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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| 20 are now dead in Afghan festivities |
| 2004-02-09 |
| Guess they finally got around to counting all the bodies from yesterday ... At least 20 people were killed and 40 wounded in several clashes in the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, official sources reported overnight. Hundreds of civilians have been forced to flee their homes after fighting erupted between two government commanders in several areas of Argo district on Thursday. "Twenty people have been killed and forty injured in Argo district in continuation of the clashes," the government-owned Anis daily reported in Kabul. Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press said fighting had not stopped until Sunday morning over a dispute between the two commanders about who would receive a tax on poppy crop, which has been cultivated in different areas of the district. About 100 security forces have been sent from Faizabad, the provincial capital of Badakhshan, to stop the fighting, authorities said, adding locals wanted the central government to step in because they do not trust provincial officials. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #15 Fred, you have added a new favorite to my list of websites. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-2-9 3:59:31 PM |
| #14 Semiotics is not a science. |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-2-9 2:50:53 PM |
| #13 LH... I'm on the verge of gettin it. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-9 2:46:09 PM |
| #12 LH - How about RB's Dennis Miller Award for Most Arcane Reference? Semiotics |
| Posted by: .com 2004-2-9 1:33:54 PM |
| #11 thanks SH,and Frank. And my sympathies to Ship - I was being ironic by giving a literal, direct reply to your questions - which literal meaning i had undermined by previosly using the word repetitivly as short form (theres some technical name for that aint it) for a rhetorical question. DO I win the rantburg prize for best post modern semiotics, or what? ;) |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-2-9 1:23:11 PM |
| #10 how ilonic... |
| Posted by: .comrade Won Hung Lo 2004-2-9 12:21:49 PM |
| #9 Ah! Irony! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-9 12:11:42 PM |
| #8 Ah Shipman, I think LH was utililizing the literary convention of irony. For more on the poppies there is the BBC article, Afghanistan plea in war on opium. I saw no mention of the yellow brick road in the BBC article (gratuitous Wizard of Oz poppy reference.) I guess my strategy against the poppy crop would be to do the following (in order): 1. Curtail aid in the form of free food over an extended period. 2. Subsidize the cultivation of agriculture other than opium with a standard amount given to any arable hectare (verified) that is producing something other than opium. Any revenue from the crop itself will be pure gravy for the farmer. 4. Destroy all gum making facilities which will force bulk opium transport. 5. Make opium transportation into a capital offence (or life imprisonment.) 6. Commence to capturing trafficers and vehicles egaged in traffic to drive heroine prices up and drive opium revenue for farmers down. 7. Commence destroying opium crops in the field. So that opium production becomes a finacial gamble for farmers rather than a cash cow. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-2-9 11:27:31 AM |
| #7 Ah LH... I believe there is a direct connection between the price of AK-47s in Peshawar and the price/availability of ammunition for same. If gasoline were unavailable the price of a SUV would be related to it's metal content not it's designed function. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-9 11:05:59 AM |
| #6 On of the smaller reasons that we see so much cultivation of poppies in a country like Afghanistan where there is a food shortage is that free aid, in the form of food depresses the price of what local farmers can grow. Food aid makes the poor farmers poorer. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-2-9 10:05:10 AM |
| #5 LH - Saw that coming ;-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-2-9 9:48:20 AM |
| #4 Lucky, shipman - Peshawar |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-2-9 9:35:07 AM |
| #3 I believe that we should dispence with the ridiculous formalities and declare ammunition as legal tender in Afghanistan, Somalia and the Sudan. Larger denominations would include the "clip," the RPG round, the motar round and the shoulder fired SAM. Many of the AK's in Sadaam's arsenal were manufactured in Eastern European countries. With the poor condition of their economies, I expect that they are producing ammo in a three shift 7 day schedule at every factory available. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-2-9 7:40:52 AM |
| #2 I've wondered the same.... where is all the worlds AK-47 ammo comming from? A significant portion of the ex Red Army war stocks must have been sold/used up by now. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-9 7:22:38 AM |
| #1 Where do these guys get their ammo? If I was going to produce poppy, as a crop, and not to be to wordy, and also not to go on and on... Shipman I need an ending. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-2-9 1:16:55 AM |