Forget Saving The Planet

Save the planet.
Itu motto yang paling sering muncul di status facebook di Hari Bumi ini.

Dan saya dipaksa sedikit berpikir.
Bumi sudah ada sebelum kita, manusia. Dan sepertinya masih akan bertahan melalui semua global warming dan ice age seperti jutaan tahun sebelumnya. Bumi bisa menanggung hal-hal buruk yang kita lakukan padanya. Tapi KITA, baca : manusia-bodoh-serakah-tamak-hausdarah-sombong-arogan-seperti-saya, akan menghilang karena perbuatan kita sendiri.

Kita akan mati sebelum Bumi mati.
Mungkin kita harus bertanya pada dinosaurus apakah bumi perlu diselamatkan.

Mother Earth will outlive every single homo sapien.

Saya termasuk orang yang percaya semua punya jiwa. Bunga-bunga rumput mungil di pojok halaman, cacing tanah di sela-sela akar tanaman, lebah dan serangga yang keluar masuk rumah, pohon akasia dan rerumputan di bukit belakang, makanan yang kita makan, air hujan, awan, matahari, angin, batu-batu...

Jiwa-jiwa itu memancarkan energinya ke setiap mahkluk di sekelilingnya.
Makanan yang kita makan memberikan energinya sehingga kita bisa bernafas, berpikir dan bergerak.
Dan hidup ini adalah siklus.
Kita memancarkan energi ke jiwa-jiwa lain.

Sebagai seorang ibu, anak-anak merupakan indikator yang paling jelas tentang energi yang saya pancarkan, tentang suasana hati saya. Ketika saya gelisah mereka akan gelisah. Ketika saya sedih, mereka sepertinya tau. Ketika saya marah, mereka akan mengkerut menjauh. Dulu ketika mereka bayi, saya tidak akan bisa menenangkan tangis mereka jika saya sendiri ingin menangis kecapekan atau kesepian.
Semakin dewasa sepertinya kemampuan itu semakin memudar dan menghilang. Empati kita semakin tipis bahkan jika melihat a cry for help atau tangan menengadah. Kita terburu-buru, penuh perhitungan dan kecurigaan.

Kita bernafas tapi tidak merasakan jiwa-jiwa itu bergerak.
Kita mendaki gunung, berenang di lautan, dan berjalan di bumi tapi meninggalkan bekas-bekas kerusakan dan sampah dimana-mana.
Kita hidup dari merusak hutan dan tanah.
We're just growing old and dying.

Dan kita bertanya-tanya, "How to save the earth?"

Energi dan Jiwa tak pernah menghilang. Hanya bisa kembali kepada-Nya. Sang Jiwa Yang Maha Energi.

So, save yourself, love yourself.
By loving all beings.
By being one with earth.

"...When people pour or sprinkle on the Earth fragrant and pure substances like perfume and fragrant milk, the Earth does not feel proud. But when people pour upon the Earth unclean and bad-smelling substances...the Earth does not feel anger, hatred, or shame. The Earth has the capacity to receive, embrace, and transform everything." ~ Touching The Earth, Thich Nhat Hanh.

*terima kasih untuk semua yang mencoba menyelamatkan bumi. we'll die trying. keep up the good work, mates.

simple things to do to save yourself

Earth Hour

Maaf, saya tidak akan menganjurkan mematikan lampu malam ini. Tidak sebelum saya menyelesaikan tulisan ini.
Tahukah kamu sisi lain dari Earth Hour?

• sebagian besar lilin dibuat dari parafin, yang juga berasal dari hidrokarbon dan menghasilkan emisi karbondioksida. Berapa juta lilin yang dinyalakan malam ini?
  
• kita menghabiskan satu jam dalam gelap yang nyaman, dengan tombol lampu hanya sejauh jangkauan tangan. Bagaimana jika menghabiskan satu bulan tanpa pendingin, kulkas dan penerangan?
• The carbon sense coalition menginginkan 'earth hour' diganti dengan 'blackout night' dan dilakukan di hari terpendek dan terdingin dalam setahun.
• Bjorn Lomborg, penulis The Skeptical Environmentalist menulis, "It is vital to make solar and other new technology cheaper than fossil fuels quickly so we can turn off carbon energy sources for a lot longer than one hour and keep the planet running...Fossil fuels literally gave us an enlightenment, by lighting our world and giving us protection from the fury of the elements. It is ironic that today's pure symbolism should hark back to a darker age."
• berkumpulnya orang-orang untuk berpartisipasi dalam acara Earth Hour di kota masing-masing, akan menghasilkan keramaian dan kemacetan yang mungkin akan menambah emisi karbon.
  

Jadi, mematikan lampu sejam.
Apa gunanya?

Well, sebenarnya mirip berpuasa, kalau saya bilang.
Apa gunanya berpuasa, toh setelah maghrib kita kembali makan minum dan have sex, err make love. >.<
Tapi ada yang bilang dengan berpuasa kita tau apa yang dirasakan sodara-sodara kita yang kesulitan dan kekurangan.
Atau dengan berpuasa kita melatih kontrol diri ketika sangat menginginkan sesuatu yang tidak boleh diinginkan .
Atau dengan berpuasa kita lebih humble dan simple.
Atau dengan berpuasa kita semakin kurus dan pengeluaran belanja bisa dihemat, asal buka puasanya ngga neko-neko.

Hmm...jadi kangen bulan puasa...
Heheh ^^

Jadi, apakah sejam mematikan lampu terlalu dirasa bull@#$^ sampai menghalangi kita melakukannya? Atau kita termasuk yang ngga suka ikut-ikut dan lebih suka 'melawan arus'? Kalo ingin melawan arus, lawanlah arus penggunaan bahan bakar fosil dengan tidak menggunakan kendaraan bermotor dan, well, kejutan, tidak menggunakan listrik selama lebih dari sejam.
Bagaimana dengan earth month? Satu bulan? Bisa? Saya sih ngga. Kalo mati lebih dari 6 jam disini sih sering. Apalagi daerah-daerah terpencil yang belum tersentuh PLN.
Lakukan dengan tidak bekerja di perusahaan pertambangan yang meratakan hutan-hutan di Kalimantan (termasuk suami saya berarti...).
Lakukan itu dan kita sangat boleh berbangga hati tidak ikut mematikan lampu malam dari jam 20.30-21.30 waktu lokal malam ini.

Satu jam yang simbolik memang. Tapi satu jam lebih baik dari tidak sama sekali. Dan satu jam yang sebaiknya diikuti dengan pemikiran-pemikiran baru untuk ke depan.
Pengolahan sampah. *Dimas aja tau mbuang sampah sembarangan itu ngga boleh, "Joyokk!!"
Penyerapan air tanah.
Penanaman pohon dan lahan hijau.
bla bla bla...

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above earth or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream, down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face and I...

Tears stream, down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face and I...

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

Dan siapa tau, mind over matter berlaku malam ini.
Ketika jutaan pikiran berfrekuensi sama untuk menyelamatkan Ibu Bumi dan Ibu Alam, siapa tau, we will fix Her.

So, lets be positive. Think about earth healing and world peace tonight.

Who Will Save Your Soul?

Chilling and horrible thoughts.

Harvard fellow's modest proposal: starve the Gazans and their babies.

Barbara Brown wrote of Apartheid South Africa:

' [White] South Africans who express a [concern with Black population growth] perceive a close relationship between population growth rates and political instability. There are two variants of this approach. The first holds that a growing black and unemployed population will mean increased poverty which will in turn lead to a black revolt. . .

In an opening address to a major private sector conference on 'population dynamics' in South Africa, the president of the 1820 Foundation argued that 'Rapid population growth translates into a steadily worsening employment future, massive city growth . . . and an increase in the number of poor and disadvantaged. All are rightly viewed as threats to social stability and orderly change.'

A second, but smaller, group believes the black threat arises simply out of the changing ratio of white to black. This group sees that 'THE WHITES ARE A DWINDLING MINORITY IN THE COUNTRY' and argues that this situation will lead to a 'similar reduction of white political authority'.

Some argue for birth control on even more overtly racist grounds, but few people in leadership positions do so, at least publicly. Debates in the House of Assembly have included remarks to the effect that blacks are unable to make a contribution to South African society and so should be encouraged to limit their numbers. The organiser of a 'Population Explosion' conference, a medical doctor who is deputy director of the Verwoerd Hospital, argued that whites must organise a family planning programme for blacks because the latter group is biologically incapable of exercising foresight.'

- Barbara B. Brown, "Facing the 'Black Peril': The Politics of Population Control in South Africa," Journal of Southern African Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2(Jan., 1987), pp. 256-273, this quote pp. 263-64.

A brillian piece from Leila.

The ghastliness of it all was best summed up by an exchange between the mock Dan Halutz and Doron Almog to the real Martin Kramer on Twitter:

danhalutz RT @doronalmog: @DanHalutz Remember that time u, me, & @Martin_Kramer debated @Harvard over drinks on how to get rid of those superfluous Gazans? Good times

danhalutz @DoronAlmog Of course! @Martin_Kramer was all about the “pro-natal subsidies” and you just wanted to bulldoze those Gazans. Me, I like F16s

danhalutz @Martin_Kramer Dear Sir: I admire your brilliant ideas but fear ending pronatal subsidies will not eliminate superfluous Arabs fast enough.

danhalutz @Martin_Kramer: I say replace ‘pronatal’ subsidies with ‘pro-morbid’ ones: cluster bombs, white phosphorus, napalm. Let’s co-author a paper!

Till We Meet Again, Gus

Artikel dibawah ini ditulis oleh Duncan Graham, seorang jurnalis Selandia Baru di blognya Indonesia Now.

FAREWELL GUS DUR: President RI 20 October 1999 - 23 July 2001

I interviewed Gus Dur for a book on Indonesia and spent most of the time laughing at his jokes. There's one below. He was an extraordinary man, a true democrat, liberal, learned and impossible to dislike. History should treat him kindly - just as he treated others. His impact on Indonesia endures leaving it a far better country after the ravages of Soeharto.

THE BIG DEBATE
By Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur)

Back 10 centuries ago, just before the Crusade was launched, the Pope decided all Muslims had to leave Jerusalem peacefully or there’d be bloodshed. Naturally there is a big uproar from the Muslim community. So the Pope strikes a deal. He proposes a debate with a member of the Muslim community. If the Muslim wins the debate, all the Muslims can stay. If the Pope wins, all the Muslims will have to leave.

The Muslims realise they have no choice. They look around for a champion who can defend their faith. No one wants to volunteer, it's too risky. But they finally pick their representative, an old Mullah who unknowingly agrees without understanding what he’s getting himself into. He agrees on the condition that neither side is allowed to talk but communicate by miming, as he’s almost deaf. The Pope agrees.
The day of the great debate comes. The Mullah and the Pope sit opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raises his hand and shows three fingers. The Mullah raises his middle finger. The Pope waves his fingers in a circle around his head. The Mullah points to the ground and stamps his right foot. The Pope pulls out a wafer and a glass of wine. The Mullah pulls out an apple. The Pope stands up and says: ‘I give up. This man is too good. The Muslims can stay.’

An hour later the cardinals are all around the Pope asking what happened. The Pope says: ‘First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there is still one God common to both our religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all about us. He responded by pointing to the ground and stamping his feet, telling me that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and the wafer to show that God absolves us from our sins. He pulled out an apple reminding me of the first sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I do?’

Meanwhile, the Muslim community has crowded around the old Mullah in total astonishment. ‘What happened?’ they ask. ‘Well’ says the Mullah, ‘first, he said we Muslims had three days to leave Jerusalem. I told him - up yours! Then he said this whole city would be cleared of Muslims. I told him none would leave this land!’

‘And then?' asks a woman. ‘He took out his lunch and I took out mine,’ says the Mullah.

The power of the mind lies in perceiving differences; the power of the heart lies in perceiving similarities
Kekuatan pikiran terletak dalam menerima perbedaan; kekuatan hati terletak dalam menerima persamaan.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un
انّا للہ و انّا الیہ راجعون
We indeed belong to God, and we indeed toward him are returning.

Hedy Epstein

From Mondoweiss.



The sweetest and bravest grandmother ever.

You're Not Done Yet, Neither Are We.

A Message to World Leaders from Global Youth.



In daily life, buy local and reduce our domestic waste.
My kids know now that they can start helping our world by recycling kardus susu and burying the kitchen scraps.
Small actions. Big changes.

The Emperor's Clothes

"The Emperor's Clothes"
by Invincible

Phase 1: Air strikes all day and all night
Phase 2: Rockets hit the Gaza strip with phosphorus
Phase 3: Ground attack how we gonna counteract?

Boycott Divest and Sanction

Israel– you should be ashamed
Kill and maim 1,000's of civilians in our name
Claim you hitting terrorists but children in your aim
Even murder relief workers blood spilling from they brain
While they tried to drive the ambulance, damn they couldn't stand a chance
Even bomb students, hospitals, mosques, Rafah, and Khan Yunis
Shot em in the back like the cops to Oscar Grant…
And in each case the good ol' united states sponsored that
7 million a day that we pay tax and AIPAC's lobbyists is robbin us
Sometimes it feels like they're ain't no stopping this
BUT now no body can deny it cuz you made it too obvious
Naked truth exposed like the emperor's clothes
The struggles getting hotter and the temperature rose
Since 1948 when you formed the state
Palestinian people still defending their homes
They aint been surrendering, NO

Boycott Divest and Sanction
Cuz they even bombed the United Nations

Look, i'm Israeli, my government's so arrogant
War criminals who call Palestinians terrorists
For resisting extinction and occupation
Comparing this to genocide and reservations of Native Americans
Its a massacre! Kick out they ambassadors!
Divest from their apartheid like South Africa
Boycott em like King to Montgomery buses,
Show them we want peace but only with real justice
They murdering the media and witnesses left
We gonna stop shopping at all the businesses that invest
In building they settlements and gentrifying our corners
Illegal walls over there and the US-Mexico border
Build a worldwide movement til the truth is heard
And supporting the Israelis who refuse to serve
All the C.O.s who AWOL when deployed to Iraqi stations
All the people rallying while the cops are chasing
If we enlisted in the system we got an obligation
We ain't got the patience, time to stop the occupation

Boycott, Divest, and Sanction
Til there's right of return for displaced and reparations

We Remember

Khulood Ghanem's diary.

My father told us that we have one god and it is one death either by rocket, by car, by gun, there is no difference and you have to die with your dignity and get rid of your fear.

The Tragedy of Gaza, the West Bank and Israel by Chris Hedges. Full text inThe language of death.

The incursion into Gaza is not about destroying Hamas. It is not about stopping rocket fire into Israel. It is not about achieving peace. The Israeli decision to rain death and destruction on Gaza, to use the lethal weapons of the modern battlefield on a largely defenseless civilian population, is the final phase of the decades-long campaign to ethnically cleanse Palestinians. The assault on Gaza is about creating squalid, lawless and impoverished ghettos where life for Palestinians will be barely sustainable. It is about building ringed Palestinian enclaves where Israel will always have the ability to shut off movement, food, medicine and goods to perpetuate misery. The Israeli attack on Gaza is about building a hell on earth.

The use of terror and hunger to break a hostile population is one of the oldest forms of warfare. I watched the Bosnian Serbs employ the same tactic in Sarajevo. And I watched the Bosnian Serbs, like the Israelis, attempt to justify their systematic destruction of the city, with thousands of dead and wounded, on a few paltry Muslim mortars and light arms fire. Those who orchestrate such sieges do not grasp the terrible rage born of long humiliation, indiscriminate violence and abuse. A father or a mother whose child dies because of a lack of vaccines or proper medical care does not forget. A boy whose ill grandmother dies while detained at an Israel checkpoint does not forget. Families who carry the broken bodies of their children to hospitals do not forget. All who endure humiliation, abuse and the murder of those they love do not forget. This rage becomes a virus within those who, eventually, stumble out into the daylight. Is it any wonder that 71 percent of children interviewed at a school in Gaza recently said they wanted to be a “martyr”?

A poem, by David Radavich

GAZA GUILT
I confess: I didn’t really see
the grief-stricken girl
by the seashore.

I didn’t know her suffering.
I’ve only seen pictures.

That’s why it
didn’t seem real.

But I felt for her
genuine pain.

And images came
to me—

just as they are
not now

unlocking their shapes,
their unforgettable
colors.

You will please
forgive me.

Honesty is best.

Even dull honesty
with no ripped-off heads
bloody and toy-like

that only have
been imagined by

the privileged
who in their silence

collude
and oppress.

I am safe and warm.
I have food. And money.
I don’t see bodies

torn by war
for breakfast.

The blind can
never do justice.


a sleeping angel of Gaza (RememberGaza.com)

Do not forget.
Act. Don't mourn.

D for Damar, D for Dimas

Facts about Dam and Dim.

Damar adalah si early bird, atau early worm, orang yang bangun paling pagi dan langsung nyanyi-nyanyi keliling rumah. Tapi kalo dah capek dan kena bantal langsung pingsan.
Dimas adalah si gudel (anak sapi-dee), karena kalo tidur ngebo. Udah dibolak-balik, digendong keluar kamar, dinyalain kartun kenceng-kenceng, ditimbun bantal, dikitik-kitik, diuyel-uyel, dicubit-cubit...semua
kecuali disiram air, ngga bakal bangun. Pantesan pipi Dimas ngga kempes-kempes. Rekor bangun pagi jam 11 siang.

Damar suka nyanyi dan joged. Panggilannya di sekolah? Jacko. Sekarang lagi suka nyanyi jingle bells dan paling suka berbahasa indonesia yang baik dan benar. "Mamah, aku sangat kecewa." atau "Aku mau mengambil spidol untuk menggambar tetapi spidolnya terlalu tinggi aku tak bisa menggambilnya."

Dimas suka maen sepak bola dan lompat timbun. Lompat timbun itu lompat dari kasur atas ke kasur bawah, sebelum lompat ngambil ancang-ancang sambil mbaca mantra, "lima tujuh lima tujuh...", maksudnya mau ngitung satu dua tiga tapi versi dimas. Last step, lompat jauh sambil teriak, "TIMBUUUNNN!!!" Malanglah orang yang kebetulan lagi di kasur bawah. Ketimbun 14 kg pipi dan lemak.
Si Park Dimas Sung ini kalo maen bola ancang-ancang larinya bisa sampe 50 meter. Kalo lari kayak ada per di kaki.

Damar lagi ribut minta pohon natal. Karena ngga dikasih ganti pengen menghias pohon cemara kecil di halaman depan rumah.
Dimas lagi heboh minta ulang taun, soalnya dijanjiiin baru dibeliin maenan lagi kalo ulang taun. Next month.

Damar rambutnya lurus jegrak. Kalo disuruh potong rambut mirip disuruh nyemplung sumur.
Dimas kriwil-kriwil. Kalo lagi keringatan kepalanya jadi mirip rambutan.

Damar bisa diminta matiin tipi, dengan catatan sudah dibilangin sebelumnya, "setengah jam lagi matiin ya" atau "habis little einstein matiin ya".
Dimas harus pake sesi nangis, rebutan remote, kejar-kejaran, dan terakhir saking malesnya pindah dia ngompol di kasur di depan tipi. Padahal aku dah ngga inget kapan dia ngompol di kasur. Wew. Red Alert.

Damar lagi seneng bikin kue, nyetak dan ngasih hiasan. Yang paling nyenengin, dia suka makannya juga.
Dimas...yaahh, masih tahap ngremes-remes adonan sambil ditambahin eces disana-sini.

Damar suka susu strawberry. Dimas susu coklat.
Damar suka es krim conetto mini rasa blueberry. Dimas suka rasa strawberry. Mamahnya suka dua-duanya.

They're both the same, but they're not.
They're both D, but as different as A and Z.
Their hugs are the best cure for a weary heart and a wandering mind.
They keep me connected and disconnected.
They're my Planetaia, my wandering stars.
They teach new things and new point of views every single day.
They remind me of the who,what,where,when,why and how.

The best of all, their face never fail to send a sign,
"everything's gonna be okay, mommie, it always is."

Spirit of Christmas

December this year reminds me of two sad things.
December 26th 2004, The Sumatra tsunami.
December 27th 2008, Gaza bombing.
*I'll leave century, kpk and lunmay thingies out of this note, sorry.

This is how christmas was in Gaza before the bombing, December 25th 2008 :

Christmas in Gaza: No Trees, No Celebrations

For the first time, Hazem Al-Jilda, a Christian from Gaza, and his family could not light the Christmas tree at their home because of the electricity black-out caused by the lack of fuel, due to the Israeli siege on Gaza.

'We only have electricity for six hours a day because Israel is not letting any fuel supplies into Gaza's only electric power plant,' said Al-Jilda (34). 'We missed the happiness of lightening the Christmas tree this year.'

'I have never seen such a sad Christmas,' he said. 'This year, there are almost no traditional Christmas celebrations in Gaza because of the siege and Israel's refusal to give Gaza's Christians permits to visit Bethlehem.

About 4,000 Christians live in the besieged Gaza Strip. Most of them belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, while the rest follow the Latin Church Christmas calendar, which falls on December 25.

Yea, as a matter o' facts, there are christians in Gaza. And they're suffer the same, since they too are Palestinians.

Anyway, we all know the story of Gaza after that christmas day.

This year, a true spirit of christmas

Christmas In Gaza by Fr John Dear, National Catholic Reporter

Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, his place is with those others for whom there is no room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power, because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied the status of persons, tortured, exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present. -- Thomas Merton

In the true spirit of Christmas, on Christmas day I'll leave for Gaza to join some 1,300 people from 40 nations -- as well as an expected 50,000 Palestinians -- and together undertake a nonviolent march to the Erez northern border crossing leading into Israel. We'll arrive on the first anniversary of the diabolical Israeli bombing attack in which 1,400 Palestinians perished, the vast majority civilians.

The journey represents my attempt to break through the commercialism and sentimentality of Christmas. By this journey I’m trying, in a modest way, to enter the Gospel story itself, mindful that Christmas celebrates the God of peace having come to the poor, having emerged from among the poor. God emerged from among the marginalized, the homeless, the refugees, the outcast, the occupied, the targeted peoples of the world. I journey in the Christmas hope that "peace on earth" comes first of all in places like Gaza.

So, while most of us have already forgotten, some people remind us what humanity is all about. It's borderless.

There are too many people, and too few human beings. ~Robert Zend

Merry christmas, my friends.
May peace and justice prevail on earth.

Quote of the day : " When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or at least return it equally…Surely, Allah takes account of all things.” (An-Nisa’ 4: 86)