Independence Day (Brazil)
The Independence Day of Brazil called Sete de Setembro, is a national holiday observed in Brazil on 7 September of every year. The date celebrates Brazil's Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves on 7 September 1822. In 1808, French troops commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Portugal as a retaliation for the Iberian country's refusal to participate in the trade embargo against the United Kingdom. Fleeing persecution, the Portuguese monarchs transferred the Portuguese Court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro capital of Colonial Brazil. In 1815, Prince Regent John VI created the United Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves, elevating Brazil to the rank of kingdom and increasing its administrative independence. Brazil and Great Britain were the three major contributors to the Independence of Brazil all three motivated by the circumstances peculiar to each. Brazil's Independence was won through diplomacy after three years of war against Portugal. A political revolution erupted in Portugal in 1820.
John VI's heir, Prince of Brazil, remained in Brazil. In 1821, the Portuguese Assembly demanded Brazil to return to its former condition of colony and the return of the heir prince to Portugal. Pedro, influenced by the Rio de Janeiro Senate refused to return on 9 January 1822, a date which became known as Dia do Fico. On 2 September 1822, a new decree with Lisbon's demands arrived in Rio de Janeiro, while Prince Pedro was in São Paulo. Princess Maria Leopoldina, acting as Princess Regent, met with the Council of Ministers and decided to send her husband a letter advising him to proclaim Brazil's independence; the letter reached Prince Pedro on 7 September 1822. That same day, in a famous scene at the shore of the Ipiranga River, he declared the country's independence, ending 322 years of colonial dominance of Portugal over Brazil. On the day of Prince Pedro's proclamation he was declaring a fact for the foundations of a new state had been laid. According to journalist Laurentino Gomes, who wrote a book about the event, Prince Pedro "could not wait for his arrival to São Paulo to announce the decision".
Gomes adds that "he was a reckless man in his decisions but he had the profile of leader that Brazil needed at the time, because there was no time to think". Federal law N° 662, issued on 4 April 1949, made Independence Day a paid federal holiday. Federal law N° 5.571, issued on 28 November 1969, established the protocol for the Independence Day celebration. Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays and military parades in most Brazilian cities. In Brasília, the celebration takes place at the Ministries Esplanade with a military parade in the presence of the President of Brazil. Around 30,000 people attend the event each year, which costs about one million reais. Similar military and civil parades are held in all the state capitals, in many cities throughout the country; the national commemorations are broadcast on cable channel TV NBR and public TV station TV Brasil. In 2016, in honor of that year's Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, portions of that city's parade were aired on the channel.
It should be noted that until 1959 all national parades were held there as it was the former capital city. By 2017 TV NBR began broadcasting snippets of the São Paulo parade, given that the city is the birthplace of the independent country. In New York City, the Brazilian Day is produced by João de Matos and held annually to celebrate the Independence Day; the event takes place near Times Square, in Manhattan. The Brazilian Day concert is the centerpiece of the event, featuring famous Brazilian musicians, such as Daniela Mercury, Ivete Sangalo, Chitãozinho & Xororó, Sandy & Junior, Cláudia Leitte, Banda Calypso. In 2008, the event drew a crowd of 1.5 million people, according to the New York City Police Department. The Brazilian television network Globo sponsors the event and airs it live to Brazil and over 115 countries through Globo International Network. Similar events are held in Deerfield Beach, San Diego, Los Angeles, London, United Kingdom. "7 de Setembro – Dia da Independência" at the website of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
President of Brazil
The President of Brazil the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil or the President of the Republic, is both the head of state and the head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces; the presidential system was established in 1889, upon the proclamation of the republic in a military coup d'état against Emperor Pedro II. Since Brazil has had six constitutions, three dictatorships, three democratic periods. During the democratic periods, voting has always been compulsory; the Constitution of Brazil, along with several constitutional amendments, establishes the requirements and responsibilities of the president, their term of office and the method of election. Jair Bolsonaro is the current President, he was sworn in on 1 January 2019 following the 2018 presidential election. As a republic with a presidential executive, Brazil grants significant powers to the president, who controls the executive branch, represents the country abroad, appoints the cabinet and, with the approval of the Senate, the judges for the Supreme Federal Court.
The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Presidents in Brazil have significant lawmaking powers, exercised either by proposing laws to the National Congress or by using Medidas Provisórias, an instrument with the force of law that the president can enact in cases of urgency and necessity except to make changes to some areas of law. A provisional measure comes into effect before Congress votes on it, remains in force for up to 60 days unless Congress votes to rescind it; the 60-day period can be extended once, up to 120 days. If Congress, on the other hand, votes to approve the provisional measure, it becomes an actual law, with changes decided by the legislative branch; the provisional measure expires at the end of the 60-day period, or sooner, if rejected by one of the Houses of Congress. Article 84 of the current Federal Constitution, determines that the president has the power to appoint and dismiss the ministers of state; the Constitution of Brazil requires that a President be a native-born citizen of Brazil, at least 35 years of age, a resident of Brazil, in full exercise of their electoral rights, a registered voter, a member of a political party.
The president of Brazil serves for a term of four years
Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens living abroad, Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomats, foreign civil servants in Norway, Norway's honorary consuls for "outstanding service in the interests of Norway", its counterpart, the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, is only awarded to Norwegian citizens living in Norway; the reigning monarch, King Harald V, is the Grand Master of the Order. The order has five grades: Grand Cross and Knight; the Order is characterized by a ribbon of deep blue moiré. The Grand Cross is worn on a broad sash; the Commander's Cross is worn around the neck on ribbon of the Order. The Knight's Cross is worn over the left breast on a ribbon. Women wear both the Commander's Cross and the Knight's Cross over the left breast on a ribbon of the Order, fashioned into a bow. Unlike the Order of St. Olav, the insignia of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit are the property of the recipient. Applications are submitted through the Protocol Department of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The King receives the applications and confers the Order based on the council of the Lord Chamberlain of the Court, the Chief Protocol of the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Head of Chancery of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. Orders and medals of Norway The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit Website of the Royal Court Statues of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit Website of the Royal Court
Brasília
Brasília is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located atop the Brazilian highlands in the country's center-western region, it was founded on April 1960, to serve as the new national capital. Brasília is estimated to be Brazil's 3rd most populous city. Among major Latin American cities, Brasília has the highest GDP per capita. Brasília was planned and developed by Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and Joaquim Cardozo in 1956 to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location; the landscape architect was Roberto Burle Marx. The city's design divides it into numbered blocks as well as sectors for specified activities, such as the Hotel Sector, the Banking Sector and the Embassy Sector. Brasília was chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its modernist architecture and uniquely artistic urban planning, it has been named "City of Design" by UNESCO in October 2017 and has been part of the Creative Cities Network since then. All three branches of Brazil's federal government are centered in the city: executive and judiciary.
Brasília hosts 124 foreign embassies. The city's international airport connects it to all other major Brazilian cities and many international destinations, is the third busiest airport in Brazil. Brasília is the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital city, it was one of the main host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and hosted some of the football matches during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The city has a unique status in Brazil, as it is an administrative division rather than a legal municipality like other cities in Brazil. Although Brasília is used as a synonym for the Federal District through synecdoche, the Federal District is composed of 31 administrative regions, only one of, the area of the planned city called Plano Piloto; the rest of the Federal District is considered by IBGE to make up Brasília's metro area. From 1763 until 1960, Rio de Janeiro was Brazil's capital. At this time, resources tended to be centered in Brazil's southeast region near Rio de Janeiro and most of its population was concentrated near to the Atlantic Coast.
Brasília's geographically central location fostered a more regionally neutral federal capital. An article of the country's first republican constitution dating back to 1891 stated the capital should be moved from Rio de Janeiro to a place close to the country's center; the plan was conceived in 1827 by José Bonifácio, an advisor to Emperor Pedro I. He presented a plan to the General Assembly of Brazil for a new city called Brasília, with the idea of moving the capital westward from the populated southeastern corridor; the bill was not enacted because Pedro I dissolved the Assembly. According to legend, Italian saint Don Bosco in 1883 had a dream in which he described a futuristic city that fitted Brasília's location. In Brasília today, many references of Bosco, who founded the Salesian order, are found throughout the city and one church parish in the city bears his name. In 1955 Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president of Brazil. Upon taking office in January, 1956, in response to his campaign pledge, he initiated the planning and construction of the new capital.
In 1957 an international jury selected Lúcio Costa's plan to guide the construction of Brazil’s new capital, Brasília. Costa's plan was not as detailed as some of the plans presented by other architects and city planners, it did not include land use schedules, population charts or mechanical drawings, however, it was chosen by five out of six jurors because it had the features required to align the growth of a capital city Even though the initial plan was transformed over time, his plan oriented much of the construction and most of its features survived. Brasília's accession as the new capital and its designation for the development of an extensive interior region inspired the symbolism of the plan. Costa used a cross-axial design indicating the possession and conquest of this new place with a cross described by some as a dragonfly, an airplane or a bird. Costa's plan included the Monumental Axis and the Residential Axis; the Monumental Axis was assigned political and administrative activities and is considered the body of the city with the style and simplicity of its buildings, oversized scales, broad vistas and heights, producing the idea of Monumentality.
This axis includes the various ministries, national congress, presidential palace, supreme court building and the television and radio tower. The Residential Axis was intended to contain areas with intimate character and is considered the most important achievement of the plan; the urban design of the communal apartment blocks was based on Le Corbusier's Ville Radieuse of 1935 and the superblocks on the North American Radburn layout from 1929. Visually, the blocks were intended to appear absorbed by the landscape because they were isolated by a belt of tall trees and lower vegetation. Costa attempted to introduce a Brazil, more equitable, he designed housing for the working classes, separated from the upper and middle-class housing and was visually different, with the intention of avoiding slums (f
Brazil
Brazil the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the fifth most populous. Its capital is Brasília, its most populated city is São Paulo; the federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers, it borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile and covers 47.3% of the continent's land area. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats; this unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, is the subject of significant global interest and debate regarding deforestation and environmental protection.
Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system; the ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, now called the National Congress. The country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup d'état. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. Due to its rich culture and history, the country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy. It has the ninth largest GDP in the world by nominal, eight and PPP measures, it is one of the world's major breadbaskets, being the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. It is classified as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country, with the largest share of global wealth in Latin America. Brazil is a regional power and sometimes considered a great or a middle power in international affairs. On account of its international recognition and influence, the country is subsequently classified as an emerging power and a potential superpower by several analysts. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Union of South American Nations, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, it is that the word "Brazil" comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast.
In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil given the etymology "red like an ember", formed from brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a deep red dye, it was valued by the European textile industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. Throughout the 16th century, massive amounts of brazilwood were harvested by indigenous peoples along the Brazilian coast, who sold the timber to European traders in return for assorted European consumer goods; the official Portuguese name of the land, in original Portuguese records, was the "Land of the Holy Cross", but European sailors and merchants called it the "Land of Brazil" because of the brazilwood trade. The popular appellation eclipsed and supplanted the official Portuguese name; some early sailors called it the "Land of Parrots". In the Guarani language, an official language of Paraguay, Brazil is called "Pindorama"; this was the name the indigenous population gave to the region, meaning "land of the palm trees".
Some of the earliest human remains found in the Americas, Luzia Woman, were found in the area of Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais and provide evidence of human habitation going back at least 11,000 years. The earliest pottery found in the Western Hemisphere was excavated in the Amazon basin of Brazil and radiocarbon dated to 8,000 years ago; the pottery was found near Santarém and provides evidence that the tropical forest region supported a complex prehistoric culture. The Marajoara culture flourished on Marajó in the Amazon delta from 800 CE to 1400 CE, developing sophisticated pottery, social stratification, large populations, mound building, complex social formations such as chiefdoms. Around the time of the Portuguese arrival, the territory of current day Brazil had an estimated indigenous population of 7 million people semi-nomadic who subsisted on hunting, fishing and migrant agriculture; the indigenous population of Brazil comprised several large indigenous ethnic groups. The Tupí people were subdivided into the Tupiniquins and Tupinambás, there were many subdivisions of the other gro
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper, published in Los Angeles, since 1881. It has the fourth-largest circulation among United States newspapers, is the largest U. S. newspaper not headquartered on the East Coast. The paper is known for its coverage of issues salient to the U. S. West Coast, such as immigration trends and natural disasters, it has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of other issues. As of June 18, 2018, ownership of the paper is controlled by Patrick Soon-Shiong, the executive editor is Norman Pearlstine. In the nineteenth century, the paper was known for its civic boosterism and opposition to unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910; the paper's profile grew in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades, the paper's readership has declined and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize, in July 2018 the paper moved out of its historic downtown headquarters to a facility near Los Angeles International Airport.
The Times was first published on December 4, 1881, as the Los Angeles Daily Times under the direction of Nathan Cole Jr. and Thomas Gardiner. It was first printed at the Mirror printing plant, owned by Jesse Yarnell and T. J. Caystile. Unable to pay the printing bill and Gardiner turned the paper over to the Mirror Company. In the meantime, S. J. Mathes had joined the firm, it was at his insistence that the Times continued publication. In July 1882, Harrison Gray Otis moved from Santa Barbara to become the paper's editor. Otis made the Times a financial success. Historian Kevin Starr wrote that Otis was a businessman "capable of manipulating the entire apparatus of politics and public opinion for his own enrichment". Otis's editorial policy was based on civic boosterism, extolling the virtues of Los Angeles and promoting its growth. Toward those ends, the paper supported efforts to expand the city's water supply by acquiring the rights to the water supply of the distant Owens Valley; the efforts of the Times to fight local unions led to the October 1, 1910 bombing of its headquarters, killing twenty-one people.
Two union leaders and Joseph McNamara, were charged. The American Federation of Labor hired noted trial attorney Clarence Darrow to represent the brothers, who pleaded guilty. Otis fastened a bronze eagle on top of a high frieze of the new Times headquarters building designed by Gordon Kaufmann, proclaiming anew the credo written by his wife, Eliza: "Stand Fast, Stand Firm, Stand Sure, Stand True." Upon Otis's death in 1917, his son-in-law, Harry Chandler, took control as publisher of the Times. Harry Chandler was succeeded in 1944 by his son, Norman Chandler, who ran the paper during the rapid growth of post-war Los Angeles. Norman's wife, Dorothy Buffum Chandler, became active in civic affairs and led the effort to build the Los Angeles Music Center, whose main concert hall was named the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in her honor. Family members are buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery near Paramount Studios; the site includes a memorial to the Times Building bombing victims. The fourth generation of family publishers, Otis Chandler, held that position from 1960 to 1980.
Otis Chandler sought legitimacy and recognition for his family's paper forgotten in the power centers of the Northeastern United States due to its geographic and cultural distance. He sought to remake the paper in the model of the nation's most respected newspapers, notably The New York Times and The Washington Post. Believing that the newsroom was "the heartbeat of the business", Otis Chandler increased the size and pay of the reporting staff and expanded its national and international reporting. In 1962, the paper joined with The Washington Post to form the Los Angeles Times–Washington Post News Service to syndicate articles from both papers for other news organizations, he toned down the unyielding conservatism that had characterized the paper over the years, adopting a much more centrist editorial stance. During the 1960s, the paper won four Pulitzer Prizes, more than its previous nine decades combined. Writing in 2013 about the pattern of newspaper ownership by founding families, Times reporter Michael Hiltzik said that: The first generations bought or founded their local paper for profits and social and political influence.
Their children enjoyed both profits and influence, but as the families grew larger, the generations found that only one or two branches got the power, everyone else got a share of the money. The coupon-clipping branches realized that they could make more money investing in something other than newspapers. Under their pressure the companies split apart, or disappeared. That's the pattern followed over more than a century by the Los Angeles Times under the Chandler family; the paper's early history and subsequent transformation was chronicled in an unauthorized history Thinking Big, was one of four organizations profiled by David Halberstam in The Powers That Be. It has been the whole or partial subject of nearly thirty dissertations in communications or social science in the past four decades; the Los Angeles Times began a decline with Los Angeles itself with the decline in military production at the end of the Cold War. It faced hiring freezes in 1991-1992. Another major decision at the same time was to cut the range of circulation.
They cut circulation in California's Central Valley, Nevada and the San Diego ed
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Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic 
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