|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
(Portuguese)
Rio Carnival News - O Globo (Portuguese) Rio Carnival News - Jornal do Brasil (Portuguese) Rio Carnival News - O Dia (Portuguese) Rio Carnival News - UOL |
.PNG){kind=logo}
| NEWS from
the Capital of Carnaval: BRAZIL |
||||||||
"Our time has come. Among the 10 largest economies in the world, Brazil is the only country that has never hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games. "Among the countries that are now competing, we are the only ones that never had this opportunity. For us, this will not just be an Olympic Games. For us, it will be the opportunity to be equal.
"The doors of Brazil are open for the biggest party of humanity: the Olympic and Paralympic Games of Rio, one of the most beautiful and welcoming cities in the whole world. We need your support and vision for the future. Rio is ready. "If you give us this opportunity, you will not regret it. And you can be sure that the games in Rio will be unforgettable, because they will be full of the passion, happiness and creativity of the Brazilian people. "For South America, it will be a magical moment. For the Olympic movement, an opportunity to feel the warmth of our people, the exuberance of our culture, the sun of our happiness. "And to send a clear message to the world: the Olympic Games belong to all people, to all continents, to the entire humanity. "Looking at the five rings of the Olympic symbol, I see my country in them: a Brazil of men and women from all continents - Americans, Europeans, Africans, Asians, all proud of their origins and prouder of feeling Brazilian." |
||||||||
|
BBC on Brazil
 |
BBC Best
|
| 2008 Carnival Summit in France | ||||
 |
||||
|
||||
|
Carnaval & Church
|
|||||
|
Brazil has more Catholics than any other county |
|||||
|
|
|
|
Brazil
- USA:
|
||
|
Most important oil discovery in years |
||
|
The Brazilian government in late 2009 announced
plans for the national oil company, Petrobras, to control
all future development of the deep-sea fields discovered in
2007. This is a step back from more than a decade of close
cooperation with foreign oil companies and more directly control
the extraction itself. The oil lies beneath about 20,000 feet of water, shifting sand, and a thick layer of salt. This so-called pre-salt region, stretching hundreds of miles, is the biggest oil reserve being developed in the world today. Full-scale production is not till 2020 and foreign companies are very much involved in projects, including the giant field, called Tupi,which with between five billion and eight billion barrels, is the biggest single Western Hemisphere find in at least three decades. However, the President is leading a strong sentiment that the oil belongs to Brazil and the lion's share revenues should be reinvested in education and health care. Petrobras has emerged as a global leader in the oil industry and is behind Brazil producing 2.4 million barrels a day — just behind longtime oil power Venezuela. When it completes the first phase of its development on the deep oil field in about 5 years and $174 billion Brazil will be an oil exporter. President Lula da Silva, with majority support in Congress is expected tr prevail
|
| Amazon Forest Management |
| The Amazon represents 58.5%
of the Brazilian territory. The Amazon rainforest holds the
largest reserve of living organisms in the world. The precise
number of species in it is not known, but scientists estimate a
figure between 800 thousand and 5 million species – 15 to 30% of
all known species in the world.
Clear ownership records exist for less than 4 percent of the land in private hands throughout the Brazilian Amazon, government officials said. Here in Pará, officials have discovered false titles for about 320 million acres, almost double the amount of land that actually exists, according to federal officials. The problem began with the military dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, which invited settlers to occupy the Amazon but required them to clear forests to gain access to land and credit. Growing criticism of Brazil’s Amazon policies pushed the civilian government of the 1980s to develop laws that, on paper at least, were among the world’s most protective of forests. But with scant presence of authorities to enforce them, the laws did little to stop the widespread grabbing of land. “This chaos of legal insecurity was the most important basis for the perverse incentives in the Amazon to pillage rather than to preserve or to develop, and constant incitement to violence,” said Roberto Mangabeira Unger, the former minister for strategic affairs who helped develop the new land law. Under the law, which applies to more than 150 million acres,
the government will award plots up to 250 acres free to
settlers. Accounting for
roughly half of tropical deforestation between 2000 and 2005,
Brazil is the most important supply-side player when it comes to
developing a climate framework that includes reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). But
Brazil's position on REDD contrasts with proposals put forth by
other tropical forest countries, including the Coalition for
Rainforest Nations, a negotiating block of 15 countries.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has created the
Amazon Fund, which he seeks to finance to the tune of $21
billion through donations from industrialized countries,
individuals, and private companies. But under the current
design, the scheme would be somewhat akin to development aid
rather than be part of a market with fungible carbon offsets,
the market-based approach to REDD favored by most other players
|
| 2007 Pan American to 2014 World Cup | ||
|
|
||
“2010 will be a year of planning, organization and
periodical meetings with the International Olympic Committee that
will deliver to Rio 2016 Organizing Committee a set of documents
that actually constitute the base on which the project will be
built, that is, the various technical manuals and the general
schedule of the Games”, the president of Rio 2016 Organizing
Committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman, explained.
Taking back the falvelas: Rio officials are adding 3,300 police officers this year, and at least 4,000 more in 2011 to Rio’s force of 45,000. Nearly all of the new officers will be employed as peacekeepers in the slums, Mr. Silviana said.Rio officials are adding 3,300 police officers this year, and at least 4,000 more in 2011 to Rio’s force of 45,000. Nearly all of the new officers will be employed as peacekeepers in the slums, Mr. Silviana said. Occupying Rocinha and nearby Vidigal, which together have well over 100,000 residents, will be a much greater challenge. Rocinha is high on a hill that overlooks critical areas like the South Zone, São Conrado and Barra da Tijuca. Once control of a falvela by a drug gang is broken a shadow paramilitary governments takes over. While the northern zone of Rio is engulfed in a feud between drug gangs, the western zone is increasingly dominated by these paramilitary groups who now control 88 favelas while the drug gangs' control has been reduced to 71."The current mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, campaigned on a platform which defended the power of the paramilitaries." As soon as the paramilitaries expel the drug gangs, they impose on the favelas a form of feudal system which strictly controls the population, and which is similar to that which Colombian paramilitaries inflict on areas they control. "They charge for security. Also for healthcare. Pirated cable TV costs 20 reais . At night there is a curfew," recounts a young woman from the Vila Sapé favela.
Chico Alencar, a Rio Congressman who campaigned
for investigations into the massive
overspending at the Pan Am Games. "The chronic problems that we have
here are the same as they always were," Alencar said. "I want Rio to
win the right to host the games, but we need to learn from our past
mistakes and the myth of the Pan American Games and all that they
didn't leave behind. If we get the Olympics, then all sectors of
society need to unite to ensure that there is a social legacy and no
overspending." Brazil, which has won a record five World Cups, was awarded the right to host 2014 World Cup  tournament following the 2007 XV Pan American Games in Rio
de Janeiro. As many as 12 Brazil Cities may participate while
Macarena stadium in Rio will host the final. The South American country hosted the
competition once before, losing to Uruguay in the mythical 1950
final.
Hosting the 2014 World Cup is a key element in successfully hosting the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics. The earlier deadline is being used for many large infrastructure projects including the bullet train between Sao Paulo and Rio. |
||
| Fast Facts | ||
|
|
||
| Brazil is the largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador | ||
| Rio de Janeiro became the capital of Brazil after the discovery of gold inland in 1763. In 1960 it lost its capital city status to Brasilia. | ||
| Brazil visitors looking for value like leather goods, shoes, gems, music, traditional handcrafts, lace, embroidery, and artifacts from Brazil’s indigenous tribes. | ||
| The Atlantic Ocean stretches along Brazil’s Eastern side, up to a total of 7,367 km (approx. 4,604 mi) of coastline. | ||
| Its population is concentrated along the Atlantic coastline of the Northeastern and Southeastern regions. 50% of the industrial output is located in the Southeastern state of São Paulo. Most of Brazil's population (81.2%) now lives in cities | ||
| Brazil has the biggest black population of any country outside Nigeria. | ||
| Over 10 million African slaves were shipped to Brazil, six times more than to the United States. | ||
| About 54 percent (95 million) are mainly of European origin, descendants of immigrants from Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany and Eastern Europe. More than 45 percent (80 million) are black or of mixed-race, a legacy of the African slave trade. Less than 1 percent (700,000) are from indigenous groups, mostly Indians in the Amazon region; smaller numbers of Japanese, other Asians, and Arabs live in the larger Brazilian cities. | ||
| The rhythm Brazil is best known for, is samba. | ||
Nowadays, most Brazilians from the south are descendants of the
European immigrants who settled in the late 19th century.
 |
||
| Mail from Brazil is quick and efficient. Post offices (correios) are found everywhere, readily identifiable by the blue-and-yellow sign | ||
| When writing addresses in Brazil, the street number follows the name of the street (so the address "Av. Atlântica 2000" would roughly translate as "2000 Atlantic Ave."). Often in smaller towns or beachfront communities, a street name will be followed by the abbreviation "s/n." This stands for sem numero (without number) | ||
| Tipping -- A 10% service charge is automatically included on most restaurant and hotel bills and you are not expected to tip on top of this amount. If service has been particularly bad you can request to have the 10% removed from your bill. Taxi drivers do not get tipped; just round up the amount to facilitate change. Hairdressers and beauticians usually receive a 10% tip. Bellboys get tipped R$1 to R$2 (US50¢-US$1/£.25-£.50) per bag. Room service usually includes the 10% service charge on the bill. | ||
| São Paulo is the third biggest city in the world, after Tokyo and Mexico City. | ||
| In Brazilian-Portuguese, "abobrinhas" is the art of talking shit. Or, as one blogger refers to it,"small talk; useless information, foolish chit-chat; non-sense; fluff." Little Pumpkins (the literal translation of "abobrinhas" | ||
| Brazil-U.S.
Business Council 1615 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20062 brazilcouncil.org Phone: (202) 463-5485 Fax: (202) 463-3126 |
||
| Brazilian Consulates in USA
Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United
Nations, New York |
||
| U.S.-Brazil Relations by brazilny.org [NYC Consulate] | ||
| Read an updated story of the birth of the Americas as Carnaval.com salutes the capital of global Carnaval as they come into their own as a top ten country and a rival to the USA in influencing the new global culture of the 3rd millennium. | ||
|
||
