FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012
PAGE 5
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY & KANSAN
opinion
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Growing up sucks because you realize your mom banged Santa and your dad banged the tooth fairy...
Sometimes I hide in my closet and pretend I'm broccoli.
Why even go to college if you can afford a Porsche Pan Am?
Violence may not be the answer, but according to chemistry, alcohol is a solution.
Both Watson and Anschutz have a common aroma upon entering and exiting. lung cancer.
Here at KU we don't have shark week. We have whale week.
I think I have paper-throwing-shoulder from too many basketball games. Worth it.
Lewis has Jedi too?! Templin challenges thee to a duel!
I feel like whenever Chancellor BGL shows up at a game, the entire student section should do the Bernie.
That awkward moment when you and a cop get to a 4-way stop at the same time and no one moves for 10 seconds.
KU: perfecting the art of newspaper confetti since 1865.
This is an easy solution, people. We must send in the basketball team to defeat the whale.
I just saw a tree branch move up a wall. Then I realized it was a squirrel trying to disguise himself.
Missouri is the Justin Beiber of basketball.
Watching anime is not a legitimate method of studying Japanese.
I imagine Occupy KU's "general assemblies" consist of three angsty hispters with a huge box of colored chalk.
I play video games with my boyfriend instead of waiting for his text. I think HE found a keeper.
Does that whistle that blows every hour double as a cloud factory?
When I am chasing after a bus I can't help but sing, "Baby come back! You can blame it all on me!"
Whale at Potter Lake. Jeff Withey. Bus Driver Dan. Honestly FFA. I'm getting a little bored with the lather, rinse, repeat.
letsbemororeignalpeople
Editor's note; I agree, but then again I only have so much to work with here.
That awkward moment when you're singing to your petri plates to help your bacteria grow and your boss walks in. #imoldschoolscience
How dare you bring McDonald's to a 9:00 am class! Don't you know the law of "only if you can share to enough?"
The engineering building being constructed is actually the new elite squirrel training facility.
My English teacher just wrote the wrong form of their on the board... Come on now!
Editor's note: Higher education at its finest!
Solving Afghanistan's opium controversy
When the United States invaded Afghanistan in October of 2001, I naively assumed the mission would be easy: American and allied troops would root out the bad guys, and the Afghan people could create a new country with neighbors flying kites, children attending school, and families
INTERNATIONAL
indebted to drug traffickers who often demand farm children as repayment.
planting flowers around their homes. Ten years later, Afghanistan stubbornly defies my predictions, and news reports remain mostly negative.
However, in early January, PBS released a documentary
It's painful to watch. The young, mostly female children range from five to fourteen years old. They sit passively as their parents describe their depressing future of servitude and forced marriage.
noting that farming families have indeed planted flowers specifically, poppies.
"If the United States expects to leave any hope of stability when troops depart in 2014, leaders must recognize that the absence of insurgency does not ensure the creation of stability."
The documentary "Opium Brides" tracks journalist Najibullah Quraishi interviewing families whose poppy crops have been destroyed by the Afghan government. Without crops to sell, the families find themselves
Although no reliable statistics on the number of debt children exist, the United Nations estimates Afghanistan produced 5,800 tons of opium in 2011—a 61 percent increase from 2010. This amounted to a $2.4 billion value—15 percent of Afghan GDP—and supplied 82 percent of global opium. Some sources
estimate over 90 percent of heroin worldwide originates in Afghanistan.
Illicit drugs directly threaten Afghan security. Trafficking generates revenue for militant networks that siphon off protection money and levy taxes. These groups bribe officials to turn a blind eye, fostering corruption. This strengthens non-state actors like the Taliban at the legitimate government's expense.
Unfortunately, few easy solutions remain. Simply destroying poppy crops harms farmers' economic interests, leaving the population vulnerable to exploitation and poisoning public opinion against the United States. Although the Obama administration ended the policy of
eradicating poppy crops in June 2009, leaders should try persuading the Afghan government to halt crop destruction as well.
Which policies might work? Underlying economic desperation can only be addressed through further investment. Current foreign aid to Afghanistan amounts to $80 per person, as compared to $275 per person given to Bosnia after its 1995 war. Development-focused policies that combat opium have shown success—for example, in 2009. British troops distributed wheat seed to 32 thousand farmers, and began creating irrigation infrastructure necessary for legal crops.
Opium remains a symptom of a state without adequate rule of law, stability, or alternatives. If the United States expects to leave any hope of stability when troops depart in 2014, leaders must recognize that the absence of insurgency does not ensure the creation of stability.
While many other challenges exist-corruption, extremist networks, and influential regional actors, to name a few—it
It's entirely possible that in this time of fiscal belt-tightening economic development will be ignored, or prove insufficient to end drug trafficking's stranglehold on Afghan society. Sustainable livelihoods for farming families won't eliminate the Taliban, and some areas may continue illegal production.
seems unlikely that Afghanistan can achieve stability without addressing illicit drugs.
However, investment in Afghanistan's economic future may alleviate some challenges the country faces and prevent future atrocities—and a country on the brink of failure can't afford to squander that chance.
Amanda Gress is a freshman in political science from Overland Park.
FILM
'Drive' expresses compelling lesson
"Drive" has every aspect that I would attribute to a quality film: an awesome cast, a killer soundtrack, pleasing aesthetics and a story with the perfect mix of action and romance. Yet after hearing such wonderful things about this movie, the film leaves me yearning for more.
It has the classic movie era feel and true cinematography, which can be especially appreciated in a film like this. The vintage wonder and tension of authentic stunts and action modernly botched through CGI and what not, is offered by the film and gives the viewers something to truly appreciate.
Elaborating on the classic feel the movie radiates, it seems to follow in the trend of neo noir films that have been emerging in the past decade, like "Sin City" (2005) and the acclaimed "The Dark Knight" (2008); but "Drive" is different amongst its counterparts, because it gets to the core of classic noir, rather than being a recreation or adaptation.
It has the sleekness and swagger of a gangster movie, the edge of your seat moments desired from a great action movie, and the romance and complexity of a compelling drama.
Ryan Gosling stars as the unnamed main character usually referred to as the Driver. He has no identifiable connections to society from what the viewer can tell; yet this unnamed, un-relatable character somehow creates a connection with the audience.
The beginning of the movie, be forewarned, is extremely slow, but after viewing the film in its entirety, it is necessary to build the connections in the film. The Driver meets a girl named Irene who lives across the hall in his apartment building, and starts
creating ties with her and her son Benecio. The only catch is that Irene is married to an imprisoned man, Standard.
Inconveniently, just as The Driver and Irene start to get serious, Standard gets released from jail. After his release, he runs into some trouble and discovers the newly found compassion the Driver has developed for his family. This compassion transfers to Standard as well, and the Driver offers to aid Standard in his endeavors against the criminals that once consumed him. This is when the action really starts, but there is no need to divulge the entire story.
This movie left me hanging at first because I was irritated and confused. Why did everyone praise this movie? Am I missing something here?
But as I let the credits roll and the experience settle in, I got the same feeling that you get when you know you learned a lesson. The movie was not underachieving. "Drive" was trying to portray, like a classic noir film, the fact that not every hero is heavily rewarded, but the good deed in itself is reward enough.
If you are looking for a movie with wonderful acting, that is so visually pleasing when it's over the whole room will look dull, a true modern classic, "Drive" is definitely the film of choice.
John Dillingham is a freshman in film and media studies from Houston, Texas.
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CUISINE
The Valentine's Day dilemma: what's the best restaurant?
A look at Lawrence's best places to eat for all budgets.
Just when you thought you made it through another holiday season, Valentine's Day rears its ugly head once again.Cue the cheesy pink hearts, boxes of chocolates, and commercially-fueled romanticism of this pseudo-holiday.
As you can probably assume, this is not my favorite day of the year, but I am not a complete cynic nor am I here to rant about the phoniness of it all. I'm here to talk about the most important part; the food.
Truthfully, I do appreciate what Valentine's Day usually encompasses: enjoying a nice meal with someone you care about.
Unfortunately, I can't help you find a person to enjoy said meal with, but I can
delicious (I always get the Thukpa) and the meals are at a price you can't beat.
Encore is another great op-
give those of you who want to venture into couple-land for dinner that night some good recommendations for where to eat. I've compiled a list of some great restaurants around town for every budget.
We'll start with the least expensive; these restaurants average less than $10 per person for entrees.
First on the list is my favorite restaurant in all of Lawrence: Zen Zero. Their food is amazingly
"Unfortunately, I can't help you find a person to enjoy said meal with, but I can give those of you who want to venture into couple-land for dinner that night some good recommendations for where to eat."
American style food is good and won't break the bank.
On to the mid-price range level are restaurants that average between $10 and $20 per meal. For a classic Lawrence option, Free State puts out a consistently good meal with something on the menu for everyone.
For a bit of an upscale vibe, both Genovese and 715 offer tasty and different meals in a more romantic setting. Genovese is
Italian and 715 focuses on using local ingredients.
The next price range restaurants with meals for more than $20 per person.
For those of you who don't mind shelling out a bit more money and want something outside the ordinary, I highly recommend Wa; sushi is one of my favorite cuisines and makes for a very fun meal.
Tellers and Pacha Mamas also offer great, eclectic food and an elegant environment.
If you are planning on going out to eat on Valentine's Day, remember, it's probably the busiest night of the year for restaurants so make reservations well in advance.
There is an alternative to going out and I'm sure its more romantic than any restaurant could be: cook yourself! Nothing says "I love you" like a home-cooked meal thats had a lot of care put into it. Without a preset menu you can make the meal as nice or as casual as you want and often for much less money than a restaurant.
Whether you go out or stay in, whether you have a significant other or not, who cares? Just see Valentine's Day as I do; an excuse to eat a really delicious meal.
Bahvy Prad is a junior in poli
by Pred is a junior in political science and paces for another study in the
and peace and conflict studies from Kansas City
Kansas City.
YOUR VALENTINE'S DAY RESTAURANT GUIDE
Zen Zero
715
- Less than $10 per entree
- Asian cuisine
- House Specialty: Gai Phad King, $8.79
● $10-$20 per entree
- Local, homemade cuisine
- Less than $10 per entree;
- House Specialty: Sicilian
- Asian cuisine
Encore
style milk braised ribs, $16
- Vegetarian dish: Ma Po Tofu, $8.95
Genovese
- $10-$20 per entree
- Italian
- Imported dish: Whole shrimp Riscotto with Oyster mushrooms, $17
Tellers
- More than $20 per entree
- World Cuisine
- Entree: White wine poached salmon, $25 Pacha Mamas
- More than $20 per entree
- Eclectic
- Entree: Toasted Sweet potato and cashew raviolis, $25
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