A very happy Navruz to all my readers. Nothing lasts forever – not even Islam Karimov, it just feels like it – and I look forward to the day when I shall be able to return to see my friends in Uzbekistan.
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…this Year?
Say it with music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jwATHWAqU
Alcyone, Keep on topic please.
“Navruz (Nowruz) dance in Bukhara, Uzbekistan”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqJB0Z4c0TE
Um. Not the 21st? Perhaps the Kurds do things differently from Iran.
The start of the new year was last night at around 04:00 am that is celebrated as the old year is passed and the Earth starts it’s new orbit around the sun. The precise nature of the start of the new year thus does not fall into a day or a night. It is celebrated at the precise moment of the start of the new orbit.
This is a lovely tradition and no amount of politicisation is going to change the very essence of Nowruz/Navruz which literally means New Day!
When these festivals began there were no clocks, no one would know when it was 04:00, there were no printed calendars to tell people the date. All they had were the shadows cast by the sun. A pole in the ground or preferably on a tower, the taller the more accurate,that is why churches have steeples with spires on. At night the time was unknown, the day began at sunset, that is why our ancient festival days start on the eve, sunset and sunrise were the only times known with certainty on every day, people didn’t know when it was midnight. As the year progressed the length of the shadow at noon would change, shortest at mid winter, longest at mid summer, at the equinox it would be exactly half way between the longest and shortest marks and the points of sun rise, sun set and the pole would form a straight line at right angles to the shadow at noon.
As the year progressed the length of the shadow at noon would change, shortest at mid winter, longest at mid summer, ….
Shouldn’t that be the other way round, or am I misunderstanding you?
“Shouldn’t that be the other way round, or am I misunderstanding you?”
Yes, my mistake.
Fred you best start studying the history of the area and then perhaps pass opinion.
What is time Fred?
Um. Not the 21st? Perhaps the Kurds do things differently from Iran.
This year was a western leap-year. It would be 21 March if we had not inserted an extra day into February
Thanks. I hadn’t thought about that.
And a Happy Spring Equinox to you too.
Off Topic I’m afraid, but a note in Moon of Alabama on some of your old chums:
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/03/the-islamic-state-is-pretext-to-again-mug-libya.html
A couple of quotes:
“First, there is the strange situation that [Britain’s Ambassador to Libya, Peter] Millett takes his orders from Britain’s Libya envoy, Jonathan Powell, a contractor to the FCO. Yes, the same Powell who, along with then prime minister Tony Blair, brokered the deal with Muammar Gaddafi to end his dictatorship’s isolation a decade ago – and lead to fat Blair consultancies with that same tyrant after the prime minister left office.”
And:
“The Valletta court battle for the public telecommunications company LPTIC highlighted the complicated split and a new tussle is underway for control of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), the Tobruk-appointed office of which is situated in Malta.
For now, the LIA battle is in London but in a bizarre twist the case was last week controversially stopped in mid flow on advice from Britain’s Foreign Office.
The judge making the order, which keeps both existing governments from getting their hands on this $65 billion asset, is none other than William Blair, brother of – you guessed it, Tony.”
Old Bastards never die, I guess
I had thought so too. Had to look it up in Wiki; it varies from people to people apparently.
It befits Sunday anyway. I shall be celebrating with a haircut, appropriate for Spring!
and the wifes friends
have you got a brother runninig the joint of kames hotel by any chance.. dude looks so like you
may your wish come true soon
Happy Nowruz/Navruz to all the human beings who are working towards eradication of hunger, poverty, disease, ignorances, prejudice and their supporters.
Wish you all a very prosperous year ahead and hope you will all have a wonderful year.
Happy Navruz to you and your family Craig, and wish you a very productive year ahead in which you fulfil your dreams and enjoy good health and happiness. I hope you young son is enjoying the traditional feasts and gifts. Don’t forget to eat the traditional fish and vegetable rice dish, it tastes divine!
Just what is Navruz, and is it safe for your friends in Uzbekistan for your to talk about them?
Couldn’t Karimov outlast them?
And a happy Nacuz to you too.
Seems that ithe spring equinox aka Navruz is on March 21st, so I, and I hope you, shall be celebrating The Great American Meat Out Day.
You know, the Yanks rarely get above the belt.
“Seems that ithe spring equinox aka Navruz is on March 21st”
Not this year. The world isn’t perfect, it wobbles a bit, this year the equinox is on the 20th.
Indeed Fred. the equinox is a natural phenomenon. The Gregorian calendar is not.
Happy Now Ruz…just to include the rest of the Shi’a, Zoroastrian and generally Iranian population. Also the Baha’is. (Naw Ruz)
I was talking about the day of the holiday in most of the Stans, Fred, not when the world is in equinox.
Now the Church band down Chapel Street is going wild, celebrating some day.
I don’t know if it is the leftovers from St. Patrick’s Day or those looking forward to lunch.
“Now the Church band down Chapel Street is going wild, celebrating some day.
I don’t know if it is the leftovers from St. Patrick’s Day or those looking forward to lunch”
It’s Palm Sunday.
The band quit its Jesus meets Jazz concert at 11 a.m., so I think it settled on All Meat Out Day.
Jesus, what will they celebrate next? Bombing Palestine Back To The Stone Age?
Festivals – Celebrations – music arts and dance – have gone on throughout the entire history of the human race – and the times they happened – always when they happened every year – throughout the entire world – happened on the same days each year.
We of course couldn’t communicate too well – across the Earth – throughout our entire history – many thousands of years – until very recently…
But we all still celebrated at the same time – cos we could see the sun in the sky…and the stars (there was no Telly to watch).
We missed the first WOMAD festival…but went to all the rest..for over 25 years…
World of Music Arts and Dance
I stumbled across this…I should find mine..
“World Music & WOMAD Festivals”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/by-chris-g/collections/72157626084032777/
Tony
To be honest, on the rare occasions (particularly at festivals) when I came in contact with people working for The BBC, I was not really impressed (I am being polite)…
I have no idea who this bloke is (never heard of him) but he went to the same school in Royton, Oldham as me (well over 30 years later…I bet I know his Mum)
I do not watch TV – or listen to BBC Radio…except very occasionally…
is he any good?
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/nick-grimshaw-who-radio-presenter-9468376
Tony
He looks exactly like a bloke I used to work with 15 years ago, except he didn’t have an American accent…but the first time I saw him – his mannerisms too – and the way he spoke and his obvious technical knowledge and intelligence.I still am not sure he is not the same person…
I rather liked this article today about him…
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article44470.htm…
‘Chilling Effect’ of Mass Surveillance Is Silencing Dissent Online, Study Says
By Nafeez Ahmed
March 19, 2016 “Information Clearing House” – “Motherboard”- Thanks largely to whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations in 2013, most Americans now realize that the intelligence community monitors and archives all sorts of online behaviors of both foreign nationals and US citizens.
But did you know that the very fact that you know this could have subliminally stopped you from speaking out online on issues you care about?
Now research suggests that widespread awareness of such mass surveillance could undermine democracy by making citizens fearful of voicing dissenting opinions in public.
A paper published last week in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, the flagship peer-reviewed journal of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), found that “the government’s online surveillance programs may threaten the disclosure of minority views and contribute to the reinforcement of majority opinion.”
It seems to me that there are only 27 thoughts here now…whilst an hour or so earlier there were rather more…
Are people starting to delete their own comments now…oh no they haven’t introduced even an edit function yet…but that’s O.K…its their blog..I am not complaining … is this any good?
Even now, I do not discuss it with my family, nor friends….they are innocent, and it is probably best if they continue believing in and living their normal lives…and they pay their taxes for more bombs – such as this courtesy of Her Majesty’s Government…
Unless I am asked…and I keep thinking…whilst I am responding – this guy is going to get really upset…and so he does…and I think Oh Shit…not again…
don’t mention 9/11 and certainly not Chris Spivey.
Craig Murray’s O.K…
Do you know Craig Murray? – No – but I bought his book Murder in Samarkand
“Murder in Samarkand – A British Ambassador’s Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror Paperback – 1 Feb 2007
by Craig Murray (Author)”
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Samarkand-Ambassadors-Controversial-Defiance/dp/1845962214/ref=sr_1_1/279-9352690-2169442?ie=UTF8&qid=1458510611&sr=8-1&keywords=murder+samarkand
Tony
When you witness it. You actually experience it…right before your eyes…
I was 15 years old, and both my mum and me and my dad…thought there is no way can he survive…it was a raging torrent…
this young man on the bank of the Thames,,,saw what was happening at Mapledurham…
maybe he knew the river well…
he just dumped everything and jumped in – I have never seen anyone swim so fast…
and he got him at the last moment – just before the edge…and he said swim kick – we need to get back…
and he brought my Dad back.
What courage is that?? He risked his life to save my Dad and I don’t even know his name.
Tony
Happy New Year, to you too, Craig!
Washington Post: Trump questions need for NATO, outlines noninterventionist foreign policy.
Thank you Mr Murray.
Belated Happy Navruz to you too.
Karimov certainly will not last forever, but his legacy can (at least long since he has gone).
Oh, so Navruz is an ancient Persian celebration of life, not just a marking of the spring equinox.
Last Friday, Barack H. Obama offered Nowruz (New Year) greetings to Iranian people by an undiplomatic way. He didn’t felicitate Iranian nation by sending a greeting message to country’s ‘moderate’ president Hassan Rouhani, but used You-Tube (below), hoping that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei wouldn’t get that.
Obama tried to pat his bottom by taking credit for the so-called ‘P5+1’ and Iran nuclear deal last year. He told Iranians that even partial lifting of US sanctions against the country would usher Iran into the Global Economy (controlled by Zionist Jews) – creating thousands of jobs for young Iranians (40% of them are under age 30).
Tehran gained access to its $100 billion frozen assets in western banks after the international nuclear agreement last year, but so far has been able to use only $32 billion of them. The rest of the money is still being used to blackmail Iranian government. In March 2016 US lawmakers called upon Obama administration to take $10.5 billion out of those assets as compensations for Jews who left Iran and Arab countries after the creation of the Zionist entity in 1948.
Barack Obama asked Iranian people to “open the door”, and forget American crimes against them including the CIA military coup against country’s democratically-elected prime minister Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq in 1953.
To butter Iranian nation, Obama used famous Persian poet Khawaja Hafez-e–Shirazi lyric “open the door”.
Obama also compared his “opening door” to Cuba that he visited last week. The US and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations last year after 50 years. Ayatullah Ali Khamenei is against re-establishing Iran-US diplomatic relations until Washington proves that it’s sincere in dealing with Iran as an independent sovereign state on equal footing.
https://rehmat1.com/2016/03/23/nowruz-mubarak-obama-tries-to-con-iranian/