Dispatches from the Fringe

Some recent highlight from Reason magazine’s daily Brickbats feature: The new Chief Justice of Afghanistan, Fazl Hadi Shinwari (who is coincidentally also a Muslim cleric), has decided to ban all cable television in that his country because of the smut it shows. Satellite transmissions are, praise be to Allah, beyond his reach…Also out of Afghanistan, a Taliban soldier who fought against U.S. and British forces has been granted asylum as a political refugee by the UK. It seems he fears for his life if he returns to now Northern Alliance-dominated nation…And in a disturbingly French-sounding move, Labour MP Harry Barnes wants to legislate American words and phrases out of British broadcasting. You can take your aubergine into the lift while you’re on holiday, just don’t try to carry an eggplant on an elevator while you’re on vacation.

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