Best of the Web:

Best of the Web: Stephen Colbert likening Capitol Hill protesters to Taliban is not just a dumb joke, but demonization of fellow Americans

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Tue, 17 Aug 2021 17:23 UTC

Comedian Stephen Colbert comparing the Taliban to January 6 Capitol rioters may seem silly and dumb, but when he's joined by a chorus of Democrat activists, it becomes clear they're really saying the quiet part out loud.

"Why should our soldiers be fighting radicals in a civil war in Afghanistan? We've got our own on Capitol Hill," Colbert said during his show on Monday night, showing the photos of the January riot that Democrats like him insist was an "insurrection" against Our Democracy.

While the line got a laugh from the studio audience in New York, it was not really a joke - but a way to amplify the talking points put forth by Washington. After a weekend of watching in stunned silence as the US-backed Afghan government collapsed even before Western troops, diplomats and NGO staff could leave the country - resulting in harrowing images of stampedes at the Kabul airport - President Joe Biden returned to DC on Monday and tried to change the narrative.

Instead of addressing the downfall and the way it caught the US unprepared, Biden talked about the merits of leaving - a straw man issue, since the overwhelming majority of Americans actually agree. The ones that don't are the neocon hawks like Bill Kristol, the Cheney-Kinzinger 'Republicans' and the Lincoln Project types, all of whom backed Biden in 2020.

Taking credit for ending the war and arguing US troops shouldn't be fighting a civil war in Afghanistan, Biden left without taking questions from the media. His mission was accomplished: he had served up a new narrative to fill the void created by the Taliban's reality bomb.

That certainly appears to be the context for the first half of Colbert's "joke." As for the second, it caught the attention of journalist Glenn Greenwald, who warned back in January that Washington was itching to turn the powers of the national security state against domestic political opponents.

Comment: Fanatical ideological group that wants to control all aspects of personal life according to said ideology. Sounds like a certain group of people in the U.S., but it sure ain't the the Jan. 6 "insurrectionists." Colbert would do better to look towards the "austere scholars" of social justice.

Best of the Web: As America's attempt to Westernise Afghanistan by force fails, Kabul may now find its place in Russian & Chinese-dominated Eurasia

Glenn Diesen
RT
Tue, 17 Aug 2021 19:05 UTC

Even the Taliban must be surprised at the immense speed of its victory in Afghanistan. The collapse of the US-backed government affects more than just daily life in Kabul, however, causing political echoes across the continent.

One of the last bastions of Euro-Atlantic influence in the Eurasian heartland has collapsed. As the US and its allies absorb the consequences of their defeat in Afghanistan, the major powers on the continent, such as Russia, China and Iran, will attempt to reorient the country towards a solution consistent with the Greater Eurasian Partnership.

A long way from Washington

Comment: Far from Afghanistan 'scrambling for solutions' over the US' withdrawal, Russia's Embassy, and apparently an overwhelming number of Afghans, who welcomed the Taliban over the increasingly corrupt Kabul government, see the country, as it is now, as being 'safer than before':

And for more of the real story on the Afghan withdrawal, check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: The Great (End)Game - Closing the Afghan War, Opening the 'Covid War'?

Best of the Web: "Major food shortages in the UK": Business owner warns of 'profound supply disruption' as 50 Nando's restaurants close

Gregor Young
The National
Wed, 18 Aug 2021 10:02 UTC

Nando's was founded in South Africa and now runs more than 400 sites across the UK

NANDO'S restaurants across the UK have been forced to close amid a lack of food and a shortage of deliveries.

The chicken chain, known for its Portuguese-inspired Peri-Peri flavours despite having been founded in South Africa, said the problems were a result of "disruption" across the UK supply chain.

On social media, the company described the supply issues as a "bit of a 'mare" and asked customers to remain patient.

It also said that it would be sending 70 of its staff to help to sort the supply issues more rapidly.

Comment: Last year brutal, rolling, lockdowns caused vast amounts of produce of all kinds to be dumped and left to rot because it couldn't be harvested, processed, delivered, and it couldn't be sold because various food outlets were locked down. This man-made and totally avoidable food supply catastrophe also meant that preserved foods were not processed and stored, and farmers were left with huge losses, causing many to go out of business, or at least to drastically cut back this year. In addition, there's years worth of crop failures and animal culls, and more recently port closures and various other transport issues due to continued lockdowns, but also cyberattack and extreme weather phenomena.

Best of the Web: I'll likely only see my family on a screen from now on, because I don't want the Covid jab. What happened to 'my body, my choice'?

Eva Bartlett
RT
Tue, 17 Aug 2021 14:34 UTC

© Alberto Pezzali / POOL / AFPCanada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, wearing a face covering due to Covid-19, reacts after landing at Cornwall Airport Newquay, near Newquay, Cornwall, on June 10, 2021.

Like many people around the world, as of mid-2021, I have had to come to terms with the sordid likelihood that the only way I will ever see my family again is online.

My country, Canada, has chosen to implement increasingly draconian and frankly unscientific policies in the name of 'protecting' people. What Canadian authorities are really doing is ensuring an uptake of the experimental jabs. Don't want to take them? No worries, but you're not welcome in Canada.

Recently, my RT colleague, Rachel Marsden, described her anguish at being forced to turn away from her country and family because Canada has decided it is the 'science police' and has decided which 'science' matters.

She wrote, "I committed the apparent violation of trying to re-enter my own country with proof of naturally acquired Covid-19 antibodies made by my own immune system post-recovery rather than those generated by the manmade Covid-19 vaccine about which much is still to be learned." She noted that even her doctor had advised her against vaccination. But, for Canada, that is apparently irrelevant.

Best of the Web: The only truth about US disastrous Afghanistan war is that it was all based on lies

Scott Ritter
RT
Tue, 17 Aug 2021 19:48 UTC

The stunning victory of the Taliban over the US-backed Afghan government raises more questions than it answers as to how this happened. In the search for answers, however, don't ask the generals who fought the war - they all lied.

Let me begin with full disclosure - I have never set foot in Afghanistan. I have zero skin equity in this current debacle. I have lost very close friends to the conflict that tore that country apart these past 20 years, and I do mourn their loss. What I lack in on-the-ground warfighting resume entries, however, is somewhat compensated by a more intellectually based approach toward the conflict in Afghanistan.

As a historian, I have studied the tribes of Afghanistan, especially their penchant for conflict against ruling authority which deviates from what they expect from their leaders. My specialty was (and is) the Basmachi resistance to Soviet authority in the 1920s and 1930s. More specifically, my studies focused on those elements of Basmachi which settled in Kabul and northern Afghanistan, and who helped overthrow an Afghan King and later were defeated by a Pashtun tribal army.

Best of the Web: Cascading natural disasters: Following devastating flooding, F2 tornado touches down in Grossheide, Germany

RT
Tue, 17 Aug 2021 19:48 UTC

The storm left a path of devastation in Großheide, Aurich district.

A severe storm, complete with a tornado, has hit a small town in northern Germany, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake and making several homes completely uninhabitable, according to local authorities.

The foul weather hit the town of Grossheide in Germany's northwestern Lower Saxony state on Monday evening. The powerful storm ripped roofs from houses, overturned vehicles and uprooted trees, as some terrified locals filmed a funnel cloud raging over nearby fields.

Footage published on social media showed a huge grey whirlwind swirling over a grove not far from Grossheide and forcing people to seek shelter in their homes. Some said they have never seen anything like it in the area before.

Best of the Web: America's narrative failure in Afghanistan is worse than its military one - Now the entire world knows the emperor has no clothes

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Mon, 16 Aug 2021 19:35 UTC

Afghanistan may not be the actual 'graveyard of empires,' but it looks set to bury at least the American one, by imploding the major narratives on which it has rested: invincibility, inevitability, prosperity and competence.

It has to be an irony above all ironies that the same man who, back in 1992, celebrated the demise of the Soviet "puppet regime" in Kabul ended up leading a US puppet regime there. Except, whereas Dr. Najibullah ruled for three years after the last Soviet soldier crossed the Friendship Bridge into Uzbekistan, Ashraf Ghani resigned and fled even before the last American boot left Afghan soil - reportedly forgetting bags of cash on the tarmac, no less.

What made the sudden and total collapse of the Afghan National Army (ANA) so devastating, however, is the explicit insistence of US leadership - from President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley - as late as two weeks ago, that it would never happen.

Comment: The US has for a rather long time been engaged in the practice of 'reality creation'. The problem is, reality exists outside the propaganda and lies, and it demands to be seen whether we want to see it or not. We will undoubtedly continue to see devastating reality bombs dropping down all over the planet during these very interesting times.

Best of the Web: 'Safer than before': Russian Embassy in Kabul sees no reason to evacuate as Taliban takes over security - ambassador

RT
Mon, 16 Aug 2021 18:26 UTC

Russian diplomats in Kabul feel safe and are continuing to work in the wake of the capital's takeover by the Taliban, Moscow's envoy to Afghanistan told RT, adding that the US had been "tilting at windmills" for 20 years.

"The situation is calm," the Russian ambassador to Kabul, Dmitry Zhirnov, told RT on Monday, as he described the developments in the Afghan capital a day after its takeover by Taliban militants as seen from the Russian mission's compound. The diplomats feel in no immediate danger, he said, denying reports of an evacuation.

Earlier, some media outlets reported that Russia was reducing the number of its diplomats in Kabul, but Zhirnov says the embassy continues to operate "in full force." Some staff members have left on a "planned vacation," while others have departed because their assignment had ended, but the rest of the staff are working as normal.

Comment: See also:

And for the real story behind what's going on in Afghanistan, check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: The Great (End)Game - Closing the Afghan War, Opening the 'Covid War'?

Best of the Web: Taliban take Kabul, Ghani flees country

RT
Sun, 15 Aug 2021 18:57 UTC

Taliban commanders have apparently taken control of the presidential palace in Kabul shortly after President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan. The group says it expects a total handover of power.

Taliban militants entered the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday, after a whirlwind advance that saw them take most of the country's provinces and cities - some without firing a shot - on the heels of the US military withdrawal. Amid negotiations to surrender, US-backed President Ashraf Ghani departed shortly afterwards, reportedly bound for Tajikistan.

By Sunday evening, Taliban commanders told Reuters they had entered Ghani's presidential palace and taken control of the building. Their claim has not been confirmed by Ghani's government.

Comment: Ghani says he resigned in order to prevent a Taliban slaughter in Kabul, where multiple explosions were reported today at key locations, including the presidential palace and US embassy.

Before Ghani fled, Taliban representatives had reportedly headed to the palace to negotiate a peaceful surrender. The Ghani government had hoped for a "transitional administration," and the Taliban had expected a "peaceful transfer of power" over the next few days. Events seem to have intervened. Fighters, who had the city encircled, were instructed to refrain from violence and allow safe passage for those leaving the city. Only sporadic gunshots have been reported from the capital. Before taking Kabul, Jalalabad surrendered.

In Sheberghan, capital of Jowzjan province, Taliban fighters showed off the ostentatious palace of US ally and warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum:

A Taliban spokesman promises that Afghan women will not be deprived of work or education, provided they remain veiled in public. Watch out, Taliban, Nancy Pelosi is watching:

Best of the Web: Severe flooding hits Turkey's Black Sea region, AGAIN! Third such event within 4 weeks - Death toll rises to 58 (UPDATES)

Daily Sabah
Wed, 11 Aug 2021 10:54 UTC

Road collapse in Bartın, Turkey

One month after floods and landslides killed six in Turkey's Black Sea region, heavy precipitation took hold in the region's central parts on Tuesday and Wednesday. A woman went missing in Bartın, one of the provinces hit worst by rainfall that triggered floods on Tuesday. Floods were also reported in Karabük and Kastamonu provinces.

In Bartın, floodwaters inundated a large number of houses and businesses, sweeping away vehicles after severe precipitation late on Tuesday. The heaviest damage was in Ulus district. Part of a road connecting the province to Karabük collapsed while bulldozers waded through floodwaters to save 20 people trapped in their houses. Search and rescue crews were deployed to the flood-hit areas. The province's governor Sinan Güner told reporters that they started receiving first reports of flood damage and stranded people around 3:00 a.m. He was speaking to reporters on Wednesday on a road closed due to landslides. "We rescued people stranded in their houses near river beds. Our crews also saved people trapped in their cars," he said. Güner said that an elderly woman went missing in Akören Söküler village after her wooden house had almost collapsed due to floods that carried her away. "There are many bridges, roads to villages and houses collapsed in the region," he lamented. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced that 13 people were injured due to the collapse of a bridge on a road connecting Bartın and Karabük provinces.

Comment: Update 12 August 2021

Euronews reports that the death toll has risen to 17.

Bianet.org reports on some of the local rainfall numbers:

Precipitation on August 11-12

According to the reports of the General Directorate of Meteorology, on August 11, 2021, the amount of precipitation received by districts was as follows: Bartın Ulus - 90 mm; Kastamonu Küre - 198 mm, Pınarbaşı - 167 mm, Azdavay - 145 mm, İnebolu - 123 mm, Abana - 122 mm, Bozkurt - 117 mm; Sinop Merkez - 104,6 kg, Ayancık - 301,03 kg, Boyabat - 76,6 mm, Dikmen - 54 mm, Erfelek - 78,6 mm, Gerze - 72,4 mm, Merkez - 83,8 mm, Türkeli - 223,23 kg. The heavy rainfall is expected to subside in the region as of 6 pm today (August 12).

Update2 August 14: The Daily Sabah carries this AP report:

Deaths in northern Turkey floods rise to 44 as rescuers push on

© AP
At least 44 people died from disastrous floods and mudslides in northern Turkey, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said Saturday.

Torrential rains that pounded the Black Sea provinces of Bartın, Kastamonu and Sinop on Wednesday caused flooding that demolished homes, severed at least five bridges, swept away cars and rendered numerous roads unpassable. AFAD said 36 people were killed in Kastamonu, seven in Sinop and one in Bartın.

Nine people remained hospitalized in Sinop, and one person was missing in Bartın province, according to the agency.

Rescue teams and sniffer dogs continued the painstaking task of trying to locate residents. AFAD said 5,188 personnel, 27 rescue dogs, 19 helicopters and two search planes were at the disaster spots.

About 2,250 people were evacuated across the region, some lifted from rooftops by helicopters, and many were being temporarily housed in student dormitories, authorities said.

Update3 August 15: Reuters reports:

Death toll from northern Turkey floods rises to 58

Flash floods that have swept through towns in the Turkish Black Sea region have killed 58 people, authorities said on Sunday, in the second natural disaster to strike Turkey this month.

The floods brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires had been brought under control after raging through southern coastal regions for two weeks.

Forty-eight people died as a result of floods in Kastamonu province, another nine people died in Sinop and one in Bartin, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.

Drone footage by Reuters showed massive damage in the town of Bozkurt in Kastamonu province. Emergency workers were searching demolished buildings for the missing.

Torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed buildings and bridges closed roads, and cut off electricity to hundreds of villages.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated from affected areas, some with the help of helicopters and boats, the AFAD said.

Here is a report on the deluges that hit northern Turkey last month: Floods and landslides hit Turkey's Black Sea region for second week in a row

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ReRan

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Best of the Web:

Best of the Web: Stephen Colbert likening Capitol Hill protesters to Taliban is not just a dumb joke, but demonization of fellow Americans

Best of the Web: As America's attempt to Westernise Afghanistan by force fails, Kabul may now find its place in Russian & Chinese-dominated Eurasia

Best of the Web: "Major food shortages in the UK": Business owner warns of 'profound supply disruption' as 50 Nando's restaurants close

Best of the Web: I'll likely only see my family on a screen from now on, because I don't want the Covid jab. What happened to 'my body, my choice'?

Best of the Web: The only truth about US disastrous Afghanistan war is that it was all based on lies

Best of the Web: Cascading natural disasters: Following devastating flooding, F2 tornado touches down in Grossheide, Germany

Best of the Web: America's narrative failure in Afghanistan is worse than its military one - Now the entire world knows the emperor has no clothes

Best of the Web: 'Safer than before': Russian Embassy in Kabul sees no reason to evacuate as Taliban takes over security - ambassador

Best of the Web: Taliban take Kabul, Ghani flees country

Best of the Web: Severe flooding hits Turkey's Black Sea region, AGAIN! Third such event within 4 weeks - Death toll rises to 58 (UPDATES)

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