Good Reads: From the strength of one girl, to an FBI sting, to 'old fogey' Scalia
Oct. 9 marked the first anniversary of the shooting of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai by Taliban extremists while she was sitting in her school bus. But instead of silencing her, the unsuccessful attack has made Malala a world-renowned spokeswoman for education, especially for girls and women. Recovered from her wound, she鈥檚 back in school in Birmingham, England.
鈥淭he voice of the girl whom the Taliban tried to silence a year ago has been amplified beyond what anyone could have thought possible,鈥� writes .
鈥淲hen I ask her what she thinks the militants achieved that day, she smiles. 鈥業 think they may be regretting that they shot Malala,鈥� she says. 鈥楴ow she is heard in every corner of the world.鈥欌��
A real 鈥楤reaking Bad鈥� story
Ross William Ulbricht ran a stealthy website called Silk Road that trafficked in drugs and anything else people wanted to buy without the prying eyes of governments. He was so successful that he may have taken in $80 million in the 30 months the site was active.
But US federal agents finally caught up with Mr. Ulbricht while he was tapping away on his laptop at a library in San Francisco. How they managed to find him is the story told by .
Apparently, the writers say, Ulbricht felt his illegal operation was really a beacon of 鈥渇reedom over tyranny,鈥� not a criminal enterprise. The FBI disagreed.
鈥淯lbricht was actually making sloppy mistakes from the start,鈥� write Mr. Anderson and Mr. Farivar. 鈥淎nd it didn鈥檛 take technical back doors to find him; it just took a lot of solid detective work, some subpoenas, and a search engine.鈥�
Assad explains presidential 鈥榤istakes鈥�
骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 magazine offers an in-depth interview with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In an article by Dieter Bednarz and Klaus Brinkb盲umer, Mr. Assad professes his love for his country and his willingness to consider stepping down from office next year (鈥淚f I no longer know that I have the will of the people behind me, then I will not run,鈥� he says.)
The interviewers get him to admit, obliquely at least, to shortcomings. 鈥淭here were personal mistakes made by individuals. We all make mistakes,鈥� Assad says. 鈥淓ven a president makes mistakes. But even if there were mistakes in the implementation, our decisions were still fundamentally the right ones.鈥�
Pressed on the biggest question, he remains defiant. 鈥淲e did not use chemical weapons鈥� on unarmed civilians, including children, he says. 鈥淭his is a misstatement.鈥�
Keeper of the conservative flame
Love him or loathe him, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a continuing font of controversial opinions 鈥� 鈥渆ither a demigod on stilts or a menace to democracy, depending on which side of the aisle鈥� the observer sits, writes Jennifer Senior prefacing her interview with .
鈥淪calia is perhaps more responsible than any American alive for the mainstreaming of conservative ideas鈥� about 颅the law, she says.
But he doesn鈥檛 seem to mind drawing fire for his views. 鈥淚 am something of a contrarian, I suppose. I feel less comfortable when everybody agrees with me,鈥� he tells Ms. Senior. 鈥淚 probably believe that the worst opinions in my court have been unanimous. Because there鈥檚 nobody on the other side pointing out all the flaws.鈥�
The piece is laced with intriguing tidbits. Scalia gets most of his news, he says, not from newspapers or newscasts but from talk radio commentators. And he鈥檚 upset by the profanity he hears in movies and on TV.
Fifty years from now, Scalia may be known as 鈥渁n old fogey鈥� who was 鈥渙n the losing side of everything,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 care.鈥�
I鈥檓 sorry for your time, please read this
When in doubt, apologize. Even if it鈥檚 not your fault. If you do, people will trust you.
That鈥檚 the conclusion of a study reported by . 鈥淚n our minds, anyone who takes note of our misfortune, and expresses dismay over it, is impressively empathetic and thus worthy of our confidence,鈥� writes Mr. Jacobs in explaining the research, which included an experiment in which people at a train station on a rainy day were asked if they would lend their cellphone to a stranger to make a call. If the stranger first said he was 鈥渟o sorry about the rain!鈥� the cellphone owner was much more likely to lend his phone 鈥� even though the rain was no one鈥檚 fault.
鈥淏y issuing a superfluous apology,鈥� the researchers are quoted as saying, 鈥渢he apologizer communicates that he has taken the victim鈥檚 perspective,
acknowledge[s] adversity, and expresses regret鈥� 鈥� which increases the level of trust.
(If this column has displeased you, I apologize.)
