Vitor Baia

Porto lost yesterday with Benfica 1-0. And lost the hardest way possible for a Porto supporter: a bad goal from one of our symbols: Vitor Baia.

And right on the day that he accomplished its 400th match in the Portuguese league (previous 1st division) and his return to the first team after some weeks.

If, by any awkward motive, someone is not familiar with this name, I can only mention that he is just the player with more titles worldwide, including all the possible international clubs’ titles (apart the European super-cup), namely UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners Cup (finished), Champions League and World Cup.

Basically a living legend and still one of the best goalkeepers in the world. And naturally one of the more charismatic players of FC Porto’s history.

Yesterday tough, in what could be a memorable match, he failed in the worse possible way at the worse possible moment, causing the defeat of FC Porto in “Estadio da Luz” for the first time in 5 years (and also the first time in 29 years that Porto lost two matches with Benfica in the same season).

Of course I saw Baia before letting lousy goals, like I saw Schmeichel, Khan and other outstanding and historical goal-keepers. And they are still great goal-keepers.

But more than the tough memory of the goal, I’ll keep the memory of a great professional that, at the end of the match, doesn’t hide and go in front of the cameras assuming is responsibility…

Great players are also made of this!!!

Benfiiiiiica!

Pocitos Beach

Today I went to the beach! It was sunny and warm and I went for a long and nice walk by Playa de los Pocitos. It feels so good! I realized how much I miss the sun, the sea and the nice weather. In other words, I realized how much I miss Lisbon... I'm enjoying my stay very, very much! Montevideo rules!

Montevideo

When I arrived in Montevideo on Thursday in the morning, I was tired of the long and almost no-sleeping flight and even though I managed to resist to the overwhelming will of laying in the bed and sleep, I wasn’t too adventurous and just went for a walk in the neighborhood of my hotel, Pocitos. My first impressions of Montevideo were of one quite big city, with a subtropical environment, mixed with a very European atmosphere. And, of course, Montevideo is a city where you can have the best beef in the world and excellent wines for very reasonable money.

Yesterday I slept until quite late and when I woke up it was raining, windy and quite fresh (around 20°C). It rained all day long and the violence of the wind was such that some trees fell in the street and the Rio de la Plata water so troubled that the port had to be closed-down. Therefore, I decided to go to the movies! I saw “Crash” and liked it so much that I have to confess that now I feel happy that it was raining and I had to find out an alternative to the planned city sightseeing.

I did the sightseeing today. I took a taxi until Plaza de la Independencia and from there walked the Ciudad Vieja until the Puerto. I found out that Montevideo was founded back in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, the Spanish Governor of Buenos Aires, to prevent further incursions of the Portuguese who had founded Colonia del Sacramento in the previous century. It became the capital of Uruguay in 1828 and kept being a minor settlement for many years. In 1860, for instance, the population was of less than 40,000. From 1884 on, however, the population started to grow due to immigration, especially from Spain and Italy. During the mid-20th century, military dictatorship and economic stagnation caused a decline whose residual effects are still seen today. Many rural poor flooded the city, with a large concentration in Ciudad Vieja. Recently, economic recovery and stronger trade ties with Uruguay's neighbours have led to renewed agricultural development and hopes for greater future prosperity. As of 2004, the city has a population of 1.35 million out of a total of 3.43 million in the country as a whole. The greater metropolitan area has 1.8 million people.

Ah, by the way, in Montevideo you can also have very good fish and sea-food!

DemoCats

After finding out that I am supposed to be a democrat here, I was sent this inspirational cartoon by B.

The issue is that I like dogs, not cats.

Could we call them instead Democans and Republicats?

Countries I have visited - Update!

T4

I’m at the Madrid airport, in my way to Uruguay. I’m waiting for my flight; boarding will be in one hour, more or less. Then, I will have a 12-hours flight ahead of me… Even though I’m used to fly and I do it very often, I have to confess that these intercontinental flights, especially the ones which cross the Atlantic Ocean, still manage to make me feel a little bit nervous. Apart from the irrational factors that, for sure, are involved, the reason for this is, above all, the length of the flight and the fact that, traveling in economy class, comfort will be something that I’ll miss… Seating in a small and uncomfortable chair, without too much space for the legs, and not being able to leave the place for 12 hours, is something that really drives me mad! And, as if it wasn’t enough, my flight from Brussels was delayed, which summed a little more stress to one day that was already tiring itself… Now, as I said, I’m in Madrid. It isn’t the first time I’m here, but this is the first time I see the new Terminal 4, inaugurated less than one month ago. It’s a huge, modern and not very nice building, I must say. From my arrival gate to the one in which I’ll board, it took me almost half an hour! Almost half an hour walking through a semi-desert gray-and-yellow building! It might be very luminous during the day – especially if it is sunny – but it certainly isn’t at night! It always amazes me how architects or the authorities don’t take into consideration the human factor when building a new airport terminal: isn’t it supposed to be used by people?! And, you know what else? They don’t even have wireless internet connection here!!!

Madrid Airport, February 22nd, 2006, 11.22pm (CET)

Euro-English...

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

[zis mesaj vas rseivd by e-mail]

Home alone...

Pablo and Diogo left for a meeting in Uruguay.

Home alone in Paul Hymans 19...

Seeding winds....

It's clear that Hamas has been a terrorist organisation, even if it was not as such from the beginning. After being formed in the eighties, devoted to political Islamism, it grew into a radical organisation, mostly composed by students. It was after a polemic decision from Yitzhak Rabin to expel several hundreds of Hamas militants, leaving them in "no-man's land" by the border with Lebanon, that some of Hamas militants established contacts with Hezbollah, learning from them armed action techniques, like the suicide bombing.

After the last elections (considered by international observers has the better conducted ones in Palestine and one of the better in the Arab world), everyone is living under the expectation of what will be the position of Hamas. But Israel is growing impatient and leaving no room for openness from Hamas' new leader: Ismaïl Hanyieh.

Ismaïl Hanyieh is considered to be a pragmatic and part of the moderate wing of Hamas. For instance, while Hamas rejects the Oslo agreements, Hanyieh was one of the defenders of Hamas becoming part of the structures coming out from the Oslo agreements, which lead ultimately to them becoming Government.

While Hanyieh strived to get Hamas accepting the Oslo Agreements, Israel is now violating them, once again, by refusing to transfer to the Palestinian Authority the tax rebound they are entitled to, leading it to a precarious financial situation.

Is this Israel's way of building a climate for negotiation? Because for me it looks very similar to holding a country hostage in exchange for money...

I wonder why can't they open a door for negotiations with Hamas' new leader, enhancing a stronger dialogue between the parties and reinforcing his position has Government leader, through dialogue and not through blackmail, which will only get him into peer pressure for hostile action.

Why can't Israel trust this man, Ismaïl Hanyieh? Maybe because they are afraid that the former Chief of Cabinet and trusted man of Ahmed Yassine didn't forget that Israel assassinated his leader, using terrorist methods that they criticise so much in Hamas.

And that is maybe the main problem for any negotiation: the parties being so similar, though in opposite sides ...

PS: Also the US is requesting the devolution of financial support given previously. At least the EU is only threatening to do so if there is no positive attitude from Hamas, this being Hamas recognising the state of Israel and giving up to all armed action.

Lights on!

Defending champions Liverpool FC conceded their first UEFA Champions League goal since September as Luisão's header six minutes from time gave SL Benfica a first-leg victory in their Round of 16 tie at the Estádio da Luz.

Warning

I don't plan to join this campaign!

Non-post

I am sick.
When I am sick, I don't post.
Therefore, this is a non-post.
Tomorrow will be another day.

Losing at home II

For the second consecutive time, Amelie Mauresmo has won the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp. In the final she beat Kim Clijsters in three sets.

Losing at home

Benfica lost again... It's the third defeat out of the last four matches, and winning the League is getting a bit complicated...

The only positive thing about this last defeat is that Benfica lost to Vitória de Guimarães, the team of my home-town...

Always look on the bright side of life...

Dead Can Dance

Today it's my first free day in two weeks, and I decided to sleep more than usual. Even though I woke up at 8.30am, as usual, I forced myself to keep sleeping and managed to do it until 12.30pm! More than 11 hours of sleep it's something I can't afford very often, and it feels good! But I have to admit that after sleeping for so long, I feel kind of slow... and in those occasions I need to listen to the right kind of music. My choice, this morning, was "The Serpent's Egg", by Dead Can Dance.

Dead Can Dance combine elements of European folk music — particularly music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance — with ambient pop and worldbeat flourishes. Their songs are of lost beauty, regret and sorrow, inspiration and nobility, and of the everlasting human goal of attaining a meaningful existence. Over the course of their career, Dead Can Dance has featured a multitude of members, but two musicians have remained at the core of the band — guitarist Brendan Perry and vocalist Lisa Gerrard. Perry had previously been the lead vocalist and bassist for the Australian-based punk band the Scavengers, a group who were never able to land a recording contract. In 1979, the band changed their name to the Marching Girls, but they still weren't able to sign a contract. The following year, Perry left the group and began experimenting with electronic music, particularly tape loops and rhythms. In 1981, Perry formed Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard, Paul Erikson, and Simon Monroe. By 1982, Perry and Gerrard decided to relocate to London; Erikson and Monroe decided to stay in Australia. Within a year, Dead Can Dance had signed a record deal with 4AD. In the spring of 1984, they released their eponymous debut album, comprised of songs the pair had written in the previous four years. By the end of the year, the group had contributed two tracks to "It'll End in Tears", the first album by This Mortal Coil, and had released an EP called "Garden of the Arcane Delights". In 1985, Dead Can Dance released their second album, "Spleen and Ideal". The album helped build their European cult following, peaking at number two on the U.K. indie charts. For the next two years, Dead Can Dance were relatively quiet, releasing only two new songs in 1986, both which appeared on the 4AD compilation "Lonely Is an Eyesore". "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun", the group's third album, appeared in 1986. In 1988, the band released their fourth album, "The Serpent's Egg".

"The Serpent's Egg" is heralded by an astounding first track, "The Host of Seraphim." Its use in films is no surprise in the slightest — one can imagine the potential range of epic images the song could call up — but on its own it's so jaw-droppingly good that almost the only reaction is sheer awe. Beginning with a soft organ drone and buried, echoed percussion, Gerrard then takes flight with a seemingly wordless invocation of power and worship — her vocal control and multi-octave range, especially towards the end, has to be heard to be believed! Nothing else achieves such heights, but everything gets pretty darn close, a deserved testament to the band's conceptual reach and abilities. Slow plainsong chants such as "Orbis De Ignis" mix with the harpischord and overlaid vocals of "The Writing on My Father's Hand" and the slow build and sweep of "In the Kingdom of the Blind the One-Eyed Are Kings." Two of Perry's finest vocal moments occur here. The first, "Severance," is a slow, organ/keyboard led number that showcases his rich, warm vocals exquisitely — it's no wonder that Bauhaus chose to cover it on its reunion tour. "Ullyses," the album's closing track, makes for a fine ending as much as "The Host of Seraphim" did an opening, Perry's delivery almost like a reading from a holy book, the arrangement of strings and percussion rhythmic, addictive and lovely.

"The Serpent's Egg", together with "Spleen and Ideal", "Aion" and "Into the Labyrinth", is one of Dead Can Dance best albums. And definitely a good companion for a slow Sunday!

Help!

I'm out of coffee...

Political Test II

I got curious about this test when I saw Diogo's post about it. Even more over our discussion today at lunch. And definitelly more after having Socialists and Strong Democrats betting I would be a Libertarian !!!???!!!

Even if I didn't expect much of it (as for all this kind of tests), I actually think it makes sense. Of course, some of the questions are tricky, out of being too broad and therefore deserved a proper clarification. And, of course, could initiate interesting discussions, as people may interprete them in different ways.

So, the final result:

You are a Social Liberal (68% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (28% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test

What the heck is a social liberal? And an economic liberal? And a democrat?

But then they said I "...exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness."

Now it's OK. It sounds nice.

And they placed me in between Gandhi, Luther King, Gorbatchev (and Kerry). Awesome! After all, this test is cool.

Finally, I'm just on top of Hillary Clinton - sorry Bill !!!

Anyway, I'm on top of her brain, so he should worry about the socialists. They went a bit lower...

Chávez

Even for my Socialist friends (and even more for my Strong Democrat friends...), the content of this post might be a little controversial... I'm fully aware of that, but I decided to take the risk...

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said that Venezuela's President, Hugo Chávez, is one of the biggest dangers facing Latin America, accused him of trying to influence others away from democracy, and called for a united front against him. Describing Venezuela's close relationship with Cuba as "particularly dangerous", Ms Rice said that "the international community has just got to be much more active in supporting and defending the Venezuelan people".

But, who is Hugo Chávez?

Venezuelans themselves are split between those who say he has become increasingly autocratic, and those who say he speaks for the poor. Recent events have led to increasing tensions. Among them, a controversial programme of land reform launched by Mr Chávez that allows the state to seize underused ranches without compensation. Critics have argued that his plans violate property rights enshrined in the constitution, and have accused him of trying to emulate Cuba's communist system. The opposition has indeed been trying to unseat the president by constitutional means since 2002, and it managed to secure a referendum on his leadership two years ago. But the vote only served to strengthen Mr Chávez. He won by a large majority and insisted that he would run for another six-year term in this year elections. To the poor of Venezuela, who make up the vast majority of the population, President Chávez is a hero: since he first won election in 1998, has spent countless millions of dollars on developing social welfare programmes to bring clinics and schools to where before there were none. But to his political opponents, and to the Bush administration in Washington, he is a dangerous demagogue, who allies himself with such American hate-regimes as those of Cuba and Iran. Of course, he says, he would love to be on better terms with the US - and he pays glowing tribute to the people of that country - but with George Bush in the White House, there's no chance of that.

He's keen to explain the principles underlying his "Bolivarian revolution", named after the great Latin American hero of the 19th century, Simon Bolivar. And he insists that no-one - no, not even George Bush - has any reason to fear him. "I am a socialist", he says, "and I follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, who was the first socialist, just as Judas was the first capitalist." President Chávez often quotes the 19th century French writer Victor Hugo and his hugely influential novel about poverty and oppression Les Miserables (now a musical of the same name). "So if I were a wealthy Venezuelan capitalist, should I fear Hugo Chávez?", a BBC journalist has asked him last October. "Of course not", he replied. "No one has anything to fear. I fight against poverty and injustice. The rich can look after themselves."

Mr Chávez accuses the Bush administration of trying to orchestrate his removal, a charge denied by Washington but difficult to avoid, especially after the latest statements of Ms Rice. No matter how much Mr Bush like it or not, Mr Chávez was democratically elected and is the legitimate leader of his people, who live in democracy since 1958. Venezuela's vast oil reserves - the largest in the Americas - have a huge strategic importance, but the US state department doesn't have the right to decide what is right and wrong for Venezuelans.

Supporting and defending the Venezuelan people, as Ms Rice asked for, implies, from my point of view, to state loud and clear that we don't admit any kind of interference from the US in Latin America. Never again!

Inverno

No dia em que fui mais feliz
eu vi um avião
se espelhar no seu olhar até sumir

De lá pra cá não sei
caminho ao longo do canal
faço longas cartas pra ninguém
e o inverno no Leblon é quase glacial

Há algo que jamais esclareceu
onde foi exatamente que larguei
naquele dia mesmo
o leão que sempre cavalguei

Lá mesmo esqueci que o destino
sempre me quis só
no deserto sem saudade, sem remorso só
sem amarras, barco embriagado ao mar

Não sei o que em mim
só quer me lembrar
que um dia o céu
reuniu-se à terra um instante por nós dois

Winter

The winter in Brussels seems to be ready to stay for a bit more! After the freezing cold and the snow, now it's time for the rain and the grey sky... which, anyway, are typical of this city. I don't think it's difficult to guess that I'm completely sick and tired of the winter weather!

There are however other winters that I like a lot.

One of them is "L'inverno", the last of the "Four Seasons" concertos for violin, strings and continuo, by Antonio Vivaldi.

The other one is the song "Inverno", by the Brazilian singer Adriana Calcanhotto.

All winters should be like these!

David Byrne

Best known for his groundbreaking tenure fronting the new wave group Talking Heads, David Byrne's solo work, while not as successful, was no less adventurous, encroaching upon such diverse media as world music, filmmaking, and performance art. Born May 14, 1952, in Dumbarton, Scotland, Byrne was raised in Baltimore, MD. The son of an electronics engineer, he played guitar in a series of teenage bands before attending the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, where, feeling alienated from the largely upper-class student population, he dropped out after one year. However, he remained in the Providence area, performing solo on a ukelele before forming the Artistics (also known as the Autistics) with fellow students Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth.

After changing the name of the band to Talking Heads and enlisting onetime Modern Lover Jerry Harrison, the group signed to Sire Records; a series of LPs, including the debut "Talking Heads '77", 1978's "More Songs About Buildings and Food", and 1980's "Remain in Light" followed, establishing the quartet as one of contemporary music's most visionary talents. During a band sabbatical in 1981, Byrne teamed with Brian Eno, the producer of much of the Heads' work, for the collaborative effort "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", a complex, evocative album which fused electronic music with Third World percussion and hypnotic vocal effects.

In 1986, Byrne wrote, starred in, and directed the feature film True Stories, a series of comic vignettes based on press clippings culled from tabloid publications like the Weekly World News. He also wrote and produced the majority of music for the film's score in addition to performing his usual duties for that year's Talking Heads LP, also named "True Stories". In 1988, he wrote the score to the Jonathan Demme comedy Married to the Mob and, in tandem with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su, won an Academy Award for his musical work on Bernardo Bertolucci's historical epic The Last Emperor.

Also in 1988, Byrne's fascination with world music, a longtime influence on his herky-jerky performance style as well as Talking Heads' complex polyrhythms, inspired him to form his own record label, Luaka Bop, to give widespread American release to global music. That same year, the Heads released "Naked", their final proper LP, leaving Byrne to give future solo work his full attention. In 1989, he resurfaced with "Rei Momo", a collection inspired by Latin hythms. 1992's "Uh-Oh" marked Byrne's return to more conventional rock performance, a direction continued on a self-titled effort issued in 1994. "Feelings", recorded with members of Morcheeba and Devo, followed in 1997. Four years later, "Look Into the Eyeball" was issued on Virgin Records/Luaka Bop and captured Byrne's signature wry humor and musical diversity. In 2003, Byrne's music for the film Young Adam (featuring members of Belle & Sebastian and Mogwai) was released as "Lead Us Not Into Temptation" by the Thrill Jockey label. "Grown Backwards", his first for Nonesuch, appeared a year later.

Political Test

Following another suggestion from Bettina, I just confirmed that I'm best described as a Socialist! According to the test, I exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.
Pleased to meet me!

Fim do dia

Esperei-te no fim de um dia cansado
À mesa do café de sempre
O fumo, o calor e o mesmo quadro
Na parede já azul poente

Alguém me sorri do balcão corrido
Alguém que me faz sentir
Que há lugares que são pequenos abrigos
Para onde podemos sempre fugir

Da tarde tão fria há gente que chega
E toma um café apressado
E há os que entram com o olhar perdido
À procura do futuro no avesso do passado

O tempo endurece qualquer armadura
E às vezes custa arrancar
Muralhas erguidas à volta do peito
Que não deixam partir nem deixam chegar

O escuro lá fora incendeia as estrelas
As janelas, os olhares, as ruas
Cá dentro o calor conforta os sentidos
Num pequeno reflexo da lua

Enquanto espero percorro os sinais
Do que fomos que ainda resiste
As marcas deixadas na alma e na pele
Do que foi feliz e do que foi triste

Sabe bem voltar-te a ver
Sabe bem quando estás ao meu lado
Quando o tempo me esvazia
Sabe bem o teu braço fechado

E tudo o que me dás quando és
Guarida junto à tempestade
Os rumos para caminhar
No lado quente da saudade

Brussels Weather

Windy with periods of light rain and showers. High 8°C. Winds SSW at 39kph. Humidity 87%.

I miss the winter...

Countries I have visited

Following a suggestion from Bettina, I decided to try this tool. I found out that I have already visited 45 countries, covering only 20% of the total existing countries... Long way to go!

Facts about Moldova

I hesitated for a while before deciding to publish the post I had written while still in Chisinau. I decided to do it because, after all, it is a expression of my first impressions. However, having stayed there for more two days, I gathered other information and I will now share it with you.

As I already said, the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania and Ukraine. Historically part of Romania, it was reunited with it in 1918; then, it was annexed with force and war by the Soviet Union, becoming in 1945 the Moldavian Socialist Soviet Republic. It declared its independence from the USSR in 1991 and now hopes to join the European Union in the near future. As a consequence of its history, Moldova is split between building ties with the West or with Russia.

In 1992, Moldova was involved in a short-term war against Russian armed forces and Ukrainian Kazak units. This was mainly because the part of Moldova east of the Dniestr River, Transnistria - which is populated by a larger proportion of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians brought there by Stalin - claimed independence fearing the Moldovan unification with Romania. Since then, Russia has maintained a military occupation of the eastern regions of Moldova, even though a referendum held in March 1994 saw an overwhelming majority of voters favouring continued independence. The separatist Transnistrian regime established in the oocupied territory is undemocratic, has enforced Russification, the denationalization of ethnic Ukrainians and discrimination against Moldovans. A friend that was there claims that the region is a paradise for crime and all sort of illegal economic activities and traffic (arms, drugs and women).

While Moldovan emotional ties to the Romanian "motherland" remained strong, Moldova did never unite with Romania. Nevertheless, these close links are visible in the flag (which is similar to the Romanian one, with the same color but with the addition of a coat of arms), in the currency (which has the same name of the Romanian one, "leu") and in the fact that Stefan cel Mare, the most important prince of Moldavia back in the 14th century, is considered a national hero in both countries.

The prospect of union with Romania is still an issue; while most of the Romanian political parties would support an unification, in Moldova only the Christian-Democratic People's Party (9% of votes in last elections) supports it. However, in September, President Voronin, after a meeting with his Romanian colleague, declared "we go with Romania until the end", meaning that Moldovans and Romanians are the same nation and will have a common future. The government has stated that Moldova has European aspirations but there has been little progress toward EU membership. Once Romania joins the European Union next year, any unification between the two countries would presumably bring Moldova into the EU if it later unified with Romania, just as East Germany entered the EU when it reunified with West Germany in 1990. At present, Moldova remains one of the poorest country in Europe, with rampant corruption and a sadly booming trade in people.

And now, for something completely different!

After being for almost one week away in cities full of snow (Helsinki and Chisinau), I came back today to find that Brussels is also covered in white... The difference is that in Brussels the temperature is around -1°C, which means that tomorrow will probably rain and leave us with the bad part of snow only: the dirty mud all over the streets! Nice...

Chisinau Chronicle

I’m currently in Chisinau, capital city of the Republic of Moldova. Moldova is a former soviet republic which became independent in 1989. It lies between Romania and Ukraine, near the Black Sea but without any coast. The official Moldovan language is Romanian, but Russian is still regularly used. I didn’t know much more about Moldova, apart from the things I’ve learned from my Moldovan friends and colleagues. I concretely knew about the good wine and had heard about the beautiful women. Having arrived yesterday in the afternoon, I haven’t had too much time yet to try the wine… but as we’re having the meeting at the State University I’ve already confirmed the rumors about the beauty of women!

It’s quite cold, even though it is nothing that can be compared to what I’ve recently experienced in Finland. Temperature must be around -5°C, but Chisinau is completely covered by snow because it’s been heavily snowing since yesterday evening. In one hand, it is very beautiful, but I have to confess that it is also a bit annoying to have to walk in the snow and the dirty mud accumulated all over the roads. Not to mention that I don’t have any kind of proper clothes or shoes for this kind of weather.

In a more general level, Moldova is quite different from any place I’ve been before… at least in Europe! It is definitely one of the least developed European countries, which also goes to say that it seems quite unbalanced. In a way, Chisinau reminds me of some of the African capitals I’ve visited: long and wide avenues with some quite big and impressing buildings (normally belonging to the governing bodies) and, side-by-side, obvious signs of extreme poverty. Not to mention the mini buses full of people! Of course, Moldova kept some of the positive things of the former soviet regime (e.g. the investment in education), but it is pretty obvious that it also kept some of its negative sides, as for example the bureaucracy and the excessive power detained by the ruling political class. It shouldn’t therefore come as a surprise to anybody to know that the current ruling party in Moldova is… the Communist!

The best thing in Moldova is, however, the hospitality of the people. As it very often happens in poor countries, people are humble and friendly and they are always ready to do whatever it takes to make foreigners’ visit pleasant. And I have to say that, at least for now, they are really achieving it! On the top of everything, I also have to confess that I feel very happy – and almost proud – of the fact that I can understand the language to a very high extent. It gives a nice sense of familiarity that definitely helps to make me feel at ease and enjoy my stay!

Chisinau, February 10, 2006, 4.15pm (EET)

Danish cartoon affair: is the European identity at stake?

Ferdinando Riccardi is the chief editorialist of a daily publication of Agence Europe, an European news agency. From times to times he writes a column called "A look behinhd the news". I've already used one of his texts here and shown I don't agree too much with him. Last Tuesday, however, he went too far... In a text about the Danish satirical cartoon affair, he claims for respect... but he doesn't show any!

He starts by defining the question: "it is one of whether Europe has the right of applying its laws and practicing here in its territory, its civilisation." Well, first of all I don't necessarily agree with this territorial concept of civilisations; but my real problem concerns the question... is it really what is at stake? I don't think so...

But Riccardi goes on: "what happened afterwards represents an attack against one of the pillars of our civilisation (...) there is no question of making judgements about other civilisations, it is simply one of safeguarding ours." So, Mr Riccardi, the question is of safeguarding our civilisation; at what price? I don't have any doubt about the fact that freedom of expression is a pillar of our civilisation; but is it the only one? Respect for other civilisations and other beliefs isn't also a pillar of our own civilisation? I do think so!

The part that I consider the most outrageous comes, however, after: "I am not going to make a judgement on the behaviour of someone in their own country: a government can apply Sharia law to the letter if this corresponds to its convictions, it is up to them. But those who want to reside here and benefit from our laws, even obtain European citizenship, must respect our civilisation and our law." I was so convinced that the dialogue between civilisations was an integrated part of modernity that I had already forgotten that cultural relativism was still in use... Dialogue implies compromises and it isn't compatible with any kind of fundamentalism, be it religious or cultural. If the price to pay for peace and mutual understanding is to voluntarily abdicate from part of our freedom of expression, I am ready to pay it. Being arrogant is never the best way to enagage in a dialogue.

To be honest, there are two lines in which I totally agree with Ferdinando Riccardi: "In the case in point, the newspaper which first published the incriminated caricatures not only regretted having published them but even apologised for having done so. The matter should have ended there."

Freedoms II

I find this post quiet oportune and interesting, considering all the clash going on between two worlds.

Just because these things happen on "our side" of the world...


by Tom Toles, in Washington Post - borrowed from our friend Miguel.

Genesis

An international team of scientists trekked through an area in the mist-shrouded Foja Mountains, located just north of the vast Mamberano Basin of north-western (Indonesian) New Guinea, and recorded new butterflies, frogs and a series of remarkable plants that included five new palms and a giant rhododendron flower. The survey also found a honeyeater bird that was previously unknown to science (photo).

"It's beautiful, untouched, unpopulated forest; there's no evidence of human impact or presence up in these mountains", said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the group. "It's as close to the Garden of the Eden as you're going to find on Earth".

As mankind insists in destroying nature, it is a privilege to assist to the miracle of creation!

For Belarus with love!

The European Youth Forum wholeheartedly objects to the decision from the Supreme Court of Belarus to liquidate its Member Organisation, the Belarusian Union of Youth and Children’s Public Association (RADA); the only representative youth-led platform for youth organisations in Belarus, comprising a European model and structure.

The European Youth Forum gives its full support to the young people of Belarus and deems this decision to be a direct attack on the fundamentals of democracy as, following this decision, Belarusian youth are being deprived of their right to freedom of association, and consequently, are suffering a limitation on their freedom of expression. In the light of these events, the YFJ will assume its role of further exploring the idea of establishing an independent foundation to support youth civil society initiatives in the Republic of Belarus.

The YFJ calls on all international institutions and governments to condemn the outrageous act of political cleansing that the Belarusian government undertakes before the elections. The urgency of the judicial process, lasting from the lawsuit initiated on 28 January to the Court decision on 6 February, reflects that this action has been taken as part of a political campaign prior to the Presidential elections.

“A Youth Council can be liquidated, but democratic youth initiatives will never be shut down,” said Renaldas Vaisbrodas, President of the European Youth Forum. “We call on our Member Organisations to initiate peaceful protest actions on 14 February to demonstrate their support and solidarity with the young people of Belarus.”

Show your support to RADA on 14 February:

LOVE FOR FREEDOM FOR BELARUS!

· Send a Valentines postcard to RADA at the following address:

BELARUSIAN UNION OF YOUTH AND CHILDREN'S PUBLIC ASSOCIATIONS "RADA"
Masherov av., 25-231
Minsk, 220002, Belarus
tel./fax 375 17 2348343
rada@rada.by

· Organise peaceful demonstration actions on this date

Youth Takes the Floor

Regarding the case of the drawings of the Prophet Mohammed

We hereby take the opportunity to explain the position of The Danish Youth Council (DUF) regarding the unfortunate drawings of the Prophet Mohammed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on September 30, 2005.

DUF is an umbrella organization with 70 member organizations and together we actively work and call for respect among children and young people of different cultures and confessional backgrounds - both in Denmark and in the world at large. DUFs mandate is to promote understanding and solidarity between children and young people by co-operating across cultural, confessional and national boundaries through projects carried by respect and modesty. It has been very alarming for us to see this case unfolding and intensifying throughout the last couple of months.

DUF firmly believes in the freedom of expression, which we consider to be the backbone of a democratic society. We regret that it has been perceived as an insult to Islam and Muslims in general. DUF naturally distances itself from the demonising of any religion. This incident clearly illustrates that there is a vital need for cultural, political and religious dialogue so as to prevent instances like this from taking place.

DUF has recently launched a youth programme, which encourages partnerships among Danish children and youth organizations and children and youth organizations in the Middle East and North Africa and cross border dialogue seminars gathering young people from Denmark and the Middle East and North Africa.

DUF initiated this project in order to contribute actively to peaceful coexistence, dialogue, respect and tolerance between children and youth in the Arab world and Denmark. We sincerely hope that our efforts will contribute to mutual respect and understanding in the years to come.


Sincerely


Jeppe Bruus, President
Rasmus Hylleberg, Secretary General
The Danish Youth Council

The EU turns 14!

"Ministers from the 12 countries in the European Community (EC) have taken another step towards political and economic union in Maastricht. The foreign and finance ministers of the EC member states have signed the Treaty on European Union and the Maastricht Final Act, agreed in the southern Dutch town last December after years of debate. Officially the EC will now be known as the European Union (EU) and a definite timetable and framework for economic and monetary union has been laid down. The EU will take on new responsibilities for a common foreign and security policy and for home and judicial affairs - such as asylum, immigration, drugs and terrorism. Many European governments regard the treaties as a compromise between those who want to move rapidly towards full union and those - especially Britain - who want a looser arrangement. Britain has opted out of the new social chapter - concerning workers' rights and pay, but people in all 12 countries are now European citizens with rights to live and work in any other EU state."

In February 7th, 1992 the Maastricht treaties were signed and made the European Union official.

Freezing Finland

I'm currently in Helsinki. The temperature is -15°C. The sea is completely frozen.
I never thought I would be able to write it... but I miss Brussels' weather!

Technical problems

As some of you may have noticed, we experienced some technical problems and some posts have disappeared from the blog. Now they're all back online, but not in the order they were posted. I apologise for this fact, even though I cannot even understand what hapenned...

Tell us new lies!

Twenty-seven countries out of 35 on the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors voted in Vienna for the resolution requesting the Director General, Mohamed El Baradei, to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities, with just three against (Cuba, Syria and Venezuela) and five abstentions. The decision follows days of intensive diplomacy at the agency and could lead to possible UN sanctions against Iran.

Iran denies it has been concealing efforts to develop nuclear weapons, maintaining its programme is only for producing energy and does not have a military aim. This decision could affect an offer by Russia, a major trading partner of Tehran's, to enrich uranium for Iran on its own soil. The two countries were due to meet to discuss the offer in two weeks. Tehran has also threatened to downgrade co-operation with the IAEA, and end any chance of a compromise on enrichment. Javad Vaiedi, deputy head of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, said the vote was politically motivated, adding that Tehran's first response would be to resume full-scale enrichment of uranium.

Egypt made a proposal to include a reference to making the Middle East a nuclear weapon free zone. This was rejected by the US, which saw it as an attack on Israel's nuclear arsenal, but Washington eventually agreed to the clause after it received overwhelming backing from European allies. I will never be able to understand why should some countries be enttitled to have nuclear arsenal and others forbidden to develop programmes for producing energy...

Is Mr Bush preparing a new invasion? At least he could tell us new lies...

The State of the Universe Address, 2006

"Friends, minions, applaudobots! Giblets is humbled by your shameless abasement before him. Bow before his resplendent humility! Bow before it NOOOOW!The state of the universe is mighty! Freedom is on the march, especially in places like Iraq and Palestine. Their recent elections have proven once again that freedom is a photogenic spectacle involving smiling brown people with ink-stained digits. Kudos, Iraq and Palestine! You are a credit to purple-fingered invasion mascots everywhere! But freedom cannot rest easy because terror is on the rise, especially in places like Iraq and Palestine. Their recent elections have elevated violent right-wing radicals to power who support terrorists and death squads. You're dead to me, Iraq and Palestine! And after all the Iraqis we blew up to set you free! The only solution is to reinvade our own invasion of Iraq to free freedom from itself! Giblets hereby redeclares Operation Reliberationization! There can be no end but redevictory.There are those of you who have said that Giblets doesn't have a plan for victory. Well Giblets has a plan, and his plan is to tell you that you don't have a plan, because your plan was to point out that Giblets didn't have a plan before Giblets went and implemented his plan - which totally would've worked if Giblets actually had a plan! Being right is not a plan! Being wrong with resolve is a plan!Behold! To Giblets's right is the family of an unborn embryonic soldier recently killed in Iraq whose stem cells were kidnapped by gay married terrorists to be used in the creation of an animal-human hybrid. One day we will win this war and we will win it for him. And on that day he will rise from the dead and receive a health savings account!Remember the Maine! Fifty-four-forty or fight! Reduce, reuse, recycle!Under Giblets's rulership you are safer and more secure than ever before. But enemies are everywhere and they are seconds away from killing you with their laser breath! Giblets can protect you, but first he needs warrantless wiretaps, the line item veto, the mystic hammer of Thor, and none but the comeliest of virgins to be hurled into the fiery maw of the volcano god N'gothu, lest his gorge rise and consume us all!Witness! To Giblets's left is an American flag which has used its tax cuts to make a bipartisan commission for its starving family of ethanol subsidies. Would you take all that away by letting isolationist courts tax the Jesus fetus? Never! Because history is written in courage, and courage will remember us in the future how we were today: pandering, desperate and barely coherent!Freedom is on the march! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! God bless this great nation!"

Posted by Giblets on Fafblog

Further thoughts on the Palestinian elections to take into account at upcoming Israeli's

Another post on the Palestinian elections? I hesitated a lot, after the avalanche of assessments and declarations from all quarters. Taking as a given the satisfaction at the demonstration of Palestinian electors' attachment to democracy and maturity, as well as concerns at the Hamas victory, I will try to put together a few thoughts and address troubling aspects.

Free elections are an important part of democracy, but not all
All the observers have spoken about the high turn out and how smoothly the Palestinian election went. But several commentators have stressed that democracy implies other things, like guaranteeing the rights of minorities, respect for basic rights and the rejection of violence and, clearly, terrorism as a political weapon. Even if, as Giuliano Amato has said, it would not be the first time that an armed movement "cleansed itself", and the Palestinians have shown themselves to be among the most mature and best prepared of Arab nations for democracy, Palestine has a long way to go before it can be called one. Exactly as their Israeli neighbours.

The difficulty
It is possible that in the next few weeks Hamas will find the practical arrangements to allow it to form a coalition government that might be recognised by the international community, observing the conditions that the European Union and other powers have set out in terms of conduct on terrorism, the truce with Israel, the aim of the two States, etc. The real difficulty for Palestine and for the other Islamic countries resides in the doctrine of the "holy territory of Islam", which cannot be given up and which, consequently, rules out the definitive recognition of Israel. Exactly the same kind of difficulty that Israel has concerning the "holy territory of Israel", ruling out the definitive recognition of Palestine.

Reasons for victory
Several commentators who know the situation on the ground well have pointed out that the success of Hamas owes much to things which have nothing to do with terrorism. I quote: "Hamas manages a series of welfare organisations, clinics, health centres, schools and universities. In the Gaza Strip, it stands for order and discipline". By contrast, the corruption and personal enrichment of Arafat and his successors, with a few exceptions, is emphasised. This was well known (I wrote it here, before the results of the elections were known) and the unseemly struggles to seize his bank accounts in Switzerland and elesewhere remain fresh in the memory. The clean up of European finance, which Europe didn't dare do, has been done by Palestinian electors.

Story which doesn't bear scrutiny
The result in Palestine has shown how false and artificial it is to say that support for Islamic extremism would only come from a small fraction of the population. The truth is that each time more or less free elections are held, fundamentalists gain ground, from the Algerian commotion, which we pretend not to remember (the second round was cancelled to prevent a fundamentalist victory), and Iran, Egypt, the Gulf States and, in part, Morocco. Tunisia seems to be the only exception. Europe, while respecting the peoples' choices, must take account of this in its relations with the countries concerned, and even more in its internal policies with regard to the religious authorities of Moslem minorities in the EU. In their own countries, just as in ours, fundamentalist tendencies sometimes call into question hard won gains, especially by women. Moreover, Arab governments which are fighting fundamentalism openly berate European political authorities and powers for their condescension which they believe to be excessive and which contradicts their efforts, and those of moderate Moslems, who want freedom, equality for women and a reasonable interpretation of the holy texts. Humiliating Islam on the basis of prejudices that generalise and don't distinguish between extremists and moderates, doesn't help at all.

Freedoms I

As any democrat, I believe that the Freedom of Expression and more concretely the Freedom of the Press is one of the pillars of (our) democratic societies and a condition sine qua non for ensuring the balance of powers through respecting the elementary rights of the communities and voicing their beliefs.

Therefore, it is quite natural and reasonable that we can find it in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, within article 19 that "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers".

Nobody disputes this article, as no-one disputes the preceding one, art. 18 that states “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

Amazingly, during these days we could be led to believe that these two rights could actually be contradictory, just because of the clash between two different kinds of fundamentalisms, since I believe it is not only from Islamic communities that we are witnessing radicalism but also from the side of the media.

I consider that the reproduction by different newspapers around Europe of the caricatures representing Prophet Muhammad is an attempt against Islamic religious beliefs, as the Islam forbids the depiction of Muhammad (as well as of Allah).

Being an atheist, I strongly believe that the religious beliefs have to be respected as such, even if judging them, even if considering them illogical, as long as they respect the individual rights.

And I don’t even think that in this case it is illogical, as it is based on the argument that the representation of Muhammad or Allah could lead to idol worship.

The bottom line, is that agreeing or not, as it constitutes a strong religious belief it should be respected, in “teaching, practice, worship and observance”.

Of course that the reactions by Islamic followers, namely in Syria and Lebanon are extremist (as every reaction that recurs to violence) but I surely hope that this unfortunate episode leads to a strong debate about media ethical grounds.

Of course I do not defend that the Freedom of Press should regulated by any other mean that the common sense and the ethics of editors. But they should be also called to the responsibility on these riots, for sticking to a fundamentalist position over the defense of the alleged threatened Freedom of Press.

Instead, I fear that with their attitude they may be the ones threatening this freedom, as everyone would rest assure if knowing that it is also based in self-regulation processes from a press that understands our society, our conflictual worlds, that knows and respects intercultural and religious differences and that acknowledges that the “freedom of thought” goes hand-in-hand with the freedom of conscience and religion.

That’s why I don’t know which of these extremisms scares me the most…

Nepal

"The European Union continues to be deeply concerned over the situation in Nepal, where political forces seem to be moving towards an ever more severe confrontation and polarization thus increasing the risk of deepening the political crisis. The European Union gives its full support to the moderate voices in Nepal working towards the goal of a sustainable peace based on the principles of a civilian, accountable and democratic government. The EU strongly condemns the use of force to surpress the Nepalese people's exercise of fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. The EU finds that the Government's extensive restrictions on the Nepalese society, political parties and civil society over the last week are disproportionate and do not comply with Nepal's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The EU calls upon the King, the Government of Nepal and the Security Forces to immediately restore all political and civil liberties in accordance with Nepal's international obligations, immediately release all political prisoners and human rights defenders, and ensure that political and civil rights, including freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, can be exercised peacefully. The EU strongly condemns the resumption of Maoist violence, including the recent murder of an election candidate. The EU deeply regrets the government's failure to seize the opportunity provided by the Maoists' unilateral cease-fire to declare a truce. The EU underlines the obligation of all parties to fully respect international humanitarian law, including by way of protecting civilians and facilitating the access of humanitarian organisations seeking to aid affected persons. The EU reiterates that what Nepal and its people urgently need is a cessation of armed hostilities as a first step in an inclusive and comprehensive peace process. The European Union underlines its stand on elections. For the elections to be meaningful it is crucial that they be held in direct consultation with the political parties as part of an exercise to establish a full return to democracy. The fact that no such consultation has taken place means that the planned municipal elections will be another step backwards for democracy and are likely to further polarize positions".

Declaration adopted by the Austrian Presidency, on behalf of the EU, on 29 January, on the way the situation is deteriorating in Nepal.

Addicted to Oil

President Bush's State of the Union speech might well be remembered for his phrase that "America is addicted to oil". The rest of it, apart perhaps from a call on Iranians to get rid of their "small clerical elite", was a reiteration of the themes on which his presidency stands or falls. He gave not an inch on Iraq nor on his intention to "act boldly in freedom's cause" (nor on his wiretapping without warrants). One would expect that. They are the bedrock of his policy.
On all those policies, especially the foreign ones, he was defiant if at times somewhat defensive. His rallying call on Iraq, for example, was to say: "Fellow citizens, we are in this fight to win and we are winning." This, three years after war was first waged...

Some may say that his section on energy indicates that he is having to respond to the green lobby, which has been growing fast at a local and state level in the United States. I think that he might be only reacting to higher energy prices... It is worth noting, for instance, that he put energy in its place. He mentioned the need to detox from oil only as the sixth on a list of seven measures the United States had to take to stay "competitive." The preceding five were "keeping our economy growing", being "good stewards of tax dollars", opening "more markets for all that Americans make and grow", sorting out an "immigration system" and providing "affordable health care". The seventh was a plan to improve science and technology education... And he did not even mention climate change as the overriding concern behind energy policies!

If he has gone green, as some have been claiming, it is perhaps a lighter shade of green...

Sid Vicious

It was also on a 2 February (1979) that Sex Pistols' bass player Sid Vicious has died of a heroin overdose in New York. His mother found him death in bed with his sleeping girlfriend in an apartment in Greenwich Village.

Vicious was facing trial over the death of his ex-girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, and there had been a party to celebrate his release on bail. According to some of the guests, Sid Vicious took some heroin, collapsed, went into seizure and displayed the symptoms of overdose. He revived 40 minutes later and went to bed with his girlfriend.

Richard Branson, Virgin records boss, who bailed out Sid Vicious twice, said: "In retrospect he was obviously far safer in jail where the temptations that ultimately killed him were not present".

The end of apartheid in South Africa

It was 16 years ago that in a televised speech at the opening of Parliament in Cape Town, President FW de Klerk announced restrictions would be lifted on the ANC, the smaller Pan Africanist Congress and the South African Communist Party.

In that same day he also made his first public commitment to release jailed ANC leader Nelson Mandela, which would happen 9 days after.

Many observers were surprised by the scope of the reforms - which included a return to press freedom and suspension of the death penalty - signaling a partial end to the 25-year-old state of emergency.

These events allowed active opposition to apartheid for the first time in 40 years of National Party rule.