Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[iam416]

Don’t worry, folks. The Security Council has called for a democratic government in Afghanistan with pull participation for women.

So, it’s all taken care of.

[crashcourse]

There's kind of a bigger story out there right now than another Hunter Biden sextape leaking.

yeah nothing to see here--move along

it is amazing that a groups like alqueda and isis are all but obliterated but in a country we spend 20 years trying to subdue--the response and the vilocity of that response from the taliban is mind boggling. and the willingess of the afghan national army to just bend over and let them have it even though they have them outnumbered and out equipped they seem to have no motivation or tailbone

[lineygoblue]

Don’t worry, folks. The Security Council has called for a democratic government in Afghanistan with pull participation for women.

So, it’s all taken care of.

Whew! .. that was close. I was worried that Afghanistan was going to become some sort of radical Islamic republic like Iran.

The Taliban is obviously misunderstood. They're just a bunch of really nice guys who want what is best for everyone.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Don’t worry, folks. The Security Council has called for a democratic government in Afghanistan with pull participation for women.

So, it’s all taken care of.

As long as all minorities are represented peace will be achieved. It's been proven in the US...just appease all groups and they will live in harmony with each other. Kumbaya.

Thank God we have China Joe who doesnt tweet mean things.

#orangemanbad

[THE_WIZARD_]

....to steal some poetic license from Big Rig Joe...Kabul is Saigon on Steroids!!!

[iam416]

Heh

[Dr. Strangelove]

Missed this yesterday and have talked about it earlier this summer. Feds declare a water shortage in the Colorado River basin and announce states will have their apportionment cut next year. Arizona expected to have its share cut the most by 18%

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/16/feds-will-ration-water-from-colorado-river-amid-historic-drought.html

[Mike]

Plenty of water in Michigan...

[Dr. Strangelove]

As of yesterday the seven day rolling average for covid deaths in Florida was now at 170. That's only a little shy of the all-time highs of last summer and January (185). Not great, Jeff. Get your act together

[Da Geezer]

As long as all minorities are represented peace will be achieved. It's been proven in the US...just appease all groups and they will live in harmony with each other. Kumbaya.

Thank God we have China Joe who doesnt tweet mean things.

#orangemanbad

Like calling a country a shithole.

[Jeff Buchanan]

As of yesterday the seven day rolling average for covid deaths in Florida was now at 170. That's only a little shy of the all-time highs of last summer and January (185). Not great, Jeff. Get your act together

Sailing the Western Atlantic headed toward St. Croix, USVI. I'm fine.

...... and let's be clear. Desantis' opponents love to mock him for his repeated back-patting that he got things right in FL. Death rates in FL have emerged as a convenient tool to do that. How FL reports deaths has been controversial since day one of the pandemic. Desantis has repeatedly questioned the accuracy of it along with several other governors of both political parties. Deaths from or with COVID is a contentious debate. As I've stated on multiple occasions here, raw data without background and out of context can be dangerously misleading.

My take is that in a general sense and up until the latest increase in new cases, deaths and hospitalizations were reasonable metrics to assess disease impact. Now, this data, as unreliable as many have claimed it is, as politicized as deaths and hospitalization rates have become, all of it is being used as a club. It's part of the unending fear monkey narrative. I've tuned it out.

Vaccines will end this thing along with dying from COVID or getting admitted to hospitals with it. It's going to take a while. The folks aren't patient and when the suffering from COVID is dramatized, used as a club, it does nothing positive to encourage perseverance in the face of difficulty.

What I look at is people returning to normal routines, traveling, socializing, going out to eat, going to concerts and watching sporting events as metrics of disease impact. Like any infectious disease pandemic, people are going to get sick. Some will dye, although the COVID CFR remains low. More importantly, western governments are realizing they can't shut shit down, close boarders, restrict mobility and mandate behaviors - the folks don't like that and that promotes resistance to even sensible ways to live with this thing. Resistance frequently prompts PH authorities to over-react irrationally in the face of public pressure to "DO SOMETHING." Perfect example is the ridiculous boarder closings and paper-work drills that are choking travel - a key to a vibrant global economy.

So, yeah, my act is completely together. I'm assessing my risks, seeing them low, taking my own precautions where I think it necessary, generally carrying on with my pre-COVID life. At the same time, I'm rejecting all the fear monkey nonsense. Instead I'm traveling and spending money. Doing my part and advocating where I can for government officials like Ron Desantis who clearly stand against governments pursuing questionable PH polices under declared PHE's that should be cancelled. Those policies, IMO and in most cases before it in the opinion of SCOTUS, are unconstitutional.

[Mike]

Rant Alert:

Re: Afghanistan. Finger pointing and the Blame Game will be the new national pastime for the next week or so but don't let it distract from the undeniable truth: The Taliban are back in control because the Afghan National Army (and by extension most of the men in general) are huge cowards.

In fact, "cowards" is too charitable a term. They are actually human excrement. The nicest thing I can say about them is that they are dumb, illiterate, lazy, heartless, and corrupt. And they smell like hot garbage. If fleeing and quitting was an Olympic sport, Afghanistan would sweep the medal stand.

I was last there fifteen years ago and we would just laugh at the thought of the day when we finally left for good. I mean it was KNOWN that the day after we left (whenever that day was), the Taliban would come of of the mountains and take over in short order. There was never a doubt among any American soldier on the ground that didn't have a political game to play (i.e. a general or military spokesperson that had to say nice things about the Afghans as not to sow seeds of doubt back home and/or undermine our efforts in country).

It was easy to come to this conclusion after running joint missions with the Afghan "army". This is a group of people that have the equivalent of a fourth grade education in a developed country. Imagine handing random 4th graders automatic weapons and instructing them to defend the country. Then there was the abject laziness and bad attitude. We had issues with an Afghan squad that didn't show up to go out on patrol with us because it was too cold! Their commanding officer was literally asleep in his bed when he should have had his men ready to go. That doesn't exactly build trust among "allies".

One time (when they actually showed up for work) we were out patrolling some mountains and set up shop for the night. All of a sudden a couple shots ring out in the middle of the night. Everyone hops-to and tries to figure out what the hell's going on. Turns out the dipshit Afghan that was on watch at the time literally shot at his own shadow! This is a true story. The dude got so spooked when he saw something move in the moonlight, he thought it was an enemy fighter and tried to shoot it. That was the end of any sleep that night.

Here's another good one: Afghan dude has his AK slung behind his back, goes to rest his hands on his hips or back pockets, hits the trigger of his live weapon and shoots himself in the leg. Dumbest of the dumb, folks.

A not so funny one: A medic from my company (at a different location from me) was wounded when an Afghan "army" soldier open fire on his American counterparts. The round snuck inside one side of his helmet, traveled around his head and out the other side. No structural damage, fortunately, but a lot of blood. He was denied a Purple Heart because it was deemed a "friendly fire" incident. A couple others weren't so lucky and died in the attack.

I could go on and on but I think you get the point.

Afghans also are the most morally bereft miscreants I've ever had the displeasure of being around. Turns out they love themselves some young boys. One thing that we noticed early on was that a lot of boys around, say, 8-12 years old had colored fingernails. Didn't really think too much about it but eventually someone started asking questions out of general curiosity. Long story short is that Pashtun men take on a "boy toy" for sexual gratification. The color of the finger nails represents who the boy belongs to. See, in large portions of Afghanistan women are for making babies but boys are for fun!

https://medium.com/ryot-news/hand-covers-bruise-the-destruction-of-afghanistan-s-boys-e4c6db2b7f7f

The victims of “boy play” are Afghan boys from the age of nine to sixteen years old. Boys at this age are sought due to the ‘feminine’ qualities that they possess. Hairless legs, a beardless face and soft features coupled with a submissive nature makes an “Ashna” — term used for the boys, meaning “Beloveds” — adored by participants of bacha bazi. “Having a boy has become a custom for us. Whoever wants to show off, should have a boy,” an owner told Reuters.

The “play” with the boys is in reference to the public dancing as well as the activities, or “duties” undertaken by an owned Ashna. These include subservience to an older male, often of rank or privilege. Subservience consists of accompanying the older man or “Lord” on errands, giving private dance performances and, in the majority of cases, enduring repeated violent oral and anal rape.

Oh, if you're having trouble keeping up, those are the "good guys".

Here's some more of the good guys doing good guy things like fleeing their country and families to save their own skin when faced with danger. Sure looks like a lot of military aged men. They must have ran out of ammo after all that fierce fighting with the Taliban.

afghanistan-evacuation-us-air-force-170821-01.jpg

So nice of them to let the women and children go first. True gentlemen.

Kabul airport.jpg

In summation, if I were King for a day, I'd nuke Afghanistan into a glass parking lot, enjoy a big breakfast, and take the rest of the day off.

[Hannibal]

Afghans also are the most morally bereft miscreants I've ever had the displeasure of being around. Turns out they love themselves some young boys. One thing that we noticed early on was that a lot of boys around, say, 8-12 years old had colored fingernails. Didn't really think too much about it but eventually someone started asking questions out of general curiosity. Long story short is that Pashtun men take on a "boy toy" for sexual gratification. The color of the finger nails represents who the boy belongs to. See, in large portions of Afghanistan women are for making babies but boys are for fun!How come every time I read or hear something about Afghanistan it makes me like the Taliban more?

I'm officially on board with the Taliban takeover being a good thing.

[lineygoblue]

I both liked and hated that post, Mike. Thanks for posting it.

[Jeff Buchanan]

The papers are full of, well, you guessed it, fear monkey bullshit about what's going to happen in Afghanistan as if reasonable Americans should give a shit. As I posted earlier, the visuals are bad but the dramatization of it as a club wielded on the American public to further increase our self-loathing is shameful.

The best thing Joe Biden has done as president to date is cut the cord on the 2 decade long effort to create a western style democracy in a country of degenerates (see Mike's post above) incapable of understanding let alone implementing a democratic government embracing American values.

TBH, I don't care what happens there or how the Taliban govern. It seems to me that the Afghani populace deserves and needs authoritarian rule and for Americans or the US government to wring it's hands over such an outcome is just plain stupid.