WARNING: RANT LEVEL HIGHBad news from Pakistan. This thing is playing out like some bad drama written by a Hollywood studio hack, and it will end with in the most hideous way. Instead of fiddling while Rome burned, Zardari will twiddle his thumbs while Islamabad and most of Pakistan goes up in a nuclear mushroom cloud.
The Taliban took over Buner province, just 60 miles away from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Then the military got them to withdraw. Yeah, right. Like a bad farce, the spiritual leader Sufi Mohammed made a pretense of herding his Talibans out of Buner, while leaving many others behind to enforce sharia law. Nobody else in the Islamic countries is interested in endorsing this backwards, draconian interpretation of Islam. Indonesia just rejected it, and even Saudi Arabia is trying to modernize and lighten up with the church police. If we could take away the nuclear arsenal, then let these people lord it over each other, throw acid in their women's faces, and stone each other to death in the name of some hick version of Allah the Compassionate...
The analogy here is if the Christian right wing evangelicals, our own American Talibans, were to take over El Paso county. James Dobson would be in charge and members of Focus on the Famly could roam around in public and hassle you and give you a ticket for not being Christian enough. They could shoot and kill your children if they lived in sin with someone, or gotten pregnant out of wedlock.
Of course, the underlying problem in places like Pakistan is the clash of cultures, with Wahabism being a synthesized solution to creeping Westernization. As long as there is the amount of poverty and lack of education, you will always have fodder you can convince to become suicide bombers. As long as children are taught in schools nothing but the Koran, you will have boys as young as 8 years old wanting to be Taliban soldiers. It may be that any solution is years in the future, more than the US is willing to spend in the region. We haven't been able to stop government corruption, the drug trade, blackmarkets, or animosity of Sunni against Shia. We were hoping to set a good example of what a democratic nation has to offer, but killing civilians by drones and torturing prisoners pretty much put an end to that...
Here's a reversal: the Republicans looking to protest over spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reported in the Washington Times: "President Obama's $83.4 billion war-spending bill is headed for an unexpectedly tough time on Capitol Hill, where Republicans are scrutinizing the funding priorities and rank-and-file Democrats want to include performance benchmarks for the Afghanistan mission.
Despite bipartisan support for Mr. Obama's war policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, Republicans are taking a stand against the more than $81 million requested to shut down the prison camp at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba...
Republicans, who have made criticism of massive new spending the cornerstone of their opposition to Mr. Obama and the Democrat-led Congress, also are ready to pounce on any funding not directly linked to the war effort."
I'd been wondering why Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been keeping a fairly low profile since Barack Obama took office, and now I think I know why. In an interview with the Colorado Statesman a few weeks ago, ex-Governor Bill Owens, talking about the stimulus bill, dished some gossip that: "...the analysts basically say that he let (Speaker of the House and California Congresswoman) Nancy Pelosi write the bill. And she threw in everything her constituency wanted — which had very little to do with stimulus...
Everybody put in essentially earmarks, though they didn’t call it that. And it’s 1,000 pages that nobody had read. And it wasn’t very transparent. And they didn’t allow amendments in the House..." Because the bill was not received very well, she has taken a backseat in promoting Obama's agenda.
As scrutiny over who knew what about the controversial tactics has turned back to Congress, Mrs. Pelosi sought to distance herself from revelations that she and other key Democrats were kept in the loop by the CIA between 2002 and 2006. Mrs. Pelosi, who was briefed by the agency as the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, suggested that the current system - in which sensitive information is shared chiefly with only the top members of the House and Senate intelligence committees - needs tweaking so that all members of the committees have the same information.
"They don't come in to consult. They come in to notify," she said. "You can't change what they're doing unless you can act as a committee or as a class."
As for charges the lawmakers could have sought to cut off funding if they disapproved of the tactics, she noted that the Appropriations Committee ultimately has that authority.
But Rep. Peter Hoekstra, currently the ranking Republican on the House intelligence panel, described her comments as the "lamest of lame excuses," saying she could have gone to then-Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt to discuss her concerns.
"The minority leader has the same type of clearances that she has," said Mr. Hoekstra, of Michigan. "Guess what - so does the president."
Within the past three years, Mr. Hoekstra said he "can think of at least specifically three or four cases" in which he raised concerns about an issue with Minority Leader John A. Boehner or former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. In a couple of instances, he was granted an audience with then President Bush.
"Last time I checked, the appropriators were part of the House of Representatives," he said when asked about the intelligence panel's influence over funding decisions." If only we could get politicians to stop politicking... terms limits, baby, term limits!
Despite bipartisan support for Mr. Obama's war policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, Republicans are taking a stand against the more than $81 million requested to shut down the prison camp at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba...
Republicans, who have made criticism of massive new spending the cornerstone of their opposition to Mr. Obama and the Democrat-led Congress, also are ready to pounce on any funding not directly linked to the war effort."
I'd been wondering why Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been keeping a fairly low profile since Barack Obama took office, and now I think I know why. In an interview with the Colorado Statesman a few weeks ago, ex-Governor Bill Owens, talking about the stimulus bill, dished some gossip that: "...the analysts basically say that he let (Speaker of the House and California Congresswoman) Nancy Pelosi write the bill. And she threw in everything her constituency wanted — which had very little to do with stimulus...
Everybody put in essentially earmarks, though they didn’t call it that. And it’s 1,000 pages that nobody had read. And it wasn’t very transparent. And they didn’t allow amendments in the House..." Because the bill was not received very well, she has taken a backseat in promoting Obama's agenda.
And well she should stay back there, with the recent lies she told the media over being briefed about wiretapping on members of Congress, specifically throwing Jane Harmon under the subway train, and on being briefed on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, the government speak for torture. Kara Rowland reports in the Washington Times: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she had no recourse to stop the use of enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding after receiving a classified briefing from the CIA in 2002 - an explanation the top Republican on the House intelligence committee called "the lamest of lame excuses."
As scrutiny over who knew what about the controversial tactics has turned back to Congress, Mrs. Pelosi sought to distance herself from revelations that she and other key Democrats were kept in the loop by the CIA between 2002 and 2006. Mrs. Pelosi, who was briefed by the agency as the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, suggested that the current system - in which sensitive information is shared chiefly with only the top members of the House and Senate intelligence committees - needs tweaking so that all members of the committees have the same information.
"They don't come in to consult. They come in to notify," she said. "You can't change what they're doing unless you can act as a committee or as a class."
As for charges the lawmakers could have sought to cut off funding if they disapproved of the tactics, she noted that the Appropriations Committee ultimately has that authority.
But Rep. Peter Hoekstra, currently the ranking Republican on the House intelligence panel, described her comments as the "lamest of lame excuses," saying she could have gone to then-Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt to discuss her concerns.
"The minority leader has the same type of clearances that she has," said Mr. Hoekstra, of Michigan. "Guess what - so does the president."
Within the past three years, Mr. Hoekstra said he "can think of at least specifically three or four cases" in which he raised concerns about an issue with Minority Leader John A. Boehner or former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. In a couple of instances, he was granted an audience with then President Bush.
"Last time I checked, the appropriators were part of the House of Representatives," he said when asked about the intelligence panel's influence over funding decisions." If only we could get politicians to stop politicking... terms limits, baby, term limits!
Late night vintage jokes on the war on terrorism:
"I'm not worried about things in the world because yesterday President Bush told reporters that he is monitoring the situation in North Korea, very carefully. In fact today the president spent the whole day watching reruns of M.A.S.H." —Conan O'Brien
"Osama bin Laden has released a new audiotape praising recent terrorism attacks and proving he is still alive. But how alive is he? It's been 12 months since his last tape and, quite frankly, there's been no artistic development whatsoever." —Jon Stewart
"These days it's good to know we still have friends in the Middle East, friends like Saudi Arabia. That's right where, may I remind you, four of the 19 September 11th hijackers were not from." —Jon Stewart
"Al Qaeda has issued another threat to the U.S. saying we're not safe on land, at sea, or in the air. Well, Amtrak, Carnival Cruise Lines and United Airlines took care of that." —Jay Leno
"I read something interesting today about President Bush. Did you know on his desk, in the Oval Office, he keeps a paper with the pictures of the most al Qaeda members on it and whenever we capture or kill one of them, he crosses them out? Clinton used to do the same thing with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Whenever he'd nail one of them, he'd put a line through them." —Jay Leno
"Counter-terrorism experts say that Osama bin Laden may be hiding secret messages on pornographic websites. You know what that means, Clinton could find this guy before Bush." —Jay Leno
"Terrorist mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has been arrested. He has been described as the CEO of al Qaeda. See, that's two things to be happy about. Not only did we arrest a high-ranking member of al Qaeda, we also get to torture a CEO." —Jay Leno
"One of these al Qaeda guys was actually raised in Brooklyn, New York. Can you believe that? Apparently, it was pretty easy though. The al Qaeda guys went to him and said if you martyr yourself you'll go to paradise where there's plenty of parking." —David Letterman
"More warnings issued by all branches of the government today that another terrorist attack is imminent. We're not sure when, we're not sure where, just that it is coming. Who is attacking us now, the cable company?" —Jay Leno
"Saudi Arabia Prince Abdullah is visiting President Bush at his Texas ranch. After that, like many other Saudis, he'll go enroll at a U.S. flight school." —David Letterman
"Today the 20th hijacker, Zacharisa Moussaui called for the death of America in the courtroom. The INS was so mad that they're threatening to revoke his student visa. Keep it up, and you'll lose your pilot's license, pal." —Jay Leno
"The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying, 'Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'You want a piece of me?'" —Robin Williams, on the September 11 attacks
"My only hope is when those terrorists get to heaven, they meet up with the kind of virgins we had in Catholic school: Sister Mike Ditka from Our Mother of Eternal Retribution." —Robin Williams
"According to a new report from Afghanistan, the hottest music over there right now is Disco. So, we've achieved a compromise here. We brought them out of the 13th Century, but only took them up to 1978." —Jay Leno
"A newspaper in London has received an e-mail from Osama bin Laden. It’s odd to get an e-mail from Osama bin Laden because when you turn on the computer it says, "You’ve got Jihad!" —David Letterman
"Today President Bush has clarified his world view saying 'You're either with us or you're with the terrorists. Or you're with the terrorists but you have oil [graphic shows Kuwait]. Or you're with us but you hate us [graphic shows Egypt]. Or you're with us, but you fund all the terrorism in the world [graphic shows Saudi Arabia]. Or you're a hundred percent with the terrorists accept for one little guy in charge [graphic shows Pakistan]. Or you're with us but you can't really help us [graphic shows Iceland]. Or you're with the terrorists with each other and against us even though you really hate each other [graphic shows Iraq and Iran]." —Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"
"After what they say was an exhaustive investigation, the Defense Minister of France said today that Osama bin Laden is either still in hiding in Afghanistan, he may have escaped to Pakistan, or he may be dead. Hey, France, thanks a lot. We'll take it from here. Hard to believe they were invaded twice." —Jay Leno
"Here's a story that has a lot of people in government upset. It seems the major tobacco companies have been smuggling billions and billions of cigarettes into Iraq. Where is their patriotism? They're supposed to be killing Americans with those cigarettes!" —Jay Leno
"On Thursday, a senior U.S. official said that the CIA released a formerly-classified document warning that Afghanistan might descend into civil war. Boy, you want to keep that one a secret. I'd hate to shatter people's illusions about the utopian wonderland that is Afghanistan." —Dennis Miller
"Some human rights groups are complaining that the al Qaeda detainees in Guantanamo Bay are being treated inhumanly. Oh please! They're in the Caribbean in January, okay. You add some goats and sheep to the place they'd think it was Temptation Island." —Jay Leno
"Today more al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners were flown to Quantanomo Bay in Cuba. On the plane they are bound, they are sedated, they are chained to their chairs. Or, as Continental calls it, coach." —Jay Leno
"One thing we learned, bombing works. ... We've flown over 2,800 sorties, dropped 15 tons in warheads, and done $39 in damage. But we're a compassionate nation ... and when this is all over, we're going to put the rocks and dirt back." —Comedian Al Franken
"News from Afghanistan. The Northern Alliance is now saying they know exactly where Mullah Omar is. And what that means of course is that they have no idea where he is. ... If you're keeping score this is the fourth location where Mullah Omar announced he'll be fighting to the death." —David Letterman
"An interim government has been set up in Afghanistan which includes two women, one of whom will be Minister of Women's Affairs. Man, who'd she have to show her ankles to to get that job?" —Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"
"The latest report is that Mullah Omar's own troops may try to kill him now. Well, duh. I guess they figure that with that $25 million reward, they can get all the virgins they want." —Jay Leno
"French troops arrived in Afghanistan last week, and not a minute too soon. The French are acting as advisers to the Taliban, to teach them how to surrender properly." —Jay Leno
"There's no authority in Afghanistan right now. All these different ethnic groups — people are in the streets armed and shooting guns. So, it's just like L.A., except without the traffic." —Jay Leno
"In Afghanistan this week, outnumbered Northern Alliance rebels on horseback defeated Taliban forces armed with tanks. Experts say the victory is just like the story of David and Goliath and David's friend, the Stealth Bomber." —Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"
"Today more al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners were flown to Quantanomo Bay in Cuba. On the plane they are bound, they are sedated, they are chained to their chairs. Or, as Continental calls it, coach." —Jay Leno
"One thing we learned, bombing works. ... We've flown over 2,800 sorties, dropped 15 tons in warheads, and done $39 in damage. But we're a compassionate nation ... and when this is all over, we're going to put the rocks and dirt back." —Comedian Al Franken
"News from Afghanistan. The Northern Alliance is now saying they know exactly where Mullah Omar is. And what that means of course is that they have no idea where he is. ... If you're keeping score this is the fourth location where Mullah Omar announced he'll be fighting to the death." —David Letterman
"An interim government has been set up in Afghanistan which includes two women, one of whom will be Minister of Women's Affairs. Man, who'd she have to show her ankles to to get that job?" —Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"
"The latest report is that Mullah Omar's own troops may try to kill him now. Well, duh. I guess they figure that with that $25 million reward, they can get all the virgins they want." —Jay Leno
"French troops arrived in Afghanistan last week, and not a minute too soon. The French are acting as advisers to the Taliban, to teach them how to surrender properly." —Jay Leno
"There's no authority in Afghanistan right now. All these different ethnic groups — people are in the streets armed and shooting guns. So, it's just like L.A., except without the traffic." —Jay Leno
"In Afghanistan this week, outnumbered Northern Alliance rebels on horseback defeated Taliban forces armed with tanks. Experts say the victory is just like the story of David and Goliath and David's friend, the Stealth Bomber." —Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"
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