Brazilian Impeachment Vote

The Parliament in Brazil is voting on the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. This is the result of an anti-corruption probe, which resulted in the arrest of dozens of politicians, bankers and executives. The opposing sides are apparently working their strategy like a Lions vs. Browns game.

“It’s like a football game when the two sides are so bad, the final result will come down to who made the fewest mistakes,” said Gabriel Petrus, political analyst with Barral M Jorge consultancy firm in Brasília.

Low information voters abound in other countries as well, based on this quote,

“It’s pretty hard to explain to normal people the grounds on which they’re trying to impeach her,” said Mathieu Turgeon, a political scientist at the University of Brasília

Perhaps Trump’s campaign has been taking notes on how to stir up the people. Speaking of stirring up the people…

Obama’s Perpetual Campaigning and Narcissism Collide

Obama’s greatest achievements remain getting elected. Now that he no longer has any reason to run a campaign, he’s decided that he hasn’t done enough to help others around the world (see #10), and is weighing in on the UK’s potential EU exit (BREXIT). As is usually the case, he doesn’t really know what he’s doing, but he is sure he has the answer. British Cabinet Minister Chris Grayling said,

…the US President did not realise how much power had been handed to Brussels… I don’t for a moment think that President Obama would tolerate a situation where the United States gave away as much of its sovereignty as we have to Brussels. It is inconceivable. The Democrats, if they advocated that, would be hammered at an election.

I don’t think Grayling really understands how much power and sovereignty Obama has been willing to concede over the past 7+ years. Speaking of meddling…

Iranian Army Day

Iran held it’s annual Army Day today to showcase all the new fun toys they received from Russia, including the S-300 missile defense system they’ve been waiting for since 2007.

Iran insists the system is necessary to defend itself from threats of attack, including possible bombing of its nuclear facilities, and the S-300 would allow early detection of approaching aircraft.

The delivery of this system had been on hold due to international sanctions against Iran because of their nuclear ambitions. I said from the beginning that the US sanctions meant nothing without the rest of the world, and once removed putting them back in place without the rest of the world would be meaningless. On a brighter note…

King Abdullah Funds Sepulchre Restoration

King Abdullah of Jordan, a direct descendant of the Islamic prophet of Muhammad, has offered to help pay the restoration of The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem from his own personal wealth.

“We are reaping the fruits of these efforts in this age when sectarian wars are burning entire countries as can plainly be seen,” Theopolis III said in a statement, as reported by the Jordan Times. “His Majesty constantly reiterates that Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites are a red line, which Jordan will not permit to be crossed. Also, that Jordan continues to uphold its religious and historic responsibilities toward the entirety of Al Haram Al Sharif with the utmost commitment and seriousness.”

In a world consumed by conflicts instigated by Islamic extremists, it’s good to see another side to Christian/Islamic relations. Speaking of world calamities…

Keep the people of Japan and Ecuador in your thoughts and prayers as they recover from devastating earthquakes.

That’s it for today’s Water Cooler. As always, mingle amongst yourselves in the comments.