Friday, December 19, 2008

Seven communication´s key issues

  1. Communication and international development;
  2. National information policies and communications law;
  3. Access to, transfer and use of new technologies;
  4. Strategic development with reference to communications training, conflict resolution and inter- or intra-institutional communications;
  5. Media development and management;
  6. Public relations, public affairs and advertising;
  7. Professional training and ethics in journalism, public relations and other communications activities.
 
These are the seven key issues will be devloped by Rosental C. Alves, the Knight Chair in Journalism and UNESCO Chair in Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. He has been elected president of Orbicom, a UNESCO network that links international communication leaders in an effort to affect social justice, democracy and good governance. Rosental will serve a two-year term. He´ll work with the organization's secretariat based in Montreal, Canada, to coordinate the efforts of the network, especially in research of global communication issues. Orbicom is a network of 250 associate members and 31 UNESCO chairs in communication from around the world jointly created in 1994 by UNESCO and Université du Québec à Montréal.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Where in the world to put your money

Morgan Stanley Capital International's index of 21 non-U.S. markets is down 49% through Dec. 1, 2008, compared with a 43% slide in the S&P 500. But the real devastation has occurred in once-hot emerging markets. China's CSI index of 300 publicly traded stocks has fallen 63% for the year. The MICEX index of 30 of Russia's most liquid stocks is down a staggering 73%.  A year ago many economists and analysts earnestly posited that the global economy had "decoupled": Fast-growing European and so-called BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China - could thrive regardless of what was taking place in U.S. and Western European markets.
 
For investors who believe that Brazil, China, India and other developing economies will bounce back, the safest bet is to buy an emerging-market exchange-traded fund. Lazard's Emerging Markets Equity (LZOEX) fund is open to new investors for a minimum $5,000 commitment.  Like all such funds, it's gotten crushed this year, down 61%. But its top ten holdings are mostly big, liquid companies (Korea's Samsung (SSNGY) and Russia's Lukoil among others) that should remain upright even in the midst of a global slump.

The original text is in Where in the world to put your money

Not bad, but not so good

I´ve just received my grades: 8,5 in the written test, 8 in oral comprehension an 9 in oral test. No bad, but not so good. So, welcome to book seven.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

use it or lose it



Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama
Radio Address on the Economy
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Good morning.

Yesterday, we received another painful reminder of the serious economic challenge our country is facing when we learned that 533,000 jobs were lost in November alone, the single worst month of job loss in over three decades. That puts the total number of jobs lost in this recession at nearly 2 million.

But this isn’t about numbers. It’s about each of the families those numbers represent. It’s about the rising unease and frustration that so many of you are feeling during this holiday season. Will you be able to put your kids through college? Will you be able to afford health care? Will you be able to retire with dignity and security? Will your job or your husband’s job or your daughter’s or son's job be the next one cut?

These are the questions that keep so many Americans awake at night. But it is not the first time these questions have been asked. We have faced difficult times before, times when our economic destiny seemed to be slipping out of our hands. And at each moment, we have risen to meet the challenge, as one people united by a sense of common purpose. And I know that Americans can rise to the moment once again.

But we need action – and action now. That is why I have asked my economic team to develop an economic recovery plan for both Wall Street and Main Street that will help save or create at least two and a half million jobs, while rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our schools, reducing our dependence on oil, and saving billions of dollars.

We won’t do it the old Washington way. We won’t just throw money at the problem. We’ll measure progress by the reforms we make and the results we achieve -- by the jobs we create, by the energy we save, by whether America is more competitive in the world.

Today, I am announcing a few key parts of my plan. First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.

Second, we will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways, and we’ll set a simple rule – use it or lose it. If a state doesn’t act quickly to invest in roads and bridges in their communities, they’ll lose the money.

Third, my economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen. We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools.

As we renew our schools and highways, we’ll also renew our information superhighway. It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m President – because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world.

In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to the internet, we must also ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the internet. That is why the economic recovery plan I’m proposing will help modernize our health care system – and that won’t just save jobs, it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor’s office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year.

These are a few parts of the economic recovery plan that I will be rolling out in the coming weeks. When Congress reconvenes in January, I look forward to working with them to pass a plan immediately. We need to act with the urgency this moment demands to save or create at least two and a half million jobs so that the nearly two million Americans who’ve lost them know that they have a future. And that’s exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States.

Thanks for listening.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Photoshop must cause disasters

Take a look at this picture below. Is the moment nice, isn´t it?
 
 
But, pay attention. There is a hidden ghost hand on her left shoulder. Photoshop must cause disasters. Enjoy http://www.photoshopdisasters.com/

Sunday, November 23, 2008

How do You like your steak

Let´s talk about food. Brazilian´s barbecue is a delicious dish and very simple to cook. In general, It is slowly cooked over burning embers with just salt. We named it "churrasco". In Argentina It is different and very good too. There, cookers get used to seasoned the meat. So, how do you like your steak: rare, medium rare, medium well or well-done?
 
My wife prefers it well-done. Actually, she isn´t much for steaks. She´d rather eat vegetables and salads. When She has to eat meat, the steak must be well-well-well-done. In my case, i do like churrasco. And I prefer medium rare because the well-done steak is a little bit tough.

Friday, November 21, 2008

English is demanding

The way is really long. The gol is learning English. The challenge is huge. But, every journey start with the first step. Now I am writing the first post of Englihs.Br. This blog is sponsored by some brazilian english learners. Fasten the belt and let´s go!

Two of us riding nowhere
Spending someone's
Hard earned pay
You and me Sunday driving
Not arriving
On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're on our way home
We're going home

Two of us sending postcards
Writing letters
On my wall
You and me burning matches
Lifting latches
On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're on our way home
We're going home

You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead

Two of us wearing raincoats
Standing so low
In the sun
You and me chasing paper
Getting nowhere
On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're on our way home
We're going home

You and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead

Two of us wearing raincoats
Standing so low
In the sun
You and me chasing paper
Getting nowhere
On our way back home
We're on our way home
We're on our way home
We're going home

We're going home

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