Brazil's Far-Right Candidate Jair Bolsonaro Is a Threat to the World

By Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein and Bill McKibben, Guardian UK 26 October 18

Brazil is going through the worst crisis in its history since the civil-military coup and the establishment of the dictatorship in 1964. On 7 October, in the first round of the presidential election, far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro obtained an impressive 46.03% of the votes cast, or one-third of the registered voters. This result triggered a first wave of hate violence: more than 70 attacks were recorded against LGBT people, against women, against any opponents of extreme rightwing candidates or against journalists.

On the evening of the first round, capoeira master Moa do Katendê, an antiracist activist and educator, was stabbed to death by a Bolsonaro supporter. Katendê had declared that he had voted for leftwing candidate Fernando Haddad. In the south of the country, a 22-year-old woman was attacked on the street. We fear that this is only a foretaste of a deadlier wave of violence.

People demonstrate against presidential candidate
Jair Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 29, 2018.

This hatred and violence is clearly being stirred up by Bolsonaro and his party’s elected representatives. By repeating their misogynous, racist, homophobic and transphobic speeches and provocations, by displaying their firearms, by glorifying the military dictatorship, by spreading false information, they implicitly call for the brutalisation, even murder, of all those who do not resemble them: women and LGBT activists, human rights defenders and indigenous peoples, progressive activists or journalists.

If Bolsonaro is elected head of the Brazilian state, this hatred risks becoming institutionalised and this physical violence unleashed. Brazil is already, unfortunately, one of the most violent countries in the world: 61,619 homicides were committed in 2017 according to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, representing nearly 170 people killed every day, including a young black man every 23 minutes. Human and environmental rights defenders were already particularly threatened and increasingly targeted.

Furthermore, Brazilian democratic institutions have also been dangerously weakened by the political-financial scandals affecting all political parties and the controversial dismissal of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016. We fear that these institutions will not be able to enforce the democratic rule of law in the event of Bolsonaro’s victory.

As the second round approaches on 28 October, the far-right candidate enjoys the support of the most conservative and reactionary sectors of Brazilian society: the pro-weapons lobby, representatives of large landowners, many industrialists, powerful evangelical churches, part of the army and police forces. They will bear their responsibility for what awaits Brazil.

The international community, and in particular France and the European Union, must take action and support Brazilian democrats, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election. This is particularly so because Bolsonaro’s ideas represent a deadly threat to freedom, fundamental rights, achieving any Earth balance to climate change and Brazil’s young democracy.

This piece was drafted by the Paris-based Association Autres Brésils, and signed in support by:

Celso Amorim, diplomat, Brazilian; Frei Betto, author, Brazilian; José Bové, member of the European parliament (Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance), French; Chico Buarque, musician, Brazilian; Noam Chomsky, linguist, American; Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona; Karima Delli, member of the European parliament (Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance), French; Benoît Hamon, politician, French; Naomi Klein, journalist, Canadian; Noel Mamère, politician, French; Joana Mortágua, MP (Left Bloc), Portuguese; Bill McKibben, author, educator, environmentalist, and co-founder 350.org; Bresser Pereira, economist, Brazilian; Carol Proner, lawyer, Brazilian; Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, diplomat, Brazilian; Chico Whitaker, co-founder of the Brazilian World Social Forum.

Bend Over And Kiss Your Ass Goodbye: IPCC Report Version

This is just a reprint of Ian's comments with which I concur.



Once more. Climate change is settled science. Climate change is past the point of no return. (If you believe that nations are even going to keep the Paris agreement targets, you’re such a fool you’ll be sold all the world’s bridges.)

These numbers are catastrophic, and the IPCC reports are always over-optimistic. Always.

There are quite a number of scenarios where this stuff happens faster. You’ll notice that this chart has straight line assumptions. That’s—almost certainly wrong. What will actually happen is that we’ll get some feedback loop like arctic or permafrost methane release and that will lead to parabolic increases. When it breaks, it will break hard.

At that point a lot of other problems could also blow up, the most serious of which would be the Oceans losing their ability produce oxygen. If that happens, well, we’re dead.

Even if it doesn’t, things like the thermohaline currents flipping or shutting off are possible. Europe could, in the middle of everyone else getting hot, have a mini-ice age.

People don’t realize how far north Europe is. If it didn’t have warm currents, it would be like parts of Canada that are, well, almost uninhabited, and for damn good reasons.

This will also, certainly, screw with weather systems. Imagine Indian monsoons failing for even three years in a row. Can you say hundreds of millions of deaths. Move your lips.

And it isn’t that we are decelerating, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, who will likely win election, has essentially promised to chop down what remains of the Amazon jungle as fast as possible (and also, to commit genocide on the remaining indigenous tribes. No, don’t pretend, that’s what he means.)

We are so far up shit creek we are never seeing clear waters again.

Be very clear on this, and if you want to survive (deciding to not bother is a legitimate decision and if you’re old you may die before the worst of it) start doing what you can for yourself.

We are long past (a good 10 years past, at a minimum) any possibility of stopping this.

This is triage time. Are you going to survive? Your family, friends and loved ones?

http://www.ianwelsh.net/bend-over-and-kiss-your-ass-goodbye-ipcc-report-version/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IanWelsh+%28Ian+Welsh%29

The Mafia State

Chris Hedges is a Truthdig columnist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a New York Times best-selling author and in my opinion a very important critical voice.  He write:

Systems of governance that are seized by a tiny cabal become mafia states. The early years—Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton in the United States—are marked by promises that the pillage will benefit everyone. The later years—George W. Bush and Barack Obama—are marked by declarations that things are getting better even though they are getting worse. The final years—Donald Trump—see the lunatic trolls, hedge fund parasites, con artists, conspiracy theorists and criminals drop all pretense and carry out an orgy of looting and corruption.

Yep, pretty accurate history of what happened.

Just for you edification I found a (so called) History Channel video that is just an over-the-top fearmongering anti-Russian screed entitled The Russian Mafia: A World History, as if the Mafia State is not already happening here in plain sight. Give it a whirl as just a guilty pleasure but there is no real value (or history) in it. 

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-mafia-state/

In El Salvador, Slain Archbishop Oscar Romero Seen as Saint Long Ago

More than a little late to recognized Oscar Romero and by association, "liberation theology" (Romero was slain March 24, 1980). Had this truth be recognized in the global community sooner perhaps the insuing 38 years of US invervention rolling back and crushing authentic socialist reform in latin america resulting in the resurgence of bloodthirsty military dictatorships with American aid could have been avoided.

On Sunday in the Vatican, Pope Francis will officially make Romero a saint nearly three decades after he was martyred by an assassin’s bullet to the heart. But for many Salvadoran Roman Catholic devotees who already know him as “Saint Romero of the Americas” that will only formalize something they have long known in their hearts. 

“He was a great man. He already was a saint,” said Jose David Santos, 73, in a recent interview before traveling to Rome along with 5,000 other Salvadorans to be present for the canonization. 

“He was a great example of humility,” Santos added, clad in a white shirt with Romero’s face imprinted on it. “He professed love for the poor man. He denounced injustices. He defended victims. He criticized the violence of the military and of the guerrillas.”

https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/52831-in-el-salvador-slain-archbishop-oscar-romero-seen-as-saint-long-ago

Pussy Riot Invades USA or Embracing the Russians

Pussy Riot's new book by Nadya Tolokonnikova was promoted in her appearance this week in SF and I am sorry I missed it.  The the interview below is well worth reading.  If we remain only dis-informed by mainstream media in the United states one might perceive all Russians stereotypically as politically corrupt and culturally stultified rather than deeply divided and politically and culturally diverse as it is clear that we are here -- so as it turns out according to Nadya they are too.



The book is Read and Riot, Pussy Riot's Guide to Activism that I have got to get.  In the interview when asked about feminism in Russian, she said

It’s more complicated than the media portrays it. Russia was one of the first countries who gave women the right to vote, and Russian women have access to abortion, something the U.S is still debating. That being said, the domestic responsibilities are not shared by man, by design, and as a Russian woman you’re supposed to be polished and glamorous in order to be perceived as a normative being. If you’re not taking care of yourself, no one will take you seriously; rather, you’ll be constantly asked about your poor looks. For most urban educated Russian women, feminism isn’t an interesting issue; they just live their lives and more or less have the same rights as men, and they’re happy to look feminine and glamorous. The really young generation of women, under 20, exists in the global world and goes through the same things as young girls in America. They’re closer to androgyny.
Asked about media we are in for challenges.

Fact-checking and serious attitude to journalistic work will be really important in the future, as well as bloggers who have a strong moral compass. Fake news are a real deal — if you really care about truth, consider the ethics code of journalists. Social networks are also very important, but on social media there’s no responsibility, not the same level of trust.

An now for your viewing entertainment here is a video staring Nadya released by Pussy Riot two weeks before the election of Donald Trump.  It is tongue in cheek but  almost to close to the bone given the treatment of women during the recent Supreme Court confirmation hearing and rather graphic so viewer beware


https://www.sfchronicle.com/style/article/Pussy-Riot-artist-activist-to-discuss-new-book-in-13282953.php

Are we all in free fall?

Yes, I mean the entire planet!  Before we did the Pachamama introduction to DRAWDOWN last Saturday I did pretty much feel this way.  After -- I am instead "motivated".  The outcome of our global circumstance may seem as this cartoon implies, preordained especially from this perspective on Wiley Coyote, but in that room I met people who are very charged up and believe a better future is possible.  I look forward to working with them together with an ever increasing number of wonderful, dedicated people that know what must be done.

via GIPHY

I just love this guy more and more over the years -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem's headline,"Don't Just Blame Donald Trump, Blame Reality TV Too" is a bit weak but his common sense take on the rejection of reason and intellectualism is very well grounded in social science. Don't count on this turning around any time soon in a world awash with a 24/7 news cycle filtered through a siloed social media filters that help us all emotionally react to the news, feel the self righteousness or the hate that propels our gut to choose a side on every issue.

Here's how: A recent meme circulating on Facebook is a photograph of an amputee soldier in a wheelchair saluting — accompanied by the outraged message that Facebook had banned the photo as "offensive." More than 1.25 million people had viewed the photo, and there were many angry comments about patriotism, fake news, liberals, etc. 

None of it was true. 

Ten seconds on the internet would have proved that, but so many people are imprisoned by their confirmation bias that they can be led around by the "heart" by everyone from politicians to Russian trolls. Research, even for 10 seconds, is for losers who need evidence before being outraged. The cellphone is the greatest single educational tool in the history of the world, yet many don't use it to get smart, only to justify calling others dumb.

I wish this were going to get better but what's in store for our world looks down right dystopian. Just drink you Gatorade and don't ask stupid questions.

https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/52736-dont-just-blame-donald-trump-blame-reality-tv-too