Maybe I'm Amazed - Jem

Yep, it´s true, I´m sucker for romance...

Time to break free

The Middle East's oil exporters should end their currencies' peg to the dollar.

IN THE past week Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has damned it as a “worthless piece of paper” and China's premier, Wen Jiabao, has moaned that it is causing his country “big pressure”. The dollar's relentless decline—it hit a new low of $1.49 against the euro on November 21st—is prompting jibes from America's critics, jangling investors' nerves and giving policymakers headaches.

Nowhere are the dilemmas more acute than in the Gulf, where virtually all the oil-rich states peg their currencies to the greenback. The combination of soaring oil prices and the tumbling dollar is distorting their economies and fuelling inflation. When the Gulf states meet on December 3rd in Qatar, they should agree to loosen their ties to the dollar.

Countdown to lift-off

HARDLY a week goes by without a new reason to be gloomy about the dollar. The latest scare is that members of the oil-rich Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) might loosen their links to the greenback, depriving the foreign-exchange markets of a reliable buyer of the troubled currency.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), through its central bank governor, recently hinted that it would like to free itself from the dollar peg, but would prefer to do it in concert with the other GCC members—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Last May Kuwait broke ranks and decided to track a basket of currencies. Since then, the Kuwaiti dinar has risen by nearly 5% against the dollar.

Os senhores bonzinhos que não querem mandar os pretos de volta para África

Não sei se hei-de ficar estupefacto, admirado, revoltado, triste ou outra coisa qualquer que envolva querer ir praticar boxe, mas facto é que hoje de manhã dei de caras com uma quantidade considerável de blogs portugueses de cariz nacionalista. Vá, para não dizer de extrema direita onde predomina o racismo a xenofobia e o apreço pelo antidemocrático. De todos os sentimentos que me assolaram não sei o que escolher por ter estado, até agora, na ignorância, quanto a este tipo de actividades, no meu próprio país.

Embora o grupo de Santa Comba Dão que queria um museu para o filho da terra tenha ficado por casa, a história ensina a não fazer vista grossa a tais organizações pois corre-se o risco de cair da cadeira.

Com base em tais lições decidi que, de hoje em diante, enquanto patriota e cidadão no exercício do meu dever cívico de defensor da cultura democrática que é o blogging, publicar semanalmente, excertos de textos, postados nesses web sites, que instiguem à intolerância para com o que seja diferente. E como é fundamental assegurar direito de resposta, notifico os autores dos mesmos das minhas intenções, através desta pequena carta aberta:


Caros senhores,

São agora vinte e três horas, 14 minutos e 44 segundos... Ah, isto não é sobre abortos (ou será?)... As minhas desculpas.

Hoje, tive o privilégio de dar de caras com vários blogs e fóruns de vossa autoria. Ao le-los, deparei-me com escritos invulgares, vulgo de fraca riqueza intelectual. Com a devida vénia, permitam-me a explicação.

Foi-me possível verificar que, alguns de vós, se descrevem como seguidores de uma nova forma de fazer e de estar na política onde a voz popular não se limite ao voto, sendo a favor de uma discussão, aberta e livre, sobre ideias. Outros definem o seu espaço na Internet como um reduto onde se cultiva o amor pátrio e a dignidade nacional, rejeitamos o ódio racial e respeitamos o direito à diferença.

Sendo Português, tenho orgulho na minha cultura e sou a favor de uma melhor preservação do património histórico do nosso país. Como amante da democracia, estimo a minha liberdade e defendo que para se ser membro de uma sociedade não chega ir ás urnas de 4 em 4 anos. Apraz-me assim encontrar outros que, como eu, lutam por estes ideais. Por isso não poderia estar mais de acordo com tais afirmações.

Estranho é que, num dos artigos, salta à vista a descrição de certos ideais, raça ou orientação sexual, que algumas pessoas possam ter, como uma etiqueta a colocar nas mesmas. Isto porque são apresentadas como: ...negros, amarelos, vermelhos, verdes, às riscas, marcianos, homossexuais, doentes de SIDA, comunistas, capitalistas, socialistas, católicos, budistas, hinduístas, islâmicos, todos são admitidos naquele país…" Noutros é frequente a aparição fotográfica daquele senhor baixinho e de ar fragil, que Charlie Chaplin protagonizou num filme. Tais formas de expressão transmitem uma certa ideia de incoerência com as declarações de princípios iniciais. Razão suficiente para resfriar entusiasmos. É que os Direitos Fundamentais do Ser Humano são também património de Portugal e portanto têm de ser respeitados.

Compreendo também, que os estimados acreditem num povo português puro, isento de malícia e ingenuo. Existem de facto pessoas que apreciam tais linhas de pensamento. O saudoso Diácono Remédios surge como um exemplo óbvio. O senão reside no facto de os Portugueses (os com P grande) serem dotados de uma capacidade inata para mandriar. Não para serem parvos.

Como o feitiço ás vezes se volta contra o feiticeiro, não vão os caríssimos serem alvo de chacota e ver o vosso direito à diferença violado, penso ser meu dever enquanto bom cidadão, não deixar que tal aconteça. Serei assim, a partir de hoje, um leitor atento das vossas publicações. Má fé teria se não vos alertasse para situações de cariz pouco democrático que encontre nos vossos blogs e como, hoje em dia, não se sabe com total certeza as áreas em que a ASAE anda a actuar, mais vale prevenir futuros desconfortos. Temos de ser uns para os outros.

Mas nao julguem que a minha atencao para com os senhores se deve puramente a bom samaritanismo. Confesso que tenho razoes individuais para o fazer. Sou um amante da comedia e ultimamente a rubrica Gato Fedorento já se está a tornar um pouco repetitiva e sinceramente sinto a falta de umas boas gargalhadas (Ou de mais uns cartazes na rua ao lado dos do PNR).

Termino por aqui, deixando a lista dos blogs dignos da minha futura atenção.

Saudações,

António.

Estado Novo
Movimento Nacionalista
MPP
Pátria - FN
Jantar das Quartas
Nacional-Cristianismo
Suck and smile

PS - O resto podem encontrar nos links que os próprios blogs oferecem.

PSS - No dia em que criarem um movimento de combate à calanzice, terei todo o gosto em ser dos primeiros a inscrever-me. Que raio, por vezes é cansativo não fazer nenhum.

House

- Do you think acting like an idiot and talking about sex works on girls?
- Well, if it didn´t, the human race would have died out long ago...

Cardeal Pina wisdom

Don´t ever dial drunk...

We Haven't Turned Around - Gomez

We came, we came, we came again
To stem the tide and point the blame
Came back for more
Came back to see what you had in store
Everyone join the line, everyone
Yeah
So you wanna spin the world around?
So you wanna spin the world around?
And anybody else, cut 'em down
So you wanna make catastrophe?
Won't you send it right over to me
I got some time
Everybody running high

The same, the same, the same again
To steal the time and haunt the graves
Just because it's there
Don't mean you see it anywhere
Maybe it's a trick of the light
Maybe, yeah

So you wanna spin the world around?
So you wanna spin the world around?
And anybody else, cut 'em down

So you wanna make catastrophe?
Don't you send it right over to me
I got some time
Everybody come alive

Yeah
So you wanna spin the world around?
So you wanna spin the world around?
And anybody else, bring 'em down

So you wanna make catastrophe?
Don't you send it right over to me
I got some time
Everybody running high

So you wanna spin the world around?
So you wanna spin the world around?
And anybody else, cut 'em down

So you say we haven't turned around?
So you say we haven't turned around?
Just everybody else is going wrong
Going wrong

Drunk and depressed...

It is the smell. The warm smell that leaves the skin and mixes with the air, slowly breeding in, deeping the heart in tranquility and peace. It is quiet now...

It is the skin, the warm soft skin curving your body, shaping it into a dark form, gently lying in bed. When touched, takes away all nightmares running wild into your dreams. Erases the monster in me...

Addictive, to beg like a child born yesterday, hurting when the blood flows through your veins.

Lost. Just a distant dream; dead in the shores of a strange country...

UEFA - Union Encouraging Fouls and Amateurs.

Today, I woke up, once again, with football in my mind. As so, I decided to surf the UEFA web site. I was surprised when I came across the news that the date for the final stage draw, of European Championship, was already settled for the 2nd of December. But not as surprised as when I saw the POTS DRAFT.


The European Cup is considered the most competitive national squads competition. Regarding this, it would be fair to believe that UEFA would produce fine rules, in order to ensure that this principle is fulfilled, in all the event editions. But going through the regulation, more than often, it is rather easy to come across confusing paragraphs and criteria. But there is more, since they are also producing odd results.


As so, it is possible to see France, runner-up in Germany 2006 and currently 7th on the FIFA Ranking, in POT 4, along side Poland (23rd), Russia (22nd) and Turkey(16th) when Romania (13th) is in POT 3, amongst Spain(4th) Germany(5th) and Portugal(8th). Also Sweden, currently 22nd, is in the same group as three other top ten squads.

This reflects the probability of having final groups formed by Italy(3rd), Spain(4th),France(7th) and The Netherlands(9th) or by Romania(13th), Poland(23rd), Sweden(24th) and Switzerland(44th).

Undoubtedly, it is more than necessary that the Organization of such event provides mechanisms towards equal treatment between new rising squads and existing giants. No one should be entitled to special treatment regarding their history in the competition. But in order to earn the right to be in the knock out stages a team should have to achieve it by own merit and not by luck or positive discrimination.

To keep the high level of the tournament and the fans stuck in their chairs, it is vital that items, such as the previous final stages results (Even from the World Cup, why not?) and the team ranking world wide, have a larger impact on the way the final draft is drawn.

Football fans enjoy watching the best of the sport and that means to see the most talented players and fine teams on the pitch, during the entire competition . Considering myself one, I believe that a world wide cup, where there are nations participating due to the fact of being in the right region of the globe, is more than enough.

A time of reflexion - Bravo Portugal!

The qualifying phase for the next Euro 2008 has come to an end. Disregarding the ups and downs, Portugal is, once again, in the final stage of an European Championship and that should be enough reason to be proud of our national squad.

Scolari is right when he says that the first step to win such competition is to assure that you make the final stages. No one wins titles or is remembered by scoring goals or performing well in the qualifying stages (pardon me the polish fans that nagged my head for such a long time over a 2-1 win against our side but…) It is in the final rounds that the title is decided, and there, honours to the man, is legion to find someone with the same credit.

Despite this, we face a time of reflexion. Our national team is, nowadays, a few points behind the one that took us all the way to the final in 2004 and to the semi-finals in 2006. Truth is we are in a 13 games unbeaten streak. Despite that we were incapable of winning against weaker teams, objectively speaking, such as Poland, Serbia or Finland.

Facing third line national squads Portugal encountered unexpected difficulties. The several injuries that haunted key players and the team renovation help to explain lower performances. Even though, Portugal should always aim to higher goals. We carry the winners sin and as so it is important to live up to it and also to prove it.

As a Portugeezer, I enjoy to see our team put up some classy performances. I will never understand playing only for one point, even if that is all we need, when the match is at home, especially against such a low rank adversary and facing the danger of a lucky strike from the counter part.

None the less, we are indeed in the finals and the time has come to show our football. There are only 16 that can aim to raise the cup on the 29th of June of 2008, and for what it counts, we are amongst them.

PS – Finland, that needed to win to go on to Austria and Switzerland, came to Portugal waiting to qualify perhaps using some magic potion. They forgot that in order to score you have to attack. Probably wondering if Portugal could score an own goal. (Christmas only comes once a year and we already gave away our present to Poland back in September).

To M.

Welcome back from the dephts of silence my friend.

You have been greatly missed.

Dawno dawno temu w Warszawie. =)

L4yer Cake

You´re born, you take the shit, get out in the world you take more shit, climb a little higher you take this shit, till one day you´re up in the rarefied atmosphere and you´ve forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake son.

Morrissey - Everyday Is Like Sunday (Live)

Speechless

Existential doubts

Am I a good person doing bad things?.. Or a bad person doing good things?..

The sun, the beach and the board.

Two months ago I finished my law degree back home. It was the ending of an excellent year that saw Erasmus take me all the way to Poland.

I decided then that it was time to take one further step. Master degree in Frankfurt? Why not? Good career perspectives right in the middle of Europe’s financial heart.

Although I do believe this is the right choice I am leaving behind my dream of opening a bar at the beach, of surfing everyday until sunset and of playing guitar to my friends on Friday nights.

We all have our fantasies to believe we are special. But is not this dream something cheesy that just got into fashion after we received a couple of surf movies from the other side of the ocean? I would rather say no, unfortunately the more I think about it the more I believe it is. Surf stars became popular and nowadays everyone wants to be one. Douche bag clothes, 2 weeks beard, fake blond hair, (pretending to) surf during the day, singing by the fire at night became the main goal of several hundreds of wanna be´s.

But does it really matter when all of it gives a sensation of freedom hard to explain. Waking up in the morning and breed in the cool ocean breeze, the sound of the water beneath your board while ridding along with the wave, the joy and happiness after a whole day out in the open air, lying on the beach at sunset watching that big red ball sinking into the ocean and the comforting feeling of sand rubbing against your feet. Things legion to present to anyone who as not tried it yet. I miss all this, specially the peacefulness that grows on the inside.

But for now I am 2500 kms off that lifestyle, practicing to become a true financial market expert and maybe who knows, one day to be wealthy enough to push the dream back from the Treasure Island. I hope not too many others remember to go for the same goal I have, so that when I return, there is still a small piece of beach left for me to relive it from the memories of a late adolescence.