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Notes From the French COVID Underground 0
- International
- August 24, 2021
A 60-something French Intellectual Takeout reader and I began an email correspondence a few years ago. We lost touch in recent months, but when I learned of the severe COVID-19 restrictions being enforced in France, I reestablished contact to get her impressions. “I belong to the vax and health pass resistant group,” Marie wrote, “and
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The ABCs of Afghanistan 0
- International
- August 23, 2021
A is for Afghanistan. A faraway, hardcore Muslim country that remains utterly mysterious to our political, intelligence, and military elites even after two decades of intervention. Between October 2001 and August 2021 America squandered more than $2 trillion and more than 2,000 lives for no clear objective or tangible benefit. B is for the Washington Beltway. The
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Surviving Suffering in a World of Pain 0
- Culture
- August 23, 2021
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, by Ellen Vaughn (B&H Books; 320 pp., $24.99). This is the official biography of the wife of famed missionary martyr Jim Elliot, who was killed along with four other missionaries while attempting to bring the Gospel to a group of savage natives in the South American jungle during the mid-1950s. Elliot was launched
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Aftermath of an Afghanistan Debacle 0
- International
- August 20, 2021
In Afghanistan, the mission failure appears complete. The trillion-dollar project to plant Western democracy in a Muslim nation historically fabled for driving out imperial intruders has crashed and burned after 20 years, and the Taliban are suddenly back in power. After investing scores of billions in training and arming a force of 350,000 Afghani troops,
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The Wuhan Virus and Our Children 0
- Family
- August 19, 2021
In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter poses this riddle: “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” After some further conversation, the Hatter asks Alice: ‘Have you guessed the riddle yet?’… ‘No, I give it up,’ Alice replied. ‘What’s the answer?’ ‘I haven’t the slightest idea,’ said the Hatter. We’ve
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Massive Nurse Shortage Hits Houston After Unvaccinated Fired 0
- Politics
- August 18, 2021
Jennifer Bridges knew what was coming when her director at Houston Methodist hospital called her up in June to inquire about her vaccination status. Bridges, a 39-year-old registered nurse, responded “absolutely not” when asked if she was vaccinated or had made an effort to get vaccinated. She was terminated on the spot. “We all knew
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Notes From the French COVID Underground 0