The Gold Dinar Fairy

"Sam asked me while I was reading him your essay, Since when does she believe in fairies and leprechauns? So I said to him she's waiting for someone to ask what the Gold Dinar Fairy is. Until someone breaks down and asks we'll never see an adult discussion about Canada. All right. What is the Gold Dinar Fairy? Now can we please have just one discussion about Canada? They're our neighbors, you know.
Not Born Yesterday in New York"

"Pundita, I'll bite. What is the Gold Dinar Fairy?
Caesar in San Francisco"

Dear NBY and Caesar:
Due to overwhelming popular demand Pundita will now discuss the Gold Dinar Fairy. She's something like Tinkerbell. You have to believe. Crown Prince Abdullah could tell you that once she gets her wings revved up she sprinkles peace, happiness and a sudden halt to suicide bombings. So obviously there are not enough believers in Iraq at this moment. The question is why. Visits to Pundita's sources for news on Iran were no help in solving the mystery. That left the crystal ball, which is out for repairs; tea leaves, and the Ouija board.

The tea leaves weren't much help unless you consider, "The Saudis are trying to pressure the Bush administration into not putting up a fuss about their request to make their own nuclear bomb" to be helpful.

That left Pundita no choice but to wrestle with Ouija, which has been on the fritz since 1992. It has a habit of lapsing into Slavic languages whenever I put questions it doesn't understand. But the question, "Why O why is the Gold Dinar Fairy not flitting around Iraq these days?" elicited a reply in reasonably coherent English. Take it or leave it:

WELCOME TO WORLD BANK DOCTOR WOLFOWITZ PLEASE MAKE SURE IRAQI GOVERNMENTS DOESN'T SHUT IRAN CONTRACTORS OUT OF BIDDING FOR BIG TICKET BANK PROJECTS IN IRAQ HAVE A DAY NICE

Pundita hasn't forgotten Canada. We're waiting to see whether Prime Minister Paul Martin will be forced to call an election if he can't get the budget passed by the end of June.

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