Bissau: Tudo a postos para o 18 de Maio

O candidato apoiado pelo Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo-Verde (PAIGC), José Mário Vaz, ficou em primeiro lugar na posição de boletins de votos no sorteio feito ontem, pela Comissão Nacional das Eleições (CNE); e ao mesmo tempo ficou em primeiro lugar no sorteio para a apresentação da promessa eleitoral nas estações públicas, Rádio Difusão Nacional e Televisão Nacional.

O candidato independente, Nuno Nabian, ficou na segunda posição em dois sorteios realizados para boletins de votos e apresentação de tempo de antena da segunda volta das presidenciais, agendada para o dia 18 de Maio.

O sorteio decorreu durante uma reunião da assembleia plenária da CNE, na sua sede em Bissau. Tal como aconteceu para a primeira volta, os cadernos com boletins serão  impressos na África do Sul, num processo coordenado pelo Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento (PNUD), indicou a organização que prepara o pleito eleitoral.

A fúria da Nação no dia 25 de Abril

Protests over EU-imposed austerity have overshadowed the 40th anniversary of democracy in Portugal.
Several thousand people marched in central Lisbon and listened to speeches criticising government cuts.
Participating in the protest marches were some of the leaders of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, which ended almost five decades of dictatorship.
Portugal has had to implement severe austerity measures since being granted an international bailout in 2011.

Influential figures who took part in the 1974 revolution - in which junior officers overthrew the government - boycotted the official anniversary for the third year in a row.

Government-organised celebrations also took place a short distance away from the protests.
Vasco Lourenco, one of the coup leaders, criticised Portugal's current right-of-centre government and questioned whether Portugal should remain in the EU at all.
Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, another officer who helped organise the coup, said austerity was "the death warrant of the hopes and values" of the revolution).
Street artist Miguel Januario told AP news agency that the Portuguese "had allowed new forms of dictatorship - in this case financial - to take over".

Vasco Lourenco was one of the instigators of the Carnation Revolution

Portugal celebrates the Carnation revolution with a national holiday on 25 April, known as Freedom Day.
Officials paid tribute to the coup and said austerity would soon come to an end.
"By happy coincidence, we commemorate this symbolic day at practically the same time that we end our economic aid programme," said Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho.
The three-year bailout programme will end on 17 May. In May 2011 the nation received more than 78bn euros ($102bn; £67bn) in emergency aid.
Unemployment in Portugal remains among the highest in the eurozone.  BBC

25 de Abril, 40 anos depois

No dia 25 de Abril de 1974 eu trabalhava, era jovem e respeitado, recebia um salário decente, que me dava para já ter conhecido Madrid, Barcelona, Maiorca, Ibiza, Roma, Assis, Florença, Bolonha, Veneza, Paris, Nice e o Mónaco.
Hoje, estou na reforma, a juventude já se foi, a pensão tem sido reduzida e já nem sequer me atrevo a viajar até Huelva ou Bragança.
No dia 25 de Abril de 1974 o meu salário dava-me para ir regularmente ao cinema e ao teatro, comprar livros e discos.
Hoje já não vou ao cinema nem ao teatro, de há muito que deixei de comprar discos e livros é só um ou outro, de longe em longe, normalmente em segunda mão.
São estas algumas das diferenças que pessoalmente mais sinto entre a vida de há 40 anos e a vida de hoje.
Por alturas de 1973/1974 a Televisão transmitia normalmente programas de Ópera, de Música, de Poesia e de Teatro, rúbricas de João de Freitas Branco, de Leonard Bernstein, de David Mourão-Ferreira, de Pedro Homem de Melo. Hoje dá-nos programas de João Baião, Manuel Luís Goucha, Júlia Pinheiro e Fátima Lopes.
Estas são outras das diferenças que noto entre o tempo em que tinha 26 anos e o tempo de hoje.
Nessa altura, eu saberia dizer sem dúvida quem tinham sido todos os reis de Portugal e quais eram quase todas as capitais do mundo.
Hoje, vejo em concursos televisivos estudantes universitários e licenciados de 27 anos que não sabem muito bem a diferença entre o tempo de D. Afonso VI e o de D. Manuel II, entre Budapeste e Bucareste, etc.
Estes são alguns dos motivos porque não estou particularmente radiante ao ouvir falar tanto do 25 de Abril e endeusar essa data.
Dizem-nos que nos trouxe coisas boas, como o fim dos presos políticos. Mas também nos trouxe o crescimento desmesurado de certas fortunas e um desemprego da ordem dos 16 por cento.
Dizem-nos que nos trouxe peças de teatro e filmes que se encontravam proibidos, mas muitos de nós não temos dinheiro para os ir ver.
No balanço do deve e do haver, creio que o que deveríamos pensar era na exigência de uma sociedade muito mais justa, com menos desemprego, com melhores pensões para parte substancial dos idosos; em vez de andarmos a celebrar uma data que ficou para trás, que pertence ao Passado, que já não é de forma alguma o nosso amargo Presente.
Os cravos murcharam. Já nada significam. Jorge Heitor, 25 de Abril de 2014

As praxes continuam a matar

Uma guerra de praxe entre os cursos de Medicina e de Engenharia Informática da Universidade do Minho acabou ontem em tragédia. Durante os cânticos entoados, vários alunos subiram a um muro com caixas de correio metálicas embutidas. Os outros ficaram no passeio, na rua de Vilar, em Gualtar, Braga. A estrutura de cimento e tijolo ruiu. Três estudantes, todos do sexo masculino, entre os 18 e 21 anos, morreram; quatro ficaram feridos, um com gravidade.

As três vítimas mortais são de Braga, Porto e Vila Real. O acidente ocorreu junto aos bares da universidade, quando dois grupos de praxe se encontraram e cumpriram a tradição: cada grupo começou a cantar, cada vez mais alto, a puxar pelo seu curso.

Entusiasmados, vários estudantes subiram para o muro - que estava degradado há cerca de seis meses. A inclinação, para o lado da rua, era notória. Alguns estudantes em cima do muro terão começado a saltar, o que contribuiu para a derrocada. No meio da confusão, três alunos de Engenharia Informática, que estavam no passeio, foram atingidos pelos blocos e ficaram soterrados. Dois dos corpos foram retirados do local às 20h10 e transportados pelo INEM para a morgue do Hospital de Braga. A terceira vítima mortal só foi retirada do local depois das 22h00.
Correio da Manhã--
------- Se os estudantes se limitassem a estudar, em vez de andar nestas brincadeiras estúpidas chamadas praxes, estas coisas já não aconteciam. E é por brincarem tanto que depois deparamos com licenciados que têm muito pouca cultura geral, como é bem patente nos concursos televisivos, que dão uma  imagem deprimente do nosso ensino.

MH370:Continua a não aparecer nada de nada

Australian officials said Thursday that after examining detailed photographs of unidentified material that washed ashore in the southwestern part of the country they are satisfied it is not a clue in the search for the missing Malaysian plane.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has advised search coordinators that the material, which washed ashore 6 miles east of Augusta in Western Australia, is not from missing Flight 370, according to a statement from the Joint Agency Coordination Center.
Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the safety bureau, told The Associated Press Wednesday that an initial analysis of the material — which appeared to be sheet metal with rivets — suggested it was not from the plane.
"We do not consider this likely to be of use to our search for MH370," he said.
Augusta is near Australia's southwestern tip, about 190 miles from Perth, where the search has been headquartered.
The search coordination center also said Thursday a robotic submarine, the U.S. Navy's Bluefin 21, had scanned more than 90 percent of the 120-square mile seabed search zone off the Australian west coast, creating a three-dimensional sonar map of the ocean floor, but had found nothing of interest.
The 2.8-mile deep search area is a circle 12 miles wide around an area where sonar equipment picked up a signal on April 8 consistent with a plane's black boxes. But the batteries powering those signals are now believed dead.

Click for in-depth coverage of the search for MH370

Defense Minister David Johnston said Australia was consulting with Malaysia, China and the United States on the next phase of the search for the plane, which disappeared March 8. Details on the next phase are likely to be announced next week.
Johnston said more powerful towed side-scan commercial sonar equipment would probably be deployed, similar to the remote-controlled subs that found RMS Titanic 12,500 feet under the Atlantic Ocean in 1985.
"The next phase, I think, is that we step up with potentially a more powerful, more capable side-scan sonar to do deeper water," Johnston told The Associated Press.
While the Bluefin had less than one-fifth of the seabed search area to complete, Johnston estimated that task would take another two weeks.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the airliner's probable impact zone was 430 miles long and 50 miles wide. A new search strategy would be adopted if nothing was found in the current seabed search zone.
Abbott said searchers owed it to both the 239 people on the flight and the world's "billions" of plane travelers to "get to the bottom of this."
The focus of the next search phase will be decided by continuing analysis of information including flight data and sound detections of the suspected beacons, Johnston said.
"A lot of this seabed has not even been hydrographically surveyed before — some of it has — but we're flying blind," he said, adding that the seabed in the vicinity of the search was up to 4 miles deep.
The search center said an air search involving 10 planes was suspended for a second day because of heavy seas and poor visibility.
But 12 ships would join Wednesday's search of an expanse covering 14,500 square miles, centered 1,000 miles northwest of Perth.
Radar and satellite data show the jet veered far off course on March 8 for unknown reasons during its flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing.
Analysis indicates it would have run out of fuel in the remote section of ocean where the search has been focused. Not one piece of debris from the plane has been found since the massive multinational hunt began.
Al Jazeera and The Associated Press

Sara Ocidental: Nada de se falar nos direitos humanos

Une résolution sur le Sahara occidental devrait être adoptée le 29 avril par le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU. Selon des sources diplomatiques, celle-ci ne prévoira pas de système de contrôle des droits de l'Homme.

Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies va adopter, mardi 29 avril, une résolution concernant le Sahara occidental. Celle-ci, préparée par les États-Unis, "ne mentionnera pas de mécanisme sur les droits de l'homme", a indiqué un diplomate du Conseil, qui prédit "un message clair d'unité" sur ce dossier sensible.

Les 15 pays membres devraient adopter ce "texte neutre" mardi prochain, a précisé un autre diplomate. Le vote de la résolution devait initialement avoir lieu le 23 avril mais le projet de texte américain a été communiqué tardivement, a expliqué un diplomate.
Opposition marocaine
Le renouvellement du mandat de la Mission de l'ONU au Sahara occidental (Minurso), présente dans la région depuis 1991, qui se termine fin avril, donne chaque année lieu à une passe d'armes, notamment à propos des droits de l'Homme. La Minurso est principalement chargée de surveiller le cessez-le-feu entre Rabat et les indépendantistes du Front Polisario, soutenus par Alger et qui revendiquent le territoire.
La résolution, sans grande surprise, ne tiendra donc pas compte des revendications d'ONG comme celles d'Amnesty International et d'Human Rights Watch, qui souhaitaient inclure les droits de l'Homme dans le mandat de la Mission. Le secrétaire général de l'ONU Ban Ki-moon avait également recommandé, dans son dernier rapport daté du 10 avril, de surveiller de manière "durable, indépendante et impartiale" le respect de ces droits au Sahara occidental, tout en saluant les efforts faits récemment par Rabat dans ce domaine.
Mais le Maroc avait immédiatement réagi, le roi Mohammed VI mettant en garde Ban Ki-moon contre des "options périlleuses". Il y a un an déjà, le royaume avait combattu avec succès un texte américain qui visait, sur proposition du secrétaire général de l'ONU, à élargir le mandat de la Minurso aux droits de l'homme. Washington avait dû renoncer et le Conseil avait finalement adopté un texte modéré appelant seulement à "améliorer la situation".

"La différence cette année, c'est que les Marocains ont pris une série d'initiatives"
La résolution devrait se limiter à appeler à l'application des mesures prises par Rabat depuis un an pour améliorer l'efficacité du Conseil national des Droits de l'Homme (CNDH) ou pour mettre fin aux poursuites contre des civils devant des cours militaires.
"L'important désormais, c'est que les mesures annoncées par Rabat et qui constitueraient un réel progrès sur les droits de l'homme soient appliquées", explique un diplomate, qui ajoute : "La différence cette année, c'est que les Marocains ont pris une série d'initiatives, dont nous surveillerons l'application, et que le Conseil préfère envoyer un message clair d'unité".
(Avec AFP)

 

Nathalie Pires, uma fadista dos States

Almost like by the mystery of its origins, fado comes into little Nathalie’s life, who still cannot explain if fado elected her, or was that thirteen year old girl who elected fado. What is perfectly clear is that from the time she was accompanied by a Portuguese guitar for the first time, fado took over her voice and her senses, a fado-singer was born, and immediately began to be noticed by the bright tone of her voice, stage presence, and the feelings transmitted every time she sang the beautiful songs of traditional fado, quickly becoming a serious case of popularity among the Portuguese communities in the United States of America.
Nathalie Pires is proof that fado was already a World Heritage, long before recognized and declared by UNESCO in November 2011.
Born and raised in Perth Amboy New Jersey, in a family of Portuguese emigrants who always supported her in her desire to achieve her objectives.
A determined fighter, refused to have a serene life, and traveled from city to city, taken the ‘Soul Music Of Portugal’ to the most diverse communities and ethnic groups scattered throughout the United States, managing her time to comply with her studies, Portuguese, English, singing and piano.
Nathalie is fluent in English and Portuguese, has dual citizenship, American and Portuguese, has a degree in accounting from Rider University, graduated in May of 2009 and is currently working in the accounting business.
ARTISTIC PATH
Year 2000, with 14 years of age had the opportunity to sing at the legendary and popular “Adega Machado” in Bairro Alto, Lisbon. Despite being a brief performance of only two songs, it was remarkable for the young singer to share with the famous singer Maria Jose Valério, and step on the stage where so many dedicated singers have left their mark, including her idol, the nostalgic Amália Rodrigues.
Although Nathalie continued to sing fado, was in 2007 that her career as a singer strengthened with memorable performances such as her first time in Ontario, Canada, becoming an international artist. Massachusetts State House in Boston, W Hotel-Union Square in New York City, where she represented Portugal in a promotion event of Starwood Hotels of Spain and Portugal, United Nations in New York City, invited by the Ambassador of Portugal to the United Nations, among many other performances.
In May of 2007 recorded her first album, “Corre-me O Fado Nas Veias” (Fado Runs In My Veins), at the Digital Wave Multimedia Studio in Fall River, Massachusetts, and released on September 22nd of the same year, in her hometown of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The album includes 11 traditional favorite fado songs, three originals and two “instrumentals” played by Viriato Ferreira (acoustic guitar) and José Vieira da Silva, who made de arrangements, played the 1st and 2nd Portuguese guitar and the acoustic bass. The press made favorable comments about the album, calling it one of the best fado albums recorded in the United States in 2007.
Had the honor of sharing the stage in Virginia and New Jersey with the great artist of fado, theater and television, “Anita Guerreiro”, creator of the immortal song “Cheira bem cheira a Lisboa”. On March 15 of 2008, the famous artist offered to be Nathalie’s “Artistic Godmother”, an old fado tradition.
In March of 2008, her debut album “Corre-me O Fado Nas Veias” (Fado Runs In My Veins), was awarded with the AUA (United Artists of America), “Prémio Lusíada,” for “Best Fado Album of 2007″ recorded in the USA.
www.nathaliepires.com was launched at the beginning of 2007. This website is intended to better communicate with audiences and maintaining updated information. Nathalie Pires is a very popular name in the Portuguese communities in the United States of America, with performances in various cities in the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, California, and also in Canada in the cities of Toronto, Winnipeg, and St. John’s.
Met the pianist and saxophonist Tim Ries, at one of her many performances at “Alfama Restaurant” in Manhattan, resulting in a friendship, given her the chance to perform in New York and Klagenfurt – Austria with the famous Rolling Stones musician, as a special guest for the Tim Ries & The Rolling Stones Project, singing fado and songs of the legendary British band as well in Portuguese and English, sharing the stage with world class musician such as: Lisa Fischer, Bernard Fowler, Darryl Jones, Michael Davis, Jordi Bonell and Jukkis Uotila, an unforgettable experience.
Had the chance to sing in Lisbon once again, in one of her frequent trips to Portugal. “Sr. Vinho” in Madragoa, “Mesa de Frades” in Alfama and “Clube de Fado” also in Alfama, starting a friendship with the owner and famous guitarist Mario Pacheco. It was also on this journey in July 2009, that Nathalie had the opportunity to meet and sing with some of her favorite singers and guitarists.
In April 3th of 2010, was awarded with “Prominent Figure Award.” Lusomedia, 1st Great Fado Night in Newark, New Jersey.
In May 29th of 2010, was awarded with “New Prominent Figure of Fado in New England” and “Most Beautiful Voice of the New Generation,” during the celebrations of the “Portugal Day and the Portuguese Heritage” 2010, Pawtucket, RI.
It was also in May 2010 that she met Dr. Pedro Henriques da Silva, professor of music composition at New York University (NYU) and instrumentalist, who with his wife a pianist and composer Lucia Caruso, founded the “Manhattan Camerata,” an original and innovative orchestra, dedicated to create and perform many different music styles.
In her dedication to show the Portuguese culture to the world, Nathalie joined this orchestra as the vocalist for the fado projects, accompanied by several musicians of great international projection, such as Japanese violinist Machiko Ozawa, Argentinean bassist Pedro Giraudo, Argentine bandoneon player Daniel Binelli, and Uruguayan pianist Polly Ferman among other musicians, in live performances and studio recordings.
In March 2011 she had the privilege of being invited to sing the US National Anthem for more than 20,000 people in the NY Red Bull Arena, at the opening of the professional soccer league.
Among hundreds of performances over the past years, several with the Manhattan Camerata, and recorded five traditional fado songs with the orchestra, as part of the ” Tango Fado Project.”
In June of 2011 Nathalie had the great honor of being part of a historic event. The 1st ‘Portugal Day’ celebration in New York City, attended by over 20,000 people. Nathalie Pires sang the USA and Portugal national anthems, and fado in Central Park, invited by the Portuguese Circle.
Represented Portugal and its musical culture among 25 groups from other countries, at the “International Festival of Music and Dance” in St. John’s, Canada, with a live concert in July 2011, having also presented an educational program at the Arts Center Memorial University in the same city, on which exposed the history of fado.
Nathalie was invited by the “Amália Rodrigues Foundation”, to perform at the “VI Gala Amália,” singing with some of the most prominent artists of the fado community. The event took place on Saturday November 26th of 2011, at the “Voz do Operário” in Lisbon, with a cast composed by Camané, Maria Amélia Proença, Ricardo Ribeiro, Ana Marta, Deolinda and Nathalie Pires among others, with musical accompaniment by José Manuel Neto on the portuguese guitar, and Carlos Manuel Proença on the classical guitar. Several outstanding singers and groups received the “Amália Award” at this gala. This invitation comes based on the “Enchanted fado” project, created by producer Dr. João Calado, inspired by Nathalie, during one of her many performances at the Clube de Fado in Alfama. With the Portuguese-American singer in his original idea as the basis for his project, the producer followed the singer’s career for two years through her website, inviting her eventually to sing for this project, as part of the “VI Gala Amália”.
“Enchanted Fado” is a project composed by foreign singers, representing the seven most outstanding countries in the international career of the eternal Amália Rodrigues. After brief segments of classic Amália Rodrigues songs, in the voices of performers from Brazil, Spain and Japan, Nathalie Pires closed the “Enchanted Fado” project, singing “Estranha Forma de Vida” (Strange Way of Life) for being considered the most successful fado-singer out of Portugal.
On Sunday November 27th of 2011, Nathalie celebrated the declaration of fado as “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”, at the “Museum of Fado” in Alfama. The people and their artists gathered to sing and share their joy and excitement for this historic event.  Nathalie was in the audience enjoying the art of some of the biggest names in fado, when she was invited by fellow fado-singers Cuca Roseta and Miguel Capucho to sing, receiving warm applause from the audience.   Anita Guerreiro, Maria Armanda, Nuno de Aguiar, Joana Amendoeira, Miguel Capucho, Cuca Roseta, Ana Maria Bobone, Celeste Rodrigues and Nathalie Pires, were the fado-singers who gave voice to the poets, that afternoon that the “Soul Music of Portugal” became part of the whole humanity. The connection among the people and their artists, was simply exciting and memorable.
On Monday November 28th of 2011, Nathalie was invited by the president of the “Amália Rodrigues Foundation” for a guided tour to the “Amalia Rodrigues House-Museum,” which was closed to the public that day. And it was in the room where Amália received her guests and close friends, that seated on the couch of the nostalgic ‘Fado Diva,’ in conversation with the foundation’s president Dr. João Aguiar, spoke in the possibility of future opportunities, ending that important meeting awarding Nathalie with the “Amália Rodrigues Medal of Merit” on behalf of the foundation, for being an “ambassador of fado and represent Amália with dignity outside Portugal.” The singer lived moments of great emotion, and came to know more details about the life of the one that was, and is the major reference in her artistic career.
Returning to the United States on Friday December 2nd of 2011, integrated in the celebrations of 150 years of BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and in conjunction with the “BAM Next Wave Festival” in the “Tudo Isto É Fado” (All This is Fado) concerts, with a cast composed by Lisboa Soul, Camané, Nathalie Pires, Deolinda, Amália Hoje and Ricardo Parreira, Nathalie had her own sold-out concert at BAMcafé Live, adding another night of great success to many achieved over her artistic career.
Recorded a rock ballad with Manuel Cabral (Manel dos D’Alma), for his new album, gave several interviews to newspapers, radio and television. Nathalie also served as the inspiration for painter and longtime friend Vivian Francisco, participating by singing in some of the artist’s exhibitions. Sang the National Anthems of Portugal and the USA in several events of high importance, also presented educational workshops in English about fado and the Portuguese culture, in universities and colleges in the USA and Canada.