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Barbados PM defends economic strategy
The Barbados government says it remains firmly committed to the strategy for growth and development on which it has embarked, insisting that "the strategy has already begun to show positive results".
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, responding to the latest downgrade of the island's long-term sovereign rating by the United States-based rating agency Standard & Poor's, said that the strategy is one "based on Barbados' established competitive strengths in tourism, international business and finance, and food and beverages, and on the island's potential for green energy".
Stuart said: "It is a strategy led by investment and outstanding entrepreneurship by the private sector, supported by government incentives and world-class financial regulations and legal safeguards. The strategy is anchored on our fixed exchange rate to the US dollar, which is protected by an adequate cushion of foreign exchange reserves."
Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgraded the long-term sovereign rating of Barbados to 'B' from 'BB-', warning also of the potential for a further economic downgrade.
But while it affirmed the 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings for Barbados, S&P lowered its transfer and convertibility assessment to 'B' from 'BB-'.
It said the potential for a further downgrade existed "if the government doesn't succeed in bringing down its wide fiscal deficit; if growth boosted by key investment projects fails to materialise; or if external pressures of persistent current account deficits mount".
"This scenario would likely lead to further deterioration in the availability of financing for large fiscal deficits," the agency said.
On the other hand, S&P said it could revise the outlook to stable if the government succeeded in reining in the deficit in line with its targets and maintaining access to financing, especially from private creditors.
"This, in turn, would help improve government debt and interest burdens," S&P said.
The announcement by the rating agency comes a few days after Economic Affairs Minister Chris Sinckler told Parliament that the island was on a growth path.
"Today, I can say to the country that based on actual performance and projections for the immediate future, we have not laboured in vain. Barbados is on a growth path once again. Our foreign exchange reserves have stabilised; our fiscal deficit is on a downward trajectory; and economic growth is returning," Sinckler said then.
But S&P noted that "much of the fiscal savings have yet to be realised".
In his statement on Sunday, Stuart said the growth and adjustment strategy has already begun to show positive results.
"The falling trend in foreign reserves, which we were experiencing at this time a year ago, has been arrested, ever since February of this year. The private sector has been given a boost with the investment that is under way in the hotel sector, the success of the cultural and sporting festivals, and the take-off in the green energy sector," he said.
"Tourist arrivals have stabilised, and tourist spending is on the rise. There are encouraging prospects for the winter tourist season," Stuart added.


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Commissioning a piece is a very simple process. Gilly works from photos for your portrait, so there's no need for her to see the subject, a good range of photos will enable her to create a beautiful drawing. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to email at any time!
- Take photos:
Take photos that capture the subjects personality and character well. The chosen photo (or in some cases, photos) are very important in the process and so you must choose them wisely. Gilly's expertise lies in interpreting and reproducing your photo and establishing the characteristics and personality of individual subjects.
- Contact:
Once you have taken your photos, the next step is to contact Gilly, via email, Facebook or phone, and forward any photos you have at a good resolution. She may then establish which photos will be the best to work with.
- Making payment:
Gilly can send an electronic invoice to you via paypal, which accepts all debit/credit cards. Cash or cheque can also be accepted if you are collecting your piece or if a meeting has been organised.
- Client list:
Gilly works on a first come, first served basis and she always has a client list i.e. a number of clients waiting for commissioned pieces. Waiting times for drawings depend on how busy it is at any given time, but she will always be able to give you an approximate completion date. If you have a particular deadline for a piece e.g. someone's birthday, Gilly will always try her absolute best to accommodate you. Gift vouchers can also be purchased for those who would like to give a portrait as a gift for a special date.
- Bespoke Framing:
A full framing service is provided for all artworks. If you are unable to collect, and are interested in a framed portrait, please mention this when you enquire, so that Gilly may provide prices for postage and packaging.

subset: commoncrawl


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These are local FIEC churches.
Atworth Independent Church
Calne Evangelical Church
Colerne Evangelical Church
Emmanuel Evangelical Church Chippenham
Emmanuel Marlborough
Freshbrook Evangelical Church Swindon
Ladyfield Evangelical Church
North Bradley Baptist Church
North Swindon Baptist Church
Penknap Providence Church and Ebenezer Baptist Church
Swindon Evangelical Church
Widcombe Baptist Church
Emmanuel Bath
Sunday 10:30am Morning worship Junior church during morning service 5:30pm Prayer Meeting 6:00pm Evening worship7:30pm After Eights Monday 2:30pm Women's Bible Study Tuesday 9:30am Chatterbox (term time only) Wednesday 7:30pm Prayer Meeting / Growth groups on alternate weeks To join a growth group contact the pastor. Thursday 9:30am Coffee Morning (everyone welcome) Friday 9:30am Quilting Group (everyone welcome)


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Tuesday, July 31, 2007
P664.0 milyon, "gagamitin" ni Ate Glo sa tagtuyot
Kung ating susuriin, masyadong "reactive" at panandaliang lunas ang nasabing programa ng Malakanyang. Hindi nito ganap na tinutumbuk ang tunay na sanhi ng problema sa krisis ng kalikasan. Ang isang nakaka-alarma, kung idadaan muli ito sa LGUs, hindi malayong paniwalaang kakangkungin lamang o mauuwi ito sa bayad utang at pamumulitika. Marami ang naalarma na baka paeklat lang ito ng Malakanyang at "emergency power" ang tunay na direksyon at agenda ni Ate Glo. Tandaang hindi pa ganap na nareresolba ang isyu ng Jocjoc Bolante.
Ang tanong ni Mang Pandoy, maliban sa natural penomenom na tinatawag, bakit hindi suriin ng malaliman o busisiin ang mga kadahilanan ng grabeng tagtuyot na dinaranas sa anggulong "man made calamity " o kagagawan ito ng patuloy na pangggagahasa ng malalaking konsesyong kumalbo at sumira ng ating mga kalikasan sa buong bansa. Siya rin ang dahilan kung bakit nasawata ang ating mga WATERSHED sa Sierra Madre, Zambales Range, Cordillera, Carballo Mountain, Mt Apo at iba pang mga kabundukang kumanlon sa mga tropical rain forest.
Ang walang habas na pagkasira ng ating kagubatan o ng ating mga tropical rain forest ang dahilan kung bakit lumala, matumal at kulang-kulang ng laman ang ating mga DAM o water reservoir. Ang tanong na dapat bigyan ng kasagutan, inutil ba, sangkot ba, nagpabaya ba, hindi ba na-antisipa (foresight) at wala bang programang isinagawa ang Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) upang masawata ang inaasahang krisis ng tagtuyot?
Ayon sa Haribon, isang NGO na ng-aadvocate ng Kalikasan, "ang pagpapanumbalik ng tropical rainforests ang siyang dapat unang binigyan pansin ng DENR." Malaki ang potensyal ng rain forest upang muling buhayin ang CARBON sa atmosphere na makakatulong hindi lamang upang maimintina ang ecological balance, bagkus makayanan nitong makapag-adopt ng matinding pagbabagong magaganap at nagaganap sa ating klima, ng ating panahon at iba pang epektong geohazards.
Dagdag ng Haribon, "halos malaking bahagi ng ating mga river basins at critical watershed areas ay lubhang pininsala na ng mining explorations at operations, gayun din ng talamak na commercial logging, wildlife poaching, illegal settlements at land conversion." Ilan sa mga napuruhan ng walang habas na panggagahasa ay ang Angat, Umiray at Ipo dams na siyang pangunahing supplier pa naman ng tubig sa mga taga-Metro Manila. Isang malaking banta ng sustainability ng ating water sources sa Metro Manila ay ang patuloy na pagqua-quarrying, logging at intrusyon sa mga watershed mismo. Ang iba pang nanganganib na mapinsala ay ang sumusunod:
1. Rio-Pulanggi Watershed- Tampakan Mining (FTAA), South Cotabato
2. Buayan- Malungan Watershed- Tampakan Mining (FTAA), South Cotabato
3. Cagayan Valley Watershed- Didipio Copper- Gold Project (FTAA), Nueva Viscaya and Quirino
4. Cagayan Valley Watershed- Luz Mahogany Timber Corp. (TLA), Cagayan Valley
5. Cagayan Valley Watershed- Pacific Timer Export, Inc. (TLA), Cagayan Valley
6. Cagayan Valley Watershed- Liberty Logging, Inc. (TLA), Cagayan Valley
7. Cagayan Valley Watershed- Industries Development Corp. (MPSA), Cagayan Valley
8. Pampanga Watershed- Inter Pacific Forest Resource Inc. (TLA), Aurora, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan
9. Pampanga Watershed- Republic Cement (MPSA), Bulacan
10. Pampanga Watershed- Bacnotan Cement (MPSA), Bulacan
11. Agno Watershed– Philex Mining (MPSA), Benguet
12. Agno Watershed- Northern Cement (MPSA), Pangasinan
13. Agno Watershed- Oregon Mining (MPSA), Pangasinan
14. Agno Watershed- Rock and Ore Industries (MPSA), Tarlac
15. Pasig- Laguna Watershed- Quimson Limestone, Inc. , Rizal
16. Pasig- Laguna Watershed- Quarry Rock Group, Rizal
Ito ang dapat atupagin, paimbistigahan at papanagutin ni Ate Glo, ang bagong talagang Kalihim ng DENR na si Lito Atienza at ang Chair ng Environment at Natural Resources sa Kongreso na si Iggi ''Jose Pidal'' Arroyo at Mikee "Mola" Arroyo ng Energy Chair.
Doy Cinco / IPD
July 31, 2007
RP Basketball team bulilyaso, itigil na ang kahibangan
(kuha sa: www.pia.gov.ph/
Mula ng lumitaw ang professional basketball, nagmistulang mga ELITE ang halos bumubuo ng mga players sa PBA. Mismo ang pamunuan ng Philippine Sports Commission at Olympic Committee (POC) ay na-virus na rin sa talamak na pamumulitika, katiwalian at padri-padrino. Dahil dito, nagsimula na ring malasin at mabansot ang larong basketball sa bansa, sinalaula nito ang dati rati'y hari, kinikilala, presitihong basketball ng 'Pinas sa Asia. Dahil sa elitist oriented-millionaires club ang karamihan bumubuo sa PBA at pamunuan nito, nawala na ito ng silbe, nawalan na ang usapin ng pagmamahal at paglilingkod sa bansa at umiral ang pera-pera, porma at pagyayabang.
Next year na ang Beijing Olympic at aasahang malalagay uli tayo sa kahihiyan. Panahon na rin upang pag-isipan at pagnilay-nilayan ng POC ang sports development ng bansa. Ganap ng ibasura ang larong basketball at palaganapin ang mga alternatibong sport na hindi salik ang kalakihan ng mga players (6ft-7tf) na maaring may chance na makatabla ang Pilipinas sa pandaigdigang labanan. Tulad ng larong boxing, archery, football, chess, diving, cycling, badminton, tennis, bowling, triatlon o marathon at iba pa.
Ang mga popular na sports na ito ang dapat nilalaro sa UAAP, NCAA at regional league sa bansa. Walang pag-aalinglangang dapat tutukan, ipriority, tanggalin ang pork barrel sa Kongreso at ilipat sa sports dev't ang malaking bahagi ng budget, hanapan ng sponsorship at advertising sa pribadong korporasyon, ipopularized at panuurin sa television ng gubyerno. (Kuha sa: biocrawler.com at www.flickr.com)
Sa kabila ng kahusayan nating mag-spokening DOLLAR at pumapangatlo ang Pilipinas sa nagsasalita ng ENGLISH sa mundo, kulelat naman tayo sa SPORTs at sa halos lahat ng larangan sa Asia. Nakakapanglupaypay isiping tanging caregivers- KATULONG, japayuki, PROSTITUTION, bagsakan ng ukay-ukay at basurahan na lamang ang expertice ng 'Pinas. Nakakaiyak, super kawawa tayo, pinaubaya't ipinagkatiwala kasi natin sa mga traditional politicians (TRAPO) ang pamumuno ng country.
Doy Cinco / IPD
July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
DOJ, niyurakan ang Senado, bubulukin sa bilangguan si Trillanes
Ibinasura rin ni Judge Pimentel at ng DOJ ang petisyon ni Trillanes na makapagsagawa ng sariling opisina sa selda at makapagtrabaho bilang mambabatas. Tulad ni Sec siRaulo Gonzales, ginamit ni Judge Pimentel ang wala sa hulog na argumentong, "kung may 12.0 milyon mandato si Trillanes, dahil daw sa "People of the Philippines," mayroon namang daw na 85.0 milyong pipol ang nasa likod ng DOJ." Tama, wala nga namang binatbat ang 12.0 milyon sa 85.0 milyon populasyon ng Pilipinas. Idinagdag pa nitong "kasalanan ng mamamayang Pilipino kung bakit ibinoto at inihalal si Trillanes sa kabila ng pagkakabilanggo nito sa salang rebelyon at kudeta, matigas daw ang ulo ng mga botante."
Nakakalungkot isiping, matapos payagan ng COMELEC na irihistro't 60 days na kumampanya sa Senado si Trillanes, ng manalo ay bigla nalang ibinalagbag na "hindi ka pwedeng umupo at gumampan bilang Senador."
Paano ipaliliwanag at ipatatanggap kay Mang Pandoy na nasa likod ng mamamayan (85.0 milyon) Pilipino ang DOJ? Bakit, "people ba ang pamunuan ng DOJ?" Sa totoo lang, ang DOJ ay kinakatawan ng ELITE, casique, oligarkiya't dinastiya. Interest ng ruling elite ang ipinagtatanggol ng DOJ at hindi ang People of the Philippines." Kinakatawan ng DOJ at ang kabuuang Ehekutibong pinamumunuan ni Ate Glo ang mga mapagsamantala, mapanupil, mandaraya't pekeng presidente ng Pilipinas. Kailanma'y hindi dapat akuin ni Judge Pimentel at DOJ ang 85 milyong mga Pilipino, sapagkat malayong magkaiba ang interest ng 85.0 milyong Pilipino sa interest ng Malakanyang at DOJ.
Nawalan na ng moral ascendancy ang institusyon ng hustisya sa bansa. Kung babaybay ang track record ng DOJ sa ilalim ni siRaulo Gonzales, wala na itong inatupag kundi halikan ang tumbong ni ate Glo, kastiguhin ang mga kritiko ni Ate Glo at isalba ito sa kangkungan ng kasaysayan. Ang ilan sa kasalanan ng DOJ ay ang sumusunod;
Una; ang kahihiyan sa desisyon at pagyurak sa karapatan ng "Batasan 6."
Pangalawa; sinabi nitong "lilikidahin daw ng communist hitman si Erap Estrada kaya dapat lang daw na ipagbawal ang pagdalaw at pagbisita sa Tanay."
Pangatlo; hayagan nitong inaming may sayad ang sarili ng sabihin nitong, " "weder wader lang yan, PUPWEDE kung sana'y nagtagumpay ang "rebelyon (nung Feb 2006) - withdrawal of support at walk in the park", ngayon ay hindi na pupwede, NATALO kayo, sa kangkungan kayo!" Bunsod ito sa hayagang pag-aming "kinanlong" ng aktibistang si Bishop Tobias ang ilang miembro ng grupong Magdalo (matapos silang pumuga sa detention center sa Kampo Militar).
Pang-apat; ng sabihin nitong kakasuhan ng rebelyon si Susan Roces, "kaya lang hindi raw nababagay ito kay Susan Roces dahil maganda ito."
Pang-lima; ang patudsada nito kay Cory Aquino ng banggitin nitong, "mas una nitong asikasuhin si Kris Aquino kaysa ang sambayanang Pilipino.
Pang-anim; ng kasuhan nito si Bishop Tobias ng rebelyon. Ayon sa siRaulo, "harboring criminal" ang ginawa ng Obispo ng inamin mismo ni Bishop Tobias na itinago nito ang mga Magdalo pipol.
Pang-pito; wala itong nagawa sa kaso ni JocJoc Bolante (Bagman ni Mike Arroyo) at Com Garcillano (hello Garci). Mga taung kasabwat at galamay ni Ate Glo sa pandaraya nuong 2004 presidential election. Ang pamumudmud ng P800.0 milyong fertilizer scam at "dagdag-bawas special operation.
(kuha sa: www.abs-cbnnews.com/.
Kung matatandaan, bukud kay Sec siraulo Gonzales, palakang kokak na sinang-ayunan rin ni Sen Miriam Brenda Santiago at Enrile ang naturang disisyon ng DOJ kay Trillanes. Ayon kay Miriam, "sa ilalim raw ng military court martial dapat lang na mabuluk sa detention si Sen. Trillanes." Dagdag pa, "wala raw gaanong pinagkaiba ang kaso ni Trillanes at ni Jalosjos kung ibabatay raw ang disiyon ng Supreme Court na kung tawagin ay People of the Philippines versus sa mga kriminal." Umarangkada pa ang Brenda, "sa isang taong na-convict at pending ang appeal at nahalal bilang kinatawan sa Kongreso ay dapat lang daw manatili sa bilangguan kahit ang huli ay nahalal pa ng bayan." (kuha sa: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=86762)
Bagamat parehong may kasong kriminal, pogi points at politikal ang kaso ni Trillanes, kasong "unbecoming an officer and a gentleman before the General Court Martial" at kasong politikal, habang pedopilya't rapist ang kaso ni Jalosjos.
Akusado na, guilty at napatunayan NANGGAHASA si Jalosjos, samantalang nililitis pa rin hanggang sa kasalukuyan si Trillanes, hindi pa naaakusahan, until proven guilty at hanggang ngayon maikukunsidera pang inosente. Naging rebelyon lamang ang kaso ni Trillanes sa simpleng dahilang hindi ito nagwagi sa labanan. Kung saka-sakaling nagtagumpay ang Oukwood, tulad ni Enrile, FVR, tulad ni Sec Angelo Reyes sa panahon ni Erap, maituturing bayani at malalagay sa pedestal ng rebolusyunaryong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.
Dapat maghinay-hinay at mag-ingat ang Malakanyang sa klase ng pambababoy, pagtratong berdugo kay Sen Trillnes. Hinding-hindi kailanma'y maaring ipagkumpara ng palasyo si Trillanes kay Jalosjos, sobrang garapal at halatang-halatang politically motivated ang tirada ng Malakanyang.
Dapat malaman ng Malakanyang na hindi isang kriminal si Trillanes, hindi siya nangurakot at nandambong (plunder) ng kaban ng yaman ng bansa, hindi siya nasangkot sa dagdag-bawas special ops nuong nakaraang election, wala siyang armory at private army na tulad ni Ampatuan, hindi siya murderer at rapist, hindi siya nag-commit ng pagtataksil (treason) sa bayan at higit sa lahat, hindi siya sinungaling, oportunista, pulitikong buluk at kotongero.
Lalo lamang nitong pinapaypayan, sinisigaan at binubuhusan ng gasolina ang bulkang diskontento laban kay Ate Glo at sa Malakanyang. Katulong ang ilang bayarang media at pulitiko, pinipilit burahin, pinupulaanan, pinapanghina o nineu-neutralisa ang mga suportador nito at burahin ang persepsyon ng mamamayan na ang kadahilanan ng pagkakapanalo ni Trillanes sa senado ay dahil sa protest vote, anti-GMA-pangungurakot vote, political reform vote hanggang sa anti-sistema't establishment votes para kay Trillanes.
Kung ako kay Ate Glo, tutal wala na siyang balak na tumakbo sa 2010, may sakit siya at ang kanyang asawa, ipatupad nito hindi lang ang kanyang INFRA legacy maging ang pag-iistabilisa ng political situation ng bansa, irespeto nito ang 12.0 milyong boto ni Trillanes, "pakawalan ang lahat ng mga sundalong (Oakwood) nabibinbin sa bilangguan, lahat ng bilanggong pulitikal, patalsikin si Sec Raul Gonzales at ganap na ioverhaul-ireporma ang sistemang hustisya ng bansa.
Doy Cinco / IPD
July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Don't take advantage of reported water & power shortage - FDC
Sa totoo lang, sa dami't nag-uumapaw na mga power plant sa bansa, sobra-sobra na ang ating kakayahang makapag-generate ng kuryente. Anong ginagawa ng ating mga Geothermal energy sa Tiwi, sa Sorsogon, Bicol at Macban sa Laguna, sa Mt Apo, Davao at sa Tongonan, Leyte? Nakakalungkot isiping wala pa sa 30% ang napapakinabangan natin sa mga Geothermal energy-PNOC at ang 70% ay naitatapon lamang sa hangin, dagat at ilog.
Kung tututukan, ipa-priority at bibigyang lamang ng pagpapahalaga ng NAPOCOR, kayang-kaya nitong suplayan ang buong kapasidad na pangangailangang kuryente ng Luzon kundi man ng buong Pilipinas. Maliit lamang ang puhunang kapital sa pagpapatayo ng geothermal plant kung ikukumpara sa Hydroelectric, Coal at oil powered plant, "malinis pa, renewable energy at dahil sa singaw nito mamiminimized pa nito ang pagsabog ng mga bulkan!"
Maraming kumitang Tongresmen sa ni-railroad na batas na EPIRA (exposay ni Etta Rosales-Akbayan at Rene Magtubo - PM). Pinaniwala ang mamamayan na bababa ang kuryente, gaganda ang buhay ng mga Pilipino, mareresolba ang krisis sa kuryente at uunlad ang ekonomya ng Pilipinas dahil sa Epira. Ano ang nangyari, nagkanda-leche-leche ang buhay ng mga Pilipino, muling nare-elect ang mga Tongresmen, PUMANGATLO tayo sa may pinakamataas na singil ng kuryente sa buong ASIA, topnotcher ang Japan (ok lang yan, dahil mayaman sila, pangalawa ang Cambodia at pumangatlo ang Pinas) at pumangalawa tayo sa Asia sa pangungurakot,
Pangalawa; kahina-hinala ang pagkakasipa sa pwesto ni Sec Popo Lotilla ng Energy. Mukhang balak i-amyenda ang EPIRA at muling pagka-kotongan at Panghuli; hinawakan ni Cong Mikee Arroyo ang Energy Chair sa Congress, balak ibalik ang nakaka-pollute sa kalikasang COAL at OIL powered energy at mukhang uupakan ang mga Lopez-MERALCO, ang kinamumuhiang kaaway sa pulitika ni Ate Glo.
Kaduda-duda ang ikinikilos ng Malakanyang at mukhang pagkakakitaan na naman ng Kongreso ang ina-amplify sa madla na "krisis sa enerhiya na dulut daw ng kawalang ulan at bagyo." Saan ang direction ng energy crisis, ang LEGACY nito o "emergency power" uli kay Ate Glo? Ito ang dapat busisiin ng Senado't kasama ang mga NGOs, tulad ng FDC, mga electric cooperatives at ibang sektor ng mamamayan! - Doy / IPD
Kuha sa: www.napocor.gov.ph/.../Plant%20Pics/Tiwi.jpg)
FDC to utility companies:
27 July 2007
The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) today warned utility companies from taking advantage of the reported water and power supply to justify their failures in delivery of service and future rate increases.
"While we recognize the effects of the below-than-normal rainfall, or drought, over the past two months to our water and power supply, we are equally alarmed over the possible implications of this issue and are calling on concerned government agencies to protect the interests of the people first before that of the water and power utilities," said FDC in a statement.
FDC cited the failure of water utilities in their service targets for installing water connections in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
"In 2004, the government had identified 212 waterless communities in Metro Manila alone and had targeted 2010 to finally address this problem. However, until now, majority of these communities are still suffering from absence of piped water supply," the FDC said.
The coalition also warned that the water shortage this year should not be used by the water utilities to conceal their failure to deliver their promise of 24-hour supply of water to those with piped water connection. In last year alone, Manila Water and Maynilad had to meet 94% and 97% of the 24-hour water supply respectively. Yet those with water connections only experienced an average of 16-hour a day water supply.
The advocacy group likewise believed that there is really no electricity shortage if we refer to the dependable capacity of both government and independent power producers. (Kuha sa: www.bancnet.net/.../
"Long brownouts should not be experienced in Luzon even in the coming days because we have a dependable capacity of 10,466 MW, as of end-2006, more than enough to supply Luzon 's peak demand of about 6,100 MW. Luzon only relies 17.3 percent or 1,812 MW of its dependable power capacity from hydropower plants," FDC said.
As regards the government's claim of lack of coal supply as one reason for power shortage, the group said: "The decline in power generation by Napocor's coal-fired power plants may not simply be an issue of lack of coal supply, but an issue of using a low quality of coal. The 300MW Calaca plant in Batangas has been experiencing a decline in its dependable capacity because of large number of forced outages or plant trippings due to shift of coal fuel usage from blended coal to full coal or Semirara coal."
The group further expressed fears that the report may be just being highlighted today to overshadow the issue on P1.25/kwh power rates increase being experienced by Meralco customers this month.
"We fear that the issue on power shortage is being used to cover up the recent electricity rate increase of P1.25/kWh by Meralco, the highest in the country; the continuous payment to government's and Meralco's onerous and expensive contracts with independent power producers (IPPs); and, the amendments in the implementing rules and regulations of EPIRA which was approved last June 21 by the Joint Congressional Power Commission, with the prodding of the Executive, that allowed the automatic cost recoveries of Meralco," said FDC.
"We call on the government to be more vigilant and punish the unscrupulous utilities that will be taking advantage of the situation to extract profits to their advantage," FDC said.
Friday, July 27, 2007
FROM THE 'NET :http://bangsamoro.wordpress.com/
July 23rd, 2007 Posted by bangsamoro
MNLF MILF, Bangsa Moro, Media Studies, Mindanao
The Basilan Encounter: Was It Provoked To Scuttle The Mindanao Peace Process And Foment Another All-Out War?
1. Rehearsing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the MILF and the GRP
• MILF-GRP Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001
1. Security
2. Rehabilitation and Development
3. Ancestral Domain
1.a. Security Aspect of the MILF-GRP Tripoli Agreement on Peace
Ø "All Past Agreements of the Parties shall be implemented in accordance with the Agreement on the General Framework for the Resumption of the Peace talks signed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 24 March 2001 for the progressive resolution of the Bangsamoro Problem with honor, justice and integrity for all sectors of society." Past Agreements include the 'GRP-MILF Agreement for General Cessation of Hostilities' signed in Cagayan de Oro city on July 18, 1997 and its Implementing Administrative Guidelines dated September 12, 1997 and Implementing Operational Guidelines dated November 14, 1997.
1.b. Mechanisms in Effecting the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement
Ø The Deployment of the International Monitoring Team (IMT)
Ø The Creation of the Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH)
Ø The Reactivation of the Local Monitoring Teams (LMTs)
Ø The establishment of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) through the MILF-GRP Joint Communiqué of May 6, 2002 in Cyberjaya, Malaysia
2. The Basilan Encounter: GRP-AFP Version
Ø Marines of the 1st Marine Brigade entered Ginanta, Albarka (part of Tipo-Tipo) at 9:00 am of July 10, 2007 because of an intelligence information that the kidnapped Italian priest, Giancarlo Bossi, was being kept there by his abductors.
Ø When the Marines failed to locate the priest and his abductors, they decided to return to their headquarters in Camp Uno at Lamitan City.
Ø At 9:45 am, while on their way out of the area, one of their vehicles got mired in the mud thus halting the convoy. At 10:00 am the convoy was suddenly fired upon from all sides by MILF guerillas.
Ø The AFP also says that the area is not an MILF area and is not aware of an MILF camp there. Ø The AFP further claims that 14 soldiers died in the ambush, 10 of whom were beheaded, mutilated and robbed by the MILF ambushers who were allegedly joined by Abu Sayyaf terrorists. Nine other Marines were wounded.
Ø The AFP claims this was an ambush. Fighting lasted for 8 hours straight. It started at 10:00 am and ended at 6:00 pm.
3. The Basilan Encounter: From the Initial Result of the MILF's Fact-Finding Investigation:
•The MILF Investigating Team, composed of three members (one senior member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces [BIAF] General Staff, one Ustadz, and one political officer), was immediately organized after reports of the 'beheading and mutilation' reached the MILF leadership. The MILF, as an Islamic revolutionary liberation organization, strictly adheres to the Islamic conduct of war which explicitly prohibits the mutilation of enemy casualties in battle; the MILF also observes the rules of war and the treatment of enemy prisoners and casualties as formulated by the Geneva Conventions.
•The Philippine Marines of the 1st Marine Brigade completely disregarded the ceasefire agreement between the MILF and the government by conducting three prior military operations before the bloody encounter on July 10, 2007:
Ø On July 8, 2007, the Marines conducted military operation in Barangay Lipu Upas, Tipo-Tipo, Basilan creating fear and chaos among the local inhabitants. Limbu Upas is about three (3) kilometers from Ginanta where the July 10 encounter took place.
Ø On July 9, 2007 the same Marine outfit made a follow-up operation and entered Barangay Linuan, Al-Barkah town, the defense perimeter of an MILF area at an adjacent barangay of Ginanta, which is well known to the AFP because the MILF had conducted a peace advocacy program there on June 2, 2006 that was fully coordinated with the MILF-GRP CCCH;
Ø On July 10, 2007, at 7:00 am, the Marines under the command of Major Marcelino entered Barangay Linuan again where they disarmed one MILF member, Hadji Hakim, of his carbine rifle and divested one other MILF member of his tiger uniform and MILF patches. When reminded by one of the two MILF members that the Marines were already encroaching on an MILF area covered by the ceasefire agreement, the Marines said: "We do not recognize any MILF area. The entire Philippines is ours."
•At around 9:00 am on July 10, 2007, the Marines entered Ginanta, Al-Barkah (formerly Tipo-Tipo), where the MILF forces and camp are located. The presence of the MILF camp is previously known to the Philippine government because of the ceasefire agreement. And when the Marines suddenly entered the area, a firefight ensued.
•The fighting was directly initiated and provoked by the Philippine Marines. There was no ambush. What took place was a legitimate face-to-face 8-hour encounter. Marines killed on the spot based on body count were not just 14 but 23. Weapons captured by the MILF fighters were 17: three (3) M-60 machineguns, one (1) mini-machinegun, five (5) M203 grenade launchers, two (2) M-14 rifles with sniper scopes, one (1) 60 mm mortar, and five (5) M-16 rifles.
•MILF fighters involved in the fighting were only two (2) platoons from MILF military units, namely, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Brigade of the 114 Base Command of the MILF's Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) based in Basilan. More than 100 MILF fighters arrived as reinforcements but failed to participate in the battle because the fighting was already over when they reached Ginanta.
• At 5:00 pm a ceasefire was already in place, and this was arranged by the MILF CCCH and the GRP CCCH.
• With the ceasefire back in place, the MILF fighters were ordered to disengage and leave the battle scene completely. But before they left they conducted a clearing operation and they found and body-counted 23 Marines dead and not one was beheaded or mutilated.
• The MILF suffered five (5) martyred and six (6) wounded in combat.
•At around 6:00 pm of the same day, the MILF Local Monitoring Team (LMT) informed Marine Major Macatoon that the MILF fighters had withdrawn and the area of battle was cleared.
•At 8:00 pm, same day, Maj. Macatoon inquired from the MILF- LMT if the area was totally cleared, and the answer was positive. Thereupon Maj. Macatoon informed the MILF-LMT that all the Marines and their equipment were withdrawn including their dead casualties.
•At 9:00 pm, same day, Marine Col. Almadrones informed the MILF-LMT that there were ten (10) Marines held by the MILF as "captives". After a thorough verification, no such Marines were captured by the MILF.
• On July 11, 2007, at around 5:30 am, the MILF-BIAF fighters conducted an inspection of the battle scene and they found six (6) dead Marines already beheaded, and one old man hacked in the back and his throat slashed so much so that his head was almost severed from his body. It was later identified that the dead civilian was 69 year-old Imam Hakim Ali or Alkanul.
•The MILF Investigating Team, in its preliminary findings, found out that on the early morning of July 10, 2007, the Marines forcibly took Imam Alkanul from his house in Ginanta and coerced him into accompanying them to where the MILF base is located. They also forced him to carry some of their loads, especially ammunition. When the firing started, Alkanul was with the Marines. His dead body, hogtied and bearing deeply inflicted wounds and his head almost severed from his neck, was found alongside the fallen Marines.
• The MILF Investigating Team is conducting further probe into the "beheading" of the Marines. All the MILF unit commanders involved in the fighting were investigated but all denied that they or their units beheaded or mutilated the corpses of the Marines. Commander Musawwarin Abubakar, chief of the MILF 114 Base Command, told the Investigating Team that committing barbaric acts to a fallen enemy is a crime against Islam, humanity, and the rules of engagement promulgated by the MILF General Staff. He also condemned the beheading in the strongest possible term.
•Commander Musawwarin reported to the MILF Investigating Team that MILF units involved in the fighting withdrew at 6:00 pm on July 10 and from this time up to 9:00 pm, the Philippine Marines started to retrieve their fallen and wounded comrades as well as equipment. He posed the question: "Why did the Marines only know that there were still ten (10) Marines unaccounted for after more than one hour, and after having been in the battle scene for at least one hour earlier?"
•Commander Musawwarin told the Investigating Team that they are willing to face any further probe especially by international human rights groups to ferret out the truth of the beheading and who were responsible. However, he reiterated that the encounter with the Marines was legitimate and justified because it was the Marines who provoked the fighting by invading their camp.
•Meanwhile, the MILF has assured the families of the beheaded Marines that it has never committed this atrocity. Further in this regard, the MILF has proposed that an international human rights body be composed to conduct an impartial inquiry on the beheading.
4. Some Facts on the Basilan Encounter as Gathered from Published Accounts in the Media and Independent Sources
•The Marines' allegation that kidnapped priest Fr. Bossi was in Ginanta, Albarkah (Tipo-Tipo), was belied by no less than Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar and the mayor of Al-Barkah. As posted in the Inquirer on July 13, 2007, Congressman Akbar said that the officials of Albarkah, especially the mayor, informed the AFP prior to the Marine operations that nowhere was Fr. Bossi sighted in Basilan. Fr. Bossi was kidnapped in Zamboanga Sibuguey. No one knows until then who the kidnappers are because even the Abu Sayyaf, which habitually does not deny a crime it has perpetrated, has not even claimed authorship of the deed.
•In the same Inquirer report, Congressman Wahab Akbar also told the Marines that kidnapped Italian priest, Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, was never sighted in any municipality of Basilan. Albarkah Mayor Karam Jakilan was informed by the Marines that Bossi and his kidnappers were hiding in his town but the mayor belied this 'intelligence report'. He told the Inquirer: "I already spent so much dispatching my people, they did not see Bossi there."
•Again, in the same Inquirer report, former Deputy Speaker Gerry Salappudin, a political rival of Congressman Akbar, agreed with the latter that Bossi "is not in Basilan".
•The Marines' claim that they did not know that Tipo-Tipo is MILF territory covered by the ceasefire agreement is false. Maj. Gen. Raymondo Ferrer, Commnder of the 4th Infantry Division of the AFP, knows that Tipo-Tipo town is a known stronghold of the MILF in Basilan under Hamsa Sapanton and that no Abu Sayyaf operates there. Ferrer told the Inquirer: "I remember that at the height of the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf Group, there were no reported or monitored encounters in the area. Most of the engagements against these bandits (Abu Sayyaf) were in Sumipsip and Tuburan."(Philppine Daily Inquirer [PDI], "Imam's Killings May Have Triggered Beheadings", July 13, 2007 issue)
•Congressman Akbar also disclosed to the media that Albarkah Mayor Karam Jakilan and its chief of police warned Marine officers against entering Ginanta, which, they said, "is an MILF-controlled area under the ceasefire agreement." Akbar further said the "unfortunate" encounter took place because despite the warnings to the Marines by local officials, "some eyes and ears are covered and even hearts are sealed." (PDI, "Mortars were Duds, Warnings Ignored", posted July 13, 2007)
•Former House Deputy Speaker Gerry Salappudin also commented that the Basilan encounter was a simple case of "disregarding the guidelines under the terms and conditions of the cessation of hostilities." He was referring to the Marines' blatant disregard for the ceasefire rules. (PDI, Mortars were Dud, Warnings Ignored, posted Julu 13, 2007)
•As mentioned in the partial results of the investigation being conducted by the MILF, peace advocacy was conducted in Tipo-Tipo on June 2, 2006 by the MILF in conjunction with the ceasefire agreement. This peace advocacy is a program being done in MILF areas with the approval of and in coordination with the CCCH which is a joint body constituting of GRP and MILF representatives. Therefore, there is no likelihood that the Marines were ignorant of the fact that they were entering or invading an MILF area. Their incursion into the MILF area is not out of 'ignorance' but it was a deliberate act of provocation.
•According to 2nd Lt. Rowena Muyuela, one of the wounded Marine survivors, the July 10 fighting started at 10 am and ended at 6:00 pm. Ramon Nunal, Jr., chair of the joint ceasefire monitoring team in Basilan, confirms that at 6:00 pm the fighting stopped. (PDI, July 15, 2007 issue) That means the MILF fighters withdrew from the battlefield at that time. An hour later, or at about 7:00 pm, the Marines started evacuating the wounded and the dead. (PDI, July 15, 2007 issue)
•Yet, the governor of Basilan, Jum Akbar, wife of Congressman Wahab Akbar, who went to the battle zone at 10:00 pm, or three hours after the fighting stopped, to help in the retrieval of the dead and wounded never reported any beheaded or mutilated Marine corpses. According to Marine Col. Felix Almadrones, commander of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 8, it was only at about 3:00 am on Wednesday, July 11, that Gov. Akbar's team brought in 4 mutilated and beheaded bodies of Marines. And it was not until 2pm of the same day, July 11, in the third and last wave of retrieval did the governor's team turn in six (6) more bodies of beheaded and mutilated Marines, bringing the total to 10. (PDI, July 15, 2007 issue)
•This perfectly confirms the report of the MILF Investigating Team that the MILF-BIAF that conducted an inspection of the battle scene at 5:30 am of July 11 found six (6) beheaded bodies of Marines, excluding that of the corpse of Imam Alkanul. Now the question is: why didn't the Marines who retrieved the bodies of the dead Marines right after the battle ended at 6:00 pm on July 10 find the beheaded bodies of the fallen Marines nor report any beheading? They had all the night to find them.
•Lt. Col. Felix Almadrones told the Inquirer (PDI, July 15, 2007 issue) that nine of the wounded and four (4) of the dead marines were recovered around 7:45 pm on July 10, Tuesday. There was no mention yet of beheading. But where were the other 10? Why were they not found immediately? Dead soldiers, especially with their heads cut off, could not have just left the battlefield and come back to lie on the ground hours later!
•Another puzzling thing: when the Governor's team entered the actual battle area at 11 pm on Tuesday, July 10, the Marines' vehicles were intact according to the Inquirer report. But when the team returned at dawn on Wednesday, July 11, "the vehicles were on fire, and my staff told me that the soldiers had been beheaded" says the governor. (PDI, July 15, 2007 issue) At 11 pm of July 10 the MILF guerrilla fighters would have long left the battlefield that was by then swarming with government troops. Neither would Moro civilians, who have experienced government troops running amok and venting their anger on innocent people after a defeat in battle, dare to linger on. Who burned the Marines' vehicles? Were they deliberately burned to make it appear that the battle was not a legitimate encounter but an "ambush"?
• It is possible that enraged relatives of the murdered and mutilated Imam took revenge on the dead Marines and so beheaded and mutilated them after the MILF guerillas had withdrawn from the battlefield. But this would seem unlikely. Civilians normally do not stay in the battle zone but flee to safety unless they see that reinforcing government troops are nowhere in sight. As a matter of fact, civilians evacuate even before a battle starts. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 15, 2007, some 2,000 residents of Ginanta, the barangay of Albarkah where the encounter took place, had already abandoned their homes since Tuesday, July 10, the day of the encounter. PDI, in the same issue also reported that "three neighboring villages – Linungan, Magtawa and Makalang – had also been deserted by their residents who fled to Tuburan and Lamitan towns.
• In the Basilan encounter, eyewitness accounts state that government troops saturated and continuously bombarded the area to retrieve their wounded or fallen comrades. Even Marine 2nd Lt. Rowena Muyuela who survived the battle, says in her account published in the Inquirer (PDI, July 15) that just before the encounter she saw no people in the houses they passed by when the Marines entered Ginanta. Jun Veneracion, the embedded reporter of GMA 7 reported the same "eerie feeling" triggered by the sight of an empty community when the Marines entered Ginanta (GMA7 News, July 16, 2007).
•So there could have been no Moro civilian around, even if his/her heart burns with vengeance for the brutal execution and mutilation of Imam Alkanul, to cut off the heads of the dead Marines. The Abu Sayyaf? Maybe. But Maj. Gen. Raymondo Ferrer of the 4th ID already said the ASG does not operate in Tipo-Tipo. (PDI, July 13, 2007)
•So who did the decapitation and mutilation?
5. Are the MILF fighters then responsible for this horrible crime of beheading and mutilating the dead Marines? Could they have done this when they returned to the scene of battle at 5:30 am on Wednesday, July 11?
•Definitely NO. The dead bodies of the Marines were already 'beheaded' and 'mutilated' as per testimony of Governor Akbar who said that her team brought in the four (4) beheaded and mutilated bodies of the Marines at 3:00 am on Wednesday, July 11. (PDI, July 15, 2007 issue). By the time the MILF fighters returned to scene of battle at 5:30 am of July 11, the Marines were therefore already 'beheaded' and 'mutilated'.
6. The MILF has no record or history of committing atrocities on Prisoners of War and mutilating dead bodies of enemy casualties killed in combat
•The MILF, which strictly follows the Islamic conduct of war and the Geneva conventions, does not have a record of desecrating the bodies of dead enemies. On the contrary, the MILF has always fought the war in Mindanao in a civilized manner befitting that of an Islamic revolutionary organization and a legitimate liberation movement. Let the record speak for itself:
ØAt the height of the Estrada all-out war on May 5, 2000, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, then the MILF Vice-Chairman for Military Affairs and concurrent BIAF Chief of Staff, declared a unilateral ceasefire as a humanitarian concession to the clamor for peace by civil society and the heads of Christian Churches. The unilateral ceasefire was also intended to allow the AFP to retrieve the decaying corpses of government soldiers and Marines who were killed in combat in the siege on Camp Abubakr. The AFP refused to retrieve the bodies of its soldiers so the MILF requested the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to do the retrieval so the soldiers can be given a decent burial by their families.
ØOn March 6, 2003, during the Arroyo all-out war, MILF forces captured six (6) Filipino soldiers and militiamen in Lanao del Norte. Pursuant to the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of POWs, then MILF Vice Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim ordered the release of the POWs to the ICRC. Consequently, the POWs were turned over by the MILF safely to the ICRC on March 29, 2003.
•On March 11, 2007 MILF forces in Lanao del Sur captured twenty-six (26) soldiers of the AFP's 51st Infantry Battalion, Tabak Division, which earlier intruded into MILF areas and apprehended three (3) MILF fighters taking part in the MILF's operation against a notorious criminal and drug dealer known as "Delta Force". The MILF released all the 26 soldiers unharmed to the IMT and the AHJAG after the 3 MILF fighters were also released by the AFP. Not only that, the MILF even returned through the IMT and the AHJAG all the remaining captured firearms of the soldiers in a formal ceremony in Marawi City on March 15, 2007.
• In the light of these facts surrounding the Basilan Encounter, the compelling questions that have to be asked are:
1.Why did the Marines deliberately violate the MILF-GRP Cessation of Hostilities Agreement?
2.Why did the Marines feign ignorance of the fact that, despite prior warnings and information, Ginanta is an MILF territory covered by the Ceasefire agreement? Or, if they knew, why did they choose not to recognize this which is again a violation of the letter and spirit of the peace agreement?
3.Why did the Marines ignore the information given by government officials that Father Gossi, the kidnapped priest, was never sighted in Basilan, let alone in the MILF territory? The information given by the officials of Basilan proved to be true: Fr. Gossi was released by his kidnappers on July 19, 2007 at the Municipality of Sultan Naga Dimaporo (Karomatan), Lanao del Norte.
4. Why did the Marines have to hold captive an innocent 69-year old imam of the mosque, hogtie, torture, murder and subsequently behead and mutilate him? Was this purposely done to provoke a fight with the people in the area or with the MILF?
5. Why did it take so long after the battle ended at 6 pm of July 10 for the Marines to recover and discover the 10 decapitated Marine casualties? They had all the time during the night after the MILF had withdrawn to retrieve them. It was only at 3 am of July 11 that Gov. Akbar's retrieval team recovered four beheaded Marines. Why did the Marine recovery effort fail to retrieve them. Or did it really fail?
6. Why did the Marines, and the AFP for that matter, take pains to make it appear that the Basilan battle, which is a legitimate encounter, was a "treacherous ambush" by the MILF? The military vehicles used by the Marines were not yet burned when Marine reinforcements entered the battle area at about 7 pm, an hour after the MILF had withdrawn from the scene of battle in response to a re- imposed ceasefire by the CCCH and the LMT. It was at dawn on Wednesday, the following day, July 11, that the vehicles were set on fire according to Gov. Akbar.
7. Why did the AFP immediately conclude that the MILF was responsible for the beheading and mutilation even before an official probe could be made? Is this part of the planned demonization of the MILF and the Bangsamoro people? But for what sinister purpose?
8. Why were Marine Col. Almadrones and Major Marcelino, the Marine officers directly responsible for the Marine operations in Tipo-Tipo, suddenly relieved from their posts? Is it because of "incompetence" or is it because their relief would bring them out of reach of any international investigation of the Basilan encounter?
9. Why were the Marines in the Presidential Security Group (PSG) taken out of the PSG and sent to Basilan at a time when President Arroyo is set to deliver her State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23, 2007? (PDI, July 21, 2007 issue). Is it really because the PSG Marines want to join the impending war in Basilan to avenge the death of their fellow Marines or is it because the regime has finally realized that they are a threat to President Arroyo and that Arroyo's people are embarrassed to admit it in public?
10. Why, of all times, did the Basilan encounter take place when news of the likely resumption of MILF-GRP exploratory talks is in the air? Is it to prevent such talks from resuming and to preempt any agreement that would bring the parties to the conflict nearer to the political resolution of the Mindanao Problem?
• These are only some of the questions that have to be asked and answered. But perhaps the next slides will provide the background and the answers.
7. Fomenting a Big War in Mindanao: the Secret Agenda
• In 2004, MILF Intelligence was in receipt of highly top secret information from an unimpeachable source which revealed the existence of a clandestine cabal of retired and active top AFP officers and political leaders who are well entrenched in government and whose power and influence reached down to the men of the Philippine military in the field, specially those in Mindanao.
• This highly secretive group wants to grab political power through a regime change. But to achieve this objective they believe that a big war in Mindanao has to take place. Their assumption is that based on experience a big war in Mindanao will weaken the regime in power in Manila, thus, making it easy for a military-civilian revolt a la EDSA to succeed in bringing it down. A direct military coup d'etat, according to this group's thinking, is bound to fail as in the case of the unsuccessful seven coup attempts against the Cory government in the 80s. What is needed, according to this group, is to weaken economically the ruling regime which would result in mass disenchantment leading to political instability and even anarchy.
• These results will only materialize if the sitting regime is driven to wage a colossal and debilitating war in Mindanao. The Marcos regime and the Estrada regime were easily overthrown after these regimes had already been economically bankrupted by the wars against the Moro liberation fronts in Mindanao and Sulu. The Arroyo regime almost met the same fate in 2003 but was saved by its timely act to shorten the duration of its war against the MILF.
• The implementation of the grand plan comes in three (3) major stages:
Ø First is the creation of situations in Mindanao that would demonize the Moro liberation fronts, in this case the MILF, and the Bangsamoro people. Intensify acts of terrorism and attribute these to the Moro fronts or "terrorist groups" in the secret payroll of some people in the military establishment. This would generate public outcry that would in turn shape public opinion in favor of an all-out war against the Moro liberation movement in Mindanao-Sulu. This would also force the hands of the sitting regime to declare all-out war.
Ø Second, provoke the Moro fronts, notably the MILF, into a war that would practically embroil the whole of Mindanao into conflict. Consign the peace process and the ceasefire agreement to the back-burner. The war should last until it has siphoned off the last economic life-blood of the ruling regime.
Ø Finally, the ensuing political instability and pervasive country-wide dissatisfaction bordering on mass uprising will open the opportunity for the group to launch a 'popular' revolt that would topple down the ruling regime after which a new 'national government of reconciliation' controlled by this military-civilian cabal will now come into being.
• In pursuit of this grand conspiracy in which the Bangsamoro people and the MILF, not to mention the Mindanao peace process, will be the sacrificial lambs, a series of provocation which blatantly and deliberately violate the peace agreements have invariably been put into play. The fighting in Cotabato and Maguindanao and the mysterious bomb explosions, among others, may have been designed to achieve the tactical objectives of these national conspirators. The Oakwood military mutineers had admitted that the military was behind the Mindanao bombings.
• It must be noted, however, that what prevented the armed clashes in these areas of conflict from developing into a big war was the maximum restraint being exercised by the MILF leadership and the effectiveness of the ceasefire mechanisms, such as the CCCH, as well as the presence of the IMT.
• The events on February 21-23, 2006 are worth mentioning. A large contingent of Marines in full battle gear and armed with heavy mortars under a Col. Salamat was about to attack the island of Nusa on Lake Lanao where the MILF leadership in Lanao was temporarily encamped. There was no rhyme or reason to this big military operation. The MILF was peacefully abiding by the MILF-GRP agreements and there were no other clashes in Lanao del Sur. This Marine operation, senseless as it would have seemed, was intended to provoke a big war between the MILF and the AFP.
• The operation, however, was prevented by the IMT which responded immediately to our call to diffuse the tension that almost reached the breaking point and would have caused another war in Mindanao. Later on, it turned out that this operation was ordered by Marine Colonel Ariel Querubin, who was the head of the Marines then stationed in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. Immediately after the aborted military operation against the MILF in Nusa Island, Col. Querubin and other top Marine officers were implicated and arrested for taking part in another failed coup against the regime which was supposed to take place during the EDSA celebration. Frustrated by their failure to instigate a war in Mindanao, the anonymous conspirators decided to deviate from their plan and to strike directly at the regime in Manila. But they failed.
• It is significant to note, too, that the Marines who were planning to start a big war in Lanao Del Sur in February 2006 belong to the same outfit that figured in the recent Basilan encounter.
Why Basilan?
• In our analysis, there are several factors why Basilan has been chosen this time as the fuse that would spark another war in Mindanao. Two of these are determining factors:
Ø Basilan is the 'home province' of the Abu Sayyaf Group. Therefore, it is not difficult to spread the propaganda lie that the MILF and the ASG are linked and/or that the MILF provides sanctuary and protection to the ASG. This is already being harped on in the recent Basilan encounter. And to the gullible public ignorant of the MILF's staunch aversion to anarchist groups that do not follow the rules of war, this is believable. (kuha sa: www.globalpinoy.com/.../
Ø On top of that, the IMT, which has proven itself to be very effective in preventing, controlling or managing armed clashes in mainland Mindanao, has no presence in Basilan. The IMT has yet no jurisdiction over the island-province; as such, Basilan is the ideal place to start a war calculated to spread to other islands and ultimately the mainland.
Ø As a result of the provoked war in Basilan, Philippine military authorities are now on the verge of unleashing an all-out war against the Bangsamoro people and the MILF .
1 comment
"The Lurawan's" and MILF side of story is a deceiptive, to hide real objective of Malaysia. Why?
- Any MILF-AFP confrontation, provoked or not, is always designed to scuttle or delay the GRP-MILF peace aggreement:TO BENIFIT MALAYSIA ALONE
- Yearly, MALAYSIA sucks-out $80 Billion from Sabah's revenues. This according to the true Sultan of Sulu and Sabah himself
- Yearly, MALAYSIA can easily waste $1Billion to support the MILF/ABU Sayyaf brutal acts and therefore bleed the Philippines to death. So why bother for a peacetalk.
- MALAYSIA does not care about our Muslim Brothers in Mindanao. The fight in Mindanao has cost 150,000 lives, enought bloodshed among Pilipinos. MALAYSIA is cleverly exploiting the situation through their corrupt puppets in the MILF movement and ABU Sayyaf hencemen.
Don't loss focus on the bigger picture...the occasional bloody skirmishs are just SMOKESCREEN.
In short Pilipinos kills each other while MALAYSIA laughingly steals $80 Billion from us year. That's the real deal.
MILF's leaderships are neither Islamist or Seccesionist. They are shrewd businessmen and oppurtunist.
Pilipino Lumads, Muslims, & Christians UNITE!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
"Bonding" ng 15 Pampanga mayors, kaduda-duda
Maliban sa junket, simula na naman ba ito ng panibagong gerang pulitikal sa probinsya, pag-aayos ng sigalot sa katatapos na election, paghahanda sa barangay election o konsolidasyon ng pampulitikang pwersa para sa 2010? Ang isang tanong, sa 21 na bayan ng Pampanga, bakit 15 lang at 'di kasali ang 6 pang mayors? Ang 15 mayors ay diumano'y mga galamay ng natalong aspirante sa pagkagobernador na si Lilia Pineda, samantalang ang natitirang anim (6) ay siya namang nasa kampo ng mga Lapid, ang anak ni Sen Lito Lapid, isa sa pinakapangyarihang pulitikong angkan sa probinsya.
Kung matatandaan, namis-calculate ng dalawang pulitikong si Pineda at Lapid (Lakas at Kampi), mga kaalyado ni Ate Glo, ang kakayahang magwagi sa halalan si Among Ed (1,000 + votes winning margin). Ang campaign slogang "krusada laban sa katiwalian, laban sa weteng at para good governance" ni Among Ed ang siyang gumuhit sa kamalayan ng mga Kapangpangan at yumanig sa mga campaign operador, theoretical electoral campaign tactics at strategy ng buong bansa.
Matapos ang labanan, naparalisa ang local machinery at vote delivery, nagkatrayduran at nagkataksilan, ilang barangay kapitan ang inassasinate at dinukut. ayon sa ilang lider ni Among Ed, hinihinalang kagagawan ito ng mga political operator na malapit sa mga natalong kandidato bilang bayad paniningil sa ilang milyong pisong dinukut mula sa campaign budget.
Bumaha ng pera at gumanda ang local economy ng probinsya (nag tricle down ang pera ng mga elite). Tinatantyang "may mahigit isang bilyong piso (P1.0 billion) ang pinakawalang pondo ni Lilia Pineda masilat lamang ang mga Lapid sa governatorial race." May ilang daang milyong piso (P200-300.0 milyon) naman ang pinakawalan ng mga Lapid talunin lamang ang mga Pineda, habang halos kakalog-kalog ang makinarya't kulang-kulang ilang milyon piso lamang ang nagastos mula pa sa donasyon ng ilang ordinaryo't malalaking pamilyang panggitnang uring sangay (middle class) na umaasang walang kapana-panalo si Among Ed sa election.
Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, hindi matanggap ng mga Pineda ang masaklap na pagkatalo nito sa governatorial race. Pinaplano na ni Among Ed ang pagsasawata ng weteng/STL sa probinsya. Dahil dito, mukhang may pampulitikang planong niluluto ang mga Pineda laban sa nakaupong paring gobernador. Ilang araw matapos maiproklamang gobernador si Among Ed, malaking bilang ng mga mayors ang nagsipagsirkuhan, bumalimbing at kumatig kay Among Ed, kaya lang ng mapabalitang nagsampa ng electoral protest sa Comelec si Lilia Pineda, biglang nagbalikan at nagsirkuhan muli sa kanlungan ni Pineda ang mga mayors. Ganun ka oportunista ang sistema ng pulitika sa ating bayan.
Tulad ng kanyang ipinangako, agad tinutukan ni Among Ed ang collection ng QUARRY na umaabot ng ilang milyon piso kada Linggo at ipinamahagi ng buong-buo sa mga Barangay Captain na apektado ng lahar-buhangin (ang isyu ng quarrying ang naging dahilan ng pagkakasuspine ng mga Lapid sa probinsya). Mukhang ito ang mga kadahilanan kung bakit napadali ang trip sa Hongkong-Macau, "ang muling tiyaking kontrolado pa rin ng mga talunang gobernador ang mga mayors." Ang mga mayor na kasama sa biyahe ay;
1. Edgardo Flores ng Minalin 2. Nardo Velasco ng Sasmuan 3. Teddy Tumg ng Mexico 4. Yolando Pineda ng Sta Rita 5. Jerry Pelayo ng Candaba 6. Lyndon Cunanan ng Magalang 7. Ricardo Rivera ng Guagua 8. Romeo Dungca ng Bacolor 9. Rodrigo Canlas ng San Simon 10. Joselito Naguit ng Sto Tomas 11. Marino Morales ng Mabalacat 12. Luis Espino ng Arayat 13. Dennis Pineda ng Lubao 14. Oscar Tetangco jr ng Apalit at 15. Peter Flores ng Masantol.
Totoong ngangapa si Among Ed sa kung paano patatakbuhin igugubyerno ang Pampanga lalo na't wala itong ni katiting na karanasan sa pamumulitika at halos mga oriented sa Kilusan, kaparian, civil society, NGOs at ilang maliliit na negosyante ang karamihan sa tutulong sa gawaing paggugubyerno sa lalawigan. Totoo ring pahihirapan ng mga galamay ni Pineda na makapagperforme ng trabaho bilang gobernador ng Pampanga si Among Ed.
May masasamang balitang umuugong sa Pampanga na malamang i-assasinate, I-RECALL o dili kaya'y PAINAN ng kung anu-ano kaso ng corruption o "pagdispalko ng ilan libong piso" sa COA (Audit commission) si Among Ed.
Kung 'di uubra ang assasination at pagtatanim ng kaso, maaring iRECALL si Among Ed sa pwesto at ito marahil ang short cut at pinakamadaling ruta upang matanggal sa pwesto si Among Ed. Posibleng PREPARATORY RECALL ASSEMBLY (PRA) ang dahilan ng Hongkong-Macau trip ng15 Mayors. Magtagumpay kaya ang mga TRAPO, ang mga talunan sa pulitika?
source: 15 Pampanga mayors fly to HK, Macau to "bond" by Tonette Orejas
Doy Cinco / IPD
July 25, 2007
Commander in Chief at pamunuan ng AFP, may credibility question
Habang total denial sa mga pagkidnap-missing hanggang sa political killings, lalo na sa kaso ng kaisa-isang personalidad, anak ng media icon na si Jonas Burgos na ilang buwan ng missing at hinihinalang patay na, na alam ng marami at ng kanyang Ina na ang pamunuan ng AFP ang siyang may kagagawan.
Sa kabila ng akusasyon ng mundo, ng US Senate, ng Jury sa Europa, ng United Nation, ng taung simbahan, ng Human Rights organization, Amnesty International (AI), Melo Commission at local organization, na NAGMAMAANG-MAANGAN at total denial ang pamunuan ng AFP sa ilang daang aktibista na namissing at biktima ng political killings.
Kamakailan lamang, ang AFP ay nagbabalang lulusubin, aatakehin at pupulbusin ang kampo ng MILF kung hindi ilalabas ng MILF ang mga salarin sa pumumugot, habang ilang buwan na, ilang taon nang naghihintay ang mga magulang ng mga dinukot at pinaslang na mahal sa buhay, ang 2 estudyante ng UP na dinukut sa Bulacan at 'di mabilang na lider ng Kilusang Kaliwa, mga ligal at lehitimong organisasyon na diumano'y ayon sa AFP ay mga CPP-NPA, ay 'di pa rin iniintrega sa mga kaanak ang bangkay at itinatago ng mga salarin.
Habang nagsisikip ang dibdib, naghihimutok at nagdadalamhati ang Malakanyang sa nangyaring karumal-dumal na pamumugot sa mga Marines," walang piyok ito, tamimi, tiklop ang buntut sa 'di mabilang na pugutan ng ulo ng mga OFW ng barbaro at 'di makataong gubyerno ng Saudi Arabia. Sila ang mga makabagong bayaning Pinoy na nagsasalba ng ekonomya ng country na pinababayaan ng Malakanyang.
Ang isang malaking problema, walang naniniwalang magtatagumpay ang AFP sa gera nito sa Mindanao. Una, walang katiwa-tiwala ang mamamayang Pilipino sa commander in chief na si Ate Glo at sa pamunuan ng AFP sa "pakikidigma" nito sa muslim insurgence at CPP-NPA. Tadtad ng katiwalian at walang transparency ang AFP. Ang pagkakakidnap kay Fr Bossi, ang mahigit pitong oras na firefight sa Tipo-tipo at ang incidence ng pugutan ng ulo sa Basilan ay halos kahalintulad sa pitong oras na "Lamitan Siege" kung saan matapos maibayad ang milyung dolares na ransom money, "pinatakas" ang dalawang hinostage na American missionary couple na si Gracia and Martin Burnham. Balak pa nitong i-news blackout ang offensive nito sa Basilan.
Ang perception ng mga taga-Mindanao, 'KUMITA na, SUMIKAT pa ang AFP," at ayon sa mga taong simbahan at independent media pipol, "smokescreen lamang ang gera sa MILF." Pangalawa, devided at weak ang buong institution. Kung wala at hindi mairereporma ang AFP, walang kaduda-dudang itatakwil ito ng kasaysayan. Nahahati sa tatlo hanggang limang paksyon ang establishyemento ng AFP.
Totoong patriotiko ang maraming Pilipino lalo na sa usaping masyado na tayong kinakawawa at niyuyurakan ng mga dayuhan at kaaway ng country. Kung may matinding katiwalian, pagdududa at may double standard na tunguhin ang gubyerno't commander in chief na si Ate Glo at AFP, lalong nagiging critical at patriotiko si Mang Pandoy.
Paano pagkakatiwalaan at susuporta si Mang Pandoy sa AFP at sa commander in chief sa Malakanyang, kung tadtad ito ng kasinungalingan, panloloko at katiwalian? Paano nito makakabig ang hearts and mine ng mamamayang Pilipino sa anumang galaw at adhikain ng AFP laban sa itinuturing "terorista," kung siya mismo ang problema at nanteterrorized sa mga Pilipino? Paano ito igagalang kung siya mismo ang instigador, pasimuno (Human Security Act) at may bahid ng paglabag sa karapatanag pantao laban sa sariling mamamayan at hindi gumagalang sa sariling Constitution?
Doy Cinco / IPD
July 26, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
AKTIBISMO sa SENADO ang kailangan ng country
Kung sa dati-rati'y may iniiwang isang paa sa Malakanyang ang isang Senador, sa ngayo'y isang kahihiyan ang makipag-ututang dila kay Ate Glo. Sa panahong ito, kailangang magpakita ng pruweba na ika'y isang oposisyon, hindi lamang sa dada, maging sa gawa. Mahirap ngayon lumagay sa gitna, bumalimbing at makipaglaro sa administrasyon. Kaya lang, kung ganito ang sitwasyon sa Senado, kabaligtaran ang nagaganap sa Nakabababang Kapulungan sa Kongreso.
Ano ang ibig sabihin nito? Dahil lamang ba sa posisyunan sa Senado, agawan ng magagandang KOMITE (hal. Blue Ribbon Committee), kung sino ang magiging Majority-Minority Floor Leader, Pro Tempore, iba pang istratehikong posisyon at konsesyon? Dahil ba sa lumalakas na public opinion ng middle class laban sa administrasyon at nakasubaybay ang mamamayan sa anumang ikikilos ng Senado? Dahil ba sa projection ng bawat isa na lubhang kakailangin bilang preparasyon para sa 2010 presidential election?
Kamakailan lamang, bago ang SONA ni ate Glo at bago makapaghalal ng Senate President sa Senado, napabalitang sumabog, nagkapaksyon-paksyon at nagkawatak-watak ang oposisyon sa Senado. Ang hinala ng marami, nadevide and rule ng administrasyon ang Senado. Ayon kay Enrile, isang pusakal na kaalyado ni Ate Glo, "umabot raw sa 14 ang "maka-administrasyon." Dahil walo lamang daw ang tunay na oposisyon, nailukluk bilang Senate President si Sen Manny Villar, pinagsutpetyahang "alanganin, baklain at infiltrator" na oposisyon kaysa kay Nene Pimentel na isang "genuine oposisyon."
(Kuha sa: www.philnews.com/
Umaatikabong akusasyon at kontra-akusasyon ang nanaig sa Senado. Kinunsyensya ni Nene Pimentel ang kampo ni Manny Villar na maka-administrasyon. Kinastigo ni Ping Lacson, Chiz Escudero, Allan Cayetano at si Jinggoy Estrada bilang mga alanganing oposisyon. Nag-counter attack si Jinggoy at sinabing lima (5) lamang ang tunay na oposisyon sa Senado, Allan, Chiz, Villar, Pimentel at ang sarili. Maski ang spokeman ng GO na si Adel Tamano ay nanlupaypay sa mga kaganapan sa Senado at nagpasaring na "ginamit lamang na behikulo ang partido" ng ilang indibidwal ang oposisyong upang manalo sa election.
Nagreact at 'di-nakatiis ang Mar Roxas, Ping Lacson at Loren Legarda at hayagang nilinaw nilang sila'y tunay na mga "oposisyon." Nakisali na rin sa labanan si Sen Kiko Pangalinan ng sabihin niton may kakaibang katangian ang institusyon at nagmamatter na lamang ito sa klase ng isyu at epekto nito sa mamamayang Pilipino. Idinagdag pa niyang "consistent na independent" ang sarili at ang Senado. Maaring totoo, sapagkat sa isyu ng "pagkakabinbin ni Trillanes" at mga reaction laban kay Ate Glo sa SONA, ipinakitang "palaban nga at nagkakaisa ang oposisyon sa Senado."
Anuman ang ipakitang pruweba ng mga oposisyon sa Senado, pakirandam ng marami na 'di sapat ang ikinikilos ng oposisyon lalo na sa kalagayang warat ang ekonomya't demokratikong mga institusyon. Walang dudang nagdalamhati't nalulungkot ang mamamayang Pilipino na sa kabila ng pagkakahalal nito sa mga oposisyon, sa kabila ng pagkakamasaker sa administration candidate (Team Unity), bakit bumulaga't naiba ang ihip ng hangin at mayorya ngayon sa Senado ay kontrolado na ng administrasyon?
Kung sa bagay, hindi na ito bago, ganito talaga kalupit, kaburikak at ka-oportunista ng pulitika sa Pilipinas. Maaring unawaing ni Mang Pandoy na "pragmatic" lamang mag-isip ang mga senador, walang parti-partido, walang ideolohiya, may sari-sariling AGENDA, kanya-kanyang interest at laro sa pulitika.
Sa kabila nito, alam ng marami na hindi kailangang umasa sa Senado't Kongreso ang mamamayang Pilipino. Sapagkat sa kabuuang pagsusuma, elite dominated at halos lahat sila ay halos magkaka-parehong may pansariling interest, status quo ng kabulukan, sakim at gahaman, ipokrita, mandaraya at oportunista.
Maski sabihing oposisyon ang Senado, eh ano ngayon? May pagbabago ba sa lipunan, nakakatulong ba yan para iahon ang kalagayan ng msang Pinoy? Ang problema, kayo-kayo pa rin at sila-sila pa rin ang naghahari sa pulitika. Lahat sila ay maibibilang sa "traditional politicians" (TRAPO), personality oriented, power-oriented at politics of convenience. Pare-pareho silang nagmimintina ng sistemang PADRINO at naka-asa sa organisasyong tradisyunal na paraan at relationship, ang clan, dinastiya at patron-client relationship.
Para kay Mang Pandoy, hindi na sasapat ang pagiging oposisyon, pagiging anti-GMA at pro-Erap. Hindi na sasapat ang pagiging anti-kurapsyon sa gubyerno o ang pagiging pala-kontra sa lahat ng sasabihin ni Ate Glo? May ilang dekada't malalim ang tagos ng suliranin ng bansa. Bukud sa lider, mas ang pagbabago ng sistema 't kalakaran ang kailangan ng ating bansa.
Atibismo at hindi lantay na oposisyunismo ang bagong hamon ngayon sa Senado. Isang senador na hindi lamang utak pagpapanalo ang nais, bagkus ang usapin kung paano magkaroon ng consensus ang nakararami, "winning hearts and minds" sa mamamayan Pilipino, nagpo-promote ng interest ng malawak na masang Pinoy.
Kailangan natin ang isang tradisyon ng aktibismo na kung saan ang pakikipag-dialogo at pagpapairal ng demokratikong sistema at pamamaraan ang siyang kalakaran. Isang aktibismong Senado na may malalimang pagtugon sa sentiemento't suliranin ng country. Katulad ng mga aktibistang presidente sa Latin America, si Hugo Chavez ng Venezuela, si Evo Morales ng Bolivia, Rafael Correa ng Equador, Lula ng Brazil, Pres Kirchner ng Argentina at dating pangulong si Mahathir ng Malaysia. Mga astig na pangulong pumapalag at bumalikwas sa pakikipagrelasyon sa US, sa mga Multilateral Institution, International Financial Markets at Foreign Investor. Isang astig na aktibistmo na nag-eengganyo ng pagiging self-reliance, independence at pagkakaisa.
Ang hinahanap ng mamamayan ay ang mga katulad ni Sen Claro M Recto, Diokno at Ninoy Aquino. Isang Senado na may paninindigan, may pulitika ng conviction, may prinsipyo, may plataporma't may kinapapaloobang matatag na Partido, may issues at programa at higit sa lahat, astang astig na Aktibista.
Doy Cinco / IPD
July 25, 2007


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Local Talent
A Fiendish Conversation with the Head and the Heart's Tyler Williams
The drummer discusses the band's writing process and more before playing two sold out Paramount gigs.
Seattle's demand for soaring, heartfelt harmonies is unrelenting, but local folk rock heroes of the Head and the Heart are doing their best to satiate the (politely) frenzied masses. The band returns the the stage for two sold out shows at the Paramount Theatre this weekend (Feb 21 & 22). For those lucky enough to snag a ticket, expect a mix of tunes from the group's latest album—Let's Be Still—and older favorites like the showstopping (and probable show ending) "Rivers and Roads." The rest of us can take solace knowing that we can still get a the Head and the Heart fix this week when the band releases its new music video for "Another Story."
For our latest Fiendish Conversation, we chatted with the Head and the Heart drummer Tyler Williams about the band's writing process, keeping up his chops with psychedelic drumming, and clichéd but necessary rituals.
From a sonic standpoint, how have you guys transitioned to playing bigger venues like Key and the Paramount? The last time I saw the Head and the Heart play was at KeyArena for Deck the Hall Ball in December, and I was really impressed by the way your sound filled that cavernous space.
I think it's been a pretty natural transition, actually. We've kind of been following this career path slow and steady. We've never wanted to be a band that just blew up out of the gate. We wanted to follow something more like the Wilcos or the My Morning Jackets of the world. So it's never really felt like we've overstepped where we are as a band in relation to the venues that we're playing. And I think a lot of that has to do with our sound guy, Alejandro Irragorri, who is a local Seattle guy, and he goes with us everywhere because he knows exactly who we are as a band. He's good at translating that to those spaces.
Has your drumming changed as the venues have gotten progressively bigger?
I think on a larger stage or in a larger room, every gesture, every hit has to be exaggerated a little bit more. And that's what we've come to realize; if you're going to make a big impact, you to also be able to just kind of put things in that headspace, you know? You kind of have to go into it knowing that you have to up the game a little bit more.
How have the songs from Let's Be Still grown from a live perspective since the album was released?
I think we definitely bring a lot of energy to those songs, especially "Shake." I think everybody adds a little bit of their own flavor every night, you know, like, "What can I get away with without being too in your face with it?" You never want people to kind of notice those things. It's for yourself; a little added fill or whatever just to make you happy while you're playing every night. But we've always, we made the record where we were at the time. It's just continued to grow, you know, with us. These songs are part of who we are so we kind of give them they energy that they need.
When you're adding those little embellishments, do you ever catch yourself and go, "Oh, that didn't work at all."
Yeah, there are definitely those moments. And then there are other moments, when you catch it and you're like, "Whoa, that was really cool. I wish I did that on the record." You get both sides of the coin.
You also play in the band Avers. How do you manage your time between bands to not spread yourself to thin?
I don't really like time off, really. I'm definitely the kind of person that wants to stay busy and wants to work a lot. So it's not really an issue.
You just always want to be playing.
Yeah. Luckily with the Head and the Heart, our shows now seem to be more about quality shows than quantity of shows. So we're not totally killing ourselves out there like we were that first couple of years. We're playing smarter, not harder. For Avers, it's kind of like like, "Well that's great, let's do two weeks when you can." I just love the idea of playing in a psychedelic rock band, too. It helps out to enjoy the music that your playing.
So Avers acts as kind of a refresher that allows you to play a totally different style?
Yeah, totally a refresher. And it keeps the chops up. When you're off the road for two months and have shows with another band that is exponentially harder drumming, just by virtue of the music itself, it definitely prepares you for the next two weeks on the road with a different band.
Do you have any pre-show routines?
Personally, I like to stretch a lot and probably have like a beer or two. But then we all gather in a circle right before and we put our hands in. The whole fucking cliché thing. But it makes a big difference when we do that. It really helps us get into the show.
Have you guys started working on any new material? Is the Head and the Heart constantly writing or do you kind wait out the album cycle and start writing when you hit the studio?
Well, Jon and Josiah and Charity always have ideas coming to them. So they kind of create a catalog and then when we get to a point—it may happen in the middle of the record, it may happen at the end—where we all just feel like we want to start working on new stuff. It even happens a lot in sound checks. On the last record, we definitely waited until the record touring was done, because we were so focused on that and doing so much promotion, radio station stops, and touring that you can't really focus on being in a creative headspace. They're two totally different things: Touring and making music. So I think we'll get to a point where they've created enough material on their own that they'll bring it to us and we'll start working on it. Hopefully soon. I've heard some stuff, and I love it, so I'm excited for the future.
The Head and the Heart
Feb 21 & 22 at 8, Paramount Theatre, sold out


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Do what you love always
Sharing the stoke that extreme sport brings
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July 1, 2019
July 1, 2019
The Emerging Sisterhood of Women in Extreme Sport.
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I'm Kim, I fell in love with discovering new places, especially places home to snow and waves. I decided to give holiday blogging a go and share my experiences and funny times in Sumbawa. At the end of this year my adventure buddy (husband) and I will be doing a three month snowboarding holiday through Switzerland, Austria, Canada and the US. I'm planing to write a kick arse blog about it so I'm using this trip as a practice run. Enjoy! and feel free to leave comments and feedback.


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Project Info
The project was aimed at making a special timer with circular shape with 3cm diameter and that was to be enclosed in a cylindrical tube. The timer had to be capable of triggering a specific number of buzzers according to programmed schedule conditions. Also, along with the buzzers, some LEDs with specific colors were to be turned on /off. Other requirements included including a function key for scheduling the design plus an on/off and a reset bottom.
The main challenge with this work was the small size of the board that made the choice of proper components difficult. The other challenge was clients request for making a fully functional prototype in a one-time prototyping without getting into a 2nd iteration.
In order to resolve the above challenges, a PIC16C61 was used. This microcontroller has enhanced core features, like an eight-level deep stack, and multiple internal and external interrupt sources. It also has 36 bytes of RAM and 13 I/O in addition to a timer/counter. These features plus its small size of 7.62mm x 22.479mm made it a good choice for the design. As a result, most of the design was embedded in the firmware without the need for any additional components. Also, all of the components were chosen to be an SMT type.
In the design, a bi-color LED and a buzzer was used to indicate different output states. Also, 5 pin jumpers were installed on the board allowing optional change of the firmware.
In order to make sure that the one-time prototyping requirement is met, the final design was simulated with different simulation software. After this step was successfully passed, the design was submitted for the prototyping.
Final Result and feedback:
The whole project took about 4 weeks and the first prototype was fully functional and compatible with all the requirements set by the client. The manufactured timer was installed in the device enclosure and was successfully tested by the client. Having finished the project within the given deadline and also the device's good performance received the full satisfaction of the client.


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p: 6220 3442 e: email@example.com
Date: Fri 22 August RSVP: Wed 20 August
Location: Hobart
Intended Audience: Nocturnal walk for families, educators and those who are young at heart
When darkness falls a new world awakes to explore in our bushland!
Come on a night walk along with some of Tassie's best scientists – to see and hear the wild things. Discover what you're hearing amongst Tassie's amazing biodiversity and perhaps answer the mystery. Are there bats at Mt Nelson?
We'll return to the Centre and enjoy a starlit hot chocolate and story.
Walk leaders and guest biodiversity scientists:
- Dr Sally Bryant passionate scientist and advocate for Tasmania's fauna and flora.
- Dr Lisa Cawthen Tassie's own bat specialist – loving all things found in the bush.
Bring your family kitted out with head torches and walking boots!
Venue: Sustainability Learning Centre Mt Nelson Hobart


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These days most of us at some point like to eat healthier, improve our cooking, experiment, entertain or impress friends and family. And let's face it, you just can't beat good old home cooking when it's done well. We know that not everyone is an accomplished chef or cook, or has the time to spend hours preparing food beforehand. That's why we have a whole range of appliances that take the labour out of preparing food yet retains the fun and sense of achievement in preparing your favourite dish.
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It gives me great pleasure to share with you coffee lovers another beautiful home grown Australian Coffee, this time from Mareeba, Tropical North Queensland.
This coffee is another great result of our Direct Trade philosophy, the MacLaughlin family farm grows more than 90,000 coffee trees, I visited this plantation in late 2014, Art of Espresso now roasts this Bourbon variety of coffee and it is available now to purchase.
Tasting notes: Medium-Dark with a rich and bold persistent palate. It has a slight hint of Fruitiness with consistent toasted nutty overtones.
Skybury Plantation (Whole Bean - 1kg)Price: $50.00Sku: SP_W_1000
Skybury Plantation (Plunger Grind - 1kg)Price: $50.00Sku: SP_PG_1000
Skybury Plantation (Espresso Grind - 1kg)Price: $50.00Sku: SP_EG_1000


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Large event catering needs a wide range of kitchen essentials, though few are as obvious as large saucepan hire to go onto the gas burners. Available in quantity, you can hire saucepans today from the catering equipment hire experts here at Event Hire UK - we look forward to hearing from you soon!
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When a Sale is Not a Sale
So, I have two kids and there might be a third in the near future. I've subscribed to several kid's clothing site newsletters that pop up in my email inbox daily—sometimes more than daily. Half-daily? Anyway, it sounds like a nuisance, but I've come to notice a pattern in those emails and other store emails in which some sales are clearly better than others—or not even different at all.
Of course, if you get an email for KidsClothes that's a 10% off everything coupon one week, and a 20% off everything coupon the next week, it's pretty obvious which sale is better. Some are a little harder to figure out, though.
Let's say a jacket we want to buy from KidsClothes is $20 regular price. Last week, KidsClothes sent a blindingly bright e-mail proclaiming that the whole store was 50% OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME! That brings the price of the jacket to $10! Shipping is $5 so it's really $15, but still, not bad, right? I get a jacket delivered to my door without ever having to get off my butt for only $15. But say I'm on the fence about buying it, and suddenly the sale is over and the price jumps back up to $20. Lame.
Next week, I get a seizure-inducing e-mail proclaiming that now KidsClothes is having a Buy One Get One 50% Off Sale with FREE SHIPPING! I don't want to miss another sale and end up paying $20 for this jacket so I should jump on this sale! I have to get two items for the sale to take effect, so I decide to get a second jacket in a different size for my other child. The first jacket is full price, $20, and the second one is half off, $10, so $30 total and no shipping! But wait…that brings the total per jacket to $15, which is exactly what I would have paid during last week's sale. Both sales were worded to seem vastly different, but the end price per item ends up being exactly the same.
So what's the moral here? Keep an eye on those sales and try not to fall prey to the wording that makes you think you are getting a one-time-only mega steal. In this case, after a month, the jacket I wanted ended up going on "clearance" for $15. A coupon that could be used on clearance items was in the next newsletter, and I finally got the item for under $10. If you'd like to buy new clothing or other items, see if you can subscribe to email newsletters for a few weeks and try to catch the item when it is REALLY on sale… not just when the company wants you to think it is.
Spread The Word!


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NWT boasts acres upon acres of untouched forests and a population of just over 45,000 residents. The capital city, Yellowknife, located on the shores of Great Slave Lake, is both a major industrial hub for workers in the region and a scenic town with abundant recreational opportunities.
The NTNP accepts applications under two immigration programs, each with their own set of stream:
- Employer Driven Program
- Business Driven Program
Employer Driven Program
Critical Impact Worker Stream
Skilled Worker Stream
NWT Express Entry Stream
Business Driven Program
Entrepreneur Stream
The NTNP accepts applications under this stream from entrepreneurs and/or owner-operators of businesses who wish to establish a business in the Northwest Territories. Businesses in all economic sectors are welcome to apply.
Self Employed Stream
NOTE: The Self Employed Stream of the NTNP's Business Driven Program is currently under review.
The NTNP accepts applications under this stream from self-employed professionals who plan to establish business outlets or professional practices that will provide services that are in demand in the Northwest Territories.


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- Home
- About Us
- Committees
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- Membership
- News & Resources
- FAQs
2017 EMA Annual Meeting
September 27-29, 2017
Nashville, Tennessee
Renaissance Nashville Hotel
611 Commerce Street, Nashville, TN 37203
Join the Environmental Markets Association and its growing network of professionals involved in the trading, legislation, and regulation of environmental markets for two days of dialogue and networking in Nashville! This dynamic event includes several networking events, multiple networking breaks, and sessions designed for open communication and collaboration.
EMA has reserved a block of discounted rate guest rooms at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. To reserve a room at the discounted rate of $229/night, call 1-800-327-6618 and reference EMA, or book online. The deadline for group rate reservations is September 6.
Please reference below for the EMA Annual Meeting registration rates. *Contact EMA staff to learn more about complimentary or discounted meeting registration rates included with your membership.
Please Click Here to register online.
Leading-up to the Annual Meeting, the attendee list will be updated weekly. For the most up-to-date listing of attendees, please Click Here.
This dynamic event includes two networking eventsand sessions designed for open communication and collaboration. The agenda includes panel sessions covering the following topics. For a more detailed agenda, please Click Here.
Support the mission of EMA while promoting your company's brand at EMA's 21st Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN. With our wide variety of sponsorship opportunities, your logo and marketing materials will be front and center to our network of Environmental Market professionals. Most sponsorships include complimentary passes, so please reserve your level prior to registering. If you are interested in sponsoring the upcoming Annual Meeting please contact David Bernstein.
Diamond Sponsor, Chairman's Reception – Thursday, September 28 - $8,000 (2 Available)
Platinum Sponsor, Welcome Reception – Wednesday, September 27 - $5,000
Silver Sponsor - $2,000
Option 1: Networking Lunch - Thursday, September 28
Option 3: Registration Packet Pens
Bronze Sponsor - $1,000/each
Option 1: Networking Breakfast - Thursday, September 28
Option 2: Networking Breakfast - Friday, September 29
Blue Sponsor - $750/each
Option 2: Networking Breakfast - Thursday, September 28 PM
Option 3: Networking Coffee Break - Friday, September 29 AM


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Jeff McCullough, Associate Professor of Health Management and Policy at University of Michigan talks about the ability to use machine learning methods for causal inference in conjunction with techniques from other disciplines.
Transcript of video is provided below.
JM: Hi my name is Jeff McCullough, I'm an Associate Professor of University of Michigan.
Interviewer: Can you tell us the most exciting thing that you are working on?
JM: The most exciting thing I'm working on is probably trying to understand the relationship or use of machine learning methods for causal inference. The reason it is interesting is because there is a dearth of clinical trials and the standard for evidence based for medical care as well as practice of medicine businesses. I want things to be based on modulus population under extremely controlled settings.
What machine learning can give us is the ability to do a better job at understanding the variations that exists in the real world and measuring outcomes that are relevant to actual people, long run things that are captured in clinical trials. At the same time, machine learning by itself is actually going to give us the wrong answer, it's meant to solve other problems. So we can combine it with techniques from other disciplines like economics to try and interpret actual causal counterfactual predictions. It gives us the tool kit we need to get the real causal effects of medicine, practice, and policies that matches real world rather than laboratory settings.


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Had a lunch date with my boyfriend today. We were gonna go to a restaurant but ended up just going sitting on a bench munching on a sandwich together. Just wanted something simple and cosy. Paired this with my cropped military jacket and it was lovely. This scarf is one of my favorites, I wore it to death when I first got it But have been neglecting it as of yet in favor of a leopard print one.
This weeks been a pretty big fail on the art front, Sorry to all my readers who like that kinda element of my blog. Ive been suffering from a lack of creativity, and every drawing that I do just isn't quite right. I feel like im stuck in a rut when it comes to my art. Its so sameysame, Im not challenged by it anymore. I want to be better and I want to explore more but Im struggling to find the right direction. Im thinking about starting a life drawing class, or signing up to some sort of ceramic/textiles/whatever short course to just try and further my work.
By doing these outfits of the days/looks/whatever you wanna call them has helped me just express myself in a different way. I don't want this blog to be a fashion blog, I want it to be a mixture of everything that I enjoy, Which is everything from clothes, fashion, art, music, makeup. In a ideal world I want my blog to be like Nubby Twiglets. She gets it right with the perfect mix of art, fashion and personal life. So if that's why your viewing this, I'm sorry, Bear with me while I pull myself together!
Sorry for the ramble, but I hope people know what I mean!


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|Alix with one of her children
Please see Alix's story below:
Hi, my name is Alix Manders and I am the mummy to three wonderful and beautiful boys. My world was turned upside down in November 2014, I was 22 weeks pregnant with my third child and I just knew that something wasn't right. I felt very unwell with pain under my left rib and my ever expanding tummy was already the size of a 40 week pregnancy, so I went to my maternity unit. All of the doctors were baffled with what was wrong, however an ultrasound and an emergency MRI confirmed that I had a huge mass in my left ovary which had grown so big it was now under my left rib. After my obstetrician performed emergency surgery to remove it, she and a colorectal surgeon came and gave me the devastating news that they had also found a tumour on my colon and that I had cancer.
Whilst recovering from surgery, I suffered a blood clot in my arm - being pregnant, having surgery and having cancer had increased the risk of this. I then was referred to and seen by the oncology team. They told me I had stage 4 colon cancer as it had spread to my liver and ovaries, but because I was pregnant, I could not have treatment straight away. The doctors decided that my little boy would be delivered by C-Section at 30 weeks - this was necessary because the cancer was spreading at a fast pace to other organs. My beautiful son, Finley, was delivered healthy and after spending five weeks in SCUBU, he was eagerly welcomed home by his over-excited brothers! A week after Finley's birth, I began my 12 rounds of gruelling chemotherapy. This was a joyful, but physically draining time for me - having to care for two energetic children, stay with and care for Finley in hospital and endure chemotherapy all at the same time! My family were an incredible help and gave me the support and strength I needed. A CT scan and an MRI showed I had responded well to the chemotherapy and the tumours had shrunk - we were over the moon with this news. I was also told I was suitable for surgeries to remove the tumours, giving me further hope that I would win this battle.
In December 2015 I had a liver resection. It took me a month to recover from this operation and in February 2016, I then had cytoreductive surgery to remove the tumour from my colon and the surrounding lymph nodes and they stripped off the lining of my peritoneum. I also had hot chemotherapy directly in my abdomen to hopefully get rid of any cancer cells left behind. Recovery was hard and slow. I spent 7 long months in and out of hospital. In the last few months I was allowed home in the days, but had to return for treatment and care every night. I moved into my mum's house with my kids, as I needed help to take care of them. Daily life was hard - school runs, after school activities and the usual chores were all too much on my own. However, with the help and support of my family I carried on. When I returned to hospital for an appointment, a CT scan picked up tumours that were still on my liver, so I had to endure more chemo. I was also offered more surgery or radiotherapy which was promising and yet again gave me further hope!
Devastatingly, a PET scan then showed I also had areas of cancer on the peritoneum (lining of my abdomen) which had never been seen before on previous scans. Five weeks ago, I was told there is nothing more they can do to cure me on the NHS. One kind Doctor told me my only chance is immunotherapy, but there is a huge private cost which I could never raise alone. So here I am - I am not ready to give up and I am not ready to leave behind my three loving boys and the most amazing mum and family I could ever wish for. So please... I really need your help. Thank you xxx
Donations can be made directly at : https://www.youcaring.com/alixmanders-756620
Additionally, during the Year of Mercy, Mr George, the headteacher at St Hugh of Lincoln, wrote a weekly reflection for the school newsletter on different aspects of mercy. Good feedback was received from a number of parents and Mr George decided to take the best of them and put them together into a book. Bishop Richard has written a foreword and the 24 page book was recently published.
Copies of the Year of Mercy book are on sale now from Mr George at St Hugh of Lincoln at £4.00 a copy. He can be contacted on 01483 480441 or email@example.com. The Year of Mercy book is also available at the Bookshop at DABCEC in Crawley. All proceeds from the sale of these books will go to the medical fund for Alix.