Security row threatens Afghan reconstruction: report

KABUL: The US-funded reconstruction effort in Afghanistan is coming to an end because of an upcoming ban on foreign companies using private security guards, The Washington Post said quoting US officials and aid workers.

A US official said ending the reconstruction effort would have “catastrophic” consequences.

“If these projects grind to a halt, we might as well go home. They are essential to the counterinsurgency strategy,” added the unnamed US official involved in the issue.

The ban, enacted by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, goes into effect on December 17, but many US-funded development firms are beginning to shut down their projects refusing to be guarded by Afghan police and military they deem corrupt, ill-trained and too few.

The ban on private security guards, Afghanistan says operate with little oversight or accountability and often function

ironman st george

(St. George, UT) The inaugural Ford St. George Ironman was launched at 7:00am Saturday for 2300 participants swimming the first stage of the Triathalon at Sand Hallow Reservoir.

For live blog coverage of the 2010 Ford St. George Ironman go to www.ironman.com

Live Video Coverage of the 2010 Ford St. George Ironman is available with Greg Welch and co-host, 11-time Ironman Champion Lisa Bentley

otb

The Off-Track Betting Corporation has just survived the latest of its many brushes with death, but on Monday at the Yankee Clipper, its South Street Seaport outpost, rumors of the institution’s demise seemed, well, just about accurate.The Yankee Clipper had been conceived as an upscale alternative to OTB’s usual street-front betting parlors, with a restaurant and bar and $5 admission. But at some point during its parent organization’s long slide into the red, those amenities fell away, leaving only the cover charge, in return for which OTB takes a smaller cut of the winnings.

Now horse-racing fans who choose to visit the Clipper (and there are not many) place their bets in the ghostly shell of a restaurant or from the empty bar, which, with its nautical motif and its lack of windows, might as well be on a lower deck of a sunken cruise ship.

Two days after OTB’s board of directors voted, despite losses of tens of millions of dollars, to keep at least some of the 66 state-run betting parlors alive for another year, I sat there alone, puzzling over the daily program. Three young guys in the corner booth bemoaned a race that had cost them $208, which they calculated to the last expletive. Yen, an older regular who preferred, like every gambler I met, not to give his full name, scanned the television screens for clues about the horses. And Neil Dachille, an OTB employee of 11 years who had expected to spend the afternoon at the unemployment office, contemplated the future of his job.

Valentine’s Day Lacks Cohesion

TrendPK.com Sure, she was talking about her own situation, but she might as well have been commenting on the romantic comedy genre as a whole. The comedy angle has been completely lost while the romance factor continues to devolve, against all odds, into an even more tepid and thin product. Into this [...]

Regis Philbin

TrendPK.com Regis Philbin and Joy Philbin appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman Thursday night.
Watch the video: Regis Philbin and Joy Philbin – “This Guy’s In Love With You” on David Letterman
Other guests for next week’s Late Show episodes:

Monday, Feb. 15 Actor/comedian Tracy Morgan; Daytona 500 winner; musical guests Fanfarlo
Tuesday, Feb. [...]

Diamond Engagement Rings

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Diamond Engagement Rings was first posted on November 14, 2009 at 6:15 pm.