Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
August 27, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Obama Tried to Warn Us: ‘Don’t Underestimate Joe’s Ability to F— Things Up’ . . . Former president Barack Obama tried to stop Joe Biden from becoming president and made an effort to warn us about his dangerous incompetence.c"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f- things up," Obama told a fellow Democrat during the 2020 presidential primary. The former president disparaged his running mate again during a conversation with a Democratic
candidate: "And you know who really doesn't have it?" Obama said. "Joe Biden." Washington Free Beacon
Biden Arms the Taliban . . . The 13 U.S. service members killed by suicide bombers in Kabul is only the beginning of the carnage. An estimated $83 billion was spent by the U.S. in providing both training and military equipment for the Afghan security forces over the course of the war. Thanks to his outrageous decisions to rush out of Afghanistan, Biden has also effectively armed the Taliban. This is how much high-tech
military equipment is now in the hands of the Taliban.“The war chest also included the supply of least 600,000 infantry weapons — including M16 assault rifles — as well as 162,000 pieces of communication equipment and 16,000 night-vision goggles.” “From 2017 to 2019, the United States also gave Afghan forces 7,035 machine guns, 4,702 Humvees, 20,040 hand grenades, 2,520 bombs and 1,394 grenade launchers, among other equipment, according to a report last year from the Special Inspector
General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.” Patriot Post
Biden admits admin may have given Taliban ‘kill list’ of Afghans who aided US . . . A potentially deadly blunder by President Joe Biden’s administration effectively handed the Taliban a “kill list” to target Afghans who aided the US, according to a report Thursday — and admitted it may have happened when asked later at a White House briefing. Following the Taliban takeover of Kabul, US officials there gave the Islamic extremist group the
names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies so they could be allowed to enter the Taliban-controlled perimeter around the Hamid Karzai International Airport. The decision was reportedly made despite the Taliban’s notorious reputation for brutally executing Afghans who helped the US military and other Western forces during the war and occupation that followed the Sept. 11 terror attacks. New York Post
A bunch of morons are running the country.
CENTCOM commander says U.S. sharing intel with Taliban . . Hours after an explosion rocked Kabul airport, killing 13 U.S. service members and leaving several others wounded on Thursday in Afghanistan, General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the United States Central Command, revealed during a Department of Defense briefing that the United States has been sharing intelligence information with the Taliban. According to McKenzie,
the U.S. and the Taliban share a "common purpose" of concluding the American evacuation mission by August 31. Fox Business
Since when the Pentagon shares a "common purpose" with a terrorist organization?! Can't make this stuff up.
‘Find your courage’: GOP lawmaker urges VP Harris to invoke 25th Amendment, seize power . . . A Republican House member wrote a letter Thursday to Vice President Kamala Harris, asking that she seize power under the 25th Amendment. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, North Carolina Republican, urged Ms. Harris to begin the process of removing President Biden from office as “no longer capable of discharging the duties of his office.” In the letter,
Mr. Cawthorn says Mr. Biden has a “declining mind” and is “not even the Joseph R. Biden of two years ago” and thus cannot oversee such crises as the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Washington Times
Not sure at this point, which one will do more damage to America.
Horror in Kabul is political disaster for Biden . . . The attacks committed around Kabul’s airport on Thursday are a human tragedy. They are also a political catastrophe for the president. The American people broadly agreed with Biden’s decision to end the war in Afghanistan, which is nearing its 20-year anniversary and is the longest in the nation’s history. It had already cost more than 2,400 American lives and more than $2
trillion. But nothing absolves Biden of responsibility for a pull-out that has been, by any reasonable measure, a debacle. The Hill
Where’s Kamala? . . . With packed airplanes leaving Kabul as the United States hurtles toward the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan, Vice President Kamala Harris dispensed Christmas shopping advice from a great distance. “The stories that we are now hearing about the caution that if you want to have Christmas toys for your children it might be the time to start buying them because the delay may be many, many months,” Harris
warned during a roundtable discussion in Singapore earlier this week. White House Dossier
‘We Rely On Stupid People’: Trump Blasts Bolton, McMaster Over Afghanistan . . . Former President Donald Trump ripped into the government Thursday for relying on the advice of “stupid people.” Trump joined Fox News host Sean Hannity via phone for a wide-ranging interview, and he made it clear that he was not impressed with President Joe Biden’s handling of the troop drawdown in Afghanistan. Daily Caller
DeSantis demands feds account for all illegal aliens 'resettled' in Florida . . . During the first six months of 2021, more than 6,250 "unaccompanied alien minors" were transported to Florida by the federal government and released to sponsors with little oversight, Gov. Ron DeSantis said. The federal government doesn't provide details about people detained for attempting to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border, where they are being
housed and how many are now in Florida. In a five-page letter dispatched Thursday to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, DeSantis is demanding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provide data by Sept. 30 detailing the names of detained illegal aliens in Florida, as well as the names and addresses of their sponsors and "dates and locations of their removal proceedings." Just the News
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AOC demands Biden resettle a minimum of 200,000 Afghanis in US . . . Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is demanding that the Biden administration take in hundreds of thousands of Aghan refugees even as the U.S. military struggling to get all Americans out of the war-torn country ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline. The New York leftist told The Independent that Biden should set, as a minimum, the acceptance of 200,000 Afghans into the U.S. as
the country exits its longest war. She added those refugees should be permanently resettled and eventually granted naturalized American citizenship. Business & Politics Review
Sergeant Major of the Army prioritizes 'diversity' amid Afghanistan evacuation . . . Amid ongoing evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, and shortly before an explosion left 13 U.S. service members dead and several wounded, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston highlighted diversity within the U.S. Army for Women’s Equality Day. "Diversity is a number - do you have people that don’t look or think like you in the room? Inclusion is
listening and valuing those people," Grinston wrote in a tweet.
"[Women's Equality Day] reminds us we’re smarter and more lethal when we come together as an inclusive, cohesive team," Grinston added. "Our values demand it." Grinston serves as the Army chief of staff's "personal adviser on matters affecting the enlisted force." The official Twitter account for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command echoed Grinston's remarks, writing, "Inclusion & Diversity is what makes our [U.S. Army] better." Fox News
Nice.
Stephen Miller: 'Vast Majority' of Incoming 100,000 Afghans 'Rendered No Meaningful Assistance' To US Forces. . . . Stephen Miller, a former staffer and speechwriter for former President Donald Trump, told Fox News that the "vast majority" of the incoming tens of thousands of Afghan refugees have "rendered no meaningful assistance" to U.S. forces. Flight after flight has been running out of Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport
filled with Afghan refugees wanting to get the heck out of Dodge. President Biden claimed on August 22 that incoming Afghan nationals all receive "security screenings" and a "background check," but this Politifact article acknowledges that many vetting process details aren't public. Asked whether he trusts the Biden administration "to vet these people before they touch down on U.S. soil," Miller responded: "Not in the least." Townhall
Biden minimizes his blame for deaths, saying Taliban agreed under Trump not to kill US troops . . . President Biden Thursday was asked if he took responsibility for the deaths of U.S. service members at the Kabul airport. The reporter, Fox News’ Peter Doocy, noted that no American troops had been killed in combat since February 2020. Biden responded that this was because the Taliban had agreed with Donald Trump not to kill Americans, as
long as we got out. This is true. Except . . . it wasn’t the Taliban that killed the American forces. It was ISIS.
Biden has created a situation in which American troops are now exposed to attack by all kinds of radicals. It’s his doing. His decisions. His mess. White House Dossier
Microsoft warns thousands of cloud customers of exposed databases . . . Microsoft on Thursday warned thousands of its cloud computing customers, including some of the world's largest companies, that intruders could have the ability to read, change or even delete their main databases, according to a copy of the email and a cyber security researcher. The vulnerability is in Microsoft Azure's flagship Cosmos DB database. A research team at
security company Wiz discovered it was able to access keys that control access to databases held by thousands of companies. Wiz Chief Technology Officer Ami Luttwak is a former chief technology officer at Microsoft's Cloud Security Group. Because Microsoft cannot change those keys by itself, it emailed the customers Thursday telling them to create new ones. Reuters
T-Mobile Hacker Who Stole Data on 50 Million Customers: ‘Their Security Is Awful’ . . . The hacker who is taking responsibility for breaking into T-Mobile US systems said the wireless company’s lax security eased his path into a cache of records with personal details on more than 50 million people and counting. John Binns, a 21-year-old American who moved to Turkey a few years ago, told The Wall Street Journal he was behind the security
breach. The August intrusion was the latest in a string of high-profile breaches at U.S. companies that have allowed thieves to walk away with troves of personal details on consumers. WSJ
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Taliban follow strict Islamic creed that doesn’t change with the times, scholars say . . . The return of the Taliban, a word meaning “students,” to control in Afghanistan marks the return of a top-down set of strict beliefs unlikely to evolve with the times, scholars who have studied the group say.
The Taliban say they follow the tradition-bound Salafi school of Sunni Islam that hews to the teachings of the first three generations of Muslim believers, beginning with the Prophet Muhammad’s generation. The teachings of these “pious predecessors,” as Salafists call them, form the basis for what their adherents follow today, including a rejection of religious innovations in Islam since the eighth century. The Sunni/Salafi Islamic school “is one of the strictest interpretations
of the Islamic tradition,” where the “literal meaning is adhered to. And any input by intuitive reason is doubted or rejected,” said Abdulaziz Sachedina, the chair in Islamic studies at the International Institute of Islamic Thought at George Mason University in Fairfax. Washington Times
What is ISIS-K? . . . Here’s what we know about the group that claimed credit for the two explosions that killed dozens of people on Thursday, including at least 13 U.S. troops and dozens of civilians outside Afghanistan’s main airport. The group, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, ISIS-K or ISIS-KP, is an Afghan affiliate of ISIS. ISIS-K, founded in 2015 by disaffected Pakistani Taliban, is smaller, newer and embraces a more
extreme version of Islam than the Taliban, which just toppled the U.S.-backed government of Afghanistan after a 20-year bloody campaign.
ISIS-K “disregards international borders,” “and envisions its territory transcending nation-states like Afghanistan and Pakistan.” The name Khorasan translates to “The Land of the Sun.” Khorasan refers to a historical region that includes parts of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. NYT
Senior Hamas Official: The World Will Accept The Expulsion Of Israel, Just Like It Accepted The Expulsion Of The US By The Taliban . . . Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said that the world has accepted the Taliban's expulsion of the United States occupation as legitimate, and that the same will be true for Gaza. He made his remarks in an interview that aired on Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas-Gaza) on August 19, 2021. Al-Zahhar said that a
"liberation" enterprise is different from a "terrorist" one. He further said that the leaders of the Gulf countries, who normalized ties with Israel will soon flee their countries like Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia and President Ashraf Ghani recently fled Afghanistan. "Afghanistan Expelled The U.S. From Its Territory, Thus Legitimizing The Expulsion Of The Occupation; This Means That What Hamas Is Doing Here To Expel The [Israeli] Occupation Is Legitimate" MEMRI
Afghanistan's biggest airline looks to Iran for refuge for planes . . . he Afghan airline Kam Air has sought refuge in Iran for several of its planes as the bombings outside the Kabul airport Thursday have created scenes of utter chaos. Kam Air, the country’s biggest commercial airline, flew some of its the planes – without passengers – to Tehran, in order to keep them safe. Tehran provided landing permits for the planes, Reuters
reported. The cooperation is in line with "international cooperation standards with neighboring countries." Fox Business
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Contaminant in Moderna vaccines suspected to be metallic particles . . . A contaminant found in a batch of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Japan is believed to be a metallic particle, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing sources at the health ministry. Japan on Thursday suspended the use of 1.63 million doses shipped to 863 vaccination centres nationwide, more than a week after the domestic
distributor, Takeda Pharmaceutical, received reports of contaminants in some vials. NHK cited ministry sources as saying the particle reacted to magnets and was therefore suspected to be a metal. Moderna has described it as "particulate matter" that did not pose a safety or efficacy issue. A health ministry official said the composition of the contaminant has not been confirmed. Reuters
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The war in Afghanistan cost America $2.3T over 2 decades . . . America's nearly 20-year military mission to reshape Afghanistan was the United State's longest foreign war, with a death toll in the tens of thousands and a multi-trillion-dollar price tag that future generations will be paying off for years to come. Four U.S. presidents have presided over the war.
The cumulative cost of the war – including operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan – is $2.31 trillion, according to new figures published this week by the Brown University Costs of War project. The long-term costs of providing veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq with medical care and disability benefits could be as high as $2.5 trillion, according to one estimate by Harvard University's Kennedy School. Fox Business
World’s Largest Chip Maker to Raise Prices, Threatening Costlier Electronics . . . The world’s largest contract chip maker is raising prices by as much as 20%, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that could result in consumers paying more for electronics. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing plans to increase the prices of its most advanced chips by roughly 10%, while less advanced chips used by customers like auto
makers will cost about 20% more, these people said. The higher prices will generally take effect late this year or next year, the people said. Apple is one of TSMC’s largest customers and its iPhones use advanced microprocessors made in TSMC foundries. It couldn’t be determined how much more Apple would pay. Wall Street Journal
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U.S. Supreme Court Puts An End to Biden's Unconstitutional Eviction Moratorium . . . On Thursday night, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Biden's unconstitutional eviction moratorium. Justice Stephen Breyer was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan in his dissent. The challenge was led by the Alabama Association of Realtors, which had also won a victory from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. "The District
Court produced a comprehensive opinion concluding that the statute on which the CDC relies does not grant it the authority it claims," the ruling wrote. "The applicants not only have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits—it is difficult to imagine them losing," it later noted. Townhall
Capitol Police lieutenant says he fatally shot Ashli Babbitt during Jan. 6 riot . . . U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Leroy Byrd admitted in an interview Thursday night that he is the officer who fired the shot that killed Jan. 6 protester Ashli Babbitt. Authorities have repeatedly declined to identify the officer who shot Babbitt, but Mr. Byrd told NBC News anchor Lester Holt that he decided to come forward to counter misrepresentations
about his actions.
“I hope they understand I did my job,” Mr. Byrd said. “There was imminent threat and danger to the members of Congress. I just want the truth to be told.” Washington Times
Harvard Selects An Atheist For Chief University Chaplain . . . Harvard University has selected a man who does not believe in God to be the school’s chief chaplain. Chief Chaplain Greg Epstein is the author of “Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe.” He also serves as Harvard’s Humanist Chaplain, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) humanist chaplain, and as Convener for Ethical Life at the MIT Office
of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life. Forty-four year old Epstein will lead the university’s community of more than 30 chaplains who represent “many of the world’s religious, spiritual, and ethical traditions” and “who share a collective commitment to serving the spiritual needs of the students, faculty, and staff of Harvard University.” These chaplains work closely with students both in groups and individually, acting as mentors and counsellors. Daily Caller
'Iron logic,' (железная логика) as the Russians would say.
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We've Obtained Biden's 9-Point Plan To Fix The Mess In Afghanistan . . .
1. Sign an executive order on climate change. - Biden will reportedly announce this at his press conference this evening. Only through fighting climate change can we stop terrorism.
2. Take a nap and hope some ideas come to him. - Sometimes all you need for inspiration to strike is a little bit of shut-eye.
3. Knock on wood even harder. - Biden says the problem with his previous plan to knock on wood is that he didn't knock hard enough. Second time is the charm!
4. Team up with Ben & Jerry's for a new ice cream flavor "Afghanistan Abandon-Mint." - Hehe, great pun.
5. Declare Afghanistan a gun-free zone. - Works 60% of the time, every time.
6. Take a longer nap. - Sometimes you need a little longer of a nap to get ideas.
7. Threaten to airdrop Hunter Biden's paintings into Kabul. - This will bring the Taliban to their knees in no time.
8. Send Kamala to cackle. - Kamala used cackle! It's super effective!
9. Don't take questions from reporters, remain in hiding while Americans are killed, and just hope this all blows over - Wait, that's not satire! Babylon Bee
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Rebekah
Rebekah Koffler
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