Free Concert tonight at UP’s Sunken Garden, with a glittering array of bands and individual musicians prepared to sing songs of resistance:
The final list of performers tonight in order of appearance is: Chin Chin Gutierrez, Crazy as Pinoy, Affinity, Isha, Noli Aurillo, Carol and Sammy (of Pinikpikan), Susan Fernandez, Noel Cabangon, True Faith, Reggae Mistress, The Jerks, Session Road, Brownman Revival, Up Dharma Down, Giniling Festival, Paramita, Grasspipe, Radioactive Sago, Twisted Halo, Bobby Balingit/Juan Isip, Cynthia Alexander, Willie Nepomuceno, Leah Navarro, Dong Abay and Popoy Diokno, Color It Red with Tots Tolentino, Pinwheel, Bridge, Hemp Republic, Coffeebreak Island, Agaw Agimat, Tropical Depression, Datu’s Tribe, Village Idiots, Lost in the Veins.
This week’s Black Friday Protest Movement action is Don a Mask for Democracy at the Baywalk.
Media warned: No special treatment. Ok, but you see, the special treatment lies in going after media especially.
Senators Defensor and Enrile are angry: Citizenry, not military, keeping GMA in office.
In Thailand, the Nation publishes a commentary by Suthichai Yoon, which says,
It’s almost impossible to be “neutral” in this current political confrontation. But if you really try, you might consider the situation as a beautiful stalemate, if there is such a thing in a political showdown.
It’s beautiful because it’s a confrontation with a human face. The protesters have vowed to keep the “Thaksin must go” campaign peaceful. And that promise has so far been strictly abided by. It’s a civil sort of face-off because PM Thaksin Shinawatra for his part has so far not resorted to any direct crackdown measures. He certainly realises how dangerous any attempt to employ force on the demonstrators might be for his own political survival.
Demonstrations have also been characterised by a highly civilised tone because the police have behaved in a most courteous way towards the anti-Thaksin elements. The law-enforcement officials have mingled with the protesting crowd unarmed, an unusual and pleasant sight indeed.
And Thailand may be setting a new precedent in the world’s civil disobedience movement with the announcement by the armed forces that they will remain “neutral” in this confrontation between Thaksin and his opponents. Don’t ask me how that stance is acceptable to Thaksin when he, as prime minister, is supposed to be every soldier’s boss. Don’t ask me why the Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratklin, who should be telling the premier that he is on his side, was quoted as saying that if he had to choose, he would be inclined towards “defending the people’s rights” instead of protecting the politicians’ power base.
Making this political impasse even more sublime was Sonthi’s public statement that he saw no need for an emergency decree in Bangkok. And he said that almost immediately after Thaksin had declared in a speech in the Northeast on Tuesday that he was ready to sign an order to place Bangkok under a state of emergency.
To me, it’s also a perfect stalemate because if you read between the lines of all these public utterances and gesticulations, you wouldn’t be too far off to conclude that Thaksin has virtually lost the political prop of the armed forces and police. If he gets the subtle message, Thaksin should now realise that if he decides to crack down on the protesters surrounding Government House seeking his prompt departure, he would face the armed forces and law-enforcement officials’ unprecedented failure to comply. A state of emergency decree signed by the premier would be rendered meaningless if military officers, in their own very polite, subtle way, practise their own version of civil disobedience too.
Since the goings-on in Bangkok are both a validation of non-violent resistance and a crash course on the limitations of parliamentary government, read up on a Wikipedia article on motions of no confidence.
In the punditocracy, my column for today is Filipino first: why persecution on the pretext of fighting Communism isn’t merely counter-productive, but wrong.
Connie Veneracion renounces romance in politics, and declines any political participation unless a thorough, and not cosmetic, change is involved.
The Inquirer editorial says the administration is committing subversion. Tony Abaya thinks not, and suggests a dialogue is required between media and government because both cannot expect their absolutist desires to prevail.
JB Baylon says one of the biggest “residual threats” facing the President is karma.
Juan Mercado recounts political humor from the martial law years.
In the blogosphere, Blogkadahan.com has an ongoing series of entries on poverty. Two entries in particular struck me, the first by a guest writer from Malaysia, who explains the need for savings, education, and infrastructure; the other by CaT, recounting the faces of poverty in various countries, and its causes in ours.
Demosthenes’ Game pens a manifesto on the perils of passion in political discourse, and questions the continuing relevance of the “one man, one vote” maxim, and says that if supporters of the president are being called fascists, then fascism might as well be considered a badge of honor. On a playful note, he sets up Luli Arroyo’s Internet Brigade.
Ellen Tordesillas on an election lawyer saying photos of alleged electoral manipulation might have been taken at his house.
Newsstand on why journalists aren’t crying wolf. Edwin Lacierda explains to journalists just what might land them in jail and what won’t. Bunker Chronicles notices the government’s given up on 24-hour TV broadcasting.
atty-at-work on when good people leave government.
Vincula publishes an e-mail from the UP Law Class 2009B, where they announce they’re joining a Black and Red Ribbon Campaign:
Through BLACK we mourn the death of civil liberties;
through RED we invoke the spirit of resistance and militancy that will revive it.
As Mamutong puts forward a splendid quotation:
Power concedes nothing without a demand.
It never has, and it never will.
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation are men who
want crops without plowing the ground. They want rain without thunder and
lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters.
-Frederick Douglass
A chorus from raucous souls also has two great V for Vendetta quotes.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, flash mobs, journalism, law, media, military, people power, Philippines, politics
manolo, read your filippino first article.i guess you where just trying to be fair.
if anna marie pamintuan’s article is correct in yesterdays philstar.that they are discrediting the goverment witness credibility cuz his gay, so they say.funny that they have to go down to that level to discredit a witness.
for me, i don’t think they are fare people in the first place.
i have always had reservation about their presence in the political arena.
i have always seen them as manuvering on both sides of the river to further their cause.
ever since they joined congress as if we can say that their armed componenet has slowed down.
being elected is not a good enough reason cuz sadly election in this country boils down to popularity, name recall & lots of money.
i’m afraid that those w/ other plans in mind seem to make use of constituencies as a form of defence.
i think they should be judged insted for their actions & not because of incidental things.
16 MArch 2006
Mr. Quezon,
I form part of the middle class of the society, I have nothing to give, except that every month, i have been deducted of my witholding tax that should go to the the national treasury or so. My call is this:
For GMA and members of the administration:
1. PLease lang, most of us middle class are tired of the bickering/s from the pros and the anti
2. We don’t even know if the government uses the taxes that are deducted from our meager salaries correctly;
3. If the pros really thinks that GMA won the 2004 election, why not call for a snap election.
To the Opposition:
1. PLease lang stop your sour-graping, if you have proof that GMA and de castro rigged the election, ilabas nyo ang pruweba. (I think people will follow you if you call for a snap election, instead of forcing GMA removal from office
2. Stop taking the street, because at the end of the day, kaming pa rin naghihirap ang kawawa
To CBCP:
1. Why not concentrate on evengelization of the people, thought us to go back to the LORD ALMIGHTY
2. Stop meddling in politics
As I said, we the middle class and the “isang kahig, isang tuka” of the society are tired of this, in the end you the politicians are the one who will benefit/s from it, while we reamian to suffer your political squabbling/s, the middle class are sick and tired of it, IN THE END KAMI PA RIN ANG MAGDUDUSA, while you politicians are getting richer everyday. Kayong mga politiko, you can stay in your airconditioned house/s while most of us suffer the heat of the sun during summer, still your not “kontento” of what you have.
If all the PROS, ANTI and the CBCP really love our country, then get your acts together and if there is a need for a snap election, you do it, susunod naman kami sa inyo e.
When are we going to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Palagi na lang tayong ganito, hirap na kaming mga middle class at lalo na siguro ang mga kababayan nating nabubuhay ng isang kahig isang tuka.
Maawa naman kayo sa ating bayan. We only have one country and that is the REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES at walang ng iba pa.
MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS
jinx
jinx,
sabi mo ilabas nyo ang pruweba sa dayaan sa election. hindi pa ba sapat na imoralidad sayo ang pagtawag ni gma sa isang election official during the counting of votes. sa palgay mo bakit nya gagawin yun?
Ano bang ituturo mo sa mga anak mo kung may anak ka na wag na silang maingay kung may nalalaman silang hindi tama kasi mahirap na. huwag mo nang turuan ang cbcp ktungkol sa evangelization, dahil ang pag papakita ng pag alsa laban sa kasamaan ay tinatawag na christianity in practice.
huwag mo nang smbitin ang “kami” becasue you can never be sure of other peoples senitments.
“This week’s Black Friday Protest Movement action is ‘Don a Mask for Democracy’ at the Baywalk.”
I’ll have to look for a Guy Hawkes costume now! If only there was a subway that goes through CCP…
MLQ3 re. your column,
I am hard put at throwing my support to any group that doesn’t believe in the individual’s basic freedoms.
Communists and leftists? Totalitarians!
Muslims, esp. fundamentalists? They tend to have no respect for freedom of religion. They tend to have a state-sponsored religion.
jinx, i appreciate your thoughts. probem is, the president would never submit herself to the people. as for protests, if you cannot even get to a freedom park, how can you protest without inconveniencing people?
resty, i don’t support their ideas, i just don’t think persecuting them does anyone any good.
S, Totalitarians and fundamentalists are just extremes of Communism and the Left and of Islam, respectively.
Going back to sir Manolo’s article, support is not being warranted from individuals like us, just respect for starters.
If you or us cannot respect others’ individual rights to choose whatever ideology to believe in, then you or we do not have business in ranting about believing “in te individual’s basic freedoms.”
i know. it’s just that the irony of it is so hard to swallow. yun lang.
16 March 2006
Fencesitter,
I am not PRO-GMA, much more I am against her administration, I cannot live with a lying, cheating and stealing president, much more, prostituting our military, my point here is when are we going to unite as FILIPINOS.
As I said, if there is a way that we can have a snap election, we do it, I have no interest on whatsoever, my point again, is for us FILIPINOS not to be divided.
Are you against a “SNAP ELECTION”??? In case we have a snap election, that will move us forward and not backward.
THat is why my call/request is for all elective and appointive officials of the country to resign now and have a snap election.
Salamat at mabuhay po kayo.
Jinx
16 March 2006
mlq3
I dont believe that we cannot submit anybody to the will of the people, all I can say is, we unite and call for a snap election, if we can convince everybody to a snap election so much the better. I always believe that we can peacefully solve our problem/s.
Salamat at mabuhay po kayo.
Jinx
16 March 2006
Fencesitter,
By the the way, I am referring my comment/s not to anybody but to all politicians who are damaging our country. Ask yourself, what happens next??? are they going to think of us after getting what they want. Remember in January 2001, when the consitutionally elected president estrada was forecibly removed from office, they promise us the best of everything, hanggang ngayon marami sa ating kababayan and naghihirap at nagugutom, nasaan na ang pangako nilang kaginhawaan???
Salamat at mabuhay po kayo muli.
Jinx
Senator Santiago from the Manila Standard Today article cited: “That is only half of the truth. The other half of the truth is that President Arroyo remains in power because the greater majority of the masses consider a military junta as anathema.â€Â
Not the masses (if youll forgive the class-ification). I suspect the masses dont care whether or not we’re led by a military junta as long as their basic needs are met. It is the middle class who are wary of the military junta. It is not about numbers. It is about ‘moral force’. The generals will not move as a whole a la EDSA 2 unless it feels that there is widespread support from the middle class for a junta. Ive pointed out before that the middle class has some sort of ‘moral force’ that could sway the more politicized elements in the AFP to act. EDSA 3 failed despite it being supposedly ‘masa-led’ as opposed to middle-class-led. They had the numbers, but not the moral force to sway the military to action–to try to ‘save’ the State and the People. If the middle class takes to the streets in great numbers, complete with praying nuns, statues of the virgin Mary, and Bro. Eddie’s and Bro. Mike’s praying and hymn-chanting millions, the military will act. It will be a non-violent ‘withdrawal of support’ as before, but the end-result is the same: coup d’etat. I doubt the victors of this coup would allow the VP to take over. I suspect that’s why the middle class has largely stayed away from the streets. It certainly is the reason why Ive stayed away.
But GMA’s unpopularity could be used to pressure the Congressmen to allow another impeachment case if it could be made clear to them that their support for the unpopular president will definitely be remembered come election time. It’s 2006 so the law allows another impeachment case to be filed soon. We can add 1017 to the list of charges, especially if the SC decides that it is unconstitutional.
can i bring my kids in the black friday protest?
Every one forgets the WISE OLD people who wrote the constitution do not allow for snap elections or re-elections..
16 March 2006
The same in 1986, there is no provision for snap election, but marcos still called for a snap election. If our leaders conscience is clean, we can have a snap election.
If that is the will of the people, why not.
jinx
jinx,
I am not saying that you are pro-gma although it is may be very hard at this point in our history not to take side. sabi nga ni mlq3 in his previous post that fence sitting can actually be interpreted as pro because you let things pass.
your call for a snap election may not be possible until and unless gma steps down. pero naka glue sya – sinabi nya nothing can make step down. anong gagawin mo ngayon?
ako asar din sa lahat ng mga politiko na nananamtala kaya nga wag nating pabayaan, wag tayon umasa sa mga pangako nila ipakita natin na ang kapangyarihan ay nasa tao – na pwede natin silang alisin anytime na gumawa sila ng hindi naayon sa values na pinanghahawakan natin at sa inaasahan natin sa kanila bilang mga lider. we cannot afford the luxury of trust for our politicians. let them realized that they can be replaced as we the people see fit.
MLQ3,
With your permission, posting hereunder Sen Pimentel’s statement on March 15, 2006 on Sen Arroyo’s alleged “BLABBERING” Opposition
[Statement of Sen. Nene Pimentel, Senate, March 15, 2006]
The dictionary says that to blabber is to engage in idle chatter.
This morning, a newspaper quotes Senator Arroyo as saying that the
opposition is blabbering, I suppose, against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
I am not sure that the senator said that. But if he did, I am sorry to say
that we in the opposition dispute the characterization of our verbal
opposition to the Arroyo administration as blabbering.
Indeed, we are talking. Arguing. Ranting against the Arroyo administration.
And we cite specific cases of anomalies and wrongdoing of Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo specifically to prove our point.
That is not blabbering. That is not idle talk. That is not spreading gossip.
Our talk is anchored on fact.
The fact, for instance, that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo dipped her manicured finger into the jar containing the fertilizer fund and it got dirtied by the scandal.
The fact, for instance, that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo machinated the North Rail Project so that a part of the project that was awarded to a Chinese contractor costs roughly 10 times more than another part of the project with
same specs that was awarded to the Korean contractor.
The fact, for instance, that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo violated the Constitution and the Rule of Law when she issued Executive Order 464 and Proclamation 1017, the first to block legitimate congressional investigations and the second to terrorize her critics in media, in the public sector and in private business.
And when we raise the specter of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s demented assertion that she is the State that is not blabbering in any manner.
As I end, Mr. President, let me say that the most valuable tool of the members of this chamber is our right to speak out our minds whether or not the things that we say are to the liking of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo or any of her defenders.
It is important to do so while we still can.
I for one intend to continue saying what needs to be said regardless of the attempts of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her male and female strumpets to intimidate us, among other things by her insidious depiction of my self and our colleagues in the Opposition as enemies of the State.
I will not be intimidated by her covert or overt acts to silence us. She is using some generals of the military to tag us as “enemies of the state”. That is a virtual death sentence for us to be considered by the military as enemies of the state. The military as military is tasked by its very nature to defend the nation against its enemies. And they do that by killing, not arresting, the enemies of the state. Unlike the police whose duty is to arrest suspected criminals and bring them before the bar of justice to
determine guilt and punishment, the military dispenses justice directly through the barrel of the gun.
I will, therefore, speak while I still can. Among other things, that is my duty as a senator.
If others disagree with that position, I respect their right to express their views, too.
I only wish that in this Chamber or out of it, as colleagues we can maintain our civility or decorum towards one another.
Office of Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr.
Senate of the Philippines
Pasay City
website: http://www.nenepimentel.org
email: [email protected]
Hahahah!
Luli Macapagal’s Internet Brigade has been officialized eh?
Great!
Now, Gloria and her lying toads have become a far better game!
To blabber as you said means Idle Chatter..
They are making a lot on noise yes.. But are Idle…
Idle
Idle is a term which generally refers to a lack of motion and/or energy.
In describing a person or machine, idle means the act of doing nothing or no work. Thus a person who spends their days doing nothing of relative importance could be said to be “idly passing his days.” A computer processor is described as idle when it is not being used by any program or application. Similarly, an engine, for example, of an automobile, may be described as idle when it is a low gear. Occupying a chat room while performing another activity and saying little or nothing is known as idling.
So yes he was correct..
Idle not getting anywhere..
Sleeping,
YOUR own idle chatter in support of Gloria Mandaraya-Arroyo, the inveterate and pathological liar in Malacanang makes me and a lot of decent people puke. Why don’t you do something better than being just a Gloria mouthpiece?
MLQ3,
When I posted here in MLQ3’s blog about Luli Macapagal’s (the lying toad and daughter to an inveterate and pathological liar) internet brigade, I knew someone would grab the name and make it official. Actually, it was a another member of a worldwide e-group (in which I’m a member too) working for the police and the court in a foreign country who discovered the existence of Luli Macapagal’s “internet brigade” (Luli ought to pay royalties for the use of the name but I doubt she will do that, like mother like daughter – all thieves the lot of them).
Anyway, here’s to FAIR game! Yeeeehaw!
MLQ3,
A plug for PROTEST ACTIONS in Manila:
Concert for Freedom: “Never Again! We’re MAD! (Musicians Against Dictatorship)”
March 16, 2006 (6:00 P.M. onward)
UP Sunken Garden
Diliman, Quezon City
Expected guests: Leah Navarro, The Jerks, Asin, Radioactive Sago, Tropical Depression, Cookie Chua and Color it Red
For this week’s Black Friday protest (March 17), visit:
http://blackfridayprotest.blogspot.com/ (eLagda)
http://blacknwhitemovement.blogspot.com/
MLQ3,
Here are global actions update (March 15, 2006):
Japan: On March 14, Anti-Arroyo forces went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, with some Japanese sympathizers, to ask the Japanese government to withdraw and withhold ODA to the Arroyo government; will meet with members of the Japanese Diet to press the same; forum on March 16 from 6 to 8 pm (Hamamatsucho Seamen’s Hall near the JR Hamamatsucho Station); also inviting Senator Pimentel to visit Japan.
Belgium: Will link up Senator Pimentel with members of the EU Parliament to lobby withdrawal of support.
Geneva: On March 11, 2006, the Geneva Alliance against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s 1017, a broad alliance composed of students, professionals, and workers from Akbayan, Bagtasan, Geneva Forum for Philippine Concerns and Migrante-Geneva held a rally.
See: http://qc.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/6417.php and http://manila.indymedia.org/index.php?action=newswire&parentview=7150
London: Edna did a couple of BBC live interviews during the whole weekend when state of emergency was declared. BBC feature also tracked down 20 years of Philippine politics since EDSA 1. Edna also reports of a forum organized by the London School of Economics Filipino Society on March 12 on post-state of emergency and the remaining challenges to civil liberties. Panel included Alex Aquino, a UK-based political-economist and former student leader in the 70s. The three big UK trade unions formally raised their concerns to the Philippine government on the state of emergency on the warrantless arrests and dispersal of demonstrations resulting from the proclamation and particularly over the situation of Filipino trade union leader now party-list representative, Crispin Beltran. Also, the London-based Centre for Filipinos issued statement of concern on the issuance of 1017 (see http://www.centreforfilipinos.org/articles/archives/000038.html)
You take claim to a name of a Police group for the Dutch in 2001, and a Political group in 2000..
The Internet Brigade is now getting the resources to investigate, besides child pornography, on a structural base drug crime. In the future, the brigade must have the capacity to monitor 4 or 5 subjects at the same time.
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/9/9399/1.html
and then Pat Buchanan in 2000
http://www.buchanan.org/
Fencesitter, by all means bring your kids. The first two protests were pretty tame. The Baywalk is open to everyone, the sea air is good for us. Hope to see you then. By the way. some of us plan to watch “V for Vendetta” after we’re done on the Baywalk.
AdB! Am glad you posted the global protest updates. We’ve posted a couple of pictures on the BnW blog of last weekend’s actions in Geneva and HKG. Looks like we’ve been receiving similar email…
Manolo, thank you for posting info on tonight’s gig. Should be fun.
Would it not make more sense and be more realistic to exert effort and spend money, not on the Black Friday protests, but on consolidating forces and petitioning congressmen and congresswomen to support the impeachment of Arroyo?
GOOD SUGGESTION from Observer
WE SHOULD CONSTANTLY REMIND OUR CONGRESSMAN
THAT WE ARE WATCHING THEIR MOVES AND DECISIONS
THEY SHOULD NEVER REPEAT VOTING FOR THE SAKE OF THE
PARTY BECAUSE THEY SHOULD REPRESENT THE PEOPLE
AND NOT THE INTEREST OF “SOMEONE” …
– MY LOYALTY TO MY PARTY ENDS WHEN MY LOYALTY TO MY
COUNTRY BEGINS – QUEZON
WE SHOULD CALL THE ATTENTION OF THOSE WHO VOTED
AGAINST THE IMPEACHMENT
Notable quotes/phrases:
BUNYE: “I have two discsâ€Â
DEFENSOR: “It’s her voice but it’s not the president talkingâ€Â
ARROYO: “I talked to a COMELEC official…I am sorry!†AQUINO: “make a supreme sacrifice to spare our country from violenceâ€Â
ROCES: “You stole the presidency, not once but twiceâ€Â
RAMOS: “1017 was an overkill. I was surprised. I was appalled. I was dismayedâ€Â
I am passing around the idea of wearing a shirt with any of these notable phrases (a silent form of protest). Glue-ria took away from us our ‘freedom parks’ thru her CPR. Let’s see what her (and her tuta’s) reaction will be when people on the streets wear these shirts.
peacer051:
GREAT IDEA! I’ll buy one! No.. I’ll buy all of them and wear one every day of the week. =p
How about:
“My support is waning.. waning.”
Observer has a good idea. We can focus some effort on the impeachment coming up in July.
GMA and Gonzalez are planning to publish photos of their suspected coup plotters, label them as Enemies of the State and offer reward money (P/8M), like what they did with those kidnappers.
How about coming out with pictures of all those congressmen who voted against impeachement last year and call them enemies of the people? >=p
also a good idea Jade 🙂
For the shirt’s print & design, I would add: “Gma’s lotto este motto ‘impeachment is a number’s game'”…then we’ll add a ‘poison mark’ for the design
Noel Cabangons’ songs of protest rock!
1st was “Ang Himig Natin” sung in a stirring and stylized manner apropos to the times.
2nd and 3rd were fast and whimsical reggae songs that mocked the bogus palace occupant.
Dapat ipasa-disk kaagad ang mga kantang ito at ipamudmod sa madla.
Like minded radio stations and their DJs should give these songs some air time and then some.
Yung mga mahuhusay na director dyan..
Baka gusto nyong sumikat sa underground video scene?
(Yung sa celphone lang makikita?)
Gawa kayo ng mga MTV nitong mga kanta ni Noel..
Di mo man maibenta, sisikat kayo.
Tiyak yon!
~~~~
Hello, Garci..?
Sana i-suppress nyo ng mabuti ang pagtugtog at pagmamay-ari ng mga CD ni Ginoong Noel Cabangon para lalo pang sumikat ang kanyang mga kanta.
Promise, ha?
As far as restricting the voting franchise goes, Demosthenes’ proposal of limiting voting to adults who have completed high school can be considered more moderate than others of its kind. I’ve seen other proposed systems which would give more weight on the higher the educational attainment (e.g. as proposed by Manuel Gallego III on 31st August 2001.) My beef with this kind of thinking is best stated by Thomas Sowell in his ‘Knowledge and Decisions’:
“Considering the enormous range of human knowledge, from intimate personal knowledge of specific individuals to the complexities of organizations and the subtleties of feelings, it is remarkable that one speck in this firmament should be the sole determinant of whether someone is considered knwoledgeable or ignorant in general. Yet it is a fact of life that an unlettered peasant is considered ignorant,however much he may know about nature and man, and a Ph.D is never considered ignorant, however barren his mind might be outside his narros specialty and however little he grasps about human feelings or social complexities.”
The individual, no matter how unlettered is still the best judge of his or her own circumstances and the one responsible for its betterment. For the unschooled to depend on the good graces of the middle class, however enlightened, to act on their behalf is a poor substitute.
65% want Arroyo out/Pulse Asia poll says 6% back coup d’etat
http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=69665
When you have 65% of the mature population who want a president out of Malacanang, something wrong is bound to happen.
No amount of PR could reverse that particularly when that person is doing nothing but going island and party hopping begging, hoping for an ounce of support.
What will it take for this woman to realize that she is NOT wanted anymore, that she is the single reason for the divisiveness in the nation, that she is the cause of all the military restiveness and potentially the ultimate cause of the downfall of the Republic.
There is no delicadeza left in this person, no shame, no honor, not an ounce of humility left in her pathetic person. Never have we seen a liliputan-sized individual with such a gargantuan lust for power that she is prepared to lead the entire country to the brink of a total breakdown rather than go away while as common sense dictates.
There are people other than this lying, thieving and a cheating politician who are better qualified to lead the country, people who have honor and people who seriously care…
concerning snap elections:
if ever there is this long shot that all elected officials resign their posts
will the control of the elite be eliminated….
bad policies work in our country because of lobby groups backed by the elite…..
political dynasties remain because of elite politicians…
Presidents got removed and replaced because of the elite!
What is the use of a president loved by the masses but hated by the elite..
This country has been destroyed by the elite…
What do we do after everyone steps down and have a snap elections…
can there be any proposals to control the elite and make this democracy THE RULE OF THE MAJORITY!
NOT BY THE RULE OF LESS THAN TEN PERCENT OF THE POPULATION!
After the elitist question, now comes the wish for a military junta!
What?(finally a question mark)
We have been having this military mind set for so long.
We obey first then question later!
What else is new?
The LONG VIEW artyicles may have discussed my concerns one way or the other; they may have discussed it, but how will we address it?
Well said Karl,
The Elite will allways be in control, of the country..
It is more about what are the lobby groups for?
Since we cannot see what they are doing it makes people think of all sorts of things good and bad.
I was watching TV last night and saw a advert for Law and Order..
There is no order without law.
There can be no law without order.
Now that is the situation, everyone wants to bend this law and that law, thus creating no order. And the senate cannot create any new laws without order..
Strict adherence to the law is required.
Many people rang Garci and other comelec officials shall we place them all in jail?
Or shall we move on and make sure the laws of the land are followed from now on and that the laws are tighter..
Where is the Senate were they not going to make a law that you could not call a Comelec official during an election and the run up to one?? I still have not seen this law?
What about the Bank account one for Government officials and politicians? (Lacson proposed)
There cannot be order with out laws..
There cannot be laws with out order..
“…glittering array of bands and individual musicians prepared to sing songs of resistance”
hmp! sila pala yung bumulabog ng klase ko kagabi. does freedom of expression include the freedom to disrupt classes without warning?
Who taped the Mobile phone?
Since ISAF was in QC during the election and the opposition claims it was them?
How did they do it?
Without the phone company being involved ISAF could not tap the phones if they were out of range..
Now that gives you two answers, Smart-Globe were involved or SOMEONE ELSE.
Look at the international news on Greece..
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/4/135013/1787
You might have heard the case that is now hot in Greece regarding Vodaphone: someone (an inside man?) installed a program in Vodaphone’s system in order to tap 103 phones,including the phone of the prime minister of Greece(!!) and several other ministers.
http://p102.ezboard.com/fvisualbasicexplorerofframp.showMessage?topicID=2627.topic
The people who went to the trouble of writing this software for Ericsson systems would likely use it in other places. Will Ericsson technicians investigate all their systems worldwide and inform the tapped customers?
Now both Smart and Globe use some Ericsson equipment.. I am not sure if it is the same as Vodaphone Greece..
Then we have a link to the Lacson camp to the US and the Spy Scandal.. Why did they jump on the spy just after the tapes came out?..Where did the tapes come from?
Remember in the Coup plot also they rang an official in the US to say it was a go and that they would be friendly after the Coup? (Why would they refer to China, is it because of the CPP-NPA alliance or what? What do they know?)
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1728795,00.html
Because the antennae that relayed the calls to the recording equipment were close to the US embassy, many believe ‘Big Brother’ is the CIA.
Koronias appeared to confirm those suspicions, telling the parliamentary committee that the surveillance system required people with expertise in a number of hi-tech areas ‘as well as plenty of money’.
More tellingly, the US embassy’s former political counsellor, John Brady Kiesling, also pointed the finger at Washington. The CIA’s fingerprints were all over operation, he said.
vonjobi, pati ba naman ikaw hihingan pa ng permit. sobra na talaga iyang PP1017 na iyan.
von, uh, in UP? of course, that’s part of the UP culture, as if you didn’t know.
17 March 2006
Fencesitter,
We can always do something for the love of our country as long as we unite, remember in 1986, nobody thought that MArcos will call for special alection but he did, if we keep on pressuring, in the end it will be done.
Karl,
That is why, in case we have a special polls, people should be reminded to choose wisely. The only thing that we could do to our kababans, is educate them on the power of the vote and the power to choose and as a concerned citizen we should monitor these TRAPOS who uses the 3 Gs.
Salamat muli at mabuhay po kayo
jinx
Comment #s 34 and 36 of Karl & Sleeping:
That is correct, Karl.
In the short run:
The economic, political, and intellectual elites among us must themselves be moderated or be made to reflect on, and thereafter, spurn their inclination to arrogate all prerogatives to themselves -to the exclusion of other equally entitled but marginalized elements of society.
But let’s define our terms more fastidiously.
Not all elites think and act like elitists.
Ergo, perhaps the enlightened members of the particular elites can be prevailed on to moderate and compel their own kind to be more encompassing, inclusive, and egalitarian in the pursuit of their objectives.
In the long run:
The problem is one of education. The lack of provisions for the masses to partake of good schooling from primary to tertiary levels is the root cause of their poverty.
We need to raise across the entire population the level of awareness and discussion in the economic, political, and intellectual sense. In so doing, we emasculate the self-serving elitists by enabling the masses to think for themselves and make sensible decisions.
Thereon, the aggregation of powers in these so-called “elites†is brought to end.
First time i agree with you In Pigs Eye..
Education on two levels is the only way out of the Elites..
One is the education of the uneducated, NOT BRAIN WASHING..
Two is to educate the Elites that having money does not give you the right to jump up and down on the rest of us..
taga-UP ba si vonjobi? bakit parang “bago” lang yang mga concert concert sa UP sa kanya?
it’s the first time i’ve taught a class with no warning whatsoever that there was going to be a concert in the garden. at least with the UP fair, i knew that there were days i was going to be up against bamboo, so di na lang ako magklase.
anyway, i just started teaching last november, so tell me if i should just get used to it =)
very well placed, jinx. kaya nga let’s pressure our leader to call for a snap election. pero dapat alis muna si glue mac.