CableGate: U.S.-Backed DynCorp Bought Drugs and Child Prostitutes For Police Recruits

(I'm going to start posting links and snippets of interesting stories arising from the leaked cables.)

Cable Link: guardian.co.uk

Related Link: Houston Press

Many of DynCorp's employees are ex-Green Berets and veterans of other elite units, and the company was commissioned by the US government to provide training for the Afghani police. According to most reports, over 95 percent of its $2 billion annual revenue comes from US taxpayers.

And in Kunduz province, according to the leaked cable, that money was flowing to drug dealers and pimps. Pimps of children, to be more precise. (The exact type of drug was never specified.)

Since this is Afghanistan, you probably already knew this wasn't a kegger. Instead, this DynCorp soiree was a bacha bazi ("boy-play") party, much like the ones uncovered earlier this year by Frontline.

For those that can't or won't click the link, bacha bazi is a pre-Islamic Afghan tradition that was banned by the Taliban. Bacha boys are eight- to 15-years-old. They put on make-up, tie bells to their feet and slip into scanty women's clothing, and then, to the whine of a harmonium and wailing vocals, they dance seductively to smoky roomfuls of leering older men.

After the show is over, their services are auctioned off to the highest bidder, who will sometimes purchase a boy outright. And by services, we mean anal sex: The State Department has called bacha bazi a "widespread, culturally accepted form of male rape." (While it may be culturally accepted, it violates both Sharia law and Afghan civil code.)

It's not everyday you wake up to find that your taxes are being used to pay for child rape in foreign countries.

State Department Announces World Press Freedom Day!

Seriously.

New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals’ right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age.

This, right on the heel of Senator Lieberman suggesting that the New York Times be investigated for its role in CableGate. It's nice they are suddenly all about freedom of the press. Perhaps they are planning to bring it to the U.S. soon?

The Business of Forging Student Assignments

Not government related, but extremely interesting nonetheless:

The Ghost Scholar

The article is about a man (and his team of 50 writers) who are paid by students to churn out college papers on every conceivable topic, from admission essays to graduate dissertations. If it doesn't turn out to be bogus, it's a great read.

State Kidnaps Child Over Bagel

Gotta love the "war on drugs".

What's the obvious thing to do when a woman gives birth and her urine tests positive for "drugs"? Well, if you're Lawrence County, PA, the first thing you do is shows up at the parents' door and takes the child by force, and only after that do you figure out whether or not any drugs were actually involved, and whether or not the child was in any danger.

Then later, when you find out the woman simply had an "Everything" bagel from Dunkin' Donuts the day before, you say "Oops! What a silly misunderstanding!" and give the kid back all bashful like.

(Then you get sued by the ACLU, the taxpayer foots the bill for your incompetence, and you probably won't even get a reprimand! Teehee!)

TSA: Refusing to let us grope you? We'll fine you $10,000 for that!

More TSA idiocy.

1. Man researches airport online and finds that the airport does not have nude-imaging machines installed.
2. Man shows up at airport and finds they do in fact have nude-imaging machines.
3. Man refuses to go through the nude-imaging machine, and have a pat down instead, but objects to the intention of the TSA to grope his crotch.
4. Man is told he can't fly and will have to leave, which he agrees to.
5. On the way out, he's intercepted and told he'll be fined $10,000 for leaving the line like they told him to in the first place.



And for a bonus, the people who made him leave won't be subject to any punishment at all (you know, because they are in charge and all).

Totally Hilarious: Obama = Keynesian?

Hopefully not representative of the population at large, but hilarious nonetheless:

Talk About What A Great, Free Country We Live In, Or I'll Send You To Jail

Apparently the irony of the above statement would be lost on Judge Littlejohn of Mississippi, who recently sent a lawyer to jail on contempt of court charges for failing to recite the pledge of allegiance.

In a just world, he'd be kicked off the bench for such an egregious decision before you could say "failure to uphold the constitution", but given the current state of our justice system, I'll just be happy if anyone bothers to call him on it.