Threat Matrix 2021

Threat Matrix is a thread where global and domestic threats and trends to America are noted and commented on. Goal it to peel back the BS and get to the root of things.

10,000 foot overview -
biden’s abandonment of Afghanistan has caused well deserved concern by our various allies across the world. NATO is wondering if it can count on the US, same goes for Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel. Instead of the ‘adults being back in charge’ it is being noted globally that there is a total vacuum of leadership coming out of the WH. In fact as noted below, he hasn’t even contacted any other world leader on the subject. This has created an exceptionally dangerous period for the world as hostile nations are likely to take advantage of American weakness and floundering efforts in Kabul to advance their agenda.
What is equally concerning is biden’s behavior during this crisis. The silence out of the WH is LOUD, even with the disastrous address. Not even contacting allied leaders. He runs back to his ‘vacation’ essentially showing no concern for the Americans caught up in this cluster fark. Is there pressure internally on biden to step down? Certainly he has completely torpedoed his chances for a second term and likely the same for the democrats to maintain control of the House and Senate in 2022. Has the pressure finally caused what’s left of his mental abilities to snap and his staff are trying to cover for him? His actions (or inactions) for the remainder of this week may reveal the extent this has crumpled his ‘presidency’. Certainly the potential for a presidential ‘crisis’ is skyrocketing, with potential scenarios running amuck.
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Wuhan virus -
Much wuhan news is shifting to Globalism / Great Reset because of the underlying political nature of the ongoing nonsense.

Reported infections continue to rise. According to Reuters, COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday were over 1000, numbers last seen in April, largely due to the highly infectious delta variant spreading rapidly throughout the country. There are reported to be over 1900 hospitalized children, making up about 2.4% of the country’s COVID-19 hospitalizations.

There are increased reporting of ‘breakthrough’ infections of those ‘fully vaxxed’

New Zealand has gone into lockdown over one new infection.
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Globalism / Great Reset -
The University of Washington Medical Center denied organ transplants to patients who refuse a COVID vaccine as early as June 2021. And hospital officials refuse to answer basic questions about their policy. Media inquiries have received no response.
NOTE - Remember all the globalist supporters wanting to make it ‘difficult’ to refuse the jab, even to the point of refusing medical support. This likely represents the tip of the iceberg of what’s coming.

Battle of masks in schools rages across the nation. School boards in many cases refuse to hear parent’s arguments against masks and install mask requirements ‘just to be on the safe side’, ignoring the science that shows they aren’t effective, plus ignoring that the virus causes very little threat to those 17 and under.

Cryptocurrency lobbyists are working with the House to soften new tax rules and regulations. Currently, any crypto transaction over $10,000 would require special notification to the IRS. The Blockchain Association’s executive director believes they have momentum on the House side as there is far more interest in cryptocurrencies there than in the Senate.
NOTE - crypto/digital currency is a key component of the Great Resetters. One more control on the way people can by and sell as well as controlling what they can by/sell.
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Economy -
More than 7 million Americans are in jeopardy of losing their unemployment aid immediately after Labor Day. Gig workers and other unemployed Americans who qualified for pandemic relief programs will stop getting checks on Sept. 7, along with the $300 weekly federal supplement to traditional jobless benefits. Congressional action is required BY LAW for any extension, however biden administration has consistently thrown out the law in favor of its own agendas.

Southwest US farmers and urbanites are facing water cut offs from Colorado River supplies as Lakes Mead and Powell dry up. Outlook is that this will seriously increase groundwater withdrawal, which is a very limited resource too, probably resulting in increased surface settlement and other problems.
NOTE - This in all likelihood could set off water wars over claims and distribution of supplies.

In response to biden’s begging, OPEC has replied that it has no intention of bolstering its oil production further before 2022. High oil prices historically have hamstrung economic recoveries and in the case of this wuhan inspired mess, really hurting global recovery. The rejection by OPEC demonstrates the lack of negotiating strength the U.S. has with the international community.

Ongoing drought conditions have continued to impact US crop yields. According to the U.S.Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest crop tour, soybeans in good to excellent condition dropped three percentage points from the previous week to 57%. The figure missed analyst estimates of 60%. USDA found that corn in the same condition fell two percentage points to 62%, missing expectations of 64%. Combined with global crop failures and crises, the outlook is for continued high food prices in the US as well as globally.
In related, the 21% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding indicates that the govt is expecting continued high food inflation rates.

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Invasion of Illegals -
Buried by the Afghanistan fiasco, illegal immigration continues essentially unabated at the border.
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Biden watch -
biden’s 20 minuted teleprompter based speech on Afghanistan has been was branded “one of the most shameful” in American history as he was accused of “washing his hands” of desperate Afghans. With continued chaos and tens of thousands of endangered US citizens, biden then went off to enjoy his vacation.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
BLM/Antifa continue to largely focus on support to more peaceful protests by environmentalist and social justice elements. Only constant hot zones like urban Kaliforina, Portland and Seattle can violence be expected.
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CYBER/CANCEL CULTURE FRONT -
Taliban keep their twitter account while Trump is still banned. . . . .
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POLITICAL FRONT -
Media outlets across the political divide in the US and Britain have united in their condemnation over Joe Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan crisis amid what is being billed the biggest foreign policy catastrophe in 65 years. Even Left-wing outlets such as CNN and The New York Times - who have been among Biden’s biggest cheerleaders - hit out at him for his role in allowing insurgents to take Kabul after routing Afghan forces in just a week, calling it a debacle and a political disaster. Politico wrote an article claiming biden had a ‘chip on his shoulder’ and ignored the recommendations of the pentagon.

OBSERVATION - The left wing media denouncement of biden is almost unprecedented. However, the media said nothing of his now totally failed plans over the past month - just shock and awe that it fell apart hard.

Getting ever worse, the lead inspector general for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan stated in a report published on May 18—which focused on activities in Afghanistan in the first quarter of this year—that: “The Defense Intelligence Agency said that the Taliban is very likely preparing for large-scale offensives against Afghan population centers and government forces.”

NOTE - Intelligence warned of this, and biden ignored the warnings.
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Domestic Terror -
The take over of Afghanistan has elevated concerns that jihidies will resume active targeting of US proper.
NOTE - Weakness, weakness, weakness are like blood in the water to terrorist sharks.
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
RUMINT - On top of all the finger pointing, there is reported dissent growing inside of the White House and the Pentagon over the feasibility of getting everyone trying to escape from Afghanistan safely out of the country. The cluster that is the current airlift is hasn’t helped the planning at all. US cannot guarantee the safe passage to the airport of US citizens, let alone Afghans seeking to leave. Continued delays in getting the airlift fully rolling are only making matters worse, considering that the Taliban may be looking at a Sept 11th deadline of all withdrawals - particularly those of the US military currently trying to get the airlift secure and functional.
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China -
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper celebrated the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban jihadist organization Sunday as a “complete humiliation” for the United States, shortly before the Foreign Ministry hinted it would be open to friendly ties with a new Taliban regime.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Tuesday launched joint live-fire assault drills in multiple locations off the coast of Taiwan.
OBSERVATION - The US economy will implode if Taiwan falls to the Communist Chinese. American economy centers around the chips, and in particular, the advanced chips designed, made, and manufactured in Taiwan. biden’s Afghanistan fiasco has displayed incredible weakness of US foreign policy and resolve and has greatly increased the possibility of China using it to make a quick strike at Taiwan while we are mired in this mess.
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Israel -
See Syria airstrike
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Iran -
The deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has said that the US escaped from Afghanistan humiliated, and other US bases in the Middle East will “soon meet the same fate”
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Lebanon -
Lebanon’s Christian Kataeb Party called on Monday to prepare for a field confrontation to bring down the Lebanese government “by all available means,” . The party, which played an important role in the Lebanese Civil War, called on Lebanese President Michel Aoun and the entire Lebanese parliament to resign and called on the United Nations Security council to hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Lebanon.
“The Lebanese are subjected to a genocide carried out by a criminal group. Thus, support must be provided for them so as to stand socially and economically during these difficult circumstances until the parliamentary elections are held and a democratic transition is secured under an international supervision,” read a statement issued by the Kataeb Political Bureau following its weekly meeting in Saifi.

OBSERVATION - Tensions continue to rise due to the continued meltdown of the Lebanese economy and the desperate situation of the citizens. Given that the Lebanese govt is seen as essentially a puppet of Hezebollah, that anger is increasingly being directed towards them. In the past Hezebollah has violently put down any protests against them and had govt support doing so. This is no longer the case. As with the Druze refusal to allow Hezebollah to fire rockets from their villages, renewed civil war would seriously affect its operations and preparations as anti-govt elements would seize on the opportunity to target Hezebollah stockpiles to shore up their efforts. Additionally, should Hezebollah try to launch its offensive against Israel, Mossad and other intelligence outlets will have enhanced sources for real time targeting of Hezebollah assets and leadership.
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Syria -
Syrian state media is reporting that the Israeli military has launched a new missile strike this evening targeting near the village of Hadar in Syria’s Quneitra Province. Israel announced it targeted an observation post being used by the Syria’s 90th Brigade. Following the strike the Israeli army dropped leaflets in the area, warning the 90th that Hezbollah, and its local commander Hajj Hashem are using their positions.
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Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -
Chaos continues.

Not only has the biden administration gone into silent mode towards the US, it has also been silent towards allies. “He has not yet spoken with any other world leaders,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in response to a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a press briefing Tuesday.

OBSERVATION - This is totally unprecedented! An international disaster of this magnitude and he is silent towards our allies? I thought the adults were suppose to be in charge.

US govt estimates that there are between 10,000 - 40,000 American citizens stranded in country. This has created HUGE potential for a mass hostage situation if the Taliban simply refuses to permit Americans and other Westerners to get to the Kabul airport. This would be orders of magnitude larger than Carter’s Iranian hostage crisis. US claims it has worked out a deal with the Taliban for the safe passage to the airport of US and other nationals, but there are conflicting reports on just how ‘cooperative’ Taliban forces have been.

That “cooperation” appears to have a definite shut off point. A senior spokesperson for the Taliban has warned that the US military personnel in Afghanistan must be gone by September 11, after Washington redeployed soldiers to watch over the evacuation.
The US must remove all its troops from Afghanistan by September 11, Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban’s political office and negotiation team in Qatar, told Sky News. Shaheen said the militants remain committed to not attacking US servicemen, and their immediate goal is to maintain security and prevent incidents around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Situation at the Kabul airport continues to be a mess. At least 17 people injured in stampede near the gates of Kabul’s airport this morning. Taliban have surrounded the airport, erected checkpoints and are preventing people from entering. RUMiNT from tweets suggest that air traffic into and out of the airport is at a very low level, with few apparently being evacuated out.

In its defeat of Afghan military forces, the Taliban came into possession of a considerable amount of US military supplies ranging from rifles to armored vehicles, tanks, helicopters and sophisticated drones. This is being likened to the capture of similar material by ISIS during its takeover of large areas of Syria and Iraq under 0bama.

US is also granting many Afghans priority on evacuation over US citizens. This as Taliban have started going door to door seeking out those who supported the previous government, pulling them out and shooting them in the streets. They are also confiscating any guns/weapons the civilians may have. In related, the US is reportedly preparing to house tens of thousands of Afghani refugees at military bases in the US. Afghans have to run the gauntlet as videos are coming out showing Taliban fighters beating Afghans on their way to the Kabul airport.

US has frozen nearly $9.5 Billion in Afghani Central Bank assets.
NOTE - Hmmm, could be used if the Taliban start a hostage scenario.

The civil war has resumed with reports that a new ‘Northern Alliance’ fighting out of the Parwan province in Afghanistan has liberated several towns from Taliban control.
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Middle East General -
Muslim nations in the ME are still assessing to various degrees the conquering of Afghanistan by the Taliban and the disastrous US condition. Some are buddying up to the Tali, while others are being more conservative in their responses. My overall assessment is to expect increased instability throughout the middle east.
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South America General-
Peru’s Socialist President Castillo is seeking to nationalize the copper and gas industries. Nationalizing natural resources is exactly what Chavez did in Venezuela when he came to power and we all can see just how well that turned out. Meanwhile, copper analysts see an opportunity to expand as the metal’s use in “green tech” continues to increase. Copper demand is expected to nearly double in the coming years.
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The tempo of global events seem to have accelerated over the past couple of weeks. Like the cork has been pulled out of the bottle.
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Wuhan virus -
Biden administration said Tuesday it plans to extend mask mandates for travelers on airplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through January 18 amid concern over the highly-transmissible delta variant. The current TSA transportation mask order had been set to expire on September 13.

The U.K. survey, run by the University of Oxford and the Office for National Statistics and published Thursday in a preprint, analyzed more than 3 million PCR tests from a random sample of people for a detailed picture of infection patterns as delta became the dominant variant this year. The result show that COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against the delta variant.
OBSERVATION - Might be a stretch, but could the virus mutation be due to the pseudo vaccines and those jabbed and not the unjabbed population? Some scientists and researchers think so.

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Globalism / Great Reset -
The Scottish National Party (SNP) announced a 12-week public consultation on removing the expiration date of the leftist government’s ability to enforce wide-ranging lockdown measures, also apparently broadening them beyond the scope of dealing with the Chinese coronavirus. This will make them essentially “permanent”.

Biden administration issued a new regulation through the Department of Health and Human Services that would make Medicare and Medicaid funding for nursing homes conditional on their staff being vaccinated. The new requirements, which will be drafted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, could take effect as early as next month, the officials said.

OBSERVATION - This is tracking along the medical coercion path. It is only one more step to require patients receiving medical assistance via Medicare or Medicaid to be jabbed to continue to qualify for services. Already seeing medical services denied at a Washington hospital as well as choruses of the covid cultists calling for increased insurance rates and denial of VA services to unjabbed.

Govt supported mandates by businesses for its employees to receive the jab or find another job are receiving a lot of push back. Recently, the Pilots association have filed suit against airline policies requiring the jab. Nurses unions are pushing back after in one case more than 150 hospital workers fired by Houston Methodist hospital. Tyson food workers are pushing back. In response to biden’s requirement for all nursing home staff to be jabbed, the National Association of Health Care Assistants predicts this will alienate around 20-30% of the workforce.

OBSERVATION - Some commentaries suggest that a game of ‘chicken’ is developing. Businesses looking to enforce the jab mandate are facing the reality that a substantial number of their employees will not comply - to the extent that firing them would cripple the company.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is launching a program called “Vax Verify” that asks residents to verify and download a receipt of their vaccination status. Vax Verify will be contracting with consumer credit reporting company Experian, which will use an “identity verification process to gain access to their immunization history.”
NOTE - Connection to Experian is just one step away from a social credit system similar to China and exerting greater control on the population to comply on wuhan as well as other leftist measures.

The Government of Australia will be building what they call a “mandatory quarantine accommodation” which is set to open its first phase in “early 2022.” This will be the second of such facilities in the country and when it is finished it will be able to hold up to 3,000 in isolation as they quarantine. From its quarantine website “With COVID-19 quarantine requirements expected to continue in some form at least over the next two to three years, the Victorian Government has further committed to investigating alternative models of mandatory quarantine, including purpose-built Alternative Quarantine Accommodation outside of Melbourne’s Central Business District.”
NOTE - some likening it to an internment camp.
Coming to the US? CDC has already published an approach that discusses building these types of covid-internment camps, using terms like “green zone”
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/global-covid-19/shielding-approach-humanitarian.html

More pressure to get the jab. Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University announced that it will impose fines and WiFi restrictions on students who cannot, or will not, provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination by the beginning of the fall semester.
The university imposed mandatory vaccination for students and staff returning to on-campus learning. In an email sent to students, school leadership stated that approximately 600 students have yet to fulfill the vaccination mandates, or at least they have yet to upload a copy of their COVID-19 vaccination record. “Our goal is to protect the health of our entire community,” the email obtained by a local news outlet reads. “In order to accomplish this, we must know if you have been vaccinated.”
Quinnipiac University has imposed strict fines for students who fail to upload their proof of vaccination. Charges could rack up to $2,275 per person per semester. The university also announced a tiered fine system. Fees start at $100 per week for the first two weeks of the semester. The fees increase incrementally by $25 every two weeks proof of vaccination is not on file. The maximum fine imposed per week is $200. Unvaccinated students are required to participate in “weekly, on-campus testing.” Failure to comply with the testing guidelines will result in a $100 fine. (TDW)

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Economy -
Toyota is to slash worldwide vehicle production by 40% in September because of the global microchip shortage.
The world’s biggest carmaker had planned to make almost 900,000 cars next month, but has now reduced that to 540,000 vehicles.
Volkswagen, the world’s second-biggest car producer, has warned it may also be forced to cut output further as well.

Supply chain disruptions are continuing to rip through numerous other sectors of the economy. Increasing port shutdowns in China are increasing the delays. Trucking companies are desperate for drivers. Businesses are desperate for products.
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Biden watch -
President Biden has been slammed for the ‘bald-faced lie’ that chaos in Kabul during the final stages of the US withdrawal was inevitable after saying for months it was not.

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, when asked about images of Afghans falling from a C17, biden snapped “The was four days ago! Five days ago!” Reality - it was only two days ago.

Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 @JackPosobiec · Tweeted “ Biden telling staff he wants to go back to Delaware. Hasn’t been sleeping well this week. Thinks he will be more functional if he stays over at home in Wilmington.” Thursday afternoon, biden departed the WH for his home in Delaware for an extended weekend.
OBSERVATION - Red flags all over this. A crisis of epic proportions and he is checking out of the net - again. People with mental illnesses also have one or more sleep disorders. And those who only suffer from sleep disorders are likely to develop a mental illness because the brain doesn’t get to process emotions and memories properly. (duck duck go it). More evidence that biden is speeding around the corner and his mental stability (what little is left of it) is fading fast.

RUMINT that kamala et al are testing the waters of to invoke the 25th Amendment. For the 25th Amendment to be invoked, a majority of the Cabinet would need to vote to remove the President for inability to fulfill the duties of the office. With 24 Cabinet members, including Harris, her team would need 12 others to join them. Then, they would need a supermajority in both the House and Senate to make it stick.
OBSERVATION - That would set up a major war within the democrats party. This crisis has many democrat congress critters loudly speaking out against biden’s policy failure. However, there is a group that has been plotting the removal of harris as well. If she pulls the trigger on the 25th a substantial fight could occur and a constitutional crisis instigated.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
Justice Department filed a statement of interest in an ongoing lawsuit in Cole County, Missouri, saying the state’s Second Amendment Preservation Act, also known as “HB85,” should be declared unconstitutional and that the court should issue a injunction barring its enforcement. The Justice Department’s court filing marks the latest move by Attorney General Merrick Garland to quash executive orders or laws in red states that clash with the enforcement of federal laws.
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
biden has said US troops may stay in Afghanistan beyond his withdrawal deadline of the end of this month, because of evacuation operations. Conflict may occur if those troops are present past the Sep 11 deadline reportedly set by the Taliban.
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China -
Officials from Japan and Taiwan are set to convene for bilateral talks that will feature joint security concerns for the first time amid China’s military and “gray-zone” coercion directed at both countries, according to a Japan Times report on Wednesday. Like most countries in the world, Japan has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, despite maintaining strong cultural and economic ties with the island. But unlike the U.S., Japan is not typically viewed as one of Taipei’s security partners.

OBSERVATION - The threat posed by China to the region is causing countries there to set aside historical barriers/hate and look to start working together - absent the US. Noting that his occurred after the who debacle of Afghanistan, I believe initial moves started before. American weakness is probably going to accelerate regional cooperation against the Chinese.
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Israel -
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to meet President Biden at the White House next Thursday in midst of Afghanistan crisis.
Bennett will also make an official state visit to Egypt, the first in a decade, thought to part of an attempt by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to cool down tensions over Gaza.
OBSERVATION - some see this as Sisi trying to shore up support against radical islam being set loose by the new president of Iran and the Taliban take over of Afghanistan.
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Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -

Former Afghan President Ghani is in the UAE according to the UAE’s Foreign Ministry.

Intel by the DIA was documented warning of a rapid collapse of the Afghan govt. Now trying to avoid being tossed under the bus, CIA sources are trying to tell NBC news that they warned about the collapse too. The Pentagon is also pushing back, asserting again that they warned biden as well.
NOTE - IMHO many of these new leaks are just CYA. Note that the media was complicit in its silence as well. These spineless wonders just could find the courage to stand up to the demented one.
FURTHER NOTE - There is a remote chance that this might be positioning reflecting a potential biden resignation/removal. As screwed up as biden is, things would change much with an even more clueless harris. (See Biden watch)

Taliban forces have been making it increasingly difficult for refugees to reach the Kabul airport. Overnight, Taliban fired shots into the air to scatter Afghans attempting to reach the airport. To make matters worse, the few aircraft coming into the airport are departing largely empty. According to a White House official, since last night’s update, the US military evacuated approximately 1,800 individuals on 10 C-17s. Since August 14, we have evacuated nearly 6,000 people,”.
NOTE - that is far below the capacity of C17s as well as far below the announced 5000 per day when this cluster began.

Getting citizens into the airport who are trapped in the city/country side presents challenges. The British have been running armed patrols into Kabul to pick up its citizens and take them to the airport. Even French RAID operators (police special forces) have been making runs in Kabul to retrieve French citizens and others and get them safely to the airport.

Meanwhile, Sec Def says it is impossible for them to rescue citizens. US Citizens stranded in Kabul are now being urged to take the risk to get to the airport - but no US help to get them there safely. During a Wednesday press briefing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan has the capability to extract some Americans in extreme circumstances, but not to gather up large groups of Americans who cannot get to the U.S.-controlled airport in Kabul. Apparently blowback has kicked the DOD in the rear and now they are evaluating using helicopters to reach US citizens.

OBSERVATION - Its hard to read the ineptness of the pampered princes in the pentagon and not start screaming. We are more than a week into this and they HAVE NO PLANS. If they had spent more time preparing scenario responses rather than wokeness and ideological purges they would be ready. Making matters worse, Biden’s State Department moved to cancel a program aimed at providing swift and safe evacuations of Americans out of crisis zones just months prior to the fall of Kabul. The “Contingency and Crisis Response Bureau” – which was designed to handle medical, diplomatic, and logistical support concerning Americans overseas. It was aimed at providing swift and safe evacuations of Americans out of crisis zones.
RUMINT - Special Ops forces are reportedly on the ground and may be tasked to escort/rescue trapped US citizens.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Afghanistan will no longer be able to access the lender’s resources.
The move follows the Taliban’s takeover of the country last weekend. An IMF spokesperson said it was due to “lack of clarity within the international community” over recognizing a government in Afghanistan. Resources of over $370m (£268m) from the IMF had been set to arrive on 23 August. These funds were part of a global IMF response to the economic crisis.
OBSERVATION - These funds as well as those frozen by the US will likely come into play if/when the Taliban start taking western hostages.

In a level of greater insanity, in its budget request for fiscal year 2022, the White House included $3.3 billion for Afghan security forces to be paid out via the Department of Defense’s Afghanistan Security Forces Fund. That money would flow to the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, Afghan Air Force and the Afghan Special Security Forces - elements that collapsed under the Taliban assault. The WH has also requested $364 million go toward development assistance via the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development.
NOTE - There is no report of the WH removing that request from the budget.
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The Taliban is back in power. These are their leaders
August 19, 2021

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Taliban’s top leaders made a triumphal return to Afghanistan earlier this week, taking a flight from their exile in Qatar to Kabul after their fighters’ lightning victory over the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

As the fundamentalist Islamic group picks up the reins of power, Afghans — not to mention the rest of the world — must contend with a leadership that remains for many an unknown quantity.

Here is a glance at Afghanistan’s new overseers:

Haibatullah Akhundzada
When a drone strike in May 2016 felled then-Taliban head Mullah Akhtar Mohamad Mansour, his deputy, Haibatullah Akhundzada became the Supreme Commander and the so-called “Emir of the Believers.”

As Supreme Commander, Akhundzada is tasked with overseeing the Taliban’s political, religious and military affairs. Nevertheless, although he presided over its takeover of Afghanistan, his history in the Taliban — where he rose to head the group’s judicial system — indicates that he is less a military commander than a religious scholar.

That said, Akhundzada’s jihadi credentials are unquestioned. He is thought to have been born in 1961 in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, the Taliban’s birthplace, and is considered a unifying figure who maintained the group’s cohesion after his predecessor’s killing. His son also trained as a suicide bomber, and the Taliban claimed he took part in a daring attack on an Afghan security outpost in 2017.

Still, it remains unclear if Akhundzada will actually become the head of a Taliban government or leave it to other members of the group’s upper echelons to take charge; he hasn’t been seen in public for years, leading to speculation that he may not even be alive.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
Arguably the most well-known of the Taliban leadership, Baradar was one of the four co-founders of the group, and his progression matches the arc of the Taliban’s rise-and-fall-and-rise-again.

In November 2001, as U.S. warplanes pounded the Taliban, he was reported to have taken then-Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar on motorcycle across the border to Pakistan. He is also believed to have tried to broker the group’s surrender to newly appointed Afghan President Hamid Karzai. When that surrender was rejected, he turned to organizing an insurgency.

In 2010, Pakistani authorities arrested him. He was released eight years later at the urging of Washington, and became the Taliban’s chief negotiator in the Qatari capital, Doha.>[? After the group steamrolled into Kabul on Sunday, it was Baradar who gave the victory speech from Doha.

“There was no expectation that we would achieve victory in this war,” he said, exhorting his fighters to “be humble before God” and not “act arrogantly.”

“Now it will be shown how we can serve our nation. We can assure that our nation has a peaceful life and a better future.”

Two days later, he was in Kandahar for a hero’s welcome, with thousands of fighters and residents greeting him with cheers, fireworks and volleys from machine guns.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob
As pedigrees go for potential Taliban leaders, Yaqoob’s is unparalleled: He’s the eldest son of Mullah Omar, the one-eyed cleric who was the main founder of the Taliban.

Believed to be in his 30s, Yaqoob had the support of a number of Taliban figures who thought he should be the one to succeed Mansour in 2016. Instead, he was appointed to head the Taliban’s military commission, which ostensibly puts him in charge of the group’s military operations.

Earlier this week, it was Yaqoob who issued a statement barring fighters from entering houses or accosting those who were involved with the previous government. He, too, has not been seen in public.

Sirajuddin Haqqani
In its past, the Haqqani network, a group of militants led by Jalaludin Haqqani, became one of largest recipients of the CIA’s largesse during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

In 1995, it pledged allegiance to the Taliban, and was involved in managing affairs along the badlands of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In the years to follow, it was soon counted by Washington and NATO as one of the most fearsome of the adversaries they faced in Afghanistan.

It’s unclear when Sirajuddin Haqqani itook charge, but he is thought to have been involved in the planning of a 2008 attack on Kabul’s high-end Serena Hotel in which six people, including one American, were killed. He also confessed to have planned a suicide attack on Karzai in 2008. In 2009, the U.S. placed a $5-million reward for information leading to his capture.

His whereabouts are still unknown, but last year he penned a New York Times opinion piece in which he called for an end to hostilities, saying that the “killing and maiming must stop.”

https://thelibertyloft.com/the-taliban-is-back-in-power-these-are-their-leaders/

Good posts preceding this one by Davey Crocket and Oorang. Keeping things in context.

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Wuhan virus -
New data came out in three U.S. studies published Wednesday in the CDC publication “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report”, and the results were troubling for the provaxxers: Protection against the coronavirus from vaccines declined in July, when the highly contagious Delta variant began to dominate in the United States.

* One study, from New York, was the first to measure vaccine protection against coronavirus infection across an entire state amid the spread of the Delta variant. Researchers found a modest drop in effectiveness — from 92% in May to 80% in late July. Twenty percent of new infections and 15% of hospitalizations were among vaccinated people.

* The second report found effectiveness against infection declined for nursing home residents after Delta emerged. It dropped from 75% in March through May to 53% in June and July.

* The third study, an analysis of patients at 21 hospitals in 18 states, found steady protection against hospitalization. Effectiveness held at 86%, even in the months when Delta was raging. For adults who do not have compromised immune systems, effectiveness stayed steady at 90%.

Meanwhile Biden administration said Wednesday it will begin offering booster shots to all Americans starting Sept. 20.
The plan, which only involves the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at this point, calls for Americans to get a booster shot eight months after their second dose. The officials said they expect a booster shot will be needed for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but they are still reviewing data on it and will announce plans at a later date.

OBSERVATION - Vaccines I’ve received in my lifetime have lasted for a life time. These “vaccines” cannot provide protection for even a few months before requiring some kind of booster shot.

Since the start of the pandemic through August 18, 2021, a total of 361 children, ages 0-17, have died of COVID-involved disease, based on death certificates submitted so far to CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Those 361 children represent 0.0587 percent of the total 614,531 COVID deaths in the United States. (CNS)

Ali Mokdad from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, is indicating that the infections in Florida have peaked and appear to have started declining. He considers that hospitalizations and deaths will continue to rise for several more weeks as those metrics lag behind new cases.
NOTE - Similar pattern developing like in January when the infection rate took a nose dive and only 5% of the US received the jab at that time.

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Globalism / Great Reset -
On Wednesday, President Biden said he has directed Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to exercise full oversight authority and explore legal action against governors who attempt to prohibit school mask mandates by executive orders.
NOTE - This is setting up numerous court battles over who has authority over education matters and wuhan measures. Basically, biden is projecting that he is the ultimate authority.

Video has emerged from France showing police officers preventing people from food shopping without jab. Many note that if you control the food, you can control the people.

Biden’s proposed American Families Plan promises billions to families with children. But paying for it could have a devastating impact on family farms. That’s because the plan includes large increases in farm transfer taxes. This will essentially cause family farms to be forced to be sold. WEF goals are that there should be no property ownership and stripping property from farmers/ranchers would serve dual purpose - take control of the land as well as taking control of the food production. Again, control the food, control the people.
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Economy -
Minutes from the July Federal Reserve meeting, released Wednesday, indicate a willingness to start reducing asset purchases before the end of the year. Officials stressed that there is no link between tapering and potential interest rate hikes. Some members expressed concern over inflation, though opinions varied widely. Those minutes have caused increasing uneasiness in the markets.

The impact of Colorado water restriction are just starting to be better known. Arizona is facing a massive reduction in water for 2022 - 65% reduction. Municipalities, tribe etc will not be affected as the cuts focus on agricultural deliveries. Needless to say AZ agriculture is going to be severely impacted.
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Invasion of Illegals -
A federal judge Thursday imposed a preliminary injunction on the Biden administration’s rules that narrow the categories border agents use to arrest and deport illegal immigrants to only those with serious criminal records.
OBSERVATION - While good, it is highly unlikely that the biden administration will obey it, just like it is refusing to obey other rulings.

U.S. District Judge Miranda Du in Reno, Nevada, ruled Wednesday the law, known as Section 1326, violates the equal protection guarantees of the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment. This law makes it a crime (felony) for deported migrants to re-enter the U.S. The judge in his ruling claimed it was racist.

The U.S. Border Patrol is asking agents about volunteering to deploy to Afghanistan and nearby countries to process Afghan citizens seeking admission to the United States. This in the face of overwhelming work created at the border by biden’s open border policies.
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Biden watch -
A senior Biden administration official said Thursday that American policy on Taiwan has not changed despite Joe Biden appearing to suggest the United States would defend the island if it were attacked. In an ABC Interview, Biden grouped Taiwan in with countries that the U.S. is committed to defending. “We made a sacred commitment to Article 5 that if in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond. Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with – Taiwan. It’s not even comparable to talk about that.”
In case you are unfamiliar, Article 5 is an agreement which states that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all.
As reported by Reuters, a senior Biden official said the policy has not changed, however, and Biden simply misspoke.

The president took all public remarks, press briefings and press conferences off his schedule as he and his administration deal with the blowback from their botched troop withdrawal that saw Kabul fall into the hands of the Taliban. Biden’s now-clear press schedule also comes after his much-criticized ABC News interview on Wednesday night, when the president claimed there was no better way to get out of Afghanistan. Other than the ABC News interview, Biden has not taken any questions from the press this week.

OBSERVATION - More voices (besides myself) are sounding out that this behavior is a sign of serious mental breakdown by biden. As I’ve said before, his behavior in this crisis is UNPRECEDENTED by all metrics.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
Although the sales of firearms have begun to slow in recent months, according to the latest data U.S. gun sales in the first seven months of 2021 were 13 percent higher than over the same period last year. Ammunition availability has improved, though in nearly calibers it is still expensive, though not quite at the levels seen earlier this year.

(Reuters) - The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials. The left is in the process of trying to spin this info back into their narrative, but the current Afghan cluster is providing some cover from this info getting more widespread attention.
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CYBER/CANCEL CULTURE FRONT -
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the social media giant has removed 18 million posts containing misinformation about COVID-19, but would not say how many times the posts had been viewed or shared.

OBSERVATION - Facebook, as well as other platforms, have faced intense criticism for the spread of misinformation, especially regarding the coronavirus pandemic. This “misinformation” consists of material that runs counter to the administrations’ preferred narrative on a wide range of subjects, and not just wuhan.
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Domestic Terror -
The main gate at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico has reportedly been closed after multiple suspects attempted to force their way through it on Wednesday evening. In a news release sent to local station KTSM about 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday (1a.m. ET on Thursday), the air force base said “multiple suspects crashed their vehicle” while attempting to storm the gate, which has reportedly been closed until further notice. “Earlier this evening, multiple suspects crashed their vehicle while attempting to force their way through the gate. The capabilities of our personnel and resources ensured there is no further threat to the safety and security of Team Holloman,” the base said in a statement.
This may be an illegal immigrant issue as a later report states “A Border Patrol unit was involved in a crash while pursuing a vehicle that tried to enter Holloman Air Force Base on Wednesday night.” A Border Patrol spokesman told KTSM-TV that Border Patrol agents assigned to the Alamogordo Station were involved in a vehicle accident after a suspicious vehicle fled and tried to enter the Air Force base in Otero County, N.M.

The suspect who authorities say claimed to have a bomb in his pickup truck Thursday morning surrendered to police and is in their custody hours after parking his vehicle in front of Washington, D.C.’s Library of Congress – prompting evacuations and lockdowns in the area, Fox News can confirm. The suspect, identified as North Carolina resident Floyd Ray Roseberry from Grover, was taken into custody at about 2:15 p.m. local time – approximately five hours after police received a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in the area of Independence Avenue and First Street, officials said. Federal and local investigators have already visited Roseberry’s North Carolina home on Thursday, sources said.
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
With the USS Reagan CSG and Iwo Jima AAG in the northern Persian gulf tied to Afghan operations, the only carrier deployed in the Pacific is the USS Carl Vinson, which is currently participating in the “large exercise’ operation near Hawaii. This is leaving a big hole that China could exploit against Taiwan.
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Cyber Warfare -
Around 1.9 million terrorist watchlist records were released online, including no-fly lists, passport details and other personal information. Based on the exposed records, it appears to come from the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, which consolidates and manages counterterrorism information. The Department of Homeland Security took three weeks to remove the information from what appeared to be a Bahraini IP address.
OBSERVATION - Some are postulating that China may use this watchlist to recruit from.

T-Mobile U.S. Inc said on Friday hackers had accessed personal data of another 5.3 million wireless customers, widening the extent of a breach that has affected millions of current, former and prospective customers. The data includes address, date of birth, and phone numbers of customers, the company said, adding that it had no indication that the accessed data contained financial information such as credit card or other payment data.
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China -
Its publicity / propaganda mouthpieces are wasting no time painting the US as an unreliable ally in the wake of the Afghan dumpster fire.
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Israel -
4 civilians killed and 3 more wounded in the Israeli airstrikes last night, mayor of Qarah tells a local radio. Syrian state media said the strikes targeted areas near Damascus and Homs. The area attacked tonight has been subject to repeated Israeli airstrikes dating back to 2015. Some of those strikes reportedly targeted Hezbollah weapons shipments and Syrian positions. It is expected that these are what were targeted again.
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Iran -
See Lebanon
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Lebanon -
Hezbollah terror group chief Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday a tanker would set off from Iran “within hours” to bring desperately needed fuel supplies to Lebanon, in defiance of US sanctions. But the move, prohibited by US sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, could drag Lebanon into the covert naval war between Tehran and Israel. Since February this year, Iran and Israel have been engaged in a “shadow war” in which vessels linked to each nation have come under attack in waters around the Gulf in apparent tit-for-tat exchanges. This includes Lebanese vessels off shore, where it is suspected that Iranian tankers were offloading fuel and supplies into the smaller vessels which brought them to the ports.
NOTE - I’ve highlighted the desperate fuel shortages in Lebanon. However, one ship will not put much of a dent into it and the implied distribution plan is unlikely to really help the Lebanese, but ease critical shortages the Hezbollah are facing.
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Syria -
Israeli airstrikes - see Israel.
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Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -

biden has/is being raked over the coals like no other president in recent history - probably in all the history of the US, by western allies and other governments for his abysmal abandonment of Afghanistan AND US citizens. The administration has once again rigged for silent running, with an indefinite ‘lid’ on biden activities as he hides out in Delaware. harris (not that she matters much) is in Asia doing something to stay out of the limelight. Other administration officials sorta poking their heads up only to be smashed by formerly ‘friendly’ journalists and media.

UK military was left in the dark by the US about timings and pace of their withdrawal… UK official confirms this is the case. Biden ignored Boris Johnson’s attempts to speak on the phone for 36+ hours. No real evidence that he has made ANY significant calls to world leaders YET.

UK and US commanders got into a shouting match(s) in recent days. The reason the best I can ferret out was that the vehicular patrols the brits sent out to bring in their citizens caused concern on the US side that they were violating the agreement with the Taliban which granted them the power to ‘protect’ westerners outside the airport.

There is still no official evacuation plan by the US for getting citizens trapped outside the Kabul Airport to safety. OSINT observers note a significant uptick in flights into/out of Kabul overnight. Pentagon reported that in last 24 hours, 5,700 people evacuated from Kabul aboard 16 Air Force c-17s. That’s 356 per flight, just over max capacity and significant increase over day before. However, no reports on just how many US citizens were on board those planes. Even worse, the State Dept doesn’t even have a handle yet on just how many US citizens are trapped outside the airport. State Dept has issued a new alert in Kabul: “U.S. citizens, U.S. LPRs, and their spouses and children (under age 21) should proceed to Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) as soon as possible The United States Government cannot ensure safe passage to the airport. State Dept’s Overseas Security Advisory Council said Aug. 14: “Repatriation flights are not free, & passengers will be required to sign a promissory loan agreement & may not be eligible to renew their U.S. passports til the loan is repaid. Cost may be $2,000 or more per person.

Some desperate trapped Americans are now contacting Senators and representatives in an effort to get help evacuating. Senator Tom Cotton has put his phone number out there for those seeking help. One couple who made the dangerous trip to the airport found US soldiers reluctant to let them onto the base. Only because they contacted Sen Cotton, they were able to have the guards call a contact on the base to verify their status and let them in.

OBSERVATIONS - Trying to avoid volcanic anger. biden to Americans - you are on your own, we’ve essentially abandoned them there. And for those of you who manage to get to the airport, with little but the clothes on your back - we are hitting you up for $2000 to do our job and evacuate you.

The ‘kinder, gentler’ Taliban image they have tried to project is unraveling as teams systematically go through the country seeking former govt supporters and christians for killing (mostly by beheading).

An internal State Department cable from July, confirmed received by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, warned of a swift Taliban takeover, punching a hole in President Joe Biden’s claim he was not warned before last weekend’s Taliban insurrection, The Wall Street Journal reported. The cable was signed by 23 U.S. Embassy staffers and was delivered expeditiously, the sources added.
Blinken and Director of Policy Planning Salman Ahmad received the cable and Blinken reviewed it and welcomed the dissent, a source told the Journal.

Taliban now controls the largest source of opium / heroin in the world and are now expected to exploit that undeterred by the west.

Resistance fighters are growing in several regions of Afghanistan, much like they did under previous Taliban rule. There is press speculation that we should ‘support’ them. But if I were one of those groups, i would reject that support given the evidence of ‘support’ that resulted in the collapse of the Afghan govt. It will take a completely different administration and congress, and a lot of real actions, to convince them otherwise.
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Heads up - next week I’ll be offline more than on line due to planned medial procedure. I’ll try to keep up, but keeping alert is everyone’s responsibility.
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Wuhan virus -
The number of new Covid-19 cases on Martha’s Vineyard has surged to 158 since Obama’s 60th birthday bash on August. Another 71 cases were reported on the island this week as of Friday afternoon, in addition to the 87 recorded last week . Yet medical folks can’t seem to see any links between the two events. . . .

“A blanket humanitarian waiver has been implemented for COVID testing for all persons the US government is relocating from Afghanistan,” the state department announced.
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Globalism / Great Reset -

Thousands in Melbourne Australia and numerous other cities are rioting in the streets over the draconian wuhan lockdowns. Police have arrested 218 people, and at least seven officers were injured. Sydney residents have been under stay-at-home orders since late June. However, infections have more than doublein the past week.
NOTE - In spite of the lock down - wuhan has increased. Cause and effect - lock downs don’t work. Other consequences from the lock downs exceed any mythical benefits. But that is when logic ruled, now it is a globalist effort to break the will of the people.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans on giving full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by Monday, according to The New York Times. Sources told told The Times that the FDA had previously expected to approve the vaccine before Labor Day, but decided to expedite the timeline. The stated purpose of full approval is to push more to be jabbed.

OBSERVATION - Why is this here? Those following the discussion of mandated jabs will realize that much of the resistance is based on the fact that these pseudo vaccines are only authorized on an emergency use basis. Granting full approval - a process that would normally require years of study and testing - would strip many of those arguments away and vaxxers like Fauci are rubbing their hands in glee over the prospect for mandates for universal vaccination imposed as quickly as possible. Given the VAIERS data, it will be a stretch to say these ‘vaccines’ are safe, but the govt/media narrative is being maintained to silence/overwhelm these inconvenient facts. Those facts will likely be the basis for challenging any authorization - but that won’t prohibit the vax juggernaut from pushing forward.

Globalist/great resetters are well aware of this - According to Bloomberg, world debt now stands at $281 trillion. This is the total amount owed by governments, companies, and households. It represents 355% of global output. That’s nearly four times what the world produces in a year. This level of debt can never be paid back. Either it will end in default, or it will be paid back with devalued currency. A component of the ‘great reset’ is to close out this ‘debt’ globally - but at a cost of nations discarding their independence and submitting to the global elite leadership direction of global economy . As stated in their goals - there will be no private ownership - they will claim all of that under the auspices of vanquishing global debt.

Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee announced during a press briefing on Wednesday, Aug. 18 that Washington is now rolling out what may be the strictest school vaccine mandate in the United States. The new measure requires all teachers and school staff to be fully vaccinated against the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) by Oct. 18 as a condition for employment.

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Economy -
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh announced Thursday that President Joe Biden is authorizing states to use COVID-19 relief funds to extend enhanced federal unemployment benefits past the Sept. 6 deadline. In a Thursday letter, Yellen and Walsh informed Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Ron Wyden and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal that Biden would not be supporting legislation extending the enhanced benefits further, but pointed them to the COVID funds as an alternative. “As President Biden has said, the boost was always intended to be temporary and it is appropriate for that benefit boost to expire,” they wrote.
NOTE - This ‘benefit’ is one of the chief reasons businesses have had such a difficulty filling jobs. Many states have declined the
benefit and replace it with an incentive paid after a period of time working. Unemployment declined in the states that opted out of the enhanced benefits.

Bank of America economists on Friday cut their forecast for third quarter growth in the U.S. to 4.5 percent, a big drop from the 7 percent previously expected. This downward revision follows the Census Bureau’s weaker than expected report on July retail sales, a move which had been anticipated by the bank’s credit and debit card data showing weakening consumer spending.
In a separate note, Bank of America global economist Ethan Harris writes that “the US has in effect hit a big supply-side speedbump, traveling at 80 mph.”
Harris sites several data points indicating a U.S. slowdown:
* Supply shortages remain at severe levels, although a number of surveys suggest they are starting to level off.
* Job openings continue to set new records.
* Inventories have plunged.
* An increasing share of nominal GDP growth is being absorbed in higher prices rather than higher real GDP.
* Excess savings continue to pile up in household bank accounts.
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Invasion of Illegals -
A U.S. Supreme Court justice on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that would require Biden to reinstate a contentious immigration policy implemented by his predecessor, Republican President Donald Trump. The brief order by conservative Justice Samuel Alito puts the litigation on hold while the high court considers how to handle the Biden administration’s request seeking to impose a longer-term block on the judge’s ruling that would require the government to revive the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program.
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Biden watch -
Biden: “I Have Seen No Question of Our Credibility from Our Allies Around the World”
biden’s third ‘press conference/appearance’ was another dumpster fire. Hardly able to read the teleprompter and answer pre-submitted questions. He said it would not be necessary to send US troops into Kabul to extract trapped Americans, claiming that the Taliban was permitting airport entry to anyone holding a US passport. His grasp of facts and figures was also displayed to be very weak, claiming at one point that the afghan military was only 300 persons in size.
Addition embarrassment occurred when an NPR reporter changed his question - and biden let the cat out of the bag about pre-screened questions, total catching him flat footed.

OBSERVATION - Biden is obviously completely disconnected from the situation and not listening to his cabinet. Read below how his Sec Def openly briefed that the Taliban are assaulting US Citizens and making it virtually impossible to reach the airport.

biden was originally scheduled to go back to Delaware and resume his hiding from the world, but now because of the enormity of the blow back from the silence of his administration and incompetent responses so far has changed plans again and is staying in DC.
NOTE - the fact that he would even CONSIDER being any place other than the WH during this crisis shows a level of detachment that may well be symptomatic of mental breakdown.

Further example of the depths the biden administration has abdicated its responsibilities for the Afghan debacle - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed earlier this week that after the Taliban took Kabul, he spoke not with Joe Biden or even Kamala Harris, but with Hillary Clinton instead.
OBSERVATION - Could this this be a harbinger of the behind the scenes maneuvering.

Following biden’s disastrous press conference Friday, VP harris beat feet out of town as quickly as possible.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
To replace the police department, Minneapolis is planning to replace it with a public safety department. The department would use a “comprehensive public health approach” and include licensed peace officers “if necessary.” It would also no longer be under the sole control of the mayor’s office, giving greater oversight to the city council.
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POLITICAL FRONT -
Democratic leaders, including – most notably – Nancy Pelosi - refuse to let go of the notion that the Jan. 6 “attack” on the Capitol was a terror attack on par with 9/11 or the Pulse nightclub shootings. Why? Because, they claim, the whole siege was planned and perpetrated by shadowy militia groups like the Oath Keepers, working in concert with Republican lawmakers. the FBI has apparently determined that there’s “scant evidence” to suggest that the events of Jan. 6 resulted from an “organized plot”, according to a scoop published by Reuters.

MOVED HERE TO BETTER DOCUMENT THE POLITICAL FALLOUT -
At a July 21, 2021 press conference, Gen. Milley told the media, “The Afghan Security Forces have the capacity to sufficiently fight and defend their country, and we will continue to support the Afghan Security Forces where necessary in accordance with the guidance from the president and the secretary of defense.”
At the same press conference, Defense Secretary Austin said, “Our drawdown continues in a safe and orderly manner, and we’re still on track to finish up by the end of August.”
“The president has made a decision that we’re going to get it done, and we’re going to get it done right,” said Austin.
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China -
As the US meltdown over Afghanistan continues, China is reading the tea leaves and seeing US deterrence against an attempt to seize Taiwan dissipate. Chinese propaganda outlets openly saying “From what happened in Afghanistan, they should perceive that once a war breaks out in the Straits, the island’s defense will collapse in hours and the U.S. military won’t come to help.”
NOTE - absent Chinese propaganda, US actions (or lack thereof) over Afghanistan has cause doubt in the minds of many nations around the world of US promises to support them.
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Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -

WARNING - INFURIATING INFORMATION FOLLOWS.
Congressman Thomas Massie claims that on a call with Sec. of State Blinken, Sec. of Defense Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, he and other Congress members were told that Americans were beaten by the Taliban, news which President Biden has not reported publicly. Austin called it “unacceptable.”
“A source tells me, ‘Situation [in Afghanistan] is rapidly deteriorating… We’ve had Americans get beaten throughout the night,’” Sasha Ingber, a reporter for Newsy, wrote on Twitter. “One of them, an American woman, was beaten ‘twice’ even though she was carrying a U.S. passport.”
NOTE - Anger reaching volcanic levels. What is this dipstick doing or more appropriately NOT doing. Its bad enough US citizens have been trapped by his (and the rest of the biden admin) malfeasance, but to know about beating and do NOTHING. . . . . .

Reports coming out of Kabul that US Military exited Hamid Karzai International Airport to rescue 169 Americans outside the perimeter of airport. Pentagon spokesman says three chinooks were used to pick up 169 Americans on Thursday from a hotel nearby Kabul airport. The plan had been for them to walk through the gates but were unable. These are the 169 Americans Biden was referring to in his speech earlier.
This is the face of the latest warning of “potential security threats” outside Kabul airport. “We are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time.”
NOTE - US govt has been pretty quiet on just how many of the thousands of US citizens are still trapped. 167 is a start. This operation is probably why things have gotten tense around the airport - the Taliban lost face.

Biden told key allies in June that he would maintain enough of a security presence in Afghanistan to ensure they could continue to operate in the capital following the main U.S. withdrawal, a vow made before the Taliban’s rapid final push across the country, according to a British diplomatic memo seen by Bloomberg.
Biden promised U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, England, that “critical U.S. enablers” would remain in place to keep Kabul safe following the drawdown of NATO forces, the note said. British officials determined the U.S. would provide enough personnel to ensure that the U.K. embassy in Kabul could continue operating.

Meanwhile - Taliban continue to seek out those who worked with the US/Coalition forces for execution. Women and girls being taken for sex slaves / child brides. Christians specifically targeted for execution. this is your kinder, gentler Taliban biden is talking about.
Meanwhile, the new “Northern Alliance” is strengthening to oppose Taliban rule.
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Misc of Note -
The National Hurricane Center issued a rare hurricane watch for parts of New England as Henri strengthened to an ‘almost hurricane’ with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph as of Friday afternoon, just shy of the 74 mph winds needed to reach hurricane strength. It is set to make landfall on New England Sunday as a category 1 Hurricane.
OBSERVATION - This region is not set up to handle hurricanes. Case in point - Hurricane Sandy of a few years back. Some forecasters are suggesting that conditions are ripe for an ever stronger hurricane making land fall. The clock is ticking, but even under current conditions and forecasts, this is expected to be historic in nature.
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Heads up - next week I’ll be offline more than on line due to planned medial procedure. Thanks to all for their concerns. More specifically I’m having a knee replacement - something i’ve been trying to get for over 10 years. Once up and running on the new knee plans are to have the other replaced too.
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Wuhan virus -

FDA is still expected to approve Pfizer pseudo vaccine for non emergency use. As noted, this will be used by the vaxxer cult to try leverage more mandatory jabs.

Data released recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that between Dec. 14, 2020 and Aug. 13, 2021, a total of 595,622 total adverse events were reported to VAERS, including 13,068 deaths — an increase of 702 over the previous week. There were 81,050 reports of serious injuries, including deaths, during the same time period — up 10,945 compared with the previous week. For the week ending Aug 21 for 12- to 17-year-olds there were 17,025 total reported adverse events, including 1,018 rated as serious and 18 reported deaths. Two of the eighteen deaths were suicides.

NOTE - Since the start of the pandemic through August 18, 2021, a total of 361 children, ages 0-17, have died of COVID-involved disease

Most blue surgical face masks used by many during the pandemic are not enough to avoid people from being infected with COVID-19, an alarming new study has found. The study from the University of Waterloo in Canada showed N95 or KN95 masks did the best job in containing aerosol droplets from the wearer’s mouth. The blue, cloth surgical masks that have become popular during the pandemic were found be only 10 percent effective as it doe not cover the face properly. (Daily Mail)

Israel continues to be a canary in the mine as far as the pseudo vaccines go. Evaluation of the data under the last wuhan ‘surge’ clear is that “breakthrough” cases are not the rare events the term implies. As of 15 August, 514 Israelis were hospitalized with severe or critical COVID-19, a 31% increase from just 4 days earlier. Of the 514, 59% were fully vaccinated. Of the vaccinated, 87% were 60 or older. “There are so many breakthrough infections that they dominate and most of the hospitalized patients are actually vaccinated,” says Uri Shalit, a bioinformatician at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) who has consulted on COVID-19 for the government. “One of the big stories from Israel [is]: ‘Vaccines work, but not well enough.’”

Bloomberg article confesses - “Anecdotes tell us what the data can’t: Vaccinated people appear to be getting the coronavirus at a surprisingly high rate.” “It’s quite clear that we have more breakthroughs now,” said Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco. “We all know someone who has had one. But we don’t have great clinical data.”
OBSERVATION - Not going after the data because it would lead to results contrary to the desired narrative.
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Biden watch -
biden is going to go before the cameras a fourth time this Sunday afternoon to address Afghanistan. His previous appearances have been disasters. Unless he does a major mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, it will be more of the same disjointed rants, denials and obfuscations.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
Portland BLM/Antifa violence this weekend
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
US military has put commercial airlines on standby that they’ll likely be needed to run flights from transit hubs (not Kabul) for Afghan evacuees. They are being activated under the Civil Reserve Air Fleet act. Airlines would be asked to run flights not from Kabul but from bases around the region, such as in Qatar and Bahrain, where thousands of evacuees are being held and are currently pushing capacity limits. See more discussion under Afghanistan
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Cyber Warfare -
The State Department was been hit by a cyber attack, and notifications of a possible serious breach were made by the Department of Defense Cyber Command. It is unclear when the breach was discovered, but it is believed to have happened a couple weeks ago.
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Israel -
Overnight IAF targeted 4 Hamas facilities in Gaza used for storage and production of weapons. Air strikes reportedly in response to the critical injury of a border police officer on the fence and rioting by Palestinian men. Iron Dome batteries being prepared and moved south, Gaza division reinforced with 2 companies from the 1st Battalion and 3 teams from Maglan unit (operate behind enemy lines and in Operation Guardian of the Walls reportedly used Spike anti-tank guided missiles against MLRS launchers)
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Syria -
Russia and pro-assad forces continue to attack Daraa and Idlib regions with varying intensity depending on the day.
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Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - WARNING - INFURIATING INFORMATION FOLLOWS.

Evacuations continue with partially filled aircraft. As note above, biden is looking to activate commercial aircraft under the Civil Reserve Air Fleet Act. As noted above, these aircraft would not fly into Kabul but into refugee staging areas, hauling afghan refugees, not US citizens. In the last 24 hours, 6 US military C-17s and 32 charters departed Kabul with the total passenger count for those 38 flights ~3,800, according to the WH. 17,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul since Aug. 14, 2,500 are American.

Now in addition to British and French patrols into Kabul to secure and rescue citizens, German Army’s elite Kommando Spezialkrafte, or Special Forces Command have been mobilized and preparing to do the same for German citizens.
Allies are pressuring the US to extend evacuations beyond the end of August. EU and UK officials say it will be impossible to evacuate everyone by the end of the month. No word if biden is going to extend. Taliban have already threatened retaliation if US presence continues past Aug 31st. UK has said they will be staying as long as there are citizens to be rescued.

The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is telling personnel not to personally assist “friends and former colleagues” stuck in Afghanistan, according to an internal email obtained by the Daily Caller. These colleagues are at high risk for execution by the Taliban as collaborators .

Contrary to biden administration pronouncements, New York Post reported the Taliban is “now attempting to take their U.S. passports and identification orders in an attempt to stop them from leaving the country.” Additionally, in all its brilliance, the State Dept emailed thousands of ‘fill in the blank’ visa and other documents for evacuees.

Investigating - RUMINT reports are allegedly coming in from French intelligence that ISIS has entered the Kabul Airport. Other reports of soldiers firing at unidentified targets, further RUMINT was that it was at the alleged ISIS infiltrators.
The US is tracking specific threats from ISIS against Kabul Airport and against Americans and others trying to get to the airport, according to two defense officials. However, mixed messages continue out of the biden WH. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby refused to answer a question at a press conference on Saturday about whether terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda were operating outside the gates at the Kabul airport. This after Biden claimed there were no threats at the Kabul airport.

Conditions continue to deteriorate among the crush of people trying to get into the airport and out of the country. Taliban routinely pass through and terrorize them, others are reportedly passing out and/or being crushed by the crowds. Reports from British officers at the airport say this is the worst situation theyve ever seen. More Afghans died overnight outside the airport, trying to get in.

Taliban do have a new fight on their hands. Anti-Taliban forces centered in the Panjshir Valley/ province have retaken Banu and Pol-e-Hesar districts from the Taliban. They are advancing towards the Deh Salah district. The anti-Taliban groups say they killed dozens of Taliban fighters and captured about 20 others in the defeat. Banu and Pol-e-Hesar districts from the Taliban. They are advancing towards the Deh Salah district. Panjshir has always been a hotbed of anti-Taliban resistance going back to before the U.S. invasion. When the U.S. arrived, it was fighters from Panjshir who smoothed the way for our special forces to enter the country and start operations.
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Misc of Note -
African Islamist fighters are reportedly taking heart over the Taliban route of Afghan forces. Many are facing govt forces supported by the US and those govts are increasingly concerned about is the US will uphold its commitments.

Hurricane Henri kept on track to wreak havoc on New York early Sunday — but early downpours had already sparked major flooding in the Big Apple by Saturday night, shuttering subways and inundating roadways.
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Taliban Unveils New Government, Includes FBI 'Most Wanted' Terrorist As Interior Minister
Sept 7, 2021

The Taliban unveiled its new government on Tuesday in the presence of invited foreign delegations from Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar - which gives a strong indicator of how Afghanistan's new foreign policy will be aligned.

"Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the little-known head of the Taliban’s leadership council, was named as acting prime minister, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday," Bloomberg reports of the announcement. The spokesman emphasized this is the current 'acting' or caretaker government.

Though Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was widely expected to be named head of state, given he's until now been the public face of the group at places like Doha during negotiations, Baradar has been named as deputy prime minister.

Akhund is considered among the founding members of the Taliban, according to one profile:

Akhund is from the Kandahar region of Afghanistan, where the Taliban had emerged in the 1990s. He was among the founding members of the insurgency group, according to reports. He is believed to be more of a religious than a military leader and is considered close to the Taliban's spiritual and supreme leader Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Perhaps more interesting is who was named as the new Taliban government's interior minister - none other than Sirajuddin Haqqani of the notorious terrorist Haqqani Network.

"Sirajuddin Haqqani - the leader of the Haqqani Network, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization - will serve as acting interior minister," Bloomberg continues. "That may complicate any moves by the U.S. to cooperate with the Taliban, particularly as President Joe Biden urges the Taliban to cut all ties with terrorist groups."

'Sirajuddin Haqqani, who was on the US terrorist list, is now the "interior minister" of the Taliban government'

➡️ Let that sink in. He's still on the FBI most wanted list for terrorism. https://t.co/IDjZgweTiB

— Eliza 💚🤍🖤 (@AstroNoodleCat) September 7, 2021
So this is the "inclusive" new government that the world has been anticipating, complete with an interior minister who currently has a $5 million FBI bounty on his head. According to the FBI Rewards for Justice Program, Sirajuddin Haqqani is considered "armed and dangerous" and is still "wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed six people, including an American citizen."

Further, "He is believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Haqqani also allegedly was involved in the planning of the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008."

Taliban's new Prime Minister, Mullah Hassan Akhund, is on a UN terror list. The new Interior Minister, Siraj Haqqani has a 5 million $ dollar information bounty by the US govt.

— Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) September 7, 2021 Below is the list of top officials named to serve in the new government, via Afghanistan's TOLO News:

Head of State: Mullah Hassan Akhund
First Deputy: Mullah Baradar
Second Deputy: Mawlavi Hannafi
Acting Minister of Defense: Mullah Yaqoub Acting
Minister of Interior: Serajuddin Haqqani
Acting Foreign Minister: Amir Khan Muttaqi
Acting Finance Minister: Mullah Hedayatullah Badri
Acting Education Minister: Sheikh Mawlawi Noorullah
Acting Minister for Information and Culture: Mullah Khairullah Khairkhah

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/taliban-unveils-new-government-includes-fbi-most-wanted-terrorist-interior-minister

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