Pedro Gonçalves (pedrogoncalves)'s Public Profile in the Diigo Community

I'm the editor of online magazines Argos Media, dedicated to geopolitics and foreign affairs, and Brand Fatale, dedicated to brand narrative.

I am interested in Geopolitics,Foreign Affairs,Journalism,Online Journalism,Media,Branding,Brand Narrative,Advertising,Marketing,Climate Change,Literature,Cinema,Theater,Poetry,Photography. My favorite music are Archive,Nine Inch Nails,The National,Arcade Fire,Modest Mouse,PJ Harvey,Nick Cave,Au Revoir SImone,Dead Can Dance,Bauhaus,Air. Movies: Pulp Fiction,Apocalypse Now,Dracula,Requiem for a Dream,Pi,Fight Club,Funny Games,Lost Highway,Wild at Heart,The Pillow Book,Crash,Existenz,La Dolce Vita,Nosferatu,Magnolia. TV: 24,Dexter,Sopranos,Heroes,Rome. Books: Predictably Irrational,Gut Feelings,Blink,Buyology,The Wisdom of the Crowds,The Long Tail,The Great War for Civilization.

Member since May 22, 2009, follows 0 people, 2 public groups, 546 public bookmarks (550 total).

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Recent Bookmarks and Annotations

Brand America - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on 2009-11-24
- America the country may at times fall short of America the idea, but the big idea lives on, and the big country eventually catches up.
- America is indeed relatively young. And the American way of life is in many ways adolescent: boisterous, impatient and wasteful.
The European Council on Foreign Relations | After all the horse-trading, the final two on 2009-11-20
- But van Rompuy and Ashton might actually be good choices. Yes, they are
  unknown and do not convey strong opinions or visions for Europe.
  And they are not overly experienced in foreign affairs. However, this has an
  advantage: they are not foot printed, and are unlikely to stick to ‘old'
  experiences and ideas. Their newness might be precisely the chance for the EU
  to build a new foreign service and to shape the world's foreign policy agenda
  by overcoming resource deficiencies and national divisions. This will certainly
  not start with strong EU representations in Washington
  or Moscow. But
  it might quickly be very strong in regions in which EU policies already have
  definite value-added to national policies, such as the Balkans or neighbouring
  countries such as Georgia, Ukraine or Armenia.
- Cathy Ashton may not know much about the Middle East or Russia. But she
  has solid experience as Europe's trade policy chief - an area where Europe is strong, has a real impact and defends its
  interests. Her job as trade commissioner was helped by strong institutions. To
  build the necessary foreign policy institutions now is the silent and
  unspectacular way to nurture a common European foreign policy over time. The
  choice of Cathy reflects the non-heroic style of European policy that does not
  want to copy super-powers, but shape globalisation in a post-modern way.
- 1 more annotations...
- - History shows that the world produces and gets the people it needs. There is
    no doubt that Europe is - from West to East
    and from North to South - in a re-nationalisation swing. This is not the moment
    to produce great European figures. It is the moment to do groundwork behind the
    scenes. Ashton and van Rompuy could be the right people for the posts, even if
    their appointments may seem a little out of the blue
The European Council on Foreign Relations | Europe's new leaders on 2009-11-20
- In today's
  newspapers the appointment of Belgium's
  Herman Van Rompuy, as president of the European Council, and Britain's Catherine Ashton, as EU "high
  representative" for foreign affairs, is broadly seen as a demonstration of Europe's inability to punch its weight. Neither are likely to "stop the traffic" in Moscow, Beijing or Washington, to use David
  Miliband's phrase. But their immediate task is not to stop the traffic; it is to
  create a traffic system that EU leaders can use to improve their policy cooperation
  and coordination.
- President-elect
  Van Rompuy and Lady Ashton seem well-placed to build consensus for such a
  system. Chosen unanimously, backed by big and small states alike, and representing
  both Right and Left, the Rompuy-Ashton team is more likely to bring EU
  governments, European legislatures and the European Parliament with them, than
  would have, say, Tony Blair or Massimo D'Alema. Policy ideas are important, but
  not enough.
- 1 more annotations...
- - he people who
    built the European Union were hardly traffic-stoppers in their own countries.
    Jean Monnet was never elected to public office, Walter Hallstein was a
    little-known a professor and bureaucrat, and Sicco Mansholt a Dutch minister of
    Agriculture, Fishery and Food Distribution. Even Jacques Delors, the father of
    the Single Market and a former French Economics and Finance Minister was a
    surprise choice as Commission President. They all helped further the EU's
    development not because they grand-stranded, stopped the proverbial traffic or were
    borne high by US-style rhetoric. They succeeded because they heeded Jean
    Monnet's dictum: "Nothing is possible without men; nothing is
    lasting without institutions." The careers of President-elect Van Rompuy and High Representative-elect Ashton
    suggest the pair understand this key to EU success.
Turkish anger over Herman Van Rompuy appointment |World news |guardian.co.uk on 2009-11-20
- Suat Kiniklioglu, an influential member of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP), told the Guardian there was "widespread Turkish sentiment" that Van Rompuy would harm Turkey's European aspirations and suggested that France and Germany had championed him for that reason.
  "We are concerned," said Kiniklioglu, a member of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee and the AKP's deputy chairman for external affairs.
  "This man has made it very clear that he doesn't want to see Turkey in the European Union. What is even sadder is that he is making that argument on the basis of the supposed Christian values of the union. That's not the type of union we envisage. The values we envisage are of democracy, transparency, human rights and the rule of law."
- Kiniklioglu was referring to remarks by Van Rompuy in the Belgian parliament in 2004 that "Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe".
- 4 more annotations...
- - Van Rompuy had also said: "An expansion of the EU to include Turkey cannot be considered as just another expansion as in the past. The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are also fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey."
  - The comments have been widely seen in Turkey as chiming with opposition to Turkish membership as voiced by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.
  - Kiniklioglu said these considerations had driven Van Rompuy's appointment. "His appointment is really evidence that the Franco-German axis in the union is gaining increased strength," he said.
    "I would not be surprised that his views on Turkey have played a role in that choice."
  - Earlier this month, Turkey's EU minister and chief membership negotiator, Egemen Bagis, told the Guardian that he would have welcomed Tony Blair as president of the European council. Blair is warmly regarded in Turkey for vocally supporting its membership in the run-up to the 2004 accession vote.
Who is Van Rompuy?: New EU President's Life Motto Is 'Quiet Determination' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International on 2009-11-20
- The 62-year-old politician likes to project an image of modesty. In a recent interview he admitted he still can't bring himself to call the German chancellor by her first name. "I just can't do it. I'm too timid," he said. Now this shy politician will preside over meetings between Angela Merkel and the 26 other government leaders of the EU bloc.
- The new EU president's life motto is "rustige vastheid" or "quiet determination." It is also the name he gave to his house in Rhode-Saint-Genèse, a wealthy suburb south of Brussels, right on the linguistic border between the Flemish and French-speaking parts of Belgium.
- 5 more annotations...
- - As prime minister, Van Rompuy brought back calm to Belgium, after what was the worst political crisis in the country's 180-year history. For this reason French-speaking politicians in Belgium are sorry to see him leave for Europe. The stage now seems set for the return of fellow Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme, whose stubbornness brought the country to the brink of a break-up.
  - Much is unknown about the new EU president, including what his ideas about Europe are. In the past few weeks an old statement by Van Rompuy about Turkish entry into the EU was unearthed.
  - In December 2004 Van Rompuy, a member of Belgian parliament at the time, said: "Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe (...) The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are also fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigor with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey." Asked about his views on Turkey at Thursday's press conference, Van Rompuy said: "My opinion is not relevant."
  - Van Rompuy is the antithesis of Verhofstadt, an eternally optimistic liberal who is full of grand ideas about the future of Europe. Van Rompuy, by contrast, likes the haiku, a very short form of Japanese poetry. In his vision, an optimist is "a badly informed pessimist."
  - For all the credit Van Rompuy has recently been given for keeping Belgium from falling apart, it must be noted that Van Rompuy hasn't brought the country closer to a lasting solution either. He brought calm to the country mainly by not discussing the main issues separating the country's six million Flemish and four million French-speakers.
BBC News - Profile: First EU President Herman van Rompuy on 2009-11-20
- After his selection at a Brussels summit, he stressed his credentials as a consensus politician and made it clear he would fulfil the role of a chairman rather than a globe-trotting statesman.
- His tasks include liaising with EU leaders and arranging the bloc's annual summits. He says tackling climate change and lowering EU unemployment rates are among his priorities.
- 13 more annotations...
- - Shortly after his presidential appointment was announced, the 62-year-old drily remarked on previous US complaints about the EU lacking a central go-to figure. "I'm anxiously awaiting the first phone call," he said.
    But his appointment may be bad news for Belgium's troubled coalition of Dutch- and French-speaking parties, which could fall apart without his careful stewardship.
  - In linguistically divided Belgium, he is seen as a unifying force, taking an even-handed approach to resolving conflicts - a skill that is expected to serve him well in Europe's top job.
  - Mr Van Rompuy has pledged to be discreet in his new role. He is little known outside Belgium and has attended only two European summits.
  - An avowed federalist, he has called for national symbols within the EU to be replaced by European symbols.
  - He has also called for a tax on financial transactions within the bloc to fund the EU.
  - A veteran politician from Belgium's Flemish Christian Democrat party, he has been outspoken in the past in opposition to Turkey joining the EU. He warned it could dilute Europe's Christian heritage.
    "Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe," he said as an opposition politician five years ago.
  - "The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey."
  - Mr Van Rompuy was originally reluctant to take on the post of Belgian prime minister at the end of 2008. He replaced Yves Leterme, who resigned amid a financial scandal last December after just nine months in the job.
  - Riven by post-election squabbling, Belgium had already been through two prime ministers in 12 months and seemed in danger of splitting apart, due to the arguments over devolution plans between the Dutch- and French-speaking parties.
  - Something of a moderate in Belgium's increasingly polarised politics, Mr Van Rompuy was eventually persuaded to take on the job by Belgian King Albert II.
    He was appointed prime minister, having held the position of president of the lower house of parliament since July 2007.
  - He had previously served as budget minister in the Christian Democrat-led government from 1993 to 1999, during which time he took a tough stance on balancing the books, drastically reducing the country's public debt.
  - A poll by Euronews found respondents in the capital reluctant to lose a peace-maker "indispensable in keeping the peace between the different communities".
    "It would be a pity," said one resident. "It would mean political instability in Belgium. A good thing for Europe a bad thing for Belgium!"
  - Before entering politics, Mr Van Rompuy worked at the Belgian central bank from 1972 to 1975.
Profile: Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium's Mr Fixit |World news |The Guardian on 2009-11-20
- Known as Belgium's Mr Fixit for his low-key, patient work behind the scenes struggling to hold a fractious country together, Van Rompuy won the bad-tempered contest for the role by making friends and influencing people.
- Derided by British Europhobes as "Rumpypumpy", the obscure embodiment of an elitist EU mafia bent on demolishing the nation state, Van Rompuy owed his extraordinary triumph to strong support from Berlin and Paris and to the fact that he has not been around EU summits long enough to make any enemies.
- 5 more annotations...
- - Van Rompuy is a committed European federalist, a position that suits the core and oldest EU member states, but raises many eyebrows among east Europeans, Scandinavians, and, of course, the British.
  - Van Rompuy has been prime minister of Belgium for less than a year, summoned last December by King Albert II, to try to salvage a country plagued by tensions between Dutch-speaking Flanders to the north and Francophone Wallonia to the south
  - Previously, the king had employed Van Rompuy as the key intermediary cajoling the two alienated halves of the country into shortlived coalitions.
  - In an EU that prizes consensus, compromise and operates as a supranational coalition of different countries, interests, and political forces, Van Rompuy's talents for persuasion and conciliation look to be his prime qualifications for the job of chairing EU summits and trying to harmonise the EU agenda.
  - Van Rompuy writes haiku in his native Dutch, and speaks French, English, and German. He is said to take himself off to a monastic retreat once a month. He is credited with easing the tensions which were threatening to tear Belgium apart last year, although he has accomplished that simply by putting off some of the biggest decisions which are the sources of the rancour.
Rift fears as Belgium loses its healer | Eline Gordts |Comment is free |guardian.co.uk on 2009-11-20
- Van Rompuy came into office only months ago, when his predecessor and fellow party member Yves Leterme, the current minister of foreign affairs, had to resign over accusations of attempting to influence the judicial process. Van Rompuy, at that time in the comfortable position of chairman of parliament, was little eager to take up the country's highest political office. Urged by the king, however, the haiku-loving conservative capitulated to public pressure.
- Unpretentious and little keen on personal victories or individual fame, Van Rompuy allowed for the return of a modest confidence between the different coalition partners, making time and space for actual governance instead of constant electoral rhetoric
- 3 more annotations...
- - Characterised by haggling and ongoing balancing between parties and communities, Belgian politics in many ways resemble the political traits of the European Union, probably one of the reasons why Van Rompuy has been elected president.
  - Because the balance between parties and political families, as decided upon by the 2007 election, has to be maintained, Van Rompuy's successor can only come out of his own party, the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) party. Unless CD&V is willing to destroy the political career of its former leader Leterme, by denying a man with more than 800,000 personal votes the office of prime minister, it is likely that the latter will once again preside over government.
  - Although popular in Flanders, few Walloon voters have forgotten Leterme's communitarian stands and his inability to unite the different government partners. When readers of the Walloon newspaper La Dernière Heure were asked how they perceived Van Rompuy's appointment, most answered that they thought "it will once again bring the Belgian federal government many dark hours".
Saudi Arabia blamed for Yemen clashes on 2009-11-12
- ongoing crackdown on Shia groups which was launched on Monday in the northern areas of Yemen.
This Week at War: The Middle East's Cold War Heats Up | Foreign Policy on 2009-11-12
- Even if the actual foreign material support in Yemen's civil strife is minimal, the conflict is probably the newest front in a broadening proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Lebanon is one front. Iranian attempts to gain influence over Shiite populations in eastern Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf is another. Some factions in Iran may feel obligated to support what they believe are oppressed Shiite minorities around the mostly Sunni Middle East. In the case of the rebellion in Yemen, some nervous officials in Riyadh may see an Iranian plan to achieve control over the Red Sea shipping lane.

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Groups

Argos Media

18 members, 975 items

Diigo bookmark group associated with the Argos Media online magazine.
Brand Fatale

3 members, 25 items

Diigo group associated with the online magazine Brand Fatale