AFGHANISTAN, THE AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL

Day 2 today. Just to underline the obvious:

The goal, complete withdrawal, was the opposite of what The West needs, which is to contain islamic extremism and bottle up China.

The guy was advised of this but ignored as cannot listen or understand.

His intelligence was completely wrong: Biden believed the Taliban would not be in a position to mount a blitzkrieg return and said so.

Planning and timing was zero: for example, why withdraw at a time when the enemy is assembled instead of waiting for winter or why were the ancillaries not prepared and assembled for extraction to America or the airport closed and patrolled?

Execution was totally and utterly incompetent, from the Green Zone to the Airport.

Communication before and after has been zero.

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The Taliban, according to Western media, do not exactly have a good record and Western public does not take comfort in their  reassurances about Sharia.

Subjects: Covering (hijab), divorce laws, legal age of marriage, custody of children, polygamy, employment, travel, place of residence, honour killing.

Countries under sharia, women can be stoned to death. 

The reality today is that the extremes of Koranic guidance have thankfully been overtiden by statute. But Al Qaeda, ISIS, Taliban, all derive from Saudi wahabism, a back-to-basics attempt to "purify" the religion (a phase all religions go through) and build a world caliphate along 7th century lines. 

Quite frightening. The enemy is not so much Allah and Islam, it is Man and the House of Saud and Pakistan.

Live and Let Live, I say.

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I believe Pakistan's involvement flows from the House of Saud setting up madrassas (koranic schools) and its funding.

While Pakistan has well founded anxieties concerning India dating back to partition, Kashmir, Jamma.

So Saudi money funds wahabist expansion.

The West is held back by dependence on Arabian oil (controlled by the Saudi family) and India and Pakistan's possession of the bomb.

Some extremely clever manoeuvring is needed to extricate from these massive mistakes of the past. Hope the old goat in the White House (the last two presidents in fact) has not signed The West's death warrant.

Virile new leadership is needed if America is to remain top hegemon.

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As our thoughts deepen - for example, will the Taliban have the bomb? Does this open Pakistan and Afghanistan to China's Belt and Road strategy for "World Domination" - the utter folly of what Biden has done will break confidence in the States.

Virile new leadership - peaceful though assertive - is desperately needed.

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AFGHANISTAN RETREAT

Pakistan is the instigator. It is a rerun of the Kashmir problem.  It is the Pakistan-India conflict, going back to 1947. The Taliban are just a tool of Pakistan. That is the Indian embassy in Kabul.

NATO should have had it out with Pakistan long ago. Still could. But Pakistan and India both have the bomb.

Most unwise to withdraw without having turned off the lights and shut firmly closed the door that let Pakistani into Afghanistan.

Now can only hope India or China wring their chickens' necks. 

Hence a real humiliation for the States and NATO. 
History might ultimately be kind to Bush and Blair.

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Pakistan is involved because it fears Indian influence in Afghanistan. Pakistan's fears or muslim aggression, see it how you will, have driven it to be the aggressor in its relations with India. And it has mostly come off worse - biggest example is its losing east Pakistan. Time wounds all heals.

The original sin was letting princely Kashmir and Jammu choose independence or absorption into India. Kashmir was a hindu mi ority governing a muslim majority. Pakistan sent its soldiers in, obliging Kashmir to seek the protection of India. Pakistan lost that one too.

Now Pakistan is replaying the war. The Afghani leader cannot fight Pakistan on his own,  so he'll likely seek assistance - from India? From China this time maybe. 

Many of the Taliban fighters are mercenaires with experience from Syria where they were originally Saddam Hussein's old guard, renamed Al Qaeda. They were ISIS. 

Bashir al Assad and Putin knew how to deal with these Sunni extremists. The Americans should have supported the Shia, but of course they had to go with various anti-Iran groupings. Big mistake.

And where did OBL hail from? And who funds the madrassas? And how did the mujahideen who fought off the Russians, mutate into the Taliban, who are wahhabists, if it wasnt money from the House of Saud? 

If NATO or the States and its allies had wanted to take the fight to the real Taliban, they'd have carpet bombed Pashtun northern Pakistan and south west Afghanistan. And impoverished the Gulf by abandoning fossil fuels long long ago (technology is basic but oil companies werent ready).

The West ("The West") would have done better to keep things simple and to have had all this out with Pakistan from the start. And the House of Saud before that (Death of a Princess). But Pakistan and India both have the bomb and the House of Saud, which captured Arabia in 1928, has the oil.

Quite a tangled web. 

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ARE THE SNP WINNING?

The SNP is currently trying to form a minority government, that's a minority government.  That shouldn't need explaining.   

The SNP did not win the referendum on independence, because more Scots voted against than for.

The SNP currently hold 30 seats with less than a 10% margin, 13 of those below 5% and two less than 1%.

The SNP has never won the popular vote in Scotland. 

The SNP consistently garners less votes than are given to Unionist parties.  

As you can see, Scotland does not love the SNP.    

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THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM

Covid means cashless and digital currency will give governments complete control over their people.

Banks won't be needed.

Central banks are not (not) independent. Governments get funding from their CB without bothering to go through secondary markets - just increase the money supply and transfer.

Digital currencies connect digitally.

Digital currencies will make social credit systems a snip. People will lose interest in god and freedom and focus on stock markets and their social credit rankings. 

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WE WANT SCOTLAND IN

A task force to regenerate the economy. From the Firth of Forth to the East coast, a green port in a zone with no customs duties and low regulations.

In parallel, a task force to regenerate the health. The Catholic West is in a mess. Start with drugs.

Make Scotland great again. Restore confidence and pride. Upskill. Inclusive growth. A net zero economy. Olympic games.

We all want Scotland in for geographical completeness, "better together". But not dependent.

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The SNP is currently trying to form a minority government, that's a minority government.  That shouldn't need explaining.   

The SNP did not win the referendum on independence, because more Scots voted against than for.

The SNP currently hold 30 seats with less than a 10% margin, 13 of those below 5% and two less than 1%.

The SNP has never won the popular vote in Scotland. 

The SNP consistently garners less votes than are given to Unionist parties.  

As you can see, Scotland does not love the SNP.    

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Whether justified or no, the fundamental problem in Scotland is they do not trust the English. Thus, support for secession. Thus focus on the next world ("Independence"), rather than this world. Thus paralysis and neglect of the people.

What is important is to return the leadership's focus to the present and the people. The SNP are not the leadership Scotland needs. But there does not seem to be an alternative. This foolish focus on woke and separation has choked off contenders  Democracy is not working in Scotland today.

To rebuild confidence and morale, start with the economy. The Firth of Forth is where the money's made. It runs from the centre to the east coast. Yes, run down oil and gas. But transition to a green economy based on renewables, a green port gateway for trade and enterprise zones offering low customs and reg.s. That could free Scotland of its dependence on Westminster ("the English") for subsidies, push inclusive employment and create Europe's first net-zero economy.

As to the Catholic West. The problems are different. Really, should start with the health of the people and the drug culture. Look, Westminster has some considerable experience in this domain.

It shouldnt be called "The Union" because the United Kingdom is one country. Going way back from 410, geographical completeness was built slowly over the centuries, with the Brits, Romans who stayed, Angles, Saxons, Picts, Gaels. The power of a country is a function of its population and its wealth. So Scotland is in, and very much she is wanted.

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MAKE SCOTLAND GREAT AGAIN

How to MAKE SCOTLAND GREAT AGAIN?

The government (the UK government, of course) needs an investment plan to regenerate the economy and a health plan for the people.

China would run its belt and road into the Firth of Forth and Edinburgh airport, given half a chance. And that is a good place to start.

Nicola is right to volte farce on fossil fuels. Areas For the Regeneration of Scottish Equity could be created, with no customs duties and low regulations, focused on green power generation.

1. The Firth of Forth is where Scotland makes its money. It runs from central Scotland to the East coast. To create and operate a Firth of Forth green port would require inward investment and reskilling the people. The result would be inclusive growth and a net zero economy.

2. The rest of the country, the Catholic West, is in a bad way. Before economic regeneration must come public health. Start with the problem of drugs. All this could be done under under the cover of covid. There is hope without dope.

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STILL WE DONT KNOW WHERE THE VIRUS CAME FROM

There may be a connection between the Wuhan lab and the origin of the virus, but the world doesn't know, not as yet....
One theory is that the virus, which occurs naturally in bats and pangolins, escaped accidentally from the Wuhan research facility because of poor safety protocols.
After all, the Wuhan Institute of Virology studies coronaviruses in bats, that is one of its jobs. And it is right next to where some of the infections were first diagnosed.
Indeed on 2 December 2019 the lab moved down the road a short way, to new premises just a few hundred meters from the wet market...was that how the virus escaped, because of China's lax safety record in its labs? Or was the lab move part of its cover-up for something it knew had gone wrong?

On reflection, why was China even studying coronaviruses? What was its purpose? Was it part of a bio warfare weapons program? 

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MY HEROES

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/

Ron Popeil

I've a weakness for smooth talkers, flash harry types ... Arthur Daley, Nigel Farrage, Billy Graham, Max Miller a real favourite ... but wait, there's more ... what is it about them ?

What I really wanted to do in life was sell plates or sets of knives off the back of a lorry down the markets in East London.

Put away your fifty pound notes, put away your tenners, today I'm letting you have this for just a fiver. 'Ere, draw in a little closer love, we don't the old Bill spoiling our party now do we!

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A STORY TO INSPIRE US ALL

Voici une histoire pour t'inspirer à atteindre tes rêves et à ne jamais les  abandonner.  

Il y a de nombreuses années, la femme de mon pote a terminé deuxième dans une concours Miss Scotland. C'était en 1997.  

Plus tard cette année-là, elle a été assaillie par une longue période de malchance.  Elle a souffert pendant des années d'abus de drogues et d'alcool et d'une série de troubles alimentaires.  Elle a perdu une jambe et a dû subir une reconstruction faciale après un accident de la route, la pauvrette.  Plus tard, elle a subi des brûlures à 90 % lors d'une attaque à l'acide non provoquée, la malchanceuse.  Plusieurs de ses dents ont été cassées et un œil a été crevé lors d'une bagarre devant un KFC pour son plat à emporter.  Le stress de tous ces malheurs a causé une grave perte de cheveux et des verrues faciales.  

Mais elle n'a JAMAIS, jamais cessé de croire et finalement, le mois dernier, elle a été couronnée Miss Ecosse 2021.

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GO LONG DEFENSIVES IN VACCINATED MARKETS, LONG CYCLICALS IN JAPAN & EMERGING

To Bank of America global investment strategist Michael Hartnett, there have been three distinct phases to describe market action over the last eight months. 

The first is what he labels the reopening rally, started on Nov. 3 by both the U.S. election and the reports of vaccine effectiveness. That boosted stocks and credit, steepened the yield curve, weakened the U.S. dollar, and led to cyclicals outperforming defensives.

The next phase was the inflation boom, started on Feb. 16 by blowout U.S. retail sales. That led to commodities rising, yields surging, cracks in the technology sector, and value stocks outperforming growth. 

The third phase was what he calls "peak growth/policy," starting on Jun. 16 by the Federal Reserve as well as easing signs from China. That led to a yield curve collapse, bonds outperforming stocks and commodities, the dollar rising, and defensives outperforming cyclicals. 

So what to do now? He says own defensive quality in the second half, as it is both a hedge against peak policy, and peak profits. He advises going

  long defensives in what he calls the vaccinated markets of the U.S. and Europe, 

and

  long cyclicals and reopening plays in markets with vaccine upside, in Japan and emerging markets.

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EAT WITH THE BOSCH, SLEEP WITH THE BRITS

The UK is France's new neighbour and France would do well to remember this. And we are not just neighbours, we are relatives.

And when another of France's neighbours was trying, for the third time no less, to burn their house down, who was the neighbour that came to the rescue and put out the fire?

Well, hmmmmph, that other neighbour is having another go. Best to take a long spoon to the talks about "integration".

Eat with the ..., sleep with the ....

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