AP file

Lawmakers in Catalonia outlawed bullfighting Wednesday, after an impassioned debate that pitted the rights of animals against preserving a pillar of traditional culture.

By Chris Hampson, NBC News’ director of international news

LONDON — I was a student of Spanish when I went to watch my first bullfight.

I sat in the Las Ventas bullring in Madrid one hot and sunny evening, and watched this most emblematic of Spanish spectacles unfold before a 25,000-strong crowd.

To my side sat an old man — a true ‘aficionado’ of the ‘noble art’ — who had loved it all his life. He had absorbed it into his very bones, and talked passionately to me about every move, every pass of the bull.

His knowledge and passion were extraordinary — even more so because he had lost his sight with old age. He was blind.

His teenage granddaughter had become his ‘eyes,’ describing what she saw with a passion all of her own. Through them I saw the artistry and breath-taking courage. But the brutality of what was happening was lost to me beneath the cover of the matador’s cape.

Fiesta
It was inconceivable then that a region of Spain would vote, as the Catalan parliament has now done, to ban ‘la corrida’ — the bullfight.

It has long been engrained into their nationally identity, a symbol of their tradition and culture.

Some weeks after that first bullfight, I found myself at another, this time away from the capital. I traveled on a humid and rattling bus to a small town a couple of hours from Madrid, where they were holding a fiesta to celebrate their patron saint.

In the centre of the town, a makeshift bullring closed off the square and roads leading into it.

At the appointed hour, the young bulls were run through dusty streets to the arena, the young men of the town running with them, showing off and trying not to fall victim to their horns or feet.

And there, one by one, the bulls were dispatched by six aspiring bullfighters, hoping to become fully-fledged matadors. Some, for sure, knew what they were doing. But to me it looked less World Series — more Slaughterhouse Works League.

Trail of blood
My most vivid memory is of a matador striving to kill an exhausted young bull. The man was as artless as he was nervous, and made several failed attempts with the sword.

As the crowd jeered and whistled, a stocky gray-haired man climbed over the railings from the public seating, grabbed the sword, and finished the kneeling, panting creature off.

As my friends and I left the square, we walked through the trail of blood to see the carcass lying in the street, its throat cut by a butcher.

It was indeed a spectacle, but it didn’t look to me like sport, and I never again went to watch.

Those who love the bullfight — and there are many — say the Catalan vote will not affect the rest of Spain. This was politics as much as a protest against animal cruelty, they say, and they may be right.

But opponents are celebrating what they hope is the beginning of the end for a tradition they don’t believe has any place in their image of a modern Spain.

Bullfighting may not be dead, but soon, they hope, it too will be on its knees.

By Yuka Tachibana, NBC News Producer

KABUL – Afghan President Hamid Karzai was “surprised and shocked at the huge amount” of secret U.S. military documents on the Afghanistan war published on WikiLeaks earlier this week, according to his spokesman Waheed Omar.

But he wasn’t shocked by the information that was revealed in the leaked documents.

“The president was not surprised at the substance of the documents. I don’t think that anyone was surprised,” said Omar. “Most of what was leaked are things that we have been talking about for years. Things like: civilian casualties, the protection of Afghan people, the role of a certain intelligence agency, and the destabilizing activities here in Afghanistan.”

The “certain intelligence agency” he was referring to is Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI.

The 91,000 documents published by WikiLeaks appear to show, among other things, that agents for Pakistan’s ISI have been working in close collaboration with the Taliban for years. The allegations are particularly provocative since Pakistan is supposed to be a close U.S. ally in the war on terror and is also a recipient of billions of dollars of U.S. aid.

But, the response from Karzai and the rest of Kabul’s chattering political class to the WikiLeaks story seemed to reveal more about their long-term biases against their nuclear neighbor and rival Pakistan than any concerns over intelligence leaks or security. Kabul has long accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of supporting Taliban insurgents.

Sukria Barakzai, an independent member of the Afghan parliament, said that many Afghans feel vindicated by what was revealed in the documents.?

“People are glad, not for the fact that there have been more civilian casualties in this war.?They are glad that proper documents show the real face of Pakistan’s policy towards Afghanistan,” said Barakzai. “We have been suffering from their double policy – on the one hand being a good partner, and supporting the war on terror, and the other side supporting terrorists back on their safe land.”

Haroun Mir, a political analyst and a candidate in upcoming parliamentary elections, said that the documents not only shed light on Pakistan’s role, but they also pointed out that it’s time the U.S. reviewed its own relationship with Pakistan.

“Pakistan’s support of the Taliban is not a secret… But despite knowing, and despite the evidence, this U.S. administration is not acting against Pakistan? This is a big question in Afghanistan. “

Even the Taliban had their say about the leaked documents. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told NBC News, “It’s good for people to know about the inhumane killing of civilians, and that these documents reveal that there have been more acts of ruthless killings of civilians by the international/U.S. forces than originally reported.”

Mujahid added that the Taliban is still studying the documents very closely – which may not be good news for Afghan informants for the U.S. military whose lives may now be in danger as a result of the document dump.

Karzai condemned the release of information that could endanger the lives of Afghan informants during a news conference on Thursday, calling it “extremely irresponsible and shocking.”

“Because whether those individuals acted legitimately or illegitimately, by providing information to NATO forces, they are lives. And the lives are in danger now,” he said.

The Pentagon has also said that informants whose names appear in the documents have reason to fear for their lives.

Kabulis, who are not involved in day-to-day politics, didn’t have the same reaction.

Engela Yalda, a student studying politics at the University of Kabul, looked puzzled when asked about the secret documents posted on WikiLeaks

“WikiLeaks…?” she asked. “I have never heard of WikiLeak…I have access to the Internet, but it’s exam time now and I only follow very important news. Can you spell that for me please?”?

Ditto from a shopkeeper and a few other students – none of them were aware of the military leaks.

NBC News’ Iqbal Sapand contributed to this report.

ISLAMABAD – “I just heard it over the news and had to do something. I just wanted to help.” That was the resounding refrain heard in the densely forested hills surrounding Islamabad where a plane crashed, killing all 152 passengers Wednesday.

Without thinking, people just went to the crash scene. Ordinary people, dressed in local garb, not rescue gear, rushed to the crash to see what they could do to help.??

Photo by EPA/STRINGER

Pakistani Army soldiers and rescue workers begin their climb of the Margalla Hills near Islamabad on Wednesday following the plane crash that killed all 152 passengers aboard the flight from Karachi.

As our NBC News team reached the area, we saw these three doctors – two women and a man – coming down looking really muddy and very scruffy. I asked them if they were part of the rescue team.

“No, we’re not. We just came of our own accord. We heard there was a plane crash and wanted to try to get there to do what we can,” one of them said.

But because the terrain was so rough, they could only reach a certain point. There were no trails to the crash site. The area is very dense forest and due to the rain, it was extremely muddy and slippery. They said they tripped and fell quite a bit, so they finally had to abandon their mission, turn around and come back.?

Their intentions were good, but they regretted that they weren’t dressed properly and that the weather wasn’t better. The terrain is so bad that it required real trekking gear and hiking boots, which no one seemed to be wearing.

Despite the difficult conditions, there was a real sense of spirit and camaraderie among ordinary people trying to help.

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I saw another man dressed in local dress that was completely muddied and wet. I asked him what the red on his clothes was from and he said that it was the blood from all the passengers he had carried.?

He wasn’t part of the official rescue effort, either. He said he was just a student who works in a shop in Islamabad. He said that when he heard the news, he ran out and trekked two and a half hours to see what he could do to help the emergency services. “I just had to do something. I just wanted to help,” he said.?

We even saw one man who works in the same office building as us and is a media executive. He just went straight to the scene in his fancy office clothes, which were completely covered in mud by the time I saw him. He also said he felt compelled to go to the crash scene to do what he could.

Slideshow: Deadly plane crash in Pakistan