The Maple Tree: Wana De Chinar

The opening signature strings from the rubâb and the line, Ya Qurban (Oh Sacrificial/Beloved) from Wana De Chinar are a blast from a time in my childhood when films provided a bridge to our pasts and cultural identity. The film, Orbal , from which the song is taken,is a Pashto-language classic.

The early years of Pashto-language cinema represents a time when production techniques lacked contemporary sophistication, but on the whole the clip is well produced (and comes from a time when Pashto cinema was 'family viewing'). The video shows the loss occurred in the transfer process from film to video, from video to CD and then from CD to digital format. The music here however, is the key. Ustad Khyal Mohammed sings Wana De Chinar (The Maple Tree).

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Eid Prayer

May Allah accept our prayers and devotion. Peace.

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Cyber Warfare 'Now a Reality'

Cyber warfare 'now a reality' with USA and Russia armed

According to The Telegraph, the Virtual Criminology Report released by technology security company, McAfee claims that cyber warfare is now moving from science fiction to fact. The US, France, Israel and China are among the countries known to have cyber weapon programmes, according to Paul Kurtz, the former White House adviser who complied the study based on interviews with more than 20 experts.

“McAfee began to warn of the global cyber arms race more than two years ago, but now we’re seeing increasing evidence that it’s become real,” said Dave Dealt, president of McAfee.“Now several nations around the world are actively engaged in cyber warlike preparations and attacks. Today, the weapons are not nuclear, but virtual, and everyone must adapt to these threats.”

The infrastructure of most developed nations is connected to the internet and vulnerable to hackers because of insufficient security controls, the report warns. The report identifies the following:

* Cyberwarfare is a Reality – Over the past year, the increase in politically motivated cyberattacks has raised alarm and caution, with targets including the White House, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service and Department of Defense in the U.S.
* Cyberweapons Are Targeting Critical Infrastructure – Attackers are not only building their cyberdefenses, but cyberoffenses, targeting infrastructure such as power grids, transportation, telecommunication, finance and water supplies, because damage can be done quickly and with little effort.
* Cyberwar is Undefined – Cyberwarfare entangles so many different actors in so many different ways that the rules of engagement are not clearly defined.

Another interesting piece of reading is this Rand report, on cyberdeterence prepared by Martin Libicki for the US Air Force. The blog cyberwarandlaw.com looks at many issues around cyber warfare. The front cover from Time Magazine links to a report from 1995, though this article from the same magazine states that 'fear of cyberwarfare' was the basis of Obama's visit to the country this month.

I have one great desire ...

Bacha Khan

Peshawar, NWFP has been in the news for several weeks as it burns in the face of a continual onslaught of violent attacks. This is just one such story. Who is responsible? The militants? Covert government agencies? External or internal? To be honest, it matters less, when people are in fear - when stepping out to go about your daily business becomes a matter of taking the greatest of risks.

Here, I share an e-book from Google Books, Non-Violent Soldier of Islam by Eknath Easwaran on Bacha Khan's majestic struggle for justice. This is my candle for peace for all people affected by violence.

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Hunger, Poverty, Conflict

Hunger, Poverty, Conflict. It's all a dreary mess, and Afghanistan is one of many places where it all comes together.

In a survey of over 700 people in Afghanistan (reported by the BBC), poverty was cited as the main reasons cited for the ongoing conflict.

The report, by Oxfam, coincides with the World Food Summit that ended on November 18th (and seen, rather pathetically now, as not entirely successful in addressing food 'shortages') and the recent Jeffery Sach's inpsired film, The End of Poverty?

The war on terror lost direction a long time ago. What about a war on poverty, which is seen as one of the root causes of misery and conflict?

Adventure Learning: UNICEF in Space

In connection to my interest in Adventure Learning, here's something that has caught my attention - Adventure Learning in Space.

GAO VILLAGE, Mali, October 2009 – In the village of Gao, some 1200 km away from Mali’s capital city of Bamako, local children were given the special chance to speak to UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne – live from space.

The End of Poverty?

Eight Million People

8 million people die each year because they are too poor to survive and yet the tragedy is that with a little help, they could even thrive. We can banish extreme poverty in our generation.

In his book, The End of Poverty, Jeffrey Sachs argues that extreme poverty — defined by the World Bank as incomes of less than 1 dollar per day — can be eliminated globally by the year 2025.

The End of Poverty, is now a documentary film: Here's a clip that reminds us all that Poverty is Not An Accident.

The End Of Poverty? from Philippe Diaz on Vimeo.

As Gandhi, once said, "The world has enough for everybody's need, not for everybody's greed."

Walls - Farhad Darya

فرهاد دریا - د کور ديوالونە
Walls of the House by Farhad Darya

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In a World of Plenty ...

... why are so many of us hungry?

The child pictured, from Pakistan, is a window cleaner and the sole breadwinner in her family. "Whatever I earn I give to my mother, and when I am a hungry, I eat at the food distribution centre." BBC News

Yesterday's media commentary on the UNICEF report, TRACKING PROGRESS ON CHILD AND MATERNAL NUTRITION raises some alarming statistics - over 90% of the worlds most undernourished children are in Asia and Africa with an estimated 195 million children in developing countries suffering from stunting and poor physical development as a result of undernourishment.

Undernutrition caused by poor feeding and care, aggravated by illness leads to a cycle of recurring illness and faltering growth – irreversibly damaging their development and their cognitive abilities, and impairing their capacities as adults. If a child suffers from diarrhoea – due to a lack of clean water or adequate sanitation, or because of poor hygiene practices – it will drain nutrients from his or her body.

And so it goes, from bad to worse: 1 billion people world-wide are undernourished. and hungry. Children who are weakened by nutritional deficiencies cannot stave off illness for long, and the frequent and more severe bouts of illness they experience make them even weaker. A third of all deaths of under 5s is related to undernutrition.

Fifty-nine percent of under-5s in Afghanistan show signs of moderate to severe stunting and comes out as the country where percentage wise, its the highest. India, Nigeria and Pakistan also have percentages in their 40s.

In a world where there are people over-eating, and too much of our food is wasted, it is outrageous that globally, as we approach 2010, we still have instances when our children go to sleep hungry at night.

Armistice and Remembrance

In remembrance to all the people who die in war. Today, I was again asked about the poppy on my lapel, and one of the teachers at school said that for Muslims, one poppy is never enough and that we should be wearing poppies for every day of the year.

Poppies: Love and Peace

The poppy is a curious symbol of war and peace, sleep, death, remembrance and love. It is also, without doubt, connected in our minds with our opium production, recreation and ruin. As we lead up to Armistice Day, today, my interpretation is mostly positive.

The poppy has been used in classical poetry - John Alexander McCrae's poem, In Flanders Fields, is perhaps amongst the best known war poems.

The poppy theme appears in a poem by Ghani Khan, celebrated artist, Pashto poet, and son of Bacha Khan. It appears here, in its English version.

A Poppy Flower
by Ghani Khan

In a desert, once, on a hunt did I find,
With a radiant smile, a flower so fair;
Sadly, I approached and sighed, “Ah! Of my kind
Are you too – a hapless flower from a beloved’s hair.
Frail fingers wouldn’t take you to a soft face so close,
Nor would you be kissed by lips delicate and rose.”
With a silent smile the flower replied, “Don’t lose heart!
This desert I wouldn’t give up for the gardens of Iran,
A solitary I am here while legions are there,
Amidst this cursed soil I stand apart.
In this gray desert, a flamboyant flame of divine light am I,
Beauty’s silent song, a miracle from the sky.
In your garden, there are thousands of flowers like me –
A nameless droplet in a nameless sea.
You too, in your desert, don’t feel forlorn,
To behold you at last shall come a sore

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Dark Night

Tora Shpa (Dark Night)
by Aziz Alemzay & Umaira Sediqzada

I think this is great. Enjoy.

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