Uma entrevista com a prémio Nobel da Paz, dada há três anos, mas ainda actual, obtida no site Bad Jens. É muito comprida, mas vale a pena ler, até para concluir que em três anos, pouco ou nada mudou no Irão!A short visit with Shirin EbadiShortly after Shirin Ebadi was released from prison three years ago, she gave an interview that was published in Iran in the feminist journal, Jens-e Dovom. Bad Jens translated the interview and posted it in its fourth edition. Several months later, a member of Bad Jens had a scary encounter with authorities and in the panic that ensued, the article was mistakenly removed from the site. In light of Ms. Ebadi’s recent Nobel Peace Prize award, we dug up the interview for your reading pleasure.(To read some comments by the head of the reformist party, The Participation Front, and by conservatives in reaction to Shirin Ebadi’s win, click here.) An arrested attorney, and her wishes and worriesBy Lily FarhadpourAt 6 PM, 28th of June 2000, Shirin Ebadi puts down the phone, and thinks only one thing: "Receiving a summons after business hours cannot possibly be a good sign".The phone rang again. It was Mehrangiz Kar, who was her close friend and also her attorney, enquiring about what had happened. Mehrangiz herself had just been released from prison a week earlier.The court officer who came for Shirin had to wait an hour because she had to inform her husband and brother so they could accompany her. She also had to tell her mother to take care of her daughters.At the station, the questioning did not take long and the arrangements for her detainment were quickly made. Outside, there was a car waiting to take her to prison for further questioning. She only thought of her brother and husband, who had to return home to her daughters, and of her mother, who was anxiously waiting for news. She did not want them to be worrying alone any longer.From time to time, she would ask: "Have you told the others that the questioning is over, and that I'm being transferred to prison?" And the officers would reply that it was taken care of. Nevertheless, she asked one more time before getting into the car. And again, they replied the same. Relieved, she got in. It was 9:30 pm when the car headed towards Evin prison.After her release 25 days later, she learned that her husband and brother had been waiting outside until late for news about her. Upon a great deal of insisting, they were finally informed of her transfer from the officer on duty.I met with Shirin for a short visit, a few days after the first sentence was passed. The sentence read 15 months imprisonment, and a ban from practicing law for 5 years.She still feels sad when she remembers her waiting companions on that night and is angry about the officers’ breach of promise: "My brother and my husband waited for me until past midnight. It was 1:30 am when they arrived home. Imagine what my mother and daughters went through, not having any news until that late."All of her 25 days of detainment were spent in solitary confinement, in ward No. 209, one of the women’s cells. She was there alone, in absolute silence."During detainment”, she says, “the officer's behavior was good, the food was fine enough, and medical care was accessible - but I was forbidden to read books."I asked her how her days were spent. “Often, I would read the mafatih [a prayer book] which I had taken with me, and I also read the Qoran, which was already in the cell.” After 18 days they allowed her to use the library, “but the prison library was available only to men. So they chose some books and brought them to me."In 1969, Shirin Ebadi applied for a position at the Ministry of Justice. In 1975, at the age of only 28, she became the first Iranian woman to be appointed judge.Since 1993, she has worked as an attorney, and has dealt with a number of important cases, like the one of "Little Arian", the little girl who died under the abuse of her father and stepmother.One should also mention the case of Ezatholah Ebrahimnejad, a young man killed in the “university incident" of July 1999. The police had searched the universities for students who were involved in the demonstrations or who were talking politics. Later, “unknown” paramilitary groups attacked the students in the presence of police officers.I asked her how she had become Ebrahimnejad’s lawyer. Shirin explained: "A few months after the event, I read an interview with Ebrahimnejad's father in a newspaper. He said he had decided to sell his home to be able to pay a lawyer's wages. I said to myself, "What kind of place are we living in!", and I wrote a letter to that newspaper, saying I would accept the case free of charge. Afterwards, I learned that other lawyers had done the same. But Ebrahimnejad's family chose me. It was for a simple reason..."But the reason was not so simple. Indeed it shows how complicated gender issues are in Iran. Among Ebrahimnejad's family, only his sister could follow the case, and she preferred a woman lawyer because she would feel more comfortable, and because there would be no talking behind her back."But the presence of her father”, Shirin continued, “was necessary for signing the documents. When he came over, I found out he was still paying the loan he had gotten for his son's university fees. He said all he now had was the body of his son on his hands."When asked about her other cases, she referred to the Forouhar family, i.e. Darioush and Parvaneh Forouhar, who were murdered two years ago by security police. Shirin is the lawyer of Parastoo and Arash Forouhar [the couple's daughter and son]. “When the court announced the sentence”, she mentioned, “I thought that I was done. But then they announced they would allow attorneys to read all the documents, so my investigation had actually only begun."Another of Shirin’s cases concerned Leila Fathahi, the eleven year old Kurdish girl who had been savagely raped by three men. They killed her and hid her body, which was found after a week. Shirin explained: "The three men were arrested, but only one of them confessed, and after a few months he committed suicide. So the only evidence we had disappeared. The others were condemned to pay qesas". The law of qesas, which is the penal law used in the Islamic Republic, is based on the right of the victim or victim's family to demand retribution from the perpetrator of the crime against them (cf. Women, Work & Islamism, by Maryam Poya).“After the suicide, Leila's father was asked to pay qesas himself. Otherwise, he was told, no one would be punished. He was forced to sell all his property, and for months he spent his nights at the Imam’s tomb. But the sentence was not carried out, because one of the killers escaped, and the appeals court acquitted the last of the three, who was released. I tried to reverse the last sentence, and fortunately, the high court of appeals ruled in my favor. So now myself, Leila's family, and the law are all looking for him - among 60 million Iranians – in order to hold a new trial."When Shirin thinks of the delays her cases have undergone, she’s surprised by the short time it took her own sentence to be issued.Accepting such tough cases free of charge is common in Iran, and Shirin has accepted a number of them:Jame-e salem magazine, which was shut down two years ago.Abbas Maroofi, editor of Gardoon magazine, shut down about four years ago (currently in appeals court).Dr. Asadollah Peyman, a political activist.Faraj Sarkohi, editor of Adineh, who was arrested two years agoetc., etc."All of those were free of charge”, she explains, “if I had to pay rent for my office, I wouldn't be able to afford it."Her office is located on the lower floor of her house. I could hear the voices of children playing in a yard during the interview. Shirin is also head of an NGO called the National Association in Support of Children's Rights.I asked her to speak about herself a bit more. “When women were banned from judgeship”, she said, “I retired from the Ministry of Justice, which amounted to starting a career in begging.” She applied for attorneyship, but had to wait eight years for a license. During that time, she wrote several books, the first one being about children rights. The book, which won a prize at Al Zahra University, has been translated into English by UNICEF. " Before that”, she says, “no one had any idea about children’s rights in Iran. I had to introduce and explain what children’s rights are."She then published a book called Comparing Children’s Rights, in which she compared the Convention on the Rights of the Child to children's rights in Iran. “Gradually”, she continued, “I became more interested in human rights issues. I wrote Refugee Rights in Iran followed by Human Rights History and Documentation in Iran."The latter was translated at Columbia University, and was published in the US. Shirin has a number of other books on law in Iran to her name. "I'm the first lawyer who had a book translated into English and published abroad”, she says, “and my book on human rights has become a reference."***But what happened to Shirin prior to her arrest? In February of 2000, an elderly, retired man came to Shirin's office, asking her to be his son’s lawyer. His son had been arrested following the university incident. But his explanations weren’t clear enough, so she didn't accept the case.In March, as the judge was about to convene the trial concerning the incident, Shirin decided to mention the retired gentleman to her colleague, Mr. Rohami, who was representing the student protesters. Soon after, the man came to Shirin's office again. But this time, his son, Amir Farshad Ebrahimi, was with him, and Mr. Rohami was in the know, so Shirin accepted.Two months later, in June of 2000, Mr. Rohami and Shirin Ebadi were arrested. They were accused of working against the Islamic Republic, in connection with video recordings of what Amir Farshad Ebrahimi had told them. In the video, Ebrahimi, who was facing charges for attacking students, revealed himself as a member of the vigilante groups who frequently appeared at gatherings to beat up students and reformists. He exposed the inner workings of the groups’ goings-on and accused influential conservative figures of playing a role in recent attacks on reformist activists. Shortly after the tape was made, he was detained by the judiciary and while in custody, retracted his statements and claimed the video was a “forced confession”.I asked her: "If your sentence is upheld in the appeals court, you will be banned from practicing law for five years. What do you intend to do?". She answered, “I waited for my license to work as an attorney for eight years, and now, after only seven years of work, they want to deprive me again. I don’t know... perhaps I’ll write more books. I want to do research on human rights and try to secure those rights for my people. My academic duty is to prove that we can be Muslim and faithful to Islamic tenets while striving for better laws.... We can also be committed to human rights."***It was sunset when our interview came to an end. An autumn sunset, melancholic as usual. I could still hear the voices of children from the yard. Sometimes, in a sunset's blinding light, things can't be seen properly. In Shirin's office, you can see many images of Lady Justice; a bronze statue, a plaster statue, and illustrations on book covers laying around Shirin's big, disordered library. But I don't know why all the scales were tilted...

RÁDIO DA SEMANA: Rádio LatinAEntre outras:Arrimate Pa Ca --> Orquestra AragonChan Chan --> Compay Segundo De Camino a La Vereda --> Ibrahim Ferrer El Cuarto de Tula --> Eliades Ochoa Hasta Siempre Comandante Che Guevara --> Carlos Puebla Y Sus Tradicionales Mambo King --> Tito Puente Maria Maria (Pumpin' Dolls Mixes) --> Santana /The Product G&B Quimbara --> Celia Cruz /Johnny Pacheco /Tito Puente Vuelvo Al Sur --> Gotan Project Mantem-se o link para a Rádio IF, que foi quinto lugar do top da Rádio Cotonete

width="445" height="335"border=3>BARRAGEM DO CABRIL - PEDRÓGÃO GRANDE - 2003

Começou a recolha de assinaturas.Podem fazer o dowload e impressão das folhas da petição, a partir do link em baixo. As folhas não podem sofrer qualquer alteração, senão perdem validade.As folhas preenchidas (de preferência na totalidade), deverão ser enviadas para uma sede da Nova Democracia: Sede NacionalRua da Constituição, 3194200-199 PORTODelegação de LisboaRua da Trindade, 36 - Sobreloja1200-302 LISBOAPetição Referendo Europeu

Dedicado ao Jorge Monteiro, prematuramente desaparecido e com quem tive o prazer de trabalhar alguns meses.linguagem das flores Um blog baseado nas flores: poemas, fotos, descrições, significados e conselhos sobre as flores. De consulta semanal, pela pouca assiduidade! Mas vale a pena.»Grilhões de Andrômeda«. Um blog brasileiro, com magnífica apresentação, óptimas fotos e bons textos.Despenseiros da Palavra. Também brasileiro, conjuga (e bem) poesia, literatura e pensamentos esparsos.Eu adoptei. E há algo mais belo do que adoptar uma criança?

Os contadores da Bravenet deste blog e do antigo "foram ao ar"! Desapareceram, pura e simplesmente. Tendo contactado a empresa, obtive a resposta que se segue, pelo que coloquei contadores novos e retomei a contagem, mais ou menos onde eles estariam!Dear Joao Fernandes,We experienced some technical difficulties with the Hit Counter service on Friday Oct. 24 which resulted in some data loss. You will first have to delete the Counter copy paste code on your page, then login to your account and recreate a new Counter and paste the new code on your page.1. Login to your Bravenet account2. Click on "Counter/Site Stats"3. Click Create a new Counter Sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.

Incrível a falta de memória da Arq. Helena Roseta. Será um daqueles fenómenos psicológicos de querer esquecer o passado? Ao passar do PPD/PSD para o PS esqueceu tudo o que passou no anterior partido?"O PS, por seu lado, está confrontado com um dos momentos mais difíceis da sua história. Haja ou não haja maquinação, não pode negar-se que, a pretexto deste caso, Ferro Rodrigues tem sido alvo da mais terrível campanha mediática jamais travada contra qualquer político desde o 25 de Abril." (art. completo em: A clarificação...)Já não se lembra da terrível campanha de O Diário e do PC contra Francisco Sá Carneiro? Eu, não esqueci! Essa sim, foi decerto a mais terrível campanha contra um político a seguir ao 25 de Abril e será quase impossível pior! Artigos a achicalhar diariamente, milhares de pinturas pelas paredes (Carneiro caloteiro, paga o que deves...), pedidos frequentes de demissão, nem metade disso aconteceu a Ferro Rodrigues!

Álvaro de Castro & Dirk Niepoort Partindo de uma ideia de Rolf Niepoort, o seu filho Dirk Niepoort e Álvaro de Castro associaram-se e criaram o Dado - um tinto loteado com vinhos da região do Dão e do Douro. As poucas garrafas produzidas já se encontram no mercado, vestidas com um rótulo original e inovador.A combinação de duas importantes regiões vitivinícolas portuguesas na mesma garrafa representa mais um projecto de Dirk Niepoort: “O meu pai sempre me disse que o melhor vinho nacional seria um lote do Dão e do Douro. Provando alguns vinhos antigos da Real Companhia Velha (Granton) cheguei à conclusão que realmente podem ser vinhos fantásticos”.Há três anos “resolvi meter mãos à obra e contactei o Álvaro de Castro, perguntando-lhe se estaria interessado em fazer parte dessa criação”. O produtor da Quinta da Pellada recorda que “ao receber o telefonema do Dirk, percebi desde logo a ideia dele, pois tinha lógica”.Os dois produtores reuniram-se e provaram vários dos seus vinhos do Dão e do Douro, tentando procurar e definir a estilística desejada e possível. “Podíamos ter feito um vinho preto na cor, muito intenso e concentrado”, afirma Dirk Niepoort. “No entanto, preferimos tentar conjugar a gordura e a intensidade do Douro com a elegância e a longevidade dos tradicionais vinhos do Dão, ou seja, criar um vinho com um bouquet expressivo, uma excelente estrutura, bons taninos saborosos e uma acidez marcada, mas acima de tudo um tinto fino e complexo com harmonia entre todos os componentes”.Da região do Douro, foram utilizados vinhos muito encorpados, taninosos, ricos e carnudos (de vinhas velhas com exposição a Norte mas com boa maturação) com um lote de vinhos com menos cor mas com mais acidez e um lado austero e duro de vinhas velhas da Quinta de Saes e da Quinta da Pellada.O resultado: “um vinho com boa cor, não muito frutado, mas com um bouquet de uma exuberância e intensidade pouco usuais em Portugal. Na boca é extremamente expressivo e fino, com uma grande harmonia entre a concentração, os bons taninos (não em quantidade mas em qualidade) e a boa acidez que dá um lado austero ao vinho. Penso que tem uma grande longevidade e irá evoluir muito bem em garrafa”, refere Dirk Niepoort.Nota de prova: É viciante cheirar este vinho, tal é o encanto e a sedução do bouquet. Nariz muito definido e expressivo com a elegância sobressair desde o primeiro instante. Suave. Na boca confirma-se a boa estrutura, assim como a harmonia e o equilíbrio que ficou no primeiro contacto. Fresco. Os taninos finos e de qualidade sentem-se ao longo da prova e aparecem no longo final de boca. Um vinho que deslumbra e se bebe com um enorme prazer.Porto, 6 de Outubro de 2003INFORMAÇÕES GERAIS Nome da vinha: Quinta da Pellada e Quinta de NápolesIdade das cepas: 60 anosCastas: Jaen,Touriga Nacional,Tinta Amarela, Touriga Franca e Tinta RorizForma de condução das videiras: Guyot duplo e cordão bilateralDensidade das cepas por ha: 6.000Tipo de solo: Xisto Rendimento por ha: 10 hect./lExposição solar da vinha: váriasAltura acima do nível do mar: 100 a 200 metrosIrrigação: nãoForma de vindima: caixasPeríodo da vindima: OutubroFermentação: cuba de aço inoxMalolatica: barricasEstágio: 18 meses em barricas de carvalho francês Engarrafado: Junho 2002Produção: 3.800 garrafasINFORMAÇÕES TÉCNICAÁlcool: 13,30 % vol.Açúcar residual: 1.62 g/lAcidez total: 5,60 g/l ac. tartáricoAcidez volátil: 0.61 g/l ac. acéticoPh: 3.58Estrato seco: 30,50SO2 no Enchimento: 37 mg/lEnviado por Nuno Miguel Borges

Charlotte, tem toda a razão: foi uma vergonha não me ter apresentado; a timidez tem destas coisas! Mas acho a ideia d'O Comprometido Espectador óptima: marque lá o almoço para os quatro...