Josef Fritzl, the German frozen babies, Isabella and Gloria Maclure. In the days and weeks leading up to the birth of our daughter the international media has been full of some of the most darkly disturbing crimes of abuse within the family. We have probably heard enough now about Josef Fritzl's basement prison and you may have heard about the case of three frozen babies discovered in Germany by their grown brothers and sisters who decided to clear their parents' freezer when they went to look for something to eat.

Brazil has been turned upside down by a crime which my father-in-law says has created a frenzy of public interest like he has never seen before. A father and step-mother were charged last week with the murder of 5 year old Isabella, strangled and then thrown from an apartment window several stories high. What connects all these stories is the fact that the purportrators of the crimes were moderately wealthy, middle class people who had none of the "excuses" that might accompany similar crimes in the favelas or war zones of the world. For me, it shows that the prize of development (which, for many socieities is to aim for middle class wealth-creation and to model themselves on liberal democracies of Europe) leaves gaping holes in "fixing" the human condition. It is a reminder that you cannot tame the potential evil of the human heart even for all the best political, educational and social programmes immaginable.

Having your own daughter born into this kind of news climate has left me asking (at least) three things: how could anyone do any of these things to their own children? How are we even supposed to live in a world where this kind of thing happens? How can I even possibly begin to be a parent to another real, feeling human life? The last question acknowledges that although I am unlikely to commit any crimes on the level of the people above, my best efforts are still thoroughly flawed and my children will have to grow up with the joys and pains, freedoms and traumas of having Dave Maclure as their father. In other words, fingers are pointing at me as much as to anyone else. This is at the basis of my faith as a Christian - all of us fall far short of the perfect standards required of a perfect God. This brings a possible answer to the second question above: how are we even supposed to live in this world? Well, as I see it, we begin to live in this world by looking to our Creator for guidance and salvation. In many ways, I have really struggled to maintain the disciplines of a Christian faith in Brazil mainly because kids knock you off your rhythm so frequently. However, I have never felt closer or more sure of my convictions as a Christian than in witnessing the many miracles that have surrounded the birth of my two children.

Things I miss about England #74: BBC news. As my Dad often says the British press are the best and worst press in the world. But, I'm sure they (save for the tabloids) would have dealt with the Isabella case in a more humane, impartial and level-headed way. The highly sensationalist accounts, the rather shallow journalism, the prime time interviews with the chief suspects and the violent scrum of cameras and microphones that accompanied the hand-cuffed, straight-jacketed parents had more in common with a Hollywood thriller than any John Humphreys Radio 4 piece. The problem was, I believe all this contributed to a mob mentality which resulted in some unfortunate and bizarre behaviour from the public. The apartment block where the killing occurred became a tourist attraction for hundreds of people to go and have their pic taken. Any car that came in or out of the block was set upon with billboards and stones. It was like something out of the Simpsons movie. Most unfortunately, "copy-cat" attempted murders of children allegedly occurred in different areas of Brazil.

Things I love about Brazil #99: soap operas. OK, so I don't really like Brazilian soap operas (except to help with my Portuguese) although Brazilians are famous for them, especially in China and Portugal apparently. Soap Operas here differ from the English variety by being always about the wealthiest sectors of society (Coronation Street / East Enders this is not) and they have a fixed duration usually of several weeks or months (Coronation Street / East Enders this is not). Anyway, the media circus surrounding the Isabella case utilised and pandered to Brazilians best soap opera-loving sentiments...

Gloria's status update: Gloria is sleeping. I've updated my post from a few days ago to include my daughter's weight and size details - important elements of information which some people like to know and I didn't have on me at the time.

Coming soon. The true story of how a famous Brazilian pop singer made a special trip to visit us in our home in order to see Gloria.

Laptop trouble. My laptop died a death a few months back and now the screen on Rachel's has gone on the blink. Until we get it repaired I am using my mother-in-laws to write these posts. What I'm saying is, my posts may be intermitent and sporadic in the next few weeks so bare with us! Stay tuned.

24 hours later. Even more amazing than Natal's floods is the fact that they dissapear so quickly. Wednesday was followed by a very bright and sunny Thursday with no standing water around. See the before and after picture of the football pitch that had the car in. The Thursday picture was taken less than 24 hours after the Wednesday one.

Pictures. Some snaps of various things including ur trip to Pipa (see last entry) and from the Great Britain project my students did a few weeks back can be viewed here.

Crime and Punishment. I have been teaching various groups the vocabulary of crime and punishment in English. What's the difference between kidnap and hijack, weapon and gun, steal and rob, mug and assault, confess and accuse, convict and condemn? Easy for us, not so easy for a Brazilian. One amusing thing that came out of all this was several students independently told me they had had their baseball caps nicked. It seems a funny thing to steal but they are worn exposed to the elements and perhaps one could get a couple of bob for a good one at the market down town. One student of mine, Alberto, had his nicked when a kid swiped it and ran off a bus. A week later, having bought a new version of the same cap, it was thiefed by a passing cyclist who lifted it right off Alberto's scalp before peddling off leaving Alberto fuming in his wake. Alberto says he doesn't bother buying baseball caps anymore.

In any case, the crime in Natal is really not a major concern compared to other capital cities in Brazil. And yet, early on a Saturday morning, we found ourselves to be almost the victims of domestic burglary. Nelson woke up at 5am and wanted me to play with him. He requested his supply of cars be replenished so I dutifully went downstairs to get more toys only to see a man tip-toeing around our front patio. Without really stopping to think of the consequences, I thumped on the window and bellowed as loud as I could in any language I could think of. I opened the screen door, pounded over the tiles and chased him out the gate in just my undies. Complete with my gruff unshaven look I later supposed the total effect would've seen off a standing army. Anyway, he and an accomplice had already made it to the corner at the end of the street but to my relief they didn't seem to be carrying anything in their hands. At this point, Rachel came shooting downstairs looking like she expected to see the four horsemen of the apocalypse and was relieved when it was "only" robbers and that Nelson was OK in his bedroom and I hadn't tumbled down the stairs and broken my face.

Our thieves were probably 2 minutes from getting the bike through the gate so, thanks to Nelson ultimately, they didn't get away with anything. They had jimmied the gate with a crowbar (so we'll need to get a proper lock for that) and had spotted the bikes behind our parked cars. So, it made for a great story to tell my students this morning, and, of course, it was great vocab practice for them.

Surveymonkey.com I discovered quite a handy website this week when my good friend Jawad (who was one of my best friends at Turi in Kenya and now a facebook pal) sent me a link to complete a survey for him on ethical purchasing. He is somehow involved in setting up a business that distributes African clothes at a fair price to the producers. Anyway, if you have five minutes and if this subject area interests you, please help him out by taking his survey here. So impressed was I with surveymonkey.com which organises everything for people to do online surveys (for free!) that I have started using it as a way for students to submit homework online. I also made a very quick survey of my own to try and get a better picture on people´s blogging "habits". Please check it out too if you have a few minutes to spare. Much obliged!