Dezenas de espiões israelitas arrependidos

Dozens of veterans of an elite Israeli military signals intelligence unit have said they will no longer serve in operations against Palestinians.

Forty-three past and present reservists signed a letter about Unit 8200, which carries out electronic surveillance.

They said the intelligence it gathered - much of it concerning innocent people - was used to "deepen military rule" in the Occupied Territories.

Israel's military said it held the unit to ethical standards "without rival".

Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, since 1967. It pulled its troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005, though the UN still regards Gaza as under Israeli occupation.
'Serious doubt'
Unit 8200 is the Israeli military's central intelligence gathering body and is often likened to the US National Security Agency (NSA).

The protest letter signed by the veterans of the unit was sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and armed forces chiefs.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Intelligence allows ongoing control over millions of people, thorough and intrusive monitoring and invasion into most aspects of life”

End Quote Letter by Unit 8200 veterans

The newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the letter as saying that unlike in other countries there was "no oversight on methods of intelligence or tracking, and the use of intelligence information against the Palestinians, regardless of whether they are connected to violence or not".

"We refuse to take part in actions against Palestinians and refuse to continue serving as a tool for deepening military rule in the Occupied Territories," the letter added.

"Intelligence allows ongoing control over millions of people, thorough and intrusive monitoring and invasion into most aspects of life. All of this does not allow for normal living, fuels more violence and puts off any end to the conflict."

The names of the signatories were not published, but they include officers, former instructors and senior NCOs.

Several told Israeli media that hey had been tasked with gathering private information - including sexual preferences and health problems - that could be "used to extort people into becoming informants".

They also claimed that some intelligence was collected in pursuit of the "agendas" of individual Israeli politicians.

The Israeli military spokesman's office said in a statement that Unit 8200 personnel were held to ethical standards "without rival in the intelligence community in Israel or the world", and had internal mechanisms for filing misconduct complaints, Reuters news agency reported.

That the letter writers went first to the media "raises serious doubt as to the seriousness of their claims", the statement added.

Former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin dismissed the signatories as a "fringe percentage" of those working for Unit 8200.  BBC

Al-Sisi conta com a simpatia de Israel

It was once the heart of the Arab world, playing a central role in Middle Eastern politics. The largest Arab country, populated by 86 million people, and with a record of being at the forefront in playing the role of mediator in conflicts within the region, particularly those relating to Palestine. In Egypt today, there is little of the traditional Arab solidarity towards Palestinians to be found; there is, though, the emergence of anti-Hamas, anti-Palestinian sentiments among Egyptians.
The Gaza Strip, whose almost 2 million people live in less than 360 square kilometres, affects Egypt, but is affected more by the internal affairs of its mighty neighbour. This is primarily due to the fact that Gaza's leadership, Hamas, is part of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organisation which was overthrown in Cairo by a bloody coup one year ago.

Relationship issues

Whilst struggling under a siege which has been imposed by Israel and Egypt, Gaza is now also being attacked by the world's fourth largest army, the so-called Israel Defence Forces; Cairo remains silent. Gaza has experienced different relationships with Egypt over the past four years, from absolute hostility, to neutrality, to absolute support. Currently, the besieged land gets no help from the government in Cairo; it gets only unequivocal hostility.
It was in Cairo in 2008 that Israel's Tzipi Livni announced the start of "Operation Cast Lead" against Gaza, one year after the siege was put in place, helped by the Mubarak regime.
When the 25 January Revolution came along in 2011, Mubarak's regime claimed that it was Hamas which was responsible for killing protesters in Tahrir Square. Following Mubarak's overthrow, things took a turn for the better under the interim SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) government; the blockade on Gaza was eased, with the Rafah crossing, the only border not controlled by Israel, allowing Palestinian women, children and men aged over 40 to pass into Egypt.
During SCAF rule, Egypt mediated the deal between Israel and Hamas for the release of Sergeant Gilad Shalit in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
After the first post-revolution elections, Egypt had its first democratically-elected civilian president, Dr Mohamed Morsi, a candidate for the Muslim Brotherhood. He supported Hamas.
When Israel launched its attack on Gaza in November 2012 – "Operation Pillar of Defence" – Egypt gave Gaza it's full support. Prime Minister Dr Hisham Qandeel went to visit Gaza during the onslaught. Egypt also managed to broker a ceasefire and truce between the Israelis and Palestinians which ended the offensive.

Incitement of hatred

Following the military coup in July 2013, and in the footsteps of Mubarak's regime, Egypt went back to having a completely hostile attitude towards Gaza, at an unprecedented level. It closed the Rafah crossing once again and destroyed the tunnels which were considered a life-line for the Palestinians in the Strip.
With the current heinous Israeli military offensive on Gaza which has claimed the lives of over 740 Palestinians to-date, with more than 5,000 injured (the figures are rising by the minute), Egypt is playing the role of spectator and refers to the offensive as an exchange of fire by both sides. Al-Sisi's government ignores the fact that Israel's army is attacking a densely populated strip of land whose people possess no army, navy or air force. In the new Egypt, the aggressor and the victim are the same, equating the Palestinian resistance and Israel. This is a position that not even Mubarak took.
Whilst the children of Gaza are bidding farewell to their childhood and their lives, and homes are obliterated and entire families annihilated, the Arab world is silent. Even Gaza's closest, once intimate, neighbour; the neighbour that was always looked to for comfort and support, if not from its leaders, then at least from its people, has made no condemnation of Israeli brutality.
The incitement of hatred in Egypt against the Muslim Brotherhood since Morsi was elected led to the bloody coup and the largest massacre seen in Egypt against his supporters. This has been redirected over the past year against Hamas on a governmental, military, judicial and media level.
As a result, Egyptian fervour for the Palestinian cause has subsided. The Egyptian viewer is constantly told that Hamas is a terrorist group; it is the Muslim Brotherhood: "We must not forget that Hamas is the armed branch of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist movement," Egyptian TV presenter Amany Al-Khayat told viewers.
"The support for Palestinians has waned dramatically," said one Egyptian journalist. "The Egyptian silence in the face of Israel's latest offensive is expected amid an unprecedented and coordinated media smear campaign against Hamas."

The emergence of Egyptian Zionists

The dehumanisation and gloating seen amongst the Egyptian people when peaceful anti-coup protesters were annihilated, is the same now being witnessed towards Gaza, with several television presenters praising and supporting the Israeli military operation against Hamas. Some salute Israel and encourages it to wipe out Hamas and the people of Gaza.
"Thank you Netanyahu and may God give us more people like you to destroy Hamas!" tweeted Azza Sami of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram. Another Egyptian wrote: "May God make the State of Israel victorious in its war against the terrorist movement Hamas during this holy month of Ramadan."
Hamas and the Palestinians are shocked by this reaction to the Israeli military operation. One Hamas spokesman said: "It's disgraceful to see that some Egyptians are publicly supporting the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip while Westerners are expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and condemning Israel." Since the Israeli offensive, there has been an immense worldwide public uproar with many countries seeing tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets to condemn the atrocities and call on their governments to put pressure on Israel to stop its crimes.
This sort of incitement towards Palestinians has never been seen before in Egypt; some of the state mouthpieces go so far as to claim, ridiculously, that what is happening is not a war, but an agreement between Israel and Hamas to embarrass Egypt. According to presenter and staunch mouthpiece of the Al-Sisi regime, Tawfik Okasha, "Hamas has made an agreement with Israeli intelligence and planned for the firing of Hamas rockets into Tel Aviv." Another, obviously ignorant, TV personality claimed that the people of Gaza were better off under the Israeli occupation than under the Hamas-led government.

The forgotten child

In May during his presidential campaign, Al-Sisi said that should any Arab nation be threatened in its national security, then Egypt would be there straight away and that Egypt will "not accept any threat to any Arab country." Gaza appears to be exempt from this promise. Not only is the onslaught against Gaza taking place with the blessing of the new coup government in Egypt, but it has also been co-ordinating with Israel in Sinai to destroy the tunnels and close the Rafah crossing.
Wounded Palestinians have been refused entry, and convoys carrying much-needed medical aid have been turned away, strengthening the siege on this open-air prison and putting more pressure on Hamas on behalf of Israel. Atallah Eid, a 24 year old Palestinian who managed to make it through Rafah was among the very few wounded allowed to do so. "I was so happy when I was told that I was going to Egypt to complete my treatment, but what I heard with my ears and saw with my own eyes made me wish I had died in Gaza and never come to Egypt," he said.
Another injured Palestinian said that he wants to return to Gaza as soon as possible. "I don't want to finish the treatment. I wish they didn't bring me to Egypt... Its image would've stayed rosy in my eyes."

Mutual enemy

Israel has not publically admitted its alliance with Egypt over its operation against Gaza. However, Israeli journalist and political analyst Danny Rubenstein, speaking on Al-Jazeera, admitted that there is some kind of understanding between the two countries on the Gaza onslaught agenda and that both have mutual interests in attacking Hamas.
Operation Protective Edge was the first test for Al-Sisi on foreign affairs since officially taking the presidency, and he has failed miserably. While the attack on neighbouring Gaza was making headlines worldwide, Al-Sisi failed to mention anything in the speech he made to the Egyptians on 10 Ramadan, corresponding to the second day of the onslaught. The Rafah border has remained largely closed in the face of the wounded and injured Palestinians, and not a word of condemnation has been made by the president of the largest country of the Arab world. If Egypt was once known as the "mother of the world", this mother seems to have disowned its closest child as the killings next door continue unabated.

Loyalty from behind bars

In a country where over 1,000 of its own people were massacred in one day - shot, beaten, burnt and gassed - and the perpetrators were praised and saluted, it doesn't seem so surprising that the same people would allow more massacres to occur in a neighbouring country.
Without doubt there are still many Egyptians and Arabs who sympathise with Gaza and are outraged. Indeed Egypt has seen many protests under banners proclaiming, "To you we come Gaza!" though they do not receive airtime and the calls for Gaza are drowned by the new Egyptian Zionist voices.
The Arab world is largely silent, with no condemnation from any leaders, apart from the ousted democratic President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, from his prison cell: "To you we come Gaza! To you we come Gaza! To you we come Gaza!" And he means it.  Walaah Ramadan

Al-Sisi, filho de uma judia

The Greater Israel Project – a long-standing Zionist scheme to steal all the land between the Nile and the Euphrates – is halfway there.
They just stole the Nile.
The problem is not that Egypt’s new thug-in-chief, General Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi, is a Jew. (His mother, Malikah Titani, is a Moroccan Jew from Asefi, which makes al-Sisi a Jew and an automatic citizen of Israel.)
If the Egyptian people want to elect a Jew president in a free and fair election – like they elected the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) to the Lower House with 73% of the vote, the Upper House with 80% of the vote, the presidency with 52% of the vote, and approved the MB Constitution with 64% of the vote – that’s fine with me.
The problem is that al-Sisi has concealed his Jewish identity and Israeli connections from the Egyptian people…and destroyed their nascent democracy through deception and mass murder.
An even bigger problem: al-Sisi is almost certainly a Mossad agent. That means al-Sisi’s Egypt is not just a brutal, banana-republic-style dictatorship. It is Israeli-occupied territory: The newest and largest province of ever-expanding Greater Israel.
No wonder the Israeli ambassador called al-Sisi “a national hero for all Jews.”
Al-Sisi’s uncle, Uri Sibagh (sometimes spelled as Sabbagh) served in the Jewish Defense League (Hamagein) from 1948 to 1950, made his aliyah to Israel, and became a bigwig in Ben Gurion’s political party, serving as the secretary of the Israeli Labor Party in Beersheba from 1968 to 1981. Uri’s sister – al-Sisi’s mother – presumably emigrated to Egypt on a mission from the Mossad. That mission culminated when the Mossad overthrew President Morsi and installed its agent al-Sisi in the coup d’état of July 3rd, 2013.
The implication: Al-Sisi has been a lifelong Mossad agent. His mission: infiltrate the highest levels of power in an Arab Muslim country. Al-Sisi is today’s version of Elie Cohen, who infiltrated the highest levels of power in Syria under the name Kamal Amin Thabet before he was exposed and hanged in the public square in Damascus.

George H.W. Bush’s famous line, “If the people knew the truth, they would chase us down the street and lynch us” applies – in spades – to al-Sisi.
It has been widely reported in the mainstream media, as well as by more reliable sources, that al-Sisi has long served as the Egyptian military’s liason with Israel. During the coup d’état of July 3rd, al-Sisi was in permanent liason by telephone with the Israeli and American militaries. (Israel promised its full support, and guaranteed that US aid would not be cut off, while the US waffled.)
The Egyptian coup, especially its propaganda component, had all the earmarks of an Israeli black op. A massively financed campaign run through Egypt’s Israeli-linked mainstream media (yes, the same folks own big media there as here) repeatedly compared President Morsi to Adolf Hitler! The fact that “Morsi = Hitler” was the number one talking point of the forces behind the coup reveals that those forces were Zionists, not Egyptians. Apparently the Zionists couldn’t stop themselves from making reflexive Dr. Strangelove-style anti-Hitler salutes while they were orchestrating the al-Sisi coup – thereby giving their game away.
Since the coup, Israel has been lavishing praise, money, and support on al-Sisi.  Mossad agent al-Sisi has virtually declared war on Palestine by going all-out to close the Gaza border tunnels that keep the people of Gaza alive. Meanwhile, al-Sisi has taken billions of dollars from the Rothschild puppets and likely donmeh crypto-Jews who call themselves the “House of Saud.”
Obviously the Zionist-dominated West and its Middle Eastern puppets will not allow Muslims to elect relatively honest leaders in free elections. Instead, they will use deception and violence to pursue their schemes for regional and global domination.
The Egyptian people – who elected the Muslim Brotherhood by a greater landslide than any US political party has won in all of American history – need a real Islamic revolution to create a genuine democracy. Without it, Egypt will indefinitely remain “a boot stamping on a human face – forever”…and a permanent province of Greater Israel, ruled by a Jewish-Zionist thug who has appointed himself pharaoh, while hiding his real background and loyalties.

Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=269043

The views expressed herein are the views of the author exclusively and not necessarily the views of VT or any other VT authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners and technicians. Legal Notice

Um novo Estado da Palestina?

The Palestinian Authority and Egypt on Monday strongly denied a report that claimed that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had offered PA President Mahmoud Abbas land in Sinai for a Palestinian state.

Israeli politicians, however, welcomed the reported offer.

Army Radio reported that the offer provided a 1,600 square kilometer area near the Gaza Strip, an area that would make the Strip five times its size.

The new territory, composed of Gaza together with the extra land in Sinai, would be a demilitarized state that would serve as a home to which Palestinian refugees would return, Army Radio said.

In addition to the “greater Gaza state,” the Palestinian cities in the West Bank would be under the autonomous rule of the PA, the report added. In exchange, Abbas would give up claims to a state within the pre-1967 lines.

Army Radio said that Sisi tried to appeal to Abbas to accept the offer, arguing that at his age (80), if he does not take this offer, those who come after him will take it.

It said that Abbas was not convinced and rejected the offer.

The report about the Egyptian offer first appeared in a number of Arab media outlets two weeks ago and was then denied by both the PA and Egypt.

On Monday, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for the PA presidency, again denied the report, saying Sisi had never made such an offer.

Abu Rudaineh said that the idea of expanding the Gaza Strip toward Sinai was completely unacceptable to the Palestinians, Egyptians and Arabs.

Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a senior aid to Abbas, also denied the report, dubbing it a “fabrication.”

Abdel Rahim noted that this was an old idea that had been proposed by former national security adviser Giora Eiland.

The Palestinian official accused the Israeli media of publishing “fabricated stories” in order to distort the positions of the Palestinians and Egyptians.

A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that the report was “completely baseless and untrue.”

Israeli politicians, meanwhile, responded enthusiastically to the report.

Science, Technology and Space Minister Yaakov Peri, a former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief, said he’s surprised by Sisi’s generosity, calling the reported proposal “worth discussing seriously.”

He added: “This could solve problems that weren’t given a response in talks between Israel and the Palestinians so far.”

Peri also pointed out that Sisi’s “proposal” suits Egyptian interests, since there are problems with terrorism in Sinai.

Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Ayelet Shaked said that the Egyptian president “discerned what the Israeli Left has refused to understand” for decades: “The solution to the Palestinian problem must be regional and cannot fall on Israel’s shoulders alone.”

She called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to meet with Sisi and examine whether the reported initiative is possible.

According to coalition chairman Yariv Levin, Sisi’s reported plan is a “very generous offer,” but Abbas’s reported rejection of it proves that Palestinians “refuse to accept Israel’s existence,” he told Army Radio.

Scotland or not Scotland

Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed it will relocate its registered headquarters to London if Scotland votes for independence next week.

The bank said in a statement that it believed it would be "necessary to re-domicile the bank's holding company".

In a letter to staff, the bank's chief executive said there was no intention to move operations or jobs.

Meanwhile, Scotland's largest fund manager's boss said an independent Scotland would be a huge success.

Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management said: "I think an independent Scotland would be a big success, but it is a secret ballot and I will abide by that.

"Most sensible people now accept that Scotland would be prosperous with either outcome in the current constitutional debate."

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond told BBC Scotland he had been given a letter which was sent to RBS staff on Thursday morning by the bank's chief executive Ross McEwan.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

This is a technical procedure regarding the rotation of our registered head office based on our current strategy and business plan. It is not an intention to move operations or jobs”

End Quote Ross McEwan RBS chief executive

Mr Salmond said the letter had stated: "It is my view as chief executive that any decision to move our registered headquarters would have no impact on our everyday banking services used by our customers in Scotland.

"This is a technical procedure regarding the rotation of our registered head office based on our current strategy and business plan. It is not an intention to move operations or jobs".

The bank has been based in Scotland since 1727.

Companies are increasingly setting out their post-referendum contingency plans.

Lloyds Banking Group said it could also shift its legal home to its headquarters, which is already in London.

However, Lloyds said this was just a legal procedure and "there would be no immediate changes or issues".
'Brass plaques'
The statement from Lloyds said: "Lloyds Banking Group has seen an increased level of enquiries from our customers, colleagues and other stakeholders about our plans post the Scottish referendum.

"While the scale of potential change is currently unclear, we have contingency plans in place which include the establishment of new legal entities in England. This is a legal procedure and there would be no immediate changes or issues which could affect our business or our customers.

"There will be a period between the referendum and the implementation of separation, should a Yes vote be successful, that we believe is sufficient to take any necessary action."

Lloyds, in which the UK government has a 25% stake, owns Bank of Scotland and Halifax.

The move of what Lloyds describes as "legal entities" indicates that the banking group is not suggesting there will be a mass relocation of its 16,000 Scottish-based staff. The move would simply mean that the bank would remain protected and regulated by the Bank of England.

Responding to the announcements by RBS and Lloyds, Mr Salmond said: "We know the moves both from Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland will have no impact on operations or jobs. They are about brass plaques.

"These are contingency plans and they make it quite clear in the statements that they make.

"And the way to avoid any uncertainty in the financial markets is for the United Kingdom to say, following the Edinburgh agreement which they signed, that they will sit down reasonably with the Scottish government after people in Scotland vote Yes in the referendum, and discuss these matters in the best interests of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom."
Commercial presence
Mr Salmond also denied uncertainty in the markets was caused by the Scottish government's stance on a shared currency.

He added: "Any uncertainty we have seen in the financial markets over the last two days is caused by two things. One is the unreasonable posture of the UK government who have refused to discuss this at any stage throughout the last two years.

"And secondly, the remarkable statement from Downing Street on Monday when they were facing stock market moves, where they said they had no contingency plans for Scottish independence."

Elsewhere, John Lewis chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield claimed shoppers in Scotland could face higher prices if the country votes in favour of independence.

Sir Charlie said the retailer had no intention of reducing its commercial presence north of the border, where it has nine shops, a contact centre and employs more than 3,000 people.

But he cautioned that firms were unlikely to continue sharing the burden of higher operating costs in Scotland across all UK customers in the event of the break up of the Union.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "From a business perspective there will be economic consequences to a Yes vote, not just in uncertainty but some of the turmoil we are hearing about.

"And it is also the case that it does cost more money to trade in parts of Scotland and therefore those hard costs, in the event of a Yes vote, are more likely to be passed on."

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Lloyds would move its legal home to its head office, which is already in London - and that's unlikely to have much impact on Scottish employment”

End Quote Robert Peston BBC economics editor

But he added: "On the day after the referendum the shops are going to open on time, nothing will change."

Angus Grossart, chairman of merchant bank Noble Grossart, said that people should "not panic" following the decisions made by the two banks. He told the Financial Times that the impact of a Yes vote was "severely overstated".

BBC economics editor Robert Peston said that that if RBS, 81%-owned by the UK government and which owns 11,500 people in Scotland, moved its head office and registered office to London it "would involve some jobs moving south".

However, he said the situation with Lloyds was different: "Lloyds would move its legal home to its head office, which is already in London - and that's unlikely to have much impact on Scottish employment."

A Treasury source told the BBC that it had discussed the plans with RBS.

On Wednesday, insurance and pensions giant Standard Life said it was "planning for new regulated companies in England to which we could transfer parts of our business if there was a need to do so".

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander told BBC2's Newsnight: "When a company like Standard Life says that it would, unfortunately, sadly, have to relocate its business to London that is not some sort of decision that they make lightly.

"They make it on the basis that they regard that as the best way to protect their customers under the new circumstances.

"When we hear Lloyds and other banks making clear that they would have to do the same, again that is not something that they say lightly. They say it having thought about it, having talked to their board and to the senior people in those companies."

And Mr Grossart, one of the most senior figures in Scotland's financial establishment, said people were "overreacting" to the threats of exodus of firms.

"I think it is getting out of hand," he told the Financial Times. "To hear some of the comments you almost expect people to be predicting a plague of locusts or mice next."  BBC

Luanda vai ter um Metro de superfície

A notícia não é propriamente nova. A foto da maquete que anuncia a grande novidade, estimula a imaginação. Os mais optimistas já visualizam a paisagem futura. Luanda vai ter um metro de superfície. Ou seja, um sistema de transporte de massas eficiente, rápido e isolado. Fantástico!
O projecto, segundo os sites noticiosos, insere-se no Plano Nacional de Desenvolvimento 2012/2017. O Plano vai ainda estabelecer e implementar um programa de reordenamento do sistema de transportes nas outras províncias e inclui a extensão da rede de táxis a todo o país.
Projecto interessante. Simpatizo com ele. A problemática dos transportes, uma das mais arreliantes do país e, particularmente, de Luanda, tem parte da solução esboçada. Engarrafamentos monumentais, esperas desesperantes em paragens apinhadas de gentes, longas caminhadas e todos transtornos em torno da maka dos transportes vão diminuir consideravelmente.
Habituada a noticiários onde o anúncio de grandes projectos se sobrepõe à realidade, muito embora esses também se possam considerar factos, no âmbito do “vai acontecer”, confesso que não prestei muita atenção aos detalhes relativos ao metro de superfície. Tudo por causa do entusiasmo.
Bastarão apenas duas chuvadas, com as conhecidas consequências destruidoras, para refrear a minha simpatia e aguçar a objectividade. Intrigada, procurei na net mais detalhes sobre o projecto divulgado há sensivelmente três meses. A informação é escassa.
Uma rápida reflexão dá lugar a dezenas de perguntas. Quantas pessoas vai servir e que garantias existem para o funcionamento desse meio de transporte numa cidade que é também sinónimo de problemas recorrentes como a falta de energia. Ou vai funcionar a vapor? A pergunta pode parecer absurda, mas não entendo nada de metros, sejam eles de superfície ou subterrâneos.
Em todo caso, indiscutivelmente, o nosso metro de superfície vai contribuir para colmatar deficiências mil. Quando é que isso vai aconteceu é algo que não se sabe porque nem sempre os prazos de execução são cumpridos à risca. Dito de outro modo. Vamos só esperar tranquilamente pelo tão sonhado dia.
Porque a vida é hoje, os verdadeiros metros de superfície de Luanda têm o azul como tom predominante. Tão necessários quanto abominados, quebram todas as regras de trânsito e de civismo. Contribuem para que a circulação rodoviária em Luanda seja esse cenário dantesco de quebrar os nervos de aço.
Os veículos que garantem o transporte de boa parte dos luandenses circulam a pouquíssimos metros de distância das outras viaturas. Provocam, riscam carros alheios, exasperam e colocam em risco a segurança de passageiros e transeuntes. Enriquecem o linguajar angolano com os seus “termos técnicos” como “emagrece” (afasta, dá espaço a mais um passageiro). Mas, ao fim do dia servem vários milhares de pessoas. São eles. Os candongueiros. Aliás, táxis.
Os metros de superfície da actualidade passam por lugares esquecidos desta cidade que se constrói a altos contrastes. As suas rotas incluem buracos “normais” e crateras que são ponto único de passagem para pessoas que, de outro modo, teriam como única forma de locomoção as próprias pernas.
Geralmente vencem percursos intransitáveis para automobilistas comuns. Vários troços desafiam a imaginação. Num deles, em determinado momento, o carro dá a impressão de ter sido engolido pela terra, tão grande é a inclinação. É mesmo só impressão porque alguns segundos depois a parte da frente emerge. Coragem dos passageiros que correm riscos, perícia do motorista, necessidade de apresentar contas certas ao patrão ou tudo isso?
A luta pela sobrevivência é diária. Ninguém a ganha em casa. Enquanto o projecto não sai do papel, a operação tapa buracos poderia mudar o retrato de Luanda. Em tempo de chuvas que transformam as estradas esburacadas em passarelas para a “dança” de carros com prazo de validade precocemente encurtado, o azulinho continua a ser o metro de superfície para os luandenses. Luísa Rogério

Primeiro satélite angolano em 2017

“”(…)  A construção do satélite, avaliada em 37 mil milhões de kwanzas (294 milhões de euros), decorre em Angola, a cargo de um consórcio russo liderado pela RSC. Envolve também um financiamento russo, conforme anunciado em 2013.
O atraso no financiamento do projeto tem vindo a fazer derrapar o lançamento do Angosat, que já esteve previsto para 2015 e depois para 2016.

O executivo angolano prevê, com a entrada em funcionamento deste satélite, que o país possa fornecer serviços de suporte às telecomunicações eletrónicas, incluindo a prestação de banda larga e de televisão.
O Angosat terá um período de vida de 15 anos e 22 ‘transponders’, dispositivos de comunicação eletrónica. Incluirá a construção de duas estações de rastreio, em Angola e na Rússia.

Para o responsável pela pasta das telecomunicações no Governo angolano, Aristides Safeca, o Angosat marca a entrada do país "numa nova era das telecomunicações, o que pressupõe a condução de um programa espacial que inclua, futuramente, o lançamento de satélites subsequentes". “” – FONTE : NOTÍCIAS  AO  MINUTO