President Joe Biden is of a generation that appreciated the Jewish state as America’s closest and most reliable Middle East ally. He and the likes of the late U.S. Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-WA) were staunch friends of Israel. Most Democrats in the U.S. Senate shared with Jackson and Biden their appreciation of Israel. Today however, the “progressive” wing of the Democrat party no longer shares that kind of appreciation, and support for the Jewish state.
… According to the US Department of Defense, the total military expenditure in Afghanistan (from October 2001 until September 2019) had reached $778bn.
In addition, the US state department – along with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other government agencies – spent $44bn on reconstruction projects.
That brings the total cost – based on official data – to $822bn between 2001 and 2019, but it doesn’t include any spending in Pakistan, which the US uses as a base for Afghan-related operations.
Human rights groups and politicians in Spain have spoken out after a court ruled that a controversial and false election poster for the far-right Vox party should not be withdrawn because it is legitimate political expression, and because the unaccompanied foreign minors it depicts in a relentlessly negative light are “an obvious social and political problem”.
A panel of superforecasters considers the likelihood of an imminent global conflict
We’ve been lucky, for the last 70 or so years, to live through an essentially unprecedented period of world peace. It doesn’t necessarily feel like that, because there are always enough small wars and conflicts to fill 24-hour news channels – but there have been no direct conflicts between major powers since the Korean War of 1950-1953.
Related: Beijing issues protest after Japan signals that it would join US to defend Taiwan in case of Chinese attack
Hobgoblins
The Joe Biden administration would have you believe the nation is crawling with toothless “white supremacists” patrolling black neighborhoods in rusty F-150s looking to pick off black grannies. Check your calendar, Mr. President, and check the videos of today’s racial violence.
Data?
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the FBI agree the Klan is dying. Their numbers have been dwindling for decades. Though certainly abhorrent, they are the toothless boogeymen of white supremacy.
See also – Jonathan Kay: If there really are 300 neo-Nazi groups in Canada, why can’t anyone name them?
President Joe Biden’s immediate executive order to cease construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline cost Americans thousands of jobs, but now on top of that, it may cost us billions more as the Canadian firm that owned the line is now looking to get the money it lost on it back.
Afghan troops have been filmed laying down their arms to the Taliban as the terror group shows off the American-made weapons it has seized after US and Nato troops beat a hasty retreat.
The Afghan army is collapsing across the country and the Taliban appear to be winning the propaganda war with videos to prove that they will welcome surrendering soldiers – as long as they hand over their state-of-the-art weapons and Humvee armoured cars.
The US left Bagram Airfield last week – its fortress in the country for nearly 20 years – by slipping away in the night without telling the base’s new Afghan commander who discovered they had gone the next morning.
Chicago police arrested 61 people Sunday night after the group took over the street, danced on cop cars and set off fireworks, among other raucous behavior, according to multiple reports.
More than 100 people took to the streets and sidewalks in the Chicago area known as the Loop late Sunday, according to Fox 32.
#Chicago wildings caught on camera.
Youths throw fireworks at police. pic.twitter.com/orkcfEqYGQ— 16th & 17th District Chicago Police Scanner (@CPD1617Scanner) July 5, 2021
Canadians should be cautious about embracing “romantic notions” of Marxism or communism, a political ideology and system responsible for the deaths of millions of people since the early 20th century, says the chair of a charity working to establish a Canadian memorial to commemorate the victims of communism.
From Leger.
53% of Canadians are dissatisfied with the Canadian government led by Justin Trudeau.
When we asked Canadians which federal party leader would make the best prime minister of Canada…
22% said Justin Trudeau;
17% said Jagmeet Singh;
16% said Erin O’Toole;
and 20% were not sure which leader would be best.
48% of Canadians feel economic recovery is the most important issue to debate with respect to the next federal election.
12% say Climate change is an important election – less that UBI!
As America looks forward to leaving the pandemic behind and getting back to normal, Dr. Fauci went on a media tour to say “not so fast!” According to America’s wisest sage, there are new, exciting, and dangerous variants of COVID-19 on their way, which may require another round of lockdowns.
h/t Marvin
Zoophiles believe it’s acceptable to be intimate with an animal, and want the LGTBQ+ movement to add a Z to its name. RT spoke to one about their secret world, and with members of the ‘furry’ and ‘therian’ communities.
Pride Month has just come to an end, following four weeks of global parades and celebrations featuring gay, bisexual, queer, trans, de-trans, asexual and other marginalised communities.
As the Taliban make rapid battlefield gains ahead of the US military pullout from Afghanistan, the question of who stays and who goes is once again at the top of foreign envoys’ agendas.
The “final warning” on fine notepaper was delivered to me in the depth of a harsh Kabul winter at the peak of a Cold War conflict. “I must advise you that you should leave Afghanistan without delay while normal flights are still available,” advised the British chargé d’affaires.
Eleven days later, on a snowy 30 January 1989, we watched the US chargé d’affaires solemnly lower the stars and stripes in a simple ceremony freighted with political meaning. The last Soviet troops were pulling out within weeks, ending their disastrous decade-long Afghan engagement. An exodus of Western missions was meant to rattle the beleaguered Moscow-backed government.
