6 March 2001 - Afghan statues

Has the Afghan Taliban finally gone too far? To take away the livelihoods and freedom of millions of Afghans is national business as usual. Ho hum. But to destroy ancient Buddhist art is to attack the very foundation of global cultural heritage and even of tourism itself, a transgression of Koranic proportions. Talk about bad karma!

At least we, the global villagers, have no cause for personal fear. We can rest easy in the knowledge that our entrenched cultural institutions will struggle to the last figurine. Even as I write, the Smithsonian-British Museum Joint Strike Force stands in a state of high alert.