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Angola: New highway code in action

Clara Onofre — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:20:08 +0000

Angolan Driver's License

The new Angolan highway code [pt], which came into effect on April 1, has divided society. On one hand, the new code is seen as a good measure taken by the Government as it will educate some of the drivers who are less attached to life. Nevertheless, the legislation contains costs that not everyone is able to meet. The compulsory use of seats for children under twelve, may be an example. There are now well informed thieves who have begun stealing these items each of which costs around 30 thousand Cuanza (approximately 385 USD at the date this piece was published).

Among other measures, the new highway code imposes the use of seat belts and child seats as well as dictating the mandatory use of helmets for motorcycle drivers. Fines applied tend to be heavy. However, most drivers choose to ignore the law. This fact, coupled with the country's poor road conditions, is causing congestion and situations of risk for those using public roads. Some say that when you learn how to drive in Angola, then you can drive anywhere.

For the more demoniac drivers, who offer taxi services, the new highway code has triggered great pain, since most run without legal documentation and without normal security measures, such as excess passengers. For one month, the transit police has exercised its regulatory function in an educational environment, thereby enabling, persuading and educating people about the new behavior they are expected to assume while on the road.

Photo uploaded on March 15, 2009 by Flickr user gabrieltomate, with a Creative Commons License

Eugénio Costa Almeida from blog Pululu [pt] presents the following analysis of the new highway code and his reaction:

“Uma das alterações, e talvez a mais importante para quem está na Diáspora, deve-se ao facto dos novos documentos de licença de condução serem válidos em qualquer parte do mundo dado que o mesmo se adequa às convenções internacionais adoptadas no âmbito das Nações Unidas. Acaba-se, de vez, assim o esperamos, o “Caso Mantorras (nota autora: que causou mau estar nas relações diplomáticas entre Angola e Portugal, em relação à utilização das cartas de condução portuguesas em solo angolano, após o jogador do Benfica ter sido apanhado a conduzir em Portugal com a carta caducada).

A outras das significativas alterações e que Luanda já hoje sentiu, com a reduzida presença deles, prende-se com as novas normas que limitam a circulação de alguns taxistas dos “azuis e brancos” mais conhecidos por “candongueiros”. Entre as restrições a obrigatoriedade de uso de cintos de segurança em todos os bancos, embora, segundo pareça e a fazer fé em certos relatos de Luanda, a polícia ainda está só a exigir – o que se admite durante um período de adaptação – nos bancos da frente, a apresentação de uma licença de circulação legalizada – consta-se que a maioria não estava encartado – ter licença de aluguer e que as viaturas se mostrem estar técnica e legalmente adaptadas ao referido uso, além de não poderem transportar pessoas em veículos de transporte de mercadorias.”

One of the differences, and perhaps the most important to those in the Diaspora, is concerned with the fact that new driving license documents are valid anywhere in the world, as they now meet the international conventions adopted by the United Nations. Thus putting an end to, we hope, the “Mantorras Case” (author's note: this case has caused negative diplomatic relations between Angola and Portugal, concerning the use of Portuguese driving licenses on Angolan territory, after a player from Benfica [football club] was caught by the police driving in Portugal with an expired license). The other significant change, which Luanda already feels today, due to their reduced presence, relates to the new rules that limit the movement of some of the ‘blue and white' taxi drivers, locally known as “candongueiros“. Among the restrictions are the compulsory use of safety belts on all seats, although it seems that (according to some reports from Luanda) the police have only been demanding belts in the front seats – which will be allowed for a period of adjustment; the presentation of a vehicle operating permit - it is said that the majority of them were not registered - having license for rental cars, and that the vehicles are both technically and legally adapted to that use; and besides, transporting people in vehicles carrying goods is prohibited.

The same blogger continues, drawing attention to the need to improve the roads and the amount of public transport available to Angolan citizens.

“Vamos ver se Angola não segue as “normas” de um outro reconhecido país que tem restrições a certos “modos” no código mas que se esquece, em muitos casos, de melhorar as condições das estradas. Porque se estradas condignas não há códigos, por muito bons e penalizadores que sejam, que se safem. Já agora talvez seja o momento ideal para Luanda e arredores sejam dotados de melhores transportes colectivos municipais e que liguem com uma curta periodicidade exigível os diferentes bairros e municípios da capital obrigando as três actuais empresas de transporte se auto-regularem e auto-disciplinarem entre si.

Talvez que assim o fluxo rodoviário, nomeadamente em Luanda e arredores, fosse menor e mais fluido. Talvez assim as pessoas pudessem chegar mais depressa aos seus empregos e, ou, às suas casas. Talvez que assim houvesse menor perca de tempo e maior rentabilidade nos serviços e nas empresas; talvez, talvez, talvez…

Cabe ao Governo Provincial cogitar e ponderar bem no assunto!”

Let's see if Angola does not follow the “rules” of another country that has recognized limitations to certain “modes” in the code but forgets in many cases to improve road conditions. For without decent roads there are no codes that work, even if the rules are very good and penalize. By the way, it is now perhaps the ideal time for Luanda and surrounding areas to adopt better public transport that creates quick connections between the different districts and municipalities of the capital, forcing the three existing transport companies to regulate and discipline themselves. Perhaps thus the traffic flow, especially in Luanda and the surrounding area, would be smaller and more fluid. Perhaps that way people could get to their jobs and/or to their homes faster. Perhaps they would see less loss of time and increased profitability in services and in business, maybe, maybe, maybe …

It is the job of the Provincial Government to think and consider this matter!

For more information visit the website AngolaBela [pt] where a series of questions and answers related to this subject can be found.

A traffic jam in Luanda. Photo uploaded on June 23, 2008 by Flickr user, azeite, with a Creative Commons License

Originally written in Portuguese, translation into English by Sara Moreira.

Brazil: The country's largest university becomes a battlefield

Paula Góes — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:14:52 +0000

Quando chegamos na altura do gramado, havia uma multidão de centenas de pessoas, a maioria estudantes correndo e a tropa de choque avançando e lançando bombas de concusão (falsamente chamadas de “efeito moral” porque soltam estilhaços e machucam bastante) e de gás lacrimogêneo. A multidão subiu correndo até o prédio da História/ Geografia, onde a assembléia havia sido interrompida e começou a chover bombas no estacionamento e entrada do prédio (mais ou menos em frente à lanchonete e entrada das rampas). Sentimos um cheiro forte de gás lacrimogêneo e dezenas de nossos colegas começaram a passar mal devido aos efeitos do gás – lembro da professora Graziela, do professor Thomás, do professor Alessandro Soares, do professor Cogiolla, do professor Jorge Machado e da professora Lizete todos com os olhos inchados e vermelhos e tontos pelo efeito do gás. A multidão de cerca de 400 ou 500 pessoas ficou acuada neste edifício cercada pela polícia e 4 helicópteros. O clima era de pânico. Durante cerca de uma hora, pelo menos, se ouviu a explosão de bombas e o cheiro de gás invadia o prédio.

When we arrived on the lawn, there was a crowd of hundreds of people, mostly students , running while the bomb squad moved forward firing concussion grenades (falsely called “moral-effect bombs” because they release splinters and hurt a lot) and tear gas. The crowd ran up to the history/geography building, where the assembly had been halted and then bombs began being pelted in the carpark and entrance of the building (more or less in front of the cafe and the entrance ramp). We felt a strong smell of tear gas and dozens of our colleagues began to feel poorly due to the effects of gas - I remember professors Graziela, Thomas, Alessandro Soares, Cogiolla, Jorge Machado and Lizete all with swollen and red eyes and feeling dizzy because of the effect of the gas. The crowd of about 400 or 500 people trapped in this building was surrounded by police and 4 helicopters. The atmosphere was of panic. For about an hour, at least, we heard bombs exploding and felt the smell of gas invade the building.

The above lines are an excerpt from a testimonial by Prof. Dr. Pablo Ortellado, published on the Letras em Greve [Languages on Strike, pt] blog, about a peaceful demonstration in the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil's largest university, which ended in a violent confrontation with Police on Tuesday, June 9th. Many demonstrators were hurt, some jailed. Another professor, Marcos Ferreira Santos [pt], posted the picture below and his own account:

Professor Marcos Ferreira, when he was sprayed with gas during a protest on the USP campus.

Esta é a maneira de “dialogar” da PM e da Reitoria.
Na tentativa de conversar com o comandante da unidade de choque, o despreparo, má formação e autoritarismo de PMs na ação, levaram a me agredir com gás de pimenta, de maneira gratuita, violenta e sem nenhuma necessidade. Atingiram também minha esposa, Solange Francisco, funcionária. Ao falar com o comandante, Ten Cel Longo, me desrespeitou e ao me identificar como professor da USP, ameaçou me “prender”, com a mesma prepotência que somente havia visto com o Cel. Erasmo Dias, na invasão da PUC em 1977, quando eu era ainda estudante secundarista. O comando da PM no local também é despreparado. Depois com os professores Lisete Arelaro, Chico Miraglia e outros, tentamos novamente conversar para evitar o confronto, mas a resposta foi com bombas de gás lacrimogênio.
O mesmo despreparo, má formação e autoritarismo da Reitora Suely Vilela, demonstrando sua incompetência em gerir conflitos na USP.

This is the way that the police and the dean “talk”.
During an attempt to talk with the commander of the riot police, the unpreparedness, poor training and authoritarianism led the police officers to attack me with pepper gas, for nothing, in a violent and needless fashion. They also hit my wife, Solange Francisco, an employee. When I was speaking with the commander, Col. Longo assaulted me and when I identified myself as a professor at USP, I was threatened with “arrest” with the same arrogance that I had only seen in Col. Erasmus' days during the invasion of the PUC [university] in 1977, when I was still a high school student. The commanders of the PM were too unprepared. Then with the teachers Lisete Arelaro, Chico Miraglia and others, we tried to talk again to avoid confrontation, but their response was to fire tear gas.
The same unpreparedness, poor training and authoritarianism of dean Suely Vilela was shown through her incompetence in managing [these] conflicts at the USP.

The video below, edited by an independent group of students, shows the peaceful beginning and ugly end of Tuesday 9th of June:

Pablo Ortellado [pt] explains the background of the situation in a letter signed by a group of professors seeking the support of the international scientific and academic community:

Conflicts started after a one month strike of university workers whose employment status is being disputed due to a legal controversy over university autonomy to hire its workers without approval of state representatives. Over one thousand workers might loose their jobs. Workers started a strike on May 5 demanding the preservation of their jobs and other labor demands. On May 27, workers started to block the entrance of four university buildings because, according to them, university management was threatening workers who were using their legal right to strike. On June 1, administration called the military police to intervene. On June 4 professors joined the strike protesting police occupation of campus. on June 5, professors had a two hours meeting with management asking for a non-military solution to the labor conflict. However, common sense did not prevail and military police attacked a peaceful demonstration of students and workers yesterday (June 9). 120 professors were discussing the crisis when the meeting was interrupted by news of a police attack. A few minutes later teargas and concussion bombs exploded inside the building. Several of our colleagues and students were hurt. The academic community is shocked.

On that Tuesday, the riot police came into confrontation with students, staff and teachers during a demonstration whose goal was exactly the removal of the police currently on the campus. The event has been well documented and many accounts can be found online. Roque [pt], a USP student, records his personal account and recalls the history of repression that the USP used often to see:

Segundo informações do Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da USP, o Sintusp, a última vez em que houve uma intervenção policial no campus da Cidade Universitária foi em 1979, há exatamente 30 anos atrás, nos tenebrosos tempos da ditadura militar, e contando com um efetivo de 10 ou 15 policiais desarmados.

According to the USP Workers' Union, the Sintusp, the last time that there were police in the University City was in 1979, it was exactly 30 years ago, in the darkest days of military dictatorship, and then with a team of 10 or 15 unarmed police.

Thirty years ago, the USP community had taken to the streets to chant the slogan “down with dictatorship” for the first time. Three decades later, the police are back on the main campus of USP because dean Suely Vilela supposedly asked the courts to reclaim possession of buildings that had been occupied by striking employees. Idelber Avelar [pt] believes the arrival of the police in this equation has caused trauma and revolt, damaging any compromise attempt. He thinks that the State of São Paulo should be made accountable for the violence:

Os erros, excessos ou táticas reprováveis do movimento universitário são uma coisa. O envio do batalhão de choque da Polícia Militar, o espancamento de estudantes e o uso dos cassetetes e das bombas de gás lacrimogêneo são crimes, são acontecimentos de dimensão completamente distinta. São responsabilidade direta da Polícia subordinada ao governador. Ele tem obrigação de responder por ela. São atrocidades perpetradas pelo poder público.

The mistakes, excesses or unacceptable tactics of the university staff unions are one thing. The dispatch of the riot police, students beaten up and the use of batons and tear gas bombs are crimes, these are events of a completely different dimension. These are the direct responsibility of the police, subject to the State Governor. He is obliged to answer for this. These are atrocities perpetrated by public authorities

Photo from CMI Brasil's website

According to the police version of events, the confrontation began when a group of five or six students provoked police officials on motorbikes. Pablo Pamplona [pt] responds sarcastically to the commander of the operation Col. Cláudio Longo's claims during a radio interview:

Segundo o coronel, estudantes PEGARAM os policiais de suas motocicletas (que os pobres coitados não tiveram tempo de fugir ou se proteger, afinal todo seu equipamento não era páreo para os livro e mochilas mortais dos estudantes terroristas) e os fizeram de REFÉNS.

Tá.

Esse mesmo senhor coronel, durante a mesma entrevista, discute com uma garota que lhe aparece aos gritos argumentando algo sobre os absurdos cometidos pela PM. Ele ameaça prendê-la. Ela quer saber a razão. Desacato à autoridade, ele diz.

O repórter finaliza falando que ainda há tensão no local, com “estudantes que agridem policiais e policiais queeee… retiram estudantes”.

Onde quero chegar: está claro que as razões apresentadas pelos representantes da polícia são falsas. Não preciso explicar isso. As grandes mídias (ou seja, aquelas nas quais você não consegue expor a sua voz) dão sempre atenção especial às versões dos policiais. Tanto que na manifestação, os repórteres seguiram atrás do próprio batalhão da polícia, como a segunda fila de combate em um campo de guerra. Eles não querem as versões dos manifestantes, não lhes interessa. E essa mídia é a maior formadora de opinião da população. Façamos as contas.

According to the colonel, the students took the police motorbikes (the poor little things had no time to escape or to protect themselves, after all their equipment was not any match for the student terrorist's fatal weapons of books and backpacks) and they were held HOSTAGE.

OK.

This very same colonel, during the same interview, argues with a girl who shouts something about the absurd action of the police at him. He threatens her with arrest. She wants to know the reason. “Contempt of authority”, he says.

The reporter finishes off by saying that there is still tension there, with “students who hitting police and police … just dispersing students.”

My point: it is clear that the reasons given by the representatives of the police are false. I don't need to explain it. Mainstream media (i.e., those where you can not have your say) always give special attention to the police's side of the story. So much so that in the event, the reporters followed the riot police closely, like the secondline of troops in a war zone. They do not want the protesters' versions of events, these do not interest them. And the media is the largest opinion maker for the population. Let's do the math.

An armed police officer steps on flowers offered by students. From the USP's Teachers Union gallery

Many agree with the point that the media is a partner with the government and the dean, thus accusing the protesters of belonging to a minority group of dissidants. Watching the events unfold on TV and live blogging them, Raphael Garcia [pt] makes an analysis of the press coverage, which according to him backed the police 100%:

1. Confronto entre Polícia e estudantes: Que confronto? Os estudantes protestavam pacificamente e foram atacados e em momento algum reagiram!

2. Provocação dos estudantes: Que provocação? O próprio repórter da rede afirmou que estavam distribuindo flores e haviam bloqueado uma rua! Bloquear uma rua em um protesto legítimo é suficiente para apanhar da PM?

E para fechar ainda falam “vejam como eram poucos policiais contra centenas de estudantes!” Só esqueceram de avisar que os estudantes estavam “armados” com rosas e a polícia com armas e balas!

Simplesmente um absurdo esta imprensa marrom, vendida, golpista!

1. Confrontation between police and students: What confrontation? The students were protesting peacefully and were attacked and never reacted!

2. Student provocation: What provocation? The TV's own reporter said they were distributing flowers and had blocked a street! Is blocking a street in protest a legitimate enough reason to get beaten by the police?

And to finish off they say: “see how few police against hundreds of students!”. They only forgot to explain that students were “armed” with roses and police with guns and bullets!

This media is simply absurd this dirty, sold, coup media!

Vinicius Justo [pt] says it is time to react and calls for action:

Se enganam aqueles que dizem que foi algo “justo”. Não pode ser justo uma força da polícia perseguir pessoas por 500 metros adentro da universidade. Não pode ser justo todos os policiais presentes estarem sem a devida identificação. Não pode ser justo o comandante da polícia dizer que interviu porque policiais “tinham sido feito reféns”. Com quem este homem está brincando? É assim que ele pretende se sair da acusação de força desproporcional? É assim que pedem para que confiemos na polícia?

Não é mais possível permanecer neutro, como eu disse acima. É preciso mostrar que não se pode tratar deste modo pessoas que protestam pacificamente contra um governo que impõe decisões, abstém-se do diálogo e pretende garantir o monopólio da razão. Havia os manifestantes que buscavam confronto direto com a polícia? Claro que havia. Estes são uma minoria. E não devem servir de base para fazer centenas de pessoas de bem passarem momentos de medo. Os vídeos estão na internet.

Those who say it was something “fair” are mistaken. It can not be fair for a police force to chase people for 500 meters inside the university. It can not be right that the police are there without proper identification. It can not be fair for the commander of the police to say it intervened because police “had been held hostage.” What is this man playing at? Is this how he wants to defend himself from the accusation of using disproportionate force? Is this how they ask us to trust the police?

It is no longer possible to remain neutral, as I said above. We must show that they can not treat people who were peacefully protesting against a government that imposes decisions this way, that refuses to engage in dialogue and wishes to ensure the monopoly of reason. Were there demonstrators who sought direct confrontation with the police? Of course there were. These were in a minority. And it should not be the basis for making hundreds of good people go through moments of fear. The videos are on the Internet.

Photo from the USP's Teachers Union gallery

It is clear from the above blog post that not everyone in the USP community thinks the police intervention was wrong. Rafael Sola [pt] believes it is high time that the stance of some of the strikers was condemned, for example the invasion of the university buildings which started it all:

Quem acompanha de perto vê barricadas, cerceamento da liberdade, patrulhamento ideológico que chega até o limite da agressão física e de ameaças de sequestro. É preciso ir bem perto para ver como uma parte podre desse movimento grevista age de forma mafiosa e criminosa. Eu tenho amigos que sofreram ameaças de morte por protestarem contra os piquetes. Uma garota foi agredida na História por querer passar pelas barricadas e usar as salas de aula.

Those who watch closely see barricades, the restriction of freedom, ideological patrols that reach the limit of physical aggression and threats of kidnapping. We need to get very close to see how a rotten part of this strike movement acts in a criminal and mafia-like way. I have friends who have suffered death threats for protesting against the pickets. One girl was attacked in the history block for wanting to get through the barricades and use the classrooms.

Catia P. [pt] tells of abuse by students who support the strike against those who want to attend classes. Some students from her translation class have issued the following manifesto:

Ninguém queria ver esse tipo de coisa dentro do campus. O recurso à ilegalidade por parte desse pessoal é de longa data: fechamento de portões, barricadas, violência e destruição do patrimônio público, invasões de prédios, são coisas que já fazem parte do cotidiano da USP já faz muito tempo. A ação pela recuperação da legalidade foi muito protelada, por medo de que a sociedade interpretasse mal imagino.

Nós sabemos que ao optar por fazer a prova estávamos, inevitavelmente, nos posicionando contra esta greve, mas não tínhamos sido avisados que a mobilização em favor de uma determinada ideologia é compulsória. Preferimos acreditar na autonomia da escolha do indivíduo. Nós lamentamos a truculência da polícia com os estudantes e nos posicionamos, também, contra isso. Porém, não admitimos que o nosso direito de escolha seja desrespeitado. Quando se tira o direito de escolha de alguém, tira-se sua alma. E não aceitamos que ninguém, nem mesmo os estudantes da Universidade de São Paulo, faça isso conosco.

Nobody wanted to see this kind of thing happening in the campus. These people's appeal to illegal action dates back a long time: closing gates, erecting barricades, violence, destruction of governmental property, invasions of buildings, these things have been part of everyday life in USP for a long time. The action to reclaim legality has been delayed, for fear that society misunderstood it, I imagine.

We knew that by choosing to sit the exam we were, inevitably, positioning ourselves against the strike, but we had not been told that mobilization in favor of a particular ideology was compulsory. We prefer to believe in the autonomy of the individual's choice. We regret the truculence of the police against students and we also stand against it. But we do not accept that our right of choice is violated. When you take away someone's right to choose, you take their soul. And we do not accept that anybody, not even students of the University of São Paulo, do this to us.

Photo: CMI Brasil

On the other hand, Mariana [pt], who also disagrees with some of the student and strikers' behavior, says that even though we should always advocate for people's right to fight for whatever they believe is fair and important - without being assaulted:

Mas apoiar tal ato ditadorial? Achar que vale tudo para preservar a “ordem”? Que é válido utilizar sprays de pimenta e bombas de efeito moral como instrumentos políticos?

É cuspir em cima de toda forma de liberdade que existe - ou que deveria existir. Não é “apenas” um crime, não é só porque faz todos aqueles que um dia já lutaram e/ou morreram pelo direito de se manifestar se revirarem nos caixões - ou cemitérios clandestinos.

É você, ser humano (?), achar que tudo bem um outro ser humano APANHAR e ser PERSEGUIDO porque ele defende algo com o qual você não concorda e de alguma forma fez com que você se sentisse prejudicado. APANHAR e ser PERSEGUIDO. Daí pra ser assassinado/torturado porque discorda é um passo. Pequeno, eu diria.

Que mundo é esse, gente? Que tipo de pessoas são essas?

To support such a dictatorial act? To believe that you can do anything to preserve “order”? That it is valid to use pepper sprays and concussion grenades as instruments of politics?

It is like spitting on the top of every form of freedom that exists - or should exist. It is not “just” a crime, it is not only because it makes those who one day fought and/or died for the right of free expression turn in their graves - or clandestine cemeteries.

It is you, human being (?) who thinks it is okay for another human to be BEATEN and PERSECUTED because they advocate something that you do not agree with and that in some way makes you feel undermined. BEATEN and PERSECUTED. From there for them to be murdered/tortured because they disagree is just one step. A small one, I would say.

What world is this, people? What kind of people are these?

Students, staff and professors have been meeting in general assemblies to discuss further actions and other mass demonstrations, and as of now the strike continues. A few other demonstrations both, pro and against the strike, also ended in violence last week. The University of São Paulo is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Latin America, offering 600 courses to 75,000 students.

We'd better ask more forces!
Photo from Tudo de Bom blog" width="400" height="300" />

- "They are armed with rulers and notebooks! Shit! We'd better call for reinforcements!" One of the many ironic photo-cartoons from Tudo de Bom blog

Brazil: Petrobras Blog Versus Mainstream Media

Diego Casaes — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:02:59 +0000

Petrobras - one of the biggest oil companies in the planet.

Brazil's giant, semi-public oil company Petrobras, which faces likely investigation under many accusations by the Brazilian Congress through a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI), has just entered the blogosphere, causing mixed reactions from bloggers, government and mass media.

According to the company itself, Petrobras Fatos e Dados blog [Petrobras Facts and Data, pt] aims to provide up to date information about the company and its attitude towards CPI activities. In its first week [pt], the blog highlighted the Internet repercussions and mass media's position against this initiative, stating:

Nosso blog completa uma semana, com 145 mil visitas, 31 posts e 1.700 comentários, e já conseguimos um espaço considerável de repercussão. Acreditamos nas mídias sociais como um importante canal de conversação direta entre a Petrobras e a sociedade. Infelizmente, continuamos a ver na imprensa comentários equivocados que desconhecem a própria lógica das mídias sociais.

Our blog celebrates one week, 145 thousand visits, 31 posts and 1,700 comments, and we have already achieved a considerable impact on the Internet. We believe that Social Media is an important tool for direct conversation between Petrobras and society. Unfortunately we still see mistaken comments in the mass media ignoring the logic of Social Media.

In addition to the first blog posts about the company's activities, on June 4th Petrobras also released a set of questions posed by journalists from two major Brazilian newspapers and the corresponding answers. This caused a great commotion among newspapers and journalists that in turn repudiated the blog, arguing it was a threat to press confidentiality.

Some bloggers think establishing a direct communication channel between Petrobras and society is actually a good thing. Reading information given by the company itself makes it possible for people to check whether newspaper headlines about the same subject using the same raw material as that released by Petrobras are correct or not.

Carlos Castilho presents his thoughts about this Petrobras initiative on the Observatório de Imprensa blog (Press Observatory), suggesting [pt]:

A Petrobras resolveu fazer aquilo que nos Estados Unidos já é uma rotina, até mesmo por parte de órgãos do governo federal. A empresa ingressou na blogosfera ao montar um blog no qual publica a íntegra de seus comunicados e entrevistas fornecidos à imprensa. […] A irritação dos jornais vem do fato de que o blog da Petrobras permite uma comparação entre o que a empresa forneceu aos jornalistas e o que foi publicado. Com isto é possível identificar erros de contexto, omissões e equívocos de transcrição.

Petrobras has decided to do something that is very common in the United States, even for federal government agencies. The company has entered the blogosphere after setting up a blog on which it publishes its reports and interviews. […] Newspaper concerns arise from the fact that Petrobras' blog allows a comparison between the info the company provide to journalists and what is in fact published. From this, one can identify misinterpretations, omissions and transcription misunderstandings.

On the other hand, newspapers have criticized the Petrobras blog stating its position is illegal, unethical and aggressive. One of the newspapers, O Globo, published an editorial [pt] on June 8th, after Petrobras' decision to publish media inquires, claiming that questions sent to the company are the property of newspapers and their employees and that Petrobras was wounding the Brazilian Constitution.

Blogger, professor and lawyer Tulio Viana [pt] clarifies readers' doubts about whether copyright of questions is plausible or not with regard to the constitution. Analyzing Brazilian copyright law, he explains [pt]:

De onde O Globo teria então tirado a tese jurídica de que perguntas jornalísticas são propriedade de quem as faz? Será que é pura e simples desinformação do jornal ou mais uma daquelas mentiras que se pretendem tornar-se verdade ao serem repetidas centenas de vezes? Para que não reste dúvida quanto o absurdo da tese, vamos ao art.8º da mesma lei: III – os formulários em branco para serem preenchidos por qualquer tipo de informação, científica ou não, e suas instruções [não são passíveis de Direitos Autorais] ; Incrível a cara-de-pau do jornal de publicar uma informação completamente falsa em seu editorial, inventando sem o menor pudor um novo inciso para o art.7º da Lei de Direitos Autorais e revogando o art.8º, III, da mesma lei.

Where on earth did “O Globo” get this argument that journalists' questions are the property of those who pose them? Is it a pure and simple lack of information on the part of the newspaper or just another one of those lies intended to become truth through being repeated hundreds of times? So that not the smallest doubt remains about this absurd argument, we can examine article 8 of the Copyright Law: III - Blank forms to be filled in with any kind of information, scientific or not, and their instructions [are not liable to copyright]. It's amazing how cheeky the newspaper is publishing completely false information in its editorial, with no decency at all, forging a new item for article 7 of the Copyright Law and repealing article 8, item III of the same law.

Petrobras blog is hosted on a Wordpress.com site.

Transparency being the aim of journalism itself, bloggers have also praised the Petrobras initiative while highlighting a point made by the press in which it expressed concern that the oil company's attitude would weaken its relationship with newspapers and their readers. Liberal Libertário Libertino blog (Liberal, Libertarian, Libertine) summarizes the facts. In its point of view [pt]:

A Petrobras não tem nada que confiar na imprensa. A imprensa não tem nada que confiar na Petrobras. Não devem haver acordos tácitos ou relações sigilosas entre a mídia e a Petrobras. As relações entre eles devem ser públicas e transparentes. Daí a celebração.

Petrobras does not have to trust the press. The press don't need to trust Petrobras either. There must be no form of tacit agreements or confidential relations between the media and Petrobras. The relationship between them must be public and transparent. That's why we celebrate.

Commentator Fábio Couto stresses [pt] how he understands Petrobras' initiative and the press reaction:

Não vejo problema do Petrobras se defender via blog. O problema é divulgar perguntas de apuração antes da matéria ser publicada. […] Não há nada de ilegal, mas não é ético e abre um fosso entre a empresa e a imprensa. […] Mas se a divulgação de perguntas e respostas fosse feita depois das matérias publicadas, certamente o efeito poderia ser mais bem entendido.

I don't see any problem in Petrobras defending itself [against mass media] on its blog. The problem is in publicizing research questions before the news article is published. […] There is nothing illegal in this, but, it's not ethical and creates a rift between the company and newspapers. […] But if the questions and answers are made public after the news articles' publication, it would certainly facilitate a better understanding of the facts.

While stressing that it does not have proper market research value, Folha de São Paulo newspaper, one of the biggest in Brazil, published a poll asking its readers whether they approved or not of Petrobras' decision to “leak” on its website newspaper questions and answers before publication. On Twitter, Idelber Avelar [pt] observed that the use of the word “leak” by Folha de São Paulo was already biased, but that, nevertheless, the poll showed that its readers were not buying it. At the time of publication, the results are as follows [pt]: out of 5,315 votes, 4,548, or 86% of voters, backed Petrobras, whilst 767 or 14% said Petrobras stance was wrong.

Folha de São Paulo Poll online since June 9th. Screenshot, June 16th.

Handling the situation carefully and highlighting positive and negative issues regarding the facts, journalist and columnist of the Estado de São Paulo newspaper Pedro Dória expresses [pt] some opinions:

Se o único objetivo da Petrobras fosse realmente transparência, era muito simples resolver: publica perguntas e respostas logo após os jornais levarem ao ar suas informações exclusivas. […] A questão real, a discussão principal da qual esta polêmica é só um capítulo, é a relação entre imprensa, empresas, governo e público. Estou longe das redações, então não sei como essa discussão está sendo encarada nas diretorias. Se eu tivesse que chutar, apostaria que ninguém está percebendo: a credibilidade da imprensa brasileira está lentamente sendo minada.

If Petrobras' only aim was to be transparent, it was an easy issue to sort out: it only needs to publish questions and answers soon after the newspapers publish their scoops. […] The real point, the main discussion in which all this controversy is only a glimpse of the whole picture, is actually the relationship between the media, private companies, government and society. I am away from newsrooms so I don't know how this discussion has been faced by the boards of directors. If I was to guess, I'd say something that nobody has realized yet: Brazilian press credibility is slowly on its way down.

Commenter Bruno Stern adds [pt]:

Há uma coisa muito clara nessa história. A Petrobras chegou a conclusão de que, se depender do espaço na mídia tradiocional para defender suas posições, terá muitos problemas. Se há um partido da mídia, não sei. Mas que veículos como O Globo e Folha [de São Paulo] já entram nessa história com suas posições definidas tenho certeza.

There is something very clear in this story. Petrobras has jumped to the conclusion that, if it relies only on the mainstream media to fight for its interests, the company will have many problems. Whether there is a Media Party, I don't know. But the media like O Globo and Folha [de São Paulo] have already defined this story with their own clear positions, this I am sure of.

On its blog, Petrobras also released [pt] the content of a letter from the Brazilian Press Association (ABI), an excerpt of which says:

A ABI considera legítima a decisão da Petrobras de criar um blog para divulgação das informações que presta à imprensa e especialmente aos veículos impressos, uma vez que as questões relativas ao seu funcionamento e aos seus atos de gestão interessam ao conjunto da sociedade, que não pode ficar exposta ao risco de filtragem das informações típica e inseparável do processo de edição jornalística. A empresa tem o direito de se acautelar, através das informações que difunde no blog, contra as distorções em que os meios de comunicação têm incorrido, como a própria ABI registrou em matéria publicada da edição de 31 de maio de um dos jornais que agora se insurgem contra o blog da empresa.

The ABI considers it legal for Petrobras to create a blog to publicise the information given to the press, especially newspapers, since questions regarding Petrobras' operations and management are of interest to society and should not be exposed to filtering of information - a common and invitable process in journalism. Through the information made available on the blog, the company has the right to protect itself against the distortions often created by mass media, as ABI noticed, for example, in a news article published on May 31st by one of the very same newspapers that now protest against the same blog.

Emerson Luis expresses [pt] hope in such practice becoming part of private and government companies, and other institutions in Brazilian society, :

Importante: não basta somente que os órgãos públicos façam isso. ONGs, empresas, OCIPS, instituições, todas tem o direito de repetir a mesma prática, de divulgar suas informações na íntegra, antes das interpretações ruins ganharem as ruas. Todos tem o direito de se antecipar ao estrago iminente. É o direito, e, antes de tudo, de informar claramente.

Important: it's not enough only for public institutions to adhere to this cause. NGO's, private companies, Civil Society Organizations, institutions, all of them have the right to reiterate this practice, to publicise their information in full before it is misinterpreted on the streets. Everyone has the right to anticipate imminent damage. It is a right, first of all, to clearly inform.

In conclusion, the Brazilian journalism scene might be changing little by little, whilst Petrobras' stance represents something negative for some, to others it is the perfect solution for transparency and an actual democratic state and information.

Brazil: Amplified conversations to fight the Digital Crimes Bill

Diego Casaes — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:57:00 +0000

Art: Luciano Matsuzaki and Mariana Lettis

On May 14th a protest [pt] against the Digital Crimes Bill proposed by Senator Azeredo to typify crimes on the Internet took place in São Paulo to promote debate. On May 25th, it was time for a demonstration in Porto Alegre. On June 1st, a similar protest happened in Minas Gerais and a new one is being planned now in Rio de Janeiro.

These protests have been called “Against the Digital AI-5” after the Brazilian dictatorship's Institutional Act Number Five or “AI-5“, the fifth, and considered the most cruel, of seventeen decrees issued by the military dictatorship in the years following the 1964 coup d'état in Brazil. Issued in 1968, AI-5 abolished freedom of expression by introducing the preliminary censorship of music, films, theater and television. Any work considered subversive to the political and moral values of the country was censored and artists jailed. AI-5 marked the transition to the toughest period of human rights violations in Brazilian history.

All over Brazil, mobilization against the proposed bill has been organized by a group of bloggers, who have put together a manifesto, a Twitter account and Mega Não! [Mega No!, pt], a blog created with the single purpose of gathering information and contributing to clarify what this bill might mean for Internet users in the country:

A proposta do Mega Não, é ser um meta manifesto, um agregador de informações e de diversas manifestações na Internet e fora dela, com o objetivo de combater o vigilantismo. Diversos núcleos ciberativistas estão surgindo e aumentando o discurso e a pressão popular contra o vigilantismo, tenta agregar, fomentar e ajudar a divulgar estes eventos é a nossa proposta, nos informe de seus movimentos, vamos juntar forças!!!

Mega Não's aim is to be a meta manifesto, a place to gather information about the various protests on the Internet and outside it, with the aim to fight surveillance. Many cyberactivist groups are emerging and increasing both the discussion of and popular pressure against vigilantism. To try to aggregate, foster and help promote those demonstrations is our main goal. Tell us about your demonstrations, let's join forces together!

An online petition against the Digital Crimes Bill released back in 2008 has already gathered 146,627 signatures. Users of Orkut, one of the most popular online social networks in Brazil, have also entered this fight, since many of the demands of this bill are related to this specific social network. One of many related communities, “Não ao projeto de Azeredo” [No to the Azeredo Bill, pt], has already attracted 6,563 members.

Activists are also using Twitter as an informative tool for their meetings and collaborative blogging about the subject: the hashtags #meganao and #ai5digital are usually used by bloggers and tweeters and represent a source of information for those seeking updates on how to contribute to the campaign. In addition to this, many of the demonstrations' organizers, supporters and enthusiasts can also be found on Twitter, such as @caribe, @pauloteixeira13, @samadeu, @arlesophia and @myris. To keep track with all the details on the repercussions of the demonstrations and the Azeredo Bill itself, people are also using Delicious tagged bookmarks to gather information in one place.

"No, Azeredo", in São Paulo. Photo by Andre Deak, published under a Creative Commons license.

Another interesting fact is that mainstream media has not been covering this situation satisfactorily. For many Brazilian bloggers and Internet users, it looks like the media outlets, in addition to Internet companies and the government, are willing to see the bill approved, so that they will have control over what people say and do all over the Web. Antonio Arles (@arlesophia) comments on this in his blog [pt] and stresses how the Internet is useful to gather information about the demonstrations:

Participei (presencialmente ou via Internet) de pelo menos três atos este ano em que a Rede foi importante para a organização, difusão e transmissão: o Ato contra a “Ditabranda” da Folha, o Saia Gilmar e o Ato Contra o AI-5 Digital. E é justamente essa possibilidade de exercício da cidadania um dos motivos da adesão dos oligopólios midiáticos ao AI-5 Digital. A lógica é a mesma da dos órgãos de repressão do Império Soviético ou da Ditadura Civil-Militar Brasileira. Apesar de usaram a máscara de “democratas” - usando argumentos como o da liberdade quando seus interesses estão em jogo, tentando confundir “liberdade de imprensa” com “liberdade da empresa” -, os oligopólios midiáticos são fruto de uma ditadura. Em última análise, são uma das faces da Ditadura Civil-Militar que continuam vivas depois da redemocratização. A questão é que, para além dos interesses econômicos, a tentativa de criminalização e de aprofundar vigilantismo na Internet é uma tentativa de manutenção do monopólio da informação/opinião e, conseqüentemente, do poder.

I have participated (in person or online) in at least three demonstrations this year for which the Internet was an important organizational, promotional and broadcasting tool: the action against the “Ditabranda” editorial of Folha de São Paulo newspaper, the Fora Gilmar [a protest calling for Chief Justice Gilmar Mendes to leave Brazil's Supreme Court] and the action against the Digital AI-5. And this possibility of exercising our citizenship is actually one of the reasons for the mass media's support of the Digital AI-5. The logic is the same as those of the suppression apparatus of the Soviet Empire or Brazilian Dictatorship. Although they wear the masks of democrats - arguing about freedom when actually their interests are at stake, and trying to confuse “press freedom” with “company freedom” - the mass media companies are a child of the dictatorship. In the last case, they are the faces of the civic-military dictatorship that live on after the re-democratization. The point is: beyond their economic interests, the attempt to criminalize and deepen vigilantism on the Web is actually an attempt to keep the monopoly of information/opinion and, consequently, of power.

Protest in São Paulo. Photo by Andre Deak, published under a Creative Commons license.

Whether this bill will be passed or not, it seems that the main aim of the Brazilian authorities is to indulge international copyright companies. In an interview for the Observatório do Direito à Comunicação blog [Observatory of the Right for Communication, pt] Paulo Teixeira, a PT [Labour Party] member of parliament for São Paulo, stresses:

Ele pretende (o Projeto de Lei Azeredo), em primeiro lugar, introduzir no Brasil uma coisa que alguns países estão introduzindo e que no Brasil, na minha opinião, nós não deveríamos permitir que se introduzisse. Ele está querendo introduzir os mecanismos de controle da internet para a garantia do direito autoral.

It (the Azeredo Cybercrimes Bill) intends, in the first place, to introduce in Brazil a practice that many countries are adopting, and that in our country, in my opinion, we should not let happen. It aims to introduce strict Internet control mechanisms to guarantee copyright perpetuation.

Signs read "Against the Azeredo Law Project" by @marioamaya

The Digital Crimes Bill has been discussed in several previous posts on Global Voices Online. Now it is up to activists, cyberactivists and Internet users to fight against the Digital Crimes Bill with even more strength. Otherwise, the Brazilian Internet might be turned into a place where people are guilty before they have even realized what they are being charged with.

Mozambique: Attack on Presidential candidate

Janet Gunter — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Mozambican bloggers Carlos Serra [pt] and Paulo Granjo [pt] respond to the attack yesterday against politician Daviz Simango, in the northern Mozambican port city of Nacala. In addition to the reactions from the blogosphere, Simango's party (@mdmwiki), tweeted the attack.

Simango is the mayor of Beira, and founded his new party MDM earlier this year, after falling out with traditional opposition party RENAMO. Just days ago, he and his party confirmed a planned bid for the Presidency and a campaign for the October election. Simango was heading for a meeting of his party when his car was shot at by individuals in the assembled crowd who grabbed police weapons.

He escaped unharmed but media reports indicate three people were injured, including a policeman. Initial reports from Mozambican independent media suggest the shooters were members of RENAMO.

Air Bus AF 447: Sorrow, lack of information and sensationalism

Thiana Biondo — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:37:36 +0000

The French airbus that vanished from radar on Sunday on its way from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France, has caused much grieving, question marks and, of course, media speculation. Air France flight number AF 447 took off from Brazil on Sunday 31th of May with 216 passengers and 12 crew members and was expected to arrive at its destination the next day. It never arrived.

Picture by Mysid (Wikiedia Commons author), used under a public domain license.

Authorities say 58 Brazilians were killed in the crash. But on some Brazilian blogs, the debate is about the media coverage of the disaster. For Leite de Cobra [pt], the way in which the non-arrival of the airbus and supposed disaster has been treated is outrageous:

Acho perverso isso da imprensa ficar divulgando fatos e particulares da vida das vítimas do desastre aéreo. Não têm o mínimo respeito e nem disfarçam o desejo de que a dor renda, em escala nacional, o máximo possível, até que venha a próxima catástrofe, o próximo escândalo. Ô corja! Por isso que não acompanho mais nada desse triste episódio. Pra mim deu

I think the media is perverse when releasing news and private information about the disaster victims' lives. They don’t have the least respect for the victims and they don’t even conceal their desire that the pain lasts, in national proportions, as long as possible, until the next catastrophe, the next scandal, arrives. Oh vultures! That’s why I won’t follow anything else about this case. I've had enough!

According to bloggers, the problem is that the media always wants to report something and prove it right, come what may - creating theories and enhancing sensationalism. Camerini, from blog Transbrasil [pt], states:

Os experts de plantão já estão desfilando as baboseiras nas Tvs.

Falam e falam sobre o que ainda não passa de especulações, até Raios são culpados pela queda do AirBus da Air France !

É prematuro qualquer indicação sobre o acidente até que as equipes consigam, primeiro localizar os destroços do avião, depois a Caixa Preta, com o Data Recorder e o Voice Recorder, mas, como dá audiência levar para a Tv um bando de especialistas natos em acidentes aéreos, o que se pode fazer!

Ouvir um Chamar o avião da Air France de Boeing A 330, outro dizer que o Atlântico é o lugar mais seguro do sistema solar , depois outro que afirma categoricamente que um raio derrubou o avião!

A Verdade é que ninguém sabe ainda o que aconteceu, aonde aconteceu e como aconteceu, mas muitos especialistas deveriam saber que um acidente aéreo não ocorre apenas por uma só causa, e sim por mais fatores que desencadeam um acidente

The round the clock experts have already been talking a lot of rubbish on TV.

They have talked and talked about things that are just speculation. Even lightning has been blamed for the Air France plane crashing!

It’s too early to indicate anything about the accident until the rescue groups can first find the aircraft debris, and the black-box, with the data and voice recorders. But as bringing a bunch of naturally-born-specialists to TV attracts a large audience, what can be done!

I have heard one of them calling the Air France aircraft a Boeing A330, another one saying that the Atlantic Ocean is the safest place in the solar system, and then, another one emphatically affirming that lightning knocked the aircraft down!

The truth is that nobody knows what has happened, where it has happened and how it has happened, but many specialists should know that an air accident doesn’t happen for just one reason, but because of a series of factors which cause an accident.

For Eu, Você e Todo Mundo [pt], the desperate search for specialists is also a problem:

Gente, que absurdo!

Eu como jornalista fico indignada mesmooo!!! Aqui no Futura recebemos o e-mail de uma assessoria de Campinas falando de uma terapeuta holística que analisou a catástrofe desse acidente pela numerologia, tarô. Enfim, de acordo com o texto dela que vou colocar abaixo, essa catástrofe é efeito da conjunção de uma série de números ruins, energias negativas… pra mim é demais querer explorar uma tragédia como essa dessa maneira. Que vergonha… e ainda dos jornalistas que se propõem a divulgar isso! Vejam o absurdo:

Detalhe: não estou julgando a numerologia, mas o uso que está se fazendo dela nesse caso!

Guys, how absurd! As a journalist myself, I do indeed feel outraged!!! Here on the Futura channel we have received an e-mail from a PR office located in Campinas, in which a holistic therapist analyzed this catastrophe using numerology and taro. Anyway, according to that press release, the catastrophe is the result of a conjunction of factors such as bad numbers, bad feelings… I think it is just too much to explore such a tragedy in this way. What a shame…. Also shame on the journalists, who publish it! See absurd: I’m not judging the numerologist, but the way she has been used in this case.

With a very controversial comment which raises the much discussed issue that some disasters are considered more important and newsworthy than others according to the social class of those involved, Bruno Nepumoceno [pt] reached the following conclusion, after talking to people at work:

Fui dar minha opinião sobre o assunto e nego ficou me criticando, dizendo que eu não tenho coração, que eu sou insensível e coisas do tipo. A vontade que deu e de dizer: VOCÊS QUE SÃO BURROS OS SUFICIENTE PARA NÃO ENXERGAR QUE O JORNALISMO GANHA DINHEIRO EXPLORANDO A DESGRAÇA ALHEIA! Se fosse um ônibus cheio de nordestinos com a mesma quantidade de pessoas, o caso já teria caido no esquecimento.
Centenas morrem de fome no nordeste Brasileiro. O que é um aviãozinho cair?

I spoke my mind about the subject and the guys criticized me, saying that I am heartless, that I have no feelings for such news as this. In fact, what I wanted to say is the following: YOU ALL ARE STUPID ENOUGH NOT TO REALISE THAT THE MEDIA MAKES MONEY BY EXPLOITING OTHER PEOPLE'S MISFORTUNE! If it was a bus full of people from northeast [of Brazil], the case would have been forgotten. Thousands of people die of hunger on the African Continent. Hundreds die of hunger in the Brazilian Northeast. What is the big deal with a little aircraft crashing?

Photo of an Air France A330 by Flickr user Caribb published under a Creative Commons license

Nevertheless, there is an intense wave of grief and shock around the world, and naturally Brazilian bloggers are not the only ones discussing the accident online. From Kuwait, the blogger ZDistrict summed up his feelings.

228 people from Brazil to France on an Air France flight has vanished over the Atlantic after flying into turbulence. I haven’t seen a tragedy such as this in a long time, a flight of this type crashing in the middle of the Atlantic.

Charles, a commenter on ZDistrict has this to say:

Fear, helpless, horrific moment - it brings tears and heart ache to hear anyone enduring that final moment. Really hope they were all asleep during all that moments. Its over now, their faith bring them to where they belong.

Commenter Another Me states:

i’m so sad for the families. i fly frequently and can’t imagine what the passengers must have felt, not to mention the families. i also have an infant and that just breaks my heart to think of that innocent little baby, unaware of what’s happening. in my opinion, the governing international aviation athority (whoever that is) needs to restrict pilots from flying through or above thunderstorms, and require that they fly around all storms. those storms can reach upward of 50,000 ft; trying to fly above is just too risky.

Many times, air tragedies occurring over the Atlantic Ocean have been associated with the Bermuda Triangle, which is located north of Brazil, between Florida (USA), Puerto Rico and Bermuda. Still from Kuwait, Twitter user @2Twenty3 suggests that the “Bermuda triangle needs investigating”.

Cynthia Drescher, blogging at the Britannica Blog, says that the lack of information regarding the disaster will bring out conspiracy theorists, and many have alredy tried to link the crash with the Bermuda Triangle.

…[T]he skeptics would like to heighten the drama by associating the Bermuda Triangle with this recent mystery. What’s next — asserting that the Triangle is now some sort of giant trapezoid? Perhaps the mysterious area got bored with hanging out off the US coast and decided to journey to Brazil for some caipirinhas?
Although authorities haven’t yet confirmed that the floating seats are indeed from the missing Air France jet, it’s pretty easy to see on the map above that for once, this possible tragedy has nothing to do with aliens or electromagnetic fields or the ghost of Amelia Earhart. It does, however, have everything to do with freak accidents and airplane safety.

Not forgetting the Bermuda Triangle effect, Polish blog Tierra Incognita [pl], wonders what has happened, affirming that despite the catastrophe of the disappearance, he stills loves flying:

Uwielbiam latać samolotem. Podróż lotnicza nie wywołuje u mnie żadnego stresu, wręcz przeciwnie – działa uspokajająco i relaksująco. W chwili gdy maszyna odrywa się od ziemi wpadam w specyficzny błogostan, mam wrażenie że wszystkie moje problemy i zmartwienia pozostały tam na dole. Świadomość, że przez najbliższe kilka godzin podróży będę w zupełnie innym wymiarze, gdzie w sumie nic ode mnie nie zależy, sprawia mi wielką frajdę. Jak dziecko, godzinami mogę gapić się przez okienko, nawet jeśli to czarna noc i widać tylko gwiazdy.

Zastanawiam się dlaczego ten właśnie wypadek aż tak bardzo wlazł mi pod skórę? Złożyło się na to pewnie kilka czynników – Air France jest jednym z moich ulubionych przewoźników, dosłownie kilkanaście dni temu odprowadzałem bliską przyjaciółkę na samolot lecący z Caracas do Paryża, a ja sam też na trasie Ameryka Południowa – Europa latam dość często. No i jeszcze ta tajemniczość tej katastrofy – nie żadne „tradycyjne” kłopoty przy starcie, bądź lądowaniu, ale zaginięcie gdzieś na środku oceanu. Dobrze, że przynajmniej nie nad Trójkątem Bermudzkim…

Na szczęście nie sądzę aby ten wypadek zmienił mój stosunek do latania. Nadal się cieszę, że prawdopodobnie jeszcze w tym miesiącu będę musiał kilka razy wsiąść do samolotu. I wciąż mam nadzieję, że jeszcze w tym roku uda mi się dolecieć samolotem do Księżyca…

I love flying on air planes. The air travel is not stressful to me at all, on the contrary - it relaxes me and calms me down. The moment the machine stops touching earth I get into a specific state of peacefulness, I have a feeling that all my problems and troubles are left below. The thought of being stuck for the next few hours in a completely different dimention where nothing really depends on me, is really cool. Like a kid, I can stare through the window for hours, even if its nighttime and all I can see is stars. I wonder why exactly this accident touched me so deeply? Probably there are a few reasons - Air France is one of my favourite companies, just a few days ago I walked my close friend for a flight from Caracas to Paris, and I myself very often travel on the line South America - Europe. And the whole mystery surrounding this catastrophe – not the ‘usual' problems with take off or landing, but disappearance somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Good job it didn't happen over the Bermuda Triangle… Luckily I do not think that this accident will change my attitude towards flying. I am still happy that I will most probably have to sit on a plane a few times this month. And I hope that this month too I will be able to catch the plane to the Moon.

Discussions and rumours have begun to focus not only on the strange weather patterns in the part of the Atlantic where the plane went down, but also on the computer systems on the Airbus A330-203. Specifically, some are investigating the coincidences between the Air France flight and an October 2008 Quantas flight headed for Perth, Australia that dropped 200 meters in a matter of minutes, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. Others argue this incident is not relevant to the recent disaster. From Plane Talking, written by Ben Sandilands at Crikey Blogs in Australia.

It has been reported by The Aviation Herald, an online Europe based journal of aviation incidents and news that the main body of electronic alerts begin with the disengagement of the autopilot and were followed by messages related to the ADIRU or air data and inertial reference units and the PRIM or flight control primary computer which is informed about speed, attitude and other material flight values by the ADIRUs.
Superficially this resembles the onset of the mid air upset that caused Qantas flight QF72 from Singapore to Perth to make an emergency landing in Learmonth last October.
The PRIM will in some flight modes intervene in the flight controls settings of the jet to inhibit pilot inputs which would exceed critical limits which could stall the airliner, or overload parts of the structure or control surfaces on the wings or rudder.
However these limitations can also be in turn locked out by the pilot.
Other reports indicate that these ‘unprecedented’ messages were concentrated in a four minute period, ending with a final advisory message about the vertical speed, that is, the rate at which the jet was falling rather than any speed with which it was also moving forwards.
Faulty ADIRU units in the Qantas A330-300 operating the flight that diverted to Learmonth remain a major focus of an unfinished air accident investigation by the ATSB. That investigation is also looking at other ADIRU related incidents on Qantas A330s.
However the Qantas ADIRU units were made by Northrop Grumman, while those in the Air France jet were made by Honeywell, They are two completely different designs, running totally different sets of programmed logic to serve the same ends.

Most of the passengers whose lives were claimed by the crash were French: there were 61 French passengers and 11 French crewmembers. Charles-guy de Kerimel, the writer of the aviation history blog Des avions et des hommes expresses his condolences [fr] to the passengers and the crew of the Airbus A330-203.

L’annonce de cet accident me remplit de tristesse.
Le plus grave accident d’Air France, nous dit-on.
Indépendamment du nombre de victimes, pour chacun de ceux qui sont concernés la gravité est extrême, pour la victime bien sûr, mais aussi pour les parents, les amis, les collègues : ils se trouvent brutalement confrontés à une perte irrémédiable. Je m’associe à leur peine. Je songe au personnel d’Air France ; en premier lieu aux navigants, comme leurs aînés ils vont poursuivre leur tâche.

The announcement of this accident fills me with sadness.
This is Air France’s most serious accident, we are told…
Regardless of the number of victims, for each of those involved it is extremely serious for the victim, but also for parents, friends, colleagues: they are suddenly faced with an irreparable loss. I feel their pain. I think of the staff of Air France; first of Airmen, their elders as they continue their work.

"In loving memory of 228 passengers and crew of flight AF 447" by Flickr user Eustaquio Santimano, published under a Creative Commons License

John Liebhardt, Sylwia Presley and Sarita Moreira have collaborated with this post

Brazil: Land reform or deforestation boost for the Amazon?

Thiana Biondo — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:32:21 +0000

National land will be donated to Brazilians in a program called ‘Terra Legal' (Legal Land), a package of measures to boost the government-backed redistribution of land and to establish rules for those who have lived and cultivated national land without being its legal owners.

The bill passed through Brazil's Chamber of Deputies last month and was approved in the Senate last night. It now heads for the President's signature. If approved, the move will grant land title to 300,000 properties illegally established across some 600,000 square kilometres of protected Amazon forest.

The rules set by Provisory Measure (MP) number 458, signed by Brazilian President Lula da Silva in February 2009, target mainly areas of the so called Legal Amazon – Brazil's largest socio-geographic area – raising major concerns and coming in for significant criticism from different groups within society.

On one hand, government members say that the project is going to help the forest out of deforestation; on the other hand environmentalists argue it is going to benefit land owners only, and that it will be the last straw for an Amazon rain forest already on its way to destruction.

Ana Cotta/Used with permission

Ana Cotta/Used with permission. A series of photos titled: "The beginning, the middle and the end"

Provisory Measure 458 allows the Government to transfer, without official bidding, up to 1.5 thousand hectares of its properties to settlers of the Legal Amazon areas. In a report published on Amazonia [pt], a website specialized in forest matters, Flávio Bonanome points out some problems:

Contrariando as últimas declarações polêmicas do Ministro do Meio Ambiente, Carlos Minc, que colocou a Medida Provisória 458 como uma “Vitória Ambientalista”, o especialista em ocupação humana e conflitos agrários na Amazônia e professor do Departamento de Geografia da Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ariovaldo Umbelino de Oliveira, criticou a medida e afirmou que “A MP fere o princípio constitucional de função social da terra” (…)

Durante sua exposição, que durou cerca de 30 minutos, Oliveira criticou também os projetos fundiários do governo na Amazônia Legal. “O Estado não deveria alimentar assentamentos na Amazônia. Não há esta necessidade. O problema é que o Estado não criou mecanismos para regular suas próprias terras. Estão ao sabor das elites”, afirmou o pesquisador.

Contrary to the last controversial statements by Environment Minister Carlos Minc who has given assurances that Provisory Measure 458 is an “Environmental Victory”, the specialist in Amazonian human land occupation and agrarian warfare at the Department of Geography of São Paulo University (USP), professor Ariovaldo Umbelino de Oliveira, has criticised the Measure and declared that: “The MP harms the constitutional principle of the social function of the land”. […]

During his presentation, which lasted 30 minutes, Oliveira also criticised the Legal Amazon, the government land program. “The State should not encourage settlements in the Amazon. There is no need for this. The problem is that the State has not created mechanisms to rule its own lands. It has been up to the elite to decide”, said the researcher.

Ana Cotta/Used with permission

For some analysts, the main problem with the law is that it does not differentiate between those who want to work on the land; settling down and moving in with their families - typically low profile rural workers such as “posseiros” (peasant squatters); and those who only want to speculate on the land, getting as many plots as they can and then selling them at high prices. There are also “grileiros“, land-grabbers who make use of violence in order to not be informed against when breaking laws.

Former Environment Minister (2004-2008) and PT Party Senator for the Brazilian state of Acre, Marina Silva has written articles and voiced her concerns in an interview for Notícias da Amazonia [Amazonia News, pt] which has been reproduced on some blogs. She says:

Primeiro, dificilmente a pessoa vai declarar que a posse é ilegal, que a ocupação não foi mansa e pacífica. Outro aspecto é que, para passar a terra pública para um particular, há dois requisitos constitucionais: quando se trata de altíssima relevância social e quando cumpre com a função social da terra. Os que entraram ilegalmente e usaram violência não cumprem a função social, e quem tem posses e não há nenhum problema social a ser atendido também não cumpre esse preceito.

Além disso, foi estabelecido que, após três anos, pode haver a venda da propriedade. Isso cria uma espécie de processo de enxugar gelo. Quem assegura que ele não vai grilar nova terra para, daqui a alguns anos, outra MP legalizar o acesso novamente?

First of all, it is unlikely that the person is going to declare that they got the land in an illegal way, then say that the occupation was not done in a peaceful and cordial way. In addition, there are two constitutional requirements for the transfer of public land from the Government to private hands: the transfer is a top social priority or the land transfer fulfils the duties of a social function. Those who arrived at the land illegally and made use of violence do not make use of the land to fulfil the duties of a social function, and those who have possessions and don’t have any social problems to address don’t meet these requirements for needing land either.

Furthermore, it has been established that after three years, the land can be sold. This creates a law with no practical effects. Who can be sure that those who benefit are not going to sell (“grilar”) the land they receive, and then, in a few years, another law will legalize it?

Marina Silva continues in the same article:

Quem estuda a situação fundiária sabe que, no caso da Amazônia, em menos de dez anos a terra é novamente concentrada nas mãos de poucos. Há um processo muito grande de concentração, até mesmo em projetos de assentamento. E também sabemos que há a figura do laranja, que divide uma propriedade com o cunhado, com o vaqueiro…

Those who study land issues know that, in the case of the Amazon, the land has again concentrated in the hands of a few people in less than ten years. There has been a huge process of land gathering, even in settlement projects. We also know that there are “laranjas” [people whose name appear as the owner of a business or property for legal purposes, but the real owner of which is in fact someone else] , who share the property with their brother-in-law, with a cowboy…

Ana Cotta/Used with permission

The Provisory Measure has been modified and approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The MP will still need Lula da Silva's approval or veto. As it is now, MP 458 modifies the legislation governing 64.7 million hectares in the Legal Amazon throughout 436 municipalities. Currently, the government will give ownership to others using the following criteria of land dimension: donating for up to 100 hectares; selling at a symbolic price for 101 to 400 hectares; and areas of between 401 and 1500 hectares will be on sale according to market price, with up to 20 year debt payoff.

Ironically, Katia Abreu was the Senator appointed to lead the MP through the Congress. She is the leader of the rural group, which deals with land owner and farmers' interests in the Senate. Elected by the State of Tocantins for the DEM Party, Abreu wants to increase the size of land that one person will be able to claim through MP 458, a move that has been criticized by many bloggers, such as Cândido Neto [pt]:

Aliás, a MP é problemática desde a origem. Afinal, a legislação agrária já permitia regularização de áreas até 500 hectares individualmente e outras formas de destinação com áreas maiores para populações tradicionais na Amazônia.

O aumento no tamanho de área visa atender unicamente ao setor ruralista e de grileiros, aliados do governo federal. Aliás, esta tal “regularização fundiária” nasceu com o ministro Mangabeira Unger, foi aplaudida por Carlos Minc e teve no MDA as piores idéias como a dispensa de vistorias, os títulos gratuitos e o fim das licitações em áreas de até 15 módulos. (…)

Agora, Kátia Abreu já fala em estender a área para 2,5 hectares, e ainda tornar a terra no preço “exeqüível”. São todas medidas absurdas, do começo ao fim.

In fact, the MP has had a lot of problems from the start. After all, the land legislation already allowed regulation in areas of up to 500 hectares individually, with more options for bigger areas available to the traditional people of the Amazon.

The increase in the size of land only aims to meet “grileiros” and the rural sector's demands, both of them allies of the Federal Government. Actually, it was the Strategic Affairs Minister Roberto Mangabeira Unger who came up with this ‘land reform' idea, which has been acclaimed by current Environment Minister Carlos Minc and received its worst suggestions from the Agrarian Development Ministry such as the exemption of official inspection, land donations and an end to the need for bidding on areas up to 1.5 thousands hectares. […]

Now, Kátia Abreu is talking about increasing the mark area to 2.5 thousand of hectares, as well as making the land prices ‘undermost'. They are all absurd measures from beginning to end.

For the blogger from Azul Marinho com Pequi [pt] blog, Senator Abreu's ideas are harmful:

A senadora pelo Tocantins: Kátia Abreu do DEM mau assumiu a relatoria da MP 458 no senado é já inicia manobras no sentido de entregar as terras da amazônia ao agronegócio e ao capital internacional, ou seja aos grileiros das terra federais!!

Soon after the Senator for the State of Tocantins Katia Abreu (DEM) stepped into her position as the 'speaker' for MP 458, she started her manouvres to give Amazonian land to agrobusiness and the international capital, in other words to the ‘grileiros' of the federal lands.

There is another MP - number 452 - which has been worrying the Brazilian society because it declares that there will be no need for previous environmental assessment or official environmental inspection before the construction of roads through areas in the Legal Amazon. Both MPs (458 and 452) are part of Lula da Silva's Growth Acceleration Program (known as PAC).

A group of non governmental organizations and artists have created a manifesto called Amazônia Para Sempre [Amazonia Forever, pt], in which they appeal to the Senators not to approve these MPs. Through their website they are calling Brazilian people to sign the manifesto to be sent to the Senators by e-mail. So far, 1 million people have signed the petition.

Cândido Neto's [pt] concludes that, should the package of rules make it into law, the following will have happened:

Inverte-se a prioridade de destinação de terras públicas que é pela ordem deve ser terras indígenas, unidades de conservação e assentamentos rurais.

They have inverted the priority when it comes to public land, which should meet the following criteria: first indigenous land, then conservation areas, and last as rural settlements.

Ana Cotta/Used with permission

Global Lullabies: The Arrorró Project

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:18:53 +0000

lullaby by Wide© Raf.f

Artist Gabriela Golder from Argentina has taken it upon herself to discover, record and collect lullabies from all over the world, and to find connections among them in the Arrorró project. Rising Voices director David Sasaki wrote about the project on the 80+1 website, where he interviewed Gabriela on camera, and got authors and editors for Global Voices involved by inspiring many to record themselves singing the lullabies they remembered from their childhood.

David Sasaki wrote:

I sat down with Golder at El Hipopotamo in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires to learn more about what has been discovered in the 200 videos that have already been recorded, and how the project will evolve over the next two months leading up to its simultaneous live exhibition in Buenos Aires and Linz. Our conversation was in Spanish, but I have added English sub-titles to the video:

Inspired by the lullaby project, he recorded himself singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, a song he remembered his parents singing to him to send him to sleep:

Our own Managing Director from Trinidad and Tobago, Georgia Popplewell also joined in, with Blanket Bay:

Lova Rakotomalala sang a lullaby from Madagascar about a duck:

Thanks to Onnik Krikorian and Veronica Khokhlova who suggested it, we bring you this Russian Animation Project that illustrates lullabies from all over the world with illustrations explaining the songs lyrics. Following, an Azerbaijani lullaby about a baby dreaming about his life, and a Ukrainian one where winter lulls babies to sleep. More lullabies from different countries can be found here:

This next one is a Brazilian song meant to scare babies into sleeping, suggested by Paula Góes: Ox with a Black face, where the Ox will take away the children who are scared of the black face. On the following video, a young girl is singing it:

Another lullaby with scary lyrics and an enchanting melody is the Shimabara Lullaby, roughly translated by Hanako Tokita as:

“I am too poor and not attractive so I won't be sold…. Please go to sleep or a trafficker
will come and get you… I wonder where all the girls are now and where they were sold to… Ororonbai, Ororoanbai…”

First of all, thanks to all the authors and editors who participated with sending in their childhood lullabies and recommendations, even if we couldn´t include them in this post. Please wait for Part II!

Thumbnail image modified from Wide© Raf.f's Lullaby … Moena

East Timor: Thoughts on Abortion A Few Days Before Law Approval

Sara Moreira — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:48:49 +0000

There has been a dramatic debate in East Timor over recent weeks about the provisions of the new draft penal code pertaining to abortion. The draft article 144 of the penal code deals with “interruption of pregnancy”. Draft article 142 deals with “non-punishable interruption of pregnancy”. By the proposed article 144, abortion is crime and those who perform abortion will be punished with imprisonment terms ranging from 2 and 8 years.

This excerpt was taken from the East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin (ETJL), in a post named “What happens when abortion is illegal”. At the beginning of June, a new Penal Code will take effect in East Timor, defending the criminalization of abortion, except in underage cases or when the mother's health is in jeopardy. Abortions derived from incest and rape cases will be punished.

Abortion in East Timor is not a new debate and neither is its illegal practice through the so called traditional medicines, ETLJ continues:

It is not a long search to find both incest and the death of women through incompetent abortion agents in recent East Timorese history. In November 2008, the Judicial System Monitoring Program reported on a case in the Oecusse District Court that arose from the death of a woman who was administered a traditional abortifacient.

The prosecutor's indictment in that case stated that in March 2007 in Betasi, Taiboko the first defendant entrusted some traditional medicine to the second defendant to be given to the victim J and to be taken in accordance with instructions set out by the first defendant. The aim of the two defendants was to enable the victim to abort her four month old fetus. The defendants instructed the victim to take the medicine regularly for three weeks. After several days the victim aborted the foetus and died.

Photo taken in Oecussi by Flickr user NeilsPhotography shared under a Creative Commons License

At the beginning of 2009, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) posted about Women in Timor ‘having unsafe abortions' and in the same month UNICEF reported that 1 in 35 East Timorese women die in childbirth.

Three months later, an Australian woman working for the Timorese Government’s Gender Equality Secretariat in a post called Action not words – Women’s Peace Conference, comments on the event [en, pt, te] that took place in early March this year (the conference speeches can be found here). According to her, abortion was under debate at the conference with a strong impact on women who were discussing gender issues in East Timor:

There was a noticeable amount of white malae (foreigner) women, but overwhelmingly the women were brown. This conference was for them. And talking about using contraception in Timor, which is 90% Catholic – talking about spacing your family and perhaps having 5 kids instead of 8 or 10 – talking more generally, in public, that women need to have a public voice – this was very controversial and generated a huge buzz of voices in the room.

(…) I can see that of course this event was more than just words for hundreds of people. I was told that the next day at the event, abortion was discussed. This is not something that people talk about openly here! They have criminalized it and put in place hospital policies that try to prevent abortions at all costs. Yet it came up. This is not just a discussion; this is women feeling safe enough to get together and talk about issues for all of society. They will go home energized and talk about what they heard and saw in Dili and let me tell you, there are some driven people in this country and they aren’t all foreigners. They have women’s NGOs galore here, it’s the only way to get their voices heard most of the time. The ideas shared here are going to result in new ways and programs. Someone might even go home and leave next time her husband beats her; or they might say ‘Hey, let’s wait a little longer before we have that 7th kid’.
I can only hope.

The “huge buzz of voices” when talking about these issues may be related to the fact that Timorese culture tends to follow the Catholic Church's moral conscience, which played an important role in the country’s self-determination during Indonesian times. Its opinion on abortion is nevertheless quite controversial.

Photo shot outside a church by Flickr user NeilsPhotography shared under a Creative Commons License

Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, the Portuguese blog Timor Lorosae Nação published a short post [pt], which acted as a powerful trigger for a long discussion about abortion issues:

O novo Código Penal criminaliza o aborto com uma pena que pode chegar aos oito anos de cadeia. Os crimes sexuais têm vindo a aumentar no território. Será que há repercussões?

The new Penal Code condemns abortion with a penalty that can reach eight years of prison. Sexual crimes have increased in the area. Are there repercussions?

There were more than 60 comments on this post, covering topics ranging from contraception to free will and freedom of choice, suicide and euthanasia, religion, family planning, rape, the world economy and distribution of wealth, justice, etc. However a comment [pt] reduced the extent of issues to two types of vision: the woman’s and the child’s, playing with the meaning of the Portuguese word for foetus (feto) and its homonym in Tetum meaning “woman”.

A questão do aborto é uma questão complicada e muito sensível que tem sido e será sempre foco de grandes debates entre várias partes com diferenças de opinião relativamente ao valor da vida humana.

Se ambos os ‘fetos' (feto bebe em estado de desenvolvimento no útero e feto ‘mulher' na língua Tétum) pudessem falar o que diriam por sua vez cada um deles?

‘Feto' mulher: Filho/a, não te quero, vou-te abortar.
Feto (bebe): …?

The issue of abortion is a very sensitive and complex one that has been and will always be a major focus of discussions between various parties with differing views on the value of human life.

If both ‘fetos' (baby foetus in a state of development in the uterus and ‘feto' woman in the Tetum language) could speak what would each of them say in their turn?

‘Feto' woman: Child, I do not want you, I will abort you.
Foetus (baby): …?

Another interesting comment [pt] related to the particularities of the Tetum language states:

Em Tetum a gravidez diz-se “isin rua” (literalmente traduzido significa “dois corpos”) o corpo da mae e o corpo do feto.
O feto, apesar de estar a desenvolver-se dentro do corpo da mae, e' um corpo, uma vida distinta numa relacao de simbiose com o corpo da mae para se poder desenvolver.

Um aborto por isso nao equivale a remocao de uma parte do corpo da mae como se de um simples caso de amputacao se tratasse.
Seria a remocao e a cessacao forcada de uma vida humana distinta, fragil e indefesa numa relacao simbiotica com o corpo da mae.

Por isso nao e' uma simples questao de dizer “e' o meu corpo e eu posso fazer o que quiser com o meu corpo” porque na realidade o aborto representa a imposicao do desejo de um corpo sobre o um outro.

The Tetum word for pregnancy is “isin rua” (literally translated means “two bodies”) – mother’s body and foetus body.
Although the foetus is developing within the mother’s body, it is a body in itself - a different life in a relationship of symbiosis with the body of the mother in order to be developed.

Therefore, an abortion is not the removal of part of the mother’s body like a simple matter of amputation.
It would be the removal and termination pursuant to a separate human life, fragile and defenceless in a symbiotic relationship with the body of the mother.

It is not a simple matter of saying “it is my body and I can do whatever I want with my body” because in reality abortion is the imposition of the desire of a body on another.

Even though the most part of the comments were made by expats or non-Timorese netcitizens, the voice of a Timorese woman was raised [pt] among the others’:

Sou Timorense! Sou Mulher! Sou católica e sou CONTRA o aborto.
Contudo, acredito que em certos casos, a vontade da mulher deveria ser respeitada, não a vontade da igreja ou de padrecos que pensam que reinam Timor.
Será certo mandar uma mulher ir para a cadeia porque fez um aborto, quando esta foi VIOLADA, por um BANDIDO? Não! Pensem como se fosse alguém que vos seja querido, uma filha, uma irmã, mãe etc… ai talvez já não vomitem as palavras em favor desta VERGONHOSA lei! (…)

I am Timorese! I am a Woman! I am Catholic and I am AGAINST abortion.
However, I believe that in some cases, the willingness of women should be respected, not the will of the church or priests who think they reign in Timor.
Is it correct to make a woman go to jail because she had an abortion, after being RAPED by SCUM? No! Think as if it was someone dear to you, a daughter, a sister, a mother etc … there may no longer vomit words in favour of this SHAMEFUL law! […]

Photo by Flickr user Graham Crumb shared under a Creative Commons License

Children, prostitution and abortion

Often related with the abortion debate, prostitution occurring in East Timor is apparently being ignored by the mainstream media. Back in 2005, Kirsty Gusmão, the wife of the then President Xanana Gusmão, stated in the Diario Tempo journal that “should the Timor-Leste government not take measures soon the current levels of prostitution will increase. Sooner or later, Dili will be full of prostitutes.”

East Timor Law Journal published on Morality, Religion and the Law – Abortion and Prostitution in East Timor that:

The criminalisation of abortion and prostitution have been a factor in the infliction of great harm and suffering upon women and results in social dislocation, exposure to grave health and safety issues such as HIV/AIDS, drug use, and violence as well as life-threatening underground abortion clinics.

Three years later, Loro Horta posts at Open Democracy - The curse of commodities – linking “oil-fuelled growth with child prostitution in Timor-Leste”:

Near schools men wait in their cars for young girls to approach them. A young school girl relates her story, “we approach them and tell them we need a new pair of shoes to go to a party. We go with them and then do it and get our shoes”. Girls are reported to have sold their bodies for as little as $5. In the countryside local journalists have reported various cases of girls as young as 10 prostituting themselves for $1.

The blogosphere regrets [pt] that prostitution has now evolved to lower ages and is occurring in the country:

Mas que estupidez. E qual e a pena de prisão dos que andam a aliciar as menores para a prostituição? Devido a pobreza a muitas jovens que se vendem por um telemóvel e muitos dos graúdos com poder de gastar andam nisso. Se os jornalistas investigarem irão apanhar muito peixe na rede. É só verem a historia das trocas de telefonemas para apanharem e trazerem a luz esses marmanchos que vão bater o peito na missa todos os domingos e comungam e ca fora no dia a dia abusam das menores. (…)

How stupid. And what’s the imprisonment penalty for those who entice the underage to prostitution? Due to poverty many young people are selling themselves for a mobile phone and many adults with the power to spend are buying. If journalists start investigating they will catch many fish in the net. Just look at the history of phone calls to catch and bring to light those scum who are beating their chests in Mass every Sunday and outside on a daily basis abuse minors. (…)

Photo by Flickr user NeilsPhotography shared under a Creative Commons License

The online debate eventually evolved to poetry trading on abortion issues (“Não soube do Mundo“ [pt] / “Didn't know about the world” and unnamed [sp]). Ze da Labia wrote a poem named “Quero ser criança em Timor” [pt] (“I want to be a child in Timor”) as a response to a comment asking for it:

Quero ser criança em Timor
Quero ser feliz e sentir-me amada
Quero beber leite
Para ter ossos fortes
Quero ter uma cama para dormir
Onde haja uma almofada
Para poder sonhar

Quero ser criança em Timor
Quero ter um par de sapatos
Para que os meus pés
Cresçam saudáveis e limpos
Para poder andar para a escola
Sem ter que coxear

Quero ser criança em Timor
E ter roupa para não andar nu
Quero cobrir o corpo
Deste calor ardente
Que me estorrica a pele

Quero ser criança em Timor, ter bicicleta
Poder comprar uma trotinete
Ir de Dili a Bazartete
Não levar porrada de cacetete
Comer bem no restaurante da Odete
Arroz, sopa ou mesmo omolete
Passear de camionete
Mas dispenso a espingarda sete sete

Mas a minha mãe ja tem onze
Vou ficar no banco de suplentes
Levar agua aos que tem sede
Ver passar a banda e nao tocar
Ver saltar a bola e nao chutar
Partir os ossos so de esperar
Porque sem calcio, custa a sarar
E la tenho que aturar
Os graudos que nao sabem mandar

I want to be a child in Timor
I want to be happy and feel loved
I want to drink milk
To have strong bones
I want to have a bed to sleep
Where there is a cushion
So that I can dream

I want to be a child in Timor
I want to have a pair of shoes
So that my feet
Grow healthy and clean
In order to walk to school
Without having to limp

I want to be a child in Timor
And have clothes not to go naked
I want to cover my body
From this burning heat
That burns my skin

I want to be a child in Timor, have a bike
Be able to buy a power scooter
Go from Dili to Bazartete
Not to be beaten with a stick
Eating well at Odete
Rice, soup or even omolete
Go for a walk on a truck
But off for rifle seven seven

But my mom already has eleven
I will sit and wait
I’ll bring water to the one’s who are thirsty
Go see the band and not play
See the ball jump and not kick
Break the bones only to wait
Because without calcium, it costs to heal
And so I must take
The big ones who can’t rule

Mozambique: House of the Flying Azagaias

Janet Gunter — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:17:11 +0000

In the past couple of weeks, the Mozambican blogosphere played host to debate on the role of hip-hop and the nature of legitimate “social critique”. This debate actually started two years ago [pt], except that in past weeks it has reached a new fervor.

One group of influential voices in the Mozambican blogosphere until recently has tended to dominate – a handful of social scientists who dialogue among each other. These bloggers are engaged in high-level debates, sometimes abstractions of current political issues, and at times their writing tends towards long treatises citing Weber, Marx and others.

Enter Mozambican MC Azagaia, who is a sociologist by day.

Photo by Flickr user Fazuma Foto - Sista Clementina at http://www.radiofazuma.com/

Prolific blogger — and sociologist — Carlos Serra [pt] recently wrote a post about the rapper that read the following, which kicked off the latest round of debate

Cada vez mais conhecido dentro e fora do país, o rapper Azagaia - Edson da Luz de seu real nome - deu uma longa entrevista ao “O País”, a conferir aqui [pt]. Creio que alguns ainda se lembram do quão atribulada foi a ascensão social do jovem cantor, com gente apostada em o destruir por completo a qualquer nível. Mesmo nos blogues, lembram-se?

More and more known inside and outside of the country, the rapper Azagaia – Edson da Luz is his real name – gave a long interview to “O País,” which you can read here [pt]. I believe some still remember how shaky the social rise of the young singer was, with people bent on totally destroying him on any level. Even in blogs, remember?

One of Serra's readers posted the newspaper's interview with Azagaia, which serves as an introduction to Da Luz:

Azagaia é uma lança curta que é usada como arma de arremesso por caçadores. Por que escolheu Azagaia como seu nome artístico?

Quando escolhi este nome, não sabia que me tornaria o Azagaia de hoje. Na altura, era mesmo por questões de cultura e também musicais. Quando comecei a cantar rap, havia um grupo que se chamava Dinastia Bantu, que era mesmo para contrastar um pouco esta realidade de os rappers moçambicanos se inspirarem, completamente, em rappers americanos e usar nomes ingleses. Nós procuramos nomes que têm algo a ver connosco para, depois, tentar começar a luta por não só sermos globalizados, mas, se calhar, como forma de aproveitar essa informação que nos chega, para criarmos uma coisa que tem a ver connosco moçambicanos. É por que surge o nome Azagaia. Coincidentemente, veio mesmo a calhar porque, actualmente, tenho esta postura directa de fazer crítica social e há quem diga política também. Daí, por um capricho do destino, a minha postura na música tem muito a ver com o nome que adoptei há quase dez ou quinze anos.

Azagaia is a short lance that is used as a throwing weapon by hunters. Why did you choose Azagaia as your artistic name?

When I chose this name, I didn’t know I would become the Azagaia of today. At the time, it was really for cultural and musical reasons. When I started singing rap, there was a group that called itself Dinastia Bantu [Bantu Dynasty], that was really to stand out a little from the reality from which the Mozambican rappers drew inspiration, completely, in American rappers and using English names. We looked for names that have something to do with us so as to, afterwards, try start to struggle against being globalized, but perhaps, as a way to take advantage of the information that was coming to us, to create something that has to do with us Mozambicans. That’s where the name Azagaia came from. Coincidentally, it came to really stick because, at the moment, I have this direct posture of social criticism and there are some who would say political as well. So then, because of a twist of fate, my posture in music has a lot to do with the name I adopted almost ten or fifteen years ago.

Photo by Flickr user getinet - Rapper Q-tip © mekuria getinet / mekuriageti.net - used under a Creative Commons License

In 2005, Azagaia and his peers, a number of young MCs, founded a record label in Maputo called Cotonete Records (or “Q-tip Records”, in what must be a nod to the American rapper-producer [en] from the seminal group A Tribe called Quest). Cotonete really took off in late 2007, after Azagaia’s single “As Mentiras da Verdade” achieved great success and his Babalaze — “the most awaited album of 2007” according to Magus DeLirio [pt].

Citing the lyrics of “As Mentiras da Verdade” from the blog Ideias para Debate [pt]

E se eu te dissesse
Que Moçambique não é tão pobre como parece
Que são falsas estatísticas
E há alguém que enriquece
Com dinheiros do FMI,OMS e UNICEF
Depois faz o povo crer
Que a economia é que não cresce […]

Se eu te dissesse
Que a história que tu estudas tem mentiras
Que o teu cérebro é lavado em cada boa nota que tiras
Que a revolução não foi feita só com canções e vivas
Houve traição, tortura e versões escondidas […]

E se eu te dissesse
Que a Polícia da República é uma comédia
São magrinhos, sem postura e se vendem por uma moeda Agora matam-se entre eles traição na corporação
Afinal de contas quem é o polícia, quem é o ladrão? […]

And if I told you
That Mozamique is not as poor as it seems
That they are false statistics
And there is someone getting rich
With money from the IMF, WHO and UNICEF
Then they make people believe
That the economy is not growing […]

If I told you
That the history you study has lies
That your brain is washed with every good grade you get
That the Revolution wasn’t just made of songs and “long lives!”
There was betrayal, torture and hidden versions […]

And if I told you
That the National Police is a comedy
They are skinny, with no backbone and sell themselves for pocket change
Now they are killing each other, betrayal in the corps
In the end, who are the police and who are the thieves?

“As Mentiras da Verdade” (a play on words meaning “True Lies”) got radio play in Mozambique and already provoked debate among the social scientists of the blogosphere. Back in 2007, sociologist Patrício Langa [pt] honed in immediately on the notion of “truth” — questioning whether Azagaia was truly interested in the “truth” [pt] (a “social critique based in reason”) or instead a “social intervention”.

Na verdade Azagaia, como ele próprio reconhece, não inventa nada do que diz, apenas faz eco a aquilo que as pessoas dizem nas esquinas e corredores, portanto, ao conhecimento popular. Aquele conhecimento daqueles que não tem tempo nem paciência para conviver com a dúvida enquanto avaliam as premissas. É um conhecimento do senso comum, portanto, apriorístico, intuitivo, assistemático. Na verdade é um não – conhecimento ou desconhecimento. Azagaia não faz perguntas, dá respostas. E as respostas que nos oferece, não são respostas novas.

In truth, Azagaia, as he himself recognizes, does not invent anything he says, he merely echoes that which people say on the street corners and hallways, then common knowledge. That knowledge of those who do not have time or patience to live with doubt while they weigh arguments. It is a knowledge of common sense, so it’s aphoristic, intuitive, and asystematic. In truth it’s a non-knowledge, or lack of awareness. Azagaia does not ask questions, he gives answers. And these answers that he offers us are not new ones.

To cite a response to Langa on the Cotonete Records blog [pt] from Jorga Gazy:

Entao, se a musica de Azagaia está ou não baseada em factos comprovados na prática, isso pouco nos interessa, o que mais nos interessa no meu ver, e que as músicas desse jovem refletem exatamente o senso comum do povo moçambicano, portanto, o que antes era comentado em casa, nas esquinas e etc., o que a muitos levanta duvida, questões, e hoje e tratado de uma forma aberta, sem medo de censura ou represálias de quem quer que seja. A música do Azagaia convida a todos, os que já “sabiam” e os que “não sabiam” a reflectir sobre os temas/assuntos socio-políticos.

So, if the music of Azagaia is or not based on facts that have been proven in practice, this really does not concern us. What is more important in my opinion, is that the songs of this young man reflect exactly the common sense of the Mozambican people, so, that which was before commented on at home, on the street corners etc, that which for many raises doubts, questions, is now brought up in a direct form, without fear of censorship and reprisals from whoever. The music of Azagaia invites all, those who already “knew” and those who “didn’t know” to reflect on socio-political issues.

A recent report on freedom of speech from the Media Institute of Southern Africa [pt] found that “new techniques” for silencing journalists were in use in 2007, including the use of legal means to intimidate journalists. That said, while the state does own the largest media outlets, frontal critiques of the Frelimo government do indeed appear in a number of private newspapers and to some extent on a couple of new TV stations.

Photo by Flickr user Fazuma Foto - Sista Clementina at http://www.radiofazuma.com/

Azagaia followed “As Mentiras da Verdade” with a number of provocative singles, including “A Marcha” and, immediately following on the riots in February 2008 over the price of transport and food in Maputo, “Povo no Poder” (“People in Power”). The track, recorded only three days after an informal strike organized by SMS caused poor neighborhoods to be blockaded and groups of disaffected youth to take their frustration out in the city. When the February 5 disturbances ended, 100 people had been injured (including 68 shot by the police), and at least five people died from their injuries. (For more see this Global Voices post [en].)

In this context “Povo no Poder” was undeniably provocative, most definitely an act of “intervention”. According to Cotonete Records, the song was downloaded over 1,000 times per day in its first week online and the label released a studio video due to the popular response.

Quoting the lyrics from a blog called divagancias [pt]:

Agora pedem o que?…Ponderação
Pondera tu, antes de fazeres a merda
De subires o custo de vida
E manteres baixa a nossa renda
Esse governo não se emenda mesmo…NÃo
Vai haver uma tragédia mesmo…SIM
Mesmo…
Que venham com gás lacrimogénio
A greve tá cheia de oxigénio
Não param o nosso desempenho
Eu vou lutar, não me abstenho

Now they ask for what? … Consideration
You consider then, before doing this shit
Raising the cost of living
And maintaining our incomes so low
This government really does not change… NO
There is really going to be a tragedy… YES
Really…
Bring them on with tear gas
The strike is full of oxygen
They can’t stop us from carrying this out
I’m going to struggle, I won’t stand down

Blogger Zenaida Machado [pt] reported in February 2008 that Azagaia was (unofficially) banned from radio

Ouvi um director dizer: “dizem que a canção insulta o presidente da Republica…”
Outro disse: “Eh! Não quero problemas…é melhor não tocarem isso.”
E outro ainda: ” Recebi uma chamada de superiores a mandar parar de tocar Azagaia…”

I heard a [radio station] director say: “they say that the song insults the president of the Republic…”
Another said: “Yeah! I don’t want problems… it’s best not to play this.”
And yet another: “I received a call from superiors telling me to stop playing Azagaia…”

Prosecutors questioned Edson da Luz in April 2008 [pt] for potentially inciting violence. No charges were ever made against the rapper, but the incident helped maintain his high profile.

In mid 2008, Azagaia returned to the attention of the blogosphere when he wrote on the Cotonete blog [pt] about his invitation to appear on state television in a show called “Moçambique em Concerto” (“Mozambique in Concert”), an invitation that was rescinded at the last minute. Azagaia never received an explanation for why, and speculated about why he was dropped.

Será isto censura? Não basta não passarem os meu video clipes? Não me atrevo a responder a tais perguntas, senão ainda corro o risco de ir parar na Procuradoria da Cidade pela segunda vez, quem sabe acusado de difamação e calunia, nunca se sabe!

Is this censorship? Isn’t it enough to not play my music videos? I don’t dare respond to these questions, because I still run the risk of ending up at the Prosecutors office for the second time, who knows, accused of defamation and slander, we never know!

Patrício Langa, who proclaims he told himself he would stop writing about Azagaia, responded [pt] to the rapper’s blog entry and expanded the criticism to other blogger(s) who he calls “consecrated academics” (what could be interpreted as a veiled criticism of Carlos Serra):

A crença, penso, está a ser um factor fundamental na produção social de Azagaia como um mártir. A crença é uma forte convicção sobre alguma coisa. A ideia de que existe uma conspiração para silenciar Azagaia e o seu efeito é um exemplo disso. Quero enfatizar aqui, e já o fiz noutros escritos, que uma crença pode até ser infundada, i.é., não ser baseada em razões plausíveis, mas tem sempre efeitos reais. A crença que Azagaia, e tantas outras pessoas em Moçambique, têm de que é perseguido pela Frelimo [pt] pode até ser infundada, mas tem efeitos reais nas acções daqueles que acreditam incluído o próprio Azagaia. Em conversava com dois amigos sobre a carta um deles sugeriu que se por acaso Azagaia torcesse o pé no seu banheiro, provavelmente, acharia que é obra da Frelimo. Este tipo de crenças é até legitimada por académicos consagrados, em seus espaços de reflexão, conferindo autoridade douta a crenças populares sem o mínimo questionamento. Um mau atestado a profissão!

Belief, I think, is becoming a fundamental factor in the social production of Azagaia as a martyr. Belief is a strong conviction about something. The idea that there exists a conspiracy to silence Azagaia and its effect are examples of this. I want to emphasize here that, as I have done in other writings, that a belief can even be unfounded, i.e. not based on plausible reasons, but it always has real effects. The belief that Azagaia, and so many others in Mozambique, have that he is being persecuted by Frelimo [en] can even be unfounded, but it has real effects in the actions of those who believe it, including Azagaia himself. In a conversation with friends about the letter one of them suggested that if by chance Azagaia would twist his ankle in his bathtub, probably, he would find it to be the doings of Frelimo. This kind of beliefs is even legitimated by consecrated academics, in their spaces of reflection, conferring masterful authority to popular beliefs without the most minimal questioning. A poor testament to the profession!

Nelson Livingston opined on his blog Meu Mundo [pt] in July 2008, after this episode of Azagaia debate in the blogosphere in which “people called each other names” and “academized insults were traded”:

Tem sido para mim interessante como Azagaia “caiu nas mãos” dos académicos. Debateu-se e ainda se bate muito sobre esse jovem musico. Eu que não sou académico coisíssima nenhuma, as vezes me junto a esses debates umas vezes para fazer um “check up”, quantificar a minha ignorância e outras vezes para ver o tanto de “assumptions” que os verdadeiros académicos trazem nas suas maletas. […]

Eu nao vou entrar entrar nessa historia de ser ou não ser critico social. Não tenho fibra para discutir esses conceito “chatos”. Conceitos que às vezes até são simples mas os académicos fazem questão de complica-los só para nos porem de fora das suas conversas académicas. Para mim Azagaia é um contestador. Um contestador irreverente que encontrou na musica um forma de expressar o que lhe vai na alma em relação as coisas do seu pais. Feliz ou infelizmente, o que vai na alma de Azagaia vai também na de muitos Moçambicanos que lhe fazem o coro. Azagaia nos leva a questionar o discurso oficial o que é muito saudável pois nos da a possibilidade de olhar para as questões sob pontos de vista diferentes. A credulidade ingénua a que muitas vezes somos obrigados atrofia nossa capacidade critica pois nos torna espectadores e consumidores passivos. Vamos por exemplo olhar para a musica Mentiras das verdades, Azagaia nao diz nenhuma verdade e nem diz nenhuma mentira, sugere apenas que nos perguntemos ate que ponto o que nos dizem ser verdade realmente o é?

It’s been interesting for me how Azagaia “fell into the hands” of the academics. He was much debated and this young musician is still knocked on. I am not an academic in any way, and sometimes I drop in to these debates to “check up”, quantify my ignorance and sometimes to see the degree of “assumptions” that true academics carry with them in their briefcases. […]

I’m not going to enter into this story of being or not being a social critic. I don’t have what it takes to argue with these boring concepts. Concepts that are sometimes even simple but the academics make a point of complicating them to keep us out of their academic conversations. For me, Azagaia is a challenger. An irreverent challenger that found in music a way to express of that he feels in his soul in relation to things in his country. For good or for bad, what is in his soul is also in the soul of many Mozambicans who are his chorus. Azagaia brings us to question the official discourse which is very healthy because it gives us the possibility to see issues through different points of view. Innocent belief, that which is often forced on us, atrophies our critical capacity because it turns us into spectators and passive consumers. Let’s look for example at the song “Mentiras da Verdade”, Azagaia does not utter any truth or any lie, he merely suggests that we ask ourselves up to what point what they tell us is the truth really true?

Reader Dede Moquivalaka replied

Deu para uma gargalhada oh Nelson. Pensei que estivesse tao so' no grande debate dos sociologos…naquela mania de 'sofisticarem' o sujeito e o objecto de analise,…que certamente foi uma arma para deixar muitos de fora.

Oh Nelson, your post had me burst out laughing. I thought I was so alone in the great debate of the sociologists… in that obsession with “sophisticating” their subject and the object of their analysis… which was certainly a way of leaving many people out.

In late 2008, Azagaia participated in the mayoral campaign of independent Deviz Simango in Beira, appearing at rallies in the city to large audiences, captured on the blog of Serra [pt], who has been his biggest supporter in the Mozambican blogosphere.

Which brings us back to Serra’s recent assertion that Azagaia has become more popular than ever. This provoked a strong reaction [pt] from none other than Patrício Langa, who decries what he deems azagaism, characterized by the “vain glory of criticizing”

Digamos que Azagaia, que veste a pele do músico Edson da Luz, se tenha tornado mais popular dentro e fora do país. Tornou-se? Em que proporção? Ainda que tenha isso, é o que menos importa aqui. Por si, a popularidade, coloca-o do lado da razão, no que tange conteúdo problemático de suas letras? Felizmente a razão não é popular, como a demagogia. Minorias podem ter razão, mesmo que para a maioria isso não seja conveniente. Qual é a diferença entre uma multidão linchadora e Azagaia?

Let’s say that Azagaia, who wears the skin of musician Edson da Luz, has become more popular inside and outside the country. Has he? In what proportion? Even if he had, it’s what matters least here. Popularity in its own right, puts him on the side of right, in what relates to the problematic content of his lyrics? Fortunately, what is right is not what is popular, like demagoguery. Minorities can be right, even if this is not convenient for the majority. What is the difference between a lynch mob and Azagaia?

Elísio Macamo [pt] responds to Langa’s critiques and throws in a little historical perspective on demagoguery during the colonial and then the revolutionary socialist period

O fantasma que está a ser ressuscitado é o do inimigo comum. No período colonial trazia o nome de “turra”. Era a tentativa do regime colonial de reforçar o sentimento de comunidade através da criação da imagem de um inimigo que punha a “comunidade lusitana” em perigo. O regime colonial foi-se. Veio a Frelimo revolucionária que se fartou de criar inimigos comuns: Xiconhocas, inimigos internos, sabotadores, capitalistas, burgueses, bandidos armados (num sentido metafórico), reaccionários, etc. Aqui também o objectivo era o mesmo, nomeadamente o de reforçar o sentimento de comunidade através da criação da imagem de um inimigo que punha a criação do “homem novo” e de uma “sociedade socialista justa e livre” em perigo… E o “crítico”, como é natural, critica com toda a propriedade que o que anda mal entre nós legitima. Mas, e à semelhança do regime colonial e da Frelimo revolucionária, ele critica muitas vezes sem substância e prefere, antes pelo contrário, despender toda a sua energia na criação do “inimigo comum”.

The ghost here that is being resuscitated is the “common enemy.” In the colonial period he took the name “turra”. It was an attempt by the colonial regime to reinforce the feeling of community through the creation of an image of an enemy that put the “lusitanian community” in danger. The colonial regime left. In came revolutionary Frelimo that never tired of created common enemies: Xiconhocas, internal enemies, saboteurs, capitalists, bourgeois, armed bandits (in the metaphorical sense), reactionaries, etc. Here also the objective was the same, namely to reinforce the feeling of community through the creation of the image of the enemy that put the creation of the “new man” and of a “justice and free socialist society” in danger… And the “critic” [Azagaia], as is natural, criticizes with an attitude that all which is not well among us legitimates [him]. But, and similarly to the colonial regime and revolutionary Frelimo, he criticizes often without substance and prefers, to the contrary to expend all of his energy creating the “common enemy”.

Judging by the past two years, there will be no consensus any time soon in the Mozambican blogosphere about Azagaia. But Macamo’s reference to “common enemies” of the past curiously resonates with Azagaia’s most recent video “Combatentes da Fortuna” which contains footage of Mozambique’s first President Samora Machel.

Brazil: Petroleum, elections and poverty matters

Thiana Biondo — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:43:00 +0000

On Friday 15th of May, the Brazilian Congress launched an investigation into the giant state-run oil company Petrobras. The initiative was started by government leaders of the opposition PSDB party. They set up what Brazilians call a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI is the abbreviation in Portuguese) to scrutinize supposed irregularities in the company.

Meanwhile, on the same Friday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva left for a nine-day tour of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India and China (the latter the biggest Brazilian oil business partner, which is going to lend 10 billion dollars to Brazil) to hold negotiations to attract investment in Petrobras, focused in particular on a specific project: the “pre-salt”.

Some bloggers do agree with the Senators, who set up the inquiry. They argue that the company has not been properly run. However, there are others who only see it as a political issue and even more as an attempt to damage the company’s image in the long-term and thus, gain popular approval for the privatization of the whole of Petrobras.

In Casa do Noca [pt], Lukas reminds us that the same PSDB party tried to privatize Petrobras and to slowly change the nation’s identification with the company, even changing its name to Petobrax, as he writes in his post with the heading: “Petrobrax vem aí?” “Is Petrobrax coming?”

É um absurdo total a criação da CPI da Petrobras. Não acreditava que tivessem essa audácia globalizante. Mas a reflexão e a memória sempre ajudam. E lembrei: esse PSDB que trabalhou e aprovou a CPI é o mesmo PSDB que DOOU o patrimônio do Brasil.
E não é só isso. Esse PSDB, (…)é o mesmo que criou a Lei 9.478, que truncou a administração da Petrobras e deu enormes prejuizos à empresa. Mas ainda existe salvação para o INTERESSE NACIONAL.
Fora a tentativa de criação da Petrobrax feita pela administração profissional tucana (…)
Propiciou a terceirização irresponsável na empresa, para ganhos de alguns e multiplicação de acidentes de trabalho, com múltiplas mortes e agressões ao meio ambiente, culminando até com afundamento de plataforma.

It is totally absurd creating the Petrobras CPI. I did not believe that they would have that audacity. But recollection and memory always help. And I remember: this is the PSDB that created and approved the CPI, it is the same PSDB that GAVE Brazilian patrimony to others.
And there is more. This PSDB […] is the same one that created Law 9.478 [the Petroleum Law in 1997], which inconvenienced the Petrobras administration and resulted in huge losses for the company. But, it is still salvation for the NATIONAL INTEREST.
And not to mention the professional Toucan [the bird which symbolizes the PSDB party] administration’s past attempt to create Petrobrax. […]
They allowed irresponsible outsourcing in the company, for the benefit of some but the multiplication of work accidents, with many deaths and damage to the environment, even leading to the sinking of a petroleum platform.

André Alemão comments on the fact that Petrobras, which was created as a 100% state-owned company under the Monopoly Law by former Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas in 1953, has, since 1997, been following new rules created by former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, of the PSDB party. Cardoso set out the Petroleum Law, which opened Petrobras up to private companies, and decreased state-owned shares by 55%. Lula and his government are about to launch a “regulatory milestone” which is going to establish rules for petroleum exploration in the area of pre-salt. He writes on the Evaldo Lima blog [pt], that there is no need for a CPI investigation, because the Petrobras president, Sergio Gabrielli had already said that he would be willing to present himself before the Congress for a public audience to clarify any concerns over the company.

Fica claro e evidente que não há nenhum interesse por parte da oposição em investigar a Petrobras, pois se assim fosse poderia ter esperado até a audiência pública, no entanto aproveitaram a ausência de praticamente todos os Senadores para instalar a CPI.. Trata-se de uma atitude completamente anti-Republicana. Defendemos sim que seja investigado a fundo todas as denúncias de irregularidades, porém não podemos aceitar que se arme um teatro, um palanque político-eleitoral que possa desestabilizar a Petrobras.(…)

Na verdade, pensando bem, para quem já tentou privatizar e destruir esta empresa pública, talvez há de tratar de opção ideológica destruí-la. Ademais, não interesse o quanto Brasil possa quebrar, tem gente que sonharia em governar sob os escombros deste País em construção.

“It is clear and obvious that there is no interest on the part of the opposition to investigate Petrobras, because if there were, they could have waited until the public audience, but, they took advantage of the absence of almost all Senators in the Congress to create the CPI. It is a completely anti-Republican attitude. We do support the idea that all accusations of irregularities are thoroughly investigated. Nevertheless, we cannot accept this being done as a media spectacular, on the political-election stage, which can destabilize Petrobras. […]
In fact, thinking again, for those whom have already tried to privatize and to destroy this government-owned company, perhaps destroying it is an ideological option. It does not matter how much Brazil can be broken, there are always some people who would love to govern under the havoc of this country under construction.

Senators Sérgio Guerra and Tasso Jereissati, with PSDB Senate Leader, Arthur Virgílio. Photo: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/ABr

In Claudio Henrique’s [pt] opinion this CPI comes at the wrong time and it is going to harm the company:

Para a Petrobras o baque é ainda maior. Se não bastasse a crise, a estatal ainda passa por momentos de descobertas e investimentos mais ambiciosos, pois a natureza tem sido generosa com a matéria-prima no País. Uma investigação destas proporções pode afugentar investidores e até mesmo adiar obras estratégicas para o poder Executivo, tais como o PAC.
Mas o epicentro de todos os passos são as eleições de 2010. A tática dos tucanos e seguidores é enfraquecer Lula e seu legado, minando assim quaisquer chances de alavancar a possível candidatura apoiada pelo governo petista (lê-se Dilma Rousseff ). Prova-se tal argumento ao ver o desempenho da oposição durante os anos em que se posicionou contra as políticas do Planalto, marcada pela indiferença e até mesmo fraqueza. Mas esta conquista de uma inicial CPI pode mudar a história até o pleito.

For Petrobras the impact is even bigger. As if the worldwide economic crisis were not enough, the state-owned organization is experiencing a period of discovery and making more ambitious investments, nature has been generous with raw materials in the country. Investigation on this scale can drive investors off and even postpone strategic work for the executive branch, such as the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC).

But, the main point of all of these steps [taken by opposition leaders] is the 2010 elections. The Toucans and their followers’ tactic is to weaken Lula and his legacy, and so undermine the potential chance of a boost to the candidature of a person supported by the PT government (to be read as Dilma Rousseff). In support of such an argument, we see the opposition leaders’ effort throughout the years in which they have taken sides against the Planalto (official work place of Brazilian President) policies, highlighted by indifference and weakness.

As the Journalist Alon Feuerwerker [pt] does not fail to point out on his blog it is an attempt by the opposition to break the power that Petrobras has over Lulas’ government and its ability to influence the next election.

Ora, nada como uma CPI para neutralizar, ou pelo menos constranger, os movimentos eleitorais da empresa ao longo do processo sucessório do ano que vem. Qualquer candidato gostaria de ter com ele o poder de fogo da Petrobras. Em que aspectos? Por exemplo, junto aos fornecedores da empresa. Não sendo possível tê-la com você, então que se limite a ação dela a favor do adversário.

Well, nothing better than a CPI to stop, or at least contract, the election movements towards the succession process next year. Any candidate would like to have the power that Petrobras has behind them. In which aspects? For example, having the support of the suppliers. Or, if it is not possible to have their support, then to limit their support for the opponent.

"Maintenance". From Plunk Plak Zum, published with permission

According to the Congress website [pt], the accusations against the company administration are: fraudulent evidence in bids for petroleum exploration; overpricing in refinery construction; misuse of money from petroleum royalties; misuse of marketing projects budgets; and most discussed, the use of accounting procedures that allow the company to save money in tax payments - the press has published the figure of R$ 4.3 billion (US$1.9 billion), but the company has said that it was R$1.14 billion (US$ 550 million). The company changed to accounting that operates an exchange rate variation taxation system at the end of 2008 with retroactive effect. However, this change should have been made before the beginning of the tax year (April).

A CPI porá em confronto Petrobras e Receita Federal, onde serão apurados possíveis jogos fiscais que renderam à estatal compensações (…)
O entusiasmo com os bons resultados que a Petrobras vem demonstrando não podem encobrir possíveis problemas administrativos e fiscais que possam haver, nem barrar a investigação desses indícios. Se for preciso parar tudo para enxugar a máquina, que parem. Isso é uma decisão mais segura. Afinal, com problemas nada pode andar direito nesse país. Como ex-metalúrgico Lula deveria lembrar-se disso.

“The CPI is going to confront Petrobras and Federal Revenue, when it is going to verify possible tax operations, which are worth compensation [of R$ 4 billion (US$ 1.9 billion) to the state-owned company] […]
The enthusiasm for the good results that Petrobras has given cannot veil possible administrative and tax problems, nor stop an investigation into them. If it is necessary to stop everything to reset the machine, so be it. This is a safer choice. After all, with problems, nothing can be right in this country. As a metal worker, Lula should remember this.”

Toinho Passira [pt] points out a series of problems in the company:

A caixa preta da maior empresa brasileira, quando aberta exalará um mau cheiro insuportável de desmando, corrupção, uso de dinheiro público para eleições, custos publicitários superfaturados e desnecessários, má gestão do governo nos negócios da empresa, e roubo puro e simples, como o fez o Victor Martins irmão do Ministro Franklin Martin, que não deve ser o único.

The black box of the biggest Brazilian company when opened will stink of misleading, corruption, public money used to support elections, overpriced advertising campaigns, mismanagement by the government of the company business and stealing plain and simple, as did Victor Martins [one of the directors of the National Petroleum Agency] the brother of the Press Secretary Franklin Martins, who might not be the only one.

In January of 2009, the first 100% Brazilian made oil platform went on stream of the Rio de Janeiro coast. According to the Government it will be capable of producing 180,000 barrels of oil and 6 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, when operating to its full capacity.Photo: Petrobras/ABr

For Luiz Carlos Azenha the real issue is, in fact, another point.

O problema, portanto, não é se a Petrobras deve ou não ser investigada. É como fazê-lo. Já existem todas as instâncias necessárias à investigação da Petrobras, tanto da parte do governo, quanto da oposição, quanto da sociedade. A empresa pode ser investigada pelo Ministério Público, pelo Tribunal de Contas, pela Polícia Federal e nas diversas comissões do Parlamento. Não há dúvida: a Petrobras deve satisfações ao Congresso, pode e deve ser denunciada na tribuna e precisa responder a todos os questionamentos que recebe.
(…)
Em tese, uma CPI não deveria assustar ninguém. Mas não falamos em tese. Falamos no Brasil. E falamos a partir de exemplos concretos: qual foi a utilidade das CPIs recentes, além de gerar uma enxurrada de manchetes, 95% das quais baseadas em fofocas, meias-verdades, distorções e mentiras? Tomemos como exemplo a CPI das Escutas Telefônicas Clandestinas. Qual foi a serventia, além de torrar dinheiro público com a defesa dos interesses do banqueiro Daniel Dantas?

Thus the problem is not whether or not Petrobras should be investigated. It is how to do it. There are already sufficient forums to investigate Petrobras, from government opposition as well as social institutions. The company can be investigated by Public Ministry, Federal Court of Auditors and Federal Police and by many Parliamentary commissions. There is no doubt: Petrobras matters concern the Congress, can be and should be denounced in court and the company has to deal with any criticism that it receives. […] In theory, one CPI shouldn’t scare anyone too much. But, let’s not talk in theory. Let’s talk the Brazilian way. And let’s talk from concrete examples: what has been the helpfulness of recent CPIs, if not to create overwhelming headlines, of which 95% is based on gossip, half-truths, distortions of facts and lies? Let’s take as an example the Illegal Telephone Bugging. What did it help achieve, apart from burning public money in defence of banker Daniel Dantas?

Wealth for all?

Azenha has also linked from his blog to the video produced by the Clarín newspaper, in which a specialist discusses why Brazil can walk towards oil self-sufficiency while Argentina cannot. Brazil's neighbor privatized its no longer stated-owned oil company in the '90s, during Carlos Menem's government. Worth a visit for readers of Spanish.

In September last year, the first symbolic extraction of petrol from the pre-salt layer in the Jubarte field, off the Espirito Santo State coast, took place. On 1st May 2009, the Lula government participated in another major event in the pre-salt layer located in the Tupi field, Santos Basin. There are great expectations about those recent discoveries of petroleum. For many, it will be the best chance for Brazil to solve its main problem. On 12th of May 2009, visiting Cubatão City - where the first refinery of Brazil was created, Lula da Silva said that pre-salt wealth is going to eradicate poverty in Brazil and be the main investment source of education in the country. Popular entities have also created a group discussion about pre-salt wealth issues, and they have even set up a petition, as we can see published on the Notícias da América Latina e Caribe website [pt]:

O abaixo-assinado deverá reunir 1,3 milhões de assinaturas para ser referendado como projeto de iniciativa popular. As entidades acreditam, no entanto, que o resultado principal deve ser a instalação de um debate na sociedade sobre a questão do petróleo no Brasil.(…)
As entidades ainda exigem medidas como o fim da exportação do petróleo cru, com investimento na indústria petroquímica; a mensuração do tamanho da riqueza do pré-sal; e um fundo social soberano de investimento voltado para as necessidades do povo brasileiro (educação, saúde, reforma agrária, trabalho e renda, etc); e redução do uso do petróleo e avanço nas pesquisas de nova matriz energética.

“The petition should gather 1.3 million signatures in order to be sanctioned as a popular initiative project. Although the entities believe that the main result should be the creation of a discussion about petroleum issues in Brazilian society (…)
The entities also claim measures such as the end of crude oil exportation, leading to investments in the petrochemical industry; the assessment of pre-salt wealth; and the creation of an independent social fund targeting the Brazilian people’s necessities (education, health, agrarian reform, work and revenue, etc.), the reduction in petroleum use and progress with new energy matrix research.”

View of Rocinha Slum: the largest in the country. Photo: Alicia Nijdam/Creative Commons

Even though the pre-salt petroleum hasn’t been exploited yet, so far, the “country of the future” has managed to change, a little, its shameful social inequality index. Analyzing data released last year by the Applied Economic Research Institute (IPEA), Professor Marcelus Fonseca [pt] reminds us that there are some commitments on the national agenda, although whether the nation will be able to meet them in the short term is uncertain.

“A conclusao e de que o enorme grau de desigualdade na distribuicao de renda constitui-se como o principal determinante de pobreza no pais. As politicas de combate a pobreza adotadas pelo Governo ainda nao sao eficazes. Se mantiver o ritmo atual, o Brasil so deve cumprir em 2019 o compromisso de reduzir a pobreza pela metade, e nao em 2015, prazo fixado pela Cupula do Milenio das Nacoes Unidas”

The conclusion is that the huge degree of inequality when it comes to income distribution is the main determinant of the poverty in the country. The policies to fight poverty adopted by the Government have not yet been effective. At the current rate, only by 2019 will Brazil fulfill the duty to halve poverty, and not by 2015, the deadline set by the Millennium Summit of United Nations”.

Disclosing material from Campinas University (UNICAMP), Manuel Alves Fiho publishes an article on the Portal Eco Debate website, where he has interviewed Professor Waldir Quadros [pt]. According to Quadros:

“A estrutura social brasileira experimentou uma fase de melhoria entre os anos de 2004 e 2008. Nesse período, um número significativo de pessoas trocou a condição de miséria pela de pobreza ou deixou a situação de pobreza para se inserir na baixa classe média. (…) Não é possível dizer, como defendem alguns, que o Brasil transformou-se em um país de classe media.”

“The Brazilian social structure experienced a stage of improvement between the years of 2004 and 2008. At that stage, a significant number of people moved from [living in] miserable conditions into poverty or left the condition of poverty to become part of the low middle class […] It is not possible to state, like some people do, that Brazil has become a middle class country”.

The vast dry zone in Northeastern Brazil, which is not in the urban center, but also has problems of wealth distribution. Photo: Maria Hsu/Creative Commons

As per Quadros’ conclusion, it is undeniable that the country, in one way or another, has tried to promote equality. Nevertheless, using logic to put the pieces of this puzzle together, the question is: will this money reach everybody? Or, how far is the economic plan connected to the social problems? Yet the Plano Real, a set of measures taken to stabilize the Brazilian economy in early 1994, has given stability to the currency ever since, has halted inflation and has opened the gates of social improvement, the way to achieve a better distribution of wealth is the question that Brazil most needs to consider. Dafne Melo [pt] raises some questions:

Lúcia Stumpf, presidente da União Nacional dos Estudantes (UNE), avalia que as medidas tomadas por Lula para conter a crise são “insuficientes” e não tocam na grande contradição do governo que é sua política macroeconômica, com a manutenção de altos juros e alto superávit primário (pagamento dos juros da divida).  Essas medidas, avalia, estão centradas apenas em setores da elite econômica, sem que nada tenha sido pensado para o conjunto da classe trabalhadora.

“Lucia Stumpf, president of the National Students Union (NSE), assesses that the measures taken by Lula to contain the crises are “insufficient” and don’t touch on the big contradiction of the government – its macro economic policy of keeping both high interest rates and the high primary surplus (payment of interest rates on debt). These measures, she highlights, only concern the sectors of the economic elite, without any thought for the working class”.

Brazil: Fighting against cyber surveillance

Sara Moreira — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:10:59 +0000

Brazilian cyberactivists are again taking action against online surveillance in defence of the netcitizen rights. The Mega Não! protest has been triggered by the controversial digital crimes bill which aims to control cybercrime, raising serious issues on digital rights management and the free use of digital devices. There will be another demonstration tomorrow, 25th of May, this time in Rio Grande do Sul State. Check their twitter coverage out.

Angola: “Every city has its history, and ours is no different”

Sara Moreira — Sat, 16 May 2009 04:15:53 +0000

Since January this year several blogs have been announcing a petition in defence of what remains of Luanda’s [en] historical architecture. Sponsored by the Architects Association of Angola, and mainly addressed to the President of the country, José Eduardo dos Santos [en], it aims to protect Luanda’s heritage and monuments.

In defence of the idea that “every city has its history, and ours is no different”, the petition starts as follows:

ACREDITANDO que o que torna uma cidade singular é o seu património histórico e cultural, traduzido pelos hábitos das suas gentes, mas igualmente pelas pedras, construções, espaços e edifícios que foram sendo introduzidos ao longo dos séculos da sua génese.

BELIEVING that what makes a city unique is its historical and cultural heritage, translated by its people’s traditions, but also by stones, constructions, spaces and buildings that have been introduced over the centuries of history.

Photo by Flickr user mp3ief published under a Creative Commons license

It is well known that the number of modern buildings taking over the landscape of Luanda is increasing. In a post titled Luanda: a metamorfose [pt] (Luanda: the metamorphosis), (R)evolução em Angola [pt] ((R)evolution in Angola) author, N’manga, shares an extensive photo collection of the new and rising architecture projects. Back in September 2008, Global Voices Online posted on bloggers questioning who these buildings are addressed at. However, the online conversation is now a different one, as Kukiela comments in this Luanda: the metamorphosis post:

A questão de uma identidade arquitectónica, um património que está a ser destruído na nossa baixa para se construir esse conjunto insípido de edifícios sem qualquer perspectiva cultural de identidade. Sei que isso leva à discussão de “identidade angolana”, que é uma longa discussão mas que é também importante pensar na vertente “evolução urbanística” da cidade de Luanda.

The architectural identity issue - a heritage being destroyed in our city centre so that this set of tasteless buildings arise without any care for cultural identity. I know that this leads to the discussion of “Angola’s identity”, which is a long one, but it is also important to think about the “urban evolution” of the city of Luanda.

The most polemic and striking case discussed online concerning the protection of Angola’s architecture happened back in August 2008, when the historical Kinaxixi Market was demolished to make space for the construction of a new shopping centre.

Exclusive photo taken on the day the Kinaxixi Market was being knocked down, kindly provided by José Manuel Lima da Silva, Flickr user Kool2bBop

This episode was not forgotten in the petition message:

TENDO tomado conhecimento que se continua a autorizar a destruição de património público, entre prédios classificados como foi o Palácio de Dona Ana Joaquina, ou por classificar, como o Mercado do Kinaxixe, este último considerado internacionalmente uma das obras arquitectónicas mais importantes do Movimento Moderno, e proposta por Óscar Niemeyer para ser considerado Património da Humanidade pela UNESCO.

HAVING noticed that the destruction of public heritage is constantly authorized with classified buildings, such as Dona Ana Joaquina Palace, or non classified [buildings], such as Kinaxixi Market, the latter considered one of the most important architectural works of the Modern Movement, by the international community, and recommended by Oscar Niemeyer to be considered as a Humanity Heritage site by UNESCO.

However, reportedly the practice of destroying cultural heritage does not only happen in Luanda. Nuno Silva Leal, a Portuguese architect based in Lobito, Benguela, praises the petition initiative and posts about a case that has happened in that province:

Fiquei feliz em deparar há pouco na net com esta petição em defesa do património construído de Luanda. Sinal de que há ainda uma franja da população consciente do fabuloso património arquitectónico que têm em mãos e que não podem desbaratar, sob pena das gerações futuras virem a lembrar-se desta apenas pela ganância do lucro.
Aliás, este problema estende-se a todo o país. Aqui na província há bem pouco tempo atrás demoliram, tijolo a tijolo, a estação de comboios da Catumbela para, provavelmente, construírem um mamaracho chinês no seu lugar. Foi mais um pouco da história de Angola que morreu com a destruição deste edifício…

I was happy to come across this petition on the Internet, protecting the building heritage of Luanda. It proves that there still is a small part of the population who are aware of the fabulous architectural heritage they cannot ignore, or else future generations will only recall greediness for profit.
Moreover, this problem spreads all over the country. Here in the countryside, not so long ago, Catumbela train station was demolished, brick by brick, probably giving place to a Chinese construction. It is just one step forward for the death of Angola’s history with the destruction of this building.

"New bridge, Catumbela" photo by Flickr user jlrsousa published under a Creative Commons license

Either Luanda or somewhere else, for Koluki, it is all about memories and what future generations will make of them. In a comprehensive post [pt] titled A(s) Memória(s) e o(s) Património(s) – Passado(s) e Futuro(s) (playing with the plurality of Memory and Heritage – Past and Future):

Memórias… são elas que dão sentido à palavra “histórico” ao lado da designação “património arquitectónico”. Resta-nos sempre a consolação de que, pelo menos enquanto somos vivos, elas sobrevivem à morte dos edifícios. O problema é a preservação dessas memorias, individuais e colectivas, para as gerações futuras, não perdendo de vista, contudo, que estas não só têm direito ao conhecimento da história, como também […] têm o direito a e a capacidade para criarem a sua própria história e construírem as suas próprias memórias para o seu próprio futuro - que será, afinal, o futuro da Nação, portanto de todos nós.

Memories… they are what brings meaning to the word “historic” alongside the designation “architectural heritage”. At least while we are alive, we can count on them, believing that memories survive the death of buildings. The problem is the preservation of these memories, either individually and for future generations, not forgetting, however, that they not only have the right to know history, but they also […] have the right and the capacity to create their own history and build their own memories for their own future - that is, after all, the future of the nation, therefore the future of all of us.

The whole petition, which, besides addressing the President, will also inform the Governor, the Minister of Culture, the Assembly Culture Committee and the UNESCO representative in Luanda, can be found at this web address [pt] and on many blogs (such as this one). Although it is available online, it can only be signed locally by residents and native Luandans at UNAP, Chá de Caxinde Association, Architects Association and Sérgio Piçarra's office.

Brazil: When climate change meets cyber-activism

Diego Casaes — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:25:18 +0000

On the Tuesday May 5th, Salvador, the original capital of Brazil, experienced moments of desperation with the strong rain that overran the whole city. Hundreds of incidents were reported to the Civil Defense, which had recorded 392 requests for emergency care by 7pm of the same day. In addition to collapsed houses, fallen trees and landslides, there were also massive traffic jams which brought chaos to drivers and commuters.

Deaths were reported in areas where houses are condemned due to lack of infrastructure and the imminent risk of collapse, three of them in the neighborhood of Pirajá. Also, a mother and a daughter fell into a canal and were dragged away by the strong current. The mother's body was found on Wednesday morning, the daughter's only one day after, on May 7th.

The event, which was considered a catastrophe by the population, is another case of the type of natural disaster that in the past used to hit the city with less magnitude. In addition to this, it reveals a lack of proper housing and urban planning in the biggest Brazilian cities, as local authorities neglect the unrestrained growth of houses and shanty towns on the slopes, further exposing residents to the risk of accidents and even death.

Photo by twitpic user @danielvbo

The North and Northeast regions of Brazil have been battered by heavy rain for some days. Thousands of people have been made homeless and many casualties have been reported. Wander Veroni, author of the blog Café com Notícias (Coffee with News), denounces [pt] the state of emergency. He says:

“Ao lembrarmos da tragédia das chuvas de Santa Catarina parece que a situação do Norte e Nordeste é ainda mais grave, principalmente no interior. Só no Ceará, centenas de famílias estão completamente ilhadas na zona rural e sem acesso à água potável, devido a adutora que foi destruída pela enxurrada. Já no Piauí, o governo estadual pediu ajuda ao Exército para socorrer a população atingida pela chuva.”

“On remembering the tragedy of the floods in Santa Catarina it seems that the situation in the North and Northeast areas is even worse, especially in the countryside. In the state of Ceará alone, hundreds of families have been completely isolated in rural areas with no access to fresh water because of the plumbing system's destruction caused by the runoff. In the state of Piauí, the government has asked the Army to help the population hit by the rain.”

Edigarde Rodrigues (Edigarde Rodrigue's Blog, pt) argues critically about the situation. After highlighting that the population and the government have paid no attention to the North and Northeast states, he says:

“As regiões Norte e Nordeste do Brasil, que estão sofrendo com as fortes chuvas nas últimas semanas contam com 20 mortos e mais de 700 mil desabrigadas. Dos dez estados atingidos pelas enchentes o Piauí é o mais afetado com 50 mil desabrigados e 40% do seu teritório comprometido pelas enchentes. O mais intrigante é a indiferença da população do resto do país que ao contrário do que aconteceu no ano passado com os estados do sul ainda não fizeram nenhum tipo de campanha pública para angariar fundos de auxílio aos desabrigados.”

“The North and Northeast regions of Brazil, which have been suffering strong rains for the last weeks, have already counted 20 deaths and more than 700,000 displaced people. Out of ten states hit by the floods, Piauí is the most affected with 50,000 displaced people and 40% of its territory damaged by flooding. The lack of interest of the population of the rest of the country is intriguing, and contrary to what happened last year in the southern states, there hasn't been any kind of fundraising campaign to help the displaced people yet.”

Photo by twitpic user @danielvbo

Liberdade Digital (Digital Freedom), on the other hand, wrote a post dedicated to the rains in the Northeast, calling for help from social network users to spread information about the situation and ask them to help those who were affected by the flooding:

“Esperando mais uma participação em massa da blogosfera brasileira, o L.D. faz um apelo: se você tem um blog, um site, uma lista de e-mail, participa de alguma rede social, ajude na divulgação desta informação. É fundamental que as empresas de transporte ajudem. É preciso sensibilizar também as companhias áreas e empresas de táxi aéreo para que emprestem helicópteros.”

“While waiting for another mass participation from the Brazilian blogosphere, D.F. blog requests: if you have a blog, a website, a mailing list or if you are a member of a social network, do pass this information on. It's fundamental that transportation companies help too. We also need to sensitize air lines and aero-taxi companies to lend their helicopters.”

During the floods in Santa Catarina, in the last months but especially in November 2008, Brazilian blogs had an important role in covering of the disaster. Reporting on the number of victims, floods, disappearances and how to assist those who needed help, news was updated constantly on many blogs. This time, the same kind of reaction has been scattered throughout the blogosphere and amongst Twitter and other social networks.

Journalist Sarita Bastos has recently published a map on Google Maps with information on the floods that includes ways to help the local population. The idea of the map consists in promoting collaboration among users of this technology and for each one to write testimonials of what they know about the events.

See the flood map in bigger size

Fundraising to help people has also started. “Balada Solidária” (Solidarity Party, pt), promoted by Cynthia Costa with the aim to direct part of the profit of bars and restaurants in the Piauí State's capital Teresina into the acquisition of food and donations is a highlight among the initiatives currently in place.

The Observatório do Clima blog (Climate Observatory, pt) has emphasized in a recent post the lack of infrastructure that makes cities unable to prevent disasters like this:

“[…] medidas concretas para um programa de adaptação consistente não existem no Brasil. No mês de abril, Ivone Maria Valente, diretora de Minimização de Desastres da Secretaria Nacional de Defesa Civil, afirmou em entrevista à Agência Brasil que o país não está preparado para lidar com fenômenos extremos ocasionados pelo clima. O máximo que se ouviu falar em repercussão sobre o assunto é que a Câmara dos Deputados voltou a discutir o estabelecimento de um Fundo de Catástrofes, mas sem grandes avanços e sem que esse esteja relacionado a uma Política Nacional de Mudanças Climáticas.”

“[…] appropriate measures for a solid adaptation do not exist in Brazil. In April, Ivone Maria Valente, director of the National Secretariat for the Minimization of Disasters said in an interview to Agência Brasil that the country is not ready to deal with extreme phenomena caused by the weather. The only thing we heard back in the repercussion about this issue is that the Chamber of Deputies has discussed again the establishment of a Fund for Catastrophes, but without much advance time and without a proper connection to a National Climate Change Policy.”

On the rebound, the state of Santa Catarina, in the south of the country, where the population suffered from the floods and landslides of last year, has now been hit by severe drought. James Pizarro, from the Antes que a Natureza Morra blog (Before Nature Dies, pt) adds to the information made public by Civil Defense agency. He says:

“A estiagem que castiga as regiões oeste e meio-oeste de Santa Catarina levou 31 municípios do Estado a decretarem situação de emergência, sendo que 11 deles em abril - Santa Helena, Maravilha, Princesa, Presidente Castello Branco, Seara, São José do Cedro, Descanso, Chapecó, Coronel Freitas, Sul Brasil e São João do Oeste. Todos esses municípios enfrentam problemas de seca desde o final do ano passado, mas a situação se agravou e as atividades agropecuárias estão bem prejudicadas, segundo informou a Defesa Civil.”

“The drought that has punished the west and mid-west regions of Santa Catarina has led the 31 counties of the state to declare a state of emergency, 11 of them alone in April. All of these counties have been facing drought problems since the end of last year but the situation has worsened and agricultural activities are badly damaged, as reported by the Civil Defense agency.”

Photo by twitpic user @kingars

Reader and blogger Catarino, from Blog do Catarino (Catarino's Blog, pt), in answer to the post from Café com Notícias [pt], describes his indignation at the losses caused by climate change happening now in Brazil. According to him:

“As variações climáticas estão causando mais prejuízos para a população do que a crise econômica, pois são cidades inteiras em calamidade. Aqui no Rio Grande do Sul é a seca que acaba com as plantações e com o gado. Nesse ritmo logo a vida vai se tornar muito difícil em nosso planeta.”

“Climate change is damaging the population more than the economic crisis, because whole cities are in a calamitous condition. Here in Rio Grande do Sul the drought has ruined the plantations and the cattle. At this rate, living will become very difficult on our planet.”

Twitter: Collaborative journalism and social networks

In Salvador, during the rains that flooded the city, Twitter had its chance to shine as a social network tool that would help to show a detailed perspective of what really happened on that day, followed by a few local radio stations. In the opposite direction, mainstream TV stations and news websites – babbled brief news to the designated TV schedule only.

Whilst the mainstream media dedicated attention to a superficial coverage of the daily issues, the twittersphere was quick to act [pt] drawing the news profile in a collaborative fashion. News on traffic jams, landslides, robbery of drivers who were stuck in the gridlock, alternative ways to avoid flooding, in addition to pictures of flooded areas all over the city were a sample of the cyber-activism provided by the social network Twitter.

André Lemos, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Communication and Coordinator of the Cyberculture Center at UFBA (Federal University of Bahia), reported the experience as an “alternative media show” and as a “sample of how mass media is losing influence” in his blog (Carnet de Notes, pt). He states:

“Fui ver alguns jornais online locais mas não achei nada muito…informativo, ou algo que me servisse imediatamente e localmente. Abandonei e voltei ao Twitter, muito mais intenso, rápido e detalhado. E não tinha mesmo como ser diferente. No Twitter, acompanhando a tag #chuva e #salvador eram inúmeras pessoas escrevendo em tempo real […]”

“I went to look for some news on local online newspapers but I didn't find anything very… informative. I gave up on it and came back to Twitter, much more deep, fast and detailed. And there was no reason to be otherwise. In Twitter, following the hashtags #chuva (rain) and #salvador there were many people writing in real time […]”

Ana F. (Ana's Blog, pt) commented in Jornalismo de Bolso (Pocket Journalism, pt) her first hand account in following the hashtags #chuva and #salvador on Twitter:

“[…] ilhada como fiquei em casa, pude acompanhar e participar da cobertura em tempo real proporcionada pelo Twitter. Como comentei em outro blog: hoje, sites e jornais de nada me serviram. As decisões tomadas o foram graças à interação no Twitter.”

Photo by twitpic user @ksuella

“[…] isolated at home, I could follow and participate in the real time coverage provided by Twitter. As I had previously commented in another blog: today, websites and newspapers didn't help me at all. The decisions I made were taken thanks to the interaction on Twitter.”

The speed of the information on Twitter has exceeded the mainstream media coverage. In a sample of Collaborative Journalism, social network users made the headlines that would be seen on the news on TV later. Yuri Almeida, who also participated in the discussions on Twitter, posted [pt] on his blog Herdeiro do Caos (Chaos' Heir, pt):

“[…] os tuiteros de Salvador conseguiram mapear os principais problemas de alagamento, engarrafamento, arrastão e outras informações sobre o problema da capital baiana. O melhor: de forma colaborativa (textos e imagens), dialógica e auto-organizada. A turma atendeu aos pedidos e os tweets marcados com as hashtag #chuva e #salvador, o que resultou em uma memória informacional do fato. Não há dúvida de que a cobertura via Twitter [pt] foi a melhor da tragédia da cidade do Salvador.”

“[…] twitterers from Salvador have achieved the mapping of the floods, traffic jams, robbery and other useful information about the problem of the Bahian capital. The best: in a collaborative fashion (texts and images), dialogical and self-organized. People attended to the demands and the tweets were marked under the hashtags #chuva and #salvador resulting in an informational recollection of the fact. There's no doubt that the coverage via Twitter was the best about the tragedy in the city of Salvador.”

The photos above illustrate the chaos that the rain has brought to Salvador, taken by Twitpic users and are a sample of what is going on in the North and Northeast regions of Brasil. In addition to the photos, some residents uploaded footage of the city after the rain to YouTube. EdTitoBa sent a piece of footage of the Itaigara neighborhood that shows how the water stream flooded one of the avenues in Salvador:

East Timor: From sighs to steps forward with the use of the Internet

Sara Moreira — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:10:42 +0000

Being willing to listen what bloggers are talking about, Global Voices faces big challenges to cover the blogospheres of regions where people are not using citizen media. That is the case of East Timor, where there are many Internet connectivity problems which make blogging very difficult. But what are the challenges that bloggers from East Timor face when uploading content to the Internet? And what are the projects, nonetheless, arising in the Timorese blogosphere?

It is common to hear Timorese bloggers sighing at their inability to post as often as they would like to. Ângela Carrascalão, a blogger and news correspondent for the popular Portuguese newspaper Público, started her blog [pt] in 2006 and today still regrets the obstacles she finds while writing for the Web.

Está lenta, muito lenta a Internet. Enervantemente lenta! A lentidão não se prende todavia com o calor intenso que é normal nesta altura do ano, é a razão lógica de ser da nossa indolência e nos tolhe os movimentos…

Slow, the Internet is very slow. Darned slow! Either way, this slowness has nothing to do with the intense heat, which is normal at this time of the year, it is the logical reason for our laziness and it numbs our movements…

The same author makes an interesting point about the real need for Internet access in a country where there is a lack of almost everything:

Nos distritos do interior não há Internet. Poderia ser simples dizer isto e com isso concluir que estamos mal, que somos um país subdesenvolvido. Mas, que importa que não haja Internet, se ali, no Timor profundo, falta tudo, ou quase tudo?

There is no Internet in the countryside districts. It would be easy to say so, and then conclude that we are not doing well, and that we are a developing country. But why is the fact that there is no Internet important, if back there, in the deep heart of Timor, everything or almost everything is missing?

There is no doubt that the Internet plays an important role in providing communication channels as well as education to isolated areas. Presumably due to the actual delay concerning Internet technologies in the country, later this year the Government will launch an amusing solution based on the broadcast of pedagogical television shows [pt]. This system is not innovative, as it was common in Europe in the 80’s, but it apparently provides a fitting solution for the absence of infrastructures that East Timor still faces, 10 years after the special autonomy referendum was held.

Nevertheless, more and more initiatives are appearing willing to act on economical development through the use of online communication tools for trade. One example is the Peace Dividend Trust, a non-profit foundation dedicated to the “support of long-term economic recovery by increasing the purchase of goods and services available in the country”.

Photo by Peace Dividend Trust Timor Leste, used with permision

One of the Peace Dividend Trust projects in East Timor is a Procurement Database that aims to “identify goods and services” and “to work with local businesses specifically to facilitate the process of switching to local suppliers […] that can reliably meet the operational needs of international agencies”.

Their website provides a powerful search tool where visitors can look through 26 different businesses categories in all the districts of East Timor. Through this, it is possible to find quite thorough information about each formal business, concerning the type of activity, services and products available, contacts, references and other useful information. It also supports an interface for people to provide feedback about each business. Buy in Timor exceeded 2,000 entries in March 2009, becoming a unique reference concerning local economy and the private sector development and entrepreneurship. The following blog post from the end of March 2009 reported:

To date 50.05% of visits have come from users inside Timor-Leste, 13.37% from Australia, 7.80% from Singapore, and 6.48% from Indonesia. (see graphic above)

There are now 2,013 unique business profiles online and the job of verifying further new businesses in Dili and the districts continues.

The Timor-Leste Procurement Database has had 43,435 hits in just 10 months. These hits have been generated by 8,272 separate visits. The website is designed to connect institutional and individual buyers (both inside and outside Timor-Leste) with domestic suppliers.

The above quote is taken from one of several blogs that have been recently launched by Peace Dividend Trust Building Markets project in East Timor. These blogs provide up to date information while enhancing new ways to “Buy locally, rebuild markets, employ young men and increase the stability of post-conflict and fragile states”. One of the most active blogs is Serbisu Iha Timor-Leste / Jobs in Timor-Leste [te].

Ema hot-hotu bele uza blog ida ne'e atu hare Vaga Serbisu iha Timor-Leste no atu buka informasaun kona ba serbisu iha Timor-Leste laran e liur.

Anyone may use this blog to search for Job Opportunities in East Timor and to find information about working in and for East Timor.

Photo by Peace Dividend Trust Timor Leste, used with permision

Through the Building Markets project, a big diversity of businesses are promoted in different blogs. The Carpinteria Sanders [en], for example, is a blog to support a new carpentry furniture supplier from Dili. Diverse woodwork is presented at Manu-Koko, a group of artisans that make carvings from Mahogany, Teak, Mangrove, and Saria. It is also possible to find real estate sources, such as Aluga Uma Timor which aggregates several rental opportunities all over the country and Itimuran, for eco-accommodation on Atauro island. Cheap Car Dili posts information on cars for rent, and Diamond Workshop tells the story of a vehicle repair and maintenance business.

The Procurement Database project addresses the international community as the main consumer of the local services which are being promoted online, and reportedly it reaches many people in the country. The other part of the challenge ahead is to get local people - the national community - involved, both as consumers and also as content managers for those blogs.

In fact, not many initiatives are known to empower Timorese people, especially from rural areas, through online technologies. Therefore communication, trade and education in the first person through these media still has a long way to go in East Timor.

***

This is the last piece in a series of posts to celebrate the existence of the Internet in East Timor and to draw attention to the current situation. The first article explained the huge digital divide in the country, while in the second one Jen Hughes was interviewed, explaining how she founded Suai Media Space, whose main objective is to make the voices of Suai youth heard all over the world.