A day in my life would not be complete without a post thought of “the answer my friend is blowing in the wind” formula. All the faces of random sadness generates lots of questions and these Whys of everyday passes my by that i cannot help but say to myself, ah it’s just the way it really is. Look around you, and yes, the answer is all round us. It’s blowing in the wind. I came across an article about Bob Dylan in an Irish Music Magazine (I’m not sure if Bob Dylan was of Irish origin, perhaps he is) wherein when asked about how and where does he gets all the seemingly prophetic lines that he has in his songs, he said it’s basically random, that he only say and write what at the certain moment is on his mind. These thoughts, he said, is not meant to be prophetic or grand. It’s just a pure as the air that’s blowing in the wind.

Another guy is Dylan Thomas, the great Welsh poet that have humanized society’s struggle against the dying light of social justice through his famous and frequently quoted poem. Do not Go gentle into that good night. Prior to my entry to social development world, i was always been a fan of his quote “Rage against the dying of the light”. I feel that it is perhaps the strongest words that have been uttered by any poet that could challenge practically anyone to take action. The sense of catharsis is overwhelming. Do not die, because in your death you will carry with you the last light that could have potentially shine amidst darkness. Rage against the dying of the light! When i entered the realm of social activism, this quote continued to emanate form all souls i came across with, priests, community organizers, political prisoners,  and grassroots educators. Rage against the dying of the light, they say…

The last Dylan guy, my baby Dylan, will soon see the light of day and i am so excited to finally see him, watch him grow, and guide him. The day will come when he will realize that he too, is the light. I will look forward to him firmly standing by the quote rage against the dying of the light.

I imagine this printed face on my shirt whispering “i hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one”

. John Lennon, he wrote and sang this at the time when i was not even a germ yet.

A colleague, a seasoned development worker, once told me that during the Marcos dictatorship, John Lennon song Imagine, was to some extent used by progressive organizations to move people, particularly the students, to take action against the oppressive regime. If i was alive at that time, i would probably take the song’s theme to the very core of my heart, make a stand, go with the rest of the believers, take action and leave all the things that i could not take with me…But this is just me, saying i would if and only if a was alive 30 years ago today.

Today, the song still being played on the radios. And as the music plays, i asked myself, would i do the same thing i think i would do if this was the 70s?

The dream lives on. I believe..I still believe…But i am not going to leave all the things that i could not take for i do not have a place go to. The forest is all gone now, the countryside is barren…Everything is all gone now…

Everything but you, me, and everyone else who remains to be mechanical animals.

I am still a dreamer, and i am not the only one…

Title: Strangers (Short film)

By: Erez Tadmor and Guy Nattiv

This is a short film, Strangers (2004), about the racial divide between Arabs and Jews and what brings them together. Like in the short film, i look forward to a new day when we all can transcend from the unfortunate divide to face a common enemy.

Environmentalist group PANALIPDAN!-Southern Mindanao expressed concerns over the consequent landslides that hit Brgy. Masara in Maco Compostela Valley Province which to date has already claimed the lives of 30 individuals and displaced nearly 5,000 people.

“We lament the loss of civilian lives over these tragic incidents. We call on the authorities, all environmental and humanitarian advocates to continue to extend aid and services to the victims of this calamity, ” said Francis Morales, spokesperson of PANALIPDAN-SMR.

PANALIPDAN! – SMR, a group which advocates the defense of the environment, land rights, food sovereignty and national patrimony among others, demanded that along with the rescue and relief operations, a probe on the mining operations of the APEX Mining Company and its current operator, CREW MINERALS must be initiated.

According to PANALIPDAN – SMR’S researches on the APEX website, APEX which started its mining operations in Masara since the 1890′s has been recently acquired by Crew Minerals Corporation, a Canada-based large-scale mining company. Since its acquisition of the Masara gold mine in 2005, Crew Minerals has started the refurbishment of the APEX processing plant and to date, its 500 t/d plant is already operational.

CREW Minerals has continued its drillings now reaching up to 32,000 meters. Underground development of the APEX property continues with portals and ramp systems are being continuously opened as APEX gears to increase its target production of 85,000 to 180,000 oz of gold and 500,000 to 600,000 oz of silver at the end of 2008.

In this light, Morales dismissed the denials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Mines and Geosciences Bureau that the tragedy was caused by mining operations.

“Monsoon rains happen normally in other parts of the country but landslides are more often than not easily triggered in areas where man-made intervention or aggression occurs such as large scale mining operations which involve the use of heavy equipment and environmentally hazardous methods. Sec. Atienza was right when he said we should not blame small scale mining operations. But large scale mining corporations who hide beneath small scale mining claims or MPSA’s should not let off the hook too quickly, ” Morales said.

Morales issued a warning to the Mines and GeoSciences Bureau as well as with the DENR.

“Civilian lives are at stake due to the relentless issuance of mining permits to foreign mining companies amidst the government’s sinful leniency and negligence of environmental safeguards, and dogged obeisance to mining capitalists,” said the environmentalist leader.

PANALIPDAN!-SMR recounted the landslides in Kingking Mines as well as in Mt. Diwata due to the mining operations in the areas.

The environmentalist group which has more than twenty-five member organizations in the region reiterated the call to scrap the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

Due to the unwavering support from the general public for Greenpeace international Dove campaign of 2008 , Unilever, biggest single buyer of palm oil in the world, has agreed to play their part in saving the Paradise Forests of South East Asia. Unilever has a special responsibility to help clean up the industry that’s behind so much forest destruction. Unilever have agreed to support the call for an immediate moratorium on deforestation for palm oil plantations. They have also agreed to urgently contact other major companies calling on them to support the moratorium.

This is good news to Indonesia, whose major forest lands have been cleared for decades now to give way to oil palm plantations. This is where Unilever derive most of their products, from oil palm. New green patches of forest might just see a light of day in Indonesia.

This is bad news for the Philippines though, as Gloria Arroyo have practically open up Mindanao for oil palm plantation expansions. Arroyo liberal policy on natural resources allowed, among others, conversion of acres of lands for oil palm expansions. Aside from being the mining hub, Mindanao is also the new haven, for oil palm industries. It looks like Unilever might just see also a light of day, from the  patches of lands, in the Philippines.

Below is an excerpt from a press statement by the workers party on their analysis on the ongoing armed conflicts in Mindanao:

“The US has considered Mindanao to have a very important role to play in its comprehensive security strategy in the ASEAN region and the MILF is seen as a major player in undercutting the influence of anti-American extremists particularly among the Muslim population in the region.

The Malaysian interest is the resource rich island of Sabah which the Philippines has ownership through the Sultanate of Sulu but strangely it has never been mentioned in the MOA-AD as part of Ancestral domain/territory of the Bangsamoro. A fractured Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan and the country as a whole will surely weaken its claim to Sabah.

And as one observes with the unfolding events, it has been cleared that the GRP from day one is not really serious about the MOA-AD. The events have been orchestrated to show that the people are the ones who want the MOA-AD rejected. The struggle now is between the people including the traditional politicians from the Bangsamoro and the MILF. The arming of civilians (covertly or overtly) should be understood in this context.

The trap of the MILF has been set up. The GRP has effectively convinced the leadership of the MILF that it is serious with the MOA-AD and the events surrounding its stoppage are “beyond” its control. The reactions of Ombra Kato, Bravo and Pangalian (MILF Base Commanders) on this delayed and TRO of the signing of the MOA-AD have been the bases for the consummation of the trap. These commanders have been haunted for their criminal acts against the Christian Civilians and since the MILF would not turn them over to the GRP or disown them, all out military and police operations are justified as shown not only from the support of the civilians but from the inaction of the international bodies which have been helping with the peace talks directly and indirectly.

The MILF will respond accordingly and we will expect the worst to come in the coming days and during the month of Ramadhan.

The agenda beyond 2010 will advance to its next stage and that is a declaration of a national Emergency situation by GMA. Then the Charter Change which has been the real agenda behind the MOA-AD will be implemented and the allies of GMA in the house have been initiating it so that again it will not appear that it will be coming from GMA. In such atmosphere the results of the plebiscite or a referendum will be controlled, directed and fixed towards the fulfillment of the ‘beyond 2010 agenda’.

This scenario will only be possible if peace stakeholders like us will continue with our ‘business as usual’ position and so called principled inaction.”

]]> http://ajiminnicoup.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/armed-conflicts-in-moroland/feed/ 0 ajimeatworld http://ajiminnicoup.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/the-unfortunate-divide/ http://ajiminnicoup.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/the-unfortunate-divide/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:25:57 +0000 ajimeatworld http://ajiminnicoup.wordpress.com/?p=25 ]]> The Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Supreme Court against the singing of MOA on Ancestral Domain could possibly be the one thing that ignited the current tensions in Central Mindanao. So much have been written about this and i would not want to saturate the diverse perspectives and intellectual calisthenics among the stakeholders. My concern really for now is the effect of all this on the ground. People are actually dying on the ground. The fighting between the government and some MILF factions have escalated to a point that some people fear this would practically take us back to square one. With the growing animosity between Moro and Christian settlers in the affected communities, the unfortunate divide will likely happen.

We can still prevent this though, PEACE is still the answer! There is no such thing as a bad peace and a good war.

Give Peace a Chance…

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Find time to watch the short film below. The title of this film is OFFSIDE, a film by Erez Tadmor & Guy Nattiv regarding the Israeli Palestinian conflict. This short film was shot in Israel, during September 2005, at the security zone that separates between Israel and the Palestine Authority. I do hope that we could learn a valuable lesson from this film. In war, no one wins…

Camerawalls Music

“They are the Camerawalls baby and di sila ang kumanta ng Girlfriend in a Coma kundi The Smiths. Yun bang kumanta rin ng How soon is now, soundtrack ng TV series Charmed. Cool yon diba?”

Musically, the Camerawalls openly cited the Smiths, along with The Beatles, The Cure, XTC, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Desert Wolves, The Pale Fountains, The Jam and several other new wave acts as their musical influences.

“Nandoon pa rin ‘yong British pop influence but we inject Filipino sensibilities sa mga songs,” explained Clem Castro, a former member of the citrus pop band Orange and Lemons who upon being booted out from ONL wasted no time to continue his passion for music by forming the Camerawalls. Initially known as the Cinemawalls, an anagram of their first names, the group is composed of two former ONL members—vocalist Clementine Castro and bassist Law Santiago— and drummer Ian Sarabia, the heir to Sarabia Optical Empire.

Aside from their musical styles, Clem Castro has also been dubbed as Morrissey (The Smiths’ famous vocalist) of the Philippines. I beg to disagree though, as watching him performed during the Citrus days with his guitar antics closely resembling that of Johnny Marr (The Smiths’ lead guitarist), I must say he is more than just a Morrissey. He is more like a musical genius genetically engineered from a combination of Marr and Morrissey with some Lennon DNA toppings. Adding to this gift is the fact that his rich musical Rondalla* (I think read once that his father thought him how to play Octavina and Banduria) background have further enhances his creativity in fusing pinoy musical sensibilities to create pop-outings that transcends musical boundaries.

She may have read my thoughts (I am beginning to think that my wife has a gift of clairvoyance. Alarm! Alarm! ) as I too share my wife’s reaction on the possible quirky similarities of both songs. Yes, as you may have figured, both speak of the medical wonders (please refer to the lyrics below and just google girlfriend in a coma lyrics). But while the Smiths’ girlfriend in a coma speaks of tragic ending and last goodbyes, Clinically Dead echoes a breath of new and potentially better kind of life. As Morrissey whispers his last goodbyes, Clem bids the three short moons* with a message that they wont realize what they have till they lose them.

* I made this all up. Smiths fans are not called Smithsonians. There is however one Uncle Sam funded prestigious educational research institute known as Smithsonian Institution.

*i was also part our our rondalla (Angklung Rondalla) during high school. Banduria din gamit ko. This was during eraserheads’ U-POP days and i remember that our Music instructor taught us to play Tindahan ni Aling Nena and we performed it kahit na it was yet to be released as a single. We also played Meatloaf’s I would do anything for love. Yeah!

*short moons? if this doesnt refer to other guys, baka Clem was watching Three Musketeers sabay napaisip na baka siya was the Puzz in Boots and other three were the elegantly styled Three Musketeers.

pahabol:

i was going to do a lengthly blog dissecting every lines of the song Clinically Dead for 16 hours but i decided to stop as soon as i noticed pati si Shakespeare and Hamlet were already implicated sa article. Tsk…

eto sana title nang blog entry:

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Clinically Dead for 16 Hours: Operation Camerawalls

My attempt to perform surgical procedures on someone who is or has been clinically dead for 16 hours

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Below are the Camerawalls’ mypace entry about the band:

Manila produces miracles of design too far-out from what normally is heard or seen by the majority. The Camerawalls is keen to create ripples of combined nostalgia and pop outings.

Formed sometime in September 2007 by Clementine, formerly of the indie- pop/rock sensation Orange & Lemons, he chose to collaborate with old friends and drummer Ian Sarabia, and former bassist from years ago Law Santiago. Armed with his acoustic guitar Clementine returns to his indie roots with a new 3-piece line up – The Camerawalls.

After nine months of sowing the seeds and taking baby steps they have released a collection of pop songs for a full-length independent album. July 3, 2008 marked the release of “Pocket Guide To The Otherworld”, their debut album under Clementine’s new indie label – Lilystars Records.

Pocket Guide To The Otherworld – The Camerawalls

Track List:

1. Markers Of Beautiful Memories
2. Clinically Dead For 16 Hours
3. Lord Of The Flies
4. I Love You, Natalie
5. Changing Horses Midstream
6. Ignore My Weakness, Don’t Ignore Me
7. Canto De Maria Clara
8. The Emperor, The Concubine & The Commoner
9. Solitary North Star
10. Lizards Hiding Under Rocks

Pocket Guide to the Otherworld is a celebration of life changing events. A collection of songs the band wrote from September 2007 to March 2008, which includes topics inspired by their muses, epic tales, reincarnations, a dead poets’ reincarnation through a song, changes in careers and friends. It’s like a small book of words that are 100% real coming from life experiences and some otherworldly events. Very personal and optimistic bordering on tragic… the tunes in this album will allow you to journey through time.

Album Available at the Following:

Retail Outlets:
Music One (Glorietta, Greenbelt, Alabang, Quezon Ave.)
Fully Booked (Bonifacio High Street, Greenhills)
Vivian Sarabia Optical (SM North Edsa, Mall of Asia, SM San Lazaro, SM Megamall)

]]> http://ajiminnicoup.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/the-camerawalls/feed/ 4 ajimeatworld The Camerawalls http://ajiminnicoup.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/clinically-dead-for-16-hours/ http://ajiminnicoup.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/clinically-dead-for-16-hours/#comments Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:14:30 +0000 ajimeatworld http://ajiminnicoup.wordpress.com/?p=17 ]]> This song have been bending my mindset. If you like The Beatles, The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, and other british indie-pop sensations, then you will be with all hearts and flowers for The Camerawalls.

Clinically Dead for 16 Hours

My heart is a terrible failing
I am just beginning to fathom
Love’s difficult concept
Swift beats are bending my mindset

It’s wasting my time
It’s wasting so much precious time
Touring white castles with other survivors
And then without warning I was…

Clinically dead for sixteen hours
Show me all the things my heart desires
Let this be the longest happy dream of my life
Clinically dead for sixteen hours
Crossing all the roads where lines began
Break my hourglass and let the sands move in time

Three short moons I survived that fatal day
But reaching breaking point,
I sleep and face the knife of fate
And my heart breathe air for the first time
Yes, my heart breathe air for the first time

A stitch in time and skin
Has changed my life and the lives of my kin
A stitch in time and skin
Has changed my life and the lives of my kin

I’m keeping my time
I’m keeping my precious little time
Touched by the Hand that’s been rocking my cradle
I’ll always remember

I was clinically dead for sixteen hours
Show me all the things my heart desires
Let this be the longest happy dream of my life
Clinically dead for sixteen hours
Crossing all the roads where lines began
Break my hourglass and let the sands move in time

No tunnel, no light
No dead love ones
Maybe I need to teach someone
That we won’t realize what we have till we lose them…

But the joke was on him..