"Brazil elects 1st female president; Ex-Marxist rebel Rousseff succeeds popular de Silva" by Bradley Brooks, Associated Press / November 1, 2010
SAO PAULO — A former Marxist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured during Brazil’s long dictatorship was elected yesterday as president of Latin America’s biggest nation, a country in the midst of an economic and political rise....
Wildly popular President Luiz Inacio “Lula’’ da Silva entered office with a background as a lefist labor leader, but he governed from a moderate perspective. Under his leadership, the economy grew strongly, and Brazil weathered the global financial crisis better than most nations.
Hasn't Brazil also criticized Bernanke's destruction of the dollar?
He is loved within Brazil by the legions of poor, who consider the nation’s first working-class president one of their own. His social programs and orthodox economic policies have helped lift 20 million people out of poverty and thrust another 29 million into the middle class....
New president Dilma Rousseff was a key player in an armed militant group that resisted the 1964-1985 military dictatorship and was imprisoned and tortured for it. She is a cancer survivor and an ex-minister of energy and Silva’s chief of staff.
You know, the one the CIA had a hand in helping.
Centrist rival Jose Serra also battled the dictatorship, but through politics rather than armed resistance. He headed a national student group that opposed the regime and was forced into exile in Chile in 1965 before heading to the United States, where he earned a doctorate in economics at Cornell.
He SURE SOUNDS LIKE a CIA MAN!
--more--"
"Brazilian wed in US may still be deported; Attorney general won’t reverse denial of asylum" by Russell Contreras, Associated Press / November 9, 2010
A Brazilian man who was recently reunited with his Massachusetts husband when federal officials temporarily allowed him into the United States said he could face deportation because the attorney general will not reverse the immigration ruling that first separated the couple.
Genesio Oliveira, 31, and husband Tim Coco, 49, of Haverhill, were forced to live apart when Oliveira was denied asylum over claims he was raped as a teenager....
I don't like the AGE DIFFERENCE -- and it has nothing to do with sexual preference.
The case gained international attention as gay rights and immigrant advocates criticized US officials for separating a legally married couple....
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Kerry Endorses NAMBLA
Boston Globe Boots Brazil
And I've booted them!
GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLL!!
Although Brazil is one of Latin America’s most tolerant countries toward gays, a number of Brazilian gays have persuaded US judges to grant them asylum on the grounds they would face persecution if sent home....
What is the penalty for lying to a judge?
The couple is looking at all options, including trying to reapply for asylum, suing the federal government, or trying to persuade Congress to pass a bill that would allow Oliveira to stay, Coco said.
“But each one of those options come with risks,’’ he said. “Junior could be forced to go back.’’
Junior?
From a man old enough to be his father?
--more--"
Aaaah, blame it on Rio:
"Brazilian troops, drug traffickers engaged in standoff in Rio slum" by Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press / November 27, 2010
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian military forces took fire from drug-gang members holed up in a massive slum complex yesterday but stood their ground, trapping the traffickers inside.
About 800 troops are supporting a massive police operation at the Alemao complex of shantytowns, an operation that came just a day after police took over a separate slum.
Authorities are not publicizing their plans, but it appears an invasion of Alemao, Rio’s most dangerous slum, is imminent....
Brazil AT WAR with her OWN PEOPLE!
Among those wounded yesterday was the chief Brazil photographer for the Reuters news agency, Paulo Whitaker. Reuters said he suffered a non-life-threatening bullet wound in the shoulder.
The source of the shot was not immediately clear.
Brazil is trying to clean up the seaside city before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Over the past two years, authorities have established permanent police posts in 13 slums as part of an effort to bring basic services to the communities and rid them of violence related to drug trafficking.
In Lula's Brazil?
--more--"
Update: Rio police claim victory against gangs
Wow, that didn't take long after the invasion.
Maybe the Brazilians could pass on some pointers and we can get the hell out of Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans.
