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 ABC News that the opposite was true, insisting that key intelligence assessments had consistently informed policymakers that the Taliban could overwhelm the country and take the capital within weeks.
Afghanistan’s collapse: Did US intelligence get it wrong?
As the Taliban overtook Kabul Sunday, many Americans wondered how top Biden officials could have been so wrong in their assurances that Kabul would not easily fall.
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.
China’s secret deal with WHO to hide origins of Covid
An investigation has claimed China used ‘aggressive’ influence on the World Health Organisation to control decision making, sabotage investigations and even install preferred officials.
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.
Continue reading “Watch out for the combination”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 roll. Yet the one man most responsible will be the one to do the head rolling, ensuring that the next time — and there will be a next time — it will be worse.
Tested by events
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
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.
When Worlds Collide (1951) – IMDb
When Worlds Collide: Directed by Rudolph Maté. With Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen, John Hoyt. As a new star and planet hurtle toward a doomed Earth, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to their new home.
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 profiling “could be used to enforce a ‘zero illegal births’ policy by tracking maternity and paternity,” and to find matches for organ harvesting from prisoners, “of which there is some limited evidence.”
Genetic papers containing data from China’s ethnic minorities draw fire
Questions about consent and potential for abuse trigger retractions and investigations
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.’
Video shows a naked Hunter Biden claiming Russians stole his laptop
WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT. Hunter Biden claims Russian drug dealers stole another one of his laptops for blackmail while he was close to overdosing in a Vegas hotel room in 2018.
The age of limited expectations
“Follow the science” has become the clarion call of the “know-nothing.” Which science is never quite clear. And when it is, it’s ever-changing.
The parents see this too and have a right to be furious, especially because it is now being brought down to their children, both in the form of masks and vaccinations with unknown consequences.
‘It’s About the Kids’—Mask Rebellion Breaks Out in Tennessee
Commentary “All politics is local,” then-House Speaker Tip O’Neill told us back in 1982 but contemporary events remind …
