import intelligence, guts

Sometimes, iWish python would work on Filipinos:

import intelligence

import guts

Wouldn't it be awesome, if it did?

(and yes, I know the joke is truly lost on the non-tech, non-geek crowd, but couldn't help it).

The Desert Transformation

Finally! @LaTtEX via Twitter pointed me to Cardinal Rosales' pastoral letter "Towards a Morally Rebuilt Nation (pdf)".  The Cardinal summed up our nation's plight perfectly when he said, "we suddenly noticed that the widespread corruption we see in others is also the corruption we detect in ourselves". 

What's even more important is his answer. If I may, in similar theme to what time and time again this blog and many Filipinos across society have been pointing out, that everyone is ready but the boys at the top got to get their act together:

To put it simply, leadership from the top.

Thinking about it some more, the same can be said about our country's political state, doesn't it? The last few years has proven that it is no longer a question of whether our people are willing or not to transform this country.

We are.

What's lacking is direction. Leadership that inspires, that leads, that has vision, that is for the people.

Everybody else is ready. To move forward, to achieve, to build a nation--- the missing building block comes from the top going down.

Simply: the boys at the top, they got to get their act together.

At last, someone with authority to speak the cure everyone is waiting for, everyone knows, but nobody at the top can seem to grasp, to construe!  This Pastoral Statement of the Archbishop, Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila, spoke of the answer eloquently, yet in language people can understand: 

"We need the leaders from the highest to the lowest and their familes not only to lead us but also to give us examples of repentance and true humble conversion. We also need people with other ideas but with positive emotions in nation building. Given the example and encouragement, the citizens will be inspired to follow where in the past they hesitated to proceed--- to their "desert" transformation". 

Are they listening? Are we ready to rebuild this nation?

Those Who Sit on the Throne

As a boy, I was told that "where there is smoke, there is fire". You might have been told the same thing as well. This little kernel of truth came to mind today, amidst this whole hoopla about ZTE, and the alleged involvement of the First Gentleman and several high ranking officials of the Arroyo Government. 

Before anybody get bright ideas on "rebellion talk" or "goodbye PGMA", and least you get all excited about the possibility with these revelations about ZTE being the "beginning of the end" for the Arroyos. We've all been down that road before.  

This is just round one. Again.

My guess is this whole thing is over even before the hearings even began.

When you really, really think about it, there's nothing new is there? Same old allegations come to light.  Different branding, sure. but at it's heart, it still is one's word over another. No incriminating paper trail, at least not yet has come to light. And amidst all this, the common folk in the street grumble at the sheer blatant way those in power exercise their power.  

Take those moves made on Congressman de Venecia a few days ago.  If one looks at it as a test of loyalty and as benchmark for a possible new wave of impeachment attempt, you'd know any such attempt would be futile. The Arroyos have covered their bases. 

For all the years the Arroyos have been in power, nothing seem to stick. One would at least suspect there was a fire amidst all this smoke.  There must be some kernel of truth. Still nothing. None of these scandals, these attempts at power grab have had any dire effect on the First Family. Nothing, at least, so far. It's as if the Arroyos were made of Teflon. Truth be told, one can not help but admire such successful batting average.  

One would think, if only such skills could be translated to providing better opportunities for our people, it would be a better world. wouldn't it?

Oh don't get me wrong, I suspect most of our people would want nothing more than for the Arroyos to leave, but what good would that do, five, ten steps down the road? 

These days, our people's willingness to perform any extra-constitutional action is in such low numbers, save perhaps so dire, so severe as nearing the end of the world proportions. It is highly unlikely a rebellion could spring up. I'd like to think that this maturity from our people comes from wisdom. Nothing good can be gained by going down to the level of those in government who subvert civility. 

Our people are not idiots.

Our people may not voice it out but somehow, I suspect they prefer to invest into their own future. In plain speak: they have better things to do, more pressing matter to attend to like feeding their kids and sending them to school than rebellion that gives nothing back save more headache and more pain and only profit for those who sit on the throne.

The Undiscovered Country

A long time ago, in an island far away, Winston Churchill said that "if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future." Some say, our nation is in that position today. It is constantly bickering because of the sins of the past. Some foolishly grumble, same, same. Because the old accuses the youth of apathy in the face of national affairs. Because the youth is disgusted by the pathetic, cumbersome and selfish antics of the old. Nothing changes in these islands, year in, year out. Same old, same old.

Has nothing changed?

We exist in a world of rapid change! We exist in a world where there are greater and greater challenges and ever changing rules and dynamics. As the world marches forward with new technology that shift the balance of power to those capable of seizing and utilizing the wonders of our age, our nation refuses to march forward. It has to be dragged on, kicking and screaming. We subscribe to ancient ways. We refuse to look forward.

The same never ending themes stand out, year in and year out--- corruption, graft, abuse of authority and myriad accusations that could be true but could never and would never stand scrutiny and escape justice. it just isn't done. The old guard, the old status quo of self-serving governance exist not just in those in power but even in their critics, prisoners of their own price tags.

One would hope that young men and women coming to power, coming to age would unshackle themselves from the traditions of the past, unbind themselves from old fears and doubts and hates and rivalries and cast off the old delusions. Some try, and many fail not for want of trying but the old, the old guard with their considerable weight pull the new back in and the weight of their own price tags bring them down.

Timid, as most Asians are, we rarely go beyond our shores. It hasn't stopped us of course to seek opportunity like men and women since the dawn of humanity. The call of greener pastures has never been denied our people. Our diaspora is everywhere--- from the Old to the New World, to the killing sands of Iraq and the dark fields of Afghanistan, to the land Down Under. And like all humans everywhere this migration is always about new opportunities. Though far from these islands, no matter the generation, wherever in the world they are, no matter how they may deny--- there is always a part of them that yearn and call these islands home.

In spite of our diaspora, our nation, has never been a nation of explorers. We never venture just to see what's on the other side. We dare not try something new. We find comfort in the trail others have made before. We dare not do a thing, just for the sake of being different, save perhaps that one moment of people power, a moment of spontaneity.

In a world of rapid change, of considerable challenges, few would say humans have explored everything; that all the battles have been won; that there is no longer a new frontier, no new horizon, no undiscovered country left to find.

But that's not true is it?

Few would like to fight old battles like what they call the dying of freedom of speech and of expression, in the same old way while subscribing to the dumbing down of people's expectations of what information and thinking should be. In a society where people listen to ramblings about the incompetence of government, the display of mindless, uncivilized bravado of those in power, and the latest, wild craze antic in show business, where are the vanguards of free speech and free expression coming out with books to read, with essays to chew on, with discussions that spark creative thought and encourage even the least of our society to think and be civil? In an information age, we get dumber. worst, we lose our civility. Where is the call to fight for our culture, our civility and our humanity?

In an age such as we have today, there is much to learn. There is much to discover. Yet, for as long as our past and present quarrel, we will never discover this country.

Our people stand on the frontier of our undiscovered country. It is the same frontier, same undiscovered country as generations before have stood on. Its horizon stares right back at us. It is full of unfilled hopes and dreams of our people, as much as there are myriad unknowable and equally uncertain threats. It is easy to shrink from that frontier, and our leaders have done that, as much as we have ourselves done before.

These words are for the young and the young at heart. The undiscovered county before us require imagination, and courage and perseverance. We need vigorous leadership and not the safe mediocrity of the past, certainly not good intensions and high rhetoric. It is the answer to our people's unfilled hopes and unquenched dream. The test is, not if we are equal to the challenges the horizon offers but if we would face it at all. Do we have the nerve and the will?

The Cards Life Dealt

I was reading The Inquirer's editorial Same Same and I can't help but wonder, if people can still think the same thing if only they could step back and look at the world not just from one point of view but if only they could play the insiders game and if only they could see this country from a macro point of view. I believe it stems from a lack of understanding of what goes on, of what is, instead of simply imagining it.

"This “same same” mentality ignores a statistical improbability: it simply can’t be true that every leader is, indeed, the same as every other. It also ignores a basic reality, which is, that there are no leaders where there are no followers. In other words, the “same same” mentality reflects more a refusal to take responsibility than an objective reality."

Well in case anybody has been sleeping in the last couple of years, let me spell it out. There are no leaders in this country. Let's not even start with the whole philosophical "too many are hungry". One simple fact that tells me with absolute certainty that there are no leaders in this country. 

I'll cite Weather.

Why weather? How many bloody storms does this country go to every single year? How many bloody times in a year, do the debate on who calls off classes just because there was rain in Metro Manila? How many bloody times has the disruption in weather in Manila caused untold losses in productivity? We're not yet even counting the disaster in the provinces where many lives, livelihood, crops, business, productivity is lost every single bloody year. How many times have the people hanged our Weather forecasters, made fun of them?

All we ever need to do is beef up our weather technology, isn't it? Haven't there been discussions on exactly that year, in year out and yet people act surprised when the weather boys and girls can't tell us how much rain is going to fall from the sky. How much would it take to beef up our technology compared to the untold damage in lives and in property not knowing could? Can't the Government fast track that as a national imperative?

How much would such an initiative cost? PHP200 Million? Don't Senators and Congressmen have that for their pork? Even if they did not, isn't it the role of the bean counters at the Department of Budget and Management or Finance and Treasury to figure out how to pay for all this because our country can't go on not having technology of such importance! Where is the political will for it and why has it taken so long to act upon this very simple, yet very matter?

We can't go on like that in a world where everything is done in lightning-pace. In a world where there are no longer weekends--- where everyone is doing business every single day. A day out because of disaster we might be able avoid or at the very least reduce our losses isn't being acted upon is just idiotic.

Our leaders worry about if a president cheats or not. Fine. no one in this country doubts that our system is a very flawed one. I get that. You get that. the garbage collector who picked up my garbage this morning gets that. Will kicking one very flawed and least loved president out right now, make things better, or simply keep this country in perpetual, "i blame her, she blames me"?

Please forgive the youth for learning the lessons of EDSA 2: nothing can be gained by destroying this nation's institution. Government is utterly useless. Only through hard work, by pursuing individual goals, by raising the standard of living through meritocracy can people's lives be changed, one person, one family at a time.

People talk about the cynicism of youth yet fail to see what we the young see in our elders. it leaves so much to be desired with "disappointment" such a light term to describe it all. The adults in this country have better start acting like adults. We can't have department heads like Gonzales talk like we were in the streets or something.

However, the youth’s turning away from active involvement in the political sphere, even if understandable, isn’t excusable. A society that rationalizes its refusal to exact accountability from its leaders is a society conspiring to excuse itself from the basic responsibilities of citizenship. This may make sense for the young who seek fulfillment not only in working, but dreaming of emigrating, abroad. Many more, though, may seek professional development abroad, but the fruits of their labor will be sent back home, just as there are those who are youthful today who fully intend to come home permanently when they shall have become old.

Every few years, there is such a thing called an "election". It's that time in every democracy where people cast their ballot and tell the whole world who they want to sit.

If a nation-state was a business it would be something like a performance review. in the case of a board of directors of a company, it would be the time when shareholders look at their profit or lack thereof and decide to vote to keep the current board, or find new ones. That's the proper forum to remove officials we don't like. that's the proper forum to voice our outrage.

Why not go to the streets? Did you see what Trillianes went through? His rhetoric like much of what the opposition is the same old same old. To be quite honest, I want a discussion of issues. Is Arroyo pro-choice? Is Estrada pro-choice? Is Arroyo pro-death penalty? Is Estrada pro-death penalty? Is Roxas pro-death? is Villar pro-death? How exactly are they differentiated? 

If elected, who will raise taxes? who will not? What economic measures are they going to put out? What are we going to do about national debt? why are continuously paying? I'd like to hear our leaders' views. What are people going to do about unemployment and underemployment?

The problem of Mindano has gone too long, hasn't it? Is there a plan in place to finally solve that? What would it take?

What are we going to do about energy independence? What plans are in place, if any?

With numerous precedents set by the Arroyo administration like that curfew PGMA imposed during that post-Trillanes debacle--- how will the next president proceed?

If not Arroyo's fault, it would be Erap's or Ramos' or Aquino.  See that's a huge problem! It's all about personality! It is either you are for Arroyo or not. It is either you are for Estrada or not. Where are the issues that differentiate one politician from another?  

Other than the same old rhetoric, what have the politicians in any camp, or what group-- civil society or whatnut done to improve the lives of our people other than to "bitch about" what's wrong in our society? 

I am not saying it isn't right to simply sweep off under the rug allegations of corruption, of cheating during the election of 2004. Between the choice of getting bog down by all that as opposed to figuring out what's next and how to actually improve the lives of future generations, i'd vote for the latter. We need to work!

Our people have been so blinded and bitter all our national life. We can not undo the past. we can not put spilled milk back into the bottle. We can not turn back the clock and say "EDSA 2" didn't happen. We can not turn back the clock and stop PGMA from ever running. Those things are not possible. What we can do is to ensure that it never happens again. But is anybody actually doing anything to go that route? 

Where are the laws to do that? Where are those people constantly marching on our streets crying what when they should be fighting for such change? Do you have a suggestion on how to make a better tomorrow other than the same old rhetoric?

We don't need blame, we need solutions.

What sort of country will their loved ones have, in the meantime? And to what sort of country will they come home to, eventually? When the youth say “they” are all the same, they obviously don’t include themselves. And if they are the majority (which they are) then it means the youth can seize the day―but don’t want to. They have judged, but refuse to be judged themselves.

The practically of the matter is that what our people need are jobs, not mindless rhetoric. What our people need is money to send the next generation to better schools so they can come out with better ideas for tomorrow. What our people need is to work. If our youth are off to find jobs in America, in Singapore, in Australia, or better pastures in Canada, so be it.

The best proof anybody--- be it the politician or be it some fringe group yelling at the top of their voice whatnut is wrong and should step down is to act. Do something for the people, for us, for a change. Can you do that? 

Our country has so many problems, often complex and we need serious people to solve them. The least we need is more pointing fingers. Truth be told, there need no reason to judge. What people don't get really is that there is no point in pointing blame whether it was the older generation's fault our nation's morality and our civility are in such sorry state or that we the youth think of them as all talk. Neither is the blame on a generation that does not subscribe to the Romanticism that EDSA was. It doesn't matter anymore. Truth is, pointing fingers isn't what we're suppose to be doing. What we need to be doing is building "what's next". The youth isn't apathetic. the youth is growing up! The youth is building their own lives based on what was handed to them and making do with the cards life has dealt. 

Identified by Government

I still can't decide whether "disgust" or "boisterous" laughter is the proper response to this whole madness about "the national id" system. It seems in every administration this thing pops up. Well, at least as far back as i can remember, anyway (during Ramos' years).

In both comment section of Alleba Politics and Philippine Commentary i made my views quite clear with regard to this whole hoopla about national id system.  Here's the extended edition. 

The premise of a national id system isn't without basis. In this age when the phone is an ipod is a computer, consolidation is the name of the game. Having Driver's licenses, passports, social security information consolidated into one ID is very, very tempting.  In a perfect world, it would be great to have.

But this isn't a perfect world. 

Conspiracy theorists can point out that this is just one step towards a police state. Government having all there is to know about you. Seriously? if government was half as smart or half as hard working coming out with these ideas, they'd already know they have all there is to know about their people locked in discrete databases and all they need isn't legislation or permission. All they need is time, money and lots of computer savvy to mine that information and if done under the radar, no flack from the press as this whole hoopla about national id seems to be getting.  All those lobbyists can probably make more money doing that than having such a huge target such a national id system is getting. 

Seriously. This police state crap is beside the point. 

All we need is to look at history to tell us, this spells "disaster". That an initiative like this--- sounding very logically on paper can not stand the real world and those who do believe it will work needs to get out more. We delude ourselves into thinking it will work. Just look at all those stories about banks losing information.  All it takes is one lost Laptop.  and "Boom!" the bad guys already have everything they need to know about you. 

Google is one the world's best miner of information. it gets picked on for handling all that user information, can you seriously say that any government--- Philippine, American or whatnut is smart enough, is savvy enough, is capable enough to protect, mine and manage every single thing there is to know about their citizen? Can government honestly say it has the technology, the expertise, to do this? 

Seriously? 

In a country where its capital city has potholes everywhere, in a nation where its whether bureau can't tell if it is sunny or not--- not because the people behind the scenes aren't smart enough but because they don't have the proper tool to do their job right, can Government honestly tell the people it can manage 80 Million and more people's private information? 

Can every Filipino absolutely trust its government to be savvy, to be smart, to have the resources to protect and mine all that information? (I'm not even going to ask if they're going to use that information wisely).

I wouldn't go far as to say that Government has an insidious agenda behind this whole thing because if you really think about it, mining all that information they already have is so much more under the radar than all the press this whole national id thing is getting.  Is this another way for some lobbyist to make money? I wouldn't know. I certainly hope not. Because if they are, shouldn't they work on something that would actually help move this country forward like better infrastructure for our people?

In an Age of Information, we get yet another example how smart, how capable our government is. And people wonder why everyone wants to get out the country. To the proponents of this initiative, all I can do is appeal to your patriotism. Being in power is your shot to make a difference, could just please do something for the people? 

Are You Scared?

(Updated) The ZTE Series Senate hearings on the Philippine Government's pursuit for a National Broadband System via the Chinese Government should really get better script writers because a lot of people were disappointed by Secretary Neri's "big reveal".

Everyone is going back to business as usual and pretty soon, happy days--- for the corrupt will be back in full swing. Didn't we expect no less that all this hoopla is much to do about nothing? Anyway, that is all water under the bridge now and guess what? For those of you who were disappointed, you can wash its bitter taste by laughing a bit. Take these two citizens of the Interwebby and for some reason, people (meaning that venerable creator of all things beautiful who gets upset by negative people Fake Steve) is scared of these two:

iJustine's Apple Tattoo

Happyslip's Mac Daddy

Scary? not at all. Crazy? Good crazy, if you ask me. You know what? just what the doctor ordered to wash away all the negativity these government scandals like this ZTE deal bring. Nothing's going to change until we get better people in government or people who are already in government knowing what is right will do what is right for the good of us all and not primarily for their own gain. The only way to do that is to either vote better people in and fire the people who don't-- or in the absence of such stalwart candidate, we choose not to settle anymore and stop voting until we get better choices. Then again, at the end of the day, it is all about the money, ain't it? The greater good is too idealistic and that is in short supply these days. For some reason that scares me more.

(updated) Then i read this from Infinity Loop:

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some see them as the crazy ones,
We see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
Are the ones who do

10 Years of Think Different applies to other things in life doesn't it? We need a crazy idea to change the way our society thinks and does business. Scary? not at all. Just exciting. Out of the box, think different. Be crazy.

What We Must Carry

Last Saturday, I returned to Manila.  On our way to my cousins' apartment just a stone's throw away from the University of Santo Tomas, we passed through a street that was parallel to Espana. There were small markets along that road.  In fact, the flooded parts mostly had those markets where the sellers and the buyers were ankle deep in black water, with all the garbage floating around them.  Neither buyer nor seller cared that the water was filthy.

Isolated in ivory towers, it is often difficult to remember how other people live.  Seeing this image reminded me of several recent TEDTalks. In fact, if you listen closely to those talks, you could draw some interesting similarities with what is happening in Africa, and what is happening in the Philippines.

George Ayittey talked about the Cheetahs and the Hippos in Africa. Where are our Cheetahs? We've too many Hippos.  (high resolution download for you people who don't want to stream can be found here.)

Another interesting video is this talk that Novelist and Poet, Chris Abani gave.  He spoke of his own political awakening and the many stories of Africa. It's interesting how he questioned the righteousness of asking people to revolt against Government and how your humanity can be stripped from you as a price of war. [high resolution video here.]

Lastly, Jacqueline Novogratz, gave this talk about fighting poverty with Patient Capital. Her talk highlighted three important things, first: Dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth; second, Traditional Chairty and aid alone will not solve the problems of poverty, and third: the markets alone will not solve the problems of poverty. [high resolution video here.]

There are many faults that we can lay at the foot of the Government--- any of our past and future governments. Heck just recently that debacle on the luxury cars come to mind and of course our need to beef up our weather service (the latter, if i remember correctly had hearings in the senate years ago).  And yet there are many things We the People are to blame like the recent floods that filled the streets of Manila; that was all us. After all, wasn't it our garbage being taken out of the pumping stations?  

Need I say that the luxury cars was an unjustifiable waste and the lack of proper weather predicting capability and the whole hoopla on our garbage problem are prime examples of how our people tend to forget we lose millions of pesos because of lost productivity? 

These stories are all about Africa. However, we can draw some inspiration, some insight from their stories and apply it to our context.  Our society is deeply divided and many faults can be laid at the foot of our leaders, no doubt about that.  It is also not to say that as a People, we too have many shortcomings and that the goal of achieving the prosperity our People dream of, rests not on the shoulders of Government but every Filipino around the world. We must carry that cross. 

Power and Water: The Lack Thereof

Insane really, like those driving our ship-of-state can't see from a kilometer away where the bloody road would lead, where every Filipino with decent intelligence can predict what happens when supplies run dry but demand continues to increase? We have been having water crisis here and there for the past 20 years. we have had an experience with power loss in the last 20 years. surely, it doesn't take a doctorate in economics to figure that we need more power and more water.

No power translate to "saying goodbye to (any) economic gain" because quite frankly all those call centers need juice to power their computers, Internet connection not to mention the air-conditioning needed to cool those workstations and the servers that lay hidden in the background. Least we forget Starbucks and Figaro's--- we need those places and they require power and water.

It is also kind of insane to think that the problem of Metro Manila with getting its water from dams has been a prominent problem for years. There are existing technologies like desalination plants in conjuncture with better water conservation policies should have been implemented years ago. With our fair metropolis's perennial problem with flooding, surely there are things we can invest on that will solve such problem at the same time--- given we also need irrigation, provide the same to our farm lands.

Set aside the fact that true energy independence, or for that matter resource independence is a key to surviving in the new world order, the high cost of electricity and its continued dwindling of supply has been an issue on the table for years, yet nobody seem to be worried about it. Certainly, it was not an issue during any of the past elections. There has been the lack of interest in pursuing an Energy Agenda that not only reduces the current high cost of electricity but will ensure our economy continues to grow. In true Filipino fashion, based on the moment we are worried sick about power and water.

Perhaps it is time to switch the channel and just watch for the "news" item about which actress who sleeps with who or that soap that runs daily.

Seriously, we're also more concerned about power and the grabbing of more of it in the halls of Congress or the Palace. Well and good--- Power (not the energy kind) is good but when we just go for it for its own sake, what good does Power for Power's sake do? Then again, I guess Alfred Pennyworth talking to Bruce Wayne can really explain why people driving our ship of state are in it for Power's sake. He said: "Some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."

Doesn't Maria Clara Deserve To Finally Rest In Peace?

I encourage women (specifically Filipinas) everywhere who believe in their God given right to be empowered should read Sparks' Excising Cinderella, Maria Clara and Inang Maria From Our Minds. She makes interesting and valid points, of which we (yeah, us guys too) should all take interest in. Here's a snippet:

These (re)presentations are a product of a particular context in our history. They are a product of colonial enslavement and ideological inferiority. While those days are long over, these specters persist because they have been embedded deep in our culture. This explains the incongruence of these mentalities with the actual events of recent years. They are remnants of our past which have refused to go away. I say it is time to finally be rid of them. As we transition to a new period in our history let us shine the light where shadows of insecurity linger. Let us not shy away from our weaknesses. Instead let us recognise the reasons for our weaknesses so that we may turn them into strengths. Only then can we banish these outmoded ghosts of the past, as they inhibit the social construction of a mindset that befits our future.

Food for thought: does Maria Clara deserve to finally rest in peace?