The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, better know by their street name the Taliban, have officially joined Twitter (@alemarahweb) and are posting jihadi updates 140 characters at a time. As reported by the Guardian, a majority of tweets have been in Pashtu, but there’s some in English as well—no need to alienate a potential demographic. They also have a Facebook and a website, however, we warn you now, their movie section sucks.
A man claiming to be a Taliban leader duped both the United States and Afghanistan in a peace deal scam reports the New York Times. He convinced officials that he was brokering a truce of sorts with a senior Taliban commander, even managing to get whisked in on a NATO plane under protection of a security detail for a meeting with Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace. A diplomat involved with the talks explains the tragic comedy rather matter-of-factly: “It’s not him. And we gave him a lot of money.”
Dynamic Florida Congressman-elect Allen West, who had to resign from the Army after he threatened to kill an Iraqi, hired a radio host lady who shared his habit of promoting “violent insurrection” to be his chief of staff. But she’s gone all martyr and said no. It’s too bad, because they sound perfect for each other. The job probably would have cramped her style. |Think Progress| Read more »
Ooh, a new feature: A list of newsy political bits to share and discuss with your friends, coworkers and the drug dealers on your front stoop. They’ll love appreciate you so much more, when you pass down the gift of ephemeral knowledge. Let’s begin! Read more »
A gay couple claims they were told to get out of a yellow cab after they embraced in the back seat, allegedly incensing the driver. According to one of the men, the cabby told them: “You guys have to get out of the taxi! Hugging is not allowed in here!” |NYP|
As the powers that be continue to blame the Taliban for the global supply of heroin despite being hunted by NATO troops and Predator drones daily, the Afghan government has called for a countrywide ban on opium. So far, its produced mostly disastrous results for local economies and farmers, with many families unable to even afford bubble gum for their kids. One good crop used to cover expenses for a year, but now they’re flat broke, just like Americans! But it gets worse. There’s also evidence that this aggressive prohibition it’s totally leading to a backlash against the government and could stoke terrorist recruiting. |AP|
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