<a href=www.hipakistan.com>Hi Pakistan! US President George W Bush and his Brazilian counterpart have emphasised their countries' common interests despite opposing each other over Iraq and some trade matters.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - commonly known as Lula - was visiting the White House, the first foreign leader who opposed the US-led war on Iraq to do so.

Mr Bush said the relationship between the countries is "vital, important and growing".

The two men announced a series of joint projects ranging from energy to business development in Brazil and fighting Aids in Africa.

"Brazil is an incredibly important part of a peaceful and prosperous North and South America," Mr Bush said as he received Lula for an Oval Office meeting.

The BBC's Steve Kingstone, in Washington, says the left-wing former trade union leader is not a natural political ally of Mr Bush.

He has maintained warm relations with Cuba's Fidel Castro, long a thorn in America's side.

But since taking office, Lula has impressed Washington with a combination of economic discipline and an ambitious long-term programme to combat poverty in Brazil, our correspondent says.

Mr Bush said: "This relationship is a vital and important and growing relationship.

"On a personal prospective I am very impressed by the vision of the President of Brazil. He not only has a tremendous heart, but he has got the abilities to encourage prosperity and to end hunger."

For his part, Lula spoke of a great partnership but it should, he said, be based on sincerity and trust going beyond a few occasional photo opportunities.

Confrontations

The dynamic between the two men is probably the key to this relationship for the next few years, our correspondent says.

Together the two governments are chairing negotiations towards a hemisphere-wide free trade agreement scheduled to come into force in 2005.

The United States is the largest investor in Brazil, with 400 firms and investments of $30bn (£20bn), while Brazil exports some $15bn (£10bn) worth of goods to the US.

With a population approaching 175 million, Brazil is the second largest country in the Americas, after the US - and South America's largest economy.

Lula would like to ensure greater access for Brazil's huge agricultural sector to US markets before agreeing to any trade deals.

Meanwhile, American policymakers are increasingly looking to Brazil for help in resolving some of the most difficult issues between the hemispheres.

These include the confrontation between US companies and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, and the drug-trafficking issues in the Andes states.

The Brazilian president is accompanied by no fewer than 10 cabinet ministers, in the biggest Brazil-US summit since World War II when President Frank D Roosevelt persuaded Brazil to join the war effort.

Fri June 20, 2003 07:58 PM ET (updates with Lula, State Department official comments)

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON, June 20 (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush, the son of an ex-president, and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his country's first president from the working class, agreed on Friday to seek closer ties despite deep differences.

They issued a joint statement after their first face-to-face talks since Lula was sworn in on Jan. 1, saying their governments will have regular, high-level, consultations on issues from counter-terrorism to aid for Africa.

"The United States and Brazil resolve to create a closer and qualitatively stronger relationship," it said.

The statement made no mention of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, which Lula strongly opposed, and Brazilian officials said the matter was not discussed.

Warming ties between the two have come as a surprise, and reflect U.S. hopes Brazil can be a stabilizing influence in Latin America as its democracy movement has been strained.

Most of the region suffered a recession in 2002, with Venezuela and Argentina hard hit by economic slumps and political upheaval.

Speaking to reporters after the White House meeting, Lula said relations between the hemispheric giants were poised to enter a new era, saying, "I think this meeting can establish a new framework in Brazil-United States relations."

Lula told Bush he wanted Washington to help fund infrastructure investments in South America. He said the region needed better ports, roads and railways.

Asked if Bush was open to the idea, Lula said: "I think he is going to help."

A State Department official, who was present, said Bush and Lula hit it off well. "This meeting could not have gone any better. I can't tell you what a positive atmosphere there was," the official said.

The countries announced joint initiatives including U.S. support for Lula's anti-hunger program in Brazil, cooperation on energy and fighting AIDS in Africa.

"Without any question, I believe that we can surprise the world in terms of the relationship between Brazil and the United States," Lula told reporters in the Oval Office, Bush at his side.

Brazil and the United States co-chair the Free Trade Area of the Americas talks, seeking a hemisphere-wide free trade zone by January 2005. The joint statement reaffirmed the leaders' aim to conclude negotiations on time.

Lula sounded an optimistic note on FTAA, saying, "I am convinced that we have the conditions in place to break down all the barriers, if we are patient and perseverant."

He repeated several times his invitation to Bush to come to Brazil and Bush said: "Yeah, I really want to."

(With additional reporting by Pablo Bachelet and Jonathan Wright)

Sat June 21, 2003 10:35 AM ET By Joseph Giannone

NEW YORK (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - ChevronTexaco Corp. CVX.N will put dozens of oil and gas properties on the block as merger-related restrictions on asset sales expire this fall.

At the same time, a comprehensive business review by the company is expected to trigger a massive write-off in its overseas refining and marketing businesses.

Oct. 9 marks the two-year anniversary of the combination of Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc. -- and the starting point for sweeping changes by the second-largest U.S. energy company. In August the company will unveil plans to divest assets and boost returns from exploration and production.

Some analysts say the company also may announce changes to its international refining and marketing business, comprised of its CalTex business in Asia and Africa and Texaco's assets in Europe. Changes may include the shutting down or sale of some assets.

Those assets have deteriorated in value since the merger, analysts said, and could result in a write-down of as much as $3 to $5 billion as early as this year.

"These assets are severely over-capitalized and of a quality and of a competitive nature that leaves something to be desired," said analyst Mark Gilman of First Albany, who has a "sell" rating on ChevronTexaco shares.

A spokesman said the company won't comment on its plans until its investor meeting in August, although ChevronTexaco executives have said sales would be on par with the $1 billion to $2 billion in assets sold annually before the merger.

Because ChevronTexaco used pooling of interests accounting for the merger, it has not been allowed to sell significant assets. At the same time, rivals have shed properties in North America and the North Sea, freeing cash for reinvestment in more promising regions, such as Southeast Asia, Africa and Russia.

Now, with those restrictions soon to expire, analysts said, the company will announce plans to shed properties in the United States, Canada, the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Even in emerging hot spots like Indonesia, ChevronTexaco may divest some mature fields.

ChevronTexaco might also pull the plug on holdings in Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil, where the company may lack sufficient scale.

This year the company has announced minor sales, including the disposal of 100 North American properties. ChevronTexaco also announced the sale of its stakes in a Papua New Guinea venture and a refinery in El Paso, Texas.

"It looks like the company may bite the bullet and take some write-downs," John Herold analyst Lou Gagliardi said. "They're being forced to take a hard look at their overweight exposure in the Far East."

That means even CalTex, formed by the two companies in 1936, is at risk. The division has 10 refineries and service stations in 60 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, but many of its markets suffer from a glut of refining capacity and sluggish demand growth.

So, as painful as these steps may be, the company needs to convince investors it is taking all necessary steps to boost financial performance, analysts said.

"If the changes are seen as half-hearted, or not doing enough to reposition the company and boost profitability, the market will be disappointed," Herold's Gagliardi said.

The Miami Herald, Posted on Sat, Jun. 21, 2003 By NANCY SAN MARTIN nsanmartin@herald.com

WASHINGTON - Exchanging handshakes and smiles with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President Bush sent a clear message Friday that he is prepared to set aside ideological differences in favor of a firm and profitable relationship with Latin America's largest country.

''Brazil is an incredibly important part of a peaceful and prosperous North and South America,'' Bush said as he welcomed da Silva to the White House. ``This relationship is a vital and important and growing relationship.''

Da Silva also touted the importance of a solid partnership, but stressed that it ''should be on the basis of sincerity'' and not ``just build up a spectacle for the press and for the public.''

''I believe that Brazil is and can continue to be a good partner of the United States,'' da Silva said. ``Without any question, I believe that we can surprise the world in terms of the relationship.''

The gathering was more than just a cordial exchange between two leaders. It involved high-ranking Cabinet members from both governments, and by the end of the day they had committed to a series of joint initiatives, ranging from agriculture to energy to health programs for combating AIDS in Portuguese-speaking parts of Africa.

HIGH POINT

''The high point of the meeting was when we discussed the need for guaranteeing peace in the world,'' da Silva said at a news conference later in the day.

``To guarantee peace, you have to think of the development of the poorest regions . . . We must make up for wasted time in South America.''

Bush, who has met with da Silva three times over the past six months, personally complimented a man who rose from poverty to trade union activist to leader of a country with the world's ninth-largest economy.

''I'm very impressed by the vision of the president of Brazil,'' Bush said of da Silva, who took office Jan. 1. ``He's a man who clearly has deep concerns for all the people of Brazil. He not only has a tremendous heart, but he's got the abilities to work closely with his government and the people of Brazil to encourage prosperity and to end hunger.''

With a population of about 180 million -- the Western Hemisphere's second most populous country after the United States -- Brazil has the largest economy in South America. Trade between the United States and Brazil is impressive, totaling $26 billion last year.

REGIONAL CONCERNS

Beyond bilateral interests, such as the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas that Washington is pushing for implementation by 2005, the two leaders also discussed regional concerns. Among them: crime, drug trafficking and continuing instability in Colombia and Venezuela.

Both stressed the importance of supporting an end to the civil war in Colombia and of a referendum to resolve the political crisis surrounding Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

<a href=www.wired.com>Wired, By Bruce Sterling

The Aesthetic Imperative 

Is our ability to alter nature changing what we consider natural? 

The Sound of Stolen Thunder 

New World Disorder 

The High Cost of Efficiency 

Scott Menchin

We denizens of the early 21st century cling to a leftover notion that anything "global" is remote, abstract. That's no longer true. A global problem is everyone's problem, often in intimate ways. Chinese germs multiply in American bloodstreams. Colombian narcoterrorists maintain branch offices in every major US city. There's only one atmosphere, and no pulldown menu for selecting a new one.

American bombs and satellites are impressive, but they can't stop SARS, AIDS, or drug-resistant TB. European regulations and good intentions can't manage dwindling fishing stocks, water shortages, or climate change. Asian hard work and community values barely dent the global trade in drugs, arms, and humans. Vast tracts of the developing world are no longer developing at all but visibly and violently decaying.

EMEK
Four types of mechanisms exist to finesse the world's world-sized problems. Unfortunately, none of them are of much use.

At the top of the heap are the global multilaterals, the brass-plate institutions whose members include diplomats from the world's 190-plus nation-states. Examples are the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and the United Nations. They might look big and scary to street protesters, but once you peek behind the velvet curtains, it's dead obvious that they're stretched thin, put-upon, weak, fractious, crooked, and low in morale. They lack public legitimacy and democratic representation. Street opinion, the "second superpower," hates and fears them bitterly. The first superpower, the one with stealth bombers, can't stand them either. That's bad news for global multilaterals.

The second system involves international treaties and conventions. These vast, clotted webs of apparent consensus are too many, too messy, and too meager to manage a teeming, boisterous world. Often treaties are signed but never ratified. Many that are ratified aren't enforced. National leaders just plain lose track of all their accords. Consider environmental agreements, more than 200 of which have been promulgated in the past 40 years. Whatever the subject, the Bushites take positive pleasure in sweeping away clutter like the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the International Criminal Court treaty, and whichever target of opportunity they choose to hit next.

The third arrangement is the coalition of the willing. More of these exist than you might think, including the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations, the Group of Eight, the Group of 20, and the weirdly named Group of 77 Plus China. Coalitions of the willing are barely coalitions, they're rarely willing, and they're never broad enough. Nafta has been good at dissolving trade barriers, but outside the gates of the Nafta consumer's club, Argentina collapsed while Brazil and Venezuela turned hard left. The top willing coalition, the European Union, is a golden exception to the norm, because it boasts an occasional accomplishment.

The fourth approach is to stage glamorous international powwows like the Rio Summit, Rio Plus Five, Rio Plus Ten, the Cairo summit on population, the Durban racism summit, the Copenhagen Social Summit, and, lately, nongovernmental countersummits like the World Social Forum. These massive blabfests are ritualized and wooden. They make proper noises, but they have no teeth, no budget, and no follow-through. They're good for consciousness-raising and for swapping business cards, but they have no effect on the awful crises they purport to address.

Outside the US, most people believe the planet recently suffered a massive, bomb-flinging breakdown in the new world order. The news is worse: There never was any order to break down. If the war in Iraq had gone badly for the US, the world would now be staring into an abyss, a pit of lawless, dog-eat-dog mayhem. We need - we really need - a global civil society that isn't made of toffee and chicken wire. Forging it will require new ideas, methods, and technologies, new principles and a new realism. If we can't confront the big issues with real grit, competence, and determination, we've got problems waiting that will make Iraq look like Disneyland.

The New World Order, proclaimed in Gulf War I, died in Gulf War II. The Next World Order has means, motive, and opportunity now. Instead of the customary 20th-century hot air and phony baloney, it might turn out to be rather hands-on, tough-minded, and practical. There are good reasons to think this will happen, with or without American cooperation. The Next World Order may well look like nothing we previously were led to expect.

The global future is already here. It exists somewhere on a slider bar between dusty refugee camps and a suite at the Ritz-Carlton. Sometimes, as on 9/11, it's both those things. When we've created a world order that can walk the walk in our planet's very best and very worst locales, 24/7/365, then we'll have a world order that can actually order the world.

Email Bruce Sterling at bruces@well.com.