[NYP] The Greeks of antiquity have an almost mystical hold on our memory. They call us back to them again and again.
Four-hundred-and-eighty years before Christ, the armies of Xerxes arrived in this city, and they put its sanctuaries to the torch. Most Athenians had by then evacuated by ship to a nearby island. But there was a handful of them that refused to leave their home. So instead they barricaded themselves in the rocky fortress of the Acropolis to fight an extraordinary last stand, heaving massive stones down the cliffs onto the Persian invaders and holding the greatest empire of that age at bay. For days. They were eventually overwhelmed.
The Persians plundered the temples, burned the shrines and razed the Acropolis to the ground. But when the Athenians returned, they gathered the broken remains of the old Acropolis and buried them in the hill where it had stood, and decades later, under Pericles, they raised the Parthenon.
For 25 centuries since, the Parthenon has stood. Empires have risen and fallen beneath its shadow, and the progeny of the men who built it, the sons of Athens and Rome, have carried their civilization with them to the ends of the earth — two and a half centuries after the founding of the American republic, halfway across the world from where I stand now.
#2
Rubio is sounding like a great statesman, an intellectual espousing the same philosophy as Trump but with a lot more polish and eloquence.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/08/2026 12:03 Comments ||
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#3
What a great speech. Loved the background. Very powerful. Very presidential. No apologies. And he basically defined the West as the nations that inherited and helped spring board civilization via:
[ZERO] Multiculturalism as a subversive movement is the defining political schism of our time. Is is the fulcrum point for numerous civilization changing events and a direct trigger for the exponential decline of the western world. Anyone who ignores the effects of multiculturalism will be oblivious to the many disruptions coming to our lives today and in the near future.
In 1992, Bill Clinton’s Deputy Secretary of State, Strobe Talbott (a member of the globalist Council On Foreign Relations) wrote an essay for Time Magazine called "The Birth Of The Global Nation." In that article, he outlined the globalist view of national sovereignty as temporary and cultural boundaries as obstacles that could be subdued by luring countries into economic interdependency.
Talbott dismissed cultural distinctions as arbitrary and cited the incoming formation of the European Union as an example of supranational governance over otherwise separate and unique cultural identities.
However, the globalists ran into some problems. Westerners might have been able to create supranational ties because of shared cultural roots, but they were not going to open their borders to the rest of the world without being forced. From around 2012 onward, a program of multiculturalism was introduced with mass immigration as the primary weapon.
We have seen disastrous results ever since. Portions of Europe are facing societal collapse, and this was by design. Keep in mind, globalism does not necessarily need borders to fully disappear, but it does need national identities and loyalties to disappear. Specifically, western societies must be diluted and their heritage erased for the globalist "New World Order" to move forward.
The fastest way to do that is to overwhelm western demographics with mass movements of people who hold completely contrary ideals . In light of the plague of riots in France this past week led by mobs of migrants and Marxist activists (globalist pawns), I thought it might be important to once again clarify why the third world should never be allowed to settle in the western world. The threat is not just from globalists; it also comes from the same migrants that globalists use as a battering ram against the west.
[AG] The novelist J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) repeatedly insisted that his epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, written from 1937 to 1949, was not allegorical.
But some scholars have argued otherwise, detecting contemporary, 20th-century influences in his storytelling.
Tolkien fought at the nightmarish Battle of the Somme in World War I. He witnessed the slaughter of the youth of Europe in the trenches that lived with him the rest of his life. In the 1930s, he despaired over both the rise of the godless Communist Soviet Union and the transformation of a once-enlightened Germany into a monstrous fascist regime.
Tolkien, a devout Catholic, was dismayed not only by the growing power of these totalitarian empires but also by the West’s urbanized industrialism and secularized modernism on the eve of World War II. In middle age, he lived through the even greater slaughter of World War II. Adding to his concerns, he finished his novel at the height of Soviet expansionism, as the Cold War began and nuclear weapons emerged.
The catastrophic decades of the 1930s and 1940s not only shaped his overall worldview but plausibly helped inspire at least some of the most dramatic elements of his novel.
In The Lord of the Rings, Gondor’s capital, Minas Tirith, is the most hallowed city of men. It remains renowned for its indomitable stone walls, its age-old defense of the west from the evil of Mordor on its eastern border, and the legacy of its great kings, who long ago galvanized alliances of free peoples to thwart totalitarian evil.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
[Regnum] October 7 marked 25 years since the US invasion of Afghanistan. Although Washington and its allies managed to quickly overthrow the Taliban regime, they were never able to win the war. After wasting a considerable amount of time, the Americans withdrew from Afghanistan, once again handing the country over to the Taliban.
The Taliban regime had de facto controlled Kabul and much of the country since 1996, but the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) had been subject to fairly severe diplomatic isolation.
At the same time, the civil war continued: the Taliban fought with the leader of the Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Massoud (known as the Lion of Panjshir), who controlled territories in the northeast – in the provinces of Parwan, Takhar, Baghlan and Badakhshan, with a population of about 2.5 million people.
Also, the IEA territory became a haven for numerous foreign radicals. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his associates found refuge there. The international community was concerned about the unstable situation in the Middle East, but they hesitated to put direct pressure on the Taliban.
On September 9, 2001, two al-Qaeda* militants fatally wounded Ahmad Shah Massoud. The Taliban had no connection to the attack, but the elimination of a dangerous rival played into their hands. On the 10th, Massoud died, and the next day, an event occurred that changed the history of the world in general and Afghanistan in particular.
The point of no return was passed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. George W. Bush issued an ultimatum to the Taliban: hand over bin Laden and the entire al-Qaeda leadership* or face a major war with the United States.
By that time, "terrorist number one" had already managed to organize explosions in the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania from Afghanistan in 1998 and still avoid extradition to American justice.
The Taliban responded with a firm refusal, claiming Washington had provided no evidence of Kabul's involvement in the terrorist attack. Emirati officials claimed they were unaware of bin Laden's plans and did not provide him with support. Unlike Saudi Arabia, the al-Qaeda leader's ties to Saudi intelligence were uncovered in the first days of the investigation.
However, by the time the State Department received the response note on September 21, Afghanistan's fate had essentially been sealed. A month after the terrorist attacks in New York, a US-led international military coalition entered Afghanistan.
THE WAR FADED INTO THE SHADOWS
It took the United States several months to dislodge the Taliban. By mid-November, they had been driven out of Kabul, and by the end of that month, out of Kandahar, where the movement originated in the mid-1990s.
In December, the Tora Bora (Black Cave) cave complex, 10 kilometers from the Afghan-Pakistani border where, according to the CIA, bin Laden was hiding, fell. "Terrorist number one" was no longer there. Osama had moved early to the Pakistani border town of Abbottabad and remained elusive for another ten years. The fall of the mountain fortress seemed to signal the end of the war.
Interestingly, the main US contingent (approximately 1,000 Marines) arrived in Afghanistan only midway through the Battle of Kandahar. Prior to that, ground operations were carried out by Northern Alliance forces, supported by small detachments of US and British special forces. The Pentagon focused primarily on air raids; Taliban air defenses and aircraft were exposed and destroyed within the first hours of the war.
The United States declared victory. Hamid Karzai, the leader of the Popolzai tribe from Kandahar province, took over the "new Afghanistan," proclaimed the Islamic Republic.
NATO countries decided to maintain a temporary presence in the country "until the situation stabilizes" and the Taliban is completely disarmed. However, with rare exceptions, foreign military specialists encountered no resistance during patrols. The Pentagon joked that the Americans "will be home by next Christmas."
But despite their defeat and loss of combat capability, the Taliban never capitulated. They established themselves in a "shadow zone" in the mountains on the Afghan-Pakistani border.
By the fall, targeted operations had become a serious problem for NATO in southern Afghanistan, and by December 2006, the war there had become open. Casualties increased sharply—the coalition was losing an average of 200 people per year (more than in all of 2001).
And although each operation was billed as yet another "final strike" against the Taliban, the insurgents repeatedly found the strength for localized counteroffensives. The war became protracted and required ever more funding from the US.
TO LEAVE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO STAY
Over time, the war in Afghanistan began to weigh heavily on the United States. Many saw grim parallels with Vietnam in the protracted fighting. Democrats in Congress demanded that the Republican Bush administration and the Pentagon shift the burden from American soldiers to the new Afghan army and police as quickly as possible.
Moreover, several tens of billions of dollars from the federal budget were spent on its preparation over the first few years, at the instigation of the Republicans.
Barack Obama was the first to attempt to resolve the issue. At the instigation of the Democratic president elected in 2008, the United States invested financially and technically in training Afghan security forces. However, they could not train and fight simultaneously, and the Obama administration was forced to take an unpopular step: sharply increasing its own permanent contingent.
By the end of 2009, the American corps in Afghanistan exceeded 100,000 troops. In the summer of 2013, President Karzai announced that the Islamic Republic was ready to provide its own security.
However, a significant American military presence remained even after the gradual withdrawal of foreign forces from the republic began.
By 2014, more than 80% of the 13,000 NATO troops remaining in the country were US troops. Subsequently, Washington initiated several more measures to gradually withdraw the contingent. But these plans were always thwarted by the Taliban's increased activity. The Kabul authorities remained incapable of waging war without American bayonets.
"VAGUE AND WASTEFUL"
During President Donald Trump's first term, the United States attempted a comprehensive review of its approach to the Afghan operation, which by then had been ongoing for more than 15 years. Even during the election campaign, Trump criticized Obama's Afghan policy as "incoherent and wasteful."
Since taking office, Trump has sharply increased pressure on the Taliban, threatening to do to them "what Bush Jr. left unfinished." Against this backdrop, the Pentagon's "Afghan" budget has ballooned to $46.2 billion, and total war costs have approached $2 trillion.
Kabul also got its share of criticism from Trump: Karzai's successor, Ashraf Ghani, regularly received reprimands from the White House for the poor distribution of funds, a weak army, and corrupt security forces.
However, just a year later, the White House realized that shouting and threats wouldn't resolve the issue, and decided to negotiate with the Taliban. By then, the movement had grown weary of years of guerrilla warfare and was looking for ways to consolidate the new status quo.
By August 2019, the US and the Taliban had agreed on a timeline and procedure for the withdrawal of foreign troops, as well as security guarantees for Ghani's government. On February 29, 2020, this intention was formalized with an agreement in Doha, Qatar. Washington committed to a 14-month period for a gradual troop withdrawal.
But Trump didn't have time to fully reap the fruits of his victory. After his defeat in the presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden, whose administration had an alternative vision of the situation, came to the White House.
BIDEN'S MISTAKE
Democrats believed the war in Afghanistan had long been won, while Republicans were "dragging out the fun" to continue spending the defense budget. Biden ordered an immediate troop withdrawal beginning May 1, 2021, and to be completed within two to four months.
This was his fatal mistake. As soon as the first American columns left Kabul, the Taliban launched a counteroffensive and, within a few months, routed Ghani's army, which was superior in numbers and equipment and trained to American standards.
The Pentagon sounded the alarm, but the White House deemed it unnecessary to halt the troop withdrawal. By early July, when the last Americans had left, Taliban advance forces were already rushing toward the capital, vowing to "punish the apostates."
By that time, the Pentagon had managed to convince the authorities to organize an urgent Operation Sanctuary for Allies and evacuate 75,000 loyalists and their families (including President Ghani, who was still formally in charge of the country until mid-August).
But this only accelerated the republic's collapse. On August 15, the Taliban entered Kabul, and by early September, they had already formed an interim government and announced the restoration of their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).
The US Afghan epic ended here.
PARTIALLY TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT EXPERIENCE
The shadow of the Biden administration's strategic miscalculation continues to haunt American policymakers today. Trump, who has returned to the White House, has tried to avoid touching on this aspect of foreign policy, dismissing the accelerated troop withdrawal as Biden's "shameful flight."
The United States has never recognized the IEA as the legal successor to the republic and has tightened immigration regulations for Afghan citizens, but is not exerting military pressure on the Taliban.
The ruling movement is still under UN sanctions on charges of terrorist activity. But Washington is quietly seeking common ground with the Taliban—for example, by attempting to return the strategically important Bagram Air Base near Kabul to American control. Diplomatic moves have so far been fruitless.
At the same time, the United States is generally pleased that the Taliban is trying to fight terrorist enclaves on its own territory, which allows the Pentagon to avoid wasting additional resources.
Trump even tried to project the “Afghan experience” onto Iraq, the withdrawal of troops from which was also initiated and significantly accelerated by Biden.
The Republicans bargained with Baghdad until the very end, demanding the disarmament of pro-Iranian militias, a restructuring of the local government system, and the creation of additional levers of control within the security apparatus. In other words, everything that pro-American Kabul failed to accomplish before the "May exodus" of 2021.
And although the Iraqi partners did indeed do some of this, they still did not fulfill all of the White House’s requests.
#2
I think you have to speak to the audience you have. Nation building was an appropriate choice in 1945, then again we were dealing with civilized peoples.
When confronted with savages it's more suitable to lay waste to anything and everything you can destroy. Then leave; you made us angry if we have to come back to this un-flushed toilet there won't be any of you left to regret it.
#3
There was no reason to stay in Afghanistan after it became clear that bin Laden had escaped to Pakistan. Of course, that also made it clear that we should have laid waste to Pakistan.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/08/2026 12:12 Comments ||
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[PJMedia] The United Arab Emirates is reportedly planning to execute the Omani terrorist who tried to hijack and crash a FlyDubai flight to Israel on September 30.
World Israel News was among the Israeli and European outlets that reported on October 4, "The Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of a flydubai flight bound for Israel and attempting to seize control of the aircraft is expected to face the death penalty in the United Arab Emirates, according to a senior Emirati official familiar with the investigation."
While the Islamic religion explicitly commands jihad against infidels, and particularly against Jews, the UAE is a rare Moslem country that actually has severe penalties for attempted terrorism. And it has diplomatic ties with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
Hamam al-Hammami, the Omani terrorist, is a "free Paleostine" activist inspired by al-Qaeda, which has also praised him and called for copycats since the attempted hijacking. al-Hammami wanted to crash the airplane into Ben Gurion Airport. This comes right before the anniversary of the October 7 atrocities.
One of the major reasons that a well-functioning society needs the death penalty for very severe crimes like murder, terrorism, and rape is that it also discourages other people from committing those same crimes. Some people might point out that in the case of Moslem terrorism, many of the perpetrators thought they were going to die committing the act anyway. But for Moslems, at least, there is a difference in the heroism between dying while killing infidels and dying ignominiously executed for a crime. Yes, al-Hammami still thinks Allah will reward him in the afterlife, but other bandidosmurderous Moslems will probably be less likely to target individuals from countries like the UAE in the future when they can target individuals from countries that don’t have harsh punishments for terrorism.
One of the problems that Israel has is that, under Western pressure, it often will release mass-murdering bandidosmurderous Moslems as part of so-called peace deals in order to obtain back one or a few Israeli captives. The 2025 peace deal mandated the release of 2,000 Gazooks (most of them jihadis, and 250 of them convicted mass murderers) in exchange for the last few Israeli hostages. The Paleostinian bandidosmurderous Moslems wouldn’t go to such efforts to recover thousands of fellow bandidosmurderous Moslems from Israeli custody, and then lavish them with financial rewards, if they didn’t prefer death during Jihad to death in prison.
Israel is not the only country that could and should execute more terrorists. It has taken over a decade and a major change in leadership for the U.S. government and military to approve execution for the mass murdering Fort Hood jihadi. Several of the 9/11 conspirators remain in U.S. prisons 25 years later. And we are now experiencing multiple Islamic terrorist attacks within our country every year. We need to stop projecting weakness. Hopefully, the execution of the Fort Hood terrorist is the first of many.
[NYP] The Southern California real estate agent accused of spying on a prominent Taiwanese family for China allegedly had access to $190,000 in a secret Chinese crypto account, as allegations surfaced that the she is “an unfit mother” at a court hearing Wednesday.
Wanying Zhang appeared in an LA courthouse wearing a white jumpsuit and shackles alongside new attorney Craig Harbaugh, who asked for home confinement for his client. The government vehemently argued that she was a flight risk.
At the hearing, prosecutors accused Zhang of having access to $190,000 in a secret Chinese cryptocurrency account that she “was still receiving profits from.” They also pointed to Zhang’s brother having ties to the Chinese government.
Prosecutors referenced a seized iCloud video they said would show Zhang was “a danger to society,” arguing that her ties to “her family may not be as strong as they seem” as her husband Edric Ding looked on.
“You should have produced this video and I could say she’s an unfit mother,” Judge Steve Kim said, as it was revealed that Zhang has “young children.”
Prosecutors also pointed to a dozen one-way trips Zhang allegedly took to China, Paris and Japan. Harbaugh argued that purchasing one-way tickets was more economical.
Judge Kim ruled Zhang was a flight risk, and she was taken into custody by US Marshals without bail.
She’s expected back in court on October 19.
Zhang’s initial hearing on Monday took a bizarre turn when her public defender, Chad Pennington, asked for a side conversation with the judge seconds after the proceeding began, leading to a lengthy 20-minute court recess.
When the parties returned, Zhang was asked if she understood what she was accused of and answered “yes.”
The real estate agent was arrested at LAX Sunday after being accused of spying for China. Zhang, also known as “Heather,” was busted as she tried to board a flight to Shanghai.
Video taken shortly after the arrest showed several FBI agents leading the handcuffed Zhang through an airport terminal.
The 34-year-old, who lives in Irvine, is accused of working with handlers from the People’s Republic of China to surveil the son of Taiwan President Ching-te Lai.
Zhang, who worked for a real estate firm along with her husband, allegedly traveled to Seattle in September 2025 to spy on Ting-Yu Lai, an engineer in his 30s who is based in the US.
Surveillance camera photographs also allegedly caught Zhang sitting in a car with an accomplice taking pictures of his house and close relatives.
Video taken shortly after the arrest showed several FBI agents leading the handcuffed Zhang through an airport terminal.
The 34-year-old, who lives in Irvine, is accused of working with handlers from the People’s Republic of China to surveil the son of Taiwan President Ching-te Lai.
Zhang, who worked for a real estate firm along with her husband, allegedly traveled to Seattle in September 2025 to spy on Ting-Yu Lai, an engineer in his 30s who is based in the US.
Surveillance camera photographs also allegedly caught Zhang sitting in a car with an accomplice taking pictures of his house and close relatives.
Ding’s social media shows outings to Korean barbecue restaurants, as well as anime and sword-art expos.
The couple is also seen posing with what appears to be their child.
Zhang’s arrest comes amid several other high-profile California cases involving allegations of covert Chinese government activity or influence.
Disgraced former Arcadia mayor Eileen Wang entered a plea in federal court following the bombshell admission she was a spy for China in March.
#1
The government vehemently argued that she was a flight risk.
I can think of a couple of ways she could disappear. They could put her in the trunk of a car, drive her across the border and fly her out of Mexico back to China. They could also put her on a yacht bound for Ensenada then fly her out of Mexico back to China. Better to keep her in jail.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/08/2026 12:17 Comments ||
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[Townhall] France is beginning its death spiral — and the events are its own doing.
Did you ever have a teammate who you couldn’t stand? You know, the center fielder with the mirrored sunglasses. Or the basketball player who never gave you the right time of day or a pass for an open layup? On the one hand, you got an internal giggle when they struck out or were violently fouled. Couldn’t happen to a nicer jerk. On the other hand, at some point, you might have realized that their problem is your problem. Their failures and injuries make your being able to win that much harder.
Watching the destruction in France, I would like to smile and rejoice. The First Clown, Macron, rushed to recognize "Palestine" and has not missed a single opportunity to attack Israel for preserving the security of its citizens. He has been a complete jerk, but he was not the first complete jerk. French presidents have made it their business to hate Israel, and one must remember that Israel first attacked the Iraqi reactor in a French port before it was shipped to Saddam’s scientists. The daring bombing raid into Iraq was necessitated when the French insisted on sending and helping to build Saddam’s nuclear facility. In fairness, a long time ago, the French helped Israel with its reactor and military needs. Put a Kfir and Mirage jet on top of each other, and they are very similar. Still, for the past 25 years, France has been a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel European piece of garbage. Its ambassador to the UK, Daniel Bernard, described Israel as "that sh**ty little country."
So watching "les jeunes" ("the youth") tear the country apart is something that goes well with a croissant and fromage. On the other hand, one might begin to ask some very unpleasant questions. Do you want a Lebanon-style civil war for a decade? Do you expect the Muslims to win and thus control France’s 290 nuclear warheads? What about the Jews — the nearly half a million who live in France today? France going down the toilet might make one briefly smile, but it would also mean great danger for Jews, Europe and the US. There is no question that French leaders brought their troubles upon themselves. For decades, they have been importing Muslims from their former colonies, and many of the new immigrants come poor and remain poor. For years, the press and officials have tried to hide the problems while blaming "youth" for burning cars and social unrest. Jews murdered for being Jews were ignored. Soccer victories or losses led to the same level of destruction and looting. The Republic did its best to hide its Islam problem. Now it has exploded, and every violent scene seems to have numerous Palestinian flags waving in the background.
Having family buried in France due to previous bail outs. The US taxpayers help rebuild it. Then only to have the French quickly slap and kick the US afterward.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
10/08/2026 10:03 Comments ||
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#4
I take no rejoice. It's like watching that ride or die friend from high school hook up with some butch bitch and getting steadily abused until turned into a self loathing alcoholic whose wife starts bringing her also abusing boyfriend over to raid the fridge and use the shitter, ultimated knocking boots in his bed while he watches late night pithy comedies while calling you up and telling you how much of an ass you are because your good times of past make the current times unbearable.
#5
Could you see a French destroyer firing on and sinking a boat with migrants? Could you imagine an air armada to rival the Berlin Airlift in order to move hundreds of thousands of illegal entrants back to Africa and points beyond? Can you think of a shoot-to-kill order for anyone involved in public violence or disorder?
Actually, I can. Not with Macron in charge but I wonder how much longer he can keep his grip. If the Holocaust could happen in Germany then something similar could also happen in any European country. The shame is that they let it get to that point. But then, they could lose. I mean, when was the last time the French won a war?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/08/2026 12:41 Comments ||
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#6
I'm so old I remember when Beirut was the Paris of the Middle East before Paris became the Beirut of Europe.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
10/08/2026 12:41 Comments ||
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#7
Probably just need a corvette, but a destroyer would be fine.
Anyone detained during the, gag, school riots, goes straight to the Air Bus and cuffed into the easy to spray clean vinyl seats and when full, off they go to Mali or where ever. 'But Im French!' she yelled. Not anymore chucklefuck, now you are tres Mali.
[IsraelTimes] In her new book, ‘Israel’s Women Warriors,’ ToI correspondent Tal Schneider tells the stories of women who played an outsized yet largely unsung role in defending Israel during the October 7, 2023, terrorist onslaught. In this exclusive excerpt translated into English, Or Ben-Yehuda of the mixed-gender Caracal Battalion takes control as an army outpost is overrun, with the fates of fellow soldiers, and several communities, on the line.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
BREAKING: Israel says pilot tried to hijack flydubai flight to Tel Aviv that diverted, landed in Saudi Arabia
