Sunday reading links (August 9th 2020)
Preface: I'll be gathering interesting things I've read previous week each Sunday and putting them here, with short commentary or a quote from text. Here's a tag you can subscribe to: #SundayReading.
Newspapers publish articles – factual and opinionated – intending them to enter the public square as a topic of discussion. But if the discussions in the public square have an entry fee, the public square becomes smaller and less diverse.
2. The Curse of Konzo, story about devastating disease behind a perplexing outbreak of paralysis in northern Mozambique. Hans Rosling was involved, too.
In short: only poor people suffer the curse of konzo.
3. Scary and very opinionated story how wars always come home. Reminded me about how my country of origin refused to deal with violent mass-murderers from war and let them roam the country.
The tools of empire don’t stay overseas, trained solely on those designated as the empire’s enemies; they find new targets, new uses, in the hands of people looking to grab the shreds of power left behind as the empire collapses in on itself.
4. How lockdown awakened my memories of Bosnia and the war. Author writes how the lockdown rehashed memories of injuries past that had never properly healed, and I feel the same focusing more on inside with this extra time.