There is a lot of talk about war in Iraq. There are even some prominent people, and some not so prominant people, talking about the tougher, and arguably more important, proposition of peace afterwards. The Cold War, that all-but-forgotten war that nearly led to the incineration of the entire planet, ended just over a decade ago. If you want to see what peace after war looks like, take a look at these stories of Jamaicans singing in Yakutia and Russians studying in Mississippi.
As an example of just how small the world is becoming, a couple of weeks ago I met the Jim, Altura and David, the posse accompanying Rastafarian singer Lenky Roy to Yakutia, Russia. They asked me to give them a tip or two about Siberia. (I told them that gloves weren't good enough where they were going; I meant from them to wear mittens. I think they misunderstood me because they decided not to wear gloves--or anything on their hands--at all.)
After I met this group of enthusiastic guys salivating for adventure, I told my wife, "They're either going to have the best time of their lives in Siberia, or the worst, or, most likely, both." Sure enough, it's impossible to watch the video of them arriving or these pictures and think they aren't having the best time of their lives. But as the video continues, we see Lenky frozen like a statue with a statue of Lenin in the background. Could he look more miserable? (Lenky, not Lenin. Come to think of it, Lenin probably isn't feeling too good these days either.) Knowing the intense ambivalence Siberia inspires, I both envy and pity these guys.
And as for the story about Russians studying in Mississippi, how can you not love the idea of a predominately black ivory tower importing Russians to diversify the school body? I challenge you to find a better example of racial quotas having positive side effects.
