Independence of the Seas

O Independence of the Seas, o grande paquete de cruzeiros, tocou hoje em Lisboa, na sua viagem inaugural.

Proprietário: Royal Caribbean International

Comprimento: 339 m

Largura: 56 m

Altura: 14 andares

Tripulação: 1400

Passageiros: 3.634

Earthquake in China

Search for China quake survivors
Thousands of people are still trapped beneath ruined buildings

A massive search and rescue operation is under way in south-western China after one of the most powerful earthquakes in decades.

Troops have arrived in Wenchuan county at the epicentre, which was largely cut off by the quake - but heavy rain is hampering rescue operations.

Elsewhere in Sichuan province, frantic efforts are being made to reach thousands of people under the rubble.

The death toll is now more than 12,000, officials say, and looks set to rise.

Full story at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7397489.stm

Volcano Chaiten in eruption

Evacuation order total Chaiten !!!!

The volcano began to erupt during the early hours of Saturday, May 2, 2008. It is evacuating their homes to the villagers Chaiten. This work is being hampered by the dense cloud of volcanic ash. Earthquakes are repeated throughout the day.

5/6/2008, 11:00 AM : An evacuation order was delivered complete and immediate few moments ago in Chaiten, after the volcano eruption that began a few days ago to resume their activities more strongly, threatening to affect the people and everybody who remained in the sector.

According to the story of the authorities in the area this morning revealed that the volcano Chaiten resumed its activity with more force and that even began to expel solid material and lava, so it became necessary to issue a mandatory evacuation order and Immediate for all people remaining in the sector, including personnel from law enforcement and security. The sirens began to sound to alert people and call them to leave the area quickly.

Full story at: Full story at: http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1162809/Main/1162809

Global Food Crisis

Giant Food & Biotech Corporations Make Billions in Profit from Growing Global Food Crisis

Giant agribusinesses are enjoying soaring earnings and profits out of the world food crisis which is driving millions of people towards starvation, The Independent on Sunday can reveal. And speculation is helping to drive the prices of basic foodstuffs out of the reach of the hungry.

The prices of wheat, corn and rice have soared over the past year driving the world's poor - who already spend about 80 per cent of their income on food - into hunger and destitution.

Full article at:http://www.enn.com/agriculture/article/35871

Full Story: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/mul...

Puebla battle

May 5

Four decades after Mexico's independence, General Ignacio Zaragoza's army defeated French expeditionary forces near Puebla on May 5, 1862 in the Battle of Puebla.

During the French intervention, the people of Puebla sided with the French and did not lend the needed support to the mexican troops.

This lead Ignacio Zaragoza to write a letter back to Mexico City after the defeat of the French with the help of the Tlaxcaltecans petitioning to burn the city down.

Instead, the name was changes to "Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza" as punishment against the very religious city.

Source: Wikipedia

Liberdade

Amanhã dia 3 de Maio, é o DIA DA LIBERDADE!

"Liberdade é pouco, o que desejo ainda não tem nome." - Clarice Lispector - escritora brasileira (1920-1977)

Legless lizard

Legless lizard found in Brazil may be new species
By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered a legless lizard, a toad and a dwarf woodpecker among 14 species believed to be new to science in central Brazil, a wildlife conservation group said on Tuesday.

A four-week expedition to the Cerrado region, a wooded savannah under threat from the expansion of farming, found eight apparently unknown types of fish, three reptiles, one amphibian, a mammal and a bird, Conservation International said.

Full article at:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080429/sc_nm/brazil_lizard_dc

25 de Abril de 1974

Hoje comemora-se o 25 de Abril, ocorrido há 34 anos!
Representa, acima de tudo, a liberdade, o direito de cidadania, a democracia, em Portugal!
Não obstante vozes discordantes, como aliás acontece em tudo que é humano, o país beneficiou de um largo desenvolvimento ao longo destes 34 anos, que podemos observar ao longo de tudo o país.

Haverá sempre muito a realizar, porque as expectativas e a esperança é infinita!

Máximas

"Este [ a democracia] é o pior de todos os sistemas económicos com excepção de todos os outros já testados." - Wiston Churchil

"Com milhões faço inaugurações, com inaugurações ganho eleições." - Alberto João Jardim

"Eu sou o princípio e o fim, a vida. Tal como nos Evangelhos." - Idem

Roger Bacon

Filósofo inglês nascido em Ilchester

Padre Franciscano que pertenceu à Escola de Oxford. Estudou em Paris entre 1231 e 1236. Foi discípulo de Robert Grossetête (1175-1253), que exercia na época a função de chanceler na Escola de Oxford.

Roger Bacon, também conhecido como Doctor Mirabilis, pode ser considerado um dos precursores do espírito científico do pensamento moderno, por defender a importância da matemática para a fundamentação da ciência natural e por valorizar o papel da experiência para a ciência. Foi perseguido em várias ocasiões devido às idéias pouco enquadradas no mundo escolástico.

Além de procurar aplicar o método matemático à ciência da natureza, fez diversas tentativas para torná-la experimental, sobretudo no campo da óptica. Apesar de argumentar que "ver com seus próprios olhos" não é incompatível com a fé, não conseguiu demover os medievais da desconfiança gerada por qualquer tipo de experimentação.

Sob a suspeita de ter colocado em questão as obras aristotélicas de Santo Alberto Magno e de Santo Tomás de Aquino, é aprisionado no período de 1277 a 1292. Suas principais obras são: Opus majus, Compendium Studii Philosophiae e Compendium Studii Theologiae.

Curiosidades

Acontecimentos culturais e históricos:


1215 - Terceiro Concílio de Latrão
1216-1221 - Quinta Cruzada
1222 - Fundação da Universidade de Pádua
1227 - Nascimento de São Tomás de Aquino
1228-1229 - Sexta Cruzada
1229-1232 - Instituição da Inquisição
1248-1254 - Sétima Cruzada
1253 - Fundação da Sorbone
1262 - Tomada de Cádis pelos Espanhóis
1270 - Oitava Cruzada (morte de São Luís)
1271-1275 - Marco Pólo na China

NICHOLAS SPARKS

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world´s most beloved storytellers.

His eleven novels onclude six #1 New York Times bestsellers, and all his books, including Three Weeks with my brother, the memoir he wrote with his brother, Micah, have been New York Times and international bestsellers, and translated into more than thirty languages.

Space Shuttle

In this image from NASA Television the Columbus module is seen at the end of the robotic arm after being taken out of the payload bay of the space shuttle Atlantis, Monday, Feb. 11, 2008.(AP

Astronauts set up new space station lab
By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON, Associated Press Writer

HOUSTON - With the Columbus lab now secured to the international space station, the 10 orbiting astronauts rolled up their sleeves on Tuesday for their next big job: getting the lab running.

Crew members spent Tuesday morning hooking up power, fluid and data lines linking the new module to the station before French astronaut Leopold Eyharts briefly floated inside for the first time. Checking around with his headlamp, he said the lab appeared to be in good shape.
"This is a great moment," he said.

A formal ceremony marking the lab's grand opening was set for Tuesday afternoon.
American spacewalkers Rex Walheim and Stanley Love helped install Europe's shiny new $2 billion lab on Monday. The astronauts shouted and cheered when the 23-foot, 14-ton lab finally reached its docking port on the station, after a slow move out of Atlantis' payload bay.
Atlantis' crew got more good news on Tuesday, when Mission Control said they would not have to repair a thermal blanket that has a torn corner. Engineers are confident the blanket, located near the shuttle's tail, will stand up to the intense heat of re-entry at flight's end.

The European Space Agency waited years to see Columbus fly. The lab was supposed to go up in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the sailing of Christopher Columbus, but space station and thems delayed everything.

Full article at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080212/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle

Ditos

"Não, não estamos nos nossos melhores dias..." - José Pacheco Pereira, Historiador, in Público (2008-02-09)

"E não acontece nada.." - Idem, ibidem

"Em Janeiro, se vires verdejar pôe-te a chorar, se vires terrear, pôe-te a cantar.", ditado popular

Perdemos o contacto II

Depois de mais de sete meses, voltánosde novo a encontar ea poder entrar neste blog.

Vamos ver por quanto tempo mais.

E aproveito para deixar aqui uma vista do Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.

Perdemos o contacto

Depois de bastante tempo, perdemos o contacto com o nosso blog. Não obstante diversas tentativas de o conseguir, com mudança de ID e password, nada funcionou!

Hoje, por feliz acaso, surgiu o acesso!

Vamos ver o que vai resultar

Liberty of the Seas

Liberty of the Seas

O Liberty of the Seas, navio irmão do Freedom.
Estatísticas do Liberty of the Seas
Tonelagem: 160,000 toneladas. [1]
Decks: 18 no total, 15 de passageiros.
Velocidade: 21.6 nós
Complementos: 4,370 passageiros, 1,360 tripulantes
Registo: Bahamas

Liberty of the Seas é o maior cruzeiro do mundo, da Royal Caribean que começa hoje a navegar. Os 18 decks do navio acomodam 4.370 passageiros servidos pelos 1.360 tripulantes.

Foi construido em Aker Finnyards Docas de construção em Turku, Finlândia, aonde também foi construido seu navio irmão o Freedom of the Seas.

Em 19 de Abril de 2007 ele foi entregue à Royal Caribbean.

Fonte: Wikipedia

BASTO

Estátua do "Basto", na Praça da República em Refojos, sede co concelho de Cabeceiras de Baixo.

Representa um guerreiro lusitano, e foi sendo modificada ao longo dos séculos.

Presidente Nicolas Sarkozy

Fonte: Courrier Internacional

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