POV: Bin Laden And Let's Get Real

Here are some quotes off commentary that I thought were right on the mark:
 
Jon Stewart (The Daily Show): "The face of the Arab world in America's eyes for too long has been bin Laden, and now it is not. Now the face is only the young people in Egypt and Tunisia and all the Middle Eastern countries around the world where freedom rises up."

Robert Fisk (The Independent): "So now for a reality check. The world is not safer for Bin Laden's killing. It is safer because of the winds of freedom blowing through the Middle East. If the West treats the people of this region with justice rather than military firepower, then al-Qa'ida becomes even more irrelevant than it has been since the Arab revolutions."

Tom Friedman (The New York Times): " And that is that he lived long enough to see so many young Arabs repudiate his ideology. He lived long enough to see Arabs from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen to Syria rise up peacefully to gain the dignity, justice and self-rule that Bin Laden claimed could be obtained only by murderous violence and a return to puritanical Islam.

Robert Fisk (The Independent): "But these past few months, millions of Arab Muslims rose up and were prepared for their own martyrdom – not for Islam but for freedom and liberty and democracy. Bin Laden didn't get rid of the tyrants. The people did. And they didn't want a caliph."

Luke Duggleby: The Art of Kathakali

Photo © Luke Duggleby-All Rights Reserved

Luke Duggleby is a British photographer with a degree in photography from the University of Gloucestershire. Currently based in Bangkok, he's shooting assignments and personal projects from India to Indonesia, China to Cambodia for various publications and NGOs.

His photography has been featured in The Sunday Times Magazine (UK) , The Independent on Sunday Review, Stern, Monocle Magazine, TIME, The Telegraph, GEO France, GEO Germany, The New York Times, The Times (UK), Geographical (UK), The Wall Street Journal Asia, and the USAID, amongst others.

Out of his many galleries, I chose two that I particularly admired; The Art of Kathakali, and The Last of the Bound Feet Women.

Kathakali is one of the oldest theater forms in the world, and originated in the area of southwestern India now known as the state of Kerala. It's the classical dance-drama of Kerala and is rooted in Hindu mythology and literally means "Story-Play". In my forthcoming 2012 photo-expedition to Kerala, I am planning an exhaustive photo shoot at a Kathakali school (as I did in 2009).

As for the Bound Feet Women, NPR featured an article on this practice and its history here, where it tells us that millions of Chinese women bound their feet to turn them into the prized "three-inch golden lotuses." Footbinding was first banned in 1912, but some continued binding their feet in secret. Some of the last survivors of this barbaric practice are still living in Liuyicun, a village in Southern China's Yunnan province.

Marty Stalker: Egypt-After The Revolution

Here's an impressive documentary on Egypt during the heady days immediately following the revolution, filmed by Marty Stalker. Marty is a writer/director living in Northern Ireland with a passion for film-making. He recently graduated from the Lights Film School in New York City.

His Vimeo page informs us that the documentary was filmed on the Canon 5D Mark II with Zeiss compact prime Lenses in March 2011, and edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 with Magic Bullet Mojo.

You can read Marty's notes on its production on his Scattered Images website.

The yells of the crowds one hears in the opening few moments of the movie are interesting since these are "Here's The Thief" (presumably about Mubarak), and "We Want Our Money". I liked how grainy black & white newsreel-like clips were inserted among the main colored movie. I am certain you'll be impressed by Dr Kamal Aboumagd, the wise constitutional lawyer, a gentleman who, in his demeanor and style, exemplifies the Egyptians of yore.

Well done.