Iraq again and more / Iraq again / Some fun, too

Sunday, a perfect day to take it easy: I corrected (most) of the spelling errors in this blog using Aspell. It works reasonably well. Had a short walk around Sörnäinen and a cup of coffee at Primo, which used to be my favorite cafe in 2002. Now it is too far, and I prefer Rytmi. Reading HS left me wondering how a newspaper with such a huge circulation (and financial resources) can be so shallow, containing so much heresay and not digging deep enough behind the surface stories. It does not take any stand on most issues, and if it does, it usually back the current status-quo. I think it all boils down to not having enough competition; having a virtual monopoly is not good for any business (except moneywise, maybe). But my HS-bashing is nothing new nor original. Therefore, I shut up for good on this topic. Also, I stop wasting my time on HS for good. Or should I do as G.H von Wright did: read newspapers on standing up, not sitting down at the table?

S is excited about her dissertation and works almost 24/7 on it. I read a few pages of it some days ago and I have to say it was very well written and fun to read. And not only fun: it also contains some serious philosophical discussion. Hold on your to seats when the dissertation comes out!

Lots of exercise today. In the morning I walked half an hours, in the evening I cycled to Viikki, Itäkeskus, Roihuvuori and along the cost to the new suburb Herttoniemenranta. The scenery was more delightful than I had imagined - and the route is going to be one of my favorite ones from now on. I also did some 80 minutes something at the gym. Raging at the gym is not so boring anymore than it was 2 weeks ago.

Iraq again and more

The British are pulling out some of their troops from Iraq. They say that the security situation has improved so much that cutting down their involment is possible. See the article. In another story Blair and Allawi claim to "defeat the evil". There seems to be no limit in their not-so-deep thinking.

Finally, the UN security council adopted a resolution, which threatens Sudan with "immediate action - oil embargo " if Sudan does not stop the killing in Darfur. The dictatorships (China, Russia, Algeria, and Pakistan) in the council abstained. They claimed that the resolution is too harsh to Sudan. So, killing tens of thousands civilians is not enough - it is actually quite OK. Well, considering the recent history of the mentioned countries, this may well be how they think. Worrisome in any case. See for example article in the Independent.

In China, Mr Hu has now all the power in his hands. Let see how he is going to solve the problems his country now faces (pollution, unemployment, economical slowdown/crash, corruption). An older hippie claimed in the Attac-meeting yesterday that there will a revolution in China soon. He justified his claim by his experiences in China during the last two years. I would not be so sure now that Mr Hu also controls the army - but dictatorships are quite fragile as we know from e.g. former Eastern Europe.

I am a bit afraid that something serious is happening elsewhere now, when we all focus our attention to Iraq (and Sudan). What happens in North-Korea, Afganistan, Congo, etc? I have to read more.

Iraq again

The newest New York review of Books contains some interesting articles about Iraq. Check at least The making of a mess, and How Bush got it wrong. I have not yet read them. Help me, read the articles and email me a short summary. The articles are rather long as they always are in this magazine.

Some fun, too

Check the personal advertisements of the London review of books. You will find British humor at its best.

Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs from September to October 2004".