S N I P P E T S

Guess what - Women postponed again.
The issue of women's access to justice is another issue that is largely being ignored at the WSF, lost or buried by the thousands of other causes, debates and struggles. Luis Alberto de Vargas, secretary-general of the Association of Brazilian Labour Magistrates, it will have to continue to wait, because there are other priorities on the agenda. This attitude doesn't sit will with the women's networks, which continue to call for a space to make their demands heard among the din.

Freedom to wear a dress (or not).
While fellow "Third Worlders" might often find many similarities among cities of the developing South, it is the differences that are more telling.
One such difference, in the opinion of a WSF participant from India, is the freedom and the confidence of Brazilian women. In far too many cities of the world it becomes, unfortunately, an act of courage for a woman just to dress lightly for the summer. Especially when the temperatures spike to 40 degrees centigrade, unlike the relatively comfortable 30s of Porto Alegre these days.
It might be a fair measure of city life whether women can dress as they like and walk down the street alone, even at night. Now, Porto Alegre is no Utopia for women, but it is heartening to see how much Brazilian women can take for granted. And with such enviable lack of self-consciousness. You have to come from somewhere like India or Pakistan to see that, comments our observer.

Kind and unkind thieves.
The crowd of progressive and joyful foreigners visiting Porto Alegre represents a golden opportunity for local thieves. Persuaded by a knife, a Terra Viva journalist quickly gave away 100 reais on Friday night, but managed instead to keep his - rented - mobile phone by explaining its professional value to the thief. Not so lucky was one of the Third World Institute (Uruguay) delegates, who not only got robbed but hit in the face when resisting the mugging. Old timers say: don't resist, don' take a lot of money with you, don't walk around alone.

The Forum and the "Forum".
A TerraViva reporter who does not speak Portuguese was adventurous on his first day in Porto Alegre - in fact, his first day in Brazil. He decided to walk to one of the WSF venues, and he found nothing… but kindness. “Go straight, take a right, over there,” until he reached the offices of "the Forum". But this Forum was the justice department, just off Avenida Borges de Medeiros. Nobody there knew about the WSF, at least not in English. Finally, somewhere "upstairs", a colleague who knows some English was found. She pointed out the window at Gigantinho, which stood clear but distant. Apparently, the justice Forum has received several such unintended visits. But our reporter was luckier than most. The saviour at the Forum drove him to Gigantinho in her car. This is an example of Brazilian hospitality, not a recommended route.

A website for the site-less.
Indymedia, a network of collectively run media outlets from more than 40 countries seeking “radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth”has set up a communications lab, located at Rua Visconde do Herval 1383. There, any Forum participant can post his or her own news, audio and video to the Indymedia site, which “struggles to maintain the news wire as a completely open forum… and work for a better world, despite corporate media's distortions and unwillingness to cover the efforts to free humanity.” Beware, however, that Indymedia has also been criticised in the past for providing an uncensored plattform for just anybody, true to its principles