So, you thought the Cold War was over, eh?

Bush Just Learned That Brazil Is No US Backyard Any Longer - Brazzil Magazine:
"Brazil already pursues an independent foreign policy, so the domestic political impact of the Iraq war is far less keenly felt here than in places like Britain. Lula has also been actively trying to diversify Brazil's trading partners, cultivating links in Africa and building the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) block into an emerging global force."

The French, it seems, have a saying for every ocassion. In this case, it is "plus ca change, plus ca le meme chose" - the more things change, the more they remain the same.