“If Karzai’s warlord cronies have over-egged the firnee and their boy romps home with an incredible margin, Iran-style riots are almost inevitable. On the other hand, if he narrowly wins, it will be more difficult for the opposition forces to cry foul. Given that he achieved only 54 per cent in 2004, the ‘ideal’ result [...]
Monthly Archives: August 2009
Afghan election update: Karzai rumoured to have won with an improbable majority
August 24, 2009 – 4:18 pm
It is rumoured in Kabul that the Independent Election Commission is under pressure to rush out election results in an effort to accustom public opinion to the legitimacy of a Karzai victory which some are already claiming could be greater than 70 percent. Unofficial reports (Press TV) claim that Karzai has won with 3,244,196 votes [...]
Update: Abdullah and Karzai accused of Afghan election fraud
August 23, 2009 – 8:48 pm
This morning, in a cynical volte face, Abdullah Abdullah, the leading challenger to incumbent, President Karzai, declared that the Afghan election was rigged, having previously declared himself the winner. Earlier speculation that the two candidates identified by a Free and Fair Elections spokesman as responsible for widespread intimidation and ballot-rigging in the Afghan election (Thus passim) [...]
Where's Gordon Brown in the Libyan desert storm?
August 23, 2009 – 7:12 pm
Over the past three days, as the Lockerbie ‘terrorist’ release turns into a full-blown international incident, we have heard not one word, or even a Twitter, from the man who saved the wurreld (and its banks). This is highly unusual; Gordon and his wife Sarah Twittered from Inverkilliecrankie, or wherever they are on holiday, catching [...]
Afghan elections declared free but not fair by EU fudgepackers
August 23, 2009 – 11:54 am
While resisting the temptation to say ‘we told you so’ (Thus passim) – it is glaringly evident that, as predicted, the Afghan elections were neither free nor fair. Except that by an extraordinary contortion of logic and semantics, the EU monitors have declared that they were ‘generally fair but not free.’ Well, thanks for putting [...]
It's still true: you can't eat money
August 23, 2009 – 7:33 am
“Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.” – Cree Saying.
This quote, possibly the biggest cliché in the environmental literature, inspired Jared Diamond’s seminal work “Collapse“. But humans seem to succumb to boredom fairly quickly, so [...]
"Can we fucking move on these people, goddamit?" Winning hearts and minds with the US marines in Helmand.
August 20, 2009 – 1:11 pm
Fuck yeah – if it’s fucking hearts and fucking minds you want to fucking win over, walk this way with the fucking US Marines. We’ll capture those fucking hearts and minds or tear the bastards out and shove them up their sorry goddam asses. By John J Kelly.
Last night, BBC Newsnight aired a warning that [...]
Ballot papers for the Afghan Rocky Horror Show Election on sale in bulk
August 18, 2009 – 2:23 pm
This morning, with two days to go, the BBC uncovered evidence of massive Afghan election fraud. Why are we not surprised? Leaving aside the fact that Thus reported this ‘possibility’ back in April, and again yesterday (see previous post) there have been several telltale signs that the promoters of Democracy Inc. are prepared to turn [...]
One, two, three, four – what are we fighting for?
August 17, 2009 – 4:32 pm
Whatever it is, it isn’t a free and fair Afghan election. At least the media are finally admitting it (Thus passim) even if the reason is largely the upsurge in military casualties. Saturday’s lethal car bomb outside NATO headquarters in Kabul was a cynical signal from the Taliban that they can more or less get [...]
Should the Tories gag their inglourious basterds?
August 15, 2009 – 9:41 am
However good they are at wonking, David Cameron’s progressive Tories are continually belaboured by own goals from their own side. By John J Kelly.
Just as the inhabitants of duck island were gingerly winding down the drawbridge on the moat, Alan Duncan upset the golf cart. The Shadow Leader of the Commons and representative on the [...]