To filibuster or not to filibuster? Biden needs to get a move on before Doofus Duck waddles back into the swamp (Biden-Trump Thread #128)

[TheNorthWestPawsage]

Still waiting for the kraken to appear.

An interesting piece on the way information & propaganda have been used by the Taliban. They clearly haven't been slow to the party of using online media, and it seems to be part of the explanation for how they took Kabul so quickly even they themselves were surprised.

The Taliban’s vast propaganda machine has a new target
www.wired.co.uk/article/taliban-propaganda-news-afghanistan#intcid=_wired-uk-bottom-recirc_e6dc742a-9be8-418e-b945-fbb8098a6f33_popular4-1

Rather, the advances were the result of careful planning and years of strategic outreach, both online and offline.

The reality is that the Taliban has been working towards this moment for years, synergising an effective doctrine of insurgent warfighting with a comprehensive, multi-pronged communications effort that saw each and every one of its military advances handing it a new propaganda victory.
[...]
Both online and in the real world, the Taliban has been systematically shaping Afghanistan’s information environment for years, driving home the apparent inevitability of its victory. The impact of its efforts aggregated with time, such that it became a self-fulfilling, and accelerating, prophecy – the more territory it captured or troops that surrendered, the more fodder it had for its propagandists; the more fodder it had for its propagandists, the more it could triumph on the battlefield before even firing a bullet, as was the case when Kabul fell earlier this month.

Also on the theme of information wars, an article about China's attempt undermine the BBC.

The Chinese govt is, of course, furious at the BBC for reporting on their abuse of Uyghur Muslims and on, ahem, Chinese state-backed misinformation campaigns.

China’s propaganda firehose is going after the BBC
www.wired.co.uk/article/bbc-news-china-gloom-filter#

That is interesting.

Exit trouble:

www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/how-turf-wars-mucked-up-americas-exit-from-afghanistan

It's a long read.

Gen. McKENZIE: "Good afternoon everyone, I'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals and vulnerable Afghans."

Well, it's done. I guess there are some 100-200 US citizens still in Afghanistan and TPTB says they are continuing negotiations to get them out, as well as those Afghans who assisted the US.

I wish I had the political/military knowledge to make sense of it all, both the past and the future.

[quote lionheart]Exit trouble:

www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/how-turf-wars-mucked-up-americas-exit-from-afghanistan[/quote]
Very interesting. Thanks.

Less interesting ...

www.businessinsider.com/trump-complained-media-spent-weekend-covering-hurricane-ida-2021-8?r=US&IR=T

I see Trumpy wants to re-invade unless the Taliban give back all the Armalites.

I don't normally contribute to these threads but I just heard on the BBC World Service that according to the UN World Food Programme Afghanistan is in all likelihood going to run out of food by September.

My god I can’t stop thinking about the situation in Afghanistan - it is beyond awful. I don’t even have the words to express how angry I am with Biden and his administration for allowing this absolute horror show to happen.

I see Trumpy wants to re-invade unless the Taliban give back all the Armalites.

We will be left with no choice but to reinvade when Afghanistan inevitably becomes a breeding ground for horrendous human rights violations and jihad - which is why we should never have bloody left in the first place.

www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-31/fox-news-trump-lawyers-lawsuits-election-lies-four-corners/100419234

'Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell is being sued for billions over election fraud claims. She sat down with Four Corners.'

... Spoiler--not for long.

I am not surprised; the country has been frozen out of the international banking system (for now).

In addition to food security, there's a good chance that the lights will be going off, too as Afghanistan imports a lot of electricity from Uzbekistan - and they can't pay the bills.

I hope I am wrong on this. The Taliban could turn it around - push China and Pakistan for loans, promise secure access for aid workers and perhaps unlock the National Bank's cash in the US system by offering to go after Isis.

It's one hell of an ask, though, for an insurgency group that enjoys committing human rights abuses.

@lionheart

www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-31/fox-news-trump-lawyers-lawsuits-election-lies-four-corners/100419234

'Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell is being sued for billions over election fraud claims. She sat down with Four Corners.'

... Spoiler--not for long.

I saw this too. What a strange individual she is. I'm surprised anyone has ever found her credible. But given Trump was President maybe I should give up being surprised...

@TheABC

I am not surprised; the country has been frozen out of the international banking system (for now).

In addition to food security, there's a good chance that the lights will be going off, too as Afghanistan imports a lot of electricity from Uzbekistan - and they can't pay the bills.

I hope I am wrong on this. The Taliban could turn it around - push China and Pakistan for loans, promise secure access for aid workers and perhaps unlock the National Bank's cash in the US system by offering to go after Isis.

It's one hell of an ask, though, for an insurgency group that enjoys committing human rights abuses.

China and Russia preparing to make hay by the sounds of it.

Russia and China, will take advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan.

The Chinese propaganda machine is already in high gear. "The disaster in Afghanistan was caused by the U.S. and its allies," said a report in the Chinese state news wire Xinhua. "Death, bloodshed and a tremendous humanitarian tragedy are what the United State has truly left behind in Afghanistan."

China is already looking to build relations with the Taliban, having sent delegations to begin discussions of economic deals. China could exploit Afghanistan's mineral deposits while promising to build factories, power plants and roads.

Meanwhile, Russia has seized on the defeat of the U.S.-backed Afghan government and praised the Taliban, despite its murky past in Afghanistan.
thehill.com/opinion/international/570112-can-the-united-states-be-trusted-anymore

Wonder if that conversation will touch on the Uyghurs ...

Merrick Garland is trending--so much frustration about the DOJ.

www.rawstory.com/merrick-garland-trump/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/supreme-court-texas-abortion-ban

And so it begins. There is a court case still working its way through the system dealing with the constitutionality of the ban. But if the failure to rule by the SCOTUS on the current case is any indicator we may be in a world of hurt.

This is very troubling for women's rights in general. And the 'snitch for cash' provision will drive women back into the dark alleys and dangerous practices.

Someone like me would be able to quietly travel to another state 'for a weekend getaway' and no one the wiser. But a teenage girl or a poor woman, the ones most likely to have their world upended by an accidental pregnancy? They won't be so lucky. And those who may have helped them will be afraid to do so for fear of being sued and 'named and shamed' in court.

Gilead, thy name is Texas.

edition.cnn.com/2021/09/01/politics/texas-abortion-supreme-court-sb8-roe-wade/index.html

A controversial Texas law that bars abortions at six weeks went into effect early Wednesday morning after the Supreme Court and a federal appeals court failed to rule on pending emergency requests brought by abortion providers.

amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/31/capitol-riot-white-house-donald-trump

Capitol riot inquiry to investigate whether Trump’s White House was involved in attack
The committee has issued sweeping requests for Trump executive branch records related to the insurrection

dark alleys and dangerous practices

A cousin in Ireland died tragically young in the early 1960s. I only found out from my mother a couple of years before she died in 2000 that it had been from a botched backstreet abortion. She was pretty cagey about it but I gathered that the father was a seminarian and a (fairly) distant relative, who visited regularly.

Women will die because of this law. Many people who voted for Trump because they “just couldn’t vote for Hillary” have daughters who will be dramatically impacted by their vote. Clinton said in 2016 a win for Trump (giving him control of Supreme Court appointments) would end in Roe vs Wade being overturned. The Trump Supreme CourtKavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrettwill determine the rights of women for the next 30 years.

The most dystopian part of the Texas abortion ban is it is specifically designed to evade court challenges. The law’s defenders say that, given the way the law is structured, only Texas courts can rule on the matter — not federal courts.

A chilling precedent.

twitter.com/RBReich/status/1433117189406482434?s=19

When the penalty for aborting after rape is more severe than the penalty for rape, that's when you know it's a war on women.

twitter.com/mhdksafa/status/1433093698884186119?s=19