Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain

This is Asia, where form beats function every day of every week. Take, for example, President Bam-something-or-other-unpronounceable of Indonesia, speaking at a seventy-nation conference on the world’s oceans.

“We must come to the rescue of the oceans. We must save them from the ravages of abuse and over-exploitation by humankind, from the havoc due to pollution . . .” He went on to say, “this is a life and death issue for the community of nations, including Indonesia . . .”

To the credit of The Nation, a Bangkok English-language daily, the article went on to note:

The president made no mention of his own country’s massive failings in conserving its environment, ranging from rampant illegal logging to over-fishing and the destruction of coral reefs through the use of bombs . . . with garbage and diesel oil clogging the waters . . . close to the conference venue.

I love the part about the bombs, that shit is cold.