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mynameismud
climber
backseat
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How come no one ever bitches about the Fascists?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Well, Dilma, like Lula, may have Marxist roots but she has been thoroughly
co-opted by a combination of common sense and intelligence. She will continue
Lula's policies almost verbatim and if you think those are Marxist then you
haven't taken a very close look at Brasil's economy. Granted, there is too
much centralization and a number of other problems that one could label as
'socialist' but probably not much different than most of the EU.
I detailed some of those here:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1343833&msg=1344332#msg1344332
This week's "The Economist":
Raining on her parade, but still smiling
Jan 1st 2011, 21:26 by H.J. | SÃO PAULO
THE rain pelted down on Brasilia on the afternoon of January 1st as Dilma Rousseff’s cavalcade drove along the Esplanade of the Ministries on her way to the National Congress. But the spirits of Brazil’s first female president seemed undampened, as she smiled broadly and waved through the window of the Rolls Royce that replaced the planned open-topped car at the sea of umbrellas on either side. Once in Congress, she paid tribute to her predecessor and mentor, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, in particular for the progress made during his eight years in power in reducing extreme poverty. “Social mobility was impressive during Lula’s two mandates,” she told members of Congress and other luminaries. “But poverty still exists, disfiguring our country and stopping us from claiming to be a fully developed nation.”
To change that, she said, would require continued economic growth, job creation, price stability and a better return on public spending. The task of simplifying Brazil’s byzantine tax code she described as “urgent”. She promised reforms that would strengthen the country’s “young” democracy, including increased transparency. And she thanked Brazilians for electing their first woman president. “I am not here to praise my own life,” she avowed, “but to glorify the lives of all Brazilian women. My supreme promise is to honour women, protect the weakest and to govern for all.”
Ms Rousseff is stepping into the presidency at an extraordinary moment, both politically and economically. Lula’s name appeared on the ballot paper in every presidential election since 1989 until in 2010, barred by the constitution from seeking a third term, he anointed Ms Rousseff as his preferred successor. In his own campaigns he spoke almost exclusively of poverty—and to the poor. Now, Brazil’s economy is booming and the growth of the middle class, which included the majority of Brazilians for the first time in 2009, is changing every facet of life. Little wonder that on the election trail both Lula and his protégée mentioned the middle classes at least as often as the poor, offering a potent policy combination of income transfers to the poorest and praise and support for the upwardly mobile.
But Ms Rousseff must move quickly to tackle the problems of growth like high and rising inflation, an overvalued currency and a big increase in consumer credit. Then there are the task Lula left undone. These include a list of reforms that defeated even as consummate a politician as Ms Rousseff's predecessor. Brazil’s labour code remains an anachronism; its payroll taxes are far too high; its bureaucrats are obstructionist and unsackable; and political corruption is still rife. It is a daunting to-do list, but since being elected on October 31st all the signs have been that Ms Rousseff knows what she needs to do, and has the guts to do it.
ps
If you get a qualified pat-on-the-back from "The Economist" chances are
pretty good you're no Marxist.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2011 - 12:34pm PT
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Time will tell I guess, Dingus. Didn't go so well for Venezuela.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2011 - 12:48pm PT
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Now you have a boogeywoman too!
Ho, man, you don't know the half of it....don't get me started.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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If you want a little more detailed look at Dilma the Marxist then here ya go:
http://www.economist.com/node/17797502?story_id=17797502
"she wants to cut net government debt, now 42%, to 30% of GDP over her term. She is resisting pressure from her Workers’ Party and its allies for a big rise in the minimum wage"
She sounds more like a Republican than a Democrat, let alone a Marxist!
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2011 - 01:45pm PT
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She does, Reilly. Maybe she's shaken her Marxist past? Kinda like Cuba?
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2011 - 04:21pm PT
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That's an old pic, Locker....that was my 'creative and sensitive' phase.
Didn't last long. I was a graceful f*#ker though...
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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China Rolls Out Its First Stealth Aircraft
BEIJING — China’s first radar-evading stealth fighter staged a runway test at an airbase in central China on Wednesday and could make its first flight as early as Thursday afternoon, the Hong Kong editor of a Canadian military journal said.
But the nation’s state-run media, which called news of the tests “rumors” in Wednesday’s newspapers, sought to play down reports about the aircraft’s capabilities. And comments about the new jet’s test regimen abruptly disappeared from blogs run by Chinese military enthusiasts.
The American magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology first reported on tests of the new plane, designated the J-20, in an article released on Monday. Military analysts say that photographs of the new jet on the tarmac at an airfield near Chengdu, have been appearing on blogs since mid-December.
Andrei Chang, the editor of Kanwa Defense Weekly in Hong Kong, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that he had been authoritatively told that the jet will make its first test flight on Thursday, weather permitting.
He said Chinese officials appeared to have deliberately allowed word of the tests to become public, even to the point of bringing the jet to a Chengdu airfield, Factory 132 of the city’s aircraft design institute, that is commonly watched by military hobbyists, in a bid to display the nation’s growing military sophistication.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/world/asia/06china.html
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Gary
climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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And we paid for it!
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Jan 10, 2011 - 05:45pm PT
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jstan
climber
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Jan 10, 2011 - 05:48pm PT
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Probably more significant is Jintao's willingness to meet with Gates following talks by the two defense secretaries.
There may be military relevance to China's stealth capability. I am no judge. That a prototype was built sooner than our intelligence estimates indicated, is significant. But note. Any test data we have on actual performance specifications for this platform are limited and probably obtained from satellite. (That anyone would court this much public exposure for a plane that has yet to fly, is not credible.)
Most significant of all is the fact stealth has pushed China's progress in rocket development off the front page.
I think if you once realize China loses were it to destroy its biggest customer and possibly the whole planet, you have to see all of this as choreography. Probably choreography managed by the Chinese military establishment, planing to use our new Congress as a foil.
I finger the military because in any ensuing arms race between the two nations the dollar will suffer. The military is not that concerned with decline in value of China's holdings denominated in dollars. Indeed, such would be considered a victory ten times larger than what could be gained in any military engagement.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jan 10, 2011 - 06:14pm PT
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The latest thing in stealth aircraft
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jan 10, 2011 - 06:37pm PT
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Its what our AF will look like when China calls in the debt.
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jstan
climber
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Jan 10, 2011 - 07:13pm PT
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We are now ready to be Reaganized.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
leading the away team, but not in a red shirt!
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Jan 10, 2011 - 07:40pm PT
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As long as the Giant Bugs don't attack. I hate when that happens.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 10, 2011 - 07:45pm PT
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"Communism is like one big phone company."
Lenny Bruce
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 22, 2011 - 12:56am PT
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We're being co-opted to China. Wake up!
Watch the press conferences between the Prez and the One. Spooky....
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 22, 2011 - 10:19am PT
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Where was your big screen TV made bluey? US of A? Have you even bothered to check?
Japan, I think...
But I receive your point and concur. There is a website however to tackle this issue of unfair trade. See here;
americanjobcreators.com
I sent a letter. Will you?
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