Brazil's Lula's Not So Excellent Adventure > Throws a big parade and no-one shows up except him

 

Lula's lonely parade

A million people showed up last week to protest the lack of freedom of speech in Brail after a Supreme Court judge declared war on Elon Musk and X.

Nobody turned out for President Lula's grand parade this past weekend. He looks pretty silly with no-one to wave to.

One would think this might inspire him to get his rogue judiciary under control.

'Antisemitic' Belgian Carnival Gives Up UNESCO Status So They Can Continue Mocking Jews

Aalst mayor: Mocking Jews ‘unavoidable’ in the 2020 carnival

By ROSSELLA TERCATIN
The Jerusalem Post

Giant figures depicting Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel (C) and other politicians are seen during

the 87th carnival parade of Aalst February 15, 2015. The Aalst Carnival, which is inscribed on the

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, often shows informal groups

(photo credit: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS)

A Belgian town that sparked outrage for featuring an antisemitic float in its renowned carnival has decided to renounce their UN cultural heritage status after dealing with the accusations, the German publication DW reported on Sunday.

The mayor of Aalst, Christoph D’Haese, also said it is “unavoidable” that Jews will be mocked again in the 2020 edition.

Aalst Carnival was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

The UN body was scheduled to vote on removing the centuries-old event from its cultural heritage list on December 12, in a move that would have marked the first time in the history of the organization that an entry was up for delisting.

However, the town decided to give up its designation on its own accord. According to German publication Deutsche Welle, D’Haese said that city officials “have had it a bit with the grotesque complaints.”

Grotesque complaints!!! But they have no trouble with the grotesque caricatures of Jews.

In a statement quoted by Belga news agency, D’Haese said “We are neither antisemitic nor racist. All those who support this are acting in bad faith. Aalst will always remain the capital of mockery and satire.”

Aalst has been at the center of a major controversy after one of the 2019 carnival floats presented effigies of grinning Jews holding money with rats on their shoulders.

According to JTA, a float in 2009 featured men dressed like Orthodox Jews wearing fake hooked noses and Palestinian symbols, while the 2013 edition had revelers dressed like Nazis holding canisters labeled “Zyklon B” walking alongside caged revelers dressed like Nazi concentration camp prisoners. Zyklon B was the poison used by the Nazis to kill Jews in gas chambers.

The event attracts tens of thousands of people every year and is famous for being provocative.

And, somehow, they find that funny!!!!??? Good grief! Belgium has a growing community of Muslims, many of which are radicalized or sympathetic to jihad. It appears Belgium politicians, at least those in Aalst, are playing up to these potential terrorists rather than the Jews who have lived in peace in Belgium for nearly 2000 years. Go figure!

“We are on a very dangerous slippery slope when people can decide what can be laughed at,” the mayor said, before adding that more Jewish ridicule is to be expected in the next edition of the carnival.

D’Haese also called the Jewish organizations that criticized the carnival “a power apparatus,” according to the Belgian paper De Standaard. “They are well organized. We have received messages from all over the world, often not in the friendliest terms.”

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, head of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association, said “despite the widespread criticism, despite the clear grotesque antisemitic imagery, despite the opportunity to at least acknowledge the wrong and hurt caused, the mayor of Aalst has consistently remained defiant and mocking. It is sad that when given the opportunity to put things right and return the carnival to universal values of decency, they instead prefer to put themselves outside of the pale. So be it. What we are witnessing tonight is a face-saving exercise, a classic example of someone jumping before they were pushed.”

Astonishing AntiSemitic Float in Carnaval Parade in Belgium

Belgian carnival float features puppets of grinning Jews,

a rat and money bags

BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ  

A parade float at the Aalst Carnaval in Belgium featuring caricatures of Orthodox Jews atop money bags

March 3, 2019. (Courtesy of Brussels Times)

I had to check other sources to see if this hardly believable story was true, and, sure enough, it appears in other publications including the Brussels Times. 1939 is approaching once again in Europe.

(JTA) — Participants in a street celebration in the Belgian city of Aalst paraded giant puppets of Orthodox Jews and a rat atop money bags.

Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs condemned the float Sunday at the annual Aalst Carnaval street celebration as “shocking.” It contains “typical, anti-Semitic caricatures from 1939,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The umbrella groups representing Flemish and French-speaking Jews in Belgium, FJO and CCOJB respectively, complained to the federal UNIA watchdog on racism about the display. “In a democracy like Belgium, there is no room for such things, carnival or not,” they wrote.

The group Vismooil’n created the two puppets as their 2019 theme for the Aalst carnival, the local edition of celebrations that take place throughout parts of Europe and Latin America annually in anticipation of Lent, the 40-day period before Easter. Participants prepare floats and dance routines, parading them through town on Carnaval.

The Vismooil’n group, a veteran participant that specializes in hyper-realistic puppets, created the display to address rising prices, they told a Belgian blogger last month. They titled the work “Shabbat Year.”

The display features two giant puppets with streimels, hats favored by some Orthodox Jews, in pink suits. They both have sidelocks. One of the puppets is grinning while smoking a cigar and extending a hand, presumably to collect money. That puppet has a white rat on his right shoulder. Both puppets are standing on gold coins and have money bags at their feet.

In the background is a round window reminiscent of the architecture of many European synagogues and a small box resembling a mezuzah on its right-hand side.

“Everything has become so expensive [we thought that] if we do 2019, there would be no more money left for next year,” a member of the group was quoted as saying. “So we all went quiet until we smartly decided to go for the Shabbat Year and that was that. So simple.”

In 2013, a different group designed for the Aalst carnival a float resembling a Nazi railway wagon used to transport Jews to death camps.

The people who designed the float, known as the FTP Group, marched near the float dressed as Nazi SS officers and haredi Orthodox Jews. A poster on the wagon showed Flemish Belgian politicians dressed as Nazis and holding canisters labeled as containing Zyklon B, the poison used by the Nazis to exterminate Jews in gas chambers in the Holocaust.

How is this possibly OK in a democratic country? If these people don't end up in jail it will be because antisemitism has become quite acceptable in Belgium, the heart of the EU.

No Consequences for Spanish Priest's Vulgar Behaviour

Playboy priest: Spanish clergyman apologizes for channeling Hugh Hefner in carnival parade

A Spanish priest is seeking forgiveness after exchanging his cloak for a Hugh Hefner ensemble, channeling the Playboy icon during a carnival parade. The clergyman even simulated sex with one of his 'bunnies,' who happened to be a man.

Juan Carlos Martínez typically spends his days leading mass, offering communion, and praying with his congregation. But the 40-year-old clergyman decided to mix things up during last week's carnival celebrations in the Galician town of Cuntis.

Dressed in a red bath robe and captain's cap – the legendary fashion preference of Playboy founder Hefner – Martínez hopped aboard a parade float sandwiched by two men dressed as Playboy Bunnies.

He and his hairy, not-so-feminine bunnies lounged on a trailer made to look like a bed, topped with red satin sheets. They relaxed as they were towed through town by a 4x4.

Martínez and his buddies appeared to be having a good time – so good that he and one of the male bunnies decided to simulate sex while on the float.

Although the encounter likely led to laughs in the crowd, the Catholic Church was less amused, asking Martínez to attend a "spiritual retreat" to reflect on "behavior clearly inappropriate for a priest," La Voz de Galicia reported.

Speaking to his congregation from the pulpit, Martínez said he is genuinely remorseful for his naughty antics, telling the pulpit that he is "so sorry to those who feel offended." He said he had requested an appointment with the Archbishop of Santiago to make a formal apology.

God has a great sense of humour, but is there any way emulating and acting like the most hedonistic man on earth can be called humour, or anything but disgustingly vulgar? It was a parade! There were children watching! What was he thinking? 

Perhaps he should try emulating Christ whose Name he represents and in Who's Name he conducts communion? Did he beg forgiveness from Him? He had better!

However, not everyone seems to share the Catholic Church's disapproving sentiment – many in the town have spoken up to defend Martínez. Dozens gathered to support him when senior priest Calixto Covo arrived to admonish the clergyman.

“Such things happen at carnival, it’s just a bit of fun,” one resident told local broadcaster Antena 3. “He’s a great priest and everyone loves him.”

Martínez's popularity hasn't gone unnoticed by Covo – despite the senior priest making a special trip to give the 40-year-old a dressing-down.

“It’s great that he is well loved by the people he served,” Covo told La Voz de Galicia, adding that there would be no lasting consequences for the priest.

I think you may be wrong there. In fact, I think you ought to be concerned about consequences for there not being any consequences for his appalling behaviour. If this is acceptable behaviour in the Catholic Church, it speaks volumes about the church itself. Congregants, and bishops alike, obviously expect very little in terms of holiness or oneness with Christ from their priests.

Is it even possible to be a church without the fear of God? 

Cuntis, Spain

30,000 Counter-March in Indonesia's War on Christianity

Tens of thousands march in Indonesia to support first Christian governor after ‘blasphemy’ protests

    People attend a rally calling for national unity and tolerance in central Jakarta, Indonesia 
    December 4, 2016. © Darren Whiteside / Reuters

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, to show national unity and call for tolerance after a 200,000-strong Muslim rally demanded the arrest of the city’s first Christian governor for alleged blasphemy.

Crowds holding up ‘We are Indonesia’ signs and waving red-and-white national flags flooded the streets of Jakarta on Sunday, filling a major traffic circle downtown, AP reported.

The rally reportedly was organized in response to two massive protests staged in the past month by hardline Muslim conservatives against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, nicknamed ‘Ahok’ – the first ethnic Chinese governor of Jakarta and the first Christian to hold the post in 50 years.

According to Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono, roughly 30,000 people attended the rally.

The ‘Parade of Indonesian Culture,’ as the unity demonstration was dubbed by its organizers, featured traditional dances from Sabang in the country’s westernmost Aceh region to Merauke in its easternmost Papua region.

Political leaders from President Joko Widodo’s pro-government coalition also attended the rally to promote unity in the ethnically diverse country.

“We have to fight to materialize the aims of our independence. That will not happen if we are scattered, blaspheming, humiliating each other and no longer trust each other,” Surya Paloh, chairman of the National Democratic Party, was quoted as saying by AP.

“Our main enemies are stupidity and poverty. Therefore, we ask the current government to work harder and persistently on fulfilling the people’s aspirations,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, saw at least 200,000 people call for the arrest of Governor Purnama, who has been accused of disrespecting the Koran – a charge that could put him in prison for five years.

“Let’s defend our religion,” Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI) – a hardline Islamist group – said at the rally in a speech quoted by AFP. “Stop all forms of religious blasphemy and put all violators on trial.”

It's not about defending Islam, it's is about attacking Christianity. 

Purnama got into trouble when he used a quote from the Koran in a speech about his political opponents, who he accused of misinterpreting the verse to urge people to vote against him. The Governor has since apologized for his remark, saying that he had intended to criticize his opponents, and not the holy book itself.

It appears Ahok quoted the Quran correctly but is being accused of blasphemy by those who quoted it incorrectly for political purposes. Those are the people who should be on trial for blasphemy. 

Cudos to the organizers of today's parade. To pull together such an extensive cultural event in a couple days is quite extraordinary.

VE-Day Tarnished by New War of Words Between Russia, the West

Once joint celebration has become new high-water mark in 

Cold War II

What if you had a parade and nobody came?

Russian soldiers march in a rehearsal for the Victory Day Parade on May 9,
a national holiday to commemorate the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany

By Brian Stewart,
CBC News 
Only a few years ago it was still possible to imagine Russia and the West coming together to celebrate a shared moment of history — the end of the Second World War in Europe 70 years ago.

That was then. Now we're in a much harsher world in which this week's normal celebratory sentiments have been swept aside by bickering and official snubs as the U.S. and most European leaders make it clear they want nothing to do with Russia's massive military "victory parade" in Red Square on May 9.

There's a stark sadness to such infighting in this of all weeks, which, after all, commemorates the greatest combined achievement of Russia and its war-time allies: their destruction of the genocidal Nazi regime at such enormous sacrifice.

The official surrender took effect late on May 8, but it was already the 9th in Moscow, which explains the later VE-Day there, a national holiday of almost spiritual importance for Russians.

This difference always made it possible for Western leaders to celebrate both anniversaries, first at home and later in Russia. But not this year.

To get a sense of how far relations have soured, consider that a decade ago then U.S. president George W Bush made a point of flying to Moscow to stand with "my friend" Vladimir Putin during the victory parade in order to thank the Russian people directly "for their sacrifice."

Such niceties already seem quaint, part of a brief interregnum before this new Cold War II that we seem to be entering.

Regrets only

In the wake of the Crimea and Ukraine crises and resulting Western sanctions, Europe's leaders certainly don't want to be in Moscow, to be pictured lined up in the shadow of the Kremlin applauding impressive displays of Russian military might and Putin's muscular brand of nationalist fervour.

Almost all European leaders have spurned his invite outright, though German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will travel to Russia a day later for a relatively modest wreath-laying, which hardly appeases Russian anger.

Russia's Vladimir Putin has lashed out at the
West for not sending high-level delegations
to his VE-Day commemorations this year.
Even North Korea backed out,
for reasons of its own. (Associated Press)

This cascade of snubs has Russia seething, and Putin has responded by stirring up more anti-EU and anti-U.S. sentiment in the Russian media, which is not difficult given how much VE-Day means in that country.

He accused Washington of orchestrating the European attempt to besmirch even "this day of pride for our entire nation, a day of supreme veneration of the victorious generation."

"Their goal is obvious: to undermine Russia's power and moral authority," he said, "to divide peoples and set them against each other and use historical speculation in their geopolitical games."

Putin gave no example of this "historical speculation," though it seems to refer to Western attempts to downplay the Soviet Union's pre-eminent role in Nazi Germany's destruction.

There is little evidence for this charge, however, for few in the West and no serious historian would deny the Soviet Union's crucial part in winning that war.

The mighty Red Army

Russians bore the brunt of fighting Germany's massive ground forces, and best estimates are that 25 million Russian soldiers and civilians died in that conflict.

Without Soviet endurance and fighting power it's hard to see how the Western allies, including Canada, could have forced Germany's unconditional surrender.

Fully 80 per cent of all German soldiers killed in the Second World War died fighting the Soviets, causing even British leader Winston Churchill to remark, "It was the Red Army that tore the guts out of the Wehrmacht."

A profound ceremony on all sides.
A member of Germany's armed forces lays a
cardboard coffin containing the remains of
recently discovered World War II
German war dead last week. (Getty Images)

Today, it is certainly not denial of Russia's war sacrifices that is behind the boycott of the Moscow parade.

Rather it is the growing concern that Putin's aggressive foreign policy may again threaten large parts of Eastern Europe and is primarily responsible for the nervous Cold War-like distrust settling over the continent.

What's more, combative rhetoric on both sides of the divide has stirred up the kinds of dark WW2 emotions that divide rather than unite.

In recent months, Moscow has accused the Ukrainian government of being dominated by Fascists and neo-Nazis, and Putin has pushed overstatement to the point of comparing the Ukrainian army's campaign in the eastern breakaway belt to the Nazi siege of Leningrad — which killed over 700,000 civilians.

For their part, the leaders of those Eastern European nations that were occupied by the Soviets after Germany's defeat have been unnerved by this new hostility and some are firing back in kind.

The Polish government infuriated Russia by pointing out Germany started the war by invading Poland in 1939 only after Hitler and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact in order to brutally split Eastern Europe between them.

It has also reminded neighbours that the entry of Soviet troops in 1944-45 essentially replaced German tyranny with an oppressive Soviet one that lasted decades.

'Revision is provocation'

Moscow's full sensitivity was on display last week when its foreign ministry denounced, as "sacrilegious," Warsaw's refusal to allow a small pro-Putin motorcycle club to enter Poland on the way to VE-Day events in Berlin.  

Some nations, including China and India, will still send leaders or their representatives to the Kremlin parade. But Moscow's anger is undiminished.

Alexander Zaldostanov (front) also known as "Khirurg" (The Surgeon),
leader of the pro-Kremlin Night Wolves bikers' club, heads to a press conference
 in Brest on April 28. Ten of the pro-Kremlin bikers, on a controversial ride
to Berlin for VE-Day, were denied entry into Poland. (AFP/Getty Images)

When Latvia, one of the three Baltic states once occupied by the Soviets, suggested recently it might even remove Soviet-era war memorials from its territory, Moscow roared an ominous warning: "Revision of history is a provocation, and Russia cannot tolerate this."

Given the current poor climate of East-West antagonism, this infighting over VE-Day is a very worrying development.  

Soon after the end of the Cold War, VE-Day became one of the key occasions to bring Russia and the West together.

If it is now to become a week simply to recharge and unleash old historical feuds, we're in even more trouble than we realize. 

Brian Stewart

One of Canada's most experienced journalists and foreign correspondents, Brian Stewart is currently a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Munk School for Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He also sits on the advisory board of Human Rights Watch Canada. In almost four decades of reporting, he has covered many of the world's conflicts and reported from 10 war zones, from El Salvador to Beirut and Afghanistan.