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gregp

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Everything posted by gregp

  1. The gurus will be shocked when we’re hitting 2024 and nothing. Waiting for HCL BRICS IMO
  2. https://www.youtube.com/live/EkgWReMfZsY?feature=share
  3. Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during their meeting following the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 29, 2023. (File photo: Reuters) BRICS leaders meet to discuss expansion and geopolitical influence Reuters Published: 17 August ,2023: 04:01 AM GSTUpdated: 17 August ,2023: 04:55 AM GST BRICS leaders meet in South Africanext week to discuss how to turn a loose club of nations accounting for a quarter of the global economy into a geopolitical force that can challenge the West’s dominance in world affairs. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, will not join leaders from Brazil, India, China and South Africa amid rifts over whether to expand the bloc to include dozens of “Global South” nations queuing up to join. South Africa will host Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BRICS summit from August 22 to 24. Spread over the globe and with economies that operate in vastly different ways, the main thing uniting the BRICS is scepticism about a world order they see as serving the interests of the United States and its rich-country allies who promote international norms they enforce but don’t always respect. Few details have emerged about what they plan to discuss, but expansion is expected to be high on the agenda, as some 40 nations have shown interest in joining, either formally or informally, according to South Africa. They include Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt. “BRICS AND AFRICA” China, seeking to expand its geopolitical influence as its tussles with the United States, wants to enlarge BRICS quickly, while Brazil is resisting expansion, fearing the already unwieldy club could see its stature diluted by it. In a written response to Reuters questions, China’s foreign ministry said it “supports progress in expanding membership, and welcomes more like-minded partners to join the ‘BRICS family’ at an early date.” Russia needs friends to counter its diplomatic isolation over Ukraine, and so is keen to bring in new members, as is its most important African ally, South Africa. India is on the fence. In a nod to the bloc’s African hosts, the theme of its 15th summit is “BRICS and Africa”, emphasising how the bloc can build ties with a continent increasingly becoming a theatre for competition between world powers. South Africa’s foreign minister Naledi Pandor in a statement last week said BRICS nations wanted to show “global leadership in addressing the needs ... of the majority of the world, namely ... development and inclusion of the Global South in multilateral systems,” in a veiled swipe at Western dominance. BRICS nations are keen to project themselves as alternative development partners to the West. China’s foreign ministry said BRICS sought to “reform global governance systems (to) increase the representation ... of developing countries and emerging markets.” The bloc’s New Development Bank (NDB) wants to de-dollarise finance and offer an alternative to the much-criticised Breton Woods institutions. But it has approved only $33 billion of loans in nearly a decade -- about a third of the amount the World Bank committed to disbursing just last year -- and has recently been hobbled by sanctions on member Russia. South African officials say talk of a BRICS currency, mooted by Brazil earlier this year as an alternative to dollar-dependence, is off the table. With 40 percent of global population, the BRICS carbon-intensive nations also make up about the same share of greenhouse gas emissions. Officials in Brazil, China and South Africa said climate change may come up but indicated it wouldn’t be a priority. BRICS countries blame rich nations for causing most global warming and want them to take on more of the burden of decarbonising the world’s energy supply. China was accused of blocking climate discussions at the G20, which it denied. https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/08/17/BRICS-leaders-meet-to-discuss-expansion-and-geopolitical-influence
  4. https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/08/17/BRICS-Summit-2023-agenda-All-you-need-to-know A view of a reflection on a window of a man staring at the sea in front of the national flags of the on the the BRICS (China, India, Russia, South Africa, Brazil) countries during the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cape Town, on June 02, 2023. (AFP) BRICS Summit 2023 agenda: All you need to know Yusra Asif, Al Arabiya English Published: 17 August ,2023: 12:25 PM GSTUpdated: 17 August ,2023: 03:33 PM GST BRICS is a bloc of emerging world economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – aimed at developing trade and economic cooperation among its member nations. The acronym “BRIC” was originally coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neil in 2001. South Africa was added to the group in 2010 when the bloc extended its membership to another continent. Russia organized BRIC’s first meeting in 2006, with foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India and China in attendance. They discussed the economic bloc’s shared interests and common challenges – the most prominent being the rising US influence on world order. According to World Bank statistics, BRICS accounts for more than 40 percent of the world’s population, and the combined GDP is more than $23 trillion – 26 percent of the global economy. Where and when is the summit? BRICS will hold its 15th heads of state and government summit in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 22-24. The summit will be the first in-person meeting of the group since the coronavirus pandemic. Who will attend BRICS summit? The world leaders expected to attend the summit include South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit, Moscow announced in July. His absence is due to an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC). If he arrives in South Africa, he would be subject to the ICC’s warrant. Instead of Putin, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will represent Moscow at the summit. Putin, however, will not miss the meeting. According to Russian state media, he will reportedly participate in the conference via video. Heads of states pose for a group picture at the BRICS summit meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 27, 2018. (Reuters) BRICS has also extended invitations to 67 world leaders across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean. Twenty dignitaries will attend the summit, including the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the African Union Commissioner Moussa Faki Mahamat and the President of the BRICS’ New Development Bank. According to Reuters reports, prominent business leaders in the region are also expected to be in attendance. What are key issues on the agenda? Other than developing economic relations and trade infrastructure, one of the most pressing issues on the summit’s agenda is BRICS’ expansion, with several nations from Asia, Africa and Europe vying to join the bloc. While the group’s stance on expansion is divided – China and Russia have embraced it, but India remains opposed to Beijing’s plans – as many as 40 countries have reportedly shown interest in joining the bloc formally or informally. These include Algeria, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Indonesia, Argentina, Ethiopia and Egypt. Another item on the bloc’s agenda that has gained traction and attracted media headlines is the push from BRICS to conduct more cross-border trade in local currencies to reduce the group’s reliance on the US dollar. Several reports of a new BRICS’ currency also emerged in the months preceding the summit, with some economic experts claiming that the economic bloc may, in the future, push for de-dollarization – reducing the US dollar’s dominance in global trade and finance. However, according to a Bloomberg report, South Africa’s ambassador to the bloc, Anil Sooklal, said there are no plans to discuss replacing the US dollar.
  5. Several years ago I turned off my YouTube history and spam emails came to an almost complete halt. A couple months ago I turned it on to see what would happen and instantly my gmail and iCloud email accounts were rapidly flooded with about 60 junk emails. So I turned it off.
  6. Makes you wonder why Bill Gates wouldn’t let his family get the shots….
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