The One hits the links on Memorial Day

Come hell or high water (2 phenomena that the midwest and south have been experiencing lately, not to mention the troops that were honored today) TheOne, believe it or not, went golfing. Just hours after he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and met with military families, he’s hitting the links.

This guy is beyond cold, beyond callous.

Imagine this is 4 or 5 years ago and this were George Bush. Would the press have turned a blind eye to this? I think not. In fact, as all of us know, Bush gave up golf while in the White House out of respect for our troops and their families. And like a real man, he kept his word.

~~~00Ooo~~~

While in England, the Obamas met the royal newlyweds. Duchess Kate wore an off the rack $300 dress and the self appointed American Queen wore a designer dress worth over $25o0 or maybe it was over $3000 – I just know it was way out of line.  The Brits are facing economic hard times, just as we are and their newest royal is setting a tone of austerity that our leaders’ wives could take a lesson about.  I remember when Nancy Reagan replaced the White House china with private donations (no tax dollars were used) and she was crucified in the press for being extravagant.  But once again, the current first lady can wear expensive designer clothes and feed the homeless in $540 sneakers and employ non-American designers and it’s all OKAY.

 

Taliban Stimulus Plan Offers Cash for Kills

From the TimesOnline:

“It’s a lot of money for us. We don’t care if we kill foreigners: their blood allows us to feed our families and the more we kill, the more we weaken them. Of course we are going to celebrate this,” said a [Taliban] commander from Ghazni province.

TALIBAN rebels are earning a bounty of up to 200,000 Pakistani rupees (£1,660 [or $2400 USD]) for each Nato soldier they kill, according to insurgent commanders.

The money is said to come from protection rackets, taxes imposed on opium farmers, donors in the Gulf states who channel money through Dubai and from the senior Taliban leadership in Pakistan.

So far this year 213 Nato soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, including 41 British troops, bringing the potential rewards for the Taliban to £350,000.

from thepublicinterest.freedomblogging.com

Taliban commanders said the bounty had more than doubled since the beginning of last year.

The insurgents, who employ “hit and run” tactics against foot patrols and convoys, use paid informants, media reports and the local population to confirm the deaths of Nato soldiers.

“We can’t lie to our commanders: they can check to see if there was a fight in that area. We get money if we capture equipment too. A gun can fetch $1,000 [£690],” said a commander from Khost province who controls about 60 fighters.

The money usually reaches commanders via the traditional hawala transfer system found in many Muslim countries. They then share it among their men and sometimes celebrate with a feast.

Most Taliban commanders deny any financial motive. In a dozen interviews over the past four months, low and midlevel Taliban commanders from provinces where the insurgency is fierce have set out their conditions for ending the violence.

“We are not fighting for money or power. We are fighting to end government corruption, to rid this country of foreign troops, and we want a return to sharia law,” said a Kandahar commander.