Taliban condemn Pakistan city's first McDonald's: "we don't even consider it as a food."

However, he conceded that McDonald’s was "good when you are in a hurry and have no access to proper food."

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Are you kidding? The American Taliban live on Big Macs. They’re pissed off about some of the equality and whatnot, but they can’t boycott Ronald!

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Dude, I am talking about NORMAL Americans, not American Taliban or the working poor, or 100lb 6 year olds.

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This is all because they went through the drive-thru and the cashier forgot their fries. It mad them so sad they couldn’t even be bothered to explode.

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I misread your comment. :sweat_smile:

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Hopefully, soon, the Taliban with have opinions on Starbucks coffee cup designs, then, truly, we will be all one people.

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That’s a thing?

Pakistan, among many developing countries, has no infrastructure for processed meat, among other agricultural conditions where Mcdonald’s thrives. They can make cheap burgers using whatever is available, but that would mean completely going off-brand.

McDonalds can create a $5 meal, but when the street side burger can be had for 60 cents, it is very expensive in comparison. Also the fact that McDonalds tatses like ass doesn’t help their cause.

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Unfortunately, yes. Though yes, it is rare. And sometimes there is even medical reasons for it.

http://healthland.time.com/2011/07/13/should-parents-lose-custody-of-their-very-obese-kids/

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Expats?

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Hitting the trails tonight, need to burn off some charred bovine.

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Honestly, if McDonald’s can’t compete against street vendors, I’m not worried about them as a corporate entity. There are plenty enough Americans hooked on their stuff to keep them going for a good long while… I’d suspect that the Pakistani market is a “nice to have” rather than a necessity. I’d suspect they do better in countries with a rising middle class (China and India, especially). I think the middle class in Pakistan is fleeing or not doing so hot.

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Yes, we employ 3 of them at our Lab. As a side note, apparently BEER isn’t available where they come from, they are smitten with the Micro Brew explosion.

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no link to the Big Mac Index?

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Sorry; I was feeling lazy.

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an excellent (and valid!) excuse

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I think that’s it, exactly. Taliban clergy are insane fanatics, far from mainstream Islam. Banning, raping, destroying archaeological treasures-just an ordinary morning for them.

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Looking for rational reasons why the Taliban does anything is quite generous of you.

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Why am I getting the impression that the Taliban is courting an endorsement deal for a line of energy drinks?

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I think the Taliban has more internal consistency than other groups. Boko Haram and Daesh are far more irrational, but I’d suggest that they too, can be understood as “rational” within the confines of their ideology, at least somewhat.

I’d guess like other Islamist groups, they are seeking out constituencies, and that means engaging people, seeing what their concerns are, and employing those to achieve their ends - even if at the end of the day it means breaking promises made. It’s not unusual at all. Other Islamists groups that exist within nominally democratic systems have done similar things. The Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in Gaza, etc. It’s rarely ever a “force only” program, because even the most hardline agent is going to see that force is only going to get you so far.

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