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Alia Kiama
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Israel National News Memorial Day 5768 (2008) Honors Israel's Fallen
"The Defense Ministry reports the number of fallen in the Jews' war for the Land of Israel since 1860 as 22,437. This number includes soldiers - not civilians - who fell since 1948, as well as all Jews killed between 1860 and 1948 in the struggle for the Land. The total number is 132 higher than last year, including 31 who were murdered or fell in battle since last year's Memorial Day, as well as others who died of their wounds or were recognized as IDF war casualties this year."
"The year 1860 was chosen because it was then that Jews began to move outside Jerusalem's Old City walls and build new neighborhoods there."
...
History of Israel's Fallen
"The 1948-49 War of Independence was Israel's costliest war, with more than 6,000 dead - one percent of the Jewish population at the time - and 15,000 wounded."
"During the ensuing seven years of relative quiet, 101 Israelis were killed in "1,339 cases of armed clashes with Egyptian armed forces, 435 cases of incursion from Egyptian-controlled territory, and 172 cases of sabotage perpetrated by Egyptian military units and fedayeen [terrorists] in Israel. So said Israel's Ambassador to the UN Abba Eban to the UN Security Council on October 30, 1956 - the day after Israel began the Sinai Campaign in response to Egypt's violation of international agreements by blockading the Israeli port of Eilat. A total of 231 Israeli soldiers died in the eight days of fighting."
"The Six-Day War broke out on June 5, 1967. Along with the stunning victories, over 770 Israelis were killed."
"Then began the period of the War of Attrition, which claimed 424 soldiers and more than 100 civilians. A ceasefire was declared on August 8, 1970."
"Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur of 1973. The IDF ultimately emerged victorious, but a total of 2,688 soldiers were killed."
"In June 1982, in response to continued terrorist attacks and Katyusha shellings from across the Lebanese border, as well as an assassination attempt upon Israel's late Ambassador to Great Britain Shlomo Argov, Israel attacked the terrorists in Lebanon in what was known as Operation Peace for Galilee. Close to 460 soldiers were killed between June and December 1982, and another 760 in daily ambushes against Israeli forces over the next two and a half years."
"Between December 1987, when the first Arab "intifada" broke out, and the signing of the Oslo Accords in late 1993, 90 Israelis were murdered."
"Between the Oslo signing and the beginning of what became known as the Oslo War in September, 2000, 251 Israelis were murdered by terrorists."
"Another 1,320 have been felled by Palestinian Authority terrorists and gunmen since the Oslo War began in September 2000."
Israel National News Memorial Day videos
Jerusalem Post article about the Independence day celebrations so far
]]>http://jerusalempost.com : Jerusalem Post - this is the online version of the Jerusalem Post newspaper
http://www.jerusalem-times.net - The Jerusalem Times - this is based in East Jerusalem and has Palestinian & Arabic news, though their website is often hacked so there's not much to read there
http://www.sderotmedia.com - Sderot Media - news and info about the city of Sderot which is targeted regularly and constantly by missiles from Gaza. myth busting site - here you can see that Israel actually helps Gaza residents and counter arguments against the propaganda that the media portray about the area.
articles with people living in Sderot
http://www.israelnationalradio.com - English radio documentaries and programs
http://www.israelnationalnews.com - Arutz Sheva - Israeli news site. you can receive daily email summaries of articles
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articles
What's so special about Independence Day? - describes in simple terms the importance of the Jewish State of Israel
http://www.eufunding.org.uk/Textbooks/default.html - Palestinian text books & site keeping track of where the EU funding is going
]]>another station I've listened to online is Israel National Radio as some of the shows are in English. they have interviews and music programs and also Jewish specific programs so it's interesting to listen. I listened to some programs after the Yeshiva was attacked by the terrorist. and today being Memorial Day, there's a special program of songs that every Israeli knows. another program has an interview with local Israeli trance artists ITP - Individual Thought Patterns
of course there's also Voice of Peace Radio which used to broadcast from a ship in the Mediterranean Sea off Tel Aviv. VOP was very popular with the Israeli people and peace protester Abie Nathan was it's main stalwart. this was the first Israeli pirate radio station broadcasting from 1973 to 1993. it's since closed down, though I read they might start it up again one day - not sure if this has happened. they had a reunion in 2006, and a double album tribute cd was released in 2007.
]]>I wonder what percentage of things Australia imports? I know Australians love to support Australian-made - the green & gold. I think for Australia to stay in the list of leading countries it needs to keep producing it's own goods.
I've read that the USA doesn't produce anything any more (obviously an exaggeration) - and perhaps this will be it's downfall, especially if they keep printing more money to buy more things and 'pay off' their debts.
I need to do some more reading to find out more about this - maybe it's an urban myth
]]>from 2007 :
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329758811-121568,00.html
If we want to save the planet, we need a five-year freeze on biofuels
- Oil produced from plants sets up competition for food between cars and people. People - and the environment - will lose
George Monbiot
Tuesday March 27, 2007
It used to be a matter of good intentions gone awry. Now it is plain fraud. The governments using biofuel to tackle global warming know that it causes more harm than good. But they plough on regardless. In theory, fuels made from plants can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by cars and trucks. Plants absorb carbon as they grow - it is released again when the fuel is burned. By encouraging oil companies to switch from fossil plants to living ones, governments on both sides of the Atlantic claim to be "decarbonising" our transport networks.
In the budget last week, Gordon Brown announced that he would extend the tax rebate for biofuels until 2010. From next year all suppliers in the UK will have to ensure that 2.5% of the fuel they sell is made from plants - if not, they must pay a penalty of 15p a litre. The obligation rises to 5% in 2010. By 2050, the government hopes that 33% of our fuel will come from crops. Last month George Bush announced that he would quintuple the US target for biofuels: by 2017 they should be supplying 24% of the nation's transport fuel.
So what's wrong with these programmes? Only that they are a formula for environmental and humanitarian disaster. In 2004 I warned, on these pages, that biofuels would set up a competition for food between cars and people. The people would necessarily lose: those who can afford to drive are richer than those who are in danger of starvation. It would also lead to the destruction of rainforests and other important habitats. I received more abuse than I've had for any other column - except for when I attacked the 9/11 conspiracists. I was told my claims were ridiculous, laughable, impossible. Well in one respect I was wrong. I thought these effects wouldn't materialise for many years. They are happening already.
Since the beginning of last year, the price of maize has doubled. The price of wheat has also reached a 10-year high, while global stockpiles of both grains have reached 25-year lows. Already there have been food riots in Mexico and reports that the poor are feeling the strain all over the world. The US department of agriculture warns that "if we have a drought or a very poor harvest, we could see the sort of volatility we saw in the 1970s, and if it does not happen this year, we are also forecasting lower stockpiles next year". According to the UN food and agriculture organisation, the main reason is the demand for ethanol: the alcohol used for motor fuel, which can be made from maize and wheat.
Farmers will respond to better prices by planting more, but it is not clear that they can overtake the booming demand for biofuel. Even if they do, they will catch up only by ploughing virgin habitat.
http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk
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other related articles :
Biofuels and the Rise of Nationalistic Environmentalism
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what the headlines around the world say .. a sample of online newspapers
The Australian - search for "rice shortage"
Food riots not our fault - farmers
US shops ration food for first time
Drought a factor in food aid shortage: UN
Farmers fail to deliver on rice
Food inflation, riots stir concern
US stores forced to ration rice
Bill Shorten: National effort can solve water shortage
High prices everywhere but no water, no crop
Thai rice hits new record
Jerusalem Post articles - search for "rice shortage"
Scientists, activists debate if genetically modified foods are panacea or plague
The price of rice
Food crisis hits local supermarkets. Stores put limit on rice sales
Israeli scientists fight food crisis with gene research
As bread prices rise, Saudis flounder in flour crisis
Times of India - search for "rice shortage"
British MP hits out at EU over basmati rice shortage
No quick fix to soothe Asian rice shortage fears
Thailand won't cut rice exports: PM
'Rice bowl' faces paddy seed shortage
Grain pain: Rationing in US as rice gets pricey
China blames global warming for growing water shortage
US eats 5 times more than India per capita
Central bankers sound alarm over food prices
Scientists dispute virtues of 'black gold'
ADB announces fund to fight climate change
Now, Bush blames India for rising food prices
Bush proposes $770 million for world food crisis
Asia tourism, airlines 'complacent' on climate
'Biofuels frenzy fuels global food crisis'
Few top corp suppliers have emissions targets
UN sees world climate change deal in 2009
Tehelka (India Independent paper) - search for "rice shortage"
The Last Stand Of Niyam Raja
Hammered By The Sickle
so whilst there's a shortage of rice in Thailand, some is going to waste in India for different reasons. some of the farmers want to use machines to harvest their crops. but the unions say no - workers must use the sickle. this gives the people jobs - they can work at their own times. farmers pay a nokkukooli - payment for watching work being done. as the harvesting can take longer, sometimes the harvests are lost in the flooding rains prior to being harvested.
]]>the coincidences abounded this week again - or perhaps I could refer to it as the interconnectedness Starhawk mentioned in week 1's class. she spoke more about the connections between the Gaian world though. apparently these messages are always there but when you start learning or noticing something new, then you are more open to seeing these messages. I noticed Dan, a facebook friend, joined a Sydney Permablitz- Changing the World One Garden at a Time fb group. so I took a look and joined also. this led me to the permablitz website. and friends of the earth website. I noticed one of the forum messages was for an Introduction to Permaculture - Sydney - Jun 08 - it's being held on the last weekend in June. I might even be back in Sydney by then, but I'll have to wait and see before signing up in case there's a delay. I took a look at their flickr photos and saw some of the previous projects they've done. the hidden garden in Newtown looks great.
then I noticed the flickr user was cicadas and the person was Kirsten Bradley - I've never met her but I've seen her name around heaps - at electrofringe and different festivals. she's always working on a great project! I was looking at flickr contacts and somehow I ended up on one which had INSPIRE!, a street / artist from Israel / Tel Aviv - who's messages I see around the streets all the time, bilateral, and a couple of the guys who do the ShiftSpace project (who are Israelis in USA) - I was trying this out earlier this year but after Angus died I didn't feel like doing much for a while. this is lifting now though so the links in the labyrinth are unwinding. it's amazing how interrelated we all are. I had an email from Daniel Liss of pouringdown.tv from videoblogging list (some of my favourites!) who said he knows the ShiftSpace guys too and is using it - I think he went to uni/course or something with one of them? there really is only 1 degree of separation. I'd love to do a festival and have them all in Australia - what an amazing collection of artists they would be!! if only I could afford it ...
anyway, it's week 2 already in the Earth course - time seems to fly. I've been doing the MLA courses pretty much non-stop since the PKD class last year. each has been interesting and I've learnt much - some I hadn't known much about to start with. this week we've had readings and audio talks and forum questions about AIR. we were asked to share our observations about Wind - especially if we've been noticing any differences in our weather patterns.
here's my reply. I might start keeping the course journal online (I won't include the course specifics - just my notes / impressions)
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this morning I walked into the city to the post office - it was a little cool but I didn't put my jumper on so I could feel the sun & the wind more whilst I walked. I noticed some of the trees' leaves flutter only on the edges whilst with others, the whole tree sways in the wind (even if the trees near it just have the light fluttering leaves). so it was interesting to notice the difference. also next week is the 60th year celebrations so many of the cars have flags on them and also people have hung flags and banners from their balconies. so the wind is very noticeable at the moment - it's adding life & movement to the ideas and celebrations of the people. similarly for the protesters banners being held outside the prime ministers house in the city. the wind moves the banners and makes them more noticeable as people seem to notice movement of things around them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/2459378005/ is a quick video of a flag in the wind (on a parked car) - I love watching the flags move - they have bursts of energy, then the wind dies down and they take a rest.
the wind for me also brings relief on a hot day - a light breeze is enough to cool your skin when you're overheated. a couple of weeks ago (I was overseas) there were a few days of 40degree heat - unusual for this time of year. now it's back to being cool in the evenings again.
the city here doesn't have tall highrises casting shadows over the streets so it doesn't seem as cold as some cities I've been in. and the wind doesn't catch between them. I've stayed in highrises in Auckland where the wind howls past the buildings. I used to record some of the sounds it made. it was almost like the sky was making the noise to annoy the building as the wind & sky's space was being taken up by the buildings! it's a strange feeling being up so high and hearing the power of the wind around the building. the sounds are much more pronounced than what you hear from the lower & ground levels. Auckland is known for it's wind at certain times of the year so it can get pretty strong.
]]>
20042008878, originally uploaded by AliaK.
walking through the old part of the city in Istanbul - near Balat. I liked the shadows this window grill made
20/04/2008, Istanbul, Turkey
20042008878
]]>walking through the old part of the city in Istanbul - near Balat. I liked the shadows this window grill made
20/04/2008, Istanbul, Turkey
20042008878
]]>book (Andrew bought) - "Journey of a Sufi musician"
other music styles : Fasil, Arabesque music
music of Turkey wikipedia entry
Taksim - improvisation : A specific sequence of classical Turkish musical forms become a fasil, a suite an instrumental prelude, an instrumental postlude (saz semaisi), and in between, the main section of vocal compositions which begins with and is punctuated by instrumental improvisations taksim
makams - musical scales in Turkish music
instrument - Oud, Saz
]]>book (Andrew bought) - "Journey of a Sufi musician"
other music styles : Fasil, Arabesque music
music of Turkey wikipedia entry
Taksim - improvisation : A specific sequence of classical Turkish musical forms become a fasil, a suite an instrumental prelude, an instrumental postlude (saz semaisi), and in between, the main section of vocal compositions which begins with and is punctuated by instrumental improvisations taksim
makams - musical scales in Turkish music
instrument - Oud, Saz
]]>
20042008795, originally uploaded by AliaK.
I bought "My name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk - baykus / melisa recommended his book "Istanbul" too. also bought "From the steeple to the minaret: Living under the shadow of two cultures" by Hughette Eyuboglu. and "Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes" by Talat Sait Halman & Metin And
Taksim - Istanbul's city centre on European side. Istanbul, Turkey, 20/04/2008
more photos of Istanbul @ http://flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/tags/istanbul
]]>another article I read last month (when I couldn't post to the site), was the Kevin Kelley article "1,000 True Fans" from his Technium blog.
A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.
...
To raise your sales out of the flatline of the long tail you need to connect with your True Fans directly. Another way to state this is, you need to convert a thousand Lesser Fans into a thousand True Fans.
Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day's wages per year in support of what you do. That "one-day-wage" is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that. Let's peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.
One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating. It
rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that True Fans appreciate.
sounds easy enough doesn't it ;)
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Kelly also has an interesting article called Humanity's Identity Crises where he asks a couple of questions previously asked by science fiction author Philip K Dick during a 1978 speech.
"The two basic topics which fascinate me are "What is reality?" and "What constitutes the authentic human being?" Over the twenty-seven years in which I have published novels and stories I have investigated these two interrelated topics over and over again. I consider them important topics. What are we? What is it which surrounds us, that we call the not-me, or the empirical or phenomenal world?"
amazing how everything seems to be looping back to the courses and topics at the Maybe Logic Academy lately (well, actually for a while ...)
what does it mean to be human? is it the personal connections you have with others? the amount of things you learn? our physiology? our minds? our hearts? our consciousness? the human connections and networks (as mentioned on the blogs above? what we think of? what we do? where we work??
another article :
Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business by Chris Anderson
]]>
]]>
here's the screen shot. you just need to have GreaseMonkey installed in firefox (which I use for ShiftSpace also). it adds an extra button called Add to GCal under the Add to my Events link in the right hand menu
right click to download the audio mp3 file
a sound walk through the old city of jerusalem
today I went to the western wall and left a note in the wall with my friend's name (this is what the Jewish people do - it's their holiest place being the last remnant of the Temple which was destroyed a couple of times) and then went to the Church of Holy Sepulchre (built over the spot where Jesus died so a holy spot for Christians) and lit some candles for him. and I went to Dome of Rock, one of the holiest places for Islam but because it's friday only Moslems are allowed in so I took a photo at the door. (this is the closest I've been able to get to Dome of the Rock - it's always closed when I go). I recorded video whilst walking but the camera was by my leg so most of it is of my legs walking on the stones, so I've extracted the audio.
I always get a bit lost in the Old City. the market lanes and labyrinth starts looking the same and I often can't see above to get a sense of direction. so I tend to always go to the Wall first, then work my way in from there. today was the first time I found the quickest route to the Dome of the Rock - which is quite obvious in hindsight but I've always missed it and walked past. not knowing how to read Arabic has been part of the reason on other visits. the Christian quarter area is less marked too. some of the streets have recognisable names but I seem to miss the signs to the Church. today I was determined though and I had less offers from market stall owners to visit their shops. I went in the afternoon when most would be closing up soon. I was thinking of my friend the whole way, sometimes getting a bit teary.
the sound was recorded on a Nokia N95 8Gb phone - it was recorded along with video and I extracted the audio only later. I've left my mini-disc, microcassete recorder and microphone back home in Australia now so I carry less gadgets. I wondered how much disk space would be used up but it was less than 2Gb and I still have plenty left.
15/02/2008
]]>jugglers in jerusalem's ben yehuda mall. my friend darren & late friend angus are both jugglers so I took this to show them. my timing was out a bit as I watched the guys juggle for a while then remembered to start filming.
08/02/2008
]]>jugglers in jerusalem's ben yehuda mall. my friend darren & late friend angus are both jugglers so I took this to show them. my timing was out a bit as I watched the guys juggle for a while then remembered to start filming.
08/02/2008
]]>status:
11/02/2008 - the site is now running drupal 5.0. tomorrow night I'll upgrade to the most recent drupal 5. some of the modules have been reinstalled but you may see some errors until the upgrade is complete.
19/02/2008 - the site is now running drupal 5.1. only a few patches to go ...
14/03/2008 - the site is now running drupal 5.7
15/03/2008 - the site is now running drupal 6.1
there seems to be an issue with page caching in firefox on windows (to reload the page - press Ctrl -Shift-Delete or Tools menu - clear private data, then reload the page)
IE on windows seems ok
also posting articles from a mac seems broken! :(
it seems to be working now. (mac problem was a problem with my net connection at the flat I was staying at)
this is just a quick piece - playing with 3d mosaics. this week there was a terrorist bomb explosion in Dimona, in the south of Israel. multiple organisations claimed it and there were a few theories on where the terrorists came from - possibly entered following the breach of the wall between gaza & egypt, possibly they were already in the country. a policeman shot a second bomber and became a hero. one woman died and many were injured. it happened in a cafe. in a town that hasn't seen trouble before. there hasn't been a bombing for around a year. it was on the news, radio, tv, papers & online. people were commenting. I just wanted to slice up the news a bit - to remind me of the confusion & speculation - the twisting & turning of the different theories. the background is the first of the snow storm in jerusalem.
the news slices move & scale controlled by my mouse position as I move around the screen - I keep web browsing whilst the news & life is jumbled up
the music is a mixture of "Alone again so" by Kid Loco from A Grand Love Story album + "I fell once again" by Winx from the Left Above the Clouds album. I'd been wondering 'has it started again?' so I searched my itunes library for 'again' and these were a couple of the results.
06/02/2008 made in isadora. isadora patch is attached
http://blip.tv/file/651759
http://blip.tv/file/get/AliaK-newsSlicesInTheSnow510.mp4
this is just a quick piece - playing with 3d mosaics. this week there was a terrorist bomb explosion in Dimona, in the south of Israel. multiple organisations claimed it and there were a few theories on where the terrorists came from - possibly entered following the breach of the wall between gaza & egypt, possibly they were already in the country. a policeman shot a second bomber and became a hero. one woman died and many were injured. it happened in a cafe. in a town that hasn't seen trouble before. there hasn't been a bombing for around a year. it was on the news, radio, tv, papers & online. people were commenting. I just wanted to slice up the news a bit - to remind me of the confusion & speculation - the twisting & turning of the different theories. the background is the first of the snow storm in jerusalem.
the news slices move & scale controlled by my mouse position as I move around the screen - I keep web browsing whilst the news & life is jumbled up
the music is a mixture of "Alone again so" by Kid Loco from A Grand Love Story album + "I fell once again" by Winx from the Left Above the Clouds album. I'd been wondering 'has it started again?' so I searched my itunes library for 'again' and these were a couple of the results.
06/02/2008 made in isadora. isadora patch is attached
http://blip.tv/file/651759
http://blip.tv/file/get/AliaK-newsSlicesInTheSnow510.mp4
it snowed in Jerusalem for a couple of days. the first day many of the roads were closed. the stores close - the city shuts down. my workplace was closed for both days (so a long weekend for some!). the second day by mid morning the sun was out and sky was blue.
snow in the middle east! lots of fun!
the music is "Snow" by Severed Heads off the Gigapus album
http://www.sevcom.com/
30-31/01/2008, jerusalem, israel
http://blip.tv/file/get/AliaK-jerusalemSnow649.flv
http://blip.tv/file/get/AliaK-jerusalemSnow649.mp4
http://blip.tv/file/651524
it snowed in Jerusalem for a couple of days. the first day many of the roads were closed. the stores close - the city shuts down. my workplace was closed for both days (so a long weekend for some!). the second day by mid morning the sun was out and sky was blue.
snow in the middle east! lots of fun!
the music is "Snow" by Severed Heads off the Gigapus album
http://www.sevcom.com/
30-31/01/2008, jerusalem, israel
http://blip.tv/file/get/AliaK-jerusalemSnow649.flv
http://blip.tv/file/get/AliaK-jerusalemSnow649.mp4
http://blip.tv/file/651524
