Apparently the fartknockers in FL are parting ways with Trump over cov19. Anyway, shouldn't we be looking at per capita rates? Is the US still third highest?
Let's check-in to see how things are going in Brazil -- the "no-lockdown paradise" Brazil health minister hospitalized with COVID-19 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil-idUSKBN27G0SH
President Bolsonaro calls Brazil 'a country of f--gots' while downplaying COVID-19 in new homophobic comment https://www.businessinsider.com/bol...-country-of-f-gots-in-covid-19-speech-2020-11 Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, referred to Brazil as "a country of f--gots" during a tourism launch event. Bolsonaro used the Portuguese phrase "marcias" which translates to the homophobic slur f--got in English. He previously told staff who wore face masks that they were "coisa de viado," a slur which means "for fairies." He later contracted COVID-19. Twice. Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, referred to Brazil as "a country of f--gots" during a tourism launch event in Brasilia. Bolsonaro used the Portuguese word "marcias" which translates to the homophobic slur in what was meant to be a brief closing speech, on Tuesday. It transformed into a 30-minute attack on the press, science, and president-elect Joe Biden, according toVice News. He said: "All of us are going to die one day. Everyone is going to die. There is no point in escaping from that, in escaping from reality. We have to stop being a country of f--gots," theIndependent reported. The president previously used homophobic language while mocking advice to wear face masks and told staff members who wore them that they were "coisa de viado," a slur which means "for fairies," according toPink News. He later contracted COVID-19. Twice. The Bolsonaro president who was elected in 2018, and was dubbed 'Brazil's Trump.' He has a long history of homophobic comments. In 2011, he told Playboy: "I would be incapable of loving a gay son. I prefer that he die in an accident" and has also previously compared gay kisses to "a pedophile's right to have sex with a 2-year-old." He said he would punch couples kissing in public,Pink Newsadded. During a 2013 interview with Stephen Fry, Bolsonaro said that "homosexual fundamentalists" were brainwashing children so they could "satisfy them sexually in the future,"The Guardian reported. This week, he also sparked outrage by celebrating the suspension of China's Sinovac vaccine trials by Brazillian health regulator, Anvisa, after a Sao Paulo study subject took their own life. Bolonsaro is a longtime critic of China. The death was later found to be unrelated and the trials have continued,The Guardianadded. Despite being 65-years-old, Bolsonaro previously said: "In my particular case, with my history as an athlete, if I were infected with the virus, I would have no reason to worry, I would feel nothing, or it would be at most just a little flu," according toReuters. Brazil currently has the second-highest rate of COVID-19 cases after the US with almost 5.7 million infections and at least 164,000 deaths, according to data fromJohns Hopkins University. Bolsonaro has not yet congratulated Joe Biden on his presidential victory. He is one of Donald Trump's strongest allies and the president continues to pursue legal challenges and refuses to concede. On Tuesday, he warned that he would respond to the USA with "gunpowder" and not just "saliva" if the White House imposes economic sanctions on Brazil over deforestation in the Amazon.
Let's check-in and see how things are going with the crackpot President of Brazil... Brazilian President Bolsonaro claims COVID vaccine could turn people into alligators https://nypost.com/2020/12/19/brazi...id-vaccine-could-turn-people-into-alligators/ Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro shocked even his staunchest supporters this week with an expletive-filled tirade against the COVID-19 vaccine, despite 7.1 million cases of the virus in the country and over 185,000 deaths. “I’m not going to get [the vaccine]. Some say I’m setting a bad example. Hey a–hole, oh idiot, what are you saying about the bad example, I already had the virus, I already have antibodies. Why should I get the vaccine again?” Bolsonaro said in a speech captured by the news service UOL to a crowd in Porto Seguro. Bolsonaro contracted COVID-19 earlier this year. Brazil has registered two cases of reinfection and scientists are not sure how long antibodies last, according to the news site. Bolsonaro then went on to slam American drug company Pfizer and it’s vaccine. The company exempted itself from liability in case of side effects of the vaccine – which Bolsonaro said rhetorically could turn someone into an alligator and they wouldn’t be liable. “And another thing that has to be made very clear,” Bolsonaro charged. “There in the Pfizer contract, it is very clear that we (Pfizer) are not responsible for any side effect. If you become an alligator, it is your problem. … And what is worse, tampering with people’s immune systems.”
Let's check in and see how things are going with Bolsonaro and Brazil... Brazil's Bolsonaro sabotaged anti-COVID-19 efforts, says Human Rights Watch https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-rights-idUSKBN29I2T4 Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has tried to sabotage efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in his country and pursued policies that undermine the rights of Brazilians, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday. The Supreme Court, Congress and other institutions, have stepped up to protect Brazilians and blocked some of Bolsonaro’s most damaging policies, the rights group said in the Brazil chapter of its annual world report. The group’s executive director predicted that Washington will join the European Union in pressuring Bolsonaro’s government to protect the Amazon from deforestation under the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. Bolsonaro wanted to remove the authority of states to restrict people’s movements, as they sought to contain the world’s second-deadliest coronavirus outbreak after the United States, but the Supreme Court ruled against him. The top court also intervened to stop his government withholding COVID-19 data from the public. It also overturned a presidential veto of legislation requiring the use of masks in prison. In July, it ordered the administration to draft a plan to protect Brazil’s vulnerable indigenous peoples from the pandemic, while Congress passed a bill forcing it to provide emergency health care to indigenous communities. Bolsonaro has consistently downplayed the gravity of COVID-19, calling it “a little flu” and criticizing lockdowns and social distancing measures. HRW said he has disseminated misleading information about the virus. The president’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Bolsonaro has argued that lockdowns damage Brazil’s economy and leave many out of work. HRW said Bolsonaro has also undermined women’s rights, lashed out at reporters and civil society groups, and stigmatized and bullied independent Brazilian media. “The Supreme Court and other institutions have helped to protect Brazilians and to block many, although not all, of Bolsonaro’s anti-rights policies. They need to remain vigilant,” said Anna Livia Arida, HRW’s Brazil Associate Director. Weakened environmental law enforcement has also allowed the illegal use of fires to clear land to soar again in the Amazon region. Deforestation hit a 12-year high in 2020, when an area of forest seven times the size of London was cleared, according to the government’s space research institute (INPE). “Bolsonaro is one of those friendly autocrats that (President Donald) Trump cozied up to,” said HRW executive director Kenneth Roth. “Until deforestation is reversed, we’re going to see intensifying pressure on Bolsonaro with no friend in the White House anymore,” he said.
seems like Brazil more and more needs to take a stance against this creeping fascism. Maybe an antifascistic one?
Let's see how things are going in Brazil where Bolsonaro's government actively promotes the spread of COVID. Oh... they want to bring him up on crimes against humanity charges. I have a few ideas about a former leader of the country with the most COVID deaths needing to share this disgrace for his nonscientific policies. Brazilian government 'deliberately allowed Covid to spread' as death toll hits 222,000 University of Sao Paulo academics accused President Jair Bolsonaro and his team of purposely trying to infect the public 'to restart economic activity as soon as possible' https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/brazilian-government-deliberately-allowed-covid-23415463 The Brazilian government purposely allowed coronavirus to spread through the country, a top university study has claimed. President Jair Bolsonaro and his team are accused of deliberating trying to infect the public with Covid-19 in the South American country where the pandemic death toll is more than 222,000. The Centre for Research in Public Health Law at the University of Sao Paulo and Conectas Direitos Humanos has produced hard-hitting research to back up the allegations. The academics have been amassing data since spring, last year, and their findings appeared in Spanish newspaper El Pais. One of the university papers states: "Our research has revealed the existence of an institutional strategy, promoted by the Federal Government, spearheaded by the Presidency of the Republic, that intentionally seeks to ensure the spread of the virus." And it added: “The results dispel the persistent interpretation that there was incompetence and negligence from the federal government in the management of the pandemic. "On the contrary, the systematisation of data, although incomplete due to the lack of space for publishing so many events, reveals the government’s commitment and efficiency in favour of the widespread dissemination of the virus over the Brazilian territory, clearly stated as having the objective of restarting economic activity as soon as possible and at whatever cost. Brazil now has the second-highest Covid-19 death toll in the world - with the number of fatalities recorded at 222,775. When the pandemic first emerged, President Bolsonaro dismissed the virus as "just a flu." The report found: "While the Brazilian government's virus control strategy was a political choice made by the heads of government prioritizing economic protection," it was an "unprecedented violation of the right to life and the right to health for Brazilians." And the study claims Brazil's political leaders used propaganda and fake news "with the purpose of discrediting health authorities." The data, presided over by Deisy Ventura, one of the most respected legal scholars in Brazil, showed that “the majority of deaths would have been avoidable with a strategy to contain the disease, and that this constitutes an unprecedented violation of Brazilians’ rights to life and to health.” And that this took place “without any of the administrators involved being held responsible, although institutions such as the Supreme Federal Court and the Federal Court of Accounts have countless times pointed out federal administrators’ conscious and deliberate conduct and omissions that clash with the Brazilian legal order.” It also highlights “the urgency of an in-depth discussion of the configuration of crimes against public health, crimes of responsibility and crimes against humanity committed during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil.” Bolsanaro is facing intense pressure surrounding his leadership of the country and more than 60 requests for the impeachment of the president have been presented to the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia (DEM party). At least three requests have been sent to the International Criminal Court linking genocide and other crimes against humanity, directly relating to the actions of Bolsonaro and members of his government o their handing of the pandemic. The president has repeatedly scorned the reality of the global pandemic with incendiary statements, including one on March 17, last year, when he said: "The wrong part in all of it is the hysteria, it’s acting like this is the end of the world. "A nation like Brazil will only get rid of it when a certain number of people become infected and create antibodies." Asked for a response on why Brazil's death toll was exceeding China's, he said in April: "So what? Sorry about that, what do you want me to do? "My last name may be Messias (Messiah), but I work no miracles." In November, with the virus and its dangers overwhelmingly established, he said: "Everything right now is pandemic this, pandemic that. Come on, this has to stop. "I am sorry for the dead, I am. We’ll all die one day. There’s no use trying to escape it, to escape reality. We can no longer be a country of sissies, come on." A surge in infections n Brazil connected to the apparently more contagious variant has overwhelmed hospitals in Amazonas state, leaving many without the most basic supplies. It was reported how oxygen tankers were rushed over the border from Venezuela, and the vaccination programme in Brazil is said to be far behind its South American neighbours, with far less citizens in those countries.
Let's check-in with Brazil -- for our daily dose of what a cluster-f@ck looks like... Brazil Hits 10 Million Covid Cases With New Strain Taking Hold Nine capitals have suspended immunizations as vaccines run out Country has reported over 1,000 deaths a day for most of 2021 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...llion-covid-cases-with-new-strain-taking-hold Brazil became the third country in the world to breach 10 million coronavirus cases, with infections picking up speed in recent weeks as a new variant spreads amid a shortage of vaccines. Latin America’s largest nation reported 51,879 new cases Thursday, pushing the total confirmed to 10,030,626, according to Health Ministry data. It’s a toll that lags only the U.S. and India. Deaths rose by 1,367 to 243,457, the second-highest globally. “Brazil’s situation is really bad, with contagion at high levels. We’re seeing health systems in several states either in collapse or close to it,” said Estevao Urbano, an infectious disease expert and director at Brazil’s Infectology Society. “We’re still not moving fast enough to know for sure this pandemic won’t get worse, or will at least hold at these levels. We should be extremely concerned about the numbers and this new variant, which could be more dangerous.” While encouraging signs in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic are emerging globally, Brazil is battling a resurgence of the virus, which has been made worse by year-end gatherings and a new strain found in the Northern city of Manaus. For most of this year, the country has reported over 50,000 new infections a day, about double the rate for October and November. Deaths have hovered above 1,000 a day. New wave The new wave has added to the strain on the public health-care system, already suffering from decades of underinvestment, and led state governors to increase pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration to aid hospitals and buy more vaccines. The severity of the crisis was on display in January as Manaus, nestled deep in the Amazon rainforest, declared a state of emergency and began to airlift patients to other states after the local health-care system collapsed. Cities in the states of Roraima and Bahia, in the poor north and northeastern regions, have also seen hospitals reach capacity. Ceara imposed a curfew for its 9 million residents as the number of patients in ICU beds tripled in the past month. “We’re seeing the virus circulate in a way we never imagined,” Jose Sarto, the mayor of Ceara’s capital city, Fortaleza, said when he announced the new restrictions Wednesday. “Every indicator signals we’ll reach the previous peak, and could surpass it. It’s very worrying.” At least 12 Brazilian states are reporting higher numbers of cases and deaths than in the first wave of the pandemic, according to Domingos Alves, a professor of medicine who’s part of the Covid-19 Brasil monitoring group. Vaccination drive The country was expected to do better vaccinating than it did containing the disease, because Brazil’s public health-care system knows the challenge of mass vaccination drives. It carries out several campaigns each year with about 20 types of shots offered through 35,000 outposts nationwide. But the country was late to start, kicking off its campaign in mid-January with just 6 million shots on hand after approving formulations from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and AstraZeneca Plc. Both have agreements to be locally produced, but manufacturing suffered delays as a key ingredient took longer than expected to arrive from China. A month later, nine capitals including Rio de Janeiro have suspended immunizations after shots ran out. As of Wednesday, about 5.9 million doses had been administered, according to states’ data compiled by Bloomberg. The federal government doesn’t have a national count. Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello pledged to deliver over 454.9 million doses to states by year-end in a meeting with governors Wednesday. The count includes shots that haven’t been cleared for use by the local regulator, and that the government has yet to buy. Privacy Policy and Terms of Service and to receive offers and promotions from Bloomberg. Pazuello, an Army general with no medical experience, has been harshly criticized for his handling of the pandemic. The Supreme Court has ordered an inquiry into Pazuello’s actions during the Manaus crisis, which saw patients dying because oxygen ran out at hospitals. Infighting Critics have also panned Bolsonaro. Since the start of the crisis, the president has dismissed the virus as a “just a flu” and clashed with governors over social distancing measures that, he argued, would lead to poverty and unemployment that would kill more people than the virus. “The main responsible for these numbers is the president, who continues to insist in the wrong approach he’s taken since the start of the crisis,” Maranhao Governor Flavio Dino said in an interview. “Bolsonaro minimizes the tragedy.” The political infighting also plagued the vaccination drive, with Bolsonaro often bashing vaccines and initially refusing to buy Sinovac’s booster because of its Chinese origin. “We started 2021 in a critical situation. The numbers show just how big our failure was,” Wellington Dias, the governor of Piaui, said in an interview. “Vaccinating is the only way.”
Let's see which WW2 reference is being used to describe Brazil this week. This is what COVID "natural herd immunity" looks like. Brazil In Crisis: 'It Feels Like You Are In Stalingrad, in World War II' As coronavirus numbers improve in many countries, in Brazil, things are getting worse – a lot worse. The country is seeing a surge in cases of a seemingly more contagious variant infecting people who have already been sick. And on Wednesday, Brazil – second only to the U.S. in the number of people who have died – hit their highest death toll number recorded in a single day: more than 1,900. The health-care system is about to collapse – even in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous city with the largest medical infrastructure in the country, Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, a Brazilian-born Duke University neuroscientist, told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly. He describes a "horrible" situation with hospitals at full capacity, turning people away, with some left to die in ambulances or on the street. "They [hospitals] are refusing to take patients because they cannot find a bed in the ICU. So, let's say you have a heart attack or you have a stroke or you had a car accident ... people are actually dying, waiting for ICU bed." And for a vaccine rollout, Nicolelis says Brazil, known as one of the best countries for vaccinating citizens for diseases like measles and polio, "didn't do what it had to do" to procure and distribute COVID vaccines. Nicolelis says Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is to blame, calling him "public enemy number one in the world related to the comeback to the fight of the coronavirus." "He has told Brazilians not to be sissies about that pandemic," says Nicolelis, "despite the fact we should note that he himself has tested positive." While the president is busy arguing against face masks and sabotaging shutdowns, says Nicolelis, governors from Brazil's 26 states are trying to band together to buy vaccines on the international market. When asked what it feels like to be in the middle of the crisis, Nicolelis, who has been in Sao Paolo caring for his mother for a year, describes the situation as a war zone. "It feels like you are in Stalingrad, in World War II. You're surrounded by the enemy. Food is ending. There is no calling for help because nobody can get out to get help. And you just see your comrades dying, your friends, your parents, your relatives, your childhood friends." The city is about to start a two-week lockdown. But Nicolelis is skeptical that it will make a significant difference: "I have been here for a year now. We have been going in and out of these partial lockdowns, and [they] didn't have any effect."