blame my gun

(O huwag mo kalabitin ang aking gatilyo)

"The lesson today is how to die..."
Which Strange Little Girl would you be?
You have a strong sense of justice, and believe that ultimately people should pay for their crimes.

Prevent ghastly Nobel Prize nominations

Harald T. Nesvik, a Right-wing Norwegian Member of Parliament, has nominated U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush for the Nobel Peace Prize for their 'decisive action against terrorism.'

EVERYONE!!! Please try to prevent such a ghastly occurrence. Sign this petition. Deadline is on March 19, 2005, the eve of the 2nd year anniversary of the US war of aggression on Iraq.

posted by: ilangq at 10:13 | link | comments |

Slapped by Joker

 Sen. Joker Arroyo, one of the few remaining patriotic pillars of our crumbling state institutions, today slapped me. Yes, slapped me on the cheek-- lightly and in jest. He was reacting to our banner story written two weeks ago entitled thus: "P3-B Kupit ni GMA: Danyos sa mga Biktima ng Btas Militar." Joker was questioning why the P11 billion for the compensation of human rights victims during Martial Law, as appropriated by the Human Rights Compensation Bill filed in both houses of Congress, was reduced to P8 billion by Malacañang's pronouncements. His exact words in the press statement were (and I had to dig this out from my messy pile of papers): "Mr. Bunye, who blabbers on about any subject under the sun but who knows next to nothing about this piece of legislation is trying to make kupit of P3B from the victims to enhance the funds in the National Treasury."
But he laughed when he saw our story. "Grabe naman yan...hindi ko naman sinabing si GMA ang kumupit...Ikaw talaga, o."
I didn't know what to say, so I said, "Sir, spin na lang 'yan."
"Maverick" as he is with good stands on most issues (and a track record far better than that of his colleagues) , Arroyo is always careful not to step too harshly on the President's toes. In fact, he blamed the President's advisers on that P3 billion human rights compensation blunder. But isn't that as good as blaming the President?
Strictly speaking, maybe not. Maybe that banner story would fare poorly on the journalism ethics scale. But saying otherwise would have the public confused. Blame Bunye of kupit and not the President? Such delicacies important to a politician doesn't matter shit to the people.
I wish I could've told him, "See, sir, as much as possible, we'd like to wake our readers up and rouse them into rightful action." But that would've been way too indelicate of me.

posted by: ilangq at 13:33 | link | comments |
peryodismo

Oda sa isang baliw

Linggo-linggo sa harap ng Senado, may isang babaeng baliw. Mula sa lilim ng munting puno sa parking lot, siya'y maghapong naninigaw sa mga pulitikong nasa loob ng kani-kanilang mga silid o sa session hall, sa mga taong naka-istambay at nagyoyosi sa labas ng gusali, sa sinumang nais makinig.
Kung iisa-isahin, may kabuluhan ang mga salitang lumalabas sa kanyang bibig-- korapsiyon sa gobyerno, kahirapan, pang-aapi sa kababaihan, brain drain, at iba pang mga konseptong tanggap ng isang matinong isip. Katawa-tawa lang kung paano niya pinagtatagpi-tagpi ang mga ito.

"Kayong mga nasa Senado binabayaran ng taumbayan, ano ang ginagawa ninyo? Mayaman ang Pilipinas, mayaman, maraming tumutubo sa lupa. Ang mangingisda, araw-araw nanghuhuli ng isda. Sa dagat na maalat!"
"Kawawa naman ang mga kababaihan. Kayong mga lalaki, lagi kayo ang drayber. Ang araw mainit sa balat, paano na ang mga babae?"
"Mahirap tayo pero marami tayong mga valedictorian. Greatness is good if for the service of others. Tanungin niyo kung saan sila nagpunta!"

Maya-maya, may lalapit at aalukin siya ng pagkain. At saka lamang siya tatahimik at aalis. Pagkaraan ng ilang araw, nariyan na naman siya, buong simbuyong nakikipaghuntahan sa hangin at sa mga halakhak ng mga nanonood sa kanya.
Kung paano siya nabaliw (bagamat napakadaling mabaliw sa panahong ito), hindi ko alam. Pero hindi ko alam na maging ang nasirang wisyo ay maaari palang maging walang-katapusang balon ng galit at hinanakit, sa mga tao at institusyong bingi sa paninigaw ng rason at pana-panahong nagpapaambon ng suhol-panahimik.

posted by: ilangq at 11:43 | link | comments (1) |
oda sa pangkaraniwan

And the mask falls

Check this out...CIA-funded din pala ang mga ungas na 'to.

 The multi- billion dollar historic Ford Foundation's historic relationship to the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] is rarely mentioned on Pacifica's DEMOCRACY NOW / Deep Dish TV show, on FAIR's COUNTERSPIN show, on the WORKING ASSETS RADIO show, on The Nation Institute's RADIO NATION show, on David Barsamian's ALTERNATIVE RADIO show or in the pages of PROGRESSIVE, MOTHER JONES and Z magazine. One reason may be because the Ford Foundation and other Establishment foundations subsidize the Establishment Left's alternative media gatekeepers / censors...

 

...Despite the great power that control over such excess wealth gives to Establishment foundations like the Ford Foundation to influence world history and manage social change on behalf of Ultra-Rich power elite interests, the foundation-subsidized alternative media groups rarely report critically on the world of Big Foundations--or on the U.S. Establishment conspiracies that may may be hatched in either the foundation, corporate or national security state apparatus boardrooms. Yet without an understanding of the political economic and cultural role that Big Foundations and Ultra-Rich power elite conspiracy plays in global politics, one can't really understand how the System operates or how world history is determined. And one's political and intellectual consciousness and analysis is going to remain incomplete and partial, in a significant way.

 

- Bob Feldman, Alternative Media Censorship: Sponsored by the CIA's Ford Foundation?

posted by: ilangq at 13:10 | link | comments |
peryodismo

Balon ng korapsiyon

Sige, buwisan niyo ang taumbayan!

Buwisan niyo ang pagkain, nang maiduwal ng buto't balat na katawan ang kapirasong isinubong hapunan sa inyong bulsang masiba na ngumangawa: "Masyadong masustansiya, sa noodles kayo magkasya!" 

Buwisan niyo ang mga produktong petrolyo, para patuloy na makapaglamiyerda sa jet na lumalaklak ng gas, sa mga tanawing tanging mga diyos lang ang nakakakita. Lalakarin na lang ni Juan ang apat na kilometro upang makarating sa impiyerno ng pabrika.

Buwisan niyo ang gamot at serbisyo medikal, hayaang maglupasay at mamatay sa sakit ang pasyenteng hindi kayang ibigay ang karampatang kontribusyon sa inyong pagfa-facelift at pagsa-sauna.

 

Buwisan niyo ang mga obrero, nang ang sahod sa mga huling oras ng paggawa ay ilaan sa sustento ang inyong mga puta-- ano pa't sagipin ang sariling anak mula sa lambat ng prostitusyon?

Buwisan niyo rin ang mga magsasaka at ipagkumahog na bayaran ang renta, utang, pataba-- at huwag nang ambisyunin pang ariin ang inyong ekta-ektaryang ninakaw na lupa.

Buwisan niyo ang estudyante, ipagkait ang mga librong nagtuturo ng batayang matematika: ligtas sa kotong ng estado ang mga malalaking negosyo, pasaning-buwis ay nasa ordinaryong mamamayan*.

 

Sige, buwisan ninyo ang taumbayan, ang balon ng inyong korapsiyon. Sawsawan, hanggang manuyo (at nanunuyo na) ang pasensya sa gobyernong ito.

 

* 2003 corporate income tax: P52-B; consumer tax: P82-B (datos na isiniwalat ni Sen. Ralph Recto sa isang VAT hearing kamakailan)

posted by: ilangq at 10:14 | link | comments |
malikhaing pagpanggap

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