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This video of Marc Garneau is painful to watch. He wants to wait and see if the Taliban are going to run a peaceful government and he thinks Canada has done great job responding to the crisis. To quote Jen Gerson on Twitter, "the moral nothingness of these people"... https://fb.watch/7toA32Ks-t/

Yes and no....Canada's longest war and military deployment to Afghanistan ended in 2014, with most Canadian Forces out of the region by 2011, mostly because of domestic political circumstances, detainee scandal, etc. This Canadian decision pre-dated anything materially similar to American policy at the time (Obama), who actually doubled down in Afghanistan. I would agree that Canada is following American policy for this final chapter in the nearly 20 year Western investment in counter-terrorism and nation building. Trump's main contribution was the policy decision and realization that this "forever war" had to come to an end for America (and logically any NATO allies). For Nixon and Vietnam, it was "peace with honour". I don't know about Canada's prior NGO contributions to A'stan, but the U.S. (CIA/USAID/NGOs) was the largest contributor for any other nation before 9/11, despite Clinton's attacks on Al Qaeda training camps in 1998. It remains to be seen if Canadian or other foreign aid will continue in any capacity with a Taliban government in power. I would expect more U.S. covert operations in the region with or without partnership (e.g. Pakistan).

Thank you for your post and your valuable work. It is so heartbreaking that I have had tears in my eyes watching related news. I hope that this defenseless young girl and many more like her can get the hell out of the hell hole and find a safe refuse in Canada and US. The way that the West abandoned these people and fed them to the wolves was totally unacceptable. Someone should open up fundraising for Afghan female refugees, just a suggestion.

I am currently working for Canada's #1 survival prepper, who has a large YouTube following. We just got a call from a guy who is desperately trying to get his 24 yr old Afghani intern out of Kabul. She has ties to the US political scene due to having a surgery in the US. He is in sporadic contact with her, she is terrified. Trying to get into the Kabul airport, hoping a letter from the Kennedy family will get her on a plane. He says she will be either publicly executed because of her ties to US political figures (he mentioned Bush and Kennedy families) and because she is not a virgin or else married off to a 70 yr old man. He was asking for any suggestions on how she should act and prepare for a possible 5-10 day stay at the airport. It's heartbreaking. I fear for all the girls and women there. If I could get all of them out, I would. ?

It is the vaccinated people that we all must start to fear and be weary of and maybe we non vaccinated people should stay away from the vaccinated ones right now. They can still give the non vaccinated people the covid bug. The vaccinated ones are always whining and crying about those that are not vaccinated, and that we are going to be the super covid 19 virus spreaders and a danger to society and that we are all going to die. Such ridiculous nonsense indeed. LOL. If the vaccinated ones are still getting covid then they are just as much at fault for the spread of the covid virus as the non vaccinated supposedly are doing. Those vaccinated people are the ones that are in big time trouble now. As the rumor goes, the vaccinated ones will feel their covid pains sometime soon. Let the vaccinated enjoy their somewhat healthy lives for now. They may not be very soon. And of course if anything happens to them, the doctors will tell them that it was covid, and not the vaccines, that caused their illness, and they will fall for it as usual. ?

And the very next lines of your own cite say this. Both figures remain a tiny percentage of the total number of all people who have been vaccinated -- just 0.01% of vaccinated people are hospitalized, and 0.29% have been infected. An even smaller percentage has died: 0.003%. While people who have been vaccinated are getting COVID-19, the virus' effects are severely blunted in people who are fully vaccinated, and breakthrough cases rarely lead to hospitalizations or deaths.

Good that we're clear on this common misconception.

Trump's was a staged withdrawal, meaning it was to happen in stages, and if the Taliban didn't to play it out according to plan they were dealing with Trump not Biden. The Biden plan...well, you're seeing that one play out before your eyes.

nation building doesn't work staying forever is a far dumber plan than cutting your loses and folding a hand that cannot win shouldn't have played that hand in the first place but just because you did doesn't mean you should go down with the ship fallacy of sunk costs, is for suckers

1. Your observation is valid. I can't say you are wrong here.

Massachusetts health officials on Tuesday reported more than 2,500 new breakthrough cases over the past week and 18 more deaths. In the last week, 2,672 new breakthrough cases -- infections in people who have been vaccinated -- were reported, with 496 more people hospitalized and the 18 new deaths, officials said Tuesday. That brings the total to 12,641 cases and 124 deaths in people with breakthrough infections. Mass. Has 2,672 New Breakthrough Cases, 18 More COVID Deaths Among Vaccinated

Should the US mobilise its war machine? The so-called "military-industrial complex"? All for good reason. ==== US soldiers deaths in Korea (1950s): 30,000 US soldiers deaths in Vietnam (1960s): 60,000 China adopts the American method to organize society (c. 1980) US victory in the Cold War and defeat of the Soviet Union (1991) ==== US soldiers deaths in Afghanistan (2000s): 3,000 IMHO, to describe this as a "Western Defense against Islam" is nonsense. As I argue, radical Islam is not a threat to the West unless we let it threaten us.

Possibly several hundred years ago, but not now. True, we have to teach calculus every year to several hundred million kids - but we in the West can do this. ===== The USSR/Maoist China were serious threats to the Western world. They were as serious as Hitler's German regime. By 1990 or so, we had defeated the Soviets and the Maoists. The Russian rouble was free floating and tourists could travel to China. Vietnam and Korea were important battles in a war that the West had won. ====== The Taliban/radical Islam are nothing like Hitler or Stalinism.

We got our vaccines, we’re the 9th most vaccinated country, the Covid death rate plummeted, and we were promised the removal of restrictions. Until that happens I’m not buying into more advisories or boosters, because getting vaccinated was predicated on the idea of lifting restrictions and returning to normal life. I consider our health authorities to be overselling the 4th wave and media is reporting exceptional deaths to stir the fear and sensationalism. Why aren’t our governments calling this out and implementing sensible policy? This is how people become alienated from democracy and stop trusting government.

Until you realize what goes into manufacturing electric vehicles and their batteries.

Some countries require proof of vaccination against Yellow Fever, Malaria, Meningococcal Meningitis, and Polio if arriving from places where those diseases are endemic. Sometimes, they require the proof even if you've just transited through an airport for more than 12 hours. As much as some people think they don't have to prove they're not going to infect anyone with a disease they may be carrying, turns out they're wrong. And as we learn every day with our politicians, having "clout" doesn't translate to having sense, common or otherwise.

You health status is a public matter if you are infecting people. You can be charged for not disclosing your HIV status. It's not your business.

If you grew up in Ontario in the 70’s and 80’s, you knew Bill Davis as the solid centrist leader of the province. His Big Blue Machine PC governments helped make Ontario the thriving entrepreneurial and well-managed province it has largely remained. Arguably Ontario’s greatest politician. https://apple.news/A8esd8NjnRmCbJ9Mp8MtpFQ https://apple.news/AMKEGrSAmQF-1EtWgBNymFA https://apple.news/At1oR0iISSq-YghIWjF-2fQ