Madeira News Blog

Several contributions below from Paul :

Intervention of Nacional player prevents England from taking lead! reports FIFA on the England v Algeria match:

"….it took a last-gasp intervention from Rafik Halliche to prevent England from taking the lead…"

image caption : Wayne Rooney is tackled by Rafik Halliche on June 18th in the England v Algeria match

Rafik Halliche (born September 2, 1986 in Algiers) is an Algerian footballer who currently plays for C.D. Nacional in the Portuguese first division on loan from S.L. Benfica, as a central defender.

Lynne Truss muses on ‘git’ Ronaldo. BBC Radio 4

interesting….

Nacional Madeira in the Sun!
"An Algeria who boasted ‘household’ names like Rangers’ Madjid Bougherra, once of Crewe, and relegated Portsmouth’s Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda. And others from Slavia Sofia, Nacional Madeira, Sochaux, Bochum and Valenciennes. And an Algeria who shamed the so-called cream of the Premier League."

The Sun reports on the England v Algeria World Cup Match on 18 June, 2010 HERE

Mais visto no YouTube: Vídeo a gozar com a BP faz sucesso na Internet

In English Title of Video: BP spills coffee :

Axl, Slash & the other Guns N’Roses are coming to Portugal! Expresso reports:

Guns N’Roses are playing at the Atlantic Pavilion in Lisbon on October 6th and according to the report will be joined by Slash. This is the first concert of the American rock band in Portugal and is part of a tour which the Guns started in 2009.

image caption : Slash with Gibson doubleneck (black Gibson EDS-1275) – Cropped version + sharpen

The current lineup comprises lead vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarists Ron "Bumblefoot" Thaland DJ Ashba, rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer. Guns N’ Roses’ mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s years have been described by individuals in the music industry as the period in which….

"they brought forth a hedonistic rebelliousness and revived the punk attitude-driven hard rock scene, reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones." source: wiki

image caption : GN’R live in 2010

link to full Expresso article:

Visual humour inspired by world cup performances? Also from Expresso:

Goodbye Meryl Streep and Robert Redford….hello…..??

Will Spaniards want to wear Swiss watches

Expresso writes "authors unknown"

Link to page:

Rather than do a ‘Redwood’, when someone’s birthday party is coming up I make the effort to learn the words, and promptly forget them soon after. With another one next week, I thought I had better do a ‘refresher’ and found this rather entertaining video  as a learning aid. It’s probably the Brazilian version, but as normally only the first verse is sung, it doesn’t make much difference. Complete with amusing ‘outtakes’ at the end. Der

Everything else from Elaine :

(Portuguese only.) Casa do Velho. A geological heritage site in Curral do Velho, Paúl da Serra. HERE

Buckle up when you fly into these airports.  While Bhutan is the most extreme example—only eight pilots in the world are qualified to fly into Paro—a number of the world’s airports, from St. Maarten in the Caribbean to Madeira Airport in Funchal, can present challenges for pilots. "A lot of these airports require additional training and route familiarization because they’re so crazy," says one commercial pilot who flies international routes. According to aviation experts, mitigating factors range from the truncated length of runways to unique atmospheric and meteorological conditions, dramatic geographical settings, heavy air traffic, or a combination thereof. "Sometimes it’s just the way the airport is laid out that makes it a pain," says the pilot, referring to whether an airport is situated askew. HERE

For the Love of Port. Madeira: A Five-Week Stay. – Have you seen the news, my brother says. It’s Saturday evening and our five weeks stay in the outskirts of Funchal is only two days away. Normally I am useless at packing, starting the evening before, but this time it’s different. Spending 36 days abroad with two small children needs planning and a “to do” list of quite impressive length.

- No, why, is my answer, wondering a bit why my brother calls to ask me that.
- Madeira, he says, is on the news. There’s been some kind of flooding in Funchal. A lot of people are dead.
My first reaction is one of renunciation; it can’t be that bad. But when looking at the pictures wired out from Madeira on all news channels, I suddenly realize why my brother asked – our vacation. I am trembling at the thought that we might have to cancel; not for the fact that the insurance company will quote force majeure – no, we want to go to Madeira! HERE

News from Diário de Notícias and Jornal da Madeira

THURSDAY 17th JUNE

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Councillors of Câmara de Lobos summoned to repay money. The Court of Auditors condemned the Mayor of Câmara de Lobos, Arlindo Gomes, for endorsing ‘more’ work on four municipal contracts. Other councillors are also liable to pay fines for not voting against additional work, even though they knew the contract had been completed. The Court accused ten councillors in that county and the fines total 68,290 euros. An example is the construction of the Estrada Municipal Variante – Ribeira da Alforra. This was completed in November 2005 for the sum of 4,926,778.68 euros. In June 2006, the architect Ricardo Fraga stated that additional work was necessary and a contract for 1,222,091.47 euros was awarded, but it was not evaluated at monthly intervals or completed in the time stated. The other contracts awarded for extra work were: Renovation of the Largo da Republica €294,999.80, Caminho Municipal Seara Velha de Baixo – Curral das Freiras €113,607.64 and Estrada Municipal Ribeira do Escrivão – Quinta Grande €244,654.18.

‘Florestas’ opposed to bunkers at Santo. It is difficult to license bunkers for storing tonnes of fireworks for the pyrotechnic shows in Madeira. The storage site in question is on 70,000 square metres of land situated in Ribeira de João Gonçalves, next to Santagro and above the Levada da Serra do Faial. The proposed site was to be reforested and is near Casa Velha which is the breeding centre for red grouse. The application for a licence to Santa Cruz Council is contested by the Regional Directorate of Forestry and the residents of Santo da Serra. Carlos Macedo for Macedos Pirotecnia says the installation of the warehouse is not incompatible with reforestation. The small building will be 48 square metres on terrain of 70,000 square metres, so the security margin will be greater than the legal radius of 40 metres. The risk is only when fireworks are handled as they are packaged securely for transport and storage. The opinions of the Civil Protection, Environmental and Health Authorities are all favourable but residents are cautious and fearful.

MADEIRA

Initial funding will arrive in July. The first grants from the State Budget under the Lei de Meios should arrive in Madeira in July. Madeira will receive 200 million euros between 2010 and 2013, divided into portions of 50 million euros per year, transferred monthly. The Cohesion Fund will reinforce funding by 265 million euros and 5 million euros will come through the PDAC. The European Investment Bank will provide support to the amount of 250 million euros but the first installment will not be until September. The minister responsible for finance, Ventura Garcês, thanked those who have helped in the recovery without any compensation so far, and the government will try to advance money as soon as possible. The government is trying to quickly access the 30 million euros from the European Solidarity Fund. An amended Regional Budget will be discussed in the Regional Legislative Assembly on 13th July.

Rain hampered cherry production. Cherry production this year is substantially lower than previous years. The heavy rains during the flowering season are the main reason for less fruit at this weekend’s two-day Cherry Festival in Jardim da Serra. This year’s cherry production is 20-30% down on last year. The traditional ethnographic parade begins on Sunday at 15.00 and this year it will recreate the killing of the pig. There will be demonstrations of how to make a cherry cocktail and cherry cheese-cake with Madeiran requeijão.

Altares de São João with guaranteed entertainment. The exhibition of decorated altars starts tomorrow and lasts until June 26th. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Junta de Freguesia da Sé and traders and businessmen in the area around Praça do Carmo. There will be musical entertainment daily provided by Estudantina, Enfertuna,Tuna D’Elas, TUMa (Tuna Masculina da Universidade da Madeira), Banda D’Além, Banda Distrital, Banda Municipal and Trio do Funchal.

Madeira Wine promoted in the U.S.A. The training ship Sagres anchored at the Port of San Diego on June 10th. During the official reception for 300 guests commemorating the Day of Portugal, the Ambassador of Portugal made a toast with Madeira Wine. This is an example of the permanent presence of Madeira Wine in America. Despite the economic crisis, the downward trend is reversing and there has been a considerable increase in the amount sold in the first months of this year. There will be two promotional activities in June when 200 participants – distributors, journalists, importers and sommeliers – will have the opportunity to taste 30 different types of Madeira Wine. These events are co-funded 70% from EU funds and the remaining amount is from the Regional budget. The American market is the fifth volume of business in the area of Madeira Wine and 135,779.75 litres were exported to America in 2009, equivalent to 824,715.72 euros.

Regional Government to build a new bridge at Ribeira Brava. Although not a priority for reconstruction in relation to the amount of storm damage as a consequence of last February’s floods, the Regional Government is aiming to build a new bridge over the stream at Ribeira Brava. The structure will be fully suspended over the bed of the stream and will be in the same place as the old arch bridge that collapsed during the floods. An alternative metal footbridge is currently in place to allow pedestrians to cross the stream.

SESARAM certification ensures quality of its services. On the Regional Health Authority’s website, SESARAM stated that contrary to reports, the activities of health care establishments and services have improved substantially in terms of both quality and quantity. This year, there have been 24.7% more operations, 17.5% more consultations and 29.3% more treatments carried out by the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, compared to last year. Better care has reduced attendances at the Emergency Department by 9.3%, paediatric emergencies by 13.5% and 10.7% fewer attendances for emergencies at Health Centres. In-patients had shorter stays (5.2% fewer days) and similarly at Health Centres (36%). This month, the Board of Directors will sign a contract with the international quality accrediting body CHKS (formerly King’s Fund), to maintain quality accreditation.

ECONOMY

TAP supports travel to Madeira for Miss Switzerland 2010 candidates. TAP is helping the recovery of tourism to Madeira by relocating the candidates of Miss Switzerland 2010 to Madeira for a few days of filming. The entourage will arrive on Saturday 19th June on TP1633 flight at 17.10. They will participate in a photo shoot and filming at Madeira Airport when they arrive.

POLITICS

Secretary and Clinical Director blamed for the health crisis. The Socialist Party led the session yesterday in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira to propose the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the situation of malaise in the Regional Health Service (SESARAM). This is to support the clinical staff and to highlight a lack of clinical materials and medicines. Manuel Coelho (PND) accused the Clinical Director, Miguel Ferreira, of being "a man conflicted and complex" that "pursued the best views of the hospital" and that "has already been tried in a medical negligence case for the death of a poor child". Leonel Nunes (PCP) sketched the profile of the Regional Secretary for Social Affairs "as one of the most irresponsible people" who has held that title. The instability in the health service caused by the replacement of management positions was noted, and Roberto Almada (BE) hypothesised that the degradation of the provision of health care in the public sector was to deliberately push users to the private sector. In response, the Social Democrats lamented the "absolutely false and gratuitous accusations" made by opposition MPs "to create instability and social unrest" in that sector, and defied the MPs to abandon their immunity and prove their allegations in court. The Social Democrat MEP said the changes in the Regional Health Service are to provide a better service and better health care.

Quotes

"There is no shortage in the Region of totally incompetent public managers who are not dismissed." – Lopes da Fonseca (CDS/PP)

"It is better to pay low salaries (to public administrators) and higher premiums to those who achieve results." – Jaime Silva (MPT)

FRIDAY JUNE 18th

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Region exempts taxes for photovoltaic company. The argument between the Parish Council of Caniçal and Machico Council over the installation of a photovoltaic park has been resolved. To prevent logging in the serras of Caniçal, the solution is to have the park in the Zona Franca Industrial da Madeira (Industrial Free Zone) in Caniçal. The Regional Director of Forestry was against the felling of trees and said the permit approved by Machico Council did not comply with the law. This solution preserves the acácias in the only serras of Caniçal and provides tax relief to Grupo Nutrotons, but deprives the Region of Corporation Tax. The company will invest 20 million euros to install 28,000 solar panels in an area of 100,000 square metres. The annual production of 12 GWh should begin in October.

Brazão at OIT for 9 days costs 24,000 euros. The inclusion of the Regional Government in the Portuguese delegation participating in the Annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (OIT) at Geneva will cost more than 24,000 euros for transport and accommodation. The Regional Secretary of Human Resources, Brazão de Castro, will be present as an observer and will accompany the Regional Director for Labour, Rui Silva. The meeting has been extended from the usual seven days to nine days this year. Besides these two delegates, there will be two from the Azores and representatives from the Government of Portugal, employers and trade unions. The Regional Secretariat of Human Resources is using the favoured travel agency of the President of the Regional Government, Top Atlântico, which is charging 24,155.06 euros or 2,684 euros per day. For last year’s meeting, Top Atlântico charged 14,945.35 euros or 2,135.05 euros per day. Another trip by Brazão de Castro in April 2009 for five days amounted to 10,383.32 euros and the price for one in June to South Africa for 11 days was 19,944.68 euros.

MADEIRA

Pirotecnia Atlântica builds a new warehouse. This company has been based in Madeira since 2002. It has received a licence to build a second warehouse to store up to 30 tonnes of products. This is in response to a lack of storage for fireworks imported for the big events.

‘Semana do Mar’ at Porto Moniz. Carlos Costa, who became famous from the show "Idols", will take part in this event in Porto Moniz. He is a good choice as he is a native of that county. The four day festival normally attract thousands of people, and this year it will also be a gastronomical event with local restaurants serving food related to the sea. Traditional music will be provided by Banda D’Além and Xarabanda and light music by Salsinhas da Abalada and Cool Feel Band.

EVENTS

Freed inmate sent to psychiatric hospital. A 45 year old man has just completed his 20 year prison sentence for aggravated homicide. There are concerns about whether he is a danger to society, so he has been ordered to stay at the Casa de Saúde São João de Deus for assessment and rehabilitation. Psychiatrists and probation officers will decide whether he can be safely returned to society. He had been given the nickname ‘Psychopath’ in prison for his coldness to other people and he is very knowledgeable about martial arts. He was initially convicted for seven years for the attempted murder of a girl but only served four years. He then committed a murder in 1992, for which he showed no regret at the time.

ECONOMY

A large fishery in the sea of Calheta. An American on vacation in Calheta caught a Blue Marlin, 3.72 metres long and weighing 368.5 kg. Sasha Chidiak now tops the list of Big Game Fish fishermen for catches in the seas of the region. The Blue Marlin was donated to welfare institutions.

LATE NEWS

The writer José Saramago has died. Saramago won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998 and was 87 years old. He died this morning and although widely reported in the Portuguese media, few details are known. He was an eminent Portuguese writer and skilled in the art of controversy (polemizar), as shown in his last book, Abel e Caim. He lived in Lanzarote but visited Portugal frequently. Saramago is the father of the biologist Violante Saramago Matos who works and lives in Madeira. The funeral will be held tomorrow when Saramago’s body will be transferred to Portugal. Condolences are mainly from politicians as he was a communist who took a role in the resistance to the fascist dictatorship. (q.v. April 28th 2010 blog.)

Many thanks to Paul  and Elaine for sending in a contributions for this blog.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please only send in ‘exceptional’ or very topical photos by email attachment, as they take quite some time to process. Links to photos that are already online take much less time. Anything submitted for inclusion will be ‘cut and pasted’  to the blog very likely unchecked and unaltered, so please check anything through before sending it in, especially ‘automatic translations’, to avoid any ‘afterthoughts’. Blogs will be published when there is sufficient material to make one worthwhile. I can’t always respond to emails, so please accept my thanks in advance, and the attribution on the blog itself. Der.

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