The Brazilian Post - English - 72 by The Brazilian Post

BRAZIL: p03 More than 140 million Brazilians go to the polls to chose mayors and councilors.

PROFILE: p07 Sept 25th - Oct 08th 2012

Alessandra Negrini, the muse of screens talks about her acting in the film “Two Birds”.

LONDON EDITION

www.brazilianpost.co.uk • Issue n. 72

LONDON NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD

With both London Fashion Week and the London Design Festival taking over, the capital got back to doing what it does best: providing a platform and enticing environment for designers and international ‘it gangs’ to play it cool. Read more on pages 2 and 8 >>

02 | September 25th – October 8th 2012

Front Page FASHION AND DESIGN

Celebrating London’s creative identity Mortimer, Marketing & Media LTD CEO Marcelo Mortimer marcelo@brazilianpost.co.uk Editor-in-chief Ana Toledo ana@brazilianpost.co.uk English Editor Kate Rintoul Portuguese Editor Guilherme Reis Cool Hunter Zazá Oliva ENTERTEINIMENT Ricardo Somera Econommy Christiano Holanda Fashion Nathália Braga Food Saulo Caliari Ombudsman Allyson Leandro Profile Rômulo Seitenfus Sport Tico Silvério Travel Janinne Veloso

London Design Festival 2012 at Trafalgar Square

By Kate Rintoul While London’s golden summer of sport was great fun and fostered an old-fashioned sense of national spirit and love of bunting, the city shook of its purple tshirts and patriot colours for something far more chic last week. With both London Fashion Week and the London Design Festival taking over, the capital got back to doing what it does best: providing a platform and enticing environment for designers and international ‘it gangs’ to play it cool. Sometimes fashion and design may be frivolous but they are essential to London’s identity and history. For centuries the fashion and ideas created here have been the UK’s most influential exports, just think how the style and sound of Punk continue to reverberate around the

world, finding new audiences. London really is a capital of culture, art and design so it is great for us to celebrate this and look back on both its fashion week and design festival and find out why the international crowds flock here. While some people bulk at the thought of fashion and see it as a bunch of self-interested clotheshorses it shouldn’t be forgotten that the fashion industry is a huge driver in the UK’s economy and London is the focus of this attention and foreign investment. The British Fashion Council found that in 2009, the UK fashion industry was estimated at contributed £37.2 billion or 2.7 per cent to the UK’s GDP and this has become even more important during the recession. One of the major stories for this season was the return of Preen, a British label who had opted to show in New York

for the last five years. “We are delighted to be part of LFW again, it feels great to back on our own turf,” the designers told Vogue. This move has been seen as cementing London’s reputation as a great venue but also a leader in emerging talent and innovation. For a full run down of the looks and trends on and off the catwalk, don’t miss our Cool Hunter, Zaza Oliva’s fashion week special column. The London Design festival, celebrating it’s tenth birthday also rocked into town this week, with literally hundreds of events, large and small to showcase the hottest design talent from around the world. The festival’s chairman, Sir John Sorrell CBE said: “The world’s creative industries now make up 7 per cent of global GDP and Continued on page 08 >>

What’s on Shirley Nunes Graphic Design Roman Atamanczuk Jig Sarvaiya Free Translation Roberta Schwambach Departamento Comercial Marcelo Mortimer | 078 2816 5812 Shyrlei Nunes | 075 3876 3377 Support El Ibérico Distribution BR Jet Published by Emblem Group Ltd Mortimer, Marketing & Media LTD 34 Quixley Street, London | E14 9PU 020 7093 1413

Brazil | 03 ELECTIONS 2012

Brazil goes to the polls to choose mayors and councilors By Ana Toledo Those who thinks that Brazil only stops to take notice during the World Cup or Carnival, is mistaken. Elections in Brazil, every two years, take place on the first Sunday of October and ask for all Brazilians over 18 years, to complete their civic duty to vote in a democratic election. It is from thousands of candidates that leave pamphlet scattered streets around the polling stations that Brazilians select for office. This year, on 7 October, more than 140 million voters will choose mayors and councillors of 5568 municipalities. After three months with candidates campaigning across Brazil in the streets, in addition to radio and television broadcasting, and regular postings on social networks the new candidates will be selected. In this edition The Brazilian Post provides an overview of what happened during this government period and looks at how things might change after these elections. According to the Electoral Court, more than 15,550 candidates for mayor were eligible for the 2012 election. The number corresponds to approximately three candidates for council. The number for prospective councillors is nearly eight candidates per vacancy, ie, the total number of politicians running for councillors nationwide sum 450.000for 58.000 seats. About 250.000 Brazilians living abroad go to the polls. Internet According to research conducted by Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE), activity on social networks this year had a larger influence in the outcome of the polls and behaviour of Brazilian voters than in 2010. This will come to no surprise to social media users in Brazil, besides the buzz created by candidates, specific events have had a ‘viral quality’ and source of election humour, candidate profiles and their “vote chasers” also became more visible.

More than 140 million voters will chose mayors and councillors of 5,568 municipalities

Political scene Similar to statistics of the 2010 elections, the party with the largest number of candidates for mayor and councillors is the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) followed by the ruling party, the Workers’ Party (PT) (see Table 1). This data is important considering that the outcome of these local elections sets key points in establishing political forces in Brazil’s general election in 2014. In some ways, the results of 2012 sets the policy framework for 2014, so the movement of governors, congressmen, senators and even the president of the republic have given a declaration in support of candidates.

Campaign spending This year the expenditures of candidates for mayor and councillors grew by an estiamted 33 per cent compared to 2008. In only the first two months of campaigning, candidates for councillors in Brazil had added £ 975 million of spending (see Table 2 in the most expensive mayoral campaigns). The value is equivalent to the budget approved by the City Plan for the Brazil Without Misery 2012 campaign. This finding emphasizes the importance of rethinking the country’s political system and discusses political reform in Brazil, such as public financing of political campaigns. This is defended by many Brazilian political scientists and a considerable number of politicians who already hold a political office in the country. However, this project is moving in Congress since the government of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and there are still no plans for approval.

PMDB

•

Party with more senators

•

Second largest bloc of senators

•

Second largest bloc of deputies in Congress

•

Party with more deputies in Congress

•

More than a thousand mayors elected in 2008 across Brazil

•

Party with more candidates for mayor: 2,302

Second party with the largest number of candidates for mayor: 1,795

•

40,482 candidates for councillor

•

42,538 candidates for councillor

Most expensive campaigns 1.

Fernando Haddad (PT) - São Paulo

2. José Serra (PSDB)

- São Paulo

3. Cláudio Roberto (PSB) - Fortaleza

- R$16.6 million* – R$ 8.1 million – R$ 4.67 million

4. Márcio Lacerda (PSB)

- Belo Horizonte - R$ 4.5 million

5. Geraldo Julio (PSB)

- Recife

* £1 = R$3,36

– R$ 4.4 million

Brazil | 04 | September 25th – October 8th 2012

Elections in numbers in the streets calling for the vote of the people to try to secure one of 51 places available in the Rio Council. - The smallest candidate-vacancy relationship is seen in São Domingos do Pombal, State of Paraíba, where there is only one candidate for mayor and only ten candidates for nine seats of the City Council.

- Collectively, the 192 candidates vying to be mayor of 26 Brazilian capitals are predicted to spend to 1.254 billion reais (around £420 million) in election campaigns this year. - The capital in which candidates predict higher spending is São Paulo, which has, in turn, the largest numbers of plaintiffs for mayor. There are 12 candidates who project spend, together, 341.5 million reais (around 115 million pounds). - The personal assets of the 192 candidates in the municipal elections of capital for October totalled 379.2 million reais (around £125 million). - Among the 192 candidates in the capitals, 164 are men (85%) and 28 are women (15%).

- 106 - Brazilian voters in 5568 municipalities will go to polls to choose new mayors, vice mayors and councillors on 7 October. The country’s 436,679 polling stations will be prepared to receive 138.5 million Brazilians eligible to vote.

Brazilian cities have only one candidate in the race for mayor.

- The profile of the Brazilian electorate is made up mostly of women between 25 and 34 years. Among voters, 72,877,463 are women (51.9%) and 67,382,594 are male (47.9%), the remaining 134,046 (0.095%) did not report the sex at the time of the electoral registry.

- 7,781,718 voters are illiterate. Just 6,165,894 voters have completed higher education.

- Using a system of proportional representation, the first round will include 500,000 polling stations. The second round will be on the 28th, the last Sunday in October, and will take place only in those municipalities with more than 200,000 voters in which no candidate has reached more than 50% of the valid votes in the first round. - The biggest candidate-vacancy ratio

- The elections will be helped by 1,694,025 poll workers across the country. The Electoral Court convened 1,267,025 poll workers and 427,000 are volunteers.

in contention for a seat in the municipal elections in 2012 is the city of Rio de Janeiro, where 1,713 candidates are

- Six capitals have no women in the race for mayor chair: Salvador (BA), Fortaleza (CE), Campo Grande (MS), Cuiabá (MT), Teresina (PI) and Natal (RN). - The oldest candidate for mayor of the country is 78 years old and will try to govern the City of Joao Pessoa, Paraíba State. The youngest is 24 years old and is a candidate for mayor of Vitoria, Espírito Santo State. - At least 868 candidates for mayor, vice mayor and councilman across the country were barred based on the Law of Clean Sheet by the Regional Electoral Courts.

Community CAMPAIGN

Happy Child delighted over Brazilian participation Goals are being reached and there’s still time to donate By Nathália Braga

Caroline Taylor, one of the founders of the institution

Celebrating its 10th year, the Happy Child campaign has achieved good results in helping children who face abandonment and are forced into homelessness. The charity was founded in the UK but focuses on helping children in the Brazilian cities of Belo Horizonte and Recife. While in Belo Horizonte there are a 24h emergency centre for street children, ten houses and a sustainable farm for activities, in the city of Recife the organisation maintains a shelter mainly to help children who have experienced sexual abuse while living on the streets. It is estimated that as many as three million children in Brazil have been forced into this precarious existence as their parents have neglected them as they battle with drug problems and domestic violence, according to UNICEF. These numbers may seem even more shocking given Brazil’s current assent to sixth place in the world economy and it is clear that if it wasn’t for the kind acts of volunteers giving their time and expertise these statistics would be much higher. To help minimise the damage and the effects of this situation in the future, Happy Child led the 1,000 Sign-up Campaign. The goal was to gather the pledges of as many people as possible in London to donate £ 3 to £ 5 per month to the charity. This is a tiny fraction of most people’s income and when you compare how much it costs to live in a city as expensive as London. In this perspective this is such a small contribution to

save countless children from child prostitution, domestic violence and lack of access to security and education. At the end of ten months, to celebrate the success of this campaign, thousands of balloons will be released into the London sky with donor names written on them, to mark the charity’s appreciation. Ten Brazilian companies are promoting the campaign, which, according to Caroline Taylor, one of the founders of the institution, is going very well. “The ten Brazilian companies participating are really doing their bit, wearing the t-shirts and trying to raise funds. The Camden restaurant Made in Brazil raised £500 at an event held in June, it is really encouraging. The campaign is growing in the Brazilian community in London, which is fantastic. At least 65 per cent of Brazilian firms in the campaign already volunteered to give

monthly donations to Happy Child,” said Caroline. How to donate Events as well as restaurants and collections in shops have been held to encourage people to donate, you might have seen that this paper has also been an active supporter of this campaign. “At least 25 people have become got in touch because they read about us in The Brazilian Post and I’m really grateful for that, this has probably added around £ 1,000 to the fund,” said Caroline. The idea of the campaign just asks people to donate a tiny amount of their monthly income, from £ 3 per month, if enough people pledge to do this, a real difference can be made to the lives of homeless children. To donate, simply visit the website and sign up: www. happychild.org.

Community | 06 | September 25th – October 8th 2012 http://hilarious-consequences.blogspot.co.uk http://www.steaknightcomics.com/steaknightcomics.com/RRR_BOOKS.html

OMBUDSMAN This is your chance to let the Brazilian Post’s team know what you think. Send your feedback and get involved! Send your emails to contato@brazilianpost.co.uk

“It is clear around the world that The London Paralympic Games 2012 were remarkable at raising the interest of disabled people, only an event of this magnitude can speak so loudly about the ability of athletes’ willpower. It makes the Olympic motto “Live is one” even more pertinent. London was a special place for Paralympic Athletes shows their skills and beat records like we had never saw before. It gave the world a special taste of victory right in the birthplace of the Paralympic competitions, one that we will want to last in the next event in four years time in Brazil, with incredible records, brave actions and a lessons learned in London: that disabilities do not affect the power or success of the show”.

- Paulo André de Andrade, Guarapuava PR

Community| 07 PROFILE

Alessandra Negrini: the muse of screens By Rômulo Seitenfus She arrived as the most anticipated attraction between the stars of the Brazilian Film Festival of London to the presentation of Two Birds, a film in which she plays Julia, a prosecutor involved in an operation organized to assassinate a corrupt politician. With action and romance, the movie directed by Alfonso Poyart gathers the greatest scenes of explosions of Brazilian cinema. Full of special effects, the film was shown in the fourth edition Brazilian Film Festival of London that finishes September 25. The daughter of an engineer, Luiz Eduardo Osorio Negrini, and a pedagogue, Neusa Vidal Negreiros, she spent her childhood and adolescence in the city of Santos (São Paulo State). At 18, he enrolled in a theatre course, and was called in to do tests on Globo TV. Her debut was in the TV soap opera “Olho a Olho” (Eye to Eye), by Antonio Calmon, and the following year she attended the cast of “Cara e Coroa” (Face and Crown), by the same author, both as adjuvant. Besides several works in television, she played in theatre The Lady from Dubuque, The Creditors, The Seagull, in which she travelled to Europe, Canada and Japan. In cinema she has a long list of movies filmed as “ Oque é isso, companheiro?” (What is it mate?), “Amor, Sexo e Traição” (Sex, Love and Betrayal) and “Os Desafinados” (The Tune). When the film Cleopatra, directed by Julio Bressane, premiered she won the Best Actress award at the Brasilia Film Festival. In this interview, Alessandra Negrini reveals peculiarities in interpreting Julia in the film Two Birds, talks about the partnership with the team and with director, reflects on the growth of Brazilian cinema linked to the country’s economy and account why reconcile the world of films with television. You play Julia, a promoter of many facets that blend panic syndrome, romance and action. How was playing this character? Julia is a bandit hero who finds herself involved in a complicated situation. Dreamed of living on the beach, she wants to be loved and suffers from panic attacks for all that she is going through. It is not just an action movie, but also a romance. I loved the film, I found amazing. It was great; we had camaraderie between the actors and the director, a great partnership. When you have this kind of partnership, any work is good. How was your first contact with the Two Birds screenplay? A script arrived in my hand and I thought, let’s see what it is. When I read I wondered: Who is this guy? I found the script very interesting, very different. It had its own language and I bumped into making the film. The director Alfonso Poyart asked the actors to improvise quite a bit in scene. Have you felt it was a good technique adopted? Yes, he asked to improvise with more scenes, we could improvise to become more natural. That was very good because he gave us more freedom to create. Of course that the script was followed, but we had more freedom to improvise and thus it helped in the development of the characters. How do you see the Brazilian cinema increasingly breaking boundaries? Brazil is the country of the moment economically and we have to take good advantage of it. It’s a good

Photo: by Rômulo Seitenfus

opportunity to raise our flag, show our country. It is Brazil showing that we can make the movies we want to do. How do you reconcile television with cinema? I ended up moving in various spheres of culture, which I think is cool. In Brazil, television is very important, it gives me great pleasure, and I also like to make auteur cinema. I feel happy to realize these desires. I devoted many years of my life on TV and a few years’ round began to diversify more. The TV requires a full-time dedication and the ability to make only that for a year, a year and a bit. So I think it is good to have a replenished energy between one work and another. Because if you

go out on the street, you’re not you. It’s very big, which is nice, I’ve gotten used to it and the television gives a nice adrenaline and it interests me, but I like this time to diversify. Can you live well with fame and harassment of the public? I learned to protect myself, to know how to act, when you need to hide and not do much fuss in places. I like to see the world and I cannot do this only when I go out of Brazil. I like the urban city, I do not like to live alone, have a way of being, a certain discretion that protects me.

08 | September 25th – October 8th 2012

Ema Brazil sofa and coffee sacks at Tent London 2012

Continued from page 2 >> people increasingly realise that design is the driver for growth. We are living in anew age of creativity. The power of ideas is what brings economic success and prosperity and what helps us make the word a better place.” This sense of wanting to design to improve people’s lives could be felt at all of the LDF events, from the small POP UP to the grander ideas on show at design fair juggernaut TENT. TENT London is one of the worlds fastest-growing design fairs, with many independent and major companies choosing to exhibit here over other events. Taking over the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane (the hub of London’s current creative vibrancy) it was fantastic to see beautiful products and design brought together with truly exciting results. While trying not to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of beautiful things on display at TENT a stall – 20Age (http://20age.com/) caught my eye. Designer Emma Phelps scours the world and history of design looking for classic pieces of furniture, when she finds them she restores and updates them to create utterly unique and desirable objects. For her latest collection, Phelps who is married to a Brazilian was inspired by a year they spent there, “There are so many cultural differences when compared with London to be inspired by that it’s difficult to not feel creative. Brazil is so colourful and vibrant which is what my collection is all about”. The results capture all of the spirit and dynamism of Brazil’s many states, from African-inspired textiles of Rio to Ottomans upholstered in coffee stacks and our favourite: chairs and cushions upholstered using the iconic wristbands of the Bahia region. “I come from a textile and theatre design background and love to work with different fabrics and textures, so the idea of using a luck charm that is famously known all over Brazil in a different way to create a tactile and aesthetically pleasing result was really interesting to me. Most people outside of Brazil don’t know what they are but are immediately drawn to them and love the story they carry”. Phelps first showed her collection at TENT in 2010 and was keen to return after her year in Brazil as the event is packed with “inventive design which is all housed in a grungy, old brewery in the heart of exciting, trendy East London” While Sao Paulo was a great

Bahia cushion at Tent London 2012 place to be inspired, Phelps found some of the best creativity and design was plentiful in the streets of Brazil, she is happy to be back in London as, like many Brazilians living here, she values the diversity on offer here. We asked her why she thought London was such a great place for design...

Tent London 2012

“You never know what you’re going to find! We embrace difference and individuality in London, whether it be fashion, cultures or food, you won’t find repetition and that is why we are one of the design capitals of the world”. And we couldn’t have put it better ourselves.

Latin America HONDURAS

Back to ‘Banana Republic’ By Guilherme Reis The American chronicler William Sidney Porter, under the pseudonym O. Henry, coined the name the “Banana Republic” at the beginning of the last century. Featured in the book Cabbages and Kings, 1904, the term referred originally to Honduras - one of the poorest countries in Central America. Subsequently, the pejorative term came to define those countries, typically Latin American, where a unstable policy made the population live in submission to the interests of rich countries. The strong presence of U.S. companies United Fruit Company and Standard Fruit, which used to dominate the production of fruits like pineapple and bananas in the Caribbean, illustrated the situation in the region during most of the 20th century - which was also explored by film maker Woody Allen in his movie Bananas, 1971. In the 21st century, however, the term “Banana Republic” seems more relevant than ever, and precisely in its place of origin: the poor and weakened Honduras, which is still governed by fragile democratic pillars after the military coup that removed President Manuel Zelaya from power in 2009 and is about to literally sell off part of its territory in part of a neo-liberal desire to attract foreign investment. ‘Charter cities’ Seen by the lean-to government of President Porfirio Lobo as “the most important project in the country in half a century,” Honduras signed a memorandum approving the privatization of three cities earlier this month. With their own security agents, tax system and legislation, these places will be open and looking for investment from entrepreneurs in under six months. The idea is that these so-called “charter cities” will have an Executive, Legislative and Judiciary that are totally unrelated to the Honduras government. Accordingly, their administrations gain enough autonomy to ratify international treaties, bilateral partnering and establish their own immigration policy. A group of foreign investors travelled to Tegucigalpa to attend the ceremony and also signed the memorandum. The government argues that this is a way of strengthening the national infrastructure, as well as fighting corruption and drug trafficking. “This has the potential to transform Honduras into a money machine and is an instrument of development typical in first world countries,” said Carlos Pineda, president of the Commission for the Promotion of

Who wants to buy Honduras? Public-Private Partnerships in Honduras. According to Juan Hernandez, president of the Honduras Congress, the South African investment group MGK has already pledged to inject $15 million (US dollars) initially to build basic infrastructure in the first model city. The expectation of parliament is that improvments to this city will initially create about five thousand jobs and more than 20,000 in the future. He also revealed that South Korea has already deposited in the Honduras vaults $4 million toward feasibility studies of the works. This development model is the realisation of a proposal for “charter cities” proposed by the US economist Paul Romer, a graduate of the University of Chicago school of economics, who is currently professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University. Citing Hong Kong as an example, Romer argues that cities based on a “charter” of strong, pro-business laws and institutions are the key to rapid growth, particularly when they can act as international gateways to larger regions such as China.

In countries that lack such fundamentals at a state level, he proposes the creation of special zones where they can be established from nothing. Reaction Contrary to the project, the group “Soberanía Popular – Sin Ciudades Modelos” (roughly translated to “whithout charter cities”), which brings together various civil movements, went to the Supreme Court of Honduras with complaints against President Prorfirio Lobo and President of the National Congress, Juan Orlando Hernández, that they had apparently approved amendments to articles of the Constitution of the country. The document submitted to the Court indicates that the creation of REDs (Special Development Regions) necessarily imply that outsiders will be “taking guardianship of the state” in relation to part of the territory and population, which “will be administered by the principle of international commercial law”. Tomás Andino, group member and

accuser said: “With these reforms, the concept of national sovereignty is being violated, since the formalisation of REDs provides part of the territory indefinitely to international bodies, giving rights over the same land.” In a result for the pressure group, the public prosecutor did find that the measures and scheme are unconstitutional. The project face suffers resistance by indigenous communities that would be affected by the construction of these “model cities”. Contrary direction Agreeing or not with the project of “charter cities”, it is undeniable that by pressing forward with these plans, the experiences of Honduras will be in steep contrast to what has happened in most Latin American countries in recent years. The region, a historical stage of international abuses, has gradually managed to consolidate and balance unprecedented independent politics, even strong reactionary forces. The emergence of a new “Banana Republic” will be a significant setback.

10 | September 25th – October 8th 2012

Technology YOUTUBE

Public square of controversy By Guilherme Reis After Facebook became a key platform for the organization and dissemination of protests of the Arabic Spring, culminating in the fall of some dictatorships last year, now has been the time for YouTube to shake the region. In recent weeks a 14 minute trailer for the the film Innocence of Muslims that was published on Google’s platform has been the trigger for a wave of violence against the U.S. embassies in Libya, Egypt and Yemen, with further disturbances in Pakistan and Iran. Although the real causes of antiAmericanism in the Arab world are deeper (no doubt the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan are some), the video, posted on YouTube, was undoubtedly the final straw for some. The violent reaction symbolizes a wider cultural clash between the Arab world and the West and that raises the question: How should YouTube’s act in situations like this? Is better content moderation a real solution? The film, which was posted in the United States by an Egyptian and then translated into Arabic language, depicts the Prophet Muhammad

as a child abuser, womaniser and murderer, which for many Muslims is seen as extreme blasphemy and a crime. Once violent protest erupted, at the request of local governments, YouTube suspended viewing of the film in Egypt, Libya, India and Indonesia. The company, however, has refused to remove the film circulation in the United States, against the request of President Barack Obama, citing the U.S. Constitution amendment, which ensures and enshrines free speech. “We have worked hard to create a community that pleases our users and also allows people to express different opinions,” said a spokesman for YouTube in a statement. “This can be a challenge because what is normal in one country may be considered offensive in another. This video - which can be easily accessed on the Internet – does not negate our guidance, so will continue to be found on YouTube,” added the spokesman. Among such guidelines of the video platform is the ban on sexually explicit content, or detailed representations of violence, hate speech, animal abuse, drug use or administering alcohol to minors. It was not the first time the website has faced this type of dilemma. A

14 minutes video caused violence in Arabic world month ago, YouTube blocked a series of videos of riots in India at the request of the authorities, who feared that the videos would lead to more civil unrest. In 2009 a video of an Iranian woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, dying in the street continued on air due to its newsworthiness (to become one of the most viewed deaths ever), YouTube dis add a warning advising that it was detailed and potentially offensive. The case of Innocence of Muslims’ video and resulting violence including the deaths of American embassy officials, however, has led many analysts to demand that YouTube play a more active role, reviewing and regulating the billions of hours of footage in its web page. It was even suggested that YouTube should seek the consultation of the most serious law makers and neutral parties, to review and potentially order the removal potentially incendiary content. Others, however, question the feasibility and reality of asking YouTube to take an active role in vetting videos. They point out the limitations of techniques that would be needed to search every detail of the existing stream of videos on the site and issue judgments on those that would incite violence, hatred or murder. Furthermore, they believe that by doing so, YouTube would have to bend to the interests of various groups. Anything, with widely varying

productions costs and values - from home videos of puppies to pornography, blasphemy and political positions - can be uploaded to the network without being monitored or edited. Administering a visible presence in uncontrolled environment will require enormous skill. Anyway, agreeing or not with a possible future of content moderation by YouTube, the issue goes beyond this latest perceived insult to the Muslim faith and brings into question the globalization that has been forged by West. The global public square created by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the internet as a whole is the new space of power where images compete and ideas are challenged. This space of friction and fusion is where common interests and debates are being built. With the advent of democracy in the Arab world and the establishment of an increasingly pluralistic and interconnected international community, this is a new reality, which we all must learn to cope and manage with.

Economy BY

CHRISIANO HOLANDA cholanda@brazilianpost.co.uk

Northern gripes: The Finns are being hardnosed because they face their own hardship

In the historic heart of Helsinki, leviathan cruise ships can be glimpsed across the harbour ready for their next trip. Just two hours across the Gulf of Finland is Tallinn in Estonia. Continue due south and a weary traveller will eventually reach Athens. If Greece is the awkward customer among southern Europe’s debtor nations, Finland is the stroppy partner among northern creditor nations. It has insisted on special terms on its contributions to euro-zone bail-outs since mid-2011 by getting collateral on its lending. Government ministers eschew highflown rhetoric about European unity: the foreign minister recently caused a kerfuffle by saying that Finland has contingency plans for a break-up of the euro. From one perspective, it is hard to see why Finland is being so obstreperous. The country thrived for the best part of a decade after it joined the single currency in 1999. And although it suffered in the recession of 2008-09 it has since made a robust recovery. Unemployment has come down from a peak of 8.7% in early 2010, to 7.5%. Helsinki’s markets are thronged with shoppers and retail sales across the country have been perky. The recovery has been sustained by strong consumer spending, supported by a sturdy housing market. The financial system is in decent shape.

First iPhone 5’s Go on Sale in London (And Head Straight To eBay) Londoners heading to work through the gray, stone facades of Regent Street were met with something they see once every few years – clusters of tired, frazzled people rubbing their hands and occasionally pumping the air with their fists as they prepared to buy the latest iPhone at the Apple Store. This was a queue of devoted Apple buyers like none before, with more media here than I can ever remember seeing for the iPhone 3 or 4, and quite a few who were exploiting Apple’s cache for purposes beyond having the newest mobile phone in their pocket. Case in point: the man at the very front of the queue, Richard Wheatcroft, 30, was here to raise awareness for his charity, Hope Boutique Bakery, staffed by women caught up in sex trafficking. He and his colleague George Horne, 23, had been sleeping in their two camping chairs for the last seven nights, and in the last few minutes before the doors finally opened, were taking photos and video of each other to document the experience. Wheatcroft, whose cherry-colored eyes suggest little sleep in the last few days, had never used an iPhone before and said he “loves Android.” His current phone was an HTC. “I’m probably the worst person to have an Apple queue ever,” he said, grinning. “I’ll be putting it in a box and saying goodbye to it.” The first two phones he and George bought would be going straight onto eBay. They were also planning to sell the third and fourth places in the queue be-

The queue for the new iPhone 5 handsets, at the Apple store on Regent Street. Photo: Angelique Berge hind them to bidders, and aiming for £5,000 a piece. Wheatcroft and Horne were joined by a few other charities at the front, and snaking around the corner of the Apple Store behind them were clumps of people who planned to re-sell their phones for a huge premium on eBay, to other countries like Latvia and India. Near the front of the line was one person who looked very much out of place among those who’d be sleeping rough: a young, well-groomed woman with a twinkling necklace and impeccablywhite teeth. When you saw the man standing next to her, just behind the met-

al barrier, you could see why. Amanda, 23 and from Brazil, had bought her place in line from Emmanuel, a 33-year-old Brazilian who sported a healthy amount of stubble, shaded by an orange baseball cap. He looked like he’d happily collapse into a bed or park bench at any moment. Amanda had just met Emanuel yesterday when she came looking to buy a spot, and the two hit it off when they realized they shared a country of origin. How much had Amanda paid for her place? “I can’t say,” she said, smiling. A few thousand? “No, no, no, no,” Emanuel drawled, shaking his head. “Four hundred.” Amanda nodded, still smiling. It was true, she said.

Where America’s Richest Man Is Investing His Money Bill Gates is best known for his Microsoft billions and the great philanthropic works that have followed. But something interesting has happened recently, and perhaps notably with this year’s Forbes 400 number-crunching, which puts him on our list up $6 billion with a total $66 billion to his name. Gates’s net worth is now stunningly unrelated to the stock performance of the company he cofounded thirty-seven years ago. Because of regular stock sales, Microsoft today makes up just one-fifth of Gates’s assets. At the time of last year’s Forbes 400, it was a quarter. The large remainder of his wealth is tied up in an investment entity called Cascade Investment LLC, which is managed out of Kirkland,

Washington, a quick drive (with no traffic) from Microsoft’s Bellevue headquarters. We don’t know much about Cascade except its largest investment positions, and in those, there is some insight about how America’s richest man is placing bets. And perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the king of tech favors more stodgy Warren Buffet-like deals for returns, or at least asset diversification. This year, for example, Gates gobbled up shares of Republic services, which operates 334 trash collection companies, 191 active landfills and 74 recycling facilities. Gates has for a while been a large shareholder in Republic Services, but this year increased his stake by 16% as the stock

edged up just 3%, barely beating the even more paltry gains of rival Waste Management. Gates now holds roughly $2.2 billion worth of Republic Services stock. He also upped his stake of auto-dealer network AutoNation by 17%, taking his total stake to a value of $680 million. AutoNation owns and operates 258 new auto franchises, mostly in the Southeast. In contrast to Republic Services, AutoNation’s stock has done nicely this year, increasing 13% as Gates was buying up shares. Another chunk of Gates’s wealth is in cleaning supply outfit Ecolab. His stake here hasn’t changed much over the past year, but is one of his largest known-investments worth $1.8 billion.

12 | September 25th – October 8th 2012

Sport

by Tico Silvério

No option... Without identity, without the support of the fans and accumulating bad results, the Brazilian football team lives the so-called crisis of transition. With the retirement of a champion generation, made up of Ronaldo, Cafu and Roberto Carlos, Brazil’s team never managed to find suitable replacements or even an effective game plan. It’s been 10 years and two World Cups since the 2002 championship, and everything that was said during that time was under renovation. New players have emerged and some, like Neymar and Ganso, have been touted as saviors of the nation. Even with these new faces, however, Brazil continues with a bureaucratic and unimaginative football. What is the solution then? Well, for the most people the answer is easy: replace the coach. But what seems easy, in fact, is a huge question mark. If the problem is the team’s command, unfortunately I see no solution to the coaches that are available and that are always remembered by fans. Luiz Felipe Scolari: Adored by fans, but if you take a look at his work after the 2002 World Cup, you notice that the coach had no relevant work. He did a good job with the Portugal’s team, but disappointed losing in the Euros at home to Greece. After that, at Chelsea, he had no success; similarly in in Uzbekistan and his last spell at Palmeiras he lived haunted by controversy, despite the title of the Brazil Cup. Muricy Ramalho: He was the first choice before Mano Menezes became the Brazil’s team coach, but contractual disagreements with Fluminense forced him to give up the opportunity. At the time he was supported unanimously and was living a spectacular moment. Now I have my doubts about his methods, and I do

Although it is not very clear in its scoring criteria, the FIFA Ranking is the only parameter that we have to evaluate the football’s national teams. Even though some confederations say they do not care about the rank, to stay on top or climb positions in the table is a common desire. Spain and Germany have dominated the ranking in recent years, while Brazil and Argentina appear only as adjuncts. If the rank represents what is best in football, how then would the team with Who can replace Mano Menezes in Brazil’s football team? not think he would add much in the current situation. Tite: He demonstrated to have knowledge and command over his squad to win the Brazilian Championship and the Libertadores Cup with Corinthians and, despite all the pressure facing the team, he managed to keep them focused. However, Tite has no sufficient basis to undertake the task of commanding the Brazil’s squad. Vanderlei Luxemburgo: He has already been considered the strategist of Brazilian football, but after a few ups and downs, the coach is not a favorite for Brazil’s team. Pep Guardiola: He was my favorite name. Not only because of the brilliant work done in Barcelona, but also because he is not part of the “gang”. He would be a new face, and starting from zero, he could impose his philosophy and way of working. But as Guardiola said “no”, so we have to keep looking... is Dunga still unemployed?

Breaking records and exceeding limits The London Olympics, even if recent, is already part of the past, but there were moments and athletes that have left unforgettable scences in our memories. Daniel Dias, is one of these athletes, someone who can be classed as not by their disability alone but by their victories, both in and outside of the Aquatic Centre. At age 24, Daniel became the greatest paralympic medalist in Brazil, with 15 medals in two Games: 10 golds, four silvers and one bronze. With an absolutely brilliant performance in London 2012, where he rose to the top of the podium to show his gold to the world six times, and beat the world record on four occasions and in a return to the paralympics, Daniel

The best team in the world

hopes to shine more in 2016. All of this is just another challenge in the life of this young athlete, who has struggled and prevailed over his limitations since childhood. It is sad that sometimes athletes with a disability are overlooked or don’t have their work recognsied, but not only did London 2012 seem to redress this, Dias certainly leaves nothing to be desired in terms of love, dedication and overcoming expectations of “normal athletes”. So if Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps have become living legends in London, so too has Daniel Dias and with an advantage: he is the only one of the three that still has real chances to better his results of recent games.

the best player of each of the 11 first selections rank? Well, to solve that, I formulated a team with the best player, according to FIFA. But, as Brazil is not among the first 11, we can’t put Mano Menezes as coach and Neymar is only a luxury reserve. So do you agree with my selection? If you want to practice your coaching skills, write to us to warrant your squad.

Ranking

National Team

Player

Spain

Iniesta (midfield)

2 Germany

3 England A Cole (left-back)

Lahm (right-back)

Portugal

C. Ronaldo (attacker)

Uruguay

L. Suárez (attacker)

Italy

Buffon (goalkeeper)

7 Argentina

Messi (attacker)

8 Netherlands

V. Bommel (midfield)

Croatia

Modric (midfield)

Denmark

Daniel Agger (defender)

11 Greece

Loukas Vyntra (defender)

Brazil Neymar (reserve)

Sport | 13 POST GAMES

Can London 2012 legacy inspire a new generation?

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

By Jamie Jubon After a highly successful Olympic and Paralympic Games, London 2012 organisers now face a challenge of a different kind. How can they build on such great success for Team GB and create a lasting legacy for sport in Great Britain? Going in to the Games, Lord Coe had always said his main target was to “inspire a generation” to compete in future Olympic Games. Prime Minister David Cameron also stated he wanted more sport to be played at schools, in the hope of ensuring that future Team GB athletes can not only emulate this year’s achievements, but somehow better them. As the UK government looks to build a lasting legacy, they have outlined a tenpoint plan detailing the best ways in which to do this. There will be a hugely substantial £125million per year funding for elite sport in Great Britain over the next four years - up until Rio 2016. There is also a £300million investment planned to transform the Olympic Park into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,

which will be open to the public, though the future of the Olympic stadium remains uncertain. Two football clubs, West Ham United FC, and Leyton Orient FC, the two closest clubs to the stadium by proximity are vying to take over the stadium in 2014, along with a group hoping to hold Formula One races. Why this long-running saga wasn’t sorted out years ago is bizarre, and possibly the one and only failure by the government regarding London 2012. Going back to the legacy plan, they also aim to bring 20 major sporting events to Britain over the next seven years, whilst investing £1billion before 2017 into the Youth Sport Strategy. Lord Coe has also been appointed as the UK’s Olympics Legacy ambassador, which seems a very wise move considering how highly-acclaimed his role was in the smooth running of the London Games. Will the plans of the legacy work though? There is no doubt that this summer’s festival of sport captured the imagination of the British public in a way that no sporting event has ever done before. Television viewing figures were at an all-time high during the Games, with 51.9 million

people watching at least 15 minutes of TV coverage. That figure amounts to 90% of the UK population. In addition, 84% of the country tuned into the opening ceremony, with 82% watching the closing ceremony. The majority of events were also sold out, including those in the Paralympic games, demonstrating the unique love the Great British public have for sport. Events such as rowing, cycling, equestrian and taekwondo made the back pages of national newspapers for the very first time and people were captivated by sports they would never have imagined they would be interested in. Sportsmen and women unknown to the public before the Games, were becoming national heroes. This newly-found enthusiam should enhance the number of people in Great Britain participating in these sports. It is hoped young people will be inspired to try and emulate their heroes who achieved one of the greatest accolades a human being could ever wish for, an Olympic Gold medal. It can of course be hard to try and encourage schoolchildren to get involved in

certain sports, rowing being one. A large stretch of water is not the easiest commodity to locate, especially in a city such as London. However, cycling is one of the most accessible sports in the world. Young would-be sportsmen need only purchase a new bicycle and they would already have the equipment needed to become the next Chris Hoy. Bradley Wiggins’ surprise victory at the Tour de France is also expected to see a huge surge in the amount of potential young cyclists in Great Britain. The successes of Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis will hopefully also inspire future track and field athletes, with the 2017 Athletics World Championships also being held in London. The UK government‘s plans are highly ambitious, so there is a wonderful chance a lasting legacy can be created. If they can stick to their pledges and invest as much money as they have promised to, they really could ‘inspire a generation’. If they do so, UK sport will continue to go from strength to strength, which can only be good as far as Rio 2016 is concerned.

Focus-Brazil 2012 | 14 | September 25th – October 8th 2012 Focus-Brazil 2012

Brazil in focus

London’s second symposium , FocusBrazil Europe, concluded on Saturday, 22 Sept, has been hailed a great success with all 10 panel discussions and lectures welcomed b the audience. During the course of the event, some 500 people debated the future of political representation of Brazilians living abroad to the challenges of promoting arts and culture for Brazilians abroad. The schedule of the European version of the event, which is also held in the United States and Japan, include topical subjects and speakers, including the highly acclaimed presentation of Short Films focussing on Brazilian emigration that were produced by Brazilians abroad and coordinated by Professor Else Vieira. Regardless of the unquestionable success and quality of all panels, that were rated an impriovment on last year’s event, one of the highlights was the Promotion of Language Panel which attracted hundreds of educators, parents and a large contingent of children who also participated in the contest Focus-Brazil Drafting, Drawings and Photographs. Presented by TV Globo International and sponsored by Bank of Brazil, TAM Air-

lines and cultural support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Consulate General of Brazil in London, the Focus-Brazil/Europe recorded congressional delegations from 14 countries, including the United States and Japan Other successful events were the Panel of Communitarian Media and the Gathering of Emigrant Brazilian Writers, represented by 23 authors from 11 countries, who also participated to the exhibition of works at the event, which was once again held at the Hilton Hotel Canary Wharf in London , with one of the panels, dedicated to political representation and gender issues in Brazilian emigration, held at the Embassy of Brazil in London. “We are delighted not only with the number of participants and countries represented in this second European edition, but much more so by the extraordinary quality of the panels. We pay close attention to the feedback that is passed by participants, panellists, media and general public. We only have reasons to celebrate and then trying to improve the agenda”, said the journalist Carlos Borges, who leads the organization of Focus-Brazil events.

Press Awards

Award celebrates talent and positive image of Brazil For the second consecutive year the Quay Convention Centre at the Hilton Hotel Canary Wharf in London hosted the awards ceremony of the Brazilian International Press Award. Over two hours, winners in 16 categories of art, culture, sports and social action and community celebrated the Brazilian presence in the UK, interspersing their emotional acceptance speeches of the award, amid sensational shows with special guests Brazilian Voices, Anselmo Netto, Meninoy Josué, Beatriz Malnic and Divyarup. The ceremony, presented by Carlos Borges and Katia Fonseca, was covered by 22 media outlets and Brazilian delegations from 14 countries of Europe, as well as

guests of the United States , Brazil and Japan The special prize of the night was devoted to the journalist, foreign correspondent and anchor of Rede Globo, Renato Machado, who said he was honoured not only with the public acclaim but by the video retrospective of his long and successful career. The Brazilian International Press Awards UK 2012 was presented by TV Globo International, sponsored by Bank of Brazil and TAM Airlines, and cultural support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate General of Brazil in London.