Thailand Trip - Day 0 - The Verge of Chaos..

Trust me when I say this, but email/blog is the last thing I should be doing currently, given the chaos all around me.

For one, workplace's in a mess when I left; we've had to extend my deadlines, I've had to stay late before sheepishly emailing a colleague, asking her to take over from tomorrow, I've had to say no to a lot more suggestions and committments... trust me, leaving work on a Thursday isnt as easy as it sounds. But continuing to be
soul-less in a cubicled jungle carries more risks than *leaving* it on a temporary basis; no way I could, for instance, be responsible for any foul-ups that could occur in the next eight days.

For another, it's a lot less fun; the forecast for the next few days includes, but is not limited to, snorkelling, white-water rafting, trekking, slumming out in seedy guesthouses, and so much more.

All except, of course, this rain.

Been pouring here for the last few hours. That's rain in a Kerala-isque Monsoons sense of the term, not the usually wimpy Deccani drizzle. I have exactly two pairs of wearable, unwashed clothes with me. In the next seven hours, I'll have to dry them, iron them, pack them, and still make it to the airport at least 40 minutes before flying time, or, JetStarAsia's gracious PDF attachment warns, we forfeit the entire amount.

So yeah. Email/blog is the last thing I should be doing, but heck, who cares. I like writing, you like reading, and reading about me, so here's to discovering yet another country with Lonely Planet's blue goggles.

Until we reach Phuket.

Edifice Complex - Societies and Buildings

Fascinating article on Slate on globe-trotting star-chitects, collosal buildings and their link to a society's state. Here's the rub: you get massive buildings when communities (and corporations) are in decline.

The truth is that individuals and institutions usually turn to architecture at moments of decline... "During a period of exciting discovery or progress there is no time to plan the perfect headquarters," he wrote. "The time for that comes later, when all the important work has been done. Perfection, we know, is finality; and finality is death."

The Torture of Liberating.

(I was, and frankly in parts am, supportive, of the War On Terror measures, but there are significant moments when I can't stand Red Kook-Aid anymore. This is one of them; this was my response to a MetaFilter link to an excerpt from the autobiography of an American soldier charged with treason.)

A quick google search revealed what appears to be a slightly more even-handed account of James Yee's case, in that it has quotes from his colleagues who first raised suspicions against him.

Four quick observations here:

a) This account seems to say that the final charge against Capt Yee, that he had an affair while at Gitmo, is true. The WaPo article linked to in an earlier comment also seems to be saying that he was silent on that count.

b) His superior officer, this Miller guy, seemed to be supportive of him before turning against him.

c) The sheer amount of paranoia in the security establishment on potential suspects is staggering; almost like trying to kill a mouse with a nuclear bomb or something.

d) There seems to have been massive, massive spinning in the media in the initial days after his arrest which, in turn, led to a sort-of force-multiplier effect on the prosecutors; they were ready to disregard simple elements of the judicial process in their attempts.

None of which, naturally, condones any action against Capt Yee; must say the entire composite account reeks of not only an unhealthy amount of paranoia against Muslims and Muslim culture, but also of professional jealousy and mistrust.

In a bigger general context though, I found the following passage illuminating:

In one instance, she said, agents showed her a symbol found on one of Al Halabi's documents. They insisted it was related to al-Qaida.

Wega claimed he had been told that by Army Reserve Capt. Jason Orlich, the lead intelligence officer at Camp Delta. Orlich, in turn, said he had learned it from one of the camp's non-Muslim linguists. It was the same linguist who had reported overhearing Chaplain James Yee make subversive statements — a report that had sparked the espionage investigation against Yee.

But it wasn't an al-Qaida symbol at all, Sultan explained to Al Halabi's lawyers. It was a common Muslim saying, written in Arabic in Ottomanic style. The saying, Bism Allah Alrahman Alrahim, meant: "In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful."

It had nothing to do with terrorism.

The problem here, frankly, isn't just in-bred racism against Muslims, but a virulent mix of ignorance, fright and power.