Brazil Fascinating Growing Country Video with Strong Economy

 

11 June 2012 (Chicago)—Today A.T. Kearney's Global Consumer Institute released the 2012 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), a ranking of the top 30 developing countries for global retail expansion. Brazil, is #1 for the second year in a row driven by a growing middle class economy, high consumption rates, a large, urban population, and reduced political and financial risk. In addition, Brazil's relatively young population and high per capita spending in the apparel and luxury sectors make this country a top destination for specialty retailers.

 

Rank	6th (nominal) / 7th (PPP)
Currency	Brazilian real (BRL, R$)
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	Unasul, WTO, Mercosur, G-20 and others
Statistics
GDP	$2.493 trillion (2011 est.) (nominal)[1] $2.309 trillion (PPP)[1]
GDP growth	2.7% (2011)[2]
GDP per capita	$12,916 (2011) (nominal; 53th)[1] $11,845 (2011) (PPP; 74th)[1]
GDP by sector	agriculture: 5.5%, industry: 27.5%, services: 67% (2011 est.)[2]
Inflation (CPI)	5.24% (March 2012)[3]
Population below poverty line	8.5% (2011)[4]
Gini coefficient	49.3 (June 2009)[5]
Labour force	104.7 million (2011 est.)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 20%, industry: 14% and services: 66% (2003 est.)
Unemployment	5.3% (August 2012)[6]
Main industries	textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
Ease of Doing Business Rank	130th (2013)[7]
External
Exports	$256 billion (2011 est.)[8]
Export goods	transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Main export partners	China 17.3%, US 10.1%, Argentina 8.9%, Netherlands 5.3% (2011)
Imports	$219.6 billion (2011 est.)[8]
Import goods	machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics
Main import partners	US 15.1%, China 14.5%, Argentina 7.5%, Germany 6.7%, South Korea 4.5% (2011)
Gross external debt	$397.5 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Public finances
Public debt	54.2% of GDP (2011 est.)[9]
Revenues	$978.3 billion (2011 est.)
Expenses	$901 billion (2011 est.)
Credit rating	A- (Domestic) BBB (Foreign) A- (T&C Assessment) (Standard & Poor's)[10] A+ (Wikirating)
Foreign reserves	$376 billion (July 2012)[11]

Rank	Country/Region	2010 GDP (millions of US$)
—	World	62,633,783
1	United States	700714447100000000014,447,100
2	China	70065739358000000005,739,358
3	Japan	70065458873000000005,458,873
4	Germany	70063280334000000003,280,334
5	France	70062559850000000002,559,850
6	United Kingdom	70062253552000000002,253,552
7	Brazil	70062088966000000002,088,966
8	Italy	70062051290000000002,051,290
9	India	70061722328000000001,722,328
10	Canada	70061577040000000001,577,040

http://ebook.law.uiowa.edu/ebook/uicifd-ebook/why-brazil-emerging-market-economy

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_some_interesting_facts_about_Brazil

http://www.gbta.org/PressReleases/Pages/rls051712.aspx

http://www.atkearney.com/news-media/news-releases/news-release/-/asset_publisher/00OIL7Jc67KL/content/id/303437

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Brazil

Lee Harvey Oswald been Shot by Jacky Ruby Picture

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=ruby+oswald+picture&qpvt=ruby+oswald+picture&FORM=IGRE

US Federal Holidays year-2013

Tuesday, January 1	New Year’s Day
Monday, January 21	Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, February 18*	Washington’s Birthday
Monday, May 27	Memorial Day
Thursday, July 4	Independence Day
Monday, September 2	Labor Day
Monday, October 14	Columbus Day
Monday, November 11	Veterans Day
Thursday, November 28	Thanksgiving Day
Wednesday, December 25	Christmas Day

The world 21 Spanish-speaking countries list

Following are the 21 Spanish-speaking countries, where Spanish is the most widely spoken language or the official language:

1. Mexico
2. Spain
3. Colombia
4. Argentina
5. Venezuela
6. Peru
7. Chile
8. Ecuador
9. Guatemala
10. Cuba
11. Dominican Republic
12. Bolivia
13. Honduras
14. El Salvador
15. Nicaragua
16. Costa Rica
17. Paraguay
18. Puerto Rico
19. Uruguay
20. Panama
21. Equatorial Guinea

other countries where Spanish is widely used:

1. Philippines
2. Portugal
3. Ivory Coast
4. Algeria
5. Senegal
6. Greece
7. Andorra
8. Western Sahara
9. Guam
10. Virgin Islands
11. Gibraltar
12. Malta
13. Belize
14. Netherlands Antilles
15. Jamaica
16. Trinidad and Tobago

John Malone the Largest Landowner in America

In the Colorado High Plains, John Malone sits in a generous -- but not grandiose -- corner office on the second floor of a blocky, granite-faced building in a nondescript corporate park in Englewood. If, in real estate, location is everything, it's curious that the largest private landowner in America chose an office location, an hour from downtown Denver, that ... well, it isn't much. Not much to look at, anyway.
But the building and its location are Malone writ large: standalone, brawny, and commanding views of clean sky and snowcapped mountains shining like chrome in the distance. Malone, 71, whose thick hair is as white and flawless as his wrinkle-free shirt, sits behind his desk wearing an elegant rose-colored tie and tells a visitor, "My wife and I are going to look at something that's for sale on Friday."

By "something" Malone means land. Given that in 2011 Malone bought 1.2 million acres of Maine woodlands, thereby surpassing his old friend Ted Turner as the nation's largest private landowner, one might view the Friday shopping trip as a touch superfluous. Malone doesn't. He's got the land bug, thanks in part to Turner, now the second-largest private landowner in America, with whom he has a fond rivalry. If, as the German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel posited, "property is the first embodiment of freedom," Malone is one liberated individual. According to The Land Report magazine, he now owns an estimated 2.2 million acres of U.S. cropland, ranch land, and woodland, an area about three times the size of Rhode Island. (The largest landowner in the world is Queen Elizabeth II, because technically she owns places like Australia and Canada.)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/meet-the-largest-landowner-in-america.html

Food Corn Bread

 

 

 

Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and leavened by baking powder.

Cornbread is a common bread in United States cuisine, particularly associated with the South and Southwest, as well as being a traditional staple for populations where wheat flour was more expensive. In some parts of the South it is crumbled into a glass of cold milk or buttermilk and eaten with a spoon, and it is also widely eaten with barbecue and chili con carne. In rural areas of the southern United States in the mid 20th century cornbread, accompanied by pinto beans (often called soup beans in this context) or honey, was a common lunch for poor children. It is still a common side dish, often served with homemade butter, chunks of onion or scallions. Cornbread crumbs are also used in some poultry stuffings; cornbread stuffing is particularly associated with Thanksgiving turkeys.
In the United States, Northern and Southern cornbread are different because they generally use different types of corn meal and varying degrees of sugar and eggs.^[5] A preference for sweetness and adding sugar or molasses can be found in both regions, but saltier tastes are sometimes more common in the South, and thus favor the addition of frying the bread with such additions as cracklins. Sometimes, cornbread is crumbled and served with cold milk similar to cold cereal. In Texas, the Mexican influence has spawned a hearty cornbread made with fresh or creamed corn kernels, jalapeño peppers and topped with shredded cheese.
Skillet-fried or skillet-baked cornbread (often simply called skillet bread or hoecake depending on the container in which it is cooked) is a traditional staple of rural cuisine in the United States, especially in the South. This involves heating bacon drippings, lard or other oil in a heavy, well-seasoned cast iron skillet in an oven, and then pouring a batter made from cornmeal, egg, and milk directly into the hot grease. The mixture is returned to the oven to bake into a large, crumbly and sometimes very moist cake with a crunchy crust. This bread tends to be dense and usually served as an accompaniment rather than as a bread served as a regular course. In addition to the skillet method, such cornbread also may be made in sticks, muffins, or loaves.
A slightly different variety, cooked in a simple baking dish, is associated with northern US cuisine; it tends to be sweeter and lighter than southern-style cornbread; the batter for northern-style cornbread is very similar to and sometimes interchangeable with that of a corn muffin. A typical contemporary northern U.S. cornbread recipe contains half wheat flour, half cornmeal, milk or buttermilk, eggs, leavening agent, salt, and usually sugar, resulting in a bread that is somewhat lighter and sweeter than the traditional southern version. In the border states and parts of the Upper South, a cross between the two traditions is known as "light cornbread."
Unlike fried variants of cornbread, baked cornbread is a quick bread that is dependent on an egg-based protein matrix for its structure (though the addition of wheat flour adds gluten to increase its cohesiveness). The baking process gelatinizes the starch in the cornmeal, but still often leaves some hard starch to give the finished product a distinctive sandiness not typical of breads made from other grains.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmothers-buttermilk-cornbread/detail.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornbread

Infinite Triangle Figure Mosaic

Diversity Visa Program Information and Qualification

Diversity Visa (DV) Program

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DV 2014 Program: Online registration for the DV-2014 Program will begin on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and conclude on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). See the Diversity Visa Program Instructions webpage for the DV 2014 Instructions and any available translations.

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DV 2013 Program: The online registration period for the 2013 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2013) began on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concluded on Saturday, November 5, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). See the Diversity Visa Program Instructions webpage for more information.

Entrants in the Diversity Visa 2013 program may now check the status of their entries through Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website through September 30, 2013. Review more about Entrant Status Check. DV 2013 Entrants: Please keep your confirmation number until at least September 2013, even if you were not selected on May 1, 2012. The Department of State may select more DV 2013 entries on October 22, 2012 at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4).

DV 2012 Program: Entrants in the Diversity Visa 2012 program may check the status of their entries through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website now through September 30, 2012. Review more about Entrant Status Check.

Diversity Visa Scammers Sending Fraudulent Emails and Letters

The Department of State, Office of Visa Services, advises the public of a notable increase and reporting of fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters pose as the U.S. government, and attempt to extract payment or favor from DV applicants. We strongly encourage you to review the procedures for the DV program provided below, so that you know what to expect, when to expect it, and from whom. Remember that this website is the source of official information about the DV program.

Refer to the additional fraud warning information below, as well as frequently asked questions about fraud protection for more information.

• Overview
• Fraud Warning
• Entrant Status Check
• Selectee Notification and Next Steps
• Qualifying Occupations
• Diversity Visa Program Statistics
• Rewards for Justice
• Additional Resources

Overview

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program makes available up to 55,000 diversity visas (DVs) annually, drawn from random selection among all entries to persons who meet strict eligibility requirements from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

To learn about the next DV online registration, visit the Diversity Visa Program Instructions webpage.

Fraud Warning

Fraudulent websites are posing as official U.S. government sites. Some companies posing as the U.S. government have sought money in order to "complete" DV entry forms. There is no charge to download and complete the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form. To learn more, see the Department of State Warning and the Federal Trade Commission Warning.

The Department of State does NOT notify successful DV applicants by letter or email. Entrants can check the status of their entries, as explained below, by returning to the website at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov to find out if their entry was or was not selected.

Entrant Status Check

DV 2013 Program: Beginning on May 1, 2012 at noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), entrants from DV 2013 (those who submitted entry between October 4, 2011 and November 5, 2011) may check the status of their entry using the confirmation number through Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website. Be advised that additional DV 2013 entrants MAY be selected beginning October 22, 2012 at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). The DV-2013 registration period was from October 4, 2011, until November 5, 2011. To view instructions for DV-2013 entrants and selectees, see Instructions for the 2013 Diversity Visa Program.

DV 2012 Program: All remaining entrants from the DV 2012 (those who entered the DV lottery between October 05, 2010 and November 03, 2010) have until September 30, 2012 to check the status of their entry through this website. The DV-2012 registration period was from October 5, 2010, until November 3, 2010. To review instructions for DV-2012 entrants and selectees, see Instructions for the 2012 Diversity Visa Program.

Entrant Status Check is the ONLY means of informing you if your entry was selected or not. All entrants, including those NOT selected, may check the status of their entries through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov. Entrants will need to use the information from their confirmation pages saved at the time of entry.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you have lost your confirmation information, you will not be able to check your DV entry status. We will not be able to resend the confirmation page information to you.

Selectee Notification and Next Steps

Review the information about Entrant Status Check which is the ONLY means by which DV selectees will be notified of their selection. Additionally, Entrant Status Check will provide successful selectees instructions on how to proceed with their application. The Kentucky Consular Center no longer mails notification letters and does not use email to notify DV entrants of their selection in the DV program. Review the DV Program 2012 Instructions, DV Program 2013 Instructions, and DV Program 2014 Instructions "Selection of Applicants" section, which provides detailed information about the DV process.

For All Successful DV Entrants: If you have been selected for further processing in the Diversity Visa program, after you receive instructions, you will need to demonstrate you are eligible for a diversity immigrant visa by successfully completing the next steps. When requested to do so by the Kentucky Consular Center, you will need to complete an immigrant visa application, submit required documents and forms, pay required fees, complete a medical examination, and then next be interviewed by a consular officer at the U.S. embassy or consulate to demonstrate you qualify for a diversity visa. Please note that the Kentucky Consular Center will provide application information online ONLY through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov.

Qualifying Occupations

Successful DV entrants must be eligible to receive a visa by qualifying based on education, work, and other requirements. The law and regulations require that every DV entrant must have at least:

• A high school education or its equivalent; or
• Two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years' training or experience.

To learn more about qualifying occupations, see the Diversity Visa Instructions Frequently Asked Questions and the List of Occupations webpage.

Diversity Visa Program Statistics

Number of Online Entries Received During Each Registration Period

• DV 2007 - DV 2013

Number of Selected Entrants for Recent DV Programs

• DV 2011
• DV 2012
• DV 2013

Number of Visa Issuances and Adjustments of Status in the Diversity Immigrant Category

• DV 1995 - DV 2010

Rewards for Justice

As you apply to come to the United States, please take a moment to visit our Rewards for Justice program website.

Additional Resources

• Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) Information
  • Email to KCCDV@state.gov
  • Public Inquiry Phone Number 606-526-7500 (7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT Monday - Friday)
• Diversity Visa Program - USCIS
• website
• http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html