Labels: cyberactivism, definition of cyberactivism, internet activism, protests at facebook

the world lost it's king of pop in the person of Michael Jackson as generations after generations will forever remain witnesses to a music that surely will resonate boundless and timeless.

no matter his faults maybe, no matter how insolent those rumors probably, not a single soul in the world is disgruntled with the fine and exceptional entertainment, of a music so true this man contributed on his years and years of stay in the industry.

personally, i felt guilty having laughed with those comedy skits and sketches, of those spoofs and lampoon movies portraying the king in a very demeaning acts. but hey, it's hollywood afterall. and Michael Jackson will be Michael Jackson with or without those taunts.

of all those almost magical songs he did, i guess my money is on "black or white." maybe because the music transcends countries and continents, ethnicity and races and the ideal to real! a reminder that in the end, ones' skin color, language or culture are all trash and insignificant when we meet our own end.

Labels: black or white, cardiac arrest, king of pop, michael jackson dead, neverland ranch, thriller

Labels: katrina halili, katrina halili lawsuit against belo medial group, katrina-hayden scandal, vicki belo

Labels: democracy, election, iran election, iran protests

after series of controversies with her being involved in a circus like scandals of sex videos, maricar remains composed (or so it seemed) regarding the issue. i don't know if you'll believe me if i say that i haven't watch yet a single video of her taking a nookie with equally controversial doctor hayden kho, but yes i am telling you now that i haven't. 'course am planning on taking a peek with one of those hot videos just so to have an idea of what the whole town is talking about.

anyway, i was told that in the latest addition on this saga of sex videos, many people noticed that maricar seemed to be aware that she was being videotaped in one of her most private activity with dr. hayden kho. actually that didn't bother me that much. if the claims were correct, maricar and hayden were dating..or rather boyfriends and girlfriends during that time. and so we aren't born in 1860's to be shocked by the idea of people engaging in premarital sex. i don't think we have the right to question their intention in video taping themselves. am always saying this, but i just think that that act doesn't require any explanation. they just did it! so what? the only problem is that it leaked out and so they're suffering the consequences of people being prejudiced and stereotyped.

i have to admit, am excited with the idea of her tv appearance, especially that it's goin' to be in "may bukas pa." i can see the parallelism of her real life situation and the character she's portraying. stained though it may be her reputation was, i just don't think that the totality of her being a person matches well with the scandal she's on. sabi nga ni bro di ba, kung sino ang walang kasalanan siyang unang bumato. =)

Labels: maricar-reyes-hayden-kho-scandal3

I am beginning to notice something. Our president looks as if she was avoiding her own people. Mostly, her Executive Secretary and Press Secretary and other numerous minions would face the media to answer queries concerning the country. What with the country being flooded with numerous dilemmas, few were the wide spread of A(H1N1) virus, the remaining captive of Abu Sayaf and more extrajudicial killings which includes innocent farmers who are only vying for their chance to live though their supposed to be owned land. More alarming is the inclusion of the country with the United States' watchlist of countries suspected of not doing enough to combat human trafficking, saying that the Philippines is a "source, transit and destination country for men, women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor." Now, where is the president?

Mrs. Arroyo is in for her usual State visits. So you would probably excuse her saying these out of the country exits are significant to further strengthen our ties with other nation. And that it would benefit us in the end..etcetera etcetera. The usual words. So I think, we have to flip back a few pages on our diary of Mrs. Arroyo and look for words she delivered that would address the conflicts facing the country nowadays. I bet you wouldn't find one! Even the much talked about charter change via a constituent assembly and rumors of her running for a Congressional sea, the talks were blurted by her minions. To name a few, there is Lorelei Fajardo, Speaker Nograles, her son Mikey Arroyo. Secretary Duque of the Department of Health carries the huge burden of the fast widespread of swine flu, yet he haven't declared any instruction the president could have given him. So, why Mrs. Arroyo is silent nowadays?

Actually let me take that back! She's only not talking in front of us. She's out there making all big speeches defining her "good governance" and how the Philippines is coping up with the world experiencing financial crisis under her leadership. Even taking credits for her so called economic plans, when no one in the country is experiencing thos imaginary success. She even talked about her plans on reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in front of other nations, whereas she never even consulted her people who might be the first to be directly affected by this ambitious plan of hers.

According to an article at inquirer.net, when she finished swinging in Russia, South Korea, Japan and Brazil, she would now have the record of 52 trips to 30 countries in eight years along with a variably large delegation. I wonder how many speech she prepared or rather her speech maker made to gear up for her numerous meetings with foreign leaders and dignitaries. All these talks and still no words of concrete plans for her people. Plans that should be addressed directly to her people's ears.

Labels: gloria arroyo, gloria arroyo silent, gloria arroyo state visit

I was just reading the latest articles on the recently concluded Anti Con-Ass rally on Inquirer.Net. According to the police, this rally had the lowest turnout, around 6,000 based on their estimates.

The organizers, on the other hand, claim that they had 13,000-15,000 warm bodies. You got to ask yourself the question: despite all the outrage this issue has generated, why only 15,000 people went to the streets?

I’m sure there are varied reasons but at the end of the day the measurement of success for events like this is the number of participants. Sadly 15,000 is not representative of the majority of the Filipino people and can easily be dismissed by the politicians pushing for Con Ass.

However, the good news is that on the Internet, we have almost double the number of the people who went to the rally sign up on the “Stop Con Ass Now” cause on Facebook. As of this writing, there are almost 28,000 sign-ups on the cause.

With that in mind, I came up with this short article explaining the strengths of Cyberactivism and why it should be taken seriously not just by the proponents, but also by politicians and organizers who want to provide a platform for the citizens to be part of a cause.

Physical Rallies can be Inconvenient
Let’s face it, life these days is hard. Missing a day of work means a salary deduction or a lost vacation/sick leave. The reality is a lot of Filipinos will not “pay” to be part of a rally by missing work. I think this was the biggest hurdle a lot of office workers had to face in Makati when they wanted to join the rally last night. This was the sentiment of several colleagues I have here in the office.

Rallies also need a convergence point. You physically have to be in one spot on a specific time to be able to make the effort count. This literally makes the rally limited since those who are outside of Manila, especially those in Visayas and Mindanao, cannot participate because they won’t buy a plane ticket and fly all the way here to protest Con Ass.

Virtual Rallies, on the other hand, are completely the opposite. All you need to have to be part of it is to have access to the Internet. The good thing these days is that there are more than 10,000+ Internet cafes spread all over the Philippines and most of them charge very reasonable and affordable rates.

There are a few cafes in Davao that charge as low as P5/hour. By going to the worldwide web, you transcend the inconveniences brought about by physical rallies. You’re still counted and your part of the movement without having to spend that much time, resources, and effort.

Physical Rallies end when they’re finished

This, I think, is the biggest weakness of physical rallies. When the crowd disperses, the event ends, especially if there were only a few or an average number of attendees. Other succeeding rallies are usually treated as separate efforts and they don’t really all add up in terms of metrics.

And that I think is one of the strongest qualities of Virtual Rallies. The moment a person joins, he’s in it for the long haul. The count is cumulative regardless of the time and space. As long as the website is up and running, people will be counted. That’s the reason why the Facebook Cause against Con Ass is already nearing 30,000 sign-ups. Imagine if we give it more time? That number will continue to grow and eventually might even end up more than 100,000.

What is more effective in pushing for a cause? An unsure attendance of 6,000-15,000 in a rally in Makati or a virtual representation of more than 100,000?

Organizers of the Anti Con Ass Campaign should really take Cyberactivism seriously. Given the right firepower, the Facebook approach might actually be more effective in the long run.

Labels: charter change, con-ass, constituent assembly, cyberactivism

I don't get it anymore. I am having a hard time figuring out the president's next move and what would be her next declarations come tomorrow and election period. Plans on running for a congressional seat arises along with more speculations of Mrs. Arroyo's plan on grasping the country's leadership seat with a title as Prime Minister. Of course that is so not good for us, regular citizens of this declining nation. But actually, reading the papers today make me rack my brain a lot more, with two sides bearing explanations on the possible outcome regarding Mrs. Arroyo's Congressional plan.

At one point, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said that continues derailing of this plan would mean abandoning the Presidency for Mrs. Arroyo. He said that if Mrs. Arroyo would file her certificate of candidacy, she would have to relinquish her hold on the presidency which means that Vice President Noli De Castro would take charge during the remaining months of GMA's original term. Enrile insisted that "Mrs. Arroyo is deemed resigned once she files her candidacy." And so this is where would come the other side of the issue. Enrile's statement contradicts COMELEC Chairman Jose Melo and Mrs. Arroyo's election lawyer Romulo Macalintal's opinion on the matter. Confident in saying there is nothing in the law which requires Mrs. Arroyo to resign if she runs for a Congressional seat, they don't think the matter is unconstitutional. Opposing these pronouncements, Enrile warns the seriousness of the matter when the president decides to file her candidacy on or before the 30th this November since prudence dictates that Mrs. Arroyo should finish her mandate until June 30 next year.

This Congressional plan of Mrs. Arroyo seems to be a foolish tactic. While others may be seeing it as one of the many diversional tactics set by Arroyo's Team averting the public's eye on the matter of Charter Change, i still think that they consider it as an option. Ojectively, it is definitely a good plan. However, considering the constitutionality of it, I guess I have to agree with Senate President Enrile's warnings on the irregularity of this. Imagine a president running for a lower position. Obviously, how do you think her opponent would fare on this? A president versus a local politician? Melo and Macalintal kept insisting that there is no direct law existing that would subject the president into an obstacle barring Mrs. Arroyo on pursuing lower electoral position(s). Well here my answer: probably that is why there are no direct law yet that would prevent a president in running for lower office since it looks foolish and stupid and no one thought that anyone would go beyond that low point! Interpreting the constitution in an intelligent way, the part which states that a president could not pursue a re-election covers this issue. While you are a president - meaning a country's top most leader, you have the immense power which could benefit you better than any candidate, whereas even a 7 year old child would call it unfair. This of course defies the democratic essence of elections.

Labels: charter change, con-ass, constituent assembly, gloria arroyo seeks congressional seat

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Labels: erik tenedero, happy birthday