Heron Silva - www.hvos.com.br

... "virtue is the condition of liberty" ... (Extracted from "Politics - A very short introduction" by Kenneth Minogue p. 34 - Portuguese version) Once we begin to miss judge our values, we enter a path of no return to absolutism. Carpe Diem,

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro - PUC-Rio Instituto de Relações Internacionais – IRI Formação do Sistema Internacional Contemporâneo Prof. João P. Nogueira Primeira Verificação Primeira Questão A Guerra dos Trinta Anos mudou radicalmente a forma como se davam as relações internacionais de poder na Europa do século XVII. Tentativas como a da dinastia Habsburgo de obter o domínio hegemônico sobre a Europa Católica já não seriam possíveis. Durante toda a história européia vemos uma alternância entre as potências de estabelecer um império no continente, porém a Guerra dos Trinta Anos se diferencia de tantas outras por ter sido travada ainda em uma época em que os estadistas tinham pretensões Universais e não aceitavam outro resultado senão a imposição de suas vontades sem preservação da liberdade dos derrotados. Os Habsburgo tiveram a chance de acabar com esta guerra obtendo o controle político sobre a Europa Central mas não aceitaram a condição desejada pelos protestant...

Criar como criação Replicar idéias dando-lhes nova significação Sistemas que não são em si, mas parte de um sistema maior Variações sobre o mesmo tema Reutilização como parte da criação Ver, vir, ouvir … testar, criar Engenharia, medicina da tecnologia Razão que tenta fugir da razão Criatividade, criação Universidade, casa do conhecimento Professor como aluno, aluno como professor Reutilização como parte da criação Novo no velho, velho no novo Novidade Recriar o já criado, o novo, nossas vidas Como não ver a beleza Das variações sobre o mesmo tema Do novo, do velho, do TUDO A beleza da criação (First published: August 22nd, 2000) Carpe Diem,

Fila de banco Que perda de tempo Perdendo energia, disposição, motivação O que nos faz depender Da boa vontade de um ser Que nem sequer precisa De sua presença alí Que perda de tempo Agonia que dá Ao inicio da fila Todos olhar sem saber se há Algo que possa fazer Pra menos tempo perder Que perda de tempo Quando finalmente se chega Ao tão sonhado atendente Ainda lhe resta a dúvida Se tudo não foi em vão Por nada se poder fazer A respeito de sua situação Que perda de tempo Espero aogra na fila Não a primeira mas a segunda Menor, porém mais lenta Muito mais lenta (First published: August 2000) Carpe Diem,

What is the matrix? Actually this is not the important question, rather – what is not the matrix? The Matrix is a film to show us an idea of our reality. However, as it’s a movie like any other, it had to make money – they made the philosophical point, but in a film that would be likely seen by as many people as possible, thus generating profits. Good guys, bad guys. Humans and machines. Masters and pupils. Prisoners and guards. The chosen one. Love. Betrayal. Fights, runners, learning processes. Winners and looser. People willing to get free, people fighting to stay in prison. Good guys almost lose. Love and Hope save the day. Which movie did I just talk about? Probably most films ever made have some or all the topics I pointed out. So, what is different about The Matrix? Oh yes! Special effects, sound effects, costume designers, screen play. Actors and actresses. Slow motion action sequences. Everything a good film should have. Still those are qualities that a great number of movies ...

Internet Explorer (or any other Browser) may prevent the use of cookies (and consequently sessions) when HTML frames point to files located in different servers. A possible solution to that "error" involves setting up a proper Privacy Policy (see "Platform for Privacy Preferences Project - P3P" link bellow). You can do that by sending the following HTTP header data to the client system: P3P: CP="CAO PSA OUR" Here is the code in PHP: <?php header('P3P: CP="CAO PSA OUR"'); ?> For more info: http://james.jamesandkristin.net/2005/11/18/php-session-cookie-in-frames-using-internet-explorer/ http://www.w3.org/P3P/ Carpe Diem,

"Woe to the leader whose arguments at the end of a war are not as plausible as they were at the beginning." (extracted from "Diplomacy" by Henry Kissinger p. 217) A long term and solid justification (or reason) for any choice should also be a prerequisite to any human-to-human war . Carpe Diem,

Patience. Definitely one of the most important virtues.

"Bismarck was indeed the child of a different era from that of his erstwhile mentor. Bismarck belonged to the age of Realpolitik ; Gerlach had been shaped by the period of Metternicht. The Metternicht system had reflected the eighteenth-century conception of the universe as a great clockwork of intricately meshing parts in which disruption of one part meant upsetting the interaction of others. Bismarck represented the new age in both science and politics. He perceived the universe not as a mechanical balance, but in its modern version - as consisting of particles in flux whose impact on each other creates what is perceived as reality. Its kindred biological philosophy was Darwin's theory of evolution based on the survival of the fittest." (extracted from "Diplomacy" by Henry Kissinger p. 127) Should we determine our politics based on our moral values or based on desirable outcomes? What is better suited for the short-term? Does it make a difference in the long r...

"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it." (extracted from "Diplomacy" by Henry Kissinger p. 22)

... "that we should not ask why we are wounded, only if the wound can be healed" ...

"The chain will be broken And all men will have their reward. "Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me? Somewhere beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see? Do you hear the people sing? Say, do you hear the distant drums? It is the future that they bring When tomorrow comes!" http://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/l/lesmiserableslyrics/finalelyrics.html

"Nature has a funny way of breaking what does not bend"...

There it goes the top two reasons why I have not yet advertised my blog (not even to friends and family): 1) I want to see how it behaves while "hidden". (There has already been a surprising first comment.) 2) It's interesting to have a history before people start accessing it, so that its shape can emerged and more content becomes available. Carpe Diem,

Last year (three weeks ago) I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) Niteroi (in Rio de Janeiro / Brazil). The curators' attempt was to establish a parallel between the Greek Gods and the Orixas (Divinities) in the Brazilian's Candomble (a religious syncretism between African and Catholic faiths). The exhibit was primarily a set of marble statues from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. Although a lot can be said about Religion and Gods and Greek Arts, I will focus on the paradigm of statue recovering. Why were some statues fully recovered, while others remained missing noses, arms, legs and so forth? One museum staff told me that, depending on when the statues were discovered, different approaches were taken. Funny enough, at one time it's cool to add everything back (from ears to fingers) whereas at another it's fashion to let it be as found . The Deviant Advantage tells us about that march of beliefs from the fringe to mainstream society.( Someone has just been han...