RIO: Painter Michael D’Antuono, created this depiction of Barack Obama posed as Jesus Christ.

The painting is a powerful statement about America, as it is the U.S.’s sins Obama is dying for.

Article from O Globo: Pintor retrata Barack Obama como Jesus Cristo
More discussion at Painter depicts Barack Obama as Jesus Christ

Marc is a writer and improviser in Chicago. Check out his improv work at Octavarius.com>

BRAZIL: A 9 year-old girl was raped and impregnated by her step-father and got an abortion. Disgusted by the abortion, the Catholic church excommunicated everyone involved except the rapist. However, the case has focused new attention on the sexual abuse of children in Brazil.

This story was barely covered in the US while the case was happening. There is an old Magellan post about it in reference to an El Tempo article. Now the story has made it to the New York Times.

New York Times article: Amid Abuse in Brazil, Abortion Debate Flares

BRAZIL: A Brazilian Archbishop accused the Jews of owning the worlds advertising and said that more Catholics than Jews died in the holocaust. The article is in Spanish, but if you can read it, it is very interesting. The Catholic Church is very powerful in Brazil.

El Tmpo article: Arzobispo brasileño acusa a judíos de ocultar hechos del Holocausto

RECIFE, BRAZIL: Abortion is illegal in Brazil, a strongly Catholic country, except in very rare cases. One such case got media attention recently, when a 9 year old girl was found to be pregnant with twins after being repeatedly raped by her stepfather. The doctors determined that the girl was not physically incapable of bringing two children to term at her age. They received permission and performed the abortion.

Their local archbishop, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, condemned the act, and excommunicated the girl, her mother, and every doctor involved in the proceedure. As far as I’ve heard, the stepfather was not excommunicated.

“The law of God is above any human law,” the archbishop told the Globo newspaper on Thursday.

Al Jazeera article: Brazil abortion case sparks row