Ate China...Ano Ba Talaga?

Nakakalito ang mga Chinese na yan. They imposed a fishing ban on Scarborough Shoal yet they sent almost a hundred ships, carting away giant clams and corals as fast as they can. They are systematically ravaging the ecosystem of the area...and for what? Wala pa akong alam na Chinese herbal or traditional medicine na pampatigas o pampatagal sa kama na gawa sa coral (Most of their traditional medicine are always 'to keep the Yang up'...kahit yung kinuha mo e pampaluwag ng hininga o panglaban sa asthma, laging me side effect na titigas etits mo for 35 days or kahit 80 times ka nang labasan e uhaw ka pa sa sex).

Well, seriously, China has been advocating one thing and doing the other at the same time. They asked the Philippines to stand down, but they in turn sent ships upon ships in the area. They even had the gall to hold naval drills on the area as they asked other nations to stand down. And they keep pointing out that they've always been doing these naval excercises. So bakit wala sa balita ng international press yung drills nila for the past years? Kahit anong nation sa buong mundo e kapag gumawa ng naval excercises, news agad yon kahit sa tabloids.

This only presents one thing, walang isang salita ang Chinese government.

They bully others into doing what they order the world to do under the guise of national or diplomatic policy, but the actions they take are very opposite on what they preach. Hypocites? Or just plain greedy liars? They are like the doped up addict friend that you have, that you always end up believing their promises in a hope that they chang their ways and actually are telling the truth. Well guess what, China has always been playing on the sentiments  of everybody. They are playing the world for a fool.

Now they are saying that the naval excercises are just a drill and not a practice into invading another country (a South East Asian country with the area they are doing it in). Maniniwala pa ba kayo?

Makati...isang malaking Banyo...

Bad trip talaga yesterday...

Nagmamadali na nga ako maka uwi, with a birthday cake in tow for my son. Pero di ako makapagmadali kasi ang mga sidewalk sa Ayala Ave. are totally covered in tiles. E nag uuulan pa. Apat na beses ako nadulas... And now my left foot is blackened (sabi ng officemate ko nagka sugat sa loob..and that is blood inside) and hindi ko mai bend ang paa ko. There were a lot of people with me who were walking at a snail's pace because the entire Ayala Ave. sidewalk is a 'dulasan festival' of sorts. Hirap na nga akong maglakad before pa sa harap ng Enterprise kapag umuulan kasi madulas, naisipan ng Makati na pahirapan ako lalo by putting tiles on the whole Ayala Ave.

Akala ko kasi nakarecover na ang mga pinoy sa 80's phenomenon na 'basta naka tiles, sosy!!!' (with kasamang hiyaw ng "ahaaaay" sa dulo) nung nagaaral pa ako sa kolehiyo. Kaya nga mostly ginagamit ng designers e road bricks or other materials with a high friction rate even when wet.

Kaaaso meron n naman palang hang over ng 80's phenow movement. Kaya kailangan kong bumili ng sapatos na mas makapit dahil sa ginawa sa Ayala. Pero, dahil wala pang bonus, sa may Dela Rosa na lang muna ako dumadaan.

(Ay, naku...nasabi ko pa...baka Dela Rosa naman ang tadtarin nila ng mga tiles...oo yung mga mariwasa na pambanyo...para kahit maaraw, basag ang bungo ng mga naglalakad...put@#%in@)

The Red Dawn is Approaching...Wake up AFP!!!!

China recently took steps to ' “accelerate its transformation and modernization in a sturdy way, and make extended preparations for military combat in order to make greater contributions to safeguard national security”. They are now gearing up towards war... with the whole South East Asian nations.

The questionable purchase and retrofit of a former Soviet aircraft carrier by China generates concern with many countries. At a time where the region is divided on a particular island groups off the coast of Palawan.

Its common sense that national security involves defending its territories, established or disputed alike. This is proclaimed amidsts rising tension within the the Southeast Asian communities about the Spratly Islands, an area claimed to be rich in gas and oil. While neighboring countries stake claims to various islands near their territorial waters, China claims the whole island group as her own (if that's the case, the whole island of Luzon should also be inside China's territory, since their 'territory' reaches that far).

Its known that as other countries raced to fill their claims and populate them, China wasted no time in setting up military bases and increased naval presence (sometimes at the expense of the fishermen of Palawan...which is so much closer to the group of islands than China).

If China attacks, we cannot depend on the UN because China, as a member of the security council, has the power to veto any resolution the group of nation passes. So if the UN makes a resolution making China's attack on Philippine sovereignty illegal, China will just veto it, and the UN will do nothing.

So there's no one the Filipinos can depend to but themselves.

And here lies the problem. With almost the entire defense budget spent on the AFP, the Navy and Airforce are left with nothing but scraps to divide among themselves. Even though a lot of political analysts had expressed the need to further develop out naval and air power (also due to the fact that with a nation of islands, we need a larger navy and air force to defend our boarders), a bulk of that money, from taxes, are somewhat used to purchase weapons that 'happens' to appear in the rebel's hands...or to buy properties in the US (where generals and politicians can easily claim asylum and live in the lap of luxury. Yeah, you better claim asylum bitches, cause both Chinese and Filipinos will tear your heads off!!!). What will be left behind are the valiant soldiers that the generals and politicians use as cannon fodders and scapegoats.

I think this move by China is sparked by the growing cooperation and joint treaties with neighboring South East Asian countries for exploration and mining the resources of the Spratlys. And since China claims the island group 'all or nothing', expect a number of undocumented encounters between the countries within the South China Sea.

So beware, beware...the approaching Red Dawn.

5 milyon? me parte ba kami dyan?

Ano na naman itong nababalitaan na binigyan ng gobyerno ng Pinas ng halagang 5 milyong piso ang MILF. At para daw ito sa Leadership training institute.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....

Naiputan na naman sa ulo ang gobyerno at ang taong bayan.

At sinasabi ng MILF na di ito ginamit sa pagbili ng mga dagdag na armas at bala na gigitil na naman sa mga kawawang magiting na marino at sundalo ng Pambansang Sandatahang Lakas.

Sabagay, mga ang mga nasa taas lang naman ang nakikinabang sa mga milyon milyon na kinakaltas buwan buwan sa mga pinaghirapan ng mga ordinaryong mamamayan, kaya wala silang pakialam. Yang mga general na yan na maraming ari arian sa ibang bansa (lalo na sa 'Tate), kasi kapag sinalakay na tayo ng Tsina, sila ang unang unang lilipad palabas ng bansa.

Ilang beses pa ba uli magpapaloko ang gobyerno, ilang magiting na sundalo pa ba ang masasawi, ilang milyon piso pa ba ng pinaghirapan ng taong bayan ang kailangang masayang bago sila magising na TINATARANTADO lang sila.

At yang peace talks at ceasefire na yan...habang naniniwala kayo na sumusunod sila sa patakaran at mga napagusapan, bigla kayong padadalahan ng pugot na ulo ng turista, international journalist, sundalo...o kaya biglang lulusubin ang isang bayan, isang himpilan ng pulisya, isang firebase ng militar o marino. Kung isang damukal ang break away groups na yan (ayon sa kanila), what is the use of talking peace to a minor faction of that group.

Kaya na nga hindi na nila lilisanin ang pagiging hukbo ng mga bandido kasi nagiging 'cash cow' nila. Bakit ka nga naman maghihirap sa pagsasaka, pagtratrabaho, pagpapabuti ng antas ng lipunan...basta me baril ka at masamang hangarin, pera agad.

Osama Bin Laden's Demise

Last May 1 (or May 2), 2011, US Navy SEALs infiltrated a mansion within the boarders of Pakistan. A firefight ensued resulting multiple casualties for the target area. One of the casualties is renowned Al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden.

It is said that the leadership of the said terrorist organization is de-centralized to enable it to go on even after one of the leaders are liquidated, it still deals a big blow to the organization as the figurative head of the group is now dead.

Even after the announcement from the US government, other governments go on heightened alert as they expect a retaliation from the group. Even if the said mastermind of the Sept.11 attacks on the US is out of the picture, a greater fear looms over the people as they expect the worst to come. As it seems, its better to have a gorgon with a leading serpent to bring order to the lot, than a beheaded lead serpent which causes the others to strike more randomly and by their own will. Now the 'War Against Terror' will have to concentrate on weeding out the rest and tying up loose ends.

What stole the headlines from the 'victory against terrorism' are news and bits from around the world claiming that the picture took by the US government is a fake...looking like a photo shopped version of a previous public photo of Bin Laden.

One angle aims at the premise that since Bin Laden took a shot to the head, the actual corpse cannot be shown to the public due to the degree of damage sustained is too grotesque.

Some ask why did the Navy buried the body of Osama at sea almost immediately although the death of Saddam is widely documented in media and in the net.

To their defense, the US government said that they are respecting the Muslim tradition of burial after 24 hours of death, since no country would accept the corpse of the most wanted terrorist on the planet (did they ask Pakistan?). In a lighter sense, if this is true, its good to see that the US is starting to accept that there are more different cultures out there that should be respected even though it does not align with their own view of what the world should be.

Now back to the issue of if Osama Bin Laden is really dead.

As I was discussing with my wife, I have a theory; That the SEALs actually caught up with Osama. And since Osama is no longer the direct head of the terrorist network, he then strikes a deal with the US government to turn in the other cells of the network, effectively weakening it, in exchange for his life (or a condo in Detroit, like the one indicated in the Facebook parody way back).

Lessons from our History Seems Left Unlearnt

If there are a few things I learned from watching TV during the lenten season, is that human kind is selfish by nature. It is the leading factor from which all major decisions which affect the flow of history is derived from. From various investigations through history, both local and abroad, is that the famous acts from the past are laden with glorified accounts of themselves, hiding the ominous deeds that has been done leading up to the famous event.

One case in point, the first Republic declared by the Filipino revolutionaries. The formation of the Philippines' first Republic is laced with backstories of deceit, trechery and murder just to keep themselves and their cronies in power. The people in position back then sorround themselves with loyal dogs and yes-men, and eliminate those who lead and exemplify noble ideals which are gaining popularity. Since those rising new ideals and exemptional personalities pose a threat to their hold on power, they are ordered to be executed, murdered or branded as traitors to the new Republic. This is not far from the ideals and tactics maneuvered by Senator Palpatine of the StarWars franchise to further his power and grip on the goverment, leading up to the formation of the Galactic Empire. Its also no wonder that the Philippine goverment is like this since it started its roots in this manner.

Maybe you are wondering, 'I don't remember reading about this in the history books'. According to the research and interviews done by GMA-7's 'Unsolved Cases' with various historians, these are the foundations on which the First Republic was built on.

Its no secret that the revolutionaries of the Katipunan, the group who stood in arms against the Spanish rule, was divided into two factions. The Magdalo faction which was represented by the leader who rose up from the masses and formed the Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio, and the Magdiwang faction lead by the military juggernaut and tactician Emilio Aguinaldo. During the later years, after Bonifacio inducted Aguinaldo into the Katipunan, the former's campaign was less successful than that of the latter. The competition between the two for troops, supplies, arms and support lead to a rivalry that almost ended in a bloody duel one fateful meeting. As the strength and campaign of the Spanish became more stronger and more brutal, the two decided to meet with the leaders of the Katipunan to talk things out to combine all their effort for the revolution under one commander, called the 'Supremo'. As Emilio thought that he cannot get rid of Bonifacio from the Katipunan, also due to the fact that he help create the organization, Aguinaldo then changed the agenda of the meeting to the formation of a revolutionary goverment, elect the officials, and disband the Katipunan. A move that let Bonifacio have no say in since he is in an engagement with the Spanish army somewhere else. Distraught by the events that unfolded without his knowledge, Bonifacio established his own revolutionary goverment. Instead of conducting talks to unite two magnificent groups into one banner under the new Republic, Aguinaldo branded him a traitor and ordered his capture and execution.

Aguinaldo also did the same for the rising idealist Gen. Antonio Luna during the Philippine-American war. He was a pharmacist turned general and tactician who led many victories for the revolutionary goverment. As Luna was gaining popularity, their ideals clash because Luna's ideals are deeply rooted for his love of the country and the people, same as Bonifacio's. Aguinaldo then fell into a swirl of paranoia as he began thinking that Luna, with his energy, ideals and vibrance, would come to replace him as the head of the Philippine Republic. This was furthered by Aguinaldo's cronies who just fueled his paranoia. So instead of choosing to side with people with the right ideals, he choose to sorround himself with loyalists who says yes to everything he said. So Aguinaldo sent a telegraph to Luna, under the impression that there will be a conference of all the field generals, luring him to a pit of soldiers who hate him, and was assasinated. Some historians believe that this was the first ever State sponsored assasination. From then on began the downfall of Emilio Aguinaldo and the First Republic which he dragged along with him.

Stories like these not only our history and honor look pitiful, but also gives the background story on why our goverment and politicians functions in the way they do now.

...And History Repeats Itself...

Once again, our country is trampled upon...

It seems 'Nicole', the girl in the Subic rape case, is retracting her accusation of Lance Corporal Smith. Suspicions from members of the public and the goverment flare as this statement came from the corporal's laywer...not Nicole's. And it came after the much publicized, but hushed, travel of Nicole to the U.S. This came at a very convinient time for the U.S. as the bill which will nullify the Visiting Forces Agreement is in the works at Congress.

As Inquirer.net puts it, ' If Nicole is retracting her sworn statement, why is she going to the homeland of the one she aggravated?' The plot thickens...

There are also talks of Nicole's family recieving P100,000 as reparation for 'damages'.

Just as 'Nicole' became the unifying symbol against the VFA, and gave courage to other rape victims to step forward and go after their aggressors... what do we think of the situation now?

Once again, the U.S. imposed their weight around and trampled the justice system of a weaker, dependent nation. Its just the same because our goverment still aims to please the U.S. whatever happens...even at the cost of her constituents.