Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

11 Oct 2010 11:00

tags

World: When rescues go wrong: Linda Norgrove’s death accidental?

  • bad Linda Norgrove, a British aid worker being held hostage in Afghanistan, was killed on Friday during a failed rescue attempt.
  • worse U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron says that she may have been accidentally killed by her rescuers. Yikes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Oct 2010 20:33

tags

World: Good to know: Guards at U.S. bases in Afghanistan have Taliban ties

  • Let’s say that you’re the Pentagon, and you’re fighting a war in Afghanistan. Now let’s say that you have bases for your soldiers. And let’s say that they need guards. Who do you hire? If the answer is private Afghan security firms with little oversight, *ding ding ding* you’ve won a prize. Now, let’s offer up an extra wrinkle for you guys, and this is the one the Senate is getting all caught up on. Apparently, some of these guards have ties to the Taliban, that nebulous enemy that you’ve been fighting for almost a decade. (That’s not even to mention the guards with ties to Iranian intelligence or the ones with criminal ties.) Whaddya do? You get really pissed off, that’s what. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Oct 2010 11:18

tags

World: Private security firms (i.e. Blackwater) blocked from Afghanistan

  • 8 firms were banned, including the infamous Blackwater, er Xe source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Sep 2010 10:34

tags

Politics: Three Obama quotes from Bob Woodward’s new Afghan War book

  • one “I’m not doing 10 years. I’m not doing long-term nation-building. I am not spending a trillion dollars.”
  • two “Everything we’re doing has to be focused on how we’re going to get to the point where we can reduce our footprint.”
  • three “I have to say that.
    I can’t let this be a war without end, and I can’t lose the whole Democratic Party.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Sep 2010 12:47

tags

World: Transvestite children in Afghanistan!

  • Some things are happening in Afghanistan that are really not imaginable for you as a Western people.
  • Azita Rafaat • The Afghan mother of three regularly dresses her youngest daughter as a boy when the daughter leaves the house. The practice is common in Afghanistan, where families without male children are of bad repute and gender lines are starkly drawn. It’s not illegal, or even frowned upon, and has possibly been going on for centuries. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Sep 2010 09:44

tags

World: Afghan helicopter crash leads to record NATO deaths in 2010

  • 9 NATO troops died in today’s deadly Afghan helicopter crash source
  • 529 NATO troops have died in combat so far this year
  • 521 NATO troops died last year, which is now the old record
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Sep 2010 19:48

tags

World: Afghan elections: Violence, low turnout

  • 14 deaths at today’s Parliamentary elections in Afghanistan
  • 450k security personal, both Afghani and international, sent to mitigate the violence
  • 3.6m votes cast, 2.4 million fewer than last year’s Presidential elections source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Sep 2010 10:15

tags

World: Yo, Koran burners: Here’s the blood on your hands already

  • two people killed during protests in Afghanistan yesterday
  • four more injured – one jerk actually did it at Ground Zero source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 7 Comments • Permalink

07 Sep 2010 10:10

tags

Politics: Gen. David Petraeus to Pastor Terry Jones: You’re gonna get us killed

  • It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan. Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday. Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult.
  • Gen. David Petraeus • Saying what should be fairly obvious: If “Burn a Koran Day” takes place, it’s going to greatly complicate the counter-insurgency in Afghanistan. A lot of people outside of the military would agree with him, but the fact of the matter is, they already have proof that it’s rustled up the natives. Oh yeah, Petraeus mentions that burning Korans is something the Taliban does. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, Terry. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Sep 2010 00:07

tags

World: Dear Pastor Terry Jones: Afghanistan doesn’t like you either

  • florida Paster Terry Jones plans to burn a bunch of Korans this week as part of “Burn a Koran Day” on 9/11. Classy, dude, classy.
  • afghanistanAfghans, however, didn’t wait to burn American flags and an effigy of Jones in anticipation of the pretty dumb event. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>