<feverishly looks up Bamiyan Valley on wikipedia>

 

What's happening there then? Are the Afghans destroying it all?

 

<reads further into the article>

 

Damn Taliban - what's the matter with these people?

(nod)

They're wankers, is what.

I have several responses to this:

1. It's not like people who claim to be fervently religious (especially where the religion prohibits idolatry) destroying the iconography of another religion/sect is novel. It's been going on since at least ancient Egypt, and we did our share of it too.

2. Buddhism values an acceptance of transience and lack of attachment.

3. Dropping bombs on their houses is worse.

But yes, I'm not being contentious or owt. The Taliban are vile.

Worth saying that tourist traffic visiting the Buddhas was a major source of income to the whole valley. That's arguably the greatest crime of the Taliban; depriving local people of their living.

Aye, though I'm sure that's in their interests too.

 

(edit: the Taliban's I mean)

But who needs to make a living when you have religious fundamentalism to put food on the table? Oh...

I agree. (nod)

However, what we need to do is get a 3d render of the statues pre destruction, then using the current crop of 3d printers, we should be able to replicate them. Admittedly, it might only be along the scale of a nice garden ornament at first, but let the technology mature and soon we'll be printing 200ft sky scraping Buddhas like they were going out of fashion.

My parents took this photo sometime in the late 60s. Maybe early 70s. And this one.

I've got nothing really to add to this conversation. I just felt like sharing the pictures.

Thanks Patch, they're lovely. And sad.

Graphitone: D-Shape are already 3d printing small buildings. It's only a matter of time...

Mr. B Indeed. Let them eat Manna. or more likely, unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

cant get the embed to work :( http://www.youtube.com/embed/SYkbqzWVHZI

Stone me!

Extraordinary, Snort, that with your superhuman insight you seem to have missed the creation of a new tectonic plate boundary. Perhaps you were watching Iceland too closely?

That was back in April. Iceland is NOW!

 

Snort.

Sounds legit.

I have some lovey anake oil for sale that would stop that happening. yours for only £9.95!

He has convinced me with his well-reasoned arguments.

if the poles flipped (which they may well do, they have before) why would that cause the sea to get out of it's bed and go mountaineering?