Merry Christmas To Karzai

Karzai strolls across another Obama red line:

U.S. Softens Deadline for Deal to Keep Troops in Afghanistan

By MATTHEW ROSENBERG

KABUL, Afghanistan — With about a week left in the year, the Obama administration is backing away from a Dec. 31 deadline for securing a deal to keep American troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014, though it is standing by its warning that a total military withdrawal is still possible if delays continue, American and Afghan officials said.

The decision is a tacit acknowledgment of what has become obvious in both Kabul and Washington: Neither a hard sell nor soft persuasion has yet induced President Hamid Karzai to go along with the American-imposed timeline for the agreement.

It is also an embarrassing turn after weeks of threats by some senior administration officials, including Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser, that a complete American withdrawal from Afghanistan — the so-called zero option — would be considered if Mr. Karzai did not sign the deal by the year’s end.

Instead of prompting Mr. Karzai to action, however, setting a boundary appears to have only reinforced his sense that American officials will back down if he refuses their demands — a lesson that has been repeated often over the past 12 years.

“I don’t know if I would call it bluffing,” said one American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “But it looks like that’s what we were doing, and now it looks like Karzai is calling us out.”

Dealing with this after the Afghan election next spring made sense anyway.

Comments

[narciso,]

I've lost patience with Dapper Hamid;

Providing an AQ executive career track since 2004;

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-gitmo-releases-20131220,0,254024.story#axzz2oFknNDJ8

[narciso,]

How does one say 'Excellent' in the Mr. Burns vein, in Russian.

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/12/24/snowden-mission-accomplished/

[Steve]

Video: Duck Dynasty: Season 5 Sneak Peek

http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com/2013/12/video-duck-dynasty-season-5-sneak-peek.html

[Extraneus]

North Korea's Kim Jong Un reportedly 'very drunk' when ordering executions

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was reportedly “very drunk” when he ordered the recent execution of two aides close to his uncle Jang Song-thaek.

The pair, according to a report in The Independent citing Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, questioned an order from the North Korean leader to transfer control of a business to the military. Kim was reportedly angered when they said they needed to check with “Director Jang” first before finalizing the switch.

Kim’s once-powerful uncle, who was executed last week, was the former head of the ruling Workers’ Party administrative department.

[narciso,]

we're just making friends all over the place,

first Egypt, then the Kingdom, now Afghanistan,

[narciso,]

Sorry here's the link;

http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/712723

[Threadkiller]

Where is ths Official Photographer when you need him?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-cheers-brother-in-law-oregon-state-akron-basketball-game-article-1.1556414

[narciso,]

You see why they wanted to shut him down:

http://therightscoop.com/fantastic-sermon-from-duck-dynastys-phil-robertson-march-2011/

[Threadkiller]

On 12.23.2013 it was reported that Mr. Barack Obama enrolled in the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

2.       At issue is the fact that Mr. Obama is using a Connecticut Social security number 042-68-4425, which failed E-Verify and SSNVS, two official agencies of the US government used to identify invalid Social Security numbers.

3.       The public is aware of the Social Security Number, which Mr. Obama is using, as on April 15, 2010 11 am, Mr. Obama posted his tax returns on line on whitehouse.gov and did not flatten the pdf file and the public could see that the number he is using is a CT SSN. Later Mr. Obama has reposted a redacted number, but by then thousands of people could see the full unredacted Social Security he is using.  Later, as checked through E-Verify and SSNVS, the number showed as not assigned to Barack Obama.

http://beforeitsnews.com/obama-birthplace-controversy/2013/12/press-release-foia-demand-for-explanation-and-records-sent-to-sebelius-how-did-obama-sign-up-for-obamacare-with-a-ct-social-security-number-which-2472316.html

[narciso,]

Yikes, btw, Santa Ana would like to have a word;

http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/12/ut-austin-and-texas-am-sponsoring-annual-meeting-of-anti-israel-academic-boycott-group/

[matt]

Merry Christmas Eve to you all.

[Beasts of England]

@TK: My brother was born in Honolulu a few years before JEF, and he has a Virginia SSN. I have a Virginia SSN, as well, but I was born there. If I remember correctly, they were assigned to us when I was about nine and he would have been thirteen; as we were living in VA at that time.

[centralcal]

Jane and Janet and Sue have all been sharing this on Facebook and it is so lovely, I think all of you will enjoy it too. Merry Christmas Eve - getting into the mood:

http://liftbump.com/2013/12/7262-can-literally-feel-christmas-moving-performance-hallelujah/

[rse]

Continuing the fashion discussion from the previous thread, yes Marlene I do think they are worth the price and I already had some capris. Got 2 pairs and then something more expensive that had a sign on it that it was 50% off and then 15% on top of that. I read signs and I notice prices. Cashier tells me total and I am questioning why it is that price since it was 50% off and then 15%. Cashier says that the 50% must not be automatic. Grrr.

I am also not a good person to play the game of the sign says x and the register does not ring up that way and the store wants to disregard their very public sign.

One more point on the holiday season, it is not a good sign at 10:30 on Christmas Eve if you can park 3 or 4 places away from either Bloomingdales or Neimans in Buckhead.

Suspect lots of adults are over the "something under the tree" and go for bargains on the 26th, which will hit those revenues hard.

[Account Deleted]

"it is not a good sign at 10:30 on Christmas Eve if you can park 3 or 4 places away from either Bloomingdales or Neimans in Buckhead."

Hmmm...

The most charitable thing to be said regarding current economic reports is they are very puzzling. Home prices hitting highs while mortgage activity hits lows needs considerable fantasy examination and reflection to become believable understandable.

It appears as if the inventory build up driving the Q3 GDP number will still be available for sales in Q1 2014. Maybe even Q1 2015.

[Stephanie looking forward to the bowl games]

rse, it's not a good sign if at anytime on Christmas Eve you can drive anywhere near Phipps or Lenox Square.

[polly]

Having lived in Atlanta for a number of years, I am amazed that anyone would go to Phipps or Lenox on Christmas Eve!

[Beasts of England]

Who would want to drive anywhere near Phipps or Lenox Square on any day? I'm worse than 285-Perez when I drive around the Buckhead environs.

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

I linked this on FB & a friend shared this comment from another person - http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/12/obama_enrolls_in_obamacare_-_well_not_really.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

"The president's, eh hem, "enrollment" in Obamacare is purely symbolic. Another lie. Even if he wasn't set for life, with his income over a $1M annually, being over 50 years old, AND A SMOKER, there is no way he would have a $400 monthly premium. His navigator must have told him to lie." ~ Cheryl Long Ruley

[Stephanie looking forward to the bowl games]

True dat Janet. Premium would be between $900 and $1200 a month. You know, a mortgage payment for us mortals.

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

cc's ll:24 link is fantastic!

Here's another good video going around on FB - http://www.chicksontheright.com/posts/item/25142-happy-christmas-eve-clever-and-competent-readers-don-t-miss-this-special-video

A Christmas Eve poem/story. It's good.

[Captain Hate]

Akron beat Oregon State 83-71.

Yay Zips!

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

Here's an excellent Dennis Prager article - http://www.dennisprager.com/jews-wish-merry-christmas/

[rse]

polly-I live basically equidistant from Lenox and Perimeter and shops are better at Lenox and Phipps. And I know the back roads and where to park to get in and out and I hate to shop. If I am shopping I either need something or Red is home from college. Three pairs of jeans will do for quite a while and I can now avoid the mall. Hooray.

I always come into Lenox from back where they closed East Paces and leave that way too. That open air deck is the safest place to park and the decks the least.

[Danube on iPad]

From Powerline we get this extraordinary statement drom WFB following the JFK assassination:

"The point to remember amid our grief is that the act in question, although it was done by a far-left winger, is not an act for which the left bears collective guilt. It was made by a fiend, a psychotic in all likelihood, and it is of no importance whatever whether his political delusions were of the left or of the right."

Just try to imagine a comparable statement from anyone on the left if some murderous madman turned out to have a Tea Party connection.

[windansea]

repost from previous

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, appears that 50% of USA will have one.

71 here in Sarasota. :)

right clic to see whole map

[Captain Hate]

Just try to imagine a comparable statement from anyone on the left if some murderous madman turned out to have a Tea Party connection.

The MFM has already made at least one spurious tie-in for a shooting crime with the Tea Party. Their record is slightly worse than that of the Washington Generals.

[Captain Hate]

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was reportedly “very drunk” when he ordered the recent execution of two aides close to his uncle Jang Song-thaek.

Wasn't not-at-Albright always getting hammered with his father?

[Stephanie looking forward to the bowl games]

Their record is slightly worse than that of the Washington Generals.

Quality ouchiness right there. Dang capt!

[Danube on iPad]

Snopes.com (quoting the Social Security Administration):

"'The Area Number is assigned by the geographical region. Prior to 1972, cards were issued in local Social Security offices around the country and the Area Number represented the State in which the card was issued. This did not necessarily have to be the State where the applicant lived, since a person could apply for their card in any Social Security office. Since 1972, when SSA began assigning SSNs and issuing cards centrally from Baltimore, the area number assigned has been based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the application for the original Social Security card. The applicant's mailing address does not have to be the same as their place of residence. Thus, the Area Number does not necessarily represent the State of residence of the applicant, either prior to 1972 or since..'"

Snopes continues:

"Why Barack Obama's Social Security card application might have included a Connecticut mailing address is something of a curiosity, as he had no known connection to that state at the time, but by itself that quirk is no indicator of fraud. The most likely explanation for the discrepancy is a simple clerical or typographical error: the ZIP code in the area of Honolulu where Barack Obama lived at the time he applied for his Social Security number in 1977 is 96814, while the ZIP code for Danbury, Connecticut, is 06814. Since '0' and '9' are similarly shaped numbers and are adjacent on typewriter keyboards, it's not uncommon for handwritten examples to be mistaken for each other, or for one to be mistyped as the other (thereby potentially resulting in a Hawaiian resident's application mistakenly being routed as if it had originated from Connecticut)."

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

a

[Threadkiller]

The most likely reason for the incorrect SSN is a low-level button-pusher.

[Marlene]

rse,thanks for the jeans info. We are driving to NH tomorrow,a very last minute decision.Christmas dinner with my brother and his family,my other brother and probably a long lost cousin or two. Mom doesn't know we are coming,so she will be surprised. On Thursday I plan on hitting the mall and shopping in tax free NH.

[Stephanie looking forward to the bowl games]

I like the jeans and corderoys from Cold water Creek. Just the right amount of stretch and not cut so low that they wear like muffin cups.

[Captain Hate]

I don't know if this is disinformation from the Goodell Football League but reports are that Romo might play on Sunday.

[Comanche Voter]

Karzai has figured out that whatever he gets or hears from Obama is just more mush from the wimp. Same old same old for Kerry and Rice.

[Captain Hate]

Karzai is encountering people less trustworthy than he is.

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

Some footage of our Golfer in Chief on his vacation in Hawaii.

http://weaselzippers.us/?p=165462

[AliceH]

It's just going to be a mess until they quit making all their decisions based entirely on politics and actually do the work to determine what their goals are, delineate a coherent policy that drives toward those goals, and then (horrors) develop strategies and tactics inform executive decisions and actions.

In other words, it's just going to be a mess.

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

The first comment says they could save some time if they just let us know when he is NOT playing golf.

[Captain Hate]

The Zip gets it wrong: He ordinarily keeps the press away to hide how inept at the game he is.

[narciso,]

Yes, I get that, the Solon of Scranton, was first sent to meet him, then Richard 'Do you know who I am' Holbrooke, that could make anyone jaded,

I don't what to think about Romo's status, apparently neither do they/

[Danube on iPad]

I agree with AliceH 100%, but I think it's going to be a mess even after they stop basing decisions on short-term politics.

[henry]

Windsndsea, -5 here, plenty of snow on the ground, with flurries tomorrow for a good Christmas backdrop. I hope your AC is working! ; )

[Wakes a Villager sometimes]

Happy Saturnalia !

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/24/edward-snowden-channel-4-christmas-day-message

Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who prompted a worldwide debate when he leaked a cache of top secret documents about US and UK spying, has recorded a Christmas Day television message in which he calls for an end to the mass surveillance revealed by his disclosures.

The short film was recorded for Channel 4, which has 20-year history of providing unusual but relevant figures as an alternative to the Queen's Christmas message shown by other UK broadcasters. It will be Snowden's first television appearance since arriving in Moscow.

The address, to be broadcast at 4.15pm on Christmas Day, was filmed in Russia – where Snowden is living after being granted temporary asylum – by Laura Poitras, a film-maker who has closely collaborated with him on the NSA stories.

In excerpts from the address released by Channel 4, Snowden says George Orwell "warned us of the danger of this kind of information" in his dystopian novel, 1984.

Snowden says: "The types of collection in the book – microphones and video cameras, TVs that watch us – are nothing compared to what we have available today. We have sensors in our pockets that track us everywhere we go. Think about what this means for the privacy of the average person

[Beasts of England]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

NYT dialect quiz. It says my vernacular matches Jackson, Mississippi. I thought everybody called a carbonated beverage a coke...

[Sandy ChristmasEveDaze]

Bob Welsh - My Christmas Eve

"A Hallelujah Christmas" by Cloverton

“It’s A Wonderful Life” … But It Will Cost You

Thank you. The above are excellent and needed to be repeated, in case anyone missed.

May the Joy, Peace, and Promise of Christmas be with you, your families, and your friends during a Safe, Prosperous, Healthy, and Happy New Year !

[lyle]

Sorry it links to Salon but this is too delicious to pass up since Dame Peggy has been something of an urtext around here lately:

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/16/hack_list_no_8_peggy_noonan/

If this doesn't make you smirk a little, you must have a(n) heart of stone imperviousness to parody.

[Wakes a Villager sometimes]

Thanks for the summary Stella.

Now give Potter that Building and Loan because all that matters is affection.

[Captain Hate]

Beasts, I just took that and it confirms that I've been in Ahia too damn long.

[MarkO]

The juxtaposition of JFK and the explanation of the SSN made me wonder if it was, in fact, the Social Security Administration that invented the magic bullet theory.

[Beasts of England]

That's what they said at the end of the Drew Carey show, right Captain? Ahia!

[henry]

Beasts, that test put me in Arlington. (East Texas & St Louis fit as well, but I grew up in those places so that must be an error).

[Captain Hate]

Beasts, I used to work with some people who knew Drew Carey when he was growing up. Everybody was glad for his success. Usually you find at least one resentful naysayer but nada in his case.

[centralcal]

How fun, I guess, Beasts and Captain. My dialect matches to Reno, Santa Rosa and Stockton.

Guess I am a Cali-girl after all (don't know how Reno fits in).

[Danube on iPad]

I call it a soft drink, but it appears that I too am from Jackson.

[Danube on iPad]

"...made me wonder if it was, in fact, the Social Security Administration that invented the magic bullet theory."

Actually it was Snopes that invented it.

[Ignatz]

Is Michelle Obama the unhappiest person in America? Another set of photos seems to confirm.
Of course unless you're Reggie Love or WeeDavey who would be happy with Barry as the old ball and chain?

[Danube on iPad]

In addition to Jackson, I am from St. Louis and Baltimore.

I'm not taking a lot of stock in that model.

[Ignatz]

--Guess I am a Cali-girl after all...--

cc, please note that in typepad's font a lower case "L" and lower case "I" appear quite similar at first glance. :O

[Buckeye]

My vote is pull the troops, Agent Orange the poppy fields and tell Karzai to pound sand.

[Beasts of England]

He seems to be a great guy, from all I've read. And a Marine, too. Interesting guy.

[Extraneus]

That dialect thing is pretty impressive. It pinpointed me exactly.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Jackson for me as well. We just drove through there too. And Augusta and Columbus, GA as well.

Henry, you grew up in East Texas?

[Threadkiller]

Invented theories are proof positive.

[Beasts of England]

Yeah, Ig - she ain't happy. Evah.

I see President MomJeans has some creases in his dungarees. And some ugly-ass shoes. Must be Bruno Magli's...

[centralcal]

I should know that by now, Iggy. Look how many folks have been confused by my JOM name central cal and thought it was centrai cal.

Which reminds me. Boricuafudd - or however you spell it - how, also, do you pronounce it? I simply shorten you to Bori.

[DrJ]

Hmm. I was placed in Madison, Milwaukee and Anchorage (!).

[Rob Crawford]

That dialect thing is pretty impressive. It pinpointed me exactly.

It had me when I answered "gym shoes" -- only options were Cincinnati and Chicago. Then it insulted me by adding Dayton and Akron to the list.

[MarkO]

Call me MR. Snopes.

[Ignatz]

That lingo thing bracketed me perfectly citing Santa Rosa, Modesto and Fresno as the three most similar city dialects and I'm kinda right in the middle of them.

There were several questions where there was more than one possible answer, the most prominent one being how you pronounce the first syllable of lawyer and bas- wasn't even a choice. :)

[daddy]

Here's a bit more on Interior Secretary Jewel nixing the deal to swap 60,000 acres of Alaskan wilderness for permission to build a 26 mile gravel road.

“(Jewell's decision) is largest pile of horse manure ever delivered on Christmas,” said Rep. Don Young.

Bad weather has on multiple occasions hampered the ability to fly people of King Cove...King Cove has no doctor or hospital. The community can often be plagued by gale-force winds and stormy, foggy conditions that can limit air travel. Over the last 30 years, a dozen people have died from either plane crashes or being unable to leave the town for advanced medical treatment.

I wonder if this story will get any coverage outside of my local area? Since it even includes a Democrat (Begich) expressing anger at the Administration, I suspect not.

[BB Key]

homemoravian.org
Merry Christmas

[Extraneus]

I think sneakers, hero and soda got me within a 20 mile radius of NYC, even without the pronounciations. Probably one of the easier places to pinpoint, though.

[Jane]

In case you missed it on the other thread - this is important:

How to open a wine bottle with a shoe

[MarkO]

It's fun to play the NYT game with the intent to be labeled in a certain part of the US. Y'all.

Isn't that entire thing somewhat racist. At least as racist as Steve Martin's tweet.

[Ignatz]

LA Times trumpets over 400,000 sign ups for Barrycare in CA.
Dig a little deeper and we find over half of the official figure are new Medicaid enrollees leaving at best 200,000 actual insurance buyers and of those we have no idea how many will actually, you know, buy insurance.
Not sure where that is on Rick's or the CBO's needed sign ups timeline, but it doesn't sound good and CA is doing about as well as any state.

[Steve Martin's dad]

Steve Martin is f***ing idiot. I wish I was his boss so I could fire him.

[Beasts of England]

Did the follow up video show how to remove the sediment from a bottle of wine that has just been banged upside a tree a few times? ;)

[centralcal]

I loved that link Jane. Sadly, there has been a time or two in life where I had wine and no corkscrew. Of course, guess you need a man and his shoes to still open the dang thing! Many women's shoes probably wouldn't do the trick.

[rse]

Lexington, Ky; Chattanooga, Columbus, Ga. How apt.

[Jane]

So what do you think would make Michelle happy?

[MarkO]

Martina?

[Jeff Dobbs]

My least similar cities on that thing were Detroit, Aurora and Grand Rapids, MI.

[Ignatz]

A cork screw.

[centralcal]

So what do you think would make Michelle happy?

If she woke up tomorrow and she was Beyonce.

[windansea]

So what do you think would make Michelle happy?

More fiber

[DrJ]

I didn't see the least similar listings. Mine were Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Montgomery.

[Janet]

I was San Antonio, Laredo, or Little Rock. - actually grew up in South Texas.

Lots of the choices I had never even heard of.

[Beasts of England]

So what do you think would make Michelle happy?

Nothing.

[Janet]

Here's my dog Jess impersonating Miley Cyrus -

https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1484122_714260331918251_943981438_n.jpg

[henry]

Hit, my dad worked for DuPont. I lived in Orange Texas while he worked at the plant and through his PhD studies at Rice. Then to StL mid first grade.

[Captain Hate]

So what do you think would make Michelle happy?

If she was attractive and smart as the MFM insists she is. Living a huge lie isn't pleasant.

[Captain Hate]

Tammy Bruce: The feds are investigating Target after the hacking, about which they've been very upfront and conciliatory, but there's no rule that the 404Care site has to be transparent about any security breach.

[Beasts of England]

lol, Janet!

[jimmyk]

That dialect thing is pretty impressive. It pinpointed me exactly.

Me too, pretty much--not in my current location, but it came up with Detroit, Boston, Providence, and Detroit and Boston the two cities I spent the first half of my life in (and my mother's side of the family is from Boston/Rhode Island).

The Steve Martin thing seems much ado about nothing.

[MaryD]

centralcal, that golfing video is a beaut. Obama makes Pajama Boy look like Jean Claude Van Damme.

[Jim Rhoads f/k/a vnjagvet]

After taking that NYT test, I note that 45 years in the Atlanta area has done nothing to erase my Lake Erie/Ontario speech patterns. Rochester, NY is the closest city noted, but the orange goes right through Erie.

[centralcal]

That was Janet who posted the video, MaryD. But, you're right about Obama.

[JIB]

At 4:00am two tractor-trailers collided with each other on I-95 north just south of us in county. One was a fuel tanker. It exploed, driver killed, the fire ball resulted in melting a section of the interstate to the point that it was shut down for at least 12 miles going north.

They are trying to relay the asphalt to have it open by 5pm today. The way the Florida Highway Patrol rerouted all the traffic on the busiest travel day of the season was to send it down one of our main parkways where the major shopping center is located. Mass chaos on Christmas eve. Lots of pissed off travelers heading north.

Then I see that in Captain Hate and Maryrose country there is a 40 car pile up on the interstate near Painesville.