Monday, December 12, 2005

Too insane to be fiction

I had to read this a couple of times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating or something. Lahore, Pakistan:
Pakistan's Supreme Court has extended a ban on making, selling and flying kites that it imposed two months ago after ruling that the sport has become increasingly deadly, an official said Saturday.

The court decided on Friday to extend the ban until it meets next on Jan. 26, said Aftab Iqbal, advocate general for eastern Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital.

While the court was hearing the case, police swung batons and lobbed tear gas shells outside the building to disperse about 500 kite-makers and kite-flying enthusiasts who were trying to attend the proceedings.
On the second read-through I finally understood:
Hardline Muslims oppose Basant as a waste of money and consider it a Hindu festival. It is also celebrated with loud music and yellow dresses.
Ah ha. The same people who only have fun when they're killing people who don't follow their religion. Now I understand.