A Jump to the Democracy.

     This interview with Julian Assange, creator in 2006 of Wikileaks. It was made by Paulo Lima and was published at Trip magazine at 16/05/2011. This is a summary. The title is above.

    Paulo:  What is the real historical effect of Wikileaks?
    Julian:   We advocate a simple concept, but abstract. The truth is the only ingredient really useful in the time to take decisions, so, to bring as much of real information as we can to the surface is the right way to decide things.
     Paulo:  And inside this philosophy, if all goes according  you imagine, what comes next?
    Julian:  We want a fairer world, justice is a very strong feeling in the human beings. How the power should be administered and delegated.
      Paulo:  You are optimistic when you think in the future?
    Julian:  I think the politicization of the youth connected to internet, the most significant thing that happened in the world since the 1960s, this is something new, a real revolution.
      Paulo:  If the leaks and the transparency to continue indefinitely, you think that the world runs the risk of becoming a kind of big brother?
      Julian:  Transparency is for governments and for big organizations. Privacy is for individuals. The work of my life have been to protect the citizens against abuses.

Latin America and Caribbean growth will be 4,7% in 2011.

        This is a summary. The title is above. It was published in ECLAC webpage.

       According to a report published in 13 July 2011 by ECLAC, L.A. will grow by 4,7% thanks to the boost of internal demand. IN the economic survey of  L.A. presented by executive secretary of the U.N. Alicia Barcena, the current situation calls for close attention. Ms. Barcena wonders¨ How prepared is L.A. for managing economic growth? We must recocer the fiscal space in order to be able to take measures to ensure sustained growth with productive employment and equality.
      In 2011, the growth is mainly being driven by consumption which is attributable to improved labour indicators and increased credit.
      In terms of countries, the fastest growing this year will be:  1º)  Panama 8.5%   2º)  Argentina 8.3%   3º)  Peru 7.1%   4º)  Uruguay 6.8%   5º)  Ecuador 6.4%   6º)  Chile 6.3%   7º)  Paraguay 5.7%                                                                                    

Latin America was the region with the strongest growth in FDI in 2010.

     This report was published in the ECLAC webpage in 4 may 2011, and the complete title including also Caribbean, but like the own report said the growth was only in L.A. This is a summary.


    

      In 2010, L.A. was the region with the strongest increases as a recipient of FDI ( Foreign Direct Investment), according to a report presented by ECLAC. Last year, the region`s FDI inflows were 40% higher than in 2009.

      In a context of falling foreign investment in developed countries ( -7% ) and rising investment in developing countries ( +10% ), L.A. increased its share of the recipient market from 5%  to 10%  between 2007 and 2010.
      For 2011, FDI flows to L.A. are expected to maintain this trend and increase by 15% to 25%   which could take them to unprecedent high levels, according to the projections of the report luanched by ECLAC.

       Nevertheless, the ECLAC officials did emphasize that ¨ in order to improve the capacity to absorb the benefits of such investment, L.A. need to implement productive development policies focused on innovation and local capacities to promote the creation of quality employment¨.
       According to the report FDI in L.A. in 2010, the region`s main recipient were:  1º) Brazil  48,462 billion.
2º) Mexico  17,726 b.    3º) Chile  15,095 b.    4º) Peru  7,328 b.    5º) Colombia  6,760 b.
       U.S.A. remains the main investor and was responsible for 17% of  total FDI , second Netherlands 13%, China  9% , fourth: Canada and Spain with 4%.
       The main recipient sector in South America were the natural resources with 43% and services 30%.

Vol. Teacher XIV - IMF figures for 2010

   Carrying with economic news about Latin America, here there are some data from the last year. The data are from IMF. The Latin America champion of growth was: 1ª) Paraguay - 15.3% ,    2ª) Argentina - 9.2%      3ª) Peru - 8.8%  ,       4ª) Uruguay - 8.5%  ,         5ª) Brazil - 7.5%  ,         6ª) Panama - 7.5% ,              7ª) Chile - 5.3%.
      By the way, Paraguay was second highest GDP growth in the world, only losing  to   Quatar  - 16.3%    and   3ª place was Singapore  14.5%,          4ª) Taiwan - 10.8% ,       5ª) India - 10.4% ,                          6ª) China - 10.3%.   These were the world champions.

    In Europe, some of the good growth were: Sweden - 5.5% ,     Russia - 4.0% ,        Germany - 3.5%  ,  others importants countries had a low growth, like:  USA - 2.8% ,     Italy - 1.3% ,      U.K. - 1.3%    and Japan - 3.9%.

    The IMF figures of consumer prices to last year were the following from the lowest to highest.
         1ª) Peru - 1.5% ,        2ª) Chile - 1.5% ,        3ª) Colombia - 2.3% ,        4ª) Bolivia - 2.5% ,           5ª) Ecuador - 3.6%       6ª) Paraguay - 4.7% ,       7ª) Brazil - 5.0% ,        8ª) Uruguay - 6.7% ,              9ª) Argentina - 10.5% , Venezuela - 28.2%

     The IMF figures of unemployment in 2010, were:
Lowest unemployment in Europe:    1ª) Norway - 3.6% ,        2ª) Switzerland - 3.6% ,       3ª) Austria - 4.4% ,     5ª) Netherlands - 4.5%.
                  Highest unemployment in Europe were:        1ª) Spain - 20.1% ,            2ª) Serbia - 19.4% ,           3ª) Latvia - 19.0%.
                 In Latin America, the unemployment figures in 2010, were:
Lowest:   Mexico - 5.4%,        Paraguay - 6.1%,        Brazil - 6.7%,           Uruguay - 7.0%
Highest:  Colombia - 11.8%,        Venezuela - 8.6%,         Chile 8.3%.

     These unemployment figures in Latin America is not very accurate in order to compare in global scale, because in L.A. the most of the countries use a metodoly of research different from developed countries.

     An increase of GDP of a country greater than population growth is generally taken as an increase in the standard of living of its population. A growth rate of  2.5% per year will lead to a doubling of GDP within 29 years, whilst a growth rate of  8% per year ( experienced by some Asin tigers) will lead to a doubling of GDP within 10 years. Growth is an avenue through which better living standards and lower rates of poverty can be achieved, growth stimulates higher employment.                                From wikipedia

Vol. Teac. XIII - Latin America GDP Growth 2010

      Lately, we are reading a lot of good economic news about Latin America, specially about South America. It seems that finally, after to struggle too many years to guarantee the economic stabilization, S.A. has found a faster pace in direction to a higher GDP growth, more development with all benefits that this brings to the population, mainly in the labor market, consequently in the rising of wages.

      According to a recent ECLAC report published in December, 2010. L.A. and the caribbean will grow 6% in 2010, being South America 6.6%, Mexico and Central America 4.9% and the Caribbean 0.5%.

      The L.A. champion in GDP gowth of 2010, is  the: 1º Paraguay 9.7%,  2º Uruguay 9.0%,  3º Peru 8.6%,  4º Argentina 8.4%,  5º  Brazil 7.7º,  6º Mexico 5.3%,  7º Chile 5.2%.

       On the other hand, the highest falls were Haiti -7%, due to earthquake and Venezuela -1.6%.

       High levels of world liquidity would push down exchange rates while pushing up commodity prices, which could harm the external accounts and lead to excessive specialization in the production and export of commodities.

       According to another report from ECLAC, L.A. growth rate could outstrip the global average this decade(2010-2019). It seems that L.A. has learned from its lost decade of the eighties and from its debt crisis. Panama has got its investment grade in 2010, the others who have already are: Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru. The probably next are: Uruguay and Colombia. Colombia is emerging as South America 3º largest oil producer after Brazil and Venezuela.

       However to bolster the improvements in the labour market and generate more productive employment, the countries need to identify and remove bottleneck, mainly in the education and to strengthen their macroeconomic policies and their jurisdictional security.

    Unemployment in L. A. falls as a result of the economic recovery, equally important is the creation of ¨green jobs¨, particularly in Brazil, Where many houses have been equiped with solar paneled and many persons are working in the recycling industry.

Sustaining Latin America`s Transformation.

    This report was published at Finance and Development magazine in March,2011 and was written by Nicolás Eyzaguirre, IMF`s Western Hemisphere Department`s Director. This is a summary and the title is above.

    With the global crisis behind it, L.A. endowed with a wealth of commodities and now facing favorable external conditions, has great economic opportunities and the potential to become an increasingly important global player. Three countries in the region: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, are members of the G20.
    Better policies played a critical role in the region`s recent relative success, supported by much broader social consensus about the importance of macroeconomic stability.
    Now more people are experiencing a higher standard of living, compared with previous periods of economic expansion. Income distribution, a long-standing weakness in the region, improved in 15 out 18 countries in the region. Increased government transfer to the poor, as well as a narrowing of the wage gap between skilled and low-sklled workers, help explain these improvements. The region`s success in bringing down inflation, which hurts poor people most, has also played a key role.
    The region has the potential to become more prominent on the global stage and raise its share of world output, which has been stable at about 8 to 9% in recent decades. The region`s output grew by about 6% in 2010(second only to Asia) and is projected at about 4 to 5% in the coming years, well above its 30-year average of less than 3%.
    Achieving or even bettering this outcome will require skillful macroeconomic management as well as structural reforms to strengthen the resilience to shocks and boost growth.
   L.A. also needs to be careful about complacency when things are going well. Currently, global conditions have combined to create two very strong tailwinds that are helping L.A., easy external financing and strong commodities prices.
   Boosting productivity and competitiveness remains the key policy challenge over the medium and longer term, although the reasons for low productivity are complex. there is a need for progress on several fronts.
   PUBLIC INVESTMENT - Which is low relative to the more dynamic emerging economies, must be boosted from current levels to address the infrastructure gap. The development of human capital, through better schooling and training, is also essential.
   BUSINESS CLIMATE and OVERALL GOVERNANCE - Improvements in these areas are also essential to harness private investment. This will require diverse efforts, ranging from trimming red tape to improving business security.
   EXTERNAL TRADE - Trade with the faster-growing economies can be deepened and exports can be diversified more generally to reduce over time reliance on advanced economies and commodity exports.
   Countries will also need to accomodate the demands of a growing middle class and increased global competition by upgrading the quality of services in the area of education, health and public security.
   These challenges must be met without compromising the sustainability of government finance, this will require boosting government revenue in some cases and being more careful about spending priorities in others.
   Policymakers will need to carefully manage the generally stimulative global conditions to avoid a recurrence of the boom-bust cycles of the past, while making new efforts to cement conditions for stronger and more equitable growth.

Vol. Teac. XII - Intentional Homicide Rate

  I would like to do a correction, I said that Brazil is among the top ten countries with the highest intentional homicide rate, but I was wrong, actually our country is among the top fifteen. Below is the list with the deadliest countries of the world, the data is from: UNODC, 2004.

              INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE RATE PER 100,000 POPULATION.

 1º South Africa  69.0                         9º Angola  36.0
  2º Colombia  61.1                          10º Burundi  35.4
 3º El Salvador  57.0                        11º Congo  35.2
  4º Jamaica  55.2                              12º Haiti  33.0
 5º Ivory Coast  45.7                        13º Honduras  32.2
  6º Lesotho  37.3                              14º Zimbabwe 32.0
 7º Venezuela  37.0                           15º Brazil  30.8
  8º Guatemala  36.4

   In Europe, the highest intentional homicide rate is from Russia 29.7, after comes Ukraine 12.0

   In this another list, the data is from: laspblog.blogspot.com,2008, is the highest homicide rate among the Brazilian state capitals, and the second list, the safest, in the source, there were not numbers for the safest.

      INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE RATE PER 100,000 POPULATION
              Highest                                     Lowest
       1º Maceio  101.6                         1º Palmas
       2º Recife  61.2                             2º Boa Vista
       3º Vitória  58.9                             3º Florianópolis
       4º Salvador  57.1                         4º Rio Branco
       5º Bélem  50.3                              5º Macapa

Vol. Teac. XII.- Deadliest Carnival on the Brazilian Roads

        I decided posted that report in this blog, because I was watching the TV news when I got knowing that this carnival was the deadliest ever recorded, since all the road`s accidents started to be monitored, there were 213 deaths on the Brazilians roads.
        Specialists said that this increase was due to the rainy weather, but the drivers knows that we are in the rainy season, so I think they should be prepared and drive with due care to this kind of weather, I think that the rain can not be used as a excuse to murder on roads, to the imprudent behavior.
         Sometimes the imprudenters is the own and only victim of their irresponsibility, but when it is not what happens, justice has to be done. I think some measure could be taken to low these so high dead`s rate in vehicule accidents in Brazil.
        More use of breathalyzer on roads and on streets with higher fines to the lawbreakers, the same for who drive above the speed limit or for who passes in forbidden place. Also, as we can see in the previous report, the pedestrians and motocyclists are half of the deadly victim in the traffic and we should demand more respect for them, the fragilest and vulnerable on roads and on streets.
         It is proved that the main cause of accidents is the excess of speed, so why there is no more radars on roads and streets, I think is essential to put these devices in the most dangerous places. Another measure that would be very useful is to build divided highway, at least in curves and in crossing or in urban pieces of the roads.With these measures, Brazil possibly will lose many positions in the deadliest traffic ranking.
        There is not a tragedy and crime like homicide, but, of course that a intentional murder is much worse.
         In both cases, Brazil is among the top ten countries with the highest death`s rate of the world.
   In my opinion, the lawmakers should watch how is the justice in more advanced countries and maybe they realized that murderes usually got a punishment a lot harder than other lawbreakers, consequently, murderes thinks more before to kill somebody.
         The life is short and everybody have the right to live longest as possible.

The law saves lives in the traffic.

    This report was published in Época magazine at 29th November 2010, and was written by Celso Masson, Alberto Cairo and Marco Vergotti. This is a summary and the title is above.

    The world day in memory of the victims of traffic, celebrated in the 21th november brought the launch forward of the decade of actions for the safety on vias criated by UNO(United Nations Organization).
    The target is to reduce the alarming world death rates caused by accidents on roads and on streets.
    The deaths in the traffic, were in 2004, the 9º cause of total of the deaths in the world, in 2030 could be the 5º cause in the ranking.
    In Brazil, the harden of laws since 1997,when was created the Brazilian traffic code, have shown positive results.
    Below, list of  the top ten countries with the deadliest traffic(deaths in the traffic by 100.000 vehicles).

    1º  Cambodia  1000,7                         6º  Mexico   68,1
    2º  Kenya   288,1                                7º  Brazil   67,3
    3º  Egypt   285,9                                 8º  China   61,6
    4º  India   145,4                                  9º  Vietnam   55,8
    5º  Russia   86,1                                 10º  Turkey   34,8

    Comparing national average of deaths with the numbers of deaths in each state, we can see that only four states and the DF stays below of the national average, the safest states are: 1º SP, 2º RS, 3º RJ, 4º SC. And two are around the national average: 5º MG, 6º PR. All the other states are above the national average and the top four states with the deadliest traffic are: 1º MA, 2º PI, 3º AL, 4º PA.
     In the same report, we can see that the percentagem of deaths in relation to total, shows that pedestrian 24,2% and motorcyclist 23,4% are almost half of the deads in the Brazilian traffic.

  

The Brazilian model.

      This report was published in the Economist.com at Nov,18th 2010 and was written by Schumpeter, this is a summary, the title is above.

      Brazil needs to be more innovative to fulfil its promise of being the ¨country of the future¨.
      Stand on the observation deck in Embraer`s final-assembly hangar in São José dos Campos and you can see the case for globalisation laid out below you. Five finished aircraft bear the insignia of airlines from across the world.
      Embraer turned itself around by spotting a market niche in medium-sized jets and by inventing new business models. It pioneered ¨reverse outsourcing¨,doing work of design and assembly itself and contracting out the making of parts to rich-world companies such as General Eletric.
      Embraer is a prime exhibit in a debate that is convulsing Brazilian business, about the country`s capacity to innovate. Brazil`s economy is expected to grow more than 7% this year. The country boast some of the World`s largest companies: Vale is the biggest producer of iron ore, AB Inbev is the biggest brewer and Marcopolo is a big producer of bus.
      But throw  the world ¨innovation¨ and businessmen become more philosophical. Brazil spends a paltry 1.1% of its GDP on R&D compared with 1.4% in China and 3.3% in Japan. Last year Brazil fell 18 places in Insead`s annual innovation index, from 50th to 68th. Worse still, its ratio of basic-product to manufactured-product exports was the highest since 1978. These figures confront Brazilians with a troubling question. Can their country become an innovator in its own right, or is its recent growth is little more than a by-product of China`s appetite for commodities?
     Optimists have more than just Embraer on their side. Natura Cosméticos is emerging as a giant by dint of clever marketing. Natura is also a master of what might be dubbed ¨lean innovation¨. About 40% of its revenues come from products introduced in the past two years. But the company has only 150 R&D staff compared with L`Oréal`s 2,800. Its trick is to form partnership with universities.
    Some of Brazil`s commodity giants have also managed to add brain to muscle. Petrobras is a leader in deep-sea oil production. Most Brazilian cars can run on a mixture of ethanol and petrol, thanks in part to the flex-fuel engine, developed in the country.
  Yet Brazil suffers from two blocks to growth: red tape and gaping inequality.Brazil comes 152nd in the World Bank`s ¨Doing Business¨ rankings for the ease of paying taxes(it took the hyphotetical medium-sized company 2,600 hours a year to comply with the tax code) and 128nd on the ease of starting a business.
   Brazilian companies are also doing far less than their rivals in India and China to master the art o producing goods for the masses. Clever ideas and products aimed at the poor abound in the country. But most of these innovators are foreign. Brazil`s own champions are applying much less ingenuity to producing goods for the local market than for the global one.

Vol. Teac. XI - Enem - part VI

      I would like to clarify that I said wrong, I got confused with the federal agencies, where I really solved my problem of Enem`s password,  is the Federal  Public  Defender  Offices ( .DPU.GOV.BR), an institution essential to the function of the state court, charged with the legal advice, the defense of the individual and collective rights of the needy in all levels and the promotion of the human rights, before the judicial power of the federal government.        source: wikipedia.

      It is not only in Brazil that higher education has been much more demanded, this is a world trend. The university attendance is growing everywhere and the government must to provide also this education.

      According to an OECD report published at Sep. 9th 2008, nearly all the countries researched have seen entry rates increased, and the extra cash needed for this increase, has come from a variety of sources. Some countries such as Britain, charge tuition fees, while nordic countries levy high taxes, USA has a large pot of private financing. To set a example, below the increase in some countries in approximate numbers.

                        UNIVERSITY ENTRY RATE % OF SCHOOL LEAVERS.

                                     2000                       2006

       Australia                     58%                       81%      
       Slovakia                38%                    65%
     South Korea               44%                      63%    
          USA                  43%                    66%
         Ireland                    32%                     42%
       Italy                     39%                      55%
         Turkey                    21%                     30%

Volun. Teacher XI - Enem - part V

    I would like to inform that during service at federal public ministry, I finally saw my grades, got a new password and did my inscription in the SISU. Fortunately I got my place in the public university, by the way, if you want further information about public ministry to learn more about this important government agency, access: .MPU.GOV.BR or .MP.MG.GOV.BR.

    I think INEP should prepare more this year, because, if the trend to keep, there will be more than 5 millions of inscriptions and this is a good news, each year more students and older persons are becoming students again and seeing a real possibility to enter in the university with the SISU or the PROUNI.

    We can only to hope that the supply of places grows steadily to keep up the demand, this time, for example, around 3,1 millions did the exam and only around 90.000 places in the SISU and 123.000 in the PROUNI were supplied. This is not just a supply and demand issue, Brazil needs urgently more qualified labor, to set a example, I did a little summary and translated a report published in the BBC Brasil, it was written by Fabrícia Peixoto in 08/06/2010. The title is, " For economists, the country can not take growth so fast." The expansion of the Brazilian economy in a Chinese pace in the first quarter, it is not sustainable, says economists listened by BBC Brasil. For them, the country can not take a so accelerated growth like China, specially due lacks in infrastructure and skilled labour. If this growth to keep, we will have infrastructure blackouts or be, collapse in the economy, in moments of strong growth, the economists usually remember that every country has a limit of expansion, the called trend growth, in the brazilian case, economists put this limit at 4% to 5% a year.

Volunt. Teacher XI - Enem IV

    Once more, Enem is causing headache to who did it, like myself, I do not know how, neither why, but I am not able to see my grades and consequently to do the inscription in the Sisu. My former password, which I did my inscription to do the tests, I still remembered it, does not work, neither the new one, which was sent by msn, it is always the same message, ¨invalid password¨.
    Today, 19/01, I went in the public federal ministry, because I do not see other solution, I have tried in many places, since I do not have a PC at home, I have called MEC more than twenty times, and always the same answer that everybody are busy or simply the call do not complete.
    I am studying online in a private university right now, but I would like to finish the course in a public university in the presencial way, so I hope that my problem and that all persons having some kind of trouble with this exam can have time and opportunity to solve all of  them, in order to do the enrollment where they want to study.  We deserve more respect, after all, we are paying for this system of evaluation, and if they think, it is were necessary, charge more in order to improve it, it is worth, because, the students have been spending time and money studying for this exam, sometimes years of study and expenditure.

Vol. Teacher X - Difference Between American and English Spelling

     As I told before, one of the reasons of this blog is to be more one source of reading in English for Brazilians. In this post I would like to show something that is not often commented in English classes, but is, I think interesting to know. So, let`s give a little English class for my readers.

      English is spoken throughout the world, and, while most of the words used in British English will be the same as those used in American English, there are some words which are different in each country and having the same meaning. Some words, the difference is only one or two letters, others change the entire word, below there are, first the minimal difference and then the second example.

           Portuguese                     American                         British

             Porto                              Harbor                       Harbour
           Honra                               Honor                         Honour
         Empenho                           Endeavor                      Endevour

        Apartamento                   Apartment                           Flat
            Aviao                           Airplane                         Aeroplane
           Calças                           Pants                                Trousers
   Caminhao de lixo              Garbage truck                 Dustbin lorry
           Carona                          Ride                                 Lift
    Chave de porca                  Wrench                          Spanner
  Centro(de uma cidade)       Downtown                         Centre                
        Currículo                       Resume                        Curriculum Vitae
  Diretor(de escola)              Principal                            Headmaster
   Estacionamento              Parking  lot                         Car park
      Flanela                        Washcloth                             Flannel
       Fila                              Line                                     Queue
    Fio elétrico                     Cord                                    Flex
     Fogão                            Stove                                  Cooker
     Futebol                        Soccer                               Football
   Lata de lixo                  Garbage can                         Dustbin
   Ligar `a cobrar             Call colect                      Reverse the charges
      Metrô                         Subway                              Underground
   Milho                          Corn                                    Maize
   Outono                       Fall                                       Autumm
   Pára-brisa                    Windshield                           Windscreen
  Passagem ida/volta        Round trip ticket                    Return ticket
    Sobremesa                     Dessert                                Pudding
Tábua(madeira cortada)       Lumber                              Timber
    Telefone celular             Cell phone                         Mobile phone

Volunt. Teacher IX - This Blog - part II

    When appeared, blogs were seen only as online daily, a space where the persons could tell their everyday stories and to share experiences and ideas. With the popularization of the internet and more efficiency of search mecanisms such as goggle, blogs are having now another dimension, greater importance.

    Reports can be built by any person, after research in many trustful sources, if the writer had knowledge of English, those sources are outnumbered, multiplied several times, by the way, one of the reasons that I write this blog in English is due the fact of this language has become very important, because of many reasons such as: globalization, growth of tourism, the internet, etc and this way, we Brazilians have more chance to pratice our reading and consequently to improve our spelling.

    I began to study this language when I was a teenager, but only in the last ten years this study has become more serious, in fact, this year I will graduate in languages(Portuguese and English).

    There are many sites of countries` statistics, if you want to know the world better or if you want to know how Brazil is placed, I think you could access some such as: .worldbank.org ; .nationmaster.com ; .visionofhumanity.org ; .worldometers.info ; infoplease.com ; etc.

     There are also many statistics and reports produced by important and trustful organizations such as: .un.org ; .oecd.org ;  .weforum.org ; etc.

     If you want to comment some information with me or about this blog, you can send a email to: yourtch@hotmail.com , to know what readers are thinking is important and if you knows another blog written by Brazilians in English, you could tell me, I would appreciate.