News Alert: Brother of Afghan President Is on C.I.A. Payroll, Officials Say

[kelber at mindspring.com]

There's a kind of almost sweet naivety in the idea that we can send Our Troops Whom We Bless (including, unfortunately, my husband's nephew, who's a very nice guy)into the largest heroin-producing region in the world without large-scale addiction being the result.  That's at the bottom levels.  On the top: For the CIA, Haliburton, Golden Fang, etc., a lucrative drug trade beckons.

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: Robin Landseadel <robinlandseadel at comcast.net>
>Sent: Oct 29, 2009 10:17 AM
>To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>Subject: Re: News Alert: Brother of Afghan President Is on C.I.A. Payroll, Officials Say
>
>"Shall I project a world?"
>
>It's valid to point out how much we project into Pynchon's worlds.  
>This particular case, however, is in fact relevant to the book that we  
>are now re-digesting. Pynchon's Golden Fang of capitalism's darker  
>reaches specifically involves CIA involvement in the drug trade.  
>What's going on in Afghanistan right now goes to the heart of that  
>involvement. It would be the easiest thing in the world to simply stop  
>the double-edged sword of the Prison Industry/Drug War cycle by  
>legalizing and regulating the drugs that are now illegal. But there's  
>too much money involved, so most likely it will never happen. When  
>that fog lifts we will still be seeing the same landscape as before.  
>Those willing to radically change the scene will doubtless be punished  
>for their efforts.
>On Oct 29, 2009, at 6:50 AM, Ray Easton wrote:
>
>> Michael Bailey wrote:
>>>> as Penny the DA said, are we being paranoid enough?
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I was really just trying to add a little light commentary, but
>>> I suppose with a little effort (all I'm prepared for
>>> after a night shift) one can haul this around to being Pynchon  
>>> related.//
>>>
>> With very little effort, we list-members seem to be able to haul  
>> most anything around to being Pynchon related.   How much that says  
>> about Pynchon, rather than just about us, is an interesting question.
>>
>> Ray
>> //
>