes: "In violent acts against Israelis, the Palestinian agent is named in 33% of the headlines. In violent acts against Palestinians, the Israeli agent is named in 100% of the headlines. Moreover, Israel is always emphasized by appearing as the first word in the headline. "; "In violent acts against Israelis, casualties are labeled "Israeli" in 11% of the headlines. In violent acts against Palestinians, casualties are labeled "Palestinian" or "Hamas" in 50% of the headlines. Considering "militant" as a Palestinian-specific term raises this figure to 71% of headlines."; "Violent acts by Palestinians are described with "active voice" verbs in 33% of the headlines. Violent acts by Israelis are described with "active voice" verbs in 100% of the headlines."

Exemplo:

"Israeli Troops Shoot Dead Palestinian in W.Bank" (July 3)
Israel named as perpetrator; Palestinian named as victim; described in active voice.

vs.

"New West Bank Shooting Mars Truce" (July 1)
Palestinian not named as perpetrator; Israeli not named as victim; shooting described in passive voice.

posted by Joao

 
TIME MAGAZINE (media bias ?)

Jul. 21, 2003	Aug. 24, 1998

P.S. No dia 13 de Maio de 2002, a Time declarava: "Despite economic sanctions and weapons investigations, Iraq is rejuvenated and chillingly familiar--armed, dangerous and still dominated by a threatening Saddam Hussein"...e questionava-se "How close is Iraq to having the Bomb?"...e informava o seus leitores: "Much of his chemical and biological weaponry remains unaccounted for, and he's working on nukes. When Iraq accepted the terms of the 1991 Gulf War cease-fire, it agreed to " destroy, or render harmless," all its weapons of mass destruction. The last U.N. weapons inspectors left Iraq in December 1998, after obstruction by officials there rendered their work pointless. It is generally agreed that Saddam Hussein has not been behaving himself in their absence. The U.N. has collected reams of color satellite photos showing an unmistakable boom in reconstruction of Iraqi sites, some of which were weapons facilities in the past. " You can see hundreds of new roofs in these photos"...Untruth?

P.S.2 Post inspirado por um comentário do Terras do Nunca.
posted by Joao

 
WMD NO IRAQ: ENTREVISTA COM INSPECTOR (via Instapundit)

Brokaw: But there’s no doubt in your mind, I gather, that in fact there was a program and it was substantial.

Kay: I’ve already seen enough to convince me, but that’s not the standard. I’ve got to have enough evidence to convince everyone of that. And that’s why we’re going through this process...

Brokaw: How long is that going to take?

Kay: No longer than it takes.

Brokaw: Six months?

Kay: I think in six months from now, we’ll have a considerable amount of evidence, and we’ll be starting to reveal that evidence. Will we get to the bottom of the program? It took them over twelve years to build this program. This is a tough country to work in. They hid a lot. I think we’ll probably still be finding stuff well beyond six months. I think we will have a substantial body of evidence before six months.

Brokaw: Based on what you have seen so far, was he starting to get rid of it, or hide it, or move it around long before the war ended?

Kay: Well, he was certainly hiding and moving things around. He’s been doing that for twelve years. There was a tremendous amount of destruction and moving of things immediately and during the war. And some of this actually continued after the war. We’ve seen targeted looting in which you’ll go into a building and the only thing that’s destroyed are the documents in the file cabinets that are ashes. That’s why these documents right here are so important to us.

Brokaw: What’s the strongest case that you’ll be able to make - is it the biological, chemical or nuclear?

Kay: I think we will have a very strong case on all of those. I think we’ll have a strong case on missiles as well that you didn’t mention. The biological one is one of our highest priorities-and probably will be the case that we may well have the earliest. I just don’t well know at this point.

Vai haver muito choro e ranger de dentes...
posted by Joao

 
"BUSH LIED" FOR DUMMIES

(via Instapundit)
posted by Joao

 
CORRUPÇÃO NA COMISSÃO EUROPEIA

A widespread inquiry into secret bank accounts and fictitious contracts across the European Commission was launched on Wednesday, amid growing anger at the scale of alleged fraud in the European Union's executive.

posted by Joao

 
railway.com: Parallels between the early British railways and the ICT revolution

…in Britain the railway network was built under a laissez-faire regime and very largely without subsidy from the taxpayer. The result was that the British network was denser and constructed more rapidly than that of France, which used central planning to construct its network. In this context, it is also significant that consumers benefited far more from the new railway technology than shareholders.

The railway mania of the 1840s, which has significant similarities to the ICT bubble of the 1990s, suggests that the latter is not a ‘dot con’ but rather, to a large degree, the trial-and-error method of the market to establish how the new technology can be put to commercial use. A large proportion of the resources used up cannot be said to be wasted as they represent the price paid for discovering how the new technology can be used to satisfy consumers.

…It follows that central banks and governments should not attempt to regulate bubbles out of existence, or even attempt to prevent their occurrence. Bubbles appear to require an exacting set of circumstances to develop, and the resources wasted are probably small in extent although easy to exaggerate.

Another lesson to be drawn from the construction of the British railway network in the mid-nineteenth century is that a largely unregulated framework allowed the successful completion of a series of major projects without subsidy. But more important, the tension between shareholders and promoters meant that there was an inbuilt mechanism to minimise the extravagance and cost overruns that have been so prevalent in twentieth-century statemanaged ‘mega-projects’…As we have seen, the relatively sophisticated capital market of the 1840s also proved effective in sorting out which major railway projects could be commercially successfuland which not.

The history of the EBRs does not suggest there is any danger of new network technologies subject to increasing returns becoming ‘locked in’. Rather it suggests that consumers confronted by an unsatisfactory standard can collaborate for its replacement. It follows that much of the anxiety that Microsoft, for example, might be able to lock in an unsatisfactory operating system, such as Windows, is misplaced…

It also appears that it is a mistake for governments to attempt to set network standards, as it is all too easy for them to establish the wrong one. Freely operating markets can easily . select the correct standard through a process of trial and error. Those who maintain that the British government in the nineteenth century should have established a specific gauge as the standard for the national railway network are arguing with the benefit of hindsight. The attempt by the EU to establish W-CDMA as the standard for 3G mobile telephony has proved to be a mistake, and has meant that the introduction of 3G mobile phones has been delayed. Furthermore, the process of competition between standards, while preventing economies of scale initially, leads to the development of better standards than had a uniform standard based on superior technology been adopted from the start.

posted by Joao

 
Inside Iraq's National Museum - How it got looted and how most of its treasures were saved
posted by Joao

 
What the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) said about Iraq's hunt for uranium

"As we interpret that NIE language, the President was entirely accurate in what he said in that speech about Saddam pursuing uranium in Africa...The larger truth is that it was a deeply held consensus of the U.S. intelligence community that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear weapons program. Multiple U.N. resolutions asserted the same thing. We had proof that Saddam had used chemical weapons in the past. The decision to disarm the Iraqi dictator wasn't based on a single intelligence report but on a mountain of evidence compiled over a dozen years."

[Anterior post sobre esta matéria aqui.]
posted by Joao

 
NOTAS DE VIAGEM (II)

• Almocei numa das cantinas da Comissão Europeia.
  
  Em Bruxelas os preços das refeições são, no mínimo, 30% superiores aos praticados em Lisboa. Mas na cantina da Comissão, o preço das refeições é inferior ao preço cobrado pelo concessionário do Bar da Organização (em Lisboa).
  
  Portanto, primeiro protege-se o sector agrícola, garantindo assim preços elevados para os bens alimentares. Depois, subsidiam-se as refeições dos funcionários responsáveis pela manutenção do sistema. É lógico.
  
  
• Na cantina da Comissão, os alemães almoçam com os alemães, os espahóis com os espanhóis, os gregos com os gregos...o português almoçou com que lhe pagou o almoço...

posted by Joao

 
NOTAS DE VIAGEM (I)

• A Ministra das Finanças teve a honra de viajar no mesmo avião do Valete Fratres !, um dos seus melhores e mais leais clientes. A ministra viajou em classe executiva. Preço da viagem: 1 423.85 Euros. Em classe económica o preço da viagem seria 525 Euros...um euro é um euro, bolas. Ora, isto em PEC's dá...
  
  
• O avião, que normalmente estaciona no meio do campo, destra vez levou os passageiros até ao edíficio do aeroporto. Sempre poupei 20 minutos graças à ministra.
  
  
• No último andar do renovado aeroporto de Bruxelas existe um corredor. Esse corredor dá acesso à capela católica, à capela ortodoxa (muito bem decorada), à capela protestante, à sinagoga (que se encontrava encerrada...) e à mesquita. A meio desse corredor existe uma sala de espera e um gabinete envidraçado equipado com uma secretária e um computador. À entrada, pode-se ler-se num placa: "consultor moral" [mas em estrangeiro]. A minha primeira reação foi: "ah então foi aqui que ele se escondeu". Os outros (os consultores imorais) operam, normalmente, em edíficios de escritórios no centro ou na periferia das cidades. Mas afinal não era nada disso. De qualquer forma, este, como os outros, dá conselhos sobre o "downsizing" (do pecado) e sobre a "re-engenharia" (das nossas vidas) independentemente do freguês (é uma consultoria moral "one size fits all"-5 capelas, 1 consultor)...e utiliza o powerpoint. Tal como os outros, este diz-nos coisas que nós já sabemos...a diferença é que não cobra um preço imoral...somos nós que decidimos se queremos ou não pagar o preço.

posted by Joao

 
Vou para Bruxelas ao serviço da Organização. Volto à Blogosfera na 4ª feira. No dia 10 de Junho estava em Bruxelas. No dia 14 de Julho estarei em Bruxelas. Passei o 4 de Julho em Lisboa. Presumo que passarei o mês de Outubro em Bruxelas.
posted by Joao

 
OS ERROS E AS MENTIRAS DO PARTIDO ANTI-AMERICANO (I)

Nos últimos dias, os jornais têm atribuído grande destaque aos supostos erros e mentiras de Bush e Blair...e menos destaque aos desmentidos...

Mas ninguém ainda questionou os membros do partido anti-americano sobre muitos dos seus erros e mentiras .

Para além das profecias apocalípticas sobre o desenrolar da guerra, muitas delas já denunciadas por alguns media tradicionais (desde os milhares de mortos, ao saque do museu de Bagdad, passando pelas crises humanitárias - aqui); para além e das distorções e manipulações das palavras dos membros da Administração Americana denunciadas na Blogosfera (aqui, p.ex.), convirá igualmente referir que:

• A exploração colonial do petróleo, que seria a grande justificação para a guerra, não se materializou. As receitas da exploração do petróleo estão a ser depositadas num fundo criado pela ONU e serão utilizadas de forma transparente para benefício dos iraquianos (aqui; aqui; aqui).
  
  
• Os contratos com empresas americanas para a reconstrução do país, que seriam outro dos motivos para desencadear a guerra, incluem cláusulas que obrigam à sub-contratação do trabalho a empresas iraquianas (aqui; aqui). Os contratos são financiados pelo contribuinte americano através da USAID.
  
  
• O “imperialismo” americano traduz-se, tal como na Alemanha e no Japão do pós-guerra, na reconstrução do país e na modernização das suas infra-estruturas (aqui) e na criação das estruturas políticas que permitirão, mais tarde, a criação de um governo representativo (aqui; aqui). Encontram-se já previstas a formação de uma assembleia constituinte (no final do Verão), a realização de um referendo (9 meses depois) e, imediatamente a seguir, a realização de eleições livres (aqui).

posted by Joao

 
AINDA O CASO DAS COMPRAS DE URÂNIO EM ÁFRICA: the plot thickens

1. No seu discurso do Estado da Nação, o Presidente Bush pronunciou as seguintes palavras: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
   
   
2. Pouco tempo depois, a agência internacional de energia atómica considerou que os documentos que supostamente teriam servido de base a esta afirmação tinham sido forjados.
   
   
3. Fontes da Casa Branca afirmaram recentemente que, de facto, a frase não deveria ter sido introduzida no discurso do estado da nação. O director da CIA assumiu a responsabilidade pelo facto da afirmação em causa não ter sido eliminada (aqui).
   
   
4. Na mesma altura, um ex-diplomata americano afirmou ter visitado o Niger em 2002, tendo confirmado que as alegações eram falsas (aqui).
   
   
5. No entanto, os jornais de ontem e hoje noticiam o seguinte :
   
   
   • "British officials...insisted that the intelligence behind it was genuine and had nothing to do with the fake documents. It was convincing and they were sticking with it, the officials said...They dismissed a report from a former U.S. diplomat who was sent to Niger to investigate the claims and rejected them. "He seems to have asked a few people if it was true, and when they said 'no' he accepted it all," one official said. "We see no reason at all to change our assessment" (aqui).
     
   • As informações publicitadas pelo governo do Reino Unido teriam sido obtidos junto dos serviços secretos italianos e franceses (aqui): "Two foreign governments, thought to be France and Italy, supplied Britain with the intelligence for its claim that Saddam Hussein's Iraq had sought uranium from Africa".
     
   • Mas, "The French secret service is believed to have refused to allow Britain's MI6 to give the United States "credible" intelligence showing that Iraq was trying to buy uranium ore from Niger, U.S. intelligence sources said yesterday. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service had more than one "different and credible" piece of intelligence to show that Iraq was attempting to buy the ore, known as yellowcake, British officials insisted. But it was given to them by at least one and possibly two intelligence services and, under the rules governing cooperation, it could not be shared with anyone else without the originator's permission" (aqui).
     
   • Entretanto, a Administração Americana justifica a afirmação referida em 3 da seguinte forma (aqui):"Referencing another country's intelligence, as opposed to your own, probably — according to George Tenet and the president ... it would have been better not to include it."

posted by Joao

 
Mob attacks pollsters who found few Palestinians want their old homes in what is now Israel

"A mob of about 100 Palestinian refugees stormed the office of a Ramallah polling organisation yesterday to stop it publishing a survey showing that five times as many refugees would prefer to settle permanently in a Palestinian state than return to their old homes in what is now Israel..."This is a message for everyone not to tamper with our rights," one of the rioters said."

Este é o site do Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR)

Aqui poderá encontrar os últimos estudos realizados pela empresa. O resultado da última sondagem realizada foi o seguinte: "the findings show an increased readiness to accept a mutual cessation of violence and a majority support for ending the armed intifada. Moreover, the results show a majority supporting a mutual recognition of Israel as the state for the Jewish people and Palestine as the state for the Palestinian people."


posted by Joao

 
JOÃO CÉSAR DAS NEVES NO DN

"Dizemos que estamos num tempo de liberdade e tolerância, em que cada um faz o que quer e ninguém tem nada com isso. Entre adultos que consentem todos os actos devem ser aceites....

A homossexualidade é uma opção normal, a droga uma doença a tratar, mas fumar é perversão a combater. Esta é a classificação geralmente aceite. Mais do que isso, é a única admissível. Se alguém se atrever a achá-la estranha é atacado e ridicularizado. Estamos num tempo de tolerância mas sobre estes temas não há opinião alternativa. Temos mesmo uma era muito curiosa!

Um outro caso interessante vê-se no campo da biotecnologia. Os cientistas conseguem hoje, por manipulação dos cromossomas, obter plantas e animais muito mais resistentes e produtivos, o que traz já expectativas notáveis no combate à fome. Apesar disso muitos países pobres recusam-nos, por medo de... sanções...Mas enquanto recusa a biotecnologia alimentar, a Europa (sobretudo a Grã-Bretanha) faz intensa investigação genética em tecidos e embriões humanos, que os americanos limitam por razões morais. Aquilo que é horrível fazer em cereais é aceitável em pessoas. Vivemos mesmo uma era muito bizarra!

A tecnologia trouxe-nos ganhos espantosos, e em nenhum campo eles são tão maravilhosos como na saúde. Combatemos doenças poderosas e eliminamos velhas maleitas. Mas o mundo, tão poderoso na ciência, revela cada vez mais que a sua principal doença é a terrível desorientação ética em que vive."

posted by Joao

 
Partilho convosco um excerto de uma resposta a uma mensagem de um visitante:

...Este é um Blog desiquilibrado. É desiquilibrado porque faz o pouco que está ao seu alcance para equilibrar a cobertura enviesada dos media tradicionais. Aqui poderá encontrar discursos, as citações, estudos, artigos, notícias que não são noticiados porque colocam em causa as verdades absolutas e PC a que temos direito.

Se quiser ouvir o que o "outro lado" tem para dizer, veja a televisão e leia os jornais...

...Não estou aqui para enganar ninguém...leia as palavras que se encontram logo abaixo do título do Blog.

Este Blog dá voz aos que não têm voz...

posted by Joao

 
USS RONALD REAGAN COMISSIONED

"We are not a warlike people. Quite the opposite. We always seek to live in peace. We resort to force infrequently and with great reluctance--and only after we have determined that it is absolutely necessary. We are awed--and rightly so--by the forces of destruction at loose in the world in this nuclear era. But neither can we be naive or foolish. Four times in my lifetime America has gone to war, bleeding the lives of its young men into the sands of beachheads, the fields of Europe and the jungles and rice paddies of Asia. We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted.

We simply cannot learn these lessons the hard way again without risking our destruction.

Of all the objectives we seek, first and foremost is the establishment of lasting world peace. We must always stand ready to negotiate in good faith, ready to pursue any reasonable avenue that holds forth the promise of lessening tensions and furthering the prospects of peace. But let our friends and those who may wish us ill take note: the United States has an obligation to its citizens and to the people of the world never to let those who would destroy freedom dictate the future course of human life on this planet."

Ronald Reagan
July 17, 1980
posted by Joao

 
Fears Grow Over Academic Efforts to Normalize Pedophilia

"as society changes, the definition of mental illness is likely to change along with it. Therefore, as our society comes increasingly to value sexual liberation and children's autonomy, pressure increases on the psychiatric establishment to stop pathologizing things like childhood sexual expression, gender variance and homosexuality."

"The danger arises when the public gives psychiatry too much power; when the layman assumes that psychiatry 'knows something' about sexuality that the moral ethicist does not," Nicolosi said. "Psychiatry cannot tell the layman that homosexuality, or pedophilia, or sado-masochistic sex are 'healthy' because science has no concept of 'healthy sex' that is not values-laden."

posted by Joao

 
OLAVO DE CARVALHO (I)

"Desde a década de 20 a nata da intelectualidade comunista -- Lukacs, Horkheimer, Adorno, Gramsci -- percebeu que sua guerra não era apenas contra "o capitalismo", mas contra um alvo bem mais vasto e difuso: a "civilização judaico-cristã". A ampliação do objetivo implicava, porém, uma diluição do perfil ideológico do próprio movimento comunista, de modo a que pudesse absorver, sem discussões paralisantes, todas as correntes anti-ocidentais as mais heterogêneas

...Para que aquela intuição se disseminasse em círculos mais amplos e se tornasse o eixo articulador de uma nova estratégia mundial, foi preciso chegar às décadas finais do século XX, quando o desmantelamento do império soviético deu razão àqueles pioneiros.

...Mas "progressismo transnacional" é apenas um nome provisório para designar a densa cobertura retórica de ódios irracionais e calúnias desencontradas que adorna um movimento cuja unidade estratégica é, no entanto, inegável.

Essa unidade revela-se da maneira mais patente na rapidez com que Estados, partidos, facções e ONGs das mais diversas filiações nominais acorrem disciplinadamente para apoiar todas as causas, mesmo inconexas em aparência, que sirvam para corroer as bases da civilização ocidental. Isto vai desde o anti-americanismo, o anti-israelismo, o anticristianismo explícitos, até as quotas raciais, o desarmamento civil, o casamento gay, o alarmismo ecológico, o abortismo, a imposição do vocabulário "politicamente correto", a medicalização da sociedade e a liberação das drogas pesadas -- com seu complemento dialético infalível, a proibição do tabaco..."

posted by Joao

 
COLONIALISMO AMERICANO

"Giant U.S. engineering firm Bechtel [empresa-mãe da Haliburton] Sunday told Iraqi companies they could be part of rebuilding the country and got a first-hand look at how local firms are struggling to adapt in a post-Saddam world.

Bechtel, awarded the prime reconstruction contract for Iraq by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), met 200 representatives of potential Iraqi subcontractors in Iraq's second city Basra, the hub for southern commerce on the Gulf.

...Bechtel officials said they had given Iraqis 16 of the 50 subcontracts issued so far to build or repair ports, power networks, airports, schools, roads and other infrastructure.

Elkins said the unlisted San Francisco-based company expected to hand Iraqi companies three out of every four of its subcontracts under its USAID deal. Bechtel has said it would subcontract 90 percent of its work in Iraq."

A Bechtel ]e financiada por dinheiro dos contribuintes americano. Escrevi v]arios posts sobre esta mat]eria, o ]ultimo dos quais foi este.

posted by Joao

 
A Lusa publicou esta notícia, citando uma entrevista de Rumsfeld à NBC (aqui).

Ao contrário do que aconteceu com outras notícias sobre Rumsfeld (aqui), desta vez a tradução das palavras do secretário da defesa americano não distorceu o seu sentido.

Já agora, Rumsfeld afirma (palavras não citadas pela Lusa):

"We've been there [Iraq] çless than 10 weeks, is that bogged down? How long were we in Germany? How long were we in Japan?" he said. "The president has said we are going to use as many forces as are necessary for as long as it takes."

posted by Joao

 
IMPERIALISMO AMERICANO (Nota: operações militares principais concluídas há menos de 3 meses)

"A 25-member governing council of prominent Iraqis from diverse political and religious backgrounds was named at an inaugural meeting Sunday, the first national body since the fall of Saddam Hussein and a crucial first step on the nation's path to democracy.

...The multiethnic panel will have real political muscle, with the power to name ministers and approve the 2004 budget, but final control of Iraq still rests with the top American administrator, L. Paul Bremer. Former Foreign Minister and council member Adnan Pachachi said he does not expect Bremer to veto council decisions and believed negotiations would settle all disputes.

...The panel is meant to be the forerunner of a larger constitutional assembly that will have about a year to draft a new constitution. A senior Western diplomat has told The Associated Press that a preliminary constitutional committee is expected to be named within two to three weeks.

By mid- to late-September, the 200-250 strong Constitutional Convention is expected to take office and begin deliberations. The convention is expected to take nine months to a year to produce a draft constitution, after which Iraqis will hold a referendum to vote on the document. Free elections to pick a government are expected to follow."

P.S. Anteriormente, foram também criados conselhos locais (aqui).
posted by Joao

 
BELGIUM TO SCRAP WAR CRIMES LAW"Belgian officials said today that they will scrap a controversial war crimes law under which cases have been launched against President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, said the move by his new government was aimed at preventing abuses of the law. "I think we have definitely solved this question," he said, hours after his government was sworn in by King Albert II.

The 1993 law gave Belgium jurisdiction over war criminals regardless of where their alleged crimes occurred. Human rights organizations hailed the law as a novel weapon that would put dictators and despots everywhere on notice, but critics, including members of the Belgian government, warned that it interfered with Belgium's foreign relations and could bring on a flurry of cases filed mainly for political reasons.

In the future, the right to launch cases will be restricted to Belgian citizens or residents. All cases apart from those involving Belgians will be dropped, he said.

The norms of international immunity will also be respected. Any cases that are launched will take into account Belgium's agreements with NATO allies and other European Union members."



posted by Joao

 
TONY BLAIR:SOBRE A ESQUERDA EUROPEIA

"There is a risk, seen very clearly in parts of the European left, that we end up defining ourselves in economic terms as anti-globalization and in foreign policy terms by anti-Americanism. Both are a cul de sac (dead-end)"

Blair faz uma previsão sobre o passado da esquerda...e descreve o presente...a esquerda dissolveu-se na extrema-esquerda.
posted by Joao

 
THE AL-QAEDA CONNECTION - More reason to suspect that bin Laden and Saddam may have been in league

Artigo do Daily Standard que confirma a existência dos documentos a que fiz referência hoje de manhã (aqui). O articulista considera os documentos interessantes nas inconclusivos. Refere, no entanto, duas outras fontes:

• "Hamid Mir, bin Laden's "official biographer" and an analyst for al Jazeera, spent two weeks filming in Iraq during the war. Unlike most reporters, Mir wandered the country freely and was not embedded with U.S. troops. He reports that he has "personal knowledge" that one of Saddam's intelligence operatives, Farooq Hijazi, tried to contact bin Laden in Afghanistan as early as 1998. At that time, bin Laden was publicly still quite critical of the Iraqi leader, but he had become far more circumspect by November 2001, when Mir interviewed him for the third time."
• "Hijazi has acknowledged meeting with al Qaeda representatives, perhaps with bin Laden himself, even before the outreach in 1998. According to news reports and interviews with intelligence officials, Hijazi met with al Qaeda leaders in Sudan in 1994."
• "Former Navy Secretary John Lehman, a member of the congressional commission investigating the September 11 attacks, added to the intrigue this week when he flatly declared, "there is evidence" of Iraq-al Qaeda links. Lehman has access to classified intelligence as a member of the commission, intelligence that has convinced him the links may have been even greater than the public pronouncements of the Bush administration might suggest. "There is no doubt in my mind that [Iraq] trained them in how to prepare and deliver anthrax and to use terror weapons."

posted by Joao

 
No Discurso do Estado da Nação (aqui), o Presidente Bush pronunciou as seguintes 16 palavras:

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. "

Esta Frase estava incluída no seguinte parágrafo:

"The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide."

Fontes da Casa Branca admitiram recentemente que as 16 palavras acima referidas não deveriam ter sido incluídas no Discurso de Bush; os documentos que fundamentavam estas palavras eram forjados.

Esta admissão de erro, provocou doi tipos de reação:

• De acordo com alguns, Bush teria tentado enganar deliberada os americanos; Bush mentiu. Acontece que, ontem à noite, o Director da CIA, um funcionário nomeado por Bill Clinton, afirmou o seguinte (aqui):

  "Legitimate questions have arisen about how remarks on alleged Iraqi attempts to obtain uranium in Africa made it into the President’s State of the Union speech. Let me be clear about several things right up front. First, CIA approved the President’s State of the Union address before it was delivered. Second, I am responsible for the approval process in my Agency. And third, the President had every reason to believe that the text presented to him was sound. These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the President."

• Os argumentos americanos sobre o programa nuclear saddamita não tinham qualquer fundamento não eram verdadeiros e não justificariam uma intervenção militar.
  
  Mas, como se poderá ler na citação acima, as alegadas compras de urânio africano eram apenas um dos argumentos utilizados. Por outro lado, este tipo de reacção não é compatível com a descoberta de componentes essenciais para o desenvolvimento de armas nuclerares no Iraque (aqui). E depois, temos estes argumentos.

posted by Joao

 
DOCUMENT LINKS SADDAM, BIN LADEN... (via instapundit)

"I have been given documentary evidence of the names and positions of the 600 closest people in Iraq to Saddam Hussein, as well as his ongoing relationship with Osama bin Laden...The document shows that an Iraqi intelligence officer, Abid Al-Karim Muhamed Aswod, assigned to the Iraq embassy in Pakistan, is ''responsible for the coordination of activities with the Osama bin Laden group.''...it seems to me to be strong proof that the two were in contact and conspiring to perform terrorist acts. Up until this time, I have been skeptical about these claims. Now I have changed my mind."

Comentário do Instapundit: "Those who know Judge Merritt [o Juíz Merrit é o autor do artigo]-- a lifelong Democrat and a man of unimpeachable integrity -- will know just how significant this is."

posted by Joao

 
CHIRAC TERÁ AJUDADO GENERAL JUGOSLAVO A FUGIR A TRIBUNAL INTERNACIONAL...

Alegadamente, o Chirac ajudou um general Juguslavo a fugir ao tribunal das Nações Unidas (aqui):

"President Jacques Chirac negotiated a secret deal to protect Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general accused of Europe's worst atrocities since the Second World War, according to evidence submitted to the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. M Chirac allegedly agreed to sabotage the extradition of Gen Mladic to face genocide charges for his role in the planned extermination of Bosnian Muslims, including the massacre of 7,000 men and boys in the UN safe haven of Srebrenica in July 1995. In exchange, Gen Mladic handed over two French pilots held hostage for 14 weeks by his forces after their Mirage fighter jet was shot down outside Sarajevo. The claim, dismissed as "hearsay" by Paris, was contained in the transcripts of a telephone conversation between the former Yugoslav president, Zoran Lilic, and the head of the Yugoslav armed forces in Belgrade."

A única diferença entre estas alegações e aquelas que tem sido feitas nos últimos dias sobre Bush e Blair, é que a maioria destas últimas já foram desmentidas...vou ler com atenção os jornais de amanhã...

E parece que hoje mesmo Chirac mudou de opinião sobre os tribunais internacionais (não encontrei o original desta notícia, copiei deste Blog):

"French President Jacques Chirac, a vocal supporter of the International Criminal Court, the European Union, and the United Nations said today that France is a sovereign nation and international courts or tribunals are "suddenly a bad idea." A spokesman for Mr. Chirac said his new pronouncement has "no connection whatever" with yesterday's revelation that the U.N. war crimes tribunal has received evidence that Mr. Chirac may have cut a deal to protect accused Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic. Gen. Mladic, still at large, stands accused of war crimes resulting in the deaths of thousands. "Globalism is overrated," said a written statement from Mr. Chirac. "International tribunals and courts open the doors to political opportunists with anti-French agendas. This, I find, is suddenly a bad idea."

A ser verdade, a França aproxima-se da posição dos EUA que tanto tinha criticado...
posted by Joao

 
IQ TEST

Fiz o teste de QI acima linkado e obtive o seguinte resultado:

Congratulations, Valete! Your IQ score is 136...According to the sorts of questions you got correct, we can tell your Intellectual Type is a Visionary Philosopher [Estes tipos conhecem-me mesmo bem !!!!]. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways [Isto só prova que este teste é bastante credível]. Like Plato [Desde que li o Popper, fico sempre de pé atrás...], your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others [Haha !!!] — and at anticipating and predicting patterns [Claro...]. And that's just some of what we know about you from your IQ results [para mais informações é necessário pagar $14.95...o que vale é que eu sou um gajo esperto...]

Fiquei com duas dúvidas: (1) Não compreendo as discrepâncias entre o resultado acima apresentado e os comentários da maioria dos visitantes do Valete que, tendo em conta os adjectivos utilizados, teimam em pôr em causa as minhas capacidades cognitivas...; (2) Se eu sou assim tão esperto, porque razão é que fui perder tempo a fazer este teste ????

posted by Joao

 

HEIL... "We are socialists, we are enemies of today's capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are all determined to destroy this system under all conditions". Adolf Hitler

Publicidade paga pela Associação Contra a Canonização do Lula da Silva

posted by Joao

 
POWELL SOBRE O PETRÓLEO

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, many of your critics in America, African Americans, and many that are here are saying that President Bush and the Bush administration went into Iraq for oil. Many people are saying -- those same critics are saying that you're coming in for substance for Africa and trying to secure the west coast of Africa, Liberia, for that same situation, oil. What do you say to those critics?

SECRETARY POWELL: We have not taken one drop of Iraqi oil for U.S. purposes, or for coalition purposes. Quite the contrary. We put in place a management system to make sure that Iraqi oil is brought out of the ground and put onto the market in order to generate revenue for the Iraqi people. And we have put in place an auditing system and people who can oversee what we are doing. And the United States government is spending a great deal of money to support our forces over there. It cost a great deal of money to prosecute this war. But the oil of the Iraqi people belongs to the Iraqi people; it is their wealth, it will be used for their benefit. So we did not do it for oil.

By that same token, we did not come to Africa -- the President did not come to Africa on this trip for the purpose of taking anyone's oil or imposing our will on anybody. We are here to visit friends. We are here by invitation. We have been welcomed by the governments. And there has -- in the three days that we have been here, we have not participated in one single discussion with any leader about oil in any way, shape, manner, fashion or form.

And the people of Liberia are suffering under a terrible dictatorship. The United States has been asked by the international community, by ECOWAS, by the United Nations, we have been asked by President Taylor, we have been asked by the organizations opposing President Taylor to play a role in bringing this crisis to a solution. And we are examining what we should do.

So we are not here for any other purpose than to demonstrate our friendship, to demonstrate our commitment, and to see if we can help people in need.

P.S. Escrevi já vários posts sobre a questão do petróleo. Este foi o mais recente.


posted by Joao

 
POWELL SOBRE A NOTÍCIA DA BBC

QUESTION: some British officials apparently think that what will happen in the end is weapons of mass destruction will not be found. There may be evidence that Saddam Hussein, before the war, either hid or destroyed weapons of mass destruction. Is that now what this administration thinks?

SECRETARY POWELL: No. And I cannot speculate on what an unnamed British official may or may not have said, or does or does not believe. Let's start at the beginning. I don't want to take you through the whole history, but it's instructive.

This is a regime that developed weapons of mass destruction, had them, used them, and in 1991, when we went to war, and I was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, we were concerned that they would use those weapons against them -- against us, and everybody knew they had them.

When the first Gulf War was over, Desert Storm, we found them, and we destroyed some. And we looked for more. And the U.N. took it over, and for years the U.N. kept searching for more. And they never were able to get a full accounting and could not find them all. Resolution after resolution was passed, agreed to by the entire international community.

In 1998, Saddam Hussein created conditions that caused the inspectors to have to leave. They were getting close, and they had to leave. President Clinton was so concerned at time that he bombed. What did he bomb? He bombed for four days, in Operation Desert Fox, facilities that were believed to possess or developing or producing weapons of mass destruction.

The entire international community has felt, over this entire period, that Saddam Hussein had these weapons, and there was sufficient intelligence available to all the major intelligence agencies of the world that they existed. And they do exist. And when we went to the United Nations last year, when the President spoke to the United Nations General Assembly last September, he put the charge to the General Assembly: you have been saying; put the charge to the Security Council as well, you have been saying for all these years that this is a nation that has not come clean, here is one last chance.

And in resolution 1441, 15 nations unanimously approved that resolution that begins with a statement that Iraq is in material breach. So everybody had reason to believe, good reason to believe -- not figments of the imagination -- that they had weapons of mass destruction and had programs to develop more. And if there is anybody who thinks that Saddam Hussein had ever lost the intent to have such weapons, then I think that is the most naive view imaginable. And he had the chance to come clean to the international community; he did not take that chance, he did not take that opportunity. And the war followed.

And we have now removed a tyrant, a dictator. We have freed people. We have found the mass graves. We have found -- we are starting to find evidence that I think will make it clear that there was a more than adequate justification for this war and more than adequate authority for it under Resolution 1441.

posted by Joao

 
JMF NO PÚBLICO: O jornalismo de referência como baixa de guerra

Onde se fala dos casos do NYT e da BBC...e do Público.

posted by Joao

 
MAIS UMA NOTÍCIA FALSA: AS PRESSÕES DE BUSH SOBRE OS SERVIÇOS SECRETOS A PROPÓSITO DAS WMD SADDAMITAS

Um ALEGADO ex-funcionário dos serviços secretos americanos confidenciou a um jornalista que teria estado numa reunião com o Presidente Bush na qual teria ocorrido o seguinte episódio:

"He (Bush) said that if the current operatives working for the CIA couldn't prove the story was true [WMD no Iraque], then the agency had better find some who could...He said he knew the story was true and so would the world after American troops secured the country."

Depois da história ter sido publicada, o jornalista responsável pela mesma descobriu que a fonte não era credível e que a história era factualmente falsa (aqui).

Várias horas depois do desmentido, esta história foi repetida num programa da CNN, transformado-se assim em verdade universal (aqui).


P.S. O Instapundit também tem acompanhado esta história.

P.S.2 Ver também este artigo da AP.
posted by Joao

 
ANTI-AMERICANISMO NO AR...


Em 8 de Julho, um Boeing 737 da Sudan Airways despenhou-se no Mar Vermelho, provocando mais de 100 mortos.

O Ministro Sudanês dos Negócios Estrangeiros afirmou que o acidente tinha sido directamente provocado pelas sanções económicas impostas pelos EUA. As sanções teriam impedido a importação de peças.

Os jornalistas ocidentais fizeram eco destas declarações, tornando-se esta interpretação a verdade a que temos direito.

Acontece que esta notícia não corresponde à realidade (aqui):

"While there are US sanctions in effect against Sudan and other state sponsors of terrorism, specific licenses may be issued on a case by case basis for the exportation of goods, services and technology to ensure the safety of civil aviation and safe operation of US origin commercial passenger aircrafts"

A acusação contra os EUA foi notícia...o desmentido, pelos vistos, não é notícia.


P.S. Agadeciemntos ao João Lecour pelo e-mail que deu origem a este post.
posted by Joao

 
NATIONAL REVIEW: Do conservatives need to declare independence from the GOP?

Uma crítica às políticas internas do Presidente Bush, com a qual concordo no essencial.

posted by Joao

 
MAIS UMA TEORIA DA CONSPIRAÇÃO DESTRUÍDA (a vida está díficil para os adeptos das teoria de conspiração que envolvem judeus)

Em 8 de Junho de 1967, durante a guerra dos 6 dias, forças israelitas atacaram um navio americano estacionado no Mediterrâneo oriental - o USS Liberty -, matando 37 marinheiros Americanos.

Durante muito tempo, as autoridades israelitas afirmaram que o ataque tinha sido um acidente: a marinha e a aviação israelita confundiram o navio americano com um um navio egípcio.

Mas o episódio entrou imediatamente na galeria das teorias da conspiração, servindo de argumento a todos os adversários da aliança Israel/EUA e a alguns anti-semitas (aqui; aqui; aqui; etc...)

Hoje foi noticiado que a versão do governo israelita corresponde à realidade. Um juíz conseguiu obter as gravações das comunicações das tropas israelitas durante o ataque ao navio. As gravações comprovam que as tropas israelitas pensavam que o Liberty era um navio egípcio. As gravações foram efectuadas pelas tropas americanas (aqui).
posted by Joao

 
NOTÍCIA DA BBC DESMENTIDA POR GOVERNO INGLÊS (mais uma notícia da BBC sobre WMD...)

De acordo com a BBC (aqui):

"BBC political editor Andrew Marr said "very senior sources" in Whitehall had virtually ruled out the possibility of finding the weapons. They believe they did exist - but were hidden or destroyed by Saddam Hussein before the war.

O Nº10 de Downing Street respondeu da seguinte forma (aqui):

""The authentic voice from the top of Government spoke yesterday - the Prime Minister. His words are clear and they are on the record. [Tony Blair told the Commons Liaison Committee] "I have absolutely no doubt at all that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programmes," Mr Blair said at the hearing."

Em posts anteriores dei conta das notícias falsas atribuídas à BBC sobre as "mentiras de Blair" e dos desmentidos da própria estação (aqui, p.ex.). Entretanto a alegada fonte destas notícias apresenout-se em público e desmentiu o relato do alegado jornalista da BBC a quem tinha prestado declarações (aqui).
posted by Joao

 
COLIN POWELL SOBRE O IRAQUE E AS WMD

"There should be no doubt in anyone's mind, no matter what you might think about one piece of intelligence or another piece of intelligence, that Saddam Hussein was trying to develop nuclear weapons in the past, and, if freed of sanctions and allowed to continue unabated without sanctions, without the international community intervening, he would have continued to pursue weapons of mass destruction...This was a dictator who had gassed people in the past, and, if we had not intervened, would have been developing the capability to gas people in the future, or to use biological weapons against them, or at least to threaten the world with those kinds of weapons. And yes, nuclear weapons."

Colin Powell, 9 de Julho de 2003

[fonte]
posted by Joao

 
Actualizei o post anterior sobre a distorção jornalísitica das palavras de Rumsfeld. Acrescentei links para o Público e para o DN e refiro alguns Blogs que também trataram esta questão (se não referi algum, enviem-me um e-mail).
posted by Joao

 
NOVA DISTORÇÃO JORNALÍSTICA: RUMSFELD E A JUSTIFICAÇÃO PARA A GUERRA NO IRAQUE

A RTP e a LUSA publicam a seguinte verdade a que temos direito:

"Rumsfeld diz que guerra no Iraque não se deveu a armas de destruição maciça: A guerra no Iraque não foi desencadeada devido a novas provas sobre armas de destruição maciça, afirmou o secretário da Defesa norte-americano, contradizendo a tese inicial avançada pela administração Bush para justificar a sua intervenção."

O que Rumsfeld disse na realidade foi o seguinte (aqui, p.ex.):

"The coalition did not act in Iraq because we had discovered dramatic new evidence of Iraq's pursuit...We acted because we saw the evidence in a dramatic new light -- through the prism of our experience on 9-11."

Deve ter sido um problema de tradução...se fosse em russo o Carlos Fino podia ajudar...mas como é em amaricano...

P.S.

O Público não distorceu as palavras de Rumsfeld (aqui).

P.S.2

O DN consegue mentir e desmentir no mesmo parágrafo (pg. 12): "Donald Rumsfeld, explicou ontem a uma comissão do senado que a guerra não foi lançada por causa das armas de destruição maciça. «Não agimos por termos descoberto novas provas dramáticas sobre a aquisição pelo Iraque de armas de destruição maciça. Agimos assim porque víamos as provas existentes a uma nova luz, através da experiência vivida a 11 de Setembro» de 2001, explicou Rumsfeld." Existem editores do DN?

P.S.3

O Complot também tratou desta questão...e chamou à TSF Rádio Bagdad. Uma comentadora ficou indignada com este "insulto". A leitora tem toda razão. O Complot deveria ter chamada à TSF o nome que se atribui a quem não fala verdade...agora, Rádio Bagdad nunca...(A propósito, as traduções das conferências de imprensa em Inglês do Comical Ali foram sempre excelentes...deve ser do sotaque)

P.S.4

O Mar Salgado também publicitou esta questão. Obrigado.

posted by Joao

 
O Picuinhas é a prova provada que as férias fazem bem...

O Fumaças dedica uma série de posts ao Irão. (O Instapundit escreve sobre a cobertura dos acontecimentos recentes no Irão realizada pela BBC ...conclusão: "I guess state broadcasting services would tend to have a natural affinity for tyranny, wouldn't they?"...este tipo é tão maldoso...felizmente temos a RTP...).



posted by Joao

 
RECONSTRUÇÃO DO IRAQUE (III): OS CONTRATOS DA HALLIBURTON

1. O relatório e a conferência de imprensa que tenho vindo a citar também referem a Halliburton:

   Q: General, Richard Sisk, New York Daily News. Can you give us an idea of the role, the involvement of the Bechtel, Haliburton, private contractor people that are over there? Do they work on their own? Do they work on their own separate projects? Do they work overseeing Iraqis in what they do? And do they carry sidearms?
   
   Strock: Sir, they do not work on their own. They are under contract with the Agency for International Development. We have about an $800 million contract out here, which is being managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of Bechtel (sic) -- I mean on behalf of USAID. The priorities are really set by the Coalition Provisional Authority on what they're going to work on, and they have a very clear picture of that. And AID then gives the instructions to them on how to carry out their work.
   
   So they're very definitely working for the coalition here. They do not carry sidearms. They rely on us for the provision of security. And they also are instructed to employ local Iraqi firms to the greatest extent possible so that the money that is spent in this country stays in this country.

   Conclusão: A Halliburton está a ser paga pelo contribuinte americano através da USAID - agência governamental americana para o desenvolvimento (tive oportunidade de informar os visitantes do Blog deste facto quando surgiu esta polémica).
   
   
2. Quanto à forma alegadamente pouco transparente como este contrato foi atribuído, tomo a liberdade de recomendar a leitura deste artigo da National Review: Halliburton: The Bush/Iraq Scandal that Wasn’t - The president’s critics come up empty.
   
   O artigo baseia-se em informação disponibilizada pelo exército americano na sequência de um inquérito realizado por uma congressista democrata.
   
   Conclusão: A atribuição do contrato à Halliburton não a prova de qualquer de relação imprópria entre a Administração Americana e a Halliburton.
   

posted by Joao

 
RECONSTRUÇÃO DO IRAQUE (II): A QUESTÃO DO PETRÓLEO

Descrevi já a resolução do Conselho de Segurança da ONU que trata da questão das receitas do petróleo iraquiano (aqui).

O relatório sobre a reconstrução do Iraque a que faço referência no post seguinte, descreve como as coisas estão a ser tratadas na prática:

Q: General and Mr. Bearpark, this is Charlie Aldinger with Reuters. I'd like to get a better picture of the oil exports, if you could. In terms of money for Iraq, what -- the 800,000 barrels-a-day exports which you say are going out now, what does that mean? And you say that will go up to 1 million. How does that compare to what Iraq will be able to export in the days ahead -- in the years ahead? Sorry.

Strock: Charlie, we're actually producing about 800,000 barrels of oil today. Iraq uses about 20 percent of that for internal consumption through the refineries. We are not at the moment exporting any of that oil. We sold about 7.5 million barrels to Turkey at the end of June, and we emptied the storage banks at Mina al-Bakr here just recently. So we're now in the process of recharging the storage tanks.

In terms of the ultimate capacity, we think that we can get up to over 2 million barrels per day -- 2.2, 2.5, something like that -- in about a year's time. And that is about the normal export level that the Iraqis have been accustomed to.

Q: What does that mean in terms of money? How much did Turkey pay for the 7.5 million barrels?

Strock: Well, I think the price is somewhere in the 21, 22 dollars per barrel. So, you know, it's a -- I think they sold about $200 million worth of oil. The proceeds from the oil flows will go into the Iraqi development fund, the Development Fund of Iraq, which is a U.N. fund that's been set up. And it will be administered by the administrator here [Sérgio Vieira de Mello]. I think that if -- our projections are that for the remainder of the year, if we can continue to make improvements as they now stand, Iraq should realize about $5 billion by the end of this year.

Conclusão: OS EUA NÃO INVADIRAM O IRAQUE POR CAUSA DO PETRÓLEO. (E se o tivessem feito iam perder dinheiro - Vd. aqui)

posted by Joao

 
RECONSTRUÇÃO DO IRAQUE: Relatório e conferência de imprensa (Nota: Operações militares principais terminaram há 2 meses)

O documento acima linkado descreve em detalhe os trabalhos desenvolvidos pela Administração provisória do Iraque nas áreas de produção de electricidade, água, esgotos, transportes, comunicações, petróleo, segurança, etc..., etc...

Citação:

"We are engaged in a very wide range of reconstruction and rehabilitation projects all over the country. In the last six weeks, we've committed almost a billion dollars in several thousand projects, from high-impact, relatively low-cost things that brigade commanders are doing out in the field to large infrastructure investments that will have a huge impact on the future.

When I say "we," I'm talking about the collective efforts of the coalition military, the U.S. Agency for International Development and their British counterpart, DFID. We're talking about the private sector, nongovernmental organizations. But most importantly, we're talking about the Iraqis themselves. We have found here that the Iraqi public servants are wonderfully competent and remarkably committed to serving the Iraqi people. They have worked under some very, very tough circumstances both during and after the war, and yet they continue to stay at their posts and provide services to the people. It really has been gratifying."

O documento também refere a questão das receitas do petróleo. Vou dedicar um post exclusivamente a esta questão.

posted by Joao

 
GEORGE W. BUSH SOBRE O PROGRAMA NUCLEAR SADDAMITA

Q: Mr. President. Do you regret that your State of the Union accusation that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa is now fueling charges that you and Prime Minister Blair misled the public?...

PRESIDENT BUSH: ...there is no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the world peace. And there's no doubt in my mind that the United States, along with allies and friends, did the right thing in removing him from power. And there's no doubt in my mind, when it's all said and done, the facts will show the world the truth. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind. And so there's going to be a lot of attempts to try to rewrite history, and I can understand that. But I am absolutely confident in the decision I made.

Q Do you still believe they were trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa?

PRESIDENT BUSH: ...One thing is for certain, he's not trying to buy anything right now. If he's alive, he's on the run. And that's to the benefit of the Iraqi people. But, look, I am confident that Saddam Hussein had a weapons of mass destruction program. In 1991, I will remind you, we underestimated how close he was to having a nuclear weapon. Imagine a world in which this tyrant had a nuclear weapon. In 1998, my predecessor raided Iraq, based upon the very same intelligence. And in 2003, after the world had demanded he disarm, we decided to disarm him. And I'm convinced the world is a much more peaceful and secure place as a result of the actions.

posted by Joao

 
ECONOMIC FREEDOM OF THE WORLD 2003 (II) - PORTUGAL

A evolução da liberdade económica em Portugal é apresentada na pág. 31 (a última) deste documento.

Em geral, conclui-se que:

• Registou-se uma acréscimo contínuo de liberdade económica entre 1985 e 2000, período em que Portugal passou de 52º para 21º no Ranking da Liberdade Económica.
  
  
• Em 2001, a liberdade económica reduziu-se marginalmente, passando Portugal a ocupar o 23º lugar do Ranking. Esta evolução negativa está associada, em particular, com o acréscimo de peso da regulamentação na economia, nomeadamente, controlos de preços, obstáculos administrativos à criação de novas empresas e acréscimo de burocracia.
  
  
• Ao longo do período em estudo (1970-2001), os seguintes factores contribuiram de forma significativa para o aumento da liberdade económica:
  
  
  • O aumento de segurança dos direitos de propriedade (em relação a 75).
  • A disciplina monetária imposta pela adesão à CEE e mais tarde pela adesão ao Euro.
    
  • A disciplina cambial, reduções das barreiras ao comércio e às transacções financeiras com o exterior, medidas que podemos igualmente associar à integração europeia.
  
  
  
• O peso do Estado na economia, apesar de inferior ao registado por volta de 75, mantém uma certa estabilidade. O mesmo acontece com a regulamentação dos mercados de bens e serviços, crédito e trabalho.

Comentário: A integração europeia foi o principal factor de crescimento de liberdade económica em Portugal, o que demonstra o nível de autoritarismo económico que o país atingiu antes da adesão à CEE. A constituição europeia poderá obrigar a rever esta conclusão daqui a alguns anos. As áreas que o actual governo escolheu como objecto de reformas, parecem ser de facto aquelas onde se regista um maior grau de autoritarismo económico. No entanto, as propostas apresentadas são tímidas e, provavelmente, não conseguirão sobreviver à ofensiva das forças mais conservadoras da sociedade portuguesa (sindicatos; extrema-esquerda; etc...)
posted by Joao

 
ECONOMIC FREEDOM OF THE WORLD 2003 (I)

Foi ontem publicado o "Economic Freedom of the World: 2003 Annual Report" (press release; site; relatório; apresentação em powerpoint).

Increasing economic freedom leads to greater democracy and prosperity according to new report

The Economic Freedom of the World: 2003 Annual Report, released today by The Fraser Institute, provides a roadmap for building prosperous and democratic nations, according to Nobel Laureates who helped construct the report.

There is a clear correlation between countries scoring high on the UN's Human Development Index, also released today, and those countries that score well in the Economic Freedom Report. The more economically free a country, the greater the level of human development enjoyed by its citizens. The top fifth most economically free countries have an average score of 9 out of 10 on the Human Development Index whereas the bottom fifth least economically free countries have an average score of 6.

"Freeing people economically unleashes individual drive and initiative and puts a nation on the road to economic growth," says Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, one of the original creators of the Economic Freedom Index. "In turn, economic prosperity and independence from government promote civil and political liberty."

The key ingredients of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and the protection of person and property. Using 38 variables for each country (where available) the report measures the institutions essential to ensuring the rule of law, property rights, freedom to trade, sensible regulation, and reasonably sized government.

"The UN Index provides a measure of success but the Economic Freedom Report goes a step farther and provides a recipe for progress," says Fred McMahon, the Institute's director of trade and globalization studies. "Economic freedom is the key component for developing free and thriving nations."

posted by Joao

 
SPRINGTIME IN HONG-KONG: Will chinese communism soon colapse?
posted by Joao

 
MONARQUIAS ÁRABES

Depois da Síria e da Líbia, também o Egipto segue a via da monarquia (absoluta).

Coisas do socialismo árabe...
posted by Joao

 
MOTA AMARAL ADERE AO BLOCO

De acordo com o DN, Mota Amaral terá "denunci[ado] o capitalismo selvagem e a ideologia neoliberal".

Primeiro, Mota Amaral afirma que a globalização produziu resultados negativos para os países mais pobres:

"Estamos todos confrontados com os efeitos da globalização económica, que destruiu equilíbrios anteriores, precários e decerto recheados de injustiças, sem ter propiciado soluções melhores para muitas questões, nomeadamente a distribuição da riqueza em cada país e entre as nações"

Na realidade, foram os países pobres mais globalizados que mais cresceram em virtude da globalização. A edição do Economist de 6 de Dezembro de 2001 apresenta um gráfico que ilustra de forma muito clara esta evidência (aqui): Entre 1945 e 1980, a integração económica (i.e. a globalização) estava concentrada nos países ricos. A partir daquela data, esta situação alterou-se completamente: a globalização chegou aos países pobres, passando o comércio externo a representar um fatia significativa da economia destes países. Os resultados deste processo de globalização das economias mais pobres foram os seguintes: O PIB dos países pobres 'mais globalizados' cresceu a uma taxa de 5% ao ano durante a década de 90; o PIB dos países pobres 'menos globalizados' decresceu 1% ao ano, durante o mesmo período. Em contrapartida, o PIB dos países ricos cresceu 2% ao ano. Outros indicadores de "desenvolvimento humano" seguiram a mesma tendência. O resultado final é claro...é fazer as contas...a desigualdade diminuiu (apesar da questão essencial ser a pobreza e não a desigualdade).

Mota Amaral ter-se-á, depois, questionado sobre a razão do cenário errado por ele descrito:

"o problema reside na globalização em si mesma ou na fúria de um novo capitalismo selvagem, impulsionado à escala do planeta pela ideologia neoliberal, subtilmente imposta como pensamento único"

De facto, as políticas neoliberais, as políticas que promovem a liberdade económica, são responsáveis pelo grande acréscimo de riqueza experimentado pelos países pobres 'mais globalizados'. Mas será o neoliberalismo o "pensamento único" ? Visite-se uma livraria, veja-se a televisão, leiam-se os jornais, ouçam-se os nossos políticos, leiam-se os programas dos partidos, leia-se a constituição europeia...onde está o neo-liberalismo ?...pelo contrário, o pensamente único é o anti-liberalismo...Quanto à selvajaria capitalista, bom, sejamos sérios...

Mas a reflexão de Mota Amaral aproxima-o da verdade:

"os direitos fundamentais proclamados na Declaração Universal não passam de letra morta para milhares de milhões de seres humanos, tantos quantos os que morrem de fome ou de doenças epidémicas, são analfabetos ou mutilados de guerra, vivem escravizados ou sujeitos à violência de ditaduras despóticas, não têm tecto nem emprego nem qualquer esperança para amanhã".

São os países que rejeitaram a globalização e as políticas económicas liberais preferindo seguir as vias comunista, socialista, proteccionistas que obtiveram resultados económicos miseráveis...e existe uma relação clara entre este tipo de políticas limitadoras da liberdade económica e o autoritarismo político (aqui)...a liberdade económica é boa para os pobres...

posted by Joao

 
REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÉRES: CUBA THE WORLD's BIGGEST PRISON FOR JOURNALISTS

In Cuba, they don't just censor you now - they throw you in jail. President Fidel Castro's police rounded up 26 independent journalists on 18 March, along with more than 50 political dissidents, all for the same reason. At the beginning of April, Cuban courts dispatched each of these journalists to prison for between 14 and 27 years after three days of sham trials. They were punished for allegedly working with the United States "against the independence and territorial integrity of the state," which is a crime under article 91 of the Cuban criminal code and under article 88 on "protecting national independence" (known as the "gag law"). Those targeted had regularly published articles in the foreign press, mostly American, since no independent or privately-owned newspaper or radio or TV station is allowed in Cuba, and had recently dared to start up two underground publications in Cuba itself - "De Cuba" and "Luz Cubana" - which was unprecedented in the 44 years of President Castro's rule...Reporters Without Borders invites the public to sign a petition calling for the immediate release of the 26 journalists, who have been thrown in jail to stop them speaking out freely. The arrests mean Cuba is now the world's biggest prison for journalists and that President Castro has become the "Maximum Leader" of predators of press freedom.

posted by Joao

 
BRYAN CAPLAN

Na vida real, Bryan Caplan é um jovem Professor de Economia na Universidade George Mason.

Mas na Internet, Bryan Caplan é um veterano: foi o criador do Museum of Communism e o autor da Anachist Theory FAQ.

Na Internet, Bryan Caplan é tão velho que teve já a oportunidade de escrever e publicar uma breve auto-biografia intelectual (cuja leitura aconselho).

Parece que a Internet altera a idade das pessoas: o jovem Caplan da vida real, transforma-se, na Internet, num respeitável veterano de longas barbas brancas com direito a autobiografia publicada !


P.S. Na nossa blogosfera temos também alguns casos destes...


posted by Joao

 
BLAIR BACKS IRAQ EVIDENCE

"The fact is that we put before the House of Commons, and indeed the country, the case that we made."

"I should tell you right at the very outset I stand by that case totally. I'm quite sure we did the right thing in removing Saddam Hussein."

He added that evidence published by intelligence chiefs was "correct information at the time".

...Mr Blair told Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Donald Anderson that he was confident weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq.

..."All I would like to say is that on the central allegations - that's the reason why you looked into it with such urgency - on that central allegation that myself or anyone else inserted information into last September's dossier against the wishes of the intelligence agencies, that allegation was totally false.

"And I don't know anyone who now believes that allegation to be true."

posted by Joao

 
DEMOCRACIA IRAQUIANA (Nota: tropas aliadas chegaram a Bagdad há 3 meses)

L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq, yesterday hailed the opening of the Interim City Advisory Council in Baghdad as a major step toward local and national government.

He also saluted the courage of the 37 delegates, selected in a process that began in May with the formation of 88 local councils in the city of 5 million. Mr. Bremer praised the councilors' "courage, perseverance and self-confidence ... at a time when malicious people pose a threat."

The Baghdad council was one of two convened yesterday. The other was in the southern Shi'ite city of Najaf where the mayor was fired last week.

The councils — which join other municipal governments with limited powers emerging around Iraq — are expected to act as a proving ground for national leaders, as the United States tries to lay the ground for a quick transition to democracy.


The project has been financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which has invested $7.9 million so far with the stated goal of "encouraging Iraqi participation in public decision making and stimulating local initiatives."

The newly elected City Council in Najaf held its first meeting yesterday, with a U.S. commander telling the representatives they must express the views of their constituents, not just their own.

The meeting came a week after U.S. forces arrested the city's mayor. The arrest, after Iraqi prosecutors charged the mayor with corruption, pleased Najaf residents, who accused him of being a member of Saddam's Ba'ath Party because of his military background.

Mr. Bremer told the Baghdad councilors in his inaugural address that their powers would be advisory — until a nationwide referendum in a few months validated an Iraqi-designed constitution, followed by the establishment of fully elected councils in each city.

posted by Joao

 
Actualizei o primeiro post do dia sobre Blair e a Guerra no Iraque (referência a afirmações de um funcionário da Administração Americana sobre a tentantiva de compra de urânio por parte do regime saddamita). Ao contrário do que é referido aqui, o erro admitido diz apenas respeito à compra de urânio num país africano.
posted by Joao

 
CONSTITUIÇÃO EUROPEIA: Socialism's Farewell Note

The proposed European Constitution represents the last gasp of European socialism. With its 260 pages and 70,000 words, it is one of the longest and most uninspiring farewell notes in human history. Like the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who tried to avert the demise of his weak and economically mismanaged empire by carving his absurd decrees in stone, Giscard D'Estaing and his fellow all-too-conventional "conventionalists" labored for months to codify Europe's venerated model of "social market economy." History suggests that their efforts will have been in vain.

There are two ways to deal with increasing competition: one is to become more productive and the other is to form a cartel. The first way encourages economic and social progress, while the second enforces the status quo. By creating the "United Fortress of Europe," the European Convention opted for the latter way of dealing with the forces of globalization.

posted by Joao

 
PEDRO MEXIA NO DN: GERAÇÃO DE 70

O Pedro Mexia inaugurou uma nova Coluna de opinião no DN (p. 12 da edição de hoje). A nova Coluna Chama-se Geração de 70. Como não podia deixar de ser, o Pedro Mexia partilha o espaço com o Pedro Lomba e com um tal de José Miguel Tavares (quem é este gajo? Tem blog?).

Parece que o DN Online ainda não teve tempo de incluir o Pedro Mexia na sua edição Online (só se for um Complot para obrigar os bloggers a comprarem jornais).
posted by Joao

 
TONY BLAIR E A GUERRA NO IRAQUE

• Relatório da Comissão Parlamentar (conclusões e recomendações). Depois de várias críticas à forma como a informação foi recolhida e apresentada aos comuns, o relatório termina afirmando "Consistent with the conclusions reached elsewhere in this Report, we conclude that Ministers did not mislead Parliament".
  
  
• Relatório do Ministério da Defesa Inglês: Operations in Iraq 2003: First Reflections. Alguns excertos:

  It was...[a] very difficult intelligence target with few sources of information...Assessments of Iraq's military capability depended on intelligence gleaned over more than a decade of surveillance and containment, as well as direct familiarity from frequent engagement with elements of it in recent operations...Although we knew much about the broad structure and disposition of Iraqi land and air forces, very little was known about how they planned to oppose the coalition or whether they had the will to fight...It was judged that the regime might use theatre ballistic missiles and possibly weapons of mass destruction if it could make the capabilities available for operational use and secure the obedience of subordinate commanders...The lack of clear information meant that the coalition did not anticipate that Iraqi organised military resistance would collapse so quickly and completely..."

  
  

P.S. Na sequência da publicação do relatório parlamentar acima citado, a Administração Americana produziu as seguintes declarações (aqui):

"Knowing all that we know now, the reference to Iraq's attempt to acquire uranium from Africa should not have been included in the State of the Union speech...[One Bush administration official said British and U.S. intelligence agencies got their Niger documents from the intelligence service of one country that he refused to name, but that others have identified as Italy]...We both had one source reporting through some liaison service which said, 'Look what we found,' "..."There were other [intelligence] reporting streams, but it may be that all streams are traced to the same source.""

posted by Joao

 
IMAGENS INÉDITAS DA LIBERTAÇÃO DE UM CAMPO DE CONCENTRAÇÃO NAZI (via Chicago Boyz)




posted by Joao

 
THE BLAIR IS A WITCH PROJECT

Acabei de ler este post do Intermitente.

Fiz referência a esta notícia anteriormente (aqui).

posted by Joao

 
A BLOGOSFERA E A MANIPULAÇÃO DAS PALAVRAS DE PAUL WOLFOWITZ

[A propósito de dois e-mails que recebi recentemente sobre esta matéria e de alguns posts sobre o mesmo assunto. O seu a seu dono.]

O meu primeiro post sobre a manipulação da entrevista de Wolfowitzda foi este. Refiro as fontes originais - os verdadeiros heróis desta história.

Repeti o mesmo post alguns dias depois a propósito de algumas crónicas saídas na imprensa portuguesa (aqui).

Entretanto, o Abrupto publicitou este post o que fez com que a questão ganhasse alguma notoriedade.

Quando se deu a segunda deturpação das palavras do Wolfowitz, outros Blogs anteciparam-se e noticiaram primeiro. Sobre esta 2ª deturpação escrevi um post (aqui - inclui referências a pelo menos alguns dos Blogs mais despachados).

Depois fui noticiando os desmentidos do Guardian e do Público (aqui) e também as referências de outros blogs a cronistas que teimaram em não reconhecer os erros (aqui, aqui e provavelmente noutros posts).


P.S. Pronto, já me sinto mais aliviado.
posted by Joao

 
UK PARLIAMENT CLEARS BLAIR OF MISLEADING ON IRAQ

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government did not mislead parliament or doctor evidence to justify the war on Iraq, a parliamentary committee concluded Monday.

Esta é uma notícia que será publicada na pág. 54 dos jornais, juntamente com os desmentidos da BBC abaixo referidos. O mal já está feito...e quem verdadeiramente MISLEAD os ingleses foram os media !




posted by Joao

 
AINDA BERLUSCONI...

Como toda a gente sabe, Berlusconi dirigiu-se nos seguintes termos a um euro-deputado socialista alemão:

"I know that in Italy, there is a man producing a film on Nazi concentration camps - I shall put you forward for the part of guard." [No original: "So che in Italia stanno girando un film sui lager nazisti. La proporrò per il ruolo di Kapò"]

Ora, toda a gente sabe que o Kapo era um prisioneiro de um campo de concentração a quem eram atribuídas pelos Nazis responsabilidades pela segurança interna do campo.

Por esta razão, alguns individuos mais mal intencionados (eu não!) acham que o deputado Alemão ficou ofendido, não por ter sido associado aos Nazis, mas por ter sido comparado com um Judeu...






posted by Joao

 
LUÍS SALGADO MATOS NO PÚBLICO: SOBRE O DIVÓRCIO

...O divórcio unilateral violaria de modo directo a lógica do casamento civil: o casamento é um contrato e só a vontade das duas partes lhe pode pôr termo - excepto se uma dessas partes violou a lei.

Este divórcio unilateral, e de facto ditatorial, fortalecerá o cônjuge mais fraco? O cônjuge mais fraco é o que mais precisa do casamento - por motivos económicos ou sentimentais. Será ele a expulsar o outro cônjuge? Talvez. Mas é mais provável que seja o mais forte a tomar a decisão de pôr fim ao vínculo.

...Facilitar o divórcio apareceria como a reacção de uma sociedade demasiado protegida: os mais fracos serão eliminados em nome dos imortais princípios.

posted by Joao

 
ASSOCIAÇÃO PROTECTORA DO PROF: CÉSAR DAS NEVES (associação privada de solidariedade blogosférica)

1. Mais uma vez o Prof. César das Neves foi vítima de um vil ataque por parte de alguns Blogs nacionais. Desta vez foi o muito apropriadamente chamado Dicionário do Diabo e o seguidista e vassalo Complot que tiveram o desplante de criticar o Prof.
   
   Os dois blogs aproveitam a investigação sobre a identidade do Pipi para atacarem o “moralismo reprimido” (reprimido porquê?), o “evangelismo da castidade” e a “apologética da virtude” dos artigos do Prof.
   
   Ora, desde quando é que a moral, a castidade e a virtude são pecados que devem ser banidos das páginas dos jornais ?
   
   
2. Não encontro em nenhum dos posts os fundamentos das opiniões expressas. Estaria sinceramente interessado em saber porque razão deverão os católicos abster-se de contribuir para a vida social e política dos próprios Países segundo o conceito da pessoa e do bem comum que consideram humanamente verdadeiro e justo.
   
   Serão as opiniões do Prof. sobre esta matéria anti-democráticas, colectivistas ou totalitárias, justificando desta forma a oposição expressa pelos Blogs acima citados? Não. Em nenhum momento o Prof. defende que as suas opiniões sejam impostas através de meios estranhos ao ordenamento jurídico democrático; meios estes, aliás, que se encontram à disposição de todos os membros da comunidade política: quer da maioria relativista, quer da minoria não-relativista.
   
   Será que é proibido falar de questões morais do ponto de vista católico? Não, a Constituição garante o direito à livre expressão.
   
   Parece-me que a única razão que justificará as posições assumidas será o desacordo com os ensinamentos morais da Igreja Católica. Mas, curiosamente, o Dicionário do Diabo e o Complot são dois de apenas três blogs que se assumiram como Católicos ! [Que sairam do armário, por assim dizer...] Sugiro, a este propósito, que leiam a “Nota Doutrinal sobre algumas questões relativas à participação e comportamento dos católicos na vida política”.
   
   
3. Por outro lado, de um ponto de vista táctico, não percebo porque razão os Blogs de direita seleccionam para alvo dos seus ataques o Prof. César das Neves. Porque razão atacar um dos únicos cronistas assumidamente católicos e cujas opiniões minoritárias (e cada vez mais minoritárias) não têm (infelizmente) qualquer impacto na opinião pública, em vez de criticar a imensa legião de cronistas da esquerda e da extrema-esquerda que ocupam os jornais, as revistas e as tv’s e cuja influência está à vista em todas as pesquisas de opinião ?
   
   Parece-me que quando os Blogs da Direita procuram a companhia da esquerda e da extrema-esquerda e se sentem mais à vontade com as opiniões da esquerda e da extrema-esquerda, devemos todos tirar o chapéu a António Gramci e aos “professores” da Escola de Frankfurt...you finnaly dit it...

P.S. Em tempos, escrevi um post sobre Liberdade e Virtude que justificará algumas das opiniões aqui expressas (aqui). Escrevi também um post sobre os artigos 'moralistas' do Prof. César das Neves (aqui).

posted by Joao

 
AINDA A PARCIALIDADE DA BBC... (via Instapundit)

Os conselhos do Times à BBC:

.[The BBC] need[s] to avoid prompting the impression that it is itself actively prejudiced. Many of the protests aimed at the BBC are spurious and reflect the private agendas of those pressing the protest. There is, nonetheless, enough smoke to allow a credible suggestion of fire. The BBC’s unique position, and unusual vulnerability, means that it must be seen to be painfully objective, hyperactively judicious, better balanced than the average spirit level.

No Daily Telegraph, as opiniões são mais radicais:

The BBC was careful in its approach. It did not explicitly undermine our fighting soldiers - even while maintaining a steady anti-coalition campaign. This approach was capped by its report of an uncorroborated, anonymous intelligence source who claimed the Prime Minister and Alastair Campbell lied to the nation concerning the reasons for war...My oxen are the BBC's relentless anti-Israel and anti-America biases... These two biases often meet, as in last Saturday's BBC Arabic Services programme analysing President George Bush's forthcoming visit to Africa...Arabic Services have never subjected the policy of any contemporary ruling Arab leader to such scrutiny...No doubt many people at BBC news and public affairs believe themselves to be quite apolitical, and some might be. But those departments suffer from a world view that is now infecting a new generation of viewers. Like other nasty viruses, this one requires swift containment.

Enquanto isso, a RTP continua a confundir opinião com notícia...o rodapé do telejornal de ontem informava os espectadores, a propósito das mortes dos soldados americanos no Iraque, que "o CENTCOM procurava fugir à reralidade do terreno" (ou qualquer coisa do género)...isto é notícia?

Não me lembro das conferências de imprensa do Comical Ali terem sido objecto de qualquer comentário editorial por parte da RTP.







posted by Joao

 
BLAIR Vs BBC

A administração da BBC repete aquilo que outros responsáveis da empresa já tinham afirmado (aqui):

A statement issued by the [BBC] board through chairman Gavyn Davies said:

• The station's coverage of the war had been "impartial"
• That although there should be more than one source behind a story - in this case it was an anonymous security employee - allegations involving the secret services were an exception
• Running the story was in the "public interest
• 
  It had had Never accused Mr Blair of lying or of misleading Parliament.

"The Board is satisfied that it was in the public interest to broadcast Mr Gilligan's story, given the information which was available to BBC News at the time," the statement said.

However, it said the Today programme should have kept a better record of its dealings with the security services.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "We are saddened that the BBC continues to defend the indefensible." "The BBC still haven't answered the question: `Do they believe these allegations to be true, yes or no?"'

Mas entretanto as afirmações aqui desmentidas tornaram-se em verdade absoluta.
posted by Joao

 
RELATÓRIO ? JANTAR DA UBL

Para: Donald Rumsfelf (c/c P. Wolfowitz)
De: Agente VF007-7

Assunto: Jantar da UBL

Como solicitado, apresento de seguida o meu relatório sobre o jantar da UBL.

1. Saí das instalações da Organização por volta das 20:45H e dirigi-me à zona de Alcântara pela Av. de Ceuta . Deparei-me com a manifestação de orgulho bicha do costume e resolvi, pela 1ª vez na vida e para evitar atrasos, meter-me pelo Casal Ventoso acima...e deu resultado. Depois de várias voltas pelo circuito de Alcântara, lá encontrei um lugar para estacionar (e sem arrumador !). No momento em que saía do carro, apareceu o Miguel. Dirigimo-nos ao Restaurante onde chegámos um pouco depois da hora marcada. Do lado esquerdo, junto ao bar, encontrava-se um pequeno grupo onde se destacava o Pedro Mexia. Olharam-nos com alguma desconfiança até que procedemos às apresentações...a partir daí a desconfiança foi total...

Particparam no jantar 18 pessoas, incluindo UBLianos, acompanhantes e um penetra - a Clara do Desejo Casar (teremos de reforçar as medidas de segurança). Vário dos inscritos baldaram-se à última da hora...

O restaurante escolhido democraticamente pela UBL foi o Espaço Lisboa. É um restaurante muito mal frequentado. Para além dos bloggers da UBL, conta entre os seus clientes o Roger e o Argel ? jogadores de futebol (pelo que me pude aperceber, não beberam bebidas alcoólicas e retiraram-se relativamente cedo).

A mesa que nos foi destinada tinha as dimensões de um campo de futebol...e favorecia o tipo de diálogo que se estabalece entre as claques.

Durante o jantar, registaram-se alguns sinais inquientantes de totalitarismo marxista: todos escolheram o mesmo prato (com excepção do Intermitente); verificou-se uma votação de braço no ar (o Dicionário do Diabo foi integrado na UBL).

No final do jantar, voltámos à zona do bar e ficámos por ali à conversa até os empregados do restaurante começarem a fazer gestos ameaçadores...a reunião continuou (no Lux?) mas eu retirei-me mais cedo...às 7:30H de Sábado já a minha filha exigia ser alimentada...e depois fui obrigado a transportar a família para a praia onde tive finalmente oportunidade de pôr o sono em dia.


2. Impressões pessoais

• Quando se lê o livro e depois se vê o filme, por vezes, fica-se um pouco desapontado...mas no caso dos Blogs isto não acontece...a imagem do blogger que resulta da leitura do Blog é muito semelhante ao original de carne e osso (o que, a ser verdade, no meu caso é um bocado assustador).
  
  
• A Charlotte, fazendo juz ao nome do seu Blog, é uma boa ilustração da razão pela qual é tão díficil cumprir o 9º Mandamento...e apresentou-se no jantar de livro debaixo do braço...para o caso do jantar se tornar muito chato...ou muito animado (qualquer livro é uma excelente arma de arremesso ). O marido da Charlotte é um tipo divertido e simpático (Bolas!)...e escriba de renome (double Bolas!).
  
  
• O Pedro Mexia é exactamente igual aos seus auto-retratos bloguísticos...(e a fotografia do Independente favorece-o ;) ).
  
  
• Senti-me muito honrado por ter tido a oportunidade de conhecer em pessoa e de trocar algumas palavras com o Pedro Mexia e com o Pedro Lomba, os nossos Founding Fathers,...o PL até se confessou leitor do Valete (...dos Copy Pastes do Valete).
  
  
• O Picuinhas é mais jovem do que eu pensava apesar de ser o único UBLiniano que tem ar de pessoa crescida...curiosamente, a probabilidade de nos termos conhecido através da Internet era inferior à probabilidade de nos termos conhecido em pessoa...o Picuinhas conhece um colega de trabalho (?) do Valete...a mulher do picuinhas trabalha para o maior ?cliente? da Organização...
  
  
• Tive também a oportunidade de conhecer os autores de alguns dos meus blogs e bloggers favoritos: Os jovens conjurados do Complot (para poderem avaliar o grau de diversidade que existe entre os membros da UBL, informo que enquanto eu me apresentei engravatado até à ponta dos cabelos, a camisa do Câmara estava desabotoada até ao umbigo !); o ZDQ, a quem consegui extrair todos os pormenores da sua vida desde os 18 anos; o Major, que teve o infortúnio de ficar sentado ao meu lado...a sorte é que ao seu lado esquerdo sentou-se alguém que deseja casar...o Statler, fundador da UBL, chegou atrasado...antes tarde do que nunca.
  
  
• O De Direita esteve presente em peso...incluindo o Pedro com quem mantive uma polémica a propósito dos fundos comunitários há umas semanas atrás...será que as nossas discussões na blogosfera atingiriam o nível de crispação que às vezes apresentam se estivessemos a discutir em pessoa ?

Enfim, apesar de me sentir mais à vontade no ciberespaço, não faltarei ao próximo jantar.


P.S. A propósito do comentário do Pedro Mexia sobre o vocabulário utilizado pelo Valete, informo que a minha Mãe lê o meu Blog...

posted by Joao

 
JANTAR DA UBL

Hoje realiza-se o 1º Grande Jantar da União dos Blogues Livres.

O Valete Fratres ! far-se-á representar ao mais alto baixo alto nível.

Este Blog têm-se arrastado ao longo das últimas semanas. Consegui chegar ao dia 4 de Julho e dessa forma garantir o direito de participar no jantar da UBL...mas quando releio os posts de Fevereiro e Março [o que é que pode haver de mais umbiguista do que reler os próprios arquivos] parece-me que estou a ler outro Blog...às vezes sinto-me como este Blogger...
posted by Joao

 
BERLUSCONI: I NEVER APOLOGIZED TO GERMANY

Premier Silvio Berlusconi insisted Friday he had never apologized to Germany, saying he had merely told the German leader he was sorry that his Nazi "joke" had been misunderstood.

"I have not made any apology as far as the case of the German lawmaker is concerned," Berlusocni said in response to a question about the incident. "On the contrary, I have underlined strongly that I felt offended for the grave words that had been directed not only toward me but toward my country."

"I have added that if anybody interpreted what was meant as an ironic joke as damage to a deep feeling of a country, I was very sorry," he continued. "But I have not apologized."

Parece que a "Constituição Europeia" ficará congelada mais uns meses...



posted by Joao

 
"O mau cheiro, pestilento, deste sítio chegou ao céu...o povo da blogosfera é extremamente mau, e tudo o que fazem é perverso...depressa, saiam já da cidade, porque o senhor vai destruí-la...o Senhor fará cair fogo e alcatrão incendiado sobre a blogosfera, e destrui-la-á completamente, assim como também as outras cidades, fazendo desaparecer tudo, tanto os seres humanos como a vida animal e vegetal...se o Senhor encontrar na Blogosfera cinquenta justos, poupará a Blogosfera."


posted by Joao

 
4 de JULHO - DIA DA INDEPÊNDENCIA (II)

• Mensagem do Presidente Bush (aqui).
• What to love about the United States (Dinesh D’Souza)
• What not to love about Old Europe

posted by Joao

 
4th OF JULY - INDEPENDENCE DAY

...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security...

[Fonte]
posted by Joao

 
THE ECONOMIST: PORTUGAL'S PUBLIC SECTOR (O The Economist concorda com o Governo Português !!!!)

The position is for life. Dismissal is against the law. Promotion is automatic. The pay is above average; regular increases are guaranteed. Performance is always marked ten out of ten...More than 708,000 Portuguese public-sector workers, 15% of the national workforce, are employed under these enviable terms...The result? A creaking state machine that ties businesses down with red tape and makes Portugal less competitive.

...Study after study has shown the civil service to be overstaffed, underproductive and expensive. Its wage bill is more than 15% of GDP, against a European Union average of 10.3%. And average public-sector pay is 45 percentage points higher than in the private sector, against a differential of 27 points in Spain and only ten in France.

...Announcing what he says will be the most decisive reform package of his government, Mr Durão Barroso declared motivation to be the key...Workers are to be properly assessed by their superiors, and the different public services publicly ranked by external consultants. Individual employment contracts will be negotiated for new recruits, with senior staff given more power and compulsory training. Hiring procedures will be less bureaucratic. And firing? Well, there still won't be any of that.

The prime minister guarantees that all this will happen without layoffs...

posted by Joao

 
DECLARAÇÃO DO PRESIDENTE BUSH SOBRE A TORTURA

O Economist, que criticou de forma clara as ALEGADAS torturas infligidas pelas forças americanas (aqui), comenta da seguinte a Declaração do Presidente Bush acima linkada:

IT'S official. The United States government does not torture anyone, including terrorist suspects. It does not subject them to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” which falls short of torture. Nor does it transfer them to other countries to be tortured. Any American official caught doing these things will be held legally accountable...“The United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example,” declared President George Bush in a proclamation issued on June 26th [ver link acima]...

...William Haynes, general counsel to the Department of Defence...sent a letter spelling out these commitments to Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Mr Leahy had written to Condoleezza Rice...with a list of detailed questions about American policy after a series of news reports...claiming that terrorist suspects were being subjected to...torture. Other suspects, they said, were handed over to countries known to use torture.

Is the American government torturing terrorist suspects or not? It is difficult for anyone outside the government to know for certain...Nevertheless, human-rights groups were pleased to welcome the statements of Mr Bush and the Pentagon's Mr Haynes. The official policy is clear. No American interrogator will any longer be able to claim that he had a wink and a nod from higher-ups to use torture.

posted by Joao

 
MEDIA BIAS: CNN's Brown Admits Focus on Iraqi Attacks Skewing Public's View

The media's focus on the small-scale attacks in Iraq has helped obscure the American success there, former Army officer and author Ralph Peters argued in a New York Post op-ed. CNN's Aaron Brown seemed to concede the point, noting that "the reporting of these attacks are changing the country's view of the war."

posted by Joao

 
CHANNEL 4 INGLÊS PRODUZ DOCUMENTÁRIO PRÓ-GLOBALIZAÇÃO (os grandes sacanas...)

O documentário, que será emitido após o Verão, baseia-se no livro "In Defence of Global Capitalism" de Johan Norberg.

Deve ser o primeiro documentário deste tipo produzido na Europa ! Nos EUA já tinha sido produzido o documentário "The Commanding Heights", baseado no livro com o mesmo nome.

Por uma questão de equilíbrio, deveria aqui listar os os documentário anti-globalização, mas o servidor do Blogger era capaz de não aguentar...se quiserem conhecer o ponto de vista contrário bastará ir lendo os jornais e vendo a TV...


(Graças a este livro já escrevi uma data de posts !)
posted by Joao

 
Scorecard on the War on Terrorism

"The first [major success] seems fairly obvious. Since 9/11, the United States has not seen its territory again attacked by her enemies. Whatever else we may have done in this war, let us not lose sight of that fact: not a single American civilian has been lost on American soil since the initial attacks.

The second and third major successes are just as obvious, unless one has been hiding in a cave with Osama bin Laden for the past year-and-a-half: The U.S. military, along with our allies, have taken the battles in this war to the nations that have supported terrorism – and won significant victories...

Possibly far more important, though, are the quiet victories...The American intelligence machinery has been released on our enemies, and it have done their job well to date...Of that inner circle, more than half of al-Qaeda’s operational leadership is now out of action – dead or captured.

...plans were revealed...plots by al-Qaeda...were halted...

...our catches have proven to the rest of the world that we are deadly serious about this struggle.

No, we haven’t won … yet. But it’s a matter of time."

posted by Joao

 
TORTURA ISRAELITA

"...200 Palestinian terrorist prisoners study in Israeli universities..."

É desumano...se calhar até têm de aprender hebraico...e, ainda por cima, pagam propinas !

posted by Joao

 
LIMITS TO GROWTH ? As previsões erradas do Clube de Roma

...30 years later, the Club of Rome’s most dire forecasts have failed to come true. Vital minerals such as gold, silver, copper, tin, zinc, mercury, lead, tungsten, and oil should have been exhausted by now. But they aren’t. Due to an exponential increase in population growth, the world should be facing desperate shortages of arable land and rising food prices. Yet food prices have never been lower. And the world’s health should have been undermined by an exponential increase in pollution. People today, however, live longer than ever before, and in Western cities, most pollutants are on the decline, driven down by technological advances and environmental legislation.

The quality of predictions didn’t improve in Limits to Growth’s 1992 sequel, Beyond the Limits, which warned that food per capita would peak in the mid-1990s and then precipitously drop. Yet from 1994 to 2000, the average caloric intake per capita increased more than 3 percent from 2,719 to 2,805 calories per day, or more than double the growth in the previous six-year period.

[it] ... is the underlying assumption that planet Earth has finite, essential resources (such as oil, water, and grain) for which there are no substitutes. Few resources have turned out to be essential, since the demand for and the availability of the Earth’s resources adjust over time in accordance with technological progress and economic development...

Additionally, the world has improved its ability not only to utilize resources more efficiently but also to locate many more. With today’s technology, it’s possible to find and exploit even low-quality iron ores, thereby expanding the supply for years to come. Likewise, as humans have become better at extracting oil, the world’s known oil reserves have increased significantly in recent years despite a considerable rise in energy consumption. Moreover, as nations have become more wealthy, the overall rate of population growth has declined. Today, the most grievous demographic problem in the West is not a burgeoning population competing for resources and producing waste but a fertility rate that is too low to sustain a vibrant workforce.

In short, there is no natural law dictating an exponential mounting pressure on Earth’s ecological resources. The limit of sustainability is not a static ceiling but is formed and expanded by human innovation and technological progress. This exponential dynamic seems to have outpaced any pressure on the limit. Thus, perhaps the most problematic assumption is the omission of technological progress and human innovation from the model. Only by ignoring these strong dynamic forces can one posit a fixed limit to growth. By contrast, Yale economist William Nordhaus has demonstrated that if the rate of technological progress is included in these calculations, the Earth’s collapse will be avoided by a large margin...

Instead of focusing on limits to growth, humanity would be better served by focusing on the real threats to growth and prosperity: not population growth or mineral exhaustion but corruption, barriers to trade, and war. Unfortunately, history has shown that these sources of human misery have always been in ample supply.

Para uma discussão mais longa e estatisticamente fundamentada desta questão, ver o livro "The Ultimate Resource II" de Julian Simon. Mais recentemente, Bjorn Lomborg publicou este livro.


posted by Joao

 
BERLUSCONI

[O Abrupto foi testemunha ocular].

Sequência de eventos (fonte):

1. Berlusconi desloca-se ao Parlamento Europeu na sua qualidade de Presidente do Conselho (a Itália assumiu a presidência rotativa este mês).
   
   
2. Antes do seu discurso, e citando a BBC:

   "Green MEPs...held up banners proclaiming "The law is equal for all" and "No godfather for Europe" at the start of his speech."

   Aparentemente, isto não foi considerado insultuoso. Repare-se que chamar "Padrinho" a Berlusconi será a mesma coisa que dizer que o Paulo Pedroso é pedófilo...mas, pelos vistos, a presunção da inocência só se aplica aos políticos da esquerda...e ao Chirac que terá de comparecer em tribunal no final do seu mandato...já para não falar no Craxi que até já foi julgado e condenado...
   
   
3. O discurso de Berlusconi foi muito elogiado. As principais medidas propostas são as seguintes: Improving relations with US; Opening an inter-governmental conference on the new EU constitution in October;
   Promoting peace in the Middle East, possibly by holding Sicily peace conference ; "New Deal" to boost big infrastructure projects in Europe; Support for immigrant holding centres outside the EU; Proposals for a common approach to pensions enshrined in an EU-wide treaty. Escusado será dizer que o Valete Fratres ! não subscreve a maioria destas propostas.
   
   
4. Após o discurso, um deputado socialista Alemão interropeu a sessão tendo-se dirigido ao sr. Berlusconi de forma imprópria. O deputado sugeriu que existia um conflito entre as funções desempenhadas pelo 1º ministro italiano e os seus interesses empresariais.
   
   
5. Berlusconi respondeu ao deputado Alemão da seguinte forma:

   "I know that in Italy, there is a man producing a film on Nazi concentration camps - I shall put you forward for the part of guard. [No original: "So che in Italia stanno girando un film sui lager nazisti. La proporrò per il
   ruolo di Kapò"

   Recentemente um blogzito ligado ao PS chamou nazi ao Valete Fratres ! (aqui). Portanto compreendo muito bem como o deputado do PS se terá sentido.
   
   
6. Apesar dos protestos imediatos dos deputados europeus, Berlusconi recusou pedir desculpas. Afirmou apenas que a afirmação deveria ser entendida como uma brincadeira.
   
   
7. Mais tarde, durante uma reunião do PPE, BErlusconi pediu desculpa ao povo alemão mas recusou desculpar-se peranto o deputado socialista alemão.
   
   
8. Entretanto, desenrola-se o jogo diplomático (aqui), que, como sempre, terminará empatado (todas as partes irão declarar vitória).

Seguindo o habitual tipo de raciocínio e avaliação moral utilizado no caso do conflito israelo-árabe, creio que ambas as partes em contenda são culpadas: o deputado provocador e o 1º ministro desbocado...e cuidado com os telhados de vidro...

posted by Joao

 
SERÁ QUE DÁ DIREITO A REFORMA ANTECIPADA ????

O uso compulsivo da Internet é uma doença das sociedades modernas que pode requerer tratamento psiquiátrico e psicológico, concluiu um estudo espanhol...

...é possível falar de uma síndroma de dependência de Internet (IAD) "muito semelhante à causada pelo álcool, drogas ou o jogo patológico".

As características de um viciado em Internet são, segundo o estudo, tempos de ligação à rede anormalmente altos, isolamento do ambiente circundante e desatenção das obrigações laborais, académicas e da vida social.

aaaaaa...um amigo...aaaaaa...apresenta os sintomas descritos no último parágrafo deste notícia...mas quem viaje pela blogosfera sabe que estamos perante uma nova PANDEMIA !
posted by Joao

 
Se chegou ao Valete Fratres ! através da referência feita no novo apontador de Blogs portugueses - Blogues -, prepare-se para ficar um pouco desiludido...agradeço o cumprimento, mas não havia necessidade...

Sugiro a leitura dos Blogs referenciados na coluna da esquerda...muitos deles são, de facto, excelentes.
posted by Joao

 
"WE ARE SOCIALISTS, WE ARE ENEMIES OF TODAY'S CAPITALISTIC ECONOMIC SYSTEM..."

"We are socialists, we are enemies of today's capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are all determined to destroy this system under all conditions".

Adolf Hitler
(Discurso de 1 de Maio de 1927 citado em Toland, J., Adolf Hitler, Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y., 1976, p. 306)

posted by Joao

 
TERRORISTAS ISLÂMICOS: OS PIRATAS DO SÉC. XXI (a história repete-se...)

"Our purpose is not to manage terrorism,
or just to arrest and prosecute terrorists after they
have attacked us. Our goal is to destroy and delegitimize it
the way slavery and piracy were delegitimized in the
19th century."

Paul Wolfowitz, 20 de Junho de 2003


No início de um novo século, um bando de terroristas, sob a protecção de um regime autocrático muçulmano, coloca em causa a vida, a liberdade e a propriedade dos cidadãos dos Estados Unidos da América e de outros países ocidentais.

Após longas negociações e infrutíferas cedências, o Presidente dos Estados Unidos da América propôs aos seus aliados uma aliança militar contra os terroristas. Mas as potências continentais - prisioneiras dos seus interesses económicos e políticos, recusaram. O Presidentes americano envia então os navios da armada americana e os marines. Apesar de estarem em minoria, as tropas americanas e alguns aliados de ocasião conseguem derrotar as "invencíveis" tropas inimigas e ocupar as suas cidades.

Em virtude das acções americanas, os terroristas foram vencidos e os seus protectores foram forçados a respeitar a legalidade internacional.



Apesar das semelhanças, os episódios acima descritos não ocorreram no final do séc. XX e princípio do séc. XXI, mas sim no final do séc. XVIII e princípio do sec. XIX. Durante este período, a navegação no Mediterrâneo era dominada pelos chamados "Barbary Pirates" sob a protecção do império Otomano. Os piratas capturavam e destruiam os navios americanos, matavam, aprisionavam e escravizavam os tripulantes dos navios e exigiam tributos e resgates.

Foram os Presidentes Thomas Jefferson e James Madison, influenciados com toda a certeza pelos seus conselheiros "neo-conservadores e Judeus", que lançaram o então jovem país numa "guerra preventiva" lançando várias ataques "unilaterais" contra os piratas e os países do Norte de África e do Mediterrâneo que lhes davam guarida e apoio.


Apesar das semelhançascom a actualidade, as diferenças são significativas. Após a derrota dos piratas às mãos dos Americanos, a França, a Inglaterra e outras "velhas potências", seguiram o exemplo americano, tendo contribuído para acabar com a pirataria no Mediterrâneo. Por outro lado, o Papa Pio VII declarou: Americans "[did] more for the cause of Christianity than the most powerful nations of Christendom have done for ages"...


[Fonte]



P.S. Mais artigos sobre esta questão aqui, aqui,aqui e aqui.
P.S.2 Portugal aceitou o tratado proposto por Jefferson !
P.S.3 Os vários tratados estabelecidos entre os "Barbary States" e os EUA podem ser lidos aqui.
P.S.3 Referências aos Barbary states nos "collected papers" de Thomas Jefferson podem ser procuradas aqui. Existem muitas referências, nomeadamente, no seu 1º discurso do estado da União. Na sua correspondência existem também várias referências ao tema, incluindo nesta carta dirigida ao Presidente John Adams onde Jefferson defende a opção da guerra e refere...Portugal...

posted by Joao

 
Hehehehehehe...

Finalmente acertaram na bandeira...







posted by Joao

 
EFEITOS INESPERADOS DA GUERRA NO IRAQUE...

The question is why Hamas feels it must play along with the governing Palestinian Authority even for a short time. There are two sets of motivations cited by Palestinian officials and militant leaders. One arises from external considerations and the other, subtler one, from intensely factionalized Palestinian politics.

The American defeat of Saddam Hussein played a central role, as Hamas sponsors in Syria and Iran came under new American pressure and Arab governments, including Saudi Arabia's, moved to calm the region. "After Sept. 11, the Palestinian resistance lost its international support," said Samir al-Mashharawi, a top official here of Mr. Abbas's mainstream Fatah faction. "After the Iraq war, the Palestinian resistance lost its Arab support."

posted by Joao

 
THOMAS SOWELL: MEDIA BIAS

Whether the issue is abortion, gun control, affirmative action or a whole range of other controversies, too many in the media seem less concerned with letting their readers and viewers know what the arguments are on both sides than with promoting the [Leftist] views.

posted by Joao

 
ALGUÉM ESTÁ A MENTIR...

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said Tuesday that Palestinian security forces had arrested militants who killed a Bulgarian road worker in a West Bank shooting Monday that violated the truce declared the day before.

"Those who did it were arrested," Arafat told reporters. He did not say how many members of a cell of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which claimed responsibility for the attack, were detained. The group is a wing of his Fatah faction.

But Palestinian security forces later denied Arafat's claim.

É preciso um roadmap para a verdade...




posted by Joao

 
DISCRIMINAÇÃO DE MINORIAS

Andrew Wilkie, who was elected Nuffield professor of pathology last month, apparently rejected an approach by Amit Duvshani, 26, a Tel Aviv University student, because of his nationality...

Mr Duvshani, a molecular biology student, had applied to work in Professor Wilkie's laboratory towards a PhD thesis, but said he was shocked by the email response he received on June 23.

The Sunday Telegraph, London, reported that in setting out his reasons for rejecting him, Professor Wilkie wrote: "I have a huge problem with the way that the Israelis take the moral high ground from their appalling treatment in the Holocaust, and then inflict gross human rights abuses on the Palestinians because they [Palestinians] wish to live in their own country."

The professor, who is a fellow of Pembroke College, added: "I am sure you are perfectly nice at a personal level but no way would I take on somebody who had served in the Israeli Army."

posted by Joao

 
MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS: MYTHS AND FACTS

Evidence supplied by the World Bank and United Nations strongly suggests that multinational corporations are a key factor in the large improvement in welfare that has occurred in developing countries over the last forty years.

P.S. Um artigo sobre o mesmo tema no site da Causa Liberal.
posted by Joao

 
Estive reunido com uma delegação brasileira até agora...o almoço de trabalhou terminou às 16H...trabalhámos muito...
Fiquei impressionado com o nível dos brasileiros...


Ontem à noite, o número de visitas ao Valete Fratres ! ultrapassou as 15.000 (pageviews > 33.000)...presumo que sejam 15.000 visitantes diferentes que, depois de terem lido algumas das coisas que eu aqui publico, nunca mais cá voltaram !




posted by Joao