What Christmas is all About

"The Dragon in My Garage" by Carl Sagan

Science: It works

Realpolitik 2

President Aquino today said that the Philippines did not attend the Nobel Peace Prize awarding ceremony because it was better for the national interest to go along with China.

"President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III admitted the country did not send a delegate to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring a Chinese democracy activist for the sake of 5 Filipinos on China’s death row.

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Aquino said “our interest [is] to advance our citizens’ needs first.”"

also

"Aquino also said the country is aiming for a “closure” with China over the August 23 hostage incident, where 8 Hong Kong residents died.

The hostage crisis has caused diplomatic strains between the 2 nations. The Hong Kong government has voiced out its dismay over the “watered down” penalties that those involved have received.

He also said he was concerned for the safety of the Filipinos who may be caught in the tension between North and South Korea.

China earlier offered to mediate between the 2 Korean peninsulas. China is an ally of North Korea."

At least it's not that bullshit about the ambassador not having the time to attend. Personally, I think it was the right decision, it was a shitty decision, but it was the right one when we look at it from the perspective of the Philippine's national interest.

Credibility

The Nashman makes the point that we lost credibility regarding our advocacy with other ASEAN countries on the issue of Human Rights with our non attendance in the Nobel Peace Price awarding.

You should really read his post.

Stupid Excuse

The Philippine Government denies that it did not attend the awarding ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Ambassador (Elizabeth) Buensuceso’s trip to Denmark has long been arranged even before the identity of the recipient for this year‘s Nobel Peace Prize was known,” Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ed Malaya told reporters in Malacañang.

“We do not think there is any connection,” Malaya said.

But if you look at the Philippine Embassy's staff in Oslo, aside from Ambassador Buensuceso, there is also a Minister and Consul General, and a Third Secretary and Vice Consul. The invitations for the awarding ceremony (I assume) is not addressed personally to the ambassador but to the Philippines. If the ambassador cannot make it, then somebody from the embassy can represent the Philippines in her stead. Instead, we turned down the invitation.

I would rather the Philippine government tell us that we would rather not be in China's black list at this point in time rather than trying to feed us this bullshit. At least with the truth, I can be reassured that they are trying to protect the interest of the Philippines.

p.s.

Had this brainwave after finishing the post, maybe this is still realpolitik, the Philippine government does not want to embarrass China by admitting that it bullies weak governments so they are using this blatantly stupid excuse.

Not rejecting god

a comment from reddit

"First, as an atheist, I am not "rejecting something important like god." I am simply not going to entertain stupid ideas.

Second, not entertaining stupid ideas isn't a huge deal for me. I do it all the time."

Realpolitik

"refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises. In this respect, it shares aspects of its philosophical approach with those of realism and pragmatism." - wikipedia

I voted for President Aquino because I hoped that he will be administer our country with principles. I realize that practical politics will make it hard for him or any president to do such a thing but I am still disappointed when they do it.

Today I learned that the Philippines will not attend the awarding ceremony for the Nobel Peace prize probably because of pressure from China

Beijing has urged diplomats in Oslo to stay away from the event, warning of "consequences" if they go.

Several of those who have turned down invitations are long-term allies or trade partners. The full list comprises Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco.

The sad thing is that the winner, Liu Xiabao, is jailed because of his pro democracy activities. If there is one thing this President should be supporting, is pro-democracy activists. I realize that China is a power that we as a country can ill afford to antagonize, but sometimes principles should stand for something.

Is Your Internet Safe?

Some points to ponder from this guy

Whatever you think of WikiLeaks, the actions by both Amazon Web Services and Tableau Software have revealed that they are willing to withdraw service from a customer without receiving a legal challenge and without investigation or recourse, and to spin it as a "terms of service" issue. It informs us as customers of web services and cloud computing services that we are never safe from intentional outages when the business interests of our host are challenged.

As our business activities (hosted on our behalf) and our software freedoms (mediated through hosted communities) increasingly become dependent on the unassailable business judgement of unseen others, we do well to consider whether we need to take those capabilities away from their single points of failure and instead use peer-to-peer services instead of relying on a centralised provider.

Wikileaks and The Pirate Bay similarly stress the uncomfortable weaknesses in our various democracies. We see legislators denounce the medium, attack the messenger and attempt to legislate against both rather than engaging in the root-and-branch reform necessary for the meshed society of the Internet age. We will doubtless see new laws proposed which, in the name of stopping leaks, remove the freedoms of citizens to engage in the meshed Internet.

Positive Attitude (xkcd)

This is how I feel when I am sick and people keep repeating that positive attitude nonsense.

Sad Truth

Clarifying the Pope

Last week, the Pope pronounced that it is ok to use condoms in certain cases. Those in the Philippines who support the passage of the Reproductive Health bill saw this as a sign that the catholic church is about to change it's position of contraceptives while those who oppose the bill tried to do damage control and assert that the fundamental stance of the church remains the same.

What they are missing is that the Pope in this instance stopped focusing on the doctrine, but focused on the consequences of that doctrine. Less than a year ago, the Pope was too focused on the doctrine that in his visit to Africa

"The Pope had said the "cruel epidemic" should be tackled through abstinence and fidelity rather than condom use."

He was so focused on the doctrine that he dismissed those dying of AIDS and those at risk in contracting HIV in order to promote the doctrine. His recent pronouncement makes it seem that he has now focused on the people, that it is now more important to him to save the people rather than follow the doctrine blindly.

This is why we are hopeful that catholic doctrine will change, it may not be tomorrow, it may be years from now, but once you focus on the effects of the doctrine on people, you will notice other things. One of them as Congressman Lagman points out

"If condom use is the lesser evil than the spread of HIV/AIDS as clarified by Papal sources, then contraceptives are an infinitely lesser evil than maternal death and abortion,"

Freedom of Information

Mayroong bagong panukalang batas para mas palakasin ang Freedom of Information sa ating bayan. Pero mayroong agam agam si Secretary Coloma ng dahil daw baka wala ng gawin ang mga taong gobyerno kundi mag responde sa mga humihingi ng impormasyon ("paralyzed by gratuituous requests for information.’’). Para hindi mangyari ito, maganda siguro kung ilagay na lang nila online lahat ng impormasyon, yung may gusto humingi, hanapin niya at i download yung gusto niya, wala ng oras na gugulin ang mga taong gobyerno.

Isa pang agam agam ni Secretary Coloma ay baka daw hindi na maging bukas ang mga taong gobyerno dahil kung baka mapahiya sila (access to transcripts and minutes of official meetings may diminish candid and open discussions by public officials.) Kung nakakahiya lang naman ang sasabihin nila, mabuti na nga na huwag na sila magsalita, para naman sa mga miting ng taong gobyerno, talagang pinag isipan ang kanilang mga sinasabi.

Mas bukas ang impormasyon sa tao, mas madali nating makikita kung nagloloko nga ang ating mga opisyal. Mas bukas ang impormasyon, mas maganda para sa tao.

Lotto

Wala pang nananalo sa jackpot sa lotto gusto ng bawasan ng mga Congressman yung ipapanalo. Sa isang inihaing resolusyon sa Kongreso, lilimitahan ang premyo sa 500 milyon at yung sobra ay donasyon na lamang daw.

Sabi ni Speaker Belmonte, maski 1 bilyon daw ang premyo o 500 milyon, di rin alam ng mananalo kung paano niya ito gagamitin. Pakialam ba niya kung pano gustong gamitin ng nanalo yung pera niya? Kung gusto niya itong sunugin lahat, hayaan mo siya, pera niya yon, wag niyong pakialaman ang pera ng may pera.

Nabanggit na lang ang pagsunog sa pera. Dito sa isang artikulo sa cracked napaka hirap manalo sa lotto. Sa 6/55 draw ng Pinas 1 sa 28,989,675 ang tsamba para manalo ka. At sa mga regular na tumataya sa lotto, para lang kayong nagtatapon ng pera, oo nga, minsan nananalo pero sa buong panahon na tumataya kayo, natatalo kayo.

At duon sa mga pinalad na manalo? Suerte sila, at sana huwag nilang waldasin yung pera nila.

Religious Reasons

Most of the people who oppose the RH bill are religious people, and it is their religiosity that is the wellspring of their opposition to the RH bill. I recognize this reality with my previous posts that since the Pope has approved the use of condom and non-procreative sex, there should be no more opposition to the RH bill. This is also recognized by members of Congress who support the bill when they urged the catholic church to follow the Pope's lead on the RH bill.

The various rationalizations of the oppositors why they should not listen to the Pope crystallizes this reality.

Which is of course the problem. Laws, specially laws that will affect the health of every Filipino should be based on the needs of the country, not on the religious sensibilities of people.

LOL

nabasa ko lang sa reddit

"as a friend of mine pointed out "The bible says it's a sin for a man to lay with another man as he would a woman. Last time I checked men don't have sex with other men's vaginas""

Trapik sa EDSA

Ako po ay buong buhay na pasahero, mula nang estudyante pa ako hanggang nung nagtrabaho na ako. Ang problema ko sa debate sa trapik sa EDSA, ang mga nagdedebate ay yung mga tao na laging naka kotse. Yung mga tao na hindi na nakakaranas kung gaano kahirap sumakay ng bus sa EDSA kung rush hour, o kaya kung umuulan. Natatrapik sila sa EDSA, ang nakikita nila ay yung malalaking bus, at yun ang gusto nilang bawasan.

Kung kailangan talagang mabawasan ang bilang ng sasakyan sa EDSA, sa halip na maglagay tayo ng arbitrary na patakaran, bakit di na lang natin lagyan ng pang pinansiyal na insentibo. Una, puedeng babaan natin ang takdang pasahe sa bus, kung totoo ang sinasabi nila na bumibiyahe ang mga bus ng kalahati lang ang sakay, ibig sabihin noon ay kumikita ang mga bus maski na hindi sila puno. Ibig sabihin noon, puedeng babaan ang pasahe ng mga tao. Kakailanganin ngayon ng mga bus na magpuno ng bus para kumita, malulugi ngayon yung mga hindi makakapuno, mababawasan ang nagbibiyahe.

Puede rin, para naman mabawasan din ang mga kotse sa daan na lagyan natin ng bayad ang pag biyahe sa EDSA sa oras ng rush hour. Para yung lang talagang may kailangan na magbiyahe sa oras na ito ang mag biyahe. Yung mga hindi kaya na magbayad, di sumakay sila ng bus, o ng MRT. Tataas pa ang kita ng gobyerno.

Ipasa na ang RH Bill 2

Napag isipan ko pa, hindi lang pumayag ang Papa sa pag gamit ng condom, pero kung susuriin mo ang kanayang sinabi, ok lang sa kanya na makipag sex ang tao na hindi intensyon ang magkaanak (non-procreative sex).

Ang ginamit niyang halimbawa na sitwasyon sa pag gamit ng condom ay ang pakikpag sex sa siang male prostitute. Isang pagtanggap ito na ang mga tao ay nakikipag sex sa mga prostitute, at ang pakikipag sex sa isang prostitute ay hindi para magkaanak ang isang tao.

So kung kaya tutol kayo sa RH bill dahil naniniwala kayo na dapat ang pakikipag sex ay para lamang magkaanak, magbago na isip niyo. Dahil nagbago na isip ni Papa.

Ipasa na ang RH Bill

Ok na daw gumamit ng condom sabi ng Papa.

"In a series of interviews published in his native German, the 83-year-old Benedict is asked whether "the Catholic Church is not fundamentally against the use of condoms."

"It of course does not see it as a real and moral solution," the pope replies.

"In certain cases, where the intention is to reduce the risk of infection, it can nevertheless be a first step on the way to another, more humane sexuality," said the head of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics."

Bakit Pro-Choice

May isang istorya ako nabasa na naging dahilan kung bakit ko naisipang isulat itong post na ito. Ayon dun sa blog na naka link, may isang mag-asawa, na buntis, na gumawa ng website kung saan puede kang bumoto kung gusto mo na ipa-abort nila o ituloy ang pagbubuntis.

Sa pag imbestiga nitong website na ito, napag alaman nila na isa lamang pakana ng isang pro-life na mag asawa ang website nila na ito. Sapantaha nila, dahil sa alam ng mag asawa na ito na mas nakararami sa mga amerikano ang pro-choice, mananalo ang ipa-abort na choice sa botohan. Problema sa kanilang pag-iisip, hindi porke pro-choice ang isang tao, ibig sabihin boboto na siya na magpa abort na lang ng magpa abort.

Ang taong pro-choice ay naniniwala na ang desisyon pagtuloy o hindi ng pagbubuntis ay nakasalalay sa kung sino ang buntis. Siyempre, kung gusto niyang kausapin ang nakabuntis sa kanya, ang kanyang mga magulang, kapatid, kamag-anak, kaibigan, o kung sino man, desisyon niya iyon. Pero ultimately, yung buntis pa rin ang mag dedesisyon.

Sa mga pro-life, wala dapat gawing desisyon pa ang babae, pag nabuntis siya, kailangan niya itong ituloy, kasi ang fetus ay buhay. Pero paano yung mga nabuntis dahil ni rape sila? Sa ganitong sitwasyon, puede ba na magpa-abort? Pano kung mamamatay yung babae dahil sa buntis siya? Puede ba magpa-abort sa ganitong sitwasyon? Paano kung may genetic defect yung fetus? Kung 10 na anak nung babae? Kung domestic abuser yung asawa niya? Kung wala siyang pera para mabigyan ng mabuting buhay yung magiging anak?

Merong sasagot diyan na oo sa lahat ng sitwasyon sa taas, meron na oo sa iba, hindi sa iba. Ang punto ay iba-iba ang pananaw ng bawat tao, iba't iba rin ang ating sitwasyon. Ang sinasabi lang ng pro-choice, yung taong nasa sitwasyon ang mag desisyon, kung ano man ang desisyon niya, iyon ay dapat nating igalang.

Golez true stance on Freedom of Speech

Congressman Roilo Golez today showed his true color on the issue of free speech by calling for the deportation of a population expert who said something he didn't like.

update:

lol, it seems Congressman's reason for wanting Dr. Malcolm Potts is really not for something he said but for being somebody he doesn't like. He has not done anything illegal in our country but Congressman Golez wants him deported anyway.

What is with our Congressmen and their obsession with deporting foreigners anyway?

ACLU Asks Holder To Investigate Bush For Violation Of Torture Statute

From ACLU Asks Holder To Investigate Bush For Violation Of Torture Statute | American Civil Liberties Union

"The ACLU acknowledges the significance of this request, but it bears emphasis that the former President’s acknowledgement that he authorized torture is absolutely without parallel in American history. The admission cannot be ignored. In our system, no one is above the law or beyond its reach, not even a former president. That founding principle of our democracy would mean little if it were ignored with respect to those in whom the public most invests its trust. It would also be profoundly unfair for Mr. Durham to focus his inquiry on low-level officials charged with implementing official policy but to ignore the role of those who authorized or ordered the use of torture.

Failure to fully investigate the role of the former President in the use of torture would also severely compromise our ability to advocate for human rights in other countries."

Former President Bush seems to really think he did not do anything wrong. That the end, actually justifies the means. Or that as an American, he is above international conventions that other country leaders, like Saddam Hussein, are not.

AI calls for criminal investigations against President Bush

From USA: Former President's defence of torture highlights need for criminal investigations

"In the NBC interview, former President Bush said that he authorized the interrogation techniques in question because government lawyers had cleared them as legal under US law, and he asserted that using them had “saved lives”. Asked whether he would make the same decision today, the former President responded that “Yeah, I would”.

Under international law, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are never legal. No lawyer can render them lawful; no politician, legislator, judge, soldier, police officer, prison guard, medical professional or interrogator can override this prohibition. Even in a time of war or threat of war, even in a state of emergency which threatens the life of the nation, there can be no exemption from this obligation. The same is true of enforced disappearance.

Whether torture is effective or not in obtaining useful information is irrelevant to the question of whether it is lawful – it never is – or whether an individual responsible for torture is to be investigated or prosecuted."

The Golden Rule

He who has the gold, makes the rules

got this from reddit

Konsyensiya

Sa isang interview ipinahiwatig ni Archbishop Rosales na walang konsiyensiya ang mga sumusporta sa Reproductive Health Bill sa Kongreso, sabi niya

"“Ay talaga. Wala tayong problema kung lahat ay may konsyensya".

Ang tanong ko lang kay Archbishop Rosales, nasan ang konsiyensiya niya ng malaman niya na pinagtakpan ni Pope Benedict ang isang pedophile, hindi ko siya narinig na tumawag para mag resign ang Papa. Nasan ang konsensiya niya noon?

Sino ang walang konsensiya ngayon?

How can you not want Robredo?

Linking to this column by Professor Monsod

"You want someone to help you fight jueteng? Robredo got an award for that. You want transparency and accountability? He also got an award for that. You want someone who can help poverty? Getting down to brass tacks: Naga had the lowest incidence of poverty—one out of every 5 households below the poverty line, half of the regional average, and lower than the national average (26 percent). In terms of hunger, Naga had the lowest preschool malnutrition rate—half of the next best performer in the Bicol region; in terms of education, it had the highest participation rate (100 percent). In terms of health, it had the lowest incidence of child and infant mortality rates, maternal mortality rates, and highest immunization coverage; it is the only locality in Bicol with 100 percent access to safe water and sanitary facilities.

What more can you ask, Mr. President? How can you not want someone like Robredo, who has an unsurpassed delivery record, at your side as you lead the Philippines in its fight against poverty?

Mr. President, in your appointments, you have accommodated friends and classmates. I ask you now to accommodate the Philippines. Keep Jesse."

Ka Ben

I met Ka Ben when I was in college and just joined BISIG. I never really got to know him but I was always in awe of his dedication to the cause of socialism. I hoped to be able to be as dedicated as he was. I don't know if how he will think of me now, I can only tell him that I am doing the best I can.

Below is an e-mail by Dr. Nemenzo, reminiscing on the life of Ka Ben.

Dear friends and comrades,

I am sad to inform you that Kasamang Benjamin Cunanan (a.k.a. Kumander Hizon, Apong Kuna, Ka Ben) died yesterday ( 2 Nov. 2010) at the age of 82, after a long battle with cancer. His body now lies in state in his little hut in 120 AV Cruz St., Kalawaan, Pasig. Interment will be on Sunday, after lunch.

Ka Ben was only in his teens during the Japanese occupation when he was recruited to the Hukbalahap. Showing mettle in combat, he rose quickly to the rank of unit commander. To hold such a position of responsibility, one has to go through the party school and be accepted as member of Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas. At the height of the Huk rebellion, he headed Field Command 78, the largest (oversized battalion) unit of Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan.

Refusing to “return to civilian life” in line with the single-file policy, he continued fighting in the Pampanga-Tarlac area until his capture in 1961. Kumander Hizon was the last real Huk commander to fall. (I underline “real” because the AFP always “promoted” every Huk they captured to the rank of “Kumander.”

As commander of the last remaining HMB unit, Ka Ben recruited new combatants like Bernabe Buscayno (Ka Dante). This tried Faustino del Mundo (Sumulong) for breach of discipline, but before a sentence was handed down Sumulong disappeared, only to resurface when Ka Ben was captured. For unknown reason, Pedro Taruc (the only surviving PKP central committee member) appointed Sumulong to Ka Ben’s position. He quickly transformed the HMB into a gangster organization and established control over the rackets during the boom years when Angeles City became the rest and recreation center of American soldiers from Vietnam.

Ka Ben was sentenced to life imprisonment for one of the 16 murder cases filed against him. He stayed in prison longer than any Huk (longer than Jose Lava, etc.) During martial law Luis Taruc offered to arrange a presidential pardon. When Taruc asked if he was willing to meet Marcos in Malacanang, he replied: “Sigue, para murahin ko siya.” Taruc never visited him again. Tact was not among Ka Ben’s many virtues.

Upon release, Ka Ben joined us in BISIG. He tried reactivating his comrades in Central Luzon and invited them to the new rebel army he dreamed of forming. But, alas, they were too old to fight.

We should honor this brave warrior who, despite the colossal setback, was never ashamed to be called a communist.

Ka Dodong

I expected better

Ayon sa balitang ito ng INQUIRER.net gusto ni AKBAYAN representative Walden Bello na

"Walden Bello of the Akbayan party list also urged the Bureau of Immigration to ban the entry of Korean citizens in the country until the South Korean government apologizes for its actions.

He said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo should immediately lodge the protest and “demand an explanation for the use of unwarranted force against the six Filipino activists.”

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the South Korean government’s act of repression against Filipino nationals. This arbitrary act manifests a lack of respect for the Philippine government and the Filipino nation,” Bello said in a statement."

Pino-protesta niya ang pag deport ng South Korea sa mga Pilipino ng walang magandang dahilan at ang sagot niya dito ay ang pag ganti sa mga South Korean citizens na wala namang kinalaman sa polisiya ng kanilang gobyerno.

I exspected clearer thinking from Congressman Walden Bello.

Offending Religious Feelings

I did not know that the Philippines a law that punishes people for offending religious feelings. This is such a ridiculous law if there is one . Religious people are offended by a lot of things, women wearing revealing clothing, gays making out, the sight of condoms offends them for fucks sake.

It's a good thing we still think of ourselves as a secular society or more of this kind of suits will be brought up. Maybe Mr. Celdran is correct, maybe we are still living in the time of DAMASO.

update 10/30/2010

GMA News provided the specific provision (Article 133) in the Revised Penal code. Article 133 states that

"Offending the religious feelings. — The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon anyone who, in a place devoted to religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful."

The provision of the article itself makes me conclude (although IANAL) that it is a reasonable law. In a country the promises freedom of religion, religious rituals should be protected from interference.

But if you go back 1 article in the Penal code Article 132 is against interruption of religious worship

"Interruption of religious worship. — The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall prevent or disturb the ceremonies or manifestations of any religion.

If the crime shall have been committed with violence or threats, the penalty shall be prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods."

It seems the ones charging Mr. Celdran is trying convict him on a harsher charge when a lower charge "interruption of religious worship" is available and more appropriate. I say more appropriate because Mr. Celdran actually did only interrupt a religious service.

edited 10/20/2010 to include youtube video of Mr. Celdran's actions



Maybe this is the Catholic Church's way of honoring Jesus famous admonition to the faithful

"But I say to you, That you resist not evil: but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also." - Matthew 5:39

Moral Relativism

I like this quote, the whole article is worth reading too.

Aisha and Humanity - Kemstone - Open Salon:

"I once considered myself a moral relativist, but not anymore. Just because something is accepted in another culture does not make it right. There is a certain amount of happiness and suffering brought about by every action, and certain actions cause a degree of suffering so great that the scale could never be balanced. Aisha’s death was so horrible that no amount of satisfaction on the part of the executioners or spectators who felt that justice had been served could outweigh it. This is as black-and-white as it comes. No matter what culture or time period you’re talking about, this kind of thing is plain wrong."

Free E-Books, With a Catch -- Advertising

Libre libro basta may Advertisement?

Ok lang! Nakakapanood ako ng libreng TV shows at pelikula dahil sa advertising. Nakakabasa ko ng balita at kung ano ano pa sa internet dahil sa advertising. Magbabasa ko ng libreng libro maski may advertising. Sanay na ko sa advertising, di ko na napapansin halos yung mga yon.

Agatha Christie was sick of Poirot—grandson

Agatha Christie was sick of Poirot—grandson - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

"Christie considered the diminutive, stiff-moustached gastronome as her "bread and butter" but would grumble about having to churn out "yet another Poirot," Mathew Pritchard told Radio Times magazine.

"She was never short of ideas for books but some of these ideas were inappropriate for Poirot, so she was very keen to exorcise herself of him by writing different stories with new characters," he said.

"But her agents and publishers, who were in charge of the pounds and pence, were very keen on Poirot – he was her most popular character.""

I've read a lot of Agatha Christie's books most of them when I was in high school, Poirot is still my favorite. I can imagine her being sick of the man but I am glad she still wrote those books.

xkcd: The Economic Argument

Balat Sibuyas

Di ko masyadong nasubaybayan itong balitang ito, pero ayon dito sa Inquirer, nag hain ng resolusyon ang House of Representatives para mag bitiw sa Tungkulin si Sec. Ging Deles bilang OPAPP head dahil nainsulto niya si Congressman Dimaporo. At paano niya naisnulto si Congressman Dimaporo?

"In a letter addressed to Minority Leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman and read by Loong to the chamber last Friday, the neophyte Dimaporo said that she was “insulted” by Deles when, during a break at the budget debate last Wednesday, she approached the OPAPP head to ask about the peace process.

Dimaporo said Deles told her to “read up on her (Deles’s) background,” and “to read her (Deles’s) books.”"

Pinayuhan ni Secretary Deles si Congressman Dimaporo na magbasa ng kaunti tungkol sa background niya at tungkol sa kanyang mga sinulat tungkol prosesong pangkapayapaan nainsulto na siya at gusto na niyang nag bitiw sa tungkulin si Sec. Deles?

Tama lang sa aking palagay ang ginawa ni Pangulong Aquino, kung pagbibigyan niya ang resolusyon ng kongreso sa ganito kaliit na bagay, lalo lang siyang iipitin ng Kongreso.

Honor and Excellence (Prof. Monsod's last lecture to her class)

Catholic Bishops trying to hold non Catholics Hostage

From CBCP reminds Aquino about excommunication - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

The CBCP is threatening to excommunicate President Aquino for his position that "Filipino couples who choose to use artificial contraceptives should be allowed to do so."

Bishop Nereo Odchimar of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, the current CBCP president even has the gall to remind the President that"...being the President of all, you must consider the position of the Catholic Church because we are approaching these issues from the moral aspect like the unborn."

What he seems to have forgotten is that not all Filipinos are Catholics, so not all have to abide by Catholic teaching. President Aquino is also the President of all the on-Catholics who does want to avail of contraceptives. It is his duty to give us this choice if we want to.

The Catholic Church should not be allowed to rule the Philippines, Jose Rizal's description of the Philippines under the rule of the Catholic Church should serve as a lesson to us.

Emo Phillips on British TV

Only on TV

Ah, the eternal kdrama conundrum. Go for the perfect meanie who needs to be convinced of your worth, or the loyal lackey who already knows it?

And of course, the answer (in a drama) is always the opposite of the one we’d advocate in real life. Funny how television can romanticize the unromantic, and vice versa.

This quote from javabeans is so spot on. And of course, it applies to most dramas on television and movies.

Sumali na Kayo

Sali naman kayo sa Charazay isang basketball simulation game

The Aliens

David Boies vs Tony Perkins on Gay Marriage

AC360: Christopher Hitchens Talks Cancer and God

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha

Estrada: Wrongdoers must be punished

Star Wars Subway Car

Slate's Ron Rosenbaum doesn't understand atheism

Ethics via SMBC

Incestual Undertones in Star Wars

SANGANDAAN By: Susan Fernandez Magno her legacy lives forever!

WTF News

from digg

Woman who reported rape is charged with illegal sex

An 18-year-old Emirati woman has been charged with having sex outside of wedlock after reporting that she was raped by six men, Abu Dhabi’s Criminal Court was told yesterday.

Pakistani court orders Facebook blocked in prophet row

A court in Pakistan has ordered the authorities temporarily to block the Facebook social networking site.

The order came when a petition was filed after the site held a competition featuring caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

Gay couple convicted in Malawi faces 14-year term

A judge convicted a gay couple Tuesday of charges that could send them to jail for more than a decade following an engagement celebration, a ruling activists fear could send others into hiding and hamper the fight against AIDS.

Hindi perpekto ang Pinas at madami tayo problema, pero naman, kagaguhan naman itong mga nangyari na to.

I'm holding Chiz to this promise

Sabi ni Senador Escudero dapat daw ay huwag tanggapin ng mga taong nagkampanya kay Sen. Aquino ang anumang posisyon na i-offer nito sa kanila dahil:

“At sa panig ng tumulong at sumuporta, hindi di naman sila tumulong at sumuporta at naghihintay ng kapalit na pwesto sa gobyerno niya. Sana bukal sa kalooban at malaya nila ginawa ang pagtulong at walang hinihintay na kapalit makakuha ng pwesto o makabalik sa pwesto [And on the part of those who helped and supported him, they did not help because they are waiting for something in return, like a government post. I hope it came from their heart without expecting to get a government post,”

Sa mga susunod na halalan, nais ko na ipangako ni Sen. Escudero na wala siyang bibigyan ng puesto sa kanino man na susuporta sa kanya sa kanyang pagtakbo. Para sigurado siya na lahat ng susuporta sa kanya ay dahil taos ang puso na prinsipyo ang pinaninidigan sa pagsuporta sa kanya.

Counting votes

According the the Liberal Party, VP candidate Mar Roxas is ahead of Mayor Binay based on the Certificates of Canvass the COMELEC gives the LP as the dominant minority party.

This pronouncement contradicts the PPCRV count that still has mayor Binay leading Sen. Roxas by about 800,000 votes.

This has led Mayor Binay to demand from the LP to make their count transparent. A demand which I wholly concur. It is one thing to ask people to wait until the final count, and another to present numbers without any evidence to back up the numbers.

If the Liberal Party is confident that Mar Roxas will actually win, then they should have no problem presenting their figures.

Math

What if you have no readers?

from xkcd

Balut and the NBA

Isang blogger sa ESPN si Henry Abbot ng TrueHoop blog ay natalo sa isang pustahan (Blazers pinustahan niya laban sa Suns). Ang pustahan nila, gagawin nung natalo ang guston nung nanalo. Ang naisip nung nanalo ay pakainin sa Henry Abbot ng balut. Eto yung ginawa niyang blogpost sa kanyang pagkain ng balut, may video pa.

Salamat

Ukulele Orchestra - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Kulelat galit sa Surveys

Alam ko na kulelat si Secretary Teodoro sa mga surveys, pero kailangan ba niyang sabihin na

"...They say, let's not vote for Gibo because it's just a waste of votes, because they asked 2,000 people in the country but they failed to ask 90 million others,"

Nag aral siya sa Xavier, La Salle, UP at Harvard, siguro naman isa sa mga eskwelahang pinasukan niya ay tinuruan siya ng statistics. Galing at Talino ang slogan ng kampanya niya, gamitin naman niya ang sinasabi niyang talino.

Alam ko na alam niya na hindi kagaguhan ang survey at ang pag alipusta niyadito ay gawa lamang ng kagustuhan niya na huwag lumipat sa ibang mas nangungunang kandidato ang kanyang mga taga suporta. Pero kagaguhan pa rin ito, minsan kailangan kang maging statesman at hindi pulitiko, alam niyang wala na siyang pag-asang manalo, panahon na para maging statesman siya, isipin niya ang makakabuti sa bayan at hindi sa kampanya niya.

Survey

"With just a little over two weeks before the national elections, things get a little more interesting in the presidential race with former President Joseph Estrada now joining Nacionalista Party bet Sen. Manny Villar at the second spot, according to the latest survey by Pulse Asia."

Yan ang unang talata sa balita ng Philippine Star tungkol sapinak huling survey ng Pulse Asia. Kung titingnan mo parang napaka importante kung sino yung papangalawa sa eleksiyon. Para bagang may premyo din ang susunod sa una.

:)

Vote Straight LP

I always vote a straight ticket during Presidential Elections, my reasoning is that a new President needs as much support as possible to carry out his or her agenda.

I believe that Noynoy Aquino is the best among all the candidates for President this coming election. If you think so too, I hope you also vote straight Liberal Party so he gets all the support he can, we all know any reform he has planned against the established bureaucracy will be opposed by vested interests, he needs all the help he can get.

Vote straight Liberal Party!
Vote AKBAYAN!

AKBAYAN para sa Party List

Ano?

Ayon sa Bagong Alyansang Makabayan ang paglipat ni Governor Salceda sa Liberal Party ay makakasama sa imahe nito pero hindi sila nangimi na pumangit ang imahe ng BAYAN ng sumama sa ticket ni Senator Villar sina Satur Ocampo at Liza maza kung saan kasama nila si Bongbong Marcos.

Kawawa naman

Kawawa naman si Loren Legarda, Vice na nga lang tinatakbuhan lagi pa siyang talo. At least kung matatalo lang naman siya sana Presidente na lang siya tumakbo.

Pascal’s Wager

Science and God

Reading Pharyngula and was stuck by this paragraph:

".... If something has an effect or influence, you can try to examine it using the tools of science — so when someone announces that gods cannot be detected by observation or experiment, they are saying they don't matter and don't do anything, which is exactly what this atheist has been saying all along."

Facebook encounter

A friend of mine posted a link and some comments about the guy who crashed his plane on a building while whining about taxes. I commented that I thought his post seem to treat the crazy guy as a hero and I didn't think he was, I characterized the guy as a lunatic who tried to kill people trying to do their jobs. My friend responded that I was mistaken, he did not consider the guy heroic. It would have been the end of the conversation except this one guy responded with this comment

"It's not only mentally deranged people who kill you know.

I have noticed that many people who are so quick to condemn and demand that others do so as well... when its someone in uniform who does the killing, they are suddenly all praise as if those in power could do no error.

We must all recognize that the IRS and BIR destroy lives. Even the Bible specifically mentions tax collectors in the same breath as prostitutes which society roundly condemns as extra sinful. With a prostitute, they at least know that what they are doing is immoral and don't delude themselves into thinking they are contributing to the development of the country.

Have you ever seen an innocent person wrongly accused in a tax court? Of course not.

You are automatically a tax evader, guilty until proven innocent with your named smeared through the media.

And if you are by some miracle acquitted, you are not innocent. You are considered to be an "escaped tax evader" who has somehow weaseled out of your proper deserves.

So Roy, please keep your demands for condemnation to yourself. Joe Stack stands before Divine Judgment, not yours. Who are you?

With the breaking world economy, I fear this is only the beginning. We must not take the easy way out and try to write this off as the work of a single lunatic. That would be only sticking our heads into the sand. This is only a symptom of a much bigger illness.

When you deprive someone of his life, his liberty, his property, and his dignity and push him to the wall leaving him with nothing left to lose... don't be surprised when he pushes back."

Normally, once I have expressed my opinion on a subject, I leave it alone. Other readers i figure can make up their own minds, at least I have made explicit a different viewpoint for them to consider. But this guy pushed my button, he addressed me directly made a lot of assertions and did not provide any evidence to his assertions. So I responded thus:

"Leviticus 11, ver 10 -12

"But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to detest. 11 And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses. 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you. "

If you have ever eaten crabs or any kind of shellfish, then you are also as abominable in the eye of your god as the prostitutes and tax collectors you condemn.

Jesus also says,

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Your appeal to the bible as a measure for morality is meaningless as anybody can find passages from the bible to support any contention.

The fact that not only mentally deranged people kill does not invalidate the fact that this deranged person killed, your point is we must not condemn the killing of people doing their jobs?

Or is your point that we must only condemn those who kill people we like? Because you sure are quick to condemn all the members of the IRS and the BIR and the all those in uniform who has killed.

Double standard much?"

I tried to point out to him that using the bible to support his contention that tax collectors are sinful is meaningless because the bible is 1) full of arcane laws (like the shellfish one) that nobody (at least in the Philippines) follows and that 2) it is full of contradiction that two conflicting position can both have support from bible verses. Also, I tired to point out that his post contradicts his assetion, he does not want me to condemn the crazy guy because his jusdgement is in the eyes of god whil he roundly condemns prostitutes, tax collectors and men in uniform.

He of course has another point that I did not address. This is the point about the BIR and IRS ruining lives. I did not address this point because I thought this was his best point and i didn't want to muddle the discussion of this point with extraneous issues. If there ever was a discussion, this should be the main focus. I personally have not met anybody whose life has been ruined by the BIR, i know that Richard Gomez and Judy Ann Santos and Lucio Tan have been investigated by the BIR for non payment of taxes. But they all came out fine, I would have been willing to pursue this line of thought further. On the other hand, even with all the corruption in government, we do know that government has helped improve a lot of Filipino lives through public education, free government health care, SSS and other government loans, etc. etc. Another discussion on whether the benefits a lot of people derive from government is worth the lives the BIR ruined. Sadly, this was not to be, he answered: "

"“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” had been the justification of tax collectors and yet, where in the Bible does it say that Caesar is justified in claiming everything as his?

Yawn. Your internet-assembled theology is amusing. Do you do children's parties?"

Rather than reiterating his best argument, he decided to deflect the discussion by insulting me. So I fired back:

"lol, can't refute my points so you bail"

This goaded him into answering and trying to defend the bible as a source of morality by trying to prove that Jesus changed the law on eating shellfish:

"Right... I already answered one point which you are silent on.

And for your stupid shelfish example, do I really need to point you to Acts 10, which every child of 7 knows?

But then oh wait... why bother? Your god is government."

He actually thought that I was trying to debate him on the meaning of bible verses. I have heard various ministers and priests debate each other using the bible as the basis of their arguments, it never turns out ok because all of them can find verses in the bible that supports their position. If I wanted to debate him on bible vrses, I could have pointed him out to Acts where the disciples shared everything they own, they had no concept of private ownership. But that was never my point so I pointed him back to my assertion on the bible.

"Since your so deficient in reading comprehension, let me quote my point which you have just reiterated with your last post

"Your appeal to the bible as a measure for morality is meaningless as anybody can find passages from the bible to support any contention."

Thank you for making my points for me."

This comments was followed by him trying to assert that I was wrong while not providing any proof that I was. I eventually got tired and decided to sleep. Bizarrely, when I woke up I found out that he deleted all his previous comments except the first one and at the end inserting this comment.

"why is this crazy guy talking to himself?"

So I countered this with the comment

"I see you are too embarrassed with your arguments that you had to delete them. I'm sorry that you feel that way. Next time, try to muster up better arguments so you don't have to hide the evidence of your utter FAIL"

which led him to answer thus

"Don't know what you're talking about. How much drugs were you doing all last night?"

which segued perfectly to my final comment which is

"Wow, and you were so proud of your morality yesterday. Your just an ordinary liar. If this is the morality of the god fearing, I'm glad I don't share it."

This is a guy citing the bible as hi source of morality. He was also quite proud that he was a moral person barefacedly lying. This is the case of somebody who believes that the bible tells us how to conduct our lives except when it is not convenient for him, then all bets are off.

Risa Hontiveros

Maling Example

Ayon sa istorya sa PDI tinanong ni Sen. Villar sa kanyang privilege speech kung

“Ang isang boxer ba ay lalaban kung may desisyon na ang hurado {Will the boxer still fight if the judges already have a decision }?"

Hindi ko alam kung mahilig manood si Senator Villar ng boksing pero ang sagot sa tanong na ito ay isang malakas na oo. Alam naman natin na sa boksing, nangyayari ang hometown decision, kung saan pinapapanalo ng mga hurado ang mga boksingero na kababayan nila. Pero sumusugod pa rin ang mga iba't ibang boksingero sa iba't ibang bansa para lumaban dahil maski na alam nilang matatalo sila kung babagsak sa hurado ang disisyon sa laban, puede pa rin nilang mapatulog ang kalaban at magwagi.

Kung gusto ni Senador Villar na ikumpara ang sarili niya sa mga boksingero, lumalabas na sinukat siya at natagpuang kulang.

p.s.

siguro kailangan ng patalsikin ni Senador Villar ang speech writer niya.

Popularity Contest

Akala ko pa naman mga abogado ang hinihirang sa COMELEC. Pero tingnan niyo ang kanilang hinggil sa pagtakbo ni dating pangulong Estrada sa susunod na eleksyon

"Instead of ruling on the constitutional issue, the Comelec Second Division dismissed the disqualification cases filed by three petitioners saying they would just let the people decide if they want to elect Estrada again."

Kung di ba naman. Anong klaseng ruling ito. Kung ganito lang ng ganito ang kanilang pag-iisip, bakit pa nila ni-disqualify ang Ang Ladlad?Let the people decide. Bakit pa sila nag disqualify ng nuisance candidates, let the people decide. Bakit pa tayo naglagay ng qualification requirements sa mga kandidato, let the people decide.

Bakit pa tayo natuwirang isang lipunan na pinamumunuan ng batas kung ang kagustuhan lang pala ang nakararami ang masusunod, tanggalin na lahat ng batas kung gayon.

Galit sa Babae

Ang Knights of Colombus ng Davao City ay tumawag na mapaalis ang mga konsehal sa Simbahang Katoliko dahil sa bumoto sila na magkaroon ng clinic para sa kababaihan sa Davao.

Hindi mahalaga sa kanila na matutulungan ng mga klinika na ito ang mga sanggol at mga babae, ok lang sa kanila na mamatay o masaktan ang mga babae at mga sanggol.

At pro-life ang tawag nila sa sarili nila.

AKBAYAN