So scary

DOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family

It sickens me that our government is putting people in such danger.

So disturbing

This breaks my heart. And they're right. We should be doing more.

Taliban begins enforcing new draconian laws, and Afghan women despair: Afghan religious police wield new power to enforce a ban on women raising their voices in public and looking at men other than their husbands or relatives

Some Afghan women blame the outside world for their vanishing freedoms. “The silence of the world over the last three years will go down as a dark chapter in history,” said Meena, echoing a widespread sentiment in the country that global attention has moved on from Afghanistan.

Many of the women she speaks to say they have unsuccessfully applied for scholarships abroad, she said, and are running out of options.

“The Taliban will keep using religion as a weapon against women,” she said. “To them, seeing the hair of a girl is a sin, but starving your country is not.”

:)

Meet The Skater Girls Of Afghanistan: Pretty much no one had seen a skateboard in Afghanistan—so no one could tell young girls they weren't allowed to do it

In Afghanistan, where few women drive, and female soccer teams have faced death threats, it's now possible to find seven-year-old girls learning to ollie and ride a halfpipe on a skateboard. In a recent photo series, U.K.-based photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson documented the girls of Skateistan, a program that helps young Afghans learn to skate—and brings them back to school.

The project started eight years ago, when Australian skateboarder Oliver Percovich got out his board on the streets of Kabul and was quickly surrounded by crowds—especially children—who had never seen a skateboard before. He realized that he could use skateboarding as a draw to help get more kids back in the educational system, and eventually officially launched Skateistan as a back-to-school program.

Terrible, desperate, and wrong

Painful Payment for Afghan Debt: A Daughter, 6

As the shadows lengthened around her family’s hut here in one of Kabul’s sprawling refugee camps, a slight 6-year-old girl ran in to where her father huddled with a group of elders near a rusty wood stove. Her father, Taj Mohammad, looked away, his face glum.

“She does not know what is going to happen,” he said softly.

Fortunately, there was the postscript regarding the loan and the fate of the child:

After the publication of this article, the father who had agreed to give his daughter as payment for a debt called The New York Times and said the debt had been paid nearly a month ago by an anonymous donor.

The father, Taj Mohammad, and an American lawyer working with the donor confirmed that the debt had been paid early in March, more than a month after The Times began reporting on the case. Mr. Mohammad, for reasons that remained unclear and despite numerous conversations with reporters since then, did not tell The Times about it until after Monday’s article. As recently as in a telephone interview on Friday, when he was asked about any developments in the case, he did not mention the donation. Asked on Monday why he had not said anything about it, he gave no direct answer.

An article updating the case has been posted online.

But...this was one case. Perhaps Naghma will not be essentially given as collateral on a loan, for now. But what happens if the family's status worsens? And for every case where there is a happy ending, there are many more women and girls in a similar situation. What of the others like Naghma? And despite the fact that child marriage and selling of girls and women is illegal in Afghanistan, precious little is done to stop it. So horrible.

So glad to hear she's doing better

Pakistani Girl, Continuing Her Recovery, Reads in Hospital

The 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by a Taliban attacker because of her activism for girls education has been photographed reading from her hospital bed in England, where she is being treated.

The teenager, Malala Yousafzai, was shot while riding in a school bus on Oct. 9 in the Swat Valley in her home country, after she had become a symbol of resistance against the Taliban by advocating access to education for girls. She was later flown to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the Midlands city of Birmingham on Oct. 15, where her family later joined her. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, later said she was recovering at an “encouraging speed.”

Hope for this girl, and the others that are in shelter

but their treatment sickens me, and it's a culture-wide problem that needs to be addressed. Sold to her husband, essentially, prior to the age of consent for marriage, she was forced to work for the family, drugged and used when she refused to have sex with her husband, and beaten and tortured by the family.

Wed and Tortured at 13, Afghan Girl Finds Rare Justice

Frustrated that the girl could not perform the housework they expected, the family put her in the cellar, where she slept on the floor without a mattress, her hands and feet tied with rope. She was given only bread and water to eat. She was also beaten regularly. According to Sahar Gul and Ms. Daqiq, most of the beatings were at the hand of Amanullah, Ghulam Sakhi’s elderly father.

They described grotesque crimes, accusing Amanullah of hitting Sahar Gul with sticks, biting her chest, inserting hot irons in her ears and vagina, and pulling out two fingernails.

“She was helpless,” Ms. Daqiq said. “She had no hope for her life.”

Her husband and his brother are still at large. Her in-laws are in prison for the crimes, under a little-applied law that prohibits violence against women.

I feel so sorry for this man, and for the others who lost loved ones in this horrible act

Afghan Father Tries to Cope With Shooting Rampage

Wazir — who [in addition to his 7 year-old-daughter] also lost his wife, five other children ages 2 to 15, his mother, his brother, his sister-in-law and his nephew — said he would travel to the U.S. for the trial if given the opportunity but the death penalty for just one man would not be enough. The only child he has left is his 4-year-old son Habib, who was with him in another town when the shootings occurred.

And the most heart-breaking quote:

Then he brought up his 2-year-old daughter, Palwasha, and his eyes brimmed over with tears.

"I can still feel her small hands on my face and feel her pulling my beard," Wazir said as he cried and shivered in the warm air. "Even when I saw her burned body, she still had that beautiful smile."

I don't understand how anyone who is also a parent could possibly shoot children to death in such a rampage. But that is what Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales supposedly did, in all premeditation. And I feel sorry for his wife and children, for whom he has been a hero, but now he will be known as a murderer.

I hope justice prevails in this case. There may be mitigating factors in this case--post-traumatic stress from multiple tours of duty, among other things. But it is still a despicable act, and at the very least our country needs to make sure it takes responsibility for its part in sending him there and arming him, and to also give him a fair trial and hopefully people like Wazir some sense of justice, which, I'm afraid, will never restore what was taken away from them on that terrible night.

This made me cry

'Daddy will always love you': Soldier's heartbreaking goodbye letter to his baby daughter from beyond the grave after he dies in Afghanistan

Two days after she laid her beloved soldier husband to rest Emma Weaver opened the laptop he'd had in Afghanistan and was overcome with emotion.

There were two Word documents on the desktop, one called 'Dear Emma,' the other marked 'Dear Kiley' for the couple's baby daughter.

Mrs Weaver realised her darling husband Todd, who was killed by an IED on his second tour of Afghanistan in September 2010, had written both his leading ladies goodbye letters in the event of his death.

I read about this story

on the BBC originally, but here is an expanded one that really got me.

A soldier and his dog make a final journey together: Liam and Theo were a team for years — and they died within hours of each other

Liam and Theo were a team, fast friends doing a dangerous job — searching out roadside bombs laid by insurgents in Afghanistan.

The jovial British soldier and his irrepressible dog worked and played together for months, and died on the same day. On Thursday they came home, flown back to Britain in a somber repatriation ceremony for the soldier remembered for his empathy with animals and the companion he loved.

Lance Cpl. Liam Tasker, a dog handler with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, was killed in a firefight with insurgents in Helmand Province on March 1 as he searched for explosives with Theo, a bomb-sniffing springer spaniel mix. The dog suffered a fatal seizure hours later at a British army base, likely brought about by stress.

They were so successful in doing their job that their tour was extended. Theo's ashes will be given to the family of Lance Cpl. Tasker. Both were young--the man 26, the dog 22 months, both vibrant, and inseparable. Indeed, Tasker's uncle said:

"He actually said at one point that when he finished his tour he was not sure what would happen to his dog and that he could be separated from his dog," McCord told the local Courier newspaper in Scotland. "That was preying on his mind, but they are not separated now."

RIP Liam and Theo.

When I had that NY Times subscription

on my Kindle, I was struck that each day they listed those who were killed in Afghanistan (and there was a rare day when no one was). Often, the men and women listed were from the 101st Airborne Division, which is based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

101st Suffers Deadliest Combat Year Since Vietnam

They arrived in Afghanistan in February 2010. Since that time 106 members of the division have been killed, surpassing those killed in Iraq.

My thoughts are with their families, and with other servicemen and women--and those left behind--during such a difficult time. I know three people personally whose husband or son have been or are in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

I was a child of the Vietnam War whose father spent most of the first six years of my life in southeast Asia. There is one picture of me (I'm about 2) with my finger pointing at his picture. My mother always thought it looked like I was asking, 'Is this my Daddy?'

War is awful--horrendous on those in the battle zone and agonising for those left behind. I wish we could end this conflict easily and just bring them all home. I just don't think that is possible at this juncture, though.

Five--count them--five

Family members in one deployment, all serving in Afghanistan. A man, his wife, his brother, stepbrother, and cousin, all there at the same time. Wow. I wish them well.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Poor dog, poor family :(

Hero dog from Afghanistan mistakenly killed: 'Target' euthanized at Arizona shelter before owner could claim her

A dog named Target that lived through explosions in war-torn Afghanistan couldn't survive a brief stay at an Arizona animal shelter.

The shepherd mix was featured on "The "Oprah Winfrey Show" and local media for her heroics in Afghanistan, got loose from her owners on Friday and was put down on Monday after spending the weekend in a county shelter.

An unidentified employee at the Pinal County facility was placed on administrative leave after euthanizing the female shepherd mix by mistake, county Animal Care and Control officials said.

In Afghanistan, Target frightened a suicide bomber inside a military base. Who knows how many lives were saved? It's sad she made it all the way here only to be put to death by mistake. Now all they'll have of a heroine is her cremains.

Well, drat

I got a call today asking if I would like to be my state medical library association's president (it's a two year gig). I explained that I would love to, but I don't own a car and this makes it unlikely that I can get to every meeting, and I rely on others to get to the ones outside of Lexington. Which is a bummer, because I really would like to do it. I was president of one of the groups that later merged into this organisation years ago, and really enjoyed it.

Sigh. I really need to be doing more to save for a car. Of course, starting this month, I'm finally starting to pay on my student loans, so that might be a little more difficult.

On a high note, the chief of staff and another surgeon at the hospital caught me in the hall the other day and really complimented what I do. And I had a site-visit from the state coordinator of the early literacy project I run and they were pleased too. Plus...I had another book review published on Friday. It's in this month's issue of The Journal of Hospital Librarianship and is on a book about operating interlibrary loan services on a shoestring budget.

So career-wise, things are nice, and I've been working a little overtime, but that's ending as of tomorrow. The data entry work is going well (that was where the overtime came in).

As an added bonus, I got rides both to and from work today as one of my co-workers saw me walking to the bus stop this morning and took me over to the hospital, and of course there's the nice woman who has been giving me rides home the last few few weeks.

Tomorrow I'm going over to a friend's house so I need to remember to wear light clothing since I'll be catching the bus. Fortunately the bus stop across from the hospital is a little more visible than the one directly in front of it (no trees).

I've been reading through my news feeds as I had not done so for several days. I found this gem:

http://www.savethewords.org/ is run by the folks at the Oxford English Dictionary. It allows you to 'adopt' words that are considered obsolete so that they can continue to be used and enjoyed. The site wasn't loading as I write this, but that should (hopefully) be a temporary thing. Thanks to LISNews for the link.

Okay, I think I'm going to go do some reading. I still need to finish the New York Times on the Kindle and then I have Charlaine Harris' Grave Secret out from the library and need to read it before the 16th. The Times reminds me, there was a sad but interesting story today:

For Afghan Wives, a Desperate, Fiery Way Out

It is shameful here to admit to troubles at home, and mental illness often goes undiagnosed or untreated. Ms. Zada, the hospital staff said, probably suffered from depression. The choices for Afghan women are extraordinarily restricted: Their family is their fate. There is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to serve her husband’s family. Outside that world, she is an outcast.

“If you run away from home, you may be raped or put in jail and then sent home and then what will happen to you?” asked Rachel Reid, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who tracks violence against women.

Returned runaways are often shot or stabbed in honor killings because the families fear they have spent time unchaperoned with a man. Women and girls are still stoned to death. Those who burn themselves but survive are often relegated to grinding Cinderella existences while their husbands marry other, untainted women.

The women often mistakenly think that immolating themselves will be quick. Instead, it can lead to burns, infections, lingering deaths, or horrible scars. The fact that they feel so desperate that they do this is so sad and terrible.

How to know you've been fighting a war too damn long

Kids on 9/11 now fighting long Afghan war: Many of the troops who invaded in 2001 have left military and moved on

After awhile, don't you kind of lose sight of why? I don't think we have just yet, but still.... And the Afghani people have seen 30 years of war, with the Soviets, the Taliban, and the Americans/NATO forces all in that time. So sad.

I don't know what the outcome will be, but it will no doubt be messy. One of the things I like about the New York Times (I have a free two-month subscription on the Kindle, so I've being reading that every day) is that they always list the number of troops that have died by that day, along with any new ones. A great proportion seem to be from the 101st Airborne, which I believe is based, or at least partly so, here in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Barbaric if the allegations prove true

Official: Taliban execute boy, 7, as spy: Afghan president condemns alleged act as 'crime against humanity'

Suspected Taliban militants publicly hanged a 7-year-old boy for spying in the militant stronghold of Helmand province, an Afghan official told the Associated Press.

The child was placed on trial by the Islamic extremist group and later found guilty of working for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government, the local official said.

Karzai on Thursday condemned the alleged act, calling it a "crime against humanity".

Seven years old???

Go find a kid to hug. Children are precious; they are our future. They should not be pawns of adults.

A grim milestone indeed

Texan is GI death 1,000 in Afghan war: 'He always wanted to die for his country,' brother says

The 1,000th American serviceman killed in Afghanistan had already fallen once to a hidden explosive, driving his Humvee over a bomb in Iraq in 2007. The blast punched the dashboard radio into his face and broke his leg in two places.

Marine Cpl. Jacob C. Leicht didn't survive his second encounter with a bomb this week. The death of the 24-year-old Texan born on the Fourth of July marks a grim milestone in the Afghanistan war.

Leicht, who spent two painful years recovering from the Iraq blast, was killed Thursday when he stepped on a land mine in Helmand province that ripped off his right arm. He had written letters from his hospital bed begging to be put back on the front lines, and died less than a month into that desperately sought second tour.

To his family, I hope the fact that he lived and died as he wanted to brings you comfort. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

There are those who want a world where women and girls cannot thrive

Afghan schoolgirls fall ill in suspected gas attack

Afghan schoolgirls poisoned by Taliban?: 'A smell like a flower reached my nose,' says hospitalized girl

A different sort of archive

Archiving mementos at Section 60: Curators collect items left at Arlington cemetery

Without a national memorial to the more than 5,300 service members who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, Section 60 has become its own community of remembrance. Thousands of mementos left at their graves stand testament to the grief of loved ones.

Crown Royal whiskey bottles, war medals, birth announcements, wedding photos, Christmas ornaments, GI Joe action figures, painted rocks, church bulletins, a fishing lure, even a rubber duck are among the items left at the graves of the more than 600 from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who are buried at Arlington.

Families gather for birthday parties for the fallen, leaving behind cupcakes and balloons. War orphans drop off handmade valentines. Twenty-somethings with crewcuts and military boots smoke a cigar and set an empty beer bottle next to a buddy's white grave marker.

Arlington is a working cemetery, not a museum, not a memorial. For years items left at the cemetery were thrown away in an effort to keep it clean and presentable. But last fall a request was made to begin to collect items left at the gravesides. Every Thursday, military curators gather non-perishable items, photograph them, and then bag them up and take them with them. They're intentionally not accessessioning them, to prevent them from becoming specifically military property, but they are saving them until a next step can be determined. Someday, I'm sure, there will be a memorial to those who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan, but until that time, curators are preserving history for us. Kudos to them, and to their effort. As one of the women interviewed for the article (who found out she was pregnant a few day after husband's death) said:

When they see a card left from a 2-year-old or a balloon left welcoming a son that they never met, I think that makes more of an impact. It makes Americans a little bit more thankful or appreciative.

She's right. A tangible item puts things into perspective, breathes life into names and numbers, and remind us of the personalities lost and left behind. I hope this pilot project continues.

Wow

US doctor takes live ammo from soldier's head

A U.S. military doctor removed a live round of ammunition from the head of an Afghan soldier in an unusual and harrowing surgery.

Doctors say a 14.5 millimeter unexploded round — more than 2 inches long — was removed from the scalp of an Afghan National Army soldier at the Bagram Air Field hospital last month.

A look at spaces left behind

In the musical Les Misérables, Marius sings of the 'empty chairs and empty tables' now that his friends from the student rebellion have died.

Photographer Ashley Gilbertson has taken photos of the bedrooms left behind by soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. These poignant reminders of loss show the personalities of their former occupants, now lost to the world.

The Shrine Down the Hall

The New York Times Magazine put twenty of her photographs together as a slideshow, along with the name, age, place, and circumstances of death for each one. Each name links to a picture of the person. My favourite, the one that really got me the most, was that of Private First Class Richard P. Langenbrunner, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, who died on April 17, 2007 in Rustamiyah, Iraq, of a suicide. He was 19 years old. His room has posters of Stargate SG-1 and Lord of the Rings; he has a replica of Bilbo Baggins' sword 'Sting' on his wall as well. There is a telescope in the window, pointed towards the heavens. The room strikes you as that of someone curious, imaginative, and ready to explore.

The photos are stark, black-and-white. They resonate with emptiness and remembrance, as shrines to loved ones now gone. A daughter's stuffed animals, a son's baseball trophies--the details of the things we surround ourselves with--they are all that remain. The photos themselves are moving, and the details worth contemplating.

What would remain of you when you die? How would your family remember you?

I read about this photoessay on Brandon's blog. Thanks, Brandon.