Reading the morning paper over a cup of coffee (ooh! shades of Doroy Valencia! Was that him, MLQ3?) on a lazy Sunday morning has been a rarity of late. Due to the popularity of the internet, I can now sip my brew and browse many newspapers online. The only missing pleasure is tearing up a page when assaulted by a piece that irks.
I like to start with the Inquirer - retired Justice Isagani Cruz keeps the harangue against news censorship alive; Professor Randy David tackles the "pessimism of spectators". The Tribune's editorial remains scathing (people have been asking if their circulation's up since...), while Manila Standard's Rey Requejo reports that Ting Paterno has been criticised by the defensive folks that make up the Con Com and Fel Maragay tackles the Drilon factor. Pity that as of this writing, Malaya hasn't put up it's latest edition.
Carlos Celdran has just pointed us in the direction of Net News Asia, wherein we are panned for our choice of java. Well, we didn't go to Starbucks for the coffee per se, we were there to see the people that frequent the franchise. Anyway, we thank them for the links. Hurray for the freedoms of speech and the expression of opinion! May they continue to flourish without suppression.
Finally, we'd like to thank Jim Paredes for forwarding this post he just received in answer to that email from " a middle class guy who defends Gloria":
If you so-called middle-class arent heard its because you all do not, I repeat, do not have the balls to stand up to the tyrannical beast that is gloria macapalmukha-arrovo. You are all in denial of what is going on and as long as you receive your sweldo every half month, you couldn't care less of what is happening
to the rest of the country. You couldnt care less because you still have food on your table, a roof over your head, clothes on your back and are able to send your children to private schools. Well buster, i've got news for you. At the rate this government bleeds the people for more taxes to put in their already well line pockets your middle-class status wont last very long. So revel in it while you can.
If you think that you have exclusive rights to the taxes that make this country's wheels, that its your so-called class that gets the brunt of burden that the entire population has to carry then think again. How much do you pay for your water bill? You have piped in water which you do not have to carry in pails at 10 pesos per pail from a handpump which is at least a hundred meters from your home that you had to stand in line for. But hey, thats not your concern right?
I'll tell you what is. Soon you'll have to stand in line like the rest because at the rate illegal logging is being covered up by the administration, there wont be enough watersheds to replenish the aquifers which supply the rivers,lakes and dams with fresh water. You will have to drink water from the Laguna bay. Ain't
that just peachy?
And all those people displaced from the calamity stricken areas will most likely move to the city to seek jobs in order to survive. Then you get an
overcrowded metropolis teeming with unemployed "non-middle class" people who increase the risk of "disease outbreaks, crime, moral depravity and ignorance; though that's not to say that ignorance is a stranger to the "middle class". Now that's just for starters.
When this happens what will the "middle-class" do? Hide under the bed? Lock yourselves up in your ivory towers? Perhaps you should migrate. Your taxes are of no use to the people anyway since it only goes to the pockets of a handful in government anyway. And if your taxes are all you're good for as a citizen, then it appears that's of no use at all.
Oh by the way, I too am middle class but i have never and will never forgive the people responsible for the cheating that went on in the last elections.
Signed:
Isa rin middle-class na nagbabayad ng buwis at nagbubuwis ng buhay para sa kapakanan nag karamihan hindi para sa ikararami ng aking kapakanan.
UPDATE: More Sunday reading on the subject of the Black Friday Protest actions - The Herald Tribune and PCIJ keep our cups running over and MLQ3 has a few great ideas on how to keep the protest a-froth.
12 comments:
"GMA resign" Yellow bands
i've got an idea to show our opposition to arroyo in a non-violent way (and make money at the same time)
Black-and-White Movement and other blogs can advertise and sell it at their site.
Why not make and sell GMA resign Yellow bracelet/bands (like this one).
Lance's yellow band wins mag design award
The grand prize in the inaugural Bottom Line Design Awards from US magazine Business 2.0 went to the buck-a-throw Livestrong wristbands, beating off competition from Virgin Atlantic's Upper-Class Cabin, Apple's iMac G5 and Motorola's Razr V3 cellphone. Lance Armstrong's wristbands, kicked off with support from Nike, sold so well, one of the judges in Business 2.0's awards said the campaign was "the most successful viral campaign in a decade, perhaps ever."
Up to 33 million yellow Livestrong bands have been sold to date, with proceeds going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation...
Of Lance Armstrong's wristband, Business 2.0 said:
"Sometimes design simplicity—in this case, a $1 yellow rubber bracelet—is all it takes to make an emotional connection with consumers.
Not only is this pretty much a non-violent way to protest the arroyo admin, but you'd look cool wearing it too (and i'm pretty sure the guy selling this would make tons of dough) :)
Ito pa: Bracelet mania: Armstrong's yellow wrist bands have become cultural phenomenon
Here's are photos of the LiveStrong bracelets.
Of course, kapag nalaman ito ni Arroyo, I wouldn't put it past her to order the police to conduct raids on the factory (or hire a few thugs to break inside the factory) making these Yellow bands and steal their merchandise. LOL. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd stoop this low, LOL.
Now that's a great idea, John! Actually, we've had those "baller" bands for sale in exchange for donations since October 2005, they're a pair of black and white (siyempre!) bands. We even had tee shirts, but we mostly gave them away. We bring the bands to the rallies and the forums, but we're not the hard sell types. Thanks for the idea of offering them here. I'll ask Enteng about how we can do this via the internet without GMA's thugs getting us into trouble. LOL
What do we do with what we earn? Well, we gave the children of the urban sector groups a little Christmas party last year, over a hundred of them. We also pay for the forums we put up (wish we could afford to do at least one a week!).
I wear three bands, the black & white pair plus the Lance band (but mainly in honor of Cory). When we finally meet up, I'll have a pair of BnW bands just for you! :-)
thanks, Helga.
as for what to do with the money earned... kung may gumawa nga ng mga yellow bands for me, gusto kong mapunta yung perang kinita sa mga anti-GMA groups like Black and White.
because when I buy this product, i'm doing it to support the anti-Arroyo cause. I want my money to go to the black and white movement or other anti-arroyo groups like SANLAKAS or Gabriela or UNO, para makatulong yung pera sa mga expenses at gastusin nila.
on how to sell the band... allow the anti-Arroyo groups like let's say SANLAKAS or Gabriela or MBC to sell it in their headquarters. Another idea is to let as many student orgs in UP, ATENEO, LA SALLE and UST sell the product in the campus and make money out of it.
Hello and thanks, Regor! Ok, my slip is showing - please explain banner hosting. If that's doable, by all means let's try it out.
John, maraming salamat! Every little bit of help goes a long way for all of us in this movement. Am certain all the groups mentioned could use all the help they can get. Will make sure Enteng reads your posts so he can weigh in.
Meanwhile, I have to answer a virulent email from a guy who says he'd rather stick with Gloria because she's the lesser evil. Go figure.
Sorry, Ricky, was too lazy to correct my sloppy typing, forgot to put in "forwarding this post" when I re-read.
i forgot to add a "..." after "yellow bands."
it should have read:
"kung may gumawa nga ng mga yellow bands... for me, gusto kong mapunta yung perang kinita sa mga anti-GMA groups like Black and White."
Hi Ellen! Yes, I remembered only when John Marzan reminded me. Am looking forward to reading today's online version, as usual.
Regor, I'm gonna ask Enteng to look into that, he's an IT expert and should know something about designing a banner for our blog that can be copied by those that wish to use it. Thanks for this good idea.
Thanks, John. It is comments like these that help us plug along, gaining strength from good folks like yourselves that support us. Our only agenda is to help provide our children a country they can be proud of when we're gone. Gloria just happens to be the "baddie" in our way. I think that's what our OFWs, Filipinos abroad, and working stiffs over here ultimately want. We want our country back.
Ive received both the forwarded emails 'Open letter to our leaders' and 'Paano naman kaming mga productive middle-class Pinoys!'. But this is the first time Ive read Jim Paredes's reply wherein he accuses the middle class of not having "the balls to stand up to the tyrannical beast..." I wish it circulates so as to encourage discussion and debate. So far, nada. I can point the officemates to his blog in lieu.
Mr. Paredes makes very good points as to why we should all be outraged. The middle class isnt unaware of those points and are outraged. But what the middle class needs is not balls. Theyve already shown they have them in EDSA 1 and EDSA 2. What they do NOT have are leaders they can trust. They do not have someone that can inspire them to whip out those cojones and fly them proudly in the air.
Unlike Mr. Paredes, most of the middle class do not have the option of migrating (as he has admitted he will do in a TV interview). They have to stay here, some by choice since their hopes for their country havent died, but most because they have no other option.
Im not a Gloria fan, not by a longshot. I wish she would just disappear. We've tried everything the law allows but she's still there. Our option then is to wait for 2010, then file all those cases against her when she cant hide behind immunity. It's called the rule of law, I think. She can share a prison resort with her pal Erap. Using government money--our money--to buy the election should be easy enough to prove.
But, if by some miracle, she does disappear, what next? We dont see anybody we can trust. The middle class is just dying to pull its shorts down and show everybody what kind of balls they have.
Jego, thanks for your comment, but would like to make a quick clarification - the post was received from Jim, he isn't its author. Sorry, didn't mean to confuse you. I will make that distinction by editing my post.
As to your question on succession, my answer is that if we ever get the chance to have honest elections, then we will all be able to elect our leaders. But, as you know, Gloria is making sure that we don't get that chance. Now - shall we let her have her way? My answer is a resounding NO!
Thanks, Helga.
Id like to change "I can point the officemates to his blog in lieu."
to "I can point the officemates to this blog in lieu." Typo.
Your explanation as to why you chose to buy imported coffee from a multinational is a bit weak, isn't it?
"we didn't go to Starbucks for the coffee per se, we were there to see the people that frequent the franchise".
Right. So when you instruct your supporters to go to Starbucks and buy a drink, you actually meant go to Starbucks and *don't* buy a drink?
That's as clear as coffee.
From the photos on your blog, it would appear that all of you did go there to have a nice chat over a Starbucks coffee. Except for Dinky, who bought some strange green concoction.
If you want to meet your friends in Starbucks, that's fine. But if you want to make a political stand on an issue, then at least try and make it consistent with your professed beliefs. What's wrong with Figaro? Too local for you?
May you also continue to enjoy your coffee without suppression.
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