Today is Friday, March 6th, 2009 and it is now 3:36 AM here in the Philippines.
Music wise, I have been strung out on a new track I just snagged via a file sharing site I am addicted to (Bearshare). Bearshare is pretty popular here, especially in the universities as it was one of my older brothers-in -law who told me about it in the first place.
The song though, is by Alibi. Alibi is simply Tiesto and Armin Ven Buuren (sic), 2 great Trance DJs. they have a bunch of great songs, but the one I am into at the moment is a remake of that old Marvin Gaye song, "Sexual Healing." Alot of mixes exist but my favourite happens to be , as always, the one by Freemasons. Freemasons are also 2 Trance DJs who are fantastic and I like practically every piece they do whether by remix or an original track.
Here is the song...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4H40ObraEU
Reading wise, busy reading bits and pieces of Jewish Apocrypha. Apocrypha of course are the unofficial religious texts that for whatever reason werenot part of the official canon.
Right now I am busy reading "Tobit" for about the hundredth time. It is funny how religious people are so sure that their Scripture (no matter the faith) is complete and perfect. they do not stop to realise that another human has picked and chosen just what it will contain and thus are censoring their own religion!
Tobit basically deals with a man who is said to be a descdant of the Exiled Northern Tribes (Lost Tribes). He is made blind, gets depressed and asks G-D to kill him. As he is doing it he remembers an important business deal in another village, where a nice sum of money is still owend to him (no Jewish jokes please!).
He asks his son Tobiah to retrieve the cash. At the moment when Tobit was asking for death, a girl in the village where the money is, named Sarah, was also asking G-D to kill her. Her sadness was cuased by a demon . She had been married 7 times and on each wedding night, before consummation (we are not married until we do the deed!), the jealous demon strangles the men.
Tobias takes his journey and on the road he meets up with a fellow traveller, who unbeknownst to him, is actually an Angel!
Arriving, retrieving the cash, he falls for the girl, and arranges his marriage hastily. Told of the demon, he panics but the Angle calms him and promises to take care of it. He tells Tobiah what to do, he does it and the Demon is banished.
Tobiah gains a wife, she gains a husband (finally), and Tobit is healed of his blindness!
The Scripture has comedy, suspense, horror, and drama.
Back in Mindanao...
Last night ilaga kidnapped the daughter of a major NPA leader in Davao City. As she was riding her motorcycle (it is the main form of transport, just as it is all over eastern Asia), outside of Oro Subdivision in Davao City, a white SUV cut her off, and in front of stunned passerby dragged her into the SUV and sped away.
The father is Leonicio Pitao AKA Ka Parago who commands the NPA in that part of Davao.the mayor of Davao City, Duterte, says that he has not found through offiical channels that she has been detaied by the Govt, despite the father being on the most wanted list of the 10th infantry Division for several months, frustrating them over and over again.
The 10th Infantry Division also says tey have no evidence that she is being held by any military element.
In Nasapit, outside Butuan, the NPA was thwarted when it tried to blow up a Power Plant on a barge belonging to the National Power Corp., which is a governmental industry. The barge supplies all of Caraga 's electricity. Caraga is a major Mindanwoan region, the region I happen to live in!
We get blackouts every couple of days, soemtimes as ong as 48 hours when the NPA blows pylons up, etc but if they had achieved their goal with the barge we would be in the dark for weeks, at least. We have some decent high powered generators here but only for household needs. Our mills obviously would be closed, as would all industry here and it would cataclysmic actually.
Funny, we did not have electricity here until the mid 80s, but now are so reliant upon it that it would equal total chaos should we go without it even for a week!
The attempted bombing is the second in a month, the first one taking place in the middle of Feb., just after the govt. offencive I spoke about in earlier posts.
This week marks the 6th year since the Abu Sayyaf bombig of the Davao Airport passenger terminal in which 22 people died. I rarely use it, although i did take it on my last trip to Cambodia in 2008 for my first leg, to Manila.
Yesterday, in Barangay Binoligan in Kidapawan City the Ilaga made their 16th assasination since October, in that city, when it killed a man, 5 days after killing 2 others in that one town.
The banker I have talked about, from Surigao City, is still missing. Sadly, he is believed dead now. He was kidnapped as he entered his home, but when asked for Proof of Life in his 2nd week of capitvity, the abductors failed to provide it, despite their repeated requests for 10 Million Pesos (100,000 US roughly).
"Proof of Life" is voice CONVERSATIONS, or a photo or film with current events on the telly behind the subject, or a dated local newspaper, etc.
The man, Johnson Custodio Cuiting owned Rural Bank of Placer, a commerical bank locally.
Late yesterday in front of a Bingo Hall in downtown Cotabato City an IED exploded critically wounding 4 women from Datu Piang in Maguindanao Province. the Hall is adjacent to Agong Lodging House where just the evening before another IED exploded in room 319! That one was set by the 2 men who rented the room. In the Agong detonation 2 workers in the building were badly burned and injured.
Earlier yesterday, another IED was discovered before it could detonate, after having been left in a ladies' handbag inthe public market in Pikit village in North Cotabato Province.
The Agong IED was an 81 MM shell (the usual source) wired to a 9 Volt battery and a mobile phone as the trigger. The Pikit IED was a simple tin can wired to a 9 volt, wired to a phone. No word on the bingo Hall IED composition.
In the past 4 days there has been heavy and constant fighting in and around Barangay Sabaken in N. Kabuntalan village in Maguindanao Province, as well as in Barangays Talitay and Talyan in Datu Piang in Maguindanao Province.
the army's using 105 MM Howitzers, along with SF-260 planes in heavy bombardment. Only 4 MILF (from K. kato's faction) reported killed so far, and those only for yesterday. Of course many dozens have died, as is always thecase - for both sides.
The 40th and 69th IB is fighting in Barangays Damatulan and Lumopog in Rangeban village, and Midsayap village as well as Barangay Dunggan in Aleosan village (Ilaga stronghold), against the MILF/BIAF. No word on casualties but the entire Barangay of Sabaken in N. Kabuntalan is in danger of being exterminated, with all houses said to be severely damaged or destroyed.
On 3/3 a shell from a 105 MM hit 9 children, ages 8 to 12. 3 died instantly and the other 6 are near dead or dead already. It took place in Barangay Mataya in Buldou village in Maguindanao.
On that same day in Barangay Crossing Salvo in Datu Unsay in Maguindanao the MILF's 105th engaged the army with 3 dead on scene.
The Sri Lankan NGO worker kidnapped on Basilan by the Puruji Indama faction of Abu Sayyaf is now being traded to an MILF faction commanded by Kumannder Usman Lidjal.
The army is massivley deploying along the Palungi River in and around Datu Piang in Maguindanao. so far the MILF has managed o rack 2 deaths when a pair on motorcycle did a drive by on the Butilen Bridge as the army was first moving into the sector.
Had to laugh at an article I saw in a govt. business handout that described Mindanao as "calm."
Locally, a drunk cop killed 3 people in Butuan last Sunday, and the crime wave is continuing with even more robberies, etc and so forth...
Music wise, I have been strung out on a new track I just snagged via a file sharing site I am addicted to (Bearshare). Bearshare is pretty popular here, especially in the universities as it was one of my older brothers-in -law who told me about it in the first place.
The song though, is by Alibi. Alibi is simply Tiesto and Armin Ven Buuren (sic), 2 great Trance DJs. they have a bunch of great songs, but the one I am into at the moment is a remake of that old Marvin Gaye song, "Sexual Healing." Alot of mixes exist but my favourite happens to be , as always, the one by Freemasons. Freemasons are also 2 Trance DJs who are fantastic and I like practically every piece they do whether by remix or an original track.
Here is the song...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4H40ObraEU
Reading wise, busy reading bits and pieces of Jewish Apocrypha. Apocrypha of course are the unofficial religious texts that for whatever reason werenot part of the official canon.
Right now I am busy reading "Tobit" for about the hundredth time. It is funny how religious people are so sure that their Scripture (no matter the faith) is complete and perfect. they do not stop to realise that another human has picked and chosen just what it will contain and thus are censoring their own religion!
Tobit basically deals with a man who is said to be a descdant of the Exiled Northern Tribes (Lost Tribes). He is made blind, gets depressed and asks G-D to kill him. As he is doing it he remembers an important business deal in another village, where a nice sum of money is still owend to him (no Jewish jokes please!).
He asks his son Tobiah to retrieve the cash. At the moment when Tobit was asking for death, a girl in the village where the money is, named Sarah, was also asking G-D to kill her. Her sadness was cuased by a demon . She had been married 7 times and on each wedding night, before consummation (we are not married until we do the deed!), the jealous demon strangles the men.
Tobias takes his journey and on the road he meets up with a fellow traveller, who unbeknownst to him, is actually an Angel!
Arriving, retrieving the cash, he falls for the girl, and arranges his marriage hastily. Told of the demon, he panics but the Angle calms him and promises to take care of it. He tells Tobiah what to do, he does it and the Demon is banished.
Tobiah gains a wife, she gains a husband (finally), and Tobit is healed of his blindness!
The Scripture has comedy, suspense, horror, and drama.
Back in Mindanao...
Last night ilaga kidnapped the daughter of a major NPA leader in Davao City. As she was riding her motorcycle (it is the main form of transport, just as it is all over eastern Asia), outside of Oro Subdivision in Davao City, a white SUV cut her off, and in front of stunned passerby dragged her into the SUV and sped away.
The father is Leonicio Pitao AKA Ka Parago who commands the NPA in that part of Davao.the mayor of Davao City, Duterte, says that he has not found through offiical channels that she has been detaied by the Govt, despite the father being on the most wanted list of the 10th infantry Division for several months, frustrating them over and over again.
The 10th Infantry Division also says tey have no evidence that she is being held by any military element.
In Nasapit, outside Butuan, the NPA was thwarted when it tried to blow up a Power Plant on a barge belonging to the National Power Corp., which is a governmental industry. The barge supplies all of Caraga 's electricity. Caraga is a major Mindanwoan region, the region I happen to live in!
We get blackouts every couple of days, soemtimes as ong as 48 hours when the NPA blows pylons up, etc but if they had achieved their goal with the barge we would be in the dark for weeks, at least. We have some decent high powered generators here but only for household needs. Our mills obviously would be closed, as would all industry here and it would cataclysmic actually.
Funny, we did not have electricity here until the mid 80s, but now are so reliant upon it that it would equal total chaos should we go without it even for a week!
The attempted bombing is the second in a month, the first one taking place in the middle of Feb., just after the govt. offencive I spoke about in earlier posts.
This week marks the 6th year since the Abu Sayyaf bombig of the Davao Airport passenger terminal in which 22 people died. I rarely use it, although i did take it on my last trip to Cambodia in 2008 for my first leg, to Manila.
Yesterday, in Barangay Binoligan in Kidapawan City the Ilaga made their 16th assasination since October, in that city, when it killed a man, 5 days after killing 2 others in that one town.
The banker I have talked about, from Surigao City, is still missing. Sadly, he is believed dead now. He was kidnapped as he entered his home, but when asked for Proof of Life in his 2nd week of capitvity, the abductors failed to provide it, despite their repeated requests for 10 Million Pesos (100,000 US roughly).
"Proof of Life" is voice CONVERSATIONS, or a photo or film with current events on the telly behind the subject, or a dated local newspaper, etc.
The man, Johnson Custodio Cuiting owned Rural Bank of Placer, a commerical bank locally.
Late yesterday in front of a Bingo Hall in downtown Cotabato City an IED exploded critically wounding 4 women from Datu Piang in Maguindanao Province. the Hall is adjacent to Agong Lodging House where just the evening before another IED exploded in room 319! That one was set by the 2 men who rented the room. In the Agong detonation 2 workers in the building were badly burned and injured.
Earlier yesterday, another IED was discovered before it could detonate, after having been left in a ladies' handbag inthe public market in Pikit village in North Cotabato Province.
The Agong IED was an 81 MM shell (the usual source) wired to a 9 Volt battery and a mobile phone as the trigger. The Pikit IED was a simple tin can wired to a 9 volt, wired to a phone. No word on the bingo Hall IED composition.
In the past 4 days there has been heavy and constant fighting in and around Barangay Sabaken in N. Kabuntalan village in Maguindanao Province, as well as in Barangays Talitay and Talyan in Datu Piang in Maguindanao Province.
the army's using 105 MM Howitzers, along with SF-260 planes in heavy bombardment. Only 4 MILF (from K. kato's faction) reported killed so far, and those only for yesterday. Of course many dozens have died, as is always thecase - for both sides.
The 40th and 69th IB is fighting in Barangays Damatulan and Lumopog in Rangeban village, and Midsayap village as well as Barangay Dunggan in Aleosan village (Ilaga stronghold), against the MILF/BIAF. No word on casualties but the entire Barangay of Sabaken in N. Kabuntalan is in danger of being exterminated, with all houses said to be severely damaged or destroyed.
On 3/3 a shell from a 105 MM hit 9 children, ages 8 to 12. 3 died instantly and the other 6 are near dead or dead already. It took place in Barangay Mataya in Buldou village in Maguindanao.
On that same day in Barangay Crossing Salvo in Datu Unsay in Maguindanao the MILF's 105th engaged the army with 3 dead on scene.
The Sri Lankan NGO worker kidnapped on Basilan by the Puruji Indama faction of Abu Sayyaf is now being traded to an MILF faction commanded by Kumannder Usman Lidjal.
The army is massivley deploying along the Palungi River in and around Datu Piang in Maguindanao. so far the MILF has managed o rack 2 deaths when a pair on motorcycle did a drive by on the Butilen Bridge as the army was first moving into the sector.
Had to laugh at an article I saw in a govt. business handout that described Mindanao as "calm."
Locally, a drunk cop killed 3 people in Butuan last Sunday, and the crime wave is continuing with even more robberies, etc and so forth...