SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
Afghanistan is soaking up a lot of the air in the room but you must have seen the guy get stabbed in the throat.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
Anyway,
More than 80,000 Afghans want visas to come to the United States, according to an August 16 report in the Washington Post.
Breitbart comments are various decibels of howling no.

The Breitbart people are right. We don't have the resources. That said perhaps we have a moral obligation to let them in. I would be fine with either outcome.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6771|PNW

It does feel like a bit of a moral obligation, doesn't it.

I would rather have an Afghani refugee as a neighbor than some Y'all Qaeda nutjob who screams at people on a train for wearing a mask. Even that Taliban guy in the picture from last year was wearing a mask. 80k people are what, like 0.02% of our population? If our government were doing what it should be doing to take care of people, it wouldn't even be worth a cocked eyebrow.

We should have a modern social safety net. The best in the world, even. Imagine 300 million Americans living like completely self-sustained mountain men, lol.

I think we all know the real reason the Breitbart people hate immigrants.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
When I was typing out the number 80,000 on my phone a moment ago I briefly thought about what that numbers means. A lot of my kids come from that part of the world. Sweetest children. Americanized too. One of my coworkers is a Coptic first generation immigrant who said her kids don't even like speaking Arabic and only want to play Fortnite. That made me somewhat sad that the kids are embarrassed of their ethnicity and don't want to be seen speaking Arabic.

Anyhow, that number 80,000 represents a millennia of potential experiences for Americans. Some good, some bad. An Afghan child we let in will be someone's first kiss or prom date. At least one of those people we let in will do something heroic and drag someone out of a burning home. Of course there will be another who hits someone with a car because they never got to drink alcohol in their home country. Thinking it over...yeah sure bring them in. I don't think it is likely that they would want to kill us in a terrorist attack. Nobody will go through that much trouble if their plan was to off some Americans.

How many would be your limit? 100,000? 200,000? I think we should at least do right by the people showing up at the airport that we trust. The ones we worked closely with and their families should get the red carpet for being good capos. Anyone showing up who just wants out that we didn't have a relationship with should be given a placement someplace friendly. Hopefully we can get some churches to step up and help them. The Mormons have the money. Afghan Mormons would be an interesting flavor of diversity on the Apocalypse compound.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
uziq
Member
+492|3451

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

It does feel like a bit of a moral obligation, doesn't it.

I would rather have an Afghani refugee as a neighbor than some Y'all Qaeda nutjob who screams at people on a train for wearing a mask. Even that Taliban guy in the picture from last year was wearing a mask. 80k people are what, like 0.02% of our population? If our government were doing what it should be doing to take care of people, it wouldn't even be worth a cocked eyebrow.

We should have a modern social safety net. The best in the world, even. Imagine 300 million Americans living like completely self-sustained mountain men, lol.

I think we all know the real reason the Breitbart people hate immigrants.
reminder:

Ordinary Turks believe they have gained little in return for hosting the world’s largest refugee population – nearly four million people – and paid plenty. The CHP is only too aware of this sentiment. Consensus is limited, but all parties seem to agree only that there won’t be a repeat of what happened at the height of the Syrian war. Turkey will not play EU border guard again.
this mess is just further estranging (and radicalizing) our allies. the 'good muslims'.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
It's a long hike from Afghanistan to Turkey. And the Syrian Civil War was still raging hard when the 2015 migrant wave took place. The Taliban took over the country near bloodlessly. Some people are going to get offed in the near future but the sort of indiscriminate bombing of cities that took place in Syria isn't going to take place in Afghanistan. Most likely.

Pakistan should be forced to take the brunt of refugees. The Pakistani terrorist state could do the world this one favor.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
uziq
Member
+492|3451
there are huge numbers of afghans in turkey right now and tens of thousands have turned up since the latest series of developments.

considering the state of turkey's economy, on top of it all ...

pretty amazing that the richest nation on earth complains when 80k migrants turn up from the country they just annihilated.

and yes, the british government/home office are also complicit in this disgrace. we've cut loose about 3,000 translators and helpers. the taliban are playin nice now, high (and likely in shock) at their total victory. but in the coming weeks, the revenge killings begin.

Last edited by uziq (2021-08-17 02:37:43)

SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
Turkey was always a mess. I feel like the Istanbul tourist trap gave the country a veneer of civilization. Should have supported the Greeks in '19-'22.

The people complaining on Brietbart are pig people. They live to complain and be upset. I mean who goes there to look up the latest happy news? I think even TMZ is more upbeat of a hangout. FWIW, the people on reddit by and large are supportive of doing something to help refugees. For Now. No matter how you feel later you should get partial credit for having an open heart as your first reaction. The British should take some refugees solely as punishment for Tony Blair being Bush's lapdog and dragging you people into Iraq with us. You got cucked. Same way Tony Blair cucked Rupert Morduch. Tony Blair could film a documentary series about the people he cucked. 

The rest of NATO I will mostly give a pass. The former Soviet states went along with us into Iraq and also put up a lot of resources into showing out in Afghanistan. But their political systems are weak and can't handle refugees. It would also be a bad experience for the refugees to have to live in Poland. I hooked up with a few Polish-Americans girls and am Catholic but I am pretty sure I would not have a good time in Poland. Can you imagine the experience of a poor Afghan refugee in Poland or Latvia? Yikes.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
uziq
Member
+492|3451
istanbul tourist trap? you do realize vast areas of the turkish coastline are given over to huge holiday resorts, right? most european tourists don't even go on holiday to istanbul. they go to a beach/sea resort. i don't think that ever affected people's view of turkey's 'civilization' or merit, though. greece hasn't exactly been a giant success story in recent memory, either. military dictatorships and a phoney economy ... ?

also the UK has taken roughly 30-40k afghan refugees in recent times, i think. including since the soviet invasion.

poland's current politics are rough but it's not as racist as russia or ukraine. poland has one of the largest vietnamese diasporas in the world, for instance.

Last edited by uziq (2021-08-17 03:13:18)

SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
Maybe I am judging Turkey by what I see coming out of Kurdistan. Literal war going on there. Bombings, assassination's, etc. None of that is happening in Greece. Also, all of the Turkey tourist stuff in the U.S. is marketed as seeing Istanbul, visiting Roman ruins, etc. Greek resorts are talked about as being cool things but nobody thinks of Turkish resorts as something to see. There are resorts all over the Caribbean and Latin America instead.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
uziq
Member
+492|3451
i mean, yeah, that's a huge and ongoing blight on turkey and has been since the ottomans.

but turkish resorts are huge. it's a big, big industry. same socioeconomic bracket as spanish resorts. many working- and lower-middle class europeans take their summer package holidays to turkey. germans especially, on account of the big historical interchange there.

see, for e.g., antalya.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g … tions.html

https://images.trvl-media.com/hotels/35000000/34080000/34072900/34072813/c0d6051e.jpg?impolicy=fcrop&w=1200&h=800&p=1&q=medium

https://i.hurimg.com/i/hdn/75/0x0/59c98a9045d2a027e83d9732.jpg

https://www.fodors.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/turkish-beach.jpg

i understand the above might be someone's idea of hell but, still, the usual holiday resorts are all there. it's really no different from the south of spain. tunisia, morocco and algeria used to have a burgeoning tourism sector like it, too.

Last edited by uziq (2021-08-17 03:56:46)

SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
I know the Turks aren't savages but it is still a tough sell to convince an American to vacation in Turkey. Going to fly past Spain, Italy, and Greece in order to risk getting clipped by a suicide bomber outside of the Blue Mosque?

I don't like resorts. I have only been to a handful but still really rather do the whole guided tour thing where they take you places to see. I know your country is famously the land of soggy weather but like 2/3 of the American shoreline is beaches that are always warm. The only place in Europe I really want to spend significant time in is Spain for obvious reasons. Can't speak the language though so this would be a distant goal.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
uziq
Member
+492|3451
i mean, americans' willingness to engage with the outside world beyond their borders isn't the best metric or proof of anything. you are an insular and ignorant lot. it would be hard to convince a japanese person to holiday in portugal ... doesn't mean the country is a sinkhole of civilisation. you've literally never left your own contiguous continent.

pretty hypocritical to talk about the 'dangers' of tourism in turkey. what's the murder rate or mass shooting count in the USA versus turkey? americans put themselves at more risk when they send their kids to school or visit a movie theatre. plus they think nothing about holidaying in mexico ffs. central america is a lot more dangerous than turkey.

Last edited by uziq (2021-08-17 04:28:53)

SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
After watching the lunacy of Iraq and Syria for so long my expectations are low regarding the behavior of Islamist. That said, I have been very surprised by well the Taliban is doing keeping order right now. Yes, they are going to purge people when they get a chance but the fact that they have managed to prevent their rank and file from doing anything stupid has been impressive. All it takes is one idiot to go to the airport and take potshots and all hell will break loose but there has been nothing like that so far. Meanwhile ISIS was driving truck bombs into buses of children who were being evacuated from a town that surrendered.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/B5B4/production/_95661564_96b5b91c-fede-4a02-bc12-2ef98812194c.jpg
70 kids died ^

Why am I bringing this up? It is becoming increasingly clear that our perception of our enemy was off and our government was lying to us. They are monstrous but as I said before, savages don't bloodlessly conquer 40 million people in a week. They are saying and doing all the right things in front of cameras. Yeah a lot of it is propaganda that disguises an ugly worldview but do you know how difficult it is for seemingly normal people to keep their shit together under pressure or after victory? America would be spiking the ball so hard right now if we won this victory.

It reminds me of the scene from the Wire when the detectives find out Stringer Bell wasn't some dummy gangbanger.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6771|PNW

I do think that the practice of homing refugees deserves reexamination. Whatever countries have been doing to keep them from ghettoizing isn't enough.

Why am I bringing this up? It is becoming increasingly clear that our perception of our enemy was off and our government was lying to us. They are monstrous but as I said before, savages don't bloodlessly conquer 40 million people in a week. They are saying and doing all the right things in front of cameras. Yeah a lot of it is propaganda that disguises an ugly worldview but do you know how difficult it is for seemingly normal people to keep their shit together under pressure or after victory? America would be spiking the ball so hard right now if we won this victory.
I don't think any of us should be fooling ourselves that the Taliban are out to rule "peaceably." A heavy-handed parent might be all smiles and joy when outside eyes are upon them.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
I will be frank and straight out say I don't care how they treat their own people or run their country as long as they don't make it our problem. If that seems cruel at least give me credit for not spilling crocodile tears in order to score political points. Maybe we could better protect women's rights by dropping some more bombs on weddings.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6771|PNW

The way, and how much or little, you broadcast your concern here for women, or gays, or transexuals, or whatever might as well be based on the layout of spilt chicken intestines. Your caring (or lack of) for a woman in Afghanistan seems rather meaningless when next week you could either be a crusader or a metrosexual hairstylist depending on the position of the stars.

Imagine being female in Afghanistan, growing up without the Taliban, and then suddenly they take over (again) and you have to abide by their shitty rules and/or become merchandise for their international crime ring.

Stuff like this becomes someone else's problem eventually.
twoblacklines
all grown up now (its boring)
+49|6206
Hard to win a war when you have ROE that protects civillians, and your enemy dresses like, acts like, lives with, and blends in with civillians. Then the moment the US' back is turned, they pick up their rifles and RPG's again.

My family is military and I've heard all the stories, if it wasn't for the ROE (can't even shoot first, so have to wait to be ambushed before shooting back) the war would have been won very quickly.

Maybe I'm jaded but I don't think the war was ever meant to be won, I think both Iraq and Afghanistan were just meant to be exploited for oil / lithium (where your electric car batteries come from), water (nestle) and poppies for big pharma. They've probably extracted all / most of that and now don't need to be there anymore.
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6771|PNW

Bush in July said it this all broke his heart. That 'mission accomplished' photo op really aged like fine wine.
uziq
Member
+492|3451
the idea we went to afghanistan for lithium or water, on behalf of nestle, is fucking hilarious. what shit do you read online?!

we hadn’t even surveyed or prospected afghanistan in any meaningful way prior to the invasion. it’s not like a bunch of companies were rubbing their hands at the thought of lithium and … er, water.

most lithium comes from south america or china. why haven’t we had a 20-year occupation of chile or bolivia?

Last edited by uziq (2021-08-17 06:38:17)

SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719

twoblacklines wrote:

Hard to win a war when you have ROE that protects civillians, and your enemy dresses like, acts like, lives with, and blends in with civillians. Then the moment the US' back is turned, they pick up their rifles and RPG's again.

My family is military and I've heard all the stories, if it wasn't for the ROE (can't even shoot first, so have to wait to be ambushed before shooting back) the war would have been won very quickly.

Maybe I'm jaded but I don't think the war was ever meant to be won, I think both Iraq and Afghanistan were just meant to be exploited for oil / lithium (where your electric car batteries come from), water (nestle) and poppies for big pharma. They've probably extracted all / most of that and now don't need to be there anymore.
The Soviets tried leveling the place into compliance. It didn't work. There was no military solution to the war.

Military members are some of the dumbest people around. I would sooner trust an undergrad student who read a few books on the war than I would trust someone who rode around Afghanistan in a truck for a year while developing PTSD because a goat farmer looked at them wrong and now they are scared of plastic bags on the road.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
Oh no gotta hide under my bed because of fireworks. Gotta scare my dog into having a firework phobia. Didn't think people would shoot off fireworks in July every year.

All military veterans of the war in Afghanistan should be taken to Nevada desert and decimated for losing the war.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6771|PNW

Lukewarm take, mac. Why'd you delete your followup? Let it hang in the breeze. You are a post jailer.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+635|3719
Selfie Angle — The last moments of men clinging to some parts of the C-17 yesterday

https://old.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout … inging_to/

https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
uziq
Member
+492|3451
pretty senseless considering the airport is more or less fine (for now).

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