Dinner Table Digest № 8
The Dinner Table Digest is an intermittent collection of interesting material from around the internet, curated by Peter Thurley.
Turkey grants Kurdish militants no peace, even in death
This is the story of a marginalized people in a war zone, where none of the state actors want anything to do with them. They are so hated by the countries around them, especially Turkey, that they are not even permitted to bury their dead.
“Ozsoy is also still awaiting a formal response from Gul to his questions about why Agit’s remains were treated “with such utter disrespect.” But ‘the answer is clear,” Ozsoy told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview from Ankara. “Such actions are in keeping with modern Turkey’s nation-building project” which was “erected on the violent and systematic suppression of Kurdish identity,” he contended.”
Vox Media has done a very good job over the past while of producing easy-to-understand video explainers about various complex happenings around the world. I found this short video to be a helpful reminder that the COVID-19 graphs that we are used to seeing don’t necessarily have the straight-forward interpretation that we think they do.
The Lawyer Whose Clients Didn’t Exist
This piece is an interesting romp through the murky world of class-action lawsuits. In this story, shrimp fishermen in the wake of Hurricane Katrina are taken for a ride for the benefit of the big shot lawyers.
"A strange industry has grown up around mass torts, consisting of middlemen who bring potential suits to big-deal lawyers, contractors who do the legwork of finding clients, and investors who help pay the expenses in return for a portion of the award from any victory."
Finally, two pieces that explore opposite ends of human physical and mental endurance. In one, silent meditation is taken to another level, and in the other, a journalist re-takes Army Ranger school years after his first pass. In both pieces, it seems to me that mental fortitude is the key element to finishing, let alone doing well.
The Quiet Hell of Extreme Meditation
I chose the meditation style known as Vipassana for several reasons. It’s wholly nondenominational. No gods are prayed to, no mantras chanted, all religious iconography is prohibited. If you typically wear, say, a crucifix, you must remove it for the duration of the course. Also, there is no need for prior meditation experience – in fact, I was told, a neophyte is the ideal student because you won’t have any bad habits to avoid – which suited me perfectly, as I’d never meditated before.
Army Ranger School Is a Laboratory of Human Endurance
“Today’s mission is a night ambush, with a low of 35 expected. As the students get ready, I see a young lieutenant who’s been having a tough time. He’s crouched on his ruck, alone and shivering. He shows me hands shredded by the cold. I feel bad for him, his vulnerability reminding me of another lieutenant who had struggled during Benning Phase. At one point, when it came time for him to fire the heavy automatic weapon he had to carry, it jammed. A few students glared at him. He asked, with a tone of self-pity, if anyone could help carry his ammunition, a request greeted with awkward silence. Moments like these, when weak performers are ostracized, can feel like Lord of the Flies.”
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