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Attention

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
Justin Trudeau
© 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.
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Bad Guys

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
Taliban fighter
© REUTERS TV/via REUTERSA Taliban fighter runs towards crowd outside Kabul airport, Kabul, Afghanistan August 16, 2021, in this still image taken from a video
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.
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Tornado1

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.
© Jörn HünekeThe 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.

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Cupcake Pink

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
do better Biden
© REUTERS/Ken CedenoDemonstrators outside the White House in Washington, as the Taliban took over Kabul, August 15, 2021
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.

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Sheriff

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
Taliban
© ReutersFILE PHOTO: Taliban forces keep watch inside Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021.
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'?



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Bad Guys

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


RT
Sun, 15 Aug 2021 18:57 UTC
Taliban
© REUTERS/StringerTaliban fighters keep watch in Ghazni province, Afghanistan August 14, 2021.
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:



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Cloud Precipitation

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
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

FLOOD
© 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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MIB

Best of the Web: The cyber espionage state of Israel

Vladimir Platov
New Eastern Outlook
Fri, 13 Aug 2021 19:41 UTC
cyber warfare security hacker
After several dozen international publications, including The Washington Post and The Guardian, simultaneously reported in mid-July on a major investigation by Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories over Israel's Pegasus spyware, another scandal over Israeli cyber-spying activities erupted.

According to the articles, not only Israel itself but also dozens of governments used Israeli technology to hack the phones of politicians, journalists, opposition activists, and human rights activists. Tens of thousands of phones were tapped. A direct trace is also evident in Israel's complicity in the cyber-surveillance of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, hence the responsibility for the events that happened to him. The investigation contains a great deal of information about human rights abuses in many regions of the world through programs developed by Israel and, in particular, by the NSO Group, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. It has become apparent to everyone that not only government services are engaged in cyber espionage in Israel but, in addition to the NSO Group, there are other Israeli companies competing with each other: they manufacture similar products and supply them to those who commit similar crimes. There are also technologies possessed exclusively by the Israeli security and intelligence agencies, which provide their services to Israel's close friends, including several Arab states.

Comment: Notably, a cyber security firm working in league with Israel's government recently released a report accusing other countries, China in particular, of hacking various other nations to 'advance its negotiations in tech and business'. Meanwhile, as the research above reveals, Israel is involved in much, much worse. And the implications for freedom and democracy around the world are massive. Although this isn't a great surprise to those who've been paying attention to world events over the last two decades.

With the WEF's ominous threat that we can expect to see a 'cyberpandemic' in the near future, one wonders just what part Israel will play?

See also:

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Arrow Down

Best of the Web: After 20 years and billions of dollars, American defeat in Afghanistan worse than the Soviet failure - how has this happened?

Paul Robinson
RT
Fri, 13 Aug 2021 13:07 UTC
Taliban in truck
© AFPTaliban fighters drive an Afghan National Army vehicle in Kandahar
As the last men of the dwindling American garrison in Afghanistan pack their bags, there is an echo of the Soviet Union's own withdrawal from the country, more than 30 years ago. But, in truth, Washington's defeat is far greater.

In December 1979, Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan to support the unpopular government of the ruling People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). They soon found themselves bogged down in a bloody war against the mujahideen guerillas. Nine years later, the Soviets decided that there had been enough bloodshed and, in May 1988, they began their exit. The final contingent of Soviet troops drove back across the bridge to the USSR in February the following year.

Twelve years later, US troops arrived to fight the Taliban. Soldiers of other NATO states then followed. Together, they stayed even longer than the Soviets, but are now on the way out. US President Joe Biden has promised that American soldiers will leave Afghanistan by the end of August.

As the US completes its retreat from its longest war, its enemy is on the march. In the past week, the Taliban have captured 12 of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals, including the second and third largest cities in the country, Kandahar and Herat, both of which fell on Thursday.

Comment: Grooves: Even if the lessons of Afghanistan manage to hit home in America, they will not likely carry over into future conflicts, power grabs, resource rapes, population decimation nor governance upgrades. The US is too big, too complex and too compromised to change.

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NPC

Best of the Web: Why Do Some People Support Tyranny While Others Defy It?

Brandon Smith
Alt-Market.us
Thu, 12 Aug 2021 00:00 UTC
psychopath
There is a fundamental question that haunts the pages of history and it is one that has never been addressed in a satisfactory manner. There are many schools of thought on why and how tyranny rises in any given society and all of them miss the mark in terms of explanations, primarily because they all allow their biases to rule their conclusions and blind them to the deeper aspects of power and conspiracy. In other words, they are willing to go down the rabbit hole only so far, and then they deny that the rabbit hole even exists.

The common assumption when it comes to autocracy or oligarchy is that people are "stupid" and easily manipulated into following compelling personalities that make promises they never intend to keep. This is a foolish oversimplification. In truth, the level of manipulation needed to lure a majority of people into dictatorship is so complex that it requires an advanced understanding of human psychology.

In our modern era, people cannot merely be ordered to submit at gunpoint, at least not right away. They must be tricked into conforming, and not only that, but they must be made to think that it was THEIR IDEA all along. Without this dynamic of self censorship and self enslavement, the population will eventually rebel no matter how oppressive the regime. A thousand year tyranny cannot exist unless a number of people are conned into applauding it, or, they directly benefit from it.
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