Military aircraft continue to carry thousands of passengers fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Other nations, among them Poland, are sending transport planes to aid the airlift. Meanwhile, the US Air Force says that human remains were discovered in a wheel well of the C-17 that took off from Kabul airport with people clinging to its landing gear.
In other news, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered a full lockdown of the entire country due to a single Wuhan Coronavirus case that was detected in Auckland.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, MC, MM, Reader from Chicago, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
“I Can’t Breathe”: Large Protest Against Mask Mandate at Harford County Schools
BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A large protest against the mask mandate in Harford County Public Schools drew many dozens of families to school headquarters early Monday evening.
The protest was held before the Board of Education meeting in Bel Air, which was scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Announces Indoor Mask Mandate for Everyone, Including Vaccinated
Beginning Friday, August 20, the City of Chicago is mandating an indoor mask mandate for everyone above two. According to NBC Chicago, all residents, regardless of their vaccination status, will have to wear masks indoors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Critical Race Theory Advocates Exposed in First Ever Searchable Online Database
HARRISONBURG, Va., Aug. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Alex Phillips, the Founder of the Great American Patriot Project, which aims to elect America First candidates at the federal level, has launched a database to track Critical Race Theorists across America. Called the Expose Critical Race Theory Project, the effort has already tracked thousands of educators and community activists in the United States, down to their city and state.
Phillips is also the Founder and CEO of the American Priority, which holds its annual #AMPFest gathering at Trump National Doral every October.
In addition to users being able to check the thousands of names already in the database, they are also able to report CRT in their own communities. The information was sourced from the original database of Critical Race Theorists from a petition in support of CRT published online by The Zinn Project, an offshoot of an educational non-profit with anarchist and socialist roots.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Crowd Protests Mask Policy at Heated Eau Claire School Board Meeting
EAU CLAIRE — Tensions remained high at an Eau Claire School Board meeting Monday about policies requiring students to wear masks when school begins Sept. 1.
At a heated Monday meeting of the Eau Claire school board, which was delayed for 45 minutes due to technical problems, more than 100 community members attended, with most wanting to discuss the mask policy. Prior to the start of the meeting, about 200 of the attendees held a protest of the district’s new face mask policy outside the district’s administration building.
Some held signs reading “Masking kids is abuse,” “Forced masking is not equity” and “All masks do is remind you of a nonexistent pandemic.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DHS Considers Using January 6 to Justify Mass Social Media Surveillance of Citizens
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is considering hiring private firms to analyze public social media posts for extremism “red flags”, sparking debate on such threat monitoring without violating the civil liberties of citizens.
The DHS and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies were blamed by the media for ignoring the signs of the Jan. 6 riot in Capitol Hill through content shared on social media platforms.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the DHS is considering hiring private firms to analyze public social media posts.
Sources claim that the effort, which is still under discussion and has not received funding, would involve sifting through public social media posts for narratives providing leads in potential attacks, whether by domestic or foreign actors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Employees Protest Summa Health’s Vaccine Mandate
AKRON, Ohio (WJW)— More than 100 protestors gathered in front of Summa Health’s Akron campus on Market Street Monday night, upset over the hospitals newly-updated vaccine policy.
According to a spokesperson, as a, “Condition of employment” all employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Oct. 31. People can request medical exemptions, medical deferments and religious accommodations.
“Forty-one years of service, that’s how they’re treating their employees. That’s awful,” said employee Gene Kibby, who worked throughout the pandemic handling infectious waste and supports vaccines, but not the COVID vaccine because it’s still only approved for emergency use.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook Suspends News Outlet for Reporting on Latest Hunter Biden Story
In the midst of the most recent Hunter Biden scandal, Facebook has removed some posts about the story and temporarily suspended a news outlet for reporting on it.
It seems to be perfectly obvious that Facebook would censor on behalf of the President’s son as they’ve done it before.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Allegedly Told Informant in Governor Whitmer Kidnapping Plot to Lie and Delete Messages
Michael Hills, an attorney for Brandon Caserta, one of six charged in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has claimed that the FBI told an informant to lie and entrap group members.
Hills claims that an agent from the FBI directed a man named “Dan” to lie to people in the group he had infiltrated and possibly even implicate an innocent third party as part of his duties.
Hills wrote, “These text messages indicate the FBI was pushing their paid agent to actively recruit people into an overt act in furtherance of a conspiracy,” according to Just The News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LinkedIn Censors Harvard Medical Professor Martin Kulldorff
As a result of his claims that public health authorities have been overstating the protective properties of masks, Twitter temporarily suspended respected COVID-19 policies critic, Martin Kulldorff in June.
The Harvard Medical school professor had seemed to continue on LinkedIn but it appears lightning has struck twice in his case. Following his one-month suspension from Twitter, Martin Kulldorff turned to LinkedIn to share news and comments on COVID-19 policy.
In a June op-ed, Kulldorff presented a cost-benefit argument against obligatory COVID-19 vaccines for children. He directed his Twitter followers to view the op-ed on LinkedIn because “Twitter does not allow vaccine scientists to freely discuss vaccines.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After Tennessee vaccine official Dr Michelle Fiscus asserted that someone had mailed her a muzzle in an attempt to intimidate her, it subsequently emerged that the item was purchased with a credit card in Fiscus’ name.
Whoops.
Fiscus, who was fired from her role as Tennessee’s vaccine chief, originally claimed that someone was trying to get her to “stop talking about vaccinating people” and had sent the muzzle as a threat.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protesters Call on Hospital to Drop Vaccine Requirement for Healthcare Workers
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — About 50 people gathered outside of Baptist Health Lexington Monday evening to protest the hospital’s decision to require employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Baptist Health is one of many Kentucky healthcare providers to require the vaccine for employees as the delta variant continues to cause a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
“What do we want? Choice! When do we want it? Now!” Protesters chanted as cars passed along Nicholasville Road.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protesters Emerge Over Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s COVID Vaccine Mandate
LEBANON — Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is situated along the town line between Lebanon and Hanover, two communities with among the highest vaccination rates in New Hampshire, a state with one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation, that sits snugly in the country’s most vaccinated region.
The area would seem to be an unlikely location for a COVID-19 vaccination protest. At least until about a week ago.
Last Saturday was the first day passing motorists would see the hand-painted placard reading “SueDHMC.com, No Forced Vax” propped up against a military-style truck adorned with American flags parked at the intersection of Lahaye Drive and Route 120, across the street from the entrance to the DHMC campus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Revealed: ‘Cancel Rent’ Hero Ayanna Pressley Collected Thousands in Rent Income Throughout Pandemic
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) made thousands of dollars alongside her husband in rental income last year, according to Fox News.
In a screenshot of Pressley’s 2020 annual financial report obtained by the Daily Mail, the rental location in Boston, Massachusetts, is listed as “Primary Residence and Rental Property. Purchased as one transaction and converted to a two-family building.”
Income from the property is listed between $5,001 and $15,000. The value of that asset is between $500,001 and $1 million.
Pressley’s rental income, which comes from the property listed under her husband’s name, is the same in her 2019 report before the pandemic began. It is unclear whether she had cancelled rent for any of her tenants during the pandemic.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
VP Kamala Harris discussed invoking the 25th Amendment against Joe Biden after refusing to stand with him during his address to America over his bungled pullout of Afghanistan, according to reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Girls Charged After Stabbing Incident on Windham Bike Trail
The incident stemmed from an ongoing conflict and both were charged
COLCHESTER, Conn. — Two girls were charged after an assault incident over the weekend in Windham left one of them injured, Connecticut State Police said Tuesday.
State troopers in Colchester responded Saturday around 7:32 p.m. to a call of an assault in the area of Hill Top Drive in Windham, near the intersection of Tuckie Road and Air Line Trail State Park’s bike/pedestrian trail.
Troopers found the victim — a 12-year-old girl — with minor injuries as a result of a reported stabbing. The girl was taken to an area hospital where she was treated for her injuries.
The suspect — a 13-year-old girl — was taken into custody and a knife was recovered at the scene, police said.
The investigation revealed that the incident stemmed from an ongoing conflict between the two girls…
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Watch Now: Students, Parents Protest Lake Central’s Mask Mandate
ST. JOHN — On the first day of school last week, a handful of parents protested required masks outside of Lake Central High School.
Before a regular Lake Central School Corp. board meeting Monday night, that group of five grew to hundreds of parents and community members lining the sidewalk along Wicker Avenue for two hours to protest the same thing.
There were dozens of American flags and many more signs with statements such as, “Follow the science. Unmask the kids.” and “Mask mandates have no place in a free country.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Minor Among 13 Arrested at Blockade Protesting Old-Growth Logging on Vancouver Island
LAKE COWICHAN, B.C. — Another 13 people, including a minor, were arrested as RCMP officers continued to enforce a BC Supreme Court injunction order in the Fairy Creek Watershed area.
Police say protesters used locking or tripod-like devices, deep trenches and destroyed portions of the Granite Mainline Forest Service Road to block access. One officer was injured while working in one of the trenches, and was sent to hospital for treatment.
Of the 13 people arrested, 10 are charged with contempt of court, and three face charges of obstruction. The young person was released to their guardian without charges.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Suspected Child-Grooming Gang Arrested in Alberta for Alleged Sexual Exploitation of Minors
Ten men have been arrested for the alleged sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old girl in Alberta. But local law enforcement said there could be more victims as the investigation continues.
The accused, ranging from 15 to 37, allegedly arranged to transport the girl between Lethbridge and Calgary, where she was sexually assaulted at different locations.
They face a total of 60 charges, including sexual assault, child luring, trafficking persons under 18 and sexual assault causing bodily harm, with additional charges pending.
Lethbridge police also believe a 13-year-old was sexually assaulted and that there may still be additional victims who have not yet been identified.
The eight suspects in custody since Friday are awaiting their bail hearing while 26-year-old Merion Krasniqi and 22-year-old Khaled Alsaid turned themselves in on Monday.
CTV News reports that the eight people in custody first were Dr. Ziyaad Noor, 37; Mohammad Neirabani, 22; Mohammad Zafari, 20; Mahmoud Nirabani, 20; Fadi (Stawi) Chewi, 20; Abdulla Mohammed, 19; a 17-year-old male who cannot be named; and, a 16-year-old male who cannot be named.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vaccine Passport Protesters Gather Outside Laval Gym
LAVAL, QUE. — Dozens of protesters gathered outside a gym in Laval Tuesday afternoon to make a public show of their criticisms about the province imposing a vaccine passport.
The Econofitness gym is one of a handful of Quebec businesses taking part in a pilot project this week ahead of the province’s plan to impose a COVID-19 vaccine passport on Sept. 1 at certain locations, including public events, training facilities, bars and restaurants.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Le Pen: Biden Admin Shows Inability to Defend Free World After Fall of Kabul
French populist party leader Marine Le Pen has criticised the Biden administration after the rapid fall of Kabul to Taliban forces, stating it demonstrates the United States’ inability to defend the free world.
Ms Le Pen, who leads the National Rally (RN), published a statement on the Afghanistan situation on Monday, comparing the scenes to those of Saigon in 1975 and of the surrender of Iran to the Islamist regime in 1979.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has labelled the 20-year Afghan war as being “in vain” while French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the country must not again become a hub of terrorism.
The German and French leaders gave televised statements to their respective nations on Monday, with Chancellor Merkel calling the Taliban’s conquest of the last major parts of Afghanistan over the weekend an, “extremely bitter development. Bitter, dramatic and terrifying.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Professor Pantsdown/Lockdown Predicts New Corona Wave When School Starts
Imperial College London’s Professor Neil Ferguson had predicted there could be a “large wave of infection” once children go back to school and white-collar workers return to their offices this Autumn, in the latest doom scenario offered by one of the architects of Britain’s lockdown policies.
Professor Ferguson — who was forced to resign his government advisory position in May 2020 after breaking his own lockdown rules to meet with his married lover, yet soon returned to work for the Johnson administration — predicted that by the autumn, “in the worst-case scenario we could be getting to well over 1,000 admissions a day, which does stress the health system.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
PM Bennett Orders IDF Not to Respond to Gaza Rocket Attack
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz have ordered the IDF to refrain from issuing a response to yesterday’s rocket attack on the Gaza periphery town of Sderot.
This order stands in contrast to the prevailing practice in recent years, including during the previous government’s term of office, when the IDF responded to every single instance of rocket fire out of Gaza, including to the launching of incendiary balloons. Sometimes the response was merely “symbolic” but the IDF was always particular to respond in some manner to terrorist attacks.
Last June, the current Prime Minister — then in the opposition — promised that the residents of the Gaza periphery communities would not be treated as second-class citizens if he were in power. “We won’t tolerate violent attacks of any kind, no matter how minor,” he stated. “Our patience has run out.” Bennett was speaking at an official memorial service for the soldiers who fell during Operation Protective Edge. “In Gaza, they will have to get used to a different kind of Israeli approach — an approach of taking the offensive, of new ways of doing things,” Bennett said then, describing how he would do things if he were given a free hand.[…]
[In order to gain the role of PM, Bennet, leader of Yamina (right) abandoned his supporters and joined in a coalition with Arab and leftist parties — now he cannot defend us or else the Arab/Left parties will bring down the government(sooner the better) — how are the ‘mighty’ compromised]]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Afghans Race to Delete Their Digital Footprint as Taliban Takes Over
In fear of their lives now that the Taliban has taken over most of the country, Afghans who worked with foreign governments are rushing to delete their online lives.
According to Wired, Afghans who worked with the US and other foreign governments are hiding the documents or destroying the evidence by burning the documents. It has been reported that the Taliban is already going door-to-door to find those who worked with NGOs and foreign governments.
But physical evidence is not the only thing these Afghans have to worry about. Things have changed since the last time the Taliban had a stranglehold on the country in 2001.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kabul’s streets, which were taken over by the Taliban on Sunday, are now empty, and the shops are closed. Chaos has ensued at the airport, where countless people are attempting to flee the country. The country’s airspace has been taken over by the military, and commercial flights have been cancelled for 24 hours.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani obliged himself to enter the National Unity government which was proposed by the Taliban. Moments later, he got onto a plane and fled the country. That was the moment in which the city was flung into chaos and the Taliban issued the order to enter Kabul.
Doctor Wojciech Szewko, an expert on terrorist affairs, explained the difficult situation in Afghanistan in an interview for Catholic Radio Maryja.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Americans, Afghan Interpreters Turning to Congress for Help Fleeing Afghanistan and the Taliban
Americans and Afghan interpreters are turning to Congress for help getting out of Afghanistan and into the U.S. amid the fall of Kabul and the rise of Taliban rule.
Some Republican lawmakers are speaking out about the number of people contacting them for help fleeing Afghanistan amid the botched troop withdrawal that led to the Taliban swiftly taking over the country.
Currently, it is estimated that there are some 10,000 Americans still in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said Tuesday during a press briefing that more than 4,000 troops will arrive in Kabul by the end, with the goal to evacuate 5,000 to 9,000 people daily.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The White House is depending on the Taliban to give evacuating Americans “safe passage” to the Kabul airport just six weeks after President Biden said that he doesn’t trust the terrorist organization.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan joined White House press secretary Jen Psaki at the podium for a press conference on Tuesday, where they took questions about the fallout from the troops withdrawal from Afghanistan, which gave way to a swift Taliban takeover of the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden’s Popularity Reaches All-Time Low After Afghanistan Disaster
US President Joe Biden’s approval ratings plummeted in reaction to the Taliban’s swift takeover in Afghanistan. Bipartisan criticism highlighted a weak spot in his administration’s foreign policy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Far Left Activists Call for Britain to Pay ‘Reparations’ To the Taliban to ‘Rebuild Afghanistan’
The far-left Stop the War Coalition has called for the British taxpayer to pay “reparations” to the Taliban to “rebuild Afghanistan”.
In a statement released on their website, the Stop the War Coalition, which was initiallyestablished as a front group for the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the wake of the September 11th terror attacks, said that the war in Afghanistan was always “doomed to fail” and that the war on terror should be declared over.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Human Remains Discovered in Wheel Well of C-17 That Departed Kabul With Afghans Clinging to It
The United States Air Force says that human remains were found in the wheel well of a C-17 aircraft that departed from Kabul, Afghanistan over the weekend and that the details surrounding the flight, including social media posts showing Afghans clinging to and falling from the plane, are being investigated.
The Air Force provided a summary of the events to Fox News, explaining that on August 15, a C-17 Globemaster III landed at Hamid Karzai International Airport delivering equipment to help evacuate Americans and allies from the rapidly deteriorating region.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pollster: Biden Receives F Grade From Independents for Afghanistan Speech
President Biden’s address to the nation on the unfolding situation in Afghanistan was met with low approval, according to Maslansky + Partners president Lee Carter.
In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” the polling expert highlighted voters’ real-time reactions to the president’s speech, noting the most surprising response was Democrats’ disappointment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Taliban Immediately Moves to Confiscate Firearms From Civilians
In what has now become a familiar historical trend, one of the Taliban’s first acts after the militant group took Afghanistan was to confiscate firearms owned by civilians.
Reuters reports that Taliban fighters in Kabul quickly set about collecting weapons from civilians because “people no longer need them for personal protection.”
“We understand people kept weapons for personal safety. They can now feel safe. We are not here to harm innocent civilians,” said a Taliban official.
“Give us your guns. We will protect you.” — Every government that is about to commit mass murder ever,” remarked Spike Cohen.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Taliban Leader Freed From Guantanamo Bay by Obama in 2014 Helped Organize Takeover of Afghanistan
In 2014, President Barack Obama released five Taliban commanders from the Guantanamo Bay detention center in exchange for an American soldier who deserted. Obama assured the concerned public that the five would be kept in Qatar, away from causing trouble in Afghanistan.
According to the New York Post, these men helped organize the takeover of Afghanistan, including Sunday’s capture of the capital city of Kabul.
Some of those five Taliban commanders reportedly vowed to return to Afghanistan and fight the American troops based there, making contact with active Taliban militants.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Taliban Criticizes Facebook for Not Supporting Free Speech, As Facebook Confirms Ban
Facebook says it has issued a ban on all content praising and supporting the Taliban on its platform on Tuesday, saying the group are to be categorized as terrorists.
In statements to BBC, the social media giant considers the Afghan group, which has been using social media platforms for years to spread its messages, to be a terrorist organization.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Taliban Vow to Honor Women’s Rights But Within Islamic Law
Kabul, Afghanistan — A Taliban spokesman promised Tuesday that the insurgents who overran Afghanistan in recent days would respect women’s rights and would not exact revenge, seeking to calm a wary population and skeptical world powers.
In his first news conference, Zabihullah Mujahid, who had been a shadowy figure for years, doubled down on the Taliban’s efforts to convince the world that it has changed from the group that imposed a brutal rule on the country in the 1990s.
Mujahid promised the Taliban would honor women’s rights, but within the norms of Islamic law. He said the group wanted private media to “remain independent,” but stressed journalists “should not work against national values.” And he promised the insurgents would secure Afghanistan — but seek no revenge against those who worked with the former government or with foreign governments or forces.
“We assure you that nobody will go to their doors to ask why they helped,” he said.
Following a blitz across Afghanistan that saw many cities fall to the insurgents without a fight, the Taliban have sought to portray themselves as more moderate than when they last ruled. Earlier, Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, promised amnesty and encouraged women to join the government.
[…]
Samangani addressed the concerns of women, saying they were “the main victims of the more than 40 years of crisis in Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan’s female footballers make tearful calls for help “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to provide women with environment to work and study, and the presence of women in different (government) structures according to Islamic law and in accordance with our cultural values,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter continues to face pressure over its decision to allow the Taliban to use its platform while maintaining its ban of former President Donald Trump and censoring other right-leaning American accounts.
A spokesman for the radical Islamist group that has seized control of Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid, has been using the platform to give updates about the group’s advance.
Mujahid’s account is not verified but has nearly 280,000 followers and is regularly cited by major news outlets. He recently tweeted an update on “military units” entering Kabul and wrote that their “advance is continuing normally.” On Tuesday, he used Twitter to announce a press conference that afternoon, and Twitter also allowed him to post warnings and statements as Kabul fell to the radical group.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Polish Military Planes on Their Way to Afghanistan and a Third Will Take Off Soon
The head of the prime minister’s chancellery Michal Dworczyk commented on the situation in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the American army.
“The situation is unstable. The Americans control the areas surrounding the airport but organizing the loading of planes which appear in Kabul is a huge challenge,” he told Polish commercial television channel Polsat News on Tuesday morning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Will Leverage for ‘Moderate’ And ‘Inclusive’ Taliban, Will Boost Afghanistan Aid Spending
The United Kingdom will boost aid spending on Afghanistan, and despite the massive failure to keep billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment out of the hands of the Taliban as they conquered the nation, the government has vowed this money won’t find its way into the hands of the warlords.
British taxpayers will underwrite even more Afghanistan spending in the coming years, the British foreign secretary has said, and the new de facto government of Afghanistan won’t even face the same basic governance and human rights tests the outgoing western-backed regime did in return for this cash.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Unbelievable Photo Shows Hundreds of Afghans Escaped Taliban Aboard U.S. C-17s
A startling photo has emerged of hundreds of Afghans crammed into a U.S. military C-17 that took off from Kabul amid the chaos and landed in Qatar, suggesting that the military was forced to make decisions to take off with refugees aboard, in the wake of a complete lack of any contingency from the hapless Biden administration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Days after Taliban forces took control of Afghanistan, the U.S. government watchdog agency for the reconstruction effort released a report recapping the “many failures” of the past two decades.
A report issued Tuesday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction(SIGAR), which has examined U.S. progress — or lack thereof — in the region since 2008 identified fundamental problems with the work that was being done on the ground.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Pentagon ‘Doesn’t Have an Answer’ When Asked How Weapons Will be Kept Out of Taliban Hands
Given that the Taliban has completely taken over Afghanistan in the space of a week, with the Afghan government collapsing and the military basically refusing to fight a losing battle anymore, there are now huge concerns regarding what will happen to billions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment that the U.S. has supplied. However, the Pentagon appears to have no contingency for that either.
US Army Major General Hank Taylor was asked by a reporter Monday if action is being taken to destroy or remove weapons, vehicles and munitions so they do not fall into Taliban hands.
Taylor, a logistics specialist on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replied that he simply does not know.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video: CIA Vet “Appalled” at Lies in Biden’s Afghanistan Speech
In the wake of Joe Biden being awoken from his slumber and forced to defend the complete lack of any plan to withdraw Americans from Afghanistan, one former CIA veteran says he was appalled by the lies that came out of Biden’s mouth, adding that “plan after plan” was sent to the government but “no one listened.”
When MSNBC host Brian Williams claimed that Biden “didn’t run” from his responsibility to the Afghan people, and “he owned it,” former CIA analyst Matt Zeller fired back “I hope he gets to own their deaths too.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
White House: Taliban Agree to Allow ‘Safe Passage’ For Civilians Looking to Escape Afghanistan
The Taliban have agreed to allow “safe passage” from Afghanistan for civilians hoping to join a U.S.-directed airlift from the capital, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser said Tuesday, although a timetable for completing the evacuation of Americans, Afghan allies and possibly other civilians has yet to be worked out with the country’s new rulers.
Jake Sullivan acknowledged reports that some civilians were encountering resistance — “being turned away or pushed back or even beaten” — as they tried to reach the Kabul international airport. He said “very large numbers” were reaching the airport and the problem of others was being taken up with the Taliban, whose stunningly swift takeover of the country on Sunday plunged the U.S. evacuation effort into chaos, confusion and violence.
Pentagon officials said that after interruptions on Monday, the airlift was back on track and being accelerated despite weather problems, amid regular communication with Taliban leaders. Additional U.S. troops arrived and more were on the way, with a total of more than 6,000 expected to be involved in securing the airport in coming days…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
White House Admits ‘Fair Amount’ of US Equipment in Afghanistan in Taliban Hands
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that a “fair amount” of U.S. weaponry had fallen into the hands of the Taliban since the hard-line Islamic militant group’s rapid takeover Afghanistan in recent days.
During a White House press briefing, Sullivan was asked what will happen with the billions of dollars in equipment, including guns, ammunition, helicopters, and more, given to the Afghanistan government in the two decades before its collapse.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Australian Police Pepper Spray Group of Teenage Girls for Shopping Without Masks
In the latest example of Australia’s police state, a group of young people filmed as they were attacked and arrested by police for not wearing face masks while shopping.
“My sister’s arrested for shopping for food with no mask and there’s people walking around with no mask,” said the girl behind the camera.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Entire Country of New Zealand Put Under Lockdown After Just One Single COVID Case
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has put the entire country under lockdown after just one single case of COVID was discovered.
Yes, really.
After the isolated case was detected in Auckland, the first nationwide in 6 months, Kiwis across the country were told they’d be placed under a full lockdown for the next 3 days.
“Auckland and Coromandel — a coastal town where the infected person also spent time — will be in lockdown for seven days,” reports Sky News.
New Zealand will now be placed under its first full national lockdown for the first time since the original lockdown over a year ago.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-lockdown activists and Covid-19 deniers have gathered in Auckland’s central business district to protest the snap lockdown — with its organiser being arrested 43 minutes into the event.
Controversial musician and politcal hopeful Billy Te Kahika was leading the gathering, which has attracted about 50 people outside TVNZ’s HQ on the corner of Victoria and Hobson streets.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police had to break up a lockdown-breaching party of more than 100 students in North Dunedin in the early hours of this morning.
Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen said police were called to a Castle St property at 12.30am by noise control.
They arrived to find more than 100 intoxicated students breaching Alert Level 4 lockdown rules.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Zealand Prime Minister Orders Citizens: “Don’t Talk to Your Neighbors”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has mimicked Australia’s top public health official by telling citizens, “Don’t talk to your neighbors,” after the country went into full lockdown as a result of just a single COVID case being detected.
As we highlighted earlier, the entire country has been placed under lockdown for three days, with Auckland in lockdown for a week, following the discovery of a single coronavirus infection in the coastal town of Coromandel.
Citizens are now being told to avoid work, school and leisure activities while only venturing outside for “essential” reasons like purchasing food.
However, Ardern went further, claiming the risk of passing on the infection was so high that people shouldn’t even have conversations with their own neighbors.
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Police Warn Anti-Lockdown Protesters Cooking Up Plans on Encrypted Apps
Police have warned anyone planning to take part in more anti-lockdown rallies to expect massive fines or jail time.
NSW Police have become aware of unauthorised protests planned for this weekend.
“Do not attend. Public safety is our first priority and you will be fined or arrested if you turn up. Stay at home,” police said in a statement.
Plans for protests in cities across Australia have emerged on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where Covid conspiracists and anti-vaxxers are joined by others who are frustrated with stay-at-home orders.
About 3500 people marched in the “Freedom Rally” in Sydney on July 24, leading to dozens of arrests.
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Cuba Tightens Internet Controls in the Wake of Historic Protests
A month after social media helped drive historic protests in Cuba, the communist island is tightening the screws on Internet speech, making it an offense to spread false news or make comments that damage “the prestige of the country.”
In a decree published in the official gazette Tuesday, the government outlines a broad range of cyber-offenses, including activities that cause “ethical or social harm,” such as spreading “false news stories” and sending messages that “incite protests.”
The decree also gives officials the leeway to press criminal charges.
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Joe Biden has authorized a further $500 million dollars to relocate Afghan refugees, while French President Emmanuel Macron is concerned about up to 3 million of them arriving in Europe.
After the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan, concerns about millions of displaced people flooding the west as happened during the civil war in Syria intensified.
“President Biden has allocated $500 million in additional funds for relocating Afghan refugees, including applicants for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), in response to the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country,” reports the Hill.
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Europe Prepares for More Cultural Enrichment
Europe is preparing for more cultural enrichment, with up to 3 million Afghan refugees on the way.
Because it went so well the first time around!
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France: Macron Claims He Can Stop Significant Migratory Flows
In a speech on Monday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he wants to realize a European initiative aimed at “anticipating” and “protecting against significant illegal migratory flows”. Macron’s vague policy goal was delivered while speaking about the situation in Afghanistan, and he provided no details about his plan.
Macron has been roundly condemned in the past for his inability to control migration to his own country, which he has responded to by censoring those who have criticized his policy failure, including banning France’s Generation Identity group and seeking to silence popular conservative commentator Eric Zemmour.
To ensure the evacuation, Macron said that he has decided to send two military aircraft and special forces to Afghanistan.
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Greece Says Cannot Become Gateway to EU for Fleeing Afghans
ATHENS (Reuters) —Greece does not want to become the entry point into the European Union for Afghans fleeing the escalating conflict in their homeland, Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said on Tuesday, calling for a common EU response to the crisis.
Greece was on the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015, when nearly a million people fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan landed on its islands, and like other EU member states, it is nervous that developments in Afghanistan could trigger a replay of that crisis.
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Hungary will not accept Afghan migrants without any restrictions, secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Levente Magyar, said on Monday.
Magyar reminded that in the recent past, everyone has been able to follow the complete military and political collapse in Afghanistan as the international forces led by the United States deciding to leave the country after 20 years, sparking scenes of chaos in the country’s capital of Kabul.
“When the Americans announced the withdrawal, the Hungarian government stated that this process must take place in such a way that Afghanistan cannot again become a hotbed of international terrorism and a country of mass migration,” he said, adding that, unfortunately, the operation failed to meet the expectations accepted and articulated by much of the world.
As he said, the Hungarian government is unwilling to let the Hungarian people pay for the consequences of this wrong geopolitical decision and the wrongly implemented geopolitical action.
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A Labour MP has demanded the UK take in tens of thousands of Afghanis after the government signalled that it was planning a separate refugee policy likely modelled on the Syrian scheme that saw over 20,000 Syrians come to the UK.
Reports from Tuesday revealed that the government is drawing up plans that would create a “bespoke resettlement scheme” for Afghans fleeing the Taliban to come to the UK, modelled on the scheme devised under previous Tory prime minister David Cameron that has so far seen 20,319 Syrians brought from refugee camps in the Middle East directly to the UK since 2015.
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Lithuania Says Belarus Officers Illegally Crossed Border While Pushing in Migrants
VILNIUS (Reuters) —A dozen Belarusian officers in riot gear illegally crossed into Lithuanian territory on Tuesday while pushing a group of 35 Iraqi migrants over the border, Lithuania’s border guard service said.
Lithuania, a member of the European Union, accuses Belarus of deliberately flying in Iraqi migrants to Minsk and then ferrying them over the border to claim asylum as retaliation for sanctions imposed by the EU on the former Soviet republic.
“The officers left the territory after several minutes, after being told repeatedly by Lithuanian border guards they had violated the border,” said border guard service spokesperson Rokas Pukinskas.
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Over 2,000 Illegal Migrants Land in Britain in First Half of August
Over 2,000 illegal boat migrants have successfully crossed the English Channel from France since the start of the month, putting August on pace for a record number of alien arrivals.
Last Thursday, a record 592 illegal migrants arrived at the Port of Dover, eclipsing the previous daily record of 482, which was set just over a week prior. The migrant boats continued over the weekend, with another 150 landings on Sunday.
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Trump Endorses Prioritizing Afghan Refugees Amid Series of Attacks on Biden
Former President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed the idea of taking in Afghan refugees who assisted the U.S. military and are now under threat as the Taliban takes control of the country, a departure from his long held stance on refugees that appears primarily aimed at attacking President Joe Biden.
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Democracies” are apprehensive that the Taliban will pardon those who worked with the coalition forces and therefore will obviate the reason behind their leaving “oppressive” regime and flee to the lands of milk , honey, welfare money and 11 year old bunnies.
Western zombies traitors feel a special sweetness in the tongue when they talk about maltreated muslims around the world and how allah has created the west to wave them. But not christians of Nigeria or Christtians and Hindus and sikhs of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, who are slaughtered on daily bases. Not to mention
Ok now Afghanistan finished. The next misadventure and floods of muslims will be from X.
4 wombs . . . the flood will continue until black bloody days. Coming soon.
Reptiles set in the 7th Century never change. The only way is to sanitise the globe of any interaction with this evil ideology and its vile reptilian adherents. Cut off the entire Moslem world and refuse to have anydealing with these disgusting people. They lie and cheat- an entire Primitivisation dedicated to the destruction of superior civilisations and reduction to the lowest denominator. Churchill was correct. They have not succeeded in taking the globe for 1400 years and still refuse to see the awful truth. Now they have a chance because of Marxist traitors in our midst. No quarter must be given. We hold the line.
Well, get your Brit compatriots off their backsides and start getting busy, block by block. To the Victors always goes the spoils.
Very funny events take place on the western borders of Belarus.
Belarusian security forces are pushing migrant Arabs out of the country, while Lithuanian and Polish border guards are pushing them back.
Shouldn’t this sport be made an Olympic one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrchDWSssbQ
I really wish I was the defense minister of one of the Baltic countries or Poland, for I would issue a shoot to kill order and enforce it. How much would you bet that that 3rd world invasion would stop on those borders in short order?
In a Moscow park, a migrant strangled a 32-year-old mother of two children
In a park in the capital Sviblovo, 32-year-old Alena Polishchuk was strangled. An unknown person attacked a girl while jogging. He attacked her, knocked her down and began to choke her. A woman ran to the desperate screams of the girl – she called the police.
When the offender saw a bystander. He jumped from the bank into the Yauza River, swam across it and fled. The girl’s body was found in the bushes. She was strangled by her own leggings.
Alena Polishchuk has two children left.
The arriving doctors found Alena naked, apparently, the offender wanted to rape his victim.
The offender was arrested by Moscow detectives a day and a half later. It turned out to be a 27-year-old visitor from Uzbekistan. He was renovating an apartment in the same area where the deceased lived.
https://vk.com/wall-77608619_1473867
That vermin from Uzebekistan won’t last long under Russian law and order, it won’t come out of one of their camps.
The so called multicultural society is really a bloody meat grinder.
Welcome to the new Balkans.