The Next 9/11

Since the Taliban resumed control of Afghanistan in August 2021 after the U.S. withdrew, I have devoted roughly ten percent of the essays in my daily newsletter to the conditions in that country, even though I realize that to most Americans it seems like a remote place with little relevance to their lives.

Central Asia is indeed a long way away, on the other side of the world. The people and cultures seem exotic and strange; we learn little about their history or relevance in school; and they are primarily from ethnic and religious traditions completely unfamiliar to most Westerners.

But I believe what is going on in Afghanistan matters directly to those of us living in Western democracies and that if we don’t pay attention, we will soon pay for our inattention with dire consequences, much as we have in the past.

Yesterday’s special report from my Afghan correspondent that the Taliban are pushing educators in the country to return to the use of an educational materials that celebrate jihad as religious war against infidels and encourages suicide bombers should be a red alert, because it marks a return to the conditions that led up to the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.

Most Americans don’t know that a U.S. government aid program from 1986-’92 provided textbooks throughout Afghanistan that encouraged jihad and suicide bombers in the rebellion then underway against the Soviet forces occupying their country.

Or that once the Soviets were expelled in 1989, the Taliban emerged and reoriented local anger toward the West, especially the U.S. The initial cadre of Taliban leaders were educated in Wahhabbist madrassas (extremist Saudi-financed religious schools) using the very textbooks financed by $50 million in USAID funding. The Taliban allied themselves with Osama bin-laden and al-Qaeda and the rest is history.

Providing aid to people in war zones like Afghanistan was at that time is a tricky business to be sure. As it is a tricky business today. Most people still live in rural villages, are deeply religious and poorly educated. They are desperately poor by our standards and inexperienced with democratic values and the merits of a secular education.

They also are deeply suspicious of their own urban elites, many of whom favor the West or are neutral and who oppose the Taliban.

But rural Afghans also greatly value education and they want both their boys and their girls to go to school, despite reports t the contrary, because they see education as the key to escaping poverty. Village parents just want their kids to get religious training as part of that education to be consistent with their deeply held Islamic faith.

Enlightened educators understand this and also that there is not necessarily a contradiction between religion and a high-quality education (think of Catholic schools in the U.S.) And to its credit, during the 20 years up until its withdrawal in 2021, the U.S. government tried to provide better textbooks and approaches to educational aid in Afghanistan.

One result is that many more Afghans today are college-educated, like my friend who sends me his special reports (58 to date.) But the educated Afghans are eyed suspiciously by the Taliban, whose base remains in the countryside.

In any event, all of this background is simply my attempt to provide an explanation and a plea to my readers. Even if your eyes tend to glaze over when I publish yet another essay about Afghanistan, please consider this:

The Taliban apparently now want to educate a new generation of suicide bombers. ISIS is getting ready to launch attacks from Afghanistan. You remember 9/11. We cannot allow that to happen again. 

It’s time for some preventative action over here.

LINKS:

• China's leader Xi Jinping will meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week (NPR)

• Why the Black Sea is such a flashpoint between the U.S. and Russia (NBC)

• International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Putin over Russia's alleged war crimes in Ukraine (CBS)

• U.S. Commander: ISIS in Afghanistan 6 Months Away From Foreign Attack Capability (USN&WR)

• What Have Humans Just Unleashed? Call it tech’s optical-illusion era: Not even the experts know exactly what will come next in the AI revolution. (Atlantic)

• Meta AI Unlocks Hundreds of Millions of Proteins to Aid Drug Discovery (WSJ)

• Baidu says it can now operate robo-taxis in Beijing with no human staff inside (CNBC)

• Microsoft Stock Breaks Out After Software Giant Adds AI To Office Apps (Investors.com)

• Wall Street’s Biggest Banks Rescue Teetering First Republic (NYT)

• World shares up after First Republic aid spurs Wall St rally (AP)

• SVB employees blame remote work for bank failure (Axios)

• European Central Bank supervisors met to tackle growing cracks in the banking system after a $30 billion lifeline for US lender First Republic Bank eased fears of its imminent collapse. (Reuters)

• New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market (NYT)

• The Strongest Evidence Yet That an Animal Started the Pandemic (Atlantic)

• Chinese study: North Korean missile could reach US in 33 minutes (CNN)

• Governments around the world have moved to ban or restrict TikTok amid security fears (WP)

• New Zealand to ban TikTok from government devices (Guardian)

• Macron, Risking Backlash, Pushes Through Law Raising Retirement Age (NYT)

• Hundreds detained in fiery protests after French government forces through higher retirement age (CNN)

• Over 2,000 Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban took power are being detained indefinitely in the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. Having no idea what their future holds and being confined to a prison-like facility for months has taken a severe toll on their physical and mental well-being. [HuffPost]

• The risks of indicting Trump in the N.Y. hush money case (MSNBC)

• Trump’s campaign attacked the Manhattan district attorney’s office on Thursday ahead of possible charges linked to his effort to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels. "Americans will not tolerate Radical Left Democrats turning our justice system into an injustice system," Trump's campaign spokesperson said. [HuffPost]

• Much of the 2024 Republican field focuses on dark, apocalyptic themes (WP)

• A Florida Republican seeking to restrict sex education for students confirmed his bill would also ban young girls from discussing their menstrual cycles with school officials, although he clarified that was not the intent. [HuffPost]

• Wyoming passes a law that prohibits the use of abortion pills and is part of a growing effort by conservative states to target the pills. (NYT)

• Michigan Democrats are getting their way for the first time in nearly 40 years (NPR)

• California governor plans reform of oldest state prison into ‘rehabilitation center’ (Guardian)

• The mixed blessing of California's exceptionally wet winter is likely to play out this spring with somewhat heightened flood risks in a state left largely drought free for the first time in three years, US government forecasters reported. (Reuters)

• As Plundered Items Return to Wounded Knee, Decisions Await (NYT)

• Rich Nations Are Burying the Developing World in Plastic Waste (Mother Jones)

• Public Health vs. Economic Growth: Toxic Chemical Rules Pose Test for Biden (NYT)

• “The lungs of the world are under threat. This makes no sense”—lawlessness and the rainforest crisis (Economist)

• A key starfish is in danger of going extinct. A federal agency announced this week that the sunflower sea star needs protection under the Endangered Species Act. (WP)

• Florida beaches could be dealt a one-two punch of red tide and giant seaweed blob (CBS)

• Panicked Tree Freezes In Headlights As Car Barrels Toward It (The Onion)

 

Taliban Want New Suicide Bombers (Afghan Report 58)

 {NOTE: In this, the latest special report from a friend inside Afghanistan, we learn that the Taliban officials are urging educators to train a new generation of suicide bombers. This is an exclusive report. I am protecting the identity of my friend for his safety.}

Dear David:

Last week, in Helmand, the Taliban asked government employees to attend a seminar in which some Taliban clergymen would give information about the “morality of work.” We all joined and the meeting started with a man reciting a verse from the Quran. 

The first Talib speaker, who looked to be about 60, criticized the existing school curriculum used throughout the country, saying "America manipulated our curriculum of schools during these 20 years of occupation. They eliminated Islamic words such as Jehad, Mujahed, etc. Instead of using Tofang (weapon) for ت (t), they used Toop (ball) for it, and instead of using Jehad for J, they used Jawari (Sorghum) for it." 

He then emphasized that "every school and university student, from engineers to doctors, employees should be a felo-de-se (suicide bomber). We had such examples in Wardak, there had been many engineers and doctors who always had been ready (to carry out) suicide attacks." 

According to Dana Burde's book: “Schools for Conflict or for Peace in Afghanistan,” the Taliban-approved school curriculum inAfghanistan that used T for Tofang and J for Jehad promoted conflict and violence through textbooks and tied violence to religious obligation. This curriculum was used during the first rule of the Taliban. 

So simply put, the Taliban officials are now telling us to train the next generation of suicide bombers!

The second Talib speaker argued that only Sunni Islam is true, other sects such as Shia are inaccurate. In his point of view, Shia hasn't any place in Afghanistan. (Members of the Hazara minority are Shia.)

After him, additional Taliban Mullahs emphasized the importance of the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) in the workplace such as not cutting beards and putting a turban on heads. None of them had any idea about how to succeed in reducing the ongoing poverty that paralyzes Afghanistan and its citizens. 

From their point of view, if the citizens implement Sharia accurately, God will solve all of Afghanistan's problems, and our afterlife will be good. They say all Afghan citizens need to do is pray on time, the men to not cut their beards, the women to cover all their bodies from head to toe, and everyone to be willing to become suicide bombers.

NEWS LINKS:

• At center of Fox News lawsuit, Sidney Powell and a 'wackadoodle' email (SFGate)

• DOJ Told Court to Expect a Deluge of New Jan. 6 Prosecutions (Bloomberg)

• Poland breaks with NATO allies by pledging to send fighter jets to Ukraine (CNN)

• The situation for Russian forces trying to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is "difficult", because there are no signs Kyiv is ready to order a withdrawal of its troops, the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine's Donetsk region said. (Reuters)

• Wave of Stealthy China Cyberattacks Hits U.S., Private Networks, Google Says (WSJ)

• Biden admin tells TikTok's Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the app or face a possible U.S. ban (NBC)

• UK bans TikTok on government phones over security concerns (Reuters)

• First Republic Bank in Rescue Talks With Biggest U.S. Lenders (WSJ)

• Bank Fears Go Global, Sending a Shudder Through Markets (NYT)

• Credit Suisse shares soar after central bank aid announced (AP)

• The stupidity of AI (Guardian)

• Where Americans Think AI Will Help The Most (Statista)

• ‘Basically mindblowing’ — What GPT-4 can do, according to one startup that’s had access to it (Sifted)

• The Unpredictable Abilities Emerging From Large AI Models (Quanta)

• OpenAI checked to see whether GPT-4 could take over the world (Ars Technica)

• Elon Musk fumes over OpenAI becoming ‘$30B market cap for-profit’ after his $100 million donation (Fortune)

• 10 Stocks ChatGPT Says Will Make Me Rich in 10 Years (Yahoo)

• How many centuries will it take to establish equal rights for women? (The Hill)

• Where do 'forever chemicals' in drinking water come from? (BBC)

• Biden takes heat for border measures, but illegal crossings are down (WP)

• Harvard career expert: The No. 1 ‘desirable skill’ that very few people have—especially men (CNBC)

• Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Receives Huge Boost (Newsweek)

• The Novelist Whose Inventions Went Too Far (New Yorker)

• TurboTax Threatens To Tell IRS Customer Cheated On Taxes Unless They Upgrade To Deluxe Version (The Onion)

The Other Drought

 When it came to the handful of companies that own most of the country’s remaining newspapers, the Gannett group has long been one of the largest, if not the largest in terms of circulation. Although its reputation among those of us in the news business was pretty mixed, at least it used to provide a lot of jobs in markets across the U.S.

That part — providing jobs — has changed. In his new piece, Nieman Journalism Lab Director Joshua Benton’s headline tells the tale: “The scale of local news destruction in Gannett’s markets is astonishing.”

Benton reports the following damage:

• Gannett has eliminated more than half of its newspaper jobs in the United States in the past four years.

• During the period, Gannett has shut down 171 of the 563 local newspapers it owned, roughly 30 percent of the total.

• The decline in the circulation of the Sunday editions of nine major Gannett dailies over those years is 66.8 percent. This includes papers like the Detroit Free Press, the Arizona Republic and the Indianapolis Star.

• The chain’s flagship newspaper, USA Today, has seen a daily circulation collapse of roughly 77 percent during that period.

Of course, what is going on at Gannett cities and towns is happening all over the country; it’s just that much more stark to see the numbers in aggregate. And according to Benton’s analysis, the carnage at Gannett properties is significantly worse than in the industry at large.

So you might ask, why does this matter? We all know the world of media has changed dramatically since the coming of the Internet, among other disruptive forces.

Well, Benton summarizes the answer succinctly: “When the local paper stops reporting, there’s often no one else to take its place. Everyone gets a little less informed about the world around them.”

And less-informed people tend to make poor choices, including at the ballot box. They are more likely to fall for conspiracy theories or vote for anti-democracy candidates.

As to what we can do about any of this, there are a few promising ventures out there trying to restore the viability of local news operations. One that I’m partial to is the Local News Network, headquartered in Durango, Colorado. I joined its advisory board during the pandemic.

But LNN is only active in a few towns so far and other, somewhat similar efforts have a modest reach as well.

What we need, IMHO, is a sustained effort from the ground up to rebuild local news across the nation if we are going to have any hope of alleviating the news drought afflicting our population.

And what rides on the outcome is the viability of our democracy.

LATEST LINKS:

• The scale of local news destruction in Gannett’s markets is astonishing (Nieman Labs)

• Moscow will try to retrieve U.S. drone wreckage in Black Sea after Pentagon blames Russian jet for crash (CBS)

• Federal judge in Texas hears case that could force a major abortion pill off market (NPR)

• The 72-hour scramble to save the United States from a banking crisis (WP)

• Inside the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (NYT)

• How Washington came to rescue US banks (AP)

• Renewed unease gripped world markets as news that Credit Suisse's largest investor said it could not provide the Swiss bank with more financial assistance sent its shares and broader European shares sliding once more. (Reuters)

• Silicon Valley Bank seizure leaves a massive hole — and a large opportunity — in the world of climate finance (CNBC)

• Markets shudder on fears about banking crisis, recession (AP)

• Goldman expected to make $100M from buying Silicon Valley Bank assets last week - report (Seeking Alpha)

• SVB collapse may be start of ‘slow rolling crisis’, warns BlackRock boss (Guardian)

• Bank of America won big from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse (Fortune)

• T-Mobile to buy Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile in a $1.35 billion deal (CNN)

• How Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant Lost the A.I. Race (NYT)

• 5 ways GPT-4 outsmarts ChatGPT (TechCrunch)

• Stormy Daniels meets with prosecutors investigating Trump (AP)

• Blueberries have joined green beans in this year’s Dirty Dozen list (CNN)

• Pythons, Invasive and Hungry, Are Making Their Way North in Florida INYT)

• What Conversation Can Do for Us (New Yorker)

• Milk Rushing Through Jug Handle Having The Time Of Its Life (The Onion)

Humble

Saguaro trees can live for 150-200 years and usually take 75 years before they grow their first arm. Since we often measure the longevity of our pets in “dog years” or “cat years,” it’s a bit humbling for us to realize that this silent cactus could legitimately use the phrase “human years” about our lifespans if it so wished. 

Just being in the presence of an ancient saguaro or a redwood or a giant tortoise or a whale for me is much more than humbling. It reminds me that humans are not anywhere close to the be-all and end-all of life on this planet — though come to think of it if we are not careful we may prove in the end to be the end-all.

Anyway, at this moment we apparently are at the tipping point where the artificial intelligence tools we’ve created are able to analyze images and mimic human speech so well that they are throwing into question our ability to keep up with them. (See: “GPT-4 has arrived. It will blow ChatGPT out of the water.” (WP)

I’m going to need somebody’s help with this one. ChatGPT in its current iteration was easy enough to outwit and therefore dismiss, even though I know it will get smarter over time. That’s because I figure we have time to get smarter too so we can keep pace.

But GPT-4? Has this one leapfrogged us already? I’m going to have to dig deeper on this one.

NEW LINKS:

• GPT-4 has arrived. It will blow ChatGPT out of the water. (WP)

• Russian fighter jet forces down US drone over Black Sea after intercept (CNN)

• Ukraine short of skilled troops and munitions as losses and pessimism grow (WP)

• GOP senators push back on Ron DeSantis over Ukraine (CBS)

• Joe Biden to unveil executive order to crack down on law-breaking gun sellers (Guardian)

• Google is shoving generative AI into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat and Slides (Engadget)

• Microsoft lays off team that taught employees how to make AI tools responsibly (The Verge)

• Microsoft’s A.I. ethics layoffs send a worrying signal (Fortune)

• To protect human artistry from AI, new safeguards might be essential (AP)

• Federal Reserve’s Path Is Murkier After Bank Blowup (NYT)

• Shockwaves from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank further pounded global bank stocks despite President Joe Biden's efforts to reassure markets. Emergency U.S. measures to shore up banks by giving them access to additional funding failed to dispel investor worries. (Reuters)

• SVB collapse was driven by ‘the first Twitter-fueled bank run’ (CNN)

• Three U.S. Banks Down. One More in Focus. Does It End Here? (The Street)

• SVB collapse is an indicator of a much broader set of problems, says former Bridgewater CEO (CNBC)

• Is this a banking crisis? What to know about the Silicon Valley Bank collapse (ABC)

• US Air Force is Working on a MUTANT Missile That Can Shapeshift in Mid-Air (TechBlog)

• Lockheed Hints Again At The Existence Of A Secret High Speed Jet (WarZone)

• Taiwan showcased new models of its domestically produced military drones, saying they are key to its "asymmetric warfare" capacity to make its forces more agile if they have to face a far larger Chinese military.  (Reuters)

• EPA proposes first standards to make drinking water safer from ‘forever chemicals’ (CNN)

• Uber, Lyft Score Victory as California Court Affirms Right to Treat Drivers as Contractors (WSJ)

• Y Combinator cuts nearly 20% of staff, scales back growth stage investments (TechCrunch)

• McConnell released from hospital, headed to inpatient rehab (AP)

• Trump claims violence he inspired on Jan. 6 was Pence’s fault (WP)

• Trump, whose coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021, put his vice president’s life at risk as a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, blamed Mike Pence for the violence that day because he didn’t go along with the scheme to undo now-President Joe Biden's win. [HuffPost]

• Biden reveals that he’ll deliver a eulogy for Jimmy Carter (WP)

• Mediterranean diet may reduce risk of dementia or Alzheimer's, research shows.

  A diet rich in vegetables, nuts, whole grains and fish reduced the likelihood of developing dementia by nearly one-quarter, even among people with higher genetic risk. (NBC)

• Where Restrictions on Abortion Pills Could Matter Most in the U.S. (NYT)

• Vanishing phone customer support is driving us all insane (WP)

• Congress Takes Field Trip To Goldman Sachs To Learn How Laws Get Made (The Onion)

 

The View From Here

 

(Mountains above the Valley of the Sun)

***

“Have you tried 22 tonight? I said 22. Leave it there.” — Rick, “Casablanca”

Whenever I change locations, I can feel my point of view migrating, sort of like a ball bouncing on a roulette wheel.

This week, in the warm dry Arizona air, I’m much more inclined to exhibit the attitudes of my demographic — the elderly — than that of my children or grandchildren back home. Spending time exclusively with people aged 70-95 reminds me just how much our world has changed over our lifetimes. 

And how much it’s going to change after we’re gone.

And only people our age can really understand how that feels. We’ve lived through the post-World-War-Two conversion of this country from the depression to an economic powerhouse, the coming of TV, the political movements and cultural revolution of the 60s, wave after wave of social and political change since then, the coming of computers and the Internet and numerous other disruptive technologies, space travel, DNA capture, three pandemics (polio, AIDS and Covid) and the beginnings of climate change.

And so much more.

But for our demographic, our hearts are stuck way back there somewhere in the 50s or the 60s — for romantic reasons.

A certain nostalgia is inevitable at our ages, maybe because we can measure the stages of our lives in quarter-centuries now.

We also tremble for the future and are in some ways glad we will miss it.

The bottom line is we live very much in the present. That’s the one part of it all we have in common with everybody else.

THE LINKS:

• Ukraine war: Heavy losses reported as battle for Bakhmut rages (BBC)

• Russia suffering heavy losses in Bakhmut, Zelensky says (WP)

• War in Ukraine Puts Centuries of Swiss Neutrality to the Test (NYT)

• The Russia That Might Have Been (Foreign Affairs)

• British Prime Minister Says China Presents ‘Epoch-Defining’ Challenge (WSJ)

• The Age of Infinite Misinformation Has Arrived (Atlantic)

• The Silicon Valley Bank Contagion Is Just Beginning (Wired)

• US authorities launched emergency measures to shore up confidence in the banking system after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank threatened to trigger a broader financial crisis. (Reuters)

• Bank stocks slide despite federal intervention (WP)

• Trump Grand Jury Moves Into Final Phase as Key Witnesses Testify (Daily Beast)

• Fearing indictment, Trump changes his story in hush money mess (MSNBC)

• Fox News braces for more turbulence as second defamation lawsuit advances (Guardian)

• The Supreme Court Just Keeps Deciding It Should Be Even More Powerful (Atlantic)

• ChatGPT blues: The coming generative AI gerrymandering of the American mind (The Hill)

• How to Leverage ChatGPT to Unlock New Levels of Innovation (Entrepreneur)

• Mark Zuckerberg takes on Elon Musk (Reuters)

• Meta to Lay Off 10,000 More Employees, Mark Zuckerberg Says (Variety)

• The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense (Foreign Policy)

• U.S. government agencies may have been double billed for projects in Wuhan, China, records indicate; probe launched (CBS)

• The Next Stage of COVID Is Starting Now (Atlantic)

• Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in toilet paper around the world (Guardian)

• Reversal in women's rights now a global emergency (CBS)

• Somebody Should Do Something About All The Problems (The Onion)

LYRICS:

Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night)

Song by Ronnie Milsap

Songwriters: Mike Reid / Troy Harold Seals / Fredericke Parris

Close your eyes, baby
Follow my heart
Call on the memories
Here in the dark
We'll let the magic
Take us away
Back to the feelings
We shared when they played

In the still of the night
Hold me, darlin', hold me tight, oh

So real, so right
I'm lost in the fifties tonight

These precious hours
We know can't survive
But love's all that matters
While the past is alive
Now and for always
Till time disappears
We'll hold each other
Whenever we hear

In the still of the night
Hold me, darlin', hold me tight

So real, so right
I'm lost in the fifties tonight

So right

So real, so right

So real, so right

Follow the Links

(On vacation)

STORY LINKS:

• Pence says ‘history will hold Donald Trump accountable’ for January 6 (CNN)

• Pence says Trump 'endangered my family' on Jan. 6 (AP)

• McCaul says Pence right in condemning Trump for Jan. 6 (The Hill)

• Texas officials have told residents Mexico is too dangerous to visit for spring break (NPR)

• Recent kidnappings are a wake-up call for both Mexico and the U.S. (WP)

• The Expanding Battle Over the Abortion Pill (New Yorker)

• The struggle for Taiwan (Economist)

• Biden Administration Expected to Move Ahead on a Major Oil Project in Alaska(NYT)

• US regulators bail out SVB customers, who can access all their money Monday (CNN)

• Let’s cast a critical eye over business ideas from ChatGPT (Financial Times)

• GPT-4 Might Just Be a Bloated, Pointless Mess (Atlantic)

• Software engineer David Auerbach: ‘Big tech is in denial about not being in control’ (Guardian)

• Amazon’s drone business can’t get off the ground as regulations, weak demand stymie progress (CNBC)

• French union leader vows to keep fighting Macron's pension plan (Reuters)

• How Ukraine tamed Russian missile barrages and kept the lights on (Economist)

• Chinese-Brokered Deal Upends Mideast Diplomacy and Challenges U.S. (NYT)

• Physicists Confirm 50-Year-Old Hypothesis About Selfish Behavior (SciTech Daily)

• Neuroscience Explains Why Bill Gates' Weird Reading Trick Is So Effective (Inc.)

• ‘Sesame Street’ Introduces First Enigmatic Muppet Who Has Yet To Reveal True Intentions (The Onion)