Hey City Zen!

Continuing the Christian drive to strengthen moral values in America, Pat Robertson Suggests that the U.S. should Kill Venezuela's Leader:

"Mr. Robertson has set off an international firestorm by saying on his television show that the United States should kill the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, a leftist whose country has the largest oil reserves outside the Middle East". Full article in the NY Times.

I particularly love the Jesse Jackson reaction: "The Rev. Jesse Jackson called for the Federal Communications Commission to investigate, just as it did when Janet Jackson's breast was exposed in the Super Bowl broadcast in 2004. 'This is even more threatening to hemispheric stability than the flash of a breast on television during a ballgame," Mr. Jackson said.'"

Indeed, if Janet's boob was an afront to moral values, how about assasination? Now, Pat, what part of "Thou shall not kill" don't you understand?

Looking at the list of countries now sending help to Portugal, one wonders why do we not see any help from the U.K. Given the historical alliance as well as the large number of U.K. residents in Portugal, wouldn't it be reasonable to expect some help?

Since I live much of the year in the USA, I also notice that here there is a federal agency whose responsibility is to deal with natural disasters (FEMA). Rather than each country locally replicating disaster assistance structures, there could well be a similar EU-wide organization. Half the EU budget goes for some form of largely outdated agricultural subsidy; could we not take a chunk of that money for a FEMA-like organization?

Finally, the saddest thing about the Portuguese fires is that they seem to have a criminal origin, yet no one has been charged for setting up a fire in more than a decade. EU countries should press Portugal to improve the policing of its forrests as well as due prosectution of those starting the fires.



P.S. I am back in the U.S.A. More soon.

Boozoo Bajou - Killer (King Britt Vocal Rmx) (Real Media)

Funkstörung "The Zoo" - video by Zeitguised (Real Video). Check out their new album The Return to The Acid Planet

Out Hud - It's For You (Rub n' Tug's Panarava Mix) (Real Media). There is also a Video of the album version (quicktime).

O Sudoeste foi em tempos o melhor bar do Bairro Alto, onde a casa se partia ao meio com o Papas Got A Brand New Pigbag dos Pigbag e onde o Acid House fazia as primeiras incursões em Lisboa.

Agora, Sudoeste quer dizer o melhor festival de Portugal, e é lá que vou estar no dia 6!

And I thought that I was the only one who noticed that the US mobile phone coverage is dreadful... I just wished they had Google SMS in Europe.

A diferença entre as telenovelas americanas e brasileiras, é que as primeiras nunca acabam; nunca há resolução definitiva. É assim um pouco como a justiça Portuguesa, quando comparada com a dos outros países industrializados.

Em França, o julgamento de 65 arguídos durou 5 meses, para crimes de pedofilia cometidos entre 1999 e 2002 –- justiça tipo “Escrava Isaura”. Já nos Estados Unidos, o julgamento de Michael Jackson durou cerca de 4 meses -– justiça tipo “Dancing Days”.

Já sei que é um lugar comum^* refilar sobre a justiça em Portugal, mas vendo a justiça de outros países a funcionar de maneira relativamente rápida, é impossível não ficar triste com a comparação. Em Portugal a justiça é mais como o “General Hospital” que dura há décadas sem resolução final. E o pior é mesmo quando cancelam o show a meio da temporada, sem se saber quem matou o JR... Ou no caso da Casa Pia, se o realizador não nos irá tentar convencer que foi tudo um sonho mau; neste caso, um sonho colectivo de dezenas de crianças.

Algúem se lembra do sonho da Victoria Principal no Dallas para explicar o ressuscitamento de Bobby Ewing?

^*vulgo Cliché.

Launching the Computational Biology Collaboratorium and Computational Biology PhD Program at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia.

Launching the Artificial Life X conference, call for papers, organization, etc.