Latest posts by Jose Murilo
Brazil: From Legal Commons to Social Commons
Ronaldo Lemos published his paper “From Legal Commons to Social Commons: Brazil and the Cultural Industry” at iCommons.org, describing some of the current transformations regarding the processes by which information and culture are generated, from the point of view of developing countries.
Gay Pride in Brazil: 3.5 Million March and Government Sponsorship in São Paulo
There are controversies about the exact numbers — estimates range from 3 to 4 million people — but São Paulo's Gay Parade last week probably set a record as the world's most attended street event. In a country that prides itself for allowing the free flow of its cultural diversity,...
Chávez, Lula and the media: is it a samba or a waltz?
It was a funny week that passed by here in Brazil, in the wake of the implementation of the Chávez government decision not to renew the broadcasting license of Radio Caracas Television. The Brazilian Senate debated the issue in one of its sessions this week and decided to ask the...
Brazil: New Round on the National Internet Policy Debate
There are not many issues in Brazil where you are able to find unanimity. But when you talk about messing with Internet freedoms, the defenders spring up from radically different locations in the political spectrum. That's what we are seeing again this week as Sen. Eduardo Azeredo, the protagonist of...
East Timor: Reflections on the Presidential elections
Timor Online brings up Max Lane‘s reflections on the latest Presidential elections (also in Portuguese), which circulated through ETAN's East Timor list, and “are the result of conversations over the phone with contacts in East Timor and with friends in Jakarta who also are in close contact with East Timor,...
Brazil: The Once and Future(?) King
There are two kings in Brazil. Pelé, the world famous football star, and Roberto Carlos, a great icon of Brazilian popular music (MPB). The singer and songwriter acquired fame as the main figure of the 60’s musical movement known as Jovem Guarda — Young Guard — in opposition to the ‘old guard’ of Brazilian music. But late last year, the launch of an unauthorized biography has made this King go to war. Confirming the Brazilian saying that “once King, you’ll never loose the majesty”, Roberto Carlos has recently succeeded in a legal settlement with the writer — historian Paulo César de Araújo — and his publisher where all the unsold books will be called back to him, and the book will never again be published. But then… there is the Internet.
East Timor: José Ramos Horta Wins The Second Round
The Moderate Voice announces José Ramos Horta's victory in East Timor's presidential elections and sees the process as an example the US should follow in Iraq. From the other side, Timor Online comments that FRETILIN [former ruling party] “was beaten by a convergence of global strategic and oil interests with...
Brazil: The Pope's No Diplomat
Leftside affirms that Pope Benedict XVI made a number of gaffes during his trip to Brazil, but few are as indefensible and disrespectful to the people of Latin America as his comments on the region's indigenous people and the “purification” that came with European colonialism. Boz lists the Pope's attacks...
Brazil: The Pope is Here – What Now?
Brazil, the world's biggest Catholic nation, is now entering the global media stage surrounding the Pope's visit. The previous visits of John Paul II have left profound impressions here, and although Benedict XVI obviously lacks the friendly compassionate mood that easily enraptures the Brazilian soul, the church and the media are working hard to nurture the numinous qualities around the new Pope's tour. The question is: will Benedict succeed in his attempt to push forward his agenda for Latin America? Bloggers comment...
Angola: Two Angolan Authors Awarded with International Literature Prizes
High Browse Online announces that Angolan journalist and author Jose Eduardo Agualusa won the 2007 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for his novel, The Book of Chameleons. The Portuguese novel is translated into English by Daniel Hahn. Jose and Daniel will be sharing the prize of £10,000. The winner was announced...
Code and Culture: Brazilians celebrate the advantages of being open
There is no clear consensus about the specific reasons that occasionally boost Brazil to the cutting edge of the open source revolution. For us here in the field, facing so many difficulties, ranging from simple misunderstandings to big resource constraints, the international acclaim sounds a bit exaggerated, and at times misinformed. But now that some fruits of the first generation of "seed" ideas are starting to ripen into visibility to bigger audiences and as principles of the 'open' protocol start to be tested in other sectors, more and more commentators are joining in the conversation focusing on specific areas that catch their attention.
Second Life Brings Its Second Life to Brazil
The much heralded launching of the first Second Life national community happened this Monday, April 23, and Brazilians are getting ready to their outposts in a custom tropicalized virtual environment. The novelty is attracting the attention of users as Linden Labs makes its first attempt to scale and customize the environment to host non-English speaking cultures -- and markets. The initiative is the result of the partnership with the local Kaizen Games, which has been announced as a Second Life Global Provider and part of the SL Grid. Bloggers are reporting.
Brazil: ‘Reverse Globalization’
In an act of “reverse globalization”, a North American in Brazil reports on the ‘Amazonia’ soap opera, the Santo Daime religion, the legacy of Chico Mendes and current efforts to protect of the Amazon forest. Lou Gold reports about ‘Amazonia, Acre and Earth Day‘ at VisionShare.
Lusosphere Reports The First Round of East Timor's Elections
Timor-Leste is holding its first national election as an independent nation, and the vote counting now indicates the need for a second round to decide the next President. The voting occurred on April 9 and the counting process has generated some perplexing news, which should be expected in a country with no previous electoral experience. Less expected was the fact that the spokesman for the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Father Martinho Gusmão, delivered his press conferences in four languages one after the other -- Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian and English. After raising serious concerns by personally expressing doubts about 'illogical' outcomes from the ballot processing, Father Gusmão was removed and explanations were presented by other officials. See what Portuguese sources are reporting...
Brazilians Wrap-up and Rap Upon 10 Years of Blogging
The word is out on the web: blogs are celebrating their 10th anniversary. And although blogging about blogging is something bloggers do all the time, the remembrance offers the opportunity for new raps around the beloved theme. The thread started from an April 1st Dave Winer's post where he praises...
Brazilian Air Traffic Strike: Blogs Debate Confusions, Commands and Concerns from the Past
Last Friday, at the same time Lula was in the air traveling to the US to visit President Bush, a huge crisis was developing back in Brazil. Air traffic controllers had started a strike protesting working conditions, paralyzing flights across the nation and bringing the "Aerial Blackout" crisis to a climax. The problems were started last year with the disintegration of Varig, Brazil's one-time flagship airline, and signs of persistent failure in air traffic control in the southern and central regions of the country were already being noticed by the media in March. It only got worse after the Sept. 29 collision which became Brazil’s worst air disaster, as the controllers started to perform slowdowns that brought delays in airports all over the country.
Mozambique: Blasts Kill Dozens in Maputo
Photo by Alfredo Mueche, in “Domingo” weekly – March 25, 2007 Mozambique's capital Maputo is mourning the victims of a tragedy that could have been prevented, local bloggers say. Dozens were killed instantly when a series of bombs, mines and rounds of ammunition in the country's largest arms depot exploded...
Brazil: Women's Petition for a ‘Right to Respond’
In order to fulfill Global Voices’ mission regarding neglected media visibility of specific groups we will focus today on a Brazilian contingent which now complains of having had — along with local big media’s complicity — it’s own annual moment of expression and manifestation snatched by the recent visit of the US president to Brazil. George W. Bush’s choice of March 8 as the start of what became known as the ‘ethanol visit‘ to Brazil ended up scrambled with the time when Brazilian Women’s Movements expect to have their voices heard by the society as a whole.
Bush in Brazil and Ethanol: Blogs Report and Debate
“We have alcohol to give away and sell” – ethanol molotov for yankee target – source: CMI Brasil The quick visit of the US President George W. Bush to Brazil last week brought forth a large and diverse reaction from the local blogosphere. The protests and demonstrations on Paulista Avenue...
Brazil/US: Information about the New Ethanol Alliance
Raul Zibechi published an informative analysis about the US / Brazil New Ethanol Alliance, calling it ‘the most ambitious attempt to reposition the US in the region since the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas died in Mar del Plata in November of 2005′. Posted on the IRC website, translated...
Brazil: Rolling Stone and the Marketing Hackers
One of the more dynamic segments in the Brazilian blogosphere is that of the marketing blogs. Stirred by a local advertising industry that regularly tops the most prestigious creative awards, and by the promise of interesting job posts at the big agencies, many young talented internauts are exploring blogging tools...
