Tag: afghanistan

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I have a deadline today, so while the weekday Pook-Emu Bee streak continues, this will be another minimalist entry in my ongoing series.

1 | Israel: Law Adopted to Preserve the Memory of the October 7, 2023, Massacre and Commemorate Heroism (Ruth Levush for Global Legal Monitor. August 26, 2026.)
A sound law.

2 | Model Owl in a Towel (Wildbase Hospital [via Owls in Towels]. August 24, 2026.)
That is a [small] statuesque owl.

3 | How a Ukrainian commander sped through the ‘kill zone’ to save wounded troops (Vitalii Hinidyi and Dan Peleschuk for Reuters [via Defense News]. August 26, 2026.)
A teacher by trade, Vladyslav Polskyi taught a lesson in courage on the battlefield.

4 | Marines at Abbey Gate awarded Bronze Star medal upgrade (Patty Neberg for Task & Purpose. August 26, 2026.)
Well-deserved.

5 | Vanity Fair Drops Writer for Winking, Smiling at Camera During Lindsay Clancy Trial (Paul Bois and Ezra Dulis for Breitbart. August 26, 2026.)
Yes, her exuberantly giggling in the court room and spreading TikTok conspiracy theories (contra Clancy’s own defense) that Clancy’s husband is the hashtag-real killer may lead one to expect that she and her fellow travelers are distasteful human beings who would have reacted much differently had the victim been a single puppy rather than three children. But remember that I noted in Pook-Emu Bee 08-24-26 that Natasha Pearlman of the New York Post assured us that Clancy is just “living proof” of the worst fears of these women. Whew!

6 | The PocketBook Q is a Linux-based alternative to Android ereaders — new Boox rival has a 5.84-inch E Ink screen and will cost $235 (James Rogerson for TechRadar. August 25, 2026.)
I’m a PocketBook fan, but while it looks intriguing… I have my Xtenik X4 that I need to use, so I will probably stick with that alongside my preexisting two PocketBooks and my Kindle Paperwhite.

7 | I turned my Android phone into a retro gaming console for free (Varun Krishan for Make Use Of. August 25, 2026.)
I have thought about interesting ways to do something to this effect and I have three spare phones to work with, but it is on a long list of “tech” things to do and write about.

8 | Can you have too many hobbies? (Laura at Inky Imaginings. August 23, 2026.) [HT Well-Apportioned Desk]
I wish I could say that my comment on link 7 was referring to too many hobbies. But at the moment I am working on a flurry of immigration law matters with a pile of stuff next to me. So not quite…

9 | Brooklyn Dems change who picks party boss in closed-door vote; chair challengers head back to court (Adam Daly for amNY. August 26, 2026.)
The Brooklyn Democratic Party machine faced an existential red socialist threat after the June primaries. The last true (now unofficial) party boss, Frank Seddio, stepped in and resolved (pending legal challenges) the situation like a true party boss. I think the machine is on its last legs, but I wouldn’t bet against Mr. Seddio ensuring that it is not deposed just yet.

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I have a rough three-day work-stretch ahead of me, but the weekday Pook-Emu Bee links streak must continue (I will however compromise on feature images today).

1. Brainless TikTok trend causes $2,000 in damage to SoCal home (Daniel Farr for the New York Post. August 26, 2026.)
States and localities should consider sentence enhancement provisions for crimes committed for social media consumption.

2. EXCLUSIVE: US Investigators Have Proof That UNRWA ‘Social Worker’ Caught on Tape Dragging an Israeli Body Into an SUV on Oct 7 Was an Active Hamas Operative (Adam Kredo for The Washington Free Beacon. August 25, 2026.)
It’s always who you least expect… except for those times when it’s the most obvious suspect.

3. $3 Specialty Coffee Is Back In Brooklyn (Ainsley Martinez for Patch Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill, NY. August 25, 2026.)
I seldom buy coffee when I’m out (firmly in the DIY coffee camp) but $3 for a cup of any size is cheap around these parts. Maybe I’ll find a reason when out with a friend to give it a try.

4. I switched from Android’s default keyboard to an open source alternative to eliminate my constant typos (Oluwaniyi Raji for Android Police. August 25, 2026.)
I also use Heliboard. It’s good. I turn autocorrect off because autocorrect is a war crime. The predictive suggestions are solid but I tend to forget about them. I need to make myself remember because typing on touchscreens is not a strong area for me.

5. Roblox applies restrictions to games featuring “reward-driven media feeds” available in Roblox Kids and Select (Sophie McEvoy for Games Industry.biz. August 26, 2026.)
The fundamental problem with Roblox is that its ostensible target demographic should not be playing social online games, period.

6. NYC’s borough-based jail boondoggle is nearly $8B over budget and years behind schedule (Matthew Fischetti for the New York Post. August 24, 2026.)
It’s already casting a long shadow.

7. NYers say Citi Bike has gotten too expensive, can a new advocate-led campaign make it cheaper? (Ethan Stark-Miller for amNY. August 18, 2026.)
Hear me out. Instead of stealing my tax money to subsidize City Bike rides for my betters who will then violate traffic laws and threaten to run me over, what if we at least banned the electric City Bikes and made everything more expensive?

8. Smithsonian affiliate AANM gets federal funds, criticized 9/11 response (Robert Schmad for Fox News. August 25, 2026.)
Score another one for team taxation is theft.

9. Taliban facing constant challenge to authority in provinces bordering Central Asian states (Eurasianet. August 25, 2026.)
Economic ties aside, I’ll note that Uzbek and Tajik police don’t take kindly to men having beards, so the Taliban would probably be well-advised (granting I don’t think they’re much into taking advice) to keep their various militants from causing cross-border problems.

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I am a bit late today because I had a rush assignment to take care of. But now that it has been taken care of, I present for your enjoyment today’s edition of Pook-Emu Bee links (note that “we” will be off until Sunday or Monday since tomorrow’s links will be packaged in The Newsletter Leaf Journal.)

1. Massive fire rages at historic NYC church rebuilt after devastating inferno 138 years ago, wild photos show (Zoe Hussain for the New York Post. April 23, 2026.)

Terrible news. I hope it ends up being salvageable. The article includes some historical notes about the church.

2. Gowanus Canal is Getting Cleaner Every Day (New York Almanack. April 15, 2026.)

Yes. But I am not so sure about…

The Canal is currently classified by DEC as a ‘Class SD’ waterway, which could to support some fishing. DEC is hooping to change that to ‘Class SC’ to force the city to rehabilitate the water enough to allow swimming and boating.

Let’s not get carried away.

3. We Don’t Need a Trial to Fight Kids’ Social Media Addiction (C. Jarrett Dieterle for City Journal. April 23, 2026.)

Last month, a jury in California returned a first-of-its-kind verdict in a case alleging that social-media companies harm children through addictive design features. The jury sided with the plaintiff, who claimed social media had caused her anxiety and depression, and ordered Meta and YouTube to pay a combined $6 million in damages.

I agree with Mr. Dieterle, not least because that lawsuit was questionable (and I say this as someone who is no fan of Meta or kids being on social media).

4. The New World Order of 2027 (Marc Liebman for RealClear Defense. April 23, 2026.)

Interesting essay but I have a feeling a good amount will happen between now and 2027.

5. 7 Marines receive award upgrades for Abbey Gate (Jeff Schogol for Task & Purpose. April 22, 2026.)

‘After reviewing the original awards and determining that several had been inappropriately downgraded, these awards have now been upgraded to levels that more accurately reflect the extreme risk these Marines knowingly accepted and the lives they saved under direct enemy fire,’ Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

6. Busy South Texas airport is planning a $180M expansion. Here’s what to know (Dina Arévalo for MYSA. April 23, 2026.)

Important question: Will it have an art car?

7. Catholic father whose home was raided at gunpoint wins 7-figure settlement from U.S. government (Kate Quiñones for EWTN News. April 14, 2026.)

A good day for religious liberty and redressing past wrongs.

8. Candy recalled in NYC, can cause allergic reactions: NYS officials (Andrew Cruz for PIX11. April 22, 2026.)

I never heard of “Mei She Plan Winter Melon Candy” so I am probably safe.

9. DOJ Reclassifies Marijuana, Building on President Trump’s Earlier E.O. (Sean Moran for Breitbart. April 23, 2026.)

Is it possible for a policy change to smell? I never asked myself that question before. But now I must answer in the affirmative. Rescheduling marijuana reeks.

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I have some pressing work-work to attend to today, but I will not let that stop me from publishing my daily Pook-Emu Bee links last week. If you enjoy the (almost) daily links and commentary, you can also follow via feed.

Links from around the web

1. Pakistan air strike kills at least 100 at Kabul drug rehab centre (Yama Bariz and Simon Fraser for BBC. March 17, 2026.)

I see that BBC is trying to turn Pakistan into the “Israel” of the Muslim world but I don’t think the usual pro-Hamas suspects in the West are going to work themselves up for the Taliban. Of course, the Pakistani military’s problem is more whether the Taliban’s Hamas-PR strategy works with Pakistanis in Pakistan.

2. Horrific stomach bug that wipes out cruise ships rips across California (James Gant for the New York Post. March 16, 2026.)

You will never find me on a cruise.

3. Favorite bakeries in our neighborhoods in Brooklyn (Brooklyn Bridge Parents. February 26, 2026.)

Based on the neighborhoods I am thoroughly familiar with in this article… I think they more or less covered every bakery.

4. Revisiting The Barkley Rockets: Was He Worth It? (Harlan Schreiber for Hoops Analyst. September 8, 2023.)

The Rockets came two games short of the NBA Finals in the first of four Barkley seasons. Because it is less than clear that not trading for Mr. Barkley would have allowed the Rockets to make one final championship run in the Olajuwon era, we cannot be too hard on the trade.

5. “The Single Best Game Concept Ever” – Pokémon-Inspired Devs Talk The Series That Started It All (Jim Norman for Nintendo Life. March 2, 2026.)

Poké-clones would be more interested if they focused on what the original Pokémon games tried to capture than the specific mechanics.

6. LibreOffice blasts ‘fake open source’ OnlyOffice for working with Microsoft to lock users in (David Uzondu for Neowin. February 20, 2026.)

I like and use LibreOffice, but I do not like this line of attack. It runs afoul of the principles I articulated in my 2022 essay about gaming on Linux. While I too prefer “open formats,” some people looking for Word alternatives may want, for fair reasons, an alternative that prefers .docx. There is room for more than one option out there.

Clicking “Random Article” on NLJ

7. Zero Gravity Foreshadowing in Super Mario Sunshine (Nicholas A. Ferrell at The New Leaf Journal. September 19, 2022.)

I read a contemporaneous interview with Shigeru Miyamoto about Super Mario Sunshine. His use of the phrase (translated as, of course) “zero-gravity platformer” made me wonder whether he was already thinking about/working on the concept for the future Super Mario Galaxy.

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Replied to I Have Information That Could Lead to the Arrest of Sirajuddin Haqqani by Nicholas A. Ferrell (thenewleafjournal.com)
Using open source intelligence tools (basic web search), I reported that I had information regarding the whereabouts of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who was wanted by the FBI.

Back in 2021, I briefly moonlit as an OSNIT analyst and used The New Leaf Journal to inform the United States Government that I had information regarding the whereabouts of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who had a bounty of up to $10 million on his head. By “OSNIT,” I mean I shared a news report about Mr. Haqqani being appointed as the new Interior Minister of Afghanistan. Several years have passed. Mr. Haqqani continues to be the Interior Minister of Afghanistan. I have yet to receive an award. Thus, I read with some concern this morning that Mr. Haqqani is no longer subject to a bounty by the U.S. government. What is my concern? I still haven’t received by award! No take-backs!