BRAZIL: Sao Paulo Water Crisis Worsens

The world's third-most populous city may soon only have water for two days a week.

The worst drought to hit São Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, in decades may leave many residents with water service only two days a week. São Paulo’s water utility company, Sabesp, says a five-days-off, two-days-on system would be a last-ditch effort to prevent the collapse of the Cantareira water system. The reservoir is the largest of six that provide water to about six million of the 20 million people living in the metropolitan area of São Paulo. The utility says Cantareira is now down to 5.1 percent of its capacity of 264 billion gallons. A utility official, Paulo Massato Yoshimoto, said Wednesday that “rationing could happen if rainfall does not increase in the reservoir area soon.” Details of how a rationing plan might be put in place were not released.

More analysis:

The worst drought in nearly a century continues to plague Sao Paulo state and neighboring Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states in southeastern Brazil; the nearly 30 million people living in the extended municipal complex of Sao Paulo have been dealing with extremely low reservoir levels for more than a year. In fact, the water reserves have fallen so low that they are now below the dead level, the point at which the water must be pumped up to reach the pipes connecting the reservoir to the greater distribution system. We are already seeing reports and anecdotal evidence of limited water availability in Sao Paulo, from limited flow to lack of availability in whole neighborhoods. The consumer will feel the greatest impact of the water shortages, but it will not be just households that will have to adjust. Large commercial consumers of water such as the petrochemical, steel, ethanol and textile manufacturing industries in Sao Paulo state account for approximately 70 percent of Brazil's total industrial water use.

According to Reuters, the Amazon lost another 2300 square miles of rainforest just last year.

The Girl From Empanada

Three Brazilians have gone on trial for murdering women and selling their remains to their neighbors as meat pies. Via the Associated Press:

Three people charged with killing at least two women, eating parts of their bodies and using their flesh to make and sell stuffed pastries went on trial Thursday in northeastern Brazil. The man, his wife and his mistress were arrested in April 2012 in the city of Garanhuns and police say they have confessed to the crimes. The three allegedly lured women to their house by promising them a job as a nanny. Police found the remains of the two women in the backyard of the suspects' house. At the time of their arrest they told police they belonged to a sect that preached "the purification of the world and the reduction of its population."

I denounce myself for using that headline. And you for the inevitable Sweeney Todd jokes.

Sao Paulo Is Almost Out Of Water

The world's third-most populous city may be out of water in just a couple of weeks.

São Paulo, a Brazilian megacity of 20 million people, is suffering its worst drought in at least 80 years, with key reservoirs that supply the city dried up after an unusually dry year. One of the causes of the crisis may be more than 2,000 kilometers away, in the growing deforested areas in the Amazon region. “Humidity that comes from the Amazon in the form of vapor clouds - what we call ‘flying rivers’ - has dropped dramatically, contributing to this devastating situation we are living today,” said Antonio Nobre, a leading climate scientist at INPE, Brazil’s National Space Research Institute. The severity of the situation in recent weeks has led government leaders to finally admit Brazil’s financial powerhouse is on the brink of a catastrophe. São Paulo residents should brace for a “collapse like we’ve never seen before” if the drought continues, warned Vicente Andreu, president of Brazil’s Water Regulatory Agency. Dilma Pena, chief executive officer of Sabesp, the state-owned water utility that serves the city, warned last week that São Paulo only has about two weeks of drinking water supplies left.

The region's main reservoir is only at 5.3% of its capacity. According to the above-linked Reuters report. the Amazon lost another 2300 square miles of rainforest just last year.

World Cup Open Thread

Judging by Twitter, many of the nation's offices have suspended work to watch the USA vs Germany match. If you're among those folks, here's an open thread to weigh in, at least on the hotness of the players.

UPDATE: The USA has lost.

Another World Cup Jesus Flap

This time it's an Italian company.

The Brazilian Catholic Church has threatened to sue after Italian broadcaster Rai digitally draped Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue in a soccer jersey to promote its coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. A church lawyer for the Archdiocese of Rio compared the “blasphemous” move to making a commercial in which “mulatto girls engaged in lewd behavior with the gladiators of the Coliseum.” "The Archdiocese is deeply offended," Rodrigo Grazioli told O Globo, confirming that the church is considering slapping Rai with a $5.4 million lawsuit. If they win, the church promises to give the money to a charitable organization.

The commercial is at the link.

World Cup Jesus Sparks Outrage

As the World Cup prepares to start in Rio De Janeiro, an Australian betting site is floating a massive hot air balloon in the shape of the iconic Christ The Redeemer statue in the skies of Melbourne. Local Christian groups are outraged:

"This is extraordinary, if they knew anything about Jesus they'd know he'd be overturning tables in the gaming halls, because they're highly addictive and destroy lives," the Chair of Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce told ABC. "Is betting to absolutely dominate not just casino and gamble areas and TV rooms, but now literally the sky?" he asked. Rev Costello has since called on the Football Federation Australia (FFA) to call out the controversial campaign. "One of the great statues in Rio is Jesus, and Brazil is a Catholic nation that takes its faith seriously and its football fanatically," he said.

Australia's top news site reacts:

Christ! That was unexpected. If you woke up in Melbourne this morning and noticed a 12-story inflatable Christ the Redeemer balloon floating over your house, you weren’t hallucinating. You were, however, witnessing one of the most audacious public relations stunts we’ve seen in ages. Predictably, this stunt has incurred great indignation from religious groups and assorted members of the professionally outraged. The link between gambling and religion is being labelled offensive and disrespectful by politicians and church spokespeople. Never mind that gambling is rammed down society’s throat every day on the footy field and just about everywhere else. Associate Jesus with it, courtesy of a giant novelty balloon flying by the window, and it’s apparently much worse.

At 150 feet high, the balloon is bigger than the statue.

BRAZIL: At Sao Paulo Gay Pride 2014

The world's largest gay pride parade took place in Sao Paulo yesterday.

President Dilma Rousseff, who is seeking another term in October elections, gave a message of support via Twitter. "People from around the country are in Sao Paulo today to participate in #paradalgbt," Rousseff tweeted, reminding her followers there is a hotline people can call in Brazil if they are attacked because of their sexuality. They were surrounded by mainly young, beer-swigging marchers dressed as anything from angels to devils and police officers. "We attended mass in a church near here and then came to the march," said Cassia Maria, 53. "I am Catholic -- apostolic and Roman. But I stick my fingers up against discrimination," she smiled as her husband viewed on his cellphone footage of examples of physical abuse meted out to gay people in Brazil.

Organizers of the parade claimed three million attendees last year, but local police have contested that number, saying it is impossible to accurately judge the "floating population" of such events.

Now On Sale In Brazil

Via Gay Star News:

Just two months before Brazil hosts the FIFA World Cup, clothing stores are selling T-shirts calling soccer players ‘faggots’. Sergio K, a Brazilian brand, have revealed several designs for football fans to wear during the June and July sporting season. The simple T-shirt designs call Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo ‘gay’ and retired Argentine footballer Diego Maradona a ‘maricón’ (a faggot). The designer defends the T-shirts, which are being sold for around €62 ($85), as ‘irreverent’ and not offensive. He is also claiming they are selling out in stores across the country.

A petition has been launched against the company.

Lightning Damages Brazil's Christ Statue

Multiple lightning strikes blew the right thumb off Brazil's famous Christ The Redeemer statue.  Gawker has more amazing photos.

BRAZIL: 130 Couples Participate In Mass Wedding As Rio Legalizes Gay Marriage

Yesterday Rio De Janeiro became the 14th Brazilian state to legalize same-sex marriage. Over 130 couples married in a mass wedding at the state's Superior Court of Justice.

In mid-May, Brazilian courts determined that public offices that oversee marriages cannot reject gay couples, even though Brazil's national congress has passed no law on the matter. Some public offices had already been accepting marriage applications from homosexual couples, while others denied them. An emotional Viviane Soares Lessa de Faria, 38, smiled at her partner and told news site G1 "I've dreamed of marrying her since I met her." Her wife's 29-year-old son was the couple's best man. For Giuseppe Laricchia, 21, marrying his boyfriend was about guaranteeing rights. "We need to have equality compared with heterosexual couples," he said.

(Via Towleroad)

Oh, Meu Deus

A Brazilian comedy troupe takes a dig at the people who see Jesus in tree stumps and toast.  (No tree stumps or toast are in this clip.) Click play then hit the quote bubble for an English transcript.

BRAZIL: Airborne Activists Harass Anti-Gay Commissioner Of Human Rights

Back in June, Brazilian Human Rights Commissioner Marco Feliciano, who is a virulently anti-gay pastor, supported a bill that would re-legalize "gay cure" therapy, which has been banned since 1999.  The bill passed its first hurdle in a House of Deputies committee, prompting protests in several major cities, but was withdrawn the following week by its sponsor when it became clear it would fail before the full House. A few days ago this happened on a domestic flight in Brazil:

Pastor Marco Feliciano claims he was harassed by gay activists on an aircraft, saying, "They want respect but do not give respect." Feliciano has published a report on his Twitter account of harassment suffered by him during a flight between Brasilia and São Paulo, on the morning of Friday, August 9. According to the congressman and others on the flight, some gay activists began to harass him with curses and with the song "Robocop Gay." Feliciano also said that passengers intervened and defended him, but with the size of the turmoil, the aircraft commander threatened to return to the capital.

(Tipped by JMG reader Robert)

Brazil's New Journalists: The Midia Ninja

JMG reader Robert notes there's lots of gay activism among Brazil's rise in citizen journalists.  This clip is a great example.

Brazilians Protest "Gay Cure" Bill

EuroNews reports:

In the midst of the biggest nationwide protests against the government in decades Brazilians have taken to the streets to express their anger at a controversial law known as the “gay cure” proposed by the the president of the Brazilian Parliament’s Commission for Human Rights, Marco Feliciano. If passed the change in legislation would permit psychologists to treat “homosexuality” as an illness.

(Tipped by JMG reader Robert)

BRAZIL: Evangelicals Force Approval Of Bill Legalizing "Gay Cure" Therapy

Brazil outlawed "ex-gay" therapy in 1999, but yesterday a congressional commission approved lifting that ban after pressure from evangelicals.

The commission is led by evangelical pastor Marco Feliciano of the Social Christian Party (JMG: above), who has been accused of homophobia and enraged activists by calling AIDS a “gay cancer” in a tweet. His appointment as head the Commission for Human Rights and Minorities in the lower house of Brazil’s Congress was fiercely opposed by gay and human rights groups. “In practice, (the initiative’s) result would be that a person over 18 years of age, responsible for his actions, who is homosexual and wants to reorient his sexuality, can be attended by a psychologist,” said lawmaker Joao Campos, a member of the evangelical bloc of Brazil’s lower house.

The bill must now be approved by other committees in the House of Deputies as well as the Senate.

BRAZIL: Protests And Riots Rock Major Cities Over Government Spending

Massive protests took place across Brazil last night, partially in reaction to government spending plans for the World Cup and the Rio Olympics. Rioters in Rio De Janeiro set fire to the state legislature building. Protesters claim that social services and aid to the poor are being cut in order promote sports and tourism to Brazil. The New York Times reports:

Sharing a parallel with the antigovernment protests in Turkey, the demonstrations in Brazil intensified after a harsh police crackdown last week stunned many citizens. In images shared widely on social media, the police here were seen beating unarmed protesters with batons and dispersing crowds by firing rubber bullets and tear gas into their midst.

“The violence has come from the government,” said Mariana Toledo, 27, a graduate student at the University of São Paulo who was among the protesters on Monday. “Such violent acts by the police instill fear, and at the same time the need to keep protesting.”

While the demonstration in São Paulo was not marred by the widespread repression that marked a protest here last week, riot police officers in Belo Horizonte dispersed protesters with pepper spray and tear gas. In Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil, police officers also used tear gas against protesters.

In Rio de Janeiro, where an independent estimate put the number of protesters around 100,000, televised images showed masked demonstrators trying to storm public buildings including the state legislature, a part of which was set on fire. In Brasilía, the police seemed to be caught off-guard by protesters who danced and chanted on the roof of Congress, a modernist building designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer.

Click the below Vine clip to see last night's protest in Rio.

Updated Global Marriage Map

After last week's first gay wedding in France, the Agency France-Presse posted the above map.

LIVE VIDEO: Sao Paulo Pride

The world's largest gay pride event is underway in Sao Paulo and you can watch it live here. Crowd estimates range as high as four million.  Their first parade in 1997 only had 2000 participants!

BRAZIL: 100,000 Evangelicals Rally Against Same-Sex Marriage In Rio

An estimated 100,000 evangelicals staged an anti-gay march in Rio de Janeiro yesterday in protest of the recent ruling that effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Via On Top Magazine:

According to the AFP, the demonstrators ended their march at the Cinelandia square, where pastors spoke out against such unions and the faithful prayed. Gospel singers such as Marcelo Aguiar and Bruna Karla and the rap group Ao Cubo were among those who performed at the annual March for Jesus (Marcha para Jesus). Several elected officials appeared at the event, including Mayor Eduardo Paes. “We say no to sin, no to corruption, no to homosexuality,” a participant was quoted as saying. “We say yes to Jesus.” The ruling, handed down earlier this month by the National Council of Justice, says notary publics cannot deny a gay couple's request for a marriage license.

Brazil's Social Christian Party has filed a legal challenge to the ruling.

Human Rights Watch Names 2013 "Hall Of Shame" Anti-Gay Villains

To mark today's International Day Against Homophobia, Human Rights Watch has posted its top four global villains in the battle for LGBT rights. Among those named is Pat Robertson's ACLJ, which has been exporting anti-gay hate across the globe.

The American Center for Law and Justice; President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia; Vadym Kolesnichenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament; and the Ukrainian political party Svoboda are undermining human rights by actively promoting homophobic policies, Human Rights Watch said. The 2013 Human Rights Watch “Hall of Shame” inductees were selected for endangering the lives and dignity of LGBT people in 2013. They strongly contributed to a homophobic and transphobic environment during the past year, Human Rights Watch said.

Here's what they say about Pat Robertson's group.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), for attempting to export homophobia to Africa. Founded in 1990 by the Baptist Minister and televangelist Pat Robertson, and headed by Jay Sekulow, its chief counsel, the ACLJ strongly opposes LGBT equality and reproductive rights in the United States and across the globe. It works through offshoot organizations such as the East African Centre for Law and Justice (EACLJ) in Kenya, the African Centre for Law and Justice (ACLJ) in Zimbabwe, and the Brazilian Center for Law and Justice (BCLJ) in Brazil. The EACLJ unsuccessfully lobbied against Kenya’s progressive new constitution in 2010 solely on the basis that the constitution’s anti-discrimination clause could eventually be used to advance LGBT equality and that it allows for abortion when the mother’s health is at stake.

My most recent posts about the ACLJ are here.