Brazzil

Lula's friendship with Castro makes me wonder if this "separation" from the hard left is just a facade to fool investors.

Castro's friendship with Lula makes me wonder if this "separation" from the hard left is just a facade to fool investors.

what so little land for the campesinos and so much money for the oligarchy and no or little support shown by lula for chavez.

lula is indeed even worse than cardoso, a lackey of the gringos.

what a pathetic fool. he must have received some free house or something from the oligarchy and hence have turned his back on the campesinos and the leftist and socially minded people of brazil.

what a shame. we need more heroes like hugo chavez and daniel ortega to make real change in latin america.

traitor and sellout lula! what a shame that brazilians have this guy and not hugo chavez as their leader.

Would that be the Chavez governent beating and imprisoning dissidents? Or extradition to Cuba for speaking against Castro? For the religious bigots, Ortega's repression of tradional churches is a real selling point. You have the internet at your disposal. Read about Ortega's atrocities. When Ortega was in power, I had the good fortune of seeing a slide show presented by Alejandro Bolanos at a College Republican meeting. I guess in your view murder and repression are virtues when persuing "social justice". Here is an experiment for you to conduct: Go to Caracas with a "Viva Bush" shirt and cap and see what the police do.

"The defining element of the 2005 World Social Forum, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, is that the superstar of previous years was heckled off of the stage"

As someone who was present and participated in this forum and attended Lula´s speech, I can say first hand that Lula was NOT heckled from the stage. There was a SMALL (literally 40 people in the stadium - and of course from the communist party) group of hecklers who´s voices were too meek to cut throught the 10,000 or so who showed up at the Gigantinho to see him speak. There was a protest out front - but who really cares. There was a thousand protests over the course of 6 days and after the thrid day it was all background noice.

Given that the author´s opening line is a blatant LIE everything else that follows in his manifesto should be disgarded as well.

Brasil is dong much better, and a small share of this success can be attributed to Lula who is trying to strike a balance between the real world, and the fanstasy land that so many Marxists, Maoists, Communists like to dwell in.

I urge EVERYONE to attend the WSF at least once in their lifetime. Go in positively with the idea that a BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE and then look to those doing the proposing. It will reaffirm your beliefs in capitalism and democaracy. I´ve never seen a bunch of sillier kids in my life.

I think that Lula should give up on the WSF - he should know by now it´s only an excuse for dopers to complain and bitch about those who work hard. He´s lead this country well in the last two years (sure it could be better), and he´s earned a more respected seat with those who can actually enact change in this world at DAVOS.

Re: wanting Hugo as your leader - beware of what you ask for.

Why would the wacko left rejoice at the demise of one of their mouthpieces?!?!?! Here in Georgia, the home of CNN, the network is a local embarrassment. We call it the "Castro News Network"!

With my COCA-COLA that I bought at WAL-MART!

Associação Comercial de São Paulo se mobiliza contra MP 232

Veja a entrevista em vídeo

Da Redação

Cresce o movimento contra a medida provisória do governo que aumenta o imposto de renda e a Contribuição Social Sobre Lucro Líquido pagos pelos prestadores de serviço que optam pelo lucro presumido. A Associação Comercial de São Paulo planeja um ato contra a MP no próximo dia 15. Dia 17, um manifesto será levado a Brasília. Segundo a entidade, 65% das empresas brasileiras serão penalizadas se a medida entrar em vigor no dia primeiro de março.

"As conseqüências serão o aumento do desemprego, do preço e da informalidade", avalia o presidente da Associação Comercial de São Paulo, Guilherme Afif Domingos. "O governo aumenta os impostos na mesma proporção da despesa", critica Afif.

A Força Sindical aderiu hoje à Frente Brasileira contra a Medida Provisória 232. Para o presidente da Força, Paulo Pereira da Silva, o governo vai ter que decidir se prefere votos ou o aumento do imposto. "Do jeito que está, a MP vai provocar o aumento do desemprego e da inflação", analisa Paulinho

They stir s**t all over the world...pure and simple!

I will joy the plea of the Iranian people.....Down with the USA,Down with the USA,Down with the USA,Down with the USA,Down with the USA.....

The chant is said at gunpoint!

the dirty hands of the American government somewhere!

Yes America is the world's number one s**t stirrer. I live in the damn country and every day one must swim through the liquid s**t produced by the US govt in order to survive.

Lula will never be able to do anything for the poor in Brazil. The American CIA will see to it. Look at President Aristide of Haiti - ousted for trying to end sweat shop labor in Haiti and bring up the standard of living for the poor.

America wants to ensure that Brazil's poor stay poor and keep working in American sweatshops and making more money for America.

Yes America does indeed stir up huge pots of s**t for the poor all over the world to swim in.

"Lula will never be able to do anything for the poor in Brazil. The American CIA will see to it."

Beware of the silent black helicopters, muuu hooo haaa haaaa!!

You know... americans have the wrong idea about Lula.
We are doing a LOT better with him as our leader, and we´ll be even better, yes we voted for him, the whole country wanted and needed a change.
As for the US, well... up there everything seems to remain just the same with Bush as a leader.
I´m proud of not having Bush as my leader. He just makes the world a worse place to live. While Lula is trying as much as he can to make a better world.

"Brasilians are doing a little better"? Who are these people? Are you reading the journals, or even polictical magazines? The banks ARE doing better, and the rich ARE doing better...but it's the same old s**t for the rest of Brasil, nothing has changed. It was changing, the previous administrations polices were having a positive impact, and Lula and what is left of his PT have screwed it up royally. The bottom line is the "cheers have turned to jheers", is simply because he has lost control. And he does not have the experience, education or skill sets to stop the chaos his governement has become. His party is disintegrating before his eyes, allies are leaving him in droves, and the news has been relentless in pointing out every weakness. Even the Carnaval blocos located in poor Lula areas are making fun and using his lack of success as Carnaval themes. Have you watched him lately? He look like a rabbit caught in a cars headlights about to get run over. "Brasil a little bit better", you should go for a labotomy...to bad you could not find a hospital to do one as they are all shut down for a lack of basic supplies and funding. God...are we really a country so blind we can not see?!

After another excercise in futility here in Brasil called Carnaval, I am just as depressed as I was last year when Carnaval ended. God, if we put the energy, brains and resources into improving our lives as we put into the week that everything shuts down for Carnaval, perhaps we could accomplish something REAL. I mean, who really gives a s**t which damn samba school wins Carnaval, when on Thursday they will be back in the favelas living a life of dispair. Lula is no different from the rest, by investing in Carnaval and activites like it, the governement hopes that people keep their eye off the ball and don't realize what a s**t deal they are getting for their politcal dollar. It makes me sick to see the powerful and rich show up once a year "to mingle" with the poor folks at Carnaval because it is trendy. What really scares the hell out of me, is that President Lula might be one of those poor uneducated bastards who really like Carnaval!

f**k if it weren´t for carnaval, Braislians would have nothing to celebrate.

Re: the dirty hands of the American government somewhere!

That's not what you smell! They have this wonderful invention called a bath that will take away what you smell! Speaking of dirty hands, a product called toilet paper can be purchased from your local evil capitalist!

This is crazy. Brazilians blame their social inequities on the USA? What a convenient ogre to complain about. Brazil's real problem is its lack of organization and the infinite corruptabiltiy of its own systems and officials. Brazil is a very rich country with a thin oligarchy who do everything they can to keep the country unfair, disorganized, and angry at outside influences. They do this in order to continue to avoid taxes, regulation, competition, and political answerability. Don't waste your breath complaining about the USA. Get your own house in order.