Hopes are fading amid the rescue and recovery workers in the aftermath of the horrific earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria.  Reuters is providing an update on the devastation in the region.  The scale of the impact is widespread and devastating as even more recovery workers continue arriving.

ANTAKYA, Turkey/JANDARIS, Syria, Feb 9, (Reuters) – Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 20,000 on Thursday.

The rescue of a 2-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities.

[…] Hundreds of thousands of people in both countries have been left homeless in the middle of winter. Many have camped out in makeshift shelters in supermarket car parks, mosques, roadsides or amid the ruins, often desperate for food, water and heat.

[…] Authorities say some 6,500 buildings in Turkey collapsed and countless more were damaged.

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I did not have internet access for most of today, another long-term recovery issue.  However, now that I am seeing the footage of the earthquake in Southern Turkey and Northern Syria, my prayers are for all of those in the region.  The devastation is just incredible.

According to the Associated Press, 5,600 buildings have collapsed and several of them came down today during aftershocks amid search and rescue operations.  The current recorded death toll is over 4,300 people, with the World Health Organization (WHO) predicting the total loss of life could exceed 20,000.  This is just horrific.

The estimated 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit over an area of several major population centers. The Guardian reports, “the population of the ten provinces in southern Turkey affected by the earthquakes are home to 13.5 million people. So far, according to the Andalou agency, more than 5,600 buildings have collapsed.

It is just after 6am in Turkey, and we’re seeing stories of people rescued after a very long day and night, which means they survived not only the rubble’s collapse but the cold. There are many, many more who have not yet been found, with the WHO predicting the death toll could reach 20,000 in the coming days. For now, here are videos of a three-year-old toddler and a woman who were freed from collapsed buildings by rescuers.” (link)

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The American Farm Bureau price estimation for the Thanksgiving Day basic foodstuffs seems underestimated every year.  However, this year with grocery store prices jumping dramatically the basic Thanksgiving Dinner as calculated is up 20% [Data Here]

(AFB) – Spending time with family and friends at Thanksgiving remains important for many Americans and this year the cost of the meal is also top of mind. Farm Bureau’s 37th annual survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast for 10, which is $64.05 or less than $6.50 per person. This is a $10.74 or 20% increase from last year’s average of $53.31.

The centerpiece on most Thanksgiving tables – the turkey – costs more than last year, at $28.96 for a 16-pound bird. That’s $1.81 per pound, up 21% from last year, due to several factors beyond general inflation. (read more)

On the positive side of things, we note two points: #1) the third wave of food inflation should crest the beginning of December; and #2) a lot of readers here were proactive and purchased holiday ingredients long before the massive price increases showed up.  Great job.

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Senator Lindsey Graham (U-DC) was apparently in Turkey around the same time as the NATO summit.  According to a Twitter announcement by Graham he has returned to the U.S. hopeful to close the deal on selling F-16”s to Turkey now that Turkish President Recep Erdogan has removed opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

“I will do all in my power to support the Biden Administration’s decision to sell F-16s to the Turkish Air Force,” Graham writes.

Also adding, “These fighter jets, in the hands of our NATO allies, will create a sense of stability and provide capability to the Turkish military that is most definitely in America’s national security interests.” {link}

On Tuesday of last week Turkey removed their block of Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, and on Wednesday Joe Biden agreed to sell Turkey 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes:

Newsmax – The Biden administration threw its support on Wednesday behind the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden.

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Quid-pro-Joe.

In March of this year Finland President Sauli Niinistö traveled to the White House [link].  In April reports first surfaced of Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance [link].  In mid-May of this year President Sauli Niinistö stated his decision for his country to join NATO was a matter of needing to choose sides, “what we see now, Europe, the world, is more divided. There’s not very much room for ‘non-aligned,’ in-between. So that was also what we are thinking,” he said [link]

The next day, May 16th, Turkish President Recep Erdogan, a preexisting NATO member, said Turkey would block the application of Sweden and Finland from joining NATO until their conditions and terms were accepted [link].  Two days later, May 19th, Joe Biden, flanked by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (again at the White House), said the two countries would “make NATO stronger.” [link]

On Tuesday of this week Turkey removed their block of Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, and on Wednesday Joe Biden agreed to sell Turkey 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes:

Newsmax – The Biden administration threw its support on Wednesday behind the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden.

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Turkey as a member of NATO has always been a thorny and multi-layered geopolitical issue.  In the latest chapter of the dynamic, Turkish President Recep Erdogan, a man with visions of his own grandiose importance as the leader of the next Ottoman empire, has said Sweden and Finland do not warrant entry into NATO because they have held positions adverse to the interests of Erdogan and the Muslim Brotherhood.

As the entry point from the middle east into Europe, Erdogan has long leveraged his gatekeeper status to create an oversized influence of power.  When the EU formally declared the era of multiculturalism was failing 2012, and Islamic extremists were carrying out terrorism attacks all over the NATO alliance, Erdogan leveraged his ability to open the floodgates from Syria to gain additional financial benefits.

On one hand, when Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet in northern Syria, Erdogan hid behind the skirt of NATO seeking protection from Russian retaliation.  On the other hand, when the U.S. refused to give Turkey missile defense systems, Erdogan buried the hatchet with Putin and purchased Russian missile defense systems.   President Erdogan plays all sides in advancing his interests.

In the latest development, what Joe Manchin is to the leftist agenda of Joe Biden, Erdogan is playing that role toward the globalist agenda of NATO.  The big picture behind Erdogan’s priorities is always connected to the agenda of the Brotherhood.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Swedish and Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Ankara to convince it to approve their NATO bid.

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Mark Twain was reported to have said, “History may not always repeat, but it rhymes.”  With the Obama foreign policy team back together again in the White House, we are watching Twain’s truism play out in real time.

Yesterday, the Biden administration specifically designated Qatar as a major non-NATO ally {LINK}.

The purpose of this designation is brutally obvious. The United States is putting Qatar back into the business of brokering arms sales from the U.S. government into Ukraine.  Following the geopolitical intervention models previously used in Egypt, Libya and Syria by President Obama and Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Antony Blinken are now repeating the process toward Ukraine.

In many ways this should not be a surprise.  Qatar is the financial hub and support network for the Muslim Brotherhood.  Qatar is also the arms broker for covert military operations when the U.S. does not want visible fingerprints.

By making this designation now, the Biden administration is setting up the groundwork for a long-term proxy war between the U.S/NATO and Russia in Ukraine.

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Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Acting Director of National Intelligence, Richard ‘Ric’ Grenell, discusses the ideological flaws within the JoeBama foreign policy as it is being rolled out and our adversaries are laughing.   The interview begins with a discussion of the embarrassing U.S-China summit in Alaska, where Chinese officials dressed-down U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken.

As Grenell notes the policies of many ideologically aligned leftist nations (ie. Germany, South Korea) are in conflict with their ‘western’ values as expressed.  This has been evident for decades.

The example of Germany contracting with Russia for natural gas (Nordstream II pipeline), while not fulfilling their NATO funding commitments, is just one aspect.  South Korea presents a similar ideological hypocrisy regarding China/DPRK.  Angela Merkel and Moon Jae-In are not coincidentally aligned with Obama’s leftist world-view.

https://youtu.be/IkZVV6IPEWs

ANALYSIS – The Obama foreign policy doctrine was fraught with ideological hypocrisy as a feature not a flaw.  Claim a desire for mid-east peace, set the middle-east on fire with the Arab Spring (Obama Cairo speech).  Claim a desire for middle-class workers, yet facilitate corporate offshoring.  Claim a desire for Israeli security yet attack Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi for creating Israeli security.  Accept a Nobel Peace Prize, set Libya on fire and kill thousands.  Accept a Nobel Peace Prize, then attack Syria.  Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy.

Champion women’s’ causes on stage, yet embrace Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood who devalue women.  Claim to support democratic elections, then undermine the majority election outcome of the British vote in Brexit.  Everything, every – single – thing, about the Obama foreign policy was an exercise in hypocrisy.  There were ZERO foreign policy successes, NONE.  What we are seeing now is the same thing with Biden, because it is an extension of Obama’s third term.  Hence, JoeBama.

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Senator Rand Paul confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci today about his history of false claims, lies and manipulative statements surrounding the COVID-19 virus and direction for U.S. mitigation efforts.  It’s about time someone called the baby ugly.

Anthony Fauci, a political ideologue and leftist advocate, was the primary government influence that has led to trillions in economic damage and impacted the lives of all Americans with false assertions and brutally political virus mitigation efforts.

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COVID-19 hype was a political effort with assistance from U.S. media.

“Fish do not know they are in water”  ~Sundance

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Obviously there’s a not-so subtle message to Turkey in this bilateral discussion between President Trump and President Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government.  There is no actual country of Kurdistan yet; perhaps that’s the goal. [Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. It’s great to be with President Barzani of Kurdistan. And we have a meeting scheduled. For a long time, we’ve wanted to meet. We’ve worked together very well.
As you know, we left Syria, from the standpoint of the border, and that’s worked out great with Turkey. It’s worked out far better than anybody ever thought possible. They have the so-called “safe zone,” and I appreciate everything you’ve done to keep it as safe as possible.
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