China stamped its class yet again in another spectacular show of power in the recently concluded Asian Games held in Guangzhou, one of China’s progressive western-style metropolises. Sports powerhouse China dominated the games with ease and hauled medals more than twice the medals won by second placer South Korea.
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Japan used to be great in sports but now trails South Korea and China in every sporting event. It seems that Japan is losing its luster and power of who’s who in Asia, economically, militarily and in sports.
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The Philippine Team placed 19th in the medal standing because sports officials do not have a clear sports program. Sports officials always fight for millions of funds. Athletes do not get much financial support. Sports development is limited to select discipline like basketball. The country spent millions for the team that placed 8th behind perennial Champion China.
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The Philippine basketball team is small in size by standard and yet basketball remain as the number one sport that get full support from the sporting,education and business sectors, private institutions and the government. Obviously, the stakeholders are concentrated on the game of basketball even though the team gets smother by the towering players from China, South Korea, Japan and other Middle Eastern teams like Iran
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Foreign hoopsters are regular fixture in the Philippine basketball especially African-Americans, half Filipino-half foreigners and some Africans that match the towering figure of the Chinese and other teams that parades 7 footers.
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Professional basketball in the Philippines is business and business is basketball. Teams are made up of big business entities that produce products with big market followers. Unlike in the NBA where States are represented as teams, the Philippines professional basketball dons jersey with the elaborate products’ name of respective teams.
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Boxing, soccer or football, baseball and other sports that do not needs height are often left with little support from the concerned sectors and the national government itself. Sports development in these disciplines does not get needed endorsement from the education sectors and industry leaders which has been in the forefront of enticing would be players in basketball.
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In the NBA, the Miami Heat All-Star trio of Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwane Wade is pathetically off to their worst collaboration in joining forces to win the NBA championship from Kobe and other would be championship caliber teams. James left Cleveland hoping to win big in Miami but it looks like James and co. are not prepared to hold the NBA trophy high above their All-Star status.
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Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar should be given a rematch against his conqueror Cain Velasquez. Lesnar was badly beaten by Velasquez in one of the exciting match in the UFC 121 battles of champions. The rematch would be exciting and hopefully Brock Lesnar will come up impressive and devastating like he used to be.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Lotto Fever
It started when the jackpot prize begins to pile-up high after every draw of which no bettors have won the pot money of 500 million pesos. The prize, which is a record in the Philippine Lotto, continue to bring excitement to the millions of bettors considering that the latest record-breaking jackpot prize is believed to reach 700 million pesos comes the next draw which will be held Monday night, 29th November 2010.
The big lotto jackpot has gained wide media coverage which eventually changed the people’s perception towards the game of chance. Bettors started to grow in numbers, creating greed among the least expected bettors from the rich politicians, movie stars, known media personalities, recognized sports personalities and affluent individuals who are not content with their overflowing wealth.
The new bettors from these sectors, however, did not escaped rebuke from no less than the man of the cloth, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz. Although, there is no law that prohibit the wealthy politicians and known personalities from betting in the lottery, still the old man of the cloth reminded them of how greed play into their minds. The mind boggling pot money made them so.
And no one could ever stop them from being greed, not even Archbishop Oscar Cruz could change their minds from drooling to hit the biggest lotto jackpot prize in the history of Philippine lotto, because for these people wealth is a clear statement of power, influence and of course greed. The desire to fully and continuously satisfy one self is what makes the greedy to crave for more.
The Holy Bible is clear on this, and here are some of the verses enough to tick away the hearts and minds of the greedy bunch.
Isaiah 56:11 - “Yeah, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they look on their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.”
Psalm 17:12 – “Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.”
Psalm 10:3 – “He boasts about the cravings of his heart, he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.”
And yes, I admit that these verses won’t suffice to nail a statement hard enough to moderate greed amongst us because nobody cares about whom. Lotto fever…let’s draw it on.
The big lotto jackpot has gained wide media coverage which eventually changed the people’s perception towards the game of chance. Bettors started to grow in numbers, creating greed among the least expected bettors from the rich politicians, movie stars, known media personalities, recognized sports personalities and affluent individuals who are not content with their overflowing wealth.
The new bettors from these sectors, however, did not escaped rebuke from no less than the man of the cloth, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz. Although, there is no law that prohibit the wealthy politicians and known personalities from betting in the lottery, still the old man of the cloth reminded them of how greed play into their minds. The mind boggling pot money made them so.
And no one could ever stop them from being greed, not even Archbishop Oscar Cruz could change their minds from drooling to hit the biggest lotto jackpot prize in the history of Philippine lotto, because for these people wealth is a clear statement of power, influence and of course greed. The desire to fully and continuously satisfy one self is what makes the greedy to crave for more.
The Holy Bible is clear on this, and here are some of the verses enough to tick away the hearts and minds of the greedy bunch.
Isaiah 56:11 - “Yeah, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they look on their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.”
Psalm 17:12 – “Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.”
Psalm 10:3 – “He boasts about the cravings of his heart, he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.”
And yes, I admit that these verses won’t suffice to nail a statement hard enough to moderate greed amongst us because nobody cares about whom. Lotto fever…let’s draw it on.
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Code of Omerta
According to Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia in the internet, Omertà implies “the categorical prohibition of cooperation with state authorities or reliance on its services, even when one has been victim of a crime.”[2] Even if somebody is convicted for a crime he has not committed, he is supposed to serve the sentence without giving the police any information about the real criminal, even if that criminal has nothing to do with the Mafia himself. Within Mafia culture, breaking omertà is punishable by death.
To insiders and outsiders, the code of omerta is also known as the code of silence. This mafia code, however, has evolved since it was adopted by crime syndicates in Europe particularly in Sicily and other parts of Italy during the 16th century. Because the code has benefited much of the mafia bosses and the criminal organizations they belong, it became the epitome for others to follow the code through which the authorities themselves adopted it as part of their strict implementations of certain rules.
The code of omerta, however, did not only made inroad in the inner structure but it influenced governments, military organizations, school fraternities and street gangs and the corporate or business community especially the shipping industry. Governments anywhere in the world had perfected the code of omerta, giving rise to the many anomalies and killings committed by despots and rogue states.
The military organizations, known for their strict discipline and code of honor, have easily adopted and honed the code of omerta. Soldiers are required to adhere and strictly follow the code. The one that “what you hear, what you see, leave it here,” kind of dictum, or the explicit “see no evil, hear no evil” explanation. Clearly, the principle and philosophical aspect of omerta is what bind the military to the code of silence.
Fraternities, gangs and the shipping industry were equally in good rankings among the followers of the Mafia code. They have the same thinking and inclination towards the code of omerta which protects their interests and standings in a place they called theirs. To glean on the background of fraternities and gangs make us understand that their version of the code of omerta is for stronger brotherhood but sometimes fatalistic in nature.
On the other hand, the shipping industry is more than a follower of the Mafia code. For those who may not know, the shipping industry is the Taliban version of the business sector. They do not only strictly adhere to the dictum of the code of omerta but they are enforcing the more severe form of gag order to all seafarers particularly on ratings and junior officers.
In other words, the shipping industry mostly in tanker, bulk, cargo and other vessels with the same operations usually do not conform to the United Nations Human Rights Convention of protecting the basic human rights of all citizens of the world. According to a local TV report which was aired months ago, most of the time, seafarers were experiencing gag orders from the higher ups.
Just like in any government, military and other sectors, shenanigans are prevalent in the shipping industry. Nobody is allowed to bring up issues that concern the operations of the vessel, more so on LPG Tanker vessel. Anyone found guilty of breaking the code of omerta is dealt with severely, either by suspension or revocation of contract. There’s no Ifs or Buts. The “see no evil, hear no evil” is the standard rule and applies to all ratings and some officers.
I, myself have suffered the fate of rudeness after I posted articles regarding my experience in my short stint as a crew of an LPG Tanker based in Singapore. I was ordered by the shipping agency to delete 4 of my articles to which I complied. I took it as a mere gesture of propriety. But most of seafarers actually fear of losing employment that is why they too had become the accidental followers of the code of omerta. Obviously, bigots and oppressive people are really hard to crack.
To insiders and outsiders, the code of omerta is also known as the code of silence. This mafia code, however, has evolved since it was adopted by crime syndicates in Europe particularly in Sicily and other parts of Italy during the 16th century. Because the code has benefited much of the mafia bosses and the criminal organizations they belong, it became the epitome for others to follow the code through which the authorities themselves adopted it as part of their strict implementations of certain rules.
The code of omerta, however, did not only made inroad in the inner structure but it influenced governments, military organizations, school fraternities and street gangs and the corporate or business community especially the shipping industry. Governments anywhere in the world had perfected the code of omerta, giving rise to the many anomalies and killings committed by despots and rogue states.
The military organizations, known for their strict discipline and code of honor, have easily adopted and honed the code of omerta. Soldiers are required to adhere and strictly follow the code. The one that “what you hear, what you see, leave it here,” kind of dictum, or the explicit “see no evil, hear no evil” explanation. Clearly, the principle and philosophical aspect of omerta is what bind the military to the code of silence.
Fraternities, gangs and the shipping industry were equally in good rankings among the followers of the Mafia code. They have the same thinking and inclination towards the code of omerta which protects their interests and standings in a place they called theirs. To glean on the background of fraternities and gangs make us understand that their version of the code of omerta is for stronger brotherhood but sometimes fatalistic in nature.
On the other hand, the shipping industry is more than a follower of the Mafia code. For those who may not know, the shipping industry is the Taliban version of the business sector. They do not only strictly adhere to the dictum of the code of omerta but they are enforcing the more severe form of gag order to all seafarers particularly on ratings and junior officers.
In other words, the shipping industry mostly in tanker, bulk, cargo and other vessels with the same operations usually do not conform to the United Nations Human Rights Convention of protecting the basic human rights of all citizens of the world. According to a local TV report which was aired months ago, most of the time, seafarers were experiencing gag orders from the higher ups.
Just like in any government, military and other sectors, shenanigans are prevalent in the shipping industry. Nobody is allowed to bring up issues that concern the operations of the vessel, more so on LPG Tanker vessel. Anyone found guilty of breaking the code of omerta is dealt with severely, either by suspension or revocation of contract. There’s no Ifs or Buts. The “see no evil, hear no evil” is the standard rule and applies to all ratings and some officers.
I, myself have suffered the fate of rudeness after I posted articles regarding my experience in my short stint as a crew of an LPG Tanker based in Singapore. I was ordered by the shipping agency to delete 4 of my articles to which I complied. I took it as a mere gesture of propriety. But most of seafarers actually fear of losing employment that is why they too had become the accidental followers of the code of omerta. Obviously, bigots and oppressive people are really hard to crack.
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