Romeo Must Die

Not the Jet Li movie. I’m referring to the convicted child rapist Romeo Jalosjos. It was bad enough that his double life sentence got commuted by Arroyo a couple of months ago. Now, there was a news stating his supposed release yesterday.

Apparently, that was supposed to be the case, according to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez. A document which the media got was simply part of a procedure of Jalosjos’ release. Not the actual release of the convict. In addition, Arroyo commuting his life sentence meant that he can be release upon his 70th birthday — in 2010. The whole fiasco was a case of misinterpretation and apparent misinformation care of our lovely media.

If you ask me, I think he should rot in jail until he dies. I’m sorry but I don’t think people change. How can he have paid his debt to society comfortable in a decently furnished living quarters. That’s not prison to me.

What I find more disturbing is the news saying the supposed two thousand plus residents attending a thanksgiving mass in anticipation of rumored return of Jalosjos. My goodness. What kind of a voting constituent does our country really has?

Huliday

The holiday season is about to peak. I managed to finish my shopping last week just in time before the last rush of last minute shoppers. Not that I intend to give every person I know a gift. Kung tutuusin, I really rarely give gifts during Christmas. It’s either I buy every one something or don’t buy at all. Para fair. So I often end up just sending plain emails and text greetings.

One prominent observation though: we are a nation of procrastinators.

Despite the fact that the malls and shopping centers ushered the holiday season right after All Saints day, there are still a lot of people who still delay their shopping. It’s not like retailers would save their best deals right before the Christmas day. On the contrary, some store owners seem to be more uptight towards the last days before Christmas. Because of the stress perhaps. Shoppers can be a bit unruly some times. Which is why I try to avoid the bargain centers because every one is there.

Next task is gift wrapping. Sigh.

Another Makati Stand-off

A band of rebel soldiers headed by “Senator” Trillanes and General Danilo Lim walked out of their trial in a Makati RTC earlier today and are now occupying Manila Peninsula as they call for Gloria to resign and demand the people to support their cause. Again.

I’m sorry but people are in holiday mode. And we’re sort of sick of this Edsa-clones. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I do want change. I want political improvement.

But here’s the thing.

What exactly are we, the people, getting in exchange of the Arroyo administration? Do we get a new-and-improved set of cabinet members? A more united legislative branch?

The way I see it, it’s just gonna be the same set of fools running the government. The next ones in line do not fall far from the tree. You can keep changing the people, but do you really change the culture and the system deeply entrenched in the government’s ways? Anyway, I hope this ends without any casualties.

The Christmas season may be in full swing but there are some of us who are still trying to catch that elusive holiday spirit.

Kaya, Trillanes, Lim, Guingona, and the rest of the loony gang, please lang, do not dampen our attempts to feel Christmasy and stop acting like a bunch of psychos.

Kayo ang makisama, hindi kami!

~~~~~~~~~~

Trillanes says “Nothing will happen after 3pm.” Exactly. It’s just a propaganda to advertise his name. Think about it. He led a mutiny in 2003, he becomes a senator in 2007 with no legislative experience. It’s almost 2008, and the 2010 elections is just around the corner.

Somebody’s shooting for the moon.

Technorati: trillanes, lim, , guingona, makati, peninsula manila

Batasan Bombing

A bomb was detonated at the Batasan on Tuesday night, killing Rep. Akbar of Basilan and his aide, Junaskiri Hayudini, and two other people. My condolences to those left behind by the victims.My first thoughts.One, a bomb detonated literally at the doorstep of Congress was political statement more than anything. I don’t think that Rep. Wahab was the main target. It just so happened that he was the more prominent figure who was at the wrong place and time. Pinning the incident around him might rule out the possibility of other targets or the total irrelevance of a target. Sorry, but part of just didn’t trust so-called intelligence reports stating that the blast targeted Akbar. If you really want to target a person, you do it while they’re in transit. Not while they’re walking out of the door, and not in a government office.Two, what a lousy security. This isn’t some mall or store, but a national institution. Sure, most of the congressmen aren’t well-liked on so many levels, but I still feel that they deserve the utmost security right in their own workplace. I hope they have security cameras that could have caught the motorcycle and its driver.Lastly, resuming session the day after a fatal explosion is a political statement as well, and it goes something like “People die, moving on.” rather than “Bombing won’t stop us from doing our job.” Ang insensitive. Makes you wonder how congressmen themselves really view each other, even after death.On a more personal note, I noticed that I’m not as affected by this bombing compared to the Glorietta blast. (Just owe up to the accident ALI! Stop fishing for other opinions.) From what I can tell, these things are meant to instill public fear and fuel anarchic sentiments. But I’m just plain tired of my emotions being played by faceless entities who aim to benefit from these commotions.We’ll see in the coming days what else the PNP investigation will come up with.Technorati: batasan, bombing, wahab akbar

Makati Bombing

UPDATE: Aug. 30, 2007

It’s official then: the Glorietta blast wasn’t caused by a bomb according to US and Aussie experts in this report. The apparent cause was an accidental gas explosion, yet investigation is still on going.

To government officials and media outfits who made us initially think that it was a bomb and/or politically motivated: FUCK YOU!!!

Moving on.

———-

iNaku

If you’ve heard or read about the iPhone and the iPod Touch the past couple of months, then you probably came across Apple’s statement that the mentioned devices were supposed to have “built-in” restrictions. These included being “locked” to the official cellular network, AT&T, for the iPhone or not being able to add events on the iPod Touch’s calendar on the device itself.I won’t go into details because I don’t exactly get them myself. I find it amusing how people go through all the stress and details just to get around a constraint.

I mean, what’s with our society and the idea of being unlocked?

Non-permanence

So I’ve been very sick the past couple of weeks. I was initially recommended complete bed rest for a couple of days, in addition to some medicines that I needed to take. But stubborn as I am sometimes, I still went to work. Sa madaling salita, parating nabibinat. Apparently, that 70 plus work weeks the past couple of months had finally taken its toll. Buti na lang, mejo slow ngayon.

It’s just funny when you realize that you can get replaced at work anytime. Sure, you can be the best at what you do or you can be committed to the company. But the moment you cannot perform, bam!, somebody is there to take your place. Just. Like. That.

Which is good, in some sense. If plant operations were to stop just because one person cannot report to work, then that would have more detrimental effects on the company and other working individuals. No work, no pay.

After recuperating from my on-and-off illness, I’m glad though that I’m still working at the plant. It’s a good reminder that multi-vitamins and energy drinks can only do so much to keep you healthy and walking.

The Stupidity of Fraternity

Another student is dead.

Cris Anthony Mendez was suspected to have died because of hazing in this Inquirer report.

His death, suspected to be the result of hazing, cut short his Friendster run.

I have expressed before how pointless these fraternities are. I don’t give a crap whatever these so-called organizations claim to accomplish or contribute to society. We have countless other organizations that do the same thing, but do not get their members pointlessly killed.

The concept of undergoing initiation to prove commitment to the group still eludes me. What eludes me more is the point of their continuous existence right within school premises. I understand that we have the right to convene and express our ideologies. But when people die senselessly in the process of joining, then we have a problem. A big one.

Again, the Anti-Hazing law seems to bear no meaning to these idiots who continue to engage in these illegal activities of fraternities.

Technorati: hazing, cris mendez, sigma rho, fraternity

Non-weekend

Weekend work sucks, but a necessity.

The 40-hour or so workweek doesn’t cut it anymore. The trick is to find a work that’s less stressful (or fun!) and quite (or totally!) different from your regular work. That way, working in a general sense wouldn’t feel non-ending and suffocating.

Colorgenics

If occasionally you can’t figure out your own self, online personality tests might help a bit.

Results of my colorgenics.

You are the sort of person that needs a peaceful environment. You seek release from stress and freedom from conflicts and disagreements, of which you seem to have had more than your fair share. But you are taking pains to control the situation by proceeding cautiously and you are right in doing so as you are a very sensitive person.

Enough is enough. Nothing seems to be working out as you would like it to and it has got to the stage where you feel as if you can’t be bothered anymore. The way you feel is that it would be great if you could be cut off from everything and take it easy – be it only for a short time.

Loneliness is soul destroying and at this time you feel lost and lonely, perhaps it is because you feel so frustrated that you are prepared to go out of your way to become emotionally involved with someone who could accept you for what you are. You are egocentric, antagonistic and quick to take offence, although it must be said, you can control your pent-up up emotion and thus avoid open conflict.

Setback after setback has resulted in considerable stress and now you have got to the stage where you are continuously on your guard, not only to protect yourself from others but to protect yourself from yourself. It would seem that many of your unfulfilled hopes and dreams have led to uncertainty and suspicion. You no longer wish to answer to others and you are insisting on freedom of thought. You feel that you are fully self-sufficient and can control your own destiny. You are seeking ways to protect yourself from further loss of prestige and against further setbacks. You have become very dependent and you doubt that matters could possibly get any better in the immediate future and this negative attitude is leading you to exaggerate your claims and to refuse reasonable compromise.

You wish to be left in peace… no more conflict and no more differences of opinion. In fact you just don’t want to be involved in arguments of any shape or form. All you want is for ‘them’ to get on with it – and to leave you alone.

A bit too broad, yet somewhat true. This should do for now.

Technorati: colorgenics, personality test