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They’re Your Problem Now, Mr Putin : Michael Galak

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2021/07/theyre-your-problem-now-mr-putin/

Having spent two years of my life on the border between the contemporary Uzbekistan and Afghanistan as a Soviet Army conscript medic many years ago, my take on the Western withdrawal from this sad place is quite different from what might be called the op-ed page consensus. It was painfully obvious that the Western attempt to help Afghans build a modern state had no chance of success because it never gained popular support. The long-term presence of a Western military coalition in Afghanistan was a grievous political miscalculation, not least because it allowed an increasingly aggressive Russia to direct its resources towards achieving its expansionist goals instead of defending its southern borders. Astonishingly, Western governments persisted with this folly for 20 years, the result being no gain whatsoever. In reality, Western forces were protecting Russia and China from radical Islam’s penetration instead of looking after its members’ own best interests.

At last the penny dropped! The ‘sudden’ withdrawal of Western forces has nothing to do with abandonment of the Afghani people to the Taliban’s less-than-tender mercies as it never won hearts and minds — quite the opposite. What we’re about to see is the beginning of the pushback by the West against Russia and China, the beginning of the America’s embrace of asymmetrical war. The fact of the matter is that this withdrawal has created a political vacuum and the related need for it to be filled.  In one  stroke the US has created a pressure point for the Russians to contain and on which they will be obliged to spend their limited resources. What
goes around, as they say, comes around.

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Laws Against Critical Race Theory Are Only the First Step Use every legal and political option to defund CRT. Don’t just ruffle their feathers, pluck ‘em. By David Randall

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/16/laws-against-critical-race-theory-are-only-the-first-step/

Several state bills and laws working to ban critical race theory (CRT) have excited heavy breathing from the see-no-evil allies of the radical educational establishment. Even purist free-speech advocates such as FIRE have expressed some qualms. So, is every bill working to ban critical race theory perfect?

No, of course not—I say with regret, because what America desperately needs is to evict CRT from its schools and from every private and public institution. The National Association of Scholars and the Civics Alliance have endorsed Stanley Kurtz’s model Partisanship Out of Civics Act (POCA), the source for Texas’ new law H.B. 3979, not just because it also bans the vocational training for community organization known as “action civics,” but precisely because its language to ban CRT is carefully crafted to respect free speech and survive the inevitable legal challenges. 

Notably, the Partisanship Out of Civics Act applies to public K-12 schools rather than to higher education, where constitutional precedent has established a larger sphere of academic freedom. We recommend the model legislations’ language to our colleagues throughout America who wish to rid our public schools of CRT because we believe that its precise language has the greatest ability to achieve real and lasting change.

That doesn’t mean we’re fussed by other bills that were introduced using broader language. The legislative process is supposed to improve bills by thoughtful amendment. So we think it is perfectly reasonable to amend a bill banning the racism of CRT to clarify that a teacher can still teach about racist figures from America’s past, such as eugenicist and founder of Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger, as well as assign their writings to students. We also think it is wise to amend the scope of blanket prohibitions of CRT to protect academic freedom in higher education. These are reasonable changes in themselves—and they will allow these bills to survive predictable challenges from the CRT advocates.

What this heavy breathing really illustrates is the need for far greater reform of our schools and universities—indeed, of all our public and private institutions—than can be achieved simply by these bills to ban CRT. America confronts institutions whose members are devoted to subverting the spirit of the Civil Rights Act, which long ago declared that “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” The latest bills to ban CRT amount to saying, we really mean it, now practice nondiscrimination in good faith. Since the radical establishment that has seized hold of our institutions wishes to discriminate, by CRT, by so-called “anti-racism,” by “diversity, inclusion, and equity,” or by whatever jargon is in fashion, policymakers must face the fact that the radical establishment, to the greatest of its abilities, will treat these laws as dead letters.

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‘Truth is Buoyant’ for Nations Seeking Global Leadership by Lawrence Kadish

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17566/truth-is-buoyant

First published in 1989, [Paul Kennedy’s] book, “The Rise and Fall of Great Powers,”… should be required reading in Washington.

Against this battering from Beijing, the Biden Administration seems to be sleepwalking. In response to the CCP’s military expansion journalists say our defense budget will be – in essence – flat, at best.

While these mistakes, missteps, and missed opportunities are early in Biden’s term, the Chinese also know the proverb that “Truth is buoyant” – it will surface at some point and become obvious to all. When it does, will America still have the means to preserve its security and freedom?

History reminds us that great nations have been brought down when their leaders failed the ultimate test – one that requires unwavering courage, insightful vision, and resolute patriotism.

Historian Paul Kennedy writes in his book “The Rise and Fall of Great Powers” that empires able to bring superior economic and technological resources to bear invariably win the pitiless fight for global power. First published in 1989, his book is not only relevant today but should be required reading in Washington.

One has to wonder if anyone currently in the Biden White House is familiar with Kennedy’s research; it spans the centuries, from Spain’s undisputed leadership in the 1500s to the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. It is a roadmap that leads readers straight to the gates of Beijing where the present communist leadership has harnessed enormous economic power, a growing arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, and a surveillance technology of its population that Stalin and Hitler could only dream of.

Current satellite imagery has revealed the stunning news that Communist China is building what defense analysts believe are more than 100 new silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

This action cannot be taken as an isolated decision: Communist China has dramatically increased its military strength – from an ocean-going navy to new stealth fighters to an aggressive space program. The leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) also seem to think nothing of allowing spent boosters to fall back to earth wherever they may. Meanwhile Hong Kong’s democracy is being strangled while international media has exposed how China seeks to crush their Uighur minority in sprawling prison camps.

China’s global shadow is only lengthening. This autumn will mark the second anniversary of a COVID virus from Wuhan whose actual origin inside China is still being debated by a global health organization that lacks both the means and political will to actually access the data that would reveal the truth.

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Putin’s New Anti-Navalny Law by Jiri Valenta and Leni Friedman Valenta

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17522/russia-putin-navalny-law

Tatiana Stanovaya, a political analyst at Carnegie Moscow, “told CNN the law threatens not only opposition politicians but ordinary Russian citizens.”

“The law is part of a larger campaign against anti-regime behavior in Russia… The battlefield has become much larger, now even a Russian citizen who participates in protests, retweets an opposition post or donates to opposition groups, face the risk of prosecution.” — Tatiana Stanovaya.

Russia’s decision to crush all political opposition seems a clear indication of how Putin fears Navalny and his influence over the Russian electorate….

A number of Russian opposition politicians have already been barred from taking part in elections or were persecuted for their support for Navalny or other pro-democracy groups.

“The process was held behind closed doors, and I myself did not participate in it. Even though we demanded it, I was not even invited.” — Alexei Navalny, Instagram, as reported by CNN, June 10, 2021.

The Russian courts are a “laughingstock.” — Alexei Navalny, Instagram, as reported by courthousenews.com, June 10, 2021.

On June 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning “individuals designated as ‘extremists’ from running for public offices.”

There is little doubt that the legislation signed by Putin is aimed largely at opposition leader Alexei Navalny, now in prison, and whoever supports him. According to CNN:

“The law prevents members of ‘extremist’ or ‘terrorist’ organizations from standing in elections for a period of three to five years… Founders and leaders of designated groups will not be able to run for elected office for five years… Employees or financial supporters of court-ruled extremist and terrorist organizations will be banned from running for office for three years.”

Five days later, on June 9, Navalny’s “Anti-Corruption Foundation,” (FBK) and “Citizens Rights Protection Foundation” were declared by the Moscow City Court to be “extremist” organizations. According to CNN:

“The court ordered that FBK be liquidated and its property transferred into the ownership of the Russian Federation, according to a statement from the Moscow City Court’s press service.

“The court also banned the activities of Navalny’s regional political offices around Russia, which has mobilized protests in the past…”

The court’s decision, subject to immediate execution, “also banned the activities of Navalny’s regional political offices around Russia” which have upheld Navalny’s “smart voting strategy” to support candidates not from Putin’s party and which have organized protests in the past.

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The EU Leaders Join North Korea in Welcoming Iran’s Mass Murderer President by Majid Rafizadeh

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17567/eu-north-korea-welcome-iran-president

By handpicking a mass murderer to be president, the Iranian regime is sending a strong message to the Iranian people and the world that it will not respect human rights.

How could a leader of a democratic country congratulate a mass murderer?

The people of Iran, like those of Hong Kong and now Cuba, have been struggling and fighting to change their regime, while European governments and leaders of democratic countries — including the current administration in the United States — have basically been sending a message to the people: We do not care about your aspiration for justice, rule of law and human rights; instead we are going to partner with your authoritarian leaders.

Europe’s leaders have also been totally disregarding calls by human rights organizations to investigate Iran’s mass murderer mullah — who will also most likely be the next Supreme Leader of Iran.

“That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran….. The circumstances surrounding the fate of the victims and the whereabouts of their bodies are, to this day, systematically concealed by the Iranian authorities, amounting to ongoing crimes against humanity. — Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, June 19, 2021.

It is indeed shameful, and a blow to the people of Iran and advocates of human rights and democracy, that European governments and leaders of democracies are joining North Korea to congratulate Iran’s mass murderer president — and wishing him success!

The leaders of the European Union, who preach about human rights and democracy, are not only turning a blind eye to the Iranian regime’s handpicking of a mass murderer, Ebrahim Raisi, to be the next president; they are also now joining North Korea in congratulating the ruling mullahs and their new President Raisi.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, issuing a message congratulating Iran’s new incoming president, stated that he is “confident” friendly relationships between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Austria would continue. “In his message,” wrote the Islamic Republic News Agency, “…. he wished success for president-elect Raisi and said that his country, as the host of multinational negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal, is ready to make any cooperation. He expressed hope that the Vienna talks will yield fruit in the near future.”

How could a leader of a democratic country congratulate a mass murderer? What kind of message is he sending to the Iranian people who boycotted the elections and called on the international community to investigate the new mullah president?

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Strangely Nazi-like talk at a Pennsylvania college By Civis Americanus

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/07/strangely_nazilike_talk_at_a_pennsylvania_college.html

Franklin and Marshall is a private college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania whose annual tuition exceeds $63,000 a year.  If the recent “Franklin & Marshall Faculty Statement in Solidarity with Palestine,” as signed by two dozen F&M professors, is in any indicator of the school’s quality, students should look into public universities whose tuition is one third of this or even less.  More to the point is the fact that Godwin’s Law ceases to apply when somebody really does talk like a Nazi.

The letter’s first paragraph refers to “refugees expelled and driven from their homes during the Nakba (1947–49) that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel.”  “Nakba” (catastrophe) does not refer to Israel’s well justified seizure of land in the 1967 war — the third war that its neighbors started or provoked in less than twenty years followed by the one in 1973 that could have started the Third World War.  The Anti-Defamation League explains that pro-Palestinian sources use “Nakba” to depict the creation of Israel as a catastrophe and deny Israel’s right to exist.  That, as opposed to arguments over the subsequently occupied territories, is anti-Semitic.

The truth is that while some Arabs were driven from their homes by Israelis, most fled at the behest of the countries that invaded Israel in 1948 with the openly expressed intention of driving all the Jews into the sea.  “Israel maintains that it is not responsible for the Palestinian refugee problem since it is the result of a war forced on Israel by invading Arab armies.”  The ADL adds accurately that the countries that started the war and were therefore responsible for most of the displacement refused, with the exception of Jordan, to accept their fellow Arabs.  The signatories also leave out the inconvenient fact that roughly 800,000 Jews had to flee nearby countries still in possession of the property they stole from the Jews in question.

The letter continues, “The story of children killed in the most recent Gaza attacks alone reveals the absurd inaccuracy of the ‘evenhandedness’ narrative.”  The story of the children killed in Gaza is the story of Hamas’s use of its own civilians as human shields with the intention of getting them killed so Hamas’s dupes and useful idiots can bleat about how the Israelis murder children.  Some were even killed by Hamas rockets that fell short of Israel.  The Germans (not Nazis, however) behaved far better during the Second World War.  General Frido von Senger took particular care to avoid looking out the windows of the Abbey at Monte Cassino lest he see Allied troops, which would technically turn the Abbey into an “observation post” and therefore a legitimate military target.  He also kept his soldiers and weapons off the premises, entirely in contrast to Hamas.

The letter continues, “The brutal system that controls Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is ideologically founded upon Jewish supremacy,” which is where it really talks like a Nazi.  “The phrase ‘Jewish supremacy’ can be traced back to Nazi Germany and has been retreaded for use in today’s conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, writes Gil Troy in Newsweek.”  Nobody needs to pay $63,000 a year to learn about Jewish supremacy at Franklin & Marshall when he can get it for free from the Stormfront White Nationalist Community where a Google search brings up more than a thousand links for this topic.  One of the Stormfront pages cites David Duke’s “My Struggle Awakening” (Ku Klux Klansmen can get “woke,” too!), which covers Jewish supremacy in extensive detail, according to the table of contents.  I did not buy a copy because there is no longer a shortage of toilet paper.  Here, meanwhile, is a free online lecture on Jewish supremacy that makes just as much sense.

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Confronting Teacher Union Twaddle After insisting that critical race theory is not being taught in K-12 schools, Randi Weingarten—teacher union boss and gaslighter extraordinaire—has ceded any right to be taken seriously. By Larry Sand

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/14/confronting-teacher-union-twaddle/

Randi Weingarten, the gaffe-prone president of the American Federation of Teachers has outdone herself, and that isn’t easy. In a series of seven open letters over the years, I have playfully chided the union boss about her trove of inane and bizarre musings. But now she has jumped the proverbial shark.

Immediately following the National Education Association’s annual meeting, the American Federation of Teachers held an online conference, which began July 6. As the keynote speaker, Weingarten kicked things off, and most of her 74-minute talk was typical rah-rah teacher union blather, including praise for Joe and Kamala, and the obligatory swipe at The Donald. But late in her talk, the bushwa really kicked in.

At the 60-minute mark, she described a “new culture campaign” that 

some lawmakers (and Fox News) are using to distort history, limit learning and stoke fears about our public schools. 

Let’s be clear: critical race theory is not taught in elementary schools or high schools. It’s a method of examination taught in law school and college that helps analyze whether systemic racism exists—and, in particular, whether it has an effect on law and public policy.

I wonder how Weingarten can make such a bone-jarringly stupid statement when there is a boatload of evidence to the contrary. Just a few of the myriad examples from across the country:

In Buffalo, students are told that “all white people” perpetuate systemic racism, and kindergarteners were forced to watch a video of dead black children, warning them about “racist police and state-sanctioned violence” which might kill them at any time.

The Arizona Department of Education has created an “equity” toolkit, which claims that babies show the first signs of racism at three months old, and that white children become full racists—“strongly biased in favor of whiteness”—by age five.
In Cupertino, CA third-graders are forced to deconstruct their racial identities, then rank themselves according to their “power and privilege.”
The principal of a school in New York City sent white parents a “tool for action,” which tells them they must become “white traitors” and then advocate for full “white abolition.”
In Seattle, there was a training session for teachers in which schools were deemed guilty of “spirit murder” against black students.

The San Diego Unified School District orders their students to “confront and examine your white privilege” and to “acknowledge when you feel white fragility.” Additionally, children are told to “understand the impact of white supremacy in your work.” 

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The Capitol Cover Up Release the tapes. Release the name of Ashli Babbitt’s shooter. And release Joe Biden’s political prisoners. Julie Kelly

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/15/the-capitol-cover-up/

Judge G. Michael Harvey sounded floored.

During a detention hearing this week for Robert Morss, arrested last month for his involvement in the Capitol protest, a federal prosecutor told Harvey she needed permission from the government before she could turn over to him a slice of video related to Morss’ case. Joe Biden’s Justice Department continues to seek pre-trial detention for people who protested Biden’s election on January 6; prosecutors want to keep Morss, an Army ranger and high school history teacher with no criminal record, behind bars until his trial can begin next year.

But assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Jackson hesitated when Judge Harvey asked to see the footage captured by the U.S. Capitol Police surveillance system cited as evidence in government charging documents.

“Why haven’t I seen the video?” Harvey asked Jackson on Wednesday afternoon. She told the judge he could have access to the body-worn camera recordings and public source videos but that the USCP footage is under a protective order, which is common in most January 6 cases.

After Morss’ defense attorney said the photographs in the charging documents did not accurately reflect the video evidence the government gave to her under discovery requirements, Harvey demanded to see it for himself. “And anything you show to me . . . I’ll issue a minute order to release it to the public as well.”

Jackson informed the court she would submit the missing video evidence on Friday.

The hearing is the latest example of how hard the USCP and Justice Department are fighting to keep more than 14,000 hours of surveillance video under wraps. Lawyers for the USCP insist the recordings can’t be released for fear doing so will give wannabe insurrectionists too much information about the inside of the complex; the Justice Department claims the footage is “highly sensitive” government material.

Defense lawyers and media companies are fighting for fuller access to videos used as evidence by the Justice Department. Cherry-picked clips produced by the government are released to the media to support the narrative that January 6 was an armed, violent insurrection perpetrated by domestic terrorists who supported Donald Trump. The Biden Justice Department, in other words, has full control over a massive trove of recordings that shows exactly what happened on January 6.

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Stay the Course The Delta variant does not justify reimposing Covid-19 restrictions in the United States. Joel Zinberg,M.D.

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://www.city-journal.org/delta-variant-doesnt-justify-new-covid-restrictions?wallit_nosession=1

One cannot open a newspaper, turn on a TV, or scroll through an online news feed without hearing about Covid-19’s new Delta variant. While the variant is cause for concern among unvaccinated Americans and in many foreign countries, it shouldn’t make us reconsider our approach to the virus at this stage in the reopening process.

Delta is a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. It was first identified in India more than six months ago and has spread to 100 plus countries, having become the dominant variant in many, including the United States. It is 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha, or U.K., variant, which previously predominated in the U.S. and was itself 50 percent more transmissible than the original viral strain from China. This has led to increased infections both here and worldwide.

But the bump in infections is nearly entirely among the unvaccinated. The authorized Covid-19 vaccines appear to be effective against Delta. And Delta is not clearly more dangerous than earlier variants: the average Covid-19 case with Delta is no more likely to lead to severe disease, hospitalization, or death than cases with other variants. Despite rising numbers of U.S. Delta cases, hospitalizations in July have risen only minimally, while Covid-19 deaths have remained flat.

The accumulating evidence shows that the authorized vaccines are highly effective at lessening transmission for all variants—including Delta. In the rare cases where vaccinated people become infected, their disease is mild and they pose a lower risk of transmitting the virus to others than do unvaccinated people.

Thankfully, 59 percent of American adults are fully vaccinated. Sixty-eight percent have received at least one dose, which provides them some protection, though not as much as the complete regimen. The news is even better for the most vulnerable population: those 65 and older. Nearly 80 percent have been fully vaccinated and nearly 90 percent received at least one dose.

While younger people remain unvaccinated—authorization was only recently approved for those age 12 and up—Covid-19 is rarely a severe disease for people under 18. Deaths in those 18 and younger account for only one-tenth of 1 percent of Covid-19 deaths. Deaths below age 12 are practically unheard of. In fact, severe disease in people under 50 is rare unless they have comorbidities.

Despite this good news, pockets of concern do exist. Nine southern states, along with Wyoming and Idaho, significantly lag the nation in vaccination rates. Moreover, even well-vaccinated states have localized communities with large numbers of unvaccinated people.

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“Family Formations and Declining Fertility Rates”-Sydney Williams

Posted By on July 17th, 2021

https://swtotd.blogspot.com/

Sixty years ago, the threat of population growth outstripping the ability of the Earth to feed, clothe and house people was real. That is no longer the case. We now face the opposite challenge. The West, including the U.S. and the rest of the developed world, are no longer having enough children to replace themselves. Simultaneously, in the U.S. there has been a sharp rise in out-of-wedlock births and father-less children. In a world consumed with identity politics, legalizing marijuana and climate change the problem of one-parent families has been ignored. 

Aging and (ultimately for Europe and the U.S.) declining populations face us. Japan’s population declined by about 400,000 over the past twenty years. Europe’s population increased by sixteen million (727 million to 743 million) between 2000 and 2020, but only because of an estimated 40 million immigrants. The United States population grew by 50 million during the past twenty years, with about half the growth coming from immigrants.

Demographers use TFR (Total Fertility Rate) to determine whether a nation’s native population is increasing or shrinking. It is a measure of the fertility of an imaginary woman through her reproductive life. Replacement is 2.1. In 2019, the TFR for Japan was 1.37, for Europe 1.52 and for the U.S. 1.71. The last time a TFR of 2.1 was reached in the U.S. was in 2007. In contrast, in 1960 the TFR was 3.65. Economic growth, over time, relies on population expansion. If it doesn’t come through births, it must come by way of immigration. As the United States grew rapidly in the post-World War II period, TFRs averaged over 3.0. Where population growth exceeds replacement are in undeveloped countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, and in India and Indonesia. Even in those regions, TFRs are declining.

Problems associated from aging and shrinking populations, i.e., a smaller workforce supporting a larger retired population and greater use of healthcare, have been exacerbated by changing cultural mores and an abandonment of traditional Judeo-Christian values, particularly in the U.S.  Out-of-wedlock births have increased, while births to married women have declined. And, it has been clearly demonstrated that out-of-wedlock births (70% of all births in a city like Baltimore) lead to drug and alcohol abuse, with criminality, poverty and illiteracy as their progeny. Not assuming responsibility for one’s actions leads to increased dependency on the state, and increased dependency leads to a loss of the dignity associated with work.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percent of children living in two-parent households declined from 88% in 1960 to 69% in 2016, while the percent of children living with a single mother rose from 8% in 1960 to 23% in 2016. A survey by the Pew Research Center reports that the U.S. “has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households.”