"That means first working out what they are".Mr Barbosa says Brazil takes seriously the charge that it only criticises and never proposes.
The prime minister has only criticised the joyful scenes when Megrahi landed at Tripoli airport, saying he was "repulsed" and "angry" at the hero's welcome.
"We only criticise women's clothing," Susannah finishes off, "and how it's not flattering to the great parts of their body.
As for Christensen, it is an article of faith on Jersey that he only criticises the island because, in 1998, he did not get a promotion.
And the governor only criticised that man-made law, "because no true Muslim," every single politician, journalist, pundit was at pains to point out, "can even think of committing blasphemy against the Holy Prophet".
She not only criticises their aesthetic but also crosses social boundaries by maintaining a friendship with her housemaid and her housemaid's husband, a jack-of-all-trades who is a communist sympathiser.
A couple of liberal TV journalists almost stumbled over their words trying to explain that the governor had never committed any act that could be called blasphemous, he had only criticised a law.
Martin Broughton, chairman of British Airways and president of the CBI, not only criticised Mr Brown's policies and record but also praised David Cameron, the Conservative leader, for creating a strong "electable opposition" with views on business that are "well in synch with ours".Such words are heard with increasing frequency in British boardrooms these days.
The MDC worries that the election will flunk most of them but that SADC will do no more than tut.Last week, Tanzania's President Benjamin Mkapa denied that Zimbabwe was ill-governed, blamed the MDC for the "trouble" there and suggested that westerners only criticise Mr Mugabe because he has seized white-owned land and given it to blacks.
