
4-29-2007 5-09-48 AM
Originally uploaded by arleighmac.
Bump car ride with my nephew Adrian, my sis gel, and my langga meray...
Bump car ride with my nephew Adrian, my sis gel, and my langga meray...
Just wanna know how would react to this...
Ds was taken lst april 27, 2007 using my f0n. A billboard of cesar m0ntano for endorsing a mineral water brand al0ng a.c. cortes ave., mandaue city, cebu, jst w0nder why ds ad stl standing considering m0ntan0 is running for senator! Pls have d c0ncerned agencies give acti0n 0n ds. Tnx! Frm arleigh macapagal of #15 libra st, pleasant homes, cebu city
MANILA, Philippines -- I am an eternal optimist. Born to a family of pessimists with a narrow-minded view of the world, I have spent most of my life keeping my true self to myself. I may be surrounded by familiar people but none of them really knows me.
It's a sad life. I started working a year before I started going to school. We were taught hard work at a young age. I never get to have the whole day to play but I don't really mind.
We're a big family. Mom and Dad can hardly support us all, so everyone needs to do his/her share. Waking up at 5 a.m. to start making hundreds of sandwiches and repacking all of them neatly is not something to look forward to in the morning. Breakfast and lunch are hurried affairs. I have borne the silent stares and taunts of kids my age for being indifferent.
Life became harder when I started going to school. We all had to wake up at 3:30 a.m. so we could finish making and delivering the goods to the canteen and still have time to take a quick bath before going to our classes.
Because there are so many of us and work occupies all of my parents' time, they never had time to teach us the basics. When I first started wearing shoes, I put them on the wrong feet. And because my shoes were hand-me-downs from my older sister, I had to fill a lot of spaces with old newspaper so they would fit. It was a week after classes began when my mother's co-teacher noticed that I was wearing my shoes the wrong way. She told my mom about it, and that's how I learned to wear them the right way.
I hated rainy days. Because my shoes were over used, the soles provided very little protection and became water-logged when it rained. I would spend the whole day trying to hide my wet socks and discomfort.
We usually prepared our school clothes at night to make sure we had clean underwear and socks. We never had enough of those, and quite often we had to wash them right away after taking them off and hang them in front of the electric fan to be used the next day.
My Dad fits the stereotype of a macho man. He gambles, smokes, drinks and acts as if he had no care in the world. But he's also the best nanny and cook that I have ever known. He never finished college, and never really had much ambition. He is contented to do the household chores while mom teaches in school.
That doesn't mean he works less. Doing household chores and raising seven girls and one boy will surely make any woman go crazy. But not him. He pampers us by cooking exceptional meals and though the children have to work to make both ends meet, we have never missed a meal.
I've always preferred Dad's cooking to Mom's, but I have kept it a secret so that she wouldn't feel jealous. In fact, he does everything better, be it doing the laundry or being a parent.
Mom is the disciplinarian and I almost hated her when I was growing up. She has very little patience. But we are still lucky to have a Mom like her.
When Dad goes out on his bicycle, he is certain to bring back home something good to eat: "kalamay," "sapin-sapin," "pichi-pichi," "suman" or fruits. When I was picked to read during Masses for children, he made sure I would never be late. He would take me to the church every Saturday on his bicycle. But he wouldn't go inside the church, and just wait outside until the Mass was over and then he would take me some place to eat. Those are some of my happiest memories.
I never really had a mentor or a guide. My siblings and I learned to do things on our own. Even though my Mom is a teacher, she didn't have time to teach us. Which is quite understandable, because if you crave for sleep and rest the whole day, it takes superhuman effort to be kind and patient.
My learning skills were not at par with my older sisters'. It was harder for me to learn. I was an average student with lots of work to do. Studying was something that I could only do at school, and the time to do homework was just before dinner. I would get a scolding if I took more time for study since I was supposed to be putting "kikiam" and squid balls in sticks or rolling a thousand cheese sticks to be sold the next day. Mom could make us do anything by threatening to make us stop our schooling. (My parents don't know how lucky they are.)
If I have anything in excess, it is pride. I don't admit defeat and can't stand being laughed at. Growing up with my father, I became like him, complacent and easy to please. I liked going to school because it was easier than staying at home and repacking some goods. In school I got to sit and rest the whole day and could even draw on my notebooks whenever the teacher was not around. I had friends and pretended that my life was as easy as theirs.
I was in Grade I when our teacher called each one of us to read an English story. Those who couldn't were ordered to stand up for the rest of the class period.
I was one of them. I couldn't read even a word. When the bell rang, that was the signal for us to go out. A classmate made fun of me, saying in her loud, squeaky voice: "Ay, anak ng teacher 'di marunong bumasa! Bobo! Bobo! Bobo!" ["A teacher's daughter -- and she can't read! Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!"]
I remember feeling my face burn with tears and shame. I have never forgotten that day.
Something good came out of the bullying: It made me work harder and throw away all my lame excuses about being a slow learner and not having enough time. My Mom was amazed when I asked for the Grade 2 text books and I began studying them during the summer vacation.
The next school year, I got first honors and felt like I had won a personal battle.
It did not stop there. I learned to like learning and developed an insatiable appetite for reading. At the age of 9, I had read all of my sister's high school text books and even summarized "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo." Indeed, I have read all the random books in our house, and found refuge in them.
I used my time conscientiously and worked twice as hard. I would have loved to finish each school year with honors but most of the time, I could only catch up with the lesson after the exam had been given. I could have earned higher grades if only my body were as strong as my will. My only consolation was that I really did learn everything taught in school and none of my teachers could say that I wasted their effort and time.
I am still a Daddy's girl. I love to cook just like him, and he has taught me his secrets. We are still not well off, but I don't have to roll a thousand cheese sticks before being allowed to go to sleep. I have finished my degree and passed the board exams. I work for only eight hours a day and spend my extra time anyway I wish. Two of my younger siblings will be graduating from college this year, and only two will be left to finish their studies. Next year will be better and I may be able to keep half of my salary.
AGM, 24, works as a chemist in a private company.
Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MANILA, Philippines -- I love piercings -- anything except a nose ring.
I'm often asked about my ear piercings. I got 11 right now: six on my right ear, five on my left. I have been called "astig," "punk," "cool," "weird," "hard core," "gothic," etc. because of my piercings. Well, I really don't give a damn. This is me, so love me or hate me.
To others, they may look like ordinary piercings. But to me, they're not just ornaments, they're a part of who I am. They speak so much about what I've gone through in life. Without them, a part of who and what I am today will be taken away.
I only got three piercings when I was in college: the usual one on each ear, plus another in the uppermost part of my right ear, which really hurt, by the way. It got infected, so I had to remove my earring after awhile.
My love for piercings began after I finished college. A few months after graduation, I had my hair dyed light brown. It was a drastic change since I had always been known for my long, straight, silky, black hair. After that, I got two more piercings just above the usual place where earrings are placed.
Then came job hunting. When I trained as a customer service representative for an American call center company, I was chosen as one of the batch leaders. That meant responsibility on my part, in addition to lots of things to memorize, quizzes, etc.
I was also enrolled in a driving school at the same time. My schedule required me to head straight for my driving lessons after the training sessions. It was so hard to concentrate on driving when I had so many things to do when I got home (I also happen to be the treasurer in our house, so I handle money matters, jeez!). Training and driving lessons added up to hell.
To release the tension, I decided to go to a mall and have myself pierced. I got two more ear piercings and it seemed to me that the physical pain eased the pressure off my mind. It sure did hurt a bit but it was worth it. (That's my own opinion, so don't give me a violent reaction, silly!)
From then on, piercings have become my outlet for anger, pressure, angst, etc. They mark the twists and turns my life has taken. Without any of my earrings on, I feel indifferent. It's as if something is missing.
Let me share a story about my ex-bf and me. He's four years younger. In 2003, he was still a university student while I was already working. We fought a lot about his drinking. I mean, I didn't mind his going out with his beer buddies, but I wanted him to give his studies a greater priority than anything or anyone else.
One day, I got tired of his childish acts, and the rebel in me wanted to spite him. So off I went to a mall to have the uppermost part of both of my ears pierced. Boy, did it hurt! I had to sleep with a ponytail so that no stray hair would touch the sides of my ears. It was torture! For about a week or two, I couldn't sleep on my side.
I also had a Chinese character henna-tattooed on my left hand. In short, I did all the things he didn't approve of. I knew then that things were not going to work out between us.
True enough, we broke up after a few months. And I found myself being pierced again. I could endure any physical pain but the emotional pain was killing me. I didn't mind being pierced over and over again to take away my attention from the pain that was piercing my heart.
My ears have been pierced probably 15 more times. Does that make me a masochist? I don't care! To each his own.
Me and my piercings -- that is me. Welcome to my world!
P.S. I can't pierce myself. It scares the hell out of me.
Jonnah Jill R. Piad, 28, is an ESL teacher in a university, and would love to have a tongue and/or a navel ring, too.
Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
SiS 13.7 vs. Homeboy 10.7;
My Strange Family 15.9 vs.
Game Ka Na Ba 18.1;
Eat Bulaga 20.6 vs. Wowowee
21.4;
Daisy Siete 17.6 vs.
Inocente De Ti 15.4;
Muli 14 at Princess
Charming 16 vs. Kapamilya Cinema 9.1;
Gokusen 19.2 vs. Sineserye
13.5;
24 Oras 25.8 vs. TV Patrol
World 21.1;
Asian Treasures 32.1 vs.
Maria Flordeluna 20.8 at Rounin 24.3;
Lupin 29.5 vs. Maging Sino
Ka Man 28.1;
Jumong 24.2 vs. Maalala Mo
Kaya 23.5;
Bubble Gang 16.6 vs. Pinoy
Big Brother 18 at Bandila 8.6.
This article is for me and the likes of me. No, I'm not one of those poor suckers who are eager to stand out in a crowd. Neither am I KSP ("kulang sa pansin" -- in need of attention). Let's just say I'm someone who has no use for conformity. I don't like feminine clothes, and I hate make-up (and it is not just because I'm allergic to it). Unlike most other students, I usually study three or two hours before my exams. And not surprisingly, I end up with a grade of either 2.75 or 3 (where the highest is 1) -- but who cares, anyway?
In high school, I used to cheat for the heck of it. Mind you, I knew that most of my classmates' answers were wrong, but I still copied them just for the thrill of getting caught.
When I get bored in my History class, I take a stroll around the campus or eat some food. A few minutes later, I would return to the classroom and act as if I had done nothing out of the ordinary.
My friends think I am the ultimate pain in the ass. But then I experience something close to Nirvana when I act like a rebel. It's a high that only the rule-breakers and the renegades are able to feel. And few people have the courage to utilize their freedom and express their individuality. People always tend to hold back their thoughts and control their actions, fearing that a highly critical society might swallow them alive.
At some point in our lives, we all try very hard to fit in. Maybe because it has dawned upon us that suppressing our uniqueness is much more comfortable than being alone. The need to belong is so strong that we are willing to do anything to experience the comfort it brings. I guess that goes also for teenage life.
I suffered a lot for that exact reason before. Until one day, I woke up and realized with startling clarity that I shouldn't really give a damn about other people's opinion, that what truly matters is how I value myself or if I value myself at all.
Since I was a kid, I have always been insecure. I am thin and dark, with hair like that of a corn, unlike my cousins. The depressing part about going out with them is that others tend to compare us, and it's usually me who gets the short end of it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not jealous or bitter. I know for a fact that they love me and I love them. However, the insults and derogatory comments of other people have done great damage to my fragile ego. I grew up thinking that I was a born loser and that I could never make it big.
The fear of failure was tattooed in my mind early on so that joining competitions became a no-no for me. I hated being rejected so much that I tried desperately to avoid opportunities for rejection. My motto then was: There's no harm in trying, but there's trauma in failing. I was the embodiment of pessimism.
However, my favorite teacher showed me that if there is no action, there will also be no progress in my life. Either I wade in and risk everything to play the game or I don't play at all. And if I don't play, I can never win. She gave me back confidence in myself.
But even though my outlook on life was changing, I still felt alone in the world. There were days when I would find myself sitting on the seashore in Miag-ao, wondering, as the cool breeze of the sea caressed my face, what was the missing piece in my life. It's frustrating to know in your subconscious mind that you can never be truly happy unless you find the reason behind the emptiness in your soul and the hunger in your spirit. It's hard, really hard, to be aware that there's something wrong and not be able to know what it is. It's like groping in total darkness without a candle in hand.
The sudden attacks of loneliness almost devastated me, but I kept praying to God for support.
College life has taught me many lessons. I have matured immensely in a matter of months. I have met people who are like me in some ways: There's RC, who feels insecure because she is rather, what's the word, ah, healthy. Rej is absolutely beautiful but thinks she's just a shadow of her sister and mother. Kim believes she has way too many imperfections. Azin wants to be someone he can never be. And Sarah is in love with the wrong guy.
When I look into their eyes, I see a part of myself in them. It's as if there's a magical rope that binds us together. It could be our vulnerability, our strength or anything, but all I know is that I have a deep connection with these people. It makes me wonder if they too are searching for the same kind of fulfillment I'm talking about. Did God allow our paths to cross because He wants us to influence each other's lives?
There was a time when I thought that I needed someone to love, and that was the time when he came along. He was the only guy who was not intimidated by my personality. He saw beyond the rock star clothes and the "maldita" [naughty girl] image. Our love was tangible enough to cut with a knife. There were no commitments made, no spoken promises about living happily ever after, just our overwhelming emotions shared in mutual silence.
We were never a couple officially because we both believed that to make it formal would just ruin the whole thing. We rather liked the idea of keeping our perfect relationship burning in our soul.
Then we decided to go our separate ways and live our lives to the fullest. But even if we are not together physically, our souls remain entwined. He left an important part of him in me and I in him.
Well, this is the point where my article ends. My mind is running out of things to tell and all I can think of now is listening to Big Mountain's "Caribbean Blue." People may not understand why I'm like this. All I can tell them is that they need not trouble themselves because I don't know why, too.
Deep down inside, I think my parents are disappointed with me since I did not grow up the way they expected me to. But I know they'll love and support me all the way. I may act as if I'm happy-go-lucky, but I also have set big goals for myself and achieving them is something that I take quite seriously.
In the meantime I want to enjoy my youth. These are the years of my life that will mold me into a responsible adult. I need to make mistakes and bruise my knees from time to time. Learning is best done the hard way.
(By the way, be careful with your knees. You don't want to have so many scars on them.)
April Grace Bendita, 16, is a BA Broad Communication freshman at the University of the Philippines, Visayas, in Miag-ao, Iloilo.
Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MANILA, Philippines -- When I was a child and I made a wish, I wished only for myself. Other people did not concern me. I had the whole world for my playground and I could always play somewhere else.
As I grew up, I learned about selfishness and egocentrism. I junked my childish wishes, dismissing them as selfish wishes.
When I was young and I made promises, I did so even if I was not sure that I could keep them. Broken promises wouldn't do me any harm, I thought. But as I grew up, I learned about honor. I made promises that I could keep since then, and I have kept the promises I made.
When I was a child, I thought I was good. I grew up and realized that I was working simply on Freud's id.
I realize that I was not really that bad as a child, though I was not perfect either. But one thing I'm sure of is that I was better as a child than what I am today. And I could have been better if I had only outgrown the things that made a child immature but kept the things that made him innocent.
So I resolved to relearn some of the skills inherent in a child, some of the things I learned as a child, and some of the things I gave up as I grew up.
I want to learn to say no again, and say it firmly. I wish to say no again without explanations.
While growing up, I learned that there are some things to which we cannot say no. My mistake was to think that we had to say yes to everything we do not say no to. Luckily, before everybody came asking me for favors, I had Ella Enchanted's epiphany and I started to question the gift of obedience.
I wish to know how it feels to tell the spontaneous truth again, and not lie for once. I remember the old joke where a child was asked, "Where is your mother?" His answer was: "Sabi po niya wala daw siya (She wants me to tell you that she's not here)." Sometimes, I feel that adults are so careful about everything they say and they make a conscious effort to say only the things that the world wants to hear.
I would love to be a child again and say all the things I feel like saying, whenever I feel like saying it and wherever I feel like saying it, without ever having to think about how it sounds, how it would be accepted, or if it would ever be accepted.
I wish to regain my simple understanding of the world. I want to forget that I am part of this problematic world, that it is problematic and that it is my obligation to do something about it. I imagine believing yet again that what I see is the correct order of things, that what I see is normal.
Every time I see bullets being fired or bombs being dropped, I wish to look at the scene through the eyes of a child and comfort myself with the thought that those who are dead were bad people, that God punishes bad people, and that they deserved to die.
I wish to cry again without ever explaining why. Actually, I still cry without explanation sometimes. It doesn't look good, but it feels good. I want to cry without people asking me why. I want to cry without seeing the kind of look on other people's faces that says it's odd for me to be crying at my age or I'm too old to do such a stupid thing.
I wish to do stupid things again. Sometimes I want to live without reason. In the adult world we live in, everything is governed by reason and in effect, by questions. Why live? Why love? Why kill? Why be killed? Why die? Why be happy?
The world is constricted by reason. Instead of living in a vast world of choices--stupid, happy choices--what we see is a road which we are all expected to follow. I try as much as I can to stray from that direction. I do not wish to find myself in a fork in the road where I have to choose which path to take. I have always thought it best to lose direction. Then I would be breaking a new path instead of choosing from two diverging roads. The latter, I believe is the true definition of being lost.
I wish to go back to the time when I could go anywhere in the spirit of adventure, believing that I can always go back when I find that my anywhere leads to woe or nowhere at all. I hate living for some known purposes sometimes. I hate reaching for already-envisioned goals.
Oftentimes, I close my eyes and grieve over the fact that the world has become dysfunctional on account of the concept of rewards and punishments. People do something for other people only because they will benefit from it. People do not do things to other people only because they think they will be punished if they do. I also hate the fact that the only thing I am capable of doing is to close my eyes and grieve over a much lamented fact, and wishing things would change when I open my eyes again.
I want to be a child again so that I can make-believe that I am superman, that I am invincible and that I can change the world. Yes, I wish to believe that I can change the world.
I admit that the world has filled me with cynicism. I am cynical, and I survive because of it. I find it odd that other people claim to have survived because of hope and faith, because I believe I live because I have ceased hoping and believing.
I gave up my hopes because if I still hoped today, I would die of frustration tomorrow.
But I wish that I were a child again so that I would have enough hope in me so that if today I died of frustration, tomorrow I would simply hope to live again--and perhaps hope again tomorrow.
Kim Arveen M. Patria, 17, is a BS Chemical Engineering student at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By Paul Rincon Science reporter, BBC News, Preston |
The rings around the planet Uranus may have been spotted nearly 190 years prior to the accepted date for their discovery, according to a theory.
According to the orthodox view, the rings around Uranus were detected during an experiment in 1977.
Now, a scientist has re-evaluated a claim made in 1797 by astronomer Sir William Herschel that he saw rings around the seventh planet.
The claim had previously been dismissed as a mistake.
The new idea was presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Preston, UK.
Dr Stuart Eves, who works for Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, first came up the idea when he was given a framed page from an encyclopaedia published in 1815 for his birthday.
The page shows an orrery - a mechanical device detailing the relative positions and motions of planets and moons.
I started to add up all the statistics and I said: I reckon he had a point
Surrey Satellite Technology
Made by the craftsman William Pearson, it showed the planet Uranus, with its spin axis in the correct plane, with six smaller objects spinning around it.
It was unlikely that these objects were moons. Although two Uranus satellites were found the 18th Century, the sixth moon of Uranus was not found until 1985, after Nasa's Voyager probe flew past the planet.
After researching the subject, Dr Eves found that the Pearson orrery in the encyclopaedia page was based on observations made by Sir William Herschel, who discovered the seventh planet in 1781.
'A ring suspected'
When Dr Eves tracked down Herschel's notes detailing his observations of Uranus, he found the following passage: "February 22, 1789: A ring was suspected".
Herschel even drew a small diagram of the ring and noted that it was "a little inclined to the red". The Keck Telescope in Hawaii has since confirmed this to be the case. Herschel's notes were published in a Royal Society journal in 1797.
Dr Eves told BBC News: "I was thinking, 'could he have got all of that right'? He has one ring, rather than multiple rings as there are at Saturn; it is relatively close to the planet and it's about the right size.
"The opening angle is about right. Astronomical software indicates that it may have been slightly more open as viewed from Earth on the dates Herschel was observing," he added.
"But there are reasons for thinking that the ring plane moves about a bit, and he has the major axis of the ring plane in the right direction. I started to add up all the statistics and I said: I reckon he had a point.
"[Herschel] is not just superimposing a saturnian-style ring system on Uranus. I think it is compelling from a psychological point of view, because he really didn't have much to compare it with at the time."
Other astronomers have dismissed the possibility that Herschel discovered rings around Uranus. They claim that it would have been far too faint for him to have seen from the ground, using contemporary telescopes.
Clear skies
The ring was officially discovered in 1977 during an occultation experiment. One question some will be asking is why no one saw the ring in the intervening years.
Stuart Eves thinks there may be a few reasons for this. Firstly, there are only a few windows of opportunity during which the rings present themselves to Earth.
The Cassini-Huygens mission has also observed darkening of the rings of Saturn. This may be due to dust accumulating on the icy material in the rings.
If this process is happening on Saturn, Dr Eves argues, it could be happening on Uranus. The seventh planet's rings may have been brighter in 1787, allowing Herschel to spot them from Earth. Several other effects could also cause variability in the rings, including loss of material from them.
Another factor may lie with the Earth's atmosphere. As the industrial revolution proceeded apace, light pollution and smog may have prevented subsequent observers from seeing the planet's rings.
More speculatively, a cold snap called the Maunder Minimum, which lasted from 1645 to 1715 and saw temperatures that were on average five degrees lower than today, might have removed water vapour from the atmosphere, locking it up as ice.
If the climate was still relatively cold by the time Herschel made his observations, less water vapour may have made skies clearer and therefore more suitable for astronomy.
Narito ang overnight ratings ng mga programa ng GMA 7 at ABS-CBN 2 noong MARTES (Abril 17):
SiS 11.9% vs. Homeboy 10.4%;
My Strange Family 13% vs. Game Ka Na Ba 19.7%;
Eat Bulaga 21.3% vs. Wowowee 20.9%;
Daisy Siete 18.3% vs. Inocente De Ti 14.2%;
Muli 14.1% at Princess Charming 14.8% vs. Kapamilya Cinema 13%;
Full House 14.3% vs. Pangako sa 'Yo 7.7%;
Gokusen 17.6% vs. Sineserye 14.7%;
24 Oras 26.9% vs. TV Patrol World 23.7%;
Asian Treasures 35.9% vs. Maria Flordeluna 21.1% at Rounin 19.7%;
Super Twins 34.6% vs. Sana Maulit Muli 23.7%;
Lupin 34.4% vs. Maging Sino Ka Man 23%;
Jumong 25.7% vs. Pinoy Big Brother 21.6%;
Bahay Mo Ba 'To 13.2% vs. Bandila 11.7%.
![]() Mrs Beckett proposed the debate |
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett justified the debate by linking the issue to security.
But Russia and China said that as an international security watchdog, the 15-member council was not the right forum to debate climate change.
Mrs Beckett said an unstable climate could lead to increased world conflict.
The debate was initiated by the UK, which holds the presidency of the Security Council this month.
No resolution or statement arose from the discussion, in which 55 member states spoke.
Two world wars
"Our responsibility in this council is to maintain international peace and security, including the prevention of conflict," said Mrs Beckett.
She said the Stern report on climate change, which was commissioned by the UK government, warned of potential economic disruption on the scale of the two world wars and the Great Depression.
But China's deputy UN ambassador, Liu Zhenmin, said that the council lacked "professional competence in handling climate change".
Pakistan's UN delegate Farukh Amil said it was "inappropriate" for the Security Council to debate climate change.
He said there were other UN bodies which were better suited to dealing with the issue.
However, Panama, Peru and a number of small island states backed the British initiative.
Maritime dispute risk
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said that "issues of energy an climate change have implications for peace and security".
As examples, he said that scarce resources such as water and food could help turn peaceful competition into violence while migrations driven by climate change could deepen tensions and conflict.
The British mission to the UN circulated a paper explaining why it feels a discussion is needed.
It warns of "major changes to the world's physical landmass during this century", which will cause border and maritime disputes.
Some 200m people could be displaced by the middle of the century and "substantial parts of the world risk being left uninhabitable by rising sea levels".
And there could be conflicts over "scarce energy resources, security of supply and the role energy resources play once conflict has broken out", the document adds.MANILA, Philippines -- I wonder if some Filipinos who participated in Edsa People Power I (or any of the other so-called Edsas) have lost faith in the reformative powers of People Power. If the answer is yes or leaning toward yes, I would not be surprised. Such loss of faith could have been caused by the realization that People Power did not engender abiding positive changes. Things just don't seem better 21 years after. I have heard someone say: "Twenty-one years ago, People Power in the Philippines toppled a dictator and inspired democratic change around the world. But here at home, the promise of better times remains unfulfilled."
There are certainly different ways of explaining, understanding and solving the perplexing problems of Philippine democracy. I have mine:
Many of us consider ourselves as "just citizens" and feel powerless to change things in our society. Although we may not condone wrongs, we feel muted and minute compared to the colossal problems of our country. And so we feel that our citizenship is useless.
But democracy depends a lot on its citizens because, unlike alternative political systems, it devolves a lot of responsibilities to the people.
I believe there are two false and extreme kinds of citizens: the deficient and the excessive. The deficient citizen is one who conveniently retreats to his own private concerns without regard for his duties to society. He sees himself primarily as an individual, apart from the rest. When he is criticized for his apathy, he declares with so much conviction: "Iisa lang ako, ano ba ang puwede kong magawa?" ["I am just a single individual, what can I really do?"] Since he thinks he has successfully shielded himself from the duties of citizenship, he passes the responsibility on to others. He is deficient because his citizenship is slightly used, if at all.
The excessive citizen is one who suffers from the "I-will-save-the-world" complex. He thinks the exercise of his citizenship is fulfilled by joining rallies. Not that this is inherently wrong, but his participation in rallies is motivated less by the spirit of reform than by the passion of hate. And so, he becomes wary of others. He is excessive because his exercise of citizenship borders on recklessness.
Between these two false extremes is what I call the moderate citizen. This is not meant to glorify mediocrity. The moderate citizen is not one who is in between the good and the bad, the hot and the old. He is not the gray area. He is the one in between the deficient and the excessive, where the golden mean lies. Just as the virtue of courage is located between cowardice and recklessness, so does the moderate citizen lie in between the deficient and the excessive.
The moderate citizen knows that he must live in solidarity with others to attain society's common goals and aspirations. Not through the means of the reckless citizen, and certainly not with the apathy of the deficient citizen. By exercising justice, honesty, diligence, nobility, excellence and all of the other human virtues in his workplace, at home, in school, at the Edsa highway, at the mall, the moderate citizen contributes to the development of Philippine society. Indeed, his everyday life becomes an opportunity to promote public order and peace, freedom and equality, justice and solidarity, and respect for human life and for the environment.
Changing our society will require more than People Power. That movement was successful in replacing our leaders -- two of them in fact (and maybe the incumbent). Yet reality shows that changing our leaders through mass demonstrations is not the panacea. (In case you haven't noticed, please look outside the window.) I'm sorry for being anti-romantic, but nation-building is more boring and silent, and it begins by changing our individual habits. Every citizen must strive to fulfill his daily duties in order to change society.
I have shared these ideas of mine with others, and they have gotten a lukewarm response. "Good idea but unrealistic!" some people said. "You must be dreaming!" others have jeered.
Maybe I am really dreaming. But, as C.S. Lewis put it, "To know that one is dreaming is to be no longer perfectly asleep."
Arnil Paras, 23, is a graduate of the University of Asia and the Pacific, and now teaches at the same university.
Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Narito ang overnight ratings ng mga programa ng GMA 7 at ABS-CBN 2 noong LUNES (Abril 16) na nagsimula na ang Rounin sa ABS-CBN 2 at Who’s Your Daddy Now? sa GMA 7.
SiS 13.2% vs. Homeboy 10.7%;
My Strange Family 14.2% vs. Game Ka Na Ba? 18.7%;
Eat Bulaga 18.5% vs. Wowowee 22.8%;
Daisy Siete 16.9% vs. Inocente De Ti 13.5%;
Muli 14.1% at Princess Charming 13% vs. Kapamilya Cinema 12.2%;
Full House 14.6% vs. Pangako sa ‘Yo 8%;
Gokusen 18.4% vs. Sineserye 12.5%;
24 Oras 27.7% vs. TV Patrol World 21%;
Asian Treasures 31.8% vs. Maria Flordeluna 24.4%;
Super Twins 32.3% vs. Rounin 24.5%;
Lupin 33.2% vs. Sana Maulit Muli 26.1%;
Jumong 25% vs. Maging Sino Ka Man 22.3%;
Who’s Your Daddy Now 15.8% vs. Pinoy Big Brother 19.1% at Bandila 12.6%.
Inaasahan nang mataas ang rating ng laban nina Pacquiao vs. Solis nu'ng Linggo.
Mataas din ang pagsisimula ng Fantastic Man ni Mark Herras nu'ng Sabado.
Tinalo na naman ng Wowowee ang Eat Bulaga.
Sa mga showbiz-oriented talk show, nanguna pa rin ang Startalk (12.6%), na sinundan ng S-Files (11.7%) at The Buzz (9.3%).
Narito ang nakalap naming overnight ratings ng mga programa ng GMA 7 at ABS-CBN 2 nu'ng BIYERNES (Abril 13):
SiS 11.3% vs. Homeboy 14.3%;
My Strange Family 12.9% at Pacquiao vs. Solis Countdown to Glory 12% vs. Game Ka Na Ba 20.9%;
Eat Bulaga 18.7% vs. Wowowee 22.1%;
Daisy Siete 16% vs. Inocente De Ti 14.2%;
Muli 13.3% at Princess Charming 13.3% vs. Kapamilya Cinema 10.3%;
Full House 15.4% vs. Pangako sa 'Yo 8.8%;
Gokusen 17.9% vs. Sineserye 14.9%;
24 Oras 24.8% vs. TV Patrol World 24.6%;
Asian Treasures 30.8% vs. Maria Flordeluna 22.4%;
Super Twins 32.3% vs. Sana Maulit Muli 22.7% at Maging Sino Ka Man 23.7%;
Lupin 34.8% vs. Maalaala Mo Kaya 23.3%;
Jumong 27.3% at Bubble Gang 19.4% vs. Pinoy Big Brother 17.4% at Bandila 7%.
SABADO (Abril 14):
Eat Bulaga 21.5% vs. Wowowee 22.9%;
Startalk 12.6% vs. Nagmamahal Kapamilya 15.1%, Let's Go 10.1% at Star Magic Presents 11.3%;
Wish Ko Lang 14.1% vs. Little Big Superstar 7.2%;
Bitoy's Funniest Video 21.6% vs. TV Patrol Sabado 8.8%;
Fantastic Man 26.8% vs. Komiks 14.5% at Rounin Primer 15.1%;
Pinoy Pop Superstar 25% vs. John En Shirley 15.6%;
Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho 29.3% vs. XXX 20.6%;
Imbestigador 22.8% vs. Pinoy Big Brother 19%;
Hokus Pokus 14.6% vs. Aalog Alog 11.6%;
Sine Totoo 11.4% vs. Sports Unlimited 4.4%.
LINGGO (Abril 15):
Pacquiao vs. Solis 39.3% vs. ASAP 7.9%, Sukob 20.7% at Love Spell 10%;
S-Files 11.7% vs. The Buzz 9.3%;
Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang 17.8% vs. TV Patrol 13.5%;
Philippine Agenda 22.2% vs. Goin' Bulilit 20.1%;
Mel and Joey 26% vs. Rated K 19.8%;
All Star K 20.1% vs. Sharon 11.4%;
Daddy Di Do Du 16% vs. Pinoy Big Brother 16.7%;
Sunday Night's Boxoffice 13% vs. Sunday's Best 9.3%.