Fall of Afghanistan - What does shipping cost if I'm a Blackwater Prime subscriber?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Fall of Afghanistan - What does shipping cost if I'm a Blackwater Prime subscriber?

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Ron Paul Atreides: Apr 19, 2012; Uyghurs situation in Xinjiang? Just a police action, do not fret. Not ongoing genocide like in EVIL Canada.

I am definitely not a tankie.

Biden statement should have started no?

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:03

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 12:36

Eric Cantonese: Dec 21, 2004; You should hear my accent.

Ron Paul Atreides posted:

Biden statement should have started no?

He's talking now.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:04

Thom12255: Feb 23, 2013; WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MONEY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffMGzawyHFA

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:04

Kalit: Nov 6, 2006; The great thing about the thousands of slaughtered Palestinian children is that they can't pull away when you fondle them or sniff their hair.

That's a Biden success story.

nelson posted:

Good news is Taliban are apparently more interested in governing than killing for no reason. Bad news is they get really upset if you don�t show up for work. On the whole though, I see it as far better than indiscriminate slaughter.

From the NY Times:
A Week Into Taliban Rule, One City�s Glimpse of What the Future May Hold

Eh....we'll see what happens, but it's not off to a great start*: https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-13304940ec709865ca52aae2d832b963

quote:

The Taliban have issued statements aimed at reassuring Afghans. They say there will be no revenge attacks on those who worked for the government or its security services, and that �life, property and honor� will be respected. They are urging Afghans to remain in the country and have pledged to create a �secure environment� for businesses, embassies, and foreign and local charities.

But some of their actions send a different message.

Last month, after capturing the Malistan district of the southern Ghazni province, Taliban fighters went door to door looking for people who had worked with the government, killing at least 27 civilians, wounding 10 others and looting homes, according to the semi-official Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

After capturing Herat, Taliban fighters paraded two alleged thieves through the streets with black makeup on their faces. That�s considered a warning, while repeat offenders risk having a hand cut off. The Taliban have also been known to stone suspected adulterers and carry out public executions in accordance with their harsh version of Islamic law.

*E: To clarify, I don't think there's any chance that the Taliban isn't interested in a less oppressive governance than they previously were. I was just trying to not be harsh in my statement to the poster I was replying to.

Kalit fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Aug 16, 2021

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:05

BetterToRuleInHell: Jul 2, 2007; Touch my mask top
Get the chop chop

Why are people still taking the Talban's words at face value?

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:06

MrMidnight: Aug 3, 2006

This happened more quickly than we thought.

Oh poo poo, ya think Joe?

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:07

LanceHunter: Nov 12, 2016; Beautiful People Club

Biden turning the "fighting season" talking point around in his speech. Pointing out that the quick collapse is more proof that pulling out now was necessary.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:08

BetterToRuleInHell: Jul 2, 2007; Touch my mask top
Get the chop chop

MrMidnight posted:

This happened more quickly than we thought.

Oh poo poo, ya think Joe?

How is it a dead forum saw this poo poo coming a mile away and his goddamn administration didn't, jesus christ.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:09

MrMidnight: Aug 3, 2006

He's basically shrugging his shoulders and said "welp we tried"

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:10

Staluigi: Jun 22, 2021

watch biden get halfway through this then have to evacuate because the taliban suddenly controls everything outside the presser

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:10

Eric Cantonese: Dec 21, 2004; You should hear my accent.

BetterToRuleInHell posted:

How is it a dead forum saw this poo poo coming a mile away and his goddamn administration didn't, jesus christ.

This forum isn't filled with rich, lying elites and contractors and think-tankers on six figure salaries with a monetary incentive to deny reality..

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:11

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

BetterToRuleInHell posted:

Why are people still taking the Talban's words at face value?

They're not Amerikkka

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:11

QuoProQuid: Jan 12, 2012; Tr*ckin' and F*ckin' all the way to tha
T O P

i remain extremely annoyed at the blame shifting on the afghan people for "not having the will to fight" when the armed forces had not been paid in months and many soldiers were subsisting on rotten potatoes because of failures to address corruption and the malicious activity of a predatory government installed by the us

BetterToRuleInHell posted:

Why are people still taking the Talban's words at face value?

america bad

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:13

Ron Paul Atreides: Apr 19, 2012; Uyghurs situation in Xinjiang? Just a police action, do not fret. Not ongoing genocide like in EVIL Canada.

I am definitely not a tankie.

BetterToRuleInHell posted:

Why are people still taking the Talban's words at face value?

Because the world is filled with cameras and so far they haven't been lying. no doubt they will apply law and rule in ways we don't agree with but there is no sign of ethnic or sectarian cleansing.

Given the possibilities that were available, this is a much better scenario than was expected by a lot of people

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:14

Jiro: Jan 13, 2004

I'm always going to wonder who thought it was the best idea to just vanish into the loving night without so much as a word, it's almost as if they knew this poo poo was going to go bad and just left everything that wasn't nailed down behind.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:16

Typo: Aug 19, 2009; Chernigov Military Aviation Lyceum
The Fighting Slowpokes

Kalit posted:

Eh....we'll see what happens, but it's not off to a great start: https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-13304940ec709865ca52aae2d832b963

I'm sure those are a few bad apples outside of official taliban control and do not reflect on the Taliban forces as a whole

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:17

How are u: May 19, 2005; by Azathoth

Ron Paul Atreides posted:

no doubt they will apply law and rule in ways we don't agree with

That's a hell of turn of phrase to minimize how the Taliban treats women and girls. Good grief.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:18

QuoProQuid: Jan 12, 2012; Tr*ckin' and F*ckin' all the way to tha
T O P

in hindsight, maybe it was a bad idea to entrust the fate of a country embroiled in civil war to a world bank anthropologist obsessed with spreedsheets who saw the presidency of afghanistan as his sabbatical

e: i can't tell if people are unironically defending the taliban but the possibility is deeply grim

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:20

Jiro: Jan 13, 2004

QuoProQuid posted:

in hindsight, maybe it was a bad idea to entrust the fate of a country embroiled in civil war to a world bank anthropologist obsessed with spreedsheets who saw the presidency of afghanistan as his sabbatical

He was sadly miles better than Karzai.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:21

OctaMurk: Jun 21, 2013

Jiro posted:

He was sadly miles better than Karzai.

Was he though? How so? Dude tried to flee with 4 cars full of money so he sure wasn't any less corrupt

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:23

Boat Stuck: Apr 20, 2021; I tried to sneak through the canal, man! Can't make it, can't make it, the ship's stuck! Outta my way son! BOAT STUCK! BOAT STUCK!

Eric Cantonese posted:

There are a lot of KMT in 1949 parallels with the Afghan government here too. Lots of forced conscription to beef up soldier numbers that turned out to lead to an army with no fighting willpower. Lots of corruption where US weapons ended up in CCP hands or various soldiers while leaders hoarded goods and enriched themselves. The CCP just flowing freely through the rural areas and cutting off the KMT-controlled cities. Chiang Kai-Shek's incompetence completely surprising everyone due to his rather unearned prestige on the international scene.

You could draw historical parallels to all sorts of downfalls though. I just thought the 1949 parallel hasn't been fully explored yet.

However there was no Afghan equivalent of Soong Mei-ling to lobby Congress _{and allegedly cheat on Chiang with US officials} for more funding

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:24

AndyElusive: Jan 7, 2007

Talifornia (Knows How To Party)

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:24

Eric Cantonese: Dec 21, 2004; You should hear my accent.

Boat Stuck posted:

However there was no Afghan equivalent of Soong Mei-ling to lobby Congress _{and allegedly cheat on Chiang with US officials} for more funding

That handsome devil Hamid Karzai?!?!

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-01-31-0201310025-story.html

quote:

The pictures coming out of Afghanistan have been so heartbreakingly dreary that when that country's interim leader, Hamid Karzai, resplendent in robes of many colors, stepped onto the international stage recently more than a few folks took notice.

Even certified fashion guru Tom Ford, the creative force at Gucci, was impressed and anointed Karzai, "The chicest man on the planet today."

One London paper dubbed Karzai, "The most unlikely style icon since . . . Mahatma Gandhi."

In a diplomatic scene so often dominated by triple-buttoned and double-breasted grays and blues, Karzai, 44, has earned his stripes as one snappy dresser. He wears neatly tailored sport coats atop the banded-collar tunic-plus-trousers combo called piran-tunban. Enriching the look is a chapan, a multihued robe of lush fabric. His choice in hats, a topper made of wool from the qaraqul lamb, complements his well-groomed salt-and-pepper beard and mustache.

Glenn O'Brien, author of The Style Guy column for Gentlemen's Quarterly, was in Milan for the menswear shows when Ford made his Karzai pronouncement.

"I do think he has a real sense of style," says O'Brien, who figures the "chic" label has as much to do with the clothing as it does "the way he puts it together."

"It's done attractively. It's more a Brad Pitt than a Taliban. There's a little beard and a moustache, but it's well taken care of," says O'Brien.

But there may be more than meets the eye in Karzai's choice of clothing.

Naj Muddin Nasafi, who was born in Afghanistan and has lived and worked in the Chicago area for 20 years, finds special importance in Karzai's choice of clothing for his worldwide travels. Elements of his look have been drawn from different areas of Afghanistan, Nasafi says, so "everyone would feel they have a part in the new start."

The hat is made from the wool of qaraqul sheep from the Astrakhan region. "This was very much the fashion of the times during the 1970s and the late '60s," says Nasafi, an engineer who has participated in anthropological conferences at universities here. "This one [hat] is a flat one. It can get folded and get easily put it in the pocket."

While the piran-tunban -- the collarless tunic and loose pants -- is common throughout the region, the robe's (chapan) stylings draw its influence from the Uzbek cultures of northern Afghanistan.

"In the old times, it was [worn for] prestige," says Nasafi. Today, he says, visiting dignitaries are often given one as an honor.

The next question is whether Karzai's style will show up on the streets of New York, or perhaps Naperville.

"I think that it's not inconceivable that there would be some kind of fashion influence from that part of the world," says O'Brien. "One thing I liked about [Karzai] is his head gear. I think that could have an influence. Americans have been off of hats since John F. Kennedy. He kind of ended men's hats. Here we have a president that wears hats and he looks good in them."

Some, though, dismiss this fashion talk.

"He's a very nice looking man. He's well-groomed. He's very neat. But I don't see [that] as a great fashion statement," says Jimmy Newcomer, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. "I can't imagine that anybody, in menswear or women's wear, are going to be interested in that look right now."

Nor does Bob Conner, the manager of Irv's MensClothing on Orleans Street, expect his clientele to be interested in donning such clothes.

"We've had the shirt look [Karzai] was wearing this morning on television, which was the banded collar. That was here and gone," Conner says. "I don't see it coming back in the near future."

EDIT: I hadn't heard of those rumors regarding Madam Chiang using bedroom skills to help the KMT out. My family will get a kick out of that.

Eric Cantonese fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Aug 16, 2021

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:26

buglord: Jul 31, 2010; Cheating at a raffle? I sentence you to 1 year in jail! No! Two years! Three! Four! Five years! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!; Buglord

link doesnt seem to work my dude

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:29

Eric Cantonese: Dec 21, 2004; You should hear my accent.

buglord posted:

link doesnt seem to work my dude

Are you talking to me? I don't know what to do about the link, but I added a quote from a Chicago Tribune puff piece on Hamid Karzai as a fashion icon.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:31

QuoProQuid: Jan 12, 2012; Tr*ckin' and F*ckin' all the way to tha
T O P

OctaMurk posted:

Was he though? How so? Dude tried to flee with 4 cars full of money so he sure wasn't any less corrupt

the cia had to repeatedly deliver big suitcases full of cash to karzai to make sure he kept meeting with us officials. he would repeatedly threaten to join the taliban if he didn't get his way

he was also broadly apathetic to elections and facilitated massive, systemic fraud.

QuoProQuid fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Aug 16, 2021

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:32

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

https://twitter.com/MarcusReports/status/1427363089834512384?s=20

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:39

LostRook: Jun 7, 2013

Biden's speech can pretty much be distilled to : Afghanistan got what it deserves.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:50

Thom12255: Feb 23, 2013; WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MONEY

https://twitter.com/PodSaveAmerica/status/1427371911391023112

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:51

Main Paineframe: Oct 27, 2010

American public opinion hasn't seriously cared about what happens to civilians in Afghanistan or the Middle East for the last twenty years, I severely doubt they're suddenly going to start caring now. Especially considering how hosed US politics are these days. People who already hate Trump and people who already hate Biden will probably spend some time playing the blame game with each other, but that's a petty sideshow that won't really change any minds and won't lead to any meaningful policy change.

BetterToRuleInHell posted:

Why are people still taking the Talban's words at face value?

Honestly, the reality is probably gonna be ~somewhere in the middle~. The Taliban probably can't seriously torture or kill everyone who collaborated with the US or with the US-backed government over the last two decades. But until local peace and order is restored under a new Taliban administration, there's gonna be plenty of roving militants who can pretty much kill anyone they want, and there's room for all kinds of official oppression going forward once the Taliban has control of the levers of government.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:54

QuoProQuid: Jan 12, 2012; Tr*ckin' and F*ckin' all the way to tha
T O P

Thom12255 posted:

https://twitter.com/PodSaveAmerica/status/1427371911391023112

if this tweet thread from the (former) governor of afghanistan's central bank is to be believed, the afghan government was in denial as late as friday evening:

https://twitter.com/aahmady/status/1427265049668636674

also, the us government was sending signals that it didn't anticipate a collapse throughout saturday. biden here seems kind of revisionist?

QuoProQuid fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Aug 16, 2021

# ? Aug 16, 2021 21:55

Thom12255: Feb 23, 2013; WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MONEY

https://twitter.com/RepMeijer/status/1427374353654616071

https://twitter.com/borlebeke/status/1427373675842621443

Thom12255 fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Aug 16, 2021

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:00

generic one: Oct 2, 2004; I wish I was a little bit taller
I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a wookie in a hat with a bat
And a six four Impala; Nap Ghost

CommieGIR posted:

https://twitter.com/MarcusReports/status/1427363089834512384?s=20

So� how many of these do we need to get all the interpreters, allies, etc. out? 100?

Good on that flight crew.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:04

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

SEE BELOW: This was mistranslated and is misleading

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1427332973897166849?s=20

CommieGIR fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Aug 16, 2021

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:05

Zero_Grade: Mar 18, 2004; Darktider 🖤🌊

~Neck Angels~

Eric Cantonese posted:

That handsome devil Hamid Karzai?!?!

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-01-31-0201310025-story.html

EDIT: I hadn't heard of those rumors regarding Madam Chiang using bedroom skills to help the KMT out. My family will get a kick out of that.

I mean, the article was correct that it was unlikely to catch on (and obviously didn't), but it is a pretty sweet look. :v:

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:06

Thom12255: Feb 23, 2013; WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MONEY

An Afgan woman journalist is at the Pentagon briefing crying and demanding to know where Ghani is hiding.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:08

QuoProQuid: Jan 12, 2012; Tr*ckin' and F*ckin' all the way to tha
T O P

CommieGIR posted:

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1427332973897166849?s=20

this is a translation issue. macron called for evacuating and protecting afghan refugees who have worked with france and then briefly mentioned an EU migration program

https://twitter.com/anjalikdayal/status/1427339115968749571

https://twitter.com/benjaminhaddad/status/1427338965644980226

https://twitter.com/benjaminhaddad/status/1427332037837529094

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:08

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

QuoProQuid posted:

this is a translation issue. macron called for evacuating and protecting afghan refugees who have worked with france and then briefly mentioned an EU migration program

https://twitter.com/anjalikdayal/status/1427339115968749571

https://twitter.com/benjaminhaddad/status/1427338965644980226

https://twitter.com/benjaminhaddad/status/1427332037837529094

Thanks for this!

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:11

Vorik: Mar 27, 2014

QuoProQuid posted:

if this tweet thread from the (former) governor of afghanistan's central bank is to be believed, the afghan government was in denial as late as friday evening:

https://twitter.com/aahmady/status/1427265049668636674

Thanks for the link. Nothing surprising here but it's good to hear directly from a government official. It was pretty obvious that this was much closer to a coup than any actual revolution. Sounds like the Taliban paid off/made deals with top military officials which is why every major city opened its gates and basically let them walk right in. There was never any Afghan state. This was basically a gigantic enrichment operation for the MIC and the top 0.01% in Afghanistan. These dudes siphoned money out of congress for two decades and then dipped to other countries with their wealth lol. A house of cards.

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:16

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 12:36

QuoProQuid: Jan 12, 2012; Tr*ckin' and F*ckin' all the way to tha
T O P

Vorik posted:

Sounds like the Taliban paid off/made deals with top military officials which is why every major city opened its gates and basically let them walk right in. There was never any Afghan state. This was basically a gigantic enrichment operation for the MIC and the top 0.01% in Afghanistan. These dudes siphoned money out of congress for two decades and then dipped to other countries with their wealth lol. A house of cards.

overt bribery helped but so did afghan forces not being paid in months, police and soldiers being forced to subsist on slimy potatoes, forces being scattered way too thin across the country to reasonably defend anything, and a general collapse in morale following the realization that ghani had fled in the middle of the night without telling anyone in his government

QuoProQuid fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Aug 16, 2021

# ? Aug 16, 2021 22:22

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Fall of Afghanistan - What does shipping cost if I'm a Blackwater Prime subscriber?

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