Dissecting Society

Training Knights Lesson 10 Healing PTSD Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Cristina C. Giancchini) — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 08:23:00 +0000

By Stephen Cheney

Intro

Here, we continue with investigations into the workings of the mind.

Terrorists/radicals do not appear to suffer from PTSD:

Why is that?

Ordinary persons may kill, such as in war, but they do not conduct campaigns of torture and death; unless they become radicalized. Becoming radicalized is a mental process, often a brainwashing process. Those who are radicalized, terrorists being a prime example, commit vicious crimes to instil fear, or at least achieve the cowardice of non-opposition to their rule, bending the knees of all to their authority. Experiencing, or even just seeing, such viciousness and the pain of the innocent can shift the minds of less radical humans into a state of PTSD.

Of course, history is peppered with numerous examples of armies sweeping the Earth, committing atrocities and genocide. The minds of the soldiers involved have either been radicalized or made devoid of any sociable individual judgement by being supplanted by a military, political, or religious authority, so no guilt is experienced. To have guilt or doubt, you need a sociable attitude and be able, or allowed, to have your own opinions separate from an outside authority. Those who take orders are not asked to think; they are ordered to obey. Thinking in such action groups is the prerogative of the commanders. For commanders, allowing too much thinking by subordinates would hamper fast action and, on the battlefield, prevent winning.

Terrorists are not all the same, even though they are all cruel

There are different kinds of Terrorists and yet all seem to be immune from PTSD.

There are numerous terrorist groups, which means groups that conduct acts of terror, including deliberately killing women and children to instil fear in a populace and coerce them to agree with, or at least not oppose, the terrorists' political ends.

Klu Klux Klan

One example is the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). While they may be mainly Protestants, they are not influenced by religious authority. The "Love your neighbours" principle of the Christian religion holds no meaning for them. The KKK is an exclusive club that fears non-whites taking over their territory and culture, leading to a domination of hatred in their minds. It is possible that they are envious of certain attributes of African Americans, such as excellent bone structure and muscle definition, which allow them to excel in sports like League Football, Basketball, Athletics, Track and Field, and the Olympics, possibly contributing to their fear and animosity. They also seem to be worried about their women being attracted to African Americans. This leads them to despise African Americans and treat them as unequal humans, resorting to torturing and hanging those they secretly capture.

Their attitude is purely fuelled by hatred, and PTSD does not appear to be a consequence experienced by KKK members.

Give a dog a bad name and hang him. — Proverb

Not All Moslems Are Terrorists, But How Many Fight Against Moslem Terrorists?

Most terrorist groups do not have enormous numbers of followers. Currently, among those who claim religion as their authority, Muslims have millions who will not oppose them, and many members. Christians, whose old biblical texts promoted genocide, such as exterminating the Canaanites and killing their men, women, children, and cattle (why the valuable asset cattle?); committed many atrocities in the Middle Ages, including torturing and burning heretics and women at the stake. However, nowadays they do not select vicious tracks of sacred texts or Ecclesiastical rulings to guide them. Similarly, many Muslims also do not do that, preferring a life of peace and harmony with their non-Muslim neighbours.

Many Imams, as many Moslems, do not publicly condemn Moslem terrorists, wishing Islam to dominate the world. Wishing to spread and dominate the world is a common theme with a number of religions. With the numerous world-wide Moslem terrorist acts, the numerous civilized Moslems should do some housekeeping and demonstrate against such terrorists world-wide. However, they don’t.

Also, the specific Koran texts that terrorists feed on cannot be disputed by any Moslem, the Islamic penalty for that being death. When 9/11 happened and mainly Christian America was attacked and damaged by a group of terrorists, the Imams and Moslems of the Middle East shouted for joy and, as videos show, celebrated in the streets by the millions. How many Imams don suicide vests? Virtually none. They persuade others to act for them.

Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda followers approve of blowing up women and children to instil fear in the populace. Al Qaeda followers, that I have observed, appear to be akin to warrior monks. In Star Wars terminology, they resemble warrior monks of the Dark Side, like the Sith. These individuals are warriors who fearlessly adhere to biasedly selected instructions from sacred texts, emphasized by Imams, whom they consider an unquestionable authority. Like monks, they are not materialistic and do not seek worldly luxuries, instead focusing on the promised rewards in heaven and idealizing a simple desert way of living. When not undercover infiltrating what they perceive as decadent infidels, their lifestyle is austere.

They are entrusted with vast sums of money and they account for every cent to their leaders. They disapprove of women's involvement in men's business and keep them out of direct knowledge or involvement in their husband's activities.

Al Qaeda's members do not appear to suffer from PTSD; their minds are dominated by religious fervour.

Hezbollah

Hezbollah followers also approve of blowing up women and children to instil fear among the populace. Their rockets hit whoever is in the target area. Unlike Al Qaeda, their goal is not to take over the world, but rather to fight for an expanded land exclusively for themselves. The land of Palestine has been a battleground for many groups over thousands of years, and the victor has always been the most powerful. The original settlers were Neanderthals, but they lost their claim long ago.

I have found that Hezbollah followers tend to have a materialistic philosophy. When entrusted with large sums of money to launder, they may extract an administration fee, which can sometimes amount to a quarter of the total sum. They enjoy a luxurious lifestyle, owning expensive cars and jewellery. Moreover, they might involve their entire family, including women, in their terrorist operations, showing a more cosmopolitan approach.

Interestingly, PTSD does not seem to be a consequence experienced by Hezbollah's members. Their minds are dominated by religious and national fervour.

CAVEAT

Although there are many terrorist groups, it is obvious that the cultures they are embedded in, and the multitudes of people, are not terrorists. The KKK does not imply that all Christians are terrorists, just as Al Qaeda does not imply that all Muslims are terrorists. The radical choice of terrorizing and killing innocents is the unique decision of individuals and their close-knit groups who seek to dominate a populace or the world through fear. Most people want to live in peace and harmony; terrorist groups are an abomination. Moreover, such groups rarely achieve their aims of influence; instead, they incite extreme opposition, leading many nations to direct their resources against them.

Freedom Fighters

There are many terrorists and fighters opposing some authority. Though they may claim to be freedom fighters, terrorists are not true Freedom Fighters. Freedom Fighters may target government troops and police of a hated dictator or government, but they refrain from deliberately killing innocent citizens around them, as those citizens could potentially be supporters. However, there may be collateral damage, as seen in the activities of the Irish IRA or Basque ETA.

Gang-Pressed

Some terrorists do not become members of gangs due to personal choice; they may be pressed into service. The children of Africa are sometimes forced or deluded into service. Others may be gang-pressed and cannot leave on pain of death. Being involved in terror but retaining a conscience, they may end up suffering from PTSD, having experienced the hell of evil (criminally psychotic) activities.

I happened to meet, perhaps by chance, a retired assassin from Central America. He was in a shattered mental state, his mind and soul broken by the terrible crimes he had been forced to participate in. When he was a youth, he had been coerced into joining a terrorist gang that was trained by the communist Cubans, and in that group of revolutionaries, he was made to kill women and children. He, of Catholic background and influence, spoke of his group being involved in the 1980 assassination of Archbishop Romero. So, if true, it is a possibility (but unconfirmed) that his group was responsible for the deed, and not others who also desired to kill the archbishop, such as Roberto D'Aubuisson of the ARENA party.

Australia is known as a safe haven, and like many other radicals, he fled to Australia to escape his past and his group. However, physical escape does not equate to mental escape. The burden of one's deeds remains with them forever. The subconscious remembers everything. He continues to suffer from PTSD, and he is a broken soul merely existing, hardly capable of social interaction.

Spare the fly,

Wringing his hands,

Wringing his feet.

Imploring mercy. — Issa (1763-1828)

Contributing Factors of Persuasion

When you shoot at a Bullseye there is no guilt, when you shoot at a person, there may be guilt, but not if you view that person as a thing or an “enemy”.

Peer group reinforcement.

Higher authority, such as Imams, taking over one’s responsibility.

Defining an object is subjective: - that infidels are not fully human (pigs\apes).

Fear of contradictions and dissenting faiths.

Indoctrination by education, such as books for kindergarten teaching, say that infidels are bad and should be killed. Such teachings and books are favoured by Wahhabist Saudi Arabia and are found in the schools that it funds.

Reinforcement of faith by way of Natal imprinting: the rocking and reciting of scripture by students in madrassas.

Belief reinforcement by repetition: five prayers a day.

Our senses perceive reality, but it is our minds that evaluate those inputs and assign definitions and values, thus meaning.

When a radical attacks, they determine the nature of the victim. If the victim does not fight back strongly, then the radical can only despise the victim and, in that contempt, attack again and with more cruelty.

All these contribute to ATTITUDE, and one's attitude determines what one accepts as reality.

To see through glass Darkly.

If you dare to wander through the dark corridors of the underground of a city you can meet many radicals. However, that is dangerous, and you need to have courage, initiative, adaptability to the moment, and also the ability to survive when outnumbered and if things go South. Without courage and initiative there is no progress, no action. Intellectuals like to think and talk a lot, but where is their courage, their daring to enter dangerous unknowns with confidence in their abilities to endure and succeed?

Many Become Terrorists Through Brainwashing

The mind determines what one believes and thus what one feels and does. Like a computer, the mind can be programmed, even reprogrammed. There are many forms of brainwashing. milder ones such as advertising and political propaganda; medium ones, such as peer group pressure. Many terrorists are tribal in their early life and need the respect of their colleagues as a priority. To impact the subconscious brain, Madrassa schools employ a technique where young students spend hours reciting scriptures while rocking back and forth. This rocking motion is reminiscent of the unborn baby being rocked in the walking mother's body and later being cradled in her arms. It creates a repetitious, soothing, and encompassing environment that maximizes learning and acceptance.

(Image: Warrior - unknown source)

Training Knights Lesson 10 Healing PTSD Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Cristina C. Giancchini) — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 08:06:00 +0000

By Stephen Cheney

Intro

Here, we continue with investigations into the workings of the mind.

What is the Official Treatment for PTSD?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment can help in regaining a sense of control over one’s life.

You may have PTSD if the problems you experience after exposure continue for more than a month and cause significant problems in your ability to function in social and work settings and negatively impact relationships. (from the Mayo Clinic)

The primary treatment is psychotherapy; but can also include medication.

Treatments include:

Hallucinogens.
Ecstasy.
Virtual Reality.
Blocking the glutamate receptor system protein GluA1.

In rare severe cases: Electroshock therapy (ECT: Electroconvulsive therapy).

ECT: Electroconvulsive therapy:

ECT is generally considered a safe and effective treatment. While severe damage is not typical, the electric currents used can be strong enough to cause a seizure, which in turn may lead to damage to brain tissues and memory loss. This memory loss is intended to alleviate traumatic experiences. Some temporary or lingering side effects may include retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia.

Autobiographical Memories:

The Hippocampus of the brain is essential for recalling our personal memories, as well as for spatial navigation and coherence. It plays a role in geometric combinative structuring, allowing the imagination to travel through time - both into the past and the future.

One of the risks associated with slightly damaging neurons to eliminate memories is that the patient may become bewildered and unsure of their identity, which could potentially lead to thoughts of suicide. Given the post-operative risks and the intrusive nature of ECT, albeit without breaking the skin, obtaining informed consent through a consent form is necessary.

HOWEVER:

From the initial recognition or disclosure of symptoms, there is a ONE-MONTH WAITING PERIOD before PTSD is officially recognized, and treatment can begin.

Thus, Is the Official Treatment for PTSD Satisfactory?

Due to the time gap, No.

To confirm symptoms and yet demand a month waiting period prior to initiating treatment is irresponsible. Hoping that the symptoms will just go away, when the causes, past or present, still exist, is not a prudent approach. Serious untreated symptoms can only worsen over time. How many patients with a full set of symptoms of any illness visit their doctor only to be told to come back in a month for a review? They should receive prompt treatment instead.

How many PTSD sufferers die from suicide during their waiting period?

Many suffer greatly having experienced the horrors of war. Numerous soldiers who fought on government orders for honorable reasons end up witnessing dishonorable events. Do they deserve to be medically delayed then? No. A country that neglects them also neglects its Duty of Care.

Emotions Magnify

A negative or horrifying experience is not just one happening amongst many other not-so-unpleasant events. Emotions magnify such experiences. A traumatic event is replayed many times over in the mind, which remembers it vividly. Consequently, the traumatic event becomes a much-repeated and re-suffered occurrence that fatigues the mind and willpower. As soon as one becomes aware of this replay, it is the opportune moment to stop it and deliberately busy the mind with something else as a distraction. Bad occurrences from the past need to be buried before they bury you. Overwhelmed by many new experiences that you actively seek out to provide distance from trauma, remember that you are more than just an incident; you live through many events and adventures.

It is not only atomic particles that become entangled; their fates merged. Emotions act like a binding energy that makes deep lovers feel as one. Therefore, when one dies, the other dies inwardly, creating a strong bond that later leads to repeating that tragic experience. Likewise, emotions and memories combine and are stored for re-experiencing events such as shell shock, torture, horror, rape, deadly errors, etc. The control of one’s emotions is paramount in training before any combat engagement. Someone who has experienced trauma may view the world as not worth living in, seeing it as too horrific to bear — an oversensitivity to the evils in reality. However, a warrior with an intact mind would prefer to die fighting evils in battle rather than escaping such duty by suicide.

Be stirring as the time, be fire with fire,

threaten the threatener, and outface the brow of bragging horror,

so shall inferior eyes, that borrow their behaviors from the great,

grow great by your example and put on the dauntless spirit of resolution. — William Shakespeare

When seeking solutions to a problem, first explore where else that problem should logically exist, but in reality, it doesn’t, and why that is so.

(Image: Warrior - unknown source)

[The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dissecting Society™ ].

Training Knights Lesson 10 Healing PTSD Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Cristina C. Giancchini) — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 18:46:00 +0000

By Stephen Cheney

Intro

Here, we continue with investigations into the workings of the mind. These discussions and trainings are meant to encourage budding enthusiasts who are inspired by the likes of the best of Samurai, Knights of the Round Table, Special Forces, fictional Jedi Knight Masters, and other heroes representing the fight of Good against Evil (though not all had honour). Whether child or adult, there is something of value here for everyone.

The near-magical physical and mental abilities of fictional heroes may seem unobtainable. However, the skills taught here will be found to be learnable and applicable to real dangerous situations, but only if practiced frequently. They come from my scholarly studies of the Dark Arts, more properly termed "The Deep Arts," as they are intended for good against evil.

Regarding the Force, as divulged in the Star Wars films, it is sometimes considered as Ki (Japanese) or Chi (Chinese) in the Martial Arts. However, "The Force" is more than just internal; its manipulation is a teachable skill and not a paranormal ability.

Some teachings discussed will be about Paranormal abilities, gifts that only a very few students (if not delusional) can be expected to have. Such rare individuals who have such burdens need to be and will be accommodated. I may know a lot, but I make no claim to possess such abilities.

What is PTSD?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better. If the symptoms get worse, last for months or even years, and interfere with your day-to-day functioning, you may have PTSD.

Suicidal thoughts, in order to escape mental pain, is often a factor in PTSD.

Getting effective treatment after PTSD symptoms develop can be critical to reduce symptoms and improve function (from the Mayo Clinic).

How serious is the Problem?

Statistics USA:

Up until about 2021, in the US Military, an estimated 30,177 American active military personnel and veterans involved in post-9/11 wars have died by suicide — a figure at least four times greater than the 7,057 service members who were killed in combat during that time, according to the 'Cost of War Project' conducted by Brown/Boston Universities and authored by Thomas Suitt. (Thomas Suitt's unit in Iraq had 9 members killed, but later 15 died by suicide.)

US Army report on Army suicides (2023):

Of 47 studies, only 10 had Actionable recommendations.
However, the responsible Army Offices took NO action on the recommendations.

Australian Army:

An Australian Army commando who served in Afghanistan lost comrades and his Captain there. He returned with PTSD and sought official help, but he was advised that he had to wait for 2 years before treatment. After 2 years, he was advised that he could be treated, but he was so angry at the display of inhumanity that he lashed out at them. He still suffers from PTSD.

This illustrates that the resources allocated to treatment are deliberately too low, and there are too many PTSD sufferers.

Military Commanders appear to have a tunnel-vision view of what makes a soldier. They prioritize heroes over what they perceive as weakness. They find it difficult to accept that a patriotic soldier with strong willpower could succumb to battlefield horrors and end up with PTSD, as it goes against their noble military cultural beliefs. Additionally, being too focused on and open about PTSD is considered detrimental to military business and recruitment.

Better an end with horror than a horror without end. Schiller (this is a suicidal viewpoint)

The Screams of the Innocent Echo —
In Your Soul
In your Mind
In your Body
In the silence of graves. — Stephen Cheney

Old soldier...
trenches of war
in his face. — Stephen Cheney

A Song of Liang-Chou
They sing, they drain their cups of jade,
On horseback they strum on their guitars.
… When they fall asleep drunk on the sand
— Why laugh? —
How many soldiers ever come home? — Wang Han

An Ideal Perspective

Emotional damage needs to be healed by altering the emotional memory structures in the subconscious and the perspective of logic in the forebrain. One's view of the world, the environment that impacts, and the person that meets those impacts, good and bad, defines one.

Knowing what you stand for is your sword and shield, but sometimes a reminder is necessary.

It is your mind that interprets the world, and it needs to expand its views, not narrow them to a confining cell.

Daily problems and pains are real. That reality needs to be acknowledged. However, one's internal powers also need to be acknowledged, for we are not nothing, we are also real. The Earth's eyes, mind and hands are us.

Mirroring the external universe, your mind is also a universe of its own. In it, you can encompass galaxies and dreams.

Whatever your problems, if you compare them to the vast universe: they are small, even temporary.

When overly stressed, one's mental force narrows its focus onto personal problems only, discarding the greater Realm of existence.

With severe PTSD One may become as beast within a cage, surrounded by the oppressive gloom of a problem, seeing no way out. This confining, however, is self-imposed. As a universe of its own, the mind is vast and greater than any problem within it.

When your mind is free, or you make it free, to move and roam the Stars, it reforms to its true nature. All living things explore their environment with senses, hands, feet, eyes and mind. When alive, know that you are so, make the most of it. For when you no longer live, you cannot change this universe into something better — you will be in another universe to explore.

A Warrior carries the burden of pressure with the meaning and usefulness of being Protective and keeping others safe. A warrior is one who is aware of death and thus the value of life, a life so temporary and easily lost. A warrior also carries the Burden of the Pain that comes with injury to both body and mind from entering into conflicts and battling evil to save the good. Experiencing the mutilations of body, mind, and soul of others, and even of his own. Just knowing the Horrors that criminal man does to his fellow humans is enough to depress one into a deep and dark despair. For evil is common everywhere and the Good only win if the populace breed and train champions. Severe disappointment from wanting what should be, yet having to face and fight what is, can cripple a mind. The mind is a recorder and bad memories fixed in place by emotional shock need to somehow be exorcized if the mind is to function properly once more.

Blue the smoke of war,
White the bones of men. — Tu Fu (AD 712-770)

(Image: wallpaperaccess.com Warrior)

A Brief Comment on Lake Maggiore

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 13:30:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

Elements of the Intelligence Community (IC) meeting on a recreational boat, in an Italian Lake, begs for ominous things to happen. And when you add Israel and Italy to the mix, it becomes explosive.

The recent incident involving intelligence officers of the aforementioned countries raises a lot of questions:

Why meeting on a boat?
What were they investigating or planning?
Who attacked them?
What did they know?
Who gained from this event?

Media reports claim 2 Italian agents died, 1 Mossad agent perished, along with a Russian wife to the boat’s Captain…this is an interesting account of events. Why specify the nationality of 3 victims while being exact about the Intelligence Agency of 1? That in itself gives us some clues, doesn’t it?

Furthermore, it’s also always fun to see the word “retirement” associated to the “Spy World” cause let’s face it: once you’re in, you never really leave it; do you? And if you wouldn’t mind, or if you don’t end up eliminated in the process, you will end up working till you’re 100 years old. But I digress…

One would be inclined to believe this event is related to the Ukrainian crisis, however that would be too obvious; so I am inclined to believe it has to do with impending events…very close to home.

“At the porch now crouches the Panther;

As the Night Watcher watches dark far trees

And waits for a signal from the Cockatoo” (EMEMTEN)

(Image: Lake Maggiore[Ed] - Wikipedia)

The Purpose of Religion: Love or Hatred?

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 13:30:00 +0000

De Max Coutinho

What is the purpose of religion: to teach how to love or to teach how to hate?

How to Love

When properly taught, any religion is about teaching humans how to love each other. When we speak of love we speak not of a sentiment for someone we appreciate with all heart, nay; we speak of love in a sense that we understand that all people were created by G-d, then we comprehend the differences between people, we accept and respect them which in the end translates into a natural flow of affection for others, therefore ultimately leading to peaceful interaction.

How to hate

When taught for purposes of manipulation and control, any religion is about teaching humans how to hate each other. “That religion is fake, ours is the true one”, “Those people are dangerous, terrorists”, “Only one path will lead you to heaven”, “Our religion is the ultimate message” etc etc…all this causes mistrust and eventually hatred among people, therefore, generating conflict and destruction.

Looking in the mirror Principle

Religions exist to try to control evil inclinations in Human Beings; but when we look at all of them it is safe to say they spend too much time looking outwards instead of looking inwards. For instance:

As a Jew, what should anyone care about what Christians and Muslims do or say? There are endless problems that need to be fixed in Judaism before anyone can open one’s mouth to criticise others.
As a Muslim, why focusing on Jews and Christians? Focus on your problems, and G-d knows there are plenty of them to solve. Why spend hours debating the mistakes in the New Testament when there are clearly some questionable “facts” in the Quran as well?
As a Christian, why the complex of superiority? The Church has 28,000 sub-variants of Christian “thoughts” each with its own set of problems to solve, some of them extremely serious, and yet they always think their path is the only way to salvation and everybody is a sinner…

How tiresome.

Religion should bring people closer to G-d, not to chase them away from Him. Now, don’t get me wrong: religion is not a marketing tool, like the colourful kind of Religion (the sort that supports everything G-d said is forbidden), no. Religion is not a political weapon either. True religion is a deep connection to G-d. It’s ecstasy through His Light. Happiness.

If you put a group of people from different religions in a controlled environment, void of politics, you will see that they will get along just fine in spite of their differences. Add a religious figure and politics to the mix: and you have hatred and conflict.

No wonder people drift away from religion…they want peace.

(Image: Nativity with St Francis and St Lawrence - Caravaggio)

The Hottest Passport in Town: Cape Verde's

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 13:30:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

All of the sudden, we see Cape Verde’s Passports everywhere. This should not be strange if we think that Cape Verdians rank as one of the world’s top emigrants; however, when the holders of such passports are citizens stemming from Senegal, Guiné-Bissau, Angola, Ivory Coast etc…we can’t help but to wonder…

One could argue that maybe they lived in the Islands for more than a decade - yes, true but they don’t speak either Portuguese or Cape Verde Creole. They speak French (including the individuals from Guiné-Bissau). Raise your hand if you get the point.

Cape Verde and the CPLP bloc should look into this phenomenon, specially given the recently created mobility pact - we know Portugal is keeping an eye open regarding fake passports and the Immigration Services have been arresting foreign citizens who seek to get residence permits with such documents.

Normally, these things happen because someone tips people about such issues “Oh go to Cape Verde: there you can get documents that will then allow you to get residence in Europe…” and then Portugal, and other European nations, will realise the problem and apply pressure on Cape Verde to solve the issue - and tension starts.

Profiling is a very useful tool in any investigation. And Portugal should have experts in Profiling in its Migration and Asylum Services because:

Pakistani pose as Indians
Indians pose as Bengali
Bengali pose as Nepali
Nepali pose as Indians
Bissau pose as Cape Verdians
Conakry pose as Bissau
Senegal pose as Gambians
Conakry pose as Gambians
Gambians pose as Bissau
Angolans pose as Mozambicans
Moroccan pose as Brazilian
Americans pose as Canadians
Americans pose as German
Etc etc

However, not quite: they don’t look the same. They don’t behave the same way. They don’t speak the same way even though they may speak the same language. And their body language betrays them.

Do you know how many of such people our office has detected? There’s even one colleague who interrogates clients when they claim to be something they are not. But I digress…

Question: what do they all want here?

(Image: Cape Verdian Biometric Passport [Ed] - Google Images)

The Award of Witless Statement of the Year goes to...

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 13:00:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

What is the witless statement of the year?

“One thing is to have ten western neighbours and another completely different is to have ten Muslim neighbours in our building” - Filipe Melo, Portuguese MP from the Chega Party

I would love to get the footage to see in which context these words were said, however, this sentence a priori is one of the less intelligent ones I have heard off late.

First, yes, it is totally different to have 10 Muslims as neighbours and 10 westerners: 6/10 Muslim neighbours are cleaner, more silent and respectful. I have 5 westerner neighbours: one of them doesn’t wash her windows since she moved in 1 year and half ago; another one sends cigarette buds down onto my yard. At 2am, the first ones fights with her beau of the season waking up, thus, all the building; not to mention that her doorstep exudes a perfume of urine and marijuana.

Indeed, it is totally different.

Second, when we speak of Westerners we refer to a geo-designation and when we mention “Muslim” we refer to a follower of Islam (i.e. Religion). I am a Westerner yet I am Jewish and I know Westerners who are Muslim, the same way we have Westerners who are Hindu (like the United Kingdom’s PM), so what on earth was Filipe Melo saying? It’s this sort of thing that makes people look stupid in public.

Third, if Filipe Melo was referring to Asian Muslims (Indian, Bengali, Pakistani etc), he should’ve mentioned them straight away instead of playing coy; but even so…if there are problems with this community: whose fault is it?

Furthermore, it is dangerous to generalise because among such communities there are good people and the Portuguese authorities know very well who the rotten apples are: if they don’t act it’s because “Money is the sweetest hangover” and they don’t want to get over…

Many people say Chega is a Far-Right Party but I say they don’t have the sophistication nor the complexity required to be Far-Right. Chega (Enough) has a good name but bad eloquence and even worse ideas. Chega, it's enough!

(Imagem: Filipe Melo [Ed] - Google Imagens)

The Result of Decades of Self-Serving Governments

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 13:40:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

“Governments need a new paradigm of governance” - I keep telling myself.

Governments became Self-Serving

The People are no longer the centrepiece of governance, cause if they were we would not be in the present state of affairs (housing crisis, high cost of living, etc).

It is interesting to see Left leaning Governments invoking Free Markets to justify their negligence: but if Freedom is not entirely Free, why should the Free Market be completely Free? Free Market doesn’t mean Savage Capitalism, one where the People are sucked to the bone-marrow till nothing is left. Private Property should be respected, yes; but it is not an excuse to squeeze the People either.

Governments can, and should, put a yoke on Speculation. First, speculation started with real estate (30 years ago), now they are moving on to Food and Clothing: this constitutes an assault to Human Dignity.

Threat to National Security: last Saturday, in a protest against the Housing Crisis in Lisbon, a small group expressed their frustration of not having a house to live in by attacking the Police. Imagine if more and more people start expressing their frustration that way…imagine if they are joined by migrants who started sleeping in the streets for lack of means to pay 1,000€ for a One bedroom flat.

Meanwhile:

How much do Government members and friends earn per month?
How many of those high priced houses do they own?
Do they co-live?
Do they eat only bread or rice everyday since food is too expensive?

I think we all know the answer to those questions.

Civil Society is Self-Serving

Every time we speak of increasing minimum wage, in countries like Portugal, we hear the same old story: we must confer with the Civil Society (Company owners, directors of Institutions etc). This same “Society” never agrees to anything: oh, increasing salaries is bad for businesses, many will die etc etc.

Instead of making 100%-150% profit on production, come down to 20%-40% - in time they will realise that they earn more when they are not greedy.

Humans, workers, are any company's main capital; the main source of wealth; therefore, don’t think of the expense of having workers (Social Security, IRS, compensation fund etc), think of the Investment of having workers producing your wealth.

Mic Drop….

(Image: Protest Against High Cost of Living in Lisbon (Edited)/Source: RR)

Human Rights in Europe? Dead...

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 13:30:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

France is burning up in flames; Portugal is going through a tense moment; the United Kingdom doesn’t know how to fix its migrant problems; and Europe doesn’t know what to do with Ukraine and Russia…Salute!!

My generation always read in books how the poor state of Europe’s economy led to unrest, conflicts and all-out war: now we are not reading it from books any longer, it is happening right before our eyes, all over again. Humans never learn - I keep repeating.

So, what do we have right now? Why are people fed up and fighting back? Cause finally they realised that they have been lied to since the Post-War period: remember when they sold the illusion that credit was the answer for all problems? Now, credit is killing people and countries. No wonder bank after bank is falling…once again.

Typhon is roaming Planet Earth…

If we come to think of things very plainly, we conclude the following:

Companies create jobs, but for each job they create they pay taxes
Companies pay also revenue taxes and other indirect taxes
Workers pay taxes in order to work, they pay taxes on their revenue as well
In order to eat they pay taxes: tax on bread, on water, on milk, on fruit, on coffee, on rice, on everything they put in their mouth
In order to be clean and go to work clean, it’s not enough to pay for the water they consume; they also pay taxes to observe hygiene rules
The electricity used to cook the food they eat is rightfully paid for but also ridiculously taxed
In order to cover their body, to protect decency and morals, they buy clothes that are taxed at 23% at best…should people start walking around naked?

And the above description is a tiny example of what is going on out there. In Portugal, if you earn minimum wage (760€) at the end of the month you are left with +/- 676€ (after social security tax): how does this person eat, get dressed and pay rent with this salary, in a country where renting a room without a private bathroom (not a flat) can cost 600€? If you can only afford 150€ or 250€ you are left with one option: sharing a room with 8 people in a filthy house or hostel.

Am I one of the very few seeing that Human Rights are being brutally savaged in Europe? And what is worse, very soon, this situation will pose a serious National Security issue for European countries. May the Lord have mercy.

N.B: I would suggest moving to Africa, but even there the god of Speculation is having fun.

(Image: Riots in France - Google Images)

The Economy, the Government and Noble Men

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

3 themes will be quickly addressed:

Tourists feed a country’s economy

An article was published in the Portuguese Media claiming that any aversion against tourists and golden residents is a mistake because they don’t only buy houses, they also buy food and clothes. How obtuse an argument can this be?

People who don’t want to live in Portugal, don’t even make an effort to learn our language, and yet buy real estate just to have a Residence Card, pushing thus the prices of housing up and pushing the “real” residents and people out of the main cities for their comfort and benefit, are these truly the real feeders of a country’s economy?

Forget stats, let’s go with good sense: if I am a national or if I live in a country for more than 5 years, I work there, I pay my taxes there, I rent a house, I buy a house, I shop, I enrol kids in school, I pay their tuition fees, I go to the cinema, I buy groceries almost everyday, I buy coffee, I buy water, sandwiches, ice cream, etc…I feed the economy. I feed social security. I contribute to a country’s National Security. Relying on tourism and golden residents is not sustainable in the long run.

The Government is making Housing Available but…

When the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, announced his government would finally tackle the Housing Crisis in big cities, we experienced a sense of glee: finally a socialist government would have the testicular fortitude to do what’s right.

How wrong we were.

Last week, the government announced they are going to rent the property from owners to sublease to citizens and also make available the state buildings that have been vacant till now. Caveat: there will be a lottery. I beg your pardon? How on earth will this solve the problem?

Humans have a hard time learning lessons. There is a housing programme already in place that supposedly gives housing to people through lottery and, truth be told, the most socially vulnerable never get it:

Old people with mentally disabled offspring
Old people living alone
Foreign residents who just need a push and now sleep in the streets while having a job
Families who live in centres (called CAES)
Young people who earn minimum wage and are still forced to live in subpar conditions

The State places these vulnerable individuals in hostels, in care centres (who don’t care), in horrible places where human humiliation is indescribable…

What makes a man?

It’s certainly not a manly organ. Nowadays, anyone can have a phallus and they are not necessarily a man.

Being a man is something much more complex and interesting, and when they behave like beasts it’s because they don’t fully grasp the nobility of being a great man.

I have had the pleasure of meeting great and noble men; men that elevate women to their status as a co-adjuvant, men who recognise a woman’s worth and place in society. It is a true honour to work with such men.

I have also had the displeasure of meeting small and petty men; men who reduce women to their status as sexual objects, as something to be used or displayed as a trophy…contemptible creatures.

Conclusion

Countries, mainly Portugal, need to stop displaying a hillbilly behaviour of thinking that all things “foreign” are better than their own. Portugal could be a superb country with the right people at its helm - people who really love the country and don’t sell it for half a coin of gold.

A Government is there to serve the people. Any new policy created by it should reflect that goal, and not intensify the corruption of an already deeply corrupt system. The government does well to make housing available but let it be available to everybody who have the means to rent them - minimum wage is 760€, people earning minimum wage have the right to rent a decent house too. It’s that simple a premise.

Noble Men allowed themselves to be overshadowed by the feminist crap. Real men, regardless of social class and status, must resurface and regain their place in society.

(Image: Musical Instruments - Evaristo Baschenis)

Portugal: Again The Spy Hub

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 14:30:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

Remember Lisbon in the 1940’s and 50’s? Spies from all over the world met in the Portuguese Capital to do what they do best: gather Intel. The same had happened before, around 1554, when Euro-spies would gravitate around Portugal to get intel about Spanish Political Activities and Intentions.

Fastforwarding to 2023: Portugal is back on the International Intelligence Map.

News outlets claim Iran, England and China, for example, are in Portugal looking to recruit Portuguese “brains”. Interesting. Is Portugal so ill-reputed that great nations such as the Persians, the British and the Red Dragons have the need to come and recruit the Portuguese Youth as assets?

Low wages, moral bankruptcy, nepotism, cronyism, an assault on self-merit, absence of Justice and homelessness contribute to the notion that others can come to Portugal and “bribe” our youngsters with the “glamorous” life of the Intelligence World…for the greater good. Even though it is an inglorious way of life, the pay is very good - in comparison to 760€ or even 860€ wages…which selfish, materialistic, bewildered and shallow individual wouldn’t betray his/her country before such a scenario?

It’s not a secret that the Portuguese Government has, in the past, passed some sloppy immigration laws as a way to combat its own Financial Crisis. On one hand it worked - immigrants are actually funding the pensions and welfare benefits of the Portuguese; but on the other hand it also opened the gates to all sorts of people swarming into its National Territory: Americans, Swedish, Spanish, Italians, Germans, Dutch, Middle Easterns…

Why? What for? Tax breaks? It’s too simplistic and there are other countries that are far more fiscally attractive than Lusitania…Portugal has a high cost of living and its ways do not match everybody’s ways; and only a creature with an objective endures the Portuguese Experience…”E no Easy” as the song goes.

Follow the breadcrumbs…what does 1554, 1940’s/50’s and 2023 have in common?

Food for thought.

Brazil Is Not the Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 14:30:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

Must everybody be a sheep? Governments, government agencies or the Media; they have all been thinking, talking and acting the same way since the bloody 9/11. And such a sad state of affairs leads to one conclusion: Al-Qaeda won.

The Media has lost its integrity, its sense of morals and became an instrument of hatred and death. And those among these destruction-mongers who wish to report truthfully are either blocked or finished. But what brought my attention to this repetition of events? All of the past week, the Portuguese Media has been focusing on the fact that Brazilians are the biggest immigrant community in the country, that their way of speaking Portuguese is taking over (e.g. “ônibus” instead of “autocarro” [both meaning bus] or “geladeira” instead of “frigorífico” [both meaning fridge]) and so on and so forth…

The Brazilian community in Portugal has been on the rise since the end of the 1980’s but their presence is cyclic: today it is high, tomorrow is low…today they are here, tomorrow they go back to Brazil or to the US. Generally, they are not the problem. Yet someone in Portugal wants them to be the problem as a diversion tactic to camouflage the real problem.

The Real Problem

The real problem lies in the nearly 1 million new Portuguese citizens who do not speak Portuguese at all.

The Brazilian community is a Portuguese by-product, they are our people, we have nothing to fear; the same way we have nothing to fear from people coming from the African former colonies - why? Because for some strange reason they defend Portugal with nails and teeth…and in the end that’s what this is all about: National Security.

It is a threat to National Security to have nearly 1 million of people holding a Portuguese Passport without knowing anything about our language, our history, our culture, and our traditions - that is, they will not defend us when a threat arises. Nationality is a serious matter and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. The Germans understand this.

Behavioural Profiling

There are certain communities, all stemming from the same geo-location, that now occupy a very significant part of the Portuguese Society and present the same behaviour:

They open endless numbers of mini-markets
They open endless numbers of “consultancy” offices
They open endless numbers of Kebab restaurants
They open endless numbers of Portuguese Language Schools
They open endless numbers of Asian-Italian-Portuguese cuisine restaurants

Their sense of ethics clashes significantly with ours, they believe our laws do not apply to them, they are corrupt to the core, they lack the sense of loyalty, and they treat everything they touch as a temporary situation (i.e. they never invest on the permanent only on the ephemeral: they don’t buy, they rent; they don’t decorate their offices, they keep them plain in case they need to pack and run, etc). What is Portugal waiting for to tackle this problem?

One can’t even argue that they are potential voters because even though they are here, they don’t know Portuguese so they don’t read the news, they are completely detached from the local reality except for how much they should pay for their contributions to Social Security…and as soon as they get the documents they want, they leave the country at light speed: they will not vote. Unless, they are activated to do it.

Portugal is now hardening its stance on immigration in a very sloppy and lazy way. They are seeing it all wrong because the government itself is detached from reality and this threat serves a few up “the food chain”...

The Tribe System as the Backbone of Society

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:30:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

After World War II, world governments embarked in a large-scale social experiment based on Socialist/Communist concepts. The concept of family, or tribe, was completely destroyed in order to isolate individuals to better control their mind, their opinions and their life.

After what they called the Great War, people were taught that having many kids was bad for the country, but they were not told this directly - if they had, human nature shows us that people would have made even more babies - instead, they led the people into believing it. How? By destroying the Family/Tribe System, people were left without any support to bear and raise children: so it’s either better not to have them all together or to have max. 2 (since it’s easier to manage the situation).

Before, the tribe would be there for the pregnant women of the family and after the baby was born the whole tribe would engage in raising him/her. Children would learn everything at home, everything…

Today, women get pregnant without a support system (other than what the state “provides”), then because she has to work, she has to put her baby in a nursery school (if she is lucky enough to find a vacancy); if the nursery school puts her on a waiting-list what is she supposed to do? The situation becomes stressful…

Options

To become a stay-at-home mum, but this would only work if the woman is married or living with a partner - a rich one.
To send the baby to be raised by the grandparents - but where is the level of altruism required for the action? Either the grandparents will refuse to do it because they want to enjoy their retirement years or the parents are too busy putting their needs first (especially when the child is the only element glueing the relationship together)...it’s complex.
To hire an au-pair and subject your child to a potential sexual-abuser. Bringing strange elements to a unit is undoubtedly always a risk.

So, when the Soviet Accolite, Samora Machel, after the Independence of Mozambique, screamed “Down with Tribes” he was actually setting himself to divide and conquer the country; but it didn’t quite work in Africa though the continent was torn as punishment for their resistance to Soviet ideas…

The bottom line is: if the Institution of Family, of Tribe, is not restored to its golden era then I’m afraid societies who still abide by such systems will divide and conquer the West.

(Image: Portrait of Ghedini and his Family - Giuseppe Baldrighi)

Quick Message to Intelligence Services

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 14:30:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

There are many layers in the Intelligence Universe. HUMINT remains the sole truly effective Intelligence Gathering Method in the book, why? Because no algorithm, no computer can beat the Human Brain and the ability to interconnect and empathise.

We never know when we are before a “Secret Agent”: he can be your neighbour, the bus driver, the supermarket teller, the clerk at any public office, or even a homeless person. You just don’t know. But the question is: what kind of information can such “agents” retrieve: relevant or futile? I’d say it depends.

If someone is a certain person of interest, of course a stage will be set up in his/her neighbourhood and suddenly the neighbours are not common neighbours anymore. At the point the target only needs to ascertain whether the players are hostile or friendly.

A bus driver is in an optimal position to gather information of a more general nature: what kind of tourists are coming to the country, where do they stop more, what are they taking pictures of etc etc?

A supermarket employee is also in a good position to gather intelligence as he hears many conversations and sees many many people.

The clerk in a public office is trickier as it is very difficult to collect large amounts of information, without being spotted, unless one has the assistance of technology - why? Because the public are a tough crowd who spot one’s every move and facial expression, even though they may not realise it at that particular moment.

A homeless element is a perfect coverup as normally no one will give jot at what he is doing or listening to. For all we know, he is collecting data while lying on the floor under blankets and cardboard…he also listens to everything as people always underestimate homeless people and, as such, they always feel at ease to talk about whatever in front of, or near, them. Brilliant!

It all seems pretty simple, but intelligence gathering is never simple and we should ask ourselves whether Governments, and the people who concoct these methods, truly think through about the impact of such operations in their operatives’ lives. We understand that once you join these organisations almost everything is explained, but there are situations that escape predictions and paradigms. Then what?

Just a quick snack for thought…

(Image: Portuguese National Pantheon)

Present Governance: The Art of Negligence

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 14:30:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

Happy New Year. Not so long ago, it was unacceptable for a politician to look negligent of the People's needs.

We are in 2023. We have been through 2 and a half years of hell (Covid, lockdowns, a horrid strain of flu that leaves people with ongoing symptoms for weeks). After the Pandemic Lockdown, people were able to breathe freedom again. But soon enough, another disgrace hit the “globe”: the War in Ukraine broke out. At this point, the prices of food and goods practically tripled, and a simple question came up: are we all dependent on Russia and Ukraine to eat, dress and sleep? When did this happen?

This article will not address the shameful results of the Elections in some “key” nations because they reflect the extremely poor state of affairs in the Pre and Post-Pandemic Period. However, it is worthwhile mentioning there is a relationship between such results and the Pandemics…

But I digress….

A Complex Example of Negligence

Let’s take a quick look at Portugal: at the moment ,there is a housing problem caused by sloppy Immigration Policies. When I refer to immigration here, I am not talking about people who are coming to the nation to assist in its social and economic development; I am talking about what I call the “Posh Immigration” (generated by D7, Golden and Nomad Visas) - Americans and alike who get to the country with their “Passive Income” and “Investments” and feed Real Estate speculation. Not to mention that they feel entitled to disrespect the locals - but that’s another story for another day.

We have more people sleeping in the streets than ever before
We have people living in squalid places for 150€/month
We have 8 people sleeping together in one room for 200€/bed
We have 40 people crammed in two-bedroom flats with one bathroom as we speak - now that’s a Public Health Threat.

And what does the Portuguese Government do? Nothing because the laws of the market dictate the prices.

However, the suffering of the People should override any law of free market.

By Jove, I support Conservative politics but I know that when my People and the People who financially support the Social Security of my country are sleeping in the streets because the “Posh and Ugly” don’t mind paying whatever prices Landlords ask, I am obliged to defend the interests of the suffering locals and workers. Now imagine what I would do if I were socialist…

No one cares. Negligence is a must these days. Today we have a housing problem, very soon we will have a Hunger problem…should we call it Karma? I prefer to call it Absolute governmental Negligence of the People’s Rights and Welfare.

Article 13

Principle of Equality

1. All citizens have the same social dignity and are equal in the eyes of the law.

2. No one can be privileged, benefitted, harmed, deprived of any right or exempted of any duty in reason of ascendance, sex, race, language, territory of origin, religion, political or ideological convictions, education, economic situation, social status or sexual orientation. — Constitution of the Portuguese Republic

Noble words that were turned into sheer mockery.

Where are the Courts of Justice? Who is going to defend the People?

Training Knights Lesson 9 Soldiers’ Duty

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 10:44:00 +0000

By Stephen Cheney

Soldiers’ Duty

A reminder is needed for a broader consideration when seeking to resolve obedience or disobedience to an order from a higher authority in an organization, especially a military one.
This article applies to all military personnel whether their commanders be good or bad.
Who or What are we?
We each determine our essence and value by the choices that we make each day, each moment.

NATIONS
A nation is a cluster of somewhat similar cultures, or cultures that are willing to live near to and tolerate each other. When peoples seek to be a nation, borders are established to define the area of existence in which their authority rules. Foreign armies are not to violate the wishes of a people by crossing borders and seeking to destroy or subjugate them. Crossing borders with soldiers may be met with a fight to the death. Not prominently considered is the drive and nourishment given to a culture by the women who rear the children who are a culture’s future. The killing of women and children is to kill a culture, and, in history that has sometimes occurred. Many cultures, like many species, no longer exist.

If we don’t survive, we don’t do anything else. — John Sinclair

COLLATERAL DAMAGE
It is unfortunate in warfare that there is collateral damage where innocents who are not soldiers or who are unarmed get killed. Weapons such as explosives from planes or artillery are not fully controllable, nor even seen by the sender so easing a conscience. Valid targets must be defined by the gunner as no weapon has a moral mind.

WHAT IS A SOLDIER’S DUTY?
A soldier is authorised by a nation to attack/ defend against any invading armies intruding across the border. Soldiers are allowed to kill to protect their nation and an invasion is an unmistakable sign of a need to engage in combat.

By international agreement, or understanding, soldiers are allowed to kill enemy soldiers. Men/women choose or agree to become soldiers to protect their country and cultures. That takes courage, to put their lives on the line for a moral standard.

Invaders may seek to remove or replace another’s culture with their own. Or replace the political system, usually with a dictatorship against an unwilling populace. Cultures that are based on sociability need a degree of freedom to prosper. All dictatorships impose restrictions on freedoms.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men,
undergo the fatigue of supporting it. — Thomas Paine

RIGHTFUL ORDERS
To follow orders and kill or incapacitate invading soldiers, so protecting the innocent, is a noble calling, honourable and deserving respect.

WRONGFUL ORDERS
However, to be deliberately ordered to shell, shoot, or otherwise kill unarmed persons (even unarmed soldiers) is not noble killing: it is MURDER. Denying people the means to obtain food so that they starve to death is also MURDER.
A person may ask/order you to jump off a cliff.
Do you do so? NO.
A person may order you to shoot your child.
Do you do so? NO.
A person may order you to shoot someone else’s child or you will be court marshalled and shot.
Do you do so? No ( unless that child has a grenade or suicide bomb vest).
You must THINK to make a decision: due to serious personal consequences.
If you decide “No” then you risk your own military group killing you (if they find out). You may have to form or join a revolutionary body to try to change who is the top authority who can give acceptable, honourable orders.

It is easier to contend with evil at the beginning than at the end. You can have no greater or lesser domaine than that which reflects the control that you have over yourself. — Leonardo da Vinci

OBLIGATION
An honourable soldier has a moral obligation to NOT follow murderous orders. Such orders can only come from corruption from the top.

PENALTIES
When a war is over, all prisoners and soldiers can return home with no penalty for their killings. However, those who have done murderous atrocities are not forgiven and international courts can have them charged and tried for murder. With a hanging or jail penalty.

On the other hand, as every soldier knows, disobeying an order can lead to a military court martial and death sentence.

SO HOW IS A SOLDIER TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO?
A soldier, man or woman, is trained to obey orders immediately, without querying or thinking, as thinking always delays action and delayed actions lead to defeat on the battlefield. Soldiers deliver up any thinking that criticizes orders, giving that prerogative to their immediate superiors or higher commanders. This involves a necessary TRUST in the integrity and ability of their superiors. Thus, often a military unit is also a personality cult where the soldiers will readily obey their known superior rather than some higher unknown figure. Top brass are no longer just military men: their rank and employment being dependent on pleasing their political master, who may be a tyrant. Trust and the ability to gain trust are a necessity in any military organization, otherwise morale and coordination break down.

IF a soldier receives an order that would result in the killing of the unarmed (which is Murder), then he or she is duty bound to disobey such an order. To disobey any order is a serious decision by a soldier as then may come court martial and death. To prevent misunderstandings a soldier needs to refer to immediate superiors for a brief clarification.

One might choose to superficially follow an order that would result in murder, yet not do the deed, not letting superiors know. To shell a residential area yet only aim for known vacant buildings. To be willing to move a tank into war but be obstructed by broken parts needing replacement.

A soldier should acknowledge already undertaking to die for his/her country, to already accept dying for a greater good. Also, humans only live, say, one hundred years and then die anyway. So dying itself, is not preventable, but murdering the innocent is preventable by an adamant decision to abstain.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear.

— Mark Twain

WHO IS THE ENEMY?
Those who invade across a border are obvious. An enemy can also be behind you, can be above you in your organization. Can be the ruler of your land. That is obviously so when a soldier receives an order to kill the innocent. Then there is no doubt as to who is the enemy. When a situation is bad enough then people will gather together to organize a change in leadership, risking their lives but seeking to desperately save their own lives from the wrongful decisions of a despot.

Unfortunately, as all who rule, rule using power, and power corrupts, it is not uncommon for one tyrant to be replaced by another in the turmoil of revolution. Knowing the moral fibre of a leader or leader-candidate is crucial to a successful outcome in political change. Even in democracies, the public who vote can know little about whom they vote for. The ancient Greeks, designing and testing political systems, were of the opinion that a democracy over 10,000 citizens was unworkable: as, due to the demographics of space, too many people would not live in close proximity to their politicians and therefore could not fully know their leader candidates which is needed to make an informed decision.

Gold grasps only for gold, each day;
to give love you should never delay.
Lead children away from the rape of the earth,
leave them our forest and the right of their birth. — Yggdrasil Skuld

TYRANTS
A tyrant normally does not personally kill/ murder numerous people. He orders others to kill for him. He does not have the physical power to personally kill many. It is the soldier who has the power to kill or not to kill/ murder. So, soldier, are you but the claw of a tyrant; or are you a warrior commanding your own mind? A soldier’s duty is ultimately to his/her country, not to its leader. Leaders come and go but the nation, the people remain. The people need their soldiers to be honourable.

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. — Jules Winnfield.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?
A soldier’s function is to kill under military regulations. However, only a murderer would order a soldier to murder. Such an order qualifies as evil. It is others who give the order, but it is you the soldier or military personnel who aims and pulls the trigger. You thus have the final decision to kill or not to kill.

When under orders to kill the unarmed you are in a crisis and have a dilemma. Under penalty of life and dead you must make a decision, and quickly.

So, what are your options?

A)        Obey the criminal order and kill women and children. You have then saved your body but have condemned your soul. You are no longer an honourable soldier. You are a criminal, a murderer. The power to order killing can corrupt those commanders who have criminal tendencies.

B)        Disobey the criminal order and meekly submit to a court martial (if you get one first) and being shot. You then have not saved your body, but you have glorified your soul.

C)        CUNNING:
Disobey the criminal order but apply strategy from your trained soldier’s mind. The following are suggestions going from mild to dangerous:

If shelling a residential area, try shelling only empty buildings if they are known to be empty.
Make yourself really sick to go to hospital.
Sabotage your heavy equipment so it looks like natural damage and won’t work. Then complain that it cannot be used until spare parts arrive and repairs are made (a temporary delay).
Go AWOL.
Conspire with trusted colleagues (risking betrayal and death) to decide what to do as a group.
Leave your criminal military and join some other military that you KNOW is not corrupt. But you can never go back to your country/ family.
Leave your military and become a mercenary elsewhere in the world.
Leave your military and become a partisan fighting against it.
Eliminate, if you can, those higher commander/s who gave the criminal orders, accepting the danger of attempting such an elimination.
Any other option that you can think of.

MAKE YOURSELF TO YOUR DREAM
A moral soldier is brave, death defying, noble, defender of the weak, worthy of praise and respect; a warrior. There are many hard choices to be made on the battlefield of life. But the signs of a true enemy are unmistakable. You determine what and who you are, your value and whether or not the innocent survive.

For this planet in this Universe, for the Earth, it is you who are the mind, eyes, ears and hands of the planet. You decide what it is and what it will be. When you are gone, your effects will linger.
As is said “They can kill my body, but they cannot kill my soul!”

                      Fallen blossoms leave their perfume behind.     — Japanese

IN SUMMARY
For anywhere in the world, any soldier’s or military personnel’s true enemy is
A) 🎆  An enemy whose armed force is invading across your nation’s border. Your Duty is to stop them, and also to prevent them killing any of your own unarmed citizens, women and children.
B) 🎆 An enemy is Any commander who initiates orders to you to kill unarmed persons, whether by bullet, explosive, starvation or by other means. As such an order, if obeyed, is obviously not killing but murder. Your Duty is to protect ALL unarmed, women and children of ANY nation. So you Defend and you Protect, and by that you are honourable.

(Image: Chess King black and white Sourced from: https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/duality.html)

Sudan: Coming Full Circle

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Morgan) — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 00:27:00 +0000

By Scott Morgan

The Coup that removed Abdalla Hamdok as Prime Minister of Sudan Gene in October 2021 is finally complete. General Hemeti who was the senior Military leader in the transitional Government remains firmly entrenched in power. So, what happens next?

One question that needs an answer is how much leeway will the new Prime Minister have from the Military? It appears that as long as that individual is adept at relieving the debt that strangles the Sudanese Economy could be a benefit to a potential term as PM. They should realize that they probably serve as a face for the Military.

Another concern to be addressed is how popular will this person be? Mr. Hamdok was very popular on the street. The protestors were livid that he was actually removed from power. That maintained his popularity. However, when the Military decided to reinstate him as Prime Minister the situation changed. He was seen to have sold out to the Military. That was one of the factors that led to his resignation.

We know that the October events were designed to ensure that the Military stayed in power and to keep certain officers from facing justice for their actions in both Darfur and in the Nuba Mountains.

How much pressure will be placed on the new leadership to ensure that these officers do not atone for their actions?

We have heard how the United States has frozen the funds that were allocated to allow Sudan to continue along the path it was on towards a transition to Democracy. Inflation was a problem before the ouster of Bashir. Some of the reforms by Hamdok and others appeared to be showing initial signs of bearing fruit.

If the economy stagnates again how soon will the calls for change appear yet again?

When Bashir was ousted it was suggested that Sudan was at a crossroads. One could say that the country has gone down one path did a u-turn and has returned to the same crossroads. The question now becomes what direction will Sudan take? or should that read what directions will the Generals be willing to take?

Another interesting question to ask is just how much leverage does the United States have right now? It's not possible to throw a carrot to them and remove them from Terrorism lists which are actions that the Obama Administration began and then approved by Trump. The best offer the US can make is financial help and possibly trade to create revenue.

Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. It appears that Sudan is providing ample evidence that this is a fact.

Biden's Nigeria Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Morgan) — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 18:38:00 +0000

By Scott Morgan

During the trip to Africa last week the State Department released the list of Religious Persecutors that was approved by Secretary of State Blinken. There were several surprises such as the listing of Russia as a CPC. However there is one omission that has created controversy in certain circles.

Last year Secretary of State Pompeo designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. This was seen by some as a cynical Thank You to part of the base that were supporters of Donald Trump the Evangelical Community. This view is indeed shortsighted. Catholics, Agnostics and even some Shia groups have been advocating for this move for years. Those advocating for this were not just Americans but also from Nigeria as well.

We all have heard the backstory ad nauseum. Islamic Militant Groups Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State West African Province) have wrestled control of Borno State away from the Central Government in Abuja. One group documented that 3,462 Christians were killed in Nigeria in the first six months of this year. It is known that Moderate Muslims have suffered at the hands of these Militants as well.

The violence has shifted as well. One of the main focal points is in the State of Kaduna at this time. Earlier this fall USCIRF issued a report on how Islamic Courts in the State deliver justice as well. These courts even have sentenced a rapper to death for Blasphemy over lyrics in a song.

It is in this light that Nigeria was removed as a CPC. This move which was not adequately explained by the State Department has drawn criticism from some Christian Groups who have been passionate in their desire for relief for the Christian Community. Even Politico even ran an item that can be seen as being critical of the decision.

However there is another move regarding Nigeria that is sure to have people scratching their heads. During the Summer the State Department released its TIP (Trafficking in Persons) report. This report documents how people are being trafficked in the Sex Trade and other issues.

One of the hidden aspects of this report is that it documents the use of Child Soldiers in the countries that it reports on under the terms of CSPA (Child Soldiers Prevention Act) . A determination was made that Nigeria was indeed in violation of this act. This finding means that either the Nigerian Government, Paramilitaries or Insurgent Forces were in fact using or recruiting members under the age of 17 to be member of their forces.

This mean that the country was eligible for sanctions under this law. However a waiver could be granted by the President stating that it was in the best interests of the United States that it was in the best interests to keep this aid flowing. Although most didn't notice this a waiver was in fact granted to Nigeria so that the aid will still continue to flow.

Some are wondering how these actions could take place. The easy answer is successful lobbying by certain actors. It has been reported that the Africa Bureau within the State Department was one of the driving forces in having Nigeria removed from the CPC status.

One can ask what the payoff is? Fair question. It is known that Nigeria will attend the virtual summit on Democracy that is being organized by the Biden Administration on December 9th. Surely there is more of a payoff for this.

It is realized that a Stable Nigeria means a stable Gulf of Guinea region. However the current Human Cost and Strategic Blunders does have some asking are these decisions in the best interest of those on the ground?

A Case of Law Breeding Corruption

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 13:25:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

“Never break the law...go around it” - I have always been told.

I love the Law and the law. Rules, codes of conduct, are important in any society to keep Human Impulses under control; but those regulations are slowly becoming redundant.

The law is imperfect because it is made by men, and it can be very interesting to bend, without breaking it but what I have been observing these past two years is that people break the law blatantly and the Authorities responsible for enforcing it do not care, contributing thus to the gradual erosion of societies.

Examples

Governments Exploiting People

Scott Morgan, writing about the Equatorial Guinea, shared how members of the Military Body and of the Civil Society send out citizens as Refugees to Europe and America to work as Sex Traders - who is going to defend those people?

Governments Violating People’s Human Rights

In Portugal, the government decided not to give Immigrants a Social Security Number if they so requested, by themselves, for free.

The Portuguese law states the following:

A foreign comes to Portugal to work and he has to discount for 12 months if he wants to have a Residence Card
To discount he needs a Social Security Number (NISS)
After getting a job, the hiring entity must give him a contract and request a NISS to Social Security Services
Then the foreign citizen needs to submit an Expression of Interest to the Immigration Services

Reality:

A foreign comes to Portugal to work and discount for 12 months hoping to get a Residence Card
He needs a Social Security Number (NISS)
He gets a job, and two things happen:
The hiring entity does not give him a contract, thus it doesn’t apply for NISS, or
The hiring entity gives contract, applies for NISS but deducts a charge from employee’s wage for the service
He resorts to Agents to apply for NISS and pays €150-€750 (depending on the crook du jour) for something he should be getting for free

Immigration is a Business

In Portugal, reports emerged that SEF (the former Immigration services) received circa €10,000 per each migrant arriving in the country. These funds were to be distributed by the organisations that deal with migrants, but apparently less than half reached its destination. SEF is suspected of having embezzled the money - but based on what I learned, I could bet SEF as a whole is innocent.

€10,000 for each migrant: from that amount migrants, especially those asking for asylum, only get €273 +/- (from the Catholic Institution called Santa Casa da Misericórdia - Holy House of Mercy...how ironic) with which they are supposed to pay lodging (in a room where 10 live crammed together), pay for food, transportation and clothes.

Calculations (based on the cost of living in Portugal):

Room: €150-€180/month
Transportation: €40/month
To Eat and dress: they are left only +/- €50 for the whole month

Yes, there are associations that help with food: but in a country, like Portugal, where Pork is the main course (and many Migrants are Muslim)...people risk being under-nourished in a Western Country.

So, where is the rest of the money going to? Which nefarious programme is it truly funding?

The Law…?

The law, as we know it, is becoming a joke - this sad state of affairs reflects the level of corruption pervading societies on earth. And governments are pushing people towards lawlessness...dangerous times are coming.

N.B: a while ago, I tried to denounce criminal activity to the Immigration Services in Portugal and one of the Inspectors there practically accused me of doing it for the sake of removing “competition”...so the wheel of corruption turns...

(Image: Plaza of Commerce in Lisbon )

Equatorial Guinea: More Exploitation

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Morgan) — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 23:43:00 +0000

By Scott Morgan

It seems that the closer winter approaches the more the concern for the plight of Refugees around the World increases. Despite this interest there are several situations that continue to fall under the radar.

Africa is one continent where it's widely known that there are several crisis spots that act as incubators for Refugees to flee from. Whether it's natural disasters, poor governance or civil strife there are people constantly on the move.

There are countries that show how corrupt they are at exploiting people who are desperate to leave home for what they deem to be safety and security in either the EU or even the United States. During the second week of November one West African Country that is notorious for corruption reared its ugly head once again.

Reports emerged that the Government of Equatorial Guinea decided to send 30 Refugees who had fled the violence in neighboring Cameroon. That country is suffering from a separatist movement in the Northwest/Southwest region and attacks from Islamic Militants in the Far North region of the country.

Although not widely publicized in most media reports there have been images and stories being shared on social media telling another terrible story. It appears that Africans from other countries in the region are suffering as well. The reports and imagery indicate that people are being held against their will or even facing extortion.

Earlier this summer, the US State Department issued its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) which documents how the Government of every nation around the world deals with the contentious issue of Human Trafficking. It should not be much of a surprise to learn that a country which has often been criticized for both corruption and kleptocracy should fare poorly in the documentation collected by American Diplomats.

Already this year, a Spanish investigation revealed that a network that sexually exploited Girls and Women was operating in Spain with the assistance of officers in the Military of Equatorial Guinea. Businessmen from EG have been known to recruit people from neighboring states such as Togo and Cameroon for the sex trade and other businesses. Even a small number of North Koreans have been sent to the country as well.

The US has placed Equatorial Guinea on its Tier 2 Watch List. One of the reasons for this is that despite a law dealing with Trafficking, that was introduced in 2004, there has not been a single conviction brought about by authorities.

It appears that Equatorial Guinea is another country that will do just enough to show Washington that it is serious about Human Rights to ensure that the Aid continues to flow in. Should it though? That is another question.

Meanwhile in Haiti

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Morgan) — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 01:38:00 +0000

By Scott Morgan

Lets face it. 2021 has not been kind to Haiti. It has had a President Assassinated in a daring raid on his residence in the middle of the night, then an earthquake caused considerable damage but a problem that has transcended both events has made its presence felt.

The problem is kidnapping. It is a for profit enterprise for some, for others its a way to exercise control or act on the whims of the political elite who seem to be calling the shots in the poverty stricken Caribbean nation. But an incident that took place over the weekend of October 16th has raised some concerns.

On that evening a mass kidnapping took place. A group of 17 Missionaries, the majority of them from the United States with one being from Canada were taken hostage. The incident took place in a section of the capital Port-au-Prince that is notorious for criminal activity. The group was actually leaving an orphanage after providing services to the residents.

While the incident was actually taking place the hostages were in fact using WhatsApp in an effort to call for help and to let the group in Ohio know that the incident was under way. The very next day the US State Department revealed that they were aware of the incident and issued no further statements about the situation.

It is rare for organized gangs in Haiti to target foreigners for kidnapping. A Haitian NGO has documented that of 628 kidnappings that were documented so far this year, only 29 of them were Foreigners. The group also reported that kidnappings have risen over 300% in September when compared to figures compared for the month of July.

When after 48 hours it was announced that the kidnappers were seeking a 17 Million USD ransom (1 Million Dollars per hostage) for the group which also includes one wife and five children one has to delve deep in order to determine what the motive for the event is other than just another quick payday.

When asked during the daily press briefing White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) had a team already in Haiti as part of a coordinated effort by the Biden Administration to get the Missionaries released. After the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan earlier this summer there is some doubts that the US will be able to rescue these hostages.

The people of Hait have suffered too much since July. While the effort to locate the victims was underway there were protests and and a general strike called as a result of the pervasive violence in the country and to protest the poor economic conditions that appear to have no sign of resolution in the near future.

There is some hope that a new President and Prime Minister will bring about the sorely needed changes that could jump start the Haitian Economy.

But will it be too late for these kidnapping victims? Hopefully it is not.

Another Tantrum?

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Morgan) — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 18:26:00 +0000

By Scott Morgan

One of the most brilliant writers in American History has a quote that I admire stating that History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes. One of the locations where this plays out quite often is in the Balkans.

The tensions between Serbs who practice Orthodox Christianity and the Muslims from Kosovo have been present for over six hundred years. The list of Empires that this conflict has impacted includes both the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian Empires. The most recent phase of the conflict also includes the collapse of the former Yugoslavia as well.

In the late 1990s, we saw support for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) rise while Serbia then under the leadership of Slobodan Milosovic was generally shunned by the International Community for the atrocities committed during the various phases of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. A multinational peacekeeping force with elements from both NATO and Russia. There was even a brief standoff between American and Russian Forces that provided a brief period of excitement.

So, once again tensions are rising between these traditional foes. What was the catalyst for this latest phase of tensions? It appears that that the authorities in Kosovo issued a new requirement that vehicles that entered the country from neighboring Serbia and were registered there have to place temporary tags on their vehicles. In response the Serbs burnt down two vehicle registration offices. It should be noted that the Serbian Authorities force vehicles from Kosovo to purchase temporary tags when they enter Serbia also

As a result the authorities in Kosovo took what they felt were the necessary steps by deploying Police units to the border to protect Government Offices. Serbia replied by moving troops and equipment to the border further escalating the situation that has simmered for roughly a week now.

The situation has led NATO to increase its patrols along the border between Serbia and Kosovo. Both the EU and the Biden Administration have urged both sides to use restraint to diffuse the current state of tensions.

Will this spat erupt into conflict? It is a possibility that it could happen. It seems that both sides are actually looking for a chance to get one over on the other side in this game of brinkmanship. So then we can assume that this crisis is a chance for people to pay attention to the Balkans yet again. Which is what some people desire.

Freedom of Being Free is Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 12:00:00 +0000

By Max Coutinho

Society’s Moral Bankruptcy has already been identified years ago, but instead of correcting it, we all allowed it to get even worse: raise your hand if you have heard the term “Covid Denier”. Apparently, Covid Deniers deserve the utmost repudiation from the rest of the people: soon enough they will be ostracised, if no one puts a stop to the lunacy.

BEFORE

Many years ago, there was a high profile Paedophilia Case in Portugal: the socialists at the time selected one target (an innocent guy) to attract everybody’s focus and judgement upon him, while the culprits not only slid freely through the cracks but were also embraced by the Political Class and now serve in high positions of public office. Bottom line: they were not repudiated.

For years, a certain American Jet Setter was throwing parties with extremely tender young ladies, who were managed by his British Madame, and all the “beautiful and famous” attended them shamelessly: pictures were taken, champagne flew around, fake and anxious laughter slashed the air and the stench of debauchery pierced the nostrils of all in attendance. Now, the Madame has been selected to draw everybody’s attention and judgement upon herself; while the rest of the culprits who demanded the service are sliding in impunity through the cracks. Bottom line: the statutory rapists were not repudiated.

NOW

There is a Judge in Portugal, Rui Fonseca e Castro, who dared to question this whole Covid-19 Phenomenon. He asked good questions about it and he pointed out things that don’t make sense. He also accused the Government of taking advantage of the situation to exercise authoritarianism. Now, this man is being repudiated in the media, in the political class, and the Magistracy is threatening to kick him out, as if he were the personification of Evil.

Since when is a person forced to think like the majority and follow the herd? If the Judge has doubts and questions about what’s going on, he is free to ask them. He may be wrong but he may also be right...However, the fact that everyone is turning against him in such a spectacular way is quite revealing: the story may not be exactly as is being told and maybe, just maybe, there is something nefarious behind the whole thing.

The Bread and Circus Tactic is a classic: it is never out of fashion.

Stepping out on the Stage

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Morgan) — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 15:05:00 +0000

By Scott Morgan

Very few countries in the World are able to project stability beyond their borders at this point of time. However, there is one Nation that is actually pulling this off in Africa and other events are overshadowing their efforts.

There are two crisis spots where Rwanda has intervened in over the last year in Africa. The presence of the Rwandan Troops has been impactful leading to praise being lauded upon the Military as well. Where have these forces been deployed to that resulted in such change?

First of all is the Central African Republic. A Rwandan Force was sent to the struggling African Country last year. The onus was to provide stability before the elections that were run in December 2020. The Rwandan Troops assisted the CAR Army and their Russian " Advisors" in a Security Operation that achieved their objectives. Last Month it was announced as well that an additonal 300 Rwandan Troops are being sent to CAR as well for further assistance. It is clear that more news may originate from the crisis spot in the future.

The second move caught some analysts by surprise. It was announced that Rwanda would send a force to Mozambique to assist in dealing with the Cabo Delgado Insurgency that had been gradually growing and gaining strength since it began in 2017. The arrival of the Rwandan Troops before a contingent of the SADC (Southern Africa Development Council) from South Africa, Lesotho and Zimbabwe led to what appears to be change in momentum.

The Rwandan Forces assisted the Mozambiquan Forces in liberating the Port of Mocimboa da Praia from Islamist Militants. The capture of this port was a shock to the world as citizens literally had to escape by sea or by fleeing into the bush and led to subsequentcalls for International Support to assist Mozambique with this rapidly unfolding situation.

The performance of the Rwandan Military in both crises during the same timeframe speaks to high standards of professionalism. It is true that some will suspect the agenda that Kigali is currently following to present itself as a regional player. That being said the path that is being pursued is currently bearing fruit. One can assume that the country will have to act upon its role in the never ending crisis in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.

These deployments present Rwanda as a scion of stablilty in a region where Militias run rampant and corruption is the norm not the exception. How this will play out in the future is unseen but can be seen as positive.

Afghanistan: Back to 1996

noreply@blogger.com (Max Coutinho) — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 13:30:00 +0000

De Max Coutinho

We are back to 1996.

The scenes of the Taliban forcing locals to dress more “modestly”, women being shot for not wearing gloves, men being flogged for greeting a woman etc still play in my mind. I remember, at the time, I was living in France; and those scenes shocked me: at 19 it never crossed my mind that humans could desecrate G-d’s Name in such a vile way. But that’s Politics for you…

Now, we are in 2021.

The scenes of the Taliban shooting desperate people who want to flee a cruel, despotic and heretic government are shared with the world. Afghani women are being rushed out of the country (but allow me to ask the following question: who decides who leaves and stays, and based on what criteria?). The West created a mess back in 2001 and now made a mess out of the exit plan...Oy Vey…

1996 led to 1998.

Two years after the 1996 Afghani Civil War started, the world was introduced to an infamous character: Osama Bin Laden. It all started with the 1998 Nairobi Terror Attacks that culminated in 9/11. Needless to review how well that all ended…

Is 2021 leading to 2023?

Last week, the word started circulating that soon we could see Terror Attacks against the West again. This week, they are announcing that a Terror Attack in Kabul is imminent. Is it me, or did people miss the buzz Terror Strikes create in the Analysts’ mind? I have other questions:

Who gave power to the Taliban to take over the country again?
Who decides the next wave of Terrorism against the West?
Who is the next "Osama"?

The Biden Administration refused to supply guns to the Afghani Resistance Movement. All right, it’s their right; but what is the message: admission of guilt or leaving the door open for diplomatic relations? If so, then how to reconcile the values of the Free World with those of a Despotic State? “It’s not easy”...as a friend of mine would say…

“In politics, there are no men but ideas - no feelings, but interests” - Alexandre Dumas