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🇪🇸 Spain /Conflict & Security

The Apathy of the Stars

From La Vanguardia · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Named sources Context piece
  • The column argues that detachment offers little comfort while wars, political violence and injustice dominate the news.
  • It compares Russia’s justification for invading Ukraine with Argentina’s renewed call under Javier Milei to reclaim the Falkland Islands.
  • The author presents both cases as expressions of irrationality, framing Ukraine as tragedy and the Falklands dispute as comedy.

In James Joyce’s *Ulysses*, Leopold Bloom searches for philosophical consolation after discovering that his wife is unfaithful with much of Dublin. One possibility stands out: “the apathy of the stars.” The phrase returns to the author as a possible source of calm in a world possessed by stupidity.

Orcas eat those bears like little fish. Yes, they simply attack in a pack, bang, and tear them apart. It is all very interesting. Yes, the food chain. We have to tell children about this, so they understand what kind of world we live in and why we are carrying out the special military operation.

· Vladimir PutinPutin used the relationship between orcas and polar bears while explaining Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to students in Moscow.

Looking away is one option, but not for people who consume the news and follow events closely. The column lists a world in which brute force defeats justice, nuclear arsenals sit under the control of leaders the author describes as mentally ill, ethnic cleansing is taking place in the Holy Land, bloodshed continues in Sudan without effective efforts for peace, and migration has become a political game in Madrid. It also points to endless wars involving the United States, Iran, Russia and Ukraine, alongside Argentina’s renewed claim to the Falkland Islands.

The author focuses on Ukraine and the Falklands as two extremes: tragedy and comedy. What connects them, the column argues, is irrationality.

The most important and sacred thing we Argentines have.

· Javier MileiMilei described Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

Vladimir Putin recently explained to students in Moscow why he ordered the invasion of Ukraine. In the Arctic, he said, orcas live alongside polar bears. “Orcas eat those bears like little fish. Yes, they simply attack in a pack, bang, and tear them apart. It is all very interesting. Yes, the food chain. We have to tell children about this, so they understand what kind of world we live in and why we are carrying out the special military operation.”

Winds of change in the world favorable to our claims

· Javier MileiMilei cited changing international conditions as a reason to act on the Falklands claim.

The author interprets the comparison as a lesson in the law of the jungle, where the strong consume the weak. In Buenos Aires, Javier Milei made a solemn appeal to recover Argentine sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, describing the cause as “the most important and sacred thing we Argentines have.” Milei said action was possible because of “winds of change in the world favorable to our claims” and “the new geopolitical relevance of our country.”

The new geopolitical relevance of our country

· Javier MileiMilei gave Argentina’s purportedly increased geopolitical importance as another reason to pursue the claim.
About this summary

Originally published by La Vanguardia in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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