Insurreição no Brasil

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so The Donald must be thrilled that devotees of the “Trump of the Tropics” in Brazil mirrored the US January 6th insurrectionists, storming the Jetson-esque government buildings of Brasilia, falsely claiming the country’s presidential election had been stolen. The similarity with January 6th is no coincidence: MAGA Rasputin Steve Bannon and Trump cultist Jason Miller had advised Bolsenaro on election denialism.

After the Brazilian insurrectionists trashed the futuristic courts, legislature, presidential offices and mansion, 1500 were arrested, and await trial. At the time of the riots, rightwing ex-president Jair Bolsonaro was in that US home of retired fascists, Florida. He had traveled there before his successor was inaugurated, on a diplomatic visa. Now that he is no longer in office, that visa is no longer valid, and he is subject to expulsion and extradition.

More:

“The violent attack on Brazil’s government was months in the making. Here’s what you need to know,” Rob Picheta, CNN

 

“Brazil’s ‘Trump of the Tropics’ Stoked Riots—Then He Fled to Florida,” Emily Green and Roberta Fortuna, Vice

“Brazil: The code word used to invite protesters to a riot,” Hannah Gelbart, Juliana Gragnani and Ricardo Senra, BBC News

“America’s Trumpist export to Brazil: Election denialism,” Eugene Robinson, Washington Post

“Brazil’s failed coup is the poison flower of the Trump-Bolsonaro symbiosis,” Julian Borger, The Guardian

“Bannon on Brazil riots: ‘I’m not backing off 1 inch,’” Meridith McGraw, Politico

Update:

“Brazil’s Supreme Court to investigate Bolsonaro over January 8 attacks,” By Mia Alberti and Marcia Reverdosa, CNN

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Title via Google Ttanslate. Video: Channel 4 (UK)

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The FBI Wants the Public to ID Capitol Insurrectionists. Here’s One.

In a statement shared online, the FBI asks the public to help identify the domestic terrorists who broke into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday:

“The FBI is seeking information that will assist in identifying individuals who are actively instigating violence in Washington, D.C. The FBI is accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting and violence in the U.S. Capitol Building and surrounding area in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021.”

They can start with Derrick Evans, a newly-elected Republican member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates. He bragged about the deed, and there are videos.

Since most of the rioters wore no facemasks, it shouldn’t be hard to find other insurrectionists. On Thursday morning, former Obama speechwriter Cody Keenan suggested that questing G-Men should look in the breakfast bar of the Hyatt Regency, two blocks from FBI headquarters. Reporters had been interviewing the seditionists in the Hyatt lobby for days.

Updates:

“US Capitol Building Riot: Justice Dept. Pursues at Least 150 Suspects,” Katie Benner and Adam Goldman, New York Times

“Who were they? Records reveal Trump fans who stormed Capitol,” Michael Biesecker,
Michael Kunzelman, Gillian Flaccus, and Jim Mustian, Associated Press

“‘Trump said I could’: One possible legal defense for accused rioters,” Teri Kanefield and Mark Reichel, Washington Post

More:

“West Virginia delegate records himself storming U.S. Capitol,” Cuneyt Dil, Associated Press

“W.Va. delegate, just sworn in, was among the mob storming U.S. Capitol,” Brad McElhinny, W.Va. MetroNews

“Remove House of Delegates Member Derrick Evans for Terrorism,” Change.org petition

Related:

Online FBI Tip Form

“13 federal criminal laws that the pro-Trump mob may have violated, explained,” Ian Millhiser, Vox

“People at the US Capitol riot are being identified and losing their jobs,” AJ Willingham and Carma Hassan, CNN

Ill-Wind-Blows-Someone-Good Department:

“Trump Supporters Gave D.C. Hotel Business Shot In The Arm Before Capitol Insurrection,” Jon Banister, Bisnow

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Nutella Riots Rock France

While French President Emmanuel Macron talked trade in Davos, back home the République was rocked by retail riots. The Intermarché supermarket chain slashed the price of Nutella by 70%, causing chaos across the country. Customers fought, employees were punched, les flics were called.

The French really love that chocolate hazelnut spread on their baguettes in the morning. They consume 26 percent of world Nutella production.

Republicans: Welcome to Cleveland!

The city of Cleveland is looking forward to hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention in July. The Cleveland Division of Police is buying snappy new uniforms, riot-control suits that look like samurai armor. Officers will wave hello to visitors with new 26-inch expandable steel batons with weighted tips, and 300 bicycle-riding armored cops will entertain the sidewalk throngs. Cleveland police will also decorate the streetscape with miles of interlocking steel crowd-control barriers.

Congress gave Cleveland $30 million for event security, so the Ohio town is really gearing up to greet the 50,000 visiting GOP conventioneers, including Donald Trump’s legion of goons, bikers, and KKK followers. Suburban law enforcement will lend officers to bring the Cleveland force up to 5,000, but maybe Governor Kasich can have his confetti bomber on call for emergency crowd immobilization, just in case.

GOP Convention: Look Out, Cleveland….

Reality TV star and billionaire thug Donald M. Trump, fresh from the triumph of winning the Florida GOP primary, shared his vision of this summer’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland. If he’s a few hundred delegates shy of 1,237 and isn’t the nominee: “I think you’d have riots,” he told Chris Cuomo,  “I think you’d have problems like you’ve never seen before. I think bad things would happen.”

But since GOP delegates are selected by GOP state committees and not the candidates, they represent the Republican Party first, so the convention is not necessarily a Trump Coronation. Look out, Cleveland.

Baltimore: Hard Times in the City

“Baltimore,” written in 1977 by LA’s Randy Newman, performed here by Jamaica’s Tamlins (Carlton Smith, Junior Moore, and Derrick Lara) in this 1979 recording produced by Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.

“Good people hide their faces
And they hide their eyes
’cause the city is dying
And they don’t know why.”

An American Christmas Tradition

The American Advent Season commenced on November 25th as faithful millions observed the solemn rites of Black Friday. Yesterday marked another ceremonial milestone, the annual Adoration of the Air Jordans. In the pre-dawn hours, reverent crowds assembled before great cathedral shopping mall doors for the ceremonial yelling, pushing, shoving and punching as clouds of spicy incense wafted through the air.

Attention Sports Fans!

The United Kingdom is sparing no expense in preparing for next summer’s Olympic Games. The host city of London is testing new demonstration sports — rioting, arson, and looting — and enthusiasm for these Xtreme sports is sweeping the country.

Bastille Day 2009:Review

The 14th of July, le quatorze juillet, was celebrated as the French Fête Nationale with official observances on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The holiday commemorates the storming of a French prison in 1789 and the establishment of the First Republic.

Elsewhere in France the holiday was marked by the torching of 300 automobiles by young people who feel they have been denied the liberté, égalité, fraternité established by the French Revolution.

Why cars?  Pourquoi pas?

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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