Category: crooks and liars

all who usurp and abuse authority

Brazil In Danger: Three ‘Time Bombs’

Brazil faces Militarized Fascism: 3 ‘time bombs’ promote Far Right Coup

By Boaventura de Sousa Santos

October 15, 2018 “Information Clearing House“ –  Brazilian democracy is on the brink of the abyss. The institutional coup that was set in motion with President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment and led to the unjust imprisonment of former President Lula da Silva is all but complete.

The consummation of the coup has acquired a meaning that is quite different from what was initially intended by many of the political and social forces that promoted it or just would not disagree with it. Some of these forces either acted or reacted in the honest belief that the coup was aimed at regenerating Brazilian democracy by fighting corruption, while others saw it was a way of neutralizing the elevation of the popular classes to a standard of living that sooner or later was to be a threat not only to the elites but also to the middle classes (among whom there were many who were the product of the redistributive policies against which they were now turning). Continue reading “Brazil In Danger: Three ‘Time Bombs’”

Solidarity callout against far-right DFLA on Sat 13th!.. #Antifa #London #UK:

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Brazilian ‘Trump’ to win 1st Election Round?? What a Disaster!

Brazil Could Return to a Dictatorship.   Glenn Greenwald on Possible Election of Far-Right Demagogue

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AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman. Voters in Brazil head to the polls Sunday in an election that could reshape the political landscape of South America. Polls show the current front-runner is the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, a former Army officer who has openly praised Brazil’s military dictatorship, which lasted from 1964 to 1985.

Exit polls should be broadcast at 7 p.m. local time and results will start flowing shortly after that because Brazil uses an electronic voting system.

Bolsonaro has a long history of making racist, misogynistic, homophobic comments. He has encouraged police to kill suspected drug dealers. Most polls show Bolsonaro winning on Sunday but failing to win enough votes to avoid a runoff election on October 28th. He has risen to the polls since September 8th, when he was stabbed while campaigning.Image result for brazil pare bolsonaro fascista

Bolsonaro also directly benefited from the jailing of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in April, who had been leading all presidential polls. Lula remains in jail on what many consider trumped-up corruption charges to prevent him from becoming president. Lula, the head of the Workers’ Party, was then forced to drop out of the race. Lula’s handpicked successor, Fernando Haddad, is currently placing second in most polls.

On Saturday, tens of thousands took part in women-led rallies in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and other cities to protest Bolsonaro. The theme of the protests, “Not Him.” Continue reading “Brazilian ‘Trump’ to win 1st Election Round?? What a Disaster!”

Banksy’s Balloon girl Self-Destructs after $1.3m Auction.. mocking Art Speculators

Going, going, gone! A piece of art by Banksy self-destructed immediately after being auctioned off  at Sothebys in London.

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The balloon flew away.. The elusive world-famous British street artist Banksy has reportedly pulled off one of the greatest art heists, allowing his own painting to self-destruct, just moments after ‘Girl with a Balloon’ had fetched over £1mn at auction.

Art lovers and collectors appeared shocked the moment Banksy’s Girl with a Balloon shredded itself into ribbons immediately after hammering a record of £860,000 (£1.04mn or $1.37mn with buyer’s premium) at a Contemporary Art Evening Auction at Sotheby’s London on Friday.

The 101cm-by-78 cm canvas in an artist’s frame, annihilated in front of the auctioneers by a mechanism apparently hidden within the base of the frame, with just strips left to admire from the 2006 masterpiece produced by the famous-yet-anonymous British artists and attendees at the event appeared to be in “complete confusion” the moment an “alarm inside the frame started going off as the gavel went down,” Robert Casterline of Casterline Goodman gallery told Hyperallergic.

 

While some tried to figure out what just happened, others reportedly noticed an elusive man dressed in black sporting sunglasses and a hat “scuffling” with security guards immediately after the fiasco. This led some to speculate that Banksy might have personally carried out the stunt.

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“We’ve just been Banksy’d,” said Alex Branczik, senior director at Sotheby’s, according to The Art Newspaper. “He is arguably the greatest British street artist, and tonight we saw a little piece of Banksy genius.”

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The unusual heist of the artwork is completely new for the art world and, while the piece was lost forever, the scraps and remnants could now be worth more than the original intact masterpiece itself. “You could argue that the work is now more valuable,” Branczik said. “It’s certainly the first piece to be spontaneously shredded as an auction ends.”The auction house is now trying to figure out what to do next. “We have talked with the successful purchaser who was surprised by the story. We are in discussion about next steps,” Sotheby’s said in a statement to the Financial Times.

 

Girl with Balloon was one of the “most widely recognizable images” ever painted by the anonymous British icon. The spray paint and acrylic on canvas that was mounted on board depicted a small girl in black and white reaching out towards a red, heart-shaped balloon attached to a string.

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“Unlike the other editioned iterations of this famous motif, the present work is a rare unique painting that was given to the present owner by Banksy in 2006 following the artist’s warehouse show, Barely Legal, in Los Angeles,” Sotheby’s said of the lot.

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 copies of Banksy’s work on sale for $60 each

READ MORE: Kissing Trump & Netanyahu mural appears on West Bank wall

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Korean women leading anti-Beauty Slaves Movement against misogynist culture, extortionist products and surgery

South Korea’s ‘take off the corset’ movement should inspire feminists everywhere towards radical action against reactionary misogynist society linked to the extortionist beauty products industry and culturally forced surgery.

”They are cutting their long hair short or completely shaving their heads. They are burning skirts and high heels. They are abandoning bras. Students are discarding skirts as uniforms and instead wearing pants that are more functional. And they are uploading their pictures on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook — basically everywhere on the internet, encouraging other sisters to follow suit”.

A before-and-after transformation picture captioned, “I became a human after ditching the regime of looking sexy or fragile.”

 

via Feminist Current.. shared with thanks

This resistance movement was inspired by radical feminist critiques of beauty practices coming from the West, but today, Korean radical feminist campaigning from within one of the beauty industry’s global strongholds serves as a galvanizing force for feminists everywhere, who are seeing their sisters reduced to empty shells who aim only to be beautiful in the eyes of men.

Young women in South Korea calling themselves “beauty resisters” are fighting back against the powerful and incredibly profitable beauty and cosmetic surgery industries.

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The #MeToo movement has reached countless women around the world, morphing into various campaigns specific to what women are experiencing under local forms of patriarchy. In April, The Telegraph reported on a growing movement against “cultural violence against women” in South Korea, which rose up in response to the fact that women in the nation were undergoing more plastic surgery than anywhere else in the world. Emanuel Pastreich, head of the Asia Institute, told Julian Ryall:

“Korean society has become completely distorted by this rush to undergo surgery and, speaking personally, I believe it is very sad that it has shifted to the point that women are seen merely as sex objects that have to undergo the scalpel to be perfect.” Continue reading “Korean women leading anti-Beauty Slaves Movement against misogynist culture, extortionist products and surgery”

Israeli invaders kill 168, wound 17,259, shoot Peace Activist twice. Boycott Israel!

 

Related imageFrom May to 13 August 2018, 168 Palestinians have been been killed protesting the closed Gaza border.[wikipedia 3] By the end of July 2018, 17,259 had been injured, many permanently maimed.

Norwegian Palestine-solidarity activist Kristin Foss was shot twice in a week by Israeli soldiers. The first time she was shot whilst standing with her hands raised, and the second occurred when she was standing against a wall.

Israeli forces shoot Norwegian peace activist twice in one week (VIDEO)
photo of Kristin Ross, shared with thanks

Kristin was standing still with her hands raised when she was shot in Kafr Qaddum during a weekly demonstration last Saturday.Image result for total number casualties Great Return GazaMourners console the mother (C) of 15-year-old Palestinian teenager Azzam, murdered  by the Israeli army.

Foss and another activist were walking with an elderly Palestinian man who asked them to help him get back to his car which the soldiers were using as a shield. International activists often attend Palestinian protests in a bid to discourage Israelis from using excessive force.

The man was talking to the soldiers and Foss and the other activist were filming from a distance. A soldier tells Foss it is dangerous and she responds: “It’s dangerous that you’re pointing a gun at us,” as a shot is fired. Seconds later, another shot is heard and Foss is hit in the abdomen.

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last week it had asked the Israeli authorities to explain the circumstances, VG reports.

Foss, who is an International Solidarity Movement volunteer, returned to the village the next Friday to support demonstrators. The weekly protests at Kafr Qaddum are to demonstrate against the closure of a road which has been closed to Palestinians for seven years, forcing them to travel more than 14 km (9 miles) to reach the regional capital of Nablus.

Bruises and wound on Foss’s abdomen

In a video, filmed before she was shot, she said that although the demonstrations had not started, the IDF had already “invaded the town.”

Foss was leaning against a wall “well behind” the demonstrations when she was shot in the ankle by a rubber bullet, she told RT.Related image

When she was in an ambulance with another man who had been shot in the shoulder, they had to turn back after another person was shot in the head.

An IDF spokesperson told RT that the protests were “violent riots” and “Palestinians threw stones at IDF soldiers and burned tires.”

https://www.nytimes.com/video/players/offsite/index.html?videoId=100000005932394

US Military Aid to Israel Set to Exceed a Record $3.8 Billion
Aug 3, 2018 – WASHINGTON — In an event largely overlooked by the U.S. media, the Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would provide Israel with $3.3 billion or $23,000 Per Year for Every Jewish Family Living in Israel

Join a BDS Campaign |

Israel’s rulers just laugh at our solidarity protests and ignore dozens of UN rulings and International Law.
But they do start to listen ( a bit) when targeted boycott’s hit their pockets.
Lets organize to force them to lift the siege of Gaza and at least compensate the Palestinians and treat them equally.
You can really help.. check out the BDS movement below …

 

BDS Movement | https://bdsmovement.net/

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement works to end international support for Israel … It’s simple to get involved with the BDS movement today. …. Artistic Director of Portuguese National Theater Joins Cultural Boycott of Israel.

Join a BDS Campaign | BDS Movement https://bdsmovement.net/get-involved/join-a-bds-campaign

Thanks to strategic and creative campaigns taking place across the world, the BDS movement is having a real impact and inspiring many to act for justice.

Monsanto Guilty.. $289m awarded to Dying Man in 1st of 5,000 cases. Roundup Cancer Additives much Worse

see also ..

Court orders Monsanto to pay $289m in damages over herbicide cancer case

Chemical giant Monsanto has been ordered to pay $289 million in damages to a man who proved herbicides containing glyphosate had caused his cancer, reports BBC.

In a landmark case, a US jury found that Monsanto knew its Roundup and RangerPro weedkillers were dangerous and failed to warn consumers.Roundup Lawsuits For Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Victims

It is the first lawsuit to go to trial alleging a glyphosate link to cancer. The claimant in the case, groundskeeper DeWayne Johnson, is among more than 5,000 similar plaintiffs across the US.

But Monsanto still denies the danger despite the World Health  ”probably carcinogenic” ruling and recent studies showing Hodgkin’s cancers are cause by glyphosate.

In addition the additives (adjuvants)  of Roundup and RangerPro, are still mostly secret under patent,  and new studies show them to be much more carcinogenic than the Glyphosate main ingredient which Monsanto limits itself to defending in Court .

Continue reading “Monsanto Guilty.. $289m awarded to Dying Man in 1st of 5,000 cases. Roundup Cancer Additives much Worse”