APRIL
2003
Cover
by
Aylan
Mello
CONTENTS:
Immortal at Last - Brazil's Paulo Coelho
So many readers complained that they could not find his books in Portuguese that Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, one of the world's bestselling authors, took an unheard of decision: he put all of his 10 books online. For free.
by Kirsten Weinoldt
Thank you, George, thank you - from Brazil
Brazilian bestselling author thanks President Bush for uniting a fractioned world: "Thank you for allowing us—an army of anonymous people filling the streets in an attempt to stop a process that is already underway—to know what it feels like to be powerless."
by Paulo CoelhoTo Brazil, Castro Can Do No Wrong
By its inaction, Brazil has blown an opportunity to show the world that it is ready to stand up for human rights and has grown up politically. It would be too much to expect though. President Lula himself, a little over a year ago, declared that Fidel Castro was "the greatest statesman in the Americas".
by John Fitzpatrick
Journalist, a Dangerous Job in Brazil
About 20 million Brazilians have access to the Internet. Brazil publishes more daily newspapers than Mexico, Germany, or Russia. It also has the fourth largest TV network in the world. Journalists from Brazil are protected from censorship by the Constitution. Still being a journalist in Brazil is a hazardous profession.
by Jamie PoppBeware Brazilian Food
In the south of Brazil, some farmers have been illegally cultivating genetically modified soy. In addition, Brazilians have been left without measures to identify GMO's or genetically modified organisms in food products.
How Is Brazil Racist? Let Me Count the Ways.
Brazil's elite has been ashamed of its huge African descent population for centuries and as Brazilian doctor and sociologist Raimundo Nina Rodrigues himself once said, "the black race of Brazil... will always constitute one of the factors of our inferiority as a people."
by Mark Wells
Lula or Cardoso? Who's Brazil's President?
In all the key policy areas—land reform, environmental protection, affirmative action, and foreign policy—Lula's policies are almost indistinguishable from those introduced by Fernando Henrique Cardoso. A Lula public apology to Cardoso would be good for the country.
by Ted Goertzel
War and the Empire of Baloney in Brazil
While we haven't seen many cases of adulteration of images in the international press on the Iraq war, twisting captions has become in vogue— specially in Brazilian newspapers. There are tens of cases in which the editor introduces non-mentioned subjective ingredients in the original caption, which aren't evident by the pictured situation.
by Alberto DinesA Day Out in the City of God, Brazil
There is a different, heavier atmosphere on this side of the road; a lot of loitering young men, soldiers of The Red Command who rule the roost, watch us intently…. Now we walk through tightly packed, identical blocks of flats all tied together with washing lines and low-hanging electrical cables.
by David Alexander RobertTitanic Brazil
During Brazil's entire history, those above deck have thrown leftovers to those in the holds, the better to maintain a living workforce and to prevent violence. We created an economy for the few and assistance to delude the rest.
by Cristovam Buarque
100 Days of Lula and No Cardoso
Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso treated the audience, which had paid a lot of money to hear him, to a rather flat lecture on world affairs which was lacking in ideas and wit. He sounded like the kind of Bush-basher who fills the opinion columns and letters pages of the Brazilian media.
by John Fitzpatrick
Colin Powell on War and Brazil
Colin Powell: "The United Nations has a vital role to play in the rebuilding effort of Iraq…. We are watching with great interest as President Lula works on improving the economy of Brazil and we are moved by his commitment to improving life for all Brazilians."
War: Brazil, I Beg to Differ
The 'warrior race' theory of North American genetics presupposes that we all love war. It overlooks the fact that idealism isn't altogether dead in the U. S., and that many young men and women might actually be willing to sacrifice their lives for other human beings.
by Phillip Mizewski
Brazil Goes to War
Brazil's lack of training became apparent when the Brazilian soldiers came under enemy fire. Instead of dispersing, so as not to provide choice targets for German gunners, the Brazilians bunched together. In one trench, 80 dead Brazilians were found, having followed one after the other into the death trap.
by John Roscoe
THE WAR IS US - A view from Brazil
There is no way to see the Iraq war as a local one. The armies in Iraq are regular armies, but there are also irregular ones confronting each other all over the Middle East, and a political battle being fought all over the world. Historians may hesitate to call it a World War, but these historians usually are not able to size and name events, anyway.
by Alberto Dines
Ary Barroso's Herbal Bath
Here's the story of how young Brazilian composer Ary Barroso found fame and fortune: The woman ordered: “Take off all your clothes!” Ary obeyed, and she pointed to the vat: “Get in.” The woman prayed and chanted, mixed various herbs into the bath water, and finally declared, “You may get out. The evil is gone.”
by Daniella Thompson
Brazil's Rock of Ages
Hans Stern is the man behind Brazil's gemstone dynasty. At age 80, he still presides over H. Stern. He still arrives at his office every morning, his sole concession being that he now arrives at 8.30 rather than 8 AM as he once did. He remains fully informed of all ongoing activity.
by Phillip Wagner
Rio Never Was Paris
Rio is no longer Brazil's federal capital and the city has gone to seed. The gay, painted Parisian ladies of the center have turned into dowdy old senhoras, shedding plaster molding like a mangy dog sheds hair. Everything will crumble away because it was never real in the first place.
by Thaddeus Blanchette
Does Zero Hunger Make Sense? - A View from Brazil
In Brazil, hunger and malnutrition are part of a syndrome that includes illiteracy, inadequate schooling, unemployment, poor health care, family breakdown and substance abuse. Targeting hunger may not be the best way to break this syndrome. Lula's first priority has to be to avoid an Argentina-like catastrophe.
by Ted GoertzelWater Rights in Brazil
Vast areas of Brazilian land have been and are still being expropriated so that large hydroelectric dams can be built to generate energy for industries. One million people have been forced off their lands due to dam constructions. Now, those affected by dams started their own movement to fight this trend.
The Art of Deception and the Iraq war
Americans and the rest of the world are watching different wars on TV: the real one presented by the foreign media all around the world, and the other sanitized war presented to the American people by the American networks. The United States population is probably the most manipulated population on the face of earth.
by Ricardo C. AmaralLula, Brazil's Mr. Gardiner
Our own tele-idiot is very real and has already conquered Brasília. Our President analyzes the political moment with shallow metaphors. Talking about the changes he hopes to promote, he said, "It is like harvesting fruit. It's no use getting it when it's still green". Kosinski wouldn't dare this much.
by Janer Cristaldo
Blacks and Whites. We're All Brazilians in Brazil
Just when the Americans discover mestiços, Brazilian black activists want to eliminate them from the national picture. In a servile imitation of the Yankee press, Brazilian newspapers start using the term "afrodescendant" to define the population that the Census Bureau classifies as negro or brown.
by Janer Cristaldo
Bossa Nova Is Samba. No, It's Not.
João Gilberto, considered the pope of bossa nova, receives in Walter Garcia's book Bim Bom a most detailed if somewhat cryptic study. Covering 224 pages, the work examines how João Gilberto's famous guitar beat became the symbol of a musical genre that has crossed borders and took Brazilian music to far-away places.
by Egídio Leitão
Are Brazilians Corrupt? Prove It.
It's usually said, "We all know that Brazilians are corrupt." There's the presumption that this is so evident that proof is not necessary. "Specialists" on Brazil frequently miss things that any 9-year-old Brazilian would be able to pick up. Too often "common sense" opinion is simply a synonym for ignorance and prejudice.
by Thaddeus BlanchetteBrazil Empire Lives On
Brazil has not completely finished the process of becoming a Republic. Nor has it completely abolished slavery. In 21st-century Brazil the elite feel as distant from the people as they did in the 19th century. The Brazilian elite do not feel like citizens who pertain to the same people.
by Cristovam BuarqueWaging Peace - The View from Brazil
Just as the "ordinary citizen" of Iraq cannot be generalized as a clone of Saddam, the Yankee "ordinary citizen" cannot be seen as violent as Bush. We must be reminded that, in 1942, when the Nazis sank Brazilian ships, mobs aroused by newspapers grabbed German citizens living peacefully and legally in our country and lynched them to death.
by Alberto Dines
Can't Xuxa Act Her Age? - Brazil TV
Xuxa, "the queen of the tiny tots," is celebrating her 40th birthday. Brazilian magazines are marking the event as though it were a milestone in Brazilian history. In five or 10 years will she still be wearing knee-length boots, mini skirts and bobbing around in front of a group of four to five year olds?
by John Fitzpatrick
A Taste of Brazil in Chicago
Many have come and gone, but some have stayed and Chicago is becoming more and more an option for Brazilians. The city now has two new Brazilian restaurants and three supermarkets catering to Brazilian customers. Add to this two samba groups, a dance group and two Brazilian radio programs.
by Paulinho GarciaA Trap for Blacks in Brazil
Brazil now has quotas for blacks and a law requiring the teaching of Afro-Brazilian History in school. These measures are obviously racist. Besides, the history of Africa is the history of tribal warfare and slavery, stoning to death for adulterers, sexual mutilation as custom. This will bring no contribution to Brazilians' self-esteem.
by Janer Cristaldo
Iraq - Brazil Watches and Waits
Lula is not a hypocrite like France's Jacques Chirac. Brazil knows it makes no sense to irritate Washington unnecessarily over this war. The country has enough trade disputes with the US to get involved in a matter which has little to do with Brazil's strategic interests.
by John Fitzpatrick
Brazil, a Nation at Peace
The days leading into a unilateral Anglo-American invasion of Iraq seem to be numbered. Brazil is just one among scores of nations solidly united against the American aggression, and deeply wary of the harm it will bring to the Middle East and to emerging markets the world over.
by Norman Madarasz
Georgia on My Mind Brazil and Music
Georgia's voice combines the softness and vulnerability of Astrud Gilberto, the passion of Elis Regina, and the power of Marisa Monte. If you think you're tough, listen to her CD first, and then try to tell me it's not a tearjerker. Make sure you have a box of tissues on hand.
by Melinda WongBrazil's Lula and Iraq
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made a public statement lamenting the onset of armed action in Iraq. Here is the translation of the text, provided by the Brazilian Embassy in Washington.
Wars: There and Here - Brazil
Nothing new in the media front. The question of Iraq was erroneously conveyed and reduced by the media (both domestic and international) to a Bush vs. Peace confrontation. The coverage of our own war against narcoterrorism was also characterized by a vision both fragmented and simplified.
by Alberto DinesWe Are Paying for This War - Brazil and Iraq
How is the U.S. government planning to cover the Iraq war's debt? By circulating dollars abroad and gathering capital from periphery countries. The United States economy is going to try to save itself from the current crisis by spending money on arms and having Third World countries like Brazil pay for this spending.
by João Pedro StédilePaulista Patois
Going to São Paulo? Then you need to talk the talk. And what people speak there is not Portuguese or Brazilian. They have a language of their own, known as Paulistês. Here's a sample:
Unknown Island
I always thought that for navigation there are only two true masters, one that's the sea, the other one that's the boat, And the sky, you are forgetting the sky, Yes, of course, the sky, The Winds, The Clouds, The sky, Yes, the sky.
by José Saramago
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