There’s no better way to start the baseball season than this.

Opening Day is Sunday. Keep the beer cold for me.

" The rejection of injustice must be made without concession. "

What am I to think when encountering the following passage in what is supposed to be a work of history (pop, but history nonetheless)?

" In the thirteenth century, a group of religious extremists based in the town of Albi and known as Albigenisans, launched a series of crusades to cleanse the region of 'heretics.' Asked how to recognize a heretic from a true believer, one Albigensian leader, according to legend, said, 'Kill them all. God knows his own.' The chaos that ensued from this approach is known as the Albigensian Wars. " - Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky

The "kill them all" quote is not exactly obscure, nor is its supposed origin¹. How could the writer turn the story exactly around? What am I supposed to do with all the other "facts" he offers?

There is other evidence of sloppiness, other facts unchecked and pictures that don't correspond with the descriptions in the text. In a book that intends to be nothing more than a collection of facts and stories, such carelessness undermines this reader’s trust. And it annoys the hell out of me.
. . .

¹ The Cathars, or Albigensians, broke from Catholicism in the early thirteenth century. The Pope declared a Crusade to cleanse southern France of the heresy. "Kill them all. God knows his own" is supposed to have been advice offered to the Catholic forces besieging the town of Beziers by Arnaud Armaury, one of the spiritual leaders of the Catholic forces.

As usual, Paarfi of Roundwood, hits the nail upon the head, or, rather, we should more accurately say that he strikes repeatedly around the spot where the nail’s head is held, coming now nearer, now further to striking his thumb and losing his train of thought altogether, or, to be more precise, losing the reader’s patience, before finally, with much labor and, it must be admitted and very nearly admired, love, he finally holds up the completed spice rack. That the simple shelf also includes, attached to it, a whole kitchen or, indeed, a whole housing development is the price we pay for, what is without doubt, a unique and uniquely satisfying entertainment, and, moreover, one which we have read headlong and without pause all the way to the end knowing full well that the two additional volumes that complete this small piece of Paarfi’s self-assigned historical task are not available to us in this place. Bah.

" It has long been known by those who take up the pen and write for a populace greedy for distraction, that among the most difficult tasks of the writer are those caused by circumstances in which the characters whom the reader has been following must go from one place to another. The author must somehow account for the journey, and to merely say, "They traveled; they arrived," often leaves the reader with the feeling that something important has been missed; yet to actually describe the passage of one day after another, each filled with nothing more than the routine of the traveler, is, more often than not, to invite ennui; that is, in a word, to bore the reader.

[ … elision of a whole page of text … ]

For this reason, then, it has been our approach, which has met with a certain success, to direct the attention of the reader toward events which have caused significant changes in the personality, or, at any rate, the disposition of those whose actions have attracted our interest; that is, if the struggles of the journey itself, or the conversation among the travelers, or certain incidents have had a profound or lasting effect, that is where we will ask the reader to lend his attention, so that we, in turn, may repay him by providing a deeper understanding of those characters, and with whatever degree of entertainment is naturally afforded by the incidents we are called upon to reveal. "

I nearly think this describes something I am trying, with what meager powers afforded me, to accomplish.

. . .

The proximate cause of the above is that I’ve finished the fourth of the eight books I brought on this trip - and I still have three weeks to go. Fortunately, Kathmandu is noted for its bookshops.

Kathmandu's used book shops are famous for their eclectic selection provided by Western travelers. In essence they're like a perennially rotating library; you can sell books back for 50% of the original price and buy more. Shelves are stocked with a genuine cross-section of travelers reading. Generally quantity predominates over quality; thick historical novels are popular buys for long treks.

Because The Head Heeb has been concentrating on a few other things, you might have missed the unveiling this week of the draft Consitution for the Himalayan kingdom. (PDF)

The response from the refugees in Nepal and their advocates is largely critical. Citizenship - who is Bhutanese and who is not and what that means in practice - is the issue.

A wide range of coverage can be found here.

In the internet age you have to make your own damn narrative. This even has a happy ending (if, as all right thinking Americans do, you consider the possibility of litigation happy . . .).

. . .

(via Kung Fu Monkey)

Because it feels good when I stop.

Reading this headline in the New York Times made me think that of course they're coming up with a new plan. They keep getting their asses kicked in court.

As the number of motions regarding the rights of the inmates grows, as the motions cover more and more of the inmates, and with the courts backing the legal process, the government position is ever more untenable. Add to this the fact that the government never actually tries to prosecute, instead preferring to let these supposedly dangerous terrorists back into the wild rather than face them in court, and the absolute boondoggle that is Guantanamo accelerates into farce.

Remind me how these detentions were supposed to reflect our principles and, therefore, to demonstrate to the world the clear choice between freedom and fear?

I've just closed the door behind a gentleman from the hotel who replaced the fresh cut flowers in my room. Kathmandu is beautiful with pale shoots on one half of the trees and dark summer green on the other.

There have been some changes since I was last here in the fall, not even considering the weather, with two of great significance.

First, on February 1st the king dismissed the government and instituted direct rule by the Palace and using the army as his right arm. Many rights have been suspended. Demonstrators are arrested every day. What impact this is having on the Maoist insurgency is completely unclear because we can't trust the press.

Second, and a more personal gague of change, there is wireless internet access at the hotel. On previous trips it has been possible to use the phone to dial-up a very, very slow and epensive connection, or to use the single hotel computer for less cost, but no more speed. The wireless isn't blinding fast, but it does pull in my mail in realtime.

February 1st has become a touchstone, a before and after date in every conversation. Before, things were bad, not getting better, but coherent. After, all is confusion and uncertainty.

International Crisis Group has been writing reports at a furious pace. They also offer some suggestions for what you can do. Among other things, they recommend donations to international organizations working here. Their list is good and I would just add that CARE is the largest NGO in Nepal and their staff here is very, very good.

Robert Kaplan in the NYT:

For [American soldiers], combat and humanitarian relief are easily interchangeable, and efforts to reshape the military for the war on terrorism are vital to both functions. The troops are comfortable with their dual role; it is our job to supply them with what they need to do it best.

Most of the professional humanitarians - and it is a profession - aren't comfortable with it. And the military actually isn't very good at it.

More when I'm not on the road.