Coisas que não mudam #637

30 de Novembro é dia de Santo André, padroeiro da Escócia

Sem título #343

Thanks to all of those whose work is not noticed :-)

Caprichos #434

Sticky toffee pudding.. one of the wonders of British cuisine

Parece que estou a ouvir #424

Velha e Louca
Mallu Magalhães

Pode falar que eu não ligo
Agora, amigo, eu tô em outra
Eu tô ficando velha
Eu tô ficando louca

Pode avisar que eu não vou, oh-oh-oh
Eu tô na estrada
Eu nunca sei da hora
Eu nunca sei de nada

Nem vem tirar meu riso frouxo com algum conselho
Que hoje eu passei batom vermelho
Eu tenho tido a alegria como dom
Em cada canto eu vejo o lado bom

Pode falar que eu nem ligo
Agora eu sigo o meu nariz
Respiro fundo e canto
Mesmo que um tanto rouca

Pode falar, não me importa
O que tenho de torta, eu tenho de feliz
Eu vou cambaleando
De perna bamba e solta

Nem vem tirar meu riso frouxo com algum conselho
Que hoje eu passei batom vermelho
Eu tenho tido a alegria como dom
Em cada canto eu vejo o lado bom

Nem vem tirar meu riso frouxo com algum conselho
Que hoje eu passei batom vermelho
Eu tenho tido a alegria como dom
Em cada canto eu vejo o lado bom

Inverno #78

Primeira geada da estação

Sem título #342

Ignore... if you can ignore!

Coisas que não mudam #636

Cats as loafs...

Coisas bonitas #147

Esta manhã pela fresquinha...

Palavras lidas #568

Flamingo Watching
by Kay Ryan

Wherever the flamingo goes,
she brings a city’s worth
of furbelows. She seems
unnatural by nature—
too vivid and peculiar
a structure to be pretty,
and flexible to the point
of oddity. Perched on
those legs, anything she does
seems like an act. Descending
on her egg or draping her head
along her back, she’s
too exact and sinuous
to convince an audience
she’s serious. The natural elect,
they think, would be less pink,
less able to relax their necks,
less flamboyant in general.
They privately expect that it’s some
poorly jointed bland grey animal
with mitts for hands
whom God protects.

Ditto #567

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great republic is a government of laws and not of men.

--Gerald Ford*, on his inaugural address after Nixon's resignation

*Ford remains to this day the only US president unelected for the presidency or vice-presidency

Caprichos #433

Eritrean food at Hillfields in Coventry, not far from Far Gosford

Sem título #341

If you must...

Cores de Outono #112

Colourful end of Cannon Hill Rd.

Caprichos #432

Hamburgers de cebolada, pimientos de padrón e salada de tomate cereja

bem bom!

Parece que estou a ouvir #423

Cara de Anjo Mau
Jorge Palma

Os teus olhos são cor de pólvora
E o teu cabelo é o rastilho
O teu modo de andar é uma forma
Eficaz de atrair sarilho
A tua silhueta é um mistério da criação
E sobretudo tens cara de anjo mau

Cara de anjo mau
Tu deitas tudo a perder
Basta um olhar teu
E o chão começa a ceder
Cara de anjo mau
Contigo é fácil cair
Quem te ensinou a ser
Sempre a última a rir?

Que posso eu fazer ao ver-te acenar a ferida universal?
Que posso eu desejar ao avistar tão delicioso mal?
Que posso eu fazer quando me sinto fora de mim?
Que posso eu tentar senão ir até ao fim?

Cara de anjo mau
Tu deitas tudo a perder
Basta um olhar teu
E o chão começa a ceder
Cara de anjo mau
Contigo é fácil cair
Quem te ensinou a ser
Sempre a última a rir?

Por ti mandava arranjar os dentes e comprava um colchão
Por ti mandava embora o gato por quem tenho tanta afeição
Por ti deixava de meter o dedo no meu nariz
Por ti eu abandonava o meu país

Cara de anjo mau
Tu deitas tudo a perder
Basta um olhar teu
E o chão começa a ceder
Cara de anjo mau
Contigo é fácil cair
Quem te ensinou a ser
Sempre a última a rir?

Parece que estou a ouvir #422

Heard in champions league games and in the occasional coronation

Zadok the Priest

Handel

Zadok the priest
And Nathan the prophet
Anointed Solomon king

And all the people
Rejoiced, rejoiced, rejoice
And all the people
Rejoiced, rejoiced, rejoiced
Rejoiced, rejoiced, rejoiced
And all the people
Rejoiced, rejoiced, rejoiced and said:

God save the king
Long live the king
God save the king
May the king live forever
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen
Amen, amen, alleluia, amen

God save the king
Long live the king
May the king live forever
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen
May the king live
May the king live
For ever, for ever, for ever,
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen
Alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, amen

Long live the king
God save the king
Long live the king
May the king live
May the king live
For ever, for ever, for ever,
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen
Alleluia, alleluia, amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, amen

Coisas que não mudam #635

Inquisitive cats

Sem título #340

One time it will be but until then, do nothing stupid...

Palavras lidas #567

Those Places
by Kay Ryan

They are not
imaginary but
accessible only
intermittently.

Seasonal, shall
we say, in the way
of the exquisite
high parts of
Yosemite

which
having visited
you cannot wish
inhabited
more easily.

Ditto #566

It is in knowledge that man has found his greatness and his happiness.

--Laurence Binyon

Caprichos #431

Mimos de mãe :-)

Cores de Outono #111

Cores de Outono com arco-íris no fim da estrada

Cores de Outono #110

Caminho em cores de Outono

Num país a fingir #66

Visto de fora, pela The Economist...

______________

Portugal’s prime minister resigns over a corruption scandal

A popular Socialist is brought down by a probe into lithium mines

image: afp

Nov 7th 2023

C

entre-left parties in Europe have had a rough time in recent years, but Portugal has been an exception. António Costa, the Socialist prime minister, has been in power since 2015, first leading a coalition including parties from the far left and later a minority government. Portugal’s economy, among the best-performing in Europe, is expected to finish this year with a reasonably solid 2% growth. In an election in 2022 Mr Costa defied expectations by winning an absolute majority for his party in parliament.

But on November 7th his good fortune came to an abrupt end. He resigned following a police raid on his residence, part of an investigation into corruption scandals over lithium mines and a green-hydrogen project. Mr Costa’s chief of staff and a close adviser were detained, as was the Socialist mayor of Sines, a port city south of Lisbon, and two executives from a data-centre company. Prosecutors announced that the minister of environment and climate and the minister of infrastructure had been named as defendants, and that Mr Costa, too, is under investigation. The prime minister denied having done anything illegal, and said he had “a clear conscience”.

The corruption probe is looking into government awards of contracts for two big lithium-mining projects, as Portugal tries to win a place for itself in Europe’s growing battery-manufacturing production chain. The country claims to have western Europe’s largest reserves of lithium ore, and in May its environmental regulator granted approval for a huge open-pit mine in the region of Barroso. Another mine, in the region of Montalegre near the Spanish border, was given the go-ahead in September. Both have faced protests from locals over their environmental effects.

But the corruption investigation by Portugal’s public prosecutor dates back to 2019, when a whistleblower alleged there had been favouritism towards Portuguese firms in awarding a contract to build a green-hydrogen energy plant and an associated data centre in Sines. It has since grown to include the lithium mines. The potential crimes under investigation include “active and passive corruption of office holders” and “political influence-peddling”.

Mr Costa says he will not run for prime minister again, regardless of how the investigation turns out. In principle the Socialists could form a new government under a different leader. But after accepting Mr Costa’s resignation, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal’s president, said he had convened the country’s State Council to begin the process of dissolving parliament. No timetable for new elections has been announced. Mr Rebelo said he will provide more detail in a speech on November 9th.

Under Mr Costa, Portugal had become a European success story. The country’s strong economic growth and booming tourism and tech sectors have turned it from a European backwater into a magnet for investors, and it has won praise for progressive health and social-welfare policies. The corruption scandal is likely to cast a shadow on that legacy (and to end speculation that Mr Costa might become the next president of the European Council when that post opens up next year). Paulo Otero, a law professor at the University of Lisbon, called it the gravest moment of institutional discredit since the country became a democracy in 1976. “What is at stake is not suspicion about former rulers or a former prime minister, but about a prime minister in office,” he told Público, a Portuguese newspaper. Whoever succeeds Mr Costa will face the difficult  task of restoring public trust in government. 

Sem título #339

You're never alone with your pet!

Cores de Outono #109

There's something special about sunny autumn days...

the colors become more vibrant!

Parece que estou a ouvir #421

Forever young

Bob Dylan

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
May you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the light surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
May you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay forever young
May you stay forever young

Coisas bonitas #146

Espelho meu, espelho meu...

Palavras lidas #566

Peonies
by Jim Harrison

The peonies, too heavy with their beauty,
slump to the ground. I had hoped
they would live forever but ever so slowly
day by day they’re becoming the soil of their birth
with a faint tang of deliquescence around them.
Next June they’ll somehow remember to come alive again,
a little trick we have or have not learned.

Ditto #565

We don't have to live great lives, we just have to understand and survive the ones we've got.

--Andre Dubus