Posts Tagged ‘peace’
The possible peace
10
Oct
While Ukraine makes progress in the south, in the region close
to Kherson, and Putin formalizes the annexation of the 4 disputed regions (Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia), American/South African businessman Elon Musk proposes a surprising peace plan. for your vision.
The idea was to hold referendums in the four annexed regions mentioned above, but this time under the supervision of the UN, to supply the Crimea with drinking water (which depends on Ukraine for this) and to keep Ukraine neutral in relation to NATO.
Of course this is to be put on the negotiating table, surprising because the businessman until now was fully in favor of Ukraine, and now he has suffered harsh criticism from the country, and on the other hand a nod from Russia to his proposal.
How much are human lives worth there, on both sides, the danger of a nuclear war, now the tension is also rising in South Korea with missile and plane tests on the North Korean border, in short it is necessary to take some of the pressure off to make healthy minds breathe.
The military side of the war saw small advances from Ukraine in the South and the explosion of a bridge in Crimea, while Russia prepares its reservists for new offensives in the region, the very expensive HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) missiles that have been successful Ukraine’s advances are limited in number and very expensive, I remember that in the war in Afghanistan they were just over 5 million dollars, an affront to poverty and the living standards of many peoples.
Winter arrives at the end of the year in the northern hemisphere, and the race against time in the war could be a bad sign for both sides, Ukraine advancing at any cost and Russia risking the lives of millions of young people in an insane war and the constant nuclear threat.
There are already tests being carried out, the possible targets and what weapons would be used are thought by war analysts, as if it were a simple game of chess and not a civilizing risk.
Thinking about peace is urgent, everyone says they want it, but what you see on the field is a growing tension and challenge to the limits of human rationalism (in the photo above is the surrender of a Russian tank, but it could well be a peace flag) .
There is no neutrality or presumed innocence
04
Oct
The electoral result in Brazil was a surprise to many people, among the parties in dispute there is always a triumphalism, that is even natural, but within the rules
and electoral laws that include the rules for the dissemination of polls and this is the biggest surprise of the election in Brazil.
The worst result of democratic elections is always some scratch on the already fragile democracy.
The free debate of ideas and political proposals is essential in politics and in society as a whole, these limits when they are extrapolated create gaps of hate and intolerance harmful to the political process, there is no way to say that the researches were very wrong, but they were only wrong in a sense and this is beyond the assumed neutrality of research institutes.
There is not only misinformation, therefore, there is also bad information and badly worked by the bodies that should preserve the scientific, mathematical and statistical criteria, to say that there was a turnaround on the eve of the elections, it is possible in two to 4 percentage points, above the alleged margin of error, but they reached 10% and even more, this does not contribute to democracy and turmoil.
Even the STF and STE are exempt from any blame or request for an investigation, after all, all polls must be taken to the STE (Supreme Electoral Court) in order to be disclosed, that is, it may not endorse (it is not he who does the research), but authorizes the disclosure and is solidary.
In order for there to be no political-electoral exploitation, a response to society is necessary, even serious researchers and analysts have commented on the fact, I quote Pablo Ortellado from USP (see BBC interview) who gave an interview saying that they should review the “methods”, understand- if here method by methodology, I think that it is not necessary to have a criterion of scientific and political neutrality.
For the sake of democracy, for a peaceful and democratic course in the second round, it is necessary to clarify society as a whole, saying that polls do not influence is sophistry.
It is necessary to safeguard the democratic electoral process and respect the rules of the game, in Brazil it is very difficult, but fragile democracy needs this and society is expected to respond.
Scalation of war
26
Sep
We warned last week that the risk of a Ukrainian advance would
provoke Russian anger and this is indeed what is happening, the government has called up 300,000 reservists, and the UN OVD body reported that there have been protests in 38 cities and 1,400 people were detained (source RTP Portugal).
The war in eastern Ukraine begins to reverse the trend, on the eve of a plebiscite held by the Russian government, Ukrainian troops advance in the Donetsk region, strategic because it has roads and railways to reach the regions to the east, including Mariupol and Kherton.
What the next steps will be will depend on the severity of the Ukrainian advance, at first these young people and parents of families who are being called up will go to the front so the idea of waiting for the winter and trying to contain the advance of Ukrainian troops seems like a first strategy, but provocations of the use of nuclear weapons continue and US media outlets report that the Biden administration had made a private call to the Russian government.
Putin has so far kept protests and opposition to the war under control, at the cost of arrests and a certain restriction of press freedoms, most regions are also ruled by pro-Kremlin authorities, but it is possible that the internal situation will worsen (protests in photo).
An aggravation that is uncomfortable for the Russian government are the border disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and also Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and Russia itself has a territorial dispute with Georgia, in addition to the various border conflicts (Finland, Moldova, etc. ), in practice, Russia would like to return to being the great Soviet federation, but the scenario is already different, and the Chinese government called this weekend for there to be no “overflow” from the war.
The Russian issue is that NATO takes advantage of these conflicts to have new allies, in addition to the post-war territorial expansion, which is the main reason alleged for the war with Ukraine.
The siege of Leningrad, today Saint Petersburg, was to prevent Russian trains from reaching the city and there was a food ration card, when a person died the first thing they did was steal the card, also if someone was transporting food. in the city was robbed, the city had about 3 million inhabitants and the only passage to Russia was Lake Ladoga.
Winter came and the lake became frozen and possible to be used as a route, while the situation of the German army was that it faced difficulties in supply and conditions to withstand the cold.
The current situation in Ukraine is that there is all autumn for winter to accompany the Dombass regions, and avoid the Dombass ones, while the Russians want to stifle the resumption, first through a referendum that guarantees support for the Russian and then with the sending of more troops.
Further Russian defeats could exacerbate the nuclear issue and Ukraine itself could suffer from the cold if forced to shut down its Zaporijia plant.
Meanwhile the Europe of gas spend the winter, has already returned to using fuel fuel to avoid the use of gas in nuclear agreements, strategically wait for the winter to avoid the use of nuclear energy, strategically wait for the winter for their investigations .
There are possibilities for a peace agreement, but they lack a reasonable agenda, a polarization mines as possibilities.
The winter and the war
20
Sep
Ukraine has announced a counter-offensive in the Oskil region where they
have won important points and begins a counter-offensive in Kherson promising to reach even the occupied region of Crimea.
How will Russia react and what is the importance of this resumption of Ukraine? Before any analysis, it is necessary to recognize that the collapse of Russian forces on the Kharkiv front is a serious defeat and it is unlikely that Putin will not react, the problem is what the reaction is.
News from various sources is that Ukrainian troops have made major incursions on the Kharkiv front, for example the US-based Institute for War, where around 2,500 square kilometers have been recovered from Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces pushed the front line from Kharkiv some 70 km east to the Oskil River, capturing several key strategic points, particularly in the Izyum region, where bodies were in common speech with marks of torture and on the west bank. from Kupyansk.
Winter is coming, and Russia in addition to controlling energy sources, also the nuclear plants that are under its control, can cut off the gas and suffocate not only Ukraine, but much of Europe.
But what is more worrying is Russia’s reaction if the defeats are prolonged, the use of strategic nuclear weapons could trigger a NATO chain reaction and a difficult scenario could be drawn.
We will enter the autumn of Europe, which corresponds to our winter in the southern hemisphere, and tensions tend to escalate.
It is necessary for peacekeeping forces to mobilize and prevent a crisis that could lead to drastic actions and even greater horror.
The freedom of the market against the market
13
Sep
One of the main drivers of the current crisis whose war is a consequence
rather than a cause is the so-called market crisis, several products face barriers of price control attempts against the high demand of commodities: gas, oil, iron and even silicon ( not the sand of course, but the manufactured producers).
So while the European Union discusses controlling the price of gas, it tries to increase the stock due to the war in Ukraine, since Russia is the main supplier, which is contradictory because more is bought to keep the stock with the winter in sight. (November), the cost must increase and so it is not possible to control prices.
Also the total shutdown of the largest nuclear plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia, which is being shut down, could further exacerbate the energy crisis, Russia continues to point out the dangers of weapons and bombings from Kiev to the region, which could lead to catastrophic consequences,
China’s crisis with Taiwan also hides a market crisis, on the one hand the power of the rebel island in the production of silicon chips, and on the other an internal crisis aggravated by the bankruptcy of Evergrande, the country’s largest construction company, which was private and now it will be nationalized in an attempt to contain the crisis.
Thus communist China also knows the perverse effect of the market.
The Chinese real estate giant failed to deliver the debt restructuring plan as promised until July 31 and since then the Chinese government, in addition to discovering the evils of capitalism, also resorts to nationalization to avoid a more serious failure, those of the banks that financed the default.
The company stopped paying the bonds in dollars in December last year, according to estimates released by CNN, the amounts will reach 300 billion dollars in liabilities, which generates a wave of lack of credit in companies that operate in the Chinese real estate market.
The sector is responsible for almost ¼ of the Chinese GDP, and the activity that most contributed to the recent growth of the economy there, is now facing a strong slowdown that also worries the western market, which has made many new investments in this market.
Dependence on Russian gas (graphic) can seriously affect the world economy, for example, even the UK being independent is already affected.
Energy crisis and tension in the east
06
Sep
Moscow’s retaliation to the sanctions imposed after the invasion
of Ukraine, begin to have an impact on the European economy and in the United Kingdom caused the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, although the problem is wider than inflation, which in 2023 could go even above 20. %, the main impulse is the rise of natural gas throughout Europe, Russia blames Germany for the crisis.
European Union countries are looking to stock up on natural gas for the coming winter period.
Prime Minister Liz (Elizabeth) Truss was sworn in, in an internal election of the Conservative party against former Treasury Minister Rishi Sunak, she is known for being a chameleon, adopting speech according to the context, in fact similar to many leaders today.
It was against, for example, Brexit and after it was adopted it became in favor.
The people of Taiwan watching the Ukrainian war always quoted in local news, are aware of a possible war with China, and prepare for possible crises with exercises, first aid training and logistics to avoid bombings.
Last week a drone was shot down traveling in Taiwanese territory, according to news from Deustche Welle, reproduced on the G1 portal, since March an NGO called the Forward Alliance, in addition to offering civil defense training, seeks to improve national resilience.
According to Enoch Wu, founder of the Forward Alliance: “The objective is to keep communities functioning, and the trainings help prepare citizens against natural or man-made crises”, but the backdrop is a possible war with China.
Tensions rise between China and the US due to the announcement of the sale of 1.3 billion dollars of weapons to Taiwan, China promises to respond to what it considers “destruction of peace”.
It may be a deception, but the main trainings that the Taiwanese prime minister participates in are on the island of Penghu (Fishers), it is small and although it has a defense structure, it is isolated and far from Formosa Island, which is in fact the territory of Taiwan.
The peace and salvation
03
Sep
Contrary to what common sense thinks, the afflicted are not among the unfortunate, but among the wronged, so it is necessary to think about the life of the just and their salvation.
As we wrote earlier: “Blessed are the afflicted, for they shall be comforted, blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth”, and verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” and these are the righteous and suffer affliction.
But Kierkegaard’s fundamental help is on the question of identity, definitions as being-in-itself and being-in-the-world, and, the concept of the eternal, which is a launching into the “infinite” which is where salvation is.
So it must be that the calculation we make when we face injustice is between an account that only in the face of infinity and consequences can it be defined, and as we put the fall in reverse, we could place the biblical passages of the new testament the beatitudes in Mt. 5:1-12, verse 5: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”.
Thus it must be understood that this calculation is made when referring to the calculation of salvation made in Luke 14:28-30: “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if have enough to finish? Otherwise, he will lay the foundation and will not be able to finish. And everyone who sees it will begin to mock, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’
This peace is different from the “perpetual peace” proposed by Kant and by idealism, it resulted in two big wars and in the belief in the state as a mediator of conflicts.
Libraries and Wars
31
Aug
In the 1950s, shortly after the Second World War, the Brazilian
documentation magazine translated and published an article by Carl Hastings Milan on the Wars and the loss of documents and libraries.
He had been director of the Birmingham Public Library, where he opened the first branch of services for African American authors and readers, the article is available online and shows a face of the war for libraries in reference to the previous post we made on this blog.
The transcriptions into Portuguese were made by Sylvio do Valle Amaral and the original article follows the war in September 1944, published in The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science in Philadelphia.
The article begins by indicating the interruption and discontinuity of journals and publications during wartime, in addition to the material loss and lack of exchange of many documents.
The author emphasizes this loss where: “London publishers and booksellers lost millions of volumes in 1940-41. Several famous British scholarly libraries, and dozens of public ones, were damaged or destroyed. Several European countries, Russia, China, in addition to the Philippines, have suffered or are now experiencing a similar fate, but the saddest is yet to come” (MILAN, 1950, p. 50).
In advance many works were taken or hidden from German libraries, but the destruction and looting represent a cultural attack according to the “infamous” author who was credited to Hitler, it is important to look at this for history so that it does not repeat itself now.
Among the author’s denunciations is that also in the defeat: “Newspapers recently reported the burning of books in Naples, before the withdrawal of the Nazi army” (idem, p. 50), and thus a part of history is erased, regardless of of what those documents represent, they are an important cultural testimony of a time, which, because it is outdated, is subject to criticism, but there is no right to erase it, they are cultural documents.
It reestablishes the role of libraries, now also in crisis due to a distorted view of digital technology that we also post here, but the author says for that time: “Basic to the reestablishment of intellectual activity throughout the universe, is the reorganization of libraries” and ignoring this is a crime against the cultural preservation and memory of the people.
After emphasizing cooperation and support for libraries in Latin America and elsewhere, countries discuss the training of librarians:
“Despite the common recognition, in the United States and abroad, of the imperfections of our methods in preparing young men and women for library work, a surprisingly large number of students from abroad come to this country at normal times to obtain what schools of this specialty can offer” (MILAN, 1950, p. 53)
Milan, C. H. As bibliotecas, os intelectuais e a Guerra, trad. Sylvio do Valle Amaral. Rio de Janeiro: REVISTA DO SERVIÇO PUBLICO, AGOSTO DE 1950 (original in 1944).
War and peace
30
Aug
I read a recent commentary on Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) that another Russian
writer Ivan Turgenev claimed that knowing and reading Tolstoy is better than reading hundreds of works of ethnography and history” to know the character and temperament of the Russian people, conservatives such as Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) who came to be considered his successor, and Vladimir Lenin leader of the Soviet revolution who considered him one of the greatest Russian writers.
Many of his books were for the cinema, recently (2012) Anna Karenina was rewritten for the cinema, under the direction of Joe Wright, and was nominated for an Oscar and won the best costume design, but a masterpiece by Tolstoy is the book War and Peace.
From War and Peace I remember impressions and some loose phrases, and the context of the book that talks about the tsarist wars of their context and time, but which is revealing of Russian thinking about war, and that its scourges are not ignored.
The book deals with the lives of 5 aristocratic families, in the period from 1805 to 1820, in the midst of the march of Napoleonic troops and their brutal impact on the lives of hundreds of characters.
There are figures such as the brothers Natasha and Nikolai Rostóv, Prince Andrei Bolkónsky and Pierre Bezúkhov, the illegitimate son of a count whose spiritual quest serves as a kind of thread in the novel and transforms him into a complex and intriguing character of the 20th century. XIX, and whose pursuit will be a complement to peace in the midst of war.
A kind of refuge similar to the book-stealing Girl, which in this case is in the context of Nazi Germany and she will find in the books a refuge for the dark environment of the rise of Nazism in Germany.
I see a common feature in these two books, which is this “refuge”, something between the spiritual and the reader, but both manage to create, in a suffocatingly hateful environment, gaps and spaces of peace and spiritual elevation.
If war comes, what will be our refuge, at what level of spiritual life and knowledge do we want to put our lives that will be at risk, I believe these are contemporary readings.
TOLSTOI, L. (1889) WAR AND PEACE, transl. Nathan Hskell Dole, NY: Ed. Thomas V. Crowell & Co.
The negative asymmetry: humility
26
Aug
If all relationships are somehow asymmetrical, that is, they involve
some power and some form of domination or at least an attempt, the only way to oppose it is humility, which is not self-flagellation, devaluation or resignation, it is a way of not opposing the imposed power, like taking the body out of a violent and asymmetrical action.
It is asymmetrical in the negative sense, because power and communication is in the positive sense, as power means preventing the Other’s spirit of domination, revenge and depreciation from passing through you, as communication means listening carefully and waiting to disagree with what it is non-symmetric, which is more general than the asymmetric, it demonstrates the positive asymmetry, therefore it denies it.
So a response to violence with violence is a positive asymmetry, the response with the flag of peace is demoralizing and effective against a violent enemy, Gandhi used it to free India from British rule.
Also when violence is arrogant and inhumane, for example the death of civilians, children and the elderly in wars, it makes the mask of power fall and demonstrates all its asymmetry and arrogance.
In order to invert the logic of war and establish the logic of peace, it is necessary to overcome injustices and the disrespect for social diversities, but war is exactly the opposite: the opposition to respect for diversity, the imposition of a unilateral vision and the aggravation of injustices.
So what we should seek is the feast of the humble, the glory of the last and the peace of those who have no weapons and prefer the food of the table to the metallic food of the powerful.
True Christianity does not unite itself with power, but they are at the base of the pyramid, says the Evangelist Luke (Lk 4,12-14): “when you have lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends, nor your brothers, nor your relatives, nor your rich neighbors. For they could also invite you and this would already be your reward. On the contrary, when you have a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Then you will be happy! Because they cannot repay you.”
It seems like a mistaken logic, because it is not the logic imposed by power, but the logic of the righteous.
