Comments for Until World Gets Internationalized the Amazon Belongs to Brazilians Alone at http://www.brazzil.com , comment 1 to 31 out of 20 comments http://www.brazzil.com Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:42:24 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34508 Our good friend Forrest is somewhere in the South China Sea. He is to stay in that region for another four months. Would appreciate if you could attend him (well), when he drops by in K-in-Pur. Thanks - João da Silva Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:01:42 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34486 the new middle east “Hegemony is as old as Mankind…” -Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. National Security Advisor Ladies and Gentlemen I'd like to introduce you to the NEW middle east that the U.S is planning on. This new middle east will create new nations, reduce the size of others. The new middle east threatens the delicate balance that exists between a variety of groups, races, and religions. It will probably take many years for this to be completed but as some of you may know thats what they also said about the 'war on terror'. The term “New Middle East” was introduced to the world in June 2006 in Tel Aviv by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who was credited by the Western media for coining the term) in replacement of the older and more imposing term, the “Greater Middle East.” Prime Minister Olmert and Secretary Rice had informed the international media that a project for a “New Middle East” was being launched from Lebanon . This announcement was a confirmation of an Anglo-American-Israeli “military roadmap” in the Middle East . This project, which has been in the planning stages for several years, consists in creating an arc of instability, chaos, and violence extending from Lebanon , Palestine , and Syria to Iraq , the Persian Gulf, Iran , and the borders of NATO-garrisoned Afghanistan. The “New Middle East” project was introduced publicly by Washington and Tel Aviv with the expectation that Lebanon would be the pressure point for realigning the whole Middle East and thereby unleashing the forces of “constructive chaos.” This “constructive chaos” --which generates conditions of violence and warfare throughout the region-- would in turn be used so that the United States , Britain , and Israel could redraw the map of the Middle East in accordance with their geo-strategic needs and objectives. Secretary Condoleezza Rice stated during a press conference that “[w]hat we’re seeing here [in regards to the destruction of Lebanon and the Israeli attacks on Lebanon], in a sense, is the growing—the ‘birth pangs’—of a ‘New Middle East’ and whatever we do we [meaning the United States] have to be certain that we’re pushing forward to the New Middle East [and] not going back to the old one.”1 Secretary Rice was immediately criticized for her statements both within Lebanon and internationally for expressing indifference to the suffering of an entire nation, which was being bombed indiscriminately by the Israeli Air Force. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s speech on the "New Middle East" had set the stage. The Israeli attacks on Lebanon --which had been fully endorsed by Washington and London-- have further compromised and validated the existence of the geo-strategic objectives of the United States , Britain , and Israel . According to Professor Mark Levine the “neo-liberal globalizers and neo-conservatives, and ultimately the Bush Administration, would latch on to creative destruction as a way of describing the process by which they hoped to create their new world orders,” and that “creative destruction [in] the United States was, in the words of neo-conservative philosopher and Bush adviser Michael Ledeen, ‘an awesome revolutionary force’ for (…) creative destruction…” The whole thing is relatively simple, divide and conquer. It seems clear that the 3rd world war, will not be like past 2 major world wars. Instead it would be a slow war, that will take many years, in order to achieve a common goal between Israel, U.S and Britain. The creation of a "Kurdistan" for instance would be heavily opposed by first and foremost Turkey, a NATO ally of the united states and basically the only Muslim nation that has relatively good ties with Israel. Not only that but Iraq, along with Iran, which also would lose territory according to the map would oppose a "Kurdistan". This is simply a small percentage of the entire project which will attempt to change the middle east not just in its geography but also structurally. The already strong anti-American dissent in the middle east and in fact all around the world is strong. the more people find out about the destructive 'new middle east' project the more the dissents will become. When the world screams for peace, our leaders do the exact opposite. An estimated 600,000 (conservatively) iraqis have lost their lives in the latest iraq war and they continue to do so. From the eyes that look at it all from a distant can clearly see that what ever happens, happens to the weak and the poor, after all, it is not Bush, or a congressman that sends their sons to war. the whole situation is so messed up it would take too long to cover it all. simply put, do you research, dont rely on fox news or any other mainstream news source, put the pieces together and you will see a picture forming. peace. - angelina jolie Mon, 24 Mar 2008 23:34:48 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34235 Part 2 Andre, the obvious question is the anthropocentric value of the Amazon, nature as a mean to provide a service to us. We as a society have not come-yet to appreciate its biological value. Much of the Environmental Land Ethics developed by the Aldo Leopold, has not reached the Brazilian frontal lobe cortex. Brazilians believe in sustainable development in the Amazon, however in biodiversity rich areas (specially places with high endemism sustainable agricultural practice is unreal). The slash/burn and poor crop rotation, badly developed agro-management will further increase the need of more fertilizers, which in turn will contaminate the rivers and more incursions deep into the forests. The megaprojects in the Amazon failed because the government did not follow up with environmental impact assessment (as ordered by CONAM). INCRA, continues to go above the law and will settle more people in the region. Now IBAMA wants to allow Brazilians to own certain wildlife species as pets. Say goodbye to our birds...Brazil is a joke, and it will always be. Question number one? The landless movement has settled around 350,000 people, why is that rural poverty still rampant in Brazil? - Shelly2 Tue, 11 Mar 2008 04:15:15 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34158 I think one threat to Amazonia is the lack of knowledge, among Brazilains, of its biodiversity. One way to intall some respect and get the attention of Brazilians on the issue would be to make them aware of what they stand to lose. Amazonia is not just a functional resource providing "ecosystem services" to an internationalized world (in fact research show that its role as a carbon sink may not be that significant, with algal blooms in the oceans soaking up most of the problem), it's home to a unique variaty of wired and wonderful things, which Brazilians should value for their own sake, like they value a song by Chico Buarque or a painting by Tarsila do Amaral. We need to develop a culture which admires and strives to understand all the riches contained, not only in Amazonia, but also the Cerrado and all other great Brazilian biomes. Obvisously, this in not the "answer" but it at least mey be part of suite of solutions needed. - André Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:42:26 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34086 [quote]Brazil needs to simplify its’ tax system, and also the process of incorporating a new business. In the age of globalization, they have to speed up the process, and make it easier for people to start a new business – and also to operate it after the business has been started. I have too much stuff to read most of the time. [/quote] Well said Ricardo. It is not worth wasting your time reading about a half arsed plan to reform the tax system.Probably you will get depressed! I am trying to understand the proposal and following it up in the National news papers.Once it is finalized, I will send you the appropriate link for your comments. Thanks for giving the names of two books you are reading and providing excerpts from them. I think that the book " Bad Samaritans" is a must read for all our planning Ministers (We have at least three)! - João da Silva Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:25:59 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34081 . Here is some info about the other book: Book Review: “Bad Samaritans” The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism By Ha-Joon Chang BLOOMSBURY PRESS; 276 PAGES – Published 2008 By: Tom Gallagher Sunday, February 3, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle The people referred to in the title of Ha-Joon Chang's book, "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism," are advisers from rich nations who tell poor countries to embrace free-trade policies that rich nations themselves never practiced. Quoting a 19th century German economist on the British, Chang writes that today's rich nations are effectively "kicking away the ladder ... in order to deprive others of the means of climbing up" after them. But the history of capitalism has been so thoroughly rewritten, Chang says, that most of these "Bad Samaritans" suffer a form of "historical amnesia" and "do not even realize that they are hurting the developing countries with their policies." New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman comes in for prime attention from Chang as "Amnesiac-in-Chief," as the very title of his best-selling homage to free trade, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," betrays his ignorance of even the not-so-distant past. Friedman wrote that it was a visit to a Toyota Lexus factory in Japan that got him thinking about the importance of weaning the undeveloped world from arguing "over who owns which olive tree" (which is how he characterized matters in the Middle East), and onto a path that might one day allow them to produce luxury cars. He concluded that these countries will need to fit themselves into the "Golden Straitjacket," a regimen of privatization, free trade and low government spending otherwise known as the "Washington Consensus." The path is "not always pretty or gentle or comfortable. But it's here and it's the only model on the rack this historical season." The irony, the South Korean-born economist Chang notes, is that "the Japanese government kicked out General Motors and Ford in 1939," subsequently bailed out Toyota with public money, and even then, the company failed badly with its first U.S. export attempts in 1958. Yet Japan persevered in its support of the industry, with the result that "today, Japanese cars are considered as 'natural' as Scottish salmon or French wine," but "had the country donned Friedman's Golden Straitjacket early on, Japan would have remained the third-rate industrial power that it was in the 1960s, with its income on a par with Chile, Argentina and South Africa. ... In other words ... the Japanese would now not be exporting the Lexus but still be fighting over who owns which mulberry tree." As Chang describes the way it really was, you realize how amazing it is that free market ideologues have been able to shoehorn Great Britain into a free-trade version of world history, given that it rose to economic dominance while building a world empire. "The truth," he writes, "is that the free movement of goods, people, and money that developed under British hegemony between 1870 and 1913 - the first episode of globalization - was made possible, in large part, by military might, rather than market forces." And this period of imperial free trade followed long years of high tariffs and careful protection and nurturing of selected British industries, including the banning of superior textile imports from India, blocking the Irish wool industry from exporting to foreign nations, and prohibiting the American iron industry from competing with the mother country. No less an authority than Adam Smith advised the Americans not to take up manufacturing. One American who was having none of that, Chang points out, was Alexander Hamilton, who became the country's first treasury secretary and implemented an array of policies to protect the country's "infant industries" (a term coined by Hamilton): "protective tariffs and import bans; subsidies; export ban on key raw materials; import liberalization of and tariff rebates on industrial inputs; prizes and patents for inventions; regulation of product standards; and development of financial and transportation infrastructures." …"Market and democracy clash at the fundamental level," Chang writes. "Democracy runs on the principle of 'one man (one person), one vote.' The market runs on the principle of 'one dollar, one vote.' " Chang's point may seem obvious, yet it is one infrequently made, due, presumably, to the power of wealthy individuals and nations. But just as obvious is Chang's conclusion that if developing countries "want to leave poverty behind" and nurture their fledgling industries just as today's rich nations once did, "they have to defy the market." Source: [url]http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/03/RVAGUAM9D.DTL&feed=rss.books[/url] . . - Ricardo Amaral Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:41:32 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34080 You asked me: “btw, are you reading about the government´s proposal for the "reforma tributária"? If so, what do you think of it?” Ricardo: No – I don’t have been reading anything regarding that subject. Brazil needs to simplify its’ tax system, and also the process of incorporating a new business. In the age of globalization, they have to speed up the process, and make it easier for people to start a new business – and also to operate it after the business has been started. I have too much stuff to read most of the time. Right now I just started reading the book:”Bad Samaritans” – The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. – By Ha-Joon Chang. – Published in 2008. After that I will be reading “The Black swan.” Here is some info about that book: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb Published in 2007 Taleb is the philosopher of randomness who coined the phrase "known unknowns", made famous by Donald Rumsfeld. Born in Lebanon, he was shocked at how quickly this "stable paradise" degenerated into civil war. As a Wall Street analyst, he experienced the stock market crash of black Monday on October 19 1987. The unexpectedness of these events convinced him our view of the world was wrong. Our minds are "incapable of accepting the idea of unpredictability". We may not realise it but the world is dominated by "the extreme, the unknown, and the very improbable". Taleb argues that "highly improbable consequential events" - aka black swans - shape history. He scorns those economists who reduce the complexity of events to universal equations and neatly plotted bell curves. According to Taleb, in the era of globalisation, we are more vulnerable to "explosive" black swans. "I shiver at the thought," says Taleb, speculating on the scale of the next economic crisis. The Black Swan is bombastic and pugnacious, yet the essence of this over-long book - that we should expect the unexpected - is timely and important. *** Here is further information about the book: "The Black Swan" The Impact of the Highly Improbable A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives. Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to Taleb, is that humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don’t know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate opportunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the “impossible.” For years, Taleb has studied how we fool ourselves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We restrict our thinking to the irrelevant and inconsequential, while large events continue to surprise us and shape our world. Now, in this revelatory book, Taleb explains everything we know about what we don’t know. He offers surprisingly simple tricks for dealing with black swans and benefiting from them. Elegant, startling, and universal in its applications The Black Swan will change the way you look at the world. Taleb is a vastly entertaining writer, with wit, irreverence, and unusual stories to tell. He has a polymathic command of subjects ranging from cognitive science to business to probability theory. The Black Swan is a landmark book–itself a black swan. About the Author Nassim Nicholas Taleb has devoted his life to immersing himself in problems of luck, uncertainty, probability, and knowledge. Part literary essayist, part empiricist, part no-nonsense mathematical trader, he is currently taking a break as Dean’s Professor in the Sciences of Uncertainty at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His last book, the bestseller Fooled by Randomness, has been published in nineteen languages. Taleb lives mostly in New York. .. - Ricardo A Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:13:33 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34075 Joao, Help me!!! my phone lines are being tapped and there are 2 black cars parked outside!!! Anyways have a good week as well...Jon - jon Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:02:19 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34072 [quote]Joao, what’s all this Bilderberg nonsense? Where did this come from? [/quote] It came from Jon, our on-line expert on conspiracies. While I was posting my comments on the thread "Obama wins primary in Brazil by a landslide", he came out with the vital info that Bilderberg folks are controlling the minds of the Brazilians and convincing them to vote for Obama. Jon also discovered that this group was meeting in Ottawa last week and we immediately came to the conclusion that you are one of the most important members of this exclusive club. [quote]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1070329053600562261&q=alex jones&total=10706&start=0&num= 10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 [/quote] Thanks for providing us with this link. The video runs for 2 hrs and 19 mins and on a night when I have insomnia, I will finish watching it. I think Jon´s real name is Alex Jones. [quote]I get all my news and views from the magazine “Caras”.[/quote] No wonder you are extremely well informed. I think all our fellow bloggers should subscribe to it. [quote]Happy Saturday, the rain has stopped[/quote] Thanks and I hope you had a wonderful week end. Now it has started raining again. Have a great week. - João da Silva Sun, 02 Mar 2008 20:48:00 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34051 [quote]I thought you knew that our kids are the best hackers in the world. That means that we have a bunch of smart kids.[/quote] No, it means you have a bunch of misguided and bored kids with no enforceable laws to stop or refocus them. The smartest IT folks the world over, by anyone’s measuring stick, are from India but you don’t see them wasting time hacking sites or creating viruses for shits n giggles, they’re too busy designing AI systems, making millions and prgramming the future. Only in Brazil would the prevalence of an illegal activity be used to gauge intelligence. Go figure. [quote] I find it interesting the fact that the Brazilian hackers are so much smarter than the hackers of other countries.[/quote] Joao, what’s all this Bilderberg nonsense? Where did this come from? Is your tinfoil hat on straight? Relax, with the great American “Alex Jones” on the case the Bilderberg’s days are numbered. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1070329053600562261&q=alex jones&total=10706&start=0&num= 10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 That leaves the Illuminati to be dealt with. Muuhooohaaahhaaa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyN1O-GwALI&feature=related [quote]A serious accusation I have against Gringo is that he is buying out all the books I want to read from the book store called "Saraiva".[/quote] I get all my news and views from the magazine “Caras”. It must be someone else buying up all the Britney and Paris biographies from Saraiva. Or maybe it’s part of the Bilderberg conspiracy? Things that make you go …hmmmmmm? Happy Saturday, the rain has stopped, the beach beckons. Toodeloo. - Gringo Sat, 01 Mar 2008 11:57:35 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34050 [quote]I just finished reading the above article by Chris Buarque – He is supposed to be an economist his idea about the Amazonas it is a terrible idea.[/quote] I think that he being an Economist, the good Senator could analyze Unger´s plan for the Amazons and give us his opinion. btw, are you reading about the government´s proposal for the "reforma tributária"? If so, what do you think of it? - João da Silva Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:34:01 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34047 also ranking in: Top malware countries: Russia, China, US, Brazil, UKRussia now occupies number one spot on Sophos malware ranking list with 27.4% of malware, slightly ahead of China on 27%. Both leave the US trailing in third with 10.1%, Brazil on 6.6%, and the UK with 5.32%. ZDNet, February 25, 2008 20:05 GMT 01 http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/?p=13995 - jon Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:47:35 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34046 . I have recovered from the flu, and I am feeling much better. Thank you for asking. I just finished reading the above article by Chris Buarque – He is supposed to be an economist his idea about the Amazonas it is a terrible idea. A big chunk of the Amazonas belongs to Brazil, and should stay that way. I thought you knew that our kids are the best hackers in the world. That means that we have a bunch of smart kids. . - Ricardo Amaral Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:23:00 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34045 (but the Amazon is the "lungs of the world"....) The Brazilian government has endorsed burning of the Amazon in hopes of flushing out rocker Sting who disappeared in the Amazon in the late 1980's. The singer you see on the current reunited Police world tour is his twin brother Stung. - jon Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:37:19 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34043 [quote]You and Gringo live in the same city?? Will the Bilderbergs be coming soon?? [/quote] It is true that we live in the same city. I owe him 3 rounds of cold ones (You have not been keeping track our comments). A serious accusation I have against Gringo is that he is buying out all the books I want to read from the book store called "Saraiva". I heard that Gringo stuck a deal with Steve Harper to take over the Bilderbergs, which good ole Steve readily accepted and he is supposed to visit us soon. Our killer whales are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Bilderbergs ;D - João da Silva Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:35:54 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34042 Joao, You and Gringo live in the same city?? Will the Bilderbergs be coming soon?? - jon Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:03:03 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34041 [quote]Gringo was also busy clearing his driveway of all that snow up in El Norte....[/quote] Poor Gringo. Must be busy right now preparing his boat to evacuate his second home, since it is raining cats and dogs in his adopted city. If he needs any assistance, I am willing to give him a hand ;) Did you know that we both live in the same city? - João da Silva Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:20:01 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34040 Hi Ricardo, It is great to hear from you and thanks for the article. I did not know that our boys and girls in the Hi-Tech field have gone into hacking which, in my opinion, can be classified as a "Net Crime". I was always under the impression that the teenagers all over the world were involved in it and figured that these ruffians could be organized as a "Net Force" to prevent cyber crimes regardless of their nationalities. Not many people know that the Brazilians developed the Electronic Voting Machine, which still functions efficiently (at least in Brazil). Now that our software engineers have no more challenges, they have gone on to hacking!! [quote]That shows to the world the potential of the Brazilian brain power. [/quote] I never disputed about the Brazilian Brain Power and in all my posts I always stressed that we have plenty. But, we have a big problem that is called "Managerial Power". You being an MBA, would understand it perfectly. Our Military understood it well and put personnel with "Leadership Quality" in key positions. Now we have politicians that want to "tirar o cú da reta", when they have to take some hard decisions.Cris Buarque is one of them and I think Thaddeus Blanchette hit the nail right on the head. Summarizing, our Brain Power will go wasted unless the idiots in power start listening to the ones that have it.I don't think that Guido and Cris are the right people (I refuse to cite other names). Anyway, it was great hearing from you and hope you have gotten rid of that nasty cold. - João da Silva Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:00:48 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34039 [quote]Y'know, Chris, if you'd have spent half as much effort on your old job as education minister as you do writing this sort of holier-than-thou pablum, we'd be well on our way to becoming a technological superpower by now.[/quote] Well said and I am not contesting your statement this time! - João da Silva Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:55:20 +0100 http://www.brazzil.com/articles/188-february-2008/10043.html#comment-34038 How are you Joao? I just posted a new piece on the forum of Brazzil magazine that you might enjoy reading it. It is about the coming presidential election in the United States and how some political websites might be vulnerable to the international hackers attacks. You will find the entire article interesting because of the impact that might have in the United States. Do you know if the Brazilian hackers still are considered to be the best hackers in the world? Do you know how these international hackers keep score of their hacking competitions? I find it interesting the fact that the Brazilian hackers are so much smarter than the hackers of other countries. Are these hackers mostly teenagers? That shows to the world the potential of the Brazilian brain power. Here is the article that I mentioned to you: Daily Kos website and the International Hackers Game. [url]http://brazzilbrief.com/viewtopic.php?p=335481#335481[/url] Enjoy the article. . . - Ricardo Amaral Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:34:47 +0100