[OFF] The Difference Between How the U.S. Treats Brazil and Venezuela in One Video

Zaid Jilani
2016-06-06T19:28:04+00:00

(Para ler a versão desse artigo em Português, clique aqui.)

A State Department spokesperson repeatedly refused to comment on the momentous political crisis in Brazil during his daily press briefing on Friday — in almost ludicrous contrast to his long and loquacious criticisms of neighboring Venezuela.

When questioned on the stark contrast, increasingly exasperated department spokesperson Mark Toner replied, “I just – again, I don’t have anything to comment on the ongoing political dimensions of the crisis there. I don’t.”

Watch the spokesperson’s responses below:


The State Department has long been eager to criticize Venezuela’s left-wing government, which has pursued policies antagonistic to global corporations. In contrast, it has been silent about the takeover of Brazil by a staunchly right-wing, pro-business government that is making the privatization of state industry a priority.

Friday’s exchange began when The Intercept asked Toner why the U.S. has been joining in regional criticisms of Venezuela’s democratic backsliding but has ignored Brazil’s political crisis, where right-wing lawmakers voted on May 12 to suspend the elected government and open impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff.

“I’m not aware of the particular allegations that you’ve raised. … We believe it is a strong democracy,” Toner replied.

“Do strong democracies allow the military to spy on political opponents?” we followed up, pointing to recent reports that the new administration is spying on the former government. When Toner again deflected, saying he didn’t “have any details” about the surveillance, veteran Associated Press State Department reporter Matt Lee jumped into the fray, asking if the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff was itself “valid.”

Toner continued to deflect, affirming U.S. confidence in Brazilian institutions.

But when Pam Dawkins of Voice of America asked about Venezuela and “the state of democracy there” in light of the delay of a proposed recall referendum put forth by the country’s opposition, Toner’s tone changed dramatically.

In a response that went on for two full minutes, Toner got all moralistic, asking Venezuela to respect democratic norms. “We call on Venezuela’s authorities to allow this [proposed recall referendum] process to move forward in a timely fashion, and we encourage the appropriate institutions to ensure that Venezuelans can exercise their right to participate in this process in keeping with Venezuela’s democratic institutions, practices, and principles consistent with the Inter-American Democratic Charter.”

Lee felt obliged to note the contrast. “You just – those are two very long responses, critical responses, about the situation in Venezuela,” he said. “And yet Brazil, which is a much bigger country and with – a country with which you have enjoyed better relations merits, what, two sentences?”

“I just – again, I don’t have anything to comment on the ongoing political dimensions of the crisis there. I don’t,” Toner stated.

“But you — you have plenty to say about the political situation in Venezuela.”

“We do,” Toner replied.

“Why is that?” Lee followed up.

“Well, we’re just — we’re very concerned about the current…” Toner started, before being interrupted by Lee once more.

“Why aren’t you very concerned about Brazil?” Lee probed.

“Again – well, look, I’ve said my piece. I mean, I don’t have anything to add.”

“Really? Okay.”

Another reporter then jumped into the fracas, asking Toner if the composition of the new Brazilian cabinet — it is composed entirely of men, many of them tied to large industries in the country, and replaces the cabinet led by the first female leader in Brazil’s history — raised any concerns.

“Look, guys, I will see if we have anything more to say about the situation in Brazil,” Toner concluded.

Rousseff and supporters have called impeachment a “coup” and multiple international observers have questioned its legitimacy, including OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro and The Economist.

As popular pressure mounts against the nascent, scandal-plagued interim government of Michel Temer, a final vote on impeachment may occur as early as next month.

Related:
Credibility of Brazil’s Interim President Collapses as He Receives 8-Year Ban on Running for Office

Top photo: Supporters of ousted Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff hold a demonstration on May 22.

Source: The Intercept
https://theintercept.com/2016/06/06/the-difference-between-how-the-u-s-treats-brazil-and-venezula-in-one-video/

[OFF] The 10 lies of Globo TV. The Mastermind of the coup against Brazil

The 10 lies of Globo. 24/04/2016

Globo, a media group from Brazil, responded to an article published by The Guardian about the brazilian political crisis:
"The real reason Dilma Rousseff’s enemies want her impeached" (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/21/dilma-rousseff-enemies-impeached-brazil)

Here’s the result:
by Priscila Silva

LIE 1: “It fails to mention that everything began with an investigation (named Operation Carwash)”.

The impeachment has nothing to do with Operation Car Wash, and Globo is mentioning it to confuse the readers of this respectable media outlet — as they normally do in Brazil. Rousseff herself isn’t implicated in any of the criminal facts been investigated by Car Wash. She is been impeached under accusations of fiscal maneuvers, executed to maintain social programs, like “Bolsa Família” (famous all over the world for been an example against social inequality). This maneuvers are regularly practiced by most brazilian public administrations (including by opposing ex-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso), and was also practiced just last year by 16 elected state governments currently in office. Does Globo want them impeached? Here’s a million dollar question.

LIE 2: “[…] investigation (named Operation Carwash), which in turn revealed the largest bribery scheme and corruption scandal in the country’s history, involving leading members of the ruling Workers Party (PT), as well as leaders of other parties in the government coalition, public servants and business moguls”.

Globo fails to mention that several members of the current political opposition to the Workers Party (PT) are also been implicated in Operation Car Wash. Aecio Neves, Rousseff’s defeated opponent in the last presidential elections, for example, was been accused of receiving bribes and was mentioned seven times in delations given by politicians and business men. The vice-president, Michel Temer, who has been orchestrating the coup himself in order to reach power, has also been cited. All of this can be easily verified, but Globo prefers to try keeping the readers in the dark, in order to construct the illusion that PT is the only party responsible for the corruption in brazilian institutions.

LIE 3: “The entire investigation process has been conducted in accordance with Brazil’s rule of law, under the strict supervision of the country’s Supreme Court”.

There have been serious violations of civil rights by the judge responsible for Operation Car Wash, Sérgio Moro, in collusion with the Globo Group itself, in order to inflame the masses and damage the image of Workers Party ex-president of Brazil, Lula. Sérgio Moro illegally leaked recordings of wiretappings placed in Lula’s residence to Globo, which then publicized selected parts of the audio in the network’s most rated news show. Apart from the fact that most of the conversations were personal and irrelevant to the investigation, the recordings caught a chat between Lula and the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and thus should have been immediately sent to the Supreme Court due to privileged forum. Instead, Moro sent them to Globo Group — but they don’t want anybody remembering that, do they?

LIE 4: “The Brazilian press in general, and the Globo Group in particular, fulfilled their duty to inform about everything, as would have been the case in any other democracy in the world. We will continue to do our job, no matter who may be affected by the investigation”.

The brazilian media in general, and specially Globo Group, is playing an important role in opposing the government systematically since Rousseff became president for the first time, in 2010 — actually, since Lula was president, and even before that, in 1989, when he lost the election to conservative and latter impeached Fernando Collor de Mello, after been deliberately harmed in a debate promoted by Globo. Members of the opposition involved in several corruption scandals, like “Trensalão” and “Máfia das merendas”, have been consistently spared by the oligarchic media of Brazil, which is controlled by something between 9 to 11 families with clear elitist interests. Brazilian media is famous all over the world for been extremely concentrated and devoted to conservative political forces. It also endorsed the military coup of 1964. Need I say more?

LIE 5: “As a reaction to the revelations of Operation Carwash, millions of Brazilians took to the streets in protest”.

The protests in Brazil are been deliberately stimulated by the media and the political opposition since Rousseff’s reelection, in 2014. Although there have been rallies in 2013, promoted by popular left-wing movements, the current protests are very, very different. They are financed by right-wing organizations like “Movimento Brasil Livre” and “Revoltados On-line”, which were created to promote the coup we see taking place in Brasil today, and also by corporate organizations, like Fiesp (Federation of São Paulo Industries).

There’s no doubt some of the protesters are going to the streets spontaneously, but it’s also clear the role that this artificially created movements and the oligarchic media have been playing in promoting them and in creating, among the masses, a hate feeling against PT and all left-wing social movements. Globo wants to make believe “the people” suddenly took the streets moved by a sense of citizenship and morality. But here in Brazil we know the political climate was been built since Rousseff displeased the conservative forces by becoming president again.

LIE 6: “Precisely to avoid any accusations of inciting mass rallies — as Mr. Miranda now accuses us — the Globo Group covered the protests without ever announcing or reporting on them on its news outlets before they happened. Globo took equal measures regarding rallies for President Dilma Rousseff and against the impeachment: it covered them all, without mentioning them prior to them actually taking place, granting them the same space as was given to the anti-Dilma protests”.

The coverage of the protests have been absurd, to say the least. For starters, Globo has been calling the pro-impeachment protesters “brazilians” or “Brazil”, while the protesters against the coup — many of them critics of Rousseff’s administration — are “pro-government” or “Dilma’s supporters”. But that’s just a detail. All the protests for the impeachment have been 100% televised live by GloboNews (the network’s cable news channel), that interviewed protesters and made sure to set a cheered climate. On the other hand, protests against the impeachment were covered by short superficial flashes and usually did not listen to the protesters arguments. No news here when it comes to Globo.

LIE 7: “The Globo Group did not support the impeachment in editorials”.

That’s the most absurd lie of the entire article, because it’s enable do resist a simples Google search. Just type “impeachment”, “editorial” and “O Globo”, and have fun!

LIE 8: “To blame the press for the current Brazilian political crisis, or to suggest that it serves as an agitator, is to repeat the ancient mistake of blaming the messenger for the message”.

Globo knows it has been promoting hate and conflict among brazilians. And that’s, actually, exactly what they want: to create a sense of general dissatisfaction that “justifies” a coup.

Just stop lying already! It’s starting to get embarrassing.

LIE 9: “The Brazilian press is a vast and plural landscape of several independent organizations, 784 daily printed newspapers, 4,626 radio stations, 5 national television broadcast networks, 216 paid cable channels and another multitude of news websites. Everyone competes with great zeal for the Brazilian audience, which in turn is free to make its choices. Among strong competitors, what one finds is independence, without any tolerance for being led”.

If less than a dozen families controlling the entire media is not been concentrated, I don’t know what is. Another lie that collapses on itself after a basic Google search. But if you want something more reliable, what about aresearch published by Oxford? Enjoy!

LIE 10: “With the Globo Group rests the responsibility to report the facts as they happened. It is our duty”.

In Brazil, that’s what we can call “cereja do bolo”: a bizarre ending to an absurd article. Simply amazing.

[OFF] Attention! Coup Attempt in Brazil!

Don’t be mistaken, what is in course in Brazil is a coup attempt.

As a private conversation between President Dilma Rousseff and former President Lula is illegally tapped by the Federal Police following a decision by a first instance judge and selectively disclosed by the press, we must express our deepest concern with the erosion of the rule of law in Brazil. Today’s event is extremely serious and have a real potential to escalate into social unrest and bloodshed.

On 31st March 1964 a military coup was trigged against the legally constituted government of João Goulart. This was a day that lasted 21 years. It was not until 1988 that a new Constitution was drafted and Brazil began its democratization process. Similarly to 1964, the current coup attempt has the backing of the biggest Brazilian broadcaster- Rede Globo. Differently to 1964, the coup is enforced by an ideologically-driven judiciary that has three purposes: overthrown a democratically elected President, prevent former President Lula to run for the 2018 elections and ultimately blocks the Brazilian Workers Party’ license to exist.

There is no doubt that Brazil is undergoing extremely serious political instability. President Dilma Rousseff was re-elected for her second term in 2014. Right at the beginning her government Petrobras, the Brazilian state-owned oil giant, was emerged in corruption scandals. Indeed, only a naïve person would believe that the Brazilian Worker’s Party has invented corruption. As Fernando Henrique Cardoso noted on his own memoirs, he was told that a huge corruption scheme taking place at Petrobras during his term as President. Differently to Dilma, Cardoso didn’t have the courage to initiate any investigation.

While the Cardoso administration undertook 48 federal police investigations in 8 years, the Brazilian Worker’s Party conduced 250. Concomitantly to a significant increase in federal police operations that aimed to tackle corruption, both the Lula and Rousseff administrations strengthened and devolved more powers to judiciary. Prior to 2003 most investigations were filed by the government.

Despite the fact that over the past several months the Federal Police has purposely, and illegally, leaked information regarding ongoing investigations involving people linked to the Brazilian Worker’s Party, last week events escalated with the kidnaping for a few hours of former President Lula. There is no exaggeration in employing the term “kidnapped” as the Brazilian legislation doesn’t allow such event to occur on those terms.

Following the above event, President Dilma decided to invite Lula to became the government’s main minister as an effort to reestablish governability. Members of the opposition accused Dilma to offer this position so Lula would enjoy an immunity granted to ministers. Nothing more misleading… Those who make such claim forget that Lula would still respond at the Supreme Court if needed, a significant disadvantage as if he was responding as any other citizen he would enjoy the benefits of surfing between different court instances…

For those who couldn’t see the coup coming, now it is more than evident. On the same day as Lula assumes as Minister, the Federal Police backed by a first instance judge, decides to publicize conversations between Lula and Dilma to stimulate a social convulsion that could potentially lead to the removal of Dilma as President.

Brazilians must ensure that the rule of law is reestablished and that the democratically elected government can continue its mandate. Tomorrow we will go to the streets to defend the democratically elected president and demand respect to our constitution and to the rule of law! Não Passarão!

By Diego

Source: O Cafezinho
http://www.ocafezinho.com/2016/03/17/attention-coup-attempt-in-brazil/

See more:
The draining agenda of Brazil’s pathetic pro-coup opposition
Ex-President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Faces Charges