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On this date in 1810, a French officer in Spanish service became an Argentine martyr. Jacques de Liniers — or Santiago de Liniers, in the Hispanized form* — was a cavalryman turned naval officer descended of a storied noble house,** and he made his bones serving Bourbon princes on either side of the Pyrenees. Bumping out of the French service in his early twenties, Liniers (English Wikipedia link |French | Spanish) entered his life’s destined course when he took the Spanish colors to fight the Moors in Algiers in 1774. Progressing thence to the navy, Liniers enjoyed a variegated career...

The Chinese regime has announced that beginning in September, students will be taught “Xi Jinping Thought” from primary school all the way to university—in a bid to “arm” their brains with Marxist belief and communist ideology.The Ministry of Education issued new guidelines on Aug. 24 incorporating the ideology tied to Chinese leader Xi Jinping into the country’s national curriculum. The measure formalized policies announced earlier this summer.The move aims to strengthen the “resolve to listen to and follow the Party,” and new teaching materials must “cultivate patriotic feelings,” according to the guidelines.An official of the Ministry of Education stated during...

Florida has recovered more than 960,000 of the around 1.3 million jobs that were lost at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to state officials.The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) said in a recent statement that the state has recovered 964,400 jobs of those lost when the pandemic struck last spring, which threw the economy into a tailspin and led to a sharp rise in unemployment.The Sunshine State economy now remains just over 315,000 jobs short of pre-pandemic levels, said Jerry Parrish, chief economist at the Florida Chamber of Commerce.“We still have a few to go to get...

A little-discussed but transformative patient protection policy put into place by the Trump administration is proving to be an extremely effective tool in unwinding the tangled mess of American medical pricing. Under the orders, hospitals must provide the federal government with records on all the prices they negotiate with private insurers.Some hospitals banded together to sue the administration (they lost…twice), and the insurers’ trade association wrote a 57-page letter to the government calling the Transparency Rule “unconstitutional” and insinuating that too much transparency would not be helpful to the average health consumer.Every American should be able to get the health...

Adam Boehler, who previously negotiated with the Taliban, discusses his experience and intelligence knowledge of the group’s dialogue with the U.S. VIDEO AT LINK:

I know trusting the CDC for COVID information is a bit like trusting a serial killer to take care of your kids, but even still, this seems a bit much.In a completely expected revelation, the CDC has been caught covering up their own data that shows mask mandates produce no statistically significant difference in infection rates in schools. Instead of including that information in its released report and current guidance, the CDC shelved it.Interesting… the CDC found statistically insignificant differences between schools that required kids to wear masks and those that didn't—but didn't include that finding in the summary of...

Japan's health ministry said Thursday foreign materials were found in some portions of the unused doses of Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine and the use of around 1.63 million doses manufactured in the same production line has been suspended as a precaution. Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., which is in charge of sales and distribution of the vaccine in the country, said it has yet to see any reports of safety concerns. The size of foreign substances confirmed in 39 vials is believed to be a few millimeters, with their elements being unknown. Moderna is conducting an investigation into the materials,...

Biden gave flippant response to NBC reporter Peter Alexander In media news today, an NBC report blasts Biden's 'humiliating' Afghanistan withdrawal, Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin gets accused of 'running PR for the Taliban,' and Andrew Cuomo gets stripped of his Emmy amid sexual harassment scandal The White House cut off the audio feed for President Joe Biden after he was posed a question Wednesday on stranded Americans in Afghanistan. As he wrapped up a meeting on cybersecurity in the State Dining Room, Biden dismissed the press as they continued to ask questions. However, he appeared to answer one reporter’s query...

(H/T Bob Ireland)Yes, I am angry watching the events in Afghanistan unravel.American “leaders” have reneged on American honor and dignity. Foreign policy is being dictated by our enemies. It’s unstated so far, but in my judgment, we’ve surrendered.This is a complete and total disaster, and our enemies will shame us forever. The entire chain of command should immediately resign in disgrace. (And the president should step down: Clearly, he is incapable of making clearheaded decisions and placing the safety and security of American citizens as his highest priority — that is what a president is supposed to do!)Those left behind...

Kanye West is no stranger to dabbling with technology (he discussed a Teenage Engineering collaboration in 2019), but now there's a device you can buy for yourself. The rapper and electronics design firm Kano have introduced a Donda Stem Player that, as the name implies, lets you remix music from Kanye's upcoming album Donda (plus your own tunes) using song stems. The puck-like gadget reportedly lets you isolate song parts and control aspects like bass, drums, samples and vocals. You can reportedly split "any" song into stems. We've asked Kano how this works, but it's unlikely that it will perfectly...

Nearly two in three age-eligible teenagers remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 as summer ends and the disease looms over its third consecutive school year. Spokespersons for the state departments of health and education said they did not know what percentage of students enrolled in public schools are vaccinated. However, looking at the total population (which would include homeschooled students), more than 62% remain unvaccinated. “As of today, there are 390,903 Ohioans age 12-18 who have started the vaccination process,” said Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Alicia Shoults. “This represents 37.5% of that age group.” Despite plans to attend classes in close...

The Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth System and University Hospitals have not yet joined national retailers, colleges and other local hospitals in mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for their employees. The Clinic, MetroHealth and UH are not yet saying when, or if, they expect to issue a COVID-19 immunization requirement for employees. Statements released by each health system did not elaborate on what information that will use to make their decisions. Yet many health experts say vaccine mandates in healthcare settings help protect hospital workers, keep them healthy enough to stay on the job, protect immunocompromised patients and help stop community spread of...

efense manufacturer Kalashnikov, a subsidiary of industrial giant Rostec, told reporters at Russia’s ARMY 2021 defense exhibition that the AK-12 assault rifle will become the new basic weapon for Russian troops. “The AK-12 has served as a replacement for the AK-74 since 2018 and will become the basic gun of the Russian Armed Forces in the next few years,” Kalashnikov’s press office announced. The company noted that the AK-12’s current and final design is based on feedback from field tests conducted in the lead-up to ARMY 2020. “The AK-12’s final design, shaped following its operational evaluation by troops, was featured...

DALLAS - As airlifts continue in Afghanistan, Texans are working to welcome and help resettle some of those fleeing the war-torn nation. The White House has ramped up efforts in recent days, as President Biden holds to his August 31 deadline for evacuations. "The completion by August 31 is contingent on the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport for those who are transporting out," Biden said on Tuesday. Afghans will first fly to a third party country in Europe or Asia for full vetting, both biometric and biographic, before coming on to the U.S. Officials project...

On the Aug. 24 morning edition of “War Room: Pandemic,” vaccinologist Dr. Robert Malone called out the Food and Drug Administration for playing a “bureaucratic shell game” with their supposed early approval of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. In fact, Malone noted, the FDA issued two separate and distinct letters. “There is a letter for Pfizer and a letter for BioNTech. The New York Times and the Washington Post got it wrong. The authorization is not for Pfizer. The authorization is for BioNTech, and it will only be initiated at the time BioNTech product becomes available… “The liability coverage, the blanket...

The Secret Service warned Capitol Police about threats of violence on Jan. 5, one day before rioters descended on the Capitol complex and injured a number of officers, according to newly revealed documents. One day before the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the Secret Service, from the Protective Intelligence Operations Center’s (PIOC) account, sent an email to a recipient associated with the Capitol Police informing it of a tip sent in by a “concerned citizen” at the Denver Field Office regarding people who were flying to the Washington, D.C., area to “attend tomorrow’s rally and ‘incite violence.’”

Canada’s minister for women and gender equality, Maryam Monsef, faced a torrent of criticism Wednesday after she referred to the Taliban as “our brothers” in a plea to ensure safe passage for thousands looking to flee Afghanistan. The “cultural reference” to the new regime drew criticism from some, amid ongoing scrutiny of Canada’s response to the Afghan crisis. The Taliban have swept Afghanistan in recent weeks and Canada, along with its allies, have been rushing to help scores of people there escape what’s feared to be a violent and oppressive new regime. The Liberals have been dealing with the crisis...

Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The RoadThis is a pretty decent song. I was driving to the Westport, CT train station this morning to go to Manhattan and I saw a live skunk in the middle of Route 136 in the Easton area. On the way back home earlier this evening, I did not see the skunk but I did detect the smell. Somebody (not me) went ahead and ran the poor thing over. I am dedicating this thread to that skunk.

Most Christians in Afghanistan are converts from Islam who face extreme danger following the Taliban takeover, ICC says A Christian leader in Afghanistan has urged the Christian community to keep a low profile and stay home to avoid being targeted by Taliban fighters, says a US-based group monitoring persecution of Christians globally. The members of the secretive underground church in Afghanistan have been living with fear and uncertainty since Taliban fighters captured capital Kabul and took control of the country on Aug. 15, reports International Christian Concern (ICC). “We are telling people to stay in their houses because going out...