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?

@Shanghaisprize

Jesus. There are just so many wankers with way too much time on their hands, spouting pompous but misinformed opinions.

The man risked his life serving his country over there. Then stayed to run a charity that will have enhanced and saved the lives of so many people and animals.

He is asking the. country that he risked his life for and the people who fucking well CREATED this situation to do the decent thing and save him, his staff and perhaps the animals. To get him and them to safety before they are all left behnd to be tortured and killed. His loyalty to his staff is so great that is pretty much pledging his life for them. `Yeah, what an absolute wanker eh

It has never been people before animals. `The plane is privately funded and the animals would go in the hold (where humans ca't go). he is shouting because he is having to.

It is now at the point where it will be a miracle if ANY of them get out of there alive. It is now highly likely they will all be left behind to be tortured and killed. I hope then all the absolute cunts on here and the rest of SM will be very happy with themselves then. Seriously, some people just disgust me at times.

i 100 percent agree with every word you have written , im praying they do all get out safely

@IsayIsayBoy

'17:47Formaldeheidi

I just hope to god this country never reaches the depths of hell that Afghanistan is in now because most of the posters on here (and indeed the entire population) have absolutely no idea how what a truly horrific situation is unfolding. I pray so hard that British people will always be able to carry on living in ignorance, posting pointless uninformed and ill educated posts like this. And I don’t even believe in god.'

I totally agree. The nightmare unfolding before our eyes I fear is nothing to the scenes we are going to witness post withdrawal on 31 Aug. Watching the scenes following the last plane as it leaves is too horrific for us to even begin to contemplate.

I’ve stopped looking at images and watching clips for my own well-being. I feel so privileged every single day to be able to do that.

@toomuchlaundry

Do you put the Taliban above animals *@DancesWithTortoises*?

Oh, stop it. So predictable.

Do you think rattlesnakes matter as much as fluffy bunnies?

@NiceGerbil

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."'

Ahhh, the new cuddly Taliban, pure kindness.

@Handsoffstrikesagain

FWIW, I don’t think this is the end of it. I do not think that Britain will withdraw leaving this shower of shit.

I don’t know. They’ll happily throw their own people under the bus to avoid responsibility. Can’t say I have much hope for the Afghan people.

@DancesWithTortoises how did you get to the majority of society thinks that? I would suggest your wrong, take a look at the poll at the top of the page, almost 50/50. Why are animals not equal? Saying they just aren’t isn’t really a very well thought out answer is it? It’s not a case of liking or disliking what you think, I’m asking reasonable questions that you just can’t answer. I would suggest we are far from superior in fact I think we are a horrible species who inflicts cruelty on our own and others, through selfishness, greed and at times just for the pleasure of it. That is why I think animals are equal if not actually far nicer then we are. Now do I want to see the victims of this humanitarian disaster (why is it call HUMANanitarian??) to safety absolutely, it breaks my bloody heart to see what those people are going through, do I want to see Pen, his staff and animals safe, absolutely! Why because I don’t want to see any innocent life harmed. Now if that makes me a member (of that roughly 50/50) minority 😂 I am proud to stand with them. Hey you know why? Because that’s the way it is! Have a lovely evening 😊

@Parker231

I’ve donated and used Twitter to bring the issue to the attention of everyone I could think of. The government could give up space on a flight for a car, they can put themselves out to save Pen, his staff and animals. It’s not going to cost the U.K. taxpayers. Arrangements have been made of the animals when they arrive in the U.K. and the Afghan staff have all been offered jobs/training in the veterinary industry. The U.K. government have now reversed their refusal to help so hopefully it’s only a matter of time before they can get to the U.K. safely.

The UK government did not refuse to help. They asked Pen, his wife and staff to go to the airport last Friday to be evacuated. Pen’s wife left, but Pen refused to go without his animals so arranged his own flight which has delayed his staff leaving too.

1999

She had 7 children

'“She was taken, made to kneel on the penalty spot, and behind her was the man with the rifle. She knew nothing still,” he said. “And then the man fired, his hand shaking so much the bullet merely creased the side of her head, cutting through the burqa but not injuring her.”

Just at that split second Zarmina realized, obviously, that she was about to be shot. The next shot did not miss.'

'It is now at the point where it will be a miracle if ANY of them get out of there alive'

Exactly @shanghaisprize exactly. His military training hasn't done him any favours . First rule is surely to get as many people out alive. He is practically goading the Taliban with his media interviews and cheerleaders on Twitter.

@DancesWithTortoises I think snakes matter just as much as fluffy bunnies. ALL living creatures matter.

Why are animals not equal? Saying they just aren’t isn’t really a very well thought out answer is it? It’s not a case of liking or disliking what you think, I’m asking reasonable questions that you just can’t answer. I would suggest we are far from superior in fact I think we are a horrible species who inflicts cruelty on our own and others, through selfishness, greed and at times just for the pleasure of it. That is why I think animals are equal if not actually far nicer then we are

"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others"

18:22DancesWithTortoises

toomuchlaundry

Do you put the Taliban above animals @DancesWithTortoises?

Oh, stop it. So predictable.

Do you think rattlesnakes matter as much as fluffy bunnies?

Really what is the point of this?!

I didn’t know anything about those poor mothers being shot. They’re not religious fundamentalists, they’re psychopaths.

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.

Exactly that.

He is a man of honour not to flee leaving behind staff that would almost certainly be trafficked and killed.

I agree. And most giving out all the criticism wouldn't know the meaning of the world honourable.

What I (and hopefully most people) see is a decent and honourable man doing his utmost for the staff and animals he loves and cares for. I hate the word hero, but I think the mental strength he has displayed given the stress he is under and the conditions he is in is incredible.

@Paquerette - the U.K. government refused to give the approval for the private plane to land. They were already aware that Pen wasn’t going to leave without his staff and animals. Can you imagine the comments if he’d got on an early flight and left them behind?

Ben Wallace ended up doing a uturn and going on Twitter in the early hours of this morning.

'The UK government did not refuse to help. They asked Pen, his wife and staff to go to the airport last Friday to be evacuated. Pen’s wife left, but Pen refused to go without his animals so arranged his own flight which has delayed his staff leaving too.'

Yes, he is playing a dangerous game with people's lives.

@JaniieJones

'It is now at the point where it will be a miracle if ANY of them get out of there alive'

Exactly @shanghaisprize exactly. His military training hasn't done him any favours . First rule is surely to get as many people out alive. He is practically goading the Taliban with his media interviews and cheerleaders on Twitter.

He's managed to get his staff and the animals out www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2021-08-25/pen-farthing-given-go-ahead-to-leave-afghanistan-with-animals

As far as I am aware, supporters' donations have enabled Pen to pay for a plane to take his workers and animals plus any extra people. If people had not donated many, if not all, of those people may well not have got out at all. That is, of course, assuming they do manage to get out safely.

I've spoken to a former aerospace engineer about the possibility of humans travelling in the hold and (passenger seating wasn't really his area) he said the issue would be seatbelts, oxygen masks, escape routes, that sort of thing. If everything went well then things could be ok, but turbulence or a bumpy landing could lead to terrible injuries and if something worse happened it could be an absolute disaster. Finding a way to tether passengers in the hold could take a lot of time.

@Gilmorehill

I didn’t know anything about those poor mothers being shot. They’re not religious fundamentalists, they’re psychopaths.

Par for the course unfortunately, and it's only going to get worse. There is a campaign to try and get midwives to safety, as women's healthcare is expected to be once again banned and they are educated and trained women, it's going to be awful- for the women who need them also. Hardly any interest in that though sadly, this happened during 'peacetime' (trigger warning, violence on maternity ward): time.com/5838762/afghan-maternity-ward-attack-women/

That's the thing, great that pen secured the paperwork for his staff, many of whom are women, but the fanfare around saving his animals when the platform he had built could have helped others to safety. I know people are going to say omg they're going in the hold, or omg people can do it for themselves, but for a lot of women they don't have male advocates to shout for them.

There are more than 10000 people already at the airport.
How will those animals get through the crowds outside and the Taliban fighters?

[quote Tara336]@DancesWithTortoises how did you get to the majority of society thinks that? I would suggest your wrong, take a look at the poll at the top of the page, almost 50/50. Why are animals not equal? Saying they just aren’t isn’t really a very well thought out answer is it? It’s not a case of liking or disliking what you think, I’m asking reasonable questions that you just can’t answer. I would suggest we are far from superior in fact I think we are a horrible species who inflicts cruelty on our own and others, through selfishness, greed and at times just for the pleasure of it. That is why I think animals are equal if not actually far nicer then we are. Now do I want to see the victims of this humanitarian disaster (why is it call HUMANanitarian??) to safety absolutely, it breaks my bloody heart to see what those people are going through, do I want to see Pen, his staff and animals safe, absolutely! Why because I don’t want to see any innocent life harmed. Now if that makes me a member (of that roughly 50/50) minority 😂 I am proud to stand with them. Hey you know why? Because that’s the way it is! Have a lovely evening 😊[/quote]
Believe it or not MN is not society. Many animal loving people are very invested in this chap and his doings and are very vociferous.

Saying they just aren’t isn’t really a very well thought out answer is it?

It's similar question to "Why do you think the sky is blue?" It just is blue. Not sure how else to justify what is obvious to most people. They don't vote, become doctors, care for the rest of their society, etc etc.

Humanity will always put human life above that of animals.

Do you kill ants? wasps? they are your equals in your opinion, maybe you shouldn't.

I still will.

As others have said. Jobs (and therefore visas) have been guaranteed by a large veterinary company, money is raised to cover. None of it is coming from the government. Therefore the government can put all their effort into saveing the people. What's your problem OP?