IvanDiego_guidepost21:: 2011

Thursday, September 29, 2011

"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"_Mr. Acker Bilk on clarinet

This is a great song. Mr. Acker Bilk is one of the great instrumentalists of all time, and Acker was my clarinet mentor/hero from very young. I play clarinet.
Click on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ZEPTuQbK0&feature=related

James Last_"I Just Called to Say I Love You":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrygkbMiFO4&feature=related
When Ronald Reagan was President of the U.S., there was a sense of 'depression' at the White House. Psychologists of the workplace were called in from the field of Organizational Behaviour. Changes were made, including playing this Stevie Wonder song every 15 mins. on the Muzak system. It worked, as later evaluation/psychological tests showed. Have you ever thought about your own workplace, 'home', play area, and how you may be able to live more optimally in these 'spaces'? Stevie should be in the Mental Health Hall of Fame.
James Last is perhaps one of the best Orchestras of popular music in the 20th century. This is a great rendition of the song, with same drums roll in the background, on James Last's 80th birthday, and on his album, "80 Not Out" (a reference to cricket).

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

"Requiem for all Catastrophe victims in Japan" - and for Yumi & Hiromi - sung by Mozartiikodesu Tatsu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VkiI5BU-3g&feature=related

This is for all victims in the Japanese earthquake and tsunami off the coast of north-east Japan, and victims of 'natural disasters' all over the world. And for my friends, Yumi & Hiromi. The song is about "tabidachi" - (new beginning, start a journey, and 'go to heaven'), and it is about cherry ("sakura") blossoms in the spring that last only for a few days, and so symbolic in Japanese culture, and in the aftermath of Hiroshima.

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Some musings from Yesteryear !

"The Simultaneously National & International Crisis as a Generic Type”

When I was a doctoral student, I chose to specialize in International Relations and Development Issues. Generally, the development literature contained all kinds of theories about development in general, development in Third world countries, primarily former colonies, attempting to identify the impediments to growth, etc..

Development issues were studied in the context of 'area studies', not related to what is going on elsewhere in the international system. My view was that international relations and development issues were inextricably linked, and the powers-that-be and their academic ideologies did not view that as an appropriate focus.

There was one little book that reviewed economic fortunes as they changed with each European treaty since the Congress of Vienna in 1815. And there is the great body of work that was done in India showing how movements of money(capital flows over a century) funded the industrialization in Europe, though there are some issues of 'time lines' with the initial economic ideas and change in modes of production that predate the advent of colonialism. So, while colonialism did fund European development, the initial cause and effect is less clear, as there is evidence that the industrialization process in some European countries predates colonial occupation.

Today, the connection between 'national' development and 'international' development and international relations is very clear: it is the cause of many challenges vis-à-vis equitable development, quality of life, destabilization of societies and the delicate balances of 'ethnic communities', and the diversity that has traditionally existed in societies; it also provides for much hope and promise in alleviating unimaginable levels of poverty and degradation, etc., on our planet and cooperation for the well-being of all, as we do know now that resources are finite and environmental issues are very intricate.

The theory and perspective are even more relevant today than they were before and at the time I formulated it. The connections are a lot more immediate, as evident in the recent 2008 financial meltdown, or OPEC's substantial increase in oil prices in 1973, and in numerous other events in different places, and in international relations and conflict, which the popular development theories did not explain.

Many Third world countries almost went bankrupt, and their five-year economic plans shelved, and there was absolutely no international fund to help them. The 2008 financial meltdown is a 'watershed', and we all will live with its effects for decades. It is of 'security' interest to all countries, and may well turn us all into 'serfs', as the peoples of the earth do not know its origins. Claiming in New York that they are prosecuting a company, or some of them, for fraudulently selling some products does not cut it !

The original theory has four simple concepts forming a dynamic, including Gunnar Myrdal's concept of 'cumulative effects'. It does explain an awful lot, and in simple and lucid language. I'll find the original theory from my dusty and yellowing papers in boxes put away a long time ago and put the theory in this website.

- IDP - April 30, 2010

Reflections & Notes_Asian Tsunami 2005

The Tsunami – Reflections from Afar.
Ivan D. Pereira
(Written for Community Contact, Montreal, QC, Canada, and Geneva Post, Geneva) Ivan Pereira served for 5 years on Executive Board of the World Conference of Religions and Peace (WCRP) in Canada and is a founding member.
Satish Kumar, former Jain monk and presently ‘Gandhian activist’, was on the CBC Radio show, Tapestry, on Jan. 6, 2005. He argued for a “reverential ecology” with “a sense of the sacred”. He continued that too much emphasis is put on economic success and it is “like churning sand to make butter”. Sand, of course, is a big-ticket item among“Westerners” and butter is still yellow gold to SouthAsian cooking, despite its known health hazards.

WHAT & WHERE:

The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center posted the following (updated on Jan. 5, 2005): “The December 26 (2004) earthquake produced the largest trans-oceanic tsunami in over 40 years, and killed more than any tsunami in recorded history. Earthquake parameters (USGS): Latitude: 3.3 N Longitude: 95.8 E Origin Time: 00.58 UTC on Dec., 2004. (04.58 PST on Dec. 25, 2004). Magnitude: 9.0

The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean, at depth of 30 km (18.6 miles) below mean sea level, 160 km (100 miles) west of the coast of Northern Sumatra. It is the largest earthquake since the 1964 Alaska earthquake of 9.2 magnitude and the 1960 Chile earthquake of 9.5 magnitude, and tied for 4th largest since 1900. The geographical extent was 1200 km (750 miles) of faultline that slipped 20 m (60 ft) between the India and Burma plates, with the Burma plate rising several metres over the India plate to create shock waves.

It caused 104 ‘run-ups’, over the following days, instances of waves hitting coasts around the world, including Alaska, B.C., Halifax, Nova Scotia, etc.. It created a ‘tsunami’ (soo-nah-mee), ‘tsu’ for harbour and ‘nami’ for wave in Japanese, that destroyed coastal areas across in various countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and places as far as Somalia. Waves were 50 feet high and kept coming every 30 minutes for more than two hours. The earthquake led to several aftershocks over the last seven days, of 4 and 5.8 magnitude off Sumatra. Deaths to date are over 150,000 and counting.

WHAT IS A TSUNAMI?
A tsunami is a series of waves generated by earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions, or meteorites hitting the earth’s surface.

Typically, regular wind-driven waves are 10 to 15 seconds apart, with wave length of 150 metres. A tsunami, however, has wave lengths of 100 km, and may take an hour for each wave to hit.

In the Indian Ocean tsunami, there were 5 to 6 waves with 30 minutes apart over two and a half hours, at speeds of 300 km to 500 km an hour as it slowed down in shallower waters closer to the coast – the speed of a passenger jet. As it gets closer to shore, the waves are higher, and these were 50 feet high. The first wave is smaller, and causes a drain away from the shore (a reported 200 yards in Sri Lanka), and the second wave is much bigger, and subsequent waves slowly diminishing in strength.

WHO KNEW AND WHEN?

Preliminary reports indicate that nobody knew in the coastal areas until it hit, and nobody knew what a tsunami was, or recognized how it behaves.

However, a team of researchers at the Department of Geology, University of Madras (India), did ‘predict’ the earthquake and reported it on December 22, 2004, to a 15-member Government delegation of the Department of Science and Technology visiting from New Delhi. It was expected on Dec. 26, at 00.30 GMT with a magnitude of 6 or 7. They were off by 28 minutes and 157 km from the actual epicentre. Because expectation was 6 to 7 magnitude, they “didn’t expect the extent of damage it will cause to the Tamil Nadu coast”.

According to the theory of planetary alignment under certain conditions, the U. of Madras team claims a prediction rate of 75-80% within time frame of 3 to 4 days.

Within 15 minutes of the actual earthquake, the ITIC (International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific) sent a report to the 26 member states of the IOC/UNESCO, including Australia, China, Japan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia, (India, a non-member, did not receive notification).

Work has been done on tsunamis since 1964, and in 1999 a Master Plan was put in place to deal with tsunamis. The Master Plan states in part: “Since 1987, technological innovations such as enhanced communication networks, improved seismic analysis techniques, and low-cost, high-power desktop computers have added greatly to the expectation that improvements recommended in the Plan can be realized for the benefit of member states”.

So, one can assume member states knew what a tsunami was and had a ‘plan’ to deal with it, such as evacuation, etc..

The USGS (US Geological Survey) sent out ‘e-mail alerts’ as well to its members who subscribe, including individuals at no cost, such as Philippe Choquant (a blogger in France). Choquant reports of receiving an earthquake alert 3 hours before the tsunami it generated hit the coast of Thailand, and he wonders why people at beaches and coastal areas were not informed and evacuation procedures followed to save lives. The USGS e-mail alerts come from “Do_Not_Reply@ghtmail.cr.usgs.gov”. It says it is an “information tool, not an earthquake or tsunami warning system”.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) scientists also acted quickly and issued an ‘Information Bulletin’ within minutes of what they thought was an 8 magnitude earthquake, later upgraded to 9.

One can assume various countries knew 2 and 3 hours in advance that big tidal waves would hit the coastline because of the earthquake. Furthermore, there are ships in the Indian Ocean, satellites, and weather stations that could have provided information. Attached are photos courtesy of DigitalGlobe.com, a private company dealing with high resolution aerial and satellite photography.

The Associate Director of South Asian Studies at John Hopkins University (US) was vacationing with her family at Triton Hotel, 70 km south of Colombo (Sri Lanka): She writes in a local Sri Lankan newspaper that “the first wave hit at 9.15 am. The water receded 200 yards. No one knew. The manager gave mops to workers to clean up. No one said get off the beaches”. The “second wave hit at 10.00 am local time” with waves of “8 to 10 metres high”. “There was another wave every 15 minutes until 11.30 am”.In Phuket, Thailand, a hotel manager reported 5 to 6 waves 30 minutes apart between 9.00 am and 11.00 am.

PROGNOSIS and AFTERMATH:

Various countries, the World Bank, and the UN are involved in relief efforts. The response has been relatively quick. An estimated $3 - 5 billion has been pledged in loans, lines of credit, and grants, but Kofi Anan (Secretary General of the UNO) has pleaded that the money is urgently needed immediately for food and to prevent disease.

This writer researched the 1970 cyclone in East Pakistan as part of his Ph.D. thesis. A UN Weather station in the Bay of Bengal telexed to its Geneva HQ three days in advance that a massive cyclone, worst in the century, was growing in the Bay of Bengal and moving toward the East Pakistan coast (now Bangladesh). Each report was forwarded by telex 6 to 12 hours later to the Government of Pakistan in the West (1800 miles away).

At the same time, the Pakistan Government had dispatched General Tikka Khan with 3,000 crack Pakistani troops to Dacca (East Pakistan state capital) to intimidate local inhabitants not to separate. These troops were later accused of atrocities and crimes against the civilian population.

In this context, the East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) regional government was only notified 3 hours before the cyclone hit. It is estimated 1 million to 3 million died and got washed away from a population of 70 million then. Official death count was ‘estimated’ at 500,000 and less. Some Bangladeshi decision-makers have noted the handling of the cyclone was ‘the last straw’ in its troubled relationship with West Pakistan and there were even questions about strange ships doing ‘weather research’ in the Bay.

So, whether it is folly, or policy, or negligence, or too many other priorities engulfing government and decision-makers, one does not know at present. However, the death toll in the tsunami is grossly underestimated. Many still under the column of missing or unaccounted for; and this column is totally meaningless for ‘local residents’.

Bakri Musa, in the Malaysia Kini News, Jan 3, writes: “Alas, having the information is one thing and doing something with it is another. We will soon know what various authorities did with the information they had. Only then would we be able to apportion the blame and responsibility between human foibles and nature’s fury”.

If these governments in the region, in the golden arch from Sumatra to Sri Lanka, are charged in the International Criminal Court for criminal negligence, etc., they will quote scriptures and wax eloquent about ‘nature’s fury’, and about moving ‘heaven and hell’ (as India’s Prime minister has) to help the victims and their families.

Many of these coastal people (fishermen, ‘low’ castes, ‘indigenous’, poor, and ‘middle class’) have stood their ground in the past and not ‘moved’. Most are now probably dead. The money in relief will not go to them as they exist no more, but land of ‘unknown ownership’ will be given to developers and business interests who survived (who also have savings, insurance, etc), and this ethnic cleansing will be called ‘rebuilding’ the infrastructure and communities.

That’s addressing the challenges of ‘development’ for you, and the world will be impressed with the ‘coming together’ and ‘bonding’! It would have cost ‘less’ to have invested in these communities in the first place over the past decades and not spent excessively in military hardware not related to security interests, etc..

NOAAA January, 2005, magazine issue states: coastal areas “could be restored in a few years, but the most severely impacted nearshore marine systems could take centuries to fully recover”. Allen Clark (Executive Director, Pacific Disaster Centre) sums up: “The real tragedy of all this is that the system is there, the technology is there, it just wasn’t in place in the Indian Ocean when the thing hit”. (Reported in IOC, UNESCO).

It is indeed tragic that whenever a ‘natural disaster’ or one of human origin hits Third world countries, the death toll is so much higher than similar events in the West. As building codes and other infrastructure improves, and communication and other systems are in place; as pro-active action plans are developed, and people learn to contain communal hatreds and work together in harmony, one hopes in the future the human cost will diminish considerably with these type of ‘events’.

Useful websites:
http://ioc.unesco.org/itsu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/

'El Amor' and 'Entre Tuy y Yo', sung by Jose Luis Perales (Cecy)

These two are great love songs, and the words and 'images'/slides added portray love that is pure, innocent, and simple.

'El Amor', sung by Jose Luis Perales. If not available go to youtube and type in search "El Amor' and 'Jose Luis Perales (Cecy):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be-T7-sObUI&feature=player_embedded#at=16

'Entre Tuy y Yo' sung by Jose Luis Perales (Cecy). If it is not available, go to Youtube and type 'Entre Tuy y Yo' and 'Jose Luis Perales (Cecy)' in the 'search':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDEOYTzMC_U

In my life, I have done a few things that were 'labours of love', but they were generally about 'collectivities', not personal. This one, the work on the website, etc., has origins in moments that were purely and deeply 'personal'.

I was going through some pain, anxiety, and deep anguish at the time, and suddenly in a few moments I was having some real difficulty expressing myself. Not being able to speak Spanish, it made made me feel hopeless.

I went back deep 'in the woods', collected my thoughts and work from disparate sources over the years, not part of my present 'metier', thought very carefully about a few things, and revisited the 'interdisciplinary' literature in online university libraries world-wide and physically in a university library with one of the biggest collections in the world.

I often worked into the wee hours of the morning, to four and five AM, theory-building, bleary-eyed to the point I could not see and my eyes were tearful and hurting.

As explained in the Introduction (in red print), this website is dedicated to a 'soul-mate', ever-present in my life.

This song is the only item that is purely personal, here to remind me every time I visit of the origins of this labour of love, and if she should browse through it and find it helpful, and read in english how I felt and feel. It changed my life dramatically and gave me purpose and clarity and 'vision'.

For that I am really very, very grateful. Sweetheart, I have been through a lot of pain and grief and sorrow, and for long, and I feel so blessed to have found you and have you in my life. I could not be happier. All this was done with 'love', as pure as the untouched snow on the highest peaks.

Oren Lyons, Chief of the Onadaga Nation, on the environment, 'resources', and on our 'relatives'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pilziXU9RE&feature=related

Oren Lyons is a Chief of the Onadaga Nation in New York State and he teaches at New York State University. He has lectured widely around the world.

If it does not open, go to youtube, search 'Oren Lyons', and click on "Indigenous Native American Prophecy (Elders Speak part 3)" for the specific lecture.

This is part of the "Elders Speak" series of lectures. We have a lot to learn about 'harmony', the Laws of Nature ('Natural Law') as they see it, and the balance of life on what they call 'Turtle Island' (North America then).

Oren argues that when we talk about 'resources', we are talking about our 'relatives', the fish and the animals. It is a compelling view of our earth and our place in it.

Battle at Krugar Park: caught b'twixt a rock and a hard place

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

This episode is interesting. Buffalo rarely challenge the lion, the metaphorical king of the jungle. Thomas Hobbes argued that life is brutish and short ! Life is a 'jungle', and international law and human rights conventions have tried, particularly since 1945 and the Nuremberg Principles, to promote and 'enforce' some minimum level of civilized discourse. Yet more than 50 million people have died since 1945, in proxy wars, in direct interventions, and in civil strife, most of these civilians. These have also been one of the great periods of creation of wealth and innovation and discoveries in science and medicine.

So, this episode is instructive: do not get caught between a rock and a hard place, between so-called 'tradition' and 'modernity', and between some fo the other abstract 'continuums in life' we have created to make life' meaningful.

'Smile', Charlie Chaplin, in 'Modern Times', 1936

Charlie Chaplin actually wrote this song himself.

Michael Jackson is credited of singing one of the best renditions of this song. It can only be sung well by someone who has experienced very deep and excrutiating pain and unimaginable anguish. Obviously, Michael did. Click on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv5g39SEHJs&feature=related

Another beautiful interpretation is that of Nat King Cole. Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=185ApzR43jU&feature=related

People often just smile painfully when deeply hurt by some thoughtless remark or well-worked-out and intended injury. The smile and pained expression come from a sense of helplessness. Not everybody has the skill of the well-considered retort, in table-tennis returning a 'smash' with a smash of your own, and people often imagine what they could have said or should have said in reply.

The other party never hears the many retorts you had in your arsenal, but were too flabbergasted, too hurt, or too respectful of authority to reply.

When one is tongue-tied, body language and silent communication are everything. That's what is great of the silent movie era, communication without words, 'mime' if you will.

The words of the song are therapeutic, when one thinks about it, and it is indeed a great song and instructive. This episode in the movie is so poignant !

Julio Eglesias, 'Cucurucucu Paloma'_a classical love song

There are many love songs in the world. This one, sung in Spanish, is probably one of the very best, sung so well by Julio Eglesias. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKN49r6qt5E

Julio was one of my favorite balladeers when I was a university student, and I went to see his concerts twice. A perfectionist and true professional !

This is originally a Mexican song. If you click on the song title below the screen, you will be directed to the youtube website, and in the right column see many other artists who have made the song famous. Find one that has the lyrics on slides in English - they are breath-taking !

'Paloma' is about the legendary 'homing pigeon', taking messages for hundreds of miles on its ankles, another story by itself.

It is ironic that while this website is about love, the other side of the coin is hatred and conflict, and religious fanaticism that has consumed much of our lives in the past, and now into the 21st century.

Of all the complex emotions human beings have, 'love' is the most envigorating and fundamental, and the most motivating. It is about 'birth', the generation of life, family, and about 'survival' - regarding 'survival', it is no exaggeration.

Luciano Pavarotti_"O Sole Mio"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8umdeXqJ94

Pavarotti on a visit to Napoli told his driver that he has grown to love the people of Napoli. The driver, an old hand in Napoli, told him that he has 'poor taste'. Pavarotti replied that he may not know about a lot of things, but he knew about people. It shows that Pavarotti was not snooty, and he was very human. Ultimately, it is about people. This is really beautiful !

People over the centuries knew 'solitude' in their 'metier' (profession), working quietly, reminescing, musing on their hopes and dreams for family and self, experiencing spiritual fulfillment, and contentment.

Today, in many workplaces and places in life, our global workplace and 'global village', there is resentment, paranoia, bitterness, narrow visions, and in-your-face ill-will, sadly.

This song is all the more beautiful for all that: we have much to do to make our world the beautiful place it is, and can be, in our relationships and interactions.

IvanDiego_guidepost21:

This is only the Skin of the Iceberg above Water

Moorings !

Pure Joy !

About Me

The Myth of Sisyphus

Sammy Davis_'Yes I Can'_(title of his Autobiography)

Rajmohan Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi_Visit to UK sponsored by 'Initiatives of Change'

2010_Year for Biodiversity

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