MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Lula was questioned for five hours and later called the corruption case “a farce”
Brazil's former president Lula da Silva called the corruption trial threatening to end his storied career a “farce” during almost five hours of testimony on Wednesday. Lula is accused of receiving a seaside apartment as a kickback from the OAS construction company, and if found guilty could be barred from running for office and even jailed, destroying his hopes of coming back to power in the 2018 presidential elections. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesTHAT reminds me of an old joke [Tempted to call Lula as an “Old Joke”- I confess!]:
May 11th, 2017 - 12:23 pm - Link - Report abuse +1God was creating the world. An angel sees him creating Brazil and says:
“My Lord, this is unfair. Look at this country you're creating.
Tropical climate, no snow, no hurricanes, no tornadoes, no earthquakes or volcanoes, rich mineral deposits, biggest forest in the world, plenty of water, fertile soil and intelligent fun-loving people. They are going to be the most powerful nation on Earth”.
God looks at him, laughs and says:
“Wait until you see the kind of politicians I am going to put there...”
Totally predictable - when Lula was faced with facts he couldn't deny, he didn't, but took them and put his own spin on them....when asked about the really hairy matters - such as his meetings with Renato Duque in 2013-14-15 - he downplayed the issue as it if they had been casual meetings of no importance... he alleged that he had heard rumours that Duque was stealing from PB and had a secret account abroad and wanted to know if it was true...Lula's version of the encounter : Duque denied having any foreign account and Lula was satisfied ; Duque's version : Lula ordered him to close the foreign accounts where he (Duque) and the PT had hidden funds syphoned off from PB, and to destroy any evidence he might have....Lula's allegation that as ex-president, he had no knowledge of, or nothing more to do with PB, his insistence with Vaccari Neto to arrange the meetings with Duque, a person he claims ' he did not know', is very strange, and contradicts all the testimony presented by not only one, but several ex- PB directors ; when confronted with these suspicious events, he resorted to his usual style of denying any knowledge of them - 'não thei de nada“ - and even tried to be sarcastic, showing a degree of cynicism worthy of the dirty crook he is.
May 11th, 2017 - 03:46 pm - Link - Report abuse -1He claimed that in Feb 2014 he had decided the 'triplex' was unsuitable for his family, and told Leo Pinheiro he would think about it....despite this claim, his wife, the late ”Maritha Letíthia”, went ahead in August of the same year, with the total remodelling of the flat ...private elevator, swimming pool, gourmet kitchen - identical to the one in Atibaia - at the cost of R$ 1 million, to OAS....and in Oct 2014, felt it was 'necessary' to go public (why ?) and announce they would take a pass on the flat.....just days after the “Lavajato” investigation was launched....of course, just a mere coincidence.....
He conveniently blamed his dead wife, claiming he knew nothing of what she was up to.
Curitiba, Brazil, Wednesday, May 10, 2017.
May 11th, 2017 - 08:10 pm - Link - Report abuse -2“Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva struck a defiant note after testifying for five hours Wednesday, telling thousands of supporters that the corruption case against him has been big on suspense but little on substance.” abc news
According to Zanin, the five cases swirling around Lula share common features.
“All are what we call frivolous accusations and without any materiality, because they are accusations that are not accompanied by any minimal evidence whatsoever,” he said. “Prosecutors and delegates put forward a thesis, and even if they can not get any material evidence to support this thesis, it becomes a court case.” 11 April 2017
It's theoretically impossible that not even one testimony - out of literally hundreds - can prove that SOMEONE is Undeniably and Unmistakably INVENTING Fairy-Tales.
May 11th, 2017 - 10:29 pm - Link - Report abuse -1But if that impossible DOES happen, Lula & his gang:
- have an excellent chance to escape practically undamaged financially and with unharmed credibility
- get back in power
- continue to steal larger sums without leaving a smoking gun behind [they have learned this well - thanks to the so-called Operation Car-Wash!] AND
- get even with the investigators & the judicial system.
:o))
May 11th, 2017 - 11:00 pm - Link - Report abuse -2“Not even one testimony - out of literally hundreds - can prove…
“ACCUSATIONS AGAINST LULA ARE FALSE
April 11, 2017
As it is important to remember, 102 people have already been heard in the proceedings involving the former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, among which are the notorious informers as well as prosecution and defense witnesses. None of these witnesses mentioned anything that could associate Lula to any crime related to Petrobras or the properties mistakenly attributed to him, … “
http://www.averdadedelula.com.br/en/2017/04/11/accusations-against-lula-are-false/
But OF COURSE: https://i0.wp.com/www.humorpolitico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dona-Marisa-e-Lula.jpg?resize=580%2C409
May 12th, 2017 - 10:50 am - Link - Report abuse -1@TH
May 12th, 2017 - 01:39 pm - Link - Report abuse -2Of course. How do you cut short the career of the most successful president in a country 's history when the formerly coup d'état resource is no longer possible?
Easy.
You use members of the conservative judiciary, that is. A legal case may drag for as long as it's needed, and if no proof is found in the end, too bad for the fallen guy.
You can't accuse the wealthy class for lack of creativity.
THAT's creativity: https://i2.wp.com/www.humorpolitico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/lula-cara-de-pau.jpg?resize=580%2C400
May 12th, 2017 - 02:39 pm - Link - Report abuse -1Lula is guilty of various crimes, he is going down, regardless of the 'mortadelas' that support him.....as far as the toad is concerned, he's happy to let his late wife - nothing to write home about - take the blame. Typical.
May 12th, 2017 - 08:01 pm - Link - Report abuse -1But, neither he, nor some other idiots on this forum, are worth my time...
“Guilty of various crimes”
May 12th, 2017 - 10:52 pm - Link - Report abuse -2102 Witnesses, funny how they can’t lay glove on him in spite of all the many claims.
IF at all Lula can still manage to “escape”; let's call him HOUDINI! :o))
May 13th, 2017 - 01:34 pm - Link - Report abuse -1:o))
May 13th, 2017 - 06:05 pm - Link - Report abuse -2For one who’s best choice for a Moniker is ‘Bone head’. “It is better to be silent and thought to be ignorant then to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.” R. G. Risch
Jack Bauer
“The proof against Lula….” So far it remains unrevealed. Out of ‘cite,’ out of mind.
“The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.” quote by Unknown
THill,
May 13th, 2017 - 10:10 pm - Link - Report abuse 0....”the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it” (quote by unknown), therefore, won’t waste any more of my time with your bs…
Jack Bauer
May 13th, 2017 - 10:52 pm - Link - Report abuse -2Correction, first half : Lula 102 witnesses x Moro 0….
Ladies and gentlemen....
May 14th, 2017 - 11:42 am - Link - Report abuse -1Allow meto introduce... the next president of Brasil...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PcQo35lle0Y...
(Sorry for you... Anglo monolinguals...
Ya don't know what you are missing... ;-)))
TH can actually read! Hearty Congratulations! :o))
May 14th, 2017 - 12:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0:o))
May 14th, 2017 - 08:45 pm - Link - Report abuse -2yeah, he might be able to read, but is not able to understand it.....haven't you noticed that 90% of the time he quotes what others say ? he is unable to think logically and express his OWN ideas....in that sense, he is a true 'petista'...
Jack Bauer
May 15th, 2017 - 02:23 am - Link - Report abuse -2IOO% of the time your quotes are what no one else can confirm. “He quotes what others say “ As confirmation of the truth of my claims. Otherwise I’d be like you a confirmed liar.
Who exemplifies Trump’s tenet of “Believe me”
“Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; States of Affairs; First published Tue Mar 27, 2012
Philosophers connect sentences with various items, such as thoughts, facts and states of affairs. Thoughts are either true or false in an absolute sense, never both or neither.”
plato.stanford.edu/entries/states-of-affairs/
@JB
May 15th, 2017 - 05:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I wasn't going to post but I accidentally downvoted you when I agree - except for the part about TH being a Petista, because Lula at least can express his own ideas.
@DT
May 15th, 2017 - 08:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Sure Lula can express his ideas...he is no fool, and I've never said, nor think he is an idiot either. After accompanying his trajectory since the early 70's (I worked in the automotive industry in the ABC, as did Lula, when he stuck his finger in a lathe), and to be honest , I don't believe Lula is a communist...or a fascist....he has always longed to be a 'bon-vivant' - nothing wrong with that - and now he's managed to become one, through being a crook, aligning himself with the 'elite' , in order to profit handsomely from it, in detriment of the people he swore to defend - plenty wrong with that.. he wants to maintain his ilegally obtained fortune at any cost, and to live like a king, but to do that he needs to stay in politics (power) to try to guarantee the status quo....something which isn't working out too well for him...
TH, and EM for that matter, are blind defenders of “lulopetismo”, so you ain't gonna get much sense coming from either...
Blind or deaf, dumb AND blind? :o))
May 16th, 2017 - 11:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0:o))
May 16th, 2017 - 12:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Opinions are like derrières everyones got one, and you resemble that remark perfectly.
“If it is a Miracle, any sort of evidence will answer, but if it is a Fact, proof is necessary”
Mark Twain
TH:
May 16th, 2017 - 08:22 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Psa 69:27: “May you punish them for their crimes; may they receive no verdict of innocence from you”.
How original of you Terry....must be the 10th time you've used that line (“opinions are like ...”)....
May 16th, 2017 - 09:07 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If you believe in what you write, or rather, what Mark Twain did : “....but if it is a fact, proof is necessary”, why don't you prove the BS 'you' claim is a fact ?
:o))
May 16th, 2017 - 09:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Give me break you’ve pronounced a verdict on someone before their trial is over.
Jack Bauer
If it’s a fact I always show the basis. Unlike you who simply opines. That doesn’t exclude anybody else like Twain from opining also.
THick
May 16th, 2017 - 09:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0your comments are pure, unadulterated bs......but if you're happy....
Fact-less and Feckless
May 17th, 2017 - 12:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0“Pure, unadulterated bs..” Would be true only if I was to act like you.
Due to the support of the [ignorant] masses and due to the loopholes in the Legal System; Lula stands a good [more than 50%] chance; not only to escape a sentence but also to be the next president! ;(
May 17th, 2017 - 10:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0THick
May 17th, 2017 - 05:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Now you are acting like Lula and his incompetent lawyers....with nothing to prove his innocence, far less to counter the proof presented against him, the last resort is to twist the facts and just deny everything....
I couldn't give a damn what you think or believe in, because all that matters is the fact that Lula is screwed...as are your dreams of a Bolivarian Brazil....I presume you also defend madman Maduro, and believe he's a legitimate democratic leader.....why don't you tell us your thoughts on Maduro, and allow us to have a better idea of what an idiot you are ?
Fact-less and Feckless
May 17th, 2017 - 11:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“..with nothing to prove his innocence” What stone have crawled out from under. You don’t have prove your innocence, it’s called the burden of proof you moron.
“..all that matters is the fact that Lula is screwed.” I agree and so does his defence which is why they have paved the way to make him a cause célèbre.
The BIG List: https://i1.wp.com/www.humorpolitico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/fila-de-delacoes.jpg?resize=580%2C416
May 18th, 2017 - 12:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0THick
May 18th, 2017 - 06:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“ You don’t have prove your innocence, it’s called the burden of proof you moron”.
That's exactly what I've been getting at, you moron.....what is the point of calling 102 witnessses, or a 1000, as if numbers made any difference, when none of them can prove anything they say, i.e., that Lula is not guilty....all they can do is be character witnesses, which proves nothing, and besides, they were chosen because Lula knew they would support his story....no matter what.
As to the defence trying to turn Lula into a 'cause célèbre', you are right, and they will probably succeed, but only with the portion of the population that still blindly supports him, and believes in all his lies.... unfortunately that cannot be avoided, but what to expect from a mostly ignorant population that can't think for itself ?....that is exactly what makes it possible for types like Lula to be elected.
Wouldn't put it above the ignoramuses from the northeast to ask the Pope to declare Lula a saint.....
Fact-less and Feckless
May 18th, 2017 - 10:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“what is the point of calling 102 witnessses” The defence usually presents its witnesses as rebuttal to the prosecution witnesses.
Yet again you deliberately misquote what was written for the third time.
“To turn Lula into a 'cause célèbre’… only with the portion of the population” You miss the point entirely , it’s not for domestic consumption. It’s for the world at large.
The Explanation: http://www.robsonpiresxerife.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/charge-do-politico-safado-e-eleitor-idem.jpg
May 19th, 2017 - 01:37 am - Link - Report abuse 0Hindsight is 20 20.
May 19th, 2017 - 06:04 am - Link - Report abuse 0Jack Bauer: you are urgently needed to come up with proof that president Temer is innocent, after he was caught on tape talking bribery.
The proof: REF: https://i0.wp.com/www.humorpolitico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Eike-paga-fianca-e-escapa-da-prisao.jpg?resize=573%2C420
May 19th, 2017 - 09:29 am - Link - Report abuse 0@THick
May 19th, 2017 - 04:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Yet again you deliberately misquote what was written for the third time.”
and you keep on with the same drivel, for the nth time...
“To turn Lula into a 'cause célèbre’… only with the portion of the population” You miss the point entirely , it’s not for domestic consumption. It’s for the world at large.”
I stand corrected...I forgot that there are many stupid people outside of Brazil as well....you are there to prove it.
@Reekie
Wrong : “I” don't need to prove anything....that's the job of the STF after examining the evidence.
BTW, have you listened to the entire recording of the conversation that is supposed to incriminate him ? ??? didn't think so.....anyway just fyi, sounded more like a drunk in a bar (joesly batista) complaining about his wife, and the guy next to him (temer) reluctantly listening to him and saying 'whatever'.....so much so, that the financial market which went haywire yesterday, before the recording was released, after hearing it, has realized that the press made a mountain out of a mole hill, and is back to operating nearly normally..
But IF Temer is proven guilty, let him stand down.
On some other thread you compared Dilma's ousting to Temer's situation, now.....You conveniently forget that Dilma refused to resign, obliging Congress to go through all the legal procedures to get rid of her.....why should Temer act any differently ?
Ohhhh so predictable--and disingenuous Jack!
May 19th, 2017 - 10:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“IF Temer is proven guilty, let him step down.”
Pure rubbish.
“if proven guilty.”
Come on, Jack.
“Lula is guilty of various crimes,” you said in a previous comment.
So you prove Lula guilty before trial, while you ask that Temer be PROVEN guilty.
Reality is, you despise Dilma and Lula because they worked to improve the lot of the poorest--while you want “these people” to be kept at their place.
On the other hand, you are sorry to see the smoking gun has been found about Temer and are ready to cadt doubt on any proof presented.
“Sounded more like a drunk in a bar...”
Be honest once in your life and acknowledge your backward ideology dictates and colours what you do during your waking hours.
In time, you will feel better about yourself.
Fact-less and Feckless
May 19th, 2017 - 11:07 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Yet again you deliberately misquote what was written for the third time.” Thanks for the confirmation of your fraud, since you can’t deny it. “Same drivel” Of truth which you’re unable to refute.
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