Random and related stuff that might help make sense of the next few days, weeks and months as the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan.

(1) The Muslim Brotherhood. Already reports from Qatar that MB leadership is heading back into Afghanistan. This is predictable. The Muslim Brotherhood is the political umbrella for authentic Islam (ie. extremists). The Brotherhood supports the al-Qaeda regional affiliates including the Taliban, al-Nusra, and others. Qatar is the financial center of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Brotherhood is political Islam.
(2) China. Most people don’t realize that China shares a common border with Afghanistan and has issues with Islamic extremists and sympathizers. China has benefited from the U.S. in Afghanistan keeping the Taliban in check. A U.S. retreat now means China needs to engage with the Taliban to bolster their national security interests. China will establish diplomatic ties with the Taliban partly because Beijing uses duplicitous diplomacy as a strategy. [It ain’t because China likes the Taliban]
People keep sending me emails about a Wall St Journal article [
The AP is reporting that emergency evacuations have sped up the timeline to avoid the most embarrassing optics for the Biden administration. An additional 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne are en-route to support the previously announced 3,000 U.S. troops handling the evacuation. That is a total of 4,000 new military troops sent to Kabul to support the previous 1,000. Keep in mind the original Afghan withdrawal was 2,500 troops in total.
…Now we get the new COVID narrative – A “Lambda Variant” that is not only infectious and transmissible regardless of vaccinated status (just like Delta), but the Lambda Variant is also resistant to any antiviral immunity, meaning the COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t work against it.
When you see the wholesale level of prices almost double the increase in consumer level inflation rate, you can predict that consumer prices will likely go even higher. The future finished goods at a retail level will carry the current wholesale price increase. Stuff costs a lot now… and stuff is about to cost even more pretty soon.