xkcd: Science Mnemonics

Hitchens - free speech

Saw this from Dispatches from the Culture Wars with this terrific quote

"Now to this proud record they can add that they finally had the courage finally to face their past and lock up a British historian who’s committed no crime except that of thought and writing. And that’s a scandal. And I can’t find a seconder usually when I propose this, but I don’t care. I don’t need a seconder. My own opinion is enough for me and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, at any time. And anyone who disagrees with this can pick a number, get on line and kiss my ass."

In a better place

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Remembering Hitchens

I join a lot of people today who mourn the death of Christopher Hitchens,  he influenced a lot of people and like all good writers made me jealous of his gift.  Like a lot of people outside of the US and Britain, I only grew aware of Hitchens' existence with the advent of the internet,  before that, I did not have any means to read his writing.  Fittingly enough, I first became aware of him because of his pro-Iraq war writing.

As a Filipino,  I was against the 2nd Iraq war because my country has been subject to the US routinely running roughshod over the sovereignty of the Philippines.  So,  the protection of every nation's sovereignty is very important to me.  Hitchens' argument for the war though is different from those of Bush and co.,  he was arguing that if we as people want to protect the human rights of Iraqi's, the best method will be to remove Saddam. 

I liked that Hitchens presented a different framework for viewing the Iraq war.  I love people who challenges my perception of the world.  He did this and did it with such masterful use of words.

He will be missed.

Good luck to the ICC

Normally, I would like to see Sen. Santiago out as soon as possible, but right now, I would rather she exit the Senate after the RH bill is passed.

I don't understand lawyers

This PDI story quotes IBP general counsel Ramon Esguerra saying

"We still hear the call to oust the Chief Justice, and to a certain extent, the other appointees of the former President… We view the populist move for the ouster as mob-inspired and… with some reservations, as… extraconstitutional."

I can't understand how using verbal reproach and now impeachment which are both constitutional make the ouster call for the Chief Justice extraconstitutional.

On the Supreme Court

Mas gusto ko nga na harapan ang pagtuligsa ni Pangulong Noynoy sa supreme court kesa yung mga patagong pag-impluwensiya na hindi natin nalalaman kung ano ang kapalit.

Catholic hypocrisy

This comes from the same editorial from my previous post but is a different point so I wanted its own post.  The editorial states that

"The Church, in its understanding, is guarding persons with homosexual inclinations from “unjust discrimination” and from a lifestyle rife with psychological harm and a host of sexually-transmitted diseases; a lifestyle which wrecks families and marriages, and which, if followed unrepentantly, entails the forfeiture of eternal life."

They discriminate against gays because the gay lifestyle wrecks families and marriages.  Yet the catholic mass media award gave a lifetime achievement award to Ramon Revilla a self confessed Lothario who has sired an unknown number of children with an unknown number of women.  If the catholic church was really serious about this supposed campaign against lifestyles that wreck families and marriages, they would have shunned Ramon Revilla and everybody from Philippine showbiz who behaves like he does.  But they don't, they give them awards.

Catholic church is for equality, unless you're gay 2

From the wow can they think like this department comes another excuse from the catholic church on why they should be able to continue to discriminate against people they don't like.

No. 2358 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

“The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”

In other words, the church accepts gays with respect, compassion and sensitivity in their catechism, in real life they treat gays us less than human who does not deserve the same rights as everybody else.

look, even if we accept their premise, that gayness is a disorder,  why should they not treat gay people equally as everybody else?  Being blind, deaf, or or any other physical incapacity is also a disorder,  and the catholic church agrees that they should be treated equally.

There is no logical reason for the church position on gay people,  the only real reason is their interpretation of a book that tells them to treat gays as less than human.

Abstinence does not work

Probe sought on erring priest

This is a story that proves even the catholic church knows that abstinence does not work. Even if the priest is proven innocent, the fact that they are initiating a probe into his action proves that they think he could have done it. If priests cannot maintain sexual abstinence why should they expect ordinary people to. As Monsignor Binghay of the Cebu archdiocese puts it:

"People in the church commit mistakes, whether small or grave.” he said.

It is high time the catholic church face reality and minister to the needs of their flock, not to an unattainable ideal.

Be there or be a rectangular thing

Now everybody knows I watched too much Sesame Street

"In a recent segment, Fox News decried the latest Muppet movie for depicting a wealthy oilman as a villain, thereby indoctrinating a generation of children into the Marxist movement."

via ScreenJunkies

Executive vs Judiciary vs Legislative

There is a lot of talk about a constitutional crisis because of the feud/enmity between the President and the Supreme court.  Impeachment proceedings are supposed to be filed against the Chief Justice.  Personally, as long as the all the branches of government use the prescribed constitutional methods in their feud,  I don't see why a constitutional crisis should arise.

Catholic church is for equality, unless you're gay

or a woman.  

CBCP wants anti-discrimination bill cleansed of provisions on gay rights

"Ronald Reyes, a lawyer of the CBCP, said they had no qualms about the bill before but became concerned when the bill was amended and “sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity” were included.

“It’s opening the door for same sex marriages, which our country doesn’t allow,” Reyes told reporters."

 Which is a stupid thing to say, since if you are correct and this bill allows gay marriage, then you're argument that the country does not allow gay marriage is moot.

And of course Atty. Imbong, has to speak up too

"Another CBCP lawyer Jo Imbong said the LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender) should not be considered the same as the elderly, the handicapped, and the poor."

Because of course gays are not people like the elderly, the handicapped and the poor.  What about elderly, handicapped or poor gays?  Would people be allowed to discriminate against them too?  But no,  for Atty Imbong, people should be allowed to discriminate against gays because

"“These people are disadvantaged not by their own choice. But the third sex, they choose this. How can you give protection to a choice like that?” Imbong said."

Which of course would mean that Atty. Imbong is pushing for the removal of religion from among those protected by the bill since people also choose their own religion.  Right?  Right Atty. Imbong?  But in the end, Atty. Imbong goes to the heart of their objection to the bill.  It's because the Catholic church want to discriminate against people they don't like.

"The bill would hinder the Church from teaching what it believed to be right or wrong, Imbong said."

It's fun pointing out the hypocrisy of the CBCP,  but as I tried to research more on this subject,  I found out some disturbing news. 

1. I can't find a copy of the bill, the closes one is the one filed by Sen. Legarda without the amendments approved by the Senate that are being objected to by the CBCP.
2. But in her sponsorship speech in the Senate, Sen. Legards had this example as a punishable act under the bill.
   

   "To give teeth to this measure, a person who is found guilty--for instance, of the act of a media personality using the name of an ethnic group in a joke for a television program--shall serve between nine months and twelve years in prison, and/or will be obliged to pay between Php100,000 to Php500,000."

   This is patently an anti freedom of expression law.  I can understand prohibiting discrimination when it comes to employment opportunities, but jokes?
3. Also from the sponsorship speech is this little gem.
   

   "We must strive to transform our society into an open-minded and sensitive community where no child is subjected to name-calling because of his distinct looks;"

   WTF,  how do you even think you can do this?
   

Maybe it's just Loren Legarda,  maybe the Supreme Court will strike down this patently anti-speech provision in the law if it ever comes to pass.  But as it is, I have this suspicion that this bill, if it becomes law, will only be used by religious bigots like Atty. Imbong to crackdown on the critics of the catholic church.

Another Billy Ray Bates article

As a Crispa fan,  I will always remember Billy Ray Bates as vital cog in getting that 2nd grand slam.  This article however speculates that he may have been better off, if he did not play in the Philippines.

"There was no way Bates could maintain an NBA career while slipping into full-blown alcoholism. So what did he do? Get clean, pull himself together, and take another shot at the big leagues? Nope. By the looks of things, he found a place where he could keep playing without giving up the bottle. That place was the Philippines. In the PBA, Bates's talent was so overwhelming that he probably could have played in a drunken stupor and averaged 30 points per game. By most accounts, he always dried out before tip-off. His career average of 46 points per game is the highest of any PBA player, import or local, and Bates will probably always be remembered as the best import in league history. Throughout the '80s, he was a superstar in the Philippines, one of the nation's most famous and infamous ballers, whose legacy lives on today.

In the same breath, coming to Manila could be considered one of the worst things that ever happened to Bates. In the Philippines, all of Bates's self-destructive habits were enabled, if not encouraged. He could score at will, average almost 50 points a game, and be worshiped by a nation of devotees who treated his ability to put the ball in the hoop like it was proof of the divine. And here's the clincher: Bates never had to quit drinking. Time would eventually catch up with him, but for a few wild years in the mid-1980s, he had found his proverbial free lunch. Catastrophe could wait."

 On the other hand,  his stature as a hero in the Philippines is probably a large reason why the AirAsia Philippine Patriots hired him as a skills coach and he seems to be doing ok.  The Philippines may have been instrumental in his road to alcoholism but it may still be able to help him stay sober and into a better life.

5 months

The Cavite Godfather (With English Captions!)

Conspiracy theory in the Philippines

Napanood ko yung youtube video na "AQUINO COJUANGCO : FACTS THEY DONT WANT YOU TO KNOW HD*".  May nag post ng link sa isang group na kasali ako at nahiya naman ako mag comment ng hindi ko napapanood.  Impression ko ay walang kuwnta yung video, para siyang gish gallop, isang paraan ng sunod-sunod na pagbigay ng akusasyon na kung susubukan mo sasagutin lahat buong araw ang masasayang sa iyo.  Parang hinanap ng video na ito lahat ng akusasyon na puedeng makita sa pamilyang Aquino at Cojuangco at pinagsama sama sa isang video ng hindi man lang siniyasat kung totoo nga ito o hindi.

Kaya wala akong balak isa-isahin ang mga akusasyon sa video na ito, sabi nga ni Christopher Hitchens "That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence"  At walang binaggit na supporting documents o kung saan man lang puedeng makita yung mga supporting documents ang video na ito.  Pero magbigay ako ng example kung bakit ko nasabi na walang kuwenta ang video na ito.

Isa sa mga akusasyon sa video na ito ay opverpriced daw ang SCTEX,  ang isyu na ito ay matagal ng ibinabato kay Presidente Aquino kaya natalakay ito ni Prof. Solita Monsod nung panahon ng elesyon.



Ang konklusyon niya ay walang overpricing na naganap.  Kung mali ang video na ito sa isang usapin na nasa public record, pano nati ikto paniniwalaan sa iba pa nitong mga akusasyon?

Iba pang obserbasyon. 

Napansin ko lang yung titulo ng videon, fact they don't want you to know,  napaka conspiracy theorists.  Diba?  Kung ito ay mga fact na ayaw nilang malaman natin?  Pano niya nalaman?  Parang gusto ipahiwatig nung gumawa ng video na nanganib at nanganganib ang kanyang buhay sa ginawa niya.

Isang nakakatawa dun sa video ay ang pagkuwento nila kung paano daw yumaman ang mga Cjuangco.  May pinatago daw si Gen. Luna na pera sa syota niya na Cojuangco, nung mapatay siya ng mga tao ni Aguinaldo, hindi na daw sinoli nung syota yung pera.  Maisisi mo ba yung tao kung di niya sinoli yung pera?  Kung pinatay din ang syota ko at may pinaiwang pera sa akin bakit ko naman ibibgay sa pumatay?  Bobo ba ko?

Isang kritisismo kay Ninoy Aquino nung video ay bumalik lang daw siya sa Pilipinas dahil gusto niyang maging Presidente, hindi daw tunay na kabayanihan iyon, at nikumpara nila kay Rizal na walang ambisyon ang pagiging bayani.  Una, maski na gusto niyang maging Presidente, walang kasiguruhan na iyon nga ang mangyayari kung babalik siya sa Pilipinas,  mas malamang pa nga na makulong siya gaya ng ginawa sa kanya ni Marcos bago siya na exile.  At kung papanoorin natin ang video nung huling mga oras ni Ninoy,



alam din niya na puede siyang mapatay.  Si Marcos, nagsinungaling at pumatay ng tao, nag deklara ng Martial law para lang manatili siyang Presiente, tapos si Ninoy yung ambisyoso?
 
Huli na, kung napaka makapangyarihan ng mga Cojuangco, bakit natatalo sila sa Supreme court na gusto ipamahagi nila ang hacienda Luisita sa mga magsasaka nito?

Historical Ignorance

I don't usually post on topics outside of the Philippines but this is wow.

Right-wing group mapping Jerusalem businesses that employ Arabs 

"a project called Hebrew Labor, whose goal is "to warn the public" against buying from businesses that employ Arabs."

mirroring Nazi attacks against Jewish businesses.

via reddit

Madaming magagalit sa COA

 Return Christmas, midyear bonuses, COA tells Cebu port employees

"The Commission on Audit may sound like Scrooge, demanding that Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) employees refund P31.79 million of the Christmas and mid-year bonuses they received in the past two years, but the COA says it has good reason for seeking the return of the perks.

The COA said the mid-year and year-end benefits and gift checks that CPA employees received in 2009 and 2010 were unauthorized and violated the law prescribing the annual Christmas bonus to government officials, or Republic Act No. 6686."

 Lalo na kung ipagbabawal nila yung ganitong klase ng bonus sa lahat ng government agencies.

You shall not bear false witness

Magmimisa yung mga anti-RH advocate, dahil banal sila, kaya ok lang magsinungaling.

"The anti-RH advocates tried to bully their way into the camp by setting up tents at the gate for a thanksgiving mass they were planning. When the SB Park officer asked who owned the tents, anti-RH advocates lied and said they didn’t know. The SB park officer was later surprised to see that an anti-RH mass was already set up inside the tents.

When asked about whether they had a permit to do the thanksgiving mass, anti-RH advocates, led by Rizalito David, said that they did have a permit. It was later found out that all they had was an endorsement letter, revealing that the anti-RH advocates lied once again."

Call to boycott PAL

Support PAL Employees and Families

Put pressure on PAL to open negotiations with PALEA to end the labor dispute

 Do not fly PAL and AirPhil until the PALEA’s demand for employees to return to their regular jobs are met.

5 Reasons to Boycott PAL and AirPhil

1 Corporate greed: PAL retrenched 2,600 employees despite earning more than PhP 3 billion last year. For every PAL employee turned into a contractual in the service providers, Lucio Tan and PAL earn PhP 4 million for the next ten years or more than PhP 10 billion for all 2,600 employees affected. Lucio Tan is the second richest Pinoy but wants to get even wealthier via contractualization.

2 Union busting: PALEA has sacrificed for the last 13 years with the suspension in collective bargaining negotiations, from which PAL has benefited by an early exit from rehabilitation. But when negotiations were due to start in 2009, PAL announced the outsourcing plan which resulted in the terminated of 70% of PALEA’s membership and 60% of its leadership.

3 Human rights violations: PALEA members protesting the outsourcing plan last September 27 were forcibly evicted from Terminal 2 and other PAL offices leading to injuries to employees including women who were bodily taken out by PAL security guards. Further, two attempts have been made to violently disperse the PALEA protest camp. The latest daybreak attack led to injuries to seven PALEA members and the arrest of one of the hired goons who confessed to been paid by management.

4 Labor code violations: The latest among the many violations of the Labor Code by PAL and Lucio Tan exposed during the labor dispute is that the supposed independent service providers Sky Logistics and Sky Kitchen are actually illegal labor-only contractors. These dummy companies do not have its own equipment and depend upon facilities of PAL such as the In-Flight Center.

5 Safety and service compromised: Untrained and overworked scabs are now operating PAL flights resulting in numerous complaints by passengers over delays, disruptions and deterioration in service. Long lines at check-in counters and food in lunch boxes are some obvious examples. Further, unlicensed and inexperienced trainees working the ground handling are a flight risk.

If Lucio Tan succeeds in contractualization at PAL,

our jobs are next.

Ang laban ng PALEA ay laban ng lahat!

Defend Job Security at PAL. Promote Regular Jobs for All.

GMA and the right to travel

Personally, naniniwala ako na talagang may karapatan ang bawat Pilipino na lumabas ng bansa kung gusto niya.  Kung tinanong ako sa isyu kay GMA, sasa got ako ng oo, payagan niyo silang umalis, lalo na at wala namang kaso laban sa kanya.  Pero nakita ko itong sinulat nung isang kaibigan ko sa Facebook at nakakakumbinsi,  o baka naman gusto ko lang talagang makumbinsi dahil gusto ko na malitis ang kaso ni GMA sa mga inihahabla sa kanya.

"What is it so hard to understand with the principle that the right to travel is not absolute?

This is not a new issue with the Supreme Court. Primary cases are PCGG and DOLE where the Court allowed these agencies to prevent travel of mere suspects in PCGG cases and OFWs going to banned countries.

What is so hard to spell out for you people that the right to travel abroad is the least of all rights, and is different from domestic travel which is more unrestrained. If the right to travel is so sacrosanct and absolute, let us not have passports, as passports are the single government instrument which regulate and more often than not restrain our international travel. Hindi ka lang bigyan ng passport ng DFA eh hindi ka na makakatravel. And under the passport law, DFA can cancel your passport under certain grounds, no different from grounds laid down under DOJ Circular 41 which simply states that once you are under the compulsory processes of a government agency and required to be present before it, such as in a preliminary investigation or legislative inquiry, whether as a witness or respondent, you have an obligation to appear, and when you use your right to travel abroad to escape this obligation, the State has a right to restrain that right until the fulfillment of your obligation to the State.

Hindi ka naman pinapakulong eh, pinapanagut ka lang sa obligasyon mo at habang hindi mo nagagampanan ang obligasyon mo, eh hindi ka muna pwedeng bumiyahe kung saan wala ng power of compulsion ang estado sa iyo. What is so hard to understand about that? Susunod nyan hindi na natin maiintindihan kung bakit kailangan natin magbayad ng tax."

Proud Tatay

UP SAPUL, sali na

Occupy Wall Street Divided

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Occupy Wall Street Divided
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Galing talaga ng Daily Show

Atlas Shrugged...

Where self-sacrifice is considered immoral.

 "Harmon Kaslow, CEO of Atlas Productions and Producer of the film stated “As we all well know, the ideas brought to life in Atlas Shrugged are entirely antithetical to the idea of ‘self-sacrifice’ as a virtue. Atlas is quite literally a story about the dangers of self-sacrifice. The error was an unfortunate one and fans of Ayn Rand and Atlas have every right to be upset... and we have every intention of making it right.""

via reddit and Flavorwire

4 months

Richard Dawkins Demonstrates Laryngeal Nerve of the Giraffe

Richard Dawkins Demonstrates Laryngeal Nerve of... by blindwatcher

Blaming the Victim

I never thought of it like this

"The worst part of this whole bit of nonsense is that Dr. Kornfeld appears to be pulling the old "blame the victim" gambit. I've written many, many times the dark side of the "empowerment" that promoters of "alternative medicine" like to tout when they ascribe near magical powers (actually, there's no "near" about it) to lifestyle, diet, and the like is that, if you are responsible for being in perfect health, you are likewise responsible if you aren't in perfect health. It's something I've referred to as the "illusion of control," and it's very pernicious. Kornfeld is not as blatant about it as Robert O. Young has been in expressing this idea, but it's the same basic undercurrent to the same basic idea, namely that if you are sick it is your fault. You are to blame. Not nature. Not a "germ." Not genetics. You."

 

Priests wanted

Do you want to be a celibate purveyor of Medieval authoritarianism, superstition, and misogyny?

There’s an app for that

"The Catholic Church in Ireland is going high-tech in a bid to reverse a dramatic decline in the number of priests.

An establishment viewed as a bastion of tradition is turning to a new app to encourage more "applications." The app, says the church, is "designed to promote vocations to the priesthood.""

via Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Nice Quote

"I regard romantic comedies as a subgenre of sci-fi, in which the world operates according to different rules than my regular human world. For me, there is no difference between Ripley from “Alien” and any Katherine Heigl character. They are equally implausible. They’re all participating in a similar level of fakey razzle-dazzle, and I enjoy every second of it."

by Mindy Kaling
from Flick Chicks, A guide to women in the movies

Parking fee sa mall

Meron na naman pala panukala na ipagbawal ang pagsingil ng parking fee sa mall.  Siyempre madaming pabor na Congressmen kasi nadarama nila ang problema na ito dahil sa karamihan sa kanila ay may kotse at kailangan magbayad ng parking.  Pero kung titingnan mo, ang talagang tatamaan nitong panukala kung maisabatas ito ay ang mga tao na walang kotse.  Kung aalisin ang bayad sa parking,  at kakailanganin ng mall na i-maintain ang kanilang parking area,  tataasan nila ang singil ng renta sa kanilang shops sa loob ng mall na magtataas ng singil sa kanilang mga itinitinda.  So sa halip na yung mga may kotse na gumagamit ng parking ang nagbabayad para ma maintain ang parking areas ng mall, lahat ng tao na namimili sa mall ang magbbayad dito.  I subisdize ng mga walang kotse ang mga may kotse.

Kagaya ito ng mga panukalang i subsideize ng gobyerrno ang presyo ng langis.  Pag ni subsidize ng gobyerno ang presyo ng langis, ang mas makikinabang ay ang mga may kotse.  I subsidize ng mga walang kotse ang langis na ginagamit ng mga may kotse.  Gaya rin ito ng pag subsidize sa bayad sa MRT,  yung mga hindi sumasakay sa MRT ay siyang nagbabayad sa kakulangang bayad ng mga sumasakay sa MRT. 

Hindi naman lahat ng subsidy ay masama,  itong column ni Atty. Pangalangan ay sinuri ang mga dahilan sa pag subsidize sa MRT, kailangan lang natin pag-isipan kung makakbuti nga ba ito sa karamihan.

Putang Ama

Pano nila ni justify sa sarili nila ang ginagawa nila?  Pera o relihiyon?

"Up to 300,000 Spanish babies were stolen from their parents and sold for adoption over a period of five decades, a new investigation reveals.

The children were trafficked by a secret network of doctors, nurses, priests and nuns in a widespread practice that began during General Franco’s dictatorship and continued until the early Nineties. "

Kung ano anong scandal ang lumalabas na ginawa ng simbahang katolliko sa mga bansa na malaki ang impluwensiya nila.  Di ko alam kung matutuwa ako o matatakot na wala pang lumalabas na balita tungkol sa Pilipinas.

Academia

I always chuckle every time I hear the quip "Competition in academia is so vicious because the stakes are so small." but this "Cops eye internal politics in slay of PUP exec" is ridiculously extreme.

Kapal

Hahahahahaha. 

"Senator Panfilo Lacson on Sunday insisted that businessman Roberto "Bobby" Ongpin be held accountable for allegedly a government bank for personal and financial gain regardless of who his backer was."

 Pero si Sen. Lacson nung may kaso siya na kailangan niyang harapin?  Nagtago siya.

Billy Ray Bates as coach

I'am a fan of the Black Superman and I wish this works out for him and his team.

FORMER PBA import Billy Ray Bates has been hired as the skills coach of the AirAsia Philippine Patriots in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), whic opens its brand-new season in January of next year.

"He's a legend in the PBA so we believe he can share and teach whatever he knows to our players," said team owner and sports patron, Mikee Romero, also the president of Harbour Centre. "He was my basketball idol during his first PBA stint, so I want to help him start a new career."

Kwentong Barbero

Katatapos ko lang basahin yung Ligo na u, Lapit na me, ni Eros S. Atalia, at hindi ko siya masyado nagustuhan.  Magaling ang pagkakasulat niya, hindi ka ma bore sa kuwento habang binabasa mo siya, wala rin akong problema sa katapusan niya na walang resolusyon yung relasyon ng bida at ng kanyang ka MU.  Hindi ko siya nagustuhan dahil sa walang kinahinatnan yung bida.  Siguro nga gaya ng paliwanag nung nagsulat, ganyan talaga ang buhay, di naman laging may punto.  Kaya lang,  gusto ko ng libro na may kahihinatnan yung kuwento, yung mga karakter, may growth baga, may pinagkatandaan.  Sabi ko nga sa kaopisina ko ang una kong naisip ko ng papatapos ko na basahin yung libro, parang kang nakinig sa isang kakwentuhan mo, nikuwento yung lovelife niya, tapos habang nagkuwentuhan kayo, kung ano anong pilosopiya, pagninilay nilay, kataran taduhan na  naikwento niya.  Entertaining, pero sa huli, ganun lang yon.  Kwentong barbero.

FIGHT CORPORATE GREED! BOYCOTT PAL!

The sight of bedlam and confusion in NAIA’s Terminal 2 greeted us last September 27 as we watched the news on TV.  The reason is not Typhoon Pedring but a man-made disaster:  the mass termination of some 2, 600 employees of the Philippine Airlines.

While many passengers were understandably irate at the inconvenience, occasions missed, or loss of opportunities caused by cancelled flights, we believe and feel that things much bigger are at stake in what happened at the airport that day.

The first is our sense of justice.  For ten years, from 1998 to 2008, the employees of PAL, organized as PALEA, agreed to suspend their CBA rights so that PAL, then in the abyss of bankruptcy, could survive and recover.   When PAL recovered and started to profit big like last years’ P 3 billion, PALEA started to negotiate for a new CBA.
Lucio Tan’s reply is yes but after outsourcing 2, 600 jobs,  meaning terminating 2, 600 workers as regular workers, and rehiring them to three outsourced companies  owned by Lucio Tan also as contractuals with pay almost half what they used to get.  After sacrificing, the employees have been disposed of.

At stake here is our sense of rights, human rights, labor rights.
The right to decent job, to job security is part of the right to work which is a basic human right, enshrined in international human rights covenants – the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (IESCR, 1976) and in our Constitution.  But in the case of PAL, Lucio Tan brushed this aside,  and Government through DOLE and the Office of the Executive Secretary became a willing partner by putting “management prerogative “ over fundamental rights.   When PALEA staged a protest action, the protesting workers were thrown out of the airport and summarily dismissed and denied of separation pay and other legitimate entitlements.

At stake here is our national pride, our identity with this institution called PAL.  Despite the Government’s decision to privatize PAL, we all grew up knowing that it is our nation’s flag carrier, our symbol in the sky, our representative in global aviation.  We take pride in the excellent ability of its pilots and ground crew to provide safe and comfortable air travel and to respond effectively during emergencies and unexpected mishaps.  Now this national symbolism is heavily tainted by a bare-faced and shameless oppression of our very own Filipino workers.

At stake here is our sense of solidarity and caring for fellow Filipinos, fellow workers and fellow human beings.  What is a few hours of inconvenience or of flights delayed compared to months, even years of having no jobs or source of regular income for 2, 600 workers and their families if they lose in this fight?   We all know what accompany the loss of job of a breadwinner:  children unable to continue with their studies, less food on the table, little buffer against sickness, accidents, disaster and other misfortunes, and lowered dignity for the jobless parents and adult in the families.  ALL THIS – TO MAKE THE SUPER-RICH LUCIO TAN EVEN RICHER.

We cannot allow this injustice to happen to our PALEA brothers and sisters!  We support PALEA!  We are all PALEANS!

BOYCOTT PAL!

Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)

The reason we should all defend freedom of expression

Iran actress sentenced to one year in jail

 "Actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes for her role in a film about the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic, an Iranian opposition website reported Sunday.

"A verdict has been issued for Marzieh Vafamehr, sentencing her to a year in jail and 90 lashes," Kalameh.com reported"

 Religious limits to freedom of expression should not be allowed.

3 months kasama si lola

TANGINA THIS! VIDEO! # 4

When Al-Qaida tells you you're a conspiracy nut...

Al-Qaida calls on Ahmadinejad to end 9/11 conspiracy theories

"Al-Qaida has sent a message to the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asking him to stop spreading conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks.

Iranian media on Wednesday reported quotes from what appears to be an article published in the latest issue of the al-Qaida English language magazine, Inspire, which described Ahmadinejad's remarks over the 11 September attacks as "ridiculous".

In his UN general assembly speech last week, Ahmadinejad cast doubt over the official version of the 2001 attacks.

"The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al-Qaida was behind 9/11 but rather, the US government," the article said, according to Iranian media. "So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?""

Never Again

Pass the RH Bill

Aprub

Makibaka, Wag Matakot

Ipasa ang Freedom of Information bill

The Italian Man Who went to Malta.

Rat Farms

This story

Thanks to hunters, and a promise of prizes from the provincial government, Bulacan’s rice farms were saved from widespread devastation by field rats.

Farmers, who joined a rat hunting competition launched by Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado in May, killed 106,620 rats and saved about 80 percent of the province’s rice farms from rodents that feasted on their crops.

To encourage farmers and residents to help eliminate field rats, called “dagang bukid” here, Alvarado promised an incentive of P1 for every rat killed.

reminded me this from the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett

“Shortly before the Patrician came to power there was a terrible plague of rats. The city council countered it by offering twenty pence for every rat tail. This did, for a week or two, reduce the number of rats—and then people were suddenly queueing up with tails, the city treasury was being drained, and no one seemed to be doing much work. And there still seemed to be a lot of rats around. Lord Vetinari had listened carefully while the problem was explained, and had solved the thing with one memorable phrase which said a lot about him, about the folly of bounty offers, and about the natural instinct of Ankh-Morporkians in any situation involving money: “Tax the rat farms.”

Hanging out

Just hanging out with old man Xu, waiting for the world to end.

Hitler reacts to non-inclusion of FOI in 2nd LEDAC, v1

A ruling the Catholic church would love

Russian Court Bans Alexander Savko Painting With Mickey Mouse's Head On Jesus' Body

A court in the Kaluga Region of Russia has ruled that a painting of Jesus Christ with the head of Mickey Mouse is offensive and banned it from being exhibited. The courts called the work "extremist," and ruled that it was "religiously offensive" under Article 282.

Russian news source Ria Novosti reports that, "unless the Kaluga Region court's ruling is successfully appealed, the painting will be banned from exhibitions, newspapers, magazines or television. The case was heard in the Kaluga Region after a local complained to the authorities."

via Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Jesus and Mo: Women2

Jesus and Mo is licensed under a Creative Commons License:
Feel free to copy for noncommercial purposes, under the same license.
Please provide a link back to jesusandmo.net

Pass the RH Bill

RH Bill - Join the Petition! from Jullian Ablaza on Vimeo.

Video created by Jullian Ablaza and a team of talented motion graphic designers

Foreign Intervention

Nung debate sa RH bill galit na galit si Sen. Sotto dahil ang gumawa daw ng survey sa maternal mortality ay USAID at World Health Organization.  Madami rin ang nagsasabi na ang ideya sa RH bill ay galing sa mga amerikano.  Isa sa kanilang dahilan kung bakit di dapat ipasa ang RH bill ay dahil dito sa pakikialam na ito ng mga hindi Pilipino.

Ang di ko maintindihan bakit pag ibang hindi Pilipino ang nakikialam, tikom ang kanilang bibig?  Ayon sa Inquirer, mariing iginiit ng Vatican na maging neutral ang simbahan katoliko tungkol kay dating Presidente Arroyo.  Alam naman natin ngayon na ang posisyon ng Vatican ay parehas ng posisyon ng CBCP,  masasabi ba ng CBCP na ang kanilang posisiyon ay hindi galing sa mga hindi Pilipino?

Ipokrito talaga sila.

Wala ba talagang aasahan ang tao sa gobyerno?

Tinaggal sa witness protection program si Mary Ong dahil sabi ni Sec. De Lima ay sa palagay nila ay wala ng panganib sa buhay nito.  Hindi iyon ang punto,  nangako ang gobyerno na pangangalagaan nito ang buhay nitong si Miss Ong ng pumayag siya na tumestigo para sa gobyerno.  Maski wala ng panganib o hindi, kung ayaw umalis ni Miss Ong sa witness protection program, hindi dapat alisin ng gobyerno ang proteksiyon nito.

Kung gantio ng ganito ang trato ng gobyerno sa mga Pilipino na nagmalasakit at sumuong sa panganib para sa bayan, sino pa maglalakas ng loob para gawin ito?  Hindi mahalaga kung may panganib pa sa buhay ni Miss Ong.  Hindi mahalaga kung walang nangyari sa kaso kung saan siya naging testigo.  Ang mahalaga ay sinabi ng gobyerno na pangangalagaan niya si Miss Ong kung tetestigo ito, ngayon bigla na lang niyang babawiin ang kanyang salita?

Ganito ba ang aasahan natin sa gobyerno ni Pangulong Aquino?  Walang isang salita?

Malolos Congress

Nakita ko sa wikimedia

2 months old

My number, beware

WTF Pag-Ibig Fund

Why would you make me use Internet Explorer? It's like you're stuck in the 90's.  You don't think you have members who use Mac or Linux?

Sir Ian McKellen, On Acting

Quote of the day

Just love this quote from Ricky Gervais

“Just because you are offended doesn’t mean you are right,” Gervais said of his critics. “People fall into this myth that I’m a shock comedian. I’ve never been that. People say I crossed the line but I didn’t draw the fucking line, you did.”

if only the censorious catholics understand this.

Tito Sotto is a twit 2

May binabasa ako kanina tungkol sa mga kano na pro-life pero pabor sa death penalty, hindi nila nakikita yung contradiction sa pagtawag nila sa sarili nilang pro-life pero sa pagsuporta nila sa pagpatay sa tao. Naisip ko tuloy kung merong mga ganitong tao sa Pilipinas, at ang una ko na naisip ay si Senador Sotto. At ng i-google ko, makikita na pabor si Sen. Sotto sa bitay.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III is contemplating of filing a bill seeking the re-imposition of the death penalty for drug trafficking alone.

”In the absence of death penalty, the drug traffickers seem getting their way with their illegal activities. I’m contemplating it (file bill for re-imposition of death penalty) right now,” Sotto said during the weekly Kapihan sa Senado media forum on Thursday.

Kahapon, dun sa interpellation niya kay Sen. Santiago, ipinipilit niya na amg buhay ay simula sa fertilization, at pag na fertilize na hindi na puede patayin.  Para kay Sen. Sotto, kapag di ka pa buhay, di puede pigilin ang pagiging tao mo, pag tao ka na at ayaw niya sa yo, ok lang na patayin ka.

Bonus: 

Sotto clarified that he had not made a definite stand on the reimposition of death penalty, but admitted that if there would be a debate on this, he would agree to reimpose it on drug traffickers.

Di ba?  Hindi pa daw siya nakapagdesisyon kung para siya sa death penalty o hindi, pero pag nagkaroon ng botohan sa senado, papayag daw siya na ibalik ito.  Iniisip ba niya yung mga sinasabi niya?

Tito Sotto is a twit

 

http://twitter.com/#!/risahontiveros/status/105632096898383872

Video for those who want to watch, via Filipino Freethinkers (starts at 7:40 mark)

Ramon Tulfo on free speech

It should not have surprised me that Ramon Tulfo, somebody who deliberately makes people mad for a living is a defender of free expression. 

We pride ourselves as being an ideal democratic country, and yet we want to bludgeon to death an artist who offends our religious sensibilities.

We are a society of hypocrites!

We got our hypocrisy from the Spanish friars who taught us fornicating was a mortal sin, and yet impregnated many women.

*  *  *

If Mideo Cruz depicted Jesus of Nazareth with a penis protruding from his face on a painting, leave him alone.

If we crucify Cruz because we are offended by his work of “art,” we are just like the Jews who nailed Jesus on the cross because His teachings were radical.

Cruz’s work may be “immature and juvenile”—as National Artist Francisco Sionil Jose describes it—but must we punish him for being different?

Let us not forget, my dear friends and readers, that we live in a democracy.

Some wags say democracy—defined as government of, by and for the people—is “demo-crazy.”

Anyone can make a fool of himself just as long as they don’t do physical harm to others.

 I think the entire column is worth reading

Hypocrite

Senator Jinggoy Estrada wants the officials of the Cultural Center of the Philippines to resign because

"As a Catholic I feel offended. I still stand by my call for those people responsible for showing the exhibit at the CCP (to resign),"

He wants the CCP personnel to resign for approving an exhibit that he finds blasphemous.  Yet he supported his father, on all his election campaigns,  his father who is an adulterer and a convicted thief.  Why was he not offended with his father who openly disobeyed the 10 commandments?

Catholic Bishop talks to god

Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales has asked Filipino catholics to do penance for the artwork of Mr. Cruz.  He does this because god is deeply offended by the work and presumably like his old testament self would punish all Filipinos up to the seventh generation for the work of one man unless catholics prostrate themselves seeking his forgiveness.

Archbishop Rosales knows that god is deeply offended by the work presumably because god told him so.

I see the future (sort of)

In a previous post on criticism of social media, I opined that "Concerned trolling only gives ammunition to people who would want to stifle the free wheeling nature of the internet and impose their own order." Now prime minister of the UK wants to control social media because of the riots

"Mr Speaker, everyone watching these horrific actions will be stuck by how they were organised via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. [And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them.]

"So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality. I have also asked the police if they need any other new powers."

via reddit

Mas importanteng balita nung bagyo

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Mas importante kesa kay Christopher Lao

Isa pang hirit

Pasensiya na ngayon ko lang nabasa itong article na ito kung saan nagwawala si Cardinal Rosales
Speaking on Church-run Radio Veritas, Rosales said the exhibit of Mideo Cruz “abused” freedom of expression and urged the faithful to “rise up” in protest against it.

“It’s an abuse of freedom because the use of freedom must respect responsibilities. There’s a responsibility not to destroy culture, civilization or the good conduct of persons,” Rosales said.

Kasi babagsak ang sibilisasyon dahil sa ginawang bagay ni Cruz.  Haha, over acting ka naman masyado Cardinal.

“Let me just ask, can he (Cruz) do that to his own father (or) to (national hero Jose) Rizal? …you will never do that to somebody you respect (like) your parents or to a hero like Jose Rizal. Why did you do that to the Son of God?” Rosales said.

Baka po hindi niya kinikilala si Jesus bilang anak ng diyos?  baka po hindi niya nirerespeto yung diyos na nirerespeto niyo?  Bakit kailangan niyo pilitin irespeto ng isang tao ang hindi niya nirerespeto?

Eto namand si Bishop Pabillo

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said it was wrong for a person to “play” with objects considered holy by a religion.

“Art should enhance life…Freedom of expression has a limit because that freedom involves our duty to respect the stand, the opinion and the culture of others,” Pabillo said.

Aasahan ko na ipagbabawal na ng simbahang katoliko ang pagkain ng baboy, kasi bawal yan sa kultura at relihiyon ng mga Muslim.  Siguro ipagbawal na rin nila ang pagkain ng baka, bawal kasi yun sa kultura at relihiyon ng mga Hindu.  Yung shellfish pala kailangan din ipagbawal, bawal yun sa mga Hudyo.  Araw araw may ginagawa ang mga katoliko na taliwas sa kultura at relihiyon ng madaming tao,  bakit kailangan bigyang priority ang simbahang katoliko?

Why appeasement does not work

Because zealots do not understand appeasement,  they see it as a sign of weakness not compromise.  They will try to eliminate everybody they deem to have opposed them.

Sana Matuloy

Gusto ko matuloy itong kaso na isasampa nina Atty. Jo Imbong sa CCP para magkaroon na once and for all ng ruling.  Either ma deem unconstitutional ang blasphemy laws ng Pilipinas o makita ng buong mundo na medieval pa rin ang bansa natin.

Update:

The United Nations Human Right Committee in an opinion pronounced that blasphemy laws violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Philippines ratified in 1966.

via Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Sacred Cows

In his column defending while criticizing the CCP exhibit Conrado de Quiros revealed that his defense of freedom of expression is limited only to those he finds acceptable.  Expressions he finds unacceptable should be censored

"I grant there should be limits to free expression. You may not flash the dirty finger in public, as Rodrigo Duterte is wont to do, or the very thing the dirty finger is meant to represent, to say “f–k you” at the world. You may not piss on the flag in public to say you are pissed off with this country or its leaders. I myself do not think Cruz’s “RH series” belongs to this box, it is an attempt to say something serious, however what it has to say discombobulates the faithful."

The Philippine Daily Inquirer itself in an editorial states

"Violence should not be condoned, but the vandalism inflicted on Mideo M. Cruz’s “Polytheism” art work at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last Aug. 4—an unidentified couple smashed a penis-motif wooden ashtray glued onto the poster, and tried but failed to set fire to the collage that formed part of the installation—is understandable. The work is deeply offensive to Catholics, and even non-Catholic Christians are shocked and disgusted at the installation’s wooden cross with a movable penis and condom. If all of this does not constitute sacrilege, blasphemy or attack on religion, we don’t know what is."

These two institutions that can only do their work under the constitutional protection on freedom of expression blatantly supports limits to the freedom of other people.  Apparently, it's ok to have freedom of expression as long as you don't express things they find objectionable.

De Quiros' column is entitled "It's Complicated" only underlines his fear of religion

"First off, I’d say that as a general principle, one should be respectful of other people’s religious beliefs. One should be appreciative of, or sensitive to, the passions they generate. At the very least that is so because of the catastrophic consequences of not doing so. The capacity of slights to religion, real or imagined, to cause mayhem, or even war, is plentifully in evidence."

The fact that some religious people do violence because of perceived slight to their religion should not be a reason to tiptoe around religious feelings.  It should be a reason to ruthlessly prosecute any religious person that causes mayhem.  It should give us more reason to mock their religion so that they become inured (kumapal ang balat) to mockery.

The PDI's editorial is titled "Art as Terrorism", because putting a penis in a picture is equivalent to killing people.  The editorial is full of apologia for angry catholics and ad hominem attacks on the artist.

"Predictably enough, Cruz also misrepresents Catholic iconography in order to suit his self-serving and ultimately erroneous thesis. Whatever the excesses of Filipino folk religiosity, it must be said Catholics do not worship images; they venerate them as sensual channels to the divine. Catholics worship God; they accord the Blessed Trinity “latria,” Greek for adoration. They don’t worship the Blessed Mother and the saints. To the latter, they accord “dulia,” Greek for veneration; to the former they accord “hyperdulia,” a higher form of veneration. Therefore, Catholics don’t practice polytheism. Cruz not only misrepresents Catholics’ monotheistic practice; he insults it by using Catholic iconography to poke fun at it."

What is the difference between venerating saints and worshiping them? The end result is the same,  people pray to the saints, the the various incarnations of the Virgin Mary.  Disagreeing with one's interpretation of catholic dogma does not necessarily mean that the other person's interpretation is self serving. 

The funny thing is about the editorial is that it shoots itself.

In the end, Cruz is an “iconoclast.” His art smashes perceived false idols. The danger here is that his art could become arrogant and terror-prone. The Church has experienced a tumultuous history of iconoclastic revolutions across the centuries (the Byzantine iconoclastic outbursts in the first millennium and the Protestant revolts in the second) that have destroyed priceless items in man’s cultural heritage. And the Church is not alone among religions victimized by iconoclasm. Closer to our day, we witnessed how the Muslim Taliban dynamited in 2001 the ancient giant mountain carvings of Buddhas of Afghanistan, a terrorist blow to the cultural patrimony of humanity. 

 It styles itself as trying to protect the cultural heritage of the Philippines (presumably) because the exhibit will rile up Filipinos who will destroy catholic artifacts because they are Taliban (I think).  When in fact, the Taliban destroyed the cultural artifacts of Afghanistan because they perceived them as an affront to their one true religion, which is Islam.

I will give them this though, 

"It is unfortunate that the furor over “Polytheism” has obscured the fact that it’s just one of the works in a larger exhibit, “Kulo,” mounted by curators, artists and writers who have studied at the University of Santo Tomas in connection with its 400th anniversary this year."

it is unfortunate that a single artists work was zeroed in the catholic zealots which  led the closure of the exhibit including the works of other artists.  

CCP closes blasphemous exhibit

The CCP closed the exhibit opposed by the catholic church.  This is a sad day for artistic expression although I would not call CCP's action censorship inasmuch as it was done voluntarily.  Yes, there were threats of violence, yes, the President himself called them to state his displeasure with the exhibit.  But state coercion was not used. 

Of course informal channels have been used in the Philippines since time immemorial to silence expression they do not like but I find this positive in the sense that the establishment does understand that any overt coercion in closing the exhibit will harm the image of the Philippines as a country that values freedom.

On the CCP Exhibit

Kung nababastusan kayo sa exhibit, wag niyong tingnan.  Wala namang nakatutok na baril sa ulo niyo na pumipilit sa inyo na tingnan niyo yung exhibit.  Kailangan niyo bumiyahe papuntang CCP para makita yung exhibit, wala siya sa gitna ng sala niyo.  Kunwari pa kayo nababastusan kayo tingin naman kayo ng tingin.  Hayaan niyong yung hindi nababastusan ang tumingin.  Kung gusto niyo gumawa din kayo ng exhibit na mababastusan yung ibang tao, walang pumipigil sa inyo.

Pati si Imelda Marcos pumapapel na, tae.

Concerned Trolls

The urban dictionary defines concerned troll as

"A person who posts on a blog thread, in the guise of "concern," to disrupt dialogue or undermine morale by pointing out that posters and/or the site may be getting themselves in trouble, usually with an authority or power. They point out problems that don't really exist. The intent is to derail, stifle, control, the dialogue. It is viewed as insincere and condescending."

The  adventures of Christopher Lao and the various reactions on the internet engendered a lot of concerned trolling.  There is Ed Biao who writes in the Manila Standard

...everyone who tweeted and blogged negative things about Christopher and the more than 35,000 people (as of this writing) who liked the “Christopher Lao (ang bobong sinugod ang kotse sa baha)” should reassess their values. Like you haven’t done anything stupid in your life? You should be thankful that your foolish deeds were not televised.

 or J. Miguel Tanchico for the Inquirer

However, whether or not to like the social media pages created to diss a flood victim online requires a lot of thinking before you click, because this clearly shows how prone social media is to abuse by some netizens who think they have the freedom to bash a person they hardly know, effectively making a group of cyber bullies out of them.

 The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, who should know better also got into the act

GMA News had to take down the video from their website because apart from sharing the news, people had started to call Lao names—used rude and/or insulting words to describe him and the incident—in other words, a clear abuse of social media.

It is one thing to point out that the reactions of people are unfair, another to blame social media for being at fault.  It should be noted that Mr. Biao, supports of social media tyranny if he disapproves of the subjects, in the same column wrote

Some individuals, like the couple who took distasteful and disrespectful pre-nup photos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and the guy who hung his puppy on a clothesline, deserved the multimedia attention and the public outrage. They made premeditated bad choices and had to suffer the consequences. In Christopher’s case, it was a spur of the moment thing. He’s a person who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Both his examples are instances of poor judgement, the same as that of Mr. Christopher Lao.

And Mr. Tanchico (through the PDI) and the CMFR both uses social media to promote their ideas.  Freedom of expression means we protect expression we like as well as those we abhor.  Concerned trolling only gives ammunition to people who would want to stifle the free wheeling nature of the internet and impose their own order.

Did GMA win?

Rigoberto Tiglao reminds us that by all metrics, GMA won the 2004 elections. Quoting Winnie Monsod's article

“Item: ‘Gloria Arroyo is an illegitimate president’ [because she cheated to win].

“1. Voter preferences as recorded by the Social Weather Stations, which conducted polls every two weeks since the start of the campaign period, showed that while at the beginning (Jan. 16-28) the lead of FPJ over Arroyo was almost 10 percentage points, this was whittled down so that a month later, they were running neck-and-neck, and this continued into March. By the second week of April, the polls showed Ms Arroyo ahead by almost five percentage points although this was not statistically significant. But by the week before the elections, Ms Arroyo’s lead over Poe was significant (37 percent vs. 30 percent).

“The other major polling organization, Pulse Asia, also noted the same trend, although its polls were taken at slightly different time periods…

“Its last poll from April 26-29 showed Ms Arroyo leading, 37 percent vs. 31 percent. Note that a six-point lead in voter preferences… would imply a difference of 2.0-2.5 million votes between the two candidates.

“2. Exit polls on Election Day itself by at least three media organizations validated the run-up polls. All of them showed Ms Arroyo as the winner.

“3. The final official congressional canvass showed Ms Arroyo getting 40 percent of the votes cast, while Poe got 36.5 percent (a difference of 1.1 million votes), while the Namfrel Quick Count, based on 83 percent of total precincts showed Ms Arroyo with 39.4 percent and Poe with 36.8 percent (a difference of 700,000 votes).

“All figures from different sources are within the same ballpark, and all indicate that Ms Arroyo won. For those who think that the poll results should not be accepted, it should be pointed out that the head of the Social Weather Stations is the first cousin of Poe.

“What’s more, other circumstances obtaining during the campaign period support the conclusion that it is the claim of ‘illegitimacy’ that is a lie: after all, her coalition party, K4, won 58 percent of senatorial seats, 87 percent of congressional seats, 85 percent of gubernatorial slots, 87 percent of city mayor seats, and 85 percent of all mayor seats. Either they carried her or she carried them, or there was some combination of both.

“Could this have been the result of a grand conspiracy to commit massive cheating at all levels? But that is not what either the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines or the Namfrel thought. Said the prelates: ‘There were some instances of cheating and violations of election law by political parties in their areas but these did not affect the voting in general. It is the view of the bishops that the results of the elections reflected the will of the Filipino people.’

“Said Namfrel secretary general Bill Luz: ‘The results of the elections are credible and reflect the vote of the people. We didn’t see enough electoral anomalies at the national level to have a material effect on the national results.’

“… And finally, it was generally acknowledged that Poe was shooting himself in the foot during the campaign, and that the opposition was split four ways. In other words, they did it to themselves.’’

And “Garci”? If he cheated for Arroyo, he did a lousy job. Votes for Arroyo in Mindanao, based on Congress’ official count, were 527,144 less than the votes based on the SWS exit poll. That is too big to be a poll’s margin of error: Was it she who was cheated?

How will the Catholic church react?

`Blasphemous’ art vandalized

An unidentified couple smashed a penis-motif wooden ashtray glued onto the poster and tried but failed to set fire to the entire collage, said Karen Flores, visual arts department chief of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

One of the vandals then gave a lecture on morality to the lone guard assigned to the exhibit and other visitors before the couple casually walked out of the government building, Flores told Agence France-Presse."

Kami Man

Magic wishes he hadn't retired early

"Nearing the 20th anniversary of the announcement that he had contracted HIV, Magic Johnson sat down for a one-on-one conversation recently at Loyola Marymount University. [It] pains Johnson to this day that he cut his NBA career short, frankly because he didn't believe it was necessary. "If I knew what I know now, I wouldn't have retired," Johnson said. "But I didn't know that then. And you've just got to go with what happened." At the time, many wrongly perceived that Johnson had contracted AIDs and that he could spread the disease through simple contact. ... "I decided to retire because I didn't want to hurt the game."

Paborito ko dati si Magic Johnson.

Rizal and the Consequences of Leadership

Amoy baby

Pag wala ka anak at nakikita mo lang ay yung anak ng ibang tao, iisipin mo lahat ng baby amoy mabango, pero pag may anak ka na, ma realize mo na ang kuarto mo, kung saan kasama mo yung mga baby mo, ay amoy pupu ng baby.

Magbasa ka naman

Ilan pang mga katoliko na nagpo protesta sa exhibit ng CCP ang nagtanong 

"It was created by law and funded by our taxes for the purpose of awakening the consciousness of our people to our cultural heritage," Imbong said.

"Is it our cultural heritage to mock and insult religious personages and icons? Is it aesthetic to vandalize a venerated representation of objects of worship and reverence? Is vulgarity and blasphemy a Filipino value? What Filipino pride can emerge for such works? Is this our national identity? And CCP promotes it?" she asked.

Manang, basahin niyo po itong mga gawaing ito:  Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, Dasalan at Tuksuhan, Fray Botod, tapos saka mo itanong ulit yang mga tanong mo.

Muddled Thinking

Nasa topic na rin lang ako ng RH bill, to ang isang istorya tungkol kay dating Senador Tatad kung saan pinapakita niya ang malabong pag-iisip ng mga tumututol sa RH Bill.  Ayon sa kanya, labag sa saligang batasa ang RH bill dahil

"Section 12 of Article II of the Philippine Constitution which says that the State "shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception."

Based on this, he said that it is the duty of the State to protect the life of the unborn child from conception and that this shall be contradicted by a state-run program of contraception."

pero ano ba ibig sabihin ng contraception?   Ang contraception ay

"The deliberate use of artificial methods or other techniques to prevent pregnancy as a consequence of sexual intercourse

it ay paggamit ng iba't ibang uri ng teknik para hindi mabuntis ang babae sa pagtatalik.  Ibig sabihin, hinaharang ng contraception ang conception.  Kung walang conception, walang kailangan i-protect.

Tapos, labag daw sa saligang batas ang RH bill dahil

Tatad likewise said the RH bill violates the constitutional right of couples to conduct family planning in accordance with their religious convictions.

"The bill does not only attack that belief, it also seeks to further penalize those who hold such belief by making them pay with their tax money for the program that assaults their belief. This is tantamount to religious persecution, possible only in a totalitarian state," he said in his letter.

nilalabag daw nito ang karapatan ng isang mag-asawa na mag family planning ayon sa kanilang konsensiya.  Ano ba sinasabi ng Senate Bill 2865.

Section 3:  Guiding Principles

(a) The right to make free and informed decisions, which is central to the exercise of any right, shall not be subjected to any form of coercion and must be fully guaranteed by the State, like the right itself .

(b) Respect for, protection and fulfillment of, reproductive health and rights seek to promote the rights and welfare of every person.

(j)Each family shall have the right to determine its ideal family size; Provided however, That the State shall equip each parent with the necessary information on all aspects of family life, including reproductive health, in order to make that determination.

Pinopretektahan pa nga ng bill na ito ang karapatan ng lahat ng Pilipino na magdesisyon ayon sa kanilang konsensiya dahil sa karapatan nila ito at di puedeng pakilaman ng estado ang karapatan ng bawat Pilipino.

Sa pangalawa naman niyang punot na, na nakakawawa ang mga tutol sa batas na ito dahil kasama sa  pondong agagamitin sa pagpapatupad ng batas ang mga buwis ng mga tutol sa batas.  Pero hindi lamang ito ang batas na may mga tumutol.  Madaming tutol sa pagtaas ng VAT mula 10% patungong 12%.  At ang buwis nila ay kasama sa pagpondo sa BIR na kumukubra sa pinataas na buwis.  Kung susundan natin ang lohika ni Sen. Tatad,  wala ng magbabayad ng buwis sa bansa dahil lahat naman tayo ay may tinututulang batas na ayaw nating mapatupad.

Nagkukunwari pa ang mga tutol sa RH bill na may lohika ang kanilang pagtutuol sa panukalang batas na ito samantalang alam naman ng lahat ng relihiyon ang totoong dahilan ng kanilang pagtutol.  At ang pangrelihiyong patutol aywalang lohika, walang rason at makikita mo ito sa pagbali-baliktad nila ng lohika para lang mabigyang kunwari ng hindi pangrelihiyong dahilan ang pagtutol nila.

Disinformation by RH bill opponents

May editorial ang Cebu Daily News laban sa pagkampanya ng National Youth Commission para sa RH bill.  Ok lang naman, karapatan nila magmukhang gago na walang pakialam kung mamatay na ang kababaihan sa panganganak, kung gusto nila.  Kaya lang, maliban sa pagiging mukhang gago, nalaman tuloy natin na bobo pa sila.  Kabilang sa kanilang argument laban sa RH bill ay isang pag-aaral daw na angsasabi na nakakalusot ang HIV virus sa condom

"In  1993, a United States Naval Research study established that the HIV virus, about 0.1 microns in size (a micron is a millionth of a meter), can pass through condoms which have holes or “inherent defects… between five and 70 microns.”"

1993 pa yung pag-aaral,  kung totoo itong pag-aaral na ito, sana binago na ng World Healt Organization o ng Centers for Disease Control ang kanilang rekomendasyon sa paggamit ng condom.  Tingnan natin,  ayon sa WHO

""An extensive review was conducted by a panel convened by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in June 2000 in the United States of America, with the participation of WHO. The review concluded that condoms, when used correctly and consistently, are effective for preventing HIV infection in women and men and gonorrhoea in men".

 Ayon sa CDC

"Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In addition, consistent and correct use of latex condoms reduces the risk of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including diseases transmitted by genital secretions, and to a lesser degree, genital ulcer diseases. Condom use may reduce the risk for genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV-associated diseases, e.g., genital warts and cervical cancer."

At yung pag-aaral na sinasabi nila?  Hindi siya pag-aaral sa condom, kundi sa gloves.

Your clip is a 1992 letter to the editor from Mike Roland, editor of Rubber Chemistry and Technology, a publication of the American Chemical Society. Roland argued that "the rubber comprising latex condoms has intrinsic voids [pores] about 5 microns (0.00002 inches) in size. Since this is roughly 10 times smaller than sperm, the latter are effectively blocked.... Contrarily, the AIDS virus is only 0.1 micron (4 millionths of an inch) in size. Since this is a factor of 50 smaller than the voids inherent in rubber, the virus can readily pass through."

This sounds scary, but there are a couple problems with it. First, Roland bases his statement about a 5 micron latex pore size on a study of rubber gloves, not condoms. The U.S. Public Health Service says that condoms are manufactured to higher standards than gloves. Condoms are dipped in the latex twice, gloves only once. If just 4 out of 1,000 condoms fail the leak test, the whole batch is rejected; the standard for gloves is 40 out of 1,000. A study of latex condoms by the National Institutes of Health using an electron microscope found no holes at a magnification of 2000.

 So ayon sa WHO at CDC ng Amerika, mabisa ang condom para pigilin ang paglaganap ng HIV ngayong 2011.  Bakit ngayong nagpapalaganap ng maling kaalaman?  Kasi alam nila na walang kuwenta ang mga argumento nila laban sa RH bill kung katotohanan lang ang sasabihin nila.