World

Authorities In Brazil Probe Capital Uprising

Published

2 years ago

2023-01-10

Geoff Brown

Authorities in Brazil said Monday that they were investigating who was behind the stunning revolt that saw demonstrators pouring into the nation’s seats of power in a riot that had a remarkable resemblance to January 6, 2021, insurgency at the United States Capitol.

Thousands of supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro flooded into Congress and the presidential palace on Sunday in an extraordinary demonstration for Latin America’s largest country. Many of them said they wanted Brazil’s army to topple the newly installed leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and bring the far-right Bolsonaro to office.

Also, on Monday, police broke up a pro-Bolsonaro encampment outside a military building and detained about 1,200 people, according to the justice ministry’s press office. According to the federal police press office, the force has already planned to indict approximately 1,000 persons.

The heads of the Supreme Court all signed a statement condemning the attack and promising legal action.

According to Justice Minister Flávio Dino, police have begun following those who paid for the buses that took protesters to the city. He added at a news conference on Monday that rioters appeared to aim for their displays to have a domino effect across the country and that they may be prosecuted with a variety of felonies, including organized crime, plotting a coup, and violent eradication of the democratic rule of law.

“We believe the worst is behind us,” Dino said, adding that the administration is now focusing on punishing lawbreakers. “We will not compromise in carrying out our legal obligations because doing so is critical to preventing similar occurrences from happening again.”

Brazil’s Protests Continue

Rioters dressed in the national flag’s green and yellow shattered windows, knocked over furniture and threw computers and printers to the ground. They smashed other works of art and punched holes in a huge Emiliano Di Cavalcanti painting at the presidential palace. They threw a U-shaped table where Supreme Court justices meet, took a door off one of the justices’ offices, and destroyed a statue outside the court. The interiors of the buildings were left in ruins.

The arrests on Monday were in addition to the 300 persons arrested during the unrest on Sunday.

Police were noticeably reluctant to respond, even after more than 100 buses arrived, prompting many to question whether officials simply ignored multiple warnings, overestimated the protesters’ power, or were somehow complicit.

Prosecutors in the capital stated the local security forces were, at best, inept. The regional governor was provisionally suspended by a Supreme Court justice. Another justice chastised authorities for failing to respond quickly to the emerging fascism in Brazil.

Bolsonaro, who has since gone to Florida, has been fueling belief among his ardent fans that the country’s electronic voting system is prone to fraud, although he never presented any evidence. Eduardo Bolsonaro, his legislator son, met with former US President Donald Trump, Trump’s longtime supporter Steve Bannon, and his top campaign strategist, Jason Miller.

Brazil President Hospitalized

As word circulated that Bolsonaro was hospitalized in Florida with abdominal pain, the remaining Bolsonaro supporters dispersed by early afternoon Monday. Although his condition was unknown, a photo published by the Brazilian publication O Globo showed him smiling from a hospital bed. Since surviving a stabbing in 2018, he has been hospitalized several times. A phone call and text message were not immediately returned by a hospital representative.

US President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a joint statement from Mexico City condemning the attack “on Brazil’s democracy and the peaceful transfer of power.”

Brazil’s election results – the closest in over three decades — were promptly recognized by politicians across the political spectrum, including some Bolsonaro sympathizers and dozens of governments. And, to almost everyone’s amazement, Bolsonaro quickly faded from view. He neither admitted loss nor declared outright fraud, despite the fact that he and his party filed a request to overturn millions of votes, which was quickly denied.

Brazilians have employed an electronic voting method since 1996, which security experts believe is less secure than hand-marked paper ballots since it leaves no auditable paper record. However, Brazil’s system is constantly monitored, and neither domestic authorities nor international observers have found proof of it being used to perpetrate fraud.

Nonetheless, followers of Bolsonaro refused to recognize the results. They stopped roads and camped outside military headquarters, pleading with the military to intervene.

Protests Mostly Peaceful

Dino, the justice minister, described the encampments as terrorist breeding grounds. Protests were mostly peaceful, but isolated threats, such as a bomb discovered on a fuel truck bound for Brasilia’s airport, raised security concerns.

Bolsonaro came to the United States two days before Lula’s inauguration on January 1, taking up temporary residence in Orlando. Many Brazilians were relieved that, while he declined to participate in the power transition, his absence allowed it to take place without incident.

That is, until Sunday’s devastation.

According to analysts, the disturbance could result in increased political support for Lula and his professed goal of pacifying the fragmented country. Many right-wing people and officials were disgusted by the events of Sunday and were eager to separate themselves from far-right radicalism. The insurrection was dubbed “an embarrassment” by the leader of Bolsonaro’s own party.

Brazil’s Extreme Fascists

“This could have been the start of the end. “The political system will attempt to isolate and distance itself from that radical movement,” said Mario Sérgio Lima, a political analyst at Medley Advisors. “I believe that what we will see today is the right attempting to develop new alternatives and leaders while the center distances itself.”

Lula read a freshly signed decree asking the government to take control of security in the federal district during a news conference from Sao Paulo state. He stated that “fascist extremists,” as well as those who fund their actions, must be punished. He also charged Bolsonaro with inciting the rebellion.

Late Sunday, Bolsonaro refuted the president’s accusation. On Twitter, he stated that while a peaceful protest is an important aspect of democracy, damage and invasions of public institutions are “exceptions to the rule.”

Unlike the 2021 attack in the United States, few officials would have been working on a Sunday in the major government buildings. In addition, videos indicated just a sparse presence of the capital’s military police.

In one video, demonstrators quickly pushed through a police roadblock, with only a few policemen employing pepper spray. Another showed officers standing by as demonstrators stormed the Congress, one of whom was filming the proceedings on his phone.

“This was a colossal oversight by the federal district’s government,” Thiago de Arago, director of a strategy at Brasilia-based political consultant Arko Advice, said. “Everyone expected them (the demonstrators) to arrive in Brasilia. The federal district’s government was expected to respond in order to secure the capital. They didn’t do any of those things.”

Source (AP)

World

Biden Escalates Ukraine War With Long-Range Missiles

Published

7 days ago

2024-11-18

Geoff Brown

The Kremlin announced on Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with US military long-range missiles is “fuel to the fire” and will exacerbate international tensions.

Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to employ US military long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia has raised concerns about growing tensions, with many fearing that this decision could lead to world conflict.

On Monday, with less than two months remaining in office, President Joe Biden authorized American-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike deep within Russia.

“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” said Peskov, the spokesman for the president.

Peskov reminded journalists of a September statement by President Vladimir Putin, who stated that enabling Ukraine to target Russia would dramatically raise the stakes.

It would alter “the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” Putin stated. This would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries would be at war with Russia.”

Peskov asserted that Western countries that deliver longer-range weaponry also provide targeting services to Kyiv. “This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict,” he said.

Ukraine War Escalation

In June, Putin threatened that if NATO permitted Ukraine to utilize the arsenal of its partners to attack Russian territory, Moscow would send longer-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

“The Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine and say: ‘We do not control anything here anymore and it does not matter how they are used.'” Putin had said. “We can also say, ‘We supplied something to someone — and now we have no control over anything.'” “And let them think about it.”

Putin again emphasized Moscow’s willingness to deploy nuclear weapons if it perceived a threat to its sovereignty.

Biden’s decision will “mean the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in military action against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated.

The new policy has unpredictable consequences. ATACMS, with a range of roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles), can travel deep behind Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, although their range is modest compared to other types of ballistic and cruise missiles.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not responded, but he won the election on promises to stop the conflict, and some people close to him have decried the action as a hazardous escalation.

Missile Decision Sparks Anger

The Military Industrial Complex appears to want to start World War III before my father has a chance to restore peace and rescue lives. We need to lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!! Imbeciles!” Donald Trump Jr., the President-elect’s son, posted on X

“On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles against Russia,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on X. “The American people gave a mandate on November 5 against these exact American last decisions.”

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” speculated that the stories were a “trial balloon to disrupt Trump” and that Biden may not have authorized the ATACMS strikes yet.

According to Dani Belo, PhD, Director of Security and International Relations at Global Policy Horizons Research Lab, Ukraine’s ability to currently hit Russian territory has the potential to escalate the war with Russia.

However, Donald Trump’s victory is likely to moderate the escalation.

There is speculation that Donald Trump’s administration would restrict military hardware deliveries to Ukraine, putting political pressure on Kyiv to resolve the crisis. This implies Ukraine has no motivation to escalate now and lose its fighting capability in a matter of months.

Russia sees no reason to escalate the situation at this time. Moscow expects that Trump’s administration will try to finish the war soon, so the Kremlin will likely take a wait-and-see approach until the new presidential administration takes office without significantly escalating the conflict. As a result, any escalation is unlikely.

Source: AP

Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

World

A Court Filing Reveals Elon Musk Flatly Rejected OpenAI’s ICO in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – Elon Musk, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla, claims in a subsequent court filing that was submitted on November 14 that he was successful in stopping OpenAI from doing an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.

According to the filing requirements, this information was disclosed.

Musk and his legal team have claimed that two of OpenAI’s founders, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, tried unsuccessfully to create a token in early 2018 to help the company grow. To the best of our knowledge, this was the founders’ intention.

Elon Musk accurately described the scenario.

Elon Musk made the remark during the pertinent time period, according to the lawsuit’s accusations.

This, in his opinion, would lead to a significant decline in trust in OpenAI and everyone involved in the initial coin offering (ICO). These statements are extracted from his initial declaration.

A unique project backed by Altman, Worldcoin launched a token twenty-three years ago with the goal of creating digital identification for verified individuals.

Furthermore, the company in charge of token distribution was Worldcoin. Through the use of the token, Worldcoin was able to authenticate individual identities.

When OpenAI was first founded, it was a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe artificial general intelligence (AGI).

In this context, the acronym AGI stands for artificial global intelligence. “Musk has continuously voiced concern about the grave threat that these sophisticated systems pose to humanity,” his attorney wrote in the complaint. These sophisticated technologies represent a serious threat to humankind.

“Musk remains apprehensive regarding this threat.” “Musk regards these threats with the utmost seriousness.” “Elon Musk has harbored these concerns for an extended period.”

This led to Musk joining OpenAI’s board of directors and continuing to serve as co-chair of the board. Furthermore, he was appointed to that board of directors post.

Elon Musk contributed $44 million to the enterprise.

OpenAI declared in a March 5th news release that it was imperative that the company adopt a profit-making structure in order to obtain the necessary funding to achieve its objectives. In order to enable OpenAI to fulfill its objectives, this transition was necessary.

According to both the OpenAI statement and the amended filing, Elon Musk advocated for the combination of OpenAI and Tesla to help the artificial intelligence startup with its financial issues.

The aforementioned measures were implemented to mitigate the challenges that the organization was facing at that specific moment. Musk submitted his resignation as an OpenAI employee in February 2018.

He founded his own artificial intelligence company, which he named XAI, in the ensuing years. His efforts directly led to the achievement he achieved.

We are deeply disappointed that our friendship with someone we have always held in the highest respect has deteriorated.

As we started to make significant strides toward OpenAI’s goal on our own, this person, who had previously motivated us to achieve greater heights, abruptly predicted that we would fail, established a rival company, and filed a lawsuit against us, according to the group’s press release.

In August of this year, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEOs, Altman and Brockman, claiming that they had violated federal RICO statutes, engaged in unfair competition, and committed fraud. OpenAI is the target of legal action taken by Elon Musk.

According to Elon Musk, they have engaged in additional illegal activity. Microsoft was named as one of the defendants in the dispute in the updated complaint, which was submitted on November 14.

It’s being presented as a case at the moment. Microsoft and OpenAI started working together in 2019, and Microsoft committed $1 billion in the partnership.

In July 2023, OpenAI’s native cryptocurrency, Worldcoin (WLD), was made available to the general public. Not too long ago, an article published by The Block disclosed this knowledge. When the market closed on November 15 at 11:36 p.m. Eastern Time (16:36 UTC), the price of a share of WLD was $2.21.

SOURCE: TB

World

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Geoff Brown

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

President-elect Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sending Democrats and Big Pharma allies into a tailspin.

“I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and medicine firms, which have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health,” Trump stated in his announcement.

“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in ensuring that everyone is safe from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to this country’s overwhelming health crisis.

Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to gold-standard scientific Research and Transparency traditions, stopping the Chronic Disease Epidemic and making America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump added.

Reactions to RFK Jr HHS Appointment

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy is a former environmental justice lawyer who has recently started an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He ran for president as an independent candidate in 2024 but dropped out to join Trump’s closest circle.

House Republicans have reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination of former presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.

Chip Roy, a Texas congressman, calls it “great news”. He tells me, “We need disruption throughout the federal government.” He’ll be fantastic at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that.”

Roy adds that he expects Kennedy’s candidacy will clear the Senate.

“There’s been a few Kennedy’s in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he speculates.

South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman concurs with Roy on Kennedy’s confirmation in the Senate: “I believe he was an excellent choice by the president, as have all of them. Kennedy is interested in, and passionate about, the medical industry. He will do a terrific job with it.”

According to Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group focused on consumer protection, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health.”

He should not be allowed to enter the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be appointed director of the nation’s public health agency.”

“Donald Trump’s mishandling of public health policies during the Covid outbreak resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “By appointing Kennedy as secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health disaster,” the organization continued.

Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, described the statement as a “scary day for public health”.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical stocks such as Pfizer and Moderna plummeted following news of Kennedy’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as investors considered his potential impact on vaccine sales.

Novavax and BioNTech finished down more than 7%, with almost all losses occurring when word of the selection broke—Novavax shares fell to $7.22, and BioNTech shares fell to $103.56.

Moderna’s stock closed 5.6% at $39.77, reaching its lowest point of the year.

Sanofi’s stock fell 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long share price decline that began after the company’s latest earnings report last month.

Pfizer lost less than its competitors on Thursday, closing down 2.6% at $26.02, despite having its sharpest drop of the day immediately following the RFK Jr. announcement.