Brazil Meltdown

[BRVoice]

Rick, what a fuck up world we are living now.

Your signature is the way to do it, in my country.

Washington didn't use his freedom of speech to defeat the British, he shot them.

[BRVoice]

What Brazil need is real patriots, not half asses teenagers with a communist flag on the streets but real patriots like we have in the past like José Bonifácio, Duke of Caxias, Rui Barbosa (the Eagle of Haia) Marshall Castello Branco, General Costa e Silva, General Médici, and others.

[American Patriot]

Civil war is a very bad thing. Look at all the Middle Eastern countries that are going through constant civil war now.

"Change" is what Obama wanted. Honestly, I think he too wanted "Civil War". Why would a man, obviously NOTHING like Lincoln compare himself over and over to the other?

Because he wants to be in the same position - to be able to be remembered in history as "A Black Lincoln"... to stomp out the South (United States South) once and for all.


The truth is that Lincoln was a Republican, not a Democrat. Slavery was a "Southern thing" but it wasn't the REPUBLICANS it was the Democrats.

Obama is probably not even an American. He's likely born in Kenya or in Philippines and they hid it. He's no Lincoln.

Now, that I know doesn't equate to your country, not really, but Civil War is a war between the peoples of the country. Even in the US it was "the North vs the South". So there are those who took the side of the Union because they believed in Federalism. There were those who took the side of the South because they believed in States' Rights. Slavery, unfortunately wasn't the reason (as much as the Left wants to make it so, it aint) the whole reason for the Civil War. Slowly, over time since the 1960s the Left has been re-writing History books to make it sound like it was ALL about slavery.

It wasn't.

In your case it would be about the people vs the government.

That would be "revolution". A change of government.

If it happened today in our country, it would be both, people fighting the government and brother against brother (in both the literal and figurative sense). The Right vs the Left. The Socialists vs the Gun owners. The Communists vs the Capitalists. And everyone but the Big Government lovers against the Government.

Complicated.

[BRVoice]

You know what is worse. Our government have disarmed the people. 'We the People' here on Brazil don't have any weapons to defend ourselves.

[American Patriot]

By the way, side note, "Winds of Change" was the name of my last Sailboat. lol

[BRVoice]

'Winds of change'!! Great name Rick!

[BRVoice]

Thanks for the lesson about the American Civil War Rick, that is one thing I will never hear here in Brazil.

[American Patriot]

Sold that boat.

New one will be called "Winds of Time".

Assuming it isn't this boat:


She's the Midnight Princess... and we're looking at her. lol

Sorry.... back to Brazil!

[American Patriot]

6/18/2013 @ 1:24PM |138 views

The Awful Truth About Brazil's Protests: The 'Country Of The Future' Is Still Hostage To Its Past

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Protestors take over Brazil's National Congress (Photo: AP/Eraldo Peres)



Just two years ago, as a guest in the Brazilian political talk-show Roda Viva, Eike Batista called Bill Gates “monothematic.” According to the man who lost the biggest amount of money in the world last year, the founder of Microsoft MSFT +0.19% erroneously dedicated too much of his time to the founding of the company. Batista, as he explained, was the ultimate modern entrepreneur for creating not one but many companies from the scratch, all at the same time, and with activities in different sectors and destined to be worth billions of dollars each.


Gates’ alleged monotheism has brought him back to the top spot in Forbes’ Worlds Billionaires list, replacing Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim — a task, it must be remembered, that a multitasked Batista promised in 2010 he would perform himself. Now worth roughly $6 billion, down from $30 billion in March 2012, Batista has seen the value of his six listed, pre-operational and heavily public-funded companies fall by as much as 78%. And that was in 2013 alone.

Can Brazil Really Handle The 2014 FIFA World Cup? Anderson Antunes Contributor

The man who wanted to be the richest of them all is clearly on the wane. And so is his native country of Brazil. Slower growth and high inflation, an appreciating dollar and a possible runaway credit boom facing the country’s banking system have showed the world that, just as Batista, credit crazy Brazil is heading for trouble.


Over the last ten years, the massive increase in credit in Brazil made room for a potential risk of credit crunch for its financial sector. That happened before in countries like Ireland and Greece, who have recently experienced crisis of huge proportions. Such scenario is unlikely in Brazil due to the country’s government capacity to avoid disaster, as it has the sufficient assets to prevent this, but it could create some difficulties.


There’s already evidence of a housing bubble. Defaults are on the rise and consumer confidence is declining, plus Brazil’s credit-fueled growth is starting to reach its limits — in recent years, the country’s economy has slowed dramatically, from 7.5% in 2010 to a projected growth rate in the -3% territory this year. Add to that a growing complaint over poor services and World Cup costs, a complicated and inefficient infrastructure program that falls far short of what is needed for a country hoping to break out of the “middle income trap,” and the result is a shock of reality filled with uncertainty and anxiety, the sort of buoyant sentiment that precedes retreat, as the recent events in the country have showed.


The finishing touch for that was an 8% increase in public transport fares in Brazil’s largest cities, which culminated with hundreds of thousands of Brazilians going to the streets in a outcry for zero-fare public transport, a utopic idea that would cost the government billions of extra dollars (the bill to transport the more than 10 million people in Sao Paulo alone who use public transport would very likely be paid by taxpayers) but still the sort of idea that unites people against the status quo.


The timing for Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff couldn’t be worse, since analysts are already predicting that her bid for re-election next year won’t be an easy competition, as previously forecasted. The dissatisfaction with economic policy has already made an impact in the leader’s popularity, which has dropped the most since Rousseff took office in 2011.


Back to Batista. Just like Brazil, he has promised too much and has delivered little. He created a business plan that was too good to be true, and it never ended up materializing. In struggling mode, Batista is now on a desperate spree to sell assets, reduce staff and cancel projects as his commodities and logistics startups accumulate losses.


Batista’s egocentric style of business equals that of the Workers’ Party government implanted in Brazil by former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and continued by Rousseff — while the billionaire basically cared only about assuming the role of the so-called new Brazil’s go-to-boy for international investors, Lula, Rousseff and his mates (who have massively helped Batista with friendly loans from state-controlled banks, and are now facing a possible default) cared more about perpetuating themselves in power than about putting in place the planning and the structural reforms needed to improve the quality and efficiency of growth in order to consolidate a proper macroeconomic policy, all of which are old problems that never got fixed and are holding Brazil from definitely taking off.


In other words, the government didn’t do its homework. Neither did Batista. Both sinned for seeing themselves as risk averse. And in spite of Brazil’s democracy being “stronger today than it was yesterday,” as Rousseff said Tuesday in a televised speech to acknowledge the weight of the recent protests in the country, that is not an achievement of the government, but of the people. The protests, as well as the market reaction to the billionaire’s fall, are much more than that. They’re indicating that the bonanza times in Brazil are coming to an end, and so is the humor of its citizens and that of the investors who have believed in and bet on the Brazilian dream.
The giant is now awake, and he is hungry for change.

[American Patriot]

• Updated June 18, 2013, 11:20 a.m. ET

Anger Spills Onto Brazil's Streets


By JOHN LYONS And ROGERIO JELMAYER

SÃO PAULO—Protests that began last week against a bus-fare increase exploded into massive countrywide demonstrations on Monday, with tens of thousands of people railing against everything from over spending to build World Cup stadiums to corruption and crime.


"This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Wilson Vasconcelos, a 40-year-old technology worker who was among the more than 30,000 estimated marchers in São Paulo on Monday, many carrying protest signs and flags. "We've seen the excessive spending for the Cup, corruption. This country needs to change."


Enlarge Image





Zuma Press Demonstrations that began against bus-fare increases spread on Monday. Here, protesters last week.



See Related Video on WorldStream

• Protesters Gather in Sao Paolo
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The protests began last week in São Paulo mainly among students but spread quickly to cities including Rio de Janeiro and the capital Brasilia, and to ordinary Brazilians, presenting President Dilma Rousseff with her biggest political challenge yet.


The demonstrations are fueled by widespread frustration about the rising cost of living, crime, perceived overspending for next year's World Cup tournament, politicians widely viewed as corrupt, and inadequate public education, health and transport systems.
Protesters Flood Brazilian Streets

See photos from massive countrywide demonstrations Monday, fueled by widespread frustration about the rising cost of living, crime and corruption.
View Slideshow



AFP/Getty Images Thousands of students stood in the gardens of the National Congress in Brasilia, Monday.





More Coverage

Protests Go Viral as Masses Take to Street

Brazil's President Praises Peaceful, Democratic Protests





The marches were mostly peaceful. But in Brasilia, hundreds of protesters swarmed the flat roof of the modernist Congress building. And in Rio de Janeiro the protests became unruly where young men set fires outside the state legislature and overturned and torched at least one car.
Ms. Rousseff, who fought Brazil's military dictatorship as a young socialist, called peaceful protests "legitimate" and the right of "youth" and the government instructed police not to confront the protesters.


Not long ago, many observers saw Ms. Rousseff breezing toward re-election next year during a vote set to come a few months after her starring role as World Cup host.
It isn't shaping up that way. Ms. Rousseff's popularity has slumped amid an onset of crosswinds: Economic growth has slowed, the currency weakened and inflation—long the bête noire of the Brazilian economy—is inching up.


Fans booed Ms. Rousseff loudly Saturday as she kicked off a Brazil-Japan soccer match at a brand new stadium in Brasilia—one of several built for the World Cup. But the most visceral evidence of Brazilian discontent came outside the stadium: Police firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the latest in a string of protests that have turned violent from São Paulo to other states in recent days.


São Paulo state officials promised on Monday that police wouldn't be armed with rubber bullets. Photos of police confronting protesters last week are widely seen as having given momentum to the protest movement, and authorities sought to defuse tension.
Enlarge Image












To be sure, the street protests aren't explicitly against Ms. Rousseff. They include people of various political stripes and have occurred in some states, such as São Paulo, that are governed by the opposition.


And, Ms. Rousseff is still popular and holds a big lead over her expected challenger, Aecio Neves, of the opposition Social Democrat Party of Brazil.


Still, the protests illustrate a broader panorama of pessimism that complicates the political landscape for Ms. Rousseff.


"The protests on the street go straight to the heart of the long-term problems of Brazil, a series of complaints that are hard to fix, and a sense of business as usual in government," said Matias Spektor, an author and associate professor at Brazil's Getulio Vargas Foundation university. "The political climate has changed."


It wasn't supposed to be this way. A former Marxist guerrilla, Ms. Rousseff took office as Brazil's first female president in 2011 by a wide margin. Ms. Rousseff's victory was helped by the popularity of her predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who picked her to succeed him. She ran as no-nonsense manager who would improve on Mr. da Silva's popular policies of job creation through state-backed infrastructure projects, welfare spending and other initiatives made possible by fast economic growth.



Though Ms. Rousseff inherited an economy that grew 7.5% in 2010, the outlook quickly changed. The commodities boom that lifted Brazil—the world's biggest exporter of iron, soy, beef and other products—lost steam. Consumer spending has slipped as shoppers became saddled with debt. Brazil's economic growth slowed to around 1% last year. The inflation rate has risen to around 6%, putting more pressure on the cost of living that soared in big cities amid the boom.


The latest black eye came from Standard & Poor's, which warned on June 7 it may cut Brazil's credit rating on concerns about government spending and slowing growth.


On June 9, Ms. Rousseff's approval rating dropped for the first time since taking office in January 2011, falling 8 percentage points from the March level to 57%, according to a poll by the leading Datafolha polling firm. Her rating plunged by 16% among people with college educations, and fell by 13% in Brazil's more industrialized southern states.


Ms. Rousseff remains most popular in the impoverished states of Brazil's north, where a popular welfare program called Bolsa Familia, or Family Stipend, has had a big impact on living standards.


But a sense of insecurity burst into the open in these states as well last month. Desperate crowds of welfare recipients crammed government bank branches across 13 Brazilian states to withdraw their Bolsa Familia accounts on May 18, in several cases breaking windows, after a false rumor spread that the Bolsa Familia program was about to be discontinued. They made 900,000 withdraws in two days, forcing some bank branches to close.


"The current wave of protests may fade, but they'll come back. The next focus could be poor hospitals, underfinanced schools, high crime rates," said Jim Wygand, a São Paulo-based security and political risk consultant. The reason is that Brazil has created a new middle class and they are becoming increasingly aware of their weight in Brazilian society."


—Tom Murphy
contributed to this article.
Corrections & Amplifications

Brasilia was misspelled as Brazilia in a photo caption accompanying an earlier version of this article. Also, an earlier version of this article incorrectly said protesters swarmed the flat room of the modernist Congress building. They swarmed the building's roof.

[American Patriot]

The Markets might implode? Go here: http://www.businessinsider.com/prote...-brazil-2013-6 to see images

It's Hard To Look At These Photos From Indonesia And Brazil And Not Worry About A Much Bigger Emerging Market Blowup
Joe Weisenthal Jun. 17, 2013, 8:37 PM 25,153 40

The protests in Turkey continue to dominate the attention of media, but today there were two other protests in red-hot emerging markets that warrant your attention, especially since the basic narratives are fairly similar.

In Indonesia and Brazil — where governments are hoping to pursue fiscal consolidation — protests have turned violent.

In Indonesia the initial driver of protests is the removal of a fuel subsidy.

In Brazil, it's over an increase in bus fares, as well as general frustration over inequality, and the money being spent on next year's World Cup.

Both — along with other emerging markets — are experiencing slowing economies, sharply weakening currencies, rising interest rates, and generally a squeeze related to both financial and structural conditions.

The following four images, and descriptions, are from the AP.

The first two are from Indonesia:

A student protester fires a firework at the riot police during a rally against the government's plan to raise fuel prices outside the parliament building in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 17, 2013. Indonesia's parliament is expected to approve a budget that will slash government fuel subsidies, a move that will save the government billions of dollars but has already sparked angry protests opposing increased gasoline prices.

Student protesters hurl rocks at the riot police during a rally against the government's plan to raise fuel prices outside the parliament building in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 17, 2013. Indonesia's parliament is expected to approve a budget that will slash government fuel subsidies, a move that will save the government billions of dollars but has already sparked angry protests opposing increased gasoline prices.

And from Brazil:

Protestors march in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, June 17, 2013. Protests in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian cities, set off by a 10-cent hike in public transport fares, have clearly moved beyond that issue to tap into widespread frustration in Brazil about a heavy tax burden, politicians widely viewed as corrupt and woeful public education, health and transport systems and come as the nation hosts the Confederations Cup soccer tournament and prepares for next month's papal visit.

A policeman lies injured on the ground after clashing with demonstrators during a protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, June 17, 2013. Officers in Rio fired tear gas and rubber bullets when a group of protesters invaded the state legislative assembly and threw rocks and flares at police as protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for another round of demonstrations voicing disgruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the current Confederations Cup and a papal visit next month.


SEE ALSO: Protests spreading across Brazil are getting ugly

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/prote...#ixzz2Wao0JN7Q

[American Patriot]

Brazil riots: Tens of thousands of demonstrators march through city streets in widespread anger over gov’t corruption

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities on Monday in a growing protest that is tapping into widespread anger at poor public services, police violence and government corruption.

Comments (5) REUTERS

Monday, June 17, 2013, 9:13 PM

SERGIO MORAES/REUTERS

A demonstrator takes a picture on his mobile phone as a car burns during a protest in downtown Rio de Janeiro June 17.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities on Monday in a growing protest that is tapping into widespread anger at poor public services, police violence and government corruption.
The marches, organized mostly through snowballing social media campaigns, blocked streets and halted traffic in more than a half-dozen cities, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia, where demonstrators swarmed past the Congress and Presidential Palace.
SERGIO MORAES/REUTERS

A car burns during a protest in downtown Rio de Janeiro June 17.

While peaceful, and unfolding mostly as a festive display of dissent, Monday's demonstrations were the latest in a flurry of protests over the past two weeks that have added to unease over Brazil's sluggish economy, high inflation and a spurt in violent crime.
The marches began this month with a small protest in Sao Paulo against a small increase in bus and subway fares. The demonstrations initially drew the scorn of many middle-class Brazilians after protesters vandalized storefronts, subway stations and buses on one of the city's main avenues.
SERGIO MORAES/REUTERS

Demonstrators try to enter a building during a protest in downtown Rio de Janeiro June 17.

PHOTOS: PROTESTERS SWEEP STREETS OF BRAZIL
But the movement quickly gained support and spread to other cities as police used heavy-handed tactics to try to quell the demonstrations. The biggest crackdown happened on Thursday in Sao Paulo when police fired rubber bullets and tear gas in clashes that injured more than 100 people, including 15 journalists, some of whom said they were deliberately targeted.
Felipe Dana/AP

A man throws a coconut to police during clashes between demonstrators and police.

The protests have gathered pace as Brazil is hosting the soccer Confederation's Cup, a dry run for next year's World Cup. The government hopes these events, along with the 2016 Summer Olympics, will showcase the country as an emerging power on the global stage.
Brazil is also gearing up to welcome more than 2 million visitors in July as Pope Francis makes his first foreign trip for a gathering of Catholic youth in Rio.
Felipe Dana/AP

Officers in Rio fired tear gas and rubber bullets when a group of protesters invaded the state legislative assembly and threw rocks and flares at police.

Contrasting the billions in public money spent on new stadiums with the shoddy state of Brazil's public services, protesters are using the Confederation's Cup as a counterpoint to amplify their concerns. The tournament got off to shaky start this weekend when police clashed with demonstrators outside stadiums at the opening matches in Brasilia and Rio.
PHOTOS: VIOLENT RIOTING TARGETS FOREIGNERS IN SOUTH AFRICA
UESLEI MARCELINO/REUTERS

Demonstrators hold up the Brazilian flag as they protest against the Confederation's Cup and the government of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.

"We shouldn't be spending public money on stadiums," said one protester in Sao Paulo who identified herself as Camila, a 32-year-old travel agent. "We don't want the Cup. We want education, hospitals, a better life for our children."
Other common grievances at Monday's marches included political corruption and the inadequate and overcrowded public transportation networks that Brazilians cope with daily.
UESLEI MARCELINO/REUTERS

A demonstrator with the Brazilian flag protests against the Confederation's Cup.

POLICE ORDERED TO USE RESTRAINT
The harsh police reaction to last week's protests touched a nerve in Brazil, which endured two decades of political repression under a military dictatorship that ended in 1985. It has also added to doubts about whether Brazil's police forces would be ready for next year's World Cup.
SERGIO MORAES/REUTERS

Demonstrators run during a protest in downtown Rio de Janeiro June 17, 2013. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities on Monday.

PHOTOS: WORLD RALLIES, RIOTS ON MAY DAY
Jose Vicente da Silva, a security consultant and retired police colonel, said training for the big events has focused too much on elite forces instead of the rank-and-file officers who must face the public.
Felipe Dana/AP

Protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for another round of demonstrations voicing disgruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the current Confederations Cup and a papal visit next month.

The clashes, he said, "suggest that the everyday policeman in Sao Paulo has barely trained at all" in how to handle a demonstration.
The uproar following last week's crackdown prompted Sao Paulo state Governor Geraldo Alckmin, who initially described the protesters as "troublemakers" and "vandals," to order police to allow Monday's march to proceed and not to use rubber bullets.
Felipe Dana/AP

Chased by demonstrators , police officers retreat during a protest near the state legislative assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The protests are shaping up as a major political challenge for Alckmin, a former presidential candidate, and Sao Paulo's new mayor, Fernando Haddad, a rising star in the left-leaning Workers' Party that has governed Brazil for the past decade. Both have so far insisted that the bus fare hike that sparked the protests is non-negotiable.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who has enjoyed high approval ratings since taking office in 2011, only recently began to slip in opinion polls. Although the protests have gained traction, they do not appear to reflect any broad-based collapse in her support, but Rousseff was booed at Saturday's Confederations Cup opener.
Still, the resonance of the demonstrations underscores what economists say will be a challenge for Rousseff and other Brazilian leaders in the years ahead: providing public services to meet the demands of the growing middle class.
"Voters are likely to be increasingly disgruntled on a range of public services in a lower growth environment," Christopher Garman, a political analyst at the Eurasia Group, wrote in a report.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/worl...#ixzz2WaoTaNji

[BRVoice]

You know, maybe in another times, with less problems, I would explain to you what our Soccer is about and all of you would explain to me what your Football is really about. On more peaceful days, I would go to US to learn more about your culture and you all come here to learn about ourselves.

You know, my country is not all about Samba, Soccer and Carnival. We have great things besides that. We are also a big christian country. We have many good people in our history.

One of the greatest was Francisco Cândido Xavier. He wasn't a catholic neither a protestant but a spiritualist leader. The words that he wrote in more than 500 books touched the heart of many here in my country.

[American Patriot]

The main thing I remember about Brazil.

Hot, humid, it rained most afternoons for about 30 minutes and was done.

The "meeting of the waters" in the Amazon and Rio Negro...

Piranha and this majorly humungous anaconda that I think was going to eat me for breakfast while I was sleeping in a hammock in the jungle a two or three day's canoe ride up the Rio Negro from Manaus.....

[American Patriot]

More than 240,000 in Brazil protest against government services, corruption
Published June 18, 2013
Associated Press

June 17, 2013: Protestors march in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for another round of demonstrations voicing disgruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the current Confederations Cup and a papal visit next month. (AP)

SAO PAULO – Enormous demonstrations have shaken cities across this continent-sized country, and more were expected Tuesday in some of the largest outpourings of frustration in decades over red tape, high prices and shoddy services in a rising economic power.

Mostly peaceful marches in at least eight big cities on Monday drew more than 240,000 people nationwide, Brazilian media said, though demonstrations in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte were marred by vandalism and violent clashes with police. Several dozen people were reported injured.

The protests began over a hike in bus prices in the city of Sao Paulo, but were also fed by images of that city's police beating demonstrators and firing rubber bullets last week during a march that drew 5,000 people. In Rio, the violent police crackdown on a small and peaceful crowd Sunday near the iconic Maracana stadium incited many to come out this week for what local news media described as the city's largest protest in a generation.

The vast majority of Rio's protesters were peaceful, but a splinter group attacked the state legislature building, setting a car and other objects ablaze. The newspaper O Globo cited Rio state security officials as saying at least 20 officers and nine protesters were injured there.

Protests also were reported in the cities of Curitiba, Vitoria, Fortaleza, Recife, Belem and Salvador. More actions were being planned on social media sites for Tuesday in Sao Paulo and Brasilia.

Monday's protests came during soccer's Confederations Cup and just one month before a papal visit, a year before the World Cup and three years ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The unrest is raising security concerns and renewed questions over Brazil's readiness to host the mega-events.

A cyber-attack knocked the government's official World Cup site offline, and the Twitter feed for Brazil's Anonymous hackers group posted links to a host of other government websites whose content had been replaced by a screen calling on citizens to come out to the streets.

President Dilma Rousseff acknowledged the demonstrations with a brief statement Monday, saying: "Peaceful demonstrations are legitimate and part of democracy. It is natural for young people to demonstrate." Rousseff's popularity dipped for the first time in her presidency recently, largely over sluggish economic growth, rising inflation and security worries. She faces re-election next year.

The United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the Brazilian government to take "all necessary measures to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and to prevent the disproportionate use of force." In a press conference Tuesday in Geneva, spokesman Rupert Colville also called on demonstrators "not to resort to violence in pursuit of their demands."

Brazilians have long tolerated pervasive corruption, even as about 40 million Brazilians have moved out of poverty and into the middle class over the past decade. Many of them have begun to demand more from their government and are angry that billions of dollars in public funds are being spent to host the World Cup and Olympics while few improvements are made on infrastructure elsewhere.

Maria Claudia Cardoso, accompanied by her 16-year-old son at a march in Sao Paulo, said she had come out to condemn a range of problems.

"We're massacred by the government's taxes, yet when we leave home in the morning to go to work, we don't know if we'll make it home alive because of the violence," she said. "We don't have good schools for our kids. Our hospitals are in awful shape. Corruption is rife. These protests will make history and wake our politicians up to the fact that we're not taking it anymore!"

Maria do Carmo Freitas, a 41-year-old public servant from Brasilia, said Tuesday she was excited about the protests even though she hadn't taken part.

"I'm loving it. It's been a long time since we Brazilians decided to leave our comfort zone to tell our leaders that we're not happy about the way things are going," said Freitas. "We pay too much in taxes and we get bad services in exchange, bad hospitals, bad public education, public transportation is terrible."

In Rio, the confrontation between police and a small group of protesters dragged on late into the night despite sporadic rain. As the group moved on to the state legislature building, footage broadcast by the Globo television network showed police firing into the air. At least one demonstrator in Rio was injured after being hit in the leg with a live round allegedly fired by a law enforcement official.

Local news media reported that a high school student in Maceio was shot in the face after a motorist forced his way through the demonstrators' barricade. Protesters were attacking the car when a shot was fired. The extent of the 16-year-old's injuries was not immediately known.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil's economic hub, at least 65,000 protesters gathered at a small, treeless plaza, then broke into three directions in a Carnival-like atmosphere, with drummers beating out samba rhythms as people chanted jingles denouncing corruption. They also railed against the action that sparked the first protests last week: a 10-cent hike in bus and subway fares.

Thousands of protesters in the capital, Brasilia, marched on Congress, while a few dozen scrambled up a ramp to a low-lying roof of the 1960s-era modernist building, clasping hands and raising their arms, the light from below sending their elongated shadows onto the structure. Some windows were broken, but police did not use force to push back the protesters.

A survey by the Datafolha polling agency suggested a large majority of participants at the Sao Paulo protest had no affiliation with any political party and nearly three-quarters were taking part in the protests for the first time.

Many Brazilians were angry about Sao Paulo's first protests last week after windows were broken and buildings spray-painted, and protest leaders have repeatedly warned marchers that damaging property would only hurt their cause.

Police, too, changed tactics. In Sao Paulo, commanders said before the protest they would try to avoid violence, but could resort to force if protesters destroyed property. Yet there was barely any perceptible police presence at the start of Monday's demonstration.

In Belo Horizonte, police estimated about 20,000 people took part in a peaceful protest before a Confederations Cup match between Tahiti and Nigeria. Earlier in the day, demonstrators erected several barricades of burning tires on a nearby highway, disrupting traffic.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06...#ixzz2Wb85YUO1

[Phil Fiord]

When the US markets collapse you can pretty much call it done for other markets elsewhere.

[American Patriot]

Amazingly, it appears the US is still propping everyone up. You're right. If we crash, the world will crash.

Remember, in the 1929 crash the US didn't go FIRST though. The London Stock Exchange crashed after some men were arrested for fraud and other crimes. Then things dominoed.

Essentially, from what I can remember of studying this crap (and believe me, I really HATE studying this crap) the market plummeted for days after October 24, 1929 - all of it appears to us today to have been from speculative trading. This is the SAME thing they do now. Speculation on oil, commodities, energy and food. Which in turn seems (so it appears to me anyway) to drive prices of food higher, gas, oil and related industries also are creeping up as well.

Brazil's exports include coffee, sugar, Brazilian nuts, transportation equipment, iron ore, steel, soybeans, footwear, motor vehicles, concentrated orange juice, beef, and tropical hardwoods. Machinery, electrical and transportation equipment, chemical products, oil, and electronics are major imports. (stolen from somewhere, I knew some, but had to look others up).

Sugar and Coffee are two very major imports for the USA. The US only produces coffee in Hawaii (though we do get some from Puerto Rico) but the majority of US coffee comes from everywhere BUT the US. That might explain the sudden rise in cost of coffee I've noticed in the grocery store. Sugar too. I use both in... large quantities lol

Probably going to switch to tea. hahaha

Now, this from Wikipedia:

Academics see the Wall Street Crash of 1929 as part of a historical process that was a part of the new theories of boom and bust. According to economists such as Joseph Schumpeter and Nikolai Kondratieff and Charles E. Mitchell the crash was merely a historical event in the continuing process known as economic cycles. The impact of the crash was merely to increase the speed at which the cycle proceeded to its next level.

This is kind of important too, and something *I* studied in Macroeconomics.... the fact that this is a cyclical system is important that is. Reason being is we're going to see more market corrections before long. Those "bubbles" are corrections and they will continue for good.

This is a really, really good reason that you keep your money moving in the system. It's going to have good days and weeks and bad days and weeks. Just my thoughts.

[Ryan Ruck]

You guys are doing an excellent job reporting all of this here, especially you BRV! I know you said you are safe, just make sure you stay that way!

I've seen nothing of this anywhere else in the mainstream press.

[Phil Fiord]

4 pound Domino brand sugar went down in price here. $2.87 a bag. I tend to buy the 10 pound bag though. Lasts a month or so with my uses in coffee, tea and baking.

[BRVoice]

An informative video