Nick Joaquin, 86
Nick Joaquin died yesterday morning--in his sleep, some reports say.
I have never met Nick Joaquin, but one friend, a townmate from Bicol did. She was then rehearsing for a play, whose title I no longer remember, when a drunk old man came and started commenting on the performances. My friend was so vexed and aghast that all the other people do not seem to mind the presence of the rowdy man. She was just about to ask the old man to leave the premises when a friend told her it was the great Nick Joaquin she was about to shoo.
We all had a good laugh when she told the story, almost as good a laugh as that story of a high school student asking to see the playwright for an interview after a viewing of Oedipus Rex.
My literature humanities teacher, who had such an exacting standard in literature she thought the Filipino literary voice in English is serviceable at its best, has the highest praise for Joaquin's The woman who had two navels, which she said eerily reminded her of James Joyce (our class was then discussing Joyce's much-anthologized short story Araby).
Friday, April 30, 2004
Will Raul Roco win through?
The news reports today confirm that Raul Roco's prostate cancer has metastasized, which means that the cancer cells have spread to the bones. The proper medical name is bone metastasis, which most people with cancer develop at some point.
Roco was upbeat when he gave an interview with Mel Tiangco on GMA yesterday. He said that an intelligent medicine has already taken care of his cancer cells and that he can proceed with his normal lifestyle unencumbered. In today's Inquirer report, he is quoted as saying, "I will have no further treatment for now."
Has Roco won his fight against cancer ? I think there is serious reason to believe the contrary. ( One caveat: the following is nothing more but medical speculation by one who once hypochondriacally diagnosed himself with tuberculosis and psoriasis and was proven wrong to the amusement/vexation of the doctors.)
The so-called intelligent medicine that Roco got in Texas, as Dr. Jaime Galvex-Tan said, was zoledronic acid or Zolendronate, a chemotherapy drug that is used to treat solid tumors that have spread to the bones.
How does zoledronic acid work? Zoledronic acid, which was approved for cancer treatment by the American FDA in 2002, stops cancer cells from breaking down bone, thus stopping the calcium in the bone from going into the blood. The main goal of the drug is to stabilize the bone and decrease pain. It is a treatment, NOT a cure.
The condition of Roco is, I think, not as rosy as he paints it on TV. I gather that bone tumors spread quite rapidly and zoledronic acid is not 100% effective ( in fact some 30 % reduction only in one French experiment in 2002 ) in reducing skeletal-related events (SREs). Roco also must be feeling some pain even now because zoledronic acid's effect in reducing pain is not instantaneous. Somne patients even experience heightened pain after the initial dosage.
What worries me though is this transcript of a cancersourceRN interview I found:
SPEAKER_Rebecca_Hawkins: Once patients have developed bone metastasis, a variety of problems may arise. We know that these patients have a shortened survival. Other possible problems may include bone pain, pathological fractures, spinal cord compression, and hypercalcemia. Unfortunately, once patients have developed bone metastasis their survival time is limited. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer have a median survival of 3 to 6 months. A breast cancer patient's median survival is 20 months while a prostate cancer patient's mean survival is 53 months. Thankfully we are seeing some of these statistics change with newer treatments, but it is readily accepted that the patient's life is shortened after the diagnosis of bone metastasis.
Will Raul Roco survive? Only his doctors know the actual prognosis. We can only hope and pray that he does.
The news reports today confirm that Raul Roco's prostate cancer has metastasized, which means that the cancer cells have spread to the bones. The proper medical name is bone metastasis, which most people with cancer develop at some point.
Roco was upbeat when he gave an interview with Mel Tiangco on GMA yesterday. He said that an intelligent medicine has already taken care of his cancer cells and that he can proceed with his normal lifestyle unencumbered. In today's Inquirer report, he is quoted as saying, "I will have no further treatment for now."
Has Roco won his fight against cancer ? I think there is serious reason to believe the contrary. ( One caveat: the following is nothing more but medical speculation by one who once hypochondriacally diagnosed himself with tuberculosis and psoriasis and was proven wrong to the amusement/vexation of the doctors.)
The so-called intelligent medicine that Roco got in Texas, as Dr. Jaime Galvex-Tan said, was zoledronic acid or Zolendronate, a chemotherapy drug that is used to treat solid tumors that have spread to the bones.
How does zoledronic acid work? Zoledronic acid, which was approved for cancer treatment by the American FDA in 2002, stops cancer cells from breaking down bone, thus stopping the calcium in the bone from going into the blood. The main goal of the drug is to stabilize the bone and decrease pain. It is a treatment, NOT a cure.
The condition of Roco is, I think, not as rosy as he paints it on TV. I gather that bone tumors spread quite rapidly and zoledronic acid is not 100% effective ( in fact some 30 % reduction only in one French experiment in 2002 ) in reducing skeletal-related events (SREs). Roco also must be feeling some pain even now because zoledronic acid's effect in reducing pain is not instantaneous. Somne patients even experience heightened pain after the initial dosage.
What worries me though is this transcript of a cancersourceRN interview I found:
SPEAKER_Rebecca_Hawkins: Once patients have developed bone metastasis, a variety of problems may arise. We know that these patients have a shortened survival. Other possible problems may include bone pain, pathological fractures, spinal cord compression, and hypercalcemia. Unfortunately, once patients have developed bone metastasis their survival time is limited. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer have a median survival of 3 to 6 months. A breast cancer patient's median survival is 20 months while a prostate cancer patient's mean survival is 53 months. Thankfully we are seeing some of these statistics change with newer treatments, but it is readily accepted that the patient's life is shortened after the diagnosis of bone metastasis.
Will Raul Roco survive? Only his doctors know the actual prognosis. We can only hope and pray that he does.
Call for volunteers
THE ELECTION CALL CENTER 10-149 WILL BE UP ON MAY 1 and we are still in need of tele-educators who can volunteer for at least 1 day between May 1 to May 10 for just 4 hours/day. Tele-educators will take calls and answer election-related queries from all over the Philippines using a database.
ALL VOLUNTEERS WILL HAVE THEIR BREIFING ON APRIL 30, 2004, Friday, 7:30PM AT THE CALL CENTER VENUE, CLC Center, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Hts, Q.C. It's a new building near LST (loyola School of Theology).
We need 7-10 people per shift. New shift schedule is: 9am to 1pm, 1pm to 5pm, 5pm to 9pm. You have to be there 30 minutes before your shift.
Please email back or call 0919-6046967 for questions or any concerns. YOU MAY VOLUNTEER AS A BARKADA
From:
Professionals Actively Responding TOday
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
THE ELECTION CALL CENTER 10-149 WILL BE UP ON MAY 1 and we are still in need of tele-educators who can volunteer for at least 1 day between May 1 to May 10 for just 4 hours/day. Tele-educators will take calls and answer election-related queries from all over the Philippines using a database.
ALL VOLUNTEERS WILL HAVE THEIR BREIFING ON APRIL 30, 2004, Friday, 7:30PM AT THE CALL CENTER VENUE, CLC Center, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Hts, Q.C. It's a new building near LST (loyola School of Theology).
We need 7-10 people per shift. New shift schedule is: 9am to 1pm, 1pm to 5pm, 5pm to 9pm. You have to be there 30 minutes before your shift.
Please email back or call 0919-6046967 for questions or any concerns. YOU MAY VOLUNTEER AS A BARKADA
From:
Professionals Actively Responding TOday
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
Thursday, April 29, 2004
The remains of the campaign
Raul Roco has returned. The question though is whether Roco has returned just as Gandalf did -- at the turning of the tide, that is.
Most believe that Roco is destined for Loserville come May 10. Why then should we still vote for him? Because Roco is still the most qualified among the candidates, notwithstanding his sickness. (Manuel Quezon III in his Inquirer column today also obliquely argues that life-threatening sicknesses spur men into great action.)
Captious critics say Roco has a pathetic political network as revealed by his patched senatorial slate devoid of established names. Really, you cannot help but feel for Roco. He has occupied many important government positions and yet he has miserably failed to strike political friendships along the way. He remains an outsider to the political Establishment. All the incumbent governors in Bicol, for example, are campaigning against him.
While some voters were disheartened by Roco's lack of popularity among Establishment circles, I instead was spurred by the fact. Roco's lackluster senatorial slate is a proof that he has not invested much in our current political system. He therefore could change it without upsetting too many friends and too much capital.
Detractors also claim that Roco has a bad temper. What they don't know however is that it is often the trait of great men that they have short patience and bad temper. Even the saintly Mother Teresa, few people know and the Catholic Church's canonical committee wished to suppress, was known to burst into impatient tirades against her Sisters of Charity.
For symbolic reasons and more, I also think it is about time that the country should elect a president from Bicol, the country's poorest region.
The presidency should also be the time for Roco to cleanse himself once and for all of the ACCRA sins he committed lawyering for Danding Cojuangco, doing the legal paper for the latter's robbing of coconut farmers, most of whom are in Bicol. This is a political sin that cries for restitution. (Roco at one point offered the PCGG to tell all, but this was preempted by the Supreme Court which ruled that such action would violate the confidence of lawyer-client relationship.)
Roco should take care of his health. We pray that in the event that he lose this election, he would have the heart--- and the health--- to run again in the next elections, six years from now. Because after FPJ, there is no other threatening showbiz presidentiable in the political horizon. Roco supporters, from Batanes to Sulu, should be glad and bring good tidings: Piolo Pascual is still too young to run for president.
Raul Roco has returned. The question though is whether Roco has returned just as Gandalf did -- at the turning of the tide, that is.
Most believe that Roco is destined for Loserville come May 10. Why then should we still vote for him? Because Roco is still the most qualified among the candidates, notwithstanding his sickness. (Manuel Quezon III in his Inquirer column today also obliquely argues that life-threatening sicknesses spur men into great action.)
Captious critics say Roco has a pathetic political network as revealed by his patched senatorial slate devoid of established names. Really, you cannot help but feel for Roco. He has occupied many important government positions and yet he has miserably failed to strike political friendships along the way. He remains an outsider to the political Establishment. All the incumbent governors in Bicol, for example, are campaigning against him.
While some voters were disheartened by Roco's lack of popularity among Establishment circles, I instead was spurred by the fact. Roco's lackluster senatorial slate is a proof that he has not invested much in our current political system. He therefore could change it without upsetting too many friends and too much capital.
Detractors also claim that Roco has a bad temper. What they don't know however is that it is often the trait of great men that they have short patience and bad temper. Even the saintly Mother Teresa, few people know and the Catholic Church's canonical committee wished to suppress, was known to burst into impatient tirades against her Sisters of Charity.
For symbolic reasons and more, I also think it is about time that the country should elect a president from Bicol, the country's poorest region.
The presidency should also be the time for Roco to cleanse himself once and for all of the ACCRA sins he committed lawyering for Danding Cojuangco, doing the legal paper for the latter's robbing of coconut farmers, most of whom are in Bicol. This is a political sin that cries for restitution. (Roco at one point offered the PCGG to tell all, but this was preempted by the Supreme Court which ruled that such action would violate the confidence of lawyer-client relationship.)
Roco should take care of his health. We pray that in the event that he lose this election, he would have the heart--- and the health--- to run again in the next elections, six years from now. Because after FPJ, there is no other threatening showbiz presidentiable in the political horizon. Roco supporters, from Batanes to Sulu, should be glad and bring good tidings: Piolo Pascual is still too young to run for president.
The short but happy political life of Mr. Eddie Gil
The Manila Times reports that the Supreme Court has terminated the presidential aspirations of self-proclaimed billionaire Eddie Gil, the presidential candidate with the concrete platform of paying off the national debt out of his own pocket. The SC cited Gil's incapacity to wage a nationwide campaign.
Informed of the adverse decision of the SC, the irrepressible Eddie Gil, whom I know many people have come to love, promptly called for the justices to be hanged.
We will sorely miss Eddie Gil, whose wry humor was so effortless it would have been a travesty for Malacanang to have him as the resident jester. Now that the presidency has been cruelly denied him by the snooty justices, Eddie Gil should probably scout for vacancies in any of the ABS-CBN's sitcoms. Who knows, time may come when he too would win the favor of the Lopezes, and follow in the path trailblazed by Loren Legarda and Noli de Castro.
The Manila Times reports that the Supreme Court has terminated the presidential aspirations of self-proclaimed billionaire Eddie Gil, the presidential candidate with the concrete platform of paying off the national debt out of his own pocket. The SC cited Gil's incapacity to wage a nationwide campaign.
Informed of the adverse decision of the SC, the irrepressible Eddie Gil, whom I know many people have come to love, promptly called for the justices to be hanged.
We will sorely miss Eddie Gil, whose wry humor was so effortless it would have been a travesty for Malacanang to have him as the resident jester. Now that the presidency has been cruelly denied him by the snooty justices, Eddie Gil should probably scout for vacancies in any of the ABS-CBN's sitcoms. Who knows, time may come when he too would win the favor of the Lopezes, and follow in the path trailblazed by Loren Legarda and Noli de Castro.
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Homeless at NYU
Read this intriguing story of Steve Stanzak who spent "eight months as a homeless sophomore at New York University, sleeping six hours a night in the subbasement of the Bobst Library, showering in the gym or at friends' apartments, doing his homework at a nearby McDonald's and subsisting mostly on bagels and orange juice."
The New York Times report says that:
"Unlike the majority of students at N.Y.U," he wrote on hisWeb site, "I don't get an ounce of money from mommy or daddy and can't afford to live the lavish life here. If it sounds like I'm bitter, it's because I am."
Read this intriguing story of Steve Stanzak who spent "eight months as a homeless sophomore at New York University, sleeping six hours a night in the subbasement of the Bobst Library, showering in the gym or at friends' apartments, doing his homework at a nearby McDonald's and subsisting mostly on bagels and orange juice."
The New York Times report says that:
"Unlike the majority of students at N.Y.U," he wrote on his
Love means never having to say you’ve lost an election
GMA’s I-Witness last night reported on the curious trend of politicians marrying wives from showbiz-- Jules Ledesma and Assunta de Rossi, Ralph Recto and Vilma santos, Sharon Cuneta and Francis Panglinan, Dudut Jaworski and Mikee Cojuangco, etc. The increasing practice, in the opinion of some, reeks of political opportunism.
Why does there seem to be a trend toward marrying showbiz celebrities? That they are more pulchritudinous is surely a factor in the attraction, but there is more to the story than pheromones doing their job. Showbiz spouses pluck aspiring politicians from humdrum obscurity and give them instant name recognition. There is no doubt, for example, that Recto could never have won a Senate seat had he not picked Vilma Santos to be his bride.
The scions of traditional political families in the country are feeling the effect of their weakened alliance with the poor based on previous paternalistic relationships. Their political clans' clients can no longer be counted on to deliver the votes to secure a majority come election time. Hence, the resort to showbiz wives to enthrall and catch the attention of the straying poor.
Are these mariagges despicable? Surely no. People fall in love when they fall in love. It is just that for some people marital happiness is best secured by a public office. People have varying definitions of love and for some, public office is a necessary predicate to theirs.
These marriages, while arguably debasing the romantic idea of true love, are, in fact, good for the society. They diversify the moribund gene pool of the country's elite. Without showbiz stars to catch their interest, these politicos would be marrying one of their ilk of the same economic background. Their marrying showbiz stars spread old money more evenly, their marriages having the unintended felicitous effect of what in this benighted country of ours could pass for economic redistribution. Just think of Assunta and Jules and you will understand.
GMA’s I-Witness last night reported on the curious trend of politicians marrying wives from showbiz-- Jules Ledesma and Assunta de Rossi, Ralph Recto and Vilma santos, Sharon Cuneta and Francis Panglinan, Dudut Jaworski and Mikee Cojuangco, etc. The increasing practice, in the opinion of some, reeks of political opportunism.
Why does there seem to be a trend toward marrying showbiz celebrities? That they are more pulchritudinous is surely a factor in the attraction, but there is more to the story than pheromones doing their job. Showbiz spouses pluck aspiring politicians from humdrum obscurity and give them instant name recognition. There is no doubt, for example, that Recto could never have won a Senate seat had he not picked Vilma Santos to be his bride.
The scions of traditional political families in the country are feeling the effect of their weakened alliance with the poor based on previous paternalistic relationships. Their political clans' clients can no longer be counted on to deliver the votes to secure a majority come election time. Hence, the resort to showbiz wives to enthrall and catch the attention of the straying poor.
Are these mariagges despicable? Surely no. People fall in love when they fall in love. It is just that for some people marital happiness is best secured by a public office. People have varying definitions of love and for some, public office is a necessary predicate to theirs.
These marriages, while arguably debasing the romantic idea of true love, are, in fact, good for the society. They diversify the moribund gene pool of the country's elite. Without showbiz stars to catch their interest, these politicos would be marrying one of their ilk of the same economic background. Their marrying showbiz stars spread old money more evenly, their marriages having the unintended felicitous effect of what in this benighted country of ours could pass for economic redistribution. Just think of Assunta and Jules and you will understand.
Cashing in on Iraq
Halliburton already did big time. Isn't it about time our Filipino businessmen and professionals do?
Rebuilding Iraq: Challenges and Opportunities for Business
Iraqi Minister of Public Works to be the speaker at AIM Policy Center Globalization Lecture Policy Center
What is the role of the private sector in rebuilding Iraq? How will the security environment affect the delivery of goods and services? What are the major challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities available for Filipino and international businesses in stepping up efforts to rebuild institutions and modernize infrastructure in this war-torn land?
These are some of the questions to be asked in the 32nd installment of the AIM Policy Center’s Globalization Lecture Series entitled Rebuilding Iraq: Challenges and Opportunities for Business at the Quezon Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel on May 3, 2004, Monday, 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
Participants will have the opportunity to gain valuable insights on the likely security and political challenges companies will encounter in doing business in Iraq, as well as valuable information on the commercial developments and potential business and networking opportunities in the country.
Her Excellency Nesreen M. Sideek-Barwari, Minister of Municipalities and Public Works of the Iraqi Governing Council, shall be the distinguished speaker for this timely and vital subject matter.
The event is being sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. It is FREE of charge.
To inquire or confirm attendance, please email mledesma@mail.aim.edu.ph or jqueddeng@mail.aim.edu.ph, or call the AIM Policy Center at (632) 750-1010 ext 2108, 2113 and 2112.
Halliburton already did big time. Isn't it about time our Filipino businessmen and professionals do?
Rebuilding Iraq: Challenges and Opportunities for Business
Iraqi Minister of Public Works to be the speaker at AIM Policy Center Globalization Lecture Policy Center
What is the role of the private sector in rebuilding Iraq? How will the security environment affect the delivery of goods and services? What are the major challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities available for Filipino and international businesses in stepping up efforts to rebuild institutions and modernize infrastructure in this war-torn land?
These are some of the questions to be asked in the 32nd installment of the AIM Policy Center’s Globalization Lecture Series entitled Rebuilding Iraq: Challenges and Opportunities for Business at the Quezon Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel on May 3, 2004, Monday, 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
Participants will have the opportunity to gain valuable insights on the likely security and political challenges companies will encounter in doing business in Iraq, as well as valuable information on the commercial developments and potential business and networking opportunities in the country.
Her Excellency Nesreen M. Sideek-Barwari, Minister of Municipalities and Public Works of the Iraqi Governing Council, shall be the distinguished speaker for this timely and vital subject matter.
The event is being sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. It is FREE of charge.
To inquire or confirm attendance, please email mledesma@mail.aim.edu.ph or jqueddeng@mail.aim.edu.ph, or call the AIM Policy Center at (632) 750-1010 ext 2108, 2113 and 2112.
Invitation to a book launching
HOMEBOUND: Women Visual Artists in 19th century Philippines
PROF. ELOISA MAY P. HERNANDEZ
Department of Art Studies
University of the Philippines in Diliman
MAY 6, 2004, Thursday, 5:00 p.m., U.P. Faculty Center Conference Hall.
The book is published by the UP Press and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
HOMEBOUND: Women Visual Artists in 19th century Philippines
PROF. ELOISA MAY P. HERNANDEZ
Department of Art Studies
University of the Philippines in Diliman
MAY 6, 2004, Thursday, 5:00 p.m., U.P. Faculty Center Conference Hall.
The book is published by the UP Press and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Nerds as a US marginalized sector
Below is the description of "qualifications" for applicants to be interns at March for Women's Lives, the group that organized a large rally for legal abortion in Washington yesterday:
Undergraduate and graduate feminist women and men in all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be passionate about a woman's right to choose and will have some experience in activism. The March for Women's Lives is committed to diversity and encourages applications from people of color, people from the GLBT community, people with disabilities, and math/science majors.
Below is the description of "qualifications" for applicants to be interns at March for Women's Lives, the group that organized a large rally for legal abortion in Washington yesterday:
Undergraduate and graduate feminist women and men in all majors are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be passionate about a woman's right to choose and will have some experience in activism. The March for Women's Lives is committed to diversity and encourages applications from people of color, people from the GLBT community, people with disabilities, and math/science majors.
Monday, April 26, 2004
Good sign
Time Magazine has a travel essay on Burma on its latest issue. The writer Andrew Marshall, author of The Trouser People: A Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire , finds a positive sign: Aung San Suu Kyi's home number now rings when dialled. She is still under house arrest though but people believe she would once again be released in another drive by the Burmese military junta to gain international pogi points.
Time Magazine has a travel essay on Burma on its latest issue. The writer Andrew Marshall, author of The Trouser People: A Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire , finds a positive sign: Aung San Suu Kyi's home number now rings when dialled. She is still under house arrest though but people believe she would once again be released in another drive by the Burmese military junta to gain international pogi points.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
How to tell kung kayo na
Via Psychicpants, I got the link to Hickypox's funny blog entry on How to tell kung kayo na:
Dalawa kasi yan, either yung a) mag-on by mutual declaration, or b) mag-on by mutual non-declaration (mag-un or MU).
A. Mag-on by mutual declaration. Also has two variants.
1. Spontaneous mutual declaration.
Ex. A and B have knows each other for years. A and B might someday mutually decide to take their friendship a notch higher by entering into a romantic relationship, despite the fact that A and B are, respectively, a Catholic priest and an 11-year old boy.
2. Courtship - involves wooing young, parasol twirling, frilly fan fanning lasses through song and poetry, usually, with the end view of marrying said lass.
Ex. C has been courting D for several years now. One day, C threatens to explode his own head should D continue to act coolly indifferent to his advances. C acquiesces begrudgingly, faints.
B. Spontaneous mutual non-declaration
Consists of vague bilateral signals culminating in ambiguous non-promise of mutual fidelity. Set-up attractive to trendy couples keeping in step with the modern "American" style of dating. Also attractive to people not particularly demonstrative about their feelings, and to limbless mutes.
Via Psychicpants, I got the link to Hickypox's funny blog entry on How to tell kung kayo na:
Dalawa kasi yan, either yung a) mag-on by mutual declaration, or b) mag-on by mutual non-declaration (mag-un or MU).
A. Mag-on by mutual declaration. Also has two variants.
1. Spontaneous mutual declaration.
Ex. A and B have knows each other for years. A and B might someday mutually decide to take their friendship a notch higher by entering into a romantic relationship, despite the fact that A and B are, respectively, a Catholic priest and an 11-year old boy.
2. Courtship - involves wooing young, parasol twirling, frilly fan fanning lasses through song and poetry, usually, with the end view of marrying said lass.
Ex. C has been courting D for several years now. One day, C threatens to explode his own head should D continue to act coolly indifferent to his advances. C acquiesces begrudgingly, faints.
B. Spontaneous mutual non-declaration
Consists of vague bilateral signals culminating in ambiguous non-promise of mutual fidelity. Set-up attractive to trendy couples keeping in step with the modern "American" style of dating. Also attractive to people not particularly demonstrative about their feelings, and to limbless mutes.
Brother Eddie
The Sunday Times has an article on Brother Eddie and his decision to run for president. With Roco sick, Brother Eddie, in the opinion of many people, is the country's best choice for president.
The Sunday Times has an article on Brother Eddie and his decision to run for president. With Roco sick, Brother Eddie, in the opinion of many people, is the country's best choice for president.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Songs people sing when they are sad
I once heard from a friend that whenever she gets exhausted in the office, she gets this intense desire to sing Chaka Khan’s Through the Fire at the end of the day. I remember the song distinctly because I first heard it from a bar when a coed in the audience took to the stage, and sang Through the Fire with such intensity that I knew not a few people were infinitely curious exactly what she had been through. It was such an intense performance that whenever I hear the song today I remember that girl onstage singing it, microphone on her hand and tears welling from her eyes. And even up to this time I often wonder what was the sad story behind that girl singing Chaka Khan in 1999.
One person I know said that whenever he gets sad, all he needs to hear is the Beachboys’ Kokomo and he would forget all his troubles in an instant. This song must really be beloved because another friend told me that he imagines heaven with flying angels, white cirrus clouds and stereo playing Kokomo. The flying angels, my friend told me, he got from his catechism, the cirrus clouds he got from his fourth grade science teacher and Kokomo he got in 1993 when a distant radio was playing it on the beach on a full moon.
I took a survey of some people and I’ve come up with this list of songs people hum when they are feeling a bit blue:
1. Seasons in the Sun by Westlife.
2. Honesty by Billy Joel.
3. Please Release Me (Let me Go) by Tom Jones.
4. Ne Me Quitte Pas by Jacques Brel.
5. Take Me (I’ll Follow You) by Bobby Caldwell.
6. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
7. Tomorrow from the musical Annie.
8. It’s a Beautiful Life by Ace of Base.
My friend, who is apparently of the Roberto Benini weltanschauung, told me that the best way to cope with dejection is to deny its existence. Blast It’s A Beautiful Life to full volume, he said, and you are on your way to bliss—or Gollum’s schizophrenia, I added.
Songs or without songs, the wonderful thing about melancholy, my way of putting it, is that you always have the ultimate power to end it. If you really can take it no longer, you can always fling yourself down a precipice and be over it. Smells like teen spirit, wouldn’t you say?
I once heard from a friend that whenever she gets exhausted in the office, she gets this intense desire to sing Chaka Khan’s Through the Fire at the end of the day. I remember the song distinctly because I first heard it from a bar when a coed in the audience took to the stage, and sang Through the Fire with such intensity that I knew not a few people were infinitely curious exactly what she had been through. It was such an intense performance that whenever I hear the song today I remember that girl onstage singing it, microphone on her hand and tears welling from her eyes. And even up to this time I often wonder what was the sad story behind that girl singing Chaka Khan in 1999.
One person I know said that whenever he gets sad, all he needs to hear is the Beachboys’ Kokomo and he would forget all his troubles in an instant. This song must really be beloved because another friend told me that he imagines heaven with flying angels, white cirrus clouds and stereo playing Kokomo. The flying angels, my friend told me, he got from his catechism, the cirrus clouds he got from his fourth grade science teacher and Kokomo he got in 1993 when a distant radio was playing it on the beach on a full moon.
I took a survey of some people and I’ve come up with this list of songs people hum when they are feeling a bit blue:
1. Seasons in the Sun by Westlife.
2. Honesty by Billy Joel.
3. Please Release Me (Let me Go) by Tom Jones.
4. Ne Me Quitte Pas by Jacques Brel.
5. Take Me (I’ll Follow You) by Bobby Caldwell.
6. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
7. Tomorrow from the musical Annie.
8. It’s a Beautiful Life by Ace of Base.
My friend, who is apparently of the Roberto Benini weltanschauung, told me that the best way to cope with dejection is to deny its existence. Blast It’s A Beautiful Life to full volume, he said, and you are on your way to bliss—or Gollum’s schizophrenia, I added.
Songs or without songs, the wonderful thing about melancholy, my way of putting it, is that you always have the ultimate power to end it. If you really can take it no longer, you can always fling yourself down a precipice and be over it. Smells like teen spirit, wouldn’t you say?
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Summer of our discontent
Professor Felipe Miranda ponders the desolateness of the country's political condition in his Philippine Star column today:
The poor survive unaccountably. The powerful shun accountability in the course of their "democratic" rule. Plunderers rob their hapless constituencies blind; the latter quietly suffer their victimization and paradoxically even take pity on their merciless predators.
Private sector "entrepreneurs" concoct and get away with risk-free ventures, each venture enjoying a "sovereign" guarantee awarded by extremely accomodating political administrations. When these ill-inspired ventures fail as may be expected, the preferred solution by cavalier authorities is to unload losses on the country’s born losers – the general public.
Miranda adds that the miracle of it all is "that this nation of over 40 million registered voters generally reflect no revulsion...."
This too has been the greatest mystery to me. Why do the people keep electing rotten officials, humbly accepting their lot without a single thought that things can and should get decidedly better? Surely the lower classes cannot be rationally considered as being contented with their lot, but why do they not protest?
One friend told me that the explanation is simple: feudalism. The people think that they can change their lot only through the mediation of our feudal politicians, dispensing large amounts of stolen money during elections. The democratic idea of a citizen paddling his own course, determing the course of the nation-state by his individual vote, has not yet sunk in our political consciousness. A genuine democracy is a polity of citizens who naively believe in the power of one.
Our people do not exercise their power of one. They prefer to surrender it to some trapo politicians, who, little did our people know, are, in fact, just as ignorant as they are, albeit arguably with better clothes. In A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul, the protagonist Salim has a contempt for the Third World. For Salim, citizens of the Third World all too readily surrender their masculinities to great men. They say to a Mahatma Gandhi or a Mao ZeDong, "Here is our masculinity, we surrender it, please invest it for us." Nobody feels responsible and all the burden falls on the shoulders of the great man appointed by history.
I think a similar thing is operative in our total dependence on the country's rotten political ruling class, except that nobody among it has managed to become a great man in the style of Gandhi. (President Arroyo was even at pains to point out that she has no desire whatsoever to be great.) We have surrendered our masculinities to our politicians and they have squandered the capital. Unfortunately, there is no reason to suppose that the coming elections in May would be different from our prior investments. Oh well, caveat emptor.
Professor Felipe Miranda ponders the desolateness of the country's political condition in his Philippine Star column today:
The poor survive unaccountably. The powerful shun accountability in the course of their "democratic" rule. Plunderers rob their hapless constituencies blind; the latter quietly suffer their victimization and paradoxically even take pity on their merciless predators.
Private sector "entrepreneurs" concoct and get away with risk-free ventures, each venture enjoying a "sovereign" guarantee awarded by extremely accomodating political administrations. When these ill-inspired ventures fail as may be expected, the preferred solution by cavalier authorities is to unload losses on the country’s born losers – the general public.
Miranda adds that the miracle of it all is "that this nation of over 40 million registered voters generally reflect no revulsion...."
This too has been the greatest mystery to me. Why do the people keep electing rotten officials, humbly accepting their lot without a single thought that things can and should get decidedly better? Surely the lower classes cannot be rationally considered as being contented with their lot, but why do they not protest?
One friend told me that the explanation is simple: feudalism. The people think that they can change their lot only through the mediation of our feudal politicians, dispensing large amounts of stolen money during elections. The democratic idea of a citizen paddling his own course, determing the course of the nation-state by his individual vote, has not yet sunk in our political consciousness. A genuine democracy is a polity of citizens who naively believe in the power of one.
Our people do not exercise their power of one. They prefer to surrender it to some trapo politicians, who, little did our people know, are, in fact, just as ignorant as they are, albeit arguably with better clothes. In A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul, the protagonist Salim has a contempt for the Third World. For Salim, citizens of the Third World all too readily surrender their masculinities to great men. They say to a Mahatma Gandhi or a Mao ZeDong, "Here is our masculinity, we surrender it, please invest it for us." Nobody feels responsible and all the burden falls on the shoulders of the great man appointed by history.
I think a similar thing is operative in our total dependence on the country's rotten political ruling class, except that nobody among it has managed to become a great man in the style of Gandhi. (President Arroyo was even at pains to point out that she has no desire whatsoever to be great.) We have surrendered our masculinities to our politicians and they have squandered the capital. Unfortunately, there is no reason to suppose that the coming elections in May would be different from our prior investments. Oh well, caveat emptor.
Incunabula online
The British Library is offering incunabula for everybody to browse-- online. They wouldn't let anyone touch the actual books, of course, but through the web, you get the virtual experience of browsing the books, including the Diamond Sutra, the Chinese Buddhist scroll printed in 868 and considered the world's oldest, dated, printed book. Browse your incunabula here.
The British Library is offering incunabula for everybody to browse-- online. They wouldn't let anyone touch the actual books, of course, but through the web, you get the virtual experience of browsing the books, including the Diamond Sutra, the Chinese Buddhist scroll printed in 868 and considered the world's oldest, dated, printed book. Browse your incunabula here.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Erap sweet lover
The Manila Times reports that former President Estrada is hoping his sex life would improve once he is transferred to his private resort across Camp Capinpin where he is detained. The Manila Times reports that:
The detention quarters are also “not conducive [to sex],” Estrada said. “The room should be sweet-smelling, have a huge bed and a bathtub.”
Asked if his rest house, which is across the road from the camp, has all the amenities to spice up his humdrum sex life, he said with a grin: “Puwede na din iyon [It will do].”
After the ailing knees, is Estrada now pleading debilitating non-sex life? A novel legal question.
The Manila Times reports that former President Estrada is hoping his sex life would improve once he is transferred to his private resort across Camp Capinpin where he is detained. The Manila Times reports that:
The detention quarters are also “not conducive [to sex],” Estrada said. “The room should be sweet-smelling, have a huge bed and a bathtub.”
Asked if his rest house, which is across the road from the camp, has all the amenities to spice up his humdrum sex life, he said with a grin: “Puwede na din iyon [It will do].”
After the ailing knees, is Estrada now pleading debilitating non-sex life? A novel legal question.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
VOLUNTEER WORK for CINEMANILA
If you want to meet interesting people, see award-winning foreign films and get your adrenaline pumping from working at a crazy festival pace, volunteer for the 6th Cinemanila International Film Festival, to be held this year from June 24 – July 5, 2004. We are looking for bright and mature individuals who don’t require a lot of hand-holding to join this year’s team.
We are looking for full time volunteers and interns.
Interns are responsible for a wide range of clerical/administrative assisting duties, in addition to a bit of fact checking, on-line research, and occasional writing. Because we are a relatively small organization, interns have the opportunity to get to know all of our staff, and to really see how a film festival is put together. You will also get the chance to meet filmmakers from all over Asia and Europe and see Cinemanila movies for free. Unfortunately, we are not able to pay our interns for their time.
Full time summer interns are required to put in at least 35 hours per week (some weekends included). We can offer students at any stage of their college experience academic credit for their internship. We also accept recent graduates.
Qualifications: Writing, editing, research, interviewing and phone skills relevant. Basic computer proficiency important.
Internships are available in the following departments: Marketing, Film Traffic, Guest Services, Theater Coordination, Promotions and Publicity, Editorial, Creative, Photography and Administration.
Requirements:
To apply please send your resume with a cover letter specifying which department you are interested in interning / volunteering for. PLEASE SEND ALL RESUMES DIRECTLY TO ciffsecretariat@yahoo.com.
NOTES: This internship may qualify for academic credit. Please check with your school. This is a non-paying internship. Small stipends are available under certain circumstances and for published work. Inquire for details (email only, no phone calls please).
DEADLINE TO APPLY:
Summer (May-June) April 30, 2004 (Friday)
If you want to meet interesting people, see award-winning foreign films and get your adrenaline pumping from working at a crazy festival pace, volunteer for the 6th Cinemanila International Film Festival, to be held this year from June 24 – July 5, 2004. We are looking for bright and mature individuals who don’t require a lot of hand-holding to join this year’s team.
We are looking for full time volunteers and interns.
Interns are responsible for a wide range of clerical/administrative assisting duties, in addition to a bit of fact checking, on-line research, and occasional writing. Because we are a relatively small organization, interns have the opportunity to get to know all of our staff, and to really see how a film festival is put together. You will also get the chance to meet filmmakers from all over Asia and Europe and see Cinemanila movies for free. Unfortunately, we are not able to pay our interns for their time.
Full time summer interns are required to put in at least 35 hours per week (some weekends included). We can offer students at any stage of their college experience academic credit for their internship. We also accept recent graduates.
Qualifications: Writing, editing, research, interviewing and phone skills relevant. Basic computer proficiency important.
Internships are available in the following departments: Marketing, Film Traffic, Guest Services, Theater Coordination, Promotions and Publicity, Editorial, Creative, Photography and Administration.
Requirements:
To apply please send your resume with a cover letter specifying which department you are interested in interning / volunteering for. PLEASE SEND ALL RESUMES DIRECTLY TO ciffsecretariat@yahoo.com.
NOTES: This internship may qualify for academic credit. Please check with your school. This is a non-paying internship. Small stipends are available under certain circumstances and for published work. Inquire for details (email only, no phone calls please).
DEADLINE TO APPLY:
Summer (May-June) April 30, 2004 (Friday)
Monday, April 19, 2004
Getting the hots for Susan Roces
Roxas City vice-mayoral candidate Allan Celino must have a taste for older women, because he reportedly fondled Susan Roces in some delicate parts, prompting the latter to take a swing at him.
If the above incident is true, the question is: Is there such a dearth of local talents in Roxas City that maniacs get a chance to run for the recspectable office of the vice mayor? If a candidate cannot control his enthusiasm for Susan Roces and limit it within the bounds of propriety, how can the people expect him to control his appetite for other things like power and public money? I wonder what Celino's wife had to say about the incident.
Roxas City vice-mayoral candidate Allan Celino must have a taste for older women, because he reportedly fondled Susan Roces in some delicate parts, prompting the latter to take a swing at him.
If the above incident is true, the question is: Is there such a dearth of local talents in Roxas City that maniacs get a chance to run for the recspectable office of the vice mayor? If a candidate cannot control his enthusiasm for Susan Roces and limit it within the bounds of propriety, how can the people expect him to control his appetite for other things like power and public money? I wonder what Celino's wife had to say about the incident.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Sororities exposed
This is one expose Manong Maceda would have loved investigating in the Senate. A writer went undercover in an American state university and she discovered plenty, among others: boob ranking, naked parties and girls hooking up with each other. Read Newsweek's interview with the author of Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities for more salacious details.
This is one expose Manong Maceda would have loved investigating in the Senate. A writer went undercover in an American state university and she discovered plenty, among others: boob ranking, naked parties and girls hooking up with each other. Read Newsweek's interview with the author of Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities for more salacious details.
Saturday, April 17, 2004
The democratic merits of blogging
I finished reading Lessig's Free Culture (see an earlier post to download your free copy) yesterday. Lessig, a blogger himself, has this take on blogging:
Discussing matters of public import, criticizing others who are mistaken in their views, criticizing politicians about the decisions they make, offering solutions to problems we all see: blogs create the sense of a virtual public meeting, but one in which we don't all hope to be there at the same time and in which conversations are not necessarily linked. The best of the blog entries are relatively short; they point directly to words used by others, criticizing with or adding to them. They are arguably the most important form of unchoreographed public discourse that we have.
Blogs are taking the place of the Roman stoa and the French salon.
The gist of the book is this: In many times in history, a new technology changed the way content was distributed. And in all instances, the law accomodated the new technology. This pattern of legal accomodation, this pattern of deference to new technologies has now changed with the rise of the Internet. Rather than striking a balance between the claims of a new technology and the legitimate rights of content creators, both the US courts and Congress have imposed legal restrictions that will have the effect of smothering the new to benefit the old.
A story used by Lessig earlier in his book is most illustrative of the accomodation that he speaks of. Before the Wright brothers invented the airplane, American law held that a property owner presumptively owned not just the surface of his land, but all the land below, down to the center of the earth, and all the space above, to “an indefinite extent, upwards.” A flying plane therefore under this doctrine was a trespasser to private property since property rights were understood to extend up to the sky. The US Supreme Court in this case overturned the old doctrine and enunciated a new one: that the air is a public highway. Were that not true, every transcontinental flight would subject the operator to countless trespass suits.
Lessig argues for that same kind of accomodation with the internet. His outline of an alternative model of peer to peer file sharing, which appears in the last chapter, is a bit hazy though, but the book is a good read for internet aficionados.
I finished reading Lessig's Free Culture (see an earlier post to download your free copy) yesterday. Lessig, a blogger himself, has this take on blogging:
Discussing matters of public import, criticizing others who are mistaken in their views, criticizing politicians about the decisions they make, offering solutions to problems we all see: blogs create the sense of a virtual public meeting, but one in which we don't all hope to be there at the same time and in which conversations are not necessarily linked. The best of the blog entries are relatively short; they point directly to words used by others, criticizing with or adding to them. They are arguably the most important form of unchoreographed public discourse that we have.
Blogs are taking the place of the Roman stoa and the French salon.
The gist of the book is this: In many times in history, a new technology changed the way content was distributed. And in all instances, the law accomodated the new technology. This pattern of legal accomodation, this pattern of deference to new technologies has now changed with the rise of the Internet. Rather than striking a balance between the claims of a new technology and the legitimate rights of content creators, both the US courts and Congress have imposed legal restrictions that will have the effect of smothering the new to benefit the old.
A story used by Lessig earlier in his book is most illustrative of the accomodation that he speaks of. Before the Wright brothers invented the airplane, American law held that a property owner presumptively owned not just the surface of his land, but all the land below, down to the center of the earth, and all the space above, to “an indefinite extent, upwards.” A flying plane therefore under this doctrine was a trespasser to private property since property rights were understood to extend up to the sky. The US Supreme Court in this case overturned the old doctrine and enunciated a new one: that the air is a public highway. Were that not true, every transcontinental flight would subject the operator to countless trespass suits.
Lessig argues for that same kind of accomodation with the internet. His outline of an alternative model of peer to peer file sharing, which appears in the last chapter, is a bit hazy though, but the book is a good read for internet aficionados.
3rd National Conference on E-Learning
Organized by the Philippine eLearning Society (PeLS)
With support from the IT & e-Commerce Council (ITECC)
Date and Venue: 6 August 2004
Ateneo de Manila University
Theme:
Human Development Through Networked Knowledge
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Practitioners of elearning in basic and higher education, non formal and technical-vocational education, and corporate training are invited to submit abstracts of papers to the 3rd National Conference on eLearning. Papers may be in the form of empirical research, case studies, and frameworks for decision-making regarding the application of information and communication technologies in education and training.
Abstracts must be 300-400 words long in Word *.doc or *.rtf file format. Email abstracts to papers@elearning.ph or send by fax or in hard copy format to:
Prof. Patricia B. Arinto
Chair
Papers Committee
3rd National Conference on eLearning
Rm. 217 National Computer Center
CP Garcia Ave., Quezon City
Tel No. (02)426-1514, (02)928-0138;
Fax No. (02)426-1515
Abstracts must be submitted by May 21, 2004. Authors should indicate their contact numbers and email address.
Notices of acceptance will be issued by June 5, 2004. The deadline for full papers (for those whose abstracts are accepted) is July 15, 2004.
This year's conference is organized by the Philippine eLearning Society (PeLS), which was founded on July 30, 2003 in Manila with the objective of promoting substantive content, appropriate pedagogy, and appropriate use of technology for eLearning, guided by ongoing research activities.
PeLS serves as a venue for:
* Promoting research on the effective use of eLearning
* Sharing of eLearning experiences
* Developing standards of excellence
* Promoting interoperability of eLearning systems
* Encouraging collaboration in the development of substantive content
* Cooperating with international eLearning groups
* Promoting public awareness and appreciation of the nature and uses of eLearning
Information on applying for membership and other PeLS matters can be found at http://www.elearning.ph.
--
Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Ph.D.
Chair
Department of Information Systems and Computer Science
Ateneo de Manila University
Organized by the Philippine eLearning Society (PeLS)
With support from the IT & e-Commerce Council (ITECC)
Date and Venue: 6 August 2004
Ateneo de Manila University
Theme:
Human Development Through Networked Knowledge
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Practitioners of elearning in basic and higher education, non formal and technical-vocational education, and corporate training are invited to submit abstracts of papers to the 3rd National Conference on eLearning. Papers may be in the form of empirical research, case studies, and frameworks for decision-making regarding the application of information and communication technologies in education and training.
Abstracts must be 300-400 words long in Word *.doc or *.rtf file format. Email abstracts to papers@elearning.ph or send by fax or in hard copy format to:
Prof. Patricia B. Arinto
Chair
Papers Committee
3rd National Conference on eLearning
Rm. 217 National Computer Center
CP Garcia Ave., Quezon City
Tel No. (02)426-1514, (02)928-0138;
Fax No. (02)426-1515
Abstracts must be submitted by May 21, 2004. Authors should indicate their contact numbers and email address.
Notices of acceptance will be issued by June 5, 2004. The deadline for full papers (for those whose abstracts are accepted) is July 15, 2004.
This year's conference is organized by the Philippine eLearning Society (PeLS), which was founded on July 30, 2003 in Manila with the objective of promoting substantive content, appropriate pedagogy, and appropriate use of technology for eLearning, guided by ongoing research activities.
PeLS serves as a venue for:
* Promoting research on the effective use of eLearning
* Sharing of eLearning experiences
* Developing standards of excellence
* Promoting interoperability of eLearning systems
* Encouraging collaboration in the development of substantive content
* Cooperating with international eLearning groups
* Promoting public awareness and appreciation of the nature and uses of eLearning
Information on applying for membership and other PeLS matters can be found at http://www.elearning.ph.
--
Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo, Ph.D.
Chair
Department of Information Systems and Computer Science
Ateneo de Manila University
Friday, April 16, 2004
The ugly Chinese
Ambeth Ocampo in today's Inquirer quotes the observations made by visiting French painter Jean Mallat regarding the Chinese in the Philippines in the 19th century:
"In general, the Chinese settled in the Philippines are of average height, although in China itself there are many good-looking men... The Chinese inhabiting Manila who have come for the most part from Macao, Chancheo, Nyngo and Canton are very ugly, and this is explained partly by their social position, for these are generally coulis (porters) and domestics who come to the Philippines to do business and who send their savings every year to their families. Like all the Chinese of Macao, they speak a little Spanish or Tagal[og]. Their costume is similar to that of coulis of Macao and Canton; this is a kind of overcoat in the form of a blouse, a shirt called bisia and wide pants made of white cloth, with very low seat, fastened by a string; sometimes these pants are black or blue."
If the Chinese immigrants were ugly, their mestizo children were even uglier, according to the French :
"Chinese mestizos, that is to say children of Chinese men and Indio women, are often uglier than the Chinese themselves... they have yellowish skin, wide faces, their noses are flat, though less so than the Indios; their eyes are slanted outwards and the transversal diameters form an obtuse angle on the nose; they are lymphatic and beardless..."
Ambeth Ocampo in today's Inquirer quotes the observations made by visiting French painter Jean Mallat regarding the Chinese in the Philippines in the 19th century:
"In general, the Chinese settled in the Philippines are of average height, although in China itself there are many good-looking men... The Chinese inhabiting Manila who have come for the most part from Macao, Chancheo, Nyngo and Canton are very ugly, and this is explained partly by their social position, for these are generally coulis (porters) and domestics who come to the Philippines to do business and who send their savings every year to their families. Like all the Chinese of Macao, they speak a little Spanish or Tagal[og]. Their costume is similar to that of coulis of Macao and Canton; this is a kind of overcoat in the form of a blouse, a shirt called bisia and wide pants made of white cloth, with very low seat, fastened by a string; sometimes these pants are black or blue."
If the Chinese immigrants were ugly, their mestizo children were even uglier, according to the French :
"Chinese mestizos, that is to say children of Chinese men and Indio women, are often uglier than the Chinese themselves... they have yellowish skin, wide faces, their noses are flat, though less so than the Indios; their eyes are slanted outwards and the transversal diameters form an obtuse angle on the nose; they are lymphatic and beardless..."
Leftist wind, when will thou blow
PCIJ has a a story on former leftist activists turned campaign operatives. The story notes that former leftist activists are now in positions of influence as political operatives in presidential campaigns.
There are 300,000 elective positions in the country. Surely, there are candidates or organizations out there that would need a political operative or an organizer. And some of us soon realized that it is far easier to run an electoral campaign than it is to bring down a government or to win a revolution.
Former leftists/leftists are in positions of influence now, it is true, but the Left remains within the margins of political power. Former cadres may be campaigning now, but not for their own candidacies and certainly not with leftist platform.
This got me to thinking why has it proven so hard for leftists to win Philippine elections? Former leftists win, alright (Nani Braganza, Mike Defensor); but current leftists do not. Do Filipinos find the political Left repulsive and out-of-synch with the interests of the people? When will we have our Lula? When will we hear vitriolic diatribes against our elite democracy from the balcony of Malacanang?
I don't know if this may be a harbinger, but South America is turning left. The elites in Venezuela are trying to fight it with all their might, but Chavez seems to be staying for good. Lula is popularly ensconced in Brazil and giving the WTO a headache. In Europe, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party unceremoniously defeated the Bush-identified government. The conservative Pope in Rome is ailing. Italy is just about waiting for Berlusconi to fall. The Washington consensus is showing signs of regime fatigue. Will the leftist wind ever reach the Philippine shores?
PCIJ has a a story on former leftist activists turned campaign operatives. The story notes that former leftist activists are now in positions of influence as political operatives in presidential campaigns.
There are 300,000 elective positions in the country. Surely, there are candidates or organizations out there that would need a political operative or an organizer. And some of us soon realized that it is far easier to run an electoral campaign than it is to bring down a government or to win a revolution.
Former leftists/leftists are in positions of influence now, it is true, but the Left remains within the margins of political power. Former cadres may be campaigning now, but not for their own candidacies and certainly not with leftist platform.
This got me to thinking why has it proven so hard for leftists to win Philippine elections? Former leftists win, alright (Nani Braganza, Mike Defensor); but current leftists do not. Do Filipinos find the political Left repulsive and out-of-synch with the interests of the people? When will we have our Lula? When will we hear vitriolic diatribes against our elite democracy from the balcony of Malacanang?
I don't know if this may be a harbinger, but South America is turning left. The elites in Venezuela are trying to fight it with all their might, but Chavez seems to be staying for good. Lula is popularly ensconced in Brazil and giving the WTO a headache. In Europe, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party unceremoniously defeated the Bush-identified government. The conservative Pope in Rome is ailing. Italy is just about waiting for Berlusconi to fall. The Washington consensus is showing signs of regime fatigue. Will the leftist wind ever reach the Philippine shores?
Prost(r)ate cancer
The lower back pain that was pestering Raul Roco was, according to his campaign manager Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, due to prostate cancer. The Philippine Star reports that tests done in the Philippines suggest that Roco has prostate cancer and that he would be seeking second opinion in the US upon the advise of his doctors.
My sister's classmate's father was also diagnosed with prostate cancer late last year, and, I've heard, was promptly advised to gorge on tomatoes. For more information on prostate cancer, the US National Cancer Institute offers some information.
The lower back pain that was pestering Raul Roco was, according to his campaign manager Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, due to prostate cancer. The Philippine Star reports that tests done in the Philippines suggest that Roco has prostate cancer and that he would be seeking second opinion in the US upon the advise of his doctors.
My sister's classmate's father was also diagnosed with prostate cancer late last year, and, I've heard, was promptly advised to gorge on tomatoes. For more information on prostate cancer, the US National Cancer Institute offers some information.
Web prowl
An interview with Jacques Derrida on imperialism. A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram, the physicist who developed the Mathematica software and is often compared to Newton, is available online. Psychicpants blogs on Lapid's chicharon and cornik. Former US secretary of state George P. Shultz surveys the current Asian political and economic landscape. The life of Napoleon Bonaparte as a bookworm here. A London Review of Books essay asks the question, " Who removed Aristide?"
An interview with Jacques Derrida on imperialism. A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram, the physicist who developed the Mathematica software and is often compared to Newton, is available online. Psychicpants blogs on Lapid's chicharon and cornik. Former US secretary of state George P. Shultz surveys the current Asian political and economic landscape. The life of Napoleon Bonaparte as a bookworm here. A London Review of Books essay asks the question, " Who removed Aristide?"
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Adios patria adorada
Raul Roco's medical consultation in the US has all the simulacrum of a graceful concession. His presidential candidacy, despite the brave front he and the rest of his tattered Alyansa are putting on, is all but kaput. His leaving the country at this most inopportune time will surely be interpreted by a considerable number of his supporters as a tacit signal to abandon ship. Today reports that "Mahar Mangahas of the Social Weather Stations Inc. had said that if Roco dropped out of the race, the President would likely get 5.6 percent of his votes, while actor Poe Jr. would get 4.3 percent."
Rumors are rife that there must have been an understanding between the Arroyo camp and Roco. Some are also concerned that there may be a metastasis of Roco's prostate cancer. Whichever may be the real case, there is no doubt, as this Inquirer editorial suggests, that the most disheartened by the news are his youth volunteers, who have toiled hard campaigning for whatever remains of their juvenile idealism.
How can one console those volunteers? I guess they must take this episode of their lives as an opportunity to disabuse themselves of the unhealthy conception that one can win an election by sheer intellectual prowess and idealism. Like in any endeavor, there is simply no known substitute to good old hard cash. People respect cash, whatever its progeny. The next time that these volunteers engage in any election--their own or somebody else's-- they must make sure that they would never be outspent by their rivals. This is the cardinal rule of getting elected; candidates ignore it at their own peril.
Raul Roco's medical consultation in the US has all the simulacrum of a graceful concession. His presidential candidacy, despite the brave front he and the rest of his tattered Alyansa are putting on, is all but kaput. His leaving the country at this most inopportune time will surely be interpreted by a considerable number of his supporters as a tacit signal to abandon ship. Today reports that "Mahar Mangahas of the Social Weather Stations Inc. had said that if Roco dropped out of the race, the President would likely get 5.6 percent of his votes, while actor Poe Jr. would get 4.3 percent."
Rumors are rife that there must have been an understanding between the Arroyo camp and Roco. Some are also concerned that there may be a metastasis of Roco's prostate cancer. Whichever may be the real case, there is no doubt, as this Inquirer editorial suggests, that the most disheartened by the news are his youth volunteers, who have toiled hard campaigning for whatever remains of their juvenile idealism.
How can one console those volunteers? I guess they must take this episode of their lives as an opportunity to disabuse themselves of the unhealthy conception that one can win an election by sheer intellectual prowess and idealism. Like in any endeavor, there is simply no known substitute to good old hard cash. People respect cash, whatever its progeny. The next time that these volunteers engage in any election--their own or somebody else's-- they must make sure that they would never be outspent by their rivals. This is the cardinal rule of getting elected; candidates ignore it at their own peril.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
THE 2004 DANIEL SINGER PRIZE: $5,000
In keeping with Daniel Singer's thesis that the promise of socialism remains the last best hope for humanity and civilization,The Daniel Singer Foundation invites submissions for the 2004 Prize, to be awarded for an original work of not more than 5,000 words, which explores the fundamental question: What Is the Soul of Socialism?
Essays may be in any language. The submissions will be judged by an international panel of distinguished experts appointed by the Foundation. The winner will be announced in December 2004, and the winner will be invited to deliver a public lecture based on the essay.
Submissions should be made not later than August 31, 2004, to:
The Daniel Singer Millennium Prize Foundation
P.O. Box 334,
Sherman CT 06784
All enquiries should be sent to this address.
In keeping with Daniel Singer's thesis that the promise of socialism remains the last best hope for humanity and civilization,The Daniel Singer Foundation invites submissions for the 2004 Prize, to be awarded for an original work of not more than 5,000 words, which explores the fundamental question: What Is the Soul of Socialism?
Essays may be in any language. The submissions will be judged by an international panel of distinguished experts appointed by the Foundation. The winner will be announced in December 2004, and the winner will be invited to deliver a public lecture based on the essay.
Submissions should be made not later than August 31, 2004, to:
The Daniel Singer Millennium Prize Foundation
P.O. Box 334,
Sherman CT 06784
All enquiries should be sent to this address.
Monday, April 12, 2004
Gabriel Garcia Marquez as crap?
Sacrilege of the first degree, I know, but Prem Rara thinks so. He describes One Hundred Years of Solitude as being " a good book but does not deserve your scarce free time."
I couldn't disagree more. In my opinion, the book is the best piece of literature to have been produced by the Third World in the twentieth century. Some, I know, would even hazard the opinion that it is the best piece of literature to have been produced in the twentieth century anywhere.
The opening pages are a little bit off-putting, true (despite the memorable opening sentence: Many years later as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.), but the divers stories within the novel are too interesting to miss after one hurdles the first chapter. I remember with great fondness the levitation of Remedios the Beauty with the flapping brabant sheets that rose up to heaven with her, the adolescent despot Buendia marching across town and lording it over during a civil war until his mother gave him a whipping, the horrific sight of the baby, the last of the Buendias, being dragged by the ants toward their holes, and, of course, the massacre at the train station during the banana plantation strike.
The book is one of my favorites. I learned from that book how history, far from being a rigid, objective and social scientific discipline, is actually a fluid, contentious and politically determined social artifact. The banana plantation massacre in the novel was ignored by history as if it never happened. The people thought Jose Arcadio Segundo was insane when he went around town telling tales of the execrable massacre of three thousand people. Garcia Marquez also portrayed in the book how do-gooding revolutionaries lose sight and forget the reasons for the revolution and continue fighting simply because of inertia and pride.
I strongly believe that Garcia Marquez would deserve a Nobel even if he had only written One Hundred Years of Solitude and nothing more. Too bad Rara didn't like it. Perhaps a re-reading is in order.
Sacrilege of the first degree, I know, but Prem Rara thinks so. He describes One Hundred Years of Solitude as being " a good book but does not deserve your scarce free time."
I couldn't disagree more. In my opinion, the book is the best piece of literature to have been produced by the Third World in the twentieth century. Some, I know, would even hazard the opinion that it is the best piece of literature to have been produced in the twentieth century anywhere.
The opening pages are a little bit off-putting, true (despite the memorable opening sentence: Many years later as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.), but the divers stories within the novel are too interesting to miss after one hurdles the first chapter. I remember with great fondness the levitation of Remedios the Beauty with the flapping brabant sheets that rose up to heaven with her, the adolescent despot Buendia marching across town and lording it over during a civil war until his mother gave him a whipping, the horrific sight of the baby, the last of the Buendias, being dragged by the ants toward their holes, and, of course, the massacre at the train station during the banana plantation strike.
The book is one of my favorites. I learned from that book how history, far from being a rigid, objective and social scientific discipline, is actually a fluid, contentious and politically determined social artifact. The banana plantation massacre in the novel was ignored by history as if it never happened. The people thought Jose Arcadio Segundo was insane when he went around town telling tales of the execrable massacre of three thousand people. Garcia Marquez also portrayed in the book how do-gooding revolutionaries lose sight and forget the reasons for the revolution and continue fighting simply because of inertia and pride.
I strongly believe that Garcia Marquez would deserve a Nobel even if he had only written One Hundred Years of Solitude and nothing more. Too bad Rara didn't like it. Perhaps a re-reading is in order.
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Books for bargain hunters
After meeting some friends somewhere at the Araneta Center in Cubao late this afternoon , I went to National Bookstore beside the Araneta Coliseum to look for Teodoro Agoncillo's Revolt of the Masses. (My Holy Week resolution was to start reading on Philippine history so as to fill the massive gap in my education. )
The bookstore did not have the Agoncillo book. It must have been sold out just recently because the last time I was there a copy was still on display. Not wanting to waste my effort altogether, I decided to go to my favorite section--the top floor where they put the books on sale.
The bookstore has a totally new collection of bargain brand-new books, and I was astounded by the quality of the books. Never before in my short life have I seen a more superior collection of books in a bookstore. I found three books I have been looking for for such a long time and bought them at bargain prices:
1) Robert Blake's Disraeli-- I know this book was a Bill Clinton favorite, and I was reading a book on Nixon last week, James Hume's Nixon's Ten Commandments of Leadership and Negotiation, and found out that it was Nixon's favorite as well.
2) Ian Kershaw's Hitler. I have always been fascinated by Hitler and his talent at selling his stupid ideas to the German people, and I've heard Kershaw's was the best biography of Hitler.
3) Professor Allan Bloom's translation of Rousseau's Emile. It was Allan Bloom's books that introduced me to poltical theory and I have always been in awe of Allan Bloom since then despite his terrible snobbism ( He, for one, thinks all pop music is trash and he only listens to classical music except Ravel's Bolero which he hates for being much too simplistic and popular among the youth.)
If any of you have time I highly advise that you take a look at the top floor of NBS Araneta Center. I remember seeing biographies of the ballet dancer Nureyev, Ho Chi Minh, Marie Antoinette, Madame de Pompadour, Alfred Kinsey, Gore Vidal, Saul Bellow, Gauguin, Peter the Great, Khrushchev, Mapplethorpe, Maria Callas, President Thabo Mbeki, Robert Burns, Lloyd George, Francis Bacon, many others I dont remember and, yes, even Robin Hood.
I saw collected works of JS Mill, various histories of the French revolution, a copy of Rousseau's Confessions, a history of British Labor political thought, Marshal Mcluhan's Medium and the Message, the memoirs of Louis Althusser,various copies of Thomas Friedman's Lexus and the Olive Tree, a book on DH Laurence's marriage. The bookstore was also selling Wordsworth editions of classics I' ve never before seen being sold in National bookstore, or in any other store for that matter, like Gargantua and Pantagruel, and Petronius's Satyricon.
The collection was too highbrow it blew my mind. I saw books you never expect National Bookstore would sell--and all at reduced prices. Light reading is also available. Books on musicians ranging from Beatles to Boyzone were also to be found. For those of more prurient interest, there is one whole shelf of classic erotica: Decameron, a bevy from anonymous authors, including one generally presumed to have been written by Oscar Wilde.
I think all other bookstores in Manila pale in comparison today. (The people behind PowerBooks like to think their collections are highbrow, but they delude themselves.) I highly recommend everyone to go the National at Araneta, take the escalators and go staright to the top floor, but please don't buy Peter the Great and the Principles of Public International Law which I have hidden right beside copies of Emile; I am yet looking for money to buy them.
Do I sound like some agent ? I was just too happy for finding such an abundance of good books being sold at sale prices, that's all.
After meeting some friends somewhere at the Araneta Center in Cubao late this afternoon , I went to National Bookstore beside the Araneta Coliseum to look for Teodoro Agoncillo's Revolt of the Masses. (My Holy Week resolution was to start reading on Philippine history so as to fill the massive gap in my education. )
The bookstore did not have the Agoncillo book. It must have been sold out just recently because the last time I was there a copy was still on display. Not wanting to waste my effort altogether, I decided to go to my favorite section--the top floor where they put the books on sale.
The bookstore has a totally new collection of bargain brand-new books, and I was astounded by the quality of the books. Never before in my short life have I seen a more superior collection of books in a bookstore. I found three books I have been looking for for such a long time and bought them at bargain prices:
1) Robert Blake's Disraeli-- I know this book was a Bill Clinton favorite, and I was reading a book on Nixon last week, James Hume's Nixon's Ten Commandments of Leadership and Negotiation, and found out that it was Nixon's favorite as well.
2) Ian Kershaw's Hitler. I have always been fascinated by Hitler and his talent at selling his stupid ideas to the German people, and I've heard Kershaw's was the best biography of Hitler.
3) Professor Allan Bloom's translation of Rousseau's Emile. It was Allan Bloom's books that introduced me to poltical theory and I have always been in awe of Allan Bloom since then despite his terrible snobbism ( He, for one, thinks all pop music is trash and he only listens to classical music except Ravel's Bolero which he hates for being much too simplistic and popular among the youth.)
If any of you have time I highly advise that you take a look at the top floor of NBS Araneta Center. I remember seeing biographies of the ballet dancer Nureyev, Ho Chi Minh, Marie Antoinette, Madame de Pompadour, Alfred Kinsey, Gore Vidal, Saul Bellow, Gauguin, Peter the Great, Khrushchev, Mapplethorpe, Maria Callas, President Thabo Mbeki, Robert Burns, Lloyd George, Francis Bacon, many others I dont remember and, yes, even Robin Hood.
I saw collected works of JS Mill, various histories of the French revolution, a copy of Rousseau's Confessions, a history of British Labor political thought, Marshal Mcluhan's Medium and the Message, the memoirs of Louis Althusser,various copies of Thomas Friedman's Lexus and the Olive Tree, a book on DH Laurence's marriage. The bookstore was also selling Wordsworth editions of classics I' ve never before seen being sold in National bookstore, or in any other store for that matter, like Gargantua and Pantagruel, and Petronius's Satyricon.
The collection was too highbrow it blew my mind. I saw books you never expect National Bookstore would sell--and all at reduced prices. Light reading is also available. Books on musicians ranging from Beatles to Boyzone were also to be found. For those of more prurient interest, there is one whole shelf of classic erotica: Decameron, a bevy from anonymous authors, including one generally presumed to have been written by Oscar Wilde.
I think all other bookstores in Manila pale in comparison today. (The people behind PowerBooks like to think their collections are highbrow, but they delude themselves.) I highly recommend everyone to go the National at Araneta, take the escalators and go staright to the top floor, but please don't buy Peter the Great and the Principles of Public International Law which I have hidden right beside copies of Emile; I am yet looking for money to buy them.
Do I sound like some agent ? I was just too happy for finding such an abundance of good books being sold at sale prices, that's all.
Saturday, April 10, 2004
French find Saint-Exupery's plane
After six decades of mystery, a French underwater salvage team has discovered the remains of the plane piloted by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 60 years after he disappeared on a wartime reconnaissance mission over southern France.
Saint-Exupery's disappearance was one of the mysteries of the twentieth century, up there with Amelia Earhart's vanishing act. His Little Prince is beloved by many people, and is said to be the third most popular book after the Bible and Marx's Das Kapital. And irony of ironies, Saint-Exupery's Little Prince is commonly mistaken for Machiavellis' Prince. One friend from UP told me the story of one classmate who brought to class Saint-Ex's Little Prince when, in fact, what the professor requested was Machiavelli's Prince. The class had a good laugh.
I know many other people who, once in their lives, mistook one book for the other, but no two books could be so unlike. The Little Prince is a reflection on the meaning of life, a book for dreamers and idealists in short. Machiavelli's Prince, on the other hand, is a book for people who have come to realize the brutish nature of reality. The Little Prince tenders a philosophical resignation; The Prince triggers a rebellious desire to reinvent political order. But it heartens me immensely that in this imperfect world that we live in the two books are often thought as being one and the same.
After six decades of mystery, a French underwater salvage team has discovered the remains of the plane piloted by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 60 years after he disappeared on a wartime reconnaissance mission over southern France.
Saint-Exupery's disappearance was one of the mysteries of the twentieth century, up there with Amelia Earhart's vanishing act. His Little Prince is beloved by many people, and is said to be the third most popular book after the Bible and Marx's Das Kapital. And irony of ironies, Saint-Exupery's Little Prince is commonly mistaken for Machiavellis' Prince. One friend from UP told me the story of one classmate who brought to class Saint-Ex's Little Prince when, in fact, what the professor requested was Machiavelli's Prince. The class had a good laugh.
I know many other people who, once in their lives, mistook one book for the other, but no two books could be so unlike. The Little Prince is a reflection on the meaning of life, a book for dreamers and idealists in short. Machiavelli's Prince, on the other hand, is a book for people who have come to realize the brutish nature of reality. The Little Prince tenders a philosophical resignation; The Prince triggers a rebellious desire to reinvent political order. But it heartens me immensely that in this imperfect world that we live in the two books are often thought as being one and the same.
Friday, April 09, 2004
REQUEST FOR COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS
Language and National Identity in Burma
Justin Watkins (SOAS, London) and U Saw Tun (NIU, DeKalb)
We have been asked to prepare a chapter on Language in Nationalism in Burma/Myanmar for a book "Language and National Identity in Asia" to be published by Oxford University Press.
We are keen that our piece should be as inclusive as possible and are writing to a broad constituency of people with Burma connections to ask if there are any useful pieces of information, or facts, or comments, or sources of information which you would like to share as we prepare to write the chapter.
We are interested in topics including, but not limited to the following:
- conflict or competition between languages in Burma
- situations where different languages are used in different domains of life
- any links, perceived or actual, between language use and personal identity
- individual accounts of the use of several languages
- nationalism and language use
- the relative status of different languages, or Burmese and other languages
- the use of Burmese compared to other languages, both in public and in private
- languages which are not indigenous to Burma - Chinese and Indian languages, etc.
- languages and the law; languages and human rights; languages and education; languages and administration
- recent or predicted changes in language use
- sources of statistics or analyses of language use
Please submit your suggestions, concerns and comments - long or short - to Justin Watkins at jw2@soas.ac.uk, and please include the word "Nationalism" in the subject line of your e-mail. While we will be extremely grateful for all comments we receive, we cannot, of course, promise to represent all views in the chapter we write. All comments will remain confidential and anonymous, unless you prefer otherwise.
Many thanks
Justin Watkins and U Saw Tun
Dr Justin Watkins, Lecturer in Burmese, School of Oriental and African
Studies, London WC1H 0XG
http://www.soas.ac.uk/SouthEastAsia/Burmese
AHRB Wa Dictionary project, http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/wadict/
Language and National Identity in Burma
Justin Watkins (SOAS, London) and U Saw Tun (NIU, DeKalb)
We have been asked to prepare a chapter on Language in Nationalism in Burma/Myanmar for a book "Language and National Identity in Asia" to be published by Oxford University Press.
We are keen that our piece should be as inclusive as possible and are writing to a broad constituency of people with Burma connections to ask if there are any useful pieces of information, or facts, or comments, or sources of information which you would like to share as we prepare to write the chapter.
We are interested in topics including, but not limited to the following:
- conflict or competition between languages in Burma
- situations where different languages are used in different domains of life
- any links, perceived or actual, between language use and personal identity
- individual accounts of the use of several languages
- nationalism and language use
- the relative status of different languages, or Burmese and other languages
- the use of Burmese compared to other languages, both in public and in private
- languages which are not indigenous to Burma - Chinese and Indian languages, etc.
- languages and the law; languages and human rights; languages and education; languages and administration
- recent or predicted changes in language use
- sources of statistics or analyses of language use
Please submit your suggestions, concerns and comments - long or short - to Justin Watkins at jw2@soas.ac.uk, and please include the word "Nationalism" in the subject line of your e-mail. While we will be extremely grateful for all comments we receive, we cannot, of course, promise to represent all views in the chapter we write. All comments will remain confidential and anonymous, unless you prefer otherwise.
Many thanks
Justin Watkins and U Saw Tun
Dr Justin Watkins, Lecturer in Burmese, School of Oriental and African
Studies, London WC1H 0XG
http://www.soas.ac.uk/SouthEastAsia/Burmese
AHRB Wa Dictionary project, http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/wadict/
Fact: The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer
Newsbreak reports that according to the government's own Family Income and Expenditures Survey (Fies), the net incomes of the top two deciles of the population grew by an average of 18.5 percent, while the net incomes of the bottom five deciles fell an average of 55 percent. The middle three deciles saw incomes grow by about 12 percent since 1997. In short, the poor are getting poorer; the rich are geeting richer.
As if this uneven distribution of growth were not bad enough, Newsbreak further reports that consumer trends seem to point out out that the Philippine middle class is actually shrinking:
Yolanda Villanueva Ong, chief executive of advertising agency Campaigns and Gray, believes that the middle class is getting smaller both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the total population. "This is being borne out in consumer and advertising trends. Clients who sell products that cater to middle-income consumers have noticed a decline in their sales over the years. Hence you see them increasingly rolling out products and variants aimed at the lower end, or mass market."
Ready for the real shocker?
Today some eight million Filipino citizens are living and working abroad. With the domestic middle class estimated at about 10 percent of the 80-million population, one can say that roughly half of the Philippines’ entire middle class lives outside the country.
Perhaps this is the reason why our politics is still under the quagmire of, pace Joma Sison, semi-feudalism: our middle class is abroad.
When Aristotle praised the median virtues of the middle classes two thousand years ago, he never said anything about their being overseas.
Newsbreak reports that according to the government's own Family Income and Expenditures Survey (Fies), the net incomes of the top two deciles of the population grew by an average of 18.5 percent, while the net incomes of the bottom five deciles fell an average of 55 percent. The middle three deciles saw incomes grow by about 12 percent since 1997. In short, the poor are getting poorer; the rich are geeting richer.
As if this uneven distribution of growth were not bad enough, Newsbreak further reports that consumer trends seem to point out out that the Philippine middle class is actually shrinking:
Yolanda Villanueva Ong, chief executive of advertising agency Campaigns and Gray, believes that the middle class is getting smaller both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the total population. "This is being borne out in consumer and advertising trends. Clients who sell products that cater to middle-income consumers have noticed a decline in their sales over the years. Hence you see them increasingly rolling out products and variants aimed at the lower end, or mass market."
Ready for the real shocker?
Today some eight million Filipino citizens are living and working abroad. With the domestic middle class estimated at about 10 percent of the 80-million population, one can say that roughly half of the Philippines’ entire middle class lives outside the country.
Perhaps this is the reason why our politics is still under the quagmire of, pace Joma Sison, semi-feudalism: our middle class is abroad.
When Aristotle praised the median virtues of the middle classes two thousand years ago, he never said anything about their being overseas.
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Songs of protest by RJ Jacinto
Critics of EDSA 2 say it was nothing more than a huge party by the country's snooty upper and midddle classes. RJ Jacinto's music was one of the major reasons EDSA 2 was such a blast. Had there been more space, there probably would have been some dancing on the street. You can download those EDSA 2 songs here (thanks to Sassy Lawyer for the link). The link also provides new songs such as Angarapata, Fernando and Disqualification Time.
Critics of EDSA 2 say it was nothing more than a huge party by the country's snooty upper and midddle classes. RJ Jacinto's music was one of the major reasons EDSA 2 was such a blast. Had there been more space, there probably would have been some dancing on the street. You can download those EDSA 2 songs here (thanks to Sassy Lawyer for the link). The link also provides new songs such as Angarapata, Fernando and Disqualification Time.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
The promise of coco diesel
The first time I heard about coco diesel sometime in 2002, I thought it was quack science, up there with water fuel, but apparently it is real science and had been such for decades. BusinessWorld reports that even though the oil companies do not want to sell coco diesel, the government is still pushing through with its plan to make the use of a 1% coco-methylester (CME) diesel blend for government vehicles compulsory. Government offices will be required to make their own mixture of CME and regular diesel. The report further says that:
Government agencies without fuel tank facilities will blend its CME requirements by pouring in the required volume of CME into the vehicles before refueling with the corresponding amount of diesel.
To achieve a 1% CME blend, government agencies will be required to pour 50.5 milliliters of CME for every five liters of diesel put in the vehicles.
Exact what is coco diesel and how is it produced ? Coconut methyl ester or CME is derived from trans-esterification of coconut oil in the presence of methanol and catalyst, such as caustic soda. to produce a crude glycerin that burns in diesel engines without much modification.
Is the mixing of CME and diesel worth the trouble? The product has huge potential, I gather. Coco diesel has a sulphur content of 0.05 per cent compared with regular diesel's 0.2 per cent. It complies with the sulphur content regulation for engine fuel set for the year 2004 by the the Clean Air Act. The Philippine Coconut Authority also claims that coco diesel has no carcinogenic compounds like benzene, paraffin and aromatics.
Environmental good points aside, coco diesel also has the potential to revive the country's moribund coconut industry and augment the livelihood of some 2 million coconut farmers and their families.
The first time I heard about coco diesel sometime in 2002, I thought it was quack science, up there with water fuel, but apparently it is real science and had been such for decades. BusinessWorld reports that even though the oil companies do not want to sell coco diesel, the government is still pushing through with its plan to make the use of a 1% coco-methylester (CME) diesel blend for government vehicles compulsory. Government offices will be required to make their own mixture of CME and regular diesel. The report further says that:
Government agencies without fuel tank facilities will blend its CME requirements by pouring in the required volume of CME into the vehicles before refueling with the corresponding amount of diesel.
To achieve a 1% CME blend, government agencies will be required to pour 50.5 milliliters of CME for every five liters of diesel put in the vehicles.
Exact what is coco diesel and how is it produced ? Coconut methyl ester or CME is derived from trans-esterification of coconut oil in the presence of methanol and catalyst, such as caustic soda. to produce a crude glycerin that burns in diesel engines without much modification.
Is the mixing of CME and diesel worth the trouble? The product has huge potential, I gather. Coco diesel has a sulphur content of 0.05 per cent compared with regular diesel's 0.2 per cent. It complies with the sulphur content regulation for engine fuel set for the year 2004 by the the Clean Air Act. The Philippine Coconut Authority also claims that coco diesel has no carcinogenic compounds like benzene, paraffin and aromatics.
Environmental good points aside, coco diesel also has the potential to revive the country's moribund coconut industry and augment the livelihood of some 2 million coconut farmers and their families.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
First anniversary and a free book
I almost forgot about it, but while perusing this blog's archives I found out that today--April 6-- is, in fact, my first anniversary in blogosphere. Today being an anniversary, I got to thinking about my reasons for writing the blog in the first place.
After Napster's peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing program was terminated by the US courts, I realized that there was a war going on, a war that will decide who will inherit the internet. On one side are the people who believe in the revolutionary power of free and democratic sharing of information. On the other side--the enemies of the open internet--are those who would like to appropriate the web for commercial purposes, people who would like to transform the internet into one gigantic shopping catalogue.
The enemies of the open internet have scored significant victories especially in the field of copyright protection. They were able to shoot down Napster, for one. The record companies in the US are also suing one by one those who share music files online. News last week was that they have even started suing people in Europe.
What the record companies is trying to do is wrest control of the internet from its users. They want to end the free sharing of materials in the internet that is subversive of the current market capitalist paradigm. Some magazines and newspapers (Wall Street Journal being on the lead) began withholding their internet contents to non-subscribers. If big business would have its way, there would be nothing more to hyperlink to in blogs.
This brings me to my reason for blogging. I want to contribute in this silent war of who will inherit the internet in however a small way. I believe that the internet belongs to people who want to share, and only secondarily to people who want to charge.
There are reasons to be optimistic as there seems to be a turning of the tide in this war. A Canadian court last week declared that downloading music files is not illegal under Canadian law. British pop star George Michael has also announced that henceforth his songs would be distributed in the internet free of charge. The Gutenberg online library has recently celebrated the 10,000th book it is freely distributing in the net. The trailblazer Napster also been replaced by Kazaa and Grokster, which are immune to legal persecution as they maintain no central database of files.
The Massachusetts Insitute of Technology (MIT) has also thrown its weight in support of an open internet . Hoping to inspire other people to freely share their knowledge, the MIT launched its OPENCOURSE website, where it is sharing to the whole world all of its course materials--absolutely free, without exorbitant Ivy League tuition fees. MIT President Charles M. Vest hopes " that in sharing MIT’s course materials...we will inspire other institutions to openly share their course materials, creating a worldwide web of knowledge that will benefit mankind." Websites like MIT's are oases for aspiring autodidacts throughout the world. In the future of the open internet, people like FPJ cannot excuse their ignorance by pleading their having dropped out of school.
Another historic victory for the expansion of liberty in the internet is the publication of Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture. It is the first book in history that is published by a major publisher (Penguin Books) and at the same time distributed freely in the internet (click here for your free copy). In the book (I have just began reading it), Lessig (who incidentally also writes a blog here) talks of a free culture:
[W]e come from a tradition of “free culture”—not“free” as in “free beer” (to borrow a phrase from the founder of the freesoftware movement), but “free” as in “free speech,” “free markets,” “free trade,” “free enterprise,” “free will,” and “free elections.” A free culture supports and protects creators and innovators. It does this directly by granting intellectual property rights. But it does so indirectly by limiting the reach of those rights, to guarantee that follow-on creators and innovators remain as free as possible from the control of the past. A free culture is not a culture without property, just as a free market is not a market in which everything is free. The opposite of a free culture is a “permission culture”—a culture in which creators get to create only with the permission of the powerful, or of creators from the past.
We must all fight for the internet's free culture and maintain its world wide web of peers. I'll post more on Lessig's book as soon as I finish it.
I almost forgot about it, but while perusing this blog's archives I found out that today--April 6-- is, in fact, my first anniversary in blogosphere. Today being an anniversary, I got to thinking about my reasons for writing the blog in the first place.
After Napster's peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing program was terminated by the US courts, I realized that there was a war going on, a war that will decide who will inherit the internet. On one side are the people who believe in the revolutionary power of free and democratic sharing of information. On the other side--the enemies of the open internet--are those who would like to appropriate the web for commercial purposes, people who would like to transform the internet into one gigantic shopping catalogue.
The enemies of the open internet have scored significant victories especially in the field of copyright protection. They were able to shoot down Napster, for one. The record companies in the US are also suing one by one those who share music files online. News last week was that they have even started suing people in Europe.
What the record companies is trying to do is wrest control of the internet from its users. They want to end the free sharing of materials in the internet that is subversive of the current market capitalist paradigm. Some magazines and newspapers (Wall Street Journal being on the lead) began withholding their internet contents to non-subscribers. If big business would have its way, there would be nothing more to hyperlink to in blogs.
This brings me to my reason for blogging. I want to contribute in this silent war of who will inherit the internet in however a small way. I believe that the internet belongs to people who want to share, and only secondarily to people who want to charge.
There are reasons to be optimistic as there seems to be a turning of the tide in this war. A Canadian court last week declared that downloading music files is not illegal under Canadian law. British pop star George Michael has also announced that henceforth his songs would be distributed in the internet free of charge. The Gutenberg online library has recently celebrated the 10,000th book it is freely distributing in the net. The trailblazer Napster also been replaced by Kazaa and Grokster, which are immune to legal persecution as they maintain no central database of files.
The Massachusetts Insitute of Technology (MIT) has also thrown its weight in support of an open internet . Hoping to inspire other people to freely share their knowledge, the MIT launched its OPENCOURSE website, where it is sharing to the whole world all of its course materials--absolutely free, without exorbitant Ivy League tuition fees. MIT President Charles M. Vest hopes " that in sharing MIT’s course materials...we will inspire other institutions to openly share their course materials, creating a worldwide web of knowledge that will benefit mankind." Websites like MIT's are oases for aspiring autodidacts throughout the world. In the future of the open internet, people like FPJ cannot excuse their ignorance by pleading their having dropped out of school.
Another historic victory for the expansion of liberty in the internet is the publication of Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture. It is the first book in history that is published by a major publisher (Penguin Books) and at the same time distributed freely in the internet (click here for your free copy). In the book (I have just began reading it), Lessig (who incidentally also writes a blog here) talks of a free culture:
[W]e come from a tradition of “free culture”—not“free” as in “free beer” (to borrow a phrase from the founder of the freesoftware movement), but “free” as in “free speech,” “free markets,” “free trade,” “free enterprise,” “free will,” and “free elections.” A free culture supports and protects creators and innovators. It does this directly by granting intellectual property rights. But it does so indirectly by limiting the reach of those rights, to guarantee that follow-on creators and innovators remain as free as possible from the control of the past. A free culture is not a culture without property, just as a free market is not a market in which everything is free. The opposite of a free culture is a “permission culture”—a culture in which creators get to create only with the permission of the powerful, or of creators from the past.
We must all fight for the internet's free culture and maintain its world wide web of peers. I'll post more on Lessig's book as soon as I finish it.
Monday, April 05, 2004
Free Muslim Mindanao?
Manuel Quezon III in his blog opines that Muslim Mindanao cannot be successfully integrated into the Philippine nation-state and must therefore be set free. According to Quezon:
...the history of Mindanao itself, and the history of Muslim minorities in other nations, makes it impossible to integrate Muslims into a Filipino state. We have tried since the 1930s but only turned ourselves into little brown imperialists in the process.
Muslim Mindanao should be given independence, with an indemnity to set any such state firmly on its feet, and then securely cordoned off.
Resty Odon of the Expectorants also agrees. IMHO though independence for Mindanao is no longer a workable solution-although admittedly it once was. The Christian populations in most Mindanao provinces are burgeoning. Carving a Muslim Mindanao nation-state would be so demographically challenging for our legislators. Only Sulu, I have heard it said, remains demographically pure.
Were there to be a referendum among Muslims on self-determination, there is also reason to believe that the choice for integration/status quo would prevail. The SWS in 2000 had a survey on national attitudes and a look at the attitude of the subsample of Muslims in that survey bodes well for further integration rather than independence.
In that particular SWS survey, 75% of the Muslim subsample said that they were Filipinos first of all, while only 18% said that they were an ethnic group first of all. Furthermore, the survey showed that it was mainly the non-Muslims, NOT the Muslims, who self-identify as ethnic members rather than Filipinos.
The above finding of the SWS cannot de considered conclusive since the Muslim respondents were merely a small subsample, but, as Mahar Mangahas put it, it shows that Filipino Muslims "do not consider themselves any more separate from Filipinos in general than, say, Visayan-speaking Filipinos do."
Manuel Quezon III in his blog opines that Muslim Mindanao cannot be successfully integrated into the Philippine nation-state and must therefore be set free. According to Quezon:
...the history of Mindanao itself, and the history of Muslim minorities in other nations, makes it impossible to integrate Muslims into a Filipino state. We have tried since the 1930s but only turned ourselves into little brown imperialists in the process.
Muslim Mindanao should be given independence, with an indemnity to set any such state firmly on its feet, and then securely cordoned off.
Resty Odon of the Expectorants also agrees. IMHO though independence for Mindanao is no longer a workable solution-although admittedly it once was. The Christian populations in most Mindanao provinces are burgeoning. Carving a Muslim Mindanao nation-state would be so demographically challenging for our legislators. Only Sulu, I have heard it said, remains demographically pure.
Were there to be a referendum among Muslims on self-determination, there is also reason to believe that the choice for integration/status quo would prevail. The SWS in 2000 had a survey on national attitudes and a look at the attitude of the subsample of Muslims in that survey bodes well for further integration rather than independence.
In that particular SWS survey, 75% of the Muslim subsample said that they were Filipinos first of all, while only 18% said that they were an ethnic group first of all. Furthermore, the survey showed that it was mainly the non-Muslims, NOT the Muslims, who self-identify as ethnic members rather than Filipinos.
The above finding of the SWS cannot de considered conclusive since the Muslim respondents were merely a small subsample, but, as Mahar Mangahas put it, it shows that Filipino Muslims "do not consider themselves any more separate from Filipinos in general than, say, Visayan-speaking Filipinos do."
John Kerry in Manila
The humorist P.J. O'Rourke has a contribution to the latest issue of the Weekly Standard recalling John Kerry's 1986 wimp-out in the Philippines. John Kerry was in Manila in 1986 as a member of the American delegation tasked by then American President Ronald Reagan to observe the snap elections. According to P.J. O'Rourke, who was also in Manila that time covering for the Rolling Stone, Kerry did nothing when Mrs. Bea Zobel, upon the suggestion of O'Rourke and Village Voice's Joe Conason, asked him for help after the walkout of some thirty COMELEC computer operators. O'Rourke writes that:
He [Kerry] was ushered into an area that had been cordoned off from the press and the crowd and where the computer operators were sitting. To talk to the women, all he would have had to do was raise his voice. Why he was reluctant, I can't tell you. I can tell you what any red-blooded representative of the U.S. Government should have done. He should have shouted, "If you're frightened for your safety, I'll take you to the American embassy, and damn the man who tries to stop me." But all Kerry did was walk around like a male model in a concerned and thoughtful pose.
O'Rourke says that the manila 1986 episode was characteristic of Kerry, having his cake and eating it too. Not wanting to displease the pro-Marcos Reagan, Kerry simply watched as events unfolded, going the convenient way of the wimp. O'Rourke concludes:
Just as today Kerry is brave sailor/bold war protester; foe of Saddam/friend of Hans Blix; political underdog/entitled nominee; big government liberal/corporate tax-cutting conservative; rider of Harleys/marrier of Heinz; and, incidentally, still a real jerk.
Perhaps, Kerry was a jerk. So is W Bush now. Would that Hillary run.
The humorist P.J. O'Rourke has a contribution to the latest issue of the Weekly Standard recalling John Kerry's 1986 wimp-out in the Philippines. John Kerry was in Manila in 1986 as a member of the American delegation tasked by then American President Ronald Reagan to observe the snap elections. According to P.J. O'Rourke, who was also in Manila that time covering for the Rolling Stone, Kerry did nothing when Mrs. Bea Zobel, upon the suggestion of O'Rourke and Village Voice's Joe Conason, asked him for help after the walkout of some thirty COMELEC computer operators. O'Rourke writes that:
He [Kerry] was ushered into an area that had been cordoned off from the press and the crowd and where the computer operators were sitting. To talk to the women, all he would have had to do was raise his voice. Why he was reluctant, I can't tell you. I can tell you what any red-blooded representative of the U.S. Government should have done. He should have shouted, "If you're frightened for your safety, I'll take you to the American embassy, and damn the man who tries to stop me." But all Kerry did was walk around like a male model in a concerned and thoughtful pose.
O'Rourke says that the manila 1986 episode was characteristic of Kerry, having his cake and eating it too. Not wanting to displease the pro-Marcos Reagan, Kerry simply watched as events unfolded, going the convenient way of the wimp. O'Rourke concludes:
Just as today Kerry is brave sailor/bold war protester; foe of Saddam/friend of Hans Blix; political underdog/entitled nominee; big government liberal/corporate tax-cutting conservative; rider of Harleys/marrier of Heinz; and, incidentally, still a real jerk.
Perhaps, Kerry was a jerk. So is W Bush now. Would that Hillary run.
Friday, April 02, 2004
PCIJ Writing Fellowships
The Center offers fellowships for investigative reportage to full-time reporters, freelance journalists and academics. Their reports are syndicated in major Philippine newspapers and magazines or aired in broadcast stations. Reports by fellows who are staff reporters are published or aired exclusively by the agencies they work for.
PCIJ stories make an impact. Well-researched and well-documented, these reports have contributed to a deeper understanding of raging issues, from politics to the environment, from health and business to women and the military. Some of these reports have prodded government action on issues like corruption, public accountability and environmental protection.
Applicants for investigative reporting fellowships are required to submit a written proposal on the project they wish to undertake. The proposal should contain the following information: the rationale for the project; the research methodology the proponent intends to use; an estimate of expenses, including out-of-town travel, that the writer will incur; and a timetable.
The Center's board of editors evaluates proposals based on their timeliness, impact and relevance. The proponent's competence and integrity as a journalist are also considered.
PCIJ shoulders travel and research expenses, and in some instances, also video or radio production costs. The Center also pays writer's and director's fees. It can extend funding of as much as P30,000 for each project proponent. In very exceptional circumstances, it can provide as much as P50,000, excluding production costs. Research and
editorial support, including editorial supervision, will be provided by the Center. Proponents are required to report regularly to PCIJ.
The Center accepts proposals for fellowships on the following areas of concern: democratization, economic reform, environment, local governance, women, poverty and development, government and leadership, politics and power, the administration of justice, agriculture and agrarian reform, human rights, the military, insurgency, mass media and education.
The Center offers fellowships for investigative reportage to full-time reporters, freelance journalists and academics. Their reports are syndicated in major Philippine newspapers and magazines or aired in broadcast stations. Reports by fellows who are staff reporters are published or aired exclusively by the agencies they work for.
PCIJ stories make an impact. Well-researched and well-documented, these reports have contributed to a deeper understanding of raging issues, from politics to the environment, from health and business to women and the military. Some of these reports have prodded government action on issues like corruption, public accountability and environmental protection.
Applicants for investigative reporting fellowships are required to submit a written proposal on the project they wish to undertake. The proposal should contain the following information: the rationale for the project; the research methodology the proponent intends to use; an estimate of expenses, including out-of-town travel, that the writer will incur; and a timetable.
The Center's board of editors evaluates proposals based on their timeliness, impact and relevance. The proponent's competence and integrity as a journalist are also considered.
PCIJ shoulders travel and research expenses, and in some instances, also video or radio production costs. The Center also pays writer's and director's fees. It can extend funding of as much as P30,000 for each project proponent. In very exceptional circumstances, it can provide as much as P50,000, excluding production costs. Research and
editorial support, including editorial supervision, will be provided by the Center. Proponents are required to report regularly to PCIJ.
The Center accepts proposals for fellowships on the following areas of concern: democratization, economic reform, environment, local governance, women, poverty and development, government and leadership, politics and power, the administration of justice, agriculture and agrarian reform, human rights, the military, insurgency, mass media and education.
New Day Books for graduates
New Day Publishers, pioneer Filipiniana and religious publishing house, is treating the graduates of 2004 a wide array of titles at 40 to 70 percent discount on regular books and other titles recently published.
These include Francis Warren’s "Iranun and Balangingi," Azucena Uranza's "A Passing Season," Dery's "History of Inarticulate," and other award-winning books that will make graduates more knowledgeable of the country’s rich heritage
Also up for are inspirational reading materials, the Women Write Series penned by women authors, cook books, insightful anecdote books, literary fiction, as well as comic books by the country’s leading cartoonists namely Larry Alcala (Mang Ambo), Tonton Young (Pupung), Pol Medina (Pugad Baboy) and Edgar Dionela (Simo).
Promo runs until supply lasts. For inquiries please call New Day Publishers at 928-8046; 927-5982 or email at newdayorders@edsamail.com.ph
New Day Publishers, pioneer Filipiniana and religious publishing house, is treating the graduates of 2004 a wide array of titles at 40 to 70 percent discount on regular books and other titles recently published.
These include Francis Warren’s "Iranun and Balangingi," Azucena Uranza's "A Passing Season," Dery's "History of Inarticulate," and other award-winning books that will make graduates more knowledgeable of the country’s rich heritage
Also up for are inspirational reading materials, the Women Write Series penned by women authors, cook books, insightful anecdote books, literary fiction, as well as comic books by the country’s leading cartoonists namely Larry Alcala (Mang Ambo), Tonton Young (Pupung), Pol Medina (Pugad Baboy) and Edgar Dionela (Simo).
Promo runs until supply lasts. For inquiries please call New Day Publishers at 928-8046; 927-5982 or email at newdayorders@edsamail.com.ph
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Justice for Mark Welson Chua, Bayani
Buried beneath the more salacious stories in today's papers was the conviction of one of the four suspects in the brutal murder case of Mark Welson Chua. Chua was the UST ROTC cadet who was killed in 2001 right inside the UST Department of Military Science and Tactics after he and other cadets exposed the corruption and bribery in the ROTC on the university's campus paper.
Manila RTC Judge Romulo A. Lopez sentenced the suspect Cadet Lt. Col. Arnulfo B. Aparri, Jr. to die by lethal injection for his participation in the crime. The charges against the other accused -- cadet Lt. Cols. Michael Von Rainard Manangbao and Eduardo E. Tabrilla, and former cadet officer Paul Joseph Tan -- were archived because they are yet to be apprehended.
One will remember that it was the death of Chua which triggered the massive call for the abolition of the ROTC. Students now have an option whether to undergo military training or community service through the NSTP program.
Buried beneath the more salacious stories in today's papers was the conviction of one of the four suspects in the brutal murder case of Mark Welson Chua. Chua was the UST ROTC cadet who was killed in 2001 right inside the UST Department of Military Science and Tactics after he and other cadets exposed the corruption and bribery in the ROTC on the university's campus paper.
Manila RTC Judge Romulo A. Lopez sentenced the suspect Cadet Lt. Col. Arnulfo B. Aparri, Jr. to die by lethal injection for his participation in the crime. The charges against the other accused -- cadet Lt. Cols. Michael Von Rainard Manangbao and Eduardo E. Tabrilla, and former cadet officer Paul Joseph Tan -- were archived because they are yet to be apprehended.
One will remember that it was the death of Chua which triggered the massive call for the abolition of the ROTC. Students now have an option whether to undergo military training or community service through the NSTP program.
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