Understanding the US - Again

g.sarkar · Post by **g.sarkar** » 01 Jul 2023 15:07

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... iden-trump
Scathing report on US withdrawal from Afghanistan blames Trump and Biden
State department’s findings also reflect poorly on Antony Blinken as it outlines the agency’s failure to expand crisis taskforce
Reuters, Sat 1 Jul 2023
A US state department report on Friday criticized the handling of the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan, saying decisions by President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw troops had “serious consequences for the viability” and security of the former US-backed government.
Adverse findings in the report also reflected badly on Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, without naming him. They included the department’s failure to expand its crisis-management taskforce as the Taliban advanced on Kabul in August 2021 and the lack of a senior diplomat “to oversee all elements of the crisis response”.
“Naming a 7th floor principal ... would have improved coordination across different lines of effort,” said the report, referring to the state department’s top floor where Blinken and senior diplomats have offices.
The US troop pullout and evacuation of US and allied officials, citizens and Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution saw crowds of desperate Afghans trying to enter Kabul airport and men clinging to aircraft as they taxied down runways.
An Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 US servicemembers and more than 150 Afghans outside an airport gate.
The state department released 24 pages of an 85-page After Action Report – the rest remained classified – on its handling of the evacuation operation launched as the last US-led international forces departed after 20 years of backing successive Kabul governments against the Taliban.
It praised the performance of American embassy personnel working under difficult conditions like the Covid-19 pandemic and reduced security because of the US troop drawdown, whose speed “compounded the difficulties the department faced”.
The review, and a similar Pentagon study, contributed to a report released by the White House in April. But the state department review’s critical findings were not reflected in the White House report.
......
Gautam

Jay · Post by **Jay** » 01 Jul 2023 23:54

Pratyush wrote:
Jay, when I speak of Ukraine entanglement of Biden family.

This is what I mean.

You can say that it means nothing. But it's not nothing.

Praytush Ji, again, there is nothing in these calls and if there was an audio tape by this "foreign national", Chuck Grassley, who is the chief of judiciary committee, would have gone of Fox news so fast with this tape that our heads would spin.

Same with Joe Rogan. He always says these kinds of stuff without anything substantive to back them up. It has been 6+ years of Republicans accusing Joe Biden and his son of Billions of dollars of corruption and they could not locate one witness or proof that can hold up in a congressional hearing, let alone in court?

The deep state's actions WRT, Ukraine show that it's not able to re calibrate on the basis of changing environment.

What ever is the changing environment in UKR, deep state has positioned US well for the next generation, because of its actions in UKR-RUS. It has gained a ton of leverage in Europe, without losing a single one of its soldier so far. Unless the conflict turns nuclear, US has nothing to lose. UKR, Europe, and Russia are the biggest losers of this conflict in that order, just my opinion.

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 02 Jul 2023 00:43

ramana wrote:We need a serious discussion on Modiji State visit and what it means to Understanding the US.
Something big has happened.
- Jill Biden doing the rounds in the first day.
- the entire cabinet standing around like staff in Downton Abbey the next day.
- Modiji's rapport with Bidens
- Ombaba ranting
- Entire Ombaba squad boycotting the Congressional address
- The India American Hinduphobes(Pramila, Ro Khanna, and even Ami Bera) were forced to attend the address and the WH dinner.
- Modiji acknowledging Kamala mami
- Kamala mami talking on and on about her Madras experiences as a child.
- WH saying twice that Ombaba is speaking as a private citizen.

Biden has erased the Clinton formulation of G-2.
He has erased 12 years of transactional bokwas by Ombaba and Trump.
And Blinken went to Beijing before this State visit and got slapped.

Please reflect and post.

Per SSwamy, Biden-Obama played good cop bad cop with Modi. Some thing to reflect on. We should hold off on showing our cards till a Republican president is in WH and see what they have to offer. Zia-ul-Haq played the same game with Carter-Reagan

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Jul 2023 08:52

viewtopic.php?p=2593853#p2593853

KL Dubey · Post by **KL Dubey** » 03 Jul 2023 09:29

Dr Swamy is not an insider and his observations on such matters are not reliable.

Clear signals from Modi to the US:

- Bharat is charting its own firm path
- It does not matter which gadhaa or haathi is sleeping in the white house
- We will partner with any credible party but are beholden to none (i.e., we'll answer the phone but are not anxious to give you a call)
- Attempts to undermine our security either within or from outside will be dealt with firmly

Implied signals:

- 1.5 billion strong and democratic India (civilizational state) should exert more influence on the US (opportunistic power) than the other way round...this is Modi's vision of "vishwaguru" that is slowly taking shape. Eff the detractors.

Instead of the rather boring title of "Understanding the US" (which is a one-dimensional polity), this thread should properly be "Shaping US Policies to Indian Interests" or something similar. Think about that.

ricky_v · Post by **ricky_v** » 03 Jul 2023 17:45

KL Dubey wrote:
Instead of the rather boring title of "Understanding the US" (which is a one-dimensional polity), this thread should properly be "Shaping US Policies to Indian Interests" or something similar. Think about that.

understanding us allows us to discuss the positive AND the negative aspects of the american society, both are necessary to grasp with the self-proclaimed king of the jungle. If we limit ourselves to only the "positive" cooperative building aspect or follow delusions of grandeur that the us polity beholden to its oligarchic masters and deep state operatives rotate around the viewpoint of a mostly poor populace, outside of a purely transactional relationship, we follow the same path of the current day free nations in the united states of europe and east asia.

Further, not all of us have an overtly altruistic outlook of any relationship with foreigners outside of a purely transactional one, so while some look to increase cooperation, others utilise the hyena / jackal approach to constantly probe for any weakness and steadily bite the flanks of self-important animals; cooperation can benefit both sides but one must also gather information on the ways to systemically handicap "friends" when competing for interests.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Jul 2023 21:39

SuSwa has still not gotten over his being ignored and gives wiseacre remarks implying MAD are country bumpkins.

All he can do is come occasionally on PGurus.
To me, Ombaba was clearly ticked off to see his apple cart upturned by Biden-Modi.
He can't attack Bideen so next best thing he attacked Modi.
And soon after French riots broke showing the peaceful minority is an oxymoron.
Very well could be the Democrat establishment is cracking as Bideen moves to the center.

See how he chutnified the Samosa Caucus!
And made the SD stand like Downton Abbey house staff.

KL Dubey · Post by **KL Dubey** » 04 Jul 2023 02:10

ramana wrote:SuSwa has still not gotten over his being ignored and gives wiseacre remarks implying MAD are country bumpkins.

All he can do is come occasionally on PGurus.
To me, Ombaba was clearly ticked off to see his apple cart upturned by Biden-Modi.
He can't attack Bideen so next best thing he attacked Modi.
And soon after French riots broke showing the peaceful minority is an oxymoron.
Very well could be the Democrat establishment is cracking as Bideen moves to the center.

See how he chutnified the Samosa Caucus!
And made the SD stand like Downton Abbey house staff.

To Dr Swamy's credit, he has so far not jumped wholesale into the cesspool that Shourie/Jaswant Singh/Yashwant Sinha made the mistake of jumping into. Yet, who knows when a combination of senility and ego may push him over the edge! He comes across as disciplined and clear-headed in his personal life, so I am hopeful he will maintain his image and legacy unlike the unwise folks mentioned above.

As for Modi-Bhaidanwa: for the first time in history, the US capitol building resonated with chants of "Vande mataram" and "Bharat mata ki jai"....and US legislators lined up to get Modi's autograph.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 02:33

Khalistanis have set Indian consulate in San Francisco on fire and are circulating the video:

Cyrano · Post by **Cyrano** » 04 Jul 2023 02:44

I said this when Indian mission was attacked in London, we need to have our Indian Foreign Legion or Indian Marine Force or equivalent to safeguard our property and interests abroad. The time is NOW.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 04 Jul 2023 02:53

Security should be increased around Sikh masjids in Delhi.

That would NOT be good optics.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 03:09

please call gurdwara a gurdwara - or temple, if you want to be more broad

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 10:24

They are targeting our diplomatic personnel and naming them as "killers" on wanted-posters:

So for anyone who says "don't pay attention to them" -- I think it's time we pay attention, because they are escalating to worse and worse levels.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 10:38

S_Madhukar · Post by **S_Madhukar** » 04 Jul 2023 11:20

As we know summary of Musk as a front for the G2 elites

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 05 Jul 2023 15:48

BREAKING: A federal judge has ruled that the Biden Administration likely violated the First Amendment by censoring unfavorable views on social media, calling it “Orwellian”, and issued a preliminary injunction barring numerous federal officials and agencies including the DOJ and FBI from having contact with social media firms for the purpose of discouraging or removing lawfully protected speech.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/0 ... s-00104656

Deans · Post by **Deans** » 05 Jul 2023 21:28

X posting from Punjab thread:

Deans wrote:
vijayk wrote:Breaking: Unconfirmed reports that Khalistani terrorist Pannu has died in a road accident in US. Confirmation awaited.
4th Khalistani to die from unnatural causes in 2 months. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Avatar Singh Khanda & Paramjit Singh Panjwar before that.
2 Jihadi leaders killed in Feb-Mar, from under the noses of the ISI (as was Panjwar).

Mossad at its finest did not achieve this.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 05 Jul 2023 23:54

^^ Should we move it to Achievements Dagha?

Cyrano · Post by **Cyrano** » 06 Jul 2023 04:22

chetak wrote:
BREAKING: A federal judge has ruled that the Biden Administration likely violated the First Amendment by censoring unfavorable views on social media, calling it “Orwellian”, and issued a preliminary injunction barring numerous federal officials and agencies including the DOJ and FBI from having contact with social media firms for the purpose of discouraging or removing lawfully protected speech.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/0 ... s-00104656

Oh wow!

Cyrano · Post by **Cyrano** » 06 Jul 2023 04:24

Pannu news might be self faked to get himself publicity, more donations and hopefully some state protection

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 06 Jul 2023 05:46

Cocaine found at Whitehouse -- can you say "Late Stage Empire"?

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 06 Jul 2023 17:30

https://twitter.com/TomDNaughton/status ... 9952715778
In the late 1970s, 11 babies died of SIDS in one area of Tennessee. They'd had the same vaccine from the same batch. You can argue whether the vaccine was the cause, but what's interesting is Wyeth's (now Pfizer) response. Call an emergency meeting with the scientists to determine if something had gone wrong with the batch and led to the deaths? Hell, no. Their response was to stop sending a single batch to a single area, instead splitting batches across the country, so no clusters like the Tennessee cluster could be noticed again. (If you think Pharma execs are more moral now than then ... well, enjoy that belief.)

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 06 Jul 2023 18:07

These things will happen unfortunately but vaccines overall have been critical for controlling and eliminating infectious pathogens.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 06 Jul 2023 19:20

RoyG wrote:These things will happen unfortunately but vaccines overall have been critical for controlling and eliminating infectious pathogens.

Agreed but instead of investigating why 11 folks died, they are splitting batches basically to make sure possibly contaminated vaccine does not kill all in one location.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 06 Jul 2023 20:04

Yeah this is how the things are. Armed with money and lobbyists you can get away with anything anywhere.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 06 Jul 2023 20:12

This Khalistan thing are like lobbyists for agri, real estate, narcotics mafioso interests in Punjab. These guys should be seen as a reaction to Central gov policies which enable policing and market forces to operate properly in the states. As a recruitment tactic they resort to historical revisionism and epistemicide to create a cohesive force. It’s a big business and they have tentacles everywhere. I doubt it’s sustainability over the long run but it is a nuisance.

Cyrano · Post by **Cyrano** » 06 Jul 2023 21:10

exactly RoyG. Plus, the opposition parties at state level are blind in their modi hatred and will do anything to support these separatists and of course they are the ones to benefit most from these mafioso interests. But that's in India.

Doesnt explain why Canada and US should be so tolerant. Their motives are to keep India in the news for "wrong" reasons to maintain some kind of "international pressure" and their own domestic ends.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 06 Jul 2023 21:27

Cyrano wrote:exactly RoyG. Plus, the opposition parties at state level are blind in their modi hatred and will do anything to support these separatists and of course they are the ones to benefit most from these mafioso interests. But that's in India.

Doesnt explain why Canada and US should be so tolerant. Their motives are to keep India in the news for "wrong" reasons to maintain some kind of "international pressure" and their own domestic ends.

I don’t see much that the US or India can do. Hooliganism against weakly protected consulates is expected when Sikhs have a bit of lobbying power within Canadian and US establishment. I see this more as a reaction to the noose tightening around them.

The biggest jolt to these guys was farm laws. Even though it was withdrawn, the fact that it was even tried scared the sht out of these people. In terms of so called religiosity, my prediction is that the GoI will try to break the movement and turn the two against each other. Similar to what is happening to Iskon. The goal is sikh gurus was to spread enlightenment. How they can be in bed with Islam is a disgrace and a lot of Sikhs are beginning to see through this bullsh*t.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 07 Jul 2023 03:37

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0GRpuZbkhk

Rajiv Malhotra • SCOTUS strikes down reservations • Meritocracy wins in US • SB 403 doomed?

The United States Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action programs at the University of North Carolina and Harvard in a major victory for conservative activists, ending the systematic consideration of race in the admissions process.

The Apex court ruled that both programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and are therefore unlawful. The vote was 6-3 in the UNC case and 6-2 in the Harvard case. This increases the chances for Asian Americans to get into prestigious schools.

More importantly, this ruling will impact the SB 403. Rajiv Malhotra and I discuss the return of Meritocracy as an issue in the 2024 US elections.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 07 Jul 2023 22:58

Folks don't discuss Khalistanis here.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 16 Jul 2023 06:01

ramana wrote: ↑07 Jul 2023 22:58 Folks don't discuss Khalistanis here.

Before saying that, I feel that you should read stuff like this:

https://twitter.com/rsshergill/status/1 ... 7386183682

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 17 Jul 2023 12:46

Tucker is literally vetting, knocking down, and weeding out all the anti-MAGA / RINO candidates from the Republican election primary race.
We should take notes on this. We need journalists who can behave like this in Indian politics. So far, we don't have a Tucker Carlson in India, all we have is Arnab with his loudness, which in my opinion is sub-par. Why can't we have our own Tucker? Or our own Limbaugh? What we seem to really have, in lieu of a Carlson or Limbaugh, is RSS. In this media-dominated world, shouldn't we want to evolve past RSS into a Tucker/Limbaugh type of conservatorship? After all, the Pen is Mightier Than the Sword/Lathi.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 17 Jul 2023 17:34

Vivek Ramaswamy is the dark horse of the race. His strategy is simple. He’s not going to touch Trump much and is waiting until the debates where I think he will potentially double or triple vote share overnight and steadily increase after that.

One strategy that comes to mind, once he shows he can win I think he will try to pick a running mate VP with more “liberal” credentials to capture vote share from liberal bloc. The person who comes to mind is Tulsi Gabbard who was sidelined by Dem elite during campaign. She’s young, vet, and articulate. She’s independent and free bird.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 18 Jul 2023 01:05

sanman wrote: ↑17 Jul 2023 12:46 Tucker is literally vetting, knocking down, and weeding out all the anti-MAGA / RINO candidates from the Republican election primary race.
We should take notes on this. We need journalists who can behave like this in Indian politics. So far, we don't have a Tucker Carlson in India, all we have is Arnab with his loudness, which in my opinion is sub-par. Why can't we have our own Tucker? Or our own Limbaugh? What we seem to really have, in lieu of a Carlson or Limbaugh, is RSS. In this media-dominated world, shouldn't we want to evolve past RSS into a Tucker/Limbaugh type of conservatorship? After all, the Pen is Mightier Than the Sword/Lathi.

Pence is DONE
Nikki is DONE

Vivek is rising

We have actually good RW eco system now in youtube but I am afraid Google can destroy them any time just like they did iN US

disha · Post by **disha** » 18 Jul 2023 20:56

I do not know where this goes, but the entire gamut of Uber, Lyft, Wayze, Waymo and all the unicorns in US go through predatory pricing, which is illegal. The thoughts existed, that the late stage investor (generally post IPO, and generally clueless investors like you and me) were the one left holding the bag.

This kind of predatory venture-capitalism is being seen in India as well. For eg. BYJU and others. So far what was being thought in the back of minds is now well articulated here:

https://www.businessinsider.com/venture ... ird-2023-7

disha · Post by **disha** » 18 Jul 2023 20:58

RoyG wrote: ↑17 Jul 2023 17:34 The person who comes to mind is Tulsi Gabbard who was sidelined by Dem elite during campaign. She’s young, vet, and articulate. She’s independent and free bird.

A Vivek-Tulsi ticket! That will be a dream run. I will do anything in my capabilities to support that.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 19 Jul 2023 00:54

disha wrote: ↑18 Jul 2023 20:58
RoyG wrote: ↑17 Jul 2023 17:34 The person who comes to mind is Tulsi Gabbard who was sidelined by Dem elite during campaign. She’s young, vet, and articulate. She’s independent and free bird.
A Vivek-Tulsi ticket! That will be a dream run. I will do anything in my capabilities to support that.

The other possibility is Kennedy. BUT his dem credentials may make him untouchable to republicans hardliners. Vivek already had a public meeting with her and she’s shift when it comes to her future plans. All Tulsi has to do is sit pretty for 4-8 years and we have a potential Hindu leadership for max 16 years. We’ll the. Have Sunak, Vivek/tulsi, Modi. All should make a plan to go to Ram temple when completed.

rags · Post by **rags** » 19 Jul 2023 02:19

in India it is "Zoo Bear', in the US its IMraand

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/twi ... nformation

The big question is 'Who funds these guys?". Also, there is more than one use case for mercenary Pakis
1. Build, run & manage disinformation/ censorship/ dog whistling centers. Basically online "Jihaaard" or Mujahuiddin
2. Provide muscle power for Middle Eastern monarchies/ autocracies
3. Threaten India
4.....

Considering all these, I am impressed by the squeezing of the paki state orchestrated by Modi/Dr. J/ Doval ji's.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 19 Jul 2023 08:35

rags wrote: ↑19 Jul 2023 02:19 in India it is "Zoo Bear', in the US its IMraand

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/twi ... nformation

The big question is 'Who funds these guys?". Also, there is more than one use case for mercenary Pakis

A lot of Indian business as a part of CSR. Along with democracy in danger types from the west.

During the cold war such types were tools of the different intelligence agencies. Today they have become self-sufficient in terms of funding.

Cyrano · Post by **Cyrano** » 21 Jul 2023 02:06

disha wrote: ↑18 Jul 2023 20:56 I do not know where this goes, but the entire gamut of Uber, Lyft, Wayze, Waymo and all the unicorns in US go through predatory pricing, which is illegal. The thoughts existed, that the late stage investor (generally post IPO, and generally clueless investors like you and me) were the one left holding the bag.

This kind of predatory venture-capitalism is being seen in India as well. For eg. BYJU and others. So far what was being thought in the back of minds is now well articulated here:

https://www.businessinsider.com/venture ... ird-2023-7

This phenomenon while real is not happening in isolation but is being helped by a variety of factors, including the huge quantity of printing press money pumped into the economy by the US govt post 2008 crisis, and near zero interest rates that prevailed for a long time. The usual buyers of stock from VC or IPOs are banks, investment funds etc, and I think only a small % goes to retail investors like you and me. VC will want to exit with (big) profits irrespective of whether the company is engaged in predatory pricing or not. When the cost of borrowing is very low, everyone makes bad decisions more and more willingly just to get a return. There are also sovereign foreign investments that have no where else to go that were flooding (or should we now say propping up?) the US markets etc etc.

The authors seem to be pushing us to see some kind of causality between two well known phenomenon - VC thuggery and predatory pricing. They can test their theory by taking the next Wework or whatever to court, but though not completely wrong, their argument seems to be a bit tenuous to me.