Japan, Egypt agree to cooperate for stability in Afghanistan

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi calls on “all parties concerned” in Afghanistan to restore peace and order in the country, urging them to protect lives and property.

Source: Japan, Egypt agree to cooperate for stability in Afghanistan

APO Group – Africa Newsroom / Press release | Coronavirus – South Africa: COVID-19 Statistics for Republic of South Africa (16 August 2021)

As of today the cumulative number of #COVID19 cases identified in SA is 2, 613, 569 with 7, 983 new cases reported.  Source: APO Group – Africa Newsroom / Press release | Coronavirus – South Africa: COVID-19 Statistics for Republic of South Africa (16 August 2021)

Russia-Linked Ad Agency Smeared Vaccines Using Hundreds of Fake Instagram Accounts – Slashdot

Facebook said Tuesday that it has removed hundreds of accounts linked to a mysterious advertising agency operating out of Russia that sought to pay social media influencers to smear Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca. A network of 65 Facebook accounts and 243 Instagram accounts was traced back to Fazze, an advertising and marketing firm working in Russia on behalf of an unknown client.

The network used fake accounts to spread misleading claims that disparaged the safety of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. One claimed AstraZeneca’s shot would turn a person into a chimpanzee. The fake accounts targeted audiences in India, Latin America and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., using several social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram. Russia has been actively marketing its Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, abroad in what some analysts see as an effort to score geopolitical points… Source: Russia-Linked Ad Agency Smeared Vaccines Using Hundreds of Fake Instagram Accounts – Slashdot

Jolly Monday — Late & Short

Filosofa's Word

Good Monday morning afternoon, my friends!  My humble apologies for the lateness of Jolly Monday and its brevity today.  Joyful, Jolly and I haven’t felt well since last Thursday, and I just haven’t been up to the task of using my brain … in fact, I think it’s stored away in mothballs at the moment.  But, when I awoke to a text from a friend who was very worried when there wasn’t a Jolly Monday post to be seen, I figured I should at least round up some ‘toons ‘n other fun stuff to help start your week with a smile.  Sorry, slim pickings on the treat table today, but we’ll make it up to you next week!

JOLLY!!!!!!  Did you take a bite out of that apple?????  You put that back RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And let’s head on over to the ‘toons, shall we?


And perhaps a few cute pictures…

View original post 96 more words

Who lost Afghanistan? George Bush, not Joe Biden | TheArticle

…What we are witnessing now is no more than the final, largely pre-destined act of an attenuated tragedy.

To better understand this, we need to rewind to the events that immediately followed 9/11. On the day of the attacks America possessed an established military/political doctrine jointly authored by the former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and the former Defense Secretary, Caspar Weinberger. The doctrine made clear that US forces would only be deployed in overwhelming strength, in pursuit of clear objectives and with a clear route to exit. In this it showed the legacy of messy engagements in Lebanon and Somalia and the long shadow of Vietnam. It was a sound, intellectually coherent approach — and completely inadequate to meet the unprecedented requirements of 9/11.

That natural iconoclast, the late Donald Rumsfeld, immediately abandoned its every precept in favour of a campaign with the speed and agility to match the operational conditions. The solution comprised huge volumes of indirect fire from invulnerable American aircraft, ships and submarines; CIA agents playing a 21st-century version of The Great Game; a ready-made infantry in the shape of the Northern Alliance; and an urbane and – at least then – compliant political leader in waiting in Hamid Karzai. In a seminal example of asymmetric engagement, this improvised force completely shattered the Taliban and drove its remnants into Pakistan or back to their villages.

At this point, America completely dominated the strategic situation in and around Afghanistan. The Taliban had ceased to exist as a coherent entity. Pakistan, having been bluntly asked if it was “with or against America”, was proving an amenable partner, as the capture of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the purging of the ISI — the state intelligence agency — showed. Within Afghanistan, the sense of a better future was palpable. In the words of Jason Burke, Guardian correspondent and close observer of Afghan affairs: “everywhere one travelled…one found the expectation of a new era of security, stability and prosperity was dawning”. The scene was set for America to maintain the momentum of its success, install and bankroll a Karzai-led government, hand over aid, development and security responsibility to the United Nations et al, walk away and accept the laurels of victory…

Had America declared victory against terrorism and quit Afghanistan in 2002 the West might never have spent its power on unwinnable wars, it might have kept a far more wary eye on the rise of China and the strategic terms of engagement of the early 21st century might have been different. Indeed, America itself might be a less rancorous place. The eternally fissiparous Afghans might have made a mess of their new-found freedoms, but it would have been their mess and with much less scope for the bitter recriminations now raining down on the US President. In context, this might be seen as America’s Suez moment where the limitations of its power are revealed to both the watching world and to history.

Source: Who lost Afghanistan? George Bush, not Joe Biden | TheArticle

Alice

Vivaldi translation: “Dear Alice”, the secret of love is to love yourself first. This is the awareness of our value.

Pensamentos.me/VEM comigo!

” Querida Alice”, o segredo do amor é se amar primeiro. Essa é a consciência do nosso valor.

Marii Freire Pereira

https://pensamentos.me/ VEM comigo!

Imagem: pinterest. Wattpad

Santarém, Pá 16 de Agosto de de 2021

View original post