Hoje, em directo, no "Eu Sei Que Você Sabe"...

... entre as 23 horas e a meia-noite, a entrevista com o ex-inspector da PJ, Paulo Pereira Cristóvão, para ouvir on-line na Rádio Cartaxo.

E amanhã, em directo, no programa "Eu Sei Que Você Sabe"...

... eu e o João Vasco Almeida iremos estar a conversar com o ex-inspector da PJ, Paulo Pereira Cristóvão, que também vai lançar um livro: "A Estrela de Madeleine" que será apresentado a 19 de Março.
Podem ouvir tudo, a partir das 23 horas, na emissão on-line da Rádio Cartaxo.

O meu próximo livro

Em breve...

A ilusão da verdade

Na segunda-feira fomos alertados para mais um arrepiante caso nas estradas portuguesas...




Hoje soube-se que, afinal, foi uma ilusão...

Salazar POP

Onde é que já vi isto?



Ah! Foi aqui...




Focus 387.

Acrescento ao texto anterior...

"Loose Lips", por Kimya Dawson, do filme "Juno"...



Se a banda sonora já está disponível, por que não há igualmente uma cópia pessoal em DVD de um filme que já pode ser visto nas salas com um ecrã grande?


*Letra de "Loose Lips"

loose lips might sink ships but loose gooses take trips
to san francisco, double dutch disco,
tech tv hottie, do it for scotty
do it for the living and do it for the dead
do it for the monsters under your bed
do it for the teenagers and do it for your mom
broken hearts hurt but they make us strong and

we won't stop until somebody calls the cops
and even then we'll start again and just pretend that
nothing ever happened

we won't stop until somebody calls the cops
and even then we'll start again and just pretend that
nothing ever happened

we're just dancing, we're just hugging,
singing, screaming, kissing, tugging
on the sleeve of how it used to be
how's it gonna be?
i'll drop kick russell stover, move into the starting over house
and know matt rouse and jest are watching me achieve my dreams
and we'll pray, all damn day, every day,
that all this shit our president has got us in will go away
while we strive to figure out a way we can survive
these trying times without losing our minds

so if you wanna burn yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
and if you wanna cut yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
and if you wanna kill yourself remember that I LOVE YOU
call me up before your dead, we can make some plans instead
send me an IM, i'll be your friend

shysters live from scheme to scheme and my 4th quarter pipe dreams
are seeming more and more worth fighting for
so i'll curate some situations, make my job a big vacation
and i'll say FUCK BUSH AND FUCK THIS WAR
my war paint is sharpie ink and i'll show you how much my shit stinks
and ask you what you think because your thoughts and words are powerful
they think we're disposable, well both my thumbs opposable
are spelled out on a double word and triple letter score

we won't stop until somebody calls the cops
and even then we'll start again and just pretend that
nothing ever happened

we won't stop until somebody calls the cops
and even then we'll start again and just pretend that
nothing ever happened

we're just dancing, we're just hugging,
singing, screaming, kissing, tugging
on the sleeve of how it used to be

DVDs à porta do cinema

Sem querer, o Daniel Oliveira, do Arrastão, abriu a porta à discussão sobre a pirataria de filmes na net. Ele confessou que já viu um filme que ainda não estreou nas salas de cinema nacionais - foi aquele filme que eu achava que não iria ganhar o Oscar.
Como o Daniel não esclareceu se o viu na inauguração do Fantasporto ou em alguma exibição à Imprensa ou no estrangeiro, supõe-se que terá visto uma cópia descarregada da Internet de forma ilegal... "Shame on you!"
Sou contra a pirataria, mas compreendo que haja quem descarregue filmes da Internet pois consideram que é maior a "pirataria" do actual modelo de comércio dos filmes. Realmente, por que ainda não se pode comprar o DVD de um filme que gostámos à saída da sala de cinema? Como nos concertos da aldeia, onde os artistas vendiam as cassetes após a actuação?
Há dias, por exemplo, fui ao Porto ver o "Sweeney Todd". A sala estava praticamente cheia. Gostei do filme, das músicas e da direcção artística. À saída, ainda mergulhado na magia da película, teria cedido ao impulso consumista e compraria de imediato o DVD do filme. Mas, para poder usufruir de uma forma pessoal do fascínio de mais uma produção de Tim Burton terei ainda de esperar cerca de seis meses.
No mundo moderno já não faz sentido esperar tanto tempo por uma edição em DVD. Não creio que o DVD venha a ser uma alternativa às salas de cinema e ambos comércios podem conviver de forma saudável dentro das regras de mercado.
Quando há dias fui ver o "Haverá Sangue" paguei 6 (seis) euros - era a sala VIP das Amoreiras. Aí está a factura do bilhete para provar...



O DVD deste filme deverá custar cerca de 20 a 25 euros daqui a uns meses. Entretanto, quem o conseguir sacar hoje na Net poupará 30 euros. Agora, pensem no seguinte: e se por metade desse valor, 15 euros, vos vendessem o DVD e oferecessem um ou dois bilhetes de cinema para verem o mesmo filme no grande ecrã, será que iriam perder tempo a descarregar cópias piratas de baixa qualidade da Net? E as salas de cinema não ficariam com mais pessoas a comer pipocas?
Outro exemplo da "pirataria" do mercado do cinema está no facto de, na apresentação de um determinado cartão de crédito de um banco, podermos ter direito a dois bilhetes pelo preço de um. Significa isto que duas pessoas podem assistir ao mesmo filme por apenas 3 (três) euros cada. No dia em que paguei 6 (seis) euros estava sozinho e comentei com a funcionária da bilheteira: "Quer dizer, se eu comprar dois bilhetes pago o mesmo e ainda tenho direito ao lugar ao meu lado livre para pousar o casaco?" Ela, claro, concordou, mas aqui o patego limitou-se a comprar apenas um bilhete... No fundo, isto revela que o preço dos bilhetes andam inflacionados porque, na realidade, podem ser vendidos a metade do actual preço. E o mesmo acontece com o mercado dos DVDs.
Acredito que mais bilhetes de cinema e mais DVDs seriam vendidos se as pessoas pudessem comprar o DVD de um filme recém-estreado com direito a ir vê-lo no grande ecrã. Ou que na apresentação do bilhete de cinema beneficiasse de um desconto na compra do DVD. Isso seria a favor do consumidor que poderia visualizar filmes com qualidade e a preços mais baixos, mas também a indústria, que fazia negócio mais depressa e com maior impacto emocional juntos dos clientes.
É apenas uma proposta, nada mais.

Conversas nada secretas

Em Londres prossegue inquérito à morte de Diana. Durante o dia de hoje foram interrogados vários profissionais dos serviços secretos identificados apenas por uma letra.

Através deste diálogo fiquei a saber que um motorista francês morto pode dar origem à abertura de um ficheiro pessoal no MI6, enquanto que membros vivos da família real britânica "nil":

"(...)
- MR BURNETT: Sir, we were about to look at one of the telegrams from November 1997. Mr Foley has the INQ number and it is coming up now. Perhaps I can just read it and ask you some questions as we go along. I think it will be the first and probably the only one of these that we will see. It is described as a 'in telegram', which we assume means coming into London headquarters.
- Coming in from Paris, yes.
- It is from Paris to London. The date we see is 5th November 1997. If we could go down, those parts that have not been redacted say this: 'Witness 7 spoke to DST [and we have heard who they are] on 4th November and saw him the following morning. The Ritz was still crawling with members of the Brigade Criminelle of the Police Judiciaire investigating the Princess of Wales' death.' Then there is a comment made, this presumably by witness 7, who sent this.
- Yes, that is correct.
- 'Presumably, as head of security there, Henri Paul had been a contact of DST and they would have such a capacity again.' So this is a telegram, and it was your electronic search of all telegrams that threw up the word 'Ritz' that we saw in paragraph 2?
- That is correct. I should just say that it would also -- you would pick it up on Henri Paul as well in a different search.
(...)
- Sir Richard Dearlove told us that he was confident that SIS were not eavesdropping/monitoring anything at all, surveillance to do with Diana and Dodi, and is that --
- No, nothing whatsoever.
- And you can confirm that?
- I can confirm that.
- Had there been any MI6 interest in the relationship between Dodi and Diana, would that have shown up in the records?
- Yes, it would.
- And there was nothing?
- It is not that I am trying to be rude in any way, there was just no interest. It is not our sort of thing.
- Therefore, the records, do they or do they not confirm Sir Richard Dearlove's evidence that SIS simply had no interest whatsoever in Dodi or in Diana or in them jointly?
- No, we had no interest whatsoever.
- As far as Henri Paul is concerned -- again, perhaps we can take this quite quickly -- did you check to see whether there was a card for Henri Paul?
- Yes, I did.
- Was there?
- Yes, there was. The card was originated -- as you can see from this telegram of 5th November, that has the 'Henri Paul' name in it and so the card was created as a result of this entry on the telegram.
- So we looked at the telegram, and that was 5th November 1997?
- Yes.
- The reference came about because of information picked up by someone in Paris long after the crash?
- Yes.
- So that is an example, is it, of how a card might come to be created --
- Yes, exactly.
- -- and in this instance, even in respect of someone who has sadly already died?
- Yes.
- Does it follow, then, that there was no card in existence for Henri Paul before 5th November?
- No, there was not a card for him pre.
- Had he been of interest to SIS or in any way worked for SIS, would there have been a card?
- Yes, there definitely would have been a card.
- Similarly, did you look to see if there was a P file on Henri Paul?
- Yes, I did.
- And was there?
- No, there was not.
- Did you carry out similar inquiries in respect of James Andanson?
- Yes, I did.
- With what result?
- Nil results.
- So no card and --
- I am so sorry, no card and no file.
- Thus, what is your conclusion in respect of a suggestion that Andanson was in touch in some way with SIS?
- He could not have been in touch with us without me finding a reference to him within one of our databases.
- Did you also do a similar search in respect of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh?
- I did.
- With what result?
- No, result at all.
- So, similarly, he does not have a card nor does he have a P file?
- I would like to say at this stage, sir, that we don't hold either cards or files on the Royal Family. I could do a search on all of them.
- You have nothing?
- No.
- So as far as the Duke of Edinburgh is concerned, you say in your statement that you are aware that he occasionally made official visits to the service --
- Yes.
- -- but that that would not generate a card.
- No, it would not, no.
(...)"

Depois, hoje aprendi uma nova palavra em inglês: "Taradiddles":

"(...)
- Because all sorts of people may be telling taradiddles, mightn't they?
- I am sorry, may be telling ...?
- I am sorry, it is an old-fashioned phrase. Maybe a phrase which I know is familiar in the service, 'economic with the truth'. People may do that, may they not?
(...)"

Fiquei ainda a saber que pessoas contratadas pelos serviços secretos britânicos no exterior podem fazer o que bem lhes apetecer, desde que estejam no seu tempo livre...

"(...)
- But would that surprise you if somebody abroad, working for MI6, destroyed documents?
- I do not think you are talking about a member of the service there, are you, as a member of staff? You are talking about a contact of the service, and I would not be necessarily surprised about a contact of the service because what people do in their own time is what they do in their own time.
(...)"

Quando a conversa abordou a denúncia do antigo ex-agente do MI6, Richard tomlinson, sobre o plano para matar Milosevic, o interrogatório teve momentos dignos de registo (os links referentes às armas laser que a agente do MI6 diz desconhecer são da minha responsabilidade):

"(...)
- Was there an audit trail for Mr A's plan which has been referred to as the 'assassination of Milosevic'?
- No, because it never got past the idea stage in any way. It was absolutely considered a ridiculous idea.
- So 'ephemeral' is a synonym for 'deniability', isn't it?
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Mr Keen, we did have evidence last week from Sir Richard Dearlove, and he distinguished quite clearly between deniability outside and deniability within the service, which was very firmly not something that was ever countenanced.
- With respect, sir, he did not tell us anything about a 'Special ephemeral messages' file that contained documentation pertaining to Mr A's plan for the assassination of Milosevic or some other Yugoslavian leader, so we don't know what his position would have been on that. Had he told us about it, we could have examined him about it.
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: I thought he had covered the position.
- MR KEEN: What you have told us so far, Miss X, if I understand your evidence, is that the Secret Intelligence Service really do have documents containing proposals for, amongst other things, an assassination circulating around their offices without any record of their existence, the most obvious example being Mr A's proposal.
- Yes, as I have said, but I am happy to say again, it did not circulate around the office because it did not actually become a formal document.
- So if it does not become a formal document, as you describe it, no record of its existence can be found; is that your evidence?
- Yes, I think it is.
(...)
- Now, Mr Tomlinson, when he described this plan, explained that it referred to an individual who was of interest to the Secret Intelligence Service. He said it was Milosevic. The Secret Intelligence Service have countered that by saying that it was in fact another person in the then Yugoslavia.
- Yes, it is referring to another person anyway, yes.
- Has that other person since been assassinated, Miss X?
- I think that is probably edging closer to the area --
- MR TAM: Sir, I have thought about that for a moment because the 'neither confirm nor deny' principle would apply there as well.
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Yes.
(...)
- I am afraid I do not know anything about lasers at all.
- Let me put some suggestions to you. They will be very quick --
- MR TAM: Sir, if the witness has already indicated she does not know anything about it, then it is really badgering her to be trying to put specific examples.
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: We had better hear what they are first, the questions.
- MR CROXFORD: In my most avuncular fashion, I doubt I could badger this witness. Something called an 'Outfit DEC', does it ring a bell?
- Terribly sorry, it does not, no.
- Or a 'Dazzle-sight LDS'?
- No, sorry.
- A red laser or a green laser?
- I am going to sound very thick again. I have heard of the word 'laser'.
- Very well. We are going to be in competition, you, me, the Coroner and Mr Mansfield before long, for being antediluvian. I am not going to go any further down lasers.
(...)
- The way you put it in the paper is: 'Only a complete idiot would have thought it somehow in his country's interest to assassinate a leader during peace talks sponsored by one's country, ie I would have had to get a submission through the FCO suggesting that we kill a leader identified at that time by FCO, Owen [that is Lord Owen], Vance [that is Cyrus Vance] as the only man in the Balkans with the smack to deliver a possible peace deal.' So is the point that you are making that it would have been completely irrational to contemplate doing anything adverse to Milosevic given the hopes that people had invested in him at the time?
- Yes, it would have just been completely absurd. The whole policy of HMG at that time -- and this can be checked from looking at the diplomatic negotiations at the time -- was to try to work with Milosevic. There was a belief, which may well have been misfounded, but it was a genuine belief underpinning British philosophy that Milosevic could secure a peace deal in Yugoslavia by using his influence over Karadzic, who was the guy that was in charge of the Bosnian Serbs who were behind a lot of the trouble there. So to take Milosevic out of the equation in 1993 would be absolutely absurd.
(...)"

Ele há crónicas infelizes

Não sei ainda o que aconteceu em casa do José Esteves, nem em que circunstâncias se deu a explosão da botija de gás que o atirou para a unidade de queimados do hospital de S. José. Sei que o estado dele é reservado e está sedado, incapaz de falar sobre o assunto. Sei ainda - porque informei-me junto de quem sabe mais do que eu - que a botija de gás fazia parte de uma série de objectos que estavam na antiga ervanária onde ele trabalhava. Uma ervanária que, no passado, sofrera um incêndio. Sei igualmente que o José Esteves se queixava da perseguição que certa facção da PJ lhe fazia e, agora, acontece esta explosão. Mesmo que tenha sido um acidente, acho que fica mal que outros que sabem menos do que eu entrem no campo da ironia como nesta crónica. É que dentro da mesma linha de pensamento, até seria capaz de dizer que também estou preocupado com o futuro de Portugal quando há jornalistas que não fazem bem o seu trabalho...

Resultados

Está provado que prognósticos não é comigo. Falhei redondamente ao ter menosprezado os irmãos Coen, mas isso aconteceu porque o filme de Paul Thomas Anderson - "There Will Be Blood" - disse-me muito mais do que a sangrenta perseguição protoganizada por Javier Bardem. Achei que a história da vida de um homem do petróleo e um religioso constituia um retrato fiel do início deste século que ainda hoje nos subjuga.
Acertei nos óbvios - melhor actor, melhor actor secundário, melhor documentário, melhor direcção de arte e melhor argumento original -, mas a grande satisfação foi a de ter acertado na actriz secundária, Tilda Swinton, em "Michael Clayton", já que foi considerada a grande surpresa da noite. Neste último caso devo dizer que não fui surpreendido...

Prognósticos antes do fim

Não sou bom a fazer prognósticos, já que sou daqueles que os prefere fazer no fim dos jogos... Mas, a poucos minutos de começar a emissão dos prémios Oscar não resisto à tradição e, como já vi a maior parte dos filmes, deixo um prognóstico muito pessoal:

Melhor actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, em "There Will Be Blood". Está em grande numa grande história, embora ache que Tommy Lee Jones mereceria igualmente este prémio pelo papel do pai que investiga a morte do filho recém-chegado do Iraque.

Melhor actor secundário: Javier Barden, no "No Country for Old Men". Casey Affleck poderá surpreender, mas acho que vai ser este o ano do espanhol.

Melhor actriz: Ellen Page, em "Juno".

Melhor actriz secundária: Tilda Swinton, em "Michael Clayton".

Melhor filme de animação: "Persepolis"

Melhor direcção de arte: "Sweeney Todd"

Melhor realizador, Paul Thomas Anderson, por "There Will Be Blood"

Melhor documentário: "Táxi to the Darker Side" - se ganhar "Sicko", de Michael Moore, é um prémio político com olhos no futuro, pois que surge na altura em que a campanha das eleições primárias no campo dos Democratas colocou a questão da saúde no centro da discussão.

Melhor filme: "There Will Be Blood"

Melhor argumento adaptado: "Atonement"

Melhor argumento original: "Juno"

Foi em Dallas

"DALLAS - Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena"



Será que o deixam mesmo chegar a Presidente?

Diz não há droga

"At least twice"?!

"British facilities were used by the US to transport terrorist suspects at least twice, despite repeated government denials – including by Tony Blair - that the UK had any involvement in extraordinary rendition flights"

O MI6 não matou a Princesa Diana

Hoje foi um dia histórico, embora o facto deva passar despercebido a muita gente. Richard Dearlove, antigo director dos serviços secretos britânicos no exterior, MI6, esteve a testemunhar no inquérito à morte da princesa Diana, facto que representa uma novidade ímpar em relação à exposição pública do "Secret Intelligence Service" (SIS), conforme o próprio explicou:

"(...)
- Well, if you respond to an allegation, you create an expectation that you will always comment or question or answer a question when one is posed about the activities of the service. Therefore, in the interests of national security, the better choice is to say nothing, and that includes denying allegations, even though the allegations may be untrue. So it is a sensible policy which has been followed for a long time and has been endorsed by successive governments.
- Now you are here in part to deny the allegations, which would appear to be a departure from the usual policy.
- I am on this occasion. When matters of let's say grave concern arise, rare exceptions of policy are made, and obviously, in this particular instance in this court, I think one can understand why an exception is being made
(...)"



Como seria de esperar, houve diálogos bem interessantes e relevantes sobre as práticas dos serviços secretos no país da Sua Majestade, que, afinal, não são muito diferentes daquilo se suspeitava:

"(...)
- Can I ask you about how line management operated for people who were posted abroad? I would just like to lay a little bit of ground. We have heard from Sir Michael Jay as he was, Lord Jay now, that there were SIS officers posted to the Paris Embassy and he told us, I think, that it is called a 'station'. Would I be right in thinking that SIS has stations in a number of countries abroad?
- Let us say in a number of countries.
- It would be perhaps rather surprising if they did not?
- I think it would.
- And Paris was one of those where there was an SIS station?
- Yes. In this instance, I think we can acknowledge that.
- I do not think the world will stop rotating on that one, Sir Richard.
(...)
- Now how, in practical terms, did the process work? One imagines that there was an idea, somebody said -- let's take a hypothetical example. Somebody says, 'We need to break into this office to put a bug in there'. It is entirely hypothetical. How does it come up the chain and what is the recording of it and the process?
- There would be a plan written and described from the appropriate section. It would come up through several managerial filters as to whether the proposal was viable. That proposal would also have to include a passage of legal compliance. So there would be a reference as to whether the proposed act would be lawful under an ISA authorisation. When the paperwork was completed, in essence -- and I mean, this would apply, let's say, to an initiative overseas as much as to an initiative that was developed within head office -- and once those papers were completed, they would be signed off by, let's say, the senior regional official. They would come to me for further signature and then they would go down restricted channels to the Foreign Secretary.
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: You have not mentioned the ambassador of whichever place we are talking about.
- MR BURNETT: That was my next point, sir.
- If the proposal was originated in the field overseas, there would have to be a passage in that proposal which reported the ambassador's views, so that the local -- we have used the phrase already -- head of station would have had a discussion with the ambassador and the views of the ambassador would be included within the papers which would be sent by me to the Foreign Secretary.
(...)"

Nada supreeendente foi a negação de que o príncipe Filipe tem pouco contacto com o MI6: "It is completely off the map"...

"(...)
- Now, you are aware, aren't you, that it is suggested that the French security apparatus and the French police and the French medical services and the French pathological services -- I think that is all of the French -- were in on a plot of some sort which would suggest, Sir Richard, that you in MI6 or Prince Philip -- and we will come to him in a moment -- somehow could control the French state. Now I must give you an opportunity to comment on those allegations.
- Well, it is a mischievous and fanciful allegation.
- Can I turn to Prince Philip? Again, so that one understands what is being suggested, stripped to its bare bones, it is that Prince Philip was in a position to direct MI6 operationally and that he did so from Balmoral Castle, with the Prince of Wales' involvement, Lord Fellowes, Lord Jay, various others, and executed a conspiracy which resulted in the deaths of Dodi Al Fayed and the Princess of Wales. I am putting it simply and without any hyperbole. What was Prince Philip's relationship with the Secret Intelligence Service in the mid-1990s, but please cover the whole period if there is any difference?
- Absolutely nothing of substance. I say 'nothing of substance' because I think there were one or two occasions when he visited the service as Her Majesty's consort.
- Now, we have heard -- again, it would come as no surprise to anybody -- that the service would be involved in providing security advice for foreign visits of the Royal Family.
- Occasionally.
- But to the suggestion that --
- But I might say not directly. The security assessments would be gathered through the embassy to which the service might make a contribution.
- So to the suggestion that Prince Philip was an active operational member of MI6, what do you say?
- I can say nothing other than it is utterly ridiculous.
- Is the same true of Prince Charles?
- The same is true of Prince Charles.
- Now, it is suggested -- again, I try to strip it to the bare bones -- that Prince Philip and the intelligence agencies really run this country and that we are not a Parliamentary democracy at all. Again, I must give you an opportunity to comment on an allegation that you, as head of MI6, and no doubt your counterparts in the other agencies are in fact running this country behind the scenes with Prince Philip.
- I do not want to be flippant. I am tempted to say I am flattered, but once again, this is such an absurd allegation. It is difficult to deal with an allegation which is so absurd. It is completely off the map. I cannot think of any other way of saying it.
(...)"

A melhor parte, contudo, foi quando se discutiu o plano do atentado a Milosevic denunciado por um ex-agente do MI6, Richard Tomlinson. O antigo chefe dos serviços secretos confirmou a sua existência e apresentou uma justificação para o facto do mesmo nunca ter sido colocado em prática:

"(...)
- Well, the proposal was essentially rejected -- I would say killed stone dead -- by the officer's line managers on the basis that his idea was out of touch with service practice, service ethos and that it was not a proposal to which any serious consideration would be given.
(...)"

Uma resposta que mereceu uma observação assaz acertada e permitiu recordar um outro plano, este denunciado pelo ex-agente do MI5, David Shayler, que foi negado:

"(...)
- The question arises how, if you are right in saying that SIS does not contemplate assassination, one of its officers could have raised the possibility and committed it to writing in 1992 or 1993.
- A very unusual event, I agree, but the service does not control the thoughts of its officers and did not in this particular instance, clearly. But I think that the immediate reaction of the officer's line management to this suggestion shows a very consistent attitude to the issue of assassination which I have previously described. So the fact that the idea was so categorically rejected at a level immediately above the officer -- you know, it has not gone through stages upwards -- I think
5 indicates very clearly indeed what I have said about SIS's attitude to assassination and, by implication, Her Majesty's Government's attitude to assassination.
- Now, there is a very well-known allegation of planned assassination that I wish to ask you about. It has been suggested widely and publicly that, in February 1996, SIS conspired with one of its Libyan agents to assassinate Colonel Gaddafi. Now, first of all, just to locate that in time, you were head of operations at the time.
- I was indeed head of operations at the time.
- Were you the chief of the service when that allegation emerged publicly?
- Yes, I was.
- Is it true?
- No, it is not true, and I think one should add that -- this is an allegation that was made by a former Security Service officer, David Shayler. It was fully investigated by the Metropolitan Police, who sent a team into SIS. They were given full access, full cooperation, and it was shown as a result of their investigation that Shayler's allegations were without substance.
- Now, Shayler, you say, was a former Security Service officer; that is MI5 --
- MI5.
- -- not MI6, as it happens.
- Not MI6.
- So investigated by the Metropolitan Police?
- An independent police investigation, which was ordered by the Crown Prosecution Service.
(...)"

Finalmente, durante as palavras finais entre o representante legal de Al Fayed, Michael Mansfield, Richard Dearlove e o juiz Scott Baker, introduziu uma ideia que, creio, poderá vir a dar que falar...

"(...)
- The reason I am putting it to you, so that it is clear you see, I want to suggest that if there were elements of the security services who wanted to do something without your knowledge, it is not difficult. It was not difficult then, was it?
- It would be very difficult to do. You used the words, 'to do something'. I am not quite sure what you men by that, but it would be very difficult to do something, if not impossible, as I have described.
LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: But, Mr Mansfield, I thought Mr Al Fayed's whole case, if I can put it that way, is built on the fact that this was not something that was done without the knowledge of those running MI6; this was their scheme.
- MR MANSFIELD: Yes, I appreciate. May I make it very clear, Mr Fayed -- an observation was made yesterday -- has certain beliefs which he has made clear. He is plainly not a member of MI6 or, certainly, the establishment either. He has certain beliefs and I have never at any stage withdrawn any of his beliefs but you will see I have focused very carefully on elements of what he is suggesting that may be true; in other words, for which there is, forensically, evidence to support his beliefs. May I make it perfectly clear that this jury and you, sir, will not be just considering at the end of day in an inquest of this kind whether the beliefs as expressed by Mohamed Al Fayed are supported on every front. There are other possibilities --
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: I am well aware of that --
- MR MANSFIELD: And this is one.
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: The other possibilities have to be supported by evidence. Well, everything has to be supported by evidence.
- MR MANSFIELD: I am only examining with this witness --
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: But there is a limit to how far you can dig on matters on which there is no evidence and not even an assertion.
- MR MANSFIELD: Well, there is evidence here, may I say straightaway and I am not dealing with assertion. We had a witness only this time last week who made it very clear that his belief was that the materials he had were relevant to what happened in Paris. Not only did he have that belief, he had obviously his experience and he went straight to the French authorities with it. Therefore, on the back of that, I am entitled to ask this witness, since there are obvious similarities, as he drew last week, to ask this jury to consider through you the possibility that elements within the security services, which again is consistent with Mohamed Al Fayed's belief, elements within the security services in 1997 were responsible not just for drawing up a plan but the possibility that in fact one or more of them may have been responsible for what happened.
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: So Prince Philip bypassed the top people and went to somebody else?
- MR MANSFIELD: No, sir. I do not have any evidence at the moment and I have made it very clear that there are all sorts of individuals that I have not accused of anything.
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Well, I have not stopped you yet but I am simply warning you that there is a limit to how far one can go on these things.
- MR MANSFIELD: Well, sir, I have kept it very contained so far and I have been very focused; I have come straight in on what the jury has heard.
(...)"

Fica o "link" para continuar a "assistir" ao inquérito à morte da Princesa Diana.

A Focus no Médio Oriente

O que a "Sábado" não disse...

A revista "Sábado" (edição de 7 de Fevereiro) fez um artigo sobre as secretas portuguesas e entrevistou o antigo fundador e chefe do SIS, Ramiro Ladeiro Monteiro:



É uma entrevista muito interessante a nível da história da fundação do SIS, em 1986, e do apoio que teve da CIA, mas termina na altura em que "ameaçava" tornar-se interessante...



A revista "Sábado" depois não fez aquilo que em jornalismo se chama de "enquadramento noticioso dos factos". Como os factos aludidos pelo entrevistado não são secretos nem se encontram no segredos dos deuses, faço aqui o serviço público - para aqueles que ainda se queixam de que os blogues fazem jornalismo - e deixo extractos de um artigo escrito na época em que o director do SIS foi demitido, publicado num jornal que já não existe:

Bem sei que isto não mata ninguém, mas choca-me!

Obrigado ao Obsecado.

Meanwhile, em Londres...

... prossegue o inquérito à morte da Princesa Diana. Há dias, o antigo mordomo de Diana, Paul Burrel, confessou que mentira e hoje, finalmente, chegou a vez de Mohamed Al Fayed falar:




"(...)
- Then, the next point you mention is the blood, isn't it, Mr Al Fayed?
- Yes. What you want -- the whole thing has been that Henri Paul was drunk. Fine. It is proved black and white that the blood been taken was not Henri Paul's blood. The blood been taken from somebody was in the mortuary who had been breathing carbon monoxide by the two pathologists who refused to appear because they know that their argument is false and baloney and it was not facts. What do you want? Can you tell me? Everybody saw and the jury saw the witness, and the professors, the pathologists, the technicians, highly respected, have proved that Henri Paul's blood was not Henri Paul's blood.
- So you believe the results were cooked, as you put it?
- Definitely.
- And deliberately so by Professors Lecomte and Pepin?
- Yes. Why did they refuse to come here...
- Just so that we are clear, Mr Al Fayed, it is your belief that Professors Lecomte and Pepin were, from the very beginning, engaged in a cover-up?
- Definitely, by the French intelligence, because the French intelligence helped the British intelligence to execute the murder, and without their help, without giving all the facilities in the tunnel, switches the camera, doing everything possible to help an MI6 officer to secure the murder.
- That is the whole of the French establishment?
- It is not the French establishment. It is the French intelligence.
- And the police?
- And the French police also.
- And the French medical services, through Lecomte and Pepin?
- The French intelligence and the British intelligence, they have their stooges, their agents, everywhere.
- And that includes Professors Lecomte and Pepin?
- Absolutely.
- I see. The last point that you particularly wanted to emphasise to the jury concerns dark forces.
- Richard Tomlinson told me, a few months after the crash, that he had seen a plot to kill Milosevic in the tunnel, just like my son and Princess Diana. I believe him and I believe the evidence that he gave to the inquest, very convincing, that MI6 assassinates people of great importance and relevance. He believes there is a file which the security service have on me which -- where is that file? He believes that there is a file on the paparazzi member in the pay of security services. This is likely to be James Andanson, who has executed the murder in his own Fiat, pushed the car, and the strobe lights have been used to blind Henri Paul.
- Can I just interrupt you there to check that I understand what you are saying? It is your belief then that James Andanson was driving the Fiat Uno at the time?
- Definitely.
- And that he was later murdered?
- Yes.
- I see.
- He has been later murdered because... for the security service, avoiding that he will again turn against them and say exactly what happened.
- I see.

(...)

- Where we were, Mr Al Fayed, the extent of this conspiracy: Prince Philip at its heart?
- That is right.
- Prince Charles, you said this morning?
- Definitely a participant because he has interests and he wants to get rid of Diana and he would like to marry Camilla.
- Anyone else in the Royal Household?
- But those are the main ones.
- We have not heard this today, but it features in a letter that you wrote in February 2006: the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
- I do not remember. If you have a copy?
- I do not have a copy but I will read you one paragraph from it. It is a letter that you wrote to the Right Honourable Paul Murphy of the Intelligence and Security Committee. It is dated 14th February 2006. You mention that the security services were acting on the orders of the Royal Family and these are your words 'the Prime Minister and his senior henchmen', and you went on to say this: 'There is equally no doubt in my mind that such a momentous and horrific action would have been directly sanctioned by the Prime Minister.' So can we add him to the list, Mr Al Fayed?
- What are you asking me for? Can you tell me what you are asking now?
- Mr Al Fayed, the list of conspirators; those who are involved in the manner in which I have described in this murderous plot.
- Yes.
- We can add Tony Blair to that list, can we?
- You can, because I am sure he knows what they are going to do, definitely.
- And you say in that letter: 'Not only is Tony Blair involved, but also his senior henchmen.' Now, who did you mean by 'his senior henchmen'?
- Maybe his chief of staff.
- His chief of staff?
- Yes.
- And the Foreign Secretary of the day, Robin Cook, he must have been involved?
- It is a possibility. You can say that the embalming order has to come from someone very high. The Ambassador will not execute such order; only he had been instructed...
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: I think he was in the Far East at the time, wasn't he? I suppose he could have been contacted by telephone.
- Possible.
- MR HORWELL: Lord Fellowes, we heard this morning.
- Yes.
- He was manning a operations centre at the British Embassy and sent messages, I think you have said in the past, to GCHQ?
- Yes, but this is what I have been told. I know these things can happen because he is the Private Secretary of the Queen, right?
- Lord Fellowes we add to the list?
- Yes.
- We heard this morning that Lord Jay should be added to the list; a British Ambassador who knew in advance of the Princess's visit to Paris...
- That is right.
- ... and no doubt played his part in the events that took place. You have said in the past that Lord Jay ordered the embalming to ensure that there would be no evidence to show that Princess Diana was pregnant.
- That is right.
- So we add him to the list. MI5, MI6, CIA and the DGSE, the French intelligence services; we add them to the list?
- Right.
- Judge Stephan...
- Right.
- ... we heard this morning. The French SAMU, the ambulance service and the French doctors; they played their part in ensuring that Princess Diana would die...
- Possibility, yes.
- ... and delayed her arrival at hospital to ensure that she would die?
- Yes, but this is the logic thoughts of taking her to a far away hospital and there was a hospital 10 minutes or 15 minutes from the accident.
- LORD JUSTICE SCOTT BAKER: Have I understood you this morning to say not all of them, but that MI6 would have an agent there among them?
- Possibly ... yes, of course, of course.
- MR HORWELL: And, of course, the French scientists, Professors Lecomte and Pepin...
- Right.
- ... involved?
- Definitely. Why didn't they want to appear as witnesses?"

Lembrete: tenho de ler este livro...

"Costs are being cut and standards eroded by greedy proprietors. Hidden persuaders are manipulating truth. At its worst, the modern newsroom is a place of bungs and bribes, whose occupants forage illicitly for scoops in databases and dustbins. Newspapers hold others to account while hushing up their own unsavoury methods".

Propostas para a futura bandeira do Kosovo

É só escolher

Acrescentos

É só para informar que fiz novos acrescentos aos links deste blog. E sim, Sílvio, também estás lá...

Igual a Kennedy

O 31 da Armada lançou uma provocação para aqueles que gostam de Barack Obama e, no Arrastão, houve uma réplica.
Eu apenas recordo esta mensagem do então candidato J.F.Kennedy...



Conclusão: para Obama ser igual a Kennedy, só lhe falta apanhar um tiro.

Se fosse cá...

O vídeo com as últimas palavras gravadas por Alfredo Reinado que a Focus colocou no You Tube já circulava há um mês, mas a revista teve acesso a uma cópia vinda directamente de Timor com partes em tétum e fez o tratamento jornalística das mesmas no artigo depois publicado. Quando Reinado foi morto era importante explicar os pensamentos do homem que esteve por detrás dos acontecimentos que, em 2006, levaram à demissão do primeiro-ministro Mari Alkatiri. Para que compreendam melhor a indignação de Alfredo Reinado, pensem no que sentiriam se, depois de terem ajudado o Presidente Jorge Sampaio a conspirar contra Santana Lopes, ele deixava-os "cair" e ocupava o cargo de primeiro-ministro apesar do PS até ter ficado atrás do PSD nas eleições legislativas... Mas, lá está, cá não há petróleo.

Exclusivo Timor na Focus

ATENÇÃO!!! ESTE POST CONTÉM IMAGENS QUE PODEM CHOCAR ALGUMAS PESSOAS! SÃO DE UM HOMEM MORTO COM UM TIRO NA CABEÇA, MAS RELEVANTES PARA O QUE SE DIZ

Assim que soube que Alfredo Reinado fora abatido antes, repito, antes de Ramos-Horta ter sido baleado fiquei com os sentidos em alerta. As vozes que ainda não se calam em Timor confirmaram-me de que se tratara de uma operação militar muito "estranha", sobretudo com o ataque frustrado à caravana do primeiro-ministro Xanana Gusmão: "Aquilo aconteceu numa montanha, junto a uma ravina. Se quisessem mesmo matá-lo, não falhavam", foi-me dito.
Hoje, ao ler uma notícia da AP, reparei neste detalhe descrito pelo soldado que abateu Alfredo Reinado: "I shouted Alfredo's name and then opened fire at his head with my machine gun because he was wearing a bulletproof vest".
O uniforme. O uniforme que Alfredo Reinado usava foi um segundo detalhe ao qual me chamaram a atenção. Aquilo é um uniforme novo do exército regular timorense, pelo que, apesar de andar escondido na montanha, Alfredo Reinado teve acesso a novos uniformes - o que não deve ser difícil -, mas também pode significar que alguém, já depois de o ter abatido, poderia ter-lhe colocado o uniforme e o colete à prova de bala para justificar a execução. Isso explicaria o facto do uniforme estar imaculado, sem gota de sangue, apesar do militar ter sido atingido na cabeça e, supostamente, ainda de pé...





Para uma tentativa de explicação sobre o porquê desta confusão na mais jovem democracia do mundo, talvez ajude saber que "há petróleo e gás natural a mais em Timor. É a ganância de muitos actores internacionais que mais mal tem feito a Timor. Ajudar não é intrometer".

"Sócrates viola regras básicas do Estado de direito"

Sobre a investigação judicial em Sesimbra ao negócio autorizado em Março de 2003 pelo então ministro das Cidades, Ordenamento do Território e Ambiente, Isaltino Morais, achei estranho que ainda ninguém nos tenha lembrado que, antes de Isaltino, o ministro do Ambiente que teve este dossier em mãos foi... José Sócrates!





in, "Expresso", Dezembro de 2000

Uma resposta científica

Mais detalhes na edição de amanhã da revista Focus.

Dúvida metódica para o jornalismo científico

"Mari Alkatiri, secretário-geral da Fretilin e ex-primeiro-ministrou, condenou os ataques mas lançou a sua dúvida metódica 'Que alguém explique por que razão queriam matar José Ramos-Horta, que foi quem mais 'protegeu', entre aspas, Alfredo Reinado'".

Para quem, em 1967, denunciou o escândalo Ballet Rose...

... a jornalista Felícia Cabrita, hoje com cerca de 60 anos, está muito bem conservada. E nem sequer sabia que, em 1981, trabalhou no "Tal&Qual", altura em que aquele semanário denunciou o caso da Casa Pia...

Estou fã...

... do Diário Rasgado, por Marco Mendes.

Sim, ainda pode...

A campanha de Barack Obama produziu um vídeo que nos captiva na beleza da concepção e, sobretudo, pela força das palavras escolhidas...



Depois deste vídeo, onde até Scarlett Johansson implora por mais e mais mudança, e apesar de ainda me manter alicerçado na posição de realista bem informado que leva a dizer ser Hillary Clinton a candidata dos Democratas, acho possível que Barack Obama possa ultrapassar o "status quo" político que vem desde 1980 e conseguir a nomeação.
Recordo que no pós-Nixon, em 1976, os norte-americanos, cansados da guerra e da política do Watergate, elegeram Jimmy Carter, um Democrata que não era propriamente um génio a falar...



Governador de um Estado do Sul (Geórgia) e conhecido como sendo um agricultor de amendoins...



Apesar dos quatro anos de Carter terem depois alcançado marcos hoje inimagináveis...



... tal acabou por provocar o surgimento da dupla Reagan/Bush. George Bush, ex-chefe da CIA, ainda sonhou com a possibilidade de poder vir a tornar-se no principal candidato Republicano logo em 1980. Depois, já com a designação de Reagan, colocou-se a possibilidade de Bush nem sequer poder vir a ser candidato a vice-Presidente. Contudo, a história desse improvável país que é a América resolveu então presentear o mundo com uma nova esperança através da dupla Reagan/Bush.



Estes últimos conseguiram fazer com que Jimmy Carter não fosse reeleito. E a forma de como isso foi cumprido é uma história sobejamente conhecida pela maioria dos leitores regulares deste blogue...
Agora, Barack Obama não é um agricultor de amendoins e parece estar bem seguro do que quer e para onde quer ir... Se o deixarem, vamos ver se não vai ser igual aos outros.

Sem surpresas...

"PJ vai arquivar caso Madeleine"

Será mesmo ela?

Mão amiga fez-me chegar estas imagens retiradas de um vídeo. Garante-me ele ser esta Madeleine McCann, viva, já depois de ter sido dado o alerta do seu desaparecimento. Que isto anda cada vez mais confuso anda, sobretudo agora com a PJ a admitir que pode deixar cair a acusação contra os pais.

O Porto do Cálice

"O Porto do Cálice" é um livro de Frederico Valarinho, ex-director da Focus, mas não o vão conseguir encontrar à venda nas livrarias. A edição está a cargo da editora virtual Lulu, com venda "on-line" aqui.

Triste, muito triste

Quero aqui afirmar e garantir que não fiquei contente com a mais recente polémica envolvendo Miguel Sousa Tavares... Apesar de ter ainda em tribunal um processo da parte dele contra este blogue, digo que tudo isto me entristece. E muito.

Uma questão de imagem

Em Agosto passado foi divulgado o retrato robot de uma pessoa que teria sido vista, na Bélgica, com uma criança semelhante a Madeleine McCann. Foram até feitas análises a uma palhinha utilizada pela criança numa esplanada, mas o resultado foi negativo. Este seria o homem que esteve com essa criança...



Recentemente, a família divulgou uma segunda imagem de um suspeito visto na Praia da Luz dias antes do desaparecimento da menina...



Se calhar é impressão minha apenas, mas acho estes dois indivíduos muito parecidos, sobretudo ao nível da boca e das sobrancelhas. Mas, é apenas uma impressão e eu não quero tirar conclusões apressadas...

A vitória dos Absolutistas

O jornalista Adelino Gomes, uma figura de referência na Imprensa portuguesa, resolveu abordar o livro de Nuno da Câmara Pereira, "O Usurpador", onde o autor defende que D. Duarte não é o legítimo chefe da Casa Real portuguesa, mas sim o seu primo, o Duque de Loulé.
Começa Adelino Gomes por dizer que "as acusações não são novas. Mas nunca como agora se apresentaram tão directas e tão abrangentes".
Que não são novas, já se sabia, tanto mais que eu também as abordara aqui e aqui. Agora, quando um jornalista do calibre de um Adelino Gomes necessitou iniciar um texto com uma advertência, fiquei logo com os sentidos em alerta: "Ui! Se as acusações não são novas, então por que está o 'Público' a falar delas? Será que o Adelino Gomes vai 'lavar' a imagem de D. Duarte e atacar o livro? Não, não creio. Afinal, é o Adelino Gomes... Bem, deixa-me lá continuar a ler".
O jornalista Adelino Gomes ouviu dois nobres historiadores, Fernando Mascarenhas, marquês de Fronteira e Alorna, Manuel Sousa e Holstein Beck, 4º conde da Póvoa, e ainda o antigo presidente do PPM, Augusto Ferreira do Amaral. A legitimidade de D. Duarte, para o primeiro, é sustentada pelo facto de que "o Senhor D. Duarte Pio é uma pessoa muito aberta e perfeitamente consciente que representa tanto a linhagem absolutista como a liberal". O segundo defende que D. Duarte "foi reconhecido pela última rainha de Portugal, D. Amélia, que aceitou ser sua madrinha de baptismo e no testamento lhe lega os seus bens existentes em Portugal, tendo reconhecido o seu pai, Duarte Nuno, como duque de Bragança". Por fim, Augusto Ferreira do Amaral diz que o seu "anti-miguelismo nunca se opôs nem opõe ao reconhecimento da qualidade de chefe da Casa Real a D. Duarte Nuno, a partir de 1932 e, obviamente, agora a D. Duarte Pio".
Acrescenta ainda o jornalista Adelino Gomes: "A questão dinástica hoje, em Portugal, é vista como um problema 'sem consistência' ou 'francamente menor'. Manuel Beck diz mesmo que a querela hoje não faz 'nenhum' sentido. Os poucos que admitem que possa haver outra linha sucessória, observa o marquês de Fronteira, 'são geralmente os que perderam a 'tineta' ou aqueles a quem foi negada alguma pretensão e ficaram amargurados'. O que acontece, ironiza, 'é que o actual deputado, Nuno da Câmara Pereira, consegue fazer muito estardalhaço mediático'".
Ouvidos ainda dois outros historiadores, Fátima Bonifácio e Nuno Monteiro, permitiu-se concluir que "em Portugal não existe sequer uma 'questão monárquica'" e, que a discussão de quem seria o rei legítimo é "uma questão inteiramente vácua e desprovida de interesse geral".
Termina ainda Adelino Gomes o seu artigo com uma apreciação quanto ao estilo do autor: "Frases sem verbo, uso sem critério do ponto e vírgula, vírgulas entre o sujeito e o predicado, como se Nuno da Câmara Pereira quisesse adoptar o estilo oral dos documentos majestáticos que transcreve".
Ao acabar de ler o artigo de Adelino Gomes percebi, com muita pena, que há jornalistas que não querem ver os dois lados da verdade. Há jornalistas que desconhecem a História do país em que vivem e aceitam ser mensageiros daqueles que têm por missão reescrever a História.
O sentimento absolutista, inspirado por D. Miguel - derrotado e com descendência banida da sucessão da Coroa Portuguesa após a guerra civil de 1832-34 - regressou a coberto da noite salazarista. A data em que tal plano começou remonta a 1932, ao dia 2 de Julho, quando morreu no exílio, em Inglaterra, o último rei de Portugal, D. Manuel II. Uma morte estranha e sem descendência. Nessa mesma altura, em Lisboa, Salazar formava governo.
Um pequeno sinal dessa lavagem da História - destinado a não ensinar aos portugueses de hoje que houve em tempos uma monarquia constitucional ao serviço da República popular - está no endereço do sítio de geneaologia do "Sapo". Constate-se como o nosso D. Pedro IV, Rei de Portugal, bisavô de D. Carlos, é tratado apenas como D. Pedro I Imperador do Brasil. Assim, até parece que nunca foi rei de Portugal, ao contrário do irmão, D. Miguel, apresentado como rei de Portugal quando sempre fora "O Usurpador" - uma vez que só deveria ter sido regente da sobrinha, D. Maria II.
Percebam, por favor, de uma vez por todas o que vai de mal neste país: os seguidores da linha absolutista e miguelista, ilegal e banida em 1834, regressou ao poder em 1932 (com a morte de D. Manuel II no mesmo dia em que Salazar formou governo) e é ela que sustenta actualmente esta forma estranha de República, alegadamente democrática. A questão do regime, precisamente por ser perigosa para muitos poderes instalados - porque fracos são os argumentos em que se sustentam -, é obviamente encarada como "uma questão inteiramente vácua e desprovida de interesse geral".
Parabéns ao Adelino Gomes pelo serviço prestado à Pátria e ainda para todos aqueles que aceitam viver esta forma de República...

É Carnaval!

Se temos um primeiro-ministro que "projecta casa em cima de curral de vacas", até é provável que a história do número de telefone errado seja verdadeira - embora ache que não, pois o Pinto Ribeiro que ficou de fora não é amigo de Joe "Millennium" Berardo.
Registo ainda a declaração do Presidente da República, o ex-primeiro-ministro "estou contra a tolerância de ponto no Carnaval" Cavaco Silva, que agora se lembrou de apelar à "descontracção" e pediu que "não se fale de política por ser Carnaval".
Ou ele está a gozar o prato, ou então está tudo doido...

Pombas republicanas

Depois do sucesso de Costa e Buíça, que há 100 anos se tornaram heróis da República por terem assassinado o Chefe de Estado português, continua em aberto a legitimidade de uma revolução armada...



Um coisa, porém, garanto: a minha revolução nunca será armada. Quando muito poderá ser televisionada:

É lêndia

Vá lá, foi tarde mas acordou...