#President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

[xtruss]

Chinese Senior Diplomat Calls To Resist Cold War Mentality At BRICS Security Meetings

— Global Times Staff Reporters | July 25, 2023

Photo: BRICS. VCG

Cyber security as well as other threats in traditional and non-traditional security fields have taken the spotlight at the ongoing meetings of BRICS countries in Johannesburg, South Africa, as analysts said that amid growing global uncertainties, more developing countries are seeking to improve solidarity to jointly tackle challenges to their development under the auspices of the BRICS mechanism.

While attending the 13th Meeting of BRICS National Security Advisers and High Representatives on National Security in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday, senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said that after more than 10 years of development, the BRICS has become an important platform for emerging market countries and developing countries to unite and self-development.

Under the new situation, we must grasp the future development direction of the BRICS countries, further strengthen political mutual trust and strategic coordination, continue to provide international public goods that meet the requirements of the times, and strive to translate the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation into practical actions, and polish the "golden brand" of BRICS cooperation, Wang said.

To deal with the current global security challenges and solve the security dilemma, Wang also called for countries to resist unilateralism, hegemony and oppose "decoupling" and "double standards" and oppose Cold War mentality and zero-sum game.

Analysts said that the ongoing meetings for security advisors and senior diplomats from BRICS countries and "Friends of BRICS" underscored the security concerns of developing countries and new emerging economies over the destructive activities, "color revolutions" and cyber attacks plotted by some countries who have posed great threats to the stable development of developing countries and global peace.

Aside from expressing their concerns over traditional and non-traditional security fields, BRICS countries and developing countries are seeking to improve solidarity to jointly tackle development challenges under the BRICS mechanism, which will also be part of the build-up to the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa to be held from August 22 to 24, they noted.

On Monday, a meeting, which was held under the theme of "Cyber security is increasingly becoming a challenge for developing countries," is also being attended by Minister in the Presidency of South Africa Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Chief Adviser of the Presidency of Brazil Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval of India and representatives of Belarus, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Burundi, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Cuba and other countries.

Security Concerns Under Spotlight

During the Tuesday meeting, Wang, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also director of the Office of the CPC Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, said that the "Global South" is a collection of emerging market countries and developing countries, reflecting our collective rise on the international stage. Countries in the "Global South" face the important mission of resisting the external intervention and maintaining political security and regime security.

Wang Yi said that unity is strength, action is direction, and openness is motivation. China is willing to work with BRICS partners to support each other's efforts to maintain national security and stability, and to carry out more practical cooperation in dealing with international security challenges, so that the world can hear more BRICS voices and witness a greater role of the BRICS.

Senior officials on security from BRICS countries also exchanged in-depth views on issues such as current security challenges, anti-terrorism and cyber security, food and water security, and energy security, and reached broad consensus, according to a release from Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The issue of cyber security has been discussed at length at the ongoing BRICS meeting as some Western countries have intensified using the internet to conduct destructive activities in other countries, including inciting domestic riots, fooling the public or organizing cyber attacks on governmental departments, which have posed threats to developing countries' stability and development, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The meeting on security, together with other meetings in various fields, will lay the groundwork for the leaders' summit in August, as the BRICS mechanism is a cooperative mechanism beyond economic and security fields, and whether it is regarding traditional or non-traditional fields, it would safeguard development and cooperation in other areas, Song said.

This year's BRICS summit will focus on improving cooperation between BRICS members and African countries in technology, economy and other fields, and security would also be the basis for cooperation, said Song.

South Africa has invited the heads of state of all African countries to the summit, which is themed as "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism." The summit is anticipated to discuss how BRICS countries can better work with African countries, media reported.

Security is the core concern for the financial cooperation of BRICS countries and other developing countries. This is also why BRICS countries are studying the potential use of alternative currencies to the US dollar, analysts said.

For the past months, many media, especially those from the West and the US, have reported that BRICS countries are seeking to shift from the dollar in mutual trade to avoid becoming "victim" to sanctions. For example, in April, Bloomberg reported that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on BRICS countries to come up with an alternative to the dollar in foreign trade.

South Africa, the BRICS chair, has put the stability of the global financial system as a priority for the BRICS meetings, as BRICS countries and developing countries have been put in an unfavorable position that would be affected by global financial hegemony, Wang Lei, director of the Center for BRICS Cooperation Studies at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times.

However, de-dollarization is not the core mission of BRICS countries and what they want is to make the global financial system fairer and more inclusive, and to better reflect the major changes that have happened in the global governing system, Wang Lei said.

Against the backdrop of the continuous Russia-Ukraine conflict and drastic global changes unseen in a century, developing countries are seeking to inject more stable and secure impetus to the world and to promote the international governing system to be more inclusive and better reflect their interests. However, the US and some Western media have smeared their efforts, analysts said.

What BRICS countries are working toward is not to compete with the US for its hegemony, but to build a multipolar world in which each country's concerns on security, economy and developments can be respected by others - this may also be the reason for the US and West's increasing worries of the growing influence and attractiveness of BRICS, Song said.

[insxghtt]

Babes, I’ve seen what’s happening in Brazil. Stay safe! Also I’ve seen some news that META purposefully blocks all posts about Brazil…

Thank you for worrying, things in here are really tough. Yesterday I went to a protest in the Paulista Avenue in São Paulo and it helped me a lot to stay hopeful.

For those of you who don't know, Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed the Alvorada Palace, the oficial residence of the president. They called it a protest, when in reality it was terrorism and an attack on democracy. Those are the same people that did the n4zi salute and refused to accept the result of the elections.

I've seen people compare what is happening in Brazil to what happened in the USA when Trump lost to Joe Biden and I understand that the comparison makes it easier to understand, but it's important to know that this situation was already predicted by anyone who studied brazilian history. It was only a matter of time and if we keep ignoring the real reason behind this, it won't stop. So, i'll try to explain a little more about it in a simple way.

Brazil went through a military dictatorship that began in 1964 and ended in 1985. During this time, innocent people were killed by the military. The opposition was silenced, censured, women were raped, people were tortured. Those who were against it and survived were lucky, but many lost friends. Til this day, many people were never found. Our current president, elected by the people in a honest election, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula), was one of the people who fought against the military. He was chased and tortured but he survived and because of people like him, we are now living in a democracy.

The fact that we don't talk about the military dictatorship is why some people don't even recognize it as a dictatorship. Many people still defend it. Bolsonaro defended it. He was a huge supporter of the military and already gave many interviews saying that the military's only mistake was "not killing enough". After the end of the dictatorship no museums were made in memory of the victims. Supporters and even some tortures like Colonel Ustra were never arrested.

Lula was president from 2003 to 2011. After he left the presidency, Dilma Rousseff was elected the first female president of Brazil. She was one of his great friends and also part of the same political party as him, the Worker's Party (in portuguese: Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT).

Dilma also fought against the military with Lula. She was also tortured and luckily survived (and without ratting out any of her teammates!!). She was president from 2011 to 2016. In 2016, she suffered a political coup. They called it an impeachment but 94,7% of the  congressmen who voted her out were being investigated for corruption because of her. There was no reason for an impeachment, there were no proves that she was corrupt. Her mistake was to try to fight them all at once.

On the day of the coup, we saw what Bolsonaro was capable of for the first time. At that time he was a congressmen and he voted her out. During his speech, he said "In memory of Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, the fear of Dilma Rousseff, for the Army of Caxias, for the Armed Forces, for Brazil above all and God above everyone, my vote is yes".

Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, the torturer.

“In this case of the Teles family, which is a terrible case because the parents of Edson Teles and Janaina Teles, at the time Edson was 4 years old and Janaina 9, they were brutally tortured and the children were taken to the premises of the Doi-Codi and saw people tortured and their parents hurt. At first they did not recognize them. They stayed there for a while without the presence of any relatives and no known person being used as a bargaining chip so that the parents, Amelinha Teles and César Teles, could say what they [torturers] wanted to hear”, said the professor, José Carlos Moreira da Silva.

This was the man that Jair Bolsonaro, who would later become president of Brazil, paid tribute to. The saying “for Brazil above all and God above everyone” was also a reference to the Nazi propaganda, in Hitler's Germany, "Deutschland über alles" which, in English, means "Germany above all".

Bolsonaro was not arrested after that. Nothing ever happened to him. That was when it all began.

Dilma was betrayed by her own vice-president, Michel Temer. She was publicly humiliated by senators, congressmen and the media.

Elections finally arrived and people who saw what was really happening had a glimmer of hope. But then the worst happened.

On April 7, 2018, Sergio Moro, friend of Bolsonaro and then federal judge, illegally arrested Lula for the crimes of passive corruption and money laundering in the criminal action involving a triplex in Guarujá with absolutely no proves. They had nothing on Lula but, if he was arrested, he couldn’t run in the elections and the Worker’s Party would not return to power. Lula da Silva peacefully turned himself in to the Federal Police after making a public speech.

“There’s no use in trying to stop me from traveling around this country, because there are milions of Lulas, Boulos, Manuelas and Dilma Rousseffs to do it for me. There’s no use in trying to stop my ideas. They’re already in the air, and you can’t imprison them! There’s no point in trying to stop my dreams, because when I stop dreaming, I’ll be dreaming throgh your minds and dreams! There’s no point in thinking everything’s going to stop the day Lula has a heart attack. That’s nonsense! Because my heart will be beating through yours and there are milions of hearts! The powerful can kill one, two, or a haundred roses. But they’ll never stop the arrival of spring and our fight is in search of spring!”, said Lula, before turning himself in.

In 2018, The Worker’s Party decided to put Fernando Haddad on Lula’s place. They tried their best, but Haddad didn’t have the same power that Lula had. Bolsonaro won and, in 2019, he took over.

Lula was released on November 8, 2019, one day after the Federal Supreme Court considered the arrest in second instance unconstitutional. The UN Human Rights Committee (United Nations) concluded that Sergio Moro was partial in the trial of Lava Jato cases against him. It was also considered that his political rights were injured when he was prevented from running in the 2018 elections.

Now, we have the opportunity to change that. How? By talking about the military dictatorship, giving visibility to all victims, recognizing our history, punishing those who threaten our democracy without forgiveness. And to finish, i want to remind you of something we all heared in school at least once: “Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.”

Sem anistia e sem perdão.

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Alberto Fernandez and Evo Morales standing in front of a statue of former Argentinian President Nestor Kirchner, at the Nestor Kirchner Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 23 January 2023

[plethoraworldatlas]

Thousands of people rallied this week in Brasília for the 20th annual Free Land Camp—the largest gathering of Indigenous people in Brazil—where participants demanded that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration safeguard their lands and cultural rights

Organized by the Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples (APIB), the five-day Free Land Camp—in Portuguese, Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL)—wrapped up Friday after a week of solidarity and action. Activities included rallies and marches; events commemorating slain Indigenous activists; and plenary sessions on the climate emergency, education, mental health, and more

Some participants criticized Lula—who was notably absent from this year's ATL after attending the previous two camps—for what they said was his failure to fulfill campaign promises to Indigenous Brazilians—although attendees also acknowledged that his administration has taken major steps toward tackling illegal resource extraction and demarcating tribal lands.

Two big issues at this year's ATL—whose theme was "Our Existence is Ancestral: We Have Always Been Here!"—were the demarcation of Indigenous lands and opposition to proposed Amazon megaprojects, especially the plan to build the EF-170 railway through the heart of the imperiled rainforest in order to boost mining, logging, agribusiness, and other resource extraction and exploitation.

Last year, Brazilian lawmakers overruled Lula's partial veto of the highly contentious "Marco Temporal" law, which effectively paused demarcations and potentially opened more Indigenous lands to exploitation.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week

1. Arizona governor Ok's over the counter birth control

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has expanded access to over-the-counter birth control that will “soon be available to Arizonans,” according to a press release.

Arizonans 18 and older will soon be able to go to their local pharmacy and purchase oral contraceptives without a doctor’s prescription.

2. ‘Great news’: EU hails discovery of massive phosphate rock deposit in Norway

A massive underground deposit of high-grade phosphate rock in Norway, pitched as the world’s largest, is big enough to satisfy world demand for fertilisers, solar panels and electric car batteries over the next 50 years, according to the company exploiting the resource. About 90% of the world’s mined phosphate rock is used in agriculture for the production of phosphorous for the fertiliser industry, for which there is currently no substitute.

3. U.S. Is Destroying the Last of Its Once-Vast Chemical Weapons Arsenal

Decades behind its initial schedule, the dangerous job of eliminating the world’s only remaining declared stockpile of lethal chemical munitions will be completed as soon as Friday.

4. Chinese scientists create edible food packaging to replace plastic

By incorporating certain soy proteins into the structure, Chinese University of Hong Kong scientists successfully created edible food packaging.

5. World's 1st 'tooth regrowth' medicine moves toward clinical trials in Japan

A Japanese research team is making progress on the development of a groundbreaking medication that may allow people to grow new teeth, with clinical trials set to begin in July 2024. The tooth regrowth medicine is intended for people who lack a full set of adult teeth due to congenital factors.

6. No Longer Endangered: The Bald Eagle is an Icon of the ESA

When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted in 1973, bald eagle population numbers across the country showed that the species was close to disappearing. Before the ESA, in the 1950s and ‘60s, eagles were shot routinely despite the protection. The ESA listing helped bring public attention to the issue.

Through the early 1970s and into the early ‘80s, numbers increased gradually. Then, as you got into the ‘90s, there was still gradual growth. From the late ‘90s into the 2000s, the population really exploded. There was a doubling rate of every several years or so for a while.

7. Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon drops 34% in first half 2023

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell 34% in the first half of 2023, preliminary government data showed on Thursday, hitting its lowest level in four years as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva institutes tougher environmental policies.

Data produced by Brazil's national space research agency Inpe indicated that 2,649 square km (1,023 square miles) of rainforest were cleared in the region in the half year, the lowest for the period since 2019.

----

That's it for this week :)

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Also don’t forget to reblog.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Brazil’s president revealed on Friday that his administration was putting together “a proposal to join” the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s flagship infrastructure and investment project.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva shared the news during an event announcing investments by the Brazilian Development Bank to renovate a highway between Rio de Janeiro and Santos, a city 85km (53 miles) from Sao Paulo, site of the country’s main port.

Describing a synergy between Chinese interests and Brazil’s infrastructure gap, Lula voiced openness to accession as long as it brought tangible results.[...]

The reluctance stems from fears that joining could alienate Western partners and signal an automatic alignment with China.[...]

Liu Jianchao, minister of the Communist Party’s International Department, said China “really wants” Brazil to join the trade and infrastructure strategy but had no intention of “setting a deadline”.

“It is up to the Brazilian government to decide,” Liu told journalists. “We are only stating what benefits the Belt and Road Initiative would bring to China-Brazil cooperation and Brazil’s development. But we don’t want to impose anything.”

20 Jul 24

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Rich nations must pay for historic environmental damage, says Brazil's Lula

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday said richer nations with their "historic debt" to the planet should foot the bill for environmental damage that is being hoisted on poorer countries.

"Who polluted the planet in these last 200 years were those who made the industrial revolution," Lula said in a speech to a large crowd in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, at the "Power Our Planet" event.

"And for this, they have to pay the historic debt they have with planet Earth," he added, arguing that developed countries should take responsibility for financing the preservation of forests in low-income countries.

Continue reading.

[sayruq]

Brazil recalls its ambassador to Israel

The nearly eight-month-old conflict has soured Israel's diplomatic ties with several nations, including Brazil, whose President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in February accused the country's government of genocide. Israel reacted furiously, declaring the Brazilian leader persona non grata. Israel had previously summoned the South American country's ambassador Frederico Meyer to a meeting at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem, where he was publically reprimanded in Hebrew without a translator present, said the Brazilian source. This "humiliation" to which Meyer was subjected contributed to his permanent recall, the source said. The source said conditions had not been met for Meyer to return to Israel and there are no immediate plans to replace him. Lula has appointed Meyer as Brazil's representative to the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva, according to Wednesday's official gazette. Brazil will now be represented in Israel by diplomat Fabio Farias. Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement it had not yet received "an official notification about the matter."

[mindblowingscience]

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by half last year, according to figures released Friday, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government bolstered environmental policing to crack down on surging destruction. However, the news was far less bright from the crucial Cerrado savanna below the rainforest, where clear-cutting hit a new annual record last year, rising by 43 percent from 2022, according to the national space research agency's DETER surveillance program.

Continue Reading.

[xtruss]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, US, on September 23, 2023. © Sputnik/Valery Sharifulin

‘New World Order’ Vs ‘Empire of Lies’: Key Takeaways From Lavrov’s UN Speech

The US and Its Braindead Allies Instigate New Conflicts to Prevent the Emergence of a Multipolar World, Russia’s Foreign Minister believes

— September 23, 2023 | RT

The world has a chance to achieve “authentic democratization” in international relations by establishing a multipolar world order, marking the first such opportunity since the end of World War II, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Saturday.

The US and its Western allies seek to prevent such a development by stirring up new conflicts to divide humanity and keep their “hegemony of the global minority” in place, he added.

‘War Criminal, Conspirator and Liar West’ is the ‘Empire of Lies’

The US and its allies still reject the principle of equality in international relations, Lavrov said. Americans and Europeans keep looking down on the rest of the world and that leads to their “total intractability” in any negotiations. Washington and its allies “keep making promises left and right” that end up being reneged-on, the Russian minister added.

“As Russian President Vladimir Putin put it, the West is now the real ‘empire of lies’,” he said.

‘Reckless & Hegemonic’ Western Politicians Have Forgotten About Self-Preservation

North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO) activities have reached “unprecedented” levels since the end of the Cold War, the top Russian diplomat believes. The US-led forces of the bloc have conducted drills that involved simulating nuclear strikes against Russia, he claimed, adding that Washington is also actively seeking to project its military might in the Asia-Pacific through establishing military-political “alliances” with nations like Australia, South Korea or Japan and pushing them towards closer cooperation with North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO).

Such actions “risk creating a new explosive geopolitical hotspot in addition to the … European one,” Lavrov warned, adding that Western politicians have been so blinded by a feeling of impunity that they’ve lost “the sense of self-preservation.”

True democracy in international relations is within reach

For the first time since 1945, when the United Nations was established, the world has a chance to establish a truly democratic world order, the Russian foreign minister said. The “global majority” – ie the nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America – are increasingly seeking independence and equality, as well as respect for their sovereignty in international relations.

“It is obvious for Russia that there is no other way,” Lavrov told the UNGA, adding that this fact “encourages optimism in those believing in the rule of international law and wishing to see the UN restored to its role of a central coordinating body of world politics.”

‘War Criminal West’ Stands in the Way of a Just World Order

The US and its allies seek to stall the onset of a multipolar world order, in particular by “stirring up conflicts that artificially divide humanity into hostile blocs and prevent it from achieving common goals,” the Russian minister pointed out. The West wants the world to “play by its infamous and self-serving rules,” he said, adding that the international community should instead strive for a world where everyone “agrees on how to solve issues together, on the basis of a fair balance of interests.”

Western Sanctions Hurt the World

Russia is calling for “An Immediate and Full” lifting of sanctions imposed against such Nations as Cuba 🇨🇺, Venezuela 🇻🇪 and Syria 🇸🇾, Lavrov said, adding that such unilateral punitive measures “blatantly violate the principle of sovereign equality of nations” and interfere with these countries’ rights to development.

“One should put an end to any coercive measures imposed in circumvention of the UN Security Council as well as to the West’s … practice of manipulating its sanctions policies to exert pressure on those deemed undesirable,” he added.

Russia’s top diplomat also blasted the US over what he called threats against nations willing to work with Moscow.

“It is shameful for a great power to run around like this and threaten everyone and only demonstrating its obsession with domination,” he told journalists after the UNGA session.

Russia’s Stance on Conflict in Ukraine

Moscow is ready for talks on its ongoing conflict with Kiev at any time, Lavrov told a press conference on the sidelines of the UN assembly. However, Russia will not consider any deals involving a ceasefire, he said, adding that Moscow and Kiev had supposedly almost reached an agreement in the first months of the conflict following a series of talks in Belarus 🇧🇾 and Türkiye 🇹🇷 only for this process to be disrupted, supposedly by Ukraine’s Western backers.

“Putin said it very clearly: yes, we are ready for talks but we will not consider any ceasefire proposals because we did so once and were deceived.”

Russia 🇷🇺 also respects Ukraine’s sovereignty in accordance with the Ukrainian declaration of independence and its constitution, Lavrov said, adding that both documents also declare the non-aligned status of Ukraine 🇺🇦 and respect for the Russian language and Russian-speaking minorities.

Ukraine’s sovereignty “was destroyed by those who staged and supported a coup, the leaders of which then declared a war on their own people,” Lavrov said, referring to the 2014 Maidan coup.

West is ���De-facto’ Waging War on Russia

The US and its allies are de-facto engaged in a conflict with Russia, Lavrov told the press conference. “We call it a hybrid war but it does not change things,” he said. Western nations are sending arms to Kiev and training its troops, he explained, so “They are de-facto fighting against us with the hands and bodies of Ukrainians.”

Western nations also openly say that “Russia should be defeated on the battlefield,” Moscow’s top diplomat said, adding that Moscow is ready for such a development. “Under such circumstances, [if they want it] to be on the battlefield, let it be on the battlefield,” he said.

Lula Tells “Thug, War Criminal and West’s Scrotums Licker Zelensky” No Military Solution to Ukraine Conflict – CNN Brazil 🇧🇷! During their meeting at the UN, the Brazilian leader offered to help with the peace effort, according to diplomatic sources. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meets with his Ukrainian counterpart Thug Vladimir Zelensky at the UN headquarters in New York. © Telegram/Zelenskiy/Official

The Main Points From Russian FM Sergey Lavrov’s Statements During His Press Conference After The UNGA:

▪️Zelensky's Peace Plan cannot be fulfilled

▪️Lavrov says he is surprised by the UN Secretary General's Statement on Russia allegedly kidnapping children in Ukraine

▪️No one in the West seriously wants to show understanding of the crisis in Ukraine, and since they want to resolve the issue on the battlefield, it means it will be on the battlefield

▪️Russia expects that all regional associations will play a role in UN reform

▪️Russia continues work with UN Secretary General on grain deal resumption

[mariacallous]

A majority of respondents in a global poll said they would prefer a Ukrainian victory in the war against Russia, the Economist reported on Nov. 3.

In a survey conducted jointly with the polling firm Globescan, the Economist asked 30,000 people in 29 countries and one territory, Hong Kong, whether they would rather see Russia or Ukraine win the war.

An average of 54% of those surveyed said they wanted a Ukrainian win, compared to only 20% who supported Russia. More people supported Ukraine over Russia in 25 of the 30 countries or territories polled.

Popular support for Ukraine was strong even in countries that are not traditional allies of Kyiv. Respondents in Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and Hong Kong were pro-Ukraine, despite their governments' neutrality or support of the Kremlin.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has positioned himself as a neutral party and mediator between Kyiv and Moscow, joining China in backing a six-point peace plan that does not mention Ukraine's territorial integrity.

South Africa has claimed neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war but continued to strengthen its economic and political ties with Moscow. The country is a member of the BRICS group alongside Russia, China, and others, and even carried out joint naval drills with the two countries last year.

Public support for Ukraine's victory was strongest in the United States and South Korea.

The surveyed countries in which people were more likely to support Russia include Egypt, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. In the same poll, respondents in all five countries said they would prefer a Donald Trump win in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Respondents were polled in July and August of 2024.

[cathkaesque]

Flees the country 48 hours before his presidential immunity runs out hahahahahahaha

[thoughtlessarse]

Brazilian police arrested four senior army officers on Tuesday over an alleged plot to assassinate then President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a 2022 "coup." The four "were arrested in Rio, where they were participating in the security operation for the G20 leaders' meeting," a federal police source told AFP, adding that a police officer was also taken into custody. The army, in a statement, denied that the arrested officers were part of the G20 security deployment and a statement by Brazil's federal police made no link to the ongoing summit. One of the suspects, General Mario Fernandes, was a senior advisor at the time to the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, whom Lula had just defeated for president. Fernandes was arrested along with three lieutenant-colonels with "advanced military operational" know-how over the plot code-named "Green and Yellow Dagger." The name was an apparent reference to colors on the Brazilian flag. They were arrested in an operation to "dismantle a criminal organization responsible for planning a coup d'etat to prevent the government legitimately elected in 2022 elections taking office," the police said. According to the police report seen by AFP, the suspects were considering poisoning Lula. Lula's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was also targeted by the plot as was powerful Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a target of rightwing hate who recently shut down X for 40 days in a fight with its owner Elon Musk over disinformation.

continue reading

[dertaglichedan]

Putin Hosts BRICS Leaders, Showing He Is Far From Isolated

(Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin is playing host to Russia’s biggest gathering of world leaders since the invasion of Ukraine and using the BRICS summit to show the US and its allies that he’s no pariah.

With Russian troops advancing in eastern Ukraine and evidence of growing war fatigue among some of Kyiv’s allies, the Kremlin is seizing its opportunity to cast Putin as standing up to the West in attempting to reshape the global order. The US and its Group of Seven partners dismiss the argument, though it’s a message that resonates with some countries of the emerging world.  

Leaders of 32 countries, as well as top officials of regional organizations and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, will attend the three-day summit starting Tuesday in Kazan, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are joining Putin alongside leaders of the new BRICS members, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia. Putin plans bilateral meetings with many of them, as well as with guests such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his plans to attend the summit after suffering a head injury in an accident at his home. Officials said he’ll participate by video link.

While BRICS favors greater use of national currencies in bilateral trade, members including India reject attempts to promote China’s yuan as an alternative reserve currency.

***WAKE UP!! This is NOT good for the US Dollar..

[zvaigzdelasas]

On Wednesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared that genocide was taking place in Gaza.

"It's not a war, it's a genocide that has killed nearly 2 thousand children who have nothing to do with this war, they are victims of this war. And frankly, I don't know how a human being is capable of war knowing that the result of that war is the death of innocent children," the Brazilian President declared.[...]

"What is currently happening in the Middle East is serious, and it's not a question of discussing who is right or who is wrong, who fired the first shot and who fired the second," he added.[...]

On October 15, amid the developments in Palestine and the Israeli occupation’s genocidal aggression in Gaza, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed the situation with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a phone call.

During the phone call, President Abbas highlighted the need to halt the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the dire importance of opening a humanitarian corridor for the provision of medical supplies and other important supplies that have been cut off by the Israelis, such as water, electricity, and fuel.

For his part, President Lula da Silva asserted Brazil’s solidarity with the people of Palestine in their efforts to attain freedom and independence, underscoring the urgent need for humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip.

26 Oct 23