Bed that saved me from the Taliban • Hacker News Board

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#101

Post by miles » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 7:37 PM UTC

russdill wrote: post #20

0xcafecafe wrote: post #14

Amazing read. Happy that he made it out. Loved the closing comment as well (I wonder why everyone of us can't live like this without going through a NDE, I myself am a guilty party): >You know, sitting on the beach in Greece with friends I've heard people complaining that because we had a financial crisis they miss some of the comforts they used to have. I am like, "Come on! Enjoy your life and health. You are eating…

A lot of people that go through and NDE come out the other side with crippling PTSD.

If we’re taking about actual Near Death Experiences (NDE), the research shows an interesting pattern:

Near-death experiences: clinical implications http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0101-60832007000700015&...

> “Compared to non-experiencers, NDErs report greatly increased concern for others, decreased fear of death, and increased belief in an afterlife, increased religious interest and feeling, and lessened desire for material success and approval of others (Flynn, 1982).”

Even for those who did not have a NDE,

> “Compared to persons who had come close to death but not had NDEs, experiencers place significantly lower value on social status, professional and material success, and fame (Greyson, 1983a), and find death less threatening (Greyson, 1992).”

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#102

Post by dehrmann » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 7:38 PM UTC

orbital-decay wrote: post #54

wiradikusuma wrote: post #37

"Parts of the hotel were able to re-open two months after the attack" — what? Curious, what would be the logical explanation for that? I mean, for starters nobody would want to work there, and nobody would want to _stay_ there. Right?

Moreover, Inter-Continental was already attacked 7 years before, in 2011. [0] If you agree to a job in an unstable place like Kabul as an outsider, you already accept some risk. You have to stay somewhere, and there might not be many safer places to stay. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Inter-Continental_Hotel_K...

Reminds me of Clerks and the Death Star contractors, though this line of thinking has scary implications for working in the World Trade Center, any federal building, or Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQdDRrcAOjA

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#103

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 7:42 PM UTC

toufiqbarhamov wrote: post #75

ddoran wrote: post #74

I strongly recommend "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why" by Amanda Ripley [1]. It is a terrific look of the character traits and behavior of people who survive life-threatening circumstances and those who don't. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2706211-the-unthinkable

One thing that struck me about this story was that he made some good decisions and some bad ones, but as he points out he got really lucky a bunch of times. None of his habits would have mattered if he’d been in the restaurant, if he’d have been in the wrong room, picked the wrong bed to hide under, or hadn’t moved just out of the way of a sniper’s bullet, and if a tank had fired on his room. It’s easy to assume that…

[deleted]

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#104

Post by deboflo » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 7:43 PM UTC

hiccuphippo wrote: post #56

0xcafecafe wrote: post #14

Amazing read. Happy that he made it out. Loved the closing comment as well (I wonder why everyone of us can't live like this without going through a NDE, I myself am a guilty party): >You know, sitting on the beach in Greece with friends I've heard people complaining that because we had a financial crisis they miss some of the comforts they used to have. I am like, "Come on! Enjoy your life and health. You are eating…

You don't need to go through a NDE. Try going hiking on the mountains. You'll come back with a better attitude about life and your usual problems will look meaningless. I used to go at least once a year. Need to get back on it.

True, it doesn’t always take a NDE, but I think it does require a certain amount of hardship and/or trauma. People need to be pushed into a corner to find out who they really are. They need to be truly alone, and often not by choice.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#105

Post by ip26 » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 7:44 PM UTC

runjake wrote: post #87

mhb wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. But then it seems like a mistake to have put the mattress against the door since that strongly suggests that someone is in the room.

He did this to physically shield himself from random shrapnel. His purpose in opening the balcony door was to give the impression that somebody may have egressed. This is taught in tradecraft courses, and this mention along with others in the article suggests to me that he's been through some tradecraft and/or SERE-type trainings -- probably oriented towards journalists.

Maybe journalists, or maybe pilots. Planes & airports have long been a high profile target.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#106

Post by ip26 » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 7:47 PM UTC

ricardobeat wrote: post #98

simplecomplex wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It had already been attacked and was full of international guests. In the capital city. 4-5 guys should not be able to take complete control of the hotel with no heavy weaponry. That means security is deficient or non-existent.

What kind of daily security setup can protect against 5 gunmen with AK47s?

You don't necessarily need to meet them head-on & emerge victorious, just delay them long enough for backup to arrive and/or deter them, again by showing that you will delay them.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#107

Post by jackgavigan » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 7:52 PM UTC

ranprieur wrote: post #93

> Each time they would laugh afterwards, like they were just playing around, or like it was a big party or something. Terrorists in TV and movies are never like this. They're always super-serious evil, like Voldemort, like nobody ever is in real life. I wonder how much violence could be prevented if Hollywood didn't give us such a bullshit view of human nature.

They may have been high. The Taliban is known to have given suicide bombers drugs before sending them to their deaths.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#108

Post by jpatokal » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 8:00 PM UTC

wiradikusuma wrote: post #37

"Parts of the hotel were able to re-open two months after the attack" — what? Curious, what would be the logical explanation for that? I mean, for starters nobody would want to work there, and nobody would want to _stay_ there. Right?

I was a regular at the JW Marriott in Jakarta after it was bombed in 2003, and so was my boss, who was actually in the hotel at the time of the attack. In addition to being an excellent hotel, they also took security very seriously, unlike the security theater put on by most of their competition. And besides, lightning won't strike twice, right?

Only problem is, they were bombed again in 2009, this time with the help of a staff insider...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JW_Marriott_Jakarta

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#109

Post by CalRobert » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 8:07 PM UTC

dehrmann wrote: post #99

sjroot wrote: post #8

Incredible, to be hiding under one of two beds in his hotel room, and having the other bed being searched and shot at by the Taliban. > Don't concentrate only on work, stressful and bad things in your life. Concentrate instead on creating good moments and being around good people, because life is so beautiful.

Not to belittle anything he went through, but don't discount survivorship bias.

Of course. There could be a dozen harrowing stories just like this from that day except for the part where they survive.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#110

Post by jaclaz » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 8:08 PM UTC

probably_wrong wrote: post #47

wiradikusuma wrote: post #37

"Parts of the hotel were able to re-open two months after the attack" — what? Curious, what would be the logical explanation for that? I mean, for starters nobody would want to work there, and nobody would want to _stay_ there. Right?

There's an old story (that I can't find right now) about a bank employee that falls for a scam that costs the company hundreds of thousands. He goes to his boss and says "I guess you will be expecting my resignation", to which the boss replies "Resign? I just spent thousands of dollars training you!". I would apply the same line of thought here: I don't think this hotel is any more insecure that any other. In fact, I…

I think (but maybe it is only a duplicate) that you may be thinking at this story about Tom Watson (IBM):

http://www.mbiconcepts.com/watson-sr-and-thoughtful-mistakes...