-
-
Brazil Rejects Gilead's AIDS Drug Patent
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) Sept 04 - Brazil has rejected a patent request for an AIDS drug made by U.S. firm Gilead, opening the way for cheaper, generic versions to be used in the country's fight against the disease.
The medical group Doctors Without Borders said the decision could boost access to HIV/AIDS medicine in Brazil and throughout the developing world.
The group said an Indian-made generic version of Tenofovir approved by the World Health Organization cost $158 per person per year, compared to $1,387 charged by Gilead in Brazil. RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) Sept 04 - Brazil has rejected a patent request for an AIDS drug made by U.S. firm Gilead, opening the way for... more -
Slaves of the Amazon
Laura Ling travels to Brazil to see how indentured servants are being used to deforest the Amazon.
-
Court: Brazil on the brink of civil war
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Deep in the northernmost reaches of the Amazon jungle, a land conflict between rice farmers and a handful of Indian tribes has turned so violent that the country's Supreme Court warns it could escalate into civil war.
The court is expected to decide in August if the government can keep evicting rice farmers from a 4.2 million acre Indian reservation decreed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2005. The evictions were stopped in April when rice farmers started burning bridges and blockading roads, and justices said they feared a "veritable civil war."
The court's decision could help determine the future of the Amazon, whose remaining jungles provide a critical cushion against global warming. It could also redefine Brazil's policy toward its Indians at a time of frequent confrontations, as the country spends billions of dollars opening roads, building dams and promoting agribusiness across the world's largest remaining tropical wilderness.
Unlike in most other Latin American countries, where indigenous people are fighting for rights in mainstream society, most of Brazil's Indians continue to live in the jungle and maintain their languages and traditions. These Indians have fought for decades to keep or regain their ancestral lands.
Brazil's 1988 constitution declared that all Indian ancestral lands must be demarcated and turned over to tribes within five years. While that process has yet to be completed, today about 11 percent of Brazilian territory and nearly 22 percent of the Amazon is in Indian hands.
But as logging, ranching and farming expand into the Amazon, there has been increasing conflict with the Indians and pressure on the government to limit the size of reservations. Earlier this summer, government anthropologists revealed photos of one of the world's last uncontacted tribes fleeing logging near the Peruvian border. In May, Indians protesting a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Xingu River in Para state machete-slashed a government official who came to speak to the group.
Top military generals warn that too much land in Indian hands, especially along Brazil's borders, threatens national security and could lead to tribes unilaterally declaring themselves independent nations. They compare the situation to Kosovo, which broke away from Serbia in February.
At a raucous seminar on national sovereignty at Rio de Janeiro's Military Club, the head of Army's Amazon command, Gen. Augusto Heleno Pereira, attacked the federal government's indigenous policy as "regretful and chaotic." He even suggested that the army would refuse to remove the settlers.
"The Brazilian army does not serve the government but rather the Brazilian state," Pereira said.
Pereira's comments were characterized in the Brazilian media as possibly treasonous and he was called in to discuss them with country's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim. Both the Army and Defense Ministry later said the issue was resolved, without further comment.
The conflict is clear in Roraima, a sparsely populated northeastern state that borders Guyana and Venezuela, where the government in 2005 officially recognized the Raposa Serra do Sol Indian Reservation after long delays. The reservation was created to protect about 18,000 Indians from the Macuxi, Ingarico, Patamona, Wapixana and Taurpeng tribes who live in the area.
Some 3,500 people gathered to celebrate the new reservation three years ago, and were briefly stranded in the jungle when vandals set fire to a bridge. The violence has continued with each attempt to remove settlers.
"The question here is much bigger than the state of Roraima. It's a question of national integration," said rice farmer Paulo Cesar Quartiero, who has been jailed twice for resisting eviction - once for blocking a federal highway and again on weapons charges after his ranch hands shot and wounded 10 Indians.
*article continues* Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Deep in the northernmost reaches of the Amazon jungle, a land conflict between rice farmers and a handful of ... more -
US quits Human Rights Council?
Excerpt:
Eric Sottas, director of the International Organisation against Torture sees it as a a political gesture. “The US has always clearly shown its opposition to the Council. This is a slightly more public way of putting pressure on it in order to raise the stakes. What is more the Bush dynasty is coming to the end of its mandate,” he said. “It reminds me of the time when the Nixon administration, which backed Pinochet in Chile, chastized the UN for criticising the Chilean dictator. But when Carter was elected in 1977, the American government took the floor at the Human Rights Commission to ask forgiveness. After a presidency like that of Bush, you can expect some important changes in US policy on human right.” Excerpt: ... more -
LE MOND an article about the Governor of Minas Gerais, Brazil, Mr. Aecio Neves
About this article I would like to make a comment on it since not everything is what it looks like .
I know this topic very well and I assure you this video is an absolutly non sence one.
It is quite so simple that only by informing that the statements that were shown from both Brazilian journalists, Ugo Braga and Marco Nascimento have already been said not to be true by both of them which there is even a video on the internet about it over a year .
Why has the author of this non sence video hidden this fact ? About this article I would like to make a comment on it since not everything is what it looks like . ... more -
Toxic ocean
An island of plastic and trash, the size of TEXAS floats in your ocean. If this doesn't make you stop using plastic, I don't know what will. Please, stop using disposable water bottles, and stop using plastic bags.
Here are the best alternatives I've found:
http://www.amazon.com/WaterPik-F-5-Faucet-Water-Filter/... Or one like it...
And reusable bags for groceries:
http://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Grocery-World-Thanks-Pri...
(you can also buy them CHEAP from Trader Joes and Ralphs)
PLEASE PASS THIS ON! Thanks! An island of plastic and trash, the size of TEXAS floats in your ocean. If this doesn't make you stop using plastic, I don'... more -
Illegal logging threatens tribes in Peru, Brazil
Aerial photographs of an isolated community of indigenous people in the Amazon basin, near the border shared by Brazil and Peru, were released this week to show that they exist but may be endangered by illegal logging.
A photo shows an indigenous Amazon people in Brazil, near the Peruvian border. The Brazilian government released photos of them because of concerns that their way of life is threatened.
One picture, taken by the Brazilian government, showed two men, painted red, brandishing bows and arrows at the camera-bearing plane flying low over the dense rain forest. In another picture, about 15 men, women and children who were not painted looked up from thatched huts.
Survival International, an organization based in London whose mission is to help tribal peoples to “defend their lives, protect their lands and determine their own futures,” said the pictures were taken as part of several flights over the thinly populated upper reaches of the Amazon, in Acre, a Brazilian state.
Some of the photographs are at www.survival-international.org.
The Brazilian government conducts such photographic operations to locate the scattered tribes and monitor their well-being. Anthropologists say the government’s practice in recent years has been to track these remote people by air or from boats, but to leave them alone.
In a statement on Thursday, Survival International quoted José Carlos dos Reis Meirelles, an official of Funai, the Indian affairs department of the Brazilian government, as saying, “We did the overflight to show their houses, to show they are there, to show they exist.”
The photographs were shot in late April and early May, but the government released them now because of growing concerns that disease and the spread of illegal logging threaten to destroy the tribe’s way of life.
Initial news reports and the statement from Survival International did not identify the tribe or give the exact location of the settlement, presumably to protect it from unwanted visits. But the reports described the people as members of one of South America’s few remaining indigenous tribes that had not had contact with the outside world.
But Robert L. Carneiro, an anthropologist at the American Museum of Natural History who has made a career of studying indigenous people of the Amazon, questioned that claim after examining the photographs on Friday.
He noted that the men wore bamboo headpieces that looked like crowns, with strips of thinly cut bamboo around their waists.
He said that attire reminded him of the Amahuaca people he lived with and studied in the 1960s. Most of them live along the Amazon’s headwaters, in Peru, not far from Acre, Dr. Carneiro said. “I’m not saying these people in the pictures are Amahuaca, but they could be,” he said. “Or they are a closely related group.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/world/americas/31trib... Aerial photographs of an isolated community of indigenous people in the Amazon basin, near the border shared by Brazil and Peru, were ... more -
Five cool ways to turn trash into treasure
"When we think of waste, we don’t usually think utility. Yet, as we face droughts, limited landfill space, and depleting natural resources, we’ve been forced to reconsider our castoffs, with interesting results. These five case studies show that with innovation and a little planning, our dumps, sewers, and piles of manure are not necessarily the end of the line. Instead, they’re just the beginning. " "When we think of waste, we don’t usually think utility. Yet, as we face droughts, limited landfill space, and depleting natural ... more
-
Global damage and its impact on the poor
Damage to forests, rivers, marine life and other aspects of nature could halve living standards for the world's poor, a major report has concluded.
Current rates of natural decline might reduce global GDP by about 7% by 2050. Damage to forests, rivers, marine life and other aspects of nature could halve living standards for the world's poor, a major rep... more -
Satellite images show Papua New Guinea deforestation at critical level
The forests of Papua New Guinea are being chopped down so quickly that more than half its trees could be lost by 2021, according to a new satellite study of the region.
The study, by the University of Papua New Guinea and the Australian National University, found that deforestation is much more widespread than was previously thought, even in so-called conservation areas. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has the world's third largest tropical forest, but it was being cleared or degraded at a rate of 362,000 hectares (895,000 acres) a year in 2001, the report said.
Phil Shearman, lead author of the study, said: "The unfortunate reality is that forests in Papua New Guinea are being logged repeatedly and wastefully with little regard for the environmental consequences and with at least the passive complicity of government authorities." The destruction will drive global warming, because tropical forests are an important store of carbon.
The researchers compared satellite images taken over three decades from the early 1970s. In 1972, the country had 38m hectares (94m acres), of rainforest covering 82% of the country. About 15% of that was cleared by 2002.
"For the first time, we have evidence of what's happening in the PNG forests," Shearman said. " The government could make a significant contribution to global efforts to combat climate change. It is in its own interest to do so, as this nation is particularly susceptible to negative effects due to loss of the forest cover."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WE HAVE TO STOP. We also have to support any tree planting initiative and frankly, I think one should be part of any climate change bill passed in this country. The forests of Papua New Guinea are being chopped down so quickly that more than half its trees could be lost by 2021, according to a ... more -
Amazon Indians lead battle against power giant's plan to flood rainforest
The Amazonian city of Altamira played host to one of the more uneven contests in recent Brazilian history this week, as a colourful alliance of indigenous leaders gathered to take on the might of the state power corporation and stop the construction of an immense hydroelectric dam on a tributary of the Amazon. By Patrick Cunningham in Altamira, Brazil The Amazonian city of Altamira played host to one of the more uneven contests in recent Brazilian history this week, as a colourful al... more
-
Free energy coming? US Patent 7291944 - Electromagnetic engine
US Patent 7291944 - Electromagnetic engine
US Patent Issued on November 6, 2007
The electromagnetic engine operates by having the solenoids receive input power from an external electrical power source and providing output power to the output shaft. The magnets include four outer magnets and four inner magnets. The inner magnets have magnetic forces that oppose the magnetic forces of the outer magnets. Electrical power provided to the solenoids causes the solenoids to oscillate the outer magnets. Springs provide stability and assist the solenoids.
Once the electromagnetic motor has reached operating speed, it generates sufficient electrical energy to continue driving the electromagnetic motor for a period of time. Input energy can be supplied to the solenoids by an auxiliary electrical generator. However, the efficiency of the electromagnetic motor enables the output shaft to perform useful work. Useful work may be in the form of a mechanical attachment to the output shaft for the purpose of driving an auxiliary mechanical device. Alternatively, an electrical generator may be attached directly to the output shaft to provide electrical output energy to other electrical devices.
Source: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7291944/fulltext.html
The device shown in the video is different from the listed patent. Though they both share the same approach to harnessing power from magnetic energy. US Patent 7291944 - Electromagnetic engine US Patent Issued on November 6, 2007 ... more -
It’s the Stupid Politics!
The world's poor are paying the price for years of bad government policy in agriculture.
-
Soaring food prices and the rural poor
The prices of basic food commodities have increased rapidly over the past three years. In only the first quarter of 2008, wheat and maize prices increased by 130 percent and 30 percent respectively over 2007 figures. Rice prices, while rising moderately in 2006 and more so in 2007, rose 10 percent in February 2008 and a further 10 percent in March 2008. The threat to food security in developing countries increases in stride. Coordinated action by the international community, and by the United Nations in particular, is essential. "Responding effectively to the impact of higher food prices must be a top priority for the global community, particularly when the impact is combined with the projected effects of climate change", says Lennart Båge, IFAD's President. The prices of basic food commodities have increased rapidly over the past three years. In only the first quarter of 2008, wheat and ma... more
-
Investors demand tougher US climate legislation
An influential coalition of investors has this week called on the US Senate to deliver binding emission reduction targets or risk undermining firms' long-term competitiveness.
The group of more than 50 institutional investors, including Deutsche Asset Management, F&C Asset Management, and the world's largest hedge fund the Man Group, wrote to senate majority leader Harry Reid and senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, calling for a national climate policy to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by between 60 and 90 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.
The targets are in line with those proposed under the Lieberman-Warner climate bill, which will be debated in the Senate early next month.
The letter also urges Senate leaders to increase pressure on regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue clear guidance on what climate change risks firms should disclose to investors.
The coalition, which has been organised by ethical investment lobby group Ceres, said there was a strong business case for enacting more stringent carbon targets and legislation.
"Investors hate uncertainty, and that is the problem they face today," said Mindy S Lubber, president of Ceres and director of INCR. "Strong and decisive action from Washington will open the floodgates on large-scale clean technology investments, enabling US investors and businesses to lead instead of lag on climate change solutions."
Oregon state treasurer Randall Edwards, whose office manages $80bn (£40bn) in assets, agreed that far from damaging the economy as its critics claim, the Lieberman-Warner bill would create opportunities for investors. "It is time for Congress to step up to the plate and tackle climate change. Any further delay is inexcusable," he said "The Lieberman-Warner bill would give investors such as myself the ability to see the risks involved so we can begin rebuilding our economy by investing in green technologies."
The calls come in the same week as Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer released an overview of a package of amendments to the Lieberman-Warner bill which are expected to form part of the proposed legislation. The amendments contain a number of measures designed to minimise the financial impact of the planned cap-and-trade scheme, including a mechanism to reduce the price of carbon credits if they hit a certain level and proposals for an $800bn (£400bn) tax relief fund to help consumers cope with rising energy costs.
~~~~~~~~
Yes, 90% by 2050... That's what I'm talking about.This bill is going to be debated on the floor starting tomorrow. Please contact your senators and tell them that even though this is a start, we need to do much better to pass a more comprehensive bill that truly meets the demands and addresses the adverse effects climate change will have on our country and our world if left unchecked. And that means new forms of energy aggressively brought to market to wean us off the destructive energies that pollute our planet and put us all at risk. An influential coalition of investors has this week called on the US Senate to deliver binding emission reduction targets or risk unde... more -
Better than gasohol, new solution traps CO2 right at the power plant!
Fortune Magazine, April 28, 2008... US companies [!] are working on a new technology that is more efficient than growing just about any plant crops for biofuel. The technology will surprise you.
It can be bolted on to coal plants and not only sequester CO2 but create biofuel as a byproduct!
Scale this baby up and it'll help give us the time to develop more efficient wind and solar-electric solutions!
Reduce your taxes by turning off the flow of your money to wasteful corn-based biofuels!
Open your mind to this possibility! ................... Fortune Magazine, April 28, 2008... US companies [!] are working on a new technology that is more efficient than growing just about an... more
-
related topics
Current News Brazil
Contributors (97)
Current News Brazil
