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Monday, November 03, 2003

Two completely unrelated news stories from Afghanistan   Afghans to have Islamic republic A draft Afghan constitution has been unveiled, setting out a new political system and defining Islam's role in the country. It calls for the creation of an Islamic republic, with a presidential system, and where citizens have equal rights. The draft will be debated by a loya jirga grand assembly next month, paving the way for possible elections in 2004. A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said Afghanistan needed stability and the new constitution was made with "the next 100, 200 years" in mind. Imagine that, a constitution designed to last as long as (dare I say it?) our very own yellowed document that guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from unreasonable searches, a speedy trial and prevent all those nasty things a government can do when it abuses its power. Joy must be beating in the hearts of war-weary Afghans at long last – and to think we did this using nothing but bombs! Here’s the other story… UN sends mission to prevent collapse of Karzai regime UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council sent a high-ranking delegation to Afghanistan yesterday to bolster the country's leader, Hamid Karzai, amid signs that his authority is steadily slipping to powerful warlords and warnings that an opium boom could turn Afghanistan into a failed state run by drug cartels. The delegation, including the UN ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France, Mexico, Spain and Bulgaria, are aiming to demonstrate the international community's commitment to rebuilding the country, said the head of the mission, Germany's UN ambassador Gunter Pleuger. The ambassadors are to visit Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif, he said, to pressure powerful regional warlords "to co-operate fully with the central government" so elections next year can be held in a climate of stability. "We will speak to the local warlords and call to their attention the responsibility for the whole country demanded from them, that they work together with the central government, economically, politically and above all for security," he said. Damn those warlords! They’ll nod and agree with you when it’s not in their long-term interests to resist, then turn around and stab you in the back the minute you’re vulnerable. This area of the world came to be known as “The Middle East” only because “Heavy Concentration Of Assholes” had too many syllables. It’s been going on a lot longer than “100, 200 years.” It’s business as usual using the business model they understand. When bigger assholes with bigger boom-booms come to town you just cool your heels and wait. The climate really sucks there, I hear. When the knives come out, it’s even more inhospitable for the outsiders. They are useful for target practice until they give up. The opium trade is the only monetary incentive to remain and how the hell would you explain that to your constituents back home? After a while, the ideals that brought them in are trumped by self-preservation. They leave and everything old is new again…”Hamid, I love you like my brother, so I must warn you to never turn your back on me.”  If it doesn’t make any sense to you, you should probably avoid the place. 5:27:52 PM    comment []

“Zero Tolerance” is just a politically correct word for fascism. It means the rules are supreme and human judgment is worthless. Videe well the case of Rachel Boirn. She might have been the next great mystery writer. Bored in class, she writes the story of a girl who falls asleep in class and dreams of killing her teacher. Then all hell broke loose:   The girl wrote the story in her personal journal and was showing it to a classmate. Her art teacher noticed, confiscated it, read it and turned it over to school officials the next day. Rachel said the writing was strictly a work of fiction and not intended as a threat. The art teacher, of all people, someone who should understand the role of fantasy in the everyday world, someone you should be able to trust. Was she the teacher who died in the dream? Did she make any plot suggestions before she turned it in, perhaps noting that great drama has characters defined by a succession of crises and the changes brought about by them? Before she turned Rachel over, did she casually mention the verbal irony of “the authorities” punishing “authors” or that of the antagonist further developing her character by rebelling against the playwright in a wry, self-referential twist? Let’s bring on the second act!   "She was removed from her second-period biology class -- with an armed officer," Boim (her father) said. "They had the option of calling us, of asking us to come in with Rachel to talk about the situation, but instead they had an armed guard take her out of class." Of course the guards must be armed. If this were Hollywood, such a representation of “the authorities” would be slammed as heavy-handed and gratuitous. But it’s not the unreal world of cinema; it’s the very real state of things in Georgia, where the Confederate Flag is still worshipped as an icon. Let’s shuffle right along to Act III, the resolution and denouement… Rachel Boim will no longer be attending Roswell High School, in a suburb north of Atlanta, because it would be too much for her to cope with, David Boim said… After her suspension, Rachel fell behind academically, and her father said the hearing on the matter, the expulsion and the extensive media coverage proved stressful for her. "You can imagine," he said. "This is a lot for an adult. Imagine what it's like for a teenager." Hale noted that Rachel always had the opportunity to switch schools, saying that she was expelled only from Roswell High and could have immediately resumed her studies at any other county high school. A pre-school conference was set up between administrators and Boim's parents to assure that everything would go smoothly for Rachel's return on Monday, Hale said. "I understand it was a very normal school day," Hale said. "She was greeted by her friends. Everything went well." Fade on image of father hugging tearful daughter. Roll the credits, crank up Steely Dan: I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes When you put me on the Wolverine Up to Annandale It was still September When your daddy was quite surprised To find you with the working girls In the county jail I was smoking with the boys upstairs When I heard about the whole affair I said oh no William and Mary won't do CHORUS: Well I did not think the girl Could be so cruel And I'm never going back To my old school 12:33:02 AM    comment []