So you're the leader of a country at war, a country that is also one of the poorest in the world, in need of everything from schools to roads to health clinics and vaccines. You're facing a vicious, hate-filled insurgency premised on radical Islam, and a citizenry increasingly disatisfied with your governance and with the pervasive corruption imploding at every turn in your government. What's the first thing you do when you show up to work in the morning?

Why, follow up on the request of some disgruntled, illiterate tribal elders who are in a tithy because they saw some womens' hair. Duh!

As the BBC reports, it wasn't the fact that the volatile and highly conservative province of Helmand managed to have a large, joyous cultural celebration featuring female performers, something that might be considered a small revolution not to mention much-needed relief from the insurgency's wreaking havoc there, that drew the attention of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Nor was it a concern about the competency or merit of the besieged province's deputy governor. It was, rather, some fussing old men and their paranoid, misogynous views about where women rightfully belong (under the shrouded cover...More >>