Zero Hedge: One of the defining features of the early phases of the covid pandemic, when public fear was rampant and when few wanted to take chances that supply chains would remain viable, is that for a brief period US supermarkets resembled those of the USSR circa the late 1980s: many items were in short supply, and some – notably toilet paper, Clorox, and perishables such as milk – were out of stock for weeks.
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him …” Rev. 6:7
Fast forward to today when fears about the Delta strain are being fanned by the liberal media, the US may be facing a similar shortage of key products… only this time for a very different reason: not a surge in demand, but rather a drop in supply.
According to Bloomberg, some of the largest U.S. food distributors are “reporting difficulties in fulfilling orders as a lack of workers weighs on the supply chain.” Take distribution giant Sysco, North America’s largest wholesale food distributor, which is turning away customers in some areas where demand is exceeding capacity.
Worse, food inflation is about to soar: the company said prices for key goods such as chicken, pork and paper products for takeout packaging are climbing amid tight supplies. In particular, production has slowed for high-demand, labor-intensive cuts like bacon, ribs, wings and tenders, Sysco said. And if intermediate and final wholesale prices are “rising”, just wait until they emerge on the consumer side.
The culprit for the coming price shock? Biden’s catastrophic stimmies and universal basic income which has unleashed havoc on the US job market and led to historic labor shortages Read More
JPost: It’s symbolic of how Prime Minister Naftali Bennett views the significance of this trip to Washington that he flew off without nary a word about the Palestinians.
Iran, the COVID-19 Delta variant and even climate change were on his list of issues as he stood on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion International Airport and briefly outlined for reporters the scope of the trip.
“And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Luke 21:24
It was as if the IDF had not sent reinforcements to the Gaza border, fearing an escalation of violence while Bennett was in Washington for his first ever meeting with US President Joe Biden.
Breitbart: President Joe Biden delivered a statement to the nation on the crisis in Afghanistan on Tuesday evening — but not before talking about his “Build Back Better” agenda and the House of Representatives vote on $3.5 trillion in new spending.
“Before I update you on the meeting that I had with leaders of the G-7 earlier today, I want to say a word about the progress we’re making on the ‘Build Back Better’ agenda here at home,” Biden began, before praising the House vote on spending. He also congratulated Democrats on passing H.R. 4, the “John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021,” which would vastly expand federal authority over election, but which is considered extremely unlikely to pass in the Senate.
Biden spoke as Americans stranded in Kabul continued to struggle to reach the airport, and as the administration was unable to clarify when, exactly, an August 31 withdrawal deadline imposed by the Taliban would officially begin. Read More
CNN: The Taliban said Tuesday that they were “not allowing the evacuation of Afghans anymore” and warned that the US must stick to next week’s deadline to pull out, as a frantic Western evacuation operation at Kabul airport picked up pace.
The announcement came as US President Joe Biden made clear he aims to stick with his August 31 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan — as long as the Taliban does not disrupt ongoing evacuation operations or airport access. Top American allies have already called for an extension in order to fly more people out.
“Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’” Zech. 7:10
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told a press conference Tuesday that while foreign nationals could continue traveling to the airport, the huge crowds of Afghans that have gathered there in recent days should return home and would not face reprisals from the country’s new rulers.
“The road, which goes to the airport, is blocked. Afghans cannot take that road to go to the airport, but foreign nationals are allowed to take that road to the airport,” Mujahid said. Read More
Zero Hedge: Recent macroeconomic data from the United States should worry us. Amid the reopening and the biggest fiscal and monetary stimulus in recent history, and with all the possible tailwinds from policy decisions, consumer confidence has plummeted to the lowest level since 2016.
Retail sales have fallen sharply again in July, and the employment or industrial production data are far more than disappointing considering the level of stimulus and that GDP has returned to pre-pandemic level.
” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.” Rev. 6:5
Recent macroeconomic data from the United States should worry us. Amid the reopening and the biggest fiscal and monetary stimulus in recent history, and with all the possible tailwinds from policy decisions, consumer confidence has plummeted to the lowest level since 2016.
Retail sales have fallen sharply again in July, and the employment or industrial production data are far more than disappointing considering the level of stimulus and that GDP has returned to pre-pandemic level. Read More
Daily Wire: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was grilled during Tuesday’s press briefing over the administration’s disaster in Afghanistan.
Psaki said that completion of the operation to evacuate U.S. citizens depended “on continued coordination with the Taliban,” adding that Biden has requested contingency plans from the Pentagon.
“Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.” Job 13:12
She later added that the evacuations would stop before the August 31 deadline so there was time to get U.S. forces out of the country. Psaki did not know whether the deadline was at midnight on August 30 or 31 and whether it was U.S. time or Afghanistan time.
Doocy: "You said yesterday it's irresponsible to say that Americans are stranded in Afghanistan right now. What do you say to the American citizens in Kabul that fox spoke to this morning" who says she's been "stranded."
Psaki responds with a banquet kitchen-sized word salad. pic.twitter.com/PpDC8SEYTD
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 24, 2021
Breitbart: A majority of Americans oppose the resettlement of more than 50,000 Afghans in the United States, according to a survey by Rasmussen Reports.
The August 18-19 survey of 1,000 likely voters was taken as President Joe Biden appears to be expanding the number of migrants he is flying to the United States, far above the initial predictions of 22,000 Afghans — plus family members — who worked alongside the U.S. soldiers who were supporting Afghanistan’s government.
“For an empty-headed man will be wise,
When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.” Job 11:14
“Enormous numbers of [Afghan] people are trying to jam themselves into that [airlift] funnel right now,” said Ken Cuccinelli, who served as the deputy chief of homeland security for President Donald Trump. Even if President Joe Biden does not want to raise the inflow, Cuccinelli added, “there are plenty of people in this country, of both parties, who would be more than happy to use this excuse to just grab another 50,000 or 100,000 immigrants through this unusual pipeline at this deadly moment.”
Biden’s liberal base strongly supports massive resettlement, regardless of the damage to Americans’ wages, rents, and civic society. Thirty-five percent of liberals want Biden to deliver more than 100,000 Afghans, and another 20 percent want between 50,000 and 100,000.
Breitbart: A Taliban spokesman says the U.S. must complete its evacuation of people from Afghanistan by the Aug. 31 date the Biden administration set for the withdrawal of all American troops.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says his group will accept “no extensions” to the deadline. He says life is returning to normal in the country but chaos at the airport remains a problem. Many Afghans are desperate to flee the Taliban takeover of the country.
“There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 16:25
Mujahid says he is “not aware” of any meeting between the Taliban and the CIA, but he did not deny that such a meeting took place. An official says the director of the U.S. agency met with the Taliban’s top political leader in Kabul on Monday.
“We are not in favour of allowing Afghans to leave”
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid adds it would be a “violation” of the agreement to allow evacuations of foreign nationals beyond 31 August
Latest: https://t.co/PgvjrfQUeS pic.twitter.com/bs8TPYooZz
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) August 24, 2021
Zero Hedge: Airbnb on Tuesday announced that it will provide free, temporary accommodation around the world to approximately 20,000 refugees forced to flee Afghanistan in the wake of President Biden’s botched military withdrawal, which allowed the Taliban to topple the government within a matter of days.
“The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the U.S. and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time,” tweeted Airbnb co-founder and head of community, Ben Chesky, who added that the company couldn’t do this ‘without the generosity of our hosts.’
he vacation rental company said in a statement that it would cover the costs for the initiative, while also using funds from its Refugee Fund to address the “tremendous need” due to the “fast evolving” crisis in Afghanistan, according to the Washington Post.
Since Aug. 14, the United States has evacuated about 58,700 people from Kabul, with images showing their relief and exhaustion after facing violent clashes, Taliban fighters, and chaotic scenes at Kabul airport. Within just 24 hours ending Tuesday morning, about 21,600 people were evacuated on U.S. and coalition flights.
Chesky said it was the community’s hosts offering up their residences that made the idea truly possible, and asked people to sign up to accommodate a refugee family if they wanted to help those fleeing Taliban rule.
He also said he hoped that the company’s initiative would inspire “other business leaders to do the same.”
“There’s no time to waste,” he said. -WaPo