The Taliban - Oral History

In many years from now historians will look back on the war on terror in Afghanistan (2001 - ) as they look back on the Vietnam War now. It will be another war that was impossible to win. Al Qaeda have turned into shadows. Afghanistan will never attain the level of violence Vietnam did at its worst. The best the Taliban can hope for is to drag out the war long enough to brain wash the people into thinking that if they support the insurgency there will ultimately be a peace with the Taliban and their brand of Sharia law as rulers. Afghanistan will just rumble. A persistent sore on the ass of the 'free' West. Every day or every few days someone will die. Someday soon 1 death will be old news unless more than 2 or 3 die at the same time. What is my point? Newsweek has just published a series of interviews with the Taliban. They fight for what they think is right. We fight for what we think is right. And the reason for why they and we fight is lost in a mush of half truths and  double speak. In the end people die and politicians speak and when all is said and done the future will know that it was a pointless war with no winners and hundreds of 1,000s of losers and some very rich companies.

The Taliban in Their Own Words 

by Sami Yousafzai and Ron Moreau

Denial and Some Wise Words

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has Jewish roots.. Holding his id card up for the world to see in 2008 it clearly shows he was previously known as Sabourjian which is a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver. Mr Ahmadinejad has regularly levelled bitter criticism at Israel, questioned its right to exist and denied the Holocaust. British diplomats walked out of a UN meeting last month after the Iranian president denounced Israel's 'genocide, barbarism and racism. Israel has nothing to shout about when it comes to killing journalists and have been as guilty as the Arabs and Persians when it comes to war mongering and killing innocent civilians i agree. BUT no side is completely right or wrong.. just shades of grey. As for Ahmadinejad.. its as plain as daylight now why your filled with so much hate.. your hiding your real identity. Time for you to understand that sword rattling never got this world anywhere other than more hate and more war.. Take a chill pill and go spend an afternoon in an Amsterdam coffee shop ehh! That goes for you to Israel.. 

In our endeavor to understand reality we are somewhat like a man trying to understand the mechanism of a closed watch. He sees the face and the moving hands, even hears its ticking, but he has no way of opening the case. If he is ingenious he may form some picture of a mechanism which could be responsible for all the things he observes, but he may never be quite sure his picture is the only one which could explain his observations. He will never be able to compare his picture with the real mechanism and he cannot even imagine the possibility of the meaning of such a comparison. - Albert Einstein

Dear Albert .. What wise words these are. We live in a world where our reality is confused, hidden and we only read or hear or see what the powers that be allow us to see. You have to ask the question... What are we not seeing that is real?

Today Is International Blasphemy Day & my Birthday

International Blasphemy Day is not just a day.  It is a movement to dismantle the wall which exists between religion and criticism. The primary focus of the Blasphemy Day is not to debate the existence of any gods or deities.

The objective of International Blasphemy Day is to open up all religious beliefs to the same level of free inquiry, discussion and criticism to which all other areas of academic interest are subjected.

Why September 30?  The last day in September is the anniversary of the original publication of Danish cartoons in 2005 depicting the prophet Muhammad's face.  Any visual depiction of Muhammad is considered a grave offence under Islamic law.

The fury which arose within the Islamic community following this publication led to massive riots, attacks on foreign embassies and deaths.

The newspapers which chose to publish these cartoons were in many cases blamed for the outpouring of violence which followed.  This unfortunate yet inevitable sequence of events clearly demonstrated a dangerous misconception that had piggy-backed into the 21st century on the shoulders of ignorance, fear and apathy, that all religious beliefs and ideas deserve respect and are beyond criticism or satire.

International Blasphemy Day is a movement, not just a day, to remind the world that religion should never again be beyond open and honest discussion or reproach.  Our future depends on it.

Graphic Designer v´s Client

It´s great to be creatively appreciated. Graphic Designers like photographers suffer the same problem when dealing with clients.. Sometimes we have to deal with clients who want everything for the price of a toasty. recently Newsweek used an image on its cover and paid just $30 US dollers. Its normal rate would have been in the region of $2500 for a cover image. Have a look here to understand what i mean. Lots of swearing so best not if you have no sense of humour.

David M Mitchell

Rarely I see the work of a photographer that makes me think WOW ... David M Mitchell represented by Lynn Dunham just hit the spot for me. Stunning imagery.

THE DIAPHANOUS COLLECTION 

represents a sanctuary; a room, a window, 

a keyhole, the double mirror—the see and not be seen. 

A gentle transition between the inner spaces we create 

and the outside world we dream of mastering; 

a simplicity, a gentle passageway 

to the physical beyond the machinery 

of consciousness. 

- a simple wish of mind - 

DIAPHANOUS: Lumina, 2009, Photographic C-print 

24 x 24 inches - Edition of 7, 36  x 36 inches - Edition of 5 

48  x 48 inches - Edition of 3, 60  x 60 inches - Edition of 2 

To view the entire Diaphanous Collection, please visit www.lynndunham.com

Dame Stella Rimington

 ... the former head of MI5, has warned that the fear of terrorism is being exploited by the Government to erode civil liberties and risks creating a police state. Does the state want to control us?

Verbal Art Garbage and Conspiracy Theorys

Ever been lost for words to describe a photograph or painting? Some of the verbal guff that spews from art critics and reviewers mouths is nothing less than Klingon to even us established photographers. Heres a website that helps you talk unintelligable art garbage as well Pixmaven.

Fingers crossed as Leica may be giving me a chance to test the new Leica X1. Most of my work from the early nineties have been shot using Leica Ms. I have an online book of images which shows the Brighton Beach Lovers series here.

And now for something completely different ...

National Security Memo 200, dated April 24, 1974, and titled "Implications of world wide population growth for U.S. security & overseas interests," says: "Dr. Henry Kissinger proposed in his memorandum to the NSC that "depopulation should be the highest priority of U.S. foreign policy towards the Third World." He quoted reasons of national security, and because `(t)he U.S. economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less-developed countries ... Wherever a lessening of population can increase the prospects for such stability, population policy becomes relevant to resources, supplies and to the economic interests of U.S. "Kissinger prepared a depopulation manifesto for President Jimmy Carter called 'Global 2000' which detailed using food as a weapon to depopulate the third world. Dr Henry Kissinger is a member of the illuminati

The game has changed and the weapon of choice looks like a virus. 

The UK government has given the go ahead to roll out the Swine Flu vaccine. According to a contact the government will force everyone to have it. The H1N1 virus is a hybrid, with genetic elements of swine influenza, avian influenza, and human influenza. It supposedly first appeared in Mexico close to Veracruz around an industrial chicken farm and a pig farm owned by... yes an American owned intensive farming company called Smithfield Inc. Is it possible this strain of Swine Flu is man made? Just do some googling on the subject. Start here. Now your maybe wondering whether ive lost the plot. It doesn't fit in with most peoples perceived idea about 'stuff' that we have all come to take for granted. And while im on the subject of conspiracy theorys..

Was it really Al Qaeda behind the Twin Towers or are we being told a few more lies by the ex president Bush? If you dismiss the question without looking at the evidence then your a fool. If you research the evidence you will end with far more questions and no definitive answer. Why is that?

Why not just shrug your shoulders and think it has nothing to do with you. Heres a fact of life.. politicians only care about power and lie and cheat to get it. Large multinational corporations only care about profit and will lie and cheat to get it. We have all been conned for a very very long time. Have you ever questioned what your told?  Time to wake up and start asking questions.. All is not well with the state of our supposed democracy. Was it ever a democracy in the first place?

For Our World by Mattie Stepanek 1990-2004

We need to stop. Just stop. Stop for a moment… Before anybody says or does anything that may hurt anyone else. We need to be silent. Just silent. Silent for a moment… Before we forever lose the blessing of songs that grow in our hearts. We need to notice. Just notice. Notice for a moment… Before the future slips away Into ashes and dust of humility. Stop, be silent, and notice… In so many ways, we are the same. Our differences are unique treasures. We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts. To nurture, to offer, to accept. We need to be. Just be. Be for a moment… Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting, Like children and lambs, Never judging or vengeful like the judging and vengeful. And now, let us pray, Differently, yet together, Before there is no earth, no life, No chance for peace. (written September 12, 2001)

© Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (RIP 17th July 1990 to 22nd June 2004)

"People tell me I inspire them. And that inspires me. It's a beautiful circle, and we all go around together, with and for each other. What a gift." Mattie Stepanek

Every so often you read something and it hits you like a spade in the face. Watching Oprah for no particular reason and Mattie Stepanek appears. A young boy who in his short life showed what it is to have spiritual faith and live life even though he was wheelchair bound and knew he would never live a life as we ourselves demand and expect. Im not bible thumping here. I dont beleive in God as the church preaches it. I beleive in the goodness of humanity if only we would listen to the wisdom of lightworkers like Mattie.

Its been ...

a long few weeks since I updated. Laziness and a very intelligent cold held me back. Im over the laziness but the cold still lingers and poor me is fighting through the pain barrier to give me that feel good feeling of actually doing something. In my ill days i hooked up an old hard drive and did some trawling through some old long forgotten images ... memories of the nineties. The TGV to Marseille in France for the Football World Cup finals, me sipping coffee in Platanius, Crete and watching an old man shuffle by slower than a snail on prozac and lastly and image of the soon to be Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Tony Blair at the Brighton Center

This shot reminds me of my greatest photographic miss of my photo career. The previous year I was shooting at an anti apartheid meeting in London in 1994. Backstage i was having a coffee and Mr Blair exits the back stage with an apple the size of a pig in his mouth. Please understand that he was hold some papers in both his hands and only his mouth was stopping the apple from dropping. I raised my camera to get the shot as Tony raised his hand a little faster. He won the race and i miss the shot. The following year we meet again and this time no apples. He just gives me the grin!

On the TGV from Paris down to Marseille

So next year South Africa will host the 2010 football world cup. I've covered France 1998, Holland/Belgium 2000 and Japan 2002. Maybe time to get back into the English fans abroad story line. They are a great bunch of fans but sometimes very miss understood. Not so sure what will be made of them next year but it will be fun.

Images from the Euro finals in Holland/Belgium 2000 for Esquire

Good news at last as my Brighton Beach Lovers series has been chosen for a feature in Leica's LFI magazine to be published next month. This was a long term story i shot between the Brighton Pier and West Pier from 2001 to 2008.  Sent a lot of emails out to boutique book publishers hoping that someone somewhere will see the potential of the project as a book. Lets wait and see...

 Beach Lovers kiss during a rain storm on Brighton Beach in August 2004

Watching old men shuffle along sloooowly is a little disturbing. I often wonder how long it will be until I'm the shuffler and someone else is thinking "get on with it.. faster faster". What seems like an eternity ago I took this photo whilst sipping on the strongest expresso in the universe in the little Crete seaside resort of Platanius.  The point of this image now is that its

the same as watching the image making business. Its slowly but surly coming to the end of its life as we know it. Magazines have less money to commission photography than they ever have and newspapers are closing down weekly.  Everyone is a photographer now because they have a camera in their mobile and thats great. No sour grapes from me but it really pisses me off when another image library opens and offers money to unsuspecting amateurs for their images. The devil is always in the small print Ts&Cs and anyone who thinks they will earn lots of $s from image sales lives in La La Land!

If you have nothing else to do have a look here just to see the tip of the ice berg of how the image making industry is being strip mined.