. March 29, 2006 SouthAmerica: The first Brazilian astronaut will be launched into space aboard a Russian spacecraft on Wednesday, March 29, 2006. ******** âFirst Brazilian astronaut ready for space flightâ Peopleâs Daily â China March 29, 2006 Brazil's first astronaut Marcos Pontes is to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) on Russia's Soyuz spaceship with a Russian-US crew on March 29. The Brazilian is now receiving training at Russia' space training center near Moscow. ⦠Russian president Putin agreed to help Brazil resume its space flight plan and rebuild the rocket launch center during his visit to Brazil in November 2004. .
The astronaut is just hitching a ride with the Russians. Brazil has achieved nothing. Anybody with enough money can do this.
how long did it take india to have us on our knees begging for their computer experts to help us with complicated tasks like turning computers on. some modesty klansmen, more of that and people will see you for the assholes you really are.
. Nick Leeson Jr: Hey Brazil, welcome to the 1960s. ***** March 29, 2006 SouthAmerica: The Brazilian space program is moving into the future just like the Chinese program. But where the US space program stands today? Is the US Shuttle going to explode in the way up or on re-entry? And if they manage to lift the Shuttle into space the US astronauts spend their time in space trying to fix their old and obsolete spacecraft â and they hope they will be able to return to earth in one piece. If you knew anything about the current Brazilian space program you would not be saying that the Brazilian program is in the 1960âs. Brazil has the capability of launching the most modern satellites that we have today. Sure we still donât have the capability of sending a bunch of astronauts all the way to the moon to collect a few rocks and return to earth. Brazil is positioning itself to be in a very good financial position in the coming years. In the meantime the US will be swamped with debt at least $ 11 trillion dollars in cumulative outstanding debt as of today (Federal, State and local governments) plus the baby boomer debt that is coming due and it will add to at least another estimated $ 70 trillion dollars on top on the current outstanding debt. For all practical purposes the US government is insolvent and will not have the cash flow to pay the debt that is coming due. In the other hand: Brazil and China will quickly advance its space program â one designed for the 21st century and not the one that you have in mind. Brazil and China will leap frog its program into the future. In the meantime the US space program is in shambles and represent the past and not the future. ******* Sputdr: The astronaut is just hitching a ride with the Russians. Brazil has achieved nothing. ****** SouthAmerica: This is a first time in space and a trial run on a Russian spacecraft, but in the near future a Brazilian astronaut will be launched into space in a Brazilian spacecraft â similar to the one that the Chinese launched recently. One step at the time and the Brazilian space program will get there â donât forget that Brazil also launches satellites for a number of other countries. It is a matter of time for Brazil to be in the leading edge of space technology. Brazil and China are getting into the space business with the new and latest in technologies - and you will be able to see the results in the coming years. Today the "US space program" is best known for its suspense and adrenaline rush â Is the US Shuttle going to explode on the way up or on the way down? Make your bets. .
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Uncertainty over how Brazil's new finance minister will oversee Latin America's largest economy sent its currency and stocks tumbling, despite assurances he will maintain the policies of his predecessor who resigned amid an embarrassing scandal. Brazil's real plunged 1.8 percent against the U.S. dollar Tuesday and stocks on Sao Paulo's benchmark Bovespa index fell 2.5 percent, a day after Finance Minister Antonio Palocci left his post and was replaced by Guido Mantega, president of Brazil's National Development Bank. Repeated pledges by Mantega to maintain the orthodox monetary policies of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government did little to reassure investors, who for the first time in years worried the government may waver in its commitment to taming inflation and nurturing slow and sustainable growth. Their biggest concerns are that Mantega may reduce sky-high interest rates too quickly to keep inflation, currently at 5.5 percent, in check, and may increase government spending to boost economic growth as Silva prepares for his anticipated re-election bid. Mantega sought to calm the markets, promising to continue the government's efforts to cap spending and battle inflation. However, Brazil's new finance minister has previously criticized the high interest-rate policy of Brazil's Central Bank, leading investors to flee for safety amid fears that Mantega may sacrifice fiscal and monetary control in a quest for more rapid economic growth and the jobs for tens of millions of Brazilians immersed in poverty. "The market was, and still is, waiting for proof that he won't change policy," said Miriam Tavares of the AGK brokerage in Sao Paulo. Brazil's presidential election is in October, and analysts say opposition leaders may use the new scandal to try to hurt Silva and his Workers Party. That could force him to court his leftist base with populist economic policies loathed by financial players and Wall Street. "This year's presidential election has become market-moving, " said Christopher Garman, a Latin America analyst with the Eurasia Group. The real closed below the psychologically important level of 2.2-to-the-dollar, and is now 5 percent below its five-year high of 2.11 set on March 16, just before the scandal involving Palocci started escalating. Stocks fell across sectors on the Bovespa index, which fell to 36,682 from 37,641 Monday, leaving the index down 6.5 percent from its all-time high of 39,239 set on March 3. Helping to drive the declines were comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve interpreted as indications that U.S. interest rates may rise, which could lead investors to take money out of emerging markets like Brazil and park it in the United States. Foreign investors had poured money into Brazilian equities and debt in recent years, attracted by Brazil's relative economic stability as well as higher interest rates and returns than they could get in the United States. The new volatility could continue until investors see how Mantega operates because "his views about the long term seem rather nebulous," said Adauto Lima, chief economist at the Brazilian unit of West LB bank. In a note to clients, JP Morgan Chase & Co. said Brazil seems stable for now, but added that "the economic performance of an eventual second Lula administration is now more uncertain." Palocci faces accusations of frequenting a house in Brasilia where lobbyists held parties with prostitutes and money arrived by the suitcase, possibly for political payoffs. He denies the accusations and ever setting foot in the house. The scandal turned into a political time bomb last week after bank records from the witness who placed Palocci at the house were leaked from the state-owned Caixa Economica Federal bank. The bank's president, Jorge Mattoso, told police he personally handed the records to Palocci, whose ministry oversees the bank. Mattoso was charged with violating bank secrecy laws, and Justice Minister Thomaz Bastos said Palocci would be investigated as part of the police probe. At a ceremony in Brasilia to hand power over to Mantega, Palocci did not directly address the allegations but suggested he was the victim of political persecution. During Palocci's tenure, Brazil's economy saw increased jobs and a reduction in the double-digit inflation.