All images below are by the Iranian photographer Reza, whose work I first encountered at an exposition at the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris in 2003 (Reza was one inspiration for the character of Luke in my novel The French Art of Stealing). Reza’s Luxembourg Garden show “Crossed Destinies” can still be viewed in its entirety online. The poem “Ford o’ Kabul River” is by Rudyard Kipling and details a disaster that befell the English 10th Hussars during the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80).

Children Playing, Northwest Afghanistan, 1985

Kabul town’s by Kabul river—
Blow the bugle, draw the sword—
There I lef’ my mate for ever,
Wet an’ drippin’ by the ford.
Ford, ford, ford o’ Kabul river,
Ford o’ Kabul river in the dark!
There’s the river up and brimmin’, an’ there’s ’arf a squadron swimmin’
’Cross the ford o’ Kabul river in the dark.

Kabul town’s a blasted place—
Blow the bugle, draw the sword—
’Strewth I sha’n’t forget ’is face
Wet an’ drippin’ by the ford!
Ford, ford, ford o’ Kabul river,
Ford o’ Kabul river in the dark!
Keep the crossing-stakes beside you, an’ they will surely guide you
’Cross the ford o’ Kabul river in the dark.

Wise Man, Afghani-Pakistani Frontier, 1983

Kabul town is sun and dust—
Blow the bugle, draw the sword—
I’d ha’ sooner drownded fust
’Stead of ’im beside the ford.
Ford, ford, ford o’ Kabul river,
Ford o’ Kabul river in the dark!
You can ’ear the ’orses threshin’, you can ’ear the men a-splashin’,
’Cross the ford o’ Kabul river in the dark.

Kabul town was ours to take—
Blow the bugle, draw the sword—
I’d ha’ left it for ’is sake—
’Im that left me by the ford.
Ford, ford, ford o’ Kabul river,
Ford o’ Kabul river in the dark!
It’s none so bloomin’ dry there; ain’t you never comin’ nigh there,
’Cross the ford o’ Kabul river in the dark?

Firefight, Entrance to Kabul, 1983

Kabul town’ll go to hell—
Blow the bugle, draw the sword—
’Fore I see him ’live an’ well—
’Im the best beside the ford.
Ford, ford, ford o’ Kabul river,
Ford o’ Kabul river in the dark!
Gawd ’elp ’em if they blunder, for their boots’ll pull ’em under,
By the ford o’ Kabul river in the dark.

Afghan Valley of Pandjshir, 2000

Turn your ’orse from Kabul town—
Blow the bugle, draw the sword—
’Im an’ ’arf my troop is down,
Down an’ drownded by the ford.
Ford, ford, ford o’ Kabul river,
Ford o’ Kabul river in the dark!
There’s the river low an’ fallin’, but it ain’t no use o’ callin’
’Cross the ford o’ Kabul river in the dark.

God blessed us with Reza who is turning eight today,

A dear child who brings happiness to those who are near,

Everyday you bring to us all the joy that life could hold,

One day you will for certain become all you’re meant to be,

Happy birthday to our dear son,

May Almighty God bless you today, tomorrow and always…

Oração da propina

“Somos gratos pela vida do Durval ter sido instrumento de bênção para nossas vidas, para essa cidade, porque o Senhor contempla a questão no seu coração. Tantas são as investidas, Senhor, de homens malignos contra a vida dele. Nós precisamos da Tua cobertura e dessa Tua graça, da Tua sabedoria, de pessoas que tenham armas para nos ajudar nesta guerra. Todas as armas podem ser falhas, todos os planejamentos podem falhar, todas nossas atividades, mas o Senhor nunca falha. O Senhor tem pessoas para condicionar e levar o coração para onde o Senhor quer. A sentença é o Senhor quem determina, o parecer e o despacho é o Senhor que faz acontecer. Nós precisamos de livramento na vida do Durval, dos seus filhos, familiares.”

From Facebook Note

Pagi ini waktu lagi sarapan, walaupun duduk membelakangi tivi, Reza tetap mendengarkan tivi sambil makan. Saat jeda iklan, tadi itu ditayangkan iklan KB Andalan. Kalau belum pernah lihat iklan itu, disana digambarkan pasangan suami istri yang selalu ditanyai oleh ibu mereka: ketika masih pacaran ditanya “Kapan nikahnya?”… saat sudah menikah ditanya “Kapan mau punya anak?”… dan waktu sudah punya anak ditanya “Kapan mau punya adik?”…

Nah Reza tuh sampai hapal, jadi walaupun dia tidak lihat gambarnya, dia ngikutin tuh ngomong  ‘Kapan nikahnya? Kapan mau punya anak? Kapan mau punya adik?’ sambil nyengir2 jahil gitu dan bilang “Reza sudah hapal iklannya” sambil ngelirik Mamanya.

Selesai iklan, Reza mendadak nanya “Mamanya pake KB apa?”, mukanya kepingin tahuuu banget. Mamanya gelagapan dong, karena tahu kebiasaan Reza kalau sudah tanya satu pasti ada pertanyaan berikutnya. Jadi Mamanya ngeles, bilang “Kok nanya-nanya?” sambil mikir mau bilang apa…

Reza jawab “Mau tahu aja, pake pil KB atau apa?” wadyuh kok Reza tahu ya, pasti karena nyimak iklan dan berita deh. Mamanya masih ngeles “Memangnya Reza tahu apa lagi selain itu?” dan dia jawab “Udah, cuma itu aja”.

Akhirnya Mamanya cuma bisa bilang “Nanti ya Mama bilangnya kalau Reza udah gedean….”. Reza jawab “Oooh, kalau udah umur delapan? Yeeeey sebentar lagi looh…” dan topik pembicaraan beralih ke ulangtahunnya yang memang sudah dekat. Mamanya legaaaa, untuk sementara ini Reza belum ngotot minta jawaban pertanyaan itu hahahaha…..

In a country where people are not able to find sugar and other daily usage items and where electricity has become a real luxury , the elite political , military ,corrupt business and bureaucratic classes consider themselves above every law of the land and don’t think of themselves answerable to any system of justice.

Below is the list of NRO beneficiaries which include list of accused criminals who got their selves cleaned with this draconian law introduced by the dictator Musharraf.

———————————————————————————————————————–

Finally, dreaded NRO list is out and official

The News

By Ansar Abbasi
Source : http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=25672

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) presented to the government on Thursday a list of 248 politicians and bureaucrats, who were alleged to have plundered hundreds of billions of rupees but were cleared by the NAB under the NRO.

Sources in the Law Ministry while sharing with The News the “complete list” of NAB’s NRO beneficiaries, explained that thousands other cases of NRO beneficiaries did not belong to the NAB but with the provincial governments because they were criminal cases and were not covered by the NAB law.

On top of the list is the name of President Asif Ali Zardari while his several close associates, both political and bureaucratic, including Rehman Malik, Salman Farooqi and his brother Usman Farooqi, Hussain Haqqani and Siraj Shamsuddin are also reflected.

The list, which also reflects a brief introduction of the cases dropped against each name under the NRO, also includes the name of serving and former ministers, federal and provincial secretaries, ex-chief secretaries, existing or former members of the national and provincial assemblies and others.

According to the list, Asif Ali Zardari remained the beneficiary No 1 of the NRO as at least eight of his NAB cases of corruption and misuse of authorities were dropped. These cases included the alleged kickbacks from SGS PSI Company, grant of licence to ARY Gold causing huge loss to government, corruption in purchase of Ursus tractors under the Awami Tractor Scheme, illegal award of contract to Cotecna for pre-shipment, assets beyond means, received kickbacks from Sajjad Ahmad (late) ex-chairman Pakistan Steel Mills, illegal construction of Polo ground at PM House and the money laundering SGS Swiss case.

Others amongst politicians include Nawaz Yousaf Talpur, ex-MNA and former minister, who was co-accused in URSUS tractors case; Ms Nusrat Bhutto, assets case; ex-MNA and the PPP Secretary General Jehangir Badr, assets case and corruption in Sui Southern Gas Company; ex-minister for commerce and presently Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, misuse of authority in issuing sugar export permit to non-entitled persons in 1994; ex-MNA Malik Mushtaq Ahmed Awan, embezzlement in Octroi contracts; ex-MNA Rana Nazir Ahmed, assets case and misuse of authority; ex-MPA Mian M Rashid, assets case and illegal appointments; ex-MPA Tariq Anees, assets beyond means; ex-MPA Mian Tariq Mehmood Dina, assets beyond means; ex-minister of education Sindh Agha Sirajuddin and others, misuse of authority; ex-chief minister and former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, misuse of authority, illegal allotment of plots and assets case; ex-provincial minister Ghani-ur-Rehman, assets beyond means; ex-senator Haji Gulsher, misuse of authority and acquisition of land; ex-provincial minister Habibullah Khan Kundi, misuse of authority and acquisition of land; ex-MNA Mir Baz Muhammad Khan Khethran, misappropriation of government funds allocated for people’s works programme; ex-federal minister Anwar Saifullah Khan, misuse of authority in allocation of LPG and illegal appointments; ex-provincial minister Sardar Mansoor Laghari, corruption in Utility Stores Corporation; ex-Mayor Sargodha Ch Abdul Hameed, assets beyond means; ex-chairman Zila Council Lahore Ch Shoukat Ali, ex-MNA Haji Kabir and ex-chairman Zila Council Lahore Ch Zulfikar Ali in Zila Council fraud case.

Amongst government servants and others, who had benefited from NRO and got themselves cleared from NAB cases include ex-additional director general FIA and presently Interior Minister Rehman Malik, embezzlement of funds on account of un-authorized released of imported yellow cab cars, illegal detention of complainant and illegal gratification; ex-secretary information and presently Pakistan’s ambassador in the US Husain Haqqani, co-accused in Ms BB case of TV channels; ex-federal secretary and presently principal secretary to the president Suleman Farooqi, illegal allotment of textile quota, forgery and fraud, obtained illegal benefits in connivance with exporters; ex-chairman Pakistan Steels Mill, caused loss to Pak Steels through illegal disposal of 15.93 MT of end cuts, procurement of Ferro Silicon at higher rates; ex-joint secretary PM Secretariat, former principal secretary to the PM Gilani and presently Executive Director ADB Siraj Shamsuddin, illegal appointment; ex-NBP president and presently Pakistan’s ambassador M B Abbasi, corruption and corrupt practices and loan default; ex-secretary Sindh Rasool Baksh Rahoo, KPT land cases; Mashook Ahmed Usmani, Aurangzeb, Moin ul Arfeen, Akhtar H Askari and Kher M Kalochi of Pakistan Steels Mills (PSM) in the case of purchases on exorbitant prices for PSM; ex-DG textile quota Nayyar Bari and ex-DD Export Promotion Board Anees Alam, illegal allotment of textile quota, forgery/fraud, obtained illegal benefits in connivance with exporters; ex- secretary commerce Brig (R) Aslam Hayat Qureshi, co-accused in ARY Gold case; ex-advisor to Prime Minister A R Siddiqi, co-accused in AAZ and BB cases; ex-principal secretary to the PM Saeed Mehdi, co-accused in polo ground case; ex-principal secretary to the PM Ahmed Sadiq, assets beyond means; ex-chief secretary Punjab Javed Qureshi, fraud in Zila Council Lahore contracts; ex president HBL, willful default, ex DG Intelligence Bureau Brig Imtiaz, assets beyond means; ex-MD Printing Corporation of Pakistan Pir Mukarram, corruption and corrupt practices; ex-DG Textile Quota Akhtar Alam in textile quota case; ex-secretary Petroleum Capt (R) Naseer Ahmad, misuse of authority in awarding contracts for OGDC; ex-Director Textile Quota Syed Arfeen, textile quota case; customs officials Khalid Aziz, Muhammad Nawaz Butt and Mumtaz Ali Changezi in illegal evasion of tax duties case and wrong refund of customs rebate case; Pak Steel employees Syed Iqtedar Rasool, Qaiser Raza, Irfanuddin, Hisamuddin and Qurban Ali Jatoi in import of PIG iron for PSM case; General Manager Port Qasim Authority Abdul Sattar Dero, corruption in PSM; businessman/transporter Pir Deedar Hussain Shah, yellow cab scam; ex-FIA Assistant Director Sajjad Haider, ex-Inspector Muhammad Sharif Qureshi and inspector Moeen Ashraf, all three co-accused of Rehman Malik in embezzlement of funds on account of unauthorized release of imported yellow cab cars case; Assistant Director FIA Agha Ishrat Ali, assets beyond means; ex-Deputy Director FIA Ch Muhammad Sharif, assets beyond means; ex-Additional Commissioner Income Tax Javed Iqbal Mirza, assets beyond means; ex Managing Director Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Aftab Ahmed, misuse of authority in awarding contracts; Project Director Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Fareed Ahmed, misuse of authority in awarding contracts; ex-Regional Commissioner of Income Tax Sindh Abrar Ahmed, assets beyond known resources.

The names of other beneficiaries are Collector Customs Imtaiz Ali Taj; ex-Secretary Javed Burki, DG Port Qasim Authority Irshad Ahmed Sheikh; AD FIA Noor Muhammad Kaka; Maj (R) Rashid Khan; Additional Director FIA Ali Qaswar Bokhari; ex-DG Peshawar Development Authority Syed Zahir Shah; Suptd Customs Check Post Mand Muhammad Younas Butt; Customs officials Sherdad Khan, Sajad Hussain, Muhammad Sarwar and Abdul Hameed Siddiqi; Senior Store Manager Muhammad Iqbal; District Engineer Water Supply Quetta Zamarak Khan; Revenue Officer Pashin Rehman Ali; Assistant Revenue Office Pashin Hafiz Matiullah; Superintendent Revenue Officer Pishin Muhammad Iqbal; Junior Auditor Ibrar Hussain; ex-SP Railways Inamur Rehman Sehri; ex-DC CDA Ch Muhammad Aslam; ex-Secretary CDA Abdul Ghafoor Dogar; ex-AD CDA Mushtaq Ahmed Baloch; ex-Sub Engineer CDA Muhammad Ismail; ex-DC CDA Ahmed Khan; ex-Account Officer Attaullah Khan; ex Patwari Muhammad Farooq; ex-Patwari CDA Muzamil Hussain; Clerk CDA Dawood Khan; ex-Deputy Director Planning CDA Muhammad Iqbal; ex-DC CDA Muhammad Amin; ex-DC CDA Shoukat Ali; Supervisor PTCL Sheikh Liaqat Ali; Assistant Manager GHQ Habibullah Tasnim; Assistant Store Keeper Muhammad Saeed; ex-DG Services CDA Mohiuddin Jameeli; ex DD CDA Muhammad Ashfaq; ex-Asstt Estate Manager CDA Din Muhammad; EGDC official Raheel J Qureshi; GPO Rawalpindi officials Muhammad Farooq, Salim Raza, Muhammad Anwar, Muhammad Akhtar and Arshad Mehmood; ex-Tehsildar Raja Zahid Hussain; Dy DG Military Land and Cantonment Department Abdul Naeem Khan; ex-SSD MEO Rwp Sh Muhammad Amin; Assistant Director Military Land and Cantonment Abdul Hayee Qamar; ex-DG Military Land and Cantonment Qazi Naeem Ahmed; Abdul Ghafoor Khan, Muhammad Ali; ex-Chairman SLI Zaheer; ex-DG NHA Iqbal Ahmad; ex-Chief Engineer CAA Raees M Irshad; CAA officials Ghulam Qadir Lakhan, Shafique Siddiqi, Ahmed Hussain, Iqbal Bangash, Khurshid Anwar, M Akbar, A D Abbasi, Kh Farooq Ahmad and Rafique Shad; OGDC officials Jaffar Mohammad, Khalid Subhani, Capt (R) Nazir Ahmed; Najmul Hassan, M Ishaq, Muzaffar Hussain, Shahid Ahmed, Qamar Hussain Shah, M Israel Khan and Bashir Ahmad Bhatti; PWD officials Mureed Ahmed Baloch, Sadaqat Ali, Khalid Mehmood Nasir, Akram Rao, Rashid Mujib Siddiqi, Aslam Shahid, Zahid ullah Khan and Shabbair Husain; Wapda officials Anwar Hussain, Wapda Line Superintendents Saifullah, Muhammad Arshad, Syed Ehsan Ali Shah, Mirza Saeed Ahmed, Akbar Ali and Allah Wasaya; Nadra officials Hakim Din, Sardari Ali and Nadir Khan; Zakim Khan Masood, Sadiq Ali Khan, Sardar Mansoor Leghari, Din Muhammad, Sikandar Ali Abbasi, Ahmad Yar Gondal, Amin Jan, Sharif Alam Padri, Usman Ghani Khatri, Adnan Khawaja, Nadeem Imtiaz; ex-official Abdul Hakeem, proprietor M/s Techno Int Pir Bux Solangi; private person Abdul Sattar Mandokhel; official S M Attaur Rehman; Sahib Dad Mengal; Hamza Khan Gabol; Riaz ul Hassan Rizvi; Shamsuddin, Ayaz Ahmed, Mukhtiar Ahmad, Muhammad Ali, Abdul Aziz, Rasheed Muhammad Qureshi, Mumtaz Ahmed Bhutto, Maqsood Ahmed, ex-UDC MEO Sialkot Naeem uddin, ex Asst Audit Officer Muhammad Hanif Rahi; ex-cameraman Abu Zar Jaffari; Auditor General officials Muneeruddin Ch, Abdul Razaak Bhatti, Mehr Sajjad Ahmed, Mirza Sajjad Ahmed, Mirza Muhammad Ayub, Muhammad Iqbal Shah, Mukhtar Ahmed, Malik Shahmat Ali, Mian Abdul Rehman, Muhammad Shafique, Syed Javed Hassan, Syed Muzaffar H Shah, Muhammad Sarwar Safi, Muhammad Shabbir and Tariq Mehmood; Food Department officials Ch Nazir Ahmed, Safiullah Awan and Muhammad Usman; Wapda’s Liaqat Ali, Customs Ali Muhammad Sheikh; PTCL’s Munawar Hussain, Muhammad Ashfaq Naz and Muhammad Shahid; Lahore Wapda’s Shahid Iqbal Ghauri, Manzoor H Chohan, Muhammad Javed, Abdul Rehman, Iftikhar Ali and M Qasim; Amjad Hussain Sandhal, Syed Zahir Hussain, Ghulam Mustafa, M Hanif; Sadiq Muhammad, Sameer Amjad, Ch M Siddiqi, Rasheed Ahmed Patwari, Mirza Sher Muhammad; businessmen Seth Nisar Ahmed and Zahid Mehmood; official Murid Ahmed Baloch, Qazi Afzal Hussain, Shaukat Hussain Shah, Maqbool Ahmed, Noor Jamal, Sardar Muhammad Nasim, Mirza Sher Muhammad, Rashid Ahmed Patwari, Muhammad Usman, Arshad Mehmood, Muhammad Akhtar and Waheedur Rehman.

Precis som vanligt så är där inte särskilt mycket att se på TV ikväll. Vi har veckans repriser av NCIS och NCIS: Los Angeles på TV3. Vi har även ett nytt avsnitt av Eureka på TV6 och den underhållande filmen Ocean’s eleven på Kanal 5. Tyvärr har den gått ett par gånger för mycket och jag tror inte att den lockar särskilt många tittare.

Istället vänder jag mig åter igen till TV4 där vi får se en ny fredagsfinal i Idol 2009. Förra veckan var slutresultatet ganska väntat när Eddie åkte ut och denna veckan kan jag inte tänka mig något annat än att Reza lämnar. Nästa vecka blir det däremot tufft då samtliga fyra har blivit lite av mina favoriter.

Kvällens låtar

Tove Östman Styrke

• Sweet dreams (are made of this) (Eurythmics) – till fansen
• Himlen är oskyldigt blå (Ted Gärdestad)- till anhörig

Calle Kristiansson

• Your song (Elton John) – till fansen
• To be with you (mr Big)- till anhörig

Erik Grönwall

• My life would suck without you (Kelly Clarkson) – till fansen
• Always (Bon Jovi)- till anhörig

Reza Ningtyas Lindh

• You’ve got a friend (Carole King) – till fansen
• When I need you (Leo Sayer) – till anhörig

Mariette Hansson

• Ängeln i rummet (Eva Dahlgren) – till anhörig
• Time of your life (Green Day)- till fansen

20:00 Idol på TV4

Länktips: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

I’m feeling a bit poorly.  Icky throat, headache and just all

round miserable.  Boo.

Reza – Junou Podcast #9

Tracklist

01. Alix Perez – Portraits Of The Unknown (Interlude)
02. Rolling Maffia – Aurora Australis (dub)
03. Dominic Ridgway – Fallen City (dub)
04. ASC – Focus Inwards (non plus dub)
05. Muted – Mixed Signals (dub)
06. S13 – Earth Ulro (dub)
07. DBR UK – Fighting The Storm (dub)
08.Physics – Trust (dub)
09. Logistics – When It Rains – It Pours (Hospital)
10. Rockwell – Underpass (Critical)
11. Alix Perez ft. Zero T – Suffer In Silence (Shogun Audio)
12. Mortem – Conversations (dub)

]]> http://mamanya.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/foto-foto-taman-safari/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:04:46 +0000 mamanya http://mamanya.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/foto-foto-taman-safari/

Pictures speak more than words…. betul? betuuuullll….

Makanya Mamanya nggak bikin cerita panjang lagi tentang pengalaman di Taman Safari, sudah pada tahu lah seperti apa senangnya disana ya.

Hari Sabtu tanggal 14 November 2009 itu kita pergi dengan rombongan tabloid nakita, berkenalan dengan keluarga lain, sharing senyum dan ketawa selama didalam bus, karena kakak-kakak pendamping dari tabloid nakita lucu-lucu, pinter bikin suasana meriah dengan melibatkan seluruh peserta, baik dewasa maupun anak-anak. Ivan yang biasanya bergaya ‘cool’ kalem, dan tidak banyak bicara, kemarin itu sampai mau lho maju di bus untuk membagi teka-teki binatang kepada peserta didalam bus.

Sampai di Taman Safari dan melewati berbagai satwa, kita langsung naik ke lokasi paling atas, untuk makan siang bersama sambil menjawab kuiz-kuiz yang dilontarkan panitia untuk mendapatkan hadiah. Setelah makan kita mulai melihat pertunjukan pertama: Wild Wild West, yang seru, heboh banyak ledakan dan tembakan, dan….. penonton basah kuyup diakhir acara karena ada adegan bandit yang dikejar melempat dinamit kedalam sumur! Haduuuh kaget banget, dan cuma bisa lihat kanan-kiri lihat yang lain juga basah kuyup. Akhirnya sebelum pindah ke pertunjukan lainnya, kita buru-buru ganti baju dulu.

Setelah ganti baju, kita jalan menurun menuju tempat show singa dan harimau. Panjangnya perjalanan jadi tidak berasa, karena kita melewati banyak satwa yang menarik. Ada meerkat, ada burung-burung, juga kelompok reptil dan binatang malam diterowongan bawah tanah. Kalau Reza dan Ivan jalan terus tanpa ragu, penasaran lihat binatang apa lagi yang ada didepan, Lukman sempat berhenti saat diajak masuk ke terowongan. Tapi karena banyak orang yang masuk kesana, Lukman akhirnya ikutan masuk. Dan cukup senang lihat ular dan teman-temannya disitu.

Setelah itu kita menonton pertunjukan harimau, lanjut lagi ke pertunjukan aneka satwa. Lucu-lucu ‘acting’ binatang disana, apalagi ceritanya pakai tema global warming, Taman Safari cukup update lah dengan issue yang satu ini. Di pertunjukan terakhir ini, lagi-lagi ada kejutan penonton disiram air. Walapun nggak se parah siraman di Wild Wild West, siraman ini cukup bikin kaget penonton

Setelah pertunjukan aneka satwa kita diberikan waktu bebas, yang langsung diminta Reza untuk dimanfaatkan melihat Baby Zoo. Ternyata selain anak-anak binatang, disana ada tambahan satwa baru: kangoroo yang jinak, boleh dipegang. Ivan dan Reza berani memegang, dan Reza bilang “bulunya kasar!” hihihi….

Puas melihat Baby Zoo, tidak terasa waktu berkumpul sudah tiba, saatnya pulang ke Jakarta lagi. Kita sempat mampir sebentar ke tempat gajah, supaya Lukman bisa say goodbye dengan teman-teman besarnya ini

Didalam bus, sudah tidak terdengar lagi suara anak-anak bercanda, ditambah lagi cuaca mendukung banget: hujan selama perjalanan pulang, sehingga sebagian besar peserta bisa tidur…. zzzzzzz…….

Thanks nakita, acara liburannya selalu menyenangkan dan terlaksana dengan ‘rapi’!! CU next time….

Läste idag i Aftonbladet att Reza från Idol är kränkt av språkhånet.
Det heter inte ”fis in de si” det heter ”fish in the sea”, säger jurymedlemmen Laila Bagge. Jag kan bara hålla med! Det heter faktiskt “fish in the sea”. Jag förvånas över att människor så “lätt” känner sig kränkta idag. När vi tittade på det aktuella Idol-avsnittet och Reza sjöng så sa jag till min sambo att det är synd att hon har så dåligt uttal för allt annat är jättebra. Juryn tyckte också det. Med all rätt! Uttal kan man lära sig, man kan träna sig fram till korrekt uttal och det är jätteviktig om man vill bli artist. Helst om man ska röra sig utanför Sveriges gränser… Att kalla ren och skär fakta för hån är att ta i lite väl mycket. Det är också mycket möjligt att ordvalen är tidningarnas sätt att få fram smaskigare rubriker. Faktum kvarstår dock att jag ändå tycker att människor är lättkränkta nu för tiden. Ordet kränkt används lättvindligt i många sammanhang. För bara några år sedan så kände jag mig rejält kränkt. Det handlade i stora drag om att jag, frivilligt, öppnat mig och blottat en svagare sida av mig. Allt för att tillvaron skulle bli lättare för båda parter men idag, med facit i hand, så ångrar jag att jag sa nånting överhuvudtaget. Personen jag berättade det för saknade helt empati och förståelse och hon fick mig många gånger att känna mig som en “sämre” människa.
Att kränka någon, för mig, är att sparka på någon som redan ligger. Att diskriminera någon för ens ursprung, läggning, sjukdom, handikapp, utseende etc. Saker som den utsatta personen inte kan rå för eller påverka. DET är kränkning för mig…
Önskar er alla en fortsatt trevlig helg!

“Om man så visar upp hundra vackra egenskaper bedöms man ändå alltid efter sina dåliga sidor”

Às vezes quando deito

Eu me levanto

Com a raiva do diabo

E a calma do Espírito Santo

I går åkte ju Rabih ut från Idol, jag hade tippat på att det skulle stå mellan honom och Eddi men jag blev ändå lite överraskad att Rabih åkte, tråkigt tycker jag för han är speciell grabben. Han kanske inte fixade alla teman lika bra, men han är som sagt onekligen en speciell person med en speciell röst. Men från och med nu kommer det varje vecka åka någon man gillar mer eller mindre. Men Rabih kommer nog att komma vidare i alla fall, någon annan dag, någon annastans.

Jag tror att Tove, Erik och Reza står som topp tre och att Erik vinner. Japp det tror jag. Erik har en enorm röst och klarar de flesta teman. Reza likaså, hon har ett bra scenspråk också. Tove är ett charmtroll , hon har något speciellt förutom en bra röst.

Också måste jag ta med favoritBaggen som var så modig och trots sin scenskräck klev upp en stund på scenen och sjöng med idolerna i hans eget val av världens bästa låt.

Hari ini disekolah Lukman diadakan Hari Kotor-Kotor.  Lucu ya kedengerannya?

Dihari kotor-kotor anak-anak diperkenalkan dengan kegiatan seperti berguling, merangkak dan merayap dilahan lembab (lumpur), berjalan diatas lahan bertekstur (berrumput, berbatu, berpasir), dll. Tujuan diadakannya kegiatan tersebut adalah member stimulus sensori taktil (raba), keseimbangan dan rasa sendi dengan suasana berkelompok.

Tadinya saya pikir Lukman akan baik-baik saja, karena mengingat senangnya dia bermain dihalaman dengan bertelanjang kaki. Namun rupanya dugaan saya salah, ternyata Lukman geli/jijik merasakan sensasi tanah becek/lumpur dikulitnya. Karena itu tidak semua kegiatan diikutinya, dan kalaupun ada yang dia mau ikuti (menginjak lumpur) itu dilakukannya dengan memegang erat-erat pinggang shadow teachernya.

Saat dijemput muka Lukman terlihat lelah dan tidak ceria seperti biasa. Bahkan saat dibujuk tidak usah ke toko buku (kebiasaannya setiap pulang sekolah) Lukman menurut saja, tidak menangis atau ngambek. Tapi sampai dirumah Lukman sudah seperti biasa, dan kembali senyum menonton film SpongeBob kesukaannya.

Malam harinya, saat kakak Reza sedang main computer, Lukman ikut duduk disebelahnya. Dia mengeluarkan pinsil warna, dan buku tulis, dan mulai berlagak seperti mau menulis betulan Dicoretnya buku, sambil berkata “Naaa – ruuu – too” seolah-olah betulan menulis. Mendengar itu kakaknya jadi melihat, apa betul Lukman menulis? Ternyata tidak, Lukman cuma bikin coretan-coretan. Melihat itu, Reza jadi kepingin memberitahu tulisan yang betul, dia tuliskan “Naruto”. Kemudia juga “Sasuke”, “Sakura” dan nama-nama lain tokoh film itu di buku Lukman. Lucu sekali melihat kakak mengajari adeknya, kesannya akuuur sekali.

Tidak lama bermain, saya lihat Lukman sudah menguap, rupanya sudah cukup mengantuk. Jadi Lukman saya ajak tidur, sedangkan kakaknya masih lanjut main.

Saat digantikan baju, mendadak Lukman senyum-senyum sambil bilang “Kejar ubur-ubur”. Rupanya dia teringat episode SpongeBob yang ditontonnya tadi siang. Saya bilang “Iya, SpongeBob suka kejar ubur-ubur bersama Patrick ya” Lukman mengiyakan. Saya bilang lagi “SpongeBob sayaaang banget sama Patrick ya Lukman?” saya sengaja memancing, karena Lukman  belakangan ini lagi senang memanggil dengan panggilan sayang, seperti kalau saya dan Papanya memanggil anak-anak. Mendengar omongan saya itu, bukannya Lukman yang merespon, tapi Reza yang bilang “Iya, sayangnya seperti Mama sayang kakak Reza”. Saya jadi geli sendiri, sementara Lukman yang dipancing malah menguap.

Saat minum susu mendadak Lukman berhenti, dan bilang “Papa kantor ya?” hehehe kebiasaan barunya juga ini, menanyakan Papanya yang belum pulang saat dia mau tidur. Saya jawab “Iya, Papa masih dikantor. Tapi besok kan hari Sabtu, Lukman bisa main sama Papa”. Lukmannya malah menjawab “Bukan, kak Aas” menyebut nama shadow teachernya. Hehehe kok Sabtu-sabtu mau main sama bu guru nak? Setelah itu Lukman memeluk bantalnya, kelihatan mengantuk sekali.

Lagi menunggui mata Lukman yang sudah lima watt itu, mendadak Reza datang, lalu bilang “Ayo peluk, Ruby-nya lagi di hug tuh”. Rupanya dia sedang mainkan pet society, dan petnya sedang berkunjung kerumah pet mamanya, dan mereka sedang berpelukan. Mentang-mentang kedua pet berpelukan, Reza juga jadi ikutan mau peluk Mamanya. Hahaha aduuuh ada-ada aja deh lucunya anak-anak ini. Setelah itu, Reza juga menyusul adeknya tidur.

Memang paling menyenangkan ya, melihat muka anak yang sedang tidur. So sweet, so peaceful, bikin hati kita kepingin teruuuss melindungi mereka.

Sweet dreams, my babies

Oke teman2 langsung aj gw lanjutin tulisan gw yang sebelumnya (semester 1). Kali ini gw akan mereview kehidupan dan pengalaman2 gw di semester 2 di perkuliahan di itb, dmn gw bertemu dengan teman2 seangkatan yang gw hormati dan kagumi hehehe Ok cukup sekian perkenalannya, gw gamau perkenalannya panjang2 krn kl dari awalnya aja uda terlalu panjang, pasti pada males bacanya ya ga sodara2 ? mangka dari itu gw ga akan berlama2 di bagian pembukaan, karena pasti uda pada tau dari note gw yang sebelumnya (review semester 1), yang mana note kedua dari edisi review ini adalah lanjutan dari note pertama, dimana gw akan mereview kehidupan kampus gw pada semester 2. Oke dah, gausa panjang2 la ya, langsung aja !!

Welllllll semester 2 ini gw awali dengan tekad yang luar biasa besar dan bulat demi memperbaiki masa depan gw yg saat itu terlihat suram. Apalagi kl bukan gara2 nilai2 di semester 1 kmaren itu ANCOER ! Gw ampe ditolak di komunitas “dukomsel”, dan cuma bisa masuk “nasakom” bhuahahahaha.

Kehancuran itulah yang coba gw perbaikin di semester 2. Sebisa mungkin setiap kuliah mw dimulai, gw berdoa dulu didepan pintu kelas, lantas masuk dan duduk di paling depan dengan konsentrasi tinggi ala Deddy Corbuzier. Ritual itu gw lakukan terus until one day ketika duduk panghareupna, gw duduk sebelahan ama anak kimia jg. Orangnya kalem dan pemalu hahahahaha tapi baek, suka ngebantuin kl lagi ksusahan. Perkenalkan, inilah temen gw, Andi Muhamad Rusli hahahahaha gara2 dia jg, gw ketularan ‘bike 2 campus’. Mantap ! Ngeliat dia kynya enak n anteung banget sesepedaan dikampus, gw jg mw ikutan bawa spedah !!

Tertular Andi, gw melakukan terobosan di semester2 ini dengan BERSEPEDA KE KAMPUS. Berbekal pepatah ’didalam tubuh yg sehat terdapat otak yg pintar’ (sugesti aja sih hahahaha) gw bersepeda k kampus. Konsekuensi dari gw naek speda adl gw harus bangun dan berangkat lebih pagi. Sukur2 kl kepagian nyampe kampus, bisa mandi dulu di GKU timur wahahahahaha mangkanya tas gw isinya bukan buku2 plajaran, tapi handuk, sabun, baju ganti dll. Persis ky orang mw ke Ciater.

Tapi masalahnya adl : gw seringkali bangun kesiangan!! Ini adl penyakit mahasiswa yg baru lulus dari skolah swasta yg notabene menjunjung tinggi kedisiplinan, jam gw jadi fleksibel banget. Rekor pribadi jg buat gw, dimana di semester 2 ini gw SELALU telat buat kuliah jam 7. (perhatikan kata SELALU. Lo bayangin aja 1 semester telat terus. Untung dosennya bukan bu Mega).

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Buat yg sekelas ama gw (t-09), pasti inget dgn dosen kalkulus II kita, yg si ibu2 itu (gw lupa namanya). Kuliah dia kan slalu jm7 tuh yg 2 jam. Tapiii untungnya diawal kuliah dia pernah bilang kl dia gabisa dateng jm7, bisanya jm stgh8 (nganter anak2nya skolah dulu). So, dia baru mulai kuliah jm stgh8. Harusnya sih, dengan begitu, ga ada alesan lagi tho buat gw dateng terlambat, mskpn naek speda.

Tapi yang ada gw malah smakin MENJADI-JADI bhuahahahahaha. Klo tu dosen dateng jm 7, gw dateng stgh8….kl dia dtg jm7.15, gw dtg jm 7.45, dan seterusnya. Menyesuaikan aja. Kl dia jm stgh8, ya gw masuk kelas jm8. Pokonya ritmenya konstan, selalu selisih 30 menit.

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Dan ini nih yg paling gila. Setelah masuk nominasi MURI utk kategori “Terlambat terus menerus selama 1 semester utk kuliah jm7“, gw kembali masuk nominasi utk kategori yg laen : “Rekor terlambat PALING GATAU DIRI se-Indonesia” huahahahahahaha gw pernah nih ya, untuk kuliah jm7, gw dateng jm 8.30 sodara2….8.30 !! setengah 9 !!! kuliah tinggal nyisa setengah jam lagi !!!! di mata kuliah apa? Ya kalkulus itu, dengan dosen si ibu2 itu hahahahahahha kl gw mahasiswa ganiat pasti gw ga akan masuk kelas tuh, mending nongkrong di kantin ato sesepedaan dikampus. Tapi krn gw menjunjung tinggi kreativitas dan berjiwa spontanitas (*ngeles hahahaha), gw masuk aja dengan kepala tegak dan percaya diri, langsung duduk di paling blakang paling atas (ruang kuliah GKU barat). Detik itu gw serasa jadi dosen karena diperhatiin 1 kelas. Bhuahahahahaha.

Tapi ternyata piagam MURI untuk kategori yg trakhir ini bukan jatuh di tangan gw. Karenaaaaa, guess what pemirsa…beberapa menit kemudian, dateng lagi 1 mahasiswa yang lebih terlambat dari gw BHUAHAHAHAAHAHAHA gw ngakak abis tuh pas ngeliat dia masuk sambil celingakcelinguk wakakakakakakakkak kl ga nyasar nyari2 ruang kuliah (which is ga mungkin menurut gw), pasti dia hadir cm numpang tandatangan absensi doank hahahahahahahaha

(ngakak sambil menyesal…….tidaaaaakkkk !!! gw gagal dapet MURI )

*gw lupa namanya, tp inget orangnya yg mana. Buat yg nyimpen foto kelas T-09, dia ada di sebelah si gaos. Monggo dicek ghahahaha

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Oke skrg ke temen gw yg laen. Gw awali dari osjur aja deh, coz kl gasalah  semester 2 ini kita uda mulei osjur2an tho? Gw paling males nih osjur2an yang bagian penilaian2nya. Inget ga kita disuru bikin buku biru dengan lambang AMISCA didepannya, dan halaman pertamanya berisi biodata kita. Lalu halaman2 berikutnya disuru isi resume kegiatan2 apa itu namanya…MPAB ?? ada yg resumenya dikasi nilai A, B, C, B+, A-, kesannya penting hoohooohoho dan ceritanya gw gabisa ikut nih di satu kesempatan pertemuan osjur. Gw lupa gara2 apa, tp gw ngasi surat donk. Oh kl gasalah ada tanding bowling ho5 waktu itu critanya masih jaman gw ikut2an tournament.

Keanehan yang masih terbayang ampe sekarang : Gw gabisa dateng, tapi tetep disuru bikin resume hari itu, dan dikumpul di pertemuan berikutnya. Kejanggalan macam apa ini hahahaha karena ga kehilangan akal, malem sebelum pertemuan berikutnya itu gw mintalah itu resume kegiatan ke salah seorang teman, minta dikirim lewat imel. Oke, gw donlod itu attachment, ganti nama-nimnya dia jadi nama-nim gw, lalu besoknya gw kumpulin. Ghahaha. Sekilas gw merasa cerdas.

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Eehh tapi keesokan harinya ternyata ketahuan (yaiyalah hahahahaha). Si danlap siapa itu tereak2, ”Siapa yang ngerasa copy-paste resume temennya, maju !! sebelum saya sebutkan namanya”. Hah oke lah gw maju. Tapi ternyata gw ga sendiri bhuahahahaha adalah 6-8 orang mah.

Gw kira masalah uda selesei, gataunya si danlap tereak2 lagi, ”Yang ngasih tugasnya buat dicopy-paste sama mereka2 ini [nunjuk ke barisan gw], maju juga! Sebelum namanya saya sebut didepan yg laen”. Hahahahaha edaaaan gw langsung gaenak banget ama temen gw ini. Okelah, penasaran ama siapa orang yg ngebantu gw ini? Dia adalah Citra Resdia Megasari huahahahahahahaha maaf cit maafff…gara2 gw, lu jg kena hukuman…gpp deh….that’s what fren are for !!! (ghahahahaha ngeles)

Tapi sebenernya gw jg bisa ngelak tuh. Kan ditanya-nya ”siapa yg tugasnya copy-paste?”. Gua sih  SAMA SEKALI GA MAKE COPY-PASTE. Gw cuman DOWNLOAD (attachment)-EDIT (nama-nim)-SAVE-PRINT. Sama skali ga make COPY-PASTE hahahaha membela diri. Oke dah. Maaf cit !! ghehehehe

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Masih dalam suasana osjur, ada satu temen lagi yg gw inget. Oh kali ini mah 2 sekaligus. Ha5. Kejadiannya di kandang domba (buat yg gatau, ini sebenarnya lapangan, bukan kandang”. Ceritanya saat2 pelantikan kl gasalah. Saat itu, entah gmn kejadiannya, jarkom angkatan ga berjalan mulus. Gw jg heran sih, kenapa bisa tersendat? Padahal kita uda dikasitau kl hari itu bakal ada jarkom, tp tetep aja macet. Gemes jg gw hahahaha

Oke, pokonya jarkom angkatan ga jalan. Hal inilah yg jadi sasaran panitia MPAB buat nyecer2 kita. Ralat : yg dicecer bukan kita, tapi satu orang. Siapa orangnya? Pasti uda pada tau hahahhaha ini dia ketua angkatan kita yang paling oke (meminjam istilah dari seorang teman), Gaos Mulyawan hahahahahahah. Si Gaos ini yg paling bersalah aja pokonya mah apapun yg terjadi di angkatan. Ada temen kita yg gabawa peralatan, si Gaos yg disalahin. Ada yg tepar, si Gaos yg disalahin. Ada yg dateng telat, si Gaos yg disalahin. Jangan2 kl ada yg bersin, si Gaos jg yg disalahin. Alesannya adaaaaa aja. ”Kamu gabisa ngejaga angkatan kamu. Kamu blm bisa ini bisa itu. Kamu kurang ini kurang itu”.

Seenaknya pisan ya oz !!

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Teman2, gw mw share yg gw inget tentang kata2 si gaos waktu dicecer2 itu. Biar dapet feelnya, harap membaca pelan2 sambil mendengarkan lagu Anang yang baru (yang reffnya : benar ku mencintaimu…. tapi tak begini…)

Gaos : ”Saya heran, kenapa bisa jadi begini…………………………..saya pikir saya ga layak jadi ketua angkatan kalian……………………….saya gatau kenapa saya bisa dipilih jadi ketua angkatan ama kalean……………………..saya ga bisa………………………………saya ingin mengundurkan diri aja……………………….”

Wuaaaaaa cewe2 angkatan kita langsung pada nangis !!!! ghuahahahahaha (beneran ada yg nangis? Gw sih gatau hahahahaha)

Mantep banget lu os…ekspresinya DAPET..lulus casting dengan predikat CUMLAUD !! ghahahahahaha.

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Nah teman2, disaat2 inilah panitia mulei tereak2, ”Mana ini yg laen, ga ada yg bantuin ketua angkatannya. Apapaan ini ??!?!”, dan semacamnya. Pokonya yg manas2in kita lah. Huh skenarion pisan. Daaaaaan muncullah satu teman lagi bersuara, membela si ketua angkatan kita yg sedang tersedak.

Kata2nya mari dilihat. (Harap membacanya jg dengan pelan2  sambil dengerin lagu Krisdayanti yg I’m Sorry Goodbye yg reffnya : Terimakasih oh Tuhan, Kau tunjukkan siapa dia…maaf kita putus, but thank you so much, I’m sorry goodbye…….)

He said : ”Saya pikir Gaos ga layak diganti. Dia uda banyak pengorbanan buat ngejalanin tugasnya sbg ketua angkatan. Saya tau, soalnya TADI MALEM DIA SAMPE GA MAKAN PECEL LELE BUAT BELI PULSA BUAT NGEJARKOM ANGKATAN.”

GHAHAHAHAHAH OH MY GOD gw sekuat tenaga nahan ketawa ampe sakit perut gara2 orang ini bilang pecel lele segala GHAGHAGHAHGHAG mungkin teman2 masih ingat siapa teman kita yg jadi pembela Gaos ini ?? yapppp, dia adalah Reza Aditama GHAHAHAHAHA oke deh ca, makasi uda ngasitau tentang puasa pecel lelenya si Gaos, ntr kl ada kesempatan gw traktir dia pecel lele di balubur dah!! GAHAHGAHGAHHGAHGA.

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waaaaah uda cukup panjang.

oke, dicukupkan dulu ya, smoga terhibur hahahahaha

sampai berjumpa di review edisi berikut

*spoiler buat edisi berikut : Akan makin seru pastinya, soalnya kita uda kuliah barengan terus kan. Isinya jg ada tentang kedodolan2 pas masa2 praktikum hahahaha

God Bless

Amazing artist, Reza of www.morezastudio.com recently dropped me a line to tell me about his tidy new website. It is full of new characters and more excellent illustrations. When I first came across Reza’s work several months ago it was his bold outlines and simplistic strokes that captivated me. It is so inspiring to be able to meet fellow character artists from all over the world. Reza lives in Kampung Pekayon, Jakarta with his wife and daughter. On his website, Reza states, “After quitting my regular job, drawing has become my favorite thing to do. Now I am doing design and illustration.”

There is a sweet flickable picture book by Reza featured at his website, here .

Apologies for the grandiose title- what follows are simply some musings on Afghanistan, probably lacking any coherent trend line. For a pretty organized series of thoughts on “Afghanistan”, see Manan’s recent posts.

More boots on the ground? Source: The Economist

The debate rages on- should President Obama comply with General McChrystal’s request for more troops, thereby committing anywhere between 10,000 and 60,000 additional men to Afghanistan? This would buttress the ~100,000 foreign troops currently there, 60,000+ of whom are Americans (there are a mere 170,000 indigenous Afghan troops). The chart on the left provides an interesting comparison between the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, although it does present an inferential bias towards the conclusion that more troops are needed in Afghanistan ala the surge in Iraq. Indeed, the article that I pulled it from follows from a leader in The Economist suggesting precisely that.

Before getting to that though, make a point of reading this illuminating piece Elisabeth Bumiller in the New York Times. While the story itself may not be particularly fresh for those who have done their homework on Afghanistan, it is heartening to see such a story appear in a prominent Western newspaper. We are often wont to view Afghanistan through the lens of popular cliches; “ungovernable”, “graveyard of empires” and “tribal and volatile” being amongst the more popular ones. Bumiller does a nice job of painting a picture of Afghanistan that is often suppressed- indeed, ignored- by the media; we need to reexamine prevalent conceptualizations of the country. She quotes the Afghan ambassador to Washington, Said Tayeb Jawad as saying:

Afghans today say that the view of their country as an ungovernable “graveyard of empires” is condescending and uninformed. “Unfortunately, we have a lot of overnight experts on Afghanistan right now,” said Said Tayeb Jawad, the Afghan ambassador to Washington. “You turn to any TV channel and they are experts on Afghan ethnicities, tribal issues and history without having been to Afghanistan or read one or two books.”

Condescending and uninformed- memories of another Said perhaps? Returning to the aforementioned leader in The Economist, the author concludes:

As for resources, it is worth remembering that in 2006, before the American surge, prospects in Iraq looked far bleaker than they do now in Afghanistan, even though the allies had many more foreign and local troops. General McChrystal is believed to have offered a range of proposals to increase the number of American forces—at present about 62,000 out of a total of some 100,000 foreign troops—by between 10,000 and 60,000 troops. Mr Obama may be tempted to compromise—to show military resolve by acceding to the commander’s request, yet appease anti-war opinion by picking the lowest number.

This would be a mistake. General McChrystal says that the core of his strategy is its first stage: to regain the initiative. To do that, a substantial surge is needed. Gordon Brown’s announcement of an extra 500 is a welcome gesture, but will make little difference. Mr Obama should send at least 40,000 more.

At the risk of sounding bigoted: this is wrong. Plain wrong. Its misapprehends the issue for one thing. I think the use of the Iraq analogy is worth focusing on, since a lot of the justification for sending more troops seems to be buttressed by the putative success of the surge in 2006. The rationale is: increased troops in Afghanistan ==> greater control over the country ==> decrease in insurgent violence ==> more rapid end to the war and thus, a shorter time-frame for withdrawal. Consider the first link, whereby more troops help increase control. The insurgency in Iraq was primarily urban, as opposed to the dispersed one in Afghanistan. The necessary ratio of troops to insurgents is far easier to figure out in the former case than in the latter, with the much talked about mountains of the AfPak border providing natural havens aplenty to insurgents. Iraq and Afghanistan are different wars and the lessons from one aren’t always applicable to the other. I think the attempt to blindly read them against each other stems from the myopic tendency to view both societies as essentially similar: tribal, feuding and unable to sustain democracy (more on that last, contentious term in a bit). Furthermore, an undeniably porous border with Pakistan makes it difficult to gauge where attempts for control can legitimately be made. This brings us to the second link i.e. the decrease in insurgent violence. Although the Pakistani army is currently engaged in a large-scale operation to flush out the Tehrik-e-Taliban (Pakistani Taliban) from the Waziristan areas bordering the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), there is little reason to believe that a pincer movement, from Pakistan in the South-East and American-led forces in the North-West, would deprive the Afghan Taliban of refuge. Such a decisive outcome would require an operation on a scale that has not been conceived yet (don’t use Iraq as a comparable example, because it isn’t), largely because it would need to be accomplished while simultaneously securing other areas of Afghanistan. Its cliched, but the Taliban are not working towards a deadline, nor are they facing internal pressures to cease fighting (in the way that the American government is)- essentially, at the risk of sounding tautological, they can fight for as long as they can. We need a policy of reconciliation and accommodation, not antagonism, since the latter is clearly working against the odds.

Which all raises the question: what is the ultimate goal in Afghanistan? Is it to put an end to the Taliban-led insurgency once and for all, simply by way of out-gunning them? Most people would agree that establishing stability in Afghanistan is a priority; what remains less clear is if an outright military victory is the best way to achieve this. General McChrystal argues that more troops may not win the war, but the current inadequate troop levels could lose it. I have no doubt that he is an extremely intelligent man with far more military knowledge than I will ever have, but perhaps he is approaching the issue from the wrong perspective, that of an overwhelming, controlling military presence seeking to establish centralized control. In a recent Op-ed, Nicholas Kristof suggested an increasingly popular alternative to the Economist/McChrystal/surge school of thought:

My suggestion is that we scale back our aims, for Afghanistan is not going to be a shining democracy any time soon. We should keep our existing troops to protect the cities (but not the countryside), while ramping up the training of the Afghan Army — and helping it absorb more Pashtuns to increase its legitimacy in the south. We should negotiate to peel off some Taliban commanders and draw them over to our side, while following the old Afghan tradition of “leasing” those tribal leaders whose loyalties are for rent. More aid projects, with local tribal protection, would help, as would job creation by cutting tariffs on Pakistani and Afghan exports.

I like this course of action a lot more, and it has significant historical precedent- after all, hasn’t the Pakistani government historically granted the FATA as much autonomy as possible precisely because highly regulated, centralized rule was viewed as untenable? Granted, that course of action may appear foolhardy given the current predicament with the TeT, but would said predicament have arisen had it not been for the cowboys in Afghanistan over the past 8 years? Bear in mind, partial autonomy does not imply gross neglect (which is what happened in Pakistan w.r.t. the marginalization of areas like Baltistan by the largely Punjab-centric regimes in Karachi/Islamabad)- investment in education, healthcare and infrastructure should remain priorities. However, maintaining these priorities would entail a careful process of relationship-building with the regional tribes and their leaders. In other words, we need to abandon the top-down approach towards the peripheries. I think Kristof echoes all these thoughts and I agree with him to that extent.

Robert Dreyfuss makes much the same point in his essay in The Nation, going on to point out that the narrower goal of vanquishing Al Qaeda in Afghanistan has been largely achieved.

There is no likelihood that the current US war in Afghanistan can achieve its aims (a narrower goal, the elimination of Al Qaeda, has for the most part already been accomplished). The corrupt government of President Karzai and his cronies is no longer sustainable, whether or not there is a second round in the fraud-marred election. A new government in Kabul must emerge, in the process accommodating Pashtun nationalists, the Taliban and other insurgents. Those latter groups, along with tribal and ethnic leaders, various warlords and representatives of Afghanistan’s myriad political factions, will need international support to underwrite a new national compact. That national accord will probably not be a strong central government but rather a decentralized federal system in which provinces and districts retain a significant degree of autonomy. To secure international support, the United States must defer to the United Nations to convene a conference in which Afghans themselves hammer out the new way forward. The world community must pledge its support of Afghanistan financially for years to come. And this must occur against the backdrop of an unconditional withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Dreyfuss goes on to comment on the need for a decentralized state structure that simultaneously grants semi-autonomy to the peripheries while channeling aid and resources for reconstruction towards them. All valid points, so do read that essay.

On a more subtle note, re-read the Kristof passage (or his entire piece) and pay careful attention to the wording- I think “shining democracy” is revealing. Part of the problem today is that democracy has become synonymous with Western, liberal institutions and the processes associated with them. The jirga is a key tribal institution in areas of Afghanistan, yet many people (Kristof is not one of them, I should add) are probably unaware of it and even if they are, do not see it occupying a functional role in Afghan governance. A semi-autonomous periphery can be sustained through institutions such as the jirga; they need to be incorporated in popular thinking about Afghanistan. I also think it is interesting that Kristof advocates “leasing” tribal leaders whose loyalties are available for rent…isn’t this precisely what Hamid Karzai has been doing over the past four years? Ironically, he has been roundly criticized for it. The Karzai government has engaged in its fair share of shady activities, but its method of stringing together a coalition increasingly looks like the best option. Where Karzai and company went wrong was in establishing a Taik-dominated coalition in a country that has a 42 percent Pashtun majority; the method may be right, but not the result. See Selig Harrison’s essay for more on this. What is required is a broader coalition that incorporates Pashtuns in a manner that eschews the wanton corruption fostered under Karzai, while retaining its power sharing structure. As far as the method goes, that may just be how politics needs to be done in Afghanistan, our precious sensibilities notwithstanding. Both points reveal fundamental misunderstandings about Afghanistan, precluding the adoption of a sensible approach to stabilizing the country. The Bumiller piece above further underscores how little we truly know about the country.

Thus, a large part of the problem stems from erroneous conceptions of Afghanistan, which in turn lead to futile suggestions and policy recommendations. The process of relationship-building that I call for can be accomplished through multiple channels- the horse-trading that Karzai and his cronies (and now many others, including Nic Kristof) have practiced, as well as the micro-level, less overtly political approach adopted by people like Greg Mortenson. Regardless, a top-down, centrally regulated system does not present a viable solution…troop increases and a greater foreign presence would slot into this latter category. As Kristof notes:

When Pakistani troops enter Pashtun areas, the result has sometimes been a backlash that helps extremists. If Pashtuns react that way to Punjabis, why do we think they will react better to Texans? The American military has become far more sensitive to Afghan sensibilities in the last few years, and there are some first-rate commanders on the ground who cooperate well with local Pashtun leaders. That creates genuine stability. But all commanders cannot be above average, and a heavier military footprint almost inevitably leads to more casualties, irritation and recruitment for the Taliban.

Again, this is right. Now, one could talk about the threat from Al-Qaeda and terrorist elements as justification for attempting to secure the AfPak border. However, the feasibility of such a venture remains highly dubious- what is ensured, though, is that more elements will be marginalized amongst the local communities, thereby strengthening the ranks of the Taliban and perhaps even Al-Qaeda. Stephen Walt and John Mueller do an effective job of debunking the “safe haven” and other Al Qaeda arguments, for those that remain unconvinced. The following from Mueller’s piece is interesting:

Unlike Al Qaeda, [Mullah] Omar has a very localized perspective. The last thing he would need, should he take over Afghanistan, is an active terrorist group continually drawing fire from the outside. As Richard Barrett, the UN’s Taliban and Al Qaeda monitor, says of the Taliban, “They don’t want Al Qaeda hanging around.”

In many ways the “safe haven” myth is like the “dominance” myth repeatedly promulgated by promoters of the war in Iraq. That one held that if Saddam Hussein could just lay his hands on a chemical bomb or two, or maybe on fancier “weapons of mass destruction,” he would be able to “dominate” the Middle East. Rarely considered were the inconvenient facts that the impoverished, hated and pathetic dictator controlled only a shard of his country and that he so distrusted his army (which he would presumably need to “dominate”) that he issued it little ammunition and wouldn’t allow it to enter Baghdad with heavy equipment.

Now there’s an Iraq analogy that seems applicable here! The image below was taken by one of my favorite photographers, Reza Deghati, during the original Taliban takeover in 1996. It is evocative of how the Taliban currently operate: as shadows in the Afghan countryside. I’ll let that image conclude this rambling piece.

How can you "vanquish" shadows? Is defeat even the right metaphor at this point?

Addendum (November 4th, 2009): UChicago’s own John Mearsheimer has an interesting piece in Foreign Policy magazine; lets hope that his gloomy prognostications prove to be inaccurate.

Rabih går upp på Idolscenen.

Jag:- Alltså egentligen har han ju alldeles för ljus röst för min smak…

Rabih ler och rynkar lite sådär på nästan som han gör när han sjunger. Jag fånler.

Jag:- …fast han är ju rätt charmig, inte för att jag gillar sådana där charmörer egentligen, men han är rätt söt…typ som en lillebror. Tihi

Rabih går av scenen och ser allmänt söt ut när han får beröm av juryn.

Jag: -Hihi

T sitter och observerar mig, börjar asflabba lite då och då.

Jag:- Alltså man blir ju alldeles sådär tonårsfnissig!

Rabih säger att han ska ringa och fråga sin mamma varifrån man får sådana där pepparögon ifrån.

Jag:- Åååh vad söt han är hihi.

T:- Jaja, nu räcker det…

Jag röstade faktiskt på Eddie. Jag lovar! Annars är Mariette och Reza favoriterna. Jag är fortfarande alldeles galet förälskad i min T, så inget att oroa sig. Rabih är ju sådär söt som killarna var när man var liten och spionerade på dem och satt och glodde på deras urtrista fotbollsmatcher, då kan man väl få bli lite larvig?

MJ tribute ikväll. Men varför ville ingen sjunga “Heal the World”? ♥ Va va va? Den ska i alla fall jag sjunga nästa fredag men idoljuryn då. Snacka om snabba i vändningarna. Hyllar någon som upprepar exakt samma mönster som dom dissade veckan innan? Egentligen tycker jag Reza var bäst ikväll, hennes låtval passade verkligen henne och hennes röst. Av de andra tycker jag inte att någon var bättre än någon annan. Så jurykritiken var i många fall helt otippad ^^

Kemarin siang waktu dijemput kesekolah, begitu keluar dari kelasnya Reza bukannya laporan tentang bagaimana UTSnya, tapi malah cerita begini: “Mama, tadi Reza jualan batu, dapat hasilnya dua ribu!”.

M: “Batu apaan? Dijual kemana?”

R: “Batu yang mungut dijalan, dibeli temen Reza “

M: Haaa??? “Lho kok bisa? Kok temennya mau beli, memangnya Reza jualnya gimana?”

R: “Reza bilang gini: Batu kristal….. batu kristal….. ayo, ayo, dipilih… dipilih.. dipilih…” kata Reza menirukan aksen penjual kaki lima.

Mamanya jadi tergelak, dan kepingin tahu seperti apa sih batunya.

Sampai dirumah, Reza kasih lihat contoh batu jualannya, sebetulnya batu biasa saja sih, tapi memang agak berkilau gitu.

Hmmm Mamanya pikir, kalau sampai laku bukan hanya satu tapi dua buah, wah berarti Reza bakat dagang juga dong ya hahaha….

Pastinya bakat itu bukan menurun dari Mamanya yang paliing nggak bisa jualan. Kalaupun bisa menjual barang, hasilnya cuma untung tipis karena malas berlama-lama megang stok barang.

Kalau begitu, hmmmm pasti menurun bakat dari Papanya ya hihihihi… memang Papanya lebih jago kalau negosiasi. Saat membeli barangpun, lebih jago Papanya yg nawar

Pengalaman Reza berjualan diatas bukanlah pertama kalinya dia lakukan.

Semenjak TK, dia sudah punya inisiatif untuk berjualan.

Mamanya pernah diminta beli buah-buahan yang dibuatnya dari playdough.

Saat itu Reza juga cuma minta uang pura-pura, bukan uang betulan.

Tapi saat jualan yang berikutnya, Ayang deh yang jadi korban.

Sewaktu Mamanya pulang kantor (waktu masih ngantor) Ayang cerita kalau tadi ditawari Reza membeli barangnya: hasil origami buatannya sendiri.

Origami buatannya itu ditaruh didalam dua buah kaleng: kaleng yg pertama isi origami yang kecil2, harganya Rp500. Yang dikaleng satu lagi origami yang agak besar, dengan harga Rp1000.

Waktu Ayang beli cuma satu, Reza merayu, bilang “Ayang kan sayang da Van, beliin juga dong buat da Van!” ha ha ha… kecil-kecil rayuannya maut juga, dan akhirnya Ayang bayar Rp1.500 untuk membeli satu origami kecil dan satu origami besar!

Ha ha ha Reza… Reza…!

Cover of Persepolis (Pantheon, 2007); image courtesy of shelflove.wordpress.com

When I saw the film version of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, it was a pretty rad time to be a feminist moviegoer. In the last month of 2007 and the first month of 2008, this movie came out, along with Juno and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Having just completed a girls’ studies course, I was ecstatic that three different movies, each from a different country, were released with complex, resilient protagonists who were girls and young women.

Two of these movies earned Oscar nominations a few months later. Juno won Best Screenplay. Persepolis was nominated for Best Animated Feature, but unfortunately lost to Ratatouille. 4 Months, which documents the harrowing day of one college student trying to procure an illegal abortion for her roommate during the last years of Nicolae Ceauşescu’s in Romania, won the Palme D’Or at Cannes earlier in 2007, but failed to receive any nominations. For some reason. Perhaps it escaped nomination as a technicality, but I don’t understand why no one, particularly writer-director Cristian Mungiu or lead actress Anamaria Marinca, got any Academy recognition. Perhaps because it lacked the allegorical importance of No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood and cut to very real (and tremendously gendered) issues facing real people in the real world, many of whom reside in developing nations. 

But it is really no matter. No Country, There Will Be Blood, Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There were but more examples of what a very fine time this particular two-month period was for movies. But 4 Months was easily my favorite movie of that year. The movie whose source material will be the focus of this post was a very close second.

Having seen the movie upon its U.S. release, some context has changed considerably upon revisiting Satrapi’s autobiography about coming of age inside and outside of Iran from the late 70s to the early 90s, a time period where the country witnessed the fall of the Shah (aided by the United States), the swift and crushing oppression of its citizens by Islamic extremists, a devastating eight-year war with Iraq, and the neighboring country’s launch of the Persian Gulf War. In late 2007, we were still living under the Bush Administration, so the country’s positioning as part of the ”axis of evil” was in my mind, but being pretty ignorant about the country’s political history and our involvement with it past the Iran-Contra Affair, Bush’s branding of the country read more as a promise that the United States were, in fact, going to try and spread democracy by force to all of the Middle East, snatching up its real or imagined WMDs and drain its oil resources in the process. And I knew about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and was disgusted by his views on the Holocaust and heartened by the student protests around his adminstration, but was not yet aware of just what a dangerous despot he is.     

This was, of course, before this year’s highly controversial presidential election, which Ahmadinejad “won” by a suspiciously high margain over rival candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, an Independent reformist. At the time, what seemed more present in our minds in the states was what Twitter was doing to help cover and contextualize the civic protests and how quickly mainstream broadcast news was going to incorporate the still-emergent micro-blogging site’s Tweets into their 24-hour cycle, regardless of how accurate they were. 

As a result, I was a little jaded by the “Twitter users coverage of the Iran election is going to change news reporting” angle many seemed to be taking and instead wanted to know more about how the election was fraudulent, why certain people (specifically journalists, protesters, students, and politicians) were being arrested, what the stakes were, who was doing a good job covering this news story, and, most importantly, what circumstances led to the current iteration of Iran. Remembering that local branches of Barnes & Noble were donating proceeds to the Paramount upon purchase last weekend, shilling out my money to the big box chain for the sake of preserving a historical movie theater seemed as a good an opportunity to buy the book that may provide answers.

And, I’ll be honest. Reading the book left me with more questions than anything else (a similar feeling came over me when reading Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, two books whose timelines stretch past the 70s-90s, but contain a considerable overlap in terms of time with Persepolis, focusing on what was going on with ordinary people in Afghanistan, another contentious Middle Eastern country that borders Iran). It was hard not to check some ugly American tendencies I have toward Islamic traditions — particularly toward its views on marriage, sexuality, gender politics, and dress. At the same time, I was incredulous of how pro-West rhetoric and ideology, alongside our smuggled trinkets of popular culture, could possibly reform a nation, or at least save a person.

Luckily, Satrapi is skeptical of both and, like me and other feminists from all over the world, has a lot to negotiate. She grapples with these issues head-on. She argues with teachers against the physical restrictions and societal double standards that come with the hijab and the burka (sidenote: I know that Faegheh Shirazi, who teaches Middle Eastern Studies at UT and rejects traditional Islamic dress, has written and taught courses on gender and clothing in the Middle East, but any other suggestions for further reading are welcome). She watches her female peers grow up to only want marriage and children, in large part because these are the only things their nation’s leaders believe define their worth. Particularly poignant for this co-habitator, she regrets getting married to a man named Reza because they could not legally live together (or even walk the street) without proof of marriage, dissolving the marriage and leaving for France.

Marjane and friends reject the hijab; image courtesy of rand.org

Satrapi is a smart rebel who reads constantly, thinks clearly, and never backs down from an argument. She yells at authority figures who bully her or deny that there are any political prisoners in Iran after learning about the loss of her grandfather, who was son and prime minister to the ousted king (a tie that Satrapi suggests is not uncommon).

College student Satrapi damns the man; image courtesy of butterfliesandbears.wordpress.com

Luckily for Satrapi, she gets through all of this with the love and support of her politically aware and resistant parents, their friends, and one rad paternal grandma. Not so luckily, she also knows and meets lots of folks who suffered for speaking up, speaking out, or just living in the wrong house during an aerial bombing. Something tells me that many Iranians could recount similar tales of horror.

Satrapi also learns that the ways of the West are not always ideal, either. While a pre-pubescent in Iran, she hangs Iron Maiden posters on her wall her parents smuggle from a vacation in Turkey when the government lifted border restrictions. She defiantly walks around her neighborhood, blaring Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” from her Walkman while sporting a Michael Jackson pin. But noting that their daughter’s rebelliousness is hardly a phase and that escalating conflict with Iraq could mean the imprisonment or death of their mouthy teen, her parents send her to live with a friend of her mother’s in Vienna.

Still from the film; image courtesy of whatsontv.co.uk

Satrapi finishes high school, barely scraping by as she finds odd jobs, dates dumb boys, takes a lot of drugs, and runs into authority figures who want her to tow the line and behave. She also falls in with a group of radical misfits who dabble with nihilism, Marxism, hair dye, and punk. While Satrapi initially finds a home with these punks and new wave kids, she soon discovers their privilege has made them cowardly, pretentious, self-righteous, entitled, and lazy. Her outsider status also makes her cool, her Austrian peers clearly jealous by what she has seen and experienced without really processing the weight of it between drags off their joints and skims through their copies of the Marx-Engels Reader in their well-appointed bedrooms. It’s small wonder that, when Satrapi finally returns home to Iran after she finishes high school homeless and afflicted with bronchitis, she washes off a punk stencil from her bedroom wall. And while she’s sad that her mother gave away her cassette tapes, she probably wasn’t going to listen to them anyway. She would’ve kept the Kim Wilde tape, however.

So, ultimately, I do feel this revisit of Persepolis helped clarify my feelings about the state of Iran. It also left me with several questions and a need to know more. Ultimately, though, it left me with the sense of universality that exists between people, especially tough, smart women and girls, while at the same time recognizing the particularities that inform their realities. And continues to inform them. Back in June, Satrapi spoke out against the election results with filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalba. Something tells me that her grandmother, who passed away shortly after Satrapi moved to France at the close of the book, would be proud.

Quality time with grandma; image courtesy of rwor.org

Para se ter um presidente que dê o devido valor ao dinheiro público, é preciso rezar. E o milagre pode acontecer, porque bem-aventurados são os pães-duros, pois estes são abençoados por Deus. Prova disso foi Seu filho, Jesus Cristo, o primeiro pão-duro religioso de que se tem notícia. Era judeu né? Uma questão de sabedoria divina. Com cinco pãezinhos alimentou cinco mil pessoas. Não gastava dinheiro com bebida: transformava água em vinho. Com comida, não precisava. Vivia ceando na casa dos outros. Na hora de ir embora, para não ficar devendo a ninguém, deixava a conta para o Pai:
- D-us lhe pague meu filho.

Mas D-us é pai e tudo perdoa. Quitava a dívida através de graças concedidas, que, obviamente, saíam de graça.
Dizem também que Jesus foi autor de outros grandes ditos populares. Quando falava “Meus filhos, ofereçam a outra face”, ele costumava completar: “Pois quem oferece não quer dar”.Com o tempo dividiram a sentença em duas e só atribuíram a autoria de Cristo à primeira. Hoje, alguns pastores dizem que “templo é dinheiro”, mas isto foi comprovado que Jesus nunca falou.
Cristo, às vezes, exagerava e costumava fazer economia com tudo:
- Irmãos, uma fé do tamanho de um grão de mostarda remove montanhas. Não precisava mais do que isso.

Ser pão-duro é uma arte....o/

Muitos historiadores afirmam que Jesus só expulsou os vendilhões do Templo porque estes comerciantes estavam cobrando um preço acima do mercado.
D-us que nos perdoe, mas Ele ensinou direitinho ao Seu Filho que, mais tarde, passou aos discípulos. A decepção ficou por conta de São Francisco de Assis, que doou tudo que tinha, Um mão-aberta de primeira. Que pecado! Tsc… Tsc…

Li esse texto no livro “Manual do Pão-Duro” e adorei! Existem outros muito interessantes que postarei em breve.

1Pe 3:11,12 Aparta-te do mal, pratique o que é bom, busque a paz e empenhe-se por alcançá-la. Porque os olhos do SENHOR repousam sobre os justos, e os seus ouvidos estão abertos às suas súplicas

At 20:19 Servindo ao SENHOR com toda a humildade

Jo 6:43 Respondeu-lhes Jesus: Não murmureis entre vós

Ro 9:14 Que diremos, pois? Há injustiça da parte de Deus? De modo algum!

1 Co 10:13 Não vos sobreveio tentação que não fosse humana; mas Deus é fiel e não permitirá que sejais tentados além das vossas forças; pelo contrário, juntamente com a tentação, vos proverá livramento, de sorte que a possais suportar

1 Jo 1:9 Se confessarmos os nossos pecados, ele é fiel e justo para nos perdoar os pecados e nos purificar de toda a injustiça

1 Co 15:57 Graças a Deus, que nos dá a vitória por intermédio de nosso SENHOR Jesus Cristo

Fonte: http://apdsji.wordpress.com/

jahao. vad säger vi om kvällens idol egentligen?

nicklas: njae, ganska tråkigt. även om det är nåt med honom som jag gillar.
rabih: söt och sjunger bra, men fy vad tråkigt. gääääsp!
karolina: inte alls hennes genre, vilket märktes tydligt. sjöng inte alls så bra som hon brukar. plus för nya frisyren. och kjolen! såg inte lika kristen ut nu.
erika: har grym röst! och det var ett ganska bra framträdande, eller?
calle: grym grym grym GRYM! så jävla bra!
reza: skitbra! hon är ju en stjärna!
erik: har ju också en grym röst, även om låtvalet var sisådär.
camilla: helt ok idag, men ändå: rösta ut, tack!
eddie: har inget speciellt att kommentera om honom.
mariette: också så jävla GRYM! och cool!
tove: grym hon också! gjorde låten bättre än originalet…

och vilka två får sjunga duellen? svårt svårt. jag tror nog camilla och rabih, eller kanske karolina. rabih är nog för söt för att åka ut.