This is a big day for me. Today represents the start of my second year on my daily blog. I have, thus, decided to crystallize the essence of each country, and more, beginning today. Also this day begins Kenji Sumida's dimpled spheroid safari. This undertaking involved two overnight flights in three days for me. It is more than golf, of course, but we will nevertheless hack around nine times over the next seven days, among other things. Anyway, the review of nations will be alphabetical, and I start with Afghanistan.
Called the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, it has a history of 5000 years, but was officially founded in 1747, 19 years before the USA. The nation is landlocked, with cold winters and hot summers. A decent website is Afghanistan Online.
The photo above shows Charlie Wilson, congressman from Texas, who helped win the war for Democracy for Afghanistan in 1989, at least according to Chapter 1 of SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity. That is, of course, Tom Hanks, who plays Wilson in the movie, Charlie Wilson's War. But the Taliban prevailed in 1996, only to be overcome by American and allied forces in 2001. Hamid Karzai was ovwhelmingly elected President in 2004. Now, with President Obama focusing on Osama Bin Ladin and the Taliban, while on the one hand there seems to be a growing security, there are whispers of another Viet Nam. To say there are a hundred political and religious parties would not be an exaggeration.
The country is slightly smaller than Texas, with a population nearing 34 million. It is 99% Muslim, with most being Sunni. The literacy rate is 28% and GDP/capita is $800. Life expectancy at birth is 44.6 years. It is the world’s largest producer of opium, gaining revenues of $3 billion/year, a major economic activity for the country.
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Ironically, no oil is produced in Afghanistan and two-thirds of electricity generation is renewable, mostly hydroelectric. You might ask, then, why are we there in greater force? Such are the international politics of war and peace.
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If you plan to go there, the exchange rate of 50 afghanis to the dollar has been relatively steady for several years. You might first, though, want to check the State Department website and other sources on the sanity of such an adventure. Oh, I should mention that the Taliban countersurge began today.
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The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 169 to 8146. At one point, it was up 240. World markets were all positive, save for Sweden. You ask, why are stocks climbing when news continue to be mostly bad? They say that the market does not wait for good news. To some degree, the knowledge level is such that investors know of, or hopefully anticipate, yet announced trends. Thus, when the so called good news arrives, it is already too late for you to invest. Gold increased $6/toz to $926 and oil is back above $50/barrel.
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President Obama's 100-day press conference, which was announced as not a 100-day press report, appeared to go well today. The FOX channel chose not to participate. The early reviews.
-Tomorrow: Akrotiri. Yes, this one is obscure, and you need to be geo-bee champ to be conversant.
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