Le governamento de Gaddafi dice que un missile de OTAN occideva un del filios de Gaddafi.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Un portavoce del governamento de Libya diceva que un attaco con un missile del OTAN sur le capital del pais, Tripoli, occideva un del filios del leader de Libya, Muammar Gaddafi.

Secundo le portavoce, conjunctemente con Saif al-Arab Gadafi, anque moriva in le bombardamento tres del granfilios del leader de Libya. Muammar Gaddafi anque se trovava in le loco ma superviveva le bombardamento sin esser ferite.

Le governamento invitava jornalististas international al loco de maniera que illes poteva vider le consequentias del explosion.

Le sito del bombardamento, le residentia del filio de Gaddafi, esseva gravemente damnificate. E, secundo fontes official de Libya, un bomba non detonate remane in le edificio.

Saif al-Arab Gadafi habeva 29 annos e habeva state a studiar recentemente in un universitate in Germania.

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El gobierno de Gadafi dice que un misil de la OTAN mató a uno de los hijos de Gadafi.

Un portavoz del gobierno de Libia dijo que un ataque con un misil de la OTAN sobre la capital del país, Trípoli, acabó con la vida de uno de los hijos del líder libio, Muamar Gadafi.

Según el portavoz, junto a Saif al-Arab Gadafi, en el bombardeo murieron también tres de los nietos del líder libio. Muamar Gadafi también estuvo en el lugar pero sobrevivió el bombardeo sin ser herido.

El gobierno invitó a los periodistas de la prensa internacional al lugar para que vieran las consecuencias de la explosión.

El sitio del bombardeo, la residencia del hijo de Gadafi, resultó gravemente dañado. Y, según las fuentes oficiales libias, una bomba no detonada permanece en el edificio.

Saif al-Arab Gadafi tenía 29 años y había estado estudiando recientemente en una universidad de Alemania.

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Gaddafi’s government says a NATO missile killed one of Gaddafi’s sons.

A Libyan government spokesman said that a NATO missile attack on the capital of the country, Tripoli, killed one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

According to the spokesman, along with Saif al-Arab Gadafi, the bombing also killed three of the Libyan leader’s grandchildren. Muammar Gaddafi was also there but survived the bombing without being injured.

The government invited journalists from the international press to see the consequences of the explosion.

The site of the bombing attack, the residence of Gaddafi’s son, was severely damaged. And, according to Libyan officials, an unexploded bomb remains in the building.

Gaddafi Saif al-Arab was twenty-nine years old and had been recently studying at a university in Germany.

Le Vaticano invita Robert Mugabe al beatification de Johano Paulo II.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Le presidente de Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, esseva invitate a celebrar le beatification del Papa Johano Paulo II, que se celebrara iste domenica in le citate del Vaticano.

Mugabe, qui es catholic e ha essite condemnate pro violationes del derectos human, se trovara inter le 22 leaders del mundo qui assistera al evento.

In despecto de que le Union Europee ha promulgate un prohibition de viagiar contra ille, Mugabe insiste que quando ille arrivara a Roma, ille non se trovara in territorio europee, ma solmente in le territorio del Vaticano, un parve stato soveran intra Roma.

“Nos non ha ullo que occultar”, diceva un portavoce del Vaticano, “proque le Sancte Sede mantene bon relationes diplomatic con Zimbabwe.”

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El Vaticano invita a Robert Mugabe a la beatificación de Juan Pablo II.

El presidente de Zimbabue, Robert Mugabe, fue invitado a celebrar la beatificación del Papa Juan Pablo II, que se celebrará este domingo en la ciudad del Vaticano.

Mugabe, quien es católico y ha sido condenado por violaciones de los derechos humanos, estará entre los 22 líderes del mundo que asistirán al evento.

A pesar de que la Unión Europea ha promulgado una prohibición de viajar contra él, Mugabe insiste en que cuando llegue a Roma, no estará en territorio europeo, sino en el territorio del Vaticano, un pequeño estado soberano dentro de Roma.

“No tenemos nada que ocultar”, dijo un portavoz del Vaticano, “porque la Santa Sede mantiene buenas relaciones diplomáticas con Zimbabwe.”

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The Vatican invites Robert Mugabe to the beatification of John Paul II.

The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, was invited to celebrate the beatification of Pope John Paul II, which will be held this Sunday in the Vatican City.

Mugabe, who is Catholic and has been condemned for human rights violations, will be among 22 world leaders attending the event.

Even though the European Union has enacted a travel ban against him, Mugabe insists that when he comes to Rome he will not be in European territory but only in the territory of the Vatican, a small sovereign state within Rome.

“We have nothing to hide,” said a Vatican spokesman, “because the Holy See has good diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe.”

Le equivalentes pro “cluster bomb” producite per linguee.com in espaniol, francese, e portugese

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

In “Problems I had in translating "cluster bomb" into Interlingua” io documentava como io usava le traductor electronic de Google pro traducer “cluster bomb” a in interlingua.

Il ha un altere ressource gratuite in internet que anque pote usar utile pro iste tipo de recercas terminologic: http://www.linguee.com. Iste sito usa omne internet como un dictionario bilingue e functiona de un maniera simile al traductor de Google. In altere parolas, illo examina un grandissime numero de textos bilingue in internet e pote usar se pro presentar equivalentes de phrases como “cluster bomb” in anglese e germano, espaniol, francese, e portugese.

(Le original par de linguas esseva anglese e germano, e iste altere linguas se ha addite al sito plus recentemente. Infelicemente, illo non ha addite le italiano a iste collection de linguas.)

Quando io essayava a cercar equivalentes pro “cluster bomb” in espaniol, le traduction que linguee produceva esseva “bombas de racimo”.

Quando io essayava a cercar equivalentes pro iste phrase in francese, io recipeva “bombes à sous-munitions”, “bombes a fragmentation”, e “bombes à grappes”.

In portugese, linguee.com produceva le traduction “bombas de fragmentação”.

Linguee.com pote esser un utile supplemento pro dictionarios pro traductores qui travalia inter anglese e germano, francese, espaniol, e portugese, e linguee.com anque es bidirectional inter anglese e iste linguas.

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The equivalents for “cluster bomb” produced by linguee.com in Spanish, French, and Portuguese

In “Problems I had in translating "cluster bomb" into Interlingua” I documented how I used Google’s electronic translator to translate “cluster bomb” into Interlingua.

There is another internet resource available at no cost that also can be useful for this kind of terminological research: http://www.linguee.com. This site uses the entire internet as a bilingual dictionary and works in a way that is similar to Google’s translator. In other words, it examines a very large number of bilingual texts on the internet and can use them to present equivalents for phrases like “cluster bomb” in English, German, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

(The original pair of these languages was English and German, and these other languages have been added to the site more recently. Unfortunately, it has not added Italian to this collection of languages.)

When I tried to look for equivalents for "cluster bomb" in Spanish, the translation that linguee produced was "bombas de racimo."

When I tried to look for equivalents for this phrase in French, I got “bombes à sous-munitions,” “bombes a fragmentation,” and “bombes à grappes.”

In Portuguese, linguee.com produced the translation “bombas de fragmentação.”

Linguee.com can be a useful supplement for dictionaries for translatiors who work between English and German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, and linguee.com is also bidirectional between English and these languages.

Protesta in Pakistan contra aviones robot del Statos Unite.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Milles de personas in Peshawar, in le nordest de Pakistan, comenciava un protesta de duo dies contra le attaccos de aviones robot statounitese.

Le manifestationes a grande scala deteneva le progresso de camiones de provisiones del OTAN in lor effortios pro arrivar a Afghanistan.

Le politico del opposition, Imran Khan, es un del principal organisatores del protesta.

Alicun partitos religiose e gruppos del societate civil anque participava in le manifestation.

Le attaccos de aviones robot statounitese in zonas tribal de Pakistan ha causate un intense indignation public e sta a incentivar crescente sentimentos antistatounitese in ille pais.

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Protesta en Pakistán contra aviones no tripulados de los Estados Unidos

Miles de personas en Peshawar, en el noroeste de Pakistán, iniciaron una protesta de dos días contra los ataques de aviones estadounidenses no tripulados.

Las manifestaciones a gran escala detuvieron el avance de los camiones de suministro de la OTAN en sus esfuerzos para llegar a Afganistán.

El político opositor, Imran Khan, es uno de los principales organizadores de la protesta.

Algunos partidos religiosos y grupos de la sociedad civil también participaron en la manifestación.

Los ataques de aviones estadounidenses no tripulados en zonas tribales de Pakistán han causado una intensa indignación pública y están incentivando crecientes sentimientos antiestadounidenses en ese país.

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Protest in Pakistan against U.S. drones

Thousands of people in Peshawar in northwest Pakistan began a two-day protest against attacks by U.S. drones.

The large-scale demonstrations halted the progress of NATO supply trucks in their efforts to reach Afghanistan.

Opposition politician, Imran Khan, is one of the main organizers of the protest.

Some religious parties and civilian groups also participated in the demonstration.

Attacks by U.S. drones in Pakistan's tribal areas have caused an intense public outcry and are encouraging increased anti-American sentiment in that country.

Francia studia “suspender” le libere circulation de personas trans su frontieras.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Le autoritates francese sta a studiar le possibilitate de suspender le accordo Schengen inter le paises del Union Europee, que permitte le libere circulation de personas inter le majoritate de iste paises sin le necessitate de submitter se al controlos in le frontieras de iste paises.

Iste suspension se prenderea in response al fluxo de milles de immigrantes qui sta a arrivar a Francia desde paises como Libya e Tunisia.

Multes de iste immigrantes arrivava a Francia desde Italia, que dava a illes visas temporanee.

Fontes officiales indicava que le suspension del accordo esserea imponite “pro rationes de ordine public:” e de un maniera “temporanee”.

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Francia estudia “suspender” la libre circulación de personas por sus fronteras.

Las autoridades francesas están estudiando la posibilidad de suspender el acuerdo Schengen entre los países de la Unión Europea, que permite la libre circulación de personas entre la mayoría de estos países sin necesidad de pasar controles fronterizos.

Esta suspensión se tomaría en respuesta al flujo de miles de inmigrantes que están llegando a Francia desde países como Libia y Túnez.

Muchos de esos inmigrantes llegaron a Francia a través de Italia, que les concedió visas temporales.

Fuentes oficiales indicaron que la suspensión del acuerdo sería impuesta “por razones de orden público” y de forma “temporal”.

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France is studying the “suspsension” of allowing people to be freely moved across its borders.

French authorities are studying the possibility of suspending the Schengen Agreement among European Union countries, which allows the free movement of people among most of these countries without the need of passing through border controls.

This suspension would be taken in response to the influx of thousands of immigrants who are coming into France from countries such as Libya and Tunisia.

Many of these immigrants came into France through Italy, which granted them temporary visas.

Official sources indicated that the suspension of the agreement would be imposed “for reasons of public order” and in a “temporary” way.

Cuba celebra le “fiasco perfecte” del invasion del Bahia de Porcos.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Ante 50 annos, un pauco ante le medienocte del 16 de april, 1961, unes 1.500 exiliatos cuban exercitate per le CIA lanceava un invasion insuccedite de Cuba al Bahia de Porcos. Le plano esseva superar Fidel Castro e su revolution. Ma le projecto deveniva un defaite humiliante que jectava Cuba a in le brachios del Union Sovietic e causava le grave deterioriation del relationes inter Washington e Havana que ha durate usque le actualitate.

Fidel Castro dirigeva personalmente le operation in le Bahia del Porcos in le costa sud de Cuba. Il ha pauco illac ultra mosquitos e un palude infestate con crocodilos.

Playa Girón, un village con un parve pista de atterrage in le imbuccatura del Bahia de Porcos, esseva le prime objectivo del invasores, qui habeva planificate un disembarcamento simultanee presso le village de Playa Larga, 35 kilometros in le extremo del bahia.

Un trenchea de beton excavate in le plagia es un del mementos del battalia.

Fidel Castro habeva mandate que se construeva defensas como illo in punctos clave en la insula proque on sperava un invasion in alicun puncto del pais.

Le plano, appoiate per le Statos Unite, esseva disembarcar sin practicamente ulle opposition, assecurar le area, capturar un aeroporto, e introducer a in le pais un “governamento in le exilio” que tunc exigerea le appoio de Washington. Le plano confiava in un rebellion in massa inter le cubanos, ma toto finiva mal. Le avantiamento de un homine rana qui accendeva un fanal pro monstrar al exiliatos ubi disembarcar anque alertava le militia cuban de lor presentia.

Un piscator local, Gregorio Moreira, qui totevia vive in le mesme casa apud le plagia, esseva un del primos qui dava le alarma. Moreira, de 74 annos de etate, memora que ille videva un fulgure de lumine e vadeva al trenchea con su patre e su fratres. Un altere piscator, Domingo Rodríguez, se univa a illes.

Le gruppo habeva 10 fusiles quando se initiava le invasion. Immediatemente arrivava reinfortios, includente aviones del Fortia Aeree cuban.

Le exiliatos esseva confidente que illes haberea alicun tipo de apoio aeree, ma le presidente del Statos Unite, John F. Kennedy, habeva decidite mantener le participation del Statos Unite in secreto. E le falta de appoio del Fortia Aeree del Statos Unite assecurava le victoria final del fortias de Fidel Castro.

Domingo Rodríguez nunc ha 70 annos de etate e problemas de vision, ma su memorias continua a esser clar. In su parolas, ille factos esseva como “un grande lection pro le populo cuban que apprendeva a non temer le inmico. E post illo, como Fidel diceva plus tarde, le populos del America latin esseva un pauco plus libere”.

Plus que 1.000 combatentes anticastriste, membros del Brigata 2506, deveniva prisioneros del cubanos. Circa un anno e medie plus tarde on les inviava a Miami a cambio de US$50 milliones in nutrimentos e medicinas.

Le eventos relative a iste invasion se memora in un parve museo in Playa Girón que monstra duo del tanks usate per Fidel Castro con altere pecias militar. Le director del museo, Bárbara Sierra, dice que le objectos exponite es testimonio del “prime grande defaite del imperialismo american” in le America latin. “Le secreto del victoria cuban esseva que nos luctava pro ideales”, diceva illa. “Nostre vitas esseva multo difficile ante le revolution. Il es pro illo que omne le mundo cambiava.”

Inter le visitantes del museo se trovava le statounitese Peter Kornbluh, qui ha scribite extensivemente sur le Bahia de Porcos con le uso de documentos declassificate del CIA. Kornbluh describe le Bahia de Porcos como un “fiasco perfecte” pro le Statos Unite.

Le resto del mundo rapidemente apprendeva que Washington habeva planificate le operation. “On supponeva que le Statos Unite iva a librar le continente de un base sovietic potential”, diceva Kornbluth, “ma illo pulsava Fidel Castro al bracios del Union Sovietic”.

Un medio seculo post le fallite invasion, Cuba es le sol pais communiste in le hemispherio occidental. In despecto del innumerabile intentos del CIA de assassinar Fidel Castro, il esseva le mal sanitate que le obligava a relinquer le poter in 2006 a su fratre Raúl.

In despecto de su defaite al Bahia de Porcos, le governamento del Statos Unite ha essite capace de limitar le perspectivas del economia cuban con su embargo commercial. Le relationes inter le duo paises continua a esser tense, e il es difficile predicer exactemente quando va a retornar alicun tipo de normalitate.

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Cuba celebra el “fracaso perfecto” de la invasión de Bahía de Cochinos.

Hace 50 años, poco antes de la medianoche del 16 de abril de 1961, unos 1.500 exiliados cubanos entrenados y financiados por la CIA iniciaron una malograda invasión a Cuba desde por la Bahía de Cochinos. El plan era derrocar a Fidel Castro y su revolución. Pero el proyecto se convirtió en una derrota humillante que arrojó a Cuba en los brazos de la Unión Soviética y causó un grave deterioro de las relaciones entre Washington y La Habana que ha durado hasta la actualidad.

Fidel Castro dirigió personalmente las operaciones en Bahía de Cochinos en la costa sur de Cuba. Hay poco allí, aparte de mosquitos y un pantano infestado de cocodrilos.

Playa Girón, un pueblo con una pequeña pista de aterrizaje en la desembocadura de la Bahía de Cochinos, fue el primer objetivo de los invasores, quienes tenían previsto un desembarco simultáneo cerca del pueblo de Playa Larga, 35 kilómetros en el extremo de la bahía.

Una trinchera de cemento cavada en la playa es uno de los recordatorios visibles de la batalla.

Fidel Castro había ordenado que se construyeran defensas como ésa en puntos clave en la isla debido a que se esperaba una invasión por algún punto del país.

El plan apoyado por los Estados Unidos era desembarcar prácticamente sin oposición, asegurar el área, tomar un aeropuerto e introducir en el país un “gobierno en el exilio” que luego pediría el apoyo de Washington. El plan confiaba en un levantamiento en masa de los cubanos, pero todo salió mal. El avance de un hombre rana que encendió un faro para mostrar a los exiliados donde desembarcar también alertó a la milicia cubana de su presencia.

Un pescador local, Gregorio Moreira, quien todavía vive en la misma vivienda junto a la playa, fue uno de los primeros en dar la alarma. Moreira, de 74 años de edad, recuerda que vio una llamarada, y se dirigió a la trinchera con su padre y sus hermanos. Otro pescador, Domingo Rodríguez, se les unió.

El grupo contaba con 11 fusiles cuando se inició la invasión. En seguida llegaron refuerzos, incluyente aviones de la Fuerza Aérea cubana.

Los exiliados confiaban en que tendrían algún tipo de apoyo aéreo, pero el presidente de los Estados Unidos, John F. Kennedy, estaba decidido a mantener la participación de los Estados Unidos en secreto. Y la falta de apoyo de la Fuerza Aérea de los Estados Unidos aseguró la victoria final de las fuerzas de Fidel Castro.

Domingo Rodríguez tiene ahora 70 años de edad y problemas en la vista, pero sus recuerdos siguen siendo claros. En sus palabras, esos hechos fueron como “una gran lección para el pueblo cubano que aprendió a no tener miedo al enemigo. Y después de eso, como dijo Fidel más tarde, los pueblos de América Latina fueron un poco más libres”.

Más de 1.000 combatientes anticastristas, integrantes de la Brigada 2506, fueron hechos prisioneros. Alrededor de un año y medio más tarde se les envió a Miami a cambio de US$50 millones en alimentos y medicinas.

Los hechos relativos a esta invasión son recordados en un pequeño museo en Playa Girón que muestra dos de los tanques usados por Fidel Castro junto a otras piezas militares. La directora del museo, Bárbara Sierra, dice que los objetos expuestos son testimonio de la “primera gran derrota del imperialismo yanqui” en América Latina. “El secreto de la victoria cubana fue que luchábamos por ideales”, dijo. “Nuestras vidas eran muy difíciles antes de la revolución. Es por eso que todo el mundo combatió.”

Entre los visitantes del museo estaba el estadounidense Peter Kornbluh, quien ha escrito extensamente sobre la Bahía de Cochinos recurriendo a documentos desclasificados de la CIA. Kornbluh describe a Bahía de Cochinos como un “fracaso perfecto” para los Estados Unidos.

El resto del mundo aprendió rápidamente que Washington había planeado la operación. “Se suponía que los Estados Unidos iba a librar al continente de una base soviética potencial”, dijo Kornbluh, “pero empujó a Fidel Castro a los brazos de la Unión Soviética”.

Medio siglo después de la fracasada invasión, Cuba es el único país comunista en el hemisferio occidental. A pesar de innumerables intentos de la CIA de asesinar a Fidel Castro, fue la mala salud lo que finalmente lo obligó a entregar el poder en 2006 a su hermano Raúl.

A pesar de su derrota en la Bahía de Cochinos, el gobierno de los Estados Unidos ha sido capaz de limitar las perspectivas de la economía cubana con su embargo comercial. Las relaciones entre los dos países siguen siendo tensas, y es difícil predecir exactamente cuándo van a volver a algún tipo de normalidad.

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Cuba celebrates the “perfect failure” of the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Fifty years ago, shortly before midnight on April 16, 1961, some 1,500 Cuban exiles trained and financed by the CIA launched an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The plan was to overthrow Fidel Castro and his revolution. But the project became a humiliating defeat which drove Cuba into the arms of the Soviet Union and caused a severe deterioration in relations between Washington and Havana that has lasted up to now.

Fidel Castro personally directed the operations in the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of Cuba. There is little there other than mosquitoes and a crocodile-infested swamp.

Playa Giron, a town with a small air strip at the mouth of the Bay of Pigs was the first goal of the invaders, who had planned a simultaneous landing near the town of Playa Larga, twenty-two miles at the end of the bay.

A concrete trench dug on the beach is one of the visible reminders of the battle.

Fidel Castro had ordered defenses like that to be built at key points along the island because they expected the country to be invaded at some point.

The U.S.-backed plan was to disembark with virtually no opposition, secure the area, seize an airport in the country, and introduce a “government in exile” that would ask for the support of Washington. The plan assumed that there would be a mass uprising of the Cubans, but everything went wrong. The advance of a frogman who lit a beacon to show the exiles where to disembark also warned the Cuban military of their presence.

A local fisherman, Gregorio Moreno, who still lives in the same house by the beach, was one of the first to raise the alarm. Moreira, 74, remembers that he saw a flash of light, and went to the trenches with his father and brothers. Another fisherman, Domingo Rodriguez, joined them.

The group had eleven guns when the invasion began. Then reinforcements arrived, including Cuban Air Force planes.

The exiles were confident they would have some kind of air support, but the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was determined to maintain secrecy about U.S. participation. And the lack of support from the United States Air Force assured the ultimate victory of Fidel Castro’s forces.

Domingo Rodriguez now is seventy years old and has vision problems, but his memory remains clear. In his words, these events were “a great lesson for the Cuban people, who learned not to fear the enemy. And after that, as Fidel said later on, the peoples of Latin America were a little freer.”

More than 1,000 anti-Castro fighters, members of Brigade 2506, were taken prisoner. About a year and a half later they were sent to Miami for $50 million in food and medicine.

The events surrounding this invasion are remembered in a small museum at Playa Giron showing two of the tanks used by Fidel Castro and other pieces of military ordinance. The museum’s director, Barbara Sierra, said that the exhibits are testimony to the “first major defeat of U.S. imperialism” in Latin America. “The secret of the Cuban victory was that we were fighting for ideals,” she said. “Our lives were very difficult before the revolution. That’s why everyone fought.”

Among those visiting the museum was the American Peter Kornbluh, who has written extensively on the Bay of Pigs using declassified CIA documents. Kornbluh describes the Bay of Pigs as a “perfect failure” for the United States.

The rest of the world quickly learned that Washington had planned the operation. “It was assumed that the United States was going to rid the continent of a possible Soviet base,” Kornbluh said, “but it pushed Fidel Castro into the arms of the Soviet Union.”

Half a century after the failed invasion, Cuba is the only communist country in the Western Hemisphere. Despite countless attempts by the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro, it was ill health that ultimately forced him to relinquish power to his brother Raul in 2006.

Despite its defeat at the Bay of Pigs, the government of the United States has been able to limit the prospects of the Cuban economy with its trade embargo. Relations between the two countries remain tense, and it is difficult to predict exactly when they will return to some kind of normality.

Problems I had in translating "cluster bomb" into Interlingua

I had to spend between five and ten minutes before I could translate “cluster bomb” into Interlingua.

Dictionaries can be of little help with such phrases, for they commonly have as entries only sequences of letters with a single space after them, which we generally refer to as “words.”

So I started out by looking up “cluster” in the digital version of Gopsill’s dictionary. Here is what I got: “CLUSTER [n] (group) gruppo.”

Well, the word “gruppo” (group) was not very helpful to me. I don’t think that a good synymym for “cluster bomb” would be “group bomb.”

So I then looked up “cluster” in Jasu Lavin’s on-line dictionary. Here is what I got: “cluster (group) n gruppo…* (raceme) [Bot] (of fruit, flowers) n raceme… * ~ pine (sea pine, pinaster) n pinastro… * v gregar (se), gruppar (se).”

Well, this entry was a bit more detailed than the entry for “cluster” in Gopsill’s dictionary, but it still didn’t give me any good hints about how to translate “cluster bomb” into Interlingua.

At this point I had Google translate “cluster bomb” in Interlingua’s source languages in the Romance family.

Here is what I got for Spanish: “bombas de racimo.” Well, this did not look too helpful, though I could have used it word-for-word as a translation for “cluster bomb.” But the word “racimo” probably would not suggest the idea of cluster bombs very well to other Romance-language speakers.

So I then tried out the Italian translation. Here’s what I got “bombe a grappolo.” Well, this did not look much better than “bomba de racimo.”

Next I tried out the Portuguese translation. Here’s what I got: “bomba de fragmentação.” Now this looked very promsing. The English term “fragmentation bomb” could be an exact synonym for “cluster bomb” and, for all I know, may even have been used by others as a synonym for this kind of bomb.

Finally, I translated “cluster bomb” into French with Google’s translator. Here’s what I got: “bombe à fragmentation.”

Bingo! The Portuguese translation was just like the French translation, except that French prefers the preposition “à” for this kind of phrase instead of the Spanish or Portuguese “de.”

So I finally decided to translate “cluster bomb” into Interlingua with the phrase “bomba de fragmentation.”

(For those with some acquaintance with English and the Romance languages, “fragmentation” should be an immediately recognizable word, and that led naturally to the translation “bomba de fragmentation.”)

In the past, I have tried this technique in my efforts to translate other noun phrases similar to “cluster bomb” into Interlingua. At times I have not been successful, and occasionally I had to discard otherwise promising articles in Spanish Portuguese for adaptation into trilingual posts for “Interlingua multilingue.”

What I have just said here illustrates the limitation of even the best currently available dictionaries from English to Interlingua (and, for that matter, of bilingual dictionaries in general, even the ones that are full of phrase and sentence equivalents for some of their entries).

It also illustrates some of the problems of coming up with new terminology for Interlingua in general.

Interlingua, unfortunately, does not have a large speech community to work on these problems. In living languages with hundreds of thousands of native speakers, you have all of them grappling collectively with the problem of developing new terminology.

As they try to develop adequate vocabulary for new concepts, different native speakers of such languages throw out different terms. Some of them are not generally adopted. Others are. And if these new terms are adopted widely enough, eventually lexicographers start using them as entries for new editions of their dictionaries. And that is the way new vocabulary becomes established in a language having hundreds of thousands of native speakers.

Obama approba le uso de aviones robot armate in Lybia.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Le presidente del Statos Unite, Barack Obama, approbava le uso de aviones armate sin pilotas del tipo Preditor sur Libya.

Le Secretario de Defensa, Robert Gates, diceva que le aviones essera un “contribution modeste” al fortias international.

Anteriormente, le Secretaria de Stato, Hillary Clinton, diceva que le preoccupava reportos dicente que le fortias governamental ha stato a usar bombas de fragmentation.

Clinton condemnava le governamento de Moammar Gadhafi pro facer “attaccos viciose” contra le population civil.

Medicos ha dicite que le bombas sta a causar lesiones que es de plus in plus sever e que un numero crescente de civiles innocente ha perdite lor extremitates.

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Obama aprueba el uso de aviones armadas sin tripulaciones en Libia.

El presidente de los Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, aprobó el uso de aviones armados no tripulados de tipo Predator sobre Libia.

El Secretario de Defensa, Robert Gates, dijo que los aviones serán una “contribución modesta” a los esfuerzos internacionales.

Previamente, la secretaria de Estado, Hillary Clinton, dijo que estaba preocupada por informes diciendo que las fuerzas gubernamentales han estado usando bombas de racimo.

Clinton condenó al gobierno de Muamar Gadafi por hacer “ataques viciosos” contra la población civil.

Médicos han dicho que las bombas están causando lesiones que son cada vez más graves y que números crecientes de civiles inocentes han perdido extremidades.

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Obama approves of the use of armed robot planes in Libya.

The U.S. president, Barack Obama, approved the use of armed and unmanned pilotless Predator aircraft on Libya.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the planes will be a “modest contribution” to international efforts.

Earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was concerned about reports saying that government forces have been using cluster bombs.

Clinton condemned Moammar Gadhafi’s government for making “vicious attacks” against civilians.

Doctors have said that the bombs are causing injuries that are increasingly severe and that greater numbers of innocent civilians have been losing limbs.

Veteranos del operation de mundantia de Chernobyl protesta contra reductiones in lor pensiones.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Unes 2.000 travaliatores qui participava in le mundantia del usina nuclear de Chrenobyl post le accidente de 1986 se manifestava iste domenica in Kiev, Ukrania, in protesta contra reductiones in lor beneficios e pensiones.

Le protestas se produceva pauc dies ante le vintesime quinte anniversario de lo que es considerate le pejor accidente nuclear del historia.

Le manifestantes diceva que illes esseva furiose a causa del reductiones de lor pensiones e le augmento del costos del servicios de sanitate.

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Veteranos de la operación de limpieza de Chernobyl protestan por recortes a sus pensiones.

Unos 2.000 trabajadores que participaron en la limpieza de la central nuclear de Chernobyl luego del accidente de 1986 se manifestaron este domingo en Kiev, Ucrania, en protesta por recortes a sus beneficios y pensiones.

Las protestas se producen poco días antes del vigésimo quinto aniversario de lo que es considerado el peor accidente nuclear de la historia.

Los manifestantes se dijeron furiosos por los recortes de sus pensiones y el aumento de los costos de los servicios de salud.

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Veterans of the Chernobyl clean-up operation protest pension cuts.

About 2,000 workers involved in cleaning up the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after the 1986 accident demonstrated Sunday in Kiev, in the Ukraine, to protest cuts to their benefits and pensions.

The protests came a few days before the twenty-fifth anniversary of what is considered the worst nuclear accident in history.

The angry protesters said they were furious about the cuts in their pensions and the rising costs of health services.

Un commission in Austria ha recognoscite officialmente quasi 840 casos de abuso clerical.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Un commission create per le Ecclesia Catholic in Austria pro investigar le casos de abuso sexual e physic ha recognoscite le validitate de preso 840 reclamationes individual desde su creation ante un anno.

Le chef del commission, le ex governator provincial Waltraud Klasnic, diceva que on ha resolvite circa 250 casos.

Le junio passate, se establiva un fundo de compensation destinate al victimas.

Le commission, nominate post un serie de revelations de mal tractamentos e abusos in institutiones del ecclesia, non ha ulle poter legal ma debe referer le casos al autoritates.

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Una comisión en Austria ha reconocido oficialmente casi 840 casos de abuso clerical.

Una comisión creada por la Iglesia Católica en Austria para investigar los casos de abuso sexual y físico ha reconocido la validez de cerca de 840 reclamaciones individuales desde su creación hace un año.

El jefe de la comisión, el ex gobernador provincial Waltraud Klasnic, manifestó que se han resuelto unos 250 casos.

En junio pasado se estableció un fondo de compensación destinado a las víctimas.

La comisión, nombrada después de una serie de revelaciones de maltratos y abusos en instituciones de la iglesia, no tiene ningún poder legal sino que debe pasar los casos a las autoridades.

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An Austrian commission has officially recognized almost 840 clerical-abuse cases.

A commission created by the Catholic Church in Austria to investigate cases of sexual and physical abuse has recognized the validity of nearly 840 individual claims since its creation one year ago.

The head of the commission, former provincial governor Waltraud Klasnic, said that about 250 cases have been resolved.

Last June, a compensation fund for victims was established.

The commission, appointed after a series of revelations of mistreatment and abuse in church institutions, has no legal power but must refer the cases to the authorities.

Mubarak e su filios es detenite in un investigation sur le corruption.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Portuguese, English)

Le ministerio Public de Egypto mandava le dentention pro 15 dies del ex-presidente Hosni Mubarak e de su duo filios, Alaa e Gamal, in medio de investigationes sur le corruption e violationes del derectos human per su governamento inter 1981 e 2011.

Mubarak, de 82 annos de etate, se trova hospitalisate post haber problemas cardiac durante un interragatorio, secundo le pressa local.

Ille abandonava le presidentia del pais le 11 die de februario post un rebellion de 18 dies contra su governamento. Le pais ha essite commandate per un consilio militar desde ille die.

Decenas de milles de manifestantes ha stato a realisar protestos septimanal in le Placia Tahrir, exigente que le ex-presidente sia portate al justitia.

Mubarak, su marita, e su filios se trova prohibite a lassar Egypto, e le benes del familia esseva congelate como parte del investigationes.

Le morte de centenares de manifestantes durante le protestos que resultava in su abandono del Presidentia anque sta a investigar se.

Secundo le television statal egyptian, functionarios del hospital diceva que le ex-presidente ha refusate a mangiar e biber desde le initio de su interrogatorio.

In un message registrate le mesme die, Mubarak rumpeva su silentio de quasi duo menses dicente que su reputation e illo de su filios habeva essite prejudicate e que ille luctarea pro mundar le nomine de su familia.

Desde que ille abandonava le poter, le ex-presidente vadeva a viver in Sharm El-Sheikh e manteneva un postura discrete, evitante declarationes in publico sur le situation actual del pais.

Gamal, le filio le plus juvene de Mubarak, arrivava esser vidite como un possibile successor de su patre in le presidentia de Egypto. Ille habeva un carriera travaliante in bancas e fundos de investimento e occupava un alte position in le partito de su patre.

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Mubarak e seus filhos são detidos em uma investigação sobre corrupção

O Ministério Público do Egito ordenou a detenção por 15 dias do ex-presidente Hosni Mubarak e de seus dois filhos, Alaa e Gamal, em meio a investigações sobre corrupção e violações dos direitos humanos por parte de seu governo, entre 1981 e 2011.

Mubarak, de 82 anos, está hospitalizado após ter sofrido problemas cardíacos durante um interrogatório, segundo a imprensa local.

Ele deixou o poder no dia 11 de fevereiro após um levante de 18 dias contra seu governo. O país vem sendo comandado por um conselho militar desde então.

Dezenas de milhares de manifestantes vêm realizando protestos semanais na Praça Tahrir pedindo que o ex-presidente seja levado à Justiça.

Mubarak, sua esposa e seus filhos estão proibidos de deixar o Egito, e os bens da família foram congelados como parte das investigações.

A morte de centenas de manifestantes durante os protestos que levaram à sua saída da Presidência também está sendo investigada.

Segundo a televisão estatal egípcia, funcionários do hospital disseram que o ex-presidente vinha se recusando a comer e a beber desde o início do interrogatório.

Em uma mensagem gravada no mesmo dia, Mubarak quebrou o silêncio de quase dois meses dizendo que sua reputação e a de seus filhos tinha sido prejudicada e que ele lutaria para limpar o nome da família.

Desde que deixou o poder, o ex-presidente passou a viver em Sharm El-Sheikh e vinha adotando uma postura discreta, evitando declarações em público sobre a situação atual do país.

Gamal, o filho mais jovem de Mubarak, chegou a ser visto como um possível sucessor de seu pai na presidência do Egito. Ele fez carreira trabalhando em bancos e fundos de investimento e ocupava uma alta posição no partido do pai.

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Mubarak and his sons are detained in a corruption investigation

The Egyptian prosecutor ordered the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, for fifteen days amid investigations into corruption and human rights violations committed by his government, between 1981 and 2011.

Mubarak, 82, has been hospitalized after suffering heart problems during an interrogation, according to local media.

He left office on February 11 after 18 days of an uprising against his government. The country has been ruled by a military council since then.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have been conducting weekly protests in Tahrir Square demanding that the former president be brought to justice.

Mubarak, his wife, and his children, have been forbidden to leave Egypt, and the family assets were frozen as part of the investigations.

The deaths of hundreds of demonstrators during the protests leading to his departure from the Presidency are also being investigated.

According to state television, hospital officials said the former president had been refusing to eat and drink since the beginning of his interrogation.

In a recorded message on the same day, Mubarak broke a silence of nearly two months saying that his and his children’s reputations had been harmed and that he would fight to clear his family name.

Since leaving power, the former president went to live in Sharm El-Sheikh and had kept a low profile to avoid any public statements about the current situation of the country.

Gamal, the youngest son of Mubarak, came to be seen as a possible successor to his father as president of Egypt. He spent his career working in banks and investment funds and occupied a high position in his father’s party.

Robots mensura radiation intra Fukushima.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Operatores in le usina nuclear Fukushima, in Japon, sta a usar robots controlate a distantia pro mensurar le nivellos de radiation in le usina damnificate per le seismo e le tsunami del mense passate.

Le mensuras in le edificios del reactores monstra un “ambiente sever” pro le humanos, lo qual complica le effortios pro stabilisar le reactores.

Le information veni un die post que le operatores del usina diceva que al fin del anno illes poterea controlar le situation.

Nove sondages de opinion indica que le major parte del population de Japon non es felice con le forma in le qual le governamento ha respondite al crise nuclear.

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Robots miden radiación dentro de Fukushima.

Operadores en la central nuclear Fukushima, en Japón están usando robots controlados a distancia para medir los niveles de radiación en la planta dañada por el sismo y el tsunami del mes pasado.

Las mediciones en los edificios de dos de los reactores mostraron un “ambiente severo” para los humanos, lo cual complica los esfuerzos para estabilizar los reactores.

La información surge un día después de que los operadores de la planta dijeran que a fin del año podrían controlar la situación.

Nuevos sondeos de opinión señalan que la mayoría de la gente en Japón no está contenta con la forma en que el gobierno ha respondido a la crisis nuclear.

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Robots measure radiation in Fukushima.

Operators at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan are using remote-controlled robots to measure radiation levels at the plant damaged by the earthquake and tsunami last month.

Measurements in buildings of two of the reactors showed a “harsh environment” for humans, which complicates efforts to stabilize the reactors.

The information comes a day after the plant operators said they would be able to control the situation by the end of the year.

New opinion polls indicate that most people in Japan are unhappy with the way the government has responded to the nuclear crisis.

Le Union Europee contribuera a insular le ruinas del usina nuclear del planta nuclear de Chernobyl.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Le Union Europee promitteva un secunde pagamento de US$150 milliones pro le construction de un nove coperimento pro insular le restos del usina nuclear de Chernobyl, que in 1986 provocava le pejor accidente nuclear del historia.

Le presidente del Commission Europee, José Manuel Barroso, annunciava iste nove pagamento durante le conversationes que ille habeva con le presidente ukranian, Victor Yanukovych.

Barroso se trova in le capital, Kiev, pro participar in un reunion que comencia iste martedi, in le qual on spera colliger plus que US$1.000 milliones pro reimplaciar le sarcophogo de beton actual, que es periculosemente instabile.

Le reunion ha loco dies post le vigesime quinte anniversario del disastro de Chernobyl.

Le dominica passate unes 2.000 travaliatores qui participava in mundar le usina nuclear post le accidente se manifestava in Kiev, in protesto pro reductiones in lor beneficios e pensiones.

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La Unión Europea contribuirá a aislar los escombros de la planta nuclear de Chernobyl.

La Unión Europea prometió aportar más US$150 millones a la construcción de una nueva cubierta de concreto para aislar los restos de la planta nuclear de Chernobyl, que en 1986 provocó el peor accidente nuclear de la historia.

El presidente de la Comisión Europea, José Manuel Barroso, anunció este nuevo pago durante las conversaciones que llevó a cabo con el mandatario ucraniano, Viktor Yanukovych.

Barroso se encuentra en la capital, Kiev, para participar en una reunión que comienza este martes, en la que se espera recaudar más de US$1.000 millones para reemplazar el sarcófago de concreto actual, que es peligrosamente inestable.

El encuentro se lleva a cabo días después del vigésimo quinto aniversario del desastre en Chernobyl.

El domingo pasado unos 2.000 trabajadores que participaron en la limpieza de de la central nuclear luego del accidente se manifestaron en Kiev, en protesta por recortes a sus beneficios y pensiones.

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The European Union will help isolate the debris of the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

The European Union pledged an additional $150 million to build a new concrete covering to isolate the remains of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which in 1986 caused the worst nuclear accident in history.

The European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, announced this new payment Monday during the talks he held with the Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych.

Barroso is in the capital, Kiev, to participate in a meeting beginning on Tuesday, which is expected to raise more than $1 billion to replace the current concrete sarcophagus, which is dangerously unstable.

The meeting takes place a few days after the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

Last Sunday, about 2,000 workers involved in cleaning up nuclear plant after the accident demonstrated in Kiev to protest cuts to their benefits and pensions.

Francia blocca trainos italian con immigrantes del nord de Africa.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Le autoritates francese preveniva le entrata de trainos proveniente de Italia pro evitar assi le ingresso al pais de immigrantes nord-african.

Le trainos bloccate per Francia portava immigrantes e activistas qui les appoiava, diceva un portavoce del ferrovias italian.

Italia ha stato a provider permissos temporari de residentia a milles de tunisianos qui arrivava al pais pro escappar se del conflictos in lor patria.

Le permissos les permitte mover liberemente in plure paises europee.

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Francia bloquea trenes italianos con inmigrantes del norte de África.

Las autoridades francesas impidieron la entrada de trenes proveniente de Italia para evitar así el ingreso al país de inmigrantes norafricanos.

Los trenes bloqueados por Francia llevaban inmigrantes y activistas que los apoyaban, informó un portavoz de las ferrovías italianas.

Italia le ha estado entregando permisos temporales de residencia a miles de tunecinos que llegaron al país para escaparse de los conflictos en su patria.

Los permisos les permiten desplazarse libremente por varios países europeos.

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France blocks Italian trains with immigrants from North Africa.

French authorities blocked the entry of trains from Italy to keep North African immigrants from entering the country.

The trains blocked by France had immigrants and activists who supported them, said a spokesman for the Italian railways.

Italy has been providing temporary residence permits to thousands of Tunisians who entered the country to get away from conflict in their homeland.

The permits allow them to move freely in several European countries.

Al minus nove menses essera necesse pro controlar le crise in le usina nuclear de Japon pro le generation de electricitate in Fukushima.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Spanish, English)

Le compania que opera le usina nuclear japonese de Fukushima affirmava que illo spera controlar in nove menses le crise in le planta provocate per le seismo e posterior tsunami del 11 de martio.

Le compania Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) annunciava que le objectivo se centralisava in reducer le fugas de radiation in un periodo de tres menses e refrigerar le reactores intra un periodo extra de inter tres e sex menses.

Tepco anque diceva que illo planifica coperir le edificio del reactor.

Le declarationes de Tepco se produceva al mesme tempore que le Statos Unite se compromitteva a appoiar le effortios de Japon pro reconstruer le areas afficite per le seismo e tsunami.

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Por lo menos nueve meses serán necesarios para controlar la crisis en la planta nuclear de Japón para la generación de electricidad en Fukushima.

La empresa operadora de la planta nuclear japonesa de Fukushima afirmó que espera controlar en nueve meses la crisis en la central provocada por el terremoto y posterior tsunami del 11 de marzo.

La empresa Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) anunció que el objetivo se centraba en reducir las fugas de radiación en un lapso de tres meses y enfriar los reactores dentro de un período extra de entre tres y seis meses.

Tepco también señaló que planea cubrir el edificio del reactor.

Las declaraciones de Tepco se produjeron al tiempo que los Estados Unidos se comprometió a apoyar los esfuerzos de Japón para reconstruir las áreas afectadas por el terremoto y tsunami.

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At least nine months will be needed to control the crisis at Japan’s nuclear plant for generating electricity in Fukushima.

The company operating the nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan, said it expects to control in nine months the crisis there that was caused by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

The Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced that its goal was to focus on reducing the leakage of radiation in three months and to cool the reactor down in an extra period of three to six months.

TEPCO also said it plans to cover the reactor building.

Tepco’s statements were released at the same time the United States pledged to support Japan’s efforts to rebuild the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Le humanitate sta a perder le battalia contra superbacterios.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, Portuguese, English)

Secundo especialistas europee, le numero de infectiones resistente a drogas attingeva nivellos sin precedentes e supera nostre capacitate actual de combatter los con le drogas existente.

Cata anno, plus que 25 mille personas mori in le Union Europee a causa de infectiones de bacterios que non es resistente mesmo al antibioticos recentemente lanceate.

Pro le Organisation Mundial del Sanitate (OMS), le situation ha arrivate a un puncto critic e es necesse un effortio urgente pro producer nove medicamentos.

Sin iste effortio, le humanitate pote deber confrontar un disastro global de infectiones incurabile, secundo le Organisation Mundial del Sanitate.

Un exemplo es le superbacterio NDM-1, que causava infectiones in britannicos qui vadeva a India o Pakistan pro tractamento medic e transportava iste bacterios al Regno Unite.

Le octobre passate, in le Brasil, le Agentia National de Vigilantia Sanitari (Anvisa) reinfortiava le controlo sur le prescription de antibioticos, essayante a contener le avantiamento del superbacterio KPC, que causava infectiones principalmente in hospitales.

Le resistentia del superbacterios a antibioticos plus forte causa preoccupation inter le specialistas. Recercatores del Universitate de Cartiff, in Galles, qui identificava NDM-1 le anno passate, dice que bacterios resistente contaminava reservoirs de aqua de Nove Delhi, que significa que milliones de personas pote haber se devenite portatores del micro-organismo.

Le equipa del medico Timothy Walsh colligeva 171 monstras de aqua filtrate e 50 de aqua domestic de valvulas in un radio de 12 kilometros del centro de Nove Deli inter septembre e octobre, 2010, e trovava le gene del lNDM-1 in duo del monstras de valvula e in 51 del monstras de aqua filtrate.

Isto deveni plus preoccupante proque, secundo le equipa de Walsh, le gene se propagava a bacterios que causa diarrhea e cholera, maladias facilemente transmissibile trans aqua contaminate.

“Le transmission oral fecal de bacterios es un problama global, ma su risco potential varia secundo le patrones sanitari”, diceva le recerecatores in un articulo in le magazine “Lancet Infectious Diseases”. “In India, ille transmission representa un problema serie proque 650 milliones de citatanos non ha accesso a WCs sanitari, e un numero probabilemente plus grande non ha accesso a aqua munde.”

Le scientistas exige action urgente del autoritates global pro attaccar le nove varietates de bacterios e pro prevenir epidemias global.

Le director regional del OMS pro Europa, Zsuzsanna Jakab, diceva que “le antibioticos es un discoperimento preciose, ma nos los usa in excesso e los usa mal. Pro isso, il nunc ha superbacterios que non responde a ulle droga.

Secundo illa, ante le crescimento in le numero de viages international e de cambios commercial in le mundo, “le gente debe esser consciente que usque omne le paises confronta le problema del superbacterios, nulle pais essera secur si le nationes del mundo non coopera in le lucta contra iste superbacterios.”

Le autoritates sanitari britannic dice que illes continua a examinar le taxa de infection de NDM-1, que, secundo le registros official, jam ha infectate 70 personas in le pais.

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A humanidade está perdendo a batalha contra superbactérias.

Segundo especialistas europeus, o número de infecções resistentes a drogas atingiu níveis sem precedentes e supera nossa capacidade atual de combatê-las com as drogas existentes.

A cada ano, mais de 25 mil pessoas morrem na União Europeia em decorrência de infecções de bactérias que são resistentes mesmo aos antibióticos, recém-lançados.

Para a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), a situação chegou a um ponto crítico e é necessário um esforço urgente para produzir novos medicamentos.

Sem esse esforço, a humanidade pode ter que enfrentar um desastre global de infecções incuráveis, de acordo com a Organização Mundial da Saúde.

Um exemplo é a superbactéria NDM-1, o que causou infecções em britânicos que foram para a Índia ou o Paquistão para tratamento médico e transportaram esta bactéria para o Reino Unido.

Em outubro passado, no Brasil, a Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa) reforçou o controle sobre receitas médicas de antibióticos, na tentativa de conter o avanço da superbactéria KPC, que causaram infecções principalmente em hospitais.

A resistência das superbactérias a antibióticos mais fortes causa preocupação entre os especialistas. Pesquisadores da Universidade de Cardiff, no País de Gales, que identificaram a NDM-1 no ano passado, dizem que as bactérias resistentes contaminaram reservatórios de água de Nova Délhi, o que significa que milhões de pessoas podem ter se tornado portadoras do micro-organismo.

A equipe do médico Timothy Walsh coletou 171 amostras de água filtrada e 50 de água de torneiras em um raio de 12 km do centro de Nova Déli, entre setembro e outubro de 2010 e encontrou o gene da NDM-1 em duas das amostras de torneira e em 51 das amostras de água filtrada.

Isso se torna mais preocupante porque, segundo a equipe de Walsh, o gene se espalhou para bactérias que causam diarreia e cólera, doenças facilmente transmissíveis através de água contaminada.

“A transmissão oral-fecal de bactérias é um problema global, mas seu risco potencial varia de acordo com os padrões sanitários”, disseram os pesquisadores em um artigo no periódico científico “Lancet Infectious Diseases”. “Na Índia, essa transmissão representa um problema sério porque 650 milhões de cidadãos não têm acesso a vasos sanitários, e um número provavelmente maior não tem acesso a água limpa.”

Os cientistas pedem ação urgente das autoridades globais para atacar as novas variedades de bactérias e para prevenir epidemias globais.

A diretora regional da OMS para a Europa, Zsuzsanna Jakab, disse que “os antibióticos são uma descoberta preciosa, mas os usamos em excesso e os usamos mal. Por isso, agora há superbactérias que não respondem a nenhuma droga”.

Segundo ela, ante o crescimento no número de viagens internacionais e de trocas comerciais no mundo, “a gente precisa estar cientes de que nenhum país estará a salvo se as nações do mundo não cooperarem na luta contra estas superbactérias.

As autoridades de saúde britânicas afirmam que estão continuando a analisar a taxa de infecção de NDM-1, que, segundo os registros oficiais, já infectou 70 pessoas no país.

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Humanity is losing the battle against superbugs.

According to European experts, the number of drug-resistant infections has reached unprecedented levels and exceeds our current ability to fight them with existing drugs.

Each year, more than 25,000 people die in the European Union because of infections of bacteria that are resistant to even newly released antibiotics.

For the World Health Organization (WHO), the situation has reached a crisis point and an urgent effort is needed to produce new drugs.

Without this effort, humanity could face a global disaster of untreatable infections, according to the World Health Organization.

One example is the superbug NDM-1, which caused infections in Britons who went to India or Pakistan for medical treatment and transported this bacterium to the United Kingdom.

Last October, in Brazil, the National Agency for Health Concerns (Anvisa in its Portuguese acronym) tightened control over the prescription of antibiotics in an effort to halt the superbug KPC, which caused infections mainly in hospitals.

The resistance of superbugs to even the strongest antibiotics is a cause for concern among experts. Researchers at Cardiff University in Wales, which identified NDM-1 last year, say that resistant bacteria have contaminated water reservoirs in New Delhi, which means that millions of people may have become carriers of the microorganism.

The team doctor Timothy Walsh collected 171 samples of filtered water from fifty water taps in a 7.5 mile radius from downtown New Delhi, between September and October, 2010, and found the NDM-1 gene in two samples of tap and in 51 samples of filtered water.

This becomes more worrisome because, according to Walsh’s team, the gene spread to bacteria that cause diarrhea and cholera, diseases easily transmitted through contaminated water.

“The fecal-oral transmission of bacteria is a global problem, but their potential risk varies according to health standards,” the researchers wrote in an article in the journal “Lancet Infectious Diseases.” “In India, this transmission is a severe problem because 650 million people lack access to toilets, and a larger number probably has no access to clean water.”

Scientists call for urgent action by global authorities to tackle the new strains of bacteria and to prevent global epidemics.

The WHO regional director for Europe, Zsuzsanna Jakab, said: “Antibiotics are a precious discovery, but we use them excessively and use them badly. So now there are superbugs that do not respond to any drug.”

According to her, given the growth in international travel and trade in the world, “people need to be aware that no country will be safe if the nations of the world do not cooperate in the fight against these superbacteria.”

British health authorities say they are continuing to examine the rate of infection of NDM-1, which, according to official records, has infected 70 people in the country.

The Nuts and Bolts of Media Manipulation: Fifteen Questions and Answers by Media Lens

Ten Years Of Media Lens Fifteen Questions And Answers (Downloaded from medialens.org)

It has been a long, winding road from Southampton's Giddy Bridge public house in 2001, where David Edwards first put to David Cromwell the possibility of starting some kind of media watch site. The idea seemed absolutely right, in fact blindingly obvious: why had we not thought of it before? Why had nobody else thought of it? Instantly agreeing to go ahead, we toasted our website with additional beers and a packet of cheese & onion - the name came later.

Within two months, our first media alert was sent to a handful of readers on July 9, 2001, and polite emails began trickling into the inboxes of quizzical, unsuspecting journalists.

As we somehow find ourselves now approaching ten years of work on Media Lens, we are interested to reflect on some of the more contentious issues covered in our first decade. One or two media alert 'specials' on the theme will follow later.

One of our steadily more time-consuming tasks over the years has involved responding to questions from readers. Many of these are from UK-based undergraduate and postgraduate students asking for contributions to theses. We also receive requests for comment from blogs, magazines and authors from all corners of the globe. These numerous, polite approaches contrast sharply with the impression given by the mainstream media that our work is worthless, if it exists at all. Indeed, it is eerie to find that the deeper the mainstream slips into financial crisis, the less we exist. Our crimes against professional media humanity are by now so heinous that Guardian editor Alan Rubsridger recently blocked us even from 'following' his Tweets on Twitter.

Below, we've selected some of the more interesting questions and answers from the last two or three years.


(1) Why did you start Media Lens?

Answer: The media presents itself as a neutral window on the world. We are to believe that the view we see through the window is 'the world as it is'. It's 'All the news that's fit to print' because 'Comment is free but facts are sacred'. What's to challenge? When you take a closer look at the 'window', you realise it's not a window on the world at all; it's a kind of painting of a window on the world. And the 'painting' has been carefully produced using colours, textures and forms all selected by the media arm of a corporate system that has very clear interests and bias.

And the one issue the media will not seriously discuss is the idea that it is not a neutral window on the world. This silence protects every deception promoting war, destruction of the climate, and the general subordination of people and planet to profit. It has to be challenged.


(2) What would you say to someone who argued that Media Lens is just a form of push button activism, that it's not practical enough to create real change?

A: The corporate media really is the point where propaganda meets public thought control. To throw a spanner in the works by challenging journalists and the public is, we think, a highly efficient form of dissent. It's one thing to march in protest against a war, but you can make the waging of war less likely by challenging the deceptions that persuade the public, and journalists, to support war. The world is changed in people's heads.

Of course there is merit in taking physical action but only insofar as it challenges illusions in people's heads. Nothing could be more 'practical' and 'active' than a campaign of violence attacking state and corporate assets. But our view is that this in fact turns out to be supremely impractical because it empowers violence, hatred, and the illusions that go with them, and so works against progressive change. When you think of the stereotypical anarchist bomb throwers, their actions were actually far less practical than sitting reading a book or discussing serious issues.


(3) In your 10 years of existence, have you had any success in 'correcting the distorted vision of the corporate media'? Can you give us some examples of success stories?

A: In fact we don't say we're correcting their distorted vision; we say we're correcting for their distorted vision, like lenses in a pair of glasses. We're tentatively offering what seems to us to be more or less accurate and reasonable, but we have no sense that what we're arguing is absolutely true.

There are numerous examples of journalists changing their online articles, interview angles and so on in response to emails sent by us and many other media activists. The real success is that dozens, sometimes hundreds, even thousands, of people are now challenging journalists from a left perspective without any prompting from us. If we helped encourage that trend, that's tremendous - it has always been a key goal.


(4) Journalists such as Nick Davies of the Guardian, author of Flat Earth News, decry the practice of 'churnalism', the publishing of amended press releases as news. However, you argue that the problems with the mainstream media go far deeper than this and that there are systemic issues with the way in which news is collected and disseminated. Would you mind discussing some of these issues with us?

A: Davies's book, presented a superficial, holier than Swiss cheese analysis, as you would expect, which meant it was widely hailed as profound and strikingly honest (as a rule, genuinely radical media analysis is ignored). 'Churnalism', of course, is a problem – journalists are under pressure to write expanded versions of corporate and government press releases, and so on. But we're more interested in the churn itself – who made it? What are their motives?

The answer is that the mainstream media churn is made up of profit-seeking corporations all owned by even larger corporations and/or very wealthy people. These elite interests benefit from the public being fed superficial pap that leaves them ignorant and confused. So churnalism is not just an accidental, neutral product of a neutral system, as Davies suggests; it is a required product of a system that has evolved to deceive and bewilder people. And the churn doesn't dump neutral material, it consistently favours the world view of powerful interests. So, for example, corporate journalists don't churn out our media alerts, or news from Democracy Now! or The Real News Network. Power-friendly press releases are churned and rechurned – honest material is simply ignored.


(5) Advertisers claim that they support good journalism because no advertiser gains from being associated with bad journalism with low credibility. Comment?

A: Yes, a car company, for example, likes 'good' journalism. But if that 'good' journalism exposes the car company's role in fighting action on climate change, it will move its advertising to a kind of journalism that is 'good' but that doesn't harm its interests. In an interview with activist Ralph Nader, David Barsamian asked:

'Wouldn't it be irrational for them [the media] to even discuss corporate power, since their underwriting and sponsors come from very large corporations?'

Nader's reply:

'Very irrational... [There are] a few instances almost every year where there's some sort of criticism of auto dealers, and the auto dealers just pull their ads openly from radio and TV stations.' (Z Magazine, February 1995)


(6) What are the main causes of the media's poor performance on Afghanistan?

A: Is it 'poor performance' when BAE Systems produces 500 Typhoon fighters rather than 500 ploughshares? The mainstream media are profit-seeking corporate entities that have evolved out of, and depend on, other corporate entities and their political allies. The system has evolved to maximise profits and to obscure the consequences for people and planet: in Edward Herman's evocative phrase, 'to normalise the unthinkable'. It is a grave error to imagine that the media time and again 'fails' to challenge militarism, 'fails' to reveal the true costs of war. It is achieving precisely what it has evolved and been designed to achieve. Strictly speaking, media performance on Afghanistan has been superb.


(7) Gilbert Achcar told AlterZoom that 'now, after the experience of Iraq which demonstrated that the Bush Administration had lied, the media are much more critical and prudent than after 9/11'. Do you agree? What do you think of the media treatment of the confrontation between the USA and Iran? Is history repeating itself again?

A: Achcar is badly mistaken, in our view. What is so shocking is the extent to which media performance is rooted in the structures and needs of power, rather than in external realities. In 2001, the US political leadership decided to demonise Saddam Hussein, to present Iraq as a threat. In response, the media performed their structural role in boosting these claims. The 'threat' was then exposed as a charade, a giant hoax. In 2003, the same US leadership then decided to demonise Iran and present it as a threat to the West. The media again performed their structural role in boosting these claims as if nothing had happened in Iraq, and they continue to do so.


(8) In Guardians of Power you describe how the media glossed over the atrocities committed by the Clinton and the Reagan administrations by focusing on their lifestyle choices and family life. How dangerous do you think that the 'Obamania' style of coverage is for his administration being taken to account by the media?

A: Very dangerous. Obama has been used to rebirth the deeply discredited American political brand. In 2009, Jonathan Freedland wrote in the Guardian:

'Obama's aim was to break through the suspicion and cynicism that have accreted over decades and show that America is under truly new management.' (Freedland, 'The US and Islam: The speech no other president could make,' The Guardian, June 5, 2009)

It is mainstream journalism's job to conflate rhetoric with reality. The argument, in effect, is that all institutional political and economic analysis identifying deeply entrenched systems of power and influence is irrelevant - all that matters is that one charismatic orator with a nice smile has reinvented American politics and made it newly virtuous. It is a transparent attempt at damage-limitation after the Bush years.

It is dangerous because it strengthens the public's willingness to accept mass killing in places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Libya on the assumption that America's new leaders are benevolent, well-intentioned individuals making 'tough choices', and doing what simply has to be done. The people who run the system are well aware of this, which is why huge efforts are made to sell people like Clinton, Blair and Obama as 'the good guys'. This was all discussed by Machiavelli 500 years ago.


(9) How would you rate the liberal media coverage of the recent uprisings taking place across the Middle-East? Are there any glaring holes in the narrative, and are we being informed about the extent of western support for these regimes?

A: The independent, Israel-based journalist, Jonathan Cook, formerly of the Guardian, notes how the United States 'is caught mute and impassive as the henchmen of empire unleash US-made weapons against their peoples who are demanding western-style freedoms...'

The gaping hole in media reporting is to explain why the US has been supporting these henchmen with billions of dollars of military hardware. What is the US motive? What does this tell us about US priorities in the Middle East and elsewhere? What is more important: freedom, democracy, human rights, or control of natural resources and corporate profits? There have been occasional mentions of how the West has supplied arms to Mubarak and Qaddafi, but these deeper questions are ignored.


(10) In summer 2010, you had a funding application rejected by a big 'progressive' trust because some trustees were 'not convinced by the strategy of targeting the liberal media.' Many liberals would probably share that criticism. Can you explain why this focus on the so-called liberal media?

A: Human motives fall into three distinct categories: we can seek happiness by working for our own interests, for the interests of others, or for the interests of others in the understanding that this is also in our own best interests (rooted in the idea that a compassionate, less egotistical approach to life is more conducive to our own happiness). We believe progressive change is rooted in the latter two drives: working to help others out of altruism and enlightened self-interest.

Broadly, we think people guided by these positive motivations tend to look to the liberal press for honest opinion - they don't look to a right-wing press more obviously functioning as propaganda organs for power and profit. We believe that these liberal readers - people motivated to make the world a less brutal place - are being offered a world view that persuades them to accept the status quo, to be complacent, to not push for radical change.

For example, if the right-wing, Tory media are saying it was right to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein was a lethal tyrant, and the liberal press are saying the invasion was 'a mistake', that means no-one is saying that the war was a war crime.


(11) Are there any media systems in the world that you think work well?

A: Compassion and honesty are found in individuals, not in systems. There are individuals who are sensitive to the suffering of others, to the importance of compassion for the welfare of themselves and others, and who, to a greater or lesser degree, subordinate self-interest (wealth, status) to rational analysis and truthful communication. Honest individuals reject the idea that they need to be trained to understand, and respond productively to, the suffering of others. They understand that the great enemy of dissent is the desire to participate comfortably as part of a system, herd, corporation, which inevitably demand conformity and compromise. They understand that the sense of comfort is illusory and actually a condition of great suffering. The self-centred mind is inherently stressed and dissatisfied. A life spent in the self-centred herd is not a happy one, it comes at great cost to the soul. Norman Mailer observed:

'There is an odour to any Press Headquarters that is unmistakeable... The unavoidable smell of flesh burning quietly and slowly in the service of a machine.' (Mailer, The Time Of Our Time, Little Brown, 1998, p.457)


(12) I often speak to people who are angry and disillusioned with politics, and they are usually dismissive of the idea that together we can create a better world. Can something like Media Lens counter this view? And more generally, how would you try to convince someone that there is room for optimism?

A: It's normal for people who are angry to be negative and dismissive - the angry mind is inherently pessimistic and unrealistic. By contrast, eye surgeons who give of their time and energy to save impoverished people from blindness by performing cataract operations would be unable to make sense of the idea that we should be 'dismissive of the idea that together we can create a better world'. To save even one person from blindness is making the world immeasurably better for that person. Each person is a world. To give that kind of help is wonderful for the afflicted individual, obviously, but also for the surgeon who is able to use his or her skills in such a positive way. All the evidence suggests that helping people out of compassion is a source of profound happiness. There is great delight and fulfilment in acting to help others, in acting to remove suffering.


(13) Compared with the US, where they have FAIR, ZNet and other similar projects, Media Lens is just about the only media monitoring group in the UK, and is quite small compared to its American counterparts. Why is that in your opinion?

A: Whereas US thought control works more by excluding dissident voices, UK thought control works more by incorporating them in small doses in a way that vaccinates the public mind against the idea that honest voices are excluded. So we've got Robert Fisk, George Monbiot, Seumas Milne and John Pilger. But these are fig leaves (as Pilger himself has acknowledged), small islands of radicalism swamped by innumerable 'journalists of attachment'. Remember, almost all media output reinforces the corporate consumer monoculture: it is mostly entertainment and distraction. Most of the population has no idea who George Monbiot and Robert Fisk are. Liberal progressives know about them and wrongly think that their inclusion is impressive evidence that we have an open, inclusive media system. It isn't. Very, very occasionally you'll meet someone who has heard of Noam Chomsky - but even these people are usually amazed to hear that he writes about politics as well as linguistics.


(14) There are clearly some examples of quite harsh, even abusive, comments about you. Especially from journalists. Why do you think that is? Why do you think that journalists, or the media, respond negatively to your work? Clearly they don't always respond in a negative manner; you have plenty of evidence of positive feedback from them as well. But again, this is a theme that has come up quite a bit in my research and indeed in published research as well. And how do you remain level-headed about feedback like that?

A: The abuse isn't simply abuse. Recall that the internet is awash with a huge number of blogs and websites of various kinds. When Peter Beaumont devoted an article to smearing us in the Observer, that was a clear sign that we'd had an impact, that we were being effective. Otherwise, why would a senior mainstream journalist devote space in a major newspaper to attacking us? Why bother with two guys writing on the internet? Also, the abuse is applied with a very broad brush. After all, Chomsky described the trend in 1992, long before Media Lens existed:

'Somehow they have to get rid of the stuff. You can't deal with the arguments, that's plain - for one thing you have to know something, and most of these people don't know anything. Secondly, you wouldn't be able to answer the arguments because they're correct. Therefore what you have to do is somehow dismiss it. So that's one technique, "It's just emotional, it's irresponsible, it's angry."' (Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian, Chronicles of Dissent, AK Press, 1992, p.79)

So the abuse is a kind of reflexive response to a perceived threat that is clearly making some kind of difference. So when we see these things about us being 'Stalinists' and 'willy wavers' we enjoy them and feel encouraged. It would be far more depressing to be ignored – the fate of most web-based media projects.

Individual journalists get upset because we're challenging their self-image, their egos. For example, mainstream media leftists invest heavily in an idea of themselves as fearless speakers of truth to power – their career, their whole sense of themselves, is rooted in that idea. When we point out the limits of what they are willing and able to say, it's a painful blow to their egos – hence the negative reaction. They feel threatened on many levels: career, reputation, self-image, and so on. So that's a factor. Also, before the internet, journalists just did not receive much feedback from readers. So negative feedback is often a shock to people. It's something we're all having to get used to in the age of the internet.


(15) Is it possible to meaningfully care about people half a world away in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Palestine, Japan, or Australia with the tenuous connection we have to them, mostly through the basically unaccountable actions of 'our' government? Why should I feel bad for them? I don't even know those people! This is so ingrained that to even suggest we should feel their deaths as deeply as that of our best friend sounds a little ridiculous. We are hard-wired to have a drastic double standard for the people inside our Monkeysphere versus the 99.999% of the world's population who are on the outside.

A: It does sound a little ridiculous. But what are the limits of compassion? If you listen to Western materialists then, yes, maybe our brains are hard-wired to feel compassion for a limited number of people. But if you listen to the people, both ancient and modern, who Erich Fromm called 'the masters of human culture' – Buddha, Bodhidharma, Lao Tse, Chuang Tzu, Atisha, Osho, Tolle – they argue that compassion is not a function of the brain, but a function of consciousness - an awareness that observes and lies behind thought. They argue that compassion emerges out of the felt experience (not the intellectual idea) that we are all manifestations of this same consciousness. So it's not that you feel pity for someone else over there; it's that you look at that person and see, in some ultimately paradoxical and mysterious way, yourself. You feel a fundamental identity. This is said to be the source of unconditional love and compassion, and is why Buddha said he felt exactly the same compassion and love for every sentient being. Every enlightened mystic has said the same.


(16) You discuss the Buddhist notion of 'sin as mistake', asking, 'Do we punish the child for burning its finger in the flame?' I take the point, but I'm wondering about the logical extension of there being no externally imposed punishments or consequences at all. Would Buddhists advocate no prisons even for serious criminals such as serial killers who keep getting their fingers burnt but don't change their behaviour?

A: They would identify destructiveness and try to stop it, but without hate and without the urge to punish. A few years ago, a friend at work, an English teacher, asked one of us about his writing. Our friend commented, 'Well of course everyone knows the media is biased to the left - it is rife with reds.' Like most people, he had never heard of Chomsky, Pilger, Herman and so on. It was even more difficult to hear about them then, and everything he'd ever read had told him the same story about 'left bias'. So it's not that he maliciously created his own illusion - he wasn't to blame for it. So the obvious thought arose: 'How can I be angry at someone who has had no real choice but to believe what he believes?'

That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to challenge these views, to offer what we think are more rational alternatives. It just means we have no basis for being angry with, or for punishing, people who say or do things we don't like. So we would give our teacher friend a copy of Herman and Chomsky's book Manufacturing Consent, but we wouldn't hit him over the head with it!