International Day of Peace - 2023

                           Last Thursday 21st of September, all over the world was celebrated peace. We all should advocate for peace, justice, democracy and human rights, because they are interconnected. Nothing justify violence to make other comply with something. Resolution through dialogue it is the only way to both people and nations. We all must demand a more peaceful city, state, country and world to our authorities. This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published at   https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace. The second was published at   https://currentaffairs.adda247.com/international-day-of-peace-2023/. The third was published at    https://northmcd.com/international-day-of-peace-theme/. The fourth was published at   https://nationaltoday.com/international-day-of-peace/

                       The U.N. General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. Never has our world needed peace more. This year's theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the Global Goals. It is a call to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace. Fostering peace contributes to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and achieving the Goals will create a culture of peace for all. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Peace is needed today more than ever. War and conflict are unleashing devastation, poverty, hunger and driving tens of millions of people from their homes. And even peaceful countries are gripped by gaping inequalities and political polarization." The SDGs aim to bring us closer to having more peaceful, just and inclusive societies, free from fear and violence. But Without the buy-in and contribution of a wide range of actors including the 1.2 billion young people, the goals won't be achieved. We invite you to join the U.N.'s call to take action for peace: fight inequality, drive action on climate change, and promote and protect human rights. International Day of Peace 2023 encourages we all to be ambitious in our engagement as positive and constructive social agents, to join the movement to reach the SDGs and contribute to building sustainable peace. Together we can help to lead our world towards a greener, more equitable, just and secure future for all. Embrace the possible. That is the call of the Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint for a better world. We don't have to wait for the future we want. Everyone can join the global movement for change. Unity is at the heart of the SDGs because achieving any single goal requires achieving them all. And this is only possible when people themselves unite for change to give humanity and our planet a sustainable future. We are stronger together, united in action.                                                                                                                                                 Each year on 21 September, the world comes together to observe the International Day of Peace. This day, established by the U.N. serves as a reminder of our commitment to peace, non-violence, and conflict resolution. It serves as well as a call for individuals, communities, and nations to work collaboratively towards a more peaceful and just world. True peace, as recognized by the U.N. extends beyond the absence of violence and encompasses the creation of societies where all members can flourish.  This day remains vital for promoting dialogue, understanding, and cooperation among people and nations. It provides a platform for bridging differences and fostering a shared commitment to peace. The goal is to build a global culture of peace where everyone is treated equally.                                                                                                                                                                                                             International Day of Peace (IDP) is a day that inspires us to work together to build peace. We have seen many times in history, that is, if we turn the pages of history, we find how insensitive nations ruined the future of their neighbours on the basis of bloodshed. Today is the time when everyone is aware of the power of global peace and its positive results, and it all depends on all of us together on how we can establish global peace.  Under the IDP 2023, conscience is the highest in the court of justice, where all the courts take the place of justice. Just as darkness can not be removed, only light can do so, similarly, hatred can not be removed by hatred, it can only be removed by love.                                                                                                                                                              The International Day of Peace (IDP) or World Peace Day is devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among nations and peoples. At a time when war and violence often monopolize our news cycles, IDP is an inspiring reminder of what we can create together. Peace. Life is better in a world where peace exists and today, we look to those who have been peacekeepers to learn what we can do individually to make the world a more peaceful place. It is more important than ever to promote peace and open-mindedness for acceptance across gender, race and territories. $ 13.6 trillion was the economic cost of violence in 2015. 9,800 was the number of terrorism websites containing violent material by 2015. 5 factors that promote a culture of peace: 1) Seek to understand. 2) Promote economic and social stability. 3) Respect all human rights. 4) Advocate for equality. 5) Choose democratic principles. Why IDP is important? A- It connects us to each other. B- It reminds us to believe in something bigger than ourselves. C- It demonstrates that small actions can make big impacts.

International Day of Democracy - 2023

                       Last Friday, 15th of September, all over the world was celebrated the democracy. We all must fight and defend democracy, human rights and justice. For the citizens have their dignity, their voice, their basic conditions of life, we all must defend those three pillars of a good nation. Once more I'd really like to thank all demonstration of support for our political rights felt for us here. It is incredible what have been happening, this huge movement for justice, political rights, sustainable development, solidarity, human rights and democracy. I don't understand that despite this huge movement, still there are some people against my political rights, of course they are very few. Let's keep this tsunami of support and show the world that democracy, human rights and justice matter. This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published at https://www.un.org/en/observances/democracy-day. The second was published at https://nationaltoday.com/international-day-of-democracy/. The third was published at https://www.gmfus.org/international-day-democracy-2023. The fourth was published at https://globaldemocracycoalition.org/event/international-day-of-democracy-2023/

                        This year's theme for the International Day of Democracy, "Empowering the next generation," focuses on young people's essential role in advancing democracy and ensuring that their voices are included in the decisions that have a profound impact on their world. An engaged, well-educated electorate is at the heart of strong democratic societies. Young people must navigate a world in which democracies are under threat from factors ranging from the proliferation of online misinformation, to rising populism, and destabilizing effects of the climate crisis. It is important everyone is able to participate in the decisions that affect their lives now, and in years to come. Unresolved conflicts, the rising threat of climate change and financial turmoil pose a constant threat to democracies around the world. "The walls are closing in on civic spaces," warns U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the International Day of Democracy.  The U.N. recognizes the importance of empowering young people to take leadership roles on issues of international importance. The U.N. Democratic Fund (UNDEF) finances projects that empower civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes, including youth. The International Day of Democracy provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. Democracy is as much a process as a goal, and only with the full participation of and support by the international community, national governing bodies, civil society and individuals, can the ideal of democracy be made into a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.                                                                                                                            International Day of Democracy on September 15 allows us the opportunity to celebrate and appreciate democratic societies. It is very easy for people who live in a free society to take their freedoms for granted. Yet, when freedom is absent, life includes unimaginable challenges that are often incomprehensible. Today, let's reflect on the history of democracy around the world, thank those who influenced the development of our government, and look for opportunities to promote and protect democracies worldwide. As you reflect on your own freedoms and consider the country's current state of democracy, take inventory of how many ways you participate in the collective-decision making of our country and support the ideals of democracy. 5 key people shaping American democracy: 1- Thomas Paine.  2- Thomas Jefferson.  3- Susan B. Anthony.  4- Martin Luther King.  5- William Penn.  Why do we love democracy? 1) It gives power to the people.  2) It is based on change.  3) It is based on equality.                                                                                           The erosion of global democratic norms and institutions threatens our freedom, prosperity, and security. Authoritarian states such as Russia, China, and Iran employ disinformation, malign finance, and cyber operations to interfere in elections, shape decision-making, foster economic destabilization, exacerbate existing societal cleavages, and weaken governance. We defends democracy by analyzing autocratic threats to democratic institutions, processes, and publics, and by crafting policies and strategies to deter, defend against, and raise the cost of making such threats. We build democracy by supporting independent media, civic education and media literacy, monitoring initiatives, and public advocacy campaigns. As a leader in building democracy alliances and coalitions, GMF raises awareness, shapes the debate, influences policy, changes behavior, and enhances democratic resilience. We are committed to defending democracy in an environment of strategic competition in which an attack on any democracy has far-reaching repercussions.                                                                                                                                                  Building upon the spirit of International Democracy Day, this event seeks to deepen our understanding of the profound relationship between inclusive democracy, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the forthcoming SDG Summit. The interplay between the role of the U.N., inclusive democracy, social contracts, and the active participation of communities in democratic processes, all of which contribute to sustainable development. International IDEA in partnership with the Global Democracy Coalition, aims to raise awareness about the importance of inclusive politics, within governments and multilateral systems, where the voices of communities are amplified, inequalities are diminished, and democratic processes are genuinely participatory. By facilitating dialogue, promoting knowledge exchange, and encouraging collaboration among diverse groups, we strive to pave the way for an inclusive democracy that drives sustainable development and ensures that no one is left behind.

140th Birthday of Franz Kafka

                          A little more than two months ago, precisely on 3rd of July, the Czech writer Franz Kafka would complete 140 years old, so this post is a tribute to him. He wrote about the injustices of authoritarian systems, the abuses of power without end, the necessity of all of us to defend human rights,  justice and democracy.   This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka. The second was published at https://www.ilponte.sk/printed-issue-22018/2022/7/3/the-political-side-of-kafka. The third was published at https://bigthink.com/high-culture/kafkaesque-franz-kafka-real-dystopia/. The fourth was published at https://hac.bard.edu/amor-mundi/the-politics-of-kafka-2015-11-22

                           Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer based in Prague, who is widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible bureaucratic powers. It has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety and absurdity. His best known works include, Metamorphosis, The Trial and The Castle. The term Kafkaesque has entered English to describe absurd situations. He was born into a middle-class German speaking Czech Jewish family in Prague. He was a lawyer employed by an insurance company, what made him relegate writing to his spare time. He died at the age of 40 from tuberculosis. Kafka was a prolific writer, spending most of his free time writing, often late in the night. Few of Kafka's works were published during his lifetime: Contemplation, A Country Doctor and The Metamorphosis were published in literary magazines but received little public attention. Kafka's writing became famous in German-speaking countries after World War II, influencing their literature, and its influence spread elsewhere in the world in the 1960s. The nature of Kafka's works allows for varied interpretations and critics have placed his writing into a variety of literary schools. The hopelessness and absurdity common to his works are seen as emblematic of existentialism. Some of Kafka's books are influenced by the expressionist movement, though the majority of his literary output was associated with the experimental modernist genre. Kafka also touches on the theme of human conflict with bureaucracy. The writer Milan Kundera suggest that Kafka's surrealist humour may have been an inversion of Dostoyevsky's characters. In Kafak's work, a character is punished although a crime has not been committed. Kundera believes that Kafka's inspiration for his characteristic situations came from growing up in a totalitarian state. The term "Kafkaesque" is used to describe concepts and situations in which bureaucracies overpower people, often in a surreal, nightmarish milieu that evokes feelings of senselessness, disorientation and helplessness. The term has transcended the literary realm to apply to real-life occurrences and situations that are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre, or illogical. Numerous films have been described as Kafkaesque such as: The Angel (1982), Brazil (1985), Barton Fink (1991) and Dark City (1998).                                                                                                      Kafka possessed particular capability of explaining the most ordinary emotions in an exceptionally grotesque, unordinary and human way. His writing style and the philosophical questions he tries to answer are unique. Kafka's writings are a literary dance between Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer and Dostoyesvsky. Kafka's writing is usually described as works of psychological realism. While promoting the idea of democracy and rule of law, Kafka also acknowledges totalitarianism. In the short-story Penal Colony there is a message on the grave found in the basement about the authoritative and tyrannical system. The message is a claim made by the Governor: "There exists a prophecy that the Governor will rise again and he will lead his followers to a reconguest." Kafak sees democracy and the tyrannical authoritarian system as a never-ending struggle. Kafka is consciously developing a distance from primitive traditional laws and judicial systems. The end of the reign of the old Governor corresponds with the beginning of the World War I. The freeing of the unjustly Condemned man, was a symbol for Kafka that the war meant an end to imperial Europe. He welcomed democracy with open arms, however, he was not naive to think that the authorotative system will not come back. In retrospect, he was right, because around 30 years later, World War II started. Hannah Arendt wrote that Kafka's stories are a product of thinking rather than of a mere experience. Depressive and alone, he died without realizing his importance. That is why it is important to remember him and his work as being before its time.                                                                                                                      In Kafka's works, especially The Trial, the reader experience a claustrophobic and absurd dystopia, weighed down by a pointless and relentless bureaucracy. An illogical and arbitrary system that is soul crushing. It is waiting months for an application to be approved, only to be rejected by some faceless bureaucrat without any guidance as to why. It is filling out forms or getting licenses that not only don't make sense to anyone. It is the drip, drip, drip of nonsense legislation that makes up a swamp and wading through it saps and destroy you.                                                                                                                             If we made a survey asking people to name one writer whose works convey a negative outlook on life, Franz Kafka's name is likely to come up at the very top. And at least at first sight, this ranking seems rather appropriate. Take for instance, the novel The Trail, It tells the story of Josef K., who is persecuted and in the end executed by an amorphous justice system without knowing what he is accused of. The novel presents dark allegory focusing on the hopeless struggle between the individual and judicio-bureaucratic apparatus. However, if we only emphasize these negative aspects in Kafka's works, we miss much of what is all about. This is what we can learn from Hannah Arendt's surprising 1946 essay "Franz Kafka, Appreciated Anew." Arendt does not show us the depressing Kafka we all know. What Arendt reconstruct is instead a visionary political writer who is inspired by the idea of a world "in which the actions of man depend on nothing but himself and his spontaneity." To be sure. it takes a good deal of creativity to find in Kafka's works the vision of a future society that is "governed by laws prescribed by man himself rather by mysterious forces." Arendt is aware of that.                 

Day of Fighting Injustice - 2023

                     Twelve days ago, precisely on 23rd of August was celebrated in Brazil, the day of fighting injustice. We all must defend justice, because when there is some systematic injustice happening for so long, a dangerous precedent can happen, destroying democracy, undermining rule of law and fundamental human rights. So, the public trust in our institutions is severely harmed. Besides, when there is not justice, the abuses tend to grow, spreading and affecting many more people. So if you have witnessed any violation of human rights, record it and help fight injustice.  The systematic violations, the impunity, the daily bullying on mainstream media, the threats online and offline exist to do the victims give up to fight for their rights and reparations. Besides the violations, the systematic abuses, the daily humiliation and the impunity can have a dehumanizing effect in the population, trying us accept what can not be accepted, do not let this happen to you, the solidarity and the emphaty are the essence of the human beings. We all should recognize who have courage to defend our human rights including our political rights. Because always there are costs to do this, so help who is losing to defend our rights. This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at   https://summer.harvard.edu/blog/how-can-an-individual-fight-systemic-injustice/. The second was published at https://slaveryandjusticereport.brown.edu/sections/confronting-historical-injustice-comparative-perspectives/

                     As many of us look at the news today and see the injustices that are happening, we may find ourselves wanting to do what we can to help make a change. However, many of us get stuck at the "how" part of doing this and then give up. When these challenges seem too substantial and daunting, it can be difficult to see how the actions of one person, or even a small group, can make a change. If everyone who wanted to enact positive change got stuck at the "how," we would not have had leaders like Martin Luther King, labor activist Dolores Huerta, or more recently, environmentalist Greta Thunberg or U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The first two steps of getting involved in justice activism? Educate yourself on the issues (historically and currently). Get involved on the local level through grassroots organizing or nonprofit organizations. Inspired in part by the course Activism in the Struggle for Justice, I have put together a list to get you started in achieving those goals, as well as to inspire you to continue to ask for equality and justice for your community, our society, and for humankind.                                                                                                                                                                            Human history is characterized not only by slavery but also by genocide, forced labor, starvation through siege, torture, forced religious conversion, and any number of other forms of gross injustice. Different civilizations at different historical moments have developed their own understandings of such practices, specifying the conditions under which they were allowed or forbidden and against whom they might legitimately be directed. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all devised rules for slavery and civilian populations.  Our era is hardly the first ro grapple with humanity's capacity for evil. The idea that certain actions were inherently illegitimate and should be universally prohibited, no matter the circumstance or the particular target group, emerged in the 18th century. At the root of this belief that all human beings partook of a common nature and were thus entitled to share certain basic rights and protections. In bequeathing us the ideas of shared humanity and fundamental human rights, the 18th century also left us with a series of practical and philosophical problems. How are human rights to be enforced and defended? Do nation-states have the right to treat their own citizens as they please, or are there occassions when the demands of humanity trump national sovereignty? How are perpetrators of human rights abuse to be held to account?  Are those who suffered violations of their rights entitled to some form of redress, and if so, from what quarter? How do societies move forward in the aftermath of great crimes?  Broadly speaking, the history of efforts to restrain and redress the effects of injustices has proceeded in two phases. The first, stretching from the late 18th century to the aftermath of the II World War, revolved around efforts to define and enforce international norms of humanitarian conduct in regard to three scourges: slavery, offenses committed during times of war, and genocide. These efforts reached a climax of sorts at Nuremberg, where the leaders of Nazi German were prosecuted. The second phase, beginning at Nuremberg and continuing to our own time, has focused less on prevention or prosecution than on redress , on repairing the injuries that crimes of violations leave. At the most obvious level, this entails making provision for the victims of violations and their survivors, but also involves broader processes of social rehabilitation, aimed at rebuilding political communities that have been shattered. If there is a single common element in all exercises in retrospective justice, it is truth telling. Whether justice is pursued through prosecution, the tendering of formal apologies, the offering of material reparations, or some combination of all three, the first task is to create a clear historical record of events and to inscribe that record in the collective memory of the relevant institution or nation. Of course, the truth is not always easy to discern. Most violations are sprawling events, unfolding over years and involving vast numbers of actors. Documentation is often in short supply, sometimes because records were not kept.  As some revelations suggest, not everyone wishes to have the full truth told. As a general rule, perpetrators and their associates are anxious to see societies "turn the page" on the past. The struggle over retrospective justice is waged not only in courts and legislatures but also on the wider terrain of history and memory, in battles over textbooks.  But if the basic principle of reparations is straightforward enough, the application of that principle in specific cases is complex. What form should reparations take? Who is entitled to receive and who is responsible to provide? How is the value of an injury to be calculated? What happens to reparations claims with the passage of time? Beneath these practical matters lay deeper moral and political questions. What are reparations intended to accomplish? Are they an end in themselves or one aspect of a broader process of repair and reconciliation? How does one make restitution for a human life or time in a torture chamber? What happens when the interests of victims and perpetrators do not agree on the appropriate form of reparations? Even where money is accepted as the medium of reparation, the question of determining the appropriate amount remains.