Tag Archives: authoritarians

Belarus President Who Touted Vodka Cure Has COVID

Reuters reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday he caught the coronavirus and recovered “on his feet” without showing any symptoms, sounding a defiant tone as he addressed military leaders in Minsk. Lukashenko, 65, has resisted calls for strict lockdown measures to contain the pandemic, dismissing fears about COVID-19 as a “psychosis” and suggesting remedies such as drinking vodka, …

Read More »

Group Plays Out Scenarios If Trump Won’t Concede

The Boston Globe reports: What if President Trump refuses to concede a loss, as he publicly hinted recently he might do? How far could he go to preserve his power? And what if Democrats refuse to give in? “All of our scenarios ended in both street-level violence and political impasse,” said Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown law professor and former Defense …

Read More »

Bolsonaro Claims He Now Tests Negative For COVID

Reuters reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday that he has tested negative for the novel coronavirus after weeks quarantined in his residence due to an infection. In a photo posted to social media, Bolsonaro appeared with a box of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug he credited for his recovery despite a lack of scientific evidence about its effectiveness. In …

Read More »

Trump Threatens To Deploy Tens Of Thousands Of DHS Troops To “Solve The Problems” In Cities Run By Dems

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump threatened to deploy tens of thousands of Department of Homeland Security agents to “solve the problems” in cities with high crime rates and civil unrest, he said in an interview with Sean Hannity Thursday night. Trump, frustrated that cities like Chicago and New York City have denied and denounced his usage of federal force, have …

Read More »

DOJ To Probe Use Of Federal Force In DC And Portland

Via press release from the Justice Department: Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today that: In response to Congressional requests, complaints received by the OIG, and a referral from the U.S. Attorney in Oregon, the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has opened an investigation into use of force allegations involving DOJ law enforcement personnel …

Read More »

Trump: I’m Sending Hundreds Of Feds To Chicago

The Chicago Tribune reports: President Donald Trump, who once bragged he could solve Chicago’s crime problem within a week, announced plans Wednesday to flood American cities with a “surge of federal law enforcement” to address ongoing violence, beginning with Chicago. Trump singled out the city as the one in the most critical in need of more resources to help drive …

Read More »

Brazil’s Bolsonaro Has Second Positive COVID Test

Reuters reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has had another positive result for the novel coronavirus in the third test he has taken since falling ill on July 7, a secretariat of the Communications Ministry said on Wednesday. “The test carried out on the president yesterday, on the 21st, showed a positive result,” a statement said. “President Bolsonaro is still in …

Read More »

Trump: I’m “Sending Law Enforcement” To Dem Cities

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump on Monday said he plans to send law enforcement personnel to some major U.S. cities, as a federal crackdown on anti-racism protests including use of unmarked cars and unidentified officers in camouflage in Portland, Oregon, angers people across the country. “We’re sending law enforcement,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We can’t let this …

Read More »

Axios: Trump Mulls Strategy To Skirt Law On Policies

Axios reports: President Trump and top White House officials are privately considering a controversial strategy to act without legal authority to enact new federal policies — starting with immigration, administration officials tell Axios. The White House thinking is being heavily influenced by John Yoo, the lawyer who wrote the Bush administration’s justification for waterboarding after 9/11. Yoo detailed the theory …

Read More »

Lincoln Project: Portland Is How It Starts [VIDEO]

Just out from the Lincoln Project: The Lincoln Project today released a new video, “How It Starts”, a warning about how Trump, Bill Barr and Chad Wolf are ordering unnamed and unmarked agents into our streets. Against a backdrop of falling poll numbers, rising COVID-19 infections, and a revealing Fox News interview, it’s clear that President Trump is rapidly losing …

Read More »

Missouri Gov Vows To Pardon St. Louis Gun Brandishers

The Associated Press reports: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson told a radio host that based on the information he’s received, it’s likely he would pardon a white St. Louis couple if they are charged for brandishing guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion. Democratic Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is investigating Mark and Patricia McCloskey, both in their 60s, for …

Read More »

Trump Defends Feds’ Authoritarian Abuses In Portland

The Independent reports: Donald Trump said he is trying to “help” the city of Portland amid controversy over a decision to send federal agents to crack down on protests there. Local lawmakers accused the Trump administration of an “abuse of power” for deploying masked, militarised federal agents to the city, ostensibly to protect federal buildings. The officers have been accused …

Read More »

Trump Threatens Tax Exemptions For Universities: “Too Many Schools Are About Radical Left Indoctrination”

The Independent reports: Donald Trump escalated his feud with school systems and colleges that started over whether they should reopen this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, threatening their tax-exempt status. The president accused “too many” colleges and school systems of “radical left indoctrination” of students, verbiage ripped from his 2020 re-election campaign. According to the Association of American Universities, a …

Read More »

Reporters To Sue Bolsonaro Over Exposure To COVID

The Latin American Herald Tribune reports: The Brazilian Press Association announced  today that it will file a lawsuit before the Supreme Court against President Jair Bolsonaro, whom it accuses of “endangering” the journalists who attended the announcement of his positive COVID-19 test result. “Despite knowing he was infected with COVID-19, President Jair Bolsonaro continues to act in a criminal manner …

Read More »

Bolsonaro Vetoes COVID Aid For Brazil’s Indigenous People, Told Staff “Wearing Masks Is A Faggot Thing”

The Associated Press reports: Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday vetoed provisions of a law that obligated the federal government to provide drinking water, disinfectants and a guarantee of hospital beds to indigenous communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Brazil’s indigenous population of roughly 850,000 is more vulnerable to the COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, as they live …

Read More »

FB Axes Disinfo Pages Linked To Bolsonaro And Sons

Reuters reports: Facebook Inc on Wednesday suspended a network of social media accounts it said were used to spread divisive political messages online by employees of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and two of his sons. The company said that despite efforts to disguise who was behind the activity, it had found links to the staff of two Brazilian lawmakers, as …

Read More »

Brazilian President Announces Positive Test For COVID

The Guardian reports: The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has announced live on television he has tested positive for coronavirus. “It came back positive,” a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told a hand-picked group of reporters on Tuesday lunchtime. Bolsonaro, 65, has repeatedly trivialized the pandemic and flouted social distancing, even as Brazil became the second-worst hit country after the United States, with more …

Read More »

Bolsonaro Experiencing Symptoms, Takes COVID Test

CNBC reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has scoffed at risks of the coronavirus, has undergone another test for Covid-19 shortly after the presidential palace said the right-wing leader had displayed symptoms consistent with the disease. Bolsonaro, 65, told supporters gathered outside the presidential palace in Brasilia on Monday that he had taken a test for the virus and “everything …

Read More »

Trump Delivers Dark, Divisive Speech At Mt. Rushmore

The Washington Post reports: At the foot of Mount Rushmore’s granite monument to his presidential forebears, President Trump on Friday delivered a dark speech ahead of Independence Day in which he sought to exploit the nation’s racial and social divisions and rally supporters around a law-and-order message that has become a cornerstone of his reelection campaign. Trump focused most of …

Read More »

Pentagon Appointees To Face Trump Loyalty Tests

Foreign Policy reports: A pair of 20-something White House staffers will begin conducting interviews with political appointees at the Defense Department starting next week, three current and former U.S. officials told Foreign Policy, a move that some fear could lead to more dismissals of Pentagon officials considered disloyal to President Donald Trump. The White House liaison office sent an email …

Read More »