A rain forest strategy

For decades, Brazil has jealously safeguarded the right to decide the future of its national patrimony, the Amazon rain forest. It has responded to the plea of developing countries to stop the destruction of the rain forest with a defiant cry: ''Hands off our Amazon!'' Now, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has come up with a more practical response to those who want to save one of the most precious environmental resources on the planet: ``Put your money where your mouth is!''

The Miami Herald recommends

For Broward County Commission, District 7

Democrats in the east-central Broward County Commission District 7 have a choice from among three office holders and a repeat challenger on the Aug. 26 primary ballot. If write-in candidates had not qualified, Republicans could vote in this election that likely will be determinative.

The Miami Herald recommends

For Broward County Commission, District 9

In one of the livelier races on the Aug. 26 ballot in Broward, County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion Jr. faces commissioners from two cities, and a repeat challenger. Because a write-in candidate filed, only Democrats will decide this race in the primary. The challengers are John Billingsley, 57, a Lauderdale Lakes commissioner and professor at a business college; Dale Holness, 51, a Lauderhill commissioner and real-estate broker; and the Rev. Allen B. Jackson, 41, who ran in 2004.

ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN

The Russian prophet and the commissars

By NINA KHRUSHCHEVA

MOSCOW -- The Russian capital has just witnessed the extraordinary sight of Alexander Solzhenitsyn -- the dissident and once-exiled author of The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich -- receiving what amounts to a state funeral, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin acting as chief mourner.

JERRY BROWN

The once and future governor?

By GEORGE F. WILL

SAN FRANCISCO -- California's former and perhaps future governor, Jerry Brown, says it took him 13 minutes to get here from Oakland, where he was mayor for eight years and now lives. He came on BART, the transit system launched by his father Pat, who was Democratic governor for two terms until beaten by Ronald Reagan in 1966, which ended a political career that began in 1928 when Pat ran unsuccessfully, as a Republican, for the state Assembly.

ELECTIONS

Hispanic vote keeps on growing

By MAURICE FERRE

For Sen. Barack Obama, winning Florida is not essential, but it's strategically important. In 1988, then Vice President George H.W. Bush's chief strategist, Lee Atwater, when told that the Democrats could not win the presidency without California, answered, ''That is exactly why I want it.'' If Obama carries Florida on Nov. 4, there is no way Sen. John McCain can become president.

SOVIET PRISONERS

Solzhenitsyn's work is `a testimonial'

By LIZA GROSS

A few years back, when Alexander Solzhenitsyn was living in Vermont and gathering testimonials from those who had spent time in Soviet prison camps, Marcus Melnik forwarded him information about his personal story and corresponded briefly with the Nobel Prize winner.

UNITED NATIONS

Human rights related to AIDS

By KYUNG-WHA KANG

Some 20,000 participants are gathering this week in Mexico City for the 17th International AIDS Conference to explore why, despite decades of intense efforts in combating AIDS, the epidemic remains as daunting as ever. Last year, 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV, and two million died from AIDS. Today, 33 million people live with HIV worldwide.

She's no Eleanor Roosevelt

Recently residents of District 31 received an absurd piece of political literature featuring candidate Eleanor Sobel juxtaposed with another Eleanor -- Mrs. Roosevelt. Do they have more in common than a name? Did Eleanor Roosevelt win a Broward County School Board seat on the promise that she would fulfill her entire term and not use it as a steppingstone for the state Senate?

Immigration policy

Re Mary Sanchez's Aug. 4 Other Views column, A shameful raid in Postville, Iowa: While immigration law and, in particular, the methods of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, must be improved, having fake Social Security cards and drivers' licenses is in no way excusable.

Don't ignore Medicare fraud

Several points in The Miami Herald's series on Medicare fraud merit attention. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently canceled an accreditation deadline -- which is certainly an anti-fraud measure -- for suppliers of durable medical equipment -- oxygen therapy, wheelchairs, diabetic supplies, etc.