RANT CORNER

[ShaunWhite]

That 100k House program in the afternoons, what a load of complete horseshit.

"You can make a beautiful plywood interior and it's only £13 a sheet" He said pointing at flawless maple ply.... err last ply I bought, cheapest crappy shuttering plywood, £54 a sheet.

"And of course we saved £1000 by buying insulation in bulk".....Mmmmm that's sort of what you do when you build a house, you're not buying them 1 by 1 from Amazon ffs.

The list would be endless, and building a house with an interior less well finished than my shed might be "oh so authentic" for the Sunday Supplement crowd but jeez people, plasterboard is £8 a sheet so get a grip. If nothing else they're just building an unlit bonfire to live in with all that exposed studwork.

Oh well first world problems. Having bbq tomorrow with some delicious llama steaks. Supposed to be local but the sticker says it's from Afgansitan.

[firlandsfarm]

That 100k House program in the afternoons, what a load of complete horseshit ................... If nothing else they're just building an unlit bonfire to live in with all that exposed studwork.

I take it you are not impressed Shaun!

[Derek27]

It's hard to understand how they could leave a slot to evacuate animals while people outside are going to be left behind and also exposed to suicide bombers.

Well it turned out to be "a slot to evacuate animals while people outside are going to be left behind" because those in charge didn't put those people in the empty seats! That's not Pen's fault nor the animals'.

The issue wasn't lack of seats but processing the paperwork and checking each evacuee was entitled and not a security risk.

By the way, those C17 Globemasters that usually transfer military equipment that were being packed with people, does it have a toilet? With so many children on board I hope it did!

[bennyboy351]

I hope you won't 'flame' me for jumping in on this thread? But - IMHO - the whole withdrawl from Afghanistan has been a 'joke!' But not, of course, for the poor sods on the ground who are affected by it!

Given that the USA and its allies have been 'in country' for some 20 years, the idea that "Suddenly" the Taliban has grown much more powerful - and able to take over the country - just doesn't hold sway with me!

IF - and it IS a BIG 'if' we in the developed West had really intended to ensure the safety of all our allies in country, then we wouldn't have pulled out as we have!

The ONLY way that the Taliban could have gone from almost defeated to 'Kings of the Castle', is if the politicians had betrayed the poor sods for their own ends. I believe that there has been a lot of behind the scenes scullduggery! After all, are not most politicians self-serving professional liers and cheats?

I firmly believe that the Pen Farthing 'issue' has been brought to the fore, in order to try to deflect the common man's grasp of what has actually gone on!

RIP to all those who have lost their lives - and to all those will now do so as the Taliban exert their medievil rules and regulations...

[bennyboy351]

I notice Biden is now wanting to blame the UK for the loss of life with the explosion and claiming the shambles was all Trump's fault. The withdrawal was not organised, they should have held their defensive positions until they were on top of the problem. They claim the speed of the Taliban takeover could not have been predicted, in war (and project management) you plan for the unexpected.
[/quote]

I thought Donald Trump was bad enough for the 'free world' but this clown Biden is even more unstable! It is scary that The USA insists on electing all these 'old-farts' and giving them so much power...

[Derek27]

Bleach shelf empty again, I wish I bought a few bottles.

[The Silk Run]

Aside from all the terrible pain and suffering it's very interesting how the west have modelled this disaster as a "withdrawal", not even a tactical one at that. It was in fact a retreat and a weakness of the US Government.
I also think the US & it's allies have now created the worlds biggest drug cartels, the Taliban Mujahideen.

[Derek27]

What really bugs me is that both, US and UK politicians are now saying they pulled out expecting the Afghan forces to hold on "for longer" or "till the end of the year". If I was the Afghan General in command of the army believing we could hold on until the end of the year, which basically means you'll be slaughtered this year, I'd just say fuck it, let's get the hell out of here now!

[Derek27]

I bought a French stick from ASDA yesterday. I didn't have time to inspect it for softness but it's like a flipping baseball bat, you need woodwork tools to make a sandwich!

[firlandsfarm]

I bought a French stick from ASDA yesterday. I didn't have time to inspect it for softness but it's like a flipping baseball bat, you need woodwork tools to make a sandwich!

Any good as a loo brush maybe?

[firlandsfarm]

What really bugs me is that both, US and UK politicians are now saying they pulled out expecting the Afghan forces to hold on "for longer" or "till the end of the year". If I was the Afghan General in command of the army believing we could hold on until the end of the year, which basically means you'll be slaughtered this year, I'd just say fuck it, let's get the hell out of here now!

Agreed

[firlandsfarm]

I hope you won't 'flame' me for jumping in on this thread? But - IMHO - the whole withdrawl from Afghanistan has been a 'joke!' But not, of course, for the poor sods on the ground who are affected by it!

Given that the USA and its allies have been 'in country' for some 20 years, the idea that "Suddenly" the Taliban has grown much more powerful - and able to take over the country - just doesn't hold sway with me!

IF - and it IS a BIG 'if' we in the developed West had really intended to ensure the safety of all our allies in country, then we wouldn't have pulled out as we have!

The ONLY way that the Taliban could have gone from almost defeated to 'Kings of the Castle', is if the politicians had betrayed the poor sods for their own ends. I believe that there has been a lot of behind the scenes scullduggery! After all, are not most politicians self-serving professional liers and cheats?

I firmly believe that the Pen Farthing 'issue' has been brought to the fore, in order to try to deflect the common man's grasp of what has actually gone on!

RIP to all those who have lost their lives - and to all those will now do so as the Taliban exert their medievil rules and regulations...

You are probably spot on there Bennyboy and the media attention criticising Pen Farthing was a further distraction but this whole problem was caused by the US retreat and their refusal to delay. We and the other allies could not have remain without the USA, Biden is to blame.

[Derek27]

You are probably spot on there Bennyboy and the media attention criticising Pen Farthing was a further distraction but this whole problem was caused by the US retreat and their refusal to delay. We and the other allies could not have remain without the USA, Biden is to blame.

Biden didn't have a choice about delaying, it was up to the Taliban. The US and already pulled out most of the troops and equipment and could no longer fight the Taliban.

[greenmark]

You are probably spot on there Bennyboy and the media attention criticising Pen Farthing was a further distraction but this whole problem was caused by the US retreat and their refusal to delay. We and the other allies could not have remain without the USA, Biden is to blame.

Biden didn't have a choice about delaying, it was up to the Taliban. The US and already pulled out most of the troops and equipment and could no longer fight the Taliban.

I'm really not sure whats going on here. It seems like a chaotic withdrawal of air cover and support for the Afghan Army, so they capitulated.
The Taliban are sounding less looney than last time, but already saying women won't be in senior positions in govt. And Taliban sceptics are labelling them as untrustworthy and tyrannical.
But I think Biden is right about one thing. Afghanistan is still embroiled in civil war.
The Taliban have a huge learning curve to run the country to the satisfaction of the big world powers.
They need to show ability to maintain order, prevent terrorist bases, crush opium production, avoid human rights breaches.
Otherwise no-one will go back and help them exploit the huge natural resources.
Why would you assist a govt extract $billions from the ground if it could fall into the hands of ISIS or Al-queda via Bin Ladens security chief and arms supplier Amin ul-Haq.
China, Russia et al will just sit back and leave it all in the ground until someone in Afghanistan (that they approve of) gains sumpremacy and stability.
And if the situation spawns more global terrorism I'm convinced they'll go back in and disinfect the place.

[Derek27]

Every flipping time I modify my rules I look at the clock and it's two minutes past the hour or half hour and I've just missed a cluster of matches to test it on.