You Mates! Roman's Kabul Blog

[Times Roman]

Headless Goat right?

headless? of course!

[Times Roman]

Man Cave Pics...
nothing exciting really. The funny thing is the jacuzzi tub... supposed to seat two comfortably. Looks cool, right? Now look at the water heater. What do you think?

I guess if you can look really hard in the closet, you'll find all my tuna, protein powder, some of my supplements are visible, fiber in the back, rolled oats, peanut butter, more supplements above the bathroom sink... inside the mirror it's pretty full with more supplements and vitamins

nothing exciting, but here for awhile it's home. Soon, we will be ordering bedroom furniture... i'm hoping to get a recliner, but if you looked at the furniture pics, you will know there really isn't any lazyboy furniture in Kabul...

http://s1111.photobucket.com/albums/...an/Man%20Cave/

[SlimmerMe]

very organized....
tuna, jack, ties,

[Times Roman]

oh, you saw the jack? you weren't supposed to see that... yeah, i've been cheating on my diet, well, just a little, ok, a little more....
but Im getting back on track hopefully, all i drink is water, avoid carbs, focus on the green veggies and meat.... btw.... dinner was, well, almost all carbs... very difficult to eat clean here.... i need a protein shake.... brb

[Shol'va]

I hear you found the secret to all the sex those afghans have. I dont blame you for not partaking in it. And we thought that we had issues with our priests over here molesting the boys. Over there it's just passe. No wonder those boys over there are so eager to strap on bombs and blow themselves up. I would too if I were passed around like a piece of meat at 12 years old.

[thegodfather]

Kabul...lets see some pics of the firepower you're carrying around down there....Bodyguards are cool, but surely one would feel naked there not carrying a firearm?

[Times Roman]

I hear you found the secret to all the sex those afghans have. I dont blame you for not partaking in it. And we thought that we had issues with our priests over here molesting the boys. Over there it's just passe. No wonder those boys over there are so eager to strap on bombs and blow themselves up. I would too if I were passed around like a piece of meat at 12 years old.

I'm observing as well that men and women do not socialize together as they grow up, and are segregated. So two points....
1) As boys begin to mature and become curious sexually, with no girls around, I imagine they experiment on each other? I've heard several stories... the one today was about a young male that wed a bride (sight unseen), and worked for someone I now work with. Anyways, when the NGO's moved into the vacant building next door, my associate received complaints about two young men going anal on each other up on the roof where everybody can see.... one of them was the newly wed that worked for my associate
2) This aligns with what you just said. Males are segregated from women, and quite often, an old perv will snatch a young boy and have his way with him.... teaching him that forced sex is "socially acceptable".

No wonder there is a perception that Muslims hate everybody.... it's maybe a defense mechanism?

[Times Roman]

Kabul...lets see some pics of the firepower you're carrying around down there....Bodyguards are cool, but surely one would feel naked there not carrying a firearm?

Not allowed mate! Had our first altercation, not serious, but still...

we were in the AV, and get pulled over at a check point. There is a ruckus.... my guide is explaining that the police want to see the permet for the guards weapon and radio. Guard shows the necessary permits. more commotion. Guard steps out... we lose sightof him. 45 minutes go by, detained, no guard, and finally he comes back unarmed. We returned back to the compound, security chief is pissed (not at me), and is suspicious about the transaction... he's smelling a con, and tells me so at supper tonight. the story is the police didn't believe the license was legit, and they confiscate the weapon.

In the states, we bank on line and put a stamp on an envelope to mail a payment. Here, it takes 3 hours, and you never make it, and a weapon gets confiscated to boot.

[Times Roman]

And does anyone know why an Afghan's left hand is considered dirty?

[Shol'va]

And does anyone know why an Afghan's left hand is considered dirty?

No toilet paper so they use their left hand to wipe.

[Times Roman]

and I guess they carry this little squeeze bottler of water to rinse off after.....

[wmaousley]

And does anyone know why an Afghan's left hand is considered dirty?

Most all Muslims are very clean when it comes to taking a shit, so they spray water on their ahole to clean it then wipe excess water with paper in left hand instead of doing what we nasty westerners do and use paper to smear it in.
Basically in a nut shell In islam the right hand is used to eat, shake hands ect. the left hand is for everything else.

[Tigershark]

Nice setup you have going there TR.

[paulzane]

Most all Muslims are very clean when it comes to taking a shit, so they spray water on their ahole to clean it then wipe excess water with paper in left hand instead of doing what we nasty westerners do and use paper to smear it in.
Basically in a nut shell In islam the right hand is used to eat, shake hands ect. the left hand is for everything else.

That is why when they chop your hand off it is the right hand they chopp as the left one is unclean .............. just to pi ss the thief off more!

[Times Roman]

Nice setup you have going there TR.

thanks mate! it's comfy. starting to settle in here, get in the swing of things. Had facilities get me 20 hangers so now I can hang up shirts and pants... found a little flashlight so now when I go bumping around outside the room at night, I can actually see the stairs I'm climbing....

the police have the city locked down pretty tight today/tonight. It should be better tomorrow. Some kind of political thing was going on...

have the ccn staff didn't show today since they are claiming the roads were impassable. (how did the other half get here?)

[Times Roman]

I've started growing a beard. Everyone here has one, and I never get the chance stateside.

So hold on to your hats mates!! Old Roman is going ZZTop on yer assses!!

[SlimmerMe]

blend right in.....may as well!

[stack_it]

Is that rum i see up there aswell tr?

Looks like a nice cozy little place.

[Shol'va]

I've started growing a beard. Everyone here has one, and I never get the chance stateside.

So hold on to your hats mates!! Old Roman is going ZZTop on yer assses!!

You'll blend in to the crowd over there with a beard. They'll never know your American till you talk. tell them you have a half brother over there that you havent seen in years...Osama Bin Hidin

[SlimmerMe]

Is that rum i see up there aswell tr?

Looks like a nice cozy little place.

Jack

[Tigershark]

A beard huh. Lucky you, my facial hair is missin in some areas for some reason so no go on the beard for me.

[paulzane]

You'll blend in to the crowd over there with a beard. They'll never know your American till you talk. tell them you have a half brother over there that you havent seen in years...Osama Bin Hidin

True ..... When the rags were walking through the traffic out here poping the Westerners sat in their cars I decided it was safer to grow a beard. Sat iin a car with shades on and a tan (I have dark hair) you would pretty much look like one of them.

We had some SAS (special forces) guys come out to brief us on security and safety measures. When I went into the lecture room for the briefing the SAS guy came up to me and said that the Saudi Nationals would be gettng their briefing on another day!

I said "You're having a laugh!" He siad that that was the best disguise he had seen and made a big issue about it in his brief!!

So blending in is a good security measure!

[Times Roman]

I played a horn for 8+ years, and now don't have any follicles right below the septum of my nose, so the 'stach doesn't come in right

Yes, blending in is the idea.

It's pretty hard to blend in while riding in an armourded vehicle (AV) though. For that reason, some of our sub contractors that have lived here for years refuse to get in one.

There is two ways to defend yourself here... the extremely expensive way....(current way), where everything is clamped down and AK-47 toting guards everywhere, or..
the inexpensive way, where you blend in and you look like everyone else (the way the experienced guys prefer it)

it's pretty tough at the compound level to blend in.... for obvious reasons

but there is a lot of variety here in how people look

afghanistan has been conquered so many times that as I ride down the road, I see red headed people regularly

evidently, loooong ago, Alexander the great concquered this area, and made sure he and his spread DNA as often as they could

so a white bloke wouldn't raise too many eyebrows... especially if the clothing was local

[Times Roman]

oh, and btw... picked up a 35" TV yesterday.... and it is hooked up to satellite, although my pic is fuzzy... local is coming back saturday and by pass the wiring in the concrete walls direct to the satellite... evidently the wiring in the walls is pretty crappy.

this was a pleasant surprise, since I was told only the local channels were available...

so now I may be able to watch the superbowl

[Times Roman]

life here aint too bad, 'cept the no sex part, and the away from the family part, and the food kickin yer but part, and the islolation part
but other than that.....

....we BBQ'd some TBones last night... there were 9 of us... i did the burning, someone brought out some gentleman jack, and after, I took the grill off and began piling on the logs, made a nice little bon fire like i was back at home. We are on the roof doing this, and I look down at the big pile of wood, and so I ask who hauled up all the wood. My buddy turns to me and said, "well of course... F brought it up all three floors... he's our slave!" This was funny, cause F is a pretty good local, fairly western, and sipping on some jack


but anytime a local staff addresses us, the word sir is used quite often.... get used to it

[Times Roman]

Today is my day off so I will take some pics of the inside of the residential area

[Times Roman]

pics of me wandering around the halls bored as hell

http://s1111.photobucket.com/albums/...28%20Jan%2011/

[Times Roman]

They didn't mention the name of the store, but I think I was there just the other day... if it is the store I'm thinking of, it's called Finest and it's like a little Safeway. That traffic circle they are referring to is terrible... in the center of a town that has 5 million people, they have this traffic circle, and traffic is conjested as fuk.

Kabul is fairly safe right now, then this shit happens.......

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110128/...as_afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber killed eight people, including five foreigners, inside a high-end grocery store on Friday in the heart of a heavily guarded district that's home to many diplomats and Westerners.

Initial reports indicate that two American citizens were among those killed in the third deadly attack in the Afghan capital in six weeks, a senior U.S. official told The Associated Press. American security officers are now working with Afghan security to establish identities and nationalities, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because reports were preliminary and the process of informing the victims' families was not complete.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for what it called an attack targeting an employee of the U.S. security contractor formerly known as Blackwater in a district long seen one of the safest in the city.

In recent weeks the government has started taking down some of the fortifications in the district, including blast walls and dirt-filled barriers protecting places frequented by foreigners or erected around homes.

A man and four women from outside Afghanistan died in the blast, said Mohammad Zahir, the chief of criminal investigation for the Kabul police. The other three victims included an Afghan child. Fifteen other people were wounded.

The identities of the victims were not immediately released by either foreign or Afghan officials.

Ahmad Zaki, another criminal investigator, said the suicide bomber threw at least one grenade and fired shots, prompting customers to run to another area of the store, known as Finest.

"Then he blew himself up," Zaki said.

The explosion ignited a small fire in the frozen food section and filled the main floor of the two-story store with smoke.

"To my left, I heard a gunshot. A bomb went off. Everyone was running to the back of the building," said Mary Hayden, a Western consultant who was inside the story.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the "enemies of Afghanistan are so desperate that they are now killing civilians, including women, inside a food market."

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul condemned what it described as a "senseless act."

"By attacking a peaceful place of commerce, insurgents have once again demonstrated their lack of respect for the safety of the Afghan people," the embassy said.

In a text message sent to reporters, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid wrote: "It was an attack on the chief of Blackwater."

Blackwater Worldwide, which is based in North Carolina and is now called Xe Services, is one of many private security companies that are disliked by many Afghans because they appear to operate with impunity. Karzai, who has moved to ban many of the guns-for-hire, has complained for years that many private guards commit human rights abuses, pay protection money to the Taliban and undercut the country's national security forces by offering higher wages and better living conditions.

A spokeswoman for Xe did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

The store was full of foreign customers, according to Moujib, a 14-year-old Afghan boy who uses just one name.

"I was on the first floor and we heard a boom," he said, crying and clinging to his mother. "I might have heard some shooting. Then I saw fire everywhere."

Yama, an Afghan man who sells phone cards at a traffic circle just outside the store, said he and other sellers then rushed inside to help wounded and dazed customers from the store.

"They were looking around like they didn't know what had happened," he said.

In July 2008 when a suicide car bomb blew up outisde the gates of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, killing more than 60 people

In Nov. 2009, Taliban militants wearing police uniforms stormed a residential hotel packed with foreigners killing 11, including five United Nations workers and three attackers.

In Dec. 2009, a suicide car bomber struck near the home of a former Afghan vice president and a hotel frequented by Westerners, killing at least eight people and wounding nearly 40. The attack occurred in the same neighborhood as Friday's grocery store attack.

In May 2010, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy, killing 18 people including six NATO service members — five Americans and a Canadian.

The last attack in Kabul occurred on Jan. 12 when a suicide bomber on a motorbike targeted a minibus carrying Afghan intelligence service employees, killing at least two and wounding more than 30.

[SlimmerMe]

grill just as I imagined.....and if you run out of logs, just toss in the fence

[Times Roman]

the one thing I've been noticing here... very few trees, very few birds, very few dogs and cats....

when I was in the office the other day, a pigeon landed on the outside sill and watched me for quite awhile.... thought it was going to ask me for a dollar

[DSM4Life]

[Times Roman]

2nd ninja cat pic?

[DSM4Life]

[Times Roman]

that makes three.... you must subscribe?

[DSM4Life]

[Times Roman]

yer too much =)

[DSM4Life]

[Times Roman]

I have been on this board literally for hours!

This is going to sound strange, but I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow

[DSM4Life]

lol i been procrastinating for hours. I need to goto the gym. lateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Times Roman]

How was the w/o?

Well, today I guess I'll find out how bad it was, the bomb blast that is...