Arquivo para a ‘Politics’ Categoria
Innocence, purity and peace
13
Aug
It seems contradictory and even innocent,
in a way it is, but in a world so troubled with so many urgent problems, talking about peace, purity of feelings and behaviors is not only naive for those who believe in violent solutions, they are proving insufficient.
If we prepare for war we are convinced that it and only it is the solution, however, they produce more injustices, more inequalities and only dictators and powerful people benefit from them, they are not bothered by financial crises, innocent deaths because In your mind, only your personal safety and well-being matters.
Also authors of great works, such as Edgar Morin, who talks about the resistance of the spirit, the limitation of a tragedy of great proportions feeds sick minds in all spheres, they believe that this could be a “sign of the future”, but it is the sign of a past, also on the threshold of the First and Second World Wars, many authors warned of this, such as Karl Kraus.
The purity of children should be observed more closely, they may even fight, but soon they want to make new friends so they can play with their friends, they don’t take everything to heart and fire, unless they are encouraged by adults, and there are those who do this unfortunately.
They want the common good, wishing everyone well and wanting a more equal and peaceful world is not just any thought, it is at the foundation of every civilization that bears this name, the warlike nations and empires disappeared after a tragic decadence.
In ancient times, the Greeks spoke of the Highest Good, aretê (virtue) and the education of the citizen, the ultimate objective of both Plato and Aristotle, it was still a society of slaves and where children and women had few rights, but this goal already existed.
Desiring peace, being inspired by the purity and joy of children’s coexistence, can take us away from the perverse thoughts that surround our daily lives, from divisions, hatred and grudges.
Putting out fires
12
Aug
With the initiative of Egypt and Qatar, supported
by other countries, there is an attempt for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that would avoid a likely retaliation from Iran for the assassination of Hamas leader, Ismil Haniyeh, in Tehran, at the end of last July .
Iran considers it possible, but demands an end to Israel’s incursions into the Gaza strip, Israel is preparing as if war were inevitable, and this would raise a new front of global war between the West and now the Arab world.
The other front in the war between Ukraine and Russia with increasing NATO involvement, Ukraine launched a surprise attack on Russian territory in the city of Kursk where intense fighting is taking place, with Russia recruiting young people for military service again.
Two worrying situations at nuclear plants also occurred this weekend, one in the city of Rostov, where a new plant was switched on and there were concerns about a unit having some malfunction, but the plant’s chief engineer, Andrey Gorbunov, said according to press sources: “we are working at maximum efficiency”, saying that it was routine maintenance.
More serious was a fire yesterday, at the facilities of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in the south of Ukraine, this Sunday (11/08), as reported by the Reuters agency, located in a war zone, on Ukrainian territory, but under the control from Russia, both countries exchanged accusations for the fire caused, the president of Ukraine, Zelensky, claims that the situation is under control and radiation levels are normal.
Evgeny Balitsky, an official stationed by Russia in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, accused Ukraine of starting the fire by shelling the nearby town of Enerhodar, and Russian officials said the plant “suffered serious damage for the first time” from the attack.
Thus, the danger of wars, which produce enormous losses and human lives, the risk of an “accident”, a hasty or cruel attitude, such as murders, can trigger irreversible processes and create an irreversible global climate of wars and horrors.
The hope that peacekeeping forces, and in the case of competent technical force plants, will avoid greater tragedies than those that wars already cause, deaths and human despair of civilians and innocent people.
What justice and peace we want
06
Aug
In the previous post we talked about peace and
freedom, peace is not the Pax Romana that meant the submission of the defeated, those who practice injustice need to divert life from its natural course in the lives of people, they need to change humanism by transforming it into something perverse , transform ancient cultures into a strange culture, remove from it what is most original and true, disrespect the poor and helpless by confusing it with desires for power and greed typical of oppression.
Few men try to avoid these traps, with this the idea that a “successful” person means that they were lucky, “blessed” or through strategies they knew how to accumulate wealth, but there are also perverse structures that benefit from power, and many of them are in the power structure, which is why it is a source of influence.
But there is another path, that of inheritance, throughout history only the winners tell their glories, “to the Vencedor the potatoes” says the character Quincas Borba (figure) in Machado de Assis’s novel (brazilian writer) with the same name, where he develops the idea of humanitas, which sees war as a form of selection of the fittest, thus justifies the oppression and impoverishment of the wronged.
The character Quincas Borba is a kind of atheist philosopher, who became rich after inheriting the assets of an old uncle, a resident of Barbacena, State of Minas Gerais, where he stayed in this city for a while before dying.
The one who will enjoy the fortune left by Quincas Borba will be Rubião, a modest inhabitant of the interior of Minas Gerais, who receives his fortune and decides to go and live in Rio de Janeiro, thus speaking of migration from the interior to the big cities, not from the perspective of the poor. who go in search of work, but the rich who go in search of a good life.
Rubião goes to the city and will try to apply the Humanitas philosophy developed by Quincas Borba and this is actually the theme of the book.
In addition to the literary and historical aspect of the novel, characteristic of the time (the novel Quincas Borba was published for the first time in 1891), Rubião, at the same time that he enjoys an easy fortune, is a victim of his provincial credulity, of which his friends who welcome him in the “big city” they will enjoy it.
The theme is universal, even if painted with historical Brazilian colors, in addition to the injustices towards the poor and helpless, the tricks and machinations that also take away the possessions of people who, having earned easy money, don’t know how to use it well and get lost in traps set by greedy false friends.
Thus, freedom cannot be conditioned by perverse structures or autocratic forms of power, it must actually contemplate the justice of the simple and humble, the trap of liberalism is also present in Balzac’s novel Eugenie Grandet.
Assis, Machado. Quincas Borba. Rio de Janeiro, 1891. (see pdf in portuguese)
Global tension grows
05
Aug
The death of the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh,
in the middle of Iranian territory by “a short-range missile” that was in Iran for the inauguration of the new president of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, raised tension between Israel and Iran to the highest level, and the Iran’s response will be inevitable.
The sending of the former commander of troops in Ukraine, Valerri Zaluzhnyi, to be ambassador to the United Kingdom, also raises serious concerns not only due to the proximity of the British government, which will certainly remain informed of military actions, the new ambassador outlined a dark and painful for the future of the war in Eastern Europe.
Ukraine received the expected F-16 fighter jets (photo) to reinforce its air defense, thanks to Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark, apparently the donors of this shipment, however it is still waiting for others, the political result is a greater involvement of forces from other countries in the war.
Countries in the Balkans and Scandinavia have already begun compulsory conscription for military service fearing an expansion of the war.
Latin America is also suffering from the controversial Venezuelan election, the AP news agency obtained photos of almost 79% of the election minutes and would prove the election of the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzáles, while the CNE, Maduro’s body for counting the ballots, gave the dictator as winner.
There were several protests on the streets, and according to Maduro himself there are already more than 2,000 people detained, with deaths and injuries in the demonstrations that are repressed by the military forces.
There is always hope for those who believe in peace, respect for cultural, religious and political differences, improvement in income distribution and help for needy populations. The problems of today’s world are justice and freedom, war only worsens these conditions.
Cyber blackout and wars
22
Jul
The blackout that happened last week is one of
the biggest in history, it caused confusion in many airports (see the US Flights chart bisede), TVs, banks, hospitals and services that depend on digital communication, but it was not with military motivation, the The company CrowStrike, behind the blackout, declared Friday (19) that “this was not a cyber attack” and that the company’s team “is fully mobilized to guarantee the security and stability of the company’s customers”.
According to an interview with Rob D’Amico, a former FBI agent, despite there being no military motivation: “They may not be involved in what happened, but they are observing what happened, what the reactions were, the response times, how this has been corrected, so that if they consider an offensive cyber operation against the United States, they can map what was done”, he said in a statement to CNN.
It is worth remembering that the historic beginning of the Internet was a project with DARPA, an American department for strategic projects that envisaged network operation that did not harm communication, so the first electronic network was called Arpanet.
This is extremely strategic because a cyber failure can leave both the communication system and the defense itself defenseless, which depends on communications to be activated, extremely weakening the system that is under attack.
Ukraine has announced that it has managed to directly affect Russia’s command and defense systems, while Russia seeks to weaken Ukraine’s energy supply system and land communication channels, it also plans a railway in its domains on Ukrainian soil, revealing tactics differentiated defense and attack.
As war rhetoric and everyday political and ideological wars advance, a greater than cybernetic blackout is announced, minds and souls become increasingly cloudy and the dark horizon hides hopes, refuges and clearings.
Those who fight and desire peace lack nothing, not even what war and hatred try to take away from everyday peace, the moment of rest and leisure, not that fantasy of orgy and false freedoms that destroy a fruitful and happy life, there is always a shadow, a clearing and a pause for breath in the midst of modern acceleration.
“Even if I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” (Psalm 23:4) says the psalmist of the dark period of the Hebrew people, and thus those who desire and fight for peace sing joyfully.
Insecurity in Europe and attack in the USA
15
Jul
NATO decided to place American missiles in
Germany, the Tomahawk ballistic missiles, which can hit targets up to 2,500 km away and carry nuclear ammunition, there are also hypersonic weapons in development, which increase European firepower, Russia already has weapons of this type and which are already spread out in strategic locations.
The Russian reaction came through Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov “Europe is in the crosshairs of our missiles, our country is in the crosshairs of American missiles in Europe. We have already experienced this. We have enough capacity to contain these missiles, but the potential victims are the capitals of these European countries”, which would be the trigger for a 3G.
The fighting continues hard, a secret document reveals that the death toll is already immense in the war and Russia would have 750,000 soldiers killed or injured, the number in Ukraine, although unknown, must be close to this figure, and neighboring countries Poland, Latvia and Lithuania and the Scandinavians threaten to send troops if Ukraine becomes more fragile.
Former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump was attacked when he was holding a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, several shots were fired, killing one person and injuring another, Trump was hit in the ear and removed from the scene by his security guards, the shooter was killed and the FBI investigates the motivations, the first is clearly political.
Although the scenario is frightening and there is no shortage of warmongering spirits, at this moment there is a civilizing crisis installed because from the center of power to ordinary citizens there is an animosity that does not perceive the danger of intolerance, violence like this not only awakens more authoritarian spirits but also strengthens them, and should not receive applause from anyone.
The good news comes from Iran where the moderate Masoud Pezeshkian, President-elect of Iran claims to be willing to hold ‘constructive dialogue’ with the European Union, the announcement was made in an English-language newspaper bringing great hope.
Time of conflict and clearing
12
Jul
If we are in inappropriate times for thought
and intelligence, which is why artificial intelligence scares so much, it is inappropriate times for human and moral values, this will be a time of clearing too, as it will require that many consciences and men will be able to awaken and see and launch to open the clearing.
For this, a metanoia is necessary in philosophical, political, everyday and even religious thinking, remember that the true oracles and prophets were killed and ignored precisely even by intelligent and “religious” people.
The threshold of an unlimited civilizing and humanitarian crisis is close, but if we look at everyday culture, we talked about this from the very Brazilian Ariano Suassuna to the Englishman Anthony Daniels (using the pseudonym Theodore Dalrymple – Our Culture, What’s Left of It – 2005) in previous posts, also politics and thought it seems polarized between two extremes that in many values are confused, and one of them is war and the desire for power.
Even those who invoke peace hide interests of power, of greed for greater wealth and oppression of those they believe to protect, it is a sad scenario of little light and where men of good will who future they desire, they must have a spirit of resistance.
Looking at the etymology of the word clearing in Heidegger’s philosophy, it comes from the German word Lichtung, whose meaning, in addition to clearing in the forest (he himself lived for some years in the black forest of Germany), its root Licht is the word for light, which will mean hidden things, or entities whose truth must come to light, as some translators use as unveiling.
What a propitious time this is, and why we are approaching it, because whenever the prophetic words of thinkers and mystics who ask for a change of course in humanity have not been heard, this time of darkness approaches followed by a great clearing.
In the biblical metaphor, the clearing is the light of the good news (gospel), but the master warns “behold, I send you (Mt 10:16) “Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and simple as doves.”
This was the case at the time of the Punic wars, of little Greece fighting against the strong Persian empire and also at the time when the apostles of Jesus were sent two by two on a mission to open the clearings and minds of humanity to a more fraternal civilization and not It was a war against his empire, but his mentality.
Evil and compassion
11
Jul
Hannah Arendt, in her work The Origin of 
Totalitarianism (original 1951) criticized Kant’s theory that defended evil as the search for satisfaction through self-love, and argued that evil exists for different reasons, such as greed, greed, resentment, desire for power and cowardice.
Byung-Chul Han’s genius analyzes Heidegger’s work from the heart and affective modality, but it is not something totally original, Kant confesses in his book “Conflict of the Faculties” that “because of his flat and narrow chest, which leaves little space for the movement of the heart and lungs, I have a natural predisposition to hypochondria, which in previous years bordered on the boredom of life (Han, 2023, p. 8) and hence in Kant a “yearning expands the heart, it defines him and exhausts his strength” (Han, 2023, p. 9).
Han uses the metaphor of Heidegger’s seamstress (Näherin) who “works in proximity” and is also a circumciser of the heart” (pg 10) and there “the heart of being-there” beats in the transcendental horizon, just as Han explains, in the late Heidegger that “contrition penetrates more deeply” and being-there separates itself from the being of there: dasein (p. 11).
Analyzing the affective tones of the heart and its close connection with being-there is more than discovering the interiority and transcendence of philosophical discourse, it is “Heidegger’s heart, on the other hand [confronted with Derridá], listens to a single voice , follows the tonality and gravity of the “one, the only one that unifies”, for him it is an “ear of his heart” but there is something strong spiritual in this, more than feeling or emotion.
The resistance of the spirit, in our times, Han says that Heidegger’s speech is quite temporal in the sense of the context of the second world war, it is the speech of peace, of announcing fraternity, of overcoming hatred and differences (it will recover the “Il y a” by Lévinas, and also Derrida’s concept of différance), to go beyond conflict and Hegelian dialectics.
It is necessary to circumcise the heart, this is the origin of the Jewish term, in the reading of Deuteronomy (10:16) cited in the epigraph by Han: “Circumcise therefore your spiritual heart; removing all carnal obstructions, and stop being insubmissive and stubborn!”.
Han, B.C. (2023) Coração de Heidegger: sobre o conceito de tonalidade afetiva em Martin Heidegger (Heart of Heidegger). Trans. Rafael Rodrigues Garcia, Milton Camargo Mota. Brazil: Petrópolis: Vozes.
Resistance of the spirit and pacifism
09
Jul
What Edgar Morin defines as resistance of the
spirit, he is 103 years old yesterday, is beyond thought and political force, what is spirit for European philosophy is mediated by the idea we formulate about the world, and spirit here has to be beyond current everyday thinking.
Human beings are capable of thinking about peace in their relationships, cultivating their interiority, an exhaustive theme in Byung-Chul Han’s ontology, and delving deeper into values such as: humility, fragility and the need we have for each other, we do not live isolated.
Finally, having a true otherness, the fear of otherness is when there is difference and we “put ourselves on the defensive”, for example what is called preventive wars, guarantees of sovereignty over other peoples or other cultures, this generally starts wars and does not prevent them as intended.
The main reason, say many authors, one that is not questionable for denouncing “the open veins of Latin America” is Eduardo Galeano, who said that the big reason is the theft and the jokes of the people to be dominated, today in addition to this they are also clashing empires.
The spirit of resistance and pacifism is historically not an easy or “neutral” position, it is to avoid the humanitarian catastrophe that characterizes all wars, on a global scale this means an unprecedented civilizational crisis, since the military power today is immense .
It takes a very high, truly altruistic and missionary spirit, since current wars easily find allies, even among the simple population, both polarization and the use of the media to promote almost all biased narratives, are what give substance to the warlike thinking and spread throughout the social fabric.
Congratulations to the long-lived Edgar Morin, his resistance is visible due to his age, the lucidity he still maintains and may his words echo and civilization finds a path of resistance.
Ukraine in danger and change in Iran
08
Jul
The scenario in these two wars, among many others
that exist on the planet, had opposing points this past week, Vikton Orbán’s visit on Friday (5/07) to Moscow, and the victory of moderate president Masoud Pezeshkian in Iran, represents a breath of peace.
Vikton Orbán does not speak on behalf of the European Union and Putin is only interested in discussing the “nuances” of proposals for a ceasefire, as Russian forces are currently threatening the second largest city in the country Kharkiv with more than 1.5 million inhabitants and an important industrial center (in the photo the city hall square).
Wars always involve hatred and heinous crimes, of course they must be investigated and punished, but it is hardly clear everything that is inhumane and cruel that was done during a war, the prisoners exchanged the previous week, for example, showed signs of torture and ill-treatment in Russian prisons.
In the Middle East, Israel announces a new delegation sent to Qatar to negotiate peace with Hamas, but an operation with drones by the Israeli army left 6 dead in the West Bank, and there are still fears of a war with Hezzbollah in Lebanon.
The elections in France are also in this chessboard scenario, the right curiously supports Putin and the left allied with Makron supports Ukraine, a republican front formed at the last minute ended the elections with the largest number of seats in the French National Assembly.
In the USA, there are still fears of Biden’s defeat to Donald Trump, the American president seems to no longer enjoy good health and disposition, but there are still no options.
When the prospect of peace is small, it means that men have distanced themselves from seeing the world with a stable and sustainable future, the spirits of difference and hatred are loose, but as Edgar Morin states, it is necessary to have resistance of the spirit, to have hope.
