Brazil

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Endovelico
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Re: Brazil

Post by Endovelico »

Brazil builds its own fiber optic network to avoid the NSA
by Simon Black on November 11, 2014

This past week Brazil announced that it will be building a 3,500-mile fiber-optic cable to Portugal in order to avoid the grip of the NSA.

What’s more, they announced that not a penny of the $185 million expected to be spent on the project will go to American firms, simply because they don’t want to take any chances that the US government will tap the system.

It’s incredible how far now individuals, corporations, and even governments are willing to go to protect themselves from the government of the Land of the Free.

The German government, especially upset by the discovery of US spying within its borders, has come up with a range of unique methods to block out prying ears.

They have even gone so far as to play classical music loudly over official meetings so as to obfuscate the conversation for any outside listeners.

They’ve also seriously contemplated the idea of returning back to typewriters to eliminate the possibilities of computer surveillance.

More practically, the government of Brazil has banned the use of Microsoft technologies in all government offices, something that was also done in China earlier this year.

The Red, White, and Blue Scare has now replaced the Red Scare of the Cold War era. And it comes at serious cost.

From Brazil’s rejection of American IT products alone, it is estimated that American firms will lose out on over $35 billion in revenue over the next two years.

Thus, as the foundation of the country’s moral high-ground begins to falter, so does its economic strength.

The irony should not be lost on anyone; on a day when Americans celebrate their veterans’ courage in fighting against the forces of tyranny in the world, we find yet another example of where the rest of the world sees the source of tyranny today.

It’s amazing how much things have changed.

In the past, the world trusted America with so much responsibility.

The US dollar was the world’s reserve currency. The US banking system formed the foundation of the global banking system. US technology became the backbone of the global Internet.

But the US government has been abusing this trust for decades.

Today the rest of the world realizes they no longer need to rely on the US as they once did.

And in light of so much abuse and mistrust, they’re eagerly creating their own solutions.

Just imagine—if Brazil is building its own fiber optic cable to avoid the NSA, it stands to reason that they would create their own alternatives in the financial system to directly compete with the IMF and the US dollar.

Oh wait, they’re already doing that too. Fool me twice, shame on me.

http://www.sovereignman.com/personal-pr ... nsa-15551/
When will Americans kick out the asses who rule them?...
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Doc
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Re: Brazil

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http://www.ibtimes.com/biggest-corrupti ... ed-1724340
'Biggest Corruption Case In The History Of Brazil' Continues With More Arrests, Warrants Issued

By Dion Rabouin@DionRabouin on November 15 2014 12:10 PM

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has said she had no knowledge of the case alleging collusion, corruption and money laundering within the government and national oil company. Reuters

A Brazilian corruption scandal that could make its way high up recently re-elected President Dilma Rousseff’s Workers Party, or PT, continues to unfold. Police have now issued 27 arrest warrants for top executives at some of the biggest building companies in Brazil.

Police say they have “strong evidence” that at least seven builders formed a cartel to win public contracts worth a combined 59 billion reais ($23 billion) in orders from the state-run oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA, aka Petrobras, Bloomberg News reported.

Brazilian federal police also confirmed Friday to Brazilian news outlet Agencia Brasil that they had arrested Renato Duque, former director of services for Petrobras, among other people. Local forces have started 11 searches at company offices, police said.

The investigation into money laundering and corruption known as Operacao Lava Jato, Portuguese slang for Operation Car Wash, was linked to Petrobras this year after investigators uncovered ties between the company’s former head of refining, Paulo Roberto Costa, and a black-market money dealer. Costa told police he was given bribes by a group of construction companies and shared the profits with PT politicians. Police subsequently raided Petrobras’ Rio de Janeiro headquarters.

“This is potentially the biggest corruption case in the history of Brazil,” Thiago de Aragao, partner and director of strategy at political consulting firm Arko Advice, told Bloomberg News. “When executives of the main companies that finance the political campaigns in Brazil go to jail, you can only expect a waterfall or a tsunami.”

The executives arrested Friday were directly involved in contracts signed with Petrobras, according to Agencia Brasil. Other targets of the operation had minor roles or were involved in moving illicitly obtained resources to currency dealers, who then used them to launder money.

So far, 25 arrests have been announced, and police say more arrests are to come. The arrests took place in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco and the Federal District encompassing the capital city of Brasilia. All the prisoners are expected to testify.

The scandal reportedly involves as much as $4 billion and dozens of politicians. Rousseff has said she had no knowledge of the scheme, and she has pledged to try to reimburse the funds, the Financial Times reported.
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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Endovelico
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Re: Brazil

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Russia's Glonass to Provide Brazil With Alternative to GPS
by Staff Writers - Moscow, Russia (Sputnik) Dec 26, 2014

The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass) will provide Brazilians with an alternative to the American Global Positioning System (GPS), giving them more localized data and stability, the Glonass project coordinator in Brazil told Sputnik.

"Brazil will have an alternative to GPS as a civil-use localization system. So all Brazilians will be able to access this system, and this will mean an increase in the number of satellites as people will be able to connect to both GPS and Glonass. Also [this means] having more localized data and more stability," Geovany Borges said.

Borges, who is also a professor of the University of Brasilia, noted that the mode of operation of Russia's Glonass is similar to that of the GPS.

"For us, Brazilians, it will be an alternative system in case the North American system experiences some problems or a decrease in the number of satellites - [as the GPS] also has some room for improvement - so Glonass will be able to cover this break in the US system," he said.

Russia's first overseas Glonass ground station was launched in Brazil in February 2013. In July 2014, Brazilian Minister of External Relations, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, announced that two more Glonass stations were to open in the states of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Sul.

"We are currently at various stages of pre-commissioning work, we are experimenting with sending data to Russia in order to contribute to the gauging the system," Borges said.

The Glonass project, which was launched in 1993, is considered to be Russia's answer to GPS (Global Positioning System).

The Glonass network currently consists of 29 satellites, including 24 operational, allowing real-time positioning and speed data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the globe.

http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Russias ... S_999.html
Another area where the US no longer will be able to blackmail other countries. Little by little we will free ourselves from the Empire dictatorship.
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Re: Brazil

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Petrobras Hit with U.S. Class Action Suit Over $98B in Securities

Published December 26, 2014/
Reuters




Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA and some of its executives were hit with a U.S. class action lawsuit by investors in $98 billion of the company's securities over an alleged kickback and bribery scheme.

News of the case helped knock Petrobras shares more than 4 percent lower. In mid-December, the stock hit its lowest in nearly 10 years as a widening corruption probe caused the company to delay the release of its third-quarter earnings.

Petrobras has already been sued by several U.S. investors who bought American Depositary Receipts sold by the company in New York.

The latest case was filed on Dec. 24 in Manhattan's federal court by the Labaton Sucharow law firm on behalf of the city of Providence, Rhode Island, which invested in Petrobras.

The lawsuit proposes to cover $98 billion of securities Petrobras sold since 2010, and any judgment or settlement would benefit the investors who purchased those securities.

Allegations include that the company made material misstatements about the value of its assets in bond offering documents.

Such an allegation does not require proof that misstatements were made knowingly, and allows plaintiffs to name as defendants the Brazilian and international banks that managed the sale of those bonds.

Unlike the previous class actions by ADR holders, the latest lawsuit also names as defendants Petrobras executives, including Chief Executive Maria das Gracas Foster.

In Rio de Janeiro, a Petrobras spokeswoman said the company had not received a citation from the reported class action suit filed on Christmas Eve.

On the Sao Paulo stock market, Petrobras' shares fell 4.5 percent, pummeled by Moody's placing its credit rating on review for a possible downgrade and news of the latest U.S. class action suit.

The shares were on track to post their steepest loss since Dec. 15 when they plunged about 9.2 percent.

So far 39 people have been indicted on charges that include corruption, money laundering and racketeering in the Petrobras graft scheme that allegedly funneled money to political parties, including Rousseff's Worker's Party and its allies in Congress.

On Monday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said there was no evidence that Petrobras senior management was involved in the graft scandal.

Last week, Petrobras said it will scale back spending to avoid having to issue debt next year. It cannot issue new debt until it releases third-quarter earnings, which were delayed after auditor PriceWaterhouseCoopers refused to certify them owing to the corruption scandal.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-poli ... ecurities/
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
noddy
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Re: Brazil

Post by noddy »

Endovelico wrote:
Russia's Glonass to Provide Brazil With Alternative to GPS
by Staff Writers - Moscow, Russia (Sputnik) Dec 26, 2014

The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass) will provide Brazilians with an alternative to the American Global Positioning System (GPS), giving them more localized data and stability, the Glonass project coordinator in Brazil told Sputnik.

"Brazil will have an alternative to GPS as a civil-use localization system. So all Brazilians will be able to access this system, and this will mean an increase in the number of satellites as people will be able to connect to both GPS and Glonass. Also [this means] having more localized data and more stability," Geovany Borges said.

Borges, who is also a professor of the University of Brasilia, noted that the mode of operation of Russia's Glonass is similar to that of the GPS.

"For us, Brazilians, it will be an alternative system in case the North American system experiences some problems or a decrease in the number of satellites - [as the GPS] also has some room for improvement - so Glonass will be able to cover this break in the US system," he said.

Russia's first overseas Glonass ground station was launched in Brazil in February 2013. In July 2014, Brazilian Minister of External Relations, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, announced that two more Glonass stations were to open in the states of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Sul.

"We are currently at various stages of pre-commissioning work, we are experimenting with sending data to Russia in order to contribute to the gauging the system," Borges said.

The Glonass project, which was launched in 1993, is considered to be Russia's answer to GPS (Global Positioning System).

The Glonass network currently consists of 29 satellites, including 24 operational, allowing real-time positioning and speed data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the globe.

http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Russias ... S_999.html
Another area where the US no longer will be able to blackmail other countries. Little by little we will free ourselves from the Empire dictatorship.
take away the absurd hyperbole and you will find that most countries are adopting glonass, including my own and its got nothing todo with the empire and it most certainly isnt an either/or situation.

if brazil does abandon gps entirely they will be making a retarded decision for cheap political reasons and regret it.

for purely techincal reasons they both work better if you use both, not only have your insulated yourself against one or other of them failing due to governement interference you get a smoother more accurate signal when they are combined.

Beidou aswell, the chinese one is useful for this aswell, even the cheap hobbiest trackers can do this now.
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noddy
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Re: Brazil

Post by noddy »

x aswell, x can do this aswell.

deary me, dont write hungover.
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Re: Brazil

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noddy wrote:x aswell, x can do this aswell.

deary me, dont write hungover.
asitwere asitwere :P
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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Re: Brazil

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NPR | Drumbeat Grows Louder For Impeachment Of Brazil's Rousseff
Rousseff was elected only four months ago in the closest elections in modern Brazilian history. She received slightly more than half of the vote. Now, though, her popularity is at 23 percent. The economy is tanking, inflation is rising and investors are fleeing. The Brazilian real is sinking faster than any other currency, according to Reuters.

But what has hit her administration hardest is the Petrobras scandal. The state oil company is at the heart of a kickback scheme to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. It's also implicated her party, alleging that illegal funds were funneled to it and her 2010 election campaign.
According to what I my Brazilian friends and colleagues told me, this type of corruption is the norm.
Is it the scale of the corruption or that it occurred in one of the jewels of Brazilian industry that has people apparently so worked up?

And Brazil has lots of experience, unfortunately, with inflation.

When I was there, one had to be careful with the currency, the real, as there where two types in circulation.
May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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Endovelico
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Re: Brazil

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...According to what my Brazilian friends and colleagues told me, this type of corruption is the norm...
Typical statement by those who feel Latin peoples are inferior and bound to be corrupt... And then try to hide their prejudice behind statements such as "...as they themselves say..." Yes, there is corruption in Latin countries, as there is corruption in Anglo-Saxon countries, Germanic countries and East Asian countries. And in all those countries honest people are the majority. But one's misplaced feelings of superiority must find ways to express themselves. The result is however mostly pathetic...
Simple Minded

Re: Brazil

Post by Simple Minded »

Endovelico wrote:
...According to what my Brazilian friends and colleagues told me, this type of corruption is the norm...
Typical statement by those who feel Latin peoples are inferior and bound to be corrupt... And then try to hide their prejudice behind statements such as "...as they themselves say..." Yes, there is corruption in Latin countries, as there is corruption in Anglo-Saxon countries, Germanic countries and East Asian countries. And in all those countries honest people are the majority. But one's misplaced feelings of superiority must find ways to express themselves. The result is however mostly pathetic...
Well said Endo, the image "we" see in the mirror.... is rarely the "others".

Humans and projection....... "they" do it all the time. ;)
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Re: Brazil

Post by noddy »

according to what my friend endo said about the germans when he visited them....
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Re: Brazil

Post by Simple Minded »

noddy wrote:according to what my friend endo said about the germans when he visited them....
Thankfully, they had the good sense to not let him stay......

one bad apple....... brings down property values........ or so "they" say...
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Re: Brazil

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Endovelico wrote:
...According to what my Brazilian friends and colleagues told me, this type of corruption is the norm...
Typical statement by those who feel Latin peoples are inferior and bound to be corrupt... And then try to hide their prejudice behind statements such as "...as they themselves say..." Yes, there is corruption in Latin countries, as there is corruption in Anglo-Saxon countries, Germanic countries and East Asian countries. And in all those countries honest people are the majority. But one's misplaced feelings of superiority must find ways to express themselves. The result is however mostly pathetic...
No surprise that you would know Brazil better than . . . the Brazilians.

So apparently discussing problems in Latin America is off limits, according to some, as it may offend sensitivities. Too bad.

Meanwhile in Brazil

Big protests in Brazil demand President Rousseff's impeachment
More than a million Brazilians have joined demonstrations against President Dilma Rousseff, with many asking for her impeachment.
The protesters say the president must have known about a corruption scandal in the state oil firm, Petrobras.
The political opposition say much of the alleged bribery took place when she was head of the company.

But Ms Rousseff has been exonerated in an investigation by the attorney general and denies involvement.
Most of the politicians accused of taking bribes in a kickback scheme come from the governing coalition.

After the protests, the government promised a series of measures to combat corruption and impunity.
Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo said the government saw the rallies as an "expression of democracy".
May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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Heracleum Persicum
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Re: Brazil

Post by Heracleum Persicum »

Typhoon wrote:
Endovelico wrote:
...According to what my Brazilian friends and colleagues told me, this type of corruption is the norm...
Typical statement by those who feel Latin peoples are inferior and bound to be corrupt... And then try to hide their prejudice behind statements such as "...as they themselves say..." Yes, there is corruption in Latin countries, as there is corruption in Anglo-Saxon countries, Germanic countries and East Asian countries. And in all those countries honest people are the majority. But one's misplaced feelings of superiority must find ways to express themselves. The result is however mostly pathetic...
No surprise that you would know Brazil better than . . . the Brazilians.

So apparently discussing problems in Latin America is off limits, according to some, as it may offend sensitivities. Too bad.

Meanwhile in Brazil

Big protests in Brazil demand President Rousseff's impeachment
More than a million Brazilians have joined demonstrations against President Dilma Rousseff, with many asking for her impeachment.
The protesters say the president must have known about a corruption scandal in the state oil firm, Petrobras.
The political opposition say much of the alleged bribery took place when she was head of the company.

But Ms Rousseff has been exonerated in an investigation by the attorney general and denies involvement.
Most of the politicians accused of taking bribes in a kickback scheme come from the governing coalition.

After the protests, the government promised a series of measures to combat corruption and impunity.
Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo said the government saw the rallies as an "expression of democracy".


Petrobrass like all other Oil companies and all multinationals, pay commission/fee etc .. fee/commission main pillar of capitalist system

FYI

French ministers, every month, a suitcase of "CASH", delivered by Bank of France to person of the minister

The minister spend that CASH without being responsible to anybody to say how he spend it .. it is an official "Bribe" budget, money, by the government of France 2B spent by sole discretion of each minister .. this no secret but well known French tradition since long time (I think since Napoleon)

Bribes for doing business, even without any receipt, is, TAX "deductible" according to German (I think all European) laws.

All this Brazil rubbish is American CIA conspiracy against Argentina-Brazil-Venezuela-Bolivia etc axel

will not work

.
noddy
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Re: Brazil

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the differences between donation, bribe, fee and license are highly subjective so corruption is when that happens but the benefits dont trickle down to the community at large.. did it create jobs, did it create more tax income for social services, etc.

all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt.
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Endovelico
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Re: Brazil

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noddy wrote:the differences between donation, bribe, fee and license are highly subjective so corruption is when that happens but the benefits dont trickle down to the community at large.. did it create jobs, did it create more tax income for social services, etc.

all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt.
Every country had, at some time, ghettos and large impoverished populations. Charles Dickens told us about it in the UK, Victor Hugo did the same for France, and the same thing could be seen in every present day developed country, from the US to Japan. In the not so distant future Brazil and other South American countries will have solved their more pressing poverty problems. Specially if they learn to escape the exploitation urge of the so-called developed countries. But noddy's views are just another way the superiority complex of the Übermenschen manifests itself... The fact that they need to say it shows how little ground they have to feel superior...
noddy
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Re: Brazil

Post by noddy »

Endovelico wrote:
noddy wrote:the differences between donation, bribe, fee and license are highly subjective so corruption is when that happens but the benefits dont trickle down to the community at large.. did it create jobs, did it create more tax income for social services, etc.

all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt.
Every country had, at some time, ghettos and large impoverished populations. Charles Dickens told us about it in the UK, Victor Hugo did the same for France, and the same thing could be seen in every present day developed country, from the US to Japan. In the not so distant future Brazil and other South American countries will have solved their more pressing poverty problems. Specially if they learn to escape the exploitation urge of the so-called developed countries. But noddy's views are just another way the superiority complex of the Übermenschen manifests itself... The fact that they need to say it shows how little ground they have to feel superior...
im not superior, i dont feel superior, your paranoia is also telling and you got it right when you talked of dickens and hugo.

right here, right now, today my country has less corruption than brazil, full stop, this is true, cant argue.

maybe in 50 years it will be reversed, maybe in 200 it will reverse again.

nothing todo with superiority, its just the human condition playing out with its ups an downs, shame we cant talk about it without triggering parochial nonsense.
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Endovelico
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Re: Brazil

Post by Endovelico »

noddy wrote:
Endovelico wrote:
noddy wrote:the differences between donation, bribe, fee and license are highly subjective so corruption is when that happens but the benefits dont trickle down to the community at large.. did it create jobs, did it create more tax income for social services, etc.

all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt.
Every country had, at some time, ghettos and large impoverished populations. Charles Dickens told us about it in the UK, Victor Hugo did the same for France, and the same thing could be seen in every present day developed country, from the US to Japan. In the not so distant future Brazil and other South American countries will have solved their more pressing poverty problems. Specially if they learn to escape the exploitation urge of the so-called developed countries. But noddy's views are just another way the superiority complex of the Übermenschen manifests itself... The fact that they need to say it shows how little ground they have to feel superior...
im not superior, i dont feel superior, your paranoia is also telling and you got it right when you talked of dickens and hugo.

right here, right now, today my country has less corruption than brazil, full stop, this is true, cant argue.

maybe in 50 years it will be reversed, maybe in 200 it will reverse again.

nothing todo with superiority, its just the human condition playing out with its ups an downs, shame we cant talk about it without triggering parochial nonsense.
This last post of yours makes a lot more sense than the previous one:
...all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt...
Pity you didn't express yourself then with the moderation you now show you are capable of...
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Heracleum Persicum
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Re: Brazil

Post by Heracleum Persicum »

noddy wrote:the differences between donation, bribe, fee and license are highly subjective so corruption is when that happens but the benefits dont trickle down to the community at large.. did it create jobs, did it create more tax income for social services, etc.

all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt.

Povery, ghettos, homeless and and, a "salt & pepper" ingredient of "western capitalism" .. without them you lookin at "welfare state".

Money changing hand, in any form, fee/commission/bribe/gift etc, always trickles down as it always is spend "easily" being "not hard earned money", usually buying real estate (absorbs easily all amount of money), cars, boats and girls

In fact, am sure, Brazil is less corrupt than America, as "Billy the Kid" said (when asked why he rubbing banks) that is where the (real) money is.

.
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Re: Brazil

Post by Typhoon »

Heracleum Persicum wrote:
noddy wrote:the differences between donation, bribe, fee and license are highly subjective so corruption is when that happens but the benefits dont trickle down to the community at large.. did it create jobs, did it create more tax income for social services, etc.

all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt.

Povery, ghettos, homeless and and, a "salt & pepper" ingredient of "western capitalism" .. without them you lookin at "welfare state".

Money changing hand, in any form, fee/commission/bribe/gift etc, always trickles down as it always is spend "easily" being "not hard earned money", usually buying real estate (absorbs easily all amount of money), cars, boats and girls

In fact, am sure, Brazil is less corrupt than America, as "Billy the Kid" said (when asked why he rubbing banks) that is where the (real) money is.

.
Sure about everything and right about nothing:

https://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results

That apocryphal quote, btw, is attributed to Willie Sutton, not Billy the Kid.
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Re: Brazil

Post by Typhoon »

Endovelico wrote:
noddy wrote:the differences between donation, bribe, fee and license are highly subjective so corruption is when that happens but the benefits dont trickle down to the community at large.. did it create jobs, did it create more tax income for social services, etc.

all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt.
Every country had, at some time, ghettos and large impoverished populations. Charles Dickens told us about it in the UK, Victor Hugo did the same for France, and the same thing could be seen in every present day developed country, from the US to Japan. In the not so distant future Brazil and other South American countries will have solved their more pressing poverty problems. Specially if they learn to escape the exploitation urge of the so-called developed countries. But noddy's views are just another way the superiority complex of the Übermenschen manifests itself... The fact that they need to say it shows how little ground they have to feel superior...
There is a sizable community of Japanese descent in Brazil, especially in São Paulo.
They emigrated in the early part of the 20th century to escape the grinding poverty in Japan at that time.
A number of their descendants came back to Japan to work to escape the mess that has been Brazil over the last several decades.
That's why the public signs in Nagoya include Portuguese.

But, so what. We're not discussing the past and we don't know the future. We're discussing Brazil in the present.

Currently Brazil is a basket case when it comes to corruption.
In my own experience Brazilians, as you in your above post, have a tendency to avoid taking responsibility for their own problems and instead blame external forces.
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Re: Brazil

Post by noddy »

Heracleum Persicum wrote: Povery, ghettos, homeless and and, a "salt & pepper" ingredient of "western capitalism" .. without them you lookin at "welfare state".
.
i think you will find this is "fact free nonsense" as mr p would say.
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Re: Brazil

Post by Heracleum Persicum »

Typhoon wrote:
Heracleum Persicum wrote:
noddy wrote:the differences between donation, bribe, fee and license are highly subjective so corruption is when that happens but the benefits dont trickle down to the community at large.. did it create jobs, did it create more tax income for social services, etc.

all places have corruption but only some places have huge ghettos full of desperation and no hope - apparently its all the anglozionistmerkins fault brazil is full of ghettos, so thats where this conversation grinds to a halt.

Povery, ghettos, homeless and and, a "salt & pepper" ingredient of "western capitalism" .. without them you lookin at "welfare state".

Money changing hand, in any form, fee/commission/bribe/gift etc, always trickles down as it always is spend "easily" being "not hard earned money", usually buying real estate (absorbs easily all amount of money), cars, boats and girls

In fact, am sure, Brazil is less corrupt than America, as "Billy the Kid" said (when asked why he rubbing banks) that is where the (real) money is.

.
Sure about everything and right about nothing:

https://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results

That apocryphal quote, btw, is attributed to Willie Sutton, not Billy the Kid.

.

Willie Sutton ? ? never heard of him .. but WiKi says you right .. Hmmmm


Re Transparency site, "CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX" .. that chart is according to Western, American
definition of "corruption"

Clinton transforming within a few years from "Bag lady" to 100 million net worth is not "corruption", but an Indian policeman accepting 10 Ruppi to cancel a parking violation is "corruption"

The most corruption occurs in AMERICA

.
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Re: Brazil

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http://bigstory.ap.org/article/49404297 ... lief-sight
Brazil's economy plunging; no relief in sight
By BRAD BROOKS
Sep. 29, 2015 12:02 AM EDT
6 photos

Dilma Rousseff

In this Aug.27, 2015 photo, Brazil\'s President Dilma Rousseff attends a ceremony in Brasilia, Brazil. The slowdown of the once-ballyhooed Brazilian economy is compounding the delicate political situation for President Rousseff, who polls show is the nation\'s most unpopular president since the 1985 return to democracy. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)



RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A currency hitting historic lows. Unemployment at a five-year peak. Consumer spending in the dumps, and a grinding political crisis that's frozen leaders' ability to push through Congress measures to jumpstart a moribund economy.

The news keeps getting worse for the once-ballyhooed Brazilian economy, compounding the delicate political situation for President Dilma Rousseff, who polls show is the nation's most unpopular president since the 1985 return to democracy.

Rousseff is trying to fight off widespread calls for her impeachment or resignation, which gives her scant political capital to force austerity measures through Congress to halt across-the-board economic hemorrhaging.

Brazil's woes were stoked by the recent years' collapse in commodity prices, due largely to lessening demand from China's slowing economy. Economists also blame failure to reform taxes and labor markets over the past decade of good times, and the collapse of an economic model that relied on domestic consumption.

"It wasn't just that Brazil consumed all its commodity income it took in from 2007 to 2011, it's that it consumed all of it plus more by borrowing overseas," said Neil Shearing, the New York-based chief emerging markets economist for Capital Economics.

Not preparing itself for lean years while its economy expanded created an "ugly toxic mix."

"Add on top of the economic train wreck a political train wreck, and the fact that the government can't push through Congress the fiscal belt-tightening measures it needs to create growth," Shearing said.

That's largely why Brazil lost its investment-grade status when Standard & Poor's downgraded the nation's sovereign debt this month. Stockholders are suffering too: Companies listed on Brazil's main Bovespa stock market have lost $1 trillion in value since early 2011.

Politically, Rousseff is increasingly isolated amid the worst graft case the nation has yet seen. Prosecutors say top construction and engineering firms paid over $2 billion in bribes to some politicians and executives of state-run oil company Petrobras in exchange for inflated contracts during a period when Rousseff herself was the company's chairwoman. While she faces no formal accusations of wrongdoing, the leader of the lower house already faces corruption charges and the head of the Senate is under investigation, adding to legislative gridlock.

The scandal has paralyzed Petrobras, long the pride of Brazilian enterprise and the company counted on to catapult the nation to developed-world status by tapping into vast offshore oil reserves discovered in recent years, undersea riches it's been unable to make good on.

It's also hit the construction sector at the epicenter of the scandal. Construction and industry account for the vast majority of the 986,000 Brazilians who lost their jobs in the last 12 months, according to a Friday report from the Labor Ministry.

The economy's problems are varied and acute, with few short- or midterm remedies.

The Brazilian currency, the real, has plummeted about 35 percent against the dollar this year, hitting an all-time low in recent days of over 4-to-1. A strong dollar hikes inflation in Brazil and cripples many of the nation's top firms that hold dollar-denominated debt — principally Petrobras, the country's biggest company.

The currency plunge has also shocked Brazilian consumers, who for years enjoyed a strong real that made foreign goods seem cheaper.

Now, Brazilians are curtailing trips to the U.S., where legions went on shopping sprees in recent years. They're also confronting rapidly rising prices on everything from cosmetics to medicine to that most basic of products on virtually all Brazilian tables at breakfast — what locals call "French" bread: crusty little loaves that are purchased daily and are now more expensive as Brazil imports more than 60 percent of the wheat it consumes.

"This simple staple of the Brazilian diet, literally 'our daily bread,' is beginning to be too expensive for some of us," said Silvia Vasconcelos, a housewife gesturing toward the bakery section inside a grocery store in Rio's Ipanema neighborhood, where the price of bread has risen by about 30 percent in the last five months to $3.75 per kilogram ($1.70 a pound). "Who knows where the price will go, but for now I have to buy less than I'd like."

With inflation running at 9.5 percent — well above the government's ceiling target of 6.5 percent — the Central Bank has less space to cut benchmark interest rates, said Caio Megale, an economist with Itau Unibanco, Brazil's largest bank.

That means borrowing costs will remain high for businesses and individuals, making it difficult to spark domestic growth.

Exporters in Brazil should be the winners because a weaker local currency makes their products cheaper and thus more competitive abroad.

But Jose Castro, head of Brazil's Association of Foreign Trade, said the strong dollar isn't yet of much help. Things are changing so fast people are afraid to sign contracts because they don't know where the currency is heading.

"Predictability is one of the main problems," he said. "It's too shaky for anyone to do business."
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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Re: Brazil

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Brazil: the eternal country of the future

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Fu ... Doubt.html
Future Of Brazil’s Oil Industry In Serious Doubt
By Nick Cunningham
Posted on Mon, 16 November 2015 22:59 | 0

Oil market analysts keep a close watch on the weekly and monthly production figures from the U.S. EIA, watching for a sign that a contraction in output will help to balance global supply and demand.

There are a few reasons why so much attention is paid to the U.S., rather than other places around the world. First, the U.S. has consistent and reliable data, unlike a lot of other places, which makes analysis easier. Second, the U.S. is the principle culprit behind the collapse in oil prices, as its rapid run up in production pushed supplies well beyond demand. Third, U.S. shale, the source of the recent uptick in supply, rises and falls much more quickly than conventional oil fields, especially large-scale projects such as deep offshore.

Still, it is useful to pay attention to supply changes from outside the U.S. For example, in its November report, OPEC raises a few red flags on Brazil, where a deteriorating economy, a simmering corruption scandal, and a major pullback in the state-owned oil firm Petrobras, could all conspire to cut into Brazil’s oil output.

Related: Saudis Planning For A War Of Attrition In Europe With Russia’s Oil Industry

Brazil’s inflation has jumped to its highest level since 2003, running over 10 percent according to the latest figures. The central bank hiked interest rates to 14.25 percent, the highest in nine years to combat inflation, but so far it has been unsuccessful. Meanwhile, GDP is shrinking, with an expected contraction of 2.2 percent in 2015. And the unemployment rate has hit 7.6 percent, the highest since 2010.

Brazil is expected to increase oil production by 180,000 barrels per day in 2015, hitting 3.04 million barrels per day (mb/d). But 2016 is a different story. Petrobras has been embroiled in a corruption scandal since last year, which has cost the company tens of billions of dollars. Given that Petrobras was already the most indebted oil company in the world, major cut backs in spending were in order.

OPEC sees Brazilian oil production plateauing as soon as next year. That is a pretty significant development considering the fact that, not too long ago, Petrobras thought output would continue rising rapidly through the rest of the decade. But Petrobras is slashing investment in its mature oil-producing assets in the Campos Basin, where much of Brazil’s output comes from. These large fields have steep decline rates, and the losses are starting to show up in the data. OPEC cites the Marlin field, a field that produced 240,000 barrels per day in 2014, but suffered a staggering decline in output this year, dropping 30 percent (although some of that is due to maintenance). Several other significant fields, including Roncador in the Campos Basin, have also posted declines recently, even though, again, Petrobras attributes the slump to maintenance.

Related: Korea Leading The Way With Ambitious Fuel Cell Project

BrazilProductionGrowth

The significant slowdown in capital investment on behalf of Petrobras means that the depletion from maturing fields could at some point overwhelm new production. Brazil increased production this year, but that was because it still had a backlog of new projects coming online. But the project pipeline is drying up. “[D]ue to few Brazilian projects coming online in 2016, remarkable growth is not foreseen,” OPEC concluded in its latest report.

Related: OPEC’s Strategy Is Working According To Cartel’s Latest Report

The strike of oil workers in early November impacted at least 450,000 barrels per day of production. Unions are upset about Petrobras’ planned asset sales, which they see as a backdoor move at privatization. Petrobras, desperate to slash its debt burden, sees asset sales as a necessary evil. The work stoppage impacted output at 50 oil platforms. The two sides recently reached an agreement on November 13 to end the strike, which will include a pay raise of 9.53 percent, and the company will also produce a report within 60 days that studies alternatives to cuts in investment. However, it is unclear how Petrobras can turn around its debt situation while still satisfying worker demands to resist spending cuts.

That puts Brazil’s oil future in serious doubt. For years, Brazil and Petrobras hailed the country’s pre-salt fields as a ticket to its elevation on the global stage. To be sure, pre-salt production is slowly ticking upwards. But pre-salt oil fields will only breakeven at $55 per barrel, according to OPEC, despite Petrobras assurances that it can be profitably produced at $45 per barrel. “Some of its most important and highest producing fields may be operating at a loss,” OPEC concluded.
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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