Afghanistan Falls

[Stora]

So sad

Sheffield hotel fall: Boy who died was Afghan refugee

A five-year-old boy who fell to his death from a Sheffield hotel window was an Afghan refugee, police have said.
Emergency services were called to the OYO Metropolitan Hotel in Blonk Street, Sheffield, at about 14:30 BST on Wednesday.
It is reported that the child fell from a ninth-floor room where he was staying with his mother.
A fellow Afghan staying in the hotel said the boy's family only arrived in the UK 15 days ago.

Sheffield hotel fall: Boy who died was Afghan refugee

 

[Free]

Oh, it's already started. I saw it yesterday.

The tweet/report are from yesterday...

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

I'll grant them this much, they know the west loves soundbites and hates nuance, so they make a statement they know will be truncated to something that 'sounds good' but the full statement was blatantly ominous in the degree to which is suggested the -exact- opposite.


(bolding mine)

I've read elsewhere that 'study' means 'religious studies only', not other general academic areas. Which probably means it's going to end up like a special 'extra hour a day of being lectured about prayer' and re-affirming the regressively limited roles and obligations of women in Islam.

And 'work'? Sure, in the home, maybe in sweatshops, possibly retail in places that -only- serve women. Supervisory/management position in a place where men work? Absolutely not. Some place working along side men, or serving male customers, certainly not. In the probably unlikely cases where there is actual compensation, I'm sure we can presume it absolutely will not even come close to approximating a living wage, and be paid only to her father or husband.

So yeah, they say "respect women's rights" and I hear "to be treated as a subservient lessor species, and still at risk of being put down if a man feels like it, so long as he does so in accordance with Islamic Law"

I'm aware of the full quote, and this is consistent with what I meant. They think women have the SACRED right to be what Islam (in their view) intends for them to be... no more, no less.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

I'm aware of the full quote, and this is consistent with what I meant. They think women have the SACRED right to be what Islam (in their view) intends for them to be... no more, no less.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that I thought you didn't ...

I just grind my teeth every time I see the "promises to respect women's rights" partial quote.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Radio Free Europe, an US backed network, has an interesting exclusive story: they NATO is convinced that the Taliban is close before becoming or already is financially independent and founds ways to be immune against financial pressure from the West.

A confidential NATO report states this:
The Taliban “has achieved, or is close to achieving, financial and military independence,” a scenario that could allow the Sunni extremist group to renege on key commitments it has made under a U.S.-brokered peace plan aimed at ending the 19-year war, the report warns.

“That financial independence enables the Afghan Taliban to self-fund its insurgency without the need for support from governments or citizens of other countries,” says the report, based on interviews with senior Taliban operatives, Afghan officials, and foreign experts.

“It also, arguably, provides insurance for the Taliban’s continued relationship with other listed terrorist groups, including [Al-Qaeda].”

The Taliban has expanded its financial power in recent years through increased profits from the illicit drug trade, illegal mining, and exports, the report says, estimating that the group earned a staggering $1.6 billion in its last financial year (ending in March 2020).

“Unless global action is taken, the Taliban will remain a hugely wealthy organization, with a self-sustaining funding stream and outside support from regional countries,” it warns.

Exclusive: Taliban's Expanding 'Financial Power' Could Make It 'Impervious' To Pressure, Confidential Report Warns

The Taliban is “close to achieving financial and military independence,” a scenario that could make the militant group resistant to compromise in peace talks aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan, according to a confidential report seen by RFE/RL.

www.rferl.org

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

estimating that the group earned a staggering $1.6 billion in its last financial year (ending in March 2020).

We invested $2 trillion on the effort.... right? They'll be liquidating stuff we brought over there for years.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

‘It’s shameful’: largest British army garrison in despair over Afghanistan

At Catterick Garrison, soldiers and veterans express dismay over response to Taliban takeover

www.theguardian.com

Evernote link

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

High resolution satellite images of Kabul Airport.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Twitter ‘Frog’ Account Successfully Negotiates With Taliban To Secure Safety Of Spanish Diplomats After Government Fails

A Spanish Twitter account with an Apu Apustaja frog avatar has successfully negotiated with the Taliban for fair and humane treatment of Spanish citizens

newsfinale.com

 

[Fionalein]

We invested $2 trillion on the effort.... right? They'll be liquidating stuff we brought over there for years.

Not the German beer though ...

 

[Cindy Claveau]

Republican who wants Biden to 'reverse course' in Afghanistan made millions from defense contracting company: report Sky Palma

Florida GOP Rep. Michael Waltz has in recent weeks called on President Joe Biden to "reverse course" in Afghanistan and relaunch military operations. But according to a report from The Intercept's Lee Fang, Waltz could potentially financially benefit from a prolonged war in Afghanistan.


"Before his successful run for Congress in 2018, he managed a lucrative defense contracting firm with offices in Afghanistan," Fang writes. "The company was recently sold to Pacific Architects and Engineers, or PAE, one of the largest war contractors the U.S. has hired to train and mentor Afghan security forces. The deal personally enriched Waltz by up to $25 million, a figure made public by a filing disclosed this month."

 

[Romana]

Republican who wants Biden to 'reverse course' in Afghanistan made millions from defense contracting company: report Sky Palma

Shocked, I tell ya. Shocked.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Republican who wants Biden to 'reverse course' in Afghanistan made millions from defense contracting company: report Sky Palma

Alt title: Douchebag makes money off the dead bodies of brown people wants more dead brown bodies for money

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Afghanistan reports of torture and killing contradict Taliban’s promises

Fighters tortured Hazara men to death, say witnesses, and relative of journalist killed

www.theguardian.com

Evernote link

 

[Mona Eberhardt]

How the World Erased the Women of Afghanistan

Think Nothing Was Accomplished in Afghanistan? Think Again, and This Time, Check Your Misogyny

eand.co

 

[Ellie]

A photographer gives an inside look at the fall of Kabul, her longtime home

Heart breaking photo essay and story.

Now that hubbie's gone, I won't hear any of the panicked late night calls from scholar colleagues we got when the former Yugoslavia crisis was happening. Or have to console him when they no longer reply and just vanish.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Afghanistan reports of torture and killing contradict Taliban’s promises

Fighters tortured Hazara men to death, say witnesses, and relative of journalist killed

www.theguardian.com

Evernote link

I get that the guy is really upset, but I just don't understand what his solution would've been.

The benefits to women while the US was there and active were substantial, but it's also rather blatantly obvious that they were changes forced a country that didn't want them and which is not even the least interested in maintaining and protecting them once the foreign power enforcing them is gone; so the only option is, what, to have the US permanently at war in Afghanistan, forever and ever, regardless of the human cost?

The Taliban is a terrorist organization, and the people who dislike them are so afraid of them that they don't want to be in the country anymore if they're in charge; but all indications are at this point that that's a minority of people and the majority of the country's population is either sympathetic to or indifferent to the Taliban. In 20 years, a lot of women got to be doctors and lawyers, and yet nobody interested in government in the whole country seems to have been convinced that's a greater good that's worth fighting and possibly dying for.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

*drops this in here*

 

[Free]

That's one good thing they've done...in a while.

Facebook hides friends lists on accounts in Afghanistan as a safety measure

The changes were based on feedback from journalists, activist groups

www.theverge.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

also rather blatantly obvious that they were changes forced a country that didn't want them and which is not even the least interested in maintaining and protecting them once the foreign power enforcing them is gone;

Hmm.

Certainly men in a lot of different Afghan militias -- the sort of outfits members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers and Amon Bundy and his friends and members of the Second Amendment Free Baptist Church of Christ the White Supremacist dream about belonging to -- didn't want the changes, but I'm not sure they're synonymous with "the country ."

Clearly a lot of women must welcomed these changes, and so too, in many cases, must have their families and (in many areas) village, clan and tribal leaders, or there wouldn't now be so many women who have, during last 20 years, enjoyed the benefits of an education and career, and find themselves forced to flee the country or go into hiding, burning all their degrees and diplomas.