Arquivo para a ‘Politics’ Categoria
The Burning Bush Episode
19
Jul
The story of the departure of the Israeli people
from Egypt begins with an extraordinary event in which Moses leads Jethro’s flock, I am father-in-law and priest of Midian (history records him as a Druze) and near Mount Horeb he sees a burning bush that does not consumes it (Ex 3,3): “I am going to approach this extraordinary sight, to see why the bush does not consume”.
There he receives the mission to remove his people from Egypt and the episode of the Escape from Egypt will begin, just as Abraham had withdrawn from an unlikely path from Ur of the Chaldeans, Moses will also make a route going through the region of Midian, in the biblical narrative this people it is also of Abrahamic origin since Abraham after Sarah’s death had Midian or Madian with his wife Keturah.
The historical record of the plagues of Egypt that preceded the flight can be found in the “Ipuwer papyrus” discovered in Egypt at the beginning of the last century, and taken to the Leiden museum in Holland, it was deciphered by A. H. Gardiner, and was found near the city of Avaris.
The Israelites at the beginning of the persecution are established in the warehouses of Rameses and Pitom, then they begin to migrate to Sucode, and from there they begin the flight to the Sinai desert, it will be in Horeb where Moses saw the burning bush that will receive the tablet of the law, the Ten commandments.
Jetro’s connection with the Midianites, he was a priest, is fundamental in the logistical support for the fleeing caravan, and this is probably the reason that they took a longer route, and we see from the map that it is likely that at the end of the persecution there will be a new one. miraculous episode that is the passage to be dried by the Sea.
The following story of the people will speak of many connections with the Moabites (Ruth was a Moabite and Lot would have given rise to the people through incest with his daughter) they lived in the desert so the road to Canaan will be even longer, the Egyptians still dominated the region, what was to be accomplished in days says the narrative that took 40 years.
In the history of that region, troglodytes lived, not in the folkloric sense that we know, but the fact that they lived in caves and houses dug in the mountains, as was also characteristic of the north in the well-known Cappadocia, region of so many mystics of antiquity.
Persecution and emigration always affected nations in wars.
The peace that few desire
17
Jul
While bloody battles unfold without major
advances in the Ukrainian counter-offensive, from side to side, one can see what the war produces: the lack of principles and a growing hatred between the parties involved, which today few countries escape.
On the Russian side, inhumanity towards the troops themselves grows, General Ivan Popov, commander of the 58th. Combined Arms Army, which operates on the Zaporizhzhia combat front, was dismissed by Minister Sergei Shoigu for accusing him of treason and little support for troops in combat, other generals are also away or “resting”.
This is certainly not counterpropaganda, as the mercenary leader also accused him of the same things, and said that troops are being killed for little logistical support.
On the Ukrainian side, after the NATO meeting on July 12th, there is a clear sign for Sweden’s entry into the bloc, we remember that neighboring Finland is already there, as for NATO, it only continues to support and promise future membership, however the minister of England declared that Zelensky should show more gratitude, Zelensky reacted by asking his defense minister who was in the audience if he has good relations with the British Ben Wallace, and then asked him to make a call to him.
What is worrying on the Ukrainian side is the delivery of cluster bombs that are prohibited in international agreements, and that the US proposes to supply to the ally.
Either because of ideological and economic interests, or because they do not believe in an escalation of a third world war, which would be the greatest civilizational disaster of humanity, there is little desire and commitment for peace, some countries and leadership that tried failed to be resilient to the decision and it shows that they, too, have a vested interest in this war.
Sincere and true humanists cannot wish that the escalation of this war continues, and it is not “another war” since it involves heavy interests and threats.
The fear of change and not evolving
14
Jul
The great lesson of Joseph of Egypt is that 
under an apparent “slavery” or difficulty is hidden a necessary change for peoples and nations to develop, in history the departure of the Hebrew people from the “promised land” is even desired by God according to the biblical text in Genesis (Gn 46,4): “I will go down with you to Egypt and I will bring you back from there when you return; and it is Joseph who will close your eyes”, he says to Jacob (Israel) and asks him to take all his relatives.
The Egyptian Civilization was formed from the mixture of different peoples, among them, the Hamites, the Semites and the Nubians, who emerged in the Paleolithic Period, and it is probable from recent archaeological research that the Jews went to make their settlements in the Hyksos region who were defeated by the Egyptians.
In the year 3200 B.C. Menes unified the kingdoms of lower and upper Egypt forming the Egyptian Empire and Menes being its first emperor and pharaoh, the Jews went there later in the year 1750 BC. and stayed until 1250 BC. as slaves because they were feared by the pharaohs.
Most likely it was during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses was the son of Pharaoh Sehti I and Queen Tuya. He was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. At the age of 10, Ramses was sure that he would assume the throne when he was recognized as the “eldest son of the king”, having fought at a young age alongside his father in the conquest of Lebanon (see the map between the blue and red lines).
The last pharaoh was Xerxes I, famous for the battle of Thermopylae, where the Greek general Leonidas would have fought with only 7000 men, and prepared an ambush in a pass between Thermopylae mountains, but the Greeks were betrayed and the strategy was discovered.
Also from this period, the repentance of the brothers of Jacob (Israel) who struggles “with God”, and of the brothers, especially Judah, who regrets having sold his brother Joseph as a slave, shows how in the story of an evil one can take a good if errors are recognized.
Even the bad seed can flourish even if it is planted in bad but fertilized soil.
The sale of Joseph, son of Jacob
13
Jul
The story of Esau and Jacob continues in the
next generation, among the children of Jacob, now Ishmael after he fought with the angel, Joseph was the most loved, which generated envy in the brothers who planned to kill him but later decided to sell him to an Egyptian caravan to a caravan leader named Potiphar, but Joseph in Egypt becomes a prisoner because Potiphar’s wife was fond of him and trapped him for refusing to betray her teachings.
In prison he manages to unravel the dreams of a prisoner who was chief cupbearer and says he will be released and becomes cupbearer in the Pharaoh’s palace who also has strange dreams, and then the cupbearer remembers Joseph and he unravels the dream of the Pharaoh that was to store food (in the photo as was the map of this period).
Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt due to the shortage of food and they encounter Joseph, who recognizes them and sends them to prison, but ends up forgiving them and provides the wheat they need and says that everything happened so that he could help them
In a work of 4 volumes, the famous writer Thomas Mann (author of The Magic Mountain) wrote the story of Joseph, son of Jacob who is sold by his brothers, out of envy, as a slave to the Egyptians for 20 pieces of silver, the historical question of coins is important because they would only appear later, however gold and silver were already used in the barter business.
Thomas Mann’s work was written mainly to fight the Hitlerism that was growing in his country, it was not just about fighting against anti-Semitism, but mainly he perceived a growing authoritarian discourse present in Germany at his time.
Also the Brazilian Oscar Pilagallo in his book “The Adventure of Money” cites Thomas Mann and also Faust by Goethe in his work, and with this he tells the story of José.
In the context we have developed, the evolution of the noosphere, the importance of Thomas Mann’s text is that he manages to understand the Babylonian influence on Jewish tales, as well as after the Exile in Egypt they will also suffer influences, and later on from the Greeks and Romans.
The lesson we can learn from Joseph of Egypt is that God took a greater good out of an evil and redeemed Joseph’s brothers despite the crime they committed, the biblical story is not for those who think of revenge or hate, it is pure love the humanity.
Seeing far and blinding near
11
Jul
Recently James Webb’s special observatory
saw the most distant galaxy that man can ever observe, the galaxy called JADES-GS-Z13-0 (photo) is approximately 320 million years from the Big Bang, which for us is a great measure, for a universe of 13.5 billion years old means relatively a few seconds after the Big Bang (one of the theories of the formation of the universe).
On the other hand, we are witnessing an increasingly unstable, unfair, ruthless and dangerous world, and with a catastrophic nuclear danger close at hand, it seems that a good part of humanity treats everything as if it were normality, not caring much about the fate of the planet. and the civilizing process that is not stagnant, but regressing in frightening steps.
The strangeness of this discovery of the universe is at the same time that we find amounts of Carbon and Oxygen in these bodies, the same James Web discovered a little later that six more galaxies (Jades was discovered with another three “near”), which were very massive where bodies smaller than those found there were expected at the beginning of the Universe.
The discovery showed that they have masses of approximately 100 million solar masses, while the normal would be for younger galaxies smaller masses, our Milky Way for example “older” has a mass of 1.5 trillion solar masses.
Furthermore it is a nursery of stars, about three suns are born there every year, and their masses are poor in metals of chemical substances heavier than helium and hydrogen (remember that they are at the top of the chemical periodic table on the left and right ).
If this restores humility to the knowledge we have of the universe, the same does not happen with social scientists, anthropologists and paleontologists, who the more they discover about our origin on the planet, for example that Neanderthals and homo sapiens coexisted and even crossed paths creating a diverse humanity, little tolerant we are with races and cultures.
And intolerance means less peace, more dangers and now we don’t have stones, axes and bows, we have nuclear weapons and dangerous atomic power plants that are subject not only to human limits, but also to natural and geological ones.
The geosphere and biosphere depend today as never before in the history of the noosphere and on what we cultivate as a civilizing culture and as a vision of other cultures and races.
The dangerous limits of war
10
Jul
After a bombing killed civilians in the Lyiv region,
in the early hours of yesterday a plane bombing hit a school building that was used for humanitarian aid in the Zaporizhya region of Ukraine, killing 4 people and injuring 13 others since the beginning of the war. Russia denies having civilian targets, but the massacre in the Bucha region will go down in history (the current city of Mariupol in the photo).
On the other hand, the United States should offer cluster bombs, which mutilate and kill in the region where they are used, making a purely military analysis that the advances of the Ukrainian counteroffensive would happen more quickly.
In Spain, which will hold elections on the 23rd, defense minister Margarida Robles is against sending this type of ammunition, while Germany is against Ukraine’s entry into NATO, since in times of war a country cannot adhere to the treaty. .
The British Prime Minister followed the Spanish position, but told reporters that “we will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against the illegal invasion”.
Former President and Prime Minister of Russia Dimitri Medvedev has again referred to “nuclear armageddon” due to American support for war and position on illegal bombs.
The controversy with the Russian mercenary group Wagner continues, and the sending of new Russian troops in the order of hundreds of thousands to the front indicated that the group’s complaint that the generals omit the death toll is probably correct, and the number of War casualties may be higher than reported.
Certainly the number of deaths will continue and the nuclear danger is increasingly entering the world’s reports, judgment and balance are expected in the midst of a difficult situation in world history.
Mercenaries, Intense Combat and the Threat of Peace
03
Jul
The war in Eastern Europe remains a center of 
concern for world peace, after some advances by the Ukrainian army, Russia again advanced in the east in combat described as “fierce” and slow advances by the Ukrainians in the south, but there are threats around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia that still worry.
The debates around the Wagner group, their real objectives and the dangers for both the Russians and the West follow, since their methods and interests are ruthless and cruel, and thinking that they could have access to the nuclear arsenal makes the fact even more dangerous. .
The pope sends a bishop for talks with the Russian Orthodox Church, which can also be a mediator, since it has access to Putin and the religious dialogue between the churches can favor a future peace agreement.
The involvement of NATO and its European allies grows with each new step in the war, and now Russian Chancellor Lavrov has gone on to say that Zelensky is a puppet, which intensifies the confrontation with Europe and raises the level of tension.
Until the beginning of the European autumn (spring here in the south of the hemisphere) the war should remain intense, but with little advances from side to side, the problem with autumn there and the proximity of winter is that it becomes more strategic due to the climate, the dependency on energy and a growing difficulty in moving on the ground, until then a peace strategy is important.
The world is waiting for some truce, but the scenario is increasingly complex, since the West, through NATO, is increasingly involved in the conflict, while Russian contempt and cruelty towards Ukraine grows with each combat since the loss of life intensifies the climate of animosity and the economic situation deteriorates.
The world and people of common sense are waiting for peace, for a negotiated solution and the resumption of peaceful life in the region, which would also improve the human condition in the world.
Internal Tension in Russia and Peace
26
Jun
On Saturday (24/06) there was an uprising of troops allied with the
mercenary group Wagner, of Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of restaurants and catering companies in Russia, called “Putin’s Chef”, but he himself would like to be called a butcher for his cruelty of your troops.
Departing from the strategic military city of Rostov on-Don in the south of Russia and close to the Black Sea, therefore close to the coast where Russia invaded the territory of Ukraine, after the capture of the Russian military base, the group walked towards Moscow and on In a few hours I was only 200 km away from Moscow, which had already taken steps with barricades and there was even an explosion in oil tanks, in Voronezh, near Moscow (photo).
The shooting down of at least 6 aircraft and a helicopter was also recorded, however the entry into Moscow would not be peaceful and other bases would come to fight the rebel group, Putin considered it a “stab in the back” and initially condemned Prigozhin and his allies by ordering them to be captured and even gave a statement on state television.
With the intervention of the President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko a negotiation was made, the terms of which are not clear, but which exempted Prigozhin and his allies from any blame and political asylum was offered in Belarus, and the troops retreated to avoid “a bloodbath” and by Saturday night the rebellion had already retreated from the bases of Rostov on-Don.
A Russian presidential plane was seen heading north, but local information is that Putin would not be on board, there were several analyzes and conspiracy theories, but the shooting down of aircraft and exile and agreement with Prigozhin demonstrate Putin’s internal fragility.
It is good to think that an eventual seizure of power by Prigozhin is more dangerous than the war waged by Putin, since he would have a huge nuclear war arsenal in his hands.
In the midst of a counter-offensive by Ukraine all this means more war and distances peace.
There is a lack of sincere pacifists who are not allies of dictators and cruel mercenaries, but we have hope that it will come if hearts and minds are disarmed
Hope for Peace and Tactical Weapons
19
Jun
In the midst of international attempts to broker the war in Ukraine, several
African countries led by South Africa through its president, visited Ukraine and Russia at the end of last week, the results are not hopeful, but each attempt at peace is a new impetus and international public opinion for a negotiated and diplomatic peace is growing.
In addition to the president of South Africa Ramaphosa, there were also the presidents of Senegal Macky Sall, of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema and of Camores Azali Assoumani, in addition to high Congolese, Ugandan and Egyptian representatives.
In Ukraine, in addition to conversations with President Zelensky, they visited the cemetery where hundreds of civilians from the city of Bucha are, one of the biggest massacres promoted by the Russian invasion, and there they deposited flowers.
At the end of the week, they visited Putin and heard the traditional rhetoric that Russia had no other way out for its security, and that the negotiation must include the territories conquered in the war.
The main concern of African countries is the delivery of grains from both Ukraine and Russia and that an international crisis can affect food security, especially in the poorest countries, which includes Africa.
Russia has sent “tactical” weapons to Belarus, its traditional ally in this war, stating that the objective is not to use them, but has the “tactical” objective of defending the borders including that of its Ally.
Sending fighter jets and tanks to war is one more fuel for Ukraine, and has already changed the nuclear scenario, countries that opted for disarmament and “green” policies abandon this perspective, an example is Germany, which increased for the first time since the second world war, its military budget.
But the internal propaganda of the State, which dominates practically all means of communication, is that with nuclear weapons Russia is stronger and will be able to use them if necessary.
The conflict has already crossed all borders, there are few countries that have not positioned themselves, however, the formation of a bloc that wants peace is fundamental for a mediated exit.
Where to solve the civilizational crisis
16
Jun
During this week we developed the idea that amid so many shadows,
still light and salt to give meaning and life to the civilizing process, it is possible to overcome the anger of war and the hatred of differences of opinion if we introduce new elements of healthy living into society.
From NGOs and volunteers who work in war camps, to people who work with determination and self-control in an increasingly difficult and intolerant daily life.
There is no general rule, it is necessary to accelerate the diplomatic process for understanding and overcoming war, it is necessary to advance a process of educating an integral man who knows how to deal with different factors of social life, including ethnic, political and religious differences.
The growth of the egocentric circle due to ideologies and bubbles of closed circles, they reinforce individualistic and group thinking, can be changed by widening the circles of coexistence and allowing and giving belonging to excluded groups and people.
But above all, it is necessary to strengthen the healthy tissue, the little light and little salt that, even if it is little, can make a difference and change environments, groups and even entire nations, restoring their self-esteem at the same time as developing tolerance with other peoples.
The tragic scenario that is being designed may have its course altered, but it is first necessary to save that healthy tissue where respect, tolerance and social peace still breathe.
The most peaceful and responsible religions and social groups, the lack of control attached to the ego is childlike as Freud developed, it can give way to mature relationships between people, groups and peoples.
In the biblical passage in which Jesus notes that the crowds were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mk 1:15) he not only encourages the disciples to help them, but also reminds them that first: “6 Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel!” and say that the “Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” and it will not come by the hand of powerful and narcissistic people, but by the life and word of these followers of yours
