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Monday, August 23. 2021Monday morning links
Toon via Lucianne NYT: Hospitals and Insurers Didn’t Want You to See These Prices. Here’s Why. Nearly 15 Million Mail-in-Ballots Unaccounted for in 2020 Election, Report Says MC's Initial Reaction To Charles Murray's "Facing Reality" Antony Blinken Causes Alarm After Refusing to Answer Key Joe Biden Question “The Taliban Now Has US Biometric System Used to Identify Afghans – Know Who Worked with the Government” Taliban Sets Woman on Fire for 'Bad Cooking' Taliban Draw Up Kill Lists and Demand Girls as War Booty To “Marry” Fighters. Taliban commander: “All girls over the age of 15 and widows younger than 40 should be married to the insurgent fighters.” HOWIE CARR: Biden voters — are you tired of losing yet? Trackbacks
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Taliban Sets Woman on Fire for 'Bad Cooking'
Who knew the Taliban had such high culinary standards? Gives that chef-slang "quickfire" a whole new meaning. "Taliban Sets Woman on Fire for 'Bad Cooking'"
Damn misogynistic cis White males. Oh wait... I'm presently slogging my way through the Bell Curve, which is essentially a very well-written text book. For an engineer, it's tough going (especially with my cognitive shortcomings, ha ha) but I find it very interesting, in spite of all the kerfuffle that I've heard over the years. It's not a racist tome, obviously; it's a serious treatise and it's comprehensive. The weight of the evidence as viewed from all angles is compelling.
I think Murray has hit upon a brilliant strategy in his latest book, which I have not yet read. By deliberately avoiding drawing conclusions, providing solutions, and making policy suggestions, Murray is forcing the reader to view what is plainly evident and think for themselves. I think it's professional frustration that has forced him to this position. I also think it's the right way for him to have chosen. We know there are differences between the races. They start with the most obvious characteristics, physical appearances. We know that the bell curves of cognitive ability and intelligence are subtly different and mostly overlap. We know that certain racial sectors excel at intelligence, and that they are non-white. We know that any individual's intelligence increases with education, whatever their cognitive abilities. We should be able, at this stage in the societal disaster, to understand the profound impact of policy on these differences. No policy solutions? I disagree; what is lacking is political and social will. I think what Murray is trying to do is to stop his exploration at the point where people need to state and own their policy positions and explain them. What about a policy that encourages stable families and provides incentives for sustaining them? What about policies that reward educational achievement (no matter what the placement on the IQ scale), starting with completion of K-12 under a real standard of literacy, functional living, and citizenship? Of course policy can make living standards and society better. The problem is, the wrong policies can make society worse too, as is plainly evident by the past 50 years of urban experience, attenuated to a glaring obviousness in places like Baltimore and Detroit. QUOTE: Mention: “race differences in cognitive ability,” Rather, race differences in measured IQ, which may not always map well with cognitive ability. Consider that American Blacks, who have lower average IQ scores, revolutionized music during the 20th century and revolutionized poetry over the last generation, fields associated with complex abstraction and verbal creativity. Murray is not claiming that there are no black geniuses, as Condoleezza Rice and Thomas Sowell among others ably demonstrate, any more than he is claiming there are no white imbeciles. Both types of people are predicted by his data.
Christopher B: Murray is not claiming that there are no black geniuses, as Condoleezza Rice and Thomas Sowell among others ably demonstrate, any more than he is claiming there are no white imbeciles. Both types of people are predicted by his data.
Sure, Beethoven and Wordsworth are the pinnacle of achievement of Western civilization. Satchmo and Notorious B.I.G. are anomalies. Well, we all know there's no such thing as white privilege, that's for sure. white privilege blindspotting
#3.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 12:06
(Reply)
Where commenters show observations that are based on observable and well-documented fact, you on the other hand continually twist these observations to insinuate that the commenter is a racist, putting your words in their mouth. These are truly odious biases, and disgraceful, disingenuous character aspects. You are a race-hustling, race baiting bigot and your despicable behavior in this regard has no place in any society.
#3.1.1.1.2
Aggie
on
2021-08-23 12:12
(Reply)
Aggie: Where commenters show observations that are based on observable and well-documented fact,
We addressed the observations. Measured IQ may not always map well with cognitive ability. Then we provided representative examples. Aggie: you on the other hand continually twist these observations to insinuate that the commenter is a racist Add white privilege blindspotting to the concepts that you don't grasp. Are you saying that Beethoven and Wordsworth are not often considered the pinnacle of achievement of Western civilization? In fact, they do represent such a pinnacle. It's not just their individual geniuses, though, but that their works represent a culmination of a long tradition deeply rooted in Western civilization. Similarly, the works of Satchmo and Notorious B.I.G. represent a culmination of a long and deeply rooted American tradition, achievements that revolutionized music and poetry.
#3.1.1.1.2.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 12:21
(Reply)
You keep changing the name of CRT because defending a communist creation is very difficult for academics...therefore rename and continue on. Critical theory was devised by commies to create friction between economic classes. The US had to many people in the middle class for that to work so Gramsci and his fellow socialist/communists modified the theory to focus on race. And, walla, CRT or white privilege or blindspotting or whatever comes next. The only reason for social sciences in HS or college is to promote socialism/maxist politics and hope to at least get the long known third way enshrined in place of capitalism. I suppose this is to be the great "reset" as endorsed by the privileged elite.
#3.1.1.1.2.1.1
indyjonesouthere
on
2021-08-23 19:22
(Reply)
indyjonesouthere: You keep changing the name of CRT because defending a communist creation is very difficult for academics
That’s called the genetic fallacy. In any case, we provided specific reasons why IQ tests may not always map well to cognitive ability, and how people often exhibit blind spots when it comes to race. To address that, you might want to re-read our previous comments.
#3.1.1.1.2.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 20:33
(Reply)
Once again you are deflecting from the origins of the race trash that the Marxists have been promoting for decades. It began in academia and spread to politics. Its primary host is still academia and that's where it gets the money to operate on and that is, of course, taxpayer money.
#3.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1
indyjonesouthere
on
2021-08-23 22:26
(Reply)
indyjonesouthere: Once again you are deflecting from the origins of the race trash
The issue was IQ and race. Repeating your genetic fallacy doesn’t make it less of a fallacy. Again, IQ doesn’t always map with cognitive ability. When we provided examples from music and poetry, the former marshaling complex sonic patterns in time, the latter using a complex interplay of sounds and meanings. Like all great art, they don’t exist in isolation, but emerge from a culture, and represent a pinnacle of that expression. Jazz and blues and all that sprang from them came from a rich cultural heritage. The blind spot concerned the recognition of this for White artists, but minimization as anomalous for Black artists.
#3.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 22:46
(Reply)
No. The issue is decades old. You are a Marxist pushing the old Marxist tunes spit out by Gramsci, Marcuse, Horkheimer, and other useless trouble makers. Race is your game as class warfare just wasn't working. Own up to your disfunction. Marxist bots need better programming instead of the old recycled crap.
#3.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1
indyjonesouthere
on
2021-08-24 00:40
(Reply)
indyjonesouthere: No. The issue is decades old.
Now that you mention it, white privilege was literally written into law (within living memory), along with legalized blindspotting, "separate but equal." That doesn't directly address the IQ issue, but your comment does illustrate blindspotting and the genetic fallacy quite well.
#3.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-24 08:33
(Reply)
Your comment displays the usual Marxist race bating tactics.
#3.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1
indyjonesouthere
on
2021-08-24 13:17
(Reply)
Triggered.
#3.1.1.1.3
Christopher B
on
2021-08-24 07:31
(Reply)
HOWIE CARR: Biden voters — are you tired of losing yet? Naaaaaa, they're gonna double down!
Why Did Everyone Fall Asleep? The 1916 Sleeping Sickness Pandemic
QUOTE: Encephalitis Lethargica, or “Sleeping Sickness”, caused a pandemic which came into existence in 1916 and lasted till 1940. As per the records, this epidemic affected over half a million people in Europe. The strange part is that the cause and other relevant information about this epidemic are still unknown to mankind. As per the documentation prepared on this pandemic, the disease was predicted to spread worldwide, thereby affecting many people. However there is no information that states the cause of this sleeping sickness amongst people, making it one of the most bizarre mysteries. Researchers are putting their effort into gathering more information about this pandemic to date. . . . . The disease however was extremely deadly. As per the medical literature at that time, one-third of the patients died due to respiratory failure. This was a troubling condition due to the neurological dysfunction experienced by the human body. Several hundred thousand people died of this disease, although the majority recovered. https://www.historicmysteries.com/sleeping-sickness/ Another medical mystery is the Sweating Sickness of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. There is disagreement regarding its possible persistence into the seventeenth century.
Former General, CIA Chief Hayden Endorses Deporting Trump Supporters to Afghanistan
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2021/08/23/former-general-cia-chief-hayden-endorses-deporting-trump-supporters-to-afghanistan-n1471978 You know, the federal government is infested with these type of people. As they posted at Ace of Spades: Maybe if they didn’t spend so much time spying on Americans, they might actually win a war. The Trump supporting, liberty loving American is their true enemy. They will go to the ends of the world to defeat us.
Intelligence run under deep state incompetents like Hayden is why we are in deep shit under Biden. NWO employees (the reset dregs) are why we end up with Biden outcomes.
"Hayden Endorses Deporting Trump Supporters"
I've read Hayden's original tweet, and it's obvious to me that he was attempting to humorously troll us. Although he meant it as a joke, it clearly exposes his actual hidden feelings about Trump Supporters, all 100 million of us. Humor is frequently used as a trial balloon, to public say what polite society thinks cannot be said. Hayden is saying what many anti-Trumpers privately believe. They say they hate Trump, but they really hate you. They want you dead, and they laugh about it. QUOTE: Hey, Joe Biden voters, are you happy now? ... the catastrophe in Kabul The result in Afghanistan was set when the U.S. decided to occupy the country and support a hopelessly corrupt government. Previous presidents knew the inevitable outcome of withdrawal, but didn't want to sustain the political hit. The alternative was to keep extending the occupation. You're right! All that chaos and the hamhanded, mishandled withdrawal was inevitable! The hundreds, maybe thousands of stranded Americans! Predestined!
Just like the 4 million dead from the ChiCom flu! Nuttin' coulda been done about that! No matter what was done--inevitable! Shoulda nuked Kabul and called that inevitable! This is fun! SK: All that chaos and the hamhanded, mishandled withdrawal was inevitable!
Notably, even given hindsight, you haven't suggested a better course of action. Totally! That's the point! It was inevitable! NOBODY could have done anything differently! Nothing ANYONE has suggested so far would have made any difference!
Dude, is there no way to make you happy? I'm trying to agree with you! SK: NOBODY could have done anything differently!
Sure, they could have. The Americans could have avoided a long-term occupation of a country that was riven by tribalism. Or, they could have committed to a permanent deployment, but that would have required being honest with the American people. Instead, they didn't commit to a permanent deployment, but just kept kicking the can down the road, a temporary deployment of indefinite duration, and whomever ended up with the hot potato would get burned. The worst of all options! Having decided to withdraw, it was going to leave a power vacuum. The Taliban had apparently already worked out deals with mid-level commanders throughout the military; consequently, there was very limited resistance. The Taliban rolled into Kabul in two weeks. (For comparison, it took a month for the German mechanized blitzkrieg to occupy Paris in WWII. The French army was instrumental at Dunkirk, but their sacrifice didn't do anything to prevent the German advance through the heart of France.)
#7.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 12:54
(Reply)
So the Germans attacking Pearl Harbor is why all those people have been left in Afghanistan, the chaos at the airport, the Taliban dictating conditions to the US and having all those nifty new weapons? Awesome!
Dadgum Germans are some smart dudes! Did you know they even came up with Critical Theory!!!
#7.1.1.1.1.1
SK
on
2021-08-23 13:17
(Reply)
Then end result is always unavoidable when it's your guy who failed miserably.
For starters: How about getting American civilians and some of the interpreters out before the US soldiers? How about keeping intelligence and aircraft maintenance personnel in for longer so the Afghans would have a better chance of fighting the Taliban? How about telling the Afghans that the US was leaving the Bagram before we left? We appreciate the substantive reply.
mudbug: How about getting American civilians and some of the interpreters out before the US soldiers? Because any mass exodus would precipitate the crisis when Afghans watched the Americans bugging out. Evacuate in May, and the crisis would have happened then. The only hope was that the Afghan National Army would be able to hold on long enough for an orderly withdrawal. mudbug: How about keeping intelligence and aircraft maintenance personnel in for longer so the Afghans would have a better chance of fighting the Taliban? You just said to evacuate American civilians. mudbug: How about telling the Afghans that the US was leaving the Bagram before we left? Probably because they didn't completely trust the Afghans, a suspicion ensuing events have only confirmed. Despite the best efforts of many Afghans, the Afghan National Army and the Afghan government were compromised.
#7.1.1.2.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 13:35
(Reply)
Any plan that withdraws armed soldiers that could help insure a safe evacuation of non-combatants is insane.
I realize that some of the maintenance techs were civilians contractors so they would be among the last civilians to be evacuated. So you're saying that the Afghan counterpart to the US commander at Bagram was not trusted?
#7.1.1.2.1.1
mudbug
on
2021-08-23 14:55
(Reply)
mudbug: Any plan that withdraws armed soldiers that could help insure a safe evacuation of non-combatants is insane.
The Afghan army was expected to provide security. mudbug: I realize that some of the maintenance techs were civilians contractors so they would be among the last civilians to be evacuated. That's the problem. Without American contractors, the Afghan military couldn't remain in the field. Remove them, and there would be no Afghan military. So you are back to a collapse situation where there is no security on withdrawal. The only alternative was to just abandon the Afghans as a lost cause, and to be seen as doing so. Extract the contractors, and quickly withdraw. But it has to be quick, because the Taliban took the country in two weeks. mudbug: So you're saying that the Afghan counterpart to the US commander at Bagram was not trusted? No one knew who could be trusted—as ensuing events made clear. The Afghan National Army was 300,000 in strength, supposedly, but really there was no Afghan National Army. It was a mirage. Despite the bravery of some individuals, brave individuals do not an army make.
#7.1.1.2.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 15:14
(Reply)
Because any mass exodus would precipitate the crisis when Afghans watched the Americans bugging out.
The Afghans have known for months that we're bugging out. We publicly announced it, even giving the exact date(!) Big Biden/DOD/SOS/CIA screw-ups include: (i) failure to plan out exactly what needed to happen (e.g., do we destroy a specific piece of HW or ship it out, etc.); (ii) what order they needed to happen (e.g., evac the NGO civilians first or evac Bagram first); (iii) in what time frame everything should happen (e.g., evac the NGO civilians in Jan/Feb 2021 or in September 2021; can we transition control in winter to give new government breathing room, etc.); and (iv) op-sec (e.g., being cagey about exactly what's happening this week vs. next week)
#7.1.1.2.1.2
OldCurmudgeon
on
2021-08-23 15:20
(Reply)
OldCurmudgeon: The Afghans have known for months that we're bugging out.
That's right, and the Taliban clearly prepared for the moment by making sure they had successfully infiltrated, bribed, threatened, and otherwise undermined the Afghan army. It's easy to organize against a corrupt government being propped up by a foreign power. OldCurmudgeon: (i) failure to plan out exactly what needed to happen (e.g., do we destroy a specific piece of HW or ship it out, etc.); Presumably, you would want to take the weapons away from the Afghan National Army so they wouldn't fall into the hands of the Taliban. That would obviously precipitate the crisis. OldCurmudgeon: (ii) what order they needed to happen (e.g., evac the NGO civilians first or evac Bagram first); When you pull out civilian NGOs that undermines the Afghan government and precipitates the crisis. OldCurmudgeon: (iii) in what time frame everything should happen Trump set the date in May 2021, when he could have set it in December 2020.
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 15:43
(Reply)
Throw a few more red herrings and false dilemmas in there, KiddieZ.
Fact is Saigon Joey fuked up then went on vacation. Trump had nothing to do with it.
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1
Zachinoff
on
2021-08-23 15:52
(Reply)
Now, now!
You are required to answer his facile twaddle in a substantive way!
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.1
SK
on
2021-08-23 16:13
(Reply)
June 11, 2021. Commander of CENTCOM, Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., gave an interview to Military Times
QUOTE: “So, we have workable plans to evacuate any scale of people that we would be directed to do. That’s one of the things that we have done. I’ve talked to the secretary about it. You know, the actual decision about who’s going to come out, whether they would come out and how that would work, is not the Department of Defense’s decision, that’s a Department of State decision and ultimately a level above the Department of State. I can tell you this. The Department of Defense is prepared to undertake any tasks that we would be required to do in coordination with a presidential decision.” HT: PJMedia There was a plan to evacuate. Obviously the powers that be had another plan in mind. The closest that the KiddieZ ever get to the military, is when they walk under a military flag at Lowe’s.
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2
B. Hammer
on
2021-08-23 16:22
(Reply)
B. Hammer: There was a plan to evacuate.
Nothing you posted indicates what that plan might have been, or how it might have worked, or whether the sudden collapse of the Afghan government impacted the plan. The question McKenzie was answering was about non-U.S. citizens being evacuated, a political decision. Congress didn't pass the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program until the end of July.
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 16:29
(Reply)
One of your personalities needs to read the very first sentence of his quote. What does: "workable plans to evacuate any scale of people that we would be directed to do." mean to we\you\yourself?
McKenizie, answering a follow-up question to the first question: “Have you provided options yet to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on securing the embassy in Afghanistan and providing counterterrorism support from outside the country once the withdrawal is complete?" The reporter, was playing 'what about' games. I'm surprised you don't recognize it? Before the 'what about' question, McKenizie had this to say: QUOTE: “Howard, we have contingencies for everything.” emphasis mine, bye
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2.1.1
B. Hammer
on
2021-08-23 17:17
(Reply)
B. Hammer: "workable plans to evacuate any scale of people that we would be directed to do."
Again, nothing you posted indicates what that plan might have been, or how it might have worked, or whether the sudden collapse of the Afghan government impacted the plan. B. Hammer: “Howard, we have contingencies for everything.” So, everything must be going according to plan. In any case, they have scrambled and have already evacuated 28,000 people as of yesterday.
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 17:31
(Reply)
B.H.
QUOTE: There was a plan to evacuate. Obviously the powers that be had another plan in mind. Z QUOTE: So, everything must be going according to plan. See, you agreed with me all along. Why be so difficult?
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2.1.1.1.1
B. Hammer
on
2021-08-23 17:59
(Reply)
B. Hammer: See, you agreed with me all along.
It's pretty clear they didn't prepare for a complete collapse of the Afghan National Army and the sudden fall of Kabul.
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1
Zachriel
on
2021-08-23 18:13
(Reply)
Hey! I have an idea! Something we can all agree on! Why don’t you treat us with another one of your brilliant disquisitions on the arts, like your recent groundbreaking work on the merits and relative cultural import of Beethoven, Wordsworth, “Satchmo” (an intimate of yours? Did you know Fats Waller, too? I love Fats and he's certainly right up there with Ludwig, Bill, and Louis!) and Notorious B. I. G.! Maybe something along the lines of "The Bard and the Dogg: “Shakespeare’s Sonnets 127-154 and Women in the Early Work of Snoop Dogg”!
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1
SK
on
2021-08-23 18:24
(Reply)
Zach is just a Canadian bot in the Borg family of the troll factory. He runs for a while until he needs new programming and then disappears until he is updated. His original programming was anti Trump and he focused on all the confirmed narrative provided by the Steele dossier, the FBI investigation, the congressional hearings and impeachments, and at least 17 intelligence agencies that all proved he was guilty. None of it proved out and he disappeared until given new programming by the Borg masters.
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.2
indyjonesouthere
on
2021-08-23 19:45
(Reply)
You tell him, Zach! Stupid stupid generals and their stupid stupid plans and not detailing their stupid stupid plans in interviews with Military Times! How in the world can Zachriel possibly approve of all these plans if the generals don’t run 'em by him first! Zach’s a busy man, folks! He’s gotta keep Maggie’s Farm in line here, people!
It’s almost like the stupid stupid generals don’t even care enough about what Zach thinks to run this stuff by him!!!
#7.1.1.2.1.2.1.1.2.1.2
SK
on
2021-08-23 17:27
(Reply)
Goldman: The Dr. Frankensteins of Foreign Policy
https://pjmedia.com/spengler/2021/08/22/the-dr-frankensteins-of-foreign-policy-n1471752 Generational Dynamics has a good piece on an angry, incompetent Biden. Worth the read. www.generationaldynamics.com/pg/ww2010.weblog.htm#e210823
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