How Obama lost friends and influence in the Brics

◼ The president’s real pivot is not to Asia but to America, inspired by domestic sentiment - FT

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When Barack Obama took office, he pledged a new overture to the world’s emerging powers. Today each of the Brics – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – is at loggerheads with America, or worse. Last month four of the five abstained in a UN vote condemning the fifth’s annexation of Crimea. Next month India is likely to elect as its new leader Narendra Modi, who says he has “no interest in visiting America other than to attend the UN in New York”. As the world’s largest democracy, and America’s most natural ally among the emerging powers, India’s is a troubling weathervane. How on earth did Mr Obama lose the Brics?

The good news nobody is noticing

◼ It requires a special kind of mind to challenge the commonly-accepted beliefs, take note of facts that others overlook, and stand up to tell people what is really going on, what nobody else seems to notice. Such a mind is that of Herbert E, Meyer, frequent contributor to American Thinker. What makes Herb different from most other brilliant original thinkers, however, is that he has a track record of making calls that have changed the world, accomplishing what others dared not even dream of.... - Thomas Lifson/American Thinker

◼ The Next Big Thing From The Official Who Predicted Communism's Demise - Jerry Bowyer/Forbes

Regarding the next big world event that no one is paying attention to:

◼ When you stand back from all the yelling and the screaming...you can see what I believe is the most important trend in the word...the world is emerging from poverty fast. This is the biggest under-reported news story in the world.

◼ By 1980 or 1990 about two billion human beings were out of poverty, since then another half billion have crossed the line out of poverty; a lot of them in India and china. In the last six years 20 million Brazilians have emerged. When you put all these numbers together...each year between fifty and one hundred million human beings are leaving poverty behind.

◼ If we can continue this trend within our lifetimes, and certainly within our children's lifetimes, the overwhelming majority of human beings will no longer be poor. This is the biggest thing that's happened in the entire world.

◼ By the way it's going to be a five billion-person middle class. This will become the most powerful force in the world. Their demand for our goods and services will set off an economic boom...I believe that we're heading for not just a sonic boom, but maybe a supersonic boom.

◼ WHY IS THE WORLD (NOT) SO DANGEROUS? - Steven Hayward/Powerline