Flit

We do all the Olympics failed

Now that all is right in Canada again and our long national nightmare is over, I just want to say that I think these Winter Olympics have been a pretty good experience, all and all. Also, that John Doyle is right about our curling team. I'm in awe of veteran second Carolyn Darbyshire's "Manitoba tuck" delivery: not only does it look much more uncomfortable than I'm sure it is, but it's certainly unusual in the women's game: a little like watching a knuckleballer in baseball or a left-handed fencer.

UPDATE: On hockey, Colby has the last word worth having. And that word is "ham".

Working down the list

The CSM is reporting that Abdul Qayum Zakir, who I said here would likely take over Taliban military operational control in the south from the recently detained Baradar, has been picked up as well.

It's increasingly sounding like the Pakistanis, for whatever reason, have bought Canadian, ISAF and Afghan troops something of a breather here. For which I for one am happy to say, "thanks."

In other news, the Frontline documentary this week, "Behind Taliban Lines," was the funniest thing I've seen on TV in some time. The best part was the earnest recreation of the Joker hospital scene from "The Dark Knight" at the end of their failed ambush. ("The damn thing doesn't work! Here, I'll show you! *Boom*. The way the triggerman's shoulders visibly slump at that point was The Awesome). Of course the title's misleading, as these guys were actually Hekmatyar's fighters up in Baghlan, but it was a useful reminder that one's enemy is undoubtedly having problems of their own. (The overrun of the police station, so often seen in the Kandahar context, shows even these clowns could be dangerous, though... but a section of ISAF or even good ANA troops with a radio and all the support that could have brought them in situ could surely have intimidated or beaten these guys off... that's the tragedy of the ANP right there.)