In the News…

I think its always interesting to scan through a newspaper and pull out the key stories, especially so for foreign newspapers. You can get a certain slice of what’s going on here and what’s important and newsworthy (or not).

I try and read “Gazeta de Alagoas” everyday. Its in Portuguese so its a good way for me to learn more. Bear in mind that potentially 1/3 of the people in Alagoas are supposedly illiterate, so my feeling is that this paper is aimed at the wealthier end of the state.

Friday 23 Oct:

“On the first day after the strike that lasted nearly a month, the Federal Savings Bank yesterday re-opened its branches…”
[This is very common here. Banco do Brasil was also on strike last month for several weeks. It must literally paralyse the nation. Forget about BillPay and Internet banking – people do their banking by queuing up at branches. With the branches closed for so long I really dont know how things functioned. Public school teachers also ended a 60 day strike while I was here as well].

“Jesus would have to call Judas to make a coalition”.
[I can’t quite follow this one, but basically Brazilian President Lula seems to have caused a stir with the above comment. I think he was making reference to the next President having to form alliances with minor parties (and hence make alliances with traitors)]. He upset Congress and the council of Bishops with this comment].

“Driver of vehicle carrying beer to taken to State Hospital after truck crashes”
[Is this for real? Seems like something from an episode of the Simpsons…]

“Registration of birth available at the Maternity Hospital”
[A new system allowing parents to get their birth certificate at the hospital will provide greater efficiency. Knowing Brazil the old system was probably a very bureaucratic process, involving queueing for hours at a building as far as geographically possible from the hospital of birth.]

“Chavez ‘seeks’ 3 minute showers”
[Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, yesterday asked the people of Venezuela to stop singing in the shower as well as restricting their baths to three minutes, because there are serious problems of water supply and electricity in the country].

“Drug war already has 41 arrests – Rio de Janeiro”
[…According to Military Police, 33 people have died in the fighting since Saturday. Already seized 31 weapons and five grenades…]

“Military Police negotiate removal of slum families “
[About 200 families living in the Favela Portelinha and remainder of the City of Lona will have to leave their shacks in the coming hours. They will be installed in improvised dwellings…In the place where they live new low-income housing is being constructed…]

“Two more executions in Maceio”
[…the two men were shot to death on Wednesday, about 21h, in the house where they lived….They were identified as vendors of pirated CDs and DVDs…an investigation begins.”

“Vigilante may have committed 16 homicides”
[…arrested on Wednesday for domestic violence in a shantytown…And according to information he may have committed, in fact 16 homicides]

Well, make of that what you will – that’s a cross section of Friday 23 Oct. Seems to be about right to me. The usual content of frighteningly violent things; some banal things (the beer story) and other stuff. Friday 23 seems to be representative of most days in the paper.