The US in Islamist eyes: “The fall of the Roman Empire” revisited
by Giulio Meotti
Islamism has been reluctantly fought in most Western countries and the repeated terrorist attacks, far from galvanizing public opinion and Western leaders, have only led to serial renunciations.In England, the Sharia Council, which administers hundreds of Islamic law courts in British cities, says it understands the Taliban – but let’s pretend not to see that we are a soft underbelly.
The US defeat in Kabul is unprecedented, even if for now it is not perceived as such, beyond the images of the humanitarian crisis coming from Kabul. At least not by everyone.
Allister Heath, chief editor of the Daily Telegraph, talks about America’s dramatic decline. The American era is ending, he says. Its elites are confused, the stupidity and incompetence shown in the Afghan withdrawal confirm that they do not understand the rest of the world and are not fit to run their own country. Blinded by a “simplistic universalism”, they no longer understand religion, tribalism, history, national differences or why countries want to govern themselves. The American predilection for “second-rate gerontocrats” like Joe Biden is unrivaled. Full of self-doubt, its elites in the throes of a bizarre “awakening” centered on a nihilistic and ungrateful self-contempt, they have no more values to sell, neither capitalism, nor democracy, nor the American dream.
“How can people who live in terror of ‘micro-aggressions’ find within themselves the ability to defeat real evils?”.he asks.
The famous Stanford economist Niall Ferguson in The Economist speaks openly of “the end of the American empire”.
And he says it won’t be peaceful. “A crucial source of British interwar weakness was the intelligentsia revolt against the Empire and more generally against traditional British values,” recalls Niall Ferguson. “Churchill recalled with disgust the Oxford Union debate in 1933 that led to the motion, ‘This house refuses to fight for the king and the country.’ And as he observed: ‘It was easy to laugh at such an episode in England, but elsewhere the idea of a decadent and degenerate Britain took deep roots and influenced many calculations’”.
Rod Dreher writes that America is experiencing its “Chernenko moment” in reference to the oldest and most fragile of Soviet leaders.
In an interview with La Nef entitled “American Decadence”, philosopher Paul Gottfried explains: “The ‘liberal democracies’ are at war with themselves. I don’t see how the Western world can recover from the ravages of its fight against ‘prejudice’, which has now taken the pernicious form of a war on identity.”
Paul Domjan on Tellimer establishes a comparison between America today and the fall of the Roman Empire.
And in this regard there is the analysis of one of the most famous former FBI special agents and anti-terrorism experts, Ali Soufan, who interorgated the main 9/11 attackers on the importance of the conquest of Kabul.
The Islamists, reveals Soufan, are comparing the triumph in Afghanistan to the victory of the barbarian tribes who devoured the provinces of the Roman Empire, until they were able to advance on the capital, Rome, which fell like a prune in 410. From Yemen to Lebanon to Palestinian enclaves to Tehran and across North Africa, Islamists congratulate the Taliban and celebrate their victory, Soufan told the SpyTalk podcast. “And they believe they will be victorious when they take Jerusalem”.
He says Islamists are right to be optimistic. “Before 9/11, the United States had embassies in Libya, Yemen, Syria. All gone now. What remains of the American embassy in Kabul operates in the temporary housing of the international airport, surrounded by the Taliban”. The Taliban victory is” much bigger than Kabul, “concluded Soufan. “This is a gigantic geopolitical shift”.
Coincidence or just black mood? For days, the leading French newspaper Le Monde has been dedicating a series to the fall of the Roman Empire…
American pro-vaxx journalist changes his tune on the jabs
John Ziegler, a conservative American journalist and once a vaccine advocate, has admitted that he had been wrong about the injections against Covid-19, especially seeing the alarming data from Israel.
“My extreme confidence in [the] effectiveness of vaccines was misplaced,” said Ziegler on Twitter. “It was based largely on how well they performed initially in Israel, which is nearly fully vaccinated. The recent data there is horrible with even deaths now picking up.”
Ziegler is currently the host of a Sunday evening radio program, the John and Leah Show, which is nationally syndicated and as of 2016 is considered the 99th most influential talk shows by Talkers Magazine and Mediaite.
He makes regular appearances on American television cable news as a conservative pundit.
Science writer Alex Berenson has also warned that Israelis who have received the third booster shot, have been dying in large numbers. “Data from Israel and increasingly the United States show that the mRNA vaccines Fauci championed are far less effective than they seemed months ago.”
Berenson added: “A rational response to their plunging effectiveness would be – at the least – to stop encouraging their use while scientists investigate why they have stopped working so quickly. Instead Fauci is pressing Americans to take a third mRNA dose in the hope it will work better and longer than the original two.
“But no clinical trial data shows a third dose will reduce infections, much less hospitalizations or deaths. And a research preprint released Monday (Aug. 23) in Japan suggests the Delta variant could evolve in a way that could produce vaccine antibody-dependent enhancement, a nightmare scenario.”
https://freewestmedia.com/2021/08/25/american-pro-vaxx-journalist-changes-his-tune-on-the-jabs/
Woman of Turkish origin spied for Turkey in Austria – 12 years imprisonment
Under the utmost secrecy, a woman was convicted of espionage at the regional court in Wels on Wednesday: The Upper Austrian woman with Turkish roots (45) is alleged to have gathered sensitive information about Kurdish communities in Austria and passed it on to a Turkish secret service “to the detriment of Austria”.
The defendant in a spectacular criminal case that was exposed in autumn 2020 has just been tried in Upper Austria: The 45-year-old Upper Austrian woman with Turkish roots is alleged to have spied on Kurds living in this country and to have passed on sensitive data to an intelligence service in Turkey. For the protection of the accused, the highest level of secrecy was applied at the trial, the public was excluded from the proceedings.
The case caused a great stir in Austria and Turkey after it was exposed and also kept politicians more busy: even Interior Minister Karl Nehammer reported on the espionage affair at a press conference, the accusation of spying on behalf of the Turkish secret service and the arrest of the woman then also caused foreign policy quarrels with Turkey.
Specifically, the accused is said to have become a spy after her arrest in Turkey – on the one hand out of fear, but on the other hand also in return for payment. From September 2018 to June 202, she is said to have continuously passed on information to the Turkish national intelligence service Milli Istihbarat Teskilati (MIT), especially sensitive data about the Kurdish communities in Austria. No information about the background of the espionage activity has been made public so far, but it may very well have been a topic during the trial. The woman confessed and the judge sentenced her to twelve months imprisonment, four of them unconditional. The defendant has already accepted the sentence, the prosecution did not give a statement. The sentence is not legally binding.
https://exxpress.at/urteil-in-geheimprozess-in-ooe-12-jahre-haft-fuer-tuerkei-spionin/
The Good News—A COVID-19 Update
By Thomas T. Siler, M.D.
Now that we have had 18 months to “slow the spread” it is time to take stock of the pandemic. We have learned many good things that the media and our pandemic managers rarely report. Most fundamentally, we do not need to be afraid of COVID-19 anymore. The media and some government health authorities are still pushing hysteria and fear, but that should not prevail. Let’s look at the good news that can calm our fears about COVID-19. There’ll be time at a later date to look at the bad and the ugly of the resolving pandemic.
1) Globally, the survival rate for COVID-19 is 99.8%. Under the age of 70, the survival rate for COVID-19 is 99.97%. This is on par with many influenza seasons. Americans younger than 70 do not have to fear COVID-19 any more than influenza and we know how to protect the elderly.
2) Herd immunity for the alpha strain is here. Sixty-seven percent of the American population have had at least one COVID-19 vaccination. The official number of cases is about 10% of the population, but several antibody studies show that the percentage of those with natural immunity is 4-6 times higher. Dr. Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins professor, estimates that 80-85% of the population is immune from natural immunity and vaccination. Those who deny this must explain how cases and deaths started to decline in January way before there was a significant vaccine effort. COVID-19 will not go away. Instead, we are transitioning now from a pandemic to endemic status and, indeed, some eminent virologists say vaccinating in the middle of a pandemic is making herd immunity more difficult to obtain through the creation of variants.
3) The average age of death from COVID is 78. The average life expectancy in America is 78. This is not to say, “Don’t worry, only old people are dying of COVID-19.” However, this fact should direct and inform our policies to protect the elderly especially. Children and those under age 70 are at much lower risk.
4) Early outpatient treatment should be adopted immediately for COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine works. Ivermectin works. It has been estimated 85% of COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented were these medicines used early. America’s Frontline Doctors have an excellent compilation of research. The cost of these treatments is $1/day. A new IV treatment, REGEN-COV, has been approved for early use in COVID-19. Don’t wait to see if you will get sick. Treat early.
5) Children are safe from COVID-19 and don’t spread the virus either. A study in the UK showed that the survival rate in children is 99.995%. In the U.S. 335 children have died since the start of the pandemic. A study done by Johns Hopkins and FAIR Health showed that all of the children that died from April 2020 to August 2020 had immune problems or were chronically ill. In that period not one healthy child died. Children have more chance of dying in a car wreck, unintentional drug overdose, or influenza than from COVID-19. Vaccination for healthy children is not needed.
6) Sweden did not have a lockdown or mask mandate and did better with cases and deaths than many countries. Lockdown did not work and had serious cultural and economic side effects. There is ample literature now to show that masks, as we are using them, do not work.
7) Persons who have had COVID-19 infection have a robust and long-lasting immunity. This immunity also is likely to protect against variants. As evidence continues to accumulate that the new mRNA vaccines are neither as effective nor safe as advertised, I would advise not getting the vaccine on top of your natural immunity if you had the COVID-19 infection.
8) There is very little, if any, spread of COVID-19 from asymptomatic persons. This lie was spread early to maximize fear of this new virus. COVID-19 is like other respiratory viral infections—you catch it from being around someone who has symptoms. Like other viral infections, if you are sick stay home, quarantine yourself, and treat yourself. We do not need to quarantine the asymptomatic healthy.
9) The death rate nationally for COVID-19 has been going down since January. Breathless “news” reporters talk about cases, hospital occupation, and contagiousness but never mention the death decline. There has been a small uptick in deaths in some areas over the last week, but not anywhere close to last winter. (There will be some variations in the death rate as we transition to endemic status)
10) The Delta variant is acting like a typical historical virus variant. Typically, variants happen all the time and are more contagious but less deadly. Initial reports show that this is likely true with Delta. A UK report states the Delta variant is likely 20 times less deadly than the alpha strain, but that more data needs to be collected. The media constantly mentions that delta is more contagious which is also true. Other Greek variants are likely to behave in the same fashion.
We do not need to be afraid of COVID-19 anymore. Let’s begin to end the hysteria and fear. The worst is over and we are transitioning to endemic statuswhich means a low level of cases and deaths.
We will have many fewer deaths if we start to treat the infection early now with the available outpatient treatments. We should resist further attempts at lockdowns and mask mandates as neither worked. We know exactly whom to protect—the elderly and those with chronic health problems. That’s where we should concentrate our energies.
Thankfully, children have very little risk and do not need masks at school or vaccinations. Variants will come but will not send us back into a situation like last year.
Can our pandemic managers take some of this useful information and transform it into helpful public health policies from this point forward? Or is there another agenda behind unending hysteria, fear, and the constant push for 100% vaccination? That remains to be seen. For now, let’s celebrate the good news.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/08/the_good_newsa_covid19_update.html
Breaking: Biden Accepts Taliban Red Line, Will Leave By Aug 31 Regardless Of Who’s Left Behind in Afghanistan
Today was supposed to be the day that Biden would decide whether to extend the evacuation from Afghanistan.
The Taliban declared that their red line for withdrawal is August 31. Word now is that Biden has accepted the red line.
President Joe Biden plans to stick to his August 31 deadline for U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan, an administration official said Tuesday.
Earlier, Biden and other G-7 leaders met virtually to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, with several pushing for him to keep U.S. troops in the country beyond next week’s deadline to facilitate the ongoing evacuation effort.
And Biden told our NATO allies and everyone else, except the Taliban, to go fly a kite.
Biden had previously promised to get everyone out. So much for that. Even getting all of the Americans out by August 31 will be a tall order.
The Biden admin is spinning this as a deal with the Taliban in which the Jihadists won’t interfere with the evacuation in exchange for Biden honoring their red line.
Like all deals with the Taliban, this one is worthless and meaningless.
Biden is also trying to blame this on the military, with his people claiming that it’s a military recommendation. You would think after getting blamed for Biden’s disaster, Milley and the rest would have grown a backbone.
But no such luck.
Basically, Biden is sticking with Plan A. Get out, claim mission accomplished, and expect plaudits. He’ll get them from Jennifer Rubin, but not from anyone with a soul.
It goes without saying that Afghans with visas will be left behind. The question is will Americans be left behind in Biden’s humiliating retreat?
Green Rules For Thee, But Not For Me!
Austria: Weeks after the rape and murder of 13-year-old Leonie by 4 Afghans, a 15-year-old Austrian girl was raped by 3 Afghans again
Only a few weeks after the bestial rape-murder of Leonie (13) in Vienna, severe sexual assaults on a young girl committed by several Afghans have caused nationwide consternation. This time the crime scene is in Linz, and some details of the crime are shockingly reminiscent of the crime in the Austrian capital.
A 15-year-old girl accompanied a “young Afghan”, according to media reports, to his shared accommodation in Linz. There, the girl was apparently drugged – as it turned out, in order to make her compliant. According to the statement of the teenager, the asylum seeker and two of his flatmates molested her. Against her will, the Afghan men then began to sexually assault the teenage girl.
The suspects are still at large. Not least because of the influence of the drug, the girl can only vaguely remember the incidents. And similar to the Leonie case, all three Afghans suspected of the crime deny any accusations. None of them claims to have sexually abused the girl. The public prosecutor’s office in Linz refers to the police investigation, which is still ongoing. Due to alleged contradictions, no arrests have been made so far.
Again and again there are brutal sexual assaults committed by Afghans, especially in our provincial capital. One particularly shocking incident in 2018 was the brutal rape of an 18-year-old girl by an Afghan in broad daylight at Linz Central Station – as reported by the weekly “Wochenblick”. Extremely perfidious was also a case last autumn, when an Afghan (20) attacked his girlfriend (17) with a knife and subsequently forced the seriously injured woman to claim that she was responsible for the bruises herself.
Young, male asylum seekers from Afghanistan in particular are considered to have a poor willingness to integrate in this country. Many of them commit crimes, and Afghans are massively overrepresented in the domestic crime statistics. As Wochenblick recently revealed in a special feature, they are nine and ten times more likely to be suspected of drug and sexual offences respectively. Across all categories of offences, Afghans were four times more likely to be criminals than the Austrian population average.
https://www.wochenblick.at/sex-tortur-in-linz-drei-afghanen-missbrauchen-maedchen-15-in-wohnung/
CIA Meets Taliban!
Afghan criminals are sneaking back to Europe on board military planes
In another sign of how chaotic the evacuation of people from Afghanistan has become, it has been reported by multiple media outlets that among genuine refugees there are Islamists and once deported criminals among those flown back to the West in military transport planes.
While all evacuees are supposed to be listed on a predetermined checklist held by military commanders directing the process, it seems that checks are either lax or are impossible to perform amid the complete breakdown surrounding the botched military withdrawal from the country. The only certainty at this point is that it is Western societies that are going to pick up the bill not only for the financial cost of housing and integrating tens of thousands of Afghan citizens, but will also have to deal with the security threat that is being flown in from Kabul due to authorities having little or no idea who they are “rescuing”.
It has been reported that while there are still German citizens and Afghan officials who had genuinely helped the German government’s efforts stuck in the country, people who are able to mysteriously jump the line and get on Bundeswehr planes are being randomly flown back to Germany. Last week, for instance, an Afghan criminal who has been recently deported from Germany for committing serious crimes has been discovered aboard an evacuation flight once it landed in Germany. The man’s identity has not been disclosed to the press, but it is now wholly unlikely that he should be deported back to his country of origin due to a halt of all deportations. The German Ministry of Defense, answering a media request about the fiasco, has explained that due to the dire security situation on the ground, doing international database and fingerprint checks are not possible in Kabul Airport.
Although the Ministry of Defense had promised to check the ID cards of all evacuees, and all on board would be compared against the Federal Foreign Office’s authorization list, this is clearly not being carried out on the ground. Another, less likely explanation, would be that the criminal was included on an official evacuation list, and given the present state of Germany’s immigration policy, this could not be discounted entirely.
In any case, while German embassy-staff in Kabul had to organize their own evacuation because Berlin had delayed their rescue, now the Bundeswehr evacuation flights are turning into a second-chance for serious offenders, who can be confident that they would not be sent back to Afghanistan in the foreseeable future.
However, such an ineptitude is not limited to the German government’s efforts. A person on a British no fly-list was also allowed onboard a military plane and had made it to Birmingham Airport, where he was discovered by border staff. He was among five suspects included on the no-fly list, yet somehow he had managed to get on board an evacuation flight. After being detained by the British border force, he was eventually allowed to leave and settle in Britain. Another such suspect has also been flown in but was discovered in Frankfurt Airport, where he was blocked from continuing, yet his family was allowed to fly on to Britain.
Over 7,000 of the 20,000 Afghans planned for relocation to Britain have already arrived, yet British officials are reporting impersonators among the applicants for evacuation, and a growing number of passport and document forgeries. James Heappey, the British Armed Forces minister, has expressed his fear that Islamist extremists are now exploiting the situation in Kabul.
“We would love to be able to just open the gates and let people in at an even faster flow, but there are people right now trying to get on some British flights that we have identified in our checks as being on the UK’s no-fly list,” he said.
France has also reported a case of a suspect flying in on an evacuation flight, who was suspected of links with the Taliban. He was accompanied by four other persons who were placed under surveillance.
https://rmx.news/afghanistan/afghan-criminals-are-sneaking-back-to-europe-on-board-military-planes/