. July 12. 2008 SouthAmerica: Lulaâs interesting choice of words: âBrazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Thursday applauded Vietnamâs wartime success against the US as a âvictory of the oppressed.â ******* âBrazilian president lauds Vietnamâs war victory, recoveryâ Thamhmien News â July 12, 2008 Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Thursday applauded Vietnamâs wartime success against the US as a âvictory of the oppressed.â Lula and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet also pledged to support each other in the bid for greater representation of developing nations in the global political and trade arenas. The Brazilian leader, on a one-day visit after attending the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Japan, went to the mausoleum of the late President Ho Chi Minh and laid a wreath at the war veteransâ memorial. âWhat Vietnam did was much more than winning the war and deserves the respect of all of mankind,â the former leftist union leader said, after he was received with military honors at the presidential palace. âYour victory was a victory of the oppressed and we feel proud of it,â he said, according to a translation of his speech provided by his delegation. Lula also praised the post-war economic recovery of the unified Vietnam, which has seen annual growth rates of more than 7 percent for the past decade and rapidly reduced poverty to less than 20 percent of its population. âVietnamese people have always known how to defend their sovereignty and independence,â Lula said. âWith the same perseverance with which it achieved its independence, Vietnam distinguishes itself with the good performance and the high growth rates of its economy.â Ministers for both sides signed cooperation agreements on fighting poverty, in science and technology, and in sports development, and they also reaffirmed a pact to share experiences in developing biofuels. âCombating hunger and social exclusion is our number one priority,â said Lula, speaking for both countries. âWe have shown that itâs possible to maintain a certain balance between sustained and rapid economic growth and the reduction of social and regional inequalities.â Triet thanked Lula for supporting Vietnamâs 2007 World Trade Organization (WTO) accession and non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which it chairs this month. He also reaffirmed Vietnamâs support for Brazilâs bid for a permanent seat on the Security Council. Lula said he was certain âthat Vietnam shares with us the vision that global problems cannot be solved only by the main industrialized countries.â On global trade talks, where Brazil has led calls for a regime fairer to poor countries, Lula called Vietnam âan important ally in the struggle to put an end to distortions in international trade.â Lula also said ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Vietnam is a member, and South Americaâs Mercosur trading bloc will for the first time meet in November. On a lighter note, Triet complimented his guest on Brazilâs samba music, and Lula welcomed him to visit Brazil for the Carnival. It was the first visit by a Brazilian president since the countries established relations in 1989. Lula â traveling with aerospace, energy, mining, defense and other industry representatives â also joined a business meeting to find ways to boost two-way trade, which reached just over US$300 million last year. He held talks later with Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, who visited Brazil in May last year, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong. He also visited the legendary general Vo Nguyen Giap, now aged 96. Lula next visits Portuguese-speaking East Timor and Indonesia. Source: AFP News http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/?catid=1&newsid=40104 .
. July 12, 2008 SouthAmerica: Since I placed TraderZones on my ignore list - all his posting have disappeared just like magic. He is the only person on this forum that made my ignore list. I would not be surprised if he also qualified for the ignore list of other members of this forum. Trader Zones idea of making a point - use font size # 72. He thinks that the bigger the font size of each letter the more credibility he can achieve on his dribbles. Bye, Bye
Funny, you can put your own text in any size, and it still doesn't say anything of value. You put me on ignore, because you know your stuff is garbage, and cannot handle when someone challenges your constant insanity.
. July 22, 2008 SouthAmerica: A front page story on A Folha de Sao Paulo â a major newspaper in Brazil â said that the United States Department of State spent US$ 95, 000 trying to influence political reform in Brazil. What Americans canât grasp is that their political system is the one that is completely obsolete and broke. We donât need the American version of democracy - the US model better known as the two wings of the same bird. ******* 22/07/2008 - 04h08 âEUA tentaram influenciar reforma polÃtica do Brasilâ da Folha Online A Usaid, agência norte-americana ligada ao Departamento de Estado, gastou US$ 95 mil em 2005 para promover um seminário no Brasil sobre a reforma polÃtica brasileira, informa reportagem de Sérgio Dávila publicada na Folha. Entre os principais assuntos, o seminário buscava o fortalecimento de partidos pequenos no Brasil e o combate à infidelidade partidária. O principal grupo por trás da proposta era o IRI (Instituto Republicano Internacional), dirigido pelo candidato à Casa Branca John McCain. O evento, que aconteceu no Congresso brasileiro, deveria coincidir com a véspera da discussão do tema no Legislativo brasileiro --e um ano antes da reeleição de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva--, segundo documentos obtidos pela Lei de Liberdade de Informação norte-americana e passados à Folha por um pesquisador independente. Conhecido por envolvimento em polêmicas, o IRI esteve por trás dos grupos que derrubaram o então presidente do Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, em 2004, e comemorou o golpe que tirou do poder o venezuelano Hugo Chávez por algumas horas, em 2002. A organização nega as acusações. Source: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/brasil/ult96u424786.shtml .
Excellent Commentary....As Usual ............................................................................................... SouthAmerica wrote.... What Americans canât grasp is that their political system is the one that is completely obsolete and broke. .................................................................................................... Excellent post.......however the real issue here is how do Americans that want to change the political system change it ? In the past, as Gnome mentioned........Americans gave up their lives, jobs, houses, and families to make changes.... Today, one does not see this type of conviction. The question here would be what should Americans do to impose the proper changes ?
. July 22, 2008 SouthAmerica: When I posted that info it was 7 in the morning and I was very tired I had to go to bed to get some sleep. I wrote: What Americans canât grasp is that their political system is the one that is completely obsolete and broke. I know the system is also going broke, but I was trying to say: âWhat Americans canât grasp is that their political system is the one that is completely obsolete and broken.â You asked me: âhowever the real issue here is how do Americans that want to change the political system change it?â If Americans were serious about their desire about change and if they really wanted to do something constructive to rebuild the entire system then there is only one option available. For the first time Americans can revolt against the entire political machine that manipulates the voting system in the United States. The American people can say enough is enough and they can vote for real change and they can elect the most qualified candidate to be the next president of the United States. By far he is the smartest of the bunch that will be available for people to vote in November 2008 â he knows in detail like anyone else about every issue that is important for the lives on every American. He is by far the best qualified candidate that Americans could hope for â The only drawback is that he is too honest and Americans are not used to being told the truth and most Americans canât figure out anyway what is the truth and what is a major lie. These concepts are becoming interchangeable after 8 years of a Bush administration. And Americans canât figure out the difference between these concepts. Anyway, if Americans want real change and they are serious about the rebuilding of what is left of the US economy after 8 years of a disastrous Bush administration â then there is only one candidate to elect in November 2008 â his name is Ralph Nader. By electing Ralph Nader US president Americans would be choosing high quality, high character, someone with a higher intellect, someone with real substance, and someone that has been studying for a long time all the major issues that affects the daily lives of most Americans. In November 2008 the American people can say to the obsolete political machine that manipulates the political system in the United States we donât want the candidates that you guys are trying to shove down our throats such as: 1) A Dinosaur, or 2) a Rookie with no substance and real experience. The sad part is that most Americans are not smart enough to figure out how broken the political system is in the United States and they will vote for president anything that is shoveled down their throats by the corrupt system. Americans donât have the balls to revolt against this obsolete and corrupt system and vote for president for someone such as Ralph Nader. At the end of the day Americans deserve what is happening here in the United States â the collapse of most institutions, and the slow collapse of the entire system. As we say in the computer world garbage in, garbage out. What can I say this are the people who reelected someone such as George W. Bush - and for all practical purposes that summarizes in a nutshell the intellect level of the average American. .
. November 12, 2008 SouthAmerica: Article from front page of Folha de Sao Paulo of November 12, 2008. Here is another example of US declining power and influence in South America â The Russian navy will be doing military exercises right next door to the United States in the end of November 2008. ***** 11/11/2008 - 22h58 âGeneral venezuelano diz que navios russos não devem preocupar paÃses vizinhosâ da Efe, em Caracas O chefe do Comando Estratégico Operacional (CEO) venezuelano, general Jesús González, assegurou hoje que as manobras navais conjuntas com a Rússia não devem preocupar a nenhum paÃs vizinho nem afetarão as relações exteriores do paÃs. "Não há por que se preocupar, ninguém, em absoluto", disse o general González em entrevista concedida à agência Efe, em que qualificou de "muito boas" as relações com paÃses vizinhos como a Colômbia e descartou que os exercÃcios ponham em risco as relações exteriores da Venezuela. O oficial venezuelano fixou "para o final de novembro" a visita da frota russa, composta pelo cruzeiro de propulsão nuclear "Pedro, o Grande", o destróier "Almirante Chabanenko", um navio-tanque e outro de apoio. O general González acrescentou que os exercÃcios navais em águas territoriais venezuelanas do mar do Caribe poderiam durar "não mais de uma semana", apesar de não oferecer mais detalhes. Ele reiterou que a Venezuela não tem "nenhuma pretensão expansionista nem nada que se pareça" e que as manobras militares e compras de armamento que podem ser firmadas na visita do presidente russo Dmitri Medvedev têm unicamente o objetivo de garantir a "integridade territorial" da Venezuela. "Nossa integridade territorial é absolutamente prioritária (...). Queremos ser suficientemente dissuasivos para assegurar-nos de que nosso espaço territorial está garantido", precisou. ExercÃcios O general González explicou que as manobras consistirão em exercÃcios de "comunicações, trabalhos de patrulhamento, salvamento, ou de navegação própria", e que com elas está previsto a "troca tecnológica", ou a 'aproximação das tripulações', tudo isso "no marco de cenários de cooperação" entre os dois paÃses. Apesar não precisar as datas, o general González disse que a frota russa deve atracar no porto da Guaira, próximo a Caracas e que "está aberta a possibilidade" de os cidadãos venezuelanos visitarem algum dos navios. A visita de Medvedev está fixada para 26 de novembro, três dias depois das eleições locais e regionais, e pode acertar a compra de armamento russo que incluiria um número indefinido de tanques T-72M e carros blindados de infantaria BMP-3, assinalou. Acrescentou que também estuda a possibilidade de adquirir plataformas de lançamento de mÃsseis, sistemas de defesa antiaérea TOR-1, submarinos, aviões-patrulha e helicópteros. Armas russas O general González reiterou que as compras têm unicamente uma vocação "defensiva" com que pretende resolver "carências históricas" da Força Armada Nacional (FAN). Além disso, indicou que a necessidade de recorrer à Rússia é fruto da recusa dos Estados Unidos de permitir que a Venezuela adquira elementos com tecnologia militar deles. Entre 2005 e 2007, Venezuela e Rússia assinaram 12 contratos de compra de armas russas no valor de US$ 4,4 bilhões para adquirir 24 caças-bombardeiros Sukhoi-30, 50 helicópteros MIM-17, MI-26 e MIM-35, e 100 mil fuzis Kalashnikov AK-103. Source: http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/mundo/ult94u466722.shtml .