quarta-feira, 31 de julho de 2019

Glenn Greenwald, VazaJato e Liberdade de Imprensa

Agora que o Glenn Greenwald ficou conhecido no Brasil, aproveito esta quinta-feira para recomendar dois livros dele que li há alguns anos, na época em que o caso Snowden veio a público.

Com esses livros, acho que podemos entender bem como o Glenn age e pensa, de forma que o The Intercept não vazaria informações falsas propositalmente. (Apesar de que agora qualquer pessoa minimamente inteligente já concluiu que as mensagens do Moro são verdadeiras.)

O primeiro desses livros é "With Liberty and Justice for Some" (Liberdade e justiça para alguns), um trocadilho com "with liberty and justice for all", que encerra o juramento de fidelidade que os americanos fazem frente à bandeira dos EUA -- inclusive diariamente nas escolas -- o usual patriotismo americano exacerbado. 

O subtítulo diz muito sobre o conteúdo do livro: "How the law is used to destroy equality and protect the powerful" (Como a lei é usada para destruir a igualdade e proteger os poderosos).

No outro ("No Place to Hide") ele conta em detalhes como obteve as informações de Edward Snowden, que revelaram o esquema de espionagem da NSA. Quem já assistiu ao filme do Snowden vai se identificar com esse.

A pessoa que expôs o maior esquema de espionagem governamental e violação de diretos, que combateu de frente o governo americano, que ganhou o prêmio Pulitzer por isso, publica textos no Brasil expondo membros do alto escalão do governo e da Lava Jato, e o Bostonaro decide atacá-lo e chamá-lo de criminoso.

Aparentemente o conceito de liberdade de imprensa ainda não chegou ao Palácio do Clã dos Bostoranjas em Burrolândia.

quinta-feira, 11 de abril de 2019

The Arrest of Julian Assange

Today, April 11th 2019, Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, has been arrested.

The arrest of Julian Assange is a violation of human rights and international law. He is being charged for disclosing information that should be public, in the first place. Wikileaks is the new press; as such, its freedom should be ensured.

In the video “Collateral Murder”, published by Wikileaks, one can see that the real criminal is the US government who, besides invading a sovereign nation (Iraq), also killed civilians. This is unacceptable; no government should be allowed to commit such atrocities. 

The mass surveillance projects like PRISM were also made public through Wikileaks. Edward Snowden had to flee the country, many others were threatened. Needless to say, this survaillance state was a transgression and a crime against the people of the USA.

It is understandable that both the US and the UK, as well as their allies, would want someone to take the blame for disclosing their misdeeds. Just remember who the real criminals are.

segunda-feira, 29 de outubro de 2018

About the brazilian presidential elections

To my foreign friends,
As many of you might have seen, Brazil has elected an extremist right-wing authoritarian who often flirts with fascism.
I followed these elections closely and I can assure you that the international press has done a great job in explaining what the recently elected brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, is, what he's done, and what he thinks. Unfortunately, most brazilians didn't get it. In any case, I will summarise some of the points:
- He was formerly in the Army, and he venerates the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1985).
- He recently said that the "red threat" should be banned. Sounds like Truman doctrine arrived in Brazil more than half a century late.
- In his speech during the impeachment of the former president Dilma Rousseff, he praised Colonel Ustra, who tortured hundreds of people during the dictatorship. In another occasion he also said: "everybody knows I'm in favour of torture".
- His comments about women reflect his misogynous views. According to him, "some of them can even do a good job". He believes women should earn less than man for getting pregnant. In his own words, he had four sons and after a moment of weakness he got a daughter.
- He declared that he would rather have a dead son than a gay one.
- Teaching kids to do finger guns seems to be one of his campaign strategy, which reflects his pro-guns stance.
- What worries me the most are his recent comments saying that the minorities should adapt to the majority during his government, or leave. This does smell like fascism.
For all of you who are asking how the hell did this guy get elected, I have to say that most people are politically iliterate and they were easily deceived by fake news. Every single brazilian knows someone who believes in conspiracy theories and fall for the "red-threat narrative".
Not all brazilians support Bolsonaro. I am very proud to say that the overwhelming majority of my friends are speaking out against him. We stand against racism, homophobia, misogyny, and all kinds of prejudices. We hold our personal views as such and strive to maintain a secular country. This has been very hard in light of the large reach of the neo-pentecostal churches.
Brazil is still a developing country. Most people are not well educated, crime is widespread. We are not savages. We have great people and the results of these elections do not represent us all.
I'm not sure he'll do what he promises. Honestly, I think the threat-to-democracy card has been a bit overplayed as Congress, Senate, and Supreme Court can and will hopefully hold him back. But I am frightened to have someone who legitimises hate leading the country. People are already starting to get hurt by his followers. I think the Human Rights Watch is right to keep an eye open because the situation may escalate.
Finally, I'm sorry, rest of the world, for electing the president that will f**k with our planet even more. Climate change and rainforest preservation are not in his agenda.