Who’s Afraid Of The ZTE Man?
Written on May 15th, 2008 | by Nick
It’s a stretch to say that this next round of revelations will push The defunct and corruption ladened ZTE broadband deal back into the media spotlight. With the rice crisis and Meralco taking up all the space and all.
But, it seems that even with everything else happening around the nation, and around the world, the palace is trying so hard to downplay this issue, that it seems almost obviously clear that it may still be afraid of what ZTE and the NBN deal scandal can do to its seat in power. Read more
Selling Optimism Through Fish Mucus
Written on May 14th, 2008 | by BenjJust barely a month ago, I was tasked to judge a public speaking competition’s semifinal to help screen the 18 applicants. The prize at the end was huge - it was the right to represent the Philippines at the English Speaking Union International Public Speaking Competition held in London. We are no strangers to the prestige that this competition brings. Back in 2004, after wowing judges of her musings on the Filipino diaspora, Speech Communication major Patricia Evangelista was catapulted to national consciousness. She is now one of the more prominent young media personalities appearing in the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Opinion page and various shows for the ABS-CBN News Network. With great education, matching chutzpah and the exposure that made her a household name, Patricia Evangelista is now being heard on various media - something that is arguably rare for somebody her age.
Clearly, it’s easy why high school students and college students in their late teens would like to try their luck in the competition. The payoff is tremendous. Despite the lack of monetary compensation, the privilege of representing one’s country to an international tilt can be considered as a great reward on its own. The opportunity to be heard by people of diverse backgrounds and to have one’s thoughts published on the dailies makes the attempt even more appealing. Though not as life-changing as a win in Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition or Pinoy Idol, the contest does give a single high school student the shot to be recognized as better than most and the rightful representative for a prestigious competition. Read more
SWS Survey - How Many Filipino Families Are Poor and Hungry?
Written on May 14th, 2008 | by Lester CavestanyTake the quick survey below and see how your family compares with other families/households in the Philippines:
1. Question on poverty: Where (or How) would you place (consider) your family?
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Not poor
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On the line
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Poor
2. Question on hunger: In the last 3 months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and not have anything to eat (because of poverty)?
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Yes
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No
3. IF YES: Did it happen ONLY ONCE, A FEW TIMES, OFTEN, or ALWAYS?
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MODERATE HUNGER = Only Once or A Few Times
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SEVERE HUNGER = Often or Always
The questions above were the ones used in the First Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey (SWS) conducted on March 28-31, 2008. SWS had face-to-face interviews with 1,200 statistically representative household heads (300 each in Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao), from 240 geographical spots selected from all regions. These are the results of the survey: Read more
Money talks louder than politics
Written on May 12th, 2008 | by benign0Cocoy is once again spot on. The reason politics occupies the limelight that it does is that economic activity in Pinoy society is so atrophied and impotent as to not provide enough clout to overshadow politics in people’s psyches.
Interesting too, is what he said here: “the most basic thing is that anyone with resources can manipulate Law to suit their own purposes”. I realised from reflecting on this that maybe influence in politics (beyond elections) is all about economic clout. In societies where wealth is distributed more evenly, the difference in political influence between the elites and the masses and middle class is less pronounced.
In the Philippines where the elite monopolise a big chunk of national wealth, their political influence sticks out out like a sore thumb.
My point is, it all leads back to developing that economic clout in the masses to tip the balance a bit in their favour. It’s not about drumbeating and footstomping about political rights. The reality is that influence will always NEED TO BE BOUGHT. The elites do it because they can. People who take a crybaby approach and blame the elites for doing so won’t get anywhere. The SOLUTION lies in the non-Elites figuring out how to develop their OWN arsenals of influence. Nobody else will do it for them.
Read more
For the junta, cementing military rule is more important than the cyclone victims.
Written on May 11th, 2008 | by JThis piece was posted originally on The Nutbox. I’m re-posting it here in response to Nick’s Myanmar’s Junta, Cyclone Nargis And The Desecration of Its People and to generate support for Burma among Filipino bloggers.
There are a lot of a lot of angles to look at when analyzing the effects of the recent cyclone in Burma that killed over 100,000 people and destroyed millions of dollars in properties.
One implication that would most certainly affect the Philippines is another surge in global rice prices. It is reported that the damages on agricultural land in the affected areas are so dire that Myanmar officials are already stopping its rice exports. In fact, the Nyawpyitaw junta is expected to actually start importing rice to feed the people.
This is the culmination of the regime’s bastardation of Burma’s agricultural sector. Where once Burma was a major exporter of rice, the country’s contribution to the international rice supply has dwindled through the years. One major reason was the fact that, aside from neglecting agricultural infrastructure, the ruling generals have since set themselves up as the sole domestic buyer of rice in the country, according to the report of the Los Angeles Times. The bad thing about this is that since the junta buys rice very cheap, most Burmese farmers grow only what their families need, thereby slowing production.
This highlights the Nyawpyitaw junta’s being a big liability to the international community. And this strengthens the arguments for the regime’s ouster.
Now back to the cyclone. Writing for the Associated Press, Grant Peck argues that the disaster raises the risks for the embattled military regime.
Cases of regime change and other radical reforms resulting from a natural disaster are numerous. Most notable examples include the 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua that led to the decline of the Somoza regime and the 1970 cyclone that led to Bangladesh’ secession from Pakistan.
Myanmar’s Military Junta, Cyclone Nargis, and The Desecration of Its People
Written on May 11th, 2008 | by Nick
As Cyclone Nargis ravaged Myanmar (Burma), as thousands have perished, and as millions have been affected, the response by Myamar’s (Burma) military junta has been nothing short of barbaric. It has declared economic sanctions on itself, denied aid relief, and instead of focusing on helping its people, masterminded a referendum on a new constitution in order to solidify its rule — An under the radar political move, in a time of great crisis. Read more
Are We Really A Pathethic And Apathetic People?
Written on May 11th, 2008 | by Patricio MangubatWhy is it that when push comes to shove, we Pinoys step back? When faced with an anomaly such as this regime, we always cite Mohandas Gandhi’s way of doing things?
Oil companies had a field day last week, raising fuel prices by one peso. Rice traders are also making a killing. Electricity firms such as Meralco are raking billions of pesos worth of distribution charges and systems lost charges.
Smugglers are all around, partying all day, depriving millions of Filipinos of taxes which could have been used in food security and solving the high prices of power. Drug syndicates continue their operations, destroying whole families and futures of young ones. Read more
Music to my Ears, A Joy to Read
Written on May 10th, 2008 | by cocoyAaahhh music to my ears!
Thanks to @LaTtEX for pointing out a recent Inquirer article, “Overseas Filipinos forming political party for 2010“:
Overseas Filipinos are forming a national political party in preparation for the 2010 elections and beyond, it was revealed at the Global Filipino Nation (GFN) conference Friday.
Francisco “Jun” Aguilar, interim chairman of the Partido ng Pandaigdigang Pilipino (PPP or Party of the Global Filipino), said the party is in the process of complying with the requirements of the Commission on Elections.
Why am I elated by this news? Check out these posts, if you haven’t already: “Because We Can“, “Because We Can Change the Dynamics of the Game“, “Power Not by Desire, But By Right“.
Lean on me
Written on May 9th, 2008 | by Abe N. MargalloIs there a connection between Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s “Goddam America” sermon and U.P. (University of the Philippines) journalism professor Luis Teodoro’s Freudian slip-ups (he has counseled his fellow journalists to blog to rub off their “virtues” on bloggers) or Australian-based “heckler” BenignO’s raves on what he thinks the Filipinos’ penchant for hollow symbolisms?
It’s a bit of a stretch but I could see the dots leading to what seems to be the insider/outsider dialectic, with Rev. Wright using the bully pulpit to continue driving the wedge between the still inchoate Black Americans and White America, Prof. Teodoro, his academic credentials to patronize his anarchic wannabes or BenignO, his “cosmopolitanism” to shake up his primitivized “other.” Read more
The GMA-BF Pink Magic Show
Written on May 8th, 2008 | by Patricio MangubatI agree with Schumey about MMDA Bayani Fernando. He’s all pomp and no show. He’s your average joker, the kind that you want to throw rotten tomatoes except that you can’t ‘cos tomatoes nowadays are too expensive to even spend just for him.
Here’s the thing though–despite what we think about him, he’s not going to turn around and say that he’s wrong. Nah. He’s too proud and too callous to do that. That’s why a few months back, I’ve been calling for anti-Gloria groups to wage war against him. Why? Read more
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Writing Project
