Maysaloon - ميسلون

I read the story of the Red Cross giving first-aid lessons to the Taleban with some amusement. Apparently they are 'teaching' them basics about humanitarian law as well. I think this story is more publicity than anything else and that's probably why NATO said they don't mind what the Red Cross are doing.

But the Taleban don't really need any help from the Red Cross or anybody and have been doing fine without first aid classes and knowing how to put somebody in the recovery position. What this story is all about is a reaffirmation of that silly democratic slogan of "Sir, I detest what you are saying but I will defend your right to say it". The kind of gentlemanly grace imbued with worship of the principle of no principles, sorry the principle to say whatever it is you want to say no matter how horrendous.

So that is a principle...I see. Two hundred years ago some English king taxed some middle class merchants on the west coast of North America a bit too much or forced a person to stop printing seditious materials and that is now an ideology that every mac-toting, rubber braceleted, starry eyed activist from San Francisco to Hong Kong gets teary eyed about.

You see morality now is something that is out there, it's in Palestine or Iraq. It's about lepers in Africa or about fighting Aids. Don't you dare bring morality into our everyday lives...that would mean we would have to change the way we live, that we are accountable for our behaviour. No, much better to be immoral as a person but be passionate about the Palestinian cause. Because that just makes everything else you do ok, doesn't it?