So Zimbabwe is going to get another term of Robert Mugabe as president. He has managed to intimidate the opposition into submission, through mass persecution and execution of voters and candidates.
Of course, it helps that Zimbabwe has no oil reserves and it's a US election year, otherwise somebody would be invading to stop the genocide...
Last Friday, I failed miserably to renew my residence permit and driving license to show the address where I have been living for 2 1/2 years. I got together all the papers that I had needed the last time, in 2003, and went off to the Loja do Cidadão in Setúbal.
I quickly (only 1 hour) found out that the driving license application requires updating the residence permit first. Much later, I discovered that the numbered queuing tickets at the SEF counter are completely irrelevant - you can only deal with the staff by appointment, made online or by phone.
So off I went to www.sef.pt, only to find that my residence permit apparently has an invalid number, so I can't book online. And the phone number is a call centre in Lisbon, where it was a municipal holiday last Friday - hence my availability to go to Setúbal! So nothing doing...
Of course, I don't actually need to update these documents. The driving license expires in 2024 and the residence permit in 2013. So why bother trying to update them? After all, if I get a traffic fine, it will be sent to the wrong address. Fine by me!
I don't know how easy, or difficult, such formalities are in other countries, but my advice in Portugal is, if you can get away with it, don't bother!
The recent (and ongoing) strikes by truck drivers over the cost of fuel are valid tactics in renegotiation of transport prices when fuel costs are skyrocketing. But I fail to see what this, in general, has to do with the Government. Most sectors of the transport industry are not regulated by the Government - the suppliers and purchasers of the service are free to negotiate prices. So surely the truck drivers were barking up the wrong tree. They should be threatening their customers with non-delivery.
But then the fat cats waded in, and the big transport firms managed to extract tax and training benefits from the government - pretty irrelevant if the basic service makes a loss. Strangely, the regulated sector hasn't been making much fuss, particularly the busses, though the taxi drivers are right to appeal for the Government to approve a fare increase.
Once again, backroom deals with fat cats determine Government strategy, and the real problem goes unaddressed...
I'm no expert on musical genres, but I know what I like, and this, Sade's debut album, is one of the all time greats, whether we call it easy listening, groove, soul or something else.
With a majority of original tracks, Sade Adu and her band invented a new sound and niche, which proved so successful that they were quickly imitated, though nothing that matched the pioneering quality of this album.
One of my all-time favourites.
I know that clicking on Google adverts on your own site is tecnically fraud, but this site appeared in the sidebar, and I couldn't resist.
I can't vouch for the restaurant itself, but its website is very attractive, with lots of information including the full menu with prices (a bit high, but possibly justified). So I might just look it up.
Oh, and if you are tempted to follow the link, check if it is in the sidebar first, and earn me a cent or two.
This weekend saw the Portugal Verde exhibition at the Cordoaria Nacional in Belém, Lisbon.
Unfortunately, I can find little positive to say about it. The location is bad - badly signposted, cold and dark. The exhibitors had very little to offer - mostly big corporate names showing off their green credentials, such as Refer, Delta Cafés, the Port of Lisbon, ANA Airports.
The offer of green goods was also rather weak - Junkers and Vulcano only had solar panels for water heating, which have been around for years. Honda was there, of course, though it's hybrids are hardly emissions champions, if you look at the new car emissions tables.
I liked the big exhibition of recycled materials for contruction from Matrec and the environmentally friendly house sponsored by Philips. It's a shame the rest was so feeble, including its website.
