BY THE WAY ...

Here breath the afterthoughts of the authors. This page is updated regularly and covers diverse topics as it comes from their minds. Proceed with caution. The contents and the title of this page has no connection with any published articles, columns or editorials. If by chance there is, it is purely coincidental.

To Be or Can It Be

A few years ago my four-year old child was having a math homework on subtraction. She runs to me and asked "Dad, what is the answer to zero minus five?". At this stage they are only dealing with whole numbers and so the ideas such as imaginary numbers and negative numbers are beyond her grasp. Therefore, I replied "Cannot be!". Of course if you take away a bigger number from a smaller one it is simply can not be. That’s it. As plain as that.

Having recalled that encounter a while ago, I started contemplating what might happen if our economy runs like that. An economy where nobody would have owed anybody anything. Will our lives become simpler or more complicated? Will we have peace or chaos. I guess this is what might Jesus Christ referred to on his sermon about who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3). To a child everything is plain and simple. No negative result. A child does not see the evil behind any motive or cause. Everything to them is just and upright. 

By the way, you and I know that the world does not function that way... And every child will become adult one day. No matter what, anyone has still have two choices. You can either keep on searching for knowledge and grow with it or you can remain childlike in thought, in word, and in deed. Can it be?

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How To Get Rich?

How to get rich, let me count the ways:

If you have the guts, the charisma, and the looks, try movie acting. In the Philippines it’s a sure hit.

If you have no looks but have guts and charisma, you may still get rich. Try politics. You can get support from people who do not care for looks as long as you can demonstrate even a superficial sympathy. And there are lots of them.

Or, if you cannot take politics, how about starting your own religion. If others can do it, so can you. I'm sure you know somebody with just guts and charisma founded a religion of his own and live in luxury.

If you do not have the looks and charisma but you have the guts, then go with kidnapping. You do not need looks nor charisma to be one. Take the Abu Sayaf Group as an example. They earned millions.

By the way, the notion to accept these or not is solely your prerogative. This is short for an advise. What I'm trying to do is simply answer the question I am presenting.

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Woe

On squatters problem, whether in real world or in cyber world, all I can say is blessed are the turtles for they have a house they can call their own.

On karaoke station mushrooming around, blessed are the frogs for they only sing after a heavy downpour.

On unemployment, blessed are the monkey for they have their own business.

On Erap's departure, God bless the Philippines.

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M.A.D.

When Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago run for president a decade ago, she made a good impression to quite a number of people because of her good credentials and intellectual capacity. That was before she became a fellow in Cambridge University.

Why? Because while she stay in Cambridge, I presume she must have eaten some beef in what ever form. That I guess explain her schizophrenic behavior today. I think that the superwoman senator acquired a disease they called Creutzfield Jacob Disease (CJD) or in layman's term Mad Cow Disease. Does that fit? All the indications and symptoms of that disease appeared to be demonstrated by her lately.

By the way I am not of the same pedigree as that senator is, as I am a Filipino and she think that she is more than a Filipino. I am just trying to justify the underlying circumstances about her present behavior.

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Addendum to M.A.D.

If you don't know what I'm talking above, then read this; Interviewed by Vicky Morales on "I-Witness", Miriam replied when asked what she felt about the public reaction to her "no" vote that fateful night of Jan. 16, 2001:

"Why should I be bothered by these Filipinos who are raising these protests against me? These same Filipinos who have not even stepped foot on Harvard or Oxford. I would be bothered if my professor in Cambridge were to take exception to my legal interpretation of a judicial matter. But to be bothered by a Filipino who may not even know that a Harvard exists, who can't even pass the UP entrance test, who wouldn't even understand discussion of such a high level even if they tried, why should I be bothered? I have no time to listen to this species of lower life forms."

Super human MDS think that Filipino species  are of lower life form than what she got. Is she a Filipino or what? Is this the kind of public servant we want to enact laws for our country?

By the way Miriam is now on the loose smiling and shaking hands with those lower life forms around the country hoping to be re-elected as, of course, senator. Shall we give her another chance?

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Philippine Movies & Celebrities

"Tangkilikin ang sariling atin!"… Not to our movie industry, sorry. I hate to say this but our movies are of very, very low class. In fact, I consider watching Filipino movies on the big screen as waste of time, money, and effort. I'd rather watch it on TV when I don't have any choice left. Listed below (no order followed) are 10 reasons why I dislike Philippine movies.

By the way, I did not say that our movie industry is hopeless. The key is with our moviegoers who patronized these cheap films. If we can change their taste of what they ought to see, then improvement might follow.

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E-Mail Hoax, Virus Hoax

I somehow stumbled a rebuttal to a supposedly hoax e-mail circulating around. The e-mail claimed that we could get a potentially lethal Hanta virus by drinking canned drinks or eating pasta. This is likely, as claimed, because the goods we bought in the grocery shops were at one time stored in a warehouse. And, according to the e-mail, these warehouses might harbor rats carrying the disease. The e-mail cited a case about a worker who was allegedly sent to clean a warehouse in Hawaii and later got sick and died after being exposed to dried foul dirt and urine of rats in that warehouse.

Now the counter-argument claimed that this scenario is unlikely because the goods stored in the warehouse are still in their packaging and contact to rat's dropping is unlikely. It also discredit the e-mail as untrue because of some factual inconsistencies to the named places that this event toke place and the absence of any news coming from these areas.

Whether this e-mail is a hoax or not, we could not simply ignore this scenario totally. Why? Because the man who counter this allegation, a US based newspaper columnist, somehow omit the fact that some of the cartons or whatever packaging used to store the merchandise might have been mishandled and the items inside were exposed to outside elements including rats. Who knows what toke place inside any given warehouse. I should say therefore that the surest thing to do, to be safe, is to thoroughly clean whatever goods you bring home from the grocery store. Also, pay extra attention to discounted items sold in your favorite supermarkets that appear to have been mishandled.

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My Apology

For those who follow this column regularly, sorry for the long absence, I need to earn a living otherwise five mouths will go hungry.

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Election Result 2001

So it's now official a husband of an actress, a sympathetic(?) wife, a baby face general, a little president once, and a TV anchor man are some of the new faces in the senate. Erap's trail is still there, Trapos (Taditional Politicians) are still there, Balimbing (Star Fruit - analogy goes to people with so many faces or can change side quickly for their own personal gain) are still there, and personal interest among them are still the prime affair of the nation. I doubt if there will be any dramatic improvement that would take place in the way our politics are played and the way our country is governed. Don't worry folks election comes every 3 years. Better luck next time.

By the way, just asking, when we OFWs can cast our votes?

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Erap's Upcoming Trial

I demand that Erap's upcoming trial be broadcast live in TV because it would be fun, educational and most of all sensational. Mind you, Erap make it a star studded event by gathering together legal advisers that his money could buy, plus the original villains in the aborted impeachment trial that might show up and of course I expect mysteries and surprises cook somewhere out there to crop up during the trial.

By the way, I was thinking that Erap is so anxious to answer all the charges hurled against him, why the hell his lawyers are throwing all obstacles they can muster along the way just to delay the trial. Same tune played before, during, and after the aborted impeachment trial are on the airwaves courtesy of the the president who don't want to be a president anymore.

Here Comes The Abu Sayaf Again

What can I say, they don't have the looks of Ping Lacson, nor the charisma of Erap Estrada, but they have the guts of Gringo Honasan to make them earn millions of dollar.

If I could only talk to Erap face to face, I would convince him to exchange himself for the remaining hostages. In his hands is the solution to many of our problems. Firstly, he can make the family of those being hostage and the hostages themselves happy. Secondly, He can solve the financial problem of the Abu Sayaf. Twenty five million for his freedom should be a breeze to him. Thirdly, there would be a moment of peace in Mindanao and Gloria would be happy. The military would be happy. Police guarding him right now could breath a sigh of relief and would be happy. His legal advisers would stop worrying how to depend him and would be happy. Money to be spend for his trial could be channeled to other government program and the people would be happy. When he's gone, Loi would be happy and the militant group would be happy. He's spiritual advisers might come to his aid and I'm sure they would be blissful to help. But the most important of all is, he could escape his trial. The Abu Sayaf might kill him, no more trial and his supporters will declare him a hero or the Abu Sayaf will free him and he could get out of the country. Plunder case is over.

Erap could really make a difference if only he has the balls to do it by the way.

My dog is guarding this area. Don't miss around or you'll be sorry...