Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
You know it is...
Sad but true.
D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
If you don't have hard borders people will mingle, always was always will be.
Entire Europe's genetic pool is very narrow. I am not a geneticist but I've been in Africa, it is very diverse compared to us. Not only the way people look, but one country may have more (semi)official languages than all Europe combined.
Which may be relevant for Afghanistan case. Maybe we're just not the right people to sort these things out. We celebrate some sort of diversity while being all the same people just split into different countries with slightly different languages.
And I don't think that 'slavs' are genetical thing, more of a ethno-linguistic. When I was looking into some of it years ago, seemed to me that Slav genetics are defined as majority genetics of the Slav states and not a singular historic lineage.
Entire Europe's genetic pool is very narrow. I am not a geneticist but I've been in Africa, it is very diverse compared to us. Not only the way people look, but one country may have more (semi)official languages than all Europe combined.
Which may be relevant for Afghanistan case. Maybe we're just not the right people to sort these things out. We celebrate some sort of diversity while being all the same people just split into different countries with slightly different languages.
And I don't think that 'slavs' are genetical thing, more of a ethno-linguistic. When I was looking into some of it years ago, seemed to me that Slav genetics are defined as majority genetics of the Slav states and not a singular historic lineage.
D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
'Northern Alliance' flag hoisted in Panjshir in first resistance against Taliban
Afghan soldiers, who had managed to hide themselves from Taliban troops, are reportedly arriving in Panjshir at the call of Ahmad Massoud, son of late Afghan politician Ahmad Shah Massoud.
D
Deleted member 7164
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Amrullah Saleh - Wikipedia
put claim as President of Afghanistan. Large number of ex-army forces and volunteers are moving towards northern Afghanistan incognito.
A new warlord arises.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Google translated Dutch article on the three mighty friends of the Taliban:
China
Stability is a priority for China. The country shares a 76-kilometer border with Afghanistan. On a map that seems negligible, but it is exactly in Xinjiang province. The Uyghurs, an oppressed Muslim minority, live there. China wants to prevent Uyghur extremist movements or sympathizers from becoming active in that border region at all costs.
"China is very much into realistic politics," said geopolitics expert Isa Yusibov. "They don't care who is in power, they don't want unrest in their region." China knows that if they want to get anything done from the Taliban, they have to build ties with the movement. Months before the Taliban took power, political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was visiting China to discuss the future relationship.
Because it is not only politically for China to gain something in Afghanistan. "The country is rich in raw materials and precious metals. Because it is so unstable and the Americans were there, it has never been attractive for China to invest. But that may now change," says Yusibov. China would like to connect Afghanistan to the new Silk Road, a network of roads, railways and ports between China, Europe and Africa. But this also requires stability. Whether the Taliban can deliver that, China is still waiting quietly.
Russia
No panic, chaos or evacuations at the Russian embassy in Kabul. No, Russian diplomats are quietly working on Daluraman Road. The embassy is secured by the Taliban. “When President Obama announced in 2014 that he wanted to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, Russia knew the Taliban would return,” Yusibov said. "That is why there have been talks from Moscow with representatives of the extremist movement for years." Russia has a clear goal: to prevent Afghanistan from becoming an exporter of Islamic terrorism again.
Between Afghanistan and Russia lie the five stans: the Central Asian countries that make up Russia's backyard. "Russia wants to make sure that extremism doesn't get a foothold there, because that could potentially blow over to Moscow," Yusibov said. Extremist movements are active in the former Soviet states and occasionally carry out attacks. Russia is therefore trying to be an ally, even though the Taliban are officially on the Russian list of terrorist movements.
"In addition, Russia wants to maintain its influence in these countries," Yusibov said. “The authoritarian leaders in the Central Asian countries have been pleased in recent years with the American presence, which has suppressed extremism in the region. With the Americans leaving and the Taliban coming to power, Putin says, come back to us, we will take care of you."
Pakistan
There were cheers in the Pakistani capital Islamabad as the Taliban drove into Kabul. In several Pakistani cities, like-minded people handed out sweets to passers-by. "It is a befriended regime and it always has been," says South Asia specialist Olivier Immig. "Pakistan helped establish the Taliban as early as 1994." Since then, they have been supporting the Taliban, openly and secretly, through the powerful Pakistani intelligence agency.
Taliban fighters have been trained in Pakistan, the country acts as a refuge for leaders and weapons and money are sent across the border. However, the alliance is not entirely without concerns. "Pakistan itself has many extreme groups and the fear is that the victory of the Taliban will stir them up and that this will lead to more unrest and violence in Pakistan," Immig said.
It is not only ethnic and religious affiliation that plays a role in the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban. Neighboring country and arch-enemy India is also an important factor. In recent years, the Indian government has invested heavily in a good relationship with President Ghani's government in order to expand its influence in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan wants to prevent Afghanistan from coming into the Indian sphere of influence. Should there ever be another war between India and Pakistan, which many in Pakistan believe was a real option for a long time, then a friendly regime in Kabul is of strategic importance," says Immig. India never wanted anything to do with the Taliban. Now that the extremist group has seized power, India's role appears to be diminishing, at least for the time being.
China
Stability is a priority for China. The country shares a 76-kilometer border with Afghanistan. On a map that seems negligible, but it is exactly in Xinjiang province. The Uyghurs, an oppressed Muslim minority, live there. China wants to prevent Uyghur extremist movements or sympathizers from becoming active in that border region at all costs.
"China is very much into realistic politics," said geopolitics expert Isa Yusibov. "They don't care who is in power, they don't want unrest in their region." China knows that if they want to get anything done from the Taliban, they have to build ties with the movement. Months before the Taliban took power, political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was visiting China to discuss the future relationship.
Because it is not only politically for China to gain something in Afghanistan. "The country is rich in raw materials and precious metals. Because it is so unstable and the Americans were there, it has never been attractive for China to invest. But that may now change," says Yusibov. China would like to connect Afghanistan to the new Silk Road, a network of roads, railways and ports between China, Europe and Africa. But this also requires stability. Whether the Taliban can deliver that, China is still waiting quietly.
Russia
No panic, chaos or evacuations at the Russian embassy in Kabul. No, Russian diplomats are quietly working on Daluraman Road. The embassy is secured by the Taliban. “When President Obama announced in 2014 that he wanted to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, Russia knew the Taliban would return,” Yusibov said. "That is why there have been talks from Moscow with representatives of the extremist movement for years." Russia has a clear goal: to prevent Afghanistan from becoming an exporter of Islamic terrorism again.
Between Afghanistan and Russia lie the five stans: the Central Asian countries that make up Russia's backyard. "Russia wants to make sure that extremism doesn't get a foothold there, because that could potentially blow over to Moscow," Yusibov said. Extremist movements are active in the former Soviet states and occasionally carry out attacks. Russia is therefore trying to be an ally, even though the Taliban are officially on the Russian list of terrorist movements.
"In addition, Russia wants to maintain its influence in these countries," Yusibov said. “The authoritarian leaders in the Central Asian countries have been pleased in recent years with the American presence, which has suppressed extremism in the region. With the Americans leaving and the Taliban coming to power, Putin says, come back to us, we will take care of you."
Pakistan
There were cheers in the Pakistani capital Islamabad as the Taliban drove into Kabul. In several Pakistani cities, like-minded people handed out sweets to passers-by. "It is a befriended regime and it always has been," says South Asia specialist Olivier Immig. "Pakistan helped establish the Taliban as early as 1994." Since then, they have been supporting the Taliban, openly and secretly, through the powerful Pakistani intelligence agency.
Taliban fighters have been trained in Pakistan, the country acts as a refuge for leaders and weapons and money are sent across the border. However, the alliance is not entirely without concerns. "Pakistan itself has many extreme groups and the fear is that the victory of the Taliban will stir them up and that this will lead to more unrest and violence in Pakistan," Immig said.
It is not only ethnic and religious affiliation that plays a role in the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban. Neighboring country and arch-enemy India is also an important factor. In recent years, the Indian government has invested heavily in a good relationship with President Ghani's government in order to expand its influence in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan wants to prevent Afghanistan from coming into the Indian sphere of influence. Should there ever be another war between India and Pakistan, which many in Pakistan believe was a real option for a long time, then a friendly regime in Kabul is of strategic importance," says Immig. India never wanted anything to do with the Taliban. Now that the extremist group has seized power, India's role appears to be diminishing, at least for the time being.
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I might use advance voting for the first time ever today. We're having a federal election, because Justin Trudeau is stupid, and I'd rather go to the rather sparsely attended advance vote than wait for election day and get there after work when it will be really busy.
What, did they find a photo with yellowface or a war bonnet now?
Well, he called an election during a pandemic, which instantly turned his polling lead of 10 points into a -4 point swing. Because Canadians liked him enough as PM when he is in a minority situation, working with other parties, but they didn't actually want to vote.
Yep, and that's what this was.
In the German constitution, snap elections are legally impossible for very good reasons. Of course, that didn't prevent two chancellors to interpret the law their way to have snap elections in everything but name. But I believe that they are inconsistent with the idea of democracy.
I would care less if we didn't have FPTP, the worst kind of voting.
I have now cast a ballot and secured my right to complain for about 18-24 months.
Just cast my vote in a local authority by election. There were several independent candidates standing, so I wanted to read more about them, beyond the leaflets they've been sticking through the letterbox, seeing as local authority independents have a nasty habit of being oddballs who nobody else would consider electable, or loose canons (no offence intended) thrown out of one of the mainstream parties.
One short and innocuous looking article in the local paper, asking each candidate if a modernist church spire in the area should be preserved, brilliantly captured the mindset of each candidate. Could be summed up as follows:
Candidate 1: local people love this landmark, save it
Candidate 2: it's important for golfers who use it to help line up with the green [note - nearest golf course isn't frequented by the local electorate]
Candidate 3: national preservation orders are important, nationally we are doing.....zzzzzzz
Candidate 4: I don't believe in spending money on anything
Candidate 5: Well, we'll see, but spending money means it's probably a no
Candidate 6: consult local people before making any decisions
One short and innocuous looking article in the local paper, asking each candidate if a modernist church spire in the area should be preserved, brilliantly captured the mindset of each candidate. Could be summed up as follows:
Candidate 1: local people love this landmark, save it
Candidate 2: it's important for golfers who use it to help line up with the green [note - nearest golf course isn't frequented by the local electorate]
Candidate 3: national preservation orders are important, nationally we are doing.....zzzzzzz
Candidate 4: I don't believe in spending money on anything
Candidate 5: Well, we'll see, but spending money means it's probably a no
Candidate 6: consult local people before making any decisions