[FoxNews] Texas is requesting five mortuary trailers in anticipation of an increase in dead bodies as the delta variant spikes, while the state also prepares to house thousands of Afghan refugees in addition to coping with the border crisis.
"We are anticipating a need within the state of Texas for these trailers as COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to increase," Department of State Health Services spokesperson Doug Loveday said Monday, adding that the trailers were requested on Aug. 4.
The trailers would come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and be stationed in San Antonio, where they would then move to various Texas locations if local leaders request them, Loveday told NBC News.
"We haven't gotten any local requests, but we want to be ready with the COVID cases in the state," Department of State Health Services Chris Van Deusen added, according to the outlet. "We didn't want to wait."
The seven-day average of coronavirus deaths in Texas sits at about 80 per day.
The announcement comes as Texas and other border states face a continued migration crisis, with last month seeing a total of 212,672 encounters â a 13% spike compared to encounters in June.
In the city of McAllen, for example, an emergency shelter was expanded this month to keep up with the number of COVID-positive migrants. City officials said more than 7,500 COVID-positive migrants have been released into the city since February, with 1,500 released over one week in August alone.
Now, Texas is bracing for another influx of people in the state amid the virus: Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban.
"We want to have the capacity to get up to several thousand immediately, and want to be prepared for the potential of tens of thousands," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told Fox News this week of refugees being housed in the U.S. "Bliss and McCoy have the capability right now â and whatâs advantageous is, with a little bit of work, they could increase their capacity in very short order."
"Once we get more airlift out of Kabul, weâre going to put as many people on those planes as we can. There will be a mix, not just American citizens, but perhaps some Afghan SIV applicants as well," Kirby said. "Weâre going to focus on getting people out of the country, then sorting it out at the next stop. Itâs not going to be just Americans first, then SIV applicants. Weâre going to focus on getting as many folks out as we can."
The state will take in at least 300 refugees this week, with more expected in the coming weeks, according to Refugee Services of Texas, Houston Public Media reported.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
08/18/2021 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] UAE says Ghani taken in on 'humanitarian grounds' after he fled Afghanistan as the Taliban took over the country. Sure picked some place to go to. Too bad he wasn't a 'translator'.
Earlier, Afghan media outlets reported that the UAE offered Ghani a residence after his "escape".
Ghani fled Afghanistan on Sunday as the Taliban closed in on Kabul, before the armed group walked into the Afghan capital unopposed.
In a Facebook post, Ghani said the "Taliban have won" and that he fled to avoid a "flood of bloodshed". Mainly, his own.
His whereabouts were unknown until Wednesday, with speculation that he had fled to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or Oman.
The UAE is one of three nations, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which recognised the previous Taliban regime, which ran Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
On Monday, there were scenes of panic and chaos at the Kabul airport as desperate residents tried to flee the war-torn country. Deaths were reported as some clung to planes flying out of the capital.
Earlier this year, the war between the Taliban and Afghan forces intensified as foreign troops announced their withdrawal from the country by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks that led to the US invasion.
With the collapse of the Afghan government, attention is turning to ensure the safety of civilians and evacuees and an orderly transfer of power.
The Taliban has declared that the war in Afghanistan is over and said efforts to form an inclusive government are under way.
#2
Over $7 trillion dollars (circa 2000) spent on the "War on Poverty". Same effect, so the authors of that now blame everyone and everything else for its lack of major success. They call it Critical Race Theory.
#3
By most accounts, the effort was doomed from the start. DoD and OGA (Other Government Agency) and contractor budgets swelled to unheard of levels. Kicking the can down the road for 20 years simply postponed the inevitable.
"War is our business, and business is good."
~ Unk
But hear ye now the DOD schpiel,
written by some REMF insect.
They'd like to spend more dollars
now and loudly introspect.
Men who'd sell you the death o' yer
dreams, you ain't circumspect.
"Mr. Fancy Five Star! WTF was this?"
"Oh, we knew how it ends, in retrospect."
#16
I wonder if anybody else has noted that the overwhelming majority of traditional Americans have f=been treated like nothing more than field hands on the Tax Farm Plantation that is America, an d that the Big House Masters and house "servants" are all far more well treated and privileged than s field hands. Had enough yet?
Afghanistan, refuge of sheiks,
Of lofty Mohammedan piques,
Of men who find joys
In their... faith! And their boys?
Well, they probably welcomed the Greeks.
[KhaamaPress] US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S., who gives the geriatric a bad name. He blames Afghans for losing Afghanistan.... in his White House public speech on Afghanistan said that sending and doubling troops in Afghanistan, staying for long in the country and fighting for the civil war of a foreign country was a mistake and he is not repeating that mistake and is bringing the war to an end.
Joe Biden said that he will not let his men and women in service fight for others anymore and does not regret the decision of full withdrawal of troops.
The US President said that they spent over a trillion dollars to train and equip the Afghan forces but they were not willing to fight for themselves thus, he added we are not fighting in Afghanistan anymore.
#1
Sending troops into Afghanistan to hunt down and kill those responsible for 9/11 was not a mistake. Trying to do 'nation building' wasn't in that goal. F'ing mission creep.
The West wasn't exporting Western values to Afghanistan. The goal was importing the tyrannical values of Afghanistan into the West in order to appease the 'Noble People of Afghanistan.'
[PJMedia] It was one of the worst trades in history: Back in 2014, Barack Obama I am the change that you seek...
And now Khairullah Khairkhwa, one of the jihadis Obama traded for Bergdahl, is among the Taliban leadership that just took Kabul.
traded five Taliban ...Arabic for students... commanders for one American who, we were led to believe, had been captured by the Taliban. Obama did all he could to make the swap seem noble: He said at the time that the recovery of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was "a reminder of Americaâs unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield," and the five Taliban jihadis were sent to Qatar
Continued on Page 49
Mullah Yaqoob in a audio message instructs Taliban fighters âNo one has the right to go to anyoneâs home. No one has the right to take weapons of vehicles from homes of former officials. Protect public property.â pic.twitter.com/0Qy36JKeru
Mullah Yaqoob, more fully Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, who has been acting as interim Taliban commander, is the elder son of Mullah Mohammad âBlinkyâ Omar. Blinky was the âLeader of the Faithfulâ during the Talib Emirate, v.1.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/18/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
Mullah Yaqoob in a audio message instructs Taliban fighters ââNo one has the right to go to anyoneâs home. No one has the right to take weaponsââ2021-08-18
"...Well, that oughta do it then. Thanks, Ray."
- Dr. Peter Venkman
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/18/2021 10:15 Comments ||
Top||
Taliban spox asked by a female reporter if women can continue to work. Answer: "They will be allowed to work within Sharia law." Very unclear what that means.
[Garowe] The government of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... has donated armored personnel cars which are mine-resistant to the Somali National Army [SNA], in a bid to help in the fight against al-Shabaab ...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa... krazed killers, who have been causing havoc in the Horn of Africa nation.
Al-Shabaab seeks to topple the fragile UN-backed Somalia administration, but for years, it has been facing stiff resistance from an organized military, mainly the foreign troops serving in the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Mission in Somalia [AMISOM].
Hassan Ali Mohammed, Somalia's Defense Minister, and General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, the Chief of Defense Forces, received the donations and were not short of praises to the Ottoman Turkish government, which is also a key security partner of Somalia.
Ottoman Turkish ambassador to Somalia Mahmet Yilmaz and other government officials were present during the handover. Turkey, besides helping Somalia through such donations, trains the elite Gorgor soldiers and Haramcad coppers.
General Odawa Yusuf Rageh thanked the Ottoman Turkish government for its vital role in reviving the country’s army. According to him, the vehicles will allow the military to access some parts of the country where the al-Shabaab has been controlling.
"I thank the Ottoman Turkish government for the new armored personnel carriers and their continued support," general Odawa said.
"Mine-resistant armored personnel carriers intended for Gorgor Commandos have been donated by The Ottoman Turkish Government. These were handed over to the Ministry of Defence along with the Head of the Somali National Armed Forces, General Odowaa Yusuf Rage," SNA said in a Twitter post.
The Ottoman Turkish ambassador Mahmet Yilmaz said Turkey will continue to support Somalia. According to him, Ankara is keen to see a stable government in Mogadishu, following years of instability and terror.
The Ottoman Turkish government has been able to focus on development and construction in Somalia without coming to direct conflict with other states in the region. This is in contrast to United Arab Emirates [UAE] and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... Turkey also built the biggest military in the Somali capital Mogadishu which has the capacity to train at least 1,500 soldiers at a time according to the Ottoman Turkish officials.
Also, the donation comes in the week Somali National Army announced killing 279 al-Shabaab Death Eaters in Lower Shabelle. According to the military, the gains have been made within the last two months.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/18/2021 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[EN.ALGHADEERTV.NET] Abdulrahman Tayeb, a Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... i doctor, was shocked when his hospital in southern Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century... told him his contract would not be renewed, leaving him with a difficult choice: go home to a nation at war or try to find work in another country.He is not alone. Hundreds of medical staff, academics and other professionals in the kingdomâs southern region bordering Yemen have in recent weeks been told they are being let go, several Yemenis told Rooters.
The exact number is not known. Staff said they were not provided justification for government orders to stop renewing contracts of Yemenis.
There has been no official explanation and Saudi and Yemeni authorities did not respond to the requests for comment. Yemeni sources who spoke said they did not know why the dismissals were happening and were unwilling to advance any theories.
A Saudi analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , said the move aimed to free up jobs for citizens in the south as part of efforts to tackle Saudi unemployment of 11.7%, and was also driven by security considerations in areas near the war, in which a Saudi-led coalition is fighting Yemenâs Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to Americaâą, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... group.
Oh dear. Now all those Saudi MDs are going to have to actually earn their pay by actually treating patients instead of âsupervisingâ the hired medical staff while on site between ten and two. How humiliating for them.
A Yemeni government source, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... due to political sensitivities, said the directives could affect "tens of thousands" of Yemenis, including labourers. The source did not know why the orders were issued.
"All the Yemeni doctors working in government hospitals (in the south) were told our contracts would not be renewed," said Tayeb, 40, who comes from Ibb in Yemen and whose wife and two children are with him in Saudi Arabia.
Tayeb, who declined to name the hospital where he has worked for six years, said his employer informed him on Monday that the labour office instructed them to halt contract renewals and provide two monthsâ notice. Tayebâs contract expires in December.
"We are shocked by this because Yemenis avoid problems, especially with the war because they have no other options to make a living," he told Rooters.
A document from the Saudi Health Ministry dated July 27 and addressed to a hospital in Al Baha in the southwest, an image of which was seen by Rooters, only referenced instructions to "stop issuing new contracts or renew existing contracts for Yemenis".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/18/2021 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] The IDF did not respond militarily to a rocket fired yesterday from Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... due to sensitive ongoing negotiations with Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,, reports Channel 12 news.
According to the report, which did not cite a source, there is a possibility of a breakthrough in a deal that will both ensure Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i funds will enter Gaza and could include the release of Israelis being held by Hamas.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz held meetings at the IDF Gaza Division earlier today. IDF intelligence officials and the Shin Bet reportedly told Bennett and Gantz that they should hold back in responding to the rocket in order to give the negotiations a chance, and they agreed to do so.
The rocket fired yesterday was purportedly launched by Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... fighters who were then arrested by Hamas. Hamas then reportedly informed Israel that it was not behind the rocket fire and is not interested in an escalation.
Earlier today, while touring the IDF Gaza Division, Bennett vowed to respond to the rocket fire "on our terms, and not anyone else’s."
[israelTimes] For the first time since Operation Guardian of the Walls ended in May, Israel is allowing the entry of 10 trucks carrying tires and engines into the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, reports Paleostinian media.
Beginning on Thursday, additional trucks carrying imported goods, including building materials, are slated to be granted entry.
In addition, around 1,800 Gazook businesspeople and traders entered Israel today for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, says a security source.
[Rooters] - Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as StĂŒrmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or FĂŒhrer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has accelerated its enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade, the U.N. atomic watchdog said in a report on Tuesday seen by Rooters, a move raising tensions with the West as both sides seek to resume talks on reviving Tehran's nuclear deal.
Iran increased the purity to which it is refining uranium to 60% fissile purity from 20% in April in response to a kaboom and power cut at its Natanz site that damaged output at the main underground enrichment plant there.
Iran has blamed the attack on Israel. Weapons-grade is around 90% purity. read more
In May, the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran was using one cascade, or cluster, of advanced centrifuges to enrich to up to 60% at its above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz. The IAEA informed member states on Tuesday that Iran was now using a second cascade for that purpose, too.
The move is the latest of many by Iran breaching the restrictions imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal, which capped the purity to which Tehran can refine uranium at 3.67%. The United States and its European allies have warned such moves threaten talks on reviving the deal, which are currently suspended.
Following Rooters' report, Iran reiterated that its nuclear programme is peaceful and said it had informed the IAEA about its enrichment activities. It added that its moves away from the 2015 deal would be reversed if the United States returned to the accord and lifted sanctions, Iranian state media reported.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.