Russia Invades Ukraine in Brutal Act of War

                   The democratic nations of the world can not allow this cowardice with Ukraine. The list of crimes of the Russian President is huge. All democratic nations should unite against totalitarian nations. We all must make a effort to spread democracy and human rights around the world. The world must follow the path of justice with total respect for the sovereignty of nations and human rights. We all must fight against this evil that represent Putin, all dictators have his support. Please, say not to impunity and violence. This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published with the incomplete title above at    https://www.opb.org/article/2022/02/24/russia-invades-ukraine-war/. The second was published at   https://theconversation.com/why-did-russia-invade-ukraine-faqs-about-the-conflict-that-has-shocked-the-world-177963

                  Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. Ukraine's pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Military forces battling Russians on multiple fronts suffered dozens of casualties. Russian President Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions as he unleashed the largest ground war in Europe since World War II and chillingly referred to his country's nuclear arsenal. He threatened any country trying to interfere with "consequences you have never seen." "Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom," Ukrainian President Zelensky tweeted. U.S. announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin "chose this war" and that his country would bear the consequences. Other nations also announced sanctions. Zelensky appealed to global leaders, saying that "if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door." The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg said the "brutal act of war" shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying an attack that could cause massive casualties. Condemnation came not only from U.S. and E.U., but also from South Korea, Australia and beyond. Even friendly leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the U.K. financial markets, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies. "Now we see him what he is, a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest," he said. While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the U.S. and its NATO partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine. After weeks of denying plans to invade, Putin launched the operation on a country that has increasingly tilted towards the democratic west and away from Moscow's sway.                                                                                                                                                              Putin nurses a deep sense of grievance over the loss of Russia's power and influence since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Ukraine was formerly part of the Soviet Union but declared its independence in 1991. Having a prosperous, modern, independent and democratic European state bordering Russia was perceived as posing a threat to Russia's autocratic regime. Putin also perceives that western democracies are in a weak and particularly vulnerable state, thanks in part due to Russian efforts to create discord and sow divisions in Europe and North America, making this an opportune time to launch a major military adventure. It is a war that actually began after Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, also known as Euromaidan in 2014. That's when protests by citizens who wanted a closer relationship with Europe led to the ouster president Viktor Yanukovych. Russia responded by illegally annexing Crimea. Putin is seeking to turn back the clock to a time when the Soviet Union and the West had defined stable "spheres of influence" in Europe. In a TV speech days before the invasion, Putin suggested that modern Ukraine was interily created by Russia. Putin has much of his world view from the Russocentric of the former Soviet regime. Russia has for four centuries tried to fully subjugate Ukrainian lands and to subdue the nation by means of laws and policies designed to undermine its language and culture. As various attempts by Ukrainians to establish an independent state were thwarted by Russia, Putin has repeatedly sought to disparage Ukraine's successful declaration of independence in 1991 and is determined to put an end to it.

Politics After Totalitarianism: Evil and Judgment in Kant, Arendt, and Lyotard

                This post is a summary of a dissertation with the incomplete title above submitted for the degree of doctor of philosophy at Northwestern University in Illinois, and written by Javier Burdman, published in 2018 file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Burdman_northwestern_0163D_14063%20(1).pdf

                Ever since the end of World War II, we have been aware that totalitarianism represents a form of evil. Yet the acknowledgment of this novelty does not necessarily mean that we have come to terms with it, that we have overcome the temptation to go back to familiar ground by interpreting the new under the light of older concepts. After totalitarianism, we no longer see universal cognitive foundations narratives as a source of liberation, but rather distrust them as a potential source of domination and terror. At this study will show, the concept of evil is interwined with two of the most central concepts in contemporary political theory, namely, action and judgment. In order to fully understand the novelty of evil, it is not enough to obtain an accurate description of the psychology of the perpetrators, or of the historical causes that led to their crimes. If contemporary political theory emerged in part as a response to a new form of political evil, then understanding this form of evil is essential for understanding some of the essential presuppositions within the field. The problem of evil in politics is of course not limited to the regimes that we designate as totalitarian. Phenomena such as mass murder, systematic violence, torture, ideological extremism, and segregation, seem to emerge in the world. It would be futile to attempt to develop a grand theory that accounts for every political phenomenon that we characterize as evil. However, it is possible to inquire into the roots of our use of this notion, so as make political theory more reflective about its meaning, and thus of some of the most basic presuppositions that underlie its approach to the phenomena that we subsume under it, either explicitly or implicitly. At a general level, we use the word 'evil' to refer to actions that transgress universal standards determining what should and should not be done. Recent studies have analyzed arendt's understanding of responsibility in "Human Condition" and in her later writings. However, these studies do not address the connection between responsibility and Arendt's thought on evil in connection to totalitarianism. This is an blind spot given that, as will be shown, the destruction of responsibility for actions is an essential element of totalitarian crimes. Arendt claims,"we may say that radical evil has emerged in connection with a system in which all men have become equally superfluous. The manipulators of this system believe in their own superfluousness as much as in that of all others." This is a necessary condition for exercising total domination over men. This entails a lack of individuality, that is, of anything that distinguishes one man from another. From the viewpoint of totalitarianism, all men are or must be nothing. Only this kind of men can be the subject of total domination, in the sense that every aspect of their lives is controllable and made entirely predictable. The development of totalitarianism in power intensifies the elimination of responsibility for action. While the leader eliminates responsibility for any deed by members of the totalitarian regime. The secret police eliminates legal responsibility for any crime committed within the totalitarian state. The secret police does not prosecute people on the basis of what they have done, but rather on the basis of what they are and could potentially do. Lyotard finds an example of the relationship between political events and the idea of humanity in Kant's famous interpretation of the French Revolution. Kant introduces this notion as part of his attempt to respond to the question of whether the human race is morally progressing. In order to know whether human beings will act more morally in the future, if they are morally progressing, we need to know their disposition, which is impossible. This occurrence, Kant adds, could not be considered in itself as the cause of history, but only as a historical sign. The historical sign is then an occurrence in history that demonstrates that the human race has a good moral disposition, and is therefore on the path of moral progress. The occurrence that shows that the human race is progressing is not a deed, but rather, the mode of thinking of the spectators which reveals itself publicly in this game of revolutions, and manifests a universal yet disinterested sympathy for the players on one side. Thus, this universal and disinterested sympathy is the historical sign that demonstrates that the human race is progressing. In the "Critique of the Power of Judgment," Kant claims that, enthusiasm is sublime, because it is a stretching of the powers through ideas. The capacity of the spectators to feel enthusiasm for certain events is a sign that they are susceptible to ideas, and this susceptibility is already moral. Those who feel it are susceptible to the idea of morality, it nonetheless affirms progress, since the spectating humanity must already have made cultural progress in order to be able to make this sign. The capacity to have this feeling proves that we are susceptible to moral ideas. And given that this susceptibility is the aim of cultural progress, the feeling also proves that humanity is progressing. Humanity is thus the name of an ethical community on the path to moral progress, aroused by certain historical events. The problem of the banality of evil, which has concerned us, points to the generalized acquiescence and indifference mentioned by Forti. Although the analysis of parties and social identities is obviously important for understanding totalitarianism, an analysis of action and judgment at its everyday level is essential. In order to understand not only the emergence of totalizing ideologies, but also the acquiescence of ordinary people to these ideologies. It is at this level that ideologies seek the active complicity of individuals determined to escape the uncertainty that comes with responsibility. And it is this active complicity with the destruction of one's own responsibility, rather than an incapacity to take responsibility, that makes evil possible. Therefore, the fight against political evil can not consist in preserving or cultivating a capacity. Before this cultivation is even possible, one must choose whether to face the uncertainty that underlies any action and any judgment, or otherwise to hold fast to rules. To accept responsibility for this choice does not guarantee that we will do the right thing, but it makes unlikely that we will do the worst thing.

Data Privacy Day - 2022

                  This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published at   https://live.worldbank.org/world-bank-group-data-privacy-day-2022. The second was published at https://staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-week/about-dpw/. The third was published at https://www.coe.int/en/web/data-protection/data-protection-day. The fourth was published at https://currentaffairs.adda247.com/data-privacy-day-2022/

                  In today's digital world, data is part of our everyday lives. Data collection and sharing are essential components in conducting business in today's world. Data Privacy Day is an international effort that takes place annually on January 28 to create awareness about the importance of respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust. The World Bank Group Data Privacy Day is one of the premier global Data privacy Day events and best practices for the responsible handling of personal data.                                            In 2022, National Cybersecurity Alliance is excited to expand the Data Privacy day campaign into Data Privacy Week, a full week-long initiative. Data Privacy Day began in the U.S. and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of Data Protection Day in Europa. Data Protection Day commemorates January 28, 1981 signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection. Data Privacy Week helps spread awareness about online privacy and educates citizens on how to manage their personal information and keep it secure. Data Privacy Week also encourages businesses to respect data and be more transparent about how they collect and use customer data. To promote these goals, we will promote and encourage actions leading up to Data Privacy Week: According to the Pew Research Center, 79% of U.S. adults report being concerned about the way their data is being used by companies. Respecting consumers' privacy is a smart strategy for inspiring trust and growth in your business. Researching and adopting a privacy framework can help you manage risk and create a culture of privacy.                                                                           In 2006, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to launch a Data Protection Day, to be celebrated each year on 28th January. Data Protection Day is now celebrated globally and is called "Privacy Day" outside Europe. It aims at raising awareness on the right to data protection. The Council of Europe, initiator of this important celebration, continues to play a leading role by encouraging and showcasing initiatives held on this occasion. The main goal of this day is to educate the public on data protection challenges, and inform the individuals about their rights and how to exercise them. In this perspective, the Stefano Rodota Award, established by the Committee of Convention 108, will honour innovative and original academic research projects in the field of data protection. The winners will be announced on the occasion of this special date.                                                                                    Data Privacy Day is celebrated on January 28, every year across the world. The objective of the day is to sensitize individuals and disseminate privacy practices and principles. It encourages everyone to own their privacy responsibilities to create a culture of privacy. The theme for this year is 'Privacy matter'. Privacy has been one of the hot topics of discussion in a digitally connected world. The issue has become pertinent at the time of the coronavirus disease pandemic, when more people are forced to spend time in the online world.