Are These The High Level Peace Talks Or Have I Blundered Into A Comedy Club?

Back In Laughghanistan:

KABUL, Afghanistan — For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the repeated appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban movement.

But now, it turns out, Mr. Mansour was apparently not Mr. Mansour at all. In an episode that could have been lifted from a spy novel, United States and Afghan officials now say the Afghan man was an impostor, and high-level discussions conducted with the assistance of NATO appear to have achieved little.

“It’s not him,” said a Western diplomat in Kabul intimately involved in the discussions. “And we gave him a lot of money.”

Right, then - as soon as I finish Thanksgiving dinner, I am flying to Afghanistan.  It is past time for Mullah Muckwuck Muffinbottom to negotiate peace with honor.  And I take credit cards.

FOCUSING LIKE A LASER ON  THE ECONOMY: 

In other news, the Administration hopes to balance the budget by helping a Nigerian widow invest her billions.

PILING ON:

Well, this explains what's going on with the voice-activated stereo in my car. When I say, "Beethoven's Ninth" it starts playing Ode to Joy. Or if I say, "Let it be," it plays the Beatles song of the same name.

The other day another driver cut me off in traffic. "You clown!" I yelled.

And the stereo played, "Hail to the Chief."

We'll be here all week.

 

Comments

[They thought he was a community organizer.]

The gave him a lot of money after the first meeting to entice him to come back. Hey, it worked!
===============

[He's spending it at the madrassah's comedy club.]

He's not giving it back.
============

[Charlie (Colorado)]

He's an amateur. The Kim family in North Korea has been conning us for years.

[Rob]

In other news, the Administration hopes to balance the budget by helping a Nigerian widow invest her billions.

[bgates]

Hold on - this guy just shows up, with nobody to vouch for him, no verifiable history, says he's going to end the war in Afghanistan, and eight months later they figure it out?

How come the Afghans are so much quicker than we are?

[narciso]

Did they get this bit out of that piece in Trading Places, where Murphy played the prince, and 'where is Beeks'

[NotPC]

The most brilliant president and foreign policy team!

[narciso]

Fielding Mellish strikes again,

[bgates]

we gave him a lot of money

My feeling is, when you spread the wealth around, it's good for the guy who's pretending to coordinate attacks on the Afghan government so he can defraud us.

[memomachine]

Hmmm.

I'll go with you and pose as Imam Bunny Wigglesworth (c.f. Zorro the Gay Blade).

[Abu Al-Poopypants]

I don't remember any Mullah Muckwuck Muffinbottom.

[matt]

why do I hear a circus band in the background every time I read of one of our administrations foreign policy initiatives?

Here comes the clown car. Look! Here come Biden and Kerry and Eikenberry and Holbrooke and Panetta.....

Between their underpants offensive and their shoe bomb offensive and their peace talks offensive, a bunch of poorly educated tribesmen seem to have found a formula to drive the world's greatest superpower into irrelevance and global derision.

There is the source material for one hell of a black comedy in all of this. Maybe it can be funded with the 9/11 endowment.

[taze him again]

who paid him some x pc with ties to zKennedies? Iloved the people of afghanistan so much......

[Ann]

Amen, Matt.

Congrats on the AT link! They should hire you.

daddy:

This might be of interest: Alaska's Gail Fenumiai - The Fox Guarding the Hen House

[Walter Sobchak]

I saw Spock the othe day, he was wearing a beard.

[PD]

"Smart diplomacy."

[Ayatollah Ofrock Androlla]

Just remember to give me my cut, Mullah Muffinbottom.

[narciso]

This is working out real well, in the LUN

[narciso]

This dispute is not new, in the LUN

[glasater]

Heh--Iowahawk tweet:

Most competent WH in history falls victim to Taliban equivalent of Nigerian email scam

[daddy]

Thanks Ann and narciso for the Alaska Election updates.

Am out of town so have to rely on the ADN which is gloriously untrustworthy, except that now that they believe they have accomplished their goal of getting their girl in power, they appear to be doing a bit more actual reporting on the recount stuff.
Two points from a story they have up today:

1) "Now that Miller has followed the first part of Beistline's order, the second kicks in -- the state is barred from certifying the election until the case makes it way through the state courts."

Don't know if that applies only after the State case is completed, or if they have to wait till the Federal Case (if there is one) is completed.

2) "In an announcement Monday, Murkowski said her campaign planned to intervene in the state court case "to keep those thousands of voters from being disenfranchised by Mr. Miller." Her intervention, if accepted by the Superior Court, will undoubtedly add more issues that will need to be briefed by lawyers and decided by a judge."

And rats, can't get the Dennis Miller rant to load.

[Donald Sensing]

Well, this explains what's going on with the voice-activated stereo in my car. When I say, "Beethoven's Ninth" it starts playing Ode to Joy. Or if I say, "Let it be," it plays the Beatles song of the same name.

The other day another driver cut me off in traffic. "You clown!" I yelled.

And the stereo played, "Hail to the Chief."

[daddy]

I find this BBC ClimateGate story encouraging:

The Beeb's official Environment propagandist, Richard Black, is off to Cancun and trying to restart that Dead Horse. In this latest story, ">http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/2010/11/at_a_recent_meeting_of.html"> China hints at new climate future he tries to tell us straightfacedly that China has decided to implement a 5 Year Plan that will amazingly reduce Global Warming emissions down to nothing, and the West, particularly the US, should be ashamed of itself.

It's humorous in that he cites no sources, uses hard hitting phrases like "sources confirm the new law is more than just a subject of conversation within the Chinese political elite - it is a firm plan" and the even more solid rumor that China will try to change the wording of "endeavor to lower CO2 Emissions" to something like "trying to lower" or "striving to lower" or "really really trying to strive to lower CO2 Emissions..."

I do not know if Richard is a Queen, but I do know that he is Red, and like the Red Queen he has no problem "believing six impossible things before breakfast", especially if its something about China and he heard if from a guy who heard if from a guy who heard if from some other guy that said maybe.

Regardless, the reason I am happy is that most of the commenters on his site, which is usually staffed with an Amen Chorus of Gaia worshippers, are now questioning his astonishing gullibility. Nice to see that for a change.

[Pagar]

"cites no sources"

Probably hoping someone will give him a lot of money to come back.

[Wuzzagrunt]

The Onion News Network is miffed that NATO and the US State Department is horning in on its schtick.

[daddy]

If you've got 4 minutes to watch this wonderful Chris Christie video posted at Althouse you won't be disappointed:

">http://althouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/heres-why-i-wish-sarah-palin-wasnt-so.html"> "Thanks so much for coming by".

[Sammler]

This is more acutely but less chronically dumb than the previous administration's dealings with Ahmad Chalabi.

[game over]

Maybe it was Frank Abagnale.

[Neo]

Yea. It looks bad.
It looks like the Taliban aren't interested in negotiating in good faith when they send an impostor.

[The beauty of the truth. Inshallah.]

Sammler, Chalabi is and was Master of the Casbah. Sistani is Master of the Mosque. That's all there is to know, and all ye need to know.
==========================

[Janet]

It looks like the Taliban aren't interested in negotiating in good faith when they send an impostor.

Neo, Next thing ya know we're gonna find out that Islam isn't about peace at all!

[Janet]

Do ya figure they strip searched the impostor? Hopefully they didn't ask him for id or Islamic countries might think we are evil.

[ignorantsod]

"This dispute is not new, in the LUN"

What is the LUN?

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

LUN: Link under my name.

So click on the person's name to get the link.
Try mine.

[Janet]

LUN is link under name. Click on the highlighted poster's name & you will go to the article referenced.

[game over]

It's not as if the Muslim world hasn't done the body">http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/1859684.jpg%3Fv%3D1%26c%3DIWSAsset%26k%3D2%26d%3D77BFBA49EF878921F7C3FC3F69D929FD1D866BF16140AD309873BFA6E5D880F56D6502A2B6AB6C10E30A760B0D811297&imgrefurl=http://www.life.com/image/1859684&usg=__HKGVnehAUMBKUXW-8HvaWIIDMHY=&h=398&w=594&sz=37&hl=en&start=341&zoom=1&tbnid=4cfSyM2TV6eoOM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=182&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbody%2Bdouble%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1260%26bih%3D563%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C7264&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=669&vpy=158&dur=124&hovh=184&hovw=274&tx=193&ty=155&ei=aMLrTP2EKMSyngfP3rD-AQ&oei=JsLrTJW9CMK78gaG2vT4AQ&esq=20&page=17&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:341&biw=1260&bih=563">body double, stand-in charade before.

You'd think the CIA would have a clue by now. Or, perhaps the TSA ID'd, xrayed, and pronounced him fit for talks.

[game over]

Oh, Janet got there first

[sbw]

You're sure it wasn't Rufus T. Firefly from Duck Soup?

[memomachine]

Hmmmm.

You literally cannot make this stuff up. SNL must be dying by millimeters. You know they want to support Obama but stuff like this is an absolute gold mine of comedy.

[L!ink U!nder N!ame for Steve's latest.]

Santa Claus is coming to town.
============

[ignorantsod]

Thank you, Jane and Janet.

[jimmyk]

To be fair, it was a good disguise:

[sbw]

The real problem was that following administration policy they could not demand to see Mansour's ID.

[Pagar]

Someone asked what the government is trying to hide:

How EPA could destroy 7.3 million Jobs.

"Environmental Protection Agency officials Wednesday provided power companies and states with new guidance on EPA’s plans to regulate greenhouse gases."

This does not even mention their plans to put small farmers, farmers markets etc out of business.

My guess if you totaled all the EPA plans to
put Americans out of work right now, the figures would be doubled.

This is insane. Our federal agencies are completely out of control and we're setting here worrying what the name of some thief in Kabul might be.

[Clarice]

It is past time for Mullah Muckwuck Muffinbottom to negotiate peace with honor You forgot...and his trusted sidekick Sultana Scamstress...

[Danube of Thought]

Andrew Malcom:

"President Obama has passed the Big 4-0 -- going the wrong way. Turns out voters were not simply satisfied to spank the Democrat and his party in the Nov. 2 midterm elections with historic losses in the House of Representatives.Obama's job approval rating as calculated by the Zogby Poll has now sunk to 39%, a new low for his 22-month presidency that began with so much hope and excitement and poll numbers up around 70. As recently as Sept. 20, his job approval was 49%. A whopping 60% now disapprove of his job, up from 51% disapproval Sept. 20."

[centralcal]

Ah yes, Clarice! I wondered if the International Scams-R-Us might have perked their ears up over the potential $$$$ peace opportunities.

[mr wiggy]

Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, how the heck is that name going to fit onto the 1099 form that is now required?

[DebinNC]

Keeping in mind what's in the news, Obama's schedule today (right side column) says much about him and the priorities of his regime.

[Old Lurker]

Wonder how those 3AM calls went last night, re Korea?

[narciso]

Wasn't he just in the neighborhood, just the other day, now as pointed out in the LUNs, this is not out of the ordinary, re 1999 and
2005, but it does seem quite embarassing

[Clarice]

Once this gets more widely known 39% is going to look good.
FNC reports Axelrod leaving early (in 90 days).

Making the WH staff judenfrei? Or rats leaving the sinking ship?

[Pagar]

" A whopping 60% now disapprove of his job, up from 51% disapproval Sept. 20."

Why isn't it 100%? Just the TSA mess alone ought to make it 100%. Looking at the time alloted for his daily briefing, I'd be willing to bet that most JOMers spend more time learning what went on in the world last night.

Spending the day flying back and forth to Peru Ind, hasn't anyone every heard of teleconferences?

[I R A Darth Aggie]

Mullah Muckwuck Muffinbottom? why negotiate with a goober with the name Muffinbottom when you can negotiate with me?

Who you gonna trust, Muffinbottom or an actual Sith Lord? oh, BTW, I altered our bargain. Pray I don't alter it again.

[Rick Ballard]

You folks are being awfully rough. After all, Mr. Mansour met the Presidential Standard regarding identity and any further checking could well be considered profiling.

OTOH - how can Abbas and Netanyahu meet under the aegis of this idiot without breaking into howls of laughter? If anyone wishes to discover the source of the snickering from G19 out of G20, this provides a clue.

[Extraneus]

Wow, that's a great schedule. Start work at 9:15, have a half hour meeting, private plane to Indiana, get back in time for dinner, and that's it. Not many junior high school kids have it that good.

[daddy]

" A whopping 60% now disapprove of his job, up from 51% disapproval Sept. 20."

So this must mean that it isn't just us Conservatives and Republicans and Libertarians and Independents that are too stupid to appreciate Obama and his policies, it must now mean Democrats are getting stupid too.

[daddy]

Well this is even more surprising.

Papers are now reporting that Obama is at 39%.

Yet McClatchy is putting out a story that ">http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/11/22/104152/poll-majority-of-americans-want.html"> A majority of Americans want the Congress to keep the new health care law or actually expand it,...

Headline: "New poll undercuts GOP claims of a midterm mandate"

"51 percent of registered voters want to keep the law or change it to do more."

Well obviously McClatchy must be correct, so why the heck is Obama's approval rating so low if we all love ObamaCare?

I'm confused. Help.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Scott Rassmussen's take on the election and another little gift for Clarice!

[narciso]

I refer to what our friend section once said, daddy, 'friends don't let friend's read McClatchy' So where in the world are you today

[peter]

So this must mean that it isn't just us Conservatives and Republicans and Libertarians and Independents that are too stupid to appreciate Obama and his policies, it must now mean Democrats are getting stupid too.

post of the day

[Threadkiller]

It's not like the guy crashed a Whitehouse dinner. That would be impossible.

[Porchlight]

Beyond the morning briefing, which I guess is over now, why isn't Obama in meetings discussing the Korean situation? Or does that stuff not make it onto the "official" WH calendar?

I cannot believe they're still touring auto plants. How many friendly audiences does the guy need to hit each week to keep his spirits up? Guess he needs a little adulation fix after constant humiliation abroad.

[Threadkiller]

CA is home to imposters. We give them money and power.

"Hien T. Tran was the lead scientist who wrote the report upon which the heavy duty truck and bus regulations are based. He bought a mail order Ph.D. from Thornhill "University" located at 255 Madison, New York. Using his fake Ph.D., the unqualified liar applied for and got the position as Manager of the Health and Ecosystem Assessment Section. Some of the board members, the chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols knew of the fraud before voting on the controversial regulation. The board members who knew, kept the information from other board members for nearly a year after the vote. The Governor also had the information and failed to take action."

">http://killcarb.org/tranpage.html"> “Compilation of links (in no particular order) to articles and information about the Hien T. Tran Fraud.”

[narciso]

A little blast from the past, in the LUN

[She'd met him, too.]

Pat's OK, you Tooter J. OK for Our Kind. I was able to reassure a supporter that the NRO's poll guy still saw Toomey ahead by ten when the MSM was suddenly squealing even, just a week or so out.
================

[daddy]

Amazing isn't it narciso,

For the last 3 months every Politician who voted for ObamaCare ran away from that vote like scalded dogs. Yet still we threw out of Congress 70 plus politicians who directly voted for the damn thing. And now along comes McClatchy, and using that sharp intellect and keen 20/20 hindsight they've reaped from years of Journalistic training and experience, they pop up and tell us that we actually are pleased with ObamaCare, are a bit angry that it don't go further, and that throwing all those bums out of Congress had nothing whatever to do with ObamaCare.

TM's right. We have blundered into a Comedy Club.

[That crack's a plus, folks.]

Hey narciso, suddenly I can see North Korea from my back porch.
=================

[Also 'Calm World', now that Accumulated Cyclone Energy is at a thirty year low.]

Tk, I've directly asked Chris Mooney when he's going to write 'The Democrats' War on Science'.
===============

[daddy]

Paris.

[Sue]

Why are they making Axelrod seem human? I hate that.

[narciso]

When Pigs walk on two feet, Kim

[Danube of Thought]

Raz is quite at odds with McClatchy:

The latest [November 22] Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% favor repeal of the health care law passed by Congress in March, with 47% who Strongly Favor it. Thirty-nine percent (39%) oppose repeal, including 29% who are Strongly Opposed.

[richard40]

Nice to know the fate of our country is in such competent hands. Has this administration ever done ANYTHING competently or correctly, other than growing government and passing out billions to their political friends.

I keep hearing from everybody how intelligent Obama is supposed to be. But judging from the competance of his administration so far, I see little evidence of it.

[Sue]

If McClatchy was correct, democrats would have run on Obamacare. The one democrat that did, in Virginia, I believe, lost.

[daveinboca]

Another story the lamestream dudes may try to backpedal on, given that Norks are on the warpath, but maybe Jon Stewart will give Obama the props he earned getting this guy back to the table for eight whole months...

Anyway, I'm tuning in for Millertime on Wednesday.

[PD]

You can contact TSA here to let them know what you think.

They've been claiming not to be receiving many complaints. Let's disabuse them of that notion.

[macphisto]

was it Yogi Berra who once wailed "doesn't anybody know how to PLAY this game?"

[Pagar]

Threadkiller,
In California, if you suspect a government employee may have a PHONY PHD, you better keep it to yourself if you want to continue to have a job.

Disagreeing with CARB may cost you your job.

"Logue said that Enstrom is also being terminated because of his discovery in 2009 of former CARB employee Hien Tran, who had falsified academic credentials,"
--------------------------------------------
My guess is that every e-mail address addressed to TSA protesting their assaults upon Americans will be traced and suitable government action taken to make sure they get an extra special pat down the next time they are going thru airport security.

[RebeccaH]

Hey, we're going to win this war! Because the Taliban are going to die laughing.

[Sue]

Obama got his 3:00 AM phone call and rolled over and went back to sleep, I guess. He didn't phone the SK president as has been earlier reported.

[Rob Crawford]

He didn't phone the SK president as has been earlier reported.

At this point, could he at least do us the favor of putting on the clown makeup?

[Sue]

Rob,

Gates phoned his counterpart. Obama didn't. They couldn't find a clown in SK for him to talk to.

[Sue]

Politico is reporting that Obama is "outraged". Plans to phone SK president to tell him we stand shoulder to shoulder. Good thing, since we have 37,000 troops on the peninsula. I didn't think anything outraged Obama but criticism of him personally.

[Rick Ballard]

Sue,

Geithner is trying to rescind the wire transfer of $2 billion to the South Korean rice farmer that BOzo did talk to. News travels fast.

[George Ditter]

was it Yogi Berra who once wailed "doesn't anybody know how to PLAY this game?"

no it was Casey Stengel managing the Mets

[Sue]

Rick,

::grin:: Don't you get a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing Obama is in charge while the Koreas are heating up?

[Porchlight]

Politico is reporting that Obama is "outraged". Plans to phone SK president to tell him we stand shoulder to shoulder.

It is rather irritating to have to take Politico's word on the "outrage." Any reason given why we can't hear from the President ourselves, or why he didn't phone earlier? (It is currently 2:30 am in Seoul.)

[jorgxmckie]

macphisto, that was Casey Stengel about the original "Amazin's" [the first Mets team].

The story also is that they had a birthday party for Stengel at the owner's mansion and the entire team had autographed a baseball for him. Someone tossed it to Marvelous Marv Throneberry [the first baseman] who dropped it and let it roll into the pool

Stengel said, "For gosh sakes don't hand him the cake."

[Rob Crawford]

I didn't think anything outraged Obama but criticism of him personally.

They told him the Norks did it while shouting "Buck Ofama!"

[George Ditter]

Casey also observed that "The trouble is not that players have sex the night before a game. It's that they stay out all night looking for it," which explained a lot of Bill Clinton's problems as President, but what the current Administration's excuse is unclear.

[narciso]

Yes, but antacid, usually clears that right up, Sue. and who are the idiots who say yay to
this idiotic screening procedure

[MayBee]

Obama got his 3:00 AM phone call and rolled over and went back to sleep, I guess. He didn't phone the SK president as has been earlier reported.

Is he punishing him over the FTA failure?
Please tell me the WH is smart enough not to tie this to the FTA.

[Old Lurker]

Don't sweat it folks, Hillary and Joe are the backup players. What could go wrong?

[Sue]

MayBee,

I don't think this WH is smart enough to tie their shoe laces correctly. I would imagine that was Obama's first thought. Maybe someone has talked some sense into him since the 3:00 AM phone call.

[MayBee]

I actually trust Hillary.

[Rick Ballard]

Hillary is probably in the air right now. I hope Kim Jong Il is satisfied with his red Reset button and the DVD of Obama's Greatest Speeches.

[glasater]

I actually trust Hillary

Good Heavens--Why?

[MayBee]

Good Heavens--Why?

Because I think she actually understands our country, and how things work.

[hit and run]

OL:
Don't sweat it folks, Hillary and Joe are the backup players. What could go wrong?

It's 3 am and your children are asleep. But there's a phone ringing in the White House...

Obama: Hello? You do know what time it is. […] What? A foreign crisis? We must act immediately? I don’t know what to do, what do you think we should do? […] OK, well, I’ll get right back to you. Joe knew this would happen, I’m gonna give him a call.

[3:07 am: Obama hangs up receiver, picks it up again, begins to dial]

Obama: Come on, come on, pick up dammit.

Biden: God love ya, Barack, what’s going on?

Obama: We have a crisis on our hands.

Biden: See? I told you so. Did you mark my words? Huh? Did you? They’re testing you, Barack. They’re testing your mettle. Wanna see what you’re made of.

Obama: Right, so…

Biden: Gird your loins, Barack.

Obama: Sure, got it but…

Biden: Like cleaning out the Augean stables, man.

Obama: Let me finish…

Biden: Now listen, I’m glad you called. I’m not being falsely humble with you here, you need me Barack. You need me.

Obama: That’s why I called. Now let’s…

Biden: OK, here’s what we do. We…wait, what’s the crisis?

Obama: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called saying that North Korea has launched an artillery attack on his country.
Biden: Right. OK, did you know, I’ve forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know.

Obama: Enough. Listen, we need to come up with something. What are your thoughts?

Biden: That’s what I’m trying to tell you, I’ve forgotten who Lee Mungback is or where South Korea is. Is it near India? Why didn't you take me to India with you? I bet it's like one big 7-11 over there, isn't it?

[3:15 am: click]

Biden: Hello? Barack? …