"MODERN-DAY SLAVERY"

Men, women, and children are sold into a $150 billion annual market for sex and labor. This is happening globally, and domestically; in urban and suburban areas; in hotels, restaurants, and on street corners. Slavery is wrapped up in almost every industry’s supply chain, tainting the food we eat, the clothes we buy, and the electronics we love. After the international drug trade, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second- largest criminal industry in the world. Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

"Guinea: Security Force Excesses, Crimes"

Tires burn during a clash on April 13, 2015 in the capital, Conakry, between policemen and Guinean opposition supporters. The protesters clashed with security forces over a dispute with the government over the timing of both local and presidential elections. During the often-violent protests, the security forces on numerous occasions used excessive force and engaged in unprofessional conduct, including theft.

"GRÈCE. «GOUVERNER DE LA MÊME FAÇON QU’AVANT LA CRISE» ?ENTRETIEN AVEC JOHN MILIOS"

Ce mercredi 22 juillet, une partie de l’accord imposé par les institutions et accepté par Alexis Tsipras – décider son adoption est, au plan politique, un test dont le caractère ne peut être tempéré par des expressions de malaise personnel – est à nouveau soumis à la Vouli. Il faut avoir à l’esprit que le document de 975 pages est un ordre de marche détaillé.

"Rohingyas Adrift, Far From the Shores of Asia’s Conscience"

The horrific pictures of migrants cramped in rickety smugglers’ boats adrift on the Andaman Sea are sending shock waves around the world. Asia has seen crises involving “boat people” before; but the one currently unfolding involves an ethnic group little known in the region, let alone the world – the Rohingyas, a minority Muslim community from Myanmar who have been discriminated against and persecuted for years.

"In Defense of Varoufakis"

From blaming him for the renewed collapse of the Greek economy to accusing him of illegally plotting Greece’s exit from the eurozone, it has become fashionable to disparage Yanis Varoufakis, the country’s former finance minister. While I have never met or spoken to him, I believe that he is getting a bad rap (and increasingly so). In the process, attention is being diverted away from the issues that are central to Greece’s ability to recover and prosper – whether it stays in the eurozone or decides to leave.

World Hepatitis Day

The theme for this year’s World Hepatitis Day is "Prevent hepatitis. Act now". Viral hepatitis is caused by 5 distinct hepatitis viruses. Infection from these viruses results in approximately 1.45 million deaths each year. These viruses are transmitted through contaminated water and food, as well as by contact with blood or bodily fluids, through unsafe injections or transfusions. Infection also occurs from a mother to a child, or through sexual contact. Infection through all these routes of transmission can be prevented through proven and effective interventions. It is important for everyone to be aware of hepatitis and to learn how they can protect themselves from being infected.

"Latin America’s Anti-Corruption Crusade"

Even as much of Latin America engages in almost hyperbolic celebrations over the renewed diplomatic ties between Cuba and the United States, the continent is facing two major challenges. The first – declining economic growth, to less than 1%, on average, across the region – has been discussed at length, with the prevailing explanation being that China’s slowing economic growth has suppressed commodity prices and, thus, Latin America’s export revenues. But it is the second – the resurgence of corruption – that is proving most interesting.

"IEFP eliminou dos ficheiros dos Centros de Emprego 338.093 desempregados só no 1º semestre 2015" - estudo de Eugénio Rosa

Neste momento assiste-se a uma polémica entre o governo e os partidos da oposição sobre os números do desemprego.

O Diário Económico on-line de 23 de Maio de 2015, divulgando uma notícia da Lusa, já tinha referida a seguinte afirmação de Passo Coelho: " O desemprego registado homólogo - comparado com o que se passou há um ano atrás - baixou 14%", afirmou Pedro Passos Coelho, na sessão comemorativa do aniversário do PSD do distrito de Leiria, realçando que as ofertas de colocação bem-sucedidas aumentaram 20%".

Na entrevista dada à SIC em 14 de Julho de 2015, Passos Coelho torna a abordar a mesma matéria gabando-se nessa ocasião de que o seu governo tinha descoberto um “modelo económico criador de emprego” e apresentava como prova o facto de ter sido criado “175.000 empregos entre Janeiro de 2013 e Abril de 2015”. No entanto, “esqueceu-se” de dizer que, entre Junho (2º Trimestre) de 2011 e Maio de 2015, portanto durante o seu governo, foram destruídos em Portugal 434.400 empregos, pois o emprego passou, naquele período, de 4.893.000 para 4.458.600 segundo dados do INE.

Interessa por isso analisar com objetividade esta questão mostrando como os dados do desemprego são manipulados. Para isso vai-se utilizar os próprios dados oficiais.

Livros, Personagens e Recordações de infância - Parabéns Bugs!

Bugs Bunny

"EU refuses to acknowledge mistakes made in Greek bailout "

As I write this it would be appear that the Greek crisis is finally coming to an end. In this report I would like to discuss why the negotiations were so fraught and what an agreement actually means. In a nutshell, the EU sought to address matters with the same kinds of measures that had been tried in the past, while Greece argued that doing so would not make things any better—and would in fact make them far worse.

"Como o cinema chegou a crianças de aldeias africanas pelas mãos de um português"

O português João Meirinhos anda pelas aldeias mais recônditas de África e Ásia a projetar filmes para crianças. Muitas assustam-se com os dragões das animações

"The Barbarians Always Come from the North"

It’s rare that southern populations win against northern populations, when it comes to war.

"Cinema of the United States (1) - Zoopraxiscope"

Óscares - a história dos melhores filmes em posters - 1973

Realização de George Roy Hill

"L’Allemagne profite de la crise de la zone euro: depuis 2008 elle y a gagné 193 milliards d’euros"

Le comportement du gouvernement allemand dans la crise grecque a surpris – et inquiété – beaucoup d’observateurs : comment se fait-il qu’il soit, avec le soutien manifeste de son opinion publique, d’aussi mauvaise volonté ? Pourquoi n’est-il prêt à aucune concession de nature à résoudre – enfin – la grave crise que traverse la zone euro depuis cinq ans maintenant ? Ne mesure-t-il pas le risque que son intransigeance fait courir non seulement à l’euro mais à la construction européenne elle-même ? Il y a cependant une explication rationnelle à ce comportement étrange : pour l'instant, la crise de la zone euro est une bonne affaire pour l’Allemagne…

Via Agir

"Open Letter to Yanis Varoufakis & Dominique Strauss-Khan"

Rome, July 24, 2015

To Yanis Varoufakis and Dominique Strauss-Khan

Dear Yanis, dear Dominique,

There is a place on earth that represents Europe’s very roots: Greece. Let us begin there.

Athens, April 28, 1955. Albert Camus’ conference on “The future of Europe”.[1]

On this occasion, participants agreed that the structural characteristics of European civilization are essentially two: the dignity of the individual; a spirit of critique.

At that time (1955), human dignity was a focus of much debate in Europe.

Nobody doubted, however, the European “spirit of critique”. There were no doubts about the rationalist, Cartesian, Enlightened vision, which was agent and engine of continuous progress on the continent, as much in terms of technical-scientific domination as for political, social and economic domination.

Today, more than half a century later, we might well invert these two: human dignity is widely appreciated throughout Europe, albeit challenged by dramatic problems generated by immigration; it is the force of reason in Europe that no longer underlies continuous progress.

Why is this so? What happened?

It was not some shadowy curse that descended upon the continent. It was not some evil hand that sowed our fields with salt. So what did happen?

Just as the dinosaurs died off because an asteroid slammed into the planet, so was dinosaur Europe struck by 4 different phenomena. Each was revolutionary even when taken alone, but all together, one after another, they proved enough to cause an explosion, an implosion, paralysis: enlargement, globalization, the euro, the crisis.

And that is not all. During the process of political union, we took a wrong turn at one point. We failed to unite that which could be and needed to be united (such as defense). Instead, we united that which did not need to be united (for example, the size of vegetables).

This is why, in Europe today, it is not “more union” that we need. What we need is to propose, discuss and design new “articles of confederation”.

Dear Yanis, dear Dominique, we agree on the fact that life and civilization cannot be reduced to mere calculations of interest rates; we agree that today, in Europe, it is not the technicalities that need changing but the political vision. History teaches us that in order to reach our goal we must change what is inside people’s heads or – at the very least – admit that mistakes have been made. We agree that the piazzas of protest are to be avoided, but that we must find a new road, down which we can all walk, regardless of our country or political party of origin.

Paolo Savona, Emeritus professor of Political economy

Giulio Tremonti, Senator of the Italian Republic

[1] “L’avenir de la civilisation européenne – entretien avec Albert Camus”, Union Culturelle Gréco-Français, Athènes 1956.

Daqui

"The Walls That Hurt Us"

New coils of razor wire top the fence around Melilla, one of two Spanish territories on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast. Along with Ceuta, the enclaves share the European Union’s only land borders with Africa and are targets for would-be migrants desperate to reach Europe. Spain has long maintained high-tech fencing systems around the enclaves in an attempt to keep the migrants out, but they had removed barbed wire from the top of Melilla’s fence in 2007 after it inflicted serious injuries on those who dared to climb over.

Livro Recomendado - "O Minotauro Global"

De Yanis Varoufakis

"Liberdade Já | Freedom Now | Liberté immédiate"

"Libya's people smugglers: military action won't stop this multifaceted trade"

In the small Libyan port of Zuwara, one of the main points of departure for migrants seeking to reach Italy, dozens if not hundreds of fishing boats line the quay. It’s an innocuous sight: blue wooden skiffs knocking against each other in the breeze. But if Europe wants to use military force to smash Libya’s smuggling trade, these are the boats they will have to destroy.

"Saving Greece, Saving Europe"

Whatever one thinks about the tactics of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government in negotiations with the country’s creditors, the Greek people deserve better than what they are being offered. Germany wants Greece to choose between economic collapse and leaving the eurozone. Both options would mean economic disaster; the first, if not both, would be politically disastrous as well.

"Sistema Ditatorial Europeu"

Poucos instrumentos ditos de “assistência financeira” existirão cujas letras e espírito revelem de modo tão flagrante a mentalidade ditatorial, de secretismo e de protecção à grande especulação financeira reinantes na União Europeia como o chamado Mecanismo de Europeu de Estabilidade (MEE). Mentalidade essa extensiva ao chamado arco da governação, que em Portugal o ratificou apressadamente e à sorrelfa mesmo antes de a Alemanha o fazer, esquivando-se a todo e qualquer debate público.
A esmagadora maioria dos cidadãos da União Europeia ignora a envergadura e a influência desta monstruosidade antidemocrática de que se vai falando a propósito da chamada “ajuda” à Grécia, e que transformará este país num pobre protectorado da Alemanha se não sair rapidamente do euro. Destino esse que está traçado para todos os outros membros da União Europeia com dimensões económicas equivalentes, ou mesmo superiores.
A propósito dessa aberração é importante que se saiba desde logo o seguinte: nos termos do próprio tratado que o criou, em Fevereiro de 2012, o MEE não existe para ajudar países em dificuldades, muito menos os seus povos. A “missão” do MEE é prestar “assistência financeira” a países da moeda única “afectados ou ameaçados por graves problemas de financiamento, se tal for indispensável para salvaguardar a estabilidade financeira da área euro no seu todo e dos seus Estados Membros”.
Isto é, o Mecanismo Europeu de Estabilidade existe para garantir a existência do euro tal como foi criado e existe, ou seja o marco alemão institucionalizado como moeda oficial em 19 países.
Cabe a este mecanismo, em coordenação com a Comissão Europeia, o Banco Central Europeu e o FMI – a troika pura e dura – definir as condições em que será prestada “assistência financeira”, depois de, entre outras coisas, avaliar a sustentabilidade da dívida soberana de quem a solicitar. O objectivo confessado do MEE é funcionar “como defesa contra as crises de confiança que afectem a estabilidade do euro”. Isto é, a moeda única acima de tudo.
Como a elaboração e ratificação do MEE foram subtraídas ao conhecimento dos cidadãos, é importante ter a noção da estrutura interna e respectivos “privilégios e imunidades” constantes do tratado. O presidente é o presidente da zona euro, uma estrutura que não tem existência institucional no âmbito da União Europeia e cujo principal dirigente não é eleito por ninguém. O Conselho de Governadores é formado pelos ministros das Finanças dos 19 Estados da moeda única, cada um dos quais nomeia um administrador “de entre pessoas que possuam elevada competência em matéria económica e financeira”. Sobre a essência democrática deste processo está tudo dito.
Nos termos do tratado, o MEE, os seus bens, fundos e activos, independentemente de onde se encontrem e quem os detenha, “gozam de imunidade” perante “qualquer forma de processo judicial”; são “imunes de busca, requisição, confisco ou qualquer outra forma de apreensão arresto ou oneração”; são ainda “isentos de restrições, regulamentações, controlos e moratórias de qualquer natureza”.
Os governadores, administradores e pessoal, mesmo os que já não estejam em exercício, são obrigados a sigilo profissional e “gozam de imunidade de jurisdição” em relação aos actos praticados e documentos produzidos.
Os locais, arquivos e documentos do MEE “são invioláveis”; o MEE, os seus activos, bens, operações e transacções “estão isentos de qualquer imposto directo”, os bens por eles importados “estão isentos de quaisquer taxas”; as obrigações, títulos, juros e dividendos associados ao funcionamento do MEE “não estão sujeitos a qualquer tipo de tributação”.
O pessoal do MEE paga um imposto interno que “reverte em seu benefício”, ficando isento dos impostos nacionais sobre rendimentos.
Uma singela nota final: a União Europeia, que nunca se orientou verdadeiramente pelos mecanismos democráticos, desembocou na ditadura do euro, moeda que serve apenas um dos seus membros, a Alemanha. Qualquer país da Zona Euros que pretenda restaurar a sua soberania e viver em democracia tem de abandonar a moeda única, não há volta a dar-lhe.

Daqui

Mandela Day!

"They burned down my house"

Since their ancestral homeland was stolen from them and occupied by ranchers, Brazil’s Guarani tribe have been fighting to regain small pieces of their former territory. But with each new gain comes the renewed risk of violence from hired heavies.

Many Guarani communities in Brazil are under constant threat of attack and live in fear for their lives. When Tupã Guarani’s community was attacked, his house was burned down and he lost everything.

Through Survival’s Tribal Voice project, the Guarani can speak themselves to the world about their suffering.

Tupã sent this video, so you could see what happened to his home…

"Armenia: Needless Pain at End of Life"

Thousands of patients with advanced cancer in Armenia suffer from avoidable, severe pain every year because they cannot get adequate pain medications, Human Rights Watch said in a report and video released today. While effective, safe, and inexpensive pain medications are available in Armenia, most patients and their families face insurmountable bureaucratic barriers to getting them, in violation of the right to health.

Relatório

Disco Recomendado - "Infinito Presente"

Camané

"Dignidade e luta" - Sandra Monteiro

No referendo realizado a 5 de Julho, 61,31% do povo grego rejeitou continuar a ser vítima da austeridade que os credores institucionais – o Fundo Monetário Internacional (FMI) e o Banco Central Europeu (BCE) – insistem em impor nas negociações com o governo de Alexis Tsipras. A recusa dos gregos foi um gesto de enorme coragem e dignidade, que mostrou, entre outras coisas, que a estratégia do medo tem os seus limites quando aplicada a um povo que já tem muito pouco a perder, e tem todos os sonhos de justiça e democracia para recuperar.

"China’s Brittle Development Model"

After gaining independence from Britain in 1947, India was something of a poster child for the virtues of democracy – in stark contrast with China, which became a Communist dictatorship in 1949. Until the 1970s, it was widely argued that, while both countries suffered from extreme poverty, underdevelopment, and disease, India’s model was superior, because its people were free to choose their own rulers.With China’s economic boom, however, the counterargument – that a repressive political system is more conducive to development – has gained currency. But while China’s recent performance has been spectacular, India’s model may well stand up better in the long run.

"The Giant Rats That Save Lives"

MALANJE, Angola — I’M walking in a minefield here in rural Angola, tailing a monster rat.This is a Gambian pouched rat, a breed almost 3 feet from nose to tail, the kind of rat that gives cats nightmares. Yet this rat is a genius as well as a giant, for it has learned how to detect land mines by scent — and it’s doing its best to save humans like me from blowing up.These rodent mine detectors have been dubbed HeroRats, and when you’re in a minefield with one that seems about right. You’re very respectful, and you just hope this HeroRat doesn’t have a stuffed nose.

World Press Cartoons 2015 - 1

Viktor Yanukovych de Ilian Savkov - Bulgária - Menção Honrosa

"Greece wins euro debt deal – but democracy is the loser"

Ordinary people don’t know enough about the financial logic to understand why this was always likely to happen: bonds, haircuts and currency mechanisms are distant concepts. Democracy is not. Everybody on earth with a smartphone understands what happened to democracy last night.

Acordo ou golpe de estado?

Ao início da manhã, o governo grego e os credores fecharam o acordo para um financiamento que pode chegar aos 86 mil milhões e incluir a reestruturarão da dívida e um pacote de 35 mil milhões para a criação de emprego. A Grécia continua no euro e a asfixia aos bancos vai acabar, ao contrário da austeridade.

Este é o acordo.

"The U.S. Strategy on IS in Iraq Has It Backwards"

Uma visão muito diferente do habitual:

U.S. war policy against the Islamic State (IS) has it backwards. Roughly speaking, the goal of the United States is trying to eradicate the jihadist group in Iraq with ground support from the Iraqi army, while merely seeking to contain it in Syria with pinprick bombing missions.

"The Scream"

Eu caminhava com dois amigos ao pôr do sol... eu tremia de ansiedade... e senti um grito infinito passando através da natureza - Edvard Munch, 1893

"Nkurunziza’s slippery slope"

Pierre Nkurunziza wants to remain president of Burundi. His opponents don’t want him to. Nkurinziza says the constitution allows him another term in office. His opponents say the Arusha Accords, which formed the basis of the constitution, do not. The Constitutional Court of Burundi ruled in favour of Nkurunziza. His opponents reacted by organising mass demonstrations on the streets of the capital, Bujumbura, and beyond. This seemed to take the country to the precipice. Seeing vulnerability, some army officers staged a coup, which Nkurunziza’s spokesperson called a “joke.” He was right! The coup makers lacked sufficient support in the military and police. That sealed their fate.

Omar Sharif - 1932/2015

Omar Sharif

"The new Eastern Bloc: China, Russia and India are joining forces"

This month, as Newsweek goes to print, an international organisation all but unknown inthe West is set to announce that its membership will soon include countries representing halfthe world's population. If the hopes of its leading backers – particularly Russia – are realised, the 15th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Russian city of Ufa will mark the moment when this previously obscure body starts to demand much closer attention from the West.

"Lives on Hold for the Dominican Republic’s Haitian Minority"

A crisis in the Dominican Republic is coming to a boil, as tens of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent are in danger of being expelled to Haiti or of facing lives of effective second-class citizenship in the Dominican Republic, without the documents they need for their daily lives.The issue began in 2013, when these Dominicans were stripped of their citizenship based on a retroactive reinterpretation of provisions in the Dominican constitution concerning nationality law. Although the government passed a law in 2014 to resolve the problem, bureaucratic inefficiency and a lack of political will have left this category of Dominican citizens unable to secure the necessary documentation to enroll in school or college, get jobs in the formal economy, register children at birth, or travel around the country without risk of expulsion. Many have already been swept up by police and troops based on racial profiling and forced over the border to Haiti, according to a new Human Rights Watch report, We Are Dominican: Arbitrary Deprivation of Nationality in the Dominican Republic. Others live in daily fear of being rounded up and pushed out. A Human Rights Watch fellow, Celso Perez, talks to Kathy Rose, a Human Rights Watch editor, about what’s happening to Dominicans of Haitian descent, and their charged relationship with other Dominicans.

"The Boat and the Bomb"

On the night of July 10,1985, the blasts of two limpet mines placed by French secret agents sank a ship protesting against nuclear testing in the Pacific and took the life of onboard photographer Fernando Pereira.

"Documents on 2012 Drone Strike Detail How Terrorists Are Targeted"

Early in 2012, worried that suicide bombers might pass through airline security undetected, American counterterrorism officials ordered a drone strike in Yemen to kill a doctor they believed was working with Al Qaeda to surgically implant explosives in operatives, according to British intelligence documents.

"The Greek Revolt Against Bad Economics Threatens European Elites"

A look behind the scenes of the Greek referendum and what could happen next:

James K. Galbraith, author of "The End of Normal" and professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, has an inside view of the crisis leading to the recent referendum in Greece. Galbraith has worked for the past several years with recently departed Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis as both a colleague and co-author, and he has just returned from Greece, where he looked down over the rooftops of Syntagma Square as citizens made history in a strong vote against austerity. He discusses the dramatic turn of events and what is at stake going forward as the austerity doctrine — and the entire neoliberal project — come under threat.

"Europe’s Greek Failure"

Narratives matter, especially when they are intertwined with hard interests. As Greece and its creditors court catastrophe, we are getting a clear picture of how conflicting narratives can lead to a lose-lose result.

"Yánis Varoufákis, Jon Elster. Grèce, faites vos jeux… Rien ne va plus ?"

Face à la crise de la dette, Athènes et l’Europe balancent entre deux options, la coopération ou la défection. Cette alternative est aussi au cœur de la théorie des jeux, spécialité de Yánis Varoufákis, ministre grec des Finances. Il a accepté de converser avec le philosophe Jon Elster, qu’il lit et admire depuis longtemps. Au-delà de la raison économique, ils mesurent ensemble le poids des émotions et de l’Histoire.

Maria Barroso - 1925/2015

Maria Barroso

"Piketty : «l'Allemagne est LE pays qui n'a jamais remboursé ses dettes»"

Exemplaire, l'Allemagne ? Un modèle de rigueur budgétaire et de remboursement des dettes ? Non, répond l'économiste Thomas Piketty (photo AFP) dans une interview au journal allemand Die Zeit, dont Slate propose une traduction française des principaux arguments.

Dans cet entretien, donc, l'auteur du Capital au XXIe siècle rappelle, comme cela a déjà été dit, que l'Allemagne a bénéficié d'une restructuration de sa dette en 1953, au sortir de la guerre, ce qui lui a permis de remettre son économie sur les rails et d'aboutir au résultat que l'on connaît. Mais il va plus loin :

«Ce qui m'a frappé pendant que j'écrivais, c'est que l'Allemagne est vraiment le meilleur exemple d'un pays qui, au cours de l'histoire, n'a jamais remboursé sa dette extérieure, ni après la Première, ni après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. [...] L'Allemagne est LE pays qui n'a jamais remboursé ses dettes. Elle n'est pas légitime pour faire la leçon aux autres nations.»

Cette thèse, Thomas Piketty, chroniqueur à Libé, l'a plusieurs fois exposée,décrivant par le menu comment l'Allemagne, et aussi la France, ont fait jouer la planche à billets au sortir de 1945, obtenu des effacements d'ardoise et imposer les hauts patrimoines. D'après les accords européens de 2012, la Grèce se retrouve dans l'obligation «de dégager un énorme excédent de 4% du PIB pendant des décennies afin de rembourser ses dettes», rappelait-ildans notre journal. Une stratégie absurde, «que la France et l'Allemagne n'ont fort heureusement jamais appliqué à elles-mêmes».

On caresse l'espoir que les responsables du tabloïd Bild, qui redoublent chaque jour de violence envers la Grèce, auront lu cet entretien (aujourd'hui, le quotidien demande à Angela Merkel d'être une «chancelière de fer»).

Daqui

Entrevista completa em alemão

"More People Power: 14 Human Rights Successes So Far in 2015"

Time to celebrate another 14 global human rights successes in 2015.

Obrigada Grécia!

Os resultados do referendo na Grécia, independentemente do que vier a seguir, representam uma viragem histórica na União Europeia. Nada será como dantes. Os gregos provaram que é possível dizer não à ditadura financeira que é hoje a UE. Apesar, e por causa, da chantagem vergonhosa feita pelos dirigentes europeus (e, é bom dizer, de todos os quadrantes políticos) os gregos responderam que NA GRÉCIA MANDAM OS GREGOS.

A Democracia venceu!

Esta resposta do povo grego abre caminho à transformação da relação entre os estados na União e obriga todos a repensarem os caminhos que é forçoso mudar.

Obrigada Grécia!

"What does gun violence really cost?"

It was a mild, crystal clear desert evening on November 15, 2004, when Jennifer Longdon and her fiance, David Rueckert, closed up his martial-arts studio and headed out to grab some carnitas tortas from a nearby taqueria. They were joking and chatting about wedding plans—the local Japanese garden seemed perfect—as Rueckert turned their pickup into the parking lot of a strip mall in suburban north Phoenix. A red truck with oversize tires and tinted windows sideswiped theirs, and as they stopped to get out, Rueckert's window exploded. He told Longdon to get down and reached for the handgun he had inside a cooler on the cab floor. As he threw the truck into gear, there were two more shots. His words turned to gibberish and he slumped forward, his foot on the gas. A bullet hit Longdon's back like a bolt of lightning, her whole body a live wire as they accelerated toward the row of palm trees in the concrete divider.

"WHY THE OPINION POLLS GOT IT SO WRONG"

In an era of ‘You can’t say that’, people aren’t always honest with pollsters.

Portugal na imprensa estrangeira - "Azorean Diaspora Can’t Resist the Powerful Pull of Home"

Before a recent religious procession here, a wooden statue of the Holy Christ of Miracles was draped in a new cape, but with a distinctly non-Portuguese twist: Images of Canadian maple leaves were woven into its silk and velvet embroidery.