Biden's SoU Heckler Father of Marine Killed in Kabul withdrawal. Marine's brother suicided in grief.

 

Gold Star dad arrested after heckling Biden

during State of the Union

By 

Social Links forJosh Christenson

Published March 8, 2024, 12:53 a.m. ET

The heckler who shouted at President Biden during his State of the Union address Thursday night was identified as the father of a fallen Marine — and was later arrested over the disruption.

“America’s safer today than when I took office,” Biden, 81, was in the middle of saying before he was interrupted from the chamber’s balcony.

“Abbey Gate!” Steve Nikoui yelled down at the president. “Second Battalion, First Marines!”

Capitol Police escorted Nikoui, 51, out of the chamber around 10:15 p.m. and took him into custody.

He was charged with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding Congress, a misdemeanor that typically results in the offender’s release after paying a $50 fine.

Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) invited Nikoui to the State of the Union and helped coordinate his release in the early hours of the morning from the custody of the House Sergeant at Arms.

“Mr. Nikoui lost his son due to Joe Biden’s incompetence, and lost another son to grief over his brother being killed,” Mast told The Post in a statement, referring to Dakota Halverson, who committed suicide on Aug. 9, 2022.

“This man and his family have given America more than I could personally bear and to attack him with a BS charge of “demonstrating” is a disgrace.

Nikoui’s son, Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, was killed by a suicide bomber outside Kabul’s international airport while trying to process evacuees from the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021.

Twelve other US service members were also killed in the blast.

5

Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui was killed by a suicide bomber outside Kabul’s international airport in 2021.

AP

5

Shana Chappell with her sons Kareem Nikoui (right) and Dakota Halverson, who later took his life next to a public memorial to his younger sibling.

Facebook / Shana Chappell

Two other Gold Star fathers told The Post in an interview before Biden’s speech that the president should expect harsh words over the catastrophe.

“There’s been other people that have confirmed that information that Biden knew — damn good and well — that Afghanistan was going to fall,” said Mark Schmitz, the father of Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, calling the withdrawal “a totally epic screw-up.”

“I suspect tonight, there’s gonna be a lot of heckling,” he added.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told The Post he has offered private meetings with several Gold Star families to the White House but been rebuffed.

Public polling shows Biden’s approval rating dipped underwater beginning in August 2021 — and has never returned to net positive.

Two federal reports have since faulted the administration for its “abrupt and uncoordinated” pullout, which gave locals the impression the US “was simply handing Afghanistan over to a Taliban government-in-waiting.”

For Gold Star families, however, the reports disappointingly failed to assign responsibility for the deaths of their loved ones.

“It’s despicable. I’m not holding my breath at all that we’re gonna get [it],” Schmitz said.

He didn’t care. And he left all the munitions behind at Bagram [Airfield],” he added, referring to $7 billion worth of US military equipment that was still in Afghanistan when the Taliban took it over.

“They have every right to say, ‘Where is that explanation?'” Issa said of the Gold Star families. “‘Where is that apology? Where is the legitimate investigation so it doesn’t happen to somebody else’s family?’

“That’s why we’re honored to have them here. It’s why we want them in the audience,” he added, expressing hope that “by some miracle, [Biden] says something that they feel at least meets them halfway.”

The president did not refer to the Afghanistan pullout at any point during his 68-minute speech.

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Military Madness > G20 - Nuclear Weapons Inadmissible - Right! Crappy Orders for Kabul Withdrawal

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G20 leaders paper over serious divisions on Ukraine and climate change

G20 leaders papered over deep divisions on the war in Ukraine and tackling 

climate change Saturday, avoiding direct criticism of Moscow and any 

concrete pledge to phase out polluting fossil fuels. 

Issued on: 09/09/2023 - 17:23; 3 min

By: NEWS WIRES

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

 attend the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, September 9, 2023. 

© Evelyn Hockstein, Reuters

Leaders of the grouping, which brings together Russia as well as some of Ukraine's most ardent backers, have struggled to agree on much, in particular about the 18-month-old invasion.

But facing a major diplomatic embarrassment, host India had pressed members to agree a common statement at a two-day summit in the capital New Delhi.

With Vladimir Putin staying home to dodge political opprobrium and the risk of arrest on war crimes charges, the Group of 20 denounced the use of force for territorial gain but refrained from direct criticism of Russia by name.

"There were different views and assessments of the situation," the leaders' statement said.

Does that mean that some countries suspect that the war was provoked by NATO and America?

European nations and the United States had pressed for the G20 not to water down its earlier condemnation of a war that has caused food and fuel price spikes worldwide.

With long-time Russian ally India in the G20 chair, Ukraine's allies appeared to have failed in that bid.

Kyiv's foreign ministry denounced the statement as "nothing to be proud of", but a top White House official said Washington was happy with the outcome.

"From our perspective, it does a very good job," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.

He said the G20 statement stood up "for the principle that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisition or to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of other states."

With Putin repeatedly raising the spectre of the conflict turning atomic, Sullivan also pointed to the G20's agreement that "the use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible".

Except for depleted uranium bullets. Also, 'admissible' are bioweapons. Remember the Pentagon built and operated more than 2 dozen bioweapons labs in Ukraine before the Russian invasion. 

What good does it do to say "the use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible"? Do you think a country that is being destroyed cares about "what is admissable"?

Biden regime forced Marines to pick up human feces

before they were allowed to leave Kabul in Aug. 2021

SEP 13, 2023 5:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER

The traitor class that has captured the U.S. government despises the U.S. military rank-and-file. They control the brass, but they are aware that the ranks are still filled with patriots, and they’re doing their best to remedy that.

Marines were ordered to pick up human feces before they were allowed to leave Kabul:

Degrading and ridiculous

by Miranda Devine, New York Post, September 10, 2023:

Before they were allowed to leave Kabul in August 2021, having just lost 13 comrades to a suicide bomber, US Marines were ordered to pick up human feces and other disgusting trash at the airport so as to leave it pristine for the Taliban.

This humiliation is recounted for the first time in a new book, “Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden’s Fiasco and the American Warriors Who Fought to the End.”

The Kabul airport passenger terminal was filthy on Aug. 28, 2021, after the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.

More than 120,000 Afghans had camped there for a week, “defecating and leaving trash, bags, clothes, and other unspeakable things.”…

The order to clean “came with a threat that we would not leave at all if it was not completed,” one junior Marine told authors Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson.

“It was degrading and ridiculous…

Military Madness > Collateral Damage from US Drone - 'Righteous'; USA Outfits Taliban Army; Military Budget Increased!??!

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UNICEF says SEVEN children were killed in Kabul drone strike

that US said targeted ISIS-K terrorists

30 Aug, 2021 18:07

FILE PHOTO. Kabul, Afghanistan. © Reuters / Omar Sobhani

At least seven children were killed in a Kabul drone strike, the UNICEF representative in Afghanistan told reporters. The Pentagon had said the strike eliminated an “imminent threat” by ISIS-K terrorists to the ongoing airlift.

“We have confirmation from open sources that seven children were killed” in the incident, Herve De Lys, UNICEF’s envoy to Afghanistan, told reporters on Monday. “We don’t know who is behind the strike,” he added.

The apparent ignorance from De Lys was puzzling, since the same open sources that reported the deaths clearly attributed the strike to the US – the New York Times, for example.

The US military also said it had carried out the drone strike, saying it was done in self-defense against an “imminent” threat by Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K). The group claimed responsibility for last week’s bombing at the gate of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA), which claimed the lives of 14 US military members and around 170 Afghans. 

“We are not in a position to dispute it right now,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday, when asked about reports of civilian casualties in the strike. 

US Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban said on Sunday that CENTCOM was “aware” of reported civilian casualties and was still “assessing” the outcome of the strike, which he said targeted a car bomb belonging to ISIS-K. Survivors of the drone strike, however, said it killed multiple members of an Afghan family, all civilians. 

“We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties,” Urban said. “We would be deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life,” he added.

De Lys said UNICEF is continuing its mission in Afghanistan, even though many outside agencies have picked up and left following the Taliban takeover, as some 10 million children remain at risk and at least 200,000 have been displaced.

“It is clearly a child protection crisis in a country that is already one of the worst places on earth to be a child,” he told reporters.

Thanks to US abandoning weapons in Afghanistan,

Taliban fighters now better armed than Ukrainian Army

– Russia’s defense minister

30 Aug, 2021 15:21

FILE PHOTO. Taliban fighters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. © AP Photo/Rahmat Gul

Russia’s defense minister has claimed that the US left behind more than 100 Javelin portable anti-tank missile systems in Afghanistan. Sergey Shoigu now believes that the militant group is better equipped than the Ukrainian Army.

He told the YouTube channel Solovyov Live that the terrorists’ considerable cache of weapons, and vehicles, is a massive risk for Afghanistan.

“Javelins are supplied to Ukraine from the United States,” Shoigu said. “I don’t remember how many, a few dozen, or so.”

This means that the Taliban now has more of them than the Ukrainian Army.

The Javelin is a portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile that uses automatic infrared guidance. It has been used extensively in the war in Afghanistan, as well as in Iran, Syria, and Libya.

According to Shoigu, the large number of weapons now in the possession of the Taliban is a huge threat.

As well as Javelins, the militant group now has access to Black Hawk helicopters, Hercules planes, and thousands of Humvees, amongst other vehicles. They also have thousands of guns and a whole host of other firearms.

Last week, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby admitted that the US administration has no idea of the inventory taken by the Taliban.

“Obviously, we don’t want to see any weapons or systems fall into the hands of people that would use them in such a way to harm our interests or those of our partners and allies,” he said.

Soooooo, why did they?

The US has provided at least $1.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine since 2014, providing weapons, vehicles, and other technological support. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden announced an extra boost worth $125 million, including two patrol boats.

When they stand before Jesus in Judgement, I hope America's Generals have a better definition of 'Righteous' than the one they present here.

‘Righteous’ drone strike in Kabul killed ‘at least one’ ISIS-K terrorist,

Pentagon says amid reports of 7 dead CHILDREN

1 Sep, 2021 22:19 / Updated 14 hours ago

Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley speaks at the Pentagon, September 1, 2021.

©  REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The US drone strike in Kabul that allegedly killed seven children was “righteous,” followed proper procedures, and eliminated “at least one” person who was a “facilitator” for ISIS-K terrorists, the top US military officer said.

Sunday’s strike had targeted a vehicle in Kabul, which the US Central Command said represented an “imminent” threat to the evacuation efforts ongoing at Hamid Karzai International Airport at the time.

Local media and the Taliban, however, said that 10 civilians were killed as a result – seven of them children.

Addressing reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley repeated the claim by CENTCOM that “secondary explosions” were evidence that the vehicle was intended to attack the airport.

Or, perhaps the vehicle had a gas tank!

“At this point, we think that the procedures were correctly followed, and it was a righteous strike,” he told reporters, adding that “at least one” person who was killed was a “facilitator” for the terrorist group Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K). It was ISIS-K that claimed responsibility for last Thursday’s suicide bombing outside the airport, which killed an estimated 200 Afghans and 13 US troops. 

“Were the others killed? Yes. Who are they? We don’t know,” Milley said, adding there would be an investigation.

Initially, CENTCOM said that there were “no indications” of civilian casualties from the “self-defense” strike. After local reports identified the victims by name, however, CENTCOM spokesman Captain Bill Urban said they would be “deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life.” He maintained that the casualties were caused not by the US drone, but by the explosion of the vehicle itself, however.

Which exploded because of the US drone attack!

“We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties,” Urban said on Sunday.

Question: Were there 3 adults and 7 children in the car or were many of them standing near the explosion? If they were all in the car, how much room would there be for bombs?

Asked about the civilian casualties on Monday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that they’re “not in a position to dispute it right now.”

Shortly afterwards, the last US planes took off from Kabul, ending the two-week airlift that President Joe Biden would describe on Tuesday as “an extraordinary success.”

Astonishing! Expensive Afghan war ends and military budget goes up! I guess they have to replace the billions of dollars of military equipment that they left for the Taliban.

As Afghan war ends, House approves $24bn bump for Pentagon budget

2 Sep, 2021 08:56

FILE PHOTO. Afghan armed men in Panjshir province. ©Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP

Just after the US military’s wasteful Afghanistan mission came to a close, House legislators marked almost $24 billion in extra defense spending supposedly needed to maintain America’s competitive edge against Russia and China.

The House Armed Services Committee held a marathon session on Wednesday to markup the spending under the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Lawmakers from both parties joined forces to defy President Joe Biden’s intention to keep the Pentagon budget at $715 billion for next year, essentially keeping it at the same level as last year. Instead, an extra $23.9 billion was set to be poured into weapons procurement, research and other areas.

The financial boost was proposed by Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the ranking Republican member on the committee, who welcomed the passage of his proposal as a snub to Biden from his own party.

“The bipartisan adoption of my amendment sends a clear signal: the president’s budget submission was wholly inadequate to keep pace with a rising China and a re-emerging Russia,” he said.

“I hope this bipartisan, and now bicameral, move is understood by the Biden-Harris administration,” the Republican lawmaker added, referring to last month’s approval of a similar increase in defense spending by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The increase of topline spending to $740 billion was passed against the objections of Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith of Washington. The Democrat argued that the extra money would disincentivize the Pentagon from curbing wastefulness.

The DoD needs to “do a better job of acquisition and procurement, do a better job of anticipating what the threats are now versus what they were 30 years ago,” he said.

If we give them another $23.9 billion, it takes the pressure off. It makes it easier for them to just keep doing what they’ve been doing.

Fourteen Democrats broke party ranks to vote with the GOP on Rogers’ amendment, securing passage 42-17. The cross-aisle supporters represent districts relying on military spending or have served in the military themselves. Provided the House and Senate Appropriations panels sign off on the budget increase, the additional funding will go primarily into shipbuilding, research and military construction.

The House markup session took place just after the US Afghanistan mission was formally ended this week. The pullout left over $6 billion in unspent funds in Pentagon coffers, which were allocated previously for the now-disbanded Afghan Security Forces. Those included some $600 million left unspent since FY2020, $2.3 billion from the current year and $3.3 billion requested for FY2022 and approved in June.

Afghanistan was prominent on the floor, with some of the proposed amendments directed at things like prohibiting US funding of the Taliban and demanding quarterly briefings from the Biden administration on the national security situation. There was also some wrangling over Republican attempts to hold the Democratic president accountable for the humiliatingly hasty and chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan. Chairman Smith pushed back against such voices, arguing that “if we’re going to honestly look at Afghanistan, we need to look at all 20 years.”

The two parties may clash on assigning the blame for the Afghanistan exit and other visible foreign policy blunders. But the bipartisan consensus on grading the Pentagon’s spending wishes remains as strong as ever, despite the department’s notorious inability to pass an audit and explain what the taxpayers are getting out of it.

Islam - Current Day - Courageous Female Afghan Footballers; Canada Abandons Canadians in Afghanistan; More Kidnapped Students Released in Nigeria

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‘Women remain in danger’: Female footballers dodge gunfire to flee Taliban-led Afghanistan as escape organizers slam US government

25 Aug, 2021 16:37

Female footballers have been among those evacuated from Afghanistan © Twitter / David Martinon via Reuters | 

© Morteza Nikoubazl / Reuters

Organizers have voiced their relief after a 72-hour bid to evacuate female athletes from Afghanistan succeeded – but criticized the US government and warned that others are stranded under the new Taliban regime.

Khalida Popal, who captained the Afghan team following its formation in 2007 before seeking asylum in Denmark amid threats to her life, had warned last week that terrified female sportspeople – some of whom had actively opposed the Taliban in the belief that the group would not regain power – had sent her messages and photos documenting their increasing horror.

Players and teams from the country's relatively healthy female football scene had been advised to delete their social media profiles and do anything possible to safeguard themselves after the Taliban takeover last week – and Popal has been part of a team that has worked with six countries to arrange evacuation flights for some of them.

Former Afghanistan women's team coach Haley Carter, who was part of the daring mission, explained the ordeal the evacuees faced and was unimpressed by a message from US vice-president Kamala Harris claiming that her government had been working relentlessly to save people.

"Our players narrowly avoided gunfire, were trampled, beaten by the Taliban and waded through sewer water to get through to Hamid Karzai International Airport," said Carter, accompanying her account with shocking photos showing chaotic scenes in the Afghan capital.

"They went two days with limited supplies, camped three nights to survive. The situation on the ground is dire."

Carter said the team had used an intelligence network to "co-ordinate and share real-time information" on issues such as transport gates and "potential threats".

"I still can’t believe we managed to pull the last three-to-four days off," she admitted. "I also don’t think I can ever describe these events in a manner that does them justice.

"The bravery and resilience of our players, working until exhaustion, constant communications challenges and location tracking. Nothing short of a miracle. Truly. So proud of every person on our team."

When Harris attempted to offer assurances about the response from president Joe Biden's administration, Carter asked whether she had a "mouse in her pocket" – a term used to suggest that others are being volunteered to take action they should not be responsible for leading.

"The service members who are on the ground, from all nations and all services, have been doing an incredible job managing a massively difficult and chaotic situation," she observed.

"We should all be proud of them and their commitment to helping others in this humanitarian crisis. God bless our service members giving everything they have to this mission for the sake of others’ safety and wellbeing.

"That said, senior US military leaders should be held accountable for their failure to adequately plan and prepare for this.

"The evacuation of American citizens and high value Afghans is happening solely because of the grit, professionalism, and compassion of those on the ground. God bless Marines and the Strategic Corporal."

Professional footballers' governing body FIFPRO thanked the Australian government for accepting a "large number" of female footballers and athletes from Afghanistan as part of a group of more than 75 people flown out of Kabul.

"These young women, both as athletes and activists, have been in a position of danger and, on behalf of their peers around the world, we thank the international community for coming to their aid," it added.

A little girl evacuated from Kabul walks to her room at a temporary camp in Australia’s main operating base in the Middle East. 

"We are grateful for the assistance of governments, military and human rights groups who are collaborating closely with us to evacuate women footballers and other athletes from Afghanistan.

"We are encouraged by recent developments. Our thoughts remain with all those still in danger."

Popal spoke of "sleepless nights" and "being on the call all the time answering questions", reporting that 75 players and "some family members" had left Afghanistan.

"[We were] handling media, motiving players to keep fighting and not give up even there were gunfires and they were beaten," she said. "It was tough. Teamwork. Work continues."

Popal is among a team of Fifpro lawyers and advisers who have worked with authorities in six countries, including Australia, the US and UK, to get athletes and their families on to evacuation lists and flights to safety.

"These past days have been an ugly reminder of the power the lottery of birth holds over all of us," said Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, FIFPRO's General Secretary.

"In the middle of this humanitarian crisis, I am so grateful to everybody on this unique team who helped to get the players evacuated.

"Two weeks full of genuine care, masterminding and incredible perseverance. We won’t stop here. Without representation these people can’t be saved."

The future of women's sport in Afghanistan looks bleak. "The work doesn’t end here, and we get back to it," pledged Carter.

"Many Afghan women and girls remain in danger and it’s vital to continue these efforts for as long as we can. All sporting bodies must continue the push to protect the women and girl athletes of Afghanistan."

We had ten years to get Afghan interpreters and their families out and we waited for the last 5 days. What a disgrace!

Canada's airlift mission from Kabul ends, leaving many behind

Government says it knows citizens, permanent residents and others are stranded

Catharine Tunney · CBC News · 

Posted: Aug 26, 2021 7:54 AM ET | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

U.S. Air Force officials load passengers aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of

the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 24,

2021. (U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/Handout/Reuters)

Canada's effort to airlift those fleeing Taliban rule out of Afghanistan has come to an end, says the acting chief of the defence staff.

A notice sent out this morning from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says that evacuation operations are done and "at this time, no further evacuation flights are being planned."

"The government of Canada recognizes that there are a number of people in Afghanistan, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents, their families, and applicants under programs for Afghans," said the notice sent to all on the government's list, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News.

"Until such a time that the security situation stabilizes, be mindful of the security environment and where possible, take the necessary steps to ensure your security and that of your family."

Yeah, right! Thanks a lot!

Gen. Wayne Eyre, the acting chief of the defence staff, said most of the Canadian personnel still in the country left Hamid Karzai International Airport eight hours ago, although a small contingent has stayed behind to support allies.

On Thursday, two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Kabul's international airport, killing at least 60 Afghans,12 U.S. troops and wounding scores of others, according to Afghan and U.S. officials.

The Department of National Defence (DND) confirmed that all CAF members are safe and accounted for. 

"The situation on the ground remains dangerous and CAF personnel are taking all appropriate personal security measures," said a DND media statement.

Eyre said Canada has helped to evacuate more than 3,700 people from Kabul.

Tens of thousands of Afghans fearing persecution under the Taliban, which swept to power in recent days, have rushed to Kabul's airport hoping to escape the country.

Numbers unclear

Among those seeking to flee Afghanistan are Afghans who worked with Canadian troops during Canada's mission who now fear retribution at the hands of the Taliban.

It's unclear how many Canadians and people who applied to come to Canada remain stranded. Officials briefing reporters this morning said they received applications representing 8,000 people and that two-thirds of those applications have been processed.

But they said they don't have a tally of how many didn't make it out. They said not all of the people who applied are necessarily still in Afghanistan and many might have fled to neighbouring countries.

"Their pleas and the photos of the families in terrible situations that accompany many of them are heart-wrenching," said Eyre.

"They tear at our souls."

U.S. withdrawing Tuesday

The U.S. plans to complete the withdrawal of its forces from the country on Tuesday.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Wednesday that Canada needed to get its crews and equipment out of the country before then.

"As the Americans draw down to meet their deadline, partner nations, including Canada, must draw down our troops, assets and aircraft ahead of the Americans," he said. "These moves are necessary for the U.S. to safely maintain control of the airport until they depart."

The White House said Thursday that since Aug. 14, it has evacuated and helped in the evacuation of about 95,700 people. Britain said on Wednesday it has evacuated more than 11,000 people from Afghanistan.

Advocacy groups, families and those on the ground have reported problems reaching officials and have criticized the government for not acting sooner.

For months, interpreters and their families appealed to Canada to bring them to safety as the Taliban tightened its control.

The Canadian military was in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. Canada ended its combat mission in 2011 but kept soldiers in the country for another three years to help train the Afghan National Security Forces.

In 2009, under the Harper government, Canada offered refuge to approximately 800 interpreters fearing for their lives in Afghanistan, but the program had restrictive criteria.

To qualify under the old program, the advisers had to demonstrate they worked for Canadian troops, diplomats or contractors for 12 consecutive months between October 2007 and July 2011.

Two-thirds of the Afghans who applied to Canada for refuge were turned away, according to figures compiled by The Canadian Press.

The Liberal government announced a new temporary program in July.

The immigration department advises those with an application in progress to contact them by email at Afghanistan@international.gc.ca or to call 1-613-321-4243.

Gunmen release some students in northern Nigeria months after kidnapping

136 students, several teachers abducted from Salihu Tanko Islamic School in May

The Associated Press · 

Posted: Aug 26, 2021 6:43 PM ET | Last Updated: 36 minutes ago

More than 100 students and several teachers were abducted from the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in May. Authorities reported Thursday that some students had been released, months after their kidnapping. (Mustapha Gimba/The Associated Press)

Gunmen have released some of the children kidnapped from a school in northern Nigeria back in May, some of whom were as young as five years old, the school's head teacher said late Thursday.

Abubakar Garba Alhassan told The Associated Press that the freed students were on their way to the state capital, Minna, but added he could not confirm the exact number freed.

Authorities have said that 136 children were abducted along with several teachers when gunmen on motorcycles attacked the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Niger state. Other preschoolers were left behind as they could not keep pace when the gunmen hurriedly moved those abducted into the forest.

Alhassan did not provide details of their release, but parents of the students have over the past weeks struggled to raise ransoms demanded by their abductors. There was no immediate comment from police of the Niger governor's office.

The release, though, came a day after local media quoted one parent as saying six of the children had died in captivity.

More than 1,000 students have been forcibly taken from their schools during those attacks, according to an Associated Press tally of figures previously confirmed by the police. Although most of those kidnapped have been released, at least 200 are still held by their abductors.

The government has been unable to halt the spate of abductions for ransom. As a result, many schools have been forced to close due to the concerns about the kidnapping risk.

After one abduction at a university in Kaduna state earlier this year, gunmen demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom. They killed five other students to compel the students' parents to raise the money, and later released 14 others.

This is no longer an ideological struggle, it has turned into a criminal enterprise.

Canadian Election > Chrystia Freeland's Manipulated Media; Kevin Newman Reveals More Suffering in Kabul From Canadian Gov't Incompetence

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Twitter adds warning label to tweet from Liberal candidate

Chrystia Freeland

Ashley Burke · CBC News · 

Posted: Aug 23, 2021 12:04 AM ET

Twitter labelled a video tweeted by incumbent Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland, who is seeking re-election,

as having 'manipulated media.' She is pictured with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau as they make a campaign stop

in Markham, Ont., on Aug. 17. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

A video tweeted by incumbent Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland, who served as deputy prime minister in Justin Trudeau's government, was given a warning label Sunday from Twitter, which marked it as "manipulated media."

Freeland's tweets, posted in both English and French, contain several edits and show Conservative leader Erin O'Toole answering a question about privatized health care during an online question-and-answer session in July 2020 during the Conservative leadership race.

The tweet shows O'Toole being asked if he would bring private, "for-profit" health care to Canada. He quickly responds: "yes." 

However, in the original recording of O'Toole's remarks on health care — which can be seen here at about the 12:30 mark — the Conservative leader also noted that universal access remains paramount. 

The shortened clip used in Freeland's tweet did not include O'Toole's statement on ensuring universal access.

Trudeau retweeted the video and drew on it during a speech Sunday to attack O'Toole on the campaign trail in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Liberals 'spreading misinformation': Conservatives

Conservative Party lawyers have sent a letter to the commissioner of Canada Elections calling for an investigation into the matter to determine who was involved in making the video. The party is also requesting the commissioner ask the Liberals to take down the post.

On Sunday, the party accused the Liberals of spreading misinformation.

"It's disappointing to see the Liberals resort to American-style divisive politics," said Mathew Clancy, the Conservatives' manager of media relations.

"While Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are focused on spreading misinformation, Erin O'Toole is focused on Canada's Recovery Plan and securing the future." 

Answering reporters' questions in Halifax, Trudeau defended Freeland's tweet.

"We posted the entire interview in its entirety and I encourage all Canadians to take a look to see what Erin O'Toole has to say about what he sees on the future of health care," he said.

So, that's a bald-faced lie! But Liberals have no compulsion to tell the truth. Their inherent motto is "The ends justify the means"!

The Conservatives had their own Twitter misstep roughly a week ago. Twitter removed a video the party posted following a copyright infringement complaint and the Conservatives subsequently deleted the tweet.

The Conservatives had posted a video mocking Trudeau by placing his face on a character from the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Some sitting Conservative MPs called the tweet juvenile and a bad idea during a federal election. 

There is more on this story, and I mean 'more on' not 'moron', at CBC

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Kevin Newman: The people we left behind at the gas station in Kabul

Despite claims of "miraculous" progress, we are still failing

to evacuate our people from Afghanistan

Aug 22

The Line

By: Kevin Newman

In the age-old tradition of large lumbering bureaucracies and armies and reporter stake-outs, this was an excruciating weekend of ‘hurry up and wait’. Their only shelter in the dusty and brutal Afghan sun was the red white and blue canopy of a self-serve gas bar. Maybe ten families who had completed the path to Canadian citizenship were told by government of Canada text to come to this spot late Friday with the promise of a Canadian Armed Forces flight waiting on the nearby airport tarmac.

Each family included an average of ten people — so make it a hundred — told it was time to leave for Canada. Others followed, and pretty soon there were five hundred Afghans at the gas station hoping for rescue. Some in the huge crowd were told to wear red to identify themselves on a list Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had compiled. One even wore a Roots Canada jacket a soldier had sent over to him years ago. But it didn’t matter. No one from Canada was there to meet them.

After being advised to wear red so IRCC officials could identify him, a hopeful Afghan evacuee wears a Roots jacket that he had been given years earlier by a Canadian solider.

There are no Canadian network or newspaper reporters in Kabul currently, so it is the Afghan interpreters themselves who are our eyes on ears on whether any progress is being made at airlifting them out to safety from the encroaching and threatening Taliban. They have been sharing their frustration on social media and with veterans and journalists they know from Canada’s military deployment that ended in 2014.  Eight hours after they received that initial promising text from IRCC, another came telling them the airport had been closed — that there was no chance they could enter the airport from the gas station entrance — and they should leave but take care of their own safety. No one else would. When they tried to move as a group, several Afghans reported they encountered a massive Taliban checkpoint on one side, and former heavily armed Afghan security forces on the other firing into crowds.

For at least another forty hours they sat at that gas station, trapped in the middle, unable to leave, with no further word from Canada on whether they should attempt to return to hiding, or keep praying for a miracle.

It is impossible to piece together, or understand, why no one from Canada would come out of the military protection of the airport to speak to them over the past two days. Because there must have been a whole lot of talking happening on the safe side of the razor wire barrier separating the Afghans from the terminal. Late Friday, a Canadian C-17 carrying more soldiers and a few diplomatic and immigration staff arrived at Kabul’s military air terminal. They had a plan to work with American forces to get some of the gas station people out of the country. There seemed to be renewed confidence expressed in media interviews by Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino that, finally, things would happen.

Instead the Americans started executing rapid-retrieval missions into Kabul to get their own people out, sealed the entrance where Canada’s gas station people were waiting, and co-operation with Canadian forces seemed to disintegrate.

In the meantime, there was a game of numbers to play. With so few Canadian cases on that C-17 ready to return to a third country, the big grey plane was loaded with Afghans that other countries had successfully brought to the airport. A picture and story was fed to political reporters on the campaign trails in Canada declaring broadly that “106 Afghans have been flown out on a Canadian C17” – but National Defence would not reveal if any of those passengers had been Canadian cases.

According to the Globe and Maul’s (Mail's) Stephen Chase there had been none on the only other Canadian flight of 175 to leave the airport twenty-four hours earlier, even as the government boasted of another ‘success’. For weeks, the Prime Minister and his besieged cabinet had also been talking about 20,000 refugees coming to Canada. That too was misleading in its vagueness, according to Global News’ Mercedes Stephenson, as all but a handful are coming from outside Afghanistan and even then, it’s over many years.

There is zero evidence from multiple Afghan sources around the airport that any of those the Prime Minister boasts they’re “rescuing”, (LGTBQ2, human rights advocates, women and journalists) have come from Kabul or any part of Afghanistan in the past month.

With all that, the government continues to claim a C-17 will come and go each day. But do the math. If even a hundred daily Canadian cases make those flights, (nowhere near that many have so far), there is no way the vast majority of applicants will make it here before the window closes for evacuations. Canada’s commitment of men and materials in no way matches the need. So, will Immigration officials those with no hope now of rescue and admit that they won’t get out in time? That number is likely in the thousands. They need to develop a more realistic way to survive the Taliban.

The mystery in this deadly absurdity is the government’s obsession with paperwork. Even today Canadian officials on the safe side of the airport controlling who might get through were reported by eyewitnesses to be taking an “extremely strict” approach to paperwork verification. Only those granted full Canadian citizenship under the government’s Special Immigration Measure are being told they qualify to leave. That requires a lot more work to process and is perhaps less than a tenth of all the Afghans who are known to have applied and are in various stages of completing multiple forms.

Other countries have also been willing to grant refugee status to their interpreters and families, which doesn’t guarantee citizenship, but is it is a much faster way to process many more people, and it gives Afghans more choices should air rescue be impossible. In a news conference, Mendicino claimed his department’s agent in Kabul has authority to overlook the passport and biometric fingerprint requirements. But the evidence on the ground suggests he is being ignored.

As the weekend ended and the brutal sun set, the gas station waiting area was evolving into a humanitarian concern. There were many children, pregnant mothers and the elderly who had gone days without food and water and were losing strength. Some of the single men who were younger, more nimble, and could move alone left the group and made it inside the gates on convoys from other countries and the United Nations. The ten families guaranteed passage to Canada two days ago were still looking for guidance on whether to stay at the gas station. The IRCC chose to delay sending any more interpreter applicants to flights they might not make. Slowly, and painfully, it was dawning on thousands of poor, exhausted Afghans that the promises Canada’s government made to bring them to safety, it was incapable of or unwilling to honour.

Kevin Newman is a retired journalist who reported from Afghanistan. He has been helping the veteran volunteer network trying to save their interpreters and families.