25 outubro 2009

Portugal nas bocas do mundo, por boas razoes

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=portugal-drug-decriminalization

5 Years After: Portugal's Drug Decriminalization Policy Shows Positive Results

Street drug–related deaths from overdoses drop and the rate of HIV cases crashes

By Brian Vastag

DRUG PLAN: Portugal decriminalized the use and possession of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other illicit street drugs in an attempt to cut down on related deaths and infections

In the face of a growing number of deaths and cases of HIV linked to drug abuse, the Portuguese government in 2001 tried a new tack to get a handle on the problem—it decriminalized the use and possession of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, LSD and other illicit street drugs. The theory: focusing on treatment and prevention instead of jailing users would decrease the number of deaths and infections.

Five years later, the number of deaths from street drug overdoses dropped from around 400 to 290 annually, and the number of new HIV cases caused by using dirty needles to inject heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances plummeted from nearly 1,400 in 2000 to about 400 in 2006, according to a report released recently by the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C, libertarian think tank.

"Now instead of being put into prison, addicts are going to treatment centers and they're learning how to control their drug usage or getting off drugs entirely," report author Glenn Greenwald, a former New York State constitutional litigator, said during a press briefing at Cato last week.

Under the Portuguese plan, penalties for people caught dealing and trafficking drugs are unchanged; dealers are still jailed and subjected to fines depending on the crime. But people caught using or possessing small amounts—defined as the amount needed for 10 days of personal use—are brought before what's known as a "Dissuasion Commission," an administrative body created by the 2001 law.

Each three-person commission includes at least one lawyer or judge and one health care or social services worker. The panel has the option of recommending treatment, a small fine, or no sanction.

Peter Reuter, a criminologist at the University of Maryland, College Park, says he's skeptical decriminalization was the sole reason drug use slid in Portugal, noting that another factor, especially among teens, was a global decline in marijuana use. By the same token, he notes that critics were wrong in their warnings that decriminalizing drugs would make Lisbon a drug mecca.

"Drug decriminalization did reach its primary goal in Portugal," of reducing the health consequences of drug use, he says, "and did not lead to Lisbon becoming a drug tourist destination."

Walter Kemp, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, says decriminalization in Portugal "appears to be working." He adds that his office is putting more emphasis on improving health outcomes, such as reducing needle-borne infections, but that it does not explicitly support decriminalization, "because it smacks of legalization."

Drug legalization removes all criminal penalties for producing, selling and using drugs; no country has tried it. In contrast, decriminalization, as practiced in Portugal, eliminates jail time for drug users but maintains criminal penalties for dealers. Spain and Italy have also decriminalized personal use of drugs and Mexico's president has proposed doing the same. .

A spokesperson for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy declined to comment, citing the pending Senate confirmation of the office's new director, former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs also declined to comment on the report.

24 outubro 2009

23 outubro 2009

dicionário de emigrantês #4

dicionário de emigrantês #4

Livrar

Origem: Países Francófonos (livrer)

entregar
Exemplo: O carteiro livrou agora as encomendas

19 outubro 2009

do melhor

e tão verdadeiro...

do melhor mesmo! desculpem o idioma, mas vejam se perceberem...

The EXTENDED version of Mark Gungor's presentation. Part of a 4 DVD seminar called "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage"



dicionário de emigrantês #3

dicionário de emigrantês #3

Raião

Origem: Países Francófonos (rayon ??)

àrea do supermercado destinada a um tipo de produtos
Exemplo: A Manor tem um raião de chocolates que é o melhor de Geneve

12 outubro 2009

P#*A QUE P@#IU

P#*A QUE P@#IU

há dias assim, esperemos que melhore


I started a joke, which started the whole world crying,
But I didnt see that the joke was on me, oh no.

I started to cry, which started the whole world laughing,
Oh, if Id only seen that the joke was on me.

I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that Id said.

Til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
Oh, if Id only seen that the joke was on me.

I looked at the skies, running my hands over my eyes,
And I fell out of bed, hurting my head from things that Id said.

til I finally died, which started the whole world living,
Oh, if Id only seen that the joke was one me.

[bee gees]

09 outubro 2009

marge simpson na playboy


ao que chegamos..... mega lol ou mega tristeza? ou um MEGA WTF?

enfim, parece que será verdade, mas será que o pessoal camionista vai aproveitar o poster central?

noticia no próprio site da playboy

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo

Este tipo http://perezhilton.com/, neste post http://perezhilton.com/2009-07-01-crissy-ronaldo-is-one-violent-douche passou-se...

Nem sei se a notícia é verdadeira, mas o "grafiti" na foto também não tem grande justificação... Ou então sou eu que sou antigo e a internet tem coisas que já não são para a minha idade...

Fiquem bem

Dicionário de emigrantês #2

Prender

Origem: Países francófonos [Prendre]
Significado: viajar de, apanhar, tomar

Exemplo:
- como é que vieste para Portugal?
- Prendi o avião

06 outubro 2009

Dicionário de emigrantês, #1

Dicionário de emigrantês, #1

depanar

origem: Suíça francófona [depanner]
significado: resolver uma pane, desenrascar face a um contratempo.

Exemplo: "fui a Portugal e na agência do banco deram-me um cartão daqueles só para me depanar."

05 outubro 2009

Facebook no trabalho

Facebook no trabalho

Tenho reparado que há muita gente que não deve saber que o facebook publica as horas a que os comentários são colocados... Há demasiadas "entradas" e "comentários" e "murais" (ou lá como se chamam) em pleno horário laboral....


02 outubro 2009

Governo pondera fechar a TAP e abrir nova empresa

Governo pondera fechar a TAP e abrir nova empresa

in diário de notícias on line: http://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/index.php?template=SHOWNEWS&id=389511

José Sócrates estará a ponderar fechar a TAP, e abrir outra empresa, transferindo os seus activos e pessoal. Em causa está a situação financeira da companhia aérea e o facto das regras europeias proibirem novas ajudas do Estado.

A ser verdade, não deixa de ser uma notícia interessante. Eu até acho que Portugal merece uma companhia aérea de bandeira mas sinceramente estou a ficar um bocadinho farto de reclamações salariais de quem, a fazer fé na imprensa, ganha 8.000€ por mês...

Pode ser que alguns desses eternos contestatários tenham que assinar um contrato diferente...