The Atlas For 9/14/10 (Updated): Not All Afghans Are Thinking About War; France Deports Gypsies & Banned Muslim Woman's Full Veils

(TWD Note: "The Atlas" is the new replacement name for "The Read International", the international news and opinion blog post from The Whole Delivery. This is day one of that.)

This was a refreshing look at those in Kabul thinking more about work than war :

It always strikes me when reading newspapers and watching the news, that what we hear about Afghanistan always comes from the politicians, the military, analysts and experts - everyone seems to have an opinion without ever knowing the answer.

But very rarely do we hear the voices of ordinary Afghans. There is no voiceover used in this documentary. Each of the four characters did a master interview and was filmed doing what they do. It is pure and simple.

The idea was to create a snapshot of life in Kabul - a human portrait of a city at work. The film is loosely structured around the course of a day, starting with the General as she gets up and goes to work, and finishing with the 95-year-old bonesetter closing the door as the sun goes down.

France is continuing to get slammed for their shift deportation of Gypsies:

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has urged the European Commission to take legal action against France over its deportations of Roma (Gypsies).

Ms Reding called French actions a "disgrace". She deplored the fact that a leaked official memo contradicted assurances given to her by France.

France voiced "astonishment" in response to her statement on Tuesday.

It deported nearly 230 Roma on Tuesday alone, flying them to Romania from Paris and Marseille.

Africa first legitimate conference on Biodiversity and dealing with poverty is happening right now in Gabon.

The UN launched an anti-rape campaign in Haiti.

Strong numbers for China's growth.

And it maybe until Christmas for those 33 other trapped miners in Coplado, Chile to get rescued.

Updated: More news from France, as more Islamophobia continues there!

With a rather insane majority vote of 246:1, France's Senate has approved a bill banning the wearing of the Islamic full veil in public. (About 2,000 Islamic women currently wear the full veil in France.) If not overturned by judges, the law would go into effect six months from now, with 150 euro fines for women who wear it and 30,000 euro fines, plus one-year jail terms, for men who force their wives to wear it.

Way to combat Islamophia being gladly practicing Islamophobia!

France is banning The Niqab for Muslim women. Way to be accommodating.(Photo from EPA)