An Afternoon's Reading

I've been pretty busy today with Friedrich Schelling today -- God, what an utterly pretentious phrase that turned out to be -- but I'm never too busy for The Guardian's Saturday edition -- the pretention of the former phrase is, perhaps, outweighed by the banality of the latter. There's little sense in writing too much on Saturday's, I've learned, since it seems to be a slow traffic day (not that the traffic is ever bumper-to-bumper here at Silentio, which, yes, I love to italicize), so I thought I'd just link to a few articles that are worth your attention, should you wish to be diverted from children, or spouses, or work that might need done around the house. Or, if you're not the diversionary-type, well, enjoy them for what they; that is, whatever it is you make them. (I'm down with relativity today.)

• First up, on the front page, there's a very interesting article about one Iraqi soldier who recently defected into Kurdish-held territory in northern Iraq. Defectors are, of course, often very unreliable, but Private Abass Shomail's story is in keeping with the sentiments of Kurdish spies.

  Morale was very low, he said, both among his fellow conscripts and among civilians. "We want America to attack because of the bad situation in our country. But we don't want America to launch air strikes against Iraqi soldiers because we are forced to shoot and defend. We are also victims in this situation."

  [. . .]

  As the US military puts the finishing touches to its invasion plan, it is clear that Saddam Hussein's recruits and volunteers face bleak choices in the coming weeks. If they remain in their positions they run the risk of being pulverised by American missiles. But if they try to surrender they risk being shot.

  Definitely offers a perspective I hadn't really thought too much about.

• Moving on . . . . Next Saturday, there are going to be massive demonstrations throughout Great Britain, none of which, incidentally, I'll go out of my way to attend, due to a variety of fundamental ideological reasons, not to mention the fact that Saturday's rallies, especially the one planned for London, are being compared
  to the Poll Tax rallies of 1990. If you know nothing of that memorable event, click here and here for two images that more or less tell the day's tale. (Keep in mind, that was a successful rally.) Today's article about the preparations for the protests is interesting, if only for the quotes alone, especially that of Apolo Murciano, a 28-year-old student of sculpture at the Edinburgh College of Art:

  "I think it's totally shameful," said Apolo. "I have been watching the news, reading the papers. The evidence is not enough; even with evidence it does not justify a bombing of Iraq, ever. Even if they found mass destruction arms, it does not justify a war."

  You know, I have loads of sympathy for über-pacifists, I really do, but this twaddle is downright jolting. Is it just me, or wouldn't pacifism be a much more interesting, bold position if its adherents maintained that, "Yes, this war," (not necessarily this war, as in the impending war with Iraq, but in general, hypothetically) "this war is justified," (for, let's say, the reasons that the majority of people think that a war would be justified) "but, precisely because of my pacifist position, I do not think this war should be fought." Maybe most pacifists do say this already, I don't know, but Mr. Murciano, with his understanding of what does and does not "justify a war," signalled his defection today, too, but from the realm of coherence into that of out-of-touch-with-the-rest-of-the-world.

• Speaking of being out of touch, and changing the subject quickly, Andrew Halsey is trying again to row his way across the Pacific Ocean. Two problems: (1) he has epilepsy; and, (2) due to a stretch of bad luck with the wind and the current, he hasn't actually moved for 73 days (though, to his credit, he has covered 2,300 miles since leaving Peru). This is not the first time the Pacific Ocean hasn't been kind to Halsey. After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean back in 1997, his attempt to traverse the Pacific in 1999 was cut short, due to hurricane conditions, 266 days into his journey -- the last 16 of which he went without food.

• And lastly, I only need to quote from the lead paragraph of this story. It says it all:

  Italian teenagers can smoke joints on school trips, as long as they are sharing them rather than selling them, an Italian court has ruled.

God, there are some days I just love Europe.