- Pretty solid sounding suspicions of fraud arose after officials discovered that 23,900 out of 23,900 ballots from a certain area were all cast for incumbent president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai. [New York Times]
- There is no one left to serve on America’s juries, as the only people who can afford gas and cars are the finance executives awaiting trial. [New York Times]
- Back to school shopping is still at relatively low levels. This already has people who work in stores and people who buy things from stores worried about holiday spending. [Wall Street Journal]
- The Taliban is destroying Afghanistan’s Western-built infrastructure in exciting new ways and more successfully than ever. [Washington Post]
- Big jump for car sales in August, mostly because of government incentive programs that allow people to afford cars. Good economic news! or… bad news for people called to jury duty? [Reuters]
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{ 29 comments }
“…23,900 out of 23,900 ballots from a certain area were all cast for incumbent president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai.”
This is not Chicago politics if all the voters were still living.
On the other hand, it’s morning in America!
~
“…finance executives awaiting trail.”
Mark Trail? Appalachian Trail? Hudson Trail Outfitters?
“Afghan U.S. Embassy patrol in ‘deviant’ parties with booze, hookers”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/09/02/2009-09-02_afghan_embassy_patrol_in_deviant_parties_report.html
Immediate Wonkette investigation, plz, ktnxbai.
[re=400463]turboslut[/re]: I heard today that Teddy Roosevelt was hiking in the Adirondacks when McKinley was shot- but his family was with him at the time.
[re=400464]memzilla[/re]: Actually, this sounds like LDS has opened another chapter. Still, I volunteer to help Wonkette investigate.
[re=400463]turboslut[/re]: I just finished designing a web site for an election campaign for this fall. I published it an noticed that one button reads, in error, “On the Campaign Trial.” Since its in NJ, I am tempted to leave it that way.
I’m sure that there was plenty of fraud in Afghanistan, but, let’s face it, the reason we are reading about it is that the guy the US wanted to win lost, and vice versa.
Um, let’s not forget Afghan politcs are much like old-time ward politics here, the candidate courts tribal leaders and, if he’s convincing, the whole damn bunch will vote that way, you don’t buck the local boss if you know what’s good for you. Face it, any open political discourse followed by some voting is a great accomplishment for a seriously fucked up 13th century society in the middle of a war…
Massive election fraud and destruction of infrastructure? Well, I hereby eat my words — I underestimated the ability of Republicans to export their culture.
At least Karzai “and friends” are consistent. And he wears a cool hat too, such as.
Wait, Karzai’s the good guy, right?
[re=400479]Canmon (the Inadequate)[/re]: No, he’s the bad guy. He complains too much about bombing by the US. The new good guy is named Ashraf Gani, “A former finance minister with a background in American academia” who is “the most educated and Westernized of Afghanistan’s presidential candidates” according to the New York Times. He did not do well.
Everyone was too high on opium to vote for an opposition candidate.
US trade with Afghanistan consists of exporting arms and “democracy” and importing large amounts of heroin. Little wonder this is not working out quite as well as planned.
[re=400464]memzilla[/re]: Republican senators spend a lot of time at that Embassy.
Creating the Taliban was one of the last jobs the CIA really did well!
[re=400481]slavojzizek[/re]: I didn’t think you could get much more westernized than Karzai, being a former oil executive and all. I am finding it hard, in my mind at least, to dispute the idea that Afghanistan is going to become an albatross around Hopey’s neck.
23,900 out of 23,900 and no Lizard People? Impressive.
Blowing up the prwecious Western made infrastructure?
This is why Afghanistan can’t have nice things.
[re=400464]memzilla[/re]: I saw those pictures on Olbermann last night (or was it Maddow? Is there a difference?). Admittedly, the hazing/groupthink dynamics inculcated by such practices are pretty horrific. On the other hand, some of the guys were pretty hot.
The Taliban should adopt the Grover Norquist/GOP approach to infrastructure; i.e. active neglect.
As missionaries for American values, the security guards are kind of like the Peace Corps, but different.
Where is all this opium that is supposedly being produced over there?
I don’t know, but demand has cratered, so Afghanistan has 10,000 metric tonnes of the stuff just lying around waiting for hungry Westerners seeking escape from their lives of horrible, unbearable affluence.
In fact, the Afghans could get us all doped out of our heads and steal our stuff. Now that’s a reconstruction plan!
Thank god we’re finally backing a popular regime! Winning hearts and minds.
Election fraud? Where does Karzai think he’s at, Iran.
I would think unemployed people would be happy to sit on a jury. You get what? Five-ten bucks a day and lunch?
Apparently the Afghans don’t even know how to rig an election properly…
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