Aug 202021
 


Henri Matisse Music 1910

 

People With 2 COVID-19 Shots Fully Vaccinated Without Booster: Surgeon General (ET)
Top Doctor: Mass Vaccination Program One Of The Most Deadly Mistakes In History (LSN)
Now Is The Time To Use Ivermectin: Chairman Of Tokyo Met Medical Ass’n
Supreme Court Knocks Down ‘Covid Passport’ In Andalucia (EW)
Spain Court Orders End To Barcelona Virus Curfew (B’s)
Greek Gov’t Not Backing Down On Health Worker Vaccinations (K.)
US Promises Not To Charge Americans To Fly Out Of Afghanistan (RT)
Biden State Dept Halted A Trump-Era ‘Crisis Response’ Plan 2 Months Ago (NP)
Leaked State Department Memo Warned Of Afghanistan Collapse (ZH)
The Worst Presidential Dereliction in Memory (Noah Rothman)
The Ides of August (Sarah Chayes)
Assabiya Wins Every Time (Lee Smith)

 

 

 

 

In the EU, as of 14.8.21, 826,000 have had 2.07 million adverse reactions to the jab, of which 21,776 died.

 

 

It’s official: anything goes.

People With 2 COVID-19 Shots Fully Vaccinated Without Booster: Surgeon General (ET)

Americans who have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses are considered fully vaccinated, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Wednesday. “I think what’s very important for people to know is that if you’ve gotten both shots of your mRNA vaccine, you are fully vaccinated right now; you have full—you have a high degree of protection against the worst outcomes of COVID-19,” Murthy told reporters during a virtual briefing. The definition of fully vaccinated could prove key in the coming months. More and more jurisdictions are requiring proof of vaccination to enter businesses. At some point, people could be required to show proof of having received three doses, especially if health officials signaled their support.

Murthy suggested that could come later, pending authorization from the FDAvand a recommendation from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, known as ACIP. “Our recommendation down the line, pending the advice and the review of the FDA and ACIP … is that we believe that that third dose will ultimately be needed to provide the fullest and continual extent of protection that we think people need from the virus,” Murthy said. Experts are keeping a close watch on whether vaccine mandates will transition into requiring booster.

“Haven’t heard this debated yet… but in case the Covid events of the past month aren’t messy enough, wait for this one: When—and how—do vaccine mandates transition into booster mandates?” Bob Wachter, chair of the University of California San Francisco’s Department of Medicine, wrote on social media this week. Asked later on CNBC if CEOs should consider mandating boosters, Murthy said, “In my mind this doesn’t change what workplaces are doing.” “Right now, if you’re a business that’s thinking about putting in requirements for vaccines, if you’re a university that’s considering that, nothing in today’s announcement should change what you’re doing,” he added.

Read more …

“..about 88 percent of hospitalizations and deaths can be avoided with early treatment.”

But there still is no early treatment.

Mass Vaccination Program One Of The Most Deadly Mistakes In History (LSN)

The forced mass vaccination of Americans will be regarded as one of the most deadly and costly medical mistakes in history, renowned pioneer in the early treatment of COVID-19, Texas cardiologist and internist Dr. Peter McCullough, has said. Citing recent data from U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and from Israel and Britain, where COVID cases are multiplying among the vaccinated, McCullough, who is editor-in-chief of two medical journals and author of over 600 peer-reviewed studies, including 46 dedicated to COVID-19, said he is “deeply worried” about the future of America. “Americans are going to bear the brunt of what invariably is going to be a failed mass vaccination program that will go down as one of the most deadly, one of the most injurious and costly in human history,” McCullough said in a recent podcast.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in April that it has stopped tracking COVID cases among the vaccinated that do not result in hospitalizations or deaths. The agency is now assuming that new cases are among the unvaccinated unless otherwise advised, which skews numbers to paint the unvaccinated as spreaders of disease. “This intentional misinformation and propaganda scheme has been used to drive an incredible fury of vaccine mandates” for government agencies, veterans administrations, and hundreds of schools and colleges, even though here have been no outbreaks in these places, McCullough said. Israel was the first country to mass vaccinate its population under an agreement with Pfizer to exchange vaccine supply for public health data in an experiment on the people “to evaluate whether herd immunity protection is observed during the Product vaccination program rollout.”

Eighty percent of adults are fully vaccinated there, yet COVID cases and serious hospitalizations have risen 20-fold since early July. The media has highlighted that most serious new cases have been among the unvaccinated, while neglecting to report that the majority (more than 80 percent) of new cases reported by the Israeli Health Ministry are among vaccinated individuals. In response, Israel introduced a third “booster shot” of Pfizer’s vaccine which has been administered to more than one million people as of August 16. In the United Kingdom, more than three-quarters of the adult population (76 percent) have received two doses of vaccine and almost 90 percent of adults have received at least one dose. Yet, the number of COVID patients hospitalized has soared sevenfold since early June this year.

The most recent U.K. report on “variants of concern” revealed that 54 percent of COVID deaths are among the fully vaccinated. A further 12 percent of deaths are among the partially vaccinated who have received one dose. That data, McCullough said, “is basically showing that the vaccines are failing.” Vaccinated individuals can acquire and transmit the pandemic coronavirus and become and die of COVID-19. “Completely vaccinated individuals are passing it to one another,” McCullough said. Nonetheless, citing the new, circulating Delta variant, the Biden administration is expected to follow Israel’s example and introduce a third booster shot for all nursing home residents and healthcare workers for September.

The vaccines were never tested for the Delta variant, and their protection has lasted only months. “It’s clear we can’t vaccinate our way out of this,” McCullough said. COVID-19, no matter what the variant, is easily treatable at home with simple, available drugs, according to McCullough, who has stated that “about 88 percent of hospitalizations and deaths can be avoided” with early treatment.

Read more …

Odd Google translate, but lots of info between the lines. IVM for Covid is legal, but not available.

Now Is The Time To Use Ivermectin: Chairman Of Tokyo Met Medical Ass’n

Why is Japan not trying to use ivermectin, which has few reports of side effects and has been reported to be effective in clinical trials in other countries? On August 5, we had an urgent interview with Mr. Ozaki, chairman of the Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Association, who had been proposing effective uses of ivermectin from early on.

[..] Ivermectin generic drugs are also manufactured in large quantities in China and India. If Merck doesn’t come out, there should be a way to import and supply it.

“That’s right. If the” Special Measures Bill for Designation and Use of Specified Drugs for the Treatment of New Influenza, etc. “(Japanese EUA * Maintenance Bill), which was submitted to the House of Representatives by Representative Nakajima, who is also a doctor, is passed, generic products But I think the government isn’t working at all at this point. ”

“The other problem is that ivermectin has already been used in many countries around the world, and its dosage, dosage, safety and efficacy have been confirmed, but it has not yet been done in clinical trials in Japan. For this reason, ivermectin is not covered by the drug side effect relief system. This makes it difficult for doctors to use. However, even in such anxiety and disadvantageous situations, doctors who are convinced of the effects of ivermectin. Some of us are prescribing ivermectin at our own risk. I hope that the Japanese version of the EUA maintenance law will be enacted as soon as possible. ”

EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) A system of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that permits the use of unapproved drugs in an emergency and expands the indications for approved drugs. The FDA is <1> a life-threatening disease <2> a certain degree of effectiveness is recognized in the treatment of diseases, etc. <3> The benefits of using it outweigh the potential risks of the product <4> Other diseases It is approved for use if it is determined that there is no suitable alternative to diagnose, prevent, or treat.

Since you admitted that it is not applicable, Japan is classified as an “Ivermectin user country” in the world, but it is a system that can not be used in reality.

“That’s right. In short, the government has not built a system that can supply ivermectin, so it is not a promotion system. If the Japanese version of EUA is prepared quickly and it becomes a system that can be used by doctors in the field, As Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Tamura replied in the Diet, it can actually be administered to patients who are waiting at home or undergoing medical treatment, but with the current system, virtually nothing can be done. However, if we remain cautious in the event of such an emergency, we can only understand that we are sacrificing the safety of the people. “

Read more …

Nice, but not on principal.

Supreme Court Knocks Down ‘Covid Passport’ In Andalucia (EW)

Supreme Court knocks down ‘covid passport’ to enter bars, restaurants and nightclubs in Andalucia The Supreme Court knocks down ‘covid passport’ to enter bars, restaurants and nightclubs in Andalucia. The Andalucian Government had hoped to use a COVID passport, but the Supreme Court has prevented this. The Andalucian Government had hoped to use a COVID passport control entry to hotels, nightlife venues and nightclubs across Andalucia. The Supreme Court has now rejected this request. The court believes that the proposed measure “does not pass the proportionality test” and that it shows a “justification deficit”. Therefore, it has decided to stand by the decision previously taken by the Superior Court of Justice of Andalucia.

This basically means that anyone in Andalucia will not have to show a vaccination certificate or a negative PCR test which was taken in the last 72 hours in order to enter nightclubs, restaurants and bars. The government of Moreno Bonilla had requested these measures, but Supreme Court have decided to overturn the request. The decision was made on two main arguments. The first is that the measure is not sufficiently justified. For the measure to be justified the government in Andalucia would need to prove “that the so-called fifth wave originates precisely in nightlife venues.” The second argument is one of being proportionate. The measure was intended to apply “over a large territory and in very different situations”.

This meant that the measure would be used across the whole of Andalucia, and the local coronavirus situation within each territory would not be considered. The measure failed the proportionality test. If applied the measure would have hit the hospitality sector without it ever having been proven that the main source of coronavirus infections came from this sector. As reported 20 minutes, “Finally, the court argues that it is not possible to restrict the fundamental rights of citizens with a preventive measure such as the ‘covid passport’: ‘It is not a measure that is punctually indispensable to safeguard public health (…), but rather a preventive measure when it happens that, for the restriction of fundamental rights, mere considerations of prudence or precaution are not sufficient’, the Supreme Court argues.”

Read more …

Same in Catalunya.

Spain Court Orders End To Barcelona Virus Curfew (B’s)

A Spanish court on Thursday lifted a coronavirus curfew imposed on most of Catalonia, including the capital Barcelona, leaving it in place in just a fraction of the northeastern region. Catalonia’s government in mid-July imposed a nightly curfew between 1:00 am and 6:00 am in most municipalities to fight a surge in virus cases, and the region’s top court then gave the green light to extend it three times. But on Friday, faced with a request by the regional government to keep the curfew in place in 148 municipalities, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia said the measure was “not justified” in 129 of them, because infection rates there had improved. “In these circumstances, the measures are not so much justified on health grounds, but for reasons of security or public order,” the court said in its ruling.

The Catalan government said in a statement it was “analysing” the court’s ruling, but added it “regrets that once again judges are acting as epidemiologists”. The curfew is intended to discourage social gatherings on beaches and in parks after nightclubs close at 12.30 am, which was suspected of fuelling a spike in cases of the highly-contagious Delta variant, especially among unvaccinated young people. Images of large groups of youths gathering on Barcelona’s beaches or in popular nightlife districts have become common since Spain lifted a nationwide night-time curfew in early May. The court did however keep in place for one more week a ban on public or private gatherings of more than 10 people throughout Catalonia.

Like the rest of Spain, the region which is popular with tourists has seen its number of infections drop in recent weeks. When Catalonia imposed the curfew in mid-July it had an infection rate double Spain’s national average, with more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days. But on Wednesday that figure had fallen to 328, lower than the national average of 378, according to the health ministry’s latest figures.

Read more …

Game of chicken alright. People keep telling me they think vacciation rate here is 10% or so, gov’t says over 60%.

So they threaten them with poverty and exclusion. And many Greeks say: Bring it! We’ve seen hard times before!

Greek Gov’t Not Backing Down On Health Worker Vaccinations (K.)

Deputy Health Minister Vassilis Kontozamanis insisted on Thursday there is no room for postponements, either official or informal, of the suspension of health workers who refuse to get vaccinated. “All of society is grateful and we appreciate the work of our health workers and the results so far in managing the pandemic. And we are optimistic that the small percentage of unvaccinated health workers will get their shots by the deadline,” said Kontazamanis. His announcement came 12 days before the expiration of the deadline given to hospital staff and workers at health facilities around the country to get inoculated with at least one dose of the vaccine. “For those who are not vaccinated, I want to be clear and unequivocal that the law will be implemented. The Greek Parliament has legislated… and the obligation of the state to implement the law is self-evident,” he said.

Read more …

ha ha ha

US Promises Not To Charge Americans To Fly Out Of Afghanistan (RT)

Americans looking to leave Afghanistan first have to promise to repay the government for the cost of their evacuations to the tune of “$2,000 or more per person,” but the State Department says it will waive the fee. It is estimated anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 American citizens, permanent residents and their family members may still be in Afghanistan, and presumably hoping to leave the country – under Taliban control since Sunday – via Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul before the end of August. Before they brave Taliban checkpoints and hope to get a seat on a US troop transport or chartered civilian jet, however, they must promise to repay the US government for the privilege of their rescue.

One journalist did some digging and found the website of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), a State Department partnership with the “corporate, non-profit, academic, and faith-based groups.” OSAC’s security alert for Afghanistan, posted on August 14 – the very day the Taliban took over Kabul from the disintegrating US-backed government – clearly states that “repatriation flights are not free.” Passengers “will be required to sign a promissory loan agreement & may not be eligible to renew their US passports til the loan is repaid,” the advisory says, adding that the cost “may be $2,000 or more per person.”


The promissory note is apparently demanded in the Repatriation Assistance Request form, which is required for every single person hoping to get onto an evacuation flight, according to instructions sent out by the US embassy in Kabul – now operating out of HKIA. Anyone hoping to leave will need to fill out the form and wait for the embassy email, before braving Taliban checkpoints to reach the airport, at which point they will have to hope a seat will be found for them on a departing plane on a first-come, first-served basis. Hand luggage only, no pets allowed.

Read more …

They left behind over 2,000 U.S.-made armored vehicles, between 30 and 40 aircraft, and enough weaponry to start an army from scratch.

France started preparing an evacuation in April, and executing it in June. Everybody knew.

But rumors have it that some 15,000 Americans are still there. Once they start dying or being taken hostage, Biden’s problems go up by an order of magnitude.

Biden State Dept Halted A Trump-Era ‘Crisis Response’ Plan 2 Months Ago (NP)

Joe Biden’s State Department moved to cancel a critical State Department program aimed at providing swift and safe evacuations of Americans out of crisis zones just months prior to the fall of Kabul, The National Pulse can exclusively reveal. The “Contingency and Crisis Response Bureau” – which was designed to handle medical, diplomatic, and logistical support concerning Americans overseas was paused by Antony Blinken’s State Department earlier this year. Notification was officially signed just months before the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. “SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED,” an official State Department document from the Biden State Department begins, before outlining the following move the quash the Trump-era funding for the new bureau.

The document is from the desk of Deputy Secretary of State Brian P. McKeon, confirmed in March by the United States Senate. The document is dated June 11, 2021, though The National Pulse understands the decision to pause the program may have come as early as February, both undermining the original Trump-era date for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and certainly giving the Taliban time to threaten American assets and lives on the run up to Joe Biden’s September 11th date of withdrawal. The subject line reads: “(SBU) Contingency and Crisis Response Bureau,” and the body of the document recommends: “That you direct the discontinuation of the establishment, and termination of, the Contingency and Crisis Response Bureau (CCR), and direct a further review of certain associated Department requirements and capabilities.”

It goes on: “That you direct the discontinuation of the establishment, and termination of, CCR, consistent with the applicable legal requirements, necessary stakeholder engagement, and any applicable changes to the Foreign Affairs Manual and other requirements.” The document reveals the recommendations were approved on June 11th 2021. Speaking exclusively to The National Pulse, former President Donald J. Trump blasted Biden’s irresponsible move: “My Administration prioritized keeping Americans safe, Biden leaves them behind. Canceling this successful Trump Administration program before the withdrawal that would have helped tens of thousands Americans reach home is beyond disgraceful. Our withdrawal was conditions-based and perfect, it would have been flawlessly executed and nobody would have even known we left. The Biden execution and withdrawal is perhaps the greatest embarrassment to our Country in History, both as a military and humanitarian operation.”

Read more …

It’s not that they didn’t know.

Leaked State Department Memo Warned Of Afghanistan Collapse (ZH)

Around two dozen State Department officials at the US embassy in Kabul warned of a potential collapse following the Aug. 31 troop withdrawal deadline, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a ‘person familiar with the cable.’ Using a special ‘dissent channel’ within the State Department, the cable – sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and another top State Department official – warned of ‘rapid territorial gains by the Taliban and the subsequent collapse of Afghan security forces,’ and offered suggestions on how to speed up evacuation and mitigate the obvious crisis slated to ensue, two people told the WSJ. In total, 23 US Embassy staffers – all Americans, signed the July 13 cable, which was given a rush status ‘given the circumstances on the ground in Kabul.’ In addition to Blinken, it was sent to the Director of Policy Planning, Salman Ahmad.

Blinken received the cable and reviewed it shortly afterwards according to the report. The cable, dated July 13, also called for the State Department to use tougher language in describing the atrocities being committed by the Taliban, one of the people said. The classified cable represents the clearest evidence yet that the administration had been warned by its own officials on the ground that the Taliban’s advance was imminent and Afghanistan’s military may be unable to stop it. -WSJ According to the report, some 18,000 Afghans and their families who had applied for special US Immigrant Visas remained in Kabul in areas under Taliban control, while efforts to reach the airport have become increasingly difficult.

US intelligence officials have sparred with the White House over who was warning of what, and when. And as the Journal notes, the existence of this confidential State Department memo warning of impending doom adds a crucial piece to our knowledge of how this all went down. Why Blinken and Biden didn’t take immediate action despite receiving a ‘dissent channel’ emergency communication from their staff on the ground in Kabul is unknown, however Blinken is apparently so bad that John McCain called him “dangerous to America” in a 2014 Senate speech, adding that he was “one of the worst selections of a very bad lot” as Obama’s nominee for Secretary of State.

Read more …

“We are dependent on the beneficence of a theocratic militia that has demonstrated no capacity for mercy. And the U.S. government has no intention of remedying this condition.”

The Worst Presidential Dereliction in Memory (Noah Rothman)

Gen. Mark Milley is right. “There’ll be plenty of time to do AARs,” or after-action reports, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a Wednesday press conference alongside Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin. There will be time to learn why neither he nor “anyone else” anticipated the collapse of the Afghan “army and this government in 11 days.” We will one day have the luxury of looking back on this crisis to determine what led to the evacuation of the military before civilians and the surrender of versatile Afghan-based control points. Right now, a crisis of almost unprecedented proportions is upon us. And to judge from what Austin and Milley are telling us, they have neither the means nor the will to resolve it.

As the Washington Post reported on Tuesday night, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 U.S. citizens are still in Afghanistan, and there was “no plan to evacuate the Americans who are outside Kabul.” And there still isn’t. In a most dispiriting display of resignation, Austin and Milley explained that the hellish circumstances to which they’d consigned American citizens and their allies in Afghanistan were all but irresolvable. While thousands of Americans and allied Afghans have been evacuated since Tuesday, we are at the mercy of the Taliban who have surrounded Kabul’s single-runway airport—the only means by which allied nations can evacuate their people. But you have to make it to the airport on your own and by whatever means possible. If you are not presently in U.S. custody in the airport—even inside Kabul—there is little the American military can do for you.

“We don’t have the capability to go out and collect large numbers of people,” Sec. Austin confessed. Indeed, the U.S. military cannot even mount the kind of rescue operations in which British and French special forces are already engaged. “I don’t have the capability to go out and extend operations currently into Kabul,” Austin added. What’s more, there are no plans to address that deficiency. “We know that we got to have the right mix of capabilities on the ground,” Austin insisted. “We don’t want to put excessive materials on the ground that are not relevant to what we’re doing.” According to the Pentagon chief, our powerlessness in the face of a disorganized militia is by design.

We have placed the fate of untold thousands of Americans and our Afghan allies in the hands of the Taliban. They dictate the terms and tempo of our operations. We depend on the Taliban to allow foreign nationals and credentialed Afghans into Hamid Karzai International Airport. According to what remains of the American diplomatic presence in Kabul, “the United States government cannot ensure safe passage” into the airport. We are dependent on the beneficence of a theocratic militia that has demonstrated no capacity for mercy. And the U.S. government has no intention of remedying this condition.

Read more …

Some good background articles.

The Ides of August (Sarah Chayes)

I covered the fall of the Taliban for NPR, making my way into their former capital, Kandahar, in December 2001, a few days after the collapse of their regime. Descending the last great hill into the desert city, I saw a dusty ghost town. Pickup trucks with rocket-launchers strapped to the struts patrolled the streets. People pulled on my militia friends’ sleeves, telling them where to find a Taliban weapons cache, or a last hold-out. But most remained indoors. It was Ramadan. A few days later, at the holiday ending the month-long fast, the pent-up joy erupted. Kites took to the air. Horsemen on gorgeous, caparisoned chargers tore across a dusty common in sprint after sprint, with a festive audience cheering them on. This was Kandahar, the Taliban heartland. There was no panicked rush for the airport.

I reported for a month or so, then passed off to Steve Inskeep, now Morning Edition host. Within another couple of months, I was back, not as a reporter this time, but to try actually to do something. I stayed for a decade. I ran two non-profits in Kandahar, living in an ordinary house and speaking Pashtu, and eventually went to work for two commanders of the international troops, and then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (You can read about that time, and its lessons, in my first two books, The Punishment of Virtue and Thieves of State.) From that standpoint — speaking as an American, as an adoptive Kandahari, and as a former senior U.S. government official — here are the key factors I see in today’s climax of a two-decade long fiasco:

Afghan government corruption, and the U.S. role enabling and reinforcing it. The last speaker of the Afghan parliament, Rahman Rahmani, I recently learned, is a multimillionaire, thanks to monopoly contracts to provide fuel and security to U.S. forces at their main base, Bagram. Is this the type of government people are likely to risk their lives to defend? Two decades ago, young people in Kandahar were telling me how the proxy militias American forces had armed and provided with U.S. fatigues were shaking them down at checkpoints. By 2007, delegations of elders would visit me — the only American whose door was open and who spoke Pashtu so there would be no intermediaries to distort or report their words.

Over candied almonds and glasses of green tea, they would get to some version of this: “The Taliban hit us on this cheek, and the government hits us on that cheek.” The old man serving as the group’s spokesman would physically smack himself in the face. I and too many other people to count spent years of our lives trying to convince U.S. decision-makers that Afghans could not be expected to take risks on behalf of a government that was as hostile to their interests as the Taliban were. Note: it took me a while, and plenty of my own mistakes, to come to that realization. But I did.

For two decades, American leadership on the ground and in Washington proved unable to take in this simple message. I finally stopped trying to get it across when, in 2011, an interagency process reached the decision that the U.S. would not address corruption in Afghanistan. It was now explicit policy to ignore one of the two factors that would determine the fate of all our efforts. That’s when I knew today was inevitable. Americans like to think of ourselves as having valiantly tried to bring democracy to Afghanistan. Afghans, so the narrative goes, just weren’t ready for it, or didn’t care enough about democracy to bother defending it. Or we’ll repeat the cliche that Afghans have always rejected foreign intervention; we’re just the latest in a long line. I was there. Afghans did not reject us. They looked to us as exemplars of democracy and the rule of law. They thought that’s what we stood for.

Read more …

‘Assabiya’ is the engine of history. With it, the most primitive tribe can overturn the mightiest of civilizations; without it, a people will wither in the desert.”

Assabiya Wins Every Time (Lee Smith)

[..] military strategists, political pundits, foreign correspondents, and even historians will spend the next several decades wondering how a gang of rough Pashtun tribesmen galvanized by a fundamentalist version of Islam managed to defeat the most advanced military in the world. And that’s precisely the point: The problem with the American establishment is not simply that after 20 years in Afghanistan it did not understand the country or foresee what its opponents were likely to do after withdrawing forces. More importantly, our ruling class is so alienated from its own roots that it no longer understands the character of the country it purports to lead, and what makes it different, even exceptional.

The evidence is that our elites sought to graft the effects of a civilization built by and for its own people—democracy, a military and police force, girls’ schools, etc.—onto a primitive society that had to be bribed to accept what we were offering. There is no mystery about why the U.S. experience in Afghanistan ended in failure, embarrassment, and scandal. Nor is it a mystery why the Taliban took over Kabul so quickly. They were fighting for primacy. Their victory was foreordained. The medieval Arab historian Ibn Khaldun explains the dynamic in his 14th-century masterwork, Al Muqaddima. History, he shows, is a repetition of the same pattern seen throughout the ages—a group of nomadic tribesmen overturn an existing sedentary culture, a civilization that has become weak and luxurious.

What drives the success of the rising tribe is its group solidarity, or assabiya. Its awareness of itself as a coherent people with a drive for primacy is frequently augmented by religious ideology. The stronger the tribe’s assabiya, the stronger the group. Assimilating the conquered by imposing its will and worldview on them, the victor lays the foundations of a new civilization. But since, as Ibn Khaldun writes, “the goal of civilization is sedentary culture and luxury,” all groups carry the seeds of their own demise. And so the struggle begins anew.

Ibn Khaldun’s most important contribution to political theory was to show that assabiya is the engine of history. With it, the most primitive tribe can overturn the mightiest of civilizations; without it, a people will wither in the desert. As an Arab, and one who claimed as an ancestor a companion of the prophet of Islam, it was natural that his main focus was the physical and spiritual environment of the Bedouin. It was the harsh desert conditions that bred the Bedouin tribes and the ideological conviction, Islam, that bound them together, and which gave rise to the Arab empire, at its height one of the largest in world history. “Since desert life no doubt is the source of bravery, savage groups are braver than others,” he wrote. “They are, therefore, better able to achieve superiority and to take away the things that are in the hands of other nations.”

Read more …

 

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Robert Malone: “OK – this video has a super powerful message and a lot of it rings true. I don’t agree with all of it – but it is worth watching and thinking hard about. Detangling the hyperbole from just how bad things actually are – is difficult now for me.”

THE NARRATIVE IS CRUMBLING. SOMETHING BAD AND BIG IS GOING ON.

 

 

 

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle August 20 2021

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 105 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #84717
    thomasjkenney
    Participant

    @red re: Atwood

    Margaret Atwood – Once In August

    There is another NFB production that makes a nice companion watch – The Strangest Dream (no longer avail at NFB)

    #84718
    thomasjkenney
    Participant

    Language nitpick:

    “…fight against <something>…” sounds an awful lot like “…War on <Something>…”

    #84719
    those darned kids
    Participant

    i wonder if he called at 3 a.m..

    #84721
    zerosum
    Participant

    “10,000 people here processed and ready to go… but nowhere to fly them to because Qatar is refusing to accept more Afghans because they’ve reached capacity.”

    Supply line shortfall…
    ….. is it food, bed, toothbrush, napkins, air conditioning, forms, money, ….. what?

    #84723
    those darned kids
    Participant

    for usfolk in troubled times:

    “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want for nothing. He makes me lie down in the green pastures. He greases up my head with oil. He gives me kung-fu in the face of my enemies. Amen” ~ stephen king

    amen.

    #84725
    upstateNYer
    Participant

    @phoenix, your email to the church was clear and well written. It’s difficult to get next to this thought, but if your group is willing to ostracize *anyone* based on that person raising a reasonable question for all to discuss, maybe they aren’t a group to belong to. Hang in there. You’re doing a good thing. 🙂

    #84726
    Topcat
    Participant

    It’s already starting
    I guess they missed a cell phone

    Taliban Execute Police Chief, Intensify Hunt For Afghans Who Worked With Americans

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/graphic-taliban-execute-police-chief-intensify-hunt-afghans-who-worked-americans

    Gotta love social media.

    On Tuesday, the Times of India reported that thousands of Afghans are scrambling to delete their digital footprints, and worry that biometric databases can and will be used to track and target them.

    “We understand that the Taliban is now likely to have access to various biometric databases and equipment in Afghanistan,” said Human Rights First in a Monday Twitter statement. “This technology is likely to include access to a database with fingerprints and iris scans, and include facial recognition technology.”

    #84727
    upstateNYer
    Participant

    As for all the comments over the past couple days on how The Losers are so powerful, so wealthy, so smart, can gather gobs of data they are able to parse and use effectively, and have been planning this debacle since back when some woman took a bite of an apple in some orchard ages ago …

    So just go ahead and roll over already. The rest of us are staying the course and we’ll continue trying. The Losers pull their pants on the same way we do. They ain’t all that.

    #84728
    Topcat
    Participant

    Military Tear Gasses Crowd At Kabul Airport As US Struggles To Ramp Up Evacuation Effort

    “…Videos have shown women, children – even babies – being hoisted over the airport’s blast walls and tangles of razor wire to US soldiers on the other side. One particularly striking image of a baby being passed over the wall…”

    #84729
    Dr. D
    Participant

    L.A., still no death rate, still only 2% death rate even among those presenting to hospital with Covid.

    Except for headlines, Delta is a bust. So far.

    #84730
    Mr. House
    Participant
    #84731
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Trudeau said “I also spoke last night with former U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who shares our concern for Afghan women and girls.”

    What is that code for? We all know they don’t give a @$%^ for little people, things that make you go hmmmm.

    #84732
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Biden is either having a breakdown, or maybe, just maybe, he feels guilty like those 4 DC cops that suicided (unless they were murdered) prob cause they knew the narrative was a sack of shite.

    #84733
    Topcat
    Participant

    British And US Troops Reportedly At Odds In Afghanistan As UK Engages Rescue Missions

    At least some of the Brits still have a spine.

    “..Reports have surfaced that British and American forces are unhappy with each other at Kabul airport, as UK Military commanders are overseeing rescue missions into the city itself, while US commanders are sitting tight, leaving US nationals to fend for themselves…

    Sources have indicated that the U.S. command is unhappy with the British forces going into the heart of Kabul, claiming that it is putting the withdrawal agreement at risk (isn’t a bit late for that?).

    The British troops are also said to be livid at the way America is treating Afghans who are desperate to flee the Taliban.

    Yet American troops are also said to be pissed off with their higher ups not letting them run rescue missions alongside the Brits.”

    .

    #84734
    Mr. House
    Participant

    If what you posted is true about the brits and us, sounds like nobody is in charge.

    #84735
    Topcat
    Participant

    Woman rescued on almost empty mercy plane says Afghan mom begged her to take baby

    “A Norwegian woman rescued from Afghanistan on an almost empty “mercy” plane has revealed her heartbreak at leaving behind thousands of desperate locals — including a mom who begged her to take her baby.

    Kaisa Markhus, 30, told the Daily Mail that it took her four days to get through Taliban checkpoints and a scrum of thousands outside Kabul airport before she was finally able to board a military jet, landing in her native Oslo Friday morning.

    “There are thousands trying to get into the airport … a lot of scared people who just want a way out,” said Markhus, who was left with “lonely sadness” when she left on a nearly empty plane.

    “One woman tried to hand me her baby and said, ‘Please, please take my child,’” said Markhus, the wife of a former British Royal Marine commando.”

    The plane was almost empty.

    .

    #84736
    Topcat
    Participant

    I’m sure that many US soldiers and junior officers are enraged that they were not allowed to swept the city for stranded US citizens.

    It’s a failure of leadership up the chain of command.

    Bedpan Joe looks like a foreign agent (CCP Hunter) working to damage the US to the maximum extent.

    Maybe someone forgot to change his Depends.

    #84737
    those darned kids
    Participant

    topcat: i said the other day that governor desantis needs to start making deals with the taliban now so that the hostages will be released on january 20th, 2025.

    #84738
    thomasjkenney
    Participant

    CFN commenter posted this re: Cali Newsom recall. The “Yes, I want to recall that shit-eating coyote!” vote can be plainly seen from outside the sealed envelope if the ballot is folded just so and placed in the envelope just so. It’s a numbers game to slice a bit more. If it works, few more percent chewed off the count. If it doesn’t, delay the recall while we decide how to f#(< you again.

    https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1428462786389053443

    #84739
    Bill7
    Participant

    Everybuddy say “Afganistan!”, and “Delta!”, and “BidenFailed!”, and [really] “lookoverthere!”

    what’s the unmoved part? pretty sure there is one.

    good stuff, House.

    #84740
    Bill7
    Participant

    I will need to remember to Turn Off Images (remember when that was easy?- a simple drop-down, at one time) before looking at the comments again.

    nice job

    #84741
    Bill7
    Participant

    A useful link, I think- found at JD’s blog:

    What If Afghanistan is More Than Just a Failed War?

    Not sure why people link to Zero Hedge when there is an original source readily available.
    By the way: what can one- or should one- take at face value these days, esp on the ‘net?

    #84742
    Bill7
    Participant

    I’d like to Recall Newsom™, too- if it would make any difference.

    “meet the new boss..”

    theater

    #84743
    christianarchist
    Participant

    This morning I composed a religious exemption “request” to my employer’s recently-announced COVID-19 vaccine mandate. I realize that this will be of no relevance to, and may even irritate, some readers of this blog and these comments , but there may also be some who will find encouragement
    or something useful in its tone or substance, so I hereby offer it for your review:

    1. Why you are requesting an exemption;
    I am a Christian. I claim exemption from this mandate in the name of Jesus Christ.

    2. The religious principles that guide your objection to immunization;
    The body belongs to God, not to the state (Caesar) or an employer.
    “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”
    (Jesus, as quoted in Matthew 22:21, English Standard Version)
    “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God; You are not your own,”
    (Paul, 1 Corinthians 6:19, English Standard Version)

    3. How your sincerely held religious belief conflicts with _________s vaccination mandate;
    The imposition of a mandate and the threat to employees’ participation in the economic life of society for failure to comply is a clear sign of malign intent and usurpation of God’s authority by the powers of this world, as described in difficult allegory by John, who also admonished that the saints (believers) must not bow to that usurpation:
    “This second beast was servant to the first beast, and extended its authority everywhere, making the world and all its people worship the first beast…”
    (Revelation 13:12, The Jerusalem Bible)

    “He compelled everyone — small and great, rich and poor, slave and citizen — to be branded on the right hand or on the forehead, and made it illegal for anyone to buy or sell anything unless he had been branded with the name of the beast or with the number of its name.”
    (Revelation 13:16-17, The Jerusalem Bible)

    “There will be no respite, night or day, for those who worshipped the beast or its statue or accepted branding with its name. This is why there must be constancy in the saints who keep the commandments of God and faith in Jesus.”
    (Revelation 14: 11-12, The Jerusalem Bible)
    These are difficult texts, especially for scientific rationalists (as I am, and suspect you may be too), so you should be prepared for extensive discussions and study to help you understand, unless you are willing to take my word that these are sincere beliefs.

    4. Whether you are opposed to all immunizations, and if not, the religious basis that prohibits COVID-19 vaccination;
    I am not opposed to all vaccinations.
    See above for religious basis for refusing mandated COVID-19 vaccination.

    5. What accommodation you are seeking;
    Allow me to continue to deploy my skills, expertise, and humanity in the service of my colleagues and the people of _________ without that service being conditioned upon submission to any experimental, unnecessary, invasive, or punitive medical procedure(s), until such time as it may be to our mutual benefit to part ways.

    6. Any additional information you believe would be helpful in processing your religious accommodation request.
    You probably have no idea what Christianity is really about. If you care to find out, you could do worse than to begin with C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity or G.K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man. I also recommend the writings of William Stringfellow (especially An Ethic for Christians and other Aliens in a Strange Land) and Jaques Ellul (The Presence of the Kingdom would be a good place to start). There is also, of course, a wealth of information in the bible.

    ca

    #84744
    thomasjkenney
    Participant

    @Bill7, it won’t. Voting has become about the ‘meta’ – that is, procedure, arcana, a program for the evening’s performance. The game seems to be how to set up the board to prefigure a victory, or at least a useful stalemate. That can be used by us also. I was just discussing with wifey about butterfly ballots and hanging chads. It’s dirty, but if they’ve set out to fight dirty they thusly cancel the rules.

    I think it would be a good thing for somebody ‘with means’ to hire some white-hats to go after Dominion. Don’t just collect evidence…destroy their operation.

    ———-FOR MADAM————

    The Darkness – Stuck In A Rut

    Kiss my arse, kiss my arse goodbye
    Propelled by a carriage of aluminium am I
    No more to rot in this sty
    Turn my back on this shit-hole in the blink of an eye

    #84745
    Bill7
    Participant

    Somebody provided this link (thank you) the other day: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2021/08/conspiracy-theories-aside-there-is-something-fishy-about-the-great-reset.html

    My browser says there have been sixty-six comments on that topic.

    It’s a moderated [ahem] site, but only sixty-six even let through?

    MIA: Flora, KE, OTPBDHal (super-good, and likely 86d awhile back)

    #84746
    Germ
    Participant

    ACTIV 6 – first three repurposed compounds now disclosed;

    Drug: Ivermectin
    Drug: Fluvoxamine
    Drug: Fluticasone
    Other: Placebo

    https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04885530

    FINALLY !!

    #84747
    Mr. House
    Participant

    @Bill7

    Did you see Yves comment where she stated she hates snooty people? I spit seltzer water on my screen laughing so hard, should thank her for that.

    #84748
    Mr. House
    Participant

    If that Afghanistan panic was real, this is not what you’d expect

    #84749
    upstateNYer
    Participant

    @christianarchist: thank you for posting. Whether and how people use your info is a personal choice.

    I skimmed your previous posts and came up with this nugget I’m sharing again in case it was missed:

    “1) Letting your attention be captured by the enemy will lead to your downfall.”

    Yes it will. Hang in there. You have small children and your road is not easy. You can do this.

    #84750
    Bill7
    Participant

    There is No Conspiracy; there has never been a single conspiracy in all of Human Existence. Remain Calm; for our Ruling Class are Incompetent Idiots- and their Plans are and will be Fruitless. They Have No Real Power, and We the People can Take it Back at any time. We Have only our Foolish selves to Blame for Not Having Done So..

    Divide et Impera
    Op Mockingbird
    JFK / RFK/ MLK results
    Op Northwoods
    COINTELPRO
    Church Committee Report

    neutral playing field, and such..

    #84751
    those darned kids
    Participant

    germ: cross your toes they are not staging another set up à la lancet.

    christianarchits: good luck, friend. you are not alone:

    “In order that you not despair over what has eluded you and not exult [in pride] over what He has given you. And Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful” Surah Hadid Ayat 23

    #84752
    upstateNYer
    Participant

    Perhaps there is a conspiracy, bill7, so go ahead and roll over because all is lost and no one cares so nothing will ever change.

    Not sure the point of making that point, other than roll over because all is lost forever because The Losers are too powerful and nothing will ever change, anywhere, ever.

    We’re all going to become trans-human something or other things because a bunch of psychos decide that’s the best course.

    I’ll stick with believing in people and holding my ground.

    #84753
    Bill7
    Participant

    Yeah, she’s [or whatever’s] a crackup. Taking a Victory Lap for their fine COBID coverage, now..

    😉

    #84754
    Germ
    Participant

    Another ‘Bag ‘n Tag’:

    “became ill three days after having his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in early April. ” –

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/family-left-heartbroken-after-loving-21362277

    #84755
    Bill7
    Participant

    Yeah, she’s [or whatever’s] a crackup. Taking a Victory Lap for their fine COBID coverage, now..

    Looks like Orlov was more-or-less right (the best way, I think).

    #84756
    Bill7
    Participant

    you’ll do what you do, Friend.

    #84757
    Doc Robinson
    Participant

    Covid-19: FDA set to grant full approval to Pfizer vaccine without public discussion of data

    Transparency advocates have criticised the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision not to hold a formal advisory committee meeting to discuss Pfizer’s application for full approval of its covid-19 vaccine.

    Last year the FDA said it was “committed to use an advisory committee composed of independent experts to ensure deliberations about authorisation or licensure are transparent for the public.”1 But in a statement, the FDA told The BMJ that it did not believe a meeting was necessary ahead of the expected granting of full approval.

    https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2086

    #84758
    Topcat
    Participant

    Jim Kunstler interviews Dmitry Orlov

    First interview in years

    Podcast August 18, 2021

    KunstlerCast 348
    Revisiting “Reinventing Collapse”
    with Dmitry Orlov

    KunstlerCast 348 Revisiting “Reinventing Collapse” with Dmitry Orlov

    #84759
    Germ
    Participant

    Tragi-comic interview. Some brilliant observation on the collapsing empire.
    Kunstler interviews Orlov:

    “Reinventing Collapse” with Dmitry Orlov

    KunstlerCast 348 Revisiting “Reinventing Collapse” with Dmitry Orlov

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