For security reasons I do not specify the dates and times of my travel to and from Afghanistan. However at this point my official duties to the Afghan government are over, and I am back in California for the long term. This is an important time for both places: both struggling with housing crises. Both struggling with the politics of ethnic plurality. California (1) being targeted by the national government because its policies are so at odds with an increasingly vicious shift in conservatism, and (2) suffering from unprecedented wildfires in a moment when national leaders are desperate to deny that climate change is happening. Afghanistan struggling with (1) the ongoing challenge of the Taliban bid to reclaim national power; (2) the new, fascistic violence from IS; (3) destructive foreign interference in Afghan politics; and (4) internal problems in the government. Such interesting times!
Meanwhile: in June I was teaching a “Globalized Urbanism” course at UC Berkeley for the first time–whoo! That was demanding! In July, worked on final edits of several publications. So not much blogging, when it felt like any side-writing was procrastination. But if the current window of time holds open, I have a few things to post. Next up, a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution and some reflections on it.