Yet more Madeleine misinformation

Churning out the news without a care

The recent flurry of fictitious reports about the Madeleine McCann case is another example of how far quality journalism has been replaced by the latest form of ‘churnalism.’

A story is concocted by a reporter and published on the website of a major newspaper or TV network. Within hours, it has been copied, rewritten or translated without anyone bothering to check for accuracy. If it is sensational enough, the story is then regurgitated around the world.

The media have long been able to share important information from established news agencies and other reliable sources. The rot set in with the upsurge some years ago of propaganda and slanted press releases put out by PR people. The Internet has dramatically speeded and simplified shoddy, second-hand reporting.

Churnalism has now reached unprecedented levels with media organisations shamelessly copying one another online. As a result, a profusion of misinformation is spewed out daily.

Last week’s excitement over the Madeleine McCann case was based on the fact that four Scotland Yard detectives flew to the Algarve to meet with Polícia Judiciária counterparts. The visit followed a letter of request sent by the British Crown Prosecution Service to the Portuguese equivalent.

Officials in both countries refused to comment on the contents of the letter or the reason for the visit. This did not stop the British tabloids from improvising. They spoke of “a dramatic breakthrough” and claimed that the arrest of three burglars was “imminent.”

Kate and Gerry McCann were said to be “on tenderhooks” and being "kept fully informed" about the latest developments.

These “exclusive” assertions in the Daily Mirror were picked up and used not only by competing tabloids, but by ‘quality’ papers such as the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph.

Portuguese papers did not jump on the bandwagon, but the revelation of a ‘breakthrough’ spun around the world and found its way into the Sydney Morning Herald, the Times of India, the Huffington Post and the Daily Beast to name but a few online services.

The Epoch Times, which prides itself on being published in 21 languages in 35 countries across five continents, was running the same “imminent arrest” yarn on the same day ITV mercifully set the record straight with the headline: “No imminent plans to make any arrests in Madeleine McCann case.”

ITV described the meeting between British and Portuguese detectives as “a routine part of the investigation to establish what happened to Madeleine McCann.”

USA Today quoted the British investigative reporter and former detective Mark Williams-Thomas as saying, “this isn’t a major breakthrough” and “burglars don’t abduct children.”

By then the media damage had been done. As the Sunday Mirror columnist Carole Malone put it: “How devastating this must all be for Kate and Gerry McCann – another flurry of headlines, more promises of suspects and arrests... and then nothing. Again!”

The copy and paste style of churnalism practised nowadays is akin to plagiarism, but who cares? For example, a retired British police superintendent with a keen interest in the McCann case spotted that several paragraphs in a Daily Mirror story on 28 December had been copied almost word-for-word, without quoting or crediting the source, from a story that had appeared in the Daily Mail on 15 October. He brought this to the attention of both papers and the Press Complaints Commission. They expressed little interest.

Journalistic analysts put the growth in churnalism down to a combination of things, including increased competition, reduced revenues and inadequate staff with insufficient time to verify and properly develop stories.

It is likely to get ever more frantic. We have already moved on from last week’s “imminent arrests” to this week’s tabloid revelation that “detectives are probing a Portuguese gypsy site just 15 minutes away from where Madeleine was snatched.”

Well, maybe, but for starters the place the foreign media are talking about is not a gypsy site at all. 

One thing is certain though: the media will continue to churn out this sort of rubbish as long as there are people who want to read it.

Let the battle of the books begin!

Authorities in Britain are being tight-lipped at the outset of what could become a prolonged historical wrangle involving the world’s two oldest allies.

A unique collection of books plundered during the darkest days of the centuries-old treaty between Portugal and Britain has been cosseted in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford for more than 400 years. The Portuguese now want the books back.

The British Foreign Office and the University of Oxford have received a formal request to return the collection, which was looted by Robert Devereux, the second Earl of Essex, when his troops sacked the city of Faro in 1596.

The Faro organisation that made the request early this month believes it has a reasonable case. A response from the British authorities is awaited.

The seizure took place while Portugal was under Spanish rule during the 16^th century Anglo-Spanish War. A combined British-Dutch fleet under the Lord High Admiral Charles Howard was returning to England after destroying Cádiz when a flotilla pulled into Faro.

Troops led by Essex found the city virtually deserted. He occupied the bishop’s palace for a couple of nights and then loaded up the book collection, comprising at least 91 volumes, before leaving the city ablaze.

Essex presented the collection to his friend Sir Thomas Bodley and it became part of the library Bodley founded in 1602. The Bodleian is still one of the most acclaimed libraries in the world. 

The ownership of the pillaged books is clear because nearly all are uniformly bound and have on their covers the armorial stamp of Ferdinand Mascarenhas, appointed the 5th Bishop of Faro two years before the raid. He died in 1628 as Grand Inquisitor of Portugal.

The request for the books’ return is contained in a motion passed unanimously at the general assembly of a 250-member organisation called Faro 1540, which is devoted to protecting and promoting the cultural heritage of the Algarve capital.

Copies of the motion have been sent to Buckingham Palace and the British Embassy in Lisbon, as well as Portugal’s secretary of state for culture and senior officials in the Algarve. A number of left and centre-right politicians have already vowed to pursue the matter with the secretary of state. Not surprisingly, Faro town hall also supports the initiative.

The president of Faro 1540, Bruno Lage, said yesterday he had heard nothing from the authorities in Britain. In reply to a range of questions about the books from Portugal Newswatch,  a Bodleian spokesperson said: “We are not making any comment at the moment.”

Hopefully, the arguments for and against a repatriation will soon be debated openly. Meanwhile, we are left with fascinating fragments of history and centuries of silence on the issue.

The original culprit in this saga was a derring-do warrior of “irresistible

charm.” Essex, a cohort of Sir Francis Drake, was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. But Her Majesty’s affection at times turned to loathing. She once referred to him as “an unruly beast.” The year after Essex donated the Faro books to Bodley he led a rebellion against the English government and was duly beheaded for treason.

Apparently the bishop never discovered what had become of his treasured books. A Bodleian source told me a few years ago that many of them still occupied the same place on the shelves assigned by Bodley’s first librarian, Dr Thomas James.

They are mostly 16th century treatises on theology, scholastic philosophy and canon law. Some had been published in Germany, France, Belgium and Italy just a few years prior to their theft.

Some historians think the dastardly Devereux may have done everyone a favour by his act of literary looting. Considering their age, the works are still mostly in good condition, according to my original source. Had the books remained in Faro, they almost certainly would have suffered from the ravages of time.

The Inquisition censors had already blotted out what they regarded as heretical sentences and pasted ‘offensive’ pages together. Dr James wrote that the books had been “tormented in a pitiful manner, that it would grieve a man’s heart to see them.”

The question now is will they ever be seen again in Faro? 

There are faint echoes here of the on-going controversy between Britain and Greece over the Elgin Marbles. Among other things, the Earl of Elgin is said to have been concerned about the safety and worsening deterioration of the marbles had he left them in Athens.

When considering whether the Faro books should be returned to their place of origin it must be wondered what state they would be in today had they not been filched in the first place.

On Portugal succeeding where Greece has so far failed, Bruno Lage says, “Our degree of confidence is realistic.” The Faro 1540 request is just the beginning of what he expects to be a lengthy process.

The passing of José Pearce de Azevedo

José Pearce de Azevedo, OBE, former British Honorary Consul in the Algarve, who died on Monday aged 83, has been laid to rest in the cemetery in his hometown of Portimão.

Four days after his admission to the Barlavento Hospital and having been diagnosed with a lung infection, Azevedo died peacefully with his wife Zefita by his bedside.

A great many people from all walks of life attended the funeral service in the Igreja do Colégio, Portimão, on Wednesday. The principal mourners were his wife, their three children, Patricia, Pedro and Marta, and four grandchildren.

A charismatic and colourful personality, Azevedo contributed greatly to the Algarve region, and in particular to the British community here. The British Ambassador, Jill Gallard, paid warm tribute.

His family’s close association with the British began with his grandfather, Manuel Teixeira Gomes, who spent 11 years as Portugal’s ambassador to London before becoming the seventh President of the Republic of Portugal in 1923.

Manuel Teixeira Gomes’ father had been a consul in the Algarve, representing Belgium. Both Azevedo’s father and paternal grandfather served as British vice consuls here.

Having graduated from the University of Lisbon in economics and finance, he was appointed British vice consul in 1965 at the age of 35. In 1974 he became full honorary consul and was of outstanding help to British expatriates during the turbulent period following the 25th April revolution. For this he was awarded an OBE.

Azevedo’s dynamic wife, Zefita, joined him professionally as pro-consul in 1983. He lovingly referred to her as “my field marshal.” They served together with a small but dedicated team in the Portimão Consulate until their retirement in 2000.

In addition to his consular role, he served as the first president of the Algarve Tourist Board and as head of the Portimão port authority.

For many years he played a leading role in the British-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce based in Lisbon and the Anglo-Portuguese Society in London. As a long-time member of the Royal British Club in Lisbon, he was also an honorary president of the 41 Club in the Algarve and a founder member of the Association of Foreign Property Owners in Portugal.

The British Ambassador, Jill Gallard, said: ‘I am deeply saddened by José Azevedo’s death. He was a dear and loyal friend of the UK and he will be warmly remembered by me and by many of his former colleagues at the British Consulates in Portimão and Lisbon, and at the Embassy.

“Joe, as he was fondly known, was our Honorary Consul in Portimão for over 30 years and we are extremely grateful for his long and devoted years of service to the British Foreign Office.

“He helped British citizens in distress, supported the wider British community in the Algarve and made a key contribution towards increasing British tourism to the region. Joe fulfilled his role with pride and commitment, but he also had a great sense of humour and was a devoted family man.

“His OBE was a well-deserved award and he will be forever remembered by the many thousands of British citizens who came into contact with him during his vast career as Honorary British Consul in Portimão.

       “Our thoughts are with his wife and family at this difficult time.”

With a photograph of his grandfather in Portimão Museum

Read also: 

algarvenewswatch.blogspot.pt/2011/04/for-35-years-british-foreign.html

Odd weather adds to climate confusion

The storms that battered Portugal’s entire coastline recently, plus extensive flooding in England, prolonged drought in California, extreme cold in northeastern America and extreme heat in Australia, have created further confusion over climate change.

In the aftermath of the most violent waves in 20 years, the cash-strapped Portuguese government is committed to finding €300 million for reconstruction projects, and to reassessing the national strategy for coastal protection.

This is being done amid the backdrop of the National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (ENAAC), part of an initiative set in motion by the European Commission to help EU members access and share information on the subject.

The EC’s view is that the climate is certainly changing and that it will continue to do so with far-reaching consequences. ‘Adaptation’ means anticipating the adverse effects and taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause.

“Early action will save damage costs later on, so adaptation strategies are needed at all levels of administration, from local to international,” according to the EC.

So Portugal and the EC seem to be in accord, but there is still considerable public confusion internationally about the way in which the climate is changing and whether or not humans are making things worse.

Opinions differ among the global ‘experts’ and it is hard to know who to believe because the science is all so iffy.

Prime Minister David Cameron told the British  parliament that climate change could be behind the relentless rains and flooding that wreaked havoc on Britain recently, but according to the British Met office “it is too early” to make that kind of judgement.  

With the same sort of diffidence, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - the world leader on research into climate change – last year published a report claiming there was some evidence linking some types of extreme weather with man-made climate change.

Extreme weather events have been occurring sporadically throughout history (at least since Noah’s time, according to Genesis). But the chances of them occurring nowadays seem to be increasing. Global warming is increasingly getting the blame.

But is the globe really warming? Many people sitting around their firesides in the northern hemisphere this winter find it hard to believe. Some think it feels more like another ice age on the way.

Part of the bewilderment lies in a misunderstanding of the words ‘weather’ and ‘climate.’ The difference is that ‘weather’ is defined as atmospheric conditions over a short period of time, whereas ‘climate’ refers to conditions over relatively long stretches – months, years, decades or more.

Presenters on Fox News, famous for denying the existence of global warming, predictably used the recent deep freeze in the US to mock the scientific evidence on climate change.

Donald Trump went further and used the stranding of a Russian research ship in ice in Antarctia as another reason to demand in a tweet: “this very expensive global warming bullshit has got to stop.”

The great majority of climatologists believe that weather patterns and trends (rather than individual events) suggest the planet is indeed getting warmer, that carbon dioxide emissions are compounding the situation and that to deny this could have dire repercussions.

Portugal is currently among the world leaders in the annual Climate Change Performance Index. Along with Denmark it relies for its electricity on renewable sources more than other countries in the EU. While little Portugal is doing its bit, China and the other big offenders need to do much more if CO2 emissions are to be reduced from the 2012 record level of 34.5 billion tionnes.   

Within Europe, Portugal and the Mediterranean countries are thought to be the most vulnerable to climate change. With or without stringent controls on CO2 emissions, the long-range forecast is for less rainfall, more heat-waves and droughts. Sea levels are expected to rise significantly, placing much of the coastline at risk before the end of the century.

All this could severely affect such things as food production and the tourist industry.  Desertification could make the landscapes in southern Portugal more like those in northern Africa.

More clarity about what is going on could be just around the corner. Researchers and policy-makers will be attending a three-day international conference in Lisbon 10-12 March. The objective, say the organisers, Circle-2: “To share the results of 10 years of co-operation in climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation research and pave the way for the development of new research in support of climate change adaptation in Europe in the next decade.”

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Drilling for gas will be ‘clean and safe’

 The multinational Repsol-Partex oil and gas consortium says it will commence “clean and safe” exploratory drilling off the south coast of Portugal late this year or early next, but it may be another four or five years before it can accurately gauge if hydrocarbon deposits are sufficient to make it worthwhile to proceed to commercial extraction.

The consortium has already carried out seismic surveys and other preparatory studies since acquiring the offshore concession for blocks 13 and 14 in Algarve waters in October 2011. As the exploration is still in the preliminary stages, no firm date can yet be set for the start of drilling.

Repsol, with its headquarters in Madrid and 90% of the shares in the partnership with Lisbon-based Partex, is the main operator in the Algarve project.

In September 2012, Repsol in partnership with Petrobras, Galp and Partex acquired the rights to prospect in Peniche Bay north of Lisbon. The Brazilian corporation Petrobras withdrew from the consortium last May leaving Repsol as the project operator with 65% of the shares. Galp has 30% participation and Partex the remaining 5%. Drilling off Peniche is not expected to start until at least 2016.

While much more sophisticated exploratory techniques exist these days, onshore and offshore searches have been carried out in Portuguese waters for many decades. Several major companies, including Shell, Chevron and Esso, have drilled scores of wells in various demarcated blocks, especially since the 1970s. No commercial production has ever been achieved.

The Poseidon gas fields in the Cadiz basin suggest that deposits in the neighbouring Algarve basin are more likely to contain commercial quantities of natural gas rather than oil. 

A Repsol spokesman told Portugal Newswatch this week that environmental and safety studies are being carried out before any drilling takes place. This comes amid public concerns about the possible impact of drilling on regional tourism and the economy, as well as the fishing industry, marine ecosystems and coastal landscapes.

“Environmental and safety studies are being conducted to guarantee a clean and safe drilling operation,” the spokesman said. “Repsol does environmental and safety studies prior to any operation, taking into account the social, economic and environmental issues and following legislation and the highest international standards in the industry. The company takes into consideration such studies in the planning of the operations and works closely with national and local authorities.”

On the subject of pollution, the spokesman added: “One basic difference between gas and oil is that gas evaporates and oil needs containment on water surfaces. In the event of a well failure, gas spills are easier to control than oil spills, as the gas is not retained in the seawater. No water pollution is generated and the hydrocarbon bubbles into the atmosphere until well control is achieved. In the Algarve, as no hazardous gas is expected, a gas pollution case is an extremely improbable situation.”

It is still too early in the exploration process to know exactly where the Algarve or Peniche drilling rigs will be located, “but they will always be some tens of kilometres off the coast and will not be visible from the shore,” said the spokesman.  

 * Photo of oil and gas operation in the Gulf of Mexico

Golden visas offer the keys to Europe

At a time when Britain is worrying about an influx of workers from poor European Union countries, Portugal is enthusiastically encouraging rich entrepreneurs from outside the EU.

Romanian and Bulgarians, especially those likely to seek welfare benefits, are causing panic in Britain because immigration restrictions are to be lifted on January 1.

Meanwhile, Chinese, Russian and other foreign nationals are being wholeheartedly welcomed here in return for investments under the so-called Golden Visa scheme. 

In return for buying property for upwards of half a million euros ($700,000), or capital transfers of more than a million, a golden visa allows non-EU citizens to reside in Portugal for five years without having to pay tax on foreign-earnings. It also gives the right to move around in the Schengen area, which includes nearly all the countries across Europe, but not the UK.

After the initial five years, visa holders may become Portuguese passport holders and thus full citizens of the European Union.

A recent YouGov poll for The Sun newspaper in the UK showed that 72% of Britons wanted their government to limit immigration from other EU countries, fearing that immigrants might take their jobs or strain public services.

The European Commission rebuked Prime Minister David Cameron for saying he  aims to restrict the relocation of migrants from poorer to richer EU states, saying EU membership confers only a qualified right to freedom of movement.

Portugal being one of the poorer states does not have an immigration problem. On the contrary, the mass exodus of Portuguese job seekers to richer countries, including Britain, continued this year at about the same rate as last. Official estimates put the figure at between 100,000 and 120,000 annually leaving their homeland.

High unemployment and severe austerity make Portugal an unattractive country to many outsiders too. Recent reports say even refugees arriving from Syria and other Muslim conflict zones don’t want to stay here. Portugal is merely a stepping-stone.

It seems to be merely a stepping-stone for many of those applying for golden vistas too. Unlike the Romanians and Bulgarians who are hoping to stay in Britain, many of the Chinese and other foreign investors are using their golden visas to set up yield-bearing arrangements in this country that will allow them to live or do business elsewhere in Europe.

For example, they are looking for easily rentable properties in prime Lisbon locations or condominium resorts in the Algarve. Estate agents are scrambling to make sales. Many highly attractive properties are on offer at prices that have dropped by nearly a third since the country was forced to apply for a bailout in 2011.

Agents say plush apartments are available in Lisbon at the same price buyers would have to pay for properties half the size in Beijing or Shanghai. With this in mind, delegations from Portugal attended China’s largest international real estate fair in Shanghai this month.

The golden visa scheme attracted little interest when it was introduced over a year ago. It now seems to be taking off, with applications rolling in mainly from China, but also Russia, Brazil, Angola and India.

According to an official tally released early this month, the scheme had brought in a total of €222 million from 256 visa holders. More than 300 applications were said to be in the pipeline. Nearly all were expected to be approved, which would bring the total investment since the scheme was set up to around €600,000 million.

Introduced by the centre-right coalition government, the golden visa programme has the tacit support of the Socialist opposition party. The only severe critics are the far-right National Renovator party whose leader, José Pinto-Coelho, claims the country is “prostituting itself.”

If so, it is not the only one. Other EU countries in serious financial straits - Spain, Greece and Cyprus - have their own golden visa programmes. So too do some of Europe’s wealthier nations, including Germany and the Netherlands.

As the year ends, the poor are as problematic as ever, while the competition to attract the rich is fierce and rewarding.

Top judges spark pre-Christmas crisis

The approach of Christmas brings fresh worries to Portugal and its hopes of returning to something like financial stability next year.

Once again, the biggest threat to the government's efforts to exit the country’s bailout – and to the continued existence of the present government itself - comes not from politicians but judges.

The latest decision by the nation’s Constitutional Court has blocked a highly unpopular bid to cut public sector pensions. It is the fourth time judges in the highest court in the land (pictured below) have blocked government measures this year. They may do the same to plans to cut the salaries of public sector workers.

As with earlier rulings on austerity measures, the Constitutional Court judges have stymied efforts to cut spending ahead of Portugal’s planned exit from its €78 billion ($107 billion) bailout next June.

The latest decision outlawed a key measure in the 2014 budget calling for cuts of up to 10 percent in civil service pensions over €600 a month. The 13-member court unanimously declared the proposal “unconstitutional” as it was a “violation of the principle of trust.”

This brought renewed calls from street protesters as well as opposition politicians for the government’s resignation. Arménio Carlos, leader of Portugal’s largest trade union, CGTP, condemned the government’s austerity policies as “attacks on human rights.”

An ever-growing number of citizens are claiming that the coalition government is more like a dictatorship than a democratic institution and that it has lost touch with public opinion and the people’s needs. Protesters want President Aníbal Cavaco Silva to veto the controversial State Budget and call early elections.

The pension cuts would have saved an estimated €388 million, funds the government must now find elsewhere to comply with the country’s bailout deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The most likely alternative savings will involve hikes in VAT, which are sure to spark more public outrage.

While there is serious disenchantment with the present centre-right coalition, the question arises: would any other set of politicians in the country be able to do any better? Incompetence and inefficiency are thought to be rife in just about all sectors and at all levels of the administration and the civil service.

Portugal has so far received €71.4 billion of the bailout money it was promised. The government hopes it can follow Ireland’s lead and exit by staying on target to meet the bailout requirements and return to normal financing in the bond markets.

Not everyone is pessimistic. In the days leading up to the latest court ruling, the European Commission expressed qualified optimism that Portugal would be able to find an alternative way to meet its 2014 budget deficit target. “Such measures, however, could heighten risks to growth and employment and reduce the prospects for a sustained return to financial markets,” said a commission spokesman.

The Financial Times today quoted Charles Schulz, a senior economist with Germany’s Berenberg Bank, as saying that Portugal still had a good chance of leaving its bailout programme in June. “The economy is growing, political risks are limited and the government is reforming the economy. But the errors of the past will continue to weigh on Portugal’s prospects.”

On hearing of the court’s rejection after the first session of an EU summit in Brussels last night, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters: “It’s not an easy situation but I think Portugal will find a way to solve it.”

What do you think?

Is the government on the right track, or has it got it all wrong?Your comments below please.