"Esta é a madrugada que eu esperava
O dia inicial inteiro e limpo
Onde emergimos da noite e do silêncio
E livres habitamos a substância do tempo"
Sophia de M. B. A
.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Playing with fire - 5
The times they are a-changin' ?
"The first COVID-19 case in the U.S. was detected in Seattle on Jan. 30 - the same day South Korea had its first case. The South Koreans built up their own testing regime at break-neck speed and were soon able to test 10,000 suspected cases a day. Trump, on the other hand, claimed on Jan. 26 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, "We have it under control, it’s going to be just fine.”
...But the American health-care system is enormously expensive and highly inefficient. The wealthy and people with good jobs often receive excellent medical care. But a lot of that money goes into the coffers of pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
Nowhere is the coronavirus crisis as visible in the U.S. as at these food distribution centers. One Chicago food bank distributed over three tons of food in a single day. In Manhattan, the line for a soup kitchen extends for several blocks. If the scene were in black and white, one would have trouble distinguishing it from pictures from the 1930s."
Um retrato completo e inclemente da "America first", no SPIEGEL
Monday, April 20, 2020
Playing with fire - 4
Não conheço de todo as ideias do grupo parlamentar europeu a que o senhor Guy Verhofstadt pertence (RenewEurope), nem à partida me identifico com elas (centro direita?), mas concordo totalmente com o que ele aqui expressa! Ou chegam a acordo sobre um eventual "Plano Marshall" para a Europa - e rápido - ou isto vai acabar mal...
Guy Verhofstadt - We need a Delors type of initiative
Friday, April 17, 2020
Playing with fire - 3
German President Steinmeier: Coronavirus a 'test of our humanity’
By DW News
Todo o discurso é interessante e oportuno, embora na sua maioria dirigido ao povo alemão; no entanto há "recados" em várias direcções, nomeadamente para os decisores da UE.
Obrigatório ver a partir do minuto 4:50, donde destaco a frase "... let us show that in Europe as well Germany cannot emerge strong and fit from this crisis if our neighbours are not strong and fit as well..."
Obrigatório ver a partir do minuto 4:50, donde destaco a frase "... let us show that in Europe as well Germany cannot emerge strong and fit from this crisis if our neighbours are not strong and fit as well..."
Playing with fire - 2
A Greater Depression?
"With the COVID-19 pandemic still spiraling out of control, the best economic outcome that anyone can hope for is a recession deeper than that following the 2008 financial crisis. But given the flailing policy response so far, the chances of a far worse outcome are increasing by the day.
The shock to the global economy from COVID-19 has been both faster and more severe than the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) and even the Great Depression. In those two previous episodes, stock markets collapsed by 50% or more, credit markets froze up, massive bankruptcies followed, unemployment rates soared above 10%, and GDP contracted at an annualized rate of 10% or more. But all of this took around three years to play out. In the current crisis, similarly dire macroeconomic and financial outcomes have materialized in three weeks.
.............
Unless the pandemic is stopped, economies and markets around the world will continue their free fall. But even if the pandemic is more or less contained, overall growth still might not return by the end of 2020. After all, by then, another virus season is very likely to start with new mutations; therapeutic interventions that many are counting on may turn out to be less effective than hoped. So, economies will contract again and markets will crash again".
by | Mar 24, 2020 | Project Syndicate
O artigo completo aqui
"With the COVID-19 pandemic still spiraling out of control, the best economic outcome that anyone can hope for is a recession deeper than that following the 2008 financial crisis. But given the flailing policy response so far, the chances of a far worse outcome are increasing by the day.
The shock to the global economy from COVID-19 has been both faster and more severe than the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) and even the Great Depression. In those two previous episodes, stock markets collapsed by 50% or more, credit markets froze up, massive bankruptcies followed, unemployment rates soared above 10%, and GDP contracted at an annualized rate of 10% or more. But all of this took around three years to play out. In the current crisis, similarly dire macroeconomic and financial outcomes have materialized in three weeks.
.............
Unless the pandemic is stopped, economies and markets around the world will continue their free fall. But even if the pandemic is more or less contained, overall growth still might not return by the end of 2020. After all, by then, another virus season is very likely to start with new mutations; therapeutic interventions that many are counting on may turn out to be less effective than hoped. So, economies will contract again and markets will crash again".
by | Mar 24, 2020 | Project Syndicate
O artigo completo aqui
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Wednesday, April 08, 2020
Playing with fire - 1
"Event 201 - a global pandemic exercise" viu a luz do dia em 18 de Outubro de 2019; dá-me a ideia que veio um pouco tarde demais, oxalá esteja enganado...
Já o ponto 6 parece destinado direitinho aos líderes da famigerada (des)União Europeia.
Accomplishing the above goals will require collaboration among governments, international organizations and global business. If these recommendations are robustly pursued, major progress can be made to diminish the potential impact and consequences of pandemics. We call on leaders in global business, international organizations, and national governments to launch an ambitious effort to work together to build a world better prepared for a severe pandemi
O documento na íntegra aqui
Já o ponto 6 parece destinado direitinho aos líderes da famigerada (des)União Europeia.
The next severe pandemic will not only cause great illness and loss of life but could also trigger major cascading economic and societal consequences that could contribute greatly to global impact and suffering. Efforts to prevent such consequences or respond to them as they unfold will require unprecedented levels of collaboration between governments, international organizations, and the private sector. There have been important efforts to engage the private sector in epidemic and outbreak preparedness at the national or regional level. However, there are major unmet global vulnerabilities and international system challenges posed by pandemics that will require new robust forms of public-private cooperation to address.
.................................
Accomplishing the above goals will require collaboration among governments, international organizations and global business. If these recommendations are robustly pursued, major progress can be made to diminish the potential impact and consequences of pandemics. We call on leaders in global business, international organizations, and national governments to launch an ambitious effort to work together to build a world better prepared for a severe pandemi
O documento na íntegra aqui
Friday, April 03, 2020
Conversa de velhos
Entre outras coisas, devemos-lhes o nosso SNS, que tem obrigação de os tratar (no mínimo) com a dignidade que lhes é devida.
"O Estado não pode ser um Estado mínimo, como se diz. O Estado tem de ser o Estado necessário e um Estado que não olhe apenas para a situação presente, para as eleições e para o resultado, mas olhe para o futuro e para o futuro da sua comunidade. E um Estado que procure fazer o que é indispensável para que esse futuro seja viável" Ramalho Eanes dixit
A entrevista completa AQUI
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