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Taliban Declares Victory and Announces ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' From Presidential Palace
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
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-Great Cultural Revolution
Hollowed Out -- Alarming Diagnosis, Little Hope, For A Generation That Has Rejected Family & Tradition For A Digital Existence
[Federalist] Teacher Jeremy Adams' book, 'Hollowed Out,' explains the massive challenges young Americans don’t want to face, but must.
Posted by: Glaiting Hupaigum5248 || 08/16/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "They are ignorant, unambitious, anti-social, uncurious, materialistic, narcissistic, and profoundly unhappy. Yet they are strangely proud of all this and expect their free, prosperous world to continue as it always has."

Hard times make strong men. Strong men make good times. Good times make weak men. Weak men make hard times.
Posted by: Slomorong Thraiger7030 || 08/16/2021 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  ^^^^
Could agree with you more, very good observation

Slomorong Thraiger7030
Posted by: Glolet Sholuse9176 || 08/16/2021 0:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Go to any eatery and see a table ringed by every person texting furiously...
Why eat out with "family" if you are married to your cellphone?
Posted by: magpie || 08/16/2021 1:18 Comments || Top||

#4  They are doing what they want. Later they will complain bitterly that it didn't get them what they want.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/16/2021 8:34 Comments || Top||

#5  Meanwhile, most of the generation is working, marrying, and raising families as normal.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 08/16/2021 9:20 Comments || Top||

#6  Terrifying, fascinating, confusing and absolutely cringey time to live in.
Posted by: Wren || 08/16/2021 16:49 Comments || Top||


Whitlock: Self-Aggrandizement Defines The Culture That Replaced Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream
[TheBlaze]
Posted by: Unaitle Uloluling5716 || 08/16/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Martin Luther King Jr. Wasn't he a rapist/voyeur, a pervert of some sort? Do correct me if I'm wrong. Of course the feebs could have made it all up. Him being a marxist and all.

As for the current scenario, many would argue the real dream he had is going perfectly according to plan and this scam begins at him.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/16/2021 2:32 Comments || Top||

#2  You may wish to check 'your facts'

Stanford :The Martin Luther King, Jr.
Research and Education Institute
Posted by: Galactic Coordinator Black4861 || 08/16/2021 2:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Dron, King may have had indiscretions with young ladies in his personal history, but he was no rapist/voyeur. The FBI floated those scenarios to discredit him, sort of like the orgy and 'golden shower' documents about Trump.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 08/16/2021 8:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Thank you for that, Galactic Coordinator and Mullah Richard. I can again see him in the light I was taught at school to.

But his legacy's fcuked, you can't deny that. All thanks to the Patrisses, Ta Nhisis and Georgies.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/16/2021 9:35 Comments || Top||

#5  Mohandas Gandhi had some nasty little quirks, too.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/16/2021 12:29 Comments || Top||

#6  Martin Luther King Jr. "Him being a marxist and all."

What you talking about?!
Posted by: Unusing Platypus5935 || 08/16/2021 12:45 Comments || Top||

#7  #5 Mohandas Gandhi had some nasty little quirks, too.

Nehru too. Perverts and scoundrels.

I was stating what the FBI said about him being a commie of some sort, Platypus. You can see I was miseducated.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/16/2021 12:59 Comments || Top||

#8  While I’ve not studied the history of that period in any depth. certainly the literature of the time strongly suggests that in those days almost all those who fancied themselves intellectuals and/or idealists were communists or socialists of one sort or another. A good many of them included “free love” in their idealized society, and indulged among themselves in the meantime. And certainly the Soviet Union was very involved in all the social movements its people could wriggle their way into the leadership cadres of, in the US, Britain/Europe, and the Third World.

So I would be shocked if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., of sainted memory, had not been connected to the Left, and that absolutely none in the movement were creatures of the Soviet Union or Maoists — especially those who turned their back on non-violence.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/16/2021 15:07 Comments || Top||

#9  MLK was a creature of the left, trained by socialists.

Look up Highland School. Historical fact.
Posted by: badanov || 08/16/2021 15:57 Comments || Top||

#10  MLK jar's dream is still a worthwhile goal. it is sad the left ditched the dream and went all out pro segregation with a dab of race war.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 08/16/2021 17:32 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
This is Joe Biden's Jimmy Carter moment
[NYPOST] The utterly nauseating and unnecessary abandonment of Afghanistan to its fate recalls a similar humiliation at the hands of Islamist gunnies in the Jimmy Malaise Carter
...peanut farming former nuclear sub officer, who succeeded Gerald Ford as president. Carter perfected the approach later used by Joe Biden to get elected, presenting himself as a moderate whose Zero-based Budgeting was going to so away with the federal deficif. Once in the hands George McGovern's rejects, who were ever so much more virtuous than the rest of us, the nation immediately spun into a Malaise®. By the time Jimmeh, as he was contemptuously referred to, was running against Ronald Reagan, the liberal columnists were pronouncing the nation's problems as too severe to be solved by anyone; they were simply unsolvable, or maybe insoluble. That was why Reagan was such a flop. After Obama, Jimmeh's's only the second worst president ever, and by the time Biden's done maybe the third. Depending on how many Dems we elect in coming years, he may even end up looking competent...
administration.

President Joe Biden
...... 46th president of the U.S. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing......
’s profligate spending policies are unleashing inflation that is sparking voter distrust so noticeable that even NPR is sounding the alarm.

He is begging OPEC to come up with more oil while interfering with US production. He announced barely a month ago, with great confidence, "The Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
is not the South — the North Vietnamese army. They’re not — they’re not remotely comparable in terms of capability.

"There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of a embassy in the — of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable."

Our president comes across as weak, meek, ineffectual, incompetent and confused. (Momentarily confusing South and North Vietnam doesn’t even make the list of the top 100 senior moments we’ve seen this year from this near-octogenarian, despite the fact that his staff is keeping him hidden to a degree with little if any precedent in the past half-century.)

Biden is embarrassing the United States in real time, and I await with eagerness the Biden version of the blame-shifting Malaise Speech. Biden’s version, of course, will be the This Is All Trump’s Fault speech.
Posted by: Fred || 08/16/2021 13:22 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  The way out of this is to have several states examine the ballots from last year and declare that a new Presidential election be held, because of fraud.. or… fill in the blank.
Posted by: Gramma Cooky || 08/16/2021 16:42 Comments || Top||

#2  No, the Jimmy Carter moment comes later. Once the troops he's pushed in run out of ammo, can't be extracted, and are taken prisoner as hostiges, That will be the Jimmy Carter moment.
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/16/2021 22:49 Comments || Top||


Lessons to Learn from the Loss of Afghanistan
By Mark Jarrett 8/16/2021

[AmericanThinker] Kandahar is fallen. Kabul, too. To hear again those names is to bring back a lost youth a lifetime of operations overseas. When I heard that Kandahar had fallen to the Taliban...I had a bad day. I did not think the news would hit so hard — but it did, and I thought to take a moment to give hard won advice to those who were there, as well as to reflect upon some of the reasons why the Taliban are on the cusp of victory.

Think of those who served

First, this moment is a bad time for those who served there in any way, and it is natural to feel that way. Basically, our side lost — and we will question our service and sacrifice. Whatever memories we have are going to come back, and some of them may be overwhelming. Each day veterans kill themselves, with the loss rippling through their community, so this is a time to be extra aware of that potential.

My advice is mostly common sense: when you are emotionally weak, do not marinate in bad news. If the news of Afghanistan's fall bothers you — do not follow the news. Look outside: the sun is still shining, the birds are singing — stay in the present moment, and dwell neither on the past that you cannot change nor on the future if you have no capacity to change it. Be active, focus on positive things, and do not stew in negative emotions. Ask for help if you are having bad days. Some of the hardest feelings of guilt may come for those with close ties to Afghan partners or interpreters. Know that it is indeed a helpless feeling and that you may not be able to help, but that this is not your personal fault. Talk to others — you would be surprised how even pastors, priests, or counselors can help just by listening. Of course, some of the best conversations are with brothers in arms.

Why Afghanistan fell

Separating facts from emotions is useful for such tragedies. So with what feels like a lifetime of observation and participation, I offer this main point: the government of Afghanistan lost the "Mandate of Heaven." The people of Afghanistan had twenty years to experience Afghan government and decide that it was not worth fighting for. The stories are legion: the first president, Karzai, constantly releasing captured terrorist leaders as he dealt directly with the Taliban. President Karzai's brother being the top gangster of Kandahar. The Afghan Air Force heroin-smuggling ring. The Thursday Man Love sessions for all the pedophiles of the Afghan police and military. The "ghost" soldiers and ever-stolen supplies of the Afghan Army. The massive vote fraud of the Afghan presidential elections. The Afghan judges who gave no justice without a bribe. In sum, the Afghan government had the facade of a constitutional system — but inside its halls, it was a collection of thieves and robbers getting as much as could be gotten while the money was flowing.

To bring the image closer to home, imagine if the U.S. government were closer in substance to that of the city of Baltimore — feckless, dishonest, corrupt, possibly fraudulently elected. How willing would you be to stand and die on the orders of such a government? At times, I would put forth that some of our current national malaise is due to such a perception of our government. The miracle is that so many Afghan soldiers, airmen, and commandos fought for so long and still continue to fight for a few more days, at least
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/16/2021 10:15 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  I see.

BZZZT! Zero lessons learnt. And shit for advice, Mr Jarrett.

'Close your eyes and think of home, and maybe you won't feel the machete when it comes.'

More than half the good decisions made by humanity were reactions to the sight of their citadels falling.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/16/2021 10:50 Comments || Top||

#2  "Grabbing a cat by the tail teaches a man something he can learn in no other way."

- Mark Twain
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/16/2021 10:57 Comments || Top||

#3  One lesson Jarrett didn't learn is that when you see a society as awful as he described it then why ask people to put their lives at risk to protect that society. Why funnel money into a society that bad?

Posted by: Lord Garth || 08/16/2021 11:46 Comments || Top||

#4  Big problem is way too many people fell for the Three Cups of Tea bushwah...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/16/2021 12:21 Comments || Top||

#5  The USA is beginning to sound like Afghanistan, stolen elections and crooked politicians.
Posted by: Gpa Cooky || 08/16/2021 13:18 Comments || Top||

#6  Spot on #5. Put a Democrat in charge and you are out of money and nothing is done.
Posted by: Dale || 08/16/2021 13:21 Comments || Top||

#7  Lessons:
1. Don't nation build. US military is the best at winning wars, not at nation building.
2. Learn from the soviets. Use advisors to teach the locals to do things themselves but don't take over a war for them because it is too easily spun as foreign occupation and it is too easily perverted by corruption all around.
Posted by: ruprecht || 08/16/2021 13:41 Comments || Top||

#8  Next time, ask yourself, "What would the Roman Army do? And do that."
Posted by: Silentbrick || 08/16/2021 14:37 Comments || Top||

#9  Bet that superhighway from Karachi to Kabul is sounding good now.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/16/2021 16:38 Comments || Top||

#10  Don't nation build.

It's actually a rather transparent scam. The host 'nation' foments trouble, or lets things go to seed and factions fight to the point intervention can be invited. They approach those wonderful people in Washington who for all you know schooled them and gave step-by-step instructions in how to appear totally fcuked to the world. Then begin the presentations to all the House committees and the reports come in from the Vindmans all around, enabling the LOTUS to declare an 'important mission for America'.

And in go the C17s, tents are pitched and another ice cream cone is ready.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/16/2021 23:12 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan's winners: Qatar, Russia, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/16/2021 09:48 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dear sweepstakes entrant:

You have won a bottomless, lifetime supply of sh*t...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/16/2021 10:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Now that we no longer need to transit their country to supports ops in Afghanistan, can we please drop the ban hammer on Pakistan?
Posted by: Angstrom || 08/16/2021 13:03 Comments || Top||

#3  I think we should be working on fomenting a war between Pakistan/Afghanistan and Iran so they don't spend their time and effort waging war on us.
Posted by: ruprecht || 08/16/2021 13:47 Comments || Top||

#4  ^ We're already on it. Not Iran, but the Stans could definitely use a long winding bum fight.

At last we have the chance to help fashion a real anti-Pakistan in Asia. We're not letting that chance go. But sshhhh...
Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/16/2021 23:02 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani fled from the Taliban ‘in four cars and a helicopter filled with cash and had to leave some behind because it wouldn't all fit in', Russians claim
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/16/2021 09:03 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Biden Rejected Advice of Military Generals Ahead of Afghanistan Withdrawal: Report
The Ass-Covering in extremis begins - we should be looking at a slinky of retirements, but I doubt it. No shame when No Competence got them where they are
[ConservativeBrief] Joe Biden reportedly rejected the advice of top military generals when he planned the withdrawal of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.
and who were the sources? A-hem
According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden met with several heads of the armed forces to discuss the withdrawal of American forces from the Central Asian nation, which has been under U.S. occupation for around two decades. The meeting happened ahead of Biden’s announcement of his intent to have the United States leave the country entirely.

The generals recommended that Biden leave behind a force of 2,500 servicemen in Afghanistan and negotiate with Taliban for a peace deal.
Why bother negotiating, when all the Taliban were ever interested in was reconquest?
Biden reportedly rejected their advice.

The Wall Street Journal reported:

In contrast to the numerous Trump policies he reversed, he opted to carry out Mr. Trump’s deal with the Taliban instead of trying to renegotiate it. In so doing, he overruled his top military commanders: Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East; Gen. Austin Scott Miller, who led NATO forces in Afghanistan; and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Citing the risks of removing American forces to Afghan security and the U.S. Embassy, they recommended that the U.S. keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan while stepping up diplomacy to try to cement a peace agreement.

The report surfaced amid the total collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government, whose leader, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, fled the country on Sunday morning as Taliban forces made their way into Kabul, the nation’s capital. The Taliban and the remainder of the Afghan government are currently negotiating a transfer of power reportedly with the intention to minimize civilian and military casualties.

The transfer of power comes as the United States is abandoning its embassy in Kabul, with personnel and officials using Kabul’s airport to evacuate the country.

However, plans to evacuate were thrown into disarray when the U.S. embassy issued a notice warning Americans still in Kabul to "shelter in place."

"We are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place," the embassy said. "The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended consular operations effective immediately. Do not come to the Embassy or airport at this time."

"The security situation in Kabul is changing quickly and the situation at the airport is deteriorating rapidly," the statement added. "There are reports of the airport taking fire and we are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended consular operations effective immediately. Do not come to the Embassy or airport at this time."
Posted by: Frank G || 08/16/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats

#1  The top generals are unanimous that the war must continue, forever. They are on record saying that we would be in Afghanistan for 50-75 years. By that point it might as well be a US territory like Guam.
Posted by: Slomorong Thraiger7030 || 08/16/2021 0:43 Comments || Top||

#2  If [something] can’t go on forever it will stop.

- Economist Herbert Stein

This war's gonna end some day...

- Lt. Col. Kilgore, Apocalypse Now
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/16/2021 9:04 Comments || Top||

#3  At some point the sane stop bailing and abandon a sinking boat...
Posted by: magpie || 08/16/2021 10:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Perhaps if they hadn't been so focused on Woking the military, they would have known to name their plan Operation Rocky Road.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/16/2021 16:11 Comments || Top||

#5  How many more times can we abuse and betray our people in the military and expect them to continue their loyal service?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 08/16/2021 17:21 Comments || Top||


Rozhin: Briefly on Afghanistan
Direct translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[ColonelCassad] Briefly about the situation on the evening of August 15.

1. In fact, August 15 was the end of the Afghanistan that has existed since the fall of 2001. They just barely made it to the 20th anniversary, as well as the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack. The Taliban have fully met their already established two-week deadline for the seizure of the entire country. The Americans suspected something, so they shifted the departure date from September 11 to August 31, but still did not have time to leave before the inevitable happened.

2. Former President Ghani and former members of the government fled the country to Tajikistan. Ghani's relatives (the son flew away on a business jet), some members of parliament and the top of the army fled the country. Earlier, the already former Marshal Dostum fled to Uzbekistan, leaving the cortege and convoy on the bridge near Hairaton (the cortege was subsequently plundered).

The former Afghan Defense Minister accused Ghani of treason, collusion with the Taliban and sabotage of the army, calling Ghani a dog and his government a gang. My dear fellow, you yourself were a member of this gang, which also appointed you the Minister of Defense instead of the previous member of the gang.

3. Taking advantage of the fact that the power of the government finally collapsed and mass looting and looting began in the city, the Taliban officially ordered the introduction of militant units into Kabul to restore order. The militants were ordered to shoot robbers and marauders on the spot. Thus, the Taliban did not wait for the completion of the evacuation of the United States.

The United States will not be able to save its face in any form; it will have to evacuate from a city that has already been captured by the Taliban. And the Taliban, of course, have the option to give the US additional problems during the evacuation. It is as if you walk up to a person hanging on the roof of the 10th floor and step on their fingers.

4. Panic and crush at the Kabul airport, thousands of people are trying to board a plane from Afghanistan. Some of the Europeans and Americans have not yet been taken out. The airport itself came under fire in the evening. The US contingent is defending the section of the airfield through which US military transport aircraft take off. Washington is threatening to send several thousand Marines from Kuwait to hold the airport during the evacuation. Also, German special forces are urgently transferred to the airport to evacuate the remaining Germans and their accomplices.

5. Although the Taliban have already announced that they control the whole of Afghanistan, this is not entirely true - some parts of the country are still formally under the control of the military and local administrations with whom surrender negotiations are underway. For another 1-2 days, the process of surrender and re-subordination of the new government will go on. It is unlikely to take too long. Almost no one wants to fight, they are tired of it.

6. The new Afghanistan will be formally headed by Mullah Baradar. The one who flew to Moscow for negotiations with Lavrov and in Doha, for negotiations with Pompeo. Karzai and a number of former Afghan officials are simultaneously cosplaying the Doenitz government in Flensburg in May 1945.

Most of them will go into political oblivion in the coming days. And this is the best case for them. In the evening, the Taliban announced that there would be no transitional government in Afghanistan (it was supposed to be headed by an announcer from the Voice of America), only and exclusively the power of the Taliban representatives.

7. Russia will not yet recognize the Taliban and will "monitor the situation" for now. There really is nowhere to rush. The Taliban meanwhile guaranteed the security of the Russian and Iranian embassies in Kabul. Also, guarantees were given on the Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif. I bet that within a year the Taliban will be recognized by at least 30-40 states. So far, the European embassies are being closed and their diplomats are fleeing from Kabul (from among those who didn’t scramble earlier). Some airlines have already announced that they will stop regular flights to Kabul starting Monday.

8. In the American media today is the day of hesitation and genotyping. Dark ghouls like Bolton, Henri-Levy and the like, condemn Biden for repeating the evacuation of Saigon and a terrible blow to the reputation of the United States and democracy around the world, which will have huge consequences for America's image for many years, as well as have a significant impact on domestic politics. America, since Biden actually gives the Trumpists a fat trump card, which will be used already in the next elections to the US Congress, where the pictures of the catastrophe in Afghanistan will be a very eloquent argument in discussions about the achievements of foreign policy.

9. Virtually all of the military property of the Afghan army went to the Taliban army. There are probably more of these weapons than the militants need. Taking into account the fact that some of them were plundered even before the Taliban, when the Taliban began to build their regular army in Afghanistan, at first it will be able to equip up to 200,000 people with tanks, artillery, MLRS, hundreds of AFVs and thousands of carts and other Humvees. Also, the Taliban will have an air force of about 35-40 aircraft and helicopters. With ammunition and ammunition in the coming years, the development of the captured Everest will also not arise, which is important, due to the Taliban's lack of a military industry.

10. Shariah is already being established throughout Afghanistan. Local Taliban governors are actively promoting the coming Islamization and demanding submission from old officials and local residents. Women's rights are already being restricted, but as an indulgence, they will be allowed to study and go to work if they wear the hijab. And it will be possible to go out into the street without a man.

For theft, robbery, pornography on the phone, demonstration of obscene images, etc. and the like, threaten with various punishments, up to a noose and execution. They are also approaching the solution of the issue with alcohol and cigarettes, but everything is somewhat more complicated there.
Posted by: badanov || 08/16/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


CNN Praises Taliban For Wearing Masks During Attack
[Bee] KABUL—Approximately twelve minutes after U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan, Taliban fighters have completely taken over the entire country.

"Woah, that's a bummer," said the Biden Administration's foreign policy team. "We didn't see that one coming."

As the Taliban began its campaign of shooting and killing, as is their time-honored tradition, CNN anchors gushed with praise after noticing all the Taliban fighters were responsibly wearing masks to protect themselves and others from COVID.

"Wow! In the midst of the battle and bloodshed, these noble desert knights of Islamic superiority are wearing masks! Bravo!" said Brian Stelter.

TV anchor and world-renown polemicist Don Lemon was also quick to weigh in. "All things considered, we ought to be praising the COVID-safe masks these majestic mujahideen warriors are wearing," he said.

"They are showing all of us the proper way to behave during a pandemic—something those horrible idiot Trump supporters don't seem to get."

Inspired by their example, the Biden Administration has invited the Taliban to the White House to record TikTok videos in hopes of convincing Trump supporters to get vaccinated.
Posted by: Frank G || 08/16/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
NASA hits back at Russian claims that astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor drilled a HOLE in the ISS in 2018 to force an early return to Earth following an 'acute psychological crisis'
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/16/2021 08:55 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  First thing I thought of when I read this story was the incident where a female NASA astronaut put on an adult diaper and drove straight through from Texas to Florida to kill her astronaut boyfriend. Not saying I drew any conclusions, just that that situation came immediately to mind.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/16/2021 9:26 Comments || Top||

#2  ^ diaper-wearing Astronaut Lisa Nowak (a long-running joke here) was actually going to confront the other woman
Posted by: Frank G || 08/16/2021 10:30 Comments || Top||


Economy
Wall Street Is the Most Bullish on Stocks in Almost Two Decades
[Bloomberg] It’s been two decades since Wall Street analysts were this upbeat.

About 56% of all recommendations on S&P 500 firms are listed as buys, the most since 2002. It’s one more data point that shows the extent of the euphoria sweeping markets after a blockbuster earnings season.

While analysts are historically a bullish bunch, they’re turning even more optimistic in the face of relentless stock-market gains and corporate earnings that topped even the highest expectations. For all the concerns about the delta variant, China’s regulatory crackdown or waning Federal Reserve stimulus, it hasn’t made much of a dent yet on stock prices.

"It’s not just financial conditions and low rates fueling the appetite for risk assets -- tremendous fundamental improvement is forecast into 2022," Todd Jablonski, chief investment officer at Principal Global Asset Allocation, said in a note.

Posted by: Besoeker || 08/16/2021 01:32 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Pop goes the weasel
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/16/2021 6:57 Comments || Top||

#2  They're not really bullish on stocks. They're just bearish on the dollar and looking for _something_.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 08/16/2021 7:48 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
The Lies Behind the ‘Pandemic of Unvaxxed' [Uncanceled News]
[Uncanceled News]

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House and most mainstream media, what we have now is a "pandemic of the unvaccinated," with 95% to 99% of COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths being attributed to the unvaccinated

  • To achieve that statistic, the CDC included hospitalization and mortality data from January through June 2021. The vast majority of the United States population was unvaccinated during that timeframe
  • January 1, 2021, only 0.5% of the U.S. population had received a COVID shot. By mid-April, an estimated 31% had received one or more shots, and as of June 15, 48.7% were fully "vaccinated"

  • Natural immunity offers robust protection against all variants, whereas vaccine-induced immunity can’t. The reason for this is because when you recover from the natural infection, you have both antibodies and T cells against all parts of the virus, not just the spike protein

  • According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Delta variant is both more transmissible and more dangerous than the original virus and previous variants, but real-world data show it is actually weaker and far less dangerous, even though it does spread more easily

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House and most mainstream media, what we have now is a "pandemic of the unvaccinated."

1 According to the official narrative, 99% of COVID-19 deaths and 95% of COVID-related hospitalizations are occurring among the unvaccinated. In a July 16, 2021, White House press briefing,

2 CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky claimed "over 97% of people who are entering the hospital right now are unvaccinated."

But as reported by Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham on "The Ingraham Angle," "that statistic is grossly misleading,"

3 and in an August 5, 2021, video statement, Walensky inadvertently revealed how that 95% to 99% statistic was created.
More
Posted by: Flong Snaving9926 || 08/16/2021 04:59 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Covid spelled backwards is divoc. Divoc is a Hebrew word that means, “Possession of an evil spirit.”
Posted by: 746 || 08/16/2021 9:23 Comments || Top||

#2 
CDC WEEKLY COVID DATA REVIEW - August 13, 2021

SOURCE: CDC


OTHER CDC SOURCED DATA
UPDATE: As of August 13, 2021

During the same time, CDC received reports from 49 U.S. states and territories of 8,054 patients with COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infection who were hospitalized or died.

Overall, about 196.5 million people, or 59.2% of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of vaccine.

About 167.4 million people, or 50.4% of the total U.S. population, have been fully vaccinated.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 08/16/2021 10:56 Comments || Top||

#3  ^
Thanks, I looked up 'divoc' and chanced upon the following website.

91-DIVOC
Let's flip the script on COVID-19 and build fantastic things!

EYE OPENING information on Covid-19 - 'No kidding'
Posted by: Hupetle Jones9703 || 08/16/2021 11:10 Comments || Top||

#4  And yet 4 of the 5 people I know who are currently hospitalized were fully vaccinated; statistical outliers.
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/16/2021 12:22 Comments || Top||

#5  They are blaming vax related deaths on COVID.
Posted by: Angstrom || 08/16/2021 13:04 Comments || Top||

#6 

As I mention in previous comments over the weeks.
We had several extended family who were Vax'd yet still became infected.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 08/16/2021 14:04 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
A Word from Colonel Schlichter (USA)(Ret)
Posted by: badanov || 08/16/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  More Kurt: Our Military Is A Woke Joke

Ignore those pictures of the Afghan army that our military senior leader geniuses spent 20 years and zillions of dollars on disintegrating in the face of a pack of glorified mountain banditos from the Seventh Century – the real story is that, finally, America’s fighting men and women are fully aware of the urgency of accepting and validating the trans experience. And it's even better if said trans people are BIPOC. Plus differently abled.

Our broke, woke armed forces would be a hysterically funny punchline if the joke wasn’t, “The greatest military in human history walks into a bar, puts down trillions of dollars and buckets of American blood, and asks the bartender, ‘So, what would it look like if all the generals and admirals sucked-up to the garbage establishment that has totally failed the people of the USA?’”

Yes, it is a joke, a sick one. Fire all the generals. Invite a few back, maybe a dozen. Clean out the Pentagon. Can all the “Diversity Consultants,” “Equal Opportunity Officers,” “Climate Change Mitigation Specialists,” and every other strap-hanging oxygen thief who doesn’t contribute to the only thing the military should be focusing on right now – putting Chi Coms in graves.

Yeah, there’s been a strategic failure of epic proportions by our civilian establishment. We need to fix that at the ballot box by tossing out every Democrat and every Liz Cheney-esque combat tourist who delights in sending our young people overseas to get ground up in idiotic wars designed to enrich their cronies. Hardest hit at the end of Afghanistan: Haliburton, Raytheon, KBR, and a hundred other contractors you never heard of. Oh, and the Afghan people, but they never really figured into this calculus except in the abstract idea that we were going to convert a nation of savages into Lil’ Vermonters living the Norman Rockwell dream of community democracy.
Posted by: Frank G || 08/16/2021 7:38 Comments || Top||


Mark Steyn: The Scale of Humiliation
From the article:
[SteynOnline] Indeed, what difference would it make if it closed down its military? Obviously, it would present a few mid-life challenges for its corrupt Pentagon bureaucracy, since that many generals on the market for defense lobbyist gigs and board directorships all at once would likely depress the going rate. But, other than that, a military that accounts for 40 per cent of the planet's military spending can't perform either of the functions for which one has an army: it can't defeat overseas enemies, and it's not permitted to defend the country, as we see on the Rio Grande.

So what's the point?

Oh, oh, but, if a nation doesn't have an army to defend it, a quarter-of-a-million foreign invaders could just walk into the country with impunity every month!

The scale of America's global humiliation is so total that I see my friends at Fox News cannot even bear to cover it. As I write, every other world network - the BBC, Deutsche Welle, France 24, not to mention the Chinese - is broadcasting the collapse of the American regime in real time; on Fox, meanwhile, they're talking about the spending bill and the third Covid shot and the dead Haitians ...as if the totality of the defeat is such that for once it cannot be fixed into the American right's usual consolations ("well, this positions us pretty nicely for 2022").
More at the link. Read the whole thing.
Posted by: badanov || 08/16/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My father would be livid right now if he were alive.
Posted by: Raj || 08/16/2021 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2 
Posted by: badanov || 08/16/2021 0:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Just the start. You think Xi-Xi isn't watching? If I were Taiwan I'd be crapping my self right now.
Posted by: Mercutio || 08/16/2021 19:56 Comments || Top||

#4  If I were Taiwan I'd be crapping my self right now.

Everyone in theater is probably re-assessing their options and plans. Certainly, Japan and Australia as well as Taiwan.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/16/2021 21:14 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Pakistan incomplete without Kashmir, maintains CM Buzdar
[NATION.PK] Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said that the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
(IIOJK) observed Indian Independence Day as Black Day and protested against the Indian occupation.

The Chief Minister said that the so-called world’s largest democracy had been exposed as the Indian government violated all democratic norms and human values in the IIOJK. Usman Buzdar said that India was committing serious human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
violations, adding that she narrowed life in the IIOJK. Usman Buzdar said that every child of Pakistain was standing beside the oppressed Kashmiris. He reiterated that Pakistain and Kashmir were brothers and Pakistain was incomplete without Kashmir. Usman Buzdar reaffirmed that Paks were standing with their Kashmiris brothers and would keep supporting them. He said that the Modi government would have to account for their brutality and oppression. "The international community could not act as a silent

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has condemned the incident of kaboom in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
and expressed a deep sense of sorrow and grief over the loss of innocent lives in the tragic incident. Usman Buzdar said that those who were involved in the incident had no religion. He said that the Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

government equally shared the grief of heirs of the victims, adding: "All our sympathies are with them." The chief minister also prayed for early recovery of the injured.

Posted by: Fred || 08/16/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [19 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Nothing new. Infact there are more mini-Pakistans and mini-Afghanistans in India.
Posted by: Wren || 08/16/2021 1:01 Comments || Top||

#2  The jackals, fresh from their puppet's victory in Kabul, roar like lions...
Posted by: magpie || 08/16/2021 1:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Here's our reply.

Oh what joy to be free
from sentimentality.
We can now basely descend
to the lowest degree,
for we know what we fight
just ain't humanity.

WHACK!

Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/16/2021 2:22 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Taliban takeover of Afghanistan shows Israel must be self-reliant - ex-diplomat
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/16/2021 09:53 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  The fall of Saigon showed that
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/16/2021 13:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Wonder if the Taiwanese, Poles, and Baltic States have picked up on that?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/16/2021 13:16 Comments || Top||


Palestinians warn: Israel, Hamas headed toward another war
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/16/2021 09:47 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Expecting talib Biden to defend them?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/16/2021 13:10 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
33Taliban
26[untagged]
4Islamic State
3Hamas
2Human Trafficking
2Govt of Pakistan
2Sublime Porte
1Commies
1[untagged]
1Antifa/BLM
1Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
1Govt of Syria

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2021-08-16
  Taliban Declares Victory and Announces ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' From Presidential Palace
Sun 2021-08-15
  Kabul has fallen, Taliban is killing political leadership and religious minorities in Afghanistan
Sat 2021-08-14
  Herat: Ismail Khan captured by the Taliban
Fri 2021-08-13
  Source: US tells Ashraf Ghani to step down
Thu 2021-08-12
  Bangladesh Police Arrest 3 Men Suspected of Planning Drone Attacks
Wed 2021-08-11
  Taliban takes control of border with Uzbekistan
Tue 2021-08-10
  Cuomo finally resigns!
Mon 2021-08-09
  Taliban say capital of Afghanistan's Takhar province seized
Sun 2021-08-08
  Taliban take over Kunduz
Sat 2021-08-07
  IDF attacks Hamas headquarters in response to balloon fires
Fri 2021-08-06
  Jihadists kill 30 in north Burkina Faso, says official
Thu 2021-08-05
  Israel moves cyber sabotage units to UAE to turn Persian Gulf into crisis hub
Wed 2021-08-04
  375 Taliban killed in past 24 hours: MoD
Tue 2021-08-03
  Possible 'Mine Attack' Incident In Gulf Waters
Mon 2021-08-02
  15 Niger troops killed in ambush, subsequent blast


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