Bed that saved me from the Taliban • Hacker News Board

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#31

Post by retSava » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:36 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.

One can hope for his best. Those sounds can't be pleasant to carry with you (people being executed I mean).

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#32

Post by yesplorer » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:37 PM UTC

baybal2 wrote: post #19

A good read. To people from better off part of the world, luxury hotels in third-world countries are, almost as a rule, a magnet for trouble: petty crimes, robberies, encounters with mafia, and, as was in that case, an armed assault.

This isn't true at all. Luxury hotels, most especially managed or chain brands are some of the safest places in third-world countries.

The odds of buglary, petty crimes and those vices you listed happening is close to zero. This is the reason why they are attractive to expats and high-end clients.

They have the best security and are usually located in prime areas making them less susceptible to some of those claims you made.

And they also have a brand to protect. Except they are very expensive relative to the cost of living of those countries but their target market is foreigners, short-stay expats and government delegations so they still get patronized.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#33

Post by Insanity » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:43 PM UTC

mhb wrote: post #18

I think a good tactic might have been to deploy the bedsheet rope in order to make it look as if he had climbed down to the floor below.

Reading it, I actually had the same idea.

But still, the possible would exist that there's someone in the room who didn't dare climb down in the end.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#34

Post by somebadguy » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:53 PM UTC

democracy wrote: post #15

tome wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally yes, there tends to be an ulterior motive behind the statement of tangentially related facts on discussions of news stories. But in any case, thanks to your information I've concluded that it's the Soviets who are responsible for the crimes of the Taliban.

Generally we expect people to downvote comments which are wrong, not the ones they disagree with - but who am I kidding?

Generally we expect people to understand HN before they make ignorant and incorrect assertions

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#35

Post by elliekelly » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:54 PM UTC

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.

And to have the bad guy quite literally sitting on top of you. I cannot imagine the mental fortitude it takes to maintain your composure to keep perfectly still and silent in that situation.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#36

Post by elliekelly » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:59 PM UTC

baybal2 wrote: post #19

A good read. To people from better off part of the world, luxury hotels in third-world countries are, almost as a rule, a magnet for trouble: petty crimes, robberies, encounters with mafia, and, as was in that case, an armed assault.

I spent a year as "nomad" traveling the world. A friend of mine who works for the State Department told me to always "stay where other Americans aren't."

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#37

Post by wiradikusuma » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 3:00 PM UTC

"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?

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#38

Post by johnchristopher » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 3:07 PM UTC

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.

I wonder why they shot at the tidy bed but not the unkempt one. The narrator seems to imply he knew hiding under the unkempt one was the better option. Why is that ?

Also, what's with "holding the bed with my toes and fists" ? I don't picture that really well.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#39

Post by darkpuma » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 3:17 PM UTC

democracy wrote: post #26

erklik wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rather irrelevant. Also something that is somewhat incorrect. Taliban specifically wasn't the creation of Pakistani military intelligence to fight Soviet Invasion funded by the CIA. 1. The Soviet invasion wasn't really an invasion considering it was on a request by the current government to pacify the rebels i.e. Assad, Russia and Syria recently. ( not sure if officially requested support but there is a clear mutual…

Tomatos, tomatoes - same tribes doing the same thing (whatever in that particular year they were called), and yes they were trained in Pakistan (or Pakistani-controlled area or whatever - there are no real borders there) and yes, they were getting CIA help.

You should be aware that the Soviet-Afghan War started as an Afghan Civil War, between the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (the ruling Afghani communists) and the Afghani civilian populace who were being brutally repressed under that government. It was that communist government that requested Soviet intervention in Afghanistan; an invitation that the Soviets declined for over a year. It was the opinion of the Soviets that the PDP were being unnecessarily brutal. The first thing the Soviets did when they finally did move into Afghanistan was murder the then current head of the PDP, Hafizullah Amin. Amin had come into power by ordering the murder of the previous communist leader of Afghanistan, Nur Muhammad Taraki, who had also been chastised by the Soviets for brutality.

The key point here is that Afghanistan was already in a civil war before the Soviets entered the country. It was that civil disorder that prompted Taraki to request Soviet intervention. The fighting in Afghanistan did not start with the Soviet 'invasion' of Afghanistan, it started as a response to the Saur Revolution.

Re: Bed that saved me from the Taliban

#40

Post by sjroot » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 3:22 PM UTC

elliekelly wrote: post #35

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.

And to have the bad guy quite literally sitting on top of you. I cannot imagine the mental fortitude it takes to maintain your composure to keep perfectly still and silent in that situation.

Right! I did think it was interesting that he said this adrenaline rush made it difficult to keep from laughing. It seems completely inappropriate, but makes sense at the same time. "Really, this is happening to me right now?"