Arquivo para a ‘Social Network’ Categoria
New variant and covid 19 on the rise
28
Nov
Although the numbers are not the same as the peak 
of the pandemic, the upward trend in cases remains and a new concern emerges as a worrying factor.
According to the German Primate Center (DPX), the Leibniz Institute and the Friedrich Alexander Erlangen Nurbnerg University, the therapies currently approved to treat people at risk of developing severe cases of Covid-19 are also not effective against the viral variants that are in worldwide ascension, especially the underlining of }omicron BQ.1.1. on the rise worldwide.
Also the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) which regulates drugs in the United States as well as the European Medicines Agency (European EMA0, the previous vaccines do not work for this variant, new vaccines in tests are already being used, and as always there are already denialist theory circulating, and the excessive lockdown in China already generates a wave of protests.
What is at stake, as at the beginning of the pandemic, is the fall or rise, now with previous experience, of a new lethal wave over all of humanity, the picture promises to get worse if measures are not taken or if they are not accepted by already exhausted populations containment and preventive measures.
The number is not exaggerated, neither in the moving average in the number of cases, in Brazil in the range above 20 thousand daily cases, nor in the number of deaths, in Brazil less than a hundred (80 at the weekend). However, the rate remains (see the figure).
In addition, in the Brazilian case, the tumultuous transition and government, which generates a certain inertia in the health system, where costs are also high and, according to the elected government, very chaotic.
In the northern hemisphere it is winter and this worries even more, the inefficiency of preventive measures is also a concern, not to mention the aggravating factor of a war that undermines the energy sources necessary for heating environments and coping with the cold, especially in the region where the war does not give truce.
Everyone in the world, and especially in Brazil, is expected to show some sense from the authorities who are ultimately responsible for the health and lives of thousands of people at risk.
Raphael and the World
24
Nov
Manuel Alegre is a contemporary Portuguese poet when he
was a military man in the then colony of Angola, he participated in the first rebellion that tried to free Angola from the yoke of his country (he was arrested by the PIDE, Salazar police), he won several awards, including the Camões Prize in 2017, he wrote “Jornada da África” in 1989, “Alma” in 1995 and “The third Rose” in 1998, between others of course, but his book that we reference here is “Raphael” (in picture used in figure of its cover).
During his period of exile after his arrest, he lived in Algiers, which is why he will refer to Rafael in the novel as someone who lived under different pseudonyms, sometimes he feels Spanish, Portuguese or Algerian, but Manuel Alegre’s deepest feeling is of a citizen of the world, nameless and looking for references.
In the Book Rafael goes from house to house, from hotel to hotel, changes his name, lets his mustache grow, wears glasses without lenses, uses a passport in hotels where he hides his citizenship and another to travel, in each new document a name and a different profession, he is clandestine within himself, he has lost his references and his own personal identity, he already is and he is not, he does not use his first name, he has four or five pseudonyms that he prefers, whether he is French, Spanish or Algerian, he is alone, not in the proper sense, as a solitary literature might wish, but as a member of an international brigade, he feels solidarity with it.
Ser e não ser has already been written by William Shapespeare, but in Manuel Alegre it acquires a contemporary meaning, the citizen of the world in solidarity with all peoples, I make here a mystical incursion, which is not in your book and which I consider important, not to be is also part of Being when we are in solidarity with other peoples, customs and cultures, and in my case without losing our own, also the name of the archangel Raphael is significant for me, in Hebrew origin El is God and Rafa is healing, so Raphael has the meaning God heals, here in the sense of a socially and culturally sick world for not recognizing other values and cultures.
I know 23 countries, 4 in Latin America, 19 in Europe, especially Spain and Italy because of my ancestry, and Portugal where I saw more clearly all the influence in Brazil, but I still feel Brazilian and today’s debut day of the national team in the World Cup around the world I will be with neighbors and friends cheering for the national team, without this meaning hatred or contempt for other peoples and cultures.
Christians and Social Crises
23
Nov
Christian values that are universal are those that promote
fraternity among men and for this they make use of their so-called theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, among them it is charity that has the greatest precedence.
Without charity, an essential aspect of those who profess religious faith in the advent of Jesus, a feast that begins next week, whose culmination is Christmas, without this charity neither the greatest altruism nor the greatest virtue can achieve the true Christian faith.
In times of crisis men not only lose fraternity, in fighting for their own survival and vision of the world, they also lose hope and with this grows not only hatred, but also intolerance, fear and division between peoples and nations.
So it is truly heroic to continue to promote charity and faith, and at different times in history it has even been necessary to go to the point of martyrdom to keep them as values, it is not just the misunderstanding of Christian values, but of all human values that come into play. game when hatred and division thrive in many ways.
Dangerous times as we remembered in the previous post can be particularly difficult.
When Christians are also attacked, this is where their true faith and values are tested, says a passage from the Gospel of Luke (Lk 12:13): “Before these things take place, you will be arrested and persecuted, you will be handed over to synagogues [false temples ] and put in prison, you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be the occasion when you will testify to your faith”, but the gospel promises divine protection.
Thus we are not immune to human difficulties and divisions, but we seek unity.
Tough times and bad prophecies
22
Nov
It is a fact that great changes and perhaps even revolutions are
underway at this time in human history, however the interpretation of false prophets is earthly and not divine, since they only look at earthly facts, is there something divine also going on?
For those who believe there is always, but what is speculated in false prophecies is the end of the world or the new coming of Jesus (Parousia), says the apocalypse through Jesus when he asks when this end time will be (Rev 2,8-9 ): Jesus answered: “Take heed that you are not deceived, because many will come in my name saying, ‘It is I!’ and again, ‘The time is at hand.’ Do not follow these people! When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be terrified. These things must happen first, but it will not be the end right away.”
Impossible clearer, but there is also something divine in the air, civil disruption has taken ethical and moral values together, even the strictest justice seems to slip through authoritarianism and tendentious arrogance, the religious also seem confused, the politicians even worse, pure radicalization blends in with authentic proposals and values of social change and appreciation for the most socially disadvantaged.
Thus, there is a picture of a civilizing crisis: market imbalances, great powers in economic, social conflicts and at war or close to it, absence of a study leader and international organizations that have confidence and credibility, everything is biased and polarized to the extreme.
In the religious field, more spiritual trends are becoming clear and others are merely political and earthly, in the Islamic world there is a lot of tension and the struggle for civil rights, in Iran there is a strong struggle for women’s rights, there are also tensions in the eastern world, in addition to the crisis in China and from North Korea, the ancestral and cultural values of the East are also in check, although the official discourse denies this, young people already question it.
In Brazil, the political polarization reaches the extreme, the elections are questioned and before taking office there are already problems in the new PT government that should start in January, new road blocks and a new wave of Covid 19 is a concern again, the perspective understanding the transition between radically opposed policies is difficult not only in the executive branch, but also in the legislative and legal branches.
To those who believe, God always acts in the extraordinary, that is, what men and earthly values do not reach, so something can be expected in the divine plan, but it is always totally different from human rationality, it is unpredictable and completely disconcerting for men, Who would have thought that Jesus was raised in a village called Nazareth, today it has 72 thousand inhabitants, in the time of Jesus less than 10 thousand.
For those who believe there is always a ray of hope, there is always a divine light feeding and clarifying human reality.
New high in cases of Covid 19
21
Nov
Up for eight days, according to Uol’s website, with an average of 235%
compared to two weeks ago, the regions with the highest growth in Brazil are the Southeast with 333%, the Northeast with 228%, the North with 170% , the South with 160% and the Midwest with 93%, the numbers worry researchers, such as the Fiocruz Foundation.
Data from the foundation of Boletim Infogripe 45/2022 state that 47% of cases of respiratory diseases are due to Covid 19, and in a note on Saturday (11/19) it notes that new infections of covid 19 have skyrocketed across the country, the most The detailed data indicate that respectable infections were 10.3%, 3% for influenza A, 0.3% for influenza B, 24.2% for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and 47% for Sars-Cov-2, among the deaths the presence of the same micro-organisms of the positive cases was 4.1% for influenza A, 0.01% for influenza B, and 1.4% for RSV while 83.6% for Sars-Cov-2 which is alertly, since even the number of deaths is still not great, the percentage is higher than the cases of respiratory viral infections.
The raw data are more than 600 daily deaths in recent days and the moving average reaching 15,500 cases, which characterizes the continuity of the pandemic process.
Sanitary restrictions are still partial, as it is a festive period it is possible that there is a higher tolerance limit, which is worrying, because even though commercial spaces remain open, it is almost politically impossible for them to close, care could be greater with hygiene and prevention with masks and alcohol gel, it is a fact that the population is tired, but it is preferable than going to death.
Government bodies need to take urgent measures, the current political crisis cannot prevent the pandemic from having new tragedies and the virus circulating more widely.
As we always do an analysis of the war in Eastern Europe, due to the seriousness and possibility of extending the war to the entire planet, we make a brief analysis of the retreat of the Russian forces at the same time that they try to undermine the country’s air defense and energy capacity, a since the cold has already started there and heating is vital for human life in Europe.
The damage caused by the missile that was launched towards Poland, with strong indications that it was launched from Ukrainian soil, diplomatically weakens Ukraine and makes the West rethink military and financial aid in the country, the war will have dramatic contours in winter terms humanitarian.
The zeal of the house consumes me
18
Nov
Any parent, boss or zealous administrator must take care of his
“home”, we can also think of the entire planet as our common home, thus not only the economy, cultures but also the environment.
This zeal should consume all of us, taking care only of personal interests is not just selfishness, it is also a form of ignorance, because personal interests depend on common ones, what do we do if there is a lack of rain and therefore a lack of water, what do we do if the environment does not help the plantations and the cost of food in a deteriorated environment, everything is a common interest influencing the individual.
It is not true that only some are responsible and others are not, so conferences like the COP27 that takes place in Egypt should be of interest to everyone, but here we want to remember a mystical body referred to in chapter 2 of the Gospel of John, where it reads (Jn 2,17): “his disciples remembered that it was written: “The zeal for your house will consume me” referring to the attitude of Jesus when he saw that the religion of his time had become a trade (similar to the present day) and Psalm 69, where verse 10 recalls this passage.
Chapter 2 of John recalls the wedding at Cana, a supernatural event, and Jesus’ fury upon seeing corruption around the temples, a natural event, so the zeal is supernatural and human at the same time.
More serious than this the problem of war, we remember in the previous post the passage in which Jesus cries when entering Jerusalem and seeing how far it is from a meeting of peoples and nations and prophesies that it would be totally divided and in permanent war, see the accuracy of this vision 2,000 years ago.
But the prophecy for our days is in the books of Revelation, although this is synonymous with catastrophes and the end of the world, the passages refer to both past and future times, the death of Jesus and his resurrection is an apocalyptic event because the great passion paschal updated the passage of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land, and anticipates the passage of humanity to a future full and fruitful life, all this before the end of time, which we do not know when it will come.
In the Easter event, when seeing Jesus on the cross suffering and watching his impotence, they mocked saying “it is not the Christ, save yourself” (Lk 23,39), the divine permission of such atrocious suffering may seem inexplicable, however, this it is the meaning of the “passage” from one state to another, in any natural or supernatural event, this occurs from a “rupture” of a change of context and some strong and catastrophic-looking event happens, so the current times are distressing , but also full of hope.
Although these are troubled times, God is not indifferent to history, and certainly this “passage” will also have his presence and interference.
The Civilization Crisis and Peace
17
Nov
The missile in Poland and the attack in Istanbul may not
be related at all, but if they are, it is the outbreak of a crisis that could lead to the third world war, because in Turkey a woman from the PKK, the Communist party Curso, was accused of planning the recent attack while the missile that fell in Poland, which is a NATO member country, may have come from a Russian base.
The process of world polarization has already been visible since the election of Trump in the United States, in 2017, the idea of America becoming great again, found a response from the current competitor China and more recently from Russia, which returns to dream of the great homeland soviet.
We posted several times about the danger of winter, because it is strategic for the war, the NATO countries and Ukraine that must resist the shortage and the high price of oil and gas, and Russia that destabilized the plants and energy sources in Ukraine to weaken it during the winter, which also affects Europe.
The desire for peace remains among men of good will, religious people of true faith, which does not exclude Eastern and Muslim religions, but the picture is increasingly worrisome and war does not only need weapons, it mainly needs fuel on the fire of current polarization that hides the true economic interests that finance even well-intentioned meetings on the planet, but with the hidden desire to divide and rule, there are great economic and market interests at stake.
Thus, peace must start from a daily attitude of hope, tolerance and fraternity, which in a climate of war becomes ever greater, more declared and involving a greater number of people.
The fruits of war and polarization for the weakest population are evident and there is no doubt that the highest price of belligerent attitudes will fall on the poorest and most vulnerable.
The arrogance, intolerance and greed for power of the greediest go beyond the limits of civility and challenge even sincere pacifists, they want to make conflict inevitable and take advantage of it.
The biblical passage where Jesus said about his desire for peace in Jerusalem (see map), symbolic until today for concentrating great conflicts, is also significant for today (Lk 19,42-44):
“If you also understood today what can bring you peace! Now, however, it is hidden from your eyes! Days will come when enemies will make trenches against you and surround you on all sides. They will crush you and your children. And they will not leave a stone upon a stone in you. Because you did not recognize the time when you were visited”.
There is no religion in belligerent desires, they are not worthy and cannot be confused with faith and true hope.
A good tree bears good fruit
16
Nov
The idea that it is necessary to disorganize to obtain a new order,
is neither revolutionary nor democratic, it is a reflection of bad doctrine and bad theories, it is necessary to maintain a serene and peaceful path so that the fruits of a healthy and balanced society can be produced.
We are far from this, but the rupture can mean an even greater evil and we know that it is not just a matter of national values, but international ones, different names are given to this: the great reset, a new world order, crisis of capitalism or socialism (both have problems) and deep down it is a process of civilizing crisis.
What is this crisis, the one that several theorists and politicians pointed out in the past, the result of totalitarian and perverse theories of power, of the fragmentation of knowledge that does not see man as a whole, but in specific aspects and [and of course of unhealthy minds that lead society down tortuous paths.
Two wars, totalitarian regimes (not forgetting the dictatorships of Franco in Spain, De Gaule in France, Mussolini and Salazar), socialist revolutions, capital crises, sacrifices of the African colonies and Islamic radicalism in the Arab world.
The scenario can prepare the greatest of decoys if we do not pay attention to the fruits of those leaders who, even proposing peace, social harmony and the defense of the environment, prepare hidden and unconfessable interests behind the scenes.
The biblical parable of the servants who are left with values to administer the goods of the owner who travels far away serves to identify the true good administrators through their fruits, says the passage after the owner praises the good administrators who have borne good fruits for the administration, says to the one who did nothing with what he was given to manage (Lk 19:22-23):
“ ‘You wicked servant, I judge you by your own mouth. You knew that I am a severe man, that I receive what I didn’t give and reap what I didn’t sow. So why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? Upon arrival, I would withdraw it with interest”, it is not difficult to identify these bad administrators.
Of course, the biblical passage speaks of the spiritual life, but the lesson of material goods is still important, bad administrators lead to impoverishment and the loss of social gains.
Among the corrupt, thieves and the blind
15
Nov
Blindness is not the privilege of a few, but birth blindness would
be something almost incurable because the cognitive apparatus is not prepared to see, corruption is practically an addiction, a compulsion and difficult to reverse as a character, and finally, theft is a compulsion not only moved by hunger, but mainly by the desire of usurpation and envy of many.
There are in the Bible three rare and personal cases in which there is a complete reversal of these values, this to show the radicalism and strength of faith on paradigmatic cases, the rich and runt Zacchaeus who needs to climb a tree to see Jesus has a radical change of life , the man born blind is healed and the thief crucified next to Jesus, who tradition has called Dimas, is not only redeemed but is invited to go to paradise, said from the mouth of Jesus: “he will still be with me today”.
These examples are to understand why life and society require change and conversion not only in large social plans, but in the individual attitude, however small it may be of each person, a moral and personal conversion is necessary to reverse a situation of obscurity.
In Brazil, it’s Republic Day, and the republican spirit means treating it with the “res” public thing, and Plato’s classic work brings some important thoughts, which need to be updated, of course (photo Praça da República, São Paulo, Brazil)
An interesting universal thought in Plato’s work is: “and each of us does not seek to obtain a certain particular benefit not common to all”, in another passage: “the evil that is not discovered becomes worse still, while, when discovered and punished, the bestial element calms down and softens…”, in short, these are republican norms that must be respected.
Plato, who believed that the soul was immortal, not in the Christian sense, states that it is “capable of enduring all evils, as well as all good, we will always keep to the ascending road, and in any case we will practice justice and wisdom.” ”, which are essential.
Plato Republic. (Wikipedia).
New Alert from Covid 19 and the war
14
Nov
The sudden increase in cases of Covid 19, in the new variant that
we posted here last week BQ.1, made the authorities issue a new alert, and at first complete the vaccination especially for those who did not take the second booster dose, according to data from state secretariats would be 68 million people.
The use of masks in closed environments is also recommended again, as well as good social distancing, especially in the elderly and immunosuppressed.
The curve still points to a low number throughout the country moving average above 8 thousand cases, among public people in Brazil, reporter Galvão Bueno and singer Joelma were diagnosed with Covid 19, there are also reports of hospitalization cases, although experts say that the subvariant is weaker than the previous ones.
According to Fiocruz, the states most affected by the new wave are the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Amazonas, but there are already cases and practically all Brazilian states, abroad this wave had already been reported since October.
According to the area coordinator at Friocruz: “As laboratory data take longer to enter the system, it is expected that the number of cases in recent weeks will be greater than that observed in this update, and may even increase the number of states in such a situation. ”.
It is recommended to resume protective measures such as hand hygiene and use of a mask.
As we always post an overview of the war in Eastern Europe, whose concern grows with the arrival of winter, the important news of the week is the withdrawal of Russian troops in Kherson, but the difficulties of energy sources in Ukraine are increasing, after the Russian strategic bombings .
The idea of some kind of agreement that could at least give a truce during the winter grows.
