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domingo, 5 de dezembro de 2010

#news #Facebook profile overhaul revamps personal pages



zuckerberg_stahl.top.jpgIn an interview with 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg previewed the site's profile page changes and fielded questions about an assortment of hot-button issues. By Stacy Cowley, tech editor

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Your personal Facebook page is about to get a major revamp. Facebook on Sunday began rolling out a new design for members' profile pages, integrating in one place information currently scattered throughout the Wall, photo albums and other sections of the site.

The overhaul, to be previewed Sunday night on 60 Minutes, aims to transform what's now a jumbled collection of details into a streamlined window into who you are and what you're up to. A new "bio" space at the top offers a quick overview, and a more-prominent photo section spotlights images you've recently posted and photos of you tagged by your friends.


Another new feature pulls up a history of your relationship with any of your Facebook friends, showing details like comments you've exchanged and events you've attended together. It's an expansion of a feature Facebook launched in late October.

"You can see all the things that you have in common with that person," Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg told 60 Minutes interviewer Lesley Stahl. "It gives you this amazing connection with that person in a way that the current version of the profile that we have today just doesn't do."

The new design will roll out gradually and reach all users by early next year, Facebook said Sunday in a blog post describing the changes. Those who want to upgrade immediately can do so at http://www.facebook.com/about/profile/.

Zuckerberg's wide-ranging 60 Minutes interview touched on a number of Facebook's hot-button issues, including the frequent flare-ups around how it handles private data. A Wall Street Journal investigation two months ago illustrated that many of Facebook's most popular applications transmit personally identifying information on their users to advertising and tracking companies -- a violation of Facebook's policies, but one it does little to police.

Pressed on that point by Stahl, Zuckerberg fell back on the "it's against our polices" defense. Facebook shuts down the applications it catches violating those rules, he said.

Regulators and lawmakers are growing more concerned about how companies like Facebook guard their users' privacy, and are considering new rules and mandates. It's an area where Zuckerberg acknowledges having made mistakes: "Do we get it right all the time? No! But it's something that we take really seriously, and every day we come to work and just try to do a good job on this."

No phone -- and no IPO news: Zuckerberg flatly denied one persistent Facebook rumor: The company has no plans for a Facebook-branded phone, he said. Instead, it's working on software to run on all phones.

He also struck a deeply skeptical tone about the value of going public. Asked if Facebook will ever have an IPO, he answered: "Maybe."

"Here's the way that I think about it. A lot of people who, I think, build startups or companies think that selling the company or going public is this endpoint. Right, it's like you win when you go public," Zuckerberg said. "And that's just not how I see it."

Zuckerberg often acknowledges his missteps, but there's one major decision he thinks history has proven him right on.

"We had this opportunity to sell the company to Yahoo for a billion dollars. And we turned that down. I think a lot of people at the time thought we should sell the company," he said. "But you know, I felt really strongly. And I -- I think, like, now, people generally think that that was a good decision."





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#news The armour-plated animal that was too much of a mouthful for one hungry lion


By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:47 PM on 5th December 2010

When you're a hungry lion, most animals probably seem like a good bet at snack time.

But this lion certainly bit off more than it could chew when it pounced on a pangolin.

British wildlife guide Mark Sheridan-Johnson captured on film this inquisitive big cat which spent a long time trying to devour the odd looking creature in the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania.

The rare, armour plated pangolin had the perfect defence tactic:roll up into a ball and stay there - whatever happens.








This looks like a tasty morsel...hmm, it's a bit crunchy...the lion begins its attempt to feast on the pangolin


Maybe if I use my claws I can get the shell off...wow this thing is tough...nope, maybe it's time to try a different tactic

The images show how the hapless lion appeared confused by its spherical prey, as it batted the creature about with its paws and even tried to carry it around in its mouth.

Mr Sheridan-Johnson, 31, from Newcastle, was showing a group of tourists around the game reserve when he spotted the little pangolin battling for its life.

'The pangolin is an extremely difficult animal to see and is considered by many guides in Africa to be the holy grail of sightings,' he said.

'You can spend your whole life driving round the bush and never see one.
'So when we came across one being attacked by a lion, we could not believe our eyes.

'The pangolin was obviously having a really bad day.'









Hello, is there anyone in there? OK, this is your last chance..come out with your hands up or, or...I'll just have to leave you alone and find something else to gnaw on




Oh I give up! That's never happened to me before...I'm off to find something soft to eat

Pangolins are nocturnal animals and according to Mark, this one was peacefully sheltering in bushes before being smelt out by the two-year-old lion.

'We were all on the side of the pangolin, hoping he would make it out alive,' he said.
'The lion really didn't know what to do with it. She was getting more and more frustrated by the situation.The scales are so sharp that carrying the pangolin around can't have been very pleasant.'

The pangolin's shell is made of an organic bony structure called keratin and makes up to around twenty percent of the animal's body weight.






When caught by large predators such as lions they work their muscles into a cutting action to lacerate the mouths of their adversaries.

The injuries caused can be serious for the animal attempting to eat the pangolin.

Pangolins survive by using their sensitive tongues, which can grow up to 16 inches long, to probe ant nests and termite mounds to eat the insects inside.

'In the end the lion gave up and wandered off in search of something else and the pangolin escaped,' said Mark.

'He stayed in his ball for a long time until it got dark, just to make sure he was safe.'

The Selous Game Reserve is Africa's largest protected wildlife reserve and it covers five percent of Tanzania's total land mass.

It is located in the remote south east of the country and is made up of gushing rivers, rolling hills and sprawling plains.

The reserve is named in honour of British explorer Frederick Courtney Selous, who wrote a book about his travels in the region and was killed there during the First World War.






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Harry Potter

http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthedeathlyhallows/mainsite/index.html


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#news World Cup corruption...another nail in the coffin for international football



Last updated at 12:32 AM on 6th December 2010

The unresolved question is what we tell the next generation of England footballers. That playing for your country is the greatest honour sport can bestow? That the World Cup represents the pinnacle of a man's career? That lifting the trophy will be the moment of moments?

Even if it is handed to you by a crook.

Now the talk is of the 2022 tournament perhaps moving to mid-winter, because summer temperatures in Qatar are, quite literally, unplayable.

Sepp Blatter

Money talks: Sepp Blatter hands the World Cup to Russia and Qatar

What if the leagues across Europe do not co-operate? What if they refuse to release players, as National Hockey League teams have done for the early rounds of Olympic ice hockey tournaments? What if they mount a legal challenge to FIFA statutes governing player availability, based on disruption to revenue streams that could have reasonably been expected to remain unchanged?

Given what we think of the bid process, is this not another step towards the marginalisation of the international game, another reason for it to be rejected by players and scorned by senior coaches, another excuse for it to be treated as an inconvenience, rather than an integral part of football's calendar?


Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has long decried international friendly fixtures. He believes managers should experiment in qualifying games with the group minnows, such as Andorra or Azerbaijan. Sir Alex Ferguson, of Manchester United, says the World Cup has been poor since 1986 (and certainly South Africa in 2010 represented the low point of recent times).

Then there is the growing campaign for all international fixtures to be clubbed together in a four-week period each year, which club managers would no doubt designate as 'International Niggling Hernia Operation Month'.

FIFA's credibility may be at an all-time low in many parts of the world after the events in Zurich, but it is unforgivable to take the standing of the international game down with it.

The next time a great player such as Paul Scholes decides he can do without another England cap, how can anyone chastise him, given the contempt felt for the governing body? So he will never play in another World Cup? So what?

Forged in corruption, farmed out by the corrupt, who needs it? Increasingly, supporters will lose sight of the football, and come to see the international game in only the most flawed terms.

Remember how boxing was once regarded as a noble art and everybody knew the champions in each division? And what state is it in now? This is what happens when the public loses faith.

This week, the FIFA Club World Cup begins in Abu Dhabi. Few care. The two major qualifiers, Inter Milan, of Italy, and SC Internacional, from Porto Alegre in Brazil, are not even involved until December 14, after the qualifiers from the small confederations have slugged it out. This is FIFA's attempt to insert itself into the club game but because the organisation is governed only by money, the match is played in either Japan or the Middle East to little effect.

A LIGHTWEIGHT ISSUE

Positive news, everybody: the recession is over. We deduce this from news that Prime Minister David Cameron wishes to personally oversee the reform of football. Major services are being cut, there are riots on the streets, but Cameron wishes to address why he was left looking silly in Zurich. You will find the answer in WikiLeaks, pal. Lightweight.

Manchester United said they took it seriously in 2008, but won it with their FA Cup team. Funny how FIFA's desire to spread football around the world does not apply here, though.

In 2009, when the competition first went to the UAE, only the two games involving Barcelona attracted gates beyond 40,000. The next biggest attendance was just over half that, and three of the games involving cannon fodder drew crowds of less than 10,000.

Maybe the World Cup will become an armchair competition too, in time. The players are losing interest already. Once, nobody stopped playing for their country; the country simply stopped asking the man to play.

Yet when Bulgaria visited Wembley earlier this year there was no Dimitar Berbatov for them, no Scholes for England. In future, there will be many more sending apologies. They may not know why they are tiring of international football so quickly, they will just know they are not alone.

And where we would have once tried to convince them otherwise, we will simply shake our heads sadly and say we understand.

Meddler Roman in a right muddle

Good management is about removing excuses. That is why the Football Association spends fortunes on facilities for the England team at World Cup tournaments. The best accommodation, the most pristine training pitches, private air travel, the highest paid coach imported from Italy.

The intention is to eliminate any reason for failure. It does not always work; but you cannot blame them for trying.

Carlo Ancelotti

What next? Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is coming under increasing pressure at Stamford Bridge

Then there is Roman Abramovich, a one-man get-out clause for the players at Chelsea, and not for the first time. Abramovich lost Jose Mourinho and employed an under-qualified mate, Avram Grant. Now he is paying the price for another round of senseless meddling. From significant title favourites, Chelsea may soon be set fair for a Europa League place unless they change course.

The foolish dismissal of Ray Wilkins, and the appointment of the curious novice Michael Emenalo in his place, appears to be the catalyst for Chelsea's poor run, but it is merely the most visible of the recent changes at Stamford Bridge. Popular, long-serving members of the administrative backroom staff have also gone and on one occasion recently the players arrived on match day to find new faces guarding the club car park, asking for names and vigorously challenging their right of entry.

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Did you see the photograph of the fight between Mario Balotelli and Jerome Boateng at the Manchester City training ground? Audley Harrison would have been proud. Indeed, not since the fisticuffs between Hugh Grant and Colin Firth in the second Bridget Jones film has there been such a vivid display of manly pugilism.

Small beer, you might think, but it all contributes to the idea that the place is not what it used to be. Never forget that the season began with the club attempting to arbitrarily scrap the players' bonus system.

The squad dealt with that, and came to a compromise, but since Wilkins left they must arrive each morning wondering who, or what, is next. Carlo Ancelotti is a very popular manager, but has won a single league game since October and many players will remember that Luiz Felipe Scolari experienced a similar drop in form mid-season and was gone by February.

Abramovich has created the climate for excuses and the manager knows it which is why, following Saturday's draw with Everton, he attempted to distance the circumstances off the pitch from the performances on it.

Deep down, he knows the problem. The owner has given the players a free pass, and some have taken it. Abramovich is now getting the results he deserves.

Free? Not in Qatar

We were sitting outside The Pot restaurant in Adelaide's Hyde Park suburb the other night. Table on the pavement, balmy summer evening, people strolling past, some making public displays of affection, wine flowing, lots of laughter. Couldn't have happened in Qatar, could it?

Then Saturday night we went to the harness racing at Globe Derby Park. The trots, as it is known. A slice of real Australia. Families out, having a picnic on the grass, a few tinnies, a few bets, kids rolling down the hill. Harmless enough, but drinking in public? Not in Qatar.

I've heard plenty of pro-Qatar rhetoric since Thursday's winning 2022 World Cup bid, plenty of reasons why Australia polled one vote, the greatest rejection of any country by the members of the FIFA executive committee. None of it has been very convincing; none of it has seemed to love our freedom as passionately as we should.

The most risible argument is that greater understanding of the Muslim world will result from a World Cup in Qatar; as if schoolchildren in Britain do not spend more time on comparative religious study than ever before. Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, no generation will be better informed on the religions of the world than the next one.

One wonders if Qatari educators are similarly interested in us.

More news of Brisbane Roar, rewriting the record books in Australia's A-League with a 14-game unbeaten run. Coach Ange Postecoglou is demanding further improvement. 'I watched Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-0 and they're a fair way ahead of us,' he said. 'We've a way to go and I told a couple of the boys that. They looked at me kind of funny.'

Meanwhile, in other sports news, Mitch O'Hoolihan, opening batsman for the Dismal Swamp Sunday Casuals fourth XI, says his mission to wipe Sir Don Bradman from the record books is bang on course following his unbeaten 24 against the girls of the Rooty Hill Sports and Social Club yesterday.

AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT...


Too late, it would appear the Football Association have decided to grow a pair and tell the truth about FIFA.

Acting chairman Roger Burden withdrew his candidacy for the permanent role on the grounds he did not trust the governing body and would not deal with them, and the execrable friendly with Thailand in June will not take place, because it was only arranged in exchange for a vote, which did not materialise.

No doubt the Thai royal family - whose celebrations were the flimsy cover for this travesty of a game - will delight in welcoming Russia to Bangkok instead, or the stars of the Qatar national team.

Indeed, after the bid announcement on Thursday, the members of the FIFA executive committee were asked to name their favourite Qatar player. They said Eric Clapton.

The most over-played hand in football history? David Dein, international fixer. Runner-up: Geoff Thompson, our man on the inside.

Don't muck about with Ryder Cup

The numbers travelling to the Cheltenham Festival from Ireland are down by 30 per cent. The financial crisis is to blame, coinciding with the decision five years ago to extend the event from three to four days, making it increasingly expensive.

This brings us to the Ryder Cup, which has happily existed as a threeday tournament since 1927, until a freak weather pattern over South Wales this year sent the players into fourth-day overtime. As Great Britain and Europe won in unique circumstances, however, the contest is remembered fondly.

Colin Montgomerie

Golden memories: Colin Montgomerie with the Ryder Cup

Modern sports administrators enjoy wallowing in money, the way supporters at Celtic Manor loved wallowing in mud, so it was only a matter of time before some bright spark suggested making the fourth day permanent.

Step forward Ryder Cup director Richard Hills, who is planning to sound out the players at the US Masters in April, in the hope of introducing the new format as early as 2012, at Medinah in Chicago.

When will organisers realise that sometimes less is more? The Ryder Cup thrives on intensity. Players have to be stood down for an afternoon session, often before the morning competition is over. Pairings have to be re-examined and re-built.

This presents a mental challenge for the captain, a test of his man-management and strategy. Spaced out, this intriguing battle of wits would be lost. There was an awful lot of hanging about in Wales, but out of necessity. If Hills gets his way, it will be factored in, squeezing the spectators until the pips squeak.

This is happening all over. The Cricket World Cup is ridiculously overblown, even worse than the Rugby World Cup. The European Championship, which used to hit the ground running the way a World Cup never does, is now being extended and by France in 2016 will be as moribund as its big brother in the early stages, with 24 teams.

Had Cheltenham still been a threeday festival it might not be financially beyond its most colourful customers. The 2010 Ryder Cup had novelty value, and the supporters mucked in, quite literally.

They are not muddy fools, though, and should not be treated as such.

The one positive of England's failed World Cup bid is that there is no longer the imperative of financing a white elephant stadium for the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Bristol City and MK Dons.

Bristol City may yet avoid relegation to League One this season so clearly need to expand, while Milton Keynes - where, never forget, a football fever is waiting to happen - attracted 3,977 for the recent visit of Stevenage in the FA Cup.

Plymouth, clearly thriving under chairman Sir Roy Gardner's sustainable business model, could not afford to pay player and staff wages for November.

These new stadiums were, one presumes, proposed only to appease FIFA's specious demands for legacy. So even though we lost, by sidestepping these projects in a global financial crisis, in some small way we won.

Bloomfield Road

Snowy: Bloomfield Road

No Premier League match should be lost due to the absence of under-soil heating. Blackpool versus Manchester United is a vivid moment of romantic escapism and season-ticket holders at Bloomfield Road will have been looking forward to it for months.

How many will no longer be able to attend now the match is to be rescheduled for a weeknight? How many young Blackpool fans will miss out because they have school the day after?

Under-soil heating should be a pre-condition for all promoted clubs. It should be installed in the summer, the first slice of Premier League bounty advanced if necessary to finance it. And no transfer activity should be permitted until work is complete.




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#news : Top secret US space plane finishes 8-month mission


US spacebomber

Nobody knows what the X-37B has been up to, but that hasn't stopped the speculation

LAST UPDATED 4:00 PM, DECEMBER 1, 2010

A US robotic space shuttle called the X-37B is set to land this week after a top secret eight-month mission that has prompted talk of 'space warplanes' and the weaponisation of space.

The US Air Force, which has been tight-lipped about the mission since its April launch, said in a brief statement: "Preparations for the first landing of the X-37B are underway at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Space professionals from the 30th Space Wing will monitor the de-orbit and landing of the Air Force's first X-37B, called the Orbital Test Vehicle 1."

It added that the landing time is expected this coming weekend.

Astronomers have been following the X-37B's mission with interest. In August, a South African noticed that the nine metre long space plane had abruptly switched orbits. Unfortunately, there are no clues as to what the X-37B is carrying in its hold, but rumours abound that it is some kind of reconnaissance gadget.

When the spacecraft launched in April, The First Post reported on concerns that the 'dual-use' military capabilities of the X-37B (above), which began its life as a Nasa project called the X-37, would add to the weaponisation of space.

The Soviet Buran space shuttle lands autonomously after its only mission
Buran shuttle

There was talk of satellite 'kidnap' missions, while Iran's government mouthpiece, Press TV, dubbed the X-37B a "secret space warplane" and a "first generation of US 'space Predator drones'" in a reference to the automated fighter planes the US military uses in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If successful, the X-37B's automatic re-entry and landing will be the first by a US spacecraft. The accolade of the first autonomous re-entry and landing belongs to the Soviet Union, whose own space shuttle, Buran, achieved the task in 1988 before it was cancelled.

Whatever the X-37B has achieved in its eight months away, the US Air Force obviously sees great potential: the Pentagon has announced it is building another prototype.

Filed under: Space





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#gastronomia : Shrimp and Veggie Kabobs with Thyme


Shrimp and Veggie Kabobs

These kabobs are so versatile! You can add the veggies you like and/or meat of your choice. You can bake them, pan fry them or even cook them on the grill. It's a perfect way to utilize fresh veggies from the garden for a quick, easy dinner. Pair with some wild rice and you've got the perfect, healthy, summer meal!

What You'll Need For Two People:
1 small zucchini, cut into chunks
1 small yellow squash, cut into chunks
4 small tomatoes, your choice of type
4 whole mushrooms, your choice
2 small chunks of onion, your choice of type
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Kabob sticks (Note: If you choose to grill the kabobs it is wise to soak the kabob sticks in water for at least 20 minutes so that they won't catch on fire.)

Preheat oven to 425 F, heat frying pan over medium heat or ready grill.

Arrange veggies on kabob stick. Brush each kabob with olive oil, sprinkle with thyme leaves, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Veggie Kabobs

Repeat process with shrimp by placing 4 large shrimp per kabob.

Shrimp Kabobs

Bake vegetable kabobs for 25-30 minutes, pan fry with a little non-stick spray for 20-25 minutes or grill for 10-15 minutes until veggies are tender. Bake, pan fry or grill shrimp kabobs for 3-5 minutes until pink. Serve immediately.

Notes: I used both red and yellow tomatoes. I also used button and baby portabella mushrooms. I also chose red onion. Asparagus would be a nice addition. Leeks would be good too. Any veggies that you like works. Mix it up! You could also use chicken or beef in place of the shrimp. Beef and chicken would take longer to cook than the shrimp so they could be placed on the same kabob as the veggies.

www.diannesdishes.com


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Pane elétrica no Banco do Brasil prejudica clientes

LEONENCIO NOSSA - Agencia Estado
UmaBRASÍLIA - pane elétrica no sistema interno do Banco do Brasil na tarde de hoje deixou fora do ar caixas eletrônicos em diversas regiões do País. Das 16 às 19 horas, clientes do banco não conseguiram fazer saques e pagamentos com cartão. A assessoria de imprensa do Banco do Brasil informou que, embora tenha demorado 15 minutos, a pane afetou uma série de programas e aplicativos, que só voltaram à normalidade no começo da noite. "A indisponibilidade do sistema, com a perda parcial de energia nos terminais, impediram que os clientes fizessem operações", informou a assessoria.


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#news Italian FM in Iraq for bilateral ties, talks about Aziz, Christians

BAGHDAD, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini arrived in Baghdad on Sunday to hold talks with Iraqi leaders aiming at promoting bilateral ties and to discuss situation of Christian minority in Iraq.

Frattini was received at Baghdad airport by his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari and held a meeting with the Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki and is due to meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

In a news conference, Zebari told reporters that Frattini talked with Maliki about his country's willingness to participate in Iraq's rebuilding, along with discussing the situations of Iraqi Christians after a series of deadly attacks against the minority in Baghdad and northern Iraq.

Zebari stressed the stance of the Iraqi government that Iraqi Christians are part of the Iraqi people and their protection is essential for the Iraqi government.

Zebari also revealed that the visiting Italian minister has also called for clemency against the death penalty for Saddam Hussien's Christian top aide Tareq Aziz.

"Such call is not only from Italy, but also from Russia, Vatican, some Arab countries and certain international organizations, and we have confirmed that (Italian) minister that the Iraqi jurisdiction is the one who decide, we have to respect the Iraqi law as Aziz has got all his legal right through fair prosecution," Zebari said.

For his part, Frattini said that his country's appeal for leniency against death penalty for Aziz was based on the "spirit of friendship that characterizes our (Italian-Iraqi) relations."

On October 26, Aziz was sentenced to death penalty by an Iraqi court for his role in eliminating religious parties during Saddam Hussein's regime.

Aziz, 74, was the only Christian in Saddam's regime. He was known as a fierce American critic after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent 1990-1991 Gulf War.

Frattini said that he met with the Iraqi Cardinal Emmanuel Delly and some Christian citizens who were at the Baghdad church which was attacked by Qaida militants on Oct.31, killing 58 people and wounding 75 others, most of them were Christian worshippers.

"I met at the Italian embassy Cardinal Delly the bishop of Baghdad and those who were in the church under attack of criminals who assassinated a young priest and other people because they are Christians," Frattini said.

"Prime Minister Maliki told me that they consider them ( Christians) as sons of Iraq, they are Iraqis, so they should be fully protected," Frattini added.

Farttini also said that Maliki talked about the formation of police units including Iraqi Christians in order to provide security for the Christian communities.

A day after the deadly attack on Oct. 31, an al-Qaida affiliated militant group in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Christians and their organizations have become "legitimate targets" for the al-Qaida militants.

Most of the Iraqi Christian minority, about one million in total, live in Baghdad and northern cities of the country including Kirkuk and Mosul. The religious minority in Iraq has already suffered hundreds of murders due to chaos and insecurity that engulfed Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.




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#news : Iran says "self-sufficient" in producing nuclear yellowcake

Chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi makes a speech during a ceremony to take delivery of locally produced yellowcake, a uranium concentrate powder, at the UCF plant in Isfahan 414 kilometres south of Tehran December 5, 2010. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali-Akbar Salehi said Sunday that Iran has become self-sufficient in producing nuclear yellowcake, state TV reported.

In a live broadcast from Iran's IRINN state TV channel, Salehi said that the country's first domestically produced nuclear yellowcake was shipped to central city of Isfahan for processing.

The country has no problem for producing yellowcake anymore, he told reporters in Isfahan.

Yellowcake is a kind of uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions, in an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. Typically yellowcakes are obtained through the milling and chemical processing of uranium ore is insoluble in water and contains about 80 percent uranium oxide.





Iran blames UN for disclosing Iranian nuclear scientists

names

'


TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki blamed United Nations Security Council for disclosing the names of Iranian nuclear scientists in their resolutions, the local satellite Press TV reported on Sunday.

Mottaki held countries behind UN Security Council Resolution 1747 responsible for the recent terror attacks on two Iranian scientists, urging the UN to pursue the case, said the report.

"We are going to send a letter to the UN Secretary General (Ban Ki-moon) about the issue," Manouchehr Mottaki said in an interview with Press TV on Saturday.

"We will strongly protest the disapproved act (of listing Iranian nuclear scientists in the text of the UNSC Resolution 1747) ," he said, adding that "The UN chief should put the matter on his agenda."

The top Iranian diplomat reiterated that countries which issued the anti-Iran Resolution 1747 were accomplices in the terror attacks on two Iranian scientists, according to Press TV.

In two separate terrorist acts in northern Tehran last Monday, Iranian nuclear scientist Dr. Majid Shahriari was killed and Dr. Fereidoon Abbasi was wounded when they were driving to work.

Reportedly, Resolution 1747 adopted by the United Nations Security Council in March 2007 against the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program cited the name of Abbasi as a " nuclear scientist."




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#news Iran says assassination of nuclear scientist aims at spreading fear: DM

TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said Sunday that the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist aims at spreading fear among the Iranian scientists, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Behind such assassinations are the Zionist regime and Western countries which want to stop Iran from achieving scientific and technological abilities and think that by doing such acts they can create fear among Iranian scientists, Vahidi was quoted as saying.

Those who did not condemn assassination of nuclear scientists in Iran are partners to those criminals, Vahidi told reporters implying the Western countries.

In two separate terrorist acts in northern Tehran last Monday, Iranian nuclear scientist Dr. Majid Shahriari was killed and Dr. Fereidoon Abbasi was wounded when they were driving to work.

Iranian officials accused the West and Israel for assassination on the two Iranian nuclear scientists





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#news : Explosion kills 7, injures 37 in SW China Internet cafe

By Xinhua writers Li Zhongjiang, Yang Hongtao, Yang Dingdu

GUIYANG, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed and 37 injured in an Internet Cafe when chemicals exploded in an adjacent shop Saturday night in southwest China's Guizhou Province, local authorities said Sunday.

The explosion happened in a shop where sodium nitrite and other explosive chemicals were stored. The 11:05 p.m. blast and ensuing fire completely destroyed the next door Internet cafe in Kaili City, Qiandongnan Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture, said a spokesman with Kaili municipal government.

Six people were killed on site and one woman died of extensive burns after treatment failed Sunday afternoon in hospital.

Police have detained Wu Zhanzhi for illegal possession of chemicals. The Internet cafe's boss Chen Chenggui and manager Xing Guangchang were also in police custody for questioning.

Forty-five people were in the cafe when the explosion occurred. Only one of them was not injured.

The rescue work had ended, and the 37 injured, including 8 seriously, were being treated in local hospitals. A statement from the Kaili municipal government said the injured people were in a stable condition.

Long Xianze, deputy head of Qiandongnan Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture Hospital, said the seven seriously injured people the hospital admitted were out of danger. The most seriously injured suffered burns over 35 percent of his body.

"I was chatting online when the blast knocked me over. I pushed away a wreaked desk that had landed on me and managed to climb out," said 18-year-old Long Jiuke, who was being treated in the hospital.

"The ceiling fell down after the blast. Someone pushed me down in the chaos, others stamped on me," said a female student of Qiandongnan Prefecture Middle School, who declined to give her name. She had burns on her face.

The investigators are presently identifying the bodies of the dead, one of whom was a child. Xinhua reporters heard that middle school students were among the injured. But it was not immediately clear how many children were among the casualties.

Internet cafes are not allowed by law to receive people under 18 years old in China.

Aside from ripping through the Internet cafe, the blast also shattered windows of nearby residential buildings.

The Internet cafe, with 140 computers, had been operating with a license for a number of years, police said.

A further investigation is underway.

"The location and environment of the Internet cafe is not safe. We will find out who approved its operation and who was in charge of safety supervision. They will be held responsible," said Li Feiyue, head of Qiandongnan Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture.




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#news : Russian satellites crash into Pacific: report



MOSCOW (Reuters) – Three Russian satellites crashed into the Pacific Ocean on Sunday after a failed launch, media reported, in a setback to a Kremlin project designed as a rival to widely used U.S. navigation technology.

Russian news agencies reported that the satellites went off course and crashed near Hawaii after blasting off from Russia's Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

A spokesman at the space agency Roscosmos could not confirm media reports but said the satellites had deviated from their planned course after a Proton-M rocket launcher malfunctioned.

"It was an unplanned situation," said the spokesman. He declined to give further details.

Interfax news agency quoted an aerospace industry source as saying that the carrier veered from course, bringing the upper part of the rocket with the satellites into an incomplete orbit and causing them to fall back into the atmosphere.

Roscosmos said it would issue a statement later on Sunday.

The satellites were the last of the batch of 24 satellites at the heart of Russia's GLONASS, its answer to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).

Russia has been developing the system since 1976. The state has spent $2 billion in the last 10 years on the project, and the system is expected to be fully operational by end of January 2011.

(Writing by Jessica Bachman; Editing by Maria Golovnina)





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#news : Palestinian official says not yet to dissolve PNA, welcomes Brazil's recognition of state

by Saud Abu Ramadan

GAZA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian official announced on Sunday that dissolving the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is an option, but will not be taken for the time being, while the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement slammed Hamas for accepting a referendum in case of a peace deal with Israel.

Nabil Shaath, member of the Palestinian negotiation team said in a press statement emailed to reporters that dissolving the PNA might be carried out only when the Middle East peace process with Israel collapses, "but it is not planned for now."

"President Mahmoud Abbas had stated that all options are open and possible in response to the standstill in the peace process and he doesn't speak about dissolving the PNA right now," said Shaath, one day after Abbas threatened to dissolve the PNA if the peace process fails.

Abbas said on Saturday in an interview with the state-run Palestinian satellite Television that his dignity won't allow him "to keep being the chairman of an authority that doesn't exist, because practically we do not exist. If they want to keep the occupation, then Israel will be fully responsible."

The direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which were launched in Washington on Sept. 2 and suspended on Oct. 2, are still stalled despite the United States, which is the main sponsor for the peace process, attempts to convince Israel to halt settlement construction.

The Palestinians decided to halt the talks with Israel, after the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a ten-month moratorium over freezing settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. They said no talks before halting settlement.

Abbas and other Palestinian officials had threatened to use other diplomatic options in case Israel keeps insisting not to freeze settlement, among these options is to see an international recognition of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

They said that if all these efforts failed, Abbas would announced that the PNA is dissolved and the West Bank would remain under the Israeli occupation. "President Abbas had exerted every possible effort to rescue the peace process and gave alternatives mainly concerning freezing settlement."

Asked about Brazil's recognition of establishing an independent Palestinian state on the occupied territories, Shaath said "such news is bringing joy and happiness. Brazil had promised us to stand by our side and its leaders did and they will officially recognize a state before January 2011."

Meanwhile, a senior Palestinian official rejected on Sunday the U.S. lawmakers' criticism of the Brazilian decision to recognize the future independent state once it is declared. Saleh Ra'fat had called on the U.S. to avoid making any decision against countries recognizing the Palestinian state.

Ra'fat, member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee told Palestinian Radio "Voice of Palestine" that the U.S. lawmakers' position, who slammed Brazil, "depends on the fact that they are totally supporting Israel and its policy."

"Such positions would encourage Israel to go ahead with settlement and neglect the will of the international community that calls for halting settlement and achieving a permanent and everlasting peace," said Ra'fat, adding that the Brazilian decision "is a positive step."

On Saturday, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Xinhua that the current Palestinian efforts are intensively focusing on demanding an international recognition of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 because this will be an international demand.

"The recent Brazilian declaration of recognizing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is a very big step. We consider this step a start to get more recognitions from the world's countries of an independent Palestinian state when we request from them to do so," said Erekat.




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#RIO ;O cala-boca Cabral e o troca-troca desesperado de Beira-Mar

maierovitch.blog.terra.com.br



–1. O “Cala-boca” Cabral.

Ontem, informei que havia um novo conflito no Complexo do Alemão.

Um conflito entre autoridades e decorrente de inoportuno ataque verborrágico do governador Sérgio Cabral.

Em menos de cinco dias e sem ter competência constitucional, Cabral anunciou o nome do futuro ministro da Saúde do governo Dilma Roussef e a manutenção do Exército, por 11 meses e com poder de polícia, nos territórios reconquistados no Complexo do Alemão e na Vila Cruzeiro.

A respeito, os jornais de hoje contam as reações de desagrado do presidente Lula e do ministro Nelson Jobim, este diretamente da Polônia.

O presidente Lula e Jobim já determinaram - e Cabral teve de engolir as conseqüências da sua precipitação -, que as tropas federais não ficarão no local por muito tempo e continuarão a atuar em apoio às polícias do estado do Rio de Janeiro, ou seja, nada de assumir o papel das polícias fluminenses, que são, constitucionalmente, as detentoras do poder de policiamento.

Nas próximas horas, e o presidente Lula já determinou a redação de uma diretriz, que vai engessar Cabral e terminar com os seus arroubos inconstitucionais. Do regramento oficial contará, por exemplo, a delimitação da área onde a polícia terá o apoio do Exército. Mais ainda, o apoio será “numerus clausus”, ou melhor, taxativo e não genérico, exemplificativo.

Não constará da diretriz a fixação de prazo certo para a permanência na área em questão. Mas, ficará expresso que será por prazo suficiente e com o mesmo efetivo, ou seja, 800 homens do Exército. E esse prazo suficiente, como será avisado Cabral verbalmente, não excederá sete meses.

Mais uma vez, e nem precisava, ficará expresso que as tropas do Exército terão comando de um oficial designado. Isto quer dizer que o comando não será do governador Cabral, como ele imaginava e, por isso, começou a soltar determinações.

turismo judiciário seria evitado com a v�deo-conferência

Beira-Mar de saída para uma audiência em Fórum: turismo judiciário seria evitado com a vídeo-conferência

–2. O “Troca-troca” de Beira-Mar

O comando de Operações no Complexo do Alemão deixou vazar - e o jonal O Globo de hoje publica longa matéria à página 20 -, a apreensão de cartas na casa de Marcelino Niterói, braço direito de Fernandinho Beira-Mar.

Os policiais suspeitam que as cartas tenham sido escritas por Beira-Mar. Já foi feito um primeiro cotejo quanto à caligrafia. Por outro lado, o conteúdo revela que se trata de escrito de um preso que está custodiado em presídio especial e em desespero por não ver possibilidade de fuga sem que seja por uma barganha com as autoridades.

Nas cartas em exame, Beira-Mar prega uma imediata união do Comando Vermelho com as milícias. Com a união seriam realizados seqüestros (tem até um nome sugerido e não revelado pela polícia) para trocar os reféns por milicianos presos, como Batman, o ex-deputado Natalino Guimarães e o ex-vereador Jerônimo.

A idéia de Beira-Mar -que também seria beneficiado numa das trocas - já foi da predileção da Máfia siciliana e da organização terrorista que ficou conhecida por Brigadas Vermelhas (a moeda de troca era o ex-primeiro ministro Aldo Moro, que presidia o partido da Democracia Cristão, o maior da época. Moro foi eliminado em razão da não aceitação da troca proposta).

Os mafiosos deixaram claro, para usar a expressão do saudoso escritor siciliano Leonardo Sciascia, que uma organização criminosa especial necessita sempre, para difundir o medo e até para trocas, de “vítimas excelentes” (pessoas de destaque, quer autoridades, quer celebridades) e, também, de “cadáveres excelentes” (mortes a causar repercussões nacional e internacional).

Como se percebe, Beira-Mar - com custódia em presídio de segurança máxima em Campo Grande (MS) - não está devidamente isolado. Em síntese, continua a mandar cartas com ordens.

Comando Vermelho perde território que governava.

Comando Vermelho perde território que governava.

–3. O diversionismo que favorece o crime organizado.

O diversionismo vem sendo a arma utilizada para reduzir a importância, embaçar o brilho e colocar em dúvida o êxito da atuação das forças de ordem no estado do Rio de Janeiro. Provocadas e desafiadas por uma “confederação criminal” formada por facções de matriz mafiosa, as polícias e as Forças Armadas lograram sucesso nas ações repressivas na Vila Cruzeiro e no Complexo do Alemão. A propósito, essa repressão ensejou as reconquistas do controle social e do espaço físico.

Com artes do mitológico Procusto, tem sido afirmado que a “guerra” declarada pelas facções criminais contra o Estado e contra a sociedade civil originou-se do fato de o governo Sérgio Cabral priorizar medidas de contraste às associações denominadas Comando Vermelho (CV) e Amigos dos Amigos (ADA) e de se omitir relativamente às organizações de paramilitares, chamadas de milícias pela população. Parêntese: as milícias foram criadas pela “banda podre” da polícia fluminense. Elas dominam territórios, cobram o “pizzo” (taxa de proteção da Cosa Nostra exigida dos moradores, comerciantes, prestadores de serviços e industriais), obrigam pagamentos de comissões nas locações e vendas imobiliárias, comercializam produtos piratas e drogas. Levado em conta o número de integrantes e o controle de áreas, as milícias já rivalizam com o CV. Como o CV e a ADA seguem o horizontalizado modelo da Camorra italiana, as milícias assemelham-se aos Los Zetas mexicanos.

Não faltam, ainda, os boatos sobre um acordo tácito celebrado, à véspera da tomada do Complexo do Alemão, entre o governo e o crime organizado, como sucedeu em 2006 no estado de São Paulo. Pelo avençado, os criminosos abdicaram da resistência armada em troca da fuga. E a “vox nullius” ecoada sustentava que o acordo interessava aos governos estadual e federal pelo grande risco de derramamento de sangue inocente.

No Rio, foram marcantes algumas falhas operacionais. Por exemplo: os 007 dos serviços de inteligência estimaram em 600 o número de membros armados do CV que estavam prontos a resistir à invasão. Destes, apenas 23 foram presos. Os demais, inclusive os chefões Fabiano Atanázio da Silva, vulgo FB, e Roberto de Souza Paz, apelidado de Mica, teriam fugido por uma galeria de águas pluviais, de dois metros de altura por igual medida de largura. E na fuga os criminosos teriam passado por baixo da pista da Estrada do Itararé, onde estavam estacionadas as tropas do Exército.

Não é correto, tecnicamente, fazer-se a separação entre CV, ADA e milícias. Todas elas são espécies de um mesmo gênero, ou seja, são organizações com matriz mafiosa porque controlam, em áreas certas, os negócios, submetem os membros às suas leis, difundem o medo e perseguem sempre o lucro. As UPPs, pelo informado, objetivam acabar com uma espécie de secessão, caracterizada por um sistema de poder próprio. Ou, como dizia o constitucionalista de Mussolini, o jurista Santi Romano, são organizações que estabelecem um “poder paralelo”. O certo é que o governo tem poder discricionário na escolha da melhor estratégia de implantação das UPPs. Com isso não está a conceder “bill de indenidade” para as milícias.

As falhas operacionais na ocupação do complexo do Alemão derivaram da falta de conhecimento do fenômeno e isso não significa acordo com o crime organizado. O diversionismo em curso só aproveita ao crime organizado. Ele quebra a confiança dos cidadãos nas forças do estado. Durante anos assistiu-se, nas correlações entre associações criminosas e membros escravizados da comunidade , um vínculo de solidariedade constituído pelo medo. E tal vínculo acabou de ser desfeito com as retomadas.

– Walter Fanganiello Maierovitch–

Sérgio Cabral e o curto-circuito com os militares.

Sérgio Cabral e o curto-circuito com os militares




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# WikiLeaks: EUA fez lobby para compra de aviões pelo Brasil



05 de dezembro de 2010 12h47 atualizado às 13h01


A venda de caças para a Força Aérea Brasileira motivou autoridades americanas a fazerem um lobby e entrarem na disputa em uma das maiores licitações já feitas pela Aeronáutica.

Segundo documentos divulgados pelo site WikiLeaks neste domingo (5), a ministra-conselheira da embaixada americana em Brasília, Lisa Kubiskie, reconhece a vantagem da França na possível compra pela negociação direta do gabinete do presidente francês Nicolas Sarkozy. O governo Lula já sinalizou preferência por um modelo francês, o Rafale, que, segundo relatado por Kubiskie em uma das correspondências, usam "argumentos enganosos, senão fraudulentos".

Um dos trechos dos documentos revela recomendações da embaixada: tornar o relacionamento do Brasil com os Estados Unidos mais "pessoal" pra competir com a França, aproveitar o "bom contato com (Ministro da Defesa, Nelson) Jobim", "ligações entre os presisdentes (Barack) Obama e Lula" e "visita da secretária (de Estado, Hillary) Clinton ao País".

Até o comandante da FAB, Juniti Saito, teria sido alvo do lobby. Segundo os documentos, em encontro com o ex-embaixador americano Clifford Sobel, Saito indica sua preferência por equipamentos americanos. "Voamos no equipamento americano há décadas e sabemos que é confiável e que sua manutenção é simples e oferece bom custo/benefício", teria dito Saito, conforme relatado no documento. O comandante teria ainda pedido uma carta "assegurando transferência de tecnologia" até o "dia 6 de agosto".

O futuro ministro das Relações Exteriores do governo de Dilma Rousseff, Antonio Patriota, também é citado em um dos documentos. Em uma reunião com o atual embaixador dos EUA, Thomas Shannon, sobre o assunto, Patriota teria dito que a "não há decisão (de compra) tomada".

TERRA


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#DILMA #LULA O principal espião de Lula no governo Dilma já especula sobre a volta do verdadeiro chefe


Ao comentar anteontem a psicopatia política de Lula, desentranhei o sentido nem tão secreto das expressões “herança maldita” e “herança bendita”. Empregada a primeira para designar o governo FHC, servia a dois propósitos conjugados: 1) se as coisas desandassem, a culpa seria do antecessor; 2) se as circunstâncias sorrissem, como sorriram, os méritos seriam atribuídos a Lula. A segunda expressão tem o sentido espelhado em relação à primeira, mas com o mesmo propósito, que é enaltecer o Babalorixá de Banânia: 1) caso o governo Dilma seja bem-sucedido, Lula lhe terá deixado uma base formidável; 2) caso naufrague, a responsabilidade será inteiramente dela (ou da economia mundial), e o demiurgo virá, então, para nos salvar.

Lula já negou, para incredulidade geral, que vá tentar a volta. Ele próprio empregou o verbo “desencarnar” para se referir à necessidade de o espírito de presidente da República abandonar o seu corpo e migrar para o de Dilma Rousseff. Mais: diz ter aprendido que ex-presidente atrapalha e que pretende ser um ex “como nunca antes na história destepaiz…” Vai apenas assar coelhos- e não adianta, leitor, torcer para que vá caçar sapo.

Não obstante tanta disposição para o decoro, a nata do primeiro escalão de Dilma é mais pró-Lula do que o governo do próprio. Com algum exagero, sim, mas que chama a atenção para a essência da questão, pode-se dizer que Dilma está cercada por um grupo de espiões lulistas. Ao menor sinal de desarranjo da equação imaginada pelo chefe, eles dariam o sinal de alerta: Gilberto Carvalho (secretário-geral da Presidência), Antônio Palocci (Casa Civil), Guido Mantega (Fazenda), Miram Belchior (Planejamento). Todos aí certamente respeitam o cargo da presidente, mas não há, no grupo, um só admirador de Dilma ou que a tenha como líder. Ela será, quando muito, uma chefe.

As coisas vão se cumprindo mais ou menos como o imaginado por Lula. Quando foi buscar uma sem-voto para fazer dela candidata, tinha claro que estava construído uma obra. Cheguei a chamá-lo de “Pigmaleão da política”, o que deu vida a uma estátua. Ele só não está exatamente apaixonado pela sua criação, como no mito. Ela é uma peça de seu xadrez político: tinha de entregar o pode a alguém que não fosse lhe fazer sombra na máquina partidária, que controla sindicatos, estatais, fundos de pensão etc. Ela governa, mas ele manda.

Durante um bom tempo, ouviremos falar do “estilo Dilma”; do seu “pragmatismo em contraste com a intuição de Lula”; de sua maior propensão à “racionalidade” ao tomar uma decisão, enquanto ele seria mais “emotivo”, essas coisas. Esses exercícios que perscrutam a alma da personagem da notícia, suas intenções secretas, seus receios íntimos, suas ambições etc. migraram das antigas revistas femininas para a cobertura política e resultam nos tais “perfis”, salpicados de psicologices e sociologices. Recorrendo à livre interpretação, repórteres e colunistas situam o texto na fronteira entre o jornalismo e a literatura, com boas doses, portanto, de ficção. E a Dilma independente, com marca distintiva, que pode dissentir de forma importante do PT, é uma dessas criações.

Ontem, Gilberto Carvalho, atual chefe de gabinete da Presidência e futuro secretário-geral, desandou a falar, acreditem, sobre 2014, a sucessão de… Dilma Rousseff!!! Não fosse o PT o que é, não fosse Lula quem é, não estivesse Dilma onde está justamente porque um é o que é, e o outro é quem é, deveríamos ficar um tanto espantados. Mas não há mesmo motivo para isso. Aquele escalado para ser o braço-direito da próxima presidente comporta-se como porta-voz do atual, especulando mais sobre o futuro dela do que sobre o futuro dele. Na ordem normal das coisas, é um despropósito. Mas ela não chegou lá porque se tenha cumprido a ordem normal: sem Lula, não teria se elegido vereadora em Cochinchina do Mato Dentro.

Carvalho concedeu uma entrevista à jornalista Vera Rosa no Estadão deste domingo. E foi indagado sobre a eventual volta de Lula em 2014. A única resposta ética, que respeita a figura institucional da presidente eleita, é esta, com variações de palavras: “Não faz sentido tratar disso agora; vamos nos esforçar para fazer um grande governo, e a presidente Dilma tem o direito constitucional de pleitear a reeleição”. E acabou! Ocorre que Dilma não é chefe no partido; Dilma não é nem será chefe de Gilberto Carvalho; Dilma não será chefe da Presidência. A menos que tente virar a mesa, o que, creio, não fará. Lula vai voltar? Eis a resposta de Carvalho:
“Ele não planeja nem voltar nem não voltar. Vai depender muito do que vai acontecer. Uma coisa é um governo Dilma bem-sucedido, e outra, com dificuldades. Uma coisa é ele articular um papel internacional muito mais amplo ou não. Tudo é possível. Agora, ambição automática de voltar não existe”.

Ponto final! Dilma está sendo testada pelos petistas na função de presidente da República, cargo que pertence a Lula. Uma única coisa é certa: ele não será professor da Sorbonne. Pode retomar seu “trabalho” no Instituto da Cidadania. Um empresário já busca a sede para o futuro Instituto Lula. O Grande Timoneiro expressa ainda o desejo de se dedicar ao combate à fome na África e à mobilização em favor da reforma política no Brasil. Tudo será feito para que ele se mantenha no noticiário, deixando evidente quem continua no comando. Adicionalmente, o recado também vai para as oposições: “Torçam para o governo Dilma dar certo; nesse caso, vocês a enfrentam nas urnas; se der errado, terão de enfrentar Lula”. Na entrevista de Gilberto Carvalho ao Estadão, lemos este trecho:
[Lula]Cobra resultados?
Cobra. E sem misericórdia. Mas, ao mesmo tempo, é o cara que dois minutos depois já esqueceu aquilo e é superafetuoso. Tem um episódio que nunca vou esquecer na minha vida.

Qual?
Foi quando eu fui exposto, na CPI dos Bingos (em 2005), por causa da questão de Santo André. O presidente sabia da maldade de tudo aquilo, um jogo político, mas podia ter se livrado de mim. E houve um dia em que teve aquela acareação com os irmãos do Celso Daniel (prefeito assassinado de Santo André). Lula ia viajar às 18 horas. Eu cheguei de volta do Congresso lá pelas 19 horas e ele estava na minha sala me esperando. Atrasou a viagem, passou a mão na minha cabeça e falou: “Gilbertinho, você não tem uma cachacinha pra gente tomar aí, não?” Um cara desses você morre por ele. Sou um privilegiado.

Encerro
Como se nota, já estamos no terreno da idolatria, o que, não custa lembrar ao muito pio Carvalho, é pecado!

Por Reinaldo Azevedo


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#LULA #DILMA Imobiliária do Congresso movimenta parlamentares


Antes de assumir o cargo, deputados e senadores precisam decidir entre um generoso auxílio-moradia e um apartamento de quatro quartos

Gabriel Castro

O porteiro Francisco Rocha cumpre rigorosamente os plantões de 12 horas em uma das entradas do bloco L da superquadra 202 Sul, no coração de Brasília. Fica atendo à qualquer movimentação em torno do prédio. Apesar de já exibir as marcas de mais de três décadas de uso, o edifício tem jardins bem cuidados, piso limpo, e a manutenção está em dia.

Mas Francisco não costuma ter muito trabalho: desde que foi contratado para o serviço, há dois anos, o prédio não tem um morador sequer. São 41 apartamentos vazios. O salário do porteiro, as despesas com limpeza e o material de jardinagem são pagos pela Câmara dos Deputados. O bloco L da 202 Sul é um prédio funcional. Deveria ser ocupado por deputados, mas boa parte dos parlamentares opta pelo auxílio-moradia de 3.000 reais por mês.

O trabalho de Franciso se resume a dar explicações a pessoas interessadas em adquirir um dos apartamentos, que ficam a cinco minutos do Congresso Nacional. Naquela área, um imóvel de três quartos pode ultrapassar a casa de 1 milhão de reais.

Os imóveis funcionais existem desde a construção de Brasília. Cinquenta anos atrás, fazia sentido oferecer moradia aos parlamentares transferidos do Rio de Janeiro para uma cidade em construção. A Câmara dos Deputados tem uma superquadra inteira para abrigar seus parlamentares - a 302 Sul. Ao todo, são 432 apartamentos, distribuídos por quatro superquadras do Plano Piloto.

Os prédios têm todos o mesmo padrão: blocos com seis andares, sem varandas. Por fora, a fachada é bem semelhante a dos ministérios, desenhados por Oscar Niemeyer. Por dentro, os imóveis também são praticamente iguais. Todos têm quatro quartos, com decoração similar. E a mobília também fica por conta Câmara: os deputados não precisam se preocupar com camas, mesas, sofás e eletrodomésticos.

Reforma Com o tempo, os prédios foram se deteriorando. Em muitos, havia infiltrações, falhas nas instalações elétricas e ferrugem nos ladrilhos. Para modernizar as construções e tentar atrair novos moradores, a Câmara dos Deputados investiu pesado: começou uma série de reformas em seis dos prédios, ao custo de quase 60 milhões de reais. Outros blocos devem sofrer reparos nos próximos anos.

Apesar da existência de apartamentos ociosos em imóveis funcionais, a situação pode estar mudando: sem reajuste há 8 anos, o auxílio-moradia tem ficado defasado em relação aos preços praticados na capital do país, onde os imóveis se valorizam assustadoramente – graças à alta renda per capita e ao limitado número de imóveis no Plano Piloto. O aluguel de um bom apartamento na Asa Sul, por exemplo, pode custar mais de 5.000 reais por mês.

Cento e trinta deputados eleitos para a próxima legislatura já pediram formalmente à quarta secretaria da Câmara a cessão de um apartamento. Os critérios, pelo menos formalmente, são claros: têm prioridade os deficientes físicos, os idosos, as mulheres e os parlamentares que moram com filhos. Mas as regras são apenas informais. “Existe, na Mesa Diretora, uma proposta para fixar esses critérios a partir de agora”, diz Osmar Moraes, chefe de gabinete da terceira secretaria da Câmara dos Deputados e responsável por avaliar os pedidos.

Senado – No Senado, a relação oferta x demanda é mais equilibrada. Os três blocos destinados aos senadores estão quase totalmente preenchidos, apesar de o auxílio-moradia, neste caso, ser maior do que o da Câmara: 3.800 reais. Os prédios, antigos, surpreendem pela fachada simples e pelo acabamento franciscano. Por dentro, porém, os imóveis espaçosos e bem localizados não deixam razão para crítica. “Ridículo é ter apartamento vazio e pagar auxílio-moradia”, afirma o senador Pedro Simon (PMDB-RS), morador de um dos imóveis da 309 Sul.

O senador Mão Santa (PMDB-PI), terceiro secretário do Senado e responsável pelos imóveis funcionais, diz que moralizou a gestão dos prédios. “Reduzi as despesas de 1 milhão para 100.000 reais por mês”. Ele afirma ter rejeitado propostas estapafúrdias de parlamentares como uma que previa despesas de 80.000 reais para a instalação de armários.

Chefe de gabinete da terceira secretaria, Roberto Mendes garante que não há pressões políticas: “O critério é a cronologia. Conforme os pedidos chegam, vamos preenchendo as vagas”. Na prática, as relações pessoais também influenciam. O próprio Mão Santa já acertou que vai entregar as chaves do imóvel a Garibaldi Alves (PMDB-RN), que a partir de 2011 será vizinho de Garibaldi Alves Filho (PMDB-RN).

Vizinhança – Os porteiros dos blocos habitados por parlamentares afirmam que não há registro de brigas entre os vizinhos. Lá, oposição e governo convivem harmoniosamente. Em todas as quadras, parlamentares dividem os blocos de apartamentos com pessoas comuns, à exceção da 302 Norte, onde vivem apenas deputados. Poucos brasilienses sabem diferenciar em quais imóveis vivem os parlamentares.

Em parte, o projeto do urbanista Lúcio Costa deu certo. Ele pretendia ver ministros e parlamentares convivendo com trabalhadores comuns. Os pilotis embaixo dos prédios são abertos, e o acesso às superquadras é totalmente livre. Na 302 Norte, onde moram apenas deputados, uma escola pública recebe crianças de cidades-satélites a poucos metros dos prédios onde vivem os parlamentares.

Gabinetes – Além dos imóveis funcionais, deputados e senadores disputam espaço também nos gabinetes do Congresso Nacional. Na Câmara dos Deputados, parlamentares crescem o olho sobre os escritórios no Anexo 4 - que, apesar de ficar mais distante do plenário, abriga gabintes maiores e com banheiro próprio.

No Senado, os mais cobiçados ficam no anexo 1: são maiores, chegando a ocupar um andar inteiro. A vista do alto das torres do Congresso é outro ponto positivo. Mas há um porém: ficam mais distantes do plenário. O senador Pedro Simon, um dos mais antigos da casa, poderia ter mudado de gabinete este ano, mas preferiu ficar no lugar de sempre, no subsolo: "Não vejo porque mudar".


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05 de dezembro de 2010 01h59 atualizado às 02h04


Os CPFs de cinco deputados estaduais e de três federais do Rio eleitos ou reeleitos em outubro constam em uma lista do Detran-RJ com os nomes de mais de 123 mil pessoas que deixaram de pagar o Imposto sobre a Propriedade de Veículos Automotores (IPVA) de 2006. A Procuradoria Geral do Estado (PGE) diz que quem não regularizar a situação até o dia 27 corre risco de ter bens penhorados. As dívidas somam cerca de R$ 31,7 mil

Adrian Mussi, eleito deputado federal pelo PMDB, é dono de um CrossFox vermelho que acumulou uma dívida de IPVA de cerca de R$ 11 mil. Ele não foi encontrado para comentar o assunto. O deputado estadual Edson Albertassi (PMDB) tem R$ 10 mil em dívidas referentes à falta de pagamento de IPVA de um Zafira preto. Procurado, Albertassi não atendeu às ligações feitas pela reportagem.

Também deputado estadual, Paulo Melo (PMDB) tem em seu CPF uma dívida de R$ 1,4 mil de IPVA de uma moto Yamaha DT 200R. A assessoria do deputado informou que o veículo já foi vendido e seu nome está no cadastro por engano.

O ex-jogador e deputado federal eleito Romário (PSB) também está na lista. Ele deve cerca de R$ 800 de IPVA de uma moto Agrale Elefant 27.5. A assessoria do ex-atleta informou que não poderia contatá-lo, pois ele se recupera de uma cirurgia.

Otávio Leite, deputado federal pelo PSDB, tem cerca de R$ 4,6 mil em dívidas referentes ao IPVA de uma S-10 preta. Ele afirmou que o veículo foi vendido há mais de seis anos e que iria providenciar a correção da lista.

Presidente do PPS-RJ, o deputado estadual Comte Bittencourt tem R$ 1,2 mil em dívidas de IPVA de uma motoneta Sundown. Ele disse que vendeu o veículo e providenciou junto à concessionária a correção da informação.

Os deputados estaduais Miguel Jeovani (PR), eleito em outubro, e Marcos Abrahão (PTdoB), reeleito, não foram encontrados para comentar as dívidas de R$ 1.135,99 e R$ 1.293,49 que aparecem em seus nomes.


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#rio RJ: 8 deputados e eleitos têm dívidas de R$ 31,7 mil em IPVA



05 de dezembro de 2010 01h59 atualizado às 02h04

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Os CPFs de cinco deputados estaduais e de três federais do Rio eleitos ou reeleitos em outubro constam em uma lista do Detran-RJ com os nomes de mais de 123 mil pessoas que deixaram de pagar o Imposto sobre a Propriedade de Veículos Automotores (IPVA) de 2006. A Procuradoria Geral do Estado (PGE) diz que quem não regularizar a situação até o dia 27 corre risco de ter bens penhorados. As dívidas somam cerca de R$ 31,7 mil

Adrian Mussi, eleito deputado federal pelo PMDB, é dono de um CrossFox vermelho que acumulou uma dívida de IPVA de cerca de R$ 11 mil. Ele não foi encontrado para comentar o assunto. O deputado estadual Edson Albertassi (PMDB) tem R$ 10 mil em dívidas referentes à falta de pagamento de IPVA de um Zafira preto. Procurado, Albertassi não atendeu às ligações feitas pela reportagem.

Também deputado estadual, Paulo Melo (PMDB) tem em seu CPF uma dívida de R$ 1,4 mil de IPVA de uma moto Yamaha DT 200R. A assessoria do deputado informou que o veículo já foi vendido e seu nome está no cadastro por engano.

O ex-jogador e deputado federal eleito Romário (PSB) também está na lista. Ele deve cerca de R$ 800 de IPVA de uma moto Agrale Elefant 27.5. A assessoria do ex-atleta informou que não poderia contatá-lo, pois ele se recupera de uma cirurgia.

Otávio Leite, deputado federal pelo PSDB, tem cerca de R$ 4,6 mil em dívidas referentes ao IPVA de uma S-10 preta. Ele afirmou que o veículo foi vendido há mais de seis anos e que iria providenciar a correção da lista.

Presidente do PPS-RJ, o deputado estadual Comte Bittencourt tem R$ 1,2 mil em dívidas de IPVA de uma motoneta Sundown. Ele disse que vendeu o veículo e providenciou junto à concessionária a correção da informação.

Os deputados estaduais Miguel Jeovani (PR), eleito em outubro, e Marcos Abrahão (PTdoB), reeleito, não foram encontrados para comentar as dívidas de R$ 1.135,99 e R$ 1.293,49 que aparecem em seus nomes.


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