Spy Ops Episode 6 ended with Israel and Palestine finally coming to terms and recognizing each other as independent states. Tensions had risen since the assassination of Ali Hassan Salameh, one of the last members of Black September to be neutralized by the Mossad. Thankfully, by the year 1993, both countries had seen better times. Spy Ops Episode 7 is about how rebuilding Afghanistan was a crucial task for the CIA. This episode can very well be treated as an extension of the first episode, Operation Jawbreaker.
What Happened After Taliban’s Fall?
Spy Ops Episode 7 begins with many experts coming forward to talk about how Afghanistan was completely ruined by the Taliban. They managed to leave Afghanistan centuries behind because they followed medieval laws, which have no place in the current century. The members who joined and were trained by the Taliban were completely brainwashed to follow a set of rules without questioning their validity.
What Happened After Taliban’s Fall?
Spy Ops Episode 7 begins with many experts coming forward to talk about how Afghanistan was completely ruined by the Taliban. They managed to leave Afghanistan centuries behind because they followed medieval laws, which have no place in the current century. The members who joined and were trained by the Taliban were completely brainwashed to follow a set of rules without questioning their validity.
- 9/11/2023
- by Smriti Kannan
- Film Fugitives
It’S Pushing Midnight when my armored escort pulls up to a high-walled compound on the outskirts of Ankara, the Turkish capital. After more than a year and a half of waiting, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Afghanistan’s most notorious and elusive warlord, has summoned me for an interview, his first since the Taliban takeover that forced him to flee his homeland. Special police patrol the periphery of his estate for assassins, and a pair of fighting mastiffs bark at me as I’m led past a fountain up to a...
- 7/30/2023
- by Jason Motlagh
- Rollingstone.com
Jim Lehrer, the longtime anchor of “PBS NewsHour,” died Thursday, the network confirms. He was 85.
Lehrer rose to prominence in the 1970s anchoring “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report” with colleague Robert MacNeil. The program was renamed “PBS NewsHour” in 2009. Lehrer filled the anchor role for nearly four decades.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news that co-founder and longtime anchor of the ‘PBS NewsHour’ Jim Lehrer died today, Thursday, January 23, 2020, peacefully in his sleep at home,” Judy Woodruff, Lehrer’s colleague and current “PBS NewsHour” anchor, wrote in a statement.
“I’m heartbroken at the loss of someone who was central to my professional life, a mentor to me and someone whose friendship I’ve cherished for decades,” Woodruff added. “I’ve looked up to him as the standard for fair, probing and thoughtful journalism and I know countless others who feel the same way.”
Lehrer, born May...
Lehrer rose to prominence in the 1970s anchoring “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report” with colleague Robert MacNeil. The program was renamed “PBS NewsHour” in 2009. Lehrer filled the anchor role for nearly four decades.
“It is with great sadness that I share the news that co-founder and longtime anchor of the ‘PBS NewsHour’ Jim Lehrer died today, Thursday, January 23, 2020, peacefully in his sleep at home,” Judy Woodruff, Lehrer’s colleague and current “PBS NewsHour” anchor, wrote in a statement.
“I’m heartbroken at the loss of someone who was central to my professional life, a mentor to me and someone whose friendship I’ve cherished for decades,” Woodruff added. “I’ve looked up to him as the standard for fair, probing and thoughtful journalism and I know countless others who feel the same way.”
Lehrer, born May...
- 1/23/2020
- by Lindsey Ellefson
- The Wrap
The Washington Post this week released a blockbuster expose called “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War.”
After a lengthy legal battle, the Post got hold of documents compiled by Sigar, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. John Sopko, the Inspector General, interviewed over 600 people connected to the Afghan war effort to prepare a series of reports called “Lessons Learned,” which purported to explain what had gone wrong since America’s invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The “Lessons Learned” reports were critical, but “left out the harshest and...
After a lengthy legal battle, the Post got hold of documents compiled by Sigar, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. John Sopko, the Inspector General, interviewed over 600 people connected to the Afghan war effort to prepare a series of reports called “Lessons Learned,” which purported to explain what had gone wrong since America’s invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The “Lessons Learned” reports were critical, but “left out the harshest and...
- 12/13/2019
- by Matt Taibbi
- Rollingstone.com
The very idea of war is insane. We send young people with limited life experience to fight in foreign lands, where they neither speak the language nor understand the culture, and expect what exactly? It's often a recipe for disaster.
We mitigate this risk through leadership. Junior officers (trained to manage young troops) are assigned to platoons and companies in the field, while senior officers are charged with planning, coordinating, and directing combat operations -- often at a great distance from the battlefield. It's a system that is most effective when applied to lightning-fast assaults and aggressive apprehension of territory, but woefully ill-suited to long-term occupation, which is where we find ourselves today in Iraq and Afghanistan, with no clear end in sight.
Related - War Machine Trailer Exposes The Absurdity Of The War On Terror
Unfortunately, that's life in the modern military, particularly for infantry, engineers, medics, and other combat-facing units.
We mitigate this risk through leadership. Junior officers (trained to manage young troops) are assigned to platoons and companies in the field, while senior officers are charged with planning, coordinating, and directing combat operations -- often at a great distance from the battlefield. It's a system that is most effective when applied to lightning-fast assaults and aggressive apprehension of territory, but woefully ill-suited to long-term occupation, which is where we find ourselves today in Iraq and Afghanistan, with no clear end in sight.
Related - War Machine Trailer Exposes The Absurdity Of The War On Terror
Unfortunately, that's life in the modern military, particularly for infantry, engineers, medics, and other combat-facing units.
- 6/2/2017
- by David Kozlowski
- LRMonline.com
"Why is a general talking to Rolling Stone in the first place?" That the question asked near the end of War Machine, a film loosely based on "The Runaway General," a National Magazine Award finalist for excellence in reporting by Michael Hastings. (The same article, it should be mentioned, that helped lose Gen. Stanley McChrystal his job as commander of all U.S. and Nato forces in Afghanistan.)
Hastings, who died in a car crash four years ago at 33, expanded his 2010 profile of McChrystal into a 2012 book-length expose called The Operators.
Hastings, who died in a car crash four years ago at 33, expanded his 2010 profile of McChrystal into a 2012 book-length expose called The Operators.
- 5/25/2017
- Rollingstone.com
There’s an undeniably poignant aspect to Greg Barker’s documentary chronicling the exploits of two U.S. Special Forces teams sent to Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Detailing how roughly 100 men--acting in coordination with Afghan allies including the Northern Alliance and forces led by the country’s future president Hamid Karzai—dealt near crippling blows against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, Legion of Brothers also serves as a reminder that their covert missions were not conclusive and that American soldiers are still dying in that country sixteen years later.
One of the more effective entries in what has essentially become a...
One of the more effective entries in what has essentially become a...
- 5/19/2017
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This week, IndieWire will be rolling out our annual Summer Preview, including offerings that span genres, a look at the various trends driving the box office, and special attention to all the new movies you need to get through a jam-packed summer movie-going season. Check back throughout the week for a new look at the best the season has to offer, and clear your schedule, because we’re going to fill it right up.
Today — a look at a dozen blockbusters (or would-be blockbusters) well worth your time and movie-going dollars.
Read More: IndieWire’s Complete 2017 Summer Preview
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” May 5
If you’ve seen “Guardians of the Galaxy,” you already know a lot about “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” — a lively comedic space opera filled with banter between humans and imaginative aliens, astonishing visual effects, and the most idiosyncratic set of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Today — a look at a dozen blockbusters (or would-be blockbusters) well worth your time and movie-going dollars.
Read More: IndieWire’s Complete 2017 Summer Preview
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” May 5
If you’ve seen “Guardians of the Galaxy,” you already know a lot about “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” — a lively comedic space opera filled with banter between humans and imaginative aliens, astonishing visual effects, and the most idiosyncratic set of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- 4/25/2017
- by Chris O'Falt, David Ehrlich, Eric Kohn, Jude Dry, Kate Erbland, Steve Greene and Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Figures including Morgan Freeman, Malala Yousafzai and Tiger Woods remember the first black president of South Africa
Morgan Freeman, who portrayed Mandela in the 2009 rugby world cup-set film Invictus
"Madiba, as his friends called him, and I became friends back in the 1990s when, during a press conference, he was asked whom he would want to portray him in a film. To my everlasting honour, he mentioned me, and thus began our 20-year relationship ... His only comment after we first screened [Invictus] for him was a humble, 'Now perhaps people will remember me'."
Nadine Gordimer, South African novelist and Nobel prize winner
"In 1979, I wrote a novel, Burger's Daughter, on the theme of the family life of revolutionaries' children, a life ruled by their parents' political faith and the daily threat of imprisonment.
"I don't know how the book, which was banned in South Africa when it was published, was smuggled...
Morgan Freeman, who portrayed Mandela in the 2009 rugby world cup-set film Invictus
"Madiba, as his friends called him, and I became friends back in the 1990s when, during a press conference, he was asked whom he would want to portray him in a film. To my everlasting honour, he mentioned me, and thus began our 20-year relationship ... His only comment after we first screened [Invictus] for him was a humble, 'Now perhaps people will remember me'."
Nadine Gordimer, South African novelist and Nobel prize winner
"In 1979, I wrote a novel, Burger's Daughter, on the theme of the family life of revolutionaries' children, a life ruled by their parents' political faith and the daily threat of imprisonment.
"I don't know how the book, which was banned in South Africa when it was published, was smuggled...
- 12/7/2013
- by Peter Walker
- The Guardian - Film News
As part of the 2014 withdrawal agreement between Afghanistan and the United States, Afghani President Hamid Karzai has requested a “letter of assurances” about the future of U.S. troop presence in his country and an “apology” for America’s conduct over the course of the more than 12-year long war. White House officials have flatly denied that an apology would be forthcoming. On Wednesday, CNN reported that an apology of sorts may, in fact, be in the offing.
- 11/20/2013
- by Noah Rothman
- Mediaite - TV
Carrying all the markings of a well-intentioned first documentary effort by someone with fantastic family circumstances, We Came Home is ultimately more interesting to talk about than to watch. Director Ariana Delawari's father, Noor Delawari, has served as governor of Afghanistan's Central Bank since 2011, weathering the faltering promises of U.S. nation-building, the crumbling credibility of Hamid Karzai's presidency, and a corruption scandal—all after 33 years of war, 32 years of expatriation, and three children. The director's half-Sicilian, half-Afghan mother also clearly has many stories to tell, having met Noor during a lengthy late-'60s trip through a thoroughly modern Afghanistan, moving into the dangerous, bombed-out shell of Kabul post–9/11, and returning ...
- 9/25/2013
- Village Voice
At July's Manchester festival, the boundary-breaking band and radical film-maker will tackle the perilous state of democracy in a show that redefines the notion of a gig
Back in May 1991, Massive Attack released a groundbreaking single called Safe from Harm. It merged sampled beats, a definably British rap style and a stirring soul vocal into a radical musical collage that resonates throughout pop music to this day. Twenty-two years later, the song's title has also become a kind of shorthand for the central theme of the group's most ambitious project to date: their imminent live collaboration at Manchester international festival with the radical documentary film-maker Adam Curtis.
"We are exploring a subject that has long interested us both and that we have been talking about, on and off, for two years," says Curtis, whose vision is driving the project, at least until Massive Attack step on to the stage. "It...
Back in May 1991, Massive Attack released a groundbreaking single called Safe from Harm. It merged sampled beats, a definably British rap style and a stirring soul vocal into a radical musical collage that resonates throughout pop music to this day. Twenty-two years later, the song's title has also become a kind of shorthand for the central theme of the group's most ambitious project to date: their imminent live collaboration at Manchester international festival with the radical documentary film-maker Adam Curtis.
"We are exploring a subject that has long interested us both and that we have been talking about, on and off, for two years," says Curtis, whose vision is driving the project, at least until Massive Attack step on to the stage. "It...
- 7/2/2013
- by Sean O'Hagan
- The Guardian - Film News
On TV this Sunday: Premiere Week’s closing night is also its most jam-packed one, and it includes a little something for everyone. For the dramatic among you, the Emmy-winning Homeland, plus Revenge, Once Upon a Time, Dexter, The Good Wife and The Mentalist are back for more. If you want a laugh, The Simpsons and the rest of Fox’s Animation Domination line-up returns, while The Amazing Race and ABC’s spooky new 666 Park Avenue serve up thrills and chills, respectively. (And don’t forget 60 Minutes, if you want to feel smart at the office tomorrow.) Now all you...
- 9/30/2012
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
Cairo — Angry protests over an anti-Islam film spread across the Muslim world Friday, with demonstrators scaling the walls of U.S. embassies in Tunisia and Sudan, torching part of a German embassy and clashing with security forces at an American fast-food restaurant that was set ablaze in northern Lebanon.
Egypt's new Islamist president went on national TV and appealed to Muslims to not attack embassies, denouncing the violence earlier this week in Libya that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador. Mohammed Morsi's first public move to restrain protesters after days of near silence appeared aimed at repairing strains with the United States over this week's violence.
Police in Cairo prevented stone-throwing demonstrators from nearing the U.S. Embassy, firing tear gas and deploying armored vehicles to push them back in a fourth day of clashes in the Egyptian capital.
The day of protests, which spread to around 20 countries,...
Egypt's new Islamist president went on national TV and appealed to Muslims to not attack embassies, denouncing the violence earlier this week in Libya that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador. Mohammed Morsi's first public move to restrain protesters after days of near silence appeared aimed at repairing strains with the United States over this week's violence.
Police in Cairo prevented stone-throwing demonstrators from nearing the U.S. Embassy, firing tear gas and deploying armored vehicles to push them back in a fourth day of clashes in the Egyptian capital.
The day of protests, which spread to around 20 countries,...
- 9/14/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Gruen Planet panellist, spin doctor and industry provocateur Toby Ralph has written an account of his time trying to ‘spin’ the elections in Afghanistan, published today by Penguin.
The announcement:
Ahead of the 2009 presidential elections in Afghanistan, Australian electoral advisor and Gruen Planet panellist Toby Ralph joined a Un team to assist local authorities unused to free and fair democratic processes – and in some cases, not keen on adopting them. Amid the ‘War on Terror’, resistance ranged from corruption and bureaucratic ineptitude to lethal violence.
Ralph’s diarised account is a rare glimpse into the day-to-day experiences of those charged with delivering the freedom and democracy Western leaders promise the disenfranchised. With the wry humour of a seasoned politico (or someone trying to distract themselves from the very real dangers of their situation), he provides snapshots of life in Kabul, a primer in the political shambles of a failing state,...
The announcement:
Ahead of the 2009 presidential elections in Afghanistan, Australian electoral advisor and Gruen Planet panellist Toby Ralph joined a Un team to assist local authorities unused to free and fair democratic processes – and in some cases, not keen on adopting them. Amid the ‘War on Terror’, resistance ranged from corruption and bureaucratic ineptitude to lethal violence.
Ralph’s diarised account is a rare glimpse into the day-to-day experiences of those charged with delivering the freedom and democracy Western leaders promise the disenfranchised. With the wry humour of a seasoned politico (or someone trying to distract themselves from the very real dangers of their situation), he provides snapshots of life in Kabul, a primer in the political shambles of a failing state,...
- 7/16/2012
- by Cathie McGinn
- Encore Magazine
Sir Patrick Stewart, Cynthia Nixon and Meryl Streep are among the stars backing an open letter urging U.S. President Barack Obama to support women's rights in Afghanistan.
The note from Amnesty International calls for Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to make sure the rights of females in the war-torn country are not affected when international troops pull out.
Yoko Ono, Joan Baez and Sting are also backing the call, and the letter reads, "As champions of women's rights who are dedicated to protecting women's human rights, we are deeply concerned that the significant gains made by women and girls in Afghanistan may be threatened as U.S. and allied troops leave the country.
"We urge you to adopt a comprehensive action plan to guarantee that the clock is not turned back on a decade of strides in education, health, security and employment for women and girls. At stake is the future of Afghanistan, after billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives have been sacrificed. We believe if women's progress cannot be sustained, then Afghan society will fail.
"We are concerned that the U.S. and allied withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 may put women and girls at even greater risk of abuses... Women must be empowered in the educational, economic and political life of Afghanistan or the country will fail to achieve a stable and prosperous future after a decade of effort to secure and rebuild the country.
"Presidents Obama and Karzai, this is the defining moment to lead on women's human rights. Afghan women have never faced greater danger to the protection and advancement of their human rights; they need and deserve your support.
"We urge you to affirm that the Afghan and U.S. governments will protect Afghan women. Their human rights, their safety, their very lives must not be sacrificed as U.S. Armed Forces withdraw from the country."...
The note from Amnesty International calls for Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to make sure the rights of females in the war-torn country are not affected when international troops pull out.
Yoko Ono, Joan Baez and Sting are also backing the call, and the letter reads, "As champions of women's rights who are dedicated to protecting women's human rights, we are deeply concerned that the significant gains made by women and girls in Afghanistan may be threatened as U.S. and allied troops leave the country.
"We urge you to adopt a comprehensive action plan to guarantee that the clock is not turned back on a decade of strides in education, health, security and employment for women and girls. At stake is the future of Afghanistan, after billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives have been sacrificed. We believe if women's progress cannot be sustained, then Afghan society will fail.
"We are concerned that the U.S. and allied withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 may put women and girls at even greater risk of abuses... Women must be empowered in the educational, economic and political life of Afghanistan or the country will fail to achieve a stable and prosperous future after a decade of effort to secure and rebuild the country.
"Presidents Obama and Karzai, this is the defining moment to lead on women's human rights. Afghan women have never faced greater danger to the protection and advancement of their human rights; they need and deserve your support.
"We urge you to affirm that the Afghan and U.S. governments will protect Afghan women. Their human rights, their safety, their very lives must not be sacrificed as U.S. Armed Forces withdraw from the country."...
- 5/25/2012
- WENN
President Barack Obama signed an accord in the Afgahn capital of Kabul yesterday that assures the Middle Eastern country that the U.S. isn’t abandoning it, the Los Angeles Times is reporting. The assurance comes as the accord also acknowledges that the Western military presence in Afghanistan is coming to an end. Obama signed the strategic partnership accord in the presidential palace of afghan President Hamid Karzai. The accord sets the broad outlines of America’s engagement for a decade after Nato completes its combat role in 2014. Obama’s visit, which coincided with the first anniversary of the U.S. military raid that resulted in Osama bin Laden’s death in Pakistan, was kept [ Read More ]...
- 5/2/2012
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
In an interview today (Friday, March 16, 2012) with the PBS Newshour's Jeffrey Brown, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said that were no plans for the U.S. mission to Afghanistan to end early, despite rising tensions between the two countries after recent killings of Afghan civilians and U.S. personnel. .I.ve . we.ve been through, over the last decade and a half, some pretty tough times in Afghanistan,. Crocker told Brown during an interview in the State Department earlier today. .We.ve been through it; the Afghans have been through it. We.ve carried on. . .we have to stick with it.. Crocker also talked with Brown about the U.S. relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and the state of...
- 3/16/2012
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
A U.S. service member began shooting civilians this morning at a base in southern Afghanistan, USA Today is reporting. Afgahn President Hamid Karzai is claiming that 16 people, including three women and nine children, were killed in the shooting. He added that the attack was an assassination, and demanded the U.S. apologize. The shooting comes after violence has plagued the country the past several weeks, due to the burning of copies of the Quran. The burnings sparked protests and attacks, which left approximately 30 people dead, including six U.S. service members. The shooting occurred in two villages in the Panjwai district of the southern Kandahar province. Balandi and Alkozai, the [ Read More ]...
- 3/11/2012
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
Islamabad, Feb 18: The dialogue on peace and stability in Afghanistan between Kabul and Islamabad has reportedly faltered because of persisting differences over how to fight terrorism and questions about what role the Us will play in it.
"What we are talking is how to bring peace and stability to the two countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) and the region at large," The Dawn quoted Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, as saying.
"Our dialogue is at an advanced stage, we are discussing real issues. But what we have not come to as yet are the mechanisms we need to achieve the objective of a region free of extremism, radicalisation and violence it brings on us," he added.
The other contentious issue, he said,.
"What we are talking is how to bring peace and stability to the two countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) and the region at large," The Dawn quoted Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, as saying.
"Our dialogue is at an advanced stage, we are discussing real issues. But what we have not come to as yet are the mechanisms we need to achieve the objective of a region free of extremism, radicalisation and violence it brings on us," he added.
The other contentious issue, he said,.
- 2/18/2012
- by Anita Agarwal
- RealBollywood.com
As pointed out by Talking Points Memo, Herman Cain mirrored 'The Simpsons' with his latest quotable gem.
According to numerous sources, including The Associated Press, Cain said Thursday at a New Hampshire campaign event, "We need a leader, not a reader." The quote was reported on Twitter by ABC News' Susan Archer as well as AP's Steve Peoples. AP provides some context for the statement, explaining, "He defended recent stumbles on foreign policy and said the president doesn't need to know every detail about every country."
Tpm's Benjy Sarlin notes that Cain's quote bears a striking resemblance to a joke from 2007's "The Simpsons Movie." During a scene in the White House, Arnold Schwarzenegger (the President of the United States in the film) is presented with a series of options on a major decision and immediately picks one of them without reading it. Explaining how he came to the decision so quickly,...
According to numerous sources, including The Associated Press, Cain said Thursday at a New Hampshire campaign event, "We need a leader, not a reader." The quote was reported on Twitter by ABC News' Susan Archer as well as AP's Steve Peoples. AP provides some context for the statement, explaining, "He defended recent stumbles on foreign policy and said the president doesn't need to know every detail about every country."
Tpm's Benjy Sarlin notes that Cain's quote bears a striking resemblance to a joke from 2007's "The Simpsons Movie." During a scene in the White House, Arnold Schwarzenegger (the President of the United States in the film) is presented with a series of options on a major decision and immediately picks one of them without reading it. Explaining how he came to the decision so quickly,...
- 11/17/2011
- by Adam Goldberg
- Huffington Post
In the latest installment of the Butterfly Effect we look at how mining the key ingredient in electric cars could end up enriching potential enemies of America, and force another round of innovation to build an even newer kind of battery.
1. Revenge Of The Electric Car
One day in late 2005, after losing yet another bruising political battle to the bean counters inside General Motors, then-vice chairman “Maximum” Bob Lutz heard of a startup called Tesla Motors intending to bring an all-electric sports car to market. Enraged that a bunch of Silicon Valley gearheads could do what he couldn’t, Lutz, in his own words, “just lost it.” He rallied his fellow car guys within Gm to develop the prototype of what became the Chevrolet Volt--the “moon shot” justifying the company’s survival and the first in a new wave of electric vehicles just beginning to break on dealers’ showrooms. And...
1. Revenge Of The Electric Car
One day in late 2005, after losing yet another bruising political battle to the bean counters inside General Motors, then-vice chairman “Maximum” Bob Lutz heard of a startup called Tesla Motors intending to bring an all-electric sports car to market. Enraged that a bunch of Silicon Valley gearheads could do what he couldn’t, Lutz, in his own words, “just lost it.” He rallied his fellow car guys within Gm to develop the prototype of what became the Chevrolet Volt--the “moon shot” justifying the company’s survival and the first in a new wave of electric vehicles just beginning to break on dealers’ showrooms. And...
- 6/30/2011
- by Greg Lindsay
- Fast Company
"Everyone involved this story is disgusting"-- it's a line most in the media keep for very particular stories, usually involving John Edwards or a Kardashian sister. Tonight, Bill O'Reilly hauled it out for the peculiarly heinous killings of up to 30 people in Afghanistan, in response to Pastor Terry Jones' campaign to burn the Koran last summer. While refusing to take blame away from the killers and Afghan president Hamid Karzai, O'Reilly put the blame squarely in the hands of this "insane Christian."...
- 4/5/2011
- by Frances Martel
- Mediaite - TV
Bush's Defense secretary chides Colin Powell, says he would have gone into Iraq even if he'd known Saddam had no WMDs-and discusses his son's drug problem. Howard Kurtz speed-reads Rummy's new memoir. Plus, lighter anecdotes from Rumsfeld's memoir, including his unromantic proposal and his take on Hurricane Katrina.
Ten days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld wrote himself a note.
Related story on The Daily Beast: An American in Full
"At the right moment," it said, "we may want to give Saddam Hussein a way out for his family to live in comfort."
In his forthcoming book, Known and Unknown, the former Defense secretary says he believed that "an aggressive diplomatic effort, coupled by a threat of military force, just might convince Saddam and those around him to seek exile." Instead, history will record that Rumsfeld became a principal player in the Bush administration's drive to invade Iraq, which...
Ten days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld wrote himself a note.
Related story on The Daily Beast: An American in Full
"At the right moment," it said, "we may want to give Saddam Hussein a way out for his family to live in comfort."
In his forthcoming book, Known and Unknown, the former Defense secretary says he believed that "an aggressive diplomatic effort, coupled by a threat of military force, just might convince Saddam and those around him to seek exile." Instead, history will record that Rumsfeld became a principal player in the Bush administration's drive to invade Iraq, which...
- 2/3/2011
- by Howard Kurtz
- The Daily Beast
Time named Mark Zuckerberg as its 2010 Person of the Year on Wednesday. The magazine said the Facebook founder beat several runners-up -- Julian Assange, Hamid Karzai, Chilean Miners and the Tea Party -- for the annual honor. Time editor Richard Stengel said Zuckerberg deserved the Person of the Year tag for “connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them; for creating a new system of exchanging information; and for changing how we all live our lives.” Stengel also said Zuckerberg and Assange have a lot in...
- 12/15/2010
- by Dylan Stableford
- The Wrap
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been named Time’s 2010 Person of the Year, and the 26-year-old billionaire talked to the magazine about himself, his company’s future, and that blockbuster movie about his life. “I found it funny what details they focused on getting right in [The Social Network],” Zuckerberg told Time. “I think I owned every single T-shirt that they had me wearing. But the biggest thing that thematically they missed is the concept that you would have to want to do something — date someone or get into some final club — in order to be motivated to do something like this. It...
- 12/15/2010
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW.com - PopWatch
The guy with more friends than anybody has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year: Mark Zuckerberg, the controversial, 26-year-old founder of Facebook, the newsweekly announced Wednesday morning. Winning the honor over such short-listed names as WikiLeak's Julian Assange (the favorite in a readers' poll), the Tea Party, the Chilean Miners, Apple's Steve Jobs and Afghanistan leader Hamid Karzai, Zuckerberg on his own Facebook page describes his personal interests as "openness, making things that help people connect and share what's important to them, revolutions, information flow, minimalism." As Time tagged Zuckerberg's on the Web site of the Today show...
- 12/15/2010
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke was a team player with a strong moral compass. Wesley Clark, Paul Begala, David Axelrod and more remember his astounding career.
David Gergen
Related story on The Daily Beast: An American in Full
"He was a sort of force of nature. He was to diplomacy what Lyndon Johnson was to politics. And you had this sense of, ‘We're just not going to meet this kind of guy again. And I just, I just thought he was indestructible.
"He was a man that if you were president and you had to face somebody who was a criminal or one of the really bad guys out there, you called Dick Holbrooke." -On Parker Spitzer
Paul Begala
"What I think was unique about Holbrooke was this: A lot of people in diplomacy at his level are very bright. And a few people are very tough. But it's never the same person.
David Gergen
Related story on The Daily Beast: An American in Full
"He was a sort of force of nature. He was to diplomacy what Lyndon Johnson was to politics. And you had this sense of, ‘We're just not going to meet this kind of guy again. And I just, I just thought he was indestructible.
"He was a man that if you were president and you had to face somebody who was a criminal or one of the really bad guys out there, you called Dick Holbrooke." -On Parker Spitzer
Paul Begala
"What I think was unique about Holbrooke was this: A lot of people in diplomacy at his level are very bright. And a few people are very tough. But it's never the same person.
- 12/14/2010
- by The Daily Beast
- The Daily Beast
• Despite Mark Madoff”s tragic suicide over the weekend, attorneys involved in the Bernie Madoff case say it will not stop or stall the investigation—Mark will continue to be targeted as a source for the recovery of millions. [ABC News] • Time announces finalists for its annual Person of the Year issue: Julian Assange, the Chilean miners, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Hamid Karzai. [Time] • Gawker.com was hacked on Saturday, with private e-mail addresses and passwords—reportedly those of 1.5 million users—stolen. The site urged anyone registered on their site or affiliates to change all passwords. [New York] • Future princess Catherine Middleton and Prince William have released engagement photos—one comfy-casual, one formal and mannered—taken by Windsor fave Mario Testino. Prince William is said to have selected Testino for the job; Testino was his mother’s favorite. [Us Weekly] • Black Swan earned a record-setting 12 Critics Awards nominations, announced this morning—among them best picture and best actress for its star,...
- 12/13/2010
- Vanity Fair
Robert De Niro showed off his comedy skills on Saturday Night Live at the weekend by poking fun at his famous tough guy reputation and dressing in drag for a TV skit.
The movie star was promoting new film Little Fockers as guest host of the weekly show and he began his stint by joking he was hoping "this will really kickstart my movie career."
He then asked his burly henchmen to escort an audience member out of the TV studio for questioning his factually-inaccurate take on life in his beloved New York, and he presented another guest with a dead horse's head when he took exception to De Niro's claims he attended city drama school Hogwarts.
The actor also showed up as Afghanistan leader Hamid Karzai in a skit and played thriller author Harlan Kane, promoting his latest suspense novel. De Niro also played himself in comedy sketches, where his famous serious reputation was mocked.
But his biggest laugh came when he played the mother of a hapless rapper, portrayed by SNL regular Andy Samberg, in a skit that also featured the show's musical guest Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
De Niro brought some big name friends with him - Robin Williams appeared in one skit and his Little Fockers co-star Ben Stiller made a cameo in another.
The movie star was promoting new film Little Fockers as guest host of the weekly show and he began his stint by joking he was hoping "this will really kickstart my movie career."
He then asked his burly henchmen to escort an audience member out of the TV studio for questioning his factually-inaccurate take on life in his beloved New York, and he presented another guest with a dead horse's head when he took exception to De Niro's claims he attended city drama school Hogwarts.
The actor also showed up as Afghanistan leader Hamid Karzai in a skit and played thriller author Harlan Kane, promoting his latest suspense novel. De Niro also played himself in comedy sketches, where his famous serious reputation was mocked.
But his biggest laugh came when he played the mother of a hapless rapper, portrayed by SNL regular Andy Samberg, in a skit that also featured the show's musical guest Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
De Niro brought some big name friends with him - Robin Williams appeared in one skit and his Little Fockers co-star Ben Stiller made a cameo in another.
- 12/6/2010
- WENN
NBC's Saturday Night Live last night posted its best overnight rating since the season premiere. The show hosted by Robert De Niro with musical guest Diddy-Dirty Money drew a 5.0/12 in metered-market households, up 14% from the same night last year. De Niro, who was promoting Little Fockers, was joined in two sketches with co-star Ben Stiller. Here are SNL's WikiLeaks/TMZ-themed cold open featuring De Niro as Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai and a sketch featuring him in a drag opposite Diddy.
- 12/5/2010
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Finally, WikiLeaks explained in a way anyone can understand. "Saturday Night Live" satirized the latest round of WikiLeaks disclosures with a cold open Saturday that imagined WikiLeaks going the TMZ route to try to embarrass as many world leaders as possible. It included Robert DeNiro as an easily bribed Hamid Karzai, a prostitute-prone Muammar Gaddafi and -- shame on you if you got here by Googling this phrase -- a Hilary Clinton upskirt shot. Bill Hader's Assange presided over the TMZ newsroom in place of Harvey Levin, and signed off with this...
- 12/5/2010
- The Wrap
President Obama has arrived in Afghanistan after an overnight, 13-hour flight. Air Force One landed a short while ago, giving the cable nets a chance to air "unedited video," which is always fun. The president is scheduled to speak shortly at Bagram Air Base, but plans for a face-to-face meeting with Afghan president Hamid Karzai have been scrubbed due to bad weather. The trip may only last about three hours--a chance to meet with American troops on the ground, and to have private talks with Gen. David Petraeus.
- 12/3/2010
- by Mark Joyella
- Mediaite - TV
From Kate Middleton to Ireland's economy, your all-ages conversational guide to impressing your friends and loved ones.
There are two things you need to get through Thanksgiving. Both require a good sense of timing: a well-made drink and a well-delivered insight. The Daily Beast can't help you with the former but when it comes to the latter, we've got your back. Here's some diversionary banter to keep Aunt Gloria at bay when she asks, yet again, why you're still living at home. Try one of these lines out on Cousin Tim to get him to stop yammering about the wonders of his new girlfriend Katie. You don't need to know much to fake your way through Thanksgiving banter-just more than that wisecracking uncle sitting next to you.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Fashion Flash: Paint The Town Red
1. Politics: President Obama is trying to emerge from his midterm doldrums.
There are two things you need to get through Thanksgiving. Both require a good sense of timing: a well-made drink and a well-delivered insight. The Daily Beast can't help you with the former but when it comes to the latter, we've got your back. Here's some diversionary banter to keep Aunt Gloria at bay when she asks, yet again, why you're still living at home. Try one of these lines out on Cousin Tim to get him to stop yammering about the wonders of his new girlfriend Katie. You don't need to know much to fake your way through Thanksgiving banter-just more than that wisecracking uncle sitting next to you.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Fashion Flash: Paint The Town Red
1. Politics: President Obama is trying to emerge from his midterm doldrums.
- 11/24/2010
- by Samuel P. Jacobs
- The Daily Beast
The New York Times published a discomfiting coda to the months of Taliban-Afghan peace talks: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the Taliban higher-up who met with Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Nato officials throughout several rounds of deliberations, is not, in fact, Taliban higher-up Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour. “It’s not him,” a diplomat told the Times. “And we gave him a lot of money.” Just who is this man? It could really be anyone besides Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour. The paper’s sources suggested that he could be an agent with the Pakistani intelligence service, a different Taliban member authorized to do the bidding of Mansour, or simply a curious onlooker with boundary issues and a casual approach to his own mortality.
- 11/23/2010
- Vanity Fair
Have yourself an innovative Tuesday.
1. As Iran starts loading up its first nuclear reactor with fuel today, the U.S. government has started to voice its unease about President Ahmedinejad's cash parcels to his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai. In the New York Times George Gavrilis speculates on what the cash is used for.
2. Graveyard jokes abound over the future of Digg this morning. Yesterday CEO Matt Williams announced that he was going to have to lay off 37% of staff--or 25 jobs--and told Mashable that the site was in "startup mode." One of the more high-profile victims is Chief Revenue Officer Chas Edwards, who is off to a startup, and other tech firms are looking at the victims of the cutbacks with interest. Jay Adelson, the firm's previous CEO, told a conference yesterday that he had no regrets about not selling the site, which still fetches 20 million unique visitors per month. Meanwhile,...
1. As Iran starts loading up its first nuclear reactor with fuel today, the U.S. government has started to voice its unease about President Ahmedinejad's cash parcels to his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai. In the New York Times George Gavrilis speculates on what the cash is used for.
2. Graveyard jokes abound over the future of Digg this morning. Yesterday CEO Matt Williams announced that he was going to have to lay off 37% of staff--or 25 jobs--and told Mashable that the site was in "startup mode." One of the more high-profile victims is Chief Revenue Officer Chas Edwards, who is off to a startup, and other tech firms are looking at the victims of the cutbacks with interest. Jay Adelson, the firm's previous CEO, told a conference yesterday that he had no regrets about not selling the site, which still fetches 20 million unique visitors per month. Meanwhile,...
- 10/26/2010
- by Addy Dugdale
- Fast Company
Rooney Mara squares off with Jesse Eisenberg’s “Mark Zuckerberg” in The Social Network. It’s no surprise that, after only a few advance screenings, David Fincher’s The Social Network has become the film to beat for Best Picture 2010: for more than a year, Hollywood has passed around Aaron Sorkin’s script like a jumbo-sized joint at a Rolling Stones concert. Its ridiculously relevant subject is the most obsessed-over, metastasized Web site of our day, and by daring to call their anti-tragic hero “Mark Zuckerberg,” Fincher, Sorkin, and producer Scott Rudin are picking a nerd knife fight with the richest hoodie in America, the Wizard of Zuck himself (who tops Vanity Fair’s own New Establishment list). In fact, the Twitterati gleefully mused that yesterday’s Facebook failure was Zuck’s way of making us all think twice about attending The Social Network’s premiere last night at the New York Film Festival.
- 9/25/2010
- Vanity Fair
• America’s economic growth dropped to an estimated annual rate of 1.6 percent, according to statistics released today. [New York Times] • Somalia’s budget in the fiscal year 2009 was just over $11 million, equal to the budget of High School Musical 3 and about half of Derek Jeter’s 2010 salary. [Foreign Policy] • Former president Jimmy Carter has secured the release of 31-year-old U.S. citizen Aijalon Gomes from North Korea after he was sentenced to eight years of hard labor and fined $700,000. [AP] • The C.I.A. is making clandestine payments to members of Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s administration in order for the agency to maintain allies within the presidential palace. [Washington Post] • After years of awkward run-ins on the Internet, stoners now have their own social media hub, Leaf.ly. [Daily Intel]...
- 8/27/2010
- Vanity Fair
Let’s read this: You have, in one news cycle, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai—now deeply disliked and discredited in the Us, although, previously, installed in his job by the Us—saying as how he doesn’t believe Us forces can help his government win against the Taliban. Hence, he’s making common cause with the enemy and, accordingly, hanging the Us out to dry. Only defeat itself could be a worse theater of operations scenario: the government that we’re defending, and the army that we’re counting on to take up the cause, are going over to the other side. Then in the next news cycle: The Us government points out that, largely unbeknownst to the Afghan government, Afghanistan has mineral deposits—a trillion dollars of deposits—that could transform it from one of the poorest nations in the world into quite a rich one. The Pentagon reports that Afghanistan could,...
- 6/15/2010
- Vanity Fair
• A bomb planted in a cart by insurgents killed two civilians and a police officer in Kandahar on Sunday morning. [CNN] • Two of President Hamid Karzai’s top security officials resigned on Sunday after failing to prevent Taliban rocket attacks on the peace jirga in Kabul last week.. [New York Times, Washington Post] • Meanwhile, President Karzai’s office defended his decision to remove the two security officials on Monday, saying they should be held accountable for the attacks on such a serious peace conference. [AP]...
- 6/7/2010
- Vanity Fair
• The Pope was publicly critical of Vatican officials who were involved in the sexual abuse scandal and its subsequent cover-up. [The New York Times] • Executives from B.P., Transocean, and Halliburton will testify in front of various Senate committees today. They are each expected to blame the others for the disaster. [Yahoo] • Five people were killed and 58 were injured as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma and Kansas. [The Washington Post] • Afghan President Hamid Karzai will meet with Obama tomorrow as part of his four-day trip to Washington, D.C. There is ... a lot to talk about. [Politico] • A new map of New York shows the locations of hazardous materials and census-taking cancer patients. It is also, therefore, a map that is a good indicator of late-stage cases of hypochondria. [Gawker]...
- 5/11/2010
- Vanity Fair
It’s turning into a comic book war. Curiously, the White House hardly seems to be pretending otherwise. Ridiculous allies are usually treated with great, if mock, respect. But the White House is pretty open about Afghan President Hamid Karzai being a psychopath or child, as well as a crook. He’s become one of the more fabulous characters of the terror wars, up there in mercurial nuttiness with Osama and Saddam—except Karzai is on our side. Equivocally anyway. A few weeks ago, Karzai was threatening to join the Taliban. He stole an election—without much trying to cover his tracks. His is a reign of corruption unrivaled in a place of historic and endemic corruption. Once an amiable American pawn, he gets more grandiose by the interview. And now he’s become openly hostile and belligerent to American efforts to nurture even the appearance of reform and competence.
- 4/21/2010
- Vanity Fair
• The top two al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq have been killed in a joint operation between Iraqi and American forces, Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki announced today. [NPR, New York Times, Washington Post] • After last year’s fraud-ridden election, the United Nations has endorsed President Hamid Karzai’s choice for the new head of Afghanistan’s election commission. [Wall Street Journal, New York Times] • Nato's next big offensive is set for this summer in the Taliban’s spiritual stronghold of Kandahar. Tribal elders are quite worried about the coming military operations, and Nato is stressing that Operation Omid's priority is to clean up bribery and corruption. [Guardian]...
- 4/19/2010
- Vanity Fair
• President Obama signed a new nuclear arms deal with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Prague today. And, according to the Internet, Reagan would have approved! [The Daily Beast] • After the opposition stormed the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek Wednesday and forced the president to flee, a transitional government—led by a former foreign minister—has taken power and dissolved Parliament. [New York Times] • Last night, a Qatari diplomat lit up in an airplane bathroom on a flight from Washington to Denver, causing fighter jets to “scramble” and putting law enforcement on high alert. No explosives were found on the diplomat, he apparently just really, really need a smoke. [Huff Post] • Despite reports from former ambassador Peter Galbraith, the U.S. State Department does not think Afghan President Hamid Karzai is a drug addict. [Foreign Policy] • Nike’s new Tiger Woods ad is really pulling at the heart strings, solemnly shooting Tiger in black and white listening to a voiceover from his dead father,...
- 4/8/2010
- Vanity Fair
• Yesterday, President Obama flew through the night to Kabul for his first visit to Afghanistan as commander-in-chief. Obama visited with American troops and urged President Hamid Karzai to take on rampant corruption. [New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, BBC] • A recent Washington Post poll finds that 53 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan. [Washington Post] • After last month’s assault on the southern town of Marja, American forces are preparing for their next operation: a push into Kandahar, the birthplace and spiritual home of the Taliban. [New York Times]...
- 3/29/2010
- Vanity Fair
• President Obama made an unannounced trip to Kabul yesterday, his first since taking office, to press Afghan president Hamid Karzai on corruption and give American troops support. [Washington Post] • 3-D continues to rock the box office, with DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon raking in an estimated $43.3 million in the top slot. [Variety] • There should be no bipartisan bickering about whether or not insurance companies have a heart: they don’t. Not even a week after Obama’s legislation passed, they’re arguing that they don’t have to provide care for certain children with pre-existing conditions. [NY Times] • Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in two separate attacks on subway cars in Moscow today, killing at least 37 people. [La Times] • A job is a job, and a college degree doesn’t guarantee you one, especially during a recession. [NPR]...
- 3/29/2010
- Vanity Fair
President Barack Obama made a surprise trip today, touching down in Kabul, Afghanistan to visit the country for the first time since he took office. Afghan President Hamid Karzai was notified about the American President's arrival just an hour before he showed up, and the trip has been kept under such tight secrecy that reporters were only allowed to write about the event after Obama departed. CNN's Candy Crowley quickly rounded up a bunch of pundits for speculation on State Of The Union, though with so little information flowing out, it's mostly a guessing game.
- 3/28/2010
- by Drew Grant
- Mediaite - TV
• Taliban militants attacked Kabul on Monday while President Hamid Karzai was swearing in members of his parliament. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up and another five gunman fought to their deaths nearly 50 yards from the Presidential Palace. Three Afghan soldiers and two civilians died in the attack. (New York Times, Guardian, Washington Post, BBC) • Dexter Filkins’s first-person account of the chaos in the capital, where fighting rarely occurs in Afghanistan, depicts how close the Taliban came to the heart of the Afghan government. (New York Times/At War Blog) • President Karzai is preparing a plan to reconcile with the Taliban, offering jobs, security, and education to those who defect. United States special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan said it can’t be worse than previous efforts, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he doubts the Afghan Taliban leader will defect. (AP, Washington Post, New York Times)...
- 1/19/2010
- Vanity Fair
2 December 2009
Afghanistan
Gordon Brown welcomed Barack Obama's pledge to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. The prime minister told the Commons that a "very substantial" number of the extra Us troops would be going to Helmand to assist British forces in dealing with Taliban insurgents.
Brown said there was "no question" of British troops being withdrawn until the Afghans could take over security control themselves. He also disclosed that the Nato conference in London in January would discuss troop commitments made by coalition partners and Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, would give details of political reforms.
David Cameron warned the prime minister against giving "false expectations" or "mixed messages" over the date for the eventual withdrawal of British troops.
Recession
Brown was mocked for his claim that he was leading the world out of recession. Cameron said figures showed the UK was the only economy in the entire G20 yet to move out of recession.
Afghanistan
Gordon Brown welcomed Barack Obama's pledge to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. The prime minister told the Commons that a "very substantial" number of the extra Us troops would be going to Helmand to assist British forces in dealing with Taliban insurgents.
Brown said there was "no question" of British troops being withdrawn until the Afghans could take over security control themselves. He also disclosed that the Nato conference in London in January would discuss troop commitments made by coalition partners and Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, would give details of political reforms.
David Cameron warned the prime minister against giving "false expectations" or "mixed messages" over the date for the eventual withdrawal of British troops.
Recession
Brown was mocked for his claim that he was leading the world out of recession. Cameron said figures showed the UK was the only economy in the entire G20 yet to move out of recession.
- 12/3/2009
- The Guardian - Film News
Eat your heart out H1N1, gatecrashers and Aretha's hat. According to Global Language Monitor -- an algorithms company who used their Predictive Quantities Indicator to find their results -- "Twitter" is the most-used word of 2009. (A sampling of runner-ups: Obama, stimulus, outrage, and vampire.) It's not really that much of a surprise, considering how many news outlets have consistently referred to Twitter in order to gauge viewer opinions about everything from the Iranian presidential election to Anderson Cooper's necktie choices. Though, admittedly, it is a bit hard to believe that the leader of the free world was surpassed...
- 12/2/2009
- by Kate Ward
- EW.com - PopWatch
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