Hurricane Ida, The Aftermath
Posted By: earlybird, 8/30/2021 10:36:04 AM
As many long-time readers will know, we do have a little bit more than average experience dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes. I ain’t no expert in the before part; you need to heed the local professionals who guide you through any preparation, and neighborhood specific guidelines, for your immediate area…But when it comes to the ‘after part’, well, as a long-time CERT recovery member, perhaps I can share some things you might find of value. Consider this little word salad a buffet, absorb what might be of value – pass over anything else.If your town, city or hamlet is not underwater, there will be convoys coming to construct a
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earlybird"
The Freedom to Be Left Alone
13 replies
If one were to come up with a bumper-sticker definition of personal liberty, it would be something like “the freedom to be left alone.” A society that respects the liberty of its citizens is one in which the citizen can be left to live his life as he sees fit, beyond the basic duties incumbent upon all citizens. (snip)
At the root of this, the spring that provides the impetus for such an arrangement, is the cultural understanding that everyone has a duty to mind their own business. What must animate a “free society” is the understanding that you are not only free of the unwanted gaze from others, including the
As news reports spread the word that the United States has officially ended its military presence in Afghanistan, one member of a group of former special operations warriors reminds the world of the terror faced by those the federal government has left behind.
“This is 1936 Germany Gestapo meets the Hunger Games,” Peter Quinn, director of Ark Salus, told The Epoch Times. “It is a high tension, high panic, Anne Frank-like environment.”
(snip) Quinn provided his on-the-ground assessment of the situation in Afghanistan as of Sunday. (Snip)“No matter who is trying to lead the country, no matter who is trying to form a sovereign state, the ISIS-K, Khorasan initiative,
“We have quite an exhaustive list of people. I won't tell you who they are.” With those words, House Select Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) confirmed that a subpoena storm was about to be unleashed in the investigation of the Jan. 6 riot in Congress. The targets would include Republican members, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who have already been told to preserve their phone records to be surrendered to the committee. The Democrats are reportedly trying to prove their prior claims that Republicans conspired or assisted “insurrectionists,” even though the FBI reportedly found no evidence of a planned insurrection.
The Democrats' move to
In the latest example of the complete lack of vetting in the ongoing evacuation of alleged Afghan refugees, a man who was previously deported after being convicted of rape returned to the United States on one of the last Afghan evacuation flights, the Daily Caller reports.
The criminal in question is 47-year-old Ghader Heydari, who is currently on parole as a result of his conviction. He had boarded an Ethiopian flight that was meant to take evacuees, but was detained after arriving at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. (snip), his return to the country marks yet another failure in the chaotic evacuation process that appears to have little to
Angry Joe Biden Refuses to Admit Mistakes
or Accept Accountability in Disastrous
Afghanistan Exit 21 replies
or Accept Accountability in Disastrous
Afghanistan Exit 21 replies
A defiant President Joe Biden defended his tumultuous exit from Afghanistan on Tuesday, refusing to admit mistakes or accept blame for lives lost or Americans left behind.
“Some say that the evacuation from Afghanistan could have been started sooner and completed in a more orderly fashion,” Biden said. “I respectfully disagree.”
Biden began by describing the military evacuation as a success, defying critics of his rushed exit from the country after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on August 15.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday acknowledged that Americans were stranded in Afghanistan despite earlier comments to the contrary made by White House officials. He said it’s not clear how many remain.
“Right now I think the tools we have available to us and that we’re going to use as a U.S. government is going to be more in the diplomatic, economic lanes, and we don’t really see a military role right now,” Kirby told MSNBC on Tuesday morning when asked if the U.S. military would play a role in rescuing those individuals.
When asked about whether the State Department could help evacuate Americans from the country amid Taliban terrorist rule,
Just 24 hours before a suicide bomber detonated an explosive outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, senior military leaders gathered for the Pentagon’s daily morning update on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.
Speaking from a secure video conference room on the third floor of the Pentagon at 8 a.m. Wednesday — or 4:30 p.m. in Kabul — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin instructed more than a dozen of the department’s top leaders around the world to make preparations for an imminent “mass casualty event,” according to classified detailed notes of the gathering shared with POLITICO.
During the meeting, Gen. Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned of “significant” intelligence indicating
Almost 90 Retired Flag Officers Demand
Mark Milley, Lloyd Austin Resign
After Afghanistan Debacle 24 replies
Mark Milley, Lloyd Austin Resign
After Afghanistan Debacle 24 replies
Nearly 90 retired U.S. generals and admirals penned an open letter asking Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley to resign from their positions following their “negligence in performing their duties primarily involving events surrounding the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
“As principal military advisors to the CINC [Commander-in-Chief]/President, the SECDEF and CJCS should have recommended against this dangerous withdrawal in the strongest possible terms,” the letter states. “If they did not do everything within their authority to stop the hasty withdrawal, they should resign. Conversely, if they did do everything within their ability to persuade the CINC/President to not
The Western world is living a massive COVID lie. That lie is strangling the life out of liberty, and it will destroy our constitutional order if we do not end this horrifying charade.
A recent article in The Guardian discussing France’s vaccine passport unconsciously provides the perfect example. It describes the Great Plague that struck Marseille in 1720 (the final contortion of the Black Death), noting that it “kill[ed] more than half of the city’s population.”
“[S]truggl[ing] to find a delicate balance between halting the spread of the disease and damaging vital commerce,” the city authorities,(snip) ordered travelers “to carry a ‘bill of health’ and ships arriving at the Mediterranean port underwent
Ron Johnson Demands Answers After U.S.
Commander Allegedly Turned Away
American Citizens In Kabul 18 replies
Commander Allegedly Turned Away
American Citizens In Kabul 18 replies
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken demanding answers on why a U.S. military official allegedly stopped Americans and Afghan allies from evacuating Afghanistan at the Kabul airport.
Johnson said he has heard reports indicating “a group of over 400 individuals including U.S. citizens were turned away from the airport” by “the commander of the 82nd Airborne Brigade … who told them to get back on their buses and turn around because ‘the rescue was over.’”
“It is not clear what happened to the Americans and the other individuals after they left the airport,” Johnson wrote.
TOKYO - Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) COVID-19 vaccine contamination woes in Japan have widened with another million doses being temporarily suspended, after foreign substances were found in more batches and two people died following shots from affected lots.
The suspension of Moderna supplies, affecting more than 2.6 million does in total, comes as Japan battles its worst wave of COVID-19 yet, driven by the contagious Delta variant, with new daily infections exceeding 25,000 this month for the first time amid a slow vaccine rollout.The latest reports of vaccine contamination came from Gunma prefecture near Tokyo and the southern prefecture of Okinawa,
Hurricane Ida, The Aftermath
11 replies
As many long-time readers will know, we do have a little bit more than average experience dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes. I ain’t no expert in the before part; you need to heed the local professionals who guide you through any preparation, and neighborhood specific guidelines, for your immediate area…But when it comes to the ‘after part’, well, as a long-time CERT recovery member, perhaps I can share some things you might find of value. Consider this little word salad a buffet, absorb what might be of value – pass over anything else.If your town, city or hamlet is not underwater, there will be convoys coming to construct a
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
President Joe Biden received praise from an unlikely source on Tuesday: Ann Coulter.
Biden had just concluded his address to the nation on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending a war that had lasted 20 years. The president has been criticized for failing to anticipate the rapid crumbling of Afghan security forces in the face of the Taliban’s advance.
That caused a chaotic scene at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, where the U.S. military hurried to evacuate more than 123,000 Americans and Afghans despite being surrounded by the Taliban and ISIS-K.
We’ve written about Biden checking his watch while he was at Dover AFB yesterday watching the transfer of those who died in Kabul from the airplane to the hearses (snip) Marine Lance Corporation Rylee McCollum was one of those who died. (snip) his wife, Jiennah went to meet with Biden. (snip) Roice [McCollum’s sister] said. The president brought up his son, Beau, according to her account, describing his son’s military service and subsequent death from cancer. It struck the family as scripted and shallow, a conversation that lasted only a couple of minutes in ‘total disregard to the loss of our Marine,’ Roice said.
A private airplane that was flying into Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul, Afghanistan to rescue stranded American citizens and Afghan allies allegedly was told to turn back or they would be shot down.
In the past 24 hours, American officials in charge of giving clearance at the airport told fellow Americans they would be fired upon if they didn’t leave, Mary Beth Long, a former Department of Defense official, told American Greatness in an exclusive interview. (Snip)
Some American citizens, she said, have made the perilous journey to HKIA four times, only to be turned away at the gates each time. As a result of the Biden Administration’s
I ask this question for two reasons:
I have seen enough videos and read about enough officer-civilian interactions to know that the act of subduing a lethal threat requires several rounds.
If an intruder entered my home and threatened my wife and child, I would shoot until I was able to ensure the target was immobilized.
As to the first statement, there are plenty of examples of police officers firing multiple shots at a suspected threat. In the past year, the American public has been thoroughly able to parse through the shootings of criminals like Breonna Taylor and Antonio Brown, to name just two examples.
Biden speech - live: President discusses
‘tough decisions’ after last
US troops leave Kabul 26 replies
‘tough decisions’ after last
US troops leave Kabul 26 replies
President Joe Biden will address the nation following the US withdrawal from a 20-year war in Afghanistan, after the last American troops departed from Kabul on Monday night. The nation’s longest war – in which nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians, 2,500 US service members, and thousands of Afghan military, police and Taliban fighters were killed – “has ended,” the president said in a statement on 30 August.
A day after the U.S. officially pulled out of Afghanistan, and less than a week after a suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. Service Members, Rep. Carlos Gimenez has just tweeted that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) has blocked the names of those dead servicemen and women from being read on the floor of the House of Representatives. Rep. Brian Mast (R), a wounded combat veteran from Afghanistan, tells The Floridian that during a Republican-only “moment of silence,” Speaker Pelosi refused to recognize them to” read names or bring up bills or anything.”
With the final military planes off the tarmac and out of Afghan airspace, the Biden administration was desperate to try to paint their deadly disaster as some sort of success. Each of the press secretaries and top officials at the White House, State Department, and Pentagon parroted the same talking point that it was the largest airlift in U.S. history. But CBS News popped their bubble Monday as they pointed out how the “hundreds” of Americans they abandoned in the terrorist haven would beg to differ.
During their Special Report break-in for the Pentagon press conference with U.S. CENTCOM General Kenneth McKenzie, senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe seemed taken aback
Tuesday, Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did not rule out providing aid to the Taliban following the United States’ withdrawal out of Afghanistan.
Sullivan told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that giving aid to the Taliban “will be about whether the terrorist organization follows through on its commitments,” including safe passage for Americans and Afghan allies.
“[F]irst of all, we do believe that there is an important dimension of humanitarian assistance that should go directly to the people of Afghanistan,” Sullivan outlined. “They need help with respect to health and food aid and other forms of subsistence, and we do intend to continue that. Secondly, when it comes to our economic
A poll released Tuesday shows President Joe Biden continues to suffer low approval ratings after his disastrous exit from Afghanistan.Morning Consult reports that 48 percent of voters approve of Biden’s job performance while 49 percent disapprove.That marks a seven-point drop in Biden’s net approval rating in two weeks since Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban earlier this month. (Snip) The latest poll was conducted Aug. 27-29 among 15,623 registered U.S. voters.Biden’s net approval rating has fallen six points among independents, the poll shows, a drop in line with other polling released over the past 48-hours as the president comes under attack from all sides.
With last troops out of Afghanistan, House
GOP plans 'accountability' for
Biden administration 23 replies
GOP plans 'accountability' for
Biden administration 23 replies
With U.S. troops fully out of Afghanistan by President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, House Republicans who opposed the withdrawal date are full of rage — and planning a variety of legislative tactics to get a better understanding of the situation.
GOP lawmakers say they want to hold the administration accountable for failures in the withdrawal’s execution that left 13 U.S. service members dead and hundreds of Americans still in the country.
Taking after Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken finally showed up two hours late and spoke about the U.S. leaving Afghanistan after twenty years today.
He spoke about how they were now going to be setting up diplomatic operations in Doha, Qatar rather than Kabul. He claimed a new “diplomatic mission” had begun.
Blinken then claimed a new international consensus and the U.S. would hold the Taliban accountable to allow freedom of movement for people to leave. We didn’t even do that by the airport for Americans when we had troops there when they were right outside the gates. How are we going to guarantee anything without troops there?
A Nevada school board member said he had thoughts of suicide before stepping down amid threats and harassment. In Virginia, a board member resigned over what she saw as politics driving decisions on masks. The vitriol at board meetings in Wisconsin had one member fearing he would find his tires slashed. School board members are largely unpaid volunteers, traditionally former educators and parents who step forward to shape school policy, choose a superintendent and review the budget. But a growing number are resigning or questioning their willingness to serve as meetings have devolved into shouting contests between deeply political constituencies
Comments:
Sundance has been there, done that. Actively engaged in post-hurricane recovery at the grittiest level. He knows whereof he speaks… and doesn’t question the predictions when they come. That would be foolhardy...