Brazil: Satellites to monitor deforestation

Brazil is expanding satellite monitoring of deforestation to the entire nation.

Environment Minister Carlos Minc says that until now, such monitoring was a "one-note" song about the Amazon. He says other flora-rich areas such as the Patanal and the Atlantic rain forest will soon come under satellite protection.

Minc announced the measure Thursday at the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Rio de Janeiro.

Satellite coverage helps officials track deforestation and send more agents into areas at risk.

Officials hope the system will be fully functional within a year.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hx6Vt_YLJZwPW0y_w6U2jS5ywYcQD97JRHFG2

LATIN AMERICAN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS OF THE YEAR 2009 AWARDED IN RIO

The Schwab Foundation announces the new selection of leading Latin American Social Entrepreneurs 2009 at the Opening Plenary of the World Economic Forum on Latin America, in the presence of President Lula and President Uribe

- One Brazilian, one Chilean and two Colombians recognized for their innovative models and path-breaking achievements in land rights, education and rainforest conservation

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Four social entrepreneurs have been recognized as Latin American Regional Social Entrepreneurs 2009 during the opening plenary session of the World Economic Forum on Latin America, held in Rio de Janeiro on 15 April. Andre Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, Founder of Terra Nova, had previously been recognized as Social Entrepreneur of the Year Brazil. The other three winners are Veronica Abud from Chile, and Marta Arango and Martin von Hildebrand from Colombia. They received their awards in the presence of President Lula of Brazil and President Uribe of Colombia.

“This crisis teaches us that we need to refocus the economy on serving society. It is these social entrepreneurs that show us the way to a sustainable future,” said Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum and Founder of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurs emphasize long-term sustainability instead of short-term gains. Their primary focus is to maximize benefits for society and the environment by implementing innovative approaches to the key challenges the world is facing. They operate social businesses or organizations that are a mixture of non-profits and for-profits.

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, an affiliate organization of the World Economic Forum, conducts the search and selection of social entrepreneurs in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, India and South-East Asia. It selects 3-5 social entrepreneurs per year from each region. Selected social entrepreneurs are connected to the world’s business, political and media leaders through the events and initiatives of the World Economic Forum.

http://www.exchangemagazine.com/morningpost/2009/week16/Thursday/041603.htm

Rio: Volvo Race heads to Boston, the cold and whales

The seven yachts taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race around the world left the heat of Rio de Janeiro on Saturday for Boston where they will once again find colder weather and will have to watch out for whales along the way.

The teams departed on the sixth stage of the world's most gruelling offshore yacht race, a distance of 4,900 nautical miles, which is expected to last 15 days, at 3:00 pm (1800 GMT), aided by the moderate winds blowing in Rio's Guanabara Bay.

"Watch out, it's a whale breathing zone and there is a lot of stuff in the water. Also, it's possibly very cold up there," said the skipper of US team Puma, Ken Read, before the departure as the fleet was blessed to guard against "stormy waves".

Sweden's Ericsson 4, the winner of the first two stages, will be looking to defend its comfortable lead in the overall classification against its nearest rivals Puma and Telefonica Blue of Spain.

"Will we have a defensive strategy? No, we can't be too conservative if we want to win the race," Ericsson 4's Brazilian skipper Torben Grael before the sixth stage departed.

The yachts will go around the island of Fernando de Noronha located some 350 kilometres (220 miles) northeast of Brazil, with the first to arrive to collect four points.

After that it is virtually a straight line towards Boston, with the first to arrive to pick up eight points.

"We have to arrive first, both in Boston and at the scoring gate (at Fernando de Noronha) otherwise we will not make up for our delay," Telefonica Blue's Dutch skipper Bouwe Bekking said Friday.

As they close in on the finish line of the sixth stage, they will have to deal with low pressure systems sweeping across North America on their own trip across the Atlantic.

From Boston, the race, which is looking to reduce costs to attract more entrants for its next edition in 2011, will head to Ireland.

The event began in Alicante in Spain in October and involves a total of 10 stages covering over 37,000 nautical miles.

Standings at the start of the sixth stage

1. Ericsson 4 (SWE)/Torben Grael (BRA) 66 points

2. Puma Ocean Racing (USA)/Ken Read (USA) 56.5 points

3. Telefonica Blue (ESP)/Bouwe Bekking/NED) 54.5 points

4. Ericsson 3 (SWE)/Magnus Olsson (SWE) 44.5 points

5. Green Dragon (CHN/IRL)/Ian Walker (GBR) 41 points

6. Telefonica Black (ESP)/Fernando Echavarri (ESP) 23 points

7. Delta Lloyd (NED)/Roberto Bermdez (ESP) 15 points

8. Team Russia (RUS)/Andreas Hanakamp (AUT) 10.5 points (Has withdrawn for the time being from the race)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ghTKg-1t9Hp386DbraSwxOZ0Z9Gw

Can't blame it on Rio

I have always wanted to visit Rio de Janeiro. Even though the late Jade Goody thought Rio de Janeiro was a man, it hasn't diminished my desire. I am not making that up.
During her time at the Big Brother reality show, she had asked someone, 'Rio de Janeiro, a bloke innit?'.

She might be right actually. Rio does seem to have masculine qualities. I've heard so much about the city, seen so much of it on television, and all of it is so appealing. It's brutally sensual, like the Brad Pitt of Troy. There's so much to lust and love in Rio -- its naturally beautiful setting -- the city boasts the largest urban forests in the world:

Floresta da Tijuca, mountains almost rising out of the sea and one of the most famous beaches in the world -- the Copacobana. Mix that with the hedonism of the
carnival and the samba.

Such riches stand in stark contrast to its dark side. Rio israted one of the most violent cities in the world and its favelas or shanty towns highlight the disparities between the rich and the poor.

Then there's the football and the Maracana. Some of Brazil's most famous footballers have kicked leather on its sandy beaches and dusty by-lanes. Garrincha, Zico, Romario, Ronaldo and Adriano are all products of Rio's favelas.

Interestingly, there's another common thread that runs through the names that I have listed. With the exception of Zico, who was known for his determination and discipline, others, all incredible footballers, have struggled in their personal lives. Alcohol, drug abuse, women, torrid marriages have eventually wrecked their careers.

Garrincha, considered by many in Brazil as Pele's equal, died of a liver failure after a lifetime of alcohol abuse. Brazil never lost a match in which Pele and Garrincha played together. The 'little bird' was a mental and emotional wreck by the time of his death.
Romario, Brazil's hero of the 1994 World Cup and one of the most prolific strikers the game has ever seen, was often dropped from the team for indiscipline and missing training sessions after nights of partying.

Ronaldo, the highest goalscorer in World Cup with 15 goals, has had his own problems with fame. His much-publicised broken relationships, encounters with transvestites, alcoholism and weight issues have adversely affected his on-field performances.
The latest in the list of troubled Brazil football stars is Adriano. The Inter Milan striker went missing on April 4 after international duty. He was not on his scheduled flight back from South America to Italy. Neither the club nor the Brazil football federation had any contact with the forward.

After an intense week of speculation, where rumours of his death also circulated, Adriano came out of hiding and informed that he had been in the favelas of Rio with his mother and friends after an emotional break-up with his girlfriend. Adriano then said that he wanted to take a break from football and think about his career. Alcohol and drug abuse were also cited as reasons for his mental state.

What is it with the footballers from Rio de Janeiro? How do you explain such beauty and misery, such mastery and frailty? Maybe it's to do with the city that nurtured them. Dichotomous Rio de Janeiro, just as beautiful as it is ugly. I can't wait to head there.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1247091

Brazil calls for Cuba membership of OAS

Brazil said on Monday that Cuba should be allowed to join the Organisation of American States but that it is not seeking a standoff with the United States over the issue at a regional summit this week.

The call by Latin America's main diplomatic power to bring Cuba in from the cold adds weight to growing demands for U.S. President Barack Obama to go further in unravelling Washington's decades-old policy of isolating Cuba's communist government.

Obama eased the 47-year-old U.S. embargo against Cuba on Monday by allowing U.S. telecommunications companies to do business there and lifting limits on family travel and money transfers to the island by Cuban Americans. [ID:nN13331508]

At a Summit of the Americas meeting that starts on Friday, several Latin American leaders will push for a broader re-integration of Cuba into the OAS regional group.

"Cuba being absent from the inter-American system, including the OAS, is an anomaly and needs to be corrected," Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told reporters in Rio de Janeiro.

The Obama administration has made it clear it will not completely lift the embargo as it aims to keep up pressure for reforms in Cuba. It also does not want the April 17-19 Summit of the Americas to be dominated by the Cuba issue.

OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza also expressed caution, saying Cuba needed to show clearly it was committed to democracy to be readmitted to the group.

"We need to know if Cuba is interested in returning to multilateral organizations or if it is thinking only about the end of the embargo and economic growth," Insulza told Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo.

"This is a summit of countries with good will but good will alone is not enough to cause change."

All 34 leaders at the Summit, from which Cuba is barred, are from democratic countries, said Insulza, a former Chilean foreign minister.

"The general assembly of the OAS decided that all member countries must adhere to democratic principles," he said when asked about Cuba, a one-party state that has been ruled by Fidel Castro and his younger brother Raul since they took power in a 1959 revolution.

Despite its support for Cuba, Brazil is unlikely to push the issue too hard at this week's summit.

"I think neither the Cubans nor we want to transform the summit into a confrontation between the United States and Latin America," Amorim said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKTRE53C3Q220090413?sp=true

Rio de Janeiro – one cruise passenger’s opinion - Brazil

Rio de Janeiro (River of January, named by the Portuguese who founded the city on Jan. 1, 1502). Ah, Rio, "The Marvelous City," home of the Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, the Christ the Redeemer statue and, sadly, the crime capital of Brazil.

We were a month early for Carnaval, but the beaches offered sun, sand and surf -- it's summer in the Southern Hemisphere -- while the statue awaited our arrival with, literally, outstretched arms. Visible from just about everywhere in the city, Christ the Redeemer is, in a word, imposing. He has been watching stoically from atop 2,300-foot Corcovado Mountain since 1931, remaining impassive even when hit by lightning a year ago.

Two cable car rides took us to the 120-foot, 700-ton statue where crowds mingled in awe, stepping, occasionally, on those who lie flat on their backs at the base to get a better perspective for their photos.

If the statue could see, it may be disappointed with its subjects. It would be happy, certainly, with a modern, vibrant city of 6.1 million people, some of them among the richest in the world. But it would certainly be unhappy with the wretched poverty of many more. Interestingly, the poor live on the hillsides and have the best view of the ocean and the beaches.

Because of this poverty, the city's drug traffic is rampant, contributing heavily to a recent average of about 30 homicides a week. But tourists are relatively safe, except for the time they spend in a taxi. Intent on speed and apparently having taken a vow to never let another car pass, taxi drivers are, well, homicidal.

Read complete story here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09102/961808-37.stm

Rio de Janeiro: Alternative - a trip through the city's hinterland

Thanks to the Copacabana, carnival and Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro attracts millions of holidaymakers every year. But most of them hardly ever venture beyond the outskirts of the city even though the surrounding area has plenty of picturesque colonial towns, coffee plantations, islands, national parks and verdant jungle to offer.

Serra da Bocaina National Park is just a few hours by car to the south of Rio, but the atmosphere is similar to the Amazon with orchids and fern-bedecked trees lining the stone path that winds through the rainforest.

The air is humid and tropical and the path is covered with moss, making it advisable to carefully consider every step.

It is hard to imagine how smugglers made their way 250 years ago to the historic town of Parati on the Atlantic coast.

Even more difficult to understand is how thousands of slaves walked through the dense forest along that same path. Today, it is one of the most attractive routes in the park.

Luciano Freie suddenly draws to a halt. "Can you hear that? We are almost there," says the trekking guide. At first, the noise is swallowed up by the bellowing of lemurs who live high in the trees' crowns. Then, the dim sound of Veadeiros waterfalls can be heard.

The ground becomes moister and the roar of the water gets louder until the falls can be seen. The waterfalls are among the most beautiful in Brazilwith the water falling 100 metres.

The next stage of the journey is 18 kilometres long. Along the way you see cross mountain streams, accompanied by the calls of parrots and toucans. But you can also marvel at apes, tapirs, sloths and giant anteaters in the park which lies between the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

The Serra da Bocaina park stretches as far as Parati which lies on a fjord-like bay.

"Oh God, if there is a paradise on earth, then it would look like this place," said the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci after seeing the small fishing village of the indigenous Guaiana people. Today, the town is one of the best-preserved, colonial settlements in Brazil.

In the 16th century, Parati became a busy urban centre at the end of the Caminho do Ouro or Gold Trail. But as the goldmines ran out, Parati declined and not until the 1950s was its historic character rediscovered.

The UNESCO has placed Parati on its tentative list of World Heritage Sites and cars are banned from its cobblestone alleys. Its white-tiled houses are decorated with colourfully painted window frames and doors.

From the town's port, you can take a boat to one of the islands in the bay. Ilha Grande is the largest of the hundreds of islands south of Rio. The long beaches of Lopes Mendes are among the most beautiful in the world.

Many holidaymakers are also attracted to the small bays where pirates used to hide in the past. A rather more touristy spot can be found in the north of the state, the peninsula of Buzios.

With its nightclubs, restaurants and up-market boutiques it has been dubbed the St. Tropez of Brazil.

If you want to experience more Brazilian culture, you would be advised to travel inland. Close to the small town of Vassouras, you can visit the colonial coffee bean estates where the coffee is fit for a king.

Another royal theme can be found 65 kilometres from Rio de Janeiro in the town of Petropolis where the Brazilian imperial family lived in the summer months.

The royal palace was built in the 1840s and is open to the public. Thanks to the town's colonial-style architecture and French-Gothic cathedral, you would hardly know you are in South America.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/263367,alternative-rio-de-janeiro-a-trip-through-the-citys-hinterland.html

Lula da Silva: Brazil’s ‘Teflon’ Leader

He has been called the Teflon president, the most popular president in the world, a leader who has survived scandal after scandal only to see his approval ratings rise to new heights.

But with industrial production slowing badly and unemployment climbing, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil may be showing some chinks in his seemingly impregnable armor, analysts say.

As he took the world stage at the Group of 20 summit meeting in London on Thursday, he faces mounting challenges to his domestic popularity and perhaps to his status as one of the developing world’s most forceful advocates.

At least three polls showing a recent drop in his stellar approval ratings and a rush of controversy over comments he made last week, in which he blamed “white people with blue eyes” for the economic crisis, could be signs that Mr. da Silva, known as Lula, is mortal after all, analysts said.

“The prospect that Brazil’s economic and social gains could be undercut by the global crisis could well dampen an enormously successful two-term presidency,” said Julia E. Sweig, director for Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. da Silva still has an enviable following at home, but if the economic storm continues, it could erode that support much further and hamper his ability to pass the presidency in 2010 to his chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff, his chief of staff, analysts said.

At the economic summit this week, Mr. da Silva sought to establish Brazil as a global power, but “the trick in London will be to hit the right substantive notes establishing Brazilian leadership without heaping too much scorn on those around him,” Ms. Sweig said.

Last week, Mr. da Silva heaped plenty of it. The economic crisis, he said, was caused by “the irrational behavior of white people with blue eyes, who before seemed to know everything, and now have shown they don’t know anything.”

The comments might have caused only a mild stir in the presence of other Latin American leaders, who have roundly criticized bankers in the United States and Europe. But said in Brasília with Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain at his side, Mr. da Silva’s comments raised hackles both at home and abroad.

“This was to be Lula’s big chance to show that he was the voice of reasonable, considered leadership,” said Amaury de Souza, a political analyst who heads MCM Consultants in Rio de Janeiro. “Now he can be accused of racism, which greatly weakens Brazil’s claims in foreign policy.”

Some analysts suggested that the Brazilian president, as he often does, may have been making his comments for the working poor, the core of his support. But the comments touched an open wound among Brazil’s elites, who resent the popularity of Mr. da Silva, a former metal worker with a fourth-grade education.

It was not the first time he had flashed his anger about the crisis. After spending the better part of a decade growing its economy, taming inflation and saving more than $200 billion during a commodities boom, Brazil was seen as a model in the world economy.

“Brazil’s desire to be considered one of the major economic powers is part of this frustration that Lula has,” said Johanna Mendelson-Forman, senior associate of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s as if he is saying, ‘Here I have made it as an economic power, and the world crashes.’”

As the economic crisis unfolded in the United States and Europe last fall, Mr. da Silva played down the possibility of contagion in his country.

“There, the crisis is a tsunami,” he said in October. “Here, if it hits, it’s going to be a little wave, not even big enough to surf on.”

But now Brazil’s economy is suffering. Its gross domestic product fell by 3.6 percent in the last quarter of 2008 from the third quarter, the worst drop of any Latin American nation. The country lost 654,946 jobs in December 2008, and 101,748 more jobs in January, according to the Labor Ministry.

The impact is exacting a political price. In March, Mr. da Silva suffered his first drop in popularity in over a year.

His approval ratings in some polls are still impressive, hovering above 70 percent, but they could fall below 50 percent if the economic slide continued, said David Fleischer, a political science professor at the University of Brasília.

Mr. da Silva’s team has impressed some economists with its efforts to try to stop the economic boat from leaking further. And despite the recent drop in popularity, few are counting out Mr. da Silva, one of Brazil’s most resilient politicians. In 2006 he rebounded from scandal to win a runoff and secure his second term. Then the Supreme Court charged two top aides with corruption in 2007, but it failed to affect the president’s popularity, which continued to rise.

Even at the summit meeting in London, his stature seemed to follow him.

One Brazilian news organization showed video of President Obama reaching over to shake Mr. da Silva’s hand. “Here’s my man, right here,” Mr. Obama said. “I love this guy. He’s the most popular politician on earth.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/world/americas/03lula.html?em

TOBOC's Newest Branch- Brazil- Rio De Janeiro

TOBOC is excited to inform our members we have now opened another branch in Brazil- Rio De Janeiro, famous for one of the seven wonders of the world.

Brazil, Rio De Janeiro (PRWEB) April 3, 2009 -- TOBOC is excited to inform our members we have now opened another branch in Brazil- Rio De Janeiro, famous for one of the seven wonders of the world which is 'Christ the Redeemer' Statue apart from our Head Office based in Montreal- Canada with branches in Paris- France, Florida- U.S.A, Bangalore- India and Beijing- China.

Brazil the glamorous land of Carnivals, football, churches, foffee, dance (the samba) and of course rich in natural resources, TOBOC decided to venture into this beautiful country to help exporters and importers gain more visibility worldwide.

Known for its agriculture in soybeans, coffee, meat, sugar cane, citric, cocoa and industrial products like chemical, shoes products, cement, iron, steel, airplanes, engines and automobiles, buses and machines, it is rich in resources as well as manpower.

The Brazilian operations will be headed by Walter Hindenoch. Brazil has many associations pertaining to various sectors and after much research TOBOC could not turn away from the fact that though Brazil is rich in culture and resources, the poverty level cannot go unnoticed.

Having said this we intend to extend a helping hand to all sectors in Brazil by increasing their business growth through us worldwide under the constant supervision of Walter Hindenoch. Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader and TOBOC is proud to have firmly planted its 5th branch in this untapped land high in industrial and agricultural products.

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2009/4/prweb2289914.htm