This Pen Farthing guy

[TheGenealogist]

The bloke with the animal shelter in Kabul.

Refusing to leave unless he can take ALL of his 60 odd staff and ALL of his 200+ cats and dogs with him. Expecting the government to make special rules for him and his friends.

Getting people out - understandable. The Taliban aren't going to look kindly on people who have translated for the military, or "collaborated" in other ways. But staff at an animal shelter?

And as for the refusing to leave without the animals and making this all out to be the UK government's fault? For not falling over themselves to arrange transport for a bunch of ownerless animals nobody wants when there are human beings in fear of their lives?

What is this guy playing at?

He’s embarrassed the Government, that’s reason enough for the Right Wing press

Nah, the Daily Mail and its readers will love him. Ticks all the boxes for them, plucky former Royal Marine risking it all to save animals.

@DancesWithTortoises I’m probably going to regret asking you this question, but why do you believe a human life is more valuable then any other creature on this planet?

@DancesWithTortoises

its only your opinion that they dont matter as much . and thats a fact , other people feel much differently about animals , and babies arent going to be dying on the sodding streets , they have their parents , the taliban arent killing babies that iv heard , the animals it will be a different story , they are more at risk of dying or being killed and need saving just as much as the people do

Not just my opinion, society's opinion. People who think animals are equal to humans are, fortunately, a very small minority. As a society we place human life above animal life and that's just how it is.

No one on this thread wants to see animals suffer but still think humans take priority. That's just how it is.

And some of us don't like to see bullies win.

well im proud to be that small minority , and that might be how it is,but its why i despise people who dont value animals lifes equally , and hes not a bully , hes fighting for his animals who have no voice to help themselves to get to a place of safety , hes doing what it takes to acheive that , there are plenty of afghans trampling others to their death in their fight to get to the front , so far he hasnt fucking killed anyone else with his so called bullying im glad hes got leave to come here and all his animals and staff too the mans a hero in my eyes and way more worthy than many commenting on here

Fair point about the animal crates getting checked for bombs (and presumably human stowaways) but other than that there may not be that much admin and the paperwork for the humans on the plane is more likely to be the rate limiting step at the airport. Normally it's the other way round but in this case presumably whatever the equivalent of the Afghan department of agriculture animal export division, state vets etc have ceased to function so it may be just a case of chuck 'em all on and count check sort microchip and blood test them all in quarantine later.

Pre-Brexit the capacity existed in quarantine facilities (the one I know of was a privately run one attached to a normal boarding kennels but licensed by the Department of Agriculture) to deal with plenty of illegal canine immigrants- at the expense of the owners- so I imagine 200 dogs and cats can be absorbed into that framework without too much difficulty especially as the PR around this case has allowed Nowzad to turn a money hose on the problem.

Is it really the case that our combined military and diplomatic efforts cannot secure safe passage for all the people who we want to evacuate? If so maybe we should be very concerned about what the taliban will do next, since it seems like they are pretty much unstoppable.

Oh @Janiie, your tired old routine doesn’t work on me, love

[quote Tara336]@DancesWithTortoises I’m probably going to regret asking you this question, but why do you believe a human life is more valuable then any other creature on this planet?[/quote]
good for you tara for asking it , lets look forward to the answer , im not understanding how animals lifes are lesser than humans , but maybe we shall be enlightened .so far all iv had is thats how it is , sigh

@Classica

and babies arent going to be dying on the sodding streets , they have their parents , the taliban arent killing babies that iv heard , the animals it will be a different story

Christ.

@DogFoodPie

Is it really the case that our combined military and diplomatic efforts cannot secure safe passage for all the people who we want to evacuate? If so maybe we should be very concerned about what the taliban will do next, since it seems like they are pretty much unstoppable.

Well yes. Remember what they did last time. It's a total shitshow. Wtf did biden think he was doing. Then setting 10 days. And his press officer more concerned about words than people.

It's a massive humanitarian disaster. The history etc is complicated but this cut and run USA thing was just totally reckless.

It’s down to some humans that this awful atrocity is happening, some humans think women’s lives are not as important as men’s. No wonder some people prefer dogs and cats.

Do some people not realise people can’t travel in aircraft holds?

Do some people not realise that animals in the hold get the plane closer to its weight limit, meaning less people can travel? An American plane was able to take off with more passengers than it was designed to hold, because it was still under the weight limit. Right now, we should be getting as many people out as possible.

But when posters are hoping that there will be enough cats for them to be able to adopt one, you see the true problem here. Animals are cute and ‘innocent’, compared to the media narrative around refugees, which often frames them as a threat.

Oh I just saw zoo footage. Can't cope.

I can see a few Biden supporters here. How is that going?

@JaniieJones

'It’s quite bizarre, the amount of vitriol he is attracting,'

You do know the taliban are brutally murdering people don't you, so if you were in Afganistan with 68 Afghan staff wouldn't you think the best plan is fo get out as quietly as you can without the Twitter circus?

He is making them all targets with their constant attention seeking over dogs and cats. It is highly unstable over there, do you watch the news?

We knew that long ago, yet left it all to the last minute, ensuring people are being trapped there.

Given that the UK is apparently, stopping flights this w/e, seems hard to believe Farthings flight is taking a landing slot...

I cannot believe a PP mentioned a film. These are people’s lives we are talking about, not entertainment.

I initially raised an eyebrow at what this man seems to be doing when there are thousands of people trying to escape their horrifying situation. But like most people I am luckily too far removed to understand all the details, so am certainly not qualified to judge anyone.

What makes me laugh the outs about this thread is that 90% of the people
Frothing at the mouth at what he’s doing would be pissing themselves in fear and pushing past every last Afghanistan national to get out the country as fast as possible if they were in his position.
An ex U.K. solider that fought and opposed the Taliban, trained up women and provided work for them. He knows he’ll also have a price on his head, risked death daily for the rights of the Afghan people and will have seen friends and colleagues (both military and Afghans that helped) brutally murdered and maimed

He could have abandoned his whole staff and let them pay the price but he didn’t.

[quote Tara336]@DancesWithTortoises I’m probably going to regret asking you this question, but why do you believe a human life is more valuable then any other creature on this planet?[/quote]
You can save a newborn or an ant.

?

Human babies and young children are very vulnerable due to our brain size meaning we are born way less capable than many/ most other animals.

And what is this children will be looked after by their families stuff?

Don't understand. Women are already barred from work. No work no money. No man in the house or anyone to provide. No options.

The taleban carried out public floggings and hangings. Women and girls are possessions. Worth LESS than animals. Taleban don't execute animals brutally because they are out without a male relative.

I'm ??? at some recent posts.

17:22DancesWithTortoises

IsayIsayBoy

DancesWithTortoises

I'm so worried that this silly man's grandstanding will mean fewer women and children get out. How can he be so selfish?

I really don't understand your reasoning. He hasn't prevented women and children getting out!! I think your statement should actually be directed at Joe Biden.

How many times does it need to be said. His plane is taking up valuable slots that could be used for planes carrying 600 humans. Or empty planes landing that can carry that many. It's been said many times. Have you not read the thread?

He has 1 plane! 1 landing slot! Have you not read the thread!!! As I have said previously it is very easy to critise from your armchair. Would you prefer that they stay in Afghanistan? Surely any aircraft that can land and rescue people is preferred to none at all.

@DogFoodPie

Is it really the case that our combined military and diplomatic efforts cannot secure safe passage for all the people who we want to evacuate? If so maybe we should be very concerned about what the taliban will do next, since it seems like they are pretty much unstoppable.

Talk tonight the Russians are pulling out….given they’ve been almost buddies with Taliban that would tend to indicate there’s an even bigger threat..

www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/russia-evacuate-more-than-500-citizens-afghanistan-interfax-2021-08-25/

Good news/bad news is sounds like airport traffic is reducing.

2020

'The cold-blooded murders of 24 women, children and babies at a hospital in the Afghan capital were horrific enough.

But as Frederic Bonnot made his way through the bullet-riddled maternity unit, he realised something more.

Warning: Readers may find details in this story upsetting

The attackers had walked straight past a number of other wards, all closer to the entrance of Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi hospital, and made straight for the maternity unit.

To him, it meant one thing: this was no mistake.

"What I saw in the maternity demonstrates it was a systematic shooting of the mothers," Bonnot, Head of Programmes for Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Afghanistan, said. "They went through the rooms in the maternity, shooting women in their beds. It was methodical.

"They came to kill the mothers."'

2016

'Taliban fighters publicly hanged a university student after accusing him of killing a senior intelligence officer.

The militia took Faizul Rehman, a fourth-year student at Kabul Polytechnic university, from his car as he travelled home to visit his family in the Chak district of Maidan Wardak province, about 60km west of the capital Kabul on Thursday.'