"I have often thought that if a rational Fascist dictatorship were to exist, then it would choose the American system." (Chomsky)

On this day, October 20th, in 1947, the American congress started to investigate Hollywood, looking for commies, reds, or just anyone they didn't like and had found someone to rat out as "the enemy"...

It was a violation of the first amendment (which provides citizens with freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government), and was responsible for the ban of 325 screenwriters, directors and actors. This was the age of McCarthyism, which left us with the infamous echo of its rhetorical interrogation:

"Are you or have you ever been a member of the communist party?"

Last month's American Senate approval of Habeas Corpus ban in cases of indictments for suspected terrorist activities, overwhelmingly resembles McCarthy’s first amendment violation, inasmuch it drastically crushes what the American constitution always tried to stand for, at least apparently. Freedom.

So it makes me wonder: Are we going to see Hollywood activists against American policy, like George Clooney and Mark Ruffalo, being arrested for plotting or supporting terrorism? Is it possible that not unlike communism in former times, that became synonym for anti-Americanism, terrorism is becoming a synonym for anti-Bushism?

"Are you or have you ever been a member of a terrorist organization?"


...well? Have ya?...

No time...

I'm so swamped that I have no time to write these days... So I'm just going to leave a short note - I was wandering around a friend's blog and it made me remember this:

I'm not a "believer" or whatever they're calling it these days (it used to be KOO-KOO), but I don't think it's about believing. It's about experiencing...
Anyway, I'm going to post another looooong post, but on my other Blog so it won't bore the hell out of the fast-blog-consumers (there really aren't that many, I'm just kidding...), just about my personal experience with 3rd kind encounters... behold and be-wildered!... (lol)

TV Guide...

Eu estava olhando o blog, e pensei comigo mesmo... Quem lê isso aqui, deve pensar que eu sou totalmente "intenso" desse jeito o tempo todo... Então aí vai algo pra descontrair - já faz um tempo que não vejo TV... Quer dizer - eu não vejo a programação de nenhuma rede de TV. Na verdade, minha TV nem ta ligada na antena. O que eu vejo são coisas que baixo da internet - "Ad-free"!!!
Meus seriados favoritos, filmes, documentários... Tudo.

Então vou deixar uma dica aqui - p/ quem ainda não conhece...

That's the stuff!...

Quem não sabe mexer com bittorrent, precisa aprender!

...4533, 4534, 4535 (wow! that one's fluffy...), 4536...

I can't sleep. It's two thirty a.m. and I have to teach a class in the morning... at 7 a.m.!!! I just lay down there thinking... about what? About everything! Literally! Things I haven't thought about in ages just pop into my head and stay there... insomnia is a bitch... I'd rather not have a single thought in my head than to have to go through all day tomorrow yawning like crazy... I had a glass of wine - actually quite good one - I buy it right over the border in Argentina. It is so cheap! But still, it's a Cabernet Sauvignon produced in the region of Mendoza... anywhere else it would cost like three times as much... I think it's kicking in now... I'm gonna try and "eject" my consciousness from this tired body... zzz... nighty night.

Fixed statistics...

When confronted with the question of how many Iraqi people died as a result of the American invasion and occupation of Iraq, George W. Bush says that the estimates are around 30,000 people.

This is a lie.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad have just published a report of a research that based its findings on direct interviews within Iraqi population on a large scale random sampling. 90% are documented proven testimonials.

Their findings are that as many as 650,000 Iraqis have died since the US-led war on Iraq. Over ten times as much as the official claims... Something doesn't smell good.

It's a shame that for the sake of convenience, terminology shifts. When we're talking about Darfur, it is 'Genocide', but when it's Iraq, we have 'war on terror'...

So let's see the score:
Darfur - an estimate of 450,000 dead X Iraq - an estimate of 650,000 dead (in more or less the same timeframe).
Well, the Janjaweed are loosing to Bush... Maybe they should take some lessons, you know, a 10-step-do-it-yourself USA government genoside guidebook...

After so many documentaries about how George W. Bush waged this war only for financial gains for a small group of people heading some of the companies involved in the reconstruction of Iraq, and NONE OF THAT made any difference... Can a government do anything it wants in its term in the USA, and get away with it? It kind of makes you wonder about whether popular resistance is any good at all... 'cause if you're not resisting it, than you're approving it... there is no real exemption...

BTW, In Darfur, the renewed fighting might chase away and shut down the world's largest aid operation...

It's just sad...

nothing to write, just bitch a little...

Oh well... I've got to hand in my course paper by November 6th, and on the 20th I'll be sitting in a classroom taking an entry test for an M.A. course, which I have great chances of failing considering the little time I have to read three light readers: The Prince (not the little one...), Leviathan, and another one which I couldn't manage to find, not even in any of USP's libraries... That is NOT GOOD... Damn live philosophers... they have to die to be published on a large enough scale... never mind... To start off on a particularly well-chosen direction is much easier than to have to steer to a new one when you're already moving on a poor-chosen path... but the goal is to be happy, right? To feel that I didn't just come here to watch TV... So that's that! (Why DID I come here?... I could have just as easily gone to another p…)

More on chosen paths, later, on the next chapter of: Bitching our ass off... miniseries in three self pity chapters... (I should just shut up now...)

I'll be back!... (Oh! shut up...)

Beam me up, Scotty!

Quem gostou do google earth, e é entusiasta do cosmos (sei de alguns que passam por aqui), vale a pena dar uma olhada neste software: Stellarium.

Eu consegui baixar no seguinte link:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/stellarium/stellarium-0.8.2.dmg?download

Essa é a galaxia espiral M64, fotografada pelo Hubble... it's magic!
Let's go Star Trekking! Are you coming?...

"The American who first discovered Columbus made a bad discovery" (Georg Christoph Lichtenberg)

Today, October 12th, is Columbus Day. In Brazil, not a lot of people know that, because children's day and Brazil Patroness day are celebrated simultaneously.

It's been a very controversial holyday in the USA, because most people that don't look into it carefully think of Columbus as some kind of a historical hero. He even has his own day, so he must be... right?

Well, not so much. This Genoese slave trader might have just been the main reason for the Indian land conquest and Indian genocide, which according to well-known sources claimed a death toll of one hundred million victims. At least this is what he is being remembered by, these days.

Many Italian-Americans think of Columbus Day as a celebration of Italian pride and Christian values, but are they really as keen on Columbus in Italy as they are in the states? And is he really a symbol of Christian values?

The Christian thing, if you consider history... well... there's room for some reflection, But Italy?

Again, not so much... It seems that in Italy, his homeland, he is not as revered as one might expect... For example, in the 500th anniversary of Columbus, his home-town, Genoa, shut down because it didn't want to receive any tourists. They do not regard him as someone to be celebrated...

In many places, this day is now called "Native American Day" or "Indigenous Peoples Day" or yet "Day of Indigenous Resistance".

Why does the American government value such a holyday? Well, let's see... is there anybody else that thinks that the "Indian wars" are not over? And that the USA are still trying to "civilize the world"? no? just me?... oh, well...

Happy Indian day everybody!!!

לא איכפת לי

אני יודע שכמעת אף אחד לא קורא את מה שאני כותב פה בבלוג הזה, אז החלטתי לכתוב קצת בעברית... ככה סתם, בלי שום משמעות מיוחדת

השמלה הסגולה
מאת: חיים חפר

הבוקר יבוא, הבוקר יבוא
אנחנו לא נישן את כל הלילה לפניו
נשב ליד הכביש על שפת התעלה
נרכב על משאית ברוח הלילית
נראה את הגבעות מתעוררות באור סגול
ביתך יהיה צוחק וקיץ בחלון
כשאנחנו נצא ביחד

את תלבשי את השמלה הסגולה
ושתי עינייך מוצפות באור כהה
את תשלחי חיוך אל כל עובר ושב
וסיגלית פתאום תפרח בשערך
את תזמרי לך שיר שאת מיליו שכחת
את תצחקי פתאום ולא תדעי מדוע
כשאנחנו נצא ביחד

הבוקר יבוא, הבוקר יבוא
אנחנו לא נישן את כל הלילה לפניו
נרוץ את כל החוף נשתה את כל העיר
נשיר באוטובוס שירים משוגעים
נשב מאה שעות על הגדר שמול ביתך
וככה זה יחזור וכך יהיה תמיד
כך יהיה כשנצא ביחד

איך תלבשי את השמלה הסגולה
ואיך תוצפנה שתי עינייך אור כהה
איך תשלחי חיוך אל כל עובר ושב
וסיגלית פתאום תפרח בשערך
איך תזמרי לך שיר שאת מיליו שכחת
איך תצחקי פתאום ולא תדעי מדוע
כשאנחנו נצא ביחד

"It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry." (Thomas Paine)

Escaping one's culture, paradigm or ideology is very rare and can be only achieved in special circumstances of a consciousness leap. Hence, it is almost impossible.

Well then, having said that, here is a little something to think about:
A quiz for the wise (and the not-so-wise)...

1) Name a ruler, whose religion gave birth to the concept of religious fundamentalism... Anybody? I bet you're thinking of some arabic name... Well, guess again!

Correct answer: George W, Bush. The "fundamentalist" movement was born in the early twentyeth century amongst conservative protestants in the USA. Their ideas were to defend the fundamental issues of faith...

ok, ok... another chance:

2) Name a ruler whose not only his but also his government's philosophical foundation is based on a political philosophy named "Theological Politics"... Anyone? arabic again? haven't you learned?!?

Correct answer: George W. Bush - again... His advisory staff, who defines the profile of his government policy, is practically all formed by a political scientist called Leo Strauss, whose political views were shaped by another political Philosopher called Carl Schmitt, a member of the Nazi party whose idea of politicas is that of "theological politicas", where the ruler transcends the laws he imposes on his people.

Another little thing about Leo Strauss: He believes politics has only one form: violence. No rules, no values, no structure, no truth, no sense, no solidarity, no compassion, no afection - just violence - but the ruler must emit an image that assures the avarage man that all of these exist and are important in his government - so he can covertly continue to exercise violence.

The way these concepts have been manipulated in the midia in the last few years is overwhelming...

"A quotation at the right moment is like bread to the famished." (Talmud)

Bread. There's nothing like hot, crunchy aromatic bread...

It was hot. I was coming back home, when I stopped at the only place you can get bread in Foz at 10 p.m. - I got six little baguettes, fresh out of the oven, and drove home.

It was hot. As I maneuvered the car out of the parking space, I felt the aroma of the bread filling the whole car, and I consumed it as deep as I could through my nostrils... I was happy. There’s nothing like hot, crunchy, aromatic-fume-emitting, fresh-out-of-the-oven bread...

It was hot. I opened the window, only to let a little breeze freshen me up... and I could not smell the bread anymore.

It was hot. 30 degrees maybe, at 10 p.m.... But it was ok...

Windows shut, I drove home, hot and all, just being happy all the way...

It was hot, but it was most definitely worth it!

Does anybody want any bread? I still got some... (*S*)

Shaw-Descartes-Shaw-Descartes...

Aula de literatura Inglesa (novamente... porque será que essas discussões só surgem aí?), e a conversa caminhou para o sentido mais latente da existência da literatura, segundo vários escritores e críticos literários, que é a dualidade humana. O bem e o mal em um só. O céu e inferno dentro de nós. A evolução segundo o balançar de um pêndulo, hora para o “bem” hora para o “mal”, egoísmo e altruísmo, consciência e ignorância, violência e pacifismo, amor e ódio etc., que segundo o questionamento de Shaw, pode estar dando um senso de movimento que é confundido com evolução...

“The devil to Don Juan:

… But I will now go further, and confess to you that men get tired of everything, of heaven no less than of hell; and that all history is nothing but a record of the oscillations of the world between these two extremes. An epoch is but a swing of the pendulum; and each generation thinks the world is progressing because it is always moving. But when you are as old as I am; when you have a thousand times wearied of heaven (…) and a thousand times wearied of hell, as you are wearied now, you will no longer imagine that every swing from heaven to hell is an emancipation, every swing from hell to heaven an evolution. Where you now see reform, progress, fulfillment of upward tendency, continual ascent by Man on the stepping stones of his dead selves to higher things, you will see nothing but an infinite comedy of illusion. You will discover the profound truth of the saying of my friend Koheleth, that there is nothing new under the sun. Vanitas vanitatum”.

O toque final é talvez o mais interessante, pois remete à convicção vaidosa de que estamos evoluindo... Será que estamos? Eu acho que sim, de alguma forma, mas minha frustração vem de ver que nossa vaidade (minha vaidade), é bem maior que a evolução...

...me fez pensar, sobre a relação entre o movimento pendular e a concepção do relógio, que, com uma "ajudinha" de Descartes transformou a forma em que vemos o mundo, como máquina, como mecanismo... e a física quântica esta mostrando hoje que essa abordagem não se sustenta...

Outro blog

Fiz um outro blog para posts mais longos. É só entrar no meu perfil e selecionar o outro blog, ou só selecionar nos links no menu lateral "Chronicals of yime and space". thx.

"The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is." (George Bernard Shaw)

So, the other day, after a discussion in English Literature class, I was reading a play by Bernard Shaw. It's called Man and Superman, and it's one of the plays he's best known for.

Shaw was a bright man, a mix of Philosopher and artist, socialist and atheist. Superman was a concept he borrowed from Nietzsche, who believed in the substitution of Homo-sapiens with a superior, more evolved man, the superman. Through his plays, he wanted to teach wisdom, virtue and superior intelligence. This play was written and hit the theaters more than one hundred years ago, and it is still as new and fresh as it was then. Check it out:

Don Juan to the Devil:

(…) He (man) loves to think of himself as bold and bad. He is neither one nor the other: he is only a coward. Call him tyrant, murderer, pirate, bully; and he will adore you, and swagger about with the consciousness of having the blood of the old sea kings in his veins. Call him liar and thief; and he will only take an action against you for libel. But call him coward; and he will go mad with rage: he will face death to outface that stinging truth. Man gives every reason for his conduct save one, every excuse for his crimes save one, every plea for his safety save one; and that one is his cowardice. Yet all his civilization is founded on his cowardice, on his abject tameness, which he calls his respectability. There are limits to what a mule or an ass will stand; but Man will suffer himself to be degraded until his vileness becomes so loathsome to his oppressors that they themselves are forced to reform it.

Freakin' ego centerd maniacs!
Makes me want to cry: WAKE UP!!!
Obviously, more often than not, I'm the only one listening... Oh, well... At least someone is listening, right? (and I might even end up wakin' up...) Is there anybody out there?... Hello?...

The rookie blogger credo

Much harder than to know to write the right thing at the right moment,
is to know not to write the wrong thing at the wrong moment...
Feliz dia do poeta paulista

"Ask no questions, be told no lies" - IS OVER...

OK...OK... So hypothermia, sleep deprivation, hooding and stripping are in, and Habeas Corpus is out... (US senate approval, 09/29/2006)

Hear! Hear! "Home of the free, land of the brave"...?

At least now, they're honest about it, right?
Now, you can actually ask questions and not be lied to...

Isn't it cozy?


Shame on you…

Fifteen rings for the Ministers under the sky,
Four hundred and fourty five for the congresspeople in their halls of stone,
A hundred for Senators doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Have a nice one.

The edge of the world

Relatos de um paulista perdido na tríplice fronteira:

Pois é... Há quatro anos que estou aqui. Não sou de natureza muito crítica, então consigo sobreviver razoavelmente bem, considerando que a vinda de São Paulo foi uma mudança bem grande, e paulistas são normalmente estressados...

Pontos negativos:

1. -Não tem padaria como em SP, e por isso, não tem pão como em São Paulo (pão italiano é o melhor...).
2. -Não tem cinema, ou pelo menos os "pretensos" daqui (são 4) têm foco somente no terço central da tela, ou projetam o filme em parte no teto, fora da tela... (depois de reclamar, o lanterninha entrou na sala para me procurar e disse: "viu, o filme é assim mesmo").
3. -Não tem nenhuma radio decente (questão de gosto), com programas inteligentes, ou música inteligente...
   
4. - Culturalmente, a cidade sofre muito, apesar de suas mais de 50 etnias diferentes (bem mais).
   - As opções de restaurantes são bem limitadas - algumas são boas... mas não tem pizza (SP temmmm...).
   

Pontos Positivos:

Tudo bem, não tem transito, nem poluição. Nisso Foz ganha. Mas será que isso basta para ser uma grande cidade??? sei não... Ah! e não tem jeito de sair de casa pra dar uma volta nocentro, sem encontrar alguém conhecido... (será que isso deveria estar na outra lista?).

O cúmulo foi nesta semana, quando lendo o maior jornal da cidade (só tem dois, e os dois são tablóides...) vi na contra-capa uma coluna do dono do jornal que dizia algo assim:

"...não entendo o porquê de tanta crítica. Todo jornal apóia algum candidato político da mesma maneira que pode apoiar um time de futebol - eu mesmo vi isso ocorrer em outro locais."

Sim. Isso acontece. Mas assumir isso na cara desse jeito, simplesmente tira toda a graça... não é?

Well, the world just might have an edge, and if it does, that's where I'm at. If you walk a little further, you'd probably fall into the vastness of the void... or not...

Against all odds...

Nunca entendi essas pessoas que jogam na loteria. É só ver a probabilidade de ganhar e ter a certeza de que estamos dando nosso R$1,50 para o montante que vai para alguém...

Alem de tudo, fica aquela expectativa de ganhar e quando não se ganha, que é sempre, da uma pequena tristeza lá no fundo, porque mesmo sem ter admitido para ninguém, já fizemos um monte de planos - aquela viagem, a generosidade com a família, o tempo livre, a felicidade... e aquela inconformação: "não entendo o que deu errado?!... eu fui lá e gastei meu R$1,50, fiz tudo direitinho, e mesmo assim... nada!". Como se as pessoas precisassem de mais tristeza...

Bem, eu não entendo não... Mas mesmo assim fui lá, comprei, e ganhei. Pois é! Ganhei - acertei a quadra! Não foi muito, só uns R$174,00 - mas a sensação de estar um passo mais próximo de tudo aquilo é inegável!!! Hoje fui lá retirar o prêmio, feliz da vida! Foi o Maximo! E a probabilidade? Bem, eu sou o único dentre 2332 pessoas que ganhou - o rapaz é um vencedor!

"There is no coming to consciousness without pain" (Carl Jung)

Tenho lá minhas idéias sobre espiritualidade (nome que me deixa desconfortável, pois remete automaticamente a algum tipo de religião - não é o caso), mas hoje tive um insight...

Machuquei meu dedo concertando o meu micro, o que arrancou um pedacinho de pele. A ferida exposta, não pôde ser coberta, pois não havia band-aides em casa. Qualquer sensação que normalmente com pele não se percebe, ficou muitas vezes ampliada... O contato com o ar, com a água, e tocando objetos (sem querer - não sou masoquista...). Mas este aumento de sensibilidade se manifestava principalmente como dor. Tudo era grotesco demais. Duro demais. Áspero demais. Sem nossa pele, nossa casca, o encontro com o mundo exterior se torna quase insuportável.

Me fez pensar sobre o corpo e a consciência (é como gosto de chamar o espírito, alma, centelha divina etc.). Será que é por isso que precisamos de nossos corpos? Será que é por isso que não andamos por aí simplesmente em espírito? Se existíssemos, neste estágio da nossa evolução, sem corpos, será que a sensibilidade de nosso espírito seria grande demais para tolerarmos o contato com o mundo externo? Será que doeria muito? Com dor, não quero dizer necessariamente a nossa dor ocidental - os chineses têm várias palavras diferentes para descrever dor - dor de cabeça não é a MESMA sensação que dor de um estiramento muscular... Mas p/ nós ocidentais, tudo é dor - talvez desconforto fosse uma melhor palavra - há vários tipos de desconforto.

Será que precisamos desta casca tosca e limitada para podermos suportar desconforto de existir? E mesmo com ela, dá pra dizer que suportamos muito bem?

Por outro lado, será que sentindo mais, não estaríamos percebendo mais a nossa volta? Entendendo mais? Interagindo melhor? Existindo melhor?

E eis o paradoxo: Nossa casca nos impede de sentir tanta dor, mas também de existir melhor?

"Before you can do something you must first be something" (Goethe)

Ontem passei o dia com febre... Verdade seja dita... Nada como um bom chá de alho - só a escolha que é difícil - saúde ou sociabilidade... rs...

Há uns 10 dias, 10 vencedores do Prêmio Nobel da Paz se reuniram em Washington para lançar uma convocação mundial para a paz. Criticaram duramente o governo dos EUA, e definiram as 10 "principais barreiras para a paz global" - doenças, pobreza, armas nucleares, injustiça social, racismo, acesso a recursos naturais e os direitos das mulheres e crianças, e mais...

MAS, o pessoal é fogo. Navegando pelos blogs sobre paz em Inglês, encontrei gente reclamando por que não foram citados na lista - terrorismo global e autoritarismo... Os chamaram de burros... (a origem foi no Washington Post que publicou tal crítica... que lobby, hein?)

Os laureados disseram que esses são resultados de ignorância, preconceito e desigualdade, e só serão resolvidos uma vez tratados estes assuntos sociais básicos.

Não sei do que esse pessoal ta reclamando... Queriam que criticassem o terrorismo global e autoritarismo - e os laureados o fizeram! Criticaram o governo dos EUA... rs...

Por falar em terrorismo global, fica aqui uma dica de um documentário: "Loose Change". O filme é 10, e vale mais a pena pq a veja meteu o pau nele na edição de 13/09/2006 (os cara só pode ta brincãnu...)

Só pra lembrar como somos pequenininhos (pelo menos eu sou pequenininho)... E talvez ganhar perspectiva de longe... Só algo que vi por aí num Blog que me inspirou...

Esta é a Nebulosa de Órion, e nesta imagem há mais de 3000 estrelas... Será que em alguma delas eles têm terrorismo global??? É lógico que eu sou ignorante em matéria de astronomia (vou aprender), só que em matéria de olhar coisas fora de série, até que eu olho bem...

Desculpe os longos posts... Coisa de iniciante...