White Papers, Anonymity, and Cough Syrup

Around this time last year, a white paper criticizing former Chief Justice Davide's Memorandum Order making the Supreme Court Program Management Office permanent was making the rounds of the Court. The paper raised several issues regarding the Chief's Memorandum Order, and called on Court employees to wear red in protest.

I criticized the white paper, not so much on its merits (not that it had many), but the manner in which it advanced its positions. As I said in my blog, I don't believe in "supporting causes being espoused by nameless, faceless people" because I've always held that the willingness to express one's opinions must be accompanied by the courage to stand by them.

I've always maintained that anonymity is a blanket under which cowards hide, a convenient means to evade the responsibility of having to answer for their beliefs. You say or do something, you take responsibility for it. You write something, you sign your name and say, "hell, yeah, I wrote it." That's why when I was asked permission to have my blog printed and distributed, I had no qualms about saying yes. Did I offend the writers of the white paper? Probably. Did I care? No. I said the white paper's author was gutless, and one year later I still feel the same way.

Gutlessness, it appears, is catching. An anonymous officemate (or officemates) sent me and my fellow SC Chief Judicial Staff Officer, Atty. JM Erni, a bottle of cough syrup, with a short note. It seems someone was offended by our -ahem- coughing. According to our generous cough syrup donor, JM and I are insensitive, ill-mannered virus-spreaders who give no thought to the health and welfare of our officemates.

When did these supposed incidents occur? What exactly did we do? Who was at the receiving end of our spittle? Whose auditory senses were offended by my constant throat-clearing? So many questions, no answers forthcoming-- ah, the pitfalls of anonymity.

Anyway, for the benefit of the (anonymous) offended party (or parties), some clarifications are in order. You need not worry about catching something. You see, JM and I are both asthmatics and are allergic to many, many things. (I suspect we're allergic to idiots and cowards, hence our runny noses, coughing, and wheezing.) She carries a mini-drugstore in her bag. I have a stockpile of Claritin in my drawer. These are the only reasons we get through a day of working amongst (anonymous) morons and (anonymous) wimps without going through anaphylactic shock.

If-- as I suspect-- you are offended by things other than our coughing, you should feel free to fire off another anonymous note. I suspect there are other things about us you find distasteful. Maybe it's the smell of UP Diliman, something we can't get off our clothes no matter how hard we try. Maybe it's our youth, which we can't hide no matter how many lines public service adds to our faces. Maybe it's the unhidden sound of disdain in our voices, the contempt we have for those who are unwilling or unable to give Filipino taxpayers their money's worth.

It could be anything, but we won't know for sure until someone has the courage to say what he or she REALLY WANTS TO SAY, and grows enough backbone be held accountable for what is said.

Till then, don't blame us if we keep on coughing. As I said, we're allergic to cowards.

Unlike Mike

One point. One. Frigging. Point.

This was how much Kobe Bryant scored against the Phoenix Suns in the second half of Game 7 of their best-of-seven series. A do-or-die game. Win-or-go-home time. The pride of one of the greatest franchises in professional sports history on the line and what does Kobe do?

He only attempts THRICE in the second half of the game. THREE times.

It's not as if the game was beyond reach at the half. The Suns led, 60-45, but the Lakers had 24 minutes of basketball to turn things around. Sure, the Lakers were getting their asses handed to them, but for crying out loud, they had TWENTY FOUR frigging' minutes to play some defense, get their acts together, and win the damn game.

The pathetic performances of the other Lakers weren't surprising. That's a given. But I thought Kobe was going to do his darnedest to WILL his team to victory, which Michael Jordan tried EVERY time. Sure, Jordan's Bulls got beat. Hell, they got beat ALL the time. But their opponents bled for each and every win. Jordan may not have won games against Larry Bird early in his career, but at least he won Bird's respect.

(An aside. How competitive was Jordan? In practices, his team, naturally, would lead by a WIDE margin over the second team. At halftime, he would be put on the other team. And he would still play his ass off to win. And most times, he did.)

That, unfortunately, is what Kobe's lost in his sub-par Game 7 performance-- respect. Everything that defines him-- his competitiveness, his fire, his relentlessness-- these are the things that draw comparisons to Jordan. And these are the things that were absent in the most important minutes of the Suns-Lakers series.

This could have been it. The game that could've made Kobe Bryant a legend. He didn't have to win it. All he had to do was play his heart out and try. He didn't. That's why "Be Kobe" will never sound as good as "Like Mike."

"What's that? That's the sound of an upset, man!"

An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth is a new documentary about the environment set for release in the US on May 24. Aside from its really cool name, the documentary also features a very somber, very serious Al Gore declaring "if you look at the ten hottest years ever recorded, they've all occurred in the last fourteen years; and the hottest of all... was 2005."

The trailer, by itself, is enough to send shivers down your spine. Images of a not-so-snowy Mt. Kilimanjaro, shrinking polar ice caps, and disappearing land masses... really scary stuff.

Anyway, I got to thinking about the movie after spending a week in the not-so-cool mountain air of Baguio City for the Supreme Court's summer sessions. It wasn't cold. During the day, there were times I had to take off my barong tagalog and work in my undershirt because it was just SO FRIGGIN' HOT. Yeah, in the mornings, it was cold. In the evenings, it was cool too. But when the sun was up, FORGET ABOUT IT. Keep your jacket at home, folks, especially if you plan on walking around the City of Pines.

My point?

Global warming has been a concept scientists and environmentalists have used to scare governments and corporations into making efforts to protect the environment. Their success has been hindered by the inability to show that global warming is a phenomenon that is affecting us TODAY, not a hundred-- not a thousand-- years from now.

This movie gives us a first-hand look at the effects of global warming, and it looks like it's going to shock a lot of people. I hope it does. Because we need to stop screwing our environment. Or it's going to screw us back.

Life Is Unfair

Five things that have made me say “life isn’t fair...”

(In no particular order)

1. Allen Iverson is not asked to join the United States men's basketball team.

When NBA superstars turn down invitations to join the national team for personal reasons, you appreciate those few who unequivocally say they're willing to play, especially since joining the US national team pool is three-year commitment. Allen Iverson was the first, the biggest star to volunteer. And how is he rewarded? He has to stand on the sidelines as less-talented, less-experienced NBA players get to don the red, white, and blue.

Let's not talk about Iverson's talent, because everyone knows the guy can play. Let's talk about his heart. The guy earns his paycheck every game. He plays through injury. He plays his guts out. He doesn't whine. He's fearless. And-- as he showed in Athens in 2004-- he plays to win, even when his teammates don't.

This guy has nothing to prove. The way he plays-- banging into people who weigh twice as much as him-- he could suffer an injury while playing for his country. Yet, while those with his stature-- and less-- have turned down invites to the US basketball team, he's stepped forward. That someone so richly deserving has been denied the honor of representing his country is just plain criminal.

2. Paula Abdul continues to judge the contestants of American Idol.

Does anyone remember her classics... "Forever Your Girl?" "Opposites Attract?" "Straight Up?" If you can't remember, it's either (1) you're too young to remember (count yourself lucky), or (2) none of her songs was remotely memorable.

There's a reason Paula Abdul is no longer singing... she can't. Yeah, she can dance-- you don't become a Laker girl if you can't shake your booty. But sing? If you can find one of her songs on the internet, download one of them, listen to it, and hear for yourself. She's not incapable of carrying a tune, but she's certainly in no position to judge Idol contestants-- most of whom could out-sing her in their sleep.

3. Most of the world uses PCs, not Macs.

Most people are surprised when they learn that the Windows operating system "pioneered" by Microsoft was based on a Mac operating system. Most of those introduced to the world of personal computing by Windows are also unaware that the term "personal computers" was first used for the Apple personal computer. The mouse? First used on a Mac. The look of the modern laptop? Based on Apple's first PowerBooks. The first true touch pad? Another Apple product. (Read more here.)

Such is the story of Apple Computer, Inc.-- always on the cutting edge of technology, but unable to profit from its own innovations.

It's their fault, of course. They eschewed the IBM PC/MS OS business model, refusing to let other computer companies use Mac OS because they were afraid that other computer manufacturers wouldn't be able to make hardware good enough to do justice to their software. Bill Gates and IBM didn't care, and they raked in billions, while Apple built a very loyal-- albeit, very small-- following.

Still, the fact that most PC users spew expletives left and right from dealing with Windows-- while almost nothing uncomplimentary about Macs can be heard from Mac users-- has done little to increase Apple's share in the personal computer market.

Macs have a stable, crash-free, ridiculously easy-to-use operating system; amazing software that allows you to unleash your creativity without getting bogged down by the technical aspects; and they're simply beautiful. That Apple's desktops and portables have barely 3% of their respective markets is insane.

4. Filipinos are the biggest basketball fans in the world... and we're short.

We're a basketball-crazy country. Blame the Americans. Or the Spanish, for not sticking around long enough to pass to us their love for the Beautiful Game. Whatever the case, by becoming enamored with a game where height is might, we've doomed ourselves to a lifetime of heartache, as we watch incarnation after incarnation of our men's basketball team get manhandled in international competition, and content ourselves with cheering the US team during the Olympics. (Or Argentina... MANU! MANU! MANU!)

5. Filipinos are gifted artists who get no love from their people, or their government.

The Philippine Madrigal Singers are an award-winning choral group, "the most awarded and acclaimed choir in Asia, having consistently won all the first prizes in the world's most prestigious and toughest choral competitions for many years."

Have you watched any of their shows lately?

Anatoli Panasiukov, a product of the Bolshoi Ballet, is the ballet master of Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT), the country's premier classic ballet company. He's danced with the best in the world, but is now training our country's best dancers.

Why would someone who's danced with the best in the world want to teach here? PBT's dancers are so good that they have a ballet master who has stuck around despite small audiences and far-from-impressive wages. Sadly, even the dancers might disappear, too. With small audiences come small wages, and with Hong Kong Disneyland offering better compensation, our dancers are slowly following our other skilled workers abroad.

Government officials spend thousands of dollars to watch Manny Pacquiao fight. Pacquiao beats some Mexican up in the US, and he comes home a hero. When he's here, politicians fall over themselves to "honor" him. Politicos bring out the red carpet for someone who brings honor and glory to our country with his fists, but do little or nothing to honor the artists who make us proud. How about giving some love (and your money) to those who bring honor to our country with their voices, their bodies, and their talent?

Liberty

Words of wisdom for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Mike Defensor, and all those in her administration who think that arresting members of the opposition left and right (pun intended), and shutting down the media, will help ensure peace and order, and help keep them in power:

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin, A Historical View of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania

A variation of the quote above is "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."

Many people have already pointed out the obvious-- that the arrests of Prof. Randy David, Crispin Beltran, et. al., as well as the raid on the Daily Tribune, couldn't have come at a worse time. You don't celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the rebirth of Philippine democracy by trampling on everything it stands for. Unless, of course, you want people to go back to the streets and take back what they fought for 20 years ago.

You can criticize Erap for all his faults, but at least he didn't do anything to stop the opposition or everyone else from converging at the EDSA Shrine to protest against what his cronies in the Senate did. He could have very well sent police to arrest members of the opposition who went to the EDSA Shrine to call for his ouster. For months before he fell, Erap was at the receiving end of calls for him to step down, much like the sitting President is now (albeit, for different reasons). But he didn't shut down the newspapers that slammed his leadership everyday, and reported on the various movements and groups being formed to kick him out. Our lives were miserable, but at least we could speak out without fear of reprisal. (Except if your name is Chavit Singson, but that's another story.)

Ah, but then again, maybe this president and her advisors have learned from the mistakes of her predecessor. Maybe they see the similarities and the parallelisms between the events that led to Erap's downfall, and the events of the past few days. Honestly, I don't. Most people, despite their distaste for the current leadership, have become resigned to the realities of a GMA presidency. They (myself included) aren't going out of their way (i.e., flock to EDSA) to bring her down, without more compelling reasons to do so.

Even if it were true that certain elements of the military were planning to use anti-GMA rallies as venues to announce their withdrawal of support for the current administration, this still wouldn't have meant squat without the same kind of popular support generated by EDSA II. Even if these elements of the military-- in tandem with the left-- attempted a coup, I doubt they would've been able to get the people behind them. On the contrary, such an undertaking would have only turned off the common tao. Asked to choose between the uncertainty of a revolutionary government headed by people with guns, and a questionably-elected, poorly-run democratic government, most would have found the latter to be a far more acceptable lesser evil.

As hard as life has become for most of us, we have at least had the benefits of living in a democracy. The prices of everything may have gone up, but at least we could sleep soundly every night, knowing we could damn the government to our heart's content, and not have to worry about being dragged to jail the next day. By hanging this cloud over our heads, this administration is starting to make the idea of a revolutionary transition government look like a more attractive alternative for more and more people.

If many of us had no reason to go to EDSA last week, we're being given more and more reasons every day. History tells us that repression does little more than stoke the fires of rebellion. There's a lot of wisdom in heeding the lessons history teaches; these are lessons, however, this administration refuses to learn.

The Disaster Cycle

Here is the sequence of events that follows every disaster (natural, man-made, or otherwise) that strikes the Philippines:

1. Disaster strikes, resulting in loss of life. The tragedy gives new meaning to the term "senseless deaths."

2. The media rush to the area to give the whole world a front-row seat to the tragedy. The ratings of news programs shoot up.

3. The government sends rescue teams to look for survivors.

4. Public officials express sympathy and condole with the families of the victims; the country is asked to pray for those affected.

5. Assistance pours in from other countries, well-meaning institutions, and good samaritans.

6. The Blame Game is played. Government officials and individuals involved point fingers at everyone except themselves.

7. Congress holds hearings; an "investigation in aid of legislation" is conducted. Questions with obvious answers are asked. Sound bites are delivered.

8. "Punishment" is meted out to the "guilty" parties-- those supposedly responsible, one way or the other, for the tragedy. Their "guilt," however, isn't so much the result of the "evidence" on hand; rather, it is determined by the strength (or lack thereof) of the party's (or parties') ties to the powers-that-be.

9. An unenforceable, inutile law or regulation is enacted, with the end in view of avoiding a repeat of the said tragedy.

10. The tragedy is slowly erased from the public's short memory. Tragedy strikes again. Return to # 1 of The Disaster Cycle.