The true about Brazil and the 2014 World Cup

The FIFA big circus will start. The arenas are not completely ready because of the delay in the works, but the clowns are already in place.

I would like this were my last post about this f*ck goddamn World Cup. I don’t want more writing about this shit. But I have two words more to say, and is to all FIFA directors and its President, all the Brazilian government and all those who will profit with this crap, including Globo Network: FUCK YOU!

The True About Brazil and the 2014 World Cup in 10 Facts/10 Images

Texto em Português no final do post.

1. One billion for the construction of a football stadium that will host only three games during the first phase of the World Cup and any penny invested in education, health, public transport and safety. Do you think that’s fair?

2. The disguised dictatorship: protest and you go to jail. Military Police – century-old institution of repression and violence against the citizen is not on the streets to protect, but to repress and intimidate, and beating, arresting and killing whoever they want confident in impunity that protects police officers who commit crimes. Because of this, the police of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are the biggest killers in the world.

3. Tired of waiting for changes that will not come by the will of politicians, the Brazilian people are going to the streets since June 2013 to protest against poor living conditions in a country that has spent over 15 billion dollars with the World Cup. The response of governments was to send the police to their arsenal of war weapons as tear gas, pepper gas and rubber bullets against the population.

4. President Dilma Rousseff – a liar and hypocrite who betrayed her past as a fighter against the military dictatorship to serve as puppet for capitalist groups that control Brazil and appears in the media posing as great stateswoman – with Pele – the greatest athlete of the century who proved also to be the biggest asshole of the century because he only appears in public to speak bullshits defending the hosting of the World Cup.

5. Brazilian police on the pretext of maintaining security for the World Cup and the Olympics is promoting the greatest genocide in history. Thousands of poor and black people are killed every year because of the social cleaning ordered by governments and large corporate groups that rule the country, protected by corrupt media led by Globo Network which invents lies on TV, radio and newspapers to hide the truth about the protests in the country and justify the police crimes and the violent actions against social movements and protesters.

6. Former soccer player Ronaldo, member of the Organizing Committee of the World Cup – who struggled hard to follow the footsteps of Pele also off the field with equally stupid statements like “you do not make a world cup with hospitals” – and heinous Fuleco, the armadillo chosen by some asshole to serve as the official mascot of the event.

7. Globo Network – the most Fascist media that controls all information in Brazil and manipulates the facts according to their interests and the interests of politicians and businessmen who protects – owes more than 280 million dollars in taxes to the federal government. But you will not see any Federal Revenue auditor knocking on the door of the Globo to charge the debt and arrest those responsible because the Globe defends the government and the government needs the Globo to remain in power.

8. With the money in taxes evaded by Globo Network (about RS$ 615 million or US$ 280 million) is possible to purchase 1,782,600 school computers, to build 15,370 popular houses, to buy 10,250 police cars, to build 931 km of roads, to build 250 day care centers and 13 hospitals. Source: http://profdiafonso.blogspot.com.br/.

9. Same as in the past when the Nazis marked the houses of the Jews in the occupied ghettos, the city of Rio de Janeiro held the biggest removal process of history. The SMH (Secretaria Municipal de Habitação or Municipal Secretary of Housing) inscription indicates that the property will be demolished to make way for works for the World Cup. In other words, the poor who lived there for years is kicked out of home, gets a derisory compensation to go live away from the prime areas of the city and the land is sold or simply given away to real estate speculation. Dozens of poor communities are disappearing to give space to shops and parking lots.

10. Institutionalized hypocrisy: Brazil Without Poverty Program of the Federal Government promises to end poverty in the country. No country in the world is going to end poverty because poverty makes a profit to economic groups that control these countries. What happens in Brazil is a manipulation of statistics to deceive society, where income levels that establish the boundaries between the poorest social classes are drastically reduced to increase the number of Brazilians considered “above the poverty line.” Besides, of course, the social cleansing of the governments brought to term by the police: eliminate the poverty excess exterminating all the poor, including Indians and black people in the poorest areas of the country. Read about this: Six out of ten dead by police in Sao Paulo are black.

AND ONE MORE TIME:

A verdade sobre o Brasil e a Copa do Mundo 2014 em 10 Fatos/10 Imagens:

1. Um bilhão para a construção de um estádio de futebol que vai sediar apenas 3 jogos durante a primeira fase da Copa e nenhum centavo investido em educação, saúde, transporte público e segurança. Você acha isso justo?

2. A ditadura disfarçada: proteste e você vai preso. A polícia militar – instituição centenária de repressão e violência contra o cidadão não está nas ruas para proteger, mas para reprimir e intimidar, além de bater, prender e matar quem ela quiser confiante na impunidade que protege os policiais que cometem crimes. Por conta disso, as polícias de São Paulo e do Rio de Janeiro são as que mais matam no mundo.

3. Cansado de esperar por mudanças o povo brasileiro está indo às ruas desde junho de 2013 para protestar contra as precárias condições de vida em um país que gastou mais de 30 bilhões de reais com a Copa do Mundo. A resposta dos governantes foi mandar a polícia com seu arsenal de bombas de gás lacrimogêneo, bombas de efeito moral, gás de pimenta e balas de borracha contra a população.

4. Presidente Dilma Rousseff – uma mentirosa e hipócrita que traiu seu passado de combatente da ditadura militar para servir de fantoche aos grupos capitalistas que controlam o Brasil e aparecer na mídia posando de grande estadista – e Pelé – o maior atleta do século que provou ser também o maior babaca do século pois só aparece em público para dizer asneiras defendendo a realização da Copa do MUndo.

5. A polícia brasileira com a desculpa de manter a segurança para a Copa e as Olimpíadas, está promovendo o maior genocídio da história do país. Milhares de negros e pobres são mortos todos os anos por conta da faxina social ordenada pelos governantes e grandes grupos econômicos que mandam no país, protegidos pela mídia liderada pela corrupta Rede Globo e inventam mentiras na TV, no rádio e jornais para esconder a verdade sobre os protestos no país e justificar as ações violentas e criminosas da polícia.

6. O ex-jogador Ronaldo, membro do Comitê Organizador da Copa – que se esforçou em seguir os passos de Pele também fora de campo, com declarações igualmente estúpidas como aquela de que “não se faz copa do mundo com hospitais” – e o hediondo Fuleco, o tatu escolhido por algum imbecil para servir de mascote oficial do evento.

7. Rede Globo – a mídia fascista que controla toda a informação no Brasil e manipula os fatos de acordo com seus interesses e os interesses dos políticos e empresários que protege – deve mais de 600 milhões de reais em impostos ao governo federal. Mas você não vê nenhum fiscal da Receita Federal bater à porta da Globo para cobrar essa dívida e prender os responsáveis porque a Globo defende o governo e o governo precisa da Globo para se manter no poder.

8. Com o dinheiro em impostos sonegados pela Rede Globo daria para comprar 1.782.600 computadores escolares, construir 15.370 casas populares, comprar 10.250 viaturas policiais, asfaltar 931 km de rodovias, construir 250 creches, e construir 13 hospitais de primeiro mundo. Fonte: http://profdiafonso.blogspot.com.br/.

9. Igual no passado quando os nazistas marcavam as casas dos judeus nos guetos ocupados, a prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro realizou o maior processo de remoção da história. A inscrição SMH – Secretaria Municipal de Habitação – indica que o imóvel será demolido para dar lugar à obras para a Copa. Em outras palavras, o pobre que viveu ali durante anos é expulso de sua casa, recebe uma indenização irrisória para ir morar longe das áreas nobres da cidade e o terreno é vendido ou simplesmente doado para a especulação imobiliária.

10. Hipocrisia institucionalizada: Programa Brasil Sem Miséria do Governo Federal promete acabar com a miséria no país. Nenhum país do mundo vai acabar com a pobreza porque a pobreza dá lucro aos grupos econômicos que controlam esses países. O que acontece no Brasil é uma manipulação de estatísticas para enganar a sociedade, onde os valores de renda que estabelecem os limites entre as classes sociais mais pobres são drasticamente reduzidos para aumentar o número de brasileiros considerados “acima da linha de pobreza”. Além, é claro, do programa de limpeza social dos governos levado a termo pela polícia: eliminar a pobreza excedente exterminando todos os pobres, incluindo os índios e os negros. Leia isso: Seis em dez mortos pela polícia de São Paulo são negros.

2014 World Cup: Brazil’s Dance with the Devil

Brazil’s Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy

This is the title of the newly released book of Dave Zirin, the sports editor for the Nation and the author of Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down.

In his new book, “Brazil’s Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy,” sportswriter Dave Zirin tackles the growing unrest in Brazil in the lead-up to one of sport’s biggest spectacles. Thousands of police officers have joined bus drivers for day two of a massive strike in São Paulo, just weeks before the World Cup is set to begin. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people have occupied a lot next to one of the arenas that will host the World Cup’s opening match. They call their protest “The People’s Cup” and are opposing the nearly half a billion dollars spent on the stadium, even as their communities lack adequate hospitals and schools. Demonstrations throughout the country have called attention to similar concerns.

Read here the interview with the author Dave Zirin to Democracy Now.

What are talking about the book:

“People think speaking truth to power is easy, but if it was easy everyone would do it. This book does it… It speaks truth to the powers that be, from Brazil to the US to FIFA to the IOC. It hits you like an uppercut that rattles your brain and sets it straight. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.”
—John Carlos, 1968 Olympic medalist

“Dave Zirin has long stood on the edge of the sports writing world, exploding topics many of his colleagues are scared to approach. With Brazil’s Dance with the Devil, he puts to bed any notion that the IOC and FIFA have the best interests of their host countries at heart. Brazil is a special country and Dave Zirin honors its people and history while mercilessly going after those who would undermine its people. This book is a remarkable mix of investigative sports journalism and insightful social history.”
—Glenn Greenwald, author, No Place to Hide

“In a sports journalism landscape where it sometimes seems there are only those who fawn and those who pander, where curiosity about the world at large is in short supply, Zirin is an altogether different kind of presence. He does care, until it hurts, and consistently delivers unique takes on the nexus of sports and race, globalization, politics and human rights. In Brazil’s Dance with the Devil, Zirin’s at his best, on familiar and fertile ground. Like so much of his work, it’s incisive, heartbreaking, important and even funny.”
—Jeremy Schaap, ESPN, author of New York Times bestseller Cinderella Man

“For years, FIFA and the Brazilian government have failed to understand the complexity of the Brazilian populace, that it’s possible both to love soccer and to be outraged over the organization of the World Cup at the expense of the people. Dave Zirin, one of our great chroniclers of sports and society, spent time on the ground in Brazil interviewing those most affected by the Brazilian World Cup and Olympics, and he comes away with the truth of it all: That the brutal expense of these Mega-events isn’t worth the investment of so much public money and historical memory. Everyone who watches the World Cup should read this book.”
—Grant Wahl, senior writer, Sports Illustrated

“A vision from abroad about our Brazil from inside. It’s a vision at once critical, smart, truthful, and free of prejudices, and not sparing any criticisms of his own country, the United States. Additionally it’s a generous vision that uplifts the great Brazilian people. Enthusiastically recommended!”
—Juca Kfouri, columnist, UOL Esporte

“Dave Zirin offers a great, fast-paced primer for those who want to get up to speed with what is happening on the ground in Brazil as it prepares for the World Cup and Olympics. Zirin brings the reader through years of history in order to contextualize the tumult on the streets during the 2013 Confederations’ Cup and offers perspective on what the world can expect during the World Cup and Olympics. Brazil’s Dance with the Devil gives insight into the linkages between corruption, massive public spending and the folly of mega-event planning in a country with huge wealth inequalities and major infrastructure challenges. Zirin has done his homework and fieldwork, consulting the classics and experts to bring together a fast-paced, focused read for an international audience.”
—Juliana Barbassa, Former Rio de Janeiro correspondent, Associated Press

“Dave Zirin fans, of which I count myself as one, will relish his new book, Brazil’s Dance with the Devil. With his unique sports-politics lens and artful story-telling, this book focuses on Rio’s upcoming World Cup and Olympics. Readers will never again allow their love of sports to blind them to the re-purposed political ends of big, international sporting events.
—Nancy Hogshead-Makar, civil rights attorney, senior director of advocacy Womens Sports Foundation, Olympic Gold medalist

“Dave Zirin does it again. In only the way he knows, he takes the political and makes it extremely personal and inserts us all into the heart of soccer in Brazil. You don’t have to have ever watched a soccer to be caught up in this epic story. Sports needs Dave Zirin more than it even knows. Although after this book he probably won’t be invited to carry The Olympic Torch anytime soon.”
—W. Kamau Bell, comedian

“Like everything Dave Zirin writes, this book is impassioned, deeply informed and very readable. It’s also a necessary book, because Brazil is a poorly understood country entering a crucial period. Zirin backs up his opinions with good, honest reporting. Brazil has a good friend in him.”
—Simon Kuper, author, Soccernomics

“Millions will enjoy the World Cup and Olympics, but Zirin justly reminds readers of the real human costs beyond the spectacle.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Brazil’s Dance With the Devil, is a powerful and haunting look at what’s happening behind the scenes (oft-tragically) in a nation hosting both the World Cup and the Olympics. It’s strong work.”
—Jeff Pearlman, author, Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty

Source: http://www.haymarketbooks.org/.

Ukraine: Power to the People

The Ukrainian people gave an example of how to fight a corrupt, criminal and oppressive government, and especially an example of how to bring it down. The Ukrainian revolution is a model and inspiration for other oppressed and exploited people to rise up against their oppressors – Venezuela, Egypt, Syria, Brazil, Mexico and wherever else there is injustice, oppression and worms like Viktor Yanukovych, a fascist worm who thought he could exploit and humiliate the people just because he had an institutionalized militia under his command.

Wanted: Dead or Alive, but better he is dead

Manhunt for Ukraine’s deposed president as he is accused of ‘mass murder’ of civilians after protester deaths – but he may already be safe in hands of Russian forces. Last facts:

1. Acting interior minister Arsen Avakov says on his Facebook profile Viktor Yanukovich is a wanted man
2. He was reportedly last seen in Sevastopol, a port on Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula
3. But extraordinary claims have emerged today that he was sneaked out of the port by Russia
4. It comes as official reveals EU could coordinate $35bn in aid Ukraine says it needs
5. Meanwhile, the Russian press describes the fall of the Ukrainian president as a coup d’etat
6. Russia has also recalled its ambassador in Ukraine for consultations on the ‘deteriorating situation’

Read more about the Ukranian Revolution: http://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine

A.C.A.B. Ukraine

Riot police in Ukraine fell to their knees to ask for forgiveness for their colleagues who shot and beat antigovernment protesters in the recent Kiev massacre. The extraordinary scenes in Lviv involved the Berkut elite anti-riot force whose members had returned from duty in the capital. They apologised on a stage in front of pro-Europe protesters.

‘I am asking you to forgive us,’ said an officer who stood in front of other men. In memory of those who were killed, we want to kneel down.’ The officers were greeted with chants of ‘Shame!’ and ‘Tribunal’ but they stressed they had not killed or beaten people themselves.

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Read more and see the full video here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk.

Ukraine will never be the backyard of Russia

And you fascist worm, pray every night to you do not be the next to fall…

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with Viktor Yanukovich during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, on December, 2013. Photo: Reuters

RWB: 2014 World Press Freedom Index

According to Wikipedia, Reporters Without Borders (RWB), or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is a France-based international non-profit, non-governmental organization that promotes and defends freedom of information and freedom of the press. The organization has consultant status at the United Nations. Reporters Without Borders has two primary spheres of activity: one is focused on Internet Censorship and the New Media, and the other on providing material, financial and psychological assistance to journalists assigned to dangerous areas. Its missions are to:

1. Continuously monitor attacks on freedom of information worldwide;
2. Denounce any such attacks in the media;
3. Act in cooperation with governments to fight censorship and laws aimed at restricting freedom of information;
4. Morally and financially assist persecuted journalists, as well as their families;
5. Offer material assistance to war correspondents in order to enhance their safety.

World Press Freedom Index

RWB compiles and publishes World Press Freedom Index, an annual ranking of countries based upon the organization’s assessment of their press freedom records. Small countries, such as Andorra, are excluded from this report. The report is based on a questionnaire sent to partner organizations of Reporters Without Borders (14 freedom of expression groups in five continents) and its 130 correspondents around the world, as well as to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists.

The survey asks questions about direct attacks on journalists and the media as well as other indirect sources of pressure against the free press. RWB is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom, and does not measure the quality of journalism. Due to the nature of the survey’s methodology based on individual perceptions, there are often wide contrasts in a country’s ranking from year to year.

2014 World Press Freedom Index

The recent witch hunt promoted by the Obama administration against the whistleblowers Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange made the United States fall to 46th place (in a list with a total of 180 countries) in the ranking of countries that offer more dangers or obstacles to the work of professionals of the press or in more severe cases, restrict the press freedom. Read more here.

The recent arrests of media professionals, police aggression on journalists during protests in Brazil, and the death of cameraman Santiago Andrade on Monday after being injured in a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro are some of the cases that helped Brazil to remain among the countries that impose dangers and difficulties to the work of journalists in Latin America. The false democratic rhetoric of the Brazilian government has not helped the country to emerge from the 111th position, just ahead of Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia. Read more here.

Biggest rises and falls in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index

The 2014 World Press Freedom Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists. The ranking of some countries has also been affected by a tendency to interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive manner to the detriment of the right to inform and be informed. This trend constitutes a growing threat worldwide and is even endangering freedom of information in countries regarded as democracies. Finland tops the index for the fourth year running, closely followed by Netherlands and Norway, like last year.

At the other end of the index, the last three positions are again held by Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, three countries where freedom of information is non-existent. Despite occasional turbulence in the past year, these countries continue to be news and information black holes and living hells for the journalists who inhabit them. This year’s index covers 180 countries, one more than last year. The new entry, Belize, has been assigned an enviable position (29th). Cases of violence against journalists are rare in Belize but there were some problems: defamation suits involving demands for large amounts in damages, national security restrictions on implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and sometimes unfair management of broadcast frequencies.

FALLS DUE TO ARMED CONFLICTS

The 2014 index underscores the negative correlation between freedom of information and conflicts, both open conflicts and undeclared ones. In an unstable environment, the media become strategic goals and targets for groups or individuals whose attempts to control news and information violate the guarantees enshrined in international law, in particular, article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Protocols Additional 1 and 2 to the Geneva Conventions.

Syria (unchanged at 177th) has been an extreme example of this since March 2011. Now one of the countries where freedom of information and its actors are most in danger, it rubs shoulders with the bottom three. The Syrian crisis has also had dramatic repercussions throughout the region, reinforcing media polarization in Lebanon (106th, -4), encouraging the Jordanian authorities to tighten their grip, and accelerating the spiral of violence in Iraq (153rd, -2), where tension between Shiites and Sunnis is growing.

INFORMATION SACRIFICED TO NATIONAL SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE

Countries that pride themselves on being democracies and respecting the rule of law have not set an example, far from it. Freedom of information is too often sacrificed to an overly broad and abusive interpretation of national security needs, marking a disturbing retreat from democratic practices. Investigative journalism often suffers as a result.

This has been the case in the United States (46th), which fell 13 places, one of the most significant declines, amid increased efforts to track down whistleblowers and the sources of leaks. The trial and conviction of Private Bradley Manning and the pursuit of NSA analyst Edward Snowden were warnings to all those thinking of assisting in the disclosure of sensitive information that would clearly be in the public interest.

US journalists were stunned by the Department of Justice’s seizure of Associated Press phone records without warning in order to identify the source of a CIA leak. It served as a reminder of the urgent need for a “shield law” to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources at the federal level. The revival of the legislative process is little consolation for James Risen of The New York Times, who is subject to a court order to testify against a former CIA employee accused of leaking classified information. And less still for Barrett Brown, a young freelance journalist facing 105 years in prison in connection with the posting of information that hackers obtained from Statfor, a private intelligence company with close ties to the federal government.

The United Kingdom (33rd, -3) distinguished itself in the war on terror by the disgraceful pressure it put on The Guardian newspaper and by its detention of David Miranda, journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner and assistant, for nine hours. Both the US and UK authorities seem obsessed with hunting down whistleblowers instead of adopting legislation to rein in abusive surveillance practices that negate privacy, a democratic value cherished in both countries.

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AMERICAS: MEDIA UNDER THREAT FROM VIOLENCE

More than 20 years have passed since the military dictatorships and civil wars ended in Latin America and the Caribbean, except Colombia, which still endures an armed conflict that began half a century ago. Cuba is also distinguished by a regime inherited from the Cold War that tolerates no independent watchdogs although an emerging civil society is challenging its “model.”

Peace and democratic institutions have been established in the region, at least formally, as there is a long road from constitutional guarantees of civil liberties to real democracy with respect for the rule of law. Many journalists and human rights defenders continue to be exposed to a high level violence that comes from different quarters including organized crime, paramilitary groups and sometimes the state.

Honduras is an example of such a confluence of violence, with a murder rate comparable to that of a country at war – 80 per 100,000 in a population of 7 million. More than 30 journalists have been killed in the past decade, 27 of them since the June 2009 coup that ousted Manuel Zelaya, an elected president. A link with the victim’s work as a journalist has been established in nine of these murders but almost all of them have gone unpunished in this failed state. Militias in the pay of big landowners, the militarized police, the army and the criminal cartels all have a hand in the threats, beatings and shootings and in the “protection” of certain media.

The situation is similar in other parts of Central America and the Andes. In Peru and Colombia, covering drug trafficking, corruption, land conflicts or mining conflicts exposes journalists to reprisals. There is a slim but real hope of an imminent peace accord between the Colombian government and the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Nonetheless, even if the hope is realized, it will leave the narco-paramilitaries, a side-product of the civil war, still in place. How many journalists, trade unions, human rights lawyers and civil society activists have been subjected to often deadly harassment and pressure from reconstituted paramilitary units such as the Urabeños or Rastrojos?

In Mexico, the Zetas and other criminal organizations act in a similar predatory manner towards journalists with the complicity of corrupt local, and sometimes federal, officials. No fewer than 88 journalists were killed from 2000 to the end of 2013, and 18 others disappeared during the same period. This appalling death toll was aggravated by the so-called “federal offensive” against the drug cartels under President Felipe Calderón (2006-2012), in which more than 60,000 people were killed.

Organized crime and its infiltration of the state apparatus also obstructs media work and, in particular, investigative reporting in countries further south such as Brazil and Paraguay. In these countries, and in others, the position of journalists is often weakened by their lack of status, a lack of solidarity within the profession and the tragic subjugation of the media, especially the regional media, to centres of political power and influence. In Brazil, the phenomenon of “colonels,” regional politicians who are also businessmen and media owners, constitutes a major obstacle to media pluralism and independence, turning journalists into the tools of local barons and exposing them to often deadly score-settling.

Journalists and news media are also political tools in highly polarized countries where the polarization between the private sector and the public sector (or the state) develops into sometimes violent confrontation. An extreme example is Venezuela, where the level of insults and physical attacks increases during the frequent election campaigns. A similar climate exists in Ecuador and Bolivia and, to a lesser extent, Argentina.

USA AND BRAZIL – NEW WORLD GIANTS THAT SET A BAD EXAMPLE

One is a superpower and the other an emerging power. One for a long time was the embodiment of an established democracy where civil liberties reign supreme. The other created the conditions for developing a powerful civil society during the Lula years (2003-2010) on the basis of a democratic constitution adopted just three years after the end of two decades of military dictatorship (1964-1985). Rich in diversity, the United States and Brazil should have given freedom of information a supreme position both in their laws and their social values. Unfortunately the reality falls far short of this.

In the United States, 9/11 spawned a major conflict between the imperatives of national security and the principles of the constitution’s First Amendment. This amendment enshrines every person’s right to inform and be informed. But the heritage of the 1776 constitution was shaken to its foundations during George W. Bush’s two terms as president by the way journalists were harassed and even imprisoned for refusing to reveal their sources or surrender their files to federal judicial officials.

There has been little improvement in practice under Barack Obama. Rather than pursuing journalists, the emphasis has been on going after their sources, but often using the journalist to identify them. No fewer that eight individuals have been charged under the Espionage Act since Obama became president, compared with three during Bush’s two terms. While 2012 was in part the year of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, 2013 will be remember for the National Security Agency computer specialist Edward Snowden, who exposed the mass surveillance methods developed by the US intelligence agencies.

The whistleblower is the enemy. Hence the 35-year jail term imposed on Private Chelsea/Bradley Manning for being the big WikiLeaks source, an extremely long sentence but nonetheless small in comparison with the 105-year sentence requested for freelance journalist Barrett Brown in a hacking case. Amid an all-out hunt for leaks and sources, 2013 will also be the year of the Associated Press scandal, which came to light when the Department of Justice acknowledged that it had seized the news agency’s phone records.

While investigative journalism is under threat in the United States, day-to-day reporting exposes journalists to physical danger in Brazil. With five journalists killed in 2013, Brazil has become the western hemisphere’s deadliest country for media personnel, the position held until then by Mexico, a much more dangerous country.

These tragic deaths in Brazil are obviously also due to a high level of violence. Organized crime’s hold on certain regions makes covering subjects such as corruption, drugs or illegal trafficking in raw materials very risky. The crime rings defend themselves. So do government officials, sometimes using force but more often judicial proceedings. Lúcio Flávio Pinto, a journalist and campaigner against trafficking in precious wood has been the target of no fewer that 33 prosecutions and lawsuits. It is a paradox of the 2009 repeal of the 1967 media law inherited from the military dictatorship that compliant courts are now jammed with requests by politicians for censorship orders against news media and journalists

Many of these politicians are what are called “colonels” – governors or parliamentarians who own the state they represent. They own or control local newspapers and radio stations while, at the national level, ten families control the broadcast media. This media model, which limits pluralism, was one of the targets of the “Brazilian spring” protests that were forcibly dispersed. The giant has been slow to overhaul this model, to the detriment of the many community and alternative media.

Brazil – not so sunny spring

News providers were among those hit by the major police crackdown in Brazil in 2013. The large-scale protests that erupted in São Paulo in June in response to public transport fare hikes spread to the rest of the country, fuelled by discontent about the massive spending on the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. The “Brazilian spring” protests raised questions about the dominant media model and highlighted the appalling methods still used by the state military police since the time of the dictatorship. In the course of the protests, around 100 journalists were the victims of acts of violence, of which more than two thirds were blamed on the police.

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Predators of Press Freedom

Starting in 2001 Reporters Without Borders has published its annual Predators of Press Freedom list which highlights what it feels are the worst violators of press freedom. In May 2013 RWB named 39 leaders or groups as Predators of Freedom of Information:

Abdallah Ibn Al-Saud, King, Saudi Arabia
Al-Shabaab, armed Islamist militia, Somalia
Alexander Lukashenko, President, Belarus
Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Iran
Baloch armed groups, Pakistan (added in 2013)
Bashar Al-Assad, President, Syria
“Black Eagles”, Paramilitary group, Colombia
Boko Haram, Islamist group, Nigeria
Choummaly Sayasone, President, Laos
Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, President, Turkmenistan
Hamad Ben Aissa Al Khalifa, King, Bahrain
Ilham Aliev, President, Azerbaijan
Islam Karimov, President, Uzbekistan
Israel Defense Forces, Israel
Issaias Afeworki, President, Eritrea
Italian organized crime
Jabhat Al-Nosra, Syrian jihadi group (added in 2013)
Kim Jong-un, Supreme leader, First Chairman of the National Defence Commission, and First Secretary of the Workers’ Party, North Korea
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President, Iran
Maldives’ religious extremists (added in 2013)    Miguel Facussé Barjum, Businessman and landowner, Honduras
Miguel Treviño Morales and the Los Zetas drug cartel, Mexico
Mollah Mohammad Omar, Taliban chief, Afghanistan and Pakistan
Mswati III, King, Swaziland
Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt (added 2013)
Nguyen Phu Trong, Communist Party general secretary, Vietnam
Nursultan Nazarbayev, President, Kazakhstan
Pakistani government intelligence agencies
Paul Kagame, President, Rwanda
Philippine private militias
Rajapaksa Brothers: MahindaRa, President and Defence Minister and Gotabaya, Defence Secretary, Sri Lanka
Ramzan Kadyrov, President of the Republic of Chechnya
Raúl Castro, President of the Council of State, Cuba
Robert Mugabe, President, Zimbabwe
Teodoro Obiang Nguema, President, Equatorial Guinea
Vasif Talibov, Supreme Council President, Azerbaijan
Vladimir Putin, President, Russian Federation
Xi Jinping, President and General Secretary of the Communist Party, China (added in 2013)
Yahya Jammeh, President, Gambia

In 2013, the marketing company BETC and RWB made a campaign for the World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on May 3. I could not pass up the opportunity to include in this select list Her Excellency Madame President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff. With the word, the main accused of threatening the work of journalists in their respective countries…

A.C.A.B.

A.C.A.B. is an anti-police acronym standing for “All Cop[per]s Are Bastards”, used as a slogan in graffiti, tattoos, and other imagery.

The Dictionary of Catchphrases attests the acronym in graffiti as early as 1977 in an article by a Newcastle journalist who spent a night in jail and documented the term written on walls; the book reckons the acronym itself to be no older than the 1970s, though the full phrase to date back as far as the 1920s. The British Oi! punk band, the 4-Skins, popularized the acronym A.C.A.B. in their 1980s song of the same name.

On 7 January 2011, three Ajax football fans in the Netherlands were fined for wearing t-shirts with the numbers 1312 printed on them, that number standing for “ACAB” by assigning each number a numeric value (1=A, 2=B, 3=C). The 12th of December (12.13) joined the collective unconscious as ACAB Day. Source: Wikipedia.

ACAB – All Cops Are Bastards is a 2012 Italian drama film directed by Stefano Sollima. The film was the debut feature from director Stefano Sollima, who had previously directed TV crime show Romanzo Criminale, and focuses on the life of a group of riot control force policemen and their life coping with ‘cleansing’ stadiums from Ultras, public demonstrations, evictions and everyday family life.

Anywhere in the world, the police was not created to defend you or your rights. Unless you join the elite that controls the power and the money in your society. If you are not rich, famous or influential, be careful. There’s always a bastard near you.

All cops are bastards

Brazil recently been swept by a wave of protests against government corruption, neglect of rulers with essential services such as education, health, public transport and security, and the billionaires spending on hosting the World Cup 2014 and the visit of Pope Francis. The protests were violently repressed and stifled by police and criminalized by the fascist media that controls the information in the country.

Besides the violent police crackdown on demonstrators, cases such as the bricklayer’s assistant Amarildo de Souza, kidnapped and killed by military police officers of the UPP (Pacifying Police Unit) of the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, in July 2013, and the recent massacre of 12 people in Campinas, São Paulo, probably by police officers, add up to a growing and frightening statistic: the police of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are the biggest killers in the world.

But you think that police repression and dictatorship disguised as a democracy are a thing of Third World countries like Brazil? No. The winds of change that have begun blowing in the Arab countries remain strong in many countries worldwide, but the claim of the people for changes continues to be silenced by blows from batons, rubber bullets, pepper sprays and tear gas in Mexico, Greece, France, USA, India, Egypt, Turkey and now Ukraine, where thousands of people are on the streets of the capital Kiev at this time braving the cold and police violence to protest against the fascist president Viktor Yanukovych.

There is no democracy without freedom of expression. While the police continue to act as a private militia of corrupt and repressive rulers there will be no social peace. Do you trust the police in your city? I do not. All cops are bastards.

Não acabou. A.C.A.B.

Recentemente o Brasil foi varrido por uma onda de protestos contra a corrupção nos governos, o descaso dos governantes com serviços essenciais como educação, saúde, transporte público e segurança, além dos gastos bilionários com a realização da Copa do Mundo de 2014 e com a visita do Papa Francisco. Os protestos foram violentamente reprimidos e sufocados pela polícia e criminalizados pela mídia fascista que controla a informação no país.

Além da repressão policial violenta contra manifestantes, casos como o do ajudante de pedreiro Amarildo de Souza, seqüestrado e morto por policiais militares da UPP da Favela da Rocinha, no Rio de Janeiro, em julho de 2013, e a recente chacina de 12 pessoas em Campinas, São Paulo, provavelmente por policiais, somam-se à uma estatística crescente e assustadora: as polícias do Rio de Janeiro e de São Paulo são as que mais matam no mundo.

Mas você pensa que repressão policial e ditadura disfarçada de democracia são coisa de países do Terceiro Mundo como o Brasil? Não. Os ventos da mudança que começaram nos países árabes continuam soprando forte em vários países do mundo, mas o grito da população por mudanças continua sendo silenciado a golpes de cassetete, balas de borracha, sprays de pimenta e bombas de gás lacrimogêneo: México, Grécia, França, Estados Unidos, Índia, Egito, Turquia e neste momento Ucrânia, onde milhares de pessoas estão nas ruas da capital Kiev enfrentando o frio e a violência da polícia para protestar contra o presidente fascista Viktor Yanukovych.

Não existe democracia sem liberdade de expressão. Enquanto a policia continuar agindo como milícia de governos corruptos e repressores, não haverá paz social. Você confia na polícia da sua cidade? Eu não. Não acabou. A.C.A.B.