B. Russell on Progress

"Change is one thing, progress is another. Change is scientific, progress is ethical. Change is indubitable, whereas progress is a matter of controversy."
~Bertrand Russell

Had to search for the meaning of indubitable for this post.

One thing's for sure. It wasn't the suit that helped the monkey with the equation.

image taken from http://www.ideamonkey.biz/monkey_blackboard.gif

True. True. False.

“To those of you who received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States.”

[click to enlarge]

"There is no doubt in my mind when history was written, the final page will say: Victory was achieved by the United States of America for the good of the world."
~ George W. Bush, addressing U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, Jan. 12, 2008

image taken from http://lh6.google.ca/abramsv/R4bST0KUlDI/AAAAAAAAC-w/6WoQoYah-zw/s1600-h/ads012.jpg

Post May 1 Post

Already posted this quote from Tom Morello. Yesterday's May 1 celebration (?!) reminded me of it.

"...the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve."

We'll get there.

image taken from http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh6.google.com/adswithoutproducts/RuYPB5NQzqI/AAAAAAAAAfI/r-ykclVmkqg/s400/hiepe-buch-riese-proletariat2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.long-sunday.net/long_sunday/2007/09/index.html&h=324&w=287&sz=37&hl=en&start=2&sig2=P9xe-8fkKKoeuiuJF4G0ug&tbnid=v_APvbLFx1nE0M:&tbnh=118&tbnw=105&ei=710aSKLjGpWM6gO49631Cw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dproletarian%2Balienation%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

You Are One Click Away, Or Are You?: Po Mo Made Easy

Want/Need some Po Mo or Po Po Mo? You could get your much needed Po Mo fix right here. And if you think that the article you got ain't Po Mo (or Po Po Mo) enough, just refresh the page. The article even cites sources (the integrity of these sources are yet to be corroborated)



Or you could opt to right your own paper. That's what Terry would do.

Postmodernism is among other things a sick joke at the expense of revolutionary avant-gardism.
~ Terry Eagleton

image taken from http://paulmayers.blogs.com/my_weblog/images/postmodern.gif

Big Fish

True to Joey Ayala's song, everything is interconnected (ang lahat ng bagay ay magkaugnay). Even politics and the environment.

Sure, we got to start somewhere. However, the question remains - are we addressing the problem holistically?

Stop bullying the small fries. Go for the big fish.


image taken from http://www.bishfish.co.nz/images/browncray.jpg

Panopticon

The question isn't who is. Rather, who defines.

And Orwell's hell a terror era coming through
But this little brother's watching you too
- Voice of the Voiceless, Rage Against the Machine

image taken from http://nicktingle.com/panopticon2.jpg

A Refreshing Take On Taxation

I wish I was a cat, a very, very,very fat cat.

photo taken from http://forum.belmont.edu/cornwall/tax%20day.gif

Red Alert!

I was watching Unang Hirit the other day when something 'Mareng Winnie' said caught my attention.

Contrary to her claim, efficient tax collection isn't tantamount to conscientious resource allocation.

And yes, I didn't file an ITR.

photo taken from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/Corruption_Perceptions_Index_2006.png

On Patriarchy, The Church, and The Court

"It is interesting to speculate how it developed that in two of the most anti-feminist institutions, the church and the law court, the men are wearing dresses."
- Florence Kennedy

The Lie is Their Expense

Read. The same might be true with our present "rice crisis."

What should one do when "inside the belly of the Beast?"

Tanong ni Bill Bradley,

When was the last time you talked about race with someone of a different race?

If the answer is never, you're part of the problem.


imahe mula sa http://stuhasic.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/racism.jpg

Not by Euripides

"Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad"

Itong isang to, Pwede na ba?

Konti na lang...

sumablay pa.

Sayang...

Collateral Damage*

So? ... A Note from Michael Moore

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Friends,

It would have to happen on Easter Sunday, wouldn't it, that the 4,000th American soldier would die in Iraq. Play me that crazy preacher again, will you, about how maybe God, in all his infinite wisdom, may not exactly be blessing America these days. Is anyone surprised?

4,000 dead. Unofficial estimates are that there may be up to 100,000 wounded, injured, or mentally ruined by this war. And there could be up to a million Iraqi dead. We will pay the consequences of this for a long, long time. God will keep blessing America.

And where is Darth Vader in all this? A reporter from ABC News this week told Dick Cheney, in regards to Iraq, "two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting." Cheney cut her off with a one word answer: "So?"

"So?" As in, "So what?" As in, "F*** you. I could care less."

I would like every American to see Cheney flip the virtual bird at the them, the American people. Click here. and pass it around. Then ask yourself why we haven't risen up and thrown him and his puppet out of the White House.

The Democrats have had the power to literally pull the plug on this war for the past 15 months -- and they have refused to do so. What are we to do about that? Continue to sink into our despair? Or get creative? Real creative. I know there are many of you reading this who have the chutzpah and ingenuity to confront your local congressperson. Will you? For me?

Cheney spent Wednesday, the 5th anniversary of the war, not mourning the dead he killed, but fishing off the Sultan of Oman's royal yacht. So? Ask your favorite Republican what they think of that.

The Founding Fathers would never have uttered the presumptuous words, "God Bless America." That, to them, sounded like a command instead of a request, and one doesn't command God, even if they are America. In fact, they were worried God would punish America. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington feared that God would react unfavorably against his soldiers for the way they were behaving. John Adams wondered if God might punish America and cause it to lose the war, just to prove His point that America was not worthy. They and the others believed it would be arrogant on their part to assume that God would single out America for a blessing. What a long road we have traveled since then.

I see that Frontline on PBS this week has a documentary called "Bush's War." That's what I've been calling it for a long time. It's not the "Iraq War." Iraq did nothing. Iraq didn't plan 9/11. It didn't have weapons of mass destruction. It DID have movie theaters and bars and women wearing what they wanted and a significant Christian population and one of the few Arab capitals with an open synagogue.

But that's all gone now. Show a movie and you'll be shot in the head. Over a hundred women have been randomly executed for not wearing a scarf. I'm happy, as a blessed American, that I had a hand in all this. I just paid my taxes, so that means I helped to pay for this freedom we've brought to Baghdad. So? Will God bless me?

God bless all of you in this Easter Week as we begin the 6th year of Bush's War.

God help America. Please.

* I subscribed to Michael Moore's mailing list. Hope the CIA doesn't find out.

Janina San Miguel, I heart thee...

Interview Portion sa Beauty Pageant at Katawang Kapital*
ni Rolando Tolentino

Usap-usapan ang mga sagot ni Janina San Miguel sa question-and-answer portion ng nakaraang Binibining Pilipinas. Naka-upload ito sa You-tube at masakit itong panoorin. Heto ang transcript ng interview sa host Paolo Bediones:

Bediones: So you won two of the major awards, Best in Long Gown, Best
in Swimsuit. Do you feel any pressure right now?Contestant: No, I do not feel any pressure right now.
Bediones: All right, confident! Please choose a name of a judge. We have Miss Vivian Tan.Vivian Tan: What role did your family play with you as a candidate to Binibining Pilipinas?Contestant: Well, my family’s role for me is so important. Because der was d… deyr… dey was the one… who’s very… haha… Oh, I’m so sorry. Uhm My pamily… my family, oh my god.Bediones (off-mike): Pwede mag-Tagalog. Sige lang, sige lang.Contestant: Ok. I’m so sorry.Bediones (off-mike): Okay lang yan.Contestant: I’m so sorry…I… I told you that I’m so confident. Eto, uhm, wait. Hahahaha. Uhm… Sorry guys… because this was really my first pageant ever. Because I’m only 17-years old! And ahahaa… I.. I did not expect that I came from, I came from one of TAF Ten… Mhmm… Sooo…. But I said DUT my family is the most important persons in my life. Thank you.

Nasa edad na ang bansa ng purong ideal ng katawan, wala nang usapin ng utak dahil “grace under pressure” naman talaga ang beauty contests. Kahit ano pang pagkakamali o kanipisan ng sagot, ang pagtatalon ng f at p, ang mahalaga ay confident na nakangiti pa rin ang batang contestant. Masyado nang mataas ang kahilingang beauty-and-brains sa isang bansang pinagdarahop ng pambansang pamahalaan ang pondo sa edukasyon, at winawaldas sa pangungurakot ang nalalabing pondo ng mamamayan. Mas malaking usapin kung karapat-dapat ba siyang manalong Bb. Pilipinas World, matapos nitong inaakalang karumaldumal na tugon sa interview portion. At sa mas malaliman, kung karapat-dapat ba itong maging ambassador of goodwill ng bansa?

Ang formulasyon ng dalawang isyu sa debate ay nagsasaalang-alang ng criteria ng paghuhusga at representasyon. Hindi naman liberal na demokratiko ang pagpili, nakabatay ito sa formulasyon ng angkop na representatibo sa mas malaking global na beauty pageant. Kaya nga ang nanalo ay may titulo ng kanilang magiging susunod na partisipasyon—Bb. Pilipinas Universe na sasali sa Miss Universe, Bb. Pilipinas World para sa Miss World, Bb. Pilipinas International para sa Miss International, at iba pa. Ang judges ay pumipili batay sa criteria for judging na iplinakda ng organizers ng Bb. Pilipinas. At ang organizers ay sumasapul naman sa higit pang tsansang manalo sa global na beauty pageants ng lokal na pambato.

Ang Bb. Pilipinas ay ang lokal na idioma ng bansa sa global na kumpetisyon. Tulad sa edukasyon, ang inihahandang graduates ay yaong hindi nakabatay sa pangangailangan ng lokal na industriya kundi ng global na negosyo. Kaya nga ang diskurso ng edukasyon, lalo na sa collegiate level sa negosyo, law at medisina ay sa ingles—mula textbook na ginagamit, kurikulum na ipinapatupad, diskusyon sa klase at ng exams na kinukuha ay nagpapalawig sa kultura ng pakikiramay na nakahiwalay sa lokal na saloobin at pakikitungo. Nakikiramay na lamang sa sariling pagnanais makaangat sa buhay.

Kontraktwalisasyon ang nagaganap sa Bb. Pilipinas. Kung ano ang demand sa global na market ng beauty pageants ay ganoon na rin ang isinasakatuparan. Wala nang mananalong punggok na Filipina, o masyado ring exotiko. Kailangan ay 5’8” at may Caucasian features kahit pa wala ang kaputian (whiteness). Samakatuwid, pangmodelo kahit hindi naman literal na nagmomodelo ng damit kundi ng metapisika ng kagandahan ng Bb. Pilipinas at Miss Universe, halimbawa.

Kaya ang mga nananalong Filipina sa lokal na kumpetisyon ay binibigyan ng crash-course sa bansang nakaperfekto na ng paglikha ng global na winners, ang Venezuela. Nire-redo ang national costume na nakabatay sa estetika ng Broadway kaysa sa anumang pambansang identidad, nirerepaso ang lakad at pakikitungo, at iba pa. Na kung dati ay breeding ang magbibigay nito, dahil historically naman, ang nananalo sa unang mga beauty contests, tulad ng Manila Carnival, ay galing sa alta-sosyedad na familia, at maging sa Marcos era na winners—Gloria Diaz at Aurora Pijuan ay galing sa muy bueno familia, ngayon ay hindi naman sa pumangit ang alta sosyedad kundi hindi na ito ang kalakaran para magkaroon pa ng dagdag na kapital.

Ang katawan ay may kapasidad mangapital. Kung dati ang paraan sa pangarap na pag-angat ay pagkuha ng pagpapari at medisina dahil natitiyak nitong bubuti ang buhay at nakakatulong pa sa kapwa; sumunod ay commerce dahil tiyak daw ang pagpasok ng pera kapag nagnegosyo; ngayon ay pag-aartista na. Kung may hitsura ang bata, lalo pa’t hindi pinalaki ng Milo at Promil, ay kasabay na pangangarapin ito ng pamilya at kapitbahay na mag-artista bilang lehitimo nang kapamaraanan na makaangat sa buhay.

Kaya hindi nawawalan ng panibagong Star Circle at Star Search, at pati Big Brother at iba pang reality TV ay nagiging aparato ng paghagilap ng bagong mukhang bebenta at maibebenta. Ang (matagumpay na) pag-aartista ang pinakamatayog sa pangarap. Kaya ang pagmomodelo, at pati itong beauty pageants, ay stepping stone lamang para maging artista. At sa babang lebel ng hierarkiyang ito, ang Japayuki at hostong entertainers sa niche market ng Japan, ang GROs at macho dancer na nakabase sa clubs, ang mga pokpok (sex worker) sa lansangan o nakatambay sa mall at plaza. Ang waiters, fastfood crew, hotel bell boys, SM cashier ay bahagi rin nitong entertainment service industry.

Kaya tama ang kanta ng Hagibis, lokal na bersyon ng Village People, na naging theme song ng matagumpay na sitcom noong 1990s, Palibhasa Lalake, “Katawan, katawan, katawan, ingatan ang inyong katawan.” Purong katawan, ingatan dahil pwede ngang pagkakitaan.
Hindi naman nag-a-apply sa call center si San Miguel. At kung mag-apply man ito, kasama ito sa 97 porsyento na babagsak. Kaya nga siya nag-beauty contestant ay dahil alam niya ang angkop na halaga at lugar ng kanyang katawan. Ang operative word ay “beauty” at kahit sabihin pang hindi ito skin-deep, ay ito pa rin ang pasaporte para sa realisasyon ng kanyang pangarap at ng kanyang henerasyon. Na sa kalakaran ng beauty contest, tanging mga graduate ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas na sumasali at nananalo rito, ang nagdaragdag pa ng lehitimasyon sa papawala namang beauty-and-brains combo meal.

Ang kamulatan ni San Miguel ay kamulatang ipinatamo sa kanya sa pang-araw-araw. Ito naman ang bansa ng beauty contests. Mula sanggol, musmos, bata, teenager, bagong Misis, matandang babae, at maging para sa kalalakihan at bakla ay mayroong maaring salihan. Idinidiin ito sa telebisyon sa tanghali, model searches sa mall at plaza, fundraising sa fiesta, at Bb. Pilipinas sa Marso. At ito ang kamulatan sa katawan bilang purong ideal, walang organo, walang utak, purong posturing umaakibat sa modelo ng global na katawan.

Kontest ito—kumpetisyong nakabatay sa malinaw na pamantayan—na magpakaganito rin naman, ay hindi para sa lahat. Isa lang parati ang nahihirang na representatibo. At hindi naman ito opisyal na representasyon at representatibo ng bansa. Hindi pamahalaan ang pumili nito, kundi aparato ng estado. Umaalinsunod sa katawang itinatakda ng estado—katawang walang organo, walang utak, na ang tanging halaga ay gumaya sa ipinataw na modelo: mapa-call center agent ito na gumagaya sa twang ng native speaker, estudyanteng sistematikong pinagdarahop sa kamangmangan at kawalan ng pondo ng gobyerno at naniniwala pa ring makakaahon ito sa kanyang lagay sa malapit na hinaharap, o OCW na nagsasakripisyo ng katawan para sa ikabubuti ng iba.

Hindi nga ba’t ang katawan ng beauty contestant at winner, si San Miguel, ay inakda ni Gloria Arroyo ayon sa kanyang panuntunan—ideal na kagandahang pisikal, nanggagaya, exportable, at kung gayon, purong ideal ng katawan, na tila hindi binahiran ng korapsyon bilang pagtatago sa sistematikong pangungurakot at pag-aaruga sa kanyang mafia. Tulad ng katawan ni Manny Pacquio, ito ay may halaga lamang sa estado hanggang sa nagtatagumpay nang higit pang seduksyon at atraksyon sa aktwal na kapital. At ito rin ang sumpa ng katawan ni Arroyo, na ang pagkatagal na pagkapit sa bangkaroteng panungkulan at ang politikal na turmoil mula rito ay tatagos na sa ekonomiya, at ang kanyang sinasambit na statistika ng pag-angat ay isa-isa nang pinapaputok, tulad ng kumpiyansa ng negosyong nag-aakalang business-as-usual pa rin.

Retorikal ang pagtatapos sa interview portion sa beauty pageant. Ihuhudyat ng contestant na tapos na siya sa kanyang mumbo-jumbo sa katagang, “I thank you.” Na tunay namang rekognisyon sa hurado at estadong magbibigay-halaga at lehitimasyon sa kanyang katawan. Na kahit i-boo pa siya ng audience, na mayroong ibang manok na pambato, ay kinilala pa ring bilang ehemplo ng purong ideal na katawan kayang makapanghimok ng iba pang kapital at panlipunang lehitimasyon. Na kaya masakit itong panoorin ay dahil nasasapol nito ang ating kolektibong nararamdaman: ganito na ang kinahinatnan ng sistematikong pagkakait ng pambansang pondo at atensyon kahit pa ang fokus ay pagtatago ng sistematikong paggaganansya sa edukasyong mahalaga rito.

Sa politika, ito ang pinakamatagal na interregnum nang pagpapatalsik kay Arroyo. Hindi pa namamatay ang luma, hindi pa rin ipinapanganak ang bago. Kaya kailangan ng pagiging komadrona ng kasaysayan, hanggang tayo na ang pasigaw na magsabi kay Arroyo, “We thank you” para tapusin na ang dapat tapusin, at iwan na ang mabigat na entabladong pinapapasan sa mamamayan.

*Mula sa blog ni Rolando Tolentino

Ang Hirap Naman Maging Mayaman...

Ito ang isa sa pinakamagandang halimbawa ng malaking agwat sa teoretikal at aktwal.

MABUBUHAY KA SA P41.25 SA ISANG ARAW, AYON SA NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Alexander Martin Remollino

Sampung pisong pisbol ang kainin sa almusal.
Sampung pisong pisbol ang kainin sa tanghalian.
Sampung pisong pisbol ang kainin sa hapunan.
Sa halagang P30, lubos nang matutugunan
ang pangangailangang kumain
nang tatlong beses sa isang araw.

Para naman sa "panulak,"
mabibili sa sampung piso
ang pinakamaliit na bote ng mineral water.
Matutong magtipid at kakasya sa maghapon
ang 350 ml na tubig.

'Yang matitirang P1.25 ay huwag balewalain:
kapag nagmarakulyo ang sikmura
at ayaw kang patulugin pagdating ng gabi --
lamang-tiyan din 'yan,
lamang-tiyan din 'yan.

Babae

Lumayaat Magpalaya...

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
- Toni Morrison

* para kay MDNSR, babae, aking pinakamamahal na anti-tesis.

People's...

Kung si Eman Lacaba may People's Warrior, ako may People's Mario.

Better Late Than Later...

Kahapon pala ang anibersaryo ng kauna-unahang pagtugtog ng Led Zeppelin ng pamosong "Stairway to Heaven." Anila, tungkol daw ito sa isang babaeng nagkamal ng limpak-limpak na salapi. Sa kanta, natuklasan ng babae na hindi naman pala nadadala sa langit ang pera. Hindi alam ng nakararami na ang babaeng tinutukoy sa kanta ay si...

EDSA (to the nth power (?))

THE CRAFT OF PEOPLE POWER

by Sarah Raymundo

MASS DEMONSTRATIONS, in John Berger's realist assessment, are rehearsals for the 'event' wherein people would unleash concrete acts of political maturity rarely imagined in classrooms and in mass media. These acts, combined with the ripeness of a given condition and the push of favorable circumstances, are the kind that would alter the existing coordinates of the system.

Historically, the ouster of a tyrant is both a stake and a product in humanity's struggle for social justice. The actual ouster is a momentary success in a series of organized resistance and is not the latter's ultimate goal.

In spite of a successful ouster, there is no escaping the 'morning after.'

After the first People Power, the Filipinos counted on the promise of “democratic space” under the Aquino regime. But political power remained in the hands of the new oligarchy. Mang Pandoy, the embodiment of the poor and the dispossessed, hoped for a better life after the dark years of Marcos' Martial Law. He, however, along with the broad Filipino masses, continued to wallow in the quagmire of poverty.

In the recent past, GMA was another 'morning after.' But it was not a hopeful morning for many of us then. Yet the point was to demonstrate that the Filipino people will never tolerate a corrupt president in the person of Erap Estrada. And so forming the broadest alliance against the narrowest target was in fact a fulfillment of a tactical task necessary to complete the counter-hegemonic sequence that would properly fill in the empty universal of the 'new order.'

The distinction between the 'morning after' and the 'new order' stems from the relationship between tactical and strategic goals. Thus, getting rid of the 'morning after 'that has predictably morphed into the nightmare that is Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a tactical goal that would teach us a valuable lesson or two in the strategic goal of ushering in a 'new order.'

The recent inter-faith mobilization definitely went beyond its target number of participants. Yet quantitative indicators are by no means the only measure of a mobilization’s success.

The organizers, recently tagged as “a dangerous alliance” of “misguided idealists” and “politically motivated personalities, hypocrites to the bone” (Leondro R. Lojo, Young Blood, PDI 1 March) did not seek to unseat GMA right then and there as indicated by the general tone of the script and the particular content of the speeches.

The mobilization was an inter-faith gathering that sought to bring together a force that stakes a claim on civilian supremacy, accountability and truth. By its mere number, this force has shown its potency. But it is the joyful and expectant faces of the youth, who comprised the largest delegation not only in yesterday's rally but in the history of making History that grants a decisive factor to this force.

Cynics are quick to suggest that the broad anti-Arroyo formation is a “dangerous alliance.” But dangerous to whom? Definitely, to the interest of an isolated group of corrupt and tyrannical elite embodied by the Arroyo administration at the moment. It is Macapagal-Arroyo herself who has smashed all illusions of good governance thereby exposing the impossibility of the same within the existing system of oligarchy.

That this “dangerous alliance” can still muster a formidable degree of moral righteousness despite Arroyo's chaotic maneuvers is reason enough to believe that the two previous Edsas were not a waste of time and resources. A retroactive logic may even suggest that People Power I and II were also rehearsals for the ouster of the worst president this Republic has ever had.

That there is currently a polysemy of voices among the youth as the Philippine Daily Inquirer tangentially proffers by featuring Mr. Lojo's piece in its Young Blood segment is less a proof of a polysemic situation than a yet another damning evidence of how media managers function as high priests of obfuscation amidst the people's clamor for truth.

It is not safe to discount Macapagal-Arroyo’s fast-diminishing supporters for it is useless to deny contradictions at this point. But when a dimension of that contradiction involves the voice of thousands of young people taking citizenship to the streets versus a Young Blood piece which sounded more like the angry howling of a veteran lapdog, it is easy to see how the illogic of an old and dying system corrupts the minds of some young people.

But neither Gloria's absurd allusions to international condemnation in the event of another People Power and her threats of an impending economic slump could dampen the democratic spirit of the Filipinos.

The administration currently discredits the broad anti-Arroyo alliance since its largest rally by far was graced by “hypocritical politicians.” Apparently, its new tactic is to magnify the contradictions within the broad united front against Macapagal-Arroyo and to evade the burning issues of corruption, massive fraud and human rights violations.

What happens when a political turncoat or an ousted president turns up in a rally that seeks to remove another corrupt president from office? This situation may cause momentary conflict within the ranks. But clearly, this conflict indicates that the people have a strong sense of history. The people are not about to exonerate transgressors who have yet to pay for their crimes. Unfortunately, for Gloria, the Filipinos have become merciless to criminals like her.

Contradicting claims notwithstanding, truth does not have more than one version. Truth can be cold and stiff because it is always one-sided. That is why it can hurt even the most powerful of liars. That is why it must be spoken to power.

On to the next rehearsal, therefore!

*Sarah Raymundo is a professor of Sociology in the University of the Philippines Diliman.