never underestimate american intelligence... you probably can't.

as someone who is borderline retarded when it comes to world history and current events, i generally appreciate it when the Times explains things to me that most of its other educated readers probably already know. but sometimes, they over-explain a little. it's actually kind of insulting. for example, take this clip from today's article about the afghan drug lord who was extradited to the US:

Mr. Mohammad was also accused of using drug profits to support terrorism and the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist party that ruled Afghanistan for years and was allied with Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

now, honestly, what percentage of Times readers don't know what the taliban is? i mean, if i know, and even i think it's a dumb thing to explain, then chances are, most of your educated adults (i.e. the vast majority of people bothering to read this bitch) will have a clue.

the article was pretty interesting, though. i mean, i didn't know that 87% of the world's heroin comes from afghanistan, or that it is a main source of the taliban's money. i guess those inane public service announcements about how smoking pot makes you a terrorist were founded in a grain of truth... sorta. maybe if they hadn't also treaded into pregnancy land, someone would have taken them seriously. but probably not.