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?

Maligayang Pasko

Anu-ano ang naranasan nyo ngayung Pasko?

Maliban sa mga nasalanta ng bagyo, mga namatayan sa Mindanao...naging maligaya ba?

Sa pagdami ng kaso ng holdapan.

Mga nabiktima ng snatcher at mang gagantsyo

Sa mga ninakwan at nawalan ng mga pinaghirapan para maging masaya ang pasko ng mga kriminal.

Sa mga na-ambush ang mga payroll at bonuses.

Sa isang matandang banyaga sa Ayala na naisnatch ang wallet o bag sa tanghaling tapat habang nasa gitna ng maraming pulis at traffic enforcer.

Sa mga ganitong kaganapan. Dapat bang magkaroon ng Pasko sa Pilipinas?

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.

Saan Patungo ang mga Kabataan.

Nanunuod ako ng TV nung isang araw at nabibigla ako sa mga naririnig ko: Gustong ibaba ang edad kung saan pwedeng litisin bilang kriminal ang isang bata.

Ano?

Alam ko na maraming pasaway dyan pero ganun ganun na lang ba ang solusyon?

Pagkatapos ay napanuod ko naman ang ibat ibang balita kung saan ang mga bata mula 10 taon hanggang 15 taon gulang na nagiging magnanakaw, holdaper, pusher, and worst of all, rapist-killer.

Sa ibang krimen, ginagamit lang daw ng mga sindikato ang mga bata kasi mababaw na parusa lang ang maipapataw sa kanila dahil sila ay mga bata. In some cases, hindi na sila kinukulong sa presinto...pinapauwi o pinapaalis na lang agad.

pero sa tingin ko, tamang gabay habang sa paglaki ang tamang daan para maituwid sila. At sa mga sindikato na tinarantado ang kinabukasan ng mga batang ito, kailangan sila ang hagilapin ng batas.

Kailangan tandaan na ang kabataan ay dumadaan sa sinasabing 'formative years' kung saan nahuhubog and kanilang pagkatao. Kapag mali ang nakikita nila mula sa mga matatanda na gumagabay sa kanila, at tinatanggap ito na tama, ang kanilang sense of right or wrong ay nagbabago.

At ang mga batang naging biktima ay kailangan padaanin sa isang mabisang rehabilitation program, hindi sagot ang pagkulong sa kanila kasama ang mga hardened criminals sa kulungan.

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.

M.I.L.F. ???

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Its Just How It Is (Too Weak to Defend the Philippine Republic)

Recently there are a lot of blunders, issues and cover-up concerning our politicians and military officials. They are always in cahoots with regards to issues of election fraud, disappearance of activists, misappropriation of government funds, and the like. Covering each other as the need arises. And with a feeling of gratitude, will turn and cover for the other as well. Careful in making sure that all the money and the power is kept in their small circle of 'kumpares' and 'kumadres'.

Then what about the people? Those diligently work and support the government and the military with taxes from their wages and manpower in the form of themselves, their sons and their daughters. The people are the ones working for them yet it is they who act with treason and play on the public's trust. The people are being beaten down until there is no more will left in them for a better life, just the desire and need to make it through the day. As a lower middle working class citizen, I have felt this way a lot of times. Times that upon hearing news about the billions of pesos of taxpayers money are used to ascertain their grip on power, to get their kicks, or simply just to get their way so they can amass more money and power, my will to fight slips away. I just have to work so I can earn something to feed my family. I closed myself up and cared about nothing else.

The fund from the taxpayers are immediately diverted into the coffers of the politicians, political aides and corrupt military officials who, as one blogger stated, in an event of an invasion by another country, are the first ones to escape abroad with their ill-gotten wealth. Its seems that patriotism, like chivalry, is already dead...especially to those in power.

Its every person for themselves up there, to cover-up for themselves. Proudly beating on their chests while shouting here and there about protecting the motherland, the people, and their families, while the soldiers and commoners are used as cannonfodders for their own gain.

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).

Floating Frame for Seaside Structure Against Tsunami and Seaborne Flooding

The strong earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last March 11 is definitely a great tragedy. Watching the video of the raging water pounding the sea side structures, and creating havoc further inland made me weak in the knees.

This event got me thinking of a system that would prevent such widespread destruction, if not, lessen such occurances. If the years I spent developing and detailing structural retrofits for seismic events has taught me one thing, it is that a full-on resistance to the forces of nature can create adverse effects on the structure, and in a worse case scenario, contribute to the self-destruction of the structure. Recent trends in seismic design is to allow the building to sway with the motion of the earthquake instead of resisting it. The same is also applied to bridge design w

herein the more the structure moves along the direction of the forces acting upon it.

Therefore, I thought up of a system that would allow the structure to ride above the tsunami and sway along with its awesome power.

What I came up with is a network of steel frames with air tight steel drums or tanks to provide bouyancy. The floating steel base is then anchored like a boat to its concrete base or tiers.

But this alone cannot cope with the total forces that the tsunami can bring about. On the area in front of the structure, standing between it and the seafront, is a pair of pneumatic water barrier. Water barriers are already used in buildings around Tokyo to prevent flood waters from entering the structure. In this case, the barrier doesn't aim to stop the water but to redirect some of the forces so that the structure and the floatation frame will not face the brunt of the tsunami.

This system is not only applicable against tsunamis but also help seaside structures from seaborne forces like hurricanes or tropical storms.

How to Clean a Newly Extracted Tooth

Last Sunday, I had a minor procedure done to remove my broken wisdom tooth and the infected molar which was penetrated. Last time I had such a procedure done was almost 20 years ago.

As I collected the extracted molar, the dentist quipped 'Do you want to keep them as souvenirs?', to which I replied 'yes'. She then gave me the procedures on how to clean them to enable storage.

First of all, cook off the flesh by giving it a h

ydrogen peroxide bath. The flesh and blood that remains attached to the tooth shall then weaken like boiled meat on an animal's bone. Once in a while I would rise them from the chemical bath then scrape the flesh off. For those who don't know, our teeth still has a few flesh in them, so you might need to make the peroxide bath in stages of flesh removal.

After that, bath it in clorox... maybe to whiten and further clean the tooth.

I love the feel of clean, pulled teeth and play them around like a pair of dice.

Is Registering you Laptop or Cellphone the Solution for Cyber Crimes?

Hinihikayat ng NBI na dapat i-register ang mga laptop para kontra cyber crime. Para ba talaga sa pangiwas cyber crime o dagdag annual registration fee? Sa Pilipinas ko lang yata narinig ang ganitong panukala, the same way that you can only find elevated U-turn slots in the Philippines.

You don't find them in other countries because its clearly not the solution.

they don't do this in the US or Japan. The NBI is eying the wrong solution to a problem which other countries already has a solution to...and it doesn't involve registering your laptop...or cellphone...or other storage media.

mangyayari nyan pati CD-R King lalakad na rin ng registration pag bumuli ka ng gadget sa kanila...just like buying a gun

Why not undergo a study first, instead of blaring to the Senate that there is a need to register all media and portable devices to the goverment.

Sad and lonely

Nakakalungkot isipin na ang mga taong pinagkatiwalaan natin sa pag protekta ng ating bansa at pamayanan, sila pa nagsisimula ang katarantaduhan.

Ganito na lang ba mangyayari palagi?

At kapag me pumapasok sa eksena na babaguhin at tutuwirin ang sistema, kinukuyog ng masasagsaan ng pagbabago.

Sa dami ng kaso ng pulisya at ng militar ng Pilipinas, me paraan pa kaya para maisaayos ang lahat at manumbalik ang paniniwala ng mga tao sa kanila?

Fun with Canon Photo Tools

I heard about Canon's Photo Stitch program from fellow photography enthusiast and blogger Ryan. As he said that it made developing panoramic scenes easy, I decided to give it a shot (seeing that my kit, like all Canon cameras, are included with such programs)

I must say, it was easy as dragging the photos, arranging them in order and press 'merge', and let Photo Stitch work its magic.

I was so happy with the resulting panoramic photo that I tried it with my other old photos which I took with my Kodak C813. What took me hours of tedious manual alterations in Photoshop to merge into a panoramic photo, took Photo Stitch a mere seconds (depending on your computer's memory and graphics adapter).

Seeing that there are other tools in the kit, I also tried them out.

In my past photos, I used the image alteration tools of Irfanview. A bit archaic or primitive, but it gets the job done. After using Canon's Digital Photo Professional and Picture Style Editor...I was amazed on how it handled hues, saturations and contrasts. It was the same approach with Irfanview, but Canon's DPP and PSE offers more clarity and less interferance in sharpness conversions.

(previous photos taken from the PAF Aerospace Museum)

I must say, with all the cameras and tools I have acquired in the past...I am happier now with the combined results provided by Canon.

Radio shall never die...

With the closing of the most prominent rock station in the Philippines, NU107 (107.5 on the FM dial) , which carried the torch of promoting new and cutting edge rock music for the last 23 years, a lot of messages and topics flared the message boards and social network sites, but there was this message that hit me, flared me up if you will. It said that we are at an era where radio is reduced to a community of DJs sharing and listening to each other, in this age of digital music players and music on demand sites and streamers.

I say nay...

Not a lot of people has access to these kinds of music distribution. The upper and middle upper elite who are in the know or who has access to these sort of things cannot discount the masses and their preference. Radio has been a media which has been around for almost 2 centuries and has been overcoming boarders. And new songs that you load to these digital music players has to get introduced first in those stations. The internet has done a good job of introducing new acts but the delivery to the masses still depends on radio airplay.

Everytime you ride a public transport, enter a local eatery, a small scale shop...its is the humble radio who provides ambient music, entertainment and information to the masses. Only those shops with pirated MP3s and audio CDs are blaring out those digital music format from their worn out, over pumped speakers. Blasting R&B or Techno music on a 30 watt speaker with no subwoofer at full volume? ...please... There should be a city ordinance to wipe off that kind of noise pollution that puts even the loudest horn on an EDSA bus to shame.

And with cheaper and cheaper portable MP3 flooding in from China, the lowly transistor reciever is still the most accessible tool with the less fuzz and less requirement to work.

Now I'm not bashing on new formats of electronic music distribution. I welcome it. My band does the same. But we never undermine the far reaching arm of radio. We still think its an integral part of the music reaching a wider audience. Of spreading the message to a wider spectrum that you shall ever know.

(screen capture by JP Reyes)

Random Ideas for the Air Force

Lets face it, our Airforce don't have the capabilities to protect our skies against the top war machines of neighboring nations such as Singapore (which sports an F-16) or Vietnam (with their SU-27s) or Japan (and their locally made Mitsubishi F2), but partnership with our neighboring nations and security agreements with the US ensure that we don't need to.

Remember that our Airforce has mainly a dual role of giving support to our Army and Navy. Provide air support in the incursions of the Philippine Army against the insurgents and bandits, as well as complement the Navy in their operations of ensuring our sovereignty on the seas around our archipelago.

But sadly, the our Air Force is greatly under equipped, given the large area they have to respond to. So I came up with a few random thoughts about augmenting the Philippine Air Force's inventory.

I'm okay witht he planned increase spending for equipment like UH-1's and C-130's because they provide logistical support for all branches of the armed forces, as well as quick response vehicles in the event of a natural disaster.

To support the Army with air support, we need a high speed aircraft for strafing runs or precision ordinance delivery. The story of a humble wooden wonder used during World War II comes to mind; the De Havilland Mosquito. In a documentary, it was said that majority of its components were made by piano makers and wood craftsmen. Considering we have a lot of those manpower available (Taytay alone is home to a lot of these craftsmen) and the resources, and with today's development in laminated plywood and artificially strengthened timber, I feel that there is an opportunity on the following that example. Given enough support for local development, its a short to medium term answer to augment the Air Force's current inventory.

As for its support role for the Navy, patrols and reconnaisance can be provided by unmanned drones. If you look at YouTube, there are a lot of jet powered RC plane designs that shows a lot of promise. Mount them with flight and observation cameras and you got yourself a survaillance platform that saves on fuel and can be maintained with off the shelf parts and components. You can also arm them with a M249SAW or 2.75 rockets and you have a weapons platform that is capable of intervening if needed.

I hope the powers that be in the Armed Forces realize that research and development are also needed within their ranks to enable the fighting elements of their forces a chance to get the job done and get back home alive.

The Problem With Enforcement

After being a victim of 'huli-dap' for 2 times now, it makes me wonder about the 'public over the police and the military' clause of the 1987 Constitution.

To make it plain and simple...they have the guns...which are more powerful than words...or swords for that matter. Guns that, this is the ticker here, has been paid for by my taxes and authorized by the branch of the government which swore to protect me. I see everyday the real 'cops on the street' with their authority backed by the national government and their gun, which in turn gives them full power over the people. No where to turn to because they all start to look the same, even innocent, good-looking, well-kept cops can surprise you. If you mistakenly report to a cop who, by any chance, is on the take...you are good as dead.

And don't around preaching with those pro-gun or anti-gun sentiments. Its a matter of choosing between the fork in the road...as one leads to good, there is also a lot which sways to evil. Its human nature which we can't do anything about.

There is no real enforcement of the clause in the Constitution. Because when the authorities start to move, you are already dead....salvaged...rubbed out...what ever you want to call it. Public opinion only sways the police to act on reports of abuse only when the act is already done, and the damage is done. There is no real measures to prevent it. And don't go whining around that its hard...or its impossible...or its too troublesome. Hey, so is earning a days keep which 40 t0 45% goes to them.

For Filipinos, its all about power...and power is not such a good thing...they are not used to it. When they grab a hold of it, they never want to let go. Like the phrase I heard once "Power is like the microphone in a karaoke, once you grab hold...you will never let go".

And trust is a commodity that should be sparsely used.

Thought of the day: Hope

One must never discount hope from humanity, for it is made of humans who are not perfect.

With time, humanity will realize the error of its ways. This occurs many times over in our history as a species.

Till then we must fight on and never loose hope.

-gaijinph

(writer, musician, and all around bitch)

The Insolence of the few outweighs the nation of many

The whole world was held aback in the events that transpired last Monday, August 23,2010...a day that will go down in infamy.

By now everyone is familiar with what has transpired at Quirino Grandstand, the place where just a few weeks before, the Filipinos celebrated a new era of hope and change with the inauguration of the 15th president of the Philippine Republic.

I will not go much into the details on how the hostage drama went down, you must be filled to the brim with the gory details...courtesy of the coverage of the international news community. But I want to focus on the effects and the response that followed afterwards and inject a few opinions here and there.

As expected, the Filipino people as a whole was blamed for the event, especially by the Chinese and the HongKong nationals. This went as far as 2 OFW's in HK losing their jobs as 'retribution' for what has happened, job placements cancelled, transactions ceased. And as if Filipinos are not stereotyped and maltreated enough in HK (as experienced by my friends who went there on a holiday) but now it gotten even worse. I understand that the whole nation is in mourning. It was truly an unfortunate event. People has become irrational due to their raging emotions, looking for someone to blame for the incident, looking for answers. But to blame the race where the antagonist was from is a bit...racist, to say the least. Its like as if the Filipino people pooled in their resources, and sent in the former chief inspector after the tourists.

And when you point out this logic, they change their stance. They say that it is the anger towards the ineffectiveness of the police, the Philippine government and the insensitive people to went out their way to have their photos taken with the bus. They are right. What they did is terrible, almost like celebrating the events that occurred there. For me, they should have respected and thought about the the feelings of the victims. And yes the police who were tasked of pacifying the situation was ill prepared and uncoordinated. But isn't it more productive to voice your qualms to the group of individuals in question, rather than diverting your anger to the ones who were not involved, doing their best day by day to survive and give a better future for their families? Its like the child who was beaten by their parent because they were scolded by their boss or superior.

And its only now that the government begins to review their crisis management protocols. Should they have been prepared for that all this time? With all that interaction with various crisis management agencies from abroad? What have we, the working class, have been paying taxes for all this time?

Special groups within the police force should always be working on their tactics and techniques to combat the ever evolving criminal elements. Its not a question of equipment but mental preparedness and conditioning. If you look at the SWAT in New York, who has a Filipino sergeant with them, the are continuously honing their tactics. With the repeating training, their movement becomes second nature to them. I admit, I have lesser experience on law enforcement, but it seems I have more tactical knowledge just by watching videos released by international military and law enforcement agencies.

There are a lot of factors that contributed to the events that transpired that fateful day. But blaming the whole race for it justifies the adage; "the person is wise, but people are panicky and ignorant".

Lest this be a lesson to all sides concerned as not to repeat its occurrence.

Japanimation: Store for 2nd hand Goods from Japan

I heard through a friend that there's this magical place where there are second hand books, manga, magazines and toys from Japan being sold on the cheap, in fact, he got his picture books of some idols for a measy price of Php100 each. My friend said this place is called Japanimation, a second hand goods store in Quezon City.

I searched the web and found the one and only viable link through a blog. The place is beside the Sto.Kristo Chapel at Road 20, past Congressional road, in Quezon City. It was described as a warehouse with the goods bundled together in boxes or shelves according to their type. Like in other warehouse outlets, its up to you to look for the goods you need. They are not arranged in any order except for their type. So you have to spend some time shifting through the boxes and shelves while looking for that special item that strikes your fancy. And thanks to that post, we were able to prepare the things we need after looking through dusty containers.

The place is reminiscent of various recycle shops that sprouted around Tokyo during the slow decline in the economy. As various electronics are discarded for the new ones, the old ones are collected, or sold, to these recycle shops, a bit reconditioned, and sold at a lower price...much lower. Let's put it this way, I was able to purchase a portable CD player for Php200, MD player for Php100 and Japan release CDs of various Japanese and US artists for Php50.

(racks of J-pop CD's...one day is not enough to sift through all of them)

There are a lot of shoes and clothes on the store front. Just behind them are shelves of second hand audio and video electronics as well as those LD's from the early 90's ( so all you equipment freaks out there who still have their LD players, this is one of the few places where you can get good titles). There are also game console controllers and some old hand held games. The inner warehouse contains the old and recent vinyl records (a nice collection at that), along with music instruments (I saw a Japanese koto there too) and some of the more larger electrical equipment. most of the toys you see sold at conventions are located on the store front connected to the inner warehouse. It has shelves and shelves of figurines, toys, costumes and more.

My son was excited about the boxes of up-to-scale replicas of automatic firearms and hand guns. These air-soft pellet guns are so realistic, up to the magazine release, the cocking mechanisms, and you can put the small plastic bullet replicas on the revolvers. Those were soooo neat. The AR-15 and M4 Carbine replicas goes for Php1800 and Php1300 respectively. Don't think about using them on playing in air-soft courses since they are single pump action type...not those automatic types.

I, on the other hand, was excited with shelves upon shelves of J-pop cds and magazines. I think one day is not enough to look though all the stuff they have in there. Remember that all of these are not arranged in any particular order, so its hard to find what you want specifically. You have to dig though bins and bins of CDs and books.

(volumes of "EVA Slot" are available...)

Looking though their printed material, they have a large collection of Japanese style and culture publications, notably the 'kogaryu' and 'sentaa guy' magazines...along with a few music and car magazines, concert picture books, movie production notes and manuals. For the fans of the Evangelion series, I saw a lot of EVA SLOT mags. Sorry for the legion of Gundam followers, but I got all the GUNDAM DATA FILE mags I could find. If you're looking for some R18 or hentai comics, there are a few. I myself got a fan comic for Gunslinger Girl...featuring Claes.

(just a few of the items I was able to get)

But amidst all the excitement, there is one thing that I was disappointed in. I was told that the items sold here are sold at really low prices, specially the toys and the figurines. But it seems that the owners have wised up and raised the prices...a lot...that they are now at par with shops in malls. I even got to talk with some of the patrons who frequented this place for a long time. Even they noticed the sudden rise in the prices of the figurines. From Php15, it was raised to Php50 each. And the polaroid camera the blogger was talking about which was bought for Php150 is not at least Php250. The main selling point lEft, for me, is that you get Japan quality goods, rather than the 'Divisoria' items sold at a much higher price. And it holds a lot of unique Japan items.

I'm not as excited as before but I still plan to return next month in anticipation for their next batch of goods.