Thursday, September 25, 2008

Best and Worst Made in Portugal

Portuguese football coach José Mourinho celebrated yesterday the 100th game played at home without loosing. Since 24 February 2002 that any football team directed by him doesn't loose playing in their stadium. With F.C. Porto, Mourinho's team won 36 games and had 2 ties at home; with Chelsea F.C., his team won 45 times and tied 15 at Stamford Bridge; now with F.C. Inter Milano, he has already won 2 matches.

Six years without loosing at home. That's simply great. Even greater is the collection of football cups Mourinho owns.


Today, the official newspaper of the Portuguese Communist Party is moaning about the causes of the defeat of the "socialism" in the Soviet Union. Apparently, there were too many traitors. Without them, communism might still exist today in the Soviet Union and all across Eastern Europe. Without those traitors, it might be the case that today Soviet Union itself would exist and none of those "traitor" regimes from Estonia to Azerbaijan would be there to laugh with their capitalism, democracy, human rights, high positions in freedoms rankings and present or future membership to the European Union and NATO.

All of these would just be risible and inconsequent wasn't PCP actually a relevant party: it has the third biggest parliamentary group; it is the third most represented party at the local level; it controls one of the two biggest trade union federations; it is extremely influential at the art and some academic circles. And we're talking about pure orthodox stalinism here, with no deviations, no dissents. And today we are already in the 21st century and it is already the year 2008...



At one side, the excellence of an individual; at the other side, the stubborn blindness of a small but influent collective of people. Here are some of the best and the worst made in Portugal.