One thing I’ve always appreciated watching Brazilians play soccer: they’re so inventive and they improvise so well under pressure. Apparently this skillset wasn’t shared with Brazilian politicians and their rabid supporters who have resorted to ripping off American classics.
Fans of Brazil's far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro invaded and defaced the country's Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court yesterday. It was a sad and disappointing echo of the January 6th “Capitol invasion” you may recall, carried out two years ago by fans of Ol’ Donald. Although there were no immediate reports of death, the rioters left a clear path of destruction, throwing furniture through the smashed windows of the presidential palace, flooding parts of Congress with a sprinkler system and ransacking ceremonial rooms in the Supreme Court. The horror.
Brazilian police eventually amassed at a camp of Bolsonaro supporters in the capital to make mass arrests, but only after these rioters launched the worst attack on Brazil's state institutions since its return to democracy in the 1980s. There have been hundreds of arrests reported so far, but that number could rise into the thousands over time. And imagine that; the police made arrests right away instead of allowing every participant the opportunity to return home.
Meanwhile, the man of the hour, Bolsonaro himself, was probably wandering around a Publix in Florida, living out his NPC fantasy. Strange that the US would give safe haven to a criminal foreign dictator as he enjoys a retirement funded by the wealth of his people and watches his old empire burn. How odd indeed.
Side Items
NYC Nurses on Strike: The oldest story in the capitalist nightmare, nurses in New York are working long hours in unsafe conditions without enough pay – sounds familiar? The union representing the nurses said an offer of 19% pay hikes isn’t enough to solve staffing shortages. These health care workers can only be exploited so much until they’re pushed too far. Nobody wants to live in a society where the people taking care of the sick aren’t well taken care of themselves
The World’s Best Restaurant Is Up for Grabs: The #1 rated restaurant on the planet, Noma in Copenhagen, is closing its doors (at the end of 2024). The head chef, René Redzepi, openly admits that fine dining at the highest level is unsustainable, with the grueling hours and intense workplace culture, and it’s hit a breaking point. But fear not, if you still want to try grilled reindeer heart on a bed of fresh pine, and saffron ice cream in a beeswax bowl (I do not) you may still have that chance, as Noma will pivot to becoming a “full time food laboratory”, whatever that is
Question- What do you think is the answer to the nurse's strike?