Biden attacks Trump and MAGA Republicans as threat to American democracy

President Joe Biden, in a rare prime-time speech, condemned Donald Trump and his "MAGA Republicans" as he urged the nation to unite against threats to American democracy.

Biden took the stage shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday at Independence Historical Park in Philadelphia, where several hundred people were sitting in white lawn chairs and Independence Hall's facade was lit up in red and blue.

"This is where the United States Constitution was written and debated," Biden said. "This is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of self government the world has ever known."

"But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault," he continued. "We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise. So, tonight, I've come to this place where it all began, to speak as plainly as I can to the nation about the threats we face, about the power we have in our hands to meet these threats and about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it."

President Joe Biden speaks about the soul of the nation, outside of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Sept. 1, 2022. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

The president mentioned his Oval Office predecessor by name as he assailed Republicans who refuse to accept the 2020 election results, defend those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 or want to strip away abortion rights and other privacy concerns.

"Too much of what's happening in our country today is not normal," he said. "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic."

Biden made a distinction between the so-called MAGA Republicans and other conservatives, stating "not every Republican embraces that extreme ideology."

"I know, because I've been able to work with these mainstream Republicans," he said. "But there's no question that the Republican party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans and that is a threat to this country."

Biden's urgent rhetoric mirrors his 2020 messaging, in which he presented himself as a clear contrast to Trump and the race itself as an inflection point for the nation.

He made that comparison again Thursday, telling the crowd: "Now America must choose to move forward or to move backward, to build a future obsessed about the past, to be a nation of hope, unity, and optimism or a nation of fear, division and of darkness."

Administration officials had teased Biden's speech as an extension of his "soul of the nation" message, which first emerged in 2017 after white supremacists clashed with counter protesters in Charlottesville, West Virginia -- the incident Biden said inspired him to run for president.

Biden on Thursday said all Americans are called by "duty and conscience to confront extremists" and to reject political violence.

"We are still at our core a democracy, and yet, history tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy," he said.

President Joe Biden speaks outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Sept. 1, 2022.

Matt Slocum/AP

Biden's appearance in Philadelphia is his second of three stops in the battleground state of Pennsylvania this week alone.

At Wilkes University, where made the case Tuesday for his administration's plan for policing and crime prevention, Biden went after MAGA Republicans for their response to the Jan. 6 attack and the FBI search at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

"For God's sake, whose side are you on? Whose side are you on?" a fired-up Biden asked.

The GOP issued a preemptive rebuttal of Biden's remarks, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy speaking in Scranton (Biden's hometown) just hours before the president took the stage in Philadelphia.

McCarthy criticized Democrats on inflation, crime and the border before demanding Biden "apologize for slandering tens of millions of Americans as fascists" after the president previously described the ideology being adopted by MAGA Republicans as "semi-facism."

"What Joe Biden doesn't understand is that the soul of America is the tens of millions of hard working people, loving families, and law-abiding citizens whom he vilified for simply wanting a stronger, safer, and more prosperous country," McCarthy said.

"The soul of America is not the ruling class in Washington, it is the law-abiding, tax-paying American citizen," McCarthy said. "The soul of America is our determination to get up and go to work everyday, provide for our families, to love our children, be involved in their education and ensure that this nation and its people always come first."

- ABC News' Justin Gomez, Mary Bruce, Sarah Kolinovsky and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

#Biden #attacks #Trump #MAGA #Republicans #threat #American #democracy https://www.globalcourant.com/biden-attacks-trump-and-maga-republicans-as-threat-to-american-democracy/?feed_id=19073&_unique_id=63116ac906291

Australia PM accuses Morrison of 'trashing' democracy

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused former PM Scott Morrison of “trashing democracy” after revealing that while his predecessor was in power, he took on five ministerial roles without the knowledge of most lawmakers or the public.

Then Prime Minister of Australian Scott Morrison, right, and Labour Party leader Anthony Albanese take part in a debate in Brisbane on April 20, 2022. (Jason Edwards / AP)

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that his predecessor secretly seized control of five ministerial posts, labelling it an "unprecedented trashing of our democracy".

Albanese said on Tuesday Scott Morrison had appointed himself to more ministries than initially thought, and promised further investigation.

From March 2020 until he was swept from power in May elections, Morrison appointed himself to oversee the departments of health, finance, home affairs, treasury and resources, Albanese said.

The prime minister said he had asked the country's Solicitor General to advise him on whether Morrison's actions, which he called a "shadow government", were legal.

"It is completely extraordinary that these appointments were kept secret by the Morrison Government from the Australian people," he said.

'Necessary actions during Covid'

Morrison on Tuesday said his actions were necessary during the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that they were made during a "very unprecedented time".

Some ministers of the former government have said they were not told that Morrison appointed himself to their portfolios – including then finance minister Mathias Cormann, now secretary general of the OECD.

In the wake of the revelations, Karen Andrews, who was home affairs minister in the Morrison government, called for the ex-PM to resign from parliament.

READ MORE: Australia's Labor Party wins outright majority in parliament

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3dROfjM24s[/embed]

'Secrecy involved in this ... bizarre'

The political firestorm has drawn scrutiny of the Morrison government's handling of the pandemic, and his decision to block a controversial offshore gas project after making himself the resources minister.

Morrison's conservative coalition lost power in May's election, ending nearly a decade of centre-right rule.

In Australia, elected politicians are selected by the prime minister before being sworn in by the governor general in a formal ceremony that is usually publicly recorded.

Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey described the allegations as "bizarre" and said it raised possible legal challenges to some of the former government's decisions.

"The secrecy involved in this is just simply bizarre. I mean, you know, you just wonder what's wrong with these people, if they have to do everything in secret," she said.

"It's just utterly inappropriate. We live in a democracy, which requires transparency."
READ MORE: Australian PM Albanese outlines draft Indigenous recognition vote

Source: AFP

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/australia-pm-accuses-morrison-of-trashing-democracy/?feed_id=11476&_unique_id=62fb23867455c

Thousands rally in Brazil in 'defence of democracy'

Demonstrators march in several cities to demand fair elections in October amid fears President Jair Bolsonaro would not accept the outcome if he loses the presidential vote.

Thousands hold up banners denouncing Bolsonaro and proclaiming: "Respect the vote, respect the people." (AFP)

Thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets in a symbolic "defence of democracy" march after President Jair Bolsonaro's sustained attacks on democratic institutions just weeks ahead of elections.

Thursday's demonstrations in several cities were sparked by fears that the far-right leader, currently lagging behind in opinion polls, would not accept the outcome of October's vote given his repeated attempts to cast doubt on Brazil's electoral system.

"After 200 years of independence in Brazil, we should be thinking about our future... but we are focused on preventing a regression," University of Sao Paulo rector Carlos Gilberto Junior told a gathering of hundreds of academics, businessmen, trade union leaders and civil society members.

Outside the campus, thousands held up banners denouncing Bolsonaro and proclaiming: "Respect the vote, respect the people."

Some were dressed as electronic voting machines, which Bolsonaro claims, makes rigging the elections easier.

At the university gathering, a video was shown of Brazilian artists reading out a petition "in defence of the democratic state of law."

The petition has garnered more than 900,000 signatures since being posted online weeks ago.

Demonstrations were also held in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Recife.

Voters in Brazil cast their ballots electronically at voting stations. But Bolsonaro has long argued for a paper printout to be made of each vote cast, suggesting the absence of a paper trail enables cheating.

He has not provided evidence of fraud, and the Superior Electoral Court insists the system is fair and transparent.

Violence feared if 'Brazil's Trump' loses

Last month, Bolsonaro repeated his claims at a meeting with foreign ambassadors, prompting the US embassy to later declare that Brazil's electoral system was a "model for the world."

His repeated attacks have led analysts to fear Bolsonaro may refuse to accept defeat like his former American counterpart Donald Trump, whose supporters stormed the US Capitol building after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

Several Brazilian business associations have also published open letters of concern, including the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) and the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (Fiesp).

This is seen as a setback for Bolsonaro, who drew much support from the business sector in his 2018 election.

According to the latest opinion poll by the Datafolha Institute, published on July 28, Bolsonaro lags 18 points behind former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is the favourite to win the election.

Source: AFP

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/thousands-rally-in-brazil-in-defence-of-democracy/?feed_id=9698&_unique_id=62f58b6a33aa2

Myanmar junta executes leading democracy activists Ko Jimmy and Phyo Zayar Thaw

Veteran democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, and former National League for Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zayar Thaw were executed, along with Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported, without giving a date.

Their deaths mark the first judicial executions in the country in decades, and human rights groups fear more will follow. According to Human Rights Watch, 114 people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.

Ko Jimmy and Phyo Zayar Thaw were accused by the military of being "involved in terrorist acts such as explosion attacks, killing of civilians as informants," junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun previously told CNN. They were sentenced to death in January 2022, and last month Zaw Min Tun confirmed their appeals had been denied.

Civilian cases have been tried in military courts with proceedings closed to the public since the military seized power last year, ousting the elected government and reversing almost a decade of tentative democratic reforms.

Rights groups say these secretive military tribunals deny the chance to a fair trial and are designed for speedy -- and almost certain -- convictions, regardless of evidence.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said in a statement Monday he was "outraged and devastated" by the executions.

"My heart goes out to their families, friends and loved ones and indeed all the people of Myanmar who are victims of the junta's escalating atrocities," he said. "These individuals were tried, convicted, and sentenced by a military tribunal without the right of appeal and reportedly without legal counsel, in violation of international human rights law."

Acting Asia director for Human Rights Watch, Elaine Pearson, called the executions "an act of utter cruelty," that "followed grossly unjust and politically motivated military trials."

"This horrific news was compounded by the junta's failure to notify the men's families, who learned about the executions through the junta's media reports," Pearson said in a statement Monday.

A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier the UN was "deeply troubled" by the decision to execute the men, calling it a "blatant violation of the right to life, liberty and security of person," referring to an article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Amnesty International said it has recorded an "alarming" increase in the number of death sentences in the country since the takeover that it said were designed to "sow fear."

"The death sentence has become one of many appalling ways the Myanmar military is attempting to sow fear among anyone who opposes its rule, and would add to the grave human rights violations, including lethal violence targeted at peaceful protesters and other civilians," the organization said on Twitter in June.

An Amnesty report from 2021 said the last judicial execution in Myanmar known to have taken place was in 1988. There have been numerous death sentences in the country since, but they've usually been "commuted through mass pardons," Amnesty said.

CNN has been unable to independently verify when the last execution by the state was carried out in Myanmar.

Prominent activists

Phyo Zayar Thaw, 41, was formerly a lawmaker in Myanmar's lower house of parliament for the then-ruling National League for Democracy -- the party of ousted state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Before becoming a politician, Phyo Zayar Thaw was a popular hip hop artist and a founding member of pro-democracy youth organization Generation Wave. He was imprisoned in 2008 by the previous military regime for his activism.

In November 2021, Phyo Zayar Thaw was arrested during a raid on an apartment complex in Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon. He was accused of planning attacks on junta targets and charged under the Counterterrorism Law and the Public Property Protection Act, according to local media.

Ko Jimmy became a prominent student activist in Myanmar during the mass popular uprising against the then-military regime in 1988. He spent about 15 years behind bars for his activism and involvement in the 8888 demonstrations and 2007 Saffron Revolution.

According to local media, Ko Jimmy was detained in October 2021, accused of organizing guerrilla attacks on junta targets and charged with treason and terrorism offenses. He was also wanted by the regime for allegedly inciting unrest because of social media posts criticizing the coup.

Since seizing power, the military junta led by Min Aung Hlaing has embarked on a bloody crackdown against any opposition to its rule. Nearly 15,000 people have been arrested and more than 2,000 killed by military forces in that time, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The military has been accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes by the US, UN and other international bodies as it attempts to assert control over the people, who continue to wage a mass resistance campaign.

"The junta's barbarity and callous disregard for human life aims to chill the anti-coup protest movement," Human Rights Watch's Pearson said Monday.

"European Union member states, the United States, and other governments should show the junta that there will be a reckoning for its crimes."

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/myanmar-junta-executes-leading-democracy-activists-ko-jimmy-and-phyo-zayar-thaw/?feed_id=1702&_unique_id=62de317a05f6d