The excellent BBC Car Program Top Gear has a great tribute to Ayrton Senna. What makes it stand out is how it focuses on Senna's technical abilities and talents as a driver, which sometimes gets overlooked in the mythology. The Brazilian is presented warts and all.
PART 2
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Forget Offshore Drilling Until We Get Some Answers | The New Republic
Forget Offshore Drilling Until We Get Some Answers | The New Republic
Troubling questions about the huge oil spill from the BP platform. Technology like that used by Brazil oil giant Petrobras, in their off-shore drilling platforms, might have help prevent the spill. There are troubling questions about why this was not mandated by the government. Specifically the Bush administration whose lackadaisacal regulations favored industry over the public. Key points: there has to be proper regulation, oversight and transparency of private sector operations which can harm us all. Am on record as opposing offshore drilling - but with successes in Brazil and Norway I was coming around. Way on the fence now.
Troubling questions about the huge oil spill from the BP platform. Technology like that used by Brazil oil giant Petrobras, in their off-shore drilling platforms, might have help prevent the spill. There are troubling questions about why this was not mandated by the government. Specifically the Bush administration whose lackadaisacal regulations favored industry over the public. Key points: there has to be proper regulation, oversight and transparency of private sector operations which can harm us all. Am on record as opposing offshore drilling - but with successes in Brazil and Norway I was coming around. Way on the fence now.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Brazil cuts Bolivia Gas Purchases, Invests in Peru
While Evo Morales is praised by his usual international apologists for his dominant re-election and inaguration, the consequences of his disastrous econommic policies and ideological stupidity continue to ruin Bolivia's long term prospects.
Brazil - Bolivia's largest gas customer - has announced it will cut back on purchases of Bolivian natural gas.
Meanwhile Brazilian president Lula was conspicuously absent from buddy Evo's inagural ceremony. Lula happened to be in Peru with his ministers and top Petrobras officials, negotiating an energy pact which includes Brazilian investment for exploration of Peruvian oil and gas fields, and to help develop its petro-chemical sector.
As Bolivian writer and analyst, Humberto Vacaflor, wryly observed also absent was Christina Kirchner who was negotiating with Toyota. Over what? Over Argentine lithium, and the Japanese automaker cut a deal with the Argentinians. Bolivia, has the largest lithium reserves in the world, but in large part thanks to Evo and his silly ideology it looks Bolivia is again seen as an erratic and unreliable source.
While Bolivias government continues its self-defeatist anti-capitalist policies, its neighbors, with less reserves of things like gas and lithium, are able to get the investments and markets needed to help its people. Morales talks about industrializing natural gas and lithium. Meanwhile, it is Peru that is getting the know-how and foreign investment for its petro-chemical sector, and Argentina that is getting Toyota's investment. Socialism rocks!!
Brazil - Bolivia's largest gas customer - has announced it will cut back on purchases of Bolivian natural gas.
Meanwhile Brazilian president Lula was conspicuously absent from buddy Evo's inagural ceremony. Lula happened to be in Peru with his ministers and top Petrobras officials, negotiating an energy pact which includes Brazilian investment for exploration of Peruvian oil and gas fields, and to help develop its petro-chemical sector.
As Bolivian writer and analyst, Humberto Vacaflor, wryly observed also absent was Christina Kirchner who was negotiating with Toyota. Over what? Over Argentine lithium, and the Japanese automaker cut a deal with the Argentinians. Bolivia, has the largest lithium reserves in the world, but in large part thanks to Evo and his silly ideology it looks Bolivia is again seen as an erratic and unreliable source.
While Bolivias government continues its self-defeatist anti-capitalist policies, its neighbors, with less reserves of things like gas and lithium, are able to get the investments and markets needed to help its people. Morales talks about industrializing natural gas and lithium. Meanwhile, it is Peru that is getting the know-how and foreign investment for its petro-chemical sector, and Argentina that is getting Toyota's investment. Socialism rocks!!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Lula Smacks Down Evo
At an event inagurating a natural gas processing plant, Lula had this to say about Evo Morales and Bolivia as a natural gas supplier
Not The First Time
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Last February Lula in a very significant speech in front of the Argentine Congress....also had this to say in reference to Bolivia's request for a voluntary reduction in gas volumes in order to comply with Argentina's requests...
Et Tu Lula?
So what gives? Isn't Lula Evo's ideologically-attuned buddy? In public Lula is all smiles with Evo, praising him to high heaven. But Lula's policy is Brazil's long-term strategic interest in achieving self-sufficiency in hydrocarbons. And through Petrobras they are laying down billions in investments - at home and abroad. Specifically it is investing in natural gas exploration and production to achieve self-sufficiency. Lula's government has just passed a new natural gas legislation, strengthening the regulatory framework and ending Petrobras monopoly to permit competition both in downstream and upstream.
Bolivia was once considered a long-term supplier of natural gas and strategic partner of Brazil. At the government of Brazil's heavy prodding, Petrobras invested heavily in developing Bolivia's gas reserves and laying the pipeline to Sao Paulo. Bolivia now supplies 50 percent of Brazil's natural gas. But Evo's government after three years in power is unreliable, and unpredictable as El Deber says. Even after the rift caused by Evo's very public humiliation .of Brazil and Petrobras during the "nationalization" media theater, Evo has had 3 years to make it right. But through ideological intrasigence, incompetence, and simple idiocity the Morales government has mismanaged its hydrocarbons industry neither able to produce as a "nationalized" industry and uncertain and risky for foreign investment.
Lula's seemingly out of character comments might carry a bit of payback for the May 2006 "nationalization". Or it simply may be frustration at 3 years of trying to work Evo Morales behind the scenes to back off a bit and accept the fact that Bolivia's hydrocarbons industry needs technical know-how and investment from abroad. Evo only seems to have ears for Hugo Chavez, and Lula may have simply given up. And he can afford to. At the rate Petrobras is going it will also be in a position to export gas and oil in quantities rivaling those of Venezuela. Chavez should also be worried.
I am very happy. If Petrobras continues on this path, there will be a day when I will call Evo Morales "Dear Evo, now we wil leave you in peace to sell gas to whoever you want to, Brazil doesn't need any more. we are self-sufficient" Its logical that strategically Brazil will continue buying, because for our own growth we have no interest in a poor neighbor. We need to grow......in our relation..its important that people understand, that when we fight less, we produce more..."
“Hoy estoy acá feliz de la vida. Si Petrobras continúa en el recorrido en el que está, va a llegar un día en que voy a poder decir a Evo Morales: ‘Evo querido, ahora nosotros te dejamos en libertad para vender el gas a quien quieras. Brasil no precisa más. Somos autosuficientes. Es lógico que estratégicamente Brasil va a continuar comprando, porque para nuestro crecimiento no nos interesa tener un vecino pobre. Tenemos que crecer. Pero para que tengas una dimensión de la relación entre nuestros países, voy a decir, y es importante que la gente comprenda, que cuanto menos peleamos, más producimos’”.
Not The First Time
\
Last February Lula in a very significant speech in front of the Argentine Congress....also had this to say in reference to Bolivia's request for a voluntary reduction in gas volumes in order to comply with Argentina's requests...
We don't have gas, those who do don't exploit it as they should.
El presidente Lula da Silva, que concurrió a la cita con unos días de anticipación, describió perfectamente la situación con la siguiente frase en su intervención ante el Congreso argentino: ´No tenemos el gas... Algunos que lo tienen no lo explotan como deberían´.
Et Tu Lula?
So what gives? Isn't Lula Evo's ideologically-attuned buddy? In public Lula is all smiles with Evo, praising him to high heaven. But Lula's policy is Brazil's long-term strategic interest in achieving self-sufficiency in hydrocarbons. And through Petrobras they are laying down billions in investments - at home and abroad. Specifically it is investing in natural gas exploration and production to achieve self-sufficiency. Lula's government has just passed a new natural gas legislation, strengthening the regulatory framework and ending Petrobras monopoly to permit competition both in downstream and upstream.
Bolivia was once considered a long-term supplier of natural gas and strategic partner of Brazil. At the government of Brazil's heavy prodding, Petrobras invested heavily in developing Bolivia's gas reserves and laying the pipeline to Sao Paulo. Bolivia now supplies 50 percent of Brazil's natural gas. But Evo's government after three years in power is unreliable, and unpredictable as El Deber says. Even after the rift caused by Evo's very public humiliation .of Brazil and Petrobras during the "nationalization" media theater, Evo has had 3 years to make it right. But through ideological intrasigence, incompetence, and simple idiocity the Morales government has mismanaged its hydrocarbons industry neither able to produce as a "nationalized" industry and uncertain and risky for foreign investment.
Lula's seemingly out of character comments might carry a bit of payback for the May 2006 "nationalization". Or it simply may be frustration at 3 years of trying to work Evo Morales behind the scenes to back off a bit and accept the fact that Bolivia's hydrocarbons industry needs technical know-how and investment from abroad. Evo only seems to have ears for Hugo Chavez, and Lula may have simply given up. And he can afford to. At the rate Petrobras is going it will also be in a position to export gas and oil in quantities rivaling those of Venezuela. Chavez should also be worried.
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