I'm always several weeks behind on The New Yorker. While it's my favorite magazine (yes, even better than US Weekly), it's so lengthy that I can't keep up with it each week. I just finished the February 14th / February 21st double issue. Here are the highlights:
- Letter From Kabul - The Afghan Bank Heist. This article uncovers the vast corruption within Kabul Bank. Kabul Bank appears to have been a personal money trough for anyone connected with the highest levels of the Afghani government. What's so great (and ironic) about the article is that it's in the very same issue that covers the Egyptian uprising which, when this issue went to press, was still unresolved. One of the primary mistakes of American policy in Egypt (specifically, turning a blind eye to the government's corruption because we believed that government to be the lesser of two evils) is repeating itself in Afghanistan. Three cheers for American foreign policy!
- Department of Education - The Order of Things. Malcolm Gladwell writes about the somewhat ridiculous nature of college rankings, specifically the U.S. News & World Reports "Best Colleges" guide. I got a kick out of the fact that he repeatedly uses Penn State's middle of the pack ranking to demonstrate how the system is broken. Hannah knew what she was doing after all!
- Profiles - The Apostate. This is an expose on the Church of Scientology. Where do I even start with this? I won't go into John Travolta healing Marlon Brando by laying on of hands, the Tom Cruise stuff, or the allegations that the head of the church has beaten up numerous of his direct reports over the years. Instead, I'll just give you these nuggets:
- The church teaches that, 75 million years ago, Earth (which was then called Teegeack) was ruled by a guy named Xenu. Earth was overpopulated so "surplus" people were taken to volcanos and Hydrogen bombs were dropped on them. Really?
- In order to reach the highest Operating Thetan level (don't ask), members pay for hours and hours of "auditing" in which they achieve ever higher states of spirtual advancement and self-betterment. By the time you get to the highest level, you can expect to have paid up to $300,000 for "course work." I should have thought of this.
- The church's version of a religious order (like a priest, minister, or rabbi) is called the Sea Organization. Most members of the Sea Organization join as children (signed away by their parents) and they sign contracts for up to a billion years of service to the church. That's not a misprint -- a billion years of service.
