New at the Belmont Club. The Only Adults in the Room have your back.
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You were expecting something?
After days in seclusion at Camp David, a politician gives a speech. Now it’s time to move on to a future which will be just like the now forgotten recent past. Back to climate change, intersectionality. Now where was I?
OPEC rejects Biden call to produce more ‘fossil fuels’
Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration urged the producer group to boost output to tackle rising gasoline prices it sees as a threat to the global economic recovery.
WH talking points circulated
Revealing a double down, CYA and petty mind.
The finger pointing begins
American intelligence sources say they correctly predicted the fall of Kabul. … “This is a crisis of untold proportions,” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) told NBC News Sunday as Taliban militants swept into Kabul. “This is an intelligence failure. We underestimated the Taliban and overestimated the resolve of the Afghan Army.” But numerous U.S. officials tell …
China’s secret deal with WHO to hide origins of Covid
An investigation by The Sunday Times has revealed efforts by Beijing to control the agency’s decision making, sabotage investigations and even install officials. … It has also been suggested officials agreed a ‘backroom deal’ with the Chinese to water down the inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.
Pride Month cometh before the Fall
Watch out for the combination
Beyond attempting to rescue Western sympathizers and intelligence assets from the Taliban there is little that can be done for Afghanistan. In time the Taliban will wear out its welcome and the merry go-round will turn again.
After the fall
Biden is angry, humiliated and desperate. Yet he has not yet reached the dregs. The finger pointing, accusations of betrayal, the scramble to pass the buck are only just beginning. It is the loss of confidence in assessments, assurances and estimates that will be noticed next. In disasters of this magnitude heads have got to …
Tested by events
New at the Belmont Club. Get the number of that truck! Look out it’s backing up to run you over again.
Australia evacuates Afghans who served alongside
Among those to be evacuated will be Afghan interpreters and contractors who served alongside Australian Defence Force troops.
Armageddon reconsidered
New at the Belmont Club. Is the end nigh? Or is it just the second coming of Jimmy Carter?
Lab virus theory gains traction – Politico
It started out as a fringe conspiracy theory touted by Donald Trump. Now the suggestion that the deadly coronavirus was leaked from a laboratory in China is gaining both scientific and political traction.
Behind the Biden facade — nothing
The demand seeks to stave off an evacuation of the embassy by dangling aid to future Afghan governments — even one that includes the Taliban.
Biden’s cascade of failure
Joe Biden is facing simultaneous challenges. The collapse of Afghanistan in place of a “decent interval”; The resurgence of the Covid Delta variant in place of the anticipated reopening of society; Looming inflation and economic problems in place of the anticipated boom. The unending border crisis.
Head of WHO Team Calls For Closer Look at China Lab
“It’s interesting that the lab relocated on the 2nd of December 2019: That’s the period where it all started,” Dr. Ben Embarek said in the TV interview. “We know that when you move a lab, it disturbs everything…That entire procedure is always a disruptive element in the daily work routine of a lab.”
Our pessimistic age
Elon working on his starship while the rest of earth writhes in fear over the pandemic, global warming and the Taliban gives off the “When Worlds Collide” vibe. The lone scientist amid a sea of despair.
Not one size fits all but many situations
Dr Tom Frieden
China harvests DNA data
As part of surveillance efforts in Xinjiang, authorities have collected biometric data, including facial scans and fingerprints—used to verify identities at the region’s ubiquitous checkpoints—and DNA data. Moreau says DNA profiling does not directly enable mass internments or forced labor. Rather the impact is psychological, reinforcing citizens’ feelings of constant surveillance. Byler adds that DNA …
Hunter train wreck
‘I think he’s the one that stole my computer. I think the three of them, the three guys that were like a little group. The dealer and his two guys, I took them everywhere. F*ing everywhere, crazy out of your mind sh.’