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[killer3000ad]

US general fired for comments on Karzai

A top U.S. general in Afghanistan was relieved of duty Friday for "inappropriate public comments" after calling the Afghan government "isolated from reality" and President Hamid Karzai "erratic."

Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller, deputy commander for training Afghan security forces, blasted the Afghan government, military and Karzai in an interview with POLITICO published on Thursday.

He called Karzai "erratic" for recently saying Afghanistan would side with Pakistan if the latter declared war on the U.S.

"Why don’t you just poke me in the eye with a needle!," Fuller was quoted as saying. "You’ve got to be kidding me … I’m sorry, we just gave you $11.6 billion and now you’re telling me, 'I don’t really care'?"

Fuller also said he had trouble explaining to Afghan officials that Western funds were limited. "You guys are isolated from reality" he said he told Afghan generals. "If you're in a very poor country like Afghanistan, you think that America has roads paved in gold, everybody lives in Hollywood."

"I actually had someone senior tell me, 'All I want to do is put them [tanks] on a flat bed and drive them around in a parade'," he added.

[Xellos-_^]

another little earthquake this afternoon in the sf bay area. Didn't feel the EQ but the shelves a bit.

lots of small quakes the last couple of months ¬_¬

[Bri]

Originally Posted by Dextro

Maybe, maybe not. The only sure thing it would happen would be a MASSIVE (and I mean 1930s massive) depression with virtually every economy in Europe collapsing. Yes, even those not in the Euro and yes, even Germany.

Can't see a Euro collapse happen. The currency has worked fine up till now and protected the continent against shocks. Leaving the currency would only expose a country to more instability due to exchange rate fluctuations and frightened/opportunistic markets. Pretty much every Eurozone country is in most situations better off with the Euro in the long term. Only way I can see any country leave is when populist sentiments get out of hand.


What hasn't worked so far in the EU is responsible lending and borrowing by the banking/financial sector and some governments (so what else is new).

The medicine is what gets both execs and politicians worked up. If banks/firms are to big to fail, they are to big to exist. Also, higher reserve requirements means lower profits (or more to the point: bonuses). More responsible goverments require more monitoring from ECB/Bruxelles, which frightens the national parlements.

[Ithekro]

Britain still says no to the Euro last I checked (still on the Pound).

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by killer3000ad

US general fired for comments on Karzai

Sadly, he's right. But I don't think than the situation would be much difference with someone else than Karzai.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Britain still says no to the Euro last I checked (still on the Pound).

It won't save them if all our economies go down the toilet.

[Ithekro]

Parading around tanks. Sounds very Russian, North Korean , Chinese, militarist government of them. I don't recall any particular American parades of that nature. And the ones I recall were usually filled with smiling people and confetti, rather than cold stares and seemingly soulless row upon row of military hardware.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Parading around tanks. Sounds very Russian, North Korean , Chinese, militarist government of them. I don't recall any particular American parades of that nature. And the ones I recall were usually filled with smiling people and confetti, rather than cold stares and seemingly soulless row upon row of military hardware.

Don't forger the french and the July 14. That's more like showing off than demonstating their capacity.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Sadly, he's right. But I don't think than the situation would be much difference with someone else than Karzai.

the general isn't saying anything we don't know.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

It won't save them if all our economies go down the toilet.

but there is something to be said about being in control of printing your own money.

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by Dextro

Maybe, maybe not. The only sure thing it would happen would be a MASSIVE (and I mean 1930s massive) depression with virtually every economy in Europe collapsing. Yes, even those not in the Euro and yes, even Germany.

Considering what happened to Germany and many other European countries during the 30s (radical fascist and communist governments taking power) I'd say they're as good as the same.

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Britain still says no to the Euro last I checked (still on the Pound).

Britain has an Island complex, been that way for well over 600 years, it opposed the Euro as much for nationalist reasons as pragmatic reasons. Nothing wrong with that per se though.

However I do think that in an increasingly globalised world a single world currency will be the logical end point.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by DonQuigleone

However I do think that in an increasingly globalised world a single world currency will be the logical end point.

Logic has nothing to do with politics.

A single currency would mean
the US is willing to give up the dollar
China is willing to give up the Yuen
Russia is willing to give up the Ruble.

All of which will only happen when world peace is achieve.

[Ithekro]

A very nationalistic reason would be that the Pound (sterling) was for all practical purposes the single world currency in the 19th century. All gold and silver exchanges were based on the Pound. Much like in the decade or two before the Euro came out the US Dollar was more or less the world currency. It was not alone by any means (niether was the Pound) but it was pretty much baseline for everyone else's money.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

but there is something to be said about being in control of printing your own money.

Printing your own money is great in the short term but in the long term your economy isn't going to whitstand masive inflation. Just look at what happened in Brazil with the Cruzeiro.

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Logic has nothing to do with politics.

A single currency would mean
the US is willing to give up the dollar
China is willing to give up the Yuen
Russia is willing to give up the Ruble.

All of which will only happen when world peace is achieve.

Nothing to do with politics, eventually all economies will converge, and currencies will match each other so much that we may as well have a single currency.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by DonQuigleone

Nothing to do with politics, eventually all economies will converge, and currencies will match each other so much that we may as well have a single currency.

Sure, we'll think about it then.

[AnimeFan188]

"Pakistan has started moving its nuclear weapons in low-security vans on congested roads to
hide them from U.S. spy agencies, making the weapons more vulnerable to theft by Islamist
militants, two magazines reported Nov. 4."

See:

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php...93&c=ASI&s=TOP

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

"Pakistan has started moving its nuclear weapons in low-security vans on congested roads to
hide them from U.S. spy agencies, making the weapons more vulnerable to theft by Islamist
militants, two magazines reported Nov. 4."

See:

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php...93&c=ASI&s=TOP

They probably think than the ''Islamist militants'' are their puppets or what?

[Xion Valkyrie]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

"Pakistan has started moving its nuclear weapons in low-security vans on congested roads to
hide them from U.S. spy agencies, making the weapons more vulnerable to theft by Islamist
militants, two magazines reported Nov. 4."

See:

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php...93&c=ASI&s=TOP

Maybe the US should just go steal them and blame it on the Islamic militants.

[Haak]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Sadly, he's right. But I don't think than the situation would be much difference with someone else than Karzai.

To be fair, I think the reason Karzai said what he said was because he's desperately trying to get Pakistan on his side, who clearly aren't doing enough to fight the terrorists. So I don't think he has much choice in the matter.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Haak

To be fair, I think the reason Karzai said what he said was because he's desperately trying to get Pakistan on his side, who clearly aren't doing enough to fight the terrorists. So I don't think he has much choice in the matter.

''To get Pakistan on his side'' is probably impossible as long as the ISI and a good part of the army look at Afghanistan as their personal playground asn he should had realised for nowif he isn't only in plst to get as much money as possible before the taliban get back in control.