Ted Rall for June 20, 2013

BOTH! And you wonder how “negotiations” with North Korea will end up? Just like this, with U.S. surrendering!!

The fight was never with the Taliban. It was with Al Qaeda. The Taliban were the ones running the country back to 1500 AD wanting to relive the glory years when they ran most of that part of the world.The Taliban have learned those outsiders claiming Jihad just brought in the drones and death from all sides. Let them have the country. As said by Invader Zim “What will it hurt?” They want to live in the 16th Century, let them.I once lived there in that part of the world back in 1964. From the photos and shows I have watched it has not changed. The only thing I don’t have to deal with is the raunchy smell of dirty humans. I can still remember the smell.Mangla Dam Project. Pakistan. My dad worked for Firestone on the construction tires for the fleets.

I am surprised he drew them with paper and pencils. They were some of the most illiterate people I have ever seen. 99% cant read. That is why the religious leaders have such control. “I will tell you what the book said.”I remember on the construction site they were putting up the plywood forms to lay the concrete on the spillways. Simple job. There was a vertical blue line with dots. Follow the line and put a nail in each dot. When complete move to the next line. Explanations went back in forth. Finally the local doing the job went okay. Put one nail, then the next. So the boss left and came back two hours later. There sat the guy squatting like they do. Bag of nails and hammer on the floor. He had done four more nails after the first two. The boss went what the hell what are you doing? Explanation. The guy pointed at a nail where the “head” was facing the wall. He called them wrong nails. Never thought to turn them over. So he gave up.Seen several sitting in the shade of those huge earth scrapers with the really big tires. Sitting right in front of the tire. One got into it started it and drove over six of them.In my dads shop they would begin to air up one of those big tires and forget they were airing it up. It would explode killing four or five who were sitting on the tire drinking tea.So paper and pencil. I mean really.

Afghanistan, with jurga, had a far more democratic government than we, until we screwed everything up to screw over the Russians, and picked the wrong people to run things once the “students” or Taliban were replaced.

Some folks don’t want our new technology, does that make the folks in black with straw hats in our own midwest ignorant savages?

Only if you believe Obama was Kenyadian! Think about it!

Is it just me, or does Ted’s icon have a resemblance to Larry King?

That is their “world” face. Oh they have some really smart persons working with them. The Banditos Motorcycle club has high dollar lawyers as full pledged patch wearing members. Taliban same thing. Used to get support and their message out. Go there and meet your run of mill local Taliban. Dumb as a rock but loyal and dedicated to the cause with out question. Not because he read it in magazine. (Those you know are forbidden under Taliban law.) But told by the local Taliban religious leader. And women and girls are forbidden under any Taliban law from doing anything except were that outfit and walk behind men with escort. Be without an escort. Death by stoning, beheading, stomped to death, you pick it. They may be slick but if you find the slick then you got suckered in which is what they intended.