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In Afghan Peace Talks, the Taliban Gain Legitimacy While Pursuing War Drawn-out negotiations in Doha risk turning into a trap, Afghanistan officials warn

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-afghan-peace-talks-the-taliban-gain-legitimacy-while-pursuing-war-11625584192

DOHA, Qatar—Taliban representatives and Afghan government delegates meet every few days at a beachfront Ritz-Carlton resort and spa here, the unhurried pace of their peace talks sharply contrasting with the raging war back home.

In recent weeks, the insurgents have seized nearly a third of Afghanistan’s rural districts and besieged several provincial capitals, taking advantage of the withdrawal of American forces that is nearing completion.

The Doha negotiations, launched last September, were meant to find a peaceful settlement to the four-decades long Afghan war. Now, they risk becoming a mechanism through which the Taliban could legitimize their recent military victories, gaining international approval for an eventual takeover, Afghan government representatives warn.

“The delays that we see from the other side in the progress of talks are not corresponding to the sense of urgency that we have. The violence needs to end, the war needs to end, and we need to reach a political settlement,” said senior government negotiator Nader Nadery, who heads Afghanistan’s civil service commission. “Are they hoping to take over militarily, and then to give it some sort of cover, to say ‘Oh, we are talking in Doha?’ We are aware of these traps.”

The Taliban agreed to sit down for negotiations with representatives of President Ashraf Ghani’s government and other major political forces in Kabul as part of the February 2020 deal between the insurgent group and the Trump administration to pull out all American forces from the country.

President Biden’s decision in April to implement the U.S. military departure without any preconditions about progress toward a peace deal has removed the main leverage to convince the Taliban to make concessions. Only several hundred U.S. troops still remain in Afghanistan, mostly at and near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, following last week’s closure of the Bagram air base, the centerpiece of the 20-year American war effort there.

India: Muslim Politician Demands All Deputy Chief Minister’s Offices Be Reserved For Muslims A jihad through the ranks. Ashlyn Davis

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/07/india-muslim-politician-demands-all-deputy-chief-ashlyn-davis/

Adding to his party’s list of bizarre demands, Syed Asim Waqar, leader of the Islamic political party All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, has asked all states to appoint Muslims as Deputy Chief Ministers (CM). The Muslim leader has skillfully made this demand just before the Uttar Pradesh State elections, to polarize the electorate.

Waqar asserts that other political parties, such as the secular Congress and the socialist Samajwadi Party, must put forward their views on this issue. Waqar has expressed disappointment in politicians who approach the Muslims for votes but grow apprehensive when Muslims demand a Muslim Deputy CM. He complained that the Muslims were not given the promised 12% representation in 2012, and proclaimed, “We will definitely snatch away the Deputy CM post from them. You will have to make a Muslim the deputy CM of the state.” He also claimed that it’s only a matter of time before political parties agree to give the Deputy CM position to the Muslims. That this democratic post should be reserved for Muslims only is a fanciful idea that abolishes the very principles of democracy and secularism on which India is predicated.

Anyhow, what we must ponder is this: why is it that after 70 years of independence, a Muslim politician wants a special privilege for Muslims in a democratic state? It is not because India has denied them participation in the federal structure.

The Islamic rule in India that lasted for several centuries was marked by large-scale religious conversions and orchestrated mass massacres. When the British decided to leave, the man who became the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, demanded an Islamic country for his people, and his demand was met. Unlike the Hindus, who were forced to leave the Islamic provinces of Pakistan and East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), a large number of Muslims chose not to relocate to Pakistan, and stayed back in India with assurances of safety and equality extended by the leaders who were leading the country at that time.

Muslims in India, from the genesis of its democracy, were appointed to key positions in the government. India’s first-ever Education Minister was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who was born in Makkah. He was home-schooled and self-taught. The Indian education system doesn’t recognize these concepts, but cordially extended the education ministry to a Maulana whose proficiency was in Islamic studies, the Quran, the Hadith, and Sharia. He had also learned other contemporary subjects from tutors hired by his parents. This should explain why the Islamic invasion in India has been glorified in school textbooks and invaders been introduced as great emperors.

Eminent Muslim personalities have been voted into the highest office of India, that is, the President’s office, multiple times; Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam have served as President, and Mohammad Hidayatullah served as acting President for a limited time as well.

Anni Cyrus Video: My Plight Under Sharia Slavery Former child bride unveils the true roots of Islamic child marriage.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/07/anni-cyrus-video-my-horrific-plight-under-sharia-frontpagemagcom/

This new Glazov Gang episode features Anni Cyrus, an artist, the producer of The Glazov Gang, the founder of Live Up To Freedom and National Director of American Truth Project.

[Learn more about how Anni has joined Mike Lindell in his fight for freedom and also about her new Etsy Channel.]

Anni shares her Horrific Plight Under Sharia Slavery, unveiling the true roots of Islamic child marriage.

Don’t miss it!

India: Public School Organizes Summer Camp to Promote Islamic Values Among Children And it triggers massive outrage. Ashlyn Davis

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/07/india-public-school-organizes-summer-camp-promote-ashlyn-davis/

A shocking and communally charged invitation put out by a Moradabad school has come under scrutiny and led to tremendous public fury in India, except, of course, among the Muslims. The Delhi Public Global School had set up a summer camp for students aged 8-15, intending to impart Islamic education online. The school also created a website to further this purpose. The colorful pamphlet posted on the school’s official site featured the image of the Ka’ba, along with a green structure resembling a mosque, accompanied by the text, “How to Adopt Islamic Values in Personal Life.” The subjects listed on the agenda to be discussed in the summer camp were, among others, “What is Islam?,” “How to understand Qura’an,” and “Responsibility of a Muslim.” It was supposed to be a two-day schedule with the sessions lasting three hours each.

The poster triggered massive outrage on social media. We must emphasize that the Delhi Public Global School is not a madrassa running on Islamic principles. It is affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education, which is a national level board of education under the purview of the Union government of India. Various Hindu groups have alleged that the school is attempting to change the mindset of pupils from non-Muslim families, so that they will embrace Islam. The fact that the Moradabad school is focusing on students in the developing years of their lives, a time when they have malleable minds and are easily indoctrinated, supports the allegations brought by the Hindu groups.

The Hindu groups, led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, VHP) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (All Indian Student Council, ABVP) have strenuously objected to the “attempts at Islamization” of the English medium school. “This type of religious education for kids coming from other faiths is targeted towards changing their beliefs and converting them to Islam,” said ABVP representative Sachin Singh. The VHP, on the other hand, has warned the management that it would launch a social media campaign against the school.

Responding to the massive indignation, School Manager Mansoor Siddiqui (a Muslim) explained, “We had picked up these subjects to draw in Muslim students for the summer camp and inculcate nationalistic values in them. We had no intention of hurting anyone’s religious sentiments or promoting religious conversion.” The school management supported its decision to consider these religiously motivated topics by noting that over 90% of students in their school hailed from Muslim families.

Scale, details of massive ransomware attack emerge An affiliate of the notorious REvil gang infected thousands of victims in at least 17 countries.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/04/massive-ransomware-attack-498089

BOSTON — Cybersecurity teams worked feverishly Sunday to stem the impact of the single biggest global ransomware attack on record, with some details emerging about how the Russia-linked gang responsible breached the company whose software was the conduit.

An affiliate of the notorious REvil gang, best known for extorting $11 million from the meat-processor JBS after a Memorial Day attack, infected thousands of victims in at least 17 countries on Friday, largely through firms that remotely manage IT infrastructure for multiple customers, cybersecurity researchers said. They reported ransom demands of up to $5 million.

The FBI said in a statement Sunday that it was investigating the attack along with the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, though “the scale of this incident may make it so that we are unable to respond to each victim individually.”

President Joe Biden suggested Saturday the U.S. would respond if it was determined that the Kremlin is at all involved. He said he had asked the intelligence community for a “deep dive” on what happened.

The attack comes less than a month after Biden pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop providing safe haven to REvil and other ransomware gangs whose unrelenting extortionary attacks the U.S. deems a national security threat.

A broad array of businesses and public agencies were hit by the latest attack, apparently on all continents, including in financial services, travel and leisure and the public sector — though few large companies, the cybersecurity firm Sophos reported. Ransomware criminals break into networks and sow malware that cripples networks on activation by scrambling all their data. Victims get a decoder key when they pay up.

The Swedish grocery chain Coop said most of its 800 stores would be closed for a second day Sunday because their cash register software supplier was crippled. A Swedish pharmacy chain, gas station chain, the state railway and public broadcaster SVT were also hit.

What the ‘Old Man’ thought of Socialism Victor Sharpe

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/sharpe/210703

And who was ‘The Old Man’ you ask? It was the name Winston Churchill was given in his later years by an adoring public, especially following the end of World War 2.

Increasingly Churchill railed against the creeping socializing of Britain particularly after the Socialist Labour government swept to power in the July, 1945 General Election.

The Old Man later warned about the growing threat of Socialism in his House of Commons speech in 1948 when he said: “We are oppressed by a deadly fallacy. Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy. Unless we free our country while time remains from the perverse doctrines of Socialism, there can be no hope for recovery.”

How familiar his stark words must resonate now here in America as a Democrat/Socialist Party turns the Marxist screw ever tighter on our lives. With the insanities of Wokeism, identity politics, critical race theory, ad nauseam tormenting non-Socialist Americans there is an uncanny similarity with what the British Labor government had imposed upon the British people.

In a speech Churchill delivered in Cardiff, Wales, he spoke about what he called “the Socialist jargon to silliness” that the leftwing government wished to enforce upon the public. His tongue in cheek speech went like this:

“I hope you all have mastered the official Socialist jargon which our new masters, as they call themselves, wish us to learn. You must not use the word ”poor”; they are now described as the “lower income group.” When it comes to freezing a workman’s wages the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Secretary of the Treasury in U.S.) now speaks of “arresting increases in personal income” … There is a lovely one about houses and homes. They are in future to be called “Accomodation Unit.”

Here the Old Man launched into one of his most derisory comments on Socialist nonsense by replacing the famous old song, “There’s no place like home,” with “There’s no place like our Accommodation Unit.” He then delivered the coup de grace to the cheers of the Conservative back benchers by adding, “I hope to see the British democracy spit all this rubbish from their lips.”

How Erdoğan’s Miscalculation Crippled Turkey’s Aerial Firepower by Burak Bekdil

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17489/erdogan-miscalculation-air-power

Turkey is still blackmailing the U.S. (and NATO allies) that it may opt for a Russian fighter jet, the Su-57, for instance, in case it feels threatened by the lack of a new generation fighter aircraft. This is bluffing.

Turkish Air Force generals know too well that switching from NATO-standard aircraft to Russian ones after 70 years is not like changing your American car in favor of a Japanese one. Building a new operational structure, modifying air bases, new repair, service and maintenance systems will be too costly, time consuming and technologically difficult.

Erdoğan’s top officials are undermining themselves when they try to convince the public that Turkey’s local defense industry is making miracles in fighter jet technology.

In the meantime, fearing further U.S. sanctions, Turkey has suspended plans to activate the S-400 surface-to-air missile system…. This means Ankara paid a good $2.5 billion to Moscow for a system that it probably will never activate.

“This is a sale. We received our money. The Turks can ride the missiles to go to the beach or to carry potatoes with them. It’s not our concern.” — Aleksey Yerhov, Russia’s ambassador to Ankara, mocking Turkey’s reluctance to activate the S-400 surface-to-air missile system, onedio.com, July 6, 2020.

One of the hottest issues in the 50-minute discussion between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Joe Biden during the NATO summit of June 14 was NATO member Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 long-range air defense system and subsequent U.S. sanctions, including expelling Turkey from the U.S.-led multinational consortium that builds the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet. Unsurprisingly, the meeting ended without a solution. That is bad news for the Turkish Air Force (TuAF).

For more than a decade, Turkey’s military top brass planned future air power capabilities based on the assumption that they would be receiving at least 100 F-35s starting in the 2020s. The TuAF operates squadrons of fourth-generation U.S.-built F-16s and older F-4s in its operations against separatist Kurdish militants in Turkey’s southeast as well as in northern Iraq and Syria. Turkey first began acquiring the F-16s from the U.S. in late 1980s and has locally produced the iconic fighter jet under license, being one of the five countries to locally produce the aircraft. Today, TuAF has a total of 270 F-16C/D aircraft in its inventory, all of them Block 30/40/50 models. Most of those aircraft will have to be phased out within the next 10 to 15 years, depending on their upgrades. Whether Congress will allow the sale of fighter jet parts and servicing for upgrades is another question mark.

Tibet Is Still Fighting For Freedom Against Brutal Chinese Oppression Barbara Demick’s book, ‘Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town,’ provides yet more evidence that the Chinese Communist Party is an oppressive evil that must be confronted.By Helen Raleigh

https://thefederalist.com/2021/07/02/tibet-is-still-fighting-for-freedom-against-brutal-chinese-oppression/

Ngaba is a small Tibetan town with only 10,000 people and didn’t even have a traffic light until 2013. Yet it is known as the “self-immolation center of the world.” Why did Tibetans from this tiny town choose to die in such a gruesome and horrific way? You will find the answer in Barbara Demick’s well-researched and beautifully written book, Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town, a book about the history and people of Ngaba.

Despite all the curiosity about Tibet, most of us know very little about Tibetan history, its rich culture, the Tibetan people, and their complex relationship with Han Chinese. When I was in China, all I knew of Tibet were the things Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda wanted me to believe: Tibet was always part of China since the beginning of time; the Dalai Lama is a traitor and separatist; and before the Chinese army “liberated” Tibet in 1950, the Tibetan ruling class treated ordinary Tibetan people like slaves and subjected them to horrifying punishment for even minor mistakes, such as turning offenders’ skulls into wine cups or using their skin to cover drums.

Since the CCP has prevented Tibetans from publishing literature and history from their perspective, most Han Chinese, including myself, thought the CCP’s propaganda on Tibet had to be true. This is why a book such as “Eat the Buddha,” based on interviews of Tibetans and how their lives intertwined with Tibet’s history spanning from 1930 to the present, is indispensable to set the record straight for Tibet and its people.

‘Liberating’ Tibet

Ngaba is the capital of the Mei kingdom, one of the many smaller kingdoms in Tibet. The king and his people revered the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader, but they kept their independence from the Dalai Lama and China. Life on the Tibetan plateau is challenging – Ngaba is at 11,000 feet elevation and the harsh weather makes agriculture difficult.

Tibetans, who were either farmers, herdsmen, or monks, were often poorly nourished but rarely went hungry. Unlike the CCP’s propaganda, the Mei kings and queens never drank any wine from cups made out of human skulls. They ruled their small kingdom fairly and capably throughout history and were respected by their people.

Ngaba’s first unfortunate encounter with the CCP took place in 1935. The CCP’s Red Army marched into Ngaba while fleeing from the Nationalist Army’s pursuit. People at Nagba didn’t have enough food to support thousands of newly arrived Chinese soldiers. The hungry Red Army soldiers tried to feed themselves in any way possible, including picking crops from Tibetan fields and stealing and slaughtering Tibetan herdsmen’s sheep and yaks. For the first time in their living memory, Tibetans experienced famine.

Authoritarianism in the Air Peter Smith

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2021/07/authoritarianism-in-the-air/

Up until a few days ago I was sticking with Glady Berejiklian. This current ridiculous lockdown tested my resolve. But then, I thought, let’s look at the unenviable position political leaders have put themselves in.

First, they slavishly followed China in adopting lockdowns. Bear in mind that this is the first time in the history of epidemics that general lockdowns have been applied. And, I understand, none were ever contemplated.

Don’t want to be conspiratorial but those fake pictures from China showing people dropping down in the street had a purpose. People shown being rounded up and locked in their homes had a purpose. A safe assumption: the Chinese communists are not stupid. An equally safe assumption: they calculate what they do and what they show.

My conclusion is that they wanted the Western world to cripple itself. Of course, they had help from Neil Ferguson and his fellow Imperial College (UK) hysterics in mid-March 2020. Mind you, even they, in their report, did not recommend general lockdowns. True, it is mentioned in passing, but it is not part of the “suppression strategy” which they advocated.

Unsurprisingly, California was one of the first to go full monty. Fauci and epidemiologists around the world soon got on board. What power, basking in the limelight with politicians and the media in thrall! A heady brew.

Second, political leaders, to a man and woman, hid behind medical gurus.  Not our fault you are thrown out of work, your business ruined, they claimed. Blame the expert advice. Follow “the science”.

Powerful political leaders, thinking at first that they were calling the shots, quickly became pawns in the game. To use New South Wales as the example, when Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says jump, it is now clear that Gladys jumps. I could equally have cited many others, including England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty. Sure, Boris Johnson was recalcitrant at first but after a personal dose of COVID he soon started paying obeisance to the chief.

A Glimpse into the Future of Muslim-Majority Britain Sharia on the horizon. Katie Hopkins

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/07/glimpse-future-muslim-majority-britain-katie-hopkins/

Batley and Spen is a small, seemingly insignificant old mill town in the British Midlands. Its drabness and decay are depressing in their ordinariness, but behind these old tenement houses — where outside toilets have been clumsily reattached — is a seething rage no one is prepared to talk about. It’s the reason I have spent time there in the past, to try and force this conversation into the open.

And right now, these awkward truths are glaring the country in the face.

Batley and Spen’s Member of Parliament (similar to a US Congressman) recently stood down, so a by-election was recently held on Thursday, June 30 to find a replacement. That’s the dull mechanics of the thing. The reality is that this tiny town is a glimpse into the political future of Britain (and, by extension, America) — and it is anything but pretty. It has earned the title: the most divisive bi-election in British political history.

Muslim voters are SUPPOSED to vote Labor in the same way black America is SUPPOSED to vote Democrat. But here in this place, religious Muslims oppose Labor’s support for LGBT. This is not politics based on policies. This is politics based on one faith group pitting its grievances against all faith groups. And it’s a faith group that refuses to accept tolerance of LGBT or of Israel. It is a voting block that wants LGBT teaching removed from schools, and wants to express its commitment to “free Palestine” at the polling stations of this tiny Midlands town.

Batley and Spen has made headlines more often than most small towns set miles away from the capital. It drew national attention in 2015 when its MP, Jo Cox, was murdered on the streets in the run up to Brexit, allegedly by an “anti-Muslim white supremacist” — or, in other words, a man with a history of severe mental illness. Cox’s sister, Kim Leadbeater, was put in as the Labor candidate and for perceived righteous reasons, should have been the frontrunner for a win. But this town is not so easily swayed by the emotions of mere mortals. Muhammad matters more.

Perhaps you saw the headlines about a British teacher suspended for showing his Religious Education class a picture of the prophet Muhammad? That, too, happened in this tiny town. A Muslim mob gathered at the gates of the school demanding that he be killed for blasphemy.