The Roaring Dragon

The world have heard it plenty of times and only recently the fiery dragon once again roared in a deafening sound, sending a message to all nations that the once tamed dragon is dead serious to confront of what it says agitators of its political independence and self determination. China a.k.a. the dragon was incensed after the Norwegian Nobel Committee collectively had chosen Liu Xiaobo, one of the peace activists critical of China’s one party system as 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The “roaring dragon’s” bellicosity reverberated across the globe, prompting nations with diplomatic ties to China, including the Philippines, to snub the Nobel awarding ceremony in the land of King Theodoric the Osthrogoth in Oslo, Norway. Other nations, headed by Uncle Sam’s US of A, ignored the rhetoric of the “roaring dragon” which irked the latter more and called them “clowns” for making too much ado about Xiaobo and the Nobel Peace award.
As a result, the Nobel Peace award ceremony caused a divided stand among allies making it easy for China to win support from among the close allies of the US, which includes the Philippines, to snub the yearly Nobel “ritual.” The non participation of the Philippines were said to be a diplomatic concession to soften China in giving reprieve to Filipinos sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
There are more than one hundred Filipinos jailed in China and a number of them were already handed the death sentence for violating Chinas’ strict law on illegal drugs. Worst, these Filipino nationals were paid to act as drug mules or couriers for drug syndicates based in Africa and South America in exchange for a few thousand dollars.
This incidence involving Filipinos are alarming and it seems that not only in China where Filipinos are being caught but also in other parts of South East Asia particularly Malaysia. It was middle of last year when I saw on a TV news report of a Malaysian news channel detailing on how Malaysian authorities caught a young and pregnant Filipino woman in possession of illegal drugs.
The woman came from South America and disembarked in Kuala Lumpur International Airport for a brief stopover for another flight to China where the said illegal drugs will be delivered. In just a few weeks, the same news program reported that another Filipino woman was taken into custody for the same offense of being a drug courier. Unfortunately for the two women, Malaysia is one the countries that have a severe and strict laws on illegal drugs.
The plethora of reasons seems too close to ponder on why this is happening to a number of Filipino nationals. For one, it was said that they are the unwilling victims of drug syndicates. On the other hand, the color of dollars made them so and the opportunity to travel from one country to another. Others, well of course, employment to support their family in the Philippines. In spite of the reasons given, they practically knew that they will end up in jail and suffer the fate of a criminal once nabbed by the authorities.
In this situation, the Philippines could do nothing but to make a practical decision-though unwise in some aspect-to give assistance to its own nationals awaiting execution in China. For having done so, the Philippines’ diplomatic stance was tested and would somehow influence the legal debacle of its nationals to overturn the death sentence and hand them down long years in jail instead.
But it depends on the attitude of China to reciprocate the action taken by its neighbor. For the Philippines, skipping this year’s Nobel “ritual” is less damaging to the nationalistic pride of the country. Kowtowing to the wishes of China is more than enough to appease the “roaring dragon” and to put above all the protection and redemption of its own nationals and deliver them from the maximum penalty of death.

Gunpoint Social Activism

World AIDS Day was observed last 01 December 2010 and as usual the same awareness campaign about the dreaded disease was again the main topic of discussions to educate people whereby putting more emphasis on how the world will prevent and fight the disease. The intent and purpose of World AIDS Day has a clear program of action to inform the world that AIDS is a threat to social health in particular and to the world in general.
Although the observance of World AIDS Day is to inform the people about the killer disease, it is ironic to say that the AIDS disease continues to increase simply because the message lacks the character and moral fortitude to counter the gunpoint social activism put together by various organizations from around the world.
Gunpoint social activism is making it hard for awareness campaigners to succeed obviously because the activists themselves are the progenitor of the disease by urging society to side with them in their immoral battle to promote same sex marriage and the horny culture of lust and perversion.
Ironically for these people, they are noisily seeking equal rights and full recognition from the society, but for all we know they are already enjoying their rights more than the ordinary people had. Men with homosexual orientation are often on the headlines accused of molesting children. Gay Bars are openly conducting their salacious operations right at the very noses of authorities. Men having sex men had been the norm anywhere else. Cases of rape against foreign male workers are prevalent in the Middle East.
Aside from this, other social activists are making headlines created by the WikiLeaks issue. A group of people wants Western governments to stoop to their level or even subjugate authorities to their own terms and conditions, and clearly this is a gunpoint social activism at its worst. The activists had morphed into different sub-groups; the freedom of information activist (gatecrasher of sensitive and classified documents), the anarchist (urban junkies without a cause), traitors (with cruel intention to get recognition & fame) and the hack-tivists (IT expert with abnormal neurotic disorder).
All told, social activists threaten the very existence of human being. They are shouting their slogan of PEACE, FREEDOM & EQUALITY and yet they are destabilizing world PEACE by exposing sensitive, classified or top secret documents. They are curtailing FREEDOM of people to live in a healthy society by spreading AIDS and they are more than guilty of disregarding EQUALITY by violating the rights of innocent children and men victims of sexual assault from activists cum sex offenders. Whether we like it or not gunpoint social activism is here to stay and will bring the world in anarchy rather than stability.

Sports Events

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.

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 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.

Showbiz Dominates Mass Media

The Philippine mass media has completely gobbled-up by showbiz from “gutter-talk shows” to the very lowest showbiz news/gossips, which is best describe as “bovine ordure” in the highest degree. From radio, TV and print media, showbiz mania has almost become the center of everything. Showbiz shares headlines along with political issues and police reports which are often the content of newspapers, radios and TVs.

Showbiz has turned mass media into a cumbersome part of society where the people are feed with the daily dose of insignificant and below standard news reporting. The consequence therefore is enormous because people of all walks of life just couldn’t resist patronizing showbiz, made possible by too many bastardized tabloids and broadsheets and the mass media as a whole.

Instead of quality, high standard, excellent and responsible reporting, the country’s mass media has gone haywire. They made issues out of everything, from the life of showbiz personalities down to the least nonsensical issues or gossips like taking a shower, of having a party, of showing extravagance, of asking what the actor/actress likes about their body, about sex scandal videos and other “bovine ordure” issues that do not merit attention from the public.

This trend of media bias towards showbiz is slowly turning moral and nation building a backseat. Rather than providing the public the necessary information about education, new discovery, featured stories of great importance, economy, environment, empowerment, success stories of individuals for inspirations and other issues that delves on progress and development, the mass media, however, continue to focus on the nauseating world of showbiz.

Decades ago only tabloids and some broadsheets has extensive coverage on showbiz news/gossips but over the years showbiz popularity has widen its scope in mass media including TV stations which are now hiring glib talkers among showbiz reporters & columnists to attract great number of credulous followers or viewers and to bring high ratings to their shows and stations.

Not to be outdone, big companies, corporation, politicians and identified groups or entities have joined the bandwagon of showbiz mania purposely for promotional activities. For these people, showbiz is money and money is wealth and power and so the showbiz delusion continues.

I have nothing against showbiz per se but the way it is being run by the industry and corporate leaders and the mass media is too much. Instead of educational shows, the big three TV stations in the country is competing against each other by having too many showbiz talk shows without any purpose whatsoever but to feed garbage news to the public.

Unlike in some ASEAN countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, showbiz news/gossips do not given much attention as headlines. The mass media in Malaysia give much relevance to their progress and development as a nation. Their broadsheets are full of knowledge-based information. Their TV stations do not have showbiz talk shows that poison and twist the logical sense of the public.

Vietnam is more than conscientious towards progress and development that is why they have a mass media - although quite restricted for some political reason – that prioritize news and programs that have social significance. The country’s TV stations continuously airs their heroes exploits particularly Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam’s revolutionary hero. Showbiz gossip is a non factor in the country’s fast developing economy.

Mass media has a significant role in nation building but only then it could happen if that role will be taken seriously with utmost diligence and responsibility to help the nation realized progress and development. The mass media shouldn’t let showbiz rule over them and to prevent the public of acquiring “delusional infection” instead feed the public the antidote of knowledge-based information relevant to total progress and development.

Elections Promises

After the May 10, 2010 Presidential elections the Filipino masses will again troop to the voting precincts this coming 25th of October 2010 to participate in Barangay or community elections. The voters will elect their community and youth leaders to continue of what the local government code of the Philippines’ coherent decree allowing local communities to conscientiously participate in nation building.

This political exercise, however, over the years has become the training ground for graft & corruption, malfeasance, fraud, abuse of authority and bad governance by select individuals with questionable characters. Candidates vying for community and youth leadership, both first timers and old timers, are often engage in killings and dirty politicking just to show who’s who in their community.

There are compelling reasons why select and known individuals run for Barangay/community positions because the perks or benefits are quite attractive and they say it is foolish to refuse a position in the community. Add to that is the support of personalities holding power and influence. That is why this election is very much important to certain individuals with sinister motives because it gives them clout in everything they do in the community as well as in the national level.

The purpose of this election as provided for by the local government code is totally good and well defined but only on papers. Because in reality the people involved in this political exercise are no different from the past and present leaders who shaped the rotten political system of the country.

And the fact that the Philippines has so many religious sects proclaiming the word of God, the people will still vote candidates confirmed as baddies because everybody else were eroded and eaten by the system of things that had been prevailing for a very long period of time. And the way I look at it, this October election is predictable because old faces and the relatives of known & crook personalities will emerge as winners and that as usual ELECTION PROMISES will surely end in the heap of “broken promises.”