View allAll Photos Tagged reciprocity
I find the color pencils are a lot like human beings. One can find various colors of pencils at the box set. Our society is more like a pencil box. In society, there live people of various colors and beliefs. Some are good, some are bad. Some are optimistic, some are pessimistic. Some are crooked. Some are not. The world is filled with people with these reciprocities.
Life is more like a box of colored pencils. You know different colored pencils will be there. Just like you know, you’ll come across all kinds of people on the way of living.
আমার কাছে রং পেন্সিলগুলোকে অনেকটা মানুষের মত মনে হয়। একটা বক্সে বহু ধরণের বহু বর্ণের কালার পেন্সিল থাকে। অনেকটা হিউম্যান সোসাইটির মত। এখানে মানুষ আছে নানা বর্ণের, নানা বৈশিষ্ট্যের, নানান মূল্যবোধের বৈপীরিত্যের।
মেডিকেল লাইফ পুরোদমে চলতে থাকলে একটানা লেকচার, টিউটোরিয়াল, আইটেম এক্সাম, ওয়ার্ডে ডিউটির চাপে ক্যামেরা হাতে নেয়ার সময় তেমন হয়ে ওঠে না। ফটোওয়াকে তো বের হওয়া হয়না বললেই চলে। তখন হাত নিশপিশ করে ছবি তোলার জন্য। বেশ কিছুদিন আগে ঠিক এরকম এক দিনে বাসায় বসে থাকতে থাকতে হঠাৎ ড্রয়ারের কোণায় পড়ে থাকা রঙ পেন্সিলের বক্সটা দেখে ছবি তোলার ভূত চাপল মাথায়। তুলে ফেললাম বেশ কিছু।
ছবিগুলো তুলতে ১৮-৫৫মিmm আর ৫০mm প্রাইম ইউজ করেছি।
এটা ছাড়াও আর কিছু ছবি আছে "Color pencils" সেটে। চেক আউট করলে ভালো লাগবে। লিঙ্কঃ
www.flickr.com/photos/abir_shaqran/sets/72157635231785655...
Abir Shaqran Photography
Barisal, Bangladesh.
08-Jul-2024 18:05
Ilford FP4+ 125 @ EI=100
Ebony 45SU
Rodenstock 135mm f/5.6 Apo-Sironar-S
XTOL 1+1 for 10 mins (N) @ 20C
Stearman Press SP645 Tank
Pre-Wash 5 mins
Inversions first 30 sec then two every 60 sec
Two water Stop Baths - 1 min each
Alkali Fixer (1+4)
Clearing time 1 mins. Total fix time 2 minutes
Initial wash to remove fixer : 1 min
Washing : 10 mins with frequent water changes
Ilfotol : 1 ml in 500ml for 2 minutes
Front Shift : 4cm down
Front Tilt : 5 degrees forward
Mid tone LV = 6½
Highlight = 10
Shadow = 4
Filters : None
Final LV=6½
Reciprocity : 6 sec goes to 10 sec
10 sec @ f22
BBG's 2025 Artist in Residence Julia Rocha-Nava and their band perform original compositions in the Water Garden revolving around themes of reciprocity with land and plants. Photo by Jeremy Weine.
Clarke Quay is a happening night spot. You've got bars, restaurants, cafes so there's no shortage of things and people to see. There's even the water taxi if you want to cruise the Singapore river and Marina Bay. Lightmeter indicated a 10-12 minute exposure with reciprocity failure of 16minutes on the long side. However, fading light meant the exposure time should get longer which also meant longer exposure compensation for reciprocity. In the end I opted to expose for 20 minutes. That blew all the sky which was quite cloudy but I'm facing the setting sun.
08-Jul-2024 15:15
Rollei Infrared 400 @ EI 400 (EI 6 for IR)
Ebony 45SU
Nikon NIkkor M 300mm f9
XTOL 1+1 for 17 mins (N) @ 20C
Stearman Press SP445 Tank
Pre-Wash 5 mins
Inversions first 30 sec then two every 60 sec
Two water Stop Baths - 1 min each
Alkali Fixer (1+4)
Clearing time 1 mins. Total fix time 2 minutes
Initial wash to remove fixer : 1 min
Washing : 10 mins with frequent water changes
Ilfotol : 1 ml in 500ml for 2 minutes
Bed Tilt : 3 degrees up
Mid tone LV = 12
Highlight = 14
Shadow = 11
Filters : Red (-3)
Final LV=9
Reciprocity : None
1/4 sec @ f22
A slide scan from almost 20 years ago, taken on the balcony of where I lived in Miami. The sky is green because of reciprocity failure, the shifting of colors on film during long exposures.
Camera: Pinhead 4X5 camera (Printed on my Makerbot 3D printer) with .40 mm pinhole, and at 90mm that makes it about f225.
Ilford Delta 100 exposed at 64 ASA and Ilford Reciprocity added. Film was processed in Rodinal 1:25 for 9 minutes.
I metered for the bright side of the left column and then added another half stop of exposure, which - as it turned out - wasn't needed at all (the neg is a bit dense) And yet, the highlight details are in reasonable shape and there's loads of detail in the shadows.
One of the early graduates from the first 'studio glass' course in America, Sam Herman was instrumental in setting up the movement in Britain in the 1960's and later in Australia. In 1979 he returned to London to set up his own studio in Chelsea. He continued making new glass and teaching new graduates until 1992 when he moved to Spain to concentrate on painting, sculpture and large glass installations.
'Studio glass', refers to glass designed and usually made by an individual artist or in association with other artists from concept to final piece in small workshops. Mostly the pieces are unique or limited edition. This vase illustrates the freedom and flow of studio glass in the earlier style of asymetrical shapes. It has overlays of gold and silver foil and trailing and patterns of coloured glass.
Close up details are seen here
and here
Sam Herman: Chelsea Studio, London 1982 Height: 24cm. View large.
24-Oct-2021 15:52 - Ilford Delta 100 @ ISO 100
Developed in ID-11, 10 mins (pulled 1 min) @ 20C
Bronia SQAi + 80mm
Highlight = 10
Shadow = 8
Midpoint = 9
Yellow 12 Filter (-1 stop)
Final LV=8
Reciprocity, 8 sec goes to 13 sec
16 sec @ f16
Detail of large Studio Glass bowl made by Pawel Borowski (son of the International glass artist Stanislav Borowski) at the Borowski Glass Studio at Hennef in Germany. Two layers of colour have been used (red on black) and overlayed with clear glass on the outside surface. The pattern has been sand-blasted freehand and fine detail wheel cut or engraved on the inside of the bowl (usually cameo work is carried out on the outside surface). As one layer of colour is thinned away the other colour becomes more dominant and that is how the various colour shades are formed.
Alligatoren Bowl. Artist: Pawel Borowski, Germany 2005. Height: 15.5cm Diam: 26.0cm. Unique.
For more details ot the history and work of the studio see www.borowski-glas.de
Not the usual sort of cut glass, but random pattern wheel cutting used to decorate the surface of a tall blue vase by British Glass Artist Catherine Hough. The pattern was cut into the glass then the whole surface hand polished to give a satin sheen.
This is a macro of part of the surface.
More detail of her work can be found at www.catherinehough.com
My first experiment using Fujifilm Reala at night. I had read that particular fuji film stuff had better reciprocity failure results than Kodak. This shot is a testament to that. Shot on a Mamiya 645 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
From February 4 to February 8, 2009, I was on a trip through the American Southwest with Tyler Westcott, John Raviolo and Scott Jones.
I figured the Paula Abdul song title would be fitting because that's where I pointed the camera to take this photo in Lower Antelope Canyon. Like it's Upper brother, I often said that you can't take a bad photo here; wherever you point the camera, you'll have something breathtaking and interesting.
My challenge was to keep the dynamic range within control, because I was shooting slide film, which doesn't have the greatest tolerance for dark shadows and bright highlights. In fact, a lot of my photos ended up being too dark, or just with large shadowy areas with little detail. On top of that, Velvia 50 film, while famous for its beautifully saturated colors, is also infamous for very low tolerance for "reciprocity failure" - a characteristic of film where long exposures don't follow a linear exposure pattern, so you have to keep overexposing... This shot was overexposed by a full stop, which caused some of the highlights in the middle to come dangerously close to being blown, but I decided to share it because of the amazing color range.
See all our shots from this year's trip here, and places we visited last year.
Elan 7 film camera | 17-40mm @17mm | f/8 | 8 seconds | tripod | Velvia 50 film, processed and scanned by www.northcoastphoto.com
Hiking on foggy and windy autumn day on the Dipsea Trail near the Dear Park Fire Road, Muir Woods National Monument, Marin County, California. We stopped to have lunch here and I stayed awhile longer and set up my flexbody.
Kodak Plus-X (expired 6/2003?) - Xtol (processed @ www.gammasf.com)
(Pull Processed 2 stops)
SEKONIC L-778 DUAL SPOT F METER
EV4 (+reciprocity failure compensation) : 60s @ f11 (spot-metered shadows @ 100ASA and placed them at Zone 4)
camera on side. 4deg swing
Hasselblad Flexbody w/80mm CF Zeiss Planar T*
Epson PERFECTION V750-M PRO SCANNER
(20110924_PlusX_old_Pull2Xtol_49467_001)
28-Feb-2024 15:25
Ilford Delta 100 rated @ EI 100
Ebony 45SU
Schneider 120mm f/5.6 Makro-Symmar HM
PyrocatHD 1+1+100 semi-stand - 16 mins (N) @ 20C
Stearman Press SP445 Tank
Pre-Wash 3 mins
Inversions first 60 sec then at 4, 7, 10, 13 mins
Two water Stop Baths - 1 min each
John Finch Alkali Fixer (1+4)
Clearing time 60 seconds. Total fix time 120 seconds
Initial wash to remove fixer : 1 min
Washing : 10 mins with frequent water changes
Ilfotol : 1 ml in 500ml for 2 minutes
Bed Tilt : 5 degrees forward
Mid tone LV = 6
Highlight = 7
Shadow = 5
Filters : None
Bellows : 160mm - 1.7 times more light required (1 stop)
Final LV=5
Reciprocity : 15 sec goes to 31 sec
31 sec @ f22
Pinhole/Camera Obscura /Lensfree/Loch camera/Lensless / Without Lens/Sténope/Estenopeica/Lyukkamera Photography
Author : IMRE BECSI
© All rights reserved
Model : Bence (my son)
Location of shoot :
Csobánka,
Hungary,
Central-Europe
Time of shoot :
2010.11.
Info of Shooting :
Film : Polaroid 690 Color Instant (expired)
Filter : Wratten 85b Nd6(3x3 Tiffen), ND6 Soft Grad (3x4 Tiffen) & Warm Soft FX No.2 (82mm Tiffen)
Metered expo.:
Calculated expo.:
( I use my reciprocity compensation value chart to Polaroid Color Instant film)
Dev.: 120 sec. (20° C)
PICTURE MADE WITH :
Home-made assembled pinhole camera be composed of
few original photography equipments.
www.flickr.com/photos/jonespointfilm/2704150673/in/set-72...
Camera body (the base) : Polaroid 600se camera back spacer no.1
(from my Polaroid 600se camera set, made by Mamiya)
Film back : Instant pack film holder (made by Cambo)
Shutter : Polaroid MP4 (made by Compal)
Pinhole socket : Homemade (fit to filter holder)
Filter holder (82mm) : Homemade (fit to shutter)
Grip : I made it myself
Viewfinder : Door peeping (from OBI store) calibrated to the 3x4 format instant pack film size (I made it myself)
Cable releasers : Nikon
Matte Box : Old bellows style Arriflex 3X4 (from my Eclair s16 movie camera set)
Rods mount : Homemade
Rods : Homemade
Tripod & Head : Velbon
Quick release plates : Manfrotto
Focus : 55 mm
Pinhole : 0.3 mm (from Lenox laser)
Diaphragm : f183
Angular field (horiz) : 86°
Light falloff at the corners [f/stops] : 2,5
Resolution [lines/diagonal] : 799
Post work : (20.11.2010)
Scanner : Epson Perfection 3200 Photo (1200 dpi)
Scanner software : SilverFast SE
Final work : PS
Important note:
This images are copyright protected. No reproduction in any way,
no copies, no editing, no publishing, no screenshots, no posting,
no blogging, no transmitting downloading or uploading
without my written permission!
Thank you !
Thanks for looking !
Comments very much welcome !
"She is the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and sweetheart of Prince Hamlet."
Pinhole/Camera Obscura /Lensfree/Loch camera/Lensless / Without Lens/Sténope/Estenopeica/Lyukkamera Photography
Taken with a homemade 4x5 camera.
Designed and fabricated by myself.
Shoot to expired 3x4 Polaroid Color instant film.
Color and soft focus manipulation with Tiffen lens filters.
Final work with PS.
Please see to the cropped & coloured version :
bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=4262655366&size=large
AUTHOR : IMRE BECSI
© All rights reserved
Modell : Alexa
I prepared this picture two years ago lightworkshop (FÉNYMŰHELY) photo camp.
Location of shoot :
L'Huillier-Coburg Palace
Edelény,
Hungary,
Central-Europe
Latitude - 48°17'34.92"N
Longitude - 20°44'23.84"E
Time of shoot :
30.05.2008.
PICTURE MADE WITH :
( Home-made assembled pinhole camera be composed of
few original photography equipments )
Camera body : IKEA plant pot
Film back : 450 (Pack film holder to 4x5 back)
Film back holder : Cambo Revolving Back Assembly
Grip : IKEA handle
Viewfinder : Mamiya 75 mm
Focus : 85 mm
Pinhole : 0.35 mm (from Lenox laser)
Diaphragm : 243
Shutter : Compal Polaroid MP4
Matte Box : Arriflex 3X4 (from my Eclair s16 movie camera set)
Tripod & Head : Velbon
Quick release plates : Manfrotto
Picture from the camera :
www.flickr.com/photos/jonespointfilm/2697851395/in/set-72...
and
www.flickr.com/photos/jonespointfilm/2836345529/in/set-72...
Film : Polaroid 125i (Expired !)
Filter : Red Enhancing, Black Promist 2, Wratten 85b ND6 (is all Tiffen)
Metered exposure : 15 EV (Minolta Light Meter III with diffusor)
Calculated exposure : 1 min
( I use my reciprocity compensation value chart )
Dev. : 90 sec.
POST WORK : (10.01.2010.)
Scanner : Epson Perfection 3200 Photo (1200 dpi)
Scanner software : SilverFast SE
Final work : PS
Important note:
This images are copyright protected. No reproduction in any way,
no copies, no editing, no publishing, no screenshots, no posting,
no blogging, no transmitting downloading or uploading
without my written permission!
Thanks for looking !
Comments very much welcome !
Thank you !
The little golden dot is a Gulf Fritillary butterfly egg.
I took advantage of the reciprocity between Desert Botanical Garden and San Diego Botanic Garden for member admission. It is a relatively young and somewhat small botanic garden. It does have a lot of interesting specimina, especially for me coming from the desert.
I met up with a naturalist led butterfly walk at the San Diego Botanic Garden. Several very knowledgeable docents in the group. Someone noticed these little goldish eggs on these passion flower plant leaves. This was confirmed as a Gulf Fritillary butterfly egg. I probably would have never seen this and definitely would not have known what it was.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_fritillary
The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (Dione vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly in the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae are "longwing butterflies", which have long, narrow wings compared to other butterflies.
The caterpillar food plants--also called the host plants--for gulf fritillaries are members of the genus Passiflora. The adult butterflies use nectar from many flowers, including Lantana plants. The Passiflora host plants are frequently called passion vines; in some Texan counties where this butterfly's population is high, gulf fritillaries will feed on specific species such as Passiflora lutea and Passiflora affinis. These passion vine plants are suitable host plants as they provide a good structure for larval host habitats which enables young populations of gulf fritillaries to be sufficiently nurtured and protected. The role of host plants is also integral to the oviposition of gulf fritillaries, as the female butterflies lay their eggs on or near the host plant.[8][9]
Eggs are small and spherically shaped; the female gulf fritillary lays the eggs individually one by one on or near the host plant. Typical host plants include several species of the genus Passiflora. The eggs are initially yellow in color after deposition by the female, and they gradually turn a brownish red color over the course of the next 24 hours. The average duration of the egg stage in the life cycle for gulf fritillaries is roughly between three and five days depending on the temperature of the environment. Eggs are usually found on the upper surfaces of the leaves of the host plant, but some can be found on the underside of leaves as well.[2][7]
300 Quail Gardens Drive (at Ecke Ranch Road), Encinitas, CA 92024
Welcome to our 37-acre urban oasis featuring 4 miles of meandering trails and ocean views, 5,000+ plant species and varieties, and 29 uniquely themed gardens that represent 15 different regions and many habitats of the world. Our natural wonderland is designed for children and adults, alike; explore your interests, learn about the plant world that surrounds us, and let nature fill you with a little wonder.
SDBG2024
I tried to capture this image on pinhole, but the thorns were too blurry and lacked the menacing appearance that I wanted. Cloudy skies set the reciprocity failure time to 15-20 minutes. My rule is nothing longer than a 5 minutes exposure for most images, as I like to shoot a few bracketed images for optimal exposure.
The skyscraper in Rijeka lighten by city lights.
Long exposure 45sec with Reciprocity Failure for HP5+ 5:40min. Using digital camera to get right exposure.
Mamiya RZ67 ProII - Z 180mm f/4.5 W-N (#8 Yellow filter)
Ilford HP5+ 400 @ 800
Development:
Ilford ID-11 (1+1) @ 20°C 17:00 min
Agitation: 10 sec at start, then 10 sec each minute, usually 4 gentle inverts. On 10th min and until end 2 super gentle inversion every min.
Stop bath: Ilford Ilfostop 1 min with 4 inverts at start.
Fixer:
Kodak TMax Fixer 4 min. Agitation 30 sec at start, then 5 sec each 30 sec.
Hypo Clear Agent:
Formulary's Hypo Clear Agent with 30 sec pre soaking, then 2 min with agent.
Washing/Wetting Agent: 5 min rinse then Kodak PhotoFlo wetting agent.
Scanner: Canon CanoScan 9000F
Digitally processed. A bit of sharpening and vertical alignment.
☝️ Judge Napolitano: Ban TikTok? Not!
Former U.S WMD Inspector Scott Ritter on U.S. Tour of Duty Channel on Ask the Inspector, Episode 31
scheerpost.com/2022/12/19/scott-ritter-a-lexicon-for-disa...
Scott Ritter: A Lexicon for Disaster
Russia seeks arms control agreements to prevent dangerous escalation. But the U.S. seeks only unilateral advantage. This risks all out conflict unless this changes.
Dec. 8 marked the 35th anniversary of the signing of the intermediate nuclear forces (INF) treaty. This landmark arms control event was the byproduct of years of hard-nose negotiations capped off by the political courage of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev who together signed the treaty and oversaw its ratification by their respective legislatures.
The first inspectors went to work on July 1, 1988. I was fortunate to count myself among them.
In August 2019, former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the INF treaty; Russia followed shortly thereafter, and this foundational arms control agreement was no more.
The Decline of Arms Control
The termination of the INF treaty is part and parcel of an overall trend which has seen arms control as an institution — and a concept — decline in the eyes of policy makers in both Washington and Moscow. This point was driven home during a two-day period where I marked the INF anniversary with veteran arms control professionals from both the U.S. and Russia.
These experts, drawn from the ranks of the diplomatic corps who negotiated the treaty, the military and civilian personnel who implemented the treaty others from all walks of life who were affiliated with the treaty in one shape or another, all had something to say about the current state of U.S.-Russian arms control.
One thing that struck me was the importance of language in defining arms control expectations amongst the different players. Words have meaning, and one of the critical aspects of any arms control negotiation is to ensure that the treaty text means the same thing in both languages.
When the INF treaty was negotiated, U.S. and Soviet negotiators had the benefit of decades of negotiating history regarding the anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) treaty, the strategic arms limitation talks (SALT), and START, from which a common lexicon of agreed-upon arms control terminology was created.
Over the years, this lexicon helped streamline both the negotiation and implementation of various arms control agreements, ensuring that everyone was on the same page when it came to defining what had been committed to.
Today, however, after having listened to these veteran arms control professionals, it was clear to me that a common lexicon of arms control terminology no longer existed — words that once had a shared definition now meant different things to different people, and this definition gap could— and indeed would — further devolve as each side pursued their respective vision of arms control devoid of any meaningful contact with the other.
The U.S. Lexicon
Disarmament. Apparently, disarmament doesn’t mean what it once did to the U.S.—the actual verifiable elimination of designated weapons and capability. In fact, disarmament and its corollary, reduction, are no longer in vogue amongst the U.S. arms control community. Instead, there is an arms control process designed to promote the national security interest. And by arms control, we mean arms increase.
America, it seems, is no longer in the arms reduction business. We did away with the ABM and INF treaties, and as a result we are deploying a new generation of ballistic missile defense systems and intermediate-range weapons. While this is disconcerting enough, the real threat comes if and when the only remaining arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia — the New START treaty — expires in February 2026.
If there is not a replacement treaty of similar capacity negotiated, ratified and ready for implementation at that time, then the notion of strategic arms control will be completely untethered from any controlling mechanism. The U.S. would then be free to modernize and expand its strategic nuclear weapons arsenal. Disarmament, it seems, means the exact opposite — rearmament. George Orwell would be proud.
The Interagency. Back when the INF treaty was negotiated and implemented, the United States was graced with a single point of contact for arms control matters —the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, or ACDA. Formed by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960’s, ACDA provided the foundation for continuity and consistency for U.S. arms control policy, even as the White House changed hands.
While there were numerous bureaucratic stakeholders involved in formulating and executing U.S. arms control policy, ACDA helped ride herd over their often-competing visions through what was known as the interagency process—a system of coordinating groups and committees that brought the various players around one table to hammer out a unified vision for disarmament and arms control. The interagency was, however, a process, not a standalone entity.
How times have changed. Today, ACDA is gone. In its place is what is referred to as The Interagency. More than a simple process, The Interagency has morphed into a standalone policy making entity that is more than simply the combined power of its constituent components, but rather a looming reality that dominates arms control policy decision making.
The Interagency has moved away from being a process designed to streamline policy making, and instead transformed into a singular entity whose mission is to resist change and preserve existing power structures.
Whereas previously the various departments and agencies that make up the U.S. national security enterprise could shape and mold the interagency process in a manner which facilitated policy formulation and implementation, today The Interagency serves as a permanent brake on progress, a mechanism where new policy initiatives disappear into, never to be seen again.
Sole Purpose. Sole Purpose is a doctrinal concept which holds that the sole purpose of America’s nuclear arsenal is deterrence, and that American nuclear weapons exist only to respond to any nuclear attack against the United States in such a manner that the effective elimination of the nation or nations that attacked the U.S. would be guaranteed.
Sole Purpose was linked to the notion of mutually assured destruction, or MAD. Sole purpose/MAD was the cornerstone philosophy behind successive American presidential administrations. In 2002, however, the administration of President George W. Bush did away with the Sole Purpose doctrine, and instead adopted a nuclear posture which held that the U.S. could use nuclear weapons preemptively, even in certain non-nuclear scenarios.
Barack Obama, upon winning the presidency, promised to do away with the Bush-era policy of preemption but, when his eight-year tenure as the American commander in chief was complete, the policy of nuclear preemption remained in place. Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, not only retained the policy of nuclear preemption, but expanded it to create even more possibilities for the use of U.S. nuclear weapons.
Joe Biden, the current occupant of the White House, campaigned on a promise to restore Sole Purpose to its original intent. However, upon assuming office, Biden’s Sole Purpose policy ran headfirst into The Interagency which, according to someone in the know, was not ready for such a change.
Instead, Sole Purpose has been re-purposed to the extent that it now reflects a policy posture of nuclear pre-emption. You got that right—thanks to The Interagency, the sole purpose of American nuclear weapons today is to be prepared to carry out preemptive attacks against looming or imminent threats. This, The Interagency believes, represents the best deterrent model available to promote the general welfare and greater good of the American people.
The Russian Lexicon
Reciprocity. Reciprocity is the Golden Rule of arms control — do unto others as you would have others do unto you. It was the heart and sole on the INF treaty — what was good for the Goose was always good for the Gander. In short, if the Americans mistreated the Soviet inspectors, one could guarantee that, in short order, American inspectors were certain to encounter precisely the same mistreatment.
Reciprocity was the concept which prevented the treaty from getting bogged down in petty matters and allowed the treaty to accomplish the enormous successes it enjoyed.
Under the terms of the New START treaty, each side is permitted to conduct up to 18 inspections per year. Before being halted in 2020 because of the pandemic, a total of 328 inspections had been carried out by both sides with the rules of reciprocity firmly in place and adhered to.
However, in early 2021, when both sides agreed that inspections could resume, the U.S. demonstrated the reality that the concept of reciprocity was little more than a propaganda ploy to make Russia feel “equal” in the eyes of the treaty.
When the Russians attempted to carry out an inspection in July, the aircraft carrying the inspection team was denied permission to fly through the airspace of European countries due to sanctions banning commercial flights to and from Russia in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russians cancelled the inspection.
Later, in August, the U.S. tried to dispatch its own inspection team to Russia. The Russians, however, denied the team permission to enter, citing issues of reciprocity — if Russian inspectors could not carry out their inspection tasks, then the U.S. would be similarly denied.
For Russia, the definition of reciprocity is quite clear — equal treatment under the terms of a treaty. For the U.S., however, reciprocity is just another concept which it can use to shape and sustain the unilateral advantages it has accrued over the years when it came to implementing the New Start treaty.
Predictability. Historically, the primary purpose of arms control agreements was to reach a common understanding of mutual objectives and the means to achieve them so that over the agreed upon timeframe there would exist an element of stability from the predictability of the agreement.
This, of course, required agreement on definitions and intent accompanied by a mutual understanding of the four corners of the deal, especially on quantifiable subjects such as treaty-limited items.
Under the INF treaty, the goals and objectives for both parties were absolute in nature: total elimination of the involved weapons which existed in a class covered by the treaty. One couldn’t get much clearer than that and by mid-1991, all weapons covered by the treaty had been destroyed by both the U.S. and Soviet Union.
Subsequent inspections were focused on ensuring both sides continued to comply with their obligation to permanently destroy the weapons systems designated for elimination and not to produce or deploy new weapons systems whose capabilities would be prohibited by the terms of the treaty.
Under New START, the goals and objectives are far more nebulous. Take, by way of example, the issue of decommissioning nuclear-capable bombers and submarine-launched ballistic missile launch tubes. The goal is to arrive at a hard number that meets the letter and intent of the treaty.
But the U.S. has undertaken to decommission both the B-52H and Trident missile launch tubes onboard Ohio-class submarines in a manner which allows for reversal, meaning that the hard caps envisioned by the treaty, and around which strategic planning and posture is derived, are not absolute, but flexible.
As such, Russian strategic planners must not only plan for a world where the treaty-imposed caps are in effect, but also the possibility of a U.S. “break out” scenario where the B-52H bombers and Trident missiles launch tubes are brought back to operational status.
This scenario is literally the textbook definition of unpredictability and is why Russia looks askance at the idea of negotiating a new arms control treaty with the U.S. As long as the U.S. favors treaty language which produces such unpredictability, Russia will more than likely opt out.
Accountability. One of the most oft-quoted sayings that emerged from the INF treaty is “trust but verify.” This aphorism helped guide that treaty through the unprecedented success of its 13-year period of mandated inspections (from 1988 until 2001.) However, once the inspections ended, the “verify” aspect of the treaty became more nebulous in nature, opening the door for the erosion of trust between the U.S. and Russia.
A key aspect of any arms control agreement is its continued relevance to the national security postures of the participating nations. At the same time the INF inspections came to an end, the administration of President George W. Bush withdrew from the landmark 1972 anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty.
In doing so, the United States propelled itself into a trajectory where the principles that had underpinned arms control for decades—the de-escalation of nuclear tensions through the adherence to principles of disarmament set forth in mutually-reinforcing agreements intended to be of a lasting nature, no longer applied.
By unilaterally disposing of the ABM treaty, the U.S. opened the door for the deployment of ABM systems in Europe. Two Mk. 41 Aegis Ashore anti-missile defense systems, normally deployed as part of a ship’s Aegis-capable cruisers and destroyers, were instead installed on the ground in Romania and Poland. The issue of the Mk. 41 system is that the launch pods are capable of firing either the SM-3 missile as an interceptor, or the sea-launched cruise missile (Tomahawk.)
Russia objected to the Mk. 41 potentially offense system being employed on the ground, arguing that in doing so the U.S. was violating the INF treat by deploying a ground-launched cruise missile.
The U.S. rejected the Russian allegations, declaring that the Aegis Ashore launch configuration was solely for the firing of surfacre-to-air missiles. However, the U.S. balked at providing Russia the kind of access that would be necessary to ascertain the actual science behind the U.S. claim that the missile batteries were configured to operate only in a surface-to-air mode.
The U.S. also claimed it was impossible for the Mk. 41 to incorporate the Tomahawk cruise missile or a follow-on variant of the SM-3 or the SM-6 Typhoon, which are surface-to-surface missiles at ranges (reaching Moscos) that would violate the INF treaty.
(Removal of these missiles from Poland and Romania was one demand Russia made in draft treaty proposals to the U.S. last December. After the U.S. rejected it, Russia intervened in Ukraine.)
As had been the case with the ABM treaty, the U.S. had grown tired of the restrictions imposed by the INF treaty. U.S. military planners were anxious to field a new generation of INF weapons to counter what they perceived to be the growing threat from China, whose ballistic missile arsenals were not constrained by the treaty.
The ABM and INF treaties had become inconvenient to the U.S. not because of any actions undertaken by their treaty partners, the Russians, but rather due to an aggressive, expansive notion of U.S. power projection that mooted the purpose of the treaties altogether.
Arms control treaties are not meant to facilitate the expansion of military power, but rather restrict it. By viewing treaty obligations as disposable, the U.S. was eschewing the entire philosophy behind arms control.
Moreover, the tactics employed by the U.S. to undermine the credibility of the INF treaty revolved around fabricating a case of alleged Russian violations built around “intelligence” about the development of a new Russian ground-launched cruise missile, the 9M729, which the U.S. claimed proved that the new missile was in violation of the INF treaty.
That the intelligence was never shared with the Russians, further eroded the viability of the U.S. as a treaty partner. When the Russians offered up the actual 9M729 missile for physical inspection to convince the U.S. to remain in the INF treaty, the U.S. balked, preventing not only U.S. officials from participating, but also any of its NATO allies.
In the end, the U.S. withdrew from the INF treaty in August 2019. Less than a month later, the U.S. carried out a test launch of the Tomahawk cruise missile from a Mk. 41 launch tube. The Russians had been right all along — the U.S., in abandoning the ABM treaty, had used the deployment of so-called new ABM sites as a cover for the emplacement of INF-capable ground-launched missiles on Russia’s doorstep.
And yet the U.S. pays no price — there is no accountability for such duplicity. Arms control, once a bastion of national integrity and honor, had been reduced to the status of a joke by the actions of the U.S.
No Trust Left
With no common language, there can be no common vision, no common purpose. Russia continues to seek arms control agreements which serve to restrict the arsenals of the involved parties to prevent dangerous escalatory actions while imposing a modicum of predictable stability on relations.
The U.S. seeks only unilateral advantage.
Until this is changed, there can be no meaningful arms control interaction between the U.S. and Russia. Not only will the New START treaty expire in February 2026, but it is also unlikely the major verification component of the treaty — on site inspections — will be revived between now and then.
Moreover, it is impossible to see how a new arms control agreement to replace the expired New START treaty could be negotiated, ratified, and implemented in the short time remaining to do so. There is no trust between Russia and the U.S. when it comes to arms control.
With no treaties, there is no verification of reality. Both the U.S. and Russian arsenals will become untethered from treaty-based constraint, leading to a new arms race for which there can be only one finishing line — total nuclear war.
There is a long list of things that must happen if meaningful arms control is ever to resume its place in the diplomatic arsenals of either the U.S. or Russia. Before either side can resume talking to one another, however, they must first re-learn the common language of disarmament.
Because the current semantics of arms control is little more than a lexicon for disaster.
www.foxnews.com/opinion/fbi-twitter-formed-censorship-all...
FBI and Twitter formed a censorship alliance and they can't be allowed to get away with it
Congress must get answers on Twitter censorship carried out in conjunction with the FBI
"They are probing & pushing everywhere." That line sums up an increasingly alarming element in the seventh installment of the so-called "Twitter files." "They" were the agents of Federal Bureau of Investigation, and they were pushing for the censorship of citizens in an array of stories.
Writer Michael Shellenberger added critical details on how the FBI was directly engaged in censorship at the company. However, this batch of documents contains a particularly menacing element to the FBI-Twitter censorship alliance. The documents show what writer Shellenberger described as a concentrated effort "to discredit leaked information about Hunter Biden before and after it was published."
Twitter has admitted that it made a mistake in blocking the Hunter laptop story. After roughly two years, even media that pushed the false "Russian disinformation" claims have acknowledged that the laptop is authentic.
Yet, those same networks and newspapers are now imposing a new de facto blackout on covering the details of the Twitter files on the systemic blacklisting, shadow-banning, and censorship carried out in conjunction with the government.
The references to the new Hunter Biden evidence were also notable in the dates of these back-channel communications. On October 13, weeks before the election, FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan sent 10 documents to Twitter’s then-Head of "Trust & Safety" Yoel Roth related to the Biden story. It was the next day that New York Post ran its story on the laptop and its incriminating content. The United States government played a key role trying to bury a story damaging to the Democrats before the election.
The Twitter files now substantiate the earlier allegations of "censorship for surrogate" or proxy. While the First Amendment applies to the government, it can also apply to agents of the government. Twitter itself now admits that it acted as an agent in these efforts.
The current media blackout on the Twitter files story only deepens these concerns. For years, media figures have denied Twitter was engaging in censorship, blacklisting, shadow-banning and other techniques targeting conservatives. The release of the files have shattered those denials. There is simply no further room for censorship apologists.
In a city that relies on "plausible deniability," there is no longer a plausible space left in the wake of the releases. All that remains is silence -- the simple refusal to acknowledge the government-corporate alliance in this massive censorship system.
To cover the story is to admit that the media also followed the same course as Twitter in hampering any discussion of this influence peddling scandal. Indeed, while media is now forced to admit that the laptop is authentic, it cannot get itself to address the authentic emails contained in that laptop. Those emails detail millions of dollars in influence peddling by the Biden family. They also detail the knowledge and involvement of Joe Biden despite his repeated denial of any knowledge of the deals.
Those files also raise potential criminal acts that some of us have been writing about for two years. The emails are potentially incriminating on crimes ranging from tax violations to gun violations. In the very least, it is a target rich environment for investigators or prosecutors.
Yet, earlier disclosures showed that key FBI figures tamped down any investigation into the laptop. The latest documents now show the FBI also actively pressured the media to kill the story. That raises deeply troubling questions of the FBI politicalization. After Watergate, the Congress moved aggressively to pursue the use of the bureau by a president for political purposes. There is little call from the media for such an investigation today when the bureau is accused of working for Democrat rather than Republican interests.
The record of such bias extends beyond the Twitter files. The prior years, FBI agents were found to have shown overt political bias in the handling of FBI investigation. The agency continued to rely on sources like the Steele dossier despite warnings that the Clinton-funded report was likely Russian disinformation. Yet, when it came to Hunter Biden, the FBI reportedly was not interested in aggressively pursuing an investigation while calling on social media companies to censor any discussion of the scandal before the election. It continued to do so despite Twitter executives "repeatedly" indicating there was "very little" Russian activity on the platform.
In January 2020, Twitter’s then director of policy and philanthropy, Carlos Monje Jr., expressed unease on the pressure coming from the FBI and said "They are probing & pushing everywhere they can (including by whispering to congressional staff)."
The question is why the FBI would be "probing & pushing everywhere" despite the fact that the Russian investigation had exposed prior bias related to the 2016 election. That was no deterrent to killing a story viewed as damaging to the Biden campaign.
In the end, the government-corporate alliance failed. Despite the refusal of many in the media to cover the Twitter files, nearly two-thirds of voters believe Twitter shadow-banned users and engaged in political censorship during the 2020 election. Seventy percent of voters want new national laws protecting users from corporate censorship.
It is clear that any such reforms should include a full investigation of the FBI and its involvement in censorship efforts. As many as 80 agents reportedly were committed to this effort. It is clear now that, if we are to end censorship by surrogate, the House will have to "probe and push everywhere" in the FBI for answers.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and a practicing criminal defense attorney. He is a Fox News contributor.
This is the lower quarter section of Buttermilk Falls in Sussex County, New Jersey. The waterfall is found in a remote region of the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap. To get to the falls you need to go down a series of dirt and gravel roads that weave their way through forest and a patchwork of farms that were all abandoned when the canceled Tocks Island dam project claimed the land in the late 1960s through early 1970s. GPS Location: 41.137201, -74.888441. At an estimated 200 feet high, the falls are said to be the tallest ones in New Jersey. A parking lot is found directly across the road from the falls and no hiking is required to get to them though a steep set of steps can be found that lead up to an observation platform that overlook the falls from above.
This image marks a number of firsts for me including the first time shooting Ilford FP4+ and the first time shooting a full size waterfall with a large format film camera. Composing a waterfall as viewed upside down and backwards turned out to be a lot harder than the same type of composition with a building or person.
4x5 for 365 Project details: greggobst.com/4x5-for-365/
Technical details:
Busch Pressman Model D 4x5 LF press camera.
150mm Caltar-S II F 5.6 lens in Copal BT shutter.
Tiffen 0.6/ND4 2 stop neutral density filter.
Ilford FP4+ B&W Negative Film, shot at ISO 125.
Metered with Minolta one degree digital spot meter.
Metered exposure was 4 seconds @ F22 with zone III placed on shadowed mossy area. Compensation for the ND filter boosted the calculated exposure to 16 seconds at F22 and film reciprocity compensation for the Ilford FP4+ gave a final calculated exposure of 2 minutes and 9 seconds @ F22.
Semi-stand development in Rodinal 1:100 for 15 minutes in Mod54 daylight tank.
Negative scanned with Epson V600.
... but this bike was still waiting.
Found in the waters of the Irish Sea at Barrow-in-Furness, UK in the late 1960's.
Ebony 45SU
Ilford FP4+ ISO125 rated @ EI 100
Rodenstock 210mm f5.6 Apo Sironar S
Developed in Ilford Perceptol 1:1 for 15 mins @ 20C
07-Feb-2022 16:25
Front Shift - 1cm down
Front Tilt - 2 deg forward
Mid tone LV = 9
Highlight = 12
Shadow = 8
Filters : Yellow 12 (-1)
LV=8
Reciprocity (add 0.3 seconds)
Shutter speed 2.5s @ f22
I find the color pencils are a lot like human beings. One can find various colors of pencils at the box set. Our society is more like a pencil box. In society, there live people of various colors and beliefs. Some are good, some are bad. Some are optimistic, some are pessimistic. Some are crooked. Some are not. The world is filled with people with these reciprocities.
Life is more like a box of colored pencils. You know different colored pencils will be there. Just like you know, you’ll come across all kinds of people on the way of living.
আমার কাছে রং পেন্সিলগুলোকে অনেকটা মানুষের মত মনে হয়। একটা বক্সে বহু ধরণের বহু বর্ণের কালার পেন্সিল থাকে। অনেকটা হিউম্যান সোসাইটির মত। এখানে মানুষ আছে নানা বর্ণের, নানা বৈশিষ্ট্যের, নানান মূল্যবোধের বৈপীরিত্যের।
মেডিকেল লাইফ পুরোদমে চলতে থাকলে একটানা লেকচার, টিউটোরিয়াল, আইটেম এক্সাম, ওয়ার্ডে ডিউটির চাপে ক্যামেরা হাতে নেয়ার সময় তেমন হয়ে ওঠে না। ফটোওয়াকে তো বের হওয়া হয়না বললেই চলে। তখন হাত নিশপিশ করে ছবি তোলার জন্য। বেশ কিছুদিন আগে ঠিক এরকম এক দিনে বাসায় বসে থাকতে থাকতে হঠাৎ ড্রয়ারের কোণায় পড়ে থাকা রঙ পেন্সিলের বক্সটা দেখে ছবি তোলার ভূত চাপল মাথায়। তুলে ফেললাম বেশ কিছু।
ছবিগুলো তুলতে ১৮-৫৫মিmm আর ৫০mm প্রাইম ইউজ করেছি।
এটা ছাড়াও আর কিছু ছবি আছে "Color pencils" সেটে। চেক আউট করলে ভালো লাগবে। লিঙ্কঃ
www.flickr.com/photos/abir_shaqran/sets/72157635231785655...
Abir Shaqran Photography
Barisal, Bangladesh.
For the folks in Clubsnap!
Sorry, no puppy this time.
1: Darkbag as darkcloth
2: Benro TA 269m8 with Markins Q3
3: Notebook for notes, also for reciprocity charts
4: Screw-in filters in pouch
5: Lee Filter Kit - Soft/Hard GND, B&W Polyester Color filters, Big Stopper
6: Sony PSP for those long exposures
7: Fuji PA145
8: Black and white film in pink pouch
9: Velvia 50 in green pouch
10: Misc pouch with toolkit, insect repellent, toothbrush, spare baseplate, Lenspen
11: Raincoat and umbrella
12: Pouches for lens and lightmeter etc.
13: Fenix TK35 Flashlight
14: Panasonic LX3 in Pouch
15: Minolta IVF
16: Earphones for music
17: Cheap loupe
18: Cable release
19: Self timer release
20: Speed Graphic 4x5 with 75mm f/8 Fujinon
21: 150mm f/2.8 Schneider Xenotar
22: 75mm f/4.5 Nikkor
23: 135 f/4.7 Graflex Optar
24: TT SWP
Bergger Print film 11x14” (28X35 cm). Exposed in camera. Artificial light 5500°K.
EI 3 ISO. Voigtländler Euryscope landscape n°4 (focal lenght 364 mm, f/6,1, stopped down @ f/30 with original waterhouse stop). Exposure Reading: 15”, real exposure (having in mind bellow extension and reciprocity) 2’15”.
Developed HC-110 Dilution D (1+39), 5’31”@20°C (in my darkroom 3’24”@26°C). Agitation 1’ first then 10” every 30”. Acid stop bath and rapid fixer.
DR: 2.0-2.1 .
The price of one sheet according to the actual market in Italy is something less than 8€. Worth doing.
Pinhole/Camera Obscura /Lensfree/Loch camera/Lensless / Without Lens/Sténope/Estenopeica/Lyukkamera Photography
The picture was making in the course of the "Instart" group's pilgrimage.
When the group's four members looked at it Westlicht gallery Polaroid's exhibition in Vienna.
Author : IMRE BECSI
© All rights reserved
Location of shoot :
Vienna,
Europe
Time of shoot :
11.07..2011.
Info of Shooting :
Film : Polaroid 690 Color Instant (expired)
Filter : Wratten 85b (Tiffen)
Metered expo.:
Calculated expo.: 8,5 Ev - 60 sec.
( I use my reciprocity compensation value chart to Polaroid Color Instant film)
Dev.: 120 sec. (25° C)
The camera :
Body is a Film Back Adapter Plate from a Polaroid 203 camera
- focus : 33 mm
- pinhole : 0,25 mm (Lenox Laser)
- diaphragm : 132
Film back from my Polaroid 600se camera.
Shutter and Pinhole holder is a "pu(s)h" from Dr. Kai Fuhrmann with filter thread (homemade).
Picture from the camera :
www.flickr.com/photos/jonespointfilm/2837193476/in/set-72...
The parameters of camera :
(when I use 95x73 mm format instant film)
- Angle of view : 119°24'26"
- Light falloff at the corners [f/stops] : 3,6
- Resolution [lines/diagonal] : 887
Post work : (10.07.2011)
Scanner : Epson Perfection 3200 Photo (1200 dpi)
Scanner software : SilverFast SE
Final work : PS
Important note:
This images are copyright protected. No reproduction in any way,
no copies, no editing, no publishing, no screenshots, no posting,
no blogging, no transmitting downloading or uploading
without my written permission!
Thank you !
Thanks for looking !
Comments very much welcome !
Another refraction pattern of sunlight through a church stained glass window. This was taken at the church in the village ( 130 inhabitants) of Granges-sur-Baume, Jura, France.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRINCIPLES OF MA’AT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Goddess Maʽat is the embodiment of the Ancient Egyptian Seven Principles of Ma’at which are Truth, Balance, Order, Harmony, Righteousness, Morality, and Justice. It was expected that the priests, Pharaohs and their families embody these principles, along with every member of the community. Life was to be lived in such a way that these principles guided all actions and relationships. One who did not live, or rule and lead, by these principles was considered unfit for the position during the times Egypt’s of greatest spiritual heights.
These principles can and should reflect on our modern world. Here are the definitions:
Truth – the ability to understand the difference between the real and the unreal. Of course, this is subject to the definition of reality. In this interpretation, reality is grounded in the belief of the Greatest Goodness, that which permeates all that exists, that all living creatures are sacred, and all are spiritual beings deserving of respect and honor.
Justice – the state in which there is equity for all persons, for all creatures and for the planet on which all of these rely for life. Equity means that all have equal opportunity for basic needs to be met (food, shelter, water, safety, medical care, dignity, respect, community…), to live in peace, to fully and meaningfully participate and contribute to society, to offer gifts, talents, and or essence, toward the good of the whole.
Harmony – the state of being in which different expressions of Mother Nature’s (God/Goddesses) Spirit, humans, animals, plants, etc., move together in ways that create alignment and beauty. Each expression must be authentic and express fully all that it is created to be. It is only through authenticity that harmony can truly be achieved, and occur naturally when each entity is being true to itself — to it’s spiritual reality.
Balance – a state in which the internal and external environments of an individual, or group are aligned with the Goddess, Mother Nature, one another and the rest of creation. It is the experience of existing in the place where opposites meet, the creation point, where new life is generated and new possibilities come into being.
Order – a state of being in which things are arranged in ways that are uncluttered, free of excess, clear.
Reciprocity- is the reality that what comes around, goes around. There is a motion, rhythm of cause and effect, give and take, forward and backward to every aspect of creation.
Propriety – means to be and to do what is right, according to the truth that all living creatures are spiritual beings and deserve to exist. This means to do no harm to another being, creature or aspect of the Goddess, beginning with self.
The Principles of Ma’at were an important value of the Egyptian culture. The teachings about how to live in order to find union with the gods/higher spirit, was part of the life training of the Ancient Egyptian people from infancy onward. The purpose of this union was both for the good and benefit of the individual, but even more so for the society and the world. Each person should live a life in which the principles of Ma’at were embodied externally as well as internally.
Tombstone of Sir Byron Edmund Walker (October 14, 1848 - March 27, 1924) and family. He was a banker and philanthropist. Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Toronto, Canada. Spring morning, 2021. Pentax K1 II.
The weather-worn inscription on tombstone, which is hard to make out, reads:
In Memory of
Sir Edmund Walker
Born Oct-14-1848
Died Mar-27-1924
And of his wife
Mary Alexander
Born June-8-1851
Died July-19-1928
And of her sister
Elizabeth Alexander
Born March-4-1844
Died July-9-1924
Only the actions
Of the just
Smell sweet and
Blossom in the
Dust
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Edmund_Walker
Sir Byron Edmund Walker, CVO (14 October 1848 – 27 March 1924) was a Canadian banker. He was the president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce from 1907 to 1924, and a generous patron of the arts, helping to found and nurture many of Canada's cultural and educational institutions, including the University of Toronto, National Gallery of Canada, the Champlain Society, Appleby College, Art Gallery of Ontario and Royal Ontario Museum.
In 1910, King George V knighted Walker for his contributions to business and the arts.
Early years
Byron Edmund Walker was born on 14 October 1848 on the outskirts of Caledonia in Seneca Township, Haldimand County, Canada West.
His grandfather, Thomas Walker, had been a manufacturer of watchcases in London, England. He arrived in Upper Canada (now Ontario) in 1834 with four of his children, some books and some pictures. The loss of his wife and four of his children contributed heavily to his decision to leave London for Canada. The third youngest child was Alfred Edmund Walker, Sir Edmund's father, a farmer who became a clerk. He was also an amateur naturalist, paleontologist and watercolour painter. Alfred Edmund married Fanny Murton of Hamilton in 1845. Fanny's parents also were immigrants from England, having arrived in 1832. Her father, William Murton, was college educated and her mother spoke Italian and French and played the harpsichord. She also ran a private junior school in Hamilton.
The Walkers had nine children of which Byron Edmund (or Edmund, as he preferred to be called) was the second oldest. The family moved from their farm near Caledonia, to Hamilton in 1852. There, at the age of four, Edmund began studies at his grandmother's school and then at the Hamilton Central School where he completed all six grades. He hoped to pursue a teaching career but poor health curtailed his enrollment in the Toronto Normal School, the teacher's college founded by Egerton Ryerson in 1851. At the age of 12, Walker entered the service of his uncle, John Walter Murton, who had a currency exchange business in Hamilton.
Banking career
While working at his uncle's bureau de change, Walker became an expert in recognizing counterfeit bills being circulated during the American Civil War. After seven years at his uncle's firm, he spent a few months in Montreal but poor health forced him to return to Hamilton in 1868 where he began work as a discount clerk in the newly opened Canadian Bank of Commerce.
The Canadian Bank of Commerce was established by industrialist William McMaster in 1867. McMaster would serve as a guiding light to the young Edmund, who quickly rose through the ranks. In 1872, he was appointed chief accountant at the bank's head office in Toronto. In May 1873, Walker was sent to New York City as junior agent for the bank. Charged with responsibility for loans of gold against currency, he successfully maintained proper margins in spite of his clients' many sudden bankruptcies. The enterprising Walker was then sent to the bank's Windsor branch in 1875. In 1878, he was appointed manager of the London, Ontario branch, a year later was made inspector of the bank, and in 1880 he returned to Hamilton as manager.
Walker married Mary Alexander in 1874 while living in New York. Together they had four sons and three daughters. She was the daughter of Alexander Alexander, a carpenter who emigrated from Scotland to Lockport, New York, in 1834. That year, he married Isabella Buchan and moved to Hamilton, Ontario, where he became a green grocer. Together they had five children.
From 1881 to 1886, Edmund was again in New York as the bank's joint agent, giving him the opportunity to increase his talents in foreign exchange and to conduct international banking on a much larger scale. There he could expand his cultural interests, visiting galleries and museums, and beginning, in earnest, his art collection. In 1886, at age 38, Walker was recalled to Toronto as general manager of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. By then there were 30 branches in Ontario and agencies in Toronto, Montreal and New York. The bank's assets at its inception were $2,997,081; 50 years later, these were $440,310,703 with branches across the country, largely attributable to Walker's strong leadership.
Walker is known for developing the first set of written regulations for dividing a bank into a complex array of departments and is widely credited for the Canadian government's 1881/82 revision of the Canada Banking Act that gave Canada a centralized, panic-proof banking system. Walker was also professionally respected internationally. As vice-president of the American Bankers Association he was invited by a U.S. congressional committee to advise on the drafting of the Federal Reserve legislation. He held many key national and international positions; chairman of the bankers' section of the Toronto Board of Trade from 1891 to 1892; vice-president of the Canadian Bankers Association (which he helped found in 1891) in 1893 and its president from 1894 to 1895; chairman of the 1899 Royal Commission on the financial position of the province of Ontario; and chairman of the Section of Money and Credit for the 1904 Universal Exposition in St. Louis. He was a fellow of the Institute of Bankers of England and fellow of the Royal Economic Society of England.
In 1906, he was elected director of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. He served as president from 1907 until his death in 1924.
Political ties
The Liberal Party government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier appointed Walker to the National Battlefields Commission in 1908. The commission was charged with the recovery of non-Crown land for a "Battlefields Park" in Quebec City where the Battle of the Plains of Abraham was fought between French and British forces. The commission was also charged with supervision of the expenditures of the Tercentenary Celebration of Samuel de Champlain founding Quebec in 1608. Later, Walker was made chairman of the Canadian committee of the Peace Centenary, an event planned by the Canadian, American and British governments to commemorate 100 years of peace between Canada and the United States following the War of 1812-14.
Although Walker tried to stay out of active politics all his life and never joined a political party, he decided to take a pivotal role in the political arena with a group of 18 prominent businessmen who opposed the Reciprocity Agreement with the United States proposed by the Laurier government. Walker feared that the giant American trusts, once allowed into Canada, would paralyze the Canadian market. Furthermore, as an ardent patriot and staunch imperialist, he feared it would weaken Canada's ties with Britain and lead to annexation by the United States. The anti-reciprocity forces led to the defeat of Laurier's government in 1911. Walker was among those who advised the new Conservative Party prime minister, Sir Robert Borden, on preserving the financial stability of Canada during the First World War.
Interests in education
Walker credited his father for developing his broad interests and love for learning, and always regretted that poor health prevented him from getting a formal education. He believed that the basis of a civilized society was its educational system and that a nation's universities were its most treasured institutions. Throughout his life he took an active interest in educational institutions. One of the first and most lasting of his interests was the University of Toronto. In 1887, the denominational institutions of Victoria College (Methodist), Knox College (Presbyterian), Wycliffe College (Anglican theological school), and St. Michael's College (Roman Catholic) had entered into a federation with the secular University College, the only one funded by the government. After fire destroyed the eastern portion of University College in 1890, Walker was instrumental in persuading the Ontario government to make its first grant to the amalgamated University of Toronto.
He was also responsible for leading the last denominational college - Trinity College, affiliated with the Church of England - into the federation in 1904. Trinity awarded him a Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) that same year. In 1905, he was a member of the Royal Commission on the reorganization of the university, which was responsible for securing annual government grants thereafter. Over the course of his 32-year involvement with the university, Walker served as trustee (1892–1906), senator (1893–1901), member of the Board of Governors (1906–10), chairman (1910–23) and chancellor (1923–24).
The Toronto Conservatory of Music also joined the university through his efforts. He served as a member of its Board of Governors, and later as president (1917–24). His support for music also included the Mendelssohn Choir, for which he was honorary president (1900–24).
With a lasting commitment to education and the importance of Canadian history in nurturing patriotism and a Canadian identity, he founded the Champlain Society in 1905. Established as a non-profit organization, its mandate was to publish important documents relating to Canadian history, projects that commercial publishers would consider unprofitable. He believed that this Society was his finest achievement. He served as its president until his death.
As an author of articles on a variety of subjects - banking, Robert Browning, Italian and Japanese art - it is not surprising that Walker would be one of the founders of the Canadian Society of Authors, established to promote Canadian literature and protect authors with copyright laws. Walker served as president from 1904 to 1909.
In 1911, Walker established Appleby School, a boys' private boarding school, for which he purchased the initial 32-acre (130,000 m2) property in Oakville. The first headmaster of the school was Walker's son-in-law John Guest.
A love of art
Through his years in New York City and early trips to Europe - including to London in 1887 and Italy in 1892 - Walker developed skills as an art connoisseur and collector, often lecturing on the subject. His collection of art was housed in his Toronto residence - "Long Garth" at 99 St. George Street. The Victorian brick structure had fine wood interiors, Art Nouveau ceiling decorations by Gustav Hahn, and allegorical murals by George Agnew Reid. "Long Garth" became a treasure trove of etchings, prints, embroideries and oriental carpets, bronzes, brass and ivory work, porcelain china, not to mention his fossil collection and his extensive library. Walker had a particular fascination with printmaking and it was said that his expert eye for detail in detecting counterfeit banknotes aided his connoisseurship. Walker also was a member of the Japan Society of America and the most notable part of his collection, 1,070 Japanese woodblock prints, were bequeathed to the Royal Ontario Museum on his death. Equally of note is the collection of over 400 works of graphic art, ranging from the 15th to the 9th centuries, which he assembled between 1880 and 1924, including works by Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt. His children gave the collection to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1926.
Beyond purchasing some pictures by Canadian artists, Walker's first real connection with the Canadian art world began when he was approached by a number of prominent Toronto artists to help them organize a guild. With these like-minded laymen and artists who shared his ideals he formed the Toronto Guild of Civic Art. Spearheaded by George Agnew Reid, the guild pressed for civic improvements in the city. Walker served as its first president in 1897. As the Guild's representative on the committee to select the artist for the monument to Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe at Queen's Park, Walker was largely responsible for the commission being awarded to sculptor Walter Seymour Allward. Later, Walker was responsible for Allward's commissions to design the South African War Memorial on University Avenue in Toronto, as well as the Bell Telephone Memorial in Brantford.
The Art Gallery of Ontario
Walker's relationship with George Agnew Reid led to the founding of the Art Gallery of Ontario. On 15 March 1900, Reid, then president of the Ontario Society of Artists, brought a group of citizens together to consider the formation of an art gallery for Toronto. At that meeting, a Provisional Art Museum Board was set in place with Walker as chairman and Reid as secretary. Through effective lobbying and fundraising ($5,000 each from 10 benefactors), the Ontario Legislature later that year passed a bill incorporating the Art Museum of Toronto. Walker became president of its board of trustees and served until his death.
The initial challenge was to find a home for the new institution. It was Walker who convinced his friends, writer Dr. Goldwin Smith and his wife, the former Mrs. William Henry Boulton, to leave their historic house, "The Grange," to the new museum. Before the news became public, Walker bought surrounding land so that the museum would have space for future expansion. The Art Museum of Toronto (later renamed the Art Gallery of Toronto and then the Art Gallery of Ontario) officially opened its first galleries in The Grange in April 1913. In 1926, two years after his death, when the gallery was expanding, the Canadian Bank of Commerce donated the funds to build the magnificent room that bears his name, the Walker Court.
The Royal Ontario Museum
The campaign for a world-class public museum for Toronto was led by Walker, philanthropist Sir Edmund Boyd Osler, then director of the Canadian Pacific Railway and president of The Dominion Bank, and Dr. Charles Trick Currelly, the first curator of the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology. An archaeologist, Currelly had been doing fieldwork in Egypt, Crete and Asia Minor for the purpose of collecting artifacts as a core collection for the small museum he established at Victoria College in 1907. But he wanted a larger museum for the university and others soon became involved. Walker, Osler and others provided funds and solicited financial support from the government.
Together, Osler and Walker created an organizational structure for the museum, including how funding was to be shared between the university and the government. In 1912, the Royal Ontario Museum Act was passed. A Board of Trustees was created, with appointments shared equally by university and government. Walker was its first chairman.
The Royal Ontario Museum opened on 19 March 1914. Currelly became director in 1914 until his retirement in 1946 and Walker remained chairman of the Board of Trustees until his death. In the ensuing years he contributed financially, and assisted through generous lines of credit from the Canadian Bank of Commerce, notably for Currelly's substantial acquisitions of Chinese artifacts. Walker's fossil collection became the nucleus of the museum's paleontology collection, and resulted in a dinosaur, Parasaurolophus walkeri, being named after him in 1922. His interest and support of paleontology had led to an earlier association with the Royal Canadian Institute, another scientific institution of which he was president from 1898 to 1900.
The National Gallery of Canada
At the first official exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts on 6 March 1880, Canada's Governor General, the Marquis of Lorne, established the National Gallery of Canada at the Clarendon Hotel in Ottawa. An Advisory Arts Council was formed in 1907 and consisted of Sir George Drummond, president of the Bank of Montreal, as chairman; the senator from Montreal, Arthur Boyer, as secretary; and Sir Edmund Walker, then just newly appointed president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, as member. The council was charged with advising the government on architecture and decoration of public buildings and public monuments. It was responsible for selecting and purchasing artworks for the collection. Drummond favoured the acquisition of European works while Walker was adamant that Canadian art be included. On Drummond's death in 1909, Walker became chairman of the council. Walker's influence as a print collector was crucial in launching the gallery's Prints and Drawings Department, which opened in 1911.
Another responsibility of the council was to advise on the Victoria Memorial Museum (Ottawa's present Natural History Museum), which opened in 1913. The same year the National Gallery of Canada Act was passed with an independent Board of Trustees constituted; Walker was appointed chairman and served until his death. Its trustees were charged, among other duties, with the development, encouragement and cultivation of "correct artistic taste in the fine arts." By 1924, this collection had over 4,000 items.
Canada's "war pictures"
Walker was key in the creation of what today is the collection of First World War "war pictures" now housed in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. In 1915, the Canadian financier and expatriate, William Maxwell Aitken (later Baron Beaverbrook), was appointed the Canadian force's official records officer in England. Beaverbrook established the Canadian War Memorials Fund to record for posterity the events of that war. As both a member of the fund's committee and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery, Walker insisted that the commissioned artists include Canadians, as well as the British artists Beaverbook proposed. By 1918, a large number of Canadian artists, among them A.Y. Jackson and Frederick Varley, were in Europe sketching munitions factories and various theatres of operations where Canadians were active. Other artists, C.W. Jefferys among them, recorded the war effort at home in Canada. In 1921, the Beaverbrook-funded war collection was deposited with the National Gallery.
Walker also served on both the Canadian and British Commissions on War Records and Trophies, formed in 1918. In the Canadian plan, a gallery for the war pictures and a hall of trophies was to be built on Sussex Drive in Ottawa. Efforts to complete the building in 1922 and 1923 were unsuccessful and the paintings and trophies were loaned out. In 1971, the paintings were transferred from the National Gallery to the Canadian War Museum and now are displayed.
Innisfree
For weekend retreats, Walker began to purchase land in 1890 at De Grassi Point in Innisfil Township, Simcoe County. "Innisfree," as his wife named it, became the centre of Walker's family life. There, he built "Broadeaves" designed by leading Canadian architect Frank Darling. Darling was the architect of the University of Toronto and designed many buildings associated with Walker such as Convocation Hall and Trinity College at the University of Toronto and the Canadian Bank of Commerce (now Commerce Court North) on King Street West in Toronto. In 1913–14, Walker built "Innisfree Farm" to further his interest in livestock husbandry. Innisfree was left in trust to his descendants as a private land trust. Managed today with the assistance of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Innisfree is designated an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest for its prairie grassland and remnants of an old growth forest ecosystem.
Last years
Sir Byron Edmund Walker left his imprint on the financial, artistic, and intellectual development of Canada. A wizard of finance, skilled in the intricacies of exchange and international business, he molded a tiny bank into a national institution and was largely responsible for overhauling the Canadian banking system. Simultaneously he established a wide range of cultural icons - the National Gallery of Canada, the collection of "war pictures" forming the nucleus of the Canadian War Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Champlain Society, the federation of colleges that became the University of Toronto - and many more. An amateur paleontologist, he was also an author of note. He was knighted by King George V, was a Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, and Japan appointed him Honorary Japanese Consul-General. Walker died at the age of 75, on 27 March 1924. After his death, The Globe and Mail wrote this description of Walker: "Possibly no more versatile Canadian existed in his day and age; probably few others have done so much for Canada."
Legacy
Plaque installed at Innisfil, Ontario
An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected by the province to commemorate Sir Byron Edmund Walker, C.V.O., LL.D., D.C.L. 1848-1924's role in Ontario's heritage.
Pinhole
(Camera Obscura/Spazio Stenopeico/Lensless/ Lensfree/Without Lens)
Photography to 3x4 Instant Film
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Taken with a homemade 4x5 Pinhole camera.
Shoot to expired 3x4 Polaroid Color instant film.
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Author : IMRE BECSI
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Location of shoot : Roman-coast, Budapest , Hungary, Central-Europe
Width : N 47° 34' 24,37"
Longitude : E 19° 03' 56,48"
Time of shoot : 08.08.2008.
----------------------------------------------------
PICTURE MADE WITH :
( Home-made assembled pinhole camera be composed of
few original photography equipments )
Camera body : IKEA plant pot
Film back : 405 (Pack film holder to 4x5 back)
Film back holder : Graflock
Viewfinder : Door peeping (from OBI store)
Pinhole Diameter : 0.275 mm (from Lenox laser)
Shutter : "pu(s)h" (from Dr. Kai Fuhrmann)
Matte Box : Cokin
Tripod : Velbon
Head : Manfrotto
Quick release plates : Manfrotto
-----------------------------
Diaphragm : f 154
Focal Length : 42 mm
Angle of view : 109°55'47"
Light falloff at the corners [f/stops] : 3,2
Resolution [lines/diagonal] : 872
----------------------------------------------------
If interests, how this camera looks, click then here :
www.flickr.com/photos/jonespointfilm/2702304110/
----------------------------------------------------
Film : Polaroid 690 (Expired)
Filter : Cokin Circular Polar
Light : Hard sunlight
----------------------------------------------------
Metered exposure :
8,5 EV measured in a shadow
(Light Meter : Minolta III with diffusor)
Calculated exposure :
60 sec.
( I use my reciprocity compensation value chart for Polaroid film)
Dev. : 120 sec. (Instead of 90 seconds)
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POST WORK : (17.08.2008.)
Scanner : Epson Perfection 3200 Photo (1200 dpi)
Scanner software : SilverFast SE
Final work : PS
----------------------------------------------------
If interesting for you my other work please see my all pictures on one page :
www.flickrleech.net/user/jonespointfilm
----------------------------------------------------
Thanks for looking !
28-Jun-2022 13:10
Ilford FP4+ ISO125 rated @ EI 100
Tachihara Hope 10x8 two-rail
Rodenstock 240mm f/5.6 Apo-Sironar-N (33mm equivalent in 35mm)
Developed in 510 Pyro 1:100 - 10 mins @ 20C
Water Stop Bath
Tetenal Neutral Fixer (1+4) for 4 mins
Bed tilt : 2 deg forward
Front Shift : 35mm down
Back Swing : 2cm back on left
Mid tone LV = 10
Highlight = 12
Shadow = 8
Filter : none
LV=10, 4sec goes to 6 sec for reciprocity
Shutter speed 6s @ f64
Lyukkamera, Pinhole Camera, Appareil à sténopé , Cámara escura, Camera obscura, Estenopeica, Foro stenopeico, Hålkamera, Kамера опскура, Lochkamera, Otworek, Pinhole fotoğraf makinesi, Stenopeica, φωτογραφία, Пинхол Фотография
The CAMERA OBSCURA
(Latin; “camera” is a “vaulted chamber/room” + “obscura” means “dark”= “darkened chamber/room”)
is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen.
Author : © IMRE BECSI
© All rights reserved
I create this picture in "Light-Workshop" photo camp.
Thanks for the help : Attila Hupján, Ervin Murvai & Boros Zoltán
Location of shoot :
Síkfőkút,
Noszvaj,
Hungary,
Central-Europe
Time of shoot :
05.17.12.
Info of Shooting :
Film : Fuji FP-100b B&W Instant (expired)
Format: 3.25 x 4.25 in. (8.5 x 10.8 cm) "Regular Size" pack film
Image Area: 2.88 x 3.75 in. (7.3 x 9.5 cm)
Filter : Circular Polar (Tiffen 4,5 round)
Metered expo.: 10,5 ev (tree)
(Metered with Minolta Spotmeter)
Calculated expo.: 11,5 ev - 8 second
(I use my reciprocity compensation value chart to Fuji B&W Instant film)
Dev.: 60 sec. (25° C)
The camera :
Body is a Film Back Adapter Plate from a Polaroid 203 camera
- focus : 33 mm
- pinhole : 0,25 mm (Lenox Laser)
- diaphragm : 132
Film back from my Polaroid 600se camera.
Shutter and Pinhole holder is a "pu(s)h" from Dr. Kai Fuhrmann with filter thread (homemade).
Picture from the camera :
www.flickr.com/photos/jonespointfilm/2837193476/in/set-72...
The parameters of camera :
(when I use 95x73 mm format instant film)
- Angle of view : 90°
- Light falloff at the corners [f/stops] : 1,8
- Resolution [lines/diagonal] : 959
Post work : (20.07.2012)
Scanner : Epson Perfection 3200 Photo (600 dpi)
File Size : MB (TIF)
Pixel :
Scanner software : SilverFast SE
Final work : PS
Important note:
This images are copyright protected.
Use without permission is illegal!
No reproduction in any way,
no copies,
no editing,
no publishing,
no screenshots,
no posting,
no blogging,
no transmitting downloading
or uploading without my written permission!
Thank you !
Thanks for looking !
Comments very much welcome !
17-Mar-2024 17:40
Ilford FP4+ (Expired 14 years) rated @ EI 100
Tachihara Hope 10x8 two-rail
0.4mm Pinhole (Approx 81mm focal length)
Bellows at 100mm
Approx f/200
Patterson Orbital Tank
Prewash @ 20C : 5 minutes
Developed in Rodinal 1+50 for 12 mins (N) @ 20C
2 x Water Stop Bath for 1 minute
Ilford Rapid Fixer (1+4)
Cleared in under 90 sec. Fixed for for 3 mins
No Movements
Metered with iPhone meter
Added 1 stop extra for bellows, approx 3 minute exposure
Filters : none
For Reciprocity, exposed for 20 minutes
20 Minutesc @ f200
The Schlei Fjord is a relict of sub glacial erosion from like 10.000 years ago. Just a heartbeat after glaciers gone, coastal erosion deployed in and around the Schlei Fjord. A souvenir from the glaciers were these rolling hills along the Schlei, kind of terminal moraines, which shaped the landscape from Anglia ( about 400 A.D. Anglians moved over to England / East Anglia - wonder if I have relatives there :D )
These hills get degraded inch by inch, just a matter of time, give and take...
The image is showing a part of the Weseby Steep Coast, where landslide is be on the daily business.
I am not sure if the vertical 2:1 is a valid format, but for me it works best here.
Director, IIT,
And Friends
I thank the Ministry of External Affairs and the IIT for giving me the opportunity
to talk of Indian and West Asia – a region in which I spent over a decade of my
career dealing with its complexities and challenges. It is interesting that I speak to
you on West Asia here in Mumbai- I don’t know how many of you are aware that Iraq was administered from the Bombay Presidency during the early part of the British period. You have only to go to the Prince of Wales Museum - Chhatrapati Vastu Sangrahalaya - to see archaeological artefacts from ancient Iraqi sites which were brought to Mumbai then. But even more, Bombay has been, and remains, the first point of contact between the peoples of the Arab world- particularly the Gulf and Iran- and India. For decades we have seen Arabs in their traditional garb walking
and lounging on Marine Drive taking the air in the monsoon season- something
which is a rarity in their land.People who hail from Pune or Bangalore are equally
familiar with Iranians who have settled generations ago. In fact when I was doing my
PhD at Mumbai University Geroge’s Restaurant was a favourite for the Biryanis and
Pullav’s it served!
I do not need to mention to this gathering that contact between the Indian
people with those of West Asia goes back to centuries - even before Islam came to
that region; neither do I need to mention that this intercourse was two-way and
primarily benign. If we gave them the zero and the numeric system, we received
knowledge of navigation and sea-faring; if the tales of the panchatantra reached
them, in the Persian translation, as the stories of kalila wa dimna , then we received
the metre and the rhyme of sufi poetry not to mention its theology. There were
similar exchanges in the field of mathematics, astrology and astronomy, and
medicine as also in craft- skills like carpet-making and brocade weaving ( zardodzi
and kinkhab). The list is long but covers religion, culture, fine arts, sciences, music
and musical instruments, dance, language and literature, and cuisine. But above all
were the travel writings of Arab way-farers like al-Beruni and others who have left us
a wealth of record on India of that time. The essential driver was trade and
commercial exchanges. But for the water that separates us we are neighbours; the
relationship has been both enriching and enduring.
When one looks at the Asian land-mass to our West we see four separate
civilisations facing us- the Persian, the Arab, the Hebrew and the Turkish- all of them
were brought together under the Ottoman Empire which lasted 500 years and had
the widest spread of the then known world. It is interesting that while these four
cultures confronted one another, it was to India that they all aspired- through trade or
conquest or to escape from persecution in their native lands. It is even more
interesting that they do not seamlessly merge into one another at their peripherywhich
may possibly have something to do with the ethnicities and languages that go
with each culture: the Persians (or Iranians) are from Indo –Aryan stock, the Arabs
and Jews are both Semitic peoples and the Turks are themselves with a mixture of
the Mongol. Each of these cultures has had a unique historical relationship with
India.
West Asia not Middle East
It would not be out of place here to digress briefly to the controversy that runs
like a common thread on discussions on the region in India: its nomenclature. Middle
East is what it is commonly called, even though West Asia is its correct geographic
location. It is so pervasive that even the computer dictionary gives you a prompt to
capitalise M and E if you have not done it). We invariably call it West Asia. From
where we are middle east will be Bangkok! So why WEST ASIA?
The term Middle East was first used by US Admiral Mahan in 1902 to
designate his strategic concept for the land bridge connecting Africa, Asia and
Europe. As our Vice President, Hamid Ansari,, another former diplomat, has written,
the term is a misnomer and legacy of an era when points on the globe were
indentified with reference to the location of the seats of power of the European
Empire. Nehru firmly distanced himself from calling it the ‘Middle East’ as Quite apart
from its geographical position, it tended to continue a Euro-centric view of the region
along with the attitudinal baggage that it implied.
Since Independence a lot has changed in the region- especially at the political
and geo-strategic level. The oil crisis of 1974 focused the international community’s
attention on the region as never before. When one super-imposes the monumental
political developments, the world sees the ‘Middle East’ as the fulcrum of future
political and economic stability in the world. The region’s nomenclature as ‘Middle
East’ has gained widespread acceptance and even people of the region see
themselves as from the Middle East first, and then as nationals from the country they
belong. The word Middle East now bundles in it religion, culture, language and
ethnicity. The term is now often used interchangeably with West Asia. .
Defining the Region
The West Asian region breaks down conveniently into concentric circles of proximity
:
• The innermost circle comprises Afghanistan, the Gulf Cooperation
Council countries, Iran, Iraq and Yemen.
• In the next circle are the countries of the Mashreq ( West Asia)–(
Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon) - to our west and those of Central
Asia to our north-west;
• next the circle comprising Turkey, countries of the Maghreb(
Mediterranean sea-board)- Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco- and
the countries in the Horn of Africa -Djibouti, Sudan and Somalia.
It is amazing that when one surveys the Asia continent from Istanbul – its
western most extremity - one is struck by how much India has received from, and
given to, each of the cultures we encounter in between- the Arab, the Persian and
the Turkish. With each the intensity and thrust of our bilateral relations has been
different.
Contours of India’s Policy
At Independence the first three decisions on India’s foreign policy concerned
West Asia:
• our active support to the Khilafat Movement;
• India’s stand in the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) in
1947 when in a dissenting note we advocated the establishment of a
federal Palestine with internal autonomy for the Jewish population;
• and the decision on how we were going to deal with the state of Israel
when it became independent in 1948.
These decisions were conditioned by India’s Partition which had left a
traumatised, yet larger, Muslim community within India than went to Pakistan. The
importance of the region, particularly Mecca and Medina in fulfilling the spiritual and
religious needs of India’s Muslim population could not be under-estimated. These
early decisions by the Government of India illustrate the counter pressures which
have always led India to search for a middle ground in its policy towards the region.
They also illustrate the considerations which come into play even today in India’s
policy towards the region.
From an early concentration on looking at the region through the Islamic
prism, Indian policy considerations have evolved in the last sixty years. The prism
has shown other dimensions of the relationship: the oil-rich countries of the Gulf,
particularly Iran and Iraq, became increasingly important for India in the 1960s and
1970s and remain so for our energy security. From the 1980s the region became a
source of employment for Indian workers, who today number 5 million and
correspondingly a source for huge remittances of about $ 20 billion annually. The
history and current status of India’s Diaspora in the Gulf is unique in that it has
become the driving force of those economies. The considerations which have guided
our policy in these years remain valid today despite the change in the political,
economic and social matrix:
• Friendly relations with the people of the region on the basis of shared
history and culture;
• equidistance in intra-regional conflicts;
• support to the Palestinian cause;
• Desire to play an effective role in the region, even as a possible
intermediary;
• in this context, management of the relations with Israel;
• oppose both exclusivist religious ideologies and religious fanaticism;
• Develop economic, trade and investment ties;
• Energy security
As Prof. Girijesh Pant has written ‘for India, West Asia is the region to
augment its power rather than to display or assert its power.’ The thrust of India’s
West Asia policy and diplomacy thus has to be geared towards mobilizing resources
- political, strategic, economic and cultural - from the region to contribute in its
emergence as global power. .while India’s recent economic success has made this
possible at the political level, Indian policy makers need to recognize that West
Asian sensitivities have been offended and hurt by aggressive US intervention
in the region. Indian policy has to be shaped in consonance with regional concerns.
This does not mean that Indian policy has to be hostage to West Asian expectations
but to underline that rise of India as a global player critically hinges upon its clout in
its immediate and extended neighbourhood. In defining India’s role we need to do so
within the geo-politics of a rising Asia.
It is important is to note that throughout this early period the India-West Asia
relationship remained one-sided. It was always India and Indians who were
dependant on the region and not so much in the reverse sense. It is only since this
Millennium that the relationship between India and West Asia has become twodimensional
on which more later, it is akin to a re-discovery of India by the countries
of West Asia.:
The Region in Crisis
Developments since 2000, the most provocative act being the 9/11 attack on
the World Trade Centre, changed the face of the region. The last ten years have
been described as ‘a bad decade’ by noted Lebanese journalist Rami. G. Khoury ..
Paradoxically, events and developments in the region had a profound influence on
the world and the way it thought of itself, yet the region could not itself rise above the
forces it unleashed.
The crisis in West Asia today can be traced to the long-term unresolved issue
of bringing about a secure and viable Palestinian state, and the short-term issue of
invasion and continuing presence of foreign forces. It has put pressure on national
sovereignty, national security and the authority of State. Yet unlike in Europe, after
fall of the Berlin Wall, centripetal rather than centrifugal forces have prevented the
region from imploding or the re-drawing of national boundaries and creation of new
states. The region presents the following challenges:
• Waning of the belief in Arab solidarity, unity and socialism which had blurred
,if not eliminated, differences of sects, beliefs and region and tribe; Change in
the social structure and mores in the region in favour of sect, tribe and
tradition; and a conscious desire to get away from western values. The
growing tension between the Sunni and Shia Muslims radiating westward
from Pakistan from which India has remained immune so far;
• The emergence of a ‘back-to-roots thinking which gives primacy to religious
belief in political matters; ;the sway of Al Qaeda and the Taliban;
• The consolidation of the state of Israel in the region, and internationally;
the unwritten edict which makes it taboo to mention Israeli nuclear
weapons while giving no quarter to Iran ( and Iraq earlier) on the
presumption that they either possess or seek to build them.
• the impotence of major players to find a way to establish an secure,
independent and viable Palestinian state causing a running sore on the
psyche of its peoples ; the dilemma of not having an honest broker to solve
the Palestinian issue coupled with growing disenchantment with US power
and ability to perform this role;
• The presence of foreign troops, in ever larger numbers, both on land
and sea- we now have US troops in bases in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar,
UAE and Western navies patrolling the Gulf, in particular the Hormuz
straits
• The passing of Arab leadership from Egypt, Syria, Libya , Iraq and Tunisia in
the post-colonial period to the growing clout of non-Arab players –Iran, US,
Turkey and Israel, – in the post-secular period;
• Iran is today the biggest beneficiary of US intervention in Iraq as well as the
policies of Israel and earlier US Administrations. With its ascendency its
neighbours, many with significant Shia minorities, are concerned, particularly
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Iran has now proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and
Palestine;
• The importance of energy resources of West Asia as the driver of political
and economic developments in a globalizing world: differences on their
security and their ownership;
• The coming into their own of the Gulf Sheikdoms on the back of high returns
from energy , growing stash of foreign exchange reserves and low population
bases leading leveraging these resources for internal and external
investments;
• Consolidation of authoritarian governments and suppression of dissent within
the trappings of democracy; the inability and unwillingness to hand political
power to Islamic- oriented parties; at the same time, an increasing recourse to
confessional type of governance- Lebanon no longer the exception but the
model;
• The increasing desire on the part of major Arab countries-Iraq, Saudi Arabia
and Egypt to seek nuclear and missile weapon capacity both to create
equities against Israel but to offset other regional players like Iran , all within
professed adherence to the NPT straitjacket;
• The use of Terror as an instrument of political negotiation :Internationalization
of the scourge of terrorism and terrorist groups after 9/11 ; by implication a
change from opposition of such groups to their placation through co-option
and clandestine support to achieve larger goals of religion or political
dominance;
• popular frustration at the inability to change systems and promote
participative governance;
• The passing by of West Asia by the most significant development of the 21st
century- the knowledge economy; West Asia is at most a recipient, but
neither an innovator, nor a provider;
• Moribund nature of Arab and Islamic institutions – Arab League and the OIC;
while the former is regarded by Egypt as an instrument f its foreign policy,
Saudi Arabia takes a similar view of the latter. Suffice it to say that in the face
of the tremendous pressure that Islam and Arabs have been under since 9/11
the two organisations have failed to take up the challenge to project the
universality of the Arab and the benign face of Islam.
From India’s point of view India’s Gulf Security rests on three pillars: Iran, Iraq
and Saudi Arabia. These pillars have never looked as much in flux as during the last
decade. The strategic importance of the region will continue to lie in its geography
and it’s much demanded natural resource petroleum and natural gas even though
according to one estimate global dependence on West Asian oil is declining – as of
2007 the region produced fewer than 30 per cent of the world’s crude oil compared
to 40 per cent in 1974-75.
India and the Region
India has always believed that its relations with the West Asian region are sui
generis and immune from the effects of relations of other regional and global powers.
This accounts for our relative unconcern with the role of other major and regional
powers in the region. We have tended to believe that our role does not compete with
any of the great powers, and to a large extent it does not. In the last decade this
sanguine belief has received a rude shock. Issues like terrorism, money-laundering
and safety of oil lanes have imposed new imperatives. With our energy requirements
expected to grow exponentially we will come into conflict with China and the US for
the oil and gas resources of the region.
The developments which have defined the shape of the region in the recent
past have necessarily centred on US policy particularly since 2000. It is the
articulation of US policy towards Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia
which has set the agenda for the region in the forthcoming decades. The period has
equally seen US- India relations getting closer and diverse with the beginnings of a
global strategic partnership. It has been both an asset and a liability.
How much was India influenced by the developments in the region and did it
play any role in them? What has been India’s position on the seminal events of the
decade? How is India perceived in the region as we start the second decade of the
21st century?
The answer to some of these questions will decide whether India’s West Asia
policy has adapted with the times or suffered from cognitive disability. It is axiomatic
that ties dating from antiquity of culture and religion, commerce and economics,
politics and security, oil and gas and people-to-people bind us and make it
incumbent to maintain forward-looking relations with the countries of the region.
While Mahatma Gandhi articulated it early on, since Independence India, as
the leader of the nonaligned movement, has always been counted on for its
steadfast support of the Palestinian cause. The political capital that Jawaharlal
Nehru built for us in the region nurtures our relations to this day. People of the region
rarely forget India’s support on a host of causes dear to the people of the region.
I will illustrate this with a personal reminiscence. Soon after the fall of
Baghdad to US forces on 8 April 2003 I visited Iraq incognito to make an assessment
on the vexed question of sending Indian troops to Northern Iraq to help the US and
coalition forces . We were under relentless pressure from George Bush and Donald
Rumsfeld. I vividly recall meeting Jalal Talabani (now President of Iraq) in his
northern redoubt of Dhokan and Massoud Barzani (now President of of Iraqi
Kurdistan) in his lair in salubrious Salahaddin to get their views.. Their opening
remarks to me were identical: both quoted verbatim Nehru on the Kurdish cause in
his Glimpses of World History. A cause which subsequent Indian governments could
do nothing about. It evocatively brought out how much we had achieved in the
opening years of our nation and how much we had distanced ourselves from our
core causes. The question which arises: have we built on this legacy, adapted it or
squandered it?
With 9/11 we found that finally our continuous 20-year old refrain on crossborder
terrorism finally found a receptive audience: but it became the global war on
terror and by the end of the decade we found that the perpetrators- Pakistan- had
assumed the mantle of victims. Nevertheless our view Pakistan is the epicentre of
terrorism has become conventional wisdom today although, and once again, no one
–not even the US –was interested to bell the cat. The country remains far too
important to fighting the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, never
mind the terror groups it continues to nurture to continue its proxy war with us..
9/11 provoked a re-think on the Islamic ideology in much of the West Asian
region, above all, in Saudi Arabia which saw the terrorism sponsored through its
inspiration come home to roost. We found an increased willingness for the first time
on the part of the Gulf Sheikdoms to co-operate with us on counter-terrorism,
restricting flow of funds to institutions with dual agendas and defence co-operation.
The lead was given by UAE which fully assisted us in the deportation of Aftab Ansari,
the perpetrator of the attack on the American Centre in Kolkata who like Afzal Guru
and Murugan remains on death row..
In the last decade the character of our relations with the Arab world became
genuinely two-way. Till then our relations were unidirectional: it was India which
needed their political support on Kashmir and their oil and gas; and Indians who
found jobs boosting the economy with large remittances and spiritual sustenance
from the Two Holy Cities and other places of pilgrimage. As an economy moving at
the much reviled ‘Hindu rate of growth’ there was precious little that India could
fundamentally contribute to the region. The shoe was always on the other foot
notwithstanding the salience of the political factor.
If one surveys our relations with the region they fall into two broad categories:
• With West Asia and North Africa, the thrust remains primarily political
based on India’s status as a leader of the Nonaligned crowned by our
consistent support to the Palestinians. It was only in the latter half of
the decade that the economic content of our relations with Morocco,
Algeria, Tunisia, Libya became more significant ;
• With the Gulf, the thrust is mainly economic engendered by our
consistently high rates of growth since 1997. Talk of ‘strategic
economic partnerships’ became current and an FTA between the GCC
and India was gone through. The increasing realisation in these
countries that their hydrocarbon resources needed to be up valued
through long-term and stable returns made India a natural partner with
its growing market, its thirst for hydrocarbons and its highly skilled
professionals. The last decade has spurred inward investment and
resource-based projects both in situ and in India. The lead given by the
Gulf countries was taken up by Syria, Jordan, Morocco and others.
India’s economic success was the driver of this change. It was greatly
assisted by two major developments:
• India’s growing relationship with the US made India attractive as a
partner to others also, and
• secondly, the growing tension in relations between the West and West
Asia exacerbated by the impasse in the Arab-Israeli situation had a
positive influence on its relations with India. The need to tie up viable
economic and investment projects catering to the Indian market or to
Indians became the over-riding concern;.
We saw a significant improvement in the ambient tenor of our relations with
the countries of the region although Gulf Security became even more complicated.
The spawning of terror outfits which received inspiration, sanctuary and funds from
the region became a matter of major concern with the rise of terror attacks in India
culminating with the Mumbai attack of 26/11.
For India, increased attention by the major countries in West Asia was an
interesting development and took place at a time when the country was trying
to cope with the growing terrorist threat and its inability to deal with it. India’s
focus on developing beneficial economic and investment projects was only
marginally successful and foundered on the perception of an absence of
reciprocity in the relationship, particularly high-level visits. It is no surprise that
the goodwill engendered by the factors noted above was almost dissipated
given the repeated postponements of PM’s visits to region, especially to Saudi
Arabia which finally took place in March 2010.
On the whole the tenor of our relations with each of the countries in the
region was positive and there appeared less of an incentive on their part to
flog the issues of Kashmir. To some extent this was helped by two factors:
first, India decided to embark on a Dialogue relationship with the Arab League
based in Cairo which helped to clear the air on India’s nuclear policy, relations
with Israel and related issues; second, for the first time there was a move by
some OIC countries to take a more positive view of India and the success of
its secular model with the second largest Muslim community in the world.
During his visit to India Saudi King Abdullah proposed that India should be
made an Observer ruffling the placid waters of an organisation which has
primarily moved to Saudi signals. Furthermore, OIC ‘s own fixation on making
itself more relevant against the Western onslaught following repeated Al
Qaeda terror attacks put its Pakistan-inspired India baiting on the back
burner. There was also a realisation at the popular level in the region that
more than political creed, most needed was regimes which would promote
greater prosperity and participatory governance.
Having considered the general trend of our relations with the region it is
useful to focus on some of the critical points in the region in order to
understand how our relations have developed at the micro level.
1. The AFPAK Region
Today the region which encompasses the border between Pakistan and
Afghanistan has become the fulcrum in terms of future security in the
region and indeed internationally. Despite the expenditure of close to US $
31 billion since 2001 and the presence of 130000-140000 foreign, mainly
US troops there is no end in sight for the War In Afghanistan. Even with the
scaling down of US war aims to a single point of defeating Al Qaeda so
that it cannot attack the US homeland again, we see a losing scenario.
While cooperation with Pakistan is crucial for this goal it has blind-sided the
US on Pakistan’s sponsorship of terror against India, its pandering to the
Afghan Taliban to hold a strategic asset in that country, facilitating the regrouping
of the Taliban and its pursuit of nuclear weaponisation.
India has worked within its policy of close friendship and assistance to the
Afghan people. We are working on a project investment of USD 1.3 billion
which will go to the Afghan people. We have persisted in this despite
repeated ISI-sponsored attacks against our projects and Embassy in
Kabul. At the political level we have had to acquiesce with recent USPakistan-
Afghanistan discussions on reconciliation with elements of the
Taliban even though their coming back into government is anathema to us
given our experience of 1996. From our point of view Taliban’s implacable
hostility makes it impossible for us to do business with them.
More important, however, is the fact that its link with ISI makes it a part of
the larger issue of India-Pakistan relations. We have now re-started the
bilateral dialogue accepting that in the face of Pakistan’s terrorist agenda
against India it is still better to keep talking to them. Despite US pressure
Pakistan is not inclined to reduce its anti-Indian rhetoric or agenda.
2. Relations with Israel
The US played a pivotal role in ending Israel’s diplomatic isolation and has
stood by Israel within the UN and outside it. Despite the fact of Israeli
nuclear capability, the United States has kept mum on it and has kept the
distance between India and Pakistan on the one hand and Israel on the other.
Given its dependence on Washington for political support, technological
assistance and economic largesse, Israel’s ability to pursue any major
defence deals with the outside world, including India, depends squarely on
Washington. As Israeli defence exports to India are being conducted under
the watchful eyes of the United States, the ties between India and Israel will
also be constrained by the extent to which the US wants this engagement to
expand.
In this background, India found it relatively easier to manage its relations
with Israel. The acquisition of defence equipment and defence material vital
for the security of India’s one billion people set the bench mark for the
relationship. The relationship has diversified into industry, manufacturing,
agriculture, services and ICT. After almost two decades of diplomatic relations
these relations have acquired a ‘special’ character although it has not stopped
Israel from attempting to open relations with Pakistan. By the same token,
India has ensured that its growing relations with Israel do not dilute its
traditional support to Palestine. For the first time since the Middle East Peace
Process commenced, India was invited to the US sponsored Anaheim
Summit. Yet Israel’s penetration in India has not been without costs: first,
continuing sentiment in the Arab world that India had abandoned its strong
support of the Palestinians although the latter have themselves remained
divided; second, Mumbai 26/11 demonstrated the danger of allowing new
Jewish places of worship in India given that Shabad House was a target. The
issue for India now remains the management of this mutually beneficial
relationship.
3. Relations with Palestine
India’s support to Palestine has been stead-fast since our Independence.
We were the first to recognise the State of Palestine declared by Yassir Arafat and
have continually given the movement financial and political assistance. Our not
having relations with Israel till 1992 was in their eyes a positive factor. It was only
after the Us – sponsored Madrid Middle East Peace Process started in 1991 that we
decided to open relations with Israel. It was our contention that since the Arabs and
the Jews were talking to each other –also under the Oslo framework- there was no
reason for India to hold out. While we had stipulated that our relations will be
calibrated with progress in the Arab-Israeli process , in fact the relations have moved
regardless.
We were invited by the US to be part of the US-sponsored Peace Process at the
Anaheim Conference in 2007 which failed to give the process a major impetus. On
the other had the division in Palestine itself- between the Hamas led Gaza
administration and the Mahmood Abbas led Palestine Authority in Ramallah has not
been helpful. Gaza remains under Israeli siege and there is no headway to meeting
the concerns of Hamas. India has excellent relations with the PA and only
intermittent contact with Hamas in Gaza.
Given the current scenario it is difficult to visualise a break-through on the Arab-
Israeli front: even the balanced policy which President Obama enunciated has not
seen the light of day yet. Meanwhile Israeli settlement activity continues as also its
hard policy against the Palestinians in Gaza.
4. Relations with Iran
Iran enjoys a rare political consensus in India and since the early 1990s
every Indian Government has placed a high priority on strengthening its ties with
Tehran. India is unlikely to share Israeli apprehensions over neither Iranian
radicalism nor Israel of India’s concern over China. A number of factors such as
India’s need to counter Pakistan’s influence in the Islamic world, the increasing geopolitical
importance of Central Asia, and the need to strengthen economic and
commercial ties have led to a growing convergence in India-Iran interests in the postcold
war period.
The Iranian puzzle also brings in the American dimension that has both
positive and negative implications after four sets of US/UN sanctions the last in May
2010. India and Iran have differences of perceptions on the issue of nuclear
proliferation, gas pipelines and relations with Israel. India is keen that Iran follows its
NPT obligations and opposes its nuclear ambitions. This is true of Russia, China,
Europe and others also. At the same time we have no problem if Iran wants to assert
itself in the region. Over the past five years it is Iran which has benefited the most
from the actions of extra-regional and regional powers. Their cooperation will be
crucial in successfully tackling the problems of the region. During EAM Krishna’s visit
to Tehran in May 2010 we discussed the developments in the AfPak region in which
both have major interest. We also agreed that terror was the common challenge for
both countries.
5. Relations with Turkey
India’s relations with Turkey have again been historic with the Mughals-
Turko-Mongols - coming to India for conquest. During the Independence struggle
Mahatma Gandhi launched a campaign to support the Caliphate in Istanbul which
was under the threat of extinction under Mustafa Kamal Attaturk- the Khilafat
Movement. Funds were collected for this purpose and sent to Istanbul; but they
reached only when the Caliphate had been abolished. Ataturk, in his wisdom, used
the funds for the construction of the first building of the Turkish Parliament.
After Independence with Turkey’s membership of NATO and CENTO it
became close top Pakistan- which still remains if in no other way than sentiment.
With Turkey’s aspiration for joining the European Union it has come closer to India in
its views on terrorism and bilateralism in discussions with neighbours.
Turkey is today undergoing a transition from the secular ethos which was a
hall mark of Kemalism to a more religiously oriented polity with the ascendance of
the AKP- a moderate Islamic political party. In a way the wheel has come a full circle.
India’s relations with Turkey remain good with a strong injection of the
economic component. Turkey is today the transit for the BTC oil pipeline which
delivers Azerbaijani crude on the Mediterranean sea. Indian companies have been
involved in construction of the pipeline and Turkish companies have been looking at
infra projects in India.
Turkey has an important role in Afghanistan and provides a strong contingent as
part of NATO. It has, apart from Pakistan, the oldest links with that country.
6. Relations with Saudi Arabia
The visit to India of Saudi King Abdullah in January 2006, fifty years after the last,
signalled an important change in that country’s way of looking at India.It was
noteworthy that out of his 4-country visit to India, Pakistan, Malaysia and China, he
spent the longest in India and the shortest in Pakistan, its traditional friend. The visit
sent a powerful message to the Arab World and led to visit of other Arab leaders
from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Egypt and others.
India, unlike China, was not able to effectively convert the opening provided by
the Saudi visit in 2006 into major projects based on their energy and other mineral
resources and on strong political support. There is no gainsaying the fact that
support from Saudi Arabia remains crucial to our concerns on Pakistan’s
machinations on Kashmir and in the OIC. Saudi support becomes even more
important as and when the US withdraws its troops from Afghanistan given the
former’s support of the Taliban; and because it our largest supplier of crude from the
Gulf. The visit this March of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gives us an opportunity
to pick up these threads.
Under the wise King Abdullah Saudi Arabia has tried to maintain its leadership of the
Arab world despite charges of being the inspiration, if not the inspirator, of Islamicoriented
terror which eventually hit the country internally also. Whether on the
Palestine-Israeli issue, or the OIC or new openings the Saudi King has steadfastly
moved ahead. Yet the intensification of Shia -Sunni conflict in Iraq, the presence of
US troops and bases in the region and growing internal pressure on the US
Administration to make an honourable exit from Afghanistan by doing a deal with the
Afghan Taliban, Saudi Arabia’s capacity to determine the flow of events will only
increase.
Looking Ahead
It will be seen that the last decade was eventful for West Asia and the Gulf
insofar as much of what came out of there drove the reactions and policies of the
rest of the world. The US invasion of Iraq disturbed the settled relationships of the
earlier era and brought ethnic and religious conflict fore-ground bringing new players
in the region other than the US- Turkey and Iran. Yet in the larger movement of
technology, finance, innovation and enterprise the world passed it by. While the last
decade brought a degree of respite from the highly political content of its
relationship, India did not keep up the flow of interaction at high political levels.
India’s increasing acceptance as an emerging global power was seen as
compensation enough possibly to the detriment of our long term interests. India’s
initiatives in the region were more bilateral aimed at enhancing our energy security
and the security of our borders. International concerns besetting the region had a
relatively lower salience in our policy and we remained content to watch
developments from the sidelines.
India still has considerable political capital in West Asia built up over the Nehru
years. The re-defining of this capital would be challenge of our West Asian policy in
the years to come. In defining an Indian role in West Asia a number of
considerations not directly in the realm of foreign policy come into play. The
immutable considerations - all domestic - that have weighed heavily on our policy are
the presence of the second largest Muslim community in the world; the dependence
of our country on West Asia’s energy resources (60 per cent of our hydrocarbon
needs); and the remittances from the Indian Diaspora in the Gulf. These will continue
to determine the parameters of our policy in the future also. To this have to be added
new determinants: India’s economic success which has created a growing market for
energy and other natural resources from West Asia and a secure destination for its
investment; India’s role in a rejuvenated group of developing countries alike IBSA
and BRIC; India as a paradigm for democratic and cultural pluralism; and India’s firm
opposition to terrorism in any form.
The future looks equally uncertain for the region in the background of
projected withdrawal of US and Western forces from Iraq and Afghanistan. The
reconstruction of these devastated countries, and the region itself, will have both
challenges and opportunities. India still has the best credentials in the region not
having been identified with the negative developments of the last decade. Despite
last year’s global financial crisis our economy looks poised to maintain its growth
trajectory at a time when the Gulf and West Asia is still reeling. The moment is
opportune for a new opening to the region. Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia sent
a positive message in the region on which we need to capitalise.
Let me list some cardinal points which could determine India’s policy on West
Asia
• India will always support secular, democratic and plural societies in West
Asia while finding a modus vivendi to do business with the parties in power in
order to maintain its traditional friendship with the countries of the region. Its
continuing interest in the Palestine issue must be translated into constructive
engagement.
• India’s primary goal has to be the safeguarding of the security in the Gulf, and
to this end, enhancing its relations with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran in a nonzero
sum approach. It would mean developing cooperative maritime security
and counter-terror arrangements with all the Gulf countries. It would also
require close contact with these countries in combating terrorism and the
linked nexus of arms smuggling, money laundering and drugs.
• India’s relations with Israel have acquired a depth and diversity which cannot
be rolled back. This has happened because Israel has been able to meet
crucial Indian needs in the field of defence, agriculture and technology. The
relation has to be seen in the context of the imperative of any Indian
government to assure the security of one billion people. Our experience has
shown, as in Kargil that despite usurious costs Israel has shown itself to be a
reliable partner. India does not need to be defensive on this score especially
since the importance of this relationship cuts across party lines. It is a
situation which needs advocacy both within the country and the region.
• India by the weight of its historical relations with and its current economic
success has to carve a role leveraging its growing market and talent pool and
the natural and financial resources of the region. While the Gulf countries,
including Iraq and Iran are the most susceptible to this approach, it is equally
possible with countries like Egypt and the other countries in the Maghreb like
Libya and Morocco. Maximising economic and trade interaction will provide
the ballast for closer and more balanced overall relations .As stated above
the rise of India hinges on its clout in its proximate neighbourhood.
• India’s goal will be to develop a two-dimensional relation with the countries of
the region. Recent indications of West Asian countries ‘looking East’ towards
India need to be capitalized upon. India’s future lies in its increasing
recognition as a rising Asian economic power.
• India’s model of a secular and democratic polity and its commitment to
ensuring minority rights has a great attraction in today’s West Asia where
religious and cultural differences amongst the diverse ethnicities have been
exposed. In this context, India needs to develop a new channel of interaction
through civil society organizations as a means to foster exchange of views on
common social and economic problems. Some trends in this direction with
Saudi Arabia and Iran are already noticeable. Development of cultural
relations will have to be a major plank of India’s policy towards West Asia.
• India will have to carefully calibrate its relations with the region in such a way
that its policy parameters remain inviolable amidst pressures of its growing
relations with the Great Powers particularly the US. A regular dialogue with
the US and EU on developments in West Asia would provide a tool to
understand the parameters on both sides.
• A number of minorities in the region like the Kurds who have found a voice, in
the churning that the region has undergone, hold India in high esteem. A
subsidiary goal of Indian policy in the region has to be to encourage these
communities within the framework of the constitutional structure in the
countries in which they live.
Foreign policy decisions in the coming years will have consequences for
peace and harmony in our multi-cultural, multi-religious country. . We should do what
we can to strength the forces of stability and moderation in the region.
Let me end on a lighter note by coming back to our cultural links- in particular
cuisine. Much of the cuisine of the Arab world has its roots in the Ottoman cuisine
considering they were part of that empire for 500 years. Different parts of the Arab
world specialised in different components of Turkish cuisine – while the Lebanese
excelled in salads, the Syrians became the masters of filo-pastry and desserts, and
the Iraqis of grills, the couzi whole lamb pullav is universal to the Arab world. A lot of
this cuisine also travelled to India with the Turko-Mongols. Next time you order a
Shami Kebab remind yourself that it comes from Damascus, which in Arabic is called
balad as-sham; but strangely they don’t make this dish in Syria. They instead make a
dish called kebab hindi which is nothing like the shami kebab!
Thank You
i
Rajendra Abhyankar is Chairman Kunzru Centre for Defence Study and Research, Pune. A former diplomat he
was Indian Ambassador in Syria, Turkey and Azerbaijan and was Secretary (East) in MEA. From 2006 to 2008 he
was Director, Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
Taken : 13:32 28-Oct-2017
Ebony 45SU + Roddenstock 150-S f5.6
Front Tilt : 5 deg forward
Mid Tone : 12
Highlight : 14 - sky
Shadows : 11 2/3 - distant hill
12 2/3 - grasses
13 2/3 - white boats
14 - dark cloud
Filters : 2 stops HG sky (angled)
Reciprocity : none
Final EV : 12
Exposure
1/8 sec @ f18
Maybe not my best shot, the rush of shooting, joins the little light and some blur in the revealed a little intimacy of the persons. But the scene has its impact on the four figures a father with his daughter in the background, and a foreground of a son with her mother. Reversed in time and function. The truth is that looking through my camera, I felt the chill of excitement and could have done more photos, but I stay contemplating the scene, admired the balance of the time, the perfect circle of life and love. In this way things should be, not only a matter of reciprocity and responsibility, but rather a deep affection and respect those who have given us so much. It just we give it back
Pinhole/Camera Obscura /Lensfree/Loch camera/Lensless / Without Lens/Sténope/Spazio Stenopeico/Lyukkamera Photography to 3x4 color instant Film
Author : IMRE BECSI
© All rights reserved
The temple of Bernecebarati was built in 13th. century.
Location of shoot :
Bernecebarati,
Hungary,
Central-Europe
Latitude : 48° 2'8.97"N
Longitude : 18°54'46.74"E
Time of shoot : 09.04.2009.
Shooting
Film : Fuji FP-100c (expired : 03.2009.)
Filters : ND3 (Tiffen)
Metered expo.: 9 Ev (with Minolta Light Meter III. with half-ball diffusor)
Calculated expo.: 7 Ev = 150 sec.
( I use my reciprocity compensation value chart to FUJI instant film)
Developing time : 120 sec. /+20 C°
The camera :
www.flickr.com/photos/jonespointfilm/2837193476/in/set-72...
Body is a Film Back Adapter Plate from a Polaroid 203 camera
- focus : 35 mm
- angle of view : 119°24'26"
- light falloff at the corners [f/stops] : 3,6
Pinhole : 0,25 mm (Lenox Laser)
- diaphragm : 140
- resolution [lines/diagonal] : 887
Film back : Polaroid Land Pack Film Holder to medium format type pack film (from my Polaroid 600 SE set)
Viewfinder : Door peeping (from OBI store) calibrated to the Polaroid pack film size
Shutter and Pinhole holder is a "pu(s)h" from Dr. Kai Fuhrmann
with filter thread for series 9 and 4 1/2 size tiffen filters (homemade).
Post work : (06.07.2009.)
Scanner : Epson Perfection 3200 Photo (1600 dpi)
Scanner software : SilverFast SE
Final work : PS
Thanks for looking !
Comments very much welcome !
Important note:
all images are copyright protected © All rights reserved. no reproduction in any way, no copies, no editing, no publishing, no screenshots, no posting, no blogging, no transmitting downloading or uploading without my written permission!
(*) Intimacy - Intimate relationship
"Intimacy generally refers to the feeling of being in a close personal association and belonging together. It is a familiar and very close affective connection with another as a result of a bond that is formed through knowledge and experience of the other. Genuine intimacy in human relationships requires dialogue, transparency, vulnerability and reciprocity."
----------------
Rock of Cashel, Cashel, Co. South Tipperary