Ei guys, I moved my blogs to this site --> http://web.mac.com/gotorch
August 23, 2008
August 21, 2008
We Need a Hero!!!
Got this article of Nene Pimentel about Ninoy Aquino who was assassinated at the tarmac of Manila International Airport 25 years ago...
Ninoy Aquino: A hero for all seasons—Nene Pimentel
OPINION | |||
It is the sum of his selfless deeds that gives meaning to August 21 as a celebratory occasion, to remind ourselves of the meaning of his life and especially of his epic death. | |||
| |||
The great French dramatist Jean Anouilh (1910-87) incisively categorized human beings into two classes. He said:
“There are two races of beings. The masses teeming and happy -- common clay, if you like -- eating, breeding, working, counting their pennies; people who just live; ordinary people; xxx. And then there are the others -- the noble ones, the heroes. The ones you can quite well imagine lying shot, pale and tragic; one minute triumphant with a guard of honor, and the next being marched away between two gendarmes.”
I am sure that the Frenchman Anouilh had not met the Filipino Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Yet, he could have very well spoken those lines in reference to him.
Indeed, our people watched with awe the incredible feats of Ninoy, the Wunderkind, from the ‘50s at the start of his teenage life all the way to his mid-life. Then some 30 years later, in horror they witnessed TV footage and still pictures of Ninoy “lying shot, pale and tragic” on his arrival at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport.
To be more precise, the tragedy played out on August 21, 1983 at the Manila International Airport.
Under house arrest
On the afternoon of that day, I was in my study in my house in Cagayan de Oro where at the time I was under house arrest on charges of rebellion against the martial law administration.
The phone rang and the voice at the other end said that my friend, Ninoy, had just been shot dead at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport.
Although I had previously warned Ninoy about that tragic possibility should he come home from Boston where we met in 1982, now that it happened, the incident left me completely shattered and shocked beyond belief.
What a waste of talent, I told myself. I knew that Ninoy did not have to come home at the time or at all while martial law ruled the land.
Extra mile
But as the fates would have it, in 1983, three years after his heart surgery, he made public his decision to go home. His family and his friends in the US advised him not to do so. Even the wife of President Marcos said in the media that it was not advisable for Ninoy to come home because as she had put it bluntly he might be killed upon arrival.
The advice of his family and friends, notwithstanding, Ninoy came home. He said he wanted to walk the extra mile for peace in the land and convince President Marcos that it was time to end martial law and restore the country to its democratic moorings.
Freedom shot
But upon landing at the Manila International Airport, burly men, strutting with the harsh mien of unbridled authority went up the plane and brusquely hustled him down the steps of the plane’s ladder. Then, a shot rang out and seconds later, Ninoy was seen by his co-passengers lying down on the tarmac bruised and mortally wounded.
The shot reverberated throughout the country but instead of scaring the people with the awesome display of martial law power, it freed them from their lethargic acceptance of martial rule and roused them to a fever-pitch revulsion of it.
At Ninoy’s wake, thousands of people from all segments of society – the rich, the poor, men, women, and children – paid him their last respects. And 10 days later, more two million people walked 12 hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. beside his bier to escort him to his final resting place or watched from the sidewalks more in anger than in sadness at what they thought was a senseless sacrifice of the life of a man who was destined for greatness.
In 1986 or three years after Ninoy’s assassination, the people had enough of martial rule. And it was, now the turn of the executor of martial rule and his family – public and private – to leave the country and go into exile in Hawaii. Their leaving heralded the return of a democratic government to the land.
A hero made or born?
But was Ninoy a hero made or was he hero born?
The question may sound academic but it has a bearing on whether or not Ninoy deserves the accolades that he has been receiving from our people since 1986 when martial law was finally uprooted from the land.
Skeptics probably entertain the view that setting aside August 21 of every year is an example of an undue honor for the man who would be hero.
I beg to disagree. It is not the setting aside of August 21 to commemorate the day of Ninoy’s assassination every year that makes him a hero. To belabour the point, it is rather the sum of his selfless deeds that makes him so and gives meaning to August 21 as a celebratory occasion for the people to remind ourselves of the meaning of his life and especially of his epic death.
But to go back to the larger question of whether or not heroes are made or born, I am not too sure that there is a neat “either or” reply to it. At least, not in the case of Ninoy.
Heroic dimension
The supreme sacrifice of Ninoy presented Philippine society with a heroic dimension that it sorely needed and at the time when we needed it most.
For months before his assassination, foreign wags had started to air scurrilous statements that the Philippines was “a nation of 60 million cowards” who did not have the courage to stand up to one-man rule.
That observation, it must be said, was not true at all. There were people who fought the martial law regime in various ways – some peaceful, others violent. But it was the assassination of Ninoy that gave a nationally recognizable face to the heroic dimension of our society.
Despite its inherently evil connotations, Ninoy’s assassination - as the Fates had decreed it – was, thus, a good thing for the Philippine society as a whole.
For as the philosopher Jean Baudrillard asked, “What is a society without a heroic dimension?”
Ninoy Aquino offered his life to answer the question and in the process proved the skeptics wrong. He also showed that he was right along with those of us who believed in our people: that indeed, the Filipino was worth dying for.
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These are excerpts from the privilege speech of Sen. Nene Pimentel delivered on August 13, 2008.
August 18, 2008
Microwave Safe!!!
Got this email from my Auntie and I wanna share it with you guys as an FYI...
This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well.
Please circulate to all you know; Cancer update
Johns Hopkins - Cancer News from Johns Hopkins
No plastic containers in micro
No water bottles in freezer.
No Plastic wrap in microwave.
A dioxin chemical causes cancer, especially breast cancer.
Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.
Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.
He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers...
This especially applies to foods that contain fat.
He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body...
Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food... You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.
Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.
He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons...
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food.
Cover food with a paper towel instead.
This is an article that should be sent
to anyone important in
your life!
`till next time, cheers to the good life!!!
Torch c",)
August 16, 2008
Fake Facts in Beijing
Here are the facts:
Fireworks that were jaw dropping were computer generated....
China admitted that the gurl who sang at the ceremony didn't actually sing live, she had it lip-synced...
Just imagine, this is the Olympics, not a business deal or anything, so now you get the grip of the NBN-ZTE & North Railway projects?
August 14, 2008
Kiko, my Idol...
My youth was a blend of Rock `n Roll, grunge,rap and rnb... We would listen non-stop to Guns `n Roses, Motley Crew, Skid Row and many more.. And then the next day would be rap day with 2 live crew, mah man snoop dogg,`lil mc, and of course that Pump up the Jam song that makes you dance all nite long... But locally, it was mah main man FrancisM, all his songs we would play and sing with him during our high school days... Mga Kababayan and Cold Summer Nights, wow, up until now I listen to those songs once in a while....The news I read this morning made me numb from head to foot... Kiko has been diagnosed with LEUKEMIA, and is asking for your help for blood donations, in any type or whatever platelets, he need this urgently...
You can donate blood to him at the lower ground of Medical City in the name of Francis Magalona...
Again, prayers can move mountains, I believe my IDOL could survive this....
`till next time, God Bless everybody!!!!
Torch c",)
August 13, 2008
What is Federalism?
To have 11 states in the Philippines is quite, hmmm I dunno how to describe it but not amusing for me...
Here we go, Federalism is to have states within a state... Just like in Uncle Sam's country, they have states there that embodies certain laws different from other states within the United States... This is good in America because each state has its own income and we know that America is a powerhouse, they're rich and one state can really govern and handle their own problems and development... But in P.I.? hell no!!! Here's why, we can't barely have an income from our own national government much less from our own barrio, city or provincial government...
The question is, is it time for us to have a Federal government? For me not yet, maybe when we could see a considerable earnings in our GNP, a lower inflation rate, more jobs then maybe we could transition our government from one state to a Federal form which consists of several states as I've mentioned above...
Right now that the battle in North Cotabato between the Arm Forces of P.I and MILF for this Moro Juridical Entity has escalated, madame President is arguing that we need to go forward and have a Federal government, also known as or popularly known as CHA-CHA (Charter Change)...
Well, again, IMHO, leaders on whatever form of government each country has, are the ones who make a difference and can change the country towards development, just like what Lee Kuan Yew did in Singapore....
August 9, 2008
August 8, 2008
08-08-08
Am not into chinese feng shui or lucky charm or anything, like wearing red on Mondays for good luck is so not me...But don't get me wrong, this is just me and I have nothing against them or those who practice or follow these things.... I just mentioned this because today, as they say is one luckiest day for the chinese or again for those who believe in them; today is triple 8, August 8, 2008... If number 8 is lucky what more if you have them in threes...
One significant thing about today is the addition of another angel to our family... My sis-in law is expecting a healthy boy today via a CS operation... This baby is one lucky guy because he is the 8th grandchild of my parents and having 8-8-08 as his birthday, it means 4 eights, 4 times luckier... But I believe every child is a blessing and lucky as well...
Oh, today is the opening of the Olympics, go for the gold guys, sana makasungkit na tayo ng ginto...
`till next time, cheers to the good life....
Torch c",)
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