One of these things...

...is not like the others.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6514737.ece

Russia, China, India, and Brazil (?) have formed a coalition to “create the conditions for a fairer world order”. Russia still caries the mantle of the USSR in the political world, and China and India each have a billion people (literally) and rapidly growing economies. Brazil has... has... a really good soccer team? OK, they're the fifth in the world in terms of both area and population. But there's three or four European powers ahead of them economically, plus Japan, and despite the EU nations systematically butchering their cold-war militaries, I don't even want to think where they stand on the list militarily. OK, technically they have an aircraft carrier. Put it up against a USMC helicopter carrier with a normal air wing and I wouldn't give a nickle for its chances.

I'm not happy about any multi-national polity being formed with the subtext of "we've had enough of the 'Pax America'"; I also don't think we've actually had a 'Pax America' since the cold war ended. I'm more puzzled than anything else right now, though, because I really can't see how Brazil fits into the picture. If there were five other mid-sized up-and-coming nations, sure, they'd fit nicely on the list.

It has been a long time since I posted. I've been to New Mexico, I'm preparing a for a lateral transfer at work, and I don't think we're getting the whole story on A/H1N1 aka Swine Flu, aka Frankenpiggy Flu (my own suggestion).