turmoil in myanmar

Speeches delivered by world learders at the UN Assembly in Nueva York emphasized that countries of the world not only have a legitimate right, but also a responsibility to decry the brutal suppression of demonstrators in Myanmar.

this post is in solidarity with the monks and the people of myanmar who long for freedom from the repressive regime of the ruling military junta.

(photos from channelnewsasia.com)

and the plot thickens

i have two hundred things to finish in the office today (yes, i am so back to work), but i didn't get to finish as i was once again, distracted by the proceedings of Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the NBN-ZTE deal. romy neri finally summoned all his guts and admitted that yes, COMELEC chairman ben abalos offered him 200.

of course, ben, the jetsetting, golf playing, bible verse quoting, chairman of the commission and elections, i mean, commission on elections (COMELEC) was quick to ask, "what do you mean by 200? 200 golf balls?"

bibo, no?

i am freaking indignant at the brazen corruption, all the lying, all the manipulation.

i mean hello, i have to carry my own laptop everyday to work because the computer issued to me by the government doesn't even work. i was told that it would take a few weeks to have my computer replaced.

and these clowns who "run" this country are thinking of.. wait, after all the spins and the bruhaha that was said in the investigation, i am not too sure now what the NBN kalokohan is all about. i mean, is the 329 million uncle sam dollars for a national telecommunications backbone for the government and its affiliated agencies only? Or are public schools going to be able to use it to gain access to the Internet for its students and teachers?

here is government talking of creating a telco infrastructure when it can't even give a decent computer to its think tanks.

maging travel agent na lang kaya ako ni abalos? or caddy sa wack wack golf and country club?

current obssession: spawn war

joey de venecia, son of the House Speaker at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing said: "I have previously mentioned [wanting] to reveal the identity of the mystery man under oath and in the proper forum. It is with a heavy heart that I cannot deny that it was First Gentleman Mike Arroyo."

whereas the blue vulture only had this to say to JDV III's accusation: "Hay naku [Oh well], it's me again. Can't they see other people? I'm thin na nga [already], I'm a smaller target pero ako pa rin [but it’s still me]," his daughter, luli came close to outdoing sec. gonzales's retorts.

in defense of her father, she said: “I don’t know if his old drug use affected his thinking. For me, that's [insinuations] again grasping at straws as thin as his hairline."

luli arroyo:
truly a spawn of GMA

that was fierce.

***



and hey, you might want to listen to the latest protest ringtone: AB-ZTE-FG

i love this country. and no, i am not backing off.

ending the dry spell

as usual, this entry is coming in a bit late.

but i will not let this one pass.

last sunday, the UP pep squad dethroned erstwhile cheerdance competition champion UST.

UP Pep Squad: gleng-gleng!

congratulations UP pep squad!

i feel so redeemed.

o ayan ha, hindi lang kami puro bugbugan at patayan sa UP.

traffic advisory for monday, sept 24:

espana avenue, now passable. hindi na baha.
(ubos na ang luha ng mga taga UST! hehe.)

gimme more

after almost three months of vacation, i will be back to working full time starting tomorrow.

okay, the past three months were not my ideal vacay as i had two other projects to work on plus my teaching stint.

that teaching stint, hmmm..... i didn't, not even for one second expect that teaching would require a lot of work, patience and sanity. my three brain cells have been screaming as i've been wringing them dry the past few months.

and my professors made teaching seem so easy. i mean, they survived me right-- all my questions, my arguments and my endless manipulation to move deadlines. now i think i got karma-ed for being a teacher's pest when i was still in school.

***

i wanted to stay with donor agencies since they pay more. but as the universe would have it, the donors want someone with expertise and more experience in development work.

i only have two years of work experience and darn, i don't even know what my expertise is.

***

well actually, i was really enjoying not doing regular office work-- you know--the nine to six-- desk job. i wanted to just go on doing projects-- consultancy, PR-- since i get almost double my UNDP salary doing them.

but the pressure from family to have an office and a full time job got the better of me and so, i am back to--hold your breath....

GOVERNMENT. thai government. kidding.

i'm back to what juan dela cruz thinks is government.

no, i'm not the new revenue chief. please. i don't think i have enough blood to sell to raise P37.3 billion to be able to hit the P431 billion collection goal the past month.

***

i'm not exactly sure what happened, but after my lack luster performance during the final interview, i really thought it's adieu to the only government institution that i still, until now, hold in high esteem.

in fact last month, i was suppose to start work for-- hold your breath again-- mrs. arroyo (yes, president gloria macapagal arroyo). but some confusion occurred with my arrangements, so my confirmation was put on hold.

the office-- my new office called me up sept 5, and after several phone calls and negotiation, i sealed the deal with them before the day ended. by sept 7, my supposed boss in malacanang texted, telling me to report to the palace on sept 10.

yet another case of the universe unfolding as it should.

that, or God finally thought i should get back to full time work as i have been missing out on serotonin due to my abnormal, nocturnal habits that i began having since i went out of work.

***

so there. wish me luck. i don't want to do a britney.

second chances don't come very often.

things i love in japan besides sashimi

shinzo abe resigned as japan's PM last wednesday.

shinzo abe: cutie di ba?

he cited health reasons for his resignation, but observers think there's something more sinister behind it.

some speculate that there could be another brewing scandal in his cabinet. of course such speculation is likely, given that abe's cabinet members have been involved in scandals left and right the past twelve months.

buti pa sa japan, hindi masyadong makapal ang mukha ng mga politiko.

***

but of course, my all time favorite japanese PM is still junichiro koizumi.

love the style,

love his being maverick,

love his freaking hair.

UAAP updates

enough of politics. let's now look at sports.

of the 14 games that the UP men's basketball team played this UAAP season, how many games has the team won?

answer: ZERO

haaaayyyyy.....

buti na lang hindi pa nakakaisip ng jokes ang ibang schools na inaapi namin when it comes to academics.

pwede ba?

following the conviction of former president estrada, i'm surprised that there wasn't that much hoopla. the pre-promulgation surveys were probably right. filipinos don't care so much whether erap gets convicted or not. they just want to go on with their lives.

i admire the humility of government prosecutor dennis villaignacio and his team. after they won at the sandiganbayan, they only spoke when necessary and didn't go around gloating.

unlike this creature:




i mean, he was on every channel the past few days and he annoys the hell out of me.

he goes around gloating as if erap got convicted solely because of his testimony.

please lang.

i have yet to go through the entire decision as i have more boring things to do, but i bet the justices didn't put much weight on sabit's--este chavit's testimony because 1) he is a shady character as the accused and 2) his reasons for blowing the proverbial whistle was that he got bitter that the bingo two balls franchise was being given to atong ang.

in the words of the sandigan justices:

Singson testimony farfetched

In this Court’s view, certain details of Gov. Singson’s testimony on this point are rather incredible and far-fetched.

so pwede ba chavit? shut up.

my republic

former Philippine President Joseph Ejercito Estrada was found guilty of plunder.





i didn't get to hear the clerk of court when she read the highlights of the sandiganbayan decision as i was giving my five year old nephew a bath.

***

i was able to catch prosecutor dennis villaignacio say that the decision of the special court is triumph not just for the prosecution, but also for the filipino people as this shows that the philippine justice system is working.

i'm at a loss for words.

erap is found guilty. but there are so many others who are as guilty and they are still in power in this banana republic.

(wait, my phone's ringing. "hello garci?, oh, the ZTE contract? wait, i'm finishing my blog entry.")

philippine politics is sick. it's sickening.

maybe the justice system is working.

for some. sometimes.

but not for all, not all the time.

***

aargh. seryoso na naman. tawa muna tayo:

seriously

grabe, it has been seven years pala since the jueteng gate scandal erupted.

the verdict on erap's plunder trial will be out in a few hours.

hmmm....

okay, let me get off the fence and write more on this.

i admit, i was among the many who took to the streets for edsa dos in 2001.



the tragedy now is that, i consider it as among the few things that i truly regret.

mrs. arroyo disappointed/ frustrated a lot of us. big time.




this is not to say that erap should've been allowed to stay in malacanang.

instead, GMA should've done better.

source: GMA 7

***

i say, if the sandiganbayan finds him guilty, then convict him.

however, the quest for justice for the filipino people--who have long been deprived of good governance--should not just end with the conviction of erap.

the people should also clamor for the prosecution of other erring/ corrupt officials and the justice system should go after them.

if erap is found to not be guilty, then by all means, give him an acquittal.

no more concessions, no more crap.

the filipinos deserve the truth.

the filipinos deserve better.

***

to ease the tension, isang joke muna:

another barbarian writes about it

what was i doing when i was 20 years old?

the first branch of starbucks along katipunan opened when i was 20. after school, maui and i would elbow out ateneans and those girls from miriam so we could get a table and study-- while nursing our caffe lattes, gossiping and flirting with our fellow wannabes.

except for my major subjects, i barely paid attention to school when i was 20. i consumed the six allowable absences for all my subjects, i always procrastinated when it came to school work and i only went to the library to return overdue books which, more often than not-- i didn't even read.

( i do have a point, i just don't know how to get there.)

***

so i write this post 14 days after emil texted to ask if it's true that a student from my college died of hazing and was unceremoniously dumped at a morgue a day before.

i said i didn't know. but i'll find out.

what i found out a few minutes later brought a sense of dejavu.

someone had died again in the hands of his would be fraternity brothers.

he was 20 years old.

during my second year in UP, a classmate in econ 11 discussion class had a similar fate. i remember still seeing his name on the class list after his death. a little cross followed his family name.

he was 19 years old.

1999 was even more traumatizing when a fellow journ major, who was not even a fratman was gunned down at AS walk in broad daylight.

he was 21 years old.

***

at the masses for the latest casualty, the priests comforted the tired and severely traumatized community of UP-NCPAG by saying that God must have other plans.

last friday, i sat behind mrs. mendez.

i avoided shaking hands with her for fear that i might feel her grief-- which i imagine to be too overwhelming and intense-- i was sure it would break my heart and kill me.

i didn't know what to do. i wanted to call my therapist at that moment to help me process what i felt.

***

i told myself, i'd wring my brain dry and work my ass off so i could send my sons to ateneo because i definitely would not want them to be going to school with the greeks of UP.

i want my kids to live beyond the age of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60...

***

i have no idea how to end this post.

perhaps, with a few moments of silence....

gorb-y does louis!

this is coming quite late-- but i'm too fascinated by it to let it just pass.

mikhail gorbachev is the new face of louis vuitton!



that's tito gorb-y with an LV bag. and yeah--that wall-- it's the berlin wall

i have yet to own a bag/ luggage with LVs on it, i would have to sell both my kidneys first to get one, but i'd have to say-- this ad campaign scores!