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Trump derangement syndrome patient Sam Harris admits he is embarrassed over enthusiastic welcome for ‘adults in the room’ involved in botched Afghan withdrawal

K Bhattacharjee
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Trump derangement syndrome patient Sam Harris admits he is embarrassed over enthusiastic welcome for ‘adults in the room’ involved in botched Afghan withdrawal

Atheist Sam Harris has been one of the most vocal unhinged critics of former US President Donald Trump. In his hatred for Donald Trump, he claimed that notorious terrorist Osama bin Laden was less morally reprehensible than the 45th president of the United States of America.

When Trump was banned by social media platforms simultaneously, Sam Harris cheered for it despite the ominous signs of censorship. It was a decision that was condemned widely by leaders across the world, including Emmanuel macron of France, Angela Merkel of Germany, the president of Mexico, members of the Parliament of India and many others.

Sam Harris on Donald Trump
Source: Twitter

There were many who warned Harris that he was widely wrong about Trump and although the former president is a fundamentally flawed individual, he is certainly not the worst thing to have happened in the United States. But Harris remained adamant in his assumptions. Thus, on the 20th of January, when Joe Biden took oath as president, he heralded the occasion as the second coming of Jesus Christ.

On Thursday, however, after the Kabul suicide bombing, when the cost of Biden’s botched Afghan withdrawal became evident, he finally conceded that he was embarrassed about the glee with which he had welcomed the ‘adults in the room’.

On the 20th of January, Harris had said on Twitter, “Feeling overwhelming gratitude for the adults in the room.” But by the 26th of August, it turned into an embarrassed “Publicly eating these words… syllable by syllable.”

Source: Twitter

Sam Harris is the same person who had once infamously declared, “Osama bin Laden, as a person, is far more understandable to me and far less reprehensible, personally, psychologically, than Trump.”

Earlier, he had said, “I find Trump more despicable than I found Osama bin Laden… With Osama bin Laden, it’s just obvious to me that he could have been a mensch in some sense, right? He’s making serious sacrifices for ideas that he deeply believes in. He’s committed to a cause greater than himself.”

It is not clear whether Harris still holds on to those opinions, given that over 100 lives have been lost to the Kabul airport attack, which was committed by ideological compatriots of Osama bin Laden, even if they belonged to a different terrorist outfit.

Whatever his opinions maybe, his opinions regarding the ‘adults in the room’ certainly appears to have undergone a radical change. Sam Harris is greatly fond of the American national security establishment, the class of individuals who are responsible for the current mess in Afghanistan and unleashing devastating carnage in the Middle East that has absolutely destroyed the region.

In 2016, the ‘rational atheist’ hoped for Hillary Clinton to win, a certified warmonger who presided over the destruction of an entire region during her tenure as Secretary of State. However, now he is forced to reckon with his ridiculous assumptions about the competence of the managerial class he loves so much.

But not everyone is ready to give Harris a free pass over the hysterical nonsense he peddled about Donald Trump. Gad Saad, a Lebanese-Canadian Evolutionary Psychologist, said, “Some of us tried to warn you but you were drowning in your hysterical and irrational Trump hatred. Next time around, don’t reject those with whom you share many values simply because of your tribal blind hysteria.”

He stated further, “Are you going to publicly eat your words regarding supporting that Trump be banned from Twitter? Deontological principles should NEVER be sacrificed at the altar of tribal hate.” Political commentator Mike Cernovich was particularly caustic in his remarks, suggesting that the ‘bin Laden admirer’ had gone into damage control mode.

Sam Harris is not the only person who has to contend with their flawed assumptions regarding Joe Biden. The mainstream media, which had worked hard to elect him as president, appears to have abandoned a sinking ship as well. No longer in a position to defend his botched handling of the Afghan withdrawal, even they are harshly criticising the decisions he has made in recent weeks.

At the same time, Biden’s approval ratings are at an all time low as he struggles to cope with the fallout of the Afghan crisis. And with the death of US marines and calls for him to resign, his approvability is expected to plummet further.

Mumbai Police initiates probe against Amitabh Bachchan bodyguard after allegations of him earning 1.5 crores a year

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai Police initiates probe against Amitabh Bachchan bodyguard after allegations of him earning 1.5 crores a year

Amitabh Bachchan’s police bodyguard Jitendra Shinde has been transferred over allegations of him earning Rs 1.5 crore per year surfaced online.

According to the reports, the Mumbai Police department has initiated a departmental inquiry after allegations rose against constable Jitendra Shinde, claiming that he has an annual income of over 1.5 crores.

The Mumbai Police is probing to establish whether Shinde received such money from Big B or some other sources. Shinde has been posted as Bachchan’s bodyguard for several years now.

Reportedly, Jitendra Shinde informed the police officials that he runs a security agency that provides personal bodyguards to other celebrities and renowned personalities. Shinde claimed that his wife runs the agency in her name and that Amitabh Bachchan did not pay him Rs 1.5 crore.

Jitendra Shinde has been deployed in Amitabh Bachchan’s security since 2015, as per reports. Amitabh Bachchan is granted X-grade security with two constables always posted with him, one of which was Jitendra. As per Mumbai Police, police officials cannot be deployed in one place for more than five years.

Following the controversy, Jitendra Shinde has been transferred to a police station in South Mumbai.

Congress mired in another internal conflict, Chhattisgarh Congress MLAs flock to Delhi amidst widening rift within state unit: What we know so far

OpIndia Staff
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Congress mired in another internal conflict, Chhattisgarh Congress MLAs flock to Delhi amidst widening rift within state unit: What we know so far

Infighting seems to have become a hallmark of the Congress party of late. After Rajasthan and Punjab, there seems to be another internal strife brewing between the two factions within the state Congress unit in Chattisgarh as chief minister Bhupesh Baghel hightailed it to New Delhi to meet senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, a second meeting between the two over the reported ongoing power tussle in the Chhatisgarh unit of the party.

On Tuesday this week, Baghel had travelled to the capital to have talks with Rahul Gandhi, who also had talks with TS Deo to hash out a solution to the stalemate in Chhattisgarh, allegedly caused by the disagreement over power-sharing agreement put in place when the government was formed in December 2018.

Since then there have been rumours doing the rounds that Chhattisgarh can have a change of guard even though Baghel and his supporters have vehemently denied the possibility of having any such development.

At the heart of the issue lies the contentious two-and-a-half-year-power sharing formula for the chief minister’s post in the state. The rift over sharing the post on a rotational basis has been in talks ever since Congress came into power in December 2018. It is being reported that Baghel is refusing to honour the agreement while TS Deo is insisting that the power-sharing agreement that was decided at the time of forming the government in the state be followed.

Amidst looming uncertainty, as many as 35 Congress MLAs from Chhattisgarh flew down to Delhi on Thursday night. It is being reported that 20 more are expected to travel to the capital and a total of 55 are likely to stand in support of Baghel, out of the total of 68 MLAs the party has in the state.

With considerable speculations of growing resentment among a faction of Chhattisgarh state Congress unit, PL Punia, in charge of the state’s Congress unit, tried to understate the crisis, saying that said that the talks among Baghel, Deo, and Gandhi centred around developmental issues and not leadership change. He further added that the Congress leadership has not “summoned” any of the state’s legislators to the national capital.

Though the Congress party would naturally play down the internecine conflict among the leaders in Chhattisgarh, the statements issued by Baghel and TS Deo lays bare the rift that plagues the party’s state unit.

After meeting Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, Baghel proclaimed that those who want to implement “two and a half years’ (power-sharing formula) in the state are trying to foment political instability. On the other hand, TS Deo, who has remained in Delhi since the meetings on Tuesday, said, “If a person plays in a team, then doesn’t he think of becoming the captain? Everyone thinks about that but the question is not about thoughts, it’s about capabilities. The high command takes a decision.”

Sidhu vs Singh tussle in Punjab escalates as the former launches attack against state government over sugarcane pricing

The crisis in Chhattisgarh is succeeded by the imbroglio Congress faces in Punjab as President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Navjot Singh Sidhu trained his guns on chief minister Amarinder Singh. Thirty MLAs of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s camp, including four ministers, have sought the removal of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. A delegation of the rebel MLAs will be meeting the party high command in Delhi with their demand.

Earlier this week, Sidhu launched a blistering attack against the Congress government in the state and hailed neighbouring BJP-ruled states for higher State Assured Prices(SAP) for Sugarcane.

Sidhu on Monday posted a tweet calling for an increase in State Agreed Price (SAP) for sugarcane in Punjab, asserting that despite the higher cost of cultivation in the state, the SAP is lower than that received by farmers in BJP ruled states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

“The sugarcane farmers issue needs to be immediately resolved amicably…Strange that despite the higher cost of cultivation in Punjab the state assured price is too low as compared to Haryana/UP/Uttarakhand. As a torchbearer of agriculture, the Punjab SAP should be better!” Sidhu tweeted.

A 7 year old song on YouTube is getting comments after meme goes viral: Here is what ‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’ is all about

OpIndia Staff
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A 7 year old song on YouTube is getting comments after meme goes viral: Here is what ‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’ is all about

A meme has gone viral recently. The meme was sparked by a video, which appears to be from a Christian missionary event, where a boy can be seen weeping profusely. Then, a man, presumably the pastor, asks him if his sister could speak earlier. The boy answers in the negative. Then he is asked whether she could speak now, and this time he answers in the affirmative. The song that was playing in the background is ‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’.

The mannerisms of the boy are quite comical and the video, on the whole, is extremely funny. Thus, naturally, a torrent of memes involving the video flooded social media websites. A lot of mashups were available on the internet with the ‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’ video.

The original video, as it is, is actually just as funny.

Perhaps the funniest, however, is the doge meme that is doing the rounds of the internet.

The ‘nahi bol sakti thi’ and ‘bolne lagi’ bit of the video has also received a great deal of attention.

‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’ here basically translates to ‘My Jesus Jesus’. The song, quite obviously, was meant as a tool for religious conversion to Christianity. The video itself is likely from a Christian evangelical event where such hilarious scenes are frequently observed in the name of ‘miracles’.

As it turns out, ‘Mera Yeshu Yeshu’ is actually a song from 2014, first uploaded seemingly by one Jo Mathew on YouTube. The song has typical elements of Bollywood item song numbers with a distinctive Arabic feel to it. The singers croons for a full 8 minutes and appears inspired by Himesh Reshammiya, with the special emphasis on “ooooooooo”.

The song hails ‘Yeshu’ as someone who relieves the devotee of all his distress, among other similar incantations.

After the meme went viral, the song has received new found attention on YouTube. It has been bombarded with new comments ever since the meme went viral. Most comments are related to hailing Hindu Gods while some emphasize the unintended hilarity of it all.

Some commented ‘Jai Shri Ram’ while others declared ‘Har Har Mahadev’.

Mera Yeshu Yeshu
Source: YouTube comments section

There were a few ‘Hari Bol’ and ‘Om Namah Shivaay’ as well.

Mera Yeshu Yeshu
Source: YouTube comments section

Jo Mathew, as it so happens, has his personal website where he has listed lyrics of many songs, which he has composed presumably. The songs are in English, Hindi, Tamil, Russian and Malayalam. But his most song, nonetheless, remains the meme-worthy song from 2014.

Not just weapons and helicopters, US also left biometric data in Afghanistan, gave the Taliban list of US citizens and Afghan allies

OpIndia Staff
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Not just weapons and helicopters, US also left biometric data in Afghanistan, gave the Taliban list of US citizens and Afghan allies

Days after the Taliban took over the reins of Afghanistan, it has now come to light that the United States and the United Kingdom have left their allies in Afghanistan vulnerable to attack by the radical Islamist outfit.

As per an exclusive report by Politico, the Biden administration had handed out a list of American citizens, Afghan allies, and green card holders to the Taliban so as to allow their evacuation from the Hamid Karzai International airport in Kabul. Although the US officials had claimed that the objective behind the decision was to evacuate stranded people as fast as possible, they faced sharp criticism from military officials and lawmakers. Politico reported that US President Joe Biden had been relying on the radical Islamist outfit for the security of its citizens and allies.

Despite being well aware that the Taliban has a history of killing US allies, the decision to provide specific names to the Islamist outfit by the Biden administration has put their life in jeopardy. “Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list… It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean,” remarked a US defence official anonymously. During a news conference on Thursday (August 26), President Biden reacted to the revelations made by Politico and did not deny the fact that the US had handed names of ‘vulnerable individuals’ to the Taliban.

After the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban following the collapse of Afghan security forces, the Taliban had put up roadblocks across the city. As both foreigners and locals rushed to the Hamid Karzai International Airport to leave the country, they had to cross these roadblocks. To ensure smooth movement of US citizens and Afghan allies, the US administration had handed over the list of people going to the airport, so that the Taliban can allow them to go ahead. Even though the intention was good, this also meant that the Taliban now has the list of all the Afghans who had worked with the NATO forces.

Taliban has access to biometric information of Afghan allies

Not just the lists, the Taliban reportedly also have biometric data of all Afghans who had worked with US and NATO forces. After the capture of Afghanistan, a large number of biometric devices, along with weapons, vehicles and ammunition left behind by American and fleeing Afghan forces were captured by the Taliban. With the US-built military devices, the Taliban now potentiall have the access to the biometric database of Afghans. Some devices also store local copies for such databases, which will be easily accessible to the new tech-savvy Taliban.

Even though the Taliban may not have the tools and expertise to process the data they have access to now, the ISI of Pakistan has. This means that the Talibani regime can easily process the data with the help of their allies.

Republican Congressman and former Afghan veteran Jim Banks informed, “We now know that due to the negligence of this administration, the Taliban has access to $85 billion worth of American military equipment. That includes 75,000 vehicles, over 200 airplanes, and helicopters, over 600,000 small arms, and light weapons. The Taliban now has more black hawk helicopters than 85% of the countries in the world.”

“They just don’t have weapons. They also have night-vision goggles, body armour, medical supplies…The Taliban now has biometric devices which have the fingerprints, eye scans, and the biographical information of the Afghans who helped us over the last 20 years…This administration has no plans to get the military equipment and supplies back,” he concluded.

Biden administration did not deny revealing names to the Taliban

“There have been occasions when our military has contacted their military counterparts in the Taliban and said this, for example, this bus is coming through with X number of people on it, made up of the following group of people. We want you to let that bus or that group through. So, yes there have been occasions like that. To the best of my knowledge, in those cases, the bulk of that has occurred and they have been let through. I can’t tell you with any certitude that there’s actually been a list of names. There may have been. But I know of no circumstance. It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist, that here’s the names of 12 people, they’re coming, let them through. It could very well have happened,” the US President said in a statement.

Besides Joe Biden, National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Emily Horne also conceded that the US officials had shared information with the Taliban in ‘limited cases’ for facilitating their ‘successful evacuation’ from Kabul. The matter came to light during a ‘classified briefing’ in US Capitol Hill, wherein top officials contended that they had been coordinating with the Taliban for keeping the ‘Americans and Afghans safe.’ They claimed that the objective was also to prevent a shoutout between the US forces and the Talibs at the Hamid Karzai International airport.

Taliban going door-to-door in search of Afghan interpreters

Among the list of names handed over to the Taliban, it included Afghan allies who collaborated with the United States during the 20-year-long ‘war on terror’. While speaking about the matter, a US official admitted, “They had to do that because of the security situation the White House created by allowing the Taliban to control everything outside the airport.” Politico reported that once the security situation at the Kabul airport worsened due to the overwhelming rush of people, the US government requested everyone to wait for their turn.

From that point onwards, the Biden administration stopped feeding the names of Afghan allies to the Taliban. From August 25 onwards, the US government began evacuating only US passport and green cardholders. Earlier this week, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby contended that the US officials were ‘in daily communication with the Talibs. Politico reported that The Taliban is now going door-to-door in search of Afghan interpreters and US allies, after the Biden administration ‘outsourced’ the security to the Taliban.

Suicide bombing by ISKP at Kabul airport kills stranded Afghans

On Thursday, August 26, bomb blasts inside Hamid Karzai international airport in Afghan’s capital Kabul killed more than 100 people, including 13 US troops, disrupting the ongoing Afghan evacuation of tens of thousands of stranded civilians. Soon after the attacks on their forces, the United States officials attributed attacks that killed more than 100 people at the Kabul airport to Islamic State’s regional affiliate Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). The ISKP has also taken responsibility for the bombing of the Kabul airport and has released images of the terrorist who blew himself up inside the Kabul airport. Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri of the ISKP was allegedly the suicide bomber.

Huawei, the company close to the Chinese govt, sponsors Reuters article praising Kerala for COVID-19 management even as cases soar

OpIndia Staff
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Huawei, the company close to the Chinese govt, sponsors Reuters article praising Kerala for COVID-19 management even as cases soar

Huawei – a Chinese tech giant with close ties with the Communist Party of China, has sponsored an article praising the Kerala model of Covid-19 management when the Communist-led Kerala government is facing massive criticism over its failure to handle the Covid-19 pandemic effectively.

On Friday, Reuters published an article on its website titled, “Kerala’s COVID-19 lessons for India and Modi’s government”, hailing the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government for its “effective handling” of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Interestingly, the propaganda article that is written by Reuters correspondent Krishna N Das attempting to give a clean chit to the Kerala government over allegations of massive mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic is sponsored by none other than Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Reuters paid article praising Kerala despite its mismanagement of Covid-19

The propaganda article, paid by the Chinese company, makes tall claims about the so-called Kerala model of the Covid-19 and goes on to say that Kerala may actually “hold crucial lessons for the country” in containing the outbreak if a possible third wave of infections breaks out in the country.

In its report, Reuters claims that they have carried out their own analysis of national and state data and interviews with epidemiologists and Kerala health authorities, which according to them, painted a different picture.

In reality, Kerala, which is neither very populous nor very industrialised, has been the worst affected Indian state in the Covid crisis for months now.

Reuters comes up with ‘targeted testing’ bogey to defend Kerala’s mismanagement:

The report suggests that the state’s containment measures may have helped catch infections early, allowing authorities better to manage the illness and dramatically lower the death rate. Further, the report claims that Kerala’s decision to carry out antigen tests instead of prescribed RT-PCR tests has yielded results in combating the deaths due to the Covid-19.

Cleverly, Reuters cites the lowest fatality rate in the state to glorify Kerala for its “effective” management of the pandemic. “The efficient detection rate and its population density at more than twice the national average explain the high number of cases in Kerala,” the Reuters report claimed.

Well, now comes the spin. According to Reuters, Kerala’s success comes from its decision to adopt rapid antigen tests to detect and strictly isolate infected people at home, an approach completely different from successful states such as Uttar Pradesh.

Amusingly, Reuters quotes state officials and “experts” from JNU to argue that rapid antigen tests have helped them to better allocate hospital beds and oxygen supplies for those who really need them.

“The government-recommended RT-PCR tests are more accurate but take longer to produce results, meaning by the time a positive COVID-19 case is confirmed, the infected person is more likely to have developed severe symptoms and passed it on to others in a vicious cycle of more infections and deaths,” claimed the paid article.

Despite the uncertainty and a raging debate over the accuracy of rapid antigen tests, Reuters attempts to make their readers believe that it was much accurate than the RT-PCR tests, a testing protocol that is being followed in the rest of the country, especially in those states which have successfully halted the transmission of the virus.

Interestingly, Reuters, just like other self-proclaimed epidemiologists in the country, sticks to the ‘targeted testing’ bogey of the Kerala government to claim that the state was testing more; hence there is an increased number of cases in the state.

In fact, other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan have been testing more than Kerala and recording the fewer fresh cases in the state. The bogey of “higher testing-higher cases” also does not hold true as there is no exact scientific rationale behind this strategy as it is not proved anywhere else other than Kerala.

‘More beds, enough oxygen supply in Kerala’, claims Reuters to declare Kerala model as the best

Reuters cites data from Kerala’s most populous Malappuram district, one of the epicentres of the second wave of the pandemic, to claim that a quarter of the Covid-19 beds in its biggest hospital were vacant and oxygen supply was ample. Thus, on the basis of the ready availability of beds and oxygen supply system, Reuters declares that Kerala had successfully managed to handle the pandemic much better than any other state.

Further, Reuters suggest that there were no lockdowns in Kerala despite higher cases, which according to them, showed how successful the Kerala model is. However, the information put out by Reuters is incorrect as the Kerala government has imposed tough lockdowns in the state, both in the first and the second wave of the pandemic, except relaxing it ahead of the Eid celebrations owing to pressure from the Muslim community.

As we know, the lockdown relaxations in Kerala ahead of the Eid celebrations have turned out to be a disaster, with the Communist-ruled state is now recording an average of 25,000 fresh cases every day.

It does not stop there. Reuters then hails Kerala for its vaccination push in the state, which according to Reuters, is the fastest pace among all states. Finally, concluding the paid article, the author claims that the strategy followed by the Communist government has done wonders in Kerala to tackle the pandemic and should be replicated in other states.

Reuters’ double standards in analysing Kerala and other states

Not just praising Kerala, the Reuters report went on to criticise the centre over “mishandling” of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country by claiming that people died in carparks and outside hospitals for lack of oxygen and beds in big cities at the height of the health crisis.

While picking up isolated incidents of deaths during the second wave of the pandemic, Reuters attempts to discredit the larger success achieved by the Indian government in stopping the Chinese pandemic from creating havoc across the country. However, the same standards are not applied to the Communist-ruled Kerala, where proper management of the pandemic has been aberration rather than a norm.

However, the reality is that since the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country last year, Kerala has remained one of the two biggest epicentres of Covid-19 infections in the country, along with Maharashtra. In fact, Kerala remains the worst Covid-19 affected state in the country and continues to be a burden to the country’s efforts in tackling the second wave of the pandemic even as other states have successfully reduced fresh Covid-19 cases.

For over a week now, Kerala has recorded close to 30,000 fresh coronavirus cases, along with over 200 deaths and a test positive rate above 19 per cent. With only 3 per cent of India’s population, Kerala now accounts for almost 70 per cent of all new Covid-19 cases. It ranks top in the daily number of deaths. The nationwide test positive rate is 2.4 per cent, while in Kerala, it is over 19 per cent.

With Kerala reporting more than 25,000 cases every day on an average over the last two weeks, the total tally of Covid-19 cases in the state now stands at 39,13,506, the second-highest in the country after Maharashtra. 

Image Source: Covid19India.org

Kerala has recorded on an average 150 deaths due to Covid-19 in the last two weeks, taking the related death toll in the state to 20,134.

Image Source: Covid19India.org

One of the worrying factors about Covid-19 pandemic mismanagement in Kerala is the active cases in the state. As other states have almost brought the fresh infections to a halt, Kerala still has more than 1,81,230 active cases. Moreover, the fresh cases continue to pile up as 10,000 more cases have added up to the tally on Thursday alone.

Image Source: Covid19India.org

Well, the number speaks for themselves.

Reuters tries to paint a rosy picture of the Kerala Covid-19 disaster despite all the glaring evidence that proves otherwise. It is interesting to see why Reuters would choose to defend the indefensible and why a tech company linked with the Communist Party of China would sponsor a paid article to glorify the Communist-led Kerala government and effectively whitewash their crimes of mismanagement during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kabul airport explosion: US President Joe Biden gives clean chit to Taliban, says no evidence to point towards the group’s collusion with ISIS

OpIndia Staff
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Kabul airport explosion: US President Joe Biden gives clean chit to Taliban, says no evidence to point towards the group’s collusion with ISIS

US President Joe Biden on Thursday gave a clean chit to the Taliban, saying there was no evidence to indicate collusion between the terror group and ISIS in carrying out the fatal attacks in Kabul yesterday.

“There is no evidence thus far that I’ve been given as a consequence by any of the commanders in the field that there has been collusion between the Taliban and ISIS in carrying out what happened today,” Biden said in an address at the White House.

However, Biden did pledge to exact revenge for the attacks that killed thirteen US Marines and about 60 Afghans in two explosions whose responsibility was claimed by ISIS.

“Know this,” Biden said to the attackers. “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

“The lives we lost today were lives given in the service of liberty, the service of security, the service of others, in the service of America,” he said from the White House.

Biden said the situation on the ground in Kabul was still evolving and that the U.S. will target the assets, leadership and facilities of ISIS-K, the Islamic State affiliate that has reportedly claimed responsibility for the terror attack.

Twin explosions in Kabul leaves 13 US Marines and 60 Afghans dead

Kabul on Thursday was rocked with two explosions, leading to the death of 13 US Marines and 60 Afghans, including women and children. The attack took place outside the city’s airport amidst the waning days of evacuation as the deadline of August 31 approaches.

The first incident reportedly took place near the Abbey gate of the airport. Minutes later, a second explosion was reported from the Baron Hotel near Kabul airport. Several reports said gunfire also took place at the sites of the attack.

The incident comes after Australia, the US and UK had issued alerts to their citizens advising them not to go to the airport, warning of a possible terror attack. People outside the airport had been advised to leave the area immediately as there were concerns of violence from an ISIS affiliate group.

Uttar Pradesh: After Mirzapur, Aligarh and Mainpuri; proposal sent by Gram Panchayat to rename Miyaganj to Mayaganj

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: After Mirzapur, Aligarh and Mainpuri; proposal sent by Gram Panchayat to rename Miyaganj to Mayaganj

After a series of proposals were sent to the Uttar Pradesh government for a change in name of various cities and districts, the state is likely to see another change of name. A Gram Panchayat in Unnao has recommended renaming Miyaganj to Mayaganj.

The proposal to rename the gram panchayat came in an open meeting in Miyanganj. A resolution was passed to rename the gram panchayat following which the recommendation was made to the District Collector in the matter.

A letter in this regard has been sent by Unnao DM Ravindra Kumar to the UP government. 

Mirzapur to be renamed Vindhyanchal Nagar

We reported earlier that there has been a growing demand from the residents of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh to change the name of the district to ‘Vindhyanchal Nagar’.

A resolution was passed in this regard by the Bharatiya Savarna Sangh and a letter has been sent to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urging the government to rename the city.

A member of the Bharatiya Savarna Sangh said that the district gets its name from the Hindu deity Maa Vindhyavasini. It is only fair for the government to rename Mirzapur as ‘Vindhyanchal Nagar’.

Aligarh to be renamed Harigarh

This month witnessed yet another demand of renaming Aligarh to ‘Harigarh.’ The Zila Panchayat of Aligarh had passed a resolution seeking renaming of the city.

In addition to Aligarh, the Zila Panchayat of Mainpuri had also passed a resolution seeking to rename the town as Mayan Nagar. 

Yogi Adityanath’s government had previously renamed Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad district under which Ayodhya city used to fall to Ayodhya district.

Foreign funding diverted for mass conversion to Islam: Gujarat police reaches UP to arrest Umar Gautam and Salahuddin Sheikh

OpIndia Staff
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Foreign funding diverted for mass conversion to Islam: Gujarat police reaches UP to arrest Umar Gautam and Salahuddin Sheikh

In a parallel investigation against the two accused, a team of Vadodara police from Gujarat has reached Uttar Pradesh to arrest Umar Gautam and Salahuddin Sheikh, the two accused in the UP forced conversion case. The two are currently lodged in a Lucknow jail after being arrested by UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for running a racket of forceful religious conversions. 

The duo reportedly was also involved in diverting funds of a charity organization for illegal religious conversions and to provide legal help to anti-CAA protestors, including those arrested in the Delhi riots. 

A release issued by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Vadodara police informed that a police team from Vadodara has reached Lucknow with a production warrant issued by a local court. 

NGO received Rs 10 crore fund in 4 years

Salahuddin Sheikh was one of the six aides of Umar Gautam to be arrested. He was nabbed in a joint operation by the Gujarat and UP ATS in Gujarat in July.

Sheikh who is the Managing Trustee of AFMI Charitable Trust in Vadodara used to divert the foreign funds to Umar Gautam for religious conversions. 

Reportedly, Sheikh’s NGO had received nearly Rs 10 crore in foreign funds in a period of four years during 2016-2021. The majority of the funds received by the Salahuddin’s NGO were from UK and America-based organizations.

A five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted by the Vadodara police to conduct further probes into the matter. Registering an FIR against Sheikh on Tuesday, the police issued a press release divulging more information. 

As per the release, Sheikh is said to have given Rs 6 crore to Umar Gautam for religious conversions and Rs 60 lakh as legal help to anti-CAA protestors arrested in connection with the Delhi riots. 

The accused has also diverted Rs 7.27 crore to his network in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Assam to build over 100 mosques in those states. 

Police teams have been sent to those states to unearth the entire network, said the release.

Umar Gautam involved in mass conversions

Umar Gautam along with his aide Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi was arrested by the UP ATS in the month of June this year. The two accused ran an organisation named Islamic Dawah Centre(IDC), along with their other associates, to mass convert people into Islam through inducements such as marriage, job and money and mental pressure.

They have also been accused of specifically converting deaf and mute children. The investigations revealed that Gautam converted 1500 children at a deaf and dumb school in Noida to Islam. 

The two, and their organisation has been booked under Sections 420, 120 B, 153A, 153B, 295 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3/5 of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance-2020.

China: State-owned media Global Times rants against Indian ex-science teacher who investigated the Wuhan lab leak theory

Dibakar Dutta
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China: State-owned media Global Times rants against Indian ex-science teacher who investigated the Wuhan lab leak theory

On Friday (August 26), Chinese State-owned media Global Times targeted a former science teacher from India, whose investigation gave credence to the Wuhan lab leak theory. Identified as ‘The Seeker’, the Indian man from Kolkata felt a sense of social responsibility to determine the origins of Covid-19, which took countless lives.

Global Times, the propaganda arm of the Communist Party of China (CCP), sought to delegitimise the findings of ‘The Seeker’ and his team DRASTIC (Decentralized Radical Autonomous Search Team Investigating COVID-19) after the US Intelligence report on ‘Coronavirus origins’ remained ‘inconclusive.’ In an article authored by Bai Yunyi published on Friday, Global Times dubbed ‘The Seeker’ as a ‘rumourmonger’ while it dismissed DRASTIC as an ‘online conspiracy group.’ It further claimed that such groups are backed by ‘anti-China forces’.

While slamming the group for being ‘anonymous, the CCP mouthpiece alleged,”…DRASTIC members are constantly spreading conspiracy theories and false news about the “Wuhan lab-leak” theory and launching online public opinion attacks against scientists who hold impartial scientific positions. DRASTIC’s clumsy manipulation of this conspiracy theory has been widely questioned.”

Screengrab of the Global Times report

Global Times further accused the DRASTIC of ‘plotting’ and ‘popularising’ rumours against China in the West. It claimed, “For example, there was the rumour that the novel coronavirus originated in a copper mine in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, when scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) brought back samples and the virus was leaked. This information, published by the Washington Post, was originally concocted by a core member of DRASTIC named The Seeker”. 

The tabloid newspaper accused the former Indian science teacher of finding a master’s thesis, which outlined 6 cases of pneumonia caused by an unknown virus in 2012 at an abandoned copper mine in Yunnan province, by mistake. “After taking only a few minutes to read the abstract, “The Seeker” immediately posted a lengthy message on his Twitter account pointing that the source of the novel coronavirus disease was the WIV, with the tag “DRASTIC” attached, CNET reported,” it wrote. Global Times remarked that the findings of the DRASTIC fail to conform with the ‘basic tenets of scientific rigor.’

It added, “The Global Times noticed that DRASTIC has been getting the attention of mainstream Western media since February. Sky News, Newsweek, Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal, as well as many Indian media outlets, have all cited the group’s views and hyped about how the group has changed the chapter of the virus origin.” Accusing DRASTIC of publishing ‘alleged reports’ and harassing scientists, it claimed the ‘ultimate goal’ is to somehow tarnish the image of Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The CCP mouthpiece concluded that DRASTIC’s emergence to the limelight was the result of ‘change in the Biden administration’s attitude toward the traceability of the coronavirus disease.’

Findings of ‘The Seeker’ and the DRASTIC team into the origins of the Wuhan Coronavirus 

‘The Seeker’, in his mid-20s, used to be a science teacher. From there, he studied architecture, painting and filmmaking. He told OpIndia that he had then moved on to a project that allowed him to follow his passion – working on audiobooks. Initially, he had bought into the mainstream media narrative that the virus had infected humans from animals at the infamous wet markets in Wuhan. But soon, he became skeptical of the conventional narrative and began interacting with individuals who had begun to rip it apart. This made ‘The Seeker’ curious about the virus and its origins. 

It was a sense of social responsibility, besides the obvious curiosity, that led him to this mission. “COVID has taken the lives of countless people and devastated so many others. But it has also left so many clues that haven’t been followed up. Humanity deserves answers,” he had emphasised. The Seeker was convinced that the mystery behind the Wuhan Coronavirus lay in the RaTG13 virus. 

Using his online research skills, The Seeker found CNKI, which is a huge database of Chinese academic journals and theses. Fueled by tea and occasional arcade games, he scrolled through the database for days until he struck gold. The Seeker found a 60-page thesis authored by a student at Kunming Medical University in 2013. Titled, “The Analysis of 6 Patients with Severe Pneumonia Caused by Unknown Viruses,” the paper found that the miners had died of SARS-like Coronavirus. He shared it on Twitter on May 19, 2020.

After it had become public, the Chinese authorities swung into action and limited the access control to ensure that it was never found again. Interestingly, The Seeker also found that the corporate media ignored the story when the miners had died of SARS-like infection in 2012. He worked in close association a Madrid based data scientist named Francisco de Asis de Ribera. The Seeker found new pieces of the Coronavirus puzzle while Ribera fitted the pieces together. He discovered detailed plans of Wuhan Institute of Virology to test the infectivity of SARA-like viruses in lab animals and human cells, undergo cross-species mutation and genetic recombination of the viruses.

He found that the Wuhan Institute of Virology never bought the argument that the three miners had died of a fungal infection, as espoused by Shi Zhengli. The researchers, working at the institute, were concerned about a viral outbreak and thus tested the blood of neighbouring villagers and obtained genetic sequences of 8 other SARS-like viruses from the mine. DRASTIC found that China had the information with them in advance but instead chose to conceal it and let people die. The Seeker concluded, “I no longer see science as an exclusive domain. Everyone can make a difference.”

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