Graveyard of Empires | The Pursuit of Time | American History 2019

“Lansdale was a victim in Vietnam of his success in the Philippines. Men who succeed at an enterprise of great moment often tie a snare for themselves by assuming that they have discovered some universal truth.”

– Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam

“It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do.”

“He wished he could’ve explained some of this. How he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how he had not been so brave as he wanted to be. The distinction was important.”

– Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried

Victorious in Battle But Defeated in War: President Trump could be on track to ending America’s 17 year military involvement in Afghanistan. US representatives and the Taliban met in Qatar last week for six days of grueling negotiations; they’ve come up with the outline of a broad plan in which US troops would leave the country in exchange for the insurgents pledging to ensure that Afghan territory would not be used by them or other Islamist militant groups to harm American interests. In a series of tweets Saturday, Trump’s special envoy for Afghan peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, said the latest talks had made “significant progress on vital issues,” but there were still “a number of issues to work out.” He added that any final agreement must include participation by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government, and a “comprehensive ceasefire.” Ghani had been excluded until now from the talks because Taliban officials view his government as an American puppet.

On Sunday Khalilzad flew to Kabul and briefed Ghani, who gave a televised speech the next day from his palace. Ghani called for the insurgents to “begin serious talks” with his government in order to reach a “speedy peace.” He also assured Afghans he would accept no deal that undermines their rights and the nation’s unity. A statement from Ghani’s office said that he was told by Khalilzad that any pullout of foreign troops would be conducted “in coordination” with the Afghan government. Some opposition leaders criticized Ghani’s assertion, noting that Trump has already said he’s anxious to withdraw American troops, and also that Khalilzad has been under White House pressure to arrange a deal with the Taliban as fast as possible. President Obama campaigned on ending the war in Afghanistan but it is President Trump who might actually be ending America’s involvement in that forever war.

Additional read: “Taliban talks: Will negotiations lead to peace in Afghanistan?” (BBC)

Additional quote: “The late Colonel Harry Summers liked to tell a tale familiar to many who served in Vietnam. In April 1975, after the war was over, the colonel was in a delegation dispatched to Hanoi. In the airport, he got into a conversation with a North Vietnamese colonel named Tu who spoke some English and, as soldiers do, they began to talk shop. After a while, Colonel Summers said: “You know, you never defeated us on the battlefield.” Colonel Tu thought about that for a minute, then replied: “That may be so. But it is also irrelevant.”

You Either Die a Hero, or You Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain: Seventy years after his assassination Mohandas Gandhi’s global influence is still enormous and his reputation for good still intact. The example he set for what could be achieved by peaceful protest has inspired countless others across different cultures and different times. But today, in his native country, his star seems to be burning less brightly. One political scientist put it this way: “I am afraid Gandhi has become marginal. In modern India, the two dominant forces hate him.” First are right-wing Hindu nationalists, currently part of India’s party of governing elite, who see Gandhi as weak. Second are Dalits, a class at the bottom of Hindu society, but which now wields political clout simply due to its more-than-200-million-people size. Dalits fault the personally ascetic Gandhi for his life-long association with some of India’s richest capitalists, and for not doing enough to dismantle the country’s brutal caste system. (NYT)

Horrific Child Murders In Tanzania: Six children between the ages of two and nine years were found murdered in south-western Tanzania. All had their ears and teeth removed, and some were missing limbs. Correspondents say that witchdoctors in the region tell people that human body parts have special properties that can bring them wealth and luck. Three of the children were from the same family. Police have a suspect in custody who is a close relative of the children. (BBC)

Tipping The Scale Of Gender Equality (In The Wrong Direction):Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, held a ceremony recently to honor the recipients of the country’s gender balance awards. The sheikh noted that women were “central to shaping the future of the country,” and said the United Arab Emirates had made “significant progress in achieving gender balance.” He then sent out a tweet showing the award recipients–all men. (BBC)

Additional read: Elite Law Firm’s All-White Partner Class Stirs Debate on Diversity (NYT, $)

Capital City Of The Apes: For three decades Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur has been expanding, and in the process swallowing up the rainforest habitats of long-tailed macaque monkeys. While elephants and tigers have been shunted from city boundaries the macaques have stayed alongside the growing human population, which provides them a tempting source of thrown-away food. But as the city continues eradicating more and more forest, the relationship between humans and monkeys grows more complicated. In Ampang, just a 15 minute drive from the city center, macaques break into houses and locals use firecrackers to scare them off. In response to complaints, the Malaysian government’s wildlife department culls many thousands of macaques annually. (Guardian)

– What goes up: are predictions of a population crisis wrong? (Guardian)

– Gilets jaunes leader hit in eye during protest ‘will be disabled for life’: Jérôme Rodrigues’s lawyer says he was injured by ‘flash-ball’ riot police weapon (Guardian)

– Poland alarmed by sick cow slaughter at meat plant: Polish police are investigating an abattoir suspected of illegally trafficking in sick cattle, which has been filmed covertly. (BBC)

– The divide on Venezuela: Who’s supporting Maduro and who’s following the U.S. lead in recognizing Guaidó (WaPo, $)

Riposting Republicans: President Trump responded over the weekend to criticism within his own ranks over his capitulation to Democratic demands that he reopen the government without $5.7 billion for a wall along the US-Mexico border. On Friday conservative author Ann Coulter tweeted: “Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.” Sunday Trump told the Wall Street Journal: “I hear [Coulter’s] become very hostile. Maybe I didn’t return her phone call or something.” (WaPo)

Additional reads: Charles Koch quotes Frederick Douglass: he will ‘unite with anybody to do right’ (Guardian) And Want to know which Democrats can actually beat Trump? We don’t have to guess. (WaPo, $)

American History 2019: White Supremacist Pleads Guilty In Fatal Sword Stabbing Of Black Man (NPR) We’ve dug ourselves a really deep hole’ – David Neiwert on the rise of the far right: Neiwert has reported on the US far right for decades and watched as the conservative movement has steadily adopted its outlook and ideas (Guardian) “The fear that lies behind aggressive masculinity: Why do so many men love Jordan Peterson and hate the Gillette ad? If they’re truly strong they don’t need to prove their virility” (Guardian) Additional Listen: Masculinity And U.S. Extremism: What Makes Young Men Vulnerable To Toxic Ideologies (Wamu)

A frequent topic in the news is one that is either about millennials or money or both. And the news isn’t great and is making millennials even more nervous that their job and futures. If the job isn’t outsourced then it might be automated:

• The Fleecing of Millennials: Their incomes are flat. Their wealth is down. And Washington is aggravating future threats. (NYT, $)
• Too Many Americans Will Never Be Able to Retire: Without more babies and immigrants, the country won’t be able to support its aging population. (Bloomberg)
• With Unfilled Jobs, Businesses Push Rural Residents Toward College(NPR)
• Humanics: A way to ‘robot-proof’ your career?: To prepare for a future where AI will likely disrupt entire industries, some say we’ll have to rethink how we educate future generations. (BBC)
• Focus on how you work, not why: How you can feel more fulfilled, and less anxious, on the job. (BBC)
• “Why the pursuit of money isn’t bringing you joy — and what will” (Harvard Business Review) An important article that highlights the importance of pursuing time and flexibility over money.

It doesn’t take a double-blind multi-million dollar study to tell us what common sense would indicate: that screen time is unnatural and a lot of screen time bad for anyone, and especially bad for babies and young kids. Pnut’s publisher isn’t Doctor Benjamin Spock, but he keeps his kids away from digital crack.

• Screen time inhibits toddler development, study finds (TechCrunch)
• Instagram outage forces millions to look directly at the world for nearly half an hour (TechCrunch)
• How the Smartphone Steals Our Time: Why are we constantly hanging on the phone? Because we can no longer stand up to ourselves, researcher Marc Wittmann says and explains how the smartphone changes our sense of time. (Zeit, read with Google translate)
• Steve Jobs Never Wanted Us to Use Our iPhones Like This: The devices have become our constant companions. This was not the plan. (NYT, $)
• Meet Gavin, the eight-year-old with a face shared more than 1bn times: At three years old, he already had 1 million followers. Gavin Thomas is now eight, popular in China and has his own agent. But what price do young internet megastars have to pay? (Guardian)
• ‘Team Human’ Stresses That The Future Lies In Connection And Cooperation (NPR)

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