The Jimbo Taliban.

Apparently ordinary Afgans have had to pay over half a billion dollars in bribes to get health care and all sorts of public services from government officials, the police etc. It’s rising and being used to fund the Taliban. So it may be the case that our troops are training the army, which is, or will be as soon as we leave, controlled by the government, who are extorting money from ordinary Afgans, which they are using to fund the Taliban, who are fighting our troops. This somehow reminds me of an unsuccessful therapist who manages to cajole his client into saying the right things during a session yet makes no longer term difference. Everyone’s happy but it remains money ill spent. And then there’s this Guardian Readers offer on the back page of the Guide. “Get your T shirt in time for the World Cup, only £14.99, 100% cotton etc bla”, with “I’m with Jimbo” emblazoned across the front. Apart from the fact it’s now July 8^rd and I know it’s Holland v Spain in the final, who the hell is Jimbo? It seems our genteel democratised bribery is more sophisticated. They are only ‘asking’ me to pay £14.99 for a useless garment, which has been created by a marketing department, who are attempting to extort money, which they are using to fund Jimbo, which is a shadowy consumerist coalition intent on my domination because they know I enjoy watching the World Cup. Honestly I’m beginning to think the only difference is we don’t have to wear headscarves.