DAILY DOSE: August 15, 2021
Posted on 08/15/2021
1. Taliban Takeover and the “SECOND FALL OF SAIGON”. U.S. military veterans from the Vietnam War are getting flashbacks. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul cites reports of the airport taking fire. The embassy instructed U.S citizens to shelter in place. The U.S. military evacuated the acting U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. The Taliban claims they have control of the Presidential Palace. Afghan President Ghani Flees the country as the Taliban enter Kabul. The U.S. military spent two decades two build the Afghan army, spending billions and awarding billions to U.S. defense contractors, which folded in less than one week. Stunning the Biden administration, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, despite billions of dollars spent by the U.S. and NATO over nearly two decades to build up Afghan security forces. The Chinese government is preparing to recognize the Taliban government. All commercial flights are suspended from Kabul airport, only military aircraft allowed to operate.
“The former president of Afghanistan left Afghanistan, leaving the country in this difficult situation,” said Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council. “God should hold him accountable.”
Image Credit: Aljazeera.
UPDATE: The Taliban entered the Kabul earlier in the day. An official with the Taliban said it would soon announce the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace.
In a TV interview, one of the Taliban said, “I was detained in Guantanamo bay camp for several years”, says one of the Taliban leader inside the presidential palace.
On July 8, 2021, in a press briefing, U.S. President Joe Biden took questions. A reporter asked, “Is the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now inevitable?”
Biden responded, “No, it is not. Because you have the Afghan troops have 300,00 well-equipped as well as good as any army in the world. And an Air Force, against something like 75,000 Taliban. It is not inevitable.”
Another reported asked Biden, “Your own intelligence community has assessed the Afghan government will likely collapse.”
Biden responded, “That is not true.”
She then followed up, “Is it can you please clarify what they have told you about whether that will happen or not?”
Biden answers, “That is not true. They did not, they didn’t did not reach that conclusion.”
2. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an election for next month. His Liberal Party has a large enough lead to retake a majority in parliament, according to various national polls.
3. Airbnb removes its sexual assault arbitration clause. This means hosts and guests will be able to sue the rental company. The new update to the company’s terms of service takes effect in the fall.
4. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says the opposition to the COVID mandates and lockdowns is a potential “Domestic Terrorism Threat”.
5. A jury in Texas said that Apple Inc. must pay US$ 300 million in royalties following a retrial in a patent dispute. The jury agreed that Apple should pay patent company Optis Wireless Technology, LLC and its related entities because the technology Apple used in its iPhones, iPads, and Watches, allegedly infringed Optis’ patents. The case is Optis Wireless Technology LLC v. Apple Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No. 2:19-cv-00066.