Kabul: A City At Work

In my trawls through blogs of note, I came across this one. Away from the news of the war and the political uncertainties, these short films offer a glimpse into life and work in Kabul, Afghanistan. I chose the film here because it features a version of a soundtrack that is connected to an early memory of mine. The song "Yema da Truck Driver" is a light-hearted song, that brings a little smile back to me as I remember hearing this on cassette tape way back when. The version that I know from the movie, Orbal, is available here.

Being a jingle truck painter, is a contemporary art form. What better than to recognise this here:

Tor_Khan تور خان

Moharram 1433: محرم ۱۴۳۳

As well as heralding the start of the New Year, Moharram محرم remains a month of remembrance and one of the four sacred months of peace. The Battle of Karbala that signifies the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali (RA) in 61 AH is marked during the 10 day period of remembrance that culminates with Yaum Al Ashura.

Moharram 1433

محرم ۱۴۳۳

Ahmad Shah Bābā احمد شاه بابا

Ahmad Shah Durrani احمد شاه درانی (born in 1722 either in Herat or Multan; died in 1773, Kandahar), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī احمد شاه ابدالي was the founder of the Durrani Afghan Empire is regarded by many to be the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan when he united the land in 1747.

Born as Ahmad Khan, Ahmad Shah rose quickly to become a commander of four thousand Abdali (later known as Durrani) Pashtoon soldiers following his enlistment in the military of the Afsharid kingdom. In June 1747 following the death of Nader Shah Afshar of Persia, Ahmad Shah became the the Emir of Khorasan. Able to mobilise the Pashtoon tribes and allies, he pushed east towards the Mughal and the Maratha Empire of India as well as west towards the disintegrating Afsharid Empire of Persia and north toward the Khanate of Bukhara.

Within a few years he had conquered all of today's Afghanistan and much of northeastern Iran. After a failed attempt to gain the Panjab in 1748, Ahmad Shah returned two years later and displaced Mir Mannu, the Mughal-heir apparent and governor of Panjab. His incursions into India roused the oppostion of the Sikhs and the Maratha rulers on several occasions leading to the defeat of the Marathas eight times, including the major victory at the 1761 Battle of Panipat which was fought north of Delhi.

Western advances of the Sikhs, better organised and disciplined in opposition led to Ahmad Shah returning to Panjab in 1764 and 1767 to defend Lahore, but the threat of internal strife and mutiny of his troops over pay, meant that on his retreat, Lahore was eventually taken followed by the Sikh advance further into Panjab. Ahmad Shah focused his efforts on retaining hold of Peshawar and the country west of Attock. Even today, for Afghans who oppose the British laid Durrand Line, these areas would still be included in a "Greater Afghanistan".  

Ahmad Shah's mausoleum is located in Kandahar, Afghanistan, adjacent to the famous Mosque of the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed PBUH in the center of the city. Today he referred to as Ahmad Shah Bābā, احمد شاه بابا,  the Father of Afghanistan and the man who united the Pashtoons into one country.

7 Billion Dollar Man

... And whilst we are talking about 7 billion people, who exactly might Mr Typical be?

7 Billion People

The version of the story that appeared in the Guardian was, overall, rather gloomy. Perhaps there is reason to be. Against a backdrop of global economic woe and with limited resources, the Guardian reports that Planet Earth has become Planet Humanity. 

Officially, there are now 7 Billion People on Planet Earth. The growth in numbers illustrates this point. In October 2011 there were 1 billion more people than in October 1999. Humanity hit the "first billion people" mark in the early 19th century and then another 1.5 billion followed over the next 150 years. The rapid spike upwards continued over the last 60 years as the world's population grew another 4 and half billion.

To a point, the fear about over-consumption has validity, but do we exercise fairness when we talk about striking a balance? After all, the vast majority of people on the planet - whether populations are expanding or not - live with relative humbleness. The gloomy scenario is that not everyone can live like the capitalist industrialised west. True, there may be some limits both in the ability to deliver fossil-fuel power/temperature-controlled lifestyles, and the desirability of this, but surely people in the developing world have the right to strive for better - clean water, reliable transport links and overall quality of life.

We - the people - are part of the natural backdrop of this planet and as Mohandas K. Gandhi said: "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." 

Enjoy the film:

7 Billion People graphic taken from RobertBorkowski.com

11.11.11

At the end of World War I an armistice (truce) was called and soldiers not more than a 100 yards from each other laid down their weapons and the silence on the battlefield was "the voice of God" speaking to mankind. In 2011 on the 11th hour of the 11th day on the 11th month bells will ring out across the world for remembrance of all who have suffered from war and for hope that the world will find its way out of this killing mindset that has plagued us for far too long. Join us by ringing bells and remembering on November 11th, on 11/11/11 at 11:00am.

Peace out,

Dave Logsdon

Veterans for Peace, Minneapolis

Read more.

ګران مسلمانان

ګران مسلمانان

مبارک شئ د اختر

Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke, Mirrors  ...

November the 5th. Bonfire. Guy Fawkes. The tendency is to understand these as synonymous. The popular version of the story, beginning with a failed assassination attempt (led by Robert Catesby and supported by Guy Fawkes) is one that has familiarity, but there's something more that needs a little thought.

Bonfires (historically, the Celtic 'bone fire') stemmed from the traditions of burning waste after the autumn harvest and marked an annual pre-winter rite of passage. The contemporary version was reinforced by the Thanksgiving Act 1605 (also known as the Observance of 5th November Act) and ties in with infamous Gunpowder Plot. Look a little deeper at this and then this date is not just about the saving of King James I. It becomes the macabre 'celebration' of the death of a man who was hung, drawn and quartered following a trial for high treason.

And there is perhaps another rather ambiguous aspect to all this that might get overlooked. Is November 5th a celebration of victory over terrorism or the celebration of the terrorist himself? The popular media and the average Brit probably don't pay much thought to this possibility and are quite willing to live with a slightly over-romanticised idea of toffee apples and fireworks. But just a thought - imagine a similar date set aside for Osama bin Laden.

... and Vendetta

The transformation of rebel to iconic hero is where Guy Fawkes' legacy now lies. During the recent anti capitalist protests, the image of Guy Fawkes, like the one worn as a mask by the unnamed protagonist in the film V for Vendetta, took on a contemporary symbol of resistance. Turns out that Guido Fawkes, the great anti-government rebel, would-be assassin and terrorist, wins after all.

Oh, and my favourite quote from the film? 

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." 

Perfect.

Time

This past Sunday, British Summer Time ended and it was the first time in several years (for me) that I have experienced 1am twice in the same morning. The truth  is, I couldn't distinguish one "1am" from the other, and personally for me, not much changed between the two.

Time however, is something that  I have been thinking about a little, of late. My feeling is that we spend "time" trying to manage "time". Ironic, I guess, but when we live in a world where we are pressurised by "time" and surrounded by debates about whether we should allow our bodies and minds to follow a natural flow of time rather than an invented notion of it, there are thoughts around the subject worth exploring. Sometimes, for example, we look back and wish we could reverse time, but that begs the crucial question about whether there is such a thing (physically speaking) that can be reversed. If one second is barely different to the second before, I wonder if the measure of time is sometimes something of an arbitrary exercise. 

German Mathematicians and Philosophers Gottfried Leibniz (July 1, 1646 – November 14, 1716) and Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) were classical time 'sceptics'. In their works they broadly argue that time was relative and not absolute. And whilst there's a converse view too, of course, that proposes that time is a fundamental universal structure, for now I want to explore my own thoughts on this which sides with the view that time does not exist.

According to Leibniz and Kant, time would be disconnected from age and the process of getting older. Even Antiphon (Greece, 5BC) argued that time was unreal. John McTaggart (3 September 1866 – 18 January 1925) famously wrote a book entitled, The Unreality of Time. Time therefore, just is - something we talk about and little else. I'm inclined to agree. We have limited 'time' on Earth, but we have dreams and desires that go way beyond our lifespans. And perhaps right now that is where the accepted norm of time bothers me the most. Not time itself, but what we think it to be and our desire to control something that barely exists.

To fulfill everything we hope to achieve we think that we need more 'time' and during the North European winters, we attempt to control 'time'* by adjusting clocks. One of the reasons clocks moved back and forth every autumn and spring is that we try to capitalise on daylight by playing with 'time'. What we don't accept is that our natural selves may well be best suited to less activity during winters and that is the way it is. Instead we change time and continue to force everyone into the same 'time' patterns in a bid to keep up productivity. It was, for a time, a creative solution. But whilst, human creativity is good, but is it wise to continue to pretend we have created more 'time' just by fiddling with the clocks?

*by switching between BST to GMT in Autumn and then back in Spring