And 200 years ago, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, had this to say about British troops before the Battle of Waterloo--

"Ours (our army) is composed of the scum of the earth - the mere scum of the earth."

"I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me."

[Quotes from http://www.napoleonguide.com/aquotes_welli.htm]

February 13, 2006

Britain Investigates Video Said to Show Abuse of Iraqi Youths by Troops

By SARAH LYALL

LONDON, Feb. 12 — The British government said Sunday that it was investigating allegations that British soldiers viciously kicked, butted and beat Iraqi teenagers in custody at an army compound in Basra in 2004.

Details of the attacks, captured on a home video that was said to have been made by a British Army corporal in Basra, in southern Iraq, were published Sunday by The News of the World.

The paper, whose front page showed a photograph of two soldiers raining blows on a cowering young man, said it had obtained the videotape from a "disgusted whistle-blower."

"The pictures are shocking," a Home Office minister, Andy Burnham, told the BBC. He said the Ministry of Defense planned "a full, in-depth and very quick investigation" so that "we can find out the facts and we can make sure that if there is serious wrongdoing, then there's appropriate action taken."

The News of the World said the videotape showed eight British soldiers breaking up a violent disturbance by Iraqis on the street outside a military compound and then dragging four Iraqi teenagers inside.

The videotape then shows scenes in which the soldiers kick the youths, striking one in the genitals, as well as butting, punching and beating them with their fists and batons for a total of 42 blows in 60 seconds of tape, the newspaper reported. It said one soldier could also be seen kicking a dead Iraqi.

The man described as the corporal behind the camera could be heard laughing and egging his colleagues on, shouting: "Oh yes! Oh yes! You're going to get it. Yes, naughty little boys," The News of the World reported. It said that for security reasons, it would not disclose the soldiers' unit or regiment.

According to the paper, the person who leaked the videotape said the youths appeared to be in their early teens. "These Iraqis were just kids," he was quoted as saying. "Most haven't even got shoes on." He added that the eight British soldiers involved in the attack "were pumped up and out of control."

Speaking at a news conference in South Africa, where he is attending a summit meeting of leaders of center-left governments, Prime Minister Tony Blair said, "We take seriously any allegations of mistreatment, and those will be investigated very fully indeed."

But, he added, the "overwhelming majority" of British troops in Iraq behave properly, doing "a great job for our country and the wider world." Mr. Blair said the troops' presence was necessary for "helping Iraq to become the democracy they want to be."

Flight Lt. Chris Thomas, a spokesman for the British military in Basra, told the BBC that the allegations related to only a "tiny number" of soldiers. He added, "We hope that the good relations that the multinational forces have worked very hard to develop won't be adversely affected by this material."

The News of the World said that the videotape had been shown for entertainment at a British military base in Europe, and that it was "absolutely genuine."

Although the British Army has been spared the kind of abuse scandal that erupted among American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison, there have been scattered reports of abuse by Britons in Iraq. Last year, three British soldiers were jailed after being convicted of abusing Iraqi prisoners. But previous photographs published by The Daily Mirror that were represented as showing British soldiers abusing detainees were found to be fake.

For the ladies,

No man is worth your tears,
And the one who is, will never make you cry.

For the men,

No woman is worth your expense,
And the one who is, will never make you splurge.

Too Lost in You

You look into my eyes
I go out of my mind
I can't see anything
Cos this love's got me blind
I can't help myself
I can't break the spell
I can't even try

I'm in over my head
You got under my skin
I got no strength at all
In the state that I'm in
And my knees are weak
And my mouth can't speak
Fell too far this time

Chorus:
Baby, I'm too lost in you
Caught in you
Lost in everything about you
So deep, I can't sleep
I can't think
I just think about the things that you do (you do)
I'm too lost in you
(Too lost in you)

ooh
Well you whispered to me
And I shiver inside
You undo me and move me
In ways undefined
And you're all I see
And you're all I need
Help me baby (help me baby)
Help me baby (help me now)

Cos I'm slipping away
Like the sand to the tide
Flowing into your arms
Falling into your eyes
If you get too near
I might disappear
I might lose my mind
oooh

Chorus:
Baby, I'm too lost in you
Caught in you
Lost in everything about you
So deep, I can't sleep
I can't think
I just think about the things that you do (you do)
I'm too lost in you
(Too lost in you)

I'm going crazy in love for you baby
(I can't eat and I can't sleep)
I'm going down like a stone in the sea
Yeah, no one can rescue me
(No one can rescue me)
ooh ooooh

Oooh, my baby
Oooh, baby, baby, baby

Chorus:
Baby, I'm too lost in you
Caught in you
Lost in everything about you
So deep, I can't sleep
I can't think
I just think about the things that you do (you do)
I'm too lost in you (too lost in you)

oooh
I'm lost in you
I'm lost in you
I'm lost in everything about you
So deep (so deep), I can't sleep (no, no, no)
I can't think
I just think about the things that you do (you do)
I'm too lost in you
(Too lost in you)

Last Words from War and Peace

"There is no one in Russian literature now, from schoolboy essayist to learned historian, who does not throw his little stone at Alexander for things he did wrong at this period of his reign...

"It would take a dozen pages to enumerate all the reproaches the historians address to him, based on their knowledge of what is good for humanity...

"In what does the substance of those reproaches lie?

"It lies in the fact that an historic character like Alexander I, standing on the highest possible pinnacle of human power with the blinding light of history focused upon him--a character exposed to those strongest of all influences, the intrigues, flattery, and self-deception inseparable from power--a character who at every moment of his life felt a responsibility for all that was happening in Europe; and not a fictitious but a live character, who like every man had his personal habits, passions, and impulses towards goodness, beauty, and truth--that this character, though not lacking in virtue (the historians do not accuse him of that), had not the same conception of the welfare of humanity fifty years ago, as a present-day professor who from his youth upwards has been occupied with learning--that is, with books and lectures and with taking notes from them.

"But even if we assume that fifty years ago Alexander I was mistaken in his view of what was good for the people, we must inevitably assume that the historian who judges Alexander will also after the lapse of some time, turn out to be mistaken in his view of what is good for humanity. This assumption is all the more natural and inevitable because, watching the movement of history, we see that every year, and with each new writer, opinion as to what is good for mankind changes; so that what once seemed good, ten years later seems bad, and vice versa. And what is more, we find at one and the same time quite contradictory views as to what is bad and what is good in history: some people regard giving a constitution to Poland and forming the Holy Alliance as praiseworthy in Alexander, while others regard it as blameworthy.

"The activity of Alexander or of Napoleon cannot be called useful or harmful, for it is impossible to say for what it was useful or harmful. If that activity displeases somebody, this is only because it does not agree with his limited understanding of what is good. Whether the preservation of my father's house in Moscow or the glory of the Russian arms, or the prosperity of the Petersburg and other universities, or the freedom of Poland, or the greatness of Russia, or the balance of power in Europe, or a certain kind of European culture called 'progress', appear to me to be good or bad, I must admit that besides these things the action of every historic character has other more general purposes inaccessible to me.

"But let us assume that what is called science can harmonize all contradictions and possesses an unchanging standard of good and bad by which to try historic characters and events: let us say that Alexander could have done everything differently, let us say that--by guidance from those who blame him and who profess to know the ultimate aim of the movement of humanity--he might have arranged matters according to the programme his present accusers would have given him--of nationality, freedom, equality, and progress (these I think cover the ground). Let us assume that this program was possible and had then been formulated, and that Alexander had acted on it. What would then have become of the activity of all those who opposed the tendency that then prevailed in the government--an activity that in the opinion of the historians was good and beneficent? Their activity would not have existed: there would have been no life, there would have been nothing.

"If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, the possibility of life is destroyed."

[emphasis mine]

--Count Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, First Epilogue, Chapter I

Time changes, mindsets change. That's why "every generation writes its own history".

Human life is irrational. It is the very irrationality that brings out the life in existence.

Happy birthday everyone! Yesterday was the Day of Man in the Chinese New Year, on which man, i.e. people, were first created. It's also the day when people would do the lou-hei. Done yours yet?

Amusingly I found this similar to Christian tradition. In the Old Testament, it states that God placed man on earth on the seventh day. Effect of the early Zoroastrians perhaps?

On Forgetting: Inspirations from Architecture

This is a long overdue post.

I remember browsing a book on architecture at MPH in CityLink Mall sometime in the last two months (it's been that long), and it was a showcase of outstanding architectural designs in Asia. I can't even remember the title now. One of the designs featured conservation of certain architectural heritage of that city. It was mentioned that a style was preserved as it was forgotten by time and the people, in a forgotten corner of the city.

Suddenly that section struck a chord. History is about memory, remembrance of the past which in other ways could be easily forgotten and its existence denied. However, in this section it is shown that history and heritage is better preserved, it appears, if it is forgotten. What a contradiction!

Sometimes one has to forget in order to remember better.

History is made by those least conscious of it.

"It is natural for us who were not living in those days to imagine that when half Russia had been conquered and the inhabitants were fleeing to distant provinces, and one levy after another was being raised for the defence of the fatherland, all Russians from the greatest to the least were solely engaged in sacrificing themselves, saving their fatherland, or weeping over its downfall. The tales and descriptions of that time without exception speak only of the self-sacrifice, patriotic devotion, despair, grief, and the heroism of the Russians. But it was not really so. It appears so to us because we see only the general historic interest of that time and do not see all the personal human interests that people had. Yet in reality those personal interests of the moment so much transcend the general interests, that they always prevent the public interest from being felt or even noticed. Most of the people at that time paid no attention to the general progress of events but were guided only by their private interests, and they were the very people whose activities at that period were most useful.

"Those who tried to understand the general course of events, and to take part in it by self-sacrifice and heroism, were the most useless members of society, they saw everything upside down, and all they did for the common good turned out to be useless and foolish--like Pierre's and Mamónov's regiments which looted Russian villages, and the lint the young ladies prepared and that never reached the wounded, and so on. Even those, fond of intellectual talk and of expressing their feelings, who discussed Russia's position at the time, involuntarily introduced into their conversation either a shade of pretense and falsehood, or useless condemnation and anger directed against people accused of actions no one could possibly be guilty of. In historic events the rule forbidding us to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge is specially applicable. Only unconscious action bears fruit, and he who plays a part in an historic event never understands its significance. If he tries to realize it his efforts are fruitless.

"The more closely a man was engaged in the events then taking place in Russia the less did he realize their significance. In Petersburg and in the provinces at a distance from Moscow, ladies, and gentlemen in militia uniforms, wept for Russia and its ancient capital and talked of self-sacrifice and so on; but in the army which retired beyond Moscow there was little talk or thought of Moscow, and when they caught sight of its burnt ruins no one swore to be avenged on the French, but they thought about the term's pay, their next quarters, of Matrëshka the vivandière, and like matters."

[emphasis mine]

--Count Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, Book XII, Chapter II

Very often we are inspired by the very things we read, and history is filled with what we call great men and great events--the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, the discovery of the New World, etc. But we get so starry-eyed over such grand tales that we forget their significance was only realised through hindsight. No one, for example, could have forseen that the 1970s would enjoy a revival at the turn of this century. The main participants of these historic events never had the expectation of posterity at the forefront of their minds. They almost always concentrated on the present and their very surroundings, and what they were doing at the very moment. History is made by those least conscious of it.

Terry Brighton alluded to it when he wrote on the Charge of the Light Brigade. He calls it the "Tennyson effect". The survivors never understood the significance of what they did until they returned to England and received the accolades and saw their own actions from a distance. Then they began to be caught up in the whole hysteria as well.

Therefore something to keep in mind for those inspired by past events and seek to perform something as great: you don't create history by studying history. You make history by forcusing on the present. Which is also to say, ungratefully for me, historians almost never create history.

Hence it is up to the individual to choose, whether to stand in awe of past greatness, or to make his own history, and let others stand in awe of him. The choice is yours.

'"If there was none of this magnanimity in war, we should go to war only when it was worth while going to certain death, as now. Then there would not be war because Paul Ivánovich had offended Michael Ivánovich. And when there was a war, like this one, it would be war! And then the determination of the troops would be quite different. Then all these Westphalians and Hessians whom Napoleon is leading would not follow him into Russia, and we should not go to fight in Austria and Prussia without knowing why. War is not courtesy but the most horrible thing in life; and we ought to understand that and not play at war. We ought to accept this terrible necessity sternly and seriously. It all lies in that: get rid of falsehood and let war be war and not a game. As it is now, war is the favorite pastime of the idle and frivolous. The military calling is the most highly honoured.

'"But what is war? What is needed for success in warfare? What are the habits of the military? The aim of war is murder; the methods of war are spying, treachery, and their encouragement, the ruin of a country's inhabitants, robbing them or stealing to provision the army, and fraud and falsehood termed military craft. The habits of the military class are the absence of freedom, that is, discipline, idleness, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery, and drunkenness. And in spite of all this it is the highest class, respected by everyone. All the kings, except the Chinese, wear military uniforms, and he who kills most people receives the highest rewards."'

--Count Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, Book X, Chapter XXV

The bare truth of the matter, as borne out a century later in the two World Wars. War should so terrible as to only merit the worthiest causes.

And for information, the Chinese monarchs did not wear military dress only because they didn't have to. No one really contested the strength of the Chinese empire at its height. But that said, Chinese monarchs did wear armour when the occasion demanded of it, such as when they had to lead troops personally.

Can't believe I would be clubbing on the 2nd day of CNY.

Traditionally CNY would be a sedate affair, with a few family dinners to attend and people to visit whom I've not met for one whole year. So it was a very spontaneous thing when we decided to pop down to Zouk on a Monday night from my uncle's place.

It turned out that Paul van Dyk was on the turnstables that night. I was shocked by the long queues and the crowd, which comprised mostly of people whom one would expect to be visiting relatives, chomping down New Year goodies etc. After much difficulty, we managed to get in, even though the people we went with were members. It was horribly bad. had to stand outside for almost eons.

Once inside it was another battle to find a place to park our feet, much less our butts. It was so packed we were squashed body to body. "What have I gotten myself into?" I thought at that point.

But all was good after much shifting around from one packed corner to another, and trying not to lose any member of our group. We got really up close though not personal to Paul van Dyk and managed to get come pictures. There was a videocam spying about, and if we were lucky we might find ourselves on the next issue of Juice or something.

And the music was really good. It was the first time I had paid any attention to the man, and I must say, he plays good dance music. Far better than the CDs they've been advertising on TV.

Here are my conquests: the man in his full musical glory...

Apparently I was not the only one trying to get his picture...

Another shot at the man... Actually he could be anybody, but it was said that Paul van Dyk was in the house, and he's the one at the desk, I naturally assumed one was the other...

There you go... close-up...