Owner: (Mis)readings URL:http://karlomongaya.wordpress.com Join Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:48:28 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: a blog featuring counterobservations on events and texts from the vantage point of an eccentric, optically inconvenienced, and culturally dispossessed resident from the Southern Philippines. Site statistics:Click here
North Korea to overtake RP? 2007-11-15 15:56:46 Have you ever remembered the President’s promise during her State of the Nation Address of taking our country into the First World in twenty years? I’m not sure how that’s coming true with news like this: More petroleum price hikes coming and Net effect of peso rise negative: Majority say well-being unchanged, but more report being ‘better off before.’
But now, she’s got company too. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(DPRK) or North
Korea for short – which is one of the most isolated and tightly controlled country and the only remaining hard line Stalinist regime in the world – is now open for business. According to the blog North Korea
Zone:
The Official Business Webpage of the DPRK predicts that “The DPR of Korea (North Korea) will become in the next years the most important hub for trading in North-East Asia.”
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Batasan bombed! (updated) 2007-11-13 18:07:12 I woke up to a very big surprise this morning. I slept really early last night so I wasn’t able to browse the internet, I didn’t watch TV or listened to the radio. But there you have it, the big news: Batasan was bombed last nigh–just a month after the Makati blast.
Check out the report here. In the blogosphere, a roundup of the initial responses of Filipino bloggers can be read in Global Voices. Everything’s very sketchy now. I suggest we all be careful.
In the meantime, here’s one of the first serious analyses on the bombing and its circumstances from the blog of Sun.Star Superbalita managing editor Anol Mongaya:
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A must see movie or a must read book 2007-11-12 16:38:02 What I like about blogs is the lack of stringent editorial control. It can publish what I find suitable without restraint except from my own judgment (and ethical concerns which are listed here). It just bows to my whims. I never end up like this Cabanon Press cartoon:
So an announcement: I am now lowering the regular number of posts to 3-4 posts per week from the usual 5-6 posts per week that I managed to sustain since the birth of Postcard Headlines last May 2007 due to stricter academic demands this semester.
And a news item on the must see movie
I need to watch or the must read story I need to find. I only noticed this now:
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It’s the season for bad weather 2007-11-21 10:01:02 Last Monday, Cebu was unexpectedly struck by a storm. Heavy rain and powerful winds descended on the unprepared locale.
Trees were bent, electrical posts fell down, a container van was overturned in the 2nd Mactan Bridge, and the giant Christmas tree being constructed in the Fuente rotunda made a great fall (Photo courtesy of Cebu Photo Blog).
Power went off in various parts of the Metro. The roads were flooded, traffic bad, pedestrians trapped, and I witnessed 5 billboards being torn fast by the strong winds from inside a Jeepney.
The blistery winds have stopped but harsh rains continue to fall up to now. It’s the season for bad weather
.
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Postcard Headlines Commemorates Half a Year of Blogging 2007-11-20 17:03:04 I almost forgot, but Postcard
Headlines commemorates half a year of blogging this November.
I don’t remember why Postcard Headlines is named the way it is. Maybe it has something to do with my fascination for postcards and love for newspapers and magazines. I guess the name just stuck.
Today is not this blog’s date of conception or “birthday” so to speak, it having been created in the wake of my Election Day observations on the night of May 14, 2007.
But how time flies. From posting comments mainly on the 2007 elections and the controversies surrounding it, I have added my archived writings along the way, and have since then:
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Read more:Blogging
Interlude 2007-11-18 03:00:08 “Where are we now?” is one of the more significant questions facing the nation today. “What next?” is another. Helping us answer these questions is political analyst Mon Casiple who gives us a vivid description of the present political impasse and what could likely happen in the near future:
Coincidences or real political motives?
The Batasan bombing, the Dalaig assassination, the Glorietta incident. Are they mere coincidences of unrelated events or are they part of a subtle political strategy directed towards a particular objective(s)?
The various reactions so far that came out range from airy dismissal as coincidental, unrelated (Malacañang) to a dark US-inspired conspiracy (CPP). There are a lot of other theories in between but what is striking in all these other speculations is the disbelief of official police pronouncements.
Maybe it is just the generally low level of credibility of the Macapagal-Arroyo’s government, but there is the disquieting real political context t Read more:Interlude
The day’s Big News (updated) 2007-11-26 17:56:36 And the banner story from the Manila Bulletin today’s big news. Some parts of a Philippine Daily Inquirer article on the same event:
Roxas takes over LP helm, signals 2010 Palace run
MANILA, Philippines — With a disguised campaign slogan for a backdrop, Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II Monday assumed the leadership of the Liberal Party, apparently signaling the launch of his presidential bid in 2010.
LP banners in red, blue and yellow hanging at the historic Kalayaan Hall of Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City, proclaimed “Oras na (It’s time),” which rhymes with “Roxas na (Go for Roxas).”
Roxas, who will officially become LP president on Nov. 30, used the phrase “Oras na” nine times in his acceptance speech. The speech was itself titled “Oras na!”
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2010 spirit is in the air (updated) 2007-11-24 17:48:54 The Christmas spirit
is barely felt these days.
Shackled by financial hardships in spite of the country’s “strong” economic performance, the country’s destitute majority has become caught up in so many other things aside from the holiday season.
And whatever holiday feeling left is fast being blown away by the powerful winds of the arriving typhoon Mina. Instead, a different hymn has taken over. Could it be that the 2010 spirit is in the air?
Some presidential wannabes seems to think so.
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Not another book wishlist? 2007-11-23 11:49:18 Yes it’s another one. Thus the cycle continues. I get at least one book that I wished for in my last wishlist and then cook up another set.
Of course the last one still applies and I’m just waiting for some extra cash to be able to purchase them from the local bookstores.
So this time, I’m making a list of books that can’t be found in the local bookstores. A real wishlist! (Much thanks to Danny Reviews!) Here it goes:
Mario Vargas Llosa’s Conversation in the Cathedral:
Conversation in the Cathedral is a novel about power and politics in Peru in the early 1950s. Two of the characters meet in a cheap eating house (the “cathedral” of the title) and spend the afternoon talking about the past. The novel is basically encapsulated within their conversation, although we are only occasionally reminded of that (by interjections) and some events accessible only to the omniscient narrator are also included…
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Erap and GMA Nativity Scene (updated) 2007-11-22 11:10:48 The now famous GMA and Erap “nativity scene” hanged in downtown Cebu City from Sun.Star Daily:
A closer look at it from a scanned Cebu Daily News photo:
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Read more:Nativity
Flip-flops, a holiday treat, and more coup views 2007-12-02 15:27:23 Like the rest of the metro’s broad and upscale middle class, I went to the mall last Friday with the thought of buying a few things and spending more time window shopping. After all, it was the birthday of one of the country’s national heroes – a national holiday.
I was thinking of finally replacing the broken string of my old rusty guitar. But arriving at SM Cebu City, I not only bought a new set of guitar strings but found myself in time for the opening of the mall’s new North Wing.
That was interesting enough. Also, there was the Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal show with Kris Aquino (ugh!) in SM’s parking area on the same date. But what really thrilled me was the discovery of the opening of a new bookshop in the new wing.
Power Books Specialty Store is now in Cebu. And so are a lot of new book titles! The next day, I passed by the mall’s new wing again and spent a longer time rummaging through the shop with my girlfriend Beryl.
Later, I went back to the same bookstore with Read more:treat
, views
Notes for the 30th of November 2007-11-29 20:32:00 Today marks the birth of Andres Bonifacio, revolutionary leader and founder of the Katipunan which led the Filipino movement against Spanish colonialism in waning years of the 19th Century.
Bonifacio envisioned a Philippine society free from the yolk of Spanish colonial rule. A hundred years hence, the demands raised by the late plebeian supremo against repression and inequality continues to be relevant.
In spite of the semblance of democratic trappings, the country remains in a seemingly insoluble and permanent crisis.
No where is this more pronounced than in the Trillanes standoff at Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati yesterday - an event which came after a series of corruption scandals that rocked the Arroyo administration, the subsequent Makati and Batasan bombings, and the release of a United Nations final report pointing to the armed forces as the culprits behind the killings of leftwing civil society leaders.
But where were we before the recent quagmire?
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Read more:Notes
, November
After the Trillanes standoff 2007-11-29 05:57:28 I am reserving further expression of my opinions on today’s standoff between Sen. Trillanes and around 30 renegade soldiers and gov’t. soldiers at Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati. In the meantime, here are links to the Inquirer.net online coverage of the mutiny.
Sonus refers everyone to pictures from SunnySideUp! A website supportive of the coup attempt is online while Stuart-Santiago, Uniffors, and the Philippine Experience liveblogged the military adventure.
Gibbs Cadiz gives an account of his close brush to having lunch with the Magdalo rebels while Philippines Without Borders finds humor Trillanes and co’s stunt:
It was so stupid of them to initiate a “coup” in the first place. You want a coup and you launch in a hotel?! My goodness! Such incompetent fools!
…You want a real revolution? Learn from the lessons of Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Joseph Broz Tito, Garibaldi, and Michael Collins. These guys launched it in the real battlefield; not in five star ho
Language and power relations 2007-11-27 10:16:33 I was supposed to repost this article for a good friend yesterday if not for my forgetfulness - I failed to remember which periodical I originally read it from. But here, I found it again:
Sellers and buyers: Language and power
relations
By Juan Luis Conde
Inquirer
Last updated 01:33am (Mla time) 11/25/2007
Power relations are present when at least two people meet, according to Juan Luis Conde, a Spanish philologist. The relationship may be between a parent and a child, a man and a woman, or an employer and an employee. It can be among friends or members of a group.
Conde says language mediates between power and subordination. Power, he says, is an imbalance, which can be obvious as in a master-slave relationship, or subtle when the subordinate is unaware of his or her position of disadvantage.
In the relationship, one of the parties imposes on the other party a particular interpretation of the world and uses it to his or her advantage.
Conde looks into this kind of relationship betwe
Justice denied 2007-12-08 10:01:24 In the book wild grass, Wall Street Journal correspondent Ian Jhonson writes three stories set in modern day China. One of the tales depicts the struggles of Ma Wenlin, a former Red Guard who advocated peasant rights and fought against illegal taxes.
…local authorities could only tax farmers 5 percent of their income. But he could produce hundreds of witnesses with hard proof showing that they’d been taxed many times this amount.
Having already led farmers to the district state headquarters in Yenan for a petition but to no avail, Ma Wenlin and some of his colleagues traveled to Beijing to file a written appeal with the central authorities.
Arriving in the capital, he was ironically jailed for “disturbing social order” in a country where the ruling party, the Communist Party of China, took power with the battle cry of land reform.
Tomorrow, the farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon who literally walked all the way to Manila to highlight there plight will be ending their 60-day march Read more:Justice
A junket is a junket and GMA’s Spanish prize 2007-12-07 16:35:42 A junket, by any other name, is still a junket, writes Neal H. Cruz, in reference to our good President’s latest trip to Spain and the United Kingdom.
This matter, of course, has been given much attention in our own national media, not so much because of the diplomatic significance of the state visits but more because of the inclusion of more than 30 administration-allied Congressmen.
A blogosphere breaking news report by the jester-in-exile, however, would reveal that the opposite is the case in England where the British government low-keyed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the UK press buried the story of her visit:
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Read more:Spanish
, prize
Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia and Mar Roxas? 2007-12-06 08:45:32 Last Monday, Beryl and I were required by our UP Cebu social sciences department teachers to attend a Democracy Forum organized by the National Institute for Policy Studies, a Liberal Party think tank.
We left the forum early but I’m sure Beryl was right when she complained to me that it was more about early positioning for the 2010 elections and less on the other topics.
Coincidentally, Mar Roxas was also in Marco Polo Hotel in Cebu the next day to speak in the Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) managerial conference.
This comes in the context LP’s announcement of fielding either Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia
and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena as Mar Roxas’ running mate for the 2010 presidential elections.
Is this a good move?
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Books for my favorite youngest sister 2007-12-19 10:57:28 My family passed by a trade fair at the Mactan Export Processing Zone in Beryl's hometown sometime this week.
We bought my favorite youngest sister
, Azalea Gabrielle some colorful used children's books which were priced from P20 to P35 only!
Books
are always a good Christmas treat. Here are some of the titles:
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A Bloody Chamber 2007-12-18 10:01:02 The recent days have been busy - complete with exams and all sorts of academic requirements. But at last, it's finally over - for this year at least.
Haven't read local and national dailies since the start of the week, but the last thing I picked up falls under the category of good news: Arroyo backpedals on subversion law. Scriptorium discusses why the Anti-Subversion Law should NOT be revived.
In this context, respected political analyst Mon Casiple observes of the military's new position as a powerful arbiter in the game that is Philippine politics.
Before this, it was the military intervening in politics or negotiating with civilian politicians for its own ends. It is now having illusions about its decisive role in regime change and becoming the nation's leaders.
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Read more:Chamber
A survey, the anti-subversion law, and a piteous Christmas prelude 2007-12-15 15:57:41 It has become a familiar sight, as the holiday season arrives, to see Christmas
lights and decors lining up the streets and adorning homes and commercial establishments. However, such beautifications have become scarce with each year that goes by.
The strengthening of the Peso has not at all prevented the spiraling of commodity prices. What with a just concluded transport strike last week which reminds us of the reality of oil price hikes and the inevitability of a minimum fare increase.
Nevertheless, there's always a reason for everyone to look forward to the Christmas season, as Inquirer's new feature site, Paskong Pinoy, demonstrates. For bloggers, there's the Vertito.com’s Christmas Contest. And here in Cebu, we have the Pastores de Naga Christmas Festival.
But then, I will not go into that for indeed, a lot more has transpired since the start of December. And it's a pity these "matters" are now serving as our prelude to Christmas.
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A Real Party! 2007-12-14 15:28:34
According to the dictionary, a party is either 1. a gathering for social entertainment, recreation, or amusement; also the entertainment itself or 2. a group united for a particular purpose, as in politics.
This chiefly but not totally concerns the latter. I found a really clever shirt design while blog surfing. The print depicts communist icons of the two past centuries getting drunk while, well, having a party!
In the shirt is V.I. Lenin who successfully led the first socialist revolution in 1917; Josef Stalin of Gulag-notoriety; Mao Tse-tung - icon of Filipino national democrats; and the now bedridden leader of the Cuban revolution Fidel Castro.
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Read more:Party
Radiohead bonus disc download 2007-12-13 15:22:16 Download Radiohead
’s new In Rainbows album bonus disc here! Much thanks to sober musings for pointing out the link, I’ve been listening to it for sometime now.
Meanwhile, a review of the whole album is done by the Creation Project Blog. Also, a New York Times article on how Radiohead’s way of releasing the album is sparking debates on the future of the recording industry.
Radiohead was one of my favorite artists during my highschool years. I don’t know why. Must be because of the song Creep.
Anyway, I remember buying a cassette tape of their album Amesiac back then. I also remember having a blank tape recorded with one of their songs that was playing in the radio.
Here’s the YouTube video of that song:
ebooks, cellphones, and cyber education 2007-12-11 15:38:52 The Reader, a blog devoted to books and publishing and how technology is reshaping it, asks a very relevant question for voracious readers like me:
Ebooks are wonderful — in concept. Lower manufacturing and distribution costs mean less-expensive (or even free) books and a democratization of the means of production. Decreased consumption of resources for printing and shipping gives a hand to a staggering biosphere. The digital medium allows for carrying a shelf full of books without having to warp one's spine.
But what is it like to actually read an ebook?
The use of ebooks, in a banana republic like mine where the culture of book reading is not significant - even declining, has not gained traction. I myself have never read from an ebook, though I would not shun it if given the chance.
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The Villar Debacle 2007-12-10 10:01:17 The countdown to the 2010 Presidential Elections has long begun and all the major political players have started to muster their resources for the big fight.
One of these big players is of course Senate President Manny Villar. This is unsolicited advice, but here's something that I think Villar's camp should correct if it's really serious with its presidential ambitions.
Newsbreak covers how Villar's motherhood statements spoiled the Nacionalista Party's centenary celebration:
If the organizers were successful in sending the message that Villar is ready to take the NP to victory in 2010, it was the two-term senator, however, who provided the dampener.
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Vacation and an uncured obsession for books 2007-12-22 21:28:13
"I have given up reading books. I find it takes my mind off myself"
- Oscar Levant
To enjoy the holiday season more, I amassed some books for reading to pass my time. I also came up with a book wishlist (of which some of the titles can be seen above) and transferred my online list of books to LibraryThing, which are all found in akolibro.blogspot.com.
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Read more:Vacation
Autumn of the Patriarch 2007-12-22 06:00:01 I borrowed Beryl's copy of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel by the same title for the Christmas vacation today. In exchange, I lent her my brother's copy of the 6th Harry Potter book (a book I have yet to read).
The nameless autocrat in the book who is crippled with old age reminds me of my country's very own Ferdinand Marcos and Chile's Augusto Pinochet who died last year, not without a tinge of irony, on Human Rights Day.
In the New Left Review's latest issue, Manuel Riesco asks: is Pinochet dead? He discusses how the late Chilean dictator's legacy lingers on in spite his death and how recent worker and student movements are challenging his terrible shadow.
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Read more:Autumn
Feudalism is dead, long live feudalism! 2007-12-21 03:21:36
After previously snubbing the Sumilao farmers and ordering riot police to block their way to the presidential palace, officials led by the President finally heeded the indigenous peasants’ request for an audience. After two meetings in Malacanang, the palace issued an order favorable to the peasants.
It was a triumph of symbols, Januar Yap writes of this sudden change of heart. He concludes: “the Sumilao farmers simply cooked up something headline material.”
And while this development is a reason for everyone to be happy, it is also sad to observe that marginalized sectors with legitimate demands have to walk a thousand kilometers so their concerns can be adequately addressed.
But it is a breakthrough, nonetheless. As the Inquirer editorial puts it:
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Read more:long live
The Invisible Hand? 2008-03-10 11:13:06 Does the present efforts to remove the President by agitating for another People Power uprising have the blessings of the United States? Is it part of a greater strategy against China, the only country that has been officially identified as having “the greatest potential to compete with the United States”?
The string of exposes against onerous [...]
Quote of the Day (6) 2008-03-09 18:20:21 Words of wisdom from a lengthy passage penned by the American Comedian George Carlin that I received via email:
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have… more [...] Read more:Quote
Miscellaneous 2008-03-08 10:01:02 Balut, mani, fish ball, turon, maize, etc. - Market Manila has a yummy post on the street food available during last week’s interfaith rally in Makati. Yesterday was International Women’s Day. Protest actions were again held to condemn the present administration while commemorating the event.
Still, I now see the waning momentum for a renewed thrust [...]
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