Dissuasão, redução de armas nucleares e defesas antimísseis nos governos Bush e Obama

O objetivo é analisar as perspectivas das administrações de George W. Bush e Barack Obama com relação à dissuasão, à redução de armas nucleares e às defesas antimísseis. Sustenta-se que ambas as administrações reafirmaram o papel fundamental das armas nucleares para a dissuasão, comprometeram-se com a redução de armas nucleares acompanhada de iniciativas para modernização e reconheceram a importância de defesas antimísseis na proteção dos EUA e de aliados. Tais perspectivas estão relacionadas à necessidade contínua de ampliar a flexibilidade para lidar com ameaças contemporâneas e à manutenção de opções diversificadas para o enfrentamento desses desafios.

A política comercial da administração Bush: o CAFTA-DR e a resistência interior

Argumenta-se que a política comercial da administração Bush é uma importante modificação na tradição norte-americana ao aderir à proliferação de acordos bilaterais. Contudo, a análise do CAFTA-DR demonstra que ela pode encontrar forte resistência doméstica.

O Relatório Meltzer de 2000 e a reforma do Banco Mundial e do FMI

O artigo discute as propostas do Relatório Meltzer para a reforma do Banco Mundial e do Fundo Monetário Internacional. Esse relatório resultou do trabalho realizado entre 1998 e 2000 por uma comissão do Congresso americano. Discute também a resposta do Tesouro americano àquelas propostas e mostra como algumas delas foram implementadas seletivamente pelo governo de George W. Bush.

The essential role of democracy in the Bush Doctrine: the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan

Everyone knows that democracy played a role in the Bush Doctrine. What not everyone knows is that this role was essential for the doctrine to be put into operation under which the Iraq invasion was prepared and launched. We argue moreover that, even if aggressive, the Bush doctrine is compatible with the American Liberal Tradition. To demonstrate these arguments we analyze the links between democracy, security, and the US national interests as expressed in the pillars of the American foreign policy since the end of Cold War. The consequential belief of the Bush Administration on the positive effect of exporting democracy by the use of force to Afghanistan and Iraq to fight terrorism will be remarked. It will be shown, however, that in the first years of the Bush Administration, among the justifications for the military interventions in the two countries, security reasons prevailed over democratic concerns, although the latter was significantly present since the early hours after September 11. It was only when it became clear that WMDs did not exist in Iraq that the exporting of democracy as the ultimate weapon to fight terrorism grew remarkably and prevailed over security reasons to invade those rogue states. The paper uses quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the speeches of President Bush and his Secretaries of State and Defense.

O orçamento de defesa dos EUA: racionalidade X pressões domésticas

Ao longo das últimas décadas, gastos substanciais com defesa têm sido mantidos pelos EUA. Essas despesas simbolizam uma reação do país a condições sistêmicas, mas também se relacionam com os interesses de agentes domésticos que trabalham para sua manutenção. Neste artigo, pretende-se examinar como funcionou a combinação dessas pressões no período que marcou o fim da Guerra-Fria, por meio da comparação entre os orçamentos de defesa da primeira gestão de Reagan (1981-1984) e da Administração Bush (1989-1992).

Stridulatory file and calling song of two populations of the tropical bush cricket Eneoptera surinamensis (Orthoptera, Gryllidae, Eneopterinae)

This study characterizes the calling song and ultramorphology of the stridulatory file of two geographically isolated populations of the tropical bush cricket Eneoptera surinamensis (De Geer, 1773) from city of Foz do Iguaçu, state of Paraná, and town of Rio Claro, state of São Paulo, Brazil, distant 1,000 Km from each other. The teeth are shell-shaped, the larger ones are distributed in the medium region of the file, decreasing gradually in size towards the edges. Specimens from Foz do Iguaçu have a file with 82 ± 9.8 teeth, length=1.89 mm ± 0.15 with 43.76 ± 5.94 teeth per mm (n=15). Specimens from Rio Claro present a file with 87 ± 9.81, length=1.96 ± 0.19 mm with 44.52 ± 4.61 teeth per mm (n=15). Statistical differences found between the two populations are not significant. The calling song is an uninterrupted trill that alternates two sets of notes distinct for its temporal features.

Cephalopoda as prey of juvenile Southern elephant seals at Isla 25 de Mayo/King George, South Shetland Islands

The aim of the present study was to enhance the knowledge of the feeding habits of the juvenile component of the population of Southern elephant seals [Mirounga leonina (Linnaeus, 1758)] from Isla 25 de Mayo, South Shetland Islands, age class whose diet information is scarce. A total of 60 individuals were stomach lavaged in the spring - summer seasons of three consecutive years (2003, 2004 and 2005) of which 53.3 % (n = 32) presented food remnants. The Antarctic glacial squid Psychroteuthis glacialis Thiele, 1921 was the dominant prey taxon in terms of frequency of occurrence (68.7%), numerical abundance (60.1%) and biomass (51.5%), contributing 84.1% to the total relative importance index. Other squid prey species of importance were Slosarczykovia circumantartica Lipinski, 2001 in terms of occurrence (37.5%) and numerical abundance (14%) and Moroteuthis knipovitchi Filippova, 1972 in terms of biomass (16%). All identified cephalopod prey taxa are distributed south of the Antarctic Polar Front, except for the squid Martialia hyadesi Rochebrune & Mabille, 1889 which has a circumpolar distribution associated to the Polar Frontal Zone. No significant differences in the sizes of P. glacialis preyed upon by elephant seals were found between sexes and years. However, significant interannual differences were found in the taxonomical composition of their diet. This would be associated with temporal changes in food availability at the foraging areas of seals, which in turn may have been influenced by changes in oceanographic conditions as a result of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon that occurred during part of the study period. Furthermore, a differential response of males and females to this temporal variation was observed, with the former being also associated to a predation on octopods. This would suggest a sexual segregation in foraging habits of this species from the early stages of its life cycle.

Chagas disease: from bush to huts and houses. Is it the case of the Brazilian amazon?

Two of the major problems facing the Amazon - human migration from the other areas and uncontrolled deforestation - constitute the greatest risk for the establishment of endemic Chagas disease in this part of Brazil. At least 18 species of triatomines had been found in the Brazilian Amazon, 10 of them infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, associated with numerous wild reservoirs. With wide-range deforestation, wild animals will perforce be driven into other areas, with tendency for triatomines to become adapted to alternative food sources in peri and intradomicilies. Serological surveys and cross-sectional studies for Chagas disease, carried out in rural areas of the Rio Negro, in the Brazilian Amazon, showed a high level of seropositivity for T. cruzi antibodies. A strong correlation of seroreactivity with the contact of gatherers of piaçava fibers with wild triatomines could be evidenced.

Colonization by mites of glacier-free areas in King George Island, Antarctica

This work aimed to investigate the ratio of colonization by terrestrial mites on ice-free areas created by the ongoing climate-induced melting of Antarctic glaciers. Glacier retreat opens new ice-free areas for the colonization by vegetation and animals. The study was undertaken on the Antarctic Specially Protected Area no. 128 (West Coast of the Admiralty Bay, King George Island, South Shetlands Islands). Transects marked between the Ecology, Baranowski and Windy Glaciers, and a sea shore were used to collect soil samples. Oribatid mites were found only on near-shore areas, on patches of vegetation of more than 30 years of age. The colonization by mite communities is strongly determined by the presence of plants.

O médico George Thomson e os primeiros desenvolvimentos do conceito de gás

The word gas was coined by the "chemical philosopher" Joan Baptista Van Helmont (1579 -- 1644) to name a very broad concept in his chemico-medical system. Eventually, some physicians who followed Helmontian ideas adopted the concept. The present paper aims to analyze the reception of the original idea of gas by an English Helmontian physician, George Thomson (1619 -- 1677). Thomson wrote that the "material cause" of the plague was a gas, and compared it to the "Gas of sulphur". He also related the human archeus to a gas, and explained some observations in the laboratory in terms of production of gases. We observe, however, that Thomson was not as interested as Van Helmont in discussing details about the structure of the matter. Thus, gas did not have the same relevance in Thomson's work as it had in Van Helmont's.